Being the book lover that I am, in one of my travels to a used book store I came across this little gem. The title of the book is:                "The Song of Our Syrian Guest"  by William Allen Knight  &  included also is  "A Shepherd's  Song", by Henry Van Dyke.
The book is about the 23rd  Psalm. It tells the story of shepard's guarding and caring for their flocks of sheep. This book was written in the early 1900's, so it is out of print, but the good news is it is available at Amazon.com
This book is a real treasure.

This seemed to be the best spot for sharing my list of Bibles and Bible Study Guides. I like having choices in researching Bible verses and history, so that I know what I am talking about if someone asks me a question.
1. King James Version Bible
2. The New International Version Bible
3. The Living Bible
4. The Revised Standard Version Bible
5. Life Application Study Bible
6. The New Oxford Annotated Bible
7. The Complete Bible Handbook  by John Bowker
I always compare the verses with the KJV, to be sure the meaning of the verse has not been changed or softened. The New Oxford Bible is the only one that I am not completely comfortable with as it contains books I am not familiar with, as well as, explanations of verses that I can't validate as being true.
However, many people use different Bibles and I feel the need to understand where they are coming from.

I did not say I was afraid, although, I do have a healthy respect for the powers of nature. If I have learned anything over these past few years of hurricanes it is to always be prepared to take care of your earthy needs, food and water, and shelter, and to trust God to handle the rest.  "The Lord helps those who help themselves."

I think the best thing that to do is really listen when people talk. To really feel the pain and heartache of those around us that need help.  I listen with my whole  heart.  Often I physically feel pain in my heart when people cry out for help, and feel sad because of my limited means all that I can do is pray for them. But  always trusting  with faith that God is listening.  Sometimes the things we think we need are not in the plans God has for our lives. I have lived through many painful times that in the beginning I thought it was the right path for me to take, and found out later the hard way, that it was not. I have been sad, lonely and depressed by the way friends behaved when I was in need and no one listen or called to find out how I was doing. So my mission in life is to always be there for those who need someone to listen or a shoulder to cry on.

Pastor Roger,
Thank you for providing some interesting links. I will check them out. I will admit what sparked my interest and caught my eye at the time, was the fact that I have RH type 0 negative blood. And I am aware that I can give blood to any other blood type, but can only receive RH type 0 negative. This has always made me a bit curious as to why that is, but not to the extent of singling myself out as someone extra special in God's eyes.

In posting this I was not agreeing with it. I felt it was another attempt to bring a form of separation within God's people. We can not defend against such notions whether they be just a simple question posed by someone with an inquisitive mind or someone trying to cause disrespect and pain to others. In order to defend against such notions one must be aware of them and be willing to do their own homework by going to their Bible and reading God's words. That is what I have done.

I enjoy many different forms of music, the old hymns and some of the new. But Celtic music touches my heart in ways most modern music does not. My favorites are "Celtic Seasons of Worship" Volume 3, first song  "Jesus All For Jesus" which is an instrumental. Also the song "I Heard The Voice of Jesus Say", and "How Deep The Father's Love For Us".
I also enjoy music by Sheila Walsh,  and also by Susan Lacy, singing "Jesus I Am Resting, Resting".
It is hard though to not miss the old hymns we used to sing in church that have now been replaced by the newer songs.

While glancing through sites at Yahoo Groups, I came across this and thought it might be worth mentioning. Someone who was doing research on the lost identity of the Hebrew Israelite Tribes (God's original chosen people). He asks the question if only 15% of the world's population has RH negative blood ( no link to rhesus monkey), and 85% of population having RH positive blood, could RH negative blooded people be God's chosen people mentioned in the Bible? As stated in the Bible, these chosen people are scattered throughout the nations. For those of you that may not know the difference, RH negative blooded peoples bodies reject a positive blooded baby and may cause harm or death to the unborn child as the mother body forms antibodies against this foreign (strange) blood typed child (RH +). Also RH negative people can give blood to RH positive people, but RH positive people cannot give blood to RH negative people. It is known in the Bible that God gave instruction for the Hebrews  to stay within their tribes and not to intermingle and reproduce with those outside their tribes (gentiles & others). And finally it is mentioned on this site that in spite decades  of research being done in regards to the RH-factor and its orgins ( which is said to be of 'unknown' origins  thereby which destroys the idea  of evolution, as  that all people did not have commonalities or 'come' from monkeys). What are your thoughts on this person's research?  I found it interesting enough to get busy and sit down with my Bible and do some studying myself. 

I live in Florida. I am not crazy about hurricanes and often wish i had somewhere else to go during the summer months. I am 53 years older but feel wiser than I was in my youth. I continue to study the Bible and keep many people in my thoughts and prayers. I have changed to a different church recently and feel that I will develop many new christian friends that believe in the Bible, as it stands without new changes to soften and hide it's true meanings. Our world is changing and now more than ever we as christians must seek out each other in fellowship and in prayer. I hope in posting and sharing and reading others posts, I will be able to learn more which will help me as I continue to serve the Lord.

Hello Ira,
Sometimes the Lord speaks to our heart in ways that no one else seems to understand. If you feel so sad and uncomfortable in your church surroundings, and you feel and see the lack of good strong Christian members and leaders, you may need to leave your friends and try a different church for awhile and see if your mood and thoughts are again filled with the hope and wonder of our Lord. I recently had to make that decision and it was painful and I wasn't sure if I could do it, but in the end I found a small country church and people who were strong and on solid ground. The church I left had become very christmatic and were trying new and strange things that were not in following with the Bible, I too had become sad and no longer felt any joy in my heart. I prayed about it long and hard before leaving. I will keep you in my prayers. I care. I am glad you are coming here to share and post. May the blessings of the Lord be upon you this day and always.

In some churches such as the one my friends attended it seems that they must be combining both Alpha and this "Laughing Revial", together. It was a very confusing and scary time for them. All of my friend's that attended this course are strong christians and it generally takes alot to shake them up. They attended the course by invitaion as they wanted to see if it was productive enough for use at their church. Now they are convinced it is best to avoid the whole thing. However, they are also concerned about non-believers that attended the course, that now believe that kind of weird stuff is the norm. I have heard this program is being used world-wide and that is a cause of concern for christians, a red flag should be going up, shouldn't it?

Some friend's of mine attended a Alpha program at their church, and although they said the program contents were lacking in some respects, during the 10 week course they enjoyed most of it. However, it was the weekend away that freaked some of them out. They said between the singing and prayers, it had a hypnotic affect on them causing uncontrolible laughing and strange noises from people around them and people falling over for no reason. They said the group leaders said all this was normal in receiving the Holy Spirit. Is this normal behavior? Has this happened to anyone else?  Is this just normal stuff in some churches these days that no one questions it?
What do you think?