Word-Filled Wednesday ~#118~ Never Forsaken

I will praise You, O LORD, with all my 

heart;

I will tell of all Your wonders.

I will be glad and rejoice in You;

I will sing praise to Your Name,

O Most High . . . 

The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of trouble.

Those who know Your Name will trust

in You,

for You, LORD, have never forsaken

those who seek You.

Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in

Zion;

proclaim among the nations what

He has done."

~Psalm 9:1-2,9-11

Why is it that we sometimes doubt the Lord's presence in our daily lives ~ that He might be working in the lives of others, but not in mine?

Is it because we can't see Him with our human eyes? Is it because we can't reach out and touch Him, rap our arms around Him in big bear hug?

In the Heavenly realm, tangible isn't everything. Just because we can't SEE God doesn't mean He isn't right beside us. Just because we can't physically FEEL His touch doesn't mean He's not right there keeping us safe from harm or comforting our broken heart. 

Whenever you doubt God's presence in your life, ask yourself, "When WASN'T He with me?" 

I can tell you when God was with me . . . 

He was with me as I took my firsts breaths. He was with me when He made the decision that take my twin sister to Heaven, because of a Dr's accident during delivery, and for me to stay here.

He was with me when He blessed me with my wonderful parents. I didn't realize others didn't have loving parents until, in 3rd grade, a sweet little friend of mine showed me the marks from the beating her father had given her in a drunken rage. I realized that I was blessed.

He was with my friend and I, when I was about 8 or 9 years old, when we saw an angel in the clouds. We were just swinging on my backyard swingset and looked up and there it was . . . and it was gone. We both saw it.

He was with me even during terrible decisions I made as a teen and young adult. He let me suffer the consequences of my sin, but He was there as He loved and protected me from real harm. 

He was with me when I gave my life to Him. He led me to strong, caring Christian friends who became my second family and to a truly Bible believing, Bible teaching church and a couple to disciple me in the Word.

He was with me when I was introduced to THE Man who would become my husband. He was there throughout our relationship and as my Daddy put my hand into his.

He was with me when our sweet Jessica left us to go back to Himself. His presence was almost tangible as we held her for the last time. In the crushing sadness of it all, He put worship songs in my broken heart as a balm and He drew THE Man and I closer together, in Him, so that our grief wouldn't tear us apart. 

He was with me when we lost two other sweet babies before they were born. He carried me through the trauma and the healing.

He was with me when our other dear daughters were born. He celebrated with us. 

He was with us as we lost our parents. Holding the dear hands that had held us and loved us throughout our lives. He became our Father of the fatherless. (Psalm 68:5)  

Good AND bad~ no matter what ~ when has He NEVER been with us? He has NEVER left our side. 

. . . And He will NEVER leave yours.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

Laughter Lost

Robin Williams ~

A man who lived to 

make the world happy.

He will be missed.

Passion Flower ~ Relax and Enjoy

See if any of this sounds like you . . . 

~You have had a terrible day ~ it's been a day when your boss was in a bad, bad mood and YOU were the "lucky" one who was in their line of fire when it all came to a head . . .

~A virus has captured your family and is holding you hostage because you are the only one well enough to take care of everyone. Once a little one goes down for a nap after a crying jag from being so miserable, the other child comes to you and clings to you because, face it, sometimes you just need Mommy or Daddy to hold you . . . and so . . . the hopes you had of getting a little housework done or just sit and veg for a few minutes, just went out the window . . . 

~You are a full-fledged member of the "sandwich generation," where you are caring for aging parents who can't seem to remember when their next Dr's appointment is or where their glasses are and they call you to see if you know. Plus, you just had a busy weekend watching your darling ~ but oh-so-active ~ grandchildren for the weekend so that your grown children could have a nice, relaxing weekend and your brain is simply FRIED . . .

~You have a zillion things on your plate and while you are driving home from an hour's worth of after work errands or a stay-at-home mom trying to get a day's worth of errands completed before Hubby gets home, knowing that you still have to cook supper and your busy day is about to turn the tension you've been carrying around into sheer anxiety . . .

~Because your day has included a little of "all of the above," you know a good night's sleep is going to be beyond your grasp . . .

CALGON, TAKE ME AWAY! 

Well, there's something even better than Calgon to help ease some relief into your day and night.

Passion Flower. 

Passion Flower is a wonderful relaxant. This flower gets it's name because it is a beautiful reminder of the Crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. The parts of the flower are: 5 stamen/5 wounds (hands, feet, side), 3 styles/3 nails and it's lovely purple colored flower which stands for royalty or heaven. Isn't that great? 

This precious flower grows right here in the USA (and also in Italy and UK) and is one of the most effective products for insomnia, pain from headaches and menstrual cramps, muscle cramps, heart palpitations, daily tension and irritability to anxiety and down-right hysteria. It is actually classified as an herbal sedative/tranquilizer. 

Passion Flower herb can be taken in pill/capsule form (to make your own capsules click HERE), tea or tincture (learn how to make your own tincture HERE). Remember that liquid gets into your system the quickest and a nice hot cup of herbal tea is a wonderful way to unwind ~ all the better if it's Passion Flower tea. 

Next time you've had a hair-raising day, take a few moments before bedtime to sip a nice hot cup of Passion Flower tea, take 5 deep breaths before you lay your head upon your pillow and dream sweet dreams with the help of one of God's natural gifts.

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><

**See the obligatory disclaimer at bottom of blog page**

Word-Filled Wednesday ~#117 ~ God Sings Over You

"The LORD your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with 

singing."

~Zephaniah 3:17

Music is a big part of my life . . . no . . . music is a HUGE part of my life. My parents told me that I always responded to music from infancy, on. The first I remember really being "in love" with music was being a tiny little girl and watching the Beatles' very first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. (Of course, my parents and grandma were horrified at their long hair and the way all the girls were screaming :-) . . . but I loved the music.) 

Before I became a Christian, my musical taste ranged from John Denver ~ to Styx ~ to the Beatles ~ to Gordan Lightfoot ~ to Waylon and Willie ~ to Emmylou ~ to Dolly ~ to Seals and Crofts ~ to Dan Fogelberg ~ to the Doobie Brothers ~ to Fleetwood Mac ~ to all the country/folk/pop stuff that was floating around at the time. 

THEN . . . the LORD used Christian rock music to draw me to Himself.

Oh, how excited I was, how blessed I felt that I didn't have to only sing hymns and Christmas carols to praise Him. (Hymns are lovely, too) God is such a huge, loving God that He uses all of our tastes in music to worship Him. 

The most amazing thing about music is that Scripture says that GOD SINGS over us! How COOL is THAT?! There are times on Sunday mornings when I think He is singing through me, there are times when I am praying and He fills my heart with song and I sing my praises to Him from my grateful heart. There are times when I am grieving and He sends me the balm of His sweet Word in some praise song. And there are times when I can't sleep and He truly sings over me a lullaby of His sweet music brought to my mind to comfort me as He sings the worry away and helps me to drift off to sleep, just like any good Father does for His child. 

Next time a praise song or hymn is brought to your mind ~ just take the time to think that the Lord put that song in your heart. It might just be His way of singing over you. 

Blessings from Ohio . . . Kim<><