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.