Tune Out The Noise

Wow! it is extremely cold these days and it makes us all thankful for warm home and also reminds me to pray for others who have no house; that they will have an open door to enter into and stay warm!

Today's kitchen message was by Matt Costella from the Fundamental Evangelistic Association. What a blessing this sermon was from II Thessalonians. It was entitled, Tune Out The Noise, and he reminded me that "though ye know" these things, we continually need to be reminded of them!

I'm glad for messages to point me to tuning out the noise and tuning into God's peace. Yesterday I was hungry to hear the voice of a woman. Women have a way of ministering to other women like no one else can. As a young believer we were encouraged by our Pastor's wife to take turns in our ladies' meetings sharing aloud from God's Word with other ladies. It is an extreme terror and blessing at the same time. As most of you, I'd rather be on the receiving end! I do encourage though, never give up an invitation and opportunity to stand in front of other women and give out what God has laid upon your heart. He is faithful to teach us how to do it and it certainly forces us to trust in the Lord alone. If done in obedience, God is faithful to make each time more and more of a blessing.

Getting back to yesterday...I ended up listening to a devotional from Elisabeth Elliot. I am not promoting her, as I know nothing about her except what I "gathered" yesterday and am not going to get into here. God used the devotionals (I heard two) immensely in my heart. One was "I Keep a Quiet Heart" and it prepared me for Matt Costella's message today. You notice, as I do, that God has a perfect way of orchestrating our days, causing one to flow into another, bringing us to a readiness to come together at our local church with other brothers and sisters where we can minister together in love. The only snare is when my heart is not in tune with the orchestra! As Mr Costella said today (and so did Elisabeth yesterday), like all children, we constantly need reminders!

I hope that you are staying in near the fire today. God has me venturing out at midday to sell stamps for the afternoon. Tomorrow morning I get to be in a tiny office in a neighboring town, one that I have never worked in before. I hope to remember my camera, as it is so quaint and there's a resident-cat, Zipcode, that I want to get a picture of. More on that in the near future!

"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth." II Thess. 1:3

Take care and thanks so much for stopping by to read.

It's Been Weeks!

I can't believe that I have not posted since New Year's Day! We've been having blessed weeks, but have not been sharing via the blog. God has been answering prayer and we trust will be sending deeper "revival" in our own hearts and spreading through the local churches! Our friend, Mike, is in prayer for this for us as well as for his home church in South Carolina. We share with him on a weekly basis that we are in prayer for Beth Haven Baptist along with Vershire Bible Church. God is using our Pastor to prick our hearts, as well as messages by "visiting pastors" through sermonaudio.com

Sunday's message at church was from Romans chapter 1. What a blessing to be

"Thankful and Accountable to our Creator, God!"

A week ago we hung an "invitation" down at the post office as well as on many bulletin boards throughout nearby towns. It reads: 

"In the News, daily, we read and hear of 

Murder, Theft and Suicide.

these stem from

Hatred & Selfishness

Jesus Christ died on the cross for these very sins.

He is the only One who can take them away from a

person and replace them with true Love that

comes from God.

You are invited to..."

the church name and times of service follow, along with the quote from Romans 5:8,9. At the bottom are three little tear-off tabs that give "the gospel" according to I Cor. 15:3,4 with the church phone number and service times listed again. Please pray with us that God will use these as well as our mouths and tracts to help open the eyes of unsaved neighbors, some of whom He is already likely working in. More than ever we are beginning to see that the Lord wants us to have great faith in these "last days"; faith that He is in control and blesses sincere prayer and obedience. 

Sunday's message was so pointed and perfect in cementing the burden that God has been giving Syd and myself for the unsaved, blind and hurting people around us. The little quote above, "Thankful and Accountable to our Creator, God" may be the opening line for the next "invitation" that can be hung up. People may get sick and tired of seeing these posted everywhere, but God willing, He can use His Word that is publicly posted, to convict hearts. Always I see the local cults posting invitations to their seminars. Praise the Lord that we Christians are still free to publicly speak and post God's Word also!

If you are a "pray"-er, would you pray along with us?  Time is short and seems to go faster every day. We need to redeem it, as the Bible says!

I leave you with a couple of photos. Something was going on outside in the darkness this morning. I called Ruger down from the hill across the road where he was barking (loudly and a little too early in the morning). He reluctantly returned but posted himself "at the gate" of the house... 

the reflection from the inside window makes this look like a double-exposure, sorry

 ..while little Sturm was at his place "in the tower". Both were alert for quite some time.

Sturm doesn't stay still long, so a little blurry. He stands on the stair landing, looking diligently

 Yes, our home is also guarded by a Sturm & Ruger!

O Lord, Correct Me

Greetings to you on this New Year's Day! I hope you all have a very Happy 2014. I don't know if you are one who likes to make New Years resolutions. I 've never been one to seriously make them, not because I feel there is anything wrong with them, but mostly because by the third week or so I forget what the 'resolution' was!

If there is one resolution I'd make in 2014, it would be based upon Jeremiah 10:23,24 and will need to be my heart's prayer every single day:

"O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Lord, correct me, but with judgement; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing."

My hubby and I started New Year's day with a sermon by this title. What a blessing that God's Word is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness. Our first pastor used to remind us that God's Word will teach us, knock us down, stand us up and cause us to walk in the right direction!

It's COLD here, unlike yesterday, it's above zero! The sky is blue and the bright sun is starting to light the mountains out across the valley. I hope you have a beautiful day.

A Lord's Day Snowstorm

We had a surprise snowstorm that started during our afternoon church service. When I left my mother off after church we only had about 1 inch. When Syd took a peek out the window around 7 p.m. he saw this. In just two hours we've gotten a LOT more. You can see his lights at the top of the driveway as he's getting his truck cleaned off to get out there to plow. It takes him a little over three hours to do all of his customers and the church lot too. This is a wet, heavy snow so he doesn't want to wait till early morning this time.

We've been blessed with beautiful snows this season so far. I still believe that it's what Winter is all about in the north. The leaves fall from the trees and they go dormant for a time, building up all that wonderful sap. We all wait "patiently" for the Spring when cold temperatures at night then above freezing ones during the day cause the sap to flow & (after much work by those diligent sugarers) give us sweet syrup.

Look, they even make Pennsylvania Maple Syrup! I never knew...ha, ha!

Syd's PA Cousin made syrup this past year and we were blessed with some for Christmas

 I wanted to share with all you readers the lovely chickadee drawing that our friend, Hosea, drew for us. He is truly an artist. Thank you so much, Hosea. We are looking for just the right frame to put it in!

While the balsam log cabin is pumping out it's sweet incense; a warm living room, hot peppermint tea and snow falling outside all make for a pleasant Lord's Day evening. The dogs are curled up on the sheepskin. The only thing missing is my hubby. It is time to listen to a good sermon which will prepare me for a pleasant night's sleep. Good night, all.

He Cares About People

Just because Jesus was asleep upon a pillow, in the stern of the ship...may this not lead me to believe that He was not in complete control of the situation.

"Carest Thou not that we perish?" It is amazing what we "know" in our minds, but we sometimes forget to let it affect our hearts by casting our dependence on Him in obedience to God's Word.

I am blessed to be home for an extra few hours this morning. Today's "kitchen sermon" was from a fundamental pastor named Carl Wood, Anchor Baptist Church in Little River, SC

It is almost the end of 2013. Syd and I do not send out Christmas cards but wait until the New Year to send greeting cards to loved ones and friends that may need special encouragement. At this time we are in prayer as to which neighbors we are to send to and how to share the message of care, concern and especially salvation that they so desperately need. It is so easy to share our concern for them but only God can give us enough compassion to truly love them and wisely share with them what they truly "need".

God reminded me of His command...

"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Phil. 4:6

...which results in a decision on my part...

 "What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." Psalm 56:3

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." I Peter 5:7

In the Gospel account from Mark 4, the "other little ships" must have felt the calming effect once the sea was stilled. I am again amazed at the things that I read which I never noticed or thought about their significance before!

Dishes are done and it's time to step out into the "world" of my little office on the neighboring hill. Thank you so much for stopping by to visit Darling Hill today. I pray that those of you who know the Lord Jesus as Savior will be led of Him to people who need to receive Him as well. 

The rains and warm temps had melted our snow. I'm thankful for the snowstorm yesterday that blanketed us in white

This is my grandfather's barn. My mother grew up in the yellow house across the way

Clear and Frigid

The sky is a pale pink and snow lays on every branch and twig outside our sitting room window. These days have been below zero and the little furnace and wood stove pump out the heat. Though the drain and water are temporarily frozen up, I am thankful for the warmth of a little cabin. It is a blessing to know that God has given us shelter from the cold not only physically, but especially through our Lord Jesus Christ. This old world is a barren wilderness but the Lord has taken my sin away because I know that Jesus took my death when He shed His blood on Calvary. This fact is the "nail (that we have) in this holy place", and no circumstance can remove the fact that Christ dwells in my heart and gives true joy! Who have we to boast in but our Lord Jesus Christ?

We were blessed with snow over the weekend. That surely helps to insulate around the houses. We did, however, have to cancel the church service. There's no sorrier place to be on a Sunday morning than NOT in church, but so few people were going to be able to make it that it seemed the wisest thing to do. Again, we thank the Lord for one good use of the internet, to be able to bring Bible sermons right into our home! If you've never visited sermonaudio.com you might try it. Beware, there are ALL kinds of preachers on there so it's great if you already know of the name of a good one. We were blessed to hear Mike Allison (Madison, AL), Not Being Ignorant of the Devil's Devices. Syd can listen to sermons on-line on his little pocket thingy (don't know what it's called) while at work, and came home yesterday after listening to "Lessons Learned from Judas Iscariot". This was the one I heard while doing dishes this morning - what a blessing! We have so MUCH at our fingertips here in America, yet people all around us are "broken" because of sin and acting it out with horrible acts of cruelty.  It is our privilege to go out and tell others about the Lord Jesus Christ Who will come in and take their sin away. I pray that I will tell others more, but I have to act on that prayer and be obedient.

The sun is hitting the hill top over the North Road, so it looks like time to get up and dressed to brave the cold. The dogs really don't know how "lucky" (I guess you can say that for dogs) they are to be able to stay inside. You'd never know it by Ruger's grunts and groans this morning - begging to go out to freeze his paws off. It's 5 below, so he'll be out for all of 10 minutes at the most. The little birds are back and forth to the feeder. I fill it but they have it empty before the day is over, especially on these frigid days! Life is moving quickly here on Darling Hill. Thanks for stopping up for a short visit.


Reading from Psalm 119 this morning I am reminded that it is God's Word that quickens us. I am thankful for the Living Word, aren't you?

"This is my comfort in my affliction; for Thy Word hath quickened me" Psalm 119:50

  

I hope your day is a blast!

A Warm Kitchen, A Snowy Day

The snow is gently falling and the ground outside my kitchen window is blanketed in white. Before starting the dishes I switched on yet another message from Pastor Allison from Madison, Alabama. God has laid on my heart to take any opportunity where my hands are busy in the kitchen, to listen to His Word. Oh, how we need our hearts revived; daily, our minds renewed in the Scriptures!

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return  unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." 

Isaiah 55:9-11  

We had a blessed Lord's Day! God is answering prayer in so many ways. More than ever we need revival in Christian's hearts and to go out to the lost, filled with His Spirit. I tried to post our Pastor Rhodes' Sunday message. When I got the CD home, it was blank. The wonderful message was from Romans 1:9. "God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit..."
No man may ever know what God is doing in the depths of each of our hearts, but God is our witness (which can be a blessing and a warning, combined). The verses Pastor shared concerning serving in the spirit were precious. I pray that I can get the message on CD and Pastor has agreed to let me share it with you via the blog.

A warm kitchen; 

snow on the windowsill; 

the sweet sound of God's Word 

and the smell of cranberry muffins... 

I pray that you have a blessed day in Him, those of you who are "IN Him". I pray for those readers who have not this precious relationship with our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. God is "near at hand" and ready to save any who will call upon Him in truth.

Ruger wants us to come out and play!

The entrance to Darling Hill on a snowy day last year