A Home Is A House Full Of Love

Below is a devotional also written by my good friend Mrs. B. Upton. This was written a few years ago when she was the guest speaker at one of our ladies meetings. This devotional was such a blessing to me that I asked her if she cared if I reprinted it. Mrs. B. is one of the most godly ladies I know. She is a joy to be near and you can always see Christ in her countenance. She has been through numerous trials, some very heartbreaking, yet she fully trusts the Lord through it all. What a godly example. I know this devotional will be a blessing to you too! If you have a hard time reading any of this you can click on the individual pages and them will come up larger. You can find one of her CD’s here . Listen to some samples and buy one. She sings from the depths of her soul!

The following testimony is an amazing story of our newest grandson, Caleb and the trials that his daddy and mommy experienced at his birth. The testimony is written by Caleb's daddy. James 1:16-17 Says: “Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Before our Son Caleb was born, I had a different understanding of these verses. Now, you might think that Caleb is the "good gift" that I'm thinking of when I quote these verses and indeed he is a very good gift for which I am thankful. When he was born as many of you know, he had problems, his lungs were not quite ready to breath air. As a result, he had to spend two weeks in the Infant ICU at Carolina's Medical Center in Charlotte. My immediate thought when I realized what was happening was why me? These things happen to other people, but not to me. I also kept thinking to mysel...

Are you facing trials recently?   How can you be prepared for a fiery trial.  What should you expect?  Hear a sermon by Pastor Chuck Phelps on Fiery Trials when he preached at Ambassador Baptist College 2011 Bible Conference. How To Survive the Devastating Fire You can find other sermons from Ambassador Baptist College HERE. How Firm a Foundation ~Words: From A Se­lect­ion of Hymns from the Best Au­thors, by John Rip­pon , 1787; at­trib­ut­ed var­i­ous­ly to John Keene, Kirk­ham, and John Keith. via cyberhymnal 1. How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord, Is laid for your faith in his excellent word; What more can he say than to you he hath said? You, who unto Jesus, for refuge have fled. 2. In ev'ry condition - in sickness in health, In poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth, At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea, As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be. 3. “Fear not, I am with thee; O be not dismaye...

Can burdens be a gift from God?  Maybe so.  They teach us to obey by casting those burdens on the Lord.  He is the one who sustains and keeps us stedfast and solid on the Rock of all ages. Psalms 55:22  Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. When we are burdened through trials we have a haven of rest.  We can come to the Lord, be attached to His yoke, learning more of Him. Because his yoke is easy, (“That rest which the soul experiences when once safe under Christ's wing makes all yokes easy, all burdens light.” Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary ) this truly gives rest to our souls. Matthew 11:28-30  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. As we are burdened through different trials we fin...

The doctors believe they have been able to diagnose Esther's condition.   They believe it is a condition called "pyoderma gangrenosum" which is often associated with an auto-immune disease such as her ulcerative colitis.   They have just begun treating her with extremely high dosages of Prednisone.  However, this treatment will also kill her immune system, putting her in great danger of a secondary infection, which would be a very high possibility considering the living conditions in that area of Brazil.  Pray for wisdom as to whether or not they should return to the states.     Please pray for the treatment to take effect and that she would be protected from any secondary diseases.  If you don't receive Jeremy's updates I have copied it below so you can see the latest on Esther.  Thank you all once again for your continued prayers.      Yesterday morning we sent out a request for Esther's condition with the ul...

This has been a week!  We never know what one day might bring.  Our 13th grandbaby was born on Tuesday! Caleb Lay came into the world weighing 6.9 pounds and 20” long.  Everything checked out fine except  that he was having breathing problems.  He  had to be air lifted to a children's hospital in Charlotte.  He looked so pitiful hooked up to all those machines, but we are sure thankful for the doctors and the technology these days that can save so many little lives.  He seemed to be doing better in just a short while and then one of his little lungs began collapsing and they had to do some risky procedures on him.  Praise the Lord for opportunities during this time.  My son was able to tell the doctor that this little guy had been given to the Lord and it was the Lord who decided between life and death.  They told the doctors to do what they thought was best and they would ask the Lord to guide his decisions and his hands.  Go...

“Trials make the promise sweet; Trials give new life to prayer; Trials bring me to His feet Lay me low, and keep me there.” ~Spurgeon "Prayer makes the darken'd cloud withdraw; Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw; Gives exercise to faith and love; Brings every blessing from above." ~Spurgeon

God is so good.  I must remember that God is good all the time no matter the circumstances.  Recently, my son and daughter in law moved to Brazil as missionaries and oh the trials they have gone through just since moving in March.  Our daughter in law has had some serious health problems with colitis and then contracted a bacterial infection.  We wonder why,  but don't question God for we know He knows what He is doing.  He is at work in their lives as well as ours.  We are thankful for their attitudes and their strength in the Lord through all of this.  In and through all of it, as Job, they have not "charged God foolishly"  but have put their trust in Him and not leaned to their own understanding.  You can read more detail on their blog " Lockhart Life In Brazil " Job 1:21-22  And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of t...