Be Courageous Be Bold Hebrews 4:16

On bended knee I humbly bow

To face the God of Israel…

Too many fallen from your grace…

If only we would seek your face

Wars and rumors of wars on far and distant shores

People running afraid, for its knocking on their doors

People dying

People crying

People of every race…

So why not bend your knee and pray and seek God’s holy face…?

How long?

How long will you shake your fist at God and say he does not exist…?

Hi tech and things gone viral…billions on their way to Hell…

Invisible worlds are all around us, but no one wants to tell…

The story of a man who died but came back to life again…

The son of God, Yeshua, with his blood shed, he bled and died on Mt. Calvary

They say, It’s imaginary, don’t waste my time; it’s a child’s fairytale, I’m not buying what you’ve got to sell…

On bended knee I cry out for you, for your soul to be set free…

For ears to hear and eyes to see…what God is doing now for thee

Only through the name of Yeshua will you ever have victory…

Repentance is the only way, so turn to Him and bow your knee…

You may not understand right now…But when you face eternity…

It’ll be too late, to bend your feeble knee.

God does not wink at sin my friend…this is not a game…

He’s taking roll-call right now; will he be calling your name…?

He’s writing in the book of life…is your name written there…?

Don’t put it off for another day…bend your knee in prayer…

God, you see what this world’s come too…you made a way, you sent the truth, you’re offering life not death…

So before you take another breath, friend…make things right with Him…

Time is short God’s plan in place…

Oh God have mercy and grace…

The curtain’s been torn…many die and mourn…

Come quickly LORD and take us home…

For this world is not where we belong…

Let all those who are new born…rest in your loving embrace.

~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 20, 2017

By faith (insert your name) can please God, live in the now, conquer fear and doubt, by faith (YOU) can do ALL things with the Help that comes from the LORD! How do you get faith? You live each moment of your life trusting in a God you cannot see knowing that He is and that He’s working all things for your good! By faith we live, and by faith we die. Without faith it is impossible to please God…so live by Faith…it is the confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. The ancients lived by faith…

Hebrews 11 New International Version (NIV)

Faith in Action

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

 

 

Why are you weeping little one…

When joy should fill your soul…

Why are you seeking for something that has gone…

Lift up your face and see the Son…

Open your heart to see the dawn…

Your next adventure is on the horizon…

Time does not stand still

Like the mighty river it goes on and on…

Pouring new life and new birth along its path

Never stagnant, never just sitting still

Good morning trees, good morning flowers

Waving as it passes by…

You are passing by this way not meant to ever stay…

But while you’re here you are to live, to give, to laugh and play

You’re to sing and to dance and lend a hand to others passing by this way…

The river never sleeps, it never stops, it rushes over mountains and through valleys

It flows past lands and over rocks…giving life and substance, flowing over life’s hard knocks…the river is brave and strong and alive…

It rises above turmoil, runs towards its challenges and even moves mountains that stand in its path…it has no cares, no wants, no burdens, it keeps going no matter what…

You are a river, born from the Well-Spring…

Keep moving…steadily downstream…so all who drink from your waters will never be thirsty again…

The river of life is flowing…

~~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 19, 2017

John 7:37-39 New Living Translation (NLT) Jesus Promises Living Water

On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)

Zechariah 14:7-9 New International Version (NIV)

It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.

On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.

The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.

As I stepped into the garden…

There was light shining not just on the leaves of the trees…the leaves were illuminated through and through as they shook in kind acknowledgement of my presence and it was very good.

My first step was strong and bold as I knelt beside the streams of living waters…

Sea-creatures danced up and over the waters and dove deep into the sea…

I ran with lions and heard their triumphant roar…

I bent to smell flowers I called them roses and honeysuckle…they are the sweetest…and the sunflowers lifted their heads to the bright unfailing sun and I smiled for it was all very good…

Lying in the tall luscious grass, I looked up at the sky and counted the stars all too numerous to number…I see the Milky Way and I watch the moon gleaming in the night, full and brilliant the lesser light to rule the night.

I climbed the mountains and spoke to the valleys here and there…Snow peaks the mountain tops and streams of waters ran into the valleys so that fresh vegetation and the animals are fed and watered.

The eagles fly among the heavens and tiny sparrows sing among the trees…this fills my heart with joy and peace…and I burst into song…I dance among the lilies of the field my joy is full…

I will give all of this to my son. I will call him Adam…the first man.

It is all very good…

Everything is as it should be I will take this day and call it rest…

~~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 18, 2017

Genesis 1:1-31 King James Version (KJV)

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.

And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the third day.

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so.

And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also.

And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,

And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.

And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

Why does it seem that people are always talking about God but don’t seem to talk to Him. I mean we talk about Him and read about Him and sing and discuss Him…but God is always present…why not talk to Him…

He hears our conversations, but we are not aware of Him…

We should, be aware of Him, especially when we are His children…and yes He’s invisible but that does not mean we are not in His presence. He made Himself visible when He sent Jesus. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, the promise, that He would live in us, when He ascended to the Father. We see Him in the earth, in the wind, in the sea. We see Him in each day break and sunset. We see Him in the faces of newborn babies but we don’t recognize Him. Stop and see.

We read and study the Bible about God. We go to Church and hear about Him. We read devotionals and listen to television and radio messages about Him…

It’s not like He’s not in the room with us, but we don’t acknowledge Him….We talk around Him…we talk about Him…we say we know He’s real and He’s our friend and we love Him…so why don’t we talk to, Him…?

Not only that, as His children…His Holy Spirit lives within us…He reveals Jesus to us…so why…why do we not talk, to, Him, directly? We even ask other people to pray for us and there is nothing wrong with that…but He wants us, you and I, to talk to Him…and listen. If we say He is our Lord and we know Him, not just know about Him…then we have to realize He is in the room with us…We are in His presence…He is ever present, so we should stop ignoring Him…

We need to realize that we are spiritual beings living in a temporal body. We have emotions and feelings and thought and ideas and behaviors in a natural life but our spirit is going to leave our earthy bodies one day…to live in an eternal place. A place that is more real than where we are now. It’s a supernatural place. We won’t need our bodies in that place…but we will be known as we are known. Some believe that, and some do not. Talk to God, He will tell you it’s true.

Recognize your spiritual self and recognize that God is a Spirit and being His child we are like Him in spirit…Even while we are still in this temporal body. Walk in the spirit, live in the spirit, because when we do…we will recognize God is all around us and we won’t ignore Him anymore. We will acknowledge that He is, in the room. We’ll be more aware of how we talk and what we do and where we go and how we treat others.

Your best friend is with you all the time…and the best part about that is that, we can, talk directly to Him at any moment of the day or night. He’s standing right there right now…don’t be shy…He knows you and He’s waiting to have a good conversation with you…

~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 18, 2017

Psalm 139New American Standard Bible (NASB)

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all. You have enclosed me behind and before, And laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is too high, I cannot attain to it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, And the light around me will be night,” Even the darkness is not dark to You, And the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to You.

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

O that You would slay the wicked, O God; Depart from me, therefore, men of bloodshed. For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with the utmost hatred; They have become my enemies.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Psalm 46:10-11 

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:24 ESV

He calls me friend. John 15:15 

…“Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” Matthew 26:40-41

And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. John 17:5 NIV

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.

They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” Luke 24:31-32 NIV

You know when you reach my age your perspective changes you have more memories behind you and you begin to wonder how many you will have in the future.

We’re supposed to take one day at a time…live in the now and forget the past and don’t think about the future…

But somehow I just don’t think that is exactly right…otherwise why did God give us memories and why did he say, He knows the plans he has for us a plan of hope and a future.

Now of course dwelling or living in the past is not healthy but it’s ok to remember the former days. Learn from mistakes and try not to have too many regrets when we come to the end of our days…

And living in the future well how can you live somewhere that doesn’t exist yet? So yeah living in the now is the best option…

The thing is, is that, if you don’t like where you are living now…you can always do something about it…because nothing stays the same…

You may say, “Marla what are you talking about? I’ve been in this situation for thirty years and nothing ever changes.”

Well I’ll tell you, if you want a change you have to make a change. We are constantly moving in time and space. It doesn’t feel like it because we can’t see it or feel it but the earth is always spinning…

Every person has a choice…we only get one life on this planet some may feel they don’t have the money or the best education or the right opportunities haven’t come along but we all have choices…

It’s a mindset…there have been people with disabilities that have overcome every obstacle but we make excuses…instead of making choices…

Today I was reading a book and I want to share the story I read in this book that made me adjust my attitude real quick. Taken from the book, ‘The Singing God’ by, Sam Storms.

The chapter is called Singing in the Cesspool…

Really? Yes, really!

“This was a testimony given by a pastor from China at a conference in 1991.

He had spent eighteen years in prison for his faith. Here is a man who seemed to have every reason to doubt God’s love for him. But he didn’t.

His assigned task in the camp was to empty the human waste cesspool. Being atheists, the prison guards took sadistic pleasure in giving this job to the Christian pastor whose faith they despised. They never knew what a blessing it turned out to be. Listen as this remarkable man of God describes his experience.”

It was more than two metres in breadth and two metres in length, filled with human waste collected from the entire camp. Once it was full, the human waste was kept until it was ripe and then dug out and sent to the fields as fertilizer. Because the pit was so deep, I could not reach the bottom to empty it, so I had to walk into the disease-ridden mass and scoop out successive layers of human waste, all the time breathing the strong stench.

The guards and all the prisoners kept a long way off because of the stench.

So why did I enjoy working in the cesspool? I enjoyed the solitude. In the labour camp all the prisoners normally were under strict surveillance and no one could be alone. But when I worked in the cesspool I could be alone and could pray to our Lord as loudly as I needed. I could recite the Scriptures, including all the Psalms I still remembered, and no one was close enough to protest. That’s the reason I enjoyed working in the cesspool. Also I could sing loudly the hymns I still remembered.

In those days one of my most favorite was “In the Garden.” Before I was arrested this was my favorite hymn. When I worked in the cesspool I knew and discovered a wonderful fellowship with our Lord. Again and again I sang this hymn and felt our Lord’s presence with me.

“I come to the garden alone,

While the due is still on the roses;

And the voice I hear falling on my ear,

The Son of God discloses.

And He walks with me and He talks with me,

And He tells me I am His own,

And the joy we share as we tarry there,

None other has ever known.”

 

Again and again as I sang this hymn in the cesspool, I experienced the Lord’s presence. He never left me nor forsook me. And so I survived and the cesspool became my private garden.

 “The next time you begin to wonder if God really loves you; try singing in your cesspool. God’s love can work wonders virtually anywhere!”

I cried as I read this story. “Why?” Because lately I have felt so alone I could hardly bear it. I couldn’t hear God’s voice. I couldn’t feel him near me when I’d call out to him. I couldn’t write and I prayed, “God what’s wrong with me…where are you God?”

God was with me. But I have been distracted by many things…so I needed to praise Him and sing to Him but I’ve been so depressed and concerned about health issues and missing my family…the enemy was using everything he could to keep me silent and isolated in my soul. I can’t blame him completely I mean I know what to do but I just wasn’t doing what I knew to do. So I picked up this book and read and there in black and white God opened my eyes and my heart to see, that at least I’m not in a cesspool…

I can sing as loud as I want and no one will yell at me to be quiet…I can read in freedom and dance and no one will see…I can talk to God with no time limits or prisoner guard watching me…I have so much to be thankful for.

Are you feeling like you’re all alone? Are you feeling like God is far off…? He’s not…

Right now go to a quiet place, sing the song you know to your papa God and let him give you a private garden…

When the enemy comes in…Like a flood the Spirit of the Lord will lift a standard against him…and he will run…

Depression has to go in the name of Jesus…

Sickness has to go in the name of Jesus

Doubt and fear, all anxiety and sadness, has to go, in the name of Jesus…

As soon as we turn the praise faucet on…glory comes down and floods our soul with the presence and assurance of the Living God and we are set totally and completely free!!!

Go on…Sing, and God will sing right along with you!

~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 13, 2017

So [as the result of the Messiah’s intervention] they shall [reverently] fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him and put him to flight [for He will come like a rushing stream which the breath of the Lord drives]. Isaiah 59:19 Amplified

You’re walking along life’s road, holding the Masters hand. You’re singing and skipping, you’re happy without a care in the world…

You wake each morning happy and content knowing your relationship with Jesus is awesome…the Holy Spirit tells you some amazing things and you’re thrilled at what you hear.

Then a few days go by and you don’t hear His voice. You go about your day and you feel a little off. You’re not as happy as you had been. You stopped singing and everything and everyone seems to be more difficult to deal with.

You become critical and irritable about everything. You try to pray but your hearts just not in it. Your spouse says something and before you know you are biting his head off. Then he bites back. Layer upon layer of dirt has begun to pile on top of your spirit and you just feel awful. You have no energy and you don’t want to be around anyone.

Before you know it you’ve isolated yourself. You see your Bible sitting on the table but you just don’t want to read it. Then you realize something is terribly wrong.

But you don’t know what…

You pray, “God what is wrong with me?”

You’re buried in so much mud that you can hardly walk. You’re shoulders slump and your face becomes weary and haggard.

But you’re a Christian…you know you’re saved…so why all this oppression and depression…what is it?

Sunday comes around and you have thoughts of skipping the service and you think to yourself, I’ll just stay home today I’ll catch it online…

There’s a tug at your heart… “You know you should go…” Holy Spirit whispers.

Then your spouse says, “You know, we can still make it even if we’re a little late. You wanna go?”

Without hesitation you say, “Yes, let’s go.”

So you get to the Church no parking space available but it’s OK we’ll just go to the back lot. No big deal. You get in the Church it’s packed. So you take a seat in the very back row. You hear one song, missed the worship, but it’s OK.

Then the Pastor begins to speak…He pours his heart out to everyone…and at the end there is an altar call…your heart is convicted so much that you feel like you want to be saved all over again…but all you really need is a good bath in the Spirit…so you pray and get clean…you cry all the way out to your car…still feeling the effects of the anointed message…

And then the next morning…you read some Psalms…you pray in the Spirit and the breaking comes…and God and you are one on one…and you are on your knees asking him to forgive you and he does…then he speaks…and he says…

I said I will never leave you and I never will…those moments when you can’t feel me or hear me it is because you’ve let so much dirt pile up between us that you can’t hear me. It’s only when you humble yourself before me and ask to be washed and cleansed by my word that all the layers of dirt is gone and then your ears are clean, your heart is clean and you can hear my voice again…

How awesome our Father God is, his mercy is from everlasting to everlasting…

Do you need a bath? Are you oppressed and depressed? Are you irritable and angry? Are you tired and weary and worn out from the struggles of life? Maybe your layers have become mountains…and you don’t even know you’re separated from your relationship with God. I’m here to tell you if you are experiencing any of this…get alone and pour your heart out to Him, he will listen and he will clean you up…it only takes a tiny mustard seed of faith and those mountains will come tumbling down. Your strength will be restored, your joy and peace will return. You will jump and skip and run with new vitality because your relationship with the Lord will be restored.

Don’t put it off…Go pray right now…God wants to have a conversation with you…and you will feel so good after a good scrubbing…be sure to get between your toes and behind your ears…you don’t want to leave one bit of dirt behind…

Take a deep breath and be filled with new joy…

The Joy of the LORD is your strength!

~~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 10, 2017

Lord,

The time I have left here in this life

Let it be to serve you…

When I talk, let it be your words…

When I walk, let it be in the paths you set before me…

What I hear, let it be your voice saying, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

God, I am just a woman nothing extraordinary about me. But God I love you with a heart that’s on fire for you…when I fall and I’m bowed low…let me humble myself before you and repent and turn away from all that is not like you and seek you with my whole heart, mind, body and soul.

You are the Morning Star, You are my Strong Hold…there is no one or nothing that compares to You…My Rock, My Hiding Place, My Deliverer, My Rescuer…My heartbeat…

For You, Oh God brought me out of a deep, dark, endless pit…You washed me and cleansed me and loved me when I was unlovable…

You took all my guilt, all my shame and you called me to be yours….and yours alone…

Take my life, take all of me and let me forever worship your Holy Name…

I thank you my Father and my God…I thank you Majesty, My Jesus, My Love…

Do not keep silent, do not leave me alone…I surrender my whole life to your instruction and your plan…keep me Oh God always by your righteous right hand…Do not forsake me…You have said you would never leave me or forsake me…I know your words are true…

The enemy attacks from all sides…his roars are loud and terrifying…But You OH GOD are greater…you break his attacks and mash his advances, when I am humble and obey your commands…to love and forgive…you save me…

In your presence my Joy is fulfilled and the pleasures you bring are more precious than pure gold…I am yours and you are mine…drive out the enemy, drive them out as far as the east is from the west…drive them into the swine and do not let them overtake me…when I am afraid I will trust in You.

I praise and worship You Holy One…Amen and Amen!!

You give rest and peace to your Children…

Let my eyes see your Face Oh God and let no corruption come out of my mouth…

Strong drink is a mocker and lies destroy nations…hate kills souls and brings war…

But Your Love and Mercy saves multitudes…

You are My Strong Hold…I will cling to you for you are my life force…

Let your blood flow through my veins…and let my heart beat as yours…

Rescue us Oh God…let people see your glory…Restore and vindicate the weak and weary…Let the weak say, “I AM STRONG!”

Arise Oh my Love and Come quickly Lord Jesus…evil abounds in this land…but You Oh Lord will rescue us and save us from the wicked…keep us while we are in this place and keep us from the evil one…

I thank you my God that I can walk with you and talk with you and you answer me in your still small voice…

And yet…Your voice is like the roars of many waters…you open your mouth and you sing songs of love over me…the stars burst into song as day runs into the night…

The birds are silent when you speak and the flowers dip their head when you smile…

The mountains grow taller to reach your heavens and the horses race to find you…

Forgive me Oh Lord of all my transgressions and let me forever be humble in your sight…I throw kisses and embrace your kindness…for You are the God of my salvation. Amen!

Marla’s Song The Penitent Heart July 10, 2017

Bob and I were very busy over the fourth of July. Bob worked nonstop putting down a new floor in our living room. Working by the sweat of his brow is an understatement but it’s finally complete. Now the fun part for me…I get to put all my books back on the bookcases and rearrange knickknacks and decorate…YaY!!!

As I was in the process of this wonderful task, I saw that I had two little box plaques one says, “It is Well with My Soul” and the other says, “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” So…an idea popped into my brain, POP, just like that. LOL! Anyway to the point…I decided to print out the old hymns from the internet; frame them, and create a wall of the beautiful old songs I grew up singing. Amazing Grace, In the Garden, Blessed Assurance, and of course, It is Well With My Soul. And I thought it would be awesome to share it with you.

Times change…fads come in and go out. Faces of people grow older and new ones come in, and it made me think…No matter how young, or how old you get, music moves the soul…

There’s jazz, rock and roll, classical, blue grass, country, rap, gospel, contemporary Christian; as a matter of fact there’s music today I’ve never even heard of…but anyone can relate to music. It’s universal…play an upbeat piece of music and before you know it you’re tapping your foot and humming along. Play a slow, melancholy piece and it puts you in a somber mood…

Music certainly does speak to the soul…

Lullabies put babies to sleep…

Rock n’ Roll makes you wiggle in ways that would make your grandma blush…

I think you get my drift…

To me there is nothing better than turning on Contemporary Christian music and before long I’m twirling and spinning, caught up in worship before the living God…and an old gospel hymn will make me cry in a heartbeat of days long gone, listening to the lyrics and singing to the top of my lungs…remembering church gatherings and altar calls and sinners running to the altar to pray, asking Jesus to save them.

And singing this old song, Oh when the Saints go marching in, Oh when the saints go marching in…Oh Lord I want to be in that number…when the saints go marching in…

I’m filled with joy and happiness knowing where my loved ones are right now and one day I will be with them…

Oh what music must be like in heaven…

To hear God sing and Jesus and the disciples sing, and the angels, and loved ones all gathered together in God’s living room making a joyful noise…I can hear them now…

Everything gets real quiet and way in the very back of the room I hear my mama as she begins to sing her song about heaven. Heaven….happy home above…Heaven…land of peace and love…Oh it makes me feel like traveling on…Heaven… eternal, Heaven… supernal…I’m so glad that it’s real……

So for now I’ll enjoy these old hymns and sing along from time to time. And wait for that beautiful day when I get to go home.

For now…

It is Well with My Soul….

By the way when I get everything arranged the way I want it I’ll share pictures.

Love and blessings!

~~Marla Shaw O’Neill July 6, 2017

Good morning precious friends, brothers and sisters,

I’ve been struggling with some things lately and I’d like to share this with you if you don’t mind.

A few weeks ago I watched a movie and in this movie the mother had died but she had written letters and left them in various places she knew each child would find. I thought how wonderful that would be and I wished that my mom had left a letter for us and I would like to do that for my children. Then I thought, oh well what better message could mom have left us than the way she lived her life. Still it would have been nice. So I picked up her Bible and read it but no letters were there. I wondered if maybe she had written something in some of her other journals but I’ve gone through all of them and didn’t find anything for us personally.

I have not felt very good lately, physically and emotionally. Missing my mom and my family it’s really difficult at times especially when you are growing older and time seems to fly by so quickly and yet at times as if it is standing still. But you know what? God hears us even when we whisper the simplest request…

Over the last four days I began having heart palpitations and so very tired, so on the third day I went to see the doctor. He said it wasn’t life threatening and he would order a heart monitor and we’d go from there. I have been sleeping a lot because I just don’t have any energy. This morning I woke and felt stronger, I know prayers have been going up for me. God is faithful.

So I ate some breakfast, let me back up a minute. About a month ago the Holy Spirit spoke to my spirit and instructed me to read from the Bible the Epistles; I read some and then got distracted. This morning He reminded me to go back and keep reading the Epistles. I decided to read from a Bible called Women of Faith Study Bible, I had not read from it in years. I read my Spirit Filled Bible but it was by my bed.

I read the book of 2 Peter and onto 1 John when some papers fell out of the back of the Bible. It was an email from November 2007, which my sister Barbara had sent to me when I was working. I guess I had tucked it in my Bible. It was about being an old person. I noticed there was something hand written on the back and so I opened and read…

Dear Marla,

By mistake Clyde brought your Bible up here to the hospital thinking it was mine. Today is Feb. 26, 2010, the anniversary of Mama’s passing, this note reminded me of her and the way she thought. It brought a little tug at my heart, but peace too. Because I know someday I will be gone too. But not forgotten. The last phrase got to me, like not wasting time about the past. Like Sister Nora always says, “flush it” Please forgive me for writing on your letter, but I need to tell you that you and Barbara mean the world to me and I’ve always been proud of you. May God bless you with Wisdom and Understanding and Much Peace. Know too that there are not perfect people “only forgiven.” With God’s mercy and help we will make it.

In your Bible I read this written by:

Alice Cary-1820-1871

There are briers besetting every path,

Which call for patient care;

There is a cross in every lot,

And in need of earnest prayer,

But a humble heart that leans on the Lord

Is happy anywhere!

Love you darling girl be happy! <3

Love,

Mom

It was a message especially for me from my mom. I burst out crying because God had heard my heart’s desire and just when I needed my mom the most there she was telling me to be happy.

You cannot tell me there is no God. You cannot tell me he doesn’t answer prayer…too many times…he’s spoken to me and shown me his grace and love and help. Even to give me a simple letter from my mother who has since gone to heaven July will be two years. It was no mistake that I picked up that Bible. God knew the letter was there and he had wanted me to find it and today as I obeyed his prompting his precious gift was there waiting for me.

Tears are flowing, tears of joy because mom had left me a special letter after all these years it was there waiting for me to find it on this day when I needed her encouragement and love. No she will never be forgotten…I love you mom! And God I love you beyond life!!! Thank you! Amen.