Friday Favorites

Strawberry did a very thought-provoking post that I wish everyone would read. There are a lot of deceptive teachings out today, and there are people in our country with a lot of influence who sometimes support these beliefs. Please read Strawberry's Teachings - True or False.

**I just noticed that Strawberry has posted a Part 2 for Teachings - True or False. **

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15

Encouragement

Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

The verse above is so encouraging to me, so I decided to share it in hopes that you will also be encouraged. I've been reading several blogs recently of people who have been going through some really tough times. Some have given the details and some haven't. But whatever you might be going through today that makes life seem almost unbearable, remember the verse above, that no matter how big our suffering is here on earth, it can't even compare to how great and glorious it will be when we finally finish this journey and meet our Savior. I know it is hard to comprehend this at the time you are going through the sufferings, and sometimes we don't even want to hear it. But I think we eventually start looking for answers in our sufferings and this verse gave me what I needed to hear one time when I was going through a tough time. If you haven't read the whole chapter of Romans 8, I encourage you to get a Bible and read it. It is such great reading! Here is a link for Romans 8.

I'm Good at Math

A while back I did a post called Feeling Inadequate (just click on that title if you want to read it). Well, that bridal tea I was helping with was yesterday. My job was to do a fruit tray, and as easy as that sounds, I was really stressing over it. So what I ended up doing was buying a great big custom-made fruit tray at Publix, and then I arranged it on a pretty silver tray and had some fruit dip in the center. One of the other ladies helped me arrange it and I was very pleased with how it looked. But here's the good part....while we were setting things up and getting ready for the shower, someone asked who was good with numbers (math) because we had to settle up on the money part of it because one lady had spent a lot more than anyone else by buying the gift from the hostesses. Every lady was saying, not me, not me, so I told them that I'm good with math and could figure it up. And I told them I'm a lot better with math than with decorating and they were all so happy not to have to do the math. It felt so good to have something that I could do well and felt comfortable with. It really did help my feelings of inadequacy! And I actually enjoyed the shower and visiting with everyone. The bride was so appreciative that it made it worth all the trouble.

...God has arranged the parts of the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12:18-20

The Gift of Eternal Life

As I promised in my last post, I want to tell you how to be ready when Jesus returns. I consider this the most important message I have ever or will ever post on this blog. It is the heart of everything I believe and everything my life revolves around. I hope to answer the question, "What must I do to be saved?" In Christian circles, we call it different things at different times but it all means the same thing -- getting saved; being born again; becoming a believer; being a Christian; making a profession of faith. In the simplest terms, let me answer the question in this first paragraph. In the Bible when Paul and Silas were in jail they prayed and sang until God sent an earthquake that opened all the doors and loosened the prisoners' chains. It scared the jailer and caused him to rush to Paul and ask him, "What must I do to be saved?" The answer was so simple -- "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house." After this the jailer and his family were baptized and the Bible says that the jailer rejoiced, or was filled with joy because he and his family had become believers. (see Acts 16:30-31)

Some might ask, where did this term "born again" come from? It comes from the Bible where Jesus told a man that no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. In simple terms, being born again refers to a spiritual birth, which is what happens when you become a believer in Jesus Christ. In this same conversation Jesus goes on to say the famous verse of John 3:16 -- For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (see John 3:1-21)

Now, let me break it down a little bit more.

1. The first step is to realize that we are sinners and that we need a savior. The Bible says that there is no one righteous, not even one, and that every person has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (see Romans 3:10, 23)

2. Next there's good news and bad news....first the bad news. We are all sinners and the Bible says that the wages of sin is death! Now the good news...in the same verse that tells us the wages of sin is death, it says but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (see Romans 6:23) God demonstrated his love for us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (see Romans 5:8)

3. And finally, do you believe that Jesus Christ, God's son, died in your place? Do you believe that he took the punishment for the sins of every person? If you believe this in your heart, ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and accept Him as your Savior. Remember, it is a gift from Him. The gift becomes yours when you believe it and accept it. Here is what the Bible says about it....if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. For who everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. (see Romans 10:9-10, 13)

I welcome comments on this post. To my Christian friends, please add other verses in the comment section that you think might be beneficial to someone seeking answers. Thank you!

Thief in the Night

It was Tuesday this week when my husband and I noticed that my son's band didn't have a show scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday nights. We also noticed that our city is in between the cities where they were playing Tuesday and Friday nights, so we thought maybe the guys would come and hang out at our house for those two off days. We were unable to get in touch with Aaron to find out what their plans were, so we just decided to prepare as if they were coming.

When they come, I like to make sure the bathroom is clean and all the towels are washed and ready for them to use. I also like to make sure we have plenty of their favorite cereal, milk, snacks and sandwich meat available for them. And when I have the time, I like to do something special like make Rice Krispy treats for them. We did all this and left a blanket out for the one who sleeps on the couch, and we went to bed. Sometimes they come in like a thief in the night so we made sure we were ready, just in case. But we woke up Wednesday morning and they weren't there. And that was fine because we had everything ready in case they still decided to come. We knew it was very possible because we know the signs to look for. The important thing to me is to be ready. I didn't want to be caught without anything for them to eat and with no towels in the cabinet.

I expect some reading this might already see the direction I'm going. We know that Jesus is going to return to earth at some point. The Bible says so, but it doesn't tell us when. It does tell us that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. That's why we always need to be ready. I don't want to get caught off-guard. I can still remember what one man I knew said a long time ago. He said we need to always keep our spiritual bags packed and always be ready to go. I'm glad he said that because his time to go came much earlier than anyone ever expected. When you look at the signs of the time, it's clear that at any moment Jesus could return to the earth. There won't be time to get ready at that last minute. We need to be prepared and get ready now.

The rest of the first story is that last night I did get in touch with Aaron and he said they would come to our house late last night. To me, late is 11:00. They got there around 4:30 this morning. I was thankful that we had prepared.

I hope to soon do a post about how to be prepared for when Jesus returns.

Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5

Knowing Me, Knowing You

Knowing Me,Knowing You
I was tagged to do this meme by Sindi of Life is a Rollercoaster.

KNOWING ME, KNOWING YOU

Copy this entire list of questions and change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then tag and pass it along to other blogging friends. Let’s see how well we can get to know one another!

1. What is your occupation? Full time receptionist in a law firm; part time musician

2. What color are your socks right now? brown

3. What are you listening to right now? people in the office; cars passing by outside

4. What was the last thing that you ate? pecan swirl breakfast roll

5. Can you drive a stick shift? yes

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? pink

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? some client

8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes

9. Favorite drink? I mostly drink water, but other than that, diet coke

10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Alabama Crimson Tide football; gymnastics

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? I get it highlighted

12. Pets? 2 dogs, hubby has a ferret

13. Favorite food? anything Mexican

14. Last movie you watched? hard to remember because I don't watch many. Last I remember was on Lifetime, a movie about a mother with autistic twins.

15. Favorite Day of the year? Christmas

16. What do you do to vent anger? I have to talk about it with someone, and then I pray.

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? My baby doll, Becky. I still have it.

18. What is your favorite, fall or spring? I love both.

19. Hugs or kisses? Hugs. But if we're talking about chocolate, I like Hersheys kisses.

20. What kind of pie? Lemon icebox

21. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes, please.

22. Who is most likely to respond? no one, since I'm not sending this out.

23. Who is least likely to respond?

24. Living arrangements? I live in an 1888 sq. ft. house (3br/2ba) with my husband.

25. When was the last time you cried? don't remember

26. What is on the floor of your closet? too many shoes and too much other stuff to name. I have a big closet.

27. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? I'm not sending it.

28. The friend you have known the shortest amount of time that you are sending this to?

29. Favorite smell? fresh cut grass, rain, babies, the beach.

30. What inspires you? the Bible

31. What are you afraid of? Rottweilers

32. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese

33. Favorite car? mine - Honda Accord

34. Favorite cat breed? persian

35. Number of keys on your key ring? 5

36. How many years at your current job? 7 years and 3 months

37. Favorite day of the week? Saturday

38. How many provinces have you lived in? zero

39. How many countries have you been to? 3 -- USA, Germany, Austria

I'm not tagging anyone, but if you don't have anything to post about, this can fill some space!

Here I Go Again, Talking about the Weather

Sunday afternoon we had severe weather throughout the state of Alabama. I watched the local news the whole afternoon, not because I was fearful, but mainly because my husband was driving a bus filled with children and he was going to many different parts of the state. I was spending a lot of time in prayer for his and the passengers' safety. Also, my daughter was in another part of the state. Our local news station does an outstanding job of staying on the air and keeping us informed of where the worst weather is and who has the tornado warnings anytime we have a severe weather situation. When it came time for my city to have the tornado sirens going off, I was able to watch the radar on TV and I could tell that the worst part of the storm was just north of where my house is located so I didn't really feel threatened. And sure enough, all we got at my house was some rain and thunder. But just 17 miles north of me in Prattville, brick homes were destroyed and businesses were damaged. Some people who work at my office were affected and I feel pretty sure some people from my church were probably affected. There were a few injuries but no fatalities, thank God!

There was a beautiful sunset after the storm