Insignificant?

“For my soul takes refuge in Thee; and in the shadow of Thy wings I will take refuge, until destruction passes by. I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me. -- I will give thanks to Thee, O Lord among the peoples; I will sing praises to Thee among the nations. For Thy loving kindness is great to the heavens, and Thy truth to the clouds. Be exalted above the heavens, O God; let Thy glory be above all the earth.” Psalm 57:1-2, 9-11

Sometimes, in this busy world we live in, we may think we are insignificant in the scheme of God’s plan and activities, but remember: He cares for the nations and for each individual and not in a superficial way but as a Father who loves His children and His creation.

And sometimes I am sure He weeps and sometimes I am sure he rejoices.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please feel free to recommend the new blog site to others.

Fear & Tears

“When I am afraid, I will put my trust in Thee. In God, whose Word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? – Thou has taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Thy bottle; are they not in Thy book?” Psalm 56:3-4, 8

Our lives are exciting and filled with joy and tragedy. We are surrounded by the rush and bustle of throngs of people who are also bustling and rushing. It is easy to feel insignificant and to most people we are insignificant. However, God loves and sustains us through every day. And when there are tears, He carefully holds you and gathers your tears and saves every one.

“’Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet, not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.’” Matthew 10:29-31

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please feel free to recommend the new blog site to others.

Enemy Beside You?

“For it is not an enemy who reproaches me, then I could bear it; nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, then I could hide myself from him. But it is you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. We who had sweet fellowship together, walked in the house of God in the throng.” Psalm 55:12-14

Sometimes we are tested by the most unexpected people; and many from WITHIN the Church (Body of believers) -- who remind us of our own humanity and selfishness.

“Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are Christ Jesus.” Romans 7:25-8:1

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please feel free to recommend the new blog site to others.

Leaning on Him

“Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. – Willingly I will sacrifice to Thee; I will give thanks to Thy name, O Lord, for it is good. For He has delivered me from all trouble;” Psalm 54:4, 6-7a

“’All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.’” Matthew 11:27-30

There is no weight so great He cannot lift it, no burden too heavy. He is the sustainer of us all and His children are tenderly cared for.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

Testament Picking

“The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good. God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalm 53:1-3

“—for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 8:23

Someone noticed this new series is based in the Psalms. Sometimes we may think the Old Testament is not pertinent to us today. So, when we wander through it holds new meaning. But to those who study it regularly, you know the New Testament and Old Testament are both very important to study because God’s Word is a whole. We can’t just pick and choose the parts we like and throw away the rest because it seems too hard.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Thank you for praying for Owen and the family.

Please feel free to recomment this new blog site to others.

Olive Trees

“The lovingkindness of God endures all day long. – Behold the man who will not make God his refuge, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and was strong in evil desire. But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever. I will give Thee thanks forever, because Thou hast done it. And I will wait on Thy name, for it is good, in the presence of Thy godly ones.” Psalm 52:1b, 7-9

An olive tree is one of the longest living trees. Here king David compares himself to a “sheltered olive tree”. When sheltered, an olive tree would live longer, produce more abundant, whole, higher quality and more satisfying fruit (for the tree itself and for those who tended the tree and ate from it). A tree has to wait on others to shelter it, but we have a choice of standing in His sheltering arms or not.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please feel free to recommend the site to others.

An Ordinary Knight Has Passed

Boromir was a brave and faithful man who tirelessly and valiantly defended those weaker than himself at any cost, including giving his life for others. (He was not perfect and he struggled with his own weakness and hopes.) It is the way he lived and it is the way he died, or that is what we know of this mythical man from Tolkien’s wonderful stories.

I’ve chosen this video to mark the passing of my second Dad, Owen Smith, who never held a sword but cut a million heads of hair with his trusty scissors while his golden smile and sweet wit held peoples attention. He was an ordinary man filled with extraordinary courage and hope -- and most of all love. He fell in love with a woman he spent over 62 years with -- his beloved Doris.

To me I can’t think of one of them without the other, it as if that Biblical concept of becoming one flesh was manifest in their every reflection, word, action, deed, song.Yet he was the quiet one to me, the one always ready with a smile that could melt an iceberg. So sincere whether he was mucking out the stables or milking Goaty-Goat in the back yard or making Doris her hot cup of tea served in bed every possible morning of their wonderful relationship.

One year, he dug a pond on their land and laboured more hours than I could imagine, making it just perfect for his sweet Doris, the family, friends and strangers. And it was a constant labour for him from the day it was just a dream - but he fished there and we ice skated and went swimming there. It was wonderful!

A Gentle Knight

He taught me gently about his love of the Lord and the simple act of praying “just regular and from your heart”. In fact I never heard a high-flung word from his lips. He was living lessons to me, never preaching, never even correcting – unless I was about to jump out of the hayloft and break a bone.

I would have loved to be there with the rest of the family during this time but I know he knew just how very much I loved him.I wanted to say something profound about him – words are all I know – but I have no more profound words to say than this Scripture passage to mark his going home to be with his Lord and Saviour than these unlikely ones:Jesus taught:

“’You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour, and hate your enemy’; but I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

"'For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax gatherers do the same? Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.’” Matthew 5:42-6:1

He was just an ordinary knight, who never had armour or a sword; and his horse was little and slow and not even white. But he is the only knight I have ever known who knew what it was to stand for something so gently and so faithfully without attention or praise, never wavering his entire life – faithful to a concept so few can conceive of. He stood for the Lord and for his beloved Doris with GRACE.

My life has been so enriched by him -- he was after all my second Dad -- and I will miss him, but will never forget his lessons. And there will be no greater reward than his at his homecoming.