Scripture Only Sunday

Praise the Lord.

Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. 

Let the name of the LORD be praised, both now and forevermore. 

From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised. 

The LORD is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens. 

Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high,  who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? 

He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap;  he seats them with princes, with the princes of their people. 

He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children.

Praise the Lord.

Psalm 113

Saturday Sketches

A new feature…read about it here.

Thankful Thursday

“Silent gratitude isn't very much use to anyone.” (Anonymous)

Father – to glorify your name for your amazing grace here, every day…I am grateful for…

451.  New art supplies…possibilities

452.  “B” averages for drivers discounts

453.  Sons who have jobs and pay their own automobile insurance

454.  Growing chicks

455.  Building housing for chickens when they are bigger

456.  Darling daughter and dear son-in-love preparing for spring planting season

457.  Scripture that speak to my heart …    

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.”     Ezekiel 11:19

458.   Timely sermon entitled… “The Heart’s Design”

459.   Timely lines in book… 

“There are as many opportunities to change your heart as there are events you’re a part of.  Everything is an opportunity to change your heart.  That’s what life is about…to say “Yes” in what time is about.  Kairos, the other Greek word for time, means opportunity to change your heart.  Time…looked upon from below, it’s chronos, “I have to survive, and fight my way through it.”  Looked at from above, it’s kairos, the opportunity to change your heart in everything you do.”  Henri Nouwen from Beloved

460.   Beloved Jesus speaks more intimately…

“Every woman possesses a captivating beauty.  Every woman.  But for most of us it has been long buried, wounded, and captive.  It takes time for it to emerge into wholeness.  It needs to be cultivated, restored, set free.

How do we cultivate beauty?  How do we become ever more beautiful?  By tending to our hearts with great care, as a master gardener tends to her work.”  John & Staci Eldredge from Captivating

Father – My  heart melts within me.  How can I not love a God who knows me so completely.  A God who loves me so deeply.  All that is within me overflows with love and gratitude.

 

Check out Ann’s blog anytime to be blessed, but especially on Monday’s to have your heart refreshed through the sharing of community giving thanks to God for his new mercies every day.  To check out what the Gratitude Community is all about click the link below.

Purify

I light the candle with a morning prayer…

Holy Spirit illuminate my heart with the light of your presence

and blackness from holder soils me. 

The light of Jesus shines through and speaks…

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.”  Matthew 8:2-3

Jesus is willing, today, to make me clean.  My sin left scars on the only one who is able to set me free.  All I have to do is ask.    He has already reached out his hand to touch me, even though I’m a mess.  For it was my sin that caused the nails to be driven through his outstretched arms of love. 


                 purify
             lay the coal
       upon soiled heart
         cleanse the sin
             turn to ash
      my wretched mess
       Christ regal image
     loves firm embrace
          burn into soul
           with holy fire
                 purify                      
   --Nancy Kourmoulis 2/21/10

Because it fits…

A friend just posted this video on her Facebook status.  Because it fits with my post yesterday, I share it here.  Keep a tissue handy – I needed one.

 

Becoming Men…

1…2…3… they bring the driveway to life as they start their vehicles.   Father and sons each headed to work this past Saturday morning.  Sons leave first, headed to a local BBQ join to join the breakfast crew.  Father loads trailer, pulls from driveway headed to our moving project.

I sit in space created for meeting with Heavenly Father and listen as driveway becomes silent.  My mind pictures it empty now.  These words come…

Boys Becoming Men

For boys will become men and spread their wings to fly
Reaching ever higher, sights set beyond my confined eye
Here in the silence, alone, sit Father God and I

Offering quiet thanks for the bounty of these men
Grateful for His presence guiding everywhere we’ve been
Looking to the future, each day embarks again

Seeking strength and protection wherever they may go
Yielding to the love you so lavishly bestow
Dearest Holy Spirit may Your gifts from their lives flow

We can’t know what tomorrow brings - sunshine or rain
All for Your glory gracious Lord, let not our lives be vain
Let Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty be life’s refrain

                                 --Nancy Kourmoulis  2/20/10

“Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him…” Psalm 127:3

Scripture Only Sunday

Photo by Nancy 2008

Saturday Sketches

 

A new feature…read about it here.

Thankful Thursday

“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”  Ephesians 3:16-17a

Father God - In counting the blessings I find glorious riches in abundance and my soul is strengthened.  I find my faith deepening and amazed that the Spirit of Christ chooses to dwell within this messy heart.

So here I continue to count…weekly…daily…grateful for…the ordinary gifts of…

444.   Snow day in deep south

445.  Princess daughter’s snow artwork

446.  Precious husband and fun son quail hunting with friends

 

447.  Valentine dinner cooked by Precious husband and sons – quail from previous days hunt

448.  Sons cleaning up after cooking dinner – this is one of the things I am most grateful for – helpers around this house.   Especially since there are mostly men in this house.  

449.  Godly mother-in-law 450.   More amazing photos from Gold-hearted mom’s vacation

 

Check out Ann’s blog anytime to be blessed, but especially on Monday’s to have your heart refreshed through the sharing of community giving thanks to God for his new mercies every day.  To check out what the Gratitude Community is all about click the link below.

Lent?

I was not raised in a liturgical denomination. There was no following of the church calendar year – apart from Easter and Christmas. With our children we have instituted the tradition of Advent. We have participated and observed Passover on several occasions. So I ponder why I have not even really thought about adopting other practices that flow from these parts of Christ’s body.

My reading on Lent brings me to a place where I think this would be a worthy undertaking. These words capture my attention…

“…viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning…cleaning out those things that hinder our relationship with Christ”

“Lenten disciplines are to…transform our entire person-body, soul, spirit-to become more like Christ.”

“St. Athanasius…"becoming by grace what God is by nature””

This verse…"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires” 2 Peter 1:3-4

It seems there are a few basic disciplines followed during Lent:

Fasting * Prayer * Charity * Scripture Reading

These are disciplines I already incorporate in my life. Yet the idea of taking a spiritual inventory and cleaning out those things that are not helpful in my life calls to this soul. So poetry comes…

winter white

shaker sifts
snow drifts
dusting powder
confection coating
earth enveloped
winter white

life lunges
hurting heart
ash applied
crimson cleanses
dirt dwelling
winter white

Because her words are beautiful, because they reach deep into this soul, I am adding a link to Ann's blog today. Joining her with a fresh start.

Nehemiah

Rebuild

walls broken down
gates are burned
empty sounds
all that is heard

weep and mourn
fast and pray
seek God for
a stronger day

confess your sin
you exiled band
return to Redeemer
submit to His hand

in the night
silent the earth
examine the ruins
prepare for rebirth

work side by side
common in goal
repair what is ravaged
mend the soul

quiet the voice
be aware the plot
ridiculed and mocked
by an angry lot

take up sword
prepare to fight
stand at station
look to Light

listen for trumpet
come give aid
spear and sword
have enemy laid

stand on guard
day and night
God battles on
enemy takes flight

(Nancy Kourmoulis 1/22/10)

(based on Nehemiah 1-4)

Scripture Only Sunday

  “About Benjamin he said:

"Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him,

for he shields him all day long, and

the one the LORD loves rests

between his shoulders." 

Deuteronomy 33:12

Saturday Sketches

Something new, just for beauty, just for fun, I will be sharing photos or artwork here that have moved my heart.  An item to declare God’s glory.  No words (except to give credit), just the simplicity of things that touch my soul.

(Photo by Naomi 2010)

A Thin Place

The day is clear and the air is still.   We rise up from our overnight camping trip, gold-hearted mom, aunt, uncle, princess daughter and I.  After a filling breakfast, uncle takes all but aunt on a hike up the mountain. 

We slowly meander up into fields of wildflowers in shades the colors of the rainbow.  Following the path princess daughter picks  flowers as we wade through the tall grass.   The blades softly caress our calves as we walk.  It feels like the touch of Father’s fingers. 

We step over or in gentle streams of cool water.  The water babbles as it spills over rocks and fallen trees.  To my ears it is the sound of a joyous chorus welcoming the day.

The pines grow tall and thick here.  The smell is strong and clean.  It believe that God must like the smell of pine since they grow in abundance the higher up one goes.  Their branches reach toward the blue sky, lifted reaching to embrace all of heaven. 

Here in the midst of God’s artwork I am touched by the closeness of His presence.  The world lays miles behind.  The only sounds are the crunching of twigs under our feet or the quietness of nature.  Here my heart feels God’s vastness, His wide, deep love.   It seems I could close my eyes and upon opening them I would have stepped through a thin place into the very throne room of the Creator of the universe.   This day is an encounter I will not soon forget.   I’ve experienced the eternal.

________________________________________________

I needed the exercise of this reminder this week.  To view my life through “the memory of grace-filled eyes.”   I began at this wonderful blog,  The Wellspring, who introduced me to Ms. DeMuth’s book.   I have not read Ms. DeMuth’s book, but I have been honored to experience  “snatches of holy ground”, places where I have caught a “glimpse of eternity”.   I look forward to her book (and possibly winning a Kindle)…the description below is from The Blog Tour Spot…

In Mary DeMuth’s memoir, Thin Places, she walks us through her journey from hurt to healing as she developed a deep, joyful relationship with Jesus. Thin places are those times where the division between this world and the eternal fades; they are snatches of holy ground, tucked into the corners of our world, where we might just catch a glimpse of eternity. Now, we invite you to tell your story of a thin place in your own life . . . and we’re giving you the opportunity to win a Kindle reader for doing so!

Here’s how to participate:  Go here for rules 1 & 2…
3) Personally invite at least two people you know to join the contest. You can do that by email, in person, or by adding an invitation to your blog posting. This will be done on the honor system (we don’t need to know names), but please help us by spreading the word.

Thankful Thursday

Father thank you for giving me reasons to…

Celebrate!  I love a good party and any reason to have one.  So today I celebrate third born child.  He turns 16 today.  Another driver in the house.  Another man in the house.  Over the last year he has changed, matured physically, spiritually, emotionally. 

His sense of responsibility has grown to new levels.  On days Precious husband has worked, Helpful son has rallied younger siblings to work at log house.  Things they can do like pulling nails, cleaning area, demolition.  

His generous heart for the hurting and those in need. 

He lends support and encouragement for me.  

He works hard at his part-time job and is generous with the funds he earns there. 

His servant heart.  His willingness to give of himself when needed.

His tender spirit – compassionate and thoughtful.

The privilege of witnessing as he becomes a man who honors God.

(436-443 on gratitude list)

(Photo by Jessy – used with permission)

 

Check out Ann’s blog anytime to be blessed, but especially on Monday’s to have your heart refreshed through the sharing of community giving thanks to God for his new mercies every day.  To check out what the Gratitude Community is all about click the link below.

Wednesday Poetry

Sunflower Steward

Finger pushing
Breaking soil
Indoor planter
Accepts seed
Grow light
Hangs above
Warms dirt

Daily check
Seeking signs
Green shoot
Slowly sprouts
Temporary terrarium
Quickly outgrown
Tenderly repot

Expand space
Give room
Greater growth
Earth awaits
Spring arrival
Early planting
Spindly sapling

Reaching roots
Dig deep
Strong stem
Skyward bound
Open face
Soaking sun
Joyous giant

Yellow petals
Surround brown
Full grown
Gently shake
Sun bake
Tasty seeds
Tomorrows provision

-Nancy Kourmoulis (2/8/10)

(I always forget to add - this is from a poetry prompt at the High Calling Blog. Check it out here.)

Grace Comes First

January was a tough month. I can honestly say I’m glad to see it go. There have been too many setbacks. We are trying to move a house. This is our first experience in this area. We have built two houses in the past, but never actually taken a house apart and moved it.

Getting the house apart and moving it piece by piece has not been so difficult. Having thieves take things before we can move them from one property to another has been frustrating. The enemy – always stealing - joy.

We are about ready for the heavy lifting part of the adventure. The frustration is rain, rain, and more rain. There have been a few days of sunshine in between but not enough to dry out the ground. Which leaves us unable to complete a road onto our new property. Which leaves log house sitting where it is right now. The enemy – always stealing – time.

More frustration as our two main vehicles are giving us troubles as well. I am okay with sitting home – I am a stay-at-home mom for a reason. It is just, as we all know, in a one-income family the money only stretches so far. Repairs cost – the enemy - always stealing - provision.

I’m feeling like I only stretch so far as well. As these cares weigh heavily patience runs thin. I become emotionally undone. The enemy – always stealing –peace.

Oh Father, it is these days when I need you most. To see your hand at work to change me from a worrier to a woman of faith. To become a trusting soul in the midst of obstructions.

Then after a not so stellar mom freak out performance, we head out – yes – to Wednesday night church service. As we pull into the parking lot and kiddos pile out of the car God’s voice softly whispers into my spirit. “Daughter, grace comes first.”

In the midst of my month, seeking to see His glory, being disappointed and dismayed because of life circumstances, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of it all, Father reminds me life is all grace.

Grace, what exactly does that mean? Strong’s definition…

charis - favor of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, and kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues

When I STOP and REMEMBER JESUS bestowed his favor of merciful kindness on me and allow him to exert his holy influence upon my soul, the Spirit of God kindles the exercise of Christian virtue within me – faith, knowledge, affection. I must take my focus away from those things that obstruct my view of Christ and turn to Christ, fix my gaze upon him alone.

I must learn - grace comes first. To become like Paul and testify…

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me--the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.” Acts 20:24

Father God, when I run to you as my refuge – you always restore. You keep, strengthen, and increase – peace, provision, joy, eternity – all in your presence. I am overwhelmed by your grace.

Scripture Only Sunday

 

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have gained access by faith

into this grace in which we now stand.

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.” 

Romans 5:1-2

Thankful Thursday

“Some days are diamonds Some days are stones

Sometimes the hard times Won’t leave me alone

Sometimes the cold wind  Blows a chill in my soul

Some days are diamonds Some days are stones”

            Neil Diamond

Father – On those days that are stone, when the hard times won’t leave me alone, here I am yielding to your word – give thanks in all things (1 Thessalonians 5:18), to keep my heart from turning to stone.

Spirit of God, I am thankful for these things…

428.  Disappointments – may they strengthen this soul

“Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.”  Eliza Tabor

 

429.  Enjoying the vacation with Gold-hearted mom through her pictures and phone calls…

 

 

430.   Your still small voice that whispers through my tears, “I will never leave you or forsake you”  God, does your heart ache like mine when those you love are hurting?  Do you cry like me?

431.  Progress in moving a house – even though it is slow…           

                  From this                      -                          to this

              

                 From this                      -                          to this

Almost ready to lift it off the foundation and take it up the highway to its new location.   Still waiting for the rain to slack up so we can complete road to the new location.

432.   Starting over a new month – February…we celebrate many family birthdays this month.

433.  Birthdays in February give the privilege to be thankful for Helpful son and Fun son, they were both born during this month…

434.  Birthdays in February reminds me to also be thankful for aunts, my mom’s two sisters, both born this month.  Thankful for my brother who was born in February.   There are also uncles and cousins abounding who were born in February.  I am grateful for the gift of these lives.

435.   Pages of poetry that are beginning to grow inside this laptop and on handwritten pages. 

“Be thankful for hard times in your life.  Try not to look at them as bad things, but as opportunities to grow and learn.”  Author unknown.

 

Check out Ann’s blog anytime to be blessed, but especially on Monday’s to have your heart refreshed through the sharing of community giving thanks to God for his new mercies every day.  To check out what the Gratitude Community is all about click the link below.

The Wind Blows

From Scriptures pages to the center of my life. Words sweep through my mind and my heart clearing the path. I move from being entangled by the cares of the world that threaten to choke me, to the One who brings light and rest for my weariness. I am learning to press in when the storm clouds blow, despite my fear. For even there my Rescuer walks with me.

The Wind Blows

On the wings
The wind blows
Brings destruction
Totally surrounds
Bring cords entangling
Coiled around
Brings fear to heart
All seems lost
Brings everything wrong

On the wings
The wind blows
Holy breath thunders
Darkness becomes light
Holy feet on dark clouds
Distress filling chest
Holy voice resounds
Reaching down
Holy hand draws me out

On the wings
The wind blows
Rescues from powerful
Enemy scatters
Rescues to spacious
Place of delight
Rescues fallen one
Strengthens hands
Rescues trembling soul

On the wings
The wind blows
Faithful one shows
Blameless and pure
Faithful word
Shield of refuge
Faithful fortress
Support and victory
Faithful Savior

1/30/10 (From 1 Chronicles 11-12 & Psalm 18)

Poetry by Nancy Kourmoulis

Photo by Frances Russell (used with permission)

Teenagers in the house…

Beginning today there are three teenage boys in this house. Yes, there is way too much testosterone flowing.

Fun son turns 13 today. He is well on his journey to becoming a man. He still is the quiet one with a quick wit able to make me smile.

My simple words of advice to parents and to children come from Holocaust victim, Anne Frank…

“Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands.”

My sons, to tend your character well – place it fully in God’s hands. It is the only place of security and safety in this world. Under His tutelage you will become men of integrity, men who bring honor and glory for His kingdom alone.

“Father, may my children fulfill your plan and purpose for their lives. May the Spirit of the Lord be upon them – the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Is. 11:2). I release these gifts you’ve given me, Lord, and place my children in your hands. I thank you that you love them more than I do, that your plans for them are plans for welfare and peace, not for evil, and that you will give them a future of hope (Jer. 29:11).

(Prayer from A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare

Photo by Jessy - Used with permission)