Happy Sunday Morning!

 Happy Sunday Morning!  I hope you have remembered to turn your clocks back last night, so you have had that wonderful extra hour of sleep this morning!  Did you wake up in time to see that gorgeous full moon out there? It was really something.

Wondering how many of you had any Trick or Treaters last night?  We had a lot less than we did last year, so I am guessing that many were not too sure about going out due to the threat of the virus. We were ready for them if they did come,  with plenty of candy and a friendly Scarecrow to greet them:

We don't go all out with decorations, but we have a good time, and it is always fun to see the little children in their cute costumes. There were some really creative ones last night, and I wish I had taken more pictures, but here is one special family who came to visit. They are the grandchildren of our good church friends:

Precious children who have stolen our hearts too!

A couple of them entertained us with cartwheels, which was great fun to watch!

Happy Times!

My hubby, our new Scarecrow Friend, our friend Sherrie, and me, all ready to pass out the candy to the kiddos! 

So now, it is Sunday morning, and the Halloween excitement is over, and it is time for Sunday morning worship.  I am getting ready to go to church in a little while, but wanted to share our service with you if you would like to worship along with us. Please tune in and hear our Praise Team singing 

"Precious Lord, Take My Hand."

I've copied below the history of this song, which our worship leader Carol sent to us this morning via email:

"The Praise Team is going to share Precious Lord, Take My Hand. For most, this is a very familiar song. I thought I would start sharing why certain songs were written, if I can find the information. This song was written by Thomas A. Dorsey, who was a blues musician, known as the "Father of Gospel Music." He was a musician and songwriter who began penning songs about God and faith in the early '20s. In 1932 while away working, Dorsey received horrible news that his wife and child died in childbirth. Wrecked by the news, Dorsey, in interviews, said God led him to the piano where he penned "Take My Hand, Precious Lord," which has become his best-known work.

God gave him this song to comfort him and I believe it has comforted many others since that time. If you are having difficulty dealing with the craziness around us, or difficult times in your personal lives, hold out your hand and let God take it. Sing with us."

Precious Lord take my hand, lead me on, let me stand

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Thru the storm, thru the night, lead me on to the light

Take My Hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.

When my way grows drear, Precious Lord linger near

When my life is almost gone

Hear my cry, hear my call, Hold my hand lest I fall

Take My Hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.

When the darkness appears and the night draws near

And the day is past and and gone

At the river I stand, Guide my feet hold my hand

Take My Hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.

Precious Lord take my hand, lead me on, let me stand

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.

Thru the storm, thru the night, lead me on to the light

Take My Hand, Precious Lord, lead me home.

Following the song by the Praise Team, our pastor has a wonderful sermon from Matthew chapter 18, followed by The Lord's Supper. So if you'd like join in, have your bread and cup of juice ready to participate at the close of the message.  

Matthew 18:21-22

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, until seventy times seven.

Have a blessed and Happy Sunday! The first day of November too!

What About Forgiveness?

I almost threw away this little free magazine that came in the mail this past week.  It is entitled "Healthy Living Made Simple", and is published by SamsClub,  the May/June 2013 issue, if you'd like to check it out for yourself.

Before I dropped it into the recycling bin, I decided to skim through the pages to see what it was all about.  There is a picture of Colin Powell smiling at us from the front of the magazine, and he has an article about how he won the battle against prostate cancer. Interesting, but not what excited me today.

Then there were some good diet tips, and an article on how to "walk your way to stress relief".  Good stuff, but still not what got me.

Then I turned the page and saw Oprah Winfrey smiling out at me."What Oprah knows about forgiveness."   That got my attention.  Now, I am not a big Oprah fan, but before you walk away, let me say that I appreciate much of the good she has done through her program and influence...however, she kind of veered off the trail a few times and took a few people with her I fear, in the spiritual sense.  But putting that aside, this particular article is one of the good things she shared, and I found it extremely factual and even biblical. It's so good, in fact, I'd like to share the highlights of it with you:

 The title of the article was,

Quoting Oprah from this article:

"I always love Aha! moments," Oprah says.  "When somebody says something that made us look at life in a completely new way.  When I first heard that, I literally got goose bumps.  The message that came through so clearly and stayed with me is this: 'Forgive, so you can truly live.' Forgiveness is letting go, so the past does not hold you prisoner, does not hold you hostage." 

The article goes on to say:

"Forgiveness doesn't mean you condone the behavior or, in any way, make a wrong into a right.  It simply means that you give yourself permission to release from your past.  It's accepting that it has happened to you--not accepting that it was okay--but that it has happened.  It's not holding on, hoping, wishing that it could have been any other way." 

"If you haven't been able to forgive, then you're holding on to something.  The person who hurt you has moved on in their life, but you are stuck in the anger--you're stuck in the negativity.  It takes a lot of energy to hold a grudge and be angy at somebody.  The truth is if you're holding a grudge, that grudge is really holding you."

Oprah says, "We think unforgiveness protects us, but in fact it really doesn't--it poisons us.  It has everything to do with you and nothing to do with the other person.  Unforgiveness blocks you from taking the risk of love."  "One of my favorite quotes is 'Unforgivenss unchecked becomes a cancer of the soul.'  What I know is that forgiveness is like medicine--medicine that can heal your pain.  It can bring you peace.  Forgiveness is something that you do for yourself.  Forgiveness means that what someone did no longer is going to affect how you live in the present moment.  When I got that, it took me to the next level of being a better person."

 What does the Bible teach us about forgiveness?


"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do NOT forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."  Matthew 6:14-15

"And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

"Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do."  Colossians 3:12-13

"Then Peter came to Him and said, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?'  Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'"
Matthew 18:21-22

This is just a random sampling of the many passages in scripture regarding the subject of forgiveness. Actually, the whole Bible is a story of forgiveness...if you think about it...

So why is it such a difficult thing for us to do?  Why do we hang on to our bitterness, hatred, anger, and unforgiving spirit, when we have been forgiven of so much ourselves?  Good question. I know from personal experience that when I harbored unforgiveness in my heart toward someone, it kept me bound in fear, anger and huge resentment.  I could not love, I could not care, I could not grow.  My spiritual growth was stunted, and I was evolving into someone ugly and mean spirited.  When I allowed myself to forgive and move on with my life, when I was actually able to tell the other person that I forgave them, I was set free.  Whether or not they accepted my forgiveness was not my problem.  That was theirs to grapple with.  Of course, we always like to have the happy endings, where everyone forgives and forgets and loves like nothing ever happened.  That seldom happens...but if we can forgive and let go of the bitterness and resentment, we can love again...only much wiser and stronger. And who knows but that our act of forgiveness might even open the door for the other person to grow and change too? It just might...but even if it doesn't, forgive anyway and move on to brighter days.

Some good things to think about today, don't you think? Do you have someone in your life that you need to forgive? What do you have to lose? You may actually gain a new perspective on living...and a brighter, healthier life, both physically, spiritually and mentally.  Sounds like a good plan to me.
The Song "Forgiveness" by Matthew West  -- check out this link for a great song about what we've been talking about.   Great story behind this song too.

For More discussion on this topic, hop over to the next post, entitled: Forgiveness, Part II.  That should pretty well cover the subject I hope! If not, please forgive me! :)