“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world gives, give I unto you.
 Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid..”
John 14:27
Monthly Archives: April 2013
All the Best
“… Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds,
laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see,
friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt,
courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth,
Love to complete your life.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Hat Rack
Years ago,we were visiting a new church for the first time, and an elderly lady came up to us and invited us to her house for dinner, following the service. We gladly accepted her invitation, and followed her home.  As we sat in her living room, we shared in a very pleasant conversation, getting to know a little more about each other.. She was a long-standing member at her church and was well-loved by her church family.  Although it was very apparent that she was elderly, her speech and expressions were vibrant, and she was very happy to talk about how much she loved the Lord, and how much He had done for her, as she enthusiastically shared some of her many testimonies. I talked a little about my own faith experience, and I mentioned how our two children, a baby and a toddler at the time, were miracle babies, and that I was believing God for another one.
She looked at me, with a smile in her eyes, and said, âYou see that hat rack over there on the wall?â I answered, âYes.â she said, âWhenever the Lord does something for me, I imagine that Iâm hanging a hat on a hat rackâŚand everytime He answers I just keep adding a new hat.  And the next time I find myself frustrated about something that Iâm praying for, I just take a look at that hat rack, and I see all those hats hanging there, and Iâm reminded of all the prayers that God has answered, some that I may have even forgotten, and I am encouraged that He did it before and Heâll do it again.â I really appreciated this example and made an effort to apply it in my own life. In fact, God did answer my prayer, and miraculously blessed us with another sweet baby girl!
Now, when I think back on this example, it reminds me of what young David said to King Saul, when he volunteered to fight GoliathâŚ
âDavid said⌠The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this PhilistineâŚâ I Samuel 17:37
The lion and the bear were hanging on Davidâs hat rack!!! He just took a look back, and was fully persuaded, that God would do it again. :)
Has it been a while since you’ve taken a look at your own hat rack?
Surely God has blessed you and answered your prayers in the past… Just take a look back, and like David be fully persuaded that God will do it again.
Showers of Blessing
“….And I will cause the shower to come down…, there shall be showers of blessing.”
Ezekiel 34:26
Christ The Lord is Risen!
Hallelujah!
“Christ the Lord is risen indeed.”
Jesus said…,
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live
And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.”
John 11:25-26
“And if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
He that raised up Christ from the dead,
Shall also bring to life your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you.”
Romans 8:11
Good Friday
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised,
and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But…
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:3-6
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Isaiah 53:3-9
Desire > Fear = Success
There is a saying…
âIn order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.â
Up!
“…Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 3:13-14
Kept
“Cast your burden upon the LORD and He shall sustain thee”
Psalm 55:22
Two Cozy
“A friend loves at all times…”
Proverbs 17:17
Loves Like A Hurricane
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh,
How He loves us, oh,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all
And we are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about the way…
He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all
Mark McMillan
Faithrises 