Sunday Morning Sunshine: Revival

 When Do We Need a Revival? 

It is very evident that we need a revival:

When it is easier to stay at home than to go to church.

When it is easier to work than to worship.

When it is easier to be critical than kind.

When it is easier to read fiction than the Bible.

Then it is easier to shirk God-given opportunity than to do it.

When it is easier to support the club than the church.

When it is easier to sleep in church than stay awake.

When it is easier to grumble than to praise.

When it is easier to condemn souls than to pray for their salvation.

when it is easier to hold grudges than to forgive. 

Amen?

Amen!

Rambling Friday: Rambling About Blessings and ...

 Sometimes it seems a person has more troubles than blessings. Have you ever felt it? Oh, yeah, I have. 

• Everything breaks down at once: the stand-up mixer refuses to mix up the dough another time, the lawnmower gives up the ghost, and your favorite vase, dish, mug, whatever--well, you or someone else drops it, and of course, it doesn't bounce. It breaks. 
• You're coming home from a nice dinner with friends, or you're in a hurry to get to your
  
  
  destination or you want to get home before the storm hits--doesn't matter what the situation is--and a beautiful, doe-eyed deer decides to jump in front of your vehicle. Uh, huh, right.
• Or it's winter and you slip on the ice and injure your knee, elbow, or some other part of your anatomy. If it isn't that, lines freeze up. Or the electricity goes off and everything thaws...

Yep, some of this has happened to us, recently! 

But... (there's always a but, isn't there?) there are blessings too. And when the blessings come, somehow the world seems a wonderful place.

And I think to myself, "What a Wonderful World."

You kinda forget about the troubles you've just gone through. The blessings outshine the hardships. Everything seems top of the world. Those troublesome troubles seem to fade out--almost as if God has your back. Almost as if he's saying, I truly do love you. See...

It's then I whisper, Father, forgive me.

And he does. 

Rambling Friday: Happy New Year!

 A New Year for...

Passionate Writing!

Aim high, dream big

Follow your heart,

Follow your dreams.

Use your talents,

use your creativity,

don't let it go to waste!

whatever it is.

Spend time in prayer,

Spend time in pondering,

Spend time in planning,

Spend time in writing!

There are all kinds of possibilities,

Allow yourself to be what God wants you to be!

Never shirk--no matter what our enemy says,

Keep fighting, keep encouraged, 

Keep traveling on your journey!

Onward! 

Sunday Morning Sunshine: Uncertainty

Life is strange, sometimes hard, sometimes uncertain, but we know we can face our fears and our questions by turning to God and his power. Today, here are some quotes that may give you a little encouragement.


Of all the liars in the world, sometimes, the worst are our own fears. ---Rudyard Kipling

We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties. --Oswald Chambers

Don't let today's disappointment cast a shadow on tomorrow's dreams. --Unknown

Darkness comes. In the middle of it, the future looks blank. The temptation to quit is huge. Don't!
You will argue with yourself that there is no way forward. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has more ropes and ladders and tunnels out of pits than you can conceive. Wait! Pray without ceasing. And hope! --Unknown


Don't give up! TRUST! BELIEVE! HOPE!

Sunday Morning Sunshine: A Simple Thank You

I was praying for several weeks about something.

That something was my impatience 

with life situations,

family and friends,

church,

simple and more complex

aggravations.

I asked in earnest,

really sincere in my desire

and I think--

no, I know God heard me

because he was, and is, answering my prayer.

And then the other day,

He spoke to me,

"You haven't thanked me for what I have done."

I realized I hadn't.

So I did.

I thanked him.

Sometimes we ask.

And forget to thank God.

Forget to thank our husband and wife

or whoever.

Such simple words.

Life happens.

We forget.

But let's not ever forget to be grateful

and lift our hearts in thanks

toward those who hear our cry

and answer,

in one way or another.

Thank you, God!

Psalm 92:1

It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord.

Sunday Morning Peace: Think on These Things

Think on These Things


What have you done for the Lord today?
Can you think of the vanished moments and say:
"I spent them every one for my Lord,
I started the day with His precious Word,
Then lifted my heart in prayer to Him,
Till heaven was real and earth was dim,
And my Savior was personal, and dear,
And all day long I could feel Him near.

He guarded my tongue, my feet, my ears,
Dispelled my worries and stilled my fears,
He showed me that only those things would last
Which I did for Him, and that time sped fast,

He taught me that nothing was ever too hard
If it was done in the strength of the Lord,
And all through the hours, as the moments sped,
I, the body, and He, the Head,
I lived so that all that I met could see
His Holy Spirit shining through me."

Blessings!

I Pray You Enough

I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged, and the mother said, “I love you, and I pray you enough.”

The daughter replied, “Mom, our life together has been more than enough.

Your love is all I ever needed.

I pray you enough, too, Mom.”

They kissed, and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy, but she welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'

'Well...I'm not as young as I once was, she lives so far away & has her own busy life. I have some challenges ahead, and the reality is - her next trip back will be for my funeral,' she said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I pray you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

She began to smile. 'That's a prayer that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.' She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and she smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I pray you enough,' we wanted the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.'

Then, turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

 

I pray you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I pray you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I pray you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
I pray you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I pray you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.
I pray you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I pray you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Then, she began to cry, and walked away.

 

They say, it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but an entire life to forget them.

TAKE TIME TO LIVE . . .

To all my friends and loved ones, readers and visitors,
I PRAY YOU ENOUGH . . .

 

Blessings

What in the World's Going on?

This is a statement that was read over the PA sytem at the football game at Roane County High School , Kingston , Tennessee by school Principal, Jody McLeod

"It has always been the custom at RoaneCountyHigh School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country."

Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it "an alternate life style," and if someone is offended, that's OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, "safe sex." If someone is offended, that's OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable! Means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem...

I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology.."

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple minded" and "ignorant" and call it "enlightenment.."

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated.

This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical.
Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments.

Nevertheless , as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical. I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.

For this reason, I shall "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," and refrain from praying at this time.

" However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM,in the name of JESUS, to bless this event, please feel free to do so.. As far as I know, that's not against the law----yet."

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray.

They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer's Box!

The only place they didn't pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America- the Seat of "Justice" in the "one nation, under GOD."

Somehow, Kingston , Tennessee remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion.

Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!

Hope this blesses you as much as it did me.

Meet my friend, John Snyder

How long have you known that you were a writer? Did you receive a clear “call?” Or have you just loved writing all your life?

When I was in the seventh grade I wrote a science fiction story and was told by my teacher that it might be good enough to publish. This was a total shock to me. Until that moment it had never even crossed my mind to write.

My call to write came much later and mostly from my friends and church members who said that I would be irresponsible for not utilizing what they saw was a gift from God that needed to be used for his glory. But it’s clearly the case that when I write, I feel God’s pleasure.

What is the genre you write in? Would you explain what it is?

Probably religious non-fiction. My style and interests have changed greatly over the years. In the beginning, I wrote mostly academic type stuff (papers, articles, and the like), but in recent years I’ve shifted to down-to-earth books about God, Jesus, and general faith and church related issues, striving for simplicity and clarity to communicate the greatest news on earth.

How do you spend your writing days? Do you set goals to reach a certain number of words per day? Can you give us a general idea of how long it takes you to write a novel?

Due to a visual handicap I can write only about two hours per day, first thing in the morning. After that it’s over. On the average it takes me about a hundred days of writing to complete a book.

You recently had a book published. Would you take this time to describe it to us? How and where can readers buy your books?

My newest book is entitled Your 100 Day Prayer: The Transforming Power of Actively Waiting on God. It’s a guided prayer tour for a hundred day period to encourage the reader to keep on faithfully bringing their prayer requests to God. It’s not just for those facing an unusually big problem, life transition, or decision, but also for anyone seeking a discipline of reading Scripture daily and to journal their prayer walk. Our family has found that wonderful things happen when we follow Jesus’ admonition to keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking.

The book can be found at Amazon or CBD or Barnes and Noble.

What is the spiritual message in your book?
What I’m hoping to communicate is God’s love, faithfulness, and very best for us—his trustworthiness, compassion, and kindness. God is near and very accessible. What I hope everyone gets from it is that God doesn’t dwell in a heaven light-years away from us, but just inches above our heads. He enters into our grief and pain. I want them to be encouraged to wait on him and to see how he brings us through to the other side—to learn how he blesses us not according to our excellent faith or performance, but according to his excellent mercy and generosity. I have tried to put a course on biblical theology in the form of a readable prayer guide.

Do you ever feel like giving up? Most people don’t understand the stress, the work, and the joy of being a writer. How tenuous becoming a writer is. Do you care to share how it feels, what discouraging/encouraging times you’ve gone through?

I’ve not only been tempted to give up, I’ve given up—many times and sometimes for years. It’s just too hard to keep trying when no one seems to like what you have to say. The rejection notices can be joy killers! You have to look at them and laugh and figure out how many you’ll collect before God opens just the right door.

Writing for me was like the Myth of Sisyphus, trying to roll the boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down, over and over again. But the love of writing and the inner “push” to write were the driving force. My only regret is that I did give in and stopped writing. If you truly believe that God has called you to do something, you just have to keep going, keep climbing, even when all you want to do is quit and find the nearest hammock.

Who’s inspired you the most?

I would have to say my wife Shirin. She always kept after me to pick up the writing again when I was fed up with it. She never lost confidence in me even when I thought I was just wasting my time.

Would you explain how you “chose” (or were chosen by) a publisher? Do you just go “inny, minny, miny, moe?” Now, that you’re published, can you sit back and relax from the success you’ve experienced?

Twenty-eight years ago I found a publisher on my own. That was when they were still accepting unsolicited manuscripts. After that, I got so busy pastoring that I didn’t have time to write.

Today, it’s really tough to do that. Now I have a great literary agent, Diana Flegal, who I believe came only by divine providence and is really an incredible gift to our family. She just knows a lot about the who’s and where’s that I could never get.

Rather than relaxing now, I’m even more motivated to keep going and at an even faster pace. Our family really wants God to use us for his work.

Do you mind telling us some of your likes and dislikes? Hobbies, interests? Where would you like to travel if you could?

I love being with my wife Shirin and daughters Sarah and Stephanie, research and learning, watching old and new films, and thinking by the hour. I still haven’t been to my wife’s country India, so that is on our prayer list.

Would you give us your blog or webpage so everyone can check it out? Anything else you’d like to share? Promotional information?

A lot of my writing that’s still unpublished appears on our website Community 321 (named after Ephesians 3:21). For promotional work, I point to Shirin, Sarah, and Stephanie who are all great writers and computer gurus. They know the new rules on how to maximize the web in order to get the information out. Besides being musicians, Sarah and Stephanie are social media consultants.

Thanks for joining me this week, John!
Blessings, readers. Check out John's book if you want a deeper prayer life with God.

He Holds You in His Hand

My agent Diana shared this with her clients a few days ago and suggested we pass it on. So today, to you who may be facing problems, dealing with discouragement, or at a low point in your life: this is for YOU.
“Fear not [there is nothing to fear], for I am with you...I will help you; yes, I will hold you up and retain you with My [victorious] right hand...”

(Isaiah 41:10, AMP)


TODAY’S WORD

We all face situations in life that feel out of control. During times like these, it’s easy to get discouraged and allow fear to creep in; but instead, why don’t you focus on the fact that God is holding you in the palm of His hand! There is nothing too difficult for Him; nothing’s impossible; nothing is beyond His ability. When God holds you in His hand, you are safe; you are cared for. In His hand, there is victory. In His hand, there is strength. In His hand, there is provision. In His hand is everything you need.

No matter what you may be going through today, you can trust that God is for you. Instead of getting down and depressed over your circumstances, look up and get a vision of God turning that situation around. Let faith arise in your heart and focus on His favor, promotion and blessing. As you keep your heart and mind focused on Him and choose to obey His Word, you’ll see those supernatural breaks that will launch you further ahead than you ever thought possible because He holds you with His victorious right hand!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY

Father in heaven, thank You for helping me and holding me in Your victorious right hand. I choose to trust You even when things don’t make sense, even when things seem beyond my control. I release my cares to You knowing that You work all things together for my good. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

Blessings!

Sunday Morning Peace



How Should I Pray?

"The proper way for man to pray," said Deacon Lemuel Keyes, "the only proper attitude is down upon his knees."

"Nay, I should say the way to pray," said Reverend Doctor Wise, "is standing straight with outstretched arms, with rapt and upturned eyes."

"Oh, no, no, no," said Elder Snow, "such posture is too proud. A man should pray with eyes fast-closed and head contritely bowed."

"It seems to me his hands should be austerely clasped in front, with both thumbs pointing to the ground," said Reverend Doctor Blunt.

"Last year I fell in Hodgkin's well headfirst," said Cyri Brown, "with both my heels sticking up, my head pointing down, and I done prayed right then and there. Best prayer I ever said, the prayingest prayer I ever prayed--a standing on my head."

Smile. So What do you think? Does it really matter to God? hmmm.

Blessings!

The Leaning Side

I love barns especially old ones. I guess atmosphere-settings-fascinate me more than a lot of other things. But more on that later. If I was a professional photographer, barns would be one object I'd take lots of pictures of. And I love to read about them in novels!

• Did you know that older barns were built from lumber sawn from timber on a farm?
• New England, and probably old England, used stone for their barns.
• Nowadays, steel is the favorite building medium.

Lots of them have gambrels (hip roofs) to maximize the hayloft. How many children have spent a sunny afternoon inventing adventures there? How many hoboes or homeless people or even hired hands have spent their nights in one?

Here's some fun idioms:

• To go "all around Robin Hood's barn" means: to take an indirect route.
• To "lock the barn door after the horse is gone" implies that one is trying to be careful or try to make something certain or to fix a problem after it is too late.
• "Were you raised in a barn?" is an accusation used when someone exhibits poor manners such as leaving doors open.
  

And last here's a story about a leaning barn. Read and learn!

Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old deacon who always prayed, "Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side."

After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, "Well sir, you see, it's like this . . . I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time. It's withstood a lot of weather, it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years. It's still standing, but one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit. So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.

Then I got to thinking 'bout that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time, I've withstood a lot of life's storms, I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop me up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning, at times."

Sometime we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't. We need to pray, "Lord, prop us up on our leaning side," so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord. --Author unknown

Two trivia Questions today!
What was the most used colors for barns, and why?
Name three rooms that were common areas in a typical barn.



Quote:

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
- Robert Frost, October

Happy October weekend blessings . . .