To All My Friends...

FRIENDS ARE...

Friends are blessings in this life:
Treasures, gemstones, rare.
And if we're wise, we'll cherish them
As gifts beyond compare.

Friends are life-lines in this life,
When storm clouds do arise,
Helping us to look above,
To Jesus in the skies.

Friends are beacons in this life,
Lighting up the way
With laughter, smiles, teasing,
In bright or cloudy days.

Friends are comfort in this life,
Praying when it's rough,
Helping you through thick and thin;
By you when it's tough.

Friends are "stickers" in this life,
Patient, caring, strong,
Revealing gently where we've failed,
And how we've been wrong.

Friends are faithful if they're true.
Lord, make me loyal, kind;
Lord, help me "stick" to all my friends
As You would stick to Thine.

- Miriam Rainwater

A man that hath FRIENDS MUST show himself friendly; and there is a FRIEND who STICKETH closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24

To all my friends near and far - This poem echoes my heart! I'm so thankful that God has brought each of you into my life. Y'all have been a strength and encouragement to me along life's journey and in seeking the Kingdom as followers together. Can't imagine how life would be without one another's laughter, smiles, and teasing, or how heavy it would be without eachother's prayers, helping hands and words of cheer. I'm afraid I don't always take the time to express how meaningful each of your friendships are to me...they are truly gifts beyond compare! Thank you to each one!

Well of Living Water

The greatest miracle that God can do today is take an unholy man out of an unholy world and make him holy, then put him back into that unholy world and keep him holy in it.
- Leonard Ravenhill

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
1 Peter 1:13-16

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.
1 Jn 4:4

May the Mind of Christ, My Savior

May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.

May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may triumph
Only through His pow'r

May the peace of God, my Father,
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.

May the love of Jesus fill me,
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self de-basing-
This is victory.

May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only to Jesus
As I onward go.

May His beauty rest upon me
As I seek the lost to win;
And may they forget the channel,
Only seeing Him.

- a hymn by Kate B. Wilkinson

Blessed is He

Blessed is he whose faith is not offended,
When all around His way
The power of God is working deliverance
For others day by day;

Though in some prison drear his own soul languish,
Till life itself be spent,
Yet still can trust his Father's love and purpose,
And rest therein content.

Blessed is he, who through long years of suffering,
Cut off from active toil,
Still shares by prayer and praise the work of others,
And thus "divides the spoil."

Blessed are thou, O child of God, who sufferest,
And canst not understand
The reason of for thy pain, yet gladly leavest
Thy life in His blest Hand.

Yea, blessed art thou whose faith is "not offended"
By trials unexplained,
By mysteries unsolved, past understanding,
Until the goal is gained.

- Freda Hanbury Allen

I found the above poem to be very meaningful to me. There are days when I have felt totally imprisoned, when I feel like I'm not where I want to be in life or when I have a desire to be apart of certain ministry opportunities and for one reason or another the door is shut. The fact that we are followers of Christ does not exclude us from pain, suffering, temptations, or unfortunate circumstances, and just because we strive to follow holiness, faith and purity doesn't mean it's gonna be easy and life is gonna go just as we may desire, and even pray for it to be. On the contrary, "many are the afflictions of the righteous, but (praise God,) the LORD delivereth him out of them all." (Ps 34:19) Jesus indicated that following Him would be difficult when He told His disciples "blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me." (Luke 7:23) He will ask hard things of us. Yet, His grace is there to sustain us in those difficulties and His peace passeth all understanding when we yield our wills to His. How often I have found myself where I have least desired, and the circumstances have pressed sore against me. Yet, through every dark valley comes a beam of sunlight and just when I have felt that I couldn't take another step He shows me His love in new and deeper ways than I had ever known before.
When every prop is taken out from under you, when hopes are dashed, when darkness surrounds you, or you feel imprisoned, let's look to the eyes of our loving Saviour. He knows the meaning of suffering, of pain and afflictions, and He will not leave us comfortless.

Blessings,
Jen

Mom

Mom -

Your love has made all the difference in the world. We are so blessed to have you for our mom! How can we thank you for all you are and all you've done?

- for your heart of love for children and desiring a big family right from the offset.

- for coming home to be with us children when having a secondary income was probably more than just convenient at the time.

- for staying up late nights when were sick.

- for homeschooling us and sticking with it even when the going got tough.

- for giving us a love for learning.

- for encouraging us in our dreams.

- for always being there no matter what.

Mom, some of my fondest memories are all nights you'd read aloud to us the "Little House" series, "From Wealth to Faith," "Hidden Rainbow," "The family Nobody Wanted," and countless other books. No matter what it was, you always had a way of making every story come alive!

You've instilled in me a heart for others, especially children, the unborn and the elderly.

You've inspired me to look beyond myself and to other's needs, and to have a willing and serving heart.

You've given me a love and passion for home and family; a desire to serve God by serving those He placed closest to me; and a vision of one day being a godly wife and mother, of raising godly seed, and of family ministry.

Most of all, you taught us God's love, to seek Him and His Word and to pursue holiness.

Thank you for choosing one of the most worthy vocations God has given women, that of being mother. What would we do without you? We are truly blessed!

Love you, Mom!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

Her children arise up and call her blessed. Prov.31:28

Something to Someone

You cannot be everything to everyone,
But you can be something to someone.

For while some people have a shoulder to cry on,
Others must cry alone.

We should always remember:
To God, no one is just another person.

Touch gently the lives around you,
For the human heart shapes as easily
As clay upon the potter's wheel.

Make another's path a little clearer,
Their steps a little lighter,
By walking beside them in love.

Bring joy to others while part of their lives;
Make them feel that they truly mean
Something to someone.

For the care we show to others,
If it is an outflow of the love of Christ,
Can point them to Him like nothing else could.

The goal of the compassion and care
We pour on others is to show them
That they mean something to God,
So they can turn to the One who cares
And He would become their everything.

- Unknown

This is the prayer of my heart. I truly hope I can be something to the people God brings into my life, from the people that are closest to me to the shoppers I may only spend 5 minutes with at work, that may sense God's love in a dark, cold world.

Please Pray...

Please pray for the Rob Tittle family. I don't know this family or really anything about them to speak of, but my heart goes out to them. Rob and his two daughters, Tori (20) and Rebekah (14) lost their lives this last week as a tornado crushed down on their home in Arkansas. Kerry Tittle and her seven other children are left to pick up the pieces of their lives with no husband/father. Their home was totally stripped to the foundation of everthing.
So if you would think of it, please pray for them.
http://www.familylife.com/articles/topics/life-issues/challenges/death-and-dying/the-lord-gives-the-lord-takes-away#.U2JejfxOnJu