From Velta Morris
Please add Dr. Derry Magee to the prayer list. Last Friday, December 31, he suffered a significant stroke and is in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph Medical Hospital in Bryan, Texas.
Also, I (Velta) would appreciate the prayers of those on the prayer link. I have some medical issues that need looking into. Pray that I will glorify God in all things.
I know you will want to pray for these two families.
“LORD my God, You have done many things–
Your wonderful works and Your plans for us;
none can compare with You.
If I were to report and speak [of them],
they are more than can be told.”
~Psalm 40:5, HCSB~
Joey Messina, a former student from Independence, requests prayer for his wife who will have her 8th brain surgery in 5 years. The surgery is today. Please begin praying and keep praying.
There is no obituary for Mrs. Jimmie Shaw yet. I’ll post one when it is available.
Prepare for a cold night. You may know someone who needs assistance staying warm. If so, do what you can.
Pray for travelers as many families will be returning home today.
Don’t forget the 2 P.M. prayer time to Jadon Pailet tomorrow in the parking lot of House on the Rock. Be there to support this family as they take Jadon for brain surgery in Detroit.
Thought for the Day: Adding water to the mudhole
A husband and wife were driving down a country lane on their way to visit some friends. They came to a muddy patch in the road and the car became bogged. After a few minutes of trying to get the car out by themselves, they saw a young farmer coming down the lane, driving a tractor. He stopped when he saw the couple in trouble and offered to pull the car out of the mud for $50.
The couple accepted and minutes later the car was free. The farmer turned to the husband and said, “You know, you’re the tenth car I’ve helped out of the mud today.” The husband looks around at the fields incredulously and asks the farmer, “When do you have time to plow your land? At night?”
“No,” the young farmer replied seriously, “Night is when I put the water in the hole.”
There are some people who are always available to help solve problems, and there are others who spend their time making life more difficult for others (and sometimes the same person can do both!). The New Testament is filled with warnings, though, about being a “stumbling block” to others, especially to children and young Christians.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matthew 18:6-7)
May your day be filled with opportunities to help others in need. But don’t be adding any water to the mud hole!
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
We all know it would be a good deed to clear up a problem, but shouldn’t we confess that sometimes we have been guilty of “adding water to the mudhole”? Let’s try to be better.
Anna Lee
Mrs. Jimmie Shaw passed away last night. Arrangements are imcomplete, but will probably include a Tuesday service. I’ll post the obituary when it is available. Please pray for the family.
And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith
and in our knowledge of the Son of God;
we shall become mature people,
reaching to the very height of Christ’s full stature.”
~Ephesians 4:13 TEV~
Today is the 65th anniversary of the day Momma and Daddy got married. She wanted a big party. She celebrating in heaven while Daddy will be here with us for a traditional New Year’s meal. Pray for Daddy today.
I’m thanking God Carol New made it home after a successful knee surgery. Pray for her as she works to get that knee doing what she wants it to do.
FBC, Kentwood will have Sunday School and the morning worship service, but nothing tonight.
Thought for the Day: Failed resolutions
At the beginning of a New Year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ New Year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. “Why weren’t my resolutions posted?” She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk.
As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was not to let little things upset her in the New Year.
It has been said that “nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Perhaps we should add one more thing to that list of certainties — the breaking of New Year’s resolutions! Looking back on 2008, you may be one of the fortunate ones who accomplished exactly what you hoped to accomplish during the year. But, if you’re like most of us, you didn’t read all the way through the Bible like you intended to, you quit smoking but only for a while then picked up the habit again, or you lost a few pounds only to put them back on again when your diet failed. After experiencing this failure year after year, a person tends to say to himself, “What’s the use? Why even bother to try to make these changes?”
As an old Chinese proverb puts it, though, “Failure is not falling down. Failure is not getting back up.” Or as the Japanese put it, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” If there are areas of your life that you’ve tried to improve and failed, let this this be the month that you try again. And if you fail this month, get up and try again next month. Learn from your mistakes and become stronger. God does not turn his back on the Christian who fails (if you question that, you need only look at the story of Peter’s denial of Christ). However, He cannot help the Christian who refuses to try any longer.
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hearts, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded….Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” (James 4:7-8,10)
If you have made a resolution to develop a habit that will bring you closer to God or a resolution to get rid of a habit that is pulling you away from God, may God bless you with the strength to accomplish your goal. And, if you should stumble on your journey, may He pick you up and dust you off so that you can continue on the long journey of becoming like Christ.
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
Have a great Lord’s Day and a great 2012!
Anna Lee
Diane Robertson Hobbs
(January 24, 1957 – December 31, 2011)
A resident of Roseland, she died on Saturday, December 31, 2011 at North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond. She was born January 24, 1957 in Amite and was 54 years of age. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Sunday and from 8 a.m. until religious services at 1 p.m. on Monday, January 2, 2012. Services conducted by Rev. Darryl Miller. Interment Hillsdale Cemetery, Hillsdale. She is survived by her son, Jimmy Singleton and his wife, Jonnie, Roseland; daughter, Kim Hobbs, Independence; 5 grandchildren, Amber Singleton, Brittany Anthony, Justin Anthony, Sierra Guenthener and Misty Hobbs; 2 great-grandchildren, Dylan Husband and Cass Anthony; aunt, Delois Bergeron, Baton Rouge. Preceded in death by her husband, Rocky Hobbs; parents, Ross “Hoody” Robertson and Mary B. Robertson; step-mother, Shirley Pierce “Aunt Nig” Robertson. For an online guestbook, visit http://www.mckneelys.com.
Marie Kent Hood
(October 29, 1923 – December 30, 2011)
A resident of Amite, she passed away on Friday, December 30, 2011 at her home. She was born October 29, 1923 in Fluker and was 88 years of age. She is survived by her children, Lindy Hayden and husband, Brooklyn, Thomas “BoBo” Hood, William Hood and wife, Kirk, Candace Jenkins and husband, Richard and Cindy Hood; 11 grandchildren, Suzette Reid Alack and husband, Greg, Gretchen Hood Ockman and husband, Michael, Amy Hood Conti and husband, Brant, Candace Ray Bridges and husband, Richard, Nancy Hood Pray and husband, Cade, Ashton Wayne Ray and wife, Brandi, Betsy Kent Hood, Charles Morgan Reid, II, Brantley Kent Ray, Thomas James Hood, III and William Kenneth Hood; 10 great-grandchildren, Kelsey Ockman, Ryan Alack, Savannah Conti, Brendan Alack, Shannen Alack, Sophia Pray, Blake Conti, Keegan Ockman, Hudson Pray and Eli Ray. Preceded in death by her husband, Thomas James Hood; parents, Thomas Womack Kent and Camille Weishaar Kent; 3 brothers, Thomas “Tommy” Kent, Jr., Charles Kent and Donald Kent. A private family service will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Helena Catholic Church, Amite. McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements. For an online guestbook, visit http://www.mckneelys.com.
Boots and Mary Prescott are proud to announce the birth of their first granddaughter, McKenzie Grace, who was born December 27th. McKenzie weighted in at 6 lbs. 13 oz. and was 19 in. long. McKenzie quickly won the hearts of her grandparents. Please be in prayer for this family as they make adjustments to life with a new baby.
“Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ
and be taken forward to maturity …”
~Hebrews 6:1a NIV~
WHAT’S ON THE OTHER SIDE?
A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room. He said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. I need to know what to expect when I go to heaven. Please tell me what lies on the other side.”
The doctor wanted to offer comfort to his patient, but he didn’t know what to say. Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?! Then why do you want to go to heaven if you don’t know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?”
The doctor was uneasy and was holding the handle of the door. From the other side came a sound of scratching and loud whining. As the doctor opened the door, a dog sprang into the room with his tail wagging and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.
Turning to the patient, the doctor said, “Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing: I know my Master is there, and that is enough. And when the door opens, I shall pass through with no fear, but with gladness.”
It’s true that while we are given a glimpse of what lies ahead, there is a great deal that we don’t know and often wonder about. Will there be a literal street of gold and a gate of pearl? Highly unlikely. Those kinds of images may be helpful in understanding how precious heaven is, but they are not of much value in helping us to know exactly what it will look like.
And quite frankly, it doesn’t matter to me, for two reasons. First of all, I trust my heavenly Father to provide nothing less than the very best for His children. And secondly, as the doctor in the story above pointed out, the only thing that really matters is that we will be in the presence of God. Living in a shack in His presence would be preferable to living in a mansion apart from Him. Whatever else heaven may be, its essence is that we have the opportunity to have intimate fellowship with God.
“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’ ” (Rev. 20:12)
Recently, I read a quote that has convicted me more than anything I’ve heard in a long time. John Piper asked the question, “If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ was not there?”
It makes me wonder if we’re anxious to get to heaven to have the opportunity to be with God, or if we just want to go because it’s a place where we’ll enjoy ourselves and have all the comforts and pleasures that we’d like to have right now. Think about it.
Have a great day!
Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina
We didn’t learn what is on the other side of this life during 2011, but maybe we will in 2012. Are you prepared?
Anna Lee
“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~
Jadon’s Story: Jadon Pailet
Everyone will have a chance to tell Jadon goodbye January 3 at 2:00. We will all meet at the parking lot in front of House on the Rock. We will have a prayer at 2:30 and then we will leave for Detroit. This is open for anyone and I would love to see you there.
We all know of Jesus’ love for all little children. Jadon is one of His children who has suffered with uncontrollable seizures. Pray for the doctors who will be evaluating and performing surgery on Jadon next week. Pray the family continues to have peace about this decision. Pray for Jadon as he faces new surroundings, medical staff he doesn’t know well, and for his little body to do well before, during, and after the surgery.
Jadon is one of God’s little children. God only wants the best for Jadon. We have prayed. Now, we have an opportunity to be a part of a brief prayer service next week. Whether you attend on the 3rd or now, please continue to pray for Jadon and his family.
Jadon’s prayer quilt is completed and will help “cover” him with our prayers. I’m thankful the family knows the power of prayer and treasures prayers for Jadon in this way.
God bless this family that has been through so much and is facing even more as Jadon goes through surgery. Please support them with your mighty prayers.
Anna Lee
Jewel Clyde Booty, Sr.
(September 11, 1926 – December 29, 2011)
Jewel C. Booty, Sr. was born September 11, 1926 and passed away at 2:00 a.m., Thursday, December 29, 2011 at Specialty LTCH of Hammond. He was 85, a native of Lewiston and a resident of Kentwood. He is survived by 3 daughters, Anita Esch and husband Danny, Kentwood, Melissa McAndrews, Jackson, Jewelyn Henry and husband Alton, Jackson; 2 sons, Jewel Clyde Booty, Jr. and wife Diane, Kentwood & Chris Booty, Kentwood; 3 sisters, Verlie Peek, Amite, Perle Jones, Walker, Bonnie Booty, Kentwood; 3 brothers Glen Booty, Kentwood, R.J. Booty, Kentwood, Donnie Booty, Kentwood; 7 grandchildren, Steven Esch, Clyde Booty, III, Tasha Tate, Amy Cooley, Shane Doty, Mark Hilton & Dree Hilton; 9 great-grandchildren; a great great-grandchild.
Preceded in death by his parents, Robert and Annie Mae Lambert Booty; daughter, Betty June Doty; 3 sisters, Merlie Grace, Josephine Gatlin & Coraine Booty; 2 brothers, R.L. Booty & Gayle Booty.
Visitation at New Jerusalem UPC, Kentwood, on Friday, December 30, 2011 from 6:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. and on Saturday, December 31, 2011 from 9:00 a.m. until Celebration of Life Worship Service at 2:00 p.m. with Rev. Jack Gentry & Rev. Matthew Booty officiating. Interment in New Jerusalem Church Cemetery, Kentwood.
Pallbearers are Donnie Booty, Sr., Navarrow Hart, Garland Hart, Stevie Esch, Shane Doty, Clyde Booty, III, Donnie Booty, Jr. & Robbie Hunter.
Honorary pallbearers are Jewel Clyde Booty IV, Carson Lyn Booty, Parker Esch, Brodie Tate, Drew Tate, Ryan Foye & Danny Esch.
McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements.
An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com
McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, is located at I-55N (Exit 46) and Hwy 16 W next to Hood Automotive and behind Mr. Tom’s Car Wash, Bond Eye Clinic and Holiday Inn Express
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