God is so awesome, we had such a great weekend at the Familylife Weekend to Remember in Raleigh this past weekend. It was the first time we'd volunteered at a weekend and God worked so mightily and blessed us so much with the people we were able to serve. We served in many ways- greeting people, opening doors, being a kind and welcoming presence, praying with people, chatting, just being there for God to use. We were so blessed by the people we met and with whom were led to share our story of God's grace and redemption in our marriage.
Following are some of the comments from the evaluation cards at the end of the conference...
“It was just what we needed. My husband had the conference dates and registration in my birthday card. It was the best present ever.” Wife – Married 29 years
“This conference restored our marriage. I’m thankful my husband was persistent and faithful….even when I was not and had no hope. Wife – married 16 years
“It made our marriage go from “maybe” to “definitely” with the Lord’s help and guidance.” Husband – married 6 years “We are more in love than ever before. My husband did not want to have children. After the men and women session, he came to me and said he wanted to have a family WITH ME! A miracle took place this weekend.” Wife - married 5 years
“My husband and I separated four months ago and came to this with much uncertainty surrounding where our marriage was headed. After the “love letter” project my husband reaffirmed his commitment to me and our marriage and voiced his desire to return home. Thank you so much for the blessing of this weekend. We will be more prepared to deal with whatever may come ahead in our marriage with the tools we acquired this weekend.” Wife - married 4 years
“I realized that it is never too late to build a legacy – even at the age of 50” In addition, I’m determined as a step-parent to leave that legacy to my adult step daughter as well.” Husband – married 4 years
“My husband and I are legally separated. We have been living separately for 17 months. I was hesitant in coming when he invited me. I am so thankful that we came. With God’s help and daily application, I am very hopeful that we will put our marriage back together.” Wife – married 6 years
“We have hope about our marriage working that was not there before. I was really questioning whether or not we could ever change. Now I have hope. Thank you FamilyLife.” Wife – married 6 years
“It opened our eyes. We knew we had issues, but we just ignored them. Now we have learned how to begin addressing them.” Wife – married 9 years
“My wife and I have been separated 4 months. This weekend I have made the final decision to move back home and make this marriage work.” Husband – married 2 years
“My husband and I had made the decision to get a divorce. A friend suggested we come to the conference before we took that step. This weekend we made the commitment not to forget how important we are to one another.” Wife– married 17 years
“We’ve been married for 26 years and this is the best thing we have EVER done for our marriage.’ Wife – married 26 years
God allowed us to meet some of these folks! He is so awesome!
And He goes before us as we return home and resume work on our house... two bedrooms to paint by Thanksgiving!!! WHOO HOO!!!
We praise and thank God for Who HE is!!!!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
See You at the Pole, September 24, 2008
Just wanted to share this, I thought it was cool that so many students and teachers came out for the See You at the Pole event at Steven's school. He was there but not in this photo (I forgot my camera!!). They prayed, read scripture and sang some Tree63! Praise God, He is moving in our schools!
Nearly 70 students, teachers and parents from North Duplin Jr.-Sr. High School participate in "See You at the Pole" this morning, a moment of devotion and prayer held at schools across the country.
North Duplin student Beth Carter, reading at left, opened the event at 7:30 a.m., and the Rev. Millard Bounds, center, led the group in prayer. The American Civil Liberties Union sued a Tennessee school earlier this year to stop the practice, which it argued broke the barrier between church and state, but a federal judge ruled the ceremony is covered by the constitutional guarantee of freedom to exercise religious beliefs. This is the 19th year the national event has been held.
North Duplin student Beth Carter, reading at left, opened the event at 7:30 a.m., and the Rev. Millard Bounds, center, led the group in prayer. The American Civil Liberties Union sued a Tennessee school earlier this year to stop the practice, which it argued broke the barrier between church and state, but a federal judge ruled the ceremony is covered by the constitutional guarantee of freedom to exercise religious beliefs. This is the 19th year the national event has been held.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Beadboard ceilings and taking thoughts captive!
Well, we've been working on the house, but unfortunately, the progress of beadboard ceiling caulking doesn't photograph well. So although I'm taking the photos, I'm not posting them because you can't really see the difference yet. Once we get paint on the ceilings, THEN I'll post some photos because you'll be able to SEE the progress. In the meantime, just rest in knowing and pray for us as we caulk every seam in Steven's bedroom and our bedroom upstairs. :)
Also, a friend of mine sent this to me, and I wanted to share it. It is so true! Don't dwell on thoughts that POP into your head! CHOOSE what you think about, choose what to dwell on, choose what to meditate. Choose thoughts of life, not death. :)
Take Every Thought Captive by Max Lucado
Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear.
Could that be why Paul writes, “Love … keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV)?
Some folks don’t know we have an option.
Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage “capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies.
It was for Jesus. Remember the thoughts that came his way courtesy of the mouth of Peter? Jesus had just prophesied his death, burial, and resurrection, but Peter couldn’t bear the thought of it. “Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that.… Jesus said to Peter, ‘Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important’” (Matt. 16:22–23). See the decisiveness of Jesus?
What if you did that? What if you took every thought captive? What if you took the counsel of Solomon: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).
You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.
Change the thoughts, and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others?
Paul says absolutely! It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering รข studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.
Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet.
Also, a friend of mine sent this to me, and I wanted to share it. It is so true! Don't dwell on thoughts that POP into your head! CHOOSE what you think about, choose what to dwell on, choose what to meditate. Choose thoughts of life, not death. :)
Take Every Thought Captive by Max Lucado
Today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions.
Today’s jealousy is tomorrow’s temper tantrum.
Today’s bigotry is tomorrow’s hate crime.
Today’s anger is tomorrow’s abuse.
Today’s lust is tomorrow’s adultery.
Today’s greed is tomorrow’s embezzlement.
Today’s guilt is tomorrow’s fear.
Could that be why Paul writes, “Love … keeps no record of wrongs” (1 Cor. 13:5 NIV)?
Some folks don’t know we have an option.
Paul says we do: “We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5).
Do you hear some battlefield jargon in that passage “capture every thought,” “make it give up” and “obey Christ”? You get the impression that we are the soldiers and the thoughts are the enemies.
It was for Jesus. Remember the thoughts that came his way courtesy of the mouth of Peter? Jesus had just prophesied his death, burial, and resurrection, but Peter couldn’t bear the thought of it. “Peter took Jesus aside and told him not to talk like that.… Jesus said to Peter, ‘Go away from me, Satan! You are not helping me! You don’t care about the things of God, but only about the things people think are important’” (Matt. 16:22–23). See the decisiveness of Jesus?
What if you did that? What if you took every thought captive? What if you took the counsel of Solomon: “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life” (Prov. 4:23).
You are not a victim of your thoughts. You have a vote. You have a voice. You can exercise thought prevention. You can also exercise thought permission.
Change the thoughts, and you change the person. If today’s thoughts are tomorrow’s actions, what happens when we fill our minds with thoughts of God’s love? Will standing beneath the downpour of his grace change the way we feel about others?
Paul says absolutely! It’s not enough to keep the bad stuff out. We’ve got to let the good stuff in. It’s not enough to keep no list of wrongs. We have to cultivate a list of blessings. The same verb Paul uses for keeps in the phrase “keeps no list of wrongs” is used for think in Philippians 4:8: “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (RSV). Thinking conveys the idea of pondering รข studying and focusing, allowing what is viewed to have an impact on us.
Rather than store up the sour, store up the sweet.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Coming back down the mountain...
So, we spent the last week at a CFO (Camps Farthest Out- http://www.acfona.org/ ) Retreat. CFO was founded in 1929 with the mission to provide weeklong retreats where families could unplug from the world and seek spiritual balance... and to go farther out with Jesus. The days of the retreat are planned and from what we understand, little has changed since CFO's inception. Each day is structured with times of ebb and flow, time to breath in Jesus, then exhale and share, through activities such as worship, prayer, creatives (art, writing, nature, drama/dance), morning meditation, more worship (with lots of singing!), free time, horizontal time (naps encouraged!), fellowship and "afterglow" (a time for the youth of sharing, hanging out, dancing, worshiping and singing while all us older folks wind down).
There were quite a few teenagers and almost teens and everyone was so friendly, Steven immediately felt at home. Remy and Bailey were quite the welcoming committee! Scott and I were blessed to get to spend time with a number of people, we look forward to keeping in touch with everyone. We were blessed in our prayer groups, the folks with whom we ate each night, in learning "hand and foot", with morning and evening porchtime, and with some volleyball. So many people at this camp have been going for years with Scott's mom, sister Nancy and her husband Doug, and they have been praying for Scott's salvation and the restoration of our marriage, so it was great to be able to thank those prayer warriors. It was also awesome to get to share a little of our testimony with some folks. We look forward to sharing more! And we're adding all the couples to our prayer list here at home- satan is wiley, he'll take any chance he can get to find a chink in the marriage. We're praying that all the couples we met consider going to A Weekend To Remember in October.
Anyway, the camp was held at High Pastures Retreat Center (http://www.highpastures.org/) in Burnsville, NC, about 5 hours from our house. It's in the mountains, it was so beautiful, it reminded us of the Catskills. Steven enjoyed some time wading in the stream, catching crayfish. I don't think he wore shoes all week!
There is an annual Youth vs. Old Folks Volleyball tournament. Steven and Scott played... the Old Folks triumphed this year.
Steven's first friends at CFO were Remy and Bailey. They had a great time together!!
We all had a great time and were glad we went. It was good to get away and refresh our relationships with God. God is so faithful, we each came away blessed in different ways, hearing God in different ways, and being reminded He is here, He is faithful, and He's got an amazing plan for each of us. We praise God and give Him all the glory! We're looking forward to going back next year!
There were quite a few teenagers and almost teens and everyone was so friendly, Steven immediately felt at home. Remy and Bailey were quite the welcoming committee! Scott and I were blessed to get to spend time with a number of people, we look forward to keeping in touch with everyone. We were blessed in our prayer groups, the folks with whom we ate each night, in learning "hand and foot", with morning and evening porchtime, and with some volleyball. So many people at this camp have been going for years with Scott's mom, sister Nancy and her husband Doug, and they have been praying for Scott's salvation and the restoration of our marriage, so it was great to be able to thank those prayer warriors. It was also awesome to get to share a little of our testimony with some folks. We look forward to sharing more! And we're adding all the couples to our prayer list here at home- satan is wiley, he'll take any chance he can get to find a chink in the marriage. We're praying that all the couples we met consider going to A Weekend To Remember in October.
Anyway, the camp was held at High Pastures Retreat Center (http://www.highpastures.org/) in Burnsville, NC, about 5 hours from our house. It's in the mountains, it was so beautiful, it reminded us of the Catskills. Steven enjoyed some time wading in the stream, catching crayfish. I don't think he wore shoes all week!
There is an annual Youth vs. Old Folks Volleyball tournament. Steven and Scott played... the Old Folks triumphed this year. 
Steven's first friends at CFO were Remy and Bailey. They had a great time together!!
We all had a great time and were glad we went. It was good to get away and refresh our relationships with God. God is so faithful, we each came away blessed in different ways, hearing God in different ways, and being reminded He is here, He is faithful, and He's got an amazing plan for each of us. We praise God and give Him all the glory! We're looking forward to going back next year!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Obedience School
This past Tuesday, Scott took Steven and Glory to obedience school in Dudley. We were going to take both dogs, but it is expensive and the trainer recommended we bring the more obstinent dog to class, then use the homework exercises on both dogs. So, Glory is going to school! I didn't get to go this week, but Scott relayed that Steven did an excellent job as Glory's handler. Jessica, the trainer, was impressed too with Steven's work and maturity. :) 
Scott is working with Gracie, Steven is working with Glory and we'll have two beautiful, trained doggies before long. And yes, all three of us are teachable, too, we're learning a lot! :)
Scott is working with Gracie, Steven is working with Glory and we'll have two beautiful, trained doggies before long. And yes, all three of us are teachable, too, we're learning a lot! :)A small smattering of summertime
Mmmm... so what has Steven been doing this summer? Well, let's see... he got a lesson in driving the truck, which is manual transmission "three on the tree"....
He's spent time with the hose and squirt guns and friends, it's been HOT here!
With his grandmommy, he went to Delaware to spend a week with his Uncle Mike, Aunt Bear, cousins Erick & Abby... and Bachan, too.
While Steven was in Delaware, Scott and I built the roof and the walls on the treehouse so he'd have a surprise upon his return. Yes, he was suprised! :)
And the dogs keep growing bigger, too! Grace is laying down on the left and Glory is on the right. Steven started obedience training with Glory this past Tuesday... I'll post those photos next!
All in all, we're having a pretty good summer. God is blessing us in numerous ways, we feel His presence in our work and in our family time. He is so faithful!
He's spent time with the hose and squirt guns and friends, it's been HOT here!
With his grandmommy, he went to Delaware to spend a week with his Uncle Mike, Aunt Bear, cousins Erick & Abby... and Bachan, too.While Steven was in Delaware, Scott and I built the roof and the walls on the treehouse so he'd have a surprise upon his return. Yes, he was suprised! :)
And the dogs keep growing bigger, too! Grace is laying down on the left and Glory is on the right. Steven started obedience training with Glory this past Tuesday... I'll post those photos next!
All in all, we're having a pretty good summer. God is blessing us in numerous ways, we feel His presence in our work and in our family time. He is so faithful!Sunday, May 18, 2008
Life is good with the porch roof all one color :)
This is our house in May 2006 before we bought it.
This is our house on April 15, 2008.
And here is our house this morning, May 18, 2008. We spent yesterday morning applying primer to the porch roof, then the afternoon painting it red. We've spent hours afterwork and Saturdays painting the column bases and eaves. We still have lots more scraping/caulking/painting to do on the exterior- the porch ceiling, the columns and the eaves, but we're chipping away a little at a time. It feels good to have the porch roof all one color, we praise and thank God for all He's doing in our lives, for the affirmation we receive along the way, and that we get to do all of this together!!
AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! :) WE HOPE YOU'RE HAVING A GREAT TIME IN ARIZONA!! WE LOVE YOU!!
Friday, May 16, 2008
Honor Roll!
Lookie there, Steven made the honor roll! I'm guessing he made it the first two grading periods also, but the school doesn't tell you and I don't think they sent it to the papers before now. Did we mention that an A here in NC is 93-100 and a B is 85-92? Yeah, a little different than in CT. He's working hard and doing well, though. :) God is so good!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Grace & Glory!
It rained pretty hard yesterday afternoon and we didn't even think about it when we let the dogs out for a little bit at dinner time. They had quite a mud hole going by the time we realized we heard splashing and wallowing!
They were pretty darn muddy piggy puppies! But they were so happy, until we gave them both a bath. :) Now they are clean puppies again. And we praise God for them and the laughs they give us!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
An update... at last! :)
Lots going on here in Faison, NC! Yes, it has been a while since the last post, but not because we haven't done anything. We've gotten tons done on the house (although a lot of it can't really be appreciated in photographs!) including getting the columns back on the porch, YIPPEE!!!
We pruned the forsythia and installed fence to keep our doggers in and all other dogs out! It looks good and was easy to install. :)
This is Glory, she is getting so big! She loves sticks and loves to crawl around under beds and furniture. She's a big galoot, lol. :)
Below is a photo of Grace, who is the brighter of the two puppers, she is quite the troublemaker. Housetraining is going well, they love their crate, Steven is having an awesome time with them, so all is going well.
Let's see, other stuff we've done includes enclosing the eave on the window wall of the kitchen/family space, installing crown molding in the bathroom, installing all the exterior window trim that was missing (4 windows), installing the dryer vent to the exterior, temporarily installed the mantle on the office fireplace and painted the wall above it, repaired porch ceiling, and....and.... I'm sure there's more. And we are forming our next list of stuff to tackle- some exterior stuff to get some curb appeal and working on the upstairs bedrooms so we can move upstairs and use more of the 3300 square feet with which God has blessed us.
It also gave us great pleasure to hang the wedding swing on the porch. We smile as we sit in it, listening to the quiet that is our neighborhood, praising God for who He is and all He's done in our lives to bring us from the broken place we were to the joyful place we are.
OH and God has led us to begin a small group in our house! Sunday nights we meet with several other married couples to grow closer to God and to our spouses. God has really placed it on our hearts to speak His Word about marriage, and we are amazed and blessed by how He is working in this group! And this Saturday we are going to Raleigh for training- we're working with Familylife on the Weekend to Remember. We're excited about this, too, since it is such a powerful ministry, and God used it so mightily in the restoration of our marriage only two and a half years ago. How do we not praise His name?? It is all good!
Monday, March 24, 2008
House Update
Yes, we've been busy working on the house, we've gotten some stuff done. We scraped, lifted and resecured the tongue and groove ceiling in the hall, caulked it, primed it and painted it. Then Scott installed the lovely ceiling fixture we bought last March and we still love it, even more so installed and lighted. :) We also scraped and caulked the base; primed and put a first coat of paint on the walls. It's looking good. We're looking forward to priming and painting the base and doors to get it closer to finished.
August 2006
March 2008
March 2008- finished ceiling, first coat of paint on walls.
And we brought home the newest additions to the Jennings family today- Amazing Grace (aka, Gracie) and Morning Glory Shooting Star (aka Glory). They are mutts and we love them. Our neighbors, the Cruz family, found a dog they named Ginger last fall. They let her live on their porch and fed her. The realized she was pregnant and about eight weeks ago she had a litter of six puppies. Three are black, two are white with spots and one is brown and black like she is. Scott and Steven liked to visit with Ginger and the puppies and fell in love with the two back ones and after lots of prayer and puppy eyes (from Steven and Scott), we decided to bring them home. Scott is off this week with Steven, working on the house and now housebreaking puppies.
They are beautiful and Steven is totally in love with them...
We thank God in so many ways for how awesome He is. We thank Him for rejecting our rejection of Jesus by raising Him from the grave!! We so totally do not deserve all that He does for us, and we love Him so much, we praise His Name, we exalt Him!!!! Praise God!!!
August 2006
March 2008
March 2008- finished ceiling, first coat of paint on walls.
And we brought home the newest additions to the Jennings family today- Amazing Grace (aka, Gracie) and Morning Glory Shooting Star (aka Glory). They are mutts and we love them. Our neighbors, the Cruz family, found a dog they named Ginger last fall. They let her live on their porch and fed her. The realized she was pregnant and about eight weeks ago she had a litter of six puppies. Three are black, two are white with spots and one is brown and black like she is. Scott and Steven liked to visit with Ginger and the puppies and fell in love with the two back ones and after lots of prayer and puppy eyes (from Steven and Scott), we decided to bring them home. Scott is off this week with Steven, working on the house and now housebreaking puppies.
They are beautiful and Steven is totally in love with them...
We thank God in so many ways for how awesome He is. We thank Him for rejecting our rejection of Jesus by raising Him from the grave!! We so totally do not deserve all that He does for us, and we love Him so much, we praise His Name, we exalt Him!!!! Praise God!!!
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
This morning, we installed cabinets and a clock in the laundry room, so it's almost finished! Here's a photo, it's so pretty. :) We've got TONS of storage in there, it is a dream come true.
After that, Scott puttered with some other stuff (cleaning up some old hardware to put back on a door- that photo later) and I spent some quality time on a ladder scraping and caulking the tongue and groove ceiling in the center hall, praying and thanking God the entire time for who He is and for all He's done in our lives. We give Him all the praise and glory for everything, He is so awesome!
After that, Scott puttered with some other stuff (cleaning up some old hardware to put back on a door- that photo later) and I spent some quality time on a ladder scraping and caulking the tongue and groove ceiling in the center hall, praying and thanking God the entire time for who He is and for all He's done in our lives. We give Him all the praise and glory for everything, He is so awesome!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Bathroom reborn as the Laundry Room, as of February 2008
That's right, back in January 2007, the bathroom next to the dining room looked like this:
By October, we had installed a window (in an original opening that had been blocked and covered by the shower!), plumbing, lighting, uncovered the tongue and groove on the walls and installed slate flooring, so it looked like this:
And this past weekend we spent some time in there covering the holes in the walls where the plumbing was installed, putting framing around the window, installing base & corner molding, caulking, priming and painting. Now it's mostly done and looks like this:
Voila, it's pretty! Scott has installed the ductwork for the dryer through the chase into the attic space above. One day, when it is nice out, we'll finish the installation through the soffit. Until then, we vent the warm moist air into the house where we need it since it's still chilly here. :) We praise and thank God for His wisdom, His direction and His leading through every part of this house project, including cutting molding, caulking, etc. He has blessed us with an amazing ability to work together...we are so grateful for that! The way we communicate is so much better than ever before. We praise God and give Him ALL the glory!!! :)
By October, we had installed a window (in an original opening that had been blocked and covered by the shower!), plumbing, lighting, uncovered the tongue and groove on the walls and installed slate flooring, so it looked like this:
And this past weekend we spent some time in there covering the holes in the walls where the plumbing was installed, putting framing around the window, installing base & corner molding, caulking, priming and painting. Now it's mostly done and looks like this:
Voila, it's pretty! Scott has installed the ductwork for the dryer through the chase into the attic space above. One day, when it is nice out, we'll finish the installation through the soffit. Until then, we vent the warm moist air into the house where we need it since it's still chilly here. :) We praise and thank God for His wisdom, His direction and His leading through every part of this house project, including cutting molding, caulking, etc. He has blessed us with an amazing ability to work together...we are so grateful for that! The way we communicate is so much better than ever before. We praise God and give Him ALL the glory!!! :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
DECLARE RESTORATION TODAY!!
My dear friend, Beth, whom I love so much received this email yesterday from Pastor Bob. And she sent it to us because she loves us and knows how much I miss this kind of teaching.
Have I mentioned how much I miss Pastor Bob's teaching and Cornerstone Church?? A LOT!! Anyway, what I miss is this kind of bible based "empowering, in your face, stand on faith, be who God created you to be" kind of teaching... I need it to wake me up and stand firmly for Jesus! If we can't walk in faith, talk about our faith and be Jesus to people, why bother being saved??
*WE ARE VICTORIOUS!! THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S AND IT IS ALREADY WON!! WE JUST HAVE TO SHOUT ABOUT IT!!* So, in the spirit of restoration and squashing satan and his plans, I'm standing firmly for Jesus and sharing this empowering word.
02/13/08
Dear Victorious One,
Last Sunday I brought a message about restoration and how God wants you and me to have restored to us the things that have been taken from us. All of us can agree that we have had things stolen from our lives: dreams, jobs, health, relationships, joy, etc. This is not God’s will for our lives. In fact, Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and, and that they may have it more abundantly.” This verse shows us clearly that the enemy is against us and that God is for us. The devil takes – God gives. The devil kills – God resurrects. The devil destroys – God restores!!!!!
Since Jesus identified the devil as a thief, we can have an expectation that God will hold him responsible. In fact, in Proverbs 6:31 the Bible says, “Yet when he [the thief] is found, he must restore sevenfold…” You should get excited about that because what was taken from you must be restored BACK TO YOU!
Restoration is the heart of God. Look at what God said in Joel 2:25 – “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust…” God said that He would restore! Say that out loud – “God will restore!” You have God’s Word on it. He promises us that whether the enemy takes a little or a lot – God will restore!
Do you want God to bring back to you what the enemy has stolen? Of course you do. In order for that to happen, God needs our cooperation. Notice Isaiah 42:22 - "But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder…" Does that sound like your life at all? Things taken, you live in fear that the blessing you have may be stolen. Did you ever feel like it’s just not fair? I’m sure you have. Well, even though that verse may describe your life, notice what the rest of the verse is saying: “…and no one says, ‘Restore!’” Did you catch that? God didn’t say, “No one felt the pain” or “No one prayed to Me.” He said, “No one says, ‘RESTORE!’” No one speaks His promise out loud, no one speaks the Word out loud. No one is saying restore!
We all know how easy it is to complain when bad things happen, but God is saying that no one is speaking any faith – RESTORE! Look at what God said to Esau when he had the blessing STOLEN from him by his brother – “By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; [life is tough] and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck” Genesis 27:40. Notice the words, “…when you become restless.” I have written in my Bible right next to that verse, "When I get fed up.” Are you fed up? Are you restless? When you get to the place in your life that deep down inside of you, you have truly had enough, you can begin to shout: “I am fed up! RESTORE!” THEN you can break the yoke of the enemy off of your neck. THAT’S GOOD NEWS!
Finally, in Job 22:28, the Word says, “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.” It’s time for you to “declare a thing” and then watch it come to pass. It’s time for you to get fed up and restless and say, “No more, devil! RESTORE!” That takes faith, boldness and commitment. I want to encourage you this week to feed upon the promises of God’s Word and allow the Word to work within you. Keep planting the seed of God’s Word until something begins to grow. All this week stay restless and shout, “RESTORE!” You can do it!
You are a winner and you are loved,
Pastor Bob
Have I mentioned how much I miss Pastor Bob's teaching and Cornerstone Church?? A LOT!! Anyway, what I miss is this kind of bible based "empowering, in your face, stand on faith, be who God created you to be" kind of teaching... I need it to wake me up and stand firmly for Jesus! If we can't walk in faith, talk about our faith and be Jesus to people, why bother being saved??
*WE ARE VICTORIOUS!! THE BATTLE IS THE LORD'S AND IT IS ALREADY WON!! WE JUST HAVE TO SHOUT ABOUT IT!!* So, in the spirit of restoration and squashing satan and his plans, I'm standing firmly for Jesus and sharing this empowering word.
02/13/08
Dear Victorious One,
Last Sunday I brought a message about restoration and how God wants you and me to have restored to us the things that have been taken from us. All of us can agree that we have had things stolen from our lives: dreams, jobs, health, relationships, joy, etc. This is not God’s will for our lives. In fact, Jesus said in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and, and that they may have it more abundantly.” This verse shows us clearly that the enemy is against us and that God is for us. The devil takes – God gives. The devil kills – God resurrects. The devil destroys – God restores!!!!!
Since Jesus identified the devil as a thief, we can have an expectation that God will hold him responsible. In fact, in Proverbs 6:31 the Bible says, “Yet when he [the thief] is found, he must restore sevenfold…” You should get excited about that because what was taken from you must be restored BACK TO YOU!
Restoration is the heart of God. Look at what God said in Joel 2:25 – “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the crawling locust, the consuming locust, and the chewing locust…” God said that He would restore! Say that out loud – “God will restore!” You have God’s Word on it. He promises us that whether the enemy takes a little or a lot – God will restore!
Do you want God to bring back to you what the enemy has stolen? Of course you do. In order for that to happen, God needs our cooperation. Notice Isaiah 42:22 - "But this is a people robbed and plundered; all of them are snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison houses; they are for prey, and no one delivers; for plunder…" Does that sound like your life at all? Things taken, you live in fear that the blessing you have may be stolen. Did you ever feel like it’s just not fair? I’m sure you have. Well, even though that verse may describe your life, notice what the rest of the verse is saying: “…and no one says, ‘Restore!’” Did you catch that? God didn’t say, “No one felt the pain” or “No one prayed to Me.” He said, “No one says, ‘RESTORE!’” No one speaks His promise out loud, no one speaks the Word out loud. No one is saying restore!
We all know how easy it is to complain when bad things happen, but God is saying that no one is speaking any faith – RESTORE! Look at what God said to Esau when he had the blessing STOLEN from him by his brother – “By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother; [life is tough] and it shall come to pass, when you become restless, that you shall break his yoke from your neck” Genesis 27:40. Notice the words, “…when you become restless.” I have written in my Bible right next to that verse, "When I get fed up.” Are you fed up? Are you restless? When you get to the place in your life that deep down inside of you, you have truly had enough, you can begin to shout: “I am fed up! RESTORE!” THEN you can break the yoke of the enemy off of your neck. THAT’S GOOD NEWS!
Finally, in Job 22:28, the Word says, “You will also declare a thing, and it will be established for you; so light will shine on your ways.” It’s time for you to “declare a thing” and then watch it come to pass. It’s time for you to get fed up and restless and say, “No more, devil! RESTORE!” That takes faith, boldness and commitment. I want to encourage you this week to feed upon the promises of God’s Word and allow the Word to work within you. Keep planting the seed of God’s Word until something begins to grow. All this week stay restless and shout, “RESTORE!” You can do it!
You are a winner and you are loved,
Pastor Bob
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Our Rebel Star!
Each term, the middle school teachers nominate one student from all of their classes to be a Rebel Star. A Rebel Star is a student who is enthusiastic, curious, outstanding student...and Steven's science teacher nominated him. :) Mrs. Morgan's nomination paragraph is posted with his photograph in the middle school wing. We're so very proud of the curious, inquisitive, enthusiastic young man God created Steven to be!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
A morning of birds
Much to Steven's dismay, we did not wake up to a winter wonderland, but boy, is it cold out there! Again, we're wondering if we moved far enough south! :) As we ate breakfast, we were watching the menagerie of birds in the camilia bush in the backyard. Scott can identify many birds and the ones he can't, he usually checks the bird book to identify. But, lo, the birdbook is in a box upstairs, so he called his mom, who wanted to see the birds to help identify them...so here they are! Enjoy!
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
We thank God that we are so valuable to Him that He sent His Son to save us! We thank Him that He provides for all OUR needs, He is so awesome!!!! We praise and exalt Him! Praise God for who He is! :)
Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
We thank God that we are so valuable to Him that He sent His Son to save us! We thank Him that He provides for all OUR needs, He is so awesome!!!! We praise and exalt Him! Praise God for who He is! :)
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Snow in January!
Okay, so it's been a couple of weeks since we last posted, and trust me, we've been busy. Not sure we can name all we've done, but I can tell you it includes installing base & corner moulding, painting various things such as window frames, the soffit in the kitchen, fixing the floor in the kitchen and installing base moulding there, repairing hole in kitchen ceiling where the old chimney was, installing toe kick under the cabinets, painting the laundry room, painting the rest of the sheetrock in the downstairs bathroom, installing outlet covers...I'll add more when we think of it.
Additionally, Scott and Steven have started rooting plants inside- they plan on growing GIANT pumpkins, watermelon, sunflowers and regular ol' carving pumpkins. They are enjoying the sunlight that comes in the windows in the afternoon.
AND, early this evening, it started SNOWING! Steven was so excited, it actually accumulated a little bit, too. We were hoping it would keep snowing instead of raining, but it looks/sounds like rain now. :( Good for the plants, though.
Aside from all that, Scott and Steven have been battling colds and Steven has an inner ear infection. Steven got the results from his science fair project- he received a 90 on his "Can You Build A Solar Car" project. :)
It's all good, we continue to thank God for all He's doing in our lives. He is in control!!!
Additionally, Scott and Steven have started rooting plants inside- they plan on growing GIANT pumpkins, watermelon, sunflowers and regular ol' carving pumpkins. They are enjoying the sunlight that comes in the windows in the afternoon.
AND, early this evening, it started SNOWING! Steven was so excited, it actually accumulated a little bit, too. We were hoping it would keep snowing instead of raining, but it looks/sounds like rain now. :( Good for the plants, though.
Aside from all that, Scott and Steven have been battling colds and Steven has an inner ear infection. Steven got the results from his science fair project- he received a 90 on his "Can You Build A Solar Car" project. :)
It's all good, we continue to thank God for all He's doing in our lives. He is in control!!!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Ninth Day of Christmas
Happy Ninth Day of Christmas! (yes, I'm posting this a day late!)
Let's see, the last couple of nights we've squirted "Great Stuff" into lots of crevices to keep out the cold air, installed window moulding around the windows in the bathroom, installed some switchplates where we could, and caulked. We also started boxing the Christmas stuff up- not the tree yet, that will likely be part of Saturday's tasks.
The weekend is supposed to be GORGEOUS again- highs in the 60's. That works for us! We thank God as we look forward to the warmer weather... today the temps are COLD, with wind chills taking the temp to the low 20's. Yes, we've acclimated and we're cold. In fact, mornings like this spur on our prayers for the future plans God has for us to include a bungalow someplace warmer someday! :)
Let's see, the last couple of nights we've squirted "Great Stuff" into lots of crevices to keep out the cold air, installed window moulding around the windows in the bathroom, installed some switchplates where we could, and caulked. We also started boxing the Christmas stuff up- not the tree yet, that will likely be part of Saturday's tasks.
The weekend is supposed to be GORGEOUS again- highs in the 60's. That works for us! We thank God as we look forward to the warmer weather... today the temps are COLD, with wind chills taking the temp to the low 20's. Yes, we've acclimated and we're cold. In fact, mornings like this spur on our prayers for the future plans God has for us to include a bungalow someplace warmer someday! :)
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
On the Eighth day of Christmas...
Steven spent the day outside playing on the trampoline! It was a beautiful day. :)
Scott went to work at Lowes and I went to work in our house. I caulked/primed/painted the window moulding, the "set" as Scott calls it (the part of the family room with clapboard on the walls) and the bathroom. Then when Scott got home, we continued sealing up the house by applying "great stuff" in cracks. It was a good day. :)
This is the "set". Scott thinks it looks like a set for a play on a stage. He's right, it's kinda neat. And we praise God for all the neat things about our house!
Scott went to work at Lowes and I went to work in our house. I caulked/primed/painted the window moulding, the "set" as Scott calls it (the part of the family room with clapboard on the walls) and the bathroom. Then when Scott got home, we continued sealing up the house by applying "great stuff" in cracks. It was a good day. :)
This is the "set". Scott thinks it looks like a set for a play on a stage. He's right, it's kinda neat. And we praise God for all the neat things about our house!
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