Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Fruits of My Dad's Godly Life

Living a life of charity,
My dear dad’s legacy to me.

Such joy radiated from his being,
Benefiting from such joy was freeing.

His peaceful worldview on life,
Helped us live without much strife.

A kind and patient man was he,
Walking with Jesus for all to see.

Goodness marked most every act.
Choosing love, he spoke with tact.

Faithful to God through all his years,
True to God’s Word, not giv’n to fears.

Indwelling his gentle and quiet spirit,
God’s Holy Spirit in Dad was a fine fit.

Using self-control to live, not his will,
Choosing to live his life led by God’s will.

Ginny Kirk Bain Allen (Kirk was my Dad's name)

HANDS

His hands, my hands, our hands reaching out in love,
Obeying all instruction from our Father God above.

From Jesus’ holy hands pierced to set us free,
Not needing nails to hold him there, just His love for me.
To the hands of flesh I offer Him out of humility.

His hands, my hands, our hands displaying servanthood,
Not choosing evil with our will, but only used for good.

With pure hearts and clean hands we serve our Lord and brothers,
Giving allegiance to our Lord, after Him all others.

His hands, my hands, our hands healing hearts and lives,
Not insisting on my way but allowing His will to rule our lives.

Teaching us in His Word if we seek holiness as He is holy,
Not one can snatch us from His hand, if we, for Him, live solely.

His hands, my hands, our hands cherishing the poor,
Pure religion is to devote ourselves to them forevermore.

Made by God to carry one another’s burdens, we are,
Nurturing and affirming hands help carry one another far.

His hands, my hands, our hands accepting all the same,
Not respecting any above the rest, in precious Jesus’ name.

Living sacrificially, impressing on our children His commands,
Daily living by them, tying them as symbols on our hands.

His hands, my hands, our hands reaching out in love,
Fitting well together just like a hand in glove.

Ginny Bain Allen


CHILD OF MINE

God’s thoughts are so far above our own.
His ways much higher and are not known.

Uniquely her own are my child’s thoughts, ideas, plans and dreams.
Rejoice do I, as she is fearfully made in God’s grand scheme.

This treasure sent to me from heaven up above.
Entrusted with her care - for a while mine to love.

The decisions she makes for herself are not up to me.
Called to train and instruct her am I, but then to set free.

Growing together as we will to travel His narrow way.
Because of her, more like Jesus I’ll be with each passing day.

Ginny Bain Allen

My 2009 Christmas Gift

What a person believes about God is basic to everything else. Do you believe the Word of God or not? “God chooses not milksops destitute of backbone, to wear his glory upon their faces. We have plenty of men made of sugar, nowadays, that melt into the stream of popular opinion; but these shall never ascend into the hill of the Lord, nor stand in his holy place, nor wear the tokens of his glory.” ~Charles H. Spurgeon

We all give our allegiance to some master. Who is it you serve? Yourself? satan? Are you ruled by your flesh? Do you worship at the altar of material possessions, alcohol, power, prestige, money, popularity, fun, hobbies, leisure time, physical appearance, fountain of youth, Hollywood, the music industry, pornography, narcissism? Are you constantly distracted by other things so you won't have time to examine yourself, and be still before God? Are you constantly chasing after your next pleasurable dopamine fix to fill the God-shaped hole in your heart? Are you always attempting to ease the suffering in your heart, that living in this impersonal world brings, with shopping, cigarettes, booze, food, sex, entertainment? Do you protect your eye-gates and ear-gates from impurity? Is your time lavished selfishly on yourself or do you use it to serve the Lover of your soul? Do you worship at the feet of The One who bled and died for your sins? Who is on the throne in your life? Are you willing to be poured out like oil on the altar for Him – thy will to break, His will to take?

Chuck Colson's Manhattan Declaration is perhaps the most significant document in recent years. It draws a line in the sand on the three paramount issues of our time: the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage as the holy and conjugal union of husband and wife, and the rights of religious liberty and conscience. As my mentor, Dr. James Dobson, stated on his radio program recently, if our values are "not preserved at this moment of destiny, this nation and most others in the Western world will fold, and freedom itself will go down with it." Will you stand with others who claim Christ as Lord, and who long to better our country, or will you stand with those who oppose us? I implore you to do the right thing, and sign the Manhattan Declaration!

“No lips ever spoke with such thundering indignation against sin as the lips of the Messiah. While in tenderness he prays for His tempted disciple, that his faith may not fail, yet with awful sternness he winnows the heap, and drives away the chaff into unquenchable fire. His meekness was balanced by His courage, and by the boldness with which he denounced hypocrisy. 'Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites; ye fools and blind, ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?' These are not the words of the milksop some authors represent Christ to have been. He is a man – a thorough man throughout – a God-like man – gentle as a woman, but yet stern as a warrior in the midst of the day of battle. The character is balanced; as much of one virtue as of another.” ~Charles H. Spurgeon Too often folks these days attempt to bring only half of Jesus to the world, but you can't bring His love, without at the same time illuminating His love with His truth! We don't have a Saviour without both His love and His truth!

Jay Sekulow at The American Center for Law and Justice is unceasingly working to defend our freedom and our children's and grandchildren's future, which are dangerously on the line. From Capitol Hill to the Supreme Court of the United States, from the United Nations to the International Criminal Court, God has uniquely positioned him to be a strong voice for liberty. (Liberty is the freedom to do that which is right.) He needs our financial support to continue to fulfill that calling. Here are just a few reasons to fund The ACLJ: In Gonzalez v. Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles, they're holding Planned Barrenhood accountable to a multi-million-dollar taxpayer scam; in ACLU v. DeWeese, the ACLJ is squaring off against the ACLU in their ongoing crusade to eliminate any hint or reference to religion; the ACLJ has joined pro-life House Democrats and Republicans to intensify the fight against the massive government-run health care plan that makes abortion a “health benefit”. When did it become a legal “health benefit” to violently murder a precious, vulnerable, defenseless child??? Tyrants know that marriage and family are the basic core of society and the basic foundation of government, and if people are going to control others, they see marriage and family as their number-one threat. So tyrants always want to weaken the family, and that's what this government-run health care bill is designed to do. And it's designed to do it very effectively in myriad ways. The ACLJ is also at work with Representative Walter Jones to protect the constitutional rights of military chaplains to pray according to their faith. Internationally, the ACLJ is pushing to defeat an illegal act in violation of international law, the Defamation of Religions Resolution, advanced by the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which would make proclamation of the Gospel illegal worldwide. Jay is fighting aggressively against the power of the ICC to keep radical Islamists from taking control of the lives of Israeli soldiers … threatening the very sovereignty of Israel and the United States. This is simply a smattering of the evil in our fallen world that we MUST fight against. We cannot remain silent, especially for the younger generations!

As Dorothy Sayers said, “I believe it to be a grave mistake to present Christianity as something charming and popular with no offense in it. Seeing that Christ went about the world giving the most violent offense to all kinds of people, it would seem absurd to expect that the doctrine of his person can be so presented as to offend nobody. We cannot blink at the fact that gentle Jesus, meek and mild, was so stiff in His opinions and so inflammatory in His language that He was thrown out of church, stoned, hunted from place to place, and finally gibbeted as a firebrand and a public danger. Whatever His peace was, it was not the peace of an amiable indifference.” Jesus said He came not to bring peace, but division. “Realize that the aim of the Prince of Peace is not peace with unbelief and disobedience. Those are the enemies that must be destroyed, lest they destroy. When the amnesty of Jesus is despised, division is inevitable. What we meet in the biting language of Christ is a form of love that corresponds with the real world of corruption, the dullness of our hearts and the magnitude of what is at stake in our choices. If there were no great evils, no deaf hearts and no eternal consequences, perhaps the only fitting forms of love would be a... soft touch and tender words. But such a world does not kill the Son of God and hate his disciples.” ~John Piper

There's been a powerful marketing blitz since 1988 to sell “gay rights” to America. Another agenda underway has been that of establishing and propagating the myth of church-state separation. How about the scheme afoot to sell sex and rebellion to our children? There is a fierce campaign to destroy marriage. Fraudulent science has unleashed a catastrophic “Revolution” whose aim is to cause us all to be obsessed with sex. Radicals have hijacked America's education system by sabotaging our schools. The press creates a world of illusion we think is real. Lying marketers have sold America on unrestricted abortion. Consider the multicultural madness that has turned our western culture upside down in one generation. Before his Inauguration, Obama said, “We are just five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.” That's what his administration is attempting to do, folks. Do you think our country needs to be fundamentally transformed??? If so, why? I implore you to learn the truth about those with whom he has surrounded himself. I don't spend copious amounts of time with dangerous radicals, Communists, Socialists, Marxists, Fascists, underground weathermen, unrepentant felons, liars, thieves, abortionists, pornographers, charlatans, etc. Our President does! Such unsavory characters have his ear on a regular basis! That should give us all pause. “Show me your friends, and I'll show you your future!” We all need to realize the truth of Jesus, for He is our best hope!

Ginny Bain Allen

Friday, May 21, 2010

What Marriage Is

A crucial query begging answer is not what marriage is.
How can we presume to vote on a precept that is His?

Not matters what we think or say,
We are called to just obey.

There is a term I find perplexing, what does "gay" Christian mean?
An oxymoron is what I call it, why to some is this unseen?

Meaning lively and vivacious, "gay" was once a lovely word.
Why a church for homosexuals, does that not sound absurd?

A congregation set apart to justify themselves, are there those for other sins?
Loving groups and counseling help us, we all need God-in-skin.

Christ's disciples love all sinners, but hate the sins that they commit.
Against the only One infallible, all sin and from Him do split.

Our gracious, heavenly Father extends compassion and mercy.
Accepting us where we are, expecting change through His liberty.

Blessings

The awe inspired as I marvel at the bounty of my imaginative Creator's goodness.

The assurance guaranteed that I will live forever with Him.

The strength gained while worshiping in the midst of Christ's believers.

The faith applied when two or more of us pray together in His name.

The hope renewed when in His authoritative Word I stay.

The serenity expressed, on the face of a wee child, that I yearn to claim for myself.

The unconditional love afforded me by a kindred spirit who believes in and trusts me, come what may.

The security achieved as my industrious earthly father and husband supply my every need.

The peace enjoyed while living in a cozy home with my nurturing, servant mother.

The compassion modeled in the words and actions of a gentle brother.

The joy shared while engaging in heart-to-heart chats with my children.

The opportunity given me to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.

The obligation required of me to help others in His name.

The freedom discovered as I surrender my all to the One who breathed into me His gift of life.

My Gardening Bug

Enthusiastically catching the enchanting gardening bug as a girl, laboring alongside Dad, my ardor blossomed through the decades. Devouring myriad reading materials regarding my passion, indulging in classes, acquiring usage of efficient tools, perusing public and private gardens alike, coupled with dreaming, designing, digging, amending, planting, mulching, watering, weeding, pruning, and manicuring my own "yardens" have fueled my immense love, while expanding my knowledge. Pure ecstasy is plunging my fervent hands into the warming earth each spring as the fresh green emergence of sleeping plants resurrect. Healing for me, gardening allows all woes - Adam and Joseph who? (my twin teenage sons) - to slip away as I toil peacefully, in my secure refuge, with my omnipotent Creator. Differentiating garden rooms, placing comfy perches for viewing the beguiling results of my efforts, portraying intrigue as vanishing paths meander to hidden destinations, layering plants with varying aromatic scents, textures, colors, and heights in my curvaceous beds, affording a sense of wonder for my children, arranging rocks I glean from friends and family, adding objets d'art and hardscapes as focal points of attention, while providing nutrition, water, and safe havens for God's creatures are essential ingredients in my romantically distinctive, rejuvenating gardens.

Hannah Rose, My Lovely One

Grace and mercy is what thy lovely name means,
Before you were born, you were much in my dreams.

To me, in His plan, thy life God foretold,
He created your form in thy unique mold.

Expectantly awaiting your birth that year,
How we rejoiced when you were finally here.

Our miraculous gift from heaven above,
Placed in our family to treasure and love.

Entrusting you, darling, in my arms to hold,
An example thou art to both young and old.

In living for God, you have nothing to fear,
Thy faith in Him makes you believe He is near.

Your loving spirit is a beacon for Him
Keep nurturing so it will never grow dim.

God wills you to work beside Him and be bold,
You run for the prize that is made of pure gold.

Thou art such a joy to spend time with and rear,
My Hannah Rose I will forever hold dear.

by Your Mother Dear
(Ginny Bain Allen)

Thursday, May 20, 2010

No Sense In Pretense

My character is known by whom I praise.
My character is known through all my ways.

My character is known by the words I speak,
My character is known by the friends I seek.

My character is known by my heroes and mentors.
My character is known through what I stand for.

My character is known by what I believe.
My character is known by the counsel I receive.

My character is known by the books I read.
My character is known through establishments I frequent.

My character is known by the music I play.
My character is known by how I spend every day.

My character is known by the images I view.
My character is known through my attitude.

My character is known by how I'm attired.
My character is known by how I respond in trials.

My character is known by my service to others.
My character is known through my love for my brothers.

My character is known by my willingness to forgive.
My character is known by how I live.


Ginny Bain Allen

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

The Benefits of Solitude

Periodically being afforded the luxury of days to journey into peaceful solitude is utter bliss. Relaxing before a blazing fire as I meditate upon God's edifying Holy Word, or read fine Christian literature that makes my spirit soar, or peruse pages of cozily appointed homes, or plan my newest garden area are all reinvigorating ways for me to spend delightful hours, tucked away in solitude. What a treat it is to while away virgin hours devoid of anyone else's agenda that would distract, interrupt or make demands. Akin to an unwrapped gift awaiting discovery, is it to be totally absorbed in whatever task is at hand, all encompassed by delicious solitude. Therapeutic replenishment for my thirsty soul is being fully engaged in such passions, after which I am recharged and ready yet again to be fully available for the ones I love, as well as prepared to tackle the daily routines. My needy tank, having once again been filled with the sustenance, fortitude, joy, truth and beauty necessary to keep-on-keeping-on, I forge ahead with renewed vision and hope.


How sweet is rest after fatigue! How sweet will heaven be when our journey is ended.

--George Whitefield