WORSHIP SONGS

VICTORY IN JESUS

An old hymn with a different voice.

A new song. Our praise band played and sang it.

Jesus Strong and Kind

This is one I really liked.

We sang these songs on the past two Sundays. I thought you would like to hear them.

Blessed Mary

 

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For He who is mighty has done great things for me,

And holy is His name.

And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.

Luke 1:49-50 (NKJV)

Verses from the Magnificat of Mary.

Mary, the future mother of Jesus, sang praise to the Lord. In context to our passage, Mary recognized herself as a lowly being. (1.) She realized that future generations would call her blessed. (2.)

She recognizes that the LORD has done something special in His decision. He also recognizes that the LORD will be merciful to all those who keep His commandments forever.

Mary took this task seriously and rejoiced that she was chosen by the Lord to bear and raise His Son.

Present day, should we not all take on tasks as working for the Lord? We have scripture that tells us we should. However, do we truly believe that we work for Him?

Ephesians 6:6-8 --not with eye service, as men-pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Colossians 3:23-And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,

Bless The LORD

 

I will bless the LORD at all times;

His praise shall continually be in

my mouth.

My soul shall make its boast in the

LORD;

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

Psalm 34:1-2 (NKJV)

Words Penned by David

I will bless the LORD at all times;

David appears to be thankful for all the LORD has done for him.

Are we thankful for all He has done for us?

His praise shall continually be in

my mouth.

David states that he will always give praise to God.

Do we, as 21^st Century followers of Jesus, give God praise in every circumstance we face? Yes, I realize some of what we face is less than desirable. But, when we are faced with difficulties, we must praise Him for being there with us and guiding us through.

My soul shall make its boast in the

LORD;

David states that he will praise the LORD from his soul.

We sometimes have to give praise to God silently. Some people call this type of praise a heart praise.

The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

David believed that those burdened with issues would hear of his relationship with the LORD and how he is always praising Him.

On the day of my initial writing this, I had to go to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Jim. I also needed to get some vitamin supplements. They were out of the brand I prefer. The manager of that store helped me out by finding one that saved me some money. She and I talked; she was having a rough day. A condition with the status of that store has caused problems. I listened and asked her if I could pray for her right then. We stood there, held hands, and I prayed.

Awaken to God’s Presence

 

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My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;

 I will sing and give praise. Awake, my glory! Awake, lute and harp!

 I will awaken the dawn.

I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples.

I will sing to You among the nations to give praise to the LORD to whomever he is near. 

Psalm 57:7-11 (NKJV)

My question here is do we choose to give praise to the LORD when we are among friends or even fellow worshipers?

I will sing to You among the nations.

Do we join in when we hear hymns or praise music during our times of corporate worship?

Or do we just stand or sit there. I am not a soloist. I used to sing in the choir in two of the churches I belonged to. I had to stop being part of this ministry in one church due to my developing a hole in one of my eardrums. Also, a chronic cough has kept me away from this form of ministry.

Remember, Psalm 100 (KJV) tells us to make a joyful noise. The psalmist does not say it has to be on key or in perfect pitch.

For your mercy reaches unto the heavens,

David tells us here that God’s mercy is evident to all and that it reaches us wherever we are.

And your truth unto the clouds.

God’s truth is evident everywhere on earth and into the stratosphere. We cannot get away from seeing and hearing His truth in our personal lives and in our world.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;

David speaks of God being highly lifted up. Do we lift God up as we go through our days

- do we pray to Him, giving thanks for what He has given us or done for us? Do we share with those around us what He has done? Do we ever give praise for things the world takes for granted?

Let Your glory be above all the earth.

God does let His glory be seen by all on the earth. After a rainstorm, my best friend stops whatever she is doing and checks out the sky to see if there is a rainbow. As I initially wrote this, I sat on my sofa, and enjoyed the breeze coming through the open window above my head. As I drive to church, I scan the sky to see what kinds of clouds He has placed there for us.

May we all be more mindful of God’s protection, presence, love, and love as we grow closer to Him.

Thanksgiving

 

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Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him and bless His name. Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)

This verse is from a chapter in Psalms we had to memorize when I was in the fifth grade. I always think on this chapter during the month of November.

Each of God’s children must be thankful for no other reason than they belong to God. God blesses, (inward joy is theirs), us because He chooses to.

Each week at the beginning of that week’s journal thoughts, I list things I am thankful for, I call these pages, “Praise More.” This exercise helps me keep in mind who He is and what He does for me.

Do we ever take the time to thank God for bringing us through to another day? We must because each day we have is a gift from Him.

Do we remember to give thanks to Him for His watch care over us? Have we ever barely missed being involved in a car wreck because of something that kept us from being where we could have been severely injured?

Do we realize that God is our protector at all times during our life? He knew us in our unformed state (Psalm 139:16) and watched over us even before we knew Him.

All we can do in return is give thanks and praise Him for who He is.

He Rewards Faithfulness

 

But, without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)

When we go before the LORD, we must believe He is who He says He is. The writer of Hebrews tell us without our believing in Him we cannot please Him. When we go before His throne, there are certain things we must believe:

* He will listen to our pleas.

       If our hearts are in tune with Him.

* He will answer our requests.

      In the way that is best for us and His plan.

* He will reward us for our efforts.

      His rewards may be a lightness of heart.

      He may give us new insight into a concern or a problem.

However, we must concentrate on Him while we seek His guidance.

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.“ Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)

Sometimes, we can follow Matthew 6:6 when we are in a crowd. Other times we can do obey this scripture by physically removing ourselves from the circumstance that needs our prayer.

May Reflections

 

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Reactions to the Weather 

It appears that we did not have spring this year. It went right into summer. This year, I was able to remember to talk to my husband about getting the yard rolled. He contacted the people who mow for us. With the rain we had for most of a week, the young man’s dad got it done the following week and it is nice to be able to walk outside without fear of falling.

 

 Mother’s Day Postponed 

With both of us being ill, my having COVID, hubby possible having COVID, we decided to wait until we were over it before our son could come home. On the day after Mother’s Day, I tested negative. I still wanted to rest up. The weather was predicted to be bad the following weekend. Our son called just before the second weekend after Mother’s Day. The weather forecast looked gloomy. We decided he would come for part of Memorial Day weekend.

 

Review Book 

Just after I tested negative, I received another book to review. “The Path to Peace”By Ann Swindell. I literally could not put it down. I will write more about it later.

 

An Answer to Prayer 

The Sunday after my negative COVID test, I got back to church. I looked across the foyer and saw a woman who had lost her husband a couple of months earlier. The had stopped coming earlier in the year. I had visited her shortly after she lost her husband. In my prayer list, I keep a page designated for those who are grieving. I recorded a note in my journal’s weekly praise page. 

 

 Praise Note 

We drove to Indy to see my Gynecological Oncologist one Tuesday. At the end of her examination, she told me the chance of my tumor coming back was ZERO. Also, after my next visit in November, my visits will be spaced out to just once a year. If I had any confetti, I would be throwing it.

 

 Personal Concerns 

I have some personal concerns that seem to not go away. Please pray for me as I await the various outcomes.

 

 Please pray for Uvalde Texas and other places that have had mass shootings 

I don’t usually write about current events on here. However, the Uvalde shooting is such a horrific event that I must ask you to pray for those families that lost children at the hands of someone who had access to assault rifles. In our local newspaper today, June 1^st was an article about the numerous shootings over the holiday weekend. I did learn something I didn’t know. The authorities define ‘mass shootings’ as incidents where four or more people are shot.

 

 

Eucharisteo: I Give Praise

 

Simple Life Heartenings

This is something from my past writings. You may remember it. 

 

For My Savior

            First and foremost, I want to lift up the name of Jesus. He left heaven’s glory to come to earth to teach us about His Father and how we can live for Him.

 

            Because Jesus died for our sins, we can enjoy freedom from the guilt of sin. A close friend of mine asked me a question about another person’s role in our church. The next morning, I found the answer.

            I called her and said, “You asked me a question last night. I found the answer this this morning.” Her response was, “That’s all right, I don’t need to know. I gave that over to God.” I know she could do this because of what Jesus did for her.

            Jesus teaches us each day how we should live. The Shepherd guides us through troublesome times of our lives. The Teacher instructs us when we don’t understand certain circumstances. The Comforter soothes us when our hearts are broken. The Physician heals us from diseases. The Protector keeps us warm and safe.

 

            In my lifetime, Jesus has acted in the above roles innumerable times. I thank Him for each

 

Christian Community

As I sit here on a dreary November day, what does God want me to write about? Thus far this year, He has given me 895 gifts and blessings that I know of. I recently joined the church I have attended since its creation in 2006. We attended one of the forerunner churches for almost four and a half years before the merger of two existing congregations.

            It always impresses me with the way Christians accept others into their fold. I saw this at a writing conference. Everyone was there for the same purpose—to learn how to better present God through their writing. The people were warm and hospitable. The faculty was outstanding. Even one of the speakers, with whom I didn’t see eye to eye, had some good points for us.

            On Wednesday mornings, a group of us meet for prayer. Several years ago, one of the women still has both parents living. This daughter faced one of her parents having his health fail. When I was at that writing conference, I attended a workshop, given by a man who happened to write a book about his experience of watching and caring for his mother as she went through the dementia process. I purchased that book, thinking I could read it myself and then donate it to the church library. I found myself telling this dear sweet Christian sister that I would let her have it first. Her husband is now critically ill. Our church prays for this couple.

            In our faith community, people pray, for however long it takes, for that need. When someone has praise, we all rejoice with them. One Sunday, we heard two women give testimony that someone in their families was cancer free. Another one said she experienced freedom for the first time in a long time.

            I participate in the church’s visitation ministry. Today, we saw eight people, three nursing home patients, four assisted living facility residents. Several of these are close to or in their nineties. My visitation partner and I try to go every other week. I enjoy hearing them talk about their families, or stories of their youth.

            God was good to me when he led me to our church. He always has something special for me each week. He calms me as I worship Him and makes my journey smoother as I follow Him. For this, I am thankful.

 

God’s Provision

            God gives us words to say when he needs us to speak to someone on His behalf. We had a neighbor who feared her son’s departure for basic training for the U. S. Army. She and I had several talks about what she was feeling. Often, I reminded her that all she felt went with being a mother. Just before his departure, she received baptism. At one point, early in his training, he was very down-in-spirit. She told him, “Go to church tomorrow.” As she and her family prepared to go to his graduation from basic training, she found out he was planned on also receiving baptism while they were all together just prior to his graduation.

            One of my Spiritual Gifts is encouragement. Sometimes, thoughts for encouraging others come easy and sometimes I must pray to find them. Either way, I know the LORD gives me the words.

            I follow a gluten-free diet due to intolerance to grains that contain a certain protein (gluten), namely wheat, barley, rye and some oats. When we have had scrambled eggs for a meal, Hubby couldn’t understand why I couldn’t make toast in our toaster the same way he did. I started using our microwave to basically warm the gluten-free bread. Our anniversary is this month. He recently took me out to a store and bought me a toaster oven. This is something I did not ask for.

            I sometimes have sleepless nights. When I have a good night’s sleep, I know it comes as a gift from God. Even if I can’t fall right to sleep, when I do, I awaken feeling refreshed.

            If each of us were to examine our lives, we would see how God provides for us. He is ready to fulfill any need we have according to His will for our lives. Occasionally, God even takes care of a want we might have. As we go into this season of giving thanks, let’s remember that we can do that all year long. Doesn’t God provide for us every day?

            God lavishes each of us with all we need.

At The Cross

New Mercies

 

Zazzle

 

Because of the LORD’S great love we

are not consumed

for his compassions never fail.

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

 

What is Jeremiah telling us in this passage?

 

We know we live in a world that is upended by strife and dissension. However, we have a God who loves us, protects us, and stands with us as we go through our daily lives.

 

Because of the LORD’S great love, we are not consumed,

 

God loves each of us as if we were the only person in this world. His desire is to keep His children safe. 

 

For his compassions never fail.

 

God’s love and grace always come through each time we request His help for any circumstance we find ourselves or our loved ones.

 

They are new every morning.

 

On each dawning day, God brings to His children many blessings. Some of these come in the form of blessings. We have so very much to be thankful for. Jeremiah tells us there are many of these mercies. Each day we must be mindful of each of God’s compassions to us.

 

great is your faithfulness.

 

Yes, God is always faithful to us. I find it especially comforting that He exercises this attribute even when we are not. Sometimes, I get bogged down in my own issues and forget that God is in control. He waits for me to get it through my head that He is beside me, ready to guide me through the problem.

 

Please think about how often God has been faithful to you, even when maybe you were not.

Advent

 

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                 Do not be afraid. I bring you good tidings of great joy that will be for all the people.

                                                                Luke 2:10 (NIV)

The term Advent comes from the Latin. It means “He comes to.” We take it to mean that Jesus comes into our world. As we prepare for His arrival in our world, we celebrate His birth each year.

 

We welcome Him into our hearts and share His love with those around us, our families, our church families, our friends, those who assist us in the market place.

 

Our heavenly Father sent Jesus into our world because of His love for us, His children. He sent His son into a world fraught with hardship, heartache, and danger. He sent Jesus into our world to show us how to live for His Father. We are not to fear the things of this world.

Are there ways we can show our love to those around us? During the last shutdown of our church, our pastor’s wife started a ‘’shepherding group,”  certain ones signed up to act as shepherds to those who either can’t get out or haven’t gotten out to church due to fear that it is not safe for them to be out.

One lady I call lives in another town. She is divorced (has been for a long time.) Her sons are grown and live in other parts of the state. As we were ending our conversation earlier this week, she told me she loved me. I was touched.

 

Before snow set in, I hoped to have our Christmas decorations out of our yard barn. It did not happen, the snow won. Hubby is not feeling well either, so we will wait until he starts to feel better.

Praise God for His Word

 

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One of the many things we can praise God for is His Word-the Bible.

 

His word gives us strength we are down and direction when we are faced with issues that affect our lives.

Deuteronomy 30:19 “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life”

 

The above passage guided me through an exceedingly difficult period of my life.

 

Colossians 3:13 “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as     the Lord forgave you.”

 

As I was studying a Sunday school lesson, I read those words. I had to reread them several times. They convicted me. I try to live by these words currently, so many years later.

 

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

As a teenager, I first heard this passage in a Laity Day sermon at church. As a teen, I really did not understand what the person meant. As I matured, I learned that the words are true. “Seek First.” Should be our motto as well as our goal in life. 

 

Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

 

I have learned that all we must do is ask God and He will listen. We can seek His guidance and He will lead us to where He wants us.

 

All scriptures in this post are from the New International Version.

Praise the LORD

 

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Let everything that has breath praise the LORD

Psalm 150:5(NIV)

 

The psalmist says is succinctly. However, sometimes we feel that we have nothing to praise God for. We have myriad things to praise Him for. Here is a list of a few of those things.                

 

Did you sleep well last night?

We should thank God when we do. We should thank Him when we happen to be awake late at night or early in the morning. He may want us to pray at those times.

 

Did you wake up this morning?

You can praise God for his gift of another day.

 

Did you have breakfast this morning?

You can praise God for the food He provided.

 

Did your car have enough gasoline to get you to your destination?

You can praise God for giving you the funds to have fuel to allow you to get to your job or to the store or to your meeting.

 

Did you have a recent visit/ phone call from a family member?

We all have been through a tough year and must praise God for those times when we can see our family members.

 

Are you and your family members in reasonably good health? We must praise God for this considering what we see and hear about in our world.

 

Did a friend pray for/with you recently? We should all give praise to our God for that friend and her caring enough for us to pray.

 

Prayer: Father God: We praise You for who You are-our Father, our Savior, our Friend.

We give praise for all you have given us and have done for us. In Jesus’ Name, I  pray. Amen.

Praise God for His Love

 

 

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Praise the LORD, O my soul;

All my inmost being, praise his

Holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul

And forget not all his benefits—

Who forgives all your sins

And heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit

And crowns you with love and

Compassion,

Who satisfies your desires

With good things

So that your youth is renewed

Like the eagle’s.

Psalm 103: 1-5 (NIV)

 

King David penned these words. He instructs his heart to praise God. He further tells himself to give laud to God’s holy name.

Those who love God know that His name is special and not to be used irreverently.

 

Those who follow God are to remember that he forgives our sins and heals us from diseases. Sometimes we must adjust our lifestyle or use medication to control certain disorders that we may experience.

 

God also gets us out of bad places that we may happen to find ourselves. When He rescues us from evil ways, He engulfs us with ardor and understanding.

 

God fulfills our desires with good things in such a way that that He energizes us.

 

<I> The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

Slow to anger, abounding in love.

He will not always accuse,

Nor will he harbor his anger

forever;

He does not treat us as our sins

Deserve

Or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are from

The earth,

So great is his love for those who fear him;

As far as the east is from the west

So far has he removed our

transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:8-12

 

 When we suffer, God suffers with us. He treats us with love and kindness. God is long-suffering with us when we slip and fall from the path we walk with Jesus.

 

God does not always point a finger at us when we mess up. When we realize our sin and seek His forgiveness, He forgives us instantly.

 

God does not look down an say, “When she was a small child, she broke that thing her mother held dear.” He forgives and loves us because we belong to Him.

Happy Easter to You

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Our pastor, Rick Jones, has preached each Sunday through Lent via YouTube. Today's message was particularly special to me. I had hoped to share that video here but this that knowledge is above my skill level.

To see it go to YouTube videos and put in CRUMCanderson. The message for today is appropriately called "He Is Risen"

March Reflections

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After my fall in our kitchen and the injury to my ankle and a bone in my foot, we have been “sheltering in place”.

I have done a minimal amount of writing. I have three beta readings to get to. One is for a woman in our local writing group. The other two belong to writers on a forum that I frequent.

During this mandated “shelter-in-place, social distancing” time, our pastor calls the congregation through a “One-Call, Tell All” service to keep us encouraged. Also, both t weekends our church was closed he recorded a message of the message he would have given had the church been able to meet. The congregants can see them on YouTube.

Our Mustard Seed prayer group has been meeting via conference call. We have met several times during the church shut down.

One praise note we had during this month was that Aaron, the man involved in that small plane crash last October was released from the hospital about the middle of March. He was the only survivor out of the six passengers.

There are a lot of unanswered questions on the minds of the American people. Only God has the answers to these questions? The news this evening is that the social distancing guidelines will be in place until April 30.

Please pray for:

             Those who are infected with the Coronavirus

             The families of those who have lost loved ones to it

             The first responders

             The medical personnel who are on the front lines

             Our leaders that they may have the wisdom to make the right decisions

I will try to be more faithful in posting to this blog in April.

Peace and blessings to each of you.

God’s Steadfast Love

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I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will make music. I will ponder the way that is blameless. O, when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart in my own house; Psalm 101: 1-2 (ESV)

David wrote these words. He speaks of sharing love and justice. We know David was a musician-a harp player.

He tells me ways we should show God’s love to those around us. He chooses to sing and make music. He spends time thinking about how to think about innocence. He chooses to approach household issues with honesty in his heart.

The shepherd king has a lot to tell us in his writings. He uses his experiences to admonish us to confess our guilt to God. Here he tells us that we must live out our faith in God before those who are closest to us. When we choose to do that, we show them our love for God.

Showing our love for God is very simple. We ask Him to guide us in our interactions with those we meet. We beseech Him to give us His eyes to see certain circumstances of life as He sees them. We make these requests daily.

Recently at church, our Children’s Director gave a Children’s Moment message that was how children could show the love of Jesus. She, with the help of the children and some of us in the congregation, sang the following song. She adapted it to say “Jesus smile.”

I've got something in my pocket, it belongs across my face.

I keep it very close at hand, in the most convenient place.

I'm sure you couldn't guess it if you guessed a long, long while.

So, I'll take it out and put it on, it's a Great Big Brownie Smile!

In this process, no matter our age, we grow closer to God and become more like Christ.

Who Is like the Lord Our God? Corrected Copy

Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord,

praise the name of the Lord!

2 Blessed be the name of the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore!

3 From the rising of the sun to its setting,

the name of the Lord is to be praised!

4 The Lord is high above all nations,

and his glory above the heavens!

5 Who is like the Lord our God,

who is seated on high,

6 who looks far down

on the heavens and the earth?

7 He raises the poor from the dust

and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

8 to make them sit with princes,

with the princes of his people.

9 He gives the barren woman a home,

making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 113