Handle with Care (Fragile feelings)

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are very fragile beings when it comes to our feelings. We all think and perceive things different, and we all have different ways of acting, and very different ways of interpreting others. Thus, the things that will hurt one, will not affect another, and very possibly the one doing the hurting means nothing toward the first person. Hurt feelings can change the way our responses all the more, and can cause more and more misunderstandings and misinterpretations of each others. I don’t think most of us go around hurting others on purpose, yet tragically we do. The only solution is not foolproof, but would certainly help our interactions with others—handle each other with care.
My father always gives an example of this in his dealings with one of my brothers. One time he was giving reprimand, and at the look of my brother’s face in the middle of my father’s rebuke, he began to another tirade about “wiping that rebellious look off your face”, when the Lord checked him. Our gentle Lord said, “The red face, set lips, and almost glare in his eyes is not rebellion—he is trying to keep from crying.” My father is human and was going on appearances, and yet appearances are deceiving.
Another example would be myself. I remember a time in my life when I was feeling an extreme lack of self confidence. At this time I went to a church camp where I really didn’t know anybody well with my mom, and there were a few people I had known as a kid who tried to talk to me. I was afraid to be real friendly for fear they would try to talk to me more, and that I wouldn’t be able to think of what to say, and would feel dumb, so I was kind of stiff with them. (Now anyone who knows me now would think of that as a joke as some say I never shut up!!) Now those people probably thought I was stuck up and unfriendly, yet I’m not. Feelings made me appear different than I really was.
A more recent example of this is what made me think more on this situation. Person A I see as a fragile person. He was made fun of all through school, was put down as not being able to do anything by his family unwittingly, and just generally feels unattractive, untalented, and as if he can do nothing right. A situation happened where there was something (that I consider to be given entirely too much importance) happened that was very humiliating to this person, and nothing was explained to him why it was happening. It seemed obviously he was being talked about, and he began to be very defensive as is easy for us ALL to do—put up a wall to try to keep ourselves from being hurt more. Well Person B came and tried to talk and explain to Person A what was happening, but Person A was already hurt and defensive, and trying to get away from a hurtful situation basically cut B off and left. I know A didn’t hate B, and didn’t perceive himself as being unkind to B, but his feelings made him act in a way he didn’t mean. I tried to explain to Person B, and find out what the cause of the whole original problem was. Person B was very kind and accommodating, but said Person A needs to hit the altar with that attitude. Granted, Person A should have reacted to the situation different, but feelings were involved. Person B didn’t have the right to say what he did (or if he felt that way, he shouldn’t have said that to me—he should have talked to the Lord about it). However, feelings probably played a role in his actions also, as he hadn’t meant to hurt in the beginning and he probably found Person A’s reaction hurtful, and was taking it at face value. We are so fragile….
I think we need to not be sure we KNOW from other’s actions—we need to err on the side of graciousness and think they might not have meant it that way. We need to remember some of our own thought processes and reactions to things—we excuse ourselves, because we do know why we act the way we do; however, how often do we make excuses for the other fellow that we don’t know about? Problems snowball from simple issues like these. The Bible says, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” There is places in the Bible where it says to make our wrongs right, but here it says if thy brother has “ought against thee”, you go start the reconciliation. Maybe it is to help with situations like this where your brother is more fragile than yourself? Instead of jumping to conclusions from other’s actions, lets handle each other with care!

How do you think you should dress for church?

How do you think you should dress for church? I would be interested in feedback on this.
I belong to the conservative-holiness movement, and of course. the ladies wear dresses or skirts all the time. We might wear our jean or denim skirts at home, and that is our casual, but you don't wear them Sunday morning. Those who don't belong to the conservative crowd might consider wearing a jean skirt dressing up as they wear pants the rest of the time, and might dress the way we do for Sunday church for a wedding or a very formal occasion. I know some people think it is showing respect for God to dress your best "for Him" on Sunday or for going to church period. Is this necessary to you?
First of all, I am "agin" it--this dressing up!!! For one thing, I feel if you are trying to get folk in that are not holiness-based, they are bound to feel uncomfortable with their wardrobe. We can say, " Oh! come in your jeans--we dont care!"--and we dont!!--but would you be comfortable in our setting if you were that outsider coming in? I dont quite think so. I know some outside people have thought that the church folk were trying to outdress each other. Belonging to the movement my self, I know it is not true most of time, but I can see how it could look that way.
My second bone of contention with it is, I am a hillbilly at heart, and I am not comfortable in dress clothes, and I dread Sundays because of it! I feel I could worship God more freely if I was in more comfortable clothes.
I think we need to be clean and neat--by all means--but why must we be so formal??? I am not talking sloppy. I hate sloppy churches too, but I like a well-run but somewhat informal church where the atmosphere is comfortable. I can worship and feel more free in that kind of a church---please tell me if you know one of those kind around still that is also conservative and spiritual!! I just think this can apply to our church clothes too--clean and neat, informal but not sloppy. I dont think that is disrespectful to God in the slightest. If I am wrong, give me the Scripture, but I am of the opinion that I can "serve him in sincerity and in truth" without my fancy duds!

Holiness Dress Standards? Are they necessary?

I was raised in a conservative, holiness church. What does this entail? Well, conservative holiness churches have pretty much the same doctrine as that of the Methodists, Nazarenes, and the Wesleyans, but they still keep the dress standards that the previous denominations have let go by the wayside. They believe in salvation from your sins through the blood of Jesus Christ, and a second work of grace that gets rid of the carnal nature. However, the standards are what I want to talk about today.
In our churches, the woman wear dresses, have long hair and wear it up, don't wear jewelry--or even make-up normally, and men keep their hair cut, don't wear shorts, etc... Most holiness people of the past, and some today, do not watch TV or videos. Then they get into a lot of other things depending on the church you go to, and of what they call worldly or not. Some things are just that--"things". I have had a lot of issues in a lot of things preached over the pulpit in holiness churches as sin, when a lot of it is not in the Bible. Sometimes there are principles there, or there are common sense reasons why we do some things, but it is not Biblical. Let me use an example, I don’t wear short sleeves. Is it a sin to wear short sleeves? Probably not. I use the elbow as a limit for me. I could wear my sleeves above the elbow, and be modest as the Bible tells us to be (and be a Christian still), but I have a limit that I keep for myself. I figure if I get my sleeve above the elbow, maybe I would see another shirt that was a wee bit shorter in the sleeve area, so what is the difference? I would be still modest--but would it end there? Or maybe would someone else more vulnerable and weak than I see that I wore short sleeves, and not be able to keep the limit on how short of sleeve that I kept? Get real, folks, there is a point when the sleeve is too short--or sleeveless-- and you can see in, and it is not longer modest. Are short sleeves wrong? NO--it is my limit, and I am not imposing it on anyone. This is just an example of a commonsense reason why we do some things in the holiness movement. However, I had chafed at some of these things in the past, and some things I have to admit I have just plain thought was ridiculous with no commonsense reason behind it--and refused to do it. Sometimes I have wondered, was much of it necessary?
Interesting question--is standards necessary? There is some of them that may not be necessary to salvation contrary to what a lot of my holiness brothers and sisters think, but maybe they are important in another way. My mom used to say, "Some things we do just because we want to show God we are willing to do extra for Him, just to be sure we are doing what He wants, and to let Him know we love Him." It is a comment that bears exploiting in each of our lives. Those "things" may be different in all of our lives--the things that God either tells us to do, or what we feel we should do extra for Him. Are we willing to do extra for Him? That is what the important question is.
Well this brings me to the next part of my thoughts--our church split. Our church voted out the pastor that had been there the past 4 years. He was a good man with a lovely family. He was very talented in speaking and singing along with his wife. However, he had many different ideas and standards that don’t fit with the holiness crowd. Many of the holiness standards had gone by the wayside in his own family. Were they things against the Bible? No. I have to admit though, I do think that maybe the pastor's family should hold a higher standard than the people as they are an example. The people will always take what they do and go further. Well in the matter of standards in our church, I think that was true. We had no holiness standards for the platform of our church, or people holding offices, even though the holiness-dress guidelines should have been kept as they were in the manual. Although this was definitely a problem, it was by no means the only problem; however, that is all I am going to mention in this post as I am talking about standards. Those who voted him out were the conservative ones that held old-fashioned standards. Even some of those who voted for him to stay were conservative holiness, but some of them just hated to vote against the pastor, but were unhappy with the way the church was going. Well to make a long story short, the ones that tended toward liberalism left, the conservative folk stayed. This brings me to the crux of my thoughts.

I seen a distinct difference in the two groups—the ones that stayed and those that left. Some of those that left appeared to show markedly bad attitudes, and spread all over their version of what happened—even over the internet where unsaved folks could see. They went around and talked to our Sunday school kids whose parents don’t come—even to at least 2 parents of those children. They were definitely trying to hinder and backstab those that stayed. There was horrible stuff said about the conservative crowd who still sit in the pews of that church. However, in the lives of those folk that were so hurt, I seen none of this. They did not defend themselves on the internet, they didn’t go around spreading gossip about those that left, and I seen several of them weep for the pastor that they couldn’t agree with, and for those that left. I seen a marked difference in behavior, and I came to conclusion that maybe the standards some holiness people hold are more important for one reason more than any reason that I have ever heard preached or taught. Maybe with some of them it is a sign that that person is willing to go the extra mile for God. Could it be the sign of a truly submissive heart? And could it be with some, that that one is truly in love with Jesus?

Now don’t get me wrong—I have also seen some folk with standards to the T, and yet they are as hypocritical as they come. Your spiritual relationship with God does not come with your standards, but I think mayhap sometimes your standards come from that spiritual relationship, and out of a heartfelt, deep desire to do wholly and fully as He wants, even to the extent of doing more than He wants just to be sure He is happy with you.

I also am not saying that you have to hold all our standards to be a Christian—just do what He tells you to do, and maybe it wouldn’t hurt to do something more….! And if you feel comfortable being more liberal than the holiness crowd, just don't criticize--maybe some just have a pure and holy desire to please God.

Are you willing to do extra for God?

President without a country

I recieved this in a email, and although Pat Boone is not my favorite person, I found him to make some very valid and disturbing points here. Obama Sounds Like President Without a Country

Monday, June 8, 2009 1:15 PM By: Pat Boone Article Font Size

“We’re no longer a Christian nation.” — Barack Obama, June 2007 “America has been arrogant.” — President Barack Obama “After 9/11, America didn’t always live up to her ideals” — President Barack Obama “You might say that America is a Muslim nation.” — President Barack Obama, Egypt 2009 Thinking about these and other statements from the man who wears the title of president, I keep wondering what country he believes he’s president of? In one of my very favorite stories, Edward Everett Hale’s “The Man without a Country,” young Army lieutenant Philip Nolan stands condemned for treason during the Revolutionary War, having come under the influence of Aaron Burr. When the judge asks whether he wants to say anything before sentencing, Nolan exclaims defiantly, “Damn the United States! I wish I might never hear of the United States again!” Stunned silence settles like a pall over the courtroom. After a long pause, the judge sternly tells the angry lieutenant: “You have just pronounced your own sentence. You will never hear of the United States again. I sentence you to spend the rest of your life at sea, on one or another of this country’s naval vessels — under strict orders that no one will ever speak to you again about the country you have just cursed.” And so it was. Nolan was taken away and spent the next 40 years at sea, never hearing anything but an occasional slip of the tongue about America. The last few pages of the story, recounting Nolan’s dying hours in his small stateroom — now turned into a shrine to the country he foreswore — never fail to bring me to tears. And I find my own love for this dream, this miracle called America, refreshed and renewed. I know how blessed and unique we are. But reading and hearing the audacious, shocking statements of the man who recently was elected our president — a young black man living the impossible dream of millions of young Americans, past and present, black and white — I want to ask him: “Just what country do you think you’re president of?” You surely can’t be referring to the United States of America, can you? America is emphatically a Christian nation and has been from its inception! Seventy percent of its citizens identify themselves as Christian. Christians framed, wrote, and ratified the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution. It’s because this was, and is, a nation built on and guided by Judeo-Christian biblical principles that you, sir, have had the inestimable privilege of being elected president. You studied law at Harvard, didn’t you, sir? You taught constitutional law in Chicago? Did you never read the statement of John Jay, the first chief justice of the Supreme Court and an author of the landmark Federalist Papers, “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers — and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation — to select and prefer Christians for their rulers”? In your studies, you surely must have read the decision of the Supreme Court in 1892: “Our lives and our institutions must necessarily be based upon and embody the teachings of the Redeemer of mankind. It is impossible that it should be otherwise; and in this sense and to this extent our civilization and our institutions are emphatically Christian.” Did your professors have you skip over all the high court decisions right up till the mid-1900s that echoed and reinforced these views and intentions? Did you pick up the history of American jurisprudence only in 1947, when for the first time a phrase coined by Thomas Jefferson about a “wall of separation between church and state” was used to deny some specific religious expression — contrary to Jefferson’s intent with that statement? Or, wait a minute, were your ideas about America’s Christianity formed during the 20 years you were a member of the Trinity United Church of Christ under your pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright? Is that where you got the idea that “America is no longer a Christian nation”? Is this where you, even as you came to call yourself a Christian, formed the belief that “America has been arrogant”? Even if that’s the understandable explanation of your damning of your country and accusing the whole nation (not just a few military officials trying their best to keep more Americans from being murdered by jihadists) of “not always living up to her ideals”, how did you come up with the ridiculous, alarming notion that we might be “considered a Muslim nation”? Is it because about 2 million Muslims live here, trying to be good Americans? Out of a current population of more than 300 million, 70 percent of whom are Christians? Does that make us, by any rational definition, a “Muslim nation”? Why are we not, then, a “Chinese nation”? A “Korean nation”? Even a “Vietnamese nation”? There are even more of these distinct groups in America than Muslims. And if the distinction you’re trying to make is a religious one, why is America not “a Jewish nation”? There’s actually a case to be made for the latter, because our Constitution — and the success of our Revolution and founding — owe a deep debt to our Jewish brothers. Have you stopped to think what an actual Muslim America would be like? Have you ever really spent much time in Iran? Even in Egypt?? You, having been instructed in Islam as a kid at a Muslim school in Indonesia and saying you still love the call to evening prayers, can surely picture our nation founded on the Koran, not the Judeo-Christian Bible, and living under Sharia law. Can’t you? You do recall Muhammad’s directives [Surah 9:5,73] to “break the cross” and “kill the infidel”? It seems increasingly and painfully obvious that you are more influenced by your upbringing and questionable education than most suspected. If you consider yourself the president of a people who are “no longer Christian,” who have “failed to live up to our ideals,” who “have been arrogant,” and who might even be “considered Muslim” — you are president of a country most Americans don’t recognize. Could it be you are a president without a country? © 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.

Va wedding

We went to Va last weekend for one of Shawn's niece's wedding. We stayed with another niece, and Shawn enjoyed time with his great nieces. The picture above is of 4 of them with Daniel, Jada, Nya, Gia, and Taila. We had an enjoyable time with them.






Here is Brienne, his oldest great-niece. We spent alot of time with her when she was a baby as her mother lived in this area during that time.








And here is Cami, his youngest great niece.













And here is the niece, Michelle, that we stayed with along with his sister, Donna, who traveled with us. Michelle is in the pink.




Here is Scott, Shawn's nephew by marriage. A terrific guy that we consider a great bonus to the family--although this is not a great picture of him!! He was not sleeping, but looking down at the little girls when I caught this picture.








One last picture--Little Nya in the wedding. She is so precious.
And now, we are home and finally recovered from traveling, and being away from home. I am afraid we are homebodies, and love being home entirely too much!!

Forgiving and forgetting

"To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it." -Confucius

I read this the other day, and it struck a chord with me. How many times do we hold unto our hurt when we are wronged. We say we forgive, but we don't let it go. We often consciously remember and remember.
I once taught a teen class. We talked about temptation. It is not a sin to be tempted, but it can become a sin if you continue to dwell on it. If you continue to think about it being a temptation, and how hard it is that you are tempted, eventually you may give into it and commit sin. A young couple are sitting on a couch making out, and going a little to far. They feel they just cannot control themselves--sexual passions are just too high! ...and then the girl's father walks in!! They immediately make a conscious effort to control themselves!! We can control a lot more things than we think we can. We can make a conscious effort to put things that tempt us out of our mind--refuse to even think about how hard the temptation is and how you must not give into it---REFUSE TO EVEN THINK ABOUT IT. It does work.
The same principle can work with hurts too. First of all, it is Biblical.Ephesians 4:32 "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." How does he forgive us? He throws our sins that we have committed against Him in the sea of forgetfulness.(Jeremiah 31:34, "...for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.") That is how he forgave us, and how we are to forgive others. Paul says in Philippians 3:13,14, "I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward." (Amplified Version) Those hurtful things that were done to you that you say you have forgiven, have you made a conscious effort to forget? Yes, things will happen that will make it well up, and trigger your memories, and it can hurt, but it is then time to push it away again--again forgetting the things that are behind. Technically, yes, you remember it, but in a larger sense, you have forgotten it, because you made a choice too. This is true forgiveness, and in this brand of forgiveness, the wrong can become nothing!

Lessons from Jonah!

The storm raged, the ship pitched, and then voices intruded on Jonah's troubled dreams. "Sir! Sir! Wake up--we are all going to die!! How can you sleep?" Sleep fled as Jonah sat up and looked into the rough, unshaven faces above him. Dark rings encircled bloodshot eyes, and instantly he knew these men had been hard at work for sometime to save this wildly dipping ship that he was traveling on. How had he slept through this? He knew it had to be sheer emotional exhaustion. "What- what is it that I can do to help?" He asked hesitantly. " Pray to your God that He will save us. This storm has come out of nowhere!! There were no warning signs in the sky, and we have fought several hours to save this ship, man", they shouted above the noise of the tumult of the sky overhead, " We have all been praying, and our gods have not seen fit to save us. We must try your god too, for now the ship is creaking dangerously. If your god does not answer either, we must cast lots to see who it is that has sinned against his god, and why this evil has come against us!" Jonah ran a hand through his tousled hair, and then rubbed his long, Jewish nose as worry lines creased his forehead. He did indeed know why this evil had caused these men to be in danger. God had asked him to go to Nineveh and preach repentance of sin to the Assyrians there, and he, Jonah, known prophet of God, was fleeing from God. What a joke! A glimmer of a smile just barely tipped the corners of his lips--as if he could run from God!! Yet nearly as soon as the smile appeared, anger replaced it. Why would God ask him to go help these cruel enemies of his people! In the past there had been people God had just destroyed--why couldn't he do this now? Instead, He wanted Jonah to be untrue to his people, and go and preach repentance to these ungodly people who could very well put Jonah to death for preaching against their sins. At the very least, they would laugh at him-a well-respected man in his own nation. Then also, if by chance they repented under his preaching, he knew Jehovah God would show mercy on them. Jonah could not be an accessory to helping the Assyrians. Yet now God was punishing those around him for his disobedience. In that moment, Jonah knew in his heart of hearts he could not let these sailors be punished for his sins, and he knew at this point death was certain, so he made a decision. "Alas, my fellows, I must tell you a truth," he began, " I am the cause of this storm. I serve the one true and living God, Jehovah. He has called me to go on a mission that I do not want to go and do, so I have tried to flee. Yet He has found me here." Jonah swallowed a lump in his throat, and went on bravely. " You must get me off your ship and the storm will stop. Throw me overboard that you might not suffer because of my sin." Good men they were, and though they believed him, they could not bring themselves at first to throw this honest man over into the rampage of the storm's fury. However, when all else failed, there was naught one thing to do--toss Jonah, prophet of God, into the waves.

Jonah had thought when he was telling the men his story, he would rather die than go to Nineveh, but as the salty water splashed into his nostrils, and filled his throat, he was filled with fear. He wanted to live, yet was helpless. Yes, indeed the storm stopped immediately, but Jonah had not the slightest idea of how to swim, and he began to sink. In what he thought to be his last moments on this earth, as he was choking and feeling his life ebbing away, he felt a tremendous suction, as if he was being drawn into something. He could not get his eyes open in the water, so thought indeed it must be death! He felt himself swished unto a rough surface, very warm, and then felt the water ebbing away under his feet. The surface under him flexed, and suddenly he was another slippery journey, sliding down, down to a place that was unknown to Jonah. When the flexing motion stopped, and Jonah came to the end of his journey, he found himself in a hot, slimy place. The smell was atrocious. It smelled of perhaps decaying fish, and other unidentifiable substances. It took awhile for Jonah to come to his senses, and realize he was not dead. He was not even in hell. He opened his eyes and strained to see, but all he could see was pitch-black darkness . There was not a glimmer of light in sight. Noises were plentiful in this place--sort of like gurgling, swishing noises. He finally realized he must have been swallowed by a fish of some sort. Jonah felt death was even yet certain.

Three days he sat in the belly of that fish. The fish was alive and swam into the depths of the sea, yet Jonah, also alive, sat in utter darkness knowing death was eminent. There was no one to talk to, and it was horribly uncomfortable. The heat was almost unbearable, and the stench permeated every pore of his body. Bits broken down seaweed and fish clung to him, and every so often stomach acid would spray through the stomach chamber. It burnt Jonah's skin. Jonah felt, oh so alone. There was no-one that knew Jonah was even alive in the depths of the earth, so noone would try to help him. There was no chance noone could see him or even hear him. How could he have been reduced to such a sorry state?

Yet in his very aloneness, and the very depths of his despair, he realized he could be heard. He began to cry out to God. He began to repent and ask forgiveness. He began to worship God in that rank and desolate place. I quote Jonah's words, "When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple." The same God that he could not run from, also found him here!! He was not alone!
The Bible says, "And the LORD spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land."
Jonah had to have been quite a sight--his skin probably discolored, clothing in tatters(if indeed any were left), and his odor had to have been quite atrocious. I am sure it would have probably taken time for the smell to wear off, and his skin probably never recovered. But his soul was rejuvenated! He had been heard! He had come out of the most dire circumstances alive, and he was ready to make some changes in his life--he was ready to be obedient!
Of course, we do see in the life of Jonah that in the midst of his triumphants, he still had things to learn. Yet, we also a patient God who saw worth in Jonah, and kept working with him. Does this remind you of anyone?
We can learn so much from Jonah. We also get things set in our head, and get bull-headed. God continues to call us and work with us. And when we are in the lowest, darkest areas of our life, he still finds us, and he HEARS us. We each time might come out with some battle-scars, but we can also be more effective for God. Remember, He knows where you are, and he HEARS you!

Old methods of church growth outdated???

I have heard alot lately about how the times are changing, and if we are going to get people into the church, we must change too. It has been said how we must not let church traditions get in the way of growth. To an extent, I do agree with this, and it certainly sounds good on the surface.

Those who know me, know that I am a conservative Christian with dress standards. Let me make this plain right now, my salvation is not in my dress standards. You will not make it to Heaven by dressing different, or just changing the way you live. I believe in a heart religon--between God and you. You will make it to Heaven by asking Him for forgiveness for the things you have done wrong, and obeying him from there on--obeying what He tells you to do. Obedience to God is the key to the secret of Heaven's entrance.

In holiness churches, we also do somethings perhaps in someways different from more liberal churches. Somethings we begin to feel like somethings have to be or God cannot be there. In this context, I would agree with my first paragraph that we shouldnt let church tradition get in the way of growth. If God is in certain types of change, I am totally for it. So in our churches too, obedience to God is the key to growth.

Someone said we remember the great movings of God in the yesteryear, and we hear of them, and try to use the same methods as they used to make our churches grow today, and it doesnt work. It was said that we live in a new age, and must use new methods that appeal to people of today. Here is where I have my problem: the major reason for the great movings of God in the past, the major source of the great revivals, and major cause of church growth was PRAYER. I am sorry, friends, it is not outdated, and it STILL WORKS!! Your church may grow without it, but it will not grow spiritually. You can get people in with entertaining singing, extra fellowships and parties, maybe some video, etc..., but these things do not build spirituality. Prayer and obedience make powerful tools for the growth of a spiritual church.

If only people would learn to spend more time in prayer, our people would be more spiritual. As you grow more spiritual, you become more like God, and will "love everybody". People respond to love. The presence of God would reign in our services, and the true presence of God will never drive anyone away!! Love and His presence will bring the lost in.

What happened to the extra prayer meetings where people just prayed? What happened to those sweet times of prayer right in service where we were not in a hurry to get up?

Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!

Thy wings shall my petition bear

To Him whose truth and faithfulness

Engage the waiting soul to bless.

And since He bids me seek His face,

Believe His Word and trust His grace,

I’ll cast on Him my every care,

And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!

Prayer will NEVER BE OUTDATED. It fits perfectly with the times.

Hey everyone!! Long time, no write!! Been so busy....

The kids are working hard to finish school. That takes alot of time. We have been spending alot of time working on sign language too as there is a lady in nursing home we visit who is deaf. The kids have fell in love with her, and want to be able to talk to her more. Education is a busy business!!
In March, Daniel was in the hospital with pneumonia for a few days.

Rebekah went to a Gaither Vocal Band concert last night. She got a ticket for her birthday, and was totally thrilled with it. She throughly enjoyed herself, and here is few pictures of her with singers she likes.

Here is Rebekah and Michael English--the one that she was the most excited about seeing.

Here is Rebekah and my brother, Matthew with David Phelps.

....and with Wes Hampton.

Well am not in the mood to digress at this moment--just letting all know we are in the land of the living, and sharing the pics! Guess I will catch up on everyone else's blogs at this moment!! Adios!!

Making Pancakes

I got this in an email today and thought it was so good I would share it!


Making Pancakes
Six year-old Brandon decided one Saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor.
He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving a floury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten.
Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad.
He didn't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove and he didn't know how the stove worked!. Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor.
Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.
And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon 's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him..
Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process!
That's how God deals with us.. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend, or we can't stand our job, or our health goes sour.
Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him.
But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying to "make pancakes" for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried...

Last night

We had a nice evening last night. First of all, I have to admit--I didnt go to church, but that is not what made the evening nice!! I have arthritis in my joints. My elbows were hurting, and told hubby that I was dreading going out in the rainy weather, because I knew I would hurt all over then. He suggested I stay home. Well we had my brother and his wife, and a new friend we have over. I had calzones to eat, and had made pie the day before too. My brother who said he would only stay til 9, ended up staying til 10, and Mark was here til 12 something. It was very enjoyable for Shawn and I.
To be honest, we hardly ever have anyone over anymore except for family. When I went to the church I went to for 17 or 18 years, I used to have people over at least 2 or 3 times a week. Then we left, and have went from church to church, and have not been comfortable having alot of people over. The one pastor we had at the one church we attended became a good friend, and came over alot. We missed him alot when he moved away. This is so cool having a friend our age again. We can talk about anything, and can even have comfortable moments of silence! (And my kids like this guy even, and arent like "oh no" when he is coming over.)
We hit on some different topics that I would like to explore in this blog some more sometime. Well that is it for now. Later folks!!

Head Lice!!! AAAAA!!!

We were exposed to head lice, and Rebekah got them--and what a battle it has been!! What is sad is that the poor child was itching, and probably had them for a week before I found them. I didnt know what I was looking for, and she has always had a problem with dandruff....but I finally seen them on a Saturday night about 11:30 , so off Shawn went to Walmart! That night we were up til 4:00 treating them, and treating my head as a safety precaution (however, we have never found any on my head, and my mom searched me good!), and then on Sunday, I worked the most I ever had on a Sunday in my life washing bedding and chair covers, etc.... I even completely kept her home for a week so she wouldnt drop a egg I missed on someone else!--and then she treated her head again. We went about a week or so, and guess what??? I found a few nits on her head Friday night again!! Same rigamarole again except I did let her go to church this time as there wasnt many, and as I understand it several people in the church have been getting the nasty things!! Hopefully we got it all this time, as there wasnt many this time, and I found no visible lice.
Any problem I have, I usually research good so I know what I am dealing with. I did the same with head lice, so I want to impart a few facts. Head lice do not like oily, dirty heads--they like clean heads--it easier for them to hang on to the hair. I think where the rumour must have started is when alot of time poor people had them, and the problem was not having the money to treat them, or ignorance. Sorry--lice do not look at your pocketbook before they make a home in your hair!! Viable nits are usually brown, and the white or clear ones are empty shells where the louse has hatched and left. Lice do not jump from head to head, they crawl at the speed of about 9 inches a minute. The major thing you can do to get rid of lice is to comb and comb and comb to get the nits out. The expensive shampoos you buy kill lice but not the eggs! The eggs live for about 2-3 weeks, and that is why anywhere that your head is going to be near needs to be put under heat for about 20-30 minutes. Heat kills lice--water does not. That is why we run coats, bedding, hair things, etc... through the dryer. (I think that maybe where I went wrong--I forgot to do the coats and hats last time!!) It is possible that the mayonaise treatment and kerosene(which can be dangerous) might kill lice, but if you dont get the eggs out you will get them again!! I have heard so many things my whole life about lice and alot was not true, so I thought I would impart my knowledge to you!! lol!!
Wishing you good luck in your life that you will not get them!!

Mercy

Tonight I watched a girl sign the song, “The Mercy Seat”. The sign she made for mercy was rolling both hands over and over. It struck me as so appropriate when being compared to God’s mercy---it extends to us over and over as we are so needing of it. It also reminded me of a Bible story.

The church leaders found her in the very act of adultery. Probably she was of such character, that they knew she would be an easy target. What an embarrassing position to be caught in by the holier than-thou-church leaders of the day—possibly unclothed and with someone that was indeed not her husband! She tried to pass it off like she didn’t care with them, yet she did. She really did want to be accepted, but her lot in life had been hard, she had fallen on hard times, and somehow had found herself trapped in a lifestyle that no one would personally desire. Now at this stage in her life, she knew even if she changed, no one would forget, no one would ever again think good of her, so why try to change? Yet in her inmost soul, she felt her dirtiness and shame as they dragged her along. What was the purpose of this intrusion on her life? If they had been going to put her to death as the law demanded, why had they not done it years before? Perhaps, because some of them in the dark of night had also visited her? She was not worried of death, but felt a sense of foreboding, and knew they would not drag her out in the daylight for anything good. She looked up and realized she was at the door of the temple—why, oh, why, would they bring her to such a holy place? She had not been near the doors since she was very young. This was not good.
In though the doors, and up toward the front where a young man stood teaching. Her cheeks burned at being here in her condition, and grabbed at her hastily put on robes, arranging them to cover her more thoroughly as she heard the voice of one of her captors speak,
"Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. In his teachings, Moses ordered us to stone women like this to death. What do you say?"
Fear struck her heart then. So they were trying to put her to death! Yet, with the fear, came anger. She knew the man that spoke, she knew him intimately, and how was it that the law would only judge her? It was so unfair! What would this supposed Teacher say? Bravely, she lifted her eyes as the man turned toward her. His eyes fastened on hers. She had never seen such eyes. She knew men, and she knew their leering looks, their admiring looks, their lustful looks, but this woman had never had someone look at her like this. She began to tremble violently—perhaps she should look down--yet she could not!! Was he reading her heart? Could he see her soul? Yet, it almost seemed that there was compassion and love in that intense gaze.
When she felt as if she could bear his searching eyes no longer, he turned without looking at her captors, and knelt in the dirt and began to write with his finger. The temple was very quiet as the men around her began to jostle forward. She was moved along with them with the viselike grip that one had on her arm. In spite of herself, she craned her neck forward that she might see too. He was writing the Ten Commandments in the dirt! When the church leaders realized what he was writing, a clamor of voices rose again in the air,
“Answer us, Master. We know these commandments, and we know what was inscribed on the tablets, but do you agree with what Moses said we were to do about the violation of the 7th commandment?”
Then he looked up, and the room immediately grew quiet as he looked at each of them face by face. When he at last spoke, it was a firm, gentle, but an oh-so-knowing voice.
"He, who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." And he knelt and continued writing on the ground.
The words were like a bombshell in the room. She realized they were testing this man in someway that she did not understand, and that it had never really been about her personally, yet even she knew how ungodly they were underneath their façade. Before them were the commandments written by God originally, and not a man among them was completely innocent of that list. There was rustling as they began to turn and the leave the temple with heads down, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest. There was no good answer with which to defend themselves. Finally, they were all gone, and all that was left in the room, was the Master and the woman.
She knew of her own sins. She knew this man was really holy, quite unlike the self-proclaimed, holy men that had just left the room. What would he do with her? Tears began to stream down her cheeks.
"Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
She looked up. He was looking at her with kind, gentle questioning eyes. Who was he? She could tell in those eyes that somehow He knew her, and yet he loved her! How could this be?! Her voice cracked as she spoke,
“No man, Lord.”
Somehow she was not frightened to look in His face anymore. A hint of a smile touched His lips as He spoke,
“Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more.”
How could it be? He didn’t care what she had done in her life. He did not condemn her. He was forgiving her—he only cared that she sinned no more!! The woman knew in her heart of hearts that she had looked into the face of God in the moment, and she knew He was nothing like she had ever imagined him to be in the past. She knew Mercy. Maybe, just maybe, she could be different.

When I think of mercy, I think of this story, and know it to be true. He does not care about all the awful sins that you and I have committed, He, the truly pure and sinless One, cares only that we quit sinning. Each time we mess up, we bring it to Him, and find forgiveness and love, and here Him say,
“Neither will I condemn thee. Go, and now sin no more.”
Mercy, over and over, again. What a lovely word. Mercy.

Pictures!!

I was looking through my mom's pictures and found these pictures of Daniel hard at work helping Papa, and thought I would share them!

And here is a picture of Rebekah reading on Grandma and Grandpa's porch. Dont know how I missed seeing these before, but I liked them.

Lack of discipline...

Lack of discipline....the thought has wandering about my head since last night when I blogged.
You know I used to be very emphatic about regular church attendance. I felt very strongly that a church will not grow if the people are not there. I believed staunchly that the verse about forsaking not the assembling of yourselves together, meant you were to be in church when the doors were open. We planned on our vacations so we wouldnt miss church. Whether or not the verse means that you have to be in every revival service, every rally, concert, prayer meeting or not can be controversial, but I think the discipline of making yourself go was good. And granted, I always usually came out feeling better.
When I had to leave the church I went to for years that I dearly loved, we went to a very conservative church where the preacher preached on everything imaginable-or should I say against everything imaginable!! Then they had this evangelist come for a revival service--and I was there every night until after the last Friday night. He screamed redfaced, wiped extreme sweat, and generously spit over us--and yes, he preached against things worse than our pastor did. Church members went up to the altar seeking for a second work, then were back a few nights later, not even sure if they were saved in the end. That night they had my dear husband in tears not even sure anymore if he was saved--in mass confusion. The next time I seen our pastor, I told him I would not come back to that revival as God is NOT the author of confusion.(Which by the way he took very graciously like the good and gentle man that he was.) Not long after, we left the church, and have wandered about aimlessly since, not knowing where we belong.
Since this experience, I began to study my Bible more feeling that not everything preached over that pulpit is annointed, albeit there is some fine men preaching some of this nonsense. I began to question things I had heard all my life--whether it was Biblical. Frankly, although I will keep to most things I have been taught all my life because I feel it makes sense, I found alot of stuff that I took for granted was black and white, is NOT Biblical. Although I probably pray more, and have studied my Bible more than I did in the past, I still feel I lost something---discipline. When you feel like you belong nowhere, you dont feel very accountable. I am not one of those people that you can count on to be there every service. Thus, I lost an area of discipline.
I could go on and on in this vein telling of areas where I have lost the d word in my life, but I just want to say, it is so easy when you let on area go, to let more target areas in your life also go by the wayside. The more "freedom" you feel, the more you let up on. It is so easy to give up on more and more things, and how easy it could be at some points to just give up serving God, and lose your soul. This is something I never want to do.

In the warfare that is raging

For the truth and for the right,

When the conflict, fierce, is raging

With the powers of the night,God needs people brave and true:

May He then depend on you?

Update on our lives

Wow! I have not been on here in a long time. I have been so busy with the kids and the house. I was given some new bedroom furniture, so one long project was to tear my room apart, scrub the walls, trash stuff, and change it around, making room for the new stuff! But cool!! I now have a matching dresser set--a long one with a mirror, a tall dresser, and a night stand. They are in excellent shape. My sis-in-law's boyfriend had a rich friend that lived with them til he died, and all of his stuff was there, and they gave it to me!!
Yesterday we went to Golden Corrall for breakfast with Mom and Dad. I am not a huge breakfast eater, besides I have started, not a diet but a lifestyle change. I am determined to lose weight. I am concerned about the total lack of discipline in my life. It has reached every area--my eating, my devotions, and even in my housework. However, breakfast was still good!! (I guess I kind of got off there!)
My first sister-in-law came over Friday. It was good to see her, although it did mess up the rhythm of my schoolday. I wish I could see her get herself straightened out. I say my first, as my brother has supplied me with 3 sister-in-laws so far.....
My oldest brother has moved into a place to rent for now. I think they are going to rebuild their house on the old lot eventually.
I did not go to church all day today.(Please, dont tell anyone! lol!!) This morning I got mixed up on my mornings. Every Sunday morning except for the third, I go to nursing home service with my parents and play the piano. I was surprised that my mom and dad were not here to pick me up, before Shawn and the kids left for church this morning, and then shortly after got checking the calendar, and alas, this was the 3rd--so I couldnt go anywhere. So I listened to the Sea Breeze Camp in Hobe Sound, Fla. as they were streaming their services online. It was good. I enjoyed it. I like my church, the people are great, the pastor preaches good messages, but it is just so ultra organized. I enjoy when the Spirit of God moves, when people shout, and testify, sing some extra verses, when the preacher is so burdened by what God has given him, he cries. I am maybe seeing things wrong, or am too much of hillbilly, and I know some churches are too unorganized, and I know people can get out of the spirit, but I am not feeling spiritually challenged or inspired enough at church. However, I am afraid, what if it is me, and the lack of discipline in my life. You know, you can sometimes get so focused on the mote in your brothers eye that you fail to see the log in your own! I am praying for myself and our church. If you are a Christian reading this, if anyone does, please pray for me. Anyhow, since our church services were moved to 6:00, and Shawn works so many doubles, he looks forward to that Sunday afternoon nap, and sometimes just doesnt want to get up to leave again at 5:30. You see, he doesnt get home til 1:00 and by the time we eat, and lay down it is around 2, and then we have to get up at 5, to get ready to leave by 5:30. Not that that shouldnt be enough time to sleep, but it makes the day so short and unrestful--well kind of like you are running--I dont know--I understand how he feels. So well, he didnt want to get up, so we stayed home and watched the camp meeting services again. Another good service. But is it another example of the lack of discipline???
Well that is all for tonight. I probably didnt make much sense. But then who thought I was sensible....????

Relaxed Homeschooling!!!

What a beautiful week in Nature! First at the beginning of the week we had a ice storm that covered the trees in our woods in glistening glory, and then a beautiful, white blanket of snow fell over them. We were living in a winter wonderland truly, but ach!! it was so cold!!! BRRR!!

Someone was joking the other day about relaxed homeschooling, so I just had to share this picture.

I used to work once a week taking care of a lady that had a stroke, and could take my kids--this was taken there!!

For the most part, I make my kids sit at a table, but sometimes this happens!! LOL!!

Lately.....

Sorry I have not been posting. My kids have kept me very busy with schoolwork in the daytime. Rebekah has Algebra, and is having some trouble comprehending her elective, Music. Daniel is just not the best reader so I am trying to spend more time with him in that area, and "practicing nice and easy speech", as I just can't afford a speech therapist again right now.
My mind is still busy, and yet alot of the things I would like to talk about that are troubling my heart, I cant talk about here. So there you have it.
I still regularly check all my friends posts. I enjoy you all blogs!
Some day soon I will come up with something deep and amazing that will stun you all!! lol!!...Or I could just yell at Mark again...!!! (jk!)
Later!!

We talked about something interesting in Sunday School this morning. It was based on Romans 15:7

Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
or the version they read said;
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.

I do have alot of issue with alot of the holiness denominations, which I do belong to, as they do tend to be very rigid, and feel as if their way is the only way. Sometimes if others dont measure up to our standard of dress, we think they just cant be a Christian. Or if their doctrine just doesnt match up to our own, they are most certainly lost. It is a very unchristian attitude to have. We tend to forget where Christ brought us from, and forget some of areas we maybe didnt "line up" at times, yet we were still Christians. We forget that we hold up different preachers and teachers from the past as authorities of our doctrine--yet alot of them didnt "line up"! John Wesley had long hair, Samuel Bringle smoked a pipe, etc... And might I dare to go on and say some of the things preached against in holiness churches today, are NOT in the Bible! Yet so often we feel we are the ultimate authority on who is going to make it to Heaven or not!! This scripture tells us to recieve one another, or to accept.

Greek translation of recieve--

to take to, take in addition, to take to one's self
to take as one's companion
to take by the hand in order to lead aside
to take or receive into one's home, with the collateral idea of kindness
to receive, i.e. grant one access to one's heart
to take into friendship and intercourse
to take to one's self, to take: i.e. food

The point was made that Jesus did not go around saying, "you are wrong" continually. He did alot of loving and reaching out to others. He did alot of condemning those who were self righteous, that were basing their religon on their works, and rituals. He did alot of accepting. He did not straighten out the woman caught in adultery--frankly, he didnt care what she had done. He wanted her to quit sinning now, but he loved and wanted her. However, he did put to shame the pious church people that brought her in to Him. They left in shame. Jesus had arms outstretched to the unloveable and unwanted, and the ones that didnt "line up".

However, having said all that, there is times He did stand up for what he thought was right. There was times he did straighten people out. He loved the rich, young ruler, and yearned for him, but Jesus did set some ground rules for him. We can make it all easy and "let's accept everyone", but where are our ground rules supposed to be according to God's Word(not according to holiness people's rules)? I found this very concerning to me this morning--is this where some of the churches of today have become of little depth? Have they taken this too far? And yet, holiness people are not taking it serious enough. What is the answer? I dont know.....

Stay Home!!

I went out in this weather tonight to visit a nursing home friend, and when I went in the room her roommate asked me, "How is the weather outside?" I sang to her, "Oh the weather outside is frightful..." Crazy me going out in it!! I crept back to Lisbon at about 20 miles an hour--luckily noone followed me probably because most people were too smart to be out in it), or else they would have been complaining, "Why dont that poor old lady's family keep her home!!!"
Stay home--it's bad out!!