MUCH PRAYER NEEDED

There is always a need for much prayer, but it occurred to me that now more than ever before we need to be spending much time in prayer. The devastation caused by the tornados is enormous. Japan is still trying to recover from their disasters. And then there is all the turmoil in the middle east. Our government needs our prayers now more than anytime in recent history. I know we are all praying and will continue to pray about these concerns. 

I want to remind you of another source of things we need to pray about. We are constantly adding new prayer requests to our Prayer Request blog. I hope many will go to that blog and pray for those listed there. Here is the link: Prayer Requests. There us also an e-mail button where you can send other prayer requests to that blog.

Matthew 21:22 (New International Version, ©2011)

²² If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Of course this is being linked to Spiritual Sundays. Last week we had 98 links on that blog, the most ever. There is so much inspiration shared in those links that I hope you will visit as many as you possibly can. Here is the link for that blog: Spiritual Sundays.

RESURRECTION

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  - Matthew 28:1-8.

1 Corinthians 15:6-8 (The Message) 3-9 The first thing I did was place before you what was placed so emphatically before me: that the Messiah died for our sins, exactly as Scripture tells it; that he was buried; that he was raised from death on the third day, again exactly as Scripture says; that he presented himself alive to Peter, then to his closest followers, and later to more than five hundred of his followers all at the same time, most of them still around (although a few have since died); that he then spent time with James and the rest of those he commissioned to represent him; and that he finally presented himself alive to me. It was fitting that I bring up the rear. I don't deserve to be included in that inner circle, as you well know, having spent all those early years trying my best to stamp God's church right out of existence.

John 11:25-26 NIV Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Because I think this is such an important subject, I'm doing something I've never done before. I'm posting this on this blog and also on my Charlotte's Weblog blog.  

HE'S MY KING

AMEN!

ABANDONED CASTLES

I don't know about you, but I am totally fascinated by old castles. One of the highlights of our trip to Europe a few years ago was floating down the Rhein River and seeing all the castles high up on the hilltops along the way. When I saw these old abandoned castle pictures on AOL Travel, I decided to share them here.

 Castle of Mesen - Belgium 

This castle is quite the chameleon. Not only did it go from stunning architectural gem to modern ruin, but it's filled just about every role in between. Originally constructed in the beginning of the 17th century for a royal family, after two hundred years of additions and renovations it was sold and used as a factory in the 19th century. It has been home to an alcohol distillery, a sugar refinery, and a tobacco factory.
Here's another shot.

 

Here's an interior shot.

Although most of the interior is in ruins, the lush greenery that intertwines with the building's exterior still makes for some incredible exploration. Don't miss the chapel's stained glass windows that have somehow managed to remain partially intact, even amid extensive damage to the rest of the church.

Chateau de Noisy - Belles, Belgium

Originally named Chateau Miranda, this property was built in 1866 as a summer home for a wealthy count and his family. The family used it for years, but it was taken over during the Nazi occupation and used for military purposes during World War II.

Coity Castle - Glamorgan, Wales

There are a whole lot of ruined medieval castles in Wales. Some are in such disrepair that only a few stones survive, while others are still intact enough to allow people to walk around in them. Coity Castle is somewhere in between. An incredibly old structure, the first version of the castle was built around 1126 by, wait for it, Sir Payn "the Demon" de Turberville (amazing name right?!). Sir Payn was an original member of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan, each of whom had his own castle built for him.

Lennox Castle - Scotland

After an unfortunate beheading in the family in 1425, the Lennox family lost rights to the land where the Lennox Castle was originally built. After living in a sort of royal exile for eight generations, the family decided it was ready to petition the House of Lords to get their title back. And in 1833 they succeeded, becoming the Count and Countess of Lennox once again. In honor of their royal reinstatement, they commissioned a grand castle to be built on the land of their forefathers. The Lennox castle was completed in 1841, and their previous residence was intentionally partially torn down, planted with ivy, and left as a "ruin." So classy.

Here's another shot of the same castle.

 

Wow, it's hard to recognize this as the same place as the picture above. I wonder if this is a painting.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing these castles as much as I have. I can always imagine them as they were when they were inhabited and wonder what the people were like who lived there. Fascinating I think.

My Spiritual Sundays post for this week is on my other blog. Here's the link:

http://char72.wordpress.com/

SOME INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS

Today for Spiritual Sundays I am sharing some quotes on faith. I hope they bless your weekend and the week ahead.  ~ Charlotte

My job is to take care of the possible and trust God with the impossible.
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Above all else, know this: Be prepared at all times for the gifts of God and be ready always for new ones. For God is a thousand times more ready to give than we are to receive. - Meister Eckhart ________________________________________________________

When we let go of fear, only then can we gracefully move from what was into the miracle of what can be. 

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Sorrow looks back, worry looks around, faith looks up. _________________________________________________________

Those who have faith need no explanation, for those who have no faith, no explanation is possible. _________________________________________________________

Faith is daring the soul to go beyond what the eyes can see. - William Newton Clark

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If you have a song of faith in your heart, it will be heard by the look on your face. 

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There are only two ways to live . . . one is as though nothing is a miracle. . . the other is as if everything is. - Albert Einstein 

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Make two homes for thyself, my daughter. One actual home . . . and the other a spiritual home which thou are to carry with thee always. - Catherine of Sienna 

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Anything God asks us to do he supplies us with the energy and grace to do.

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Faith isn't the ability to believe long and far into the misty future. It's simply taking God at His Word and taking the next step. - Joni Erickson Tada 

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God is the light that shows me the way, for there is nothing that God cannot do.

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No matter how steep the mountain - the Lord is going to climb it with you. - Helen Steiner Rice

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All of the above quotes were found at Inspirational Quotes. You may want to go there for more inspiration. - Charlotte

Thank you to all who came here from Spiritual Sundays. Those who share there are such a blessing to me. We hope you will click on as many of the links there as you can. I'm always amazed at the wonderful posts that are shared there each week. 

GRAND CANYON

I remember the first time saw the Grand Canyon. I couldn't believe it was so huge. I didn't know at that time that someday I would be living in the Grand Canyon state. Now I'm here and so glad to be living in this beautiful state. There was a time when I couldn't imagine anyone wanting to live in the desert. Now I understand. I hope you enjoy this short video. You will need to scroll down to the bottom of the page and turn the music off before viewing the video.

I'M ALIVE

When I read about David Rothenberg being so thrilled that he was alive after what he had gone through, I wanted to share it for Spiritual Sundays. I had heard about him back when the incident happened, but was reminded of it in Tim Hansel's book entitled Keep On Dancin'. Here's the story as told in that book.

But to each of us grace has been given as Christ

apportioned it. Ephesians 4:7

Grace is free but it certainly isn't cheap. You may have read the story of David Rothenberg a few years ago. His father, in a fit of rage, went into David's room, poured kerosene all over the room and all over the tiny boy, and lit him on fire. In God's difficult grace, David somehow lived through it, though ninety percent of his body was covered with third-degree burns. It is estimated that David will have approximately 5,000 operations in his lifetime. Each year they have to open him up so that he can grow. Along with a few saints and poets, David Rothenberg is aware of the greatest miracle of all: LIFE ITSELF. At the age of 7, he had the audacity to say:

I'm alive!

I'm alive!

I'm alive!

I didn't miss out on living! and that is wonderful enough for me.

O Giver of life, how often I take

Your gift for granted. 

Be sure to visit our Spiritual Sundays blog for links to many inspiring posts. Thank you again to everyone who shares there. You are all very special people. You can click HERE to go to that blog.

Follow-up:   After I posted this I decided to see if I could find out more about David. I didn't realize it had been so long ago. It happened back in the early 1980s. Here are a couple of websites if you would like to find out more about it.

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20093827,00.html

http://crimeshots.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9616