Eight years ago today, I made the biggest and best decision of my life.  I trusted Jesus Christ as my Saviour!  The same day, at the exact same time, my little-big, brother (He's younger than me, but much taller.) excepted Jesus as his Saviour.  How awesome is that?  I not only got saved and now have a spiritual birthday, but I get to share it with my brother; who is not only my brother by birth, but now we are brother and sister in Christ!
You can read the whole story here.  

When is your spiritual birthday?  Do you have one?  If you don't, this link will explain how you can know Jesus as your personal Saviour too!

Hope y'all have a great day!
SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  

"He Set Me Free"

(verse 1)
Once like a bird in prison I dwelt
No freedom from my sorrow I felt
Then Jesus came and listen to me
And glory to God He set me free
(chorus)
He set me free, yes, He set me free
He broke the bonds of prison for me
I'm glory bound my Jesus to see
For glory to God He set me free
(verse 2)

Now I am climbing higher each day
Darkness of night has drifted away
My feet are planted on higher ground
And glory to God, I'm homeward bound

1.  Psalm 35:9

 

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2.  Psalm 61:8

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                                  3.  II Timothy 2:15

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4.  Psalm 103:12


5.  Psalm 103:1


6.  Psalm 108:4

7. Psalm 104:33

*The last 3 pictures are from here.  I added the verses.

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Hey y'all,
Sorry we've been a bit absent.  We just dropped in to encourage y'all to pray for all of those affected by Boston's bombing and the explosion in Texas.
God is still in control and He knows exactly what's going on.  I'm reminded of the verse I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you."  God still cares about America and He still hears our prayers!

Have a great day!
SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  

  

 

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John 11:25&26 
"Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

  

Clyde mclennan - Low in the grave he lay (christ arose)

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"Christ Arose"

Verse 1:

Low in the grave He lay,

Jesus my Saviour,

Waiting the coming day,

Jesus my Lord!

Chorus:

Up from the grave He arose,

With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,

He arose a Victor from the dark domain,

And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.

He arose! He arose!

Hallelujah! Christ arose!
 

Verse 2:

Vainly they watch His bed,

Jesus my Saviour;

Vainly they seal the dead,

Jesus my Lord! 

Verse 3:
Death cannot keep its prey,
Jesus my Saviour;
He tore the bars away,
Jesus my Lord!

Praise the Lord!  He arose!  We hope y'all have a Happy Easter and take time to celebrate the true meaning of Easter!  

God bless y'all!

SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello,
We just wanted to remind you that YOU ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD!  He loves YOU and made YOU just like YOU are for a reason!  As women and humans, we tend to compare ourselves to others and try to be "better" than others.  Why?  YOU should be thankful  for the qualities that you have.  Sure, some may not be bright and shining qualities, but they're YOUR qualities.  God made each and every one of us unique!  Just like there are no two snowflakes alike, there are no two humans alike!  Isn't God so creative?  I mean think about it, there are only billions, and billions of people in the world and they're all different!  Yet, YOU are precious to Him!  YOU are created by Him and YOU are loved by Him!  

Stop wishing you looked like so-n-so, or sang like so-n-so, or was skinny like so-n-so, or yada-yada-yada.  God knew what He was doing when He made YOU.  There are no uh-oh's with God.  YOU are created in His image.  So therefore, YOU are already beautiful!  Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."  

 God has a plan for YOU and YOUR uniqueness, but that plan won't be fulfilled unless YOU allow Him to use YOU!  Accept YOURSELF!  YOU will realize that when YOU do, the possibilities are endless!

Psalm 139:14 "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."  
Praise God, because YOU are fearfully and wonderfully made!  :)

Have a great day!
SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hey,
Been missing us?  Sorry we've been a little MIA for a while.  But we are here today! 
We wanted to share an awesome sermon we heard, this past Sunday morning from our Pastor, with y'all.  His sermons are always great, but this one was well needed and was such a blessing.  That is why we want to share it with you all and hope and pray that you'll get a blessing as well!
The text verse was I Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." Seems pretty self explanatory right?  It is, but the hard part is doing exactly what it says.  "Casting all your care upon Him..."  As a human, I have a tendency to want to solve things on my own; take care of things on my own, but that's what we're NOT supposed to do.  God wants us to cast our every burden, problem, worry, whatever upon Him.  After all, He's the only One Who can really do anything about it anyways. 

Our Pastor used a variety of boxes for his illustration.  They consisted of all different shapes and sizes.  He used them to represent the many different burdens we may be carrying.  Some were big, awkward boxes and some were small, manageable boxes.  The point is, a burden is a burden and God wants to help us with those burdens.  The Pastor then went on to illustrate the "Casting" part of the verse.  He threw them.  We are to "throw" our cares onto Jesus, not in bitterness or in anger, but so He can take control them.  The problem comes when we "cast" some of our cares upon Him, but also keep some, so we can "handle" them.  I am guilty of this.  For some reason, I think I can handle some problems very well on my own....I CAN'T!  I just make a big mess of things.
Our Pastor also illustrated carrying all of the many different boxes.  He had about 6 or 7.  He couldn't do it by himself.  The big ones were awkward, the small ones fell off, and he couldn't see over the big stack of boxes, where he was going.  That's exactly what happens when we try to take matters into our hands and don't trust God to do it.  Everything falls to pieces and we can't see!  
Sometimes I get so caught up in my own worries, problems, concerns etc., that I can't see what others are going through to help point them to God with theirs. See, that's my biggest problem.  I'll "cast" my cares upon Him, but then later I'll try to take them back and solve things on my own.  Not good.
God cares for me and you!  Why else do you think He wants us to take our every need and care to Him?  He's in control.  He's the Almighty, and He wants to help you!  He's not too busy, or too far away.  He hears our every cry!  Psalm 77:1 "I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me."

Today we challenge , encourage you to cast your cares upon Him.  Let Him handle them and trust Him with the outcome!  You will feel so much lighter if you do, because He will be carrying your load, not you!

Just today I found this printable that is absolutely perfect!  The Detail-Oriented Diva has a ton of cute Easter printables.  You should definitely go and check them out.  We're going to be using some, including this one!

   

  

Have a great day y'all!

SMILE, GOD LOVES YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

~ MEANINGFUL MONDAYS ~

In Sunday School we are studying Hebrews 11.  This past week we learned what faith is.  
Here are a few things that we learned:  
1.  Faith - as defined in Hebrews 11:1
              = the substance of things hoped for (to have hope we must     
                 have faith)
              = the evidence of things not seen (We have never seen 
                 God, but believe that He exists)
              = what pleases God (verse 6)
              Faith in Christ = what saves us (Ephesians 2:8,9) We can't 
              be saved without faith.
2.  Faith - as defined by Webster's dictionary
              = belief in God; trust in God
              = belief without proof
3.  Opposite of faith = doubt, mistrust
              - When we take things into our own hands and don't let
                 God handle things, we are doubting Him.  We are 
                 trusting ourselves more than God.  We are decreasing
                 our faith.
4.  Everyone has faith, (Romans 12:3) but not everyone puts that 
     faith in Christ to be saved.  They put their faith in religion, 
     works, themselves, etc.
5.  It takes faith to live the Christian life.  (Mark 11:22)  

          “LIVING BY FAITH”

1.  I care not today what the morrow may bring,

If shadow or sunshine or rain,

The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything,

And all of my worries are vain.

Refrain:
• Living by faith in Jesus above,
  Trusting, confiding in His great love;
  From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
  I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.
  
  
  
  
2.  Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise,
Obscuring the brightness of life,
I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies—
The Master looks on at the strife.




3.  I know that He safely will carry me through,
No matter what evils betide;
Why should I then care though the tempest may blow,
If Jesus walks close to my side.




4.  Our Lord will return for His loved ones some day,
Our troubles will then all be o’er;
The Master so gently will lead us away,
Beyond that blest heavenly shore.


6.  Jesus often accused the disciples of having "little 
     faith".  (Matthew 6:30; 8:26;14:31; Luke 8:25; 
     Luke 12:28)
7.  Our prayer should be "Lord, increase our faith".  
     (Luke 17:5)


Here is a poem I found and read to my class.  


FAITH
Deaf to doubts,
Dumb to discouragements,
Blind to impossibilities,
Knows nothing but success,
Makes the uplook good,
Makes the outlook bright,
Makes the inlook favorable,
Makes the future look glorious,
Faith sees the invisible.
Faith hears the inaudible.
Faith touches the intangible. 
Faith lifts its hands up through the threatening storm clouds,
And lays hold on Him, Who has power in Heaven and earth.
Faith looks up to the banister of Heaven
and lets us "look" up into the Promised Land.
written by:  Willard G. Thomas


I hope this helps and encourages you.  I sure did learn from it.