The Time To Decide

..."As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15 

"Anything which we keep in our hearts in the place which

God ought to have is an idol, whether it be an image of wood

or stone or gold, or whether it be money, or desire for fame,

or love of pleasure, or some secret sin which we will not give up.

If God does not really occupy the highest place in our hearts,

controlling all, something else does, and that something else is an idol."

James Russell Miller
(1840-1912)
American Christian pastor and author

The Cowboy

Gerard Curtis Delano

1890-1972

Painter and Illustrator of the American West

Did you ever stand on the ledges,

On the brink of the great plateau

And look from their jagged edges

On the country that lay below?

When your vision met no resistance

And nothing to stop your gaze,

Till the mountain peaks in the distance

Stood wrapped in a purple haze.

On the winding water courses

And the trails on the mountain sides,

Where you guided your patient horses

On your long and lonesome rides.

When you saw Earth's open pages

And you seemed to understand

As you gazed on the work of ages,

Rugged and rough, but grand.

There, the things that you thought were strongest

And the things that you thought were great,

And for which you have striven longest

Seemed to carry but little weight.

While the things that were always nearer,

The things that you thought were small;

Seemed to stand out grander and clearer.

As you looked from the mountain wall.

While you're gazing on such a vision

And your outlook is clear and wide,

If you have to make a decision,

That's the time and place to decide.

Although you return to the city

And mingle again with the throng;

Though your heart may be softened with pity

Or bitter from strife and wrong.

Though others should laugh in derision,

And the voice of the past grow dim;

Yet stick to the cool decision

That you made on the mountain's rim.

"The Time To Decide"
(1924)

Bruce Kiskaddon

(1878-1950)

Cowboy poet laureate of America

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing

Up in the air so blue?

Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing

Ever a child can do!

Illustration by Eloise Burns

A Child's Garden of Verses

(1930)

Up in the air and over the wall,

Till I can see so wide,

Rivers and trees and cattle and all

Over the countryside-

Till I look down on the garden green,

Down on the roof so brown-

Up in the air I go flying again,

Up in the air and down!

"The Swing"

Robert Louis Stevenson

(1850-1894)

Scottish poet and writer

God Is Our Refuge

"And He arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,

"Peace! Be still!" 

And the wind ceased and there was a great calm."

Mark 4:39

"Peace Be Still"

Stephen Gjertson

A prayer for protection and shelter for the people in 

the Bahamas and Florida and across other areas of the

southeastern United States whom may be caught in

the path of this dangerous approaching hurricane.

PSALM 46

A Psalm of the sons of Korah

God is our Refuge and Strength, mighty and impenetrable

to temptation, a very present and well-proved help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and

though the mountains be shaken into the midst of the seas.

Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble

at its swelling and tumult. Selah, pause and calmly think of that!

There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,

the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help

her right early at the dawn of the morning. 

The nations raged, the kingdoms tottered and were moved;

He utter His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge,

our Fortress and High Tower. Selah pause, and calmly think of that!

Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations

and wonders in the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth; He breaks the bow

into pieces and snaps the spear in two; He burns the chariots in the fire.

Let be and be still, and know, recognize and understand that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our Refuge,

our High Tower and Stronghold. Selah pause, and calmly think of that!

THE ORACLE: Ancient Prophecy, President Trump, And Mark Twain

"Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes.  Over it broods the spell of

a curse that has withered its fields and fettered its energies.

Palestine is desolate and unlovely. And why should it be otherwise?

Can the curse of the Deity beautify a land?

Palestine is no more of this work-day world.

It is sacred to poetry and tradition-

it is a dream-land."

An excerpt from the book,

"Innocents Abroad"
(1869)

Mark Twain
(1835-1910)
American author

"For Zion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's
sake I will not rest until her imputed righteousness and vindication
go forth as brightness, and salvation radiates as does a burning torch.
And the nations shall see your righteousness and vindication, your
rightness and justice-not your own, but His ascribed to you, and
all kings shall behold your salvation and glory; and you shall
be called by a new name which the mouth of the Lord shall name."
Isaiah 62:1-2



"Our forefathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as the
Scriptures says, "He gave them bread out of heaven to eat.
Jesus then said to them, I assure you most solemnly, I tell you,
Moses did not give you the Bread from heaven, but it is
My Father Who gives you the true heavenly Bread.
For the Bread of God is He Who comes down out
of heaven and gives life to the world."
John 6:31-33


"He who is able to hear, let him listen to and heed what the
Spirit says to the assemblies (churches). To him who overcomes
I will give to eat of the manna that is hidden, and I will give
him a white stone with a new name engraved on the stone,
which no one knows or understands except he who receives it."
Revelation 2:17



Seen here with "It's Supernatural!" host Sid Roth, noted
author Rabbi Jonathan Cahn reveals the ancient prophecies
 of The Oracle, which foretold the presidency of Donald Trump 
 and other End Times events.

The Oracle: Ancient Prophecy Foretelling
President Trump and End Times
Rabbi Jonathan Cahn 
Sid Roth's "It's Supernatural!"
(August 25, 2019)

Tracking The "Child Of The Sea"

It's the peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season, which almost always seems to

occur right before or right after Labor Day weekend in the United States.

At this moment, weather forecasters are tracking the progress of a

storm called "Dorian" a name derived from the Greek word, "Dorios" 

 and which means,"Child of the Sea". 

 As these powerful storms are born and sustained over warm ocean water

  could there be a more fitting name for a hurricane?

A satellite view of Hurricane Dorian

Hurricanes are definitely unpredictable storms and although I live

thousands of miles away from where Dorian is this morning, my home

is on the East Coast of the United States. Just because we have not

had a direct hit from one of these tropical storms in my area for

many years now, I believe bad weather, like bad history, 

can and often does repeat itself!  I can still remember when

Hurricane Camille struck the southeastern Gulf Coast in

the August of 1969.  Although I live over a thousand miles 

 to the north of where the storm initially made landfall,

 I remember the heavy rain showers we had along our

  own coastline-the remnants- from this storm, one of

the most devastating hurricanes to ever hit the United States.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Hurricane Camille.

She, like Dorian, was considered a small storm too.

But also like Dorian, her track remained unpredictable.

So please, if you are living in an area of the country

that may soon comes under a Hurricane Watch or Warning,

get prepared and be ready to evacuate if it is deemed

 necessary by your state and local officials!

Don't wait till it's too late!

The following film documents the shocking catastrophic destruction

caused by Hurricane Camille when the storm struck the southeastern

Gulf Coast in August, 1969.  Although hundreds of lives were lost in

this storm, thousands more were saved because they listened to the

warnings and left the area in the storm's path when they had the chance.

"A Lady Called Camille"
US Office of Civil Defense Film

Bright Enlightenment 

(March 28, 2013)

The Fairy Dance

The fairies are dancing-how nimbly they bound!

They flit o'er the grass tops, they touch not the ground,

Their kirtles of green are with diamonds bedight,

All glitter and sparkling beneath the moonlight.

The Fairy Dance

Grace Jones

Hark, hark to their music! how silvery and clear-

'Tis surely the flower-bells that ringing I hear,-

The lazy wing'd moth, with the grasshopper wakes,

And the field-mouse peeps out, and their revel partakes.

How featly they trip it! how happy are they

Who pass all their moments in frolic and play,

Who rove where they list, without sorrows or cares,

And laugh at the fetters mortality wears!

But where have they vanish'd?-a cloud's o'er the moon,

I'll hie to the spot,-they'll be seen again soon-

I hasten-'tis lighter,-and what do I view?-

The fairies were grasses, the diamonds were dew.

And thus do the sparkling illusions of youth

Deceive and allure, and we take them for truth;

Too happy are they who the juggle unshroud

Ere the hint to inspect them be brought by a cloud.

"The Fairy Dance"

Carolina Eliza Scott Richardson

(1777-1853)

Scottish poetess and writer

Meaning of the archaic words in this poem:

kirtles = dress or gown

bedight = adorned

featly= clever or smartly

Two Heads Are Better Than One

"We're going to be late getting the hay in from the west meadow.

Can't you come and rake it for us?" said the Man of the Place.

I could and did; also I drove the team on the hay fork to fill the

big barn, for such is the life of a farmer's wife during the busy season.

Laura Ingalls Wilder and her "Man of the Place"

husband, Almanzo, at home on Rocky Ridge Farm

in Mansfield, Missouri

(1940)

"The colt has sprained his ankle. Come pet him while I rub on some

liniment, and while you are there, I wish you'd look at the red heifer's

bag and see what you think best to do for that swelling on it."

And so I halter broke the colt while the Man of the Place bathed the

lame ankle, and then we decided that the red heifer had been bee stung

and bathed her udder with salt and water.

I finally got the weakly calf into good growing condition and turned it

out in the pasture with the others,  for I am by way of being 
an understudy for the veterinarian.

"What would you raise next year on that land we cleared of brush down

by the creek? The hay on it is too thin, and it must be broken up."

This was the question for my consideration at the breakfast table, and my

answer was, "Raise the same crop on that as you do on the remainder of the

land on that side of the creek.  One large field is better than two small ones,

and time is saved in working. Put it into the regular rotation with the rest."

Not that the Man of the Place would do as I said unless he agreed with me,

but getting my ideas helps him to form his own opinions, and he knows that

two heads are better at planning than one.

One of my neighbors is managing the farm this summer during the

absence of her husband. She planted and cultivated and has attended to

the harvesting and threshing and haying. She, with the children, cares for

the horses and cows, the pigs and poultry. She buys and sells and hires and

fires. In short, she does all the work and business that her husband would do

if he were here and keeps up her own work besides.

A farmer, to be successful, must understand his machinery and be sort of

blacksmith. He must be a carpenter, a road builder, enough of a civil engineer

to know how to handle the creeks and washouts on his farm. He must, of

course, understand all about the care of animals on the farm in sickness 

and in health; he must know all about the raising of crops and handling 

of soils, the fighting of pests and overcoming of weather conditions and,

in addition, must be a good businessman so that he shall not lose all the

fruits of his toil in the buying and selling end of the game.

Besides being a helper in all these things with brains-and muscle if

necessary-the farmer's wife must know her own business, which includes 

the greatest variety of trades and occupations ever combined in one all-around

person. Think of them! Cook, baker, seamstress, laundrywoman, nurse,

chambermaid and nurse girl. She is a poultry keeper, and expert in

dairy work, a specialist in canning, preserving, and pickling, and besides

all else, she must be the mother of the family and a smiling hostess.

In commemoration of Laura and Almanzo's wedding anniversary 

today here's a classic summertime dessert cake:

Luscious Lemon Party Cake

1 cup butter

11/2 cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

5 eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup milk

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl,

cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Beat in lemon juice until well blended. Add the eggs,

one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the

dry ingredients to creamed mixture alternately with milk,

beginning and ending with the flour.

Pour into a greased 12-cup fluted tube pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until cake springs

back at the touch of a finger and slightly leaves the side of the pan.

Cool in pan for about five minutes and then invert and cool on

a rack or cake plate.

Lemon Glaze

1 cup confectioner's sugar

2 T fresh lemon juice.

Blend well and drizzle over cooled cake.

"Two Heads Are Better Than One"

(August 1919)

Laura Ingalls Wilder

(1867-1957)

Prolific American writer and pioneer girl

From the book, "Little House In The Ozarks"

A Laura Ingalls Wilder Sampler

The Rediscovered Writings

Edited by Stephen W. Hines

Guideposts Edition

(1991)

Fourth Sunday Meditation: The Preface Psalm

PSALM ONE

This has been called, "The Preface Psalm" because in some

respects it may be considered "the text upon which the whole

of the Psalms make up a divine sermon."  It opens with a

benediction: "Blessed" as does our Lord's Sermon on the Mount.

(Matthew 5:3)

-The Amplified Bible

Field with mustard seed as seen from the Mount of Beatitudes

(Israel)

Photograph by Gila Yudkin

"Blessed, happy, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable is the man

who walks and lives not in the counsel of the ungodly, following 

their advice, their plans, and purposes, nor stands submissive

and inactive in the path where sinners walk, nor sits down to

relax and rest where the scornful and mockers gather.

But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on

His law, the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God

he habitually meditates, ponders and studies, by day and by night.

And he shall be like a tree firmly planted and tended by the streams

of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall

not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper

 and come to maturity.

Not so the wicked, those disobedient and living without God

are not so. But they are like the chaff, worthless, dead, without

substance which the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked, those disobedient and living without God,

shall not stand justified in judgment, nor sinners in the congregation

of the righteous those who are upright and in right standing with God.

For the Lord knows and is fully acquainted with the way of the

righteous, but the way of the ungodly, those living outside God's will

shall perish, end in ruin and come to naught."

Doorkeeper

Zemer Levav

Galilee of the Nations Music USA Inc.

(2007)

Dear America

A song for such a time as this...

 from the legendary singer-songwriter Ray Stevens.

"In these perilous times, this heart felt message should resonate with

all Americans to remember what we're all about, the values we all cherish

and what we will pass along to the next generation...

'Dear America, I promise you I'll teach my children your freedom

and your grace and of the Founding Fathers' wisdom 

in the writings that they made."

-Ray Stevens

"Dear America"

Ray Stevens

(2016)

Lyrics by Connie Jo Hamrick



"In Time Of National Danger"

O LORD, when we, Thy children, are apprehensive about the
affairs of our world, remind us that Thou are in Thy world as well
as above and beyond it. Remind us that Thou are not indifferent.
For Thou art not a spectator God, high and lifted up, serene
and unperturbed. The feet that were wounded are still walking
the trails of earth. The heart that was broken on the tree
still feels every human woe.

Thus shall we not feel forsaken, nor give way to hopelessness.
Thus we shall know that Thou hast a plan, and that Thy will shall
one day be done on earth, not alone by those who love Thee and
know Thee to be God, but by all, not in one nation or two,
but in all the nations of the earth. Then every tongue shall confess
that Christ is Lord, and every knee shall bow before Thee.

Sustain us with that hope and encouragement, that our prayer be
not in vain when we pray, "Thy Kingdom come." Come it will,
however dark may be the present prospects for peace on earth-
in the darkness of men's minds and the hardness of men's hearts.

We do pray that Thou, O Holy Spirit, where Thou dost find the
doors of human hearts still closed before Thee, wilt knock the louder
and wilt, in Thy own secret way, prevail upon the wills of men that
they may do the will of God-ere it be too late.

All these things we ask in that name above every name, that
name before whom all the nations of the earth shall bow,
Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.

Reverend Peter Marshall Sr.
(1902-1949)
Scots-American Presbyterian Pastor
Twice-elected Chaplain of the United States Senate

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people He has chosen as His heritage."
Psalm 33:12