God's Orchestra - A poem by Annie Johnson Flint

God's Orchestra

The great Composer writes the theme

And gives us each a part to play;

To some a sweet and flowing air,

Smooth and unbroken all the way;

They pour their full heart's gladness out

In notes of joy and service blent;

But some He gives long bars of "rests,"

With idle voice and instrument.

He who directs the singing spheres,

The music of the morning stars,

Needs, for His full creation's hymn,

The quiet of the soundless bars.

Be silent unto God, my soul,

If this the score He writes for thee,

And "hold the rest," play no false note

To mar His perfect harmony.

Yet be thou watchful for thy turn,

Strike on the instant, true and clear,

Lest from the grand, melodious whole

Thy note be missing to His ear.

Annie Johnson Flint

Ezekiel 3:26-27 And I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb, and shalt not be to them a reprover: for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with thee, I will open thy mouth, and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; He that heareth, let him hear; and he that forbeareth, let him forbear: for they are a rebellious house.

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Vintage graphic by Ellen Clapsaddle (altered)

Evening Song - Come to the Savior

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. 

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Tennessee Memories - May Time Memories Part 2

Holly

Oxalis or Wood Sorrel

Pansies

Worth Repeating - Pray for Your Pastor

 

This post bears repeating. I also updated my editorial afterthought last night, so it has a bit of new material as well.

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Every believer should pray for the pastor or leader of their local church/assembly. 

Paul coveted the prayer of the believers at Ephesus. "[Pray]", he said "...for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." Ephesians 6:19-20 

Again Paul wrote by inspiration of God. 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us...

Continue Reading.

Evening Song - He Found A Beggar and I Found the King

Ephesians 1:3-4 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 

1 Timothy 1:17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Revelation 1:5-6 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 

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Tennessee Memories - May Time Memories Part 1

Psalm 104:24 O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. 

Peony bud

Chives

Salvia

Fear - A Poem by Martha Snell Nicholson

 

FEAR

My friend went on ahead

And left me here

To walk my last, long mile

Alone; and Fear

Stepped to his vacant place

And said that he

Would walk with me, and my

Companion be.

And so he dogged my steps

In this dark vale

Where death's wings shadow me.

My face grew pale,

My spirit quailed. I called

One precious Name

In my distress, and lo,

That loved One came!

He closely holds my hand,

This tender FRIEND,

Nor will He let me go

Until the end.

And as [Christ] walks with me,

Daily more dear,

I find that trust and love

Have cast out Fear.

Martha Snell Nicholson

[altered]

1 John 4:18-19 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.

Hebrews 13:5-6 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Evening Song - God Is Still Good

Psalm 52:1 Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth continually. 

Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 

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A Selection of Things for Mother's Day

I started to write something for today, but it isn't finished. I know, we've been down this street before. Anyway, here's a selection of things that might encourage of bless you today. :-)

Tender Strength - A photo and some thoughts from my own family history.

From Mom's Collection - A selection of items that my mom saved over the years. A variety of topics.

Mother's Question - A poem with a thought provoking question.

A Christian Mother's Life - A poem.

In Honor of Mothers - Scripture and pictures.

Bless the Hands and Hearts - A prayer.

Thorns - An encouragement for mothers whose babies died before birth.

I Love Homemaking... - Rejoicing in the the lovely work that God has given.

Evening Song - Be Thou Exalted

Psalm 34:3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. 

Psalm 21:13 Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power. 

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FREE Bookmarks To Print - Springtime Photos

Here is another small gift for you, dear readers. :-)

This is a collection of printable bookmarks for you to print and cut apart. These could be used as small gifts in greeting cards or letters, an addition to a gift book, or in a gift basket. Or you can use them for your own enjoyment. They might make a nice addition to a Mother's Day card or something to give someone who is discouraged or sick at present. Please make free use of them, but do not charge for them. These are my own photography and graphic work. 

To get a full sized graphic please go download the image at my storage location. The download icon is on the left. Then print it in full size for an 8.5"x11" sheet of paper. For best results you should use white cardstock of a weight you prefer for bookmarks. Ordinary printer paper would not hold up well, unless you laminate it.

If you do not have a color printer, most of these looked pretty good in black and white in the test I printed. You can also order a print of the image from SmugMug which you could then cut apart after you receive it. (I do not receive any money or credit for orders as I do not have a professional account.)

These could also be used as a permanent or removable part of a handmade card. :-)

Enjoy!

Flowers left to right:
Texas paintbrush

Peach blossoms

Red bud blossoms

Our woods in springtime.

FREE Graphic - Lily-of-the-Valley - Peace of God

This is an original photograph of my own and my design work. Please feel free to download it to your computer for use in craft and paper projects. Click here for a higher resolution version of it, then click the download button on the left.

Worth Repeating - Anna Duggar and Wives Being Blamed for the Husband's Failings

In light of the recent arrest of Josh Duggar on federal charges of possession of child pornography, I am posting this article here again. According to things said and written by some who present themselves as "experts" on being a "Titus 2 woman" this vile behavior could be blamed on Anna, his wife. Oh, they might deny that and condemn him roundly now, after the fact, but based on their general teachings and things that are said outright or implied, the wife is responsible to keep her husband from these heinous sins by making sure he's properly serviced in the bedroom.

There is nothing a woman can do to keep a man from sinning if he so chooses, because this is not an issue of someone failing in their bedroom duties. This is about a wicked heart. This is about a man who was raised in a vagabond "Christianity" that emphasizes works at the cost of salvation and elevates "character" over relationship with Jesus Christ. Josh Duggar may not even be born again. There is nothing that Anna could do to make him a better person or change who and what he is if he doesn't want to change, and it's become obvious that he does not, or that he lacks that internal spiritual power - the indwelling of the Holy Ghost - to make victory possible. This is Anna's sad and hurtful truth. Don't make it harder for her by blaming her for something she didn't do.

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September 2015

The recent Duggar catastrophe that exposed Josh Duggar for having an Ashley Madison account and his subsequent "confession" has caused a lot of discussion. Among other things, there has been speculation about whether Anna, his wife, would feel compelled to share in the blame. This compulsion could be caused by a number of things - the teachings of Gothard on sexual sin, her own misguided conscience, her in-laws, her church fellowship, etc. 

I feel badly for Anna, but there is nothing that I personally can do for her except pray, so speculating on her state of mind and conscience is kind of pointless. However, it seems like it would be appropriate to stop and consider how we arrived at the point where women in Christendom are so often blamed either partially or mostly for their husbands' moral failures. How did this unjust balance in thinking come about? Here are some reasons that came to mind. There are probably more.

1. It is the historical norm. 

This is not to say that since it's "normal" it's OK.  Far from it. Sin is "normal," but that doesn't excuse it. What I mean is that this has been going on in history for a very long time. In fact, it goes back to the very first husband and wife. That's right, men blame their wives because Adam did, and the rest of humanity has tended to follow his lead. No surprise on that since we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:22 that "in Adam all die..." We have been following his bad example ever since he gave it.

Continue reading the article here.

Evening Song - Praise His Name

Acts 10:42-43 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. 

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 

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