Sometimes we see names on streets or buildings, but we have no idea who that person may have been. In a book written by E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, the duo looks at people in "Christian History".

One featured was Francis Asbury, a name we sometimes see on Methodist churches or other buildings. Today's Karen's Korner is taken from that short writing. 

Asbury  was born to a poor family, near Birmingham, England in 1745. His parents were among the early converts of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism. They had found God while grieving the death of their infant daughter, Francis' only sibling.

Asbury's mother surrounded him with prayer, Bible reading, and hymns when he was a boy. Asbury was a good boy, but was ridiculed by many of his schoolmates because of their principles and his family's strict  lifestyle. At an early age, he put his life and trust in the Savior. He was so excited about his salvation that he became a local traveling preacher at age seventeen. By the age of twenty, he was ministering full-time in various Methodist preaching circuits throughout England.

On August 7, 1771, at age 21, he answered John Wesley's call for Methodist preachers to go to America. Asbury's answer, "Here am I, send me." His motto was, "Go into every kitchen and shop; address all, aged and young, on the salvation of their souls". He became a 'circuit rider' for which the young church was well-known.

Asbury traveled constantly for 45 yeas, covering about 300,000 miles, mostly on horseback. He crossed the Appalachians more than 60 times. When he came to America, there were about 300 Methodists and 4 ministers in America. At that time of his death, in 1816, Methodism has spread to every state with more than 214,000 people in America calling themselves Methodists. Asbury himself had ordained more than 4,000 Methodist ministers and preached more than 16,000 sermons.

"Francis Asbury gave his entire life to his ministry, forgoing a home and a family in order to spread the gospel on horseback. To what ministry have you been called? What sacrifice is God calling you to make?"

"I will gladly spend myself and all I have for your spiritual good."

2 Corinthians 12:15

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On Saturday, our church had a 'work day'. Volunteers came for an hour, two, or more. I worked for a bit over an hour. My job was to use a Q-tip and touch up scratches on sanctuary pews with stain. Worked well.

As I worked, I noticed that I had dropped a couple drops of the stain on the right sleeve of my orange sweatshirt. Hmm......

I knew. No amount of Oxy Clean or Spray & Wash would take it out. It was there to stay. Time to downgrade the sweatshirt to 'everyday' status.

Made me think of our 'spots' and 'stains'; doing things we shouldn't have done or said. Not doing things God has intended us to do.

As part of His 'Forever Family', we can ask for the 'spot remover' only God can provide! And those 'infractions' are removed from our lives.

What a plan! His idea! We didn't/don't deserve it, but we can get it!

"Sprinkle me with the cleansing blood and I shall be clean again. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."

~ Psalm 51:7 LAB

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# 2 of 12 "Thoughts on Thursdays"

Taken from the book "POWER THOUGHTS", 12 Strategies to WIN the Battle of the Mind, written by Joyce Meyer.

Sometimes the same thought rattles in our heads over and over. Personal finances. Health issues, our own or someone else's. World problems.

Meyer says to begin thinking about something else - repeatedly. Here is this week's:

"God Loves ME Unconditionally!"

Add that to last week's "I Can Do Whatever I Need To Do In Life Through Christ!"

She backs up her words with several Bible verses. Here are two:

"When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!"

~ 2 Corinthians 5:17

"Long ago, before He made the world, God chose us to be His very own, through what Christ would do for us, He decided then to make us holy in His Eyes, without a single fault--we stand before Him covered with His Love."

~ Ephesians 1:4

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Thank You, God, for loving me and us unconditionally!!

Max Lucado's email writing for today:

"God's Vision In God's Land"

"Joshua 21:45 says, 'Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.' Joshua and his men went from dry land to the Promised Land, from manna to feasts, from arid deserts to fertile fields. They inherited their inheritance:  the glory days of Israel. This is God's vision for your life. You, at full throttle. You, as victor over the Jerichos and giants.

"Paul describes it as a life in which 'Christ's love has the first and last word in everything we do' (2 Corinthians 5:14). A life in which Paul says, 'we do not lose heart' (2 Corinthians 4:16). A life defined by grace, refined by challenge and aligned with a heavenly call. In God's plan, in God's land...God's promises outweigh personal problems. Victory becomes a way of life! Your glory days await you!"

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Happy Labor Day!

"If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes, and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, 'You can stand over there if you like, or else sit on the floor'---well, judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives."

~ James 2:2-4 LAB

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Commentary: "Why is it wrong to judge a person by his economic status? Wealth may indicate wise decisions, and hard work. On the other hand, it may mean only that a person had the good fortune of being born into a wealthy family. Or it can even be the sign of greed, dishonesty, and selfishness. By honoring someone just because he dresses well, we are making his appearance more important than his character. We sometimes do this because 1) poverty makes us uncomfortable; we don't want to face our responsibilities to those who have less than we do; 2) we too want to be wealthy, and we hope to use the rich person as a measure to that end; 3) we want the rich person to join our church and help support it financially. All these motives are selfish; none of them sees the rich man or the poor man as a human being in need of fellowship. If we say Christ is Lord of our lives, then we must live as He lived, showing no favoritism and loving all people regardless of their circumstances.

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Today something written by Anne Graham; talking about bugs being attracted to light. It may be getting to the end of summer, but bugs are attracted to night lights!)

JUST TURN ON THE LIGHT!

"You were once in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light."

~ Ephesians 5:8 NKJV

"I live in the southern part of the United States. During the warmer months I particular, if I leave the porch light on at night, all sorts of moths and insects swarm to it. The variety can be fascinating. Everything from large luna moths to beetles to strange green crawly things beat and flutter their way to the light. I have never stood at the door and called these insects to come or set out bait for them. All I have to do is to turn on the light and they come to their own volition - by the hundreds. Moths, in the midst of the darkness, are not attracted to more darkness. They are attracted to the light.

"People today, living in the midst of 'darkness' are not attracted to more darkness; they are attracted to the Light. So let your Light shine! Lift it high! You don't have to have a clever presentation to your witness or learn evangelistic formulas or take a course on communicating to postmodern man. For heaven's sake, just turn on the Light!"

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Cry Out America, a national initiative begun in 9/11 at the time the New York City Trade Towers were destroyed along with thousands of lives, is once again organized for 2015 - and coming on Friday. Organizers are asking small groups of people to come together to PRAY for our nation and our world.

I have been asked to be one of the people organizing some of these smaller teams. If you are a 'pray-er' with your family members, church group, or other small band, let me know that you will agree to pray together some time on Friday, September 11. I will record it and send it to the Iowa state leader who, in turn, will submit it to the national group. Let me know how many and maybe where you are located.

Who knows the power of prayer?!

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' These things I remember as I pour out my soul, how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

"Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

"My soul is downcast within me, therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon---from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

"By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me---a prayer to the God of my life.

"I say to God my Rock, 'Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?' My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, 'Where is your God?'

"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God."

~ Psalm 42 NIV

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# 3 of 12 "Thoughts on Thursdays"

Taken from the book :POWER THOUGHTS", 12 Strategies to WIN the Battle of the Mind, written by Joyce Meyer.

Sometimes the same thought rattles in our heads over and over. Health issues. Broken relationships. Finances. Some new issue in the world. We want to 'fix' it; maybe it isn't something we can fix!

Meyer tells us to begin thinking about something else repeatedly. Something for which she practices, does herself daily. Here is this week's:

"I Will Not Live in Fear."

Or as I heard a speaker on a Christian radio station say yesterday, "Feelings are real, but they may not be true!"

A couple of Bible verses which Meyer uses to back up her thought:

"The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"

~ Psalm 118:6

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"What then shall we say to all this? If God is for us, who can be against us?"

~ Romans 8:31

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"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a strong mind."

~ 2 Timothy 1:7

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Something written a number of years ago by Ruth Bell Graham (Billy Graham's wife) and printed on the back cover of the current Decision magazine, a publication by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association:

The Savior's Tears

"'Jesus wept.'" But why?

"Knowing what lay ahead moments away ...

"Was it because He had not come, had waited when He heard Lazarus might die?

"Lazarus was dead!

"Was it in sympathy with their raw grief, their faith's important lack?

"Or could it be because He had to bring him back?"

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Something written by Anne Graham Lotz:

Trust Him!

"Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass."

~ Psalm 37:5 NKJV

"At times our understanding is limited. We simply have to trust our heavenly Father to know best. We have to trust God's silences and respect God's mysteries and wait for God's answers.

"When we pray for the healing of a loves one, and he dies.....

"When we pray for release from a financial burden, and we go bankrupt.....

"When we pray for reconciliation, and we are handed divorce papers....

"When we pray for our career, and we get laid off......

"When we pray for protection, and we are robbed.....

"We just have to trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him!!"

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"Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, 'I pity these people--they've been here with me for three days now, and have nothing left to eat; I don't want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road.'

"The disciples replied, 'And where would we get enough here in the desert for all this mob to eat?'

"Jesus asked them, 'How much food do you have?' And they replied, 'Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish!'

"Then Jesus told all of the people to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks to God for them, and divided them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples who presented them to the crowd! And everyone ate until full---4,000 men besides the women and children! And afterwards, when the scraps were picked up, there were seven basketfuls left over!"

~ Matthew 15:32 - 38 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Jesus had already fed more than 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. Now, in a similar situation, the disciples were again perplexed. How easily we throw up our hands in despair when faced with tough situations. Like the disciples, we often forget that if God cared for us in the past, he will do the same now. If we are facing any difficult situations, we must remember God cared for us; we need to trust him to work faithfully again."

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Today's entry by Sarah Young - "Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence" (written as if Jesus is talking directly to us as readers):

"Rest in Me, My Child. This time devoted to Me is meant to be peaceful, not stressful. You don't have to perform in order to receive My Love. I have boundless, unconditional Love for you. How it grieves Me to see My children working for Love:  trying harder and harder, yet never feeling good enough to be loved.

"Be careful that your devotion to Me does not become another form of works. I want you to come into My Presence joyfully and confidently. You have nothing to fear, for you wear My own righteousness. Gaze into My eyes, and you will see no condemnation, only Love and delight in the one I see. Be blessed as My Face shines radiantly upon you, giving you Peace."

~ Taken from John 15:13; Zephaniah 3:17; Numbers 6:25-26

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#4 of 12 "Thoughts on Thursdays"

Taken from the book:  POWER THOUGHTS", 12 Strategies to WIN the Battle of the Mind, written by Joyce Meyer:

"I am difficult to offend."

Joyce, like many of us, are either offended easily, because it tends to be the nature we were born with. Or we learned it. Maybe be a parent who 'fired back' at others easily and/or often. But that doesn't mean we have to stay that way!

The first paragraph of Meyer's chapter on becoming difficult to offend states, "People who want to live powerful lives must become experts at forgiving those who offend and hurt them. When someone hurts my feelings or is rude and insensitive to me, I find it helpful to quickly say, 'I will not be offended.' I have to say those words quietly in my heart if the person is still in my presence, but later when the memory of what he or she did returns to haunt me, I repeat them aloud. When I say, 'I will not be offended,' I always pray for God to help me, realizing that I can do nothing without Him. So once again, 'I pray and I say!'

She backs up her thinking with several Bible verses; here are two:

"Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything (without weakening)."

~ I Corinthians 13:7

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"Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble."

~ Psalm 119:165

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Add today's thought to our collection for the past three weeks:  "I will not live in fear!"; "God loves ME unconditionally"; and "I can do all things through Christ who give me strength."

Happy Friday; have a nice weekend!

"Jehovah is King! He is robed in majesty and strength. The world is his throne.

"O Lord, you have reigned from prehistoric times, from the everlasting past. The mighty oceans thunder your praise. You are mightier than all the breakers pounding on the seashores of the world! Your royal decrees cannot be changed. Holiness is forever the keynote of your reign."

~ Psalm, chapter 93 LAB

A Deposit of Power

"This may be the best kept secret in Christendom. Conversion is more than a removal of sin. It's a deposit of power! When you were born into Christ, you were placed in God's royal family. John 1:12 says, 'As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.' You have access to all the family blessings.

"Surprised? You ain't heard nothin' yet! Paul described the value of your portfolio. 'The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God and if children, then heirs--heir of God and join heirs with Chirst' (Romans 8:16-17).

"Whatever He has--we have! We were made for more than the wilderness. God saved you from Egypt so that He could bless you in the Promised Land. The gift has been given. Will you trust it? Don't measure your life by your ability; measure it by God's!"

~ Max Lucado, sent by daily email, late last week

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A Vessel of Beauty

"Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand."

~ Jeremiah 18:6 NIV

"The old clay pot was cracked, shattered, and broken. So the man took it to the Potter, Who broke it down even further, moistening the clay with water, making it soft and pliable before He put it on His wheel. Then He began to remake it into a vessel pleasing to Himself. He firmly applied pressure on some areas, touched lightly on other areas, added more clay to specific spot that needed filling, and removed clay that hindered and married the shape He had in mind. As He turned the wheel, His loving, gentle hands never left the clay as He molded and made it after His will.

"Finally, the Potter was finished. He took what had once been a broken clay pot off the wheel, but now it was unrecognizable. It had been transformed into a vessel of beauty. The Potter put it in His showcase that others might see the revelation of His glory in the work that He does.

"God is the Potter. You are His clay. How pliable are you to the soft, firm pressure of His touch?"

~ By Anne Graham Lotz

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In the next few days, Roman Catholics and all of us in the U.S. will be focused on Pope Francis visiting our country. It brought to my mind a perpetual flip calendar with sayings of Mother Teresa whose works and words will endure. Here are a couple of them for today, as we witness Pope Francis together:

""Jesus came to earth to give charity its rightful place in the hearts of men. 'By this,' he said, "men shall know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another' - and this commandment will last for all eternity. True love for our neighbor is to wish him well and to do good to him."

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"We stand before the world as ambassadors of peace by preaching the message of love in action that crosses all barriers of nationality, creed, or country."

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"What is important that you are holding on, that you have got a grip on Christ and he will not let your hand go."

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"Make us worthy, Lord, to serve our brothers and sisters scattered throughout the entire world, who live and die in poverty and hunger. Through the service of our hands, give them their daily bread; and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy."

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# 5 of 12 "Thoughts on Thursdays"

Taken from the book:  "POWER THOUGHTS", 12 Strategies to WIN the Battle of the Mind, written by Joyce Meyer:

"I Love People and I Enjoy Helping Them!"

Meyer had a less-than-the-best childhood and could have been trapped in 'bad thought patterns'. But she has allowed God to teach her and has worked hard to overcome less-than-the best thoughts. She chooses a single sentence and thinks of it over and over in a given day. Not allowing negative thoughts to control her mind. And pre-programming herself for what might come up.

By using today's thought, even though, I believe, Meyer 'loves people and enjoys helping them', that may not be true for 'everyone' coming into Meyer's life in a given day. Or 'enjoy helping them'. But by silently repeating that line, her thoughts will be programmed for something she may not care too much about coming her way in the future!

Bible verses which backs up her thinking:

"Let us not love (merely) in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth (in practice and in sincerity)."

~ I John 3:18

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"I give you a new commandment:  that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another."

~ John 13:34

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(What I can believe it! I forgot to send out a Karen's Korner on Friday? I always email five each week so that Fridays for example always end on in '5' or '0'. So you will be stuck with 'six' this week so I can once again come out even! Sorry!)

Today's Karen's Korner was written by Nancy Anderson, the severely handicapped daughter of Doris and Ken Anderson, who lived in Clarion for a number of years. We said good-bye to Doris at her funeral on Saturday afternoon. Nancy's writing was read at her mom's funeral.

At the age of four, Nancy had a case of measles that didn't break out, going instead internal; leaving her unable to walk and talk. Doris said at one time, doctors believed Nancy wouldn't live past 18 or 21 years old; she is now 67. In the past few years, Nancy has realized a dream: going to college. Her classes have included literature and writing. She hasn't taken the courses for grade, but to enjoy learning what she can and participating as much as possible.

Before you speed passed today's Korner, one written by Nancy for a college assignment (December 13, 2006); consider that it took Nancy about one minute to type each word by pressing her cheek against an apparatus connected to a computer keyboard to be able to put her thoughts on to paper!

By Nancy Anderson:

"I am writing this from the hospital. I hope you are all okay and never have to go to the hospital because it is not very fun. As I lay here, I am reminded how fragile my life is. We are all just a car accident, a virus, a moment away from death. What then, is the purpose of life?

:Some people say this is all there is--I mean life here on earth as we know it. If so, then eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow I die! Or I could just complain about how life was not fair to me. (Remember my wheelchair?) But these are not my beliefs, and that is not my attitude. I believe there is a heaven. That is my hope.

"What if I am wrong? What if there is no heaven? Where do you go when you die? Answer:  nowhere. You rot in the ground. if is done; it is over. So this is all there is. Work hard, make money, do good to others, have fun, play, relax. What you see is what you get. Then you die. If reminds of what a wise king once wrote:  'Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.' Congratulations, you just spent your life chasing the wind.

"I prefer a different message. I believe there is something more to come, a place called heaven. I hear about it in songs. I read about it in books. I see it on television. My pastor talks about it in church. Jesus was born on Christmas for us, he died to save us from our sins, he rose from the dead on Easter morning, he ascended into heaven, and he sits at the right hand of God. If there is no heaven, where did Jesus go? And why did he die? He died for a reason:  ME.

"Most importantly, I read about heaven in my Bible. Jesus promised that there are many rooms in heaven, and that he is preparing a place for me. I have this hope, so I say 'Meaningful, meaningful.' I will be very happy when this life is over and I get to go to heaven. The Bible tells me that in heaven there will be no more pain, and all my tears will be wiped away. It says it will be a very beautiful place, with a street paved with gold. I wonder if that street will have ramps for my wheelchair? Or maybe I will not need a wheelchair in heaven? (My professor tells me that there are no need of wheelchairs in heaven!) Will I be able to walk and talk? I hope so. Jesus can do that. Some men brought their handicapped friend to Jesus, and Jesus made him walk. He also forgave his sins, and he forgives mine, so I can be happy right now, too. Whether I can walk or not, my true joy will be to be with Jesus in heaven."

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Like many of you, I watched the lunar eclipse on Sunday night. There were maybe a dozen of us who enjoyed watching the 'movie' at a local lake.

Once again, I am amazed at how well ordered our universe is! We can set our clocks and our calendars to what is happening and may happen again in the future! Maybe years into the future!

Every day when we get up someone is going to remind us that the sun is coming up a minute or two later than yesterday; setting a minute or two earlier! And then...........it happens as a well orchestrated event!

Amazing! It's a showcase worthy of our praises!

"For God had made two things two huge lights, the sun and the moon, to shine down upon the earth---the larger one, the sun, to preside over the day, and the smaller one, the moon, to preside through the night; he had also made the stars. And God set them in the sky to light the earth, and to preside over the day and night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God was pleased."

~ Genesis 1:16-18 LAB

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Something written by Anne Graham Lotz:

We Are Wonderfully Made

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

~ Psalm 139:14 NIV

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"We can only imagine the concentrated thoughts that occupied the divine Mind and the gentle, skillful touch of the divine Hand that first shaped man from the dust. Where did the Creator begin? Did He start with skeletal frame? Did He then cover it with an outside layer of skin, which at no place is thicker than three-sixteenths of an inch, is packed with nerve endings to enable man to feel the outside world, and is virtually waterproof? Into the skin stretched over the frame did He next place the heart that pumps seventy-two times a minute, forty million times a year? When did He hang lungs in their sealed compartments so that the rivers of blood necessary for life can deposit the carbon dioxide and pick up oxygen to be carried to every single one of the more than twenty-six trillion cells in the body? When did He place the brain inside the bony skull and program it to send messages that travel faster than three hundred miles an hour along the nervous system to the entire body? Truly, we are fearfully and wonderfully and lovingly and personally created by an awe-inspiring, loving Creator!

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