A Very Special Happening...

The youngest (and cutest) little Refugee had his

1st birthday today!

Happy Birthday Sawyer!

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch them and bless them, but the disciples told them not to bother him. But when Jesus saw what was happening, he was very displeased with his disciples. He said to them, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." ~Mark 10:13-14~

Good Words.

"Look, God is exalted beyond what we can understand. His years
 are without number. He draws up the water vapor and then
distills it into rain. The rain pours down from the clouds, and
everyone benefits from it. Can anyone really understand the
spreading of the clouds and the thunder that rolls forth from
heaven? See how he spreads the lightning around him and how it
lights up the depths of the sea. By his mighty acts he governs the
people, giving them food in abundance. He fills his hands with
lightning bolts. He hurls each at its target. The thunder announces
his presence; the storm announces his indignant anger.
    My heart pounds as I think of this. It leaps within me. Listen
carefully to the thunder of God's voice as it rolls from his mouth.
It rolls across the heavens, and his lightning flashes out in every
direction. Then comes the roaring of the thunder - the tremendous
voice of his majesty. He does not restrain the thunder when he
speaks. God's voice is glorious in the thunder. We cannot comprehend
the greatness of his power.
   ~Job 36:26-37:5~

Neat words I came across this morning...

"Lord, help! they called in their trouble, and he saved them

from their distress. He calmed the storm to a whisper

and stilled the waves. What a blessing was that stillness

as he brought them safely into the harbor!

Let them praise the Lord for his great love

and for all his wonderful deeds to them. ~Psalm 107:28-31~

It's been a while since we've posted on here...

Well, apologies are in order...
Sorry that things have been pretty neglected on this blog!
Lots of stuff has happened in my/my family's life and blogging
has not been a priority... But, I'm hoping to get back into the
swing of things and start giving updates and posts on a more
regular basis.
But, I had a minute and thought I'd post some beautiful words
that I read last night before bed. :) I wish I'd come up with them myself...

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my
knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven
and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he
will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.
And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts
as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of
God's marvelous love. And may you have the power to understand, as
all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep
his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is
so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with
the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, he is
able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask
or hope. May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus
forever and ever through endless ages. Amen.
~Ephesians 4:14-21~

Guess.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!! =)

The great danger facing all of us is not that we shall make
an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright
viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that
we shall feel that life has no meaning at all - not these things.
The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest
meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most
abiding happiness, be unable to tender the most needed service,
be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of
God - and be content to have it so - that is the danger: that
some day we may wake up and find that always we have been
busy with husks and trappings of life and have really missed
life itself.
For life without God, to one who has known the richness of
joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one
prays one's friends may be spared - satisfaction with a life that
falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle or thrill that comes
from a friendship with the Father.
~Phillips Brooks~

Good Words.

~Psalm 8~
O Lord, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
You have taught children and nursing infants to give you praise.
They silence your enemies who were seeking revenge.
When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers - the
moon and the stars you have set in place - what are mortals that
you should care for us? For you made us only a little lower than God,
and you crowned us with glory and honor. You put us in charge of
everything you made, giving us authority over all things - the sheep
and the cattle and all the wild animals, the birds in the sky, the fish
in the sea, and everything that swims the ocean currents.
O Lord, our Lord, the majesty of your name fills the earth!

Happy Easter!

Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb.
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the
Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat
on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was white as
snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him, and they
fell into a dead faint.
Then the angel spoke to the women. "Don't be afraid!" he said.
"I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here!
He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen.
Come, see where his body was lying. And now, go quickly and tell
his disciples he has been raised from the dead, and he is going
ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember, I have
told you." The women ran quickly from the tomb. The were very
frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to find
the disciples to give them the angel's message.
And as they went, Jesus met them.
"Greetings!" he said.
And they ran to him, held his feet, and worshiped him.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!
Let's celebrate the wondrous resurrection of our Lord Jesus today!

Hope.

Hope is not a feeling, it is a choice; and even in the midst
of despair we can still choose to carry on. There is no greater
hope than that. ~Mark Eddy Smith~

My Answer.

And when those around me ask me why I dare to dream,
or why I love, or why I sing...

My answer is You. You're the hope that my heart is holding
onto. Skeptics won't understand, it's strange from the world's
point of view.
But my answer is plain and its simple. Lord, my answer is You.

Truth.

The truth is incontrovertible.
Malice may attack it.
Ignorance may deride it.
But in the end, there it is.
~Winston Churchill~

What is Faith?

What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see. God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith. By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God's command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
~Hebrews 11:1-3~

Nice Christmas Blessing

The Sunday before Christmas the Refuge got a nice blessing.

A group from the Dixon area, Audience of One, came and played

and sang a music service for us.

It was really neat because the lyrics of the different songs

were scriptural and worked their way from Genesis to Jesus.

We really enjoyed it!

So, THANK YOU Audience of One!!!