Tuesday

And I pray that you,

being rooted and established in love,

may have power,

together with all the saints,

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep

is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled

to the measure of all the fullness of God. 

~Ephesians 3:17–19 NIV~

CaringBridge:LarkinDorris

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

 

We will have prayer meeting at church Wednesday Evening for those not going to the crusade.  If planning to go to the crusade, feel free to do so, but please pass the word along that Prayer Meeting will be held as usual at the church.
The crusade has been going well with decisions being made for Christ.  Continue to pray for the Tangipahoa Crusade for Christ.
God bless!
See you Wednesday,
Bro. Joey                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Prayer from Zambia: Two families . . . four adults . . . seven children. Three Sundays in a row, they’ve met to sing and hear stories from the Word. They’ve chosen a name for themselves: Litoma Baptist Church. Litoma is the traditional name of the small rocky island in the Zambezi River just across from where the little church group meets on land. The word itself–”Litoma”–means “to stand firm, to stand resolutely.” Pray that this new fledging church will stand firm. Ask our Lord Jesus Christ to build this church upon Himself, the Solid Rock. “On Christ the Solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand!” Let this church be a witness rock of salvation to all the community.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Thought for the Day: Blaming Others

“Johnny, where’s your homework?” asked the teacher, more in hope than expectation.
“Sorry,” said Johnny, “I couldn’t do it, there was too much noise at home.”
“Noise? All evening? What kind of noise?” asked the teacher.
“It was the television, ma’am, it was just too loud. I couldn’t do my homework.”
“Now Johnny,” said the teacher patiently, “you could have asked them to turn the sound down, surely?”
“No, I couldn’t. There was no one else in the room!”
We are quick to place the blame on others, to talk about what “they” didn’t do. “I think the church should spend more time visiting the sick!” “I think the church should do more evangelizing!” “I think the church should do more to encourage our missionaries!”
There may well be some truth in those statements. But, often, we make such statements without asking the questions, “What am I doing?” or “What can I do?” The reason is obvious. Thinking about we aren’t doing makes us feel guilty, thinking about what others aren’t doing doesn’t bother the conscience much at all.
“And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)
Television too loud? Get up and turn it off yourself!

Have a great day!
Alan Smith

 

Blessed,                                                                                                                                     Anna Lee  

 

Monday

 

“God, create a clean heart for me

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

~Psalm 51:10, HCSB~

 

Please say a special prayer for Caroline Cutrer. She is having a really rough time right now. She is back at the hospital in Jackson, Ms. Her fever has spiked and she is going to have some more transfusions. Thanks, Tammie

 

CaringBridge:LardkinDorris

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

 

Pray for Chloe Neyland and her family as Chloe is admitted to the hospital for Wednesday’s surgery.

 

 

Pray for Majel’s family.  Jesse is better, but her cousin. Joe, is still hospitalized in Jackson, and her sister goes in for knee replacement surgery on Wednesday at Baptist Hospital in Jackson, MS.  It’s been two weeks since Joe’s surgery.  He had been dealing with complications.  Jason‘s back surgery is scheduled so you can begin to pray for him.

 

Alice Faye Lee asked us to pray for her sister, Frances Allen, who has ovarian cancer and will have surgery at St. Dominiques in Jackson.  Frances and Frankie Fowler were twins.

 

Mr. Frank Erwin continues to be at North Oaks.  Pray for him and his family as they treat him for pneumonia and other concerns.

 

 

Thought for the Day: A Tribute to Missionaries

Preacher

You know you’ve been a missionary too long if……

1. You can’t answer the question, “Where are you from?”
2. You read National Geographic and recognize someone.
3. You have a time zone map next to your telephone.
4 You consider a city 500 km away to be “very close”.
5. You watch nature documentaries, and think about how good that animal would taste if it were fried.
6. You can cut grass with a machete, but can’t start a lawnmower.
7. You speak with authority on the subject of airline travel.
8. You read the international section before the comics.
9. You have friends from or in 29 different countries.
10. You sort your friends by continent.
11. Fitting 15 or more people into a car seems normal to you.
12. You refer to gravel roads as highways.
13. You haggle with the checkout clerk for a lower price.
14. You don’t think that two hours is a long sermon.
15. You marvel at the cleanliness of gas station bathrooms.
16. You think you’ve died and gone to heaven when you go into a foreign grocery store.
17. You think a “foreign school” conducts classes in English.

Before I get a flood of letters, let me assure you that I realize that not all missionaries work in conditions described above. But what an important role is filled by those willing (and able) to fulfill Jesus’ commission to carry the gospel to “all the world” (Mark 16:15)! I never cease to be amazed at the dedication and willingness to sacrifice that I see in the missionaries I know, as well as their obvious love for Jesus Christ and for people.

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Romans 10:14-15)

May God grant a special blessing today to those of you who have such beautiful feet! And I encourage all of my readers to offer a special prayer to God on behalf of the missionaries you know.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, NC

 

Pray for our son-in-law as he travels back to his family in New Orleans today.

 

Stand in the storm.  When it gets rough, make adjustments, but keep standing.  

Blessed,

Anna Lee

 

Sunday

“Call to Me, and I will answer you,

and show you great and mighty things,

which you do not know.”

~Jeremiah 33:3

I think Momma has an infection again.  Pray for my family as we try to get this verified and something done to help Momma feel better.

Pray for my son-in-law, Boyd, as he speaks in Virginia today.  My his words be the words God has for the church there.  May the church be receptive to the words God has for them.

Thought for the Day: The Value of Experience

“Sir, What is the secret of your success?” a reporter asked a bank president.

“Two words.”

“And, sir, what are they?”

“Right decisions.”

“And how do you make right decisions?”

“One word.”

“And, sir, what is that?”

“Experience.”

“And how do you get experience?”

“Two words.”

“And, sir, what are they?”

“Wrong decisions.”

There’s a measure of truth in that. Though we can (and should) learn from the mistakes of others, experience truly does seem to be “the best teacher.” The experience of making wrong decisions in the past should help us to learn so that we make better decisions in the future. But are we willing to learn?

“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man….” (I Timothy 1:12-13)

Paul is a great example of someone who learned from his past mistakes and, as a result of that experience, made better decisions in his effort to serve God.

Father, once again I come asking forgiveness for the many times I’ve let you down. As I confess to you my transgressions, I pray that you will help me to learn from my mistakes — to recognize the consequences of following my stubborn will, to realize the heartache you feel when I turn a deaf ear to you, to learn from my error the need to follow your word more closely. I have made wrong decisions, but I pray that the experience of doing so will help me to develop the wisdom necessary to make better decisions in the future, as I strive to draw closer to you. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
White House Church of Christ
White House, Tennessee

Have a great Lord’s Day!

Anna Lee

Saturday – Posted Early

“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~

Pray for the Russ Guzzardo family in Amite.  . Thank God for this family of strong faith.

Please lift my entire family up in prayers!!! Yesterday was was pink or blue day,it turned out to be BLACK. It is the little brother Bethainee has been praying for but the baby has anencephaly,a condition that the skull and brain do not fully develop. I know that God has a plan and I pray that I have the wisdom to make this situation Glorify my GOD. I know my God is an Awesome God. Let me thank everone for their thoughts and prayers for now and the days ahead.

Randy Relan of Amite may get to return home as early as Monday.  Thank God for Randy’s transplant and for his body’s acceptance of the liver.

Jadon’s Story: After a year and a half, we FINALLY know why I’m having seizures.

We spent alot of time with the neurologist today. (By the way he is absolutely fabulous. He knew everything about me. It was very impressive.) We FINALLY know why I’m having seizures. I have something called cortical dysplasia. We have always assumed this is what I have but now we know. It has shown up on images of my brain. So what does this mean. I have 4 spots on the left side of my brain that didn’t form correctly. There is no reason why but it happened very early on in the womb. There was a spot on my right side that was questionable but once the doctor examined me he was not worried about it at all. He said I’m considered one of the high functioning children with seizures considering how many seizures I have and that most of the left side of my brain is not working. The reason I’m doing so well is because everything is transferring to my right side. This is great news but what it means is my right side of my brain is working at least 3 times harder than your brain is suppose to work. Plus on top of that my left side is giving it all kinds of problems because I have so many seizures. The problem with this is that my right side can not continue to work this hard. Eventually it will say enough I can’t do all this. The doctor said it is usually around the age of 4 or 5 but he can’t give us an exact timing. So what is the plan. He wants us to try a medicine called vigabatrin. You have heard me talk about this medicine. It’s the one that can effect my vision. We will try it for 1 month. The doctor said that there is very little chance that it will effect my vision in 1 month. He has never seen it and doesn’t know any neurologist that has. The problem comes when you have to be on it for a long time. So we are going to give it a try. If the seizure stop then we will be extremely happy. If they do not stop then he said I’m ready for surgery. He has everything he needs to remove the parts of my brain that are not working. Yes this is very scary but if it could fix it and give me seizure freedom it will be worth it. The doctor said today that if we can stop these seizure then I have the ability to do really well and live a normal life. So we will see how I do with the new medicine. I start it tomorrow. Please pray for me and my family. We have so many feelings going through us right now. We are happy that we may can get rid of these seizures, worried about brain surgery, and scared about the decisions we will have to make. We believe that God sent us here for a reason and we know that he will show us what we need to do. I love you all very much and thanks for all you do for me and my family.
Mr. Frank Erwin is in North Oaks.  Pray for him as he battles pneumonia.
The Philip Harrel family continues to deal with their health issues.  Their love for others and their awesome God is still strong.  Pray for them and smile.
Mrs. Shirley Frazier continues to deal with her same health problem.  She will see her doctor again this week.  Pray for a diagnosis and for her spirit to not grow weary.
Andy Taylor is making good progress in his recovery from the accident.  Betty is taking good care of him.  Thank God for sparing Andy to sing and play again and to share his sweet words and prayers for others.
Thought for the Day: Be Courageous
At the zoo, a man watched as an attendant entered a wildcat cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage. The onlooker observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure.

He remarked to the attendant, “You certainly are a brave man.”

“No I ain’t brave,” he replied as he continued to sweep.

“Well, then, that cat must be tame.”

“No,” came the reply, “he ain’t tame.”

“If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.”

The man chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, “Mister, he’s old — and he ain’t got no teeth.”

Some situations don’t require much courage. Others, however, require a great deal of courage. Take, for example, the choice Daniel was given — stop praying to God or face the hungry lions (which weren’t toothless!). Or Moses — live a life of luxury in the king’s palace, or align himself with God’s people. Or Esther — keep quiet and not cause a commotion, or stand up against evildoers at the risk of losing her life.

How we need such courage in our own lives! Courage to stand for the truth regardless of the consequences. Courage to live a life where Christ comes first regardless of what others might think. Courage to confess the name of God to a world which regards us as fools.

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” (Psa. 31:24)

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, North Carolina

“Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD.” (Psa. 31:24)
God won’t put more on us than He is willing to lead us through!
Anna Lee

Friday

Let’s pray for little ones today.  I know it touches our hearts when we hear of their pain and their successes.

 

Trip Roth

http://randycourtneytripproth.blogspot.com/2011/09/im-just-little-bit.html?spref=fb

Larkin Dorris

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

Jadon’s Story: I’m standing and Detroit



Sorry I’ve been slacking on the updates. Just been a little busy. First I want to start by saying I’m standing up. I can only stand there for about 10 seconds but its a start. I also started saying no no no. I’ve been very talkative this past week. My favorite word right now is ma ma. You know she is my favorite person. LOL I love my daddy and brother too. Well on to my trip. We made it to Detroit yesterday around 3:30. I was wonderful on the flight. I slept most of the time and when I was awake I was smiling at people and trying to get all the attention. The best part of the plane ride was landing. I screamed really loud like I was on a roller coaster. I’m not sure if the people on the plane liked this but oh well I was having fun. Once we got here we took a taxi to the Ronald McDonald House. The house is awesome. We even have our own private bathroom. The people here are very friendly. Tonight the local electric company came and cooked supper for us. It was very delicious. One of the guys that cooked for us had his son with him who had epilepsy too. We talked to them for a while. He actually sees the same doctor as we are going to see Friday. They said he is wonderful. Another great thing about the house is it is only $10 a night. We will not be able to stay here Friday night but that’s ok. We are very thankful to get to stay here the other days. The hospital is right next door to the house. I had my AMT PET scan done today. It went alot smoother than I expected. We got to the hospital around 8:00 this morning. We had to wait for the medicine to be made. You have to be at the hospital before it is made. We waited until about 9:30. They took me back and started my IV’s. Yes that’s right I had to have two IV’s. One to put medicine in and the other to draw blood out of during the test. The two have to come out of separate veins, they can not cross. The nurses did a great job putting them in. I was kicking and screaming and giving them a hard time. It’s amazing they got them in so quickly. I went into the PET scan around 10:15 and I was done by 11:30. The doctor wanted me to use the new scanner. That scanner is faster and was able to do the test in a little over an hour. We originally were told it would be over two hours. So this was a blessing that we were able to use the new scanner. Once the test was over, they woke me up and we were back at the house by 12:00. We took a long nap once we got there. When I woke up we walked to the market and bought some groceries to keep at the house. So thank you so much for your prayers. Today was much easier than expected. We do not have to go back for any testing tomorrow. We are going to try to go do something in the city. Just so you know, this is not the best city we have been to. It’s a little scary. So glad my daddy is here with us. In fact we walked to a place to eat yesterday afternoon and turned around. We did find a better area to go today. I will keep you all posted. We see the neurologist Friday and we should have some results. Thanks again for praying for me and please continue to pray for good results Friday. I love you all very much!!!!

Heart to Heart with Holley: Three Simple Ways to Help Anyone in Your Life

As a life coach and counselor I’m often asked, “How do I help this person in my life?” There’s a simple strategy you can use when someone shares with you–whether it’s a coworker having a bad day, a relative facing a sudden crisis, or someone at church who’s confiding a struggle.

Think of these three steps as your trump card. They let you always play an ACE that helps those in your life win.

A – Affirm the emotion 

God gave us a part of our brains called the amygdala that takes care of our flight or fight response. It lets us take action quickly (like when a bear is running after us). While we don’t face many physical dangers in our lives, emotional stress causes this system to kick in as well.

When you’re dealing with a stressed out person you’re talking to their amygdala. This is not about rational thought. Express a message that says, “Hey, I recognize your emotion and validate it.” That calms the flight/fight response and lets the decision-making part of our brains (the prefrontal cortex) kick in and start doing its job.

{Example: “Wow, you sound really frustrated. What happened?”}

C – Call out the best in the person 

In our most stressful moments, we all have a tendency to feel overwhelmed by guilt and a feeling that we’re not living up to our own or others’ expectations. Or we simply forget who we are in the heat of the moment and act in ways uncharacteristic of us.

What we often need most is someone who can see through to our hearts and remind us of who we really are–the best of us–at the worst of times. That can help us refocus on what matters most and move forward in positive ways.

{Example: “I’ve seen you deal with situations like this before. Your strength and love for others always shines through in the end. I know it will this time too.”

 

E – Encourage the next step

Here’s a secret: life coaches and counselors don’t have the solutions. In all of my training, what’s been emphasized most is not magic-bullet cure-all approaches. Instead it’s being a partner on that person’s journey with God to finding their own answers.

Usually, they’ve already got what they need–it’s just a matter of providing a safe space for it to come out. Resist the urge to give advice or tell others what to do. It’s one of the greatest gifts you can offer (and much harder than it seems).

{Example: “I care about you and I wish you weren’t going through this. Now that we’ve talked about it for a few minutes, what do you think you’ll do next”?}

At this point, the person may respond with another emotion. For example, she might say, “I don’t know. I’m just really hurt.” If so, start back with A and go through the process again.

We often try to make helping others more complicated than it really needs to be. Practice this approach and then make it your own. You are often the best gift you can offer someone who is hurting and you truly do make a difference.

 

Have a blessed day!

Anna Lee

Thursday

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,

as though you were working for the Lord

and not for people. 

~Colossians 3:23 TEV~

The Landon Estay family is thankful to have two children who have successfully completed surgery and are both doing well.

is scheduled to leave ICU today.  Thank God for the progress he has made since liver transplant surgery.

Timothy Schwartz was able to being his mother, Ruby, home yesterday afternoon.  Pray that Jimmy and Ruby are well enough to stay at home for a while.

Mr. Frank Erwin went to North Oaks yesterday because of pneumonia.  Pray for a swift recovery for Mr. Frank.

Lloyd Hayden is not feeling his best.  He is at home.  Prayers for him would be very appropriate.

Pray for Caroline Cutrer and her family as they continue the battle before them.

Continue to pray for Chloe Neyland as she faces hospitalization Monday and surgery Wednesday at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.

Sherry Day and Adrian Phillips are both doing well and are back to normal schedules.  Thank God for their progress.

You are invited to participate in the Tangipahoa Crusade for Christ which will be Sunday night through Wednesday night at the Florida Parish Arena in Amite.  Services begin at 6:45 each night.  The pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church and Vice-President of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. Fred Luter, Jr. will be preaching.  Local Gospel groups will lead the singing.

AWANA as started for the new year.  It is now under the direction of Stephanie McKenzie.  FBC, Kentwood is glad to be able to provide this opportunity to our children again this year.

Thought for the Day: Planning Ahead

The story is told of Morris, a Russian man, who saves 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. “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
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, NC

Stand in the storm.  When it gets rough, make adjustments, but keep standing.

Anna Lee

Wednesday Afternoon

 

 

Two requests from Ashley Raborn

  • Please keep Webster McGehee in your prayers as he recovers from hand surgery due to a saw accident.
  • Please keep Sammy Ott in your prayers as he continues chemo.
Remember Landon Estays family today as both of the children have adenoids removed and tubes put in their ears.
Jesse Dean looks well.  He gives lots of credit to his drill sargent, Majel.  It was good to hear Jesse plans to make it to church Sunday.
Jimmy Schwarts also looks well.  He is waiting for test results and for Ruby.  She was scheduled to come home today.  Pray for Jimmy and Ruby as they both deal with illnesses.  Thanks to all those who have ministered to this family through food deliveries to the home.
Momma ‘walked’ a good bit for the PT yesterday.  Bruce Neal can get more from Momma than anyone else.  Thanks, Bruce.  Keep it up, Momma.
Two death notices