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I was born in the small town of Bonners Ferry in the Idaho Panhandle. I spent my first 12 years on a farm in the tiny community of Moravia, Idaho.� Our family had to leave the farm and move to the city, of
Spokane, Washington, in 1950 where I lived until I was married at which time I moved to the middle of Massachusetts.� To make a long story extremely short, my husband and I made several trips around the United States during the next seven years at the end of which I had visited all of the states, except one because there were only 48 states at that time. Therefore, now I have to say that I've missed three of our beautiful states!�� On our various trips, we were able to see so many of the truly marvelous works of God! To name only a few, we visited: Mount Rushmore, in South Dakota, the Badlands in North Dakota, Yellowstone National Park, in Wyoming,
Glacier National Park, in Montana, and Dry Falls, Grand Coulee Dam, The Northern Cascades Highway, the Cascade Mountain Range, the temperate rainforest,on the Olympic Peninsula, and the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. We then skirted down the Pacific Coast and took in some of the sites in California such as the Redwoods,the beach along I5, and the Sequoia National Park, to name only a few. On our way home to New York State, on our way across the Nevada Border into Arizona, we saw the Hoover Dam,and in Arizona we visited the Painted Desert, the Petrified Forest, and the Grand Canyon; in Utah we stopped at the Bryce Canyon, the Zion Canyon, and the Great Salt Lake. After turning south again, we visited the Alamo Museum in Texas and Hot Springs in Arkansas.
I believe that only after you have traveled around our great country and have seen its many natural wonders, can you really understand how God has abundantly blessed the American people! I can understand why Katharine Lee Bates would write "America, the Beautiful."��
Even though I had� begun attending Sunday School and worship services in 1950 while I still in elementary school, I didn't answer the call of our Heavenly Father until June 10, 1987.
That was truly a turning point in my life!
I became a teacher of elementary classes in Addison, New York, in 1971 and I loved working with the children.� However, after I accepted Christ during my medical leave in 1987,� many people began asking me, "What happened?" After all, I was such a different person!�� My general overall attitude, as well as my ability to look at life with a very different mindset, was entirely new to everyone around me!�� "I was a new creation."� (II Corinthians 5:17)
I am now able to grow closer to Him each and every day.� I� agree with the writers of Matthew and of Psalms, when they say that He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern. (Matthew 6:33)�
I now live with a song in my heart.� I find myself praising and worshipping Him in song throughout each day.�� No matter what my circumstances, I try to keep my focus on Him at all times, so I pray that this site is as much of a blessing to you, the reader, as it was to me when I wrote the poem below to the tune of "As The Deer."� I had hummed it so often that I felt that God wanted me to share some of my thoughts with you. |
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As a deer pants for water --
So my soul longs for God's love;
He, alone, is my soul's desire,
I can't wait to meet Him above.
He's my dearest Friend and my Father,
Even though He is my King;
I love Him more than any other,
Much, much more than anything.
Only He is my Strength, my Shield,
And to Him, alone, my spirit, I yield;
He, alone, is my heart's desire --
'N� I always sing praises to Him.
Copyright, 2001:� Lois Hamilton
(Adapted from "As the Deer.") |
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