A Promise from God - 23rd Psalm Paraphrased

I am your Shepherd
You will never have need of anything that I want for you.
If you will trust Me, and allow Me to be the shepherd of your life,
I will give to you such great peace of mind that it will be like
Lying in the cool green grass of a springtime meadow;
And as you learn to deepen your love and trust,
A quietness will come over your soul.
Like a serene, calm lake.

It will be a time of great refreshment to your inner man,
Thus preparing you to do whatever tasks I set before you to do;
And do not minimize any task that I give you to do,
As it is for My honor and glory, not yours.

There will be times when, because of my great love for you,
It will be necessary for me to lead you
Into great darkness.....
Darkness that will be so great that you will feel as though
You are standing at the very edge of life,
With death awaiting you below.

But always remember, I am still your shepherd.
In the darkness you may not be able to see Me,
But you have my eternal promise that
I will never leave you or forsake you.

If you will continue to trust Me, even after you have
Been through a time of darkness,
I will again flood your heart with such peace that
You could even sit down with your enemies.

Your joy will be so great that it will spill over
Into the lives of others.
And as your reward I will give to you
All the really important things of life.
When you have completed all that I have
Planned for you to do on earth,
I want you to come up and live
With Me
Forever
And ever
... and ever.

Written by John D. Talbert

Another Lesson, from Charles Stanley, & I Can Trust My Father Completely Now!

God Is in Control of Our Circumstances; He Rules over ALL Events, People, & Situations.

Victim or Victor By Dr. Charles Stanley

Courtesy of UB David & I'll B Jonathan, Inc

It's so amazing the way Charles Stanley presents concepts, ideas, and facts - he is truly my FAVORITE Theologian! Charles starts out describing the 5 different types of people, their worldview and how it directly affects how they relate to God:

Don't Fret Little Man, God's Got You Covered!

So here we are, my wife, her son, and myself, trying madly to return to a life where we don't have to concern ourselves about getting our power turned off, our mobile phones disconnected, loosing our internet connection, all the rest of the necessities required to survive in today's economy.

Like all winters for the web design and SEO industry, work drops off especially during the holidays. But last winter really hit me bad; I was without work for FOUR months. So our savings drizzled down, and we were caught with insufficient funds... several times. This escalated as our savings disappeared, and our expenses became greater than our income. And there's a collection of other debts that are still hanging.

New Background: Now this Blog Looks Good

False Evidence Appearing Real
Borrowed from (click on image)
faithfulinthemeantime.wordpress.com

Finally got out of my "fog" - you know, when you're acting on YOUR power, not GOD'S power, and everything is going array. And now that I feel my freedom again, I was able to set some time aside, and make this blog look better. Also, I added a bunch of verses that I favor:

• Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. ( Isaiah 41:10 ESV)
• The Lord knows what we think; He knows how senseless our reasoning is. (Psalm 94:11 GNT)
• In everything give thanks for this is the will in Christ Jesus for YOU! (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
• Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. ( Joshua 1:9)
• One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life ... ( Psalm 27:4-5 NIV) 
• I will trust in the Lord with all my heart, and never rely on what I think I know. (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)
• Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (Psalm 25: 4, 5 NIV)
• Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)
• This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16 KJV)

Almost Didn't Go to Church Yesterday

... and I can't imagine having missed the lesson God had for me!!

Have you ever had that feeling, "So what if I miss church today!" Well, I had it yesterday. And come 15 minutes before it would start, I reasoned in my feeble mind, "Might as well, what else do I have to do?"

So I got there just as the first song was being played (we have canned music, more about that later), and it was another one I hadn't heard before. I used to hate it: when I first started back to church, most all songs were ones I hadn't heard before ... hard to enter into an attitude of worship. And then the woman behind me was clapping way too loud. Yea, I had troubles ruling my mind, as I did all week long.

The sermon was about prayer and our power and authority that God has given us through Jesus. Dr. Steven Boate started by discussing prayer, and how important it is. Yea, I know, I've been trying to pray more - catch myself "not" a lot, and feel guilty, but what is there to pray about, anyway????

From Creative Prayer - GO THERE, good prayer stuff!

Pray ... when you awake, tell God you're happy to be alive.
Pray ... giving thanks for your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Pray ... when you're facing a decision. God may show you something you hadn't considered.
Pray ... that God watches over your loved ones as they go to school, to work, to a ball game.
Pray ... asking God to help you with your walk with the Lord.
Pray ... Holy Spirit, work in me and through me.

And I said a prayer as I started writing this.

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up," Luke 18:1. 'Prayer is the way to get God involved' (started taking notes). Then Steven stated something rather questionable, "Did you know that God doesn't do anything here on earth?" The place became totally quiet. "That's right, God doesn't do anything here on earth. He uses people like you and me to accomplish His works. God and Jesus are NOT relying on the earth, YOU ARE! Without you, carrying forth good works, nothing would be done. And it's so simple to do His work"