One Day...

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't anymore. No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more "just one minute." Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, say "I love you."

So while we have it, it's best we love it, care for it, fix it when it's broken and heal it when it's sick. This is true for marriage ... and old cars ... and children with bad report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep -- like a best friend who moved away or a classmate we grew up with. There are just some things that make us happy, no matter what.
Life is important, like people we know who are special. and so, We keep them close!

I received this from someone who thought I was a 'keeper'! Then I sent it to the people I think of in the same way.

Suppose one morning you never wake up, do all your friends know you love them? I was thinking...I could die today, tomorrow or next week, and I wondered if I had any wounds needing to be healed, friendships that needed rekindling or three words needing to be said. Let every one of your friends know you love them. Even if you think they don't love you back, you would be amazed at what those three little words and a smile can do. And just in case GOD calls me home ..... I LOVE YOU!!!

Live today to the fullest because tomorrow is not promised.

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A MESSAGE ON STONE...

Before Easter a friend sent this message to me... I cannot express in words what this meant as I read it . Please I give it to you for it only takes a moment...


TWO FRIENDS WERE WALKING THROUGH THE DESERT.DURING SOME POINT OF THE JOURNEY, THEY HAD AN ARGUMENT; AND ONE FRIEND SLAPPED THE OTHER ONE IN THE FACE. THE ONE WHO GOT SLAPPED WAS HURT, BUT WITHOUT SAYING ANYTHING, WROTE IN THE SAND: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

THEY KEPT ON WALKING, UNTIL THEY FOUND AN OASIS, WHERE THEY DECIDED TO TAKE A BATH THE ONE WHO HAD BEEN SLAPPED GOT STUCK IN THE MIRE AND STARTED DROWNING, BUT THE FRIEND SAVED HIM. AFTER HE RECOVERED FROM THE NEAR DROWNING, HE WROTE ON A STONE: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE ".

THE FRIEND WHO HAD SLAPPED AND SAVED HIS BEST FRIEND ASKED HIM, "AFTER I HURT YOU, YOU WROTE IN THE SAND AND NOW, YOU WRITE ON A STONE, WHY?"

THE FRIEND REPLIED "WHEN SOMEONE HURTS US WE SHOULD WRITE IT DOWN IN SAND, WHERE WINDS OF FORGIVENESS CAN ERASE IT AWAY. BUT, WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING GOOD FOR US, WE MUST ENGRAVE IT IN STONE WHERE NO WIND CAN EVER ERASE IT"

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE. THEY SAY IT TAKES A MINUTE TO FIND A SPECIAL PERSON, AN HOUR TO APPRECIATE THEM, A DAY TO LOVE THEM, BUT THEN AN ENTIRE LIFE TO FORGET THEM. DO NOT VALUE THE THINGS YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE, BUT VALUE WHO YOU HAVE IN YOUR LIFE!


"Jesus, open my eyes, my heart to see a friend. Give me a confidence that I have much to share with them. Holy Spirit, give me the boldness I need to open my mouth and speak words of healing promise and truth. Forgiving one another, wholly in Your Presence."
A prayer adapted from one in "The Word Among Us"


Psalms 118: 22~25
The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Save now, I beseech thee, O LORD: O LORD, I beseech thee, send now prosperity.



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I BELIEVE GOD...

I'm coming to the 10th week, the final week of a study that, for me, has been so powerful.

"You are my witness," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I Am...He. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me." Isaiah 43:10

We are led on this Bible faith journey of knowing, believing and understanding that God is who He says He is. I look at the Cross and at my life; I can see what He says He can do. I know that the Truth is before me; and as I gaze upon my LORD, I know I am who He says I am. That I can do all things through Jesus Christ, who gave His Life for me. Behold and Believe...and I say YES to His Word that it stays active and alive in me.

One of the tools Beth Moore gave us was to do a time line of our life experiences (broken into three, 1/5th segments), where we have seen God in our lives. This simple exercise helped bring to mind the periods of my life that, whether I knew it or not, God was beside me. I shall continue working on the 4th... fifth of my life, and looking for and expecting God to show me His Glory.

LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. Habakkuk 3:2

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God Believes In Me...

All my life I've been in search... of "knowing" deep in the fibers of my being... of someone’s unconditional absolute Faith in me. Some one who would understand the essence of who I am... knew my thoughts, my words even before they were formed. What would it be like... to "know" that I would never be abandon no matter what I thought or what my actions were like?

I have a young friend, Katie, who is now on the cruise of her life...sailing around the world on a ship with none other then Desmond Tutu. Yesterday, when I received a book she loaned me that Desmond Tutu wrote..."God Has A Dream"; I was surprised when I opened to the first chapter...God Believes in Us. The title of my blog… God knew what I needed to help me on my journey with him. Last night I even had a dream with Desmond Tutu in it. Will wonders never cease with these little gems of Heavenly love for me? I know not!

“The Bible has this incredible image of you, of me, of every one of us, each one, held as something precious, fragile in the palms of God’s hands. And that you and I exist only because God is forever blowing God’s breath into us. And so God says to us (to me, to you), “I love you. You are precious in your fragility and your vulnerability. Your being is a gift.” Desmond Tutu… quoted from his book “God Has a Dream”.

[God's Love Means More Than Life] You are my God. I worship you. In my heart, I long for you...as I would long for a stream in a scorching desert. Psalm 63:1

But I am like an olive tree growing in God's house, and I can count on his love forever and ever. Psalm 52:8

I will tell them, "God's love can always be trusted, and his faithfulness lasts as long as the heavens." Psalm 89:2

Praise the LORD! He is good. God's love never fails.Only God works great miracles. God's love never fails. Psalm 136: 1, 4

All we have to do is look to the Cross and we can see His love for you and I… and then accept this gift of LOVE... this gift of FAITH!

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Enter...One of God's Holy Angels

The Book of Tobit is such an inspiring oracle of a family, their prayers and their journey with God and his answers to them. Tobit walked in the ways of truth and righteousness even living among ungodly people...fully trusting God in spite of the difficulties in his life. Through grief and anguish he prayed, he didn't falter, but continued giving thanks and praise to God.

Tobit instructs Tobias in the way of living a good, true life. He tells him of all that he is to go in search of and to find a man to go with him...Thus enters the archangel Raphael, who by the will of God was sent to journey with Tobias as he set out to find his life mate...

My prayer ... St Raphael, archangel of God, you come by the will of God. You brought Tobias and Sara together, you led Tobias to safety, you cured Sara and healed Tobit’s eyes by showing Tobias what to do and you obtained the money for Tobias. You said, "I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels who present the prayers of the saints and enter into the presence of the glory of the Holy One". I ask of you to please present this prayer before God_____________. I give great thanksgiving and praise our God forever. I sign this in the name of Jesus…Amen.
Thank you my God!!!

"The angel Raphael says: "I offered thy prayer to the Lord"

God restores the promised land to the faithful... for we are the children of saints, and look for that life which God will give to those that never lose their faith in Him... says Tobias

And with Abraham when he sent his servant to seek a wife for Isaac, says: "He will send His angel before thee" (Genesis 24:1-7-8). Another encounter with an angel who comes to help us...


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ENOCH...A Walk With God

I have been so absorbed in this bible study of Beth Moore's "Believing God". She is taking us into the museum of the "Hall of Faith" in Hebrews 11 and showing us that we can receive our promised land.

One of the faith giants that intrigues me is Enoch, there isn't much written about him...except that he was taken up so that he should not see death; and he was not found, because God had taken him up. Hebrews 11: 5 Read further... for my question was "why did he not face a physical death?"... because he was pleasing to God; his faith was so strong, he truly believed that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 This is a powerful thought... what a way to please God... to increase my faith! It is a gift; all I have to do is ask God to please increase my faith and accept the gift... and seek him in all that I do.

"Faith is reason grown courageous." Sherwood Eddy

"Faith rightly understood is yet another avenue to knowing." The Rev. John Claypool

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LOVE...A Gift from the Heart

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY…


I can’t believe it’s almost Valentines Day… Just wanted you to know you are loved!

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends...
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child... when I became a woman I gave up childish ways. 1Corinthians 13: 4-11


I never tire of dwelling on the thoughts of love. For God calls me to make LOVE my aim.



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By Faith to Have Life...

I have started a Bible Study that is proving to be so POWERFUL. Before even beginning the class I happened to catch the end of a Billy Graham Crusade on TV and they were giving a book titled "Believing God"by Beth Moore. I remember the leader of our group mentioning the author's name; low and behold it was the same author and the companion study book, with DVD of Beth Moore. It is proving to be a mile stone in my life reassuring and strengthening my faith.

One of our readings is to read Romans 4 in its entirety 20 times through out the 10 week program.

Romans 4
The Example of Abraham
Well then, what can we say about our ancestor Abraham? If he became acceptable to God because of what he did, then he would have something to brag about. But he would never be able to brag about it to God. The Scriptures say, "God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him."
Money paid to workers isn't a gift. It is something they earn by working. But you cannot make God accept you because of something you do. God accepts sinners only because they have faith in him. In the Scriptures David talks about the blessings that come to people who are acceptable to God, even though they don't do anything to deserve these blessings.
David says, "God blesses people whose sins are forgiven and whose evil deeds are forgotten. The Lord blesses people whose sins are erased from his book."
Are these blessings meant for circumcised people or for those who are not circumcised? Well, the Scriptures say that God accepted Abraham because Abraham had faith in him. But when did this happen? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? Of course, it was before.
Abraham let himself be circumcised to show that he had been accepted because of his faith even before he was circumcised. This makes Abraham the father of all who are acceptable to God because of their faith, even though they are not circumcised. This also makes Abraham the father of everyone who is circumcised and has faith in God, as Abraham did before he was circumcised.

The Promise Is for All Who Have Faith
God promised Abraham and his descendants that he would give them the world. This promise wasn't made because Abraham had obeyed a law, but because his faith in God made him acceptable. If Abraham and his descendants were given this promise because they had obeyed a law, then faith would mean nothing, and the promise would be worthless.
God becomes angry when his Law is broken. But where there isn't a law, it cannot be broken. Everything depends on having faith in God, so that God's promise is assured by his great kindness. This promise isn't only for Abraham's descendants who have the Law. It is for all who are Abraham's descendants because they have faith, just as he did. Abraham is the ancestor of us all. The Scriptures say that Abraham would become the ancestor of many nations. This promise was made to Abraham because he had faith in God, who raises the dead to life and creates new things.
God promised Abraham a lot of descendants. And when it all seemed hopeless, Abraham still had faith in God and became the ancestor of many nations. Abraham's faith never became weak, not even when he was nearly a hundred years old. He knew that he was almost dead and that his wife Sarah could not have children. But Abraham never doubted or questioned God's promise. His faith made him strong, and he gave all the credit to God.
Abraham was certain that God could do what he had promised. So God accepted him, just as we read in the Scriptures. But these words were not written only for Abraham. They were written for us, since we will also be accepted because of our faith in God, who raised our Lord Jesus to life. God gave Jesus to die for our sins, and he raised him to life, so that we would be made acceptable to God.

"By faith to have life... it must find a powerful object in which to be placed or a powerful Person by whom to walk." Beth Moore

A challenge worth accepting...

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By Faith We Are Sure

...that by FAITH we are sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Do we dare hope to ask for Peace... yes... and pray for lost souls...yes!

In Hebrews, Paul shows us how those of old, from Abel, Abraham, Sarah..., who lived by faith conquered kingdoms,enforced justice, received promises. won strength out of weakness... living their faith and trust in the word and promises of God.

Isaiah 40:21-31
God Rules the Whole Earth ...
Don't you know? Haven't you heard? Isn't it clear that God created the world? God is the one who rules the whole earth, and we that live here are merely grasshoppers. He spread out the heavens like a curtain or an open tent. God brings down rulers and turns them into nothing. They are like flowers freshly sprung up and starting to grow. But when God blows on them, they wilt and are carried off like straw in a storm.
The Holy God asks, "Who compares with me? Is anyone my equal?" Look at the evening sky! Who created the stars? Who gave them each a name? Who leads them like an army? The LORD is so powerful that none of the stars are ever missing.

The LORD Gives Strength
You people of Israel, say, "God pays no attention to us! He doesn't care if we are treated unjustly." …But how can you say that? Don't you know? Haven't you heard? The LORD is the eternal God, Creator of the earth. He never gets weary or tired; his wisdom cannot be measured. The LORD gives strength to those who are weary. Even young people get tired, then stumble and fall… But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.

Oh my God...Increase my Faith!!

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Happy New Year and My Resolution...

The greatest gift of Love is seeing God in another's eyes...

I am looking so forward to this gift of a NEW YEAR; accepting the deeper awareness of learning to love the essence of all things; to see God in another’s eyes.

Wow!! What a New Year's resolution...but it is something I must do!

For I am called to make LOVE my aim.

Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends...

When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child... when I became a woman I gave up childish ways. 1Corinthians 13: 4-11

My resolution is to live my life as if I am inventing a great love story...

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