Christian Photographers Community

2 Peter 3:9 says...

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
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Isaiah 60:1-2 says...

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.
For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.

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Morning Devotional...

The Shepherd's Psalm-- Part (vii)

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The man stood erect and perfectly still on top of a wee knoll.  At his feet impatiently sat two little border collies, their ears upright and their keen noses smelling the air.  Across the valley and high up on the slopes of the mountain beyond, small white objects dotted the landscape.  Half hidden in the green grass and purple heather the scattered flock grazed contentedly, unaware of the ominous stillness and the darkening sky.

Signs of the coming storm were not lost on the lone shepherd standing on the knoll.  He raised his whistle to his lips and the two dogs stiffened their posture.  At the first blast, they were off like a shot from a gun.  Further blasts caused the two noble creatures to make a wide circle around the still unconcerned sheep.  On they went until they passed even the most distant sheep.  Continuing to obey their master's whistled commands, they slowly, gently, began to move the reluctant sheep towards their master.

Not one sheep missed the attention of the two dogs.  The dogs, although decisive in their work never once nipped at the heels of their charges.  The sheep began to move faster, showing signs of fear, they moved now as one body towards the shepherd as if to seek his protection from the dogs.

It is true that the shepherd could never accomplish his task of caring for the sheep without the help of his beautiful obedient dogs.  It is just as true that the relationship between dogs and sheep would be very different without the presence of the shepherd.  You see, untrained, uncontrolled, border collies can be very vicious, and very frightening.  These loving gently creatures have a natural instinct to kill sheep by tearing their throats open with razor sharp teeth.  Can we wonder that their presence drives the flock to the shepherd?

An old Scottish shepherd-preacher once said "God has twa dogs.  The yin He calls "Goodness" and the ither He names "Mercy"."

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." (Psalm 23:6)  Indeed so it is, that God's goodness and mercy are often needed, yet seldom truly desired.  Surely it is our fears, trials and yes, our conscience that drives us to the Good Shepherd and the protection of His presence.

It was the goodness of His grace that first showed us our sin and waywardness.  It was His mercy that drove us to see Christ as the only Saviour of Sinners, and it is His goodness and mercy that keeps us close to His side.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."   (Psalm 23:6)

Christians all accept the fact that through the eternal ages they will dwell in God's house.  Few realize that by faith we can enter that place of blessing while still living down here.  In the epistle to the Ephesians we learn that God has already made us to sit in heavenly places.

"And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."   (Ephesians 2:6)

We can appreciate our position as urged on by "Goodness" and "Mercy" as they are seen in the circumstances of life and we flee away to the peaceful, protective presence of our Shepherd.

"Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree:  that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls." (I Peter 2:24-25)

To "dwell in the house of the Lord" is to live continuously in His presence.  Brother Lawrence (author of Practicing the Presence of God) learned while doing the most onerous and menial of tasks, to practice the presence of God and so can we.  If during our trials and temptations, our illnesses and "the dark nights of our souls" He came to visit us and bless us would we feel differently?  Of course we would; temptations would fly away, sorrows would abate and psalms of blessing would move our lips.

"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have.  For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you".  So we may boldly say,  "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear, what can man do unto me?" (Hebrews 13:5,6)

Yes, indeed we who are His, we who have been redeemed by His precious blood look forward with joy to our eternal home.  But we do not need to wait until we arrive above to enjoy the courts of Heaven; for we can dwell there now even in the midst of our wilderness journey.

Truly we can begin to enjoy, even down here the wonder that "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Assured of His presence, and the comfort of His home, both now and for all eternity, the believer can well heed St. Paul's injunction to "Rejoice in the Lord always.  And again I say rejoice."   (Phil. 4:4)

These words to the Philippians were written by Paul while he sat in chains in a cruel Roman prison.  Even there the Lord Jesus Christ was real to Paul; even there He knew the nearness of the risen, triumphant Saviour King.  May we also dwell daily in the light of His presence.

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Jack Scott loved his Lord! He passed away on January 10, 2001 after a lengthy illness.
He is missed greatly by his family.

What a  beautiful devotional this morning, Pat! It reminds me of a book I read once called Hines Feet on High Places, or something like that.

I guess I get to be the first to post today, but is is still tonight here and I am at work 
I would much rather be at home, we are having a nice thunderstorm here tonight, and it is perfect sleeping weather!

So nice to read the words

QuoteI will never leave you nor forsake you".

Such comfort in this promise.

Thank you - Carol

Good morning everyone.  It was very encouraging to read the devotional this morning.  I liked particularly of the thought of dwelling in the house of the Lord forever I am glad that salvation is not just for this life, but for eternity.  Thanks for the devotional Pat.

I trust everyone will have a great day today.  I am going to the gym this morning and then working this afternoon.

God bless all.

Anthony.

Good morning friends,

Well, I didn't get to sleep in my own bed very long! Actually, baby Georgia's first birthday is Sunday and we'll be going for Leslie's medical treatments today and tomorrow, then returning after her little party.

By the way, y'all have prayed for Mark. Well, I need to report that he's doing great. God has given him a great personality since the medications were removed. His back is healed and they're working to stabilize the damage done to the nerves in the feet. Then, he's looking to go back to work. He's now helping to lead the congregational singing in their church, attends regularly and is so grateful to God that the nightmare is over.

Pam is readjusting to a "new" husband and is still dealing with pain in her back from the surgery (they may have to do another one). So, if you can remember her it would be appreciated.

Well, I'm off line for the weekend. Will return Sunday night, so most probably won't come in to say "hi" until Monday.

Ruth Ann

Good Morning Brothers and Sisters in Christ.  Good Mornig Pat, " Goodness and Mercy". 

I never knew this about Boarder Collies. It makes a great reference to not only our need of the Lord in our lives but His Protection.

Thank you so much for sharing.  Pat Have a Blessed day!!

Love, Lillie

Good morning!  I had a good night's sleep, and a good swim this morning.  It is nice and cool here; God's in His heaven, all's right with the world.  (I am feeling good today!  )

Ruth Ann, I'm so glad to read Mark's good report, will continue to pray for Pam.  Have fun at the one year birthday party!  Babies are wonderful, aren't they?  I enjoyed Autumn yesterday, she is a little sweetie.

I may go get Abby for a few hours today so she can do more projects to enter in the fair.  She loves doing that.

I loved the devotional today, too, Pat.  I'm sorry I don't always remember to tell you so.  The 23rd Psalm is probably one of the most-loved sections of Scripture in the Bible.  Everyone seems to get something special from it, most of all, comfort.

Hi Suzanne!  Hi, Carol!  Hello Lillie!  (My best girlfriend in school was Lillie Mae!)

I need to get some errands done this morning, start getting prepared for the trip to Lubbock on Monday.  Diane just told me they are going to the lake Sunday and want us to go along.  I will see how Darrel feels about that.  It would be fun to spend a day with all of them.

Later!

I also didn't know that Border Collies could be so vicious.  My Happy is so loving and gentle, but he sure doesn't like cats. I woukld hate tos ee him get hold of a cat.

It has been so wonderful to have Jack's writings all this week. Thank you Pat.

Going to checkt heprayers and other threads now and willb e back later.

TTYL

I remember once that Jenny said that this was one of her favourite hymns so let's sing it today for her...

May I add my Wishes Jenny!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!   


   Newbie>>> Lillie

Joy Before A Firing Squad


The joy of the LORD is your strength (Nehemiah 8:10, NLT).


Dear friends:

It was my great privilege to know Bishop Festus Kivengere, of Uganda,
who attended one of our pastor's seminars.  He tells the story of the
1973 execution by a firing squad of three men from his diocese during
the bloody, tyrannical rule of dictator Idi Amin in that country.  Here
it is in part:

"February 10 began as a sad day for us... I had permission from the
authorities to speak to the men before they died....  They brought the
men in a truck and unloaded them.  They were handcuffed and their feet
were chained.  The firing squad stood at attention.  As we walked into
the center of the stadium, I was wondering what to say to them.

"We approached them from behind, and as they turned to look at us, what
a sight!  Their faces were all alight with an unmistakable glow and
radiance.  Before we could say anything, one of them burst out: 'Bishop,
thank you for coming!  I want to tell you.  The day I was arrested, in
my prison cell, I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my heart.  He came
in and forgave me all my sins!  Heaven is now open, and there is nothing
between me and my God!  Please tell my wife and children that I am going
to be with Jesus.  Ask them to accept him into their lives as I did.'

"The other two men told similar stories, excitedly raising their hands,
which rattled their handcuffs.

"I felt that what I needed to do was to talk to the soldiers, not to the
condemned.  So I translated what the men had said into a language the
soldiers understood.  The military men were standing there with guns
cocked and bewilderment on their faces.  They were so dumbfounded that
they forgot to put the hoods over the men's faces!

"The three faced the firing squad standing close together. They looked
toward the people and began to wave, handcuffs and all.  The people
waved back.  Then shots were fired, and the three were with Jesus....

"The next Sunday, I was preaching to a huge crowd in the home town of
one of the executed men.  Again, the feel of death was over the
congregation.  But when I gave them the testimony of their man, and how
he died, there erupted a great song of praise to Jesus!  Many turned to
the Lord there."

Yours for fulfilling the Great Commission
each year until our Lord returns,

Bill Bright

Hi everyone and Happy Birthday Jenny.

LadyLiberty, unfortunately I don't know what to suggest if you can't hear the  hymns posted here.  These are just mp3 files and you should be able to hear them with Windows Media Player, MusicMatch Jukebox or one of the many other players that are availabe.

I am going to be brief today as am not feeling very good.  This time it has nothing to do with my heart but rather  started getting a sore thort and this morning am aching so must have picked up a bug.  I will try to get extra rest today and hopefully will be back feeling better tomorrow.

Good morning everyone...

WOW  the forum has changed... it looks very nice![/color][/font]

I've only been back for five minutes and I've learnt something new already.. hahaha

Great devotional Pat, it reminds me of a little story ..


The two wolves

One evening a wise old Cherokee grandfather told his grandson about a battle that was going on inside himself.

He said, "My grandson, it is between 2 wolves."

"One is evil: Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego...

The other is good: Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith..."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf wins?"

The grandfather simply replied, "The one I feed."

......... I had a fantastic camping trip ... Colorado is absolutely beautiful.. being surrounded by splendor was increadable... made me feel so overwhelmed by the love God has for me... and the life that Jesus has given me...

I took millions of photo's .... 

it's great to be back home..

Have a great day


Happy birthday Jenny  [/color]

thank you Pat!! 

I'm happy you like the "facelift" we gave CP while you were away.  Now we're looking forward to seeing at least half of your millions of photos!

Dear Pat and brothers and sisters,

Thank you for the lovely messages for my 60th Birthday., especially for the hymn Pat.  Yes that is a very special one to me.  Actually it is speaking volumes to me right now.

Much has and is happening in my life since last we shared together and I am sure I shall share it with you at a later date. The Lord is doing a "new" thing.

My daughter was coming over today but is feeling quite unwell and I advised her to rest up, ready for tomorrow evening when they are  all taking me out for a Birthday celebratory meal.

As it's such a glorious Summer day here I popped over to the Old Post Office and Khalida made me a cup of tea and another friend Leslie popped in so we had a happy hour together.

I have had some lovely gifts and messages including a lovely Lilliput Flower shop and a beautiful bouquet of flowers from my dear son. Carol my friend from down the road has bought me a lovely cut glass ornament and inside is an angel. Marg from next door has given me a  nice make-up bag from Marks and Spencer.  It has a mirror attached by a bow and is very pretty. My sister has given me £20 of Marks and Spencer's vouchers (I love M & S stuff) and my father has sent me a cheque for £25. I am a very lucky lady.

Since I last posted on NEM Carol and I have started a Prayer Group and Bible study here in my home.  there are 6 of us at the moment but it is going to grow.  Justus the anglican vicar has received me into his home and he and his beautiful wife Tinyan (she's Malaysian) have laid hands on me and prayed for me. He inspires me. As it was lovely and warm on Wednesday I did manage to get into church for Holy Communion.  Jane still brings it to me regularly also.

I do think of you all and will keep in touch, suffice to say I send my love and thank you especially Pat.

God Bless.
Jenny.

I DID IT.  I CLEANED MY HOUSE!!!!  I MOVED FURNITURE.  I DUSTED.  I SWEPT THE WHOLE HOUSE.  I GOT IT ALL DONE.  BUT I DIDN'T GET UP THIS MORNING UNTIL 9:15 A.M.  I MUST HAVE BEEN TIRED!!

Rachel ~ Your sunflower pictures were fabulous!  I sure do wish I could afford a great camera that is Macro.  I would love taking those pictures.

Ruthie ~ Thank you for checking the recipe section.  There are a lot of great recipes there. 

Marilyn ~ I have noticed that my Norton Anti-Spam has put a couple of your emails in there.  No problem...other than if they are attachments, I won't open them.

Ruth Ann ~ Have a safe and happy trip.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY!!!  Great to read your post.

Hayley ~ Thank you for the story of the two wolves.  I have copied it and sent it to my son and DIL.

I have put two more hints list in the 'In the Kitchen' area.   Hints for Meat and Hints for Salads

I got up late so everything is out of kilter today.  Ivalou came to visit.  The bottle gas man came and filled my 400 gallon tank.  I haven't had lunch yet.  But I am enjoying this day God made for me.

<)))><<~~<)))><<~~<)))><<~~<)))><<~~<)))
"Tourist:  A person who travels a thousand miles to get a picture of himself standing by his car."

I met Diane and picked up Abby, so we are going to do some arts/crafts stuff.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JENNY!!!  Good to see you posting again!  Have a happy evening!

July 30   

The Church: 100 Pianos

..that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You,
that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You
sent Me. 
--John 17:21

Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all
proportion, that the "us" of the New Testament is being displaced by
a selfish "I." Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos
all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other?
They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to
another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one
hundred worshippers meeting together, each one looking away to Christ,
are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were
they to become "unity" conscious and turn their eyes away from God to
strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when
private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its
members become healthier. The whole church of God gains when the
members that compose it begin to seek a better and a higher life. 
The Pursuit of God, 90.

"Lord, let this start with me. Give me a closer walk with You today.
Then as a leader enable me to encourage others as well, individually,
so that all to whom I minister might be in harmony as we individually
are close to You. Amen."

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HAVE A GOD FILLED DAY JENNY!

Jenny, Jenny, Jenny   It was so good to hear from you!

May your birthday celebration continue for another week!

HAPPY, HAPPY, BIRTHDAY.... TO JENNY...HAPPY, HAPPY, BIRTHDAY[/size]

Larry, I do hope your sore throat gets better. Remember how our mothers used to make us gargle in warm salt water every hour.  Then drink something soothing, such as hot lemonade with honey. \

Thanks to Janet, Marilyn and Etta Sue for the info on statin drugs.  I think I will take my tablet every other day and see what happens.  I looked up in the PDR book yesterday evening when I was at the Free Med Clinic and the aches & pains in my joints are a part of this med.  If the symptons get any worse I am going to ask for another one.  The Omega-3 Fish Oil & Niacin did not work on me. (did I take the wrong kind?)  My cholestrol numbers jumped back up and above.  I'm trying to exercise and diet, too.

I liked the ideas in the salads.  I take my greens and wash them in a spinner. Then drain and leave them in the refrig until I want my salad.  They stay crisp.

Kathy - I mentioned it to Janet, but I'll mention it to you also - we used to have a cholesterol problem.  We began taking lecithin (1200mg) daily.  We no longer have a problem.

It was so good to hear from you Jenny and it sounds as if you had a lovely birthday.  You are keeping busy in the Lord's work and that's so good.


Great to hear from Kathy and Hayley.

I appreciate the devotionals you bring each day, Chris from Dr. Tozer.  What a wonderful man he was.

I'm not going to mention any more names as I'll surely forget someone.  Interesting to read of the lecithin.  I took it for years and years as did Jack.  Maybe I should go back to it.  Had to repeat one of the lab tests today and hopefully they will have the results for Wed. when I go back to the doctor.

I hope that Meika is having a wonderful time in New Zealand with her family.  If you look in, dear Meeks, my love to you from your "Mum"!

Missing Karma, Nards and Jeanne.  Hope all is well with them.

Just another little reminder that we should fill up the SNet Manna discussion with some good poems, scripture verses, etc.  Lots of new folks have arrived from AOL on SN and you just never know who may be reading there.

Closing early tonight...

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