ASK, SEEK, KNOCK, AND KEEP ON, UNTIL YOU GET YOUR ANSWER

"Keep on asking and it will be given you; keep on seeking and you will find; keep on knocking  [reverently] and [the door] will be opened to you.. For everyone who keeps on asking receives; and he who keeps on seeking finds; and to him who keeps on knocking [the door] will be opened." Matthew 7:7,8 Amplified Version

In 2001 my daughter had a special hand made necklace made for me at her favorite jewelers.  She and the jeweler worked together to get just the right design.  It is a beautiful delicate creation, I loved it at once.While she and I were admiring the necklace she noticed a small piece that the jeweler had neglected to attach properly.  She asked me to put the necklace in a safe container and when she returned home she would take it back to the jeweler and have it repaired. So I put it away in a safe place.

When she started to go back home I forgot to give her the necklace and when she arrived at home she called me and ask me to find the necklace and send it to her certified and insured.

Well, I could not find the piece of jewelry anywhere I looked I was broken hearted and she said, "mama just keep on looking I am sure you will find it."

Dear readers that was ten years ago, over the years I would go into a drawer where I keep stuff, you know the stuff you keep just because, and I would always notice a small porcelain box, I would wonder what if anything was in the box but I never took time to open the box to look inside.

Last week I was looking for something in the drawer and again I saw the small porcelain box, I picked up the box and shook it and heard a sound, I wondered what could be inside, so, I opened the box....low and behold there was my necklace that had been lost for ten years. " If only", I think that is one of the most repeated statements of regret in our lives. If only, I had opened the box ten years ago when I first noticed it I could have had my necklace fixed and been enjoying it these many years.

Immediately the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart with these thoughts, "Just as you looked and looked for the necklace, and it was right there all this time safe in your stuff drawer, you ask and ask for my will and way in situations in your life.  The answer is always in my Word and your prayers to Me. 

We read the Word, maybe one or two chapters, and pray for a few minutes and if the answer does not come immediately we get discouraged.  The secret, No there is no secret  to what God can and will do,  the answer is do not do as I did with the little porcelain box just wonder what is in it and put it aside, but to open the box, look into its contents.

When the Holy Spirit prompts us to read the Word and pray, He does not mean for five or ten minutes, He means TO READ THE WORD AND PRAY UNTIL THE ANSWER COMES FROM THE VERY THRONE OF GOD TO US.

Dear precious readers, we must make the time each day to read His Word, and to speak with Him in prayer, not just "now I lay me down to sleep prayer", but fervent Prayer, the kind of prayer that brings us His answers that we need. I do not mean just randomly read the Word, but with a purpose and a made up mind to devour His Word. They are our instructions to live in this day and time, to make His Word  such a part of our vocabulary and life that we become as prophets of old,  declaring His love for us and also the wrath that is to come during  the time of tribulation.  

His Word to us  declares His Unlimited Love for us.  A love so powerful that He freely gave His life on the cross to die for our sins and to make provision through His shed blood on that cross, that if we just believe in Him as our Savior, He will apply His Blood to our sins and make them  white as snow.

If you have never accepted Jesus as your Personal Savior just stop now and pray this prayer, "Dear Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner, please cover all my sins with the blood you shed for me on the cross, and make my life new and white as snow. I believe you are the Son of God, I now accept you as my Personal Savior, I will live each day exclusively for you, I will read your Word and Pray every day, thank you for saving me and making me one of your children." Amen

Now that you have accepted Him as your Personal Savior, find a Bible believing Church and start attending regularly, we must have fellowship with other Christians they will pray for you and help you to get your "feet on the ground" and to grow as Christian.

When we accept Him as our Savior, we no longer live for ourselves, but we live exclusively for Him and for what He wants us to do for His Honor and Glory.  Dear Reader do not think of this as a hard task He has promised in His Word that when we let Him put His yoke on us and become in yoke with Him, He has promised "that His yoke is easy and His burden is light." being in yoke with Jesus is the only way we can live in this present world and be at  complete peace and be completely happy.  



I love you and pray for you daily.  I hope for you a full life in God and His abundant blessings,
Love Gloria


Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

LET GOD HAVE HIS WAY IN OUR LIFE

"I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]. Philippians 4:13 Amplified Version
 
My dear readers as a child of God are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of letting satan buffet you around We read God's Word and pray, and then we still succumb to satan's tactics as by letting him get us into a pity party of all the things we see in our lives that we cannot just wave a magic wand and correct. Our biggest flaw in our walk with Jesus Christ is that we want Him to correct our problems and do it now. We want Him to pour a cup of water on the problem stick it in the microwave and in 3-5 minutes viola' the problem is gone. So we begin to ask ourselves do I really have the faith to let God be my Strong Mighty Tower, can I really run to Him and hide in the cleft of the Rock He has prepared for His children?
 
God spoke to my spirit by His Holy Spirit this morning and asked me, "My child do you really really trust me in ALL things, the most impossible things in your life? Things that are not the "norm" to turn around. I stopped a moment and I felt the almighty power of the Glory of God fill my whole being and I wanted to just let go and let God. I prayed LORD I DO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN MOVE ANY MOUNTAIN, HEAL ANY DISEASE, YOU CAN HEAL SOMETHING THAT HAS NEVER BEEN HEALED BEFORE. YOU CAN CAST DOWN ANY BARRIER, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU. NOW LORD HELP MY UNBELIEF!

 The Holy Spirit loved and renewed me and showed me that I do not have the answers, but that I know the one that has all the answers. God will deliver in His time and according to His Will for me. BUT that I must TRUST HIM, TRUST HIM, TRUST HIM. I must tell Him everything, my desires, my needs, confess my failures, even though He already knows them all, He wants us to be completely honest with Him, this is the only way He can work in our life.Then trust Him to bring about what I want Him to change in my life. He reminded me, that first I must be willing to let Him CHANGE ME INTO WHAT HE WANTS ME TO BE. I must be so strong in His Word, I must not only read His Word, but I must devour it, I must digest it into my spirit. I must be in constant communication with Him in prayer. I will turn over my whole life for Him to remold into the child HE KNOWS I CAN BE AND THAT HE WANTS ME TO BE.

 Sometimes the problems in life are a cause of something that we are not willing to let go of, but GOD MUST CONTROL OUR MIND, OUR BODY AND OUR THOUGHTS AND MOST OF ALL OUR SPIRIT.

 Dear reader we must always be aware that even though we do not see into the Spirit World of God it is all around us all the time."When the servant of the man of God rose early and went out, behold an army with horses and chariots (the enemy) were around the city. Elisha's servant said to him, Alas my master! What shall we do? [Elisha] answered, Fear not: for those with us are more than those with them. (Their enemies). Then Elisha prayed, Lord, I pray you open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the young man's eyes, and he saw and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." 2 Kings 6:15,16,17 KJV. We must know without a shadow of a doubt that God has His Guardian Angels and His Warrior Angels around you and me all the time. We must always know that we are protected we need to always ask God to let us feel his Angels that are protecting us and to love God even more because He provides this for each of His Children. Thank God for the care He provides for each of us every single second. Even though we do not always see it, always be proud and thank Him for His protection. Let His Love surround you and take hold of your mind and be willing to let God work out our problems in His Time, remember His Time does not always go along with our time, but if we let Him do the work by Himself He will work it out JUST AT THE RIGHT TIME. WE MUST NEVER TRY TO HELP HIM (This has been hard for me to learn and I have made many a problem worse, just because I wanted to help God just a little bit, it never has and it never will work). OUR TRIUNE GOD IS SOVEREIGN. GOD, HIS SON JESUS, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE CAPABLE OF HANDLING PROBLEMS AND SITUATIONS ALONE, ALL WE NEED TO DO IS TRUST AND BELIEVE THAT HE IS WORKING IN OUR LIVES TO SEE THE PROBLEMS RESOLVED, AND WHEN THEY ARE RESOLVED WE BECOME AS HE WOULD HAVE US TO BE A TRUE LIVING TESTIMONY OF A TRUE AND TRIED AND VICTORIOUS CHILD OF GOD.

 God never leads us through a trial that is not for his Honor and Glory. So, when your trial is victoriously past, you may not see the reason for the terrible turmoil of the trial that God led you through, but you will see in yourself a deeper faith, Spiritual growth and a deeper trust in God and His ability to keep you through anything.

 It may be years or just a few days before you meet someone that is going through the same trial and test that God led you through and your testimony of God's keeping and leading power through the test will be of immeasurable value to them. It may be the one thing that keeps them from giving up during the trial. Always give God the Glory for His leading and saving and keeping power over you every day. Love Gloria


 
Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

LORD, IF I MUST CLIMB THIS MOUNTAIN, PLEASE TEACH ME TO YODEL

"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to  try you as though some strange thing happened unto you.  But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His Glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." I Peter 4:12.13 KJV

I have always loved the book of Job, just imagine that God would have so much confidence in a man that He in His ALL KNOWING POWER, knew that Job would praise God even unto death.  I have never asked to be tested like Job. But when God puts a mountain in my path, I pray for strength, courage, and faith to climb that mountain every step of the way.

God keeps us from many dangers and trials every day, I am not always faithful to thank Him daily for these enormous blessings, but I intend to be thankful from now on.  God is always true to His word, but also knows His children so well.  He knows that we must keep our spiritual bodies built up and in good health.  Just as we keep our human bodies in good health. 

Every trial that comes into our life either has one or two reasons:
     1.  We neglected our spiritual life by not reading His Word every day. (Yes, you do have time to sit down a few minutes EVERY day to read His WORD and to pray.) i.e., Keep a Bible in the bathroom, on the back of the throne is a good place.  I mean you are just sitting there looking down at your feet right? Leave off an episode of TV, I mean it will be on again tomorrow. I love reading the Psalms in all the versions.  Pray while you are driving to and from work, or while you are running errands, or waiting in line at the store, pray for those around you, you don't have to pray out loud unless you want to, if you do hey fine with me probably with them also you may be the only one who has prayed for them that whole day.  Read the WORD, I love to study with all my versions around me and read the scripture from each version.   I am somewhat of a Bible junkie, I especially love the slender thin ones that you can put in your Bible and journal devotion bag and carry with you.  I also love good devotion books.  I love the ones that lift me up with powerful words from THE WORD. Some of my favorites are Oswald Chambers. (you must get his old one and the new revised one), The God Calling Journal by A. J. Russell, All of Sarah Young's devotional books are sooo worth buying. The devotion books by Cindy Trimm are awesome and also Max Lucado has lots and lots of wonderful faith building devotion books.

 I especially love the beauty of the KJV, it is my "go-to" Bible, when the world has turned up-side down and I lay prostrate on the floor asking God to let it somehow build my faith so I can deal with the problem. I just love to read the KJV and pray until God's Holy Spirit calms my spirit and lets me know that it is in His hands and no matter if I can not make heads or tails of it, God will see me through oh, Hallelujah!! Our God is an awesome God.
     2.  God wants to receive Honor and Glory out of our trials; and when God says "ENOUGH" and the trial is over we will be as fine gold, refined in the fire. found in 1 Peter 1:7 KJV
When The Holy Spirit reveals to us that this mountain we MUST climb, REMEMBER,  the poem written by Margaret Fishback Powers, "Footprints".  From the day we ask Jesus to be our Savior and the Lord of our lives and we let His Precious Blood cover ALL our past sins, we become a new person in Him. We then commit the rest of our lives to serving Him, if we could see into the spirit world we would see two sets of foot prints, ours, and Jesus's walking along beside us every step of the way.

The last verse of the Footprints poem asks the question, "Lord when looking back on my life with you I see two sets of footprints, until I come to the parts of my life when the most fiery trials, the most horifying times in my life occured.  Then there is only one set of footprints, When I needed you the most Lord why did you leave me?"

"He whispered, "My precious child I love you and will never, leave you never, ever, and during your trials and testings, when you saw only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you." (an exerpt from Footprints)

When we are climbing up that mountain, take one step at a time.  If you come to a place that you don't see how you can go any farther up, then stop, stand  still and sing ( I really am going to practice yodeling.)

When Paul and Silas were beaten with many stripes for preaching about Jesus they were thrown in jail and their feet were fastened into stocks.  At the midnight hour Paul and Silas sang  songs of glory and praise unto God, the jail was shaken the bands fell off all the prisoners.  The jailer was going to kill himself because the prisoners were freed from their chains and stocks, but Paul cried with a loud voice , "do thyself no harm for we are all here.  The jailer saw God in Paul and Sila. He asked, "Sirs what must I do to be saved?" he and his household were saved because Paul and Silas sang and gave glory to God even climbing up their mountain. Taken from Acts 16, KJV

My  precious readers my prayer is that if you are climbing a mountain now or one is in your future, ask God for strength to climb one step at a time, sing, yodel, pray and read your Bible.  Remember as it says in the Bible several times, "This too shall pass."  Always be faithful, I did not say be perfect, if you stumble on a rock on the mountain, ask God to forgive you and show you where the next foothold is, rest a little while and continue on in God.. 

He will make us perfect when we get to Heaven.  Just be Faithful to Him and don't forget to yodel.

Remember God loves you and so do I, Love Gloria



Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

A PAGE FROM MY LIFE'S MEMORIES

"For You are are my hope, O Lord GOD; You are my trust from my youth.  By You I have been upheld from birth. You are He who took me out of my mother's womb. My praise shall be continually  of you." Psalm 71:5.5,6 NKJV

This morning I was watching a documentary on TV about Gene Autry, immediately it brought me back a LOT of years to my childhood. 

I never had an older brother, but my first cousin Jerry was only four months younger than me, and lived just beside me.  We lived on what was called a row of houses built close together.  Jerry was my brother in spirit in my heart, he was also my very best friend in all the world, we played together every day.

The reason the documentary on Gene Autry was so real to me is that, every Saturday, both theaters in my home town had cowboy movies, one theater cost a dime to see the movie and the other cost a nickle, so we always chose the nickle  theatre. There was always a cowboy movie most times a cop's and robber's movie and a continued serial which always ended in a cliff hanger so we couldn't wait to see if Tarzan or Nyoka the Jungle Girl or who ever was the star of the cliff hanger got saved from the certain death that they were facing when the cliff hanger ended the Saturday before, of course the next week they always got saved just to face certain death on the present Saturday. Most Saturdays we had to walk to town but what was a mile and half back then, just a good exercise.

You could go when the theater opened and stay all day if you wanted, and of course we wanted too. I mean no one had TV and all the other entertainments children have now.  And now of course I am told you can only see the movie one time and then you have to leave.

If Jerry or I had an extra nickle we would buy a coke and share it, or if we only had two nickles to get in the movie, a drink of water from the fountain would suffice.

After leaving the theatre, (we were always told to be home before dark,) we would discuss every scene in the movies on the way home.

All the next week we would pretend to be the characters in the movies and sometime we would change some of the plot to suit us better, but such wonderful times we had re-playing those movies together and in our minds we would go away into pretend land and just be children  and live life to the fullest.  Just being Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Rex Allen, Tex Ritter, Rocky Lane or even Fuzzy Q. Jones or Gabby Hayes. there were so many that I can't remember but every one took us into that wonderful world of pretend where everything is perfect and you can make things just like you want them to be, and helped us to build our imaginations of how we would have ended the movie had we been given the chance.

Most Sunday's we attended Sunday School, the church was just across the dirt road in front of our houses. and every Sunday evening at six o'clock, there was choir practice and Jerry and I knew that they always served refreshments after practice, we would attend.  Never would we be told to leave, or that we were too young.  The precious choir members and the choir leader just let us join in and they always invited us for refreshments, of course we gladly accepted.  You never know when you help nurture a child what God will do in their lives.  "Who ever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me." Matthew 18:5 NKJV.

Dear Readers, take a moment and go back into the pages of your life, especially your childhood and remember some of the wonderful things that maybe you have not thought about in years, believe me a trip down memory lane  thinking of those you loved and still love is the best trip of all.

Written to you with all my love, Gloria

 
Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

"BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED ME"

"We love him, because he first loved us." 1 John 4:19

When I woke up this morning at 2:27 am, I was singing the chorus that we sometimes sing in church, Oh, how I love Jesus, because he first loved me."  I lay in bed a few more minutes with this chorus going over and over in my mind and spirit.

"Oh, how I love Jesus because he first loved me." After a few minute's the Holy Spirit prompted me to get out of bed and come to my room where I study and read my different Bible translations and I have five or six devotion books that I read during the day, especially devotion books written by Oswald Chambers and Sarah Young.

I began to really think and dwell on the words of the chorus.  Jesus first loved me, before I was even aware of Him and His sacrifice of giving his life on the cross for me and for all mankind.  He loved me when I was a child growing up.  My family lived just across the dirt road from the church.  I remember even as a child when my Sunday school teacher would tell the class of His love for us, it would make me feel so warm and safe deep inside.

He loved me all through my years of growing up, becoming a teenager, graduating from high school, and starting to work.

I did not go to church regularly during those years, but God loved me and I could feel His call to me by His Holy Spirit.  Even though I did not fully surrender my life to Him until I was 24 years old, I could feel His Holy Spirit saying to me, "I Love You, I Love You."  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16 KJV

When I  fully surrendered my life to Jesus and let His precious Blood cover my sins, I began to fall completely in love with Him.  The more I studied my Bible, the more I wanted to study.  The more I talked with Him in prayer the more I wanted to talk and communicate with Him.  Praying and communing with the  One that willingly gave His life for you and me becomes the most natural and precious part of our life.  We want to be in constant conversation with Him.  Sitting in a crowded room, no, I do not talk outloud to Him , but my spirit communicates with His Holy Spirit.  at home sometimes we communicate quietly, sometimes out loud.  Driving alone in the car is one of my favorite times to  talk with Him. I can talk as loud or as soft as a baby's whisper, it does not matter.  Just the very act of talking with Him is the most natural thing anyone willl ever do.  Our spirit just is not complete without communication with the One who died for our sins and made us whole in Him.  I love to go outside very early in the morning, hear the birds singing, and lift my hands toward heaven, throw my head back and shout out loud, "JESUS I LOVE YOU."

It still amazes me that Jesus Christ so willingly gave himself over to the tormentors to be broken, bruised and humiliated as no one before or since has ever been tormented.  Then to willingly walk up Calvary's hill lay down on the cross, have His precious hands and feet nailed into the wood, and say, "FATHER FORGIVE THEM FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO."  Never before or since has such love been shown for all mankind to make a way that we can spend eternity with Him.

It has never been the will of God for anyone to go to hell.  Hell was meant for satan and his fallen angels.  That is why God sent His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to earth to willingly shed his precious blood and  die for our sins so that we could escape hell.  God NEVER sends anyone to hell. Because God gave mankind the right to free choice, the person chooses whether they will spend eternity with God in heaven or eternity with satan in hell.  Precious reader, we make our own choice where we will spend eternity.  God has done everything He can to keep us out of hell, please ask Jesus into your heart today, to forgive you of your sins and ungodly way of living and let Jesus's precious blood cover your sins, no sin is so bad that Jesus will not forgive you and make your black heart, new and pure like white snow.

Please, do not turn Him away any more.  Just surrender your life to Him, I promise you, He is holding out His hand to you right now begging you to love Him as He first loved you.


Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

GOD BLESS AMERICA, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, WE STILL STAND

"God Bless America, land that I love, stand beside Her and guide Her, through the night with Your Light from Above."

America, the land of the free, and the home of the brave, still stands true, no matter what the critics say otherwise. 

Several years ago my husband and I took a trip to two other countries, I will not name them, but they were not democratic nations as America is.  From the moment we stepped off the airplane in each country I had the immediate feeling and knowing that I was not in America, I was not free, I was in bondage to do what that Country required..

For the first time in my life, I felt afraid to be on the street, because I knew that if we were arrested, just because we were Americans, or the police did not like the way we looked or just for any reason there was virtually nothing we could do but be at the mercy of those countries.

In one of the countries the roads were so bad that the Land Rover we were traveling in had to travel on the  side of the road because there was virtually no asphalt on the road bed.

There were hardly any vehicles on the roads, because everyone walked.  When you did see a vehicle, there were people hanging on anywhere they could hold on.  On Sunday morning, I saw hundreds walking to church on the side of the road, and I thought oh, God, there are three vehicles in my yard that I could drive to church or I could call any number of people to pick me up.  But these people evidently did not have that privilege, so they walked.  It literally made me ashamed of myself,  and I asked myself, "would I walk to church for four or five miles if there were no transportation available?"

Americans, we have had it so good and have been so prospered by God for so long that we forget the good things about America.  Sometimes some people get so involved in the things that they think are so bad, as the old saying goes, "they cannot see the forest for the trees."

Yes, in so many ways our founding fathers values have slipped, but still, for all the things that are not right, there are so many things that are right.  We can still vote, if the one in office is too liberal, vote them out. Our roads have hardly any potholes. We can worship freely in the churches of our own choice, not told where we have to worship. Most homes have at least a dozen Bibles because we just want them. Most families have at least two vehicles. No one goes hungry, unless they chose because they are fasting or dieting.  Too many things to count are the blessing we enjoy as Americans.

Dear Readers, please pray for America, that she will return to God before God has to judge us,  In Genesis 18:32, a man (thought by Bible scholars to be Jesus) told Abraham that they would not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there could be ten righteous people found in the cities. Surely there are ten righteous people in America, if we fast and pray for our Country, I believe God will not destroy America.

Again, I ask that instead of thinking and trying to find fault with our country, think on the many things and freedoms that we enjoy each day, one of them is the right to express our feelings about our country, but instead of complaining, why can't we just PRAY.  If each of us pray for America, it will put us in closer communion with God and we will begin to see the good in our country instead of all the time seeing what we think is bad.  Praying people CAN make a difference, all it takes is just a concentrated effort to Pray, and God will listen.

Precious readers, love America, don't put Her down, pray for Her, pledge your allegiance to Her, rejoice that you and I live in America where we are free.  Pray for our soldiers that are in harm's way trying to keep our country free from oppression and being overruled.  May God grant us the continued freedom that He has allowed us to have since the Revolutionary War was fought and won for our freedom.  God Bless America,

Love Gloria


Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

A TRIBUTE TO THREE PRECIOUS AND SPECIAL FATHERS

"Children obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother which is the first commandment with promise: that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.." Ephesians 6:2 NKJV

I would like to honor all the father's in my blog.  But I will mention  three fathers that were and are very dear and special to me.

Because of limited space I will only be able to write a short synopsis of each of these three most special men in my life.

WILLIS CLINTON POWELL, SR.

Shug as I will refer to him from here on,  is my husband and the father of our three children.

First of all he is a wonderful man of God, he loves Him with all his

heart. Second he loves me and our children, and grandchildren.  Shug has always been a good and Godly example to me and to  our children.  His motto is, "my daddy worked to give me his  example of a good and honest name, and I have always tried  my best to make him proud of the way that I have honored his gift to me by working hard and being honest with my dealing s with others," my word is my bond."  He always explained to our children that the best and most important thing that he could  give them for an inheritance was the good name that he was  given, and has tried  all his life to keep and to add to that good  name. Shug always encouraged our children to remember what his daddy taught him that money is not as important as the trust and friendship of those you come in contact with each day. If you are a trusted individual, it does not matter if you are rich or poor, people will respect you, because they know they can trust you, because "your word is your bond."  He has worked hard all of his life starting as a young boy helping his daddy and the other children work on the farm. One of the things he always said to our children, "I give you permission to say anything that you hear me say."  I am so thankful for each and every day that I have shared with this man, my Shug.  He is a loving husband and father, his "I love yous are always so sweet to my heart. He has always told our children and grandchildren that he loves them and that can never be forgotten or become less important than when we hear him say I love you. His love to me and to our children and grandchildren is unconditional. Good times or bad times, nothing can stop him from loving us.  Shug I hope we can be together until Jesus come for us in the Rapture. I hope God lets us just be able to take care of each other and live in our home until that time.  I Love you

JOHN WILLIS POWELL

  June 1, 1914--
October 25, 1991

Mr. Powell was my father-in-law. He was the one that God
 had picked out for me before I was born.  He was indeed a
 Godly influence on me and my children as long as he lived
 and his influence has remained since Jesus carried him to
 heaven to be with him and Mrs. Powell.

 When I was a child I did not know then, that our parents should pray
for the husband that God wants for their girl children and also for the
wife of their boy children.They should pray that their sons and
 daughters-in-law will not only be God's will for their child, but that they will have Godly parents that will be the in-laws to their sons and daughters, that will have a Godly and lasting influence on their lives.  When we become old enough to realize that we need to pray, we also should be praying for the same things for ourselves, that our mate and their parents will be a  Godly influence on us. Mr. Powell was just that.  He raised all
seven of his children to love and respect God and be honorable in their
dealings with their fellow man.  "His word was his bond" and he made this a priority teaching to his children. He taught them how to work , and he also taught them the value of family time with big cook-out bar-b-ques.  Mr.  Powell loved me not as his daughter-in-law, but as his daughter. I always knew that I could talk to him about anything that I needed to and he would always give an unhurried listening ear.  His advice to me was always Godly and right on target. His marriage to Mrs. Powell was such an example of being married to the person that God intends for you.  When Mrs. Powell went to heaven on January 30,  1991, just five days shy of nine months later he joined her in heaven, the night she passed away, his heart went with her.  I will always love you Mr. Powell, and I will always miss you and Mrs. Powell until we are joined again around the Throne of God.

                          COY BARNES

                              September 26, 1915--
                          January 26, 2000

My daddy was a good and special daddy to all of his six children.  He loved us, of that we were certain, Daddy had a hard life from a boy just seven years old.  There were nine children in his family, and his daddy died when my daddy was seven years old.  So he had to quit school in third grade and go to work like a man.

From now on I will call him PawPaw.  PawPaw. He had to start to work doing a mans job  at seven years old.  On pay day a lot of the older boys and men would gang up on him and try to steal his pay.  He learned to fight to keep what was his.  All his life he would fight at the drop of a hat especially if he thought someone was trying to mess with mama or one of us children.  I was the oldest of six children, the child born after me was a normal healthy girl, until she was eight months old.  She spiked a temp so high that it would not even register on the hospital thermometer.  She was having seizures every day and three weeks later when the fever left her and she came home from the hospital she was still having seizures.  Mama had to rock  her most all day, along with giving her large doses of phenobarbital for the seizures.  Daddy was working at the saw mill at that time and he would work long hours each day and come home.  At bed time he would sit in a platform rocker with his feet propped up, my sister would lay on his chest and he would rub her back all night.  This was the only thing that had any soothing effect on her.  This is the way he slept every night for years. When he was a young man he went to church occasionally, but never really gave his life to Jesus until he was older.  When my brother was in Viet Nam and my other brother was in Guam and Viet Nam, every night when he said his prayers you could hear him all over the house praying for all his children, and beseeching  God for the safety of his boys that were in harm's way. He was faithful in church, if no one else would clean it, PawPaw would, if no one else would change light bulbs, PawPaw would, he was always ready and willing to do anything needed in God's house. Sick or well he was faithful, the pastor even carried a recliner to church when PawPaw had back surgery so he would not have to sit on the pew.  In 1959 he  lost his left hand in an accident and he bought a small grocery store.  He never could stand to see a person especially a child go without, any child, no matter who they were.  If he knew of a need  he would try to do his best to see about it.  If someone could not pay their grocery bill because they were on hard times PawPaw would say, " pay what you can and I will carry the balance on the books until times are better for you. But go ahead and get the groceries you will need for this week."  At Christmas time he carried a large selection of children's toys and my sister Bobbie Jo came home from school one day and said, " there is a girl in my class (third grade), that wants a doll for Christmas but her parents cannot pay Santa for one. PawPaw saw that the little girl got her doll, the biggest one he had in the store.  PawPaw suffered so much and for so long before he went to be with Jesus, He had bladder cancer and several surgeries on his back. He prayed, please Jesus take me home today.  It was a relief to know that all pain and suffering was over for him when Jesus took him home. I still  love and miss you PawPaw, but I am glad that you and mama are together around the Throne of God.

Shug, Mr. Powell, and PawPaw are from the "old school" that a gentleman is always a gentleman.and  that" His Word Is His Bond."

Happy Father's Day, all fathers, God Bless and Keep You is my Prayer, Love Gloria.

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

"MY WAYS AND THOUGHTS ARE HIGHER THAN YOURS," SAYS GOD

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" Isaiah 55 :9 NIV

Have you ever just wondered at the powerful awesome grandeur of God and His thoughts and love for us, His creation, the love of His life?

Why do I say the love of His life, because in John 3:16, NIV , "For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What does the phrase "God gave His one and only Son" mean.  Precious reader it means that God allowed His one and only Son Jesus Christ, to die the most horrible, cruelest death imaginable, on the cross for US, for YOU and for ME.  And what is even more wonderful, just think about this, is that Jesus Christ fully agreed to do this FOR US, YOU and ME.  Jesus' death on the cross, His shedding of His precious blood for ALL MANKIND is the only way we can ever  approach a God so Holy as God Almighty, the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD.

God's greatest desire is for you and me to be in constant communion with Him through His Son Jesus Christ who gave His life for us so that we can have this unfathomable privilege.  Just imagine, day and night we can approach the Throne of God, and make our needs known personally to Him by praying in the name of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ.  This same Jesus Christ that freely gave His life for you and for me, so we may enjoy and savor this privilege of being in constant communication with God Almighty.

God's ways and thoughts are so much higher and greater than our ways and thoughts, but God promises in His Word, that if we pray and communicate with Him every day and read His Word every day and devote our thought life to knowing Him on a greater and higher plane, that we can know His mind and will for our life. We can know Him so intamently more than we could ever imagine  could even be possible. What a precious privilege, just to be able to say, " I know and love God Almighty,   and His Son Jesus Christ is my Savior because He shed every drop of His precious blood for me. I accepted this unexplainable gift of Devine Love from God to me, by accepting Jesus Christ as my Savior and the Lord of my life.

Love, in Jesus name, Gloria


 Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

SOLDIER OF THE LORD, DO YOU HAVE YOUR WAR CLOTHES ON?

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of righteousness and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.  Above all, taking the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all  the fiery darts of the wicked.   And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God.  And for me, that utterance may be given unto me that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians 6:10-20 KJV

When a young man or woman joins the U.S.A. military forces they are trained to be a soldier.  They are also trained to be a warrior because our Country is in a state of war.When a person gives their heart and life into the service of Jesus Christ, they become a soldier in His Army.

A soldier in God's army is in a constant state of war, because satan, who is the deceiver of our minds is constantly at war to take our lives back from serving Jesus Christ. A warrior for God can never take off their armour, because without it, satan can so easily attack us and he can defeat us, if we do not make a constant effort to keep our bodies  "suited up" with the whole armour of God.

You may wake up in the middle of the night and be filled with fear because satan has put a horrible thought of doom into your mind.  If you have on your armour you can defeat him the way that Jesus defeated him when satan came to him in the desert after Jesus had fasted 40 days and nights. After this time of fasting Jesus was in a weakened state his body was weak, hungry and tired.  Satan wanted Jesus to worship him  Jesus had on his armour and he defeated satan with the Word.  Three times the Bible tells us that he tried Jesus. Jesus quoted satan the Word each time. The Bible says that after the third attempt satan left Jesus for a season.  (Read Luke 4:1-13)

Remember, satan will only leave you for a season, then he will come sneaking back putting ungodly thoughts in your mind of horror, disappointment and try to tell you that you have failed God and are not fit to be a God Warrior.but  the Word says, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate (lawyer) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.". 1 John 2:1,2, KJV.   When we have on the whole armour of God, we can quote scripture, and tell satan, "to get behind me," and the Word says he will have to leave.

My Precious readers always remember that anything that satan tells you is a LIE. He is unable to tell the truth because the Word calls him a liar the father of lies.  "Ye are of your father the devil and the lusts of your father ye will do.  He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own;  for he is a liar, and the father of it. John 8:44 JKV

The way to be a successful God Warrior is to keep on  the whole armour of God always, talk with God many, many times during the day, if you wake up at night talk to Him until you go back to sleep. Read the Word of God every day, meditate on it, keep a journal of thoughts that the Holy Spirit puts into your mind to think on and look up scriptures to go along with the thoughts.  Keeping a prayer journal is so helpful for your prayer life.

Jesus is coming soon for His people, the ones that let His Precious Blood wash away their sins, and are looking for His coming, we must be looking for Him to come at any instant, the Bible says, "in the twinkling of an eye, when ye think not."  It  might be today.  If so, I''ll see you on the way up.

Love Gloria

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

A GODLY MOTHER IN LAW IS AN AMAZING BLESSING

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.  The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.  she will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.  she looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." Proverbs 31: 10,11,12,27,28 KJV

Just as certain as I believe that God picked out Willis C. Powell, Sr. to be my husband.  I am just as certain that God had him conceived by Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Powell into her womb so that they would be my Father and Mother in law.

Last Sunday was Mother's Day and I blogged a tribute to my mother.  All week I have been thinking and praying  because a good and Godly mother is such a blessing, but oh, what a blessing is a good and Godly mother in law.  The verses above can never do this loving and gentle woman complete justice.  but they are from God's Word so they surely apply to my mother in law.  Annie Lois Conrad Powell.

From the first time I saw her,  (Shug, as he will be call from now on in this post), invited me to a Christmas party at his church.  After the party he took me by to met Mr. and Mrs. Powell.  I thought, "what am I going to  talk about, I don't even know them."  We went into their house, and I sat down by Mrs. Powell.  Shug said not a word of introduction, just went to get a drink of water.  For about one second I felt like a deer caught in the headlights.  Then Glory to God Mr. and Mrs. Powell begin talking to me non-stop.  I felt as if I had known them all my life.  I loved them instantly.  (I learned later that Mr. Powell chastised Shug for not introducing me to them.)

Mrs. Powell was basically a quiet person in public, but in her own home, she was just amazing.  She could come up with some of the funniest stories. Not only could she tell the stories, but she could do the funny expressions and faces that made the story even more hilarious.   Her complete faith in Jesus Christ was always very evident and she was always a shining light for Him.  Every time she gave a testimony in church she always thanked God for her "happy home".

Mr. and Mrs. Powell's children grew up with such a rich heritage of love and blessing made possible by their parent's  genuine love, devotion and respect for each other.  I have never before or since met a husband and wife more in love or more in complete harmony of heart and mind.  What one wanted the other wanted the same thing, no arguing to reach a compromise or agreement on an issue, just what one wanted, the other wanted and vice-versa.

At dinner, (most people now call it lunch, but at 11:30 am. it was dinner at the Powell home.)  Mrs. Powell never knew from day to day how many would be sitting down at her table to eat, but no problem, there was always enough to go around and plenty left over for late stragglers who just happened to drop by and Mrs. Powell always insisted on them getting just a bite of vittles before they left.

Mr. and Mrs. Powell, and their oldest child, Pearl who lived with them always called me Glory instead of Gloria, I loved it.  All three are now with Jesus in heaven and I long to hear them call me Glory again, but fortunately, Shug's sister Levon still calls me Glory, so it is still music to my ears.

Mrs. Powell taught me how to cook the way that Shug liked to eat, because I did not know how to cook.  I worked and would go by a fast food place for supper, so there was no need to learn to cook.  But I spent many hours in Mrs. Powell's kitchen  learning to use a pinch of this, a dab of that and just a smidge of the other.

My daughter April was four years old when Shug and I married, Mrs. Powell immediately bought a girl head charm to go on her grandmother pin, I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  I knew so many women that had entered into marriage already with a child, and that child was always "her" child, not a child of the new family.  This was never the case with April, in fact when Shug asked me to marry him, which was 16 days after we met, part of his proposal of marriage was that I would let him adopt  April, so he could be her daddy. (That's always been my Shug, so full of love.)   The whole family, brothers and sisters loved April from day one and that has always been such a blessing to me. April loved Mr. and Mrs. Powell with an unexplainable, unfathomable love, and to her Aunt Pearl was just an extension of Mrs. Powell.  She loved them with all her heart.

Mrs. Powell had her own vocabulary that she used, just a certain way she would pronounce words, made perfect sense to us and so most of the time we used the same words she did, especially when we were talking with her, we would tease her and I can still see the impish grin on her face, one of her daughters, Mary Lou has that same grin and I see her mother in her in so many ways and mannerisms.
April and I speak to each other on the phone almost every day and not a conversation goes by that we don't have some Grandmother Powell vocabulary in the conversation.

Not only did she love April unconditionally, but she also loved me as a true daughter, and I knew from day one that is how it would be because there was no pretense in Mrs. Powell at all, she loved me and oh, how I loved her.  She had a massive brain hemmorage on January 29, 1991, and early in the morning on January 30, 1991 she went to be with the Lord.  Mr. Powell was still alive, but I believe that his heart died with her.  Less than nine months later he joined her in heaven.  Even though we grieved for him, there was a blessed peace because he was finally at peace for the first time since she had died.  Pearl went to meet them in 2005, and it gives me such a sense of peace to know they are waiting for the rest of the family to join them one day.  Jesus is coming soon and I am glad we can be together again, I hope she can make me some tomato gravy and cat head biscuits.

Mrs. Powell gave me such a beautiful and Godly legacy of love and acceptance and how to be another mother instead of (in law). I hope that I can follow in her footsteps as a good and Godly mother to my son's wives.

Mr. and Mrs. Powell, Pearl and Joe Edward (who died in 1973),  I still miss you every day.  Shug, April, Willis and John Coy and I talk about ya'll every time we sit down and have a grand old time of nostalgia and reminiscing.

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

TO MY MOTHER

"Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come." Proverbs 31:25 KJV

Dear Mama:

First of all I want to thank God that He picked you to be my mother.   When I was a child I never realized what your daily life was all about.  I only knew that I was the oldest of six children, and I used to get so weary of hearing you say, "Now Gloria you have to be a big girl and help mama with the other children, and with the housework." Mama I am so sorry that as a child I did not understand, how much you needed and depended on me.

I was the oldest of six children, the child born 2 years after me was another healthy baby girl, until she was eight months old, and then she became deathly ill.  She was in the hospital for over three weeks, her temp was so elevated that it did not register on the thermometer, that was in 1945 and there were no antibiotics then, when the fever finally left, she was completely devastated in her mind and her body, she suffered continuous seizures, at least two or three a day. She screamed night and day from pain in her head and body.  Though mama and daddy carried her to every doctor they heard of, the damage was done.  So we had to center our home and lives around trying to make her comfortable.

Soon following came four more children, and sometimes I would hear my mama pray, "Oh, God, how am I going to get through this day?'

Back then, people in their ignorance and superstition would tell mama and daddy, "well it must have been some sin in your life that you have this crazy child." You can imagine the terrible guilt that mama and daddy lived under, all the time thinking, "Lord, what did I do that you would punish my child so?"  I am so thankful that people have come to the realization that they are not the reason for children with disabilities, it is just LIFE and normal healthy children are a blessing, BUT children with severe disabilities are a blessing also.  No their pain and suffering are not a blessing, but the love that you have for them is so special that you can never define or even explain it.  I know that someday my sister Delores will be in heaven with mama and daddy, and she will be well and whole, and for that I am eternally grateful.

I realize that there must have been some days that mama would just think, how can I stand this another moment, I just wish I could walk away.  But thank you mama you never did. You were always there.    My mama was a perfectionist when it came to house cleaning.  Of course, being the "big girl" and "mama's helper", I had to do a lot of the housework while mama cared for my sister and the other babies. To this day I do not like to rake yards, mop floors,vacuum the floors dust and pledge the furniture, the smell of O Cedar Red Furniture polish still makes me gag, straighten up everything and put it in order, and hanging out clothes and folding and putting them away. But my mama taught me how even though I did not appreciate it at the time.  Thank you mama for at least training me how to keep a spotless clean house.

All of the stress that mama lived through in her younger life while her children were growing up, left its mark on her health and well being.  Her last 20 years of life were spent as years of sickness and pain, but she always told us how she loved us.

When mama's health got so bad that she could not stay at home, (at this time my daddy had already gone home to be with Jesus.)  There came a time three months before she also went home  to be with Jesus that she was almost constantly in the hospital. My baby brother would stay with her during the day while I worked, and I would stay with her at night.  We had so many wonderful talks about when I was growing up and mama would always remind me how I hated house and yard work, and I would say, "well mama you always prophesied that I would be a slovenly housekeeper," And she would always laugh and say, "well, I was right,"

The day that mama went home to be with the lord , the doctor spoke plainly to me and my baby sister and asked if we wanted mama on life support, now that is a question that no one ever wants to be asked especially if the one making the decision does not know the definite answer..   Mama would never talk about the matter with me or the other children, she just said ya'll make the decision. I asked the doctor in view of everything he had just explained about her state of health at that time was she already dying, and he looked at me with tears in his eyes and nodded yes. Her body is shutting down she will probably be gone by late tonight or early in the morning. I looked at my sister and she nodded to me, and I said, "It seems that Jesus has already taken the decision out of our hands, if she is in the process of dying, let her go peacefully."

About 2:00 am Sunday morning, I suddenly woke up, I was laying with my head on her bed, she always wanted me to have my hand on her as she slept.  Three nurses came into the room, I stood up and looked at mama, so peaceful, so serene, and I kissed her and said,"I love you my precious mama." Two breaths later she entered into HIS Kingdom.  All of a sudden I laughed, and said, "Mama you have seen Jesus, and daddy and all the ones you have been missing." I felt like an idiot for laughing, but the Joy of the Lord just filled me when I realized, she was at last free to soar and be completely without care, I was just so happy for her, the nurses told me not to be sorry that I had laughed, because what better time to be joyous than to know that someone you love is in the Holy Presence of God.

So, on this Mother's Day, have a happy mother's day mama. I love you and I will be coming to join  you and daddy soon, because I think that Gabriel has the trumpet up to his lips just waiting for the nod from God, to Blow Gabriel and call my children home.

I did not have a newer picture of mama, this one is about 17-20 years old, but represents three generations, Mama, Me and April

Precious readers if your mama is still living give her a call and tell her how much you love and appreciate her.

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

REMEMBER, IT WAS JESUS ALONE, THAT MAKES IT "GOOD FRIDAY"

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16 KJV

Today is "Good Friday", but when we consider the sacrifice's of God's Son, Jesus Christ, and what he suffered: A night filled with mock trials, where no evidence could be found against him, shame, humiliation, beatings, scourging, ridicule from his own people, rejection and the ultimate horror of dying a criminals death on the cross, the Bible tells us that he was as a lamb led to the slaughter, in other words, a sinless spotless lamb.  He suffered all these things and more for us. 

How can today be called "Good Friday"? 

Jesus came into this world knowing that he would be given as a spotless lamb for the sin, disease, shame and degradation of the whole world and that he would die as a criminal on the cross. Only could he, spotless and sinless, the very Son of God, pay the debt for every sin and evil in the world. 

The night He was arrested he went with His disciple's into the garden of Gethsemane to pray.  He said, "My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here and watch with me." Matthew 25:36 KJV.  "And he went  a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt." Matthew 26:39

I believe that the reason that Jesus dreaded the cross was that he knew that for the very first time in all eternity, all beginning and the Word says that God has no beginning and no end.  He always has been, always will be.  For the very first time, Jesus would be separated from His Father. For the very first time from beginning until that time on the cross there would be no communion, no fellowship between Jesus and His Father, I believe this is what Jesus dreaded, more than all he would have to suffer.  Because on the cross Jesus would bear in his own body all the sin, disease, evil, degradation, crimes  that ever had or would ever be committed, on his own  sinless body. Jesus literally suffered the weight of every evil and ugly thing on His body as he died on the cross.  Because it is impossible for God the Father to look on sin, He would have to turn His face away from His Son as he suffered death on the cross.  I am so glad that he said, "nevertheless, not my will but thine, to His Father." He shed every drop of his precious blood in his sufferings and that Blood is what covers our sins and makes us whole and clean.

Dear reader, Jesus did this for me and for you and for everyone that will just ask Him into their heart and repent of their wrongs and ask Him to become their Savior, from that instant on, live each moment trusting Him to lead and guide us through this life.  Once we have accepted Jesus' sacrifice on the cross for our sins and shortcomings, the Holy Spirit will come and dwell in us to lead us in the ways of God.

If you have never given consideration that you need a "Savior", even if you have never prayed before, just right now ask God to show you that you need  to accept Jesus Christ into your heart and life to forgive you of  EVERY wrong doing, I don't care what they are, Jesus will forgive you of EVERY wrong doing in your life.  Please just try, just pray, "Oh, God, I believe that I am a sinner,I now repent of all my sin, and I want to ask your Son Jesus Christ into my life, to apply His precious Blood over every sin in my life, make me new and clean with my sins washed away.  Lord from this moment on, I am going to live for you and I will tell people that I meet, that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior.  Amen."

If you just prayed the prayer, tell someone what has happened to you.  Find a Bible, and begin to read, starting with the New Testament, read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John first.  Make Bible reading a part of every day.  This Sunday which is Easter Sunday, in memory of His Resurrection Day.  That's correct Jesus is not dead today.  On the third day after he was killed, very early in the morning the Spirit of God resurrected Him from the dead, he was seen by many before he ascended back to His Father in heaven.  Jesus now sits at the right hand of The Father, constantly making intercession (praying) to God for his children, the ones that have made him their Savior.

AND THAT DEAR READER IS WHY WE  CAN CALL TODAY "GOOD FRIDAY"

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

GOING HIGHER WITH GOD, BE SURE YOU ARE LISTENING TO THE CORRECT VOICE

Matthew 7:24-27 (KJV) "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. And the rain descended and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock.  And everyone that heareth these sayngs of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain desended, and the floods came and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." 

We all want to "go higher" in God. Over the years in an earnest zeal for God I am ashamed to confess that I have not always prayed and fasted enough to be sure the voice I listened to was God, or the accusing voice of satan saying,  "You never do anything for God, everyone will get credit but not you you are faithless."

Satan will prompt Christians to "go higher", to do some wondrous thing, just throw caution to the wind, surely you have enough faith.  Don't take the time to fast and pray.  Quit being a wimp, just do it.  God does not bless wimpy Christians." Does this sound familiar?  No one wants to be a hindrance to the Kingdom of God.  Remember anything that satan asks you to do for God is for your FAILURE, the thing that you do will be as the man that built his house on the sand, the rains will come and wash it away, there is no foundation built  in God.

So we throw caution to the wind thinking we are doing something for God, because being praised and being exalted feels so good so it must be for God right? WRONG! God has gotten NO glory, only you.  Suddenly there you are exalted high up, holding tight to a precipice, no where to stand, just hanging there, no foundation under your feet, a slippery crumbling slope.  High up so you can be seen, yes, but there is no Glory for God, only you with shame in your face that you let satan fool you, well let's not give him all the credit our pride got in the way and sadly we listened. 

But where is God, oh, did I forget to bring Him with me up here?  Surely he knew to follow me here.  Then I realize God does not FOLLOW,  He LEADS.

When we listen to what satan has to say he is playing on our greatest fear, and that is the fear of failing God.  Remember the fear of failing God IS NOT FROM GOD. 2Timothy 1:7, KJV "For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind." 

Oh God, help me get down from this place forgive me for letting myself be deceived by the voice of satan.  Forgive me that I did not take the time to fast and pray to be sure that the voice I heard was Yours.  When God asks us to do something for Him, he will lead us into a time of prayer and reading His WORD for guidance and for assurance.

God, help me get down from this place where I let satan lead me, please put my feet back on Your  Foundation, on solid ground which is the Rock Christ Jesus.

Yes, God's WORD does encourage us go "go higher", but that comes as we spend time getting instruction from God in His WORD.  Spending time on our knees, letting His Holy Spirit lead, guide and instruct us.

"Going higher" in God does not promise us fame or wealth in this present world.  Our heart's focus is to see souls come to  accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of their lives because of His death on the cross for our and their sins.  We pray for them, help disciple them in the WORD and help them grow in God and in their faith.  We encourage them to live lives that will be pleasing to God, so when the trumpet sounds they will hear it and be caught up with Jesus in the air, and forever live with him in the new heaven and new earth that is now being prepared for those that love Him.

When we "go higher" in God we seek to exalt only His Holy Name, never our own.  God sees and knows our efforts to glorify Him.  The world may never hear us intercede for souls at the midnight hour when we have been awakened by The Holy Spirit.  Will never know the hours we have spent studying His WORD.  May never know when we have given an uplifting word or phone call to someone that desperately needed to be reminded of God's love for them at that exact time.

Precious reader, we all want to do our very best for our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.  We must always remember it is not just the "famous" or "great" men and women of God that will have crowns to lay at Jesus feet, but also we who are just "worker bees" in His Kingdom will also have crowns to lay at His precious nail scared feet.  he will look at us with His eyes of pure love and he will  say to us, "Well done thou good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Matthew 25:11 KJV 

And so shall we always eternally be with Him.



Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

JESUS, HOW MUCH DO YOU LOVE ME?

Jesus, how much do you love me, I asked. "This much," He replied and He stretched out his out His arms and died.

I do not know where I read this quote or who wrote it.  The first time I read it I remember I literally held my breath for an instant as the power and true meaning of these words hit my mind and heart like a thunder bolt. 

Oh LORD Jesus you DID willing stretch out your bruised and bleeding arms on a wooden cross and died for me.  It became so personal and clear to me as I once again realized how much God loves not only me, but everyone that has ever been born into this world. John 3:16 tells us, "that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."KJV

Rembember, it was not the nails in Jesus hands and feet that held Him to the cross.  What was it then?  It was His love for me and for you that He willing left his home in glory, where He had always been with His Father God, to come to earth, to be born in a stable, live as a poor carpenter and then be betrayed and die on a cross to shed His precious blood for our sins, our healing and so we can have the peace that passes all understand in any situation.  Dear reader this was no accident. This was planned by God before the foundation of the world.  Jesus knew when he came to earth that this was His mission and he saw it fulfilled.    No man has ever before or since Jesus, suffered as He suffered for us at the hands of cruel men. His will  and purpose was to please His Father, and to provide for us a way to be forever with God  when  we die or if we live until He comes for us in the clouds. If we just ask Him to be our Savior, He will apply the blood that He shed for all mankind to us, cover our past, and make us like new.  Just think we become a new creature in Jesus Christ.

Not only did He die but he shed every precious drop of His blood, the stripes on His back are for our healing and He was chastised so that we might have the peace of God that passes ALL understanding.  Then He was buried in a borrowed tomb.

There may be weeping for the night, but JOY cometh in the morning. 

The Bible says that early on the third day which was Sunday morning, Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdeline and some others came to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus with spices.  They wondered among themselves, "how will we be able to roll away the heavy stone that the soldiers put in front of the grave."  But when the ladies got to the tomb they saw that it was open.  They saw an angel they were frightened.  The angel said unto them,"I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.  He is not here: for he is risen as He said.  Come see the place where the Lord  lay. Go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and behold, He goeth before you into Galilee, there ye shall see Him: lo, I have told you." Matthew 28:L5-7

Dear Reader, that is why we celebrate Easter, it the day to commerate and praise Jesus Christ our Savior for being willing to be beaten, burised, scorned and  to hang on the old rugged cross until He shed every drop of His precious blood for who? FOR ME AND FOR YOU,  please get this into your mind and heart FOR YOU, no matter what your life is like now: that can and will change in an instant the moment you asked Jesus to be your Savior and to apply His blood to cover your sins and forgive you.  Please say this prayer with me: Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner, I have not lived according to your Word the Holy Bible.  Lord I am tired of fighting all by myself.  I need you, truly need you to be Lord of my life.  Please forgive me of every sin that I have ever commited and take away all the bad habits that control my life.  Lord I give all my sins and everything not like you, to you to cover them with your blood.  The Bible says that you will never remember them anymore.  From this moment on I am a new creation in You.  Lord I will tell someone what you have done for me and I pledge to make the rest of my life as an example of what you have done for me and will do for anyone that asks you.

Please find a good Bible believing church and get up in the morning and attend, if you do not have a Bible I am sure that someone in the church will be most happy to give you one.  God will never turn anyone away if we come to Him with a repentent heart.  God bless you as you begin your journey in this most wonderful path of life with Him.,  Love Gloria

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

ARE YOU SPIRITUALLY EXHAUSTED?

Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles.  They shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.

Thank you for being one of my precious blog followers.


Spiritual exhaustion comes thru service, always giving out, never replenishing our spirit with His Word, prayer, and communion with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, "feed my sheep', this means that we must have to be nourishment for other souls until they learn to feed on God for themselves.  There is always something to do in the church, whether it is a class to teach, or some other job to do.  Our first response is if no one else will do it then I will have to do the job, no matter how busy I already am.  Soon, those around us can see that there is no joy in our service, no spiritual activity within us because we have become spiritually drained.

Satan does not care how busy we are working for the church, because the more we do, the more depleted we become emotionally, physically and saddest of all spiritually.  This is when he can so easily get our minds off the important things of God and  we begin to slip into a spiritual valley.

Yes there is much to do in the work of God, we must all be committed to doing our part, but the most important thing to remember is that the Holy Spirit will put a burning desire into us when He desires for us to take on or continue doing something for Him.  Instead of thinking we know more than God and volunteer to do a specific thing because no one else at the moment will volunteer, is not God's will for us.  If the job in the church really is of God, he will speak to someone about doing it.  Maybe not in an instant, but the world will not come to an end if we wait upon the Lord and let Him speak to the person that He has in mind for that work. 

You can only drive a vehicle as long as there is fuel in the tank.  When the fuel is depleted, the vehicle will stop and will have to be pushed.  The same thing applies to our work for the Lord, we can only work and be effective for the Kingdom of God IF we keep our spiritual self full of His Word, prayer, and communion with His Spirit.  If we have to study to teach 3 or 4 classes, or prepare to chair 3 or 4 committees in the church, when are we going to find the time to get alone with God to refresh our spiritual man?  The Bible states that Jesus had to get alone with God to stay on course to do His Father's Will that He had been born in to this world to accomplish.

The night that Jesus was arrested he was in the garden of Gethsemane.  He told His disciples to tarry while we went a little piece away to pray  alone because, "His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death."
If we do not stay in a spirit of prayer and communion with the Holy Spirit our souls can become exceedingly sorrowful with the cares of this world.

Remember satan is as a roaring lion going about seeking whom he may devour.  Life can become so full of troubles that we forget that all we can do is to turn them over to God.  When we let God handle our problems and questions and ask for wisdom, the Bible says that He will give it to us and he will not rebuke us for asking.  If we seek the Holy Spirit with all our heart, mind and strength, He will give us that peace that passes ALL understanding.

Again, thank you my precious friend for reading this blog,
Love, Gloria Powell



Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

Psalm 23

“Even in the Valley God is Good”.   There is a lovely young lady in our Church (Robin O.) who occasionally sings that song.  I always think of Psalm 23.

God has given me 2-3 wonderful glimpses of Psalm 23, but I woke up early one morning and it just kept going over and over in my mind about being in “the valley.” 

How can our mind wrap around such a statement as God being good even in the midst of the valley.  When I think of being in the valley, I think of turmoil and circumstances of life gone wrong.  Maybe you’ve been out of a job for a while, the bank is calling your mortgage is payments behind, the car is payments behind.  You went to the doctor and a small lump or an unusual ache in your body turns out to be cancer. Our children’s lives are in a mess.  Or worse, someone you love has just died, How in the world can we lift our hands to the Lord and say, “Even in the valley, God is good?’

In Psalm 23, David likens us to sheep in the flock of the Great Shepard.  Verse 1, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”, God is already on the way with our answers.  Verse 2, “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters, Verse 3, “He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for His namesake”  Everything may seem to be wrong with no end in sight but God is always there just a call away just say “Jesus.

The Good Shepherd takes his sheep in to the lush green pastures, where they can be fed and refreshed, We must refresh ourselves on the Word of God, that is what feeds our mind and our soul. He leadeth me beside the still waters, not the stagnant water covered in slime and debris, not the rushing troubled waters, but the slow moving calm quiet waters, where we drink to our fill.  When we fill our mind and heart on the Word and drink of His Holy Spirit we become refreshed and renewed.

Just let your imagination take hold.  Can’t you picture the green pastures, the grass is tall and lush and green, it smells so good and clean the sun has warmed it.  There are wild flowers growing abundantly.  Just take a moment to pick a handful of wild flowers, hold them up to your face, and feel the loveliness and beauty of them.  Kneel down in the green grass and drink from the refreshing clean water.  Now lie back and let the grass envelope you like a cocoon.  You begin to get drowsy, the Holy Spirit is refreshing your spirit with the Love of God  you are cocooned in His love and grace. Let His Spirit speak to your mind and heart about how much He loves you, begin to praise Him, not because of the valley, but because of the fact that when this trial is over you will come forth as pure gold and God will in the end receive the Honor and Glory because you have been faithful even in the hardest time of your life.

Verse 4, “Yea thou I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."   As a shepherd gently uses his rod to lead his sheep and keep them on the right path, the sheep know that the shepherd will keep them safe even thou they may be walking in the valley where wild animals abound and death maybe close at hand.  So we can rest assured that our Shepherd will lead us thru this valley and keep us safe until we have safely crossed thru.

Verse 5, “ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies, thou anointeth my head with oil, my cup runneth over.” Our enemy is satan and even he seems to be running rampant in your life always know that when we praise and worship our Shepherd, our Savior Jesus Christ, that he will prepare a table of spiritual meat and drink right before satan’s eyes and there is nothing that satan can do but leave us .

Verse 6, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”   No one knows how long their life will be.  For some, life is but a short time, while others live to a ripe old age.  Maybe for some ~His best for us is to take us home to be with Him, and that is the ultimate leaving of the valley, and I truly believe that Jesus is coming back in the air for his people--and could be just any second, or any day, we will hear the trumpet sound.  Those that are asleep in Jesus will rise first to meet Him in the air and those that are alive on this earth will join them in the air and so will we ever be with the Lord, forever without end. Never to face another valley.

If you are in a valley today, whether spiritual, emotional, physical, know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, ready to guide and lead you through this valley into the paths of His Blessings.  He will restore you.

In Christ Love,

Gloria

Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.
Photo used by permission of Angie Knight-All rights reserved.

In HIS Time

I am glad you stopped by.  Let me tell you a little bit about myself and why I am beginning to blog.  In the summer of 1969, God definitely called me into the mission field.  I had given my heart to Jesus Christ two years before and I knew that God was calling me to spread His Word as He commanded. 

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.  Matthew 16:15 KVJ

Before I was saved, I had not lived according to His Word and I had made poor life choices.  Wrong crowd.  Bad influences and poor decisions on my part. However; God used those poor decisions to give me the best blessing of my entire life.  My darling daughter.

I am so glad that the Holy Spirit did not give up on me, but He kept calling me to accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord of my life.  Now I had a precious child--a true gift from my heavenly Father--and a journey in front of me to walk.

The Sunday night at church as I listened to a missionary give her testimony, I knew that God was telling me to go forth into my home town, and into all the world as He directs.  I wrote to two Missions organizations and told them of my call from God.  I also was forthcoming with the fact that I was an  unwed mother. 

In 1969 even the Christian community was not forgiving of mistakes, and they  told me that they were  glad that Jesus had saved me, but as for my being a missionary with their organization, thank you, but no thanks. 

I even took a trip with my pastor and his wife to a missions conference in Tennessee, to speak with the president of the missions group there.  He listened to my story and was sympathetic for me, but he also explained that their group could not have a missionary who was an unwed parent.  He saw my tears and heard my plea that "if God can forgive me and make me a new person, and could cover my sins with His Blood, then why could not the missions board do the same."   He finally said to me, "If you will never tell of what you have done and never tell anyone of  your life before becoming a Christian, then we might consider you." 

Oh my goodness!  Did I just hear right?  Did he just tell me to renounce my own daughter?  Did he just suggest I LIE??

My reply was that "I would be basing my whole ministry on a lie".  

Needless to say, I came home questioning God, "Why did you call me and I know that you did, and then not make a way for that calling?"  After much prayer, the Holy Spirit gave me peace that I had done all that I could and that I could work in my home church and be a blessing for Jesus.

In December of 1969 God sent Shug into my life, and his proposal to me (after 16 days of courtship), was "Will you marry me and let me adopt your child to be my child?" 

On January 11, 1970, Shug and I were married.  God blessed us with two precious sons (my life would have been so incomplete without my them) to make our family complete.

For at least the past year and especially for the past six months the Holy Spirit has been speaking to me about starting a blog.  I did not think I had anything to say, but night after night I would wake up with scripture after scripture going through my mind.  I would even get up and write them down and research them out.  I still felt such a strong need to do a blog.  I said, "God how can I do a blog, I don't know what to say." God answered, "You do not say anything on your own, you say what I give you to say and I promise you that someone will need to read it."

My precious daughter of my heart is a blogging wizard and she set up this blog for me and while we were formatting it, she was telling me of some things in her life that God is doing and believe me they are miracles.  All of a sudden  it dropped in my heart, WITH THIS BLOG I AM GOING TO BE A MISSIONARY!!! 

Over the last 41 years from time to time I would ponder  "God why did you call me to be a missionary and then close all the doors."  But today, after over 41 years through the magic of cyberspace I am beginning my missionary journey!

GOD IS SOOOOO GOOD.  If you are reading this and you feel that  God has promised you something, no matter how long ago that promise was made to you by God, never, never, never give up on that promise because I am living proof ~ "What He has promised, that will He bring to pass."

I hope that this first blog has touched you and I welcome your comments.



In Christ's Love, Gloria



Copyright 2011 Gloria B. Powell. All rights reserved.

He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. Romans 4:20-21 NKJV