Evening Song - Be Thou My Vision

 Psalm 73:25 Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 

The Thousand Word Project - A Quiet Study

 Isaiah 30:15 ...in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength...

The City of Gold - A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

The City of Gold

There is a wondrous city, beautiful, bright and fair;
The throne of God is in it and the glory of God is there.
And oh, the joy of knowing, as the Lord's redeemed can know,
While through the tribulations of the earthly life they go,
There shall be no more toiling; there shall be no more care;
There shall be no more burdens, grievous and hard to bear;
There shall be no more crying, hunger, thirst, or fears;
There shall be no more heartache, through the eternal years!

And in the wondrous city there shall be no more night;
Forever and forever the Lamb shall be its light;
And oh, the joy of knowing, as the Lord's redeemed can know,
While through the dark and dangers of the earthly life they go,
There shall be no more trouble; there shall be no more wrong;
There shall be no more sighing, stilling the glory-song;
There shall be no more sorrow, for God shall dry all tears;
There shall be no more sinning, through the eternal years!

Blessed are they who love Him and they who keep His Word;
They shall enter into the city to dwell in the house of the Lord;
And oh, the joy of knowing, as the Lord's redeemed can know,
While often sad and lonely, through this earthly life they go,
There shall be no more sickness; there shall be no more pain;
There shall be no more parting, loved from the loved again;
There shall be no more weeping, kneeling beside earth's biers;
There shall be no more dying, through the eternal years!

Annie Johnson Flint

 Revelation 22:3-5 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Evening Song - The Sands of Time Are Sinking

Ephesians 5:15-16 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 



The John Marshall family.

Creatures Great and Small - Red and White

What Though The Accuser Roar - A Poem by Whitlock Gandy

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 

What Though the Accuser Roar

What though th' accuser roar
Of ills that I have done!
I know them well, and thousands more:
Jehovah findeth none.

Continue Reading.

Evening Song - Soldiers of Christ, Arise

Ephesians 6:13-17 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

The Thousand Word Project - A Hopeful Sign

Unripe Pecans

FREE Scripture Graphic - Pray Without Ceasing

Here is another remake of a vintage graphic that I did. I got the original graphic somewhere online and I made some changes and added the verse. You can save the image from here, or you can go over and download it here. (Use the download button in the lower right corner.) 

I do not think this will be a good size for printing if you save it from here, it would probably only be good for using online. If you wish to use this online, please do not link to the graphic from either of my locations. Save it to your own computer and then upload it to the place where you store graphics online for you own use. Thank you. 

[Note: It's ok to link from here only if you are sharing the link to this specific post on my blog - either on your own blog or in social media. :-) ]

Enjoy!

Book Review - Far from Rome, Near to God

"Young Lady Reading" by Mary Cassatt

John 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Here is a book review my husband wrote back before we were married and which I previously published on The Home Maker's Corner.

Those of us who have lived our lives under the ideal of freedom of thought and belief, may find it hard to understand the bondage that accompanies the belief system of the Roman Catholic Church. In modern times and in some places that church has conformed herself to the environment and so some people now think that it is changed and that there is more freedom and truth there than there once was. The reason for this is that the ways of a harlot church are to conform herself to people's expectations in order to deceive people into joining her. The scripture says, speaking of a strange woman in Proverbs 5:6,  Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them. This book shows that, though there is an outward appearance of freedom and liberty now in some ways, the bondage is still there. If some Catholics don't feel its power, or manage to escape it, it is either ignorance or because they are not fully subjected to her most dangerous doctrines.

Not long ago I talked to a lady who grew up in the Roman Catholic Church and in a community dominated by it in Massachusetts. She confirmed the power to bring people into bondage, even in the U.S. and in modern times. As a girl and young lady, she realized something was wrong and as soon as she could leave it, she did. She spoke of it as one would of a great escape. And indeed, it is.

Please don't be fooled into thinking that these things are no longer an issue or that it has changed. The fact that it appears to have changed while maintaining its power, core doctrines, and hierarchy only proves that there is great deception there. I really recommend this book for anyone who is in doubt of that.

Far From Rome, Near to God

Testimonies of Fifty Converted Roman Catholic Priests
Edited by Richard Bennette and Martin Buckingham

Rated: Useful - for distribution to people in Catholicism or ignorant of the bondage and futility of the Roman church. Encouraging for believers.

Guest post by Peter Stephens

...I have read part way through it, reading a little every night. It is encouraging to read the testimonies of salvation and it is interesting to meditate on the common threads of them. The men who were saved consistently started their pilgrimage by fearing God (or at least hell and purgatory) and doing the best they could to earn their salvation. Because of their R[oman] C[atholic] background they each decided that the “priest” was the ultimate example of holiness and good works (or at least their parents thought so). They each became trapped in the bondage of the RC system for many years but were never satisfied for they saw the hypocrisy of Catholicism. They all knew that their good works were not enough to save them from their sins. But by the grace of God they learned the fallacies of their ways. I am reminded of Matthew 7:7-8: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” And every one of the priests left the “church” of Rome.

Nobody is tricked into salvation. Nobody is surprised into being saved. Nobody has earned their salvation. Those who have been born again have sought the Lord and believed his Word and the finished and perfect sacrifice of our Jesus on the cross of Calvary. What a precious gift our Lord has given us!

This book may be purchased at Amazon. Or at this Christian book seller's page.
[These are not affiliate links.]

Evening Song - All My Life Long I Had Panted

Psalm 42:1 As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

Various Things I Want to Mention

Here are a few things that I wanted to let you, my readers, know about.

First, the email from Blogger is not working at present. If you are subscribed to receive my updates in email you are probably not receiving them at this time. Because of that if you want to know what I've posted you'll have to come here to look. Blogger is supposedly fixing the problem, but considering how long it is taking I'm not sure what is going on with that.

We have considered moving this blog to another service, so perhaps this may be the time to make that move. I'm also thinking of making some other changes such as possibly opening a Facebook page specifically for the blog and web site. It seems like a lot of work, so I hesitate over that. On the other hand, I might drop the link ups I've been doing weekly if that brought more readers to this page more effectively. Trying to get the word out while not overworking myself on this is a bit of a challenge. It's about finding the right balance.

Another thing I wanted to mention is that I am planning to take a bit of a break from blogging. I have pre-scheduled posts already and plan to add some more, so hopefully it won't look too terribly different on your end. However, the Sunday posts will likely be shorter. I also may skip the link ups for awhile.

I have other projects I need work on and company coming later this month, Lord willing. Also, there are some things relating to the blog and the web page that could use some attention and I may take some time to work on those. I may even spend some time writing articles ahead if I can get myself motivated for that! :-)

Thank you for your support and interest in this blog. I do appreciate you. :-)

Isaiah 28:12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

The Thousand Word Project - A Rosy Glow

The Lily Has an Air

The lily has an air,
And the snowdrop a grace,
And the sweetpea a way,
And the heartsease a face, -
Yet there's nothing like the rose
When she blows.

by Christina Georgina Rossetti

FREE Scripture Graphic - Psalm 34:2-3 - Lilacs

Here is another vintage graphic that I edited. I got the original graphic somewhere online. I made some changes and added the verse. You can save the image from here, but it will not be very high quality.  You can get it in higher quality if you go over and download it here. (Use the download button in the lower right corner.) 

If you wish to use this online, please do not link to the graphic from either of my locations. Save it to your own computer and then upload it to the place where you store graphics online for you own use. Thank you. 

If you would like a copy of this image without the words so that you can add your own, click here and then follow the same instructions for downloading it.

[Note: It's OK to link the graphic from here only if you are sharing the link to this specific post on my blog - either on your own blog or in social media.] :-)

Enjoy!

Guest Post - Thoughts On Losing A Pet

Stealth in his bed.

My Texas brother and his wife lost one of their kitty cats last weekend after a shortish illness. It was very sad. They did not recognize the symptoms that he had until it was too late to save his little life and he died from what was likely a bacterial infection.

My brother, Mike, wrote about it on his Facebook page, and he gave me permission to share it with my readers here. I found it thought provoking as well as encouraging.

-------------------------

by Mike Van Nattan

So this week we lost one of our kitty's. His name was Stealth and he more than lived up to that name. His ability to walk around without you knowing he was there, or hopping up on the counters without a sound hoping you didn't notice long enough for him to get a few sniffs of whatever was there.

But most importantly, we lost a buddy and a friend. He was the cat that pushed us to move, to get out more, and be more adventurous. The more we took him out, the more he wanted. Being on the water was so natural for him. He was part of the reason we came up with the idea that is now RV Fishing Adventures.

The experience of his death really hit home for me though. I've had a lot of critters through the years, cats, dogs, hamsters, gerbils... but though most of them have died while I owned them, I was never present at the exact moment they died. In this case, I was actually there when his little heart stopped and felt his warm body start to cool down while I sat there and cried.

Then as I sat there, it suddenly hit me why this was so traumatic for me: There is no "hope" in this death. It's all over. He's gone **forever**. His death was a stark picture of what eternal death is like and as having been a Christian since a child, this was a foreign concept for me!

The Bible doesn't promise us anything in regards to animals. A lot of people like to think their critters go to heaven, but this just isn't in the Bible. For me, I've been a Christian most of my life. It seems I've always had a hope for things above. When my grandpa and grandma died, it wasn't death, it was translation. I knew I would see them again someday. There was hope and therefore comfort in their passing. This is what the Bible teaches us for those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation.

But for animals, there are no promises of another life. For animals there is no hope. They are just gone. This is likely the most disconcerting thing about the passing of our late "Stealth Kitty". I will never see him again. There will be no more early morning sessions of him trying to crawl on me while I'm sleeping. There will be no more sleeping in the recliner with a "heating blanket" on my chest. No more nose bumps by a cold nose when you were least expecting it. All of him is gone. Never more to return.

Except the memories. We do have many memories made with the little goober. The pictures here show just a tiny little bit. But we really are glad we did so much recording through the few years we had him.

So why all the depressed talk? Because to me this is a sobering reminder of why I believe in Christ Jesus. Why I believe for those creatures who have souls that there is an afterlife. And why I believe it is so important to know Christ and believe that Christ saves sinners like me.

Yet, not just that, but also that those who do not believe will not simply disappear like my cat, but will go on living eternal death. The Bible teaches that the soul of man doesn't cease to exist. It goes on in either eternal life, or eternal death. The choice is ours to make.

If you're reading this and this bothers you, I encourage you to grab a Bible and read the Gospel of John. The whole thing. Yeah, it's long, but an hour or two of your time is worth it compared to a million years of anguish.

When you get to John 20:31, you'll need to make a decision about what you believe. The verse says: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." If you can't believe what is written in the book of John, then you too will have no hope of eternal life.

But for those of you who do believe John 20:31, you have an hope that will surely endure. One that will be fulfilled one day. For your loved ones that believe there is an awesome promise of being reunited with them. In fact, there is some indication they are watching us go through our lives.

I pray this is useful to even one person today.

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Psalm 92:4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 

My comment: We may have a lot of gladness and pleasure through the works of God's hands in the creation of animals for our enjoyment. But, let's not forget that people are not like animals. When we die we do not cease to exist. We go to heaven or to hell. There is no in-between or alternative place. This is why Today is the day of salvation if you are not born again.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 

Stealth on the kayak.

Stealth with his buddies, Shadow the Kayak Cat, and my brother, Mike.

Evening Song - O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Matthew 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 

Hebrews 9:28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.