ALL May Hear and Learn to Fear

Chalk board drawing/message by John, 03/11

"And Moses commanded them, saying, At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles,

When all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing.

Gather the people together, men and women, and children, and thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law:

And that their children, which have not known any thing, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it" (Deuteronomy 31:10-13).

Welcome to our Family, Joshua

Photo credit: Joshua's dad, my cousin.

"Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger (Psalm 8:2)."

May I introduce to you my new cousin...Joshua~
Isn't he handsome?

Dear Mom and Dad,
There are few words to express our great joy for you.
Ponder these moments, for they are fleeting. Joshua is sure to teach you many things you've not yet learned, and lead you to know and love our LORD in a more personal way~
May He be glorified through your family!

May blessings be upon you precious baby
May favor rest upon your family
May your future be, a holy legacy,
May blessings be upon you precious baby.

Refrain:
May He bless you in your coming
May He bless you in your going
May Your heart be ever knowing
The Blessing of the Lord.

May blessings be upon your children's children.
May favor rest upon your family.
May your future be a holy legacy,
May blessings be upon your children's children.

Words: Nancy Gordan, Linda Walker and Jamie Harvill.

Welcome, Home, Sweet Heavenly Home

"Let us aim to model and to mold our earthly homes after our heavenly home. There righteousness dwells, holiness sanctifies, love reigns, perfect confidence and sympathy and concord exist. Why should not the earthly homes of the righteous be types of this?

The home is a most marvelous and benevolent appointment of God, and is designed, among other ends, to unite, strengthen, and sanctify the different relations of life, and thus secure and promote the mutual happiness and well being of each and all. But, alas! how has sin perverted this! What places of misery are some homes on earth, even where religion is supposed to have found a place! Discord, where there should be harmony; suspicion, where there should be confidence; jealousy, where there should be delight; coldness, distance, and alienation, where there should be the warmest, closest and most endearing communion; harsh, abrupt expressions, where there should be nothing but pleasant words; indifference and neglect, where there should be the profoundest interest and sympathy; in a word, hatred, where there should be love.

But, beloved in the Lord, this should not be so with you! And with you it is an individual matter; for our homes are just what the individual members of the family make them. One unhappy temper, one unbending will, one unloving, unsympathizing heart may becloud and embitter the sunniest sweetest home on earth. Oh, cultivate the affections, the sympathies, and the communion you hope to perpetuate in heaven! By mutual forbearance, gentleness, confidence and love; by deeds of kindness, delicate attention, and graceful demeanor seek to transfer as much of the purity, love, and sunshine of your Father's House above as you can, to your Father's house below".
(from Octavius Winslow's "Our Father's House")

Blasphemies

"You would be very ashamed if you knew what the experiences you call setbacks, upheavals, pointless disturbances, and tedious annoyances really are. You would realize that your complaints about them are nothing more nor less than blasphemies---though that never occurs to you. Nothing happens to you except by the will of God, and yet [God's] beloved children curse it because they do not know it for what it is."

Jean-Pierre de Caussade, A Guide to Prayer for All God's People

On a day when I thought I'd bless my children with fruit smoothies, I discovered something grievous about myself.
I'm a blasphemer!
Was the truth of this discovery the blessing?

The discovery alone was not enough, for those around me must have needed a living demonstration, which they thought made for a great group laugh, or was it a discussion?
Need I say that rushing along and not making sure the bottom was on the blender before pouring fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and bananas into it was not the least of my blunders?

Yes, I tried blaming the one who used the blender last, but the real truth of the matter was mostly mine to be shared by all! This has become a most memorable and valuable lesson in recent days!!














Thank you, Jesus, for this grace-filled, blessed experience!
Thank you, Katherine, for capturing it~

"Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
(I Corinthians 10:10-13)

Tempered and Tried

"Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing."
(James 1:2-4, Amplified)

Just a few months ago, the sudden surprise of a loud sound hitting the back door interrupted my heart's focus to the more urgent matters at hand!
Not aware of what happened, I ran to discover something had penetrated our back door. Just beyond the other side were four wide eyed, gaping mouthed children, safe thankfully, stilled by fright in the easement.

The entry site itself was very small in size, but the ripple of cracking glass soon embodied the entire storm door.

Fragments of glass began to crumble, first slowly in pieces, then more quickly in clusters, giving us little time to prepare for the rest that rained!

It wasn’t long before we were sure only those pieces encompassed by the framework would hold together. Every other fragmented piece in the middle fell away.

By God's providence, the man that came within days to replace our door had been recently shattered through a trial of his own.
Several employees within the company he worked for had been charged of insurance fraud. Sadly he was one of those caught up by the ripple effect in the middle. I remember seeing his photo in the headlines and praying for him because I recognized him from a church we had attended. Later a friend asked me to pray for him and told me of how broken he was before the LORD each week during their prayer service! His church family supported him through a difficult time, but far greater, the LORD was with him through the fire, proving his love for HIM genuine.

Not once had I considered seeing a tempered heart that day. Only the LORD knows his heart, but I gathered from what I saw, his seemed definitely stronger and more joyful for having gone through the heat of that trial with HIM.

"Consider it wholly joyful ...? A condition of a heart that loves the LORD.
"Be assured and understand...? A condition of a mind that believes and trusts HIS ways.
"But let...? A condition of a will that is surrendered to HIM for His work to take place.
"But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing".

For most of us, embracing a trial is difficult.
It seems only natural to resist hardship, but if our hearts are first impressed by HIM, shouldn't we more willingly be purified and strengthened by what He ordains and allows?

Pressed Out Pressed out of measure and pressed to all length, Pressed so intensely it seems beyond strength; Pressed in the body and pressed in the soul, Pressed in the mind till the dark surges roll; Pressure by foes, and pressure by friends, Pressure on pressure, till life nearly ends, Pressed into loving the staff and the rod; Pressed into knowing no helper but God; Pressed into liberty where nothing clings, Pressed into faith for impossible things; Pressed into living a life in the Lord, Pressed into living a Christ-life outpoured!

by: Walter Knight