Women's Meeting Aug. 16th

You are all encouraged and invited to attend our Women's Ministry Meeting @ MCC on Sunday, August 16 @ 5:00pm. God has spoken to Pastor Cheryl about taking a new direction in our ministry to women @ MCC! Don't miss this fun night as we reveal the new face of our Women's Ministry!!Bring finger foods and an excited and open heart!!For more information, contact Pastor Cheryl

Captivity To Freedom ~ Norma

 Captivity to Freedom -- Victim to Survivor
Last night was a milestone for me in my ministry, my first client returned to Buffalo to speak to the Support Groups, Advocates and women who have a passion for our ministry. Her message was how she moved form the mentality of a victim to that of a Survivor, from captivity to freedom !! Do you know how ? She allowed Jesus Christ to become not only her Savior, but Lord of her life. Giving everything over to Him and allowing Him to take control and move her away from, out of and through to the plan that He had designed for her life. Refer to Jer. 29 v 11 & 12, God has a future and a plan of good and not of evil for each of us. Our part is to get into position where He can begin the process. As Tami was speaking I thought of the broken woman who sat on my couch 7 years ago and cried out for help. Today she is confident and self assured that she is in the position that He wants for her at this season of her life. She is serving with the Friendships Ministry home based in Lake Charles ,La,( www.friendships.org ), they are a disaster relief organization traveling world wide wherever there is a need. You may be reading this and do not know the plan that God has for your life, you may or may not have been or still are a victim and ask where do I start ? How do I find the plan that God has for my life ?.
#1 (John 3v16) You must know Jesus as Savior, ask him for forgiveness of sin and turn away from the past and look to Him.
#2 (Luke 11v 9-12) Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with His Love for people and His power to minister that Love.
#3 (Rom. 12 v2 ) Renew your mind daily to the Word of God and He will become Lord of your life.
Listening to Tami last night brought back to my mind a Bible Study I heard in 1995, this study was a turning point in my life, to begin moving  from Jesus as Savior to Jesus as Lord of my life. I found the outline this morning and want to share it with you.
Let The Past Be The Past
I Cor. 5v17 / Phil 3v13-15 / I Peter 4v3
1. The Past is to LEARN from, Not to LIVE in .
2 . God does not consult your PAST to determine your FUTURE
3. Conquer Your PAST by focusing on your FUTURE
4. STOP looking at where you have been ! LOOK at where you are going!
5 . STOP looking at what you do not have, LOOK at what you do have !
6. Your FUTURE begins with whatever is in your hands TODAY !
7. DON'T always believe what others SAY about you, BELIEVE GOD !
8. Those who created past PAIN, do not CONTROL your FUTURE !
9. You can become BITTER or GET BETTER, You CHOOSE !
10 You may STUMBLE and FALL, But WINNERS GET UP !
This is a process and will not come about overnight, but the diligent seeker WILL find the way with direction and wisdom from,
God the Father, Jesus the Son and The Holy Spirit .
Until next time, "KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS, HE HAS ALL THE ANSWERS !!"




NORMA


Jesus said, "Without ME YOU can do NOTHING !"

Women's Meeting!!

You are all encouraged and invited to attend our Women's Ministry Meeting @ MCC on Sunday, August 16 @ 5:00pm.
God has spoken to Pastor Cheryl about taking a new direction in our ministry to women @ MCC! Don't miss this fun night as we reveal the new face of our Women's Ministry!!
Bring finger foods and an excited and open heart!!
For more information, contact Pastor Cheryl

Boundaries, When to Say Yes,When to Say No ~ Norma

My advanced Support Group is finishing a book by Henry Cloud and John Townsend on setting Boundaries, I have learned so much from this book. I have been a person who has said yes too many times when I should have said no. Never wanting to have someone mad at me or hurt their feelings. This book uses Bible principles to instruct on how and when to set boundaries for every area of your life. Spouse, Children, Parents, Friends, and Work. I wish I would have had this book when I was raising my children, in this area I probably said no too many times at the wrong time. Having too much freedom as a teen, I tended to be too strict on my children as they were growing up. It goes from birth through teen years giving instruction on how to help your children begin on a foundation that will produce an adult that will be an asset not only for society, but especially an adult that can hear from God and then obey. I encourage you to get this book and read it slowly from front to back.' I have the Workbook but it is very repetitive, unless you want to do an in depth study and answer the questions at the end of each chapter. I am also reading the book on the Dugger family, "20 and Counting". I watch their show on TV and have been fascinated by how they manage to raise such a large family without Government assistance. God has truly blessed them and I believe their plan has worked for them. I do not believe it is for everyone, God does have a plan for each of our lives and we have only to find that place in Him and follow the path He lays before us. Just as He does not call everyone to be a Missionary in Africa, I do not believe He calls every family to have18 children. Their story is interesting and in the coming years we will see if their way works as their children grow up and leave home. For myself 4 was good and I love each one of them, I was not Harriet Nelson or Bever's Mom and know I could have been a much better Mom than I was, but we can not go back and do it over, I love my children and have asked them to forgive me for my poor parenting. This book has been a real eye opener for me and much of it I can put into practice in my life now. If you are reading this and have small children at home, I encourage you to get this book, not just for you but for your children. Until next time, "Keep You Eyes On Jesus"

Satisfaction ~ Norma

Satisfaction
I have a daily reading called,"For Women Who Do Too Much," which I do not always get to read and I am at the present a month behind, maybe I am trying to do too much.The daily reading for June 10 really spoke to me and I want to share it with you, this can apply to men as well as women. Satisfaction with one's life is like being anointed with warm oil. It is so peaceful to read the words of someone who is content. Often we equate contentment and satisfaction with stagnation. They are anything but that ! True satisfaction with ones life is an acceptance of what is, continuing to prepare for what can be, while letting go of what we thought needed to be. Satisfaction is a quiet place of quietude, a busy place of stillness. Satisfaction is a place of relief rarely felt be people who do too much. Satisfaction is the soul breathing a sigh of relief. By Anne Wilson Schaef
I meditated on this and I thought of when Paul said he was content no matter what state he found himself in. Phil. 4v11. He had learned how to be content and satisfied because he knew God was in control and would give him the strength to carry out God's plan for his life, Phil. 4v13. The warm oil refers to the Holy Spirit, He is our Comforter and our Peace. So my prayer for myself and for you who are reading this is to be satisfied where I am now, continue to look forward to what God's plan for my life is, and release what I think is needed. Let God have His way in my life, find that place of quiet and dwell there, for that is where He will be found. To be busy with His work, listening for His voice and follow Him, for there is where I will find the peace and contentment that I seek.
Till next time,"Keep Your Eyes On Jesus".

Family Matters ~ Cheryl

I know this is really big news for some of the young parents of today, but did you know that it is a good thing to sometimes say “NO” to your children! Being around some children today, you wonder if they have ever even heard that word! Some parents think that when a child is disobeying, that the thing to do is try to reason, divert, or distract.
There is nothing wrong with those methods sometimes. But, there are times that no amount of “reasoning” will get the point across. Children must learn to deal with the word “NO”, and parents need to not be afraid to use it.
One good reason for that is for their own safety. If a young child is about to run into the street, or touch a hot stove, they need to be taught ahead of time to immediately respond to the word”no”.
Children desperately need to learn that a parents “NO” means “NO”, even if you throw a fit ! If you say “no” to your child, they pitch a fit, and then you relent, what are you teaching them? I can guarantee you there are a lot more fits in store for that parent!
It is the same for older children. Teens or preteens may not throw themselves on the floor and kick and scream but they can sure throw some fits!
It is a proven fact that children do better with rules and regulations. It causes them to feel more secure and valued. Actually a child who calls all the shots in a home will begin to feel insecure and devalued. Kids need parents to say what they mean and mean what they say and stick to their word!

God's Cake

Sometimes we wonder, why certain difficult things happen in our life.
Here is a wonderful way to look at it!
A daughter is telling her mother how everything is going wrong:
She's failing algebra.
Her boyfriend broke up with her.
AND her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter
if she would like a snack, and the daughter says,
"Absolutely, Mom, I love your cake."
"Here, have some cooking oil," her Mother offers.
"Yuck," says her daughter.
"How about a couple raw eggs?"
"Gross, Mom!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Mom, those are all yucky!"

To which the mother replies:
"Yes, all those things seem bad by themselves.
But when they are put together in the right way,
they make a wonderfully delicious cake.

God works much in the same way.
Even when we are going through yucky, difficult times,
God can take all these things and turn them out for our good!
We just have to trust Him and, eventually,
He can make something wonderful out of us!

Verbal Affirmation

Miracle Christian Center
Family Matters
Cheryl Lane

The Word of God tells us that we are to train our children up in the way they should go. One of the most important things we can all do for our children & family is to give them continual encouragement and support through verbal affirmation. That will build a confidence in them that will become a great asset in their life. Every child and adult needs to feel that they are important.

I recently read a story telling about the world famous boxer, Muhammad Ali. His renowned trainer, Angelo Dundee, at every boxing match, would write a number on a small piece of paper and place it inside Ali's glove. The number was the round that Dundee was predicting Ali would knock out his opponent. He had such confidence that Ali would win that he would also predict when he would win. Ali of course knew of his trainers great confidence in him. Even though it was just a little piece of paper, it was actually much more than that. When we verbally affirm our confidence in our loved ones it in turn builds a great confidence in them.

We all know that Ali did not lack when it came to confidence in his own ability. He made that very plain in the intimidating antics he would recite to his opponents. Ali surely had others encouraging him, but it is when those closest to us do it that affects us the most. I know that when my husband ministers, everyone in the church may tell him it was a great sermon, but he still wants to know what I thought about it, and I am the same way with him.

As I mentioned earlier, this is something everyone of us has the ability to do. We can uplift and encourage our loved ones. Don't worry about “giving them the big head”, because believe me, their will be plenty of people out in the world telling them what they can't do!

Calling All Married Couples!!!

Beginning next Sunday May 31st @ 9:30 a.m.
Don't Miss This New Video Series In The Young Adult Sunday School Class:
"Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage" -Complete DVD Seminar
with Pastor Mark Gungor
First series entitled, "The Tale of Two Brains1"
For more info. call: 903-322-2300
Or e-mail Pastor Cheryl

Family Matters ~ Cheryl

The world may not care a whole lot today about the marriage relationship, but according to the Word of God, He does! Marriage was His idea in the first place. He created male and female to be together in the garden of Eden. In Genesis 2:18, He even said it was not good for man to be alone. He intended for us to be there for each other through whatever life brings our way.

We should see ourselves as a team, working together against all odds. We are to “complete” each other, not “compete” against each other. Many couples I know are so busy trying to get everything they can out of the other person, and never consider that they may need to be giving something in order to complete their spouse. It really doesn't matter who spends the most time doing things for the kids, it's all about working together with the same, common goal. Many times instead of working together to see what we want accomplished, we waste our time pushing against each other.

God intends for us to be a strong unit, as husband and wife. Ready to stand against the enemy, and stand behind each other. We need to show our children that we are on the same page and let them know they cannot put one against the other.
God even sees us as one flesh! I wonder what kind of relationships we could all have if we always treated the other person in the same way that we want to be treated? Huuum! Food for thought!

The Vine- Grower ~ Norma

God the Father is a vine-grower whose intention is to produce good wine. God the Father plants a vine. That vine is Jesus, Our Lord. That vine, like all grapevines, is composed of roots, stalk, branches, leaves, and ultimately, grapes We are the branches; we have been made a part of this vine through our being born again, which brings us into relationship with Jesus. If we remain remain in relationship with Christ, we will produce fruit. If our relationshipo in Christ is healthy as He intends, we will produce grapes abundantly, those grapes will be full of juice. At the right time, those grapes which we produce will be harvested and pressed. Their abundant juice will ferment into good wine which will, as scripture says of wine, bring joy to the heart – not only our heart - but the hearts of others .So, according to this metaphor, God our Father is the origin of the good wine which is holiness and human perfection. Jesus his Son is the vine which the Father plants. We are the branches which the Vine produces by its internal power. Drawing from the vitality of the vine, we branches produce grapes, meaning the good works of virtue, filled with the juice of human accomplishment and perfection. Following our natural inclination as a vine follows its vegetable tendency, we will produce more shoots and leaves than are necessary for a good grape harvest. So the Father will come with his pruning hook or knife and cut away that which He doesn't want so as to direct our vitality into the clusters of grapes that He does want. This pruning may be frustrating and painful, but it is necessary to make us really productive and not just good to look at. Then comes the harvest, the cutting of the clusters, the pressing of the grapes in a winepress, the collecting of the juice in containers, and then the fermentation into wine, which is what the Divine Vinegrower has intended all along. Let us try to remain closely, intimately incorporated into the Vine which is Jesus our Lord, so that He may produce in us what His Father wants, and we may bear the fruit of virtue and become authentic disciples of Our Lord.

Happy Mother's Day ~ Cheryl

I want to say Happy Mother’s Day to all of the ladies today! Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs in the world. That is what I wanted from the time I was a little girl, to be a mommy. I have such a great example in my very own mother. I have always known that my brother and I were her priority in life, no matter what else was going on with her. Even being grown and on our own, we still know that she would do anything she possibly could for us that we needed.

Let me say, there is not a mother alive that has not made mistakes, we all have. But, I believe our children are a gift from God and we should place our mothering job at a high priority. God expects us to do everything in our power to love & nuture our children to adulthood. He also expects us to teach them to love, serve, and trust Him. It is our responsibility to train them so that they know they can call on God in every situation they have to face in life. As our children get older, we are not always able to fix their problems, but if we have done our job, they will know to call on our God who can!

Let me give a special Happy Mother’s day to my mom, Billie Hearn, my mother-in-law, Madeline Lane & my two daughters, who have made wonderful mothers themselves, Amy Gaskins and Stacy Morris. I love you all!

Conference Sucess!!!

We had a wonderful time at our 2009 Spring Conference!! Check out some pics from the event HERE

Are You Allowing Fear To Rule? ~Norma

It has been too long since I have posted due to several factors, warmweather means more time spent outdoors as I have a large yard and too manyflower beds! What seemed like a good idea 11 years ago when we moved here now looks like toooo much work! On to more important things, I want to share with you something that the Holy Spirit has been showing me these past few months.
Too many people,Christians, as well as the worldly are allowing fear to rule in their lives. Everywhere we turn we are bombarded by doom and gloom. Starting with the media all the way to the White House. I want to share a few things that fear does to us, I am writing to Born Again, BloodWashed Believers!
Fear Distorts Reality: It causes us to lose sight of what is real in our lives, The Word of God.
Fear Victimizes : It causes us to feel sorry for ourselves, have pity-parties
Fear Puts Stress On The Body: Causes high blood pressure, headaches, bodyaches
Fear Alienates the Truth of the Word: We begin to question God
Fear Imobilizes, Freezes and Cripples: Emotionally, Physically, Spiritually and Mentally
Fear Replaces Faith: Fear and Faith can not and will not operate in the sameplace
Fear Tells Us We are Failures: We will not see success in our life when ruled by fear
Fear Fills The Heart With Disspare: We lose hope that life will ever be peaceful
Fear Destroys From The Inside Out: Fear steals the joy and blessings of God
Fear Brings Disappointment: We see everything from a negative instead ofpositive
I pray as you read this you will see if you have allowed fear to come in and steal your joy and peace in the Lord. We are going to face hard times, Jesus said we would, BUT we must place our trust in The Living God who has a future and a hope for each of us, just as he did for Jeremiah. The government does not have our best interests at heart, they will not and cannot take care of us. Our only hope of survival in the coming days is to fall on our knees and pray that Jesus will intercede on our behalf. He looks to the heart and only asked that we love Him and are obedient to the guidelines He left us for an Abundant Life in Him. I thank Him daily that He is a God of Grace and Mercy, and will never leave me. If you are reading this and do not know this man Jesus I speak of, He is but a breath away, waiting on you to callout and repent. Seek, Ask, Receive Today !Until next time, "KEEP YOU EYES ON JESUS !!" 
~NORMA~
Jesus said, "Without ME YOU can do NOTHING !"

$50.00 ~ Wanda

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: 'Daddy! , may I ask you a question?'

DAD: 'Yeah sure, what is it?' replied the man.

SON: 'Daddy, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily.

SON: 'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?'

DAD: 'If you must know, I make $50 an hour.'

SON: 'Oh,' the little boy replied, with his head down.

SON: 'Daddy, may I please borrow $25?'

The father was furious, 'If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolity's.'

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?

After! about an hour or so, the m an had calmed down , and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep, son?' He asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy.

'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier' said the man. 'It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the $25 you asked for.'
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.

The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.
'Why do you want more money if you already have some?' the father grumbled.

'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied.
' Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.'

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.

This is just a short reminder to all of us working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love.

Family Matters ~ Cheryl

There is one thing for sure…there are not any of us who can say that we have never made a mistake in our relationships with our spouses and children. The good news is that there is always an opportunity to change things. Edmunde Burke said, “The past should be a springboard, not a hammock.”

In other words, don’t plan your future by your past! Don’t sit back & look at your mistakes and think it is too late to do anything about it, so I will just settle for the way things are. The Apostle Paul said, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…” (Phil.3: 13-14)

Let’s all take the opportunity to get past the wrong things we have done and said in our relationships and make the effort to get past them. It may require asking for, or, accepting an apology, but the desire to move forward could be the springboard to get us into a more peaceful and loving family life.

Refuse to continue dwelling on the past mistakes of yourself or others. None of us can walk backward into the future!

Selling Bibles ~ Wanda

A pastor concluded
that his church was getting into very
serious financial troubles. While
checking the church storeroom, he
discovered several cartons of new bibles
that had never been opened and distributed.

So at his Sunday
sermon, he asked for three volunteers from
the congregation who would be
willing to sell the bibles door-to-door for
$10 each to raise the
desperately needed money for the church.

Jack, Paul and Louie all
raised their hands to volunteer for the
task.

The minister knew
that Jack and Paul earned their living as
salesmen and were likely capable
of selling some bibles. But he had serious
doubts about
Louie who was a local farmer, who had
always kept to himself
because he was embarrassed by his speech
impediment.

Poor
Louie stuttered badly. But, NOT WANTING TO
discourage Louie, the
minister decided to let him try anyway.

He sent the three of
them away with the back seat of their cars
stacked with bibles. He asked
them to meet with him and report the
results of their door-to-door selling
efforts the following Sunday.

Anxious to find out how
successful they were, the minister
immediately asked Jack, 'Well, Jack,
how did you make out selling our bibles
last week?'

Proudly handing
the reverend an envelope, Jack replied,
'Using my sales prowess, I was
able to sell 20 bibles, and here's the
$200 I collected on behalf of the
church.'

'Fine job, Jack!' The minister said, vigorously
shaking his hand... 'You are indeed a fine
salesman and the Church is indebted to
you.'

Turning to Paul, 'And Paul, how many
bibles did you sell for
the Church last week?'

Paul, smiling and sticking out his chest,
confidently replied, 'I am a
professional salesman. I sold 28 bibles on
behalf of the church, and here's $280 I
collected.'

The minister
responded, 'That's absolutely
splendid, Paul. You are truly a professional
salesman and the church is indebted to you.'

Apprehensively, the
minister turned to Louie and said, 'And
Louie, did you manage to sell any
bibles last week?' Louie silently
offered the minister a large
envelope.

The minister opened it and counted the
contents. 'What is
this?' the minister exclaimed.
'Louie, there's $3200 in here!
Are you suggesting that you sold 320 bibles
for the church, door to door,
in just one week?'

Louie just nodded. That's
impossible!' both Jack
and Paul said in unison. 'We are
professional salesmen, yet you claim to
have sold 10 times as many bibles as we
could.'

'Yes, this
does seem unlikely,' the minister!
agreed. 'I think you'd better explain
how you managed to accomplish this,
Louie.'

Louie shrugged.. 'I-I-I
re-re-really do-do-don't kn-kn-know
f-f-f-for sh-sh-sh-sure,'
he stammered.

Impatiently, Peter interrupted. 'For
crying out
loud, Louie, just tell us what you said to
them when they answered the
door!'

'A-a-a-all I-I-I s-s-said
wa-wa-was,' Louis replied,
'W-w-w-w-would y-y-y-you l-l-l-l-l-like
t-t-to b-b-b-buy th-th-th-this
b-b-b-b-bible F -f-for t-t-ten b-b-b-bucks
---o-o-o-or--- wo-wo-would
yo-you j-j-j-just l-like m-m-me t-t-to
st-st-stand h-h-here and
r-r-r-r-r-read it t-to y-y-you??'

Hope For The Future

Regardless of where you are in life today , there is always hope for the future!

Jer. 29:11 “For I know the thoughts and plans I have for you says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace, not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.”

Thank God for that Word! If you are not where you desire to be in relationships, in your health, financially, or whatever, keep your hope and faith for a better future. God wants good for us, regardless of what our nations economy is, or what the DR.says, or how others treat us. Our job is, and has always been, to continue to trust HIM!

Henry Ward Beecher said, “Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith.”

The choice is ours to make in every situation that arises in our life. We have to stay hopeful and agree with what God says about our future. Expect good things to happen every day! Keep a positive attitude about every area of your life. We only get one chance at this life. Why spend it staying down and depressed? Why not make a decision to live life to the fullest and stand firmly on what God says about our future?

Anyone can be positive when everything is going good! But I think God wants us, even in the hard times, to keep our focus and our faith on Him! Lets make the choice to believe and expect good and not evil, to give us hope in our final outcome.