The Bell

THE BELL

I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation ( Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know

who you are!?

He's Coming!!

Are you making way for the coming of the Lord? As we prepare to celebrate the arrival of the Messiah, let's remember that this whole holdiay in December was created to celebrate the greatest gift mankind ever received. How do you perceive that gift to be?

I perceive that gift to be one that I sometimes simply cannot wrap my mind around. Jesus Christ allowed himself to be beaten and tortured and then murdered on a cross so that I can have eternal salvation. WOW!! I'm sorry, folks, but I am too chicken to ever allow anyone to hurt me, no matter how much I might love you. And in the three short years of His ministry, Christ gave us such a good and peaceful and powerful code of ethics to live by.

Because of the sacrificial Lamb, I will stand before my God one day -- and that day will last for eternity.

What does it mean to you?

John 3:16

Our move to Billings brought out the gifts God gave me.

I've been wanting to tell some more of the story of how God can bring beauty out of the ashes. He had to go to extreme measures to get my attention! If it wouldn't have been for our home and everything we had burning up in our fire, we never would have moved from here, and I never would have had the opportunity to find out that I truly could do whatever I felt God was calling me to do.

Before I was baptized in the Holy Spirit, born again, I would never have had the courage and boldness to step out and do some of the things I found myself doing when we moved to Billings. I immediately found a prayer group there. It seemed as though I had known these people forever, not that they were new friends to me! We had so much to share of the Lord! What a privilege it was to be able to live there for 19 years!

In those 19 years, I felt the Lord calling me into many areas of service in the church. One of those, and the first one, was to lead the music at St. Pius. Our dear friends, Ed and Hazel Havens, had moved to Billings about a year before we did. They were our friends for about 15 years before they moved. They had 3 daughters, who were Linda's and Janet's age, and one in between. Terry, LeeAnne, and Jackie. One night I walked into the church just to pray. When I walked in there was Terry, LeeAnne and Jackie! They were practicing with Terry playing her guitar, and Jackie and LeeAnne were singing. When I walked in they were so happy to see me, and ran up to me with hugs and excitement. Lonnie, can you help us? They said we can't do the music for church unless we have an adult involved with us and no one wants to! I said I'd give it some thought. I went home and prayed and read scripture and talked to my Mom and Dad, who were living there at the time. Every time I opened my bible it was a passage about music and singing. Whatever I was listening to on the radio said Sing to Lord! I overheard conversations about singing. I asked my Mom and Dad and they said "sure you could do that", so I figured all that was the Lord speaking to me. I said Yes! And what came from that Yes was absolutely amazing! Not my doing, for sure, but because I was obedient and said Yes, the Lord worked everything that happened through me! Our group grew and grew. We had about 30 of us. We had guitars, instruments, and drums. I knew nothing about music, but these kids gave it their whole heart and soul! Karen learned to play a guitar, and she joined the group. Janet played the drums, and the rest of our family sang. We had several other guitars. It was amazing! One Christmas Janet played her drums at the offertory of the mass while we sang "Little Drummer Boy", and she marched right up to the altar and the baby Jesus in his Creche. People began coming to our mass from all over town, and we soon had to have the "St. Pius Shuffle" to get everyone in the church. We had lots of empty seats, no music when we first started. That is a "miracle" from God. Now, this is only one area where I said "Yes". I'll share others later.

I just wanted to encourage you all to listen for the Lord's calling on your life. You'll hear it the same way I did. And, even though you don't feel equipped to do what he calls you to do, you can do it - IF it truly is the Lord speaking to you. He seems to say "Listen to the desires of your heart. I place that desire and talents in you so that My Kingdom can grow."

Psalm 66 was one of the passages I received when I was trying to discern His voice. Read it sometime. I especially like verse 1 and 2: "Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing of his glorious name! Tell the world how wonderful he is." and then verse 16: "Come and hear, all of you who reverence the Lord, and I will tell you what he did for me"

Above is a picture of our group. There is another row of kids behind the guitar players on the right.

Read Sharon's post of Nov. 12 again!

I just re-read Sharon's post from Nov 12 - "I Have a Question for you". And as I was reading it again I felt a sense of urgency that these words are so important and need to be listened to AND acted upon. So, I encourage each of you to read that again and ask God how you can do that? I know you would hear an answer to your question because I feel God really wants us to hear this word and that it is truly from HIM. He won't answer in an audible voice that you hear roaring down from heaven, like Moses must have heard, or some of the other old testament prophets, but you hear him through circumstances, people, coincidential things happen all around you. Doors will open for you to bring God to wherever He has placed you and whomever He has placed there with you. He asks only that you respond and obey! And when you do, you aren't in it by yourself. You are merely the instrument, the visual that God uses to speak to people, to minister to them, to love them with the Love of God. You may be the only Bible some of them ever read. You may be the Holy Spirit with skin on for them to be able to see and hear and believe in Him. And the Holy Spirit will reveal to you what you are to say and what you are to do. He will teach you all things, so you can pass that knowledge on. Read Sharon's post, and listen for God's word to you. Share with us here, if you want.

Check it out

This morning in my prayer time, I felt God tell me "TRUST" and then God blessed me with these scriptures:

Psalm 100. Check it out, it is really short. Especially find the last lines reassuring "He is always loving and kind, and his faithfulness goes on and on to each succeeding generation."

Isaiah 26:3 & 4. "He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord. Trust in the Lord God always, for in the Lord Jehovah is your everlasting strength."

Isaiah 30:15. "...Only in returning to me and waiting for me will you be saved: in quietness and confidence is you strength.."

Isaiah 30:19-21. "And if you leave God's paths and go astray, you will hear a voice behind you say 'No, this is the way: walk here."

Then God asked me to share His word with all of you because His words mean something special to at least one of you at this point in time, just as they do to me.

Our God is a faithful God!

I HAVE A QUESTION

I found this in my Bible. It is dated 5-1-06. I believe I jotted it down during service one Sunday.

"Hear me people.
Hear me.
Time is short.
Bring me to the lost.
Time is short.
Bring me to the lost before it is too late.
Hear me people."

Now, that was about a year and a half ago, and I need to ask myself, have I brought God to anyone, or anyone to God, in that time? This command isn't a new one, Jesus told us to bring the gospel to all the world. How many ways do you suppose there are to do just that?

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give drink to the thirsty, love.love.love. ???Forgive, hold your tongue, lend your ear, have patience. ??? Support our missions and our missionaries. Pray.Pray.Pray. Engage a stranger in a "God" conversation. ???

How do you act on this command?

The pursuit of happiness

Hi all! Mom had asked me to share some of my insights on her blog, so here I am, finally getting around to it. I was reading the prayer requests and the answered prayers. I just love this family - I love our childlike faith and don't we have such a great sense of humor? We are funny people! And God is good - look at how He listens!

I have been thinking a lot about happiness lately. Let me know what you think of my ideas. I think happiness is like world peace... it's not gonna happen. That doesn't mean we don't pray for it or pursue it, it just isn't possible. We have moments of happiness, maybe even days of it, but something always happens to spoil it. That's the way of the world. Then there's joy. Joy is possible in spite of circumstances. It's one of the Fruits of the Spirit, which means it is only possible with Christ. Have you ever felt happy and you wondered why you were happy? "My life is a mess!" but you were happy anyway? That's joy - that's the Spirit. That's the natural consequence of living in obedience to Christ. The other fruits are - love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. If you have all of these in your life, it's the evidence that you are living in sync with God's will. So whenever I feel anxious, or mean, or depressed (or any one of the opposites of the fruits) I have to ask myself in what area of my life am I not being obedient to Christ? Then (and this is the important part) I go before Him and confess what I've done, and pray for guidance to get right again. This is why I read my Bible everyday - so that I know what I am supposed to do.

OK - I could go on..... and on..... and on...... but that's enough! Thanks for listening. Love you!

CHUCK

I do believe that God has put it on my heart to pray for Chuck's knee. Will you all please join me.

Heavenly Father, Creator of the human body; Brother Jesus, Master Healer; Holy Spirit, who breathes new life into believers,

I hold Chuck up to you this evening. Please lay your hand on his knee, Jesus, and heal every part of it. Remove the cause of the pain and swelling and replace it with total mobility and strength. With pain comes discouragement, so breathe new life into Chuck's spirit and don't allow the discouragement to abide there any more! Speak to Chuck through your Holy Spirit, Lord. If he is to be mobile, nudge him into activity. If he is to rest, nudge him with a reminder that you created his body and you will heal it - but he needs to co-operate by resting. Use this "down" time to draw Chuck even closer to you, Father. Let his relationship with You deepen and grow. Free Chuck of any concerns he might have through this time, take his mind off of any worry and lead him into focusing on you and all that you have for him. Fill Chuck with a peace that surpasses all understanding and bless him again and again. Bless Deedle as she helps Chuck through this time. I pray in Jesus name.

Thank you Jesus for what you are about to do for Chuck.

A little of my history

I am LeLawne Mae Gratton Eve (Lonnie Eve). I am the first born of Chuck and Dorothy Gratton. I was born on June 18th, 1937 in Rock Springs, Wy., where I lived until I was 6 weeks old. Then we moved to Harlem, Mt, and then to Havre, Mt., and finally settling in Chinook, Mt., which is right in the middle between Harlem and Havre. I graduated from high school there in 1955, and then went on to college in Great Falls, where I met and married my husband (of 51 years now). We had seven children - 5 daughters and 2 sons, 2 beautiful daughters-in-law, 4 great sons-in-law, and 9 grandchildren. We lived in Great Falls for 20 years, and then moved to Billings and lived there for 20 years, and now have moved back to Great Falls, where I'm sure we'll be for the duration. We are so blessed! We have a wonderful family. Good jobs. And each other. It's a great life!

When I was in college in Great Falls, Mt.
My mom and Dad and little sister, Patsy and me
This is me

Jesus calms the storm

In Mark Chapter 6, verses 48-50 we read that the disciples were out on the sea and Jesus was alone on the land. He had sent them to go ahead of him in the boat across the sea to Bethsaida. Jesus went up into the hills to pray. That night the boat was in the middle of the lake, and Jesus could see the disciples struggling so hard to row their boat against the waves. It was getting very stormy, and the waves were getting stronger. So Jesus went out to them, early in the morning, walking on the water! When they saw him they couldn't know who he was. They thought he was a ghost. After all, who could walk on the water like that? He frightened them. So Jesus spoke to them and said, "Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid." Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind became calm. They were greatly amazed!

That stormy night on the sea of Galilee, Jesus manifested a power beyond anything we can comprehend. It wasn't a "magic trick" that calmed the elements, but the Creator's control over His own creation. They had just been with him that day as he multiplied the fishes and the loaves and fed 5,000 people with only 5 loaves and 2 fish! (read the previous chapter in Mark 6:35-44) The disciples had seen Him work this miracle, and were filled with faith from being a part of it.

The same is true for us! We have had answers to prayers and our faith is built up. We know by personal experience that God loves us and cares for us. Yet in the middle of the night, when the storm rages most fiercely, we still cry out with fear.

How did Jesus respond to the disciples' fearful cries? Did he tell them to buck up and stop being babies? No, he told them to have courage. Then he climbed into the boat and calmed the wind. And that's the way he treats us, speaking a word of courage, assuring us of his presence, and calming our souls. We may feel that we are alone on a dark night, in the middle of an angry sea, but the truth is that God sees us no matter where we are or what we are going through. Just as Jesus walked on the water to come to the disciples in the experience of the storm, he can use the very problems we experience in order to come to us and calm our fears.

So, when you are in the middle of the storms of life, just know Jesus is there with you - he's in the boat with you - and when you recognize Him, He will calm your storms. Just know that.

WOW! Here is a great resource I found. Thought I'd share. It is helpful to me. Hope it is for you too! Love , Karen...

YOU SAY
GOD SAYS
BIBLE VERSES
You say: "It's impossible"
God says: All things are possible
(Luke 18:27)
You say: "I'm too tired"
God says: I will give you rest
(Matthew 11:28-30)
You say: "Nobody really loves me"!
God says: I love you
(John 3:1 6 & John 3:34 )
You say: "I can't go on"
God says: My grace is sufficient
(II Corinthians 12:9 & Psalm 91:15)
You say: "I can't figure things out"
God says: I will direct your steps
(Proverbs 3:5- 6)
You say: "I can't do it"
God says: You can do all things
(Philippians 4:13)
You say: "I'm not able"
God says: I am able
(II Corinthians 9:8)
You say: "It's not worth it"
God says: It will be worth it
(Romans 8:28 )
You say: "I can't forgive myself"
God says: I Forgive you
(I John 1:9 & Romans 8:1)
You say: "I can't manage"
God says: I will supply all your needs
(Philippians 4:19)
You say: "I'm afraid"
God says: I have not given you a spirit of fear
(II Timothy 1:7)
You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated"
God says: Cast all your cares on ME
(I Peter 5:7)
You say: "I'm not smart enough"
God says: I give you wisdom
(I Corinthians 1:30)
You say: "I feel all alone"
God says: I will never leave you or forsake you
(Hebrews 13:5)

Lonnie's Surgery

I do believe that Lonnie is scheduled for surgery tomorrow, Wednesday the 31st. I am putting this here rather than in the prayer requewsts, because there is such a long list of requests and I would like your attention directed to praying for a successful surgery.

Heavenly Father,

I hold your servant, Lonnie, up to you and ask that you prepare her for surgery by giving her a heart filled with peace and the knowledge that the Great Physician will be in that operating room with her and will sit with her through recovery.

I ask that you guide the surgeon's hands, Lord, and that the surgery be successful and without incident. Restore Lonnie's energy and remove every trace of depression from her. Grant her a speedy recovery. When she is over-doing it (and she WILL try to over-do it) nudge her with a reminder that she is to take care of herself and not worry about "things getting done" as you are in the process of knitting her body and spirit back together.

I pray in Jesus name.

Amen.

Thank you Jesus for what you are about to do for Lonnie.

Where is our Dear, Beautiful Auntie Sharon!???

Have not heard from you in awhile. Come back... Come back...

Me as Religious Education Director at St. Pius in Billings - this was an award party in my honor - and I was truly honored!

When we lost everything in our fire some amazing blessings came our way. One of those blessings was an opportunity to move to Billings. Phil was offered a job selling pipe for a company out of Salt Lake, Waterworks Equipment Co. It was a big jump in wages, so we packed up all our belongs, which was all the wonderful things people had given us. When we got to Billings, many great opportunities opened up for us. We lived there 20 years before returning to Great Falls. The scripture on the banner above meant a lot to me, and I lived that way. He did direct my paths. And one of those paths led me into Religious Ed director. I loved the job. It was very rewarding. I've been searching for that scripture so I could tell you to read it in your bible and pray with it often. But - I can't seem to find it. Do any of you know where it is? If so, please post it here. Thanks.

But - it is so true. If we truly do seek Him with all our hearts. Really want to know Him. Really listen for his direction. Really trust Him. Really love being in His presence and talking to Him - He will direct our path. He will lead us. We just need to get to know Him so intimately and thoroughly that we can recognize His leading. That is so important in this day and age. There is so much out there that is false, and it is hard to discern the real from the false. If you worked in a bank, you would spend time in your training learning money. You would learn how it feels, the color of it, the print on it - everything about real money. You don't study the counterfeit at all. You just get to know the real so well that you learn to recognize the fake when you come across it. That is the same with God and His leading and His teaching. If you study the word of God, spend time with Him, learn of Him, you will be able to recognize the real from the counterfeit. And you will know when it is He who is leading you. So seek Him with all your heart and He will direct your path.

This is a newspaper article about our fire. I tried to put it as a comment under "Don't you know my Mommy prays, but it wouldn't go there for me"

I'm not sure why the Tribune published this article. But, I always thought it was because the gas company didn't want to be responsible in any way for this fire. The fire cheif told us it was caused by a leak in the gas pipe next to the back door, which was ignited by the fireplace. It was just a miracle that it didn't explode while we were there. The fireman told us we would not have been able to get out of the house - even if we had our hand on the doorknob - that's how hot and how fast it went. This was one of many articles in the paper about our fire. We just thank God for the many blessings that came out of the ashes.

oops!

I should have put the afore said comment under the comments of the "Let's tell funny stories" post! Sorry.

Having fun at M-K campground

These are the pictures that go with the story of me being demoted!
The first picture is Karen, Patsy, Debbie and I (taking the picture) playing scrabble.
The other picture is Debbie sitting on top of the rock that Chad wanted to go up. Please notice the creek running by way down there on the right hand corner of the picture.

Let's share humorous faith stories

I think it would be fun to share some of the stories that we've been through with our history of faith and church. We probably all know some. we could include a picture, too, if wanted.

I'll share first:

When we lived in Billings and Karen and Rick's kids Chad and Brea were just little tykes of about 4 and 2 years old. We all got together to play games at the kitchen table. The family room was just below us and we sent Chad and Brea down there to play as they were too small to understand our game we were playing. They were playing, we were playing, and all were having a great time. We heard what they were saying. Chad said "Let's play Bible Study" and Brea said "okay". To which Chad replied - "You be the bible, I'll be Jesus".

Prayer requests

Please click on to the prayer requests and answers. If there are any you would like to add, please do. And if there are any answers to the prayer, please post it, so we can all join together in a prayer of Thanksgiving. Our God is an awesome God!

Answers to prayer

Let us know your answers to your prayers so we can thank God.

Share in the faith testimonies of others

I am reading this wonderful little book titled "The Secret Things of God", and on page 45 this is what it says:

"Read about others' faith stories and hear their testimonies. The bible says that seeing what others have done and what God has done in their lives helps our own faith. Do an internet search on testimonies of Christians or other research. You will be amazed at what God is doing around the world."

This is the purpose of this blog. I couldn't believe I read these words in this little book. That is how God speaks to me. If I ask Him if this blog is what He wants me to do, He answers in many ways, and this was one that let me know He does want us to share on this blog. There are many ways God speaks to us, and usually we are surprised when He does! I was very surprised and got excited about this when I read these words that just jumped off the page at me.

Trust is a very big part of our faith walk. We have to trust and believe and have faith that God is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do. This little book goes on to say "Trust is a muscle that can grow as you learn to be certain that He can bring about what you cannot see. Of course you can't see it YET! It will only come into being as you take that step, the step of trust".

So - let's trust God and take that step of faith and believe He is calling us to share our faith with others to help us and them grow in faith. I am very much in awe of how God works. If I have an idea in my mind, I begin to do a little research on it and begin to write, and before I know it, something is on the page that I know is not me. I am not a writer. I believe God works through me in the power of the Holy Spirit when I am obedient to His voice. And I believe He does the same for anyone who seeks Him and His wisdom.

'Don't You Know My Mommy Prays?'

When I was five years old, living in Great Falls, Montana, I was attending my siblings' band concert with my mom, the author of this blog. In the middle of the concert, a man asked if my mother was in the audience and declared that we should go home because our house was on fire.

Being five years old, my memories of this night are a bit sketchy, but I do remember a few things clearly (funny how your mind works; to this day, some 30+ years later, whenever I smell a burned house, memories of my childhood come flooding back to me). I'm not sure how we got there, but I'm sure my Mom ran out of the concert with me in tow to the car outside. The next thing I do remember is being in the car on the street in front of my house. I don't specifically remember flames, but I do remember the lights from the fire trucks. We spent quite a bit of time there and being so little, I was passed around to all kinds of horrified relatives who happened to be there.

I'm sure these details will be corrected in the comments, but what I believe happened was that the gas line to the house somehow caused an explosion that witnesses said caused flames to shoot out of windows on both sides of the house, curl up around the roof and join above the house.

I'm not sure who it was, but I think it was Aunt Donna who asked me if I was scared or worried because I appeared to be taking these life-changing events in stride without crying or showing much distress at all. "Why would I worry? Don't you know my mommy prays?" was my response. I remember clearly at the time knowing with all certainty that the fact that our home was burning up in front of our eyes, that there was absolutely no reaason to be concerned, because my mother spent a good portion of each day praying to God. This was sure to result in our lives not really changing in any negative way, and probably would result in God blessing our family with some new path that would be revealed in time and everything would turn out.

How well placed my faith in my mother's prayer turned out to be. Looking back, I can see why my Mom was hysterical that night. I am the youngest of seven, and there was never a time where the whole family was out of the house at the same time. The whole house burned to the ground, and all of our families posessions were lost. Of course, with such a big family, there was very little money.

Miraculously (literally), everyone was out of the house that night. Mom and I were at Chuck and Debbie's band concert, and who knows where everyone else was, but no one was home. If they had been, they surely would have died due to the violently fast and hot nature of this fire. Even our dog, Sam was rescued from the back yard by neighbors. The only thing I know of that died in that fire was our cat.

You can see how devistating something like this could be for a family in our situation in the mid-70s. But, what turned out happening, was truly a miracle. That night we were taken in by relatives. No small feat looking back on it. A young married couple with seven kids and no material posessions moving into my Dad's sister's house with her own husband and ten kids. Somehow that worked out.

I remember getting a lot of new stuff from people who heard about our plight and donating things to us. Dad said that one man in town told him to take the whole family to the shoe store and to buy everyone a new pair of shoes. The bill had been taken care of. That was a big deal for our family. Think what new shoes for a family of nine would cost today.

Somehow we wound up in a rental house that turned out to be perfect for what we needed. But we weren't there long when Dad got a new job in Billings. This turned out to be the perfect place to be at the time. Everything did work out. I'm sure my Mom will add more details to this story, but our lives were all changed for the better (in the long run).

My point in this long-winded story is that I have always been able to look at my mother's faith in God as an inspiration and as an anchor during uncertain and difficult times. My Mom thinks I am really laid-back and happy-go-lucky and take a non-challant view of life and my future, but it always seems to work out in my favor. I know that it works out because my mommy prays. The confidence I have always had in many of my decisions in life can be attributed to the fact, that in the back of my mind, I know that my Mom, who is a perpetual worrier, is praying like crazy for me, my brother, and my five sisters. Furthermore, God listens to her. One way or another, my Mom's prayers are answered, and there is really no reason for me to get worked up, because God has a plan for me. There really is nothing that will happen to me that will not serve God's purpose. My mother instilled in me that God has a plan. We may not at first see the purpose, but it will become clear in time.

I have arrived!

Yes, Mom. Whatever you did seems to have worked. I can post now. I'm a big girl now!

profiles and wish list

Click on the names of the people who are in this blog and read their profiles and wish lists. If you haven't filled yours in, it's fun to do that. We'd like to read all about you. I'd like to post my picture on there, too, but have to figure it out somehow. I will! I'm waiting for some more stories of your faith walks and answers to prayers, etc. I know we'd all like to hear about you. How about a funny story of church experiences you have had in your life? Or something you've learned that really made a difference to you or someone you know. What is your favorite scripture reading? Why is it your favorite? Do you have a favorite story you've heard or read and could share with us? I'll start telling stories and doing the writings, but it sure would be fun if more of you wanted to write things on here, too. How about it?

God bless you all!

HEY Look at Me..I'm posting

Just a few lines to say that I was able to do this one. Never saw this stuff for Evesdropper. So maybe someone could re invite me to evesdropper, as it never did this, what I am doing here. Does that make sense?

My prayer for all of you and myself is that God will equip us with whatever it is we need to fight our everyday battles, and from that, develop the character He wants us to have so we are able to continue fighting the battles of everyday living.

Thankful for......

I just feel blessed today and as I relect on all I am thankful for... my lovely wife, loving Mother and Father, Five wonderful sister, a way cool brother, and awesome extended family too numberous to mention. (brother & sister-in-laws, Aunts, Uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews...etc) But most of all I am thankful that the Lord poured out His grace on me and chose me to be one of His children.

Another way to post comments

On the upper RIGHT hand corner are the words "new post". click on there and write a post and click on publish post. I'm hoping somehow you can poston here. You can also click on the "comments" at the bottom of my posts.

Romans 13: verses 9 and 11

"Love your neighbor as you love yourself"
"Do this because we live in an important time. It is now time for you to wake up from your sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The 'night' is almost finished, and the 'day' is almost here. "

We do live in an important time! Reading the newspaper is almost like reading the bible! The events predicted in the bible seem to be happening in our time. So we must wake up! We must take up the weapons God has given us to fight the battles of life that will and are coming our way - especially as the devil knows his time is coming to an end. He would love it if all the people came over to his "side" of the battlefield and went down with him. There is so much on this subject in the bible. We can go to the end of the book, and read the outcome - Jesus wins - we win the battle! The devil is defeated. The best weapons we have are love of Jesus, and for our neighbors, The Holy Spirit dwelling within us, the scriptures, prayer, and obedience to God's commands.

One of the ways I pray is praying the newspaper. As I read it, I ask the Lord to show me what He would want me to pray for today. When something catches my eye, I believe He is saying "this needs prayer" and "that needs prayer" and "this person needs prayer", etc. And there is so much to pray for in this day and time. Once I was even led to pray for a house that was in the want ad section for sale - that it would sell that day! I have no idea why I was led to that particular ad, or what happened with it, but I believed I was meant to pray for that house that day. Sometimes I am truly amazed at some of the stories I read in the newspaper that are so much like what I read in the bible once - so I have to see if I can find it again.
Sometimes I can only lay my hands on that newspaper and pray in tongues for a few minutes, and I know God is hearing that prayer, and that He has others praying for the same things as I am praying for!

First and formost, though, I know we need to pray for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will teach us all things. He will direct our paths, and lead us. He lets us understand the things of God.

Can you share a little of your insight on this subject?

How to publish a post

I am hoping to hear from you on this blog. Share your stories of faith with us! A favorite scripture and why it means so much to you. your prayer requests.

The way you do that is:

Look up in the left hand corner of the screen here and you will see a little "B" (a funny one, but a "B", nevertheless) Click on that. It takes you to the dashboard where you will see two blog sights. The one that says "Blessings from Ablog" is the one you want. Click where it says "new post" and write what you want to share with us. When you are finished, click on "publish Post" and voila! Your story is being shared with us!

prayer requests

Enter your prayer rerquests. We can all pray for them.

Happy Birthday, Arjay!

Today Arjay is 22! What a great young man you are, Arjay. We've always held you close to our hearts. Have a good one! Eat some cake and ice cream for us, since we shouldn't, anyway! What did you get to do on your day?

Persistant prayer

Read Mark Chapter 2, verses 1-12. It is a wonderful story of 4 friends of a paralyzed man. They heard that Jesus was at His home teaching about God's message. So they carried their friend to the house, but when they got there, there were so many people crowding inside the house, outside the house - they couldn't even get near. So they dug a hole right in the roof above where He was speaking and lowered their friend in. Jesus was so impressed by their belief that He could heal him, that He said "Young man, your sins are forgiven"! And a little further on in the story He said to the man "Stand up, take your mat, and go home". Immediately the man stood up, folded up his mat, and walked out while everyone was watching!

There is so much to think about and ponder in this story. So often we come to Jesus asking for a miracle: to cure a sick sister, nephew, friend, to bring back a child who has strayed, save a troubled marriage. And in our prayer we pray for what WE think we know is needed to make them whole and happy again. These 4 friends went to great lengths to get the paralyzed man into His presence. They believed so strongly that He could heal him. I wonder what they thought when His statement was "your sins are forgiven". I bet they thought "But, we thought you were going to heal him!" And He did. God always knows our needs. He is always happy when He sees our faith. He will penetrate the surface of our need and deal with the core problem. He deals not only with our pain, but with the source of our pain, not just with the illness of our bodies, but with the illness of our hearts.

It is hard to believe that God cares and hears every one of us who pray and seek His miracles. Like in the story, His house is so crowded. And, like the friends in the story, we must bring those who need prayer to Him, and we must be persistent - keep asking, keep seeking, be persistent - and BELIEVE that God sees our faith and forgives our sins and will hear and answer our prayer. Trust Him for the results!

I have asked Brian to make me a link called "Prayer Requests". You will be able to click on it and add your prayer requests to the list. And then we can all pray for those needs. Like the 4 friends in the story, we will bring those we love right to the feet of Jesus - KNOWING that He hears us, and will answer.

Please share times when you've brought someone or something to Jesus for healing - and He heard your prayer and answered.

Mary, the Mother of GOD

In John Chapter 2, we read of the first miracle Jesus performed, and it began his short, 3-year ministery on this earth!

At first, Jesus seemed reluctant to perform this miracle of changing the water into wine. But in an instant He changed His mind and did it! Don't you wonder why? I did. So I studied this passage a little bit more, and realized Jesus' Mother, Mary, asked Him to! She pointed out the need of the people. And then she was so confident He would do it. She said to the servants: "Do whatever He tells you to do". She knew the time was now for his ministery and mission to begin - even before He did! She told the servants to do as He told them - they did, and instantly the people saw the miracle in their midst. His ministery began. Mary is someone we can trust to intercede on our behalf. She knows who Jesus is, and what He can do, before we know Him.

I know she is so important in my life. When I didn't know Jesus, she was the one I leaned on, the one I turned to in all the troubles of my life. Until one day I found Jesus and I'm sure she whispered in my ear "Do whatever He tells you to do". I try to, and when I do I see the miracles! I can hear Him directing my path through the pages of the bible, from mass, and from people He puts in my life to carry His love to the world. It is not the easy way, but it is the right way! Thank you, Mary, for sending me to the feet of my Lord and Savior - your son, Jesus!

God has promised to give us good things if we obey Him, just as the servants obeyed and just as He turned mere water into the best wine available, He will turn our ordinary lives into the best there is!

Mary faded away throughout the rest Jesus' ministery. We don't hear of her again until His final day - then she is there at His death and crucifiction. She was there at the foot of the cross to help take Him down and bury Him, and later she was in the upper room - praising and worshipping - when the Holy Spirit descended on them (her and the other disciples) and filled them with His Holy Spirit and they all spoke in tongues! She's here by our side, at the foot of our crosses, with us in our troubles, and she'll be there when we face death - WITH her son, Jesus!

Psalm 40:1-5

"I waited patiently for the Lord, He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud.
He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.
Many people will see this and worship him. Then they will trust the Lord.
Happy is the person who trusts the Lord, who doesn't turn to those who are proud
or to those who worship false gods.
Lord, my God, you have done many miracles.
Your plans for us are many. If I tried to tell them all, there would be too many to count!"

In 1974 (October, to be exact) I made a Life in the Spirit Seminar at St. Luke's in Great Falls, Mt. On the 5th night I was prayed for for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. My life completely changed! I experienced Jesus as my Savior and My Lord. He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. (I believe there's a song with those words). It is like this psalm - I cried to Lord for help. I was overwhelmed with my life at that time. I was sinking into the pit of destruction, going down in the sticky mud to be stuck there forever! When I cried out to Him, He heard my cry. He did stand me on a rock - which was Jesus, my Lord, and made my feet steady. I walk on a firm foundation. I have always liked music. In the 50's, 60's, and 70's I collected 45's. I would listen to them for hours. Mostly Elvis! I was a true Elvis fan then. And I collected sheet music and song books and would play the piano as my Dad and my family would sing along. In 1974 when I received Jesus into my life, I still loved music, but He truly did put a new song in my mouth - a song of praise to our God. Now I collect spiritual and contemporary and gospel praise music and love to sing to the Lord a NEW song! My walk with the Lord since 1974 has been so fun, so exciting, so filled with joy. Sure, there are still the same ups and downs, the same problems with my sinfulness - anger, envy, gluttony, worry, etc - I still listen to Elvis, even - but I know my God has a plan for me - and for you. I know he has done many miracles, and continues to do many miracles, and I know I have a deep rooted love of God, and those around me, I have a peace that is not explained by things going on around me, and I have a constant companion in Jesus Christ who is by my side leading, guiding and directing my life. I just need to learn to be obedient and to learn how to hear his voice! If I tried to tell all that He has done for me it would take forever, so I'll do it in small increments. I would like to ask you to pray about times in your lives when you felt the presence of God, or when you know He was directing circumstances around you, and then share them here. They are meant to encourage all of us to stay with Him!

My first try at authoring a blog

MIRACLES HAPPEN WHEN YOU PRAY! ! ! !

"Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of Himself. Ask and seek and your heart will grow big enough to receive Him and keep Him as your own." This is a quote from a great lady - Mother Teresa.

I am reading a great book titled "The Secrret Things of God." About how we can make life work. The Bible does instruct us on every single aspect of life. Anything or any problem we can encounter is answered for us on the pages of the bible - it is God's love letter to His people. It is God's blueprint for what he has created. Manufacturers of products include instructions with everything they make and that is how we learn to use the products. It is the same with God who made us! The bible is the book of instructions for His creations. Us and our world. Isn't that amazing? Awesome? Unbelievable. Why does God even care about me, just a lowly sinner. I don't know, but I know He does, because I've felt Him near, I've experienced His love for me in so many instances and situations. I call those things miracles! And that is what I want to share with you on this blog. Please tune in tomorrow!

I love you - Mom

P. S. I would also like to ask all of you to share what you think, how this is helpful to you, your own life stories, miracles and experiences, what you learn in the bible day to day, how God is hearing your prayer and answering!

My blog

Please read my blog and publish a post of ideas for the name of it. I can't seem to find the previously submitted titles. I just know there were several I liked. Please do it again. I am going to try to get it going as soon as I have a name for it.

Mom

Welcome to my blog

Brian suggested that I create my own blog and share some of my teachings and insights into my walk with the Lord. So, if you are interested, here it is! Please let me know what you think of it.

Mom