Quenched Thirst

Judges 15:18 “Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the lord, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived. So the spring was called En Hakkore, and it is still there in Lehi."

We know the battle is the Lord’s and we are His instruments. When we finally see the deliverance and are wearied from the battle, the Lord will send refreshment to revive us. It is necessary to continue in strength for there will be another conflict, but take heart for He is with us.

One of the most interesting details in this account of Samson is the name of this spring that God brought forth out of a rock. It means ‘caller’s spring’.

Call out to the Lord and He will bring rivers of living waters when He hears our cry.

Dear Father, we call out to the Living Water. This war has left us dry and thirsting. Thank you for the victory. Revive us, oh Lord. Pour out your Grace and Mercy upon us. In Jesus Name. Amen

Monday Monday

A new day has dawned. The birds are at the feeder and the sun has barely risen.



I have a squirrel, with white ears and black circles on his/her belly, that visits my feeder rock. He is quite a messy eater and very territorial. Today, I inadvertantly scared him away, but, I know he'll be back.

On Saturday, one squirrel was so angry at the lack of his kind of food that he took the top of my wooden feeder and tried to carry it off to his tree. He got halfway down the yard and another squirrel came by. I'm sure he told him that he was being silly and vindictive. Needless to say, they started carousing and both took off towards the trees.

Easter gave me a yellow-shafted flicker to watch. Even though he is of the woodpecker family, he likes to dig in the yard for grubs and other things.


Speaking of Sunday, God gave me another gift.

I had been praying for my husband to come to church with me and He worked it out...totally.

My mom, who usually goes with me, went away with my sister. My granddaughters, three of them, went to their other parents. My husband and I went to his parents on Saturday night. Everything was out of the way.

I got up on Easter morning and my husband asked what time was church. I told him 10 am because I attend Sunday School. He said 'Well, I have some time before we go to do some other things.' He went with me. Hallelujah!

My husband is not one to express his emotions, much less his faith. But in church, when Pastor Dann gave communion, he said 'We believe that only Christians should partake of communion. If you aren't one, please let the plate pass you by.'

My husband took communion, so I believe that is his 'statement of faith'. He thoroughly enjoyed the service and the people whom he hasn't seen for awhile. He even remembers the sermon.

God is so good to give us the desires of our hearts...sometimes when we don't even ask anymore. Maybe that's when God enjoys making our day.

Imagine...

The iniquity of the whole world was cast upon Him. He became sin for us so that we might live with Him. He came into the world as a whisper and the whisper of death could not hold Him. Now, it's our turn to spread the whisper of Him to the world. He lives. In Him there is no darkness. Where He is, there is only light. The Light of the world is here.

Share...

Imagine...

Imagine...

Imagine...

One day until your crucifixion...

Imagine...

Two days until your crucifixion...

Imagine...

Three days until your crucifixion...

Imagine...

Four days until your crucifixion...

Friday Nite Blues

Had a great time last night jammin' to some tunes with friends.

They were much more accomplished on the guitar than my husband and I. We learned a few new things and enjoyed the whole night.

Fellowship is so important. It makes you realize that you're going to spend eternity with a ton of people and you might better get to know them now.

What fun to have similar gifts and yet used so differently.

I even woke up with a skit in mind, playing guitar in front of a ton of people. "God...that's not me, not the real me, anyway." On my own, I would never have the courage to do anything like that. With God, all things are possible.

I just wanted to give you this picture, too. I got it in an email and it expresses some of the peace and joy that I have with my Lord Jesus Christ.

In the Middle

My bible studies have been leading me through Job.

I hate to say it, but I'm in the middle of the book and can't wait for God to speak and set everyone straight. I guess that's why God wrote the book...to show us that everything takes time, even our trials.

I don't like sourpusses, pessimists and doomsayers. I love confidence, optimism and hopefulness.

So I guess that's why I look for those things in amongst all the gloomy words. I choose to hope and be happy.

Look at these jewels I found in the 'middle':

Job 26:14b 'how faint the whisper we hear of him!' That's what it's like to believe in God. It's so subtle that we have to strain to be aware of Him at all times. We never hear Him audibly. We can't touch or feel Him. But we believe He's there. Sure He gives us things to remind us of Him, but, of Himself...where is He? It is just a whisper...the still small voice. Oh, how glorious!

Job 27:3b 'the breath of God in my nostrils.' Yes, I need the breath of God in my nostrils more than ever. May it never leave me, nor forsake me. It just makes my lungs happy!

So, these are my ramblings for today. Hope you enjoy them. Peace be with you and yours.

June 6, 2006 or 06/06/06

With all the conversations about the end times, this date has become the newest point of interest.

So many people are noticing the '666', which, according to the Bible, is man's number for the antichrist.

People freak out if their groceries total to $6.66, they rip up checks with the number 666 in it and they totally refuse to have anything to do with the number.

One person told me they received a dollar bill with 666 in the serial number and they just had bad luck the whole day.

Let's see what the Bible has to say about the number '666'.

Revelation 13:11-18 (NASB) Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb and he spoke as a dragon. He exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence. And he makes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose fatal wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of heaven to the earth in the presence of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for the number is that of a man; and his number is six hundred and sixty-six.

Now, I'm not an expert on the Bible nor am I a mathematician. But I do know that it's been almost 2000 years since this Book has been written and no one has been able to identify the beast.

There are many rumors: the sum of the letters of Hitler's entire name came up to '666' is just one of them. Do a Google search and you'll find tons.

Understand what the Word is telling us. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WORSHIP ANYTHING OTHER THAN THE BEAST. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BUY OR SELL WITHOUT THIS DISTINGUISHING MARK.

The Word is telling us to be observant and understand the times. Don't be carried away by signs and wonders. Look to the Word, pray for understanding and don't worry. God has it all under control. Judge everything by the Cross.

Wednesday Morning

Just in case you wanted to know this:
On Wednesday of this week, at two minutes and three seconds after 1:00 in the morning, the time and date will be

01:02:03 04/05/06.

And Here....It....Is....

It arrived just the other day...

No. That's a line from a song.

My new Bean Blossom Morgan Monroe F-style Mandolin.

Of course, I am selling my a-style on ebay. The sound is very different on the f-hole mando. It's a little more throaty.

Now, if I can get my best friend, BONNIE THE SEAMSTRESS, to shorten my leather strap, it'll be great.

I almost bought an electric model but I found a great deal on a Fishman bridge pickup. Anyway, it's hard to find a black electric mando without spending a lot of money.

At least I don't have my husband's condition, 'gas', which in mandolin terms is 'mas'.

And for those of you who don't know the terms, they are:

GAS - Guitar Acquisition Syndrome
MAS - Mandolin Acquisition Syndrome

God Gives Forever

In the middle of the night, I heard these words "God gives forever". Not 'for ever', that would change the meaning, but 'forever'.

He has given us forever with Him. How amazing.

God gave His Son so that we might live forever with Him wherever He dwells.

He gives. He gives us forever.

Forever is for us

Thirty Days Hast September, April......?

Last fall we purchased hanging flip 2006 calendars for our congregation.

As we were filling in the days and scheduling speakers, we got to April and discovered, not only that April didn't have the 30th but that 31 was in its place!

The most amazing thing was that when we called the calendar company, they told me they would reprint them.

HELLO! It's the end of March! And HOW LONG will it take you to print them? Could we possibly have them by June so that the rest of the year would be correct?

Finally, they settle for giving us a discount on next year's order.

Now...what will I do when the 29th is over?

Batman & Robin To the Rescue!!!

Here's a cool chalk drawing by Julian Beever



Keep in mind that this drawing is on a flat sidewalk. Julian is standing on the sidewalk. The drawing is so 3 dimensional it looks totally realistic. He's awesome!

Cool Beans

Love One Another
"...and this scar I got from the chair of the board during the battle of "guitars in the sanctuary" in the early 80s."

Report from the Pastor Search Committee:

We do not have a happy report to give. We have not been able to find a suitable candidate for this church, though we have one promising prospect. Thank you for your suggestions. We have followed up on each one with interviews or by calling at least three references. The following is our confidential report.

ADAM: Good man but has problems with his wife. One reference told us how he and his wife enjoyed walking nude in the woods.
NOAH: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects.

JOSEPH: A big thinker, but a braggart; believes in dream interpreting and has a prison record.
MOSES: A modest and meek man, but poor communicator; even stutters at times.
Sometimes blows his stack and acts rashly in business meetings. Some say he left an earlier church over a murder charge.

DEBORAH: One word --- Female.
DAVID: The most promising leader of all until we discovered the affair he had with his neighbor's wife.

SOLOMON: Great preacher, but serious woman problem.
ELIJAH: Prone to depression; collapses under pressure.
HOSEA: A tender and loving pastor, but our people could never handle his wife's occupation.

JONAH: Told us he was swallowed up by a great fish. He said the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up.
AMOS: Too much of a country hick. Backward and unpolished. With some seminary training, he might have promise; but he has a hang-up against wealthy people.

JOHN: Says he is a Baptist, but doesn't dress like one. May be too Pentecostal. Tends to lift both hands in the air to worship when he gets excited. You know we limit to one hand. Sleeps in the outdoors, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders.
PETER: Too blue collar. Has a bad temper, even said to have cursed. He's a loose cannon.

PAUL: Powerful CEO type and fascinating preacher. However, he's short on tact, unforgiving with young ministers, harsh, and has been known to preach all night.
TIMOTHY: Too young.

JESUS: Has had popular times, but once when his church grew to 5000, He managed to offend them all; and his church dwindled down to twelve people. Seldom stays in one place very long. And, of course, he is single.
JUDAS: His references are solid. A steady plodder. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We're inviting him to preach this Sunday in view of a call.

A pastor thought that the reason he had no one coming to the altar week after week was because his sermons were too short. The next week he decided to preach for an hour and a half. Sure enough, 18 people came down the aisle to the altar to lay down after the first hour of preaching. He thought it was odd, though, that none of them got up after he was done.

Church-Lite
Has the heaviness of you old fashioned church got you weighted down? Try us! We are the New and Improved Lite Church of the Valley. Studies have shown we have 24% fewer commitments. We trim off guilt as we are Low-Cal... low Calvin, that is. We feature a 7.5% tithe, a 35 minute worship service with 7 minute sermons. Next Sunday's sermon is on the Feeding of 500.

When the ark came to rest on Mt. Ararat the occupants were more than ready to leave. Noah made one last sweep and found a despondent snake in the hold.--"Why are you sad and why haven't you left?" asked Noah.--"Because I'm so inadequate" replied the snake.--"Inadequate?" queried Noah.--"Yes" continued the snake, "The Lord commanded that we go forth and MULTIPLY and I'm an ADDER." (by David Palmer)

Why was Boaz free?
He was ruthless

How many Apostles can you fit in a car?
All of them. It says in Acts "...they met in one accord."

First Dog with a name?
Moreover
Moreover, the Dog came and licked his sores.

Monday Mornin' Comin' Down

So, here it is...another work week.

The sun is shining and the temp is expected to climb to 50 today. Maybe spring has really sprung.

I learned to play a new song last night...'Horse With No Name'. It really takes me back to the 60's when my sub sailor husband and I lived in an 'off-the-base' trailer park.

The band, America had just started to eat up the charts and I was still jammin' to Janis Joplin and Melanie. Who knew that I would eventually learn guitar in my 50's. Regression is beautiful...sometimes.

Think about it, you 30 year olds, when mid-life crisis hits it's a good idea to have a pre-plan in place.

My husband went through the bar phase years ago. After a few life lessons, he channels his energy into guitars. Keeps him home nights.

So, to make a marriage even more interesting, it's important to share in creative activities.

As soon as all the bridal gowns go, the sound room is coming alive.

I just need to get ideas on how to do the walls and ceilings.

Growth comes by learning. That's what God says.

Blessings Upon Blessings

Today we had a women's clothing exchange day at church.

Such excitement as the women 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the variety of clothing.

One woman said to me, "Sister, look! I got two bracelets. I've never had anything like this before."

So many times, we overlook the people closest to us. We forget to see their needs and forget to look for them, too.

You know, it's not really 'all about me'. It's 'all about them' and what you can do to help life be a little kinder to those less fortunate.

We tend to forget how rich we are compared to some.

Most of the time, people don't let you see their need. It's not that we are suppose to be able to 'read their minds' but to be more aware of them.

It's wonderful to pray for someone but if you can, supply an unspoken need.

The blessing is two-fold. Your generosity blesses them. Supplying their need swells your heart and makes everything a little brighter for yourself.

Go ahead. 'Make their day.'