A Favorite Poem by Martha Snell Nicholson

My Advocate

I sinned. And straightway, post-haste, Satan flew
Before the presence of the most high God,
And made a railing accusation there.
He said, "This soul, this thing of clay and sod,
Has sinned. 'Tis true that he has named Thy name,
But I demand his death, for Thou hast said,
'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.'
Shall not Thy sentence be fulfilled?
Is justice dead?
Send now this wretched sinner to his doom.
What other thing can righteous ruler do?"
And thus he did accuse me day and night,
And every word he spoke, O God, was true!

Then quickly One rose up from God's right hand,
Before Whose glory angels veiled their eyes.
He spoke, "Each jot and tittle of the law
Must be fulfilled; the guilty sinner dies!
But wait -- suppose his guilt were all transferred
To Me, and that I paid his penalty!
Behold My hands, My side, My feet! One day
I was made sin for him, and died that he
Might be presented, faultless, at Thy throne!"
And Satan flew away. Full well he knew
That he could not prevail against such love,
For every word my dear Lord spoke was true!

A PSALM OF MARIE when she had burn out symptoms at work

Psalm 83
A song. A psalm of Marie
1 O God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still.

2 See how your enemies are astir,
how your foes rear their heads.

3 With cunning they conspire against your daughter;
they plot against those you cherish.

4 "Come," they say, "let us destroy her as a witness,
that the name of Christ be remembered no more."

5 With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you-

6 the tents of self righteousness and discontent,
of criticism and blame,

7 gossip, self-interest,
pride, anger.

8 Even self-pity has joined them
to lend strength to the attack of my own sinful nature.
9 Do to them as you did to sexual lust,
as you did to fear of man and drug dependency
10 which perished at the Cross when brought to You
and became like refuse on the ground.

11 Make the princes of the air that whisper in my ear and attack Your integrity and sovereignty,
12 who said, "Let us take possession
of the woman of God."

13 Make them like tumbleweed, O my God,
like chaff before the wind.

14 As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,

15 so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.

16 Cover their faces with shame
so that men will seek your name, O LORD.

17 May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may they perish in disgrace.

18 Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Mama reads me an article by Billy Graham

These excerpts jumped out at me!

...Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered on anything short of God and His will for us. When we make anything else our goal, frustration and defeat are inevitable. Turn your eyes on Christ; worship Him. He will never fall or fail. He gives life balance, security and peace.

Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, warned us against anxiety: "Do not worry about your life... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:25-33, NIV)...

... We have anxiety when we try to carry life's burdens alone. The Bible says: "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7, NIV)...

.. Christ said: "Take my yoke upon you" (Matthew 11:29, NIV). When we are yoked with Christ, pulling as a team, life's burdens are easily borne...

...To all who wish to be rid of anxiety, I would make three simple suggestions:

...First, stop seeking the trivial...
...Second, get your eyes off yourself; focus them upon God first, and then others...
Third, commit yourself fully to Christ. Don't be a half-surrendered Christian...

“Big disappointment, Papa!

<sup>They took away my weekday job. That’s not fair. I’ve been a team player and made my decisions based on what was good for everyone. Now they want to kick me in the teeth. Well I’ll just look for a job somewhere else. It will be their loss. I’m a good employee and they know it. I’ve always filled in the gaps for them. My attendance record is perfect. Tears. Anger. Hurt. Someone even told me about a weekday job a few weeks ago and I turned down the opportunity in loyalty to this company.
Papa, I know You are good. And I know You are sovereign. You allowed this and so You must have another plan. But it hurts so much to try so hard and have your dream dashed.”

“Go get the mail,child.” “OK, but it’s dark, I’ll take the car.” On the way up the hill the tears flow.

“But you know Papa, my deepest desire is to become like You.. I know this is not the right attitude.”

“Jesus, my Son was God, child, yet He did not see that right as something to be grasped..”

Now the sobs...

“I know Papa you’re right, Let me find that, Here it is...”

Phil. 2:1 ¶ If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
Phil. 2:2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
Phil. 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Phil. 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Phil. 2:5 ¶ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Phil. 2:6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
Phil. 2:7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Phil. 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Phil. 2:9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
Phil. 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Phil. 2:11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Phil. 2:12 ¶ Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence — continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,
Phil. 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
Phil. 2:14 ¶ Do everything without complaining or arguing,
Phil. 2:15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
Phil. 2:16 as you hold out the word of life...


“Do you remeber the things I taught you in Basic Youth conflict Seminar? About the Death of a Dream? Yes? Well, that’s what this is and you know the purpose is so that I can fulfilll my plan for you and receive the glory.”

“I understand, Papa, but the pain is still there.
“I know but I love you, child. Let me show you how to accomplish this painful walk.

Romans 8”12-14 So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him!

18-21 That's why I don't think there's any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what's coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.”

“Thank you, Papa, I yield”

“So.... who are you working for anyway,child? that company? or Me? I’m your real boss and I’ve made a change in your plans, but it’s going to be better than you ever expected.

“I hear you, Papa, and I draw on Your Spirit in me to manage my emotions and walk me through the new plan.”

"And I will never let you down."</sup>

Let's Pray

PRAY FOR SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY who was removed from the congressional inaugural luncheon in Statuary Hall in the Capitol, with a health crises. Senator Kennedy was having seizures and was rushed to a hospital. Pray for his health and healing, and for those who are seeing to his needs...

Praise God for the succesful Inauguration of President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, asking God to strengthen and guide them as they continue through this historic day...

Pray healing and strength for Vice President Cheney as he attended the Inauguration in a wheelchair, having injured his back while moving into his home in Virgina this week...

Pray for President and Mrs. Bush, for God’s richest blessing as they prepare to leave public life and adjust to their new home in Dallas. Following Inauguration ceremonies, they depart Washington from Andrews Air Force Base, traveling to Midland, TX where they will participate in a welcome home event in Centennial Plaza. Pray for their safety and protection...

Pray for President Obama's financial team as they now work to implement his financial recovery plan, asking God for His wisdom and guidance...

Pray for our troops as they work to safeguard our freedom, giving thanks for their sacrifices on our behalf. Vice President Joe Biden has told President Obama that "things are going to get tougher" in Afghanistan in the next year...Pray for the end of the fighting in the Middle East and the success of the most recent cease fire between Israel and Hamas...

Another great picture! Let's seriously pray for these folks.

I may be sappy, but I love this picture.

Shocking News

Ready for a shock? Below is an article from the London Times about our military. Interesting, it is! Our media coverage is shameful!Winning Isn't NewsBy INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILYIraq: What would happen if the U.S. won a war but the media didn't tell the American public? Apparently, we have to rely on a British newspaper for the news that we've defeated the last remnants of al-Qaida in Iraq .London's Sunday Times called it 'the culmination of one of the most spectacular victories of the war on terror.' A terrorist force that once numbered more than 12,000, with strongholds in the west and central regions of Iraq, has over two years been reduced to a mere 1,200 fighters, backed against the wall in the northern city of Mosul. The destruction of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI) is one of the most unlikely and unforeseen events in the long history of American warfare. We can thank President Bush's surge strategy, in which he bucked both Republican and Democratic leaders in Washington by increasing our forces there instead of surrendering.We can also thank the leadership of the new general he placed in charge there, David Petraeus, who may be the foremost expert in the world on counter-insurgency warfare. And we can thank those serving in our military in Iraq who engaged local Iraqi tribal leaders and convince d them America was their friend and AQI their enemy.Al-Qaida's loss of the hearts and minds of ordinary Iraqis began in Anbar Province, which had been written off as a basket case, and spread out from there.Now, in Operation Lion's Roar the Iraqi army and the U.S. 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment is destroying the fraction of terrorists who are left. More than 1,000 AQI operatives have already been apprehended. Sunday Times (London) reporter Marie Colvin, traveling with Iraqi forces in Mosul, found little AQI presence even in bullet-ridden residential areas that were once insurgency strongholds, and reported that the terrorists have lost control of its Mosul urban base, with what is left of the organization having fled south into the countryside. Meanwhile, the State Department reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has achieved 'satisfactory' progress on 15 of the 18 political benchmarks 'a big change for the better from a year ago.' Things are going so well that Maliki has even for the first time floated the idea of a timetable for withdrawal of American forces. He did so while visiting the United Arab Emirates ,which over the weekend announced that it was forgiving almost $7 billion of debt owed by Baghdad, an impressive vote of confidence from a fellow Arab state in the future of a free Iraq.But where are the headlines and the front-page stories about all this good news? As the Media Research Center pointed out last week, 'the CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News and CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 were silent Tuesday night about the benchmarks 'that signaled political progress.'The war in Iraq has been turned around 180 degrees both militarily and politically because the president stuck to his guns. Yet apart from IBD, Fox News Channel and parts of the foreign press, the media don't seem to consider this historic event a big story.Copyright 2008 Investor's Business Daily. All Rights Reserved.