Adoption Poem

Not flesh of my flesh,
Nor bone of my bone,
but still miraculously my own.
Never forget for a single minute;
You didn't grow under my heart
but in it.

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
- Unknown

Verse of the Week

When I Am Weak -part 2

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

The Lord has given me assurance I'm forgiven; I have reason to rejoice. But what about when I don't take the "way of escape" that God has prepared for me?

I have the victory through Christ Jesus. But there is a time for mourning. After all Jesus did say "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Psalms 34:18 says "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."

2 Corinthians 7:9-10, "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death."

The difference between godly sorrow and the sorrow of the world: I still recognize the cost of sin, but it doesn't stay, I make a 180* and go the right way, but I don't need to keep looking back and remembering what I've done wrong. "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins." (Isaiah 43:25)

The fact that I'm a sinner, and a miserable sinner at that, is what makes Christ strong in me. Amazing...
"And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."(2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

When I Am Weak -part 1

Job 42:5-6 “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

I hate myself. I have been hating myself more and more resently. I read that verse in Job and I winced... I've been really down and the more I've read from God's Word the more I felt... unworthy.

Right after reading that verse I flip through my flash cards and read Romans 7:12, "Therefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." Again and again words like "holy and just and good" popped up each time I read the Bible and each time I would cringe inside thinking of my own short comings.

(Another flash card verse: Romans 7:5) "For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death." Am I still in the flesh? No! Why do I continually act so unlike a new creation?

Now, I don't mean I was just feelin' down, I was aching, sick of myself I felt like Job when he said he said he abhored himself.

But then the Lord showed me these verses -1 Corinthians 6:9-11- "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."

Now, believe it or not after that I didn't feel like singing or dancing -which is what I normaly do when I am really happy- I just leaned back and smiled. I felt a peace, God's wonderful peace, and I felt tears.

None of these verses were new to me, I had not only heard them before but had memorized them, but nothing sunk in quite like it did last night.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (another one of my flash cards ;) ) says "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."

The message of the Gospel is simple; a no-brainer! (How could I have been so deceived!)

Last verse:
"Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death." (Revelation 12:10-11)

Verse of the Week

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

Verse of the Week