Update: My Mom's neighbor Madelyn is home, doing well and said to tell everyone Thank You for praying for her.

Another prayer need: My cousin Brenda has had a severe kidney infection and has been in the hospital because of it. She nearly died and doctor's believe the infection has permanently damaged one kidney. Would you please pray for a full recovery for her? Thank you!

Please pray for my Mom's neighbor Madelyn. She's having her right breast removed tomorrow due to cancer; also pray for her sister Mary. These precious sisters are in their 70's and have always shared a home and one would be lost without the other.

Also, please pray for Sam Hancock who lives in Indiana, he had a severe heart attack yesterday.

Thank you!

Valley of Vision

Lord, high and holy, meek and lowly,
Thou has brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold
thy glory.

Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.

Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter
thy stars shine;

Let me find thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
that every good work or thought found in me
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty
thy glory in my valley.

- Valley of Vision -

The following was written by John MacArthur ... and well worth reading ...

"As I travel and minister in word and song in various churches around the world, I have come to see some distinctives common to men who have forgotten their duty to preach the Word and give themselves to lesser things. Here are some of those observations:

When a man steps into the pulpit more interested in telling stories than rightly dividing the Word of truth - he is not preaching the Word.

When a man seeks first to be funny behind the sacred desk rather than faithful with the text - he is not preaching the Word.

When a man claims to speak for God by claiming “a word of divine revelation from the Lord” apart from the already divine revelation of Scripture - he is deceived, and is not preaching the Word.

When a man designs his sermons to attract a target audience, appeal to the culture, and has as its primary goal a thirst to be relevent - he is not preaching the Word.

When a man forgets that he ministers for an Audience of One; and that the highest form of worship is to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord to the glory of God alone in the power of the Holy Spirit - he is not preaching the Word.

When a man uses his pulpit to try and change the world through politics, representing America as the new Israel, seeking to bring a societal morality through legislation, and honors the flag equally with the cross - he is not preaching the Word.

When a man fails to tremble at God’s Word privately before ever preaching it publicly - he is not preaching the Word.

And when a man treats the pages of holy writ with a casual, cavalier seeker-friendly, watered down, emergent, ecumenical irrevernce - he is not preaching the Word.

Better for that man to become a game show host, than represent himself as a “servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries God.” (1 Cor. 4:1)"

-Pastor John MacArthur-

Hi Ladies, please forgive my slowness in blogging. Have been working on a project for my Mom and got it finished & gave it to her yesterday. I had taken her older photos and put some in an album; put the others in a nice box and she likes both. I have promised myself "no more projects for awhile"; at least not any that I don't absolutely have to do!

Last night was a bit rough with asthma and coughing. I have spasms that make me choke as I'm trying to cough and it's very difficult to catch my breath. Needless to say, rest & sleep were a bit fitful. Hopefully tonight will be better. We did go to church this morning and I'm thankful we did as the Pastor's sermon was on 'Lessons from the Trials of Paul'. We can learn much from that blessed Apostle if we'll take the time to study his life and ministry.

My Mom's neighbor Joann isn't doing well, in fact hospice has been called in to care for her. However, Mom's cousin Ginny is home and recovering! Thank you all for praying for these ladies.

On a serious note ... how do you deal with some of the issues that face us today? I'm specifically talking about friends who are 'gay' ... others who are living with a boyfriend or girlfriend with no intentions of getting married? There's an event coming up and people in both circumstances will be there. How would you handle it?

I've given much thought to this and what I've come up with is that I'm to show the love and mercy of God to them, and if the occasion arises, tell them in a loving manner that their life styles have consequences that will matter for eternity; that there is a way out and an Answer in the person of Jesus Christ if they will turn to Him. I can't save them, but I can point to the One who can. I'm not sure how this event will turn out (I'll let you know), but I would appreciate your input before it happens.

We're facing situations unlike any in my memory ... gay lifestyles ... living together ... lack of morality and values ... and yet, when I read the Old Testament, these things have been going on almost since the beginning of time. There truly is nothing new under the sun .. what's new is the generations of people dealing with these things. The only difference is that God, back then, more often than not took immediate action and 'cut off' the offenders quickly while they were still in their sin; but told them first that they had brought these repercussions on themselves! There were times when he delayed punishment because of His promises to their fore-fathers, but payment did come and people did die.

Many today no longer fear God ... even some in Christian circles have made Him into something He's not ... we think that if we believe certain things about Him than they must be true and never take the time to line up our thoughts with Scripture to see if they balance. I am grateful to God to be alive right now, I couldn't have made it for long had I lived in Old Testament times. He's a fierce Warrior and revenge belongs to Him and it's coming on this earth as surely as I sit here tonight.

Because people openly, blatantly sin and get away with it, they think every thing's fine and that if there is a God, He's either not really concerned or is accepting, otherwise, wouldn't He do something? The scary thing is, He is doing something! And He's going to do something!

Not sure why I got off on this tonight, but I'd sure appreciate your thoughts.

My love to you all, and may you have a good night's rest.

Thank you for praying for my Mom's neighbor ... Trish, she lives two doors from my Mom.

I've not fallen off the earth Ladies, just been occupied with other things the past few days and simply haven't made time to post on the blog. I've just caught up with all your posts and am grateful you're still there.

I appreciate Sara's posts so much ... and Pat, bless you for your honestly in dealing with depression. I struggle with that at times and this morning was one of them ... I feel absolutely fine for a while and then the bottom seems to fall out for some unknown reason. I simply attribute it to all the health issues I have and do my best to make the most of it; but, if it worsens I shall be talking with my doctor about it.

Something I need to work on is procrastination ... especially with the children's class I help teach. I worked most of Saturday on a craft project to give them. To save the church money, I do things I find online and buy materials myself. Saturday I was printing stickers on sticker paper rather than go buy them. Saturday also taught me it may benefit me and my time to buy supplies and then turn in the receipt! I don't know why I'm like this, I've always done this when I've taught a children's class and it's only added stress to what should be a blessing. May I not only learn from this, but follow through!

My love to you all.

Hi Friends,

My Mom called me this evening and asked that her neighbor, JoAnn, be prayed for. She has cancer and has 3 major chemo sessions to go; however, she's dealing with such tremendous pain that she's asked God to let her die. According to doctors, all her vitals are good at this time. Mom is going to ask her if she & I can come & pray for her personally.

Thank you!