Month: July 2010

“Let the little children come to Me,

and don’t stop them,

because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,”

~Luke 18:16b~

CaringBridge

• http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/averysmith1/journal?jid=5805004
• http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/micah_tolleson/journal?jid=5802365
• http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calliecole/journal?jid=5801133

Continue to pray for three special ladies from our area.

• Mrs. Annie Belle Harrell
• Mrs. Catherine Yarborough
• Ms. Stacey Scarle

Several church groups have returned from camp and other groups are leaving.  Pray for spiritual growth as well as safety for the campers and the chaperones.

Jimmy Dykes passed away last night.  Please pray for the Dykes family.

PLANNING AHEAD

The story is told of Morris, a Russian man, who saved his rubles for twenty years to buy a new car.  After choosing the model and options he wants, he’s not the least bit surprised or even concerned to learn that it will take two years for the new car to be delivered.  He thanks the salesman and starts to leave, but as he reaches the door he pauses and turns back to the salesman. “Do you know which week two years from now the new car will arrive?”

The salesman checks his notes and tells the man that it will be two years to the exact week.  The man thanks the salesman and starts out again, but upon reaching the door, he turns back again.

“Could you possibly tell me what day of the week two years from now the car will arrive?”

The salesman, mildly annoyed, checks his notes again and says that it will be exactly two years from this week, on Thursday.

Morris thanks the salesman and once again starts to leave.  Halfway though the door, he hesitates, turns back, and walks up to the salesman.

“I’m sorry to be so much trouble, but do you know if that will be two years from now on Thursday in the morning, or in the afternoon?”

Visibly irritated, the salesman flips through his papers yet another time and says sharply that it will be in the afternoon, two years from now on Thursday.

“That’s a relief !” says Morris.  “The plumber is coming that morning!”

We often have to make plans far in advance so as to avoid any conflicts. Before making any commitments — you know the routine — we have to pull out the date book (or the iPhone).  “The kids have got a soccer game that night at 7:00, but the next night is free.”  Planning ahead isn’t wrong; in fact, it’s a scriptural principle.  What makes it wrong, though, is planning ahead without any thought of God.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ ” (James 4:13-15)

Go ahead!  Make your plans!  Fill in that date book!  Just make sure that God hasn’t been left out.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Thank you for praying today.  Your prayers mean so much to so many!

Anna Lee

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark,

Jesus got up, left the house and

went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

~Mark 1:35 (NIV)~

I talked with Joan Hagan.  She requests prayer for a heart rhythm problem.  Otherwise, she is doing well.

Mrs. Catherine Yarborough will be seeing another doctor today.  Pray for her as she gets test results and makes plans for treatment.

Mr. Billy Dean is in a room and doing better.  Please continue to pray for him.

Mr. Billy Brabham is home.  Pray for him and his family.

Continue to pray for Gretchen Simpson as she recovers from her back surgery.

Buel B. Strickland
A lifelong resident of Kentwood, Buel B. Strickland was born September 30, 1919 and died on July 7, 2010 at Kentwood Manor Nursing Home.
He was a WWII Veteran and a member of Kentwood United Methodist Church.
He is survived by his wife, Helen Strickland and many friends and relatives. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Florence.
At his request, his body was donated to LSU Medical Center in New Orleans.
A memorial service will be held at a later date.

SAD

ON TUESDAY OF last week an electrical storm passed over Vicksburg…

Lightning struck and peeled the bark off an oak tree in the side yard. The charge went down and killed our basset hound, Samson. Our children took it as you might expect.

Hannah had asked to see Samson before I buried him. I decided that seeing him would help her deal with the loss, and it did. As I was covering him, she placed a clod of dirt over his body and asked if doing so would hurt him. I told her that he no longer felt any pain. Then, she turned her attention from the dog to me and asked, “Daddy, if I died, would you be sad for me?”

Oh, how easy it is to pull on Daddy’s heartstrings. I didn’t have to think hard for the reason for that question. She wanted and needed the assurance that Daddy still truly loves his little girl.

The Bible teaches in Ephesians 6:4, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” As a father, I cannot imagine giving my children everything there is to give in this life — food, clothing, shelter, love, affection, discipline, laughter, and fun — but then, in turn, neglect to teach them how much God loves them and how much they should love God. How could I not teach them that everthing we do as a family is centered on God and His Son Jesus Christ? How could I not teach them about God the Father and Son, who are revealed to us in the Bible, and how that we ought to attend to worship instead of going to a ballgame? How could I not teach them about burying the family pet? And how could I not teach them about how to react when life throws them a curve ball?

Dad, will your reassure your children that you love them? Will you rededicate your life to being the example for them as you follow YOUR Heavenly Father?

“Daddy, would you be sad for me?” The answer is beyond expression.

“A righteous man has regard for the life of his animal…” Proverbs 12:10a

Posted by Mike Benson

Have a great day!

Anna Lee