Thanksgiving 2011

I just realized that I had not written anything about Thanksgiving........So, here we go!
In September of 2011, our church purchased a dude ranch in Oregon....yes, a dude ranch!  The Bar M Ranch has been in existence since the 1800s!  It has changed hands over the years, and you can find out the history of it on-line, and now it will be a retreat center for our church.  We have been hard at work fixing up the place, and it has been a lot of fun, and a lot of hard work.  I love the history of the original house, it was a stage coach stop for many years, and it is the oldest occupied building in Oregon state!  By the way, our daughter Laura took these photos, since my camera is acting up....I guess that's what happens when you drop them in the ocean!

This is where we and our family spent Thanksgiving.  We rented the Ranch house for 4 days, and enjoyed ourselves immensely.  We ate, and played games, swam in the hot-springs pool; some of us did anyway, it was COLD.  We made "some-mores" in the fireplace, and had many tourney's of ping-pong.  We went for walks along the river, and looked at the stars.  All of our grands loved it....the little ones played and watched movies, the older ones played games, and watched movies, the adults cooked and ate, and watched movies, and cleaned up after the kids  :) 

A Caananite City

Here are some more photos of our trip to Israel.  This site was the coolest....it is the actual city gate and a portion of the wall of a Canaanite City.....from before Abraham's time!!  As you can see, archeologist have to keep the area covered from the sunlight, they found that the wall would disintegrate as soon as they uncovered it.
I love seeing proofs that the Bible is true, and proof of the people who went before us!

!Happy New Year!

New-Having recently come into existence, and being other than the former or old. (From Webster's dictionary)

Don't you just love the word new! It is a word that means.....grace........to me. It is a word that invokes a sense of wonder and excitement. It is a word that can bring feelings of trepidation, and even a bit of fear. It is a word full of the promises of God.
This morning in my quiet time Psalm 25 came to mind:

Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

It is a new year, and I am looking forward to what the Lord has for me; for I know that it is an opportunity for me to walk closer with my God. When we walk with someone it means just that....that we are with them. Not running ahead, or lagging behind, but beside them. So, as I walk into the new year, I have a sense of anticipation of what is to come, as I walk with the God of my salvation. For it is here in this close communion that I will learn of God's truth, and it is here that I will know of His love for me.

Love Never Fails

My plan for today is to get cards and a letter in the mail........I didn't have the time to do so before Christmas, and so......we will be sending out "Happy New Year!" greetings. As I was getting ready to type up the letter, and thinking over the past year, I was reminded once again of God's loving care of me, and of mine. God is such a loving and giving Father........not like anyone on earth......ever!
Is it as hard for you, as it is for me, to not "see" God as we do people? I have a tendency to think, and act like God is going to quit taking care of me, that He is going to get sick of me and my sin, that this will be the "last straw," and that He will be done with me. So often I attribute to God, what humans can do to me.........they give up when they have had enough, and I can't count on them to always be forgiving and loving and gracious,and some do not remain faithful. Of course, not all people are this way. And, if I am honest with myself, I will see that there are times when even I have been less than loving and faithful.
So often I think that God's love for me, is just a better kind of human love. But that isn't the case at all! God's love for me is a never ending, always reaching out, always wanting the best for me kind of love. He loves me totally and completely, never expecting anything in return.
So, as I get ready for the New Year, there is a sweet anticipation of what is to come.........A fresher awareness of the Father's love for me. There will be, I am sure of it, times of doubt ahead, times of sorrow, and of pain.......and there will be many times-more times than I would like, that I will need forgiveness and healing........but......Jesus is the same today, and tomorrow, and for always.........this I can count on.........for His love never fails!

Merry Christmas To All and To All.....A Goodnight!

Bells Across The Snow

O Christmas, merry Christmas
Has it really come again,
With it's memories and greetings,
With it's joy and with it's pain!
Minor chords are in the carol
And a shadow in the light,
And a spray of cypress twining
With the holly wreath tonight.
And the hush is never broken
By laughter light and low,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
It's not so very long
Since voices blended
With the carol and the song!
If we could hear them singing,
As they are singing now,
If we could but see radiance,
Of the crown on each dear brow,
There would be no cry to cover,
No hidden tear to flow,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
This nevermore can be;
We cannot bring again the days
Of our unshadowed glee,
But Christmas, happy Christmas
Sweet herald of goodwill,
With holy songs of glory
Brings holy gladness still.
For peace and hope may brighten,
And patient love may glow,
As we listen in the starlight,
To the "bells across the snow."
By: Francis Ridley Havergal

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope that you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this Christmas season, but most of all we hope that you know the love of the One who gave His life for you! You are the reason He came to earth, you are the apple of His eye, you are very precious to Jesus, and you are sweetly loved.

A New Adventure

"Write for yourself.......all the words that I have spoken to you." Jeremiah 30:2
This passage of scripture was "given" to me, by the Lord, over 10 years ago. It is embarrassing to admit this........I am just now obeying Him.
"It is time," the Lord told me in September, and so I begin to write.
May I say that I feel like a fish out of water, gasping for breath, because I am out of my natural element! I am not a writer, and to be quite frank with you, I don't really speak well either. Conversing with others is not my strong suit. Speaking to a group of women is not what I EVER wanted to do, I feel much better being behind the scenes. And yet, God has given me the spiritual gift of.........talking!" It is what I do for a living, and it is what I do for ministry. And now, He wants me to write.
So, I have begun a new adventure with my Lord.
I am still not quite sure if God wants me to write for myself only, or to write something for others to read; and so, I am praying.......and I have begun to write. I have numerous pages of random thoughts saved on my computer, but as I write, the one thing I know for certain is that God wants me to share my story with others. And so I prayed about starting another blog, and I am sensing that this is what God wants me to do......for now anyway. The blog is titled, "The Handmaid of the Lord." It is the story of my journey, thus far.
I am amazed at how the Lord uses me, and I am amazed at what He asks me to do. I pray that my story will be an encouragement to others, but most of all I want God to receive ALL of the glory and praise.

Ok on to the next stop on our grand Israel tour......We visited a place that I was excited to see....the site where King Solomon had his stables. The place where his many horses lived, and where his chariots were stored.
For you Bible scholars, you will remember that Israel's ancient kings were not to have a store of horses and chariots. They could have some, but not many. In those days, horses and chariots were a sign of great wealth, and of military power, and strength. God commanding them to not have horses and chariots was for a sign to them; and that was that God alone would be the one to protect his people, and that He would be their strength in times of trouble, and in times of battle be the One who brought victory, not the king or his army! It was to be a sign to the king of trust and of faith in God alone.
I know, being excited to see a place of disobedience sounds a bit off, but I loved the reminder of the fact that God means what He says! God wants pure and loving obedience from His kids; but also, that He has grace on mercy on us when we don't obey!
King Solomon was the wisest and richest king who ever lived, no one has ever come close to being like he was. It just goes to show that riches, and intelligence does not make one good,or sin free. At the end of his life, King Solomon trusted in his wealth and in his military strength, not in the Lord.
It is a reminder to me to always be checking where my faith is placed; in self or in others? Or in the Lord God Almighty? For only a changed heart can make for changed actions!