50 Years Ago Today. . .

Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered I Have a Dream, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

Audio for this speech.

To be honest, this is the first time I've read through his entire speech and understood it all. I mean this time I really understood the scripture Martin Luther King, Jr. quoted and all that it meant, both in context in the Bible and as it was related to the times in 1963. So much has changed in this country now. So much for the better; there has been a great progress. And sadly, some of the change has been for the worse.

Through it all, may we as the Christians in this nation, and all around the world, never cease to pray for our nation, our people and our leaders.

I Have a Dream

"I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

 

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
 

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
 

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
 

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
 

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
 

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
 

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
 

We cannot walk alone.
 

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
 

We cannot turn back.
 

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."
 

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
 

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
 

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
 

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
 

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
 

I have a dream today!
 

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

                Free at last! Free at last!

                Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Black History Month

This month is Black History month. I find black history truly is incredible, and much of the history is truly unknown. I have heard it said that the history of African Americans is not unlike that of God's chosen people the Jews. Taken from their homeland their were forced into slavery for centuries until God delivered them. African Americans triumphed and prospered, overcoming their tragic beginnings. I think of the words of Joseph "You meant evil against me, but God turned it into good".

 

Rev. Henry Highland Garnet, the first African
American to deliver a sermon in congress

"Let no rancor or ill-will lodge in your [heart] for any bad treatment you may have received from any. If you do, you transgress against God, Who will not hold you guiltless. He would not suffer it even in His beloved people Israel; and you think He will allow it unto us? . . . I am sorry to say that too many think more of the evil than of the good they have received." -Rev. Richard Allen (a former slave)

Martin Luther King Jr.

"I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love. And the beautiful thing is that we are moving against wrong when we do it, because John was right, God is love. He who hates does not know God, but he who has love has the key that unlocks the door to the meaning of ultimate reality." Martin Luther King Jr., clergyman, activist, writer, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

"Each person must live their life as a model for others." - Rosa Parks, known as "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement", African-American civil rights activist


Booker T. Washington

"Character, not circumstances, makes the man." - Booker T. Washington, founder and president of Tuskegee, as well an educator, former slave, author, orator, and advisor to Republican presidents

"One and God make a majority." - Frederick Douglass, the first African-American to be appointed to office in four different presidential administrations, also a social reformer, orator, writer, statesman and former slave

"When I was young, I said to God, God, tell me the mystery of the universe. But God answered, that knowledge is for Me alone. So I said, God, tell me the mystery of the peanut. Then God said, well, George, that's more nearly your size." - George Washington Carver, former slave, scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor

I encourage you to dig deeper into the true history of some amazing men and women of African descent this month (and every month). Here are a few resources you may find helpful.
Webistes:
African American Perspectives
Freedmen's Bureau Online
Harper's Weekly
Neglected Voices
(Biographies and Speeches of the first African American Congressmen)



Olaudah Equiano

Books:
(You can read these books for free at gutenberg.org)
Up from Slavery: an autobiography by Booker T. Washington
The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
and
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
to name a few.
I've really enjoyed American History in Black and White, but I haven't found that free, it must be purcharsed.

Excuses and An Overdue Post

I realize that my blog may seem somewhat slower than it should be, but I have a few reasons for that. One is that I don’t want to be a hypocryte. I do try to spend a lot of time on the posts I publish on this blog, because I want to be glorifying God in all that I do. I’ll never forget when my dad said, “Hey, that last blog post you did, Ashlin, was really good. It was so true… Maybe you should read it again.” He smiled. “And again, and again.”
Also, I’m sure you all understand when I say life is busy and it is necessary to prioritize. Blogging isn’t one of the best ways to spend my time at this point in my life.
And lastly, I have had posts ready, and I expected them to be posted. I thought I found a way to set the time and date of the post I desire to post and schedule it for that time. I recently checked and realized that the post I had scheduled for Independence and a few other posts, have not indeed been published. I’m very sorry.

Anyway, This Land and Flag was the post that should’ve been posted on the Fourth of July, but wasn’t. I’m sorry about that. I hope this won’t happen again. Here is "This Land and Flag" now.

What is the love of country for which our flag stands? Maybe it begins with love of the land itself. It is the fog rolling in with the tide at Eastport or through the Golden Gate and among the towers of San Francisco. It is the sun coming up behind the White Mountains, over the Green, throwing a shining glory on Lake Champlain and above the Adirondacks. It is the storied Mississippi rolling swift and muddy past St. Louis, rolling past Cairo, pouring down past the levees of New Orleans. It is lazy noontide in the pines of North Carolina; it is a sea of wheat rippling in western Kansas; it is the San Francisco peaks far north across the glowing nakedness of Arizona; it is the Grand Canyon and little trout stream coming down out of a New England ridge.
It is men at work. It is the storm-tossed fishermen coming into Gloucester and Provincetown and Astoria. It is the farmer riding his great machine in the dust of harvest, the dairyman going to the barn before sunrise, the lineman mending the broken wire, the miner drilling for the blast. It is the servants of fire in the murky splendor of Pittsburgh, between the Allegheny and the Monongahela, the trucks rumbling through the night, the locomotive engineer bringing the train in on time, the pilot in the clouds, the riveter running along the beam a hundred feet in the air. It is the clerk in the office, the housewife doing the dishes and sending the children off to school. It is the teacher, doctor and parson tending and helping, body and soul, for small reward.
It is small things remembered, the little corners of the land, the houses, the people that each one loves. We love our country because there was a little tree on a hill, and grass thereon, and a sweet valley below; because the hurdy-gurdy man came along on a sunny morning in a city street; because a beach or a farm or a lane or a house that might not seem much to others were once, for each of us, made magic. It is voices that are remembered only, no longer heard. It is parents, friends, the lazy chat of street and store and office, and the ease of mind that makes life tranquil. It is Summer and Winter, rain and sun and storms. These are flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone, blood of our blood, a lasting part of what we are, each of us and all of us together.
It is stories told. It is the Pilgrims dying in their first dreadful Winter. It is the minute man standing his ground at Concord Bridge, and dying there. It is the army in rags, sick, freezing, starving at Valley Forge. It is the wagons and the men on foot going westward over Cumberland Gap, floating down the great rivers, rolling over the great plains. It is the settler hacking fiercely at the primeval forest on his new, his own lands. It is Thoreau at Walden Pond, Lincoln at Cooper Union, and Lee riding home from Appomattox. It is corruption and disgrace, answered always by men who would not let the flag lie in the dust, who have stood up in every generation to fight for the old ideals and the old rights, at risk of ruin or of life itself.
It is a great multitude of people on pilgrimage, common and ordinary people, charged with the usual human failings, yet filled with such a hope as never caught the imaginations and the hearts of any nation on earth before. The hope of liberty. The hope of justice. The hope of a land in which a man can stand straight, without fear, without rancor. The land and the people and the flag, the land a continent, the people of every race, the flag a symbol of what humanity may aspire to when the wars are over and the barriers are down: to these each generation must be dedicated and consecrated anew, to defend with life itself, if need be, but, above all, in friendliness, in hope, in courage, to live for.
Author Unknown

Sand Castles

What a great castle this will be! You are going to make it so grand, so big. You see the wild, untamed waves crash threateningly.

You hurry, the waves seem far enough away now, but you would be foolish to ignore the fact that they are coming closer.

As you step back and look at the structure, you think of all the time and energy you put into it and it looks well worth it! The detail is splendid, it's height magnificent. A job ready to be celebrated.

But you are too hasty. You forget that the massive waves are incapable of showing mercy. They leap onto the shore conquering the land only to return back to the ocean. The see neither the princely state of your castle nor the work put into it.

We often make plans that seem to be well worth the effort. We make so many resolutions, in the hopes that a new year means a new you. Resolutions like, "I will exercise more", "I will volunteer more", "I'll break this habit", or "I'll start this habit". Yet nearly 80% of Americans who make resolutions fail before January is even over.

Are you building a castle made of sand, that will only be forgotten when it's all said and done? Or are you putting on the armor of God and fighting for the Kingdom that will last for eternity?

It is so easy to make plans for our lives. But when we strive to do something good in our own strength or something we perceive as good we aren't building up something that will last for eternity but something that will come crashing down.

"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come." -1 Timothy 4:8

I don't think there is anything wrong with making plans or resolutions for the New Year, but remember Whose you are. Christ means for us to live life with eternity in mind. Looking constantly toward Him as our Guide, through hard times and slow times. May we be working for Christ's Kingdom, not our own. May He be the initiator of all our plans.

Tchaikovsky, Quotes From My Sister, 2012, Ect.

While this is not the type of videos I usually share, I have been listening to Tchaikovsky's music dance around in my head so much I thought I better listen to some of his music so that maybe it would be able to skip out of my mind and be free.

2012 is only 13 days away.

And it is so easy to get wrapped up in all the fun or stress or other things that inevitabley come around this time of year. I'm reminded of how great my little sis is, last year she reminded me to think of others a little more. She said she didn't make New Years resolutions, but what about making a Year End resolution. Like 'I resolve to pray for all the people I've come in contact with this last year' or 'I resolve to spead some joy to someone who needs it' and other things like that.

Well I just have to quote her right now, and I hpe she doesn't mind, but like I said she's great. She said, "And whether you make a resolution or not, please remember all those who went without someone this year. Went without a father, a son, a brother, wife, mother, daughter, husband. This year...and maybe for every year. For every hero we have out there, there is a hero at home, trying to keep together an imcomplete family."

I don't know if you all know it but I have three amazing sisters, that I'm not sure why God allowed me to be related to such inspiring Christians but I'm oh so blessed, and she is one of them. So, don't forget those troops who are spending the rest of 2011 in Afghanistan or Iraq or any place away from their family, and let's remember to keep them in all our prayers.

-Ashlin

"Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments" -Deuteronomy 7:9

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is the day that we remember those who have fallen, the men and women who have died to serve our country, whether in battle or in peace, those who have sacrificed all for the sake of their fellow man's freedom. Let us never forget how much was given so we could enjoy this day and every day with the freedom that we have.

National Day of Prayer- 4/4

My favorite quote on prayer:

"When we go before God in prayer with a cold, dull heart, and in a lifeless and listless manner pray to him for eternal blessings... we should think of Christ's earnest prayers that he poured out to God, with tears and a bloody sweat. The consideration of it may well make us ashamed of our dull, lifeless prayers to God, [in which] we rather ask a denial than ask to be heard; for the language of such a manner of praying to God is that we do not look upon the benefit that we pray for as of any great importance, that we are indifferent whether God answers us or not. The example of Jacob in wrestling with God for the blessing should teach us earnestness in our prayers, but more especially the example of Jesus Christ, who wrestled with God in a bloody sweat. If we were sensible as Christ was of the great importance of those benefits that are of eternal consequence, our prayers to God for such benefits would be after another manner than now they are. Our souls also would with earnest labor and strife be engaged in this duty." - Jonathan Edwards, 18th century preacher and missionary

National Day of Prayer- 3/4

What Should We Pray For? cont'd

Psalm 122:6 "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you."

Colossians 4:2-4 "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; meanwhile praying also for us, that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak." And Ephesians 6:17-19, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,"

National Day of Prayer- 2/4

What Should We Pray For?

1 Timothy 2:1-2, "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence."

Matthew 5:44b, "...pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,"

Pray for all men. We should not just pray for those who are Christians, or who are sick or hurting. We should even pray for those who are better off than us and look down on us and our faith, those who spitefully use us and persecute us; we are told to pray for all men.

Paul mentions three things about this command to pray that we should take note of. First, he mentions its paramount importance: "First of all, I urge you to pray!" He tells us "Give thanks!" How many times we must be reminded to give thanks! How ungrateful we are! Lastly he tells us to pray for all people, and all who are in authority.

(I find it funny that Paul tells us to pray for everyone but then has to tell us that includes our authority/bosses/leaders and the like.)

National Day of Prayer- 1/4

How Should We Pray?


1 Thessalonians 5:17, "Pray without ceasing."

Luke 18 has a couple great examples of how to pray. 1) The tax collector, who in his awareness of his own sin would not even look up to heaven as he prayed "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

In the same chapter Jesus also spoke the parable of the persistent widow and the unjust judge. After the widow came to the judge again and again then he gave her justice. Then Jesus said in verse 7, "And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?" (emphasis added)

Matthew 6:9-15, "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen."

The latter answer, also answers another question: What should we pray for? Not only do we first give God, the Father, the glory due His name, but we also ask His will to be done. We ask only for what we need. We ask to be forgiven as we forgive (that can be a scary thought!). We pray that God would keep us on the narrow path; away from temptation. And we finish by again praising Him.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen!

He Is Risen! He Is Risen! Tell it out with joyful voice
He has burst the three days' prison, let the whole wide earth rejioce
Death is conquered, we are free, Christ has won the victory.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen! Christ has won the victory.

Come, ye sad and fearful hearted, with glad smile as brightest sun:
Nights long shadows have departed; all His suff'ring now is done,
And the passion that He bore: sin and pain can harm no more.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen! Christ has won the victory.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen! Risen to a holy state:
We are free from sin's dark prison, He has opened heaven's gate.
Death is conquered, we are free; Christ has won the victory.

He Is Risen! He Is Risen! Christ has won the victory!

Our Mighty Intercessor

Have a blessed Good Friday,
Ashlin

Before He Was Crucified

We're about a week away from Resurrection Sunday. Christ knew what would take place; He told His disciples to be ready, "saying, the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day" (Lk. 9:22/Mark 8:31)

Jesus taught His disciples how to pray one more than one occasion. (Matt 6:6,Luke 8:9-14, Matt 6:9-13, etc.)

Jesus took time to pray all throughout His ministry. Right before Jesus did His sermon on the mount in Luke (6:12), it says "Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God". He prayed all night long!

I believe a Christian is only as strong as his/her prayer life. Prayer is vital yet we all so often make it secondary. Praying should never just be incidental.

R. F. Horton said, “Therefore, whether the desire for prayer is on you or not, get to your closet at the set time; shut yourself in with God; wait upon Him; seek His face; realize Him; pray.”

Jesus told His disciples "Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is." (Mark 13:33)

"Oh brother, pray; in spite of satan, pray; spend hours in prayer; rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and lose breakfast, dinner, tea, and supper - and sleep too - than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer, we must pray in right earnest. The Lord is near. He comes softly while the virgins slumber." ~Andrew A. Bonar

We have been given such a great gift, the power of prayer! When we pray in Christ's name we have done, I believe, the greatest thing we can do. To continue in prayer, to pray without ceasing, is to grow closer to God, it is gaining power to do all things through Christ.

The apostles did great miracles but it started with prayer: Acts 6:4 says, "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word." One of my favorite quotes on prayer is by Martin Luther. He said, "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer."

Two or three hours just for the morning! What a great change we would see if more Christians fought daily on their knees!

“Depend upon it, if you are bent on prayer, the devil will not leave you alone. He will molest you, tantalize you, block you, and will surely find some hindrances, big or little or both. And we sometimes fail because we are ignorant of his devices…I do not think he minds our praying about things if we leave it at that. What he minds, and opposes steadily, is the prayer that prays on until it is prayed through, assured of the answer.” Mary Warburton Booth

"Since the days of Pentecost, has the whole church ever put aside every other work and waited upon Him for ten days, that the Spirit’s power might be manifested? We give too much attention to method and machinery and resources, and too little to the source of power." Hudson Taylor

Before Christ was crucified He spent the night in prayer. But what did He pray for? He told Peter that if He had prayed for it, God would have provided Him with more than twelve legions of angels. But he instead prayed, "not as I will, but as You will". Jesus gave the perfect example of prayer when He said, "Your will be done."

So often I have felt that I was praying for God's will, when in actuality, I was praying for what I thought was best.

I found quite a few great quotes here. I hope you go check them out.
"Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying." ~Paul E. Billheimer

"What is the conclusion then? I will pray" (1 Corinthians 14:15a)

God Bless,

Maewyn Succat Quotes

"If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples; even though some of them still look down on me."
"I am imperfect in many things, nevertheless I want my brethren and kinsfolk to know my nature so that they may be able to perceive my soul's desire."


"In short, I am a slave in Christ to this faraway people for the indescribable glory of 'everlasting life which is in Jesus Christ our Lord."
“I bind to myself today,
The power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to teach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The Word of God to give me speech,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to prevent me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The host of God to defend me, —


Against the snares of demons
Against the temptations of vices,
Against the lusts of nature,
Against everyone who would injure me
Whether far or near,
Whether few or with many.

Of the Lord is salvation;
Christ is salvation;
With us ever be
Thy salvation, O Lord!"

~ Saint Patrick

Who Was Your Valentine?

A Valentine may have played a love song for you, but God sings you the sweetest love song in the universe.
"The Lord your God... will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

A Valentine may have given you flowers, but God sent you the most beautiful rose of all: Jesus.
"I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys."
Song of Solomon 2:1

A Valentine might've bring you chocolate, but God provides you with something even sweeter, His Word.
"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103

Your Valentine may even love you for a lifetime, but God loved you before you were born and will love you for all eternity.
"Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love...with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3"

One Word 2011

On one great blog I follow I saw this button.

I thought it was such a great idea that I wanted to share it too. Basically instead of making New Year resolutions that are sure to fail before the year is over, pick one word that you want to meditate on. Pick one word to focus on that should help you make good choices and grow as a believer. Pray about what word God wants you to choose. "Joy", "Love", "Faith", "Pray", whatever word is on your mind, or maybe you'll have to narrow down a whole list of words. I can't wait to see how God will use my one word.



PS. Thanks Ashley, for sharing this great idea!

Song and Poem

Okay the song and poem aren't really related but I thought I'd put them into one post! ; )

I'm not a big fan of Toby Mac but I love the message in this song of his. (There weren't any good videos on youtube anyway!) So the lyrics are all that I'm putting for the post.
Joy (This Christmas)

Now Johnny's never got his wish on December 25th
That's what he said when he left the orphanage
9 years old, but Johnny was an old soul
Gonna spend his first Christmas in a real home

Showed me a picture that he drew the night before
Was a picture of a man standin' outside a door
I asked him who it was and he said someone I only see in dreams
Comforts me when I cry myself to sleep

Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas.

"Believe in angels?" Johnny asked me starin' at the sky
I said, "I do" and saw a sparkle in his eye
Big brother for the weekend respondin' to the season
Took the chance that giving's better than recievin'

Two nights, a new family, some holiday cheer
We laughed and sang, came on a midnight clear
We gave, received, and as we headed to close
We looked to the heavens and it started to snow down blessings

Father of the fatherless
Be with your sons and daughters this Christmas.
Father let us not forget
The children who are all alone this Christmas.

Religion that God our Father
Accepts as pure and faultless is this
To look after orphans and widows in their distress
Merry Christmas everyone!

Joy to the world, the Lord is come
Let Heaven and nature sing (4x)

You ain't livin', you ain't livin'
Father, this Christmas
You ain't livin' till you choose to give


And here is the poem:
Once in royal Davids city,
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her Baby,
In a manger for His bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ, her little Child.

He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And His shelter was a stable,
And His cradle was a stall:
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Saviour holy.

For He is our childhood's pattern;
Day by day, like us, He grew;
He was little, weak, and helpless,
Tears and smiles, like us He knew;
And He cares when we are sad,
And he shares when we are glad.

And our eyes at last shall see Him,
Through His own redeeming love;
For that Child so dear and gentle,
Is our Lord in heaven above:
And He leads His children on,
To the place where He is gone

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day reminds me that a grateful heart is a Christian woman’s best medicine! It makes the continual adjustments we inevitably face in our day to day walk with Christ easier to handle. Gratefulness is a like a great view of life. It enriches our lives, allowing us to enjoy any size blessing, not just the biggies.
Gratefulness accepts each and every situation, allowing us to see how it enriches our lives. Gratefulness isn’t visionary, it accepts what is instead of longing for what could be. Gratefulness cannot dwell in a heart filled with bitterness or discontentment.
Like internal fog, discontentment and ungratefulness obscures our spiritual sight. It keeps us from enjoying what God has given us.
When we are grateful for the good things God has already given to us we are able to see more clearly the other blessing that may have been block by the "fog". On the other hand, when we are ungrateful, we tend to shut ourselves off from the blessings we might otherwise experience and lose a time of growth.


There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude. ~Robert Brault


God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

Live out your gratitude, today. Keep a biblical perspective, giving thanks in all things! If I could use only a few words to speak to the LORD, I wonder what I would say. "I'm sorry." "I love you." "I surrender." "I'm Yours." I think I would say "Thank You, LORD!" For there are not a few words to describe what I feel about the Gift given to us. But, "Thank You, LORD" seems like a start.

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.