Chris Rice - The Face Of Christ

First Time - Winter Sonata - Piano : 初めて／冬のソナタ

Wondergirls - His Eye Is on the Sparrow + 한국어자막

Survival Kit

Dear Friend,
I found an article written by pastor Ulf Ekman on his blog
( http://ulfekman.nu/ only in Swedish) and here are some excerpts I would like to pass on to you. In building “holy habits” this could be a helpful start (and a help to fight a bad conscience).

Sincerely yours,

Ida

“…We have different habits, temperament, and ways of doing things. What will function in the long run must be adjusted to your personality. At the same time we cannot just follow feelings and impulses but slowly and firmly build holy habits… …We must be disciplined without falling into the pit of legalism. Legalism kills joy. It is important to know that the devotional life is not “spiritual gymnastics” or a “diet” you have to endure alone without Jesus. He stands there every morning, longing to talk with us….

1/ When you wake up: Say “Jesus”. Repeat his name as you step out of bed.

2/ When you have turned off the alarm clock; reach for the Bible and read at once 2 Bible verses (not more) This all can do.

3/ Pray silently with tongues on your way to the shower. It makes your inner self praise Jesus in stead of meditating on the concerns of the day. (If you have an issue with “tongues” use your own language; my remark)

4/ Include in your breakfast prayer what will be on your schedule during the day, so you will hand over the whole day in the hands of the Lord.

5/ Try to have a 10 minute prayer and Bible reading time before you rush off to work

6/ Take a small pocket New Testament with you. Read it whenever you can; on the buss, when you have a break at work, etc.

7/ Try to read through the Bible every other year. The second year, try to study one Bible book more carefully.

8/ Pray for the food and bless each meal and thank God for what you receive.

9/ Pray short, specific silent prayers for special events at work and for certain people.

10/ Try to pray in the evening and if you like to read in bed, end your day with the Bible so that you go to sleep with a word from God.

11/ Repeat the name of Jesus until you fall asleep.

12/Don’t try all at the same time. Try what works for you. Don’t loose heart if it doesn’t work at once. …You will see that your day more and more will become surrounded by God’s presence. …Prayer is wonderful because Jesus is wonderful.”

The Outsiders and The Insiders

Dear Friend,

Remember "The Outsiders" in the post from Thursday, 22 July? Well my question was answered by my blog-friend Anna who found the name of the painter - the western artist Don Spaulding.

I Googled Don Spaulding and found this picture.

It is called "The Insiders"

On Snow Goose Gallery there is an explanation added to the painting “The Outsiders” :

"I spend a lot of time reading about the Old West. This painting was suggested by a passage from "Pioneer Women" by Joanna Stratton, a book that records the remembrances of women settlers in Kansas. One woman who lived in a cowtown called Wano recalled how the cowboys from the trail herds would take part in church services while seated on their horses outside the windows. I'm sure that they remained outside for two reasons: because they felt they were not dressed appropriately and because they were outsiders, not residents of the town. - Don Spaulding."

Sincerely yours,

Ida

滑り込むねこ２。

Maru, my new favourite

I found a video on Hovbergs Blogg http://www.hovberg.se/blogg/ about Maru.
You can watch him in action and know his story on mugumogus channel http://www.youtube.com/user/mugumogu#p/u/8/w-iIbotFkzQ

Lord prop us up...

Dear friend,
Got this from Sherry; it spoke a lot to me.
Sincerely your,
Ida


"Every time I am asked to pray, I think of the old fellow who always prayed, 'Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side.' After hearing him pray that prayer many times, someone asked him why he prayed that prayer so fervently.

He answered, 'Well sir, you see, it's like this... I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time; it's withstood a lot of weather; it's gone through a lot of storms, and it's stood for many years.

It's still standing. But one day I noticed it was leaning to one side a bit.

So I went and got some pine poles and propped it up on its leaning side so it wouldn't fall.

Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time.

I've withstood a lot of life's storms. I've withstood a lot of bad weather in life, I've withstood a lot of hard times, and I'm still standing too. But I find myself leaning to one side from time to time, so I like to ask the Lord to prop us up on our leaning side, 'cause I figure a lot of us get to leaning at times.

Sometimes we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness, leaning toward hatred, leaning toward cussing, leaning toward a lot of things that we shouldn't . So we need to pray, 'Lord, prop us up on our leaning side, so we will stand straight and tall again, to glorify the Lord.''

"Snow"

Dear Friend,

One morning earlier this week, I was looking out of one of the kitchen windows and it looked like it was snowing. I had to go out on the porch and could identify the “snow” as dandelion seed heads. Between our houses they floated by in the wind like tiny umbrellas heading for the river. The farmer next door must have caused the explosion of the dandelion seed heads when working on the close by field. For a gardener Dandelions are weeds and very annoying weeds because the more you fight them the more they reproduce themselves. But after reading some articles about Dandelions I can see that they are useful weeds if you know how to handle them. They can be used as medicine, food and pure pleasure when put in a vase. The yellow flower is a peace of art from God the creator.

Sherry Harris Glover has written a poem inspired by the Dandelion flower.

Sincerely yours,

Ida

DANDELION

She’s like a Dandelion you see in a field
From a weed she has grown, her hard-heart peeled
In the past from Him she had sadly strayed
She was like a weed…cold, alone and dismayed

But now she’s been brought back to life
Her spirit, her heart, her soul now alive
For in Him, she grows and flourishes in love
And now the weed has become a bud

She’s now a beautiful dandelion flower
Her spirit is alive and so empowered
She stands tall and strong, no longer beat down
And her head now adorned by a golden crown

She now lives and thrives in her knowledge of Him
No longer to be cold and alone within
Now to Him her roots will proudly cling
And she is happy to serve our Lord, our King

After a while her lovely yellow crown
Will turn into a hat of white seeds all around
That’s when she will share her gifts with all
For the seeds from her hat will gently fall

For each cottony, splintery seed, you see
Will catch a ride on His mighty wind to feed
Our earth that is hungry for His love all around
And this story is born again for His renown

Then new plants will grow from the seeds strewn
When they’ve returned unto Him where they belong
And if their hearts remain pure they’ll be adorned
With their own golden halos, as a new life is born

Isn’t that notion beautiful and exciting
When one can affect the lives of so many
And those who are touched come alive and grow
In the life with Him they were born to know!

Sherry Harris Glover

Copyright © 2006. Sherry Glover. All rights reserved.

In Christ Alone Worship Video with Lyrics

Lord God, I thank You that You have given me authority over all the power of the enemy.
Forgive me for allowing my voice to remain silent and my will immobilized by a passive spirit.
I realize that to be an overcomer I must pursue my enemy until he is consumed.
You have given me authority over the plans and works of evil.
You have created me to be a minister of Your righteousness.
You have filled me with Your Holy Spirit and with fire.
This day I confront, renounce and take authority over the power of the enemy.
I break the bondage of a passive spirit.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Prayer by Francis Frangipane.

www.inchristsimage.org

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKFU1CBX6BQ

1 Corinthians 1: 25-31

Dear Friend,

I hope you have taken the time and watched the previous videos. When I watch Lena-Maria I keep thinking; if she can, so can I.

You can watch a concert with Lena-Maria on "nymilal's channel" on YouTube;
http://www.youtube.com/user/nymilal#p/c/AA5DC22246113514/1/ssQSEHRiycE

Part 2/10; the story about Lena-Maria's life starts at approx 6:15.

Information about Milal Night and Milal Mission you can find here:
http://english.milalmission.com/Opportunity.html.
Scroll down the page and you will find it.

The verses below came up when I opened the Bible today. Wasn't looking for them but I think they fit together with the videos.

(Other interpretations of "His Eyes is on the sparrow" will follow. I love that song.)

… The foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

Think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.

He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things – and the things that are not – to nullify the things that are;

So that no one may boast before him.

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God – that is our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

Therefore, as it is written: Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.

Sincerely yours,

Ida

Letter to a Friend 2

Dear Friend,

Well, here is my rambling answer to your question as to whether I have had times when Bible reading and “being still” have been a problem. I have to say “Yes” to your question. It has been part of my life but I am starting to learn some lessons that have taken considerable time to learn. If you have the time, I will share some of it, but remember it is what I have had to deal with and I think it is a bit different from your situation. However, I hope you will find something useful in it.

I recognize and understand your comment: "I have been all over the Bible lately". I have felt stressed in finding something that would touch my heart and in those times, I have to remind myself…this is God’s Word and even though sometimes I don’t feel a thing, it has to be telling me something.”

I can’t really say that life and busyness, as you say, have taken away time from reading the Bible and “be still”…for me it has been more like a state of mind that crept up on me and the Bible became “locked”. By that, I mean the word of God was silent. I read it and it was very "cold". So I stopped reading for a while but started all over again and was "all over the Bible” in search for a “living word” without a single touch in my heart.

I stopped reading again. What was the point? I could just as well have read the telephone book. I thought about those times when I could not get enough of the Bible. I read books, I studied like “crazy”, and it was so very exciting! I was so happy for every word that spoke to me and I swallowed knowledge fed from Bible teachers like somebody who had been starving for a long time. "Gluttonizing in the word of God"; imagine that!

When I wrote about Romans 5 being "stuck in grace," I was so happy for the “vision" since it had been so long since anything from the Bible had had any personal meaning to me. Psalm 148 was also a blessing because it is all focused on God and worshipping him and I could just agree with the word and stop thinking if I could “feel” anything at all.

I tried to change versions of The Bible and have used different translations, both Swedish and English and sometimes a glimpse of gold could shine through the dimming veil but I had no expectations whatsoever to find what I had before; excitement and joy in the Word.

However, through all these failed attempts to find my way into the Word again, the Holy Spirit had some “truth” for me.

1) "You don't have to read the Bible to please God. He knows His Bible already. You read the Bible for your own sake and not for His”

That made me both happy and angry. “I know that already!!!

But, He countered: “I don’t think you do.”

“If you know so many verses by heart; if you know exactly where in the Bible you can find a word; if you have read the whole Bible in a year; are you without guilt if you read two chapters instead of one verse?”

“You worry about how much you must do to please God to be worthy of His love. But you can do nothing. Remember it’s all under the blood.” Reading the Bible is not collecting points in a contest… it is building a relationship with Me.”

GUILT! Ever have that feeling?

Guilt is something the evil one hangs around my neck like a cold, wet shawl that has been dipped in the sticky syrup of guilt to be sure it really hangs on to my conscience. The evil one (and I myself) has no difficulty finding many, many things that would put me in a bad position any time God would grant me a look from His heavenly window.

Do you remember that I wrote about “the big finger in my face” and the sign reading, "Not Good Enough" above my head? The evil one is trying that trick even today although I keep reminding him, “It’s all under the blood.” He is trying to make me forget the moment when “He who has seen me has seen the Father” came alive in my living room and God became the God who smiled. Even though I have thrown off that old rugged shawl called GUILT in the Name of Jesus, the evil one keeps bringing it back with assurance that this time he has me right where he wants me. Yet, the answer is still, “It’s all under the blood.” Moreover, so is my guilt.

2) “From Genesis to the book of Revelation it is all God’s word inspired by God to encourage, warn and bless you whenever you open the book.”

“I know that already!!!”

“Well then … when you are skipping around in my Word looking for something for your soul you are in such a distress to find something “edible” that you miss what is right under your nose. Believe me, even the reading of chapters about Genealogy can be a blessing at the right time and place. So you can relax in whatever book, chapter or verse you are in because I’m right there with you.”

“Then, how do you explain why my favorite reading turned into a “dead” obligation? And, how can you complain about my search for something that will tell me that you are there with me?” (Here comes the painful truth...)

“It wasn’t me locking the Bible it was you who locked your heart; you left your first love. Your time isn’t too occupied by life; it is your heart’s desire that has turned somewhere else and you know where. And, when you make an effort to come into my presence, you are sitting on nails because you would rather be somewhere else. And, you are angry with me.”

Well, true. But … Oh never mind!

3) “To explain this some more …remember your friend Mia’s words when she said, “What you really want to do, you do.”

“If your desire was to be with me, you would be eager to find the time and place to be with me no matter what. You would make priorities to find the opportunity like… two lovers who would seek moments to be with each other. But, that is not the case in your heart and I get the “leftovers” of your time.”

“I have known you all your life and even before you were born. There is nothing you can do to make grace wider, longer, or deeper than it already is because it is ‘enough’. And, grace would not be grace if you had to achieve it by works. You need to find humility and that brings me to number…”

4) “Pride”

“You have been crushed many times through life and pride would not be the first word you would think of in this matter. Your character doesn’t show pride in the way you act in your every day life but in relation to me, there is still pride lingering in your heart. Isn’t it pride that talks when you accuse me of “locking” my word instead of searching the truth in your heart? Isn’t it pride when you waste time against better knowledge? Isn’t it pride when you leave me behind?”

And so the conversation went on but I will stop now and hope it can bring you some comfort and some encouragement and maybe some thoughts that can bring a solution to your problem.

The Truth will set me free it says and so it will. I don’t think that I will find the inspiration on the same level and in the same way as it used to be. I really think it will be something better, knowing God and that He is trustworthy in all His doings. I guess this “conversation” has also left me with a feeling of relief; I don’t have to “perform” anything but rather “embrace” a gift, unfold it and discover a surprise every time I read the Bible.

That’s a start.

Sincerely yours,

Ida

Matthew 26 again...

Matthew 26:53

Dear friend,

Jesus chose not to …

1 … call upon

72 000 angels when he was arrested in Gethsemane.

2 … speak when accused by false witnesses. He who is The Word chose to be silent.

3 … defend himself when beaten and mocked. The creator of the Universe chose to appear helpless.

4 … step down from the cross. He chose to hang there and he died there for you and me so that we may live through his resurrection and finished work of salvation.

Sincerely yours,

Ida