to know him by name

While looking at what others are reading in preparation for Easter this year, I decided to go back to some of my old "standbys"--books I have had for years that never get old to me.

One of those is "To Know Him by Name" by Kay Arthur with illustrations by Timothy Botts.



The name I want to share with you today is Jehovah Shammah--meaning "The Lord is There." It is from Ezekiel 48:35.

Dear friend, wherever we are today, the Lord is there.

from Psalm 139:

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

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.

It's difficult for our finite minds to grasp that darkness is as light to our God but we can believe it because His Word assures us it is so.

Wherever we are today, our God is there. Whether we are at the heights of joy or in the depths of despair, our God is there. And if God is there, He will meet our every need.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Isn't it incredible that God has chosen us for His Spirit to reside in? Consider the instructions, the matchless materials and workmanship that went in to building the ark of the covenant and the temple to house the Spirit of God in the Old Testament. He has formed and made us with even more precision and more value.

more from Psalm 139
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.

Dear Jehovah Shammah, would you please be there today? There with each one who stops by to visit today--there, wherever their "there" is today. And I ask your blessings upon each and every one--knowing that you rejoice with the rejoicing and mourn with the mourning--wipe away each tear and save them in a bottle for the day when you will explain each one we have ever shed. Amen

from the New Living Translation of Psalm 56:8
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

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PHOTOS of calligraphy shared with permission of Timothy R. Botts.

weekend worship on the street where we live

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade. ~Charles Dickens

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.




He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.



But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.



He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.




He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Hope your weekend is worshipful, dear ones. God bless you richly.

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brazil mission trip with a romantic twist

Our mission trip was to a suburb of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil--a metropolis of 11 million. Rio and its suburbs are a contrast in classes of people. Some very rich, millions very poor--not many in between. Most of the people we ministered to were poor by American standards.



He was sitting out by the little quiet street just watching any activity that might be going on. We spoke to him and walked by at first but were drawn back to him. We went back and told him about Jesus and asked him if he was sure he would go to heaven when he died. He was not sure and wanted to pray with us but asked if he would have to resign from his religion--We told him no because his church is basically of the Christian faith. He had not completely understood how to receive salvation.

If you look really closely you can see a tear under this eighty-seven year old eye--and one in the inner corner of my right eye. We both shed quite a few tears--tears of utter joy and happiness. The feeling of leading someone to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is the ultimate happiness for me.



This beautiful young couple was working out in front of their home. They both prayed to receive Christ. Thank you, Lord! You will notice bars on the front of these homes. That is a way of life there. The pastor where we served had a 10 to 12 foot stone wall with iron gates around his residence. Crime is rampant.



And another precious couple and young man accept Christ--the rest of the group are from the church that we went to help. The pastor is in the ball cap and my interpreter is standing next to me. She was an incredible interpreter. She seemed to know the exact words I was going to say before I said them.



A young woman and her daughter sing of Jesus at a home meeting.



A few people at this meeting were already Christians but all of the rest, except one young man, accepted Christ.



Everyone at this meeting accepted Christ. I think this was the first home where I spoke to a rather large crowd. It was overwhelming that they were so open, so hospitable, so loving, so beautiful and so eager to hear about and accept Jesus.



Another young lady accepts Christ. Containing all this joy is not easy!



These children overheard me telling some adults about Jesus. They started gathering around and wanted to hear about him also. They all prayed to receive Christ. You've heard of bursting with joy?!



My precious interpreters. They gave of themselves tirelessly, lovingly and faithfully.



We had been to this little old man's house early that morning and his whole family--about 12--accepted Christ. We saw him out on the streets later in the day and were so glad because we hadn't gotten a picture that morning. Isn't he precious?





Our pastor's house was nice with the wall around it but this was the lot next door--a place where everyone threw garbage. One night we saw a raging fire outside our upstairs bedroom. Running to look out the window, we saw that someone had thrown their worn-out sofa into the street and set it on fire. We learned that that was not unusual.





This road led up the side of a mountain that we climbed to make some home visits. It was extremely hot and I had to go home that afternoon and go to bed. My blood pressure shot up pretty high--I wrote about it here.



We were there about a week so we took a day of rest and drove in to visit the gorgeous Rio coastline, Sugarloaf Mountain and the Christ the Redeemer statue.







And these are our incredible interpreters and the pastor (in baseball cap) and his daughter kneeling in front. I cannot say enough about this group--the loveliest people you could ever hope to meet in your life.



the romantic twist? I am so sorry I don't have pictures of the wedding itself but one of the members of our team from the states who did the phone calling to Brazil to set everything up, fell in love with the young spokeslady from the church we were working with and we had a gorgeous Brazilian wedding while we were there. And then she moved to America! This picture was taken when they visited us at our home in Oklahoma.

Oh, and if anyone from there happens to read this, all of you ladies who cooked around the clock for us (yes, three huge meals a day)--you were wonderful and there is no way to thank you enough.

It was a trip I will never forget. Thank you Brazil. You were wonderful and I love your beautifully flowing Portuguese language.

All my love,


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I am linking with Kelly who is highlighting mission trips this week.

field of dreams come true

I dreamed of taking my granddaughters to Wye Mountain to the field of daffodils. My dream came true today.























Happy Dreaming!

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oh, how grand

Oh how grand to spend early spring days with precious grandchildren, Ashton and Noelle. My heart is bursting with love for them. Thank you, Lord, for the memories we will make these few days.