“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,

according to the power that works in us,

to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations,

forever and ever.”

~Ephesians 3:20-21~

From Lisa Westmoreland

Please pray for my cousin Danny, who is in a Baton Rouge hospital fighting to hang on to his life. Danny is 31. Last night a drunken driver ran over he and friend while they were on their bicycles. Danny’s friend died. Danny’s bones are crushed – his pelvis, three parts of his spine, and his ankle. Doctors have opened him up twice in less than 18 hours since the accident trying to repair broken bones. The internal bleeding from the pelvic area is the most immediate threat to his continued life. Your prayers are appreciated.

http://theadvocate.com/home/1870379-82/bicyclist-killed-saturday-night.html

Mr. Raymond Anthony

Mr. Raymond has an appointment with a cardiologist this week and one with an oncologist the following week.  Pray for “Miss” Velma as she travels with him to these appointments.

Billy Carl Strickland

Billy Carl Strickland’s procedure this week indicated he is not ready for chemo and radiation yet.  Pray for healing so these treatments can begin.

Mrs. Pauline Strickland

Mrs. Pauline Strickland is doing better and should be coming back to Kentwood soon.  Pray for her and her caregivers as they make this adjustment.

Glem Magee, Sr.

Glen Magee’s procedure Thursday was successful in stopping the bleeding from his nose.  Glen was at church yesterday.  Pray for him as he has follow-up appointments.

Frances M. Gay

Frances has a routine follow-up this week.  Pray she continues to have good reports.

Lea Smith

Lea was able to be in church yesterday following his surgery of a week or so.  Pray for him as he continues to improve and get back to his normal activities.

Callie Cole

As we pray for Callie, let’s say special prayers for her mother, Callie’s main caregiver.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calliecole

Bontrager Family

Pray for this Ohio family of ten as they sing and play blue-grass gospel music at Terry’s Creek next Sunday.

Hello All!  I want to invite each of you to come join us this next Sunday night at Terry’s Creek Baptist Church for a bluegrass gospel concert.  Come see this amazing family and be blessed!  Visit their website to get a taste of what’s to come and be sure to invite your friends.  The Bontrager’s are traveling all the way from Ohio and will be doing concerts in different places while down south.  We will bless them with a love offering from anyone who feels led to give. Afterwards we’ll have a “finger food fellowship”, so come have some good fellowship and food as well.  Check it out and mark it on your calendar!  Hope to see you this coming Sunday night!  God bless~ Jeanne Tate

I checked the schedule on the computer and learned they will be at Mt. Nebo, east of Roseland, the following night.  That gives you two opportunities to hear this family.

http://bontragerfamilysingers.com/

Pray for the McKean/Prine family as they have more visitation and the funeral service for Jason today.  Pray especially for the parents who have lost two sons.  May God use the large number of people who visited last night to be an encouragement to them as they grieve Jason’s loss.

Pray for the Dunn/Sofge family as they grieve here and in Florida.  Pray for the distance between family members not to be a problem in facing Kelly’s loss.

Thought for the Day: The best is yet to come

I first used the following story (author unknown) in a Thought For The Day message several years ago, and have since used it in a funeral service. It remains one of my readers’ all-time favorites. I hope you enjoy seeing it again.

The sound of Martha’s voice on the other end of the telephone always brought a smile to Brother Jim’s face. She was not only one of the oldest members of the congregation, but one of the most faithful. Aunt Martie, as all of the children called her, just seemed to ooze faith, hope, and love wherever she went. This time, however, there seemed to be an unusual tone to her words. “Preacher, could you stop by this afternoon? I need to talk with you.” “Of course, I’ll be there around three. Is that ok?”

It didn’t take long for Jim to discover the reason for what he had only sensed in her voice before. As they sat facing each other in the quiet of her small living room. Martha shared the news that her doctor had just discovered a previously undetected tumor. “He says I probably have six months to live”. Martha’s words were naturally serious, yet there was a definite calm about her. “I’m so sorry to….” but before Jim could finish, Martha interrupted. “Don’t be. The Lord has been good. I have lived a long life. I’m ready to go. You know that.” “I know,” Jim whispered with a reassuring nod.

“But I do want to talk with you about my funeral. I have been thinking about it, and there are things that I know I want.” The two talked quietly for a long time. They talked about Martha’s favorite hymns, the passages of Scripture that had meant so much to her through the years, and the many memories they shared from the five years Jim had been with Central Church.

When it seemed that they had covered just about everything, Aunt Martie paused, looked up at Jim with a twinkle in her eye, and then added, “One more thing, preacher. When they bury me, I want my old Bible in one hand and a fork in the other”. “A fork?” Jim was sure he had heard everything, but this caught him by surprise. “Why do you want to be buried with a fork?”

“I have been thinking about all of the church dinners and banquets that I attended through the years,” she explained, “I couldn’t begin to count them all. But one thing sticks in my mind — At those really nice get-togethers, when the meal was almost finished, a server or maybe the hostess would come by to collect the dirty dishes. I can hear the words now. Sometimes, at the best ones, somebody would lean over my shoulder and whisper, ‘You can keep your fork.’ And do you know what that meant? Dessert was coming! “It didn’t mean a cup of Jell-O or pudding or even a dish of ice cream. You don’t need a fork for that. It meant the good stuff, like chocolate cake or cherry pie! When they told me I could keep my fork, I knew the best was yet to come!

“That’s exactly what I want people to talk about at my funeral. Oh, they can talk about all the good times we had together. That would be nice. But when they walk by my casket and look at my pretty blue dress, I want them to turn to one another and say, ‘Why the fork’? That’s what I want you to say, I want you to tell them, that I kept my fork because the best is yet to come!”

Truly, for a child of God, the best is yet to come.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.” (I Peter 1:3-4)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee

Make a difference in the world today by being a positive influence on at least one person!

Anna Lee

“So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct.

Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts,

which is able to save you.”

~James 1:21 TEV~

Mr. Kenneth Felker said “Miss” Grace is still hospitalized at Greensburg, but B. J. was able to leave rehab and come home.  Please pray for these three who seem to have so many health issues.

Jadon Pailet is doing very well at home.  Thank you for praying for him, but please continue to do so.  When to you to Jadon’s blog page, you’ll be amazed with the CT scan picture you see.

http://jadonsisstory.blogspot.com/

Thomas E. Lowery, Jr.
(July 20, 1924 – January 21, 2012)

Thought for the Day – What I Dun

 A cowboy rode into town and stopped at the saloon for a drink (root beer, of course!). Unfortunately, the locals always had a habit of picking on those of a British background, which he was. When he finished, he found his horse had been stolen. He came back into the bar, handily flipped his gun into the air, caught it above his head without even looking and fired a shot into the ceiling. "WHICH ONE OF YOU SIDEWINDERS STOLE MY HOSS?" he yelled with surprising forcefulness.

No one answered. "ALRIGHT, I'M GONNA HAVE ME ANOTHA SODA, AND IF MY HOSS AIN'T BACK OUTSIDE BY THE TIME I FINISH, I'M GONNA DO WHAT I DUN IN TEXAS! AND IIIIIIIIIIII DON'T LIKE TO HAVE TO DO WHAT I DUUUUUN IN TEXAS!" Some of the locals shifted restlessly.

He had another root beer, walked outside, and his horse was back! He saddled up and started to ride out of town. The bartender wandered out of the bar and asked, "Say partner, what happened in Texas?"

The cowboy turned back and said, "I had to walk home..."

Ever known anybody like that, lots of threats, but no real intention to carry out them out? All talk but ultimately no action?

More to the point, is your Christian life characterized more by what you SAY you're going to do, or by what you're actually willing to DO?

"What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,' but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (James 2:14-17)

What kind of faith do you have -- the kind you talk about, or the kind you show through your obedience to God and service to others?

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee

The wake for Jason McKean is tonight with the funeral tomorrow.

My heart is heavy for families who bury person who like Kelly and Jason leave behind young children, siblings, and parents.  

Anna Lee

“In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

for You will answer me.”

~Psalm 86:7~

Prayer is the place where burdens change shoulders.

Our Daily Bread (Jeff Davis’ Facebook wall)

For a while my heart was heavy with thoughts of two litte boys, Tripp and Roth, who were sick.  Now, I’ve added two young people who were killed in accidents (Kelly and Jason).  I am so sorry these things happen and have a burden for families who bury their adult children.  Please help me pray for the Dunn and McKean families.  Both Kelly and Jason leave behind a spruce and children as well as siblings and parents.  May God give comfort and peace to these families.

Paul Howell from the Amite area is very sick.  Please pray for him and others who played a big part in my life and your life as we grew up and formed our Christian values.  It was a blessing to always have strong Christian role models to help pattern my life after.

Susan Rimes has an appointment next Wednesday.  Pray she will soon be well enough she can put kidney stones and associated problems in her past.

Debbie Luce is home after her back surgery.  Pray she will have a stronger back when she gets past this early recovery time.

Thought for the Day: Learning from Noah

The following list of “Things I Learned From Noah’s Ark” (author unknown) is making the rounds.

1. Plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.

2. Stay fit. When you’re 600 years old, someone might ask you to do
something REALLY big.

3. Don’t listen to critics — do what has to be done.

4. Build on high ground.

5. For safety’s sake, travel in pairs.

6. Speed isn’t always an advantage. The cheetahs were on board, but so
were the snails.

7. Don’t forget that we’re all in the same boat.

8. Stay below deck during the storm.

9. Remember that the ark was built by amateurs and the Titanic was
built by professionals.

10. If you have to start over, have a friend by your side.

11. Remember that the woodpeckers INSIDE are often a bigger threat than
the storm outside.

12. Don’t miss the boat.

13. No matter how bleak it looks, there’s always a rainbow on the other
side.

The writer of Hebrews would add one more thing to that list — the importance of having a faith in God strong enough to lead us to obey his commands. For having that trait, Noah was included in God’s “Hall of Faith” in Hebrews 11:

“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

What is your faith leading you to do in response to God?

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee

Let’s pray for each other today!

Anna Lee