“At midnight I will rise up to give thanks unto thee
because of thy righteous judgments (Psalm 119:62).
Most people do not rise up at midnight to give thanks
to the Lord God, but they wake up at the crack of
dawn to rebel against Him and see how many sins
they can commit before they get caught. Anyone
who rises up at midnight to give thanks to the Lord
is an extraordinary person; anyone who praises
Him at 7:00a.m. has a great day in store for them.
Anyone who praises the Lord God all day long
is almost unheard of. If you’re telling yourself, you
don’t deserve a second chance with God – remind
yourself that you didn’t deserve the first one either.
This message is for Pastor Dave:
I haven’t seen you for a long time but I want to tell you how much you helped my life. I moved to Coos Bay years ago after my 1st son was murdered at 2 years old. I was angry, bitter, deeply hurt and unable to forgive. My family and I started going to College Park church where I met you and your beautiful wife Lori. I remember coming to church one day to help clean and speaking to you about losing my 1st baby. You shared some of your own awful experiences about some of the children who had come into your lives and talked to me about forgiveness. At the time I was very surprised that you or anyone should suggest I forgive the man who killed my child. But I thought about it a lot and after a time I was ready and in my heart I forgave. It was very freeing and healing. I won’t ever forget my boy or stop loving him. I will never forget you and Lori. I know she is gone now but her lovely spirit lives on in my heart.
I was forced to leave Coos Bay 13 years ago when I took my 2 surviving children, Isaac and Lily, and left my husband. It was an impossibly hard decision to make but I did it for their safety. We went to Idaho and started our lives fresh. I eventually I married a really good man.
My kids are grown up now and doing well. My ex- husband, Frank, lives in a neighboring town and I avoid him whenever possible, lol!
This week my husband, Deron, and I came to Coos Bay. I have missed the ocean since the day I left and he brought me here for a visit. I sought out the few friends I had here which included Heather and Randy Engen. I visited with them for a while yesterday and they told me you were at Shoreline. So I found you here! I hope this message reaches you. Thank you for your words and your faith. It helped me change my heart and my life.
I thank God for his faithfulness to all of us!
This is Mayme Powell (Knuteson) I don’t know if you remember me but I will never forget you.
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