A Beautiful Hymn

Recently, my sisters and I have been really enjoying discovering some of those old hymns that one does not hear so readily these days.  We attend an Assemblies of God church, now called Australian Christian Churches and so we tend to do more up-beat music from Hillsong, Planetshakers and Bethel Music.  But some of the old hymns are absolute gems!  With the piano, violin and singing in a few parts, they really come to life.  One that we love at the moment is "He Touched Me".  Planetshakers did a rendition of this beautiful song recently.  It is based on Daniel 10:

17 For how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me,

19 And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

Isn't that beautiful???  The full hymn says:

Shackled by a heavy burden,

'Neath a load of guilt and shame.

Then the hand of Jesus touched me,

And now I am no longer the same.

He touched me, Oh He touched me,

And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know,

He touched me and made me whole.

Since I met this blessed Savior,

Since He cleansed and made me whole,

I will never cease to praise Him,

I'll shout it while eternity rolls.

He touched me, Oh He touched me,

And oh the joy that floods my soul!

Something happened and now I know

He touched me and made me whole.

And now I have some exciting news... that is... I think it is exciting!  ^_^   *Drumroll*

I have asked some lovely readers of Amity to write a guest post each!!!  I'm really excited about this as I read their blogs (those who have a blog!) and I know that whatever they write will be beautiful and inspiring.  I don't know when they will be posted but stay posted for when they are.  (Sorry - bad pun!  XD)

Wishing you all a wonderfully blessed weekend.  :)

At the Beach

On Valentine's Day, we went and spent some time with some lovely friends of ours who live about an hour and a half away from us.  After lunch, we all headed down to the 'beach' which was actually on the bay, so technically not the beach but had waves and sand so it was close enough to be called 'the beach'.  ;P  It was a great time and it was a bit amusing to see Rose and Annie experience big water for the first time.    A big thank you to +Joanne Jackson  for permission to use the photos of her beautiful family.  =D

I tried some shadow photography, which I kinda like, but I don't know if it a normal thing to do... :/

One of my favourite photos of the whole day!  :)

Mrs. Jackson took Rose for a 'swim' which impressed Rose muchly.  XD

James and Ellie played grip ball in the water which was pretty cool - they were good too!

Mr. Jackson spent a lot of time helping Rose gain confidence in the water, while making sure she wasn't too confident!

Annie was convinced she saw a whale under the sand, so I gave her a shell and told her it was a whale.  LOL!  She examined the' whale' for quite some time.  XD

A Love Letter...

On Sunday, I will be leading my small group at kids church for the first time.  My group is grades 3-6 girls, and the theme this week is God made you, God knows everything about you and He loves you.  I thought I would share what I'm doing with them, because we all need to be reminded every now and again of how much God loves us.   I have the photos of the craft first and then the text underneath, so as you can read it.  :)  So, here it is, and Happy Valentines Day from God to His bride.  :)

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. (Psalm 139:1)  I know when you sit down and when you rise up. (Psalm 139:2)  I am familiar with all your ways. (Psalm 139:3)  Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. (Matthew 10:29-31)  For you were made in my image. (Genesis 1:27)  In me you live and move and have your being. (Acts 17:28)  For you are my offspring. (Acts 17:28)  I knew you even before you were conceived. (Jeremiah 1:4-5)  I chose you when I planned creation. (Ephesians 1:11-12)  You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. (Psalm 139:15-16)  I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live (Acts 17:26) You are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)  I knit you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)  And brought you forth on the day you were born. (Psalm 71:6)  I have been misrepresented by those who do not know me. (John 8:41-42)  I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. (1 John 4:16)  And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. (1 John 3:1)  Simply because you are my child and I am Your Father. (1 John 3:1)  I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. (Matthew 7:11)  For I am the perfect father. (Matthew 5:48)  Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. (James 1:17)  For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. (Matthew 6:31-33)  My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)  Because I love you with an everlasting love. (Jeremiah 31:3)  My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. (Psalm 139:17-18)  And I rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)  I will never stop doing good to you. (Jeremiah 32:40)  For you are my treasured possession. (Exodus 19:5)  I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. (Jeremiah 32:41)  And I want to show you great and marvellous things (Jeremiah 33:3) If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. (Deuteronomy 4:29)  Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. (Psalm 37:4)  For it is I who gave you those desires. (Philippians 2:13)  I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)  For I am your greatest encourager. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17)  I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)  When you are broken-hearted, I am close to you. (Psalm 34:18)  As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. (Isaiah 40:11)  One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. (Revelation 21:3-4)  And I’ll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. (Revelation 21:3-4)  I am your father and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. (John 17:23)  For in Jesus my love for you is revealed. (John 17:26)  He is the exact representation of my being. (Hebrews 1:3) He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. (Romans 8:31)  And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)  Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)  His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. (1 John 4:10)  I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. (Romans 8:31-32)  If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. (1 John 2:23)  And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. (Romans 8:38-39)  Come home and I’ll throw the biggest party heaven as ever seen. (Luke 15:7)  I have always been Father and will always be Father. (Ephesians 3:14-15)  My question is: will you be my child? (John 1:12-13)  I am waiting for you. (Luke 15:11-32)
With Love from God.

Fiddling and Life Right Now

This is a fiddle post... in other words, I want a new post up to test the new page set up.  I didn't really like the pink blue and green that I had up for about two days, so I switched it to 'me' colours: brown and green.  Let me know what you think!

So, now I have to come up with something worth reading.  Here's part of a 'Life Right Now' post... not all of it, because I can't be bothered, really.  ;)    I got most of the themes from http://claredot.blogspot.com.au/ but I didn't use all of them because that would have taken a really long time.  :P


Watching - God's Not Dead.

Seeing - my laptop

Hearing - God's not Dead DVD, and the little girl's lullaby music.

Wanting - to have a few extra hours in my day.

Feeling - slightly headache-y and a pain in my stomach.

Wishing - I could go to bed and sleep until I actually wasn't tired anymore.

Thinking - about what I could put in this section.

Anticipating - my birthday.  =D

Dreaming - of what doing nursing will actually be like.

Praying - for my friends that need comfort and healing, and for my family that also needs healing.

Reading - Alas Babylon by Pat Frank, and A Seeking Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Wearing - my knee length black skirt and blue t-shirt.