"Shall we gather at the River?"

The little Country Church is growing!

A recent baptismal service 

down by the River gave evidence to that!

The weather was a bit chillier than usual for August,

and the forecast was for rain,

but it didn't dampen the spirit that was present.

The service started out with an old familiar hymn that was
written by Robert Lowry back in 1864.
Hearty singing was accompanied by a banjo and guitars.

"Shall we gather at the river,

Where bright angel's feet have trod,

With its crystal tide forever

Flowing by the throne of God?

Shall we gather at the river?

The beautiful, the beautiful river?

Gather with the saints at the river

That flows by the Throne of God."

With family and friends watching,
one by one the baptismal candidates entered the water.

(This brought to my mind memories of when I was baptized 

in this same river years ago at the tender age of twelve.)

Smiles were on the faces of the pastors as well as the ones being baptized,
as they gladly followed our Lord's command
from Matthew 28:19 that says:
"Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the Name of the Father
and of the son and of the Holy Spirit"

Could this be a prelude to revival?

To see part of the actual ceremony, I'm going to try to include a link to view...
I hope this will work!
To view it, click HERE!

The next highly anticipated event at the little Country Church
will be the upcoming annual Pig Roast next month!
(Click on the link above to see last year's post of this occasion,
or look for it on the right hand side bar of popular posts.)
!

Thanks for stopping by!
A new post will be up soon on Rock4Today,
featuring the "Names of God on Rocks"!

The Front Porch

It looks rather vacant now...

.....that front porch that had so many gatherings...
....where so many photos were taken,
so many stories told,
and so many flies swatted!

Yes, it looks vacant...
But looks can be deceiving!
The front porch sometimes has someone sitting on it again.
This old house has become a part-time home for a homeless man!

I'm learning quite a lot from this homeless man.

He has such an appreciation for God's beauty here on earth.

He marvels at nature, and enjoys watching God's creatures.

Although his eyesight is diminished, 

he notices the tiniest delicate wild flowers in the field.

His simple faith in God to lead him and take care of him amazes

and intrigues me. It reminds me of these words from Jesus:

 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Matthew 6:27-34 The Message

Have you checked out my Names of God on Rocks lately?

I might have some that would surprise you!

Click HERE to take you to that site!