"Once Upon a Time" to "Kingdom Come"

God is good! He was good before He created the heavens. He was good before He created the earth. He was good before He created man. He created all He did to express His goodness, but He was good before He created any of it. He created man, because He wanted us to experience His love and goodness, even though He knew all the trouble we would cause for a time. Sin tares apart and distorts not His goodness, but my eyes to see His goodness. Sin equals death, but I am alive in Christ. Sin equals death, but in God's good precepts there is blessing to be found. That blessing is the purity from sin that sees the face of God. Oh, how I long to see the face of God. Thankful for the Holy Spirit that makes it a little clearer each day. How wonderful it is to know my God. How wonderful it would be to have more of His Word written on the depths of my heart, to the extent that I would dream about it at night. What sweet dreams to dream about His goodness. How wonderful it is to look forward to being to in His presence; The pearly gates, the streets of gold, sin free, in company of other God worshipers, and all gazing at His beauty together. He created man even though He knew sin was going to come into the world. He created man and He redeems man through the blood of Christ. My God who is a righteous judge will bring those to ruin who do not believe, who do not turn away, whose hearts are not changed. Someone had to pay the price of the sin of man, and the perfect sacrifice was Jesus. Without that sacrifice all would be in ruin, because all have sinned. All would be in disabling disbelief with unchanged hearts. Thankfully God expresses His goodness again through His son Jesus Christ who, born in a manger, was sent to die on a cross. Jesus' blood was shed, so that I could live. Sin equals death, but through my faith in Christ as Lord, I have victory! God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!

Lord, through all the generations you have been our home! Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from the "Once upon a time" beginning to the "Kingdom come" end, you are God! (Meditation on Psalm 90:1-2)

Psalm 19:9-11

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

PRAYER ALPHABET

Although things are not perfect
Because of trial or pain
Continue in thanksgiving
Do not begin to blame

Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know

Imagine life without His love
Joy would cease to be
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee

Move out of "Camp Complaining"
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone

Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To "thank" is a command

Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We'll run the race with gratitude
Xalting God most high

Y es, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...
Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!

"I AM Too blessed to be stressed!" The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.

The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Love and peace be with you forever, Amen.

::Not sure who wrote this, but came across it and thought I'd share! Happy Thanksgiving!::

Vocation's View

To the ARTIST He is the One Altogether Lovely.

To the ARCHITECT He is the Chief Corner Stone.

To the BAKER He is the Living Bread.

To the BANKER He is the Hidden Treasure.

To the BIOLOGIST He is the Life.

To the BUILDER He is the Sure Foundation.

To the CARPENTER He is the Door.

To the DOCTOR He is the Great Physician.

To the EDUCATOR He is the Great Teacher.

To the ENGINEER He is the New and Living Way.

To the FLORIST He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.

To the GEOLOGIST He is the Rock of Ages.

To the HORTICULTURIST He is the True Vine.

To the JUDGE He is the Righteous Judge, Judge of All Men.

To the JEWELER He is the Pearl of Great Price.

To the LAWYER He is the Counselor, the Lawgiver, the Advocate.

To the NEWSPAPER He is the Good Tidings of Great Joy.

To the OCULIST He is the Light of the Eyes.

To the PHILANTHROPIST He is the Unspeakable Gift.

To the PHILOSOPHER He is the Wisdom of God.

To the PREACHER He is the Word of God.

To the SCULPTOR He is the Living Stone.

To the SERVANT He is the Good Master.

To the STATESMAN He is the Desire of All Nations.

To the STUDENT He is the Incarnate Truth.

To the THEOLOGIAN He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.

To the TOILER He is the Giver of Rest.

To the SINNER He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World.

To the CHRISTIAN He is the Son of the Living God, the Savior, the Redeemer and the Lord!

I am so Thankful to God for the current job He has given me as Nanny. Twenty hours a week I am challenged to deny myself and learn His patience and love, I am challenged to learn how to discipline, train, and make decisions, and I am blessed to be used by God in sharing the gospel cross-culturally, which for me has been the funnest part of my job. I love that this family is from another country, it makes each day an adventure and a learning experience. I love that i get to play, be like child, doodle, read books, tell stories, draw, paint with water colors, and see the girls creativity. This job has been such a blessing that I am thankful for, and through it I am seeing God as One who is with me always. What brought me to think of these truths through working as a nanny you may ask ? Well, I've observed that there are situations whether by the parent's choice or by their circumstances, that they work many hours apart from their family and do not get to be with their children very much. On the flip side, children usually long to be with their parents, which cannot always happen. But, any child who is a Child of God can be assured that He, our Heavenly Father, is always with them, knows each step, and can always be accessed without delay through prayer! Once His child, always His child. He will never leave me and that is a promise no other person can promise to another. His set apart glory is seen in that! Furthermore, it is easy to think about that when I nanny, Because, although it seems the girls have fun when I am with them, the faces I know they really long to see when they are getting picked up from school is that of their Mommy and Papi.

The Lord my God is with me always, and he will never leave me nor forsake me! (Heb 13:5 and Deuteronomy 31:6)

THANKFUL

Thankful for a spontaneous weekend trip to the Desert sand I grew up on. Thankful for a day with my best friend. Thankful that she is going to be a Mom and that the baby God is knitting in her belly is healthy. Thankful for the Beal family and their love for God. Thankful to join them at a community group full of saints 30 years or more my senior. Thankful for their joy in all of the trials these grey haired brothers and sisters are facing. Thankful for the unity I experienced with them despite age gaps. Thankful for the hospitable couple that hosted the community group. Thankful for their desire to reach the communities needs. Thankful for my Mom and the time I got to spend wit her this weekend. Thankful that the Lord blessed my dear sister Heidi with a cute apartment, built in the 1970's, with it's original 1970's stove that we got to cook Breakfast on. Thankful for all the fun encouraged by the glittery counter tops in her apartment that lightened moments and continued to make us feel like we had been zapped into the 1970's. Thankful for the beautiful weather, palm trees, a day at the pool with family and floppy hats, and an evening to watch the sunset behind the mountains, after I spent time writing in my journal. Thankful that I got to have lunch with my brother Danny and his girlfriend Liz. Thankful that I got to sit and have my family with me, a rare occurrence, at church today, and that they got to hear the truth of the Word preached. Thankful for Grace Chapel and all the blessings that come every time I visit that Church family!

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17

His Love is Vast: His Love is More than I Can See

Standing on the beach looking out towards the ocean before me. How can I get the ocean, with all of its vastness, to fit inside my cup? How can I get Christ's love, with all its vastness, to fit inside my heart?

''God is able to do beyond what I am able to ask or think." ~Irish Proverb

Missions Prayer Letter for Church: Own Backyard

Sikhs, Buddhists, Hindus, Agnostics, Atheists, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses, and Existentialists can all be found on the College of the Canyons campus. Although there are students that identify themselves as followers of these different, teachers, prophets, and gods, there seems to be apathy and a lack of devotion to them. Grace on Campus is a Bible study that meets every Wednesday from Grace Community Church on the College of the Canyons main campus. The Bible study starts at 7:15pm, however, there is an evangelism team that prays together and goes out to share the gospel with people on campus starting at 5:00pm. The evangelism team has said that many of the young adults they have talked to are in a stage where they are thinking about life after death and trying to find meaning in life, thus, they are actually willing to hear about the love of Christ. There seems to be a trend in seeing self as a good person, God as not wrathful, but love with open arms, and living life to the pleasure of the moment. There are those whose ears want nothing to hear of the gospel, but pray that the true gospel would continue to be heard across the campus. In October, Grace on Campus held an event called, The Quarter Cookout, which is where the Bible study sells lunch for a quarter making no profit, but having the opportunity to talk with many students about the gospel and invite them to the Bible study. Pray that the truth would penetrate the hearts of those that heard the gospel through that event. Pray that God would use the Bible study to glorify Himself on the COC campus. Pray that the study in the book of Philippians would bring people to depend on God and to a greater worship of who He is.

Be Who You Are...

By Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
"Because He Loves Me"

Our Hope: The Seed Will Produce Fruit

1) Be who you already are. Christ has already made you new; walk in this newness. You're in him; his spirit resides in you. Just as surely as his resurrection was the first fruit of an offering given to God, you're part of that guaranteed harvest. Seek to be who he has made you to be, remembering that he has already assured your growth by ordaining good works for you to perform.

2) Be thankful for who you already are. Christ has made you new; let your life overflow with gratitude for his goodness. This gratitude will motivate and purify your response to the obligations he has placed on you. Speaking to yourself about the love he has for you will embolden you to courageously pursue holiness, even when your failure is extensive.

3) Be assured of who you are. Christ has already made you new, and your continued growth in holiness will remind you of your new identity. This doesn't mean that our assurance rests on our obedience; no, our assurance must be anchored in the obedience of Christ. Our assurance will grow, though, as we see his sanctifying work in us and look back over our lives. We'll be able to see how his power has transformed us "from one degree of glory to another" as we behold him (2 Cor. 3:18).

4) Be who you are before others. Christ has loved you and made you new and his kindness and love you is such a wonderful gift that it must be shared. Your good work are lights that cannot be hidden, and though you don't do them to enhance your reputation, God does use them to bring new life to others.


I am so blessed to have Christ's righteousness, because of His payment for my sin, and the Holy Spirit who resides in me and helps me to live glitterly for His glory. His generosity to give that to me and His grace to accept me surpasses all! John 14:15-31 is an encouraging passage :)

There is such freedom is being who God made me to Be; Freedom in being who I am.

...Beauty in the Still...

A great song about the beauty in being still, knowing that He is God, and longing to be with Jesus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zyiLLJnCDQ

Upon the Sandy Shore

While I was in India this summer working with PMI. I was impressed by their library selection. What a blessing to have people from the states bring books to add to their collection when they come to work with PMI. I got to see a handful of poeple who are a part of the church check out books to read, which was a big encouragement to me. I have seen God use the saints trials and knowledge of His word teach me though books written by His children. I am priviliged to read, know, and understand a language that provides so many sources. Furthermore, In that Library's selection I found a book entittled, "Mountain Breezes," it was a book of all of Amy Carmichael's poetry that she had written complied between covers. The following are three peoms from that book that caught my eye. Lord, may I make less of myself and more of you, and May I boast only in the cross!

The Shell

Upon the sandy shore an empty shell,

beyond the shell infinity of sea;

O Savior, I am like that empty shell,

thou art the sea to me.

Asweeping wave rides up the shore, and lo,

each dim recess the coiled shell within

is searched, is filled, is filled to overflow

By water crystalline

Not to the shell is any glory then;

All glory give we to the glorious sea

And not to me is any glory when

Thou overflowest me

Sweep over me, Thy shell, as low I lie;

I yield me to the purpose of Thy will;

Sweep up, O conquering waves, and purify,

And with thy fullness fill.

Forget the Shell
An empty shell lay by the sea;

The waves rolled up,and all forgot

To think of that which mattered not;

They only saw the sea.

So be it, Lord; let this thy shell

Be lost in glory of the sea;

And all the waves sweep over me,

Let all forget the shell

O Wave of God

O wave of God, arise and overflow

High water mark on this our stretch of shore

Great wave of God, deal with us till we know

something beyond all we have known before

O following wave, from utmost Deeps arise;

we yield to Thy Majestic urgency;

Forbid we ever or in any wise

Refuse to yield over all, lose all in Thee;

Sweep on, O Wave, we yield ourselves to Thee

The Mark of a True Church

By G.K. Beale

“The mark of the true church is an expanding witness to the presence of God: first to our families, then to others in the church, then to our neighbourhood, then to our city, then the country and ultimately the whole earth… We as individual Christians, as members of a local church and as part of Christ’s church throughout the world must not merely share our lives and God’s word with one another, but we need to get out of our own little fishbowls and manifest the presence of Christ through our words and lives, so that the boundaries of the temple, the church, will grow until the whole earth is encompassed with and manifests the presence of God… The mark of the true church is always to be outward-looking and expanding God’s presence and not obsessively introspective.….our task as the covenant community, the church is to be God’s temple, so filled with his glorious presence that we expand and fill the earth with that presence until God finally accomplishes the goal completely at the end of time.”