More of Africa...

So I feel like I didn't really get to show you all I wanted about Africa. It was an awesome experience that we could have never done without the financial support of so many that handed us $50 here or there. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I also know that we had a ton of people praying for us while we were gone. I mostly appreciate this while we were air born. I must say that was the scariest part of the trip for me. I have never really been scared to fly but I was figuring...a lot can go wrong in 19 hrs. What I didn't know at the time was that as soon as we were on campus the "Rev" (missionary) told us that we need to be careful walking on campus that they have had king cobras. GREAT! He said to be aware of the signs, first they will see you before you see them, then they will hood up and spit at you which could blind you temporary if it lands in your eyes, then they will strike and up to 6 feet away...so be careful. WHAT!?!? So every time I left my chalet, I walked and looked. So if the snake story wasn't bad enough, he told us several stories of crime. He said that at night you don't stop at lights or your car can get hijacked at gunpoint. Good thing he didn't tell us this story as we arrived in Jo'berg because we were traveling at night. I thought we were traveling awful fast. Since being home and really reflecting on the trip I stick with my first blog about perspective. It makes me really appreciate what I have here in America. Anyway...back to sharing the trip...I have upload a few videos that I secretly took during the church services. What an experience. Enjoy. ****If the videos are dark...try opening Youtube website and viewing them from there. Just click on the words youtube in the bottom right hand corner of the video.

Give me that old time religion...


He has done great things...


Group Prayer...They prayed in our language but what a powerful thing to hear them pray to our shared God in their native language. (I wish I would have gotten this recorded)


I surrender all...This is how they ended this service with us.


This was TOO FUNNY...American Nazarenes DANCING!!!!



Here are some sermons that were preached by the students at NTC (Nazarene Theological College) (These are 6 and 11 minutes)

Relaxed and Renewed...

Well that was the plan for this past weekend. I went on the ladies retreat with the church. We went to Sugarcreek aka. Amish country. I do feel renewed but extremely tired. We had a WONDERFUL time and we had an awesome speaker, Tammy Lashey of Calling Levi. She spoke about God's plan for our lives and how we often live in the "woe is me" world. It is like we set up camp where the enemy is and then we get discouraged when the enemy attacks. She said DON'T put up with it and don't let your sister in Christ live in the enemy camp either. Become fighters against the devil (aka. the jerk). The thing that stuck out the most to me was when she was talking about her son, who has a rare blood disorder, and she was pleading with God for an answer to why "she" was going through this. She said God spoke to her heart and said...this is the plan I have for your son and his life. All too often I find myself wondering why things happened to my dad the way they did and it wasn't about me. It was God's plan for my dad's life. I was reminded of something that I read in the Hummel blog about that question of why. Why me? Why them? Why? But if God were to answer the why before anything happened would we still be willing to say yes? I mean if I knew that my dad's passing would bring me closer to God, would I have said yes God you can take him or would I have begged Him that I would try harder or that I should be the one. God's plan for each of our lives is something that only He can only see. I wondered if he cleared his plan for Jesus with Mary. Did he say...Mary, my plan for Jesus is that he will die on a cross after being beaten so that the world could be saved, I doubt it. I am sure in the days leading up to and immediately following she wondered, "why?" So as I sit here tonight I am reminded of a verse that the pastor used...John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." He doesn't promise an easy road but he reassures us that there is hope in the midst of our trouble.

I am ending tonight with a few pictures from the ladies retreat (some came out better than others) AND a video of Tammy singing. My stomach is still recovering from all of the laughing and my ears are recovering from my poor use of the sound system.

Once in a lifetime...

That is the statement I have used the most in the last 2 weeks. We just returned from SOUTH AFRICA!!! I said several times to Wayne...Can you believe we are in AFRICA?!? It was absolutely wonderful and amazing. Someone asked me this morning at church if I could describe it in one word and I said amazing but I was thinking perspective. I know a strange word but it is a honest summary. It put everything into perspective for me. I met the most amazing people who love God and who have this overwhelming desire to get anyone and EVERYONE saved. They believe in reaching people by going out to the people and not waiting for the people to come to them. I think sometimes the church (church as a whole) builds the building in hopes that they will come...(Field of dreams mentality). These people are also the happiest people I have met and they have little or no material things. I was shocked when the "Rev" (Chuck Lockard, the missionary leader there) said that the ladies in the kitchen make about 100 Rand a month. A MONTH! I know you are thinking what is a Rand...well it 6.5 to 1 of the dollar so 100 Rand is about 17.50. OUCH~~ They do live on the campus and they get their food there but all of their clothes, kid's clothes and all their personal items have to come out of that money. After hearing it I was at the grocery store and saw that the paper plates were 16 rand and I started thinking...what a waste. We as Americans are so spoiled, we buy tons of things we don't need and we are always saying if I had a little more of this or that...then I would be happy. The people of South Africa don't have that desire...they are HAPPY because they are saved and sanctified and loved by God and they will tell anyone who will listen. We also had an opportunity to go to a baby sanctuary (orphanage). Most of the babies there are HIV positive and abandoned by their moms before they are even named. The lady that started this orphanage currently has 12 kids in her care, more every week. This was probably the hardest part of the trip for most of us. These kids are abandoned on a daily basis or their parents have both died of AIDS. Rev said that in 2010 South Africa's HIV crisis will peak and the amount of children left without parents will be at its all time high. But as the Rev's wife, Ann Marie said...at least the mothers didn't abort the babies or dump them somewhere. I will let the pictures do the talking about the kids....they were adorable....I LOVED Boyki...The boy with the glasses.
We also had the privilege of going on a safari and we were truly blessed. The guide was so impressed that we got to see as many animals as we did. He said it was the best he had seen in the 6 years he had been giving tours. We saw elephants, female lions (who chase a warthog), giraffes, zebras, and ONE TOTALLY AWESOME male lion. He walked down over the hill while we are looking at the giraffes out the other side of our safari truck.

So...Needless to say we were busy and we managed to do a TON of work while were there. We spent 9 + days working on 2 cottages for the faculty which needed updating and cleaned and scrubbed and painted and remodeled and.......... They turned out wonderful and they are now ready to move into. We also helped them turn an old bar (the Nazarene Theological College land used to be an exclusive resort) into a book store. Everyone worked really well together. Sign me up to go again....

Well...I am going to bed...enjoy the pictures. I might put more out later.

The much awaited...

That is right...I am back. Well at least for tonight. I have been scolded by a few for the lack of posts of late. I have been BUSY. Since blogging last, I made a quick trip to Dallas (Left on Friday morning, came back Monday). AND I DROVE with TWO KIDS by MYSELF. It actually went really well...the kids were angels most of the time. I had to see my brother and his family before baby Lauren graduated from high school. It might have been a little impulsive and a bit crazy but it was fun. I will attach pictures of our trip...the kids played together with each other like they see each other every day or maybe that is why they got along so well...they don't see each other everyday, who knows. Kaitlyn and Sam as the older kids worked together to tell Tyler and Josh what to do and Tyler and Josh, both determined 3 year olds...decided not to listen.

Other than that little trip...I have been busy with my liquidation business. I have finally decided to put all of my efforts into making this a part-time job. I opened a store on Ebay called "Returns Back to You". Take a peek. Right now my inventory is all that I am going in have for awhile because I want all of the auctions over by the time we leave for Africa...which by the way is the other thing I have busy with. We leave for Africa in 22 days and counting. Which brings me to my final thing...I am still going to church...I think some have thought that I quit going because of my lack of sermon note blogs. But you are in for a double treat...Here is this week's sermon notes and this one happens to go along with several other blogs this week.

Sermon: "Can you handle the stress test?"

Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

Guard our hearts not shelter our hearts. That is the message that comes from that verse for me. A healthy heart does not come from sitting and doing nothing. A healthy strong heart comes from being stressed and then letting it rest, then being stressed and then letting it rest. If we want a healthy heart we need to be prepared to be stressed and know that it is in God's plan that we are stressed and before long he will give us rest. It is how we handle the stress tests in life that determine if we have a healthy heart. Just as with our physical heart...the problem with a heart doesn't appear until all other tests have been run and the doctor has you jump on that treadmill and then your heart shows its weakness in that stressful time. This is much like our spiritual hearts. When we get stressed, it is then that our weaknesses show through. It is then that people see the desires of our heart. If in a stressful situation we turn from God then we weren't as in love with God as we thought. If in a stressful situation we do things that are displeasing to God then we don't rely on God as much as we might have appeared to have in our unstressed out times. Matthew 5:8 says Blessed are the PURE in heart for they will will see God. We would all love to avoid any thing that my stress our heart or challenge our shaky hearts. We don't want anyone to see our hearts under stress. God knows our heart and the intentions of our heart.
Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. If we really give our whole heart to God then we will handle the stress tests of life with a breeze even if we don't understand why this or that stress happens to be in our lives to handle.

Take You through the Fire

This week has been a renewal of spirit for much of our church as well as trying time for some members in the "church" of Christ. We had the opportunity to help out the community this week and it was not only rewarding for the people we helped but also for the 700+ that signed up to help. Our church did a restoration weekend with the theme of "Don't just GO to church, BE the church" and the verse that was used was
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

On Sunday we didn't have the traditional worship service but it a service where the spirit of the Lord showed up. People were standing and applauding, shouting and if we had kept singing...we may have had a few runners. One of the songs that we sang was "Through the Fire" and it was not only inspiring for those who heard it but it touched me personally as I have been reading about the trials of the Bucks and the Hummels and watched as those families know what it means to be in the fire. God never promised that we wouldn't be in the fire as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found themselves but he promised that he will SHOW UP and take us through the fire. I included a video of the Crabb family doing this song with the Brooklyn Tabernacle choir. (it may take a few times running it to hear the whole song...but worth the time)



The service ended with "Who can satisfy my soul", here are the lyrics...

Chorus:
There is a Fountain Who is a King,
Victorous Warrior and Lord of everything,
My Rock, my Shelter, my very own
Blessed Redeemer, Who reigns upon the throne.

Verse:
Who can satisfy my soul like You?
Who on earth could comfort me and love me like You do?
Who could ever be more faithful, true?
I will trust in You, I will trust in You, my God!

So if you read my mom's blog you know that we had a very busy weekend. I was in charge of your family reunion this year for the Grate Family, mainly because NO ONE likes to do it and I thought that I would plan something for the younger generation. So after being elected as president last year, I went searching the internet for the perfect spot...I found it Hocking Hills Family Fun Center, mini-golf, sand volleyball, go-karts, and canoeing for all. It couldn't get much better. So I called and got our names on the books cause I figured they were probably booked for months in advance...luckily they had an opening. So then as the time approached I made out 70+ invitation with the address for the Family Fun Center from their very well put together website and sent them out. I called about a week later to confirm our reservation for the shelter house and found out that the address on the website was for their canoe livery and corporate office. WHAT? I thought the canoe livery was at the fun center. NO...it was six miles away and the address on all of my invitation where off by six miles. I told the lady that I spoke with about my disappointment in their website giving the wrong information to which she said...well it is only six miles away. Like if anyone had shown up they would have piled out of cars only to have to pile back in and drive to the "FUN CENTER" which was situated on a lovely hill that required a monster truck to climb. It went straight up. So as I drove up the hill to our lovely fun center... I about had a heart attack...YIKES...The place hadn't been used in 10 years or more!!! See the pictures below.

These are the brochure pictures of the FAMILY FUN CENTER...



THIS IS WHAT WE GOT!
I never knew that you could MOW a sand volleyball court but they did. When we questioned where it was at, they said...we will send "LeRoy" out to mow it. GEEZ!!! Despite all of the miscommunication, we did have almost 50 people (but I did see a couple of cars come and go and it could have been family leaving, can't prove it). It all turned out wonderful. The next day, Sunday, we went to another family reunion, The Hersman reunion. This is the second year in a row that we have went since I was in high school. The reason is...the Grate reunion used to be on Sunday and well...it was always the one that we knew everyone at. The thing I enjoy the most about this reunion, other than the food, is the pictures. Some of you know that I am a bit obsessed with ancestry stuff and they have pictures from every reunion since 1963-present in photo albums. So this year I took my digital camera and snapped a few pictures of my great grandparents that I didn't have.

Other than all of the reunions...we made a trip to Indianapolis that same night and back in Ohio by Monday at 2 so Wayne could go to work. We are starting this business in a big way...more on that later. I am also in the process of planning the popcorn festival parade float for our church...all of this AND...the doctor told me last week that she thought I might have a brain aneurysm or AVM so I had to have an MRI on Friday or it could be a blocked artery in my neck so today I had an ultrasound on my neck. She also said it could be nothing. So far the MRI is clear and Tom will be happy to know that the doctor doesn't "see" anything there. I am waiting for the other test which is suppose to be read by Friday. WHO KNOWS!!! This all started because I have had this obnoxious swishing sound in my ear that is about to drive me crazy.
Sorry for such a long blog. I could write all night and still not get everyone caught up on what is going on .

I'm back....

Well sort of...I don't really have too much to write which is surprising considering I have so much going on right now. Since my last post Wayne and I spent a week painting my grandparents condo, we made 2 trip to Indianapolis, and we are in the midst of planning the Grate reunion. When I sit down at night I really don't feel like writing. So why today? I guess because my brother blogged, my cousin blogged and my mom blogged and I was about the only who hasn't in a while. I have had a really long day. Last night I went to 45 minutes of choir practice at 6:30 and then took off for Indianapolis for some stuff that I bought online at liquidation.com to sell on Ebay, stayed the night at a hotel that should have been named "Rambo Inn" instead of Ramada Inn, and then drove back this morning so Wayne could go to work by 2. Then at 2:30 we were off to the local pool so we could get some relief from the heat, it was great, there were several people there from the church. If you are wondering why I would drive all that way for a few things to sell, well it was more than a few things...it was 4 pallets of things. We went a couple of weeks ago for the same thing and were able to pick up 3 bikes, 1 tricycle, a LOT of camping stuff and we paid next to nothing for it and then we sold it and made all of our money back on the first item we posted so not only did we make money on this little adventure but we got to keep all of the camping stuff and 2 razor scooters. I am starting this little side business to raise money for our trip to Africa which leaves in less than 3 months.
I am really excited about this trip and all that God has planned for us but I am a little freaked out by the amount of time that I will be spending in the air, we leave on the 13th of October at 12:10 pm and arrive in Jo'berg S. Africa at 4:10 pm on the 14th. 28 hours later....Yikes...
But I can't wait to get working over there. Well...that is it for the day...I would write more but my desk chair is broken and I have to sit on my knees to type and I can't feel feet and the last time I did that, I think I broke a toe as I fell on the floor because I had no support under me. Maybe I can find a pallet with desk chairs...Off I go to search.

PS....the new song on here is for my mom.

HE IS 6!!!

That is right...my baby is 6. Time really does fly by. I am posting a few pictures of the day...so enjoy. I would write more but I am exhausted, we had almost 40 people here at our house. It was great to have so many people from church and I am excited to see them all grow up in the church together.

Tagged by Kelley

My cousin Kelley tagged me to tell 8 interesting facts about myself...

1. I have almost electrocuted myself twice, once with my mom’s car keys and once with a bobby pin. Which to most will explain everything…
2. I am a “prove it to me” person…see above…I don’t think I REALLY believed sticking something shiny in the outlet would hurt because I did it TWICE!
3. When I was younger the neighbor’s used to refer to me as “Daisy Duke” because I always wore short shorts and I was super skinny. In fact people used to make fun of me because I was “all skin and bones”. See what teasing does to a person.
4. I have reverse anorexia…I see myself as thin while the sizes I wear and the pictures of me tell a different story.
5. I am not as confident as I seem or as strong as everyone thinks I am. I feel like the personality I started in high school got out of control and people’s perception of me is not the real me but it is a hard thing to change.
6. I really want to become a chef. I love to cook. I have to thank Marsha and my grandma for this…Marsha made the best stuff when I was a kid and grandma always asked me to help but would then do all the work herself. I would like to use these skills to one day open a pizza/arcade.
7. I am a landlord…We own a duplex that we have been very fortunate to have great renters and it seems to have been a great investment.
8. Here is my last one…I love Ross the intern from the Tonight show...He is hilarious...very few things make me laugh out loud but he does.

Boy that was a lot of pressure…check back frequently because some of my eight things might get bumped from the list and get replaced with truly interesting items.

VBS

So this past week was VBS at our church and we had a few kids show up...OK a lot of kids. In fact I think they said that on Wednesday we had 255 kids plus the 80+ workers. I am posting a few pictures of the events which included my father-in-law coming on stilts and doing "Roper Rick".

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?

Nice title I thought since I have been absent from the blog world for a few weeks. I really have no excuse. Strangely...I haven't had too many requests for a new blog. Hmmmmm

So I decided to blog anyway because I have had a few people ask about the kitchen...well....IT IS DONE!!!



The picture with the 2 doors is my NEW PANTRY! It is amazing. I can reach it from either side. Right below where the outlet is on that wall we are going to put in an island so our kitchen will eventually be a U-shaped kitchen. So I guess it is not DONE completely but it is done as far was what we could afford to do this year.

Other than the kitchen, not much else is going on. We are in the middle of our church's VBS program and I have a unique group of kids this year. By the time I get home I don't want to hear my kids talking...As the week has went along though it is getting better. Speaking of my kids...they are both doing wonderful. Josh is just as funny as always and is either talking or running or touching things, or "shakin' his booty". Ever since he could talk he would call Samuel Nanell. But this week...he said "SAM-NO" Closer...I was encouraged by this. Samuel is doing great and getting bigger everyday. He is SO serious. He is really enjoying VBS this year because he is with the big kids. I am putting a few pictures out here of them since it has been awhile.


So that is all...I will try to keep it light and I will still be doing my sermon summaries.

Saved and Sanctified

This week's sermon was a much needed explanation of what it means to be sanctified with Christ. I always thought I explained it fairly well as letting God have complete control of your life...the "Jesus take the wheel" mentality but the pastor this week explained it better. Being sanctified means to "set apart" from the world. LOOK!!! this next statement sums it up...Saved is God giving himself to you completely, being sanctified is YOU giving ALL of you to God. That means every thought, every decision, everything you do is given over to him first. Each of us are born with a love of self not a love toward God. God gives us the opportunity through getting saved and sanctified to have a pure love, one that is personal and mutual between God and Man. To be saved is a process...the day that someone asked to be forgiven, there is instant forgiveness and the Holy Spirit comes and fills their soul. The holy spirit is that voice of reason in tough times, the voice of conviction that keeps us from doing what we know is wrong, the comforting presence when we need it most. Being saved does not make us perfect, we will never be perfect until we come face to face with God himself but it gets us one step closer. Being sanctified is letting God use you as his arms, his feet, and with his compassion to reach those around who don't yet know him. To be like him and to strive to be like him is to be sanctified and holy. In 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (a) it says: It is God's will that you should be sanctified:
For more on this see John 17:6 through the end of the chapter. It is Jesus praying for the disciples and for all believers.

Ok...that is what I got out of the sermon. Feel free to re-direct me if necessary...I never know if I hit the mark or I am way off. I just tell it like I hear it.

On another note...We had a wonderful weekend with family. It seemed like we spent most of the time at the grandparents' house. I am sure that they needed at least today to recover and clean up after the boys were there. We spent Saturday planning for my mom's visit at 1pm but as many of you know she tends to make a late appearance so at about 5:30 she finally showed up. I made dinner for all that night and then I stayed around after Wayne took the boys home until about 2 in the morning trying to fix my grandpa's computer. All the time waiting for the computer to update, I spent sorting coupons which was quite a feat since I had about 2 or 3 weeks worth to go through and several copies of each coupon. Anyway...I still have a few more to do. BUT...I did go on Monday morning and purchased $146 worth of groceries for $64. I would have not spent so much if I didn't have to buy the many items for homemade ice cream that are not on sale and have no coupon. Anyway...we had a great time and thanks to grandma and grandpa for opening up their home for us all to enjoy. It was so much better than having everyone at my house that doesn't have an A/C. Also thanks to grandma and mom for going shopping with me. I guess that is all...Sorry to ramble at the end there.

Why do we need to read it?

That was the question this week at church...Why do we need to read the bible? Is there really anything in there that pertains to me and my life in the year 2007? Why?
Here is why:

2 Timothy 3:15-17 (New International Version)

15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Tonight at choir practice we had a wonderful demonstration of how even just one page of the bible pertains to us. The person in charge of the devotional handed out a single page from different parts of the bible to every person that was present and asked each of us to read through and see if we find anything that pertained to us. It was amazing to hear people read an excerpt from their page and how it met there need or spoke directly to their heart. I have been diving lately in my bible for answers that I always looked elsewhere for and I have been reminded time and time again that the answer is right there. I have mentioned in one other blog that I looked several times at Psalms 139 and it has helped me through so much that God knows me and understands me when no one else seems to. He knows when I sit or stand...when I am near to him or when I am straying. He is there all the time. So why the bible...because it not only holds a ton of truths but it has some really wonderful and comforting things to say when we seem to be struggling the most.

Amazing Song...Amazing Singer...

Tonight I heard the most beautiful song and it was sung by my cousin Kelley at the mother-daughter banquet. The words kind of sum up how I have been feeling about my faith and where I am scared I will end up. I don't ever want to lose my passion for Christ...it seems that when people are most on fire for Christ is early in their walk and then it slowly dwindles away, not intentional but as a matter of getting comfortable with just "going" to church or just "living" a good life not passionate about all of our duties to win people to Christ. To get His name out there and let them know that he really does accept you "just as you are" and that there is a place for everyone in the kingdom if they ask to be forgiven.

It's another good to see you Sunday morning
Though I hardly hear the words roll off my tongue
Looking in myself for signs of something, that's long gone
Oh I stumble through a verse that says You love me
As the voices echo my thoughts drift away
And I close my eyes ashamed I'm feeling nothing
And I pray, I pray
Heal me heal these eyes heal this heart heal my mind
Breathe Your breath of life
Heal me, wake my soul from this sleep
Give me back the joy of when I first believed
Heal me
Oh I lose myself to one more day's indifference
When my eyes are everywhere but fixed on You
I don't have the strength to overcome this distance, but You do, You do
Heal me heal these eyes heal this heart heal my mind
Breathe Your breath of life
Heal me, wake my soul from this sleep
Give me back the joy of when I first believed
Heal me
I don't want to waste another minute
Taking all Your love for granted
I just want to feel Your Holy Spirit rushing over me
Heal me heal these eyes heal this heart heal my mind
Breathe Your breath of life
Heal me, wake my soul from this sleep
Give me back the joy of when I first believed
Heal me

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

You sure have gotten "OLD" er...

I thought I would blog about this wonderful guy that I know. He is not only a great person, a great son, husband and dad but he is also a great brother. I hope that you know what a wonderful person that you are and that I love you for being the rock and supporter of our family. I am so proud of you for pushing through everything that you have been through. I could never express my gratitude for all the times that you have called at the right time to make me laugh or cheer me up. I don't think I could have made it through dad's death without you by my side supporting me, crying with me, and taking time to sit with me and talk over everything. I really appreciate it. I love you and I hope that you have a wonderful birthday.

YOU ARE THE BEST!

God Planned Surprises...

I say this because today a couple of prayers of mine have been answered and something that I have had on my brain for the last couple of weeks was preached about today. God has to be smiling. Don't you just marvel at the way he works sometimes...I was have been kind of worried about the money for the Africa trip while we have been remodeling the kitchen and today someone approached me at choir and asked me if I was still going to Africa. I said yes...then he handed me $125. I was floored...I said thank you but I don't know if it was audible, does that make sense, I know it was and I did thank him. I couldn't believe it and I am sure God was laughing at me for my reaction because he was thinking...you prayed about it didn't you? Then during our Sunday school class another one was answered. I have been stockpiling groceries along with many, many health and beauty items and I didn't know what to do with it all or who to donate it to. One of the ladies mentioned that she was wondering if we could start a ministry to send boxes to the troops in Iraq because she is on leave from the military and her husband is stationed over there right now and they are in need of health and beauty items...HOW FUNNY! I couldn't believe my ears...here was my opportunity to help God answer her prayer.
So God answers prayers and he hears our thoughts because I have been talking a lot about my bible studies that I have been attending with several people and how I felt that Pilate and King Darius in Daniel had a lot in common, they both picked the social status and their "job" over what they believed. King Darius in Daniel, with a lot of pressure from society, created a law that no one could pray God or man for 30 days unless they were praying to King Darius and if they broke that law they would be throw into the lion's den.

Daniel 6
3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. 4 At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. 5 Finally these men said, "We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God." 6 So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: "O King Darius, live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den. 8 Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.

This same thing happens in John 19 with Pilate. He was pressured by his job and by his people to crucify an "innocent man". He even had Jesus flogged so that the crowd might see that this man, Jesus, had paid enough. After the flogging he brought Jesus before them as if to say...hasn't he paid enough. He was shocked when the crowd said...crucify. He kept giving the crowd a chance to not crucify and yet the pressure of the people and the thought that he might lose his job if the people didn't like the decision, he caved. He even had the nerve to say to to Jesus...Don't you know who I am? Don't you know that I decide your fate, I have the power to set you free or crucify you. Jesus answered...You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Jesus was showing Pilate that he was just merely a chess piece and that God was the one controlling the moves.

John 19
1Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3and went up to him again and again, saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!" And they struck him in the face. 4Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, "Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him." 5When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, "Here is the man!" 6As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, "Crucify! Crucify!" But Pilate answered, "You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him." 7The Jews insisted, "We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God." 8When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, 9and he went back inside the palace. "Where do you come from?" he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. 10"Do you refuse to speak to me?" Pilate said. "Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?" 11Jesus answered, "You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin." 12From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar." 13When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge's seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.
"Here is your king," Pilate said to the Jews. 15But they shouted, "Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!" "Shall I crucify your king?" Pilate asked. "We have no king but Caesar," the chief priests answered. 16Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

This conversation between Pilate and Jesus is very significant with our lives. We are either on God's side or against Him. We are either holy or unholy. We are either good or evil. There is a clear way to live and not to live. The pastor said that if just 1 person is committed to God's side, they will do more than 1000 who are just interested in God's side. Satan's plan for our life is to get us discontented...disillusioned, discouraged, disgusted and ultimately destroy us. There is only a black and white for God...Heaven or Hell, no gray. If we keep searching in this world for what we can only find in God...which is peace and understanding, answers to prayer and comfort at our times of need and that reassurance that when our "dash" is over...we are going to get to spend the rest eternity with Him then our life will be much like "a blind man in a dark room searching for a black hat, that isn't there. " Charles Bowen

Sorry it was so long...but I couldn't condense it anymore than I already did. Thanks Powell...what an awesome sermon again!

Happy Birthday Mom!

"Happy Birthday" means much more
Than have a happy day.
Within these words lie lots of things
I never get to say.

It means I love you first of all,
Then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I'm proud of you.

I really am proud of you and all that you have accomplished as a single mom of three kids. Tonight as I was talking to you about this new opportunity for ministry, I was amazed at the knowledge that you have. Thanks for always supporting me and encouraging me in my many ideas and being brave enough to tell me when I am way off base. I love having conversations with you, nightly, about everything from the kids to the deep stuff about my beliefs and this new found faith of mine. Those particular conversations about the bible and God are the ones that I cherish the most lately as I am reminded of how short our dash in life is. Thanks for being a great listener...and thanks for being a great mom. I love you. Happy Birthday!

Finally...

I know it has been awhile but if you have read the last few posts you will know that we are working on our kitchen. I would like to be able to tell everyone that it is finished but it isn't. We are still working on it and I will not post any more pictures until it is finished. But I couldn't let another week go by without my sermon summary.
So this is actually from 2 weeks ago when Pastor Powell preached. I will summarize this weeks farther down in my blog so this may be a bit long.
So last weeks sermon was on the "Sixth Toe". SEE PICTURE.

His sermon started out with a story about dating someone until you find out that they have a sixth toe even though they are a great person you just can't live with them having a sixth toe. He said it is a lot like this with the church...we date the church and when we find the sixth toe we leave even though we love everything else about the church. He said there are three things that people who are dating the church see the church to be.

1. What they will get...socially what can this church offer me.
2. They are attending because that is what "Christians" are supposed to do but they are never committed.
3. They are very critical...finding the best product for the cheapest price...as long as they don't have to change anything they love this church.

Eph 5:25 says

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her"

We are to marry the church...not just date it. Not just the universal church but a local church. We need to find a local church and commit to it, marry it and not look for the sixth toe.
He used 1 John 1:5-10 as a reference for our commitment to be like Christ who loved the church. It reads

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[a] sin.

8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.

He also used this verse:

1 John 2:9-10

9Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him^[a] to make him stumble.

We need to love our church with the following:

Passion, Priority, Philanthropy, and Promote.

We need to have a passion about our church and the direction that it is heading.
We need to make it a priority to come to church and not let other things in our life come in the way. He used Philanthropy (mainly to keep with the letter P, it is a pastor thing)...but as defined on dictionary.com "Philanthropy is the act of donating money, goods, time, or effort to support a charitable cause, usually over an extended period of time and in regard to a defined objective." and finally promote...tell other about your church. Do something...not just mortar and bricks but as the body of Christ...reach out. Read Romans 12...it has become for me my mission on where I want to be as a servant of Christ.

I know I said I would blog about this weeks sermon but it will have to wait, I am tired and I don't want to mess it up. Sorry Mark...you will get your sermon summarized tomorrow or Saturday or...

2 POST IN ONE DAY!!!

I am posting this as a quick pictorial update of the kitchen.
BEFORE.


Destruction...



AFTER (REMEMBER IT IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS)

Toy Story...

So I am sure some of you have read my mom's blog about the snake story that Josh told Sam, if you haven't you should. Anyway...I thought I should share a funny story about Sam. He has been watching a lot of the movie Toy Story and for christmas this year they got Buzz and Woody, the characters from the movie. And if you have seen the movie you know that there is a bit of a war over territory between Woody and Buzz over Andy's room. Well...the other night I heard Sam in his room talking...I couldn't make out what he was saying so I asked. He said he was talking to Buzz. Ok...I said...what did you tell him. Sam said...I told him that if he really does come to life after I leave that he can be the boss of all of the other toys. I must of smirked a little because he quickly said...it probably isn't true but if it is he can be the boss. I told him good idea and walked away with a huge smile on my face. He is so funny.

On another note...we are slowly getting our kitchen back to normal. We installed all of the cabinets, laid the tile floor and Wayne is installing the backsplash as I sit here and blog. I am not helping today because our friend Dave came over to help...THANK YOU! We are hoping, or at least I am hoping, to be able to have it finished by next Sunday. I would even settle for being able to cook and run the dishwasher. It has been quite a waiting game getting this done...it is one of those hurry up and wait projects. We bought the unfinished oak cabinets so that meant we had to stain everything and staining one side at a time on the doors, then we put 3 coats of polyurathane on everything and of course there is nothing but waiting for all of that to dry. When I look at everything we have left to do it seems a bit overwhelming but if I look at what all we have accomplished then I realize we have come a long way.

So that is my quick little blog for the day.

Must have...

Since so many of you have asked about where I find these deals, here is a quick list of the must have links on your computer if you are going to shop for either groceries or online for non-grocery items.

http://www.thegrocerygame.com/ This is the site that I use for all of my great grocery shopping deals. The message boards on this site are priceless for non-grocery deals. (you don't have to be a member to read the message boards.) But the membership dues are well worth the savings.

http://www.currentcodes.com/ This site is great because it gives you 90% of the current promotional codes that you can use when checking out at online stores.

http://www.momsview.com/ This is another site for getting those promotional codes...but it is not as user friendly as the one above.

http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/directory/links15.html This is one I stumbled onto today that gives some great sites for being able to print off coupons or get free samples.

Just had to share...

We got Samuel's school pictures and as you can see he looks a bit older than 5. He is growing up so fast. I knew it was going to happen but it hit me this week as I watched as he braved getting his tonsils out with the bravery that not even some adults have. He said he had to be brave for Josh, who also had tonsils out the same day. He was very understanding of the process and told us many times that he didn't like the medicine that he had to take for pain but that he knew it would feel better if he did. He is so amazing! So as I said...the whole tonsil thing went well and I would do it the same way if we could go back and do it again. They were such troopers and they really took care of each other. The worse part was having them here together with me for 2 whole weeks! Once they started feeling better they were bouncing ideas off of each other on what they could get into. These last two weeks have been a constant 2 weeks of hearing Joshua talk, and talk, and talk. I prayed he would talk but maybe I should have set a limit on the amount of talking. He talks continuously as my mom can attest for. He barely breathes in between sentences and to make matters worse...most of it I can't understand so then he screams it to me, which only makes understanding it more difficult. If I am not focusing right on what he is saying he has a tendency to grab both sides of my face and make me look at him and he says "I talkin to you mom".
I have to throw a picture of Josh in here...his rottenness is covered with a smile....DON'T be deceived!!!

I came back!

That has been the topic of many discussions over the last month or so. I have discussed with several people who were raised "in" the church, as I have, about why we all came back to the church. I guess it all starts as to why we left in the first place. I left to find out what I believed for myself. Sure I found a few things that were fun in the process or activities that seemed to bring me happiness but nothing that sustained me. Nothing like what I have today with Christ. I left because I was raised in the church...does that make sense? I know some don't always go through this process (which I am sure their parents are glad) but for me it was a necessity. I needed to know what I believed for me and no one else...not for my mom, my grandparents or some loyalty to a church that I had attended but for me. I have always relied on others to tell me right from wrong. To dance or not to dance, to drink or not to drink, to play cards or not play cards, what is appropriate attire for Sunday and what is not. I looked to the "people" in the church for the answers to all of those questions and then I sat back and watched to see if they really believed their answer. This is where my heart grew cold toward the church. I saw those same people who said it was wrong to dance, out dancing, those who said it was wrong to drink, have a small glass with their dinner, and some who dressed to impress play the same cards that they had said were so wrong. The problem was not those people, it was me. I had put my belief in them and not in HIM. I had let their failures or mis-steps interfere with my beliefs. I had let my judgements become my beliefs and the "See they are no better than me" motto rule my life. The great thing about that statement is that it is true...they are no better than me and I am no better than them. I have my hang ups and I have my struggles and I don't know all the answers but I am human and with the human nature comes imperfection.
So why did I come back? I came back because in all of my searching for who I was I lost myself and some where deep inside of myself I knew that getting closer to God was probably my only chance at true happiness. I also wanted my kids to have some sort of basis so that they would have a place to come back to if they decide to explore like I did. I want them to have that little voice in them that warns them when they are skirting the line between world and God called convictions.

As you get older you say...if I knew then what I know now...well...knowing now what I looked for then, I am going to try to live as close to God and how he wants me to be as I can so that those people looking for me to trip up will have to look a little harder. I don't want to be anyone's stumbling block.

Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

MY MOM POSTED....CLICK ON HER LINK

I MUST BE CRAZY!!!

That is what I have heard most of this week when I tell everyone what is going on around here. We are taking both kids in on Thursday to have their tonsils removed. To compound the problem, Wayne is most likely working this next weekend and we have almost completely gutted our kitchen for a month long remodel project. I say a month with much optimism. I didn't realize how much I rely on my stove and oven. I forgot that you can boil water in the microwave since we never use the microwave except for hot dogs. I am going to start tiling the floor in the next two days and my dear ole husband thought it a good idea to tile both the dining area and the kitchen. If you have ever been in my house you know that our kitchen is really large...12x24 to be exact. Since I like to tile and I voluteered for that part of the project...he changed his mind about carpeting half thus reducing some of his projects in there. Actually we work really good together in these home improvements. So...IT WILL BE FUN....IT WILL BE FUN...IT WILL BE FFFFFUNNN!

I thought that since I haven't done my weekly sermon update from last week's sermon I thought I would squeeze it in before tomorrow. I would like to say that everyone has been asking about the lack of sermon but I think all of the preaching has left some of my loyal readers with nothing to say...surprising from some...I must say.

This weeks' sermon was titled "What are you going to do with your dash?"
Dash? you might ask. Yes, dash...the one that seperates the year you were born and the year that you die. Like my dad's dash 1945-2007. It is so little but so significant. Are we letting the world pass us by from our "EZ" chair or are we out there doing something with our life? God has given us that dash between birth and death for more than just the "EZ" life. He wants us to be open to his calling to do something big. If we look at the different people from the bible that were called to something big by God then you will see it is neither easy or comfortable. Take Noah for example...God didn't say...I have this boat over there that I have loaded animals and I need you to get on...No he said...I want you to build a boat (ark and you need to collect the animals. He did it in faith of a promise that was unseen. I am sure he was ridiculed by on lookers and mocked about his faith but he stood strong and did what the Lord had asked him. He answered that intial calling. But the calling doesn't just stop there. God gives us reassurance that if we remain faithful that he will reward us for our faithfulness. Becoming a Christian doesn't remove our suffering but many know that if they didn't have the reassurance of God during their suffering their suffering would have been unbearable.
Lately I have been straining to hear the calling for what I am to do with my dash...I want to make an impact, I want to be remembered for more than just someone's daughter, granddaughter, mother or wife. I want my life to impact someone. Wayne and I both have this awesome opportunity to go to Africa to help with the mission work that is going on there. We are excited and a bit fearful. Not afraid but apprehensive of how this will change our lives. Some have asked why Africa...well the truth is...why not Africa. I feel like people in other countries don't have the opportunity and resources that we have here. We have been blessed with so much and we are ready to give back. I don't want this "mission" work to stop in Africa. I want to reach out to those around me. I watched this really neat video a couple of weeks ago in my bible study and it has really been a reassurance for me that what me and Wayne are doing is the right this (There is that reassurance after the call that the pastor was talking about). The video was of Reggie McNeal at the M7 leadership conference for Nazarene leaders. He was talking about how we "the church" have a tendency to yell from our steps "COME TO OUR CHURCH...WE HAVE THE ANSWERS...BE LIKE US AND YOU WILL GET TO HEAVEN" What we need to be doing is getting out in our community and becoming friends with the community and examples of Jesus. He said maybe all of the "churchy" people are already in church. That makes sense to me. Maybe we are going about this all wrong maybe we need show by example and then if they come to our church they are there to further their knowledge of the bible and it's teachings.

Ok...I think I will end there. But let me leave you with a passage that has sustained me a few times in the past. ***It is a bit long but I couldn't share it unless I shared the whole thing.

Psalm 139

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
and the light around me to become night—
12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body
and knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! ****THIS IS MY FAVORITE LINE
Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion,
as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.
They cannot be numbered!
18 I can’t even count them;
they outnumber the grains of sand!
And when I wake up,
you are still with me!

19 O God, if only you would destroy the wicked!
Get out of my life, you murderers!
20 They blaspheme you;
your enemies misuse your name.
21 O Lord, shouldn’t I hate those who hate you?
Shouldn’t I despise those who oppose you?
22 Yes, I hate them with total hatred,
for your enemies are my enemies.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 Point out anything in me that offends you,
and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Example of Great couponing...

So tonight I had a great find...I spent a total of 20.27 and I saved 104.81 and this is how. Kroger's this week has their Pillsbury items on sale for 10/$10 and I had a lot of coupons for these plus if you bought 10 you get $5.00 off your next order. So I rang up the first 10 and paid for them, with coupons my total was 5.00 and I got my 5.00 off my next shopping order. So I rang up the next 10 and because I had better coupons this time...my total was only 4.20 and once again the 5.00 off your next order printed off. Then I rang up the bulk of my order which included the following items, for which I had coupons 2 tubs of ChiChi's Taco Meat, 1 bottle of children's Advil, 3 packages of listerine breath tabs, a can of LaChoy fortune cookies and soy sauce, a package of bumble bee albacore tuna 4 boxes of Totinos pizza rolls, 3 4pk of Bic Razors, 6 boxes of Hamburger Helper, 2 packages of dole fruit cups, and once again 10 pillsbury items which included cresent rolls, sweet rolls, pizza dough, cookie dough, breadsticks, and french loaf. Since I used the U-scan checkout lane I was able to use all 3 of my 5.00 off your order coupons plus all of my coupons for a grand total for that order of 11.07. YIPPEE...that is a savings of 89%.
I was so excited that I wanted to show you what it looked like so I took a picture...here it is.

GROCERY COUPONS!!!

So I figure the title will get a few of you reading because I know for a fact that there are a few stockpilers and couponers in our midst. I have to say that this whole concept is new to me and I would have never tried it had it not been for my sister-in-law and her closet of anything and everything you can imagine and most of them were free or almost free. So I set out on adventure that has turned into a bit of an "game" (some true couponers will understand why I call it a game). Anyway...this month has been extremely nice to me and so tonight I was explaining this new passion of mine to a few people and they asked how much I have save this month and I couldn't give a number so I came home and did a little math. Not granted this is not an average month for shopping because I was building up my stockpile and our Kroger's had super double coupons (doubling 1.00 up to 2.00), so here are the numbers

Out of Pocket	$340.72
Total Savings	$537.67
	mfg coupons	$167.15
	coupons doubled	$144.13
	Kroger Plus Savings	$226.39
Percent of Savings	60.60%
Items Purchased	294

Now this is not just the bulk kind of things...included in these totals are pop, milk, bread, hot dogs, mac and cheese, diapers (essentials for kids) laundry detergent, cleaning supplies and a lot of medicine for colds and flu and a lot of other things that we need or use on a daily basis. But on the bulk side of what I was getting for my buck was 20+ boxes of cereal (now with dates on them so I know which ones to use first), 15 boxes of toothpaste, 10+ deodorants for me and 10+ deodorants for Wayne plus I have about 15 bottles of shampoo and enough toilet paper that I could wrap the world twice.
The neatest thing about this "game" is getting free or almost free stuff. Like I will never pay another dime for toothpaste (that would be paying TOO much). The reason for the incredible amount of cereal is because cereal is one of the items that always seems to be on sale and for under .50 a box with a coupon. So those are just a few examples and I feel I can type about this because my sister-in-law doesn't have a blog and she can't show me up in all of her savings.

That is it. OH one more thing...AFRICA HERE WE COME. We are making plans to go to Africa and we are excited about what God has in store for us there. We are going with an open mind and an open heart and so much excitement. I can't wait. We will be going in October.

I didn't make it...but Wayne did

Strange title and a great sermon this past Sunday. The pastor had a wonderful illustration for the whole congregation. I am going to try to relay what happened but it was definitely a service that was better witnessed first hand. It started out simple enough. We were all handed a card when we entered the sanctuary with 3 questions for salvation

Do you admit that you are a sinner and that you can not save yourself?
Do you believe Jesus Christ died for you sins?
Do you confess your sins now to him and declare him to be your Lord and Savior?

On the other side of this card was a number. So he starts off by having 6 staff members come forward and he asked them these 3 simple questions for which they answer yes to, and he says...now they are saved. Then he asked those same people to pick up props that were sticks with churches on them and he said each of these people represent a church. Then he had 6 volunteers who were the congregation of those prop churches and he told the our congregation that if the prop churches' congregation approached them and asked them those 3 questions then we were to get up and go to the nearest church and stand and follow the rules of that church. So off they went asking several people in the church, Wayne was one of the first and so he got up and went and stood at the nearest church. Then the pastor asked them to stop asking people and watch the big screen. On the screen was a scene of a plane crash that goes up in flames. He said, if you were asked by one of prop churches those questions and you are number 1, then you can make your way to heaven (the stage). If you have a number 1 and no one asked you, please get up and head to the back of the church where the last three rows have been designated as hell. Then he told the churches to continue asking...some churches did, some churches just stood there and talked among themselves but it wasn't long until again they were asked to stop and again...watch the big screen. This time it was an earthquake that had taken the lives of people. The pastor said...if you are a number 2 and someone asked you then make your way to heaven and those who are 2's and didn't get asked head to hell. This went on until the church was divided in half...I was unfortunately a number 4 who never got asked. It was weird...I wanted someone to ask. Wayne could have told me but he had went to a "fellowship" church and they were not allowed to ask anyone they were just there to socialize and have fun with each other, no need to witness. There were tears throughout the church as each person realized that a mother, a father, a son or a daughter had not made it to heaven He then asked everyone to take a seat and then asked if anyone wanted to share their impression. Many of all ages stood to share their heartache as they watched those they love not get asked by anyone. Some shared the joy as they saw their family in heaven. One man in particular said that he was one of the first people who made it to heaven and he had to watch as his family sat and didn't get asked by anyone. He said he ran out of time to ask them himself and he was hoping as he watched from the stage that someone would ask them. It is exactly how I have been feeling for years about my great grandparents as they watch from heaven. Are they thinking...if only I had talked to them more then maybe or are the looking with joy in their eyes as they see each of us come to Christ? So I ask myself am I running out of time on witnessing to anyone and everyone I know about this wonderfully simple message of Christ. Am I relying on someone else to ask?
It struck me that he used the numbers as a way of dividing the church because it is often said...you never know when your number is up.

Why?

Why? That is the question the pastor put out there this morning...why are we here? What is our purpose? We live the first 20+ years of our lives in what we can accomplish first...our first house, our first car, our first house/apartment, our first love...our momentum of life is all about firsts. It is more about what we can achieve, how much money we can obtain, what social status we hold, and we don't have a care in the world.
But it isn't long until we all stop and think "Why am I here?" What is my purpose? Some of look upward for that answer while others start looking for a change of scenery to find their purpose...they get a new car, a new house and often times a new husband or wife. They are not finding the purpose...they are just postponing the question of "why?". Finding our purpose in life is what centers us and brings our life in to context. Matthew 5:14-16 says what our purpose is to be...

14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

We are to be a light to all who are around us. People need to be able to see "God" in us and recognize it as "God", not as mere characteristics of a nice or generous person. A little bit of light goes a long way in a lost world. We are not just "stuck" in our lives...we have be strategically placed here to impact somebody's life. We shouldn't feel abandoned in the life we have we should find our purpose and be contented with what we have and use what we have to show God to others.
Once again...a great sermon and one much needed by me during this time of reflection and looking for my purpose in life...am I doing what I was placed in life to do?

Out of Control

So the title says it all. I feel out of control of what is happening in my life and in the life of others around me. I have watching the Buck/Grate family struggle with their lives and their many obstacles and wondered what would I do if I were them, what could you do? This week has got me thinking a lot about the power that I hold in my own life. I have realized that I don't have any control of what happens. I have been through a ton of tests this week to determine if I have something wrong with my heart and they are testing some level in my body where the word cancer and tumor has come up and it has me worried. What would I do if it were something? It doesn't seem too long ago that I was asking myself these same questions when I was going through mammogram after mammogram. I have asked these questions when I was going through the death of my father from cancer, and my other times in my life...what am "I" supposed to do about this?
So, I have decided to let God work his magic. It is funny how it takes something like this to jolt us enough to throw our hands up in the air and say...Jesus...YOU TAKE THE WHEEL...I can't do this on my own.
I know I have said this before...but sorry if this doesn't make sense...It was a bit of a rambling blog.

Pray for more...

So today's sermon was on praying and making sure it is not just a routine prayer. We have had a similar sermon earlier this year from Pastor Powell but today the sermon was preached by Brent Fox, our new youth pastor. They had a skit that I thought I would try to redo here...if possible.

This is a one man praying...he starts out...

Our Father which art in heaven...

YES, son?

Baffled the man looks around...and begins again
Our Father which art in heaven...

I said yes...you called my name.

Quit interrupting me...I am trying to pray...and this would go so much faster if I could just get through this and go to bed...this is my nightly ritual...so 'shhhh'
Hallowed be thy name...

Do you know that that means?

Well...NO, I didn't write this prayer...so what does it mean?

It means my name is holy and when you speak it to me I know that you know that I am holy, but continue...

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven...

Really...do you mean it...you want my will to be done. Then lets start with you...

Wait a minute Lord...I go to church, I live a good life, better than some people...

Yeah but they aren't calling on my name right now...you are...so let's focus on you.
You could be living a better life and doing more of my will, living as an example...right?

Right, Lord...of course you are right...aren't you always.
Give us this day our daily bread...pause...

I think you have had enough bread...but continue

I am not sure I want to...you are picking on me...and I already know what you are going to say...

Maybe...but finish...please.

Ok...And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors

What about 'Amy'?

See God I knew you were going to bring her up...but you don't understand...she owes me money and I want it back and if she doesn't pay me the $3.00 she owes me...she is going to be sorry...
you can see why I can't forgive her...would you?

Yes, son I would...but you have to forgive her too...it will make you feel better...I promise...come on, say it with me...I forgive Amy.

I forgive Amy...you are right...I do feel better...
And now the anger and discord is on Amy...not you.
Ok...well I am going to finish this up Lord...this is taking a little longer than I am used to...
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil...

But have you forgotten that you need to remove yourself from places of temptation? Don't put yourself in a place where you know you can't handle...

But Lord...I don't know what you mea....OK...you are right there is that one thing...I will work on it.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
WHEW...Glad that is over with..

Thank you son...for your time...talk to you soon.

It is so often that we pray our ritual prayers and forget the meaning behind it or forget that we are having a conversation with God. Not just reading a book or listening to a teacher talk but we are having an ongoing conversation with God.

So as we go forward and Wayne and I pray about this possible mission trip to Africa...pray that we can be open to God's will for us and that we can fulfill what we are sent there to do. I added the song "Open the eyes of my heart"...I think it is fitting right now for what we need to do...let him talk to us.