~Happy Thanksgiving~

"How good it is to thank the Lord, and praise to thee, most High accord,
To show thy love with morning light, and tell thy faithfulness each night;
Yea good it is thy praise to sing, and all our sweetest music bring."

"O Lord, with joy my heart expands before the wonders of thy hands;
Great works, Jehovah, thou hast wrought, exceeding deep thine ev'ry thought;
A foolish man knows not their worth, nor he whose mind is of the earth."

"When as the grass the wicked grow, when sinners flourish here below,
Then is there endless ruin nigh, but thou, O Lord, art throned on high;
Thy foes shall fall before thy might, the wicked shall be put to flight."

"The righteous man shall flourish well, and in the house of God shall dwell;
He shall be like a goodly tree, and all his life shall fruitful be;
For righteous is the Lord and just, He is my rock, in him I trust."

~The Psalter, 1912~

A blessed Thanksgiving to all!!!

Syracuse Zoo

This past Saturday, David and I decided to spend an afternoon at the Syracuse Zoo! The day was warm and sunny. The pictures below do not cover even half of all the animals that are at the Zoo. These are the animals that really caught my eye. God's creation is indeed marvelous! Enjoy!

Trust

"My soul wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."

~Psalm 62:5-8~

Hoopes Park

Last Friday, David and I had an evening out together. These are always such special times. After we had dinner he took me to this park for a lovely walk. (I might add that this is where his dad proposed to his mom, so it holds a special place in the hearts of the entire family.) Enjoy the photos!

My Apologies!!

Tonight at prayer meeting, I was reprimanded by a dear sister in Christ for not posting anything on my blog for a very long time! It has been way too long, so here I am back at it! I intend to do a picture post for some of the things I've been up to this summer. For now, I'm just going to share a hymn, that I've song most of my life that is now one of my favorites.

God, my King, thy might confessing, ever will I bless thy name;
Day by day thy throne addressing, still will I thy praise proclaim.

Honor great our God befitteth; who his majesty can reach?
Age to age his works transmitteth, age to age his power shall teach.

They shall talk of all thy glory, on thy might and greatness dwell,
speak of thy dread acts the story, and thy deeds of wonder tell.

Nor shall from mem'ry's treasure works of love and mercy wrought;
Works of love surpassing measure, works of mercy passing thought.

Full of kindness and compassion, slow to anger, vast in love,
God is good to all creation; all his works his goodness prove.

All they works, O Lord, shall bless thee; Thee shall all thy saints adore;
King supreme shall they confess thee, and proclaim they sovereign power.

~Richard Mant, 1824~

A Comfort

"Father, I know that all my life is portioned out for me;
The changes that are sure to come, I do not fear to see:
I ask thee for a present mind, intent on pleasing thee.

I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do, or secret thing to know;
I would be treated as a child, and guided where I go.

I ask thee for the daily stength, to none that ask denied,
A mind to blend with outward life, while keeping at the side,
Content to fill a little space, if thou be glorified.

In service which thy will appoints there are no bonds for me;
My secret heart is taught the truth that makes thy children free;
A life of self-renouncing love is one of liberty."

~Anna L. Waring, 1850~

Emotional Purity

I have been thinking alot lately on the subject of emotions or romantic feelings. It is very distressing to see almost all relationships being ruled by emotions instead of on the basis of getting to know the person better and loving that individual for who he really is.

I have spent the past three years of my life getting to know someone and loving him for who he really is. I know that if I had allowed my emotions to get involved too soon, it more than likely would have hurt both of us, and we would not be enjoying the relationship we have today. This wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do, but we both knew that we needed to keep our emotions in tact, not only for ourselves, but for the other person.

Here are a few excerpts from a well known book that I personally have found so helpful on this subject:

"When we find ourselves attracted to someone, we need to make building a deeper friendship our first priority. Too often we believe that relating in a romantic, exclusive realtionship will automatically mean we'll be closer and know each other better. But this doesn't always happen. Although romance can be a more exciting level of relationship, it can also foster illusion and infatuation, obscuring the true character of each person invloved. Remember, as soon as we unleash our emotions in romantic love, our objectivity begins to fade. For this reason, we need to focus on developing a closer friendship with a potential partner before introducing romance."

"It will take patience and self-control not to express your feelings prematurely, but it's worth it. 'I want you to promise.....' says the maiden in Song of Songs 8:4(NLT), 'not to waken love until the time is right.' The Wycliffe Bible Commentary says, ' Love should not be stirred up before its proper time, because the love relationship, unless carefully guarded, may cause grief instead of the great joy it should bring to the human heart.' Proverbs 29:20 states, 'Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.' Don't play the fool in your relationships by speaking too soon. If you're pursuing a deeper friendship, the other person will already have an idea that you're interested, and you can't avoid this. But expressing these feelings in words often 'awakens love' before it's ready."

"I Kissed Dating Goodbye" ~Joshua Harris~

David and I were only able to do this by the grace of God. It is only through Him that we are who we are!!

Reflecting on God's Promises

Today's message for the afternoon was delivered by a dear brother from Montville, NJ, Kenny Harris. He said at the start that we were going to do some spiritual muscle building by reflecting upon just a few of the promises of God. I thought I would share a few of my favorite promises that have been such a comfort and help to me.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." ~Proverbs 3:5-6~

"Delight thyself also in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." ~Psalm 37:4~

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." ~Matthew 6:33~

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God , to them who are the called according to his purpose." ~Romans 8:28~

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7~

"And you are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands; in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the cirumcision of Christ; buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." ~Colossians 2:10-12~

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ~1 John 1:9~

Have a blessed Lord's day!

I'm Blessed!!

I realize that it has been a while since I have posted anything. The holidays can certainly cause one to neglect other things. I have decided to post what has been on my mind lately....actually for a very LONG time!!

To those of you who know me know that it is not a "what" that has been on mind but rather a "who" that has been on mind for a long time! I am blessed indeed in the relationship that I have with David. I just want to take a few minutes to express just a few things that I love about him.

I love that he would rather talk to me for an hour and a half on the phone than watch a footabll game on television.....even when he's been looking forward to it all day!!

I love that he would drop anything to talk with me when I am going through a hard time and just need to talk....even when I can't talk beacuse I'm all choked up.

I love that he wants me to tell him if anything he does bothers or annoys me, and is not offended when I do.



I love that he is willing to just listen to me go on and on about things.......even when they are "girly" things that he doesn't quite understand but wants to!!

Last, but not least, I love him for the faith he has in our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. We have acknowledged so many times to each other that it is only by His grace that we are who we are. It is only by His love and grace that we have been able to go this far in our relationship, and Lord willing, go farther.

Pastor Byerly once asked me, "You're in love, aren't you?". My response was, "Oh, yes, and it's wonderful!!". The Lord has truly blessed me with this young man. His heart is worth more than all the riches in this world. I love you, David!!