Tuesday

“For the Son of Man has come to seek

and to save that which was lost.”

~Luke 19:10~

Pray for the family of Mrs. Wanzie Williams.

Pray for those who will suffer from the cold this week.  Do what you can to help someone in need for warmth this week.

Check out the new version of Baptist Press @ http://www.bpnews.net/.

Layaway

layaway.jpg(DID YOU KNOW that some advice is offered on the layaway plan…?

You may have no need of it today, but it can be stored in your mind and reserved for some time later. (I use advice today that I laid away years ago–advice that made little sense to me as a teenager but has wisdom I can fully appreciate today.)

Someone gave me advice on how to keep a job before I even filled out my first resume, advice on how to handle bills even before I ever had any, and advice about marriage long before I ever started dating. (My parents told me the best way to keep my marriage healthy was to “board up the kitchen and eat out.”)

I couldn’t use much of that advice in the fourth grade, but I still listened. And when the day came that I got a job, got my first bill, and said, “I do,” I had a storehouse of good advice to draw from.

When someone gives you good advice, don’t tune it out because you don’t feel you need it right now. Put it on layaway. Keep it in reserve. Who knows? It could come in very handy some day. (Martha Bolton)

“Hold on to instruction,

do not let it go;

guard it well,

for it is your life.”

Proverbs 4:13

Posted by Mike Benson

Be careful this week!  The cold weather is dangerous in many ways!  Don’t forget to check on others.

Anna Lee

Monday

A Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-10

1 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—

2 A time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.

3 A time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.

4 A time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.

5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.

6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.

7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.

8 A time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.

9 What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils?

10 I have seen the task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

There is a time for everything.  Isn’t it wonderfully comforting to know He walks with each of us through all the seasons of our lives?

Anna Lee


Sunday Evening

I forgot to mention that Donald Duncan in hospitalized in Baton Rouge where he had heart surgery last week.

Tom W. Williams, Jr.
(May 31, 1936 – January 2, 2010)


Tom W. Williams, Jr.

U.S. Veteran Died at 1:28 p.m. on Saturday, January 2, 2010 at North Oaks Medical Center in Hammond, LA. He was a native of New Orleans, LA and a resident of Amite, LA. Age 73 years. He was a U. S. Army veteran. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesday and at First Baptist Church, Amite, from 9 a.m. until religious services at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Services conducted by Rev. Mike Foster. Interment Amite Memorial Gardens, Amite, LA. Survived by wife, Susan Stewart Williams, Amite, 3 daughters, Marsha Duncan and her husband, Glen, Gallatin, TN, Beverly Perkins and her husband, Tracy, Amite, Karla Thompson and her husband, Teddy, Jr., Denham Springs, 4 grandchildren, Brady Duncan, Taylor Perkins, Jack Perkins, Hollis Thompson, 2 brothers, Robert L. Williams, Independence, Buddy Anthony, Ponchatoula, 1 sister, Mavis Rios, Hammond. Preceded in death by parents, Tom W. Williams, Sr. and Georgia Palmer Williams, 3 brothers, John Lee Williams, Edgar Williams, John Shelton Williams, 2 sisters, Audrey Selman, Verna Mae Childers.

Judy Y. Wilson
(August 7, 1947 – January 2, 2010)

Judy Young Wilson, 62, a resident of Kentwood, LA, died January 2, 2010 at LSUHC/Lallie Kemp Hospital in Independence, LA. She was born August 7, 1947 in McComb, MS. She was the daughter of the late Wiley Britton Young and Edna Simmons Young. She was a former telephone operator with South Central Bell. She was a very active member of Magnolia Church of God.

She is preceded in death by her parents and a brother, Richard Young.

She is survived by her husband of 34 years, Douglas Wilson, Sr. of Kentwood; two sons, Douglas Wilson, Jr. of Clinton, LA and Steven Wayne Wilson and wife, Becky of Easleyville, LA; three brothers and their wives, Robert and Paula Young of Brandon, MS, James and Jackie Young of Magnolia and David and D.G. Young of Summit; four sisters and their husbands, Loretta and Gilbert Stoddard, Shirley and Larry Seale and Glenda and Gene Sharkey, all of McComb and Frances and Wilson Brister of Summit; two brothers-in-law, Robert Wilson and wife, Ora Lee and Wesley Wilson, all of Kentwood; one sister-in-law, Sharon Slaven and husband, Jim of Kentwood; two grandchildren, Heather D. Wilson of Easleyville and Harley Dean Wilson of Franklinton, LA and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation is Monday at Hartman-Sharkey Funeral Home in McComb from 5PM until 8PM and continues Tuesday at Magnolia Church of God from 10AM until services at 11AM with Rev. Demond Kennedy and Rev. Vincent Buetel officiating. Burial will be in Woodland cemetery in Kentwood.

Sunday Afternoon

Mrs. Judy Wilson, wife of Doug Wilson, passed away this morning.  I’ll post an obituary later.  In the meantime, pray for her family.

Mrs. Wanzie Williams is back at home.  Please pray for her and her family as they stay close to her side.

Please continue to pray for Chuck Pittman as he continues his battle with cancer.  Pray for his family too.

Pray for Robert Callihan and Rev. Butch Reviere as they see doctors this week for their health issues.  Your prayers will be appreciated.

Sunday

… That you may love the Lord your God,

listen to his voice,

and hold fast to him.

For the Lord is your life,

and he will give you many years

in the land he swore to give to your fathers,

Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

~Deuteronomy 30:20 (NIV)~

Closet

aac.jpgHOW DO YOU build a “sanctuary” in your busy life; a place where you can meet with God…?

Build a “closet.”

Isaac’s closet was in a field (Genesis 24:63). Peter’s closet was on a housetop (Acts 10:9).

You must fashion your own.

It may mean leaving the kids with your spouse, while you sit out on the back porch with a cup of coffee and your Bible for fifteen minutes.

It may mean snatching a few minutes when your baby is taking his or her afternoon nap.

For those who have a long drive to work, your sanctuary may be in your car with a CD player. It may mean posting a passage of Scripture near your steering wheel, where you can meditate and pray about it during the time that you drive.

It may mean reading your Bible during your lunch break at work.

It may mean taking the first ten minutes to read and pray in your office each morning.

It may mean putting your tennis shoes on and going for a walk with your Bible in hand.

It may mean sitting in your garage or workshop with a CD player to listen to sermons.

It’s not what the sanctuary looks like or where it is that matters. It’s what you do there that makes it a meaningful place. The sanctuary does not provide rest. What takes place there in the desert is what refreshes the inner man. (Steve Farrar)

“But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.” Matthew 6:6

Posted by Mike Benson

Enjoy some fellowship time and some Bible study with Christians today.

Anna Lee

Saturday

But the basic reality of God is plain enough.

Open your eyes and there it is!

~Romans 1:19 (MSG)~


Mary Criswell sent this message.

Wayne Criswell is back at home and doing well. Thanks for your prayers.

CaringBridege

Today, many people are again traveling so they can be at home/church for the weekend and back to their regular schedule/work on Monday.  Be extra careful as you travel.

Margurite Wilkinson Travis Vernon

//
Vernon, Margurite Travis McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, at 1 p.m.
Published in The Advocate on January 2, 2010

For those of you who participated in Operation Christmas Child and those who are considering participating next year, please read http://www.baptistmessage.com/articledetail.php?articleID=e0bb2084d3cc581256d7c5331ed76e39

Thank-you for your participation.  If you did not participate, pray about participating next year.

Members of Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge unload some of the 12,317 shoeboxes collected at the church for Operation Christmas Child.
Members of Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge unload some of the 12,317 shoeboxes collected at the church for Operation Christmas Child.

Undeserved

Jesus knock2.jpgA MAN IN his sixties was walking down the street of a modern subdivision…

In his hand was a scrap of paper from a doctor’s office with a name and address scribbled in pencil. As the man approached the house, he waded the paper and pushed it into his pocket. He made his way to the front door, pushed the doorbell button, and waited anxiously.

Earlier that day, the man had been reading a medical journal in a doctor’s office wiating room when he came across an interesting article about organ donation. He was reading how so many people were on waiting-lists for kidney transplants, and how some would surely die waiting. As he closed the journal, still waiting for his name to be called, he imagined what it would be like too be dying in a waiting room. Right then, he made the decision to donate one of his kidneys.

An hour after asking his doctor for a lead, he was standing out in the cold on the doorstep of a complete stranger. As he herd the door being unlocked from the inside, he was eager to look upon the face of the one who would benefit from his sacrifice. The door pulled open.

“If you’re selling something, I’m not interested.” The first response was automatic. The man inside was middle-aged and appeared somewhat annoyed by his uninvited guest. “No, I’m not selling anything sir,” the older man answered back. “Actually, I guess it might seem odd why I’m here, but you see, I was just out walking and this air is terribly cold, so I thought perhaps you would allow me to step in for a few moments to warm up…” The man inside hesitated for a couple of seconds, glancing back and then sighing with a hint of frustration. “Alright, come on in.” The invitation was cold and half-empty.

The older man stepped into the warm house, and for the next few minutes, he did everything he could to carry on small-talk with the stranger. More than anything, he just wanted a glimpse of who this man was, a peek at the life he would spare. But it soon became evident that this man was ready for his guest to leave. “Sorry, but I’ve got something planned, so I’m afriad you’re going to have to be on your way now.”

The older man generously offered his thanks and quickly stepped back out into the cold. As he walked away from the house, he paused and looked back. Through the large front window, he watched as the man inside plopped down in front of a television and reclined back in his chair. It was precisely at this moment, as he looked upon the undeserving man, that he smiled and said to himself, “This is the man I want to help.”

Why choose to help someone who doesn’t deserve it? When Jesus came to this earth, he voluntarily sacrificed himself to offer us hope — and certainly not because we deserved it. As Christ hung on the cross, He looked down upon an undeserving crowd of spectators and cried, “Father, forgive them…” Thank God that His desire to save the hopeless was not detoured by rejection. Alan Pitchford

“For scarcely for a righteous man will one die;

yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:7-8

Posted by Mike Benson

Thank-you for praying as you read The Prayer Link each day.  Have a great weekend!

Anna Lee


2010

For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you

except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

~1 Corinthians 2:2 (NIV)~

Holly K. made it back to West Africa (with luggage).

ENDURING HARDSHIP


It’s the end of December which means that, in some parts of the country, ski season is in full swing.  For those of you who plan to do some skiing this winter, someone has composed the following list of exercises to get you prepared:

~ Visit your local butcher and pay $30 to sit in the walk-in freezer for half an hour. Afterwards, burn two $50 dollar bills to warm up.

~ Soak your gloves and store them in the freezer after every use.

~ If you wear glasses, begin wearing them with glue smeared on the lenses.

~ Find the nearest ice rink and walk across the ice 20 times in your ski boots carrying two pairs of skis, accessory bag and poles. Pretend you are looking for your car. Sporadically drop things.

~ Place a small but angular pebble in your shoes, line them with crushed ice, and then tighten a C-clamp around your toes.

~ Buy a new pair of gloves and IMMEDIATELY THROW ONE AWAY!

~ Secure one of your ankles to a bed post and ask a friend to run into you at high speed.

~ Fill a blender with ice, hit the pulse button and let the spray blast your face. Leave the ice on your face until it melts. Let it drip onto your clothes.

~ Drink several ounces of water (or another beverage of choice), dress up in as many clothes as you can; now, quickly take them off because you REALLY, REALLY HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM!

~ Repeat all of the above every Friday and Saturday until you’re ready for the real thing.

When I lived in Boone, North Carolina, I was in an area where skiing is a popular activity.  There were several ski slopes within a 30-minute drive of our house.  Before moving to Boone, I had never been skiing before, but it sure looked like fun, so one year I gave it a try.  Will I do it again?  Reread the list above for my answer!  🙂

Maybe I shouldn’t have waited until I was 40, or maybe I’m just not coordinated enough (skiing was no problem — it was the stopping that I had trouble with).  I just know I spent several hours saying to myself, “People actually pay to go through this?!”

Why do skiers endure such hardship?  You would need to ask them that question, but there is obviously a certain amount of pleasure that they find in skiing.  If the reward of an activity is not greater than the hardship, we tend not to continue to engage in that activity.

Some people, no doubt, wonder the same thing about Christians.  They don’t understand people who make sacrifices, putting others ahead of themselves, living in a way that brings glory to God, and denying the “pleasures of life”.  So why do Christians endure hardships?  I’ll let the apostle Paul answer that question:

“Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.  This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him.” (2 Timothy 2:10-12a)

Again, if the reward of an activity is not greater than the hardship, we tend not to continue to engage in that activity.  So it’s important that we continue to remind ourselves of the “reward” of living the Christian life.  If you find that living the Christian life is getting tough, remind yourself every now and then why you’re doing what you’re doing.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

“If you find that living the Christian life is getting tough, remind yourself every now and then why you’re doing what you’re doing.”  The reward is heavenly!

Anna Lee

Thursday Afternoon

Mrs. Margurite Wilkinson Travis Vernon
(May 12, 1923 – December 31, 2009)


Mrs. Margurite Wilkinson Travis Vernon

Mrs. Margurite Wilkinson Travis Vernon a loving mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister was born May 12, 1923 and passed away at 8:10 a.m. Thursday, December 31, 2009 at North Oaks Medical Center, Hammond. She was 86, a native of McComb and a resident of Arcola.

Mrs. Margurite is survived by a daughter, Marilyn T. Rutland and husband Monroe, Roseland; son, Donnie Travis and wife Delores, Roseland; step-daughter, Kandis Vernon Whittington; 3 step-sons, Henry, Johnny & Walter Vernon; brother, Leroy Wilkinson, Amite; sister, Catherine Wilkinson Caldwell, Houston, TX; 2 daughters-in-law, Myra Fay Travis & Betty Travis Taylor; 9 grandchildren, Fay Travis Sanchez, Herman Travis, Peyton Travis, Tracie Travis Ballard, Reid Travis, Tyler Rutland, Kasey Rutland Shaw, Debi Travis McCoy & Darla Travis; 17 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces , nephews & extended family.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Claude and Ellen Bailey Wilkinson; husbands, Reid Travis & John L. Vernon; sister, Helen Wilkinson Calender; brother, Willie Wilkinson; 2 sons, Arthur Reid Travis & Douglas Travis; grandson, Willie Reid Travis, II.

Visitation will be at McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, on Saturday, January 2, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. until Religious Service at 1:00 p.m. in the funeral home Chapel with Rev, Walter Vernon officiating. Interment in the Arcola-Roseland Cemetery,

An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com

McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, is located at I-55N & Hwy 16W behind Bill Hood Automotive and Mr. Tom’s Car Wash.

“Aunt” Margurite was really my second cousin.  She was a special person!  I have many wonderful memories of her from throughout my life.