Holy Week Continues - Enjoy

Follow this link my dear friends and enjoy this beautiful day!

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMMy-PlexHQ

The Most HOLY WEEK

I just love Easter!  I love everything about it.  I love that it heralds spring and we focus on all the newness that spring brings.  I especially think it reminds us of the newness that Jesus Christ offers every day.  I'm drawn to spring because of the fresh new beginnings around me.  Tiny buds forming on dead-looking trees and shrubs offer the hope of summer.  Early flowers showing off their blooms emphasizing new beauty.  Grass moving from brown to vivid green beckons me to come outside! 

I can't help but parallel spring with my Christian walk.  The newness of life that comes when we give ourselves to Jesus.  The new beginning when I confess my sins (again).  The hope of eternal life!  The wonder that God finds beauty in me when he looks at me and beckons me to come to Him! 

This is probably my most favorite Holiday of the year because I can't help but focus on His love for me. 
I became a Christian when I was 10 years old, but God keeps working with me and draws me near to Him each and every day and I praise Him for it.  If I am clay in the Potter's hand, I am soooooooooooo thankful he doesn't just throw me away!  I know he must feel like it lots of times!  I continue to marvel at His unconditional love for me! 

Have a most Holy, happy Easter week and bask in His Love!  If you follow facebook you might have seen that I posted one of my favorite "Easter" songs on it.  If you don't do facebook you can follow the link below to listen to this spine-tingling, hair-raising, beautiful song by Sandi Patti and Larnelle Harris.  I am going to challenge my friends on facebook to post their favorites this week too.  Maybe it will keep us in the right frame of mind for Easter Holy Week. 

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLGTXz-txTY to get your Holy Week started off with a blessing!

Final Four - Not

Big Blue Madness came to an abrupt halt tonight. The young Cats just couldn’t get going for this one. It was heartbreaking after the tremendous season they have had, but we knew it could happen. It surely has been a fun season for Kentucky, especially considering the ones of the last few years. They don’t have anything to be ashamed of. They ignited the hearts of the big blue nation and everyone has totally enjoyed the ride! But now, it’s back to the real world for all the FANatics in the state and around the country.

Wall, Cousins, Patterson and Bledsoe have big decisions to make and I surely hope the best for them.  I would sure love to see them stay for another year, but it probably won't happen.  I also surely hope they have made the most important decision of their life and that would be to follow Christ as their Savior.  All the other stuff won't amount to anything in eternity.  But if they are on Jesus' team now they will go all the way in eternity! 


I have really enjoyed observing all the hype surrounding Coach Calipari and his young and talented team. I don’t really get as crazy as a lot of fans do. Though I do enjoy it, I sometimes get a little annoyed that basketball fever seems to take priority over everything.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if we all got as excited over winning souls for Christ as winning basketball games? Churches everywhere would be expanding their sanctuaries to make room for more people. Or, wouldn’t it be great if pew seats were in demand as much as UK tickets? I wonder if we started advertising tomorrow for great seats on Easter Sunday, how many churches would sell out? Maybe if each one of us would start with ourselves and become more excited , then maybe we could excite others. It has to start within the heart of each and every person. Of course we love Jesus, but do we get excited about our relationship with Him? Do we try to excite others? Something to think about………………………….

Give me a J……..
Give me an E……….
Give me an S………..
Give me a U……….
Give me a S!
What’s that spell? SALVATION!!!!!

Let's Get Fired Up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spring - At Last!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Spring at last!!! I am so thrilled it is finally here. This has to have been the longest winter on record! Well, it seemed that way to me. I hate it when it gets dark so early and there is nothing to do after supper but sit around flipping the remote to try to find something to watch on television. At my house, it has been a hopeless search! We pay more for t.v. now and have more channels than we have ever had and can’t find anything decent or entertaining to watch!

I guess I could’ve been accomplishing something this winter like putting pictures in albums or cleaning out drawers, or…ugh boring, boring, boring! I just couldn’t get up the gumption to do anything profitable. If it hadn’t been for the Wii game the kids gave us for Christmas, we might have died from boredom! But, instead we bowled and played some tennis on those long winter nights.

But, now, it is spring and daylight savings time has arrived earlier than usual which means more daylight at the end of the day which keeps me wanting to keep moving longer and then the nights seem shorter!

The grass is getting greener by the day and early spring flowers are making their appearances. One of my favorites is the daffodil. I just love their yellow on green and their perky stature! They just seem to be screaming “here we are at last!” as they stand so tall and proud. It’s all I can do to keep from cutting them and bringing them in the house with me, but it just seems a shame to take them out of their natural setting. And, besides, they are the only flowers I have blooming right now and my landscape so needs their color!

Also announcing spring’s arrival are the birds. My yard has been full of them chirping and flitting and flying about everywhere. Their voices were filling my backyard with beautiful music and tiny finches were eating at my feeder while bigger birds were “flirting” with each other all over the yard!

As I look at the flowers and enjoy the birds I am reminded of the verses in Matthew 6 about how God cares for us:

25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]?  28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? - Matt. 6:25-30

Really now, why do I worry?

Have a beautiful spring day and ……………………don’t worry!

Thanks to my good friend Pam Brown for the bird picture!!

My Heritage From the Lord!

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
—Psalm 127:3-5

Today is my oldest son's birthday. He is 39 years old. God has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams with my two sons and today I am praising Him for these gifts and wishing my oldest son, Chris the happiest birthday ever! I pray God continues to use Him in many ways and I pray Chris continues to be an instrument in His hand!

Happy Birthday My Son! I love you and am very proud of you!

God is way too good to me!!!

ENCOURAGING EACH OTHER

Merriam-Webster.com defines encourage as: to inspire with courage, spirit or hope; to spur on; to give help.

One of my on-going prayers is that God will remind me to be an encourager. That is one of the reasons that I decided to write a blog. I hoped when I began it that maybe, in some way, something I write would encourage someone in their daily life and especially in their walk with the Lord. I like to think that encouragement is one of the things that God has called me to do. But sometimes, I too need encouraging and several beautiful ladies have ministered to my spirit in a timely manner.

We all have our down times, the times when we feel totally discouraged and maybe even depressed. There is nothing sinful about feeling down. It is human and anyone who says they never feel depressed is either not telling the truth or living in a fantasy world. For some reason, I have been feeling this way a lot lately. I don't know why. I certainly have many reasons to be "up." It has kind of been coming and going with me. I will be perfectly fine and then all of a sudden, I feel down.

Several times in the last two weeks someone has given me an encouraging word when I was really feeling down. This just helped to remind me how many wonderful, Christian friends I have and also how I need to remember to encourage others as much as possible.

Today, I want to publicly acknowledge those who have encouraged me. Several wonderful ladies have taken me to the “well” of encouragement and refreshment just when I needed it most! I was feeling “dry” and they watered me. I was feeling forgotten and they remembered me. I was feeling old and someone asked for wisdom. I guess I have been having my own little pity party and God has taken pity on me and sent these “sisters” my way. It never ceases to amaze me how God puts people in our path to give us a lift just when we need it most.

Today, I want to dedicate this blog to those dear friends who have ministered to me lately. I won't call your name because I might leave someone out and I sure wouldn't want to do that. To the one who always encourages me about my family- thank you so much. To the ones who take time to give me a positive comment about something I am doing - you just don't know how much it means to me! To the young woman who cared about my opinion and sought my advice - you were a blessing! All of you girls are great role models for me and others. I love you and I thank you for ministering to me!

Today the sun is shining and hopefully that will lift everyone's spirits. It has seemed like such a long winter!

Here are some of Solomon’s Proverbs that have to do with words:

Proverbs 15: 1 - 2; 4
1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly.
4 The tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, but a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

Proverbs 25: 11
A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

Have a blessed day and share you "apples of gold" with someone else. I’m going to try to!

How Well Do You Know God?

In my last blog I alluded to Psalm 46:10, "Be still and Know that I am God." In that blog I mostly concentrated on the being still part. Today I want to share what I hope will help you understand the "know" part.

God is so big that most of us feel so tiny and insignificant in His presence. We feel as if we will never know enough about God to be considered wise. I pray for wisdom almost every day and to be honest I don't think I make much headway! Actually, just when I think I am making progress I do something really stupid and wonder why God doesn't just give up on me. I guess, if nothing else, my blunders keep me humble!

But when I think about getting to know God, it really helps me to think about it in the same way I think about my good friends. Think about your best friend. How did you get to be best friends? You got to that point by spending time together talking, listening, sharing your heart with each other most likely. Over time you grew so close that you began to really trust each other and depend on each other. It didn't happen all at once.

The same is true with our relationship with God. We can't ever know Him if we don't spend time with Him. We need to talk with Him daily and not just do all the talking...but listen as well. Listen to what He is saying to our heart and mind. We can trust Him completely and share our deepest thoughts and desires and just like our best friend He will be there for us. And, what is even better is that, unlike our human buddy, He will never, ever let us down!

Again, Psalm 46:10 advises us to: "Be still and know that I am God."

Let's try to get to know Him even better this week! Have a great one!

Just "Being" With our Families

28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

We live in a world of speed. We can have our food instantly from the microwave; talk to our friends instantly through text messaging; send someone a copy of a document by fax (after we have made a copy quickly on the copy machine.) and we can change channels on our t.v.s in an instand by hitting one preset button. We get used to speed and then when we don’t have it we get impatient.

Our lives adjust to speed and it seems we go faster and faster. Just this week I have had conversations with my kids about the hectic sports schedules their kids have this spring. I don’t know how young families do it. They hold down jobs and are involved in so many activities that they are constantly on the go. I remember when my boys were children and we too were involved in sports it was hectic enough. But, at that time, it was usually one sport per season. Now, they overlap and a child can actually be involved in several sports at one time. And I admire the fact that so many young parents are actively involved in church and making sure their kids are involved there too. On top of everything else they are making sure they stay on top of school work and emphasizing the importance of a good education as well.

All of this has to take a toll on families – adults as well as children. I pray that family time doesn’t get compromised, couples time doesn’t suffer or children do not become exhausted. I love sports and I am glad my kids do too. My kids and their wives are great parents and are so good with their own kids. I am just using them as an example of what most families are experiencing because they are the ones I observe most. I also have a chance to observe a few other young families at our church and we have so many great young couples who are trying so hard to do the right things in their families. I have so much admiration for them!

I hope we all will realize that we need to stop and wait on the Lord to renew us. As the verses above say, He doesn’t ever get tired or weary but we will (even youth.) It is part of God’s plan (from the very beginning of creation) that we all take the time to rest. When we burn the candle at both ends, the candle doesn’t last very long!

It bears repeating: 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, 31 but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

I feel it is so very important for all of us, especially families, to realize the importance of just being together, doing nothing in particular. Make sure to schedule a time for your family to simply just be!

And for those of us who are "older" we need to pray every day that these dedicated young couples are looking to the Lord for their strength! Maybe, they will do a better job with their families than we did! I know my kids already are even with the stress of their lives!

Loving you all, old and young! Praying for you all!

Marching Through the Storms

I had a conversation yesterday with a good friend who I am worried might be wearing himself out and trying to do too much. This conversation triggered my mind to think about one of my favorite Bible stories in the Old Testament.

1 Kings 19: 1-12 (The Message version)

1-2 Ahab reported to Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, including the massacre of the prophets. Jezebel immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: "The gods will get you for this and I'll get even with you! By this time tomorrow you'll be as dead as any one of those prophets." 3-5 When Elijah saw how things were, he ran for dear life to Beersheba, far in the south of Judah. He left his young servant there and then went on into the desert another day's journey. He came to a lone broom bush and collapsed in its shade, wanting in the worst way to be done with it all—to just die: "Enough of this, God! Take my life—I'm ready to join my ancestors in the grave!" Exhausted, he fell asleep under the lone broom bush. Suddenly an angel shook him awake and said, "Get up and eat!" 6 He looked around and, to his surprise, right by his head were a loaf of bread baked on some coals and a jug of water. He ate the meal and went back to sleep.
7 The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and said, "Get up and eat some more—you've got a long journey ahead of you." 8-9 He got up, ate and drank his fill, and set out. Nourished by that meal, he walked forty days and nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Horeb. When he got there, he crawled into a cave and went to sleep. Then the word of God came to him: "So Elijah, what are you doing here?" 10 "I've been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies," said Elijah. "The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me." 11-12 Then he was told, "Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by." A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper. 13-14 When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there.

Elijah was scared, confused, discouraged, depressed and just plain worn out! We’ve all been there, haven’t we? We try and try to do the right thing but everything just seems to go against us. Just like Elijah we sometimes find ourselves looking in all the wrong places for God and wondering why we can’t find peace. I once read that Gigi Graham said “It’s hard to find God in a whirl-wind of activity or in an earthquake of frustration or a fire of over-commitment and busyness.” Yet, lots of times we can find him in “gentle stillness.” Ps. 46: 10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” That doesn’t mean that we just stop all of our activities. It is more like a quiet in our heart and soul when we get quiet and listen for a word from God.

To keep the devil from attacking us when we are tired and depressed we need to recharge our spiritual batteries. Spending much needed quiet time and reading Bible stories like this help me to re-fuel and recharge. I hope these passages and my thoughts will help you too. Be still….and grow in your Faith!

Marching to Beautiful Music

Back in the eighties I bought a couple of devotional books that I keep going back to time and time again when I need a short and meaningful devotion time that is always backed by scripture. Oddly enough they were both by Millie Stamm. I really don’t know much about Mrs. Stamm or even if she is still alive but this I know – she was very gifted at making scripture relevant in her devotional books.

Yesterday morning I picked up her book “Meditation Moments” and turned to the devotion for March 7th. As has occurred many times when I read her devotional messages, I was in awe of how she could take a small scripture passage and apply it to the life of a Christian. The verse was 2 Corinthians 8:5: “But first gave their own selves to the Lord.” I would like to share (in her words) the following from her writing:

“It has been said, “The gift without the giver is bare.” The Macedonian Christians………. had learned that God was more interested in them than in their gifts.

Today God is looking for those who are willing to give themselves to Him.

The story is told of how Fritz Kreisler, the famous violinist, obtained his treasured violin, the “Heart Guarnerius.” One day he heard someone playing it in a shop. He was so charmed by its tone that he asked to buy it, but he was told that the instrument had been sold to an Englishman, a collector of old violins.....

Week after week Kreisler pleaded with him to sell him the violin, but to no avail.

“One day the collector allowed Kreisler to play the instrument.” He played “as one condemned to death would have played to obtain ransom. …the Englishman, completely moved, said, “I have no right to keep it; it belongs to you. Go out into the world and let it be heard!” And Kreisler used the violin to produce the wonderful music, which has blessed the world.

More than your ability, talents, money or possessions, the Lord wants you. A yielded life is a God-centered life; a God-centered life will be an instrument in the hands of the Master Musician. From your life He will bring forth sweet heavenly music to bless a needy world.” *(see credit below.)

The question is this: Are we willing to give ourselves to Him? Will we put ourselves in the hands of the Master Musician so that we make beautiful music? I pray that I will do just that!

7But we have this treasure (Christ) in jars of clay (us) to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

Have a great second week in March!

*Meditation Moments by Millie Stamm; Copyright 1967 by Zondervan Publ. House.

Marching Through God's Beautiful World!!

What an absolutely beautiful Saturday morning! The sun is shining and the weather forecasters promise us 50 degrees by this afternoon. Fifty degrees may not even be up to the average for this time of year but after the cold winter weather we have had I will definitely take it. Can't help but think of the Bible verse "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Well, I am choosing to rejoice in that fifty degree forecast. I hope to get my filthy car washed today and maybe even work at cleaning out my flower beds. And, of course, I can't pass up a good walk on a day like this! Well, I guess I had better get going, don't you? A lot to do and a little time to do it in, as the old saying goes. I need to work a nap in there sometime because tonight we are going to have two of our munchkins and get to spend the day tomorrow with them. I have been looking forward to this all week!

Since I am in a hurry to get my "inside" work done and get outside I am not going to tarry in my writing ( I usually write too much anyway.) But, as we enjoy the great beauty of God's world today let's ponder His majesty. I am going to close today with one of my favorite Psalms when I am enjoying His world. At the end I will leave a link for a song to go with it. Have a wonderful, thankful, God-praising weekend my precious friends!

Psalm 8 (NIV)

1 O LORD, our Lord,how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise [b]because of your enemies,to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [c] and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands;
you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Copy and paste this link in your address bar and praise God as you watch and listen and then get outside and live that praise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRlV

Marching Through His Word (cont'd)

Psalm 25:1-5 (New Living Translation)

1 O Lord, I give my life to you. 2 I trust in you, my God! Do not let me be disgraced, or let my enemies rejoice in my defeat. 3 No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced, but disgrace comes to those who try to deceive others. 4 Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. 5 Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.

What a great prayer for us to pray every day! Praying this prayer will help keep us humble and point us to our all-knowing, all-powerful, all-sufficient God. By praying this prayer we acknowledge that: His way, not ours, will keep us on the right path; we have a need for guidance and He is our ultimate guide; we can find truth in His word where we can be taught by the Most High teacher; and He is God and our Savior and it is in this truth that our hope lies!

How many times have we gotten lost on a road trip and just kept trying and trying to find our way because we were sure we knew exactly how to get there? When we finally gave in and looked at the map (or turned on our GPS) we were there in no time and wondered to ourselves why we didn’t do that sooner. This is how it is in our Christian walk. Some days we are so sure we know how to manage our lives and yet we feel so lost and confused at the end of the day. What if we began each day by looking at the map, that is the Holy Bible, the word of God? Maybe we wouldn’t waste so much time trying to find our way! There used to be a joke about men that said: “the reason the Israelites wandered so long in the desert is because Moses, being a man, wouldn’t look at the map.” Man or woman, we all need to follow our ultimate guide, Jesus Christ to stay on the right path!

I hope we let God lead us in His direction today. Just imagine where we might end up!!

Have a wonderful time with the Lord today!

Love to all!

MARCHING THROUGH HIS WORD!

If I had my life to live over again I would definitely do a lot of things differently. One of those things would be to study the Bible more. My knowledge of the Bible is so limited that it is embarrassing to me and I shutter to think how I will account for this on judgment day! Almost everything I do know about the Bible I have learned as a result of teaching Sunday School for years. You have to search the scriptures when you teach! This month I would like to focus on some of my favorite Bible verses and my thoughts about them. I hope that as I share thoughts on a few verses that it will be an encouragement for you during your day as well as maybe a little motivation to dig into the scriptures a little deeper as I hope to do. Maybe we can sort of be a “Blogging Bible Study!” I would love for you to share your comments at the end of my blogs. It isn’t hard to do. Just follow the instructions. Or if you can’t get that to work, just email me at jerrycaton@bellsouth.net. I would be tickled to death to get your insights on the verses!

Today I would like to share some verses from Psalms 19: 7 – 14

7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
8 The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living.
9 Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever.
The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair.
10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold.
They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb.
11 They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.
12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.
14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

God’s instructions are the best and when we read in His word and receive His instruction our souls are revived! It is so easy to get caught up in the world and let our hearts (soul) grow cold. When we allow our lives to become so busy that we don’t take time to read the Bible and think about how His word applies to our lives, it is easy to become indifferent to sin. Reading our Bible daily helps us to realize where we are falling short and keeps us on track. Sure it is hard to find time to get quiet and read the Bible, but we generally make time for the things that are important to us and what could be more important than hearing a word from God each day!? As the verses above point out, His word is perfect, trustworthy, right, clear, pure, true and more valuable than anything else in life and will bring joy to our heart!

Verses 13 & 14 would be wonderful verses to tape onto our bathroom mirrors and start every day reading as a prayer. Since our lives may be the only “Bible” some people ever read, these words will certainly keep us “walking the walk” instead of just “talking the talk.”

I pray that your walk and my walk will speak volumes today!!! Let’s march on to victory through Him!

I love you.