Today I stumbled across this quote in some papers I was sorting through from a long while ago. It struck me how true it is of my life recently but yet it seemed strangely depressing. Is it really true that when a hope is crushed the brightness of life vanishes?
For the Christian I don’t believe this needs to be permanent. Yes there will be times when we are overcome with sorrow and grief, when dashed hopes and unexpected disappointments seem to take all the happiness out of our lives. You can see this throughout the Bible and especially in the book of Psalms. David’s poems are full of strong expressions of sorrow, anger, pain and tears. Yet after these storms you will see him praising God and rejoicing again; seeming to have rediscovered the joy of life.
In Psalm 42 he says to himself : “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; For I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.”
This is only possible through the gentle correction and comfort of the Holy Spirit. We are so faithless, so quick to question and become downhearted and doubtful. Yet He continues faithfully drawing our focus back to Himself, reminding us of Who our hope is, and giving us the faith to wait on His timing.
How good God truly is! How full of unending mercy and tender love toward His children! Therefore, when as through eyes full of tears we watch our hopes or dreams die, we can know and trust that the joy and brightness of life will return; for it does not rest in anything but Jesus Christ. He alone is our hope, our strength, and our comfort.

Here is the picture link

For anyone who loves Christian music, I have a full blog on our time there, but wont post it all here. If you’d like to read it, let me know and i’ll post the link.
Here, I will just share that we saw probably 20 bands, enjoyed the shows, the bands, the testimonies, guest speakers and got tons of walking on these legs!

So this Del Mar fest, is the best camping situation we’ve had for our festival experiences. You came right at the horse stalls, which are covered, and there are REAL bathrooms and showers!! So we set up camp, which was super easy this year w/ only 2 of us.

Here, I want to share with you all about my time during MercyMe show. My friend Vicky and I wanted to go get another band’s signatures, and I was supposed to get a tshirt and poster signed for my friend Courtney, so we watched a few songs of Mercyme, then headed to signing, but Falling Up already gone!!!!! I was bummed I didnt come thru for my friend Courtney. Well, Vicky and I raced back over to the seats, and my sister had left! She had come to find us. lol. Unfortunately she missed the best part. I sat down and I got into the worship mood. This was the second time I saw MercyMe, and I tell you that the spirit of the Lord is so powerful when they perform. I will try to explain the feeling, but so hard to express what happened in side me that night. They play ‘Word of God speak’ and I stand and am worshipping and singing along, arms raised to my Savior. They go right into ‘Here I am to worship’ and I tell you it was definitely going on in the stadium that night. I just felt that I wanted to give my all to Jesus. They then went right into ‘I can only imagine’. By this time I am filled with the Lord’s spirit. Tears are pouring down my cheeks and I’m sobbing, and I have my face lifted to the Lord, and I’m trying to sing, but i’m too choked up and in awe of our Lord. As the words were sang by Bart, I was really thinking how powerful a day that will be when we face Christ face to face. What will I do? Well, that night, I caught a glimpse of my reaction to being in His holy presence. Maybe not face to face, but I was just blown away by His majesty and power that night.
I struggle each day with things in my life, and many times I feel so unworthy to be called His child, but that night, I just felt His magnificance and His glory and how mighty and omnipotent He is. He’s so unfathomable in the depths of who He really is, and how our finite brains can not encompass it all. Yet HE LOVES ME! It’s quite incredible. The Creator of all things, loves each one of us and knows us by name!! Thank you Lord, for caring for me, even when I’m so unworthy.
After those 3 songs, i just sat and sobbed more. Vicky’s mom was hugging me and comforting me. The rest of the night, i really didnt want to talk. I just wanted to bask in the glory of our God. It was the perfect end to the event. *Before the event I had prayed to Him, that I wanted my time there to be focused on Him…not just the bands and the music enjoyment and entertainment, but giving Him the glory. That time that night, was just what I needed, and what I needed to give back to Him. Make sense?
OH! funny thing on the road trip home: We are tired. I just wake up from nap and Cheryl’s cranky at this semitruck that is coming up on her right and she says ‘what does that guy think he’s doing? He can’t get anywhere! Well, he pulls almost up to us, and honks!! I look and he’s got thumbs up and like saying YEA!!!! He was ‘honking’ cuz we had that painted on our window! ha!. We laughed hard over that one.

If any of you have an opportunity to go to a music fest in your area, I highly recommend it. There’s always a large variety of bands and musical taste and great speakers.

If any of you have been to fests or concerts that have touched you in special ways, I’d love to hear about your experiences.

After the wedding and the flight from the states we were both exhausted. We had been up for 2 days before the wedding and there is no such animal as real sleep in a plane. We got to the hotel and litrally fell on the bed and slept. So goes our first daytime in London.

We woke up and it was already dark so we decided to talk a walkabout. First, we found food at a nearby restaraunt and got showers etc. Lisa did not know before she woke up I had done some scouting.

We began our walk and ran into a few bobbies (looking for a lost cat). We spoke and moved on and we saw this big church. I had noticed earlier a sign that we walked by and the building was the rectory for Westminster Abbey. Lisa kept asking what the church was. I finally told her it was Westminster Cathedral. She argued saying it could not be. We walked another block closer and this big clock appeared. I kinda chuckled and said i guess thats just another clock.

Lisa still had not figured out what we were looking at. I began to sing an old Roger Miller tune that goes like this: Engaland swings like a pendulum do, Bobbies own bicycles 2×2. Westmenser Abbey, the Tower Big Ben, the rosy red cheeks of the little children.

I wish i had brought the camera because the realization and wonder of what we were seeing finally washed all over Lisa. You could see the joy and thrill literally take her over.

As i thought about this, i began thinking wait have i lost that joy, the thrill of salvation? Do i take the time to let God’s love wash over me anew?
Psalms 51:12 says “Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation; and uphold me with Thy free Spirit.

Let’s tomorrow and everyday make this our prayer!

She continued screaming so i decided to pick her up and let her watch me finish. What i discovered was a foreign object. Earlier in the evening I had given her an empty can of Pringles to play with. She had stuck her foot in it and her leg had slipped all the way down the can. I couldn’t see it because her dress had it covered up. While this was going on my wife was in the back bedroom offering advice which i could not hear and the house became more of a zoo.
I removed the can and set her down. She raised her hands for her toy and i gave it to her. All this time tho i had continued to copy and paste as i could.

About 5 min later Marie starts screaming again. I begin praying Lord just let me get thru this study but she gets louder. So, I look and there isn’t a cna on her leg so i give in and pick her up. What i missed was her other leg. She had put her other foot in the can all the way up her leg.

After removing the can, it promptly went into the trash never to be used as a toy again. (By the way, Pringles cans in the future will not be used as toys either!)

I was telling this story in chat and someone mentioned that i should post this on the blog but not just for the humor slthough it is funny. There are at least two principles i think can be gained from this story.

The first principle is God knows our every need even when we do not know it ourselves. Romans 8:26 shows how the Spirit intecedes even when we don’t know what we need intercession for.

The Second priniciple I see in this story is not just a need but the promise of God to meet the need. Phillipians 4:19.

My granddaughters need was to have the pringles can removed from her leg. My need was to take care of her and complete the Bible Study. Obviously, without picking her up i would not have known the problem. God knows and meets the need because the Spirit intercedes for us.

When I first started going back to church, our small congregation did an annual ‘Maundy Thursday’ Love feast. It was the first time I felt God’s powerful touch upon me. It then became an event I looked forward to each year. What we did was set up a long large table. We used just candle light, and soft music in the background and have a solemn attitude. We had bread and meat and bowls set up w/ broth, so we could dip, and think about how Judas dipped in the same bowl as Jesus at that Last Supper. We then shared communion and had a footwashing. The men lined up on one side of table and the women on the other, and we went down the line, having our foot washed, then washing the next persons.

We read the Bible from that supper to when Jesus rose again. Each person had been given a thing to speak on: The blood, the body, footwashing, crucifixion, Judas, the disciples, the resurrection. It was such a beautiful time of reflection on what the Lord went through and the unequaled gift of Him giving His life for ours, and spending time in prayer as the family of God. It was during prayer that I felt the Lord so powerful my body had jolts run thru me.

That church closed it doors a few years ago. But the memories of those special times will remain in my heart and mind forever. I pray that each of you is touched this year by the precious blood of Jesus.

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Last year, I went to a Maundy Thurs. service at a local Lutheran church. I cried through most of it. They have the solemn lighting. Everyone is quiet. They read about Jesus’ betrayal and how he was beaten and crucified for us. We sing songs that are fitting (I love the one ‘where you there?’) Then we had a time of prayer and meditation on our lifes…we each write our sins on a peice of paper, and file up to the front of the church, and are handed a nail and hammer and we nail it to the tree. I tell you, to do just was so humbling, yet so fulfilling to know Jesus loved me enough to take those sins on His blameless self.
I’ll be headed to that service again this coming Thurs, if anyone wants to join me
Good Friday I am not sure what church I will attend, but there’s several services going on around town.
Sat. my church is having a 5pm service, and I’ll be working in the childcare. Then attending service and helping again on Sunday. I look forward to sharing with the little ones the excitement of our Lord having risen from the grave and preparing our homes in Heaven.

I want to remember and appreciate His gift daily.

Love and hugs to you all,

Everyone has their struggles in this life, and all have different issues they must deal with and trials to face. One of the best gifts we can give our friends and family is prayer. What I wanted to mention is how important it is for us to pray with sincerity. I know personally my prayer list is very long. So many people and so many needs that I want to lift before the Lord. Then throw in my own personal struggles. In the busyness of the day I admit I don’t always spend enough time w/ our Father in prayer, yet I know there are many who I have said I will pray for, and I need to uphold that.

There are many times that people will just share a story and say they need prayer, and others will say ok. I challenge everyone to take this VERY seriously! Our fellow brothers and sisters and those unsaved that come to us in a hope of our prayers maybe being heard by the Christ they do not know…they are counting on us!

I went through a very rough spot in my life 3 years ago when I was in a deep depression, and I just could not seem to ‘connect’ with the Lord and find any peace and comfort. I would just cry over and over for the Lord to rescue me from the pit of despair. But I felt SO lost. The biggest thing I craved, was for my personal and online friends to PRAY for me. TO just honestly, sincerely, cover me in their prayers to the Lord at the time I could not find it within myself. THAT gave me the most comfort of all. Knowing I had those few that truly remembered me to God and interceded on my behalf before the HOly One. I finally did come out of that dark place. God didnt answer the prayers as I wanted, but of course He knows best, and He answered in a way I didnt even dream of as a solution.

I highly recommend a prayer list or journal and to make sure we are accountable for those who are truly hurting and ask us specifically for prayer.

It dawned on me once again how God uses His Word and Spirit not to control but to protect us. Many times we (me) feel the Holy Spirit moving and guiding. How we respond to that guidance determines whether we have joy and fruit in our lives or feel the hand of a parent (God) convicting us and moving us where He wants us.

Deu 8:5 Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the LORD thy God chasteneth thee.

Just as my granddaughter has learned there are consequences to not listening, she is learning that when she does listen to the warnings there are rewards. So God deals with us. The rewards of listening to the Spirit of God,to God’s word and Jesus’s example are very simple we draw closer to God.

But the joy of following the Spirit of God is expressed in this verse:

2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Pray for me as i continue the journey and lead my family toward the Freedom we find in Jesus and the Liberty the Spirit gives us. Pray for Worthy and all of Worthy ministries. Lets stive to pray for one another as well.

We are first obligated to reach the Lost in Worthy as was commanded by our Lord Mathew 28:18-20. By this same verse we are commanded to teach what Jesus taught. This is our first obligation in chat.

The issues of doctrine are secondary. Do not misunderstand my thought. Scripture teaches that we are to be wary of being swayed by doctrine Ephesians 4:14. Many come in to do nothing more than confuse and mislead the Saints. We are obligated to respond II Timothy 4:2-4. Our discussion of Doctrine should be relegated to Mars Hill. This is where it has been designated for discussion and debate.

My point is this I appreciate the chitter chatter in the upper. Like i pointed out earlier in college we missed the lost because the lost were not sought out. We need to make sure we are following our Lord’s command as it was written first to win, second to teach and when a doctrinal issue or false teaching arises be sensitive to those who come into upper who may not know the Lord. The arguements (discussions) would lead people away and not to the Lord.

The moderators are expected to be cheerful, upbeat, knowledgable and caring. They are all of those things. But Satan works on the moderators in all the same ways he works on everyone else. Whether it is personal loss, pain, illness or whatever the circumstance might be. Like everyone else who comes in we have times of depression, and ups and downs. Satan works the same no matter who it is if they are trying to serve God. The following passage is important not just because it talks about the armor of God but there is an interesting note at the end of the passage. The passage is found in Ephesians 6:10-19. We all know the passage because Paul talks about the armor of God. Vs. 18-19 tho are the key to this post:

“Praying with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful to the end with all perserverance 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 mystety of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains: that in it i may speak boldly, as i ought to speak.”

Please pray for the moderators that we may boldly speak the truth in love. Understand they are people too, not just bots!

Let me share the lyrics from the album A Few Good Men.

I believe, help thou my unbelief i take the finite risk of trusting as a child

I believe, help thou my unbelief i walk into the unknown trusting all the while

I long so much to feel the warmth that others seem to know But should i never feel the things i claim Him even so.

I believe, help thou my unbelief I walk into the unknown trusting all the while.

Many times we face a struggle in our walk with God. Some call it depression, some call it a trial, and some even call it a test. When we walk into those valleys that seem so low it is important for us to remember Who made the valley and our only responsbility is to be still and recognize Him and know Him in the very small areas that seem so big. These areas are areas where we show a lack of trust and belief in God.

Psalm 46 addresses this very issue and and ends with:

Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of Hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.

Take time as i did today and read the entire text of Psalm 46 and then remember Who our Refuge really is.

By the way my focus on lyrics should have been on listening to what God was showing me. The lyrics to the other song are being shipped to me by the man i first heard sing it back in 1971.

God bless you all

Steve

Currently I really enjoy Thousand Foot Krutch. Their last cd Phenomenon and their newest one ‘the art of breaking’. I’m also excited about Plumb and Kutless new cd’s coming out in March.
Let me know what type you like and i’ll be glad to share w/ you about it! Rock, Worship, Contemporary, even some rap OH! And how about the old fashion Hymns?

Here is my suggestion and i would like to hear all the admins about it..especially how to improve it. I would like to do a bible study beginning in Genesis and working thru verse by verse to Revelation.

My idea is to create a private room each time for the study. Initially, a chatter would have to have a password for entry. We would only allow new people to join the study as we moved to a new book. Genesis to Exodus with a new password for each. The idea is not to be exclusionary because the study would be posted as a thread on the boards without the side issues.

This would keep people up to date with where we are and encourage them to join as the study progresses to the next book in the Bible.

I am well aware that this has probably been chewed over before.

The other idea is simply to open the bible study and be polite and firm with keeping on track.

Let me know folks your thoughts on this.