A Birthday Celebration!

You are cordially invited to
A BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!!!

Guest of Honor: Jesus Christ

Date: Every day. Traditionally, December 25 but He's always around, so the date is flexible....

Time: Whenever you're ready. (Please don't be late, though, or you'll miss out on all the fun!)

Place: In your heart.... He'll meet you there. (You'll hear Him knock.)

Attire: Come as you are... grubbies are okay.

He'll be washing our clothes anyway. He said something about new white robes and crowns for everyone who stays till the last.

Tickets: Admission is free. He's already paid for everyone... (He says you wouldn't have been able to afford it anyway... it cost Him everything He had. But you do need to accept the ticket!!

Refreshments: New wine, bread, and a far-out drink He calls "Living Water," followed by a supper that promises to be out of this world!

Gift Suggestions: ; Your life. He's one of those people who already has everything else. (He's very generous in return though. Just wait until you see what He has for you!)

Entertainment: Joy, Peace, Truth, Light, Life, Love, Real Happiness, Communion with God, Forgiveness, Miracles, Healing, Power, Eternity in Paradise, Contentment, and much more! (All "G" rated, so bring your family and friends.)
R.S.V.P. Very Important!

He must know ahead so He can reserve a spot for you at the table.

Also, He's keeping a list of His friends for future reference. He calls it the "Lamb's Book of Life."

Party being given by His Kids (that's us!!)!

Hope to see you there! For those of you whom I will see at the party!

How Bright Is Your Light Shining?

"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5:20

Like a beam of light shining through the darkness, modern day followers of Jesus stand out and are visible for all the world to see. Our temptation is to allow our light to shine only for those inside our church, while ignoring people outside.

What we need to see is that as the salt of the earth and the light of the world, we live by a higher standard. Jesus warned his followers, "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom to heaven."

Don't be misled. The scribes and Pharisees were the finest people of their day. They had all sorts of rules and regulations. How they loved to debate the fine points of the law. They lived their lives in strict observance of the Torah. They thought if they could live out their lives to the letter of the law they would be found right in God's sight. Jesus, though, pointed toward a higher law--the law of love. Here is where Jesus wants his disciple to shine. He wants us to "out-love" everybody on earth. Instead of consulting a rule book to determine our actions, Jesus wants his followers to act out of compassion. Jesus wants his followers to go beyond the religiosity of the scribes and Pharisees and truly become the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the world".

Heavenly Father, help us not to just survive, but to love as you loved us
By: Ron Newhouse

$3 and Some Change

I came across this post on an inspirational page on Facebook tonight. I thought I would share it with you! Here I have been thinking about the huge Thanksgiving Dinner that is coming up next week and what kind of yummies I can make. I am humbled as there are actually people thinking about how to get their next meal! 

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward them for what they have done. Proverbs 19:17

"I was just at the Wal-Mart on Elmsley to pick up 3 items and come home. After I got my items I took them to the car so I could go back in to use $3 and some change that was in my pocket to get two burgers and a large sweet tea. As I was standing second in line out of no where a slightly older than me black guy tapped me on my shoulder and started to "whisper" in speech to me. I told the man please speak up I'm not hearing you to well. He began to ask for $2 so he and his girlfriend could get a hamburger to eat... and for those of you who "really know me" you should know what I did. I gave the guy all of my $3 so they could get food and share a drink. As I was getting ready to turn to leave the cashier stopped me and asked "What would you like, sir?" I said nothing now, I'm outta money. It would've just been a snack anyway. The cashier then said, "Whatever you want it's on the house." I was amazed!! So I thought I'd just get a hamburger and a sweet tea and think about the "BLESSING" that just took place. I got my sandwich and tea and went to sit down and eat. Then from around the corner a young lady showed up at my table holding a small sign that said "thank you so much for the food." It was the girlfriend and she was unable to talk. I of course said you're very welcome and then she kissed me on my cheek and her boyfriend said "God Bless You".

$3 was a blessing to those two people, makes me wish I had millions to be able to do that everyday.

After I got done eating I went out to look for the two people that I had encountered. I knew they were on foot and could not have gone to far. I drove around the whole parking lot and then around the whole general area for 10 minutes and could not find them anywhere... they just vanished, never to be seen by me again.

After I posted this a dear friend brought these verses to my attention...

Hebrews 13: 1-2
1:Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2:Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

Treat People Right

My first day of work at Security Bank, I looked at the other tellers, sleek and confident in their suits and heels. In a smock-like blouse inherited from my mother-in-law and slacks I'd borrowed from a friend, I felt completely out of place.

I was afraid my supervisor would tell me they'd changed their minds about hiring me. All I had was a GED. What made me think I could do this job?

I'd dropped out of high school to get married, then my husband left me high and dry with two kids. I went on welfare for a time, then worked as a waitress and even sold Tupperware.

Happily, I was now remarried to a good man with a steady job, but we still needed a second income to make ends meet.

At the bank I listened carefully to my supervisor as she explained how to receive a deposit slip, stamp it and return one copy to the customer. I concentrated on what a teller had to do when balancing her drawer at the end of the day. My mind was teeming with details, each one a chance to mess up.

Then came the advice that I clung to. "Treat everybody right," my supervisor said. "Just because a man comes in wearing bib overalls and hands you a roll of dirty one-dollar bills in a rubber band doesn't mean he's not a somebody."

Treat everybody right? I'd been in too many situations—waiting hours to be interviewed for a low-paying job or paying for groceries with food stamps—when people had acted as though I wasn't even there.

It was one of the worst feelings, being treated like I didn't count for anything. Being able to treat people right was one thing I felt confident I could do.

So my work began. "Good morning," I'd say brightly to the people who came to my window. I made a point of remembering their names. I'd say, "Hello, Mr. Culpepper ... Mrs. Mulligan ... Ms. Stewart. How are you today?"

People began to line up for me. The elderly woman who needed me to fill in her deposit slip, the man who always sang "Sally in Our Alley" when he saw me, the gent with the accent who taught me how to say "Have a good day" in his native Polish.

"What are you trying to do?" asked my friend and fellow teller, Rebecca. "Campaign for teller of the month?"

"Just trying to make people feel good about themselves," I replied. It also made me feel good about myself. Although my drawer didn't always balance right on the first try and I had to triple-check my numbers on a savings-bond purchase, my work was drawing praise.

One morning my supervisor came to me with a young woman in the bank's management training program. "Sally, meet Leslie," she said. "I want you to train her."

For what? I wondered.

"Teach Leslie how to be a teller," my supervisor said. "She'll need the experience." Surprised and a bit flattered, I began to show Leslie how to perform the numerous tasks that were part of a teller's job. Most of all I stressed how important it was to give everyone the personal touch.

"I can tell," Leslie said. "You treat everybody like they're special."

"Yes, and speak Polish to them too," Rebecca joked. "Some old guy just might sing 'Sally in Our Alley' to you."

The three of us got along great, Rebecca, Leslie and I. We'd eat lunch and swap stories from our customers. When Leslie moved to the management office, she always called me when she needed to know what was happening out on the front lines of the bank.

Then they introduced computers into our department. "This way there won't be any more errors when you close out your drawers at the end of the day," our manager said. I blushed, sure he was thinking of me.

Nervously, I inspected the new contraption. On the keyboard were keys and symbols I'd never seen before. F keys, a Delete key, Alt, Ctrl and Insert. I was afraid that if I touched the wrong one, I'd erase everything.

The bank brought in a team of trainers. I learned that all those keys did things that could help me in my job. To my surprise I soon was showing the other employees at Security Bank where the cursor went when you hit Ctrl-End and just how fast and easy it was to pull up a record for a customer.

"You're good at this," one of the trainers said to me. "You seem to understand the computer intuitively." She asked me out to lunch and made me an offer: "You could become a trainer yourself. We could go into business together."

I hated to leave the security of the bank, but the idea was exciting and my husband, Tom, encouraged 

me to go for it. So I said good-bye to Rebecca and called Leslie to wish her well. My partner and I
started a company called Computer Confidence, Inc.

Just a few years earlier I was a high school dropout and single mother on welfare. Now I had my own company! And we got a great client right off the bat—Ford Motor Company.

Ford had just converted to a new computer program called Worldwide Engineering Release System (WERS). It really frustrated some of their employees. With one week to learn the system, I felt overwhelmed myself.

I crammed day and night, learning dozens of automotive terms like "torque" and "homologation" and "bill of material."

My first day of teaching I gazed at an intimidating roomful of engineers in white shirts with pocket protectors and took a deep breath. "Okay," I said, "look down at your keyboards and use the space bar to move the cursor."

Some guys started tapping away. But others just stared down. Then it dawned on me—there was nothing marked "space bar" on the keyboard. This was all brand-new to them, and they were worried about losing their jobs because of it.

We were all in the same boat, I realized. I was trying to make a living, and these guys with more degrees than I had T-shirts were just trying to make a living too. We were all trying to get by with the skills God gave us.

I said a quick prayer. Lord, you've helped me so much. Now please help me help these guys.

"Relax," I told them. "It might seem confusing at first, but you'll get it. If somebody like me can get
it, you can." For the first time I started to think that being a high school dropout could be an advantage.

I could sympathize because I knew what it was like to feel frustrated and hopeless at something. And I could show people that with the right attitude anyone could succeed.

Ford hired our company to go around the world training their international staff. We were expected to get Ford employees up to speed on the WERS system, but that was only the half of it. The most important part of our job was to get them to feel comfortable and confident with computers.

It was sort of like being at the bank again. Humoring people, getting to know them, always adding the personal touch. Treating them like they were special.

I found gimmicks to use. When a nervous fellow kept hitting the Escape button, shutting down his computer, I got a soda bottle top. "You get a cap, pal," I said, and laughingly put it over the Escape button so he couldn't punch it.

One day for the fun of it I went to the beauty salon and had my fingernails painted with flowers. That afternoon I worked with an engineer who was becoming increasingly impatient with his machine.

To help him out, I tapped his computer screen with one of my flowered nails. He burst out laughing. 

"What on earth is that?"

"Nail art. Don't you love it? Let me show you how I can type." I clicked away on the keyboard 

without my fingertips ever touching the keys. It was just kooky enough to make him loosen up.

After that, I decided my nails were among my most effective teaching tools. I had them done up differently for every place we went: exotic birds for Brazil, flowers in Korea, palm trees in California.

In five years Computer Confidence grew from just the two of us to eight employees. Then my partner decided she wanted to sell her share of the company. I could buy her out, but she named a six-figure price that I wouldn't be able to come up with.

All my husband and I owned was our house, and we couldn't get more than $50,000 if we sold it. God, I prayed, I've helped build this company. Please help me keep it.

With all the important papers from our company in the back seat of my car, I drove to Nails by Lenore for my usual appointment. I was sitting at the salon, wondering what kind of pictures I would put on my nails now, when I heard a familiar voice behind me. "Sal? Sally Lyle, is that you?"

I turned around. There was my old friend Rebecca from the bank! I stood up and gave her a hug.

"Still at Security?" I asked.

"Yes. But Security has merged. We're First of America now. And I'm not a teller anymore. I work as a district manager. What about you? Still making people computer confident?"

"Yes." I hesitated. Would it be bad business to tell her what an impossible situation I was in? Shouldn't I act confident about this too? Then I thought again. Rebecca, I knew, was the Lord's 

answer to my prayer.

"Things are tough right now," I admitted. "My partner wants me to buy her out, and I just don't know how I can do it."

"Finish your nails and come with me," Rebecca said. "I'm meeting some co-workers for dinner." At the cafe Rebecca introduced me, forthright as always: "This is Sally Lyle, she needs a loan and she should get it. Trust me. She's a great computer trainer."

Right there I made an appointment to see a loan officer. The next day, I sat in the bank, showing him all the paperwork for the company, including our contract with Ford.

I heard another familiar voice and looked up to see Leslie, whom I'd taught all I knew about being a teller. Turned out she was the loan officer's supervisor!

"Sally's the best teacher I ever had," she said. "Taught me how to treat customers right. So we need to treat her the same way."

The application sailed through. Within weeks I had the loan and Computer Confidence was all mine. Six years later, we had 100 employees working around the world.

I look at my computer screen in amazement myself. Sometimes even I wonder how I went from
being a welfare mom to a business executive. Then I think about what I learned my first day as a teller.

It's advice that predates the computer by millennia, going back to the Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." If you treat people right, they'll treat you right back. That is 

something you can bank on

How Thirsty Are You?

Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” In South Africa I have heard that you can sometimes see an amazing sight; deer defying lions in order to drink at the river. Their thirst will not be denied. They must have water or die.

Spiritually as Christians we are either moving forward or moving backwards. There is no status quo for the child of God. In our own lives there will be spiritual starvation unless we have a continual intake of the spiritual, such as: the Word of God; prayer; and, fellowship with other Christians. The question we should ask ourselves is how thirsty are we? Are we thirsty enough to defy that old lion, the devil, who is going to and fro across this world seeking whom he may desire? Are we thirsty enough to go to church this Sunday? Are we thirsty enough to wake up each day and spend some time reading God’s Word and praying? Are we thirsty enough to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him?

By Ed Wrather

          "O God, You are my God; 

         I shall seek You earnestly;

        My soul thirsts for You, 

          My flesh yearns for You..."

          -Psalm 63:1.

An Act of Kindness... Have You Been Kind Today?

Two boys walked down a road that led through a field. The younger of the two noticed a man toiling in the fields of his farm, his good clothes stacked neatly off to the side.

The boy looked at his older friend and said, “Let’s hide his shoes so when he comes from the field, he won’t be able to find them. His expression will be priceless!” The boy laughed.

The older of the two boys thought for a moment and said, “The man looks poor. See his clothes? Let’s do this instead: Let’s hide a silver dollar in each shoe and then we’ll hide in these bushes and see how he reacts to that, instead.”

The younger companion agreed to the plan and they placed a silver dollar in each shoe and hid behind the bushes. It wasn’t long before the farmer came in from the field, tired and worn. He reached down and pulled on a shoe, immediately feeling the money under his foot.

With the coin now between his fingers, he looked around to see who could have put it in his shoe. But no one was there. He held the dollar in his hand and stared at it in disbelief. Confused, he slid his other foot into his other shoe and felt the second coin. This time, the man was overwhelmed when he removed the second silver dollar from his shoe.

Thinking he was alone, he dropped to his knees and offered a verbal prayer that the boys could easily hear from their hiding place. They heard the poor farmer cry tears of relief and gratitude. He spoke of his sick wife and his boys in need of food. He expressed gratitude for this unexpected bounty from unknown hands.

After a time, the boys came out from their hiding place and slowly started their long walk home. They felt good inside, warm, changed somehow knowing the good they had done to a poor farmer in dire straits. A smile crept across their souls.

The Dogs and The Cross

As many of you know,  I recently found myself in a conundrum where I had to make a quick choice on how to handle a situation involving my fur babies. I acted upon my instincts and made a decision that I later realized may not have been in my best interest, but did it anyways.

Many years ago, nine to be exact, we were given a little Jack Russell puppy that we call Russell... Original huh? Now Russell is not just any ordinary dog. He was given to us by some family friends and means a lot to our family! He has traveled many many miles with us down the rodeo trail since he was six weeks old and is known by anyone who knows us.

About two years ago my son Weston was given the cutest little Border Collie puppy by another family friend  shortly after he graduated from High School. We picked him up at the High School State Finals rodeo in Hutchinson, Kansas and thus named him Hutch.

Throw in this mix MY dog, the old lady Sadie. She is a very fat Blue Heeler that we have had for at least ten years.

Hutch, the Border Collie, was to have enrolled in college with Weston, but was not allowed to leave home to attend. So here we are two years later with the old man Russell, the fat lady Sadie, and the energetic overly friendly Hutch which we nick named Dupes.

Russell and a Dupes were having a time getting along and  had decided to have a show down one quite morning while I was at home alone. Russell, thinking he was a Pitbull jumped on Dupes and found out real quick it was a bad move. This is where I enter the ordeal and go out to break up the commotion. I quickly found myself in a situation where I put myself in a really bad position.
You see I laid myself over Russell to protect him from his enemy. While this slowed the altercation it continued for what seemed like forever. I was screaming to the Oklahoma winds for help to no avail. That's when I said my prayers for God to help me and he must have heard because it ended and Russell got away and into the safety of the house.

It's now been about a month since this all happened. My flesh wounds have healed and my broken finger is mending slowly. I had to have four external pins put through my pinky and cause a lot of discomfort but will be removed shortly!

Last night in thinking about all this, I couldn't help but think of what all Jesus endured on his journey to the cross. The repeated attacks... The pain had to be intense. He endured many many flesh wounds and had huge nails driven through the palms of his hands and I am complaining about some little pins that are only temporary?

Tonight as I sit here with Russell curled up beside me and Sadie snoring at my feet I am thankful for the life that was taken so that we could live. As for Dupes, well he has enrolled in his
Freshman year of college and is currently the king of his castle and Russell the king of ours which works out perfect!

I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me; and the life which I now live in the body I live through faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up to death on my behalf. Galatians 2:201

The good life

There are a lot of good people in the world. There are a lot of good things going on in life.

Don’t let the negative things get you down. Take them in stride, and move quickly on to something that will make all of life more positive.

Every day is an opportunity to do great and meaningful work, and to experience life in new, fulfilling ways. Every day is a day in which you can make life better for others and for yourself.

Treasure each moment without letting the negative distractions get in your way. Put positive, meaningful, satisfying effort into life, and continue to feel how great it is to make a difference.

If people don’t treat you fairly, that’s their problem. When life presents you with difficult challenges, that’s your opportunity to shine.

The way to live the good life is to live each moment with goodness in your heart. Life is good because you always have the ability to make it so.

— Ralph Marston

The Lamb

One afternoon in the summer of 1996 Christopher, who is called Chris, was driving back to Porterville, California from Bakersfield where he worked as a California Highway Patrolman. But before I go on, I must back up and tell you about my grandson, Christian.

Christian was born in January 1996, at birth he seemed to be a healthy bouncing baby boy with no problems, but at age three months it was discovered that he was born with only three chambers in his heart. The doctors advised of many major surgeries and the likelihood of him not living past his third birthday. At the time Chris was 26 years old and had been married for four years. Of course he was very worried about his son and it weighed heavily on his mind. Many hours were spent in prayer for Christian and Chris had ample prayer time as he commuted to work in Bakersfield from Porterville a 100 mile round trip each day.

One afternoon as Chris was driving home, north along Hwy. 65 he felt an urgency to pull over to the side of the road. Chris said that he felt that God was telling him to climb to the top of a small hill just off of the roadway. Chris stood there beside his car and looked at the hill, it was not a large hill, but it was hot and he decided that there was nothing he could see from the top of the hill that he could not see from where he stood. Chris looked around and saw nothing except a slow moving diesel truck which he had passed several miles back approaching from the south. Chris let the devil tell him that if he did not get back on the road soon, that he would have to again find a place to pass this approaching truck. So he quickly jumped back into his car and sped off towards home ahead of diesel truck.

When he arrived in Porterville he stopped by our house for a visit and he told me of the incident. I could not believe that Chris had not obeyed what he felt was a word from God. I encouraged Chris to return to the hill and be obedient to what he felt God had told him. I gladly volunteered to go along to keep him company. So within a few minutes we were on the road headed back to that hill. When we arrived at the hill, Chris pulled to the side of the road, we got out of the car and looked at the hill. Chris said, "Now what?" I said, "Well, if God said to go to the top, then you had better go to the top." Chris then said, "Well, lets' go." "Oh no!", I replied, "God told you to go up that hill, He didn't tell me to go." Chris then crawled through a barbed wire fence and headed up to the top of the hill alone. I stayed by the car and prayed while Chris climbed to the top of the hill and then went over the crest out of my sight. In about twenty minutes he came back to the car and sat in the front seat without saying a word. We sat in the car for a few minutes and finally Chris said, "You know Dad, just over that hill is a large flock of sheep, maybe two or three hundred. I watched the sheep for a while and all was very peaceful and serene. As I watched those sheep I saw a little lamb stray away from the flock with it's head down grazing on the grass. And then I saw movement in the tall weeds near the flock and saw a big coyote stalking through the weeds, inching ever closer to the little lamb. There was a shepherd sitting on a small knoll watching the flock but he didn't seem to be watching the lamb which had strayed and was now in imminent danger. I called out and whistled trying to alert the shepherd to the danger but I was unable to get his attention. The coyote kept inching it's way closer and closer to the lamb and I had to watch helplessly knowing that the coyote would soon be upon the lamb. I was too far away and unable to do anything about the impending attack upon the lamb. I was so frustrated in my attempts to get the shepherd's attention and I knew that soon it would be too late. Suddenly the coyote ran out from the cover of the tall weeds and raced towards the defenseless lamb, rapidly closing the distance between them Even if I managed to get the shepherd's attention he was too far from the lamb to be able to save it. All I could do was watch in horror. I was sure it would be over in seconds, but just then the shepherd raised his arm and pointed toward the lamb. I then saw two of the biggest dogs that I have ever seen burst forth out of the tall weeds and head straight for the coyote at full speed. The coyote slammed on the brakes at the sight of these two huge dogs bearing down on it. The coyote nearly lost it's footing as it turned and headed in the  opposite direction as fast as it's legs could carry it. The last I saw of the coyote it was three hills over, still running at top speed with the two huge dogs nipping at it's heels. The little lamb never looked up, never saw either the coyote or the dogs and never knew how much danger it had been in. The shepherd then turned towards me, gave a little wave and then turned his attention back to the flock. In a few moments I saw the dogs trot back as they returned to lie back down in the tall weeds near the flock. All was again very peaceful and serene.

Chris then started the car and we headed back to Porterville. Neither of us said a word for about ten miles. I finally said, "Chris, your little lamb is going to be just fine. His shepherd has His eye on him and when the time comes He will raise His arm and the next thing you know the devil will be three hills over running at top speed with his tail between his legs, being chased by the biggest angels your ever saw. God may seem to be out of reach and too far away to do anything about little Christian but He is in control. Don't get frustrated when you think that God doesn't hear your prayers, He hears, and He sees all and He knows the situation. He's not going to let the devil snatch one of His little
lambs.

By the way, Christian just celebrated his fifth birthday, to watch him run and play, you would never know that he has only three chambers in his heart. The doctors are amazed at his condition and say that the longer they can wait the stronger Christian will be and his chances at surviving the necessary operation will be much better. Please keep him in your prayers.

By Mike Boudreaux

"Shirley" You Know Where You Are Going?

How many times have you been asked "Where are you going"?

We'll let me tell you a story of a great guy I know! You see this guy is the king of planning! He likes everything broken down into details and put to a timeline! If you were ever to take a trip with him you would be well equipped with a mapquest printout AND the all mighty GPS that I will fondly call Shirley. Shirley is extremely loud and obnoxious! She is just way too bossy! 

This said guy has had a hearing problem and he has had Shirley set where she was literally screaming instructions! That way he didn't have any trouble hearing her clearly and there was less of a chance of getting lost! The passengers that ride with this fellow are usually startled by the sheer volume of her voice that starts shouting directions IN THE DRIVE WAY! She can't wait until you get away from home and actually need her guidance! She starts harping the second the wheels start turning!  She just won't leave you alone! You can be driving along on a long straight stretch of highway before any maneuvering is needed and she will still shout instructions to continue on the current path! 

When asked why he starts navigating with Shirley in the drive way his typical answer is just because that's what he does. It's the entire journey. Getting from point A to point B without any question! 

I have been a passenger with this man and have voiced my agitation with Shirley. So many times and so much so that he has started leaving Shirley in the console when I am with him. He has went against what he is comfortable with so that he doesn't have to listen to the criticism! 

How do you think God feels? He has given us the ultimate mapquest printout called the Bible and has put many Shirley's in our lives to direct us in the way we should go! Yet we allow people to influence us  to put our instructions in our "console" where we can't hear nor see where we need to go no matter how loud he is shouting! Now we pull our "Shirley" out when no ones around, but is that really how we should be? 

I happen to love this man I have been talking about and happen to call him my Dad. My Dad has since been blessed with some new hearing aids, but you can bet he still has Shirley turned all the way up and he knows exactly where he is going and when he will get there!! A little birdie has hold me that they have passed their turn many times but they have always found their way back on track with the help of Shirley! This little birdie .... Well I call her Mom! 

It is always an adventure to travel with my parents and I enjoy every minute i get to spend with them! Even though they still don't get Shirley out  when I am with them, I know she is neatly tucked in the console should she be needed!

I have been very blessed to have been given Christian parents. They have always given my brother and I direction in the way we should go. They didn't stop giving us instructions when we "missed our turn" and were always there to help us get back on the right track. For this I could never say thank you enough!

My question to you is this.... Is there someone you have been "riding" with that has shut off their Shirley? Have you allowed them to get lost in their journey through life without telling them to make a uturn?  Or have you yourself put your Shirley away?

Just something to think about so that the next time you are asked "Where are you going"? You can say HEAVEN, Let me lead the way! 

The Finish Line~ My story of the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon 2014

Yesterday, April 27th, I had the honor of attending the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon to watch "Team Kasen" finish the full marathon (26.2 miles) relay. Now the relay is just that, each team has five runners who each run for their set distance, to accomplish the full distance.

As you all know I am a new Grandma of a precious baby boy named Kasen! He is without a doubt a true blessing from above! You see Kasen's Mom is a very talented runner and attends college on a cross country scholarship. A ten mile run was nothing for this young lady! However, while she carried our little grandson she scaled her running down, but basically kept at it at a smaller degree. A few weeks after Kasen arrived she began exercising and two weeks ago had began running 6 miles which would be the distance of her leg in the relay.

We made the trip to Oklahoma City on Saturday as to get a good nights rest as they needed to be at the race by to 5:00 A.M. The meeting place was at the Oklahoma City a Memorial site where prayer was held and there was 168 seconds of silence to remember the lives that were lost in this tragic event. You can imagine the people as there were 26,200 runners including all the runners from the full marathon down to the children's run.

All week we had heard how bad the weather was expected to be so it came as no surprise that when we got up Sunday morning the radar was lit up and there were severe storms heading right towards us. The race was to start at 6 A.M. However it was delayed. Now my Mom and I had went along as the team drivers and head cheerleaders so we were watching it unfold on television at this point. The regulations of the race is that the race has to begin no later than 8:01. After the second one hour storm delay the start was pushed right up to the breaking point.

If any of you watch the news, you know how it is filled with doom and gloom and literally leaves you with a grim outlook on life. Not the case yesterday! I was shocked to hear Linda Cavanaugh report that several church's were being utilized to get the runners out of the elements and that they were on their knees praying for the storms to pass. As we watched the weatherman and the track of the storm it became apparent that it was going to be nip and tuck for the storms to clear the area by the deadline. Now the race officials were monitoring the situation and had stated they could wiggle some room for a little extra time but that would be about all they could do! The storms rolled by and the city granted the extra time for the streets to be closed and the race kicked off at 8:30! Imagine the relief and cheers from the runners who represented 48 states and 9 different countries. Their journeys
to the race was not in vain.

Lisa, Taylor's Mom, was lined up at the starting line with shoulder to shoulder people. It took well over 20 minutes for all the runners to cross the starting line where she began her 6 mile stretch.
Lisa only started running a few years back and this was the first time she had ran this far
competitively. She handed off to my a Dad, Paul, who is a veteran runner. He has ran in countless road races over the years and in the last few years lead a group at his church in the Run a For God training program. He is 65 years young and has had to slow down on his running due to injuries and maybe age has a little to do with it LOL! But, this doesn't stop him! I wish I could have been at the point where he handed off to my Brother! What a priceless picture that would have been!

Darron, my brother, started running a few years back. I remember the time they were here visiting at my parents in Woodward and he went for a run and asked to be picked up in Mooreland which is about fourteen miles away! Darron's leg of this race was 6 miles however he missed his hand off point by quite a ways and had to run back to his next team member who was Trevor, Taylor's brother.

Trevor does not train to run. He is a natural and his 3 mile run is a walk in the park where he hands off to his big sister Taylor. Taylor has the final 6 mile run where the team will finally cross the finish
line and claim the right to say they did it! We are finished!

My Mom and I had found our place at the finish line and anxiously awaited the arrival of "Team Kasen". As we kept a close watch for Taylor coming down the stretch we witnessed some of the most heart warming finishes and yip, you guessed it I spilt several tears watching these people reach their destination.

There was the firefighters dressed in full gear, military people dressed in desert camouflage... One carrying a backpack weighing 168 pounds,  A pound for each life lost.

There was the lady runner carrying her friend on her back the full half marathon (13.1miles) so that she too could experience the thrill of victory.

There were the people in wheel chairs crossing the finish line who had nothing but their arms to get them through to the finish line!

As I sat there and watched this all unfold I found myself standing by a lady who was also anxiously awaiting the arrival of her son and his buddy who are seniors in High School. They were running the full marathon. Their first! As I talked to her she shared with me that her son had became very sick two years ago with a heart condition. She said he was unable to function and had came to a place that the doctors didn't give much hope. That's when he heard a voice telling him to read the Bible front to back and so he did. During this time he improved and regained his life. It was such an honor to watch a complete miracle cross the finish line side by side with his running buddy, holding hands as they crossed celebrating the victory. His mom also shared that he has received a calling to the ministry and will be attending college to become a youth director in the fall following graduation. She thanked me for letting her tell his story and with that she was gone. I had felt guilty for skipping church, but felt better after hearing her story and realizing I wasn't there by mistake. There was a reason.

A short time later Mom and I see some familiar faces coming towards us, there was Taylor with her team mates Darron, Lisa, and my Dad as they ran the final stretch together. They had joined her at the end of her journey and All of them were wearing a smile as they knew they had reached their final destination and that they claim the right to say We did it! The victory is ours!

I couldn't help but to think about the whole story of this race and compare it with our everyday lives. We all have our own story about how we got to where we are. We have all had set backs that slowed us down or injuries that kept us from performing our duties as Christians.  There are times when it has taken the strength of our friends and family to carry us through a situation. There are times we have sat in life's wheelchair and only used part of ourselves. There are times it seems we carry the weight of the world on our backs and we lug it around letting it weigh us down.  But, we can never quit putting one foot in front of the other.

You see It doesn't matter if you have been "training" for years or if you have only started your
"training". Being a Christian  is all about believing and having faith that someday we will be ready to run our final race. It doesn't matter how many times we have stumbled or had to crawl to get there.    It's in reaching those pearly gates where we can all celebrate the victory and shout together We
did it! We have crossed the finish line!

The Easter Chicken

What do you think of when you think of Easter?

Eggs, of course. The symbol of new life come spring. How better to illustrate the season's spiritual message?

I looked forward to teaching the lesson of the egg in my Sunday school class as Easter approached, but when I asked the children where eggs came from the answer surprised me.

"Bunnies!" all 12 students shouted.

Bunnies? I thought. Could these kids be so far removed from nature they actually think rabbits lay eggs? My own chickens would have been insulted!

"It's on TV," one of the girls explained. "A white rabbit lays chocolate eggs."

Now I knew what they meant. I'd seen the commercial, but it didn't have much to do with the lesson I wanted to teach. I had to think this through.

The following Sunday morning I got ready for school, still not sure what to do. I have to find a way to set them straight, I thought.

I checked my chicken coop before I left. My birds strutted and clucked around the hen houses: Ida, Ada and Henney Penney in their nesting boxes, Rudy the rooster scratching at the ground. Penney puffed her feathers to twice her size when Rudy got close. She was guarding a dozen eggs.

"If only the kids at Sunday school could see your eggs," I said, stroking Penney's copper-speckled feathers, "they'd forget all about chocolate."

That's when it hit me: What if I took Penney and her eggs to Sunday school with me? How many of the kids had ever seen a real egg hatch? Or watched an ordinary-looking, beige-colored egg turn into a live chick with bright little BB-pellet eyes, downy feathers and tiny feet, peeping away? The hatching of an egg was like a miracle. Why not share it with the kids? I'd give those children an Easter message they'd never forget!

I hunted for a box to hold the eggs. But wait a minute: Was I really planning to bring a chicken to church? I tried to remember another time any kind of animal had joined us at our solemn service. Once a sparrow flew in an open window and fluttered around, disturbing the reading. And a puppy had wandered in and led the ushers in a merry chase around the aisles while the children laughed. But those events hadn't been planned.

I thought of a certain church lady, a good Christian with very strong opinions. She'd once objected to my son's carrying in a Bible with a jazzy cover. "It's a New Testament," I'd assured her as she eyed the brightly colored jacket.

"Well," she'd sniffed, "it looks like a Betty Crocker cookbook!"

I had a vision of my little bantam hen pooping on the ecclesiastical carpet. "I guess chickens really don't belong in church," I said. But then I remembered Jesus' own words in the Gospel of Matthew: "How often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings."

"That settles it," I told Penney. "Jesus would approve of a chicken in church, and he's who matters!" Penney would be in the Sunday school wing anyway. Nowhere near the church, actually. And nowhere near that straitlaced church lady (I hoped).

I poked holes in the lid of a straw-filled cardboard box and transferred Penney and her eggs into it. It was waiting on the table when the children came to class. As they took their seats I said, "Guess what's inside."

"Rabbits!" one boy shouted.

"Kitten!" a girl said over him.

"Puppy!" called someone else.

"Nobody has guessed it," I said and lifted the lid. All the children gasped. Penney blinked in the sudden light and ruffled her feathers, but soon settled down and clucked. The children came forward slowly, so as not to scare her. The girls took turns stroking her feathers.


"What do you think Penney's brought with her?" I said. I lifted her up to reveal a dozen eggs.

A boy poked one of the shells with a pudgy finger. "How can she sit on them?" he asked. "They're hard!"

"Penney wants her babies very much," I said. "She's willing to go through hard things. Just like your mother did before you were born. God puts love into all parents' hearts—even chicken parents!"

Now that the children had seen the eggs, I offered them a deal. "Penney has laid 12 eggs. That's one for each of you," I said. "You have a choice what to do with your egg. You can take it home and have your mom cook it for breakfast..."

The children giggled.

"Or I can bring Penney back next week and you can see your eggs turn into babies!"

Not one child voted for an omelet. By the following week the children had told all their friends. We discussed the impending blessed event. They couldn't wait to see the chicks they'd been promised on Easter Sunday.

I promised, I thought as I got ready for bed on Saturday night. Should I have been so confident the children would see chicks on Easter? It took 21 days for a bantam hen egg to hatch, and in the interest of timing, I'd taken the eggs from under Penney so that she'd miss a day of brooding. But what if I'd miscounted, or addled the eggs when moving them? What if Penny's temperature wasn't just right? The hatching of a chicken was God's work, not mine. God, I prayed after I switched off the light, please let at least one egg hatch for them.

The church parking lot was crowded the next morning. Everyone came for the Easter service. But why were so many people gathered around the Sunday school wing? I made my way through the crowd with my cardboard box.

"Is that Penney?" a woman asked me.

"Did the eggs hatch yet?" a man said.

They were all here to see Penney and her eggs! Along with every child from every Sunday school class, not just my own. Even the pastor came over to see what was going on. "It's an expectant hen," I told him, blushing. "I thought the children would like to see the eggs hatch."

"What a perfect way to illustrate today's sermon!" he said. "Would you bring Penney into the church?"

So much for keeping Penney under wraps, I thought as a pack of children cheered and followed me into the sanctuary. They plunked themselves on the stage at the front of the church. Okay, God, I thought as I lifted the lid. Time for an Easter miracle!

A gasp went up. There was Penney with not one but six wobbly chicks. Three were already dried and fluffy as dandelion down. The other three were still wet from their shells. Two more eggs were nearly cracked in half, the babies just emerging. The last four eggshells showed tiny holes where miniature beaks were pecking.

I looked up, beaming, from Penney's new family—right into the face of that straitlaced parishioner I'd dreaded. She was gazing down at the chicks as happy and amazed as the little girl in front of her who asked, "How did you get the eggs to hatch right on Easter?"

"God decides when the eggs hatch," I said. "He knew this was the right time!"

And just the right place—right in his own house, where all new life begins. 

We Come To Remember... April 19, 1995

By Cassandra Vanhooser
This article is from the April 2001 issue of Southern Living.

Even now, thoughts of the April 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City make me shudder with terror and revulsion.

I fear that we have seen the enemy, and he walks beside us or--even worse--lives inside each of us. I am still horrified that a red-headed kid from rural New York could be so filled with hate that he would kill 168 people.

But I am filled with hope too. While visiting Oklahoma City, I find a community very much on the mend. And the new Oklahoma City National Memorial touches my heart in ways I could never imagine.

Even if you don't know the story of what happened here, the effects of a horrible violence haunt this place. The jagged edge of the Murrah Building splits the azure sky. The Journal Record Building looms over the landscape and stares hollow-eyed over a now peaceful scene. Even more chilling, 168 empty chairs sit on a field of emerald grass--one for each person killed that day.

There are signs of resilience too. An American elm stands on a knoll overlooking the site. It faced the blast, absorbed its power, and yet lives on. The sounds of new construction echo through the streets. Portions of the original chain-link fence that surrounded the bomb site still accept spontaneous tributes to those who perished.

But the thing that really brings me to my knees is the collective voice of the community speaking to me from the bronzed gates. "We come here to remember," says the mission statement, "those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever." This memorial was built for people--the fallen, the heroic, and all of us who remember where we were at 9:02 a.m. on April 19, 1995.

Those Who Were Killed...

Stepping up to a section of chain-link fence incorporated into the western wall of the new memorial, Bud Welch gently lifts his daughter's photo from the center of a wreath. "I want to place a face on one of the 168 who were killed in the Oklahoma City bombing," he says, "and that's my daughter Julie."

Just 23 years old, Julie Marie Welch was a brunette beauty with shoulder-length hair and an indomitable spirit. Fluent in Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, she was a translator in the Social Security Administration office on the first floor of the Murrah Building. She was young, in

love, excited about her life.

"I was to meet her for lunch that Wednesday at 11:30," says Bud, who operated a Texaco station where Julie stopped almost every day after work. "We were going to go to an Athenian restaurant. We tried to meet every Wednesday for lunch."

After Julie's death, Bud was consumed by an almighty rage. He tried to numb his pain, but he became obsessed with the idea of seeing the bombers die.

"All my life I opposed the death penalty," Bud says calmly. "But the first four or five weeks after that bombing, after Tim McVeigh and Terry Nichols had been arrested, I didn't even want trials for them. I just wanted them to fry.

"I finally realized that to execute either one of them was an act of rage and revenge," he continues. "And rage and revenge were exactly the reasons Julie and 167 others were killed right here. I just realized that was not going to help me at all to get through my grief."

Having turned that corner, Bud became an outspoken opponent of the death penalty. His schedule is filled with interviews and speaking engagements, and he travels the country sharing his message of reconciliation with anyone who will listen.

"The day they take Tim McVeigh from his cage in Indiana for the purpose of killing him, it's not going to bring Julie Marie Welch back or anybody else killed in that bombing," Bud says firmly. "And it's damn sure not going to bring me any peace. God didn't make us where we'll feel good for killing somebody else."

Those Who Survived...

A striking woman with auburn hair, Florence Rogers walks through the memorial, noting points of interest with the ease of a tour guide. But as she approaches the 168 empty chairs, her steps falter. "This would be the row of chairs where my 18 girls are," she says quietly.

April 19, 1995, began like any other day for Florence, then president and CEO of the Federal Employees Credit Union. Just back from a Caribbean cruise, she had called an 8 a.m. meeting, anxious to assign duties for an upcoming bank audit. But her printer was not working.

Florence quickly moved the meeting to her office, reading from the agenda displayed on her computer screen. "I had just reared back in my chair when all of a sudden, wham! I could just see the whole building blowing up before my eyes," she says. "It picked me up and threw me on the floor, 

sucked my chair out from under me. My desk just disappeared."

Florence barely received a scratch. The eight other people in the room--the management team, including two vice-presidents and Florence's secretary--were killed instantly.

Of her 33 employees, 18 were killed and 6 critically injured. Still, just 48 hours and 18 minutes after the blast, Florence reopened the credit union using the remainder of her staff, borrowed employees, and makeshift facilities.

"God gave me incredible strength that I did not know I had," Florence says with a sad smile. "I'd go to work, I'd leave and go to a funeral, I'd go back to work. I'd make my hospital visits at night."

Though she retired in 1997, Florence still tells her story all over the world and serves on the memorial's board of directors. "There was an angel sitting on my shoulder that day," she says, blue eyes bright as she looks skyward. "The man upstairs was not finished with me yet, and I'm working hard every day to do whatever it is he had left for me to do."

And Those Changed Forever...

Perhaps the most enduring image of the bombing came from the photograph of a battered baby cradled in the arms of an Oklahoma City firefighter. But the picture that so powerfully illustrated the horror of the violent act also broke a mother's heart.

"I don't like that picture," says Aren Almon-Kok, mother of Baylee Almon, killed one day after her first birthday. "I don't look at it unless I have to."

Aren had dropped Baylee off at the daycare center and was working when she heard the explosion. "I 

could see the smoke," Aren remembers, "but I just thought it was demolition work."

As news of the bombing spread through the city, Aren soon realized the building that housed her daughter's daycare center had been bombed. Her nightmare was just beginning. "One of my supervisors drove me down here," Aren says, her voice trembling. "I stood behind the building for an hour or so just asking rescue workers about the children."

As Aren's family joined the vigil, they began to check the nearby hospitals. Hours passed before they finally got word that an unidentified child matching Baylee's description had been taken to St. 

Anthony's Hospital. When Aren reached the hospital, a nurse paged Baylee's pediatrician. "He came around the corner with a priest, and I knew then that she was gone."

Aren retreated with her family to her grandparents' house. "I remember getting up that next morning and looking for the newspaper," she says, recalling how her family hid the paper with Baylee's photo on the front page. "I picked up the paper, and I said, 'That's Baylee.' It didn't necessarily look like her. I just knew it was Baylee."

In the six years since, Aren has slowly pieced her life together again. She married Stan Kok in 1997, 

and they are parents to Bella, 2 years old, and Broox, born in November. Aren has also helped found a nonprofit foundation called Protecting People First, and she travels throughout the United States encouraging businesses to use shatterproof glass.

While working for the foundation, Aren met Congressman Bob Franks of New Jersey. When she told him that she and other parents had no idea there were federal law enforcement offices in the Murrah Building, he was outraged. As a result, the two worked together to pass a law--Baylee's Law--making it mandatory that daycare centers located in federal buildings notify parents when high-risk tenants move in.

And though she still can't bear to look at the picture, Aren has come to accept her child's place in history. "I feel like Baylee was put on this earth to do what she did, and that was to represent everyone who died in the building that day."

Finding Peace...

In my notebook, I scribble these words: "We gather at this site searching for what we know is gone forever." I ponder this statement while staring at my face in the reflecting pool that stretches the length of the memorial. It's true this city--the nation even--lost much that day.

But I see, too, the reflection of a city that refused to be defeated by a terrorist's bomb. I see a lovely memorial built by that same community so that we will not forget what happened here or 

underestimate the power of our actions.

I kneel and dip my hands in the pool, as I've seen many others do. I walk to the bronze wall and lay my palms flat against the sun-warmed surface, adding my own prints to the thousands already there. The now-familiar refrain, etched into the tall gates, enters my prayer. "Dear God," I begin. "May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May I know..."

Are You Using Your Talents and Abilities?

It’s amazing to me how each and everyone of us has some talent or ability that we are really good at and that can be used to the glory of God. I am reminded of the The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-28) in which 3 servants were given 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent respectively. In those days talents were equivalent to money, however, nowadays when someone speaks of talents, we think of the A+ student in class, famous actors and athletes or even the so called gurus of web design/development.

As the parable states, the first two men used their talents and gained double what they had started out with. The third, however, buried it in the ground and thus his master was very displeased with him. He was called “wicked” and “lazy”. Sounds kind of harsh doesn’t it? But what can we learn from this story? We can learn that God has given us each different talents and abilities that he expects us to put to good use. We shouldn’t hide these talents and bury them in the sand as the third servant did but instead we should use our talents and abilities for the glory of God.

It’s also important to note that we are all in this together. Just as each part of our body contributes to the whole, so too does the talents and abilities of each of us contribute to the well-being of each other, the world as we know it and the kingdom of God.

Here are a few verses from the Bible on Talents and Abilities.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

Since we are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.1 Corinthians 14:12

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

Lord, I thank you for the talents you have given each and everyone of us. Help us Lord, not to bury it in the ground as the third servant did, but instead let us follow the example of the first two servants and use our talents to bring glory and honour to your name and build up your kingdom. Help us to be humble and realise that we all need each other. Remind us that the talents we each have can be beneficial to others in some way. Lord, once again we thank you and we ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Published: 29 May 2007
Written by Yannick
God's Porch 

For Better or Worse.. They Just Might Stick

“I can still feel the impact of a musical friend who one day called me ‘musical.’ No one had ever called me that. I didn’t really play an instrument. I was no soloist. Yet . . . I instantly felt known and loved. . . . [He] noticed, validated, and appreciated something deeply true about me.” These words were written in an article by Mark Labberton and beautifully remind us of the importance of “names” we assign to one another.

Whatever “names” or even “images” we assign to other people carry a lot of weight, and for better or worse, you’d better believe they stick.

Long before I considered myself a writer, I thought of words as little pieces of puzzles. The end result of piecing them together might be a letter to a loved one, an essay at school, or a few lines in my diary about the impossibly cute boy who worked at an arcade in town.

Naturally I never thought about my effectiveness with words. I simply knew I loved being in their presence. I remember when I actually began to feel like, maybe… just maybe… they enjoyed being in my presence as well.

My aunt (one of the sweetest people in the world, by the way) was always one of my favorite family members to write letters to. She loved to hear about my pets, friends, school, clothes, etc. If I had an interest in something, she wanted to know all about it. One Christmas (I believe I was around 14-15), she and my uncle came in for Christmas. Right smack in front of the entire family, she launched into how much she loves getting my letters. She said I had a “gift” for writing. She went on to say that she kept all of my letters. Then my mom said that she kept all of my poems and short stories that I’d written in school.

I thought, “You KEPT all that crap???”

My aunt told me, “You should be a writer,” and my mom replied, “She already is.”

I have no idea what gifts I unwrapped under the tree that year, but I know that two of the most important people in my life gave me one of the best gifts I’ve ever gotten – belief in myself.

Since that day, whenever I’ve written anything I’ve sat a little taller and felt a lot more confident. Whenever I’d get anything less than an A+ on an essay, I’d think, “Well, you obviously don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m the writer here.” Even today if someone tells me they think I should have said this or that in a blog post, I think, “What do you know? I’m a writer. Go away.”

Many years passed between the day my mom and aunt made me feel 10 feet tall. I became a wife (to the cute arcade boy) and mother of three beautiful daughters. I threw myself completely into these roles. The only writing I did was letters and curriculum for my daughters, who I home-schooled all the way from Kindergarten to 12th Grade.

When I decided that I’d very much like to be a web publisher and blog writer, I remembered what my family had said all those years ago. Their words gave me confidence to try. I’d always see so many

great authors online that there were times I’d kind of doubt myself. Right around this time, a friend of my husband’s who happened to have a great reputation online as a web publisher said that he was “in love with my writing.”

This compliment was like a shot in the arm and I felt positively sassy again.

Words carry so much weight! Whether they’re words we say to our children, our spouse, ourselves, or people we barely even know.

Think of words like this: When you call someone “dumb” or even say they did a “dumb” thing – it’s as though you’re writing the word on a post it note and pinning it to their top. They WILL live down to your expectations.

When you call someone “gifted,” “smart,” “witty,” etc… they WILL live up to your expectations.

Think about things people have called you. No doubt both good and bad names come to mind. That’s a perfect illustration that these labels stay with us and a wonderful reminder to watch what words come out of your mouth.

Now for a harder exercise – think about the names you have called other people or the titles you’ve given them. If you’re the sort of person who has pinned far more negative words than positive, make it right. If you think you’ve been particularly harmful to someone’s self confidence or fear that
someone doesn’t think you believe in them – don’t let another day go by without clearing things up.

Words have the power to change lives.

“If you wouldn’t write it and sign it, don’t say it.” - Earl Wilson

Taken From Self Help Daily~ By Joi

What If Today Was Your Last Day?

 Although they had a small-time start in Canada, they are now huge in the U.S.  Nickelback smashed onto the Billboard charts in 2001 with "How You Remind Me" and has convinced folks to buy more than 25 million albums since then.  Included in Nickelback's trophy case are accolades from the MTV Video Music Awards, the World Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Juno Awards, and several nods from the guys at the Grammy's.  Nickelback's presence has been felt in the pop, hard rock, alternative, and metal crowds.

In other words, I'm assuming you know who Nickelback is?

Or perhaps you're familiar with one of their latest hits - "If Today Were Your Last Day"- that was also made into a very cool video.  This song is also a very clear reminder that even though we'd like to think we have a long time to live here on earth, the fact is, no one really knows and there are definitely no guarantees. So in light of that, Nickelback poses some great questions:

If today was your last day
& tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?
Would you call those friends you've never seen?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
Would you find that one you're dreaming of?
Swear up & down to God above
That you'll finally fall in love?
If today was your last daySo.what if today really was your last day?

Seriously, don't we just assume we have all the time in the world? So we fritter and waste away the hours and days on mostly meaningless and generally purposeless activities that really make no difference in the grand scheme of things?

That is what Nickelback is getting at, and I think this is an issue worth thinking about - and even contemplating for a bit.

Why?  Well, for many reasons.  But I think the most important being the fact that you don't want to look back at the end of your life with the burden of regret.  Oh yes, there are thousands, maybe millions of people who do every single day.  Instead of passing into eternity with a triumphant feeling of having squeezed every drop of juice out of life, their souls are weighted with the lament of all the "if only" and "why didn't I" flashbacks of life.

You know whose life didn't end with regret?  The Apostle Paul's. Read and reflect on what is probably the last thing written by him and recorded in the Bible:

As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me - the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

Did you catch the parallels between Paul's last words and "If Today Were Your Last Day"?  They 
both have a clear statement of "I'm going beyond this culture's annoying habit of wasting the days that could have been spent with passion and investment in the things that last forever."

Paul spent his days pouring out his life like a "drink offering" to God, because he knew two very critical things.  First, Jesus Christ will return - and can at any time - and call all true believers into His kingdom.  Second, after His return there will be a Judgment Day, when we will all give an account of how we spent the time we had on Earth.

Those two facts became the engine and the fuel of his life and as a result, he wrote two thirds of the New Testament and was used by God to spread the gospel throughout the world.

What if Paul hadn't lived each day as if it were his last?  Well, he would have made more money, been more comfortable, maybe even retired on a tropical island and invented the internet so he'd have something to do.

And he would have sped into eternity with an eternity of regret.

But that wasn't for him, and that isn't for me.  And do you know what?  I hope it isn't for you either!  Pour out each day like a drink offering to God.  Look forward to Jesus' return at every turn in life.  And most importantly, remember there will be a Judgment day, which I hope is a day where your life is applauded and your work is rewarded.

That is how to live like today is your last day.

Watch the Nickelback video on YouTube with your friends and talk about how they would answer the question of "If Today Were Your Last Day."  Pray for an opportunity to share how that question 
doesn't worry you because you know where you will spend eternity, and share the gospel.

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom (Ecclesiastes 9:10).

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?" (Matthew 6:25-26).

Source dare2share.org

Some Friends Are Not Forever

Friendship is a precious gift. I am thankful for the amazing friends that God has used to impact me as I’ve walked these 31 years. When you meet a person who understands you, can laugh with you, and who can pray for you, you have found a dear friend.

Growing up in a small town, my friendships were strengthened by our proximity. In college, I met new friends from different walks of life. I was pleasantly surprised to meet so many people with different outlooks on life, yet we became friends due to commonalities we shared and struggles that found us each year. It was during my college years that I began to understand the layers of friendships and how they can come and go.

We meet so many different people during our lives. If you are sociable and like to talk, like I do, you are bound to meet a lot of people and probably get along with them pretty well. Work, college classes, church, small groups, mission trips, gyms—we make friends, but deep down, do we have the same expectations of behaviors in each of these friendships?

The emergence of Facebook has created, I believe, a friendship galaxy that was never meant to exist. We can be “friends” with people that we haven’t seen in years, our workout buddy we see once a week, or even our old professors. We can be proud of this large friendship number. But are all of the “friends” truly friends? I am guilty of seeing “friends” from Facebook in real life and thinking… “Should I go over and talk to them? I mean, what would I say?” Are we guilty of misusing this precious label of friendship?

One day I was feeling overwhelmed. I was investing in a couple of really awesome friends going through new life changes. I also had an active social calendar with invitations from other friends coming left and right. I was literally running around so much I was beginning to feel anxious. I was also worrying about the fact that I had not heard from a couple friends in awhile. Did I do something to hurt their feelings?

I remember my parents telling me, “You know, sometimes you can have too many friends.” I understood what they meant. Instead of investing in 30+ people and feeling a bit overwhelmed, I needed to begin sorting through the friendships that were most important to me. I also needed to begin being easier with my expectations towards them and on myself.

We can look at Jesus as our example. He was friendly, helpful, a wonderful blessing in others lives! But his small, close pack of friends (disciples) I dare say knew him best.

I can look back and see the people whom God placed in my life at certain seasons, and how those particular people, with their particular character traits, helped me through that season. I have been saddened when those friendships have faded and usually place the responsibility all on myself. But as I have aged, I see that it’s ok that some friends are not forever and that friendship is a two-way street.

I believe that God weaves our lives in and out of each other's stories like a brilliantly multi-colored afghan. Sometimes it’s for months, years, and a few ones are for life. We see the individual threads and movements when we look closely. We go through trials and celebrations with them, but inevitably, the thread ends and another is tied on.

I have seen a trend in friendships I think would help us to understand our intentionality with each other. In my mind, I view most of my friendships in one of three lenses:

Moment friends: These are the friends you meet in moments of life. Maybe you both volunteered together once or you met them in a class. These are people that can inevitably people more
“seasonal” or “core” friends but they initially float in and out of your life pretty quickly.

Seasonal friends: These are friends that you meet in different seasons of your life. Maybe it’s in a small or community group, co-workers, soccer moms, etc. They are “going through life” with you and you have more in common.

Core friends: This group is what I would call the backbone of friends. “Best friends” would fall in this category. Friends that have seen you through many seasons, trials, celebrations, and are right by your side. These are the people that you might not talk to for a couple months, but when you do, you feel like you haven’t skipped a beat

This is definitely not a rating tool. I believe that every friend you have, whether he or she is there for a moment or for life, is a blessing. What I do hope you take from this is that seasons change, as do friendships.

Friendships are what you make of them. If one person invests more than the other it can hurt. That’s where communication and clarity on your own friend expectations need to be determined. This will be different for everyone.

So, take notice of who is there for you. Who laughs with you, celebrates your accomplishments, or is a shoulder you can cry on. Love on those friends and do the same for them! Our command to love is clearly stated in the Bible:

“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”-Matthew 22: 37-39

When we make sure to love God with everything we are and love on others we meet in this life, I promise our hearts will feel full no matter how many friends we have.

By Mandy Smith 

Amazing Grace

Grace really is amazing.

If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time, chances are you have struggled with frustrating habits or been disappointed by failures or just couldn’t do “it” (whatever your “it” is). But once you have a revelation of God’s grace in your life, you’ll know just how amazing it is!

Well, what is grace?

I’m glad you asked. But first, think of a problem you’re having in your life right now—a bad habit, conflict in a relationship, a particularly long and difficult period of testing. Now I want to ask you: Have you beentrying to make things work out? If so, have they…or are you discouraged, disappointed, or frustrated?

If your answer is yes, then you are in the best place to realize just how amazing God’s grace really is! You see, grace is the power to overcome bad habits, to make peace in a relationship, or to bring you victoriously through a time of testing—without all your trying. That’s because it is God’s power, not ours, that overcomes our evil tendencies.

All that our trying has ever done, or will ever really do, is cause frustration. We can never make ourselves better by trying…praying more or longer, studying more of the Word, performing good works, etc. Don’t get me wrong…it’s not bad to do any of these things. In fact, it’s good. It’s just that doing them in God’s power is the only way those things will have any real and lasting effect in our lives.

The interesting thing about trying is that it’s not scriptural. Yes, the word is in the Bible. But, it’s not there telling us to try to do better or be better. If you look it up, you’ll see that when that word is used, it’s in reference to the “trying” of our faith, “trying” the spirits, or “trying” us to prove our character. All our trying, or human effort, is really just works of the flesh that can never bring about the change in us that only God’s power, or grace, can.

It’s certainly not wrong to want to be a better person. God gave us that desire. But according to Galatians 3:10, ...anyone who tries to live by his own effort, independent of God, is doomed to failure (MSG). That’s why so much of the time we will find ourselves frustrated, disappointed and overwhelmed by the “stuff” in our lives. We try to work it out on our own. And that will never do.

Choose His Help

God wants to help us…He loves us…we are His children. But He will not force His help on us at any time. He sees us when we struggle and fight and complain our way through things. And I believe it breaks His heart, when all we have to do is ask Him for help.

God taught me this truth in a way I’ll never forget. My husband, Dave, is tall. I’m not so tall. We have a really high window over the kitchen sink in our house. When that window is open, there’s no way for me to close it without a big ordeal. But how do you think it would make Dave feel if I ran out of the house to go ask the man next door to come and close that window for me? Or what if I tried to do it myself, straining and stretching, maybe climbing up on the counter, possibly knocking things over, getting all worn-out…while Dave was sitting right there? That would really be insulting to him. In the same way, it grieves God to watch us struggle so needlessly, when all the while, He is right there waiting for us to simply exchange trying for trusting.

His grace is the power for living an abundant life. Our faith receives, not “buys,” the blessings of
God. Striving, struggling, trying can never do that. Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us that it is by grace you
have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (NIV).

So in the same way we became born again, we live in the Spirit—by God’s grace, through faith. It’s simple. Humble yourself. Ask God for His help. Then, do what He says. Trust in His power—He is mighty to do whatever we need Him to do and to help us do our part. Trust in His wisdom—He knows what, when and how to do it.

Trust in His goodness—He wants to do it.

Now, isn’t that amazing?

By: Joyce Meyer

Be a Blessing

Every day when we pray, we ask for something good to happen to our lives. We seek refuge and hope that someone will come to help lighten our burdens each day. Sometimes too we look around and see people suffering around us. We hope that someone who can help them would do something and make them less miserable. The truth is, the world can be a better place if everyone spoke less about how much the world needs to change for the better but instead did something about it.

No Need for Superpowers

We all say, “I wish I had superpowers; then I could change the world.” But it doesn’t have to be that way. You don’t need to be bionic to help. Let’s say the superpower idea in the movies is a metaphor for your talents. We are all given a certain special trait, skill, or talent that we are really good at. This trait, talent, or skill will only have a purpose if we use it wisely to help others around us.

No Money to Help

Another excuse for not being able to help others is the idea that you can only help if you have money. Helping doesn’t always mean a huge sum of a donation to some charity. Look around you. There is always an opportunity to help others if you just lift your hands and reach out to do so.

One Act of Kindness at a Time

You may not be able to heal those who are sick or give scholarships to orphans, but there is always something you can do. I believe we are given chances to help others if we only open our eyes to recognize them. Just like a scene in the movie Bruce Almighty, God said, “We all can help with one act of kindness at a time.” Little actions become a habit, and it is contagious. So help an old lady across the street or open a door for someone when you get the chance and see how that makes you feel.

The Power of a Smile

Would you believe that a simple smile could be a great help or blessing to someone who badly needs it at that very moment? People have learned to disguise their emotions and pretend that everything is fine even when it’s not. Many people are lonely, but they are afraid to reach out to others because of the fear of rejection. Offer a ready smile to people you meet. Trust me; somehow you will make someone out there happy even if it’s just for a little while.

The Gift of Time

The best blessing you can be to someone is to be a friend who gives time to someone in trouble. Giving some time to listen to someone’s story or simply being there as a shoulder to cry on makes a whole lot of difference in someone else’s life. Imagine if you were not there? It feels good to know you’ve comforted someone in need.

The Blessing Is You

A blessing is not just money or any material thing that people wish for. The best blessing is you sharing yourself with the world. Remember never to pass up a chance to help someone in need. No matter how simple the task is, every little act of kindness counts. And when other people see how doing good works for you, they will do the same. Imagine if all the people in the world did little acts of kindness to others. The world would be a better place for sure. So don’t pass up the chance to be a blessing to others today.

Lord, Have Mercy

I cry out to the LORD;

I plead for the LORD’s mercy. Psalm

When I think of the phrase “Lord, have mercy!” I picture somebody’s grandmother remarking on a situation that is both desperate and humorous. Perhaps she has just heard that her grandson got his driver’s license: “Lord, have mercy!” means “Oh, my! Help him! Help me! Help us all!”

Ironically, the phrase “Lord, have mercy!” has now made its entrance into pop culture via the Internet, though in abbreviated form. LHM appears regularly on Facebook, Twitter, and in text messages. For example, a recent Tweet reads, “It’s Superhot today! LHM .” As a resident of south-central Texas, I can retweet that one! Lord, have mercy, indeed!

David begins his prayer in Psalm 142 with a version of LHM: “I cry out to the LORD; I plead for the LORD’s mercy” (142:1). The Hebrew verb translated here as “I plead” is a form of the root verb that means “to be gracious, to show pity, to have mercy.” David is not just crying out to the Lord. He is seeking mercy, pity, and grace. By implication, David understands that God does not owe him. God is not obligated because of David’s position or exemplary behavior. Rather, David recognizes that he is utterly dependent on God’s goodness, on God’s choice to show kindness.

The good news for David, and for us, is that God does show mercy. In fact, mercy is central to God’s character. When he reveals himself to Moses, God identifies himself as “Yahweh! The LORD! The God of compassion and mercy!” (Exod. 34:6). According to Ephesians 2:4, God is “rich in mercy.” Hebrew 4:16 offers the following invitation: “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it the most.”

So, when, like David, we are in a desperate situation, we can cry out to God for help, putting confidence in our richly merciful God. In a sense, though, every one of our prayers is a cry for mercy, whether we are in a crisis or not. We do not approach God on the basis of our own worthiness. Rather, we come before him because he is gracious, because he has invited us, because he will give us, not what we deserve, but much, much more and much, much better than we deserve.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Can you think of times in your life when you have cried out to God for mercy? What happened? Why do you think we are so often inclined to think that our prayers are based on our own worthiness rather than God’s mercy? If you really believed that God was rich in mercy, how might you pray today?

PRAYER: Gracious and merciful God, how thankful I am that you are indeed merciful…full of mercy. How thankful I am that I can approach you, not on the basis of my worthiness, but in response to your grace. How grateful I am that you invite me to approach your throne with confidence, even boldness, because I can count on your mercy. Amazing!

Help me, dear Lord, to trust in your mercy. Help me to rely on you and your grace. Help me to live today in light of your mercy. And may I therefore be merciful to others. Amen.

Taken From Lord, Have Mercy! Inspiration from The High Calling
July 1, 2012 By Mark D. Roberts

Here is a link to listen to a song sang by Scott Castleberry. I ran across him on Facebook and wanted to share his beautiful voice.

Click Here: Scott Castleberry: Mercy Walked In

Are You Ready For Game Day?

Well sports fans, the full array of athletic competition has been rolled out like a red carpet that leads to the stage of glory.

First there is football…

America’s love affair with the men (and occasionally women) who compete on the gridiron is undeniable. There are husbands who literally tell there wives that they will see them in January when all the High School, NCAA and NFL championships are done. There are fans who paint their bodies and act in ways that are certifiably insane, unless of course they are done in honor of their team.

Then on the middle and high school campus, athletes are disciplining themselves to be the best of the best. Soccer and Tennis and Cross Country contests (to name a few) are happening in every city and county in the country, where athletes taste the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Whether you’re a starter, a benchwarmer, a bleacher bum, or you despise all sports hands down, there is a huge lesson we can take away from the obsession with sports that plays out in our culture—

If we treated the Christian life like a sport, we would all be more effective in loving and serving Jesus.

That’s what the Apostle Paul thought anyway, and can’t you just imagine him sporting an authentic jersey or doing the wave with the Greeks during the ancient Olympics? That’s why he challenges us with these words:

We all know that when there’s a race, all the runners bolt for the finish line, but only one will take the prize. When you run, run for the prize! Athletes in training are very strict with themselves,exercising self-control over desires, and for what? For a wreath that soon withers or is crushed or simply forgotten. That is not our race. We run for the crown that we will wear for eternity. So I don’t run aimlessly. I don’t let my eyes drift off the finish line. When I box, I don’t throw punches in the air. I discipline my body and make it my slave so that after all this, after I have brought the gospel to others, I will still be qualified to win the prize (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).

Paul saw the Christian life in terms of athletic competition in two distinct ways. First, he realized that following Jesus is a competition for a prize that will last forever. To win it, we must remember that we compete against ourselves and the enemy. When we forget that, we may end up just barely crossing the finish line or even worse— disqualified—which means we don’t receive the wreath of victory. To be victorious, we must long to hear “well done, good and faithful servant” from Jesus Christ on Judgment Day as He places a victory wreath around our neck.

The athletes who were victorious in Paul’s day took a vow to train for 10 months and deny themselves anything that would get in the way of winning. Sadly, I feel like Christians today wouldn’t give up 10 minutes a day to study God’s Word, pray and share the gospel with others.

Paul also made the comparison of treating the Christian life like a training schedule. He wanted to make every “punch” count, and he woke up every morning with the determination to not let his physical body rule over his spiritual calling to “deny himself and take up his cross” (Luke 9:23).

The bottom line here is that we need to start looking at our commitment to Christ like a race and like a fight. We are racing against time and our sin nature to receive the prize from Jesus, and we are in a competition for the very souls of our friends and family.

So would you start considering yourself to be a spiritual athlete? If you and I want to see people trust Christ and THE Cause go forward, we must enter into the kind of spiritual training that makes pro athletes look like lazy couch potatoes by comparison.

Start tomorrow by getting up 10 minutes earlier to talk to Jesus about your day. Deny yourself the temptation to post a status update or tweet for the 57th time today so you can check in on the love letter God sent you in the pages of the Bible. And when the enemy tries to tackle you as you attempt to score a goal for THE Cause, straight-arm him in the face with the strength that comes from living in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Know that one day we will all give an account to The Judge for the race that we ran for Him. Visualize standing before Christ for your life recap and performance review—that should highly motivate you to run the very best race you possibly can!

But most importantly, when you consider all that Jesus has done for you, how can you do anything
less than give Him your all? Let your love for Christ drive you to great levels of discipline and focus which will lead to spiritual victories for His glory and His kingdom!