Country Church Music - From the Heart

Greetings dear friends and family,

Looking out the window I could see the leaves blowing in the early morning breeze. Yet I couldn’t feel the breeze. The walls around me prevented the breeze from entering. By simply opening the window changes occurred. Not only can I feel the wonderful breeze but had I not opened the window I would have missed the beautiful songs of the birds.

How about our hearts? Do we have walls around our hearts that prevent God from entering? What are we missing when we do? Changes can and do occur when we open up the window to our hearts. The renewing Breath of God enters as well as his love and his peace.

So let’s fling wide open the window to our hearts and journey through this day trusting in the awesome power of God’s Spirit in our lives.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans15:13

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, pour into our hearts the gift of your Spirit and lead us on paths where we can serve others in your name bringing glory and praise to you, our Creator and Redeemer. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

Endings and new beginnings, our lives are filled with them. I was reminded of that the other evening by our grandsons Mason and Andrew. They arrived here all excited to tell me that they each had passed their grade at school. They then went on to tell me who their teachers would be next fall and how they were going to meet them this week.

But sometimes the endings and new beginnings we may encounter can be difficult. The loss of a job and the beginning a new one can be overwhelming. Facing life after the death of a loved one is painful and often lonely. And the list goes on.

Endings and beginnings touch our lives in so many ways. But we never journey alone. As I have sat here pondering what to write next the words of a poem by Mary Stevenson came to mind. So I will let her words that so often speak to me, hopefully speak to you.

Footprints in the Sand

Last night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonged to me, the other to the Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.  “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

The Lord replied, “My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of suffering, when you could see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we face our endings and new beginnings may we grow in faith and trust in you and that no matter what lies before us, you will journey with us. And that one day we will have a new beginning with you for all eternity. In your name we pray. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

Kenny and our son Matt fertilized our yard Saturday. Until this morning the fertilizer just laid on top of the ground. For it to work properly, it needed to reach the roots. This morning we had a nice rain and now the yard is being fed.

How about you, are you being fed? No, not just your body, but your spirit, your soul. The nourishment is there. But it needs to reach our roots.

Out of love, God feeds our spiritual hunger. He has given us the Bible to guide us, friends to walk with us, and most important of all: a Savior who died for us. And it is at His table we are fed the bread of life, eternal life. Thanks be to God.

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” John 6:47-51

Let us pray: Nourishing God, feed our souls and fill our hearts with your endless love, strengthening us to serve you in ways that will bring glory and praise to your everlasting name. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

Sunday afternoon I checked on the flowers we had purchased to plant in our flower beds. To my dismay all the heads on a four pack of daisies were drooping and the leaves were withered.

I gave them some water. A few hours later when I checked on them they no longer looked droopy or withered. The water had done its job.

We too have a job. And to do our job we need to pay attention. We need to be aware of those around us who like the flowers are thirsty and in need of our care.

Sometimes a smile or a hug is what it takes to perk up the soul of someone who is having a rough day. Or it may involve visiting someone who is ill or perhaps lonely. It might be that a phone call, e-mail, or letter is needed to remind someone that they matter. It also could be that someone just needs us to listen.

No matter what the situation, we must be willing to do the job set before us. No, it is not always easy and may take us away from what we may feel is more important. But we have to remember to trust God and let him use us for his good. And that as disciples of Christ we are called to love one another as he has loved us.

“I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Let us pray: Loving God, show us where you are calling us to serve you. Help us to reach out in love. And in those times in our lives when we are down, hurting, or feeling lost, help us to receive your love from those sent by you to water our souls. In your everlasting name we pray. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane