The Best Advice I Received in 2011

The best advice I received in 2011? “The goal is Christ”; it’s easy to get wrapped up in the work or plan He has for us, but that isn’t the goal. If we focus on the path, the way, the plan, we’ll lose it, but if we focus on Him, we’ll be right where we should be, right where He wants us.

My motto for this year was drawn from that advice and a comment from Pastor:

Destination: Christ.

Reading list I Just Finished

I thought I’d share my reading list for the past 4 months, as the new year begins. I’m really glad that I was able to meet my goals, and then some! So I’m ready to begin fresh and new in 2012!

Under the history/ more “serious” (that which takes more concentration for me) reading:

· The Swamp Fox: the life and campaigns of General Francis Marion by Robert Bass

· Mad Anthony: the story of Anthony Wayne by Rupert Sargent Holland

· The Hoosier Schoolmaster

· Jeb Stuart by John W. Thomason, Jr.

· For Name and Fame by G. A. Henty

Under the “lighter” (that which I enjoy, though it tends to be more character building and “religious” in nature, plus classics) reading:

· Sunshine Country by Kristina Roy

· The Three Comrades by Kristina Roy

· The Two Wealthy Farmers by Hannah More

· Sense and Sensibility (Not necessarily recommended to everyone, and to no one without Wite Out in hand.)

· Three People by Isabella Alden (Pansy) (found my own copy of this at Goodwill for $0.99!)

· The Sun Is Shining on the Other Side by Margaret Jenson (Loaned from a friend)

· Probable Sons by Amy LeFevre

· Peace Child (Loaned from a friend, I forget the author)

· My Desire by Susan Warner

· Hidden Rainbow by Christmas Carol Kauffman (An old favorite I needed to re-visit)

· My Little Corner by Mrs. O.F. Walton

· Nobody by Susan Warner (ebook; one of my favorites)

· The White Dove by Christoph von Schmid

· Wych Hazel by Susan Warner (ebook)

· The Gold of Chickaree by Susan Warner (ebook)

· The Courage of Nikolai by Mary Ropes

· The Betrothed by Sir Walter Scott (Glad it was a free ebook, for I threw it out all the more cheaply for that! J)

· Nothing Daunted: the story of Isabel Kuhn by Gloria Repp (church library loan)

· By Searching by Isobel Kuhn (I really enjoyed this one) (church library loan)

· Toys of Peace by Leo Tolstoy (Actually didn’t finish this one; I threw it away before I finished. Not recommended!)

· Crown of Success by A.L.O.E. (ebook)

· Rambles of a Rat by A.L.O.E. (ebook; I was rather disappointed in this one, feeling like it didn’t live up to her other works. Probably there was something there and I missed it.)

And still on my shelf for my Sunday reading, is “John Ploughman’s Talk or Plain Advice for Plain People” by C. H. Spurgeon.

I also listened to a few books thanks to librovox.org:

· The Hidden Hand by E.D.E.N. Southworth (Okay but not excellent.)

· The Missing Bride by E.D.E.N.Southworth (Not recommended unless you want a novel with nothing to it.)

· Little Fishers and Their Nets by Pansy (Isabella Alden)

And on the list for January thru April, thus far:

· General Douglas MacArthur

· To Herat and Cabul by Henty

· Guadalcanal Diary

· And I want to get more Henty through the library

Second part:

· Clean Hands and Circulating Decimals (KOF – maybe Alden)

· Princess in Calico (R&S)

· Thrilling Escapes by Night (R&S)

· An Old-Fashioned Girl by L. M. Alcott

· For One Moment by C. Carol Kauffman

· My Mates and I by O.F. Walton

And to finish John Ploughman.

I’m also looking forward to again following the Bible reading schedule that Pastor has brought to us, reading the OT through once, the NT through twice, and Psalms twice and Proverbs 12 times in a year.

No Man Cared for My Soul

by Leah S. Carpenter

“…no man cared for my soul. Ps. 142:4

Let it never be said of us, that we cared not for another’s soul! Could thy co-worker, thy employer, thy neighbor say, that you cared not for their soul? Worse yet, could thy unsaved family member say so? Have you told them of the Man who so cared for their souls that he left his glory, his Father, his throne, to bear the punishment of their sins for them, that they might be freed?

Have you shared with them the blessed comfort you have had when you looked on your right hand and beheld, and there was no man that would know you, refuge failed you, and no man cared for your soul, then you looked up and beheld the Man hanging on the cross for you? The Man with arms of love opened wide, proving a sure refuge? Have you shared that that refuge may be theirs also? That this Man cares for their souls?

Christian, have you been – are you – in a situation where your fellow believers have cut you off? You have searched, but your familiar friends would not know you; they have left off caring for your soul. There is still One who cares, One Who will never fail to be a refuge for you. Look unto Jesus; fix your eyes on him. His love never fails, nor his care for your soul.

~Jesus cares for men’s souls through us~

8/29/10

What We Give To God

by Leah S. Carpenter

I have been bombarded recently, it seems, by comments about, and "encouragement" to, ministry. While I am a firm believer that each child of God has a particular ministry to fulfill, I also realize that for some, that means remaining precisely where He has placed us! However, despite this knowledge and conviction, I was beginning to get discouraged. Then I found this sweet bit of encouragement to continue in what He has given me to do: “Whatever is in our hand, that is what we give back to God.”

I read these words, and they blessed me. I have been wanting to give back to God what I don’t have – what he had given me for a season, but I don’t have right now, as well as a "ministry" He never gave me, but that others have suggested. You mean I can give back to God what I’m left with, though it seems like nothing? Oh, it doesn’t seem like nothing now, not if I can give it back to God! That makes the “nothing” I have left into “something”. Instead of worrying and reaching after something else, I can smile and work in enjoyment of what God has put in my hand to give back to him, just as instructed in Ecclesiastes.

Ah, sweet freedom!

“Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

Jn. 4:34

Can we say the same? Is God’s work more important to us than our necessary food? So we esteem God’s will above our sustenance, so that seeking his will satisfies our longing as physical food cannot? Do we crave to do God’s will as we crave food? Often, I fear, God’s children, with all of his abundance at our command, starve for want of spiritual craving. We are sent to his work, to labor in his vineyard, to harvest in his fields, yet we stop or stay from the work to feast on his blessings, rather than on his work and will. Ah, friend, let us leave the well and our water pot and go tell his goodness and mercy in order that others may come and drink, then also begin eating the meat of God’s will and work as well. The Father has given us the wonderful privilege of carrying on his work below; let us not stay selfishly by the well, but go out to do his will and work. Let us make his will our meat.

~Learn to crave the meat of God’s will~

And They Remembered His Words

by Leah S. Carpenter

“And they remembered his words.” Lk. 24:8

Ah! What comfort there was in remembering Christ’s words, that he would, indeed, rise again. How many other promises, comforts and instruction ought we to remember that we do not? How many times could we draw comfort sooner, even experience much less sorrow, if we but remembered his words in the beginning? How many sins would we avoid if we kept God’s words before us? Yet draw comfort from the fact that an angel was sent to remind the women at the tomb of Jesus’ words: another mercy from a loving God. When we need to be reminded of God’s words he will bring them to our mind, if we are faithful to seek his word. His word will comfort even in the worst events in life; his words will instruct and guide us in all things; his word will keep us from falling prey to Satan; His promises will strengthen us when we are weak.

~Let us seek God’s word, that we may remember it~

Re-Visiting Paul Harvey's July 4, 2004 "Address"

“In our nation’s Declaration of Independence did you know that there’s a significant Declaration of Dependence also? And one without the other won’t work. So, our text for today is taken from the next to last sentence in our nation’s Declaration of Independence. Now, understand, I’m no preacher. The pulpit is a responsibility infinitely higher than any to which I would aspire; but I am a historian and inevitably our professions overlap.

Our Nation’s Fourth of July celebrations have tended to focus on the word “freedom”. And yet, even as our nation’s founders offered their lives and their fortunes to win for our fledgling nation freedom from British rule, in that same eulogent document…the same document, they sought the guidance and the blessing of the Almighty. They appealed “to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our institutions”. “Rectitude”; that’s God’s standard for integrity and honesty. Our founders proclaimed themselves free to do whatever they might want? Oh my no! Oh no! They declared themselves free to do whatever they’d ought, and there’s the difference. They prayed ‘Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth’. They bound themselves to God’s will, and that’s when, in an instant as historical time is measured, our little six percent fraction of this planet’s population began to accumulate more than half of this world’s good things. Collecting on God’s written promise that believing on certain things and behaving ourselves all else would be added, and so it came to pass.

It was only in recent generations that Americans, mouthing platitudes about ‘freedom’, have obscured the very meaning of America. And now, all over the often bleak and bloody front page it’s apparent that self-government without self-discipline won’t work. And you can say that another way: Capitalism without God’s no better than Communism. The Third Reich a classic example – Capitalism without God. The land which had produced Bach and Beethoven and Brahms ended up producing Auschwitz and Dachau and Buchenwald. Self-government without self-discipline won’t work.

Today, once-free Americans have to be searched before they can board an airliner, not because there’s a dictator in Washington, but because there’s a handful of irresponsible ingrates running around loose. Because some who are free do not deserve to be, none of us can be. So they’re taking away our Fourth of July fireworks, they threaten to take away our guns, because some misuse theirs. Again, not because there’s tyranny in government, but because there’s anarchy in the unbuttoned brains of a handful of loony birds who don’t deserve to be free, so the rest of us can’t be. And it’s down that road, thumbing our noses at rightness and wrongness, that whole nations go from regulation to regimentation to tyranny. Self-government without self-discipline won’t work.

Much, much more important than our nation’s Declaration of Independence from foreign domination is our Declaration of Dependence on Divine Providence and sacred honor. You ignore the guidance system that was built into our republic, and we’re like any unguided missile, inevitably destined to self-destruct.”

Paul Harvey, July 4, 2004

Thoughts for a Discouraged Christian

I came across these lines recently which were written for a despairing Christian who wished to hide from all the world in shame over their sin and the false hope that their sin might be less if they had no chance to show it; if they were removed from temptation, as it were. I thought these lines were good and that perhaps others would like them as well.

“One must realize that such problems must be quietly faced head-on, yet with a degree of patience and much determination. One must always realize that the cleansing, changing, molding work is the Lord’s work, not our own work to push through or to despair over. No excuse for sin should ever be; I do not say that. I mean that we are not to demand of God how he should work. When we fall we must repent and acknowledge our sin. However, we often let Satan work, rather than God, by giving over to despair when we should instead remember the promise in Phil. 1:6, “that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”. One must take their eyes off themselves and fall at the cross of Christ for renewed strength. Phil.1:6 is a humbling, hopeful, joyous promise to one who has fallen yet again: God has not given up on you yet, and never will.”

Fixed On God

“My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.”

Ps. 57:7

“…his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.”

Ps. 112:7

Ah, how blessed the one whose heart is fastened to the Lord! How trusting one is whose heart is established on God and his Word. “My heart is fixed…I will sing and give praise.” When we are fixed on Jesus we will encourage ourselves only in the Lord our God and we will never be ashamed. In the darkest circumstances we will see, not the tempest, but the Master; not the fiery furnace, but the Son of God with us; not the thorn, but the sufficiency of God’s grace; not the enemy surrounding, but the fiery chariots guarding; not the cross, but the crown. How bright is the outlook when our heart is fixed, for all we see is Jesus.

When Peter walked in the water, he was initially fixed on the Master of the wind, but he “unfixed” his heart and eyes and thereby his faith. Let us purpose to remain firmly fastened to God, to draw near to him, to put our trust in him, that we may declare all his works. (Ps. 73:28)

~Fixed on God, never to be discouraged~

Memorial Day

Memorial Day

• Not a day of celebration, but of commemoration.
• Not a day of fun, but of freedom which has been bought at a high price
• Not a day of joy, but yet of thankfulness.
• Not a day of sorrow only, but a day of gratitude as well.
• Not just a day to decorate the graves of the fallen, but also to "give flowers" to those who are still fighting, or have fought, for your freedom.

Memorial Day: Thank a vet today!

Let them know that their sacrifice is remembered.

Here is a Memorial Day Poem I wanted to share. I wrote the poem and then added the pictures from some we have shot; my brothers kindly believe everyone should see this, but that opinion may be happily biased. :-)

Jesus and Alexander

a poem of comparison

Jesus and Alexander the Great died at thirty three:
One lived and died for self; One died for you and for me.
The Greek died on the throne; The Jew died on the cross.
One’s life a triumph seemed; the other a total loss.
One led armies forth; the other walked alone.
One shed a whole world’s blood; the other shed his own.
One won the world in life, but lost it all in death;
The other lost his life to win a whole world’s faith.

Jesus and Alexander died at thirty three:
One died in Babylon; and one on Calvary
One gained all for himself; and One Himself He gave
One conquered every throne; the other every grave
One made himself god and God made himself less
The one lived but to blast; the other but to bless
When died the Greek, forever fell his throne of swords;
But Jesus died to live forever, King of kings and Lord of lords

Jesus and Alexander died at thirty three:
The Greek made all men slaves; The Jew made all men free.
One built a throne on blood; the other built on love.
The one was born of earth; the other from above.
One conquered all the earth, to lose all earth and heaven.
The other gave up all, that all to him be given.
The Greek forever died, the Jew forever lives--
He loses all who gets, and wins all who gives.
~Unknown~

It's More Than Just a Symbol

It’s more than just a symbol,

For it frees lost souls from sin;

The cross on old Mount Calvary

Gives peace, from God, within.

It’s more than just a symbol,

For a symbol cannot save;

It surely is reality

That Christ his life, free, gave.

It’s more than just a symbol,

For it fills the law for us;

It frees us from the curse of sin

And raiseth us from dust.

It’s more than just a symbol,

For the curse was borne for me:

My Saviour at that place of shame

Was hanged upon a tree.

It’s more than just a symbol,

For adoption came by One

Who hung upon a cursed tree:

The Father’s only Son.

It’s more than just a symbol,

It’s salvation full and free;

Reality of Jesus’ blood

Has paid the debt for me.

~LSC~ 9/5/10

From message by Brother Mike Bird

the same morning.

Text: Mark 15:25

It Is The Storm

“But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves; for the wind was contrary. And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went into them, walking on the sea.” Mt. 14:24-25

How the storms of life frighten and weary us! How we seek to be delivered from them, or avoid them altogether! We are bruised by the tossing of the tempest and know not how we can make it through this storm. Then Jesus comes walking on the sea; using the very thing we wished to escape from to come to us. All his waves and his billows that come over us are bringing our Saviour, the Master of the Wind, nearer and nearer. There he is, in the midst of our storm, just as we are. He comes to us as we are, totally unable to steer our vessel to him, unwilling that we should be parted. And yet we ask to avoid of be delivered from the storms!? Ah, my friend, it is in the storm that Jesus comes to us, bidding us “be not afraid”.

It is the storm which brought him near.
“It is I, be of good cheer;
Look to me, my child; have no fear;
In the midst if your storm I am here.”

He Will Speedily Come to Aid

by Leah S. Carpenter

Read Luke 18:1-8

Jesus taught in this parable that we “ought always to pray and not to faint”. He continued to comment that we may cry day and night and he bear long with us, yet he will avenge us speedily. Is not this an example of man’s timetable versus God’s timetable? Faint not, praying child: continue in faith. By your timetable Jesus may be four days late, as when Lazarus died, but God—our sovereign King of kings, Lord of lords, Creator of the universe—works speedily on our behalf. And he is always exactly on time! Never a split second early, never a split second late. God may be bearing long with you to perfect and try your faith; when he comes to speedily avenge you, will he find faith in your heart? Pray on. Faint not. Believe the promise he gave you here. And remember, though the time seems long to you, God is speedily coming to your aid.

What I Will With My Own

by Leah S. Carpenter

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?” Mt. 20:15a

What a question for the Master to have to ask! And yet, the sweetness that is there for God’s child. He will do what he chooses with his own. How many times in the valley, in the desert, in the wilderness, have I questioned what the Master is doing. “Why did you send this trial?” “Why did you refuse this blessing?” “Why did you place me here?” “Why did you allow this?” As his child, I may relax and trust in him, that all things will work to my good, for he may do what will with me. Is it not his very Lordship that I question? I am his subject; he may demand all and give nothing. But the same infinite love which chose me for his own will also rule what he does with me. What need have I to fear? “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25c)

“What I will”; such power is in those words! The authority gives place for no other authority, shares none of its right with another. I have no authority to will on my own. I have only the right to will my Master’s will. But that awesome authority is sweetened by the precious possessiveness of the last two words: “mine own”. We care for our own; we nurture, protect and defend our own. If we then, being earthly, care for our own, how much more will our Heavenly Father care for his own?

“Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own?” Let us, from the heart, bow our heads in submission and say “Yea Lord, Do with me as thou wilt.” “I delight to do thy will, O my God.” (Ps. 40:8a) What payment do we not owe to him who, “having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end.”(Jn. 13:1)?

Cut Down That You May Grow

“For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.” Job 14:7, 9.

Here, indeed, is hope! Dear child of God, have you been “cut down”? No matter, for “through the scent of water”—Living Water—you may bud again. The husbandman prunes that the tree may yield more fruit, and so it is with God. One has said “God is a zealous pruner, for he knows who, falsely tender, spares the knife but spoils the rose”. It is the truest Love that will “cut down” in order to grow a “tender branch” that “will not cease”.
An husbandman prunes only those trees which are his. What comfort you may take in being “cut down”; this is a reminder that you are truly God’s child and that he is caring for you. He is fulfilling his promise to perform a good work in you until the day of Jesus Christ. He is forming you more to his own image that you may bring more glory to his name.

~Cut down, that you may grow~

Finding Jesus Again

by

Leah S. Carpenter

In John 20:1-16 we have a beautiful picture of what we must do when we have lost the presence of Jesus in order to recover it. Mary had lost the presence of Jesus, and couldn’t keep still in her normal routine until she had found him again. She rose early in the morning the first possible day she could seek him, going to the place she knew he had last been. She had lost him there, and there she was determined to find him, if all she could have was his lifeless body to care for. Though he had apparently failed, she had faith and love enough to not give him up; she would stay there with him. She had no desire to live apart from him. She sought of all those around, asking them to “tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”, yet she would not leave without him, or at least a knowledge of where he was. Her grief was so great that she could not recognize Jesus as he stood before her until she heard his voice. He was not unmindful of her perseverance and devotion, even at the hour of returning to his Father and his glory. She was rewarded by his very presence and communion with him there, her deep sorrow turning to joy. When he made himself known to her, and she knew she had him again, there was only one thing she could do, and that was to worship.

Have you, too, lost the presence of Jesus? Return to the place you lost him and persevere there until he is again revealed to you. He will honour your devotion and will come to you again, if you are truly seeking him, restoring the communication so dear to your heart and necessary to your soul. Remain beside the grave of broken dreams, hopes, plans; remain even by the grave of what you thought was the Lord’s will for your life but that “fell through”; remain at the place you last saw Jesus; until he appears with words of peace to your heart. He will surely come to those who seek him again.

January 26, 2010

If I Had My Way

by

Leah S. Carpenter

If I had my way, there would be no more sorrow in the world. Joy would fill hearts, and happiness would no longer be fleeting. Families would love and remain close; church families would get along, edifying one another, building one another up in the Lord. There would be no sighs of longing after that which is so good to desire, yet out of one’s reach. If I had my way, there would be no pain – mental, emotional or physical. There would be no sickness, no weakness, no premature death. Precious dreams would remain and not fly away, unrealized. Life would continue a long course, with human life treasured and allowed to be held by those nearest it.

But if I had my way, there would be no softening, strengthening effects of sorrow, no compassion learned from pain. The greatest, most difficult – yet sweetest – influence in our lives would be swept away: sorrow, pain. Love would not be as deep, for it could not grow as well without sorrow, which is love’s sweetest, most nourishing water. Joy could not be as sweet, for it would not have the contrast of sorrow to teach us how to savour it. Life could not be as sweet, for, without brevity, we would not know to treasure it. Moreover, if I had things in my way, there would be no need of a Saviour, no need to turn to Jesus, our truest Treasure. There would be no need for the Comforter; no realization of Christ’s arms of love and his sufficient grace. Ah, then I shall leave in his hands the ordering of our lives, for he knows how to give the best to his children. He knows best how to give us all things richly to enjoy. Truly his way is best; let me not murmur, but cling to him.

I cannot end pain and sorrow, but one day, God will. I cannot end sickness, but one day God will. I cannot end sin, but one day God will make us perfect. I cannot hold my dear, hurting friends when they cry, but God not only holds them, he puts their tears into his bottle. I cannot mend their broken hearts, but God is mending them. I cannot use sorrow for their good, but God is – that is why he sent the pain. I cannot stop premature death, but God, the Sovereign of all the universe, knows that there is none, for all are in his hand. I cannot have things my way, but I have them the way they should be: ordered by the God of Love, who not only can do no wrong, but who promises to turn all things to good for those who love him. Ah, then let me have things God’s way, for his way is infinitely best.

Ah, then let me have things in God’s way,
For his way is infinitely best,
Let me embrace now God’s way,
For in his way I find rest.

Let me have things in God’s way,
For my way would ruin it all
For God knows best that in his way
There is no flaw at all.

My way has many lacked blessings
That would ruin his plan
For my way could never consider
The best that there is for man.

Let me joy now in God’s way,
And never a shadow of doubt
Cast at the wisdom of his way
And discontentment block out.

Because of Unbelief

by Leah S. Carpenter

“And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Mt. 13:58

Is it so in our lives? Troubles surround us and we are not delivered. Sickness is present, and we are not healed. Loved ones are lost, and Christ is not calling them. Dear ones are backsliding, and they have not returned. We grieve and we cry, but God does not work: where are the miracles? Is it because of our unbelief? Is our lack of faith limiting God? He will allow us to limit him by our lack of faith, you know. If we ask in unbelief, we are not genuinely asking and God will not bless. Not worth asking means not worth having. Let us ask in faith, not wavering, that our Father may freely give us all things, as he desires. He stands ready, waiting, eager to give what we ask, to reveal what we seek, to open when we knock according to his will, even as a father who waits for his child to ask for help. Trust him, try him, and he will perform miracles for you. Ask in faith, begging for crumbs (*) of God’s power even when it seems he is denying you, until he says “be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” (Mt. 15:22-28). Let it not be said of our lives that God did not many mighty works because of our unbelief.

Just Crumbs

Just crumbs was all she asked that day

When she a miracle sought;

The truth of His mercy and who He was

She had firmly caught.

A dog she knew herself to be,

Unworthy before Him to come,

Yet she knew the miracle to Him

Was nothing more than crumbs.

She came to Christ in simple faith,

Believing all He had done,

And what she asked was to His power

Nothing more than crumbs.

Have I faith enough to ask

For nothing more than crumbs,

Just as the Gentile woman asked

Believing on the Son?

Give me faith, O Lord, I pray

That in faith I may come

Humbly asking, as this woman did,

For nothing more than crumbs.

Matthew 15:21-28

Please Visit This Site

I have been greatly enjoying Pastor Sample's messages. Please take some time to visit this church site and listen to some of these sermons.

And may you have a blessed and happy 2011.