SONday Musings, Here I Am, Lord.

 Good SONday morning, Friends.  I hope you are having a blessed and beautiful day of worship and rest.  I am doing both.  Listening to the following song and message for today, as I am at home instead of at church.  I've been battling a sinus/allergy/laryngitis issue all week long.  It's been rather "quiet" here at home as a result.  But you know I chose the word "Listen" for my "One Word" for 2023, or rather I believe the Lord chose that word for me...either way, I believe it is a word that God wanted me to pay attention to at this time in my life.  Listen...

Here I Am, Lord

I, the Lord of sea and sky

I have heard my people cry

All who dwell in dark and sin

My hand will save

I have made the stars of night

I will make their darkness bright

Who will bear my light to them?

Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night

I will go, Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart

I, the Lord of wind and flame

I will tend the poor and lame

I will set a feast for them

My hand will save

Finest bread I will provide

'Til their hearts be satisfied

I will give my life to them

Whom shall I send?

Here I am, Lord

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night

I will go, Lord

If You lead me

I will hold Your people in my heart

I will hold Your people in my heart

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Dan Schutte

Here I Am, Lord lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Isaiah 6:8 

8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying:

“Whom shall I send,

And who will go for Us?”

Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

God also speaks these words back to us through His Word again in Isaiah 58...read on:

Isaiah 58:6-9

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,

To undo the heavy burdens,

To let the oppressed go free,

And that you break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,

And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;

When you see the naked, that you cover him,

And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,

Your healing shall spring forth speedily,

And your righteousness shall go before you;

The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

As we listen to God's voice and obey His Word, He will reveal Himself to us and say, "Here I am..."

It's a two way street...we listen and call out to God, and He hears us and responds.  What a Mighty God we serve!  As we listen to Him, He listens to us...as we respond to His call, He responds to our call. 

If you continue listening to the video above, the pastor's sermon is from Matthew 11, entitled, "Don't Doubt in the Darkness What God Has Shown You in the Light".   It really seems to go along with this this same theme...as we listen to God's Word, we are to believe His Word and trust Him to do exactly as He has promised.  Don't doubt what His Word has revealed to you...walk in faith believing...answer His call on your life..."Here I am, Lord...send me."

I'm not entirely sure where all of this will lead me...I know in the past, when I've truly surrendered my will to God's will and humbly said, "Here I am, Lord...send me..." , we've ended up being sent to some pretty interesting places.  We are at an age now where I don't expect God will be "sending" us anywhere new or different...but then again, one never knows.  One thing I have learned in life, 'never say never'.  As long as we have breath in our bodies we have life and purpose, and God may have some new challenge for us to accept.  But today I can't imagine what it could be.  Right now I just want to feel better...I've got this shoulder/arm issue that I 'm dealing with as well as the sinus/laryngitis issue. These are minor things compared to what many others are going through, and I am thankful for that, but nonetheless they are issues that need to be healed before I can move on to the next part of this journey.  One day at a time...with God, All things are possible...

Okay, that's all for today folks. I don't have any new pictures to speak of. Well, maybe one or two.  Last night our "kids" came over for some homemade beef vegetable soup that I made yesterday. I've been craving it and finally, with the weather cold and windy again and me not feeling quite up to par, I sent hubby to the store to buy some stew beef so I could make the soup. I made such a big pot of it that we invited the kids over to share it with us. I meant to take some pictures of the soup, but forgot.  But I did take some pictures of our grandpuppies, "Sugar and Spice", as they were watching out the glass doors toward Still Waters Pond to see what they could see...

They were watching for squirrels, cats, birds and geese.  They may have seen some or all of the above, but thankfully they were safe inside and unable to go chasing after them.

And with this sweet picture I will say good bye for now. Going to drink another cup of hot tea and maybe take a nap before hubby gets home from church

"Here I am, Lord...

Is it I, Lord?

I have heard You calling in the night..."

You're Always Welcome at the "Table of Grace"

You're always welcome, at "The Table of Grace"

"Hear the good news, you've been invited

No matter what others may say,

Your darkest sins will be forgiven

You will always have a place.

At the table of grace the cup's never empty.

The plate's always full and it's never too late.

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace.

So come weak, and heavy hearted (heavy hearted)

Don't try to hide your earthly scars.

In His eyes, we all are equal (yes, we are)

Don't be afraid, come as you are.

At the table of grace the cup's never empty.

The plate's always full, and it's never too late.

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace.

(Instrumental break)

So let the first become the last

Let the poor put kings to shame.

Their willing hearts will be their treasure

By the power of Jesus' name!

At the table of grace the cup's never empty

The plate's always full, and it's never too late!

To come and be filled with love never ending

You're always welcome at the table of grace

At the table of grace the cup's never empty.

The plate's always full, and it's never too late

To come and be filled with love never ending:

You're always welcome at the table.

Everyone's welcome at the table of grace."

Songwriters: Connie Rae Harrington / Anna Hutto
Table Of Grace lyrics © Universal Music - Brentwood Benson Publ.

Dear friends, I hope you know you are always welcome at "The Table of Grace".   Have a blessed and beautiful SONday today.

Happy SONday!

 I hope you are having a wonderful SONday today! We are so blessed to be able to worship God freely in our country, and I pray that NEVER changes!  

In case you aren't able to attend church where you live, here is a link to our Sunday worship service. Our pastor records his message each week ahead of time, and our choir also records our special music for the day so that those who aren't able to attend in person can worship with us.

If you'd like to sing along with our song, or at least be able to understand all the words to this very beautiful song, here are the lyrics to "And He's Ever Interceding"

"Someone to go the extra mile, just like a mother caring for her child;

A friend who sticks thro’ think and thin, 

no matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been.

Just like one great big family; a stronger, older brother He will be;

So quick and ready to defend, the younger, weaker to the end.

And He’s ever interceding to the Father for His children

Yes, He’s ever interceding to the Father for His own.

Thro’ Him you can reach the Father, so bring Him all your heavy burdens;

Yes, for you He’s interceding, so come boldly to the throne.

Just like sheep we’d gone astray, struggling ‘neath a debt we could not pay;

Not ever hoping to renew the love and fellowship that we once knew.

But He began to intercede, crying, “Father, please forgive, I plead;”

And as the nails pierced in His hands, God once again reached out to man!

And He’s ever interceding to the Father for His children

Yes, He’s ever interceding to the Father for His own.

Thro’ Him you can reach the Father, so bring Him all your heavy burdens;

Yes, for you He’s interceding, so come boldly to the throne.

So come boldly to the throne. So come boldly to the throne."

Such a powerful message of comfort and hope and love...to know that Jesus is always interceding on our behalf to God the Father...and He's always there, ready to carry our heavy burdens, "so come boldly to the throne!"

I am sure you will also enjoy the sermon from the book of James 1:17-27.  One particular part of this message that I got was from verses 22-25, about being a "doer of the word and not hearers only".  Sometimes we HEAR the Word of God and we think we have done well to hear it...but if we don't put it to use in our hearts and lives, then we are deceiving ourselves into thinking we are okay because we went to church and heard a nice sermon.  We are supposed to be applying what we have heard to our own personal lives and being changed by God's Word day by day...we should be acting upon what we have heard and reaching out to others with the love of Christ in whatever way possible.  

I think this past year with the restrictions we have been living under, we have kind of given ourselves an excuse to not become involved too much in other people's lives. It is very convenient to hide behind a mask and use "social distancing" as a way to keep from reaching out to those who may be lonely, hurting, or in need of some human companionship.  But there are ways to still encourage one another even without the physical connection, (even though we still need that connection more than we realize).  Phone calls, cards, visiting with appropriate safety procedures in place...whatever the need may be.   We have not been given a pass to ignore the plights of those who may need our help in whatever way we are capable of doing.  I am preaching to myself here.  Writing our blogs can be a way of reaching out to others with words of hope, love and even some much needed laughter.  Let us focus on ways to encourage and uplift one another as much as possible...we all need it!

I know there may be some who don't fully appreciate or understand my recent "obsession" with a cute little dolly named Lily Grace.  But I hope if you have concerns for my sanity or if I may be lapsing into senility...please at least come over and visit with us first before passing judgment too quickly.  Lily Grace was a gift who has become a gift to many others with her winsome, happy, joyful ways. She has been such a blessing to me in the enacting of looking at life through the eyes of a small child again...and I hope and pray she will be just that for you as well.  I don't know how long I will be able to keep up with her as she certainly has more energy that I do...but for however long God will continue to provide the enthusiasm and imagination to make her little adventures come to life in a way that is uplifting to others, I will do my best to share them with you!  

Here's Lily Grace all dressed up for Sunday School today. 

Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 18:2-4:

2. "Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, 3. and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. 4. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Here is a link to her latest adventure entitled "God Made Everything Beautiful".  I hope you will take the time to come along and enjoy this little adventure with me. 

Hope you have a wonderful day!! Come see us again soon, okay?

SONday Praise

Colossians 1:15-17

15.  "He is the image of the invisible God, 

the firstborn over all creation.

16.  For by Him all things were created that are 

in heaven and that are on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

All things were created through Him and for Him.

17.  And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."

Just a few pictures of odds an ends from our journeys through the forest this past week.  I won't describe...just enjoy and have a blessed SONday, giving glory to God and praise to His Son, 

the "Firstborn over all creation."

Colossians 1:9-14

9.  "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it,

 do not cease to pray for you,

and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will 

in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

10.  that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him,

being fruitful in every good work and 

increasing in the knowledge of God;

11.  strengthened with all might, 

according to His glorious power, 

for all patience and longsuffering with joy;

12.  giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

13.  He has delivered us from the power of darkness and 

conveyed us into the kingdom of The Son of His love,

14.  in Whom we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of sins."

Praise the Lord!!

Thank you for joining me for some SONday praise!!

The Secret Garden Chronicles: From the Rising of the Sun

Sunday Morning Meditation

from the Secret Garden

Psalm 113:1-6

1.  "Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

Praise the name of the Lord!

2.  Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore!

3.  From the rising of the sun to its going down

The Lord's name is to be praised."

 4.  The Lord is high above all nations, 

His glory above the heavens.

5.  Who is like the Lord our God,

Who dwells on high,

6.  Who humbles Himself to behold

the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?"

Praise the Lord!!

This was the sunrise this morning from the Secret Garden...it was a glorious moment, with the sky all pink and gold and radiant with God's glory...but it only lasted a few moments and then was overcome by the clouds.  I'm so glad God directed my attention to this time of His showing forth His grandeur for just these few moments.  What a beautiful way to start our "SONday", with praising the name of the Lord..."From this time forth and forevermore!"  

I pray that your "SONday" is filled with His praise and glory!!