Encouragement for Today!

❤️Resurrection Sunday❤️

Matthew 20:17-19

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"

1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

John 3:16-17

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to be its judge, but to be its savior.

2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, then new is here!

Happy Resurrection Day 2018!!!

 “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” 

  ~Romans 4:25

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth…”  

~Job 19:25

“I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
~John 11:25-26

Immanuel, God with us in our nature, in our sorrow, in our lifework, in our punishment, in our grave, and now with us, or rather we with Him, in resurrection, ascension, triumph, and Second Advent splendor.
~Charles H. Spurgeon 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
~Col. 3:16-17 


God bless you as you celebrate our risen Savior, Christ Jesus, this Resurrection Day! 

 

In Christ Alone, My Hope is Found!

John 14:6

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me."

U.S. Air Force Band - 2017 Holiday Flash Mob

I love watching the flash mob videos each year and always think how awesome it would be to witness one in person, especially a military band.

Go USAF!!!

~Enjoy~

Clinging to Christ

When my emotions overwhelm me and I can't focus, I turn to music. I found this beautiful song by Sovereign Grace, appropriately titled Cling to Christ. That is all any of us can do because Christ alone is the Savior. He alone is the Redeemer. He alone. I hope in some small way, if you are going through a trial that seems too much to bear, that these lyrics will speak to you through the power of the Holy Spirit and encourage you to hang on, Cling to Christ!

Soli Deo gloria,

Psalm 63:8 (NASB)
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.
 

Happy Resurrection Sunday

Matthew 28:6 (NASB)

He is not here, for he has risen, just as he said. Come, see the place where he was lying.

Luke 1:47 (NASB)

And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

Have a blessed Easter!

(Re-blogged from 2015)

Good Tidings with Great JOY!!!

Joy to the World, the Lord is Come
by Isaac Watts, 1674-1748

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ,
While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains
Repeat the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love.

 John 1:14

And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Morning Devotions

I haven't made a 'personal' post in a while. I've been a bit preoccupied with life in general. But I was prompted to share this today. Most mornings my devotional time is spent in the Psalms, writing out verses that somehow end up pertaining to an event happening in my life. Once I write them down, a Christian song will usually pop into my head and I jot down the chorus or verse that seems most relevant to the Scripture.

This morning I came to my devotional time heavy with empathy for another mom who found out on Monday that she is facing the rest of her life without her child. While I can't begin to grasp the magnitude of grief that she is feeling in the way her child has chosen to leave this earth, I can fully fall into the dark pit of grief with her over losing that precious life she nourished for so long, and had so many hopes and dreams for.

As I opened my Bible this morning, it fell to Psalm 55. The heading in my ESV Bible says Cast Your Burden On The Lord. I began reading and when I came to verse 16 that's when the Lord spoke to me through His Word and I wrote down these verses.

¹⁶ But I call to God,

    and the Lord will save me.

¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon

    I utter my complaint and moan,

    and he hears my voice.

¹⁸ He redeems my soul in safety

    from the battle that I wage,

    for many are arrayed against me.

¹⁹ God will give ear and humble them,

    he who is enthroned from of old, Selah

because they do not change

    and do not fear God.

Bullet points: 

• Call to God 
• He will save me
• Day or night
• He hears me
• He redeems me
• A battle is raging
• God will fight for me

This was my stopping point but no music came to mind. So I bowed my head and began to meditate on His Word. The phrase Call to God  became a refrain. My heart cry was causing rivulets of tears to drip off my chin, and then I knew the lyrics I was looking for. In so many ways, this song touches on something happening in my own life or in the lives of family and friends. I hope you will be blessed and encouraged today that you and I have someONE we can cry out to, who will rescue us, redeem us, fight for us, if we will only CRY OUT TO JESUS!

God's Word instructs us to pray for one another.

Friend, is there something your heart is burdened about today?

I would be honored to pray for you. If you feel it isn't something you can share in the comments, please send me an email.

By the Sea

Now that we are empty nesters, our weekend mornings are spent watching the sunrise and walking along the beach. All this free time together to explore and enjoy this next phase of life is a bit surprising as it seems like only yesterday that we were young and carefree, learning about life and each other. I'm often reminded of this Disney song we used to sing with our children when they were little.

"By the sea, by the beautiful sea, you and me, oh how happy we'll be."

  

Until next time,

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{Sunday} Morning Worship & Praise

WONDERFUL, MERCIFUL SAVIOR

Words and music by Dawn Rodgers & Eric Wyse

Wonderful, merciful Savior,

Precious Redeemer, and Friend,

Who would have thought that a lamb could

Rescue the souls of men?

Oh, you rescue the souls of men.

Counselor, Comforter, Keeper,

Spirit we long to embrace;

You offer hope when our hearts have

Hopelessly lost the way,

Oh, we hopelessly lost the way.

Refrain

        You are the One that we praise,

        You are the One we adore,

        You give the healing and grace

        Our hearts always hunger for;

        Oh, our hearts always hunger for.

Almighty, infinite Father,

Faithfully loving Your own;

Here in our weakness You find us

Falling before Your throne,

Oh, we’re falling before Your throne.

  © 1989 Word Music ASCAP & Dayspring Music BMI

~Blessed Sabbath~

{Sunday} Morning Worship & Praise - Stormy Weather

Good morning, Friends!

After almost 50 days without rain, we have finally gotten into the afternoon thunderstorm pattern. A few have been accompanied by some serious looking clouds. 

 I took this one with my cell phone on zoom (hence the graininess) as I was in a hurry to get back inside. Despite the fact that it looked like a Tornado was forming, it was a false alarm.

But seeing these storm clouds made me think about the storms in life and what they mean. I found this excellent article by J Vernon McGee on OnePlace.com and thought I would share.

Articles By Thru the Bible

Weathering the Storms

 Dr. J. Vernon McGee

That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know. (1 Thessalonians 3:3,4)

Here is a statement that is a little hard for any of us to swallow. Paul says that we should not be disturbed by "these afflictions," that is, pressures and tensions. Then he makes the amazing statement that "we are appointed thereunto." We know that we are going to go through storms. They will be temporary, but we cannot escape them. We are going to have trouble down here; the Word of God makes that very clear. Paul wants the Thessalonians to stand for the Lord in the midst of afflictions.

There are other passages of Scripture that teach this same truth. The Lord Jesus said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Tribulation is the trouble that all of us are going to have. There is no way around it. Yet the Lord Himself tells us to be of good cheer even in the midst of trouble.

If you are a believer, you are not going to escape trouble. To accept Christ does not mean to take out an insurance policy against suffering. The fact of the matter is that you will have trouble after you become a child of God, even if you haven't had any trouble before. He has never promised that we would miss the storm, but we will go through all the storms of life. What He does say very definitely and dogmatically is that He will go with us through the storms and that we will reach the harbor. Any boat that He is in will not go to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee but will reach the other side. You and I are in the process of going to the other side.

The time to be concerned is when there is no cloud in the sky, no ripple on the sea, and everything is smooth and nice. Then you might question your salvation. But if you are experiencing trouble down here, if the pressures and tensions of life are on you, then that is a sign that you are a child of God. This is the way God teaches us to rely on Him.

I remember hearing about a congregation where the pastor asked for some favorite verses of Scripture. One man got up and said his favorite verse was, "And it came to pass." He sat down, and everyone looked puzzled. The pastor asked him how in the world that could be his favorite passage. He answered, "When I get in trouble, I turn to where it says, 'It came to pass,' and I know my troubles came to pass. They didn't come to stay." God will bring us through the storms. We will finally be rid of all our troubles. How wonderful that is.

—From Edited Messages on 1 Thessalonians by Dr. J. Vernon McGee

If you've followed my blog for long you know I've faced some storms, the worst being the loss of my daughter, Amy, three years ago. All I can say, over and over, is that without Jesus, I could not  weather that soul damaging tornado. One day, I will be rid of that storm because this too shall pass. 

And then I found this beautiful song by Rich Mullins, Bound To Come Some Trouble. I had not heard this one before but it resonates in my heart and encourages me in my daily walk with Jesus! 

Hold fast, my friends! Even though we are not promised a road without strife or tribulation, we are promised that Jesus sees our heart ache and his precious Holy Spirit will provide us comfort.

~Have a blessed Sabbath~

{Sunday} Morning Worship & Praise

All Glory, Laud, and Honor

Author:Theodulf, Bishop of Orléans (c. 820)

Psalter Hymnal, (Gray)

 

All glory, laud, and honor
to you, Redeemer, King,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.
You are the King of Israel
and David's royal Son,
now in the Lord's name coming,
the King and Blessed One.

The company of angels
is praising you on high;
and we with all creation
in chorus make reply.
The people of the Hebrews
with palms before you went;
our praise and prayer and anthems
before you we present. 

To you before your passion
they sang their hymns of praise;
to you, now high exalted,
our melody we raise.
As you received their praises,
accept the prayers we bring,
for you delight in goodness,
O good and gracious King! 

 We are praising the Lord today for His hand of mercy!

In all things, God is GOOD!

Romans 8:28

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, 

 for those who are called according to his purpose.

~Have a blessed Sabbath~ 

How Great Thou Art

Going back through my archived posts, I found this one from 2011 and thought I would share it again today. 

Arthur Rice sang a long time ago with The Payne Family from Candler, NC (my husband's family). I found this video of The Kingdom Heirs on YouTube...what a blessing to hear How Great Thou Art sung by this wonderfully gifted Christian man!

Have a blessed Sabbath,

Anne

Happy Resurrection Day!!!

Palm Sunday

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,

All Glory Laud and Honor

Thou art the King of Israel,
Thou David’s royal Son,
Who in the Lord’s Name comest,
The King and Blessèd One.

refrain

All glory, laud and honor,
To Thee, Redeemer, King,
To Whom the lips of children
Made sweet hosannas ring.

Words: The­o­dulph of Or­le­ans, cir­ca 820 (Glor­ia, laus, et hon­or); 

trans­lat­ed from La­tin to Eng­lish by John M. Neale, 1851.

Have a blessed day in the Lord!

In Christ Alone by Owl City

This is a lovely rendition of one of my favorite Christian Contemporary songs.Enjoy!

 ~ Have a blessed day in the Lord ~

~Merry Christmas~

Silent Night

(John Freeman Young (1820-1885); 

translation of Stille Nacht,

verses 1-3)

Silent night, holy night

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon Virgin Mother and Child

Holy Infant so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace

Sleep in heavenly peace

Silent night, holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia!

Christ, the Saviour is born

Christ, the Saviour is born

Silent night, holy night

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from Thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth

Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth 

image credit

Luke 2:8-14

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.  And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”

image credit

Hot & Cold, just not in that order...and the Doxology

This morning we woke to freezing rain and ice accumulation.

Since I'm not a cold weather fan, I took the photo from inside

where it was toasty warm. Oh, and also through the window screen, 

hence the blurred effect :)

Tonight, my husband made me this delicious cup of

White Chocolate Raspberry Hot Cocoa with Whipped Topping & Chocolate Drizzle.

Yes, I am loved.

♥

I'm going to be busy the next few days with my family 

so I'll wish y'all a Happy Thanksgiving and the words to the Doxology!

♥

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

~Thomas Ken

♥

{Sunday} Scripture, Photo Art and Journalling

Psalm 116:15-16

Precious in the sight of the Lord 

is the death of his faithful servants.

Truly I am your servant, Lord; 

I serve you just as my mother did; 

you have freed me from my chains.

My journal entry- August 31, 2013 

Sometimes I sit and stare, my surroundings fading away into a mist, 

my mind wandering through past and present, 

images of Amy as a child, young girl, and finally in death. 

At times these images pull me down, down into darkness 

where I feel there is no hope of ever seeing light again. 

Then just as quickly, I begin to feel tears well in my eyes, 

burning and seeking relief from their prison, 

and in that moment of despair 

I am reminded so vividly of my Father in heaven 

and how much more he loves my daughter than I do. 

How much more he loves his Son than I do. 

How much more he grieved his Son’s death than I do. 

How much more. 

Praising Him for his unfailing love, 

today and every day.

~Have a blessed Sabbath~

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