Prayers and Praises

Please pray for all the people who are dealing with flooding along the east coast.

Please pray for me as I decide what to do about letting my daughter go on her first out-of-town field trip. I need wisdom.

Praise to God for help in healing. Each day gets a little easier, and God is giving me freedom from not only the pain itself, but from the source of the pain. Thank you, God, for all you do!

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36, NIV)

Praise!

Praise God! Let's all pray for, and give a heartfelt congratulations to, our own Tericia Summers who is soon to become Mrs. Tericia Eller! Love to you and yours Tericia! God Bless You!

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24, Amplified Bible)

Avoidance Patterns

"If we were not so busy trying to avoid personal pain, fear could not dominate our lives."

Joyce Meyer, The Confident Woman

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

(1 John 4:18, NIV)

Prayers and Praises

Please pray for my friends Kelly and Allen. They have been dealing with quite a lot lately.

Please pray for my heart to heal, and for me not to take my pain out on anyone else during this time.

Praise God for the healing He has been giving Debbie. She is getting around quite well after her surgery, but she still has a way to go.

Please pray for a friend of mine, D, who is dealing with a lot of fear and guilt.

Praise God for being with my pastor and his wife. They are celebrating their wedding anniversary next week.

Thank you God for never leaving us or forsaking us.

Lesson for the Week

The Message

(09/24/10)

The other day I was walking through the grocery store when I happened upon a man who was walking with one crutch. He had long hair and was a little scruffy looking around the edges. As he came closer I noticed that he was sweating profusely, as if each step he took was a full workout for him. As I smiled at him I heard him say, “I hope that you have a great day, pretty lady.” Well, my first thought was, “Oh no… I do not need to be hit on by this man.” So I graciously accepted the compliment and wished him a good day as well, hoping that he would walk right by me. What he did next threw me for a loop. He stopped next to my cart, looked me square in the eye and said, “Do you know Jesus?” I answered, “Yes. Yes I do.” That sparked a conversation about the wonder of God. This man kept saying, “He’s great, isn’t He?!” When I agreed with him he said, “I’m not a smart enough man to use a better word than ‘great’. I just don’t know any other way to say it.” That’s when I said, “I think you’ve used exactly the right word.” At that point I saw the man close his eyes and grab my cart. He looked as if he was possibly having a heart attack or a stroke. I asked him if he was OK. No response. I asked him if I should call someone. Again, no response. I didn’t know what to do. Should I call 911? No cell signal. Should I call the manager of the store? I wanted to get someone, but I didn’t want to leave him in such a state. I stood seemingly paralyzed for just a moment; but before I got the chance to do anything, the man relaxed, opened his eyes, looked right at me and said, “I’m just grateful that God gave me another day.” From that point he wished me well and walked on to towards the registers. As I watched him walk away, I saw another customer ask him if he was OK. He responded with, “I’m just grateful that God gave me another day.” Then he said, “Sir, do you know Jesus?” After he was out of sight, I stood in that same spot for a moment. I was looking at applesauce and canned peaches for my daughter, but I wasn’t really paying that much attention to them. All I could think about was this man. I don’t know exactly what his problems are. I don’t know the pain that he has to deal with every day. But to him, those things don’t seem to matter. All that matters to him is whether or not the people he comes in contact with know Jesus. Regardless of whatever else is going on in his life, he knows what the most important thing is. He knows that his time on this earth is precious and fleeting, and that he shouldn’t waste a moment of it on anything other than showing the love of God through Jesus Christ. All of our lives get crazy at times. We all have a myriad of stuff we have to deal with every day. I, for one, am extremely grateful that God is there to help me through it all. What we all need to remember, however, is that in the midst of our mess, we can take a lesson from this man and not forget about the message.

“He said unto them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” (Mark 16:15, NIV)

Praise!

I just want to thank God, and thank all those who prayed for me. The tests on my arm came back negative for further cancer! Praise Him!

"... by His wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5, NIV)

Lesson for the Week

Kaleidoscope
(09/19/10)

This morning I was trying to catch up on some homework from my art appreciation class. Right now we are studying the elements of art, one of which is perspective. Once I was finished going over the ideas of linear perspective, isometric perspective, and atmospheric perspective, I began to think of all the perspectives in which we view God. This brought me back to a morning several months ago when I decided to have my personal devotional time out on my parents’ screened-in porch. Before I could really begin to read or pray, I was struck by one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. It was so simple, and something any of us could notice on any sunny day; but for me on this day, it was just amazing. It was the sight of the sun piercing through all the leaves on the trees surrounding our house. With each step in a different direction, the view changed; yet it always remained beautiful. It reminded me very much of a kaleidoscope. Every time you turn a kaleidoscope, the view changes, though the colors and the beauty of it never do. I think this is how we tend to look at God. As we go through our lives, our view, or our perspective, of God changes with every step we take, with every problem we solve, with every storm we survive, and with every season we’re in. When we’re in the midst of a battle, we see God as our warrior. When we are hurting from a loss, we see God as our comforter. When we are wondering whether or not our next check will cover our expenses, we see God as our provider. When we are sick and begin to question whether or not we will ever feel better, we see God as our healer. The ways we see God seem to continually change depending on our situation; yet God, himself, never changes. Regardless of our perspective, God is the same “…yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8, NIV)

A Continual Feast

"... the cheerful heart has a continual feast."

(Proverbs 15:15, NIV)

Prayers and Praises

Praise! I have been praying for a friend of mine who has been dealing with some spiritual warfare, and the other day she told me about a breakthrough she had. Praise God!

Please pray for my friend Kelly and her family. Her grandmother died early this morning.

Please pray for Alma for healing.

Praise be to God for He has shown my so much love! I have been praying against loneliness for quite some time, and God is giving me some new friends and new boyfriend.

Please pray for the Fall Bazaar happening at the Boone United Methodist Church this weekend. Pray for its success and blessings and strength for all the volunteers.

Please continue to pray for my ex-husband. He is still without a job.

"I will proclaim the name of the Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He." (Deuteronomy 32:3-4, NIV)

Lesson for the Week

Let Your Blessings Flow
(02/10/09)

We live in a give and take society. There are those who are givers, and those who are takers. If you notice, the takers have a really hard time giving, and the givers have a really hard time taking. What most of us may not understand is, there is a balance and flow to life. Does God want us to have a giving heart and spirit? Definitely! “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV). There are times, however, when He wants us to receive. He is trying to bless us daily, but since we don’t always understand His love for us, or we think we may not deserve it, we won’t accept that blessing .
God blesses us for many reasons, one being that He wants to see our joy. Think about Christmas morning. Doesn’t it do our hearts good to see our children or loved ones open up a present we spent time picking out for them? God feels the same way when He gives us a gift. He wants us to just enjoy what we‘ve been given. Another reason He may bless us, however, is so He can use us to bless someone else. Think about the times in life when someone has given you a gift that doesn’t quite fit your personality, or it’s something you already have. You are very appreciative, but you know you won‘t use it. At that point, ask God to show you someone who needs that very thing.
There is another aspect to this matter that we must consider. There are times in life when God may want us to give away something that is very important to us. We’ve all heard the phrase “give till it hurts”? I think this may be where that expression comes from. I once heard a story from Joyce Meyer about this very subject. I don’t remember all the particulars, but here are the basics. Now, for those of you who have heard and seen Joyce, you know she’s a clothes horse. She loves her fashion. Long before her large financial blessings started coming in, and getting new clothes was rare, she went shopping and got herself a new outfit. Shortly thereafter, in spite of the fact that she had not worn it yet, God told her to give her new clothes away. Joyce’s reaction, as most of ours would probably be, was “Excuse me? You want me to do what?” Though it was hard for her to do, Joyce eventually gave her new outfit to an acquaintance of hers. She understood, as we must also, that everything we receive from God, still truly belongs to Him. “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” (Job 41:11, NIV) Some things He may want us to keep and enjoy, while others He may want us to pass on. As you continue in your walk with God, ask Him to teach you the balance and flow of His blessings.

Give a Rose to God

"Take each compliment that you receive as a rose and at the end of the day take the entire bouquet and offer it back to God, knowing that it came from him."

Joyce Meyer, The Confident Woman


"For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen." (Romans 11:36, NIV)

Prayers and Praises

Please pray for the people that were affected by the explosion due to the broken gas line in California last night.

Pray for the people who were affected by the earthquake in Australia last Saturday.

Please pray for me as I wait on the results of cancer testing. Please also pray for a cure for cancer. "...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31, NIV)

I want to openly thank God for the positive changes in my relationship with my daughter.

Please pray for the church as a whole for reconciliation. I don't believe that God ever intended for us to be "denominational".

"The Lord is my strength and my song: He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God, and I will exalt Him." (Exodus 15:2, NIV)

Please pray for the situation with the mosque being built in NY at the 9/11 site. This issue is causing a lot of pain for a lot of people. Please pray for healing for our country.

Praise God for taking care of Kristy's father. He is out of the hospital now and doing better.

Self-Confidence v. Conceit

"The difference between self-confidence and conceit is as simple as love and fear. Jesus was self-confident... Hitler was afraid."

Bill Crawford

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8, NIV)

A Heart Repaired

"...a heart impaired became a heart repaired..."

Blake Elder

Appalachian State University Football Team Captain

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3, NIV)

Prayers and Praises

Praise God! My friend's mother, Debbie, came through her surgery well, and is now home.

Please pray for the people of Sudan. Politically, it is heating up, and there is talk of war.

Praise God for His movement at the High Country Praise Festival yesterday. It was a blessing to see all the young people praising Him! I pray that they continue to live a life of praise and worship; and that each Godly seed that was planted into their hearts grows abundantly.

Please pray for the families of special needs children.

Praise you, God, for all the work you put into our lives everyday! There is so much we don't see, but through faith we know that you are always working on our behalf.

Lesson for the Week

Wise Up
(03/27/09)

I’m sure you have heard the saying, “Knowledge is power”. I don’t agree. I believe “the use of knowledge is power”. You can be absolutely constipated with knowledge, but if you don’t use it, you gain nothing. What about wisdom? It was said to me just today that “the proper use of knowledge is wisdom”. (Thank you, Christopher). So why is wisdom so important? Let’s go to Proverbs 4:5-9. “Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.” (NIV). Wisdom is so important that when God was going to grant Solomon anything he wished, Solomon only asked for wisdom, and God was very pleased (1 Kings 3). Where does wisdom come from? Paul told the Colossians, “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” (Colossians 2:2-3, NIV). So how do we obtain wisdom? The word tells us that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding.” (Psalm 111:10, NIV). “The fear of the Lord” is only step one. “Following his precepts” is step two. We must gain and properly act on the knowledge that God gives us through His word in order to grow.
Keep in mind that God wants us to shine for Him. He tells us we are “the light of the world.”, and He wants us to let our light “shine before men”. (Matthew 5:14&16, NIV). I believe our light will shine the brightest as we acquire and use His wisdom. “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens…” (Daniel 12:3, NIV).

Knowledge

"Knowledge and understanding is power when applied properly."

Joyce Meyer, The Confident Woman

"...my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge..." (Hosea 4:6, NIV)

Prayer Requests

Please pray for the father of one of my classmates, Kristy. He was in the emergency room earlier today. Pray also for her and the rest of her family for peace, strength, and comfort during this time.

Please pray for Rachel. She is an after school caregiver for my daughter at her school. She was in the emergency room because she could not stop throwing up.

Please pray for the family and friends of Kimberly Greer. She died on Sunday.

Please pray for the family and friends of William Spencer. He died on Monday.

Please pray for a young lady named Shelley. She just found out she's pregnant and has been dealing with a landlord who won't take care of the black mold in her house.

Please pray for all those in the path of Hurricane Earl.

Please pray for my sister and her family who are traveling this week for a wedding.

Please pray for Stephanie and her family. God knows what they need.

Thank you, God, for being with each of these people in their time of need.