Sweet Dylan Bree Went Home to Jesus

Please say some prayers for Dylan Bree's family today, as she lost her very long battle with cancer and has gone home to be with Jesus.
Her family has held firm to their faith throughout this journey and could use prayers of comfort and peace.
Please join them and express your sorrow at their loss.

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. ~ Ps 55.22

6 Simple Words

I know I am NEVER alone.

He is RISEN!

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.
And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead?
"He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again."
~ Luke 24:1-7

The Crucifixion

When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.
But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing " And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.
And the people stood by, looking on. And even the rulers were sneering at Him, saying, "He saved others; let Him save Himself if this is the Christ of God, His Chosen One."
The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, offering Him sour wine,
and saying, "If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!"
Now there was also an inscription above Him, "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS."
One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"
But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?
"And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."
And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"
And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour,
because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two.
And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Having said this, He breathed His last.

~ Luke 23:33-46

The Last Supper

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body."

Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. "I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."

~ Mark 14:22-25

In His Time ~ In His Way ~ For His Glory

I was reading a blog yesterday about one woman's journey with chronic illness and in her posting I read these words...."In His time....in His way....for His glory". Reading this phrase brought me to a quiet place within myself where I was gently reminded of God's power.

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

During the years I was editor of "The Encourager", I connected often with many of the subscribers. The members of this newsletter were Christians living with chronic illnesses. Their faith sustained them as they dealt not only with disabling diseases, but also with financial burdens, isolation, and all the grief of lost expectations for a healthy life. For the most part they were able to live a life of acceptance with a fighting spirit...knowing that God was in control, and that everyone's prayers would be answered in His time, in His way, and for His glory. We encouraged each other on our journeys and held each other up in prayer. It gave us the strength we needed to live a joy-filled life each day.

There are times I feel like the world is spinning on an extra fast axis and I am not sure whether I am coming or going. According to the my doctor, the illnesses I live with make it more challenging to cope with the crises that come into my life. My body responds very quickly to outside stimuli of any kind so when a crisis pops up, I need to work extra hard not to let it affect my health in a negative way. I heard someone say that the Chinese characters used for the word crisis are both disaster and opportunity. I find this very interesting. When a crisis comes our way disaster can be close at hand, but when we make the choice to look at it as a time for growth or change, it becomes an opportunity. When we trust God to work things out in His time, in His way, and for His purpose and glory, we are able to surrender to His plan for our lives. In turn, this helps us stay faith-centered, with the knowledge that God works all things together for good according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)

Certainly, at times it is very difficult to be in a season of trials. We may find ourselves wondering if God has closed His ears to our pleading voice as we ask for mercy. We believe we know what would stop our world from spinning, and cannot understand why God does not rescue us or those we love and care about according to our plans. When we come a place of confusion and pleading, we need to be still. No need to panic! Surrendering to our Lord's will, we are able to step out in faith, remembering that God is God and our situations or those of our loved ones are in His hands. We truly can trust that all things work together for good in His time, in His way, and for His purpose an glory.

Renee

Jesus' Little Lamb ~ Riley

Little Lamb ~
Riley
This is sweet twin daughter to my friend Cindy. Riley is one of two sets of twins that Cindy has and sadly, all of her children have dealt with one form of skull malformation or another.
This has meant lots and lots of stays in the hospital, with many surgeries and tomorrow, Riley will be heading back into the hospital again.
Please keep little Riley in your thoughts and prayers while she undergoes anesthesia once again and endures yet another surgery. She is really scared this time and could use some prayers for comfort. Please join me in asking the Lord to give Riley comfort, as little pain as possible and above all else, healing.
If you would like to encourage others to pray for Riley, please add her button to your blog.

<a href="http://coletwins.blogspot.com/
"><img src="http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k224/debi90/RileyButton.jpg"/></a>

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in HIM, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13


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