A Channel of Blessing

2 Timothy  2:21  "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

Make Me a Channel of Blessing

Is your life a channel of blessing?
Is the love of God flowing through you?
Are you telling the lost of the Savior?
Are you ready His service to do?

Refrain:
Make me a channel of blessing today,
Make me a channel of blessing, I pray;
My life possessing, my service blessing,
Make me a channel of blessing today.

Is your life a channel of blessing?
Are you burdened for those that are lost?
Have you urged upon those who are straying
The Savior Who died on the cross?

Is your life a channel of blessing?
Is it a daily telling for Him?
Have you spoken the Word of salvation
To those who are dying in sin?

We cannot be channels of blessing
If our lives are not free from known sin;
We will barriers be and a hindrance
To those we are trying to win.

I pray that my channel of blessing to you is the content of this blog.  That is my goal.  Many of you have told me you are inspired by my writings.  Thank you for the great encouragement!  I want to share the greatest blessing I have received, and that is Salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ.  And I know I can only do that when I depend on His strength, not my own.  For without Him, I can do nothing and I would be nothing but a lost sinner on my way to a devil's hell, but He brought me up out of the miry clay of sin!  Not because I deserved it!  NO!  Only because He loved me and chose me to be His child!  Psalm 40:2-3 says,  "2.  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.  3. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."  Thank You, Lord for loving me enough to send Your Son, Your only begotten Son, to die for me!

He Brought Me Up

My heart was distressed ’neath Jehovah’s dread frown,
And low in the pit where my sins dragged me down;
I cried to the Lord from the deep miry clay,
Who tenderly brought me out to golden day.

Refrain:
He brought me out of the miry clay,
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!

He placed me upon the strong Rock by His side,
My steps were established and here I’ll abide;
No danger of falling while here I remain,
But stand by His grace until the crown I gain.

He gave me a song, ’twas a new song of praise;
By day and by night its sweet notes I will raise;
My heart’s overflowing, I’m happy and free;
I’ll praise my Redeemer, Who has rescued me.

I’ll sing of His wonderful mercy to me,
I’ll praise Him till all men His goodness shall see;
I’ll sing of salvation at home and abroad,
Till many shall hear the truth and trust in God.

I’ll tell of the pit, with its gloom and despair,
I’ll praise the dear Father, who answered my prayer;
I’ll sing my new song, the glad story of love,
Then join in the chorus with the saints above.

Happenings in Alabama today:

Beautiful view of Gunterville Lake

Liz holding a ball to get Sally to look in the direction best for the picture

Warm enough to enjoy some water hose fun.  Abby was asleep during this time.

Meanwhile the adult males enjoy some heavy conversation (or not).

The women always enjoy conversation!  :D

Hannah giving Sally a drink from the spicket.

Ryan enjoyed the scooter!  He even took it down the long driveway!

Jessica's coleus plants are still beautiful!

This is my new ride!  Jessica and Michael are giving it to me.

Hannah LOVES driving the 4 wheeler!

Ryan does, too!

Hannah gave me a spin, too!

Coming back up the driveway.

Tonight we all went to church.  Jessica is heading a group of ladies doing the Beth Moore Bible study, "Believing God."  It was a good lesson.  Michael, Brad and Liz went to a small group study on World Religions and Islam was the subject tonight.  The kids went to class with Kara.  Before going to church Jessica and Michael treated us to Moe's BBQ.  It was yummy!

We are renting a boat and will be on the lake most of the day tomorrow!  That will be fun!

Having a wonderful time visiting with family!  But it would be even more wonderful if Tim were here!  But I'm just so thankful we will see him again!  And I feel like that time is right around the corner!  Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Direction

Proverbs  16:9 ¶ A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

I saw this verse today on some Christian clip art that a Facebook friend shared and started thinking about its meaning in light of my current situation.

I have my "tentative" plans for the rest of the year, basically.  You know, plans for activities, plans for the holidays, plans for where I will be laying my head down at night.....but whether or not those specific plans actually happen, the LORD knows!  Lord, my prayer is that I want to be open to Your leading, even though I have a "tentative" plan in place.  I pray I am ready and willing if and when You change my direction!  Help me to walk through those doors you open and leave the doors You've closed locked!

I don't have a bucket list of things I want to do.  There are things I would like to do, of course, but I don't have a list, per se.  I discovered a bucket list of sorts on Tim's phone.  I switched my phone number to his phone since mine was the cheap, freebie phone they give you when you sign up for the plan.  Tim's phone was a new phone that we paid LOTS for, so I decided to switch phones since I was having issues with mine, anyway (could've been operator error, but I'll never know!).

Back to Tim's bucket list that I found.  They are listed as "Places to Go - Things to See and Do".  I'm just sorry his health did not allow him to see and do the things he wanted.  I may need to assume his bucket list for him.  However, it would be much more fun to do them with him, so I probably will not.

Don Juans in Lexington (I assume this is a restaurant in NC)
Goodys on Stratford (another restaurant)
Branson, MO
Stone Mountain, GA
Mt. Vernon and Virginia Beach
Okracoke Island
Ride the train at Bryson City, NC
Shatley Springs
Hunting Island State Park in SC

When the Lord changed Tim's plans, dreams and wishes,  mine changed, too.  Now I am making plans, dreaming dreams and making wishes on my own.  It is a hard change.  And I am a person who resists change.  But I'm learning to do things, hard things, that I never intended to do; the hardest being going on without my best friend, my lifetime companion, my sweetheart, my lover, my confidant, my guardian, my one and only truest of true loves.  But I AM doing it, just not on my own.  Tim couldn't promise to NEVER leave me, but HE has promised never to leave me or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5), and I'm holding Him to it!  Thank You, LORD, for ALL of Your promises that I know are as good as done.....in Your time!


Today, while Liz and family were out of the house at school and work, I needed something to occupy my time.  So, I started by picking up clothes out of the girls' bedroom floor to wash.  But, while I was at it, I just went ahead and picked up the rest of the room, too.  All 3 kids sleep in this room when I spend the night.  It is a good set-up and Hannah says the floor, with the pillow pallets I made, are more comfortable then her bed above.  So, Ryan got the bed.  Abby's bed is behind the dresser on the left side of the picture.

Then it was time to sort the clothes from the floor and the baskets.  Now, things are washing and drying.

Today is National Day of Prayer, I think, so the kids at Rockwell Christian School go out and gather around the flag pole and the principal prays for the country, the school and the students by the pole.  I think it is a wonderful idea!  We ALL need to pray for our country!  Our country is in desperate need of turning back to God!  2 Chronicles  7:14 says, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."  Boy!  Our land sure needs healing!

Here's a good picture of Abby that her mom took during today's event.

OK, that's it for me today.  Time to get back to the laundry!  SOCKS!!!  I remember WHY I hated SOCKS when the kids were growing up!  There is NO end to them!!!!  Do I hear an AMEN?!

Growing Up

Spent the night with Ilene so we (Lori and I) could ride with her to the doctor.  Her appointment was at 7:15 a.m.  After that we returned to her house to eat.  I left around 10:45 so I could get my packing done.

I brought most of my chicken parmigiana home with me from Olive Garden the other night.  So, that is what I had for my mid-afternoon meal.

After I got everything done at the house, I traveled to Elisabeth's.  Abby took a shower tonight for bed.  She finally lost her first baby tooth!  She is growing up so fast!

We got the kids in bed and then Liz and I took Sally for a walk.  It felt like she was walking us!  I need to walk more.  I think it would help to strengthen my back.  I still have problems with it from where I hurt it lifting Tim off of the floor the last time he fell before going into the hospital.  I can remember him saying, "Oh no!  Oh no!  Oh no!"  as he was dropping to the floor.  Knowing he was falling, but not strong enough to stop himself.

We are getting ready to have revival services in a couple of weeks.  I looked up quotes with the word "renew" (from Psalm 51:10) and came up with this one by Woodrow Kroll:

We cannot remake ourselves.  We have to depend on God to search our hearts and show us where we need a good cleaning.  Once we have cleaned out those areas of our hearts where we usually like to "hide" a pet sin by repentance, then God can renew a right spirit within us.  Revival is for helping us to see those areas that are hidden and helps us to get rid of them!  If we hide sin within our heart, God cannot bless us.  I'm so thankful for His forgiveness!

I saw this cute princess car at Walmart yesterday.  It is just so cute!  It reminded me that I am a princess to the King of kings!  I pray my King Jesus is your King today!  Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!

Comradery

Comradery is the spirit of friendship and community in a group, like the comradery of soldiers at war who keep each other upbeat despite the difficulty of their circumstances.

Who is a comrade? A close friend or a fellow soldier — in other words, someone who comes to mind when you say, "We're in this together." Comradery reflects that same spirit: both words can be traced to the Spanish word comarada, meaning “chamber mate,” or roommate. Comradery is a feeling of trust, a bond created by a shared goal or experience — you don't have to be best friends with everyone in the group to know you have their support.

I shared another wonderful day with my widowed friends.....my comrades!  It is wonderful to be able to laugh and enjoy time together with them.  We were friends before the deaths of our husbands.  But now we are drawn closer together in this grief each of us share...the loss of our beloved husbands.  Not only that, but all of our husbands lost their lives in the battle of cancer.  Yes, they were soldiers at war, but they lost the battle.  It isn't something we would wish on an enemy, but it is something we were chosen to share in.

There is at least one purpose for each of us, my comrades, and that is our sharing in this experience. We are stronger as a group than we are as one.  And even though our husbands lost in the battle, they gained the victory over death, for which we are thankful.  Now we must march on as soldiers for the Lord because our battle is not done.  We must continue to fight the good fight of faith.  Faith is the victory!  And the Lord is the husband to the widow!  He will continue to care for us as we put our faith and trust in Him!

Isaiah 54:4, 5

4. Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.
5. For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.

Faith is the Victory!

Encamped along the hills of light,

Ye Christian soldiers, rise,
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies.
Against the foe in vales below
Let all our strength be hurled;
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.

Refrain:
Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
Oh, glorious victory,
That overcomes the world.

His banner over us is love,
Our sword the Word of God;
We tread the road the saints above
With shouts of triumph trod.
By faith, they like a whirlwind’s breath,
Swept on o’er every field;
The faith by which they conquered death
Is still our shining shield.

On every hand the foe we find
Drawn up in dread array;
Let tents of ease be left behind,
And onward to the fray.
Salvation’s helmet on each head,
With truth all girt about,
The earth shall tremble ’neath our tread,
And echo with our shout.

To him that overcomes the foe,
White raiment shall be giv’n;
Before the angels he shall know
His name confessed in heav’n.
Then onward from the hills of light,
Our hearts with love aflame,
We’ll vanquish all the hosts of night,
In Jesus’ conqu’ring name.

Sweet Friends

Lori's  birthday is tomorrow, so Ilene and I treated her to dinner at Olive Garden this afternoon.

We had a busy day. After a late breakfast we went out in search of some yard sales, and we were able to find a few. One in particular was a good find for clothes for Ilene and me. $1 per piece! Better than mega Thrift!

We were out til after 2. Then we decided it was time to go to eat an early dinner since we had not eaten lunch.

Thank You, Lord for the blessing of sweet friends!

After we ate, we went Thrift shopping and then came back to Ilene's where we have enjoyed sitting on the deck talking. It will probably be an early night because it was a late one last night.

It is wonderful to have earthly friends, but there is no friend who could compare to our Friend who sticks closer than a brother, the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know how the world deals with life's storms without Him!

Answered Prayer

Is it just me, or do you hate dealing with government things, too?  I think it is the RED-TAPE that gives me the negative feelings.....among other things that I won't take the time to address here and make your blood boil!  :D

I had an appointment with the Social Security office today to take care of the "Widow's Lump Sum Benefit" of $255 and whatever death benefit there might be.  First of all, I asked the very sweet young woman who helped me about that ridiculous lump sum amount.  She did not know, but figured that must have been how much it used to cost to bury someone back in the day!  Well, my curiosity got the best of me, so I did a Google search and you can read about it here:  "The history of the Lump Sum Death Benefit."

I asked my Facebook family, friends and associates to pray about my meeting.  When I spoke originally with the gal who set up my appointment, she seemed to think I would have to take my SS payout since it is higher than Tim's amount.  I did NOT want to do that because mine will be considerably higher than it is now by the time I become of full retirement age at 66 + 2 months.  I had decided that IF I was going to be forced to take my amount rather than Tim's amount that I would not take either.  Since I will be living with my girls, I can probably get by with just the life insurance amount.

Well, for future reference to those of you who may come upon this same scenario in the future, just know that the gal I spoke with originally was incorrect.  I will receive Tim's payout and I can continue receiving it until I decide I want to change over to my payout, with age 70 being the latest time to switch over.  AND, not only that, with Tim's birthday being on the 18th of the month, I will receive the payout the 3rd Wednesday of the month, beginning.........wait for it........THIS Wednesday!  I was told it may be a few days late in being deposited to my bank account since we are up against the date, but she seemed to think I would have it by the end of the week at the latest!  Thank You, LORD!  You knew all of this before I ever started worrying about it!

Why do we do that?  Worry about things that we have no control over, anyway?  I told Gennifer (no, that is not misspelled) that I was so worried and I thanked her for the immediate calming effect she had upon me and thanked her for being so pleasant to work with in this sad process.  She immediately gave me her condolences when I sat down.  Looking back, I was so relieved about the outcome that I didn't even ask her if she was a Christian.  If I had to guess, just judging by her demeanor and pleasantness throughout the meeting, I would say she is.  I pray so.  I believe the Lord was in control of Gennifer being my calm in the storm!

Thank you all for your continued prayers for me in this journey of life!  It's not over until He says it's over!  Thank You, LORD, for your blessings on me!

Will Your Anchor Hold

1    Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,

When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

     

CHORUS

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Stedfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

2    It is safely moored, ’twill the storm withstand,
For ’tis well secured by the Savior’s hand;
And the cables passed from His heart to mine,
Can defy the blast, through strength divine.

3    It will firmly hold in the straits of fear,
When the breakers have told the reef is near;
Though the tempest rave and the wild winds blow,
Not an angry wave shall our bark o’erflow.

4    It will surely hold in the floods of death,
When the waters cold chill our latest breath;
On the rising tide it can never fail,
While our hopes abide within the veil.

Left Unfinished

I am bad about starting something and not finishing it.  If the project turns out to be too long in finishing, I tire of it and usually leave it unfinished.  If a project is turning out to not be what I expected it to be I usually leave it unfinished.  Most times what happens is that I begin a project and before getting it finished some other project captures my attention and the first project goes unfinished.  I think if you asked most crafty people, they would tell you the same thing.....that they have TONS of unfinished projects or TONS of projects "in the works!"

But, not so with my sweet husband!  He was not crafty, so he didn't have my problem.  (He used to stand in the door of my craft room and begin gazing around the room s-l-o-w-l-y from where he stood in the door around and back to the other side of the door and then would say to me, "I think my eyes are bleeding!")  If you've seen pictures of my craft room, you totally know what he means.....unless you are crafty, that is!  :)

Tim was a brainiac (the red squiggly line under that word tells me it isn't actually a word, but it should be!).  He ALWAYS, always had a book and pen or highlighter in his hand.  He read books for Bible sermons or lessons that he was preparing for, whether it was current or future lessons.  He underlined or highlighted the things that spoke to him and would then transfer those underlined words to his lesson plans or database.  And eventually they would end up in his sermons or lessons.  (Have I mentioned that he was TOTALLY organized, too?!)  My craft room.....not so much!

Today, I found a book on his computer desk down in the man room.  It was opened to a page that he had obviously spilled a drink on (that happened quite frequently towards the end as his motor control became less and less).  I picked up the book and scanned its pages.  Yes, there was the evidence of his underlining sections of the book to later be recorded in his database.  But, the book was only partially read.  The spilled drink was on pages 54 and 55.  There are 146 pages and then a Study Guide begins and runs through page 202.  This book is obviously a project left unfinished.

The difference between Tim's unfinished project and my unfinished projects is that my unfinished projects were choices I made.  Tim's project was unfinished not because of his choice, but because his health failed to allow him to finish it.  Otherwise, I can guarantee you that it would have been finished!  This is the project that was left unfinished:

After I read the title, I found the book is not at all what I imagined it to be.  I assumed one of the ten struggles of the book would be health related issues.  Well, that may be included in it, but here is what the back of the book states:

"Can the Ten Commandments help you finally break through?  Do you struggle with busyness?  With a temper?  With dishonesty or discontentment?  Whatever it is, find help where it may surprise you:  the Ten Commandments."

"In The 10 Greatest Struggles of Your Life, Pastor Colin Smith opens up the Ten Commandments to show how there is more to them than meets the eye.  Moving from do's and don'ts to matters of the heart, they become barometers of your love for God.  You'll discover areas of your life that are out of sync with His will, and you'll receive wisdom for living with greater love, strength, and freedom in Christ."

At the beginning of each chapter, one of the Ten Commandments is quoted and then a question is asked.  For example, for the first chapter on the first commandment, this is the quote and question:
"You shall have no other gods before me."  Exodus 20:3  Then the question - Do I love God unconditionally?"  Here is one of the things Tim underlined:

"You will never be ready to embrace God fully until you are convinced that He is good.  You may submit to raw power, but you will never love raw power.  That's why it is so significant that God invites you into a relationship of love."

Another portion underlined:
"The same God who spoke the Ten Commandments to Moses speaks to us in Jesus Christ, who has come down to bring us a greater deliverance than God's rescue of His people from their Egyptian holocaust.  Christ came into the world to set you free from your slavery of sin, death, and hell.  Imagine the risen Lord Jesus Christ holding out His nail-pierced hands and saying, "I am the Lord your God.  I gave Myself to deliver you.  Don't put any other gods before Me."  How could you resist such an appeal?"

The last marked portion in this first chapter:
"When Jesus said, "Follow Me," His disciples did not know where He would lead them, and you can't know that either.  Making Christ Lord of your life could get ou into some tough situations.  The nine commandments that follow describe the life God is calling you to lead.  Every one of them will be a struggle.  But God is calling you to take a step of commitment based on trust, because you know that He is God and that He is good.  Are you ready to embrace the Lord as your God unconditionally?"

I'm pretty sure that Tim was headed in the direction of teaching lessons on the Ten Commandments, but we will never know because this project, this book, was left unfinished.  I think I will take up the mantle and read the book and see what I can glean from it to share with you.

In other news, today I left our church after Sunday School to drive to Rockwell, NC to witness the baptism of our granddaughter, Hannah.  One of the first things Tim asked when he came out of the recovery room after his brain surgery on May 8th was whether or not Hannah had been saved yet.  So, since I'm not totally sure that he is able to see what is going on here on earth, I wanted to witness it for his sake.  He loved his grandchildren and prayed for their salvation!  The four oldest ones have made professions of faith, so almost half!  Thank You, LORD, for Your tender mercies and for Your grace You have seen fit to extend to our grandchildren!  I pray you will continue to do so!  I know it will be a grand reunion for Tim if ALL of his grandchildren come to heaven!

The pastor is in the white shirt.  The youth pastor is in the blue shirt.  Five young people were baptized today, Hannah being the first one.  The pastor would ask each candidate, "Hannah, have you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior?"  "Yes, sir!"  "Hannah, do you want to follow the Lord in scriptural baptism?"  "Yes, sir!"  "Upon the profession of your faith, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit."  At this point, the youth pastor would begin to baptize the candidate while the pastor continued to speak, "Buried unto the death of sin, risen to walk in newness of life!"

Trust and Obey

1. When we walk with the Lord
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey. 

Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

2. Not a burden we bear,
not a sorrow we share,
but our toil he doth richly repay;
not a grief or a loss,
not a frown or a cross,
but is blest if we trust and obey. [Refrain]

3. But we never can prove
the delights of his love
until all on the altar we lay;
for the favor he shows,
for the joy he bestows,
are for them who will trust and obey. [Refrain]

4. Then in fellowship sweet
we will sit at his feet,
or we'll walk by his side in the way;
what he says we will do,
where he sends we will go;
never fear, only trust and obey. [Refrain]