Great Year 2007!

"Z" Boy

We had a wonderful end of the year here at our house! Having all my kids home with the added ingredient of Zion made it a wonderful time.

2007 has been a good year for us and we thank God for His many blessings.

He has been soooo good to us.

We anticipate a great year coming up and wish the best to my readers!

God bless you!

Forwards!!!

http://info.org.il/irrelevant/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf

Christmas 2007

Joy to the World......Let every heart prepare Him room.

The Collins’ have had a very active year in 2007!

Gary has been in California almost every week this past year for work.

After 21 summers at Children’s Camp, Joyce resigned from camp ministries.

Jeremy has had a wonderful year with his art¼many new opportunities.

Jonathan has progressed tremendously in his training for the Olympics

Tricia has enjoyed motherhood. She is a great mom.

Sandy is enjoying a job as a personal assistant to a family.

Zion continues to delight us with all the new things he is adding to his abilities.

Our whole family got together in California for Father’s Day and had a wonderful time.

Jeremy and Jonathan took their first trip from the winnings of the Zest “Most Adventurous Man” contest and have quite a few stories to share about Norway.

Gary and Joyce went on a cruise to celebrate 35 years of marriage.

God has been good to us!

We want to wish all of our friends a Very Merry Christmas!
May 2008 be a year filled with opportunities to
discover the Great Love God has for each one of you! With Love, Gary and Joyce

Cruise Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/gp/18332268@N08/VTzAi7

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/561730533KHEiQN?vhost=good-times

Some of you have "complained" that I have not shown my pictures of the trip. Can I say, I am a little overwhelmed at trying to choose.
I also had some trouble understanding flicker and then I got a phone call while working on webshots, so I saved it without titles and still cannot find how to get back to those and title them. So, if you are in the mood to look at someone's vacation slideshows....here they are!

We had a wonderful time and recommend cruises! :?)

Christmas Cactus

I obey the rules! I don't water this all of September so that it will have blossoms for Christmas. This is the second year it blossomed for Thanksgiving! I dead headed it in hopes it will rebloom for Christmas!!!!!

Who or What Is Our Passion

I was thumbing through a book today trying to decide if I was going to purchase a couple of copies to use for Christmas gifts. I ran across one of my many underlined phrases and decided it was to be blogged.

Jesus isn't coming for a church that's gritting her teeth, struggling to stay free from sin, secretly wishing she could indulge in a little immorality but abstaining because of being afraid of getting caught. No, Jesus is coming for a church passionately and utterly devoted to Him-one that is free on the inside. The greatest motivation for obedience to the Lord is a growing revelation of who Jesus is-His passions and pleasures and the matchless splendor in His personality.

Passion For Jesus by Mike Bickle

Observations?

Someone forwarded this art to me and I found it fascinating. Curious what my readers would think of it...

We Are Back From Our Cruise!

For our 35Th anniversary coming up Gary planned a cruise which took us from San Diego, to Cabo San Lucas, to Mazatlan, to Puerto Vallarta!We both did get to relax! :?) (on a private island!)
We enjoyed two formal nights on the ship!
This is ONE shrimp!
We saw whales and dolphins! We saw a group of people swimming with a seal. Gary did not know it was there and was out to snorkel when it swam between his legs! :?)

We had a wonderful time together and we got to spend some time with Jonathan and Sandy before and after the cruise~

Gary took over 600 pictures and I took over 400! It might be awhile before I can develop a slide show. I am trying to figure out flicker~ but I may go to webshots. I will post on here when that slide show is ready!

Bluecrest

One of my favorite Fairy Tales when I was a little girl was Bluecrest.

Did anyone else get to read that story?

The art in my favorite book was outstanding.

Adrienn Segur was the artist.
Check it out!

Willow Creek

I got this from a friend on MySpace!


Willow Creek / seeker sensitive church news (please read)

Willow Creek has recently announced that, based on intense research, the "Willow Creek" style seeker-sensitive church model DOES NOT WORK. After 30 years and millions of dollars and thousands of churches influenced, it's a failure. That's right, a failure.What does this mean? It means that millions of people, both Christians and non-Christians, have been misled and misfed for over a quarter of a century now.I have heard this described as the biggest news in evangelical Christianity in a century. I have also heard it compared to the damage Dr. Spock did to child rearing .

I agree with both.If your church is beginning a seeker sensitive program, I seriously recommend stopping. If your church is based on the seeker sensitive model, I recommend finding another church.

It may "feel great" but it is not a place to be fed and seriously grow as a Christian.Christ is Truth, not "felt needs"-based business models intended to fill seats disguised as places of worship.
I do not dispute Willow Creek's intentions were well placed, but ANY time we depart from the hardness of Truth because it makes people uncomfortable and we want an easier way, we are opening the door to trouble and lies.
As Bob Burney puts it (linked below): "If you simply want a crowd, the 'seeker sensitive' model produces results. If you want solid, sincere, mature followers of Christ, it's a bust."

And (more importantly) as the Bible puts it: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;" 2 Timothy 4:3

Related Links:Video - Bill Hybels (Willow Creek founder and senior pastor) on the "wake up call of his adult life"http://revealnow.com/story.asp?storyid=49
Video - Greg Hawkins (Willow Creek executive pastor) discusses the research showing the programs have failedhttp://revealnow.com/story.asp?storyid=31
Willow Creek Repents? (by Diana Butler Bass)http://blog.beliefnet.com/godspolitics/2007/10/willow-creek-repents-by-diana.html
A Shocking "Confession" from Willow Creek Community Church By Bob Burneyhttp://www.townhall.com/Columnists/BobBurney/2007/10/30/a_shocking_%E2%80%9Cconfession%E2%80%9D_from_willow_creek_community_church
Audio - Way of the Master Weekend Show Nov 3, 2007http://podcast.wayofthemasterradio.com/audio/podcasts/1107/WOTMR-11-03-07-Weekend.mp3*Also some good info from Ravi Zacharias concerning apologetics

...the entire building was filled with smoke

...I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne and the train of His robe filled the Temple....the entire building was filled with smoke. Isaiah 6:1&4b

Yesterday we had an amazing sermon from this scripture. I have enjoyed the beauty of our sanctuary as it reminds me of this scripture. However, I was left thinking about the "filled with smoke" part of it. I know that in the Old Testament the smoke of the incense was part of the fragrance of worship. I was praying yesterday and today about the smoke. I want to know that our fragrance is pleasing to Him.

Following is a writing from Forerunner Meditations

The Lord enjoys the fragrance that emanates from your spirit when you are focused on His provision in your life. What He feeds you at His table produces a perfume that ascends from your spirit to God. When the revelation of His table touches you, your perfume ascends spontaneously and effortlessly to the Lord.

Worship is a fragrance that ascends to God as perfume. The Lord enjoys the aroma and fragrance that emanates from your spirit when you are seated at the Lord's Table. "My spikenard sends forth it fragrance..." (SOS 1:12) Spikenard speaks of spontaneous worship.

Your fragrance will be diffused to God and man when you begin to receive freely all that Jesus provides. The church at Corinth was one of the most carnal churches in the New Testament, but Paul declared to them, "We are the fragrance of Jesus Christ to God the Father. (2 Cor. 2:15)."

In other words, when God smells the fragrance of your life, He smells the literal fragrance of His Son. Jesus Christ has a literal fragrance that is a part of His divine Person, and that fragrance is so sweet to the Father

"But thank God! He has made us His captives and continues to lead us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now He uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this? (2 Cor.2:14-16)..."

***************

Prayer:

Sweet Father, as the fragrance of my lifestyle of worship begins to arise to You, reveal Your delighted heart to me. I was created to worship You in all that I do, so even in my weakness come and enjoy all that I have to give. Thank You for allowing me to impart the precious fragrance of Your Son.

Today's Fun

Jeremy was Spiderman at WalMart today! Zion came to visit him.
And so did we!
Zion was greeting everybody and Hi-Fiving everyone just like Spiderman!

Jonathan was Spiderman at WalMart in San Diego!

Psalm 119:1-8 Mixture of NLT and TM

Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord. Joyful are those who obey His laws doing their best to follow Him. They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in His paths. You have charged us to keep Your commandments carefully. Oh that my actions would consistently reflect Your principles. Then I’d never have any regrets in comparing my life with Your counsel. I thank You for speaking straight from Your heart. I will thank you by living as I should. I’m going to do what You tell me to do; please don’t give up on me!


Prayer:
Oh Father - I do so want to be a woman of integrity - a woman who stays on the course-one who follows Your instructions by walking steadily on the road revealed by You. I pray that the joy that comes to those who obey You and seek You with all their heart will be evident in my life. I don’t want to compromise in any way! I just want to pursue Your ways - the ways You prescribe. You have given us specifics on how to live and You expect Your children to live that way. I am determined that my actions are consistently reflecting Your principles. I don’t want to be ashamed or disappointed in myself when I compare my life to Your commands. I thank You for speaking straight from Your heart so that I learn the pattern or Your righteous ways. I am going to do what You tell me to do, thanking You for not giving up on me.

Parent Alert

Parent Alert
http://www.tothesource.org/10_30_2007/10_30_2007.htm

Please go to that site and read about the new movie coming out

The Golden Compass

It is very sad but not surprising at all. Satan is running scared and we know who really wins in the end!!!!! (Revelation 19-20)

However, our children should not be exposed to this at all!!!!!!!!

There are wonderful books out there to get kids for Christmas. Actually, I think I got an advertisement in the last couple of days from cbd stating that there was a sale on children's books. I did not look at the sale, but go to www.cbd.com and look for children's books.

Plants Soon To Be Gone

http://community.webshots.com/user/rejoicewithjoyce?vhost=community

Praying and Fasting

During the past few months there have been a few blogger friends who have posted with questions and comments about praying and fasting. I finished up a book today and I would like to copy statements I underlined in the chapter about praying and fasting.

The person that gives himself to these disciplines will encounter more of the burning heart of God and discover the joy of His presence. Then, the thrill of encountering God will be the motive for doing the disciplines. He or she will start praying and fasting out of the pleasure of knowing Him, not out of duty or obligation.

Through praying and fasting we position our hearts for encounter. We deny ourselves of other things to focus on "one thing", the very "one thing" that David was obsessed with - the beauty of God

Fasting is a spiritual discipline that accelerates the process of receiving revelation from Heaven. When we do it, our hearts get tenderized and we see and hear God more clearly

Through fasting we offer our strength to receive God's. We say no to human strength to receive divine might. In the grace of God, we deny ourselves of legitimate pleasures like eating, entertainment, etc. to pursue the Lord harder. By doing it, our focus on the Lord grows and we become mighty in spirit, mighty inside. Even though fasting weakens our flesh, our inner man grows stronger.

If we choose to not to have a lifestyle of prayer and fasting we will be weak as other men are. Yes, sincerely loving the Lord, but with very weak minds and hearts; prompt to fall into temptation, depression, and boredom.

The lifestyle of fasting is rare, and so the benefits are rare. Not only is there the impartation of new desires, but also there is the removal or diminution of sinful desires. Beloved, when our desires line up properly, life is wonderful. When our desires are out of line, life is burdensome. Fasting, rather than increasing life's drudgery, actually releases supernatural joy.

You will find that the hunger to experience God begins to dominate your life. It's a strange paradox that we actually hunger to fast. I believe it is going to be a common experience to love fasting. It will take some time, but in the long run this is how the body of Christ will choose to live

Dear reader, there is divine grace and might available for you You only have to say yes. No matter how weak and broken you may feel-dare to embrace a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. As you do, watch how the Holy Spirit empowers your heart with holy and fiery desires, and how He anoints your eyes with revelation and fills your soul with His consuming Love.

Today is the day. Taste and see that the Lord is good!

The Prophetic Worshiper by Pablo Perez

New Sanctuary

These were taken with my phone yesterday so they are probably not the best pictures. I love the flowing material behind the cross. I felt like God's Glory was reaching down to us! I hope I never get used to it. Yesterday was our first day in the new sanctuary.
TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!!

Our God Knows What He Is Doing With His Commands!!!!!!!

http://www.mercola.com/2002/may/8/prayer.htm

As I read this article this morning I was thinking about the command God has that we are to forgive one another. The holding on to bitterness hurts us more than the person we resent. Not only that, if this scientist is correct, it would affect the people around us!!!!!
Honestly, if we live in complete obedience to who God has called us to be our bodies are full of beautiful snowflakes! :?)

http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/photos/photos.htm

Goat Meat! Monterrey Log 4

Our good friend, Jose Pacheco, told us before we left that if we are going to be in Monterrey we must try some goat meat. They are famous for that!
Gary and I had a date last night and went to a restaurant called The King of the Baby Goat.

It was a beautiful restaurant! I will probably load those pictures along with many others on webshots in due time. The baby goat meat is delicious.
We are really throwing our money around here! :?)

Italian Eating in Monterrey Log 3

WEll, I had another dinner with "Gary's Gang"

Here we are waiting to get started eating. On the left is Tom, who inspects towers all over the US. At the head of the table is Juan, from Spain, has lived here for 6 months as an engineer for the company here, Ravi, from India but Caifornia most of his life, an engineer overseeing this project, and My Gary, the Project Manager.
We added another man to our group! This is the man who cooked up our meal! He is from Italy and if I got the story right, he has been a chef at some the more elite restaurants in Monterrey. He decided he wanted his own little restaurant.
We have been served! Some of it anyway.
I think this was my favorite! This is a tuna salad. I am not sure, but I think the tuna was marinated in something that sort of pickled it.

A vegetable medley that was oh sooo good!
The green pasta at the top was outstanding...and the lasagna was the best I have ever had.
I did not get a picture of the pizza. It was not like any pizza I have ever had. The desert was a cooked pear in a very special red syrup.

An amazing meal to be had for a hole in the wall. What we got last night is not a part of the menu...he just made some of his specailties just for us! He sat with us to see what we thought of them!

I feel I have been spoiled!!!!! :?)

Monterry Log 2

Last night we had a new host for our dinner. He is from Spain. He has worked and lived in many parts of the world! Our friend from India was with us. I thought the waiter was getting more than the two of us in the picture! But what I was really after was the fish we had for dinner!

That baby is actually standing up on the plate!!!!! It is a red snapper. I would say it was one of the better meals I have ever had! So, if you are ever in Monterrey go to the fish restaurant called "Los Arcos". The service was out of this world! We had three guys by our table constantly aware of our needs!

Our adventure for the night was getting stopped by the police. The driver was from Spain, front seat passenger, born in India but is an American Citizen, back seat two men born in USA (one came without his passport...not Gary!) and me, born in Guatemala, but a US citizen!

I grew up in Latin America so I know about the stopping and then asking for bribes. However, I thought those bribes ran $25 to $50.

WHATEVER!

The breathalyzer test our driver got only consisted of the fact that when the window was rolled down the alcohol could be smelled. Oh yes, our driver had been drinking! Everyone else seemed comfortable with the amount he had had...but you know me...I was praying!!!!!

Two of the other men had topped off their dinner with a very unusual and strong tequila! The fumes at the table were new to me!!!!!!

Our driver was going to jail unless he paid his bribe! $800 dollars!!! No folks, not pesos....but dollars!!!!!!! Among the five of us we came up with $300 and that was acceptable!

Fortunately, we did not have to all show our passports! The one guy without his has it in process right now but needed to get down here and took the chance. Yep, that boy is being covered by my prayers these days!!!!

Monterry Log 1

the first thing I want to say here is that I am posting this on my blogspot(I will copy and paste it to the other blogs) All the instructions on here are in Spanish!!!!! How fun!
I don't know that I will do this every day while I am here, but I was out for a walk this morning for a little over an hour and a half and the day is getting hot, so my air-conditioned room feels wonderful!
Last night we had dinner with two of Gary's counterparts. One is an engineer who retired from his company in California some time back and is so good at what he does he gets pulled back into jobs...but only the ones he wants to take! He is originally from India. He is very professional, a very gentle man, and on the quiet side. The other man is one who is out at the construction site of the electrical towers. I could tell he is someone who is excellent at his job. To put it in his words, he is a "genuine good ole American Redneck!" He has a very loud voice and a lot of "soap boxes" on his agenda!
As you can imagine, the conversation was quite an interesting one! I came away with a deep admiration for my Gary. He is so good to make anyone comfortable. I believe both men came away "blessed" by Gary!
I was walking in the park this morning. The city has just finished up a week long celebration of their independence day. It was amazing to see the cleanup jobs going on today. All the fountains were turned off because they were being cleaned. The men were scrubbing all the ironworks in the fountains. The tiled floors on the outside of the buildings were being scrubbed by ladies with mops. The windows of the tall buildings were being scrubbed by men in swings. This appears to be a very clean city!
One thing that touched me today was the fact that in the park I found a woman sitting on a bench reading her Bible! Later, as I was walking through the shopping area I found a shoe shine man....reading his Bible!!!!!!!
Why did this excite me?!?! When we lived in Coban, Guatemala my dad would have his shoes shined in the city park. While he got his shoes shined he would read the Bible to the man. In due time this man came to know the Lord, and years later he was seen to be shining shoes....and reading the Bible to his clients!
Amazing, in less than an hour's time in two different parts of the area people were into the Word! Monterrey must be in good hands!!!!!

About Jeremy's Art

This was on Jeremy's pastor's blog

Art by Jeremy Collins
A couple of folks have mentioned the art on my banner. This is an original piece created by Jeremy Collins for the cover of my forthcoming book, "Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos."



When I was shown the different possible covers proposed for my book, none seemed to really convey its spirit. At the time, Jeremy had a show hanging in the Jacob's Well gallery. Jeremy is an amazing artist. Looking at his work I saw a few pieces that I thought captured visually the spirit of what I am trying to communicate. So, I suggested them to the art director. She liked Jeremy's work but didn't think any of the pieces I was suggesting worked either.

I thought that that was the end of it. I was thrilled when I learned that they had commissioned Jeremy to create an original piece. It couldn't have turned out more perfectly than it did. Take a few minutes and go browse Jeremy's website.

I'm In Love With God, God's In Love With Me

Misty Edwards

Mother-In-Law

I hope this does not come across as bragging for that is not the intent! I am just sharing some thoughts.

I received a call last night from one of my daughters-in-law. The call was a thank-you call...thanking me for being such a good mother-in-law.

That is a very nice kind of call to get!

We talked about how so many women seem to be jealous of the woman their sons have picked as a life companion. I was asking the Lord this morning why I have not experienced that feeling of jealousy.

There are many answers to that!!!!!!

• One who lives a Spirit filled life is not jealous
• When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another. Galatians 5:19-24
• Decisions made as a child make life easier or harder as an adult! When I was a child I had to share my pastor parents with many others. I could have been jealous but I chose to be proud of who my parents are and share them willingly. In fact when co-teens would share about how "horrible" their parents were I would offer them to come to my house and experience the love my parents would offer them!!!!!! I feel the same way about sharing my boys! They have a lot of love and fun to offer others!
• Another thought I have is that my daughters-in-law did not take away my boys....my boys provided me with two very amazing and wonderful daughters!!!!!!!!
• :?)
  

Fam

I took pictures off of other people's blogs! Here is our Sandy in worship at a ladies conference in San Diego.
I took this one from Talia's My Space.

I am missing the boys and praying for them as they are traveling in Norway this week .

The Word

The Word
I tend to like going to different versions of the Bible. It seems to make the Word come alive for me. This probably comes from the fact that as a child we came to family devotion time with different versions, including Spanish! We would then compare how it was translated and talk about which translation seemed clearer on that particular section. Today I read in Ephesians in The Message. I loved the way it reads in the first chapter....just had to post it!!!!!! Ephesians 1:3-23

Date September 6, 2007
How blessed is God! And what a blessing He is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down earth's foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His Love, to be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into His family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of His lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people-free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans He took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in Him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth. It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, He had His eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose He is working out in everything and everyone.
It's in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free-signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that we'll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.
That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the Christians, I couldn't stop thanking God for you-every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask-ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory-to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for Christians, oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust Him-endless energy, boundless strength!
All this energy issues from Christ: God raised Him from death and set Him on a throne in deep heaven, in charge of running the universe, everything from galaxies to governments, no name and no power exempt from His rule. And not just for the time being, but forever. He is in charge of it all, has the final word on everything. At the center of all this, Christ rules the church. The church, you see, is not peripheral to the world; the world is peripheral to the church. The church is Christ's body, in which He speaks and acts, by which He fills everything with His presence

Challenges

Not too long ago Jonathan put out a challenge on his blog for a workout. At a family picnic Labor Day one of his aunts commented about Jonathan's extreme challenges reminding us of one he sent out back in 2005. I decided I would post his old challenge on here. It definitely changed the way I read the Word. No longer am I satisfied with a one or two chapter a day way of doing it!!!!! I will confess, I have not done the OT in three months....but I have done the NT in a month several times since he put out this challenge. So, I put the challenge out to the rest of you!!!! Tell me what you think!





Hey guys, > > I heard a sermon on a CD recently that has challenged me to a new >idea for reading scripture that I'm going to try out this month. If >you read ten chapters a day, six days of the week, you will complete >the New Testament in one month. It didn't talk about this, but also >if you do the same with the Old Tesament, skipping psalms, you can >complete it in 3 months. I am attempting to do both, ten in each >everyday for the next three months. I am emailing you to see if you >would join me in at least the NT part. Doing both ends out taking >quite a chunk of your morning. If you don't have a job, don't have >any friends, and don't have anything to do except train, eat, and >rest then I'd ask you to join me with the OT as well. > I have yet to find any type of consistent community up here to >be accountable to, to feel a part of, etc. It would be great to >have friends back home joining me in this. But don't do it for me, >or you'll end up hating me every morning. If you are already in the >middle of something fruitful, by all means don't stop. But if >you're struggling to be in the Word, or aren't in it at all, this is >a great game plan and a great time to start it. > Please reply and tell me whether you can/can't, will/won't. I >know it is a little late notice to start for february, but who >cares. Finish march 2nd. I sent this to people I'm close to that I >thought might actually do it. If you want to send this to more >friends/family, go ahead. Maybe it will spread and the whole >country will be reading the Bible :) -Jonathan

The Arbor and the Waterfall

Gary finished the waterfall today! I added pictures of it at the end of the arbor slideshow.




Arbor

Wow!

Click here andTell what you think of this!!!!

In Response to a discussion about Mother Teresa

On my friend Dawn's blog we have had a small discussion about the news about Mother Teresa. It made me think of these three devotions I have copied from Forerunner Meditiations




Song of Songs 2:10
My lover spoke to me, “Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, ad come with me.”

He is calling her to come away with Him, to leap and skip over the mountains. Jesus wants His Bride to agree and join with Him in all of His doings. He is asking her to step out of her comfort zone and leave her place of familiarity to partner with Him.
What He is calling her to do is frightening and uncertain to her. It is a step that will force her to trust and obey Him completely. She feels as if she doesn’t like the risks of walking by faith. She does not want to go to the high places because she is afraid of the mountains.
Faith is the way of the Kingdom. God, in His infinite wisdom, has ordained a Kingdom that operates by absolute confidence in the invisible things of God (2 Cor. 5:7,4:18). The way of faith is a mysterious way to operate a Kingdom; however, God, who is perfect in knowledge, desires a Bride for His Son who is willing to take His hand with confidence and partner with Him in all His decisions. The foundation of the Kingdom must be founded on confidence in God. We honor our Lord when we have confidence in His integrity, even though we can’t feel or see anything. It reflects devotion and commitment, much more than seeing and feeling does.
The young Bride did not yet want to be a warrior. She wanted to sit under the shade tree for the rest of her life and enjoy loving and worshipping Jesus. She did no want to war against darkness, yet God wants a worshipping, warring Bride. He wants us to both love and fight, because He is a warrior and He is a lover (Ps. 62:11-12)

My lover is mine and I am His; He browses among the lilies. Until the day breaks and the shadows flee, turn, my lover, and be like a gazelle or like a young stag on the rugged hills. Song of Songs 2:16-17

Now sincere love is expressed. The Bride declares that she belongs only to Jesus. She is proclaiming with confidence that she has not lost her place in the heart of God. She knows that Jesus is still hers, and that she belongs to Him. She is not just loved and cherished by Christ, but she belongs solely to Him and no other.
This is the reality that she is truly starting to accept. She is allowing herself to take her place as the Bride of Christ and profess that she is His. She is a lover of God, and God loves her even in her weaknesses. She is committed and sincere even if she is not yet fully victorious or mature.
However, despite her beginning to understand this truth, she still chooses not to follow Him over the mountains. She bids Him to go on without her. She is refusing to obey Him, not because she is rebellious or because she is a hopeless hypocrite, but because she is spiritually immature.

It is dark until the day breaks and brings new light. The time when day breaks is the time when light or maturity becomes present. She is telling Him that she wants His help to conquer these areas in her heart so she can go on to the mountains with Him. She doesn’t want to go to the mountains until the light of day comes and shadows , or the gray areas, are gone.

She is telling Him that she still has unbelief in her heart, but she wants His light to come and take it away. She says, “God, unless there is more light and I am more mature, You are going to have to turn and go on without me. I cannot rise until the shadows have fled.”

This happens to many Christians during their spiritual journey. They decline when Christ asks them to partner with Him, and because of this, they feel as if they are hopeless hypocrites. They doubt their sincerity towards Christ, and they wonder if they even love Him the way that they thought they did. Then they begin to run away from the things of God instead of toward the things of God.

This is what Satan wants the beloved to do. He wants her mistakes to conquer her instead of causing her to run to God for help. Mistakes do not disqualify you from being with Christ; they qualify you to run to Christ. This does not mean you should try to sin and make mistakes, but it does mean that even if you slip and fall in a time of weakness, you should get right back up and run back to the love Christ.

Ask Christ to shine the light of His countenance down upon your life so the shadows of fear and doubt would flee and the gray areas of immaturity would become as light. Ask Him to give you grace that allows you to run to Him in times of struggle.

By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I sought Him, but did not find Him SOS 3:1

She told Him to go to the mountain without her, and now His manifest presence in her life is gone. He is still with her, but she cannot feel His immediate presence with her the way she did before.

It is a new experience for her to seek after Him and not find Him. This was her own doing, however, because she chose not to obey His biddings to join with Him. She stayed behind her wall of isolation praying on her bed (her place of rest and comfort). She preferred to sit under the shade tree and eat grapes and raisin cakes instead of following Him.

Because He loves her too much to leave her in a position of disobedience, Jesus refuses to come to her until she obeys Him. He is now absent from her presence, and she is alone. She was sincere in her love and affections for Him, but she is not ready to give up her place of comfort to enter into new levels of partnership.

This love will eventually drive her to pursue Him passionately, but unless she is left without His presence, she will have no reason to leave the security of her bed. She may feel alone and forgotten, but He continues to woo her to come away with Him. Just because His presences is not manifest doesn’t mean He is not beckoning her to arise. Rather, the lack of His Spirit near her will eventually drive her to pursue the One she loves.

This is the bridegrooms pure divine strategy to stir up His Bride. He wants her to discover for herself that the only safe and perfect place is in partnership with Him. Wherever He goes, no matter where He goes, this is where His Bride should be. We should be completely dependant on Him, then He will hide Himself for a time until we are ready to agree with His decisions.

Seek the Lord, but don’t just seek Him like you did in other seasons of you life. Seek Him in the night seasons as well as the day, when you feel His presence and when you do not. Isaiah 64:7 says, “Is there anyone who calls upon God’s name, who stirs Himself up to take hold of God?” There is a time to stir yourself up to take hold of God because sometimes God does hide His face until we seek Him. However, He promises that if you seek Him with all of your heart, you will find Him He will be found by you.

What do you think?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SswiYEXZrIg

I got this from a friend today....what does this do for you?

Are You In the Fire?

The Quiet Sermon... A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man home alone, sitting at a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastors visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a comfortable chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself at home but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the dance of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet contemplation. As the one lone ember's flame flickered and diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and dead. Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. The Pastor glanced at his watch and realized it was time to leave. He slowly stood up, picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow, once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said with a tear running down his cheek, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday." We live in a world today, which tries to say too much with too little. Consequently, few listen. Sometimes the best sermons are the ones left unspoken. If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything!

It's The Middle Of August!

And I am growing endeared to these little guys!

Even though they startle me when they come right up next to me. They are noisy little fliersI thought I had lost one of my ferns to our Spring's deep freeze
Only to discover today that there is life! Good thing I didn't dig it up!
Today I also discovered this guy is living in the water holding tank of my pot!
My wisteria is blooming...in spite of what the deep freeze did to it earlier!
Ohhhhh, soooo cute!
I haven't been able to get a picture of the ruby throated one yet.

Stop and Smell the Roses...

OR WATCH THE HUMMINGBIRDS!

Early this spring I ordered a hummingbird garden. I posted those plants all around my back yard so that I could attract hummingbirds all over the back yard. I have been complaining that now that I have a hummingbird garden I don't even get hummingbirds! Yesterday as I was watering the plants I screamed as something big was about to land on my face! BIG? Well a hummingbird is big when it is "in your face"!!!!!! As I continued watering I got to thinking about the fact that Gary has built so many gardens for me that I spend more time working them than sitting back and enjoying them. I determined this morning that I would sit back and watch and see if indeed I have attracted hummingbirds. Oh yes!!!!! You cannot imagine the delight I experienced this morning as I sat and watched many hummingbirds going from one flower to the next. Butterflies, bigger than the hummingbirds intimidating the birds! What attracts hummingbirds attracts bees as well. I saw so many different kind of bees. Some actually competing with the birds!

As you can imagine I was in a state of great delight! While in that "intoxicated" state I heard from Father.

He said, "Joyce, did you know that my delight when you come into My presence is even more than what you are experiencing now with the birds & butterflies and bees?"

Oh folks...He delights in us and we just keep being busy with all the "important" things that keep us from coming into His presence.

I'm in love with God....God's In Love with me!

The Power of Children's Ministries

As noted in my last post I received recognition at camp for retiring after 21 years. Something has stayed on my mind that I just have to post about. The work I have done at camp the last few years has pretty much kept me as an unknown among the children. As Pastor M announced my retirement she had a few good words to say about me and I had a few tears. What happened afterwards with the 3rd and 4th graders has left me thinking!!!!! Probably a good 50 to 75 kids ran up to hug me. It was very interesting to note the desperateness some had to comfort me. One boy even gave me his last two tickets to the snack shack! Of course he had no idea that I am the one who buys the roll of tickets and I can go into the snack shack without tickets and get whatever I want!!!!!
It was interesting to note the desperateness some had to be touched by the new hero. What I mean by that is this. The few words Pastor M had to say....my tears....my few words changed the whole dynamics of who I was at camp!!!!!! Even the following day the kids had a need to comfort me or receive a touch from me.
What has stayed on my mind is how easily their little minds can be molded at that age. Oh, how careful we must be!!!!! We must choose our words wisely as we build up people in their lives. We must be careful to not have negative things to say about people who deserve their respect.
I have worked in children's ministries for years but have stepped out of direct work and had forgotten that we can easily mold their heroes for them. So many of them have fake heroes. Let's find the godly men and women in our lives and help shape our children by giving them as their heroes!!!!!!

My Treasures

You might think that the quilt is my treasure with the title and picture....but that is not so!

The quilt REPRESENTS some treasures in my life.

Last night my friends at camp threw a surprise party for me because I have retired from camp after 21 years of wonderful times. This was their gift to me.

The memories, the friendships, the prayer times, the laughter, the joy of watching so many children coming to know Jesus Christ will all be brought back to my mind over and over as I make and remake my bed with this lovely quilt.

I thank God for this journey I have been through with these wonderful treasures in my life!

Abiding In Christ (long...but good stuff)

I downloaded these notes this morning...sure wish I would have heard the sermon! I might go to IHOP and see if I can purchase the CD. There are some powerful statements here.

Then tonight I was reading I Samuel and chapters 13 -15 sure do show what obedience and disobedience do to a person in relationship to God. We often hear the story of David and Goliath. Amazing story...but that was one to one. Jonathan and his armor bearer go against "3,000 chariots, 6,000 charioteers, and as many warriors as the grains of sand on the seashore!" with the mindset of, "Perhaps the Lord will help us, for nothing can hinder the Lord. He can win a battle whether he has many warriors or only a few!" ...And God honored that!!!!

AWESOME!!!!!!

Abiding in Christ: Releasing the Kingdom on Earth
I. foundational premise of the Kingdom: voluntary love (relationship)
A. God desires to release His heavenly power (power of the age-to-come) into the earthly realm.
10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Mt. 6:10)

4 Those who…have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come… (Heb. 6:4-5)
B. In Gen. 1, God manifested His power without using us. After He created Adam and Eve, He determined to only manifest His power through relationship with His people. He longs to share His life with His family, thus He runs His Kingdom and releases His power through them.
C. The Father has chosen to release the Presence and power of the Spirit in us and through us in direct proportion to how much we live in relationship with Him by dialoging and agreeing with His heart. He will not violate our free will by forcing us to live in relationship with Him.
D. The Holy Spirit continues to draw close to us only as we deliberately draw close to Him by asking for His help and obeying His leadership.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (Jas. 4:8)
E. Our relationship with the Holy Spirit will stop growing if we intentionally neglect His leadership in any area of our life. He stops talking to us and imparting more to us when we stop agreeing with His leadership. He will not force us to relate to Him in love.
3 Truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 These things we write to you that your joy may be full…7 If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus…cleanses us from all sin. (1 Jn. 1:3-7)
F. God withholds blessing that He intends to give us until we interact with Him in relationship. Pressure, pain and spiritual barrenness are meant to cause us to arise out of our passivity to more deeply relate to Him by calling out to Him. Asking the Lord for help is invasive.
2 You…covet and cannot obtain…Yet you do not have because you do not ask… (Jas. 4:2)
G. In Jn. 14-15, Jesus summed up the main principles of how God runs His Kingdom. Jesus promised to manifest His presence to those (v. 21, 23) who dialog with or ask God (v. 13-14) and who agree with the Spirit’s leadership or keep God’s commandments (v. 15, 21, 23).
13 Whatever you ask (persistently) in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything (for our heart and circumstances) in My name, I will do it. 15 If you love Me, keep My commandments…21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him… 23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. (Jn. 14:13-23)
H. The Father loves everyone in the sense of valuing and caring for them. However, He only loves the lifestyle, choices and fruit of those who pursue Him with the intention of 100-fold obedience.
I. Whatever increases our activate dialog (prayer) and agreement with God’s heart (obedience) results in a greater release of God’s Presence and power in our lives. This is the essence of wisdom. Whatever decreases this dialog and agreement diminishes our experience of God’s Presence and power in our lives. This is the essence of folly. It is worth any price that we must pay to cultivate greater dialog and agreement with God’s heart.
J. Abiding in Christ refers to our dialog and agreement with God’s heart. It results in a greater release of God’s Presence and power in our lives. This is the simple yet prevailing condition for how God’s Kingdom is manifest into the earthly realm in this age and in the age-to-come.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5…He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing...7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (Jn. 15:4-7)
K. Fruit refers both to godliness in having a vibrant heart in God (Rom. 6:22; 7:4-5; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9; Heb. 12:11; 13:15; Jas. 3:18) and to being a vessel that God releases His presence through in ministry to others (Jn. 4:36; Rom. 1:13; 15:28; Phil. 1:22; Col. 1:5-6).
L. Abiding in Christ is a concept that is so simple that anyone can understand and do it but it is so simple that few do. Scripture validates the wisdom of a lifestyle of abiding in Christ.
27 God has chosen the (so called) foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and…the (so called) weak things of the world to put to shame the… mighty… (1 Cor. 1:27)
M. Satan’s priority against us is to lead us astray from cultivating a responsive heart of devotion.

Cultivating a responsive heart of extravagant devotion to Jesus takes time and effort. It does not automatically grow. Rather it automatically diminishes unless we cultivate it.
3 I am afraid, lest as the serpent (Satan) deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. (2 Cor 11:3, NAS)
N. There are three main components necessary for the Word to abide or live in us. First, we choose to pursue God with a loving obedience. Second, we regularly feed our heart on the Word. Third, we need the activity of the Spirit to turn our meditation into living revelation so that it delivers us from sinful desires. We do this best as we fellowship with the Spirit (by talking to Him).

Summary:

we obey God, feed on the Word and talk to the Spirit.

Nice to Have Jonathan Home

But I sure miss him already!