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!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Conference Sucess!!!
We had a wonderful time at our 2009 Spring Conference!! Check out some pics from the event HERE
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
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 !"
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 !"
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
$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.
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.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
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!
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??'
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??'
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
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.
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.
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