The Prayer Link

Wednesday

“And this I pray,

that your love may abound still more and more

in knowledge and all discernment.”

~Philippians 1:9~

Dennis Travis is now out of ICU and in a regular room. I know the family is most appreciative of your prayers.

Caring Bridge: Larkin Dorris

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

Charles B.W. Palmer, II

Charles B.W. Palmer, II
(June 10, 1928 – September 20, 2011)

1st Lieutenant Charles B.W. Palmer, II a loving husband, father and brother went peacefully in the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, the 20th day of September, 2011 at the St Tammany Parish Hospital having reached the age of 83 on June 10, 2011. He was born on Amite, LA to Major Charles B.W. Palmer and Maud Ellis Palmer and both of his parents preceded him in death.

He went to grammar school in La Lima Honduras and in Amite, LA, attended high school in Amite, the teacher’s training school at Southeastern LA College and Sewanee Military Academy. He then earned an LLB law degree from LSU Law School.

Charles B. W. then enlisted in the Air Force where he served with honor for four years during which he married his surviving devoted wife and welcomed his beloved son to their home. After this, he returned to live in Amite, LA and practiced law for over fifty years.

He is survived by his devoted wife, Rina Marshall Palmer, Amite; son, Charles B.W. Palmer, III, Amite; 2 brother, Robert E. Palmer, Ponchatoula and Everard Digby Palmer and wife Lois, Fernwood, MS; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and extended family.

Lieutenant Palmer was a devout communicant at the Church of the Incarnation of the Episcopal Diocese of Easter LA to which Church gifts in Memory of Charles B.W. Palmer are requested by the family.

Visitation at the Church of the Incarnation Episcopal Church of Amite on Thursday, September 22, 2011 from 12:00 Noon until Celebration of Life Services at 2:00 p.m. at the Church. Interment in the Ellis Cemetery, Amite. An on-line guestbook is available atwww.mckneelyvaughnfh.com

McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements.

Thought for the Day: Rules for Stray Cats (and Sin)

The following is a list of STRICT UNBENDING RULES for dealing with stray cats:

1. Stray cats will not be fed.

2. Stray cats will not be fed anything except dry cat food.

3. Stray cats will not be fed anything except dry cat food moistened with a little milk.

4. Stray cats will not be fed anything except dry cat food moistened with warm milk, yummy treats and leftover fish scraps.

5. Stray cats will not be encouraged to make this house their permanent residence.

6. Stray cats will not be petted, played with or picked up and cuddled unnecessarily.

7. Stray cats that are petted, played with, picked up and cuddled will absolutely not be given a name.

8. Stray cats with or without a name will not be allowed inside the house at any time.

9. Stray cats will not be allowed inside the house except at certain times.

10. Stray cats will not be allowed inside the house except on days ending in “y.”

11. Stray cats allowed inside will not be permitted to jump up on or sharpen their claws on the furniture.

12. Stray cats will not be permitted to jump up on, or sharpen claws on the really good furniture.

13. Stray cats will be permitted on all furniture but must sharpen their claws on the new $114.99 sisal-rope cat-scratching post with three perches.

It’s a humorous progression, but it reminds me of what happens spiritually (which is not at all humorous). We don’t want to sin, so we establish boundaries. “I’m not going to go here, look there, think about that.” But, before long, we’ve crossed the line. We think, “That’s all right. I still haven’t done anything wrong. I’ll just re-establish my boundaries and not be quite so strict.” And slowly but surely, sin works its way further and further into our lives until we find that we’re no longer in control of the situation.

“But each one is tempted

when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

Then, when desire has conceived,

it gives birth to sin;

and sin, when it is full-grown,

brings forth death.”

~James 1:14-15~

Father, far too often I have allowed sin to slowly work its way into my life. I didn’t want it to. I didn’t mean for it to happen. But it did, and I’m sorry. Please help me to keep my eyes focused on you as I strive to keep it from happening again. Give me strength as I resolve not to allow impure thoughts and motives to find a home in my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith

A pray you recognize the blessings of this day.

Anna Lee

Tuesday

“A woman, when she is in labor,

has sorrow because her hour has come;

but as soon as she has given birth to the child,

she no longer remembers the anguish,

for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

Therefore you now have sorrow;

but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice,

and your joy no one will take from you.”

~John 16:21-22~

Baptist Press: http://www.bpnews.net/

Thought for the Day: In God We Trust

Having served as a police chaplain and knowing many police officers, I
especially enjoyed reading these (reportedly) actual police quotes, though
I do not know the source:

“The handcuffs are tight because they’re new. They’ll stretch out after
you wear them awhile.”

“If you run, you’ll only go to jail tired.”

“So, you don’t know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can
write anything I want on the ticket, huh?”

“Yes sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don’t think it will
help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?”

“Warning! You want a warning? O.K., I’m warning you not to do that again
or I’ll give you another ticket.”

“The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or
not. Was Mickey Mouse a cat or dog?”

“Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven.”

“Life’s tough, it’s tougher if you’re stupid.”

“No sir, we don’t have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now
we’re allowed to write as many tickets as we want.”

“In God we trust, all others are suspects.”

Having associated with a lot of police officers, I know that there is some
degree of truth in that last statement. As a whole, police officers tend
to be a rather suspicious group of people and it takes quite a while to
build up a level of trust with them. It’s the very nature of their job.
They are constantly lied to, and as a result they end up not trusting
anyone.

We’ve all experienced the same thing, to some degree. Someone we looked up
to let us down. They promised something but failed to deliver. They
weren’t there when we really needed them. And, as a result, we find it
difficult to trust anyone else ever again.

Fortunately, when we feel there is no one who can be trusted, we still have
God. When others let us down, God will always keep his word. When others
fail to keep their promises, God will always keep his promises. When
others have left us, God will always be there. His faithfulness stands out
as one of his essential qualities.

“If we are faithless, He remains faithful…” (2 Tim. 2:13a)

“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Heb. 10:23, NIV)

The faithfulness of God is what makes us certain that we can trust our
lives to him. Praise be to the God on whom we can always count!

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.

Today, I’m thankful for the prayer warrior who said they were standing beside me in the storm.

Still standing!

Anna Lee

Late Monday Afternoon

Two Good Reports

Randy Relan is doing well following his liver transplant.
The neurosurgeon said my tumor seems to not be malignant, but will need to be watched in future MRIs. Surgery is not a good option for me, but one-time radiation may be a possibility. My next appointment is Dec. 5th.

Thanks for the prayers for Randy and me. We both have a lot for which to be thankful and appreciate all the prayers on our behalf.

Monday

I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen you

with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

~Ephesians 3:16–17 NIV~

I pray that out of his glorious riches He may strengthen ME

with power through his Spirit in MY inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in MY HEART through faith.

~Ephesians 3:16–17 NIV~

Today, I’m feeling selfish and have altered that verse (which I normally don’t do) to suit the way I feel about the need for God to dwell in me and work through me in regard to our family as we work with Momma and as I see a neurosurgeon at 11:15 today. I ask your prayers for there two big issues in my life today.

I know many of you have been praying for these two requests already because you have told me so and because I (we) have been able to let God deal with us through the circumstances we have found ourselves in lately. Thanks so very much for each and every prayer.

“Stand in the storm. When it gets rough, make adjustments, but keep standing.” Anonymous, but suitable to me

Anna Lee

Sunday Evening

Caring Bridge: Larkin Dorris

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

Please begin praying for little Chloe Neyland who will have heart surgery next week in New Orleans.

Pray for Dennis Travis who is hospitalized at Ochsner in New Orleans. The Travis family lives west of Amite.

Douglas Frank Brumfield of Denham Springs passed away. His wake is tonight at Pine Ridge with the funeral there in the morning.

Thelma Lindsey Alford, a native of Kentwood, passed away. Her services are scheduled to be in Baton Rouge.

The Lord's Day

Caring Bridge: Logan Watts

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

Randy Relan‘s liver transplant went well. According to the last report I had, Randy was still sleeping, but the doctors were not alarmed. Pray for Randy, the family, and the medical staff caring for him.

Jesse Dean is in some pain due to Tuesday’s back surgery, but it is bearable. Continue to remember Jesse and Majel in your prayers.

Ruby Schwartz is in a lot of pain at North Oaks. Please pray for her and for her family.

Mr. Luther Ricks had a stroke Thursday. Please be in prayer for Luther, this family, and the medical staff caring for him.

John Levi Reid, Jr.
(September 25, 1937 – September 17, 2011)

John Levi Reid, Jr.

A resident of Greensburg, he died at 9:35 a.m. on Saturday, September 17, 2011 at St. Helena Parish Hospital in Greensburg. He was born September 25, 1937 in Amite and was 73 years of age. He is survived by his sister, Katie Reid, Prairieville; brother, Joe Moore, Albany; 2 nieces, Sandra Turner, Denham Springs and Melanie Moore, Ponchatoula; 3 nephews, Nola David Longmire, Jr., Central, Joseph Moore, III, Amite and Scott Moore, Amite; great-nephew, Kenneth Joseph Landry. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Sunday and from 9 a.m. until religious services at 11 a.m. on Monday, September 19, 2011. Interment Killian Chapel Cemetery, Amite.

Thought for the Day: Life Isn’t Easy

Unfortunately there are some things that children should be learning in school, but don’t. Not all of them have to do with academics. For the benefit of our high school and college graduates, here are some basic rules that may not have found their way into the standard curriculum. Some (perhaps all) of these should be credited to Charles Sykes, author of “Dumbing Down Our Kids.”

Rule #1: Life is not fair. Get used to it.

Rule #2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. It will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Rule #3: Sorry, you won’t make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won’t be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn’t have a Gap label.

Rule #4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait ’till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier.

Rule #5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity.

Rule #6: If you mess up, it’s not your parents’ fault, so don’t whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.

Rule #7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents’ generation try cleaning out your bedroom.

Rule #8: In some schools they have abolished failing grades. They’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Rule #9: Life is not divided into semesters, and you don’t get summers off. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.

Rule #10. Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs.

Rule #11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.

Rule #12: Enjoy this while you can. Sure, parents are a pain, school’s a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you’ll realize how wonderful it was to be a kid. Maybe you should start now.

You’re welcome.

I think there are some good points to be learned by students in the material above. The message I see repeated throughout is “don’t expect for life to be easy.” Interestingly enough, that’s one of the messages that Jesus left with his disciples. Life for a Christian will not always be easy. At times, it will be very difficult. And sometimes it helps just to know that in advance.

“Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” (1 Peter 4:12-13).

The good thing is, though, that even when life is not easy, God has promised to provide the strength we need to get through it.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, North Carolina

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

Anna Lee

Saturday

CHARLES HARWELL SHEFFIELD Born January 3, 1940, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana; died August 15, 2011, in Columbia Falls, Montana, of Lewy Body Dementia. Charlie grew up in Kentwood, Louisiana, graduated from Louisiana State University, and joined the U.S. Navy, retiring from the Reserves with the rank of Captain. He was a small business owner in Kentwood before retirement. Preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Ollie Sheffield and a niece, Michele Garon. Survived by his wife of 48 years, Gail Kemp Sheffield of Kalispell, MT; brother Henry Sheffield and wife Kathleen of Baton Rouge, Louisiana; sister, Sally Garon and husband Claude of Hamilton MT, and several nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews. No services scheduled at this time. Donations to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (lbda.org) or the Feral Cat Consortium of Madisonville, Louisiana (helpferals.org) would be appreciated.

There will be a memorial service for Charlie Sheffield on Saturday, September 24th at St. Elizabeth Catholic Chapel in Kentwood. Visitation begins at 1:00 PM and the service will be at 2:30 PM.

Georgia Barnette Week of Prayer for Louisiana Missions

http://georgiabarnette.org/GBO/Day7/

Thought for the Day: God’s Grading Plan

Grade A

Someone has come up with this list of the ways that professors grade their final exams:

DEPT OF STATISTICS:
– All grades are plotted along the normal bell curve.

DEPT OF PSYCHOLOGY:
– Students are asked to blot ink in their exam books, close them and turn them in. The professor opens the books and assigns the first grade that comes to mind.

DEPT OF HISTORY:
– All students get the same grade they got last year.

DEPT OF PHILOSOPHY:
– What is a grade?

LAW SCHOOL:
– Students are asked to defend their position of why they should receive an A.

DEPT OF MATHEMATICS:
– Grades are variable.

DEPT OF LOGIC:
– If and only if the student is present for the final and the student has accumulated a passing grade then the student will receive an A else the student will not receive an A.

DEPT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE:
– Random number generator determines grade.

MUSIC DEPARTMENT:
– Each student must figure out his grade by listening to the instructor play the corresponding note (+ and – would be sharp and flat respectively).

DEPT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION:
– Everybody gets an A.

How do you suppose God will grade us on our “final exam”? Some people think he will automatically pass everyone (“After all, he’s so kind and loving, how could he do otherwise?”). Some people think he’ll grade on a curve (“I may be bad, but I’m not as bad as some people I know!”). Some people think he look at the assignments you completed (the “good” deeds) and the assignments you failed (the “bad” deeds), and passes you if the good side outweighs the bad.

However, none of those ideas are accurate. Truth is, God grades on a strict pass/fail basis — either we pass (heaven) or we fail (hell). And there is only one way to keep from failing:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1).

For those who are “in Christ” and continue to walk “according to the Spirit”, the grade is certain. I don’t know about you, but I’m anxious for the semester to end! 🙂

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Boone Church of Christ
Boone, NC

Saturday Morning (again)

My post from this morning is not here. I’ll link you up with the GBWP again.

Walker Community Ministries

http://georgiabarnette.org/GBO/Day6/

Preschool/Children’s Mission Study

http://georgiabarnette.org/GBO/Default2.aspx?id=8231

Saturday Midday

From Kathy Harrell

There will be a memorial service for Charlie Sheffield on Saturday, September 24th at St. Elizabeth Catholic Chapel in Kentwood. Visitation begins at 1:00 PM and the service will be at 2:30 PM.