I saw this song the other day and it's been on my mind off and on ever since. I thought I'd share it here. It was one of my grandmother's favorites.
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Refrain: Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Birthdays abound!
We're celebrating several birthdays in the family this month. Yesterday our oldest daughter turned 23. Today would have been my mom's 71st birthday. Thursday is my youngest son's birthday and he is very excited about turning 12. My mil's birthday is on the 14th, and my daughter's best friend's birthday is on the 7th.
We took our daughter out for lunch yesterday at Perkins. On Thursday our son wants to go to the beach and then have Burger King for dinner. Ahhh, to be young and have simple things to make us happy on our birthdays. Chance of storms for Thursday so we may have to change plans a bit. He'd like to go see Up! I've heard it was good so maybe we'll go. We did see Night at the Museum the other day. It was pretty good. Ordered Nathan a Pirates of the Caribbean cake. He's very excited about it. He bought some cars today for his gift. He likes playing with them and he enjoys us playing with him on the floor. Simple things, simple things.
I am so thankful I am able to just share time with my children. When it all comes down to it, family is what matters more than material possessions. And a family who has a love for the Lord is just amazing. God has been so good to Keith and me. He has blessed us in so many ways. I thank HIM for always being there with us. Without Him, life has no meaning. Whether we are going through storms in our life right now or even being blessed, we should rejoice and praise Him. He is worthy of all our praise. What He did for us proves His love for us....all of us.
We took our daughter out for lunch yesterday at Perkins. On Thursday our son wants to go to the beach and then have Burger King for dinner. Ahhh, to be young and have simple things to make us happy on our birthdays. Chance of storms for Thursday so we may have to change plans a bit. He'd like to go see Up! I've heard it was good so maybe we'll go. We did see Night at the Museum the other day. It was pretty good. Ordered Nathan a Pirates of the Caribbean cake. He's very excited about it. He bought some cars today for his gift. He likes playing with them and he enjoys us playing with him on the floor. Simple things, simple things.
I am so thankful I am able to just share time with my children. When it all comes down to it, family is what matters more than material possessions. And a family who has a love for the Lord is just amazing. God has been so good to Keith and me. He has blessed us in so many ways. I thank HIM for always being there with us. Without Him, life has no meaning. Whether we are going through storms in our life right now or even being blessed, we should rejoice and praise Him. He is worthy of all our praise. What He did for us proves His love for us....all of us.
Monday, March 2, 2009
The simple truth
Well, I know that no one reads my blog except for my dear hubby. Thankee honey! But I am writing this in case someone stumbles onto my website. I titled this the simple truth because I just wanted to share what's in my heart right now. I'm not an eloquent writer or speaker. I just speak plainly and simply.
I've been a Christian for most of my life, was raised in a Christian home where my mom laid a foundation down for me. I grew up, got married and had 3 children. Both my husband and I were Christians, but (and I'm only speaking for myself here), I was a complacent Christian. Sure, I went to church, was baptized as a child, prayed at times and was even involved with our church doing various things like working with the youth group, being in choir, etc. As time went on and we realized that we could no longer go to church together due to there being no one to watch our son Marcus who is autistic, we just stopped going pretty much. Sure, we'd go occasionally and later on down the road, we did go to a little church on a fairly regular basis.
I became (wrongfully so) a little bitter. Not towards God, but with people in the church because it seemed that no one could help us. I let that be my excuse not to regularly attend church like I should have and here we had a young teenage daughter who, until then had been to church regularly with us but then she saw us not going. (now it's biting us in the rear, but we are praying and working on our daughter).
One night about 8 days before Christmas in 2007, I got a call from my dad. My mom had just died. I was heartbroken because she had always been my mentor, and teacher, especially when I had a biblical question (and some cooking questions too). I really think she must have memorized the entire bible. :-) So now I had lost something irreplaceable, but I also knew where my mother was. She was in heaven with Jesus. And that belief gives me such comfort and hope because I believe one day I'll see her again.
I will definitely thank her for bringing me up in a Godly way, even though I wasn't all that Godly at times. I know she was always praying for me though, to get my act together.
It was actually shortly before she passed away that my relationship with Christ started changing. I belong to a forum called Rapture Ready because I really like learning about prophecy. And so my journey began. I learned a whole bunch of things that I hadn't known before. So many people on there have such a wealth of Godly wisdom. They were a comfort to me, and I've been taught alot of things by going there and then checking it against the bible. I learned about apostasy taking place and even told my husband some disturbing trends, but he didn't want to believe what I was telling him at first. Eventually his eyes were opened as well.
Anyway, several months after my mom died, something weird happened in the church we'd been attending and I'd rather not get too into it right now because there are some precious people in that church, just not what this Southern Baptist gal believes. We left that church and decided to try a Baptist one just down the road. This church was a fairly large church and I am fairly afraid of people, ie I'm terribly shy and don't do well in social settings. I find it extremely difficult to talk to people. It took only a few Sundays for me to truly believe the Lord had led us there. We joined about 2 months after starting and it's been such a tremendous blessing for us. This was the first time I was truly excited about being in a particular church. The pastor has challenged us in so many ways. I praise God for his ministry and for his love of the people in his church. God is using him greatly for His glory. Since then I've started a quiet time of prayer every day, as well as praying throughout the day and my husband and I are doing bible studies and/or reading the bible more. I even bought some Chick Tracts to use for witnessing. I actually gave one out yesterday and I snuck one in my neighbor's door. I will probably be leaving them here or there where I think people would pick them up. I have been praying for boldness and for the first time in my life, for God to use me as He will (and actually mean what I pray). God has opened my eyes and my heart to what He's done for me. I praise Him for the Holy Spirit and I praise Him for my salvation and for His precious Son Jesus who paid the penalty for my sins by dying on the cross. I just can't emphasize that enough.
Every day I long for Jesus to come and take His church to heaven, but He will come in His appointed time. I long to be free of a sinful body and of course having no pain or sickness is a big bonus too. :-) Lately there's been a joy that fills me, even when I hear and see what's going on in the world today. Am I a bit nervous about what we are going through, sure. But God's will is perfect and no matter what happens, I know that I am his child and that He loves me! That's sometimes so overwhelming for me to think about. Little ol' me. He loves me! He loved all of us enough to send Jesus to die for us on a cross and for all who call upon His name they shall be saved! Wow!
Anyway, that's the simple truth. Believing that you are a sinner, and that without Christ, you will die in your sins. Only by believing that Christ died for you and shed His blood, and repenting from your sins can you be saved. It's as simple as that. The only hard thing to swallow is that those who do not accept Christ as their Lord and Savior are doomed to hell for eternity. And that my friend, is a horrible thought. Who wants to spend eternity in hell? Most don't and most think they won't because they're 'good' people. Unfortunately, that's not 'good' enough.
I am praying for this post to reach someone, even just one person, but if not, well at least I've written down my thoughts. May God bless you.
I've been a Christian for most of my life, was raised in a Christian home where my mom laid a foundation down for me. I grew up, got married and had 3 children. Both my husband and I were Christians, but (and I'm only speaking for myself here), I was a complacent Christian. Sure, I went to church, was baptized as a child, prayed at times and was even involved with our church doing various things like working with the youth group, being in choir, etc. As time went on and we realized that we could no longer go to church together due to there being no one to watch our son Marcus who is autistic, we just stopped going pretty much. Sure, we'd go occasionally and later on down the road, we did go to a little church on a fairly regular basis.
I became (wrongfully so) a little bitter. Not towards God, but with people in the church because it seemed that no one could help us. I let that be my excuse not to regularly attend church like I should have and here we had a young teenage daughter who, until then had been to church regularly with us but then she saw us not going. (now it's biting us in the rear, but we are praying and working on our daughter).
One night about 8 days before Christmas in 2007, I got a call from my dad. My mom had just died. I was heartbroken because she had always been my mentor, and teacher, especially when I had a biblical question (and some cooking questions too). I really think she must have memorized the entire bible. :-) So now I had lost something irreplaceable, but I also knew where my mother was. She was in heaven with Jesus. And that belief gives me such comfort and hope because I believe one day I'll see her again.
I will definitely thank her for bringing me up in a Godly way, even though I wasn't all that Godly at times. I know she was always praying for me though, to get my act together.
It was actually shortly before she passed away that my relationship with Christ started changing. I belong to a forum called Rapture Ready because I really like learning about prophecy. And so my journey began. I learned a whole bunch of things that I hadn't known before. So many people on there have such a wealth of Godly wisdom. They were a comfort to me, and I've been taught alot of things by going there and then checking it against the bible. I learned about apostasy taking place and even told my husband some disturbing trends, but he didn't want to believe what I was telling him at first. Eventually his eyes were opened as well.
Anyway, several months after my mom died, something weird happened in the church we'd been attending and I'd rather not get too into it right now because there are some precious people in that church, just not what this Southern Baptist gal believes. We left that church and decided to try a Baptist one just down the road. This church was a fairly large church and I am fairly afraid of people, ie I'm terribly shy and don't do well in social settings. I find it extremely difficult to talk to people. It took only a few Sundays for me to truly believe the Lord had led us there. We joined about 2 months after starting and it's been such a tremendous blessing for us. This was the first time I was truly excited about being in a particular church. The pastor has challenged us in so many ways. I praise God for his ministry and for his love of the people in his church. God is using him greatly for His glory. Since then I've started a quiet time of prayer every day, as well as praying throughout the day and my husband and I are doing bible studies and/or reading the bible more. I even bought some Chick Tracts to use for witnessing. I actually gave one out yesterday and I snuck one in my neighbor's door. I will probably be leaving them here or there where I think people would pick them up. I have been praying for boldness and for the first time in my life, for God to use me as He will (and actually mean what I pray). God has opened my eyes and my heart to what He's done for me. I praise Him for the Holy Spirit and I praise Him for my salvation and for His precious Son Jesus who paid the penalty for my sins by dying on the cross. I just can't emphasize that enough.
Every day I long for Jesus to come and take His church to heaven, but He will come in His appointed time. I long to be free of a sinful body and of course having no pain or sickness is a big bonus too. :-) Lately there's been a joy that fills me, even when I hear and see what's going on in the world today. Am I a bit nervous about what we are going through, sure. But God's will is perfect and no matter what happens, I know that I am his child and that He loves me! That's sometimes so overwhelming for me to think about. Little ol' me. He loves me! He loved all of us enough to send Jesus to die for us on a cross and for all who call upon His name they shall be saved! Wow!
Anyway, that's the simple truth. Believing that you are a sinner, and that without Christ, you will die in your sins. Only by believing that Christ died for you and shed His blood, and repenting from your sins can you be saved. It's as simple as that. The only hard thing to swallow is that those who do not accept Christ as their Lord and Savior are doomed to hell for eternity. And that my friend, is a horrible thought. Who wants to spend eternity in hell? Most don't and most think they won't because they're 'good' people. Unfortunately, that's not 'good' enough.
I am praying for this post to reach someone, even just one person, but if not, well at least I've written down my thoughts. May God bless you.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
The Way, the Truth and the Life
John 14:6 Jesus says, I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me.
What a profound statement. Very concise and very clear. There is no other way to God, to heaven, EXCEPT through the Son, Jesus Christ. Because He shed his blood on the cross for our sins.
So why do Christians have a hard time understanding that? Yes, I'm singling out those who call themselves Christian, but believe that there are other ways to the Father. If you don't believe in the bible, God's Word to us, then you are doomed for eternity.
I've been wrestling with something lately in my life. I'm a super shy and quiet person. I hardly talk to people, other than my family and friends and so it's hard for me to share my faith. And also I'm guilty of brushing it off thinking, oh, someone else will lead them to Jesus Christ. That's wrong to think. I'm beginning to 'fully' understand just what it means to not know Christ. When you die without knowing Him, you are going to spend eternity in hell. That's quite sobering. A family member, or friend or worker that we know may be headed in that direction and it's Jesus' command to those who are His that we share the Gospel of Christ to a dying world.
Why is it so hard for us? Are we afraid of being mocked, laughed at, hated? Probably. My problem, or maybe more of an excuse is, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know my bible well enough. I shouldn't use that for an excuse. And lately I've been praying for more of a love for people like God loves them. I pray to look beyond the exterior (and I'm not talking looks here). Hurting people tend to hurt or be what we think is obnoxious, proud, boastful, etc. But they need Christ just as much as we do. I'm also praying for opportunities to share Him with others and for the Lord to put the words into my mouth that I need to say because I definitely don't want to share with someone without His help. This is a huge step for me, so I ask that any of my friends who read this blog to please pray for me as well.
Just remember Jesus died on the cross for ALL of us. It's up to us to either choose or reject Him. I pray for whoever reads this that needs Jesus. Please come to know Him before it's too late.
We are all sinners and not worthy of His grace, Romans 3:10 says 'There is none righteous, no, not one'. Also Romans 3:23 says 'For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.' But if we ask forgiveness and REPENT of our sins, then He will save us. Romans 10:13 says 'Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved'. Romans 6:23 says 'For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' And God knows our hearts. He knows whether you mean it or not. He loves you though, He loves you and He wants you to know His saving Grace. May God bless you who read this.
What a profound statement. Very concise and very clear. There is no other way to God, to heaven, EXCEPT through the Son, Jesus Christ. Because He shed his blood on the cross for our sins.
So why do Christians have a hard time understanding that? Yes, I'm singling out those who call themselves Christian, but believe that there are other ways to the Father. If you don't believe in the bible, God's Word to us, then you are doomed for eternity.
I've been wrestling with something lately in my life. I'm a super shy and quiet person. I hardly talk to people, other than my family and friends and so it's hard for me to share my faith. And also I'm guilty of brushing it off thinking, oh, someone else will lead them to Jesus Christ. That's wrong to think. I'm beginning to 'fully' understand just what it means to not know Christ. When you die without knowing Him, you are going to spend eternity in hell. That's quite sobering. A family member, or friend or worker that we know may be headed in that direction and it's Jesus' command to those who are His that we share the Gospel of Christ to a dying world.
Why is it so hard for us? Are we afraid of being mocked, laughed at, hated? Probably. My problem, or maybe more of an excuse is, I don't know what I'm doing, I don't know my bible well enough. I shouldn't use that for an excuse. And lately I've been praying for more of a love for people like God loves them. I pray to look beyond the exterior (and I'm not talking looks here). Hurting people tend to hurt or be what we think is obnoxious, proud, boastful, etc. But they need Christ just as much as we do. I'm also praying for opportunities to share Him with others and for the Lord to put the words into my mouth that I need to say because I definitely don't want to share with someone without His help. This is a huge step for me, so I ask that any of my friends who read this blog to please pray for me as well.
Just remember Jesus died on the cross for ALL of us. It's up to us to either choose or reject Him. I pray for whoever reads this that needs Jesus. Please come to know Him before it's too late.
We are all sinners and not worthy of His grace, Romans 3:10 says 'There is none righteous, no, not one'. Also Romans 3:23 says 'For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God.' But if we ask forgiveness and REPENT of our sins, then He will save us. Romans 10:13 says 'Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved'. Romans 6:23 says 'For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' And God knows our hearts. He knows whether you mean it or not. He loves you though, He loves you and He wants you to know His saving Grace. May God bless you who read this.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
When all else fails, pray
Remember the saying, 'When all else fails, pray'? Why? Why just when all else fails? Why not anytime? Why must it be something we do when everything around us is crashing around our heads? Shouldn't we be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father? I understand a bit more if you were speaking to a non Christian, because they don't understand, nor do they have a relationship with Christ. But we, as Christians should be different. We should be seeking God always. We should be desiring to get closer to Him. How do you do that though, without prayer, or bible study for that matter? Is God just a genie for us to help us when we get ourselves into trouble. Or maybe the trouble is not caused by us, but by our surroundings, friends, workers, family even?
James 5:16 The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
God tells us to pray. In fact, Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. This is the model prayer. Anyone can pray. It's not just for evangelical pastors, or those in big churches, leaders and such. It's for you and for me. It's for those who want to know who God is. Prayer can help you know God. Are you willing? Or are you just waiting until all else fails? He's God. He loves you and wants to hear from you anytime.
God bless!
James 5:16 The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
God tells us to pray. In fact, Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13. This is the model prayer. Anyone can pray. It's not just for evangelical pastors, or those in big churches, leaders and such. It's for you and for me. It's for those who want to know who God is. Prayer can help you know God. Are you willing? Or are you just waiting until all else fails? He's God. He loves you and wants to hear from you anytime.
God bless!
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year!
Wow! I didn't realize it had been over a month since I last posted. We went to Disney World for Christmas. My dad joined us and I think he had a good time. We did. We were exhausted coming back though. The most spectacular part of the vacation was when they lit Cinderella's Castle for Christmas. Incredible!
This was my favorite color. They changed colors to blue, purple, pink, aqua. It really left us speechless. My dad was even impressed and he's not easily impressed.
Just wanted to share the picture of the castle. I commented to my husband, look how incredible this castle is, just imagine how much more incredible it's going to look in heaven!
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Day After
Well, it's the day after Thanksgiving and all has settled down around the Miller household. My dad just left to go back up to Spartanburg and then he'll go home tomorrow. We had our family of 5, my dad and my husband's family here. In all, 11 enjoyed the Thanksgiving feast. It's something how it takes hours and hours to put together and only 10 minutes to demolish it. But we enjoyed it all.
We'll be seeing my dad in about 3 weeks as we are going to Disneyworld for Christmas this year. I'm glad he's able to go with us. We've been to Disney a number of times, but I've never been at Christmas. I've seen shows on the Travel Channel and it really looks neat. Only thing I'm not great at handling is crowds.
Can't wait to see the Grand Floridian's foyer. I've heard it's gorgeous! Can't wait to see it. We've been saving up for this trip for a couple of years now.
We'll be seeing my dad in about 3 weeks as we are going to Disneyworld for Christmas this year. I'm glad he's able to go with us. We've been to Disney a number of times, but I've never been at Christmas. I've seen shows on the Travel Channel and it really looks neat. Only thing I'm not great at handling is crowds.
Can't wait to see the Grand Floridian's foyer. I've heard it's gorgeous! Can't wait to see it. We've been saving up for this trip for a couple of years now.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
