Treasure Chest

"Your mind can be a junkyard or a treasure chest, and you alone have the ability to choose what it will be."

Joyce Meyer, Power Thoughts


"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." (Philippians 4:8, NIV)

Prayer Requests

Please pray for the people of Haiti as they are dealing with this outbreak of cholera. Also pray for them as they continue to live in the terrible conditions from the aftermath of the earthquake almost a year ago.

Please pray for the people of Indonesia who are dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake and a volcano eruption.

Please continue to pray for Dean.

Please continue to pray for the family of Dr. Hawley.

Praise you, God, for helping these people. As you help them with their physical needs, please bring your word into their lives.

Lesson for the Week

The Dau
(10/22/10)

During my Art Appreciation class this semester, I learned about the art of the Pomo Indians. They like to create these beautiful baskets, and in each one is something called a “Dau”. A dau is a small, barely visible imperfection or hole that serves as a door for spirits to travel in and out of. Now, understand me, I’m not of the mind that spirits randomly travel in and out of inanimate objects, but the idea of the dau got me thinking about our own flaws and limitations. If you think about it, God created us with our own kind of a dau. Look at it this way. We know that He created us in His image, and that image is perfect. But we also know that as we get older, our own personal imperfections begin to show; and it’s during those times that we need Him the most. We need His word to renew our minds and keep us focusing on the beauty of life when everything else seems to be falling down around us. We need His strength when we are angry and ready to take it out on someone who may or may not deserve it. (Sometimes we all have to remember who vengeance belongs to…) We need his provisions when we feel as if we should be able to handle everything ourselves, yet can’t seem to make it happen. When life becomes too hard, we have a choice. We can either let our pain, anger, or fear streak out in every direction from our dau: or we can let God into those imperfections where His light can shine through for everyone to see.

2 Samuel 22:29
Isaiah 2:5
2 Corinthians 4:6

Prayers and Praises

Please pray for Dean as he recovers from pneumonia.

Please pray for Dr. Hawley and his family. His mother is very sick.

According to an AP article, many states are expanding their eligibility requirements for food stamps. Though there are many who wrongfully take advantage of the system, there are still many who truly need the help in this economy. Please pray that God's wisdom reigns supreme on this issue.

Please pray for those in China who are in the path of Typhoon Megi.

Thank you, Lord, for always hearing and answering our prayers!

Lesson for the Week

The Influence
(10/19/10)

The other day I was walking with my daughter, and I asked her how her day was. She was excited because she and a boy in her class had picked out the same book in the school library. I asked her if he was her friend, and she replied, “He’s going to tell me on Monday”… to which I replied, “Why do you have to wait to find out if he’s going to be your friend?” Her answer surprised me. She said, “He said he had to think about it.” Trying not to laugh, I just said, “Well, OK!” As we kept walking, I started thinking about the wisdom in the boy’s statement. Before we become good friends with someone, should we think about whether or not we should be spending time with them at all? Understand that this is not a question of race, nationality, finances, background, etc. My thought process is this. Who we spend time with can influence us either in a positive or a negative way. We can either choose to be with those who look on the bright side of life, encourage us, pray for us when we need it, speak with wisdom over our lives, and are there for us; or, we can choose to be with those who are always negative, speaking ill of others, jealous of the blessings we receive, and are never there for us. The choice seems pretty simple, yet so many of us make the wrong ones every day. We tend to stay with what (or who) we know when God is trying to move us on to something better. This is not to say that we should never be there for those who need us, whether physically, through prayer, or spiritual counseling. If, however, these same people are doing nothing but bringing us down, how will we ever move toward the higher places that God has called us to be in? So here are my “questions of the day” for each one of us… who are we spending time with? Who are we letting influence us on a regular basis? Can we look at our lives and say that God is in the middle of our relationships, or are we just holding on to something or someone that God wants us to let go of? These are hard questions to ask ourselves, but I know that if changes need to be made, God will help us make them. Let’s give our relationships to God, and as with everything else in our lives, He will give us His best.

Proverbs 11:3
Proverbs 10:17
Proverbs 12:5
2 Timothy 2:20-21

Lesson for the Week

Becoming a Better Me
(01/06/09)

Recently my mother read a story to my daughter called “The White Glove”. The story was about a boy who asked his grandmother to knit him a special set of gloves. While the boy was out playing in the snow, he lost one of his gloves. During that afternoon, the glove was found by several different animals: each one deciding to make the glove a temporary home in the cold weather. As each animal entered the glove, it kept getting larger and larger until it was almost unrecognizable. Do you feel as if you are being stretched in your life? Do you feel stretched to the point sometimes where you may not even recognize yourself? Being stretched in the Kingdom of God is not a bad thing as long as the lessons you are learning are bringing you to a better understanding of who God is, and of who God wants you to be. “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 5: 22-24, NIV). I see the “new self” as being that better version of ourselves we keep striving for; but without God’s help, we will always miss the mark. God is at work every day creating opportunities for you to “put off your old self” and “put on the new self”. As these opportunities arise, let God walk you through each one so that your relationship with Him may become stronger and your “new self” will shine.

Prayer Requests

Please pray for my father. He has hurt his back and is moving very slowly. He is used to being very active so this is quite difficult for him.

My ex-husband's mother gave me these:

Please continue to pray for her pastor. He suffered a stroke more than a month ago, and still needs help in healing. Her church continues to need a new pastor.

Please pray for her brother in law. He had two small strokes in the last week.

Please pray for a friend of hers who had hip replacement surgery in one hospital while her husband was in ICU in another hospital.

Please pray for her sister-in-law's father-in-law (that was the easy way to put it.) I believe it is a health situation, but I don't know all the details. God does.

Thank you all for your support and prayers!

The Courage to Love

"It takes courage to love again

when you've been hurt.

It takes pain and strength again

to pack it all away.

Somewhere in all the pain

somebody has to have the courage to be OK.

He gives me courage to love."

Excerpt from Tyler Perry's

Madea's Family Reunion

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgU6gq9jSPU

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10, NIV)