Got a Stronghold?

I have not posted in so long. This is truly worth posting...

Facing Your Giantstinysa.com/sermon/51132233401

I have not heard a better sermon on pulling down Strongholds. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but MIGHTY THROUGH GOD, to the pulling down of strongholds.
Praise the Lord for Jesus' perfect example of being "full of the Holy Ghost" (Luke 4) and "led by the Spirit", and answering Satan with GOD'S WORD in every area that any of us can be tempted in!


If you're interested in listening to it, I truly hope this link opens for you.

Satisfaction

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it; and God doeth it, that men should fear before Him.” 

Ecclesiastes 3:14

A blessing from God's Word today, messages from the book of Ecclesiastes with Dr. Jim Berg.

"God never intended for us to get satisfaction from the components of life, but from the Creator of life."

I have been having fun looking through some of Mom's photo albums. She was great at keeping pictures for the family and has MANY albums, labeled for different occasions, etc. At the funeral I was hearing some of the girls, now all grown up, exclaim about how much they loved playing dress up at Grammy Rhodes'. Here's one of the photos I found...little Bobbi Jo, Joanna and Heather up on the back lawn.

               

Whiter Than Snow!

Beautiful snow is blanketing the ground today, laying lightly on each tiny branch of the trees.

I am ashamed to say that I have not posted on this blog for many days, weeks previous. The shame comes because I sometimes feel like a "freak" due to wanting to share the things that the Lord has opened up to me through His Word. This freaky 'feeling' has even caused me to keep my mouth shut. That is shameful. The Spirit of God opens my eyes and heart to my own sinfulness, as He has for you, no doubt, and will for any Christian who is seeking for Him to do so. He promises these things. He does not lie. His Word is TRUTH.

We have been blessed by our Pastor's teaching in past weeks also. On Sunday he shared that the Church certainly needs revival in these days. It has been a matter of prayer on his part for some time, I am sure. It is something that Syd and I have been in prayer for much in this past year. God saturates the Christian with His Word and deeper eye-opening as to our own sinfulness, this for any Christian who will seek Him with all their heart.

When I got saved God cleansed my heart; made me whiter than snow! He has not taken my sin nature away though. As He opens my eyes to behold wondrous things from His Word, it is so that I will more clearly see my own sinfulness and CHANGE; 

As one of our pastor-friends shares in almost every message, "What is my next step?" 

We were listening to a message by Dr. Jim Berg this week. A quote he shared went something like this...

"A Christian who will not be 'broken' is a worthless Christian." 

This was shared along with a story about young George Washington (the cherry tree story is not the only one out there). Young George had taken a future prize-horse of his mother's and was determined to break it. The horse had much spirit and did not wish to be broken. In her last huge effort to resist the young rider on her back, the horse reared up with all her might and fell down, dead. George had to confess to his mother what he had attempted to do. She was sorry to hear that the horse was dead but stated that even the most promising horse would have been of NO USE to them if her WILL could not be broken by the owner.

Dear Lord, break me; may my will continually, moment-by-moment, be in tune with yours. Send a revival, and let it begin in me.

II Cor. 3:18

"But we all, with open face beholding in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

Precious

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”

Psalm 116:15

Mom went to be with the Lord at 10:00 p.m. November 10. We praise the Lord that she is now in the presence of God. 

Thank you, all who have been praying for her these many years, months and days. She was very special. Her death is precious in God's sight.

Fall Contemplations

Oak leaves...They are lovely enough to bring indoors. My Sister-in-law had some on the table the other night, which prompted me to clip some from the little tree across the road! 

“That I may  know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death.”

Philippians 3:10

What a blessing that God knows me and wants me to KNOW HIM! ...really KNOW Him. The rest my life must be lived in pursuit of God. What a journey!

A good book which we just ordered and it came today: The Knowledge of the Holy" - A.W. Tozer

Many years ago I read, "The Kneeling Christian". It was by an unknown author.

No casual reading of either of these can bring about this knowledge, but digging into God's Word, in response to them will. Oh, to learn the lessons! He is faithful!

This was our pumpkin soup tureen this Fall. I'd seen these white pumpkins. They're kind of ugly, actually, but when you paint them it gives a pretty effect.

Back to work. Thanks for stopping by.

An update on Mom:
She is getting physical therapy at least once per day. The speech therapist was there yesterday when I visited. They're very creative in the ways of therapy. We are so thankful that Mom is in a place that is doing everything they can to help her toward recovery.
One great prayer request that I have is, that she will perceive how God is reminding her moment by moment that He is there, giving her peace, ready to respond to her every prayer and meet her every need. Mom has always said, "you can pray to God at any time, in any place." I am thankful that she never forgot that. I trust that it is what she does all the time.

Overwhelmed!

Overwhelmed by this beautiful day, by God's love and by the teachings from His Word! It was hard to decide between taking a longer walk, sitting outside in the sunshine, doing dishes, listening to Scripture and making applesauce...so I was able to do quite a bit of all of them, praise the Lord!

A blessing today was listening to two messages by Jim Berg; Work the Farm and Let The Word of Christ Dwell in you Richly. The Word of God is a book that must be dug into!

“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he

 being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed

 in his deed.”

James 1:25

A good reminder today: If we say that we "cannot memorize the Bible", we might ask ourselves, "do you know your name and address, your phone number, your best friend's phone number?" We almost always get those right!

I leave you with a silly picture, two silly ones, actually:

See, things don't change all that much in 35 years!

Take care, and thank you for stopping by Darling Hill

Prayers of Thanks

"But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:19

Mom's infection is gone. This is what we understand according to her "numbers". There have been some discouraging days but she has gone into a different Nursing facility, where she will again receive some rehabilitation. The other day while I was there, the speech therapist was doing some massage and moistening in the back of Mom's throat. She then tried her on some straws of water. Mom was swallowing just fine! These are tiny steps, but when Holly (the therapist) asked her if she wanted more water, she whispered, "yes".

I cried while Mom sipped! 

Thank you for praying, those of you who are.

I do not have much more of an update than this, but knew that some of you had been asking about the condition of things.

Plenty going on up on the Hill these days, mostly leaves falling.  Fall is my favorite time of year.

Thanks for checking Darling Hill.

Don't forget to turn your clocks back this Saturday night!

More Prayers Needed

Acts 1:8
"But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 

We want to thank all of you who have prayed for Mom. We would appreciate prayer for her and for those in the family who know the Lord Jesus as our Savior. There have been some setbacks in Mom's health and there have been opportunities to witness for Jesus Christ.

Some recent pictures:

Listening to the Bible readings on-line

Ruger was so happy to see her

"Grammy, wake up! I'm here!"

At this time Mom is experiencing a serious infection, for which she is hospitalized. Please continue to pray for health, for her comfort, peace and for the Lord's leading. The family needs guidance as to what the next step is when and if she is able to leave the hospital. We appreciate all the calls and surely the prayers! 

Some beautiful pictures from this lovely Fall:

A picture I took on my way to work one morning

This is a photo Syd took while on his mail route

The apples on the Hill were BOUNTIFUL this year!

The A's came to pick apples with us this year. Here they are on Grammy's prayer rock

 ...and we celebrated our 35th anniversary that day! Praise the Lord!

Happy Birthday, Honey!

“For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this 

cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his 

wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 

This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

Ephesians 5:30-32

Happy Birthday to YOU, Happy Birthday to YOUUUUU, Happy Birthday to SYDney! 

Happy Birthday to YOUUUUU!

It's not a cake, but it's his favorite - GRITS!

I had bought Syd some hot salsa made with tomatillos. He had it in his favorite breakfast this morning - his Grits! Much healthier than cake too.

I am thankful for the wonderful man that God sent into my life 35 years ago. 

Happy 57th birthday, to my Honey!

An update on Mom:

Yesterday I was pleased to see the physical therapists at the hospital and they were doing some therapy! Please pray that Mom can focus and that she'll have the "umph" to endure therapy and eventually lend much strength to it. This has taken a whole lot out of her, of course. She is still not able to use her right side and still not speaking. We are thankful for those of you who have expressed that you are praying and will continue to. We are waiting on the Lord to show us the next step.

God's Strength Made Perfect in our Weakness

"My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong." II Cor. 12:9,10

That is typed out by me for confirmation, not because we have learned the lesson fully, but because we want to "reckon" God's Word and promises to be so!

Please pray for Mom; for her spiritual and physical comfort and needs to be met. Please pray for the family and church family; for wisdom in decisions to be made and for God to make the believers to grow in Christ, and unbelieving to come to faith in His Son. Already there has been a strong testimony left to many involved since this most recent stroke on Saturday morning.

God's Word and promises are true. His love is unfailing!

We enjoyed coffee on the porch on Friday

Mom's littlest visitor, on Saturday

So Faithful!

He abides faithful!

I am thankful for the promises of God in His Word. He brings those things into our lives that will cause us to grow. We serve such a loving, blessed, wise God. I hope that you are encouraged today that no matter what you are going through, God is faithful and His love sustains you through it. His grace is sustaining me and our family at this time.

I am thankful for my husband, for dear family members and for church family and Christian friends' encouragement and help day by day. Syd and I have special friends who call on the phone to share prayer requests and who we can encourage (and they especially encourage us) in the Lord. We have other special ones who come alongside to physically help us in trials and troubles. Thank you; thank the Lord!

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." I Cor. 10:13

I am thankful that He reminded me of this verse all week (it was hidden in my heart years ago) to remind me that my/our trial is not unique. It is given for a reason and He sustains us in it and will bring us out!  What a personal God we serve!

Neither, Nor

"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels nor principalities,

 nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any

 other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in

 Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38, 39

...that's a lot of "nor"s! More than anything, I want to be "persuaded", truly persuaded of this. I am persuaded in my brain, but sometimes my heart forgets. No matter our failings, a Christian can be sure that our Lord God loves, loves, loves us. 

Blessings are surely had in putting God's Word to memory. I am thankful for children and teens in our church who we can memorize with. I am finding that a teen's mind is so much keener than mine these days. No excuses though. We are to hide God's Word in our hearts "that I might not sin against thee".

It is also a "persuader", as we reckon the Word to be true!

We have been through many things with Mom these past two weeks. Those of you who are "pray"ers ~you know who you are (:  ~we would appreciate much prayer for her. These days I have been more and more thankful for her as she goes through struggles and praises the Lord regularly. It is truly a blessing to spend time with Mom. She teaches me daily. Now she is struggling with health problems that she's never experienced. She is trusting the Lord. We, as family members, are learning to do so too.

The tomatoes are on the vines here. Many of you are probably enjoying their fruit already. Ours are still green, but we're looking forward to picking soon. 

Happy Summer to you all!

A Personal Moment

I have not posted in so long! I miss it, but things get so busy. The little (and huge) blessings come along and I miss recording them. Today's was just too sweet not to post about.

You know, when you're praying to the Lord and Satan tries to get his little "digs" in, trying to disrupt and cause you to sin? This morning I was thinking of a conversation I had with someone yesterday. As I prayed about it, I said, "Thank you, Lord, for this little cabin that you've given us. It's nothing grand, in fact there are SO many little things that are inconveniences...." THAT'S when Satan stepped in and tried to make me discontent. The verses that came to mind were I Timothy 6:6 and 8..."But godliness with contentment is great gain"..."And having food and raiment, let us be therewith content." I quoted them to the Lord as I prayed.

If any of you read the little devotional, Feature, today, you'll know the section of Scripture that was on today's agenda...I Timothy 6:6-11! As I opened my Bible, there it was! The Lord is so good to us always. It's these personal times that amaze us, isn't it? I love Him.

Thank you for stopping by the hill today. I would not have blamed you if you'd given up on visiting Darling Hill. We have not had much time, and not a lot of happenings to blog about, but the Lord is always the best topic of conversation - and He is always someone we can exalt and promote on the Hill. Take care, friends!

Giving Thanks

“In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” I Thess. 5:18

This morning I start a job that I had not sought, but one that is obvious that the Lord wants me to do. It involves moving from my "beloved" (my favorite, at least) Post office to one 7 miles away. We have prayed for the Lord's will, and not our own, to be done. He has made the answer clear and now it is time to continue to thank Him for answer to prayer... to thank Him this morning, and to continue to thank Him throughout the days and weeks ahead. He reminded me today, through time in the Scriptures, that through thanksgiving is the only way that I can be used in the place where He has put me. It is amazing how many reminders we need, over and over; and how easily we forget the lessons that we thought He had taught us!

This morning God led me to the Mountain View Bible Church website, after visiting it last evening. When it was time to listen to a morning message, God seemed to lead me back there. Pastor Pelletier was preaching on contentment, from Philippians 4. He had asked his mother to open the service by giving a short testimony. Many years ago, when the children were young, her husband had committed suicide. She shared that one morning as she sat on her bed she quoted the above verse; one which her husband had shared with her only weeks previous, after attending a Christian seminar. As she sat there she prayed, "Lord, I thank you for this situation. I don't like it, but I thank you for it." I thank the Lord for her testimony, through such sad and adverse circumstances. What a loving, great and personal God we serve!

I know that (as well as the rest of the message Pastor Pelletier preached) this is one thing that the Lord wanted me to hear today. I hope that if you are experiencing a situation that is difficult, distasteful or simply trying on your patience today, that God will give you the grace to give thanks for even that very thing. He promises to bless obedient children. Christians have a loving Father and the power of God's Spirit gives us strength to obey.

Step by step, step by step, I will follow Jesus; all the day, all the way, keeping step with Jesus.

I hope that you all have a wonderful day. It is a rainy one here. How green and lush everything is. This rain does remind me to pray for the people out in Texas who are underwater and in dire circumstances today.

Thank you for stopping by the Hill.

Okay, It's Summer!!

Happy Memorial Day! 

It's the start of Summer. After such a long Winter, it is surely a welcome day. We hope you're enjoying it as much as we are. We been working outside, as probably most of you have been.

Below is the start of one of Syd's big projects. Soon we hope to have a very large composting tub (the one laying on its side) installed in our side yard. This tank is so long and we hope to start the compost on one end and rotate it, in stages, to have it "finished" at the other end. Syd's going to fix a hinged, two piece, cover. That's mostly to keep our big piggy out (well, actually he's a big lab who loves to eat compost!)

I spent the morning weeding in the little front garden. There's still SO much to do! I wanted to share a picture of the begonia that a friend gave me. I just think that "begonia orange" is such a beautiful color! Mom and I met up on the road, taking our afternoon walks.

I hope you all get to celebrate this Memorial Day in special ways. We are thankful to all of those who have given their lives to fight for our freedoms. We are thankful to our Lord God, Who has blessed us with a free country!

Sowing, Watering and Reaping

Our leaves are truly unfurling so quickly! We've been through a busy two weeks here and sometimes I have not taken the time to look at those leaves two days in a row. Suddenly everything is looking SO green and lush! Yes, the weeds are coming up too, as we all know.

On Wednesday I went out and put some of our plants into the ground. Our South Carolina friends laugh at that, as their gardens are yielding already! I remember those days. Thursday and Friday mornings there was plenty of frost on the ground down in the low-lying areas though...thankfully not up at our altitude.

Today the plants are getting gently watered. Thank you, Lord. The rain makes these leaves look even greener.

Now it is time to go out into our little town. At our small Post Office I am called upon to sow seeds, water them, and maybe one day (perhaps today) to reap! My sweet hubby does this in one Post office, I in another. Christians do this continually. God is the one Who does the work in hearts. The battle is the Lord's. May we put on the whole armor of God and go in the Spirit's power. Believers are on the mission field. May we be walking, walking, walking; step by step in obedience to the Holy Spirit through this whole day; then start again tomorrow until God takes us home.

"Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase." I Cor. 3:5-7

May the Lord Jesus Christ, be magnified.

Heart Work

"Heart work is hard work. It so hard that most have let it alone...Heart work is secret work... Many have employed themselves in the more open work of 'religion'. Few have taken pains with their hearts in secret." 

Thomas Vincent, 'God's Terrible Voice In The City'

I was blessed this morning by verses from Ephesians 5. In verse 4, "giving of thanks" is given as the opposite of the disgusting, sordid sins listed there. True contentment and thankfulness girds me up and battles against discontent that leads to a mind and heart of wickedness and filthiness.

God is so good to us. I am thankful for our Comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who teaches me from the Word!

Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”

Proverbs 4:23

Walking Along, Through Our Mission Field

In the little moments of life are opportunities to meet people who desperately need the Lord Jesus Christ. I was called to minister to one this morning.

If you care to, I would ask you to pray for a young woman, "D", today. 

I am praying for you, other Christians, as your life touches the lives of others. Each believer is on the mission field.

Scripture memorization from James and Ephesians in these past months has shown me how lofty my "theology" sometimes is, but that it does not always 'play out' in the day-to-day steps of my life. By being a "hearer" and not a "doer", I have deceived myself into thinking that I am something that I am not. These convictions stemmed namely from how I use my tongue and what kind of "respecter of persons" I am. The Lord has used the first two chapters of James to chasten me.

Growing and changing...what is my next step? ...after getting up from reading and memorizing precious, living and powerful Scripture...Lord, how do you want me to use it today?

Aren't you thankful that God does not leave it up to US to change ourselves. He only calls us to be obedient to the Spirit of God moment by moment. No small task, but the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!

It has been a long time since I've written on this page! The written blog is a way of PRAISING the Lord for things that He has been doing, but often I don't get around to writing them down, I sadly say.
I hope that your days and weeks have been blessed. It is finally Spring! Soon we'll all be digging into the ground and planting gardens.

“I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of 

the vocation wherewith ye are

called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one 

another in love; Endeavoring to 

keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”

Ephesians 4:1-3

The Pendulum of Life

Are you, am I:
Afflicted? Pray!

Merry? Sing psalms!

Whichever direction each situation of life swings - Pray and Praise!

Growing and changing through the book of James...The studies in this book are so concise and convicting! The more I learn, the more I see how much I have deceived myself into thinking I'm "okay" in places that just aren't okay! Lord, by your grace, change me and mold me into the woman you want me to be.

Our wonderful Lord; The wonderful, preserved Word of God...gives us all things that pertain unto life and godliness! All praise goes to Him!

Oh, how I need the prayer of God's people and how we each need the prayer of other believers! The local church is such a gift. We are also members of Christ's body, universal. I pray for those who read this blog and pray that you are encouraged in God's Word when you visit Darling Hill.

Since I blogged last, the Lord has handed my hubby a new job. We are now a true "postal family". I must get a better photo, but God even provided a right hand drive Jeep, a very handy tool for delivering mail. His route is out of a town 20 minutes away...familiar roads, most of which are dirt (soon to be mud). He's getting to know his customers and enjoying this new chapter of life.
Thank you, Lord.

The car now goes up for sale. We trust that, in God's time, it will sell. I'll be wheeling around in Syd's truck soon!

The Reflection in the Mirror

Lord, please let me not forget the things that I saw through the mirror of your Word this morning...

Guide me as I go into the day and the days ahead, "continuing therein".

Lord, please change whatever needs to be changed.

"Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."  Psalm 119:11