GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

We had a GEO fellowship out at my house this afternoon. That's where families who
 live in your area come together and fellowship with food and fun. Usually in  the
afternoons, I have these severe electrical storms that occur, but I set up some tables
 and chairs under the house anyway. I fixed the inside of the house up so that the
 food could be on my dining room table and the desserts would be placed on the top
 of my hot tub, which was on my porch. There was more than enough food, and when it was
it was time to take down the tables and chairs, two of the men did that for me, while
 their wives cleaned up in the kitchen!
One husband took the trash out for me, while I sent some shrimp home with the neighbor
 who boiled it for me.
I remarked to a visitor that my David gave me such a good earthly picture of how
 God cares for  His children. Today, I got a beautiful picture of how His church
 reaches out  to those in need too.
What a beautiful picture of Gods faithfulness!
Becky

CENTER OF HIS WILL

I was told a story today that I would like to share with you. It's about a man and his
 family who  lived out west on their farm, and watched a devastating wildfire approach
their home. The farmer and his wife had no place to go, so he did the only thing  he
 knew to do, as they watched the horrendous flames come closer and closer to their
 home. He went out to his fields,  and set them on fire, hoping and praying to God, that
this would be a buffer against their home! When his field of flames had died off, he took his
 family and they stayed in the center of that field. It became the center of their only
 hope for survival. When the raging fires hit the edge of his property, it
stopped and went around them. They had survived, because they were in the center
of that field of devastation.
This got me to thinking, how many times, when we place ourselves in the center of
 God's will, does He rescue us and send damaging circumstances around us? Even
 if the wind of pain surround us and we get singed, God will be with us. He always is!
It is far better to be in the center of His will, than on the outside,looking in and getting
 burned!
This painted a pretty good picure to me of being cared for by someone, when you are in the center of their will!
Becky

THANK YOU JESUS

Jesus, asks Simon Peter: do you love me?
Jesus asks Peter a second time:do you love me?
Jesus asks Peter a third time: do you love me?
Peter said you know I do, and yet Peter was grieved~~~~
Once before,
Peter was asked if he knew Jesus, and he replied: I do not know the man.
He was asked a second time and replied: I do not know the man.
He was asked a third time and cursed and replied: I do not know the man.
For someone who didn't know the man, he recalled that he told him that he
 would deny him three times before the cock crowed
He went out and wept bitterly~~~~

I think when Jesus asked him if he loved him the third time, it finally dawned on him, the
 what he  had done to His beloved Savior and he felt such remorse, and was grieved
 over what he had done.Thank God we have Jesus to give us forgiveness today
for our acts of thoughtlessness unkindness.
Becky

POWDER PUFF

The Powder Puff Trees have been in full bloom, and what's so funny, is that you will
find them in the oddest of places. That's because, before they bloom, the seeds will
blow everywhere and attach themselves to the ground. The new trees will then sprout
 up where you do not want them,....... everytime!
This always reminds me of how, with one whisper, we can spread gossip like
wildfire! Paul said the tongue could do more damage than a forest fire, and I believe it!
A whisper can attach itself to anyone and spread like crazy. The new whisper
becomes more gossip and spreads even faster.....just like a wildfire!
This form of gossip usually spreads where you don't want it to go too.
Whispering won't spread, if it never starts!
Becky

OIL & WATER

Oil and water don’t mix.

Neither do grace and works!

Oil will support the water, but doesn’t need it.

Grace will support the works but doesn’t need it either!

If the oil is there, the water will show up.

If Grace is there, the works will show up!

GPS

When I first got my GPS, I knew it would take me anywhere, so I nicknamed it
my "God's Plan of Salvation." I can set my destination, and if I am always focused
 on my Lord, then He will get me to my destination.
That's been His plan from te start!
Becky

SIGHT UNSEEN

My Psychology professor at Georgia Southern sent off a teachers recommendation to the
Winston Salem, North Carolina, school district for a teaching position for me back in 1969.
I was accepted, sight unseen and without references, all because I had an okay
from my professor!
It's the same way with being accepted into God's Kingdom too!
We are accepted automatically, without any references either; sight unseen!
All because of  Jesus, and what He did on a cross on Calvary for you and me!
He gave me an okay into the Kingdom of God!
Becky

NEW CREATURES IN CHRIST

Have you ever thought about this before?
In the Old Testament, God is always referred to as the God of Abraham; Isaac and
Jacob. If you think about it, the first two sound reasonable. Abraham followed God,
even though he had no idea where he was going. Isaac trusted God, and was about to slay
his only son, even though he didn't know God was about to stop him from doing so.
But, Jacob? Jacob was the trickster, and deceiver. Why would God use him?
I think God wanted to give us a picture of us before our restoration. We all know that God
 took Jacob and restored him so that he  could become Israel. I think he wanted us to see
 that He can take anything, or anybody, and restore them into a new creation!
All we have to do, is trust in Him to change us, "The old has gone; the new has come," and we can have everlasting life as new creatures in Christ!
Isn't that cool?
Becky

A GOLD MEDAL PERFORMANCE!

In the Olympics, the athletes often had to go through a certain number of required
excercises to perform a medal winning performance. This is comparable to thinking
of Christ as a religion., because it was based on an achievement and works
theology!
When they compete for the enjoyment of the sport, they have a relationship
with that sport. When you come to know Jesus....really know Him, then you too,
have a relationship with the Living God, and there isn't one work theology you
can do that will help that relationship, one whit! You never have to do another performance again!
Infact, the gold medal performance was finished on the cross, two thousand years ago!
Becky

A GREAT MEAL

When I make my Tacos, I like to serve them with all kinds of different condiments
to go along with them. I like refried beans; sour cream; black olives; salsa; lettuce; tomatoes; cheese; hamburger, for the main stay and then I will add alot of other sides incase anyone wants
something out of the ordinary, like hot peppers, or anchovies. (I's been done folks!)
With food, you can choose a variety of different flavors to enhance what you are having,
but that is no way to serve up Christ! He comes in only one consistancy, and as far as I know,
truth only comes in a full dose!
Serve Him up regularly, and serve Him with every meal!
You'll be glad you did!
Becky

THE BATON

I have loved watching the Olymics and my favorite areas have been swimming;
gynastics and track and field. I was sick when I watched the number of times
that the relay tems dropped the baton. That can make the difference in winning
the gold and the silver. It can also make the difference in the race of life!
As the older ladies, we are reminded in scripyrue, to come alongside of the
younger women and give them the knowledge of our years of wisdom and
learning. This is,in effect, like passing on the baton of God's principles.
We have run the race; we have fought the good fight, and now we are
seeking the hands of the younger women to hand the baton of wisdom over to,
in this race for godly women in a world gone haywire for wild principles!
Let's run this race and pass the baton on to our younger ladies, grey haired
 women of faith! '
We can cast the gold medal down at Jesus's feet!
Becky

STANDING OUT!

When David bought us both new suitcases back in 2003, he bought us black ones, so
to make them stand out, I paited the SC Palmetto tree logo in white on the front and back,
so I could see them better on the pick up turn style! They stood out so well, I could
even see them from the plane window, as they were being loaded onto the plane!
Christ told us we were to be different from the mainstream of society. We were to
stand out and apart from what everyone believed. We can be a fragrant aroma to them
if we will hide His word in our hearts and then, when we do stand apart from them, that
 aroma of Gods word will be all the more fragrant to those around us!
You  can stand out like my suitcase, only when you stand out for Jesus, you will
stand out for eternity!
Becky

A COMPARISON

Some thoughts.....I hope they make sese to you.

Moses spent almost his entire life for the Lord, dedicated to furthering his rules.
He made one mistake and God chose to punish him.
He spent forty years in the wilderness and never entered the proomise land.

Yet on the Mount Of Transfiguration, there was Moses, walking with Jesus, so it seems
like God gave him his time of correction, but never took away his reward.

Today, a modern example would be someone like Joe Paterno, who spent
 most of his life  furthering the rules of good football at Penn State.
In one sad moment, he made a big  mistake and was punished.
He never got forty years because he died a brief time later.
I think his punishment was being banned from the game he loved.

I think God deals with each of us in His own tailored way. He knows what
it will take to reach the heart in us!
He will deal with us,though.....sooner, or later.
Becky

A GREAT TRIBUTE

I saw God working at His very best today!
Many of you know that my church is hosting some 64 missionaries this October, and
many of you also know that I was going to the memorial service for one of those
missionaries today who died suddenly from a massive heart attack at age 52, and according to all the testimonies, Randy was ready to meet the Lord at any time.
The really neat thing that God did, was when I walked in to greet this morning!
Vince has been waiting for all the flags of the nations to arrive, so he could display them, but as of yet, none had arrived.
This morning when he came in for the service, there was a shirt sized package waiting for him, and it was a flag for Kosovo!
Isn't God awesome to do that for Randy's service?
Yes, we serve an awesome God!
Becky

WINKY DINK

In the 1950's, there was a televison program that came on that I loved to watch. Ofcourse back then we didn't have much of a choice, but this was a cute children's show hosted by Jack Barry. It was called "Winky Dink" and I can still sing the theme song to this day!
Jack would introduce Winky and some of his mischevious anectodotes, and then introduce children from a live living room scene. He would tell them to open up their Winky Dink kits and take out their magic coloring screen and wipe it off before placing it on the television screen. Then he would teach the children to share the colored crayons and get ready to color Winky's photo album.
Turning the pages in the album, they might find cousin Slim, who needed a moustache, so Jack would tell the child with the black crayon to go up to the magic screen and draw a moustache on cousin slim. The next page in the album might be aunt Martha, and she would need a string of pearls, so the child with the yellow crayon would go up and drew a string of pearls on aunt Martha!
Mind you, while all of this was going on in the tv studio, Becky was at home drawing too, only she didn't have a magic screen! Needless to say, when my Mama found crayon marks on our brand new TV, I wasn't a very popular child that day! It was important to listen to ALL the directions and to follow them.
Scripture tells us that a person is bless to hear the word, but he is more blessed if he will not only hear but do what the word says. No, we don't have any of these sweet little uplifting programs for children any more, and that's sad, but we always have the word of God that will always be here to uplift us, and it will never, ever leave us.......and that's good!
Becky

SWEET MEMORIES

I was looking for some books in the attic, when I came across a very old picture from elementary school. I sat down on the carpet and just grinned with tears in my eyes at those funny faces.
There was Bernard on the back row, who is a lawyer now in Miami sitting next to Diane who works in Tavares, Florida at the county seat. Cute little Phillip, whose Mom owned Sally's Dress Shp is now with the Florida Game Commision, and then there was my first sweetheart, Bill, who died before our last reunion. Then was a picture of me in my pigtails.(No comment on me) Next to me sat Tara holding her birthday cake, so it must have been her birthday. She is the mental health director for the Mental Health Communications Corporation of America. The last two were Margaret Headley and Mike Greene.  They both sort of disappeared from our lives because they moved away and we lost contact.
I look at these pictures of us at Rock Springs and think of how much fun we had and how we all fit in together  so well. When we come back together as a class, even though we are as diversified as ca be, there was something that our parents gave us from the beginng that has lasted for almost fifty years!
Jesus did the same thing for His followers. He gave them the good news and from that moment on, they were never the same! They shared a common bond, so that no matter where they went, their fellowship with like believers would always be sweet.
Likewise,no matter where I travel, I can always find that sweetness in the body of Christ!
Becky

FOCUS ON THE RACE

When I taught physical education, one of the things I loved to teach was track an field.
I would teach the students to line up when they were starting a race witheir heads down and as I said "go", they were to slowly look down the trach a ways but always keeping their eyes straight
ahead. As they moved forward, they could lift their head, up. They had to always remember to keep
their eyes focused on the road ahead. It was the same way when I taught them the art of passing the baton in relay racing. If they took their eyes off of the hand holding the baton, there  wouldn't be a smooth or quick passage of the baton. Many a race has been lost because someone has lost his/her focus too!
Scripute tells us to not get lost in things that seem like they are the real thing. We are not to take our eyes off of the real thing. Keep your focus on Jesus Christ and you will never go wrong.
On your mark!......................Mark your focus on Christ
Get set!.................................Get set to move for Him
Go!........................................Go for Him with gusto and don't look back!
Becky

ORDEALS

God has told us in His word not to be surprised when we go through fiery ordeals. I have found in my life that if I will look at all the episodes in my life as experiences rather than ordeals, I can stand in the face of those hard times with warm courage and high hope. He gives us these as teaching experiences, so we can learn life’s lessons on growing with character. He teaches us how to grow into the person He so designed us to be from the very beginning. Instead of asking “why me,” we can take the lesson and say “why not?”

Yes, He told us we would go through those fiery ordeals, but when He told the disciples that, He also gave them another promise too. He told them that they would have troubles in the world, but for them to take heart, because He had overcome the world. Besides that, He also told them, (and us too, for that matter) that He would never leave us; nor forsake us, and if He has overcome the world and won’t ever leave us, and knowing that we are going to go through fiery ordeals, I’d say we can be ready for anything.....wouldn’t you?

TRY IT, YOU'LL LIKE IT!

It's snuggle time folks!
 I want you to do something for me. Something that will change your life, but will be one of the hardest, and yet the most rewarding things you will ever do. It will free you up to do and be the person that God created you to be. I wasn't always this type of person, but after God took my son David junior Home to be with Him He spent some very special time with me under His wings.
He taught me some very valuable lessons and this one I have never forgotten. This has enabled me to remain content in the midst of everything falling apart around me; divorce; death; upsets.....
No matter what, as the Apostle Paul said:  "In whatever circumstances I am in I have learned to be content", and he was in a Roman prison when he wrote those words!
Many of you remember that when Kelly had her precious Emery, I was suppose to be  in the delivery room with her. At the last minute, she looked at me and said for me to leave, because didn't want me in there. I was heart broken, and I walked down the hall, and cried like a baby! God reached down His merciful hand and remided me of these words from when after David died:
"If it's okay with me Becky, then it can be okay with you too."
Wow! Did that ever hit me hard, but I stopped crying and never cried over it again,  because, you know something?  It only works if you will get yourself sooooooooo close to God that you know and love Him so much that you can truly say and feel those words. I know without a doubt, that whatever He gives me, I may not understand, but so what! If He gives it to me, then it's okay with Him,,and it will be okay with me because I love HIm that much!
I promise that if you try this in your life, it will release so much hate and guilt and anger from your life, that you will feel younger and happier and filled with the love of God all the time and it will show up everywhere in you!
Try it, you'll like it!
Becky

PASSING GO!

A I was driving through Yemassee today on the Old Sheldon Church Road, there must have been three or four cars that got tired of being behind me, and passed me on a double yellow line!  I would never have dreamed of doing such a thig when I was growing up, but the more I thought about it, I realized that scripture talks about in the latter days men will disregard the rules and the boundaries and be lovers of what they want! They will have no respect for the things of God or His laws.
I thought, if a person won'teven respect the laws that law enforcemnt set up for their own safety, how in the world will they respect the laws of God?
They may pass on the double line on the Old Sheldon Church Road, but if they meet God on the way around, they won't pass go!
Becky

THE HARBINGERS

I saw an exceptional DVD and am now reading the book, called "The Harbinger."
This is not usually the type of book that I would be drawn too, but a friend from
Georgia challenged me to look it up on line and check it out. I saw the trailer
when I went on line and was hooked! It's a all about Biblical prophecy and God's
judgement against Israel and their restoration, and how it pertains to America!
One thing I didn't know, was that when George Washington took the oath of office,
he did so on what was then our nation's capital.....New York City!
Yep! You heard me right. New York was for a brief time our nation's capital and
it was on this certain corner that Washington commited this newly formed nation to God
 for His protection and blessing Shortly after taking the oath of office, he and his senate members and House of Representatives.would leave and walk to  a little stone church on Ground Zero,
Their very first  act in this newly formed government was to gather for prayer!
This is all recorded in the annals of Congress.
The ground with which America was consecrated was Ground Zero!
America started out as a nation of prayer.
How far have we drifted away?
Let's bring America back to the great nation is was!
Let us Pray!
Becky