Lest We Forget

We had a great Memorial Day weekend.
*Spent some time around the lake on Saturday.
*Took a meal and visited with a friend who just had major surgery.
*Enjoyed a graduation party for a young man in our church.
*Two great services at church on Sunday, followed by a meal at Don's Italian with mom.
*And for Memorial Day, we grilled out hamburgers and spent the day just being a family. It was so nice just chillin' at home with the kids and my hubby. Bruce had to go to work Monday night, but we were able to spend the day together and it was a blessing. We just kicked back and enjoyed each other's company. It was a lazy day, really.

Our Pastor took a few days vacation with his family last week so Brother Johnny filled the pulpit. He is a fantastic Associate Pastor and I love to hear him preach.

Sunday morning he preached "Lest We Forget." His text was from Mark 14:1-9. Unless there is a memorial, there will be no Independence. Freedom is cherished by those who have it and coveted by those who do not.
A memorial is that which preserves the memory of something and there are five things we must remember and do....
1) We must remember the sacrifice that was sufficient. Soldiers gave their lives for this country. Christ gave His life as the ultimate, eternal sacrifice.
2) We must respond to the summons that was sent. A military draft, a call, a command, was or is sent out to soldiers to fight for this country. While we, as Christians, are also drafted, called, and commanded to be soldiers for the cross.
3) We must renounce "self" and surrender to Him. We need to break the box of our pride and selfish will.
4) We must remain in the service that is satisfying. You may not be able to do it all, but you can always do all that you can do.
When we make a memorial for what Christ has done, He will make a memorial for what we have done.

Quick Post...

Justin has been doing some fishing with his friends lately and it's become one of his favorite hobbies, I think. When he called today to say that they were going to be at a lake just up the road, Bruce and I decided to drive up and snap some pictures of them fishing. When we got there he was pulling this "little" carp out of the water.

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It's been a good Saturday. Been busy with laundry, making a dinner to take to a friend who just had surgery, walking around the lake with Bruce, enjoying the ducks and the birds and wild flowers, and then later we'll be attending a Graduation party for a young man in our church. Looking forward to that.

Hope y'all have had a great Saturday and are looking forward to a day in the Lord's house tomorrow.

What Day of the Week Do You Worship?

Before I forget, I put the wrong link up for Hannah's birthday pictures. You can click here, hopefully, and should be able to view them now. Sorry 'bout that. And now on to today's post...

I read a question the other day asking who changed the Sabbath? I really don't know the answer to that question. However, that question got my mind to wondering if worshiping on Sunday is wrong and whether or not God is pleased or displeased with Sunday worship.
I honestly don't know when we, Christians, went from worshiping on Saturday to worshiping on Sunday, but I've been reading about Jewish law and came to the conclusion that no, God is not displeased with Sunday worship. Here is why I think this...
There were/are two types of Jewish law. Moral and ceremonial.
If it is RIGHT or WRONG and is the law written on the heart and conscience of man, then it's considered moral law.
If it's an arbitrary matter without being RIGHT nor WRONG, but a good object lesson on a ceremony, then it's considered ceremonial law.
In Exodus 20, "Thou shalt not steal" is something written on the heart and conscience of man. However, the part about the Sabbath and the kind of altar to be used for sacrifice is ceremonial.
You can't go by just the Old Testament. You have to rightly divide the Scripture, Old Testament and New Testament alike. In the New Testament, there are commandments represented from the Old Testament. These are the ones that are written on our hearts and minds and these are the moral Law. These are the law that God expects us to still adhere to today.
Most people will take for granted that the ten commandments are all moral law. We've taken them out of their original context and memorized them in church settings, such as Sunday school, but the truth is, the ten commandments are a summary of the Mosaic law, both ceremonial and moral. Truth be told, the Bible does not tell us that the ten commandments are any more inspired than any rest of the Old Testament. The entire Bible is the WORD of God and is equally inspired from Genesis to Revelation. To use something someone else pointed out, "The rest of Exodus 20 is as much the Word of God as that part of the chapter which states the ten commandments."
The ceremonial laws had spiritual meaning. They were given to help Jews separate from other people. They had important symbolism, but were given as arbitrary command.
Romans 2:1-16 says that God will judge the heathen who have never heard the Gospel, on the basis of their own consciousness of sin against the moral law, their own conscience bearing witness. They won't know or have a conscience about not observing the Sabbath or eating pork, or circumcising their sons. But the moral law of not killing, stealing, honoring their parents, etc, are written on their hearts and conscience and deep inside of them they'll know they are doing wrong if they do those things.
Those laws that are equally enforced in the New Testament as they are enforced in the Old Testament are moral law and God's morals never change. When you see in the NT where they list all these sins mentioned in the OT also, the sabbath is never mentioned. Why? Because it was ceremonial law, not moral law. God wanted us to take a day out of the week and put everything else aside to do nothing but worship Him. He said to remember it. Too many times we forget the things of God and what brought us to where we are today. We allow life in general to get in the way of a day set apart to just worship Him. Even some modern churches have shut down their evening services for more "family time." The day set apart to God is HIS time. We should be serving Him through that day as a family. That's the best family time there is.
I prefer the Sunday worship, myself. It's what I've always known and there's nothing wrong with that. The majority of Christian churches will have their services on Sunday and I feel better being in His house with His people at my designated time and place.
Another reason I know God is not displeased with Sunday worship is because I worship on Sunday and He is there in a very real and very powerful way. I have felt His Holy Spirit move in our services and have seen Him convict and win lost souls. If Sunday worship were wrong, I don't think He would bother showing up to meet us there.

Colossians 2:16-23 "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath day. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind, And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God. Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom, in will, worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body: not in any honour to the satisfying of the flesh."

Friendly

Click here for pictures from Hannah's Sweet Sixteen. We had a great time. Thank you, to everyone that made her night special.

Friendly:

"A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there
is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:24

Another Senior

I had a senior session with Clayton yesterday. It was a lot of fun. He's a good sport, let me tell ya. I got some great shots of him and we'll be doing another session soon. I'm looking forward to that one as well.
Clayton was saved within the last year and a half and I can tell you that since then he has become one of the finest young men I know. I just well up with tears sometimes knowing what God has done in his life. I love this kid! He's a hard worker, has a great sense of humor, and I think he'll do well with his life.

Only God Knows

ATTITUDE

"He that hath no rule over his own spirit is
like a city that is broken down, and without walls."

Proverbs 25:28

Mom gave Harrison some laminated cards on a key ring that belonged to daddy. Each one has a different word with a verse that goes with it. So he's been studying and learning those words and verses. I thought I'd start sharing them with y'all too.

We've had a good week so far. Hannah's party went well this past Saturday. There were eighty-three people that showed up and we had a really good time! I have pictures, but to be honest, I haven't even looked at them on my camera, much less loaded them to my computer. I've been so busy editing senior pics for James I just haven't had time. But now since I'm through with that I'll post her party pictures soon. We had plenty of food and drinks and I loved Hannah's music playlist. I love that she enjoys Godly singing and instrumentals.

Today is her actual birthday. She and I spent most of the morning and afternoon shopping. We had lunch at Fatz and then did a little more shopping before heading home. She found some cute things and so did I.

Brother Ben Mayo and his family were at our church again tonight. They've visited a few times recently and they are always a blessing. Pastor always gets him to sing and tonight was no different, except that his son and daughter sang with him. They were so good and we received a blessing from them. I hope we see more of them.

Pastor Goodman preached a good message tonight and then after his message he had some things to say about this man predicting the end of the world on Saturday, May 21, at 6:00. This guy is crazy. But without going into all the things he is wrong on Scriptually, Matthew 24:36 says, "But of that day and hour knoweth NO MAN, no, not the angels of Heaven, but MY FATHER ONLY." There is nothing in the Bible that reveals the Lord's coming. But He could come tonight and He could come Thursday or even Friday.

Are you ready?

Daughters

Brother Daniel taught our Sunday School class this morning. His text was from Psalm 144:12, "That our sons may be as plants grown up in their youth; that our daughters may be as corner stones, polished after the similitude of a palace:"

Although this thought can be put to our sons, I wanted to focus on our daughters, in particular, about the latter part of this verse. "...that our DAUGHTERS may be as cornerstones, polished after the similitude of a palace:"

A cornerstone is a very important part of the foundation of a palace, or any structure, that is. The rest of the structure depends on the cornerstone so it must be strong. When I looked up the word, cornerstone, I found it interesting that over a period of time, the cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry. It would be put in a prominent location with an inscription on it, indicating the construction dates and the name of the master builder.

In Ephesians 2:20, Jesus Christ is the CHIEF Cornerstone. He is the foundation of His church. Without Him, the church will collapse.

I've read Psalm 144:12 many times, but for whatever reason never made the connection of our daughters being as cornerstones as Christ is the Chief Cornerstone and our daughters are to be Christ-like.

I love my daughter more than any other girl on the face of the planet. Although she and I are becoming friends as she grows older, I still have a responsibility to be her mother and teach her right from wrong. We have plenty of time to be friends when she's an adult. But right now I have to be her mom, polishing her as a cornerstone to be set in place for those around her. Those that build on to her, such as her friends, her children, her grandchildren...their spiritual well-being depends on her spiritual well-being and what I make of it. It's too late when they're grown to start teaching them. It's when they are in the crib that these lessons should begin. It should not be a question to our daughters if we're going to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday prayer meeting. It should not be a question to our daughters whether or not we're going to revivals or special meetings. It should not be a question to our daughters whether or not they should go "here" or do "that." It should not be a question to our daughters whether or not they should wear "this" or have "these" friends. As Christian parents, these are things we are responsible for training our daughters very early on in their lives.

Hannah will be sixteen on Wednesday. Not quite an adult yet. But she still has some polishing left. I could allow her to start making her own decisions. She's a good girl. She has good friends. But she's still only sixteen. And she still needs guidance if she is going to be a strong cornerstone. If I left her alone and did not tend to her spiritual needs as a young girl, then when she is older it becomes too late and much more difficult for her to become a strong Christian.

There are two cornerstones that can relate to our daughters. One is dirty and smudged, cracked and broken. If it is not tended to, its palace will eventually begin to collapse around it. The other is clean and shining, with the Master Builder's name of Christ visibly seen for all who pass by. It is strong and stable and will stand the test of time for many who come to its palace.

As mothers, we should continuously be polishing our daughters and chiseling the name of the Master Builder upon their hearts.

I earnestly pray that Hannah will be a strong cornerstone and that all who witness her behavior and see her testimony will not see "her," but Christ. Anything other than Christ makes a very weak foundation.

Of Senior Pictures and More Sweet Sixteen Stuff

Justin and I took James, a young man in our church, out and about town today for his senior pics. We had a good time and I'm looking forward to showing him all of his great pictures.

James is a good kid. He's working hard at the mission where Justin's first job was and is also involved in our bus ministry. He is a crazy...but we love him. LOL
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Hannah decided on a meal for her Sweet Sixteen party, so I ordered the meat and I'll be cooking the rest, along with the help of my mother-in-law, who graciously offered to make her delicioius potato salad. Bruce's cousin's daughter is making her cake and I'll be picking that up tomorrow, along with some shopping with Hannah, taking her to the beautician to get her hair trimmed, and then home again, home again, jiggity jig!

Now it's time to get ready for church and enjoy some time of singing, preaching, and fellowship with God's people.

A Tuesday Funny

The house was quiet last night when we heard Bruce speak up and say, "Hannah, the city of Oz called. They want their socks back."

Mother's Day Weekend

Our Mother's Day weekend was special. Bruce decided to have our mothers over for a cookout on Saturday. He grilled the BEST steaks. They were delicious. He had baked potatoes with all kinds of fixin's, salad, rolls, and dessert. He pretty well thought of everything.
We bought our moms, each, a new Willow Tree angel for their collections along with some other little gifts we thought they'd like. Mom's angel was listening to a sea shell and Marie's was holding a little boy in her arms. They're really pretty.
I can't remember what Bruce said to crack his mom up, but I loved this sweet picture of them.


And here's one of me and my mom. Doesn't she look pretty in her pink and black?

It was a great time celebrating the lives of our moms and what they mean to us.

When they left, Bruce and I went to an Antique mall we heard about. I enjoyed looking at everything, but nothing really jumped out at me. Bruce found a book there that made him happy. We also went to a book store he likes to frequent. We had planned on going out on a date Saturday night, but both of us had stayed up way too late on Friday night. I think it was after 4:00 in the morning that we finally ended up going to bed. So we went home for a late nap and spent the rest of the evening enjoying some family time.

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Sunday was wonderful. Pastor brought the message on how you never really hear the names of women mentioned in the genealogies, but there were five women mentioned in Matthew 1's genealogy he wanted to preach about. It was so good and what a great message of how God's grace overcame impossible situations in their lives. There was a woman saved before the preaching began and a man saved during the invitation. Praise the LORD!

Mom invited us to eat Sunday dinner at a local Asian restaurant. We enjoyed the food and fellowship, and we ran into a family we just love, who told us about the great service they had at their church. Isn't it good to know that Christ can do His work among His people, even when one group is in Shelby and the other in Kings Mountain? That's how God works!

The evening service was good too. We were able to see three baptized and it was a blessing and joy to see them make that open profession of faith and statement to follow Christ.

I love being a mom and I love my babes! They gave me a necklace and earring set they had made for me, and some other little goodies. And Bruce gave me a gift card to my favorite clothing store. We never, EVER go out on Sunday nights after church because Bruce works third shift and likes to come straight home and chill before he has to go in. But he wanted to make up our date night and took me to Dairy Queen for a burger basket and blizzard out on the DQ patio. The weather was nice and we ran into a lot of people we know from our church and a few other churches in the area. It was great time.

I hope all you great moms out there had a wonderful Mother's Day like I sure did.

Lots and Lots of Pictures!

Today is Mother's Day. I hope all of you wonderful mothers had a good day with your children. I know I did. We had a cookout yesterday with our moms and honored them. And then today we went out to eat with my mom after church. Two souls were saved in church this morning and we're baptizing some tonight. I'm looking forward to that!!

Just wanted to share some pictures of the last couple of weeks. There's a good many of them.
The next couple of weeks I'll be busy taking pictures of two seniors, planning Hannah's Sweet Sixteen party, which is this coming Saturday, and several others things on my agenda. Everything is pretty well set for Hannah's party, I just need to get busy on the food end of things. Speaking of food...the pictures begin with my devil's food chocolate cupcakes and malted eggs. I love malted candies. These looked "sweet" nested a-top the cupcakes too.

My mother-in-law enjoyed one.

This was Easter weekend. We had dinner at mom's house. It was fantastic!!

My sister-in-law Jenny and my beautiful niece, Jessica. I love them.

Jessica graduates from the police academy this week. My brother, John and Bruce, were playing with her fake gun.

This was the combined choir at the Zion Hill youth revival. They sounded spectacular!

Daughters of Faith sang that night. I love to hear them sing, There is a Remedy. Beautiful words to that song, if you've never heard it.

Some shoutin'!

The Simpson family....I loooooOOOOOooooove them!

Brother and Sister Spears. They sang a song I have never heard before and I would really love to hear it again and find out where it came from. They were such a sweet couple.

Preacher #1 that night was a young man that started in fourth gear and finished in fourth gear. He was something! His sister got saved after LeAnna gave a testimony about her salvation. You never know when someone is going through the same thing you struggled with that led up to your salvation.

The second preacher up was Brother Spears. He was fantastic! Would love to hear more from him. I hope we see him often in some different meetings.

Here are some pics from the Crossroad's Rescue Mission Jubilee. When all else fails...when you've been let down...JESUS IS ENOUGH! And He sure was the week of Jubilee!

Gotta have KFC buckets for the offering under an old fashioned tent!

Some silly people I saw at the meeting....

Lots of fellowshipping and playing with babies.

And let's not forget the Sun Drop. MMmmm!

Precious times....

A shoutin' time!!

A humble time....

A testimony time.

We heard some great singing that week from the Rochester Family....

The Crossroad's Rescue Mission men choir...

Vintage Faith Bulegrass....

Faith Baptist Youth Choir...

Daughter's of Faith....

Missy and Amanda...

Brother Compton....

And others, but I can't remember their names. LOL

The singing was really good. But the best part of the meeting was the preaching. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God! Several precious souls were saved during the week of jubilee. I thank God for that!

My favorite preacher of the week was my very own Pastor.

Brother Williamson lets. it. fly, boy! I'm tellin' ya!! He's really good.

My niece took this pic of our family Easter Sunday. Harrison dislocated his knee the week before, hence his leg being bent.

My mom loves her hats and doesn't she look precious in this one? If you'll look at the pictures above her, that's my daddy on the top right. This was his first Easter in Heaven. We missed him, but praise God we know we'll see him again.

I Like Him!

I never heard of Herman Cain until tonight. Watching him on the Republican Presidential Debate, on FOX News, I really liked his answers. He seems to be very smart in business, a solid family man, and genuinely concerned about this country. He had some great ideas concerning taxes, gas, and the general direction of our country. I have to agree with another voter that said he did not sound like a politician. I think that's a good thing. I'm sick of hearing from politicians. Can I get a witness?

There were about thirty GOP voters in a room that watched the debate together. After the debate, they were asked to raise their hands if they walked in with Herman Cain as their choice of candidates BEFORE the debate. Only one person raised their hand. Then they were asked to raise their hands if Herman Cain was their choice of candidates AFTER the debate. All, but about five people raised their hands. So I think he made a pretty big impression. It will be interesting to see how he does in the polls.

I'm putting his picture in my sidebar for now because I really like him so far. No one has my vote yet, but he sure is at the top of my list!

Calvinism Is Not the True Gospel

I've "bumped" into a few people that believe in predestination and election recently. One is a blog I've been reading for a while. I don't usually "blog surf" without referrals, but when I ran across this blog I liked what I read...at first. We held the same ideas on wifely submission, home schooling, how we dress, etc. But then one day she quoted a verse from the ESV, which I knew was a preferred version of the Calvinist. Since it "just so happens" we had been discussing Calvinism in SS and the dangers of its doctrine, my antennas went straight up. Remember the old episodes of Lost in Space when we were kids? I was suddenly hearing the voice of the robot shouting, "Danger Will Robinson! Danger!!"

By the way, The King James Bible is not a "version." Something that is a version of something else is not the same. Things that are different, are not the same. Keep that in mind when you claim you're KJ"B" only. :)

Anyway, we've actually gone over the whole Calvinist thing in SS recently, and Brother Ken RIGHTLY divided the Word of God and broke it down as to why it is wrong to believe in predestination and election.

God is an all-knowing God. Of course He knew when He created man that sin would enter into the world. This did not take Him by surprise. But He wanted love and obedience to be our choice. He did not want us to be puppets on His puppeteer stage. He wanted us to love and obey and accept Him from our hearts. He knew that there would be those that would accept Him and, sadly, those that would deny Him. We are predestined to love and obey and accept Him, because that's how He made us and what He desires from us. But it is up to us whether or not we choose to love and obey and accept Him.

He also knew that the blood shed of animals would not forever atone for man's sin so He sent His Son, the spotless Lamb of God, His only BEGOTTEN Son, for a final sacrifice.

If we were already predestined and elected the way Calvinists believe, what would be the point of Christ leaving the splendor and glory of Heaven to die on the cross for ALL men? By the way, "ALL" means "all." And what would be the purpose of the Holy Ghost convicting the heart of man to salvation?

When He died, rose again, and ascended into Heaven, He left with us, His Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God moves with compassion on the lost. Anyone who has ever been born into this world enters into a state of eternal death. They are lost and on their way to Hell. This is why it is so important to train our children and to lead them in righteousness. But it is also just as important to tell others, as we are commanded to do so.

Luke 14:23 says to "...GO out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be full." Do you know what the world "compel" means? It doesn't mean to "ask nicely." It means to "force." In other words, GO out into the highways and hedges and FORCE them to come in, that my house may be full. Now, if you believe the Lord will just fall on someone and that's how it happens you've been deceived. We have to tell others about Him. They must hear the Word.
Romans 10:17, "So then faith cometh by HEARING and hearing by the WORD OF GOD."
We must also have a vision for the lost soul. Proverbs 29:18a, "Where there is no vision, the people perish."
Matthew 28:19 "GO ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." To teach is to impart knowledge, to instruct by precept, example, or experience. If it's just all up to God, why does He tell us to GO and to TEACH others?

Why are we to compel (force) them and why are we to teach (impart knowledge to) them?
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness: but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance. Again, "any" means "any" and "all" means "all."
"Repentance", meaning a turning away from their sin. When we are walking in darkness and turn away from the darkness to the Light, we walk straight into the arms of the Savior.

The Calvinist doctrine, in my opinion, is a very egotistical and arrogant doctrine, and one that is sending many people to Hell.

A clear presentation of the gospel is simply to follow the Roman's Road to salvation.

Romans 3:23 "For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God." None of us are better than anyone else. Even if we have lived a "good life" according to man's standards, we are still under the bondage of sin and fall short of God's glory.

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Sin entered the world in the garden, and for that sin, man was sentence to an eternal death. But a gift from God was given to us when Jesus Christ died on the cross. He was HOLY and SINLESS and shed His blood as a sacrifice for our sin, taking upon Himself the sin of the world so that we could escape eternal death and enter into eternal life, upon accepting Him as our Savior and King.

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." When Christ died on the cross, He paid for ALL sin. When He paid for that sin, He made a way for us to be free from the bondage of sin and death.

Romans 10:13 "For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord, SHALL BE SAVED." There is not one person on the face of this earth that is worthy of salvation. However, God made us worthy and no matter who we are or where we are, if we will call upon Him, He will save us.

Romans 10:9&10 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made known unto salvation." The first step is to admit you're a sinner. The second step is to know in your heart and believe that Christ is the only way to Heaven and the third step is to simply confess to Him that you believe that He is the only Christ and the only way to Heaven and ask Him to save you.

Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock. If ANY man hear my voice, AND OPEN THE DOOR, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." The Holy Spirit will knock on the door of our hearts. It is up to us whether or not we will open that door for Him. If we choose to keep the door shut, we will spend eternity in Hell. If we choose to open the door and allow Him entrance, we will spend time with Him in fellowship and eternity with Him in Heaven.

1. Believe in Him






2. Ask Him to come into your heart, by faith






3. Read the gospel of John and what God says about Jesus, about you, and about being born again.






4. Look for a local church where God's WORD is preached. When we get saved, we are like newborn babies desiring the milk of its mother. And the only way we will grow is by being fed the Word of God.






5. Be baptized. Baptism does not determine salvation, but it is a public profession of your decision to follow Christ. It is an act of obedience and a symbol of commitment.

John 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name.

A Family Update

WOW! I can't believe this home school year is coming to an end. This is blowing my mind. It has been ONE year, I'm tellin' ya. I just realized it is already the month of May and I haven't even ordered my kid's end of grade testing. I need to do that this week. Fortunately, the company I use will have it to me next week, then we test a week, and then they'll have the scores to me by the end of the third week. I like how fast they work and get your results to you.

Harrison's reading lesson today came from an old book that belonged to my dad when he was a child. There was a little Sunday School story card on the inside that was dated January 13, 1952. Daddy would have been six years old then. The back was yellowed and there was a smudge mark on it. I don't know if he put that mark there or not, but it's a sweet thought to think of him doing that. LOL And there are pages where you fill in the blanks after reading the chapters. His handwriting didn't change much over the years. Just got a little smaller and a little neater. But it's definitely his handwriting.

Hannah will be a junior next year. AHHHHHHH! I can't believe my baby is getting that old. She'll be sixteen in a couple of weeks. We're in the process of planning her sweet sixteen party. She wanted things very simple. Just different shades of purple and silver. So the decorations will be easy. We just haven't decided on the food yet.

Here's a picture of her invitations I did on a program Bruce bought me several years ago. I thought it turned out nice. Obviously I blacked out our phone number and where it will be held. Wouldn't want strangers showing up. That would be awkward. lol

Justin is working for a company here in our home town, still hoping to get on at a fire department soon. It's a little discouraging for him, but he was able to help with a lady at work the other night when she was about to pass out. So he got to put a smidgen of his training to use. Then someone where he worked called the employer and told them about Justin. They sent him a message about how good it was to have him working for them. That meant a lot to him.

Bruce has been working six days a week. I've missed his mug around here. Praise the Lord he has a job!! So many in these parts do not. He was going to take a second shift position, but the Lord just wouldn't give him peace about it so he's staying on third. He's been sick lately but seems to be on the mend.

I've been sick too. I don't necessarily "feel" sick, but my allergies have overtaken my vocal chords and I can't get anything out!! It's ok, though, my God still hears me when I pray and that's what matters. I did find a store today that sales bee honey just up the road from here. I'm hoping I can get Bruce to take me up there later to see if it is localized honey. That would be great. If it is, I should be talking again by tomorrow. It's been difficult trying to teach school lessons, but at least I can type or write down what I want them to do or what I want them to know. So it's all good. Just a little frustrating.

We have a LOT going on this month and next month. It is going to be SUPER BUSY!! A good busy...but super busy, none the less. Thank you again, for understanding about the comments being turned off. I just don't have time to mess with my emails and comment moderation at this time. When things slow down a bit around here I'll turn them back on. :)

Just for Laughs and a Little Thought Too

I must admit that I was not as fascinated with the Royal Wedding as others have been seen to be and had no intention of posting anything about it, but then I saw this and got a little tickled. Thought y'all might like it too.

I'm part of a Royal Family. I'm the daughter of a King and I'm married to a prince. One of my friends said that the other day and I just had to use it for myself. Because it's true!!

Another friend, Mrs. Reva T, said this: The Real Royal Wedding, "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous of saints" Revelation 19:7-8

We may not have been invited to the Royal Wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, but there is another Royal Wedding we are invited to attend. Upon accepting this invitation, we are changed from our unworthy attire that is dirty and stained from sin, into fine linen and washed clean and white by the precious blood of the spotless Lamb.

I'll not only be invited to attend, but I will be part of the bride!

Weekend Blessings

Before we left for the youth meeting at Zion Hill this past Friday night I was praying for that meeting, but also for the meeting going on with Crossroad's Rescue Mission and that the Lord would certainly show Himself there as well as Zion Hill.

We had such a good time going up to Zion Hill. The kids talked about all the youth meetings they've been submerged in, their favorite preachers, and they sang all the way up. Sang while we were at the youth meeting, testified, glorified, and praised the Lord. They enjoyed a time of fellowship after the meeting and then it was an even better ride home. They were still singing, they were still praising the Lord, and they were still talking about their favorite preachers. Only this time, they had added one to the list, which was Brother Spears that preached that night. He certainly made an impact on them. Another blessing I got was, we have spent a LOT of time in youth meetings and revivals lately. We haven't done a lot of "fun" things with the youth this year. But Pastor Goodman asked them if they had anything fun they wanted to do and their answer was to go back to the cabins and have our own little camp meetings. Last year it was unbelievable the things that happened at the cabins. And it blessed my heart to hear them say they wanted to do that again. They could have said putt putt, bowling, hiking, anything...but they want to have camp meeting time at the cabins. Now that's a blessing!

When we were at the Mother Daughter banquet last night I found out just how good the meeting at Crossroad's Jubilee went too. It was one of those things you hear and wish you could have been in both places at one time. The preacher that was preaching that night preached on servitude. Then brought Brother Rocky up, had him sit down, and washed his feet. Next thing you knew there were other preachers standing in line to do the same. They said Brother Rocky cried like a baby and they were shoutin' the tent down! What a way to end this year's jubilee!! When others turned their backs on him and the mission based on their opinion and not the WORD OF GOD, God turned it around and told Brother Rocky, "I'm not finished with you yet!" Praise the LORD!

Someone had quoted a verse the other day and it's kind of been the theme verse in my head for the mission all week. Acts 5:38-39 "And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."

I have never heard or seen of God losing any fight. And He is certainly not losing this one. Praise the LORD!