MY UMBRELLA

In describing my walk with Jesus to people, many times I have used the following story. It is easy to understand and relate to. I hope you enjoy it

Having asked Jesus into my life I started down the new path that He had laid out for me. Jesus is walking along on the path holding a big open umbrella, I walk beside Him under His covering. Because I am with Him, He leads me I am prepared for stumbles on my path. If by chance I do fall, His hand reaches out to pick me up.

Occasionally on my walk ‘the grass looks greener on the other paths’ and without asking I step off my path to go look. Many times I looked and said ‘hold it’ and backed myself up. There have been times the pure splendor of wild flowers have caught my eyes and I picked a few; only to find the thorns cut into my skin and a virus crawled into my flesh. Each time though when I lifted my head with shame, Jesus was standing right where I left Him, holding the umbrella waiting for my return. As years go by I have found that as I walk and see paths going this way and that, if I turn and ask, Jesus will always tell me no not this way.

One day as we came to a path I turned and looked at Jesus to see what He would say. This time He said take the path. As I rounded the corner I saw beauty beyond belief. I had to ask, “Jesus it is so beautiful, why did it take so long to get here?’ He replied, “My child, I waited each time you stepped off the path and took a wrong turn without me. You my child would have seen it sooner if you would have asked before you took the wrong turns. But all that time it was here waiting for you.”

Jesus is always there. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. The path is narrow but under His covering we can reach where He wants us to go.

rECj/LJG

PROVERBS 13:24

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him that chasteneth him betimes.

I searched and could not find the word spareth in any on-line dictionary. I believe though if you look through the meanings given for the word spare found in the Bible dictionary you can draw your own conclusions as to the meaning of the word.

SPARE
1. To use frugally; not to be profuse; not to waste. Thou thy Father's thunder did'st not spare.
2. To save or withhold from any particular use or occupation. He has no bread to spare, that is, to withhold from his necessary uses. All the time he could spare from the necessary cares of his weighty charge, he bestowed on prayer and serving of God.
3. To part with without much inconvenience; to do without. I could have better spar'd a better man. Nor can we spare you long-
4. To omit; to forbear. We might have spared this toil and expense; Be pleas'd your politics to spare.
5. To use tenderly; to treat with pity and forbearance; to forbear to afflict, punish or destroy. Spare us, good Lord. dim sadness did not spare celestial visages. But man alone can whom be conquers spare.
6. Not to take when in one's power; to forbear to destroy; as, to spare the life of a prisoner.
7. To grant; to allow; to indulge. Where anger Jove did never spare one breath of kind and temp'rate air.
8. To forbear to inflict of impose. Spare my sight the pain of seeing what a world of tears it cost you.
I think you will understand why I included those meanings as you continue to read. Following are Commentaries by some of the leading teachers of the Bible.
Matthew Henry
He acts as if he hated his child, who, by false indulgence, permits sinful habits to gather strength, which will bring sorrow here, and misery hereafter. (Pr 13:25)
24. He acts as if he hated his child, who, by false indulgence, permits sinful habits to gather strength, which will bring sorrow here, and misery hereafter.
John Gill
Verse 24. He that spareth his rod hateth his son,.... Who withholds or withdraws his rod of correction, which is in his hand, which he has power to use, and ought to exercise at proper times; he, instead of loving his son, may be said to hate him; for such fond love is no better than hatred; and, if he really hated him, he could scarcely do a more ill thing by him than not to correct him for a fault; which was the sin of good old Eli, and both he and his sons suffered for it;

but he that loveth him; that has a true love for his son, and a hearty concern for his welfare and future good; he will regulate his affections by his judgment, and not give way to a fond passion, to the prejudice of his child: but he

chasteneth him betimes, or "in the morning" {x}; in the morning of his infancy, before vicious habits are contracted, or he is accustomed to sinning, and hardened in it; or as soon as a crime is perpetrated, before it is forgot or repeated: or every morning, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra; that is, continually, as often as it is necessary, or as faults are committed.

Jamieson
24. spareth--or, "withholds."
rod--of correction.
hateth--or, acts as if he hated him (compare Pr 3:12; 8:36).
chasteneth . . . betimes--or, "diligently seeks for him all useful discipline."

Matthew Henry
Note, 1. To the education of children in that which is good there is necessary a due correction of them for what is amiss; every child of ours is a child of Adam, and therefore has that foolishness bound up in its heart which calls for rebuke, more or less, the rod and reproof which give wisdom. Observe, It is his rod that must be used, the rod of a parent, directed by wisdom and love, and designed for good, not the rod of a servant. 2. It is good to begin betimes with the necessary restraints of children from that which is evil, before vicious habits are confirmed. The branch is easily bent when it is tender. 3. Those really hate their children, though they pretend to be fond of them, that do not keep them under a strict discipline, and by all proper methods, severe ones when gentle ones will not serve, make them sensible of their faults and afraid of offending. They abandon them to their worst enemy, to the most dangerous disease, and therefore hate them. Let this reconcile children to the correction their good parents give them; it is from love, and for their good, Heb. 12:7- 9.

Yes, I cut and paste. Now that you have read all that, which I could not have said better, now lets us get to the point of this. What may I ask you do you think God in all His wisdom and Glory should do to us? We whom He has chosen to be His heirs and we whom have asked Him to come into our life's, how can we not expect Him to chasten us? How can we not accept the chastisement that we many times bring on ourselves?

I am not one of those that believes God does bad things to good people. I am speaking here of chastisement when we are doing wrong. I could name a number of things that God brought to my attention, and I thank Him for it. Did it hurt, yes. Was I ashamed to go before Him, certainly? But go I did and He continues to love me. Repent and go forward. God does not chastise out of anger but out of love.
It is us that refuse to accept that we are being chastised and think we are being wrongly punished that are hurting ourselves. How many have spanked a child to have the child say I hate you? I don't know of a single child that has said I love you while getting a spanking or right after. But like my grandson, later he will come to me and say I love you, I was wrong, I shouldn't have done that.

God corrects me because He loves me more than I could ever love myself, or Him.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

HE WAS A MAN

Matthew 1:18-25

I know that is hard to comprehend. But it is true. Jesus was a man. He had no special abilities, no staff like Moses, no prophets to give Him words of knowledge. He cried on His mothers breast just as we did. He cried over a skinned knee just as we did. And I am sure He played with His brothers and sisters. Jesus was a baby who grew to a boy who grew to become a man. What sat Jesus apart is His desire to obey God in everything. He was a man 100% after God's own heart. Yes, He was born of a virgin. Other then that His birth happened just as ours. Carried nine months and birthed into the world.

Wait a minute are you saying there is no difference between us? Well, I guess I am. What do you think?

Is it possible for you to completely walk in faith, to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind, to obey God in every area of your life? To let God lead you and guide you every step of your way? Yes, Jesus died for us and no one needs to do that again. But He did it as a man. Jesus did not do anything else that we could not do. He said it Himself. You that come after me shall do more than me. We, to, are called to take up our cross and bear it. (Matthew 16:24; Luke 14:27)

Think on this for a while. Ponder it in your mind. Then act.

rECj/LJG

SUNDAY EDITORIAL

AND THE LASH CAME DOWN
Luke, chapters 22, 23 and 24

And the lash came down
again and again
how much more could a mortal man take
again the lashes would not stop
they came and came
one after another when will it end
but they continue to fall
this man born of flesh
yes he felt every blow
did he go numb and not feel it no more

Born of a woman
for a day such as this
it was planned, had to happen
and the lashes continue to fall
knowing He had to endure
even now He held on, for He knew
as the lashes fell, that this wasn't the end
another lash and He felt
this beating the man took
the breath knocked out of Him
with each lash He endured a pause take a breath that
is full of sweat and blood
a second breath the same sweet sticky smell
finally at last the beating will end

The lashes have stopped
but the pain it goes on
one continuous throb
with stabs of much deeper pain
a pain so bad it can be no worst
when from somewhere inside
the pain rises to a even more feverish pitch

Pulled up to His feet, He braces Himself
the journeys not over, it's just began
Pick up this cross, they yell at the man
knowing to wear Him outthe faster He will be dead
He though braces Himself again
He knows where He's headed
and gladly heads there
He stumbles to many times to count
each time they will lash out and He pulls Himself upright
then it comes to a place He can no longer stand
the weight of the cross has pulled Him down again
a man from the crowd is ordered to help
carry the cross of the fallen man
together they drag that great heavy tree
till they get to the hill of Golgotha
that is to say place of a skull

They offer Him sour wine but He would not drink
nailed to the cross they did tease
and rolled lots for His clothes
waiting and watching for an end to His scorn
He cried out in a voice that shuck the world
beaten and twisted beyond what any could believe
He cried out again and gave up the ghost

But the battle was just starting
For now He would conquer the hell underneath
with no time for rest or to clean Himself up
He stepped through the gates into hell
give me the keys I have paid the price
all belongs to me now I have paid in full
for all who call on me
my Father has given into my hands
the Name above all others

He arose into heaven when three days had passed
standing in the gap for you and I
just call on the Name of the Son of God
and He will come to your aid
to hold you and keep you forever safe

All this from a man of flesh
who didn't have to be but chose to be.

rECj

SATURDAY EDITORIAL

THE GOOD OLD DAYS

I remember long-long ago listening to my grandparents talk about the good old days. What they were talking about was just so old timey.

Here I sit and I wish for those good old days. Do you remember? Picnics without loud music. Neighbors that you knew. Butterflys, yes butterflys. Baseball games in the empty fields, no fights. How many beer brands can you list from those old days? In our house I didn't know there was a thing called beer. Church on Wenesday night, Sunday school and morning services, and then back in the evening. Everyone went. Church meetings on the grounds, pot luck. Dogs were not on leashes, they didn't bite. If someone said a cuss word and I do include 'darn' everyone stopped and looked at them. A child got their mouth washed out with Lava soap. We didn't play video games we invented games with sticks and rocks. Taking brown paper bags lunches to school and trading. Thermos bottles with those lunches. A bag of potato chips was a big treat, a soda even more. Children said yes and no mam/sir to everyone. No one threw paper on the ground. The only time you saw somebody's undergarments was in a store, they were not even hung on the clothesline.

I can just see you saying -wait a minute you missed this one, or left out this. You get the point I hope. What has happened to the world? What happened to sex being secret? Marriage being for life? Children having both their parents in the same house. What happened to being nice?

I remember when I did stupid things but only those doing it with me knew about it. We were more private about our messes and now it is on the TV everyday.

We have become a world of 'Hey, look what I did/am doing." Respect me while I have no respect for myself or anyone else. I can do whatever I please even if it affects you and you don't like it. It is/ wasn't for this and that I would not be this way.

Whatever happened to I am responsible for my own actions. I am also responsible for my reactions. Were do we draw the line? The thing is the good old days will return and they will be the best days of our lives.

Jesus is coming again and we who have given out life’s over to the Lord will see the good old days of earth as it was intended to be. Days before our grandparents, and their great great grandparents, we will see the original good old days.

Lord, I believe You tarry so more might be saved. Lord let them get saved and "Come on down," I am ready for the good old days.

Be Blessed Indeed

recj/ljg

HOUSE

Hebrews 3
1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; 2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house. 3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house. 4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God. 5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after; 6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

LJG-Jesus has built us as His houses. He rules over His house with loving care and patient kindness. He picks us up when we fall down, He brushes us off, and gives us the strength to keep holding fast to Him and His love. We have no worry or any concern as long as we realize that Jesus is there to provide all things for His houses. Whatever we do in His Name He will reward. He sees all we think and knows all our needs. He is our provider, we need nothing more.

We must not be like the people under Moses who didn't believe. We are to believe and live in that faith, hope and joy of the coming of our blessed Christ Jesus.

RECJ-The New Testament, the Testament of our Saviour Christ Jesus. Judaism of the Old Testament boasted of God and angels, we heard of Moses, and Aaron the high priest. Hebrews unfolds with news that Jesus is superior to angels, to Moses, and to Aaron, that the new covenant of life made by Him is superior to the old covenant.
God is now in the New Testament showing us Christ is the One appointed by God to accomplish God's plan and we are partners in that divine interest. Jesus was anointed by God, and since the Son is God, He is the eternal Lord. We in turn are His House, the place where He resides.

God is known by many Names, but it is only through the Name of Jesus Christ that we can be saved. Being saved we become His house, His belonging, His children.
To think on today--How are you taking care of your [Jesus’] house?
LJG/RECJ

ACTS 2:35-40 (KING JAMES VERSION)

36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.
As Christians we are responsible for acting according to what we know. When we first accept the Lord into our life's we might be at home with no one else around. Are we saved by calling on the Name of the Lord to be saved? Scripture tells us that the prisoner next to Jesus did not even ask to be saved Luke 23:39-43. Jesus told him today you shall be with me in heaven.
We look next at the disciples who did baptize, but we are not told how , that is when Jesus was still with them. John 4:2 We do know that Jesus Himself did not baptize any. John 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
Now we are to the part were Jesus has gone, and we are told that this is how they did indeed baptize. Acts 2:38 Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. [See Matthew 3:11]
What pray tell you are we to believe and do? Baptism for us represents the death , burial and ressurection of Christ Jesus. He did not have dirt sprinkled on his head. He was put into the ground and rose in three days. Baptism means going under. We are to be completely submerged.
What if we do not know this? Well as you learn you do. It is that simple.
Most people do not know when they give their life to the Lord about the Armour of Christ, pleading the blood, and many other things. They are not wrong, they are lacking in the knowledge of Christ Jesus. As we grow we learn and we input these lessons into action in our life's.
Jesus is the only one who died for us. The Bible tells us plainly that God made Jesus both Lord and Christ. He is the only way. His titles are just that titles. It is only by the Name of Jesus that we might be saved. So if we call on His Name , are we saved, yes that is what the Word tells us. As we read and grow we find out that by being Baptized in His Name we receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost which is evident of speaking in unknown tongues. Hello!
If God has a promise for me, then guess what I want it. Don't stop short of what belongs to you. I want it all. How about you?

God Bless Indeed,
recj/ljg

A CHURCH HOME

This is heavy on my heart so I am posting it now instead of waiting for Sunday. It is nice to do as the Spirit leads instead of what you think you should do!

Today I want to address finding a church. But I need to explain a bit first. It really angers me how people go to a church, get really moved by what they hear, give their life's to Christ, the church all stands around and cries and welcomes them and then.......yeah you have probably been there haven't you?

Now what? Forgive me but sometimes I am just to blunt. They tell you Jesus loves you, give your life to the Lord and life will be beautiful all the time. WRONG? To get to the place were you smile no matter what happens, to get to the place were you can say 'all is well' no matter what happens takes time and proper teaching. You would never hand your newborn a Bible, tell them to read it themselves and understand it and their life will be wonderful because Jesus loves them.

Basically that is what many buildings that have people behind a podium are doing. Which gets us to finding a church of believers. You want to find a church that will teach you how to grow in the Lord.

I love to hear a good sermon, preaching is nice. But to be honest I would rather get taught. I can never learn enough and neither can any one else. Do not think for a minute that we do not have problems, having grown in Christ we know better how to stand against the enemy when we are attacked, and even then sometimes we cry on our sisters shoulder, and they mentor us through what is going on in our life’s.

So shop for a church. Take your time. One of my favorite sayings is how can I trust someone who will lie to me about one thing when it comes to my salvation. The same goes for teach me how to stand and to walk, don't just tell me 'life is beautiful all the time.'

Now let me step on some toes here. I do not care how many missionary groups you have, nor am I interested in the altar society, or any other clubs you have going on. What can you teach me about growing in the Lord? If you have children what is Sunday school like? Not that you have a softball team, and a swimming team. You would be surprised at how many building don't have anything for the children, but expect them to sit through hours of preaching. If there is one child that child should have a Sunday school class, let them learn on their level. Traditions are just that, they are not facts and need to be let go. Just because your grandmother always did it does not make it right. One more thing before I leave this alone. Why do you leave a building that is not fulfilling you, find a new place and still pray, study, and read but forget the mess that went with that building. Let it GO!!

First pray and then seek. My baby girl found a church a couple of years ago and she asked me to visit one Wednesday night. We walked into a business meeting were different people were raising their hands to be on this or that. I just sat there listening. When we got ready to leave I asked a woman one question about baptized, she answered. My daughter looked at me and said well I won't be back here. I was so proud of her.

Some buildings it will be easy to weed out, others will be harder. Remember when you go into a new church, question, and then question some more. Take notes, go home and read it yourself, study what was preached or taught. See if it lines up completely with the Word of God.

For those new to the Lord you have to be careful, this is your soul we are talking about. Take your time and the Lord will lead you to the church you need to be in.

God Bless You Indeed
recj/ljg

PROVERBS 27

2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips.
We have all come across someone in life that knew they were all that. Whether it was their looks, talents, gifts, they would make certain everyone they came in contact with would know what they were good at. Then we have those that are not as out-there but still they let us know what they have accomplished.
Boasting is not something we should be proud of. It is a sin to lift ourselves up. It is one thing to say thank you, yes that is my project, then to announce "I did that."
As Christians the good that we do comes from God, why should we want to take the credit. Romans 15:17 I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God. Now for the bad we do--well no body really wants to admit that. . 2 Corinthians 12:5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.
Luke 16:15 'You are they,' He said to them, 'who boast of their own goodness before men, but God sees your hearts; for that which holds a proud position among men is detestable in God's sight.'
2 Corinthians 10:13 But we will not boast beyond proper limits, but within the boundaries with which God appointed to us, which reach even you.
I will be honest when LJG and I first started writing it never crossed my mind if anyone was reading what we wrote. I just enjoyed the time that I spend writing. I enjoyed doing what the Lord led us to do--that is until. Oh yeah that 'UNTIL' happened in my life. It was about a year later that it suddenly crossed my mind, is anyone reading us. Well we did the right thing, we prayed 'Lord show us if we are reaching anyone'. And we got our answer, yes someone left a comment. Now I got excited, and then some more comments, this is good I thought. For a while I would ask LJG what was the count today. The next thing I knew I had to pull away, the remarks were lifting me up.
Now I do not want any of you to misunderstand what I am about to say, but I had to get back to the place were it did not matter if anyone commented. It didn't take long, but I had to get back to that relationship were I knew that without God I cannot write. Right now I don't remember the last time I asked LJG about the count. She will send me a comment and sometime I will answer and sometime I will just say I got it.
Let me explain LJG to you, without her none of this would happen, I don't even know how to get on most of the sites we post on. I will brag on her to anyone that wants to listen, she is the gift that God has used mightily in all this. No one will ever hear her talk about her part, she gives all the glory to God. Yes we do lift each other up with encouragement, but we are both very much aware of Who is in charge of this.
It is good to have your peers acknowledge that you are doing a good job. It is the feeling you get when someone else tells you 'You really look nice today.' or 'That report was right on target.' Many of us do not know how to take a compliment, instead of accepting, we say something like 'Oh really it wasn't nothing.'
Accept the compliment just don't let it go to your head. Philippians 2:16 holding up the word of life, that I may have something to boast in the day of Christ, that I didn't run in vain nor labor in vain.
God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg
Boasting | Ignorance | Life | Procrastination | Worldliness
Boasting
General scriptures concerning
Proverbs 20:14; 25:14; 27:1; Isaiah 10:15; Jeremiah 9:23; Romans 1:30; James 3:5; 4:16
Boasting
General scriptures concerning
Proverbs 20:14; 25:14; 27:1; Isaiah 10:15; Jeremiah 9:23; Romans 1:30; James 3:5; 4:16
Of evil
Psalms 52:1
INSTANCES OF
• Goliath
1 Samuel 17
• Ben-hadad
1 Kings 20:10
• Sennacherib
2 Kings 18:19; Isaiah 10:8-15
• The disciples
Luke 10:17; 10:20
SPIRITUAL
Proverbs 27:1Proverbs, Book of
The title of this book in Hebrew is taken from its first word, mashal , which originally meant "a comparison." It is sometimes translated parable, sometimes proverb as here. The superscriptions which are affixed to several portions of the book, in chs. (Proverbs
(Proverbs 27:1) compare, Jame 4:13,14

SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE ARK

The Ark is an important picture of the salavation provided by Christ who today is our Ark of safety.

Let us look briefly at the Ark compared to our lifes.

The Ark was the only safe haven in a world of turmult. By trusting and being apart from the world, while yet a part in the world, being not of the world. We can enter into rest. A safe place under the protection of God where the worst that can come against those in the world can also come against us, but not touch us. While the world in which we live is tossed and turned, we though knowing what is about us are safe.

Jesus is our Ark of safety as the Ark was to Noah. Noah could feel the ark lifting off the ground, could feel the water beating down on the roof, waves washing against the sides of the boat. All around him shaken and tossed, but touch him, it could not.

As the Ark was to Noah, so Jesus is to us.

He is our protection, our cover, our delieverer, our provider.

There was only one way into the Ark, Acts 4:12 tells us there is only one way to God and that is through Jesus Christ. Noah and his family were secure in the ark, as we who have asked Christ into our life's are secure.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

SUNDAY EDITORIAL

OH, MY _ _ _

I could never fully understand why the Jewish people would not even write the word God. Today I got up to read my e-mails and there in my craft letter is a item that is "Oh my god I have to wear these".

I am one of those people that will tell anyone that uses God's name with a cuss word behind it to "Not my Father's Name". I am offended at the common use of God's name. There is very little respect for God, even if you do not believe in Him, could you please stop it. I don't cuss your Mother or Father, do not use their names when I get mad. Nor do I say 'Oh my mother I have to wear these".

The Jewish people will not write the Name of God in case that paper might be torn or thrown away. To them that is an offence to God. They will not do anything that even in writing might bring harm to God's name.

For people who do not believe that Christ Jesus has come yet, I admire the respect they have for God. If they did believe in Jesus I am sure they would show the same respect to Jesus name.

We do not hear anyone using Mary's name in vane, yet they pray to her. Muhammad is another one.

God is the only one that is used in such a vulgar way. And I am not just speaking of saying God with cuss words attached. I am speaking of using His name in so many common, disrespectful ways. Yes I am saying that we over use God's name.

A Muslim will take a bath before they even touch their bible. I am thankful that I can call out to God without having to get in a certain position or face a certain way, or have prayer beads in my hand.

I can go to Him at any time and in any way. That in no way makes Him common to me. But the over use of His name to explain everything from joy to sadness to madness is out of hand.

Praise God in all His glory. Praise God going out and coming in. Praise Him in the morning and in the noon day sun. Praise Him before you go to sleep and when you wake in the morning hours.

Do not use Him to express your common everyday remarks, that use His name in an offence way.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

SATURDAY EDITORIAL

I lost my job...
I am not the victim I am the victor.
What Lord do You have in store now?

Faith in people will fail you at times.
My faith is in God, need I say more.

How will I pay the bills?
I shall not come up short.
I will not lack.
I will not want.

My job is to do the will of God.
I will get my job done.
I am blessed.

Sometimes people think bad things are happening to them, when in fact God is moving you to a new place. We have to keep our Joy and that Joy comes from the Lord.

One time I was going through [=remember GOING THROUGH--NOT STAYING=] something and I was down-really down. My daughter came to me and said Mom what is wrong with you, you are the one who is always holding on when things look the bleakest--get it together- she said. I have made some people think I was crazy because of my reactions to things in life. They think I am cold, uncaring, even mean. No it is none of those. I do not look to man, or for that matter to my own abilities, I look to my Creator.

So whatever is going on in your life today, look to the Father. If you put yourself in, He will take you out of it. If He put you in it, He will take you out of it.

Whatever is going on Praise the Lord! My joy comes in the morning. I lay down and go to sleep and when I wake my joy is there, do I leave it on the night stand or do I pick it up, put it on and go forth into the world.

The choice is yours.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

FINAL RESTING PLACE

Where is the ark's final resting place? Genesis 8:4 tells us that the ark came to rest in the mountains [plural] of Ararat. When Moses wrote Genesis, Ararat was a mountainous region located in what is today Eastern Turkey. We are given only a general location, but the Bible clearly does not say Mount Ararat.

To search for the ark, the best time is July and August for this is when the glacial ice is melting the fastest. You will be traveling to Turkey between Europe and the Middle East.

We can look on-line and find many people who have said they saw what they believe to be the ark. In none of the cases I came across is there any solid evidence, in fact the stories conflict each other. To big, to little, wrong shape, the list continues. Is something there, I do believe that they believe they saw something. But in all these cases why is there nothing that can be proven. In each case evidence that was either pictures or actual pieces of the ark have come up missing. People have years later refuted the stories they told to begin with.

I am interjecting my personal thoughts now, and the first thing that comes to mind is if they can go explore the Titanic, why is this so hard. If it is there then why can satellite pictures not show it? I have began to feel the more I dig into the possible location of the ark, the deeper the hole becomes.

As I thought on this the Shroud of Turin came to mind. What makes our belief different? It is in believing in what we do not see. Think of the religions you know of that have something they can touch, be it bones, cloth, statues, beads, to have a point of contact with.

We need only our point of contact with Christ. Is the ark in the mountains of Ararat? Yes I believe it is or was. Am I curious as to it being found, honestly yes. Does it really matter, will it make a difference, will it make my belief stronger?

No, assuredly not. What I have is the Word of God, which I believe to be the true accounting of what God desires for me to know. That is enough!!

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

FISH, PLANTS AND BREATHING

How did fish survive? Fresh and salt water fish! Fish in freshwater tend to absorb water, because of the saltiness their body fluids draws in water, this is called osmosis. Fish in salt water tend to lose water from their bodies because the surrounding water is salter then their body fluids.
Kidneys of fresh water species excrete excess water, marine [salt] species excrete excess salt.
Fresh water can sit on top of salt water for extended periods of time. Many fish species have the capacity to adapt to both fresh and salt water within their own life spans. Public aquaruims use the ability of fish to adapt to water of different salinity from their normal habitat to exhibit fresh and salt water species together. The fish can adapt if the salinity is changed slowly enough.

What about plants? Many seeds can survive long periods of soaking in various concentrations of salt water. Salt water impedes the germination of some species, causing the seed to last better in salt water then fresh water.
Some plants could have survived by floating in vegation masses. Many seeds could have survived as food stores on the ark it self. Other seeds could have survived in the stomach of dead animals. Genesis 8:11 shows that plants were regenerating before Noah and his family left the ark.

Breathing without oxygen? If the water covered the entire earth including the tallest mountains, how did Noah and company breath without oxygen? My daughter suprised me by answering this question correctly before I looked into it. She said "they didn't need oxygen, the mountains were not as tall as they are now."
Many creation scientist think that many mountains were proably built by the castastrophic movement of the Earth's continental plates during and after the flood. Mountain building occured as part of the geologic process which deepened the oceans to take the waters off the land towards the end of the flood.
Even if the flood waters were 6 miles deep Noah and his family would not have had trouble breathing. Air pressure is caused by the weight of air above the point where the pressure is experienced. The air would have been pushed out and sat above the water. Equivalent to standing on top of a 100 feet high building at sea level.
[There is only enough water on all the earth to cover mountains 2 miles high if all the oceans basins were raised.]

I was going to include a short piece here on the final resting place of the ark. Because of a comment someone left I am going to expand that article and it will be presented tomorrow. As always if you ask we will answer, if you show an interest we will try to cover your comments.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

FACTS ON THE ARK

The Hebrew word for Ark is Ammah, meaning 'Mother of the arm', the forearm.

The ark was listed in cubit measurements. It is difficult to determine the exact size, but we can get it down to a difference of 75 feet. A cubit is listed from 17.5 inches, 20.24 inches to 21.888. The Egyptian royal cubit was 20.5 and Moses being educated in Eygpt proably used this measurement.
The ark then would have been between 437 and 512 feet in length.

The ratio of the ark [length x width x height] was 30x5x3. this ratio shows an advanced knowledge of ship-building as it is the optimum design for stability in rough seas. Designed by God the ark was virtually impossible to capsize. It would have to be tilted over 90 degrees to capsize.

The volume of the ark using the shorter cubit would have a internal volume of 1,518,750 feet. This would equal 569 standard box cars. Would be over 100,000 square feet of floor space, over 20 standard basketball courts.

How many animals? There are over 1 million species of animals in the world. Only air breathing animals needed to be included on the ark. Many studies have been done of how many animals. To include now extinct animals, remembering there were less breeds of versus animals we can settle on 50,000 animals. Assuming the average size of a sheep and using a railroad car for comparison, it would take 69 cars to carry 50,000 animals filling only 37% of the ark. Plenty of room left for food and the 8 humans.

The Bible tells us in verse Genesis 6:20 that God brought the animals to the ark. As to how Noah and his family cared for all the animals is very hard to imagine. We have to remember the flood itself was a God ordained event with supernatural elements. One suggestion by some studies is that the animals may have gone into a state of hibernation. I like to think of the scripture 'God will not put more on us then we can bear'. God provided a way.

Next we will look at how the fish survived. Plants. Breathing. And the ark's final resting place. I have broken this into two parts so as not to bore you with these tidbits of information, which I find very interesting. Hope you do also.

God Bless Indeed

recj/ljg

THE NUMBER SEVEN

Before we continue we want to show more on the number 7 in the Bible.

Old Testament
Earth created in 7 days
Noah took 7 of every clean animal and in 7 days it rained
Jacob served 7 years for Leah, 7 years again for Rachel
Egypt had 7 years of plenty, 7 years of famine

New Testament
7 loaves and fishes
Mary Magdalene delivered of 7 demons
Forgive 70 X 7
Revelation has 7 churches
7 archangels

We are told the pulse beats slower every 7 days as if it were in accord with having a day of rest.

Genesis 1:1 was composed of seven Hebrew words containing a total of 28 letters [7 X 4=28]. The numeric value of the three nouns God, Heaven and earth totals 777. Any number in triplicate expresses complete, ultimate or total meaning. Think about that when you read the following.

Golgotha is 777 meters above sea level. Coincidence?

Seven appears as a symbol of divine perfection- 7 days of creation, God rested on the 7th day, the 7 churches, the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets.

The actual number 7 is in the Bible 287 [7 X 41= 287] times in the Old Testament alone. The word seventy is used 56 times [7 X 8=56]. Seventh occurs 98 times [7 X 14=98]. Sevenfold appears seven times.

The change of one single letter or word in the original languages of Hebrew or Greek would destroy this mathematical phenomenon. Now a very important piece of information here, this only works with the TR [Original Bible in Greek {TR- Texus Receptus 1550-1894}] which the King James Bible is translated from. When you think about all this it is easy to understand what Jesus meant when He said the following:

Matthew 5:18 "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."

"Other Implications
There are words in the passage just described that occur nowhere else in the New Testament. They occur 42 times (7 x 6) and have 126 letters (7 x 18). How was this organized?

Even if Matthew contrived this characteristic into his Gospel, how could he have known that these specific words-whose sole characteristic is that they are found nowhere else in the New Testament-were not going to be used by the other writers?
Unless we assume the absurd hypothesis that he had an agreement with them, he must have had the rest of the New Testament before him when he wrote his book. The Gospel of Matthew, then, must have been written last.
It so happens the Gospel of Mark exhibits the same phenomenon. It can be demonstrated that it would have had to be written "last." The same phenomenon is found in Luke, John, Peter, Jude, and Paul. Each would have had to write after the other in order to contrive the vocabulary frequencies! You can demonstrate that each of the New Testament books had to have been "written last."
There is no human explanation for this incredible and precise structure. It has all been supernaturally designed. We simply gasp, sit back, and behold the skillful handiwork of the God who keeps his promises." Dr. Ivan Panin
Dr. Ivan Panin "It becomes immediately obvious that hidden below the surface are aspects of design that cannot be accidental or just confidence." We must assume that a power higher than man guided the writers in such a way, whether they knew it or not, they did it and the Great God inspired them to do it."

God Bless You Indeed
rECj/LJG

SUNDAY EDITORIAL

What a blessed day this is that the Lord has made. If you read the articles last week, you might have noticed that they were short and sweet. This week I will return to what I love and that is explaining what we read in the Bible.

In front of me right now are about 50 pages of research that I have done on a simple question that my LJG has asked of me. She knows that I enjoy looking up the answers and writing them out for everyone to understand.

Now if you want to prepare for the upcoming articles you can go to the book of Genesis and read about the Ark, Noah and the flood. My study will be on Genesis chapter 7 verses 2 and 3.

The thing I enjoy the most about research is the tidbits of things I find while researching one simple question.

LJG's question to me was why seven of the clean animals and only two of the unclean?

Uncovered is did Noah's family need oxygen, after all the waters rose above all the land. Could the Ark really hold all those animals? What about plants? I like that one as I pour salt on the cracks in my sidewalk to prevent grass from growing, but if you stay with us you will find out the answer. What about fresh water fish? And how did the animals get to the Ark anyway?

All to be answered and more in the upcoming articles. So enjoy the day and lets get ready to look into those two scriptures.

To make you laugh I will share with you the comment of one of my friends grandchildren as she listened to us talk about our different children. "We only do what you allow us to do."

Kind of reminds me of my grandson's untrained puppy that no one has time to stay home and train properly. He only does what we don't take the time to teach him. Remember raise up a dog in the way he should be, oh that is children. What have you taught your child today?

Have a blessed day in the Lord today and everyday.

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

recj/ljg

SATURDAY EDITORIAL

WHAT CAN YOU DO!

We read and study the Word of God and then what do we do with it? We know that the answers to all lifes questions can be found in the Word, but do we follow it? We wonder why things go wrong and happen the way they do, but who or whom are we listening or for that matter talking to?

Let's be honest, most of us when a problem happens get on the phone, or go to Momma's or the next person on our "number one to call" list when we need help. We talk and talk about how Susie did this and Joe did that, and they won't stop and it is so bad and we have no idea what to do. Of course in most cases the problem just gets worst.

Then finally when we can 'take it no more' we go Lord help me I can't take anymore. So we sit before the Lord and tell him 'finally' all the bad things about Susie/Joe and how they are mean to us, and Lord YOU just have to stop them NOW.

We talk and talk to the Lord telling Him what He should do, and how He can fix this problem. We cry, and complain and then when we have released most of our anger, we get up and go right back into the mess.

Oh I know I am not talking about you. It is someone else that has this problem. So I will continue with my story.

The problem continues we read the scriptures [at least now we are looking at them] and claim the victory. We go right back and continue our problem, all the while rebuking Satan for bringing this into our lifes.

Then one day we really hit bottom and go back to the Lord [He is waiting] again we cry, we complain, but this time we ask God to give us the answer of what to do. The Lord speaks and tell us to go do such and such. Remember the man that Jesus told to go wash the mud off his eyes in a certain river, not just any river. [John 9: 6 When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. &7 and told him, "Wash it off in the pool of Siloam." ([Siloam] means "sent.") The blind man washed it off and returned. He was able to see.]

Do what? Okay Lord You do realize what they have been doing to me. Are You sure Lord? Okay Lord, I will do this. I don't feel it, but I will do it. I know the Word says to do this, yes Lord I don't wanta but I love You and I will do what You say.

At this point I am sure that the Lord is just so happy with your reaction. Here He sits, the last one you call on and He gives you THE answer and now you have an attitude.

Do you ever stop to think what the Lord was doing when He had the people walking around in the desert for 40 years for a 11 day journey? Think about that one real good, because finally all that went into the desert to begin with died in that desert.

People the answer was there all the time in God. The Lord wants Faith and Obedience from us, not to question what He tells us to do, just do it.

We are so busy carrying simple [yes they really are] problems in life that we do not heed God on, and we go around and around in our own little deserts, that yes we made. The more we carry them the heavier they become.

So today what can you do? Get honest with yourself, get this trash out of your life and go into the Promised Land. Either that or the problem will continue to grow, people and problems will continue to come against you in this area until you get your act together. If not well then you will stay in your desert. The desert that you choose to remain in, not that God put you in.

You have the answer. Act on it. Remember there is also a scripture that says help me with my unbelief. [Mark 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.]

God Bless Indeed

recj/ljg

NOTHING

Do you ever feel that you can do nothing? The next time you feel this way, or someone you know says there is nothing they can do, remind them to go to the Bible. Look at these 2 scriptures and read it out loud.

Genesis 1:2-3 (King James Version)
2And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

If God can take the earth without form and void and made it into the natural beauty that is all around us today then think what He can do with us. We can do nothing but He can do all things through Christ with us.

God Bless Indeed
rECj/LJG

PUTTING IT ON YOUR CHILDREN

When the Children of God were getting ready to leave Egypt, the Lord told them the following. Read it and think on it for a mintue.
Exodus 3:22 (King James Version)

22But every woman shall borrow of her neighbour, and of her that sojourneth in her house, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment: and ye shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and ye shall spoil the Egyptians.

These people had been slaves for many years, we can about imagine the conditions they had been living in. Now they are about to impart on a journey and the woman are told to dress their children to the nines. Think how these children must have felt.

How do you feel as a child of Christ? When we accepted Christ as our Saviour we became a new creature in Christ. Though the outside may look the same to outsiders, we became dressed to the nine's. Are you still dressed this way, and are you dressing your children?

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

SUCCESS

Genesis 3:11 (King James Version)
11And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Some people think that it is hard to succeed in this world today. My question is who told you that you couldn't? If you read this scripture, stop and think of your own life.
Who told you you couldn't and what have you eaten of that God said not to. I believe here it means what are you listening to, reading, watching that God would not want you to take a part in, that would lead you to believe over wise. If we stay in His Word, we will know if we are getting naked, and eating the wrong things.
What are we listening to that is telling us that we can not or will not succeed? We are to seek first the face of God. We are not to do anything unless He says okay. Then we can look at other scriptures and stand on the promises that were made to us.
Remember as long as you try you have not failed, and God will sometimes send us down one path to get us to another.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

DIFFERENT

Genesis6:7-9
7And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.
8But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Noah found grace in the eyes of God. He looked like the biggest fool God ever created to everyone else, but Noah didn't care what others thought of him. Noah cared what God thought. Put yourself in Noahs sandles for a while.
"Honey I'm home, and I am going to built a boat. said Noah.
Honey whatever is a boat?, asked his wife.
Well I am not sure, but it will float on water, Noah said.
Noah, that is nice, you and our sons can fish, his wife answered.
Honey, it is not for us to fish in. Noah said
Then what is it for? his wife asked.
Well it is going to be big enough to hold two of every kind of animal on earth and our family, Noah said.
Noah's wife asked, When will we be moving, there is no water big enough to hold a boat that big any where near here.
Noah said, my darling wife I shall built it right here in the back yard.
Well you must have heard it from God, so go ahead and built it, his wife answered"
Now I am not saying Noah's wife said that remark in a nasty way. She might have said it just as it read here. But we can think of how others must have laughed at him and his family as they built this boat.
Think of someone you know who shared a vision from God, and your reaction was what? You have grace in the eyes of God, what has He told you to build? Are you close enough to God to be different?
God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

CASTING

Have you ever been fishing? I went some when I was little and I could never learn to cast. I would watch my Granny Carter and her line would go right where she wanted it.

Sometime I still have a probelm casting, but it is with my problems.
Psalm 55:22 (King James Version)
22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

It is easy to read scriptures and know that they are true. That if we act on the Word of God, He who is a just and right God, will hear and answer, even if sometimes He says NO. Our problem is we seem to think that we can handle it ourself, after all it isn't that big a deal.

I think we have all been in this boat. The thing to remember is to not be like that commerical on TV "I've failen and I can't get up." Remember who you are, reach out your hand and say "Lord lift me up."

Cast those problems on the Lord, even when we made them ourselves, or walked into them ourselves, and know He will sustain us, He will never allow us to be moved.

God Bless Indeed
recj/ljg

SUNDAY EDITORIAL

What a beautiful blessed day in the Lord. God's blessing to each and everyone reading this morning. I have a challenge for you this morning, and if you read it to late for Sunday then pick a day and do it.

My challenge is to call or visit someone who knows you pretty good and to do something for them that is totally out of character for yourself.

I called the mother of two who is also raising your bother's children and told her make plans for yourself, drop the children at noon, pick them up at dusk. Now anyone that knows me knows that children to me are to be admired and then sent home. In other words I am not the one to call to baby sit, I don't.

Her reaction was sure, okay! I could tell she was in shock. And she deserves the break.

When we do the things that are expected of us that is normal, and in some cases taken for granted.

No what I am asking you to do is step outside your box and do something else. It might be as simple as washing the dishes at your sister's after she has invited you over to dinner.

Surprise someone and see how good it makes you feel.

God Bless Indeed

rECj/LJG

SATURDAY EDITORIAL

Jesus shares in my journey

Only Jesus knows my path

The confrontations that I will face

But Jesus knows of my strength

So I walk this path of faith

Faith that empowers me

Faith that instills in me

Faith that moves mountains

Faith that relies on Jesus beauty

A path of righteousness

A pathway of salvation

A road of revelations

A highway of inspiration

I walk this path

But never alone

For my Jesus shares in this journey

For his kingdom is my desired eternal home

I know there will be

Detours that will try to deter me

But Jesus said as long as I believe

The devil will never have the power to deceive

Because Jesus walks this journey with me

©2008-05-04 GC

An EbonyPoetJoint

I copied this from one of our friends blog. It is so meaningful that we had to share with you. Her blog address is http://tagmin.multiply.com/journal/item/102/When_its_time_to_go.... Please go visit her site you sure will be blest.

God's Blessings to each of you
LJG/rECj

LOVE IS NOT A ROSE

Some say love, it is a river
That drowns the tender reed
Some say love, it is a razor
That leaves your soul to bleed
Some say love, it is a hunger
An endless aching need
I loved this song--when I was in the world--because it described the love I saw and felt in this cold hard world.
Then I found AGAPE LOVE--the never ending love of Jesus. I found that many things I thought were not love, were in fact love, in the only way someone had to express love.
As we grow in the Lord and experience His powerful Love, it becomes easier to look at others with love.
I can also look at the last verses and see that:
When the night has been too lonely
And the road has been too long
And you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong -- Instead of the following:
[Just remember in the winter
Far beneath the bitter snow
Lies the seed
That with the sun's love, in the spring
Becomes the rose]
I can read it this way:
Just remember when Jesus came into my life
And washed away all my bitterness
There was a seed
That with Jesus's love, in my growth
Let me becomes the Child of Christ.

God Bless Indeed
rECj/LJG

WHAT A ROCK

Quote
"http://www.flickr.com/photos/21907792@N08/3686429666/People love rocks. You're not necessarily going to look down at the highway and say "Oh, what a beautiful melange of minerals and mineraloids," but whether it's jewelry, crystals or your kitchen counter, people occasionally love looking at a good rock.

Located in Hyden, Australia, the world famous Wave Rock is world famous for exactly the reason you would guess: It looks like a wave. 50 feet high and 360 feet long, this hunk of wave shaped granite is the product of of 60,000,000 years of natural weathering and erosion."
I have a Rock, He is bigger, longer, taller, and most assurely older. I can say, He is the Great I AM, my Shelter, my Fortess, my Beloved, my Father, my Creator. Oh and yes He created this rock called the Wave. I want everyone to know my Rock, and to one day see my Rock. My Rock is the Beginning of Natural and has no erosion. My Rock always was and always shall be, no matter if 60,000,000 years come and go, He has never changed and never will.
Oh what a beautiful Rock we have in Jesus.

God Bless Indeed,
rECj/LJG
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wave_rock.jpg

WHERE IS YOUR TENT?

Exodus 33:7 (King James Version)
7And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the LORD went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp.
Moses had a tent. Everyone had use of the tent. Everyone should have a tent. Where is your tent? I thought alot about this and have made a decision, the one place that no one will interrupt me, the one place I can be alone. I cannot hear the phones or anything else for that matter. We have all heard that expression "desperate people take desperate actions" and that is what I am going to have to do. I pray that God will bless me with another answer soon, but for now I will do what I have to do.
A bath the children will hollar for me, but something about the shower, well they leave me alone. If you cannot reach me I will be in the shower with Jesus!
Find your tent, spend some time with Jesus, tell Him how wonderful He is, tell Him all your troubles [even having to spend time in the shower], you will feel better for it.

God Bless Indeed,
rECj/ljg

THE EMPTY CHAIR

A man's daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her
father.

When the minister arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head
propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside his bed.

The minister assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his
visit. "I guess you were expecting me, he said. 'No, who are you?" said the
old man. The minister told him his name and then remarked, "I saw the
empty chair and I figured you knew I was coming by."

"Oh yeah, the chair," said the bedridden man.
"Would you mind closing the door?"
Puzzled, the minister shut the door.
"I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter," said the man.
"But all of my life I have never known how to pray.
At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went
right over my head."

I abandoned any attempt at prayer," the old man continued, " until
one day four years ago, my best friend said to me, "Johnny,prayer is
just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus.

Here is what I suggest. "Sit down in a chair, place an empty chair in
front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair.

It's not spooky because he promised, 'I will be with you always'.
"Then just speak to him in the same way you're doing with me right
now."
"So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of
hours every day.

I'm careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair,
she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny
farm."

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old man
to continue with his prayers. Then he prayed with him, anointed him
with oil, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her
father had passed away that afternoon.

Did he die in peace?" he asked. Yes, when I left the house about two
o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me he loved me and
kissed me on the cheek.

I went to the store and was only gone for an hour when I got back, I
found he had passed away with his head resting on the empty chair beside
his bed.

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I wish we could all
go like that."

Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.

Author Unknown

JUST FOR TODAY

Just for today I will forget about the dog, until he runs under my feet again.
Just for today I will put the children out of my mind, until they hollar Momma again.
Just for today I will wake up a hour early to have time with Jesus, until the children call me 1 minute later.
Just for today I will put the children to bed and spend time with Jesus until they ask for another drink of water.
Just for today I will go in my room for some quite time with Jesus, until the children pull the dogs tail.
Just for today I will not ran away cause there is no where to run to--------
Just for today my prayer will be "Lord thank you for the dog and the children, Lord give me peace and quite."

I hope you are laughing because this has been my day. May your day be blessed and not quite as exciting as mine.
Just want everyone to know we have normal lifes.

rECj/LJG