"Two hundred forty-seven years ago, the Fathers of this country signed the Declaration of Independence from England. They determined to 'live free or die.'

"Two millinea ago, Jesus said that if you will continue in His word, you will 'know the truth, and the truth will set you free' (John 8:32).

Political freedom is one thing; freedom is Jesus is something else, even though we sometimes get the two confused.

"Jesus sets us free from the power, the penalty, and -- to the extent we truly follow Him -- even the practice of sin.

"His life, death, and resurrection give the ultimate Truth. He Himself is the Truth that sets us free, Without Him, we would still be in slavery to our lusts and selfish desires.

"Therefore, Paul said, I should not allow myself to be yoked with slavery.

"What can enslave us?  It could be law, as in the context of Galatians chapter 4. It could be inner-heart passions. It could be traditions and opinions. It could be addictive substances or behavior. It, in short, could be anything that makes us committed to something other than Jesus."

"We need to renew our pledge of loyalty to Jesus and to Jesus alone. We need to truly listen to His Word so we can walk in it -- and be free."

"When you worship Me in spirit and truth, you join with choirs of angels who are continually before My throne. Though you cannot hear their voices, your praise and thanksgiving are distinctly audible in heaven. Your petitions are also heard, but it is your gratitude that clears the way to My Heart. With the way between us wide open, My blessings fall upon you in rich abundance. The greatest blessings is nearness to Me----abundant Joy and Peace in My Presence. Practice praising and thanking my continually throughout this day."

~ Taken from John 4:23 - 24; Psalm 100:4

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Yesterday a friend emailed me something her friend had forwarded to her. "Do I get Sarah Young's "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence"?

Yes, I do. But I thought if both of those gals enjoyed it, maybe Karen's Korner readers would enjoy reading July 26th's too. I have copied and pasted it just like it was sent to me. Complete with a couple of her/their add-ons:


"Relax and let Me lead you through this day.  I have everything under control:  MY control.  You tend to peer anxiously into the day that is before you, trying to figure out what to do, and when.  Meanwhile the phone or the doorbell rings (for a text comes in) and you have to reshuffle your plans.  
 
"All that planning ties you up in knots and distracts you from Me.  Attentiveness to Me is not only for your quiet time, but for all your time.  As you look to Me, I show you what to do NOW and NEXT. 

"Vast quantities of time and energy are wasted in obsessive planning.  When you let Me direct your steps, you are set free to enjoy Me and to find what I have prepared for you this day."

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It was 24 years ago today that Merry was killed in a car/semi accident.

One of the reasons I started Karen's Korner was that, among other things, I wanted to remember some things surrounding that time. And wanted to share several of the final emails she had sent to us.

Here is Karen's Korner from Friday, April 11, 2003; Karen's Korner #30:


Today is Friday, April 11th, 2003; Karen's Korner #30

".....when Merry died..." (third in a series)
 
Merry's car accident was on Wednesday. The visitation at the funeral home was Sunday night. The funeral was on Monday morning.
 
Even though this was the most terrible thing I had ever experienced in my 50-plus years, I had chosen not to turn my back on God. I knew that this was going to be an impossibility for me to handle and I knew that I was going to get through it only with "extra special" help. I had 2 choices to be mad at Him, which would result in my turning my back on Light, which meant I would walk in darkness; or I could walk toward Him and His Love, which would result in illumination of my future path.
 
I told God I couldn't possibly make it without His Help. It was going to be too difficult.
 
I learned that if a person makes that kind of choice in the darkest of hours, God will speak within our thoughts, emotions, and spirits.
 
I can recall two thoughts which were too outstanding to be my own.
 
The first one was at the funeral home. Because of Merry's young age (26), her activity level and involvement in the lives of lots of people in several communities, and Clarion being our hometown for more years than the Welds can count, people came to the visitation for hours. Merry's husband, Ed, had let us know that he wanted to be last person to leave the funeral home. We wanted to honor and respect that request.
 
As I was leaving the funeral home, I reached out to touch the knob of the back door and this is the thought that God gave me: "You raised Merry, you educated her, you loved her, and you returned her to Me, what more could any mother want!"
 
The second thought, both of which I term profound in the midst of loss and grief, was as we were leaving the funeral services. The Weld family attended, and were all members of, the Methodist Church in Clarion for the growing up years of both Jamie and Merry. Jim and I began attending the Church of Christ, near the time of Merry's high school graduation. The funeral would have been at the Church of Christ, but there was a street replacement project on the north side of the church. Not nearly enough places for people to park.
 
The decision was made for the funeral services to be at the Methodist Church. More parking. Bigger sanctuary. Even though Ed and Merry were active in the church near Amana, Merry was still a member of the Clarion Methodist Church.
 
As we were dismissed to leave the church, the Eastern Iowa Brass Band was playing a final hymn. One of the band members was also a pallbearer, so we stood at the back of the church and waited for Steve to come down from the balcony where the band was playing.
 
Standing there, the Thought came, "When you and Jim carried Merry into this church for the first time, she wasn't perfect. (She was born with a birth defect and had already had shunt surgery by the time she was six weeks old.) And now her friends are carrying her out of the church. For the first time in her existence, she is perfect!"
 
And I knew that Merry was loved and cared for, because I was!
 
........and we drove to the cemetery.....
 

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Coming out of Sunday, here is one of the ten commandments: