Brother Andrew Quote

I believe God heals more people through obedience than through prayer. ~Brother Andrew
Sermonindex.net

My Little Farmers

Some pics of the kiddos working in Nana's garden

The Shack

Read "The Shack" this weekend. Great picture of redemption and the love of God. I loved "Redeeming Love" by Francine Rivers more but this was a good, quick read.

Edge of Eternity Quotes

There is no such thing as a private moment, God is our audience for everything we do in the dark.

We live our lives in eternity's lobby, walking toward a door that will forever seal our destiny.

To be disappointed in yourself is to have believed in yourself. Be careful in whom you trust. Trust the King, not your ability to follow him.

By believing man to be better than they are, you diminish how amazing the King's grace really is.

Those who know their unworthiness seize grace.

The Doctrine of Repentance

"Repentance is purgative; fear not the working of this pill. Smite your soul, said Chrysostom, smite it; it will escape death by that stroke. how happy it would be if we were more deeply affected with sin, and our eyes did swim in their orb. We may clearly see the Spirit of God moving in the waters of repentance, which though troubled, are yet pure. Moist tears dry up sin and quench the wrath of God. Repentance is the cherisher of piety, the procurer of mercy. The more regret and trouble of spirit we have first at our conversion, the less we shall feel afterwards. "
The Doctrine of Repentance
Thomas Watson
25 May 1668

Sutter's Cross by W. Dale Cramer

The book I read last night was a great piece of fiction set in the GA mountains. If you want a fast, entertaining read with a great message. This is a great summer read.

Well, better get back to work and finishing postaging books to send out so I can go home and get things done while I'm feeling half decent. Good news at our home....nobody hugging a toilet today :). Wooo hooo!

Edge of Eternity

Finished Randy Alcorn's Edge of Eternity on our beach trip. GREAT BOOK!! Gives a neat perspective on life and how we effect the now for eternity and in the spiritual. Definitely a recommended book.

Had a fabulous time with family at the beach. I always wished I was a consistent journaler that wrote down all the great things we do as a family, the funny things the children say, the "special times" in life that the Lord touches and more. But as much as I love to write, it's a discipline I have not mastered. Same idea with pictures. I thought as a young mom I could "NEVER" forget some of the great faces the children make or those beautiful "moments" would always last in my mind's eye but I remember far less than I'd like.

I guess my prayer now as a mom is that although I've had "ENORMOUS" goals that I've not even come close to accomplishing, I hope the Lord will use me to make good deposits in my children that will benefit them and their relationships with the Lord. I pray He'll fill all the gaps I leave with good and holy things. That the things I mess up, He'll reveal to me that I can make "right" with my children before they leave home and that I'll have ears to hear Him. That my children will be able to overlook all our flaws and see Jesus in our home. And that in finding Him, they'll find purpose and passion for living EXTRAORDINARY HOPE-filled lives in Jesus.

Glory to God

What a busy season I'm in. We just finished swim team and the children got their trophies the other night. Michael waltzed down from the stage with his trophy in hand and said "This isn't real gold!". I had to break it to him he was not in the Olympics. This week on top of working we are also taking care of Sandi's horses, cats and dogs. It's been fun. The Lord has revealed to me more and more this summer His great favor upon our lives. At every turn, He seems to be blessings us in incredible ways. First of all with another blessing due next year. Then when I'm at my sickest in this pregnancy, He has provided meals (free) almost daily. Without me asking, without my hand out, He has given me a friend that has treated us to lunch in her restaurant several times, given us free coupons to chick-fil-a, the children found free coupons in my car for the kiddos to have Krispy Kreme (not healthy - I know), invited to eat with others and more. He gave the boys a free weekend at the lake in a gorgeous home with jet skis. He gave us a week at the beach free in a week 1/2. He's given us a membership at a tennis/pool club. He provided free bathing suits, goggles and a swim cap when we went to purchase at the swim supply store.

I will now give you the 5 steps to gaining favor with God - NOT!! The only thing I have done is to open my eyes to His abundant generosity to us every day from the cooler morning, the tomatoes on our vine, the blooming flowers, the sky blue pink sky He paints for me in the evening. He is always available to us, speaking to us, loving us. What an awesome God!! The only thing I know of why He's so generous with us is that my heart's desire is to live a life fully given to Him. Trust me it doesn't look the way I want it to. In my dream world I'd always be the perfect patient Mother; the dream wife that lives to serve her husband - waking before him and always having the perfect spread on the table before he even gets out of the shower and of course, always available to meet his every need; the perfect servant of God who always devotes hours of time to spend with Him in study, worship and prayer and a fantastic housekeeper and homemaker on top of giving my children the most amazing God-filled education in the world. Trust me, I'm far short from attaining any of these. I dream and strive for big goals and fall far short.

I do wonder if part of His generosity is due to the fact that against family wishes, doctor's wishes, and sometimes common financial sense we still allow Him to bless us with children in His timing and ways. I have found when we allow Him to give us His children to raise for His glory He truly does provide in AMAZING ways for His own. I have probably spent far less over the last 22 years on the 7 blessings He gave us than most folks spend in 2 years providing for their blessings. If I don't allow my pride to get in the way, people will bend over backwards to give us hand me downs that are in like new condition. We've been given furniture when people were redecorating. We've been given a dishwasher because on my husband's cabinet job the folks wanted to update their kitchen. He's allowed me to stretch my husbands pay to spend far less on groceries than some families I know that have only 2 children. That doesn't mean we've not had hard financial, relational, or other times because we have. BUT GOD, in his infinite mercy, has never left us nor forsaken us, given up on us due to our shortcomings and failings. He continues to guide us and teach us and love us. He is an amazing God and I hope to continually, daily, moment-by moment all my days fall more and more in love with Him. And NEVER settle for the mundane, no purpose life of "making it" day - by - day. May I always be passionate for Him and live zealously to further His kingdom and allow Him to make me a trophy of His grace. And I better end my praises to Him or the horses will never get fed today. :) Praise you Lord Jesus and I do give you ALL the glory for anything good in my life. And I know it's nothing that I can do or earn but your abundant grace and favor upon my life. Praises to the King of Kings!!!

Bruchko

If you want a GREAT book about a life of a young missionary, Bruchko is the book for you. Brucko a.k.a. Bruce Olsen goes to a stone age Indian tribe (the Motilones) in South America to tell them about Jesus. I started last night and finished early this morning before church. It was such a good read. It's the story of a young man who finds God and everybody in his church and home think he's trying to be holier than thou because he was confirmed in the church - of course he knows God (so they tell him). And his journey finding what the Lord wants him to do with his life for His glory. It will encourage you, make you cry, and praise the Lord for all His wondrous ways and miracles. It will also make you ponder what are you willing to do for the Lord. How much are you willing to give up? How much are you willing to suffer?

It reminded me a lot of Corrie Ten Boom's book "Tramp for the Lord" where God always provided in miraculous ways when things looked impossible.

Running to fix Father's Day dinner for Rusty. Happy Fathers Day Dad, Rusty, Brian & Wendell!!

The Law of Rewards

The single greatest contribution to our inability to see money and possessions in their true light is our persistent failure to see our present lives through the lens of eternity. (Randy Alcorn "The law of Rewards")

Playground or Battleground

Men think of the world, not as a battleground but as a playground. We are not here to fight, we are here to frolic. We are not in a foreign land, we are at home. We are not getting ready to live, we are already living, and the best we can do is to rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life to the full...
That this world is a playground instead of a battle ground has now been accepted in practice by the vast majority of evangelical Christians. They might hedge around the question if they were asked bluntly to declare their position, but their conduct gives them away. They are facing both ways, enjoying Christ, and the world too, and gleefully telling everyone that accepting Jesus does not require them to give up their fun, and that Christianity is just the jolliest things imaginable. (The Best of A.W. Tozer)

Eve, as Tozer would have pointed out, couldn't have her fruit and eat it, too. We can't live both for the temporary things of the world and life for Jesus.
All excerpted from the Book: Flirting with the Devil by Bill Pride

Patience with Children

In planting beans the old practice was to put three in each hill: one for the worm, one for the crow, and one to life and produce the crop. In teaching children, we must give line upon line, and precept upon precept, repeating the truth which we would inculcate, till it becomes impossible for the child to forget it. We may well give the lesson once, expecting the child's frail memory to lose it, twice, reckoning the devil, like an ill bird will steal it, thrice, hoping that it will take root downward, and bring forth fruit upward to the glory of God.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Care for the Soul

I implore you to take care of your soul. Mistrust your own strength; get down on your knees in payer to the Lord, for the Spirit of truth; search His Word for direction; flee seducter's company, keep company with the soundest Christians that have the most experience in the things of Christ. Only you must take care of two things: 1. Rely not on the outward obedience to any of God's commands, or of thinking you are better in the sight of God because of that. 2. Beware of searching for peace for your soul from any inherent righteousness. Believe that you are a sinner, so you are freely justified by the love of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; and that He has forgiven you of your transgressions -- not because He saw anything done, or to be done, in or by you. This is the right way. Lord put you into it, and keep you in it!!
John Bunyan

I Want to be a FATSO!

Today we honored Pastor Wade as he stepped down from our church as Senior Pastor and embarks on a new adventure to disciple the nations. We are all so very excited for this great opportunity. You wouldn't know it as I cried more than my share as folks reminisced about all the things Pastor Wade has done or meant to them over the years. He obviously shared the Father's heart with more than just myself. He definitely delivered a powerful "last" sermon as Senior Pastor. I'll definitely be chewing on the truths he imparted to us today all week. I hope that we all can live up to his expectations and not be "constipated" Christians who sit, soak and sour while Truth after Truth has been poured into us but pour ourselves into others and spread the Gospel for His glory!. As Pastor Wade said, "Sink our roots deep in the river of God's grace and be strong. If we're strong responsibly, we'll be strong reproductively. Not strong in ourselves but in the grace that is IN Christ Jesus." Hope we can be FATSOs for you Jesus and make Pastor Wade proud.

Faithful

Available

Teachable

Servant-hearted &

Obedient

Safely Home

3 of my children had their first swim meets this morning and it was a great time followed by an ice cream social. We then said good by to some dear friends (like family) that are moving. We got home and rested for a bit because we had a tornado of a week and then my precious wee one got a fever. Soo, although I feel terrible for her it's one of the few times I actually stop and do something I love and that's to read. So although now I hold her in one arm on the couch with the computer in my lap, minutes ago I was reading Randy Alcorn's "Safely Home". Boy do I feel like a spoiled brat of an American. My biggest struggles are juggling life homeschooling, part-time working, church, paying bills in a timely manner, keeping my home in a semi-clean state, striving to be a good help-meet to my husband and raising precious gifts for the Lord. We're not hungry. We have a home. We're free to come and go as we like and really free to do sooo many things. However, if I lived in China or another country where Christianity is outlawed, I may be asking myself every day (as the main character of the book has thus far) is this my last day Lord? Wow. Makes a few dishes in the sink and a load of laundry to fold seem very unimportant. I may get up at 3 am. on a Sunday morning to sneak to another believer's home that may take me up to an hour of bicycling with my husband and one child (that I was allowed to have because they sterilized me during my c-section so I could hold no others after my one) to get to another believer's home just to worship with others. I must wonder would my selfish American self compromise and worship at home at a more convenient hour with my own family in a more safe, secretive manner so as not to compromise my job or more importantly the lives of my family. Would I choose to serve God no matter the risks to my family? I'm okay risking myself but my children? Risk these precious children (whom I must remind myself aren't really mine at all but on loan from God in the first place). I must admit I'm afraid I may compromise too easily. My deepest desire would not to but I pray my flesh wouldn't outweigh my heart.

My prayer: Lord, keep me focused on You, Your Kingdom and Your Path. Please don't let us forget our "brothers and sisters" in the world who suffer daily for You. Please don't let us live such comfortable lives that we are more worried about who the next American Idol is than praying for the church world wide. And please allow my heart for You to outweigh my selfishness. In other words to truly be In Christ, so that I choose as Christ would and not my fleshy me. Let me not live in an eros prison but on the Agape Road of fellowship with you. (We're studying about this in Church on Wed nights....Bob Mumford's "The Agape Road"....great study...) And please let my children grow up more concerned with the Your Kingdom, Your people, Yourself Jesus than what fancy car they may drive, what title they may carry, what newest fashion's they may don or what movie is out that "everybody" is talking about. Amen

To find out more about persecution in the church go to http://www.prisoneralert.com/

A ministry of Voice of the Martyrs

Be Content in All Things

Certainly our contentment does not consist in getting the thing we desire, but in God's fashioning our spirits to our conditions. Some men have not got a foot of ground of their own, yet they live better than other men who are heirs to a great deal of land. I have known it in the country sometimes, that a man lives upon his own land, and yet lives very poorly; but you find another man who rents his land, and yet by his good husbandry, and by his care, lives better than he who has his own land. So a man by this art of contentment may live better without an estate than another man can live off an estate. Oh, it adds exceedingly to the comfort of a Christian. ..... If I become content by having my desire satisfied, that is only self-love, but when I am contented with the hand of God, and am willing to be at his disposal, that comes from my love to God. ...If I am contented because I have what I desire, perhaps I am contented in that one thing, but that one thing does not furnish me with contentment in another thing; perhaps I may grow more dainty and nice and froward in other things. If you give children what they want in some things, they grow so much the more coy and dainty and discontented if they cannot have other things they want. But, if I have once overcome my heart, then this makes me content not only in one particular but in general, whatever befalls me. .... When I have got his grace of contentment, I am prepared to be contented in all conditions. Thus you see that contentment brings comfort to a man's life, fills it full of comfort in this world; the truth is, it is even a Heaven on earth. What is Heaven but the rest and quiet of a man's spirit; that is the special thing that makes the life of Heaven, there is rest and joy, and satisfaction in God. So it is in a contented spirit: there is rest and joy and satisfaction in God. You have Heaven while you are on earth when you have a contented spirit..."The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Burroughs 1648

'I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content' Philippians 4:11

Grace, Grace, Amazing Grace

God's

Riches

At

Christ's

Expense



Grace is the heart of God's love and the hand of His power constantly moving toward me so that I can be all He designed me to be and do all the He desires me to!



(Pastor Wade Trimmer)

Sin

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay,
and cost you far more than you are willing to pay.

Unknown quote but learned from Pastor Wade

5 Great Truths that Changed the World

Martin Luther

1) No Priest but Christ (Heb 7:24-25)

2) No Sacrifice but Calvary (Heb 7:27)

3) No Authority but Scripture (II Tim 3:16)

4) No Confession but at the Throne of Grace (I Jn 1:9)

5) No Justification but by Faith (Romans 5:1)

Charles Spurgeon - The Church in Thy House - Philemon 2

Is there a Church in this house? Are parents, children, friends, servants, all members of it? or are some still unconverted? Let us pause here and let the question go round--Am I a member of the Church in this house? How would father's heart leap for joy, and mother's eyes fill with holy tears if from the eldest to the youngest all were saved! Let us pray for this great mercy until the Lord shall grant it to us. Probably it had been the dearest object of Philemon's desires to have all his household saved; but it was not at first granted him in its fulness. He had a wicked servant, Onesimus, who, having wronged him, ran away from his service. His master's prayers followed him, and at last, as God would have it, Onesimus was led to hear Paul preach; his heart was touched, and he returned to Philemon, not only to be a faithful servant, but a brother beloved, adding another member to the Church in Philemon's house. Is there an unconverted servant or child absent this morning? Make special supplication that such may, on their return to their home, gladden all hearts with good news of what grace has done! Is there one present? Let him partake in the same earnest entreaty.
If there be such a Church in our house, let us order it well, and let all act as in the sight of God. Let us move in the common affairs of life with studied holiness, diligence, kindness, and integrity. More is expected of a Church than of an ordinary household; family worship must, in such a case, be more devout and hearty; internal love must be more warm and unbroken, and external conduct must be more sanctified and Christlike. We need not fear that the smallness of our number will put us out of the list of Churches, for the Holy Spirit has here enrolled a family-church in the inspired book of remembrance. As a Church let us now draw nigh to the great head of the one Church universal, and let us beseech Him to give us grace to shine before men to the glory of His name.