Follow The Lord

It has been some time since I have been led to post on my blog. I apologize for not posting sooner. A lot has been going on and I have been letting other things take precedence over my blog posting. But I felt led to post this wee AM hours of the morning so here I am posting.

It rained earlier and was about 45 degrees. Right now it is freezing rain and sleet that is falling as the temperatures have dropped into the lower 30's degrees. it is supposed to turn to snow. This is Kentucky, where in the course of a days span the weather can change so suddenly it will run from one condition of the weather end to the other in extremes. The old saying is that if you do not like the weather in Kentucky hang around and it will change in a few minutes. During my lifetime in Kentucky I have noticed this a lot and it is true. Our weather changes quickly and abruptly. In part it is due to where Kentucky is geographically located. It is part South, part North, Part East, and part West. All the different climates seem to meet here in Kentucky.

I have always been fascinated by how the Lord works in such mysterious ways that the weather He makes to change from one moment being sunny and warm and then a few hours later the temperatures drop and it sleets and snows. I am thankful that God is in control of the weather and all things. He knows what He is doing and there is a purpose in everything He does and says. I am thankful for this. we may not always see the purpose that the Lord has in what He does, says, or makes to be, but it is not for us to know unless He chooses to reveal it unto us.

All things happen in this life, we live, for a reason. As it says in the holy Bible, God's Word, there is a season for everything. Everything under the sun there is a purpose for and a season for.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 1) To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

2) A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

3) A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4) A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

5) A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

6) A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

7) A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8) A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

The Lord teaches us in and through His Word and Holy Spirit. There is much wisdom to earn and live by within the pages of the Holy Bible. The problem is that not many people are wise enough to truly grasp, retain, hold dear to one's heart and soul, and live by what the Bible tells us. We could all do with a little more of adhering to what the Lord instructs us to do and to live how He instructs us to live within the pages of His Word, the Holy Bible.

II Timothy 3:14-17 14) But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

15) And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

16) All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

17) That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. I will leave you with these words, follow that which is good, that which is pure, and that which is true. Follow God/ Jesus Christ/ Father Creator. He will never lead you astray.

Gardening And Children

Gardening is similar to raising our children. Have you ever compared the two, gardening and raising children ? Recently I compared the two, gardening and raising children. It came to mind of how their are a lot of similarities in the two.

First, life comes from a fertile seed, that God has provided, in both the garden and in our children. If you think about it you will see the truth in this. Life of all kind comes from God and from God alone. A seed has to be fertile in order for it to grow. The seed is planted and starts to grow. Whether it is a child or a plant growing in one's garden, it needs nourishment and love to continue to grow. The babe in the womb gets it's nourishment from it's mother, while the seed in the garden gets it's nourishment from the ground, air, and rain. All, of this nourishment, is ultimately provided by God.

As the seed/babe grows the time comes for it to enter into the world. For the seed that is the breaking forth from the pod/kernel through the ground into the light of day. For the babe it is be birthed into the light of day from it's mother's womb. Neither of these would have been brought forth from their cocoon had it not been for the Lord Father God, the Creator of all life. So now we have new arrivals in the world, be it within our family or within the garden, so to speak.


These new ones need more nourishment, also they need love, and tender care in order to continue to grow as God designed them to grow. At this point, in the early development we, as man, can help determine which way our child/our garden will develop towards. This is where our influence starts to have a hand in things. We could cause a good outcome or we could cause a harmful outcome. Here is where we have to fully trust and rely upon God for all of us who are God's family of children.

If we are the Lord's we will tend to, care for, love, provide nourishment to and for, and educate ( for our children) that which God has entrusted into our care. Our children have been entrusted to us by the Lord just as our gardens have been entrusted to us by the Lord. When we choose to follow God/Jesus we will teach our children of the Lord, His Word, His Grace, His forgiveness. We will take them to Church with us, we will walk a good walk and example before them, as our children will pattern themselves after us, their parents. We teach our children what they know. Just as our garden that has been entrusted to us by the Lord. We are to tend it. Weed it, water it, fertilize it, harvest it, share it and prepare it for later use. If we are good stewards to and for the Lord we will honor that which He has entrusted into our care whether it be our children or our garden or whatever it is that God has entrusted to us.

Now on the other hand, if we do not serve God we serve self/the devil. When those who serve the devil(the world/self) raise their children they teach them of the world( the devil and his ways). The children are taught filth and immorality, depravity and so much lack of discipline. The children are lost, adrift on a sea of sin because the parents do not truly Love their children. They teach their child to serve self(the devil/the world). That is not true Love. For if you love your child you will teach them of the Lord for by not teaching your child of God you are condemning them to eternity in the Lake of Fire. You will be to blame for your child's sin as you did not care enough to tell them the truth of God/Jesus. The child will not prosper as you, the parent, have seen fit to condemn it from the beginning by not supplying it with the proper nourishment and love that it needed to grow as God intended for it to grow.

The same comparison, children and the garden. If you do not tend to, nourish and love your garden, weeds will choke out the plants. The plants will become twisted and distorted as they try to seek for what they need, but it is just beyond their grasp because no one cared enough to tend to them or help them get what they needed in order to thrive, survive and become productive. The garden was not loved. It was not truly cared for. It was within the caretakers grasp and responsibility to provide it with the proper nourishment and all it needed to survive, yet the caretaker chose to not provide the proper tools, nourishment, love, and care to allow it to thrive, survive and be productive.


This is what happens, all too often, in life. God entrusts children to parents. the parents do not truly Love their children as the results give testament of the parents. The Bible tells us to raise up a child in the way we would have them to go. Do you want your child to go to Heaven or to Hell ? Think about that question wisely. God has given us the means to teach our children of Him and the right/good way of living for us and them to be productive, caring, loving people. The way you treat your spouse is teaching your child how to treat their future spouse. The way you treat anyone is how you are teaching your child to treat others. The way you live your life, be it for the Lord, attending Church, Bible study, daily prayer, doing service for and to the Lord, living your life for the Lord and not for self , or be it for the devil(the world) drinking, viewing pornography, using fowl/offensive language, lying, fornication, adultery, living a life of sin and damnation, is exactly what you are teaching your children and telling them it is okay to live their life in that manner. If you truly love your child you will care about it's soul and whether it will spend eternity in the Lake of Fire, in eternal torment and damnation, or in Glory/Heaven with Jesus Christ.

As the garden prospers with love, proper nutrition, and proper care, so too do our children with the same good provisions prosper. But a garden left untended or ill cared and provided for, so goes the children who lack the proper nourishment, love, care, attention and teachings of the Lord. Take the time to share God/Jesus with your children/child and let them know that you truly love and care for them. Help them to flourish and grow to become prosperous in the Lord. Without God/Jesus in our lives we are all lost and eternally doomed to eternal torment and suffering. Thankfully God/Jesus is the only way. Accept Him into your life and teach of Him to your children. Show your children what true Love is. Show them Jesus Christ.

Proverbs 22:6 6)Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 20:11 11) Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

Ephesians 6:1-4 1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2) Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

3 )That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4) And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

God Is God

Wow!

I haven't posted on my blog in quite some time. It has been rather hectic with everything that has gone on in the past few months since my last post. God has been watching over us, this I know for a certainty.

First off I want to thank all my friends, family ( both in blood and in the Lord), and all who have kept us in their prayers and who have helped the children and I in our time of trials and needs. God does hear and answer prayer. This is a fact.

Much has transpired since my last blog post. In late January through the first few weeks of February we had a violent ice storm that passed through our area. This caused much damage to trees, electric lines, phone lines and all utilities in a widespread area. We were without electric and heat in our home for 2 weeks and without phone service for closer to three weeks. A lot of damage was done to the land and trees but God protected everyone.

In the early morning hours, still darkness, of January 27, 2009 our electric and heat went out due to the ice build up on the trees and lines going down. The children both piled into bed with me where we stayed and prayed until daylight. You could hear the creaking of the tree branches when the wind blew as they were laden with ice. The branches were scraping against our trailer and also draping the ground due to the weight of the ice upon them. It was eerie sounding. Zak was scared as was Elizabeth. So I told them we needed to pray. We prayed aloud and called upon the Lord to watch over us and keep us safe as well as our family members throughout the storm area, friends, and all who were affected by the ice storm.

We have huge old Oak trees all around our trailer. Mighty Oaks as the bible calls them. One of these Oak trees the children and I dedicated to God years ago. We call it " God's Tree". It is His. The weight of the ice, as I said earlier, was causing the trees to creak eerily. A lot of branches were breaking and falling. I kept praying that the Lord would keep any branches or trees from falling on our trailer. Eventually we did fall into a deep sleep until morning. When I got up I looked out and saw our two huge White Pine trees had been brought down by the ice storm. At first I said ," Oh No!" But I stopped and I said," Thank You Lord for not letting those trees fall on us." By all rights and means they should have fallen on the trailer but God heard and answered our prayers and He caused them to fall away from our trailer. God did what we prayed to him for.

I got dressed and went outside. It was beautiful yet it was dangerous out. I could hear trees breaking in the woods all around us, one after another. It sounded like guns and cannons going off. As I watched our Oak trees sway and creak with each breeze I raised my hands to the Lord and first I praised Him for keeping us safe and then I asked Him to continue to protect us and all those who were in the path of this storm. I did not care if someone drove by and saw me as I intended to do what I was doing and that was pray to God aloud, with my hands raised to Him. I knew that prayer and thankfulness was what was needed. I knew that God had kept us safe.

Later that day Elizabeth and I went out to feed the animals and to water them. They were all okay. God had protected them and kept them safe. I knew He would though. He cares for all His creatures. When we went down to feed our rooster, Daffodil, I realized again and was awed by how God had protected us. Laying across the back end of the chicken pen was a huge branch off one of our Oak trees. I looked up and just said , " Thank You Jesus." That Oak tree branch was from the Oak tree that was directly over my bedroom. It is where Zak, Elizabeth and I were sleeping in the morning hours and praying. That branch, had it hit the trailer, would have came through the roof and hurt us. But God had tossed it over 4o feet away from our trailer, down towards the back end of the chicken pen. Only God's hand could have done this. He saved our lives. He protected us. He stood guard over us, throughout, while we slept and trusted in Him. When Elizabeth and Zak saw this, their faith in God was increased. The Lord watched over us. That is Love.

Our neighbors came by to check on us as we could not get out due to trees down on the road. One neighbor brought us an old kerosene heater that we ran for a few hours until it ran out of kerosene. Another neighbor brought in sleeping bags for us. he came through the field on his tractor. Another day he came in and removed trees from the road but two trees he could not get off. One day the children's Dad, George,showed up at the trailer. He had parked his vehicle and walked in on foot. The children went back out with him to his vehicle at the end of the road.I packed my SUV and drove through the field in the tire tracks of my neighbors tractor and went to my cousins, who had a wood burning stove. George followed me and brought the children up. then he left and went back to Bowling Green to his home. He was worried enough about us that he came in to get us out to warmth. The children and I stayed at my cousin, Mary Helen's, for two nights and went to church with her that Sunday. Her church found out we did not have heat at home and they gave us a new kerosene heater. So we went home that night.

We stayed home until my birthday of February 4th. Then we went to my parents as it was supposed to get below zero, which it did. We stayed with my family until we came home on Saturday morning. We found out that the water pipes had thawed and had broken. We had close to an inch of water standing in the house and about 4 inches of water in the vents. I threw the main breaker , even though we did not have electric back yet. Reason being I did not want it to come back on while we were getting the water out of the house. That would have been bad. I called the insurance company to get them to send out an adjuster. He came on Valentines Day to assess the damage. I am now waiting for the check to be sent back from the mortgage company so we can get the floors redid. It was a mess in here but we are alive and much is to be praised for to the Lord. Even though we had a lot of damage I have not and will not let it bother me as God Loves us and He protected us with a mighty hand. That is awesome.

One of my friends said it best when she heard what all had happened. She said to me," Nancy all this that you have gone through yet you still have a smile on your face and you praise God." I was like," Yes. He protected us. It doesn't matter about things, for that is exactly what they are " things". God protected us, we are alive. I have much to praise Him for and smile about."

It does no good to let things bother you. When we let things bother us, get us down, we are not able to serve God as He wants us to. Why let some stand in the way of my serving God. I want to be able to serve God in the best way I can and if I am down in the dumps, I sure can not serve God the way I should be. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. God protected me and so many others, so yes, I have much to smile about. Thank You, Jesus.

Something like this ice storm and the way God protected so many people, lets one know how powerful God is. When God sets an appointment it will get people's attention. God says ," Hey I am the One in control. Your little things are going to stop. Stand still and know that I Am God."

People, God is in control. He is the One Who is in control. Not you, not me, nor anyone else. Only God is truly in control. If you don't believe that, one day God will show you in a way that you can not ignore it. Will you be prepared when that time comes ?

God is awesome. He is top be praised. he is in control and god is all powerful and Almighty. He is the great I Am, Alpha and Omega, the author and the finisher of our faith. God is God and He does not change. Hear what I say, God does not change. He is the same, today, yesterday and tomorrow and always. I rejoice in Him and praise His Holy Name, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.


I have much to be thankful for. I am alive. I have breath to breathe. My children are alive. We are the Lord's, bought and paid for by His precious blood. My life is not my own, it is God's. My children's lives are not their own. hey belong to God, dedicated from the moment of birth to be His and to be raised for Him and to His service. God is Love and God is my life. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

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.