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Showing posts from February, 2010

Spiritual Sundays ~ Idols

"Never have any other god. Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. Never worship them or serve them, because I, the LORD your God, am a God who does not tolerate rivals. I punish children for their parents' sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. Exodus 20: 3,4,5 This past week was a memorable one. The idol came down where I live. A 39 ft. tall statue that represents Mago (“soul of the earth” in Korean) was displayed on a 10 ft. pedestal by the TAO Fellowship on Highway 89A which stretches from Sedona to the Verde Valley towns. This was the press release from the New Age TAO followers: “The Mago Earth Park and the Mago Statue will be a statement to the world that the state of Arizona and the people of the Verde Valley are world leaders in their commitment to peace and to living in harmony with the earth and all people.” However, the opposite of harmony resulted. Our townspeople t

Did I Retreat or Advance?

I’ve been feeling the tug in my spirit for days. I yearned to be alone with Him. Every once in a while I get that way. Where would I go to draw away with my Lord? A storm moved in and covered the surrounding mountains with snow. Even if I had the money to drive to another town and find a hotel, it would not be safe weather-wise. But God helped me. He must have wanted to be with me as much as I longed to be with Him. When I got home from work on Monday night, it was stormy, cold and my phone was dead. No computer. The Qwest repairman would not come until the next afternoon. A quiet Tuesday was handed to me on a platter. Even Baby, my screeching cocktail shut up. I cooked no meals and the housework was minimal. Silence…and Jesus. It’s so wonderful to pray without interruption in complete silence in the comfort of my home. I listened for the Lord’s direction. I studied Exodus 17 and focused on Moses interceding in the battle against the Amelikites with his hands supported high. God gav

Spiritual Sundays ~ Peter's Shadow

My friend was excited about attending a healing service in one of those mega auditoriums with a famous TV evangelist. I admire those special servants of God who are willing to pray for the sick to be healed. When faith arises in those huge gatherings of believers, God can do the impossible. It is exciting; I’m glad she got to go! In Acts 5:15 it says: As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on beds and mats so that at least Peter's shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by. It is God who is the healer and He works through His vessels that have the faith to believe and take Him at His Word. I have a prayer need, but I don’t think I necessarily have to ask a big name to intercede. Everybody in the body of Christ is a big name because we belong to the head which is Jesus. I recognize that there are some who God uses regularly to pray for the sick. I have seen many healings because of the faith of the Christian bloggers over the months. I love hear

Oh No! Not My Laptop!

My husband excels in so many things, but he is no “Mr. Fix it.” Yet, he has a willing heart and confidence to repair anything. When those gooseneck kitchen faucets became the popular rage, he installed one proudly in my kitchen sink. My girlfriend, Joni, dropped by for coffee one morning and was puzzled as to how to shut off the faucet when she rinsed her cup. I yelled into the kitchen “just think opposite direction, Joni!” "How do you live with this man?" my single girlfriend chided. My current dilemma is my laptop. My husband put some software in it for me and noticed how my space bar jumps at times while he typed. So he fixed my space bar. But he broke it and now when I type a word, I press both my index fingers down on the space bar for a space and then type the next word. Can you say frustrating? How about time consuming? When I type a comment on another's blog, I’ve learned to be brief when I use my laptop! This is a good thing. It’s like playing a game: “How can

Spiritual Sunday ~ Valentine's Day

We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God's love live in God, and God lives in them. 1 John 4:16 The truth is that God is love. He loves each and every one of us. The 1 John verse says that we have known and believed that God loves us, but I think some Christians struggle with this. It is a choice we make to receive God’s amazing love. When I was in California a few weeks ago, I attended a mid-week Women’s Bible Study. After the teacher’s presentation, the women were placed in discussion groups and that was when I met Kathie. She liked studying the Word and sincerely was trying to piece her life together by the teaching that morning. She made some past choices and now wondered if her choices were biblical. She asked our group if we agreed with her personal decisions. I listened carefully as the group leader answered with grace and insight. Then the leader asked me if I had anything to add. I did and now that the leader called on me, I must res

Friday Funnies ~ Kids Humor

It's Friday...time to smile together. Kim at Homesteader's Heart is our hostess. Be sure to join her today for a laugh or two. Here's my contribution: KIDS IN CHURCH 3-year-old Reese : 'Our Father, Who does art in heaven, Harold is His name. Amen.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little boy was overheard praying: 'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, 'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ One particular four-year-old prayed, 'And forgive us our trash baskets as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets.' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A mothe

Thankful Thursday ~ Love

I was inspired when I read Debbie’s Thanksgiving Thursday post this morning at Heart Choices. I caught the “let’s get down to thanking God for His amazing love” theme. I’ve had a stressful week, but God has been faithful to me. His love is a testimony and I want to do my part in thanking Him today. When my girlfriend, Mary Jane, got to our Life Group last Friday, she had double vision. We prayed for her healing. We were grateful that she was able to schedule an eye doctor appointment for Monday. I knew we were in trouble after I waited for her for two hours in the doctor’s office that Monday and when the receptionist came out, she told me I must get Mary Jane to the Emergency Room pronto. Her blood pressure was 239 over 150. By 8:30 that night, the nurses were able to get it down to 198 over 77 and we were released from the hospital. I’m praising God that He kept my friend in such good form. This double vision began a week ago! When we were in the Emergency Room, I called my daughter,

The Night My Online Friends Came to Life

We do not have a fancy name. We’re simply a church “life group” that meets on Friday nights to discuss the notes from our pastor’s Sunday sermon. We are anything but simple and ordinary, however. I’ll never forget our first meeting last fall. To my amazement, our leader, Jeannie, looked so familiar to me but I knew I had never met her. Then it dawned on me. She is a spitting image of all the pictures I’ve seen of Kay on her Dream Big blog. She acts like her, too, being outgoing, talkative and sings! And Rosel from Off the Beaten Trek is there too. Glenda commutes to California to work in a correctional facility. I love Glenda, probably because she reminds me so much of Rosel! In Hebrew the phrase “to life” is L’Chaim. The Jewish phrase means that life is very valuable. Life is not taken lightly but we thank God for it; it is precious. These are my sentiments when I think or our Friday night life group. I love these dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. These also are my sentiments whe

Spiritual Sundays ~ Terrorist Groups Operating in Churches

Terrorist Groups Operating in Churches Latest news reports are that five terrorist cell groups have been operating in many of our churches. They have been identified as: Bin Sleepin, Bin Arguin, Bin Fightin, Bin Complainin, and Bin Missin. Their leader, Osama Bin Lucifer, trained these groups to destroy the Body of Christ. The plan is to come into the church disguised as Christians and to work within the church to discourage, disrupt, and destroy. However, there have been reports of a sixth group. A tiny cell, known by the name Bin Prayin, is actually the only effective counter-terrorism force in the church. Unlike other terrorist cells, the Bin Prayin team does not blend in with whomever and whatever comes along. Bin Prayin does whatever is needed to uplift and encourage the Body of Christ. We have noticed that the Bin Prayin cell group has different characteristics than the others. They have Bin Watchin, Bin Waitin, Bin Fastin, and Bin Longin for their Master, Jesus Christ, to return

Friday Funnies ~ Mother of the Bride

Janet's wedding day was fast approaching. Nothing could dampen her excitement - not even her parent's nasty divorce. Her mother had found the PERFECT dress to wear, and would be the best-dressed mother-of-the-bride ever! A week later, Janet was horrified to learn that her father's new, young wife had bought the exact same dress as her mother! Janet asked her father's new young wife to exchange it, but she refused. ''Absolutely not! I look like a million bucks in this dress, and I'm wearing it,'' she replied. Janet told her mother who graciously said, ''Never mind sweetheart.. I'll get another dress. After all, it's your special day.'' A few days later, they went shopping, and did find another gorgeous dress for her mother. When they stopped for lunch, Janet asked her mother, ''Aren't you going to return the other dress? You really don't have another occasion where you could wear it..." Her mother ju

Courage to Battle

Wednesday is the day you can call the local Christian radio station and dialogue with the DJ. Today's theme was "The Courage to Face Trials," based on Deuteronomy 31:6. No matter what comes against us, trust in the Lord, have courage and he will give us the strength you need to get through the trials and tribulations we all face and help you understand the purpose of the trial. Four points were presented: 1) Be aware of God's presence 2) Draw from God's strength 3) Yield to His purpsoe 4) Meditate on His Word. I identified with the caller who has learned to trade her anxieties for trust in the Lord to meet her financial needs. It's hard to surrender control, but easy to worry. Another wife called in to encourage those of us with prodigals in our families. She stood for her marriage when her partner turned to drug addiction and infidelity that led him to the pig pen. But today she praised God because it was four years that her marriage was intact bec