"I am with you, says the Lord."

I wonder what the words of the title mean to you.
And, I wonder - do you KNOW that HE is with you!

I just had an email from a friend who stated "I can report that God was definitely with us" - as they dealt with a difficult situation...

Is He there in your difficulties?
In the dark times of your life?
What about the bright and sunny times?
In the blessings?

His WORD tells us the truth - and the truth is - HE IS WITH US!
In all HIS power, and glory, and strength, and protection, and peace, and provision, and comfort, and confidence, and safety, and authority, and compassion, and ...

Dear Ones,
I pray that you KNOW that HE IS WITH YOU!
Blessings on you!

Resting in HIM -
Ruthie

for I KNOW whom I have believed, and am persuaded that HE is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
2 Timothy 1:12

Readings: Haggai chapters 1 and 2; Matthew 28:18-20; Joshua 1:5; Hebrews 13:5

Meditation

Oh Oh ... some might say! What is she going to talk about? Meditation? That hokey-pokey stuff?
No! Not that hokey-pokey stuff!

Joshua's instructions to the Israelites ...
Joshua 1:8 (NIV)
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

David's words to God in Psalm 119...
Psalm 119: 97
Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.

Meditation is the spiritual discipline of focusing the mind on God's Word; pondering it, memorizing it, turning it over in our hearts, letting the words sink deep into the heart and soul of us; thus quickening us with Life! The goal of Christian Meditation is to fill the mind with Scripture - as we do this we become less and He becomes more! Our thoughts become His thoughts; our values, His values.

Again David said
Pslam 119:15-16
I meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

I'm sure you have marinated a steak to prepare it for grilling. The meat sits in the marinade and soaks up the herbs and fluid; and becomes soft and tender. So it is when we marinate our minds with the Word of God!
His Word softens and tenderizes even the hardest of hearts!

Dear Ones
I pray you are spending time Marinating in His Word; Meditating on His Truths; Listening for His Voice.
Blessings on you, this day, the one He has made!

Resting in HIM,
Ruthie

You've Got Mail!!!!!

It's everywhere.... and I've bought into it! Have you?
E-mail; FaceBook; Texting; Twittering (I don't do this one); Blackberry; iPhone...
And on and on it goes!

Since getting my BlackBerry I have become aware of every time I get an email or a post on FB...
Along with all the "external" messages we get there is that INTERNAL stuff! The messages we tell ourselves - in our minds - daily.

Lately I've been thinking about all this in relation to the mail - the letters - HIS Written Word .... to me - to us! I don't get an electronic "ping" everytime HE sends me a note... IT IS ALWAYS THERE - for me to go to. What a BLESSING that is to me! Just KNOWING that - BUT - How much more of a BLESSING it is everytime I STOP, READ, MEDITATE, LISTEN to HIS mail! His Word!

He not only speaks thru HIS Word; He speaks thru HIS People; HE speaks HIMSELF! Into our hearts and our spirits!
Psalm 27: 8 ... My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me." And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."

Dear Ones,
Set the FB, BB, iPhone, Laptop, and all that stuff - set it aside for a while today. Listen for HIS voice, HIS whisper into your heart. Contemplate HIS goodness and Who He Is! Allow HIS Word to penetrate your spirit; to bring you Life!

This is my prayer for myself and for each of you as I REST in HIS Awesomeness and Peace!
Blessings,
Ruthie

Pouring out my HEART today ...

I will TRUST in the Lord when all else seems to be falling apart.
I will SEEK HIS face even though I may be seeking thru a cloud of dismay.
I will DELIGHT in HIS Word and HIS Ways!

I will CHOOSE to believe that He is Good; He is Faithful; He is Merciful; and He is Just!
I will KNOW that He is all I need!

I will PRAY as He has asked me to - told me to!
I will PRAISE and give Him glory!

I WILL - COUNT IT ALL JOY!

Father God,

I don't understand - I don't know why things happen as they do... why people get sick and die;
why there are accidents that take our loved ones away from us; why people lie and cheat and steal... My heart is heavy with the cares of this world -

BUT - I will CHOOSE to sing - along with David:

"YOU are my portion, O Lord. Open my eyes that I might see YOUR wonder. YOU are my refuge and my shield - my HOPE is in YOU. The wicked have set a snare for me and my loved one, but we will not stray from YOUR precepts... YOU are GOOD, and what YOU do is GOOD.
Uphold us , Lord...
Deliver us....
Trouble and distress have come upon us, but YOUR commands are our delight!"

And I pray we can say with authenticity - "It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn YOUR decrees."

Lord, You are the Master of ALL! I give YOU my PRAISE today! Teach me, Lord, Teach us! I am YOUR Servant, O God!
In the powerful Name of Jesus,
AMEN

LABARUM - revisited

As always, when Christmas time is in the air - I hear people discussing "keeping Christ in Christmas" and that it is "awful" to use XMAS - because that takes HIM out. SO NOT TRUE, dear ones!

On November 7, 2008 I posted a writing about the LABARUM .... a Greek symbol used to represent Christ for many, many years. If you go to the left of this page, find CHRISTMAS, click on it ... you will be taken to all the "Christmas writings" I have posted on this blog; then find November 7, 2008 to read the history of the labarum and what it means for us today!

I so want the world to keep Christ in Christmas. It is up to us - HIS followers - to make sure that happens by not getting caught up in the commercialism and materialism that the world sees as the reason for this holiday time! I LOVE this time of year! I LOVE to give gifts! I LOVE the Music and the Message! Let's focus on family and friends this year! Let's KEEP CHRIST as the "reason for the season" - as the saying goes!

Blessings on you, dear friends and loved ones!
Ruthie

Who Gets The Glory?

I really, really, really dislike this day ... October 31 ... and all it represents! My reason - It has its roots in pagan customs!!!

The Celtic people of Great Britain and Northern France were the first to celebrate this eve. Here is some history in a nutshell! They were worshippers of many gods - one being the Sun God - whose "job" was over for the year as harvest time was upon them. Another god was the god of the dead - which was how they perceived winter... they believed that on this night he called together all the souls of the dead which took on animal shapes. The priests of these people built bonfires hoping to increase the sun's power so that the god of the dead would be overpowered. And then there is the history of the jack-o-lantern; and the "trick or treating"... and so on. This just barely touches the tip of the iceberg! You can research more if you need to know more!

I just KNOW this is not a celebration from my GOD! I KNOW too, that this IS the day HE has made and I WILL rejoice in HIS day! And - I GIVE HIM ALL THE GLORY FOR TODAY!

For most North Americans this day has no special meaning except to dress up and go home-to-home asking for a treat! BUT - my heart gets heavy when I see the church involved in this night.... I KNOW there will be many people say that it is an outreach avenue! That it is to keep the kids off the streets! That it is one more way for the church to be part of the community! I have even contributed to the treats being passed out tonight! Go figure!

Please - know this comes from my heart and not a place of judgment ---- for I realize that many, many churches across our country are celebrating Fall Festival. To me it is like taking an orange & painting it red, calling it an apple --- it is NOT an apple - it is still an orange!

PRAISE GOD! Scriptures tell us that the dead will rise - when Christ returns! Hallelujah! Not tonight! Not any other October 31st! Then - and only then!!!

1 Corinthians 15:52-53
It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.

Elsewhere in scripture we are told that we will not know the day or the hour this will occur! I love that His ways and thoughts are not ours...

I sometimes feel saddened though, wondering if HE is sad with us! Does He look at us and say, Oh my children, when are you going to learn.
Do you not KNOW that I AM!
I AM ENOUGH!
I AM IS SUFFICIENT!
I AM WILL ENABLE YOU TO STAND STRONG AND BOLD BEFORE THE WORLD!

Father God,
I bow my head and my heart before you today. Make me a light today - your light! You know the heaviness I feel every year at this time... show me, Lord, what I can do to be an instrument of change for You! Bless those reading this - may they KNOW that You are I AM!

Resting in HIM,
Ruthie

The "Wheeler Saga"!

Ephesians 3:20
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think ..."

What a week this has been at Thousand Hills Farm! Hubby went out to jump on the 4-wheeler Monday morning to find that it was GONE! STOLEN! Sometime Sunday evening - when he used it last - and Monday morn it "disappeared". Actually it probably happened within a short period of time on Sunday evening - but that is another story for another time!

He was discouraged to say the least! This wheeler is his life-line to the rest of the farm... carrying feed etc. to the pigs and chicks, and closing the birds up at night and ... everything else he has to do around here! Immediately I began to pray - quoting the above Scripture to God - telling Him that I KNOW He is so much more than we even think or know about Him! Telling Him that I KNOW He can do amazing things - asking Him to create a miracle in this situation. For me, that miracle would be returning the wheeler unharmed so that hubby could use it. For GOD - that MIRACLE / MIRACLES was/were soooooo much more!

I have a group of praying women around me that I can call on at any time and I immediately sent out emails to them asking for their prayers. I was gently reminded by a couple of them to pray for the person / persons who had stolen it. Many times each day I would praise God and thank Him for what He was going to do - and told Him I was believing for a miracle! And asking Him, thru His Holy Spirit, to speak to those lost individuals.

Hubby told a friend that he "counted it all joy" - he gave it all to God to work out - and he continued on with his work with a joyful attitude. I don't think he even knows how much that means to me. I could see in his face and in his speech that he was "resting in God's Provision". What a blessing!

When hearing of this dilemma a gal who has a wheeler sitting in her barn - not being used - offered it to hubby until he could get another one! No questions asked - just "I know you guys are my sister and brother in the Lord - so what's mine is yours". How I thank God for her!

Already here were some miracles:
- My "KNOWING God is able" was settled even deeper into my heart!
- Hubby's "dependence on God" was deepened!
- God speaking to people to be the hands and feet of Jesus has been so evident in our lives!

But WAIT - another miracle is on its way!
- This afternoon around 5 p.m. we were "gifted" - anonymously - with a bigger, newer, better wheeler than he had! How awesome is the hand of God in the lives of those people who are obedient to His Voice! Oh My! Tears come to my eyes thinking of the blessing He has bestowed on us!

WAIT! - Another One!
- Less than 2 hours later the RCMP called and said they found his wheeler, abandoned on the old track, close to the next community down from us! Found it! Unharmed! How can that be? it can only be because God is at work! Hubby told our story to the Officer and he was amazed! You can be sure he will retell this story! Use it Lord, I pray!

Oh My ... And Yet Another One!
- We will "pay it forward" - hubby told the RCMP officer

that if he knew of anyone needing a wheeler for work around their property that we would give the lost/found one to them!

Are you sitting with your mouths open? I am! How amazing is this! It is like something you read in a book - not in our lives! OH! I am sooooo excited! God has plans - He will use this situation to speak to many lives - our family; friends - and others!

I Praise Him and I humbly Thank Him!
"... for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep What I have committed to Him until that Day." 2 Timothy 1:12

Dear Sweet readers -
I cannot put to paper the joy and praise and the full heart I have at this moment in time! I hope and pray you will get a sense of how magnificent our God is! That He does care about all the things in our lives - even such things as a 4-wheeler! I pray that this situation in our lives will help your faith to grow; that you will see the awesomeness of our Lord! And - that you will "LISTEN" for His Voice; that you will be obedient in prayer and praise!

I can hardly stand it - I just want to shout HIS Name from the rooftops!!! I so want "people" to get it"!

Holy Spirit - Minister to people - show people Who You are! Convince them of their need of You! Bring them to their knees in submission to You!

Blessings on you -
Ruthie