STEPS to the CROSS

Can you even imagine what this day held for Jesus as He walked His final footsteps to the cross? What did He pray? What did He sing?What did His heart feel like? What was His focus? What was He thinking? Doing? Being?

We don't have to imagine because Scripture tells us in His Word:

• He was being FAITHFUL to His Father's will and plan.


• He was doing the hardest thing that was required of Him and doing it with full obedience.


• He was thinking - not of Himself - but of you and me.


• His focus was on the Father's will being carried out.


• His heart was full of emotion, grief, turmoil... not because of the pain He was about to suffer - but for the separation from His Father that He must endure when He would bear our sins upon Himself and the Father must turn away from Him.


• He sang a hymn with His disciples.


• He prayed for Himself, His disciples, for all believers.


• His footsteps held the fulfilling plan of God's GRACE.

John 17 [selected]
Jesus Prays for Himself

1After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. 2For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. 3Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. 4I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave me to do. 5And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.

Jesus Prays for His Disciples
6"I have revealed You to those whom You gave Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me and they have obeyed Your word. 7Now they know that everything you have given Me comes from You. 8For I gave them the words you gave Me and they accepted them.
11I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your Name—the Name You gave Me—so that they may be one as We are One.
Jesus Prays for All Believers
20"My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, 21that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.

Luke 22 [selected]
14When the hour came, Jesus and His apostles reclined at the table. 15And He said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17After taking the cup, He gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

Mark 14 [selected]
23Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.
24"This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," He said to them. 25"I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God."
26When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Gethsemane

32They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to His disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33He took Peter, James and John along with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34"My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," He said to them. "Stay here and keep watch."
35Going a little farther, He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from Him. 36"Abba, Father," He said, "everything is possible for You. Take this cup from Me. Yet not what I will, but what You will." [All Scripture emphasis added]

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May our hearts remember His footsteps and the unfolding GRACE they held on this day! May we bring praise with tears of JOY for all that JESUS-IS, WAS, and WILL BE!

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Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie
[In Flight]

Always on the Prowl

Yesterday was a very strange day. When I walked the dog early in the morning I found a large feather in the yard that most likely came from a wild turkey passing through. I picked it up and immediately asked the Lord for wisdom in what it meant. Was it another feather for my wings to fly or was it a warning that the enemy was near? As the day went on I received some disturbing e-mails from a 'stranger' who was 'fisching' for security information - by playing on my emotions and my sympathies. They were claiming to be on their 'deathbed' and were really 'snowing' their way in to obtain financial record information. I sensed something not right with all of it so I was very cautious. It was really very upsetting. The e-mails continued even into today. But later in the day [yesterday] the Lord revealed the 'scheme' when another e-Mail came through with almost the identical info - with just the names changed. God showed the TRUTH of the situation as I continued to 'pray it through' along with one of my friends here, a godly woman, who prayed with me, as well as with advice from one of my pastor's and his wife on how to proceed.

Turns out this practice [of scam artists] comes through Nigeria. This country is the source of most of these scams. One of the addresses in the e-Mail was from the capitol city of that country. I can now imagine how easily people [especially the elderly] can be 'caught up' in these scams - at first they seem very believable.

God had shown me these verses:

1 Peter 5:7-9
7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Habakkuk 1:7-9
7 They are a feared and dreaded people;

they are a law to themselves

and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards,

fiercer than wolves at dusk.

Their cavalry gallops headlong;

their horsemen come from afar.

They fly like a vulture swooping to devour;
9 they all come bent on violence.

Their hordes advance like a desert wind

and gather prisoners like sand.

Psalm 37 (selected)
Of David.

1 Do not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.
8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.
9 For evil men will be cut off,

but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look for them, they will not be found.

12 The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for He knows their day is coming. [Scripture emphasis added]

I'm so glad that the LORD protects widows and orphans and those He loves. He will not allow the schemes of the wicked and perverse to prevail.

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

[In Flight]

PS: 'B' = I'll share this feather with you!! ;-)

HEARTS AFLAME

Psalm 104:1-4
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul.

O LORD my God, You are very great;

You are clothed with splendor and majesty.
2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment;

He stretches out the heavens like a tent
3 and lays the beams of His upper chambers on their waters.

He makes the clouds His chariot

and rides on the wings of the wind.
4 He makes winds His messengers,

flames of fire His servants.

The LORD our God never ceases to amaze me or surprise me!

HE IS GOD!

I've been away this weekend on a retreat with another church. Last year I had the privilege of being their speaker for their 1st annual ladies retreat held in PA. This year my friend, Dianne, was the speaker. The theme topic of the weekend was:

A Weekend Under the Stars

In keeping with the topic the committee arranged for us to be able to have a bonfire in one of the outside pavilions at Blackrock Retreat Center in the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania. Our host, Leon, stoked a blazing fire for us in a huge stone fireplace while Dianne shared the word of God from behind us. We were to remain focused on the warmth and beauty of the fire. When it was all over we sang one last song and the next thing I knew my friend Lynn [the pastor's wife from CCC] whisked me off to a corner to pray with someone.

First, I must remind you of one year ago - at the same retreat when a young woman came to receive Christ. Her name was Lisa. Click here: TRUTHSHARER: HANDS TO BEHOLD . A week later Lisa's husband, Bill, also came to receive Christ as Savior.

As Lynn and I sat down last night on rickety benches, I knelt down in front of Diane, Lisa's own mother! She was smiling from ear to ear and after I shared a few words and asked her some specific questions, she was ready and willing to surrender her life to Christ as Savior AND Lord of her life! I explained to her that it was not enough to receive Him as Savior alone - that she must make Christ Lord of her life from that day forward and allow Him to rule and reign on the throne of her life. She took that simple step of faith and invited Jesus into her heart!

Lynn helped us up and we all sang "Happy Birthday" to her. Lynn shared with her that the angels in heaven were rejoicing with her along with us because of the gift of eternal life that she had just received! What a powerful moment.

Today as we all said our goodbye's I pulled Diane aside and told her that Jesus would never let her go... but that she had to hold on tightly to Him and never let go of Him. She agreed!

God did His work this weekend! There were amazing testimonies given from Kim, Pat and Sandra as well that stirred our hearts to follow hard after Christ. Our speaker, Dianne, brought great messages to challenge us to Shine like Stars for Jesus!

Philippians 2:14-16

Shining as Stars

14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 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 16 as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

Here are some pictures of the weekend I wanted to share with you because I know all of you reading this who know Christ as your Lord and Savior - will also rejoice with Diane.

Here are a handful of God's shining stars!!

Stephanie ********* Diane *************Lynn

Lisa is seated just behind me [in the red sweater] and her mom, Diane is behind her two rows back in the blue shirt. Our speaker, Dianne, is in the bright pink/purple front and center!

Kim was one of the winners of the book giveaway. She began reading it the moment I put it in her hands!

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

[In Flight]

JOY from the ROCK

Genesis 49:22-25

22 "Joseph is a fruitful vine,

a fruitful vine near a spring,

whose branches climb over a wall.
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;

they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,

his strong arms stayed limber,

because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,

because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of your father's God, who helps you,

because of the Almighty, who blesses you

with blessings of the heavens above...

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Anybody need some joy from the Rock today? Ever feel just plain worn out and drained? Go to 'the ROCK that his higher than I' - and drink the water that flows from Him!

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Psalm 95
1 Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before Him with thanksgiving

and extol Him with music and song.
3 For the LORD is the great God,

the great King above all gods.

Luke 19:39-41
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
40 "I tell you," He replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones [rocks] will cry out."

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Deuteronomy 32:3-5
3 I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
4 He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He. [all emphasis added]

Let US give Him praise with thankful hearts and EXTOL His name together - so the rocks won't have to! Shout for JOY like the trumpet vine!

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

[In Flight]

My FAVORITE THINGS

I was up early today before the morning broke through. As the night began to fade and the morning came forth, I could see that it was a cloudy day. But as I sat praying from my rocking chair I was facing a small window in the hallway and just for a split second a burst of color caught my eye in that window. Bright orange and pink shown in just a little spot for me to catch the glimpse of the surprise God wanted me to see. I jumped up from my chair and ran to the front window that faces East. There in the sky the DAWN unfolded with beautiful color - but only in a small pocket - and then it was gone!

That was my birthday gift from the LORD today! As I celebrate another year on earth it makes me long for heaven - the home that I am being prepared for.

My friends who know me well - know that birthday's are special to me and always have been. To me, they are the day that God set out to say, "you are special to Me."

Not many people [that I know] share this birthday with me but I love having a unique day [April Fool's Day] as my special day! I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Yesterday I was feeling a bit discouraged about some things - so I prayed and asked God about it. And God's answer to me later in the day was YOU - my faith sisters.

So I am awarding this bouquet to:
[photo is courtesy of Debbie Kreugal - a missionary translator in Mexico]

My Blogland Faith Sisters
[those who pray and encourage me weekly]

Beth H. / Yolanda / Edie / Elaine / Barbara / Esthermay / Lisa / Barbi / Kim / Janis / Leigh Anne / Beth Moore

Looks like you are my 12 standing stones!!! May God bless you today as you encourage others by your faith walk!

Today I want to share a few of my favorite things:

Purple is my favorite color!

Galatians 2:20 is my life verse

Psalm 126 is my Psalm of Joy and Promise

Exodus 33 is my favorite OT passage

15 Then Moses said to Him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?"
17 And the LORD said to Moses, "I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name." 18 Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."

Romans is my favorite NT book

4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.

Isaiah 6:1-8 is my commissioned commitment

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"

Psalm 40:1-4a is God's redemtive work in my life

1 I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.
4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust...

Isaiah 61:1-4 - a portrait of Christ for us to follow

3b They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of His splendor.

Psalm 1:2-3

2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie [In Flight]

The GOLDEN THREAD of EZEKIEL

Ezekiel 3 (selected)
4 He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and difficult language, but to the house of Israel- 6 ...Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the house of Israel is not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to Me, for the whole house of Israel is hardened and obstinate. 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious house."
10 And He said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. 11 Go now to your countrymen in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."

Ezekiel 5 (selected)
11 Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look on you with pity or spare you. 12 A third of your people will die of the plague or perish by famine inside you; a third will fall by the sword outside your walls; and a third I will scatter to the winds and pursue with drawn sword.
13 "Then My anger will cease and My wrath against them will subside, and I will be avenged. And when I have spent My wrath upon them, they will know that I the LORD have spoken in My zeal.
14 "I will make you a ruin and a reproach among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15 You will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the nations around you when I inflict punishment on you in anger and in wrath and with stinging rebuke. I the LORD have spoken. 16 When I shoot at you with my deadly and destructive arrows of famine, I will shoot to destroy you. I will bring more and more famine upon you and cut off your supply of food. 17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring the sword against you. I the LORD have spoken."

I studied the book of Ezekiel 3 years ago in depth and read through it again just before Christmas this past year. Now my pastor is preaching a series for the next several months on Ezekiel. Why?

There is some serious stuff here from the prophet who obeyed the weird and strange things that God asked him to do. He portrays a 'type of Christ' for us. But there is a common thread through the entire book that I have observed - that I refer to as:

The Golden Thread of Ezekiel ... in the book over and over you will find the words:

"and then they will know that I am the LORD."

Ezekiel 6 (selected)
7 Your people will fall slain among you, and you will know that I am the LORD.
9... They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices. 10 And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not threaten in vain to bring this calamity on them.
12 ... So will I spend My wrath upon them. 13 And they will know that I am the LORD, when their people lie slain among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and on all the mountaintops, under every spreading tree and every leafy oak—places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14 And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah —wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the LORD.' " [all Scripture emphasis added]

Do you ever just sit back and watch God? I mean really WATCH what He is doing in our midst? The past few weeks I have watched Him rescue the life of an unborn child - yet the same person who God stopped from taking that life [once] - has made a choice to attempt that same thing again. Now her life hangs in a place of life or death. People continue to make choices in favor of of self motivation what is best for 'me' without any regard for hurting or even 'killing' others. And there will always be consequences that come with those choices. It is really one life choice over another and God says - it ought not to be so.

Abortion in our country has become a genocide. Does God just sit back and watch it all and shake His head at the problem? Do you ever wonder how long it will be before the 'wrath of God' falls upon us [our nation and others] who have played 'terminator' with an unborn life? Genocide = one plus one plus one+ X10 + X 100 = Millions and Millions of lives lost - ended.

Our God is serious about the choices we make. He is a loving God who waits patiently for [our] repentance - but He is also a God of Justice - One who rights all wrongs! He even chose to allow His own Son to suffer death so that others [you and I] might live. Yet we slap Him in the face with the genocide of human life - babies - human beings - who are living breathing and have hearts beating inside their tiny bodies.

How long will His patience last? There will come a time when God says, "Enough is enough".
When will we 'take to heart the words God has spoken'?

This is not something I chose to write about today - but God did. I don't like talking about it any more than you like reading about it. But we can't ignore it any longer. God is serious and He is waiting for a wake up call - waiting for repentance - waiting for a turning TO HIM - rather than against Him. I know you'd rather read about the love of God and all the wonderful faithful things He does - so do I. But... this is also part of WHO GOD IS and we must reverence His holiness as well. How many MORE babies will be aborted before ... 'And [then] they will know that I am the LORD' - takes root.

Will any of you JOIN ME in PRAYER for our nation- to repent and turn from our wicked ways - over the killing of innocent babies through abortion? Some may say - "What good is that? I'm only one person." Yet one plus one plus one + X10 + X100 = the faithful prayers of God's people. God responds to the prayers of His people!

Mark 10:13-15 (KJV)
13 And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them.
14 But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased, and said unto them, 'Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.'

Thank you to those who are willing to pray! Please check out www.40daysforlife.com

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie
[In Flight]

UNFOLDING GRACE

2 Corinthians 4:16 The Message
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“So we’re not giving up.
How could we!
Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without His unfolding grace.”
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This is a passage of Scripture that the LORD keeps putting in my face over and over again. I've been passing it on to others for weeks now - but He won't let me let go of it! Someone reading this today needs to hear these words!!

DO NOT GIVE UP!!!!!!! God is making all things NEW - all by the power of His unfolding GRACE!

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie
[In Flight]

WORDS of Wisdom and Grace

Proverbs 4:7-9
Wisdom Is Supreme

7 Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.

Though it cost all you have, get understanding.
8 Esteem her, and she will exalt you;

embrace her, and she will honor you.
9 She will set a garland of grace on your head

and present you with a crown of splendor."

Proverbs 12:17-19
17 A truthful witness gives honest testimony,

but a false witness tells lies.
18 Reckless words pierce like a sword,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Proverbs 16:23-24

23 A wise man's heart guides his mouth,

and his lips promote instruction.
24 Pleasant words are a honeycomb,

sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Ephesians 2:6-8
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— [all Scripture emphasis added]

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What words of healing grace will you offer someone today? Each day we come in contact with many people. It could be your child, your husband, your pastor, a stranger at the supermarket, a friend, a elderly person, a neighbor, a gas station attendant. We have words of wisdom that lead to healing grace for them. Will we offer them freely - or are we too busy running our lives to take time to stop and listen?

Looking UPward and Choosing JOY,

Stephanie

[In Flight]