Country Church Music - From the Heart

Greetings dear friends and family,

Time. So often we don’t seem to have enough time to get things done. And yet there are times when it seems to take forever until the time we are waiting for arrives. We often grow impatient. We are reminded in the following verses from Ecclesiastes 3 that it is not about our timing, but God’s.

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Let us pray: Loving God, it is hard at times to understand how and why things happen as they do. Help us to understand that no matter what time it is in our lives that you walk with us every step of the way. In your everlasting name we pray. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

Last week Kenny and I were sitting in our back yard enjoying the evening. When suddenly a bird flew into our yard and slammed into the back wall of our house. It landed in the grass and sat there looking rather dazed for a few minutes before flying off. Makes you wonder how it could be so distracted that it did not see the house.

But don’t we do the same thing some times? We get so wrapped up our hectic lives and then suddenly we hit a wall and are knocked flat to the ground. We end up dazed and confused. Our focus has shifted from God to ourselves.

Thankfully God does not just stand there shaking a finger at us; instead he reaches out with a loving hand. But we have to let go of the things that are distracting us before we can feel the power of his uplifting love. Then we can once again focus on the cross and continue in faith on the path set before us.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2

Let us pray: Merciful Father, as we run the race set before us, we continue to stumble and fall. Give us the faith and courage needed to live lives that bring glory and praise to your name. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

There is a tree that has stood for many years among several other trees not far from the banks of a nearby river. This past weekend that tree basically tipped over. The sandy, rain saturated soil could no longer hold the tree’s roots in place.

What is holding our roots in place? We can easily put down roots in the sandy soil of life. But soon we realize that we are not firmly rooted. We must go deeper. We have to push on and go deep down into the faith grounding soil of God’s love. We then are able to face whatever lies before us knowing that we are firmly rooted in his strength and his love.

do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will hold you with my victorious right hand. Isaiah 41:10

Let us pray: God of strength and courage, help us to see that we are rooted in your love and of the strong hold you have on our lives. Give us voices to proclaim and hands to serve so others can know of the power of your love. In your name we pray. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane

Greetings dear friends and family,

The colors of the eastern horizon were breathtakingly beautiful this morning before sunrise. Rays of sunshine began streaming in my window. Then thick clouds moved in and suddenly the light was gone. But that does not mean the sun had disappeared. It was and is still there shining brightly above the clouds

So it is with the Son of God. Though we cannot see Jesus, it doesn’t mean that he is not there. Often we can see and feel the light of his love at work in our lives and in our hearts. Yet there are times when troubles, fears, and doubts cloud our world around us. We lose sight of the light of Jesus. But Jesus never loses sight of us.

Jesus is always right here with us. And he can break through even the thickest and stormiest clouds of our lives. Jesus will light the way for our hearts.

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27: 1,14

Let us pray: Loving God, help us to see that you sent your Son to be the Light of the world. Open our hearts to receive his light so that we may shine for him in all we do, and to trust that no matter what the clouds of life may bring our way, his light will show us the way home. In your name we pray. Amen.

With love from the heart,

Diane