Mocha

One of the hardest things we have to tell our children is about the death of a beloved pet. Zak and Elizabeth went with their Dad for the weekend to share a belated Christmas with him as the children and I spent Christmas with my parents at my brother, Bill's, home. Then Christmas evening we spent with my ex-in-laws at their home since my ex-husband does not visit with them it fell to me to bring the children over for Christmas for their other grandparents. Which I am glad we went to see them as they needed us to visit them, which we need to do more often.

Back to telling our children of something we would rather not have to tell them of. All our cats were here when I returned from Church this morning. We have quite a few cats, all of which we love dearly. They are each so individualistic that it is a joy to be around them. Well Mocha is,or was,my daughter,Elizabeth's,tom cat. He was about 2 years old. A beautiful black camera ham, is what he was. He would talk when you picked him up. He had quite a personality to him, all which I contribute to him as having been half Siamese.

I called my Mom as I do every Sunday after Church and spoke with her for about an hour. Then I prepared all the food for the animals, our cats, dogs and chickens for their feeding time. I went out and fed them and checked the eggs. I realized that I had not seen Mocha when I fed the cats. This is highly unusual for Mocha not to be here. He is a stay at home, front yard tom cat. I placed the empty food containers on the front steps and turned around to go look for Mocha and saw him lying beside the road. He was dead. He had been run over. It had not been too long before I went out to feed them. I knew this from the warmth that was still present within Mocha's crumpled body. His beautiful yellow-green eyes that once glowed with warmth, light and mischievousness would see no more. He would talk no more to us as we petted him or played with him. Our little miniature black panther. I dug him a grave and buried him in our pet cemetery so the children would be able to place flowers on his grave anytime they choose to. I said a prayer over him and asked the Lord to help me break the news gently to the children. The children love their animals as a family member, for they are a part of our family. We love them. They are precious and dear to us. I pray that the Lord will give me the right words to say to help ease the sorrow and grief they will feel from Mocha's death.

As the Bible says there is a season to be born and a season to die. This applies to all living things. We love, we hurt, we lose those we love. It is all a part of the cycle of our lives. Even though this is how it is, to be born and to die, it still hurts when we lose someone or a dear pet that we loved so well. The picture is of Mocha. God bless his little soul which has returned back to the earth.

Fellowship

Yesterday I attended an appreciation singing. In all 12 Gospel singing groups showed up and there were also several individual singers who sang. The singing started at 3:00 PM and did not get over until close to 11:00 PM. Around 5:00 PM we had a break for the chili supper so all in attendance could eat and fellowship together with the singers and each other. I can not recall all the groups that sang but a few of them were "3:16","New Image","Old Kentucky Sound","Jesus First", "Redeemed","Set Free","The Long Branch Singers","The Quisenberry's" and more. I sang with my brother,Jim. Several of my extended family members were also at the singing.In fact some of them have their own groups that sang yesterday.

I was blest as I got to visit with quite a few people. It is wonderful to fellowship with others in the Lord. We had a great time in Jesus. This gathering gave me a chance to catch up with family, friends, brothers and sisters in the Lord. I received so many hugs and well wishes that my heart was overflowing with the love that was given freely from all who attended yesterday.

I got to hold a little baby that was only six weeks old. She was so precious. Her mom,dad and extended family are so blest with this gift from the Lord. She is the granddaughter of my magistrate and long time family friend and leader of the gospel group my brother plays with. This family does so much for the Lord. They are the ones ,Depresto,JoAnn and family, who sponsored and setup the whole appreciation singing. They work so hard to spread the Lord's word and I really appreciate all they do for the Lord, especially JoAnn who is often the one keeping it all together behind the scenes, may God continue to shine His many blessings upon you all. I thank God for the group "3:16" and for them allowing all the other Gospel singers to use their sound equipment. That was an awesome blessing and may God doubly bless this group for their unselfish giving. Sister Lavern and Brother Walt for helping out and for staying true to the Lord. Brother Walt makes an awesome Potato Soup by the way. It was just a blessing to fellowship and share in the joy of the Lord with all these dear people.

Our County Judge Executive was in attendance also. He made a speech about the singers and appreciating all we do to share the Lord with the community. He did not know I was there until he looked out and saw me and he acknowledged my being there. When he got through with his speech he came around and gave me a big hug and asked how everything was going and about my family. I asked about his family.He is a good man that I have known since I was young. Last year when we had the big snow he came out and personally plowed our road to check on me, Zak and Elizabeth. He pulled up in front of my home and said to me," Nancy I got to thinking about you and the children being out here all alone and I wanted to check and see how you all were doing and if you needed anything." That blest my heart. To know that , even with his own family, being home with his wife and children, he still thought about others and went out of his way to help out. Lord please bless my friend and Brother is Christ, the Judge, and his family with your wonderful blessings.

We all must do our part to share the Lord with others and to help each other out. The Lord Jesus tells us that if we know someone who is in need and if we do nothing about it, when we are able to help them, then we are sinning.Proverbs 3:27-28 speaks a little on this,Matthew 7:9-12 also speaks upon this, there are several other places within the Bible that speak about treating others the way that you would like to be treated and helping others. So many people turn a blind eye and heart to what the Lord tells us to do within the pages of His Word, the Holy Bible. They think they can pick and choose only what they want to apply to their life and throw the rest of God/Jesus' teachings out. That is not how it works. The Bible, God's Word, is to be taken as a whole. It is our road map, our instruction book to living life as God/Jesus wants and asks us to. It is not pick and choose it is all within it applies to everyone.

I thank God that He is an ever present part of my life. If it were not for the Lord I would not be here today. If it were not for the Lord I would not be able to sing His praises and share Him in fellowship with others. I thank God that He has placed so many people within my life to share Him with and that will share God with me. I made some serious promises to God and all my friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ know that I abide by my word. The Bible teaches us that a person's word is that person's name. If one does not keep their word what does that tell another person about that other one ? That is something every person who makes a promise to others and to God and does not keep that promise needs to realize that they are saying they are not trustworthy. Don't make a promise if you can not keep it. If you make a promise you had better keep it.

I am looking forward to the Watch Night service we are having at the Church I attend. My friends and fellow Gospel singers" Jesus First " will be singing that night. We are going to sing, pray, fellowship and have something to eat together. We are going to fellowship in the Lord. There is nothing more wonderful than fellowshipping and sharing the Lord with others. God is to be praised. He deserves to be praised. If it were not for God/Jesus none of us would exist. We would not be allowed to enter into Glory with Him if Jesus had not died on the Cross at Calvary. To think about the great sacrifice that our Lord made for us I can't help but thank my Jesus for all He has done. Even doing my best for Him, in His service, falls short of all He did and gave for me, His very life's blood. Thank You so much Jesus for loving such a lowly creature like me that You died for me. Oh Jesus, You are so precious to my heart and soul that I do not want to live without You in my life. I am home within You and I will never leave. For nothing nor no one can give me what You have and do for Your Holy Spirit fills me in a way nothing else nor no one else ever can or will. I desire no man , nor no thing for they can not compare to You, My Lord. What You give and have to offer can not be given or come from anyone or anything else and that is what makes it so special is that it comes from You alone. I Love You Lord Jesus. Thank You for all.

The Light

Dawn turns to daylight
Daylight turns to twilight,
Twilight turns to dusk,
Dusk turns into the darkness of night.
Yet even within the cloak of night's darkness,
There is light.
Light given by the moon and stars.
Even in the midst of a night sky darkened with storm clouds,
A faint light can be seen.
It is never completely, totally, dark.

Life begins the moment we are conceived,
Within the darkness of our mother's womb,
Yet there is a warm glow of light that we can see,
Though we know not where it comes from,
Least not at the time we are safely cocooned,
Within our mother's womb,
The light is there to start us on our journey,
To lead us to the next phase into the unknown.

We are born into a world of light,
So much light that we cannot fathom,
The depths of why it is so light at this time of our birth.
We know that this light was with us in the womb,
Yet it is so bright upon our arrival into this world.
As time goes by, we grow, we learn,
The light starts to diminish as we become older.
Why is this? Why has the light diminished from what it once was ?
It seems to have become hazy, even clouded at times.

We journey from our young years into adulthood.
For some the light is truly bright, and it stays that way.
While, for others, the light gets clouded out or even lost along the way.
What happened ? Where did the light go?
Why do some keep the light while others lose the light and their way ?
Without the light to guide us it is so easy to lose sight.
Have you noticed that when the light is not in your life,
There is something missing, a part of you is lost ?
Do you go searching for the light,
Trying to find something, anything, that will bring the light back.

You see we come from the light,
As we are born and then age,
The things we encounter in our life tend to overshadow the light,
Only because we allow it to be overshadowed or darkened.
We do not stay true to the light for so many things get in the way of the light.
Our cares, our worries,our very lives get in the way of the light.
Our sin is what truly darkens the light,causing us to drift away from the light,
Yet that light is still there,waiting to be found again and restored


There is only One thing, One person, One absolute means to find the light.
There is only the One true way,
To be found within the presence of the light again.
That true way to the light is Jesus Christ.
He is always with us from before conception, even unto death.
He is waiting for us to return to Him for forgiveness.
Once we are forgiven, we know and see the light again.
The light is God, the light is Jesus.
In finding the Light of the Lord, renewed again, we are welcomed home into the Light.

Given to me this day, December 26,2008, by the Lord God.
Nancy J. Troini

The Lord blest me with this writing, here this evening, as I sat at the computer pondering. It has been quite awhile since the Lord has blest me with a writing as such. I have let my life become too busy, at times, to receive the blessing that God is trying to give me. This is something that we all do, we become too busy and do not do as God told us to do, " Be still and know that I am God". Sometimes we need to just be still and listen for and to God for He will speak to us if we allow Him to. Some people say that God does not speak to people anymore, well God is speaking, it is we who are not listening,people. He is right there waiting for each one of us to be still and know that He is God.

Psalms 46:10
10) Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

John 1:1-14
1)In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2)The same was in the beginning with God.

3)All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4)In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5)And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6)There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7)The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8)He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9)That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10)He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11)He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12)But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13)Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14)And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Pumpkin Bread and Tidbits

This week has been a week of baking and preparing. On Monday I taught the children how to prepare pureed pumpkin from fresh pumpkins and taught them how to bake Pumpkin Bread. We started out by cutting up the two pumpkins I got them for Halloween, cutting out and discarding the stem. We seeded the pumpkins also. I saved some of the seeds to dry out for us to use in the garden next growing season. After we cut the pumpkins up I showed the children how to place part of the pumpkins in a shallow baking dish , add a little water and then baked them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 30 minutes until they were done. In the mean time I also showed them how much time is saved by cooking the pumpkins in the microwave. In other words we experimented. All a part of our home schooling. The time for the pumpkin we cooked in the microwave was about 15 minutes per each 1/4 of a pumpkin. When it was cooked we scraped the flesh of the pumpkin off the rind and placed it in my blender and blended it on the puree setting. I used to do this with a potato masher, so the blender made the work a lot less and we got done in a shorter time period. So in the time it took to bake the pumpkin in the oven we had all the other pumpkin cooked, pureed and put up in the freezer.

Then we made Pumpkin Nut Bread. Some of the loaves I did not put nuts in as I am allergic to certain types of nuts. The bread turned out quite well. The children truly enjoyed learning, helping and baking the bread. We give the bread away as Christmas gifts to family and friends for Christmas gifts.

On Tuesday we made Coconut Cherry Bread as I had several hints for it as gifts this year. I made it to give as gifts a couple of years ago and the people I gave it to commented on how well they liked it. So this year I got some hints to give it as a gift again this year. Saturday morning I made a new recipe of bread to give as gifts. It is Banana Berry Nut bread. I did not know how it would turn out but it tastes very good, even if I do say so myself. The good thing about bread is that you can bake it in advance and freeze it up to three months before it has to be used. So since I will be making and baking cookies and candies this upcoming week I made the bread ahead so I would not be so rushed. The children are a big help to me. I thank God for them and for allowing me to share some of what I know with them that may help them sometime in their life.

Zak and Elizabeth are both going to be in the Christmas play at the church where my parents attend. Sister Joyce is the one who is writing and organizing the play, as she has the past few years now. Sister Joyce is an inspiration to me. She is one of these lovely ladies that shine with the light of the Lord within her, I mean she truly shines. She has this glow about her. She has had cancer and God healed her of it. Then she got Multiple Sclerosis. She has her good days and her bad days but through it all she still praises the Lord. She is a blessed dear Sister to me and I love her so much. My bother, Bill, is going to sing " The Old Rugged Cross" in the play . Sister Joyce asked him to as she kneels before the cross. I know that a lot of people have sang the song before but to me no one can sing " The Old Rugged Cross" as well as my brother, Bill. It is not because I am related to him or prejudice about it in any way. So many people request for Bill to sing that song because he puts his feelings, his heart, and soul into the song when he sings it and you can feel it. I love singing with my family.

On Saturday night we, my brother Jim and I, sang with the group he plays with," Old Kentucky Sounds" at a little country church. We had a very nice service I asked if I could sing a solo and my dear sister in Christ, Lavern, told me I could. The Lord had laid the song" Mary Did You Know " on my heart Saturday morning and I had been singing it all day around the house. I knew that the Lord wanted me to sing this song on Saturday night. I was thankful that I did for I received a wonderful blessing. I love listening to Sister Lavern sing. She has such a wonderful voice. After I sang " Mary Did You Know" Lavern said out loud," that was beautiful." I sang the song because God had laid it on my heart to sing. After the singing was over Lavern came up to me and she said, " Nancy I love that song. All week I have been playing it on the piano and trying to sing it, except I could not hit the high notes. You hit the high notes and it was beautiful." I thanked her as she knows I sing for the Lord. When I sing I close my eyes and I see myself singing to Jesus, the Lord God. That is to whom I sing to when I sing is to the Lord. I feel His presence so strongly when I sing. All I do I do for Him and all praises , honor, and glory are due Him. With Him I have everything, without Him I have nothing.

God gives each of us talents. We are to use our talents for Him as He is the One who blest us with them. How many people do you know that are truly gifted with wondrous talents yet they use them for self gain or for the world or to serve the devil and his ways ? I know a lot of people who do this or ones who have given up and do not use their talents the Lord has given them at all. I see so much gone to waste for the world, the devil and what he is. I wish people would open their eyes and use the gifts/talents that God has given them to serve Him and to spread His Word and Message with others. We can plant the seed of God's Word within someone by these talents/gifts God gives us. That is why we are given these talents/gifts is to serve God with them, to share Him and His message with others.

How have you served the Lord today ? Have you shared God's message , His Word, with someone? Have you spent your time with God today ? Or did you spend your time playing computer or video games ? Did you spend your time out partying with friends, driving around , Christmas shopping, or just wasting time doing nothing ? Did you think to pray ? Did you give God praises ? How did you serve God today or how did you spend time with and for God today ? Did you place other things, other people before God today, The Bible, God's Word, tells us that if we love our children, our spouse , anyone or anything else more than we love God, and if we put any of them before God, then we do not Love God and we are not honoring God by doing so.

Every day we live we have the opportunity to put God first in our life. How often do we truly place God first ? If one does not place God first in their life they are giving God's place to someone or something else. That is not good. We are to honor God above all else. How often do we fail in this displacement of God/Jesus ? Daily for some. I have found few people who truly place God first , each and everyday, in their life. The people who come closest to doing this are the missionaries and all those who are actively out there spreading God's Word and sharing Him with others.

We have come to a time when we, as Christians, are being persecuted for speaking about God and His Holy Word, the Bible. We are at a time when others can say bad hateful things about Christians and have no repercussions for doing so yet if we, as Christians,speak out against those same ones who speak out against us we, the Christian, get in trouble for it. That is discrimination. Yet every day in this world Christians are discriminated against and it is being allowed by those who are in authority of the governments of the world and within the United States of America. Every one else is allowed to have a voice and speak out except the Christian. They say that what we say offends them but they do not care that what they say offends us Christians. They say it is okay to offend us but that we cannot offend them. There is something very wrong with that picture. They say they can discriminate against us but that we can not share God's Word with them as that is discriminating against them. In truth the Word of God is striking as a two edged sword. It hits their heart and soul and it does what it is supposed to do, it is letting them know that what they are doing is sinning, going against God/Jesus and they cannot handle that. They have to cry that it is discrimination, when in truth it is the truth of God's Word hitting their heart and soul. God's Word cuts deeper than any weapon ever forged by the hands of man, that is why people who are sinning want it silenced, because it is hitting the mark it should. I pity all those people who are trying to silence God's Word, as it will never happen. God wins in the end people, it is the people who are the losers. I just wish more people knew this and that their eyes and hearts would be opened to the truth. Yet I know that it will not be, for God tells us of how it will be. Then those who try to say that God is not real will one day, sadly, know the truth. I pray for all those who, for one reason or another, daily reject the Lord and refuse to believe in the One and Only true God Almighty, the Lord Jesus Christ. Prepare to meet the Lord before the Day of Judgment. Prepare to spend eternity with Him in Glory, for the only alternative to spending eternity in Glory with Jesus/God is spending eternity in eternal torment and pain in the Lake of Fire. Prepare for Eternity now before it is too late.

Thank God For Family And Friends

Yesterday I was not feeling well. It was one of those days when I feel so drained and tired and just want to stay at home and not go anywhere. Which I have a lot of those recently. My brother had called earlier in the morning and asked me if I was going to go to the singing where he and the group he plays with," Old Kentucky Sound", was singing at last night. I told him, I did not think so. He asked why and I told him that I just feel so blah. I am so tired and I do not feel like doing anything or going anywhere. I just felt blah, it is the only word to describe how I felt. So he said okay, he understood.

Well I made a small lasagna for myself, from scratch, since the children were visiting their Dad for the weekend. I had just taken it out of the oven when my brother shows up at my house. He has my cousin Mary Helen with him. They come in and I explain that I had just taken my lasagna out of the oven and invited them to eat with me but they had eaten on the way over. So they told me to go ahead and eat, which I did. They had come over to come and take me to the singing. They did not want me to stay at home and just feel blah as they knew why I was feeling this way. So I hurried and got ready to go with them. I am thankful that I did. God placed it in their heart to stop by and get me and I am thankful that they listened, for I was greatly blest last night.

There were three Gospel groups that sang last night, "Redeemed", "Old Kentucky Sound", and "Jesus First". I did not know that there was going to be three groups but it was indeed a blessing. The Lord's presence could be felt. The group " Jesus First" is one that my friends Ann and Bernard and their family has. I did not know they were going to be there so I was tickled when I saw them plus I got a lot of hugs from so many people, which I needed. The Lord reassured me of His Love within the love of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I also got some gentle teasing from people I have known for a long time, that are dear to me and precious to the Lord. I came to listen to the singers and have a good time in the Lord and that is what I got.

But I got more , I got a blessing and a surprise as I sang with my brother at the end of the evening. I did not know I was going to sing as I had only come to listen and lend support to the groups. But when Ann and her group sang they pointed at me and said you are going to sing. I love to sing for the Lord. It shares His Word, His Love, His Message with others through song. My brother and I sang two songs " Precious Memories" and " When I Lay My Burdens Down". My brother thanked the Lord for me in front of all those people, that I was always there for him and his girls. And that I stood for the Lord no matter what happened in my life, or who it had cost me in my life. I cried because I am not worthy of praise. I am only a worker for the Lord and I love my nieces , my family, friends and all. I will be with them and here for them as long as the Lord sees fit to allow me to be here. They know this. I do not deserve praise, for this is what the Lord has placed me here for, to be a help meet unto others for Him. It is not me but God who deserves the praise for I am nothing. I do what God ask of me to do for Him because of Love. I thank God for my family and that they do know that I am here for them to talk to, to pray for them, to gently reprimand them if needed or in whatever way they need me within the limits that God has placed upon me. But it is not me, it is God within me and working through me for I am but a willing vessel to be used by and for Him.

When we finished singing Sister Ann and Sister Larita hugged me and it blest me so. Then my friend for so many years now, a dear lady, Sister Lavern, who I love so to hear sing, hugged me and said to me," Nancy it is good to see you getting out. It does my heart good to see this as you need to get out for Him. Singing, together, praising the Lord." You see God knew I needed this blessing. He knew why I was down and He cared so much that He used all these people to bless me with. I am so thankful to the Lord for Himself, and for my family and friends. God shows us that He cares in some pretty awesome ways and I am ever so thankful that He does. He worked it so I would be blest last night by using my brother, my cousin and my family and friends to make it so. They all listened to the Lord and did as He asked them to because they cared and loved the Lord. Thanks to all of you for allowing the Lord to use you and for caring enough to help the Lord bring this blessing to fruit.

Our God is awesome and He cares so much for us. Thank You, Jesus, for being an ever present part of my life. Thank You for all. Amen.

Prayer

I know that prayer is a powerful tool that the Lord has blest us with. It is an intimate way to communicate with Him. I believe in praying and I pray often for I know the Lord hears and answers our prayers. My children pray and have seen the results of the Lord hearing and answering prayers.

This is a prayer request within my blog post for my children and myself to all who read this blog and who pray and believe in the power of prayer.

My heart started jumping a while back. At times it also hurts. My family doctor had me wear a heart monitor back in August of this year, 2008. I recently got the results back when my doctor referred me to a heart specialist. My heart, it seems, beats an extra beat every few minutes which is not a problem in and of itself. Most people's heart beats extra times every so often. When I saw the specialist he did an EKG on me and it came back abnormal. He listened to my heart for a long time. He said I have an abnormal heartbeat and the EKG was abnormal. There are a lot of reasons that an EKG can come back abnormal, I know this. The specialist said he wants me to have a Nuclear Myoview stress test on Dec. 1 . I have to wear a heart monitor until Dec. 15 ,phone in the results,mail the monitor in . Then on Dec. 29 I go back to get the results of everything. My children are worried about me. I have explained to them that God is in control and that God has our best interest uppermost in His heart and mind. I ask that You please pray that the Lord brings my children, Zak and Elizabeth, peace in all of this. My children are blessings from the Lord and I thank God for them. I want them to trust in God completely and wholly. All things are done for a reason, I know this. I am trusting in God to work this for His glory. Pray that the Lord's will be done in this situation and for peace for my children. I thank you all for your prayers.

I wanted to end this post today with a few passages of scripture concerning faith, prayer, belief and being within God's will. Trusting in the Lord for He is my strong tower.


Proverbs 18:10
10)The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.


Psalms 37:4
4) Delight thyself also in the Lord ; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Philippians 4:19 19)But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Psalms 31:24 Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord.

John 15:7-8
7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
8) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.


Matthew 17:20
20) And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Matthew 21:21-22
21) Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22) And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Mark 11:24
24) Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

Psalms 91:9-13 9) Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;

10) There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

11) For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

12) They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

13) Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Psalms 91:1-4 1) He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

2) I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

3) Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

4) He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Singing Praises To The Lord

I love to sing praises to the Lord. I Love to hear others singing the Lord's praises. There is just something about listening to or singing songs of praise and gospel songs for the Lord that truly blesses me.

Friday night, my brother Jim called Elizabeth to let her know that he would be spending the weekend with us as he had a singing to attend and perform at on Saturday night. On Saturday afternoon my cousin, Mary Helen, came for a visit and to attend the singing with us. We had a very nice visit before hand and I fixed dinner for us all. We left and went to the singing around 5:30 PM. The singing itself began at 6:00 PM. There was not a lot of people there but the ones who attended enjoyed it.

I was blest as soon as I walked in the doors because a dear brother and sister in Christ and their family were attending the singing and were there to sing. I love to hear them sing. Their daughter, was my friend and I loved her very much. She died from leukemia this past Spring and when they were up front singing I could hear Gala singing with them. Even though she is Home with the Lord I could hear her singing, especially on one song," Going Home On The Morning Train ". That blest my heart. I Love Sister Ann and Brother Bernard. They are good people and I am blest to know them. Ann's brothers, Maurice and Charles and the rest of their family bless my heart for they are truly loving people who try to serve the Lord.

My cousin and I were sitting in the bleachers when one of my distant relatives that grew up with my Dad started talking with me. She said to me, " Nancy, where are all the people? " Because, as I said it was mainly just the singing groups that were in attendance. I said , " Dolly, it is that people just do not have their hearts where they need to be. They would rather be out in the world doing worldly things instead of attending a Gospel singing." She agreed. It is nice to visit with family and friends and to fellowship in the Lord.

My brother sang with the group he sings with. Little Jonathon, he is 4 years old, got to sing. It is truly a blessing to see the little ones singing the Lord's praises. Depresto, a long time family friend, our magistrate and leader of the group my brother sings with, asked if anyone else would like to sing. Sister Ann and her family said " Yes , we have another singer here. Sister Nancy, we want her to sing." Depresto said, " I would not forget to let Nancy sing." So they had me come up front to sing. I sang harmony on two songs while my brother, Jim, sang lead. We sang," Precious Memories" and " When I Lay My Burdens Down ". I was blest. The Lord was present . His spirit could be felt and we all sang praises to the Lord. After we sang all the singers got on stage and we sang " Amazing Grace " together. I just had chills from the Holy Spirit at the beauty of the sound of all those voices raised in praise to and for the Lord. It was truly beautiful and a blessing to be a part of this.

In two weeks the group my brother plays with will be singing at the Church I attend. I am praying a lot of people will show up. I enjoy fellowshipping with others in the Lord. I am looking forward to the singing. We had an awesome service at Church this morning. Brother Johnny and his family attended. They have not been there in awhile so it was good to see them. I hope they will be able to come to the singing. I know that several of my neighbors and friends will be attending for they have been asking me about it. I am praying for the Lord to do some powerful work that night as well as each and every day and night throughout the year.

This world needs to come to the Lord. They need the Lord in their lives and they truly need to honestly and openly serve Him. Without God , the Lord Jesus Christ in one's life there awaits death, hell and the lake of fire. With the Lord in your life and with one living their life for the Lord in truth, then we have eternal life in glory with the Lord to look forward to. Where and with whom are you investing your future in ? I am choosing to live my life for the Lord because I know that life is not worth living without Him. Don't walk down the road alone, choose to have Jesus by your side as your guide.

Happenings

Well, Samantha and Rochu's little egg hatched. But, sadly, we do not have the little chick. Only the Lord truly knows what transpired and the cause of it. The egg disappeared, which had Rochu and Samantha very upset as well as the children, understandably upset. We do not know what happened to the egg for it was gone. There was no little chick or egg shells in their pen anywhere because we thoroughly searched the pen and Samantha and Rochu were visibly upset, clucking and searching in their pen. We came back in the house to get their feed to feed them. When we returned to their pen, we could not have been gone no more than 10 minutes, there was the baby chick lying dead within the pen. It had not been in the pen before. In fact it was still warm so it had not been dead long. Something very strange had gone on in this situation, for certain.This broke the children's hearts and Samatha and Rochu were besides themselves. They were frantic. We buried the little chick in our flower bed as the children wanted it to be near the pretty flowers.

The baby chick was a beauty though. It was white, not yellow or ecru but pure white with a black spot of color on it's back. The children thought it was a pretty little thing. We decided that this spring when Samantha sets again we will keep her in a coop by herself and keep vigilant watch over her and the eggs. We do not want a repeat of this incident. The one thing I can say is that the children thanked the Lord for letting them get to see the baby chick. Now they know what they have to look forward to what Samantha hatches her next set of eggs. They know that the Lord will bless them with some beautiful baby chicks. I was thankful that even in the midst of their hurting, my children saw the blessing of the Lord within it all, in them being able to know and look forward to the beautiful little chicks that they will have in the future.


I thank God that the children can see the blessing disguised with the hurts and heartaches in this life. More of us, me included, need to look for and find the blessings that lie hidden amongst the trails and tribulations in our lives. The blessings are there, the Lord is just waiting for us to discover the hidden blessings and meanings. The bible tells us to praise the Lord in all things. We are to praise Him, even in the midst of the trials, testing and tribulations. Don't only praise Him in the good times, praise Him in the bad times. Because like the song " God On The Mountain " states " For the God of the good times is still God in the bad times. The God of the day is still God of the night." How many times when we are down in the valley do we forget that the Lord is right beside us, sometimes carrying us, through those times. He is always present. We just have to reach out for He is waiting with open arms to take us in, to lift us up, and most of to forgive us of our short comings and sins. Our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ is wonderful. He is worthy to be praised in all times and for all times.

I do, I thank God for my children. They are a blessing to me. I thank God for friends and family. I thank God for hearing and answering prayers. I thank God for the test, trials, and tribulations for within and through them He is working me into whom He would have me to be. There is no better place to be except within the hands of the Master, for He is daily working this vessel into something that He can use for his service. One day I pray I will be that refined silver that shines back His reflection.

Dear Lord Jesus Father God in Heaven, mode me daily into whom You would have me to be. Use me for Your service, help me to put self out of the way and except Your Divine Will for my life. I am nothing without You and I have nothing without You. You are my All Lord. Thank You for forgiveness, for Love, for All. Thank You for my children, my family, my friends. Thank You for Your many blessings, thank You for the testing, the trials and the tribulations. Guide me daily in what I should do and keep me upon the path that You have set me upon. Thank You for all. In Jesus Christ's precious holy name, Amen and Amen.

Chickens And All God's Creatures

My children talked me into allowing them to have a pair of Bantam chickens. They are Old English ones. We got them back in the spring as chicks. They have matured into beautiful little creatures by God's design. The hen is named Samantha and the rooster is named Rochu (pronounced Row coo) ,sorry if I misspelled his name Zak.


These two little creations of the Lord are quite smart . I have seen some fowl that are not smart, to say the least. But Rochu and Samantha are smart. I have Rochu trained to where he will eat grass and clover from my hand. I hold the grass and clover between my fingers and Rochu gently takes it from me without pecking me. He accidentally pecked me the first time he took the grass from me but has never did so since. I saw the look that he gave me when he did peck me accidentally and I knew this was one intelligent chicken. He is protective too.


Samantha had been laying an egg almost everyday. Then she went to every other day and I knew that soon she would be deciding to set. So since it is fall and winter will be close on it's heels I have been gathering the eggs daily . But Samantha bested me. She laid her last egg and went to setting. I did not have the heart to take it from her. Yes I could have took it from her but when I saw her all fluffed up so protectively over that one egg it pulled at my heart's cords. She looked me in the eye and she knew what I was feeling for she just started clucking to me in a soft sweet voice. I said to her," Samantha , it is going to be getting cold soon. I would that you rather had not started setting right now but since you have I will let you set on this one egg. If it hatches Momma( that is me, yes I call myself Momma to all my animals) will help you take care of it and put a heat lamp up for you as soon as it hatches." Samantha fluffed herself, clucked softly then fell asleep sitting upon her little treasure.


Now every time I go to feed her and Rochu or check on them, Samantha stays on her egg and clucks softly. Rochu jumps on their house roof so he can eat the grass and clover from my hands. Yes, I do have him spoilt. The children tell me this. It has also made Elizabeth a little afraid of him as anytime he sees someones hand near he thinks they have food for him. Elizabeth thinks he is trying to peck her. I have explained why Rochu pays attentions to peoples hands, that it is due to me feeding him from my hand. She understands but is still a little bit leery of him.

Rochu takes his job seriously. He is the protector of Samantha and even though he is small he can be intimidating if he chooses to be to those he does not know, other than Zak, Elizabeth and I. Especially since Samantha is setting on her egg. When Samantha gets up to feed or get water Rochu stations himself in front of their little houses door and marches back and forth in front of it, guarding the egg until Samantha returns to set upon the egg once more. It is really neat to watch Rochu as he sticks out his little Banty chest and struts. He is proud that soon, hopefully, he will have a little chick to help feed and protect. It will be tiny as Bantam eggs are small. They are about the size of the doughnut holes that are in the deli. So we are patiently waiting to see if the egg hatches. ( The picture in the upper left corner is not of Rochu it is of Zak's other rooster Daffodil. Daffodil is a cross between a Rhode Island Red and a White Rock. Daffodils weighs about 12 pounds so he is a good sized rooster. But a still young as he is only 6 months old. He is a big baby. )


I grew up on a diversified livestock family farm. We raised chickens as well as pigs, cattle and horses. We also grew our own corn, hay, tobacco, vegetables, fruits, berries and kept bees for honey. I grew very blest by the Lord to learn how to farm the land and can and do so many other things that only one learns from living off the land. Which I thank God for. I have and am still teaching my children all of this. But back to the chickens. We raised chickens from baby chicks and on up. We sold eggs to customers as well as home churned butter. I raised one baby chick in particular that I recall. His name was Peeper Chee Chee. He grew into a handsome Game rooster. His mom did not want him. She pushed him out of the nest and would not take him back in. So I talked my Dad into letting me bring Peeper Chee Chee into our home. I made him a little pen and daily tended to his needs. I kept his pen clean and dry. Kept him fed and watered. From the time he was just a wee little thing I started placing him on my shoulder. Soon he grew used to this and would ride around on my shoulder where ever I went. Even as a big Game rooster he still rode around on my shoulder. He never tried to peck me, never went the bathroom on me and never did anything odd that one might think a chicken would do. Of course I had to teach him to be a chicken as he thought he was people. It is something as I had to teach him how to scratch the ground as chickens do. I pulled worms up and gave them to him but he did not like the worms that well. What Peeper Chee Chee really liked was grasshoppers. So once I had taught him how to be a chicken he became an outdoor chicken , no longer allowed to stay inside except for the occasional visit.

Some chickens are highly intelligent and easily trainable. And yes, chickens as well as all God's creatures do have feelings the same as we , mankind, do. And it is not true what some scientist say about animals only being able to see in shades of gray. Animals can and do see in color. Some things that scientist have tried to prove over the years have truly made me laugh. Since I grew up raising and working with animals, all my life, I can truly say that I know that some scientist are wrong in a lot of assumptions, theories, hypothesis, or whatever name one chooses to call it, that they have placed upon or said about animals. Animals, fowls, all God's creations are a lot smarter then we, as mankind, give them credit for. And yes animals can understand what we are saying to them and if one truly knows animals they can speak to them. A gift from God is what I call it. One of the special talents that God gives people. God has also used animals in His work to get a message across to someone, Balaam's Ass in the Bible is only one example of the Lord using an animal to open someones eyes up to something they need to know.

Numbers 22:1-41

I thank God for all His creations. The earth is full of the wonders that God has created yet daily so many seek to destroy/kill God's creations. God knows what He is doing but mankind sure does not know what they are doing. I always think about the scriptures that Jesus/God speaks of making those who think they know to be confounded by the weak things, so to speak.

1 Corinthians 1:19-21 19)For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20) Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21) For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.


1 Corinthians 1:25-31

25) Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

26) For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

27) But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

28) And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:

29) That no flesh should glory in his presence.

30) But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

31) That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

I Corinthians 3:18-20 18) Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

19) For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.

20) And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Galatians 6:3 3) For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. Psalms 94:11 11) The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.

Isaiah 5:21
21)Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

I know that some of these scriptures speak of those who think they know what the Bible says and are prideful in thier knowledge which they think they have. But also some of these scriptures speak of people who are wise in their own eyes and that what they think is knowledge or wisdom is follishness to God/Jesus. God created all of us, mankind, His creatures, the earth and that is within it of nature. We know nothing of god's creations or creatures for His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. When one thinks they know of something , yet there our others who know that what one thinks one knows is wrong , that one then is proven wrong to those who know the truth. The reason being is, that one can know the truth even when someone else is trying to say that what they know is true, even though what they profess to know as truth , in reality, is false.

The thing we all need to admit is that each of us at soemtime in our life thought we were right, when in truth we were wrong. It happens. But we are not to be wise in our own eyes. And we definitely are not supposed to try to make ourself look wise in the eyes of others. It does not matter what others think of you as it is God whom each one of us should be worrying about. It is god who knows us as no one else does. He knows our thoughts, our hearts, our minds and all things about each one of us. He knows the truth in it all.

The passage of scripture below is one of my favorites. It speaks a lot in just three verses.

Proverbs 3:5-7 5) Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6) In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7) Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

So the next time we start to think that we know what we are talking baout, stop, take a moment and pray to the Lord. Ask God to open your eyes up to see and know what He would have you to see and know. For in truth , God's turth is the truth.