Karla's blog

2007-01-17T09:56:00.000-09:00

Blogger is not wanting to put my pics on here, so I will put them on my xanga. Check there for more pics this time.

2006-10-11T20:06:00.000-08:00

My uncle Aaron, and Nickel.

Nickel

Uncle Aaron and Nickel

Uncle Aaron and Nickel

G-ma and Simba Lou

Nickel

Shadow

My dad cutting birthday cake(it was
his and my g-ma's b-day)

My dad cutting the cake.

Uncle Aaron

My rebellious uncle.

He didn't want me taking his picture.

Papa talking.

Simba Lou

Shadow

Feather

Feather

Squirrel in my next door neighbor's
yard being nosy and looking inside a pail
they have in their backyard.

What a messy little boy my brother is.
But, what can ya say, he's 3.

Bradley posing with his tostada.

Bradley eating his tostada.

Bradley playing w/Lady, our dog.

Family Fall Festival @ our church in
September.

Bradley and me.

My Gramps

Uncle T

My Gramps is eating popcorn.

Papa and Bradley.

Some of the ppl that had come to my
b-day dinner @ Johnny Carino's.

Esther and I

Evie and Me

My dad and me.

Nathalie, me and Melissa.

Jodie and me.

The guy waving is Ben Logue. He is the
bus captain and bus driver on the church
bus that I work on.

Here I am cutting my b-day cake.
By the way it was me 18th b-day.

2006-10-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Bradley playing at the Labor Day Picnic
our church has every year at Heartland
Baptist Bible College.

2006-10-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

Our dog, Lady, putting her paw on
my dad's arm.

My dad made me laugh while I was
trying to chew my piece of apple up,
so you can see my food, which is kinda
gross.

My dad just thought he would be annoying
and snap pictures of me. Pictures I did not
want taken of me.

My dad likes to catch me eating or doing
something that I don 't want him to take
a picture of.

My dad and me.

2006-10-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

2006-10-06T12:06:00.000-08:00

Whenever

2006-09-20T08:20:00.000-08:00

Whenever blogger will let me then I will post the rest of the zoo and other pictures.

2006-09-08T13:54:00.000-08:00

2006-08-29T14:06:00.000-08:00

2006-08-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

If your interested in a biblical way to find a mate go to my xanga: www.xanga.com/virtuouswoman4jesus and it's listed as the betrothal series by S.M. Davis.

Here's Some Pics Of Glory Bound From Thursday Night's Service @ the Youth Conf.

2006-08-04T08:08:00.000-08:00

From Left to Right: Josh Higdon(tenor)
Caanan (don't know his last name)(he's the lead), Jon Yates, & Todd Hoyseth(bass).

Wednesday Night After the Service During Youth Conf. Pt.1

2006-08-04T05:13:00.000-08:00

The youth conference was this week, but I was only able to make it to the night services and activities. And I wasn't aable to get as many pics as I had hoped to, b/c last night(Thurs.) my camera went dead, so I only have 2 or 3 more to post later from when Glory Bound sang last night.

Lindsay

Bro. Greg Smith & Me - Karla

Haley, Caitlin, Megan, & Anna

Haley, Ashley B., Caitlin,Megan, & Anna

Christie and Christianna

Hannah talking to her mom through
the glass.

Melissa and Nathalie- Nathalie was
giving me that look, b/c I wouldn't
iceskate.

Ahley T.

Rachel and Kate

Wednesday Night After the Service During Youth Conf. Pt. 2

2006-08-04T05:01:00.000-08:00

Sabra

Mrs. Sarah Pisney & Me. Her & her
husband will be leaving in 11 days to
move to Maryland and so her husband
will no longer be our youth pastor. :-(

Bro. Mike Pisney being crazy as usual.

Haley

Christiana & Mrs. Lynette

Nathalie's sister. She ran from me
when I tried to take a picture.

Taylor

Caitlin

Ashley & Caitlin

........Sunday Continued Pt.1

2006-08-02T21:45:00.000-08:00

I was not able to load all of my pics from Sunday, so I loaded them onto flickr, so if you want to see them and other pics go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/virtuouswoman4jesus/

Amber making a leafy salad.

Amber showing me her carrot.

Jaimee waiting for luch to be ready.

After

Jodie was looking at the towel on the
stove and I said it looked like she was
praying so she went ahead and acted
like she was.

Strawberry shortcake

Jaimee eating her strawberry shortcake.

.......Sunday Continued Pt. 2

2006-08-02T04:57:00.000-08:00

Jodie bein' goofy.

Nancy

Hannah

Micah

Nancy & Amber

Baby J

Baby J & I

Me & Hannah

.......Sunday Continued Pt.3

2006-08-01T19:21:00.000-08:00

Me & Hannah(Nancy's 12 yr. old sis)

Sarah(Curt's wife- Nancy's sis- in- law)

Baby J (Nancy's 3 yr. old bro.)

Jussie

Caleb & Josh( Nancy's 16 & 14 yr' old bros.)

Caleb

Granny & Nancy Bancy

Baby J

..........Sunday Continued Pt. 4

2006-08-01T15:23:00.000-08:00

Granny after the night service inEnid.
(Nancy's grandma)

Momma Walker(Nancy's mom) & Amber
talking to eachother.

Momma Walker

Baby Justus(Nancy's 3 yr. old brother)
playing with Amber's nose.

Micah(Nancy's 6 yr.old bro.)

Baby J

Micah & Justus playing around.

Joshy Washy (Nancy's 14 yr. old bro.)

.......Sunday Continued Pt.5

2006-08-01T13:27:00.000-08:00

The Moon

Front row: Micah, Hannah
Middle Row: Me(w/dark hair,
glasses, & dark dress)
Back Row: Jodie, Amber, &
Nancy(polka dot dress)

Crazy picture

Not paying attention to the camera.

Micah & Justus bein' awnry.

2006-08-01T12:53:00.000-08:00

Me cutting my food.

Me eating. My dad just thought he had to take a pic.

Bradley bein' silly.

My dad(pappa) and brother eating
grapefruit.

My dad(pappa) and my brother eating
grapefruit.

My brother, Bradley, wearing my
dad's cowboy hat.

The Dinosaur Museum

2006-08-01T05:27:00.000-08:00

From An Earlier Fishing Trip

2006-07-27T12:42:00.000-08:00

Here Are Some Pics From My Dad and Bradley's Fishing Trip This Morn'

2006-07-22T11:56:00.000-08:00

2006-07-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a little bit from what my pastor said Sunday Morn' in his sermon:
Text: John 19:25-42, 17:4 & some verse in Psalm 33(can't remember what ones)

Jesus never got to the place where He never was disinterested in the people. Jesus was conscious the whole time of His purpose here on earth was to bring redemption to people, to us. Jesus willingly died for us. He was in absolute control. Jesus came and showed the world how God is.

Isn't this good? I liked it when pastor said this. Something to think on. Huh?
Well, I hope you all have a great, wonderful, magnificent, glorious, beautiful, awsome, sweet, lovely, dear, blessed day!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell I am doin good? L.O.L

Trustin Him,
Karla

Here's an Email I Recieved

2006-07-03T09:26:00.000-08:00

2006-06-29T07:47:00.000-08:00

Just want to encourage you to read some good books of heros of the faith, like these below.

Here's some great books to read:

This book is more like George Mueller's journal and everyday happenings. I am still reading this, it's takin me awhile.

And this is the other book.

This one is more like a biography and it starts from the beginning of his life, instead of a journal. I enjoyed this book a lot. It's easier to understand than his journal in case you want to read it. Might be best if you were a bit older to understand everything in his journal. He was a great man of prayer. He is one of my favorites.

2006-06-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

So anyways, I hope we get a digital camera, so I can post pics on here that are my own instead of takin them from my friend Nancy. It would be great! I know I haven't been on here in awhile. I have been so busy with my xanga site (www.xanga.com/virtuouswoman4jesus), that I hadn't updated this one in awhile. So, if you don't see a new update on this one then you might want to check my xanga one. Oky doky. Can you tell I'm a okie? Haha hehe. Anyways, I will quit borin you.

2006-06-29T06:35:00.000-08:00

Isn't this pretty?!

Cumberland Falls, Kentucky

Abstinence

2006-06-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

I was holding a notice from my 13-year-old son's school announcing a meeting to preview the new course in sexuality. Parents could examine the curriculum and take part in an actual lesson presented exactly as it would be given to the students.

When I arrived at the school, I was surprised to discover only about a dozen parents there. As we waited for the presentation, I thumbed through page after page of instructions in the prevention of pregnancy or disease. I found abstinence mentioned only in passing.

When the teacher arrived with the school nurse, she asked if there were any questions. I asked why abstinence did not play a noticeable part in the material. What happened next was shocking. There was a great deal of laughter, and someone suggested that if I thought abstinence had any merit, I should go back to burying my head in the sand.

The teacher and the nurse said nothing as I drowned in a sea of embarrassment. My mind had gone blank, and I could think of nothing to say. The teacher explained to me that the job of the school was to teach "facts," and the home was responsible for moral training. I sat in silence for the next 20 minutes as the course was explained. The other parents seemed to give their unqualified support to the materials.

"Donuts, at the back," announced the teacher during the break. "I'd like you to put on the name tags we have prepared-they're right by the donuts-and mingle with the other parents." Everyone moved to the back of the room. As I watched them affixing their nametags and shaking hands, I sat deep in thought. I was ashamed that I had not been able to convince them to include a serious discussion of abstinence in the materials.

I uttered a silent prayer for guidance. My thoughts were interrupted by the teacher's hand on my shoulder. "Won't you join the others, Mr. Layton?" The nurse smiled sweetly at me. "The donuts are good." "Thank you, no," I replied. "Well, then, how about a name tag? I'm sure the others would like to meet you." "Somehow I doubt that," I replied. "Won't you please join them?" she coaxed. Then I heard a still, small voice whisper, "Don't go." The instruction was unmistakable. "Don't go!" "I'll just wait here," I said.

When the class was called back to order, the teacher looked around the long table and thanked everyone for putting on nametags. She ignored me. Then she said, "Now we're going to give you the same lesson we'll be giving your children. Everyone please peel off your name tags." I watched in silence as the tags came off. "Now, then, on the back of one of the tags, I drew a tiny flower. Who has it, please?" The gentleman across from me held it up. "Here it is! All right," she said. "The flower represents disease. Do you recall with whom you shook hands?" He pointed to a couple of people. "Very good," she replied. "The handshake in this case represents intimacy. So the two people you had contact with now have the disease."

There was laughter and joking among the parents. The teacher continued, "And whom did the two of You shake hands with?" The point was well taken, and she explained how this lesson would show students how quickly disease is spread. "Since we all shook hands, we all have the disease."

It was then that I heard the still, small voice again. "Speak now, it said, "but be humble." I noted wryly the latter admonition, then rose from my chair. I apologized for any upset I might have caused earlier, congratulated the teacher on an excellent lesson that would impress the youth, and concluded by saying I had only one small point I wished to make. "Not all of us were infected," I said. "One of us ... abstained."

------Author Unknown

2006-06-09T06:57:00.000-08:00

Hey! I also have another blog else where.
It's www.xanga.com/virtuouswoman4jesus

Here's a Thought.

2006-06-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

An empty hand surrendered to God's will is better
than a full hand trapped by sin's evil gourd.

Here are some pics

2006-06-07T05:52:00.000-08:00

Since I never have put any pics on here, I thought I would today. All of these pics have been taken between April and May.

Me and Baby J (Nancy's little bro.).

My dad and Caleb.

My dad. Can't you see his western tie.

My brother Bradley and Caleb.
(Nancy & Hannah's brother)

My bro.Bradley, Hannah, Me, and
Hannah's bro. Justus. Bradley and
Justus are both 3.

My dad and me. I can't remember
what kinda hat that was on my head.
Nancy, her mom, & Hannah were
selling those at the craft fair.

This is my dad and me. Yes, I am a
dork, I know. Can't ya tell?!
-My dad usually wears western clothes
but he didn't wear them that day for
some reason.

Hannah and Me- This is 1 of my fave
pics.

My bestfriend Nancy sleepin on her
way home.

~By W.H. Bathurst~

2006-06-06T06:20:00.000-08:00

"Oh for a faith like that will not shrink,
Tho' pressed by every foe;
That will not tremble on the brink
Of any earthly foe.

Lord, give us such a faith as this,
And then, whate'er here may come,
We'll taste, e'en here, the hallowed bliss
Of our eternal home."

Send Someone Now

2006-06-05T06:02:00.000-08:00

I may go home, O Lord, but who will take my place?
So many now are dying never hearing of thy grace.
I'm ready now my life to yield,
But Lord send someone back into the field.

Send someone now to labor for Thy name.
For though we're weak Thy love is just the same.
To be with Thee, O Lord, for me is gain;
But who will tell them?

Lord send someone to tell them of Christ
whose blood can wash away each stain.
I've fought the fight, I've run the course you've laid for me.
I've tried so hard to be just what you planned for me to be.
I'm longing now to hear thee say well done;
To see my Saviour Jesus Christ Thy Son.

Send someone now the harvest fields are white.
Time passes on and day turns into night.
If night should find me safe on Heaven's shore;
Then who will tell them?

Lord send someone to tell them
before they perish lost forever more.

------Ray Adams
Dedicated to Jim Cooper, missionary to the Caicos Islands in the Bahamas(1961 to 1973). He lived from 1928 to 1973.

Content

2006-06-02T06:48:00.000-08:00

Content? How can I be,
When all earth's kindred tribes do plea--
That God's perchance in His great plan
Would heed their cry to send a man
That the Saviour they might see.

Content? How can I be,
While Satan gloats and laughs with glee
And ushers countless souls to hell
Many because I did not tell
Christ gives the victory.

Content? How can I say,
I've done my best for Christ today,
When not one soul to Him I've led
Nor to a sinking sinner said,
"Jesus has paid thr way".

Content? How can I be,
When Jesus gave His all for me
Smitten and scorned---was crucified,
Naked and bleeding freely died
To set the sinner free.

Content? One day I'll be
When I at last my Saviour see,
As He in stately splendor stands,
To welcome me with outstretched hands:
"Praise God for Calvary".

--------------------Pioneer Missionary Pilot and Church Planter Bro. Jim Cooper to the Caicos Islands in the Bahamas, from 1961 to 1973. He wrote this while attending a christian college(Tennessee Temple College) as a ministerial student. He was one of the many heros of the faith. You can read more about him and his family in the book,"Drama In The Real Lives Of Missionaries", volume 1 by Clifford E. Clark.

Joe and Tanna Collins Were Missionaries To Nepal From 1990 to 1992

2006-06-01T08:41:00.000-08:00

“Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”

A family tragedy leads to a new life of service and a multitude of spiritual fruit.

The story of the Collins Children’s Home in Nepal is the story of Christians letting God be God and following His leading in the process.
When BIMI missionaries Joe and Tanna Collins arrived in Nepal in July 1990, they settled in a town of 50,000 people named Boudha. Boudha was not far from the capital, Kathmandu, a teeming city of one million. Nepal, an official Hindu nation, was notorious for its prohibitions against “proselytizing”—their word for any efforts at evangelism. Joe set about to learn the Nepalese and Tibetan languages; along with its being necessary for ministry to the Nepalese, he and Tanna were in the country under student visas and that was his official “job.” At the same time, he began Bible studies with local people to introduce them to Christ. Joe felt specifically called to minister to the Tibetan refugees who had settled in the Kathmandu area.
Submersed in the Buddhism and Hinduism of the Nepalese and Tibetans, Joe and Tanna and their young children saw every day not only the simplicity and friendliness of their new neighbors, but also their abject poverty and bondage to traditions. The street children, many of them orphaned, placed a particular burden on their hearts. Joe began praying about starting a children’s home. In 1992 a Nepali who knew that Tanna had recently given birth to twins approached them. A two-month old abandoned girl needed someone to feed her and take care of her. Although Tanna was unable to do so, Joe found another way: establishing homes based around already existing families. After taking in the infant, who was given the name Shristi (meaning “Creation”), Joe became involved in the lives of six street boys who survived by begging.
After ensuring that there were no living family members who could take Shristi or the boys in, Joe rented a home and moved a Nepalese convert, Brother Krishna, and his family into the home with the seven children. Brother Krishna gained custody of the children, and according to Nepalese law, he will be able to confer Nepali citizenship on the children. Joe funded the home and paid Brother Krishna’s salary from his own missionary support in order to make what would later become the “Collins Children’s Home” a reality.
Early on, the decision was made that the children would be raised in much the same manner—dress, education, food, living conditions--as they would in any Nepali family, except in the nurture and admonition of the Lord Jesus Christ. They would receive a better education in many respects, since they would be taught English, a true advantage in a developing nation like Nepal. But they would not be Westernized.
In 1992, not long after the establishment of the home, Tanna’s health demanded that the family travel to Thailand for better medical care than what was available in Nepal. In Thailand she learned she had typhoid fever, but the treatments were successful and she regained her health. However, Joe and Tanna and their five children never returned to Boudha. On the trip back to Nepal, their Thai Airways plane crashed into the side of a Himalayan mountain on July 31, 1992, killing all 113 on board.
The small community of Christians with whom Joe and Tanna worked was devastated by their loss, as were the families of Joe and Tanna at home in the States. So were the residents of Boudha who had come to know this American family who seemed to care for them so much. News of their story moved many American Christians to a new realization of their responsibility in world evangelism. One couple, John and Becky Hester, heard God calling them to Nepal as Joe and Tanna had a few years before. Their story is told on other pages in this BIMI World.
Tanna’s parents, Jerry and Martha Sellers, of Lexington, Tennessee, saw that someone had to continue the work that had begun and was growing in Boudha and the areas nearby. The fledgling children’s home, led by Brother Krishna, was still going. While Joe and Tanna were absent for Tanna’s recuperation, Brother Krishna had gained custody of another boy, bringing the total to eight children—seven boys of varying ages, and Shristi, now eight months old.
Mr. and Mrs. Sellers took up the children’s home ministry, and in the four years after the Collins family’s homegoing, the Sellers were used to help establish the Boudha and Khamling Baptist churches, as well. Brother Sellers is now the Director of the Collins Children’s Home, working with BIMI missionaries to do church planting and to build a house of refuge for abandoned and orphaned children from all over Nepal.
Today, Collins Children’s Home consists of three separate “family-homes” with 25 children. This includes the biological children of the three couples who are house parents to the orphaned ones taken in over the last eight years. Brother Ramish and Brother Simone head two of the families that live in a compound that consists of two flats (apartments). Brother Krishna and his wife live at a separate location nearby. The children range in age from four years old and up. The children’s housing, food, medical, and educational needs are met. Brother Krishna directs the day-to-day operations of the home along with his tireless efforts in other ministries of evangelism and church planting.
This short history of the beginning of the Collins Children’s Home only begins to scratch the surface of the grace and power of God that Jerry and Martha Sellers have seen in their several trips to Nepal. The Sellers obtained tourists visas which allow them to stay in Nepal for 120 days a year, so they try to make two trips a year and use as many of those 120 days as they can. They maintain an apartment and a vehicle in Nepal. During their visits they stay very active as they journey into the villages in the rugged areas surrounding Boudha and Kathmandu to help with church ministries. Brother Sellers, who was a bivocational pastor for 33 years, preaches to the young churches and baptizes converts. He has been instrumental in helping the Hester and Ortiz families get to Kathmandu and become established there.
The Sellers’ twice-a-year visits are in no way easy; for example, villages in the mountainous jungle regions may take three or four days to reach by four-wheel drive vehicle. Brother Sellers explains that, while in Nepal, “time” and “patience” take on new meanings. There is American time, which means someone is late after five minutes, and Nepali time, where someone is late after three hours. All activity takes on a much slower and more deliberate pace. He and Mrs. Sellers have to be careful about whatever they consume, as well. Drinking water must be boiled, and it’s very easy to pick up dysentery from improperly cooked food in a restaurant. The difficulty of the trips has been increased by Martha’s struggle with cancer, but she is now healed and still able to make the journeys with her husband.
Brother Sellers has accumulated many stories of God’s working in Nepal since Joe and Tanna’s death. Every story points out that their influence is still felt, directly and indirectly. Brother Sellers explains that the natural reaction of a Nepali to the death of a child in a foreign country is to have nothing to do with that country. In a way, their traditions teach them that the country of Nepal is somehow responsible for the deaths of Joe, Tanna, and their five children. So the Nepali people are amazed that the Sellers want to help them in any way. The Nepalese are seeing how the love of God transcends culture and custom.
The response of the Nepalese to the Sellers’ visits and to the reputation that Joe and Tanna had built in those few years has been astounding. Three stories give a taste of what God has done there. In 1994, a young witch doctor, Tika Ram, traveled for days out of his village to come to Boudha because he had heard of Joe and what he was teaching. At the time, he didn’t know of the Collins’ death, but he had heard that they had a message to share. The young man found Boudha Baptist Church, where he, a shaman priest, was led to Christ.
Tika Ram returned to his village, Khamling, but now he was explaining the gospel to the villagers who had formerly come to him for witchcraft. Their custom taught that they couldn’t get a new witch doctor until he died; they began to beat him, seeking to kill him. Although newly converted, he told them, “It’s all right for you to kill me because God’s book says I’ll be better off.” Now he is the pastor of Khamling Baptist Church, which started in 1995 from individuals he had helped bring to Christ.
In 1997, the wife of a witch doctor was repeatedly beaten for attending church after she came to Christ. In spite of beatings that would sometimes leave her in bed for two weeks, she would sneak out to be with other Christians for church services. Soon, she had led 22 of her fellow Nepalese to Christ, and she would risk more beatings by spending time with anyone after church who needed to be saved.
More recently, the Sellers learned that their landlady is the sister of a Buddhist priest. As a special show of respect, this priest had tried to arrange a meeting between them and the Dalai Lama of Nepal, a man held in great esteem by his people. Although the meeting could not be arranged due to previously made travel plans, it did allow Brother Sellers to extend the gospel to this landlady and her brother.
These three stories tell of individuals whose testimonies have been instrumental, along with the work of Brother Krishna, Brother Ram, Brother Sellers, and others, in the salvation of many souls. These believers make up the Khamling, Itahara, Tutepani, and Bhouda Baptist Churches. Still more are being established. During the Sellers last visit in September, the four churches participated in an old fashioned camp meeting where 250 Nepalese attended—in a country where it is officially illegal to witness.
The attitudinal changes in governmental authorities have also been amazing. Baptizing a Nepali is technically illegal, as is giving one a Bible. If a Nepali asks for one or comes to a church of his own will, then the authorities may look the other way. The decision to be baptized is a step that no Nepali can take lightly, since the authorities may be watching every move a new convert makes. A woman and her daughter, the wife and daughter of a secret police officer, submitted to baptism. He was assigned to take pictures of the baptism, and when he saw his wife and daughter taking part, he also fell under conviction and was converted.
Brother Sellers feels that he and the Hesters have a good relationship with the authorities in Nepal. They present themselves honestly and try not to antagonize the authorities. If a Hindu complains, they are likely to be watched more closely. As it is, the government keeps tabs on the Sellers while they are in the country and on the activities of the Hester family, most of the time. While the law itself has not changed, the relationship with the authorities has slowly improved.
Being able to provide copies of God’s Word to the Nepalese is an essential part of the evangelism and church planting work. A printing house in India produces inexpensive copies of a reliable translation of the New Testament in Nepalese for distribution, and there are no problems moving the copies across the border. So far, Brother Sellers has been involved in giving out 30,000 New Testaments and 20,000 copies of a combined edition of John and Romans. They plan to include the books of Psalms and Proverbs with the New Testament, soon.
Finally, the Sellers have seen great strides in the lives of the children in the Home. Currently five young men are called to preach and are studying for the ministry. The children have come to Christ as they have grown older and have seen the reality of Christ in the lives of their house parents. On Friday afternoons, the gates to the compound are opened and the children sing Christian songs for ten minutes. This is followed by a Bible story or short message by Brother Krishna or one of the young men called to preach. Then some more music is provided. This has been a positive way to draw a crowd and introduce the neighbors to the gospel.
Hearing about how God is working in Nepal reminds one that when Christians get out of the way—or get our excuses, our self-doubts, and our hidden agendas out of the way—astounding things happen. Brother Sellers and the Nepalese who are leading the churches serve as examples of servants taking direction from their Master and letting Him shower His church with blessings.

This is from the BIMI website.

I highly recommend reading,"Drama In The Real Lives Of Missionaries", this is volume 1. It is written by
Cliffored E. Clark. Joe and Tanna's true story is in this book.

Check This Out

2006-05-30T05:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a great website to go to: www.unshackled.org This website has real salvation testimonies from real people.
I highly recommend this site.

Have Thine Own Way, Lord by Adelaide A. Pollard

2006-05-27T13:29:00.000-08:00

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.

Thursday the 25th

2006-05-26T05:06:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday I began my day with prayer time and reading my Bible. I am reading the book of Mark in the New Testament, so I read Mark 9. Then I brushed my teeth, took a shower, and got ready for the day, while listening to the Victorious Valley Girls Home cd. Then Amber came to my house, because she was going with us to the Air Force retirement ceremony for Daddy Walker (my friend Nancy's dad, also his son is courting Amber).
But, before we left I had to get some stuff together, that I was taking with us. So, after that Amber, my dad, and I finally left after that. When we got on up to the northside we picked my brother up first, then headed up to Enid. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Enid. When we got to the Vance Air Force Base by dad had to show the guy at the entrance identification before we could go through. After that we parked and went inside. I forgot to tell you that it was suppossed to be a surprise that Amber was coming and Kris wasn't suppossed to know, but somehow he figured it out. Any way, during the ceremony, we had to sit the 3rd row back because we weren't related to the Walkers. I was on the verge of tears during the ceremony. After, the ceremony we had cake and soda, water, and lemonade. Then when we were all finished we left and went to the Walkers house for lunch. This is what there was for lunch: tuna sandwhiches, egg sandwhiches, pasta salad, (gross) celery, cucumbers, carrots, bbq chips, cheetos, and some other kind of chips. There were muffins and brownies for the sweet tooth. Raspberry tea, crystal light tea, regular tea, and some punch. After that my dad, Nancy, and me went to look at two houses, because we are looking at moving up there. My dad and I liked the second house better. Both houses need a lot of repairs done to them. The second house has potential. Now, the outside of the second house is ugly and need some work on the outside, but I like the porch it has, it's a great porch. And it's a good price. Who cares what the outside looks like as long as it looks good on the inside. Well, anywho, when we were done with that we went back to the Walkers. At about 4:15 we watched Pride and Predjudice(the one with Keira Knightly, the new one), it was okay, but the older one from the '90's was a lot better and there was one part of it where there were statues that did not have clothing on so we had to fast forward it. During the movie we had to pause to get some dinner before continuing it. In the movie there were parts that were totally different than the one that has Colin Firth in it. I kinda got a little annoyed, which was, because of the changes they had made in the newer version. An dit didn't have as much sarcasm in it as the older one. BUT, anyways, I had a good time in Enid. After that, we had to go home. But, before that, we went into the kitchen with all of the Walkers and their extended families and Kris told Amber that he wouldn't see her for the whole summer, because he was going to New Mexico for an internship to work in the church there over the summer, but that before he went he wanted to tell her he loved her. It was the first time that he told her that. They have been courting for quite some time. And since they have convictions about waiting to touch eachother till they are married, he had his mom(Momma Walker) hug her for him and Amber hugged Momma Walker back. Amber has been waiting for those words for awhile. She has loved him for awhile, but she wanted him to say it first(it should be that way anyway) and she was so happy. It was soooo special for her, and one of the reasons is because he said it was in front of his family. It was the sweetest thing. I have never witnessed anything like it before. I hope that someday, the same thing will happen to me , but I hope my dad is there, I would prefer to have my dad here who ever he is say it to me. Well, because I want my dad involved in everything. I am soooooo happy for Kris and Amber. It is sooo exciting to watch couples who do things right according to God's Word and don't touch eachother. Kris is like a brother. And Amber is a good friend of mine. Yay! :) :D

These Are Hilarious-Children's Church

2006-05-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

A little boy was in a relative's wedding. As he was coming down the aisle he would take two steps, stop, and turn to the crowd (alternating between the bride's side and groom's side). While facing the crowd, he would put his hands up like claws and roar. So it went, step, step, ROAR, step, step, ROAR all the way down the aisle. As you can imagine, the crowd was near tears from laughing so hard by the time he reached the pulpit. The little boy, however, was getting more and more distressed from all the laughing, and was also near tears by the time he reached the pulpit. When asked what he was doing, the child sniffed and said, "I was being the Ring Bear."
_______________________________
A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with fascination, and looked at the old pages as he turned them. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible, and he picked it up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that had been pressed in between the pages. "Momma, look what I found," the boy called out. "What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked. With astonishment in the young boy's voice, he answered: "I think it's Adam's suit!"
________________________________
Six-year-old Angie and her four-year-old brother Joel were sitting together in church. Joel giggled, sang, and talked out loud. Finally, his big sister had enough. "You're not supposed to talk out loud in church." "Why? Who's going to stop me?" Joel asked. Angie pointed to the back of the church and said, "See those two men standing by the door? They're hushers."
________________________________
One Sunday in a Midwest City a young child was "acting up" during the morning worship hour. The parents did their best to maintain some sense of order in the pew but were losing the battle. Finally the father picked the little fellow up and walked sternly up the aisle on his way out. Just before reaching the safety of the foyer the little one called loudly to the congregation, "Pray for me! Pray for me!"
sh

A Quote From Charles Spurgeon

2006-05-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

Beware, I pray thee, of presuming that thou art saved. If thy heart be renewed, if thou shalt hate the things that thou didst once love, and love the things that thou didst once hate; if thou hast really repented; if there be a thorough change of mind in thee; if thou be born again, then hast thou reason to rejoice: but if there be no vital change, no inward godliness; if there be no love to God, no prayer, no work of the Holy Spirit, then thy saying “I am saved” is but thine own assertion, and it may delude, but it will not deliver thee.

On Monday Afternoon

2006-05-23T06:09:00.000-08:00

I went to the chiropractor (Dr. Doan). He does the Gonstead technique. Any ways, I needed to go. I have had some pain on and off. He usually does 1 adjustment per visit, but he had to make an exception this time and do 2. Because I really needed it. He felt my spine and I had a little swelling where it was out of wack. It hurt when he put pressure. Just to let you know he fixes the cause of the problem, he does not cure it. Your body does that itself. Now, I am doing better. And after that, I went to a ladies LIFT meeting. This time we met on the campus of Heartland Baptist Bible College, instead of at the church. So we could kinda have a picnic. It was fun. My friend Amber participated in a game that we had. She had to drink a cup of water, then a cup of lemon juice, and then she ate a packet of pure sugar. It almost, made her sick, but she is okay now. Also, on Monday, my dad finally emailed some realtors in Enid, so we could maybe get a showing of some houses and one of them called yesterday around 3 o'clock, but my dad wasn't home yet from work, so I had to take a message. I am sooooo, excited. I hope we are able to move up to Enid. It will be great if we are able to move up there, because then I will be closer to my best friend Nancy. We are like two peas in a pod. If we move up there, it will be a step of faith for sure, because we don't exactly have a lot of money, but God is good. And if He wants us to move up there He will supply every need.

A Love I Could Not Deny

2006-05-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

I was so introverted in high school that I didn't have a single friend. No one to talk to, and no purpose to live. If I did kill myself, I thought, who'd even care? Whose life would be affected if I took mine? With my dad at work so much and my mom away from home for months at a time, I knew it could be days before they even noticed I was gone. And that scared me.

Our family had just moved, and as a junior in high school my whole life seemed uprooted and unsettled. There I was, the new kid in school and so shy that I couldn't talk to anyone. I couldn't even raise my hand in class. I was hiding deep inside myself: afraid and alone.

I never really knew the love and security of a family life. Even though from all practical aspects we had the characteristics of a family - we lived in the same house, had the same parents - our house, not a home, was like a hotel of individuals, each going his own way. We didn't talk or eat together, and I felt in the way.

I was told I was ugly and grew up believing it was true. I felt that I had to apologize for my existence every time someone looked at me. One day when our class was getting pictures taken for the yearbook, I broke down and cried when the photographer asked me to smile.
"What do I have to smile about?" I thought.

To compensate for my social failures, I filled my life with academics and the pursuit of knowledge. Still, there was that gnawing emptiness within me that no accomplishment or success could satisfy. My life was falling apart at the seams, and I could no longer hold the pieces together.

I was not aware, at the time that my loving Father in heaven was using the difficult circumstances of my life to prepare my heart to reach out to Him, to receive of His love.
In a family of nine, I often felt lost in the crowd. One Christmas every one received gifts but me. It was just an oversight, of course; my mother had to buy presents for so many. But no words could ease the pain I felt inside when the presents were all opened and none were for me. Forgotten!

One of the more cruel members of my high school class enjoyed making fun of my timidity by drawing attention to me with comments like, "What's the matter, can't you talk?" "Do you have a voice?" Then he'd Iaugh when he had made me cry.

When the day came that a squad car pulled up and took my mom away in a straitjacket, with five men trying to hold her down, I finally felt that I could take no more. Although my mom had often been removed from our home for "an extended rest," this time I thought, if this is all life has to offer, forget it!

One night, unable to sleep because of the turmoil within me, I wished I would just die and never wake up. I decided that I would either find out what life was all about or call it quits. In my desperation I complained to the God of my youth, whose Iaws I'd been taught but whose heart I'd never known. I told him my troubles and somehow sensed that he understood.
It felt so good to tell someone how I was feeling! In all my years of church going, I'd never really talked to God Iike this. My concept of God was extremely distorted. I pictured Him as some distant, impersonal Being, way up there someplace, too busy running the universe to be concerned about little me. And, although I had heard Him referred to as the "Saviour of the World," still I didn't know He had died for me!

I poured out my heart to him. "No one loves me," I cried.

"Remember," He said, "that I love you." "But how can I know that?" I pleaded.
Then he reminded me of the cross. The picture of perfect love. Now my tears were filled with hope. His was a Iove I could not deny.

The next day a girl in school told me how real God was to her and how she found comfort and guidance by reading the Bible. She invited me to go to church with her, and when I heard the minister's message of God's personal involvement in people's lives, I wept uncontrollably. Never had I heard such words of life and hope.

Several young people came and put their arms around me telling me that they loved me, and that God loved me, too.

They also invited me to a youth retreat that weekend. Early one morning, sitting on a rock by a quiet lake in Georgia, as the sun arose to light this new day, I gave my life to Jesus Christ.
Over the next several days I poured over the Scriptures. "For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh." (Proverbs 4:22). I knew there was much healing that needed to take place in my heart; and from any emotional scars that remained from my childhood. But I found great comfort in the Word of God and prayer, and encouragement among the people of God.

And as I read, God's plan for my life became clearer to me. I read that "all have sinned" and "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:23,10). But I also read, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).

When I returned to school the next fall the same boy who had always mocked me because of my shyness approached me in the cafeteria. He noticed that I'd changed and demanded: "What happened to you over the summer? You're so different!" he said.

I told him about God's love for me and about his mercy, how I had found purpose and meaning for my life. And this same boy who had so enjoyed making me cry was now nearly in tears himself as he told me about his own family problems.

It wasn't easy for me, however. Even though I was only 16, my dad kicked me out of the house when he found out about my newfound faith. But I discovered in the family of God a love and acceptance I never knew as a child.

It's been 17 years since I gave my life to Jesus Christ. No longer am I overcome with feelings of being forgotten and alone. God has given me a new security and stability. "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." (Isaiah 49:15). I have a friend in Jesus Christ, someone I can always talk to and with whom I can be myself.

Knowing that God loves and accepts me as I am has also given me new confidence and self-acceptance. He valued my life so much (a life I was ready to throw away) that He sent His Son to die in my place. The inferiority I felt so strongly as a child is now gone, replaced by a sense of self-worth.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

-Diane Dew

Aviation Humor

2006-05-19T06:03:00.000-08:00

That's not flying, that's just falling with style.

— Woody, from the 1996 movie 'Toy Story,' regarding Buzz Lightyear.

John Wooden:

2006-05-19T05:59:00.000-08:00

Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

Beautiful Snow

2006-05-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

In the early part of the Civil War, one dark Saturday morning in the dead of winter, a young woman, twenty-two years old, died at the Commercial Hospital, Cincinnati. She had once been beautiful and the pride of respectable parents. Highly educated and accomplished, she might have shone in the best society. But she was stubborn and willful and would not listen to warning. She played with fire and called it "fun." One day she awoke to find herself ruined by a fatal mistake, which she could not erase. She was fallen.

She spent the rest of her young life in disgrace and shame, and died poor and friendless, a broken-hearted outcast. Among her personal effects was found, in manuscript, the poem, "Beautiful Snow," which was immediately carried to Enos B. Reed, editor of the National Union. In the columns of that paper, on the morning following the girl's death, the poem appeared in print for the first time. When the paper containing the poem came out on Sunday morning, the body of the victim had not yet received burial. The attention of Thomas Buchanan, one of the first American poets, was soon directed to the newly published lines, and was so taken with their stirring pathos, that he immediately followed the corpse to its final resting place.

Such are the plain facts concerning her whose "Beautiful Snow" will be long regarded as one of the brightest gems in American literature.

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
Filling the sky and earth below,
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet.

Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along,
Beautiful snow, it can do no wrong.
Clinging to lips in frolicsome freak,
Trying to kiss a fair lady's cheek,

Beautiful snow from heaven above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love.
Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow,
How the flakes gather and laugh as they go,

Whirling about in maddening fun,
Cheering the heart and dispelling the gloom.
Chasing, Laughing, Hurrying by,
It lightens the face and sparkles the eye.

And the dogs with a bark and a bound,
Snap at the crystals as they eddy around;
The town is alive and its heart in a glow,
To welcome the coming of beautiful snow!

How wild the crowd goes swaying along,
Hailing each other with humor and song,
How gay the sleighs, like meteors flash by,
Bright for a moment, then lost to the eye;

Ringing, Swinging, Dashing they go,
Over the crest of the beautiful snow,
Snow so pure when it falls from the sky,
As to make one regret to see it lie,

To be trampled and tracked by thousands of feet,
'Till it blends with the horrible filth on the street.
Once I was pure as the snow, but I fell,
Fell like the snowflakes from heaven to hell;

Fell to be trampled as filth on the street,
Fell to be scoffed at, to be spit on and beat,
Pleading, Cursing, Dreading to die,
Selling my soul to whoever would buy,

Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead.
Merciful God! have I fallen so low?
And yet I was once like the beautiful snow.

Once I was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like a crystal, a heart like its glow,
Once I was loved for my innocent grace,
Flattered and sought for the charms of my face.

Father, Mother, Sisters, All,
God and myself I have lost by my fall.
The vilest wretch that goes shivering by,
Will make a wide sweep lest I wander too nigh;

For all that is on or above me, I know,
There is nothing so pure as the beautiful snow.
How strange it should be that this beautiful snow,
Should fall on a sinner with nowhere to go!

How strange it should be when the night comes again;
If the snow and ice struck my desperate brain,
Fainting, Freezing, Dying alone,
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for a moan

To be heard in the streets of the crazy town;
Gone mad in the joy of snow coming down;
To be and to die in my terrible woe,
With a bed and a shroud of the beautiful snow.

Helpless and foul as the trampled snow,
Sinner, despair not, Christ stoopeth low,
To rescue the soul that is lost in sin,
And raise it to life and enjoyment again.

Groaning, Bleeding, Dying for thee,
The Crucified hung on the cursed tree,
His accents of mercy fall soft on thine ear,
"Is there mercy for me?
Will He heed my weak prayer?

O God! In the stream that for sinners did flow,
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD:though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."(Isaiah 1:18)
God's plan of salvation

TOO BAD THEY NEGLECTED JOE

2006-05-18T07:32:00.000-08:00

A few days back I chanced to read a statement that ought to make all of us weep. It went like this: "Drop a coin on a sidewalk and almost every eye will follow it, but drop a needy child in a community and very few will pay any attention."

Here is a story to support the above statement. The story is true, tragically true. A little guy named Joe had polio that left him crippled. No one paid any attention to him until one day someone took him to Sunday School. But his teacher neglected him, and the other children made fun of him. Some avoided him because he was crippled. Because of this, little Joe became soured on the church and later bitter. He at last came to hate the church and the Lord Jesus Christ. He hated all Christians, too. But he was determined to succeed and continued in school, finally earning his doctorate from Heidelberg University. One day a man with a Charlie Chaplin mustache and delusions of grandeur put his arm around the shoulder of little Joe and said, "Joseph, I think a lot of you. You and I could do much together." The young fellow responded warmly to this welcome attention and encouragement. In time Joseph Goebbels became the propaganda minister for Germany under Adolph Hitler!

I wonder what might have happened if that Sunday School teacher had shown love to little Joe and led him to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, almost any child can be won to the Lord, if we get to him in time and love him. If this had happened, Joseph Goebbels might have become a minister of the Nazarene instead of the Nazis!

What about the "Little Joes" in our community? In our city? Let's get them in our Sunday School and love them to Jesus Christ!

~~~W. L. Castlen

A Quote by John Wesley

2006-05-18T07:02:00.000-08:00

"Be active. Give no place to indolence or sloth.Give no occasion for anyone to say, 'You are idle.'" (I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I don't care much for John Wesley but this is a good quote)

Aviation Quote

2006-05-17T07:27:00.000-08:00

In soloing — as in other activities — it is far easier to start something than it is to finish it.
— Amelia Earhart, '20 Hours: 40 minutes,' 1928.

Selflessness, Sacrifice, Duty and Honor

2006-05-17T07:22:00.000-08:00

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier, the USS Lexington, in the South Pacific.
One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold. A squadron of Japanese bombers was speeding their way toward the American fleet. The American fighters were gone on a sortie and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor, could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger.
There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet, Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another.
Butch weaved in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until finally all his ammunition was spent.
Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to at least clip off a wing or tail, in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible and rendering them unfit to fly. He was desperate to do anything he could to keep them from reaching the American ships. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply relieved, Butch O' Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier. Upon arrival he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had destroyed five enemy bombers. That was on February 20, 1942, and for that action he became the Navy's first Ace of WWII and the first Naval Aviator to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.
A year later he was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His hometown would not allow the memory of that heroic action die. And today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.
So the next time you're in O'Hare visit his memorial with his statue and Medal of Honor. It is located between terminal 1 and 2.

______________________________

Some years earlier there was a man in Chicago called Easy Eddie. At that time, Al Capone virtually owned the city. Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. His exploits were anything but praiseworthy. He was, however, notorious for enmeshing the city of Chicago in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.
"Easy Eddie" was Capone's lawyer and for a good reason. He was very good! In fact, his skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big; Eddie got special dividends. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago city block. Yes, Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him. Eddy did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddy saw to it that his young son had the best of everything; clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object. And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Yes, Eddie tried to teach his son to rise above his own sordid life. He wanted him to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things that Eddie couldn't give his son. Two things that Eddie sacrificed to the Capone mob that he could not pass on to his beloved son: a good name and a good example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Offering his son a good name was far more important than all the riches he could lavish on him. He had to rectify all the wrong that he had done. He would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Scar-face Al Capone. He would try to clean up his tarnished name and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he must testify against the Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. But, more than anything, he wanted to be an example to his son. He wanted to do his best to make restoration, and hopefully have a good name to leave his son.
So he testified. Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago street. He had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay.
What do these two stories have to do with one another? Well, you see, Butch O'Hare was Easy Eddie's son.

Quote by Peter S. Ruckman

2006-05-17T07:19:00.000-08:00

"The most important thing in your Christian life is fellowship with God."

2006-05-16T10:18:00.000-08:00

CHARACTER IS
WHO YOU ARE
WHEN NO ONE ELSE
IS LOOKING...

Andrew's Last Night on Earth

2006-05-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

It was evening. The house-doctor accompanying the surgeon had paid an unusually late visit to the male ward of the hospital; and the surgeon was now preparing to leave when he met the nurse at the door. "It is a pity, nurse!" he said, "but that fine young fellow at the top of the ward will he dead by morning. It's a pity, but we've done our very best."

Startled out of her usual calm she answered, "Oh! Is that possible, doctor? But you told him he was doing fine! And he is quite expecting to live."

"Well, he has put up a grand fight for life, and there is no use in depressing him. He will probably he unconscious in a few hours and never know he is dying." With these words the great surgeon went down the corridor.

The nurse stood for a moment hesitating: then she said to the house-doctor, "Will you not tell him, doctor? His friends are all far away, and he may have something to settle, or some message to send. It is hard that he should not know. Do tell him."

"No, no, I shall not tell him. It is easier for him not to know," said the doctor. Then he added, "You can tell him if you like, nurse."

"Then I must," she said; but within herself she thought, "How can I? Will he believe me in face of the doctor's cheering words? Is it of any use after all to upset him?"

Still her first thought returned, "He may have something to settle, some message to send." She finished her evening duties then with slow steps made her way to the ward, pondering how she was to impart her dread tidings.

The night nurse was already at her post, and the lights turned down in the ward, when she took her seat by the side of the one whom she knew was dying.

"This is kind of you to come and pay me another visit, nurse," he said, "The doctor said I am doing fine. Does he think it will be long before I can be moved? You will write to my mother, won't you, and make the best of it to her?"

She was silent a moment, then she said gently, "I'm afraid the doctor made you think what is not true, Andrew. You are very hurt. There is more danger than any of us thought at first."
It was Andrew's turn to be silent; then, as a look of dismay came into his eyes, he said, "You do not mean I am going to die?"

Her grave look and the tear that rolled down her cheek answered him.

Again there was a pause. He had been a strong man, had faced death over and over again on the battlefield, but this was different. It was night in a hospital ward, all was quiet, with nothing to distract or take off the solemnity of knowing he had God and Eternity to face. Presently, with quivering lips, he spoke only three words: "How long, nurse?"

She dared not hide from him the stern truth; and then came a low despairing cry, "But I can't die, nurse, can't die! I am not ready to die." The momentous question engaged his mind, and he asked, "What must I do to be saved?"

She had said to the doctor, "He might have something to settle," but she had thought of earthly things, things of time. He had indeed something to settle, but it meant for ETERNITY. And all she answered was, "I don't know; I am not saved."

Then with pleading voice, he said, "Won't you pray for me? Do pray." But the sad answer came, "I can't; I don't know how."

What a moment for both of these souls! Both lost; both just finding it out. In the case of one the last grains of sand in life's hourglass were fast running out, with the question unsettled, "What must I do to be saved?"

The nurse was scarcely less agitated than the dying man. Then a Spirit-given thought surely came to her, as she said, "If it will be any comfort to you, I will sit up and read the Bible to you."
Andrew caught at the suggestion, as a drowning man might catch at a rope thrown out to him.

"Do! Do!" he eagerly said.

She turned up the light above his bed enough to enable her to read, and took a Bible that was lying near. She hardly knew where to begin, but the Bible fell open at the Gospel of John, and in a low clear voice she read of one who came to Jesus by night. She read of that man's need and of God's love. She read slowly, distinctly; and he listened eagerly, trying to grasp something to answer the absorbing anxiety of his soul.

Pausing a moment, she continued to read of the woman who had her thirst quenched and her heart satisfied. Still there was no word from the suffering man, and his eyes besought her to go on. Finally she came to John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." She looked up as she finished reading this, and saw a change in his face, the haggard look of agony was disappearing, and he said. "Stop there, nurse. Light is coming in. I see; I see. Leave me alone, but come back soon. Thank you. Oh thank you!"
Alone with God he remained for half an hour. When she returned his face was radiant: "I have heard His word," he said, "I believe the Lord Jesus Christ bore my sins when He was lifted up, and He has received me; all guilty as I was. It is not death for me now, nurse; it is everlasting life; He has forgiven me."

After a minute's rest he spoke again: "Nurse, will you meet me in heaven? You can never say again you do not know the way."

"It isn't clear to me. I can't grasp it as you have," she answered.
"He knew I had no time left. So He let the light in quickly," the dying man said, but He will make it clear to you. Tell my mother Christ saved me the eleventh hour. Peace! Peace!"
These were his last conscious words. The gray look deepened on his face, and very soon, as the surgeon had said, he had a slight convulsion, and then sank into profound unconsciousness only to awaken with the Good Shepherd who had sought and found His lost sheep.
"And what of the nurse" do you ask?
The enemy plied her with doubts and difficulties of all kinds. She wondered how Andrew had gotten assurance, and could meet death so calmly, without a doubt that his sins were forgiven while she was tossed with doubts and fears. She did not recognize that he had looked to the Lord Jesus Christ and got a sight of His dying upon the cross for his sins; and that had changed everything for him in a moment; but she was looking at herself, and found nothing there but sin and misery.

In this slate, four years rolled away, four dreary years; a ray of hope coming in sometimes, but quickly followed by darkness and despair. Then she became acquainted with a visitor to the hospital, to whom she opened her heart. This friend invited her to meet a servant of God, and to hear him preach, one that was much used in showing the way of peace to troubled souls.
The preaching was good, but it did not meet her case. They had some conversation, but nothing seemed to touch her. Finally the preacher turned to John 5:24: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
Suddenly the light broke in. Like Andrew, she too said, "I see!" and peace entered her soul. The same words that had met the dying man four year before, now claimed every doubt and fear in her heart, and she could thank God that for her also all was settled.

"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;"(1 Corinthians 15:3)

"Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once."(Proverbs 28:18)

"For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."(2 Corinthians 6:2)

"How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;"(Hebrews 2:3)

Reader is it settled with you?
John 5:24 is also a message for you as it was for Andrew and the nurse.

-Unknown Author

Quote of the Day

2006-05-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

"There is nothing so costly as ignorance." (Horace Mann)

Testimony of a Victim

2006-05-15T07:05:00.000-08:00

I was hit from behind by a guy going 120 m.p.h. It knocked me into the backseat and nearly ripped my head off. But that wasn't even the worst of it.
I sat there, numb and afraid. I couldn't feel my arms or legs. And my mind raced with horrible thoughts of being paralyzed for life.
Then I saw him.
His car was just a few feet away from mine, and I knew that he was the one who hit me. I couldn't move my head. It felt like it was torn off my shoulders.
I had to strain my eyes to get a closer look at him. He scrambled around inside his car, pushed open his door and crawled out. That's when he spoke. And the words stung me like nothing else ever could.
He said, "Boy, I need another beer."
The guy didn't even know he hit me. He didn't know that I'd never be able to play ball with my kids again. He didn't care. He was drunk.

Glenn Anspach
Van-Wert, Ohio

J. Hudson Taylor said....

2006-05-15T06:46:00.000-08:00

Written to his wife during one difficult time
in the work of the China Inland Mission,"We
have twenty-five cents - and all the promises
of God!"

All Day

2006-05-15T06:11:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning my dad and I left at prolly close to eight to go to Enid for the day. We arrived at the church at about close to 9:30 a.m.. It was great b/c nobody knew I was coming, exept for Nancy, so I surprised everyone. Momma Walker was the most surprised, I think. We had soooooo much fun yesterday. Daddy Walker did the Sunday School lesson and then Bro. Swope preached. Pray for bro. Swope's mom. I think they said something about her heart and I think she might of had a heart attack. She is in the hospital. Afterwards, we went to CiCi's to eat some grrrrreat pizza. Everyone thought I was weird b/c I wanted to eat my pizza with ketchup. But, it tastes really good. After that we went to the Walkers house. It kinda got boring sitting there listening to everyone talk, so we went on a walk(Hannah, Nancy, and me). And at about 5 we left for church. Bro. Swope preached the night service, also. After that we went to eat at Freddy's. It was fun, except for the fact that the boys thought they had to spit (coke) wads. But, Justice was so cute. He kept asking if I would go home with them and stay. And then he told my dad that I was going home with him. And my dad said, "You want my daughter to stay with you?!". It was funny. Then, we had to go home and I really didn't want to. I hope we move up there.

The Walker Family

2006-05-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

I am so greatful for the Walker family. They are so awsome. They are godly people. Nancy is my best friend, sister - in- Christ, and adopted sister. I have adopted them as my family. Momma Walker is sooooooo sweet and a blessing. You can tell she is a loving and caring person. She just loves children. And God loves it when people have given the area of children to Him and let Him rule that area, as well as other areas , too. Children are an heritage to the Lord. It just blesses God when people do that. I want to know them better. I am sooooooo glad that the Lord had Kris and Amber ask me to go along when they were going on that Sunday. God knew I needed a friend who was like-minded and one who could be my best friend. I love Nancy so much and I love her family, too. I enjoy going up there and fellowshipping with them. And Jussie is so cute and sweet. Micah is soooo awnry(Kris,too). Kris is so funny and a little strange, but in a good way*smile*. Hannah is sweet, too. She is fun to be around,too. It's fun teasing Jussie and Caleb(Frownie Brownie). And Joshy Washy, well, I don't know, he hasn't talked much, yet. But, he will eventually.And Granny is a sweetheart. Daddy Walker is great! Am I leaving anyone out? Well, Nancy Bancy, I think that's all, so yup. I will write more on the Walker family sometime.
(By the way Nance, I am proud of Hannah)

From the Lips of Hudson Taylor

2006-05-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

"I used to ask God to help me. Then I asked if I might help Him.I ended up by asking Him to do His work through me."

Thank You

2006-05-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

~Consider how much we really ought to be thankful for! Have you thanked Him today?
_______

Dear GOD:

I want to thank You for what you have already done.
I am not going to wait until I see results or receive
rewards,I am thanking You right now... I am not going
to wait until I feelbetter or things look better,I am
thanking You right now I am not going to wait until
people saythey are sorry or until they stop talking
about me,I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until the pain inmy body
disappears,I am thanking You right now.
I am not going to wait until my financial situation
improves,I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until the children are asleep
and the house is quiet,I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until I get promoted at work or until I get the job,
I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until I understand every experience in my life
that has caused me pain or grief,I am going to thank You right now.
I am not going to wait until the journey gets easier or the challenges are removed.
I am going to thank You right now.
I am thanking You because I am alive.
I am thanking You because I made it through the day's difficulties.
I am thanking You because I have walked around the obstacles.
I am thanking You because I have the ability and the opportunity to domore and do better.
I am thanking You because FATHER, YOU haven't given up on me.

God is just so good and He's good all the time.

(I received this as a email)

From George Mueller's Lips

2006-05-12T07:49:00.000-08:00

"To learn strong faith is to endure great trials.I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"If the Lord fails me at this time, it will be the first time."

Satan's Meeting

2006-05-11T10:03:00.000-08:00

The Enemy called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church." "We can't keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth." "We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior."

"Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken."

"So let them go to their churches; let them have their covered dish dinners, but steal their time, so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ."

"This is what I want you to do", said the devil: "Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!"

"How shall we do this?" his demons shouted.

Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. "Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, 10-12 hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work!"

"Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still, small voice." "Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive...to keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ."

"Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering free products, services and false hopes."

"Keep skinny, beautiful models on the magazines and TV so their husbands will believe that outward beauty is what's important, and they'll become dissatisfied with their wives. Keep the wives too tired to love their husbands at night. Give them headaches too! If they don't give their husbands the love they need, they will begin to look elsewhere."

"That will fragment their families quickly!" "Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about his resurrection and power over sin and death."

"Even in their recreation, let them be excessive...have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead."

"Keep them busy, busy, busy!" "And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences."

"Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."

"It will work!" "It will work!"

It was quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get more busy and more rushed, going here and there. Having little time for their God or their families. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. I guess the question is, has the devil been successful at his scheme?

You be the judge! Does "busy" mean:

B-eing
U-nder
S-atan's
Y-oke?

(I received this as an email before)

When We See Christ(It will be worth it all)

2006-05-11T09:46:00.000-08:00

Words and music by Esther Kerr Rusthoi

Oft times the day seems long, our trials hard to bear,
We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair;
But Christ will soon appear to catch His Bride away,
All tears forever over in God's eternal day.

Refrain:
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

Sometimes the sky looks dark with not a ray of light,
We're tossed and driven on , no human help in sight;
But there is one in heav'n who knows our deepest care,
Let Jesus solve your problem - just go to Him in pray'r.

Refrain:
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past,
We'll cross the great divide, to glory, safe at last;
We'll share the joys of heav'n - a harp, a home, a crown,
The tempter will be banished, we'll lay our burden down.

Refrain:
It will be worth it all when we see Jesus,
Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ;
One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase,
So bravely run the race till we see Christ.

Take Time To Pray...

2006-05-11T09:40:00.000-08:00

Early rising always seems to bring such reaction, or it becomes such a high place. The thing I have come to understand is that there is not a prescribed time to rise and there isn’t a single correct way. But, we sure have ample reason to do it. It is a high place or an idol when we try to do it because another woman does... or if we determine to get up at 4:51 AM because another woman does. Rather, it's a matter of the heart devoted to giving the LORD the very first portion of the day....before visiting, before food, before busy-ness. It seems to me that early is the time you set to get up and pray before your family wakes. It is an outward expression and a discipline of the flesh and the will to give up what we love (snuggling in a soft cozy warm bed) to do what we ought: worship our First Love.
-----Author Unknown

NO TIME?

2006-05-11T09:34:00.000-08:00

Get on
your knees
Before you
hit the keys
The computer
will be there
and they'll call
back if it's
that important
-Unknown

'Tis True

2006-05-11T09:31:00.000-08:00

Daily Bible Study & Quiet Time Is Food For the Journey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The most important "tool" for daily Bible Study is PRAYER! Daily early prayer time: time in the Word reading systematically and reflecting on the passage you're studying is the best investment you'll ever make.

----Unknown

Weird Ways of the West

2006-05-10T12:27:00.000-08:00

~Weird Ways West~

A California-bound airline in 1849!? Don't laugh; it almost happened. Rufus Porter, founder of Scientific American, planned to fly 49ers west on propeller-driven balloons powered by steam engines. He went to far as to advertise the expedition, and 200 brave souls signed up for the trip. But the "airline" never got off the ground.
Then there was the "wind wagon," sort of a cross between a sailboat and a wagon. It seemed like a good idea on paper; after all, it can be very windy in the West. A prototype was built and for a brief moment it barreled across the plains at the advertised 15 miles-per-hour. Then it went out of control and crashed. The inventor -- Wind-wagon Thomas -- kept trying for years, but never succeeded.
Others took a more low-tech approach, making the trip with only a simple wheelbarrow. It's hard to imagine pushing a fully-loaded wheelbarrow for 2,000 miles, but several dozen attempted the trip. For a time, they could outpace everything on the Trail, but human endurance has its limits. No one is quite sure if any of them made it all the way with their wheelbarrows.
Why all the weird contraptions? Everyone was in a big hurry to get west -- to strike it rich.

_________________________________

~The $100 drink of water~

Would you spend $100 for a glass of water? Some 49ers on the California Trail did.
Because of poor planning, many western-bound 49ers were unprepared for the hot, dry deserts of Nevada. A few sharp businessmen in California knew this and took advantage of the situation. They traveled eastward with barrels of water. Extremely thirsty, many 49ers paid $1, $5, even $100 for a glass of precious water.
But water was not the only expensive item on the Oregon-California Trail. For example, at the start of the journey, flour could be purchased for $4.00 a barrel, but further along the price rose to a sky-high $1.00 per pint. Other staples could also be quite expensive:

Sugar $1.50 per pint
Coffee $1.00 per pint

Surprisingly, there were other staples that were amazingly cheap. For example, at Ft. Laramie, bacon could be had for a penny per pound. Those who had excess bacon often considered it worthless and dumped it by the side of the road. One emigrant reported seeing ten tons on one pile.
Why the wide disparity in prices? The basic laws of supply and demand were at work. Most wagon trains took too much bacon and so it had little trading value. Water, on the other hand was in short supply and thus commanded a high price.

_____________________________________

~Traffic on the Trail~

Bumper-to-bumper highway congestion isn't just a modern phenomena. Rush hour traffic on the Oregon-California trail was just as bad -- probably worse.
The image of a lone wagon on the endless prairie is largely myth; it's more accurate to imagine a moving city. Many reported seeing wagons all the way to the horizon day after day.
And just like today's highways, there was quite a bit of jockeying for position. The goal was to get in front of the pack because anyone who was behind had to eat the billowing dust kicked up by the wagons ahead. Competition was fierce; those in the back often had to put on goggles just to see.
The crowded conditions got even worse in the evening when the wagons came together to camp. Many 49ers discovered that previous wagon trains had overgrazed the prairie, and so there was no remaining grass for the oxen and mules to graze. So it was not uncommon for 49ers to venture miles off the trail in the evening in search of grass for their animals.
A more serious consequence of all this crowding was poor sanitation. Each new wagon train dug their latrines near the previous group's -- and there was often leakage into the water supply. The result was illness and death.

____________________________________

~To California via Antarctica~

Not every 49er used the Oregon -California Trail. There were other routes to gold country -- one came perilously close to Antarctica!
Those who did not want to endure a four month walk across the west, traveled to California by ship. Trouble was, there was no direct water route to the west coast. So a ship leaving New York had to travel all the way to the tip of South America -- skirting the edge of the the Antarctic continent -- before heading north to California. It was a difficult trip that sometimes took a complete year.
So it was inevitable that several shortcuts were developed for the gold-crazed 49ers who were in a big hurry to get west. The most popular cutoff involved taking a ship to the Isthmus of Panama, then trekking overland to the Pacific side (remember, there was no Panama Canal then) where another ship would pick them up -- hopefully.
When the 49ers got to the Pacific side, they waited and waited for weeks, or even months. When a ship finally did arrive, passage might cost $500 or $1000, and sometimes there was no space at any price.
Even worse, many of the Pacific-side ships were unseaworthy and sank en route. In the end, many regretted not taking the overland route.

___________________________________

~The Stinky Trail~

Imagine the sunburn you'd get from being outside from sunup to sundown every day for six months. No sunblock. No lotion. That was reality for the California-bound 49ers -- most wound up with leathery, sunbaked skin. But that was just the beginning.
Imagine sweating profusely in 90 degree heat day after day -- but never taking a bath or shower. That too was typical of life on the trail.
And remember, this was before the days of t-shirts. Women wore long dresses , and men wore long pants. And there wasn't even much changing of clothes. They wore the same clothes day after day.
Could it get any worse? Yes. They often had no choice but to drink rancid water, which had the inevitable result: diarrhea. For many, it was a chronic condition.
All these factors combined to create some rather deplorable hygienic conditions. Even the native tribes were repulsed by the smell. The Native Americans, who bathed regularly, thought the emigrants were uncivilized because of their poor hygiene.

DiD yOu KnOw?

2006-05-10T12:17:00.000-08:00

Clouds fly higher during the day than the night.

135 million cars travel the nation's roads and interstates each day.

Notable Quotes

2006-05-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

Pride calls me to the window, gluttony to the table, wantonness to the bed, laziness to the chimney-corner; ambition commands me to go upstairs, and covetousness to come down. Vices, I see, are as well contrary to themselves as to virtue. Free me, Lord, from this distracted case; fetch me from being sin’s servant to be Thine, whose “service is perfect freedom,” for Thou art but one, and ever the same.... Thomas Fuller (1608-1661)

Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian, any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.... Billy Sunday (1862-1935)

"A leader, once convinced a particular course of action is the right one, must have the determination to stick with it and be undaunted when the going gets rough" -Ronald Reagan

Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you yourself shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.... Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)

He Didn't Throw The Clay Away

2006-05-10T07:26:00.000-08:00

Empty and broken, I came back to Him

A vessel unworthy, so scarred with sin

But He did not despair, He started over again

And I bless the day,He didn't throw the clay away.

Over and over, He molds me and makes me

Into His likeness, He fashions the clay

A vessel of honor, I am today

All because Jesus didn't throw the clay away.

He is the Potter, I am the clay

Molded in His image, He wants me to stay

But, when I stumble and fall and my vessel breaks

He just picks up the pieces,

He doesn't throw the clay away.

Over and over, He molds me And makes me

Into His likeness, He fashions the clay

A vessel of honor, I am today

All because Jesus didn't throw the clay away.

------Unknown Author

Does Jesus Care?

2006-05-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained
Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress
And the way grows weary and long?

Oh yes, He cares, I know He cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.

Frank E. Graeff, 1901

God Will Make A Way

2006-05-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

God will make a way,
Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see
He will make a way for me
He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength for each new day
He will make a way, He will make a way.

By a roadway in the wilderness,
He'll lead me
And rivers in the desert will
I seeHeaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today.

-----Author Unknown

Tied Down by Edgar Guest

2006-05-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

"They tie you down," a woman said,
Whose cheeks should have been flaming red
With shame to speak of children so.
When babies come you cannot go
In search of pleasure with your friends,
And all your happy wandering ends.
The things you like you cannot do,
For babies make a slave of you."
I looked at her and said:
" ‘Tis trueThat children make a slave
of you,And tie you down with many a
knot,But have you ever to whatIt is of
happiness and pride
That little babies have you tied?

Do you not miss the greater joys
That come with little girls and boys?
They tie you down to laughter rare,
To hours of smiles and hours of care,
To nights of watching and to fears;
Sometimes they tie you down to tears
And then repay you with a smile,
And make your trouble all worth while.
They tie you fast to chubby feet,
And cheeks of pink and kisses sweet.
They fasten you with cords of love
To God divine, who reigns above
They tie you, whereso’er you roam,
Unto the little place called home;
And over sea or railroad track
They tug at you to bring you back.
The happiest people in the town
Are those the babies have tied down.
Oh, go your selfish way and free,
But hampered I would rather be,
Yes rather that a kingly crown
I would be, what you term, tied down;
Tied down to dancing eyes and charms,
Held fast by chubby, dimpled arms,
The fettered slave of girl and boy,
And win from them earth’s finest joy."

Make Me A Servant

2006-05-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Make me a servant

Humble and meek

LORD let me lift up those who are weak

And may the prayer of my heart

Always be

Make me a servant

Make me a servant

Make me a servant...to-day.

-----Author Unknown

HBBC Week- Monday Night Service

2006-05-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

This week is Heartland Baptist Bible College's Graduation week. So, Monday through Thursday there is preaching by different pastors or evangelist. Tonight, which is Tuesday, evangelist Bro.Dave McCracken is preaching. He is based out of our church.And tomorrow night evangelist Bro. John Bishop, who is from Arkansas, is preaching. Also, on Thursday night Pastor, Bro. Kevin O'Brien of the Bethany Baptist Church in Lubbock, Texas is preaching, and then either before or after that is the graduation ceremony. Last night, Pastor, Bro. Jeff Ables of the Berean Baptist Church of Springfield, Missouri preached.

Here's what I wrote down from last night's message. It might not make sense. I just write whatever I can. :

Date:5-7-06 Monday Night
Preaching: Bro. Jeff Ables
Text: Genesis 3:1-5
________________
Message:

Every time we hear someone preach, you need to decide whether you are going to serve God or serve the Devil. Satan likes to come into the church and give or try to give pastors and missionaries advice.We're certainly are in a battle with that old snake(Satan). Satan is a deceiving, crafty, sly, and a lying snake. The ways of the Devil have never changed. The Devil has not changed his methods. He doesn't want us to know the truth. One by one fundamental churches will die if they start listening to the advice of Satan. Truth is absolute, old, relevant, and it is not neo or new. Truth is in God's Word. God is not the author of confusion. He is the author of order. There are over 700 English translations of cult bibles and other bibles(that are not from the Textus Receptus). That is confusion. But not God's True Word, b/c He is not the author of confusion.

Sundayyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Nightttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-05-08T07:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday after Sunday School, I found my dad in the choir room before the church service started to ask him if we could go up to Enid for the evening church service up there b/c I really wanted to go up there. Anyways, so we went. I had a blast. Justice kept wanting me to hold him.Yay! Timothy,(Bro. Swope's other son) Caleb, and Joshua (Nancy's brothers) were outside being weird. But all guys are weird so what do you expect? One of the guys burped and didn't say excuse me, and if he did he didn't say it loud enough for us to hear. It was gross.Caleb actually smiled(I have never seen him smile at all, he always looks so solemn) and he actually talked to me, which was kinda a surprise, but it was my own doing, I mean about him talking. I said something to draw him out of it and it worked. I like for people to talk. I mean they don't always have to talk. And Josh's shoes look like house shoes.He doesn't like them,b ut his parents bought them for him and I don't think he has a choice. But, maybe I shouldn't say that they look like that b/c I don't want to offend Momma and Daddy Walker. Any ways, Nancy had told me before that Thomas could play the piano really well. And was she right. He is very accomplished at it. It was beautiful. He's plays just like this guy, Trevor W. who is only in 7th grade. So it would be the other way round since Thomas is older than Trevor. Thomas is a sophmore in highschool, and he wants to serve God. It is awsome when people have the desire to serve God. His dad and their family are going to check out a church in Arkansas and see if his dad will pastor it or not. Forgot to mention that his father is a preacher and is looking for another church who needs a pastor. Anyways, Bro. Garland, the pastor of Hallmark Baptist has left for N. Carolina today, to be with his wife, I think someone is or ill or something, I can't remember. He won't be back till the 19th. My dad and I are praying about moving up there, to Enid, Ok. We both want to. It certainly would be wonderful. God brought me up there to visit to meet Nancy and He knew we would become friends. I am so thankful that He brought me a friend who has the same like-mindedness. She is great and so is her family. Love ya Nancy!!!! You're the best!!!!!!!!!!

Caleb Thompson's Letter From April 2006

2006-05-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Caleb D. Thompson
__________________________________________
1208295
Smith Unit: 1313 C.R. 19, Lamesa TEXAS 79331
March and April 2006

My Dearly Beloved Brethren,

“I feel that I should ask the Lord to break us, but I’m afraid of the results of such a prayer,” my wife tearfully confessed. I assured her that it would rejoice Father’s heart to hear it and that He would answer it in faithfulness and perfect love. The date was June 3o, 2002. Three days later the police entered the church to inform Joshua and me that criminal charges had been pressed against us. No doubt exists in my mind about the effectiveness of that prayer: God most definitely heard it and answered abundantly. He has answered several other prayers as generously.
In a moment of heightened spiritual experience, I spoke from my heart these words that I’d often sung before: “Whatever it takes to draw closer to you Lord, that’s what I’ll be willing to do; whatever it takes to be more like you, that’s what I’ll be willing to do: I’ll trade sunshine for rain, comfort for pain, that’s what I’ll be willing to do; for whatever it takes for my will to break, that’s what I’ll be willing to do; take the dearest thing from me, if that’s how it must be, for I’m placing my whole life in your hands…” I’m still wondering what in the world drove me to pray that! Less than a week later, my wife was removed from my visitation list, and we are soon to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary with eleven months of separation. I’m reminded everyday that God heard my prayer and believing me to be sincere, answered me sincerely!
I can point to another prayer that was definitely heard and continues to be answered with daily provision: I was foolishly doubting the validity of prayer one night after reviewing a list of unanswered prayers. In a desperate attempt to receive divine attention and approval, I decided to try out one of Christ’s prayers: “Not as I will, but what Thou wilt!” That prayer indisputably gained results. I would have filled up an “answered prayer” journal several times by now if I were recording the generous answers to this one. The Lord must have put this prayer in a perpetual “Yes” file, because the conditions I’ve faced over the last few years are certainly not as I will!
“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7), was Christ’s condition for effective prayer. Abiding in Christ transforms us until what we will is His will. It is only safe for the Lord to grant our wills when once they are surrendered to His. Apart from Him and aside from His Word, one’s wills are not to be granted, but these were not our wills but our wonderings, and it is for our benefit that they were denied. In fact, some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. Searching through the pockets of a deceased Confederate soldier for any identification or contact information, a medic came upon a crumpled piece of paper with these words:

I asked God for health, that I might do great things:
I was given infirmity that I might do better things.
I asked for strength, that I might achieve:
I was made weak, that I might learn to obey.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy:
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men:
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life:
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing I asked for, but everything I hoped for,
Despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

How grateful I am that “the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered, and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (Romans 8:26,27).
It is my privilege to lift you all up in fervent, intercessory prayer, and “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you.” However, I caution you that my prayers are for devotion, discipline, likeness to Christ, and eternal values, and just such a prayer resulted in my incarceration. If you wish to be removed from my prayer list, write and let me know! J The Lord be magnified! His yoke is easy, and His burden is light!

Your Loving Brother,

Caleb

Note:For better understanding of the unjust punishment of our dear brothers in Christ, Caleb and Joshua Thompson go to www.remembermybonds.com or in my links section. Thank You. Please go to the website it is important that you do. It would help them greatly. Please pray for them and their families and please get a petition from the website and circulate it and tell everyone you know about their situation.

Joshua Thompson's Letter From April 2006

2006-05-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Psalms 1:1-3
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in THE LAW OF THE LORD, AND IS HIS LAW doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree…

Psalms 119:1-2
Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in THE LAW OF THE LORD. Blessed are they that keep his TESTIMONIES, and that seek him with the WHOLE HEART.

How quickly the months come and go; it never ceases to amaze me just how quickly they are passed and it is time to write you dear brothers again. Truly I know that Father has caused His face to shine upon us. He has blessed every step of the way, has comforted us with His Spirit, has guided us with His Word, has given us brothers and sisters to share our burdens and cares. How I long to be blessed of Father; it is the sole purpose of my life and only because of His favor and mercies can we rejoice with exceeding great joy while the lost have never tasted this joy or peace. Over and over and over again I have faced terrible battles where all hope seemed lost and yet not once was I defeated or cast down. Father has done great things on our behalf, on what seems a daily basis.
Father has given me a new job here; one of two where I can study, sing, pray and write without disruption. I sit on the only remaining picnic table on the unit. It is far away from the other men and noises. It is hard to believe it is real. I am most grateful for the opportunity Father has given me to clean the sewer screens every couple of hours. My former boss has gone out of his way to assist me and help me. Father has granted me favor in his eyes though it seemed as if our friendship was lost.
We have spent the last three weeks in lockdown and every single week I received a visit from a pastor. Pastor Sylvester Matthews of Mesquite, Texas; Missionary Dave Hoffmeister of Alaska and Missionary Matt Allen of Papua New Guinea stopped by to encourage me and lift me up. I wish you could see the inmates gathering around me asking of my visits, who had come to see me, what we had talked about, and when they were coming back. Though they have never received a pastoral visit they are as excited as I that someone would care for me enough to sacrifice their time and money for the trip. When mail is delayed they want to know if my brothers have forgotten me and if they still care. You never know the impact you have on the world and on these men by living unto Christ. When my wife arrives an hour late for a visit (she comes every week), they all want to know if she is upset or if we are having marital problems. It seems at times I can not reach them. Their hearts have become so hardened; most of these men have already done ten to fifteen years and will do at least the same before they see parole. The guards whom I have never spoken to or witnessed to have asked me about my wife and our marriage. They cannot understand her love and faithfulness to me. Even the maintenance supervisor and employees will find me and interrogate me about her and the pastors who came to visit me and where they are from. They want to know. You should see their faces when I say from Alaska, Papua New Guinea or Pennsylvania- Pastor Keenan and his son.
My heart is over whelmed, and I weep to think of Pastor Matthews, Pastor Hoffmeister, and Pastor Allen’s visits this past month. They could have passed on by. They are all very busy and have made great sacrifices on my behalf. I now have tasted of the promises of Christ made to Peter when Peter stated they had left all to follow Him. He said they would receive 100 fold in this life and much greater rewards in heaven. We have been given 100 folds yet heaven waits. Also this month, I have received books from Dr. Ron Gearis, Mrs. Keith Stensas, Dr. Mark Rasmussen and my precious parents. Many have sent pictures which are truly encouraging and worth many letters. We have nothing to give in return so we offer our prayers to Almighty Father and Creator of this world on your behalf. I weep as I write this letter because I am not worthy of such love or sacrifices and yet Father continues to bestow abundant grace and favor in my life. I pray with you and for you and the raising of your children and the salvation of the lost. So soon, so very soon these tears and small trials will be passed away and nothing shall separate us from the love of God and His righteousness. Dear Brothers, lift your dear brothers in foreign lands who have given all for His service. I wish they all would feel as blessed, loved and encouraged as we are. They are most special in the eyes of our Father. We love you and pray the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you this next month.

Your brother,

Joshua Thompson

Note: To better understand why Joshua and His brother are in prison go to
www.remembermybonds.com They are wonderful men of God. They have been under persecution.

S.M. Davis

2006-05-08T06:50:00.000-08:00

Here are some messages you can listen to at
www.biblepeaching.com by Bro. /Dr. S.M. Davis

Freedom From The Spirit Of Anger"
78 MinAudio

"Freedom From The Destructiveness Of Anger"
63 MinAudio

"Why Satan Wants the 1st Born"
46 MinAudio

"Is A Man's Home A Biblical Priority?"
52 MinAudio

"Christ, the Husband's Example"
59 MinAudio

"The 7-Fold Power Of A Wife's Submission"
67 MinAudio

"The Attitude No Lady Should Have"
56 MinAudio

"God's Viewpoint on Having Babies"
53 MinAudio

"Keys to Maintaining Communication"
69 MinAudio

"What To Expect From A 12 Year Old"
58 MinAudio

"Bible Pictures Of Godly Children"
56 MinAudio

"Changing The Heart Of A Rebel"
62 MinAudio

"Conquering Satan's Strongholds"
71 MinAudio

"Consider The End"
50 MinAudio

"How To Build A Storm Proof Marriage"
62 MinAudio

"My Son, Give Me Thine Heart"
81 MinAudio

"The Language Of A Christian's Clothing"
87 MinAudio

"The Influence Of Older Children Over Younger Ones"
84 MinAudio

"Strategy For Victory In Spiritual Warfare"
79 MinAudio

"Praising Character Rather Than Achievement"
69 MinAudio

"How To Increase Your Life Potential"
65 MinAudio

"Freedom From The Destructiveness Of Lust"
63 MinAudio

"The Delightful Biblical Opportunities Of Grandparenting"
65 MinAudio

"What Must I Do To Be Saved?"
57 MinAudio

"When Forgiveness Won't Work"
55 MinAudio

"How To Train Up A Child In The Way He Should Go"
58 MinAudio

"How To Rebuild Broken Trust"
58 MinAudio

"Nothing Shall Offend Them"
63 MinAudio

"How To Help Rebellious Adopted or Stepchildren"
58 MinAudio

"How To Keep Your Children From Growing Bitter"
44 MinAudio

"How To Name Your Baby"
47 MinAudio

"Foreseeing The Problems That Could Wreck A Marriage"
46 MinAudio

"Knowing When To Let Go"
52 MinAudio

"Why Sexual Purity Still Matters"
49 MinAudio

"How Homes Relate To Each Other And The Church"
77 MinAudio

"Three Types Of Leadership"
52 MinAudio

"How To Tell True Repentance"
54 MinAudio

"The Bible and Church Finances"
59 MinAudio

At the end of the page there is also sermons on courtship by S.M. Davis if you want to listen to them online.

101 REASONS FOR HAVING CHILDREN!

2006-05-08T05:33:00.000-08:00

By Nancy Campbell
I receive constant complaints from mothers telling me how hurt they are from the negative comments which they receive from family and friends when they share the news that they are going to have another baby. "God gave you a brain, didn't He?" or "Oh No, not another one!" and so on. One Above Rubies reader wrote to me, "....I can't understand why people think children are such burdens that they'd only want one or two, and then suggest to me that I stop at that number also....I've sometimes joked with my husband that I could write a book of all the one liners people say and title it, "101 Reasons Why Not to Have Any More Children."
This gave me a wonderful idea. But I decided to dwell on the positive rather than the negative. I asked our readers of Above Rubies to share why they love having children. I received so many answers and so here are "101 Reasons Why Mothers Love Having Children." Many of these reasons were reiterated over and over again by different mothers.

We love receiving gifts and blessings from God.
Why would I ever want to turn down one of God's blessings?
We not only want to receive gifts from God for ourselves, but we want to give more gifts to the world. Everyone God gives us is a gift to the world.
It's so exciting to see who God will send to bless us each time.
It's an honor for the Lord to use my womb again.
I love being "with child."
I love to see what God thinks of next. I believe each child is a precious and unique thought, with vast possibilities, straight from our Heavenly Father. It's the most exciting thing in my entire life to give birth and see the new little person. There is nothing that moves me as much as seeing the birth of a baby.
I love to behold the handiwork of the Lord as a new little miracle comes forth.
The birth of a baby is the ultimate fulfillment of love between a husband and wife. Each child is an unbreakable bond between a father and mother.
It is amazing to think that each child is a part of me and my beloved husband.
God said to Jeremiah, "BEFORE I formed you in the womb I knew you..." God is the One who will form my future children. If He knew Jeremiah before conception, then He knows all my children before conception, yes, even the children who haven't yet been formed. I don't want to refuse children God has chosen.
I'd love another baby because to choose not to is like saying NO to God. I want to say YES to God and His will for my life.
I'll have more people to love.
I'll have more hands to help.
I'll have more babies to nurse and therefore less risk of breast cancer.
I feel so blessed that God wants to reward us again.
I look upon each child as an incredibly beautiful jewel. Each one takes on a different loveliness and I can't wait to see the next jewel arrive.
Another baby in the family makes my other children so happy.
I love to see the faces of my children as they see a new brother or sister for the first time.
Babies teach the older children so much about caring for little ones, being kind, protective, and unselfish.
Children brighten up the home. They make life interesting.
I become a better mother with each child I have.
Children teach me patience.
My children think I'm beautiful no matter how I look.
The more children we have, the more they entertain one another.
There's always someone around to visit with, play with, pray with, or read to.
It's just as easy to cook for ten as it is for one!
More children give us the opportunity to have our faith increased as we see God meet our daily needs.
You have your own cheering squad in whatever you do.
The more children we have, the more impact we have upon the world.
We want to establish a godly dynasty that will continue down the generations to come.
We want to raise another soul for Jesus.
We desire to raise up a standard for God in this evil day.
More children releases more of Christ in our home.
Because babies are the most irresistible things on earth.
There is nothing like a new baby in the house.
There is no occupation more rewarding than motherhood.
Because I am fulfilling the only career that is eternal! Every other career will be left behind when we leave this earth, but I can take my children with me into glory. My children are eternal souls who will live for ever.
Parenthood is investing in eternity.
Children are like arrows which we send to places where we will never be able to go.
We want to fill our quiver.
Because of the people who might be reached for Christ through this child.
I want to increase the 'salt' and 'light' proportion in the world!
We're forming our own orchestra to make music to the Lord.
Having and raising children aids in sanctification of us parents.
Having children helps to develop in us the godly character of servanthood.
My children help me surrender the selfish desires of my flesh.
Parenthood allows us to experience the kind of love our Heavenly Father has for us.
In an era when so many individuals condone the denial, or taking of life - we want to give life - for life is sacred.
We don't want to deprive our parents of their "crowning glory" (Proverbs 17:6). We want to bless them with grandchildren.
Our children are my teachers. I learn sweet things from them every day.
I'm replenishing the earth with godly seed.
I want to be obedient to God's Word to "Be fruitful and multiply."
My children are my friends and my brothers and sisters in the Lord. Now who can have too many of these?
I have a passionate love for babies.
I just love being a mother. I love being pregnant. I love giving birth and I love breastfeeding.
I love the sweet smiles, the delightful giggle, the soft baby to cuddle.
Jesus said that when we welcome a little child into our home and family we are actually welcoming Him. I don't want to spurn Jesus.
We want our children to have the riches of many relationships with brothers and sisters.
When we are no longer living, our children will have each other for encouragement, fellowship and a sense of family.
The more children we have, the more our love is multiplied.
We still have an empty seat in our van, and we'd like to fill it!
Our children are all so wonderful, who could resist another one?
God says that children are a reward and we believe Him!
Children are the most precious gift of marriage.
We get lots of experience in sharing and communicating.
Children help me see my daily dependence on God for His wisdom and strength.
I love to feel a precious life within my womb.
Large families are FUN! And we love having fun.
In a large family, the children and teenagers don't want to go out to find entertainment because they are lonely and bored - there is already fun and entertainment at home A new baby reminds me of how Jesus came into the world.
To be open to more children shows our present children that we love them. How can our children understand the love of God if we have the attitude that a certain number of children is too many?
More children help to grow the church.
I want to rear strong soldiers for the Lord.
I'll be able to spend eternity with my children.
My body was created for this purpose.
Family celebrations - birthdays, holidays and Christmas are even more wonderful with a new baby in the house.
Hope for mankind is expressed in the miracle of a baby's birth. Wherever there is life, there is Hope.
Babies are sweet, cuddly, adorable and have so much potential. It's like planting seeds in a flower garden - a beautiful bouquet for the future.
There will be more people to pay for the aged's social security benefits.
I want to yield my womb as a living sacrifice to God.
To prevent menses and enjoy the nursing hormones of prolactin and oxytocin. My most enjoyable and peaceful times are during the absence of menses during pregnancy To give a sweet testimony to a lost world.
Babies remind us of how wonderful and how creative our God is.
We are training a godly generation that will cover the earth with the Gospel and prepare the way for Jesus' return.
Younger children teach the older children how to be helpers. By the time the are old enough to be married and have children of their own, they'll be prepared for raising them.
I want another arrow for God's army.
I love to feel a precious new life moving within me.
I would hate to stand before God on Judgment Day and have to answer why I rejected the children He had ordained for our family.
Our children have taught me the value of relationships and the shallowness of the world's value system.
I trust God in all other areas of my life and I want to trust Him in the area of having children too.
It sure is nice to kiss and smell a little one again. Their scent is so sweet.
Babies are also a blessing to other people. They sure love to hold and cuddle mine. Since my siblings have stopped at two children per family, I want to supply them for my parents and everyone else's pleasure.
Our horizon and interests are constantly widened. Each child is born with a different destiny upon his/her life. Each child has different gifts. As we encourage our children in their varied gifts we constantly learn new things ourselves. Our children will often take on ventures and interests that we would never have dreamed of. Parenthood is not confining, but enlarging.
Babies are future dish washers!
Babies are a lot more entertaining than TV.
We're helping to build the kingdom of God.
So I can buy cute baby and children's clothes, even if it's at a yard sale.
I'll be able to spend eternity with my children.
Children teach me to become a servant, and that's what Jesus wants us to be. Jesus
Himself said He came to serve rather than to be served.
To be convicted of sin and the need for repentance as I observe my sinful nature in my children's sinful natures.
The more children we have, the more we will be blessed when we are older. Instead of being lonely, we will have many children and grandchildren around to entertain us, bless us and care for us.
Raising up a godly seed is laying up treasure in heaven.

Having children causes us to depend upon God moment by moment!

After reading all these wonderful reasons, wouldn't you like another baby?

* * * * *
This article is printed from the study manual, God's Vision for Families.
GOD'S VISION FOR FAMILIEISWhat the Bible says about having ChildrenBy Nancy Campbell

This manual goes into the Word of God to see what God says about havingchildren. How many should we have? Does the Bible have anything to say onthis subject? Order the manual to check out. You'll get lots ofsurprises. Every married couple needs to study this manual together. Italso has questions for personal meditation or discussion at the end ofeach chapter.Price: $12.00 US plus $1.58 shippingSpecial bulk price: 3 - 9 copies - $9.00 each, 10 ore more - $7.00 each

Poems- of waiting for God's perfect will/purity

2006-05-05T06:54:00.000-08:00

My Dear Wife,
I know that you don't know me yet, my dear.
But our Father Does,
And in time will make it clear.

For now, I want you to know
I am waiting for you.
Faithfully waiting 'til the day
The Lord makes one out of us two.

He's preparing us for each other,
Just keep this in mind.
In the future we'll look back
And see He was so kind.

In preparing us now,
Making us wait...
And remember, my beloved-
God is never late.

I'm praying for you
And I want you to know,
I'm keeping myself for you
For I love you so.

Wherever you are,
Remember that I'm waiting for you.
I hope and pray,
That you're waiting for me,too.

On this day for lovers,
Called Valentine's Day,
I want you to know
I love you, and will always.

So, I prayed a letter and
A kiss would blow your way,
Saying, I love you, darling.
Happy Valentine's Day!

-----Gretchen L. Glaser

I Am A Married Woman

I'm a married woman,
Most folks don't know it.
My body is my husband's.
I don't rightly own it.

No one else
Has any claim on me.
I am my husband's-
Don't touch his property.

Treat me like a married woman,
'Cause that's just what I am you see.
God has a husband picked out for me,
And I am waiting for him, faithfully.

So think of me as a sister-
Don't look at me lustfully.
I'm not a means for thrills.
I'm a married woman, you see.

I am not a toy to make you feel good,
I'm not a decoration for your arm
To make you look good,
I'm not yours to love or harm.

People talk about "free sex"
But there's no such thing with me.
Sex with me comes at a high price:
Lifelong marriage and fidelity.

I'll be your friend and sister
But nothing more.
My husband is the one
I am waiting for.

To be his and his only.
'Til death do us part.
I am committed to him.
With my body, mind, and heart.

So treat m like you would
If my husband was at hand.
Look at me with purity-
I am a married woman.

------Gretchen L. Glaser

My heart is like a geyser, Lord - warm feelings want to overflow.
But you would have me control them for now I know.

My heart wants to let go restraint, and fully burst out into love,
But You warn me to wait, and think of things above.

It's not time yet, So I must turn
My passions away, from the things I yearn,

And put my youthful energy into service for Thee.
Learning and growing daily-more of You in me.

Sometimes my heart threatens, and even bubbles o'er a bit,
But You tell me to hold on-it isn't time for that yet.

You need to complete Your work in single me
Before I can be joined with another in matrimony.

We're crossing the river at the same time, he and I-
But at different places and different depths. Why?

So we don't pull eachother down, but keep our eyes on You,
Learning of patience, true love, dedication and sacrifice, too.

And then, when it's time, all Heaven will watch in praise,
As two hearts become one, and we promise always.
--------Gretchen L. Glaser

Sometimes I ask the question, "my Lord, is this Your will?'
It's then I hear You answer me, "My precious child,... be still."

Sometimes I feel frustrated, cause I think I know what's best.
It's then I hear you say to me, "My busy child...just rest."

Sometimes I feel lonely and I think I'd like a mate.
Your still small voice gets oh so clear and says,"My child please wait."

"I know the plans I have for you, The wonderous things you'll see;
If you can just be patient, Child, and put you trust in Me.'

"I've plans to draw you closer. I've plans to help you grow.
There's much I do you cannot see and much you do not know."

"But know this, Child...I love you, you are precious unto Me.
Before I formed you in the womb, I planned your destiny."

"I've something very special I hope for you to learn,
The gifts I wish to give you are gifts you cannot earn."

"They come without a price tag, but not without a cost;
At Calvary, I gave My Son, so you would not be lost."

"Rest Child, and do not be weary, of doing what is good.
I promise I'll come back for you, just like I said I would."

"Your name is written on My palm, I never forget;
Therefore, do not be discouraged when My answer is...Not Yet."

----Unknown

If You Loved Me

"If you loved me you'd do it."

But what about me?
What about my feelings?
You know that I'm not ready,
That it goes against everything I believe.

"If you loved me you'd do it."

But what about me?
Am I not the special cherished person
That you profess me to be?
Are all the words you whisper
in my ears just sweet lies?

"If you loved me you'd do it."

But what about me?
Don't I deserve to be loved, honored
and cherished?
Am I only worth a heated moment in
the back seat?

"If you loved me you'd do it."

But what about me?
Is the love that God talks about only for others?
Can love only be patient, kind, and understanding
For everyone else?
Am I worth so little?

You say that you love me,
So answer this question :
If I am so worthless to you
That you would chance ruining my life
And breaking my heart,
Why do you want me at all?

--Jennifer Matthews

My gifts a secret,
hid beneath this golden foil and bow.
My Father wrapped it in His Love
for only one to know.
My gift is very precious
and the wrapping's precious, too;
The one without the other
spoils the mystery and the clue.
For though the pressure's strong
my God is with me from the start,
and He'll be there with me
when I give my love,
My Gift Wrapped Heart.

--------------Unknown

Sex...Is like a Gift Wrapped in Brown Paper

There's a beautiful gift inside
this package
It's wrapped for protection
Tied for security
Stamped: "Fragile!" "Handle
with Care!"
It's easy to loosen the strings
To let anyone tear away the
Wrapping
To give the gift without
commitment--
Offer it to the highest bidder,
Or hand it our as the prize for a game
There's a gift wrapped inside
this brown paper.
It's for keeps- not to be
Exchanged.
No deposit. Non returnable
It's a surprise.
A happy treat to be opened
By the person
To whom it's addressed
On the date marked
Forever

---Ruth Senter

First Kiss

Something so rare
So beautiful
More rare than virginity
So rare, so rare
A higher level of purity
So rare it's thought to be insane
Unachievable
Unpopular
Really, it's unappeciated
So rare...
Its value has almost been forgotten
Lost in the twisted way of things
It is so rare
But it can be found

Something that can only be
Given away once
It's a special gift
With a special meaning
Meant for one person
Choose carefully the time
The place
And the mate
Once it's gone
You can never get it back
A gift so precious
So personal
When you choose to give it
You're giving a part of you
Don't rush to give it away

Time, time...
Yes there is plenty of time
With time comes greater value
And appreciation
Time is our perception
Either we are patient
Or miserable
We can take the time to wait
And in waiting we can grow
Or give it away right now
And in time regret
Time, it never goes away
It just keeps going
And waiting never hurts

This valuable gift
I have chosen to save
It is tucked away
For my wedding day
Saved for one man
God has waiting
Waiting for me to come along
I've saved my precious gift
Of my "First Kiss"
Will he save his?

~Cassie

WAIT

Desperately, helplessly, lovingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God relpied.
I plead and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said,
"Child you must wait."

"Wait? You say, wait? My indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming You Word.

My furture and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT!
I'm needing a "Yes", a go-ahead sign.
Or even a "No" to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
"I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!"

Then quietly, softly, I learned my fate
As my Master replied once again,"You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God,"So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed, then to kneel
And His eyes wept with mine.
And He tenderly said, " I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause the mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be
You would have what you want-
But you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You'd not know the power I give to the faint;

You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there;
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me;
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You'd never experience the fullness of my love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You'd know that I give and save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.

You'd never know, should the pain quickly flee,
What it means that,"My grace is sufficient for thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one
Overnight would come true.

But, Oh, the Loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem trribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, "Wait."

-----------Unknown

Your Perfect Will

Lord, You know I want Your perfect will for my life.
Be to somebody the perfect wife.
Can't wait till that special day, won't leave him till You take me away.
I know in Your time You will bring me the one.
I need Your guidance to help me wait till your done.
So, as I wait, I pray and meditate.

----------(Me)Karla

The Foolishness Of Man - the care & feeding of children

2006-05-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

When I was born there was a philosophy of child raising influenced by a whole network of Maternal Welfare Centres in Australia under the umbrella of Dr Truby King. In this teaching, the newborn was "trained" to be fed every 4 hours on the dot, allowed to cry inconsolably when hungry yet allowed to run wild in the developing years. One did not want to hurt their little psyches by spanking or scolding.
My mother remembers only too well her niece who was sucking on her fingers and screaming for a feed but whose mother would let her scream until the clock said it was time for the next feed! She was a strict follower of the Truby King regime. By the time the baby was offered the breast (which was swollen with milk that would gush down the child's throat), she was usually too exhausted to suckle well and if she did, would be full of colic from all the crying.
My cousin grew up a chronic thumbsucker and a lonely and unhappy child. But a child who was allowed complete freedom- even to tap dancing on the top of her mother's white Queen Ann dressing table! At a time when a newborn should be taught to trust in a big world, and then how to love and form a deep abiding bond with its mother or carer, it was deprived of not only food but comfort! It learnt to be anxious and distrustful and unloving!
But at an age where the personality was developing and training could commence, the child was allowed full vent to emotion and desires and was allowed to run wild. These poor children were taught that instant gratification, disrespect of authority, people and their possessions and ultimate selfishness were their right. There were no boundaries and the child was unhappy and isolated. Parents of children being trained in the niceties and values of normal living rightfully didn't want their own children associating with them.
Ultimately, Truby King bred a generation of unhappy adults who knew nothing but self indulgence and that anarchy does indeed rule. How sad! How very contrary to God's way of raising children! I do not know what became of Dr Truby King perhaps he has passed on- but the legacy he has passed on to countless adults brought up under his spartan regime is appalling. How different these teachings are to the gentle rearing of our children under the admonition of the scriptures! How my heart yearns to be able to go back in time and comfort and feed the many infants starving for hours and fretting and to direct and gently guide the little children brought up under the teaching of these people! Yet many sincere and genuinely loving parents thought they were doing what was best for their children- unfortunately, they followed after the foolishness of man and against the knowledge of the Most High God.
I was fortunate to have a sensible God-fearing mother, but thousands weren't. It makes you wonder how each turned out as an adult doesn't it?

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

May Your Hope Chest B e Filled With Hope And Wisdom

2006-05-05T06:47:00.000-08:00

Dear Handmaidens,

I remember when I was a newly-engaged girl, my mother and father provided a hope chest for me. We weren't very well off, but they acquired an old writing bureau which they kept in their bedroom for me as my own room was too small. This hope chest was filled gradually with all the usual things to ensure a well stocked home with crocks and linens. But I found this was not its primary purpose for me. It became my focus and purpose in life- reminding me of the task ahead of becoming mistress of my own home. Each time I added something to it, it filled my soul with longing for the day of marriage and hope for the future.

As I worked and saved for my wedding and new home, it became my anchor. Every kitchen article was added with dreams of me cooking delicious meals for my beloved. Each towel I folded filled me with visions of them flapping on the line and I would plan how to wash them properly and keep them soft and fluffy. Fluffy enough to wrap up my new baby after its bath. For every sheet and blanket focused me on the physical side of marriage filling my heart with the promise of children conceived in love. As I added to my picnic ware, my mind would race imagining flying kites, feeding the ducks by the pond and country drives with my husband and children ..life held great promise for me in that hope chest...and although mine was not a true hope chest- it was full of hope.

May your hope chest fill you with joy and hope- no matter what its actual appearance. May it fill you with hope for the future as you keep your eyes on Jesus whilst He seeks out your future husband. Let this be a time of joyful preparation for your high calling as a future wife and mother.

Glenys Robyn Hicks

“Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars” Proverbs 9:1

Some Quotes From Others

2006-05-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

If monotony tries me, and I cannot stand drudgery;
if stupid people fret me and the little ruffles set me on edge;
if I make much of the trifles of life, then I know nothing of
Calvary love.... Amy Carmichael (1867-1951)

When God is about to do something great, He starts with a difficulty. When He is about to do something truly magnificent, He starts with an impossibility. --Armin Gesswein

Do you think that the work God gives us to do is never easy? Jesus says that His yoke is easy, His burden is light. People sometimes refuse to do God’s work just because it is easy. This is sometimes because they cannot believe that easy work is His work; but there may be a very bad pride in it. Some, again, accept it with half a heart and do it with half a hand. But however easy any work may be, it can not be well done without taking thought about it. And such people, instead of taking thought about their work, generally take thought about the morrow—in which no work can be done, any more than in yesterday.
---George Macdonald (1824-1905)

We have the means to evangelize our country; but they are slumbering in the pews of our churches.... ------Unknown

"The times are dark, the spirits of ruin are abroad in all their power, and the mercy of God alone can save us."-- President Abraham Lincoln, 1862

To laugh is to risk ... appearing a fool. To weep is to risk ... appearing sentimental. To reach out for another is to risk ... involvement. To expose feelings is to risk ... rejection. To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ... ridicule. To love is to risk ... being loved in return. To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk ... failure. But, risks must be taken, because the greatest risk of all is to risk nothing. Those who risk nothing ... do nothing, have nothing, are nothing. They may temporarily avoid suffering and sorrow, butThey cannot feel, learn, change, grow, live, or love. Chained by their certitudes, they become slaves Forfeiting their freedom. Only the person who risks is free.------Unknown

This Is An Email Some Man Received

2006-05-05T06:18:00.000-08:00

I received this over email... it's almost too true... sad and pathetic to be funny, but I did laugh out loud at some of the titles---only because they so epitomize the "church" today. "In support of the new TNIV translation of the Bible, we are proud to release a new hymnal for churches that are changing their pew Bibles out to the new TNIV. The new hymnal, entitled "The Modern Evangelical Hym/Hernal" will be releasing shortly. The Politically Correct Hymnal was originally going to be called "The Modern Evangelical, Dispensational, Postmodern, Antinomian, Arminian, Gnostic, Middle Knowledge, Open Theistic, Non Denominational, Politically Correct Hymnal," but we felt we may have left some people out...

"Some of the fine classic hymns hand selected and rewritten for today's modern evangelical churches include...

Amazing Choice
How Great I Art
When the Saints Go Retreating Back
When We ALL Get to Heaven
All Hail the Power of My Name
Some of the Way, My Savior Leads Me
Some to Jesus I Surrender
And Can It Be, That I Should Earn
Before Thee God, Who Knowest Some
Blessed Possibility
O Come All Ye Faithless
Eternal Father Weak to Save
We May Be Moved
OK Is Your Faithfulness
I Surrender Some
It Is Swell With My Soul
Backward Christian Soldiers
Take My Life and Let Me Be
The Lord is My Shepherd, I Always Want
The New Hand Polished Cross (old and Rugged seemed so ... old and rugged sounding)
There is a Bomb In Gilead
Tis So Sweet to Trust in Me

For many Methodist and PCUSA Churches we included...

She Leadeth Me
She Lives She Lives
She Will Hold Me Fast

And by popular demand, we have included a personal favorite...

"I Did It My Way"

We even included many of the popular modern worship choruses ... and best of all, we didn't have to change the words!

PS: Thank you for your interest in the new "Modern Evangelical Hym/Hernal."

Sincerely,Fanny Wormwood Zonderban Publishing"

"The Church in thy house"--Philemon 2

2006-05-05T05:54:00.000-08:00

Is there a Church in this house? Are parents, children, friends, servants, all members of it? or are some still unconverted? Let us pause here and let the question go round--Am I a member of the Church in this house? How would father's heart leap for joy, and mother's eyes fill with holy tears if from the eldest to the youngest all were saved! Let us pray for this great mercy until the Lord shall grant it to us. Probably it had been the dearest object of Philemon's desires to have all his household saved; but it was not at first granted him in its fulness. He had a wicked servant, Onesimus, who, having wronged him, ran away from his service. His master's prayers followed him, and at last, as God would have it, Onesimus was led to hear Paul preach; his heart was touched, and he returned to Philemon, not only to be a faithful servant, but a brother beloved, adding another member to the Church in Philemon's house. Is there an unconverted servant or child absent this morning? Make special supplication that such may, on their return to their home, gladden all hearts with good news of what grace has done! Is there one present? Let him partake in the same earnest entreaty.

If there be such a Church in our house, let us order it well, and let all act as in the sight of God. Let us move in the common affairs of life with studied holiness, diligence, kindness, and integrity. More is expected of a Church than of an ordinary household; family worship must, in such a case, be more devout and hearty; internal love must be more warm and unbroken, and external conduct must be more sanctified and Christlike. We need not fear that the smallness of our number will put us out of the list of Churches, for the Holy Spirit has here enrolled a family-church in the inspired book of remembrance. As a Church let us now draw nigh to the great head of the one Church universal, and let us beseech Him to give us grace to shine before men to the glory of His name.
----------C. H. Spurgeon

2006-05-05T05:38:00.000-08:00

It Is Well With My Soul by Horatio Spafford (1828 - 1888)

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever
my lot, Thou has taught me to say,It is well,
it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:

It is well, with my soul,It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Though Satan should buffet, though trials
should come,Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to
the cross, and I bear it no more,Praise the
Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,No pang shall be
mine, for in death as in lifeThou wilt whisper
Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;Oh trump of
the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!Blessèd hope,
blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be
sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;The
trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

Articles On Modesty - Why We Should Wear Dresses, Too

2006-05-04T06:01:00.000-08:00

If you can't link these from here go to A christian home in the liks sections. When you get to the website go to modesty & clothing.

Christian Women Have an Obligation to Dress Modestlyan article by Michael Foust sharing Mary Mohler's views

Also, New! from Sovereign Grace: A check list for you... this is a simple list that will be of great help to you. This was list compiled by Carolyn Mahaney The Soul of Modesty by CJ Mahaney Additional comments by CJ Mahaney

Revive our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss (a radio program on modesty) More from Nancy DeMoss on Modesty Partial Disclosure=Exposure Nancy DeMoss

Modesty Susan Theall
The Reputation of a Godly Womanpamela spurling

The Appearance of a Christian Womanand her Reputation pamela spurling
God Drew The LineBy S. Franklin Logsdon

Modest Daughtersby *Douglas Wilson - Credenda Agenda*Warning... Doug Wilson sometimes appears to have a very "brash" style of relating issues and may seem tobe a bit too much for an overly sensitive type... powerful, good points, though.

Feminine AttireThe Modest Dress of a Womanpamela spurling
ModestyIncentives to Restoring Virtue in the Local Church -Harold Vaughan
NEW Growing Old GracefullyMrs. Amy Booker a quote from the article: "Do you want to be a feminine, pleasant, beautiful person when you are old? Be a feminine, pleasant, beautiful person now."

Christian Femininity: Are We Resigned or Excited?Elissa Kroeger[A very insightful article regarding the kind of dress women might wear and what it is saying to onlookers. You might be tempted to ask, are all dresses actually feminine or are some actually masculine? ---ps]
Stick to Your Standardsmomof9splace.com/standards.html

Bible Principles of Christian Dresshome.elp.rr.com/thechurch/gv-1.htm

New! Men or TREND Pleaserscrownedwithsilver.com/Men_Pleasers
NEW Modest Dress and Christian Femininity by Mrs. Traci Knoppe

Modest ApparelA sermon by J. Wayne McKamiePart One Part Two
Bible Guidelines About ClothingBruce Lackey
Is Wearing Dresses Only: Legalistic?by Mrs. Traci Knoppe
Developing Standards of Modesty in ChildrenSarah Eppes
Handmaid of the LordWhy Dress Modestly
What is Modesty?66.33.70.110/~amp/hw/whatismodesty.htm

Is Wearing Dresses Only: Legalistic?by Mrs. Traci Knoppe
Developing Standards of Modesty in ChildrenSarah Eppes
Handmaid of the LordWhy Dress Modestly
What is Modesty?66.33.70.110/~amp/hw/whatismodesty.htm
A conversation that might take place in your home:momof9splace.com/conversation.html

~Serious Faith~Modesty, Clothing and God - part one Modesty, Clothing and God - part two Modesty, Clothing and God - part three Modesty, Clothing and God - part four
NEW Biblical Modesty
NEW! Another Study in Dresshttp://www.blessedhope.org/studies/stl/lesson26.html
Modesty - Women's Apparel momof9splace.com/modesty.html
Should a Christian Woman dress in a... provocative Manner?

Warm Weather Modesty.computan.on.ca/~bvsprchr/modesty.htm
A Study in ModestyHow a woman should portray herself as a Christian
WHAT EXACTLY IS MODEST APPAREL IN THE BIBLICAL SENSE?ourworld.cs.com
Christian Dress and Adornmenta studyLight Ministries.com (posted 3-22-05)
Scriptures_Decree_Modesty_In_DressBy Norman Simpson
Christian Dress - part 1 Christian Dress - part 2 Mike Strevel - 1988 (posted 3-22-05)

ARE MEN LUSTING AFTER YOUR WIFE OR DAUGHTER?David Cloud
A Christian Lady's Dress & AppearancePastor Art Kohl
Modesty and the Christian WomanMrs. ML Chancey
Laurie MoyerNothing To Wear
What Do Your Clothes Say About You?
The Christian's Dress and Adornmentproject restore (posted 3-22-05)

Being Fruitful:A Biblical View of Birth Control by Philip Lancaster (Not for Children)

2006-05-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Within the family renaissance movement the issue of birth control has been one of the hottest topics. It is natural that those who are reevaluating their views of the family regarding such matters as education, roles of husbands and wives, socialization, immunizations, etc. would also grapple with the question of whether birth control is right for Christian families. And, indeed, the issue has been grappled with in books popular within the movement, most of which have at least seriously questioned the practice, some labeling it a "great sin." Many families have come to view a former decision to sterilize either the husband or wife as sin and have obtained surgical "reversals."
To properly evaluate an issue like this from a Christian perspective we need to ask ourselves, What does God in his Word have to say about it? But it may also be useful, first, to ask ourselves, What is the current consensus among Christians and how did they arrive at their point of view on this topic? We should always be ready to change our beliefs and practices if we find that they have been shaped by the world instead of the Word.
Most Christians today believe that the practice of birth control is OK, if indeed they have ever really thought about it. Safe to say, the average Christian who practices birth control could not give you a carefully reasoned biblical argument in favor of the practice. He just assumes it is a morally neutral issue. "After all, it is just the Catholics who oppose any form of artificial birth control, right?" Well, probably so, at least as far as major Christian groups are concerned. But the real question is, Where did the acceptance of birth control originate? Did it come from God and his Word, or is it another example of the world's perspective seeping into an unwary church?

The Abortion/Birth Control Connection
As we look at contemporary Western culture, one of its depressing characteristics is that it is pro-death. This should not be surprising. The Lord, speaking as Wisdom in Proverbs 8:36 says, "all who hate me love death." Our society has been steadily turning from God and showing its hatred of him in many ways. Not the least of these is the popularity of abortion as a way to solve difficult personal problems. The slaughter of the unborn baby is preferred to the challenge of caring for an inconvenient child.
It is disturbing to realize, moreover, that the culture which created abortion on demand is the same one that is in love with birth control. In fact, abortion is actually just another form of birth control and arose out of the same mindset. Behind both practices is the attitude that children are an inconvenience and that adults have the right to choose when and if to have any.
Disturbing, too, is the realization that both birth control and abortion have exactly the same effect (though substantially different means), namely, the prevention of another human being. The one kills the product of conception, the other prevents conception; but both aim to prevent the birth of a person. The failure to prevent conception has led many to murder the "mistake" that results. Isn't it reasonable to conclude that commonly behind both acts there is the same love of self and hatred of God? Has not the birth control mindset been the mother of the abortion mindset? Certainly the two are connected in our culture. Whether it is possible to separate the two is another question, but the connection should give Christians pause.
Surely all true Christians would agree that abortion is wrong, but how many of them are influenced by the same mindset that resulted in the abortion holocaust? How many have unwittingly breathed in the foul moral air of a death-loving culture and concluded that children are an inconvenience and parents have the right to decide if and when they want any? Unfortunately, most Christians still shrink in horror at the thought of a large number of children; and you hear comments in the church like: "Well, I know I've got all the kids I can handle," or "I can't wait for summer to be over so the kids can get back to school." The same anti-child attitude that plagues secular society has infected the church. This is just one of many areas in which the church is almost indistinguishable from the surrounding world. Instead of setting a shining example of how things ought to be, the church mimics a dying culture, and then wonders why it is so ineffective (didn't Jesus say something about salt losing its savor?).
So before even considering the biblical data, we ought to be suspicious of a practice that is so much at home in the anti-child, anti-life 1990's. It would be reasonable to conclude that Christians may have been led astray on this issue—unless, of course, the Bible gives warrant to the practice of birth control.
What exactly does the Bible say that bears on our issue? You will look in vain in your concordance for any entries under "birth control"—the same holds true for "abortion"—but the Scripture certainly speaks to both. When consulting God's Word on a matter like this it is important to realize that there are several ways in which the Bible can shed light on the subject. It may address it with an explicit precept, a clear command that speaks directly to it. It may give a general principle that must be applied with wisdom under the Spirit's guidance. Or it may display a pattern of life to follow through good examples that are approved (or evil patterns that are disapproved). Though the words "birth control" do not appear in the Bible, there are precepts, principles and patterns there to guide us.

Fruitfulness is God's Will for Marriage
The very first recorded words of the Creator to the man and woman he had made in his image were, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen. 1:28). This precept was repeated after the flood to Noah and his sons: "As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it" (9:7). God's plan is that married couples multiply descendants to fill the whole earth.
Now, since we are (once again) infected with the world's perspective at this point, we are probably inclined to reason: "Sure, God told Adam and Noah to multiply because the earth was empty of people in both cases and they had to populate the planet from scratch; but we have plenty of people in the world today (maybe too many), so surely there is no need for multiplying children any more." But who are we to conclude the earth is "full" and God's command no longer applies? The fact is that the earth is far from full [see "Overpopulation: The Perennial Myth" elsewhere in this issue]. When and if the earth ever actually becomes full, we can trust God to deal with the situation his own way. Our job is to obey his commands.
Marriage is a "one flesh" union of a man and woman (Gen. 2:24). While this expression clearly means more than mere physical union it does include the physical union, and this union will result in the multiplication of children. Having a number of children is the normal fruit of marriage, and it is God's will for marriage. In 1 Timothy 5:14 the Holy Spirit through Paul counsels younger widows to marry and "have children." Malachi 2:15, referring to a married couple, says, "Has not the Lord made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring." God created the marriage bond to populate the earth with God-fearing worshipers. Maybe the world will shirk the multiplication command; but Christians should "seize the day," grasping the opportunity afforded by the abortion/birth control craze to fill the world with Christians!
Some may object that reproduction is not the only purpose for marriage. This is obviously true (marriage is also for companionship and ministry, for example), but it is also irrelevant. Multiplication remains one of the purposes for marriage, and the fact that there are other purposes does not negate this one. We must strive to fulfill all of God's aims for making us one flesh.
We should quickly grant that sex is for the pleasure and emotional bonding of the couple as well as for reproduction. But does not the very God-created design of the male and female bodies demonstrate that God intends for pleasure and fruitfulness to be united in the one act? What right have we to separate the aims of pleasure and procreation that God has built into sexual intercourse? Any sex act outside of marriage separates these two ( fornication, prostitution, etc.). On what grounds can they be separated within the marriage? Our dying world seeks pleasure apart from responsibility; hence the increase of birth control and abortion. The safest course for the Christian is always to obey God's command and act in a way that is consistent with his design. God's command supports his design: be fruitful and multiply.
The command to be fruitful is a straightforward precept that speaks directly to the issue of birth control. Following are three principles that, while not directly addressing the issue, have clear implications for it.

Children Are a Tool for Godly Dominion
Let us hear again the first words out of God's mouth to our first parents: "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground" (Genesis 1:28). A couple verses earlier the Trinity had been consulting together: "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule...over all the earth'" (v. 26).
Joined in this initial word from the Lord are the dual commands to be fruitful and to rule over the earth; have children and take dominion. God made man in his image, and this means, among other things, that man was made to rule. Just as God rules the universe, so he has delegated to man the responsibility to take dominion over this planet to God's glory. The man, with the help of his wife (Gen. 2:18), was given the assignment of working and taking care of the earth (2:15). Mankind's perpetual job description is to take all the resources of this earth (including human and spiritual resources), apply his labor, and offer the product as worship to God. A stone ax and an oratorio are both a form a taking dominion.
It is clear that there is a vital connection between the "be fruitful" command and the "take dominion" command. Adam would have had a hard time completing God's dominion mandate all by himself, or with just his wife. But God arranged that out of their one flesh union a whole army of additional helpers would arise to assist in the enormous task. That task is far from complete even today, and there is still a need to keep multiplying the number of godly workers.
The original dominion mandate has been supplemented with the mandate of Jesus to make disciples of all the nations, commonly called the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus now has "all authority in heaven and on earth" (v. 18), and under his dominion Christians are called to take the kingdom of God to every nation. It is only through the gospel of Jesus Christ that men can produce the dominion results that are pleasing to God; disciples implement the will of God as they obey everything he has commanded (v. 20).
Christians have been forgetting the most important means of seeing the Great Commission fulfilled: multiplying godly offspring. If a man has six children who each have six, and so forth through the generations, and if he trains them to be disciples of Jesus, that man will be the patriarch of a godly clan of 1,300 great-great grandchildren! If there were only two children per generation, the "clan" would consist of only 32 people. Would you rather confront your enemy with an army of 32 or 1,300?
Part of the reason Christians are hesitant to have children is their fear that they will not grow up to be Christians. What if a man ended up with 1,300 pagans as posterity? This fear is encouraged by a common view that how our kids turn out is a matter of chance. This lie is a denial of Proverbs 22:6 and of God's consistent promise to bless faithfulness. The only question is whether we will be faithful in raising the children for the Lord.
We need to regain the biblical perspective on children. They are arrows in the battle for godly dominion in this world (Psalm 127:4,5). Why would we want to "control" the birth of these image-bearers of God, these workers, these warriors in the battle of the ages? We ought to desire as many as the Lord should choose to give us! Which brings us to the next theme of Scripture we want to consider.

God Alone Gives Children And Witholds Children
"Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from him" (Psalm 127:3) The most abundantly documented truth in the Bible concerning children is that they come from God as his gift and that he, and he alone, has the privilege of giving and withholding children.
The story of Jacob's wives Rachel and Leah (and their handmaids) is an account of the Lord opening and closing the womb as he chooses—and this in the midst of human finagling to control the process of birth! (Genesis 29:31-30:24) When it was all said and done, Jacob would speak of his sons as "the children God has graciously given" (33:5). Refer also in this connection to these passages: Gen. 16:2; 20:18; 48:9; Lev. 20:20,21; Jdg. 13:3,24; Ruth 4:13; 1 Sam. 1:5,11,19,20; Job 42:12,13; Is. 8:18; Lk. 1:7,24,25.
In condemning his unfaithful people in Ezekiel 16:20-21, God says, "And you took your sons and daughters whom you bore to me and sacrificed them as food for idols....You slaughtered my children...." Our children are God's children. That ought to affect how we view conception and birth. God gives children and so they are his!
It is part of the arrogant presumption of our age that men and women believe they can control the process of conception and birth. Yet how many have we known who have become pregnant despite efforts to avoid it, or who have "decided" to have children only to find that they cannot conceive? God still opens and closes the womb, and he is still better at family planning than we are.
Who are we to presume that we know when a new human being should be born. Children are not trifles; they are eternal beings who have a purpose and significance in God's hands that we cannot even imagine. What audacity to think that we have sufficient wisdom to decide if and when another should begin his eternal sojourn! The Bible does not even hint that such a decision belongs in the hands of man; it is God's prerogative alone.
Children Are a Blessing
"Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your sons will be like olive shoots around your table. Thus is the man blessed who fears the Lord" (Psalm 128:3,4).
Since God wants a marriage to result in multiplying children, since children are the necessary means to taking dominion, since it is God's prerogative to give and withhold children, it is not surprising to find that the Bible consistently teaches that children are a blessing. How could they be viewed otherwise? Not having children was considered a serious deprivation of blessing (and at times an actual curse) and the barren woman in Scripture invariably seeks relief from her condition. (Gen. 11:30; 15:2; 30:1; Jdg. 13:2; 1 Sam. 1:2; 2 Sam. 6:23; 2 Ki. 4:14; Hos. 9:11; Lk. 1:7; 20:29)
Only a people who lose God's perspective on life would come to see children as a burden, and that is where we have come in Western society. We have already mentioned how this anti-child feeling has crept into the church. Those who see children as a burden or a curse want to limit or eliminate them; hence birth control and abortion. Those who see them as God's blessing want all that God chooses to give them, and they receive them with joy and thanksgiving. Why would anyone choose to deprive himself of God's blessing?

Birth Control Is Severely Judged
While the term "birth control" is not mentioned in the Bible there is one example of its practice (this provides us with a pattern to be avoided): "Then Judah said to Onan, 'Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother.' But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord's sight; so he put him to death also" (Gen. 38:8-10).
Onan had an obligation, later codified in the Mosaic Law (Deut. 25:5,6), to give his dead brother's wife a child to carry on the name of the deceased and inherit his land and goods. He refused this obligation by practicing a form of birth control. His goal was to prevent his brother from having an heir, and his method succeeded as well as if he had murdered the heir. God killed him for his sin.
Did God punish Onan for his refusal to fulfill his brotherly responsibility, for practicing birth control by wasting his seed, or both? The text does not precisely identify for us the "what" that was so "wicked in the Lord's sight." We know Onan sinned by refusing to father a child for his sister-in-law. We know he sinned by enjoying sexual relations with her and appearing to fulfill his duty without actually fulfilling it. Do we know what God thinks of the act of spilling his seed on the ground—taking the act apart from its context? We cannot separate the act from its context in Onan's case.
Given all that we have seen in the Scripture about the purpose of the sexual act and God's view of children, it is entirely reasonable to conclude that Onan's act of birth control was itself an abomination deserving God's wrath. However, this account does not provide an iron-clad answer to the question. A "reasonable" conclusion is not by itself the basis for an absolute rule of conduct.
While the Onan incident is not the airtight anti-birth-control case that some writers make it out to be, it may well indicate God's hatred of such acts, and it is at least consistent with the rest of Scripture which offers absolutely nothing to encourage the practice of birth control.

Dealing With Doubts and Fears
Taking together all the relevant teachings of Scripture we are left with the conclusion that we should let God do our family planning. He will open and close the womb as it serves his inscrutable purposes, and we should accept with joyful thanksgiving all the children with which he chooses to bless us.
Easier said than done! Letting the Lord plan the family size is a frightful prospect for most who come to believe it is the right way to go. It is not easy to overcome years, yes perhaps generations, of conditioning. And how do you answer family members or church friends who asks, "How are you planning to provide for all those children? Where will you get money for college, for goodness sake?" Then there is the matter of your emotional health. How many children can you handle before you crack? Safe to say, most of us are full of doubts and fears as we contemplate letting God plan our families.
To help us here we need to consider yet one more teaching of Scripture: the doctrine of providence. "Providence"—the word sounds sort of austere and vaguely holy; what help does it give us? Noah Webster's 1828 dictionary defines the word in part as "the care and superintendence which God exercises over his creatures....A belief in divine providence is a source of great consolation to good men." Our problem is that we have been so infected with the spirit of the age that we often no longer believe the simple truth: God is in complete control of us, and he is good, so we can rest in his loving care. (Matt. 6:25-34; 7:7-12; Phil. 4:19; Rom. 8:28,32)
If we doubt that God is going to provide for us and our children then we will be afraid. If we doubt that he will give us the grace necessary to adapt to each new child, then we will panic. If we doubt that he will give us the wisdom we need to raise all the children he sends, then we will fear.
We need to learn to see our lives in God's hands and get over our delusions of self-determination and self-sufficiency. We do not provide for our families—God does. We cannot control the future—God does.
We must identify and confess the unbelief that infects our hearts. Let's just tell God the truth: we are afraid to let go of our "control" of the number of children we have because we do not trust him to give us what we need materially and emotionally. We are afraid that he will not take care of us. Isn't that what it boils down to? We simply need to trust God.
Your loving Father would never give you a child without also giving you what you need to raise that child for him. He sees every bird that falls. He knows the number of the hairs on your head. He will care for you and the children he gives you. "A belief in divine providence is a source of great consolation to good men."

Abstinence and Stewardship
Is there any room for the exercise of stewardship and human responsibility in the matter of conception and birth? What about the man who fully embraces the Lord's plan to multiply godly offspring but believes that a measure of spacing between children is best for his wife's long-term capacity to have many children? (He could even point to the apparent design of God to space children through the natural inhibition that nursing is to pregnancy.)
The easy answer is: "No, these folks just have to trust God like everybody else. No exceptions." It is true, of course, that there are no exceptions to the rule that we must trust the Lord in the matter of having children. But could trust and a limited exercise of control be compatible?
We must be very careful that in our desire to return the people of God to holy living we do not become Pharisees. That is, we have to be very sure that we do not add our rules to the Word of God and bind one another's consciences by these man-made rules. God says, "Be fruitful." That we can enjoin on one another. But can we tell a brother with seven children he is sinning because he avoids pregnancy for six months after the latest birth?
Of course, this raises the question of methods of birth control. Let's quickly dismiss them all insofar as they physically alter the body (pill, IUD, sterilization, etc.) or physically block the man's seed and make it ineffective or kill it (condom, diaphragm, foam, etc.).
But what of temporary abstinence from sexual relations? This practice is required (Lev. 18:19) or approved (1 Cor. 7:5) for other reasons in Scripture. Might it be acceptable for a man and woman to agree for a limited time to forego sexual relations during the woman's fertile time of the month? Might that degree of stewardship in the process of conception and birth be compatible with a genuine desire for fruitfulness and joyful acceptance of all the children God sends?
Periodic abstinence is not part of the birth control game which separates the pleasure and procreative potential of sex. It is simply choosing not to have sex at a particular time; and there does not appear to be a biblical requirement for sexual relationships on some schedule. The couple is sovereign over when they engage in the practice (keeping 1 Cor. 7:3-5 in mind).
The key here is the heart attitude of the couple. They must not be avoiding fruitfulness in their marriage (regular abstinence on a long-term basis to avoid pregnancy would be wrong). They must be ready to accept a child as God's gift if he overrules their attempt at timing; they must acknowledge their limited perspective and willingly yield to whatever God does in their lives.
Any attempt to pronounce such abstinence "sin" would appear to be a Pharisaic extreme. (It is not more holy to be stricter than God; that is sin.) Since abstinence is acceptable for other uses, since the couple is not blocking God's design for sex, and since they are yielding to God's planning of their family and are not attempting to disobey his command to be fruitful, then the practice is not prohibited by biblical precept or principle.

Hard Cases
Much more difficult to discuss is the occasional "hard case" wherein, for example, the wife almost dies in birth and is counseled by a doctor against getting pregnant again. Her husband, as an act of protection for his wife and an exercise of dominion over her health and his family's future, chooses to avoid pregnancy. Is this acceptable, or is this sin?
The following principles would seem to apply:
1) God is still in charge, and none of his children will die apart from his will. Doctors have often declared pregnancy life-threatening only to be proven wrong by a normal healthy delivery the next time around. It is not a foolish act to entrust oneself to a loving Father in the face of medical advice to the contrary. (Many physicians consider having more than two or three children foolish and find it easy to recommend avoiding pregnancy.) How much of God's mighty works on our behalf do we never receive because we don't take the "risks" that call forth his special grace?
2) God does have special grace for women in the process of bearing children. "But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love with sanctity with self-restraint" (1 Tim. 2:15). The battle for the man and his wife may be in balancing medical counsel and God's promises.
3) Any measure of "control" the couple seek to exercise should be through abstinence (as above). Measures that alter the body or render the sex act sterile are never appropriate. By submitting to God's plan for sexual relations the couple will be within God's will and will be open to his plan if he should choose to overrule their efforts.
4) The couple must have a humble heart that is ready to acknowledge that any decision of theirs may be wrong and the Lord has a better way. If there is fear in their hearts, they should confess it and ask for grace to trust him and wisdom to know how he wants them to proceed.
There may be some cases where it appears that the commands to be fruitful and to take dominion are hard to reconcile. A man should always be skeptical of his wisdom and his ability to control his or his wife's life; yet he may conclude that he ought to try to avoid pregnancy to protect her. Surely no one else can judge that choice as sin even though there may be hidden sin in his motivation. As long as his outward conduct conforms to the Word of God, the rest of us should assume the best about his motivation and give him support, not condemnation.

Conclusion
It seems to this writer that God's Word is very clear. Christians should not partake of the world's birth-control mindset. They should embrace God's plan for marriage, including the procreative purpose of sex, and joyfully accept as blessings all the children that God sends them. Further, they should develop the long range vision that sees children as the means to advance the kingdom of Christ and defeat his enemies. The more children he gives, the better. They know that God is a loving Father who will provide for every child of his.
Within this larger framework the practice of periodic, temporary abstinence from sexual relationships is an acceptable exercise of godly stewardship in the process of building a family. Such a stewardship of the process of conception must be utilized very cautiously, however. The couple would have to examine themselves closely to be sure they are not resisting God's plan for children nor giving in to a spirit of doubt and fear. They will be judged by the Lord in this, but they should not be judged by others.
The bottom line is this: to the extent that Christians embrace a biblical view of marriage and children the people of God will grow greatly in numbers over the next couple of generations. Meanwhile the lovers of death in our culture will commit collective suicide through birth control and abortion.
As usual, the real question is whether Christians will do things God's way or the world's way.
How about you? Don't you like the thought of your 1,300 great-great grandchildren gathering to honor the memory of the godly patriarch who founded their Christian clan? It seems like that would please the Lord, too!

What Wearing Dresses Looks Like Everyday

2006-05-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

What does "wearing dresses only" look like in real life? Do women really wear "dresses only" and can they really live in dresses only?Here are some views and a closer look at the "dresses only" lives of real women---really living and really working today.
Through the Week in Feminine Dress with Mrs.Chancey
A look at one sister's current dresses
Another family shares pictures of a "week in dresses"(This, from the Ladies Against Feminism site)
Dressing Modest and Feminine is Fun
Getting Used To Dresses
Catherine's Week in Dresses
This page is full of helps and encouragement for you to live a modest, feminine life. Please bookmark this page for future reference as these articles will really help you in your desire to dress in a feminine and modest manner.

The What & Why Of Modesty & Feminine Apparel

2006-05-03T12:33:00.000-08:00

What is Modesty and why is it so important for the Christian woman to understand, dress & behave modestly? Modesty is the voluntary personal responsibility to behave & dress in such a manner as to not purposely draw attention to oneself, to not think proudly of oneself and it's a decision to protect from purposeful or "unintended" enticement in inappropriate ways & places. This is crucial for a Christian woman; first and foremost because we're representatives of the LORD Jesus Christ and secondly, if we're married, we're a reflection of our husband's. It's critical to pay attention to the message and the signal our clothing is sending and to make sure, very sure, that the message is in line with the Word of God. If style & type of clothing is something you're wrestling over in your mind, or if you're feeling convicted about dress, and what in this world should a Christian woman be wearing, then pray, discuss these things with your husband. Many will have ideas and convictions about what *you* should wear, but what matters most is what the LORD is directing and what your husband prefers.
Pray together & examine what you're wearing each day and why!

Discovering God's Plan For Your Life by Rebecca Knox

2006-05-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

God is so good to us! Isn’t He? Jeremiah 29:11-13 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."
Notice in this passage that the Lord says that He has an "expected" end for us. God has a very special plan for each and every single one of us. Unfortunately, most people go through life never knowing what that plan is. They never realize what it is that the Lord intended them to be. Their lives become a twisted, distorted, and perverted remnant of what it was originally meant to be. Inside each and every single human being, God has placed specific, purposeful gifts and talents, but most people never discover what all of those wonderful things are because they do not know who they are in Christ Jesus. Even those of us who know and love the Lord, too often do not take the time or effort to find out who we really are in Him! We walk around with the emotional and spiritual equivalents of filthy rags, begging for quarters when the Lord wants to give us His Kingdom!
How do we find out who we are in Christ and what all of these wonderful gifts and talents are? And how on earth do we learn to use them and implement them into our daily lives?! If we go back to our scripture reference (Jeremiah 29:11-13) we will notice that the Lord says that if we will call upon Him and pray unto Him....that He will hearken unto us, and that if we will seek Him and search for Him with our whole heart.....we will find Him.
That is the secret! God will not turn His back on those who diligently seek after Him and His will for their lives! Are you seaching for God and His will for your life with your whole heart? Or have you gotten to the point that you are so full of yourself that it makes you sick and you want to do something different, but you don’t know what that thing is? If so....I would like to encourage you today. Begin by praying. Lay it all out to God. Confess your sins to Him and ask His forgiveness. Then.....leave it there! Don’t complicate things by, first, asking forgiveness, then picking everything back up again and hanging on to it! 1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." After you have received the Lord’s forgiveness, move forward and begin to take positive steps toward growing in Him. Here are few suggestions to get you started.
#1 Immerse yourself in His Word. As you read pray and ask the Lord to open your spiritual eyes and ears enabling you to see and hear all that He has available to you.
#2 Put on the garment of praise! Praise God continually for all of the wonderful things that He has done for you thus far and for all of the things that He is doing in your life right now and for all of the wonderful things that He has planned for you and is going to do in the future. Rehearse the good things that He has done for you in the past over and over in your heart and mind. Never take what the Lord has done for you in the past for granted and don’t ever forget it either!
#3 Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and teach you the things that you need to know. He will do it! James 1:5 says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God....and it shall be given him."
#4 Get into a good, Bible-believing church where the fruits of the spirit are evident. Those fruits are "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness [kindness], goodness, faith [faithfulness], meekness, and temperance [self-control]." (Galatians 5:22-23)
#5 Ask the Lord to show you what you can do for Him. We are not to sit by idly and do nothing! The Word says that we are to be "...doers of the word, and not hearers only..." It says that if we choose to only hear the Word, and not practice what it teaches, then we are only "deceiving" ourselves. (James 1:22)
#6 Pray...pray...pray! Prayer is your communication line with God. The Lord knows every single thing about you...every word, every thought, every deed, every hurt. There is nothing about you that He doesn’t already know, but, as His child, He still expects you to talk to Him and share with Him all that is on your heart and mind. If you don’t know how to pray....learn! Look up scriptures on prayer in the Bible and study them. Talk to your pastor or read up on the subject. There are many good books available on prayer!
These suggestions are just to get you started and head you in the right direction. My prayer for you today is that the Lord will begin to work a mighty work within your heart at this very moment! I pray that you will begin to seek God with your whole heart and that, as you do, you would become keenly aware of what His special plan for your life is and that you would learn to walk in that plan. There is no need of you going through life lost, hurt, or confused any longer! God has a perfect, magnificant plan for your life! It is time for you to stop wandering around from one thing to another and to start walking in all of the wonderful things that He has planned just for you!

Courtship Stories

2006-05-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

(Note: I do not agree with the touching that they did, but they are good stories, but just remember the Bible says it is good for a man Not to touch a woman and I do not agree with being alone together, unless you are married, b/c there too many temptations of the flesh.)
ylcf.org/courtship-stories/
Dating vs. Courtship - 1 -Nathan Bailey
Dating vs. Courtship - 2 -Nathan Bailey
Dating vs. Courtship - 3 -Nathan Bailey
Dating vs. Courtship - 4 -Nathan Bailey
Dating vs. Courtship - 5/6 -Nathan Bailey
Dating vs. Courtship - 7 -Nathan Bailey
Dating vs. Courtship - 8 -Nathan Bailey

The Dangers of ...Dating -Philip Lancaster

The Courtship Connection: thecourtshipconnection.com
Articles:
christiancourtship.com/html/resources.html
Castleberry Farms Press
pressenter.com/~cbfarmpr/index.html

A Wedding Time Poem

2006-05-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Courtship and then...
A Beautiful Wedding!

A humble cottage 'neath the hill,
Where children laugh and romp
at will –With parents' tender love
and care,How could their lives be
else than fair?Oh, let them all be
glad to-day,For swift the years
will pass away,And when they're
women grown, and men,'Twill
never be the same again.The
wedding bells may sweetly ring
,And glory be on everything;But
when one leaves the dear home nest,
'Tis lonelier for all the rest.And if they
one by one shall leave,How can the
parents help but grieve?All come and
go, and love – but then,'Tis never q
uite the same again.Ah, well! Perhaps
'tis better so, That deeper meanings
we may know.There is no loss, no grief,
no pain,That may not bring its own
sweet gain;And in that blessed land above,
There'll be again one home, one love,
Then one in heart, and one in name,
At last 'twill ever be the same.

-Mrs. Frank A. Breck

God's Boxes

2006-05-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

I have in my hands two boxes,
Which God gave me to hold. He
said, "Put all your sorrows in the black
box, And all your joys in the gold."
I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,
Both my joys and sorrows I stored,But though
the gold became heavier each day,The black
was as light as before.With curiosity, I opened
the black,I wanted to find out why,And I saw,
in the base of the box, a hole,Which my sorrows
had fallen out by.I showed the hole to God, and
mused,"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"
He smiled a gentle smile and said,"My child,
they're all here with me."I asked God, why He
gave me the boxes,Why the gold and the black
with the hole?"My child, the gold is for you to
count your blessings,The black is for you to let go."

Two Shall Become One-Jennifer's Story

2006-05-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Resting in the Lord :Jennifer's Story
Can God find husbands for our daughters?" This question was addressed to us at a home-schooling meeting in which the topic of my newly begun courtship had been brought up. And yet, this is a question for many. What is the biblical standard for our children in finding marriage partners? Is what the world has to offer in the modern dating scene our only choice, or is there a better way? Does God’s Word have anything to say about the issue?
From the time I was very young my parents were praying for my future spouse. Many nights I can remember awakening to the sight of my Father kneeling beside my bed in prayer for me; for my walk with the Lord and God’s leading for my life. These sights make a deep impression on a little girl’s heart. As I grew up, there was an understanding that when it came time for me to date, that the prospective young man had to "interview with my father first". The closer I got to this age the more serious this became. But, is that the extent of interaction a father should have in a situation as this? What was the proper way? Throughout the years the principles of courtship were brought home to our hearts through various different resources. My parents in their godly desire to protect me from the deadly temptations of the world sought for a better way. They did not want me to be subjected to the extreme pressures and snares that dating can bring. In addition to this- does a godly woman who desires to trust God with her very life need to be out "looking" for a spouse or can God providentially, sovereignly direct in bringing her a husband?
I desired this protection from my parents and earnestly longed to keep my heart pure for that one for whom God was preparing me. With this as our desire, my father and I signed a covenant the summer of 1992. My father committing to protect me from unqualified young men and I in response desiring to follow the Lord under His authority in this area of courtship. These convictions had been forming for quite a while and were to continue to deepen.
During the next couple of years outwardly it seemed as though there was not much happening in regard to this area. In fact, when I looked around, the possibilities for a husband seemed to be very few and there were many times that I was tempted to distrust and despair. Yet, I knew that this was the right path and I could trust in my Heavenly Father. Indeed, unknown to us, God was at work in a mighty way. For God was in a marvelous way bringing His perfect will to pass. Miles away in a town in North Carolina there was a young man who also earnestly desired the Lord’s direction in the area of marriage. Steven had tried the modern dating practice, only to find it full of disappointments and vanity. In his heart he yearned for a better way. "There must be a father somewhere desiring to protect his daughter", was the thought of his heart. He prayerfully sought the Lord for direction in his life.
Meanwhile, unknown to Steven, a close friend of his also looking for a spouse had heard of our family through two different sources over a period of a couple of years. This friend decided to write my father to request permission to correspond with me with the intent of marriage. Knowing the importance of such a decision, my father requested that he might get to know this young man better via correspondence. This eventually led to a visit to Texas on His part and several personal meetings. All of this was unknown to me. When Steven found out about it and that his friend was corresponding with a father regarding his daughter, his heart was overjoyed, as he saw indeed there was another way. Throughout the course of the time my parents spent with the would-be courter, it was determined that there was not that fitness between the young man and I that was so essential in a marriage. This young man earnestly desired my best and the Lord’s will. He very graciously understood my parents decision in not allowing us to meet. In fact, while he was in Texas, the Lord was impressing upon his heart the tremendous like-mindedness between our family and Steven. He went home with a burden upon his heart for his friend to inquire unto my father.
I will never forget the night in which my parents told me of the courtship inquiry of this first young man. How my heart was filled with excitement at the thought of the Lord bringing forth someone I had never even met from halfway across the country, to inquire about me. And even though it had not worked out with this particular young man, I knew God could and would work if it was His good pleasure concerning me. I knew there was a possibility of another inquiry from this young man’s friend, but greatly desired my heart to be at rest with the Lord’s will. I waited patiently for His timing and remained patiently sleeping in this area, until He was pleased to awaken me. It was truly my desire to remain as neutral as possible that I might keep my heart only for that one that the Lord had for me.
Steven’s friend did return home and came to him strongly urging him to write to my family. After much prayer and contemplation, he did indeed inquire of my father regarding courtship, trusting his steps unto the Lord. Upon receiving the letter, my parents sent him a response consisting of about 25 questions concerning himself, his beliefs and walk with the Lord. These were questions that my parents and I had sat down and composed due to the seriousness of these steps. They were very serious and weighty questions and I knew that they could possibly scare him away, yet, this was of such great importance that they were altogether necessary. For how can two walk together except they agree? I also could be assured that if this was the one that the Lord had for me, He would give him the diligence to persevere. Again, during this waiting period was a time in which I needed to lay my heart before the Lord, knowing that He was indeed in control. It was an exciting time and yet I wanted to rest in His will.
Steven responded with a 90 minute audio tape, which my parents listened to. I did not listen to it, (although my parents shared his responses with me) due to the desire to remain "unattached", for even with the hearing of a voice the heart can go out. To my great surprise, my parents were very encouraged with his responses. My Father then called Steven and spoke with him by phone for 2 hours. At this point the groundwork was nearly laid and my parents felt as though they knew him. They invited him to come to Texas to personally meet them and if all went well, to meet me. Steven had just taken time off work and did not know if he could come until fall. (This was June!) But, it was left that he would see what he could work out. This also was a time of soul searching for Steven as this was a setting of his feet on a path in a more committed way than a dating scenario. For the next few weeks correspondence was exchanged between my parents and Steven. My mother wrote a long letter to him " from a mother’s heart", she said. In the letter she shared with Steven about me, my likes, dislikes, hobbies, interests and those things that were dear and important to my heart. And so, even though we were not having direct communication we were learning more about each other every day through the correspondence he and my parents were having.
One evening in June, Steven called my parents to say that the way had opened up for him to come two weeks from that evening. We were all delighted and eagerly looked forward to the day. The arrangement was that my parents would pick Steven up at the airport and spend a few hours with him. If all went well, they were planning on bringing him home for dinner which my sister and I were to prepare. In my heart, I still knew that it would have to be the Lord for it to all work out and so I really desired to remain neutral. I knew that my parents desired the very best for me, and wanted to protect me. They knew me better than anyone else and what I needed and desired in a husband, and so I knew I could rest in their wisdom. For had not they diligently, and lovingly raised me, caring for me like no other could?
My mother called from a pay phone from the restaurant where they were. Oh, how excited she was! She said that from the moment Steven got off the plane, they could see our tremendous like-mindness and fitness, and that they were bringing him home. I knew this was not a light step for my parents, whose desire was to protect me, and so their thoughts and decisions held great weight for me. It was at this point that the flood of reality began to set in. I was soon to be meeting a man who might very well be my future husband. I nervously set about finishing preparations for their arrival, stirring the spaghetti and watching timidly out the window...As they drove up, the significance of this was laid upon Steven’s heart as well, for "Could this be his wife that he was about to meet?"
The first thing I noticed as they stepped out of the car, was Steven’s big smile. I timidly and very nervously went out to greet them. My little brother had already run ahead and made himself quite comfortable with the situation. As I walked outside, my father introduced me to Steven and Steven to me. I responded with a quiet "how do you do," and then hastened back to stirring my spaghetti. As I finished dinner preparations, I noticed my little brother had immediately claimed his place upon the lap of my inquirer and was enjoying hearing the story Steven had started to read him.
Throughout the evening, my nervousness began to abate and we had a pleasant time as a family together. We ate dinner, took a family walk, and ended our evening with family worship. The next day (Saturday) was again spent as a family getting to know Steven. But it was on the Lord’s Day, as again we were as a family, that we saw more fully our like-mindedness. As we would each share what was dear to the others' heart, it became very apparent how fitted we were each to the other. Steven was to fly home that Monday. So, on Monday morning my father and Steven had a meeting together. These Monday morning meetings were to become a regular part of our courtship and hold a special place in the hearts of my father and Steven. Before their meeting, though, my father asked me privately if I would like him to give Steven permission to begin courting me. I told him that I felt that that would be fine. Before Steven left that afternoon, we both had about an hour together outside (under the full view of all ), during which we spoke on some areas that were each very important to us. As Steven left that day, we both were overwhelmed and full of wonder. We had fast become friends, and parting was difficult. In my heart I was filled with awe. It was apparent that the Lord was doing something. And yet, I wanted to be sure I was following the "Lord’s" will and not my own.
Steven began writing and calling often after that. In our first conversation, via the telephone, we both agreed that our desire was that our courtship would be based upon the things of the Lord and not of the flesh. We desired our relationship to be spiritual first and not solely emotional attraction. For the feelings often come and go, but the things of the Spirit are lasting and the sure foundation. We knew that our question needed to be, "Could we serve God better together than apart?" And so therefore, much of our conversation centered around the spiritual, and in this way we were able to see the heart of the other.
Those next few months were full of much prayer for direction and leading. Having never been through the courtship process before, we had many questions as we went along as to the "next step", but the Lord faithfully led us. What a blessing it was to be under my parents and to see Steven’s desire to be under them as well. How thankful we were to be able to ask of them and rest in their wisdom and direction. Those courtship days will always be sweet to our memory. Because of the emphasis on the family in the courtship process, my family grew to love Steven as one of them. When the phone would ring, everyone wanted to be the first to talk to Steven before me. :-) It was a blessing to see their delight in my courter. We spent many, many hours on the phone together, and then I would delightfully share with my family (who were eagerly waiting) of our conversation. Steven came for weekend visits frequently, as well.
We all knew the importance of not being unchaperoned, in our desire for a relationship of purity. My family greatly enjoyed serving us during that time, and accommodating our courtship in this way. For example: a picnic on the lawn and a candlelight dinner for two, complete with corsage, boutonniere, and a personal waiter (my father). Those were indeed special times as my whole family, and Steven and I enjoyed God’s working in our lives. For me, it was a very searching and sobering time as well. Entreating the Lord, that "His" will and not mine be done. Throughout the time of courtship, the Lord made it increasingly clear that He had brought us together. He who brought Eve to Adam, had indeed seen fit to place us here together, to walk hand in hand in this earthly pilgrimage.
On November 21, 1994 Steven proposed to me, after consulting with my father. What a blessed time that was, as we confirmed before each other that the Lord had brought us together. Both families were overjoyed. We were married before the Lord and a wonderful company of family and friends on April 28, 1995. It was a wonderful time of rejoicing.
We will soon be celebrating our 1 year anniversary. We can look back on the first year of our marriage as a time of great kindness from our God. What sweet fellowship we have been able to have one with the other. There have been trials, as in every marriage, but, our God is faithful and has abounded to us in a blessed way. Being married to your best friend is a delight and joy. We desire to have our Saviour at the center of our lives. We each know that the other is but an earthly comfort. And we seek to walk with our eyes toward eternity, knowing that one day we will be called to part in this life and meet with our eternal bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our true Beloved and Friend. ~*~
- Jennifer Moline Ervin
Printed here with permission from Jennifer Ervin
Please visit her parent's outstanding website: Sower's Seed Christian Reprints
http://members.aol.com/SowersSeed/

Wedding Vows by S.M. Davis

2006-05-03T09:13:00.000-08:00

If you (man) and you (woman) have freely and deliberately chosen each other as partners
for life, would you please join right hands.

(Man) in taking the woman whom you hold by the right hand to be your lawful and wedded wife, do you pledge to her your complete loyalty, devotion, love, & affection; and do you pledge to give special honor to her as unto the weaker vessel; to dwell with her according to knowledge and understanding; and forsaking all others, to keep only to her lest you sin against God and blaspheme His Holy name?

(Woman) in taking this man who holds you by the right hand, do you pledge to him your complete loyalty, devotion, love, and affection; will you strive to be a crown to his life and acknowledge him gladly as the head of your home, and forsaking all others, to keep only to him lest you sin against God and blaspheme His holy name?

And do you both solemnly swear that you will never seek to end this marriage in a Court of Law by divorce?

We Do!

VOWS:

(Man)
“I, _______________ take thee, ____________________, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better...for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and give myself for you, as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself for it; to protect and praise you.....til by God by death alone do us part.”

(Woman)
“I, _________________, take thee ________________ to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better...for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and submit, as the church is subject unto Christ; to obey and reverence...til God by death alone do us part.”

My Personal Testimony

2006-05-03T07:51:00.000-08:00

When I was about 6, my dad and I visited Southwest Baptist Church. My dad liked it so we joined (note: my dad thought he was saved) and became members. And what was soooo amazing was that my dad, who thought he was aved at the time, made me wear dresses and skirts all the time. I couldn't watch anything unless he approved and it was rated G. I couldn't listen to anything, but Christ-honoring music (no contemporary stuff). And other things as well. And I couldn't understand why we did not do those worldly things that others did. Well, when I was 7, I asked Christ to be my Savior, but was I sincere, I don't think so. So, when I was 13, I was sitting in the auditorium, on a Sunday morning, listening to guest preacher preach about how real hell was. It was either Charles elliot or Ron Comfort who preached it. But all of a sudden, I realized I wasn't for sure if I was even saved. So, during the invitation, I went and talked with Mrs. Kim Hawn, who at that time was my homeschool teacher and her husband was the youth pastor of our youth group at Southwest Baptist Church. And she told me if I was for sure that I was lost and wanted to get saved then to come talk to her on Thursday at school. Well, I was for sure I was headed for hell and I wanted to get saved so I went and talked with Mrs. Kim on Thursday. She showed me Scripture and explained it all to me. And I asked Christ into my heart. Now, a year later after that sadly I can't say I was doing right. I got saved 10-18-01. I left in November 6, 2002 to go up to Michigan to visit b/c my mom's dad was dying of cancer, but instead of just visiting, I ended up living there with my mom. So , while living there I started living wrong and doing things that were wrong, I was not serving God or doing right. I did things that I will be scarred with for the rest of my life. I wasn't really happy there, but I wanted a taste of the world, and let me tell you it doesn't satisfy. It was all in vain. Everything in the world is vanity. While I was gone living with my mom, my dad got saved in October of 2003. Well, while I was gone God really worked on his heart. And he made a way for my dad to come up and get me in June of 2004. When I found out my dad had come to get me I wasn't glad he was there, but God knew what was best for me and I didn't. It took a while for me to change when I got back home to my dad's. I had started wearing pants at my mom's , so when I first got back to my dad's that's what I wore, except for when we went to church. My dad was not gonna force me to wear dresses all the time, he was ging to just let God deal with me and my heart. So, one day I went to the mall ,while wearing pants and a Heartland Baptist Bible College student who was working in the shoe department of a department store(Dillard's) happend to notice my friend who was with me and waved at us and so we stopped to talk to him(I was embarressed because I was wearing pants) . And I knew his wife! After that I stopped wearing them only b/c of embarrasment(this was late of 2004). Well, the next year in 2005 in April, God started doing a work on me. I started asking God to give me the kind of friends He wanted me to have that were godly. And He brought me godly friends who wanted to serve Him andto do right and be pleasing to Him. And then I asked Him to show me the kind of clothes He would want me to wear and wearing dresses have become my conviction and it is based on the Bible, also. And God just started changing me. Now , I have godly standards and morals. I try to do everything by what the Bible says. To act , dress, talk, and do right. To be pleasing to God. And, yes I do have high standards. I will not lower them for anyone and I shouldn't have to.I want nothing, but God's best for my life. I am not big on slits either. If you question this and don't understand, go to the Bible preaching link in the links and listen to S.M Davis's sermon on the Language Of A Christian's Clothing and his other sermons, then you will understand. A woman is not supposed to wear what pertaineth to a man. No pair of pants ifs feminine,there is still a figure showing, and others notice your figure. If it is an abomination for men to wear what pertaineth to women then why would it be different for women. Women ought to really embrace their womanhood and stop trying to be like men. The Bible says we ought to adorn theirselves in modest apparel. Some may say it is a preference, not a conviction, but it really is a conviction as, well. In the Bible it says woman are to wear a long flowing garment. In the Bible pants were for men. When it says girt up your loins, it's talking about when a man has to run or work to tuck his robe in his belt. A man's robe looked nothing like a woman's long flowing garment. It was made specifically for a man, just like pants were. But, women thought that they should be like man and be treated equal and have the same opportunities and basically be a she-man. But in doing so women won't really know true satisfaction or happiness or joy.

Your Body Belongs To God

2006-05-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

1 Corinthians 6:15-20

Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.
Your body isn't yours, but you are responsible for it.
Your body should be used to glorify God.
Your body should be a living sacrifice for God.(Romans 12:1-2

Guidlines for Staying Pure

Keep the Golden Rule(Matthew 7:12)
Be an example in purity(1 Timothy 4:12)
Have a no touch policy.(1 Corinthians 7:1-2)
Don't put yourself in tempting situations.(Romans 13:4)
Glorify God in your body.(1 Corinthians 6:20)

Ladies. Men. Think About This.

2006-05-03T07:01:00.000-08:00

Your Character is the Picture. And Your Appearance is the Frame.

What do you want people to see?
The way you act and dress is a reflection of what is in your heart.
It shows either rebelliousness or godliness and willing to change for Christ and serve Him.

This Paragraph Is For Ladies Only

2006-05-03T06:34:00.000-08:00

G-R-O-O-M
E A B F O
N P E F D
D T D E E
E U I N S
R R E S T
- - --E - N - E - Y
- - - - - -C
- - - - -E
Does it expose?:
Is it too short?
Is any area above my knee exposed at any time?(includes slits)
Does my midriff show when I raise my hands above my head?
Does it reveal any part of my chest?(any cleavage is too much)
Is it revealing to much?(sheer fabric,sleeveless,large arm holes)
Can they see any cleavage when I bend over?
Does my midriff or underwear show when I over or lift my arms?
When I move around can I see my bra?
Does my shirt open where buttoned at my chest?

Does it emphasize?:
Is it too tight? (Spring Valley Test)
If someone else were to look at me, where would their eyes go?
Is this drawing attention to private parts of my body?(writing, gathers or lace crisscross at the bust,or rear)
Is this obviously outer wear or could it be seen as lingerie?
Is this discinctly feminine?(something only a woman would wear)
Is the lace or seam of my bra visible through my shirt?
Does the outline of my underwear show?
Is there sufficient padding in my bra so as to not reveal too much?
Is any portion of my undergarments that are visible?