Category: Death Notice(s)

“My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;

in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up.”

~Psalm 5:3~

Chloe Neyland

Mrs. Maybelle Z. “Diene” Forstall
(May 21, 1919 – November 4, 2011)

I heard about a couple who received a set of two horrible bedside table lamps as a wedding present from a distant aunt. Since the lamps were so ugly, this couple didn’t want to actually use them, so they put them in storage and bought a nicer set themselves. That worked for a while, but a few years later, this particular relative came to a family celebration. Knowing she would be there, the couple quickly set up the aunt’s lamps on the tables and hid their usual ones under the bed.

When time came to show the aunt around the house, the wife said, “Come and see how nice your lamps look in our bedroom.”

She turned on the switch on the wall — and suddenly an intense luminosity emerged from under the bed…..

Oops! How embarrassing! I am reminded of the following statement made by Jesus:

“[Jesus] said to them, ‘Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.’ ” (Mark 4:21-22).

Jesus’ point here is not quite the same as in the more familiar passage in Matthew 5:16 (“Let your light so shine before men…”). Here in Mark, Jesus has apparently just begun to speak in parables. To the apostles, it may have seemed that Jesus was trying to hide the truth from people by speaking with such obscurity. But Jesus points out that wouldn’t make much sense; it would be like lighting a lamp (to bring light) and then placing it under a bed (to hide the light). His reason for using parables wasn’t to hide God’s truth, but to set it on a lampstand so that it could give forth as much light as possible.

Father, we thank you for sending One who not only came to show us the light, but who is Himself “the light of the world”. May our lives and conversation be such that we will never be embarrassed by an attempt to hide that light under our beds. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, North Carolina

Don’t forget to change your clock back one hour.  Enjoy the extra hour doing something important to you!

Anna Lee

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight.”

~Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)~

Debbie Bales’ mother has had several falls and other issues lately.  Please be in prayer for Mrs. Goings and the family.

Mrs. “Bill” Hughes is back at North Oaks and is very frail.  Please say prayers for her and for “Miss” Anne.

From Laura DeBlanc

Susan Rimes had a procedure to blast her stones this week that will require another round next Monday.  Continue to pray for her.

Pray for Mrs. Mickey Cade.  She has several problems still and will really appreciate your prayers.

Continue to pray for Andy and Betty Taylor.  They have problems from the wrecks that are not totally cleared up yet.

Melissa Johnson is fine and looking forward to a new grandbaby next Monday.

Don and Firma Kay Schneeweiss are also looking forward to a baby, their first grandchild, a girl, next week.

Continue to pray for Billy Carl Strickland and Donna Faye Miller.  They both have serious medical issues and would appreciate your prayers.

Don’t forget to remember to pray for Eddie Muse and his family as they care for him.

“Pops” Hilbun (from Debbie Crawford)

Visitation and services for Pops Hilbun will be at Line Creek Baptist Church, not the funeral home.

Heart to Heart with Holley: Who shares your umbrella?

Hello Friend!

The other day an afternoon thunderstorm blew in, cracking and laughing over the autumn-colored hills. I watched the clouds gather and then release raindrops from the hands that spattered the sidewalk.

From a few houses down, two children emerged under an umbrella. They hurried along with smiles on their faces. Each one holding the handle in the middle of them. It wasn’t a storm to be avoided in their lives but an experience to be shared.

That’s how it’s supposed to be, I thought. None of use are meant to walk through the rain alone. 

A gentle thunder send them scurrying inside a house but I lingered at the window and wondered…

Why is it so hard for us to go through life’s storms together?

It seems we either tend to carry the umbrella only for ourselves. We become scared or bitter and we’re afraid to let anyone close. It’s hard for us to give.

Or we are happy to offer our umbrella to others while we become soaked. We’re afraid that if we don’t sacrifice so much then we won’t be loved. It’s hard for us to receive.

But Jesus calls us to that middle place. He asks us to take hold of that handle. “Love one another,” he says. One another–that’s two people under the umbrella, giving and receiving.

Ah, yes. 

My thoughts clear.

The sky does too.

The children reappear and jump in puddles. Shared joy after the rain too. 

And I think I can just see a new bit of sunlight slipping unexpectedly into my day.

xoxo

Holley

p.s. Who shares the storms in your life? {Thanks for sharing mine–I’m so glad you’re here!}

Many of you have shared the storms in my life.  I’m so thankful and so blessed!

Anna Lee