ON SCHEDULE

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 

1 Timothy 6:18

Believers are commanded to do good, because we are servants of God,

We pray every believer who is qualified will gladly do it without a prod.

We all should be working for our Lord doing good deeds along the way,

And all will know we belong to Him by our generosity and the things we say.

We pray each of us will be willing to share; this is what God wants us to do,

If we are faithfully doing His will, we know He will graciously help us pursue.(RP)

We are on schedule today and this is wash day. I do that part of the work and Margie will iron part of the clothes tomorrow, and then I finish. Thankfully I am also on schedule for preparation for Bible class and the funeral on Friday. Margie's day yesterday was slow, due to the fact she slept so poorly the night before. Hopefully I will be able to report that she had a good night last night. As I write she is still sleeping, and that is good. She needs the rest. Thanks so much for your prayer support. 

STILL NOT GOOD

Titus 2:14 

Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed, and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.

God's plan is so wondrous we marvel at it; His love is so vast,

It reaches all, and comes with power; we know it forever will last.

His saving power reaches all, and redeems every lawless deed, 

His special people He has purified, and they are forever freed.

They are anxious to do good works; they want to honor Him,

He has done so much for them, they now sing a praise hymn.(RP)

We were hoping and praying things were back to normal again but last night was another poor one for Margie. She  saw her doctor again yesterday who gave her pathology report on the suspicious spot on her back which has caused constant itching for a long time. Fortunately it was ok and she is treating it with the proper medication and relief is already felt. We are thankful. She just awakened and told me she had a BAD night. We are so sorry about this.
Thanks so much for praying. 

SLEEP

Matthew 6:27

Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

Worry is the plague of the day, it wears its victims down,

When it starts, it just keeps on, and leads its captives around.

We know that worrying gets us nowhere; and only sorely hurts,

Give it to God right now; let worry have its just desserts.(RP)

We are so thankful Margie finally had a good night. After spending several hours in E.R. the night before, we certainly knew she was ready for a good rest. We cautiously go through this day, praying that tonight again she will be able to get some sleep. We feel badly about missing church services, and hope things will get back on schedule again soon. Thanks so much for praying.

E.R.

Mark 11:25 

And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

It is easy to forget God's principles of prayer; forgiveness plays a big part,

There is more to prayer than the words you speak; God is looking at your heart.

Don't think He will answer your prayers, if you have not forgiven that friend,

And if you are set in your ways and have decided that you will not bend.

God will not answer your prayer; you must forgive so that God will act,

This verse promises us here, that if we do, he will forgive; It's a fact.(RP)

We had a pretty normal quiet day yesterday. At bedtime, however, everything changed. Margie called me saying she was having trouble breathing and her heart was pounding. She thought we better call 911 which I did and thus started Sunday morning. We were in E.R. all night and returned home just before 6. She is resting well and slept about 4 hours. She hasn't had a good sleep for about 5 days. We appreciate prayer about this. Thanks so much for praying. 

SLEEPLESS

Daniel knelt down on his knees three times a day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. 

Daniel 6:10

Daniel was a man of prayer, he prayed upon his knees,

He did this several times a day, to this the story agrees.

I would love to have heard him pray; I wonder what he said,

I think he asked God for many things; I think he also read.

Daniel had the habit of prayer; it was custom for him,

His prayer was intense, and for him it was nothing grim.

He thanked God for many things,and delighted in what he did,

And with his window open, it was sure he had nothing hid.(RP)

Margie is having trouble sleeping. This has always been a problem with her. This week has been hard on her. We appreciate your prayers for her. Yesterday the Bible class was well attended and we had a great time in Genesis 14.  Thanks so much for your prayers. 

GENESIS

Psalm 27:14 

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

We are all in such a hurry; yes, that is the way things go,

And I think the Lord is telling us- take it easy and go slow.

If we learn to do it God's way, good courage we will gain,

And He will help us greatly, and new strength we will obtain.

Wait fellow Christians on the Lord, and He will see you through,

And life will be so much better when His will you daily pursue.(RP)

The keyword today is GENESIS. We spend the week getting ready for this class. It is such a pleasure to teach God's word.  I awakened early in order to get the recycled stuff to the street and spend some extra time going over my notes for class this morning. Margie did not have another good night. She is awake now but I know she didn't get sleep until after midnight. We appreciate your prayers about this. Thank you very much. 

DOUBLE HEADER

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.Proverbs 17:22

Sometimes down here in life's journey we get weary,

But it's best if we can maintain a good life that is cheery.

A cheerful heart is like fine medicine; it really helps a lot,

And the best of all it comes from within; it can't be bought.

So do your best and not allow your spirit to be crushed,

This way you will surely win, and your enemy will be hushed.(RP

Our normal schedule for today prevails. This morning Margie will get her hair done and in the afternoon we attend afternoon prayer meeting at the church. Yesterday we spent the day working mostly on more chapters for our Shepherds book. Margie does the second reading of the manuscript, and after correction they are put in an electronic file to await editing by an expert. This will all happen at a later date when we determine who will print the work. Yesterday was our coolest day so far, I believe. Today we are glad for the furnace also. Thanks for your prayers.