Be a comfort today...

I Thessalonians 4:19 says, "Comfort one another..."

Try it out...go into the weekend looking for ways to comfort one another.

I love you all!!!

-Mary

What reminds you of Christ...???

The best things about loving rabbits, bunnies, hares...is when people know I do...and they are anywhere and see one, they instantly think of me!!! Hence, the picture from Jenna while in Melcourne...

Just like all things bunny remind people of me....what reminds me of my precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Lately, it has been the wind...cool, gentle breezes...fierce, raging hurricane-force winds, etc. Because, Jesus said this, "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you. "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you. "A little while, and you will no longer see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me." (John 16:7-17)

The original word used for "Helper" is "pneuma" (pnyoo'-mah).

If you look it up in Strong's it is: From G4154; a current of air, that is, breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively a spirit, that is, (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, daemon, or (divine) God, Christ’s spirit, the Holy spirit: - ghost, life, spirit (-ual, -ually), mind.

So, when I feel the wind, gentle breeze or watch a huge leafy coral tree sway in the breeze, I think of my Savior. And, I think about the fact He didn't leave us here alone to live this Christian life. He sent us His Helper, the Holy Spirit. We are never alone.

Never alone.

That is way cool...like a breath of fresh air! He.he.he...

What reminds you of the Savior?

Psalm 8 - How Majestic is our God!!!

O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

Out of the mouth of babes and infants,

you have established strength because of your foes,

to still the enemy and the avenger.

When I look at your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower

than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him dominion over

the works of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet,

all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field,

the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,

whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
(Psalms 8:1-9)

Living what you believe....

Zero Tolerance

There must not be even a hint of sexual immorality among you, or any kind of impurity, or greed because these are improper for God’s people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking . . . but rather thanksgiving. You can be sure of this: No immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of God.
Ephesians 5:3-5

When I was in college (a private Christian college), I recall a scenario where one gal’s reputation was tarnished by one “innocent” choice. You had to be an upperclassman to live off campus. And, most guys, when they became upperclassmen, shuffled off to apartments where 3-4 guys shared a two bedroom apartment. If you lived on campus, you always had to be back on campus by curfew. When Christmas Break or Spring Break went into effect, the rules were a bit lax. So much so, that one gal tried to challenge the system. She had gone over to her guy friend’s apartment (he wasn’t even her boyfriend) and with a bunch of other people began to watch the original Star Wars movies trilogy. As it got closer to normal curfew, those who lived on campus began to depart. Allegedly, as the story goes, this gal fell asleep and her guy buddies were so engrossed in Darth Vader and his minions of the Empire defeating the rebel forces that they forgot to send her on her way to her designated sleeping place on campus. Innocent, right? Well, she awoke around 3 a.m. and tried to get back onto campus. As she was unable to rouse the security guard to unlock the gate so she could get back onto campus, this gal turned around and went back to her friend’s apartment and stayed the night. Somehow, administration learned of this incident. The gal and the guys who lived in the apartment were called in and reprimanded for their indiscreet behavior. As a result, the guys had to move back onto campus as they violated one of the school policies (no overnight guests of the opposite sex) and the gal was put on probation for breaking curfew.

You are probably thinking the school rules were a bit extreme or harsh. And, perhaps they were; however, they were in the student handbook, clearly spelled out, which all students had to read and sign. When we signed the form, we stated we agreed to obey the school rules while enrolled at that college. If we didn’t like the rules, we shouldn’t sign the form and shouldn’t attend that school.

One might argue that although this gal signed the statement of the school rules, her actions demonstrated she didn’t believe they applied to her. She believed she was an exception to the rules and acted accordingly. “But she fell asleep!” you argue. Maybe she had narcolepsy and couldn’t tell she was going to fall asleep! Maybe she had been without sleep for a week straight and out of sheer exhaustion, fell asleep! Do those conditions make the rules any less meaningful or applicable to her?

Lately, I’ve been hearing a lot of teaching on “we live what we believe.”

So, let’s try a few “belief statements” for you to ponder and consider:

I believe that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; therefore, what I eat, drink, read, listen to or watch, what I wear and how I allow another to touch me … will be for the glory of the Lord. (I Cor. 6:19)

I believe that I am a child of God, set apart from this world to glorify Him with all I say and do; therefore, how I act in public and in private, will reflect this. (Romans 8; I Cor. 10:31)

I believe that I am not to be unequally yoked with an unbeliever; therefore, I won’t blindly walk into a relationship with someone without first knowing their spiritual condition. I would go so far as to make the statement, I will not date someone who does not have an ongoing, vibrant relationship with the Lord. (2 Cor 6:14)

I believe there must not be any instance of sexual impurity in my life, including no obscenities, foolish talk or coarse joking; therefore, I will reserve my body for the Lord and should He will it, my future husband or wife – meaning, I won’t have sex of any kind before marriage. I will also be known as someone who doesn’t use foul language in any way (talking or in writing or texting or myspacing…), I won’t be known as someone who talks foolishly or uses sexual innuendo or joking. (Eph. 5:3-5)

What do your believe? What do your choices in life say about what you believe?

And, check yourself! Are you dancing on the edge of going down a path you really don’t want to go? Are you allowing yourself to compromise in areas that are not in line with how God would have you live your life?

Are you living a life “above reproach?” This means you are living a life that reflects a good name and reputation. You are not known as one who will compromise, but as one who will stay away from being associated with questionable situations or circumstances. As an example, often I have talked to the gals about going out on group dates, rather than single dates. There are numerous benefits to having this boundary. If you are known as someone who is a Christian, your reputation will always be under attack. Sticking with the group dates, keeps your reputation in tact. You are “above reproach.” Even if nothing happens, and everything is innocent, there is still that potential for tarnish to your reputation, and ultimately, the name of Christ.

It all comes down to what you believe.

I love you!

why DOES this HAPPEN???!!!???

Okay, so, Frank and I are supposed to be on this slick diet so's we can be super ultra healthy & uber skinny when Missy Jenners bounds off the plane on December 21, 2007 (a Friday, ahem!).

WHY DO I DISCOVER AMAZINGLY INTERESTING AND GREAT TASTING COMBINATIONS OF FOODS WHEN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE DIETING????

On your next dessert hunt through the grocery store, pick up a litre of Dr. Pepper and some good old fashioned vanilla ice cream. Instead of making rootbeer floats, make pepper floats! You can all thank me later for the electric charge your tastey buds get from such a fabulous combination of soda and iced fat (er, um, I mean "cream).

ENJOY!

One of my favorite sayings is:

Life is uncertain,

Eat DESSERT first!!!

Let me know how you like the combination of flavors and let me live vicariously through you, K?

dogledanje!!!

Jenna's Home Away from Home...

For those of your inquisitive about how things look in the "land down under..." Jenna sent these pictures of her room and the home of the Loftis family. Cool! Aye mate!?!

mEaNdErInGs

First off - Miss Jenna arrived safely in Australia! Praise God. I know I will miss her terribly. Did you know you can get life-size pictures of people for about $70 bucks? Hmmm...how might I use such knowledge? Stay tuned (or better yet, COME TO YOUTH GROUP) to find out.

Forecast is for rain . . . .

YES, I typed "rain"!

Yippee...perhaps we've cycled through again to a normal weather pattern in the parched regions of Southern California???!!!! Please oh please let it be true...

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Following devotional is from Planet Wisdom

I’m Not God

"Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?"
--Job 40:8

Mentioned in the blog today a news story about a Nebraska state senator who has filed a lawsuit against God. It's a publicity stunt, sure, but I couldn't help but think of the book of Job. It contains one of the most bone-chilling moments in all of the Bible. After Job and his four "friends" spend most of the book making long speeches about the issues of human sin and suffering and God's justice, God Himself shows up to answer them.I imagine similar conversations about God being held all over the world. College students talking in dorm rooms late into the night. Flippant political conversations full of snide comments about faith. The earnest complaints of heart-broken wives and mothers and husbands and sons who have lost their loved ones to tragedy. "How could God . . .?" "Where was God when . . .?" "Why didn't He . . .?"Maybe someone has hit you in the face with one of those ancient questions: "If God is really loving and good and powerful, how could He possibly have allowed THIS to happen?" You can fill in the THIS with natural disasters, terrorist attacks, terminal childhood diseases, sexual abuse, or even your parents' divorce. The list of THISes includes all the horror we try not to think about most of the time. "How could God . . .?"I have heard meaningful and satisfying answers to these questions from great Bible teachers. They include the idea that humans make choices to rebel against God -- and the natural consequence is human pain and suffering for all. They mention that God proved His love and power and goodness by sending Jesus to suffer and die for us to ultimately free us from the consequence of sin. They also point out that suffering is built into these short lives we're given. Everyone suffers here. Even the person who lives 80 healthy years and dies quietly in his sleep experiences far more pain and far less life than we're meant for. The real living starts in the next life. What matters in this one is that we learn to trust God through Jesus.I agree with all those big ideas. But it's interesting to me that God doesn't offer them when He shows up to answer Job and His friends. Instead, He seems to make just one big point: "I am God. You are not."He does it by asking a series of seemingly sarcastic questions intended to overwhelm Job's small group with how incredibly immense God is -- and how incredibly small we are. By the time He gets to chapter 40, Job has already admitted he has no answers. But God keeps making the point:
Brace yourself like a man;I will question you,and you shall answer me.
Would you discredit my justice?Would you condemn me to justify yourself?
Do you have an arm like God's,and can your voice thunder like his?
Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.
Unleash the fury of your wrath,look at every proud man and bring him low,
look at every proud man and humble him,crush the wicked where they stand.
Bury them all in the dust together;shroud their faces in the grave.
Then I myself will admit to youthat your own right hand can save you.
God says, "Show me that you have all the wisdom and power of God, and I'll acknowledge you're ability to save your own life." His endlessly demanding (and beautifully poetic) questions overwhelm us with the realization that we don't. know. anything. We can't. do. anything. He is GOD. We exist because of Him. We continue because of Him. And we will answer to Him for our actions. He owes us exactly nothing. And he gives us exactly everything.Why does God allow . . .? Why doesn't He . . .? I don't know. I can't know. He is God, and He can do as He sees best. I will trust His love, His power, and His plan to my last painful breath and wait to know even as I am known. What will you do?

hApPyAnNiVeRsArYoFyOuRbIrThInGdAy!

Pssst!!! Sarah & Taylor...

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Sarah & Taylor

Happy Birthdays to Yous!

I love you both!

-c'iao