Good morning! Hope this Monday morning is a wonderful one for you wherever you are!

Wanted to just remind us today of this wonderful scripture found in Colossians 1:15-20:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have supremacy@ For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross!"

Give your best to God this week!

Eyes of Faith

May the good Lord bless you today and always!
This morning I sat in my big chair looking out at the new day dawning, and I was struck by the marvel of the human eye, created by our wonderful heavenly Father! I thought, as I sat there, of all the things my mind had thought about, and prayed about, and was made aware that the soul of a person, the feeling part, the thinking, reasoning part, is blessed to be able to "look out" at his world with the wonderful eyes we've been given. What we see does indeed affect our soul. The beauties of this created world blesses us every day....hopefully we let those blessings draw our souls wholly to God, rather than drawing us toward loving too much the things of this world. But, I thank God for the physical eyes He has so wondrously created!
More than the physical eyes, I thank Him for the "eyes of faith," which I believe He also put into each one of us if we will accept them! "Seeing the Unseen" is the greatest blessing of all!
We are told in Romans that salvation is by faith from first to last! What a concept to consider!
It seems to me that God's heart is greatly pleased and touched when human beings accept His Word by faith....willing to stake their lives and beliefs on His promises that faith in Him and in His Son, Jesus Christ, will be richly rewarded here and in eternity!
My prayer today is that you will embrace faith in Jesus Christ, put Him on in baptism if you haven't, receive the precious forgivness and renewal He offers, and live for Him every moment of your life. Then when you stand before your awesome Maker you will have the right to claim Jesus as your righteousness! (read 1Cor. 1:30)
Isaiah 57:2 says, "those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death."
HAVE A BLESSED DAY!

It's been awhile since I wrote here! Summer is fading (still sizzling, tho!) into the fall season....with the pace picking up in our families....six grandsons playing football at different levels! Yikes! It's getting harder each year for us"70-somethings" to keep up with them all! And now there's even one out of state! Will is at Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas, in his freshman year. He has been 'red-shirted' this year.....which he probably hates!....he wants to PLAY! But perhaps next year we will get to go and watch him play over there in Searcy! Colt, our oldest grandson, plays at UT, his brother Chance at ACU, and Case is a senior in high school, the starting quarterback at Graham, Tx. Will's brother, Wes, is playing high school football (receiver) at Shallowater, and Zane, Michael's oldest, is a freshman football player at Brownwood, Tx.! The only two not playing are Michaels youngest, Ben, and of course his daughter (our only grandaughter!!) Kylee! Who knows......I think some girls are playing football these days, also! But we hope not our Kylee!! She is a darling 11 year old, all girl, tho she can hold her own with her brothers and cousins!
Sunday night at church at Merkel we were visited by Parker and Donna Henderson, long-time missionaries to Thailand and Trinidad...such a treat to see them, because Burl led singing many times in meetings for Parker when they started out as young men at ACU years ago! I recall that Parker is the first person who taught us to sing "I Know The Lord Will Find a Way For me."
"I know the Lord will find a way for me!
I know the Lord will find a way for me!
If I walk in heaven's light, shun the wrong, and do the right,
I know the Lord will find a way for me!"

"Won't it be grand to hear Him say, "well done!"
Won't it be grand to hear Him say, 'well done!"
If we walk in heaven's light, shun the wrong, and do the right,
Won't it be grand to hear Him say, "well done!"

And won't it though?!!! You Be There!

Hello...I heard a visiting preacher today who was very inspiring and sharp in presenting the word of God. He was talking about the old law and it's implication for our lives under the new covenant of Jesus Christ. In talking about "right and wrong" he made the statement "right is right because it reflects God, who God is." That surely stands up with the new testament teaching that we are to become like Christ. For Christ himself told his followers that he was "showing them" God in his nature. Isn't it a great blessing that He gave us His Spirit at our immersion, so that we would be enabled to become more like Christ? Without that divine help, there's no way I could become "holy" in my conduct and attitude, for I am a poor, weak sinner! But Praise be to God.....He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of his son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins!
May God so so bless your day and coming week!

Hello! Long time since I entered anything here, but today I cannot resist hoping someone will read this daily "entry" I quote here that comes from the old classic "My Utmost For His Highest," by Oswald Chambers. It is so "right on!" when held up against God's written word, the Holy Bible! Let me pass it on to you in love.......

"God saves men by His sovereign grace through the Atonement of Jesus. He works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure; but we have to work out that salvation in practical living. If once we start on the basis of His Redemption to do what He commands, we find that we can do it. If we fail, it is because we have not practiced. The crisis will reveal whether we have been practicing or not. If we obey the Spirit of God and practice in our physical life what God has put in us by His Spirit, then when the crisis comes, we shall find that our own nature as well as the grace of God will stand by us.
Thank God He does give us difficult things to do! His salvation is a glad thing, but it is also a heroic, holy thing. It tests us for all we are worth. Jesus is bringing many "sons" unto glory, and God will not shield us from the requirements of a son. God's grace turns out men and women with a strong family likness to Jesus Christ, not milksops. It takes a tremendous amount of discipline to live the noble life of a disciple of Jesus in actual things. It is always necessary to make an effort to be noble.

May God bless us all as we come honestly into His presence through prayer, and each day walk in the light of His Word! May He bless you, give you peace, make His face to shine upon You! Much love, GranJan

Hello to you all on this beautiful spring day. I've been away from my home and computer so much lately, I've let this blogging attempt lag badly, I'm afraid! But just wanted to wish you God's blessings...tell you I have one grandson graduating from high school in about two weeks, and what a wonderful young man he is. In today's world he stands out as a bright and shining light...and he does it without 'fanfare' and loudness or foolishness in his manner. He is a dedicated child of God, and professes that as his first love and the thing he is devoted to in his daily life. He will go to Harding University in the fall, where, hopefully, he will daily experience his college education with a group of many like-minded Christian young people. He is a quiet and rather shy young man....but we notice he has many friends and is a favorite in his graduating class. I know the Lord is going to bring out the very best in him as he matures in his college years, and also bring into his life those who will be 'signigicant' throughout his lifetime.
I wish you could know this young man....he is tall, with light-brown hair (I always thought it was red, but his mom says no! it's brown), and the bluest eyes you have ever seen. He is so handsome...a combination of his mom and his dad, and quite a likeness to his younger brother, too! The sterling quality of this grandson is his quiet, unassuming, yet intelligent, manner, his humility, and genuine love for others, his helpfulness and his kind heart. Did I mention he's a really good and smart student?! (:>) That should help in college work, shouldn't it?~ Yesterday he participated in a Texas High School
regional track meet, where he was in the high jump. He did well, but missed going to state based on number of 'misses' at the 6ft. 6in. height! I think it's amazing that anyone could get near jumping over their own body height. He is 6ft6in tall, and a little over, I believe! So, way to go, Specially Loved Grandson!!! (I specially love them all, you know!)
I know his mom and dad are going find it impossible to prevent weeping as he goes across that space to receive his high school diploma. He has been a comfort and a blessing to them. Even his younger brother has told me that he is really going to miss him! That says a great deal for this young man, don't you think?
I've entered this before...but I will do it again, as I know this is his mom's feelings as has always been mine when my own children grew into adulthood:
"Mother's Covers"
When you were small and just a touch away,
I covered you with blankets against the cold night air.
But, now that you are grown and out of reach
I fold my hands and cover you with prayer.

You can be sure we will all be covering Will in prayers to our Father as he graduates, goes to Harding, and makes a difference in this world for the good Lord!
And may the good Lord bless and keep you! With love from 'GranJan'

Hello on this lovely Tuesday morning! I hope the day is going great for any of you who check in here today!
My "hobby" (if I can call it that: it's really a gift the Lord has blessed me with, and I love using it!) is hymn-writing. I got started doing this when I dreamed 'snippets' of a song quite a few years ago, got up and wrote it down, and the next day put it into complete song form. We are so blessed to have a family that loves to sing and so we began singing these songs, as I began to write more and more.
This morning I was thinking of probably the last time I got parts of a song in a dream...while we were at the Red River Family Encampment in New Mexico. I actually got nearly all the words in a dream, and the gist of the melody! I woke up just elated and wrote it all down. I felt it was an "affirmation" of Christian parents and those who teach children the way of the Lord, and I wanted to share the words with you today, and pray they will bless your life as you parent your children!

"I Won't Go Away!"

I won't go away! I'm here to stay!
You mean too much to others who trust you each day
To explain all the wonders they see.....
Like the birds in the air, like the fish in the sea,
And I want you to know, I love you so,
I will be with you everywhere you go!
I will never give up on you now!
I will be there to cheer, and I'll never give up on you, now!

For I am your loving Father above!
I will lead you to teach all your children My love!
They are all so important to me!
More than birds in the air! More than fish in the sea...
They are made in My image, with My breath of life!
Lead them to me so that I can delight in the
Journey they make back to Me!
I will be there to cheer, and I'll never give up on you, now!

May God bless your day! May you have a heart for Him! And seek His will prayerfully, absorbing His words in the Bible.....and thank Him that we still are free to have this wonderful book available to us in America!