"8-year-old Różyczka Goździewska, the youngest nurse in the Warsaw Uprising in WW2. She helped as an assistant in the field hospital by bringing water to the injured, chasing away flies and serving as a source of happiness."

When the gates swing open wide to let Rozyczka enter into her eternal home, can't you hear the voices of all in heaven sing out "Bless this saint, she chased away flies!!!! She gave a cup of cold water! and she served the living Christ as a source of happiness for wounded and lonely soldiers. Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be!!!!!!

 

  Evangelism is a noble and heroic work! To seek the lost, last and the least; to be busy looking for pale and jaundiced hearts beaten down by abuse or sin, to delve into the deeps of the heart and point the anguished towards Christ, this is a work above all others! 

I read this poem that illustrates gospel work so well.

   

Who are they that - 

"Pluck bright glory from the pale-faced moon,

Or dive into the bottom of the deep,

Where fathom-line could never touch the ground,

and drag up drowned honor by the locks!" 

William Mathews, LL.D.

 

"Oh how God loves to reveal Himself to those who long to know Him. I don't care where you are or whom you're with, you may be in a cult or in the midst of great errors, but if you have a heart that longs to know God He will pierce the darkness and disclose Himself. 

Ever seeking, ever loving, always calling. 

It reminds me of a quote by John Wesley, "I want to know one thing -- the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore. God Himself has condescended to teach the way, for this very end He came from heaven. He has written it down in a book. O give me that book!!!!! At any price, give me the book of God!'

Read the Bible, it's good for the soul.

Overcoming depression

 Overcoming depression requires a multifaceted approach.                  The following post comes from the National Suicide Prevention Line; and it contains such good advice. Of course this is a secular piece that contains no references to religion or the power of it; but this is simple and practical helps for our well being.

DEPRESSION TIPS:

Shower. Not a bath, a shower. Use water as hot or cold as you like. You don’t even need to wash. Just get in under the water and let it run over you for a while. Sit on the floor if you gotta.

Moisturize everything. Use whatever lotion you like.

Put on clean, comfortable clothes.

Drink cold water. Use ice. If you want, add some mint or lemon for an extra boost.

Clean something. Doesn’t have to be anything big. Organize one drawer of a desk. Wash five dirty dishes. Do a load of laundry. Scrub the bathroom sink.

Blast music. Listen to something upbeat and dancy and loud, something that’s got lots of energy. Sing to it, dance to it, even if you suck at both.

Make food. Don’t just grab a granola bar to munch. Take the time and make food. Even if it’s ramen. Add something special to it, like a soft boiled egg or some veggies. Prepare food, it tastes way better, and you’ll feel like you accomplished something.

Make something. Write a short story or a poem, draw a picture, color a picture, fold origami, crochet or knit, sculpt something out of clay, anything artistic. Even if you don’t think you’re good at it. Create.

Go outside. Take a walk. Sit in the grass. Look at the clouds. Smell flowers. Put your hands in the dirt and feel the soil against your skin.

Call someone. Call a loved one, a friend, a family member, call a chat service if you have no one else to call. Talk to a stranger on the street. Have a conversation and listen to someone’s voice. If you can’t bring yourself to call, text or email or whatever, just have some social interaction with another person. Even if you don’t say much, listen to them. It helps.  

 May seem small or silly to some, but this list keeps people alive. 

* At your absolute best you won’t be good enough for the wrong people. But at your worst, you’ll still be worth it to the right ones. Remember that. Keep holding on. 

* In case nobody has told you today I Love you and you are worth your weight and then some in gold, so be kind to yourself and most of all keep pushing on!!!!

***People don’t fake depression.. they fake being ok.

Find something to be grateful for!

US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Hours: Available 24 hours. Languages: English, Spanish. 

800-273-8255

 Overcoming sin by Grace. 

The Kingdom of God, and the holiness and virtue of it, is not gained by our power, resolve or persistence. "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power." 

The message of victory and purity isn't a message of self-control, programs, accountability partners or practical attempts, as good as they may be. Paul declared, "my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." 

Our faith begins, grows and overcomes "not by might nor by power but by My Spirit,' says the Lord. 

When we come to Christ we are 'born again' by the Spirit, and we are to continue to walk in that Spirit to achieve the holiness, peace, power and the joy Christ promises.

 So don't come by the Spirit and expect to overcome by your determination; "Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?""We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."  

1 Cor. 4:20, 1 Cor. 2:4-5, Zech. 4:6, Gal. 3:3, 1 Cor. 1:23-24

When I first started in Children's ministries I wrote this poem.

Feed my Lambs

When I watch children at play

inspired by their innocence

drawn by their laughter

giggles and fun,

I understand a little better

the purity of, and the entrance to

The Kingdom.

Oh to help in some way!

To guard the heart

to guide the path

and spare the sorrow

that comes when we leave His way.

To add one stepping stone,

To lay one line, one precept or principle

that broadens the entrance

for one child.

Let me taste the freshness of childhood,

Let me share the freely given love,

Let me take the infectious joy,

But most of all, let me give -

The bread of life

and help feed His little lambs.

 "There is something in our human nature which engages us to take part in every accident to which man is subject, from what cause soever it may have happened; but in such calamities as a man has fallen into through mere misfortune, to be charged upon on no fault or indiscretion of himself, there is something then so truly interesting -- that at the first sight we generally make them our own, not altogether from a reflection that they might have been, or may be so, but oftener from a certain generosity and readiness of nature which disposes us for compassion, abstracted from all considerations of self; so that without any observable act of the will, we suffer with the unfortunate, and feel a weight upon our spirits, we know not why, on seeing the most common instances of their distress. 

 Now where the spectacle is uncommonly tragic and complicated with many circumstances of misery, the mind is then taken captive at once, and, were it inclined to it, has not power to make resistance, but surrenders itself to all the tender emotions of pity and deep concern. 

So that when one considers this friendly part of our nature, without looking farther, one would think it impossible for man to look upon misery without finding himself in some measure attached to the interest of him who suffers it -- I say, one would think it impossible -- but there are some tempers - how shall I describe them? formed either of such impenetrable matter, or wrought up by habitual selfishness to such an utter insensibility of what becomes of the fortunes of their fellow creatures, as if they were not partakers of the same nature, or had no lot or connection with the species." Sterne.