Mamma's Blog Log

Home....what a place to be...

2011-04-17T20:57:00.004-04:00

Six kinds of homes.....

*A home of love ~ this is where God's arms are extended to help us, support us, encourages us and embraces us.

*A home of acceptance ~ this is a place where you are valued, celebrated, enjoyed and appreciated.

*A home of protection ~ this is a place where you can be sheltered from storms, a place to find safety from the heat or cold of the day, and the battering winds that beat against you.

*A home of fellowship ~ this is a place where you can open your heart up to Him, where your feelings can be expressed, where your thoughts can be expressed; where deep touches deep in sweet communion.

*A home of light ~ this is a place where the glow of bulbs light your path throughout your home so it is possible to find your way.

*A home of warmth ~ this is a place where the fire of His presence burns lightly; its beauty drawing you close - bringing laughter, shared joys, while the golden flames of mercy and grace warm the deepest chills within.

And an extra one that is the best:

*A home in heaven ~ this is a place where you will live "forever" with our Lord Jesus, but this is only a place for people who have accepted Him as their Savior. If you haven't asked him yet to be your Lord you can do so today and then there is a "home in heaven" for you too.

Wanna home you don't have to pay for? Its free!

Don't know how? send me a comment and I'll help you learn how to actually get something for free in this world.

SSMT #8

2011-04-17T20:46:00.004-04:00

My SSMT #8 for 2011 is:

"If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done." Ecclesiastes 11:4

Commentary from my Bible on this verse: If we wait for the perfect time to read our Bible, we will never begin. If we wait for the perfect church, we will never join one. If we wait for the perfect ministry, we will never serve. Why are we doing all this waiting? Don't wait for conditions that may never exist, instead take steps now to grow spiritually.

What we are not....

2011-04-02T22:51:00.014-04:00

We are not alone..........for God is with us.... We are not defenseless.....for God is our protector.... We are not inadequate....for God is our sufficiency.... We are not useless.......for God has a purpose for us.... We are not hopeless.....for God is our future.....We are not unaccepted, rejected or abandoned......for God loves us with an everlasting love.

SSMT #7

2011-04-02T18:08:00.003-04:00

My memory verse #7 for this year is: "Commit to the LORD whatever you do and He will establish your plans." Proverbs 16:3 (NIV) The reason I chose this verse is because I want to make sure I commit each day to Him every morning and by doing this I am allowing Him to establish the plans of my day and the path He would have me take. When we try to takeover what is His job then we just make a mess of it, so in order to be in "His Will" I need to let Him do all the "establishing" and me just stick to the "committing", then and only then will I truly experience what "His" plans are for me.

Going Beyond "Life Interrupted" Simulcast

2011-03-22T20:29:00.003-04:00

http://www.cbcrh.com/site/dbpage.asp?page_id=180005947&sec_id=180005292&time=6:35:52%20AM

Would you like to spend some time worshipping and sharing in God's Word with ladies.
check out the attached link for a live simulcast we will be having at our church next weekend April 1st and 2nd with Priscilla Shirer.

Calvary Baptist Church
830 North Jones
Rock Hill SC
328-6632 - church office

We would love to have any and all of you who would be interested in coming to hear God's Word and what special message He has just for you to learn.

you can click on the link at go online and register for the event, this will help us know how many study guides to have available for all you special ladies.

Please come and bring a friend or two or more with you. God has something special in store for you, don't you wanna find out what it is.......yeah me too.....hope to see you there

SSMT #6

2011-03-15T21:33:00.002-04:00

My sixth memory verse for this year is:

1 Peter 5:7 (CEV) "God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to Him".

This verse is such a great reminder to me that God cares for me enough that I can turn any worries, stresses or struggles that I face each day over to Him and He will carry them for me, and He will bear the weight of each one. All I have to do is "turn them over" and not think about when He will answer or how He will answer, just let Him take control and let His plan be "the plan". After all He's the only one who knows the answer, the only thing I have any control over is to pray them to Him.

Happy 49th Birthday to my Sister....

2011-03-12T16:10:00.003-05:00

I love you Pam!

Our work matters Part II....

2011-03-12T15:57:00.002-05:00

We get ourself into a huge trap when we do our work to please people instead of God, because we expect people to give us praise and recognition when we do a job and when we don't receive what we expect from them we go on our way pouting and complaining, and we make our mind up that we are "never" gonna do anything else for them again.

Trying to please people can rob you of your joy. God's way to freedom and joy is for you to do your work as unto Him.

From the Lord is where we will receive our reward, not from men; and what better place to get it from huh? Getting a paycheck is a reward from our job but that paycheck only meets our temporary needs our eternal rewards we get from God will "outshine" "outlast" them all.

The highest purpose at your job each day is to please Him, to bring a smile to His face.

At the end of each day, no mans words of praise to us will matter at all, what truly matters is what God thinks and says to us. No greater recognition could be given than those beautiful words that He will say over your life "I am well pleased with you my child"

SSMT #5

2011-03-01T22:43:00.003-05:00

Memory verse #5 for this year

Romans 12:11, "Never be lazy in your work, but serve the Lord enthusiastically".

The reason I chose this verse is for it to remind me to never be lazy and to serve Him excitedly not begrudgingly because I feel like I have to, but because "I want to" and "I get to" and in turn I want Him to use me to serve others.

I want to always be challenged by Him to inconvenience me and my schedule, therefore there is no time for laziness.

The hardest answer to hear.....

2011-02-26T09:09:00.003-05:00

When we come to God with certain petitions, we can be eternally grateful that sometimes His answer is "NO my child"

It is important for us to understand that His "NO" is not based upon our lack of sincerity, but upon the greatness of His wisdom. He is much too wise to say "YES" to any prayer that would bring us more harm than good if it were granted.

SSMT #4

2011-02-15T23:01:00.003-05:00

My scripture memory verse #4 is

Psalms 73:26, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever".

Our work matters.....

2011-02-12T09:28:00.004-05:00

Col 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ".

What a great morning devotion with my Lord today. This wonderful passage he gave me today helps me to realize that whatever I am doing that I am significant to Him. God does not want any of us to struggle with this little word "insignificance".

Ok, so we may be picked last for a game of dodgeball, we may be on the bottom of the pay scale at our jobs, we may be the one who has to stay behind because there's no more room in the vehicle where all the girls are going on a shopping spree, but none of these things has to do with our significance.

What we do whether its a big job or a small task, (being a missionary or cleaning the toilets at church) they are all assignments from the Lord and therefore that alone makes it significant to Him.

Then "the attitude" in which we do these things is important to God. We must put everything from our soul into these assignments. God wants us to approach each task with thankfulness and not complaining. (yep cleaning toilets is not glamorous) but doing it for God's house makes it special.

When we wake up each morning with a pumped up attitude on our hearts and our lips that can make all the difference in our day......remember the work we do matters to God you are not at all insignificant so embrace what your new day brings and then give thanks back to God for it.

****stay tuned for part II of our work matters.........

WOW what prayer can do....

2011-02-11T23:12:00.003-05:00

This morning my devotion was about "Zero Tolerance" (written by Roy Lessin)

He asked these questions; how much anxiety should you carry in your heart?.....how much worry should fill your mind?.....how much fear should agitate your soul?

Then he goes onto to tell us: "The best and only policy toward all these (anxiety, worry and fear) is "Zero tolerance". Through prayer, you must close the door to every enemy of God's peace. It is His peace within you that will stand guard against the things that want to trouble you and give you unrest.

Well let me say this; there was absolute zero tolerance today. I had a band of prayer warriors praying for me at 1:00 p.m. today when I was going to be facing a difficult moment. As I was sitting there I could feel my soul becoming rested, I could feel my heart calm, and I knew that all my precious friends were lifting up special conversations on my behalf to our Lord.

Thanks for all who lifted me up during this important time.....and praise you God for answering.

Shout out to my "Sweet Tuesdays"

2011-02-08T20:18:00.003-05:00

I want to say a huge "THANK YOU" to all my Sweet Tuesdays who shared from their hearts tonite at Bible study. You may not have not noticed but for the "first" time ever since I've been coming to this Bible study group for over 3 years now did I sit there in complete silence the entire night with tears periodically coming forth.

Me and God had some great times together this week during homework each day, however each page is so fresh with what I'm facing in my life for the past year that it was difficult for me to share out loud. I'm so thankful for how God is growing me thru it all, and I look so forward to where He will take me through it all too.

Thanks for allowing me to sit and "hear" you, as each thing you shared help me get a little closer to God's plan for me, and each thing you shared is helping my growth and my relationship with Him, which will also grow my relationship and love for others.

I want to "Love God", "Love Others" and "Do Something about it"
not just sit back and float through life.

Again thanks to all of you for sharing your life and your heart with me and helping me to grow.

And to finish off this post from Jerri's message to us all.....
"remember, someone is watching us"

I want to ensure that the people who are watching me are "SEEING HIM"

I love ya'll

my mind in a million places.....

2011-02-02T20:52:00.003-05:00

WOW, I can't even put together my thoughts for you tonite because my mind is roaming in a million places right now.... thinking about one thing, then another and another and another....

get it.......

I have many friends who are hurting physically, emotionally and spiritually and all of them and their circumstances keep coming to my mind.....then I start praying for them one by one....then more start popping into my mind....and more praying.....

whew!......

Count your blessings name them one by one......through each circumstance my friends and myself face everyday...there is a BLESSING awaiting us...thank you Lord!

What's gotcha clogged up....?

2011-01-31T21:35:00.003-05:00

I was lying here thinking about the sermon our pastor shared yesterday and a statement he made toward the end came to my thoughts and I had to share another post for today. He said....

"what is it that is clogging up your life"?

So I figured I needed to take some inventory of my own life and see what it is that clogs up my daily life and keeping my relationship from growing with Jesus the way He wants it to. If I have clogs then I can't grow cause nothing is able to get through.

Let's remember none of us are perfect or have perfect lives so all of us have clogged up drains that God is just waiting to get a plunger on and clear the lines......

......so let's all take some inventory and get one of those "snake thingys" and look into ourselves and see what's clogged and get it set free so He can "freely" move in and through us.

Pictures of feelings....

2011-01-31T21:07:00.006-05:00

I have been sitting around tonite reading God's Word and contemplating on some thoughts and this one thought just came to my mind......if I could take a picture of "my feelings" what would it look like right now? and would that picture change as the minutes, hours went by? or does my picture always stay the same?

Here is what my picture would look like right now....
I am happy!!!!!!!

Just some food for thought, what about you? what would the picture of your feelings look like right now?

2011 MS 50 Mile Challenge Walk

2011-01-31T21:02:00.003-05:00

Know someone with MS? I do.
My sister in law, Beth McCormick.

I will be participating in my 8th year of walking 50 miles to help find a cure for this disease. There are many suffering every day and many who can't even take "one" step that ones who can walk take for granted when we get up from our beds every morning. I've attached a link to this post hoping you would be willing to donate to this cause and help the thousands of people who need YOU. The donations are not only to aid in helping to find a cure but also help them with many of their daily needs they have each day.

Please click today and help me to help them! Thanks

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Challenge/NCPChallengeWalkEvents?px=2165923&pg=personal&fr_id=15351

SSMT #3....

2011-01-31T20:48:00.002-05:00

"My soul melts from heaviness, strengthen me according to Your Word" Psalms 119:28

The reason I chose this verse as my memory verse #3 for 2011, is my heart has been heavily burdened for a few friends in my life and I KNOW God's Word will strengthen me, it gives me hope, it gives me peace, it lifts my burdens and my heaviness that I feel with them and what they are facing during these times in their life. It is a reminder to me that no matter how heavy my load or their load, His Word is my promise that He will bring me and them through everything we face. Thank you Lord for your constant promises throughout every page of Your Word!

Your Word NEVER fails and I'm praying that my friends will also dig into your beautiful Word and find this same peace from their heaviness too!

Room Service anyone?..........

2011-01-26T22:22:00.014-05:00

(Check out my room service tray , yep He left it for me)

I have been pondering over many thoughts today of several issues and I came to one conclusion "my every morning is room service from my Lord".

When you are out of town and you call to order room service they bring it to you on this nice tray with everything just as you desire it to be, it all looks fresh, smells wonderful and you can't wait to dig in.

Well that is how "every morning" of my life is, except I don't have to call room service to place an order. My order is already waiting for me on my night stand when I get up, I don't have to wait for anyone to bring it to me, or worry that its late, It's already there waiting for me when my feet hit the floor, to feast from it, to eat it up, to dig in and experience the meat, the fruit, the freshness it has just by opening it up. And I have to say this is much better than bacon and eggs.

Thank you Lord for having my order ready for me each morning and thanks for filling my cup with your daily promises. I know that each day has struggles and trials but when I eat from the food you gave me "Your Word" I can't help but be "filled" and "full", and the times I'm feeling empty I'm gonna head back to my room service tray you left for me and get a "refill".

Who are you? who who who who.....

2011-01-25T22:13:00.002-05:00

In my devotion time with the Lord tonite there was a wonderful portion that I just had to share with all of you. (Author Ellen Miller) she says...

She says we want to be accepted and admired, we fear ridicule so we create a fictional character that we believe is more engaging and attractive than our true self.

Here is three tips she gives us:
1. Reveal - tell others something about yourself, others love to hear that you are not perfect, that you make stupid mistakes.
2. Respond - real people listen with their heart and respond with their eyes. The eyes are a window to the soul.
3. Relax - get comfortable, take your shoes off, it is amazing to watch the walls come down when we kick off our heels.

So who do you believe you are? Is she a different woman than you allow others to know? If you've been in character too long, you may have forgotten how to fake it and be yourself.
"You can't live intentionally until you fake it; try being yourself for a change"

What our sins do...

2011-01-25T21:47:00.002-05:00

Our sins weigh us down like an anchor on a ship.....let Jesus lift that anchor
Our sins shatter our hearts.......but Jesus can mend/repair what is broken
Our sins have us bound in chains....but Jesus has the key to release us
Our sins convict us.....but Jesus will give us words of forgiveness

Let Jesus grasp you in His arms of grace....let Him envelop you with His mercies...let Him draw you into His heart.......when you are given His forgiveness and you receive it then you will hear him say..... "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him, as far as the east is from the west so far does he remove our transgressions from us" Psalm 103:11-12

Camel Knees....getting ready to have them...again..

2011-01-24T20:14:00.006-05:00

Check out these ugly knees of a camel. This is what my poor knees are going to look like before this year 2011 is up.

I'm going to be down on my knees praying "continually" for someone special. I cried and cried all day today...finally realizing and accepting the fact that God might just have to bring them to rock bottom for them to realize they need to change.

It breaks my heart for anyone to have to reach this level in their life to hear God speak to them. Why would anyone want to have to go through this?

I hope my heart can take all this....I've started crying again just sharing this with my blog world friends...

Please if you would, pray with me for this person asking God to open their eyes and bring them back home to Him and hopefully before they have to face "the rock bottom road".

Is anyone interested in you?

2011-01-22T20:40:00.002-05:00

Businesses are, they love to see shoppers come in their doors.
Banks are, they want people to come in and open an account and invest their money.
Politicians are, they want all those people to get out and vote.
Sports Teams, they want your support as a fan cause they know you will buy the "team stuff" and go to the events.
Doctors are, they want to see if they can help their patients.

All these and others I could go on and on with the list are interested in you because they have something to gain for themselves. (prestige, wealth)

But there is one that is interested in you just as you are...and that's God...He made you in His image...you are His precious child whom He loves dearly....and He's not interested in you because He has something to gain from you....He's interested in you just because He loves you.

Isn't it wonderful to know that!

The Three R's Part IV....

2011-01-21T20:44:00.010-05:00

Check out the pics of our first day of the Three R's...then I'll tell you about it...

this is the beauty we woke up to at 6:30 a.m.

then we got out our Word and devotion books and our Bible Study and spent time with each other and God learning from Him until around 10:30 a.m. and oh the many things he taught us today.

then we headed out for some lunch at Johnny Rockets (this cute little dish is a (mini hot dog, a mini hamburger and a mini chili dog) it was quite good.

Then we checked out the movie "Country Strong" and then headed over to Lifeway book store to look at some books and stuff.

then oh how yummy, we went to "The Melting Pot" for dinner. It was my first time going. It was delicious. I have now become a fan...

Now we are back in our room with the balcony door open, the heat on 80, listening to the rumble of the ocean waves as they roll in and we are ready for Round two of the Word and personal devotion and prayer with our Lord! God has already spoke mountains to both of us and we look forward to what He has left to show us while we are together this weekend.

The Three R's Part III...

2011-01-20T22:54:00.002-05:00

And the three R's have officially begun..

We have arrived at our hotel....
Opened the balcony doors so we can hear the ocean roll in all night long....
We've checked our facebooks and conversed with a few friends....
Called our husbands to let them know we arrived safe and sound...oh yeah and told them we love em' and miss em'.....

Now its off to doing some personal talking and catching up for the rest of tonite (yep just an hour left of it now)...but it will be some doozy conversations I'm sure and some funny ones. I've already had my sissy laughing like crazy at me!

Then tomorrow will bring on the meat of the weekend....SEEKING HIM!

The Three R's Part II..........

2011-01-19T21:21:00.006-05:00

I'm gonna be experiencing the three "R"s beginning tomorrow. Headed out for a few days with my sister and definitely gonna be...
---resting (getting rid of baggage, so looking forward to doing nothing or doing what we want when we want)

and after resting comes...
---renewal (as we rest our bodies and our minds and begin seeking God then He begins to renew the things we lay at His feet)

and then comes....
--rededication (we give God what He wants from us)

Please pray for us as we get away from our normal routine of everyday life and seek Him in where He would have us to be in ourselves, with our husbands, with our children, with our families, with our church, with our jobs, and anywhere else He needs us to change in this 2011 year.

A quote from Lysa Terkeurst new Bible Study I started yesterday
"When the strains of life press against us, do we live as if Jesus really works"?
***Well, this is one of the purposes of this trip we take every year, for Jesus to renew us so that when we face each of the days God gives us to live that we are able to show the world that YES HE does!!!!

The Three R's.....

2011-01-18T21:53:00.004-05:00

I've been sharing from my heart each day this year what God lays on my heart now I would like to hear from you and what God lays on your heart on the three "R"s...

Rest
Renewal
Rededication

Where do you find them?

Each....

2011-01-17T20:51:00.004-05:00

Each step you take is the right step if it follows Gods path....
Each word you speak is a word of love if it comes from His heart through yours....
Each decision you make is wise if you are making it according to God's will....
Each work you do is good when you are doing it for His glory....
Each truth you tell stands the test of time for lies are soon exposed....
Each gray hair you get is a crown of glory as it is gained by living a godly life....
Each smile you give is much needed....
Each prayer you lift up is heard and answered by God....
Each valley you go through there is a mountain on the other side....
Each fall you make God is there to pick you up....
Each tear you shed God will send joy to fill you up again....
Each sin you commit, God will forgive if you ask him....
Each wrong road you take God can re-direct you....
Each darkness you encounter you can find the light of God....
Each worry you have can be squashed with prayer....

I could go on and on with "each this" or "each that" but I will let you find some of your own as you seek God's Word and pray for Him to change some things in your life that may not be right where He wants them to be. Let's give our "eachs" to Him and watch how He changes us. Others in the world can't be changed until we change....so let's do some seeking and some praying and some changing....

GPS or HB, which one will help you find your way?

2011-01-16T21:16:00.003-05:00

If you were going on an expedition you would want a guide who had the knowledge of everything in the area that could possibly be dangerous.

If you decided to take a trip through the desert you would definitely want a guide that would know where a well was located so you could replenish your water.

What about if you decided on a trek through the jungle or tropical rainforest, would you not want a guide that knew exactly how to get you through to your destination.

As we travel through different places in our lives each year many of us have this little machine called a GPS (Global Positioning System) it can tell us how to get somewhere and even how long it takes to get there.

I would just rather have an HB instead (a Holy Bible), no it won't show me how to get to an address and give me the estimated time of arrival but within its pages it helps me to find God, the one true guide, the one true trustworthy fully qualified guide who can direct my path and lead me in the exact way I need to be going.

When I have the right guide then I have the right guidance.
Psalms 48:14

Thoughts of tomorrow....

2011-01-15T22:58:00.004-05:00

I was laying here in my bed tonite going over my lesson notes for Life Group tomorrow and began to think about my daddy. Tomorrow would be his birthday, however he is spending it not with us but with His daddy "Jesus". I have really missed having him around and getting to know my children. I look "back" at old pictures when I still lived at home and just laugh at the memories they bring. I look "forward" to the day when I will be able to see him, laugh with him and he can spend time with my kids again. That day when I will meet him in heaven where he has been for a while basking in God's presence personally.

Happy Birthday Daddy. I love you!

Today is her day.....

2011-01-15T10:10:00.003-05:00

Well today is my precious nieces "wedding day". Born on Aug. 5 1983 Erin Elizabeth McCormick is getting married to Jeremy Tindle, the man God has placed in this world just "for her".

Congratulations to you both and I look forward to what God will be doing in your lives together.

I love you both, Aunt Beverly

SSMT #2.......my 2nd scripture memory verse for 2011

2011-01-15T09:58:00.003-05:00

Here is my 2nd memory verse for this new year that I'm putting in my heart.

Col 3:14 "And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us together in perfect harmony".

I want to make sure that every morning when I get ready for the day God has for me that before I walk out of my house the last garment I put on is "love". If I'm not putting on my garment of love then in no way will I ever be binding the world together with "His love". I've gotta have that garment "on" in order to give the "love" out. So if I'm not dressed properly there will be people out in this world who will miss out on something wonderful and that is ......"Jesus"

Truth...what should we do with it?

2011-01-15T00:02:00.007-05:00

Know it.......... (John 8:32)
Worship in it..... (John 4:23)
Speak it........... (John 8:46)
Obey it............ (Romans 2:8)
Love it.............(2 Thess. 2:10)
Welcome it....... (2 Tim 3:8)
Walk in it......... (2 John 1:4)

Who is the TRUTH....well Jesus that's who! (John 14:6)

Pedicures tonite.....

2011-01-14T22:59:00.001-05:00

Kelly and Josie having pedicures tonite for the beautiful wedding tomorrow....Awwhh how sweet.....

Go or no Go?........submit or not submit?...

2011-01-10T21:34:00.003-05:00

Well, got up at 4:00am today checked out the weather report. We decided OK we would try it. We got our showers, got dressed and headed out..."to work".....got to my office at 5:30, then my husband heads onto his job he gets there about 6:30.....

then guess what.....the president of our company calls in around 7:45 and says "the company is closed"....so what do we do...there were about 30 of us nuts who showed up to work and since we did we wanted to stay so that we could uh...get paid for the day!!! so we stayed as long as we could then he called back and said we had to leave at 12:00.

not to sure about tomorrow though..if its as bad as I'm hearing on the news....don't think I'm even gonna try....(plus my husband is telling me "no you aren't going") so what am I suppose to do.....according to God's Word I'm suppose to submit to Him.......hmmmm

Snow Day Jan 10 2011...

2011-01-10T18:31:00.003-05:00

Well here's our first snow day of 2011.

Day in the Life of Mamma......today

2011-01-08T22:13:00.004-05:00

Started out my day in devotion, and my Bible reading.
Off to run some errands.
Watched it snow while clear skies and 41 degrees.
Home to cook homemade soup and cornbread.
Watched movies with my son.
Did my evening devotion.
gonna chill for the rest of the night....
then ready to worship with my Lord tomorrow at His house.

Differences between fear and faith...

2011-01-07T22:16:00.005-05:00

Fear questions;
faith moves forward.
Fear quivers;
faith stands firm.
Fear says later;
faith says "right now"
Fear is defeat;
faith is victory.
Fear says "You will be overcome";
faith says "You are an overcomer".
Fear tears you down;
faith raises you up.
Fear says, "how, when, where and why?";
faith says, "with God!"

Giving something away every day.....

2011-01-06T20:21:00.002-05:00

"Be careful how you live, as you may be the only Bible some people ever read"

Thank you Lord for reminding me of this in my devotion tonite, and continue to help me show the world all about you by the things I say and the way I live.

Enjoy this moment....

2011-01-05T20:26:00.005-05:00

enjoy this moment? yeah right that's kinda hard to do sometimes when you got so many things rolling around in your head...and curious about what will be happening at 8:30 tomorrow morning....well during my devotion tonite it helped me to see that if I am constantly thinking about the "next moment" in my life how will I ever be able to enjoy "this moment" I'm in right now.

Quote from my devotion "I will have more other moments to deal with life. Life's stuff is not going away - it will wait for me"

Being in "this moment" will help me to see, hear and experience the things God has for me right now in "this moment", don't hurry Him for what He is wanting to do now, take time and enjoy the moments, the blessings, choose to make "this moment" a priority for me and the ones I love, don't let the unknown creep in and ruin what God has planned.

A verse I found that gave me much comfort to not worry about the next moment.

Psalm 139:3 "You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am".

Thank you Lord for taking care and seeing me through "every moment"

Needing to let go of yesterday....

2011-01-04T19:31:00.006-05:00

I started an evening devotion this new year as well as one each morning and God has been speaking to me so clearly since the very first one. My devotion for tonite helped me to "See" that I need to let go of many yesterdays. I guess I thought I had, when indeed when I read through this devotion tonite God began showing me that down deep they still remained lurking in the crevices of my heart and mind ready to show their ugly horns again, pulling me into a place I don't want to go back to again.

It showed me that what happened yesterday, last month, last year or as far back as when I was a child cannot be undone. "It happened" and continuing to relive or think about it periodically is only robbing me of the present joy that God wants me to experience in my life now. Yesterday is an outside force. I need to be focusing on the present and the future of where God wants to change me and where He wants to take me. I need to be focusing on getting to know Him more, Love Him more, share Him more.

So what will I choose? the agonies of my yesterdays or the joys of today and tomorrow?

My joy is changing. Check out this verse God showed me during this devotion.
Psalm 63:7 "I think how much you have helped me; I sing for joy in the shadow of your protecting wings".

God has helped all along the way of my life and there is no need to carry this baggage of yesterday. God spoke and said "Let go"....so what's a girl to do? she is to obey her Lord! and so I will.....

Lasting Joy....

2011-01-02T21:00:00.003-05:00

In my evening devotion tonite there is a statement I really wanted to run to my computer and share with everyone. Here it is:

"you will find lasting joy only when you decide that others' approval is not important to who you know you are".

Psalm 16:11, You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.

Joy is a state of heart that you and only you alone can control. No one can mess with your joy unless you let them.

Once " I was"....since then "I am".......

2011-01-02T15:19:00.004-05:00

I was so excited after my devotion this morning that I wanted to just shout to the rooftops! It was about the "onces" in my life (where I once was...) but praise God I am no longer a "once was" instead I am in a "since then I am" place.

Oh just read these "onces" that God shared with me this morning from His Word:

You who were once far from God, have now been drawn close to His heart. Eph 2:13
You who were once in spiritual poverty, have now been made lavishly rich. Eph 2:7
You who were once without fruit, have now been made to flourish. John 15:16
You who were once extremely needy, have now been made complete. Col 2:10
You who were once alone and empty, have now been immersed in love. Eph 3:18-19
You who were once a wandering sheep, have now been brought into the fold. 1 Pet 2:25
You who were once an alien, have now been made a citizen of heaven. Eph 2:19
You who were once an orphan, have now been adopted into God's family. Rom 8:15

I once was lost, but now I'm found.

If I'd never had a "once I was" then I would have never found a "now I am".....

Thank you Lord

Menuchah....a place....

2011-01-01T21:18:00.006-05:00

As I was doing my devotion this morning in this new year I was learning about this special place called "Menuchah", and I realized that I want to make sure I find this place each day in my life this year. This is the where you will find many different places like:

peace, quiet, safety, protection, nurturing, rest

A place where:

He will comfort your heart....

He will deepen your love.....

He will strengthen your faith....

He will renew your soul....

***Yep thats the place I want to be this year....in His dwelling place...all up in His arms as He takes me down each path...letting Him lead "the way"

Isaiah 32:18

The last day of 2010....what have I done so far...

2010-12-31T15:41:00.003-05:00

Had a great day so far. I took McFlip and McBug to see Yogi Bear 3D. It was great! Then I took those little munchkins to have their first Cinnamon Dolce' Steamer at Starbucks. We sat around in there for about an hour just enjoying each others company.

Looking forward to what the rest of this last day will bring, then its on to 2011 to see what God has for me to do in the new year! Already anticipating in my mind the many wonderous changes He will take me through and how my love for Him will grow, GROW, GROW, and all the things I will learn as I surrender each day to Him.

Well maybe I will post again later tonite before the final day of 2010 ends, if not then Happy New Year to all of you and I will write you again in 2011'.

Pleasant Words....

2010-12-29T22:31:00.003-05:00

Proverbs 16:24
"Pleasant words are like an honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones".

These pleasant words are the words of the pure, they are evidence of the speakers salvation because they reveal a good heart. They show the reflexive action of pleasant words; they contribute to the spiritual and physical health of the speaker. On the other hand, evil words hurt the speaker more than the one against whom they are directed, for bitter words show a bitter heart and this poisons the whole person, body, mind and spirit. In ancient times honey was used as medicine as well as a pleasant food, and so also are words well spoken. Sometimes we must force ourselves to speak pleasantly when we would rather lash out with angry words, but it is always better to speak soft words, for we never have to repent of them, but we often do of bitter words.

As I begin seeking God's direction for my life in 2011, I want to surrender my words to Him and allow Him to be honored with my speech so this will allow me to reach others for Christ in this new year. I pray that I give and show "pleasant words" to all I come in contact with, and I look forward to how God will change me in this upcoming year me as I surrender to "His will".

Ready to begin again.....

2010-12-29T21:20:00.002-05:00

Been away for awhile, waiting while God has been preparing me and getting me right where He is wanting me to be, so get ready for any and all who may have been reading my blog for years and hopefully some newbies in the future. I'm starting back renewed, refreshed and ready to share all that God allows me to.

So stay tuned.......

So where did wearing nose rings begin?

2010-10-05T21:00:00.003-04:00

I've heard this question asked of others many times. Yep many of you may have read this before in God's Word but many also may have never seen it. This section of scripture was part of my Bible Study this week and I wanted to share this piece of trivia with everyone that may not know.

OK so here's your answer.

Genesis 24:47 (Scofield reference edition)
"And I asked her and said, whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Betheul, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bore unto him: and I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists."

A sweet "little" friend

2010-09-30T20:40:00.004-04:00

What a precious moment at church last night when one of the middle school kids my sweet friend Philip came up to me and said "Ms. Beverly I know you are missing Kevin being at home so if you need me to pretend to be Kevin for a while just let me know and I'll come on over and spend some time with you"

How sweet it was that he was thinking of me and wanted to fill an empty space that I've been experiencing.

You are precious my little friend and I love ya!

Love this pic!

2010-09-09T20:17:00.003-04:00

This is one of my favorite pictures my daughter made this year. She is one great little photographer. I just had to share it with you all..

The ABC's of friendship...

2010-09-08T20:36:00.003-04:00

I've been doing a lot of study on friendships for the past several months for a seminar I will be teaching later this month. I just came upon this poem on the internet and really like it so I wanted to share it with all of you.

Accepts you as you are
Believes in you
Calls you just to say Hi
Doesn't give up on you
Envisions the whole you
Forgives your mistakes
Gives Uunconditionally
Helps you
Invites you over
Just likes to "be" with you
Keeps you close to heart
Loves you for who you are
Makes a difference in your life
Never judges you
Offers supports
Picks you up when you are down
Raises your spirits
Says nice things about you
Tells you the truth when you need to hear it
Understands you
Values you
Walks beside you
Xplains things you don't understand
Yells when you don't listen
Zaps you back to reality.

Does't just sound like our everyday friend does it, it describes our best friend we could ever have. Yep in case you don't know Him, His name is "Jesus" and He is waiting to be "your friend"...why don't you invite Him to be..

Three things...

2010-05-16T13:11:00.003-04:00

Three things in life that once gone, never come back:
1. Time
2. Words
3. Opportunity

Three things in life that can destroy a person:
1. Anger
2. Pride
3. Unforgiveness

Three things in life that you should never lose:
1. Hope
2. Peace
3. Honesty

Three things in life that are most valuable:
1. Love
2. Family & Friends
3. Kindness

Three things in life that are never certain:
1. Fortune
2. Success
3. Dreams

Three things in life that are truly constant:
1. Father
2. Son
3. Holy Spirit

**These "three things" were sent to me this week by a great friend. I pray God will use them to bless you as He did me when I received them. I also pray that if any of these "three things" need to be fixed in your life that you ask God to help you get them right.

God's love is always with you. God's promises are always true and when you give God your cares you know God will see you through.

Stopped praying....you kidding me...

2010-02-02T19:18:00.003-05:00

I read something from someone on the internet today that said they have "stopped praying".

I thought to myself how in the world could someone stop praying for others, or themselves?
We may not get the answers from God that "we" want, but the answers we get are exactly what we need.

Check out many verses in the Bible that I found just from thumbing through His Word and from verses I already knew that helps us to know for sure we can count on Him. People, these are not all the promises from His Word, but enough for you to know that "GOD HEARS AND ANSWERS PRAYERS"

1. I call on the Lord in my distress, and He answers me. Psalms 120:1
2. To the Lord I cry aloud, and He answers me from His holy hill. Psalms 3:4
3. I prayed to the Lord and He answered me, freeing me from all my fears. Psalms 34:4
4. I cried out to the Lord in my suffering, and he heard me, He set me free from all my fears. Psalms 34:6
5. The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help, He rescues them from all their troubles. Psalms 34:17
6. I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry. Psalms 40:1
7. God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalms 46:1
8. The Lord is faithful in all he says; he is gracious in all he does. Psalms 145:18
9. The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. Psalms 34:15
10. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me. Psalms 66:20
11. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 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 5:15-16
12. So we fasted and petioned our God about this, and He answered our prayer. Ezra 8:23
13. They were helped in fighting them, and God handed the Hagrites and all their allies over to them, because they cried out to Him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in Him. 1 Chronicles 5:20
14. He grants the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cries for help and rescues them. Psalms 145:19

OK so I could keep going with so many more, but I think I will just let you research in God's Word for yourself to "His answers" to "your prayers"

Don't ever give up on praying to God on behalf of others or yourself, He is waiting to hear your pleas. Psalms 102:17

50 Mile Walk

2010-01-28T20:17:00.004-05:00

For all of you who read and follow my blog, I would be so honored if you would click on this link and donate what you can to the Multiple Sclerosis 50 Mile Challenge Walk that I will be participating in again this year. This will be my 7th year walking. I walk for my sister-in-law Beth McCormick who found out she had MS when she was around 25 years old. Right now she is doing OK with some of the med's she is taking. However there are many out there suffering with this disease who can't even take one step. Won't you please donate to this cause and help these people with the many things they need. Thanks in advance for those of you who will choose to donate!

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Challenge/NCPChallengeWalkEvents?px=2165923&pg=personal&fr_id=13093

The Little Old Man...

2010-01-27T20:37:00.003-05:00

You are going to meet an old man someday down the road - ten, thirty, fifty years from now - waiting there for you. You'll be catching up with him...What kind of old man are you going to meet? That's a rather significant question.

He may be a seasoned, soft, gracious fellow, a gentleman who has grown old gracefully, surrounded by hosts of friends, friends who call him blessed because of what his life has meant to them. Or he may be a bitter, disillusioned, dried-up old buzzard without a good word for anyone; soured, friendless, and alone....the kind of old man you will meet depends entirely on yourself, because that old man will be you.

He'll be the composite of everything you do, say, and think, today and tomorrow. His mind will be set in a mold you have made by your beliefs. His heart will be turning out what you've been putting into it. Every little thought, every deed goes into this old man.

He'll be exactly what you make of him. It's up to you. You'll have no one else to credit or to blame...Every day and in every way you are becoming more and more like yourself. Amazing, but it's true. You're becoming yourself more and more. Live only in the terms of what you're getting out of life, and the old man gets smaller, drier, harder, crabbier, more self-centered.

Open your life to others, think in terms of what you can give, your contribution to others, and the man grows larger, softer, kindlier, greater...The point to remember is that these things don't always show immediately. But they'll show up sooner than you think.

Those little things so unimportant now--beliefs, attitudes, ambitions---they're adding up inside where you can't see them, crystallizing your heart and your mind, and someday they'll harden into that old man. Nothing will be able to soften or change them...The time to take care of that old man is right now. Today. This week. Examine his values, his motives, his attitudes. Check up on him. Work him over while he's still plastic, still in a formative condition, because the day comes awfully soon when it's too late.

The hardness sets in worse than paralysis. Character crystallizes, sets and jells. That's the finish...Any wise businessman takes inventory regularly. But his merchandise isn't half as important as he is. Better take a bit of personal inventory. We all need it, and by keeping this check on ourselves, we'll be much more likely to meet a splendid old fellow at the proper time. The kind of fellow any of us would like to be.

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap" Gal. 6:7

Oh God, fill us with your Spirit, and help us to keep on being filled in a moment-by-moment walk with you...Take us from this place and help us sow well, and become that old man and woman you want us to be, and all along the way reap a great harvest for your glory!

--Author Unknown

One day left to live...

2010-01-18T21:21:00.004-05:00

Just curious....If you knew you only had one day left to live what would you do in that 24 hour period?

Would you live your life any differently if you didn't know when that "time" was coming?

Experiencing God as He spoke....

2010-01-16T22:08:00.005-05:00

Well, my sister and I came here to Myrtle Beach on Thursday night for our yearly "sister trip" that we go on every year. It has been exciting to experience what God has brought into our hearts while we've been here.

The things He has shown us and brought to our minds has been amazing. He has spoken to us in many ways, through His Word, through our daily devotions, while sitting and listening to the ocean roll in, by watching others.

I'm thankful for what He has taught me the last few days, and the things He has laid on my heart that I need to change.

Thanks Lord for these days and for how You have spoken to me...go with me now as I obey your direction and path you have chosen for me this year.

Question for Jesus.....

2010-01-15T21:50:00.002-05:00

Ok my bloggy world friends....some of you don't have access to my facebook and haven't seen this question so I thought I would also post it on here and see what your answer is:

If Jesus were in the middle of your mall sitting in a chair like Santa at Christmas and you could go up and ask Him only ONE question, what would your question be?

Looking for what God has in store....

2010-01-14T22:34:00.002-05:00

Well short quick blog for tonite..........will post more over the weekend as God moves.

My sister and I are on our yearly sister trip, where we seek God's face on where He would have us to be in the new year in our lives with Him, our relationship with our husband, family, church and what we need to change about our attitudes in general. We look forward to what God will be teaching us and what path He decides to take us in 2010.

Prayer Request.....

2010-01-13T21:08:00.002-05:00

My daughter is in the hospital right now. We are awaiting test results to find out what's going on, so I don't know anything more at this time.

Please just pray for God's intervention and that she would bounce back from what's going on.

Love ya'll. Will update later as I find out news

Let's do more laughing....

2010-01-12T22:04:00.003-05:00

This quote from my special friend Pamela (from her dad) at Bible Study tonite spoke mountains to me and I just had to share it with all of you.

"If you can laugh about something, then that something can't control you"

so maybe we need to do some more laughing...so that Satan loses all control he tries to gain in our lives. hmmmm....

Our grandkitty.....

2010-01-11T20:42:00.001-05:00

This is not one of the better pictures that I'm sure we will get, but anyway here is a picture of our little grandkitty.

Her name is Aslan, ain't she sweet.......

How to reach a soul for Christ...

2010-01-10T21:07:00.009-05:00

1. Be yourself and share how you received Christ, others like to hear your personal story so they can relate.

2. Let's try a little bit of what the Samaritan woman in John 4 did. Go and tell. After she found Jesus, she went to the village and told everyone about it, she was bearing fruit, and more fruit and more and more souls were receiving Christ. Let's just get bold like her and be-bop on out into the world and share the Good News.

3. People in hell are crying out "I thirst". Lets not be the cause of any others going there and doing the same. Let's share the Christ we have and lead others to know him.

God has placed a burden on my heart this week for witnessing more and trying to find creative ways to reach others. I don't need creative. I only need one thing, here it is (God's Word)

This will give me all the creative ways I need to share Jesus with others.

All I have to do is read it, learn it, and share it.

So what are us believers waiting for? there are souls out there waiting to hear about Jesus, let's get out there plant a seed, fertilize those seeds, and them pluck em' out.

Another one snatched away from Satan and into God's arms.....

Wearing a tail....what?

2010-01-09T18:06:00.002-05:00

OK I wish I had taken a picture of this but I just didn't get close enough to do so.

Today at the mall there were two guys wearing animal tails hanging down the back of their pants.

Can someone please tell me why?

Reaping the harvest...

2010-01-08T22:56:00.005-05:00

Well it's late and I really am too tired to write an entire blog tonite.

Let me just give some praise to God for speaking to me tonite in my quiet place. (yep that's right Regina, my tub!)

All week this week I've had such a hard time concentrating on this specific subject God is trying to teach me, my mind kept wandering, and I could not stay focused but tonite WOW, God was right on time.

As I sat in that tub and prayed and cried out to Him to reveal His Word and show me what He wanted me to learn did He ever come through.

He showed me so many things about reaping the harvest that's out in this world, and how overwhelming that harvest really is.

Our goal is to share the Gospel with as many as we can.
The Gospel is for one as well as the many.
Jesus loves every precious soul, but they will never know that unless we are telling them.

There are many seeds that have been planted already by other believers, maybe you and I are the ones who are to reap that harvest and bring em' on home to God.

Whatcha waitin' for....get on out there and bring those sheep home.

Anyone know what a golden nugget is?

2010-01-07T21:01:00.003-05:00

Here is the description from Wikipedia: a naturally occuring piece of native gold.

Some people have gotten so excited when they have found a little piece of this stuff. Their eyes start thing $$$$. How much can I get for this nugget.

Well let me share some of the best nuggets I know of that are greater in value than this little piece of native gold.

You ready, here it comes.......
Genesis 1:1 through Revelation 22:21

Yep that's it, the best gold you will ever find. Nugget after nugget on every page. Not the kinds of nuggets that you can take to an appraiser and get money for, but nuggets that will last way longer than a piece of gold.

Why not do some digging in this gold mine of these books (The Holy Bible) and see the billions of nuggets waiting on you to find, and chisel through that will change you and your life.

Whew! everyday God gives me a new nugget and I like these nuggets much better than any gold nugget I wear on my finger or neck.

And just think you don't have to get dirty, get a hurt back from chiseling, or come up empty handed like many gold miners have done, because I promise you will get a bucket full of nuggets from every page.

Wanna be rich? you can be...just get to reading now...don't wait.
He's waiting on you inside His gold mine......

What does this picture mean to you?

2010-01-06T20:50:00.008-05:00

I saw this picture on an internet site today that I was reading where I was doing some research Bible study, and as I kept looking at it, God began showing me all kinds of meanings of this picture for my life in what I was studying and some things I've been questioning. I'm not gonna go into what I was studying because I would actually just like to hear from all of you as to what God shows you about the meaning of this picture as you focus on it and allow God to speak.

Let me know.....click on comment and type your thoughts

Esther...who is she? let's find out...

2010-01-05T20:48:00.005-05:00

Our Sweet Tuesdays Bible Study group has begun a new Bible study tonite on the book of Esther.

Without going into some fancy descriptions or commentaries about this book of the Bible, because it is so in-depth, here is a brief description of what it will teach us and help us learn:

"Esther, like the NT, teaches us how to live with courage and integrity, carrying out responsibilites to the best of one's ability and trusting God in His providence to protect and provide".

As we watched the introduction video to this study tonite I began to think about this particular statement. (As many years as I've been in church I've never heard a pastor preach a sermon from the book of Esther). hmmmm I wonder why?

I'm excited about delving into the story and life of Esther. I'm sure there will be many times that I will see the struggles she faced and how I will be able to relate the same or similar to the struggles I've faced in my life. Something I read on one of Beth Moore's website as a comment from a reader is that many women don't study this book because they are uncomfortable with the issues it will bring out in their life that they will have to be confronted with so they choose to just avoid it altogether.

But wouldn't that speak the same for the entire Bible, every page of God's Word will cause us to confront our true selves. How will we become better human beings if we don't seek His Word and learn from it.

I haven't even read but a half page of our homework assignment for this week and I'm already so pumped about what God is going to teach me and how He will change me through what I will learn in the next 9 weeks that I just feel like running around my house (outside in the cold).

Be in prayer as our ladies group seeks God through this study, and come on ladies let's get uncomfortable so He CAN teach us.

Keep asking.....

2010-01-04T22:02:00.007-05:00

Two little words that spoke mountains to me tonite during my quiet time. "keep asking".

In Ephesians 1:17 it says this "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better."

Check this out, Paul here is not saying that he prayed once for the Ephesian people, he kept asking, this means he was in a state of constant prayer for them.

I know that many times and many things in my life I have prayed over and over to the point where I've even thought that God is tired of hearing me pray that prayer again, but this verse is a reminder to me that He wants me to keep asking him. You know maybe He wants to even see how committed I really am to the thing I'm asking about. Sometimes we all ask God for something and because we don't see immediate results we don't ask again. Well I tell you what I want Him to know I'm committed, I want to keep asking and keep learning and keep letting Him reveal to my heart, His desires and His plan for me, but unless I ask how can I know.

All wisdom of His word and clarity of circumstances come from God, so how can we receive this wisdom and revelation unless we are talking to Him and asking Him the things that are on our heart.

These two words to me also reflect determination. We don't need to give up asking God for answers, for clarification, for healing, or many other issues in our life "until" He answers us. When He answers, accept the answer and thank Him for it, but until He answers, "ask", He wants to hear our heart.

At the latter part of this verse it says "so that you may know him better". Well how will that ever happen, if we aren't asking. We should ask and keep asking for that one purpose "to know him better". I want to truly KNOW God, not just the facts, dates, historical data about Him, but to know Him in the most deepest way that my heart can hold. The type of person God wants me to be will only happen by me seeking to know Him, and to seek Him I must "keep asking" Him.

The more I "ask" the more I'm gonna learn.
What about you? are you ready to do some asking?

What does the "S" stand for on your chest?

2010-01-03T16:29:00.012-05:00

During the sermon at church this morning our pastor was giving an analogy about Superman. You all know him, he's that nerdy Clark Kent who when someone is in trouble he runs into a phone booth, changes out of his business suit and into his blue, red and yellow spandex looking outfit. Across his chest he has the huge letter "S" which stands for his name "Superman".

Well I started thinking about that for a few minutes during the sermon this morning. We all have a name or a word stamped on us too, but some of us don't have the same name or word as others if we don't know Christ Jesus as our Savior.

Here are some of the names we can have:

Saved
Sanctified
Saint
Sealed
Salt
Spirit filled
Steward
Servant
Set Apart
Sheep
Sower

If your "S" doesn't name you as saved, as one of God's children and you want to be, here's all you have to do to get that name written on your life.

Say this prayer:

Dear Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins and for raising from the dead. I ask you to forgive me for my sins, I open the door of my life and receive you as my Savior and Lord and give me eternal life with you. Take control of my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be. Amen.

OK now that you have your new name do as the Bible says, be obedient, get baptized (this serves as a testimony of your faith), then find a Bible believing church and begin serving the one who gave you this new name, read God's word and begin getting to KNOW who God is, spend time each day with God in prayer, be a witness to others (let them see the new you, or the "S" on your chest).

OK, let me ask you today, what does the "S" on your chest stand for?

Prayer....do you believe in it?

2010-01-02T21:30:00.005-05:00

I was watching a movie today and I heard this man say this, " I will never speak or say another prayer to God as long as I live" he nevers hears or answers.

Immediately I thought to myself how in the world could you say that? He always answers everything just maybe not the way WE want or when WE want!

Psalms 4:3 says this: "You can be sure of this, the Lord has set apart the godly for himself. The Lord will answer when I call to him."

My study Bible say these things:
The godly are those who are faithful and devoted to God. David knew that God would hear him when he called and would answer him.

We can also be that confident that God does listen to our prayers and answers them when we call on Him. If we have trusted Christ as our Savior, he has forgiven us and He hears our burdens, our requests, although His answers are not always what our expectations are.

We need to look at our problems in the light of God's power instead of looking at God in the shadow of our problems.

Here are some things I've prayed about over the past few months/years that God answered:

1. My sister was told she had cancer spots in her mouth by her dentist and needed to see a specialist, we started praying for her, when she went for her appointment with the specialist guess what no spots were there.

2. In August of 2008 Michael McDaniel and his family were in a head-on-collision and it was thought by the doctors initially that he may not walk again....after much prayer and months of surgeries and therapy well guess what "He is walking"

3. Many years of praying for my two children to find the partner that God selected for them, well one of them has found "that one". I'm still praying for the other one, its not time yet as he is still in high school.

These are only three of the prayers I've been praying for that God answered. No He did not answer exactly the way I wanted or when I wanted. I didn't give Him specifics, just spoke from my heart what was "needed" and He did everything IN HIS TIME and HIS WAY.

An old adage my granddaddy taught me when I was a little girl. He said Beverly God will answer you in one of three ways.
1. Yes
2. No
3. or wait a while

#2 and #3 are the hardest, but don't ever think He won't answer, because He WILL and when He does be sure to praise Him even if the answer is no, you may see later in your life the reason why and then praise Him even more that He answered no.

Prayer...do you believe in it? I DO........

Well its 2010...

2010-01-01T19:47:00.003-05:00

Well everyone it is now 2010.

I have learned so much in 2009. Many things I don't want to repeat in 2010. Many things I want to continue learning in 2010.

As each day passes this year, I want to share with each of you who have read this blog site what I'm learning and how I'm growing in the Lord, along with special prayer requests or just miscellaneous information, so please stay tuned as God teaches me, leads me and allows me to write and share those special moments and times.

I will be praying for all who read here that God will use something that I share to reach your heart and soul....

Feeling versus knowing.....

2009-12-30T20:49:00.003-05:00

Something that I've realized I don't want to take into the New Year 2010.

I'm tired of "feeling". I want to "know"

The only way to "know" instead of "feel" is to always seek God in everything.
If I've learned anything in this year 2009 that would be it.

So that will be what I seek to get right in my life this upcoming new year.

The Christmas Ten Commandments

2009-12-04T17:48:00.001-05:00

The Christmas Ten Commandments

1. Thou shalt give thy heart to Christ. Let Him be at the top of thy Christmas list.
2. Thou shalt prepare thy soul for Christmas. Spend not so much on gifts that thy soul is forgotten.
3. Thou shalt not let Santa Claus replace Christ, thus robbing the day of its spiritual reality.
4. Thou shalt not burden the shop girl, the mailman, and the merchant with complaints and demands.
5. Thou shalt give thyself with thy gift. This will increase its value a hundred fold, and he who receiveth it shall treasure it forever.
6. Thou shalt not value gifts received by their cost. Even the least expensive may signify love, and that is more priceless than silver and gold.
7. Thou shalt not neglect the needy. Share thy blessings with many who will go hungry and cold unless thou are generous.
8. Thou shalt not neglect thy church. Its services highlight the true meaning of the season.
9. Thou shalt be as a little child. Not until thou has become in spirit as a little one art thou ready to enter into the kingdom of Heaven.
10. Thou shall not forget to share your joy, peace and faith with those around you.
-- Author Unknown

Some Food for thought from service today

2009-11-29T19:24:00.003-05:00

Here are some of the pastors thoughts from service this morning that really get your brain waves working and get you to realizing what we need to change in our lives. Here you go, chew on these for a while...

We need to listen and learn, not live and learn
Heaven shouts when we rejoice through our struggles
I'm worthless, but with Christ I'm priceless.
God allows thorns to remain in our lives to keep us humble.
When you limp in life, you will leap in glory
God's out to make us just like Jesus, so hold onto your reins and ride with Him

These were just a few morsels, you should've heard the entire sermon. God was powerfully working in this message today, and He had lots to say to me through every Word.

Thanks God for working through your servant and giving each of us just what we needed.

Now allow each of us to learn and to be obedient to what you taught us.

future blogs

2009-11-11T21:44:00.002-05:00

OK my dedicated blog reader fans.
I'll be back up to speed in a few more days. I've been sick and just not up to par, so hang in there and I'll start again soon.

Thankful for the Thorns

2009-11-03T21:28:00.007-05:00

Exactly what is a "thorn"?

Well according to Webster's dictionary it is something that causes irritation annoyance, a woody plant bearing sharp impeding processes (as briars, prickles or spines) and something that causes distress or irritation, often used in the phrase "a thorn in one's side".

Everyone of us have some kind of thorn in our life, and all thorns need to be dealt with daily.

The best way to deal with these thorns that are pricking us is "to be thankful for them".
Yes I said "be thankful for them".

You are probably saying are you stupid? How can we be thankful for something that hurts us so bad.?

Look at what Paul says to us in 2 Cor. 12:7 "To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me." Through God's grace we can be strong.

There is a lesson behind every thorn we get pricked with, let's do some soul searching, and Bible searching and find out what we can learn from each prick. God has much to teach us, are we seeking to find out what those lessons are or are we just drowning among the thorns.

Today I can cry that roses have thorns or I can celebrate that thorns have roses.
I'm ready to watch some roses bloom...Yeah

Day 448 Update on Michael....

2009-11-02T19:41:00.002-05:00

OK everyone, here is a major update on Michael, he will be going to MUSC and will have surgery tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.

They are going to be putting his intestines back inside, and etc. and getting rid of the colostomy bag he's had since his head-on collision.

Please everyone be in prayer for the doctors and for recovery time, he will be there approx. 10 days.

Who is God?

2009-09-02T21:08:00.003-04:00

OK people I'm doing a study and I need to hear from each of you with your answer to this question:

Who is God to you?

We treat God like a vending machine....

2009-08-27T20:10:00.002-04:00

Why do we treat God like a vending machine. We walk up to the machine decide in our mind what we want, look at the number of it, put our money in, select the button of "what we want" then the item falls into the bottom for us to stick our hand inside and grab the item and get to eating.

Oh now come on and think about it, we do God the same way.

We use God just like this vending machine, we push the button of this machine expecting to get what we asked for from that slot and we get upset when we don't.

We get up in the morning, want a drive through service time with God, because we have no time to really spend with Him, so we ask for a quick word, we might lift up a quick prayer, we ask God to answer this prayer and that prayer and then we move on our way to work or the next activity that has filled our slot for the day. We want to push a button and expect God to give us what we want just like the machine did.

God does want to give us what we want but He also wants us to seek Him and spend quality time with Him. Even though we might think so, this is NOT Burger King and we can't always have things our way.

Let's stop treating God like a vending machine, or drive through service and spend true time with Him and then we will not only see Him meet our needs but He will sometimes bless us with the wants (the button we pushed).

Update on Michael.....

2009-08-27T20:03:00.003-04:00

Ok here is an update from Michael's father-in-law:

We went to MUSC on Monday for Michael's doctor visit.

They are saying that with-in the next 6 weeks they will try to but his belly back together.
This will involve removing the grafted skin, reattaching his large intestine, removing the colostomy bag and pulling his abdomen skin back together.
They say that this surgery is horrible.
Michael has got to be in pretty good shape in order to endure this surgery.
He needs to lose about 15 pounds and try and be fit.
By fit they mean he needs to walk and exercise everyday for they say this surgery will be like fighting Mike Tyson.
We are encouraged by this pending surgery and we are hoping Michael's body will function normally when completed.
The down side to all of that is if it doesn't work out, then he will remain with a body function that won't be normal and could remain on the bags forever.

Now some more disturbing news but possible hope in the eventual outcome.
On Wednesday we went to the orthopedic doctors to look at his right leg. It remains as they say dead from the knee down. The main nerve (sciatic) is destroyed from the knee down. The remaining nerves if they grow back will only cause him extreme pain.
The bones were put back together as best they could but it is determined that they are not healing well.
His right foot is always cold and is useless.
He has to use the wheel chair for it is easier to get around rather than use the walker, even though he tries, but the result with a walker is that he just drags the right leg.
Their conclusions are to amputate the right leg from the knee down.
Trust me many tears were flowing at this news.
Granted, it is not the end of the story here.
With all the new advances in prosthetic devices, I am sure Michael will be far better off if the amputation is to occur.
Obviously Michael is going to seek a second opinion but we feel that the doctors are going to strongly emphasize the amputation.

Keep him in your prayers, there is an even longer road ahead.

I'm back....

2009-08-27T20:01:00.001-04:00

OK I'm back from vacation and back on track so time to get busy with my thoughts again. Keep in touch

4-wheelin' trip to Colorado....

2009-08-12T21:34:00.002-04:00

We drove a total of 4033 miles in the truck, 77 hours and 49 minutes

but get this we drove a total of 294 miles on the 4 wheeler....and every mile was as good as the first.

Check out these names....

2009-08-12T21:25:00.003-04:00

On our trip out west here are some of the names of churches that I saw that are very different than any I've ever seen. Check these out.

The Drunkard Brethren Church
The Feed Store Church
Church Unscripted
Rock of Restoration
Rhema Bible Church
Jesus Project
Fellowship of Excitement
Blue Mound Church
Prairie Friends Church
Mercy & Grace
Overcoming Believers Church
Kodak Church
New Song Church
Kings Creek Church
Faith Church

One year ago...

2009-08-11T08:44:00.005-04:00

It has been a year ago since Michael McDaniel's car accident...and he still has some areas that are not completely healed per say...

many of you prayed him through recovery....

many of you helped his family financially.......

many of you helped them move into a new home....

many of you have helped them with miscellaneous things since that day...

many of you went to visit him at MUSC....

many of you have continued to pray for complete recovery since that day...

Even though he's doing much better he still could use your prayers....as he is not 100% but you know what even if he never gets to 100% that's OK because you see God allowed him to still be here with his family and all of us....God had a reason then and I'm sure still has plans for Him now.

Pray as Michael seeks God for all those answers and continue to pray for further recovery.
Thanks Michael for allowing me to keep everyone informed of your progress over this year and I will be praying for further recovery.

God's beauty...

2009-08-05T22:44:00.002-04:00

It's been several weeks since I've written a post.
Well you see I'm on vacation in Colorado on a 4-wheelin' trip, having one of the best vacations I've ever had.

It is so hard to share in pictures or in words how beautiful this part of the country is. I just want to say you gotta come to believe it. My husband has tried for so many years to describe it to me, but until you ride up into those hills, over 13,000 feet up you just can't describe that into words.

God knew His plan and I'm looking at that beauty each day I'm here. We are exploring every trail we can find. Finding old mining cabins...old mines...found an old fork used by a miner...seeing all kinds of wildlife (groundhogs, mountain lion, sheep, deer, elk, moose, chipmunks, skunks, squirrels, bear)

I wish all of you were here to experience this beauty with us....

Time.....where does it go?

2009-07-22T21:17:00.007-04:00

How in the world can you stretch a 24 hour day?

let me hear some ideas from ya'll. I need to find a way....laughing cause I know I really can't but if I could it would be stretched out to at least 56 hours a day with the current list of things I have going on.

Bound up in chains....you don't have to be

2009-07-14T21:44:00.003-04:00

Yep you've got it, this is a picture of chains.
These chains are sometimes invisible around our arms and legs and you can't see they are even there, but God knows if we are wearing them.

But why do we wear them? Because we are in bondage to things in our lives that we haven't given up to God therefore we are bound to them.

But you know what every "Tuesday" night God is breaking our chains one link at a time in our little Bible Study group. I think all of our ladies are wearing chains, maybe some not as many as others and some wearing so many they can't even walk, but all of us have links to break and things in our lives that need to be "free" and tonite God freed many of us. Thank you Lord for leading us and showing us how to smash those links that are holding us.

Instead of being held in bondage I want to be held in You Lord. When I stay in Your Word, in prayer to You these are the places that will teach me how to break a link to freedom and to stay in a right relationship with you.

One link at a time Lord.....

Still....

2009-07-13T21:34:00.004-04:00

Have you ever thought about this word "still"?

Well as my Sunday School teacher was giving us the message God layed on her heart to share with us this past Sunday she said something during her lesson that got me to thinking about this one word. She was teaching from Acts Chapter 1 and as she continued to share my mind kept wandering to this word.

I kept saying Lord what is it about this word that you want me to glean, gain, learn? So He hit me right between the eyes with His answer, here are some of the things He was saying to me:

is your relationship "still" in the same place it was when you first accepted me or have you grown?
what have you "still" not changed that I told you to?
do you "still" love me the same as you did or has your love for me grown deeper since then?
do you "still" do the same ol' things you did back then or are they now things that honor and praise me?
do you "still" pray and read my Word everyday?

God was hitting me with a left and right continually during Sunday School. When I got home I thought hmm..let me look up the meaning of this word "still" in Webster's to see what it says is the meaning, ok here it is:

---quiet, motionless, calm

When I read this meaning my immediate thought came to the verse in the Bible Psalm 37:7 (NLT) Be "still" in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act.

I quickly realized there are some areas in my life I'm "still" not being obedient to the Lord about and surrendering to Him, so how can I expect Him to "still" be satisfied with me when I'm "still" not doing, obeying, surrendering those things to Him.

God I pray right now that I will be quiet, motionless and calm as I hear you, and listen to you speak to what you need to change in me today. Thank you for allowing me to pick up this little but powerful word "still" in your lesson as it has taught me so much since then about what I'm "still" doing or not doing and what You "still" want me to be doing.

One thing I know for sure, I want to go deeper "still" in my knowledge and relationship with my Lord, and I look forward to the quiet, motionless and calm as He takes me there.

Saying the blessing for your meal...

2009-07-10T23:25:00.004-04:00

I recently met a child who when we were out eating at a restaurant and the family got ready to say a prayer for the meal, they ask the little girl that was a guest of them that day if she would like to say the blessing and she said NO and placed her hands up by her face and then said to the mom "I don't know a blessing"

The mom said to her "you don't know the prayer God is great, God is good.......etc. etc.

The little girl said NO....and looked sadden...scared...frightened as if the family thought bad of her because she didn't know it.

It's up to us to teach the children in the world how to pray even a blessing for our food.

We can't expect children to have a relationship with God if we aren't willing to spend time to teach them how to pray....because one day a prayer will lead to a prayer of asking God to be their Savior....Yeh....if we don't teach them now....how will they know.....

So are we?.....those are simple words....easy to learn...and as they get older their prayers become even better....special conversations between them and God....

Come on everyone let's do some teaching....

Is this what it feels like?

2009-07-06T21:13:00.004-04:00

So this is what it feels like not to have kids at home anymore. Kevin is gone for 3 days to visit his sister and brother-in-law in Conway.

Well let me say to the whole world. I don't like it!

I've heard people say forever, "it will be so nice when our kids grow up and move out then we can do so many things we haven't been able to do since we got married"

Phooey! I love my kids being at home with us and I miss them terribly.....

What kind of Junk is in your trunk?

2009-07-01T22:41:00.005-04:00

This is one of the topics we discussed during Bible Study last night. I'm using this picture to represent someone who just has all kinds of junk and doesn't know where to put it or what to do with it, so they just kept piling it up in a trunk.

What kind of junk do we have in our trunk? Nope I'm not talking about the ol' hope chest you have at home filled with momentos of your life going back to your childhood and sometimes as far back as great-grandparents even, nor am I talking about the ol' tool boxes and such in your husband's shop, nor boxes tucked away in your attic or closets that just keep seem to keep piling up the longer you live. We have no where to put the "stuff" so we just continue boxing it up, and storing it somewhere so that one day we have to deal with all of it.

I'm talking about all the "junk" we have stored in our souls that we just keep boxing up, storing away, hiding in the crevices so far back till our trunks are now "overflowing". Our souls need to be "freed"

So ask yourself these questions:

1. Why am I holding onto all the junk?

2. Am I going to "really" use or need this junk later?

3. If it's junk why am I not throwing it away?

4. Am I scared to get rid of it? If so, why?

It's time to do some house cleaning or I like to say some "junk-cleaning".

Let's get RID of the junk from our trunk(lives), so God has room to move into that free space and use us again for HIS GLORY! Yeh!

Got Junk?

Five Benefits God intends for every one of His children...

2009-06-29T22:10:00.003-04:00

OK here are the five benefits we are learning in Bible Study this week that God wants for each one of His children.

1. He wants us to know and believe Him.
2. To glorify Him.
3. To find satisfaction in him
4. To experience His peace.
5. To Enjoy His presence.

Without going into this entire week's Bible study (because its around 20 pages long) and you just meditating a few moments on these benefits listed above, would you please share with us some of the ways you personally experience these five benefits.

What a way to grow in the Lord by hearing how God is growing and teaching others!

I am praying for you as God leads you what to share with all of us and I pray for God to use you to teach me even more....through your experiences

Our Two "Peas in a Pod"

2009-06-25T19:41:00.004-04:00

Ok for those of you who read this blog and don't know my daughter and son-in-law and didn't get to attend the wedding.

Here is one of the wedding photos from her beautiful wedding/reception.

"Our two peas in a pod"

Matthew & Kelly Brown (May 2nd 2009)

We love ya'll.........Mamma and Diddy

So that you may know Him......

2009-06-24T21:32:00.004-04:00

Let me share my new memory verse with you that I'm learning this week:

"You are my witnesses, declares the Lord and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He. Before me no god was formed nor will there be one after me". Isaiah 43:10

Let me pick out a portion of this verse that God has laid on my life heavily (that you may know me). Yes Lord, that is exactly where God is taking me each day. I DESIRE to KNOW Him more than I did yesterday and God is paving some great paths to help me do that. (my Tuesday night Bible Study group---oh man what a class!!!!) and one of the most recent is I'm going back to Bible College (soon, haven't actually started yet but the plans are in motion as I seek the right place where God would have me to go.)

.....so I may KNOW Him....yeah
if I don't know Him then I can't share Him, I can't teach about Him, I can't show others how to know Him and love Him and receive Him.

What about you "You wanna KNOW Him.......

Bondage...is it holding you?

2009-06-23T21:49:00.010-04:00

We've started a new Bible Study last week and God has taught me so much in just one week. Whew! It's so exciting....

How about this one word bondage? Anybody know what this word means?

Well for anyone who doesn't, it means "slavery" We are a slave to something that we are holding on to, hand cuffed to, chained to that we don't want to give up so we can be in complete surrender and service to our Lord Jesus.

If you sit down and really do some deep thinking about this word and what things in your life you are in bondage to, you might be very surprised at some things that are keeping you a slave. I did some soul searching during this week's Bible Study and especially last night as I was sharing with a friend God spoke to me and said "Aha Beverly there's one thing" and I said no God are you sure and again He said yes.

He showed me one area in my life that I was holding back from giving to Him to control, instead I've just been trying to keep it in my pocket and deal with it in the way I saw and felt best and now He is showing me oh no, give that to me too and watch how I can "release" you.
Here's an example to help bring it to some simple terms: think about when you have air in a water line and you have to turn on a valve to relief the pressure on the pipes so everything can begin to flow properly again. Hey ya'll its the same with God, when we give Him the stuff backed up in our lives, He can relieve our pressures, and release us from the captivity of bondage and we can be free.

I don't know about you but I can use a pressure relief valve daily, and my valve is Almighty God.

I don't wanna be a Christian who is held captive by bondage, instead I wanna be a Christian who is HELD by my God and helping me to be an effective Spirit filled woman who wants to learn all she can about Him, serve Him, know Him, believe Him, Glorify Him, experience Him, enjoy Him, witness for Him, take a stand for Him boldly. I wanna be able to always recognize what's missing so with Him He can help me fix it.

Bondage can be broken....and He can be the one to set us free from it.

How about you today, are you in bondage? is there something you have that is holding you or are you ready to let Christ hold you?

Here's all you have to do to let Him "Hold" you and "release" you from the bondages you may have:
1. acknowledge you are a sinner and you cannot save yourself
2. acknowledge that Christ is the Son of God and only He can save you
3. Believe His Crucifixion was for your personal sins and His death was in your behalf
4. Give Him your life and ask Him to be your Lord and Savior.

Four easy, simple steps to be released from bondage and to "Be Held".

Remember those times when you were growing up and being held by your mama who comforted you when you were needing some love, Well you know what God wants to hold you like this every day, every moment! Won't you let Him......

Talk about faith....WOW..should've been with me tonite

2009-06-22T22:39:00.003-04:00

Tonite I was called to go meet a friend who needed to have a listening ear.

The faith this lady exhibited was yep that's right AWESOME!

God is really moving in her life through her trials right now. Here she was calling on me to hear her struggles and trials and to help her understand the why's about all of it and WOW was she ever lifting me up to hear what God is doing in her life.

Here's what she said to me that is getting her through her trials. She said the Lord showed her in His Word "I have a future for you", and she is holding tight to that promise and continuing to remind herself often during the day of what God showed her.

You know that each of us have trials that we are facing and hardships we are going through.
Are we going to God's Word to find "the answer" like she did and like she found?

Thank you Lord for allowing me to listen and share with her tonite and thanks for how You spoke to me through what you've taught her these last few days.

Friends helping friends. Ain't that what it's all about. God you teach us so we can help teach others. I love you Lord!

X-Ray of our heart....

2009-06-21T22:06:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered what your heart looks like?
I don't mean the physical heart, I'm talking about the spiritual heart.

Have you ever wondered if you could go into the hospital and take an X-ray of the inside of your heart, what it would look like.

The place where everything you say or have said or do or have done is stored. What would the X-Ray look like?

Would it be clear nothing there to clog it up, all sin confessed?

or would it be clogged up with pits of black spots covering it up? Is it completely full of black spots of unconfessed sin? is it half full?

What is keeping us from getting a clean clear X-Ray. Jesus is waiting on us to come to Him for forgiveness.

We want a good clean X-Ray at the doctor when there is a problem with our heart don't we?

What about for Jesus? Do we also want a clear one?

No we can't take a physical X-Ray of our heart to see what it looks like spiritually, but we know personally what it looks like and feels like. If it doesn't look like it should what are we doing about it?

"If Only" I had....

2009-06-03T21:06:00.004-04:00

Have you ever said those two little words "if only"......
You hear people say "if only I had said that instead"......"if only I had done that instead of this".....
"if only I had not gotten angry".....if only, if only, if only........

I talked a little bit about these little words last night at our Bible Study but you know what in doing more thinking today I had to really search more in my heart about these two words, and here are my thoughts.

Why do I think these two little words can change something?
These two little words keeps me looking backwards at things I no longer have control over instead of looking forward at the future things that I can affect by my decisions and choices.

These two little words keep me caught up, unfocused, unplugged, wastes my thoughts, keeps me at a barricade that hinders my growth.

I have made mistakes, made bad decisions and choices and maybe you have as well, but you know what? These two little words don't have to be the end of everything.

We need to think of these two little words as a computer virus, once it gets into your computer it messes everything up, "if onlys" do the same we can't get past the virus and move on if we continue to let the virus fester up in our thoughts all the time.

So how do we get rid of these two little words in our life and move on? We need to move our thoughts from "what was" to "what is".

We need to totally get rid of these two words from our vocabulary, our mouths, our thoughts and instead use words like "next time I will".

When we stop saying “if only” and start saying “next time I will” then we begin to push back the barricade of regret. We instead begin to move forward, and hold onto what can be in our future. We begin living in a way that is productive and working our lives the way God needs them to be rather than allowing defeat from our past "if onlys".

God will guide our way!
First John 1:9 says that "if you acknowledge your sins and failures (the things you have said and done and now regret), God will wipe them out as though they never even existed, and guide you every step of the way toward a promising future".

If our life is dominated by “if onlys,” let's throw those two little words away and let God teach us how to say “next time I will.”

After all my thoughts when I returned from Bible Study last night on these two little words I'm truly going to "try this" and watch how God can change me by changing these two "little words", and I challenge each of you to try the same and I hope to hear from you as to how God changes you by changing two "little words" in your life.