Memorial Day-2013

Well...how was your Memorial Day weekend?  Did you Thank a Vet for his service for our country?  I must admit that I did not...not because I didn't want to, but because I really wasn't out much this weekend...but do not think that I do not appreciate our vets...because I really do!  When I am out and about on a regular basis, when I see a vet or a service man or women I say hello to them and I say Thank you...So I celebrate Memorial Day several times a year....it is really easy to do this and I believe it is appreciated.

Do we understand what Memorial Day is really all about?

Well this holiday was proclaimed at the end of the Civil War on May 5th 1868, as a way to celebrate the lives of the men, primarily, who passed away and also those who fought in this war and were injured, but not killed.   And the first actual celebration was on May 30th,  1868.  This proclamation was put together by a General John Logan who was a member of the northern army.

Now I know that for a large majority this is a way to just plain have a nice long weekend...and Thank you for that....because for some of us this is the only little respite we have....others have a little more and that is wonderful, but just make sure that you appreciate the fact that there were people that died so that you can have the freedom to have a paid holiday at the beginning of the summer.

Do you have service people in your family....I do my natural father was a career service man in the US Army....and since there was a divorce within my family when I was just a child, I was blessed to have two fathers...and my second father was also a service man.  So yes there was an awareness of the services in my life....and for those of you who do not have service people in your life...adopt one or maybe two...they will appreciate it and you might just learn something from the opportunities afforded to you by meeting and learning about another individual and the why's for their decision....so take some time each and every day to value what others have done for you so that you can have and enjoy the freedoms that you have!

So go and be a blessing...find someone to bless!

School of Kingdom Living...

Right now between working and home and other things....I am a bit busy!

And the best part is that I am busy because I am in school...I am furthering my education in the best possible way.  I am attending Harvest Chapels, School of Kingdom Living.  And it is awesome..

When you became a Christian...did you ever wonder....what's next...this is what I am learning.  And what's next is wonderful.  Do you realize that if you speak into someones life about Christ...and they then accept Christ as their Lord and Savior....isn't it a good idea to also help them to understand were they need to go next?  When I became a Christian I had a pretty good mentor. I learned that reading the bible and spending time with Christ was the best thing I could do at tat point in my walk with Christ.  And so every day I read the Bible, at least one chapter in each the Old Testament and one chapter in the New Testament as well as reading one chapter of Proverbs every day.  There are 31 chapters in Proverbs and this is a great place to start to learn how to be a Christian.

But reading the bible is not all there is to being a Christian....there is so much more...and now after accepting Christ as my Savior, 24 years ago, I am learning about my identity in Christ...as one of His children....who am I...

Now go and be a blessing....much more later!

A Very Good Day!

No nothing special...except to say this is a day as many others and since they are all a gift from God...aren't they all good days?
 I am sitting here this morning and I realize that I am a little busy these days so I will only be posting little tid bits for a bit...just until I am really caught up.  So this morning I am going to go and work on some modesty covers that I am making for my church, but ultimately I a making them for God.  Do all things as if you are doing them for God!  So go and be a blessing...start your day with God and all will be well with your soul!

What is outside my window...a variegated weigela  with lots of  flowers.

Well I went outside and just walked around the house....iris's and weigela...

More weigela...

Add caption

just wait till you see this in a few days, it's a rose bush.  A Cecil Brunner rose bush...just gorgeous!

my back yard in the early morning...

Burgandy weigela! And that's it!

Taken for Granted...final

Yesterday in my writting to you I said that I thought it would be a good idea for me to go over my thoughts in yesterday's blog with someone whom I consider able to give sage advice.

If you remember I wrote: I have done some little things for a young friend of mine, and not heard one word of appreciation...maybe this bothers me because I was reared with very good manners, and perhaps this is a reflection of a poor self worth on my part, I am not sure, I will have to discuss this with some wise people I know and get some various opinions. Okay so yesterday when I went to church to help out I had an opportunity to visit with my dear friend Vicki.  And I went over my grievance if you would and this is what she told.  Kirsten I understand that it is really nice to receive the recognition, but, not one good thing you do goes un-noticed by God.   And here are some scriptures for anyone else out there that my be feeling unapprecaited...
Matthew 5:16

In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

1 Timothy 5:25

In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.

James 2: 14

What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them?  (An instruction to do good deeds)

James 3: 13

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

 

This last verse from James is my personal favorite...by doing your (my) good deeds without expecting a thank you or a praise of any kind...because you are really doing these good deeds as unto God...and only if you are acting in the flesh do you need that extra, "Slap on the Back" or verbal, "Thank you."

 

Well folks, that is it for today...many things to do, and instead of telling you to just be a blessing I think I will ask you all to be a blessing, but to also do a good deed today and don't look for any appreciation...do this with a humble spirit, as unto God.

Taken for Granted...Continued

Are you ready?

Do you believe the bible...if you do say that you believe the bible then you must also believe that: 

God is the one true God and you will have no other Gods before Him,

lying is wrong and you do not do this, 

cheating is wrong and you do not do this,

here is a tough one,

cursing is wrong and you do not do this,

lusting after another is wrong, and you do not do this, stealing is wrong and you do not do this,

your body is God's temple and you treat it as such,

you treat others as you yourself wish to be treated.

These are just a few things that appear to me right off the top, I am sure that there are many more.  Whenever we are in the process of doing something, and our conscious is prickling us, then we need to re-examine what it is we are doing. Your conscious, is that part of your existence where I believe God resides on a permanent basis...Now of course God would like nothing better than to reside in all of you, but I don't believe this is possible until we invite Him to take up residence in every square inch of us.

We are instructed in the Bible to behave fully and completely like Jesus...do you do this? 

I have recently become aware of what a "Thankless" society we have become and this really bothers me. 

This, I believe has come to light for me, as a result of going away with two of my friends, on an overnight road trip to a Christian Women's Conference.  Which I have been telling you all about over this past week or more.

When we are at home with our spouses and children life is one way, but when we are out with our friends, life is different.  I myself noticed that there was a level of concern for my friends that perhaps I should also have for my spouse.  We did things for each other, I did my one friends hair...now I am not saying that we physically did things for each other except for that one instance, but there was a level of concern for each others feelings, we had a lot to share. And share we did!  I know that I was blessed by this time away.  I was blessed by my friends...I found out that I had much more in common with them then I had previously known; now why am I telling you all this?  Because I realized that there was a level of concern in me for my friends that I should also be expressing to and for my husband and family.  Don't take the precious people in your life for granted...Jesus wouldn't want us to do this...and I know how much I love my husband and I certainly don't want to ever take him for granted.

I do not consider myself to be a "Thankless," person. I try to appreciate the people that are around me, and not take them for granted, however I do realize that there are times, that perhaps I put to much on my plate and can't complete things in as timely a manner as I would like.  But that is a whole other issue! 

One of the reason that I would like to address this issue, is because lately I have been on the receiving end of "Thanklessness..." is this even a word?  If it's not it should be...just a moment...Well according to Merriam Webster it is a word, good!  And it is a noun, thankless is an adjective, meaning ungrateful and showing a lack of gratitude!

I have done some little things for a young friend of mine, and not heard one word of appreciation...maybe this bothers me because I was reared with very good manners, and perhaps this is a reflection of a poor self worth on my part, I am not sure, I will have to discuss this with some wise people I know and get some various opinions.  This doesn't seem to occur with older, young adults, does that make sense?  It does to me, young adults are say 18-25, older would be say 25-35, so older young adults would be in the second range, they are older, but to me they are still young adults.
The problem seems to be with the youngsters and early teenagers (12-16).  And don't say to me that it is the age, I do not buy this,  I believe it just has to do with an attitude of Thanklessness.  And unfortunately it has been allowed to increase by parents and by society.  If this type of behavior exists in your children, do something about it!  Don't allow it to continue.  If you do something nice for a child of yours at home and there is no response, no thank you, no notice of appreciation...you might want to take the time to let your children know that it is a polite thing to do to show appreciation, to say thank you.  We do, last time I checked, still live in a polite society, or is that just around Christmas that we are polite....?  And when I refer to polite society I am not referring to the Upper Crust, I am referring to a people who care about each other...now I know that I am a bit off schedule, but it just seems to be how it is for the moment...so I pray you will be a blessing to someone in the next 24 - 48 hours. God Bless....



Taken for Granted....

Do you remember reading in Matthew, where Jesus is at the home of Simon the Leper, and "the woman" brings an alabaster jar of sweet smelling perfumes and she breaks the jar and proceeds to pour this over our Saviors head and on His feet.  And the disciples are indignant over this extreme act of love and devotion to the One who is willing to give of Himself in such an amazing and complete way, so that we might have eternal life with Him in heaven.  She wasn't taking our Lord for granted, but the disciple may have been...they were proclaiming that this ointment could have been sold for a fair sum of money and then that money given to the poor...and what was Jesus's response?  Leave her be!  The poor you will have with you always, but not Me.

Then they all go thru the last supper and Jesus's heart must have been so incredibly sad over what was about to take place...can you imagine thinking that the people who are surrounding you are good and loyal people only to find out that one...all it takes is one...is betraying Him...how terribly sad for Jesus...

What a night for Jesus, so filled with sadness...it is painful to even consider...

Then at the end of their dinner, and they had gone to the Mount of Olives and there He has to deal with Peter...who is saying to Jesus I will never deny You...and yet Peter does deny Christ, in fact he denies Christ three times.  Can you imagine the sadness that Jesus felt over this?  Or how about the feelings that this generated in Peter?  Peter was such a rock!

Then Jesus goes to pray and He takes three of the disciples with Him to watch and pray with Him...they fall asleep...How desperately sad was this situation for Jesus to have to bare...But Jesus is going to be going to the Father, and He knows this...but did He also know the pain and suffering He would also have to deal with before He got to the Father?

I have so many questions to ask when I finally get their...do you?

I titled this "Taken for Granted," do you think there were ever moments of ingratitude felt by Jesus?  I wonder...I especially wonder how there couldn't be.  He did everything for us and what do we do for Him?
We doubt Him, we take Him for granted, we ignore His pleas for our obedience.

Do you believe the Bible?  I mean do you really believe the Bible....I would really like you all to think about this and I will continue on this tomorrow...

Sisters of the Son (final)

Good Morning on this auspicious morning!  Now you may ask...what makes today auspicious?  Well this day is a gift from God.  This day is another opportunity to tell someone about what Jesus Christ did for you.  And it is an opportunity for me to tell you just a last little bit from the conference I attended.

John 7:37  King James Version (KJV)

³⁷ In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Luke 24 5b-8

Why seek ye the living among the dead?

⁶ He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

⁷ Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

⁸ And they remembered his words,

Isn't my God amazing...I know, I know, My God isn't just my God, he is every bodies God, or He can be.  
In the first verse, Jesus is talking, or should I say he is crying out to the people that will hear Him....you can have eternal life if you will just believe on Jesus.
In the next verses, the three Mary's have gone to the  tomb to attend to the body of Jesus, can you imagine their surprise when they realized that Jesus wasn't there.  And I think that because they probably didn't truly understand what it was that Jesus had said to them, oh they had heard the words...but sometimes reality is so much more!  Especially for these women who loved Jesus so deeply...they didn't fully comprehend until the angel spoke to them here in Luke Chapter 24.  Then I think they had full comprehension of what exactly Jesus had said to them.  Now they understood what Jesus meant!  If anyone had a "vision for spreading the gospel to all the nations" (as spoken by Dottie Schmidt),these three women did!  Our god is so amazing!  And if you want to spread the gospel of Jesus, ask the Lord to place this on your heart...and study, study study, get to to know the words of the Lord!  Get to know the Lord!

Have you ever wondered why God didn't give you what you most desired? Well Dottie  did after the election, this past presidential election, Dottie asked the Lord in prayer why was the outcome of the election as it was, and this is what Dottie  said that God told her,"If I would have given my people what they prayed for, they would have relaxed."  Now I don't know about you, but to me this is very profound and insightful. This sounds to me like God definitely has His hands in what is going on.  We may not like what is transpiring these days, but it is up to us to change what is happening and with God, all things are possible.

And lastly, as we were in the process of ending the conference, one of the things that is heavy on Dottie Schmidt's heart is that we as parents and grandparents need to make sure that our children and grandchildren understand the dire need of telling people about Christ and what He did for us, that we might have eternal life,"Gather as many as possible from the darkness into the light!"

On this note I will end what I took away from the conference, but mind you I learned so much more than what I wrote on theses pages.  The fellowship with like minded women was so inspiring, and should I have the opportunity to do this again, I will.

Now it is time for you to be a blessing to someone today.  So God bless you and then go and share it!

Sisters of the Son VI

Isn't God amazing?  I think so...and this morning instead of writing my blog I got stuck watching a program on the National Geographic channel about Noah's Ark.  It is amazing to me that the are scientists out their who still believe in carbon dating and this has been proven to not be an effective or true way of dating items that are thought to be old.  I have connecting links on my Facebook page that explain this. I just looked and cannot find using my iPad, I will have to look on my regular computer...I will find it and share it on here.  Any way all this to explain why I did not get to finish up my Sister in the Son writing...so check back tomorrow, I promise I will finish up with my writing on Dottie Schmidt.  So God bless and be a blessing today!

Sister's of the Son Part V

I just reread something from yesterday blog, "God is not mocked"  this is one powerful statement. Think about this for a time.  I think sometimes when we sit and read the Bible, we should really spend some time and just absorb, like a sponge, the things that we read.  Don't just gloss over the words, absorb them.

We reap what we sow...do you nag? Remember we reap what we sow.  If we are a negative and a down cast personality we will receive this back...is this what you really want?  If this is not what you want change it.
Now you could change this on your own, but, it would be a whole lot easier to change this kind of behavior if you ask the Lord to do it.  Of course this will only work if you have completely and without reservation turned your whole being over to the Lord.  Do you have any bad habits?  Well I have had some..and I have discovered that bad habits are really not that difficult to quit, if we first of all ask the Lord to remove the desires and then just do it!  So many people say, I will try...well if you try you are allowing yourself the option, yes, you are allowing yourself the option to fail.  You can say I will try! But you need to say I quit!
Remember what you focus on is what you will find.

Listen for and hear the words of the Lord.  Notice I said words...I am going for a conversation.  Sometimes the conversations I have with the Lord are so wonderful...and they point me in the direction that he wants me to go.  When you are listening for and to the Lord...remember one very important thing...if what you are hearing is not positive, this is not from the Lord.  In other words, the Lord only speaks to us in positive terms, and very clear directives..

John 7:37

King James Version (KJV)

³⁷ In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

Are you thirsty for the Lord?  If you just come into his presence, He will give you a drink of Living Water.  How awesome is this? If you have a busy life, and frankly these days, there aren't to many of us that aren't busy.  But God wants us to have balance in our lives...are you right brained or left brained?  This is a phrase that my guess is,  the Lord doesn't care for...and I say this because God wants us to have and to be balanced in our lives...He doesn't necessarily want us to just use one side of our brain more than the other.  The Lord wants us to have balance in our lives. 

Have you ever considered where you will be in five years from now.  I may be a great grandmother.  This is quite possible for me and my husband.  Now I want to ask you, where will you be in the Lord, five years from now...are you currently living your life in such a way that the Lord will be able to use you for His purposes.  We have a lot of people in our church that are involved in mission work..however one family really comes to mind when I think about this...Bobby Joe and CJ and there three wonderful children.  They are taking up their roots and going to Africa.  They are living there lives in such away that the Lord is able to quickly and effectively use them.  To me this is awesome!  Tim and I have a few little bills to pay off and then I am going to start the process of getting our passports.  Something you have to have in order to go anywhere in this world.  So this is our way of preparing to be available for the Lord.  It is up to us, as Christians, to tell the world about the Living Waters of Christ, and just exactly what it is that Christ did for us.  When you pray you might want to ask the Lord to give you a desire to,  and a vision for, spreading the Gospel.

Well I think we will have one more day and the I will be thru my notes from this past weekends retreat.  So for now, go and be a blessing to someone, anyone, and perhaps to someone you don't even know.

Sisters of the Son IV

Before I go on I must correct something from yesterday, sometimes when I am typing my fingers get ahead of my brain and that happened yesterday....I wrote: It is absolutely wondrous to  me that all we have to do is read Gods word and we can live a wonderful life. I should have written, after the highlighted part," and apply," okay so now we can proceed.  I really do not want to lead anyone astray!

God is so good and I need to tell you a story about my yesterday.  I have loaned my car to a friend and so I am walking to work...for me to walk to work I must cross a creek...okay this isn't a problem, except when it rains...when you fill a glass with water...the water gets higher in the glass as you fill it...that also happens in the creeks.  The water gets higher.  So yesterday morning after a night of rain, the creek was pretty high, but I figured I could find a place that was shallow enough to cross...so I walked down the creek a little bit and then still not finding a place to cross, I came upon a tree that had fallen across the creek.  So I climbed up on it...I was standing on that downed tree and was literally talking to God saying...you know God we can do this...so me and God started to cross the creek on this log.  I was sort of walking side ways.  Just little steps.  Side to side.  And I was singing and praising God as I went.  Well I thought to myself that I needed to turn around...so now I am still talking to God and singing as I am turning around and as I was just about around, for about a half of a second I took my mind off of God and had stopped singing and KERSPLASH!  I was in the creek up to my armpits!  The water was a little cool....so I got out of it as quickly as I could and giggling to my self and realizing that I had taken my mind off the Lord for just that split second and that was why I fell in...a few bruises and slightly pulled muscles, but I went to the healing room at church last evening and I am feeling a whole lot better.  Long story short...keep your eyes on the Lord...do not take them off of the Lord...and you won't fall into the creek!

Now we will get back to our notes...isn't God just amazing?  I think so.  

When we are young we frequently see that most children want to be like everyone else.  They really don't want to stand out.  They kind of want to just blend in, not necessarily become invisible, but definitely to not stand out!  Now this may be okay when we are young, but as we grow and mature it is important to realize that we were created by the Lord to stand out...to be special.  So do not hide, and try not to blend in.  Not that I am saying to wear fluorescent orange...I am saying allow God to work thru you....if you feel God calling you to do something or to say something to some one...then mind the Lord!  Do it!  And I know it's not always easy...but you can do it.  When God does instruct us to do something...if we don't do it, we are causing our own blessing to not increase, not that God is taking away blessings, God wouldn't do this.  But we ourselves are sort of tying Gods hand on us.  We need to listen to and obey the Lord.  

Back to something I was going over yesterday...Don't minimize the blessings you can give and don't minimize the blessing you receive.  Appreciate what God does for you and embrace the desires that God places in your heart to share with others....

We can either be pitiful or we can be powerful...but we can't be both! What are you going to be?  This is a conscious choice, remember our God is so good that He gave us the ability to choose!  So choose wisely.  Let's look at Galatians 6:7
7 Make no mistake, God is not mocked. A person will harvest what they plant.
This is definitely something to consider.  A person will harvest what the sow. WOW.  Do you all realize what this says? 

Tomorrow we are going to finish up with my last section of notes.  So for today, go and be powerful not pitiful and find someone to bless!

Sisters of the Son III

God is so good, God is so gracious.  I love you Lord...and I worship you....I praise you Lord.....yesterday we ended with my telling you all about Sherri Hess's son Brandon Hess winning the short film contest that was put on by Sean Hannity.  Sherri tells the story so well, she is really an awesome speaker.  I am reiterating this to go on to our next point.  Brandon had done done really well, do you think all of his friends and family were rejoicing with him?

When you have done something well, have all your friends and family rejoiced with you?  I bet not! And I don't really understand this.  To me it is a wonderful blessing to be a part of something done well and to see others rewarded for their prosperity. 
Now I must admit that there may have been times when I have felt somewhat out of sorts over someone else's glory.  Why does she deserve this or that, didn't I do just as well?  Apparently not....at least not in someone's eye that was deciding.  Grow up!  Not everything everywhere goes the way we want it to go.

When someone else is successful, rejoice for them.  Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.  There is your instruction from the Lord!  Don't think faulty thoughts, think good thoughts ...... as we read in Philippians 4: 8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.

Look at that, another instruction from the Lord on how to live our lives!  Do you see, if we think poorly of others and their success's we will think poorly of ourselves and then we will have faulty thinking about all sorts of things and about God....big problem there.

We can see that in Jeremiah 29: 30 to the end of the chapter what happens when we misbehave, God doesn't like this.. 30 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah: 31 Send word to all the exiles: The LORD proclaims concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesied to you when I didn't send him, and because he convinced you to believe a lie, 32 I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants, declares the LORD. Not one member of this people will be around to see the good that I have in store for my people, declares the LORD, for he incited rebellion against me.  

It is absolutely wondrous to  me that all we have to do is read Gods word and we can live a wonderful life.  What a terrible shame that God's word is being removed from s many places.  We can stop this you know....

If you have received a blessing, don't apologize for it....say thank you....but be aware that the devil is also out there playing havoc with various circumstances, he is flat out a pain in the tuchus!  When someone says to you that your hair looks lovely today, don't poo poo it! Say thank you!  So many times when we have received a compliment we degrade it by say something like, "oh this old thing...I have had this for 25 years, it's all washed out, and you think I look lovely in it! Humph!". Now that is degrading a compliment!  SAY THANK YOU FOR GOODNESS SAKE!  Don't take away from a blessing someone has given to you.

Instead of thinking in terms of compliments, consider a compliment to be a blessing.

Well we have finally gotten thru the first page of notes and tomorrow we will have the next page....sometimes God just puts the words right down here for me....isn't that awesome...Thank You God....

Go and be a blessing!

Sisters of the Son II

Have you ever considered how much garbage gets thrown our way when we are trying to accomplish something good for God!  Unbelievable! But I and the people that I know are going to keep on plugging away....You go God, we are in your corner to our earthly ends....

Yesterday I was talking to you about the conference that I was at with some wonderful women friends that I have...Virginia and Darlene.  And now I have even more ladies that I really would like to find the time to get to know.  But I digress...back to what I learned...yesterday I was telling you that God created us to be our spouses help meet, helper, companion, identical essence and substance of each other.  I want to be my Timothy's identical essence and substance and his companion, and his helper...and his help meet.

It is so awesome that if we but follow what Jesus has preordained for each and everyone of us we can and will have a very happy life.  But walk away or walk on the dark side and not so much. You might think you are having fun, but in the long run, you won't be.  Sickness and disease will start to creep in as do most insidious types of war fare... they sneak in and next thing you know you are in full blown sin....oh wow what a rabbit trail that was...

Romans 12:9-21 (New King James Version)

9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. 10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; 11 not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; 13 distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. 17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. 20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head." 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

These are just some of the instructions we have in the Bible for living a whole and wonderful life.  And it can be so wonderful if we just work together.

God wants us to see our spouses thru his eyes, not thru our eyes.  God, it would seem, wants us to look at everything thru His eyes....now I know this can be quite difficult to do.  There are a few people in my life that I have a hard time looking at the way that God wants me to!  But this is where practise comes in, don't always take the easy way, guaranteed you will not learn as much.

Sean Hannity had a contest, some time back, it was a contest for a short film I think, called the Great American video Contest, and the contest was won by a young man who really needed a new vehicle and he has a great deal of talent.  His video was titled Pass it On.  This young man is Sherri Hess's  son, Brandon Hess.  Now I do not know exactly what this young man does, I think he is a film director, but for this time in his life I believe he was pleasing the Lord and the Lord blessed him...Brandon needed a new vehicle.  And because Brandon was walking with and for God, God blessed him.  It is very clear to me...live right and you will be blessed...don't live right, and you will not be blessed.  I want my life to be Christianity in action!

One of the things we learned, at the conference, was that there are times in our lives where we are doing well and our friends and family choose not to rejoice with us in our blessings...now how sad is this?  We must learn to rejoice with our friends and family no matter the circumstances.  We must learn to put ourselves out there if need be!  BE CHRISTIANITY IN ACTION, NOT JUST IN WORDS! I am sure you all remember the phrase...actions speak louder than words...it's true!  We will continue on in this vain tomorrow...but for today go and put your Christianity to work and be a blessing!

Sisters of the Son

Good Morning on God's Morning....Wow. What an awesome and wonderful weekend!
I am just going to give you a quick synopsis of my last four days....I took Thursday off so I will start their!
Thursday I started with my blog and the I jumped into cleaning and preparing a room for a young woman who is staying with us for at least two months, (maybe more). So I got started on this and I also was vacuuming and washing windows and framing pictures (Thank you Jen) getting the goats out for a time....and just enjoying being able to be at home.
Friday I was up and out to church, so that I could help at Daddies house for a few hours, by then my dear friend Virginia was there and I finished up and started on a wondrous adventure.
Okay so we have Virginia and me off to Gettysburg to pick up Miss Darlene...and then we girls are off on a road trip with God.....we finally got to Living Waters Christian Retreat Center, in West Virginia, just over the Potomac River, down Route 11. Yeah.
What an awesome group of women and I got to take some great pictures...which you will see in a few days!
The first speaker we had was Sherri Hess...Wow...what a tornado...but, not a destructive one...Sherri is a Pastor and a motivator...she started off, and please remember that when we sit down and listen to someone, everyone gets something different from the message, so this is what I got from the words I heard,  talking to us about being "helpers"Genesis 2:18 And the LORD God said , It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.  So by the 49th verse in the Bible God decides that this man needs help, ha ha ha....I am sorry I couldn't resist this little funny...but God did decide to make a helper for Man and that is what we as wives, mothers, and  women are. What's is so awesome though is that the very first thing that God says about women, is that we  women are help meets.  What this means is that we are Adams compatible opposite...male and female...now please understand that this goes much further and deeper than this, but for the purpose of today's blog we will stick with woman as the helper and companion of Adam.  
We as helpers or help meets, are the identical essence and substance of each other, and don't forget ladies God made us.  Just like God's helper or help meet is the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is God's identical essence and substance....hmmm, I know this is a lot to take in, but you can do this!
We as men and women are to work together and see each other the way that God created us to be.  God wants us to see each other in this way.  Can you imagine how different your relationship with your husband would and can be if you looked at your husband or wife thru the eyes of God.  How does He see you? How does He see your husband or wife?

Psalm 139:14 KJV

I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made : marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.

God put it into each and everyone of us the ability to see each other the way that He made us, but since He also gave us the ability to make choices we have sometimes chosen to look at each other thru our own eyes, human eyes, worldly eyes, rather than thru God's eyes.

This is the only problem with having to get ready for work.  I have to stop talking to all of you wonderful and blessed people!

So go and be a blessing, I will try to get back on here with out later on today!

Forgiver? Forgiven...

Have you ever suffered a wrong?
             Have you ever inflicted any wrongs?
                        Hmmmm.....
                                   Are you thinking yet?

I hope so....we need to think about the things we do and the way that we respond to everything.

I know that growing up I can remember a friend getting into trouble with her father because she had said some things to her mother in an unkind manner.  I am sure you have heard, and maybe even said yourself, "It's not what you said, it's the way you said it!" Just our inflections can change a kind word into an unpleasant word.

Have you said any unkind things lately?   Okay now here is the kicker...you had controlled your tongue, but you have thought in your head...oh that lazy so and so...why couldn't he or she have done this or that?

Matthew 5:28 KJV

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Okay? Do you understand where I am going with this?  Even if your tongue hasn't waggled and said the words, if you thought them in your heart, you have still sinned...I know, I know, this is difficult, but remember, no pain no gain...you are exercising your brain...and that is also a great thing do.  Oh and just in case, this is not just applying to lusting after someone or something...this applies to everything that we do or think! 

Okay now lets go to the other side...now we are going to talk about forgiveness!  I heard something wonderful this morning, and something that we should all consider, especially if we have done something that we, ourselves, may think is unforgivable.  The context in which I heard this, was a women and a men, talking about how they as a Christian family, had learned to deal with infidelity within their marriage.  The couple had a good marriage, but somehow the woman become involved with a man, obviously, other than her husband.  And I won't go into all the details, except to say that the moderator of the program said something I think is extremely profound as she was listening to this couple tell their story. The wife was in a conversation with some women friends and one of the women asked her if she felt that she had forgiven herself? And she said no....and the the program moderator made this statement, "people who do not accept forgiveness for themselves are saying that the cross is not enough for me." Think about this statement for a moment....do you realize that this is like slapping Jesus in the face, you are saying, that what Jesus did wasn't enough.  What all did Jesus go thru for us?  Have you ever watched "The Passion," and watched the movies portrayal of Christ's pre-crucifixion beating, that Christ took for you and for me, and then He had to walk all the way up that long, long hill, carrying his cross, that huge and heavy cross?  By not accepting the forgiveness of Christ you are saying, "Jesus what you did wasn't enough for me..." What more could this amazing man, this Christ, this Son of God, have done for us?

Do not slight God!  Give the reverence to Him, that He so richly deserves.

If you want to see the complete story of this fine family of God, you can watch it on Homekeepers with Arthelene Rippy or go to: www.bobandaudrey.com

Their story of forgiveness, and their understanding of what Christ did for us,  is an amazing example that we should all learn from.    

On this note I am going to go and work on a little project that I need to accomplish and hopefully this will be a blessing to someone.

Blessings or no Blessings

I believe a lot of people fail to realize that by turning their back on God, they are also turning their backs on any blessings that God may have in store for them.

Have you ever considered this?  Have you asked God for something lately?  Do you feel like God hasn't answered your prayer?  We are told to have the faith of children, pure and simple....but is this always easy? No it is not!  There will be difficulty and this is to be expected.  There is more than just our God out there...there is unfortunately the devil and he likes to parade about and just look for those that he might be able to waylay....but be strong.  And keep your faith.

I am aware that right now we are struggling a bit...and we are not alone...I spoke to a women yesterday who is in the same boat as are my husband and I. And it is not fun!  You know what is extremely difficult to deal with....when things are going well and you have set up automatic payments and then there isn't quite as much money in the bank as there was and the bank starts hitting you with fees...oh boy now your struggling becomes just that much worse...it isn't fun....but, I am counting on the fact that this to shall pass.  But I must admit, I am human, I want to know when?  Is it wrong to ask God for a sign...I am not sure about this....I will have to find out about this.

I know this is a little short today, but I am having an distracted morning....so I will leave you with the usual...go and be a blessing...and never doubt your faith in God!