NOT GUILTY!!!!

I so enjoy the song "God will make this trial a blessing" but sometimes it's hard to believe God meant it to be a REAL trial in my life. The words "I've just come into a valley" reverberated in my mind back in January, when I was charged falsely for actions I did not do; and I found myself in a whirlwind of storms with battles raging around me as I walked through this valley. At times I didn't believe (and still don't really) that my lawyer even believed that I was telling the truth, even through the testimonies of the 4 false witnesses that testified during the actual trial which took place yesterday.

I had been given 3 choices:

1-Run away; sign an agreement that I DID what I was accused of with no assurance of protection from civil recourse (personal lawsuit) against myself in order to avoid having a criminal record, which would then cause me to give up certain rights provided by the constitution.

2-Give Up/Hide; squeeze myself under the "no contest" plea hoping that the Judge would take lenience in the case since I had no real evidence to the contrary aside from my own testimony. Even though this would not be considered admission of guilt, it WOULD be considered a guilty verdict and subject to the punishments of the court. This verdict would also give me no protection from further civil lawsuits.

3-Trust God (Proverbs 3:5,6); I was helpless.. like David with a sling and 5 stones facing a Giant with sword and shield. There was only ONE place on Goliath's body that he could be defeated, and God knew just where that place was. Expecting the worst, I submitted my course to My Father, who knows my every need... and waited.

After the accuser and his 3 conspirators (witnesses) had finished their lavish tail of woe, my attorney attempted feebly to motion for dismissal, which the Judge flat-out denied. She (my attorney) was preparing to close when I guess God must have nudged her to ask me "do you want to testify?" Up until then, she hasn't wanted me to testify because she thought I'd look too intimidating to the Judge, but I calmly replied "Yes.. I believe I can tell the truth".

After my testimony, the Judge was talking.. I came back and sat down, but my lawyer said "Stand up".. so I stood and looked at the Judge. Expecting to hear the words of my sentence, my knees became weak as the judge explained his position, then said these words "I found you NOT GUILTY" ... HALLELUJAH! PRAISE GOD!!

It was as if God had shut the Lion's Mouths, or as Psalm 63:11 "..but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped." AMEN! God doesn't lead us through valleys just to make us stronger; He does it so we can help others as they walk through that same valley; So we can be an encouragement to them, as others encouraged us.

Paul said in Hebrews 12:1 "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about by so great a cloud of witnesses," I thank God for those who prayed a host of angels down around me, the court room, and the Judge yesterday. Thank You. And may God make me as much a blessing to others as they face their Goliath's in the valley.-----Ted

Promises Fullfilled!!!

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Revelation 15:3


Psalm 139:14
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

Muddy Waters

I mentioned some time ago that we are going through a valley here in our lives. It's an ongoing battle of truth and justice. I will not go into the details, but suffice to say God has been so visible and verbal in His love towards us personally. Today is a rough day and as I had my devotions last night, I wasn't sure if I should use the devotional book that has so greatly helped me or stick with God's Precious Word. I grabbed my much loved blue Bible and opened to the very next chapter in the book I am reading through. The words of promise leaped off the page and burned into my soul.
How I love the Lord and the way He speaks to His children.

Isaiah 25
King James Version (KJV)


1 Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

2For thou hast made of a city an heap; of a defenced city a ruin: a palace of strangers to be no city; it shall never be built.

3Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

4For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

5Thou shalt bring down the noise of strangers, as the heat in a dry place; even the heat with the shadow of a cloud: the branch of the terrible ones shall be brought low.

6And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

7And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

8He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

9And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

10For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.

11And he shall spread forth his hands in the midst of them, as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his hands to swim: and he shall bring down their pride together with the spoils of their hands.

12And the fortress of the high fort of thy walls shall he bring down, lay low, and bring to the ground, even to the dust.

ABC123

My baby boy has turned 18 today. It seems just a few days ago he was learning his alphabet and numbers! Ted took him to get his drivers license today, he passed his road test last week. He now has the keys to the car, although I fear he will have to beg to drive it :). High School graduation is fast approaching and then my children will be flying the nest for hither and yon.

I pray God's direction and blessings upon you Justin as you serve the Lord!

Happy 18th Birthday!!!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

To see pictures of the end of our celebration visit this link.

https://plus.google.com/photos/100273046044092253786/albums/5722764258342881665

Life goes on

Well, it's the day after the long tests at the doctor's office. All of his labs and tests came back great, proving that he is healthy as a horse. Why he collapsed we still don't know. We are praying it was a 1 time thing that God will use in his life to remind him how precious life is. If it happens again, then it's off to do neurological testing.

Thank you to those who prayed and checked on him. We treasure those who care about our family.

Life is but a vapor

I had different posts running through my head before this draft, but life is a short vapor. We were getting ready to go to bus ministry this morning, and I was praying for the lesson and the kids. While dealing with an issue my son had, he passed out at the end of our mom and son talk. Yup, smashed to the floor.... he has never done this before. So after tending his wounds and getting him cleaned up, we have turned into his spotters for awhile. He will go to the doctor Monday, but in the meantime he will be under constant supervision.

I will re-post after we hear from the doctor...
If you passed out and never woke up, where would you spend eternity??!!

It's my Story and I'm Stickin to it

While driving to work today, I came up with a good tidbit of humor thanks to the operator of the Chrysler Concorde in front of me.

An officer observes the traffic going down the road. He merges in behind a car, turns on his lights and siren and pulls it over. As the officer approaches the driver's side window, he pulls out his ticket book and begins writing. The driver asks "Did I do something wrong, Officer?" The officer smiles and hands the ticket through the window. The driver blurts "What is this?!" The officer replies candidly, "This is a bad driver award, out of all of the eligible contestants, I chose you to receive it".


That's my story, may you never be eligible for a bad driver award.

Southern Charm?

There ain't no magazine named "Northern Living" for good reason. There ain't nobody interested in livin' up north, nobody would buy the magazine!


Dear Lord: It's me again. Please keep Your arm around my shoulders
and Your hand over my mouth! Amen.


Put 100 Southerners in a room and half of them will discover they're related, even if only by marriage.

A Southerner knows that "fixin" can be used as a noun, a verb, or an adverb.

No true Southerner would ever assume that the car with the flashing turn signal is actually going to make a turn.

In like a Lamb and out like a Lion

From my childhood, I have always anticipated the weather patterns of the month of March. Would it come in like a lamb and go out like a lion? Or maybe adversely, in elementary school we used to mark each day on the calendar with a lamb or a lion. Then, we would see by the end of the month what sort of stormy or balmy month it has been.
So many parallels are running through my mind right now. This month has been stormy both with the weather, the world, and Ted's work. But our worship and workmanship have been balmy.

If I was a preacher, I could really get two or three messages out of this, but since I am not, I will let the Lord speak to your heart about the parallels displayed by this childhood memory.
Jesus will be coming in like a Lamb soon with the rapture, but a few short years later He will return like Lion!
I am so glad that I am in the fold of the Lamb of God, but I also belong to the army of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah!
AMEN and AMEN

God of the Mountain and the Valley

God On The Mountain

Life is easy, when you're up on the mountain

And you've got peace of mind

Like you've never known

But then things change and you're down in the valley

Don't lose hope for you're never alone



[Chorus]
For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley

When things go wrong He'll make them right

And the God of the good times, is still God of the bad times

And the God of the day is still God of the night



{V. 2}
You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain

Oh, but the talk comes so easy

When life's at its best

But it's down in the valley of trials and temptations

That's where faith is really put to the test

And the God of the day is still God of the night



Dedicated to Ted and anyone else that needs encouragement today

Walking with me

Walking in the Flame

My name is Shadrach
I’ve been standing for God’s Word
In a land where His name
Is seldom if ever heard
But today I refuse to bow to their desire
And now I am facing a terrible fire

Chorus:
[But] Someone is walking with me in the flame
I can feel His tender hand,
I can hear Him speak my name
When this fiery trial has ended
I will never be the same
Someone is walking with me in the flame

Now when I face each trial
Old satan comes along
Whispers it’s no use
This trial is much too strong
But I have an answer
To all the lies he brings
“Satan, you would be so right,
Except for one thing.”

Bridge:
God never said that the fire would pass us by
But I’m glad He promised to stand by our side
When this fiery trial has ended
I will never be the same.
Someone is walking with me in the flame.

Jesus is walking with me in the flame.


Song dedicated to my husband, Ted.