Thoughtful Words to think on today....

LORD, High and Holy, meek and lowly,
Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold Thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

LORD, in the daytime, stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine;
Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.


--from The Valley of Vision:
A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Happy Bithday to the Love of my Life ! ! !

Today is the birthday of the one whom God has given to me to share all of life on this earth with.
I am so thankful for you, Myron.......

You are God's masterpiece, created in His image and by His divine design.
God said FAITH and gave you the strength to conquer mountains,
God said HOPE and shaped the desires of your heart (to love & care for me!)
God said LOVE and made you the AMAZING PERSON you are!

We have been so blessed. I could not even begin to mention to mention all the the LORD has showered upon us.

I look forward to all that the LORD has for us.....
walking the journey with YOU has been an amazing path.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

S H M I L Y ! ! ! !

I enjoyed the Easter/Resurrection weekend so much. What a precious thing it is to gather with a group of the LORD's own people and remember His work on the cross for each who has 'received' Him as their Savior. My favorite 'old' Resurrection hymn is "Low in the Grave He Lay'. I have been thinking about the Messianic Psalm - 40 this past week. And ohhhh how those words from that hymn touched my heart yesterday......"up from the grave HE arose.....with a mighty triumph o're His foes. HE arose a VICTOR from the dark domain, and HE lives FOREVER with HIS saints to reign....
He arose,
HE arose.....
Hallelujah....CHRIST AROSE!!"

I do have a 'newer' Resurrection hymn, "See, What a Morning" that is becoming a fast favorite. The words ....." See God's salvation plan, Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice", speak so truthfully of the Father's plan. I wish you could hear the tune. Its a lovely song by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend. Keith's wife Kristin sings it so beautifully.
You can see more of their hymns here and perhaps even download some of them to enjoy yourself.

What is your favorite Resurrection hymn or song?

"See, What a Morning" (Resurrection Hymn)
Words and Music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2003 Kingsway Thankyou Music

See, what a morning, gloriously bright,
With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;
Folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light,
As the angels announce, "Christ is risen!"
See God's salvation plan,
Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice,
Fulfilled in Christ, the Man,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

See Mary weeping, "Where is He laid?"
As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb;
Hears a voice speaking, calling her name;
It's the Master, the Lord raised to life again!
The voice that spans the years,
Speaking life, stirring hope, bringing peace to us,
Will sound till He appears,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

One with the Father, Ancient of Days,
Through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty.
Honor and blessing, glory and praise
To the King crowned with pow'r and authority!
And we are raised with Him,
Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered;
And we shall reign with Him,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

Absent from body....Present with LORD

A dear friend of ours has breathed his last on this old earth and entered his Eternal Home! Frank Brown went to be with the Savior he loved this morning. What a joy it was to be able to say good by to him last night. We sang, we prayed, we read the Word, we cried.....and looking beyond our sadness of loosing Frank, we rejoice as he is now in the presence of the One whom he loved and served so faithfully.

It is an amazingly peaceful thing to know that whatever we go through in our lives...be it flood, fire, death....our great God is there to lead us through. My husband read to Frank last night, some verses from John 10. "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him; for they know His voice." Our LORD so gently lead Frank all of his Christian life and then through the valley of death.....and it was only a momentary shadow.....for the instant his mortal body failed he was with his Savior. I thought of the song "God Leads His Dear Children Along". And am so thankful for the Gentle Shepherd's leading, all the way to the finish, in Frank's life.

May Frank's life continue to be a challenge and encouragement to us all to press on, be faithful to the finish, and finish the race with joy......................all the way to the end!

In shady, green pastures, so rich and so sweet,
God leads His dear children along;
Where the water’s cool flow bathes the weary one’s feet,
God leads His dear children along.

Refrain:
Some through the waters, some through the flood,
Some through the fire, but all through the blood;
Some through great sorrow, but God gives a song,
In the night season and all the day long.

Sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright,
God leads His dear children along;
Sometimes in the valley, in darkest of night,
God leads His dear children along.

Though sorrows befall us and evils oppose,
God leads His dear children along;
Through grace we can conquer, defeat all our foes,
God leads His dear children along.

Away from the mire, and away from the clay,
God leads His dear children along;
Away up in glory, eternity’s day,
God leads His dear children along.

Winter Wonder Land . . . in March !

This morning we woke up to this.



Out the back door.









And out the front door.




And we are expecting about 4-6 more inches of snow.













I'm not sure if you can see them or not....but in this picture there are about 5 robins sitting in the tree. They are likely thinking that either they slept through the spring/summer or they veered off course on their way North!


As our river creeps slowly up to the crest, we work and we wait.

You can see a web cam of our river and you can take a 'fly over' of the flooded areas here.

Fighing the Flood .... can be fun ! !

There are tons of things to do to be useful during the flood. Some build dikes with tractors and bobcats. Some fill sandbags, some form a chain the get the bags from the font driveway to the backyard. Some make cookies and bring them around with big jugs of Starbucks coffee. Some lay in hospital beds and pray for the rest of us. Some lovingly watch their children while husbands work their normal jobs and then volunteer to help others 'after hours'. It takes many hands and hearts...and each is a special blessing.

Whatever our part....may we do it with joy! I hope to post some pictures tomorrow....but one needs to be careful about taking pictures around here.