I Like This

God's Unchanging Hand // Franz Family

All I Need

Psalm 23:1-3 New Living Translation (NLT)

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

1 The Lord is my shepherd;

    I have all that I need.

2 He lets me rest in green meadows;

    he leads me beside peaceful streams.

3     He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

    bringing honor to his name.

2 Corinthians 12:9 New Living Translation (NLT)

9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Psalm 103:8 New International Version (NIV)

8 The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

    slow to anger, abounding in love.

I have all I need.  I really do have all I need.  I'm still trying to sink this truth deep down in my soul.  I pray that it will, because I do want to bring honor to his name.  His love is abundant and his grace sufficient.  He is enough.

Captured - The Digital Age

He Is the Door

The Night Count

Matthew 18:10-13English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.[a] 12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? 13 And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

It's late and I have sheep to count.  Better yet, I should count my blessings instead.

Guy Penrod - Count Your Blessings

Back Home Again [Live]

Cows on My Father's Hills

Saying Goodnight to the Son by Dawna Deanne

Psalm 50:10 New International Version (NIV)

10 for every animal of the forest is mine,

    and the cattle on a thousand hills.

Matthew 18:2-4 New International Version (NIV)

2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

I'm remembering how I, as a child, would to try to imagine how many cattle would be on a thousand hills.  Since I was already impressed by the cows my grandfather owned, that my God would own a thousand times that number was amazing!  As the years passed I've, unfortunately, become less impressed and more worried about God's ability to provide for me.  So tonight I am reminded to become like a child in my Father's kingdom and trust that He hasn't yet run short of cows and never will.

He Owns the Cattle on a Thousand Hills

Chelsea Moon w/ the Franz Brothers - Ecstasy (A Sacred Harp Hymn)

He Never Will

Matthew 28:20 King James Version (KJV)

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Romans 8:38-39 New International Version (NIV)

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Deuteronomy 31:8New International Version (NIV)

8 The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

Never Let Go - David Crowder Band

Nothing Ever Could Separate Us - Citizen Way

It's Sunday!

Proverbs 14:26 New International Version (NIV)

26 Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,

    and for their children it will be a refuge.

TobyMac - Lose My Soul

Yes, We Shall Behold Him

Titus 2:13 English Standard Version (ESV)

13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

1 John 3:2 English Standard Version (ESV)

2 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears[a] we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

I've lost the details that belong to this image, but I know it's of a little girl waiting for her daddy's arrival.   The mixture of eagerness, joy and sweet relief that crosses her face has me imagining what my own face might look like when I behold my Savior and Lord.  David Phelps sings a new version of the song written by Dottie Rambo, "We Shall Behold Him."

We Shall Behold Him

The sky shall unfold

Preparing His entrance

The stars shall applaud Him

With thunders of praise

The sweet light in His eyes

Shall enhance those awaiting

And we shall behold Him

Then face to face

O, we shall behold Him

We shall behold Him

Face to face in all of His glory

O, we shall behold Him

Yes, we shall behold Him

Face to face, our Savior and Lord

The angel shall sound

The shout of His coming

And the sleeping shall rise

From their slumbering place

And those who remain

Shall be changed in a moment

And we shall behold Him

Then face to face

We shall behold Him

O yes we shall behold Him

Face to face in all of His glory

We shall behold Him

Yes, we shall behold Him

Face to face

Our Savior and Lord

And we shall behold Him

Our Savior and Lord

Savior and Lord

Songwriters

RAMBO, DOTTIE

Chelsea Moon w/ the Franz Brothers - What A Friend

It's Earth Day

Genesis 1:1-5 Modern English Version (MEV)

The Creation

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void,[a] darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving[b] over the surface of the water.

3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

But I'd rather think of it as Creator Day.

This is My Father's World - Fernando Ortega

The Winds and the Sea

Jeremiah 5:22 Modern English Version (MEV)

22 Do you not fear Me? says the Lord.

    Will you not tremble at My presence?

For I have placed the sand for the boundary of the sea

    by a perpetual decree so that it cannot pass over it.

And though the waves toss themselves, yet they cannot prevail;

    though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

Matthew 8:27 King James Version (KJV)

27 But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

My husband took this video with my iPad yesterday.  It's not perfect but it's beautiful.  The sea always causes me to marvel at my God.  

Joey+Rory - Leave It There (Live)

A Good Verse to Meditate Upon

Proverbs 3:27 Modern English Version (MEV)

27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,

    when it is in the power of your hand to do it.

Firelight

Firelight Lyrics - Matt Maher

"Firelight"

Dear Jesus where are you tonight

I bear a sadness deep inside

I’m aching for a faith in things I strain to feel

I need to know that you are real

Oh Savior open up my eyes

I wanna see You like a child

There is a haze on the horizons of my heart

Dear Jesus show me where you are

Be my firelight, be my firelight

Burning fierce and bright, be my firelight

How do I move on and be free

From all these things that I have seen

All of my memories are turning into scars

Oh my God put back what’s been torn apart

Be my firelight, be my firelight

Burning fierce and bright, be my firelight

If anyone remembers my name

If I’m ever known for anything

Let it be I ran into the night

Running with a firelight, firelight

Cause I don’t wanna stroll the streets of gold

While there’s still a soul to love

Let me run into the night

Running with a firelight, firelight

Burning with a firelight, firelight 

Firelight

Promises - Joel Auge - Promises (with lyrics)

It's Sunday!

His light still shines!

Because Each Day Is a Gift...

A Wodaabe boy experiences rain for the first time after a 6 year drought.

...today is beautiful.

Today is Beautiful - David Dunn

Because I'm Kind of...

...sleepy right now, I can get this humor.

Glad to Be Here In America

Mark 12:17 New International Version (NIV)

17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”

And they were amazed at him..

Last night my husband was busy at the computer rendering unto Caesar while I watched episodes of The West Wing on Netflix so this country of ours was on our minds.  Sometimes it does feel as if the Lord gives and our government takes away.  Still I remain thankful for the right and great privilege of being an American.  

Rich Mullins - Here In America

Rend Collective - Come On (My Soul) OFFICIAL

Just Sing

Psalm 150:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 13:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

6 I will sing to the Lord,

    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Come and Sing - Sojourn 

Saturday Night Easter Service Song

Still Tired but Still Loved

Isaiah 49:15 New Living Translation (NLT)

15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?

    Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?

But even if that were possible,

    I would not forget you!

Ephesians 5:25 English Standard Version (ESV)

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

I returned last night from my first Mom's weekend at the university that now houses the young man who lived in my house; and I'm tired, still tired after all these years.  But my love for child is remains fierce.  As I made my way across a campus known for its calf-busting hills with my diseased joints and muscles screaming, I knew that this was something I'd do only, only, for him.  Yes, a mother's love is a fierce love, yet God says his love for me is even greater.  Amazing.

I now have to give a shout out to my husband who drove the long miles there and back so I could have a weekend of mothering my child.  Today he has had to work two of the three jobs he has to support us; and I know he's tired, still tired after all these years.  It's a demonstration of another, even greater love, that of Christ for the church.  Amazing, indeed.

"And Can It Be?" - The Enfield Hymn Sessions

My Jesus, My Living Hope

Gone Fishing

fishing for souls - W. Hemmerling

Matthew 4:19New International Version (NIV)

19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

I like this painting by W. Hemmerling.  It's a good reminder.  I pray that when Jesus comes He will find that I've gone fishing.

David Phelps & Marshall Hall - Let the Glory Come Down

With Reverence and Awe

Hebrews 12:28 New International Version (NIV)

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

I'm not familiar are always comfortable with the liturgy of an orthodox church, but I cannot deny the beauty found in the music.  While I'll always lean to the Gospel hymns I was raised on, I do enjoy a hymn that seems to bring me right into the presence of God.  I was pleased to find that the Latin hymn "Iesu Dulcis Memoria" had an English version that I knew.  "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee."  

Jesus, the very thought of Thee
With sweetness fills the breast!
Yet sweeter far Thy face to see
And in Thy Presence rest.
No voice can sing, no heart can frame,
Nor can the memory find,
A sweeter sound than Jesus' Name,
The Saviour of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart!
O joy of all the meek!
To those who fall, how kind Thou art!
How good to those who seek!
But what to those who find? Ah! this
Nor tongue nor pen can show
The love of Jesus, what it is,
None but His loved ones know.
Jesus! our only hope be Thou,
As Thou our prize shalt be;
In Thee be all our glory now,
And through eternity.

Amen.

Iesu, Dulcis Memoria (feat. Audrey Assad) - Tenth Avenue North

The Franz Family / "Somewhere In Glory" (Live in Studio)

Ah! Those Easter Bonnets!

"How He Loves" | Jared Anderson

Family Gatherings

Ruth 1:16  English Standard Version (ESV)

16 But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 English Standard Version (ESV)
A Time for Everything
3 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

Ephesians 5:31-32 New International Version (NIV)

31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[a] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.

I find myself, this day after Easter, being very thankful for families in general and my family in particular, as we should all be thankful for those who belong to us.  I am now of the generation of grandmothers and mothers of adult children and the time of child rearing is behind me.  Our children are now the adults of vitality and promise and their children perhaps more so.  We miss family who now reside in Heaven while embracing the new members that are added.  All feet are welcomed under the family table.  One day we who belong to Christ, His bride, will be invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb but until that day we gather together in families, the breaking of bread, our preparation for that divine meal.  Yes, I am thankful for family.

Revelation 19:6-9 English Standard Version (ESV)

The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
7 Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
8 it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—
for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.


9 And the angel said[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Breaking Bread - Johnny Cash

Yes, I Know

Easter Song - Keith Green

It's Sunday! It's Easter Sunday!

And we're all looking good!

Amen! Amen! He's Alive

Because He Lives (Amen) - Matt Maher

He Is Risen! He Is Risen Indeed!

The Empty Tomb, by Mikhail Nesterov

Matthew 28:1-8  New International Version (NIV)

Jesus Has Risen

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.”

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

He's Almost Here!

"Resurrection Morning" - Ron Dicianni

Sunday's Coming!

Because It Is Good Friday

O Sacred Head Now Wounded - Michael Card

What I Don't Know of the God I Know

Psalm 72:12-14 New International Version (NIV)

12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

    the afflicted who have no one to help.

13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy

    and save the needy from death.

14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence,

    for precious is their blood in his sight.

John 3:16 New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

2 Peter 3:9 New International Version (NIV)

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

John 16:33 New International Version (NIV)

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Romans 11:34-36 New International Version (NIV)

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

    Or who has been his counselor?”[a]

35 “Who has ever given to God,

    that God should repay them?”[b]

36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.

    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

I've been challenged today by two men who want to know why God would allow such evil in the world and why such a God should even be believed in or followed?  It's not a new question and I've asked it myself, especially when I see children suffer.  If my heart breaks,  I imagine God's heart breaks even more so. Why does God allow suffering?  I don't know.  I can't begin to know the mind of God but I do know some of His character.  He is good and loving just and merciful.  He remains so, even when man chooses to commit horrible acts of evil upon each other.  Why doesn't He intervene?  I don't know.  He is God and his ways are not mine.  He is God and I am not.   Why doesn't He show Himself as the loving God that He is?  Why is He invisible?  I don't know.  Wait, I do know.  I know He sent his only Son to this once perfect world now evil and corrupt by the ways of man to bear those sins on the cross.  I know he conquered death when He rose from the dead.  I know He lives.  I know that He will not allow this evil to continue.  I know He is coming back.  Until then, I know we have to be God's hands and feet in this world, demonstrating in word and deed God's love for His children.  Once we have seen we cannot turn away. This I know.

Crying for the World - Eden's Bridge

O' Lord - Lauren Daigle

A Good Word...or Three

James 1:12 English Standard Version (ESV)

12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.