Thursday, November 26, 2009

Email: THE BLOOD

I got this email the other day and since it touched me so much, I thought that I would share it...

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution, but, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children, and it was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son.

The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans, and this is when the problems began..You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son.



The church began to argue and fight about the matter, so they decided to have a meeting. As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand.

The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be.

He began to speak and his statement was this: "My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?" The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters or even ourselves. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble. What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus! End of case!!!!
NOW... Is THAT something to be thankful for!!!???

Monday, November 23, 2009

Joining Angela’s "Tuesdays' Show & Tail" Meme

Today, I’m doing a post to join Angela’s "Tuesdays' Show & Tail" Meme! It is a meme to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known. If you’d like to join, here is the link to the Guidelines. Oh, and I'd like to thank Angela, too, for the wonderful gifts she sent for winning a prize in her give-away. The Snowflakes are just so cute and so are the reindeer scissors!


My Daddy passed away on November 29, 1969 when I was 17 years old. He was very special to me and taught me so very much about love and about loving animals. We always had animals around us at our house… from snakes, raccoons, peacocks, dogs, cats, chinchillas, rabbits, and even a raven that he saved when it’s nest was knocked down. Stinker, was in pin-feathers when he brought him home and lived to the age of 25 years old.

Of course, we also had all of the regular farm type animals even though we really didn’t live on a farm. My Daddy loved animals of all kinds. After he passed away, I was given his wallet by my family. In it were several pictures of the things that he loved. There was a picture of him and my Mama on their wedding day…





Pictures of my sisters and me on a few special occasions…




and two pictures of the goat that he’d had when he was a kid. He was so proud of that goat and loved her very much.

He’d named her Peggy, and she gave two gallons of milk a day, he’d proudly told me as he taught me how to milk the goats we had.


This is Thanksgiving week and I thought I’d post this as I think about how very Thankful I am to God, to have been blessed by having this wonderful, special man for my Daddy, as well as sharing how much he cared about his special fur-friend, Peggy and all the other animals that he taught us to love and care for. I don’t think I’d have been a very good “Country Grammy” without the influence of my wonderful Daddy!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

The Truth Shall Set You Free..

I’ve heard this verse before MANY times during my life... and learned about it... and it has given me hope, etc. but I heard someone on TBN talking about it in a different (for me) way that gave me something to think about.



“You shall know the Truth, and the truth shall set you free…” One BIG truth that I need to remember is that God loves ME AND, has a PLAN for MY life.



Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NKJV) says:

11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.


God wants to be MY Father… my DADDY, and ADOPT me which makes me a daughter of the God of the UNIVERSE! A much loved Princess (somehow, I have a hard time seeing myself in that position.)


When I choose to follow Him and grow spiritually, THEN He will make ALL things work together for good… HE will help ME to grow because He has put HIS Holy Spirit within me and made me a NEW creation. As I am faithful in a little, and prove I can be trusted with that “little” (following His Word more and more) then He will add the MUCH—the POWER to do more and more to bring glory to Him and happiness and fulfillment to me!

How’s THAT for Truth that will set you FREE! Now… if I can just keep that in my MIND, heart and soul…

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Faith and Thankfulness…

I heard someone last week, that said that “Faith is believing in a God that we can’t see AND deciding that HE should be in charge of our lives BECAUSE He is wiser than we are.”

It is true that I’ve never seen God’s (physical) face, but I have seen the work of His hands in the earth and in the sky, and in the things that He has done for me throughout my life. He gave me very special parents and Christian teachers and mentors, and though my wonderful Daddy died in 1969 when I was 17, I can see now that God has used that horribly wrenching experience to lead me into paths I never would have taken if he hadn’t been taken to Heaven. I KNOW that he loved God and I will see him again, too.

I saw how He worked in my Mom’s life and her faith as she struggled to raise me and my two younger sisters. I saw how He blessed that faith and took care of us over the years. I saw her faith in Him, even as she struggled to fight the cancer that finally sent her to Heaven, too, in 2001. Faith, Hope and Love are so much a part of each other, working together to help us grow in God's Kingdom!

I saw many miracles as I worked in a place called the Upper Room Drug and Crisis Center in San Jose during the time I attended San Jose Bible College in the early 70's. All of these things have helped to build my faith over the years.

I’ve seen God working in my children’s lives and the way that He has miraculously saved their lives over the years and helped them as they’ve followed Him. I’ll have to put in some of those stories here in the future.

The more I’ve seen, the more my faith has grown so that I can pray in faith and power, when it is needed. I’ve learned that FAITH is the opposite of worry (and vice versa), and that worry short circuits the FULL power that God can bring to bear on my problems when I DO trust in Him fully.




I am a truly “God Blessed” person, and I am so very thankful to Him for HIS Faithfulness to me. I know that He loves me, even though I have made some bad mistakes in my life, but through HIS mercy, He has forgiven me, and given me peace for the most part. I still stumble and have a tendency to not forgive myself sometimes, but He keeps reminding me of His love for me… and for THAT I am truly thankful!