Great are You!

Dear Friends,

The greatness of our God is quite a thought to grasp. I can't even begin to put my mind around it. I pray that this week we may be continually enthralled at the vast greatness and beauty of our God.  

Romans 11:33-35

Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 

“For who has known the mind of the LORD?

      Or who has become His counselor?”

“ Or who has first given to Him
      And it shall be repaid to him?”

A few weeks ago at church, our wonderful youth drama team did a dance to this wonderful video. Oh, how it spoke to me and blessed me! I love how this beautiful music video speaks of how great our God is! I hope this speaks to your heart as it did to mine!

Forever His,

Charity

Winds of Change

Hello!

Well, I can't believe that it is already the third week of January. Oh my, how time just flies! Life has been pretty exciting for me this year so far. I'm currently taking a few college classes, one on campus and one online. God has been teaching me so much. Many things, but especially how wonderful and freeing His grace truly is!


If I could use one word to describe the season of my life right now, I would say- change. Its been interesting, to say the least, in learning to adjust and accept it all. But I don't want to focus on change, but on Him who is never changing, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Malachi 3:6-
For I am the LORD, I do not change;
      Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
Psalm 36:5-
Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens;
         Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
Psalm 89 1, 5-8-
I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever;
         With my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations.
And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD;
         Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
For who in the heavens can be compared to the LORD?
         Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the LORD?
God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
         And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
O LORD God of hosts,
         Who is mighty like You, O LORD?
         Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
Lamentations 3:22,23-
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,
      Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
      Great is Your faithfulness.

Oh Lord,
Truly Your faithfulness is great! I thank you that with You, we don't have to fear change, but welcome it in Your name. You give me hope!

I pray for each and every person that reads this blog, that they will experience the goodness and grace of the Unchanging One.

His bondservant,
Charity

Welcome 2011

Hi!

Happy new year to everyone!

I can't believe that a new year has come. As I look back on 2010, I am astounded by the love and faithfulness of our Lord. He has been with me every step of the way throughout the year, and each day has been one of falling deeper and deeper in love with Jesus.

The new year also brings in us a desire to change, in the form of resolutions. So here are a few of mine in no particular order:
~ Gain an even deeper dependence on God than last year
~ Sweeter and deeper communion with Christ through meditating/reading His Word
~ More outspoken with my faith
~ More financially sound
~ Get fit physically AND spiritually
~ To glorify God with my every word and deed

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. But have you ever thought about how to glorify God? I mean practically in every day life? Kevin DeYoung (thegospelcoalition.org) has come up with a list of twenty biblical ways that we can glorify Him:

1. Give God verbal declarations of praise (Rev. 4:8-9).
2. Live a life of noticeable piety (Matt. 5:16; James 1:27; 1 Peter 2:12).
3. Ask God for things in Jesus’ name (John 14:13).
4. Bear fruit and show yourself to be a disciple of Jesus (John 15:8).
5. Declare the truth about Jesus (John 16:14).
6. Love your life less than God (John 21:19; 1 Peter 1:7; 4:16).
7. Worship God as God (Rom. 1:21).
8. Live a life of sexual purity (1 Cor. 6:20).
9. Live a life of generosity (2 Cor. 9:13).
10. Rejoice in God’s glory displayed in creation (Psalm 19:1).
11. Do the works of faith (2 Thess. 1:12).
12. Use your gifts in God’s strength (1 Peter 4:11).
13. Make sure everyone knows you’re not God (Acts 12:23).
14. Live a life of gratitude (Psalm 50:23; 2 Cor. 4:15).
15. In matters of liberty, seek the good of others (1 Cor 10:31).
16. Extend grace to sinners (2 Cor. 8:19).
17. Be a part of a local church (2 Cor. 8:23; Eph. 3:20-21).
18. Tell God you are wrong and he is right (Josh. 7:19; Jer. 13:16; Rev. 16:9).
19. Obey God (Lev. 10:3; Mal. 2:2).
20. Go from a Christ-despiser to a Christ-worshiper (Gal. 1:24).

I pray that each and every one of us will experience Christ and His love in a deeper way in 2011.

His bondservant,
Charity

The love of God is greater far
Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star,
And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care,
God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled,
And pardoned from his sin.
 

O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.

When years of time shall pass away,
And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray,
On rocks and hills and mountains call,

God’s love so sure, shall still endure,
All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race
The saints’ and angels’ song.

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 

I pray that the love and light of Christ may fill you with all hope, joy, and peace this CHRISTmas season. May we never forget that Jesus is the Reason for the season! What a wonder that God would come to us in such humility! Let us rejoice in His birth, not only that, but that He died! Through His death we have Life, and life to the fullest!

An Irish Christmas Blessing

The light of the Christmas star to you. 

The warmth of home and hearth to you.

The cheer and good will of friends to you.

The hope of a childlike heart to you.

The joy of a thousand angels to you.

The love of the Son and God's peace to you.

A Thought....for pondering, by Roy Lessin

If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior.

Winter Welcome

Hi Everyone!

Tis the season to be jolly and mostly to celebrate the birth of our amazingly wonderful Savior, Jesus Christ.

My fried Kay, took some pictures of the first snow of the season, and I want to share it with you to welcome this most wonderful time of the year:

I find that these lyrics are very apprapos...read and see if you don't agree-

Christ is Come

The word of the prophets, centuries old

The birth of Messiah, has been long foretold

That unto you, now unto you



Christ is come, let all creation sing

God's own Son, oh hail the newborn King

The word made flesh, now dwells among us

Christ is come



Those born in darkness have seen a great light

The Redeemer of our hearts has been born this night

Now unto you


Prince of Peace, Yeshua, Messiah, the Son of Man

Holy One, King of kings, Lord of lords, the Great I Am

Comforter, Counselor, Author and Finisher

Divine Truth Revealer, Deliverer, Healer

You are God, Jesus You are God


What a wonderful reminder for us. May we all remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!

God bless,
Charity

A Salute to Our Veterans

Happy (late) Veterans Day!!!!

Thanks to all of our men and women who have fought for the freedom of this nation, sad to say, a freedom we have taken for granted. 

 May God bless you!

I also want to say, I am PROUD to be an American!

Today we have a special treat, a guest blogger! Miss Kay Maynard. She has written a lovely ode to our veterans.

Here is Kay:

"I remember very well the day that my Dad came rushing home from the Grand Rapids Baptist Seminary and told my Mom that there had been a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  I was too young to understand just exactly what had happened, but I knew it was a bad thing because Mom was crying and she usually doesn’t do that in front of us unless something really sad or bad has happened.  I went over to Daddy and asked him what the matter was.  He said, “There’s been an attack on the World Trade Center,” looking off into the distance and not really paying any attention to me.
       “What’s a terrorist?” I asked.
       He came back to earth suddenly. “Terrorists are bad people who want to harm civilians and get control of them that way,” he said in words that my six year old mind could understand.
       “And what did the terrorists do?” I asked.
       “They crashed an airplane into the World Trade Center. They were the tallest towers in the world, Kay, and thousands of people worked there. The towers exploded and many people died. All over America, people are in shock right now. They lost many of their friends and relatives.”
       I was appalled and sat down hard on the floor. Dad caught my arm and pulled me back up. “Why would anybody do that?” I asked.
       Dad is usually so strong, but I saw tears in his eyes as he said, “Because of sin.  People that don’t know Jesus have nothing to live for, so they try to get attention in the wrong ways. There are lots of bad people in the world. These terrorists, these bad people, they wanted to take away our freedom. It’s because we are the freest country in the whole world.” He removed his glasses and put a hand over his eyes. “You’re privileged to be growing up here, Kay.” He set the glasses down on his blue jeaned knee before drawing me to him. “Listen, Kay. Because Jesus loves you and He lives in your heart, you have all the freedom you are ever going to need right there. Even if these terrorists invade our country and take away our freedom, you will always be free in Jesus.” He gave me a hug.
       Later that week, Mom and Dad were talking in the kitchen about President Bush sending the troops into Iraq to find the people that had planned the attack. They kept using the word “soldier.” I didn’t know what that meant until Daddy explained it to me.  If we hadn’t been in such terrible shock and circumstances, you would have laughed out loud at the conversation that went between me and my Dad, something like this:
       “Daddy, what does that mean?”

        “What does what mean?”
       “That word. You keep using it. Sol-jer?”
       “Oh. Soldier. You really don’t know what a soldier is?”
        “No.”
       “Well, do you know how when we are at Meijers sometimes we see men in camouflage--”
       “What’s that?”
       “Camouflage?” Dad looked flustered. “Oh, it’s a pattern that makes you look like a tree in the woods, You wear it on your clothes and you can blend in.”
       “Camouflage.” I tried the word on for size as Dad went on.
       “Well anyway, you know how we see men wearing camouflage walking around in stores sometimes? They are soldiers. Soldiers are the people that go to war for us. They fight so we can have freedom.” I nodded, remembering the meaning of the word freedom. Dad and I had discussed this in school just weeks before. “They keep our country safe from bad people like the terrorists. They keep America safe so we can say what we want to, go wherever we want, not be persecuted because of our religion…”
       “Those are some pretty big words. Per-suh- cuted? Religion? What do they mean?”
       Dad looked red faced. “Forget it. But you know what a soldier is now, right?”
       I nodded.
       “And because they pay the price of freedom, do you know what we do? Whenever we see a soldier, we go up to him and thank him for his service.”
       I nodded and broke into a big smile.
       A few months after this, in about mid March, Dad, Mom, Emily and I were finishing our shopping in Meijers when I spotted a soldier. He was wearing that weird pattern that Dad had explained to me. “Daddy, look!” I said, pulling on his sleeve. “There’s a soldier. Should we go say thank you?”

           “That’s right,” Dad said. He started pushing the cart that way. As we got closer, I could see that the soldier didn’t look very happy. Even though he was young, and couldn't have been more than twenty years old, his shoulders were bent like an old man's, as though he was carrying a weight on them,  and his boots were wet and slushy from the snow outside. As I walked up to him, I was a little scared, but Dad just gave me a nudge and said, “Say, “Thank you for your service, sir.”
       I went over to the man. He looked so much taller than he had when I was looking at him across the room. I craned my head back for a better look at his face and, smiling as best I could, revealing a missing tooth, said, “Thank you for your service, sir!” Just like Dad had told me to.
       Dad chose that moment to come up and give his thanks as well. “We really do want to thank you, sir, for your service to our country. We value your protection with all of this crazy stuff going on.”
       “Thank you,” the soldier said to me in a raspy voice. "I really needed to hear that." To my astonishment, he got down on his knees in front of me, regardless of the dirty store floor, and held out his arms. I went into them. His arms closed around me as though they were made of iron. He buried his head in my shoulder and started to sob. I couldn’t see his tears, but I could feel his shoulders shaking. Mom and Dad looked at each other in distress, as if wondering what they should do. Finally my parents stepped behind the man. Dad started patting his back firmly and Mom rubbed his shoulder for a little bit, saying, “It’s OK, it’s fine, you’re gonna be OK,” with tears running down her own face.
Finally the soldier looked at me through his tears and smiled at me. I smiled back. “I’ve been through a lot. You just gave me a present, do you know that? Something that meant a lot to me.” He briefly touched my nose with one finger and then stood up. “Thank you.”
           The soldier talked to Mom and Dad in big people talk, telling them that he'd been a "POW" for the last few months, and that they'd done some really bad things to his best friend, who had not survived his captivity.
           I don't know the soldier's name, and I never saw him again. But I still pray for him. I wonder, does he know Christ? Does he know the monstrosity of Christ's sacrifice, and does he know that sacrifice is the true meaning of love? It makes me stop and think about the troops out there: It is so hard to give up what you know for what you don't know. These men give up their safety and their lives with their wives and children in order to face giants bigger than they are, to face our country's enemies. They fight so that we can live our lives the way we want to live them, with all the freedoms that we enjoy. They have given up their time, energy, and lives for us.
       It has been said that at least once in their lifetimes, U.S. soldiers sign a blank check to the United States of America for the amount of “One soldier, up to and including his life.”
       Wow.
       So do me a favor and thank the next soldier you see, maybe take a moment to stop and pray with him. And remember, it is his life, not yours.... just as it was Christ's life and not yours. "Greater love hath none than this, that he lay down his life for his friend."

On Your Mark, Get Set, Clean!

So how DO you clean a house? Cleaning a house can be a very daunting task for people, but even the most amateur cleaner can be victorious by following these three steps: preparation, tidying up, and upkeep. 

  

  However, before you start, there are a few suggestions that aren’t necessary to do but will make your time cleaning go by much faster. First off, invite a buddy to help. Inviting a friend to help provides camaraderie and an extra set of hands to get the job done quicker. Next, put on some good working music. Putting on music increases your level of motivation, stimulates the senses, and gets your mind in gear for manual labor. One hint of caution though concerning good working music. If you want to get a lot done, don’t turn on classical music. Classical music has an effect that is very relaxing, which is definitely not what you want before you start cleaning! Last but not least of the suggestions is, dust before you vacuum. This suggestion makes it so that you don’t do double work by vacuuming, dusting, and vacuuming again.   

  There are many preparations that you have to make. First off, you must have the right supplies. Some of the essential materials will include: a broom, vacuum, mop, dust rag, and warm water. If you don’t have the right materials, then you must make time to go out and buy them. 

  The next step of preparing for the job is setting aside time to clean. Many people say that they will clean this day, or that day, but never get around to it because of the negligence of this very important step. The adherence to the set day is half the battle! 

  Now comes the time to actually start cleaning. Make sure you go to bed early the night before and eat a good breakfast for plenty of energy during the day. (This is sounding like instructions for a test!) So get ready to clean! You want to start cleaning from one end of the house to the other, because it will help you stay focused. If you decide to clean on the weekend, and have accumulated a lot of tension during the week, this is a wonderful activity to do as a stress reliever. 

  Good job, you have completed your task. It is crucial that once you are finished cleaning, that you put up your supplies so that when you want to clean your house the next time the supplies will be readily available to you. Be sure to put the materials out of the reach of children. The chemicals can be very fatal and you don’t want your little one getting into them. 

  Lastly comes the hard part, or the easy part, depending on the way you look at it and deal with it. You must try your best to keep areas clean on a daily basis. It’s paramount that you don’t overlook this tiny but time costing step. I know that many people lead busy lives, so sometimes it’s not possible to straighten up before heading out for the day, but grab any and every opportunity that you have to do a quick clean up and be sure that you do it. Make every effort to not neglect this step! 

  After the job is totally finished, you deserve a day off for some fun. Go to the movie store and pick up a good movie, go out to eat, or something of that sort, but reward yourself, you have stuck through a grueling day of manual labor, you deserve the time off.