IS 2012 The END of the World?

Our Pastor has preached the past 2 Sundays about The End Of The World based on the just released movie by the same name,


Yesterday I was privileged to be part of a skit that was presented in conjunction with Pastor's sermon. There were 5 parts and we have been practicing for several weeks. I played the part of a born again Grandmother. Imagine that!!!! In character for sure. It was a wonderful experience and I am excited about being part of our Church Drama team.

Seven, yes 7, people gave their hearts to Jesus. Praise you Lord.

"No man knoweth the day or the hour"

WE WEEP

The Rev. Billy Joe Daugherty, the founding pastor of Victory Christian Center, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, died Sunday, November 22nd, after a short battle with lymphoma. He was 57 years old.

Church officials announced the pastor's death during church services Sunday morning. Associate pastor Bruce Edwards told the congregation that Daugherty "graduated into heaven" at 4:40 a.m.

We, along with the greater Tulsa area. mourn the death of Billy Joe Daugherty. Billy Joe was the Founder and Pastor of Victory Christian Center. He also founded Victory Christian School, Victory Bible Institute, and Victory World Missions Training Center, and the Tulsa Dreamcenter. From inner city families, to single parents, to troubled teens - Tulsa benefited from his influence beyond the walls of his church.
This was a work that he and has wife, Sharon, raised from the ground up and never went into debt in doing so. He, and his ministry, has reached out to the entire Tulsa area in a way that no other ministry in this area has. There has never been anything but respect for him, his ministry and his family.

We are sure Billy Joe heard the words, "My good and faithful servant... enter into the joy of the Lord".

We weep with those who weep and pray for the Peace that passeth understanding for his wife, 4 children and his entire church family.

Spiritual Sunday #10 - IN SPITE OF FAMILY AND FRIENDS

I am participating again in Spiritual Sunday. Please visit and read the other posts. They are always uplifting.

"Don't worry about what to say." Matthew 10:10 TLB

After going home to a cool reception Jesus said, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own home town" Matthew 6:4 TLB." In other places He was considered a hero, but not here. "His family....thought he was out of his mind" Matthew 3:21 NCV"



It is worth noting that He didn't try to control their behavior, nor did He let their behavior control His. He loved them, but He didn't demand that they always agree with Him. He didn't sulk or retaliate when they insulted Him. And He didn't make it His mission in life to try and please them. If your family is making it difficult for you to serve the Lord. observe three things about Jesus. (1) He recognized that His spiritual family could provide what His physical family didn't. That's why we need the support and stability that comes from the fellowship in a local church. (2) He didn't let the difficult dynamic of family overshadow the call from God. Your family may not understand or agree, but you can't let that keep you from doing what God's called you to do. (3) He refused to let the opinion of the crowd dictate His direction. The whole town of Capernaum "tried to keep Him from leaving them" Luke 4:42 NKLV" But He resisted the undertow of people by anchoring to the rock of His purpose: to build God's kingdom, not His own. Imagine the whole town wanting you to stay, and leaving. Could all those people be wrong? Yes! Jesus followed the will of God. And you must too.



From The WORD For You TODAY



This devotional really spoke to my heart,, since we deal with this very issue within our family, and I trust it will speak to your heart too. We must be faithful in following our Lord and His leadings.

PRESIDENT OF EUROPE

Yes, you read the title correctly!!!! Thursday, the EU created this new post and the other EU leaders unanimously chose Belgium Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy. He will take office January 1, 2010.

Please read Joel Rosenburg's post about this and follow all his links for the full story.

Let him who has ears to hear and eyes to see have your ears & eyes WIDE open. We must be alert.

GOD IS LORD and GOD IS IN CONTROL

but He expects us to be alert and prepared. Trim your wicks and keep your oil flowing and PRAY and PRAY some more.

RICH, FULL & WONDERFUL

That is how I describe my life!!! Rich, full & wonderful and very, very busy.

Things to catch up on that are going on in our lives.

The first, and most exciting is Mickey has started a new ministry at the church. He is calling it The King's Kitchen and it is feeding a hot, free meal one day a week at noon. He is serving it on Tuesdays from 11:30 to 1:00. He picked to start with Tuesday since I am up at the church every Tuesday working in the Klothes Kloset but he hopes to expand it as time goes along and he is in a position to do so. Praise God he had had several wonderful young woman who have stepped forward to cook and help him. Thank you Sherry, Janice, Joi & Valerie!!!!!

I recently joined the Drama team at church. I am so excited about being a part of this group. My first "part" was as Host in the recent Veteran's Day Tribute that we put on for both the 8 a.m. & 10:45 a.m. services on November 8th.



The front & back of the lovely coin that was presented to each veteran at the end of our Tribute. This is Mickey's that he received for serving in the Air Force during the Korean War.


Sunday afternoon, in between Church services our daughter, Jacque, & Benny dropped by for a nice long visit. We always so enjoy getting to spend time with our kids.

Saturday, mixed in with the emotion of my piano, was the joy that our son, Marc, and his friend, Deann, came to the auction. After it was over Marc treated the 4 of us to a lovely fish dinner. The really nice part was the restaurant was not very crowded and we were able to "occupy the table" for a L=O=N=G time and had such a lovely time visiting and catching up. Marc is so busy that it is pure joy to be able to spend a little son-mom & dad time together. We all 3 have been missing that.

Monday, of this week November 16th, Mickey had cataract surgery on his left eye. We had to be at the Hospital at 9:30 and we were out of there and on our way home by 11. He had to go into the Dr. for a check up yesterday afternoon and his next appointment will be in 2 weeks. All is going well and recovery on schedule. It sure didn't keep him from being at the Church yesterday morning at 9 a.m. to start the Stew for The Kings Kitchen!!

Monday night we were invited to the Young At Heart meeting to be Judges for a Baking Contest they had. We judged cookies, pies, cakes & chocolate. Let me tell you, we have THE FINEST cooks ever in our Church. I am not one of them!!!! But boy can I taste!!!!! The cookie winner was my friend and fellow Klothes Kloset worker every Tuesday, Thelma, She made an apricot cookie that was Divine. She brought some of them to share with us yesterday while we worked. YUMMY!!!!

Today, Wednesday, is our day to get Aric & Oksana. Always a treat for us.



For the weather report: we have been having beautiful weather in the 70's. Saturday at the auction it was a beautiful 71 degrees, a pouring rain on Sunday, to a high Monday & yesterday of 43 and 44 degrees. What a shock to our systems!!!!

Speaking of the rain on Sunday. We had such a wonderful service. Our Pastor is preaching 2 Sunday's on "2012 - The End of the World" based on the movie getting so much attention world wide. Right after the wonderful worship service we had a visitor from Australia who asked to come and give a word to our congregation and he spoke about the move of God happening world wide and how Coweta is to play a part in this. This is just confirmation to what we know and believe!! It was a bright, beautiful day when we entered the church at 10:45 and when we came out it was POURING RAIN. A symbol to many of us of the Latter Day Rain that I have spoken about on this blog several months ago.

One more wonderful thing that we have been blessed with. A family in our church recently gifted us with a whole dressed deer, plus some elk and buffalo. Thank you Norma & Mike. So far I have made venison barley soup, a ground beef, tomato, shell noodle dish we call Galosh and chili. All wonderful and delicious.

Thanks so much for dropping by and letting me catch-up. I hope you'll leave a comment. I've noticed the comments have been dropping off but I know many of you still drop by and visit. Please let me hear from you. It means a lot!!!

WHAT CAN BE SHAKEN

Since starting this blog I have endeavored to be real. To present my life, myself, my joys, my shortcomings just as they are.

Hebrews 12:27 "And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain."

I truly love God's Word and I know without a shadow of a doubt that it speaks to us exactly where we are. The above verse had always spoken to me, and especially the last few months, as we've seen so many things in our political and national realm being turned upside down and shaken.

But this verse took on very personal and special meaning to me last Saturday.

Allow me to lay the background: Our Church, as I have shared with you, is in a 4 month period of raising money to pay off the loan on our ROC building with a matching $1 for $1 from a family in our Body up to $100,000. One of the fund raisers was an auction and we were asked to donate items to the auction.

At first Mickey & I could not think of anything we had of real value to put into the auction and then we decided to auction my piano. Now I have to tell you about my piano and how much it meant to me. I bought my Black Ebony Wurlitzer piano brand new in 1956 - I don't remember the $ amount I paid for it, but I do remember, quite well, I was making $1 an hour working as a typist for an Accountant. That was $173.22 a month salary and my payment on my new, beloved piano was $25 a month!!! Or another way to put it, 14.32% of my gross pay.

Please remember this was even 2 years prior to my marriage to Mickey in 1958. We have moved this piano 14 times (from NM to CO to OK to NM to OK) during these 51 years of our marriage. Not had it moved, my dear precious husband has moved that heavy piano all those times until this last and 15th move from our home to the church.

My piano pulled away from the wall and ready for the Church to come and pick it up.

Mickey & I take excellent care of anything and everything we own. It is one of the many frugal ways I was taught and trained by my parents. We were told by 2 men from our church who know piano's and their values well that with the age and condition of my piano it was probably worth $1500. Now we knew that at a Church auction, in our small town, that it probably would only bring about $500 but with the matching $'s that would be $1000 toward our Church debt that Mickey & I were happy to be able to made. At one point, prior to donating the piano I told Mickey, "I don't know about giving my piano. I'm having second thoughts." He said, "It's too late, I've already added it to the donation list." So that was that. Anything we give to the Lord should be a sacrifice.

The day of the auction and the crowd gathering.

My piano at the auction with other items.

Last Saturday, November 14th, was the auction.

My piano sold for $100!!!!!! I was near tears. Then I saw the man who had bid on it and he was from our church and I felt better about it. Then I found out he was bidding for someone else who wasn't even at the auction!!!

Back to Hebrews 12:27 "The removing of those things which can be shaken." I was shaken. Mickey & I were BOTH shaken and hurt to the core. We both hardly slept Saturday night and I kept breaking out in tears every time I thought about it. I also began thinking "Well, if I'd have known that was all it was going to bring I would have not put it in the auction" or "I would have rather just given it to.............". Even in Church several people came up to us telling us how sorry and upset they were when they heard, or saw, what had happened. Again, both Mickey & I were in tears.....in church!!!!!!

From the moment the piano was pronounced "Sold for $100" the Hebrews 12;27 verse came into my mind and heart and I began asking the Lord, "Why am I so shaken by this? I know Mickey's & my heart in donating it and that is what matters." etc.

The FLESH dies hard and "I" want so badly, and so much, to be in CONTROL. To have things turn our like "I" think they SHOULD!!!!! I began to realize that this was the issue......not what the piano had sold for, or who it went to......I wanted it to be like "I" thought it should be.

My constant prayer is that God will continue to do His work in me and you know HE GIVES US THE DESIRES OF OUR HEART.......even when it hurts HE is faithful to continue to transform us into HIS plans and purposes if we will but desire He does and be willing to let him.

Thank you Lord that you love me enough to continue to mold, and sometimes to use the chisel!!, to conform me into the plans and purposes YOU have for my life and not my own ideas, thoughts, and "shoulds" and "oughts".

The reason I KNOW that the work that The Lord wanted to accomplish in this event has been done in me is : I have been able to tell my story of this episode without one tear as I was typing it. It is with joy in my heart that I know God is still very much at work in my life and not willing to let anything stand that needs to be shaken.

Thank you LORD!!

I have just recently finished reading Matthew Hagee's first book, "Shaken But Not Shattered". Yes, I am happy to say, even though I was Shaken I am not Shattered!!!

Show & Tell #14 - Prayer Shawl

Happy Friday also means Show & Tell time. Go here to join in the fun and to see the other fabulous Show & Tell items for this week.




Many of you have seen many of my posts about my Angel Collection, including my story of my Littlest Angel on my Side Bar.


I was blessed this week with this beautiful black & white Jewish Prayer Shawl that now graces the entertainment center where I display some of my angels.

Isn't it beautiful? I LOVE it and it is very special because it was given to me at Wednesday night services by a wonderful woman in our church named Kelly.

Now for the rest of the story - or the full story. Monday I was at the church working in The Klothes Kloset and had occasion to go down to the office area of our church. Misty, the Church Secretary was not at her desk so Kelly, the Office Manager was helping me. We were standing in the Pastor's office and he has a beautiful prayer shawl over a book shelf that I was admiring. I told Kelly, "I would love to have one of these prayer cloths." She said, "Well I have a black & white one that Pastor gave me and I would love to give it to you." I was floored, to put it mildly, and said, "Oh No I didn't mean anything like that." She began insisting and I began crying because I was so moved that she would even think or say such a thing.

I was insisting that no, she would NOT give me her prayer shawl. As far as I was concerned that was the end of that and settled.

Wednesday evening I had just sat down in the pew and Kelly comes and sits in the pew in front of me, turns around and hands me this beautiful Black & White Prayer Shawl. After saying, "No" several times I graciously accepted the fact that she truly wanted to bless me with this Prayer Shawl and now I have it is proudly displaying my angels and I will treasure it forever. Kelly, you are one of the many examples in our Church Body that truly has the heart of our Lord Jesus whom we serve. Kelly's only request was that I remember to pray for her!!!

This Prayer Shawl is double special to me because it came from Israel. A place I would love to see and walk where Jesus walked.

Thank you Kelly & may God bless you richly for being such a blessing to me.