Posted in Life Lessons
This past week has given me a new perspective of the importance of having a church family and the power that family has when they rally together in the name of Jesus.
"Therefore pray for each other so that you may be healed."
James 5:16
A dear friend of mine went through a devastating event on Wednesday night. The unimaginable happened to her. Her church family immediately began to intercede in prayer for her and her family. God moved in a mighty way, and our prayers were answered!
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16
I can't help but imagine what would have happened if the church family had not interceded in prayer. I have no doubt that my precious friend would still be suffering greatly. God is so good.
"When a believing person prays, great things happen."
Going through this reminds me of how important it is to pray for the protection of the people we love. Pray for their families. Pray that Satan will not attempt to tear them apart. The enemy, Satan, goes about as a roaring Lion, to and fro, seeking whom he may devour... and the church is not immune to his ploys.
There are so many out there who are suffering, who long for someone to just love them, reach out to them, tell them that they are special. There are even many in the church who need ministered to. Others assume they are OK because they are sitting on a pew each Sunday, or singing on the praise team. In reality, they are dying inside, screaming for someone to reach out to them, to show that they care. They are suffering in silence, and day by day, the enemy steals their joy, and their hope.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted. "
Matthew 5:3-4
When we ask someone how they are, do we really listen to them? Do we really care? Or do we just wait for them to finish so we can tell them how crummy the world is treating us ...or so we can hurry and go about what we are doing?
We I can get so wrapped up in ourselves myself and all our my sorrows that we I forget that we are I'm to minister to others. In doing so, God will bless us me.
As we minister to those who are lost, let us not forget to minister to those in our family.
"The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor."
Isaiah 61:1-3
Posted in Life Lessons
The kids had fun learning what it was like to do laundry back in the "good 'ole days" when
their Mamaw showed them how to do laundry with their
great-grandmother's old Maytag Wringer Washer. This is the same
washer and washtubs Mamaw helped do laundry with when she was a
little girl.
Rachel, Sarah Beth & Jacob doing the laundry.
Jacob rinsing the clothes.
Everyone helps out: Papaw, Mamaw,
Rachel, Sarah Beth & Jacob.
Wash, wring, rinse...
...wring, rinse, wring...
Mamaw is showing the girls how to hang
the laundry out on the line.
The fruits of their labor.
Monday was wash day,
Tuesday was for ironing,
Wednesday was mending,
Thursday was for shopping,
Friday was cleaning,
Saturday was baking,
Sunday was for church & rest.
Posted in Life Lessons
It
is that time of year. Seeds that were planted in the Spring are
now sprouting a bountiful harvest. Fresh corn, cabbage, green
beans, and tomatoes grace the table. I just love this time
of the year.
We haven't had much rain here lately. Ok, we haven't had any rain
here lately. My lovely brown yard crunches under your feet.
Since we haven't had any rain, the girls have been taking turns
watering Papaw's garden in the evening. Here are some pictures of
Sarah Beth watering the garden the other night. (they start with
"sweet Sarah Beth...")
I
loved watching them playing out in the yard (from the saftey of my
bedroom window, of course.) LOL. They ran, and played, and
had so much fun... all from watering the garden. Watching them
reminds me of this verse in Jeremiah...
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
Then maidens will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
Jeremiah 31:12-13 (NIV)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I
just love that verse. You know, a lot of work goes into tending a
garden. One can't plant the seeds and expect them to take care of
themselves. One must water the garden, and pull weeds, and keep
those savage rabbits from eating the harvest.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
He who began a good work in us will be faithful to complete it.
Philippians 1:6
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
We are a part of God's garden. He planted seeds in us.
God will be faithful to complete the work He started in me.
I believe the same holds true for our personal gardens.
When we plant the seeds of Godliness in our children, we must also be
faithful to complete the task. We must tend to our children by
spending time with them. We must be an example to them by
allowing them to see us reading our Bibles and spending time with
God. We must show examples of faith in action by praying for
others and believing God to answer. We must keep the enemy from
devouring the fruits of our labor. When we do this our garden will
flurish into a bountiful harvest. What joy!
So, how does YOUR garden grow?
Amy Beth
Posted in Life Lessons
It can be very scary when we find ourselves off the road that we are
supposed to take. But, it is comforting to know that if we
do stray off the road, God is there to take care of us.
Today I passed by this old barn I had taken pictures of back in the
Winter when it snowed. I could not pass up the opportunity to
take pictures of it now, with all the beautiful trees in bloom, so I
stopped.
After taking pictures of the front of the barn, I decided to drive up
the little dead end hollar (yes, we call them hollars here in E. TN) to
take pictures of the side & back of the barn. Now back in the
winter, I didn't drive all the way up in the hollar because the road
was covered with snow, and I wasn't sure what to expect at the end, so
I backed out. Today I decided to drive up in there and turn
around.
It was beautiful. The side of the road was covered with honeysuckle,
and it smelled lovely. As I drove, I came to a fork in the
road. I had to make a choice, either turn around here or continue
down a narrow gravel road. Now, if anyone has ever been in
a hollar before, one knows NOT to choose the later because you just
might find yourself looking down the barrel of a shotgun! So,
being the smart, ever so wise person that I am, I decided to turn
around there.
I pulled into the driveway and proceeded to back up...OOPS... what was
that? I backed up a little too far. I was in the
ditch. No problem. I put the car in drive and pressed the
accelaterator. I wasn't going anywhere, only spinning
tires. I decided to try again. Nothing.
I put the van in park & got out to assess the problem. The
back driverside tire was down in the ditch and the bottom of the van
was on the concrete because of the way the road dropped off.
UGH! This was not good.
Again, I thought, no problem. I have my cell phone. I reached in the van and grabbed my phone... no service. NO SERVICE!!!
You've got to be kidding me! What was I going to do? I was
stuck with three kids...all alone in this hollar. Tracy and a
friend went to the movies and noone knew where I was. I'll admit
it, I was mighty scared. So I sat there thinking &
praying. What was I going to do?
There
was a house right there. But dare I approach it? (Remember
the aforementioned possibility of looking down the barrel of a shot
gun?) If I do go to the house and ask for help, do I take the
kids? or do I lock them in the van? So, I prayed..."Dear Lord, please, please, please let there be a little old lady living in that house."
I
decided to lock the kids in the van, and go to the house for help.
I told the kids to sit right there. As I walked up the
driveway I was shaking something fierce. I didn't know what I would
find. I didn't see a car in the driveway. Oh, no. I
went up on the porch and saw a TV on inside. Oh, good.
Someone is home. Again, I prayed... "Please Lord, let a nice little old lady live here."
I knocked on the door. Noone came. I knocked again.
Finally, a little old lady came shuffling to the door. "THANK YOU GOD! OH, THANK YOU!!!"
I explained to her what had happened, and she let me use her
phone. I called my mother-in-law and told her what
happened. She said she and my father-in-law would be there as
soon as they could. They came, and my FIL pulled me out of the
ditch with his big 'ole Chevy truck. (Praise God for FILs
with big 'ole Chevy trucks!!!)
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
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I learned two important lessons that day:
1: DO NOT for ANY REASON, go back in a hollar by yourself.
2: Even when I make the wrong choices in life, God is there waiting to help me. All I need to do is call on Him.
In life we are constantly faced with decisions. We must decide
what path to take. If we put our trust in God, He is
faithful, even when we make the wrong choice. He provides a way
to make our paths straight. Thank you, Lord!
Amy Beth
