Rise Again, by Dallas Holm

Dallas was back in the 80's one of the single most popular christian artists and song writers. Rise Again, maybe one of his most popular and powerful. I had the honor and privilege of playing keyboards for him on two different occasions - My brother and I used to sing some (gospel) music on a (very) small scale - and he befriended us - many years ago at a conference we were both attending. A tremendous and talented force for God in his writing and voice.

He never let his (popularity) at the time get in the way of his message of for that popularity to take priority over his family. I remember when his wife became ill with cancer - he took care of her and his music came second. I admired the man of strength and character and prayer that he was and is.

This song has long been a favorite of mine and I was reminded of it again - when my brother asked me to play and perform it with him again this past Easter Sunday. No tapes - no back up...no additional instruments - just he and I and the piano ... (wow) - I never thought of performing like that years ago as (scary) - I think I was too young to realize that standing in front of lots of people singing - (can be) a scary thing...lol! - It was good to do this with and for my brother again - and being in that little church that I grew up in ... the song - such a powerful message - I wanted to share.

Blessings and even though a few days later...Easter Blessings to all of you (every day).

“Without love even the most radical devotion to God is of no value to Him. Let me make sure that sinks in… You can gain all the spiritual gifts in the world. You can take the most radical steps of obedience. You can share every meal with the homeless in your city. You can memorize the book of Leviticus. You can pray each morning for four hours like Martin Luther. But if what you do does not flow out of a heart of love - a heart that does those things because it genuinely desires to do them - it is ultimately worthless to God.”

-J.D. Greear (Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary)

Concerning Retaliation
 

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:38-42

The Golden Rule
 

"In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.

Matthew 7:12

The Narrow Gate
 

"Enter through the narrow gate, for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Concerning Treasures
 

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21


Serving Two Masters
"No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:24

OH WOW! Thank You Soooo much for sharing this!! I remember Dallas Holm.. even saw Him in person...
Used to listen to Him all the time!
This put goosebumps on me..
thank You again.. *wiping tears and smiling*

Learning to Lean by the Blackwell Brothers Quartet
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=ehkg7-SVByk

Learning to Lean
Learning to Lean
I'm learning to lean on Jesus
Finding more power
than i 'd ever dreamed
I'm learning to lean on Jesus.

Learning to lean,
Learning to lean
i'm learning to lean
on Jesus
finding more power
than i 'd ever dream
i'm learning to lean on Jesus

Sad, broken-hearted
at an altar i knelt
i found peace
that is so serene
and all that
He asked
is a child like trust
and a heart that
is learning to lean

Learning to lean,
learning to lean
finding more power
than i'd ever dreamed
i'm learning to lean
on Jesus

Petra: Not of this World.
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=BhPVOyzZBqk



Not of this World

We are Pilgrims
in a strange land
We are so far
From our home land
With each passing day
It seems so clear
This world will never
Want us here
We're not welcome
In this world of wrong
We are foreigners
Who don't belong

oooo

We are strangers
We are aliens
We are not
of this world

We are envoys
we must tarry
With this message
We must carry
There's so much
To do before we leave
With so many more
Who may believe
Our mission here
Can never fail
And the gates of hell
Will not prevail

oooo

We are strangers
We are aliens
We are not
Of this world.

We are strangers
We are aliens
We are not
of this world.

Jesus told us
men would hate us
But we must be
Of good cheer
He has overcome
This world of darkness
Soon we will
Depart from here

We are strangers
We are aliens
We are not
of this world.

We are strangers
We are aliens
We are not
of this world.

Grave Robber by Petra
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=Rj-tpOH21NM

Grave Robber

There's a step that we all
Have to take alone
An appointment we have
With the Great Unknown
Like a vapor this life
is just waiting to pass
Like the flowers that fade
Like the withering grass

But life seems so long
and death so complete
and the grave
An impossible portion to cheat

But there is One
Who has been there
and still lives to tell
There is One
Who has been thru
Both Heaven and Hell


And the grave will come up
Empty handed that day
Jesus will come
and steal us away


Where is the sting tell me
Where is the bite?
When the Grave Robber comes
Like a thief in the night
Where is the victory
Where is the prize?
When the Grave Robber comes
and Death finally dies.

Many still mourn and many still weep
For those that they love who have fallen asleep
But we have this hope
Though our hearts may still ache
Just one shout from above
and they all will awake

and in the reunion of Joy we will see
Death will be swallowed in sweet victory

Where is the sting tell me
Where is the bite
When the Grave Robber comes
Like a thief in the night
Where is the victory
Where is the prize
When the Grave Robber comes
and Death finally dies.

When the last enemy is gone
From the dust will come a song
Those asleep will be awakened
Not a one will be forsaken

He shall wipe away our tears
He will steal away our fears
There will be no sad tomorrow
There will be no pain nor sorrow

Where is the sting tell me
Where is the bite
When the Grave Robber comes
Like a thief in the night
Where is the victory
Where is the prize
When the Grave Robber comes
and Death finally dies.

I was dedicated in a Pentecostal church when I was a few months old. I later as a young child went to sunday school at a Plymouth Bretherin Church on a bus ministry. I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior at 9 yrs old at church camp. I was baptized at 19 yrs of age and at 22 attended Bible College. And yes, now that I am back in California I am back in the church assemblies I was raised in. Very evangelical,many are involved in the Billy Graham Crusades and the Harvest Festivals. I am ordained and will soon have my California license. The most important thing to me in my life is my Faith. I have many relatives that are sunday school teachers and preachers and several friends that are missionaries. They know my past,we dont talk about it cause there really is nothing to discuss. My private life is exactly that..private,and they respect that. My Faith make's it easier to live because it offer's hope,and easier to accept death because we have hope. My 1st love will always be the Lord.

Until The End Of The World
 

I never knew that this U2 song was about Judas and Christ. I always thought it was about an innocent girl and her ex-boyfriend until recently. What it is really about, is the awesome love of God for us. It is one thing to read about, or intellectually acknowledge God's love, another to actually feel God's raw, redemptive, power, in the face of those dark, relentless, mega-storms we get lost in.

Have'nt seen you in quite awhile
I was down the hole just passing time
Last time we met was a low-lit room
We were as close together as a bride and groom
We ate the food, we drank the wine
Except You
You were talking about the end of the world

I took the money
I spiked your drink
You miss too much these days if you stop to think
You led me on with those innocent eyes
You know I love the element of surprise
In the garden I was playing the tart
I kissed your lips and broke your heart
You...You were acting like it was
The end of the world

In my dream, I was drowning my sorrows
But my sorrows, they learned to swim
Surrounding me, going down on me
Spilling over the brim
Words of regret and waves of joy
I reached out for the one I tried to destroy
You...You said you'd wait
'til the end of the world

A very good friend of mine asked me the other day if I was "happy". I told her that spending time with my friend's make's me happy. I am "content". I have a roof over my head,food to eat,clothing,my dog Gypsy (helps with depression), I have a job andd am able to afford a luxery like a car. I have life and for every day that I wake it is a good day ! Id hate to be one of those people who is never happy and is always negative and unkind. I appreciate this one life that God has given me..I am Blessed.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Ephesians 6: 14-16

I have certainly had the devils arrows breezing past me for the past 8 years but thank God it is finally over. With God as my guide, the evil one lost this round. Thank you God for blessing me and being so good to me though I don't deserve it, many times. God thank you for giving me peace in my life again

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2

Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
Peter l 3:8

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God
Psalm 42:1

Some of the people from the Jesus Movement have started touring,reccording and making their old music available again. The Archers,2nd Chapter of Acts,Evie,Bryan Duncan,Don Francisco,Bob Bennett and the other day I saw a new album by the Maranatha Singers ! Talk about a flash from the past :)

All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs, the heart.

Proverbs 21:2

Prayer Requesr :) Tomorrow morning at 8am I have a math test for a job with a major auto brands parts distribution center. The pays good and the benefits great ! It would solve alot of proeblems for me and Id be able to have retirement,a d the jobs monday thru friday so Id be able to go back to church on sundays. So please send prayers and good thought for me as math and me dont get along. I will be studying all night for this,get off work at 6am,test at 8am and then have to see a spine specialist in San Diego.

Ephesians 2:10
 

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Ephesians 2:10

See there is a plan....jus sayin...

Update: 14 people had been called for the test and 8 called out so we only had 6 testing. There are 5 openings,I was the only female. The math was easy but they didnt give u a whole hour like they said. No one will know how they did tell next friday. They told us if we dont hear from them not to call. If u didnt pass u can never apply with them again. So I guess the 6 of us will wait. If ya pass the test then there is a psychiatric questioneer,after that background check. I know at least one if the guys that tested has a record. I have an FBI clearance so background check isnt a problem. Continued prayer would be appreciated. I told a co-worker God will supply my needs,other doors will open if this isnt where I am supposed to be. All I can do is trust in Him.Amen ?

Psalm 56:3-4
 

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. what can mortal man do to me?

Psalm 56:3-4

“To the Reader

Folly, error, sin, and penny-pinching
Preoccupy our minds and belabor our bodies
And we feed our amiable remorse
Like beggars nourishing their vermin.

Our sins are stubborn, our repentance weak --
We demand generous payment for our confessions
And we return gaily to the muddy path,
Believing a few abject tears will wash away all of our stains.

Satan Trismegistus patiently rocks our enchanted spirit
To sleep on the pillow of evil,
And the rich metal of our will
Is vaporized completely by this learned alchemist.

The Devil pulls the strings that move us!
Repugnant things attract us --
Each day we descend one step closer to Hell,
Moving without horror through stinking shadows.

Like a poor debauchee kissing and gnawing
The martyred breast of an ancient whore,
We steal a furtive pleasure along the way,
And we press it hard, like an old orange.

Tightly packed, swarming, like a million tapeworms,
A legion of Demons booze it up in our brains,
And when we breathe, Death, an invisible river,
Descends into our lungs, with a dull groan.

If rape, poison, the dagger, and arson
Have not yet embroidered their pretty patterns
On the banal canvas of our pitiful destinies,
It is only because our soul is -- alas! -- not bold enough.

But among the jackals, panthers, and bitch-hounds,
The monkeys, scorpions, vultures, and serpents,
The yelping, howling, growling, groveling monsters
In the infamous menagerie of our vices,

There is one who is uglier, nastier, more foul!
Although he makes no grand gestures, no great noise,
He would willingly reduce the earth to ruins
And swallow the world in a yawn;

It is Ennui! His eye brimming with an involuntary teardrop,
He dreams of scaffolds while smoking a hookah.
You know him, reader, this delicate monster,
-- Hypocrite reader, -- my like, -- my brother!”
― Charles Baudelaire, Les Fleurs du Mal

Didnt get called back a 3rd time. So I will keep lookin for a better job. :) God always provides.

Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury,pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.


O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand;
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen

The name of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which falls on Shabbat this year, symbolizes its basic essence: The day on which G-d forgives for the less desirable actions of His nation.

The name of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, which falls on Shabbat this year, symbolizes its basic essence: The day on which G-d forgives for the less desirable actions of His nation.

When we delve into the significance of this day, we may ask ourselves a bothersome question: Why should G-d forgive us? We sometimes feel that we do not deserve this. This feeling intensifies especially if we do not notice a big, practical change in our behavior and it seems to us that our lives after Yom Kippur continue in the same vein as before Yom Kippur... To understand the concept of “forgiveness” when relating to the relationship between us and G-d as well as in terms of forgiveness between man and his friend or between man and his wife, we must note the words of King Solomon in the Book of Proverbs: “... love covers all transgressions.”

(Mishlei 10, 12) This verse contains a wonderful idea that guides our daily actions, and it expresses one our most noble qualities.

Every parent to children is well aware of the following phenomenon: It happens that a son or daughter behaves in a way that does not make the parents happy.

The child disappoints, rejects the education he received at home, behaves in a way contrary to his parents’ expectations, and the parents worry and may even be angry with him. But every parent knows that if that same child who so disappointed is suddenly in any kind of distress, the first who will rush to his aid will be his parents.

Why is that? For one simple reason: because “love covers all transgressions”! The love of parents for their children is not dependent on a specific situation or behavior. That love is absolute. Even if it sometimes dims and other emotions overwhelm it – at moments of distress or trouble, that love will rise to the surface and overcome all other feelings.

This is the amazing human nature, and it is also the basis of G-d’s forgiveness of us if we did not behave appropriately.

Yom Kippur is the day when the love of the Blessed be He “beats” all! This the day when G-d calls out to us: “Return to Me and I will return to you”! The day when we stand before G-d as children before their father and hear the Divine call “I forgive”! If we succeed in connecting to the incredible beauty of this day, we will feel the purifying forgiveness, the endless love of the Blessed be He for us – His only children, and with G-d’s help, that feeling will accompany us even after Yom Kippur ends and we will be blessed with a shana tova!

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz is rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/...TION-popup.jpg



"Saying Grace," one of three paintings by Norman Rockwell set for auction on Dec. 4, is expected to draw bids of more than $15 million.

Ecclesiastes 3
New International Version (NIV)
A Time for Everything

3 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

RK
 

I was talking to my cousin last night. I told her I believe that a heart only knows another heart and we should not judge..that's Gods job not ours. We are to love the individual no matter what..we might not agree with what they do. I reminded her that Jesus associated with people that others would walk away from. He showed them kindness and compassion when others would show disgust and hate. People will always fail you but God never disappoints ..He had our back :)

“If any man seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue...this mans religion is in vain”
― James 1 26

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”

“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act on upon them?”

"We forgive freely or we do not really forgive at all."

“Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”


The Buddha