A YEAR-END SURPRISE!

This Downy Woodpecker was at my feeder all day - flying back and forth to the oak tree nearby. Each time I tried to take a picture of him through the window he flew away. I asked the Lord for just ONE PHOTO - and one photo was what I got! This is it! The RED on his head is actually much brighter than it looks in the picture.

Psalm 103
Of David.

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise His holy Name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

22 Praise the LORD, all His works

everywhere in His dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

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*****

Father God--------

You do satisfy us with good things...

May we never forget all your benefits -

nor take for granted Your daily presence in our lives!

Thank you for this past year - for the good circumstances and even for those that were not so easy to deal with. Thank You, because in Your Sovereign plan You have our BEST in Your Heart for us!

Thank You for sustaining us over the last 365 days!

As the New Year rings in on January 1st -

would you usher us into Your Presence

where there is fullness of JOY abounding?

May our hearts be full and overflowing with the Love You have bestowed upon us through the forgiveness we have freely been given at the Cross where Jesus died!

May our lives be in full surrender to Your will and Your ways in this coming year ahead as we depend on the Living Christ who leads and guides us now!

We bless You, our God...

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!"

In the Mighty name of Jesus ~

Amen and Amen!

Merry Christmas from Shepherd's Walk

KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS!

Let your heart be light!

Holy Father---------

Let us rejoice this Christmas

in all that you intended His life to be!

May we know and love the Lord Jesus Christ -

with a heart - fully devoted to Him in the coming year!

May Your Favor rest upon those

who whole-heartedly obey Your will

and Your ways!

Amen!

SNOW in SHEPHERD'S WALK

The Sign Welcomes Those Who Trod Here!

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Confession Station #2 = Washed White As Snow!

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Along the path where the fork is located.

Take the narrow path - the way everlasting!"

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A Little Shepherd Boy with his staff!

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Walking Toward The Sanctuary Circle Jeremiah 6:16

This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it!"

The Banquet is Served

The Gathering of Strangers!

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The Men Gather to Get Acquainted

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Many Smiling Faces

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In my apron - showing off all the snowflake cookies that our group effort produced!

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Bonnie and Donna preparing the Gift Bags ahead of time!

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You will wish you had SMELL-O-VISION when I tell you the food was spectacular. There are several chefs and bakers in my Sunday night Bible study and all of them made the best dishes.

We had Chicken Breast in a Golden Mushroom Sauce [Miss Bonnie's specialty] - that melted in your mouth. Our man, Skip, made Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with his own recipe of apples and cranberries tucked inside. Skip also made a Vegetable Lasagna for the non- meat eaters! Others made Double Baked Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Rice Pilaf, Veggies and Sauteed Golden Delicious Apples [with skins on] - A Garden Salad and a Variety of Biscuits. - That was after the appetizers!

Our hit of the night was the dessert. Our man, Tom, baked a famous [shhhh!] recipe of Bread Pudding with a Special Secret Sauce poured over the top - and it was still warm after baking in the oven for two and a half hours! Yum!

[I had a piece for breakfast this morning!]

I only took a few pictures when people [our strangers] began arriving because I was busy bringing all the food out to our new

Banquet Room

[thanks Alleluiabelle for the title].

So you are only seeing a few of the guests.

We had 31 in all who shared a night of becoming friends!

It was so special to see who God brought and who knew each other from long ago.

At least 6 of the guests knew other guests or other people that were there

but had not seen each other in years.

We've also had another very Special visitor to Shepherd's Walk. I have no picture but... if you 'google' her description you can see her. The day of our first snowfall here in NJ - December 5th - at 2:30AM in the early morning I was awakened and looked out my bedroom window and down below was a White Deer. I had never seen one in my life - and there she was just outside the new Banquet Room windows below. I ran downstairs and put my glasses on because I thought that I must have died and gone to heaven - surely I was in a dream!! A White Albino Deer had come to Shepherd's Walk. I watched her for 30 minutes as she grazed outside all my windows eating acorns. THEN... the night before our banquet as I was still setting up some things I opened the back door [of the new room] - it was already dark and there she was again. She was a little further back toward the woods where SW begins. I got some apples and lettuce cores and said to the Lord, "Lord, You brought the animals to Noah - two by two - surely you can bring this deer closer to me now." I walked outside in the dark with only one spotlight on dropping the apples under a big oak tree where I had last seen her. I began to ponder, "Lord it would be the most special thing if our White deer would be IN Shepherd's Walk along the path one day." Then I walked toward the tree house where the entrance is. I thought I saw her out there but it was just the background of the white sign for SW. I picked up some of the Shepherd Staffs that fell over from the wind. As I leaned them back up against the tree house I heard a noise and as I looked down the path --- there she was!!!!!! Oh my, right there she stood and did not move. She was not spooked, nor did she run away. I walked a little closer and called to her, "Come closer, Girl, it's OK. Don't be afraid, I brought you some apples." We were about 50 feet apart but she just stood there and I stood there talking more with her. [Yes - surely people will want to carry me away to the nut house] But I tell you this white deer is a sign of God's Presence. She is a reminder of the purity we have only in Christ when our sins are washed away - as white as snow. She is a gift that God has given me! Since she first arrived - on the day of our first snowfall - I have appropriately named her

SNOW ANGEL.

Everyone at our dinner was intrigued by the story and many looked out back to see if she was there last night. I know she will be back again! God gives us good gifts - even something as special as a white albino deer who had beat all odds of living [without camouflage] in the wild - exposed to danger and all the elements and predators - yet God has protected her from all harm. He has done that same thing for me.

Perhaps one day I will get a picture of her - when the time is God's timing! Until then... visit this website [not my video] YouTube - Albino Fawn and you can see a younger version of my deer that looks like Miss Snow Angel!

Isaiah 1:18-19
18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; ..."

Where STRANGERS become FRIENDS

Psalm 139:13-14

13 For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

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Luke 14:15 NLT

Parable of the Great Feast

15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed,

“What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”
16 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests,

‘Come, the banquet is ready.’

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****************

Matthew 25:34-36 (NIV)
34"Then the King will say to those on his right,

'Come, you who are blessed by My Father;

take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you

since the creation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat,

I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,

I was a stranger and you invited me in...

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A group of us from my Sunday Night Bible study

[that meets here at Shepherd's Walk]

have planned

a special banquet meal

to serve to our guests we have invited over the past few weeks

- many of them strangers to us.

Our desire is to simple make them feel 'special'...

uniquely made by God - as He sees them

and to cultivate relationships where there were none.

***********

*********************

Our theme:

SNOWFLAKES

Like a snowflake - God has made us each unique!

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Father God ---

As we have planned this banquet will You bring those we've invited from the grocery store, the barber shop, the bank, the gas station, from work, our neighborhoods, the strangers.... so that we can become friends?

Would you bless this special time of year as we celebrate the birth of the

Living King - JESUS?

In Whose Name I pray, Amen!

*************

Will YOU pray for our STRANGERS to FRIENDS banquet meal?

A THANKFUL HEART!

John 1:16

From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.

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Thanksgiving Prayer Station at Shepherd's Walk

Colossians 3:14-16
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

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Psalm 100:4

Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise;

give thanks to Him and praise His Name.

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Exodus 23:16
"Celebrate the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits

of the crops you sow in your field.

"Celebrate the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year,

when you gather in your crops from the field.

Psalm 111:1

The Message

Hallelujah! I give thanks to God with everything I've got— Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation. God's works are so great, worth a lifetime of study—endless enjoyment! Splendor and beauty mark His craft; His generosity never gives out. His miracles are His memorial— This God of Grace, this God of Love. He gave food to those who fear Him, He remembered to keep His ancient promise. He proved to His people that He could do what He said: Hand them the nations on a platter—a gift! He manufactures truth and justice; All His products are guaranteed to last— Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof. All that He makes and does is honest and true: He paid the ransom for His people, He ordered His Covenant kept forever. He's so personal and holy, worthy of our respect. The good life begins in the fear of God— Do that and you'll know the blessing of God. His Hallelujah lasts forever!

[all Scripture emphasis added]

FALL IS A TIME for RENEWAL

Psalm 103
Of David.
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy Name.
2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

EL ELYON -

You are so far beyond what we can ever ask or imagine. You move in ways that are mysterious! Your ways and Your plans are better than anything we could create for ourselves. In our weakness, God, would you give us Your strength for our days ahead? Would you renew our strength like that of an eagle? Would you show us Your love and compassion and bring glory to Your Holy Name as we seek to please You in all that we say and do! We praise and bless You this day,

GOD MOST HIGH!

In Jesus' Name, Amen!

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A WEDDING AT SWEETBRIAR

15th Wedding Anniversary

Wedding Vows Renewal Ceremony

in

SHEPHERD'S WALK

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A special wedding took place here on Sunday, September 27th

celebrating Tom and Bonnie's 15 years together.

Tom and Bonnie were married on September 24th - 15 years ago

by a justice of the peace.

They both recently committed their lives to Christ

in full surrender to Him.

It was their deep desire to be married in the eyes of God in the Sanctuary Circle.

****************

The ceremony was officiated by

Reverend William McCausland

Bonnie and Tom were surrounded by family and friends.

A dinner was given in their honor here at

SHEPHERD'S WALK

following the joyful ceremony.

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Bonnie's daughter-in-law, Dawn Morris, was also

saved and baptized recently

and she attends our Thursday night Believing God Bible Study.

Dawn was the photographer for this event.

Please check out the rest of her story on her blog post and website:

Click here: Love get stronger after 15 years! « Dawn Morris Photography

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You can read Dawn's version of the day's events including how our Great God broke through the rain and the storm to open up the sun-filled sky - only 2 hours before the wedding!

HE IS OUR FAITHFUL GOD!

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Bonnie and Tom are a pair of SHEPHERD'S WALK most faithful volunteers!

It has been an exciting privilege to watch them both grow in Christ

and walk His Path of Righteousness together.

Our CARI is WITH JESUS!

Cari Ashford went home to be with Jesus on September 22nd, 2009.

Please stop by her blog site:

http://www.undomestic.blogspot.com/

to give your blessings and condolences to her family.

She leaves behind her parents, siblings,

a husband and three precious children.

*************************************************

Luke 19:9-10

9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this [woman], too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

*******************************************************

Cari traded in Christ's HEM

[that she was clinging to]

- for HIM!

Coming Up Saturday - SEPTEMBER 19th

DAY of PRAYER
in

SHEPHERD'S WALK

at Sweetbriar

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Here in a wooded prayer path

in the Southern New Jersey Pines Barrens

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on Saturday

September 19th
9AM-10AM....2PM-3PM....and 7PM-9PM

This is an informal ADULT gathering of friends

[by invitation]

3 time slots in this day for prayer... coming!

If you live near [or will be near] the Southern NJ Shore -

SW is located just 20 minutes from OC, NJ

...leave a comment with your e-Mail and get directions.

We are

CALLING ON THE NAME OF THE LORD

and expecting much from Him that day!

Will you join us here in spirit if you cannot attend in person?

Come with your prayer requests, and scriptures verses to read and share

[even on this Blog that day].

We will be singing at the evening prayer time - so sing with us.

Please prepare your hearts ahead of time

as we will be preparing ours

with these scriptures:

Daniel 9:4-19

[Daniel's Prayer of Confession]

Read and prayer this and make it personal

by substituting your name in place of Daniel's

and making it [I] instead of [we]

as you pray ahead of time to prepare your heart.

Psalm 77:1-15

2 Chronicles 7:14

1 Kings 18:20-39

We will be praying for

our country,

our servicemen, for needs of others,

for the salvation of loved ones in our families,

and for God to grow us from within

and fill our hearts with His plans and purposes

as we seek to know Him more.

"By the grace of God I am what I am,

and His grace toward me was not in vain…"

~ 1 Corinthians 15:10

There is only one relationship that really matters,

and that is your personal relationship

with your personal Redeemer and Lord.

If you maintain that at all costs,

letting go of everything else,

God will fulfill His purpose through your life.

One individual life may be of priceless value

to God's purposes,

and yours

may be that life.

~ Oswald Chambers
*******

PRAYING ... IN PATHS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
For His Name's Sake

BLOG AWARD - And A Presentation!

This award came to me at SHEPHERD'S WALK today from my dear friend Edie, over at:

http://richgifts.blogspot.com

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This is one of the most precious awards [that none of us deserves]. Prayer is such an unexplainable PRIVILEGE that God gives us - to participate in His kingdom work. Thank you, Edie, for blessing me with this honor as we join together in siber space and PRAYER!

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I never go by the 'rules' on award giving. Usually - you are asked to pass this on to 7 or 10 people. I always pass on any award to just one person. Today I wish to present this award to a special blogging friend, Yolanda, from Kansas, over at:

http://yolanda-highergrounds.blogspot.com

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Yolanda and I go way back to the first days of blogging together. She is a beautifully RESTORED sister in the faith and her heart for PRAYER has become a yearning in her soul that she takes very seriously. So with JOY - I pass this award on to her. Yolanda, may your prayers continue for those who cross your path. May God continue to richly bless your life and pour His FAVOR over you!

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PRAYER... activates what God has already purposed in your life! ~ TRUTHSHARER @2007

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Choosing JOY, Stephanie

[JESUS - For His Name's Sake]

A DOUBLE PORTION of STRENGTH

Please be in prayer for these dear friends this day.

* Bella-Mella @ http://bellamella-melanie.blogspot.com/

needs a miracle for her son, Andrew.

* Cari @ http://www.undomestic.blogspot.com/

is in her final days awaiting her Savior's return...

* Alleluiahbelle @ http://www.alleluiabelle.blogspot.com/

needs a miracle and much prayer for her husband Ron.

* A little girl named Brena [whose favorite color is GREEN] - needs your prayers that she will not

"lose her faith" [her own words] or her hope in our great God. May God continue to show her His faithfulness!

Please lift each of these precious ones before the Throne of GRACE this day!

Father------

Would You comfort those who care for these loved ones? Would You grant mercy and grace to those who need a miracle - not to know a miracle - but to know YOU deeper? Would You come quickly to those who are on the threshold of heaven's door and take hold of the hand that awaits Your touch? Would You sustain all those who are weary and laiden and give them REST and peace and JOY in Your Presence?

We ask humbly, Father, in the Name above all Names,

JESUS CHRIST!

Amen and Amen!

CALL on the NAME of the LORD

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PRAYER

"The day you call on the Name of the LORD,

you will be set free."

**************

Genesis 4:26

Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.

At that time men began to call on the name of the LORD.

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Psalm 116:13,17

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the LORD.

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Zephaniah 3:9

"Then will I purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the Name of the LORD and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

***********************

Are you hurting? In trouble? Distressed? Sorrowful? In pain? Lacking insight? Dry?

***********************************

Will you - TODAY -

CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD - JESUS CHRIST

and trust Him with your life, your problems, your family, your finances, your circumstances, your commitments?

*********************

Lord Jesus---

We lift our hands and hearts to You this day and we call upon Your Name!

The Name above every Name!

The matchless Name of Jesus!

Hear our praise for Who You Are.

We confess our sin and our inability to love You apart from Your grace and Your forgiveness through the blood of Jesus Christ.

We offer our thanks to You in advance for what You are about to do.

Come and answer us when we pray our supplication and petition before You.

For YOU ALONE ARE GOD!

Meet us right now in this place and answer us as we call!

In Jesus' Name,

Amen and Amen!

LET YOUR HEALING COME!

Matthew 8:5-11

The Faith of the Centurion

5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, asking for help. 6"Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."

7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."

LIVING SACRIFICES

Wild huckleberries bushes carpet the woods of SHEPHERD'S WALK right now. The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Several guests were visiting this weekend. I suggested they might like me to make huckleberry pancakes for breakfast this morning. They loved the idea but only one soul was willing to pick the harvest [with me] so we could make them. The berries are in abundance but some are not easy to get to - they are small - and it takes TIME to pick them - especially enough for a batch of pancakes. But the two of us persevered. And the result... was a delicious breakfast of scrumptious huckleberry pancakes!

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Matthew 9:36-39

When [Jesus] saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples,

"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest , therefore; to send out workers into His harvest field." [emphasis added]

Those huckleberries reminded me of the 'living sacrifices" that God asks us to be. They gave their lives to be made into pancakes for others to eat and enjoy. Are we as willing?

Lord Jesus ---

Make us willing LIVING SACRIFICES - a people of prayer - a people of giving - a people ready to lay down our lives for the sake of another. May others "taste and see that the LORD is good". And Lord, when the harvest is ripe and plentiful - give us willing hearts to participate in Your kingdom purposes to bring in that harvest so that none are lost!

Declaring His PRAISE today!

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EXTOL HIM today!

Challenge for this day:

Look up all the verses in your Bible that declare to EXTOL the LORD, your God , and DO just that - where you are, in your offices, in your home, on your porch, backyard, swimming pool, vacation home, school, lunch break, in your car [parked of course]. Write them down on 3x5 cards or in your prayer journals - somewhere where you can pull them out and use them again weekly if not daily!

Then read and study this passage [below] on your own. Learn how the Israelites learned to fight the enemy with PRAISE. You can too! Take God at His Word. I could do all the work for you and type it all in here but we all need to spend time IN God's Word [in our own Bibles] and in prayer and praise. So please join me and others in this challenge.

2 Chronicles 20

Leading in with the Praise Band

Lastly: Join me in memorizing a simple yet profound verse:

Isaiah 12:3

WITH JOY...

you will draw water

from the wells of salvation!

The LORD enjoys your PRAISE and ADORATION!

I welcome your comments, praise and prayers here today!

BE BLESSED!

They're Back!

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Genesis 1:19-21
19 And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

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One year ago on July 15th, 2008 - this pair of winged beauties came to visit the feeder here at SW. Today they returned in full color and glory. I praise God for the detail of His creation which makes me ponder how much He loves each and every one of us individually! He is Creator God!

Prayer Station #1 = ADORATION

PRAYER STATION #1 = ADORATION

As we continue to prepare each 'prayer station' - here at Shepherd's Walk - it is our goal to bring the 4 main prayer stations under the acrostic...

A

C

T

S

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Adoration / Confession

Thanksgiving / Supplication

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Psalm 22:22-24

[The Message]

Here's the story I'll tell my friends when the come [here] to worship,

and punctuate it with Hallelujahs:

Shout Hallelujah, you God-Worshipers;

give glory, you sons of Jacob;

ADORE HIM,

you daughters of Israel.

He has never let you down,

never looked the other way

when you were being kicked around.

He has never wandered off to do His own thing;

He has been right there, listening.

God's LOGO for SHEPHERD'S WALK

CHRIST

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THE LILY

*****

THE TRINITY

***

PURE GOLD of PURPLE ROYALTY
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1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people,

a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

a people belonging to God,

that you may declare the praises of Him

who called you out of darkness

into His wonderful light.

THE LIFE LOOK

From The Valley of Vision

A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions

O, GOD,
I bless Thee for the happy moment
when I first say Thy law fulfilled in Christ,
wrath appeased, death destroyed, sin forgiven,
my soul saved.
Ever since, Thou hast been faithful to me:
daily have I proved the power of Jesus' blood,
daily have I known the strength of the Spirit,
my Teacher, Director, Sanctifier.
I want no other Rock to build upon that that I have,
desire no other hope than that of the gospel truth,
need no other look than that which gazes
on the cross.
Forgive me if I have tried to add anything
to the one foundation,
if I have unconsciously relied upon my knowledge,
experience, deeds, and not seen them
as filthy rags,
if I have attempted to complete what is perfect
in Christ;
May my cry be always , Only Jesus! Only Jesus!
In Him is freedom from condemnation,
fullness in His righteousness,
eternal valitity in His given life,
indissoluble union in fellowship with Him;
In Him I have all that I can hold;
enlarge me to take in more.
If I backslide,
let me like Peter week bitterly and return to Him;
If I am tempted, have no wit,
give me strength enough to trust in Him;
If I am weak,
may I faint upon His bosom of eternal love;
If in extremity,
let me feel that He can deliver me;
If driven to the verge of hope and to the pit
of despair,
grant me grace to fall into His arms.
O God, hear me, do for me more
than I ask, think or dream.

Amen and Amen!

A Good Spring Cleaning

The Sign in SHEPHERD'S WALK Reads:

Forgiveness is like the fragrance a flower gives off ~

when it has been trampled under foot.

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I posted this same sign last winter when snow covered the edges of the sign and the trees were void of their leaves. Forgiveness is for all seasons and usually if we are allowing God to cleanse us deeply in a good 'spring cleaning' we will find some unforgiveness behind some dusty bookshelf that we had no idea we had missed. Time to do a thorough cleaning. Jesus is doing the washing.

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John 13:6-17

6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, "Lord, are You going to wash my feet?"
7Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
8 "No," said Peter, "You shall never wash my feet."

Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me."
9 "Then, Lord," Simon Peter replied, "not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!"
10 Jesus answered, "A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you." 11 For he knew who was going to betray Him, and that was why He said not every one was clean.
12 When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" He asked them. 13 "You call Me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet.

15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.

16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master,

nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

[emphasis added]

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Jesus~

We are in desperate need for forgiveness of the things we have neglected to expel

from our own lives - especially that of unforgiveness toward another.

Help us this day to allow You to wash us,

and cleanse us so that we may go out

and offer that same forgiveness to another

this day.

In Your Holy Name,

Amen!

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

Dearest Prayer Warriors:

I Praise God for all those who prayed for Debbie last night at our prayer meeting as well as all over the country - in homes - in your car - in your own Bible studies and at your churches.
This afternoon when I went to visit her again - she still didn't open her eyes or respond to me. I sat on her bed for quite awhile and just read scripture to her, then prayed for her, then turned up the praise music that others had brought.

Then I got in her face and I began talking to her. I kept saying my name to her and asking her if she could hear me. I asked her if she could say my name. Her eyes began to flutter like she was really trying to open them. So I encouraged her to open her eyes. I said to her, "Come on Debbie, come back 'to the land of the living' and open those eyes for me. Can you say my name? Can you say, Stephanie?"

Then she opened her eyes and whispered my name. I almost jumped off the bed. I asked her about another friend, Kate. I told her that Kate was there earlier in the morning along with her other good friends too. "Can you say Kate?" She whispered Kate's name. Then she began to cry and talk with me. We cried together and talked as she fought her way back into the land of the living. By the time her husband came in - she was fully awake again and she ate almost two full dinner meals that were left on the tray for her and her husband. We got her up and walked her a bit too. After more than 10 days of being in that catatonic coma - God brought her back - through YOUR prayers!

She has a really long road ahead. Please keep praying that she does not go back inside herself. Pray for her family in the decisions that they have to make tomorrow about her further care.

Her other friends, Dee and another Stephanie really pulled together to get the prayer ball rolling in the last few days. We need to bathe her in prayer from now on.

Many of you have left messages and e-Mails wondering how she is. Her father brought her two young daughters to the hospital before I left and the reunion was a special time.

It was amazing to see how God's people have pulled together for this family in prayer and support to help them. God kept showing several scriptures over and over.
It was these:

Psalm 139 the entire psalm but these verses in particular:
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

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Psalm 63:7-8
7 Because You are my help,
I sing in the shadow of Your wings.
8 My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.

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2 Corinthians 4:16 [The Message]
16 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.

Choosing Great JOY,

Stephanie
[JESUS - the One I Worship]