Our Sister, Kaye Harkness - a true prayer warrior!

I've been dreaming up ways that this blog can be of service to our Church and Women's ministry and an idea came to me today as I found this photo I took of Kaye this past winter. THIS is how I see Kaye - I'm sure its how many people do, for Kaye spends a great deal of time right like this. If you lived in her neighborhood you would see her smiling visage come rain or shine, and chances are she would wave at you too!

What you might not know is that Kaye doesn't just see you, she does not even just wave at you - she PRAYS for you. She prays for you, she prays for our community, our country, the government - the world. Kaye was probably the first "prayer warrior" I'd ever met in my life.

Here is some information about our sister, Kaye that she's allowing us to share in:

Kaye is a senior member in our Church and has lived in Osoyoos for 43 years. She's been with our Church for 32 years - what a significant portion of her life! She recieved the Lord into her life at the age of 53 and she says " Loving the Lord Jesus Christ is the BEST THING in the world that can happen to a person. The best blessing of life is to have an intimate walk with Him"

Kaye was married to her husband Bill for 49 years - Bill passed away in 1994. Kaye and Bill had a wonderful marriage and they raised three daughters. Today, those three daughters are married and have blessed Kaye with 11 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

For years, Kaye has invited ladies into her home to pray on a regular basis. They have been warriors to lift up the needs they had gathered, the needs they could see. If you ever need prayer, just ask Kaye and you know she will intercede.

One day when I spoke with Kaye about what her favorite song might be, she told me it was "On the Wings of a Snow White Dove". The significance of this song was like this. One day while driving down a long winding hill near Salmon Arm, they realized there were cars hemming them in before, behind and passing dangerously close beside them to the point where Kaye feared they would be forced off the road. At once, she became aware of a dove flying beside the car window - and after this, things corrected themselves and they continued their trip in safety. She has no doubt the dove was a sign from the Lord.

Thank you, Kaye, for sharing and for the blessing and example you have been to all of us.

March 25, 2009 Thoughts on "A Timely Word"

photo credit: greyman@sxc

What a wonderful topic Rose chose for this weeks bible study! I've had some personal experience transpire which demonstrated this very theme in my life.

But first, the immediate example which was presented to me was revealed almost without my specially seeking it. I've been methodically reading through the bible (during my workouts - but that's a story for another day) and I'm currently into Daniel. I'm at the point where Daniel finds out that king Nebuchadnezzar has sent someone out to kill him-along with other 'wise men' of Babylon  because the King was angry that none of the wise men were able to interpret his wierd dream.

Now Daniel, when he's approached, doesn't panic when he's informed - instead of panicking (which would be the normal reaction); he does not get mad and rage and say things in anger -instead (as its written in the Bible)

" 14 When Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact."

Because Daniel spoke in a 'timely' manner, kept his calm - he was able to have the ear of Arioch, the King's commander, and as it says following: 
"15 He asked the king's officer, "Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?" Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him."
I think we can safely assume that the way and manner that Daniel went about this by keeping his cool and speaking in a calm and wise way he managed to get the King to give him some time.  The very next thing Daniel did was to give it to God - to ask God to reveal what the dream meant and to ask God to supply him with the words to explain the dream to the King.  
The recipe Daniel uses is one which is still a good plan today - THINK before you speak, TIME your words well and use them sparingly.  Remain calm and trim away all but whats necessary to make your point.  
In my personal life I've applied these very bits of advice in my marriage.  Used to be I'd just open my mouth and let my tongue do the walking.  It did something without checking with my brain sometimes.  I'd not give myself time to think through what I wanted to say - so sometimes what came out of my mouth was like unedited text.  (believe me, these blog posts are much edited!)  Not only was what I said presented in a pretty raw and flawed format, but it was often incorrect.  To top it all off, I'd toss it out to my husband at the oddest of times.  For example, he'd be flying out the door for work and I'd present him with a thought or fact, never considering that a) he did not have time to digest it in that fleeting moment, and b) it put him on the spot.  So, often his instant response would be one of frustration.  Not a huge surprise, but then I never paused to think about this - and would feel hurt he did not take what I'd said to heart.  
I don't know exactly when I 'clued in' but I'm sure glad I did.  I think reading my bible and learning from, for example - Esther - about being meek and being timely and setting the scene BEFORE broaching subjects which we would desire to put across - that I eventually began to test this out on my husband.  It was a truly radical thing that has changed our communication.  In fact, my husband noticed almost immediately and complimented me.  Does it mean I always get my way?  No, but it does give me his ear and attention in a new and positive way. 
A case in point came just yesterday.  We've been meaning to get our passports for quite some time now.  Living on the border it would be a shame to not be able to have the freedom to go south.  My Mother in Law got us the forms, my Sister pointed me to the website online and friends gave us countless 'helpful tips' (DON'T touch any lines when you sign or they will send it back!)  Still, we procrastinated.  Then, we decided it was time we'd better or we would not be able to travel in summer if the whim strikes us, so my husband, bless his heart, patiently filled out the forms.  About 6 times.  Ever notice that as soon as you go to fill out an official form or test paper your hand and mind has no control over that pen in your hand?  Inevitably your arm will get bumped, coffee spilled or the dog will eat that form.  
And - I must insert this amazing fact, that while all this was happening we just HAPPENED to be given a copy of our local newspaper and it just HAPPENED to have an ad in it which said the government was opening a "Mobile Passport Office" in the Penticton Trade and Convention Center" for the next three days - meaning if we could get our forms filled in and ready we could get the processed right away and NOT have to send away our personal I.D. and NOT have to send it registered and also recieve them back quickly too! 
So, my sweet and thoughtful husband actually took me on a date to a local cafe to enjoy a treat while filling them out.  When it came to the section for the gaurentor to sign, I GENTLY asked him if he would phone our guarentor to be sure they were available.  With mild frustration (and a little rolling of the eyes) saying "She will be around, she SAID she would etc..."  and when he wound down a bit " but since you've asked me so nicely I'll phone just to make you happy..."  And when he did it was to discover that she and her husband were JUST seconds away from leaving for a trip to the States.  
Honestly, tempting as it was, the entire time we RUSHED over to her house to catch her - and all the time following, I said NOTHING, tempting as it was.   And this was the second time this had happened to me that morning.   Being humble, using a TIMELY word, increased my ability to communicate with my husband - and I believe his ear is more willingly bent to listen seriously to me in the future. 
Do YOU have an example of a "Timely Word" at work in your life?  
PSALM 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.
I'm looking forward to our time together this Wednesday evening!  If you would like to join, or know more about our Wednesday night Online chat on MSN with our women of the OCC you can email me at  occwomenonline@gmail.com
~ Barb

A Poem by Marie

photo credit: ba1969@sxc

Just As I Am

I see myself just as I am,
Puffed up in knowledge and pride,
But I am now a creature brand new,
With my Savior, My Lord at my side.

He's my very first thought at the crack of dawn,
He's Lord of my day and my night,
He gives me a song when everything's wrong,
And another when everything's right.

He's Lord of my actions, He's Lord of my words,
He guides; and supplies all my needs.
He prunes me and trims me and lovingly scolds -
I'll follow wherever He leads!

by Marie Primeau

Thank you to Marie for sharing this wonderful poem with us. Be checking back for more over the coming weeks.

Isabelle suggests we read Psalm 111 when we have the time.

Rose has chosen the subject for bible study over the coming two weeks - "A Timely Word" is the subject. We would love to know your thoughts on this topic and welcome any scripture, poems, photos, stories or thoughts which use this theme.

As always, we look forward to connecting on Wednesday evening at 7 for our online meeting.

Visiting Missionaries James and Colleen Guskjolen

photo credit: saavem@sxc

She has a ministry inside a prison in Panama. She tells us these women come from all over the world and the average age is… young. She says that even with a language barrier – that the language of LOVE speaks louder than words ever can.

She tells us about the appalling conditions these women live in. She is very ‘real’ about what its like without making us feel responsible for how it is. Its just the way it is. Working there has changed her life – and has most definitely changed theirs. She says that over time these women have fondly come to call her “Mamma” and love to share a big hug when she spends time amongst them.

Her goal this trip from her visit back here in Canada includes taking a guitar back so she can worship with them – its something which seems to minister in a way that nothing else can.

“She” is Colleen Guskjolen and she with her husband James are LAC Ministries – that's short for Latin American Ministries. They serve the Latin America and Caribbean areas. They left the comfort and security of Canada – sold off all but a few personal possessions to fulfill the desires of their hearts to reach out to those in need.

Must be quite a change for Colleen to find herself ‘behind bars’ when she used to have a good position in the banking industry here in Canada!

Can you imagine, James and Colleen pray for US, here in Canada as well? They tell us that the needs are JUST as important in Canada and sometimes even harder to effect – so they are not looking for us to take our focus off our needs at home. They also do not want us to feel guilt and shame to live in the affluence that we are blessed with – rather they assure us that because we are so blessed we have a power to help and affect others through their ministry! What a unique outlook!

Their communication with us (held in the home of our Pastor) opened our hearts and gave us a new hope in a mission which is radically different from what we suppose is the usual way to reach those in need. To put it in a nutshell, (besides the programs they already have in place to meet the needs of the poor and impoverished) they have a goal to reach the small percentage of ‘haves’ – those people in key positions of power and authority in these impoverished countries, for through a change in the key players (‘movers and shakers’) it will cause a trickle all the way DOWN to those most in need.

See, we always see the very visual need in the masses – the 80% in most countries… and when we help them, we help them for a time, but eventually the cycle starts all over again. The trickle very rarely goes UP! So, though their ministry will continue to help and feed the needy, they will also focus on training and vocation – and to woo and evangelize to the rich and influential. For Jesus did not tell us to go out and make disciples of just the poor …

Matthew 28:19

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations

Sometimes we forget this. Somehow our minds allow us to think the wealthy don’t need anything, or are unwilling to listen.

So it was refreshing to hear James and Colleen’s take on things – to share in their vision of having people come on board whether through finances (which is one way we can all help, this is the power each one of us has) but also through the EXCITING ministries they are working with – such as already established and to be established vocational training institutions and by providing micro-loans to help people start their own businesses.

I could go on, for I am very enthused and encouraged about what they are doing – instead you can find out more about their work by clicking HERE.

The very fact that you are reading this post and live in a country of wealth and comfort may the be very thing which could unlock the gates to assist those less fortunate, by not only helping to feed but to educate and assist. And of course we can all offer up prayer for James and Colleen as they fulfill their ministry.

photo credit: craigPJ@sxc

Miles and I sponsor a little girl in Guatemala its encouraging to know these sorts of things might be available to her as well.

Rose has been thinking on our subject of "compassion" and she shares this thought:

1 Peter 3:8 (New King James Version)

⁸ Finally, all of you be of one mind,
having compassion for one another;
love as brothers,
be tenderhearted,
be courteous;

2 Corinthians 1:3 (New King James Version)

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation,
that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble,
with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Rose says she felt blessed this past Sunday as Betty shared the encouragement of our accepting of God's pruning of in our lives. It may hurt, but we will grow closer to Jesus as we put away the things in our lives that are not beneficial in our walk with him.

Thanks Rose, for sharing this. Very appropriate being us in the midst of Orchard and Wine country! I took the liberty to find a poem and thought to follow you up, Rose.

Pruning


It is the branch that bears the fruit
That feels the knife,
To prune it for a larger growth
And fuller life,

Though every budding twig be lopped
And every grace
Of swaying tendril, springing leaf
Be lost a space.

Oh, thou whose life of joy seems reft,
Of beauty shorn,
Whose aspirations lie in dust,
All bruised and torn,

Rejoice, though each desire, each dream, each hope of thine,
Shall fall and fade; it is the hand of love divine

That holds the knife, that cuts and breaks
With tenderest touch,
That thou, whose life hast borne some fruit,
May now bear much.

~By Annie Johnson Flint~

The Lord Jesus said in John 15:1-2

I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

The word translated, "purgeth" means to "to prune" in the Greek. Many times the hopes and dreams that a Christian may have is not God's will for their lives. We know that God's will is best for He always has the best intentions for us and knows the outcome of every situation. Today, many Christians are running to and fro, pursuing their own dreams but they have yet to understand that as a true Christian, our life is not our own. We have been bought with a price - the precious blood of Christ Jesus!

Poem and insight from Cobblestone Ministries

Looking forward to our meeting, Wednesday night @ 7 for those of you who can make it. Please let me know if you have anything else to post and your prayer requests for this week!

Wednesday, March 11

I thought I would just sneak in here this morning and add a link to a friend's blog as she posted today about... compassion! Alicia always has some good words of wisdom - why don't you check today's post out by clicking HERE.

Wednesday, February 26 Meeting

What a blessed time it was - Angie and I lifted up your prayer requests.

• We prayed for safety for Elaine and Jim as they traveled home & for Miles as he too had to drive in the storm.
• We prayed for Rose & Ken's son, Steve.
• We prayed for Rose Mom, brother and sister-in-law who were in a vehicle accident over the weekend in Florida. They were not harmed physically & praying they stay that way.
• We prayed for Eileen who's newly moved to Mariposa.
• We prayed for the widows and elderly in our church.
• We prayed for Angie's training & courses.
• We prayed for the project I'm doing.
• We prayed for our congregation and the community.

We discussed our theme of these two weeks discussion subject - sin. We shared scripture and how what this meant in our life.

Angie was led to share this scripture in this regard - the blessings and curses:

Deuteronomy 28

Blessings for Obedience

¹ If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. ² All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

⁴ The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

⁵ Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

⁷ The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

⁸ The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

⁹ The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. ¹⁰ Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. ¹¹ The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

¹² The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. ¹³ The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. ¹⁴ Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Curses for Disobedience

¹⁵ However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

¹⁶ You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

¹⁷ Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

¹⁸ The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

¹⁹ You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

²⁰ The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. ^a]">[a] ²¹ The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. ²² The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. ²³ The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. ²⁴ The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

²⁵ The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. ²⁶ Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. ²⁷ The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. ²⁸ The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. ²⁹ At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

³⁰ You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. ³¹ Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. ³² Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. ³³ A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. ³⁴ The sights you see will drive you mad. ³⁵ The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

³⁶ The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. ³⁷ You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.

³⁸ You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. ³⁹ You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. ⁴⁰ You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. ⁴¹ You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. ⁴² Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

⁴³ The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. ⁴⁴ He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.

⁴⁵ All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. ⁴⁶ They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. ⁴⁷ Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, ⁴⁸ therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

⁴⁹ The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, ⁵⁰ a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. ⁵¹ They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. ⁵² They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.

⁵³ Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. ⁵⁴ Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, ⁵⁵ and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. ⁵⁶ The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter ⁵⁷ the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.

⁵⁸ If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God- ⁵⁹ the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. ⁶⁰ He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. ⁶¹ The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. ⁶² You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. ⁶³ Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

⁶⁴ Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. ⁶⁵ Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. ⁶⁶ You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. ⁶⁷ In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. ⁶⁸ The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

*****

And here are some thoughts I've found on sin:

Our first problem is that our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. We are more concerned with our own "victory" over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. ~ Jerry Bridges

What a paradox: The sinner forever free from the slightest races of sin - the sinless Son bearing forever in his body the marks of sin's sacrifice. ~ Richard C. Halverson

There are... few stronger indications of ignorance of the power and evil of sin than the confident assertion of our ability to resist and subdue it. ~ Charles Hedge

The wages of sin is death - thank God I quit before payday. ~ Reamer Loomis

Sin arises out of mistrust. Man is afraid to trust the divine destiny and to accept his limits. The rebellion that follows is a decisive act of repudiation, a trusting of self over against God. ~ James I. McCord

Sin and the child of God are incompatible. They may occasionally meet; they cannot live together in harmony. ~ John R. W. Stott.

One reason that sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream puff instead of a rattlesnake. ~ Billy Sunday

No sin is small. It is against an infinite God, and may have consequences immeasurable. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch. ~ Jeremy Taylor.

*****

This following week, we would like to concentrate on the subject of COMPASSION. If you have any thoughts, poems, scripture concerning this topic please let me know and I will post it here. Also, feel free to contact me anytime for prayer - we will post your requests here so we can lift your needs!

A POEM BY KAYE

photo credit: xymonau@sxc

Kaye Harkness passed me this poem at church this morning, to share with you. She wrote this some time ago. Thank you for sharing, Kaye! What a wonderful gift you have with words.

The Battle Song of the New Jerusalem

We have heard the call to battle,
And we have hearkened to His call,
We are tens of thousands strong,
Standing straight and tall.

His Word is our backbone,
His promise is our call,
We are privileged to be a part,
Of the joyous, happy throng.

What glory it is,
To carry His banner, great and strong,
No foe can come against us,
As His armour we put on.

His Word is a two-edged sword
That can never go wrong.

We will stand upon His Word,
As together we press on,
Singing Glory Alleluiah,
His saints are marching on.

Upon Zion's hill with Jesus,
We will save our race,
Singing Glory Alleluiah,
He has saved us by His grace!

The host of heaven will shout with joy,
As we come marching home,
Singing Glory Alleluiah! -
Christ is seated on His trone.

All creation will praise Him,
As together we unite,
Singing Glory Alleluiah!
Christ has won the fight.

No tears or sadness here,
Nor is there any night,
Singing Glory Alleluiah!
We share His glorious light.

by Kaye Harkness