Thankful Thursday

Today is Thursday and I am thankful for a church family that is concerned enough to take care of each other. I have seen members of our family working in love to help and comfort others this week. It makes me proud to know that people at Clear Springs love without boundaries.

To all the women who have provided food, comforting words and an outpouring of love to people who have lost loved ones.....I'm thankful you are in my church family.

Tuesday Tickler

Are Women Born This Way?

Prayer Priority

It's Monday morning and time to concentrate some praying.

This week let's keep the Cross and Morris families in constant prayer. The memorial service for Deanna's mother will be Saturday. So, I'm sure it is going to be a stressful week for them.

Let's pray for them every time we stop at a stop sign or drive over a railroad track. Pray for peace, strength and understanding for them.

Pray for the Cross and Morris Families

Deanna's mother passed away this morning. Please keep her, David, Jessica, Kyle and Josh in your prayers. Also remember her brother and his family, and other friends and family who are with them. Although they have known for some time that the pancreatic cancer was taking her, it is still extremely difficult to let go of a parent.
Pray for strength and wisdom for them.
Pray for peace.

Fabulous Friday (and a late Thankful Thursday!)

I'm late with thanks for the week, but I'm still thankful. Today I am feeling thankful for friends who care enough to help me with this blog. Both Sue and Jennifer have offered suggestions, and I appreciate it. The rest of you are welcome to share.

Jennifer suggested we have a Fabulous Friday when we share something good with each other. Sounds great to me. Today I think it is fabulous that I could meet with Gideon Auxiliary women for prayer this morning. They are a group of women from several denominations who sincerely care about seeing people saved.

Prayer Request

Please keep Kim's Dad's family in your prayers. Don's sister Peg died over the weekend, and her funeral is tomorrow in Grove. Jim will be conducting the graveside service. Pray for Don and his immediate family. Also pray for Jim as he conducts the service. I know they will appreciate all of your prayers.

Prayer Priority

The Bible teaches us that when two or more of us pray in God's will for the same thing we will get results! This week let's make our prayer priority each other. Spend time praying for each woman that you know at our church.
Pray that each of us will seek God's will in everything we do. Pray for our ability to discern what His will is then follow through and try to accomplish it. Pray that we will be examples to others. Pray that we will be witnesses to lost people and that we will be there to support each other.
So, when you stop at a stop sign or cross a railroad track, pray for some one of our lovely women. Remember, someone will be praying for you, also.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for the study we are currently doing at church on Wednesday nights -- "What's so Amazing About Grace."
To be perfectly honest, I thought "ho, hum" another book about Grace. But the approach to this one is so different. It really makes you look at some different things and changes your impression of what all Grace involves. I've only got to attend the last two weeks because of camps and a trip to Chicago, but I'm going back to do the other weeks. I
f you haven't been coming, it's not too late to come. Each week is good by itself.

Love is Powerful. Don't Give Up!

Thanks to Paula Shannon for sending this to me for the blog. You'll probably cry when you read it.

Like any good mother, when Karen found out that another baby was on the way, she did what she could to help her 3-year-old son, Michael, prepare for a new sibling. They found out that the new baby was going be a girl, and day after day, night after night, Michael sang to his sister in mommy's tummy. He was building a bond of love with his little sister before he even met her.
The pregnancy progressed normally for Karen, an active member of the Panther Creek United Methodist Church in Morristown , Tennessee In time, the labor pains came. Soon it was every five minutes, every three, every minute.
But serious complications arose during delivery and Karen found herself in hours of labor. Would a C-section be required? Finally, after a long struggle, Michael's little sister was born. But she was in very serious condition. With a siren howling in the night, the ambulance rushed the infant to the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Mary's Hospital, Knoxville, Tennessee.
The days inched by. The little girl got worse. The pediatrician had to tell the parents there is very little hope. Be prepared for the worst. Karen and her husband contacted a local cemetery about a burial plot. They had fixed up a special room in their house for their new baby but now they found themselves having to plan for a funeral. Michael, however, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. I want to sing to her, he kept saying.
Week two in intensive care looked as if a funeral would come before the week was over. Michael kept nagging about singing to his sister, but kids are never allowed in Intensive Care. Karen decided to take Michael whether they liked it or not. If he didn't see his sister right then, he might never see her alive. She dressed him in an oversized scrub suit and marched him into ICU. He looked like a walking laundry basket.
The head nurse recognized him as a child and bellowed, 'Get that kid out of here now. No children are allowed.' The mother rose up strong in Karen, and the usually mild-mannered lady glared steel-eyed right into the head nurse's face, her lips a firm line. 'He is not leaving until he sings to his sister' she stated.
Then Karen towed Michael to his sister's bedside. He gazed at the tiny infant losing the battle to live. After a moment, he began to sing. In the pure-hearted voice of a 3-year-old, Michael sang: 'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are gray.' Instantly the baby girl seemed to respond. The pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. 'Keep on singing, Michael,' encouraged Karen with tears in her eyes. 'You never know, dear, how much I love you, please don't take my sunshine away.'
As Michael sang to his sister, the baby's ragged, strained breathing became as smooth as a kitten's purr 'Keep on singing, sweetheart.' 'The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping, I dreamed I held you in my arms' Michael's little sister began to relax as rest, healing rest, seemed to sweep over her.
'Keep on singing, Michael.' Tears had now conquered the face of the bossy head nurse. Karen glowed. 'You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. Please don't take my sunshine away.' The next day...the very next day. the little girl was well enough to go home.
Woman's Day Magazine called it The Miracle of a Brother's Song. The medical staff just called it a miracle. Karen called it a miracle of God's love.
NEVER GIVE UP ON THE PEOPLE YOU LOVE. LOVE IS SO INCREDIBLY POWERFUL. Life is good. Have a Wonderful Day!

The Five Finger Prayer

This is a prayer guide we use in our Gideon Auxiliary. I thought we could adopt it too. You've probably seen it before, but it works well in praying for people and yourself. Try it.

Five Finger Prayer
1. Put your hands together as if you were praying. You will notice that the closest finger to you is the thumb. Since it is the closest to you, the thumb reminds you to pray for those closest to you. To pray for our loved ones is, as C.S. Lewis once said, a “sweet duty”. While praying for our loved ones is easy, the Bible also tells us to pray for enemies who, in a negative way, are also near us. “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to whose who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Matthew 5:44

2. The next finger is the index finger. It is used for pointing. Let this finger remind you to pray for those who point you in the right direction. Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes teachers, doctors and ministers. It’s these people who tend to point the way. They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.

3. Next is our tallest finger. It reminds us of our leaders. Pray for the president and other governments leaders, leaders I business and industry, and administrators. These people shape our nation and guide public opinion. They need God’s guidance.

4. Fourth is our ring finger. Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us to pray for those who are ill, weak, in trouble or in pain. They need your prayers day and night.

5. Last is our little finger, the smallest finger of all. Which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others. As the Bible says…”for the one who is least among all of you, this is the one who is great.” (Luke 9:48) Your pinky should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs should be put into proper perspective. We should be asking forgiveness for our sins, thanking God for our many blessings, and laying out what is on our heart and asking that His will be done in our lives.

Prayer Priority

After feeling pretty convicted from Jim's sermon yesterday, I think we should make our prayer priority "prayer". I don't know about you, but I don't spend enough time in serious prayer. I pray throughout the day-a few sentences at a time. But I don't set down, record in my prayer journal, and get super involved in praying. So this week, let's pray that God will instill in us the desire to spend time praying. Like Jim said, He won't make us, but He'd like for us to.

So, every time you cross a railroad track or stop at a stop sign, ask God to increase your desire for serious communication with Him. Then, when you're not driving, set aside time to do just that.

What do you think will happen to us and our church if we all decide to do this? I think we'll be amazed at God's results!

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone? What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets? What if we flipped through it several time a day? What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it? What if we used it to receive messages from the text? What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it? What if we gave it to kids as gifts? What if we used it when we traveled? What if we used it in case of emergency? This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible? Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill. Makes you stop and think "where are my priorities"? And no dropped calls!Trust in the Lord and *ASAP (Always Say A Prayer).

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for birthdays. Not because I get to be a year older! But because you hear from so many friends and family that you may not hear from all year. That part is fun. It is a good reminder that the important things in life aren't money, gifts or status, but instead, they are salvation, family and friends.

Remember that you are blessed with a church family that loves you all year long--no matter how young or how old you are.

Blessings Radar

If we want to keep our minds open to receive blessings, humor and new knowledge in whatever happens in our lives, we need to set an invisible radar dish on top of our heads that is set to constantly search for blessings instead of disaster. Remember, God enriches our lives by the experiences we go through. I read somewhere that our lives are enriched by the bad things that fertilize our lives. Look for good and you'll find it.