©Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart

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©Kerrie O'Hearn Marquart

Monday, January 31, 2011

GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN...

Are you going through the valleys of your life and sometimes feel a little lost and alone?  I feel that way sometimes as my hubby is in the 6th year of fighting terminal Multiple Myeloma in his spine.  But I remember that God is with us in all of our valley's just as he is when we are on the mountain top.  I used to sing special music as an invited guest at local churches quite often a few years back and one of my favorites to sing was "GOD ON THE MOUNTAIN".  It says so adequately that God is with us always and is so rousing with encouragement!  It was recorded by the McKamey family and I heard them sing it in person once.  Wonderful!  It has always been a comfort to me and while singing it, I feel JOY!  Perhaps when I find out how to post a video on here of myself singing it, I will.  Here are the words....

God On the Mountain

Life is easy, when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind, like you've never known.
But then things change and you're down in the valley.
But don't lose faith for you're never alone!

  Chorus:For the God on the Mountain, is still God in the Valley,
              When things go wrong, he'll make them right.
              And the God in the good times, He's still God in the bad times,
             The God of the day, he's still God in the night!

You talk of faith when you're you're up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes so easy, when life's at its best.
But when you're down in the valley, of trials and temptation,
That's when faith is really put to the test!

 Repeat Chorus.

Powerful words! Wonderful music.  Click in sidebar to hear the McKamey's sing this wonderful song.

Psalm 125:2 "As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about His people from henceforth even for ever."

♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours...  Come back again soon!

Saturday, January 29, 2011

When you are feeling you cannot even pray....


Sometimes, as Christians, we can actually hit a dry spot where we feel out of sync with the world and God and cannot even find the words to pray.  This is not unique and happens to all of us now and again.  Sometimes, we do question the ways of the Lord, even knowing that he has all the wisdom and the power and we have none but through Him.
  But we CAN have a personal relationship with Jesus and His father even at these times.  I can remember the first time I prayed really hard, "My Jesus, I need thee, My Jesus come to me".  It was when I was walking home from my sister's house in 1963.  We had been watching John F. Kennedy in Texas on television.  I had bundled my first daughter up in her Boodle Buggy and was pushing the carriage home.  A lady ran out of her house yelling, "the president has been shot!"  JFK was our hope for the nation's future at the time and everyone was devastated.  As soon as I got home, I began praying for him and asking Jesus to come to me.  Little did I know that God had already claimed him.  But it did comfort me to pray and ask the Lord to be with me. 
  It is at times of stress or unhappiness that we can climb into the Father's lap and tell him our troubles.  We can ask Him into our hearts and to sit beside us to comfort us.  I also pray that He will send the Holy Spirit to comfort us.  God is so good and compassionate and answers prayers in His own way and timing in the manner that is best for us.  If you feel he is not answering your prayers, perhaps he did answer with a "no" or a "not right now" but you were not listening.  Sometimes, our own thoughts are so "loud" we cannot hear when God is speaking to our hearts......shh! God is speaking.  When you are alone, that is when you are closest to God.

Isaiah 40:29-31
   He gives power to the faint,
      And to him who has no might he increases strength.
   Even youths shall faint and be weary and
      young men shall fall exhausted;
   But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,
      They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
   They shall run and not be weary
      They shall walk and not be faint.

Thank you for visiting today.  I hope you will take away a blessing and will come back again soon.  God Bless you each day as you journey through life. God is so Good!

♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours...

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Marriage...

Marriage: Uniting of husband and wife. (Webster's Dictionary)
that sure has a hollow sound, does it not? Ha!
Ephesians 5:21, 22, 25-28
 Honor Christ by submitting to each other.  You wives must submit to your husbands' leadership in the same way you submit to the Lord... And YOU HUSBANDS SHOW THE SAME KIND OF LOVE TO YOUR WIVES AS CHRIST SHOWED TO THE CHURCH WHEN HE DIED FOR HER, to make her holy and clean, washed by baptism and God's Word; so that he could give her to himself being holy and without a single fault.  That is how husbands should treat their wives, loving them as parts of THEMSELVES.  For since a man and his wife are now ONE, a man is really doing himself a favor and loving himself when he loves his wife.

The caps are my own, of course!  But I wanted to emphasize the point here as many men just quote the part about wives submitting to their husbands and as you can see there is much more to a marriage than this.

My husband and I have been married 51 yrs. next month.  We are still in love and treasure every moment together.  Are we unusual?  Not really.  There are many couples who feel this way.  "I am the half, together we are the whole,"  This is a saying we created on a wood puzzle we used to make.  It was in the shape of a heart and only had 2 pieces with the first half of the saying on the left and the second part on the right.  This is how we feel about each other.  Together we are the whole.

Jesus is like this.  We are all missing something in our make up that makes us a whole person until we find Jesus who can fill that empty place that makes us complete...

1 Peter 3:1-7  Wives, your godly lives will speak to them better than any words.  Don't be concerned about the outward beauty that depends on jewelry or beautiful clothes, or hair arrangement.  Be beautiful inside, in your hearts with the lasting charm of a gentle and quiet spirit which is so precious to God.  That kind of deep beauty was seen in the saintly women of old, who trusted God and fitted in with their husbands' plans.......You husbands....remember that you AND your wife are partners in receiving God's blessing and if you don't treat her as you should, your prayers will not get ready answers.


My hubby and I have always pulled in equal yoke throughout all the years together.  We help one another, we love one another, we are kind to one another.  I have never stopped saying or doing the things that I did and felt when we were first married.  I still thank him for anything he does for me.  I still consider his feelings so that I do not hurt him by criticizing his habits, looks, clothes, etc.  We are all human and of course we had disagreements through the years.  Marriage is work.  It does not become a good marriage without any effort on either part.  It is a union.  We laugh a lot!  We find humor in almost everything and laughing takes away a lot of the tension in any situation.  Even in illness, terminal Multiple Myeloma, my hubby still makes me laugh a little every day!

   I wish all of you were blessed with a good partner.  If you had nothing else, it would be your one blessing!  Try to remember how you felt when he or she first touched your hand, first kissed you, first did something nice for you.  Keep the love alive.  And as the verse says about not being concerned regarding beauty, I do contend in bible days, all women looked terrific in head scarves draping their heads and framing their faces.  Not so today.  So at least present yourself attractively to one another.  Men admire the attractiveness of other women, their smiles, their pleasing scents, ad infinitum.  Give them what they are attracted to at home. 

   When my children were small, I always took a shower and changed into something nice before my hubby came home from work because I WANTED to look nice for him!  He appreciates that to this day and when I fuss a little extra, he tells me how pretty I look and I feel so blessed and gifted with his love and remarks.  Do I have a model's figure?? LOL! Of course not but that does not stop me from being as attractive as I can be for my hubby!
    Let's face it ladies, we all love compliments, it is our inherent basic need-LOL!  Don't wear make-up, hate dressing up?  Okay, but you don't have to slouch around in sweat pants and bed-head!!  Casual dress can still be attractive.  I have always felt the downfall of women with waists was the invention of the MOO-MOO dress!!  Women could eat as much as they wanted, gain weight and become shapeless because they would always fit into that MOO-MOO dress.  Cows Moo!! Women used to take pride in their slimness as it was a sign of being healthy -  Less chance of diabetes and a host of other physical problems.  And if it is a physical problem, consult your physician so that he can help you.  And don't forget to PRAY ABOUT IT!  God does care about your physical well being as well as your spirituality!

     Men need to consider the same factors.  Where did that healthy young man go with all that hair and flat tummy go?  When did that chubby bald guy sneak in and take his place-LOL!  Of course I am exaggerating but you get the point.  Marriage is a gift, a blessing, a union of two hearts brought together by God.  The Lord gave you your body, too.  It is a dwelling place for the Lord so do not abuse it.
  
 And lastly for today, Anger.

Ephesians 4:26, 27  If you are angry, don't sin by nursing your grudge.  Don't let the sun go down with you still angry--get over it quickly; for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil.
James 1:19,20  Dear brothers, don't ever forget that it is best to listen much, speak little, and not become angry; for anger doesn't make us good, as God demands that we must be.

In marriage we cannot be angry and nursing a grudge.  Anger will eat away at you coloring all of your days with darkness because you won't give up your angry feelings.  Each day is a new day, don't remember the bad of yesterday or bring it into your tomorrows.  Don't let yesterday ruin today...

Please come back again soon!
 ♥KERRIE♥
My Christian Heart to yours...
   

Friday, January 21, 2011

The Temptation of Jesus...

Luke 4:1-13 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit for forty days in the wilderness, tempted by the devil.  And he hate nothing in those days; and when they were ended, he was hungry.  The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."  And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone.'"  And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will.  If you then, will worship me, it shall all be yours." And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve."  And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written, 'He will give his angels charge of you, to guard you, and On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
  And Jesus answered him, "It is said, You shall not tempt the Lord you God.'" And the devil ended every temptation."

   The devil is persistent in his effort to win you over but God is more persistent in gaining your trust, your faith in him and his son.  We forget that the devil's work is alive and well in our days and we should rebuke him in Christ's name to keep us from giving into temptations.  Our temptations may not even be great.  They may only be temptations to lose our temper, our tongue, our Christian attitude when the going gets tough.  Just remember to invite Jesus into your heart.  When your heart is full of love, goodness and Jesus, there is no room for evil and temptation.  None of us are perfect.  That is after all, our human nature.  It is not from God.

   Romans 3:10 None is righteous, no not one.
I thank you for:
   The laughter of babies
   The winter sun
   The birds in my garden
   My family and friends
   Your unending mercies 
   Answered prayers for the ill 
♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours...
God Bless and come back soon!

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Deuteronomy 28 Obedience

"God's gifts put man's best dreams to shame."
         -Elizabeth Barrett Browning

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above."
        James 1:17 KJV

Deuteronomy 28:11-14 "The Lord will give you an abundance of good things in the land , just as he promised: many children, many cattle, and abundant crops.  He will open to you his wonderful treasure of rain in the heavens, to give you fine crops every season.  He will bless everything you do; and you shall lend to many every season, but shall not borrow from them.  If you will only listen and OBEY the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today, he will make you the head and not the tail, and you shall always have the upper hand.  But each of these blessings depends on your not turning aside in any way from the laws which I have given you: and you must never worship other gods."

  As humans, we find it difficult to obey God's word because we have so many things of the world to distract us.  But if you pray and read God's word often, you will find it easier and easier to obey.  When I worked every day in a difficult environment, I prayed on the way to work, "Lord, let me not compromise my faith at work today."  If you laugh when you know it is wrong, if you let someone's cursing prevail though it offends you and keep silent, you will know no peace even though you pray for that person.  He or she is lost but by setting a good example and speaking up when someone is offending your faith or your morals, God is with you in your effort and will be there beside you in difficult situations.  Know that obedience brings abundance...

God bless you on this the Lord's day.  Come again soon and please leave a comment, I treasure them!

♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours...

Friday, January 14, 2011

What A Friend We Have In Jesus!

This beautiful sentiment above is from Cross Cards.

          Of all the places we look for help, we should remember the shortcut to the best source there is--look UP^ Ask your heavenly Father to help you.  His line is never busy, His house is never closed, His love is unconditional, save your Love and faith in Him.  You will never find a friend more true, a love so deep. 

 WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS!

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry,
Everything to God in prayer!

The above hymn was written by Charles Converse in 1868 and will apply throughout the ages!

Philippians 4:6
By prayer...with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Thank you for coming, I love your visit and your comments!  Today is National Cancer Day.  Please say a prayer for everyone you know who is suffering from Cancer and pray for a cure.
Thank you Lord for every blessing you give to us!
♥KERRIE♥
My heart to yours....

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Asking for Prayers for "Katie"; Matthew 18:19-20

Good morning all God's Children!  My priority this morn is to first make a special Prayer Request for "Katie" who is a young mother of 3 young boys who was diagnosed before Christmas with Stage 4 Stomach cancer!  We know God can perform miracles and that Corporate prayer works, so just take a few minutes to pray for Katie and her family.  Go to Laurie's http://justgivemestamps.typepad.com/ and you will read the details. Thank you so much for praying for the people on our prayer list! Jim Hayes is recovering from Esophageal Cancer surgery and is responding wonderfully!  God is so good!
Jesus is teaching the disciples who came to him asking questions on a number of things.

 Matthew 18:19-20 "And I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

How powerful is this?!  If we hold hands and pray for someone in Jesus name, he is there with us!  It shall be done...  And we do not hold the time frame of this in our hands.  God's timing and our timing is never the same.  He may heal someone in the blink of an eye or it may take what seems forever to us mortals, but he has heard your cry, your petition and WILL act upon it.

Matthew 9:20-22 Healing Power of Jesus...
  "And behold, a woman who had suffered from a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him (Jesus) and touched the fringe of his garment; for she said to herself, "if I only touch his garment, I shall be made well.  Jesus turned and seeing her he said, "Take heart daughter; your faith has made you well."  And instantly the woman was made well."
  Wow!  We need only touch the hem of Jesus' garment!  Often times when I pray, I picture myself touching the hem of Jesus' robe.  It is very comforting and all I can do then is be faithful in my prayers to him and wait for a blessing.
Jesus could feel the energy leave his body as the woman touched the hem of his garment!! 

God Bless you all today.  I hope you found comfort in the subject for today.  Reach out and "touch" Jesus' robe...

Thank you so much for stopping by, I love your comments!  Come again soon.  If there is a specific part of the bible you would like to ask questions about, please do and I will answer whenever I can.

♥KERRIE♥
My Christian heart to yours...

Monday, January 10, 2011

FAITH...

FAITH IS EVIDENCE OF THINGS UNSEEN....A friend on face book posted the above video for me to see and I loved it so much and wanted to share.  Thomas was the apostle who did not believe that Jesus had risen until he put his hand on the wound in his side.  Having faith without having to touch the proof is God's precious gift to us.  We need only have faith to conquer all of our fears, all of our misgivings!  Seeing the video is a perfect example of seeing is believing yet we see no person performing this wonderful music, yet someone behind the scenes created this beautiful piece.
   We cannot see God or Jesus face to face yet we know they are there, that God was the creator and Jesus WAS THE LIVING SON.  We cannot explain all the mechanisms and things that happen in this world, yet we know they exist.  That is how it is with God, he is real, he is there with his Son sitting on his right side.  All we have to do is invite him into our hearts to "see" him in our mind, heart and soul.
  Have you invited the Father and Son into your heart?  You will know a new joy you have never experienced before, a new peace, a new outlook on life.  Today's world is very stressful.  We cannot do it alone but with Jesus and the Father's help, we can make it through.  And in the joyful times, remember to give thanks for what you receive.
  Thanks for visiting today and I hope you enjoyed the video with unseen hands as much as I did.
   Asking special prayers for "Ginny" who is meeting with the surgeon this week and is on our prayer list.  Thanks! Hugs from me to thee...
             ♥Kerrie♥

Snowing on Palm trees this morning...


Sunday, January 9, 2011

PRAYER...




"Prayer is not appointed for the furnishing of God with the knowledge of what we need, but is designed as a confession to Him of our sense of the need. In this, as in everything, God's thoughts are not as ours. God requires that His gifts should be sought for. He designs to be honored by our asking, just as he is to be thanked by us after He has bestowed his blessing." - Arthur W. Pink

"Your life is short, your duties many, your assistance great, and your reward sure; therefore faint not, hold on and hold up, in ways of well-doing, and heaven shall make amends for all." Thomas Brooks

"Hope fills the afflicted soul with such inward joy and consolation, that it can laugh while tears are in the eye, sigh and sing all in one breath; it is called the rejoicing of hope." (Hebrews 3:6) Willaim Gurnall

It seems that all wise men seek the Lord. We all search for the relationship with our creator and his son, Jesus. Whatever is upon you today, if you are troubled or down hearted, turn to the Father for comfort. Climb into his lap to be comforted there. He is after all "Abba, Father". Not everyone could go to their earthly father for comfort as sometimes happens with humans. But you can always confide in the heavenly Father and he will show you the way, give you comfort and peace in your heart no matter what you may be going through, an illness, a break up in the family, a loss. All you need do is ask...
         If you have prayer concerns, please comment and I will add you to the list that we are praying for in the sidebar.  We are only strangers to one another, but we are all God's children. Begin your week with a prayer and if you are not "needy", please thank God for the blessings he has given you and all those that are yet to come...


Come again Soon!
♥Kerrie♥
My heart to yours...


Wednesday, January 5, 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR...

2 Corinthians 5:17  If any man be in Christ, the old has gone, the new hath come.

"If then any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the former things have passed away; behold they are made new!"

"Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come.

   I would suppose I could find more of these quotes of the same verse in all the other Bibles I have in the house besides the three I took these from and they would all be worded a little differently.  Just shows how human the translators were when copying the Bible...  But the point is that if we are in Christ, we are new persons with him in our heart, we are born again!  That phrase makes some people cringe but it need not.  It does not mean that you go "back into your Mother's womb and be born again".  It  means YOU have had a change of heart to turn from your old ways and become new in HIS name.  How wonderful.  You will be filled with such joy that it will be very hard to sit or stand still.  You will want to jump for joy! 
  I hope you are starting the new year with much joy in your heart and that it is overflowing since you invited Jesus in and he filled your whole heart!


   Luke 3:15 "As the people were in expectation, and all men questioned in thier heart concerning John , whether perhaps he were the Christ, John answered them all, "I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of his sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire."
Verse 21:  Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form as a dove, and a voice came from Heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; With whom I am well pleased."

              Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had something Jesus had written???  I began pondering this before Christmas and how precious and priceless something written in the Savior's hand would be!!  The Bible tells us that Jesus spoke Aramaic but it never mentions him writing.... 
Start your new year with reading the bible a little each day or even start with twice a week, whatever you are comfortable with.  The Bible is not hard reading once you are engrossed in it and the more you can cross reference it, the easier it gets.  You can even start with a children's bible, any version that speaks to you that you can understand.       
          The Book is a very good source for easy, comprehensive reading and is in all bookstores and on line.  It is published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. and I use it so much it is dog-eared-ha! I had to tape the spine to keep it together!
           Come back and visit soon and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.  If I don't know the answer, I will find it for you!  If you have prayer concerns, please e-mail.  Corporate prayer (many praying at the same time) is very effective and I know that is what helps keep my hubby going...God Bless.

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