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Morning Devotional...


Matthew 6:13.  "For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.  Amen."

Because our Lord Jesus Christ is a King, He has both a kingdom and His rule over it, both realm and reign.  His realm is the whole universe, but especially His Church, which includes every local church as well as the Church universal.

Regarding His rule, the prophet Daniel said, "All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.  No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, 'What have You done?'"  In other words, the Scripture is simply telling us that He is Lord of all.

He's the One Who taught this model prayer to His disciples.  He taught them to express their desire to have His kingdom and will realized in their lives.  He taught them to depend upon their heavenly Father for daily bread and forgiveness of sins, for daily leading and protection from the Tempter.  And, finally, He taught them why.

He taught them - and us - that they should relate to God in every part of their lives simply because it's His kingdom they're living in and because it's by His power alone that they can have any of their concerns taken care of, and because it's to His glory alone when it happens.

I want to summarize all this for us today.  Boiled down to its essence, it's telling us that this world and all it stands for is not about us, but it's about our Lord alone.

For those who make Him the very Center and Purpose of their lives, He promises a loving relationship that includes the supply of all their needs - including their need of Him.

Do you know Him as your King?  Do you depend upon Him for power from moment to moment?  Will you be glad if He is glorified in your life both now and ever?
Al Moak



And now to repeat musically that wonderful edition of our Lord's special prayer:

Good Morning all:  Here we are, the month of September!  Kids going back to school tomorrow, - at least thats the way it is here in Ontario,'.
I used to love the excitement of getting my children ready for the first day of school.  They always had a new outfit - new books, and sometimes, a new friend had moved in to our neighbourhood.

Today, we are meeting with my cousin who is living in Waterloo for 6 months , then she goes back to California for the winter months. (tough life, huh).

How is everyone else spending "Labour Day"?

- Judy

Judy Mc ~ I have only been a Red Hatter a few months but I sure enjoy the fun and company.  It is my time to choose where to go this month.  We are going to Greenfield to 'The Bread Ladies'.  They make all their own breads and they have a 4Star Chef.  I have never been there but will let you all know how it is....in case you are in Greenfield, Indiana, sometime. 

Not much going on for me today.  I think it is still trash day, not sure.  Ivalou's daughter will be going back to Ohio.  And I will probably just read and veg out.

Good Morning. Thank you Al for the  conclusion of the Lord's Prayer.

Smokey I totally understand about the way the congregation spreads out. I too help take the offering, There are three of us. The brother who usually goes down the middle only pays attention to one side. The The main usher wants me in the middle because I do both sides, However it never only turns out that I am in the middle aisle occasionally when he is absent. Yesterday with so many out they were really spread out.

I am working this morning for Jan, she traded her Thursday for today. Then Friday I have to clean the other couple house that I do every other week. I forgot about them so that 5 days off I thought  had  isn't happening.

TTYL

Hi everyone.  This is kind of a laid back day.  We had to go to coffee at McDonald's this morning as our regular cafe is closed for Labor Day.  Yes, Judy, I still go to coffee but only 6 days a week.  Usually it is to the cafe but on Friday's we go to the local senior center and when our regular cafe is closed we go to McDonald's.  We even have a fall back plan if McDonald's is closed to another place that is always open.  I have been doing this for 10 years and it gives me a good reason to get up every morning and get out of the house for 90 minutes or so.

Nothing much new here.  We think our son will come over later today to do some chores we need help with.  We haven't seen him for a couple of weeks.  They got a firm contract on their property last Thursday and have sold most of the things they will not be moving.

Al, thanks for the devotional today. 

Great devotional, Al. Thanks !

Good morning everyone, have a Blessed Day !

Wow!  Can it really be 1 PM already?    I guess when you don't get home until 2 AM, sleep later, then spend some quality time with hubby, catching up on each other's weekend, catch up with emails and CP posts--yes, it is afternoon already.

Darrel had a good time reminiscing with his old high school classmates at their 50th year reunion.  He told me a lot about it, and said several missed me and would have liked to see me.  And I really feel bad about missing it, too---but wanted to see Curtis, Toni and Mark.  Do any of you have a formula for being in two places at the same time? 

I had a fun weekend with the kids and grands.  They sure can wear Grams out, though!  Up early and late every day, and go, go, go!  The good news is, K STATE WON!!  They only won by one point, but they did win over Illinois State U.  They also had the dedication of the stadium, which has been re-named Bill Snyder Family Stadium in honor of the football coach who retired last year after 17 years.  He was responsible for turning the football program at K-State around and building a great team.  He and his whole family were there as honored guests, and he spoke briefly.  TMI...sorry. 

And for those who have looked unsuccessfully for the China Trip report, the reason you didn't find it is because it isn't there....yet.  I have been away for two FULL (and I do mean full!) days.  I will see if I can work on that today.  Thanks for your interest.

I really enjoyed the devotional about the black flies (hate 'em) and sin.  Very good.  Isn't it wonderful how God can teach us lessons even from the mundane things, and small things of life?  And some are so good at verbalizing those lessons.  Thanks for sharing, and I liked your photos, too.

I'd better stop rambling before this gets too long!

Good afternoon all,
     Although I read this early this morning I wanted to read it again. Great devotional! It really is all about the Lord and not us. (My friend Laurie says it's all about her but she is kidding with me.)

     I really need to remember it is about God especially when I have a customer who is really getting on my nerves, I'm a cashier for Wegman's. God is good, He keeps a guard on my tongue, thankfully! LOL

     Well, this is it for now, had to work today and have been up since midnight and will get up then again. Michael's nurse leaves then.

     Everyone have a blessed day and night.
     Every Blesssing to you all,
     <><Jeannine

Oh - so many of you are still enjoying the warm sunny days.  Its a lot like fall here, in southern Ontario.  Its not really my favourite time of year......reminds me too much, that w . . . . r isn't too far off!

Janet :  How is Beth these days?

I see the family doc. tomorrow, - I'm so afraid that I have seriously injured my left hip.  The pain is terrible.

I'd sure appreciate your prayers!

Judy, it feels like fall here in Kansas, too.  I don't remember when we have had such a cool, wet August!  Usually it is terribly hot, dry and windy, so we have enjoyed and appreciate the change a lot.

Beth is about the same, maybe gaining a little strength, and her color is better.

I do hope you havent damaged that hip; and that you can get relief from the pain.

I am so frustrated!!  I worked for two hours on the China trip report, then my computer froze up and I lost all of the corrections and additions. GRRRRR...   WHY does it do that??

Some good thoughts about WORK:

YOUR WORK IS A GIFT

Work sometimes has a bad reputation in our world. But there is
something worse than work, and that is boredom. At least that is what
Drs. Kathryn Rost and G. Richard Smith of the University of Arkansas
say. After analyzing the mental health of heart attack survivors,
they concluded that one factor which greatly reduced the chances of
depression was going back to work.

And why not? At work we are often around friends, and people with
strong relationships will almost always fare better mentally. But we
humans also need to be useful and productive!

Arthur Kroeger wrote in Quote magazine (August 1994) that his brother
sometimes visited an Anabaptist colony in southern Alberta, Canada.
During one visit he asked leaders how they dealt with the problem of
misbehavior - when people rebelled against the colony's strict rules.
He was told that these people were first asked to correct their
behavior. If they did not respond, they would be given a stern
"talking to."

"But what do you do when all else fails, when somebody stubbornly
refuses to behave?" he pressed.

"Ah," came the reply, "if it comes to that, then we don't give him
anything to do."

The ultimate punishment - don't give them any work! If that doesn't
sound so bad, just ask those who are unemployed how they feel about
not working....

It has been wisely said, "The Lord didn't burden us with work, but
rather blessed us with it." We need to be busy and productive.

Whatever it is you do to make a living - be grateful. Those long
hours and that feeling of exhaustion at the end of the day come from
having something useful to do. Your work is a gift. You are blessed.
__________

 

Al:  Thanks for the devotional on the Lord's Prayer

Judy: I sure hope that your hip is just a little tired but not broken.

Janet & the rest of you hello

Marilyn: you will have a 4 day holiday instead of 5.

Yes my summer vacation is over, tomorrow is the start of school for another year and I am one of the bus drivers that go from point to point picking the students up in the morning  or taking them home in the afternoon.  We have a mix of new drivers and also new students.
But really the rules remain the same. 

Today we had a mix of sun & cloud and yes a red sunset so that indicates we will have a nice day tomorrow. Now to check my mail.

Ruth 

It is a little bit early, but today is a holiday!  I'm closing up early here, but click here and continue to post!!