God is STILL running this world!

Is anyone out there discouraged about the course of our country? I love America. God planted in the hearts of brave men and women in the past to build this country from the bottom up. What a shame to what it has come. I pray that God will have mercy on us. This evening, I spent some time kindav praying/reading through Psalm 37. I would encourage anyone to read this chapter. Here we see what is coming for the wicked. They will be cut down like the grass; they will whither as the green herb, we will look for them but they will be gone. It certainly seems that evil is winning.
But, God is still on the throne. He delights to do great things in difficult circumstances. He loves to come through at the last minute! He enjoys winning big victories with small groups of His own. Think with me for a moment. Remember David and Goliath? David didn't have much to fight with in the human. He was a young man, much shorter than the giant, Goliath. But, he came in the name of the Lord and the victory was won. Think about Gideon and his small band of 300 soldiers. The victory was won with only this handful. The secret? They had God on their side! We too, can have God on our side.
While Satan and his cronies are having their heyday, we can be sure of one thing. Their heyday is going to be very short lived. The day is coming, maybe sooner than we think, when they WILL be cut down and whither away. You can be sure of it!
Remember this little chorus??
"God's still running this world.
God's still running this world.
Satan said he thought he could,
God said he never would.
God's still running this world."

"When God Says No, He has a Greater Yes"

Hello, everyone! Yesterday was our Ladies' Retreat here in Kansas City, which we had been planning for since last year! The day went off so well! We had over 80 ladies attend. There was something like 18 different churches represented. Wow! God really came and blessed and annointed our main speaker, Sandy Adams as well as our other speaker Ruby Mays Rice. They both spoke around our theme "When God Says No, He has a Greater Yes." Examples from the Bible and from moderm times were given. It was wonderful to be a part of such an event. A lovely lunch was fixed by Gloria Meyers and her daughter Suzy. I am so grateful for all who prayed and helped in any way. May God have the glory.

Lean upon the Savior...

Greetings, everyone. Here are four beautiful reasons why I, Sharmen, need to lean on my Savior, Jesus. These are my three beautiful nieces, Luanna, Esther, Juli and my adorable nephew, Karson. What kind of a world are they going to have to grow up in? I have been worried and discouraged about our country and this election. I need to focus and refocus on Jesus. He has helped many through much more difficult times.

Last evening, I went to church as they are having some special services this week. One of the songs we sang was "Where He Leads, I'll Follow." The third verse is very apt right now...
"List to His loving words, 'Come unto me.'
Weary, heavyladen, there is sweet rest for thee.
Trust in His promises, faithful and sure;
Lean upon the Savior, and thy soul is secure."

Jesus will take care of me!!! He will see me through. He has not forgotten me or you, either one. "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you." I Peter 5:7

We Need to Pray

Hello, everyone, as summer turns into fall, our presidential election is getting very close. Perhaps you are weary with all the campaign adds, campaign flyers, yard signs, etc. My friends, I'm ready to elect the next president of the United States, John S. McCain! But, before we start the celebrations, we need to remember that God holds the key.
I believe that we need to pray. Not only for the election, but for our country in general. It just seems there is so much wickedness all around. So many people live as if there is no God, and no judgment. We need to pray that God's will might be done in this election. I know what I want God's will to be, but maybe He has other ideas. My hope and prayer is that God will have mercy on us. Just as Abraham prayed for God to have mercy on Sodom and Gomorrah, I hope that He will have mercy on us. America has been Israel's friend, and God used our former president, Harry S. Truman, as an instrument to help in the establishment of the nation of Israel. Then, there are the many missionaries who have gone out from America to spread the Gospel. There is the American Bible Society and the Gideons who are laboring from America, to spread copies of the Bible around the world. There have been many times, when America has stepped in to help others with financial and material gifts. May God have mercy on us.

GO MCCAIN/PALIN!

Greetings, everyone!!! What a tremendous day! Last night, I found out that John McCain and Sarah Palin would be in Lee's Summit, MO this morning. My brother and his two girls, my mom, and my grandma and her husband and myself made out way over into Missouri to the John Knox Village where the rally was to be held. We also met up with my Uncle Vernon and his wife Joan. We stood in line forever, and finally ended up in an overflow area outside as the building was filling up! You talk about excitement! People were pumped up! We got within 50 feet of McCain and Sarah. It was really nice, because they stopped outside and briefly greeted us and shook some hands before going into the auditorium. The crowd hollered and carried on. There were probably upwards of 4,000 people all total including the people inside and out. As you scroll down, you will also see a picture of Carl Cameron from Fox News. Enjoy! And don't forget to vote! (just make sure you vote for the right ticket!)

Trusting God

Hello, everyone,
We continue to have this most wonderful August weather...so unusual this time of year. I wanted to share another book quote with you. I recently read the new book, "Lies Young Women Believe and the Truth that Sets Them Free." This is a collaborative effort by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Dannah Gresh. An excellent book for both younger as well as older ladies.
One of the lies that we believe is that we feel that things should always go our way! After all, aren't we the center of the universe? Actually, as Nancy and Dannah write "It's not about me, it's all about Him (Colossians 1:16-18; Revelation 4:11)! The world was not created to revolve around us. The entire universe was created to revolve around Christ. If our goal in life is to be happy or accepted or loved, then anything that threatens our well-being will be an enemy-an obstacle to fulfilling our objective. On the other hand, once we agree with God that we exist for His pleasure and His glory, we can accept whatever comes into our live as part of His sovereign will and purpose. We will not resent, resist, or reject the 'hard things,' but embrace them as 'friends,' designed by God to make us like Jesus and to bring glory to Himself."
Very thought provoking! We spend so much time in our lives trying to figure out how things will make us look better, feel better or whatever. I need to focus and refocus on how God wants to bring glory to Himself in my life through whatever difficult things I may be facing. Your thoughts?

Dealing with Life's Disappointments

Hello, everyone,
It is a beautiful day here in Overland Park, KS. Our weather has been so lovely lately. I'm not working today, so I have been puttering around here. Haven't gotten as much done today as I wanted to. Oh well, tomorrow is a new day and I'll be back to work.
Have you ever been disappointed? We all have. I have just recently been going through a disappointing situation in my own life. How do we deal with that? A friend of mine pointed out a passage in one of the books that I have listed in my favorites section, "Classic Christianity" by Bob George. In the following quote from this book, Mr. George is speaking of the necessity of the Christian to live out Romans 12:1-2 in his life. This is the passage where Paul exhorts us to present our bodies as a living sacrifice completely to God, so that we may be transformed by God's power. Mr. George is saying that we must surrender all of our rights in this life to God and then live with a thankful spirit. "One of the most fundamental things that we are surrendering to Christ is all claim to personal rights...I'm talking about things we tend to demand from life-things like a right to happiness, the right to be noticed, the right for life to be fair, the right to be appreciated, the right to get my own way. There's a very simple reason why this must be so: You can't hold on to rights and maintain a thankful spirit at the same time. The essence of a life of faith is a thankful heart."
Whoa! I have no rights! That is exactly right. I have no rights. I must give them all to Jesus. When I do that, I am free from being disappointed when I don't get my way! When I do receive gifts, I can be thankful for these "extra things." This is a hard teaching, but one we must seek to embrace.
I would like to hear any of your thoughts on this subject. Write and tell me how you have been learning to live this out in your own life.