Reflections, Ruminations, and Recollections

New Year . . . New life

2011-12-31T18:15:00.000-06:00

Today is the last day of 2011. People are saying farewell to 2011 by gathering with friends at parties, going to restaurants and standing outside in Times Square to watch a big crystal ball drop (and what the appeal is in that, I have no clue).

For many, New Year's Day represents new hope and a new beginning. The old year is over and a new year has begun. People take this time to make resolutions to be better in the new year - lose weight, spend more time with their kids, etc. Usually, however, by the end of the year, these resolutions have been broken and the person is right back where he or she started.

When a person repents of his sins and asks Jesus to come into their hearts to be his or her Savior, he or she is born again. This means a new, clean life and a new beginning. That person becomes a new creation in Christ. They become children of God and have eternal life in Christ. All of their sins have been forgiven and forgotten. In contrast with the broken resolutions, if we sin after we have been born again, Jesus stands ready to forgive us and welcome us back into the fold. The blood He shed on the Cross covers our sins.

Unlike the New Year, which shows up without us doing anything at all, being born again is a conscious decision. We have to open our mouth and ask Jesus to forgive our sins in order to be born again and receive that new and eternal life. By repenting of your sins and receiving Jesus as your Savior, you escape the wrath of hell and get to spend eternity in Heaven.

Friend, if you are reading this and you have not yet repented of your sins and received Jesus as your Savior, what's holding you back? Why not make this new year the first year of your walk with Christ? If you need help, here's a prayer:

"Lord, I know I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness for my sins. I believe that You died for me on the Cross. Please come into my heart and make me new. I want you to be my Lord and Savior. I give my life totally and completely to You. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making me new."

Did you say the prayer? If so, congratulations! You are now my brother or sister in Christ. Your first step should be to purchase a Bible. Start by reading the first four books of the New Testament, also known as the Gospels. They will tell you about Jesus. The second thing you should do is find a Bible-believing church where you can learn about being a Christian and you can meet other Christians. I would love to know if you prayed to receive Jesus. Please enter a comment to let me know.

Happy New Year! I pray for a happy, healthy and prosperous new year for you!

Diane

The write style - Biblically speaking

2011-12-26T18:59:00.000-06:00

If you enjoy reading (like I do) you read everything that certain authors write because you like their writing style. You may enjoy the way a fiction writer tell a story and how they develop characters. You may enjoy how a non-fiction writer presents information. An author's writing style reflects their personality and their knowledge of a subject or their passion for a story.

The Bible is the Holy Spirit inspired Word of God, but God dictated His words to humans to transcribe. (I am a legal secretary, so I do a lot of transcribing.) Each transcriber of God's Word had his own writing style that revealed his personality. If you read the books of the Bible carefully, you will be able to see the personality traits of each transcriber. Let's take a look at a few of these transcribers.

My favorite Bible transcriber would have to be the apostle John. John 1:1-18 reads like prose and is beautifully written. John 4 is all about love, the love of Jesus for us and our love for one another. John also wrote the book of Revelation, with its vivid descriptions of the end times. Since I like to write as well as read, I look forward to meeting John in Heaven to swap notes, so to speak.

Reading Paul's epistles reveals a very different personality than John. Paul was very authoritative. He often used athletic metaphors such as "running so that I complete the race" or "fighting the good fight" to get his point across. When a fellowship or a person was in the wrong, Paul didn't mince words - he told it like it was. He often comes across as harsh, yet he had a passion for people to be saved, especially his Jewish brethren.

Luke is another transcriber with a different personality. Luke was a historian. He was very detail oriented, due no doubt to his training as a physician. Luke is the only one who reported that while Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, his sweat appeared as like large drops of blood. He vividly described the Holy Spirit descending on the people in the Upper Room and the founding of the early church. Luke also described in great detail how Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and his conversion to a follower of Christ.

Moses was one of the greatest transcribers of God's words in the Old Testament. The first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch, were written by Moses. Although he was not an eyewitness to the events that happened before he was born, he his descriptive words make these events come to life. He is a huge part of the Exodus story, yet he describes himself as a humble man who loved God.

I invite you to take another look at the books of the Bible to discover who their transcribers were and try to figure out their writing styles and their personality. It just might just add new life to your study of the Bible!

Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Love your local library!

2011-09-18T13:46:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite places has always been the library. Where else can you find a way to travel around the world without spending any money? Where else can you find a way to let your imagination run free? Or learn about various things for free?

I loved reading when I was a child. My parents were poor and we didn't always have the money to do things, but I could go to the library and check out books to read. I could read fiction books and imagine myself in the story. I could learn about other countries and other time periods. I could check out books that taught me how to do different things. I could use the reference books to do reports or learn about things. Books were my friends when no one else would be.

I still love to read and I still love the library. And I love the written word (but not more than the Word). Today, the library is more than just books. The library has magazines and newspapers. It has microfiche machines where you can look at old newspapers and see what life was like in earlier times. The library has movies and computer software that can be checked out. Our library has a genealogy reference section. There is a section of computers with Internet access for card holders to use. Our library also has audio books you can check out.

Even in this day of Internet access and computer use, books are still the best way to find out information. A love of reading does not come naturally, however. It has to be modeled. My son loves to read, and it's because he sees me reading. We also make weekly library trips. My husband is not a big reader, and I believe it's because it was not modeled to him when he was growing up.

This year is the 175th anniversary of the Belleville Public Library, which is the library we visit every week (and is pictured above). This post is dedicated to the librarians there, who help us find the books we want to read, buy Boy Scout popcorn from my son and helped him with his Reading merit badge. Your local librarians are great resources for information. They're there to help. So go to your local library and see what's there. You never know what you might find.

See you next time!

Diane

Ah, a sweet aroma

2011-09-05T14:33:00.003-05:00

In 2 Corinthians 2:15-16a, Paul states the following: "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one [we are] the aroma of death [leading] to death, and to the other the aroma of life [leading] to life." Let's take a look at what this means.

Webster's Dictionary has two definitions of "aroma." Definition 1a is "a distinctive pervasive and usually pleasant or savory smell." Think of the wonderful smell of a fresh flower,or the smell of coffee brewing. Or the smell of fried chicken cooking. Definition 2 is "a distinctive quality or atmosphere." This definition is the one that fits the verses the best, I think.

So how can we be the fragrance of Christ to God among believers? I don't think that personal hygiene was what Paul had in mind, although that certainly wouldn't hurt. LOL!

I think what Paul meant was how we present ourselves as Christians. Smell precedes sight. You smell the fragrance before you see what is causing the fragrance. When you meet someone for the first time, how you treat that person is being the fragrance of Christ. And how do we do that? By being kind, courteous, caring and welcoming. When a brother or sister in Christ is hurting, being there for them and helping if possible is being the fragrance of Christ. When a fellow Christian is rejoicing, we rejoice with them. Worshiping the Lord with all your heart and soul is the fragrance of Christ to God.

But what about the second part of that verse - the part about we Christians being the aroma of death to those who don't believe? I think it means that our actions and words are so sweet that they are sickening. The aroma of Christ that emanates from believers shows the lost how dark their souls are and what their eternal destination will be - unless they repent and trust Christ for salvation.

So think about how you are the fragrance of Christ in the world and how you can smell even sweeter. I know I am! See you next time!

Diane

The big C

2011-06-02T22:03:00.000-05:00

Cancer
Is an insidious disease.
It does not discriminate
As to age
Or creed
Or race
Or social status.
It is no respecter of persons.
If caught early enough,It can be beaten down
By radiation and chemotherapy
And kept away by medicine.
But most times,
It is a parasite that feeds off its host
And multiplies
Moving to other places in the body
To wreak havoc there as well.
It leaves sorrow in its wake
As those who have lost loved ones
To this insidious disease
Mourn their losses and sometimes wonder,
"Am I next?"
Yet there is hope
That someday a cure may be found
And this infernal disease
Would not torment and kill any more.
As for me, I look forward to the day
When this becomes reality:
"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

Please feel free to pay tribute to your loved ones who have passed away from cancer by commenting below. Here are mine:

Patrick Schultz 1964-2011
Violet Kathriner 1930-1997
Esther Mae Klingelhoefer
Sylvester (Spencer) Klingelhoefer

Easter: it's not about the bunny

2011-04-24T12:17:00.000-05:00

It's not about the eggs, it's not about the candy, and it's not about the Easter Bunny. (Or the Easter Beagle, if you're a Charlie Brown fan.). It's also not about new clothes and presents. The word "Easter" derives from the old English word Eastre, which refers to Eostur-monath, a month of the Germanic calendar named after the goddess Eostre of Anglo-Saxon mythology. The correct name of Easter, in my mind, should be Resurrection Day.

What Easter is really all about is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave three days after he died on the cross. There are those who think that Easter is to celebrate spring's arrival. Why should we celebrate something that happens every year? Jesus was resurrected once and for all time. That's worth celebrating every year (and every day, for that matter)!

Jesus triumphed over death and the grave. Because He rose from the dead, sin and death have been defeated forever. The victory was His on that Resurrection Day. The victory is now ours as well, for Jesus' death on the cross saved us from our sins and His resurrection redeems us and justifies us.

Matthew 27:52-53 records that when Jesus rose from the grave, many of the saints rose from their graves and appeared to those in the city. We who believe in Christ will have our own Resurrection Day, since believers will be raised from the dead at the Rapture. Unbelievers will have a Resurrection Day at the second coming of Christ, and they will face God's judgment at the Bema Seat. Examine your heart right now and determine on which Resurrection Day you will be raised - the first or the second? If you determine that you'll be raised on the second Resurrection Day, and that concerns you, I urge you to pray for forgiveness from your sins and accept the sacrifice made on the cross for you. If you are unsure as to how to pray for forgiveness, click here for some assistance. And please comment below if you prayed for forgiveness and received Jesus as your Savior. I want to rejoice with you!

So today on this Resurrection Day, set your hearts and minds on the real reason to celebrate - the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Have a blessed day!

Your sister in Christ,

Diane

Seasons change

2011-02-17T21:51:00.000-06:00

Last Friday, I heard the news of a birth (the grandchild of a friend) and a death (the husband of one of my cousins). Life began for one soul and eternal life began for another soul, both on the same day.

Birth and death are just two of the chronological seasons we go through on our life's journey. There are also seasons of trials and tribulations - financial difficulties, health problems, relationship problems, job problems. Yet no matter what season we are in our lives, there is one constant - God. Jesus never changes - He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. (Hebrews 16:8) Those of us who have put our trust in Jesus as our Savior know that He is always with us, no matter what happens.

Knowing that God doesn't change and that He's always with us is a comfort. He's only a prayer away. When you look back at the trials and tribulations you've been through, you will realize that you've been the closest to God. Take a moment just now to thank God for being with you with through everything you've faced in your life, that He's with you right now and that He'll help you with what's yet to come.

That's all for now! See you again soon!

Diane

The only book you'll ever need

2011-02-03T21:51:00.000-06:00

I'm sure you've seen those "man on the street" interviews where the people are asked what book they would want with them if they were stranded on a deserted island. Some people would select Les Miserables, Gone with the Wind or War and Peace, since those are long novels and they would keep you occupied for awhile. Other people would select a book that would help them survive on the island, such as the Boy Scout handbook. Still others would select books such as romance novels or adventure novels that would help them take their minds off the fact that they are on a deserted island.

There is only one book that I would take on a deserted island. It has a little of everything. It has romance, adventure, wisdom and epic battles. It tells how things began and how it all will end. It even tells what will happen in the future. It has poetry and stories. It was written by several different authors, but they were inspired in their writing by one person.

Yes, you guessed it - the book I would want on a deserted island is the Bible. I'll break out the paragraph above and show you where you can find these various things in the Bible:

Romance - Song of Solomon, Ruth and Boaz
Adventure - Exodus (Israel leaving Egypt on a 40 year journey through the wilderness); Jonah in the belly of the whale
Wisdom - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
Epic battles - Joshua and the battle of Jericho; the Egyptians at the Red Sea; David and his mighty men battling King Saul
How things began - Genesis
How things will end - Revelation
Things in the future - Daniel, the prophets, 2 Peter 2, 3
Poetry - Psalms, Moses and Miriam's song of triumph, Mary's song of praise (the Magnificat)
Stories - Jesus' parables
This is just a short list; I'm sure there is much more in the Bible in these categories than I have listed here.

For the last several years, I have read the Bible all the way through from beginning to end. I am now a member of two Bible study groups: a ladies' Bible study group and an inductive Bible study group. I am learning so much more about the Bible and what is in it than I ever saw before. There is so much in the Bible to be mined that one could never find everything that God has hidden in it.

The greatest romance of all is the one between God and His chosen people Israel, and Jesus and the Church, His Bride. These love stories will never end.

Well, that's all for now - it's time for my evening Bible study. The ladies' Bible study is in Exodus right now. See you again soon!

Diane

P.S.: I welcome comments - just keep them clean, or I won't publish them. Thanks!

Light bright

2011-01-26T22:17:00.000-06:00

My husband wakes up at 4:30 a.m. to get ready for work. He turns on the lamp on the dresser so he can see to get dressed. I instinctively roll over away from the light so that it doesn't wake me up, because I'm not due to get up for another hour.

Light illuminates. Light helps us to see in the dark - a flashlight, a candle or a streetlight. Light attracts us to things - like a neon sign on a building, or like the mosquito to the bug light. Light is also used for medicinal purposes, like for the baby with jaundice or for people suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder.

In John 8:12, Jesus proclaims that He is the light of the world. And just like I roll over away from the lamp at 4:30 a.m., people turn away from Jesus' light. The light of Jesus exposes them for what they really are - sinners. Jesus' light floods the darkness in their souls. Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:19-20: "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed."

Jesus' light is the only light that can cleanse the soul of its darkness. But Jesus' light is not scary; it's warm and loving. Jesus' blood covers all sins, and His light transforms us and makes us new creations. Oh friend, do not be frightened of Jesus' light. It may shine into the dark corners of your soul and expose your deepest sins and dark desires, but Jesus longs to shine the light of His salvation into you and save you. He longs to use His light to remove the darkness from your soul. If you haven't put your trust in Jesus for the salvation of your soul, you can do that right now. All you have to do is tell Jesus that you're sorry for all the sins you've committed, ask Him to flood your dark soul with His light, and tell Him that you're going to live for Him for the rest of your life. Then He will come and live in your soul, and make you a new creation in Him.

That's all for tonight. See you again soon!

Diane

Help wanted

2011-01-16T14:58:00.000-06:00

Job requirements:

Born again believer in Jesus
A heart for the lost
Knowledge that God is with you no matter what
Knowledge of the Gospel
Boldness

Compensation: None on Earth, but a "well done, faithful servant" from the Savior in Heaven.

Did you know that Jesus has a job for us to do? That is, in addition to reading our Bibles, living by His laws, worshiping Him and serving others? Our job is to go out and spread the Gospel to the world. It's more commonly known as the Great Commission. It can be found in Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV translation throughout):

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

Now some would argue that the Great Commission was only for the disciples, but if that were the case, the Christian faith would have died out after the disciples' converts died. Paul said in Romans 10:14-15, 17: "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'. . . So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."

In order for the lost to hear about Jesus, someone has to tell them. Jesus has commanded it. Paul reiterates it. It's up to us to do it. So how do we tell the lost about Jesus? Some people use tracts. Other people use the Way of the Master method and are street evangelists. Some people strike up conversations with co-workers or strangers on the bus.

"But Diane," you say (maybe even whining), "I don't want to go to the jungle to evangelize the natives." Not all of us are called to do that. There are other mission fields, and lots of them are close to home. Your own family can be your mission field. My own husband is not yet saved. My teenage son is saved, but he's a backslider. None of my in-laws are born-again Christians. You may live in a neighborhood where you are the only Christian. Befriend your neighbors and share the Gospel with them. Invite them to church on Sunday morning or to a special event at your church.

So pray to the Lord to show you what you can do to spread the Gospel. It's our job to do it. Pray for courage and boldness to spread the Gospel. And after you've spread the Good News, post your results in a comment so everyone can see it and rejoice.

Thanks for reading! See you again soon!

Diane

Does anyone know what Christmas is all about?

2010-12-20T22:03:00.002-06:00

That's Charlie Brown's question to the cast of the Christmas play he's directing. Linus Van Pelt is the only one who gives the answer to Charlie Brown's question, which you will see later. Let's start by taking a look at what Christmas is not.

Christmas is not about Christmas trees covered in ornaments and lights. Christmas is not about expensive presents and gifts. Christmas is not about Santa Claus and all his reindeer. Christmas is not about eating lots of food and drinking oneself silly. Christmas is not about lights and decorations.

So what is Christmas about, you ask? Christmas is about the greatest miracle of all - God Himself coming to Earth in human form, to live among the humans He created. The greatest gift of all is God giving Jesus to us. Jesus came to Earth as a baby - the tiniest, most fragile type of human. He was born in the humblest of circumstances, sharing living quarters with common animals. His bed was a feeding trough lined with hay. He was not born in the big city of Jerusalem, but in the small town of Bethlehem, as was prophesied. There was no big announcement celebrating His birth, just a visitation by the angels to some shepherds keeping watch over their sheep at night. One of the many names of Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and how appropriate that the first people to visit Him in the manger were shepherds themselves.

Speaking of the angels and the shepherds, let's watch Linus's answer to Charlie Brown:

Friend, if you are reading this and you have not yet repented of your sins and turned your heart and your life over to Jesus Christ, I implore you to do so as soon as possible. Tomorrow is not promised to us; indeed, your next breath may very well be your last. I pray you make the most important decision of your life for Jesus Christ. If you do, this may be the most happy Christmas you ever have!

Thanks for reading! Have a blessed Christmas!

Diane

Window dressing

2010-11-03T20:51:00.000-05:00

Do you attend one of those churches where the women wear designer clothes and carry designer purses? Do you feel uncomfortable with it, like I do? Does it make you feel like you're inferior since you don't have designer clothes and/or an expensive purse?

If you wear designer clothes and carry an expensive purse to church, think about what kind of message you're sending to someone who is visiting your church for the first time. Are you implying that if they don't dress like you do that they won't be welcome in your church?

God looks at the interior, not the exterior. What's in your heart is more important than what you wear or the purse you carry. In 1 Samuel 16:7(b), the Lord says to Samuel, "For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

A humble, God-fearing spirit is more attractive and more important than fancy clothes, fancy hairdos and jewelry or an expensive purse. In 1 Peter 3:3-4, Peter says: "Do not let your adornment be merely outward - arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God." In 1 Timothy 2:9, Paul also speaks to this issue. He says: ". . .in like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. . ." For those who think they need to dress better than they normally do as a sign of respect to God, that's fine too, but you can pull it off without the designer clothes and the expensive purse. Jesus didn't wear Birkenstocks, just regular sandals, and He didn't have a place to lay His head.

There is a difference between dressing modestly and nicely and dressing ostentatiously. The former is pleasing to God, while the latter is showing off. God is not impressed by fancy clothing. It reminds me of the Laodiceans in the book of Revelations. They acted and dressed like they were better than everyone else too. But hear what Jesus says to the Laodiceans: "Because you say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing' - and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked - I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see."

If God has blessed you with wealth, you should share it with others in need. Instead of paying $200.00 for a Coach purse, perhaps you could spend $20.00 for a Kmart purse and donate the rest to your church or to a charity. Purses break and wear out, but good deeds performed for others in need will buy you rewards in Heaven, which is much more important. In 1 Timothy 6:18-19, Paul says, "Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life."

That's all for now. See you soon!

Diane

This ain't no party, this ain't no disco, this ain't no fooling around

2010-10-29T22:20:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard someone say when they're asked where they're going when they die, "I'm going to Hell. All my friends will be there and it'll be a great party!"? Dude (or dudette), your friends may all be there, but it ain't gonna be no party. Let's take a look at what Hell is really like.

Hell is described as a place with everlasting fire (Matthew 25:41)and unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12); a place of torment (Luke 16:23, 2 Thes. 1:9); and a place where there is a lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). Hell is a place of fire and brimstone (Revelation 14:10). People in Hell are tormented with fire (Revelation 14:10) forever and ever (Revelation 14:11). They are punished eternally (Matthew 25:45). Doesn't sound like a very fun place to spend eternity, does it?

There is only one way to avoid going to Hell when you die, and that is to repent of your sins and receive Jesus Christ into your heart as your Savior. When you repent of your sins and ask Jesus to live in your heart, His Holy Spirit will come and live inside you and change you. You won't change externally, but internally you will be a new creation in Christ Jesus. You will have a personal relationship with Jesus. Friend, I urge you today to turn your heart and your life over to Jesus. You won't regret it. The only time it's too late to avoid going to Hell is after you take your last breath. I look forward to meeting you in Heaven!

That's all for now! Thanks for reading! See you again soon!

Diane

When the music fades . . .

2010-10-03T15:31:00.004-05:00

>
I'm coming back to the heart of worship,
And it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus.
I'm sorry, Lord, for the thing I've made it,
And it's all about you, it's all about you, Jesus.

The refrain above is from a worship song called "The Heart of Worship" by Matt Redman. You can read the rest of the lyrics here. The Lord brought this song to mind when I woke up one day last week. I thought about the song for few minutes and realized why the Lord called my attention to it. The Lord was trying to tell me that worship should be simple.

Worship music shouldn't be performed like a Broadway production, on a big stage with fancy lights, stage decorations, fog machines, Power Point lyric slide shows with fancy backgrounds, a big choir, and lots of musical instruments. All those things are distracting to what really matters, which is praising the Lord with my whole heart, thanking Him for who He is and what He's done for me, and thanking Him for what he's going to do.

My family has been attending a non-denominational charismatic church for the past 5 years and their way of doing worship is just like the first line of the paragraph above. I was a member of that big choir for over 4 years until the summer of 2009 when the Lord told me I was burned out and I needed to take the summer off, so I did. At the end of the summer, I asked the Lord if I should go back to choir and He again told me no. I really haven't missed it at all. Choir took a lot of my time and my family was really getting annoyed at the time I was spending away from them.

I have been attending Sunday evening services at a local Calvary Chapel for the last few weeks (I've been trying to get my husband to switch to Calvary Chapel, but he's not ready yet. Prayers would be appreciated.) Worship is led by the pastor's wife, who sings and plays keyboard. Last Sunday, there were bongo drums accompanying the keyboard. There is no Power Point slide show, just a couple of printed lyric sheets. Since I already know most of the songs, I can just close my eyes and commune with the Lord while I'm singing. It has been so refreshing just to sit and simply sing while the keyboard plays, with no other distractions.

Not only should we make sure the surroundings of worship are not distracting, we should also look at the lyrics of the songs we are singing in worship. There are songs by Christian artists that may be perfectly good songs, but they are not worship songs. There are so-called worship songs that are what I call "cheerleader" songs – there is a fast beat that the singers jump up and down to and the songs have "feel-good" lyrics. These songs do not praise Jesus.

Worship is not just songs or surroundings, but an attitude of the heart. Matt Redman nails this in the bridge of "The Heart of Worship":

I'll bring you more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

Paul writes in Ephesians 5:18b-20: ". . . but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." Now there's a recipe for true worship.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading! See you again soon!

Diane

Knock 3 times

2010-09-24T20:03:00.000-05:00

On the CBS TV show The Big Bang Theory, Jim Parsons' character Sheldon Cooper has an annoying way of getting his neighbor Penny to answer the door. He stands at her door and says, "Penny." (knock knock knock) "Penny." (knock knock knock) "Penny." (knock knock knock). Penny finally gets tired of Sheldon knocking and opens the door. His persistence gets Sheldon into Penny's apartment.

In Luke 11:5-8, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent friend who by continually knocking at his neighbor's door in the middle of the night, persuade him to get up and give him the loaves of bread that he needs to give to his visitor. In Luke 18:1-5, Jesus tells the parable of the widow who hounds a judge to get her justice from her adversary and he finally does, because he is weary of her persistence. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7, ""Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

This has an application for us in our prayer life. We are to be persistent in prayer. We need to keep praying until we get an answer to our prayers, whether the answer is "yes," "no," or "not now." Hebrews 4:16 states "Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." So we should be bold and persistent in prayer. That shows God that we really want what we're praying for. I looked at my prayer journal this morning and I saw the date that I started it,which was 10/25/09. There are still lots of needs that I'm still praying for, and I will keep praying until my prayers are answered or I leave in the Rapture, whichever comes first.

That's all for now. See you again soon!

Diane

Prime choice

2010-09-21T11:17:00.000-05:00

Did you ever stop to consider that your life is filled with choices? Everything that happens in your life is a result of a choice you have made, with the exception of being born (someone else's choice), paying taxes (the government's choice) or dying (God's choice, unless it's suicide - then it's your choice).

Every day starts with a choice - should I get out of bed when the alarm rings or call in sick to work? Or should I hit the buzzer and sleep five more minutes? You then decide what to have for breakfast, what to wear to work, etc. Even if you're doing nothing, you have made a choice - you could be doing something.

Some choices are easy. "Should I have eggs or cereal for breakfast?" "Should I buy this car or that one?" Some choices are hard. "Who should I marry?" "Should I have children?" "Should I take my loved one off of life support?"

There is one choice that is the most important of all - where you will spend eternity. Where will you go when you die? There are two choices here - you can go to Heaven when you die, or you can go to Hell. There is no purgatory or in-between.

So if you have decided that you want to go to Heaven when you die, there's only one way to get there - through belief in Jesus Christ as your Savior. You have to repent of your sins and ask Jesus into your heart and let Him rule over your life. Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

If you don't make a decision about where you want to spend your eternity, you have made a choice - you will go to Hell. If you have not yet made the choice to repent of your sins and ask Jesus to live in your heart, I pray that you do so soon and not put it off. As reflected in some of my other posts on this blog, you never know when your time on Earth will be up. You will then wish for all eternity that you had made the right choice.

That's all for now! Thanks for reading!

Diane

8 days a week

2010-07-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

There are those Christians who only think about Jesus one hour a week, during worship. They do whatever they want the other 167 hours of the week. They seldom read their Bibles, they don't pray, and they don't live the way that Jesus would have us live. Even worse are those who only attend church on Christmas or Easter, and ignore Jesus the rest of the year.

But that's not how Jesus wants us to live. He wants us to have a relationship with Him. To have a relationship with someone means that we spend time with them. We talk to the other person. We try to learn all we can about the other person so we know them more and love them even more. We want the other person to be pleased with us.

I'm sure Jesus is grieved when Christians spend only an hour a week in His presence, when they don't read and study His Word, or when they don't spend time in prayer. He loves them and wants to be their Friend. He misses them when they don't spend time with Him.

Take a close look at your relationship with Jesus. Are you as close to Him as you could be? Do you spend time in His presence - praying to Him, reading His Word? Do you live your life so that He would approve of it? He wants us to live by the rules He has written in his Word. And when we fail, (as we sometimes do), He forgives us and our relationship with Him is restored.

The Beatles once sang: "Eight days a week is not enough to show I care." There isn't enough earthly time to tell Jesus how much we love Him, how grateful we are that He died on the Cross for our sins and that we're saved. However, we will have all eternity in Heaven to praise Him and show our love to Him. I can't wait - can you?

Diane

Dark clouds

2010-06-24T22:23:00.001-05:00

I was reading in 1 Kings 8 a couple weeks ago and discovered verse 12: "Then Solomon spoke: The LORD said He would dwell in the dark cloud.'" Then I thought about where else in Scripture the Lord is referred to as living in the dark cloud. Exodus 20:21 (NLT) reads: "As the people stood in the distance, Moses approached the dark cloud where God was."

Are there dark clouds in your life, dear friend? Are you depressed or anxious? Do you have health problems? Do you have financial problems? Are you unemployed? Have you lost loved ones through death, divorce, or estrangement?

God is with you in these dark clouds as well. In Isaiah 41:10 (NKJV), it says: "Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." I also love Isaiah 43:2 (NKJV), which reads: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you."

This song by Mandisa says it all - "He is With You."

God loves you, so don't be afraid to reach out to Him in prayer for whatever situation you find yourself in. He will help you through it. I know from personal experience.

That's all for now! My son is at Boy Scout camp next week, so I hope to be able to post more. See you soon!

Diane

Paging the Ambassador

2010-06-01T22:03:00.000-05:00

I was reading the other day in 2 Corinthians, and verse 20 in chapter 5 really caught my eye and got me thinking. It reads: "Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God." (NKJV). The New Living Translation reads even better: "So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, 'Come back to God!'”

So what exactly is an ambassador? I looked it up at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary website and definition 2 A fits the above verse perfectly. The definition is: "an authorized representative or messenger." Only a Christian can be an ambassador for Christ. A non-believer in Christ does not qualify.

Definition number 1 listed for ambassador on the Merriam-Webster listing gives the definition of an ambassador in civil or governmental terms: "an official envoy; especially : a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment." The difference in our ambassadorship for Christ is that our diplomatic assignment is permanent, unless we backslide and move away from Christ.

Philippians 3:20 states that our citizenship is in Heaven. "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. ." We are ambassadors of heaven, and the King we represent is Jesus. So both Merriam-Webster definitions of "ambassador" fit.

So how do we become good ambassadors? Let's look at some Scriptures. Colossians 3:12-17 (NLT) says: "Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." (emphasis added)

By putting on Christ in our daily actions and words, we are His ambassadors - or representatives - in the world. Colossians 4:5-6 further states: "Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone." We are called to be ambassadors of Christ to not only our fellow Christians, but unbelievers as well. It is said that we are often the only Jesus that some folks see. So take a look at your attitude and demeanor and purpose to show to the world and to fellow Christians that you are an ambassador of Christ.

Mother's Day

2010-05-10T19:44:00.000-05:00

As I stand by the graveside
I wonder what she would have looked like today
If she were still alive.

Would her hair be completely white?
Would her hair have been short?
Or maybe she would have had a perm in it.

Would her face have shown the lines of time?
Would her neck sag?
Would she still be fat and sassy?
Or would she be skinny
With atrophied muscles?

Would her mind still remember things?
Or would she have lost her memories
Of days gone by and loved ones
Lost to the sands of time?

Would she still have been able to walk?
Or would she have to use a walker or cane,
Or be confined to a wheelchair
And allowing the wheels to be her legs.

Would she still call me on the phone
And demand that I come see her
Or take her out to lunch?

Alas, I will never know these things,
As she was only 66 when she passed away.
Taken by a returning cancer,
I prayed that if it were her time to go
That she would go quickly and not suffer too much or too long.
My prayer was answered.

As I stand by the graveside now
I wonder what my children think about me.
Do they love me? They have a funny way of showing it.
Will they in years to come
Remember me as the mother

Who did the best she could to raise them right?
Will they think of me as beautiful?
Worthy of their love and affection?
Only time will tell.

7 is a serious number

2010-05-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

I was reading in 2 Kings the other day about how it took Solomon 7 years to build the Temple in Jerusalem. Given today's building techniques, it would probably only take about 7 months! I then began to realize that the number 7 is seen many times in Scripture.

Many sources claim that 7 is the number of perfection, and since God is perfect, 7 is His number. Let's take a look at some of the many places that the number 7 is found in the Bible.

In the book of Genesis, we read that God created the earth in 7 days. (Genesis 1) In Genesis 4:15, the Lord decrees that anyone who kills Cain will be punished sevenfold. In Genesis 7:2, Noah is commanded to take seven of every clean animal into the ark. Noah also sent out the dove in 7 day intervals. (Genesis 8:10 and 8:12) There is also the 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine in Egypt, which Joseph interpreted from Pharoah's dream. (Genesis 41)

In the book of Exodus, the feast of Passover occurs for 7 days. (Exodus 13:3-10) The first reference to a week being 7 days is also found in Exodus, along with the pattern for the distribution and use of manna. (Exodus 16)

In Leviticus 25, the land was to be fallow during the seventh year, so the land could have a Sabbath rest. After seven 7 year cycles (7 X 7) there was then a year of Jubilee in the 50th year.

In Joshua 6, the walls of Jericho fell on the seventh day after the Israelites marched around the city seven times.

The book of Proverbs gives us two examples of the number 7. Proverbs 6:16-19 lists the 7 things that are detestable to the Lord, and Proverbs 9:1 lists the 7 pillars of the House of Wisdom.

Daniel's prophecies about the end times are built on the number 7 and multiples of 7.

There are many more references to the number 7 in the Old Testament, but now I'll move on to the New Testament, which also contains many mentions of the number 7. In Matthew 15:32-37, Jesus took 7 loaves of bread and multiplied it, and there were 7 baskets of leftover bread. In Matthew 18:22, Jesus says that we should forgive others not just 7 times, but 70 X 7.

In Acts 6:3-6, 7 men of honest report who were filled with the Holy Spirit and with wisdom were appointed to distribute the food to the widows. In Revelation, we find references to the number 7 all through the book - the 7 churches of Asia, the 7 golden lampstands, the 7 spirits of God, the scroll with 7 seals, the 7 trumpets, the 7 angels with the 7 golden bowls with the plagues, and the 7 thunders.

There are many more references to the number 7 in the Bible and in Christian and Jewish tradition that I didn't even mention. I don't want to do all your Bible research for you! LOL!

Isaac Newton discovered that there were 7 colors in the rainbow, and since God created the rainbow, wouldn't you just know it would stand as a symbol of His perfection?

Full disclosure: I adapted most of the above from the Wikipedia listing for the number 7, which you can find here. I also used BibleGateway.com for research into where the number 7 appeared in Scripture.

Thanks for reading! Until next time -

God bless!

Diane

P.S.: For those of you curious about the title, I borrowed it too. The St. Louis area Mobil gas stations have a promotion where if the St. Louis Cardinals score 6 or more runs in a game, you can purchase a soft drink, a coffee, or a frozen drink for 25 cents the next day. That promotion is entitled "6 is a Serious Number," hence my "7 is a serious number" title.

What's so good about Good Friday?

2010-04-02T18:33:00.001-05:00

It sure wasn't a good Friday for Jesus. He had a crown of thorns forced upon His head, and was scourged with a whip. He was mercilessly interrogated by the religious leaders and condemned by those He came to save. He was forced to carry His cross through the streets of Jerusalem after being beaten. He was nailed to a cross, and His clothes were distributed to uncouth Roman soldiers by a game of chance. He died a painful and horrible death.

But it was a good Friday for us. Because Jesus died on the cross, our sins are forgiven and we have eternal life.

In the Old Testament, animals were sacrificed so sins could be forgiven. In the book of Genesis, the Lord told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, Issac. The Lord was testing Abraham's faith, but Abraham obeyed. As Abraham and Isaac was going to Mount Moriah, Isaac asked where the lamb was for the sacrifice. Abraham said that the Lord would provide a substitute, Abraham took Isaac, bound him, and place him on the altar. As Abraham was about to slay Isaac, the Lord told him no. He provided a substitute - a ram was caught in the thicket. The Scripture state that the punishment for sin is death. Jesus became our substitute when He died on the cross.

Passover is a holiday celebrated by the Jewish people to remember how the Lord delivered Israel from the Egyptians. A lamb is killed for the Passover meal. Jesus became the Passover lamb for us when He died on the cross. His blood was shed so that we would be passed over from the punishment of sin.

I am sorrowful when I meditate on Jesus' death on the cross. It saddens me that He had to die in such a painful way so that I could be forgiven. It was because of me - and you - and you too - that He had to die in our place. Yet Jesus knew that it was His Father's plan before the beginning of the world that He had to die, even though His human side pleaded with God that He wouldn't have to die such a painful death. When I think about Jesus's death, it makes me want to be more like Him, so that His sacrificial death would not be in vain. I am ever so grateful that He died for me.

Friend, is Jesus your Savior? Have you asked Him to forgive your sins and live in your heart? Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart and is waiting for you to let Him in. All you have to do is pray a simple prayer, like this:

Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I repent of my sins and I ask you to come into my heart and live there forever. Thank you for dying on the cross to save me from my sins. Lord, help lead me and guide me for the rest of my days.

Now that you've said that prayer, your life has been changed forever! You are now a child of God! Please post a comment and tell me all about it!

That's all for now. See you next time!

Diane

Castaway all

2010-03-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

“Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)

While I was in prayer one morning, the Lord impressed on me this verse. He even told me that it was in 1 Peter, and I skimmed through 1 Peter but couldn’t find it, and I even skimmed 2 Peter, but still couldn’t find it. So I went to my Bible’s concordance, and the verse was in 1 Peter all along! God is so amazing! David also spoke of casting his cares upon the Lord. In Psalm 55:22 (NKJV), David wrote, “Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

“Casting” is a fisherman’s term, and so appropriate since Peter was once a fisherman by trade (before he became a fisher of men, that is). Then and now, fishermen cast their nets into the water to catch fish. Casting is a word that means to throw. In the same way, we are to cast, or throw, all our cares on Jesus. Not only is He our Savior, He is our Friend. A friend cares about what another friend is going through. A friend listens to us when we tell them about our troubles and tries to help us the best way they can. Jesus is there for us whenever we need Him – He is but a prayer away.

When we cast our cares upon Jesus, we are to leave our cares with Him. It’s easy to cry to Jesus about all our troubles. But remembering to leave our cares and burdens with Him as we go about our daily business is the hardest part. Only if He brings them to our attention another time are we to think on them again that particular day. I pray every morning. I have a list of people that I pray for, and prayers concerns for those particular people. I have to remember however, that once prayer time is done, I need to leave my concerns and cares with Jesus for Him to take care of. This doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be persistent in prayer. We are to keep praying for a situation or person until our prayer is answered.

So remember when times are tough and it seems like you’re at the end of your rope, Jesus loves you and is ready for you to cast your cares upon Him. He’s waiting for you right now. Open your heart up to Him and tell Him about your concerns.

That’s all for now. See you again soon!

Diane

Wherefore art thou, Spring?

2010-02-23T21:40:00.000-06:00

Although February has only 28 days (and some years, 29),

The month feels twice as long

Thanks to dreary, cold days

Sometimes punctuated with ice and snow.

The fourteenth of the month is a lover’s holiday

But for those not in love, it is a lonely day.

And on the second day, Punxsutawney Phil,

That prognosticator of spring,

Had the nerve to see his shadow once again,

Cursing us with six more weeks of winter.

But my soul longs for Spring,

For warm sunshine on my upturned face,

Bright green grass springing up from the cold, hard ground,

And tulips and daffodils waving brightly in the gentle breeze.

My heart longs for blue skies instead of gray,

With puffy white clouds breaking up the blue.

Leaf buds on barren branches,

Signal the promise of leaves yet to come.

Birds trill their joyful songs

And build their nests in the tall tree tops.

My body longs for warmer temperatures,

So I can put away my winter coat

And wear a light jacket, or if it’s warm enough,

No jacket at all,

So I can enjoy the breeze.

Spring brings new hope and new life

From the cold and barren winter.

O calendar! Make short work of these last few weeks of winter

And bring me my heart’s desire of Spring!

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives

2010-02-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

Reading about the stories here and here made me think a bit more about the last paragraph of my last post. I felt those sentiments deserved some expansion.

Did that mother and those two children wake up that Saturday morning and know they were going to be dead by the end of the day? Or those two men who were in that plane - did they think that would never see their loved ones again? And on a bigger scale, on 9/11, those who worked in the Twin Towers or in the Pentagon, or who were passengers on those airplanes didn't know that they wouldn't be coming home that evening. It was just an ordinary day for them.

Do any of us really know if we're going to wake up tomorrow morning? Will we be killed in an accident? Or be murdered? Or this country may even be attacked by an nuclear weapon. Or the Rapture may occur and your loved ones who believe in Christ will vanish, leaving you behind. These events that I just mentioned can happen so quickly that there is not even time to blink.

If God decided that my days on Earth would be over, I have no fear. I am ready to go whenever the Lord feels my time here on Earth has been completed because I believe in Jesus and if I died, I would be in Heaven. I have confidence that should my life be over, I would not be lost for eternity.

Dear friend, if you have not yet repented of your sins and asked Jesus to be the Savior of your soul and of your life, I implore you to do so today. If you need assistance, I would be more than happy to guide you. Please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I will contact you. Don't hesitate - tomorrow may be too late.

Every day is a good day

2010-02-13T12:47:00.000-06:00

My husband gave me a necklace for Christmas with a pendant attached that reads, “Each day is a gift from God.” Not only is the messsage food for thought, but it’s amazing I got a necklace at all – it wasn’t even on my Christmas list! If you want to see the necklace, post a comment and I'll post a photo of it. Until then, I found a journal (see below) with this title.

God is the creator of time. He created the sun and the moon so there would be day and night. The Bible also mentions months and years. Each day is 24 hours long. Assuming that you sleep 8 hours every night, that leaves 16 hours for you to make a difference with.

This gift of today (and every day) from God is something that we can’t return to the store to get what we really want, or regift it to someone else. It is ours alone, and it is our choice as to what to do with it. So now that we realize that this day is a gift from God, what will you do with it? Will you spend the day helping others? Will you spend the day working? Instead of wasting the day doing nothing, you could help spread the Gospel. Or you could spend quality time with your family. The choice is yours.

Only God Himself determines how many days we will live. Someday, your days on Earth will be over and God will come to call you home. When that happens, will you have made the most of the days He has given you? When you see God, what will you tell Him about how you spent the days that He gave you?

WWJT? (What Would Jesus Tweet?)

2010-01-25T20:30:00.000-06:00

If Jesus came to Earth today and lived among us, how do you think he would use today's technology to present the Gospel? Would He have a web site - maybe named jesuschrist.com? Would you be able to follow Him on Twitter? Would Jesus share His parables via blog posts? Would He friend you on Facebook? Would Jesus put His prophecies on His Facebook wall? Instead of praying to Jesus, would you be able to send Him an e-mail? Would He have a YouTube channel?

In Daniel 12:4, the man clothed in linen (most likely an angel) says to Daniel: "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase." Without a big increase in knowledge, we wouldn't even have computers, and without some brainy person inventing it, I wouldn't be even able to make this blog post, let alone put it out on the Internet for the whole world to see.

The Internet is a great place to share the Gospel. There are folks who might not ever pick up a book or know to look for a church. But they know their way around the Internet, and they know how to search to find what they're looking for. We are Jesus' hands and feet on Earth. Since this technology is available to us, we should use it to the best of our ability to spread the Gospel.

Because of TV, people have short attention spans. People don't have the patience to sit through long sermons or books any more, even if it's a subject that interests them. So how do we use this technology to spread the Good News? This blog is a great example. Even though I have some poetry on here, there are a lot of posts that are Christian in nature. I pray that these posts would help folks understand the Bible and faith better. If you're on Twitter, you can tweet Bible verses. Start a YouTube channel of videos of Bible based pastors and good Christian music. Or you can set up a web site. Use your imagination!

Thanks for reading! Have a great evening!

Diane

Citygarden in Summer

2010-01-22T21:52:00.000-06:00

I wrote the poem below for a poetry contest. I thought you all might enjoy it. For more information on Citygarden, click here.

Citygarden in Summer

An oasis of green
In the midst of hot concrete sidewalks
And tall, imposing skyscrapers.
A place to cool off physically and emotionally
From the oppressive heat of the St. Louis summer.
The sculptures stand stoically, inviting viewing and discussion.
Tourists shoot photos of their children with the white bunnies.
Children frolic in the fountains
And wade in the reflecting pool.
Workers sit on the snakelike benches
And enjoy the scenery while eating their lunches.
Children and adults as well
Make melodies by dancing on the shiny square chimes.
Beautiful flowers, towering trees and bushy shrubs
Help make Citygarden an oasis of green in the hot city.

Thanks for reading!

Diane

In the storms of life

2010-01-11T21:23:00.002-06:00

Tonight's post is on Matthew 8:23-27 (NKJV).

²³ Now when He got into a boat, His disciples followed Him. ²⁴ And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. ²⁵ Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
²⁶ But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. ²⁷ So the men marveled, saying, “Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

When we make the decision to receive Jesus as our Savior, we "get into the boat" with Him. We set off from the shores of our old lives to go on a faith journey with God.

At first, it's smooth sailing. The seas of our faith journey are placid and the waves are gentle. But then storms come in our lives - job troubles, financial troubles, health problems, personal problems. We feel like the boat of our life is being swamped. Like the disciples, we cry out to God for help, but it seems like God's sleeping when He doesn't respond right away or He responds in a way we don't expect or want.

We are fearful of the outcome of our difficulties. We want our will to be done and not God's. That's when our faith needs to be stronger. We need to spend more time in prayer with God, to hear His voice and listen to His guidance.

Eventually, life's storms end. The seas calm once again. We look back at the storm we have gone through and see that God has been there through it with us through it all. And then we look ahead to the journey we have ahead of us and know that no matter what happens, God will be with us. We can praise Him during and after the storm.

This post reminds me of the old hymn, "Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me." Here are a couple of the verses (courtesy of Cyberhymnal.org):

Jesus, Savior, pilot me
Over life’s tempestuous sea;
Unknown waves before me roll,
Hiding rock and treacherous shoal.
Chart and compass come from Thee;
Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When the darkling heavens frown,
And the wrathful winds come down,
And the fierce waves, tossed on high,
Lash themselves against the sky,
Jesus, Savior, pilot me,
Over life’s tempestuous sea.

I'm going through some rough seas myself right now. I'm having difficulties at my job - I'm being falsely accused of stuff I didn't do, and I got good reviews but no raise. I'm having health difficulties as well - see the post below for details on that. I guess I need to follow my own advice, huh? I need to press in more in prayer.

Thanks for reading! See you again soon!

Diane

The six words that strike fear into every woman's heart

2009-12-29T18:31:00.004-06:00

The six words are not "I'm leaving you for another woman." (Although I have heard the words "I'm leaving you for a man," but I got through that with God's help.) The six words that strike fear into every woman's heart are "We saw something on your mammogram."

I heard those six fearful words myself on December 23. (Two days before Christmas - what crummy timing!) My 13 year old son and I were out Christmas shopping that day and when we returned home, there was a message on the answering machine from a nurse at the hospital, requesting that I return her call. I knew that the news would not be good, because they only call if the news is bad. The nurse told me that the mammogram revealed an asymmetrical patch of dense tissue on my left breast above the nipple. I am scheduled for a diagnostic mammogram and an ultrasound of my left breast on January 15. My GYN told me that these are benign more likely than not. Some comfort.

I cried for the next half hour after I hung up the phone. My son (a/k/a Mr. Insensitive) said, "Are you done being sad now?" :rolleyes My mother died of metastatic breast cancer in 1997, which means I have a 50% risk of getting breast cancer. Because of my family history, I had a baseline mammogram at age 35 and have had a mammogram every year I turned 40 (I am now 48).

I started prayer threads for myself on 2 Christian message boards, and I have other friends praying for me as well. I am trying not to let fear get the best of me. Whatever happens, I pray the Lord uses it for His glory. If I do have cancer and it is caught early enough, I have a very good chance of survival. I feel the power of prayer as my fear seems to be easing.

I'm not writing this blog post for you to feel sorry for me. I would like to urge you, however, if you are a woman over the age of 40 (or know someone who is), make sure that you get an annual mammogram. There is a widget below that you can click on to help contribute to the American Cancer Society.

Thanks for reading! See you again soon!

Diane

Stressmas, Stressmas time is here

2009-12-13T11:02:00.002-06:00

The Christmas season is in full swing now, with only 12 days until Christmas - and I haven't sent out my Christmas cards yet! Or completed my Christmas shopping! Yikes!

Christmas season can certainly be stressful. We have a tendency to overextend ourselves during the season, both financially and with our schedules. There are too many events on our calendars - band concert one night, work Christmas party another night, caroling another night, etc. Our Christmas gift lists seem to get longer every year, and we spend more time and money to buy the perfect gift for each person on our list. We don't seem to have enough time to do what we think needs to be done.

There are other kinds of stress during the Christmas season. Some families are having financial stress. They can't even pay their regular bills, so Christmas presents are out of the question. There are families with loved ones who are sick. And there are families who are missing a loved one, either through death or through absence.

But there is a way out of the stress cycle that the Christmas season can put us in. In A Charlie Brown Christmas, an exasperated Charlie Brown asks if anyone knows what Christmas is all about. Linus Van Pelt then quotes the following from Luke 2: "Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'” Then Linus turns to Charlie Brown and says, "That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown." That young man was wise beyond his years, even if he did have a security blanket.

Christmas is not about fancy trees, lots of presents, fancy decorations, cookies, or good food. Christmas is all about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to earth to save us from our sins. In the grand scheme of things, the most important thing about Christmas (and indeed, all of life) is Jesus. Make some time out of your busy schedule to spend time with Him. Spend time with Him in church, of course, but also in your life. When stress threatens to envelope you, remember these words He said: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." In the end, it's not important how many presents you buy, or what kind food you serve, or what your Christmas decorations look like. What's most important is that we celebrate that Jesus came down to earth in a frail human form to live among us. The rest of the stuff is just, well, stuff.

That's all for now! Have a great day!

Diane

Birthday

2009-11-18T18:10:00.003-06:00

They say it's my birthday
One year farther away from youth
One year closer to death

I look in the mirror and see
More gray hair
More wrinkles
More belly fat
I mourn my lost youth.
I pray I will not look like my mother
The older I get.

My life is more than half over now
What have I done? Who have I been?
Is there time to do more, to be more?
Can the rest of my life
Be better than what came before?
Do I still have a chance to follow my dreams?

I long for heaven
Where I will be eternally young
Where looks won't matter
Where age won't matter
There will be no more birthdays
Just time eternal
And I will be free.

Tears like rain

2009-11-16T22:00:00.002-06:00

When my daughter was little
And scared of storms
I told her that when the thunder sounded
The angels were bowling
And when lightning hit
An angel got a strike

But when it's raining without the storm
What then?

I think Jesus is crying,
Crying for all the lost,
Crying for the ones who knew Him but turned away,
Jesus is crying
For the ones lost in sin,
And for the brokenhearted,
Jesus is crying.

If Jesus collects our tears in a bottle,
And keeps them in His book,
Then where do His tears go?

Tears like rain,
Jesus is crying,
For all the little ones
Who never got the chance to live,
Jesus is crying
For all the children
Abused and killed,
Jesus is crying.

He knows how I feel when I cry
For my lost lamb
Far away from home
For He cries too.

Do you like contests?

2009-10-23T20:08:00.003-05:00

I found this great new writing blog through the FundsforWriters newsletter. It's called Writing Pays. In yesterday's post on the Writing Pays blog, the author is offering "GUT: How to Think from Your Middle to Get to the Top" by Karen Salmansohn as a giveaway. Check out the blog entry here: http://www.writingpays.biz/2009/10/writing-pays-free-giveaway.html and leave a comment to get a chance to win the book.

Just thought I'd pass it along! I'm working on another blog post that I hope to post this weekend, so stay tuned! See you soon!

Diane

Shield me

2009-10-12T20:58:00.004-05:00

There are many names for God in the Bible, both names that describe God and names that are titles for God. As I was reading in Psalms, I was struck by a name for God that we don't hear mentioned much, and that is the name "shield." We usually think of a shield as that large piece of metal that a knight in the days of old would hold to protect him from swords and spears, but according to Merriam-Webster, another definition of "shield" is "one that protects or defends." So "shield" is shorthand for a protector and a defender, both of which are attributes of God.

Below are some verses I found that reference God as a shield. These are some of my favorites, but there are more than just these; a search will turn up several other verses.

2 Samuel 22:31 (NLT): God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection.

Psalm 3:3 (NLT): But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, and the One who lifts up my head.

Psalm 5:12 (NLT): For you bless the godly, O Lord: you surround them with your shield of love. (I really like that verse!)

Proverbs 30:5 (NLT): Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to those who come to him for protection.

Just as we who are earthly parents want to protect our children from anything that might hurt them, God our heavenly Father wants to protect us from danger and harm. Instead of using a large piece of metal to protect us, God Himself surrounds us (see Psalm 3:3 above). Not only does He protect us from physical harm, He surrounds us with a shield of love, as in Psalm 5:12 above. That shield of love comforts us when we are emotionally hurt. When we feel God's presence with us, we are feeling that "shield" that protects us.

Thanks for reading! See you soon!

Diane

Everyday people

2009-10-03T15:52:00.002-05:00

Galatians 3:28 (NLT):

There is no longer Jew or Gentile,slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The TV station on which we watch the news every evening has started a new feature where they pick a local community and highlight it for a week on the evening news. Last week, it was our community's turn to be featured. On Friday night, the news anchors, the weather anchor, and the sports anchor came to our town's Oktoberfest celebration and broadcasted that evening's news. My husband, my son and I went to the festivities. My son was awed at seeing the news anchors in person. He said, "They look just the same as they do on TV!" LOL!

This is the lesson that I taught my son that evening. The people that you see on newscasts (and anywhere else, for that matter) are the same as everyone else. They all put on their pants the same way that we do. Some people may have different jobs or talents than we do, or maybe God painted them a different color. Or maybe they have more or less money than we do. But we are all the same in God's eyes. No one is any better than anyone else. We are all put on this earth to help one another, to get along with each other, and to love each other. (Yes, the title of this post is the name of a song by Sly & the Family Stone, which was also covered by Joan Jett. Take the time to Google the lyrics. Not all secular music is evil.)

People idolize those who are famous and/or talented, but the only person we should idolize is Jesus Christ. He is the only person who is above all others. We would do well to imitate the way He treated people in every strata of society. He treated all people with respect and love, especially women, who were second class citizens in the times in which He lived. And He forgave those who sinned, and we are to forgive those who sin against us. And He was filled with humility, even when He was being tried by the Sanhedrin and tortured by the Roman soldiers. If we all acted like Jesus, what a different world this would be!

My son is on a Boy Scout camping trip this weekend, so I may have another blog post soon, since I don't have to share the computer. Have a great day!

What's your idol?

2009-09-24T20:50:00.005-05:00

And no, this post is not about American Idol. This post is related to the "What's your excuse?" post.

God wanted to make sure we knew about not putting anything before Him; He stated it quite clearly in the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:3-5 (NLT)
³ “You must not have any other god but me.
⁴ “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. ⁵ You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods."

No beating around the bush there, huh? (Pardon the pun.)

In Biblical times, idols were statues or poles made of gold, stone or wood. Idols were symbols of a pagan religion, or in the case of Aaron and the golden calf, something to take the place of God - well, same difference, really. The Israelites committed spiritual adultery by worshiping these idols instead of the Lord, or in some cases, worshiping idols at the same time they were worshiping the Lord. (See Judges 17:3-4 and 2 Chronicles 33:7.) Isaiah has much to say about those who worshiped idols and what would happen to those who do in Isaiah 40, 44, and 45. In the New Testament, Paul preached to the Gentiles, who worshiped idols and false gods. Paul writes that idol worshipers will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Jesus Himself reinforced His Father's commandment by saying, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33, KJV)

Today, however, people do not worship idols made of wood or stone. A modern day definition of an idol would be anything that we put ahead of God or anything we consider more important than God. Our idols can take many forms: someone who is obsessed with making as much money as possible; someone who spends all of his or her free time online on social networking sites, message boards, gaming, and/or pornography; someone who sits mindlessly in front of a television set all day and night; or someone who is obsessed with their children's lives to the point that they have no time for anything else. If you think hard enough, you can probably think of other idols that draw our attention away from God.

The Lord convicted me of an idol that I put ahead of Him. I'm a big St. Louis Cardinals fan, but a few years back, I was spending too much time following the team online, in the newspapers and magazines, etc. I became upset when the team lost a game or when my favorite players were traded. I was depressed when it wasn't baseball season. You get the picture, I'm sure. This year, the Cards are doing very well and they appear to be headed for the playoffs, and although I'm happy about that, I'm not obsessed with the team like I used to be. I am trying to spend more time in prayer and reflection.

If you are not putting God first in your life, look at yourself to see if there is an idol taking up your time, attention, and/or emotions. When (not if) you find your idol, repent before God and vow that you will put Him first in your life.

That's all for tonight. Stay tuned for my next post!

Diane

The three hardest words

2009-09-08T21:44:00.003-05:00

What are the three hardest words to say? It's not "I love you." Those three words are easy to say (and sometimes cheap). They can be said in the heat of passion, or by a young girl with her first crush. "I love you" rolls off the tongue of a mother or father speaking to their child.

But the three hardest words are "I forgive you." We are wronged in so many ways, whether from a divorce, bad business deals, betrayals, bad manners, etc. We get angry when someone does us wrong, and we carry that anger with us.

But that anger can consume us. We can become obsessed with the hurt and the pain. The bitterness from our anger can ruin longstanding relationships and ruin our health. It can even separate us from God, because He will not forgive us unless we forgive others first. In Matthew 6:15 (NLT), Jesus states: "But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins."

But what if you're the one who has done wrong and you need forgiveness? Ask the Lord for courage and guidance. Go to the person you have wronged and apologize for your wrongdoing. Then (hopefully) you will hear those wonderful words: "I forgive you," and your relationship will be restored. If that person chooses not to forgive you, then put the situation in the Lord's hands and pray for that person, that they be released from their anger and bitterness and that your relationship will be restored.

Jesus paid the ultimate price so that we can be forgiven - He paid with His life. His death and resurrection show that we can be right with God and be forgiven for our sins. If Jesus gave His life for our forgiveness, surely we can make the effort to tell someone we forgive them and restore our relationship with that person. Don't delay! Tomorrow may be too late.

Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide

2009-08-16T18:01:00.005-05:00

Tonight we're going to look at God's omnipresence. Omnipresence is a big word that according to Merriam-Webster means "everywhere at all times." Let's start by looking at some Scriptures. All of them are from the New Living Translation.

Proverbs 15:3
The Lord is watching everywhere,
keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.

Hebrews 4:13
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

1 Peter 3:12
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.

Psalm 139:7
I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
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I am reminded of the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" when I think of God's omnipresence, especially the part where the lyrics read: "He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness' sake!" Santa has all of God's watchful qualities. And God always knows if you've been naughty or nice. Perhaps Santa is more like God than people realize.

God knows everything you do because He is everywhere. And the good Christian who knows he or she has sinned feels guilt because of the knowledge that he or she has sinned. For those Christians who have fallen into sin, God's omnipresence reminds them of their sin. You can't run or hide from God - He always knows where you are.

Psalm 121:8
The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

But it is also comforting to know that God is everywhere and He watches over you. No matter where you go or what happens to you, God is always with you. He's only a prayer away. Thank you, Lord, for always being there when we need you!

What's Your Excuse?

2009-08-09T17:25:00.004-05:00

Today, we're going to take a look at Luke 14:16-24, which is a parable by Jesus about a feast.

Luke 14:16-24 (NLT)

¹⁶ Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. ¹⁷ When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹ Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰ Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

²¹ “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ ²² After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ ²³ So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. ²⁴ For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.’”

===========================

The subjects of this parable are the Jews, for Jesus was sent to them first. The Jews were invited to receive Jesus as their Messiah, but they wouldn't believe, so after His resurrection, Jesus sent His disciples into the rest of the world to invite them to the feast. It didn't matter about the social status of those invited to the banquet; they were all accepted. Jesus came to call not the righteous, but sinners. Because the first invitees rejected the invitation, they will not join in the feast.

This parable has a parallel for modern times. So many people have excuses not to go to church and accept Jesus as their Savior. Let's compare the excuses in the parable to some modern day excuses.

The first invitee said he had bought some land he needed to inspect. Today, people give the excuse that they have to mow the lawn, tend to the garden, or clean the house instead of going to church. Their home is more important than God.

The second invitee said he had some new oxen he wanted to try out. Today, people give the excuse that they don't have the money to give for an offering because they bought too much stuff they don't need. People put their possessions before God.

The third invitee said he had just married a wife. Today, people use the excuse of family activities to avoid going to church, such as kids' sports, theater, going to the lake, etc. People put their family before God.

Jesus is to be first in our lives, not possessions, homes or family. People today think just going to church on Sunday morning or on Christmas and Easter is good enough to get into heaven. It isn't! We need a close personal relationship with Jesus. He wants to be first in our lives. If we fix our eyes on Jesus and put Him first in our lives, everything else will fall into place.

So what's your excuse? As you have read above, there is no excuse to not put Jesus first in your life. He's calling you to come to Him and repent of your sin of not putting Him first. And if you haven't repented of your sins and received Jesus as your Savior, now is the time. You can pray this prayer: "Lord, I know I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness for my sins. I believe that You died for me on the Cross. Please come into my heart and make me new. I want you to be my Lord and Savior. I give my life totally and completely to You. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making me new."

Did you say the prayer? If so, congratulations! You are now my brother or sister in Christ. Your first step should be to purchase a Bible. Start by reading the first four books of the New Testament, also known as the Gospels. They will tell you about Jesus. The second thing you should do is find a Bible-believing church where you can learn about being a Christian and you can meet other Christians. I would love to know if you prayed to receive Jesus. Please enter a comment to let me know.

Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!

Diane

Reflections On A Camping Trip

2009-07-25T21:53:00.001-05:00

Oh! How I love God’s creation!

It reminds me of who He is.

He made it to represent Himself.

The tall trees remind me of God’s majesty.

Their high, uplifted limbs remind me

To raise my hands to Him in prayer and surrender.

The lower branches that reach down remind me

That God reaches down to us when we are in need.

The trees give us shelter and protection from storms

Like God does.

The birds calling remind me

Of how Jesus calls us to faith and trust in Him.

The birds hunting for food remind me

That God provides for us.

The singing of the birds remind me

To sing sweet songs of praise to Him, my Creator.

The green of the plants remind me

Of the new life God gives to us after we give our hearts to Him.

The sunshine reminds me

Of the warmth of God’s love.

The burning heat of the sun reminds me

Of Hell, the place that I will not go since I believe in Him.

The rain reminds me of how

The blood of Jesus washed away my sins and refreshed my soul.

The cold weather is like the condition of my heart

Before I believed in Him.

And when the snow covers the ground

It reminds me of how Jesus’ death on the Cross covered my sins

And makes me clean and pure.

The flowers reaching towards the sun

Remind me to look to the Father for all my wants and needs.

The reflection of the sun on the lake water

Reminds me to reflect God’s love in all I do and way

And to lead others to Him.

The clouds remind me that

When Jesus returns, He will comes with clouds

And the whole world will see Him and mourn.

The gentle breeze reminds me

Of how deep God’s love is for us.

The fire reminds me of the Holy Spirit,

Burning out the dross in my soul and consuming me.

All of God’s creation works and lives together in harmony.

It reminds us of how we should live with each other

In harmony and care for each other.

Even when my Bible is not at hand,

All I have to do is look at His calling card of Creation

Created for all the world to see.

God created the universe by just the words from His mouth!

He is the only one who is capable

Of creating the universe and everything in it.

How marvelous!

Even though we humans

Are but a tiny part of God’s creation

He cares for us more than any of it.

He loves humans so much that

He came to earth in human form as Jesus

And died on the Cross as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.

How can I help but praise Him

For all the wonderful things He has done

And all the wonderful things He has created?

Let all that is within me praise and bless His holy name!

Prayer - Part 8

2009-07-15T21:55:00.002-05:00

Hello! Sorry I haven't posted more - I've been busy. Tonight's blog post is on Psalm 102:1-2.

Psalm 102:1-2 (NKJV):
¹ Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.
² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD,
And let my cry come to You.

We ask the Lord to be open to hearing our prayers. We ask that there be nothing to impede our prayers from ascending to Him.

² Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble;

Who should we turn to first when there is a crisis in our lives? The Lord, that's who. We implore the Father to be with us and protect us in our time of need.

Incline Your ear to me;

We ask the Lord to listen to what we have to say.

In the day that I call, answer me speedily.

We ask the Lord to respond quickly whenever we pray to Him.

That's all I have for tonight. God bless you! See you soon!

Diane

Prayer - Part 7

2009-07-01T21:52:00.002-05:00

Before I start my post, I would like to wave a big Hi! to my first follower on this blog, Angie! Thanks for following me! I hope you are enjoying the posts.

The Scripture for tonight is I John 5:14-15 (NKJV).

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

¹⁴ Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

"According to His will" is the most important phrase here. If what we are asking for is not in God's will for us, He will not grant our requests. If we do ask for anything that is in His will for us, we can be confident that He will grant our request.

¹⁵ And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

When we petition God for anything that is in His will for us (or for whoever or whatever we're praying for), we have complete confidence that He will hear and answer our prayers. Thanks to the Lord for that!

Well, that's all for tonight. Thanks for reading! See you soon!

Father's Day tribute

2009-06-21T20:32:00.002-05:00

Every year, we would wonder
What to get hubby's father
He was hard to buy for but
Every year, a variation on a theme
A Cardinals t-shirt, or a Cardinals book
These he received with gratitude.

This year, no need to ponder
What to give
For the only thing we can give this year
Is flowers on a grave
The loss still fresh
Even though he passed in January.

Hubby is stoic - no emotion from him, at least that I can see.
Even though his dad is gone
And on Father's Day
His own son left to go to Boy Scout camp
For a week.
No celebration either way.
How strange he must feel, yet he keeps it inside.

And for me? My own father gone almost 30 years
I put flowers on his grave as well.
He never got to see his grandchildren on earth.
He watches them from Heaven.
And I miss him too, and at the grave today
I said, Perhaps if the Lord comes soon
And calls us all home with trumpet sound,
I will see you soon
And we will never be parted again.

This is the first Father's Day
That both our fathers are gone.
An empty day for both of us.
Hopefully, next year will be better.
We will not sorrow
And we will remember happier times.

Prayer - Part 7

2009-06-19T18:41:00.004-05:00

Tonight's post is on James 5:13-14.

James 5:13-14 (NLT)

¹³a Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray.

When we are suffering, the best solution is always to pray to the Lord for comfort and renewal. He will forgive our sins and ease our burdens, if it is within His will.

¹³b Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

Are you having a great day? Is everything going well in your life? Rejoice and thank the Lord for His goodness and mercy. You can sing hymns or praise songs that you know, or if none come to mind, you can always go to the Psalms for praises. Make up your own tune as you sing a Psalm!

¹⁴ Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

When our physical body is suffering through illness, what a comfort it is to have fellow Christians pray for you. Our spirits will be healed and made whole, and our bodies may be made whole too, if it is God's will.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for reading! See you again too!

Diane

Prayer - Part 6

2009-06-01T18:06:00.003-05:00

Here's another post on prayer. Tonight's verse is James 5:16.

16(a) Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.

If our sins are not confessed, our souls grow sick, which can lead to physical sickness as well. Those who suffer from depression often have physical aches and pains as well. Hiding our misdoings can also make us anxious as to when we will be found out. When we confess our sins to each other and everything is out in the open, forgiveness can happen. Praying for those who have sinned either against us or against others is very freeing and is what our Savior wants from us. If we pray for others, they will pray for us in return.

16(b) The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

In order for your prayers to be heard by the Father, you must be righteous - that is, free from sin. We must confess our sins and have them forgiven before we pray for others. This concept connects to the first part of this verse. Once our sins have been confessed and forgiven, earnest prayer is very powerful and wonderful things can result.

In the next post, we'll go back a couple of verses and focus on James 5:13-15. Thanks for reading! See you next time!

Diane

Prayer - Part 5

2009-05-12T19:29:00.002-05:00

Sorry it's been so long since I posted! I've been busy. Tonight's post is on Matthew 18:19-20.

^{Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV)
19} “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

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This verse concerns prayers that we say during worship and in small gatherings of believers who have come together to pray for concerns. If a person has a prayer request and the other people who are in the group agree with the person in prayer, then the Father will listen and grant their requests, if the request is in line with His will for the situation. (See the last blog post for commentary on this.)

Private prayer is for telling the Father our wants and needs. You may not want to share this personal information with others. There may be some situations, though, where you feel the need to have others join in prayer with you. There is power in praying in groups.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading and have a great evening!

Diane

Prayer - Part 4

2009-05-03T19:27:00.003-05:00

I thought it was time to get back to the topic of prayer. Tonight's post is on Romans 8:26-27.

Romans 8:26-27 (NLT)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.
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²⁶ And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

When we need to pray the most, sometimes words fail us. The situation we are in may be so grave that we cannot find the words we need so that we can pray. We may be in shock and grief. But the Holy Spirit knows what we are trying to say and He will intercede for us with the Father, with words that are known only to Him. There are some that say that this verse is talking about speaking in tongues, but I disagree. The verse says that the Holy Spirit prays for us; if we were speaking in tongues, the verse would say that we would be praying in the Spirit. The "groanings that cannot be expressed in words" is the second statement that shows that it is the Holy Spirit that is praying and not us, because when you pray in tongues, there are actual words (even though you may not know what they mean) and not groanings.

²⁷ And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

God searches our hearts to find out our true motives and feelings. He knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit is part of Him.

The Spirit "pleads our case" to the Father on our behalf (like a good attorney). The pleadings of the Spirit for us will line up with God's will for us.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for reading and have a great week!

Diane

I have a dream

2009-04-30T21:54:00.004-05:00

No, not a Martin Luther King, Jr. type dream. I just thought it made a nice title. :lol

I'm a legal secretary in the real world. Around three years ago, I started having a mid-life crisis. I'd been a legal secretary for about 10 years at that point, and I didn't think I wanted to do that anymore. But I make more money than my husband, and so I was stuck. I have always enjoyed writing, and thought I might want to write. I discovered the Christian Writers' Guild, headed by Jerry B. Jenkins of Left Behind fame. The Guild offers a writers' course to help you sharpen up your writing skills. I felt the Lord calling me to take this course. I even sent for an information package. It is a 2 year course and you take two lessons a month. I had hubby read over the brochure, but he said we couldn't afford it. At that time, it cost $1,000 for the course, and you had to have MS Word installed on your computer, which I didn't have. So I reluctantly put the brochure in the filing drawer, and filed the dream in the back part of my brain.

Ever since then though, I check out Writer's Digest magazines from the library. A few weeks ago, the dream came back. I feel the writing urge pull at me again. The Lord told me to start blogging so I can practice my writing. And I looked at the Christian Writer's Guild's web site again, although the price has gone up to $1,480 (for monthly payments) or $1,180 (for one time lump sum payment). I now have MS Word on my computer, but the money for the course would be hard to come by, since the store that my husband worked at closed in November. He has a new job, but it's only part time. Unemployment picks up the rest, but we have too many bills for me to even consider it. I am praying that if the Lord truly wants me to take the Guild course, that He will provide the funds and that my husband will not try to appropriate the funds for bills.

Thanks for reading about my dream! I pray it comes true soon. Have a blessed day!

Diane

Look up!

2009-04-26T17:35:00.000-05:00

I'm going to interrupt my regular posts on prayer to post on Matthew 24. The Lord has laid it on my heart to take this passage apart verse by verse and comment on it. I will post links to articles relevant to some of the verses, and comment on others.

Matthew 24:3-14 (NKJV):
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

With all of what was going on, the disciples thought that the end was near. But Jesus told them that it wasn't. The question "Tell us, when will these things be?" actually refers to verses 1 and 2 where Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple, which took place in 70 A.D.

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.

The Cult of Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda

Maitreya

6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all[a]these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

World War I and World War II would certainly fit these verses, along with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

7b And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

Famine in Africa

More famine articles

Pestilence - Swine flu - Dictionary.com defines "pestilence" as "an epidemic disease causing a high rate of mortality." This newest strain of swine flu certainly qualifies as a pestilence.

Earthquakes in various places - This web site shows all the places where earthquakes occurred that were at least 4.5 on the Richter scale.

8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

As scary as all this stuff is, according to Jesus, it will get worse, especially during the Tribulation period.

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

Persecution Part 1 - A website listing areas of the world where Christians are being persecuted.

Persecution Part 2 - Another website listing areas of the world where Christians are being persecuted.

10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

No news articles needed for this verse - it happens in everyday life all the time.

11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

False prophets - a nice website with a list of false prophets and why they're false prophets.

12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

There are plenty of examples of this, but click here for just one example. There is another example here.

13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Good news from Jesus! There is hope for those who endure all these things and make it to the end.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Wycliff Bible Translators want to have Bibles in all languages by 2025. Here is an interesting paragraph:

592 new Bible Translation programs have been started in the past eight years. Wycliffe is involved in 490 of these (83%). This is an increase never before experienced in the 2,000-year history of Bible translation. Just this has reduced the timeline for reaching remaining language communities by 112 years.

Don't let all that's been written bring fear to your heart, for if you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, He will be with you and you will not need to fear.

If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and wish for Him to come into your heart and clean it up and make you a new person on the inside, all you have to do is repent for your sins (or confess that you have sinned). This is called "being born again" or "saved." Here is a simple prayer that you can pray:

"Lord, I know I am a sinner, and I need Your forgiveness for my sins. I believe that You died for me on the Cross. Please come into my heart and make me new. I want you to be my Lord and Savior. I give my life totally and completely to You. Thank you for forgiving my sins and making me new."

Did you say the prayer? If so, congratulations! You are now my brother or sister in Christ. Your first step should be to purchase a Bible. Start by reading the first four books of the New Testament, also known as the Gospels. They will tell you about Jesus. The second thing you should do is find a Bible-believing church where you can learn about being a Christian and you can meet other Christians. I would love to know if you prayed to receive Jesus. Please enter a comment to let me know.

Thanks for reading! Have a blessed day!

Diane

Prayer - Part 3 - The Lord's Prayer

2009-04-21T20:10:00.000-05:00

Tonight I'll be posting on the Lord's Prayer. I will be using the New King James Version for this post, since the wording is more traditional. The Scripture reading is Luke 11:1-4:

1 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, thatone of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” 2 So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
3 Give us day by day our daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”

==============================================================
¹ Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.” ² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

The disciples saw how fervently Jesus prayed, and they wanted to pray that way too, so they asked Jesus to teach them.

Our Father in heaven,

The Father was not just Jesus' Father, but our Father as well and Heaven is where He lives.

Hallowed be Your name.

"Hallowed" is another word for "holy." The Father's name is holy - we should treat it with reverence and awe.

Your kingdom come.

We look forward to the day when God's kingdom comes on earth to reign forever.

Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.

Whatever the Father wishes to happen in heaven is done. We pray that whatever the Father wishes to happen on earth is done.

³ Give us day by day our daily bread.

We pray that the Father gives us the sustenance we need for the day, not only the food that enters our mouths, but spiritual food as well.

⁴ And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

Unless we forgive those who sin against us, God will not forgive us our sins.

And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”

We are asking the Lord not to put us in situations that would cause us to sin. We ask to be delivered from Satan's power and all the evil things he causes to happen.

Some translations add the following:

For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, Amen.

With this line, we acknowledge that the kingdom of heaven belongs to God alone, and he will reign there eternally in power and glory. "Amen" means "so be it."

Thanks for reading! I look forward to reading your comments. Have a blessed day!

Diane

Prayer - Part 2

2009-04-17T18:14:00.000-05:00

I hope that you enjoyed reading Prayer - Part 1. Here is Part 2.

Tonight's Scripture reading is Matthew 6:5-8 (NLT).

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get. ⁶ But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

⁷ “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. ⁸ Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

⁵ “When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I tell you the truth, that is all the reward they will ever get.

One of the definitions of "hypocrite," per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, is " a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion." The hypocrites in this verse are praying in public to make people think they are righteous and holy. The adulation of the people watching the hypocrites pray is the only reward they will receive. Jesus is warning us here not to pray to show off before others.

⁶ But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Prayer should be a private matter between you and God. When you pray in secret, your reward is the Father' undivided attention. If you make your needs known privately to the Father, He will give you the glory in public. See the difference in reward between this and the reward of the hypocrites in verse 5?

⁷ “When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.

The Lord wants us to be direct and to the point when we are petitioning Him with our needs. You do not need to say the same words over and over again.

⁸ Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!

The Lord knows everything you need. He knows your thoughts, feelings and needs before they are even expressed in words. However, the Father wants to hear from you your wants and needs.

For Prayer - Part 3, I will post my comments on the Lord's Prayer. I hope you're enjoying reading my posts. Please feel free to comment. See you next time!

Diane

Prayer - Part 1

2009-04-14T21:56:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, I wrote some thoughts on prayer. I thought I'd share them on my blog. I hope you will find them encouraging. For each part, I will post a Scripture and then comment, verse by verse. Tonight's post is on Philippians 4:6-7.

Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT): ⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

⁶ Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

We should pray about everything that concerns us, for God is not only our Father but our Friend. He cares for us. We should not worry about where our sustenance will come from, but depend on the Father to provide for us. He knows what you need before you ask for it, but He just needs confirmation that the thing or situation you are asking for is what you really want.

When you pray, always thank God for what He has already given you and for what He's done for you.

⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

After you turn over your concerns and needs to the Lord through prayer (don't forget to keep them there; that's a subject for another post), you feel such a peace and release. God's peace is much more than we can even imagine. God's peace will guard your heart and mind and keep them pure so you can live each day to the fullest in Christ Jesus.

Thanks for reading! Please comment if you feel led. See you soon!

Diane

Need a movie for your Netflix queue?

2009-04-13T20:40:00.000-05:00

If you like musicals (and/or Hugh Jackman), you have to see Oklahoma! After watching Hugh on the Oscar and realizing he can sing and dance, I went to his profile on IMDb.com and discovered he played Curly in this version. The production took place in 1999, so Hugh looks younger than he does now (the son noticed this, since he only knows Hugh as Wolverine). Not only is Hugh excellent in this production, so is British actress Maureen Lipman as Aunt Eller. An Australian and a Brit playing Oklahomans. How ironic is that?!?

Or if you can't wait for the movie to show up in your mailbox, you can purchase it here. Happy viewing!

Diane

Welcome!

2009-04-13T14:31:00.000-05:00

This is my first foray into the world of blogging. My daughter will probably say "It's about time you entered the 21st century!" LOL! I never got around to setting up accounts on Facebook or myspace. It seems like a lot of work, although I set up my husband on LinkedIn in the hopes of landing him another job. Why in the world anyone would be interested in the minutae of my life via Twitter is beyond me too, although I admit it would be a compliment if anyone were to "follow" me. :)

I hope to use this blog to keep my writing skills up to date, post on things that interest or concern me, and whatever I feel might be of interest to my readers. I will try to post at least once a week, if not more, when the writing spirit hits me. I welcome comments, although if the comments turn too nasty, I will turn them off.

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!

Diane