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Morning Devotional...


God had respect unto them. Exodus 2:25

This statement can be translated, "and God knew."

The children of Israel may not, at this time, have had any reason to recognize this, nor in their distress did many of them particularly care. But all the while God was fully aware of every detail of their plight--and He was prepared to do something about it.

It is encouraging to know that our Father knows every need we have before we ask Him (Mt. 6:.

At just the right time He will provide His perfect solution to every problem (Eph. 3:20).
                                                                                    --Garry W. Seale

JENNY.  England. 11.a.m. (anti-meridian)

Absolutely perfect devotional for me...spot on! Thank-you Lord!

"Thou shalt arise and have mercy upon Zion; for the time to favour her, yes the set time has come." Ps 102:13-14.

Dear Ones, thankyou for the prayers for Christopher....he has phoned to say all went well.  There are various jobs in various departents and the marks from the arduous exam and marks for the interviews will be assessed in two weeks and folks placed in the offices considered suitable to their talents...no-one will know until the assessments board has decided.......this is a Government Office!........Vacancies arise throughout the year and can only be filled at one time annually......Please continue to uphold this situation before our Lord..........and that Chris remains bouyant upon the waters and for that promised Miracle.


Another beautiful morning here in England....the flowers are looking so bright in my garden, must pop and give them a drink.

My love and prayerful thoughts to all of you,
Jenny.

Well I'm glad its a good day in England Jenny, it's pouring up here.

I was also blessed by todays devotional - thanks Pat.

'Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.'

Mark 11: 22-24.

Many years ago I had a real character of a Foreman. He was a fair man, happy if the work was done and an angry camper if it was not finished on time! If anyone under his command was found not pulling his weight, our Foreman would take him aside and holding him by his lapels this is the message he would utter.

'I want you to listen very carefully to this message. I am going to tell you to do something. When it leaves my lips, it will be a request, however when it hits your ears, it will be a command! Do you understand?' A quick nod of the head then back to work! We got the message, loud and clear.

It was the first few words in our text that made me think of that time with our Foreman.

What tone of voice did Jesus use with His statement, 'have faith in God?' A command from on High or a gentle request?

This is indeed a most challenging text? It is almost as if God is placing before us a blank cheque book, with His signature upon it. A guarantee that whatever is requested will be met in full. Do we have true Christian boldness and courage to put God's Word to the test? There has not been one person in history that He has failed.

How often do we go forward each day in our own strength rather than in God's? We only urgently call upon our God and His strength when we are in trouble. Is that the way we should be living? No and a thousand times no! Our duty is to honour God, and the only way in which we can do that in this life is by relying completely upon Him for EVERYTHING.

It was said of a friend of mine who died recently that his great strength was that he leaned heavily upon his Saviour. 'Take my yoke upon you for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.' Jesus delights to carry our heavy loads. He has strong shoulders. He also has the power to meet all our needs.

All too often we suffer because of little faith. Looking inward and seeing no good thing. Looking at our circumstances and cringing with fear and trepidation.  We dread the mountains and hills that lie in our path. 'Hills at the presence of our God, like wax shall melt away.' 'Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth.'

Do we worry about the past? Have we a fear in our heart about tomorrow or even what we have to face today? 'Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.'

Perhaps we may be feeling down and our soul seems like a dry parched land. We wander around like the dove with a tear in her eye, as one whose heart is full of heaviness, yearning for a glimpse of our Beloved.

We long for better days. We pray, 'restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.' 'Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head; they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.'

Faith is taking God at His word. Dare we do that today? Dare we take up His challenge? Is He talking to us today or is this written for someone else? My friend you will not receive a clearer message from God to your soul today than this!

If you are still reluctant to take up His challenge, then let me ask you this simple question. What have YOU got to lose?

WHATEVER is lying upon your soul today, whatever is in your heart, whatever you desire the Lord to give you or do for you, then He bids you to ask Him for it.
Do not be like the woman living in the Welsh valleys.

Having heard a sermon on this text, before going to her bed, she looked out of her kitchen window and asked that the mountain behind her house be removed. Having enjoyed a good nights sleep she pulled back the curtains in the morning and sighed, 'I thought so!'

We all need to be stirred up in our souls to expect great things from our Saviour Redeemer. His promise to us today is, if we ask, we shall receive. It is a simple message, laden with love. Do not complicate it by allowing self to get in the way of the answer.

For those who may have suffered much in recent days through chastening and have spent many days and nights in the school of affliction where fear and trembling as constant companions, He says this. 'Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou shalt no more drink it again.'

Christ drank the cup of God's wrath in our room and stead.

Are you burdened with sin lying heavy upon you today? 'Thy sins and iniquities I will remember no more.' Why? Because the eternal sacrifice has been made. There is no more offering for sin. Jesus Christ has paid the price in FULL on our behalf.

Kiss ye the Son this day. Rejoice and be exceeding glad. What a friend we have in Jesus. Oh for a closer walk with Him.

Time my friend to get upon our knees and do business with our God. May we be given arms to embrace Him, may we glorify and enjoy Him with each breath that we take. Let your light so shine before men that they will know that you have been with Jesus. As we put forth our petition before Him, may we see no man save Jesus only.

'What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.'

LOL

Your brother in Christ

Iain

Jenny.  England.

Iain thank-you for that.   I think you have been reading Spurgeon's "Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith".  It's a favourite Daily Devotional book of mine.  Charles H. Spurgeon also states "God has given no pledge which He will not redeem and encouraged no hope which He will not fulfil".
It's so hot, sleep is beyond me these nights so I shall look forward to coming back to your posting tonight and reading it very carefully. It is good to know that God never sleeps!
I hope the sun comes out for you later on.
Your "sis" in Christ..Jenny.

Jenny dear sis, i read two devotionals every morning without fail. You are right, one of them is Spurgeons' 'ChequeBook in the bank of faith' and the other is my favourite - 'Streams in the desert.' Volume 1 - Mrs Charles Cowman.

Good morning, friends,

Jenny and Iain, how wonderful to hear your conversation. And, thank you for participation. Your messages this morning have set me on the right path for the day.

Pat, I love the devotionals you provide - their depth and breadth, and the wide-ranging sources and topics continue to astound me. I certainly appreciate you for the wonderful work you're doing here and I love you with the love of the Lord.

Y'all have a good day. "Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go!"

Ruth Ann

Hi everyone.  Just finished my Bible reading and have read the devotionals and feel very filled with God's love as displayed to us through the Bible and Jesus Christ.  

We had a good worship service yesterday but then we had a congregational meeting following the worship service and our senior pastor in essence resigned.  Apparently he and our Session (the elected board that governs our local church) have had serious disagreements regarding his ministry and he feels that he is being called somewhere else.  So we are granting him a 6 month sabbatical where he will no be ministering to this church but we will be paying his full salary so that he can pursue another call from God.  The problems had only been alluded to in a couple of letters to the members of the church and needless to say most of us were very surprised and saddened at this turn of events.  We have been seeking a new associate pastor after having had an interim associate for almost 5 years and now that effort will likely be put on hold and once again we will have an interim senior pastor for a year or more as we seek a new senior pastor.  Unfortunately these events often split a church and I am praying that does not happen here but some of the members were very irate at the meeting yesterday feeling the Session has really let the church down.  However, they don't have the information to make such a judgment.  We will just have to trust that God will guide us in this process.

I want to say welcome to Aaron.  I am glad to see you posting and look forward to your further participation with us.  It is also good to see Jenny posting from England.  

I was glad to see that Marilyn was able to get the truck door opened so that they could unload her things.  

I will try to get back later today.

Iain - I'm just a bit puzzled by the devotional.  The woman asked that the mountain behind her house be removed, then, in the morning, discovered that it was still there.  How does the story illustrate the text?  Sorry for my ignorance, but it seemed to me that it would be quite a helpful devotional except for this detail, so please enlighten me.

ok sorry   thank you for the welcome, Judy

No the little girl is my first cousin once removed, but never fear, my yet to be determined niece or nephew is on the way.  haha the next unsuspecting victim of my lens.

Orginally my Mom said that she would never homeschool, but she changed her mind. We orginally went to a private christian academy but even though it was christian they didn't like some of the things there.  Since it was cheaper as well, we started homeschooling. That was 9 years ago.

Since we had experienced the classroom, we knew we had to do our work and we did most of it on our own without "too much" prodding.  Although now with my little sister, who has never been to a formal school ... my mom really has to stay wih her to get her work done

I used to do a mix of abeka, bob jones and Saxon math, but now I'm going through the Alpha Omega Online Academy so I can obtain a diploma.  I have a pretty normal day (do my asigned work which ranges in the length from 3-6 hours. . .and then work on projects such as essay and reports).  .if I'm not behind.

Socialization . .interesting question and one which is very commonly asked.  For the most part it is a moot issue IF there is a fairly active support group and there is youth at ones church.  But in my case . . .there is practically no youth at my church and our homeschool support group has dwindled for various reasons, some including families moving and students graduating.  When I was younger it wasn't that much of an issue but now, while I'm ok with it, It would be really nice if I had some physical friends.  With the online Academy I've "met" and talked to a few other students but it's just not the same as friends who are physcally present.

As for field trips, with our homeschool group, each year a person would be responsible for arranging one a month .   ..and we had quite a few.

I hope that answered a "few" of your questions  

Al, I think what he is trying to illustrate is that the woman did not have the faith, for when she looked out she "thought so".  She did not have the complete faith that it would be removed . ..she had "thought" it would still be there.

Al -  Sorry I did not mean to complicate things. My punctuation did not help. if you read the end of the previous paragraph I advise against being like this woman. Oops!! That's what I get for rushing!

Aaron ~ Thanks for replying.  We need some young ones in here.  Keeps the rest of us young.  Photography and aviation!  Two great interests.  I have a step-grandson making a career in the Air Force.  He, his wife and two children are in England now where he is stationed. They all love it.  He is an inspector of the ejection seat on the air crafts.  By the way, what part of the world are you from??  I know several mothers that are home schooling their children but it hasn't been around long enough here for children to never have attended a public school and have graduated.  I think home schooling is fine for the education that is received but the social structure is what may be laxing.  Most home schoolers here are Christians so they have the socialality at church plus some 'field' trips with other home schoolers.

Denise ~ Great to see you return.  It does seem that we are all busier in the summer.  Outside chores or just being out in the better weather, I imagine.  

Pat ~ Thank you for the devotional.  It is encouraging to know that our Father knows what we need before we ask.

Jenny ~ Good evening probably now since it is after noon here in Indiana.  I am so glad that Christopher felt he did well on his test for his new job.

Iain ~ What a powerful message you have for us today.  Faith that we can take Christ in his word.  Everything you ask for in prayer will be yours, if you only have faith.

Ruth Ann ~ I hope you had a great day at work.  How are you feeling lately?

Larry ~ I will be praying that your church and its members find a mutual ground to build upon in replacing your minister.  It sounds almost like our little country Christian church here.  My brother was an elder...elders are the governing bodies.  The minister had been asked to find another church, gave him 60 days.  But he went on ministering and saying things like...'next year, we are'...and...'in our future here'...so the congregation thought the elders hadn't done their job in ousting the minister.  So they got up a petition to run him out.  A lot of words were spoken.  The elders all resigned.  My brother and wife quit going to that church two years ago.  They went back first time yesterday.  Ivalou was asked to give the communion message yesterday and she has her two granddaughters with her, so Barbara said that her and Kaye Don would go and sit with the girls.  I pray they will go back because they haven't found a church they really like and there are so many friends at this church.  Forgiveness!!!

Al ~ I noticed that, too!  About the woman asking the mountain to be moved.

A very nice, comfortable day today.  Jerry and I have already been to Menard's...a home improvement store...for some more supplies.  Jerry is removing paint from my metal swing and stand and is going to repaint it.  Keeps him out of trouble!!!

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"One nice thing about growing older is that you and your children eventually wind up on the same side of the generation gap."

We're Back!

Prayers answered sis.

LOL

BTW I will not be posting a devotional tomorrow sis. I have the results of last weeks biopsy to look forward first thing in the morning followed by a Cardiac Clinic.

If there is any time left over then I'm going to have my ears lowered!!

You probably call it a hair cut over there!

Thanks Iain...  We'll be thinking of you and praying for you as you go and get these results.  Do you get them in Stornoway?

You look pretty good in that photo--doesn't look like your ears need lowering at all!  LOL  (Jack ALWAYS referred to getting a hair cut as getting his ears lowered).

Etta Sue, I love that little "Have a great day".  Did you make it or snag it?

Apparently, the problem with our forums being "down" was in our Webhosters.  A .tmp file got changed at about 2 pm Eastern time and it was strange since Wendy was out of the office and Ian is in Toronto!

Anyway, it's all fixed now.

Judy, you can get your photos posted that you were in the middle of doing.

Well, I've been thinking a lot about Marilyn this afternoon and wondering how she's getting on with the unpacking.  

Pat....re , I snagged it from Jerry.  He snagged it from an email.  I don't know who gets the credit that created it but I thought it was really neat!!!  

Iain, we also refer to a haircut as "getting our ears lowered" and sometimes I really need that.  I will be praying for you that the results of your test are good news and that your cardiologist doesn't give you a hard time.  For the last several years everytime I saw the cardiologist it was back into the cath lab.  

Pat, glad to see the site is back up and running.  I just saw your message about it being down and came here to see and it was up again.  Great.

Aaron, have you thought about seeking a youth group in a neighboring church.  Generally there activities are on Sunday evening or at sometime other than you might be invovled with your own church.  We have a fine youth program in our church and just had 48 middle schoolers return from a weeks summer camp experience called "The Great Escape".  They gave a report at church yesterday morning and one of the things they indicated had occurred during their life changing experience was that there were many young people giving their lives to Jesus Christ.  Next week our senior highs are going on a mission trip, as they do each summer.  They are going to Savannah, GA to work with the homeless and a number of other things.  

Etta Sue, some terrible things can happen within our church families over personnel matters.  My sister and her husband (who was head of the church board before he was activated in the military last year) had to deal with the same problem to releasing a minister who didn't want to go.  In our case, our minister indicated he felt it was God's will that he seek a call elsewhere and he gave our Session high marks in trying to work things out but that it just wasn't to be.  

Well Aaron has answered quite well, though my story is slightly different, so I don't think I need to add mine and bore everyone.

And Etta Sue, I snagged it from you.
Pat, I'm glad CP is back and running again.  We have had a busy day.  Went to the doctor's this morning.  My doctor suggested I go back to the specialist who gave me the epidural steroid injections and talk with him about the possibilities for surgery.  He is not a surgeon himself but he will refer me to a surgeon who does this kind of surgery.

Marilyn, I too am ready to hear some more from you, your unpacking, and how things are going.

I hope you are all doing well today.

--- Papa John              <)))><<

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Your story will not certainly bore us, Jen!

So, let's hear it!

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whew what a hassle getting the phone line hooked. They told me i am responsible for the wire that goes fromthe box to the house. i went to Kmart and got a 25' line cord and plugged  into the test outlet in the phone company box and ran it throught the window o a 2 way splitter that I plugged into the computer and plugged the phone ino the computer modem. Where thers a will there's a way. LOL  

I go meet with the storage company owner tomorrow in Eureka at 9:30 in the morning tomorrow.

I made it find and I know Al has kept you informed. I will come back and try to catch up later this evening, right now I new to shower and wash my hair and go next door for dinner. So i will TTYL.

Love y_all a whole bunch. Thanks to all your concern and especially your prayers.

TTYL

Great to see you online, Marilyn!

I guess there are advantages to always being late - I totally missed the down time here.  I had the letter from Pat and immediately tried CP and everything was just hunky-dory!

A beautiful July day here in the foothills of the Adirondacks.  Of course, waking up in mid-July at 47 F doesn't seem quite normal, but it didn't take long for the sun to bring everything up to snuff and it reached 85 this afternoon.  

Oops!  I got so enthusiastic about the blessings of our weather I completely ignored everything else!

Marilyn, I'm so glad you've arrived safe and sound and that in spite of that slight set-back with the truck things are rosy for you.

Iain, I'll be praying for good news from both your doctors.

Jenny, it sounds like encouraging news for Christopher.  Well keep his needs in prayer while we wait for the decisions in two weeks.

Papa John:  I didn't realize that you might be a candidate for surgery.  What type of surgery do you think you might have to have?

Jen:  I echo Pat's remarks.  Tell us about your home school experience.

Aaron:  You wrote that very well., a good idea was mention about socializing.   Thats one negative about h.s. I guess...no classmates.

Marilyn:  Catch your breath....you've had quite the trip., and we're so thankful you arrived safe and sound.  I hope this turns out to be an excellent move, and I'll be anxious to hear how you are liking your new job.!

Iain:  We'll look forward to your next devotional!  When (if ever) my husband gets a haircut he isn't happy with., he says:" well, looks like I've been to 'lawnmower Louie again'"...haha  Fortunately there are few 'lawnmower Louie' haircuts!

Jeanne:  Nice weather here as well.  One of our church members is having a garage sale on Saturday.  We dropped a load of stuff off this afternoon, the $$ collected is going to the church
building fund.  Last Sunday was "turning of the sod".  Our old building sold in just three weeks!

Much prayer has gone up regarding this move.  I'll tell you more as time goes by.

Back in February when we had a problem with our forum, we formed an email list at Yahoo that is still active.

I used it today but there are only 19 people still registered on there.

I was thinking that it's a great way to let people know of any problems if you all subscribed to this list.

Here's the email to subscribe:  
christianphotography-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

The website is at:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christianphotography

So, if you'd like to do this, I think it would be a great idea.

Pat

I was late coming in tonight...and it was a blessing it seems, 'cause I didn't know we had a problem!

Good evening all.  Glad to see things up and running again.  Thought I had broken something earlier.

My neice and nephew are homeschooled, and don't want it any other way.  Shay went to public kindergarten and first grade, private 2nd and half of third grade and has been homeschooled since (she just finished 9th, I think).  Storm went to private kindergarten half a year and has been homeschooled since.  

The "socialization" issue is raised a lot.  After teaching in the public school system for 8 years, 5 at an alternative school for at-risk students, I am not sure that is the best place for what people call "socialization."  As far as "social skills," homeschoolers are generally more able to communicate effectively and are more responsible than their public/private school peers.  Granted, I have seen a small sample, so it is not a scientific study, or necessarily a true generalization.  I am one that did well in public school, and probably would have done okay homeschooled.  I think it is a child by child basis.  Many do well in public, others need the private setting, and still others excel the best at home.  

Sorry for rambling.  I am exhausted.  We are having VBS this week, and I am leading the music.  The songs are running through my head as I type.  So, tonight Jerry, I have an excuse for any typos.  We had 60 there (kids + adults) which is pretty good, I think considering the church only has 75 - 100 in attendance on Sunday mornings.  

Keep us in your prayers, and I will try to post more tomorrow.

karmat