The Blood of Christ

I was reading through an old bible study lesson I had attended at my church. I had saved it because it was so good. It was about the blood of Christ. It talked about how the blood speaks (Genesis 4:10, Herews 12:24, and Hebrews 9:11-15 and 21-26). It is such a cool thought that it "speaks" to us. My mind automatically went to God creating the heavens and the earth with just a word spoken and it was done. Words are powerful. Words can harm and they can heal. We must be careful with them. We alone, of God's creations (animals) have been given the gift of speech. (Yes, my writer aspirations and speech-pathology ways are seeping out of my thoughts again, sorry---I love words!) Anyway, that just struck me as powerful. That is why the blood does all the work and we don't have to, we can't/couldn't even if we tried. Salvation is a gift, bought by our precious savior. Thank you Jesus! By His stripes and by his blood we are healed. We just have to accept the gift.

Blood is the universal symbol of life and that is what Jesus gave us...His blood, His life, His standing with God as a beloved child of God, an heir. God gave His son to reconcile us. Another word is "atonement" or as you can think "at-one-ment". It makes us one with God and takes away the effects of sin that separates us from God. Now we have "at-one-ment" with Him.

Now, since Jesus has spoken for us through his blood, shouldn't we speak for him and tell others the good news? We should freely share the blessings that our Lord is doing in our life. Be not ashamed for He is not ashamed of you. In our retched state of sin He stepped in and spoke for us, died for us and saved us. Would you do the same for someone else? You don't have to shed your blood, just tell them about the one who already did!

Little Blessings

HAPPY SPRING BREAK! I hope everyone is having a great time and enjoying the extra time with family, especially the kids. I know I am. What a blessing! Sam's latest phase is to tell me that he "changed up his mind" (changed his mind). He also likes to frequently tell me that "I'ts ok mom, it's nothing you need to worry about." He also likes to pretend to be a circus cat named FaahAaahAaah or a dog that lives in my purse (a blanket he wraps himself up in) named Freejah. Yes life is definitely entertaining.

Max, on the other hand, is having epiphanies that he explains to me. The current one occured when I was driving. An elderly person was in front of us and not driving well, as if they didn't know where they were going. Max was frustrated and wanted to know why. He hates any traffic to slow us down and complains about it. I told him that when people get older they have a harder time remembering things and sometimes forget. His face lit up with a deep understanding as it all clicked for him. Then he said "Oh, that's why daddy is so much smarter than you, because you are older than him." Yes I am 3 1/2 years older than my husband, but I didn't think that I was so, so, so "not smart". I was livid. I quickly explained that daddy was not smarter than me, that we were both smart, just in different ways. Max acted like he felt bad and told me it was ok. But that dad was always the one who had to fix things because I didn't know how. To my consternation he was right. Ugh!!! Yes my ego was shot that day. Anyway, my husband got a kick out of it. I had to admit later that it really was funny.

Sam has been asking frequently about why we can't see God and Jesus. I told him that we can't see the wind or air, but that we can see its affects when it moves things. This is how God and Jesus work. When he still kept asking, I also reminded him that our eyes don't work well, but when we die and go to heaven we get new bodies that are perfect (like superheros, which they like) and that then we will be able to see him with our new eyes. That seems to pacify him, not that he doesn't need reminders. Anyway, if you run into the same question, maybe that explanation will help.

Kids are certainly a blessing from God. They keep things interesting and they keep us hopping. Enjoy this week with your little blessings!

The Baby's Hand

Many of you may have seen this email which has been going around lately. In case you haven't, I wanted to share it . . .

A picture began circulating in November. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "Picture of the Decade." It won't be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the US paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it. The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb.! Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta . & a mp;n bsp; She knew of Dr. Brun er's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.


During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile. The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life." Little Samuel's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture. She said, "The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person." Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful. Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome....incredible . and hey, pass it on. The world needs to see this one!

P.S. Don't tell me God isn't awesome!!!!!
There are two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle. Albert Einstein

I know what I know

I know what I know what I know. What do I know? Oh, I don't know. All I really know is that God knows and that is all that really matters. I worry so much about knowing things, being in control of things, fixing things. But really I can't do anything. All I can do for sure is trust God to know, to be in control, to fix things. He is my provision, my portion in the land of the living. In Him I find all things.

Colossians 1:16-17
"For in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities---all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

Wow! Need to know anything else? I think not. All I need to know is HIM!!!! A friend of mine challenged me to trust God more this week. My first response was anger and fear. Not at my friend, but at God. What about past trials? Sure he got me through them, but at what cost? It was awful. I don't want to be led into that again. But if I don't trust Him, who do I trust? I certainly can't trust myself. I can't blame God for other people's sin. He doesn't cause sin, we do. He just forgives us, others, and carries us through the dark paths when we can't see or walk ourselves. My friend was right. I need to step out in faith.

I can hinder God's work and delay his blessings when I don't trust Him in obedience. Am I trusting in God's blessings or in Him? Will I trust Him before he provides or do I need proof like Thomas?

John 20:29
"Because you have seen me you have believed. But blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

I challenge you just as my friend challenged me---Step out in faith and trust God in a new way. You may not have seen his plan or provision, but you do KNOW...You know that He knows and He is able. He is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than we could ever imagine. Trust and see.

I. Corinthians 2:20
"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has for those who love him."

Remember, you may not know, but you do know that He knows. Thank God for that!