Oops! I forgot to send out Karen's Korner yesterday. Planting starter plants began my day; then I was gone for most of the day. Mid-morning I remembered. And I have to have '5 per week' thus a Saturday one.

Good thing. I liked what Sarah Young penned in her "Jesus Calling:  Enjoying Peace in His Presence" for today:

"I want you to know how safe and secure you are in My Presence. That is a fact, totally independent of your feelings. You are on your way to heaven; nothing can prevent you from reaching that destination. There you will see Me face to Face, and your Joy will be off the charts by any earthly standards. Even now, you are never separated from Me, though you must see Me through eyes of faith. I will walk with you till the end of time, and onward into eternity.

"Although My Presence is a guaranteed promise, that does not necessarily change your feelings. When you forget I am with you, you may experience loneliness or fear. It is through awareness of My Presence that Peace displaces negative feelings. Practice the discipline of walking consciously with Me through each day."

~ Taken from I Corinthians 13:12; Psalm 29:11

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A couple of spring storms ago, our neighbors had a huge branch knocked off of their big, old maple tree which  stands stately in their front yard.

As I have been walking passed it for the last number of days, it made me think about Jesus words of branches being 'attached to the vine'. My mind sometimes slips to smaller vines with leaves. But as I view this tree, I see a large tree trunk and big branches.

I don't know of any tree where the branches are larger than the trunk. Even large branches have to be attached to an even larger tree trunk to stay alive and viable.

Jesus says,  "Yes, I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in me and I in him shall produce a large crop of fruit. For apart from me you can't do a thing." (John 15:5 LAB)

To produce anything of value, we need to stay connected to the 'Tree of Life'.

Fifth installment of "The Gospel Alphabet" by Samaritan's Purse. Four letters:  Q, R, S, and T:

"Quicken me according to Thy Word"

~ Psalm 119:154b KJV

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"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."

~ Psalm 27:7a

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"Seek, and you will find."

~ Matthew 7:7b

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"The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."

~ I John 1:7b

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"What a wonderful God we have----He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the source of every mercy, and the One who so wonderfully comforts and strengthens us

in our hardships and trials.

And why does He do this?

So, that when others are troubled, needing our sympathy and encouragement,

we can pass on to them this same help and comfort God has given us."

~ 2 Corinthians 1:3 & 4 LAB

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Bible Commentary:  "Many think that when God comforts us, our hardships should go away. But if that were always so, people would turn to God only to be relieved of pain and not out of love for Him. We must understand that comfort can also means receiving strength, encouragement, and hope to deal with our hardships. The more we suffer, the more comfort God gives us. If we are feeling overwhelmed, we need to allow God to comfort us as He can. We need to remember that every trial we endure will later become an opportunity to minster to other people suffering similar hardships."

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God Knows You and Me

"He knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust."

~ Psalm 103:14 NIV

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"God will never expect more than the Holy Spirit will do in and through me if I allow Him the freedom.

"What a blessed relief to be reminded that God knows me. In fact, He knows me so well He understands that apart from Him I can do nothing.

"I don't have to prove myself to God.

"I don't have to worry about disappointing God.

"I don't have to earn His respect.

"I don't have to deserve His blessings.

"I don't have to work hard to be accepted.

"I don't have to produce a quota.

I don't have to be successful.

He created me in the first place. 'He knows how (I) am formed, he remembers that (I) am dust.' I am just a little dust person infused with the very breath of God."

~ By Anne Graham Lotz; taken from today's email devotional

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Yesterday's Max Lucado into my email box:

Be Kind To Yourself

"Kindness at home. Kindness in public. Kindness in church and kindness with our enemies. Pretty well covers the gamut, don't you think? Almost. Someone else needs your kindness. Who could that be? Well, it's YOU! Since God is so kind to us, can't we be a little kinder to ourselves?

"'Oh, but you don't know me, Max. You don't know my faults and my thoughts. You don't know the gripes I grumble and the complaints I mumble.' No, I don't, but He does. He knows everything about you, yet He doesn't hold back His kindness to you. Has He, knowing all your secrets, retracted one promise or reclaimed one gift? He forgives your faults, calls you His ambassador, His follower, even His child. In God's book, you are a good thing. Be kind to yourself. God thinks you are worth His kindness. And He's a good judge of character.

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Fourth installment of "The Gospel Alphabet" with Bible verses starting with a letter of the alphabet. Four of them:  M,N,O,P !

"My grace is sufficient for you."

~ 2 Corinthians 12:9b

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"Now is the accepted time, behold,  now is the day of salvation."

~ 2 Corinthians 6:2b

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"Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your Law."

~ Psalm 119:18

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"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

~ John 14:27

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I received this fun email yesterday from a friend, reminding me that I am not as young as I used to be (and neither are any of you!). Something written by an unknown author. As we grow older, we need to do all that we are able to do, if our health permits:

"I have always dreaded old age. I cannot imagine anything worse than being old. How awful it must be to have nothing to do all day long but stare at the walls or watch TV. So last week, when the mayor suggested we all celebrate Senior Citizen Week by cheering up a senior citizen. I determined to do just that. I would call on my new neighbor, an elderly retired gentleman, recently widowed, who, I presumed, had moved in with his married daughter because he was too old to take care of himself. I baked a batch of brownies and without bothering to call (some old people cannot hear the phone), I went off to brighten this old guy's day. When I rang the doorbell, this 'old guy' came to the door dressed in tennis shorts and a polo shirt, looking abut as ancient and decrepit as Donny Osmond.

"'I'm sorry I can't invite you in,' he said when I introduced myself, 'but I'm due at the Racquet Club at two. I'm playing in the semifinals today.'

"'Oh, that's all right,' I said. 'I baked you some brownies........'

"'Great!' he interrupted, snatching the box. 'Just what I need for bridge club tomorrow! Thanks so much!'

"'and just thought we'd visit a while, but that's okay, I'll just trot across the street and call on Granny Grady....'

"'Don't bother,' he said, "Gran's not home. I know, I just called to remind her of our date to go dancing tonight. She may be at the beauty shop. She mentioned at breakfast that she had an appointment for a tint job.'

"I called my Mother's cousin (age 83), she was in the hospital.....working in the gift shop.

"I called my aunt (age 74); she was on vacation in China.

"I called my husband's uncle (age 79). I forgot, he was on his honeymoon.

"I still dread old age, now more than ever. I just don't think I'm up to it........."

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As long-time Karen's Korner readers know, there was a group of 15 of us from this area who traveled to the Creation Museum and the Ark replica for a couple of days last summer.

That trip upped our interest in looking deeper into the book of Genesis. From young kids to our adult Sunday School class, we have studied each week this entire year from that book of the Bible. (We are finishing our third booklet of ten lessons each and we are up to Genesis 8. It's going to take us awhile!)

Each of the ten weeks we are given two Bible verses (five weeks for each one) to study and learn; some of us do better with that than others.

We have taken a long hard look at Noah and the Ark. People don't have to be much of Bible scholar to know the story of Noah building the ark because God told him to, and gathering his family and all the animals to save them from the flood that was coming.

For decades, Noah listened to God's instructions on how to build it successfully. While Noah worked, he tried to tell of the coming impending disaster and invited others to 'get on the boat'. He was met with much ridicule, as at that point it had never rained.

It was after Noah, his three sons, and their wives plus the animals were all on the ark. And with rain beginning, that people believed and wanted on the massive structure. But it was too late.

Part of the studies show us how all the Bible fits together from beginning to end. Our Bible verse for the last five weeks before summer break is Jesus speaking in John 10:9, "I am the door, if anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture."

Like in the time of Noah, Jesus is inviting all of us about 'getting on His boat'.

The answer is up to each of us. Do we want on? Or don't we?

Since I turned the page to a 'higher number' on my birthday last week, this particular Bible verse caught my eye. It talks about 'sleep in a crisis'. Sometimes as we grow older, we don't need a crisis to not sleep. And all the time we can't sleep, we are reminded that we need 7 - 8 hours of sleep per night!

"Then I lay down and slept in peace and woke up safely,

for the Lord was watching over me."

~ Psalm 3:5

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Bible Commentary:  "Sleep does not come easily in the midst of a crisis. David (writer) had sleepless nights when his son Absalom rebelled and gathered an army to kill him. But he slept peacefully, even in the midst of rebellion. What made the difference? David cried out to the Lord and the Lord heard him. The assurance of answered prayer brings peace. It is easier to sleep well when we accept with full assurance that God is in Control of circumstances. If we are lying awake at night worrying about circumstances we can't change, we need to ask God to get involved. Then go to sleep!"

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