Has the world changed....?

I lost a very, very dear friend yesterday......

I know life goes on......
but.....

it has changed.......

this dear friend was special!

We, he and his wife, we had been friends for nearly 50 years.

He was a brother I never had.....
gave me brotherly advice when I needed it............

he has gone! ......And......I will miss him so much....but,

the worst of it is....he was not a believer......

I tried to tell him, but he just could not accept it....

I now keep asking myself...."Where is he?"

What is he thinking now?


The funeral is either this coming Thursday or Friday....

Please Lord....help me with the right words to speak at the right time....
to the rest of his family.....

Bless you
Yaddy

A dear friend of mine was telling me this.....

"Just after I was married, we lost our first baby.....

it was heart wrenching......... but we saw God's will in it and after quite a long period of time.....

we settled down..... and about a year later, we were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.


We were so happy...

Two or so years later we had another blessing in the guise of another little girl...our lives were complete....
But.......you know....that terrible enemy satan...the liar......kept on telling me that having lost a baby......
I was not capable of giving life or keeping anything alive.


Dont' believe him...... ever....he is a liar!

Some years later, a friend asked me to look after a living yeast type mix for her...She was going away on a vacation and
all I had to do was feed it some milk, (I had the instructions) and some flour.

Apparently you feed it, then after so many days you use the most of the mix to make a loaf cake and keep some feed it milk
and flour for so many days....and the circle goes on.....easy! she said!It's alive as long as it bubbles and has a yeasty smell...

So....It was time to feed it some milk, it had to be full cream, I only had shelf milk long life, so I figured that would work, so that milk I fed it.....then some flour......

Next day....it was bubbling but....not as much as it had been.....but....it was bubbling....
Next day.....no bubbles....nothing.....zip.....it was smelly too.....I killed it.....

and.....wouldn't you know it.....theat number one enemy started to whisper in my mind...."See.....you kill things.....even something as simple as this.....you killed it...."

I was devastated......

Maybe it was true...maybe I did kill things.....

I started to do some gardening with my two girls.....we would grow strawberries.....

I got the whole kit.....everything we needed.....pot...dirt.....seeds.....fertilizer..... and off we went....

planted the seeds watered and fertilized them.....and watched......nothing......

wathed some more.....nothing.....

again...the enemy whispered "see....you kill things...."

I was getting desperate now....maybe it was true...maybe I did kill things!

I had another misscarriage.....and went into a severe deppression....

Now I knew....it was me.....I KILL THINGS...


Then.....Jesus come into the scene.....HE had been there all along, but I had ignored Him, and listened to the enemy...

Today....I am fine.....Jesus is my strength and my comfort....

without Him I am nothing.....

I know it was not me that killed things...."

We chatted for a while longer and I know now that she is "over it"
she glows with the love of God....
Where would we all be without Jesus?
Blessings
Yaddy

A long and winding road!

I drive an old pick up Toyota 1995 model......It's been really good and as far as I am concerned the Lord provided it for me.
I made a lengthy trip in it yesterday well it was a good 175 km's and it was a lonely road between two beautiful National parks.


All went well and I met up with a group of ladies, some of whom I had not seen for as many as 30 odd years...easy!

We had speakers in the morning and if I am absolutely honest, I am not a very good "speaker listener"

We had a lovely lunch and after lunch I decided I was going home, as I had seen the lovely friends and we have exchanged addresses, we will keep in touch again, so I felt, there was nothing to stop me from making the trip back home as I wanted to be home before dark, as I am also not good at driving at night.

When I had reached a good 150 km's from home, my pick up started to play up.....it felt to me like it was not getting any gas/petrol to the engine....it had done it before and I was told there was nothing wrong with the fuel pump, so I panicked thinking..."What is it? I need to get home....LORD....please get me home..."

I had visions of having to stay somewhere, but even then, what was the point? The mechanic couldn't find anything wrong when it did it before, why should any one find the cause this time? So, I traveled on!

It was a long and winding road,....
ups and downs......

and for an easy 20km's or so, I crawled along....I would step on the gas.....the car would hiccup and shunt....and nearly stop.....it's a manual, so I kept changing back into second and third.....it would pick up a bit then shunt again.....it did that for so long.....

then....I'd coast along...till it dropped speed, then on the gas again.....

But, then....it suddenly went o.k. and I was doing 90km's per hour in top gear, (fifth) and off I went.....

very nervously continuing on my way for nearly 25km's .......and it started again......cough cough.....splutter....splutter.....especially when I went up a hill and around a lot of bends....About 35km's from home I had to go through 30km's of bends...and I mean bends....some so tight...they are almost like a hairpin....you go right and almost immediately left and then right away left again....for 30km's....

I was really worried as there are no places to pull up and what if a truck came along and didn't see me.....and the motor died?

65km's from home, I got the firm thought in my mind...."STAY IN TOP GEAR..."

It was not me thinking...."Maybe I should......" or ..."I think i might..."

To be honest, I drive a manual because I love the changing of the gears, so I do not mind going around the bends as that means lots of changing, but.....now...?

STAY IN TOP GEAR...?"( it had to be from the Lord)

I STAYED IN TOP GEAR.....

IT DID NOT PLAY UP ANYMORE.....


When I arrived at the start of the 30km bends....I had my hand on the gear stick.......but left it in top gear....

I went around those bends....amazed at the way my "pick up" went so smoothly....

I dropped as low as 40km's on the speedo...(I should have been in 2nd gear at that speed) stayed in top gear.....

all through the bends I stayed in top gear.....dropped down to the 40 mark at least 4 times...I think......no worries!

Stayed in top gear till I arrived home...before dark.....and thanked my wonderful Jesus for keeping me safe and bringing me home before dark....
God is good...
blessings...
Yaddy

My name is Starr Rogers, and I want to tell you my story of God’s grace and forgiveness.

At age 16, I was married.
A few years later, I became involved with a married man. We had an affair that produced a daughter, which I passed off as my husband’s child.
Our affair lasted 10 years, before my first marriage dissolved, and I married this man. During those 10 years I had become pregnant four other times, and all four times, I aborted them.

It wasn’t long after we married that I became pregnant for the sixth time. Like the others, he pitched a fit and demanded of me that I get rid of this pregnancy, too. So I traveled to Atlanta. I was in my third trimester, and Alabama, where I lived, wouldn’t allow an abortion that far along.

I entered the Atlanta abortion clinic. When you go into these places, all they want to do is get you in and get your money. They sent me in to talk to this lady, and she was supposed to do all of this stuff. However, when I met with her, it was the strangest thing.

She told me all the things that they would do with my baby. She even showed me where they put the babies after they were aborted. She told me, “Don’t do this!” She said, “Go back to Alabama, and have your baby.” That’s what I did. I had a son.

Eventually I knew something was wrong with me. I couldn’t be at peace. There was a constant churning inside of me all the time. I had so much rage that I just wanted to kill everybody. The anger, the rage, and my broken heart were unbearable. Trying to numb my anger and pain, I kept having other extramarital affairs, but I found no satisfaction in a man.

I planned my suicide. I wrote letters to each one of my children about how sorry I was for committing suicide and how I loved them, but I just couldn’t take the pain anymore.

But God had a different plan! One day at the library I picked up a free, local Christian magazine. I ran across this article asking, “Do you need healing from your abortions?” There was a telephone number listed, and though I struggled, I called the number.

I am healed and able to forgive myself for murdering my children. I came to know our sweet, precious Savior and learned how amazing it is that He shed His blood for us. He alone can take you in His arms and wipe all the stains away.

I recently appeared as a guest on Club 36 through Watchmen Broadcasting out of Augusta, GA. I want to help other women going through post-abortion like I was.

Because Starr wants to help other women who are struggling as she did after an abortion, she has shared her e-mail address for anyone who wants to contact her about options or advice for post-abortion healing: starrkayrogers@gmail.com.

FOR THE JOY......

Hebrews ch 12 verse 2:
"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of [our] faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Can you really grasp this......

“who, for the joy set before Him...”

He went to the cross “for the joy set before Him...”

He endured all that pain.....”for the joy that was set before him....”

I cannot comprehend a love like that....so I will just bask in it!
Blessings....
Yaddy

Pass over! It is almost here!

Psalm 136:1, “Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever
__________

Mercy according to my Webster's Dictionary means:
(1) compassion or forbearance shown to an offender or subject; clemency or kindness extended to someone instead of strictness or severity;

(2) a blessing regarded as an act of divine favour or compassion;

(3) relief of distress; compassion shown to victims of misfortune.

According to Unger's Bible Dictionary, "mercy" is defined as "a form of love determined by the state or condition of its objects. Their state is one of suffering and need, while they may be unworthy or ill-deserving. Mercy is, at once the disposition of love respecting such, and the kindly ministry of love for their relief."


In more than four hundred places in Scripture the Mercy of God is mentioned directly and is also mentioned indirectly in hundreds more, from parables to prayers. My brethren, too often we fail to acknowledge God's enduring mercy.

Sometimes this is because we are confused or depressed or because we fear our sins have placed us beyond his reach. God’s mercy reminded me of His rainbow and His cross. Let me explain what I mean.

I remember so very vividly one day in July of last year a steady rain was falling and as I looked toward the east, lightning punctuated the dark angry clouds. Towards the west, the sun was shining so brightly and set against the ominous sky in vivid living colour was the most brilliant double rainbow I had ever seen!

In just a few brief moments earth’s Creator was whispering through the soft glow of that spanning arch.

My thoughts at that time…..
“were people really listening? Did they hear His message of mercy?”

That rainbow reflected God’s promise that He would never again, judge the wickedness of the earth by a flood.

However, there is another symbol which speaks of His mercy. It’s a rough-hewn cross, whose shadow is cast over all of history against the backdrop of human sin. It promises that God’s wrath will never fall on those who trust Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Jesus Himself bore its full force in our place.
The rainbow…… and the cross…….

both speak so eloquently and silently of God’s precious love and enduring mercy.

The question then arises; what if we reject the cross and Christ’s death?

You know, God gives us that freedom;

however, there will never be any other symbols of mercy……..no other covenants.

My friend, God has done all He can do to win our voluntary allegiance. Look to the cross of Calvary, where He Himself bore the awful consequences of our sin in the person and body of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.
__________

Further reflection:

Like all of God’s attributes, His mercy is intrinsic to Him. He is called “the Father of mercies” and a “God of mercy” (2 Corinthian 1:3; Nehemiah 9:17). His mercy is also abundantly great and boundless, higher than the heavens and filling the earth. Scripture refers to “the multitude of his mercies” (Lamentations 3:32) because the acts stemming from this attribute are so numerous.

Mercy isn’t receiving what we do deserve.

We deserve to go to hell, but by His infinite mercy we shall never go there, if you have received His Son, as Saviour.

We don’t deserve to go to heaven either, but by His grace we’ll spend eternity there.

His grace justifies and His mercy pardons.

His grace admits us to heaven and His mercy saves us from hell.

The only thing that will last forever is God’s mercy. In Psalm 136 we are reminded of this inspiring truth.

Twenty-six times the writer gives us something for which to praise the Lord, and then he reminds us,
“His mercy endures forever”.
Have you ever considered what this means when:
we sin and need forgiveness…….
our lives seem a jumbled mess that we can’t control,

we can’t find anyone to turn to for help…..

each day is a struggle because of illness, despair, or conflict……
even life, sometimes seems overwhelming.
My friend, we can still praise the Lord, because His mercies don't cease or fail. They are new every morning (Lamentation 3),

Constantly fresh…. and perfect…… and never fading with age…… His mercy endures forever.
Mikey

Thank you Mikey
Bless you
Yaddy

What is “GRACE”

My Webster Dictionary explain the meaning of GRACE as this:

Favour:..... Charm:...... Loveliness:

Kindness shown to another:

Goodness:

Willingness to grant something:

Clemency:

Mercy:

Respite:

All done out of pure kindness without expecting anything in return:

Being granted a privilege":

To make more worthy:

The first example of grace in the Bible is Genesis 6:8:
(Of course there are many more)

Genesis 6:8: But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. (KJV)

Some translations use the word Favour instead of grace, but the root word is Chen which means “graciousness, that is, subjectively (kindness, favour) or objectively (beauty): - favour, grace (-ious), pleasant, precious, favoured.”

In Genesis chapter 6, God is looking at the world, looking at the people He created, and His heart is broken.

His creation, at that time, was all about evil, all the time, and the Bible says that the Lord regretted that he had ever made human beings…
with one exception.
God showed “grace” (all the above ^ all the time) to Noah and his family.

The Bible says that Noah was righteous, even blameless among the people of his time,

and that he was faithful to God, but it doesn’t explicitly say that that is why God saved Noah and his family.

It just says that Noah found favour grace.... (all the above ^ all the time) in the eyes of the Lord.

I believe that God saved Noah because of his heart, not because of what Noah was (or wasn’t) doing.

God shows grace (all the above ^ all the time) to us every day of our lives,

and will continue to show us grace (all the above ^ all the time) until the day we die.

Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(24) and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (NIV)

If you’ve been going through life, frantically trying to do your best, perhaps it’s time to stop and receive God’s best instead.

Psalms 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. (NIV)
Bless you
Yaddy