27 May, 2013

All...


His face was drawn and hollow. His hair was long and unkept. He was behind us in the queue. He was in a hurry to purchase the eggs he was holding before his pup started to bark. He finished, and rushed out. The guy next to him commented that he (the guy that rushed out) could've thought better if he hadn't been drinking so much alcohol, which, it was evident, was his regular habit. He is one of the many. He is one of God's creatures too... More than that. He is one of God's children too... It reminds me of this poem.


All are Precious in His Sight
The lonely, forgotten, the wealthy, the poor;
Teeming masses abroad, the man at your door, 
The angry, the ugly, the frightened, confused;
The drunkard, the addict, the abuser, the abused –
All these are precious in our Savior’s sight
They all need His cleansing; they all need His light.

The toddler, the baby, the elderly too,
The young man or young woman showing off a tattoo; 
The gangster, the rapper, the actress, the dude,
The guy with a Mohawk or a bad attitude;
All these Jesus died for, that they might be free.
They are all people, like you and like me.

The woman who’s cussing and slapping her child,
The boy who is tough, the girl who is wild; 
The single young mother, the deadbeat dad,
The loser, the user, the old man who’s sad –
They all are our neighbors, they all are “somebody.”
They are brothers and sisters, they are FAMILY.

Those struggling with cancer, the widows who cry,
The druggie who stares with a sad, vacant eye; 
The filthy, the neat freak, the hoarder next door,
The one who has ten cats, or fifty dogs, or more;
They just need “someone” – someone who cares,
Someone to teach them that God hears their prayers.

The soldier, the veteran, the suicidal, depressed;
The homeless, the prostitute, the sick and distressed; 
The gay man, the biker in leather and steel,
The lesbian, the hippie just “tryin’ to be real,”
Beneath the rough surface, and past the façade,
A soul is just starving and thirsting for God.

The superreligious, the perfect, the proud,
The self-sufficient know-it-all, the snobby church crowd; 
The preacher, the pastor, his family and wife,
The missionary who gives up his home and his life;
Although these may not seem to need much care,
They also need Jesus; they need time, love, and prayer.

We can help someone; we can show how we care.
We can smile, hug, or visit, or hold hands in prayer. 
We can give them an hour, a meal, or a lift,
A toy, or a promise of some special gift.
It doesn’t take much to shine God’s light where it’s dim,
When we remember that ALL these are precious to Him.


Angela Gellenbeck, "Some precious lessons that the Lord has taught me this year, 2012."
  The Heartbeat of the Remnant, January/February 2013

15 May, 2013

A Few Photos...

Just thought  I'd share a few photos...


My pumpkins. :)
It has been a frost these last couple of mornings.
 So pretty. And it means Winter is coming!
(I wrote this a few days ago. Now, Winter is here. It's cold!)

 One of my brother's chooks. Her name is Abigail. 
My brother's rabbit is all ears! His name is Daniel. 
This is our neighbours cows. Aren't they cute?
And of course this couldn't be complete with out photos of our sheep. :)
This is Jumbo enjoying some hay...
This is my sisters sheep Obee. 
This is my brother's sheep Jered. 
This is Harry. 
And this is Harry again. Isn't he cheeky?
This is Jumbo again. 
And this is Obee again. 

And in case you're wondering, we have seven sheep altogether. 
Four of them are almost three years old, and the other three are almost one. 


 

P.s I don't claim to be a photographer, so I know these photos aren't the best, but, well, I couldn't resist sharing. I hoped you enjoyed them anyway. :) Which one was your favourite?

11 May, 2013

A Page From my Heart...

Tonight I thought I'd just share something that I wrote in my journal/diary last night. It's something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Sorry if it reads like it is directed at you, really, I was talking to my self. :)

Well. Oh my. Just listen to this.
   Piety
"Hopeless cries.
Desperate eyes.
Hurting, sighing,
Bleeding crying,
Dying, alone.
Lying on stone.
They groan.
They writhe.
Heartache.
Death stares.
Nobody cares.
Children's fears.
Jesus' tears.
And you just tithe?"
                            -Andrew Lehman.
Ponder it. Really. And you just tithe? And I just tithe. Well, I give to Amazima. But that's not  kinda personal. It reminds me of a little poemy thing I read the other day. It went something like this:


"I am poor, hungry and naked.

You preached on how to help the poor.
You ran a seminar on how to feed the hungry.
You preached for hours on clothing the naked. 
And I am still poor hungry, hungry and naked."

We talk about it. We agree it's an excellent thing to do. We even think we ourselves would do it one day. You know, when the circumstances were just exactly perfect. But the truth is WE DO NOTHING. Okay maybe some people do. I'm speaking for myself.

And then tonight we watched a DVD by Glenn Coon. It was basically a brief summary of how he found Jesus, and his (Glenn's) ministry, etc. And he began with a verse that went something like this, (Paul speaking) "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel." (1 Corinthians 9:16) And he (Glenn) was encouraging everyone to SHARE. Share! Share the good news. Why would you want to with hold good news? The world is dying for lack of love. Seriously. And where does love come from? True love comes from God. It has to; God is love! It can come from nowhere else. The world needs love. The world needs God. Right? So... That leads to one logical conclusion. We have God. They don't. Let's go tell them!

You know, last Sabbath we watched a DVD of Christian Berdahl's testimony. And there was a time in his life, before he was a Christian, and he was surrounded by Adventists. He even roomed with one! And not one, NOT ONE, even witnessed to him. Are we guilty of the same thing? Seriously? What are you doing about it? What can  we do about it?

As far as doing super big huge things for God, I don't know. But we can do little things. Like smiling. :) Next time you see someone who is not smiling, SMILE! I'm going to do it too!

You know, this afternoon the phone rang. And I answered it. And a friendly lady on the other end told me her name was Zoe and she was from the PYCA or whatever it's called. Something to do with the police and youth and that. And she said they were fundraising for something (I can't remember what) that was supposed to help youth with binge drinking and drugs and in turn prevent violence, and they would really appreciate if  I bought a couple of the raffle tickets she was selling. And I said, 'Sorry, I don't do raffles.' And she said, "Okay, thank you, bye!' And then when she was gone I thought about a whole bunch of things I could've said to her. Like, 'What those youth really need is Jesus.'

So. And if we make use of the opportunities God gives us, he will give us more. And we are actually held accountable for opportunities we don't use. Wow. I'd better get started.

Reminds me of the song 'To believe' sung by Jackie Evancho. Especially this part.

"Father, as you see, I'm only a child.
And there's so much to understand.
But if your grace should surround me,
I'll do the very best I can.
I promise, I'll do the very best I can."

So, that's what I wrote. That's what's on my heart. People are dying. And those that are living, are living hollow lives. What will we do? Will we do the very best we can?

Here is the song I mentioned, 'To Believe.' The words are so true, and they almost sum up what I just said, and Jackie Evancho's voice is absolutely amazing.