ISRAEL

My God has so richly blessed me!
He has given me an opportunity to go to Israel next March, and my sweetie says I can go! He looked at the brochure and said it really looked like a wonderful opportunity for me. Everything in the trip is paid for with my funds. I don't have to worry about the Hotel; the bus fees; the tips; the luggage; the air fair; anything! I just get on the plane in Savannah next March 8th and spend almost ten days traveling with 39 other folks from my church.
My fee will include the round trip to Tel Aviv and back, and accommodations for 8 nights. 4 of those nights will be in Jerusalem in 5 Star Crowne Plaza; 4 nights in the Sea of Galilee, 5 Star, Gai Beach Hotel; Buffet breakfast's, lunch and dinners; 8 full days of touring with a licensed English speaking tour guide; a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee; cable car ride to/from Masada; service charges and taxes......
You have no idea how excited I am about this folks!
It's almost as if God has dropped this in my lap, with me not having to worry about paying for anything while I am over there.My pastor is going and he has been there before, so he should be able to give us a good bit of history too.
Please pray that this entire trip will be a glorifying time to our Savior and that when the time comes, my sweetie will be okay, health wise, because I won't go, if he is not feeling up to snuff!
What a gift from my God!
Becky

THE STINGER

When you're stung by a bee, he leaves his stinger in you, and can only sting you once!
Until someone removes the stinger, you will be in pain!
When you've been stung by death, it will leave its mark on you too.
Jesus died on that cross and removed the sting of death and left us without the pain of death!
"Oh death where is thy sting"?~~~~Jesus removed the stinger!
Becky

PRISON GUARD

When you are a prisoner of something, you are held captive to it! You are locked in to all that it makes you do, and you have to abide by those guidelines and rules to exist.
God has made us prisoners~~~~in a wonderful way~~~~of His marvelous Grace! It's almost impossible not to express it, if we are truly His prisoners too! That Grace enables us to persevere when tribulation comes.
He doesn't send tribulation to cause us pain either.
No! He sends it to grow us in wisdom and stature, and to make us grow as stronger men and women of Christian character. We have to persevere to make it through too! When we do, the result will be that we have hope, and hope will not disappoint us!
Yea!
The really neat thing though, is when Christ said these things, He stressed that hope wouldn't disappoint us because God's love has been poured out on us all, in our hearts through the Holy Spirit!
Talk about a prison guard!
Becky

GOD'S WORD

I sometimes wonder when God places us in our own personal "lions den" of affliction, if He isn't waiting to see how strong our faith is, or how quickly we will call out to Him? So many times when we hit these horrendous situations, we fall to pieces, instead of falling into God's word. There can be tears, of course, but to live in those tears is a different matter!
When God's word is part of your wardrobe it will become a natural thing for you to wear it everywhere, and it will be a natural response to everything......almost like your next breath!That's how your response should be in every situation. Let God's word settle it.People will say that it's easier said than done,....... but only if you don't wear it all the time! If you smile all the time, then when a hurt comes, it will be only natural for you to smile during the pain too. If you know your scripture ahead of time, when you need it during times of stress or pain, the Holy Spirit will bring it to mind.
Stay tuned to God's word all the time, and it will make the lions den less appetizing for the lion's and will pour cool water on your furnace of affliction!
Becky

CASTAWAYS

We have all been shipwrecked, and are castaways on an island.
We are searching for "things", to save us, but aren't sure what will help.
We need our Friday to come and rescue us.
Our lifesaver arrived two thousand years ago!
Becky

THE SHADOW OF DEATH

When the God of the Universe knows the grains of sands on the sea shore, and when He knows the stars in the sky by name, and when He takes the time to clothe the lilies of the field in all their splendor, and even when He knows when the tiny Sparrow falls, then I'm bettin that this Awesome God will find it in His power to walk a child of His through the Valley of the Shadow of Death!
Becky

THE REUNION

I really enjoy going back to Mount Dora High School's reunion's. I had a really neat class, and we all enjoy getting back together, with each other. This December, though, my class, and three classes above mine are holding a joint class reunion in Mount Dora. I'm not sure who all will be there, but I'm sure I will know many of them, because some will be friends of my brother Chris, and I played basketball with several of the boys in my brother's class, when I was ten! (lol)
Someday for the believer, we will have a reunion of friends in Heaven too!
We will have friends from classes from the beginning of time, that we have never met, and we will have a lot of catching up to do.....
We will have an eternity to catch up during this reunion, and the best part about this gathering, is that we will be reunited with Jesus!
Becky

MARY

When Kay's Mother, Mary, moved to Aiken from Charlotte, Kay and Henry built her a precious little house, behind their own home. It was just a short walk from Kay and Henry's and you could see it from Kay's living room. My, how she loved being in that home too.
When it became evident that she was unable to care for herself, she moved in with Kay and Henry, but everyday, she would sit and look out at her home and long to be there in her own dwelling place.
Mary got her wish a few weeks ago, and went Home to our Father above at age 94!
The picture of Mary looking out at her house, reminded me of how God has placed a longing in each of us to be Home with Him too.....
There is a sense within us that this existence right here, is not all there is, because God placed that sense within us when we were created, and our longing is to return from whence we came.
Just as Mary longed to go to her earthly home, but received a a grander "Heavenly Home" in the process, we can temporarily live in our earthly homes but be assured of our Heavenly Homes when the time comes!
Becky

BE STILL

Part of the beauty of music is the rest.
Sometimes God makes us lie down in green pastures, so that His, quiet, restful thoughts can cover our entire countenance.
"Be still and know that I am God."
Becky

DON'T BE A LITTERBUG

In the mid fifties, my Mother's garden club, under the direction of Mrs. Vernon Conner, decided that the state of Florida needed to spruce up its highway system, and clear it up of all the litter, so it developed a slogan entitled "Don't Be A Litterbug." All the schools in Lake County were to draw pictures of what we thought the Litterbug should look like, and the final entry would be selected that year. Believe me, the Litterbug doesn't look a thing like I remember it back then.
I chose to draw a slouchy looking bug leaning against a tree, with litter all around him, with the title above saying "Poor Lonesome Me."
Don Gibson had sung his big hit "O Lonesome Me" that year and I wanted to use the same title above my drawing. (Oddly enough, I heard it being played on the radio as we were driving home from Cherokee yesterday!)
Sometimes you might feel as if you are "poor lonesome me" when you are standing up for God's word, but His word never comes back void and it definitely isn't litter or trash, because it's written on the hearts of man.....
So, I'd say that it will be around for a pretty good while!
....and the rest, they say, is history!
Becky

WOW!

God says.....
"Be still and know that I am God"
and.....
I can be still and know that He is God!
Becky

HIS OWN

I walked down to the office today and talked with Sue, who was managing things while Bill and Heather were gone. The topic turned to children who had died at a young age, and she told me about her sister, Jane, who gave back to God, not one, but three children, and a husband, all around the same time frame!
I nearly fell over listening to her story!
As her sister was burying one son, her husband was having a heart attack, and going into a coma, from which he died! I asked her how in the world did Jane make it through, and she said "she didn't"....." God did!"
What a testimony to God's faithfulness to His own!
I knew then, that she would be fine. In fact, Sue said that she has since remarried and that God has blessed her abundantly in this second marriage!
God always takes care of His own, doesn't He?
Becky

BUNKMATES

It's five o'clock on Thursday afternoon, and I'm sitting outside on the porch. The sun is filtering through the trees, and the stream can be heard from across the road.
God has richly blessed me by giving me this week up here in Cherokee.
The butterflies are flitting all around, and a beautiful spider web has been woven on the railing nearby. A dog barking in the distance breaks the silence of the campground. Tomorrow, the kids arrive, and I will go into "Mama" mode, once again.
For now, though, I am enjoying the presentation that God has given me on this Thursday afternoon, with no telephones; limited computer access; good food; good friends, and the sweetest fella I know!
Becky

IT'S YOUR TURN

Kay and I play an online game called " It's Your Turn." It's a Scrabble type game, where she has to come up with a word, worth the most points, and then the move comes to me, so I can top her points!
In essence, she will make a move, and then the decision is mine on what I need to do!
In the same manner, Christ has done this same thing with us. He has made a move for us with His plan of salvation, and now the decision is left up to us as to what we must do with that move!
Will we "take our turn" and join the game of life, where we take His move and play for keeps?
Or will we quit, and not only lose a turn, but lose life itself ?
Becky

SHADOW OF DEATH

If my God can clothe the lilies of the field in radiant splendor, and if He knows all the number of grains of sand on the seashore, and if He knows the names of every individual star in the heavens above, then I'm bettin' He will be able to walk me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death....
Don't you think?
Becky

GOD IS .....

When you are living through the darkest days.....
GOD IS STILL GOD!
Becky

KNOW HOPE!

NO GOD!......NO HOPE!

KNOW GOD!.......KNOW HOPE!

Becky

RESTORATION

Grandaddy Ray could take the oldest piece of furniture and patiently work with it until he restored it to its finest luster and usage! Oh, could he ever restore furniture! He did it without using much of anything either, because he didn't have many tools to use. He even restored an old lawn mower once, into one of Mount Dora's first riding lawn mower's! lol..... and it was quite a funny one to watch!
God has done the same thing with His children......
Just as He did with Miriam, in allowing her to be closed up with Leprosy, and then to be restored to good health, He will also take the sinner and restore him/her with a clean heart, and will renew a right spirit from within.
He has been restored in a beautiful manner by the Master Restorer!
This restoration will be pleasing and filled with the desire to serve God to the fullest. Talk about restoration!
No furniture polish for this restoration either!
God's Glory shines on this life forever!
Becky

THE GLOW

As I sat here tonight, there was a slight haze that rolled in across The River.
I'm not sure if it was smoke; heat or what, but it made things difficult to see out front. Shortly, however, a sparse rain trickled in, and there was just enough to cool things off and clear things up! Just about sunset, I looked out and could see the prettiest sunset because the sky had a clean, and clear look about it that wasn't there before.....all because the haze had been washed away by the rain! What a glow that was left behind too!
It's kinda like that when our earthly uncertainties roll in too. When our minds become hazy, or when we are in a fog about spiritual matters, God will pour out His reign of enlightenment through the Holy Spirit, and what was once a confusing fog, will become so clear, that a glow of understanding will be left behind for others to see!
What a glow to be left behind!
Becky

THE PRINCE & THE PAUPER

David and I watched "The Prince and The Pauper," this afternoon, and I was reminded of how much those twin boys looked alike and how much they enjoyed each other, even though one was a prince, and the other was a pauper! They could almost be imitators of one another in certain situations, and yet if you weren't careful, you might not be tell the real thing from the imitator!
Someday, the world will be witnessing a pauper trying to imitate a real Prince too, when satan attempts to take over as ruler of the world!
Of course, he and our Prince of Peace, look nothing alike, and they do NOT enjoy each other's company!
But in the end, our Prince of Peace will be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and that imitator called satan will be thrown into the Lake of Fire by the Real Thing!
And satan will be the real pauper then!
Becky

NO EXPIRATION DATE!

Whenever I had a stomach ache, Grandmother Bouterse always gave me Vernor's Ginger Ale. It had to be Vernor's too, as nothing else would do! If I had a sore throat, she would give me Horehounds. I can still get both of them today, and they both work beautifully! The Vernors with a little bit of crushed ice is wonderful....almost as good as chicken soup!
Those tried and true old family remedies are wonderful and most of them worked too!
One in particular works wonderfully, but many people forget to tell you about it, and that is when you can take a constant dose of Jesus Christ everyday!
He is one remedy that gets stronger as you use Him, and He has no expiration date either!
Becky

THE ONLY WAY

When our radio station, "The Light, " goes off during the middle of the night because of a storm, and I have to search for the dial in the morning, I will search and search, until I find a familiar voice that I recognize! Then I know I have found "The Light"!
It's the same way with God's word!
When we see something we don't recognize, we need to search until we see a familiar and true "Light".
Then you will know you have found the true Light, and that will be Jesus Christ, every time!
Becky

REMEMBER

Some cool thoughts to ponder......

On the day Lincoln was shot, I wonder if anyone remembered what they were doing on the day he was shot!"
On the day President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was shot, I wonder if anyone can remember what they were doing and where they were and what they were doing?
I know I can. I was in my senior Spanish class, and will never forget it!
On the day the first man landed on the moon, I wonder if anyone remembers where they were and what they were doing?
On the day Orson Welles gave his famous "War Of The Worlds" radio broadcast, and turned the country upside down, I wonder if anyone remembers where they were and what they were doing?
On the day the twin towers came down, I wonder if anyone remembers where they were and what they were doing?
On the day millions of people disappear from the earth, I wonder if anyone will remember anything at all?
Becky

THE DAYS OF NOAH

As the beautiful Springtime breaks, and gives way to the fall leaves, many of the blossoms have fallen off and the blooms have given way to dead and empty branches. All around, that's what I see, and with this oppressive heat, and lack of rain, even the trees are crying out in distress and frustration! It seems to this writer, as I look around our world today, that we are a lot like these trees. Our once, rich and fertile population that loved and enjoyed life to the fullest because of God's blessings, has finally come to think that they are the ones who are in control of everything, and the ones who have accomplished everything on their own accord!
"I think" mankind has finally come to the edge of being in "the days of Noah" where folks are set on doing what is right in their own eyes. It seems to me, that no-one seeks the Lord's counsel anymore for anything, and it breaks my heart! Something that this writer, in a million years, never thought she would ever be writing about and yet she is!
I am not an alarmist, by any means, but I am an avid reader of God's word and when He gives us a book that tells us of things to come, and they begin happening, then I'm all for being prepared! I have too many friends and some family members who would pick and chose from God's word, and what they deem to be true from His word. I'm sorry, but I can't follow a God whose word is only partially true.
My God, is true from the beginning to the end and every word of His is true and His word will never fail! If He can come into this world as a baby in a divine birth, He can also come out of the clouds to defeat satan! If He's preparing a dwelling place for me up in Heaven, then He can also make Balaam's donkey talk! There is nothing too small, or too big for this God of mine to do, and as our land moves along on the edges of these birth pains, I'm thinking that we may be approaching the time to meet Him much sooner than anyone is even thinking!
That's fine with me though!
As in the days of Noah, people were drinking and dancing, but Noah's family was on board......
I plan to be on board when the time comes too!
Becky

WHAT A CONCEPT

When someone dies, their arrival in Heaven is looked upon as a new birth by those above..........This is a new birth to them!
Imagine looking at death as the arrival of new life!
Mmmm......What a concept!
Becky

BEAUTIFUL

I was given one of God's little nugget's again this afternoon. He does this in only the way that He can do, and I am so thankful to Him for doing it!
I was going to visit a new Mom today and encourage her to join us at Edisto this fall. I decided to ask Jennifer to come along, since she is such an encourager, herself. The two husband's got together and had supper, which was a blessing in itself, but to have Jenn alongside to spread her counsel of wisdom and mercy is always a blessing to me. She was able to express directly to this new Mom, the feelings that guilt will play, if she allows it to camp in her heart for long. Jennifer as been down that road more than once, and knows those feelings, so God, in His infinite wisdom, chose Jennifer to come alongside and express those exact feelings that could stave off any future feelings of guilt that she might have.
What a blessing!
Every Mother feels that there just" had" to be something that they could have done to save their child's life....my own included. It's only natural, but it can consume you if you let it. You have to have an outside godly person to remind you, in a gently manner, that guilt is not from the Lord.....over and over, because that's what it takes. Finally they will get it, because their brain is thick and dense from the grief!
The nugget God gave me, though is one I am so grateful for, because Jennifer gave out of her pain and remembrance of her own grief, and only God could have made that possible.
That's what's so remarkable about these Mom's! They allow God to work on them, and they, in turn will let Him work through them, on others!
It is beautiful to watch!
Becky