Being painfully aware that this blog lacks actual color of late, I have decided to share an occasional picture from my garden this year. As God will be responsible for any picture I take, I must give Him attribution. I’m just holding a phone sorta steady and clicking on an icon. Some of you may have wondered where so many of the pictures that once graced the scribbling here went. I decided to ditch many of them because they hadn’t the proper attribution. In any case, I know all the places where one can get free pictures for a blog post if I want one but many of my recent posts are more about colorful words than pictures.
This grouping of flowers reminded me of these verses from my favorite sermon:
27ย “And who of you by beingย worried canย add aย singleย hour to hisย life?ย 28ย And why are youย worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,ย 29ย yet I say to you that not evenย Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.”
By the way, the only contribution I made to what is in the picture was the dividing of crocus roots last year.
I know these colors will clash with my header, but I hope it’s not too unbearable. (Maybe it’s time for the old header to go!)
I found it hard to believe, Someone like you cared for me You put this love in my heart
I tried but could not refuse, You gave me no time to choose You put this love in my heart
I want to know where the bad feelings go, When I’m depressed and I get down so low And then I see you coming to me and it’s alright
I want to tell you right now, I’m not afraid to say how You put this love in my heart
There are sometimes when I doubt, But you always find me out You put this love in my heart
‘Cause when I see all that you’ve done for me It’s hard to doubt, I just have to believe ‘Cause you follow up, provin’ all of your love
Well I know The loneliness I had before Is gone now, I’ll never feel it anymore ‘Cause your love has released me From all that’s in my past And I know I can believe you When you say I’ll never be forsaken Your love is gonna last
There’s so much more I should say, If I could just find a way You put this love in my heart
Is all this real or a dream, I feel so good I could scream You put this love in my heart
I want to know where the bad feelings go When I’m depressed and I get down so low And then I see you coming to me and it’s alright You put this love in my heart You put this love in my heart You put this love in my heart
Merry Christmas to all who are reading this. May God bless you with the peace that only God can give during this Christmas season.
He came to walk on water. He came to deliver us. He came to give sight to the blind man. He came to calm the storm. He is Lord of all creation. He is heaven’s perfect Lamb. He is the great I am.
May we all come to know Him better in the coming New Year.
I willย extol You,ย my God, O King, And I willย bless Your name forever and ever. 2ย Every day I will bless You, And I willย praise Your name forever and ever. 3ย Great is theย Lord, and highly to be praised, And Hisย greatness is unsearchable. 4ย Oneย generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts. 5ย On theย gloriousย splendor of Your majesty Andย on Your wonderful works, I will meditate. 6ย Men shall speak of theย power of Yourย awesome acts, And I willย tell of Your greatness. 7ย They shallย eagerly utter the memory of Yourย abundant goodness And willย shout joyfully of Your righteousness.
8ย Theย Lordย isย gracious and merciful; Slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. 9ย Theย Lordย isย good to all, And Hisย mercies are over all His works. 10ย All Your works shall give thanks to You, Oย Lord, And Yourย godly ones shall bless You. 11ย They shall speak of theย glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; 12ย Toย make known to the sons of menย Your mighty acts And theย glory of the majesty ofย Your kingdom. 13ย Your kingdom isย anย everlasting kingdom, And Your dominionย enduresย throughout all generations.
14ย Theย Lordย sustains all who fall Andย raises up all who are bowed down. 15ย The eyes of allย look to You, And Youย give them their food in due time. 16ย Youย open Your hand And satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17ย Theย Lordย isย righteous in all His ways And kind in all His deeds. 18ย Theย Lordย isย near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Himย in truth. 19ย He willย fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will alsoย hear their cry and will save them. 20ย Theย Lordย keeps all who love Him, But all theย wicked He will destroy. 21ย Myย mouth will speak the praise of theย Lord, Andย all flesh willย bless His holy name forever and ever.
As the Spring of 2024 continues, I am surrounded by constant reminders of the glory of God: the budding flowers, the busy bees, the gentle rain, and the list goes on and on. To our God alone, the One David praised in this Psalm, does all the glory and honor belong. His kingdom is everlasting and He is righteous in all of His ways.
In a world that is becoming increasingly Godless, I can’t help and thank God for all of the many blessings I have. There are several places in scripture that mention that “the earth is wearing out like a garment.” Psalm 102 states:
And yet, while this earth that the Lord created remains, we will continue to see His glory in His creation. May our Lord bless you and your family in the Spring of 2024.
“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Perhaps many Christians are yearning for the second fulfillment of these words in the year of 2021. It is an old song with roots that go back centuries. It has quite a history. Yet, the words echo many of the thoughts of believers worldwide in our day. Part of the song has a somber tone which denotes a request of God throughout the ages:
“Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight.”
But then there are these words:
“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel, Shall come to thee, O Israel.”
It is the promise hinted at back after man had sinned and fallen short of the glory of God in the book of Genesis (3:15). He was to come the first time to ransom mankind from its fallen nature. It is what we think of this time of year. He will come a second time to right all wrongs and usher in eternity.
The Text of the Hymn
O come, O come, Emmanuel, And ransom captive Israel, That mourns in lonely exile here, Until the Son of God appear. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free Thine own from Satan’s tyranny; From depths of hell Thy people save, And give them victory o’er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come And open wide our heav’nly home; Make safe the way that leads on high, And close the path to misery. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Adonai, Lord of might, Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai’s height, In ancient times didst give the law In cloud and majesty and awe. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.
Perhaps no other group can take this old Latin text and create a Southern U.S. version of this song as well as The Petersons.
And here is the more traditional version:
May God cause your heart to be thankful for the fulfilled promise spoken of in this song and to long for the second coming of our Emmanuel.
“Amidst chaos and confusion, where can we find hope?”
Just like my church (and yours) Parkside Church is full of empty seats until further notice. Pastor Begg gives a sermon to his congregation through his church’s website. It is relevant to our times. The message starts at 16:45. May God bless you by His Holy Spirit through this recent lesson.
Annie Herring and Dallas Holm
September 16, 2026It has been a long time since I’ve seen anything from Anne Herring and Dallas Holm. I think you’ll really enjoy this video.
They are both laughing at the beginning and then they begin to rehash some amazing history.
Both of these artists were there at the start of what was called “Contemporary Christian Music”.
I remember those days well. Take a listen and please give me your feedback.
Here they are…(Drum roll please!)….Annie Herring and Dallas Holm!!!
(Please, don’t expect a concert!) ๐
God’s blessings…
CR
(Please leave as many comments as you want, but I probably won’t get to them until after my surgery on Friday.)
(I’ll get to them as soon as I possibly can. ๐)
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