Country Church Music - From the Heart

Greetings dear friends and family,

“Seeds Of The Heart: Growing In Grace” was the theme at a conference I attended recently.

The bible study that day was based on The Parable of the Sower. (Matthew 13:1-9) On the handout that I brought home were questions to ponder. One of them was How would you describe your “soil” today? in other words, your heart.

So how would you describe your heart and what is growing there? Is your heart in need of cultivating? Are the good seeds of trust, love, kindness, hope, and patience growing there or are the weeds of anger, greed, fear, doubt, and hatred growing wild?

We need to look into our hearts. We need to rid our hearts of the weeds that are choking out the good seeds. We need to turn to the Sower, who tends to our hearts and plants good seeds there.

So today, take some time with our Creator, the Sower of good seeds. Take time to read his Word and grow in his cultivating love. Love that prepares our hearts to grow good and productive seeds.

Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain. Matthew 13:8a

Let us pray: Loving Creator, prepare the soil of our hearts to accept the good seeds that you plant there. Help us to see that we are to be good soil and produce abundantly for you. Walk with us as our Easter journey continues, helping us to grow in your grace and live in your love. In your name we pray. Amen.

Have a blessed week, growing in the garden of God.

With love and prayers,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

A friend gave me a starter bag of Amish Friendship Bread at church yesterday. In 10 days time it will go from just a bag of white liquid, to delicious bread. But to get there something must be done to the bag each day.

The first few days you just “mush the bag,” then one day you add flour, sugar, and milk. After that for several days you “mush the bag and let the air out”. On day 10 you put it in a bowl and add more flour, sugar, and milk. After you stir it, you pour four, one cup starter bags. Now you have four bags to share with friends and you still have some for yourself to make two loaves of bread.

As I sat here pondering what to share this morning, my mind has wandered to the recipe several times. It has reminded me that our faith is like that starter bread.

Each day God “mushes” us, he stirs up our faith. He adds to our faith and he wants us to share our faith with others. Yes, there are times when we feel like the air has gone out of our faith, but it is still there. And like with the bread, sharing our faith with others does not take away it, instead it adds to it making it richer and sweeter. Thanks be to God.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Heavenly Father, through your dear Son you have shown us how much you love us and that we belong to you. Help us to walk in our faith as we journey through this life and to share our faith with others, spreading the good news of you amazing love. We can’t do it alone God, thank you for coming to us through others. Help us to listen to our hearts and live for you in all that we do, with our focus ever on the cross. In your name we pray. Amen.

With love and prayers,

Diane

Easter greetings dear friends and family,

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

We have just journeyed through the darkness of Good Friday. Now we are in the light of the resurrection. Where do we go from here? What do we do with the good news of that first Easter morning?

I have been sitting here this morning spending time with God and pondering what to share. I will admit there have been tears at times. For I’m still trying to process all that I experienced on the Lenten journey that we just completed and at the same time move forward on this new journey: Our Easter journey.

I am going to end this here. As I am sure many of you too are taking in your experiences of these past days and weeks. I pray that each of you has been reminded how precious you are to God. He loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you.

Thanks be to God!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17

Let us pray: Loving God, our hearts are filled with joy as we celebrate your Son’s victory over death. Yet we still feel the ache of the suffering he went through for us. Journey with us as we remember Christ’s sacrifice and help us to share with others the good news of his resurrection. In your glorious and everlasting name we pray. Amen.

With love and prayers,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

Sunday, “Hosannas” resounded from the voices of many and next Sunday once again, “Alleluias” will ring out as we gather to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord. To get there though, we first must journey to the cross. It is not an easy journey, but a necessary one, one that we do not make alone.

There will be denial, blood, sweat, tears, pain, suffering, forgiveness, and finally death on this journey. Jesus knew what he was doing when he went to the cross. And he did it all for you and for me. Though innocent, he took on our guilt.

So as the week progresses, let us remember that like Peter, we too at times deny Jesus. We stray off the chosen path and into the darkness. But all is not lost.

First, we must stand at the foot of the cross remembering Christ’s suffering and death. Then and only then we can move forward towards the light of the Resurrection.

Then Jesus gave out a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. Now when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was God’s Son!” Mark 15:37-39

Let us pray: Loving God, walk with us and guide us as we remember the price your Son paid for us when he died on that cross. Help us, as we make this journey to the cross, to leave our sins, sorrows, and pains there, and to cling to the hope and promise we have through him. Jesus is our Rock, our Redeemer, and King. Help us to live for him as he died for us, trusting in your mercy, grace, and peace. Amen.

With love and prayers,

Diane