precious Lord, take my hand

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Some think this great old gospel song was written by the famous big bandleader Tommy Dorsey. It wasn't; the author was named Thomas Andrew Dorsey, and he was the son of a Black preacher.

Thomas was born in a small town in Georgia in 1899. When he was about eleven, the Dorseys moved to Atlanta where Thomas was quickly enamoured with the blues and began playing the piano as a vaudeville theater. Later the family moved to Chicago where he attended classes at the College of Composition and Arranging. Soon he was on stage under the name "Georgia Tom," playing barrelhouse piano and leading jazz bands.

After being converted in Chicago in 1921, Thomas began writing gospel songs and trying to get them published. It was discouraging at first. He later said, "I borrowed five dollars and sent out 500 copies of my song, 'If You See My Savior,' to churches throughout the country...It was three years before I got a single order. I felt like going back to the blues."

He didn't, and gradually his reputation grew and his work became known.

In August, 1932, while leading music in St. Louis, he was handed a telegram bearing the words, "Your wife just died." He rushed to a phone to call home, but all he could hear over the line was "Nettie is dead! Nettie is dead!" A friend drove him through the night, and he arrived home to learn that his baby boy had also died.

"I began to feel that God had done me an injustice," Thomas later said, "I didn't want to serve Him anymore or write anymore gospel songs." But the next Saturday, while alone in a friend's music room, he had a "strange feeling" inside--a sudden calm and a quiet stillness. "As my fingers began to manipulate over the keys, words began to fall in place on the melody like drops of water falling from the crevice of the rock:

Precious Lord, take my hand

Lead me on, let me stand

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn..."

Today Thomas A. Dorsey is remembered as the "Father of Gospel Music" and the author of hundreds of gospel songs including his equally famous, "Peace in the Valley."

Taken from the book: Then Sings My Soul

to have a heart

We have a friend.

A very sick friend.

This friend is a father to two and a devoted husband to his wife.

His name....Mr. Jim.


Mr. Jim has had heart problems since birth.

He was the youngest to ever undergo heart surgery...at six-months-old. Doctors predicted that he would not live through childhood. Thankfully, they were wrong.

Now, Mr. Jim is 37 and has been put on the heart transplant recipient list.

I plead with you....ask of you.

Please lift this man and his family up in your prayers.

He is waiting. Patiently waiting for a new heart--a gift of life.

To read the whole story, click here.

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mirror, mirror on the wall.

For the past ten years, the girls have shared a bathroom with our parents, and my brother has had the upstairs bathroom. After my brother got married this past July, my sister and I have joyfully taken over the "western-themed" room. :)

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Soon after moving our toiletries into the small space, we decided to make our mirror special.

We call it....the prayer mirror.

The sis and I have added many names that are on our hearts and minds. Some prayers have been answered, and with thankful hearts, the names have been removed. Others have been lifted up in prayer time and time again.

Some days, it is easy to get tired of praying for the same names over and over and over again. Sometimes, we may think, "Really God? I mean, when are you going to ever answer my prayer?"

"And all things, whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive." (Matthew 21:22) There you are. Right there, in that verse, it tells us that whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive. Are we believing what we are praying? Are we confident that God will carry through with His end of the deal and answer our pleas?

Acts 6:4 says: "But we will give ourselves continually to prayer...." Sometimes, it is easy just to brush my teeth or take time in the bathroom and not even glance at the "prayer mirror." Shame on me. Even if it may grow to be "boring" taking time to pray for the same people over and over again, this verse tells us to give ourselves continually to prayer. Every day. Multiple times a day.

One of my favorite verses on prayer is Proverbs 15:8b: "....but the prayer of the upright is his delight." If I am living right and doing His will in my life, God not only hears my prayers, they are His delight! What an amazing thought! God, in His wonderful magnificence, hears little me prayers....however insignificant they may be. When I think about all the "upright" people in my life, that is such a honoring and humbling thought...that He would take the time to listen to my pleas and be willing (if it is His will) to fulfill them. Yep, amazing.




"I love you more than..." notes that the sis and I have written to eachother.



So, next time we want to skim over our prayer lists, or maybe skip it for the day because it may not seem like God is answering them in any way, just know that (if you are living an "upright" life) He is answering them....even though it may not be in the way we would like.

May we all be the prayer warriors for God that He has called us to be. Bless you, lovely.

little is much when God is in it

 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation. I the Lord, will hasten it in its time.

Isaiah 60:22

 

 

One snow-blanketed night, Canadian Fred Suffield awoke to an urgent pounding on his door. A half-frozen man reported that a train had stalled in the blizzard, and the passengers were in danger of freezing to death. Lighting a lantern, Fred followed the man to the site and led the travelers back to his house. Later one of the passengers, Kittie, wrote a thank you note. Fred replied, and Kittie wrote back. Their correspondence led to courtship and to marriage.

 

Some time later, Fred and Kittie attended a church in Ottawa. The ministers name was A.J. Shea. While there, they obeyed the gospel. As the couple grew in Christ, they became even more "on fire for God." One summer they invited Shea's teenage son, George Beverly, to spend a month with them in Westport, Ontario, holding gospel meetings.

 

One night, while Kittie was playing the piano, Bev attempted to sing, but his voice cracked on the high notes, and he sat down mortified, vowing never to sing again. Kittie wouldn't hear of it, suggesting he sing in a lower key. He did, and he kept on singing, and singing, and singing.

 

Many years passed, and in June 2000, George Beverly Shea, 92, was asked to sing at a concert. His rich baritone voice broke into a song that had been written 73 years before by Fred and Kittie: "Little Is Much When God Is in It."

 

Bev Shea's song was about the littleness of our efforts. Compared to this great mission to untold multitudes, our own individual ministries seemed small and insignificant. But God uses little things in great ways. A tiny acorn may produce a forest. A spark may ignite a flame. A small church may produce the next far-famed preacher.

 

Don't be discouraged if your place seems small. You're doing more good than you know.

 

 

Taken from the book: Then Sings My Soul

 

 



Know what today is?!

It's Grandparents Day!!! And boy, do I have some of the best grandparents anyone could ask for!

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A couple of months ago, my grandmother sent this to me in an email.

These sayings were all written by 8-year-olds about 41 years ago. My uncle was one of those 8-year-olds. :)

The question was: What is a grandparent?
(Warning: This is word-for-word of what the little people said. Beware, there are some major grammatical issues...)

1. Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people's.

2. A grandfather is a man, & a grandmother is a lady!

3. Grandparents don't have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn't play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the shops and give us money.

4. When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.

5. They show us and talk to us about the colors of flowers and also why we shouldn't step on 'cracks.'

6. They don't say, 'Hurry up.'

7. Usually grandmothers are fat but not too fat to tie your shoes.

8. They wear glasses and funny underwear.

9. They take their teeth and gums out.

10. Grandparents don't have to be smart.

11. They have to answer questions like 'Why isn't God married?' and 'How come dogs chase cats?'

12. When they read to us, they don't skip They don't mind if we ask for the same story over again.

13. Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don't have television because they are the only grownups who like to spend time with us.

14. They know we should have a snack time before bed time, and they say prayers with us and kiss us even when we've acted badly.

15. Grandpa is the smartest man on earth! He teaches me good things, but I don't get to see him enough to get as smart as him!


So, what do you think? I think they pretty much hit the nail on the head. ;D

Happy Grandparents Day everybody!!

Friday's Letters (#4)...

Dear Polishing the Pulpit,
You were amazing...as always. I am already looking forward to next year.

Dear Pandora,
You would be even more amazing without your commercials...

Dear Neighborhood,
Thank you so much for being beside us. You have been a joy to jog in.

Dear iPad 3,
Thank you for getting here so soon...you are too cool.

Dear Memory,
Have I ever told you how amazingly happy I am that you are my sis? Well, I am.

Dear Somebody,
Thank you for inventing texting. Like, best idea EVER!!

Dear Tupperware Dishes,
Thank you for being you. You are fabulous!!!

Dear Dallas,
Thank you so much for my "happy" of two mentos....totally made my rotten afternoon better.

this one's for the girls

this is for all you girls about 13
high school can be so rough,
can be so mean
hold on to on to your innocence
stand your ground
when everybody's givin' in
this one's for the girls

First of all, I just want to say that I love you.
All to often, I hear my younger girlfriends talk about how they're too fat or not attractive enough. Young ladies, I know life is hard (believe me, I totally do). There will be days that you just feel "bwuh" about life. There will be days that those harsh words of "you fatty" will come like a crushing blow to your heart. There will be other days that you might be the one over on one side of the room while your friends are all of a sudden hanging with the "cooler crowd" on the other side of the room. There might be even days where one of the cutest guys at school comes and asks you out on a date....or worse.....
Girls, I plead with you to be one who is "set apart" from the others. When "everybody's givin' in" it's hard to not follow along with the others. It's easier to do what the world tells you to do. But, is that what God would have you to do?....
This is such an incredible time in your life. There are so many things that you can do to serve the Lord...visit the elderly in the nursing home, help at the local food bank. You young ladies are at a prime time in your lives. I challenge you to go beyond the call of duty....cook a yummy dish for an elderly couple in your church, teach a Sunday school class, or gather a bunch of your friends together and share each others' prayer requests while drawing closer together as friends.
Don't let anyone tell you that you're not pretty, overweight, or not important.
You are loved.
You are so amazing.
Stand your ground and continue to be that pure, special and wonderful young lady that you are.

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this is for all you girls about 25
in little apartments, just tryin' to get by
livin' on your dreams and spaghettios
wonderin' where your life is gonna go

Although I can't say that I have been 25...yet (hehe! ;D), I think that your age group is simply amazing. You have incredible influence in today's world and society. I mean, who are the majority that's graduating college? The young people in between the ages of 22-25, of course! :) Y'all have the potential to change the world. After graduation, you have the whole world to conquer. You have the ability to influence the younger girls and boys to choose the right path or the wrong path. You are blessed. And if you are still single and have the want and desire to be a wife and mommy, don't lose heart, lovely. There is one out there for you...just be patient and wait for God's perfect timing and His best.
You are important and you are treasured.

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this one's for the girls
who've ever had a broken heart
who've wished upon a shooting star
you're beautiful the way you are
this one's for the girls

this one's for all you girls about 42
tossin' pennies into the fountain of youth
every laugh, laugh line on your face
made you who you are today 

Middle-aged women, thank you . I have had so many women that are older than me have such a huge and tremendous impact on my life. Young ladies, these are your role models. Older women in the church and Christian women in your lives are the one's who will have the greatest influence over you. I wouldn't be where I am today if it hadn't been for the older Christian ladies (including my mom's) guidance and teaching. I am able to teach the 2's and 3's on Sunday morning because I was able to assist at a young age and watch a Christian lady model, interact and lovingly teach that class. I was privileged to be her helper and learn from her. I wouldn't have the training of being able to cook, keep a house, and train to be a homemaker (confidently preparing to be a wife and mommy) if it hadn't been for my mom's guidance and instruction. Thank you, older Christian women for being the role models and encouragers that we as younger women need today.
You are needed and you are special.

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who love without holdin' back
who dream with everything they have
all around the world
this one's for the girls

oh, we're all the same inside
from 1 to 99




This One's For the Girls by Cadia