Burnt Stones

Psalm 149
1 Praise the LORD.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
his praise in the assembly of the saints.
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Maker;
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.
3 Let them praise his name with dancing
and make music to him with tambourine and harp.
4 For the LORD takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the saints rejoice in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths
and a double-edged sword in their hands,
7 to inflict vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters,
their nobles with shackles of iron,
9 to carry out the sentence written against them.
This is the glory of all his saints.
Praise the LORD.

I had the honor and privilege of meeting Kent Henry this weekend. If you know songs like WHEN I LOOK INTO YOUR HOLINESS, ALL HAIL KING JESUS, or TAKE ME IN (to name just three!!!), you've been touched by him in some way. He's going to churches everywhere, teaching about worshiping. I can't encourage you enough: if your church does a weekend with Kent, or he's nearby, GO. You will be blessed beyond measure!

Kent has a passion to bring back "burnt stones" to the Body. Here's the reference:

When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews, and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?"--Nehemiah 4:1-2

I think a lot of my friends online would qualify more as burnt stones than as living stones. :) Burnt stones are the people who used to be active in church - serving, teaching, singing - but they got "burnt out" or wounded along the way. And so they're not assembling with the saints anymore, for one reason or another.

We came quite close to this last summer, I think. If we hadn't gone when God said GO to our new church, I don't know if we would have WANTED to be in church anymore. GOD IS GOOD!

If you're one of my burnt stone friends, please know this: I LOVE YOU. And I'm sad you were wounded, however it happened. I'm sorry you got burned out. When we base our service on performance instead of Presence, it's bound to happen - and it's HARD to find that place!!

Please know: God has a place for YOU, too. It's so easy to just stop going to church. It's another whole day that you can rest. But it's not all about what feels good, is it? :) God's got HIS BEST for you, my dear friend. I know you can worship Him "on your own", but DO YOU? If meeting with other Christ-followers wasn't important, God wouldn't have given us so much instruction on how to love one another. THINK ABOUT IT! :)

If you're a stone who has been restored or still lives, please reach out to the burnt stones in your life. Call them! Kent says to tell them these three things:

1. I LOVE YOU

2. I MISS YOU

3. IS THERE SOMETHING I CAN PRAY ABOUT FOR YOU RIGHT NOW?

Try it. I know there have been a LOT of times no one has reached out to me when I've been away for a long time. WE NEED TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER, NOT LIVE LONELY LIVES!!!!

OK. :) I'm done preaching today. :) I want you to know YOU ARE LOVED. But there's some responsibility in that, too - WE NEED TO LOVE EACH OTHER!

Be blessed, dear friend! I hope you'll leave me a comment?

I just had to share this with you - I received it in my email today! ENJOY and be blessed!


1. Give God what's right -- not what's left.

2. Man's way leads to a hopeless end! -- God's way leads to an endless hope. (AMEN!!!!)

3. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

5. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma--but never let him be the period.

6. Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.

7. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a face-lift.

8. When praying, don't give God instructions - just report for duty.

9. Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

10. We don't change God's message -- His message changes us.

11. The church is prayer-conditioned.

12. When God ordains, He sustains.

13. WARNING: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.

14. Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

15. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

16. Suffering from truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

17. Exercise daily -- walk with the Lord.

18. Never give the devil a ride -- he will always want to drive.

19. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it.

20. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back.

21. He who angers you controls you!

22. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop.

23. Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.

24. Be ye fishers of men -- you catch them & He'll clean them..

25. God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

How much MORE!

I really hope you'll click on the picture today, and really soak in both the picture and the Scripture. Go ahead. I'll wait for you!

::::::::: watching dogwood sway and listening to windchimes:::::::::::

Isn't this an awesome thing? Let me give you another illustration for what God's saying here!

I LOVE tulips. I love almost any flower, but there's just something about the shape and incredible multitude of olors that tulips come in that I just love. They're one of the first flowers of spring, too, and I love watching them grow and POP UP! :) It's amazing - there can be nothing there one day, and the next they're in full bloom!

ANYWAY. :) Last time Dad was out of town, I wrote him a note to tell him how much I appreciated his planting so many. We have over 400 bulbs out there! I know it's because I love them so much. I know he doesn't get a chance to appreciate them too much when he travels - Kenn sends pictures, but it's just not the same as being able to watch them wave in the breeze!

You know what my dad wrote back? "I hope they help you know how much you're loved."

Wow. My dad plants tulips JUST BECAUSE HE LOVES ME.

Dear one, God does the same thing - He CREATED those tulips because He loves me. And if He'll give me beautiful tulips in the spring when Dad plants them, just THINK what other good things He wants to give me!

This passage says He'll give me as much of the Holy Spirit as I'll ask for. We all-too-often forget the Holy Spirit when we talk about God. He's IN me now - but how often do I allow Him to guide? Do I LISTEN to what He's trying to tell me? Do I follow His tug to do this or that?

I'm learning. I'm a living sacrifice, after all - and that means I tend to crawl off the altar when I'm not focusing. But I want to get my SELF out of the way, and let GOD shine through my life. I want HIM to get all the glory. As I follow His leading, it gets easier. But I can still get unfocused - my prayer is that I continue to lift my eyes to Him, and not look at things around me that distract me. The more I fill my vision with Him, the less I get distracted.

How's YOUR vision, dear one? Are you looking to Him for your sustenance? Is He your Guide, or just your emergency rope?

My Lumberjack!

Psalm 90:14-17

Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,

that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

for as many years as we have seen trouble.
May your deeds be shown to your servants,

your splendor to their children.
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;

establish the work of our hands for us—

yes, establish the work of our hands.

Today was kind of fun - I can't believe it's already early evening! It's been SO beautiful here, and I'm just feeling SO blessed. Dad's increased the tulip bulb count to over 400 - partly because I love tulips so much. :) It's GLORIOUS around here - but that's not today's post. Today is about my lumberjack, Kenn.



There is a tree out in the "wheel" that is most of our back yard. It was planted before Mom & Dad decided on the wheel design, and it throws too much shade, gets leaves everywhere, and the roots are beginning to cause problems. So Dad wanted it down.

Guess who volunteered to at least try! So, first he cut off the bottom limbs....

Then higher up, on top of the ladder. He only used a Sawzall and a hand saw!










(That's my dad, assisting.... :D )









And finally, the tree trunk in three pieces. The sunglasses are mine; they couldn't find the safety goggles. :D I figure any glasses were better than an eye in trouble!
















LOTS of sawdust and sweat later, he has the tree down as far as the parents wanted. He's gonna be SORE, for sure, but what a great thing for him to do!

How was YOUR day? Did you do something fun, or get to watch an event like I did?? :D Tell me about it!!!!!!!!!! I want to HEAR!!