Abba (I Belong To You)


Psalm 139:13
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

I was listening to this song the other day, and I immediately started thinking about the abortion travesty, and the killing of the over 60 million innocent, precious babies who were sacrificed at the altar of ‘inconvenience.’ So many in our society have lost their moral compass, their conscious having been seared and polluted with the ‘politically correct’ thinking of the day, and humanism: a whatever feels good do it, even if it means the killing of an innocent child, mentality. I am not here to condemn anyone, if by happenstance you, dear reader, have had an abortion (willingly or by compulsion), there is always forgiveness and redemption through the loving heart of our Creator.

As I continued to listen to the song, ‘Abba’ by Jonathan David Hesler ; it was as if I could hear and sense these precious innocent souls singing along ‘Abba,’ I belong to You’. I could see the faces, the beautiful, pure and holy, faces of the children gazing up tenderly into face of their Creator, surrounded by His overwhelming Presence and Love.They still had their own uniqueness, personalities, individual traits and gifts that they were endowed with here on earth; but in heaven they were now complete and perfected. They were not lost, they were safe, and they were waiting, praying and worshiping. They were eternal. They were loved.

The same week that I was listening to this song, I came upon this excerpt from James Nesbit on one of his Facebook pages. It was a prophetic encounter he had with the Lord during a time of corporate intercession. It brought tears to my eyes…such a moving vision:

“As I was leaving that prayer meeting before going to the land assignment, a prophet stopped me and said, “You are going to hear a sound on the land today!”

About an hour later, I was standing in the midst of the intercessors leading worship when all of the sudden we stopped singing and it got very still; And as I felt the wind brush across my face, I heard the Lord say: 

“There are over 50 Million babies worshiping around My throne; And the sound of their worship is unimaginable to you. A portion of their worshipful cry is, mercy for their mommies and daddies and their grandparents who counseled their mothers to abort them.”

He said, “Get over this notion that they are dead babies, they are eternal souls who see the beginning and the end!”

He said, “I love these innocents more than you know, and I love their mommies and daddies and grandparents as well.”

He said, “I am going to honor their worshipful cries, and send the Light of My love, and the awakening gentleness of My mercy, to visit their loved ones in the middle of the night, and draw them to me.”

Then He said, “These babies are not angry at them and neither am I, for it is the thief, who came to steal, kill, and destroy their family tree.”

Finally He said, “I need You to stand in the earth and agree with what I have just shared with you.”

What a powerful mandate from the Lord. Let us stand and ‘agree’ dear brothers and sisters, that the ‘Light of God’s Love, and the awakening gentleness of His mercy,’ will go forth into our Nation and soften and heal the broken heart, save and set free. I’m believing that Roe vs. Wade will eventually be overturned, the sanctity of life restored, and righteousness will once again take hold of America, as we turn our hearts toward Him. Nothing is impossible with God. Nothing!

I Surrender All

I SURRENDER ALL

 

Oh, How I Love Jesus: Friend, Savior, Prince of Peace, Lover of my Soul, my Healer, Deliverer, Redeemer, Provider, Protector and more! I have felt the depths of His love and forgiveness and have wept as He moved upon my heart and life many times. No other love can compare like that of the Savior. He knew me intimately from the time I was young, and drew me to His side when I was broken, torn and lost. He looked beyond my faults and saw my need.  No one can touch a heart and life like Jesus. There are no words that can adequately describe Him. Sadly, for many,  He is confined inside a building structure, steeped in the traditions of men; a cold distant God, but that is because they have been blinded to His true nature. I cannot imagine my life without Him/ I have never regretted my choice to serve Him, nor have I ever looked back. The music in this video is from an old hymn, done instrumentally…and it is very much my story as well as many other Christians. So, many say they love God, but only give lip service…God wants our whole heart …for us to choose Him and to follow Him. He’s not looking for perfection but for those who REALLY desire to know Him, He will reveal Himself. Surrendering to Jesus..is a process, it starts with an act of faith when we ask Him to come into our hearts and lives, and then it continues on…each step of the way as we ‘allow’ Him to shape and mold our hearts and thoughts through His Word, and the Holy Spirit working in us.

 

All to Jesus I surrender;

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His Presence daily live.

 

I Surrender All,

I Surrender All;

All to Thee, my Blessed Savior,

I Surrender All.

 

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The Good. The Bad. The Squirrely! ;)

A few years ago, we tried desperately to find the best ‘squirrel-resistant’ bird feeder we could. As most of you know, who have had experience with these creative and persistent critters, this is almost impossible! They just DO NOT give up, but alas, most of us humans DO! When we first moved into this house, we had a wooden frame around the front door (which we eventually replaced along with a double door); squirrels were attempting to eat away at the wood (paint and all). I had never seen anything like that, was beyond irritated, and tried rubbing different smells on the exposed wood, including Tabasco Sauce! Absolutely, nothing worked!

We were beyond excited when we moved to this house, envisioning all kinds of birds flocking to our bird feeders. We were going to become avid bird watchers, but alas, that was not to be, for after a few years of trying, we quit calling our bird feeders, ‘bird feeders’, and started calling them ‘squirrel feeders!’ Once we tried hanging one such ‘squirrel feeder’ on the end of a tall plant hook next to the tree, thinking surely they could not maneuver the metal hook with their claws. Wrong!! We did have a good laugh when a friend of ours was visiting and decided to spray the pole with a vegetable spray. We watched in glee, as that wily squirrel tried to scamper up the slippery pole, then slowly slide down. He attempted this several times. The shocked look on it’s squirrely little face gave me a some satisfaction that we had finally got the upper hand, if only but for a few sweet moments! Eventually, though, we gave up, and now have no ‘squirrel feeders’ out front; we moved them to the back of our house, where we have less of an issue, though we still see them hanging occasionally, peering into our living room window, with a look of defiance. Boy, can they jump! Truth be told, when it comes to these critters, it’s a love hate relationship, and I have been known to throw out scraps of bread or such during the winter. I’m seriously thinking of placing another ‘squirrel feeder’ out front again. If nothing else, it was pure entertainment, and sometimes, one would jump on the ledge of my office window, look in and check me out, and of course, I started putting little tidbits on the ledge. Yeah, birds are great, but not at all as entertaining…;)

The first video, “The Good, the Bad and the Squirrely,”  came about randomly, as I was still trying my hand at simple video’ making. The song just happen to fit musically, and I just went with it. The song of course is, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.  It’s up to the viewer to decide who is who…;)

The Good, The Bad and the Squirrely

This second video, was actually an Albino squirrel, that came around for a couple of years. I named him ‘Sugar,’ and caught him raiding the feeder. I did not discourage him at all, and was in fact, amused and fascinated by this ‘BIG’ fella. I chose two favorite songs of mine, “Sugar, Sugar,” and “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.”

Sugar: Our White Albino Squirrel

Published on Jan 22, 2014

(heehee, I think the Fed Ex guy is going in circles)!The White Squirrel (an albino, 1 in 100,000 chance), a big fella, at first I was going to call him Frosty, but decided to call him ‘Sugar’, because he is white and sweet (kinda/ sorta as long as I don’t make him get off the bird feeder). Since this video was taken (and I may redo this at a later date, just don’t have time right now) Lee brought the bird feeder in. I asked him why? and He said because until he fixes it, it is a ‘Squirrel Feeder! ‘ HA! He is right…poor birds have to fight to get any seeds. I decided to put up songs that would not NORMALLY be seen on a Squirrel Video or animal video…and the Archies: Sugar Sugar just made me ‘smile’, and made me happy and brought back so many memories. Got my foot tapping, and then Don’t Worry be Happy was to remind myself what the Bible says about worrying…God says worry is a sin…because it is the opposite of Faith, and as a Christian we are to trust God to take care of us. I KNOW He has everything under control…I hope you all enjoy our White Sugar Squirrel :). He’s chubby…lol. And ANYONE notice the Fed Ex guy? lol, I think he was lost or maybe he noticed our SUGAR!!! He IS Quite Spectacular….;)

Memory Bouquet : Pieces Of April

Pieces of April

Published on Apr 7, 2015 (revised from my original post on Youtube)

I originally made this video for a dear friend, a free spirit of sorts, and a nature lover. I loved this song as a young teen/adult, though I was limited to mostly country in our home, there were times, when I was finally able to drive, that I would, as soon as I left the driveway, crank the music up, and it wasn’t usually country. It seems like yesterday I was driving the folks Chevy and headed down the highway…listening to this song, ‘Pieces of April’ . I am thinking a lot about family these days, my family of origin mostly, and how fast time is slipping away. So, as I look through picture albums and video’s lately, I am making ‘memory bouquets’. When I come across a video of my mama’s grin, laugh, mannerisms, or beautiful face and/ or  a video of my daddy laughing and teasing, well…sometimes the tears threaten to come to the surface; other times  I catch myself smiling or laughing…but always I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and love.

So, over the years, I’ve become a collector. A collector of memories, through pictures, video’s and more. I have a Memory Bouquet…full of life, love and laughter. Times of joy and laughter, times of pain and sorrow…but through it all  a wonderful ‘bouquet’ of memories. I’ve learned through the years how, to pray, to forgive, to push forward, to endure, to love, to sing, to overcome, to speak my mind, to break through intimidation and fear and to fight for what I believe in. I’ve learned to laugh through the pain, I’ve wept in times of joy,  praised God in the storm, stood on His Word, and sat at His feet in worship and surrender. God is constantly working in my heart…pruning, watering, breaking up the shallow ground, and shining His light in the dark places. I am ever so grateful He knows how to love me to life, picks up the broken pieces, looks beyond my faults and sees my needs. He tends to me like a well watered garden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hula Hoop Challenge; And the Winner Is….;)

I’ve been feeling a bit blue lately, and decided to go through some of my old video’s.  I have a few gems such as this one.  Recorded and uploaded in 2015 I couldn’t help but laugh! Laughter certainly IS good medicine. 😀

My husband is an engineer, but there is this ‘little boy’ in him that comes out around our grandchildren, especially our oldest granddaughter, but ALL the grandchildren gravitate towards him. I do have a cameo appearance here, but my granddaughter and I both lost it when Papa took up the challenge. I was trying so hard not to laugh behind the camera. I treasure these moments in our lives, they pass so quickly.

So, who DO YOU, think won the Hula Hoop Challenge? hahaha

😀

Timeless

Precious and timeless memories. Just living life, one day at a time, one moment at a time before it quickly fades away into the distant past. There’s so much in my heart, so many memories of the good times as well as the difficult times that I’m not even sure where to begin in these pages. There are times a memory will pop up at the most unexpected and surprising moment. This happened one day as I walked out of my doctor’s office, it was the furthest thing from my mind, but I had such a strong urge to see my mother who passed away in May of 2015.  It hit me suddenly, out of nowhere, this longing in my heart.  One solitary tear slowly rolled down my cheek as I looked up and said out loud, ” I love you and miss you, Mama!”  Now don’t get me wrong, I am not usually a melancholic person, I’m quite the opposite, though I have my moments.  I can confidently say, God’s mercies are NEW every morning, even in the challenging times there is and has been much JOY!

This is a video I made on my phone, having no computer access, as I was spending time in Arkansas with my folks. For several years as my mama’s health began to decline, physically and mentally, I would take extended trips to be with them. I would take picture after picture and recorded a plethora of  video, which I often posted on Facebook on my private page, much like an online journal. Although, mama would get a little irritated with me at times (as well as others, truth be told ;), I would just smile or chuckle and keep on clicking. I’m SO glad I did. What I captured was more than just memories of my time spent with her and daddy the last few years of her life, but the last vestiges of a generation quickly fading. I grew to cherish and love my paternal side of the family, as well as the people and traditions of the surrounding area.

As much as I miss my precious mother. my sweet mama, I know she is in a timeless place, and the memories I have I cherish. I love and appreciate my family more now than ever. Life is so fleeting here, but we who know and love Jesus will have eternity in heaven and that’s something wonderful to look forward to.

God Bless, Karen

A legacy of Love