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This picture was taken on Saturday afternoon late, as we prepared to close down for a couple of days. John Hernandez is doing some finishing touches on the door facings in readiness for paint to follow tomorrow and through-out the rest of the week. All the priming is completed and we have almost eliminated the blue trim that was everywhere. So it is coming along nicely.

We have ordered the carpet, and await the plummer. There is much ahead, but the basic readiness has been completed. John H., his wife Diane, and myself (+Joe when he has been able to be with us) have done much this past week. Now for the new year we are praying it is completed in record time, so we can move in and be ready for the 8th of February.

Oh yes, I am now posting from my MacBook. What a difference! It is so easy to post pictures, and work with text — much easier than my PC and much faster. It is a joy to work with the blog now instead of always a hassle of some sort from the programs. Also, my last podcast was done on the MacBook with GarageBand. It too is wonderfully easy to use. I am so delighted. I plan to be much more productive with all this in 2008. The MacBook was definitely a good idea.

We have most of Psalm 19 Ministry now beginning to work with iMac. It will take some time for the total conversion to take place, but our new machines are Mac’s. To our supporters, the last flyer you received as a Thank You was developed on my MacBack. Again, I did it with such ease that it was a total joy to do!

Stay tuned.

This was taken a week or so ago. Sorry, I did not take any pictures today. I will take one of this same area tomorrow so you can see the difference. The picture is of the back office (Joe’s and CD copy area etc…) with the storage area in front. It is to the back left of the Center as one will look at our platform. This now has folding doors (very nice ones) and all the wall board is primed. Oh how different it looks.

The Center is taking shape and every time I enter the building, my spirit gets very excited. Our Lord is going to do some great things with us here. Stay tuned — more tomorrow evening — at least I will try.

The walls only go so far up as you can see in the picture. This keeps us from running into enormous problems with lighting, heating, and sprinkling systems. This solved many possible problems for us.

When you think of us — we appreciate prayer that we get everything done and pass all the needed code elements. Bless you for reading.

First Love — New podcast up

Please click link on right and give a listen. I have a few more production issues to work out before I am completely pleased, but have much more control on my imac. I think the volume is good this time too. Give a listen and let me know what you think. Bless you.

As you can clearly see, we are making great progress. I say “we” but it is really the crew of wonderful volunteers that is getting it all done. John and Diane Hernandez, my husband-Joe, Faye DeJohn as well as several others — all giving tirelessly of their time and their energies to get this accomplished. I get to do little stuff, and I was away for 5 days on a “time away” period, so I really have not done much of the building etc. So much was accomplished while I was away. I am so blessed.

Stay tuned — more to come. I will probably have quite a bit of time to blog during the next week or so, if that is true, then I will have several entries.

Bless you for reading.

Keep praying as there is still much, much to do.

I have not forgotten about blogging and podcasting. However, I have too much, way too much to try to get done in these holidays months to be able to concentrate this direction. Please keep checking. I will be back soon.

Above is one of the “busy” reasons. It is our Psalm 19 Ministries’ Bible Learning Center “before” pictures. Actually we had accomplished a lot when this photo was taken. Now we have that wall down and others up, carpet removed, and we are ready to put wall board up. All this in the middle of a busy ministry season. I have such an appreciation for our volunteers who work endless hours to make things work for me and all at Psalm 19.

I drive (with several other ladies) to Canada this coming Friday for ministry both Saturday and Sunday. (Lauren is leading worship and I am teaching), then we return home on Sun. Evening. We appreciate your prayers as we travel and minister — as you think of us. We will be at the Joshua Center in Hamilton, Ont. Ca.

Thank you for reading and for caring — I have not forgotten and will be back — soon!

“He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.” John 12:40 NASB

I have been doing a lot of thinking and searching in my mind about my last post on Emotionalism. What is happening in me is a real revelation of what the Bible actually says and how we seem to believe something it doesn’t say.

There are no admonitions about “following” our emotions or the dangers of “being led by our feelings.” There just simply are none. The heart is often mentioned and mentioned in connection with the mind or with results that come from the mind, as in the above quote. When we begin to discover the understanding in both the Old and New Testament regarding the word “heart,” it is always the mind and the emotions involved. I have not found one place where it means only the emotions. It is both. The heart thinks, stores data, and is the motivation for speaking. Maybe I am missing something here, but I am not finding any indication that our emotions are not to be 100 percent involved in what we are doing.

We are to have hearts that are aflame with God, not hard ones (both in picture). But for some reason we, in the US anyway, have come to believe that emotional interaction in church or anywhere regarding the Lord is a lack of education or maturity. How very far from the truth this is!

We need to truly be Biblical. Let us work with Word terminology and not what we “see” or even with modern psychological understanding. Emotional expressions are a part of our release of the love of Jesus, and should not be shut out. Those expressions do not have to be loud, or pentecostal, or anything else, but they must be released or else our religion will be blinded by intellectual information instead of the reality of love released into life.

We are not “cookie-cutter” Christians. We are different from one another, and our expressions of the release of His love will be different. But we must allow freedom here, and we must warn those who choose to be “non-emotional” of the dangers of that, and its non-Biblical premise.

“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8

It seems strange to me that many times those of us who are charismatic in our theology are accused of riding on emotionalism. I am sure some do, however, by far I find most of us are working in an area of misunderstood truth.

The scripture above is a statement by the Lord Jesus and is descriptive of His people. It is not trying to say we are unreliable, or unstable in our lives and responsibilities. However, it does speak of producing something that is seen and felt. In fact, if one begins to study the Holy Spirit in the New Testament we find that almost all of the descriptive terms about Him are emotions expressed. Let’s see, comforter, encourager, wind, breath, life, hope, then there are the nine characteristics of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22. They are all emotional expressions of reality: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

There is almost no way to know the Holy Spirit or His ways in the Church, if we do not freely “feel” Him. I realize that some of us (a long journey for my English/Irish bones) are more reserved in our interior than others, but none-the-less, in order to flow (oh what a wonderful descriptive term) in the Spirit in His Word and ways, one must “feel” and “know.” Not just “know.”

Faith also has a “feeling” to if, if you will. When it rises inside, there is a “knowing” and our feet go down in its fact. Not a seen fact, but a fact of Scripture and of truth. When that happens, it occurs as a feeling.

We may not all agree on what are proper responses, and what are “over-the-edge” responses, but we do need to see that if we work at all in the area of truth in the Holy Spirit, it is emotional in its response.

This being true, then I think the Body of Christ needs a big dose of “emotionalism,” uh…I mean Him!

Just some thoughts.

“The secret counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him, and He reveals His covenant to them.” Psalm 25:14 HCSB

We know that as we dwell in friendships, especially close ones, we get to know one another deeply as time is spent together. In a Christian friendship much is shared and treasured as two hearts in friendship open and receive from one another’s heart. We all know this. There are reasons for our sharing deeply with only those we trust. Those are usually the ones who take the time to be with us and know us. Casual friendships are also treasured, but they do not hold the the same depth of personal sharing.

We are made like our Lord. This passage in Psalm 25 tells us (what Mark 4 and other passages also share with us), that our Lord loves to share with people who love to have Him share. He has secrets in His Word about Himself that He longs to share, but they can only be shared in-depth and therefore it takes time to listen and learn to know Him in those ways. He says those secrets are reserved for those who choose to take the time to allow Him to be Himself with them and show Himself to them. He loves to share and loves to listen to our sharing. I fear that all too often I am prone to do my part of the sharing, but do not take the time needed to allow Him to share Himself — not just for me to share with others, but for me to treasure in the depth of my friendship in Him. I am thankful for His forgiveness and grace. I know you are too.

I find myself wanting more of Him. Well, here is the answer to that. Lord I hear. I know you will help me when I want to run off and “do” instead of listen and treasure. I choose the later. Help me remember that is my choice.

New Podcast – Link on Right