New Years Resolutions

It is that time of year again. New Years Eve and we begin to make New Years Resolutions. You know those things that we have the best of intention of doing in the new year and after about a few days totally forget about. Sure, I like a lot of you have made New Years Resolutions that I have not stuck to in the past. This year I feel that I can stick with the resolutions that I have made.

So here are the resolutions that I hope to stick with in 2017,

1. Reading my bible more
2. Spending more time in prayer
3. Snacking less
4. Instead of snacking drink water
5. No eating after 7pm
6. Drink more water
7. Go to bed at a decent hour
8. Less technology and more time with family and friends
9. Exercise More
10. Write in a journal

I hope that in 2017 that I can stick to these resolutions for myself. I know that it will not be easy, but it will be a challenge that I am up for.

What are your New Years Resolutions? Do you have any? Do you chose not to make any? 

Prayer Journal

So one of my New Years Resolutions is to make a prayer journal. This came after watching the movie War Room (for like the 10th time). I thought that this would be a way to encourage myself. There are lots of ideas on the Internet of how to do one. You need to do one that fits you.

You can chose to do it in a journal, notebook, or binder. You can decorate the cover if you choose. Then you can get started. 

On the first page of my journal I have written some inspirations that will encourage me to keep with this and encourage my faith at the same time.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. James 4:7-8

My God is faithful,

My God is powerful,

My Gd is in charge,

You can't fire him, 

And he will never retire,

Thank you Jesus

Glory Hallelujah

Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight O, Lord my rock and my redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Then starting on January 1 I plan to write a prayer a day about an area of my life that I need God the most. Things like family, finances, church, job, health, and so on. I will pray that prayer during the day. As part of my prayer I plan to submit that area to God and tell him that I have faith that he has already done what he needs to do in that area. I also plan to write in the prayer that I believe that God is going to do what only he can do for me no matter what.

I also plan to write one way that I have saw God at work in that area of my life that day. Kinda like a praise report if you will.

I also want to write the name of one person that has been put on my heart for that day that needs God in someway. I will also pray for that person  during the day submitting them to God and his will. Telling God that I know he is already doing what only he can do for that person or persons. 

I will also include a bible verse on the page that I feel will give me encouragement for the day. 

Now again you don't have to do it this way. This is just how I plan to do it. You do it however you see fit to do it. It is yours to do with. 

Prayer is the most powerful weapon that we have to fight the battles of this life. A prayer journal to me is like having a book of plans and stratages that will help you fight the battle. Almost like a bible for prayer. 

I encourage you to make time in your day for prayer. Prayer has a purpose and it is powerful. I hope that once I get going good with this prayer journal that I will be able to share it with you in my blog so that you can have an idea of what to do. 

Also check out: http://arabahjoy.com/how-to-make-a-simple-prayer-journal/ for another idea of what to do.

Faith and Blessings Jars

I recently saw online a suggestion of taking an empty jar and filling it each week with a note about one good thing that happened that week. Then at the end of the year reading the notes to see what kind of year you have had. 

That got me to thinking. What about instead of good notes each week how about writing a bible verse a day and putting them in the jar. At the end of the year you could give the jar to someone that you knew might need some encouragement. 

Another thought that I had was that you could write daily messages of encouragement or blessings to put in your jar. Then you could really bless someone at the end of the year that you knew needed a little encouragement or blessing. 

The jars could be passed on when the person is finished so that more people are blessed. It is a great way to share the word of God and God's love with others. 

You could even encourage your church to do this. Have a jar in your church were each member writes down a bible verse, encouragement, or blessing (whatever jar you are choosing to do) and adds it each week. At the end of the year your could give it to someone in your church that is shut in or even do it as a surprise gift for your pastor (if you feel they need it).

Also another thing that you could do with the jar at church is make it a prayer request jar. Have people place their prayer requests in the jar at the beginning of service and then at the end of service have each person take out one request to pray over for the week. Those that are left in the jar the pastor and his family can pray over for the week.

Here is an idea for teachers. Have a jar filled with encouragements. At the end of each day have each student take one out. You never know how that will brighten the day of a child. You could even have the students each write an encouragement note at the beginning of each day and then each student pull one out at the end of the day.

These are just some ideas of things that you can do with the jar. It is up to you. You decide. I know I am going to do one or more this year so that at the end of the year I can bless someone else. I know that I am going to do the bible verse jar. I am going to make sure to write on a calendar the bible verse that I put in each day so that I don't put the same one in twice.

What are you Thankful for?

Today is Thanksgiving Day. It is a time to think about what you are thankful for through the year and in your life. It is a time to celebrate all that God has given to you in your life. It is a time to be blessed. A time to spend with family and friends.

That got me to thinking. What am I thankful for? As I write this there are a lot of things that come to my mind.

1. My Family-I am thankful for my family. Some of those that I consider to be family are not my blood family. They are people that are in my life that I love just like they were my family. They are people that have adopted me into their family. I am thankful for each and every one of them.

2. My Friends-I am thankful that I have such wonderful friends. They are there for me when I need them. They listen and advise. They truly wonderful.

3. My Faith-My faith has gotten me through so many things in this life. My faith has helped me to do so many things that I would have never have done before.

4. My Job-I am thankful for my job because without it I would not be able to have what I do. My job has made it possible for me to have a nice car, pay my bills each month, and keep food on the table.

5. My Car-I am thankful that I have a car that will get me where I need to go. It runs great and gets good gas mileage. I am hoping in the near future to get a new one.

6. Memories-I have so many memories in my life. I am thankful mostly for the memories of those that I have loved and lost. I can look back on them when I am missing those people and smile.

7. Music-I am thankful for music, to sing and to listen. I am thankful for Jason Crabb and that I discovered his music at a time in my life when I was lost. I am thankful for SiriusXM The Message that I listen to each day. It uplifts me. I listen to it in the car and sometimes I sing along really loud to it. I am also thankful that I have found songs that I can sing as solos at church or that I can lead at church if the need arises. 

8. My Bibles-I have so many bibles. Most of them are ones that I have bought. Some are ones that I was given as gifts. Others were ones that belonged to family members and I was given them after those loved ones passed. My bibles are special to me. I cherish each one.

9. My Essential Oils-I am thankful that my dear friend Andrea got me into Essential Oils. I use Peppermint the most. It is good for so much. I use it mostly for my headaches. It helps so much. I also use thrive, focus, and harmony.

10. Everyday things-I am thankful for the things we take for granted. I am thankful for food to eat. That I have a warm place to live and sleep. That I have clothes to wear. Some people don't have these items. We tend to take these for granted.

11. Each Day I am alive-We tend to take everyday life for granted. God gives us a gift each day. When we wake up we need to thank the Lord for his gift to us. 

12. For Jesus..his birth, his death on the cross, and his gift of Eternal Life-I am so thankful that Jesus Christ was born. He lived his life like us. I am thankful that he suffered death on the cross to save me from my sins. I am also thankful that he gave me Eternal Life in Heaven with him when I die. He is an awesome God.

What are YOU Thankful for?

Election 2016-New Day, New President

So during this whole election cycle I have not said one word about who I was planning to vote for. I feel that who you are going to vote for is your own business. That being said I spend a considerable amount of time in prayer regarding the elections. Mostly for the office of President.

My Uncle and I talked about the President's race. At one point I was thinking of voting for someone not in the 2 major parties. That was till a friend reminded me that doing that was no good. Only someone from one of the major parties will win. That was so true.

So yesterday I got up and spent time in prayer over the election. I prayed over the candidates and asked God to show me who to vote for. Then I was off to the polls. When I got there the main poll worker knew me right off and knew I would do machine voting (my usual).

I wish that the office of President was last of the ballot to give me more time to consider my choice. I clicked my choices and as I reviewed my decisions I prayed for God to lead the people to choose who he wanted to be President.

As I listened last evening to local election coverage on the radio I kept talking to God with the hopes that whoever got President would be someone that had God in their lives. When I heard that Donald Trump had won West Virginia (my state) I had a feeling he would win the election. I know Donald is a Christian man. In fact, I read that Donald is a Presbyterian (like me).

Even though I don't agree with Donald 100%  I do plan to support him in his job as President. We need to come together as Americans and support our new President.

I believe that we need to pray for God to come back to America and take over the White House. We need him now more than ever.

After voting yesterday my Uncle said it was like voting for the lesser of two evils. No, it was voting for someone who had more Christian standing and who God was behind.

You see as I look at it I was never a big fan of Bill Clinton to begin with. I think when he ran Ross Perot was running against him. My sister and I made up a little campaign jingle that we should have taped and sent to Ross.

Though we made history by electing Obama to office we did not make history this time in electing Hillary. I think people had a bad feeling about electing another Clinton to the White House. Especially one that had such strong support and backing from the Obama's.

Plus you can't always believe what the media tells you about those running for office. You have to do some fact checking and make decisions for yourself.

Take in the local race for County Commissioner. I knew 3 of the candidates. 2 I knew well and of those 2 there was 1 I knew better. I based my decision for this on what I knew about these 3 candidates and how good of a job I thought they would do. Though my candidate did not win I know that the man who did get elected will do the office proud. He will stand up for the citizens of our county.

Take the race for Sheriff. There were 2 candidates running. This was an easy choice. I knew one candidate and had heard of the other. Since I had never met the one candidate and knew nothing about his platform for office I could not vote for him.

I can clearly say I did my homework before voting. It makes the task that much easier.  I am sure that today there are some that are made about the outcome of the election. Some of those people did not vote and should not get upset. They have no right to get mad because they did not use their voice.

So let us stand tall and support Mr. Trump as he becomes our next President of the United States. Lets be United in our support.

God's Way

Recently I have been going through something that really bothers me. I have voiced my opinion about the situation constructively and that still seems to make the problem worse. I was so bothered by the situation that one evening I spent time in deep talk with God. I felt compelled to share with God how I was feeling at that time. In the end I felt so much better. I know that what I am going through is in God's hands now and that he will take care of it in his own time.

Sometimes when we are in situations that bother us because we feel that it is not right we have to take it to God. We have to let him show us his way in the situation. We are better off doing it God's way than our way. Our way will only lead to destruction.

When you feel that something is wrong you need to seek God's way about it. Never let how you feel about something get in the way of doing God's will. His will should always come first in life. That way things will turn out for the better.

God has the power to make things better for us. We just have to know how to see it. We have to go to him in prayer so that he can fight our battle for us.

I find myself doing that more and more these days. It feels so good to give problems over to God. It is like a weight has been lifted off of me.

So my advice to you is this. If you find something is too hard to handle give it to God. He will handle it for you.

Discouragement

I know we have all been there at one time or another. We have felt like nothing is going right for us. We feel like everyone is against us. We tend to even feel that God has let us down. Recently I have felt this way. The best solution I have found has come from the word of God and prayer.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says "But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me",  That says that when we are at our weakest point God is working right there to build us up.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." This says that we need to trust the Lord and he will make things right.

Joshua 1:9 says "I've commanded you to be strong and brave. Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the LORD your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go." This says that God is always with us and will get us through what is going wrong.

Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." This verse says that God has a plan and a purpose for your life. He will be with you always.

When we feel discouraged we need to talk it over with God. He will get us through. I make time each day to talk to God. I talk to him on my way to and from work. You might be thinking how can I do that if I am driving. Well, you don't have to close your eyes to talk to God. You can talk to him like he is right there with you.

He will hear you. He will listen to you. You have to tell God what is going on and then get out of the way. That way he can do what only he can do. That is fight the battle for you.

Then there are times that you have to wrestle with God in order that you see what God has in store for you. I have done this more than once. These are the times that we feel that we know best and then God has us wrestle with him to show us that he knows best.

We may get discouraged because we have talked to God and we feel he is not listening. He will answer us in his own time. Be patient.

So don't ever get discouraged. God is always with us. He hears us and will answer. We have to first talk to him and then be patient for his answer.

Submit Yourselves To God

Last Spring I went with some people from church to see the movie War Room and fell in love with it. This Summer I bought the book War Room and the DVD. I am still working on reading the book, but have watched the DVD several times. This movies has a great message. If you have yet to see it you really need to.

There is a part of the movie that sticks out to me. Well there are several, but this one is at the top. It is in the movie that Elizabeth was in her War Room praying for her husband and she keeps repeating James 4:7 "Submit yourself to the Lord, resist the devil and he will flee." Then Elizabeth goes around her house talking to the Devil and telling him that he is not welcome in her life, marriage, lives of her family, and her home.

That got me to thinking. I wrote this verse down in my prayer journal and I began to think on it. If we as Christians would submit our lives or our problems over to God and resist the devil's control then God will fight the battle. The devil will move on.

For example if I am having an issue at work then I need to stop, pray about it, give it over to God, and let God take control. He will do what only he can do. That is fight the battle for you. He will win the battle for you.

When you pray I suggest that you talk to God like he is right in the room with you. Then you continue with what you want from him and he will do the rest. It is easy to do.

Here is an example of what I am talking about.

Hello Jesus, I know you are here. I want to thank you for another day on this earth. I want to thank you for all your blessings to me. Jesus I submit to you my life. my job, my family, my church. So many things are going on. I submit them to you. I ask you to work in each area for your will. Jesus help me to follow you and do what you want me to do in each area of my life. Jesus I give it to you. I know you are already at work doing only what you can do. Thank you Jesus. Amen!

If you pray like that you are going to see things happen. God is going to speak to you in ways that you will never expect. You will see mountains moved and good things happen in your life. God is on the move if you know how to pray in a way that will let God fight the battle for you.

Prayer is stratage. You need to use it to fight your battles so that you can let God fight for you. You have got to pray and then get out of the way. Then God will do what only he can do. That is fight the battle for you.

You are going to see big changes when you submit to God and resist the devil. Doors are going to open for you like never before. Your life will change. The devil is going to flee. My Great-Aunt use to say that if you submit to God and resist the devil that the devil is going to be afraid of you when he sees you cause he knows you have God on your side.

So I encourage you to change your prayer life. Get on fire in prayer for the Lord. Change the way you pray. You are going to see huge results like never before. You are going to love it.

Growing the Small County Church....Market to the Right Audiance

A friend of mine recently wrote a column for her local newspaper on VBS (Vacation Bible School). That got me to thinking about my church and its need for growth.

When I was a kid going to church was the normal thing on a Sunday Morning. We got up and went just down the road to the church my Dad grew up in. Though he never went on Sunday he always encouraged up to attend church. Back then we had a large group of kids that came on Sunday. Usually those same kids came back on Sunday Nights for Youth Group. That was in the 80s and 90s.

Fast forward to 2016. I will be 37 next month and I am the youngest active member of the same church I attended as a kid. Yes, I still live in the same community were I grew up. Our church is comprised of members ages 37 to 88. A large portion of them are 60+. I am in my 30s and the next oldest in in their 50s. Big age gap there.

As I look around me as to those sitting around me in church I take note of how most everyone is retired and me still working. How there are no young adults, young families, and children in church. Those kids that were a part of the youth group with me as a kid have moved on, go to other churches in the area, or sadly have went to be with Jesus.

I also take note that our church is not getting any younger. Everyone has a birthday each year and gets another year older. The oldest members of our church are near 90 and soon will no longer be with us. It is a hard fact of life that we all get older and one day go to be with Jesus.

It seems though in my church that when it comes to making the church work you have to be in the 60+ crowd. I get told quiet often when I volunteer for something that I am not old enough. Sometimes I hear that I am not a part cause I am not married, don't have kids, and even cause I have no parents. This comes from the same people that complain that we don't have young people in the church.

Here I am ready to serve and you say things like that to me. No wonder we don't have young people in our church. Who would want to attend a church that treats it's members like that. You wonder why I stay with all that. I grew up in that church. My family makes up a large part of that church. When I go to church on Sunday I can tell you just how many of those in the pews are related to me in some way. That is the way it is with a small country church.

Recently my church has started hosting Youth Night. It is an evening of children of the community were they have a meal, games, and a bible lesson. The concept was to get children into the church for a night and possibly back for Sunday. The idea behind that is great, but then you have reality.

We have very few children in our community. What children we do have go to other churches. If we want to get children who don't live in the immediate church area to come we have to attract their parents. There in lies the problem.

A lot of adults today are not interested in church. Some because they never went to church ever. Others because they are burnt our on religion or they had a bad experience with religion at some point in life. Then there is another reason adults use for not coming to church, work. Some have to work on Sundays when church is held and some only get Sundays off choosing to catch up on things they can't get done any other time of the week.

Social Media is a growing trend these days and some churches I know make use of that outlet to get people into their church. One way is to post their Sermons on the church Facebook page or even their website (if they have either one). These outlets are great ways to tell others about events at your church so that you can attract people.

When I was a kid my Aunt Virginia and Uncle Ed went to a church that would send out cassette tape recordings of the services or sermons to those that were home bound. My Aunt thought it was so nice to get a package in the mail or even an elder of the church to deliver the tapes to her. Some churches still do that. Now it is CDs or even DVDs of the services or sermons. These can be used as tools to attract people to your church.

Marketing your church to the children is a great thing. However, we need to focus on the adults first. If we can't get our own members to come on a regular basis then how are we to get children and even other adults to come to church. Lack of attendance by our own members shows a lack of interest in the church.

Another thing that I find hurts the church membership wise is activities. Too many activities and you will drive people away. I find that there are some in churches that will go around asking everyone if they are attending this or that activity, but when you ask them if they are going they quickly clam up. These are the same people that like to be front and center of the church. They want to make sure that something is happening at the church every night of the week so the church looks good, but doesn't support those activities.

These are the same people that feel that they have brilliant ideas for how to get people into church, but then those ideas are a flop. I mean yes they may get people into church for a time, but then those people stop coming. Those who have to be front and center tend to attract the older set of people to church and never the young adults or young families. That really hurts the church.

I look at churches around mine in our area and wonder what they are doing to attract young people and families to their church. What are they doing that we are not? What are we doing wrong? I know that what works for them does not work for everyone, but I would love to give it a try. I would love to move away from ideas that don't work to find something that does.

So I sat in church this morning pondering this all in my head. I realized that the best thing that I can do right now is pray about it. Let God be in the driver's seat. Let him take control of the situation and he can help us grow as a church.

If we don't have God as a part of it then we are not going to grow. We will be stuck. I place my church in God's capable hands and I know he will do the rest.

Control Freak?

Have you ever known someone that had to be in control of something or someone all the time? I have known people like that and it makes me sad that their lives are like that. People who need to control others have a problem. They can not see it, want to see it, or accept it.

I use to work with someone that had to always have control. They had to know where I was at all times of the day. I even had lists made for me each day of what I had to do according to them. It got really bad when I had to complete everything on the list and turn the list in before I could go home. At that time I learned a valuable lesson.

If you know someone that has to have complete control of everything and everyone around hem the worst thing that you can do is to give into them. Never let them have all the control. You will end up being miserable.

In the case of this co-worker that was what was happening. They were being given all the control. "Well, we don't want to upset them." Finally after a time I had reached my limit. I went to higher ups and complained. We had a sit down to talk about what was going on. In the end things changed for the better.

Never let anyone control you. If you find that a co-worker has to have complete control over you then you need to speak to higher ups to get it stopped. It is abuse pure and simple and you are not to take it.

In my case after talking to higher ups it was determined that I was being mentally and physiologically abused. My co-worker was told that if they did not stop the behavior that they would be transferred. This co-worker thought that their behavior would break me down and I would move on so that they could get someone else whom they wanted in the position. It didn't work. This co-worker is no longer working in our county. It was suggested that they move on and also get some help for their control freak addiction.

I have gone through control freaks in my spiritual life. There have been people that have mentally and physiologically abused me. The purpose was to get me to leave the church. To this day it has not worked. Why? Because I have prayed for this person and let God take control.

  I believe that those persons with Control Freak issues are ones that have problems in their lives and are covering up. They want to control others so that people will not see what is going wrong in their lives.

Webster's dictionary defines Control Freak as a person whose behavior indicates a powerful need to control people or circumstances in everyday matters. In other words they feed off the control of others. They have to have it to survive.

We’ve all been on the business end of the barrel of someone who’s a control freak. Not fun. Violate their “list of rules of what it takes to please me” or push the wrong hot-button, and watch them go postal, manipulative, or into strict-and-stern mode. They’ll even get religious, quoting Scripture to bend you to their will.

The Pharisees are a picture of control freaks gone wild. They had an insane list of anal twaddle of what the church had to do to get it right. To say that the Pharisees were obsessed with dominating others is an understatement.

Then along comes Jesus, who calls them snakes and hypocrites, trashes their list, and says they’re teaching others to be “twice a son of hell as yourself” (Matthew 23:15). The Pharisees’ response?
They killed Him. Control freaks don’t take it well when they’re called out.


CBN has an article about control freaks titled The Cure for the Common Control Freak. It is a good read. Another good read is Confessions of a Recovering Control Freak.

So my advice to all you Control Freaks out there is this. Get help before it is too late. Stop trying to control everything and everyone. It will cost you dearly.

Marriage....The Biblical Idea

Recently there has been much talk about Actor Kirk Cameron's statement of belief about the institution of marriage. Though his statement is of biblical fact he failed to see the whole picture of what the bible says about the institution of marriage.

Wives be submissive to your Husbands, as to the Lord. Submissive in that statement means to be slaves. This part of Ephesians 5:22-33 is where most people stop, They fail to read any further. That is where the trouble lies.

For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,  because we are members of his body. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Ephesians 23-33

If people were to read farther they would see that this passage goes on to state that Husbands are to treat their Wives like Christ does the church. That does not mean that wives are to be slaves to their husbands. Rather, it means that husbands and wives need to be equal partners in the marriage.

I encourage you to read further this passage and study what is truly has to say about Marriage. You might be surprised what you find.

Autism Awareness

 

April is Autism Awareness Month. During the month of April one of the things that happens is that Autism Speaks asks people to turn their porch lights blue in show of support.

Did you know ...

• Autism now affects 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys
• Autism prevalence figures are growing
• Autism is one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the U.S.
• Autism costs a family $60,000 a year on average
• Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism
• There is no medical detection or cure for autism

National Institutes of Health Funds Allocation

• Total 2012 NIH budget: $30.86 billion
• Of this, only $169 million goes directly to autism research. This represents 0.55% of total NIH funding.

Learn the Signs of Autism so that you can better help children with the disorder. Did you know that girls are good at hiding or masking their Autism? The number of girls with Autism is on the rise.

To learn more about Autism visit https://www.autismspeaks.org/. They have lots of good information about Autism.  

Holy Communion

As a kid communion was a sacred service in the church. Lots of work went into the preparation of it. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church. I can remember Joan setting up the communion. We had little glass cups  with grape juice and real bread cut into cubs. Joan would take all those glass cups home and wash them by hand. Thank goodness we don't use the glass cups anymore. Sometime around he time that I joined the church that we got a new communion set that required getting plastic cups. I didn't start taking communion until I joined the church. It was a thing reserved only for those who were mature in their faith.

My mom's parents were Lutherans. They had real communion wine and little wafers. I hated that stuff. Go up front, get a glass cup, and wait for the Pastor to give out the elements. I would never really eat the wafers. I would stick them in my pocket and pretend to eat it when asked. That was until Grandma caught me. She made me eat it. Then I got a huge lesson about how important communion is.

My Aunt Virginia was Brethren. In her church they did the feet washing. In fact they made a whole weekend of the service. On Saturday they would gather to prepare the communion feast. Saturday Night they would gather to eat it. On Sunday they would have Communion which included washing each others feet.

As a kid we had communion on the first Sunday of each month. Then as I got older this changed. We went to every 3 months and then to every 2 months. Plus they included special events like homecoming, Easter, and so on. I personally don't believe that the more times you take communion that you are going to be a better Christian. I think the more times you take it then it loses it's meaning.

Once I participated in a service of communion where everyone went up front, took a piece of bread, and dipped it into the wine. I liked doing that. It brought the whole communion concept together.

I don't think it really matters how you take communion. It does matter if you have the right mind set for communion. That is to say that you take it with reverence and remembrance of what the elements represent.

The grape juice/wine represents the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for you and me. The bread represents Jesus body that was broken on the cross to concur death and save us from sin.

Remember this and take communion seriously.  

The True Meaning of Easter

I recently watched a program on TBN called Golgotha hosted by Joseph Prince. This story talks about the true meaning of Easter. It was very moving. The program focused on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It focused on Mary and what she was thinking about Jesus death. It got me to thinking.

In Old Testament times people brought lambs to the temple to be sacrificed for forgiveness of their sins. Part of the service was for the person bringing the lamb to place their hands on it. This was to transfer their sins onto the lamb before it was sacrificed. This was like what God did. He sent his son Jesus to be the sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the world.

When Jesus was on the cross he did it willingly. He showed those there that day that he was man and God. He wanted to prove to the world at that time that he was here for a higher purpose.

Jesus came to Earth to save us from sin. We in turn are to go share the news of Jesus love with all those that we meet. We need to be the light in the world.

Think about it. If God didn't exist would we even exist? If there would not have been death would we have lived forever?

Jesus came into this world for the purpose of concurring death. He did just that. He fought the battle over death and won.

Death became a factor when Adam and Eve committed the first sin. Before that death was not an issue. It was after that that God worked on a plan to save his people from sin and death. That was to send his son to the world to die for the sin of the world. Ultimately concurring death.

So on Easter we need to thank Jesus for his sacrifice on earth for us. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. He deserves our praise and thanks.

Have It Your Way?

Burger King has the slogan Have It Your Way and that is fine for the fast food industry. However, in the education system that is not a good line of thinking to have. Let me explain why.

In the education system there are certain things that are expected of you not only by the County BOE, but also the State BOE. If you don't abide by these things or do what is expected of you then you could loose your job and as a teacher you could even have your license to teach pulled.

Also you never know when the State or the County will make a visit to your school. Often times they will make a random appearance in your building. Make sure you are doing what needs to be done. Make sure you are doing your best at all times. Be prepared at all times. You never know too when your Principles will come into your classroom unannounced either.

Don't micromanage things in the classroom. That can cause big time stress to happen. As a teacher if you micromanage everything then you are going to feel it. You will end up with burn out quick. Don't think that you have to have control of every aspect of the day. Be prepared for those times when things are totally out of your control and you have to change.

When I say out of your control I mean for example when there is a 2 hour delay or Early Dismissal and the schedule for the whole school is changed. Don't get upset when you have to change what your are doing in your classroom cause lunch is early or that you have to eat breakfast in your room. Take a deep breath and roll with it. Change happens and we have to be adult about it and deal.

I have also found that when you change the environment of your classroom mid stream (year) that you cause lots of problems. Be consistant all year long. For example if you are a Preschool Teacher start out the year peparing your children for Kindergarten. Find out from the Kindergarten Teachers some of the things they do such as disciple and begin the year out doing those things. Don't wait till school is almost out to start this stuff.

Another example is changing up the classroom. In preschool it is important to keep the room the same all year. Don't decide 6 weeks into school that because the children are out of control that your need to move the centers around. This is the time that you should really be changing your lessons and discipline strategy.

If you have an aide you need to treat them as an equal. Don't make list of things you feel they have to do each day to please you. Take a part in the classroom. If one of the jobs in the room is to vacuum the carpet each evening then you as the teacher need to take a turn. You as a teach can do some of the cleaning of the room. I know that a lot of teachers have paperwork that they need to get done, but you need to take a break from that and help out with other things in the room. You can stay late or come early to work on papers. You can even take things home to work on. It will not hurt you.

I worked with a teacher once that came early and stayed till 7pm most night. That was on top of coming in on the weekends to work in the room. I found that that teacher was very dedicated and wanted to make sure she taught her students everything they needed to know.

Also if you as the teacher treat your aide with disrespect then don't expect your aide to go out of their way to do what you ask of them. An example would be that you got an important message about something going on at school. You fail to tell your aide about it. It happens that you are absent the next day. Your class misses out cause no one knew they needed to be at a certain place at a certain time. Communication is key.

You have just got to take a step back and look at what is the best thing for the students and for the adults in the room. It will bring less stress and everyone will get along. Things will go so much better.

So as a teacher before you have to have it your way think long and hard about what would happen if you control everything and everyone at work. You just might find yourself out of a job and not able to teach ever again.

Worry Less, Pray More

I have found that over the years I tend to worry a lot. Mostly about things that I will never be able to change. Then a friend suggested that instead of worrying about it that I give it over to God and let him handle it. I would feel so much better for it. So that is what I did. Sure enough I felt much better.

Recently I have found myself praying often. I find that when I feel that things are out of control that I can go to God in prayer about what is going on. I can give it over to him and it is like a big weight has been lifted.

Some months back I saw the movie War Room. That has inspired me to begin writing prayers for every aspect of my life that I feel is out of control or that I just need a little help from God in. It has really helped me. I find that I am talking to God more often than I ever had in the past.

My Mom was a big believer in the power of prayer. She would pray all the time. That has started to happen to me. I pray all the time now. I find that when I do I can feel God taking control over whatever I have been praying for.

I also find that during the day I am praying for others. Sometimes it is people that I come in contact with during my day and other times it is people that God has layed on my heart to pray for. I have a strong belief in the power of prayer and what it can do for my life and for the lives of others.

So I encourage you to pray more. When you feel that you are at your weakest pray. That is God's way of telling you that he is up to something God in your life you just need to seek him about it. You may not get the answer to your prayer right away, but God will reveal it in his own time. Be patient. It will be worth the wait.

Life is too short

Life is too short to waste time. This is something that I have learned all too well in my life in the past year. Life is just too short. Last year at this time my Uncle Pat was dying of cancer. I look back and think that I should have spent more time with him, but I realize that I did what I needed to do for him because he would only let me do so much.

My Mom passed in July. I look back and think about all the things that I could have done for her, but realize again she would only let me do so much.

Life is too short to look back on life and realize that you should have done this or that for someone. Life is too short to regret one minute of your life. We should all be like the Goodman Family Song I Don't Regret a Mile. Howard Goodman wrote in that song that he did not regret life. He was glad in a way that he lived his life to the fullest for the Lord. That is the way that we should all be.

Don't beat yourself up about life. Live life to the fullest each and everyday. You never know when the Lord will call you home.

Adopted Mom

Sometimes in life there are people that come along when we need them and make us a part of their family. Back in July 2015 my Mom went to be with Jesus. It wasn't long after that that my cousin Shawna's Mom adopted me and my sister Mary. I know that God had a plan in this.

I am so thankful that Ginger has taken Mary and I in as her own children. Adopted child is wonderful. However, it is not the same as having my real mom around. I miss her everyday. I was not ready to let Mom go.

Ginger has been there to fill a void in my life. I have been going through the most hurtful pain in my life. I never expected to loose Mom when I did. I will admit that I was so mad at God for taking Mom away. I realize now that God had a bigger plan in all of this.

I am so thankful each and everyday that God knew who I needed at a time of great loss in my life. I have been adopted into a wonderful family. I feel so loved. I am blessed.

This reminds me of the fact that I have another adoption. God adopted me into his family. That is a wonderful thing. Being adopted by God means that in the end I will get to spend eternity with him. That is a great part of being adopted into the Family of God.

So thank you to all those that have adopted me. I feel so loved and blessed.

Best Friends, Cousins, and Sisters

I  have some of the greatest friends ever. Some of my friends are so close to me that I would call them my sisters. They have been there for me when I needed them the most. I am so thankful that God has placed them in my life.

First there is Andrea. She has a good heart. She loves to help others. She was not only my friend, but also a good friend to my Mom. I can count on Andrea for anything that I need. Andrea has gotten me to do Yoga. I love doing it with her each week. She knows when I need a pick me up and brings me such wonderful gifts.

Then there is my friend Jackie. We met at work. She showed me the ropes and we have been friends since. I can talk to her about anything and she will listen. I love her kids. Jackie is awesome. She has a heart of gold. Jackie would do anything for anyone.

Then there are my cousins. I have some of the best. There is my cousin Shawna. We have practically grown up together. I am thankful for all the time that we have spent and continue to spend together. She is awesome and has a good heart. She is always there when I need her. I am so thankful to have her. I am so thankful that she was there for me the day that Mom went to be with Jesus.

There is my cousin Holly. We don't see each other much, but we have been close. She would come to visit in the Summers. We always hung out. She and I have been through a lot of the same things. We have helped each other out. She is a blessing.

Then there is my sister Mary. I can't say enough good things about her. She and I have been through so much in our life. This past Summer when we lost Mom brought us closer. I am so glad that I have her in my life. She is such a blessing.

I am thankful that God has placed the ladies in my life. God has blessed me with wonderful ladies who have been there for me when I needed them.