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I have never gone to a church with a candlelight service. I love the thought!
We had a good time with mom and then just relaxed the rest of the day.0 -
It's such a blessing to see young people in the congregation! Your service sounds and looks like it was a beautiful night!
I had my hip x-rayed yesterday so we'll see what that reveals, probably on Monday. It's been a little bit better today - praise the Lord. I felt bad this morning when I got up, lots of head congestion and drainage, but after taking my allergy pill I am feeling better. I'm always congested in my head though, but it was worse this morning. I had a sinus headache as well, but it went away pretty quickly with a couple Tylenol. Oh, praise the Lord, when I saw my NP, she was surprised that CVS was suggesting she prescribe something different for my pain, she'd never heard of a pharmacy doing that. She re-prescribed what I've been taking and CVS is going to fill it! Praise the Lord. I told her about how taking the mold-free coffee has helped with my allergies - again, shock, she'd never heard of that either. Maybe it will help someone else if she's willing to share that tid-bit.
Y'all have a wonderful weekend and worshiping the Lord this Sunday. Love y'all!0 -
Happy New Year to all! I'm having a quiet evening, exactly what I enjoy most. I picked up some chicken pot pie soup at Publix today, which is really good, so I'll sit down with that and a good book shortly.
It's been interesting to watch tributes to President Carter on TV. I remember his presidency well, and it wasn't good. My Mom worked at the GA revenue department during his governor years. When he ran for president, she said that he wasn't liked and no state employee would vote for him. While he went on to win, he failed to carry his home state. I did come to respect him in the years afterwards, however, because of his work with Habitat for Humanity.0 -
Happy New Year.
I've had a cold since the day after Christmas so we had a quiet evening. Ate some snacks, watched some TV, did some laundry. Night 3 of taking Nyquil to lessen the coughing. Planning on sleeping in tomorrow.0 -
I'm so sorry, Cindy! I caught something after visiting my doctor and getting my X-ray. It felt very much like when I have pneumonia. My PA did give me two weeks of Amoxicillin to be on the safe side. There are times I'm sure that's what it is and other times I feel just fine! Hmmm! I hope that you get to feeling better quickly! Prayers going up!
Carole, I had a quiet evening as well. The church family got together to ring in the New Year and Wade was able to go, but not know what I might have, I stayed home. He did bring me some dessert! I crawled into bed around 8:30 and listened to my books and played some games. I fell asleep around 12:15! I think that's the first time in the last 10 years that I saw the New Year in! Yep, I'm old! LOL!
Still haven't heard about my x-rays. They are in, but my NP hasn't looked at the results yet. I'm hoping that she will give me a call today! I can be a pest about these things. When I saw her I mentioned that and she said it was good because she had so much on her mind remembering those things just wasn't easy! So, I will continue to be the squeaky wheel!
Have an awesome day, y'all. I pray this New Year sees us growing closer to the Lord and reaching out with the glorious message that Jesus saves from all sin!
I was just finishing off the blog posts from our Pastor and I thought I would share these two with y'all:
12-31-24
The greatest thing in all my life is knowing You, loving You, serving You.
I want to know You more, I want to love You more, I want to serve You more.
Happy New Year.
12-31-24 GUARD THE GATES
I have been thinking about the importance of guarding the GATES to our inner man. (Remember the gates in Bunyan's "Holy War.")
I hope to come back to this as we begin 2025, but in the meantime, let me just mention two of these gates today: Ear-Gate and Mouth-Gate.
We need to guard our hearing. Sometimes it is a matter of filtering what we hear.
We need to guard our speaking.
Suffice it to say, we need to put a guard concerning the things we hear and the things we say. Guard yourself from the thoughts that come through the ear and the thoughts that are expressed through the mouth.
We must speak truth and we must speak it in love. We shouldn't speak something just because we think it. We should not lie, we should not gossip, we should not speak perverse things, we should not utter curses, we should not cause division with our words. There are many things we should keep our mouths from speaking.
On the other hand, there are a great number of things we can and we should do with our speaking. We should encourage, we should inform, we should evangelize, we should comfort, we should build up, we should praise, we should confess, we should worship.
Ps 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
Ps 141:3-4 3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
4 Incline not my heart to any evil thing, to practice wicked works with men that work iniquity: and let me not eat of their dainties.0 -
Carole - My Mom and I were talking about President Carter the other day. I think he was a terrible president, he just didn't have enough experience or business/political savvy. He wasn't respected in the US or abroad. BUT, I don't think that anyone has said anything bad about him personally. He spent his life after presidency working on so many humanitarian issues. You sure couldn't say that about most of our presidents!
Hope everyone is getting over their illnesses. I was talking to my aunt today. She is in a nursing facility right now doing rehab. There is a huge outbreak of COVID again, so be careful. She said that her roommate had it and they had to move her out of Charline's room. Hopefully my aunt doesn't get it again, I think she has had it 3 times and she's very fragile right now.
We are finally making progress with the sores on Bill's bottom. The nurse that came out has specialized in wound care for 14 years and knows his business. He told us that we have been diligent, but using the wrong meds. When he was talking, he made so much sense. The other doctors, NPs, etc were all wanting us to use zinc based ointments. He said that they dry up the skin and are so hard to get off the skin that they cause more problems than they help. He wanted me to use use A&D cream....and I had a big jar of it. It looks 100% better. All but one of the sores are basically healed over. That one is the newest and it is still a little painful. Hopefully it will be gone soon, too. Now, the big test is no more sores starting, and getting the skin toughened up a little again so it doesn't tear so easily.0 -
Oh my, my heart goes out to Bill! I'm so glad that you found someone who knew what he was talking about. You are doing an awesome job taking care of him!
I'm back and forth on whether this is pneumonia again or not. There are times the symptoms are exactly right, but then other times there aren't any symptoms. They are definitely worse when I am doing something which is like before. I fell down yesterday, tripped over a small heater we had against the wall in the hallway. I came out of Wade's office and took a tight turn and tripped over it, falling on my hands and knees. My left knee is a little swollen and my left wrist is a little wrenched, but other wise I'm fine. Praise the Lord. I scooted myself over to a chair and was able to get up off the floor, otherwise I would have had to yell my head off to get Wade's attention - he was outside cutting down some dead trees, and I was watching some of that from his office! The little heater is now well out of my way. The weird thing is, I am always looking down to be sure I don't trip over something and I never saw the heater there!
Hope your days are great! Love you0 -
I thought this was a very encouraging post from my Pastor's FB page:
NO MORE TIME TO WASTE
We are only 2 days into 2025 and millions of people have already broken their New Year's Resolutions. Oh well, there is always NEXT YEAR. But that is not true. There may not be a next year, and for those who will see another year, there are things that will be lost this year which will never be recovered or restored. There are opportunities that will be missed forever.
However, there are commitments and changes that must be made in order to be the Christians we need to be. Our life and well-being depends on the steps we take.
God's plans are so much greater for us than we know, but the more we know about His will, the more clearly we will see what He has for us. There are things God wants us to do and to have, and there are things that God wants us to give up and to quit doing. But we won't get the new light He has for us if we don't live in (walk it) the light that He has already given us.
Sometimes the unregenerate individual has greater expectations and objectives in pursuit of their worldly (or demonically) oriented mind than Christians have for their walk with and service to God.
Some believers need to make some major changes in their physical condition. Even if you are almost totally incapacitated, if you are able to do any movements, then you need to DO IT NOW. No one is interested in excuses. Your health, your future, your family, your service to God is dependent on your physical condition.
It is not always our fault that we have some physical problems, and God does not hold us accountable for the things in life, which we did not cause. But let's face it, most folks are capable of more than they are doing in life.
We need to yield every area of our life to the leading, purifying, filling and service of God. This includes our health, our time, our money, our pleasures and desires, our fears. EVERY AREA belongs to God.
OK, it is almost January 3. Take time to meet with God this week. Open yourself to His will and transforming power and presence. Enter into 2025 with the intention of living fully for Christ. Make no excuses.0 -
The weather across the US is terrible right now, and we are right in the middle of it right now. We are having ice now (started about 2pm). At about 3am it is supposed to change over to snow. Some weather channels are saying 9-14 inches of snow, one is saying 6-9, others are in between. Who knows, but right now the city is cripped by ice. My grandson's girlfriend was stuck in stopped traffic on one of the interstates in KC for almost 3 hours. She finally made it home, a nervous wreck! She got off work (at a bank) and went to the pharmacy and headed home...
This weather map says we are in the 5-10 book category
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Connie - I pray you and Bill are surviving the storm without loss of power, etc. Ice can be so destructive! Snow was predicted for our area in east TN, but I believe it has gone slightly north of us. That can change tomorrow, of course, but we're just having rain at the moment and temps are above freezing. And I'm thrilled at the good advice you got from the nurse about Bill's sores. His experience was exactly what you needed.
Kim - You could have been hurt much worse when you fell! And it's so easy to fall, even when watching carefully. Was the hallway well lit? I'm thankful for God's protection over you. And your pastor's writing is very timely. Thanks for sharing.
Cindy - I pray you are improving each day and that your cold isn't more than a cold. Hope you're having some good family time over the holidays in spite of being sick.
It was so good to be with my church family this morning. We have a group of around 15 men who sing on the first Sunday of each month and I enjoy playing for them. They sing a couple of songs from the hymnbook and practice about 45 minutes before service. They're great sight readers! Beth seems to cherish being able to sit with me during worship and that means so much.0 -
Love the map, Connie! I hope you and Bill are doing well. We have family in Saint Charles so we keep an eye to that area on the map! So glad your grandson's girlfriend made it home safe and sound. When we first moved to Hickory in the early 2000's we had an ice storm and lost power. Wade had gone to TN to continue working there and would come home on the weekend, so Mom and I were alone - a week without power. Lots of book reading, Bible reading, and actually enjoying figuring out how to get things done with what we had! But very happy when the power came back on! It's nice when the power goes out and it's as cold as the freezer outside - pack the fridge into a cooler and set it by the back door! Everything gets frozen, but hey, you don't lose it! Praying y'all are safe and well.
Carole, hope it didn't come down and strike yesterday. We were very cold here, but just a little bit of rain. It's in the 50's this morning and will get up to around 64 this afternoon. My Christmas cactus that I inherited from Mom is still blooming! Yeehaw! I have both my succulent pots in my office window and they seem very happy! The men's group "sounds" like it would be incredible. I love when we do women on one verse then men on the other when we are singing a hymn, so powerful! The hallway is very short in that part of the house. Wade had put the small heater right up against the wall not far from his office door and for some reason I just didn't see it sitting there, but I did have my mind on getting my phone and then getting back to watch him fell the tree he was working on next door - just didn't pay enough attention I guess. I am so grateful to the Lord that I wasn't hurt badly at all!
I'm doing much better with whatever it was I caught. Praise the Lord for that as well. I am having blood drawn on Wednesday to make sure my potassium levels are good. I quit taking one of my diuretics, the one that protects my potassium levels - it didn't work as well on my swelling as the other one does, so it needed to go - my skin is just way too dry and in the winter it gets even worse. The swelling has been fine without it!
I have another blog post for you. I put this one on it's own document so I can go through each item in the "I Preach..." section and find the verses that correspond to the truths preached. He's preached these truths for the 50 years that I've been under his ministry. It makes a good study tool.
01-03-25
Through the years I have wanted to see my congregations grow in numbers, as well as in spirit, godli-ness, knowledge, grace, love, faith, vision, ministries. But my desire was not for my own advantage, or even the numerical or monetary well being of my congregation
I want people to come to my ministry because I want them to have at least what I have found and ex-perience what I have. I want people to become all that God wants them to become. I want them to be immersed in the power, purity and purpose of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
-I preach holiness of heart and life.
-I preach victory over sin and temptation.
-I preach that agape love is the fulfilling of the law.
-I preach that God makes it possible for believers to experience perfect love.
-I preach that it is possible to have the mind of Christ and to walk in Christ's footsteps.
-I preach that we can be pure in heart.
-I preach that God calls and equips His children to do that which is pleasing in His sight.
-I preach that we can be conformed to the image of Jesus.
-I preach that God gives us everything we need for life and godliness.
-I preach that "greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world."
-I preach that Christ saves believers "to the uttermost."
-I preach that we are personally responsible to God for our actions, but God has provided forgiveness, newness of life, cleansing, spiritual knowledge, power, reconciliation, guidance to whosoever will trust and follow Him.
-I preach that there is Divine intervention, transformation, deliverance, in this present life and in the world to come.
-I preach that God heals broken lives, relationships and hearts.
-I preach that God's calling comes with God's enabling.
-I preach that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled.
And this is just the surface of the great truths found in the salvation that God makes available.
You can find these great truths in God's word.
Find them, hide them in you heart, live them out in your daily life.
I realize these may seem like commonplace concepts. However, there are very few people who live according to these principles and the number of preachers who proclaim these truths are very small.
Acts 20:28-32 28 'Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit made you overseers, to feed the assembly of God that He acquired through His own blood,
29 for I have known this, that there shall enter in, after my departing, grievous wolves unto you, not sparing the flock,
30 and of your own selves there shall arise men, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
31 'Therefore, watch, remembering that three years, night and day, I did not cease with tears warning each one;
32 and now, I commend you, brethren, to God, and to the word of His grace, that is able to build up, and to give you an inheritance among all those sanctified.
Hearing, believing and following these Biblical truths will change individuals, families, churches, com-munities, societies, nations. But very few hear, therefore very few will give their utmost for His highest [Oswald Chambers book title from biblical truth] and therefore very few will live life on the highest plane [Ruth Paxon book title from biblical truth].
Make this the year that you walk in His light, His love, His life, His truth, His way, His power, His Spirit every day.
Love y'all.0 -
Well, we got through the mess with power and without issues. We got 11 inches of snow, and our subdivision hasn't dug us out yet. It looks like they plowed half of our street, but not the part we live on, and they haven't started on drives or walkways, yet. It is a mess, but beautiful. Tomorrow is our rescheduled trash day, but if they don't dig us out, I'm not carrying trash in 11 inches of snow...it can wait another week. We are also supposed to have our wound care nurse here tomorrow and I don't know what to tell him when he calls...if it is like it is today, he won't be able to make it. We are at 17 degrees for a high and is supposed to dip to below zero tonight, so nothing is melting. We won't see above freezing temps again until after the first of the week.0
