Monday Monday and Tuesday 4 Combined

 Hello, and welcome to my usual "Monday Monday" post...I noticed that the Tuesday 4 post for this week was going to be about "Rainy Days and Mondays", and so I thought perhaps I would combine the two. I hope that's okay with you!    But first things first...I wanted to share a little about our weekend before I get into the rest of this.

I guess they do kind of go together...

Yesterday was Sunday, and we had a rainy evening. We were going to go for a ride, and when we got outside we noticed the sky looked like this:

So we drove down the road a little ways and decided to turn around and go back home.  However it didn't really start to rain here until much later, and in the meantime our son called us from his house (he lives about a mile away) and told us to look outside, and this is what we saw:

God's beautiful rainbow of promise in the skies!! It was just gorgeous!

I thought it was really remarkable because it still had not rained here. But about an hour later we got quite a thunderstorm and lightning show.  I wasn't able to capture any of the lightning on camera, but it was pretty amazing.

We were thankful to be safely inside our home when the storm finally broke loose. Also very thankful that even though there was a lot of thunder and lightning and heavy rain and wind, we didn't sustain any damage nor did we lose power. That is always a plus!! And we got some much needed rain to refresh the earth and cool things down a little bit! What a blessing! It was a wonderful way to end a perfect Sunday.

Earlier in the day we had a wonderful Sunday service, followed by our 5th Sunday potluck dinner.

One of the special things that happened was "the Blessing of the Backpacks".  Our church is very generous in giving to help make sure that the children of our church and our community have enough school supplies to start the new school year...which will be happening in about a week.  I wish I had gotten a picture of all of the children in our church coming forward to select their new backpack, (following the Pastor's prayer of blessing upon the backpacks and for each child) which was filled with all kinds of school supplies...but these pictures will give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

These pictures were taken a few minutes after they had received their backpacks, when they are on their way to Children's Church and the Youth Group gathering.  Yes, they do this during the worship service because we have found that is the best way to get more children involved in the classes than if it was at an earlier separate Sunday School class. Times have changed, and sometimes churches have to adapt to what works best for families so that we can reach out to them in the best way. 

They are with us in the Sanctuary for the opening songs, etc., and then they come back in toward the end of the service in time for The Lord's Supper.  

Matthew 19:14 NKJV

"But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”

And yes, that is our son Benton and his wife Rose serving Communion yesterday. I would not be honest if I didn't say that yes, I was a very proud Mama to see them up there participating and serving in this important Sacrament. I cannot begin to tell you how special that was for me.

I know not every church does things the same way, and that's okay. We do what we believe honors the Lord and is best for our local congregation. I can only say that we have a very sweet, humble, joyful, and blessed gathering of the Family of God here in our little church. We are very thankful to be a part of this family.

On another "note", a couple of weeks ago I mentioned HERE about how special the song of 

"The Lord's Prayer" was to me, and why.

Well, I couldn't get that song out of my head, and it seemed as though the Lord was encouraging me to sing it.  It's been a long time since I've done any solo singing, and especially a song of this difficulty. But the Lord kept urging me on, and because during the summer months our choir does not sing each week we have different ones sign up for special music instead, so after much prayer I decided to sign up to sing this song in church.  The following is the accompaniment that I used. There is no recording of me singing. Some things are just better left to the imagination. (LOL).  One special feature was that a young woman in our church does sign language to music, and so she did the signing for this song while I was singing. That was a very beautiful added blessing. The only thing was I couldn't watch her while I was singing and I would have loved to have seen her doing this.  But it was a joy to see the looks on the congregation's faces as they watched her.  It was a very special time, and I pray the message of the song was a blessing to all.

Now if you really want to hear our choir singing, in the first part of this video below you can watch/hear us singing "Power in the Blood". The song was pre-recorded last spring while the choir was still together before the summer break. Then the Pastor's sermon is after that, which he records each week.

1 Would you be free from the burden of sin?

There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood;

Would you o'er evil a victory win?

There's wonderful pow'r in the blood.

Refrain:

There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r

In the blood of the Lamb;

There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r

In the precious blood of the Lamb.

2 Would you be free from your passion and pride?

There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood;

Come for a cleansing to Calvary's tide–

There's wonderful pow'r in the blood. 

[Refrain]

3 Would you be whiter, yes brighter than snow?

There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood;

Sin-stains are lost in its life-giving flow–

There's wonderful pow'r in the blood. 

[Refrain]

4 Would you do service for Jesus, your King?

There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood;

Would you live daily His praises to sing?

There's wonderful pow'r in the blood. 

[Refrain]

Last week I mentioned that we had a baptism of two teens, and this week they gave the Pastor a special "gift", which he wore to the potluck dinner after church:

"Pastor, because hardcore devil stomping ninja isn't an official job title."

He got a big kick out of that, and it is just another example of the fun and joy and we have together in our little church.

We are blessed and very thankful.

One other item of thankfulness...I mentioned in my last post HERE that our son Scott had come home last week one day and worked diligently on his car all day long and finally had to leave it to get back to work.  Well he came back home Saturday and worked again most of the day, and he finally got it fixed and was able to drive it again!

So there he goes!

You can't see him, but he is waving at us as he takes off! Yes, this car has a bit of a "rumble" sound as he goes, but it's not too loud...actually sounds pretty good.  It's amazing to us how much he has learned over the years of self-teaching himself how to restore and repair these "classic cars".  Sometimes necessity is the best teacher!

And so with all of that from yesterday's news and events, I will move on to the Tuesday 4 post...

Rainy Days and Mondays

Welcome to Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week to get you blogging and thinking and meeting other bloggers!


Rainy Days and Mondays was a song about being down but, not everyone is down on a Monday or a rainy day.


1. Do Mondays get you down or did they ever? How about a rainy day? What makes it better?

Actually, now that I am retired, Mondays don't get me down at all! They are just another day. This morning we got up early and headed to Walmart before the rush and the heat of the day. Monday seems to be a good day to go there, if you have to go at all. LOL.  A Rainy day? Well that's another story altogether.  As I sit here typing this on Monday afternoon, I am hearing thunder in the distance and it is starting to cloud up and the wind is blowing, and I think we are about to have a rainy Monday afternoon. What makes it better?  Being safe here in my house with my hubby, enjoying not having to be anywhere...

2. How do you like to spend rainy days?
I often spend rainy days either reading, writing, or baking.  Today I am writing to you. Last night during a thunderstorm my hubby said he wished we had some kind of cake to eat, so I baked a devil's food cake and made a buttercream frosting for it. However, I only ate a small piece with whipped cream instead of the frosting, as the frosting is just too sweet and rich for me...plus I can't eat much chocolate. So this cake will be all his to enjoy. LOL. (unless we get unexpected guests, and then they can have some too! Now might be a good time to drop in! We could have cake and tea or coffee!)

3.Do you like to take a walk in the rain?

As long as there's no lightning and if it's only a light shower, I don't mind walking in the rain.  But with our summer afternoon thunderstorms, it's best to stay indoors and out of harm's way.

4.What is your weather like this summer so far? What would make it better or worse? What is your ideal summer weather?

Here in north central Florida where I live our summer weather has been quite hot to say the least.  Although this is actually the norm for us in summertime...hot days and a late afternoon thunderstorm to cool things down a bit, it still seems really extra hot to me.  Ideal summer weather would be to live somewhere where it is no hotter than maybe the low 80's in the day time, no humidity, and cooler evenings around the low 60's or high 50's. I could live with that just fine.

Here is how it looks outside my window right now:

We can hear the thunder in the distance, and by the looks of things we should be getting some rain any minute now.

Another not too unusual of a sight here in summertime...this Black Racer snake was slithering across our yard and ducked under the car when he saw us coming. I managed to get a picture of him before he slithered further away and actually went under the shed.

They are harmless and take care of rodents and other more dangerous snakes, so I don't mind having them around as long as they stay away from my birds!!

Okay, I think I've sufficiently covered the subject(s) at hand for today and tomorrow.  I hope you don't mind reading tomorrow's post today or today's post tomorrow.  LOL.

Thank you, Annie, for coming up with these questions each week.

You all can join in the fun HERE.

I pray that your rainy days and Mondays never get you down!

Rainy Days and Mondays...and songs in my heart...

Rainy days and Mondays don't really get me down, in spite of what the song by The Carpenters said so long ago...(didn't you love their music? Such a great loss when Karen Carpenter died so young).

Actually,  I kind of like a rainy Monday (or any day, for that matter) now and then.  It cools things down a bit and keeps Still Waters Pond healthy and happy

This evening I took a little walk around the yard while it was still just a little bit drizzly out, but it was so pleasant I really enjoyed feeling the cool rain drops that kept falling on my head...(I must be in a musical mood! LOL Another oldie but goodie).

I would have loved to have sat in the swing for a while, but it was kind of wet and the mosquitoes were starting to bite, so I decided to head back inside before they had me for supper...

One last look at Still Waters Pond as the sun was filtering through the clouds, casting everything in a golden glow.

I came back inside to my little "Room with a View" just in time...it is pouring down rain again as we speak...

Some of my newer readers may have never seen that sign below before, "Let Heaven and Nature Sing"...

My son Benton created that sign for me back at our previous house, and it always hung above the kitchen windows. 

For many years it was the banner photo for this blog, "Closed Doors, Open Windows".

(Kitchen windows in our previous home)

These days as I sit here at my computer in "My Room with a View", I am often blessed with varied and interesting views of the world going on outside this window and overlooking Still Waters Pond.

Right now not only is it pouring down rain, but it is starting to get dark. However, this is the current view:

What you see there is the wind chime that a dear friend created for us when our son Matthew passed away in 2014. It has a dove of peace at the top, a moose, (because he lived in Maine and had actually been on a Moose hunt with his son during the time that he was battling cancer. I've shared that story before, but HERE it is again for those who may have missed it.)  Then there is a fish, because Matthew loved to fish, and then the wind chimes and a beautiful sunburst at the bottom. I love to hear it when it chimes...it always makes me feel like Matthew is very near.  

But anyway, that's not what I wanted to talk about, even though it is a very special place in my heart...

Recently we've had lots of hummingbirds coming and going to the feeder that is hanging further over on this porch.  But very often one of the hummingbirds will stop and perch right here on the "tail feathers" of the dove, while she waits her turn to get a drink at the feeder.  I love how they do that while I am sitting here inside watching. It's almost as if they do it on purpose as a way of blessing me...or perhaps to say thank you for feeding me!

Just one of God's sweet little blessings and another way to "let heaven and nature sing."

Speaking of special music...

Last night as I lay down to go to sleep, just after saying my prayers, I could hear in my mind's ears and heart the beautiful strains of the beloved song "The Lord's Prayer".  There is a special story here...

The summer after I graduated high school I spent the summer volunteering as a counselor at what was then known as "The Methodist Youth Camp."  It was a beloved place to me, because I had been going there to camp every summer since my junior high days, as well as attending fall retreats there.

HERE is a previous post written about that place if you'd like to know more. I have many special memories from there as it was the place where I truly turned my life over to the Lord.

But one of the most meaningful memories from there for me was what took place every single night at bedtime. 

All campers were divided up into cabins.  The boys camp was on one side of the property and the girls were on the other. There were usually 12 campers to each cabin. These were very rustic cabins, with old metal bunk beds that squeaked every time you moved, no air conditioning (summer in Florida!), and we had to go to a bath house for showers, etc.  The rules were very strict, and all campers had to be in the cabin and in their bunks by a certain time. We had devotions and prayers together, and then when we could hear the hymns starting to play on the loud speakers throughout the camp, we knew it was time for "lights out". No more talking or moving about. It was time to settle down and go to sleep.  But the best part of all to me was after several hymns played, the very last song we would hear was "The Lord's Prayer".  What a beautiful way to drift off to sleep, "singing" the Lord's Prayer in my heart.

And so last night when I "heard" that song in my mind before I fell asleep, it gave me such a sense of peace and comfort and a feeling of the Lord's Presence very near.

I woke up this morning still singing that song and had to look it up and listen to it again.

Here is one version that I found on the internet that I think you may enjoy. May this be a blessing to you as it was to me...

Matthew 6:9-13 King James Version

9 After this manner therefore pray ye:

 

"Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come, 

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. 

Amen."

Good Night, and May God be with you.

 

Prayer: Something New to Ponder UPDATED

5/7/2015:  * Please see the portions below marked by an *, and then go to the end for the update.

Original Post dated 2/15/15:

"Now a leper came to Him (Jesus), imploring Him, kneeling down to Him and saying to Him, 

'If You are willing, You can make me clean.'

Then Jesus, moved with compassion, stretched out His hand and touched him, and said to him,

'I am willing; be cleansed.'

As soon as He had spoken, immediately the leprosy left him, and he was cleansed."

Mark 1:40-42

Wow! Could it really be that simple?  Jesus said...

"And whatever you ask in My Name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

If you ask anything in My Name, I will do it."

John 14:13-14

According to today's reading (February 15) in Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young, Jesus is saying to us, 

"Come to Me with all your weaknesses; physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Rest in the comfort of My Presence,

remembering that nothing is impossible with Me."

(Reference Luke 1:37 ~ "For with God nothing will be impossible.")

Could that really be true, God? Nothing will be impossible?  Dare we put God to the test?

In Matthew 6 Jesus gives us instruction on how to pray...and in verse 8 He says "...your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.

In verses 9-13 we are given word by word instructions, directly from the source, Jesus Christ Himself...the One Who intercedes on our behalf before the Father, so He ought to know the best way to reach God's ear and heart.  Listen (and pray along with me) this beloved and very familiar prayer: (KJV)

"Our Father, which art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth,
As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.  *
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen."

In verse 14 Jesus goes on to say, "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."*

It is interesting that Jesus seems to put the emphasis on FORGIVENESS in this prayer...and not just our own personal forgiveness from God...but there seems to be a contingency here...it appears that Jesus is telling us that our trespasses (sins, debts, etc.) will be forgiven by God when "we forgive those that trespass against us."    I discovered another place in the Bible this past week that caught me by surprise...I had never in all my years noticed this passage before...and here it is, in the book of JOB...chapter 42 and verse 10. *

"And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends.  Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before."*

Anyone who has ever read or heard the story of Job knows that he was tested severely by the devil...and that Job was an extremely righteous man...He never cursed God or lost faith in Him even though he lost everything and suffered severely.  Job's friends were not exactly comforting or helpful. Instead they were constantly critical of Job AND God, even attempting to turn Job away from God. And even though Job himself did not sin throughout this ordeal, it appears that God was waiting for Job to actually pray for his so-called "friends"...and perhaps even forgive them* for their constant negative jibes and ridicule, before He opened the windows of heaven and restored everything to Job~ even twice as much as he had before.

Very interesting new line of thought here.  Something to ponder when I come before the throne of God asking for healing, deliverance, guidance, or provision.  If I am harboring any form of resentment, anger, or an unforgiving spirit in my heart when I pray, God may not hear me until I forgive others who may have hurt me in some way.*

Perhaps it is time for us to lay down those hurts and resentments and disappointments...and to actually, literally "forgive those who trespass against us." * Yes, this is definitely something to ponder. What about you?  Can I be the only one that needed this message today?

*Okay, now for the update:  I originally wrote this post on 2/15/15.  At that time I had a little sore on my leg that had started out as a little nick made perhaps with a razor, and it got infected, and then became a sore that would not heal. I had cleansed it thoroughly with peroxide, and/or alcohol,  put antibiotic salve on it, scrubbed it, tried other medications, and it just would not go away.  It wasn't terribly sore, but enough to make me notice it and begin to worry.  My husband wanted me to go to the doctor and get it checked, but since I don't have insurance (that's another "sore" subject), I would not go.  But as the weeks and then months went by and this sore remained and would become inflamed and then act like it was healing and then start all over again, I truly was becoming concerned.  You know, they tell you if you have sores that don't heal there could be something more seriously wrong, etc., so I was beginning to fear the worst. 

At the same time, there was a "friend" who was causing some hurt and distress in my life.  Nothing major, but then again, some frustrating and confusing signals.  Resentment and even some anger was beginning to creep in, affecting my attitude toward this individual. This wasn't the first time we'd had "issues", and I wasn't going to let this person get me down again.

Then one evening this person called me, crying and in deep distress, and begging for my forgiveness. At first I was reluctant as I wanted to let this person know just how much her actions had caused hurt and pain for me and others. But as I heard the genuine pain and anguish in her voice, I sensed the Lord telling me it was okay to let it go and to forgive. As I uttered the words of forgiveness verbally, something changed internally...and at that very same instant, the scab literally came off of the sore on my leg.  It opened up the wound and I could see that it was healing. After I concluded my conversation with a prayer for my friend and expressing true compassion that I know came only from God, I went and got a better look at the sore on my leg that was now truly healing...and I remembered these words from this message that I had written just a few months ago...

"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."*

"And the LORD restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends..."

and here was tangible, living proof of the truth of those passages. Even though I believe the wound is healed, it appears there will remain a little scar to remind me of this lesson lest I forget it in the future.

To close this post, I would ask that you also pray for my friend. She is going through some deep water and needs emotional healing.  And pray for me, that I will keep an open heart and loving spirit. And may we all have eyes of compassion to see that sometimes we have to look beyond our personal hurt to see when someone may have deeper needs than our own...and be willing to forgive and help  a brother or a sister...and perhaps be personally healed in the process. Amen.

An Offering of Praise

Remember This post from last November? (Click HERE)   Remember the clues with this picture?

Well, I am back here to tell you how God is blessing this "Open Window" of new opportunity and ministry...

Go back to the Acts chapter two story of the first Christians in the first "church"...

"And they continued steadfastly 

in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship,

in the

BREAKING OF BREAD,

and in PRAYERS.

Then fear came upon every soul, 

and many wonders and signs were done

through the apostles.

Now all who believed were together,

and had all things in common,

and sold their possessions and goods,

and divided them among all,

as anyone had need.

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple,

and

BREAKING BREAD FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE,

they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,

PRAISING GOD AND HAVING FAVOR WITH ALL THE PEOPLE.

And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved."

Acts 2:42-47

Back in November of 2014 we started a home Bible fellowship in our home.  In the beginning there was just one other couple and us...along with my mother in law as she is usually staying with us on the weekends...and our son if he is available...but that was it...two neighbors and our own family.  We believed that God was leading us to do this by faith...and to trust Him for the growth of our fellowship.

Today was a special day...we had our first after worship "pot luck" dinner...something all good church people do very well...and my heart has been so full of the joy of how God is blessing.  Here's a few pictures of the friends gathered here...sorry they are a little blurry...but you'll get the idea:

I think the thing that is so exciting to me is that when we moved to this house exactly three years ago, we didn't know what or how God was going to use this home, but we knew in our hearts that He had a plan,  Click HERE for the first post written from this home in 2012, we just didn't know what or when.

Today we exclaimed joyfully that we are seeing God's hand at work in our midst...bringing people into our lives that we could never have known before coming here, and blessing the faith venture of opening our home for worship and Bible study in ways that we could not have foreseen.  Little by little God is putting it all together.  We don't know where it will lead, but we are content and thankful for how it has developed thus far.  Time will tell what the next phase will be.

One of our new friends has a very lovely singing voice, and she so desires to use it for God's glory.  We were all awestruck as she sang "The Lord's Prayer" for the blessing for our meal today. It was almost too holy of a moment to even think about eating after that wonderful gift from her heart rendered to the Lord.  It dovetailed so beautifully with our lesson today from John 12:1-8, where Mary of Bethany anointed the feet of Jesus with a very costly gift of fragrant oil, and wiped His feet with her hair.  Jesus said that her gift was anointing Him for the day of His burial...as He was going to be crucified just a week later...although the disciples did not know that at the time.  It was a pure gift of love from her heart...and that is how we felt after our friend sang "The Lord's Prayer" so fervently and perfectly today.  An offering of humility and love for our Savior...preparing our hearts for the gift that He gave for us...His very life.

What a marvelous way to enter into the holy season of the Passion of the Christ...Easter...His death, burial, and resurrection...all done for us because He loves us so much...and He wants to spend eternity with us.

Lord, how can I say thanks for the things you've done for me?  "To God Be the Glory"..."My Tribute", written by Andrae' Crouch....this song expresses it beautifully.  

What is your offering of praise to the Lord for the things He has done for you? What a wonderful time to think about this...and to offer our thanksgiving to Him. 

"Humble Ourselves and Pray"

II Chronicles 7:14 "If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Today is the National Day of Prayer.  That has NOT been changed or taken away.  There are churches open everywhere today for prayer. I even noticed the City Hall in Belleview, Florida, will be open today for prayer!  People are joining their hearts in prayer around the country through online sites, prayer chains, and as a unified body, lifting their voices in prayer and praise to our God, for He alone can forgive our sins and heal our land!  There is no other god who can do this.  There is no form of government, no king, no potentate anywhere in the world who can do this.  Do not expect any human to be able to heal our country of its woes and problems.  That is not possible, no matter how intelligent, charismatic, or seemingly powerful a person or governmental organization may appear to be.  Almighty God, Jehovah, Yaweh, is the only omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent Diety who has this capability. 

Kings and princes and other potentates may think they can destroy our nation and our faith, but they are soon going to realize that they are sadly mistaken.  Here is what God says in Psalms 2:1-12

"Why do the nations rage and the people plot a vain thing?

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,

Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying,

'Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.'

He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision.

Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

And distress them in His deep displeasure:

'Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.'

'I will declare the decree:

The Lord has said to Me,

"'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.

Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance,

And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

You shall break them with a rod of iron;

You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"

"Now therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,

and you perish in the way,

when His wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all those who put their trust in HIM."

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray in the following manner:

"Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy name.

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil:

For Thine is the kingdom, and the power,

and the glory, forever.

Amen."

Matthew 6:9-13

Why not take some time today to deliberately join with others in prayer for our nation, our government, our loved ones and friends, and for the world leaders.  There is no one stopping us from praying...this is our great privilege and our true source of power.   Let us unite our hearts together in this precious gift of prayer while there is still time.