(I will be away from my computer for a few days. Karen's Korners will resume on Monday, June 9. I will miss all of you!)

This is Memorial Day weekend.

Wikipedia says,
 "Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the U.S. to honor and mourn the military personnel who died in service. It originated after the Civil War and was expanded to include all wars, and is observed on the last Monday of May."

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The Bible says, 

"the greatest love is shown
when a person lays down his life
for his friends.."
~ John 15:13 LAB

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Not everyone who serves or has served in the military dies in his/her service. But the willingness has to be there.

When we volunteer, we 'lay down' a portion of our lives for others.

The Bible Commentary on the above verse says, "We are to love one another as Jesus loved us, and he loved us enough to give his life for us. We may not have to die for someone, but there are other ways we can demonstrate our sacrificial love for others:  listening, helping, encouraging, giving. Think of someone in particular who needs this kind of love today. Give all the  love you can, and then try to give a little more."

Happy Memorial Day!

Taken from "365 Days of Prayer for Women" by Stephanie Sample. Not today's but from a few days ago, May 19.

Some days I feel like God should be grateful to have me as His Child. Other days not so much! It has nothing to do with me. And everything to do with Him. He never changes. Praise God!

WITH YOU

"We can confidently say,
'The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?"
~ Hebrews 13:6 ESV

"All-powerful God, what is too hard for you? And with you, what is too hard for me? With you next to me, I am strengthened. With you behind me, I am fortified. With you in front of me, I am shielded. With you holding me up, I am immovable. With you inside me, I know all this to be true. You give me confidence, Lord, and with that confidence, success. It doesn't mattter who comes against me; it doesn't matter what they say, or do, or bring to defeat me. I have you, and you've got me."

"What is too hard for you? Is it too hard for God?"

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Something written and sent to my computer several days ago by Max Lucado. He talks about childhood memories. Some of us had wonderful memories. Some of us didn't. If you are in either category, chances are pretty good you could share this writing with someone else.

IT  STOPS HERE!

'Your family history doesn’t have to be your future. The generational garbage can stop here and now. Don’t give your kids what your ancestors gave to you. Talk to God about it, in detail. 'God, every day I came home from school to find mom drunk, lying on the couch. I had to take care of baby brother, do homework on my own. It’s not right, God.' Difficult, for certain. But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Let him replace  'childish thinking' with mature truth.

"A dear friend of mine was called to identify the body of his father who’d been shot by his ex-wife. The blast was just another in a long line of angry, violent family moments. He made this resolution: 'It stops with me.' And it has! God wants to help you—for your sake. Trust him. With his help, you will get through this."

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Gardeners here in north central Iowa have had quite a battle on our hands the last few days, maybe weeks! At times, it has been too hot or too dry. Wind? We have several days in a row with massive winds. I have starter plants which are almost parallel to the ground! Dry too. Seeds lay in dry dirt waiting for a drink. I take water to them, but it doesn't work the best.

Then comes yesterday! Lots of rain to soak up the dry, thirsty ground. God can do in minutes or hours which we can't do in days! What a miracle worker He is!

God,
thank You that You take care of stuff!
Not just sort of...
abundantly!
You take care of not only rain
and drinks of water for our fields,
gardens, and seeds,
but for every part of our lives.
Sometimes we forget,
so thank You!
Amen.

As a follow to Saturday's Karen's Korner and a quick reminder to the familiar John 3:16, I wanted to include something from yesterday's sermon - 1 John 3:16! Not nearly as familiar........

"We know what real love is
from Christ's example in dying for us.
And so we also
ought to lay down our lives
for our Christian brothers."

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Bible Commentary (in part):  "Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatst act of love anyone can do is to give himself or herself for others. How can we lay down our lives? Sometimes it is easier to say we'll die for others than to truly live for them, which involves putting others' desires first. Some ways of sacrificial love for others:  listening, helping, encouraging, giving. Think of someone in particular who neeeds this kind of love today."

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(A Karen's Korner on Saturday to make up for the one I didn't send on Thursday!)

Today is a day that I need to be reminded that I am loved by God. Sometimes I/we run pretty far and fast ahead, just in time to look back and re-listen to His care for us.

"For God loved the world (Karen and her friends)
so much that He
GAVE
His only Son
so that anyone (each one of us)
who believes In Him
shall not perish 
but have eternal life.
God did not 
send His Son
into the world (Karen and everyone else!)
to condemn it, 
but to save it!

~ John 3:16 & 17 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Many people are repulsed by thinking about living forever because their lives are miserable. But eternal life is not the extension of  man's miserable, mortal life; eternal life is God's life embodied in Christ given to all believers now as a guarantee that they will live forever. In this life there is no death, sickness, enemies, evil, and sin. When we don't know Christ, we make choices as though this life were all we have. in reality, this life is just the introduction to eternity. Begin, therefore, to evaluate all that happens from an eternal perspective."

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For fun, I looked back at a Karen's Korner from today's date in 2016:

Today is Monday, May 16th, 2016; Karen's Korner #3311

"A true friend is always loyal,

and a brother is born to help in time of need."

~ Proverbs 17:17 LAB

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Bible Commentary: "What kind of friend are we? There is a vast difference between knowing someone well and being a true friend. The greatest evidence of genuine friendship is loyalty---being available to help in times of distress or personal struggles. Too many people are fair-weather friends. They stick around when the friendship helps them, and leave when they're not getting anything out of the relationship. Think of our friends and assess our loyalty to them. We need to be the kind of true friend the Bible encourages."

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(Sorry for no Karen's Korner yesterday!)

A couple of entries from "Everyday Blessings" by Max Lucado. They are short, so you get two!!

"The Lord our God is right in everything He does."
~ Daniel 9:14

"God is never wrong.
He has never rendered a wrong decision. 
experienced the wrong attitude,
taken the wrong path,
said the wrong thing,
or acted the wrong way.
He is never too late or too early,
too loud or too soft,
too fast or too slow.
He has always been and always will be right.
He is righteous."

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"Serve only the LORD your God.
Respect Him, keep His commands, and obey Him."
~ Deuteronomy 13:4

"Christ's kingdom is ....a kingdom where membership is granted, not purchased.

"You are placed into God's kingdom. You are 'adopted'. And this occurs not when you do enough, but when you admit you can't do enough. You don't earn it; you simply accept it. As a result, you serve, not out of arrogance or fear, but out of gratitude."

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Today's entry in Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence":

"Thank Me in the midst of the crucible
(severe test or trial).
When things seem all wrong,
look for growth opportunities.
Especially, look for areas where you need to let go,
leaving your cares in My able hands.
Do you trust Me
to orchestrate your life events
as I choose,
or are you still trying to make things go
according to your will?
If you keep trying to carry out your intentions
while I am leading you
in another direction,
you deify your desires.

"Be on the lookout for what 
I am doing in your life.
Worship Me
by living close to Me,
thanking Me in all circumstances."

~Taken from I Peter 5:6 - 7; I Thessalonians 5:18

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"The Lord's blessing is our greatest wealth.
 All our work adds nothing to it!"

~ Proverbs 10:22

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Bible Commentary:  "This proverb is in sharp contrast to our society which measures personal worth by how much a person owns. Our relationship to God is our most valuable possession. This blessing is not reserved for the rich. It is for all who call upon the name of the Lord. Neither is it something for which we must work hard; our efforts can add nothing to what God freely offers. Those who spend their lives enjoying only material wealth will never experience the true happiness that comes from enjoying God."

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