Down In The Valley

Wow, It seems like the main topic this month has been sickness!
I feel bad for those of you who might be coming here and looking for encouragement!
Oops! wrong blog! ;>
Ha!
This hasn't been an terribly taxing time for me but it has been draaaaining.
In the past, some of my most encouraging writings have flowed from my own extreme trials in life but right now, I just feel REALLY dull and weary and words just aren't showing up! So until they do, this might be a good time to dig through the archives or move on to a more uplifting blog. :>
I welcome your comments and emails and I cherish your friendship.
~ Hearts ~

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!

But my friends in other nations can be thankful today, too!

Right?!

I must admit that thankfulness has not come as easy in the last week.

But in the night, when I awake for the umpteenth time, thanksgiving *is* found flowing easily from my heart.

You see, then my mind is out of the way and my spirit always knows how good life really is- no matter what.

Since I'm still feeling pretty weak with a bad cold, my husband and little boy want to cook most of our feast today.

I'll sit in a kitchen chair and give directions.

Should be interesting!

May you all be cultivated, rooted and grounded in love today!

~ Hearts ~

Help!

Yesterday, I was feeling a bit blue from lack of sunshine.
I woke up this morning with this Beatles song on my mind.
I grew up with this song but I haven't heard it recently- I guess my heart had though!



HELP!
HELP! I NEED SOMEBODY,
HELP! NOT JUST ANYBODY,
HELP! YOU KNOW I NEED SOMEONE, HELP.

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, SO MUCH YOUNGER THAN TODAY,
I NEVER NEEDED ANY BODY'S HELP IN ANY WAY.
BUT NOW THOSE DAYS ARE GONE, AND I'M NOT SO SELF ASSURED,
NOW I FIND, I'VE CHANGED MY MIND, I'VE OPENED UP THE DOORS.

HELP ME IF YOU CAN, I'M FEELING DOWN
AND I DO APPRECIATE YOU BEING AROUND.
HELP ME GET MY FEET BACK ON THE GROUND,
WON'T YOU PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME.

AND NOW MY LIFE HAS CHANGED IN OH SO MANY WAYS,
MY INDEPENDENCE SEEMS TO VANISH IN THE HAZE.
BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN I FEEL SO INSECURE,
I KNOW THAT I JUST NEED YOU LIKE I'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE.

HELP ME IF YOU CAN, I'M FEELING DOWN
AND I DO APPRECIATE YOU BEING AROUND.
HELP ME GET MY FEET BACK ON THE GROUND,
WON'T YOU PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME.

WHEN I WAS YOUNGER, SO MUCH YOUNGER THAN TODAY,
I NEVER NEEDED ANY BODY'S HELP IN ANY WAY.
BUT NOW THESE DAYS ARE GONE, I'M NOT SO SELF ASSURED,
NOW I FIND I'VE CHANGED MY MIND I'VE OPENED UP THE DOORS.

HELP ME IF YOU CAN, I'M FEELING DOWN
AND I DO APPRECIATE YOU BEING ROUND.
HELP ME, GET MY FEET BACK ON THE GROUND,
WON'T YOU PLEASE,
PLEASE HELP ME,
HELP ME,
HELP ME, OH.

This Is The Day

It's a new day!
Forget about yesterday.
Forget about yourself.
Just enjoy the Lord and the day that He has made.

First Snow!

We had our first snow last night!!!
(I'm looking at it through the eyes of a child!)
Never mind that it's cold, wet and dangerous!
It's pretty and it's FUN!
Thank you, Lord.
I'm going sledding today!
:>
AND I'm going to roast marshmallows over my wood stove.

May you be blessed with youthful sight this morning, too.
Life is so much more fun that way.

~ Hearts ~

Mountain Climbing

I wanted to show you a photo of the small mountain that I climbed recently.

This is Pearis mountain and it can be seen from my house.

(But that is not my house in the picture!)

I love to watch the seasons change on this mountain.

This photo was obviously taken in early Spring because the mountain isn't green yet.

When I climbed it, it was yellow with the last of the Fall leaves.

The famous Appalachian trail runs over Pearis mountain so now I can say that I have hiked on the Appalachian Trail.

It's fun to imagine hiking the whole trail someday.

But that's likely to remain an imagination!

I didn't gain any real spiritual insight from this hike but I did gain a practical one:

DON'T go mountain climbing shortly after recovering from the flu or you're likely to have a relapse!

:>

Have a great day everyone!

Scriptures Located In The Side Bar

If you are a frequent visitor here,

have you ever read through the scriptures I have copied in the side bar?

I had so much fun talking to the Lord as I chose which verses to put there.

There is a story told there.

A wonderful story!

But now wait, please don't allow any thoughts that condemn.

Please don't say, "Oh, I guess I really should read those some time."

I do not believe that all of scripture speaks to all people at all times.

I believe there are seasons- for everything.

If the Lord is not speaking to you through those scriptures,

then they are mere marks on a screen.

The Lord does like to speak to us in many ways, but to my surprise,

I have found that there are times that He wants to be quiet.

If anyone has a right to be quiet- It's HIM!

I once thought that if God was quiet, He must be mad at me!

I also thought that if He was speaking, then I must really be doing something right!

Ha-ha!

Thank God for deliverance from SELF!

Thank God for deliverance from DOING!

And thank God for YOU!

Thanks for coming by.

Relief

Isn't relief one of the best feelings?!
Last night as I was preparing for bed, I felt normal.
Normal!
What a relief!
Good ole relief...
It has a way of wiping away the previous bad
and setting all to rights again.
Thanks to all who prayed for me and visited me.
I felt your love.

If you're still waiting for relief to come to your little world-
hang in there, friends!
All will be right again.
I'm praying for you.

Pray For Me?

I sure have been learning some lessons in perseverance lately!

I've been reminded that there's never a good enough reason to give in to discouragement. Not even a fever- for the second time in the last month.

No! I'll never like a fever but I also shall never be friends with discouragement!

G-r-r-r-r-r!

Discouragement is a liar!

It threatens to steal my joy and thankfulness.

It leads me down the path of self- pity.

Ewwww....

It's dark and lonely down that path.

Forget it!

Healing will come.

Energy will return.

I have a family that loves me.

Friends surround me.

And I have my Lord as my Champion!

He's ever here- cheering me on!

What's there to be discouraged about?

Nothing!

But in the meantime- could you pray for me?

Thanks.

First Prayer

Do you remember your first prayer?
I do, I was in the third grade.
My prayer was simple and repetitive.
"Oh God, please don't let the teacher call on me!
Please don't let the teacher call on me!!!"

You see, the teacher was calling on students to go up to the board and work out math problems.
I didn't have a clue how to do them.
I had already been spanked in school the year before for not having a clue,
so I was really scared.
That's where my memory ends...

I still don't have a clue about a lot of things- including math.
I'm also still pretty simple in my prayers.
But I do know that God hears my cry and He hears yours, too.

Prayer For A New Day

Does anyone want to pray with me? Father, please help me to think positive about this day... Help me to see how much I can love others. My flesh wants to focus on how much I can get done. But In my spirit, I want you to change what I want. Teach me how to walk after the spirit. Change my heart oh, God.

This is a good day.

Who Am I?

That's what I'd like to know!

Who are you?

Do you know?

Does it matter?

I know who I am in Christ but who has God made Holly to be?

Am I being true to myself?

Am I pretending in any way?

I don't think so.

We all hear about people who are real.

I'd like to think that I'm real but maybe I'm not.

Am I really supposed to be writing?

Does it matter?

Do you care?

Do I care?

I think I do.

Do you ever ask yourself these types of questions?

I certainly don't have all the answers-

but I know the One who does!

And He answers them according to His will.

Too Small

Ha-ha! Now the photos are turning out too small!

Ha-ha! Ha-ha! Ha-ha!

This has been a bit of a techno trial for me!

I've been loading photos here for a couple of years

and now all of the sudden I'm filled with duh.

Please bear with me while I endure. :>

Hopefully I can have our photos turn out in our preferred size before long.

Onward!

People Are Hurting

Do you see the unopened can in this photo?
I didn't see it at first.
All I saw was the huge white pumpkin!
That's how it is with people, too.
We don't always see what's almost hidden underneath.
The hurt that they are trying to hide isn't obvious to us.
We only see what they do, look like, or see what they have.
Who they really are, escapes our notice.

People are craving the love of God today.
They might not know it but they are!
What they need escapes their notice.
If there is someone in your life that irritates you exceedingly,
it could be that they are really, really hurting.
It could be that they need some love.

But maybe *you* are the one who is hurting today.
Maybe you've hidden it so well that you don't even know that the pain is there!
If I could give you a smile or a hug, I would.
But I can't, so I write down words as I pray.

Words.
Words can be powerful.
God *is* powerful.
Maybe the two together can make you feel loved.
Encouragement and acceptance-
just might be able to flow from this screen to you.

Whoever you are, God loves and cares about the real you;
the you that nobody seems to really see.
He cares about your pain and I do, too.
Understanding and patience dwells in our God.
May it flow from me to you- right now.

Father Knows Best

He knows what you need.
He knows what America needs.
The prayer of my heart is this:
Peace on earth
Good will toward men.

This Is A Big Deal!

Yes, but there is something and someone even bigger than us.

He can be trusted with the smallest and biggest details of our lives.

Your Night Will End

For any of you out there who are still feeling ill in your body:

Your night WILL end!

Healing and happier times WILL come again!

Don't let those little problems become magnified under the lens of illness.

Problems just DON'T deserve your attention right now.

Let's allow God to take care of them, okay?

You just take care of your body and HANG IN THERE!

This won't last forever.

I promise.

Trouble Loading Photos

The last few days I've been having trouble loading new photos.
They turn out really huge!
Are any other bloggers having trouble?

What Is The Church?

Dear friend,

If you regularly attend a church building service or ritual,
please don't feel any condemnation coming from this post.
Please, don't feel defensive.
I love you and I bless you and I want only to encourage you in your walk with our Lord.
You might be perfectly happy in your church attendance and you might not be sensing that anything is missing in it for you.
If so, rest in His love and know that this post is *not* for you.
But if you are sensing that the Lord is calling you to do something different,
then this post might be for you and I pray that you read it only if you feel led of His Spirit to do so.

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


What Is The Church?



In these days, many precious people are going home from their traditional church services feeling like something is missing... What is it? Some stay home and feel more edified for doing so but then they fight the guilt of tradition because they feel the "right" thing to do is to "go to church". What's going on here? What is God doing? I believe it's our spirit crying out for something more! And I believe what we really want is more of Him!

Today, the Spirit of God is speaking to many about leaving religion and traditions behind and entering into a relationship with God alone. He's also speaking to many about true fellowship and relationships with one another. The light of His presence is shinning into the hearts and minds of His people in a new way! I think it's exciting! This shinning is leading many to ask, "What is church all about anyway?"


First off, the Lord is showing me what the church *is not*.

Is The Church A Building?

Multitudes of people the whole world over equate the word "church" with a building. It could be a grand cathedral or a white building with a steeple on top but either the architecture of the building or the sign up front will lead people to think, "There's a church". Christian people will say such things and atheists will say them, too. Even in Sunday school literature, you might see a picture of one of these buildings and children are told, "This is a church."

But is the church a building? No, the church of the living God is made up of His precious people! God's presence once dwelt in Solomon's Temple but now He dwells in us! Most of us know this truth but the reality, mystery and clarity of this fact is still unfolding for us. It's awesome! What the church *is* and the glorious purpose *of* the church has been innocently clouded by many misunderstandings. But that's okay. Misunderstandings happen daily and they don't hinder our God. His light, and His glory can penetrate the densest fog!


Did you know that history shows us that the "building as the church" concept did not take hold in the minds of the people until buildings began to be erected for the sole purpose of the church to meet in? Repeatedly in the book of Acts we see the church spending time together in each other's homes and throughout the written history of the early church we read such things as, "The church in your house and the church in his house." I believe the apostles knew that God's heart was to have His people continue to gather in homes or in the open air. Not as a law but as a natural out- flow of God's Spirit. Since we are to be His temple, what need would there be for a special building to be set aside?

Some well meaning people have thought that "house church" is the answer to our cry but Jesus already gave us the answer. When the Samaritan woman asked Jesus *where* the proper place to worship was located, He told her that a day would come when it wouldn't be a physical *place* but a worshipping in spirit and truth. I think that is very significant! My friends, that day has come! Thank you, Lord!

Is The Church Something We Do Or Go To?

Don't you love to read about how Jesus traveled, preached and healed everywhere: On mountains, in the plains, in homes, and in the temple. Do you think it was ever boring? Do you think people ever fell asleep? :> Our Jesus went to the people and He's still going to the people- in and through you and me. Although the people were known to go *to* Jesus at times, He didn't raise up a building for people to come and hear Him and He didn't "hold services" either. He seemed to live in one place for a while and then move on. Of course the key is that Jesus did what the Father told Him to do and obviously, the Father told Him to move around. What is the Father telling us to do? What if each and every one of us reached out to all the people that our Father told *us* to reach out to? The poor, the sick, the lonely, the adulterous woman? What would happen?


Do I think any good comes from having church buildings or services? Sure! Wherever God is, good will follow! Do I think church buildings and services are *bad*? Dear friends, this is not a bashing of the modern day traditional church! We are all called to different places at different times. God is not hindered by the period of history that we are in. He worked through people in the dark ages and He's working through people now. God can work through anyone and any system. But what if He is calling me to something more? What is He saying to you? That's what I want to know.

Lord, we bless you in whatever you are wanting to do. Your will be done.
******************************************************************************
If the topic of this post was of interest to you, you might want to read my post "Let's Fellowship" from 1/1/08. You might also enjoy reading the book, So You Don't Want To Go To Church Anymore. This small book is available to read online and can be found in my side bar. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me in a comment or an email. But let's remember that the main thing is not what's right or wrong. The main thing is Jesus!

Happy November First!

And how about some flowers to help us celebrate another day of living?!

:>

Well friends, I think I'm going to stick with a (somewhat) daily post format.

Any objections? If so, leave me a comment or send me an email.

Even though I was gone for 10 days last month, I had the most posts ever!

How did that happen???

Knowing you're here helps me to write so thanks for the comments!

It doesn't even matter to me if you just come and look at the photos.

And if this is your first time here and you're really not into devotional type blogs- that's okay, too. I know God is blessing you someway or somehow.

Maybe it's through a song or a hobby or through the people you care about.

But I know that whoever you are- God is touching you and He knows and loves you and that He wants to know you more.