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May 2013 Archives

Printable Issue 2558  Today is Wednesday, May 1st, 2013; Karen's Korner #2558
"Pray all the time.
Ask God for anything...."
~ Ephesians 6:18
 
I have heard many stories over the years about my Grandma Merwin (mom's mother), but I don't recall hearing this one:
 
Because Grandma had fifteen children and because of the time in which they lived, she had six sons/sons-in-law all serving in World War II at the same time. One of them was my dad. And they weren't in safe spots either; most of them were on the front lines in Europe.
 
Think about it! Can you imagine what that would have been like? Most of us would have a hard time wrapping our minds around a single loved one in the military and in harms way.
 
So what did Grandma do?
 
She and a number of her friends would gather every day to pray for 'their soldiers' and ones of other friends and neighbors. According to my oldest sister, they had a 'long list of names'.
 
And the outcome?
 
Every name on the list came home safely. Not only were they not killed, none of them were injured either!
 
Does prayer change things?
 
I'll let you decide.
 
(A reminder one more time:  tomorrow - Thursday, May 2 is National Day of Prayer, as we pray for our nation and its leaders!)
 
 
Printable Issue 2559  Today is Thursday, May 2nd, 2013; Karen's Korner #2559
In honor of National Day of Prayer today, this is a pass-along email attributed to Billy Graham (I didn't verify). The email says "Bill Graham's Prayer at 93 years old"; it must have been his age at the time it was written. Graham will be 95 in November of 2013:
 
"Heavenly Father,
we come before you today
to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.
We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,'
but that is exactly what we have done.
 
"We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
 
"Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today;
cleanse us from sin and set us free. Amen!"
 
***
Printable Issue 2560  Today is Friday, May 3rd, 2013; Karen's Korner #2560
As I look back at this week's 'Korner's Korners', I start to see a theme:  praying! It wasn't planned.
 
Maybe it was because of the 62nd National Day of Prayer yesterday (prayer by Billy Graham); or my grandma's and her friends' prayer lists for their WW II loved ones (on Wednesday).
 
Tuesday's was a portion of Psalm 71, telling about praying as we get older. (If you want to recall any of those in the past few days, go to www.karens-korner.com ). Dorothy Wilmot (she ministered with her husband in the Clarion area a number of years ago) sent this note:  "As I read this devotional, it reminded of something Owen told me when he was serving as chaplain at the Westmont Care Center in Logan, Iowa.  This was after he retired from being the minister at Blair.  He said during a devotional time with the residents, one of them asked 'What could they do for the Lord since they were there in the care center?'  Owen said 'You can always pray for others and for God's word to be spread by faithful Christians'."
 
**
"Always be joyful.
Always keep on praying.
No matter what happens,
always be thankful....."
I Thessalonians 5:16 - 18 LB
 
Bible Commentary:
"Our joy, prayers, and thankfulness to God
should not fluctuate with our circumstances or feelings.
Obeying these three commands--
be joyful, keep praying, and be thankful--
often goes against our natural inclinations.
When we make it a conscious decision
to do what God says,
however,
we will begin to see people in a new perspective.
When we do God's will,
we will find it easier to be joyful and thankful.
 
****
Printable Issue 2561  Today is Monday, May 6th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2561
I warned you that you might receive a number of "Jesus Calling" entries. The 'devotions for everyday of the year" book is authored by Sarah Young. Today's is good; so was yesterday's.
 
Below is from yesterday:
 
"COME TO ME
for all that you need.
Come into My Presence with thanksgiving,
for thankfulness opens the door to My treasures.
When you are thankful,
you affirm the central truth that I am Good.
I am Light,
in whom there is no darkness at all.
The assurance that I am entirely Good
meets your basic need for security.
Your life is not subject with whims of a sin-stained deity.
 
Relax in the knowledge that the One
who controls your life is totally trustworthy.
Come to Me with confident expectation.
There is nothing you need that I cannot provide.
 
PSALM 95:2; I JOHN 1:5
 
****
Printable Issue 2562  Today is Tuesday, May 7th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2562
Got a listing of "Quirky Quips" from a friend for my birthday. It had nearly 40 of them; for fun, you're receiving about a dozen:
 
I stayed up all night to see where the sun went.
Then it dawned on me.
**
I'm reading a book on gravity.
I can't put it down.
**
Why were the Indians here first?
They had reservations.
**
Energizer Bunny arrested,
charged with battery.
** 
Did you hear about the cross-eyed teacher who lost her job?
Couldn't control her pupils.
**
What does a clock do when it's hungry?
Go back four seconds.
**
Broken pencils are pointless.
**
England has no kidney bank,
but it does have a Liverpool.
**
Velcro--
what a rip off!
**
Be kind to your dentist.
He/she has fillings too.
**
Class trip to the Coca-Cola factory;
hope there are no pop quizzes.
**
Earthquake in Washington;
obviously the government's fault.
****
Printable Issue 2563  Today is Wednesday, May 8th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2563
Something written a while back, but just emailed to me, by former Clarion resident Christine Lousias:
 

Gingerly I walk to have care that I put

                                    Trust in my Lord.

When my joy is suffocating I take care to

                                    Trust in my Lord.

My head is between my knees as I pray and

                                    Trust in my Lord.

Though darkness seems deep, the Light is my guide as I

                                    Trust in my Lord.

My praises sound out among the heavens as I

                                    Trust in my Lord.

My heart bursts with love as I put my

                                    Trust in my Lord.

My mind is settled and at ease as I put my

                                    Trust in my Lord.

I look forward to eternity as I put my

                                    Trust in my Lord.

                                        I am His because I            
                                 Trust in my Lord.
 
****
Printable Issue 2564  Today is Thursday, May 9th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2564
Something from Max Lucado:
 
Just For You

Behold the sun!  Every square yard of it is constantly emitting 130,000 horse power, the equivalent of 450 eight-cylinder car engines.  Consider the earth! Our globe’s weight is estimated at six sextillion tons—that’s a six with 21 zeros!  Yet it’s precisely tilted at twenty-three degrees or our seasons would be lost in a melted polar flood.

If God is able to place the stars in their sockets and suspend the sky like a curtain—do you think it remotely possible God is able to guide your life? Could it be He is mighty enough to light your path? Jesus said, “Look at the birds in the air.  They don’t plant or harvest or store into barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them.  Why do you worry about clothes?”  (Matthew 6:26).

Next time a sunrise steals your breath, say nothing and listen as heaven whispers, “Do you like it?  I did it just for you!”

****

Printable Issue 2565  Today is Friday, May 10th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2565
Something shared at a church guest day at a local church of which I was a part on Wednesday:
 
For Mother's Day:
 

God's Helpers

God could not be in every place

With loving hands to help erase

The teardrops from each baby's face,

And so He thought of mother.

He could not send us here alone

And leave us to a fate unknown;

Without providing for His own,

The outstretched arms of mother.

 

God could not watch us night and day

And kneel beside our crib to pray,

Or kiss our little aches away;

And so He sent us mother.

 

And when our childhood days began,

He simply could not take command.

That's why He placed our tiny hand

Securely into mother's.

 

The days of youth slipped quickly by

Life's sun rose higher in the sky.

Full grown were we, yet ever nigh

To love us still, was mother.

 

And when life's span of years shall end,

I know that God will gladly send,

To welcome home her child again,

That ever-faithful mother.

--George W. Wiseman
 
***
Printable Issue 2566  Today is Monday, May 13th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2566
Several weeks ago I learned of my Grandma Merwin (mom's mother) and her friends praying for 'their' soldiers and the servicemen of their friends during World War II and how all those on their prayer lists returned safely from active duty.
 
So what other prayers might have Grandma Merwin prayed and any of those answers?
 
Saturday was the 70th anniversary celebration of our Uncle Dick and Aunt Ruth in Mason City. Ruth (my mom's sister), who is now 91 recalled several memories.
 
Mom and Ruth are two of 15 children. It seems as though there was always limited money and limited time, which led to 'trusting God' for their daily lives and resources.
 
Ruth's memory #1:
 
"We were living in Junction, Texas at the time. It was November 15 (birth date of sister Helen and my mom, three years later). Dad was preaching somewhere (he was an independent, part-time preacher). Mom told the younger girls to set the table and for the older ones to start supper. The older ones didn't know what they would fix for the meal, as there was no food. There was a knock on our door. There was Mrs. Patterson, who exclaimed, 'There has to be a birthday party here today!' There she stood with fried chicken and all the other food items for our supper, plus a birthday cake! That memory always stuck with me."
 
Ruth's memory #2:
 
(In case it appears the family did nothing to support themselves, that was not the case! While most of the time, all of the kids had only two changes of clothes........one they were wearing and one in the washing!, Grandma washed clothes every day. Made resources of food stretch with gardens and all of the kids who were old enough, gleaning commercial vegetable fields in the fall and storing/canning the food morsels. There was room at the dinner table for guests......lots of them! Taking hand-me-downs and refashioning them for the next 'stair steps' of kids coming up behind the older ones...)
 
"When we lived in Clear Lake, Art (brother) and dad were gone trucking some place. The twins (Bud & Honey, the youngest) had been given their bottles and put to bed for a nap. Mom knew that was their last bottle and there was no more Eagle Brand milk (used in the formula) left, and no money to buy any more. A lady came to our house who was a friend of Mom's. The two chatted for awhile. Before the gal left, she grabbed Mom's hand to tell her good-bye and put a quarter into Mom's hand. Just the amount for a can of the Eagle Brand milk. She had one of us kids run to the store to buy one before Bud and Honey woke up from their naps."
 
Ruth's memory #3:
 
"When Althea (one of the younger sisters) was about four years old, she was walking back from swimming with some of the others. When she was walking across the street toward our home, Mom saw her stumbling our direction. Mom said, "Quick, get her some lemonade", which we did. But this was just the beginning of more than two years of Althea's seizures. Mom took on the task of going into the attic of our house for three days of fasting and praying for Althea. She didn't stay there day and night, as there were family tasks which needed to be done in that time period. But we knew not to interrupt her. Althea always sat next to Mom at the dinner table. Not long after that, Mom announced that Althea (also known by the family as "Flea") was going to be all right. The seizures continued until one day, some of the children hollered to their Mom to come to the back bedroom on the main floor of their home. Althea had a terrible nose bleed which lasted for a lengthy period of time. The bleed included a large quantity of blood including blood clots. (Doctors were always a last resort for the family and this 'condition' didn't rise to the need for professional intervention.) After the nose bleed, the seizures were over. She never had another one. Althea would tell us as adults she has no memories of a couple of those childhood years."
 
*
 
"And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus,
my God will supply all your needs."

~ Philippians 4:19 (GNT)

***
 
 
Printable Issue 2567  Today is Tuesday, May 14th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2567
A dose of Max (Lucado) today:
 
What Steals the Zeal?
 
What steals our childhood zeal?  For a child the possibilities are limitless. Then weariness finds us.  Sesame Street gets traffic-jammed.  Star Trek’s endless horizon gets hidden behind smog and skyscrapers. What is the source of such weariness?  The names of these burdens?

Jesus gazes into our weariness and makes this paradoxical promise:  “Take My yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:29).

Jesus was the only man to walk God’s earth who claimed to have an answer for man’s burdens.  “Come to Me”  he invited them. The people came. They came out of the cul-de-sacs and office complexes of their day. They brought him the burdens of their existence, and he gave them not religion, not doctrine, not systems…He gave them rest.  My prayer is that you, too, will find rest!

***

Printable Issue 2568  Today is Wednesday, May 15th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2568
"What a glorious Lord!
He who daily bears our burdens
also gives us our salvation.
He free us!
He rescues us from death.
But he will crush his enemies,
for they refuse to leave their guilty, stubborn ways."
~ Psalm 68:19-21 LB
 
Bible Commentary:  "God frees his people and crushes his enemies. Salvation is freedom from sin and death. Those who refuse to turn to God will be crushed by sin and death. They will be trapped by the sin they loved and destroyed by the death they feared. How much better it is for those who love God and fear the consequences of sin.
 
"Each day, we must deal with our share of earthly burdens. As we face these burdens, the Lord is there to help us bear them. Each morning, praise God for the strength he will send you today. It is as sure as the sunrise."
 
****
Printable Issue 2569  Today is Thursday, May 16th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2569
This is something emailed to me yesterday by my sister Jill. Our Aunt Helen (another of my mom's sisters!) gave it to Jill's daughter when she was born. Colleen will by 28 this summer!
 
It's a good one as we walk away from Mother's Day; come toward Father's Day; and enjoy graduations within the next few weeks:
 
 
I AM SPECIAL
 
I'm special. In all of the world, there's no one like me. Since the beginning of time, there has never been another person like me. No one has my smile, my eyes, my voice. I'm special.
 
No one can be found who has my handwriting. No one anywhere has my tastes - - for food or music or art. No one sees things just as I do.  In all of time, there's been no one who laughs like me, no one who cries like me. And what makes me laugh and cry will never provoke identical laughter and tears from anyone else - ever.
 
No one reacts to any situation just as I would react. I'm special. I'm the only one in all of creative who has my set of abilities. Oh, there will always be someone who is better at one of the things I'm good at, but no one in the universe can reach the quality of my combination of talents, ideas, abilities and feelings. Like a room full of musical instruments, some may excel, but no one can match the symphony sound when all are played together. I am a symphony.
 
I'm special. And I'm beginning to realize it's no accident that I'm special. I'm beginning to see that God made me special for a very special purpose. He must have a job for me that no one else can do as well as I. Out of the billions of applicants, only one is qualified, only one has the right combination of what it takes. That one is me. Because . . . . . .God made me special!
 
***
Printable Issue 2570  Today is Friday, May 17th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2570

In Praise of the Creator

~ Psalm 104:1-24 GNT

Praise the Lord, my soul!
    O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
you cover yourself with light.

You have spread out the heavens like a tent
and built your home on the waters above.
You use the clouds as your chariot
    and ride on the wings of the wind.

You use the winds as your messengers
    and flashes of lightning as your servants.

You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
    and it will never be moved.
You placed the ocean over it like a robe,
    and the water covered the mountains.
When you rebuked the waters, they fled;
    they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.

They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
    to the place you had made for them.
You set a boundary they can never pass,
    to keep them from covering the earth again.

You make springs flow in the valleys,
    and rivers run between the hills.
They provide water for the wild animals;
    there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
In the trees near by,
    the birds make their nests and sing.

From the sky you send rain on the hills,
    and the earth is filled with your blessings.
You make grass grow for the cattle
    and plants for us to use,
so that we can grow our crops
 and produce wine to make us happy,
    olive oil to make us cheerful,
    and bread to give us strength.

The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain—
    the Lord's own trees, which he planted.
There the birds build their nests;
    the storks nest in the fir trees.
The wild goats live in the high mountains,
    and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.

You created the moon to mark the months;
    the sun knows the time to set.
You made the night, and in the darkness
    all the wild animals come out.
The young lions roar while they hunt,
    looking for the food that God provides.
When the sun rises, they go back
    and lie down in their dens.
Then people go out to do their work
    and keep working until evening.

 Lord, you have made so many things!
    How wisely you made them all!
    The earth is filled with your creatures.

***

Printable Issue 2571  Today is Monday, May 20th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2571
Today's Max Lucado fits in well with our church sermon on Sunday. Our pastor talked about which way do we look? Through the wide, front window of our vehicle of 'life', or do we spend our time trying to move ahead, looking at the rear-view mirror, as we travel?
 
 
What's Done is Done

What do you do with your failures? Could you do it all over again, you’d do it differently. You’d be more patient. You’d control your tongue. You’d finish what you started. You’d get married first. But as many times as you tell yourself, “What’s done is done,” what you did can’t be undone.

That’s part of what the apostle Paul meant when he said, “The wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23). He didn’t say, “The wages of sin is a bad mood.”  Or “The wages of sin is a hard day.” Read it again.  “The wages of sin is death.”  Sin is fatal.

What do you do?  Don’t we all long for a father who will love us?  A father who cares for us in spite of our failures? We have that kind of a father.  A father whose grace is strongest when our devotion is weakest.  Your failures are not fatal, my friend!

****

Printable Issue 2572  Today is Tuesday, May 21st, 2013; Karen's Korner #2572
Dear Father in Heaven,
 
I am sad this morning.
The tornado news, as I tune in to the a television broadcast,
is devastating for a community in Oklahoma.
Adults and children did what their disaster drills taught them
but it wasn't good enough!
 
So I am sad!
Thank You that You are bigger than disasters,
ruin, even death.
You are with us no matter what happens next.
Thank You!
 
So be with all who have suffered loss -
of life, of property, of security in this life!
Allow them to know You in ways they have not in the past.
Forgive us for looking first to others for help -
family, friends, the bigger community, the government.
Help us to look first to You!
We need to be there for others when tragedy strikes,
but our help is so limited, no matter what we do!
 
But YOU!!
You care for 'ALL of our needs according to Your riches in Christ Jesus'!
Welcome those who have lost their lives in this storm....
into Your Forever Home!
 
Move us and use.......
in so many ways this morning!
But most of all help us,
help them to grab hold of Your Loving Hand!
Help all of us to sit on your lap .....
and then be with us as we tramp through the rubble of this life!
 
Thank You, Jesus..
 
AMEN
 
***
 
Printable Issue 2573  Today is Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013; Karen's Korner #2573
A couple of writings and Bible verses from a mini-book titled "Hearing God's Voice" by Catherine Marshall:
 
"God's sternness in dealing with me
did not seem quite like love.
Yet I thought of the many times
when it had taken far more love
for me to hold my son to what I knew was right
than to indulge him.
This is the kind of firmness
that is even proof of love."
 
"For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines."
~ Hebrews 12:6
 
**
 
"To call our Father in heaven a King,
in my opinion, is to understate the truth.
Consider the prodigality of the Father's world.
He did not create a single kind of fern,
but some 10,000 kinds;
not one type of palm tree
but 1500 different palms."
 
"And God saw all that He had made,
and behold, it was very good."
~ Genesis 1:31

****
Printable Issue 2574  Today is Thursday, May 23rd, 2013; Karen's Korner #2574
"Hallelujah!
Thank you, Lord!
How good you are!
Your love for us continues on forever.
Who can ever list the glorious miracles of God?
Who can ever praise him half enough?"
~ Psalm 106:1-2 LB
 
*
Bible Commentary:
"If we ever stopped to list all the miracles of the Bible,
we would be astounded.
They cover every aspect of life.
The more we think about what God has done,
the more we can appreciate the miracles he has done in our lives---
birth, personality development, loving friends and family,
specific guidance, healing, salvation.......
the list goes on and on.
If you think you have never seen a miracle,
look closer---
you will see God's power and loving intervention on your behalf!
God still performs great miracles!"

****
Printable Issue 2575  Today is Friday, May 24th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2575
Several sayings/quotes emailed to me by readers, plus a handful of Bible verses to take us into the holiday. Happy Memorial Day!
 
 
"We recognize
no sovereign but GOD,
and
no king but JESUS!
~ John Hancock and John Adams
 
*
 
"He who follows righteous and mercy.
Finds life, righteous, and honor."
~ Proverbs 21:23
 
*
 
"Don't put off until tomorrow
what you can do today.
By tomorrow it might be against the law."
~ Taken from the perpetual flip calendar "Simple Pleasures"
 
*
 
"But you are a chosen generation,
a royal priesthood,
a holy nation.
His own special people,
that you may proclaim the praises of Him
who called you out of darkness
into His marvelous light."
~ I Peter 2:9
 
*
 
"We can all be angels to one another. 
We can choose to obey the still small voice within,
the little whisper that says,
'Go. Ask. Reach out. Be an answer to someone's plea.'" 
~ Joan Wester Anderson, author of Where Angels Walk
 
*
"Greater love has no one than this,
that to lay down one's life
for his friends."
John 15:13
 
*
 
"We take the stars from Heaven,
the red from our mother country,
separating it by white stripes,
thus showing that we have separated from her,
and the white stripes shall go down to posterity,
representing our liberty." 
~  George Washington
 
*
"Now the Lord is the Spirit;
and where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty."
~ I Corinthians 3:17
 
Printable Issue 2576  Today is Monday, May 27th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2576
Taken from the book "God's Promise for the American Patriot"; may not be exactly right for Memorial Day. But a great reminder of someone faithful to our American heritage:
 
"God of Our Fathers"
 
"Civil War veteran and rector of a small Episcopal parish in Brandon, Vermont
Daniel C. Roberts
wanted a new hymn for his congregation to sing
in celebration of the American Centennial in 1876.
He wrote
"God of Our Fathers,"
and his congregation sang it on
July 4.
In 1892,
this hymn was chosen to be sung at the centennial celebration
of the United States Constitution.
 
**
 
God of our fathers, Whose almighty hand
Leads forth in beauty all the starry band
Of shining worlds in splendor through the skies
Our grateful songs before Thy throne arise.

Thy love divine hath led us in the past,
In this free land by Thee our lot is cast,
Be Thou our Ruler, Guardian, Guide and Stay,
Thy Word our law, Thy paths our chosen way.

From war's alarms, from deadly pestilence,
Be Thy strong arm our ever sure defense;
Thy true religion in our hearts increase,
Thy bounteous goodness nourish us in peace.

Refresh Thy people on their toilsome way,
Lead us from night to never ending day;
Fill all our lives with love and grace divine,
And glory, laud, and praise be ever Thine.
 
***
Printable Issue 2577  Today is Tuesday, May 28th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2577
Like many communities around the United States, Clarion veterans hosted a Memorial Day service locally yesterday.
 
I was asked by our local newspaper to take a couple of pictures so I scribbled a few brief notes to add to the photo caption.
 
The guest speaker was Mark Thompson, a native of neighboring Eagle Grove, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1977 - 1998, retiring as a Major. Currently, he serves in the Department of State working in such areas as counterterrorism, development and implementation of hostage policy and working with foreign governments to develop emerging terrorist threats. He lives with his wife near Washington D.C. and works in an office at the White House.
 
In my book that makes him a heavy-hitter.
 
In his remarks, Thompson said, "I always asked incoming Marines, 'why did you want to join the Marines?' Repeatedly their answers were, 'I wanted a challenge'." He said Marines live by the words 'never quit.....on themselves.......nor their teammates'. Referring to the Gettysburg Address which was read prior to his speech, Thompson said, "In Lincoln's brief address, he used the words 'dedication' and 'devotion' seven times." He challenged the listening audience to 'take the example of Marines and those in public service'........and to 'make a difference regardless of our position;' in life.
 
Some of his comments made my think of those of us who 'join the ranks' as a Christians:
 
* Are we ready for the challenge?
* Are we willing to never quit....
* On ourselves?
* On our Christian teammates?
* Like President Lincoln admonished his listeners at Gettysburg, do we serve with 'dedication' and 'devotion'?
* Are we willing to live lives of example whether we work out of the White House or 'our house'"?
 
And one of the phrases that he used that missed my possible newspaper tag-line, "never leave any soldier behind on the field of battle".
 
That should be our battle cry, as we take advantage of all the things God has to offer us. Among them eternal life for those who believe. Let's live our lives in such away that we 'leave none of our brothers and sisters behind on the battlefield of this life'.
 
And the best part: Unlike any armed forces Commander-in-Chief over generations, "Our 'Commander-in-Chief' has come to reside within each one of us via His Holy Spirit and to walk beside us wherever our journey might take us.
 
"Lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the world."
~ Matthew 28:20
 
*
""But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
you will receive power to testify about me with great effect,
to the people in Jerusalem,
throughout Judea,
in Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth,
about my death and resurrection."
~ Acts 1:8
 
***
Printable Issue 2578  Today is Wednesday, May 29th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2578
Taken from the book "Cat Psalms" by Herbert Brokering. The writer parallels what his cat taught him and prayers to God from what he learned:
 
Don't forget about my needs
 
I depend on them.
They think I rule the house.
I jump up to places where I am not supposed to be.
They look for paw marks on the table,
hair on the sofa.
They think I can do anything.
They do not understand.
I need their help--
though I hat to admit this.
I cannot turn doorknobs to get in and out at will.
The doors are closed.
The refrigerator is shut.
The food is sealed in cans and bags.
There is no live food to capture,
the birdcage is locked.
The toilet seat is down and I thirst.
I must lower myself to ask.
They call me independent,
but I depend on them.
If they go away or forget me,
I could die.
My life depends on them.
 
*
Dear God,
I depend on you.
I cannot reach all I need.
I cannot open clouds for rain, summon the morning sun or the moon by night.
I cannot bring the end of day or form the mountains.
I cannot call forth seasons in their order.
The key to my life is hidden from me,
the door to the future is locked.
My soul must ask.
I am born asking--for food, for comfort, to be held, for life.
I am born needing love and trust, joy, and family.
I cannot find all I need, or keep it.
My soul reaches out, takes, licks the bowl clean, waits for more.
I depend on you, O God,
My soul looks to you---
and a door is unlocked, food is opened, water poured, bread broken.
There is help, so I ask.
 
***
Printable Issue 2579  Today is Thursday, May 30th, 2013; Karen's Korner #2579
"Lord, don't let me make a mess of things.
If you will only help me to want to do your will,
then I will follow your laws even more closely."
~ Psalm 119:31-32 LB
 
*
Bible Commentary:
"Our lives are cluttered with rule books,
but the authors never come with us to help us follow the rules.
But God does.
That is the uniqueness of our Bible.
God not only provides the rules and guidelines,
but comes with us personally each day
to help us live according to those rules.
Of course, we must invite him to do this.
Do you?"
 
***
Printable Issue 2580  Today is Friday, May 31st, 2013; Karen's Korner #2580
As most Karen's Korner readers know, Clarion and our Marys and Marthas (M & Ms) group won one of the ten $10,000 National Make A Difference Day awards given a little over a year ago for our community's collective efforts on Make A Difference Day in October 2011.
 
Five of our group brought home the check from the award ceremony in Washington D.C. and our M & Ms members divided the money, giving it to 51 different events, projects, groups, and organizations. We were able to give money to purchase library books for our local school's elementary/middle school and public libraries. Money was given to our Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts, and county 4-H. We hosted a free movie at our local theater and rented the local swimming pool for an after-hours party and invited the community, among other things.
 
Because of the long, hot and dry summer, even the later two hours of swimming was enjoyed by nearly 200 swimmers at the event which we had titled "Splash Bash".
 
My husband Jim and I talked about how much fun it would be to repeat the swimming party this summer. But where would the funds come from? Our M & Ms group works to raise money for a handful of pool passes for families and individuals annually. It seemed unlikely that our fundraisers would generate the extra $200 for a rental fee.
 
Then he and I hit on a plan:  we would sponsor the summer event in honor of our daughter Merry's 40th birthday! Again, as most of you know, Merry was killed nearly fourteen years ago in a car accident.
 
Tomorrow, Saturday, June 1st, is her birthday; too early in the year for a swim party. We will host it later in the summer.
 
Here is the ironic part:   Merry will be 'paying' for the party.
 
How you might ask?
 
A month or so ago, we traveled to Amana where her husband Ed lives with his wife, Heather and two daughters. As we ate supper together, he gave us two U.S. Savings Bonds he had found in sorting through some things:  one, a $25 bond, was Merry's which had been purchased on July 4, 1976 in honor of the bicentennial of our country; the other, a $50 bond, was purchased in May 1992, the year Merry graduated from high school. Since one bond was made out in Merry's name and mine; the other in Merry's name and Jim's, they needed to be cashed by us.
 
While the face value wasn't that high, lots of time has passed.
 
Upon cashing them, the total amount came to about $215!
 
So if you are in Clarion on Saturday, July 20 between 8 - 10 p.m., please join us for "Splash Bash 2" at the Clarion Aquatic Center, as we celebrate Merry's 40th birthday.
 
Merry always liked being part of a party! She liked people!
 
Come!  She's buying!!
 
****