When asking for God's help.....

My Best Friend is a Carpenter...

©Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart

 Music and Lyrics Written in Autumn 1997

My best friend is a Carpenter,

Your best friend is a Carpenter

Our best Friend is a Carpenter

Let that hammer ring!

The Best things in life are made with Love

Good hard work and the Lord above,

So come on and let's build His world

And let that hammer ring!

Chorus:

'Cause My best friend is a Carpenter,

Your best friend is a Carpenter

Our best Friend is a Carpenter

Let that hammer ring!

For the Good Lord ~ He gave us all the tools

And the Good Lord ~ He gave us all the rules

And the Good Lord ~ He didn't make no fools!

So let that hammer ring!

'Cause my best friend is a Carpenter

Your best friend is a Carpenter

Our best friend is a Carpenter

Let that hammer ring!

Let  that  ham - mer ri -i- ing  !!♫♫

   I wrote this particular song for the praise of God but also for my husband as he is my best friend and a carpenter, too!  The music is in an A minor key and since I do not write music but rather sing and play my guitar by ear, I have never written down the notes.  I could do a single note staff painfully if I tried-ha!  But God has already given me the ability to create and play several instruments by ear, I do not question why I do not have the sight reading ability  or writing notes-ha!  It can be sung Acupello with snapping of the fingers to a one, two beat.  I have performed it publicly that way. 

   I love the Lord so much and am inspired to write poetry in His praise very frequently.  When I had just written this praise song, we were staying at a bed and breakfast in the country between McClellansville and Charleston, SC with our eldest daughter and her husband.  There were 2 other couples there, also.  I was sitting on the steps looking out over the beautiful marshes playing my guitar and singing with my hubby beside me.  One of the ladies was a lawyer from NYC.  She and the others fell right into the rhythm and sang along with me.  It was great fun and a blessing.

 

   The next summer, my daughter saw her in Myrtle Beach while shopping.  She asked how I was and said for my daughter to tell her Mom that she was still singing, My Best Friend is a Carpenter!  I loved sharing God's word!  Perhaps I will figure out how to record for the blog so you can hear the song.

   When we are asking God for help or blessings, how do we pray?  What do we ask for?  How do we petition the Lord for blessings?  I would never even think of asking the Lord to help me write music.  I am already inspired by Him, what more could I ask?  I have an old friend who begins to pray with his palms down on a table.  After he prays, he then turns his palms upward to receive God's blessing.  I love this concept!  I have knelt by my bed as a child would do and pray to God quietly...  I have prayed while driving in my car.  Pray wherever you are able.  For the Bible tells us that God can hear us when we pray even if it is in our closet!  My Grandma Rachael also quoted this.  The important thing is God DOES HEAR YOU!  And you must accept that sometimes, just sometimes, the answer is "NO".  God knows what is best for his children and what you may ask of Him, may not be what HE wants for you, it may not be in His plan for your Christian life.  The Lord's answering with a "NO" is not a dead end however, it is a beginning orchestrated by Him.  TRUST!

   Most of the time, God guides believers to an answer through His Word. (Ps. 119:105). Our reading can take us to the very passage that deals with our situation or reveals a principle that applies. Sometimes God speaks a clear message to one person’s heart that nobody else would understand from that particular passage. The secret is to believe that the Lord is going to guide you, and never lose that faith (Mk. 11:24).

If our Lord will help even the smallest of creatures, he  will care for you, also.  Believe that he will take care of you with all of your heart and your very faith will be a testimony to all.  If you have sinned, confess.  If you have not yet invited Jesus and God into your heart, do so!  Do you know that when you confess your sins that God never thinks of them again?  It is written in the Bible.  I will ask you to go back through my earlier posts to see the Bible reference because you might find another of my posts beneficial and also a blessing.

Thank you so much for coming to visit today!  I hope you will come again soon and that you take away a blessing when you leave today.  Feel refreshed in the Lord, do something nice for someone else, even if they are a stranger.  Your reward will be great!

♥KERRIE♥

My Christian heart to yours...

CHRIST THE LORD IS RISEN TODAY♫♫♫

REJOICE!
Wishing you a blessed Easter Season
A time of renewal
He is risen, the stone is rolled away
The tomb is empty…
How blessed we are!

The Son of God was sacrificed on our behalf for the purpose of atoning for our sins. When Jesus taught this to the people of that time, many considered it heresy and as a result, they demanded His death by crucifixion, a common means of punishment for lawbreakers. Instead of offering a defense before the councils, Jesus was silent. Why? It was the divine plan of the Father God, from the beginning of time, that this be done so that we might have forgiveness and life. It was His purpose.
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is a gift from God and fulfillment of His promise. It is the very foundation of Christianity. Since the disobedience of Adam in the Garden of Eden, all mankind is born with a sin nature. The Lord tells us that there is a price to be paid for sin and that cost is death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
A life without Christ can only offer eternal death, but the acceptance of Jesus as our risen Savior gives us eternal life. Because eternal death is not what God wants for us, He provided a way of atonement through the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus, and His resurrection.

Thank you for visiting and may you take away a Blessing with you This Beautiful Easter Day!

♥KERRIE♥

My Christian heart to yours...

GOOD FRIDAY....

GOOD FRIDAY...It is raining, how appropriate for Good Friday!!

Jesus was made to carry His own cross, Would you have dared to help Him??
Matt 32-37  "As they were on the way to the execution grounds they came across a man from Cyrene, in Africa-Simon was his name--and forced him to carry Jesus' cross.  Then they went out to an area known as Golgotha, that is, "Skull Hill," where the soldiers gave him drugged wine to drink; but when he had tasted it, he refused.  After the crucifixion, the soldiers threw dice to divide up his clothes among themselves.  Then they sat around and watched him as he hung there.  And they put a sign above his head, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews."

 And His Mama cried to see the agony of her son on the cross....because she could not help him....

Matt 45-52  "That afternoon, the whole earth was covered with darkness for 3 hours, from noon until three o'clock.  About three o'clock, Jesus shouted, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me."  Then Jesus shouted out again, dismissed his spirit and died.
And look!  The curtain secluding the Holiest Place in the Temple was slit apart from top to bottom; and the earth shook, and the rocks broke, and tombs opened, and many godly men


 and women who had died came back to life again."


 ON THIS DAY He died for you and for me.  The "perfect lamb" was sacrificed so that our sins would be forgiven forever more, that we would have eternal life with Jesus and His Father in heaven!!  No greater sacrifice was ever made!

Meditate on the cross today. I am fasting until 3:00p.m.  The rain and dark sky remind me of how it must have been that dark day when they crucified our Lord.  Imagine His pain and feel the words of the hymn, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross."  To hear, click on the video in the sidebar at the right.

What are your thoughts this Good Friday??  Share with others and with me by commenting today.


THANK YOU JESUS FOR DYING ON THE CROSS FOR US.  MAY WE ALWAYS SHOW OUR GRATITUDE AND LOVE FOR SUCH A WONDROUS GIFT.  Amen.

All Biblical quotes are taken from "The Book" published by Tyndale House Publishers.

The Folded Napkin...

My Pastor sent this to me this morning and I was so touched that I had to share with you all.  I had never heard the reason for this before and it is so significant!

Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin?

   Why did Jesus fold the linen burial cloth after His resurrection? I never noticed this....
The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus, was not just thrown aside like the grave clothes.
   The Bible takes an entire verse to tell us that the napkin was neatly folded, and was placed at the head of that stony coffin.  Early Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance.  She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, 'They have taken the Lord's body out of the tomb, and I don't know where they have put him!'
   Peter and the other disciple ran to the tomb to see. The other disciple out ran Peter and got there first. He stopped and looked in and saw the linen cloth lying there, but he didn't go in.  Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside.  He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, while the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was folded up and lying to the side.

Was that important? Absolutely!  Is it really significant? Yes!

   In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition.  When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it.
   The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished.
  Now if the master were done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table.
The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant,  "I'm finished.."  But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because..........
 The folded napkin meant,
"I'm coming back!"


AND  SO  HE  SHALL!

I love this account!  That is why knowing the Old Testament is important as we learn to think in Hebrew instead of western culture.  I remember when I did my 2 year study to become a Bible Teacher that our teacher kept emphasizing that we think in Hebrew.  That is because he wanted us to be very familiar with the the old customs and traditions of the Jewish people so that we would understand their behavior and the old laws before Jesus set us free!  It is just like tracing our roots for a family tree.  We need to understand where the people of Jesus time were coming from in their beliefs and traditions.  It helps us to understand why the Jewish people did not think Jesus was the Messiah.  They are still waiting.  Rejoice, we do not have to wait any longer!!

♥KERRIE♥

My Christian heart to yours...

Palm Sunday

Luke 19:38
ON THE MORNING AFTER the supper at Bethany, Jesus called two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the next village, and at a place where two roads cross, and there you will find an ass tied, and a colt with it. Loose them, and bring them to me. And if anyone says to you, 'Why do you do this?' say 'The Lord has need of them,' and they will let them go."They went to the place, and found the ass and the colt, and were loosing them, when the owner said, "What arc you doing, untying the ass?" And they said, as Jesus had told them to say, "The Lord has need of it!"

Then the owner gave them the ass and the colt for the use of Jesus. They brought them to Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, and they laid some of their own clothes on the colt for a cushion, and set Jesus upon it. Then all the disciples and a very great multitude threw their garments upon the ground for Jesus to ride upon. Others cut down branches from the trees and laid them on the ground.

And as Jesus rode over the mountain toward Jerusalem many walked before him waving branches of palm-trees. And they all cried together, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord! Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"

These things they said because they believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Anointed King, and they hoped that he would now set up his throne in Jerusalem. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd, who did not believe in Jesus, said to him, "Master, stop your disciples!" But Jesus said, "I tell you, that if these should be still, the very stones would cry out!"

And when he came into Jerusalem with all this multitude, all the city was filled with wonder. They said, "Who is this?" And the multitude answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet of Nazareth in Galilee!"

And Jesus went into the temple, and looked around it; but he did not stay, because the hour was late. He went again to Bethany, and there stayed at night with his friends.
These things took place on Sunday, the first day of the week; and that Sunday in the year is called Palm Sunday, because of the palm branches which the people carried before Jesus.
  Just think how much everyone was hoping that Jesus was going to rule as an earthly ruler, even the Jews thought that he would be an earthly King.  And little did any of them know that in another week, their Savior would be murdered on a cross though he had done nothing wrong!  But the good news was yet to come, the resurrection!  Though Jesus had taught that the scriptures must be fulfilled, I don't think his disciples or others truly knew what this meant.  And facing death, Jesus went willingly and obeyed the Father to fulfil the scriptures that he would rise again on the third day....
    Thank you Jesus for dieing for us.  We can never thank you enough!  God Bless and take time to read the Bible this holy week and learn more about our Savior.

Thank you for coming and I hope you will come again soon.  Hugs and blessings to you all!

God does have a sense of humor!!

♥KERRIE♥

My Christian heart to yours...

When I survey the Wondrous Cross...

I am having a hard time fathoming the pain of our Lord during the Easter Season.  His suffering and death was so horrifying and despicable and yet it has saved us all.  A Grace, a Gift like no other.  But my chest physically hurts when I ponder his suffering.

I bought this bag of jewelry in a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago to recycle into crafts and among the little treasures was a rosary made of wood.  The figure of Christ was gone and immediately, I thought, "of course he is gone, he's risen".  We celebrate the Risen Christ, not Christ on the Cross.

Even though it was Christmas time, the last time I sang in the Singing Christmas Tree (My fifth and last year), we sang, "When I survey the Wondrous Cross".  I felt so emotional singing the line, "see from His head, His hands, His feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down", I wanted to cry that the savior was dying of his wounds and bleeding for me, a sinner.  His blood was mingled with his love, "love so amazing, so complete, demands my soul, my life, my all!"  You can meditate on the words to this hymn forever!  What a lesson in love and sacrifice!  And the writer of this hymn felt such love for the Lord!

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous Cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain would seem but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

See from His head, His hands, His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Love so amazing, so complete
Demands my life, my love, my All...

  A cousin sent me this beautiful cross for my birthday last month with a house blessing on it.  Perfect! I have it in my kitchen and love it because it is an outward symbol of my faith and belief and because I love the giver, also.

Have you surveyed the Wondrous Cross?  Have you comprehended what a sacrifice it was for God to give his only begotten Son so that you may have eternal life and dwell in heaven with him?  Should we not be forever grateful?  We are so blessed!

The Rosary was lying on my computer desk next to a rock and I thought, how appropriate!  "On Christ the solid Rock I stand".  We had a little Chahuahua when we moved to SC 22 yrs. ago and unknown to us, she brought her favorite rock with her.  It was buried in the blanket in her bed.  She is long gone but I still have her rock with its bite marks on it.  She loved it so much that she would even fall asleep with it in her mouth!  The Rock gave her comfort as Our Rock, Jesus gives us comfort. 
   Isaac Watts wrote "When I survey the Wondrous Cross" in 1707 and the music was written by Edward Miller.  For more information his Isaac Watts life, put his name in search in your computer.  His life is very interesting.

Thank you for visiting today and I hope you take away with you a Blessing!  Come again soon and celebrate the love of the Lord with us!

♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours...

PS: Forgot to say that the music of this hymn was also adapted to a love ballad, "The River is Wide".

Get up in the tree!

LITTLE MAN WHO MADE IT BIG

Luke 19:1-10     Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but because of of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

   Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus. He wanted to see him really bad. Although he was a government official, he didn't care if it was embarrassing. He climbed into a tree to see Jesus. His efforts were rewarded. Not only did he get to see him, but Jesus stopped, and told Zacchaeus that he would come to his house to spend time with him. Zacchaeus was thrilled. He went home to prepare.
But others were upset. Tax collectors were not respected people. And the Jews thought it was shameful for Jesus to spend time with a sinner. But Zacchaeus repented. He not only

vowed to give away half his wealth, but to repay anyone he had

cheated. Jesus said this was why he had come, to seek out and

 save the sinner.

   Sometimes it is difficult for people to separate the sin from the sinner. It is important for us to disapprove of sin while trying to save those trapped in sin.  How do we approach people today whose lifestyles we cannot condone?  Do you speak out when you are offended by what people say or do?  Do you let places like Face Book use your page for their own agendas and care not what they write even though young eyes may see and be influenced?  I speak out.  I do not want my Christian friends or my grandchildren to see offensive things on anything that I as a Christian am lending an ear or eye to.  Yes, it is hard to fit into today's world but you can even if you do show your love of the Father and Son and Christianity.  God will show you the way and what he wants you to do.  Just listen with your heart....  You are your own conscience.   

Zacchaeus sought Jesus, and got closer to him than he had hoped. God says if we seek him, we will find him. He that hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall be filled. Many people wonder where God is in their lives, but never go looking for him. What are some ways we can seek after God in our lives?

Zacchaeus didn't use his shortness as an excuse to quit looking for Jesus. What obstacles do we have to overcome to see Jesus? Are any of these obstacles great enough to separate us from Jesus?

    SCRAMBLE UP THAT TREE, DON'T YOU WANT TO SEE JESUS??

I climbed trees all the time growing up much to the dismay of my poor Mother!  But I never fell, God was there to protect me.   I am short of stature-ha!  But in H.S. it did not stop me from playing basketball, baseball and standing tall for Jesus!  I still stand tall for Jesus, more so, the older and shorter I grow-ha!

Thank you for coming today and I hope your heart and spirituality were nourished.  Come again soon.  Let the light of Jesus shine in your heart, be on your lips and in your eyes.  Blessings!

♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours.....