Nan's Calendar

by       Nan Forehand,   Statesville,  NC    

We can begin to see the everlasting glory of God when we realize that troubles help us to see our world for what it is; lacking perfection and short-lived.  We can ask God to give us the insight to look for what is permanent and eternal.

Sometimes we draw trouble to ourselves because of negative self thoughts.  I believe I am a recovering perfectionist, a recovering people-pleaser, a recovering negative thinker.  God has given me the insight to understand I can never be perfect this side of Heaven.  I placed such heavy burdens on my own self before I realized that I am a work in progress.  It's ok that I'm not perfect.  It's ok if I speak and someone doesn't agree with what I said.  It's not the end of the world for someone to disagree with me.  I still have respect and am still respected.  It's ok if my house isn't spotlessly clean all the time.  People-pleasing was a way to survive.  I lacked permission to please myself and to trust myself.  I realized at some point that I made decisions based on pleasing others.  Those motives and decisions were covert.  It was easy to become annoyed and hurt when my efforts to please didn't work as I planned.  I lived with so many fears and insecurities.  It has been a tremendous sense of freedom to have overcome so many obstacles that I, yes, I placed in my path.  I did it to myself, though I didn't have the insight to realize it at the time.  I created my own troubles through my negative self-thoughts.  No one was as critical of me as I was  of
myself.  It has taken years of practice to become a positive thinker and the blessings and ability to encourage others as a result of this daily practice are truly known only to God.  Only He knows how far I have come from the shell of a person I used to be.  My life before I met Allen was not one I care for others to see.  In sharing these snippets of my past with you, it is easier for you to understand how far I have come in my own personal growth, emotionally and spiritually.  I used denial as a means of protection.  Until I was ready to accept my reality, I was a fragile, insecure little girl in a woman's body.  At some point, through the Lord's love and Allen's love, I became safe and strong enough to cope with the truth of my past.  I stopped punishing myself for having denied my reality.
The people who interact with me today would be amazed if they only knew how far I have come and how much I have grown.  Through love, compassion, actively listening and encouragement, I am seeing and witnessing others grow and believe me, it is a beautiful sight to behold.
We are all recovering from something.  We are all a work in progress; a masterpiece in the making.  We are all beautiful.  We are all loved by our Creator.  We have the ability to love and to be loved.  Even in singleness, there are so many ways to give love and to receive love.  God gave us so many other ways to experience love than the intimate love between a woman and a man.  God is love and I sense God's love in so many ways.  Love is so much more than the romantic love we associate with this precious gift God gave us.  Love is an action word.  Love God, love others and love yourself. 

Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything. Ephesians 5:20

Daily Jewel

by   Pastor  J.T. Carnell,  McAlester, OK

"Next"
“Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng.” – Proverbs 7:26

            A mother heard the family cat yowl in pain. She knew where to look—she looked for her son, Mike.

"Stop pulling the cat's tail, Michael!" she chided.

"I'm not pulling his tail," the boy retorted. "I'm just standing on it. He's doing the pulling."

He, of course, is no different than any of us when we want to blame someone or something else for our problems. It's the cat's fault. Or the government. Or the school. Or....

In her audio program "How Could You Do That?" (Harper Audio, 1996), Laura Schlessinger relates a story of a 40-year-old woman who was jogging along in a state park when she was attacked and killed by a mountain lion. Her family immediately filed suit against the state because of the state's "failure to manage the mountain lion population" and because it didn't "react to reports of cougar activity in the area by posting warning signs."

Interestingly, her husband dropped the suit a little later. "Barbara and I have always taken responsibility for our own actions," he explained. "Barbara chose to run in the wild and, on a very long shot, she did not come back. This is not the fault of the state, and people should take responsibility for themselves."

It is rare that we hear a story like that!  I find that most of the good parts of my life, as well as those which are not all that good, are a direct result of my own decisions! When I recognize that I am ultimately responsible for the great majority of what happens to me, I begin to look for solutions to solve my problems instead of targets to blame them on. I am happier and healthier.  Taking responsibility is one more step in building a life that matters.

The reason why this matters is how easily so many fall—even those who of faith who believe themselves to be either invincible or beyond temptation.  Like the woman in the story that even though she knew of the dangers that existed, “surely it won’t happen to me,” was her mindset and was unfortunately her last mindset.

I know I have used this particular illustration before but it fits this situation to a tee:   Once a spider built a beautiful web in an old house.  He kept it clean and attractive so that flies would patronize it.  The very minute he got a "customer" he would clean up on him so the other flies would not get suspicious.

Then, one day, this fairly intelligent fly came buzzing by the clean spider web.  Old man spider called out, "Come and sit." 

But the fairly intelligent fly said, "No, sir.  I don't see any other flies in your house and I'm not going in alone!"

But, presently he saw on the floor below a large crowd of flies dancing around on a piece of brown paper.  He was delighted!  He was not afraid if lots of other flies were doing it.  So he came in for a landing.

 Just before he landed, a bee zoomed by and said to him, "Don't land there, stupid!  That's fly paper...you'll get stuck and die!" 

But the fairly intelligent fly shouted back, "Don't be silly!  Those flies are dancing and having a good time.  There's a big crowd there.  Every-body's doing it.  That many flies can't all be wrong!"

Well, you know what happened.  He was caught!  Some folks want so much to be with the crowd that they end up in a mess.  What does it profit a fly if he escapes the web only to end up in the glue?

Solomon’s advice—don’t be next on the list.  Do not be like the young man who got caught in the web. 

Good Things

by      Everett Christian,  McAlester,  OK

 
GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
 
(The Lord said)
11 “Do not steal.
Do not deceive or cheat one another."
- Leviticus 19:11(New Living Translation).
 
 
 
GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
 
3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.  4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.  - 1 John 4:3-4(New Living Translation).
 
 
 
A QUOTE
 
I am nothing, but truth is everything.
- Abraham Lincoln -
 
 
 
THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
 
"I must do something" will always solve more problems than "something must be done."
- From Reminisce Magazine -
 
I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you. - Age 65, Wisdom Through The Ages.
 
Some people succeed because they are destined to; most people succeed because they are determined to.
- From Reminisce Magazine -
 
Why worry when you can pray?
- From Reflecting God -
 
 
 
NOTES
 
Today has been mostly sunny with a high temperature of 80 degrees. Low temperature last night was 49 degrees around 2:00 a.m. At lunchtime, Charley, Bill, my daughter June and I had lunch together at Taco Bob's. June and I then took some newspapers and plastic bottles to the recycling center. We then went to the post office. Around 2:00 p.m. we took Friendly to the vet for her annual examination and vaccinations.  She was a pretty good kitty and immediately started eating and doing her normal things when she got back home. I took a nap without a single cat on my bed. Around 4:00 p.m., June and I went to Walmart for my weekly supply of cat food and other items. We then sat in the back yard with the cats until almost dark.
 
The cats are fine. Most are outside at present including Little Girl. Rascal was just in a short time ago to check on me. They have all been accounted for this evening including Lucy the stray, Siamese Tom, and Tony from across the street.
 
At 10:05 p.m. skies are fair with a temperature of 66 degrees. I will see you next time.
 
In Christian Love, Everett.

God's Tug - God's Love

God’s Love

April 13, 2011

 ¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
            His love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
            His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
            His love endures forever.

Psalm 136:1-3 NIV

Great thoughts and a pure heart that is what we should ask from God.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/The_Love_of_God/  Here are the lyrics of a song that tells about God’s love.

I have this image in my mind of seeing a couple mothers nursing their babies when they were in public places. It touched me because of the beautiful look of love I saw on their faces while doing it. Ok, maybe some of you mothers who have had children and nursed them may not agree with me, but I think this site is one of the most wonderful. And there are mothers who don’t love their babies and children this way. You might think I’m sappy, but it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it.

Then, I segue into thoughts of how much God loves me and it’s beyond my comprehension. My mind can’t contain the whole of this concept because there is no end to how much He loves me. Only through the birth of His Son, who died to become my Saviour can I wrap my mind around how much I’m loved. Some days when I’m feeling down, I have a hard time with the depth of His love, but it doesn’t last long. God never stopped finding ways to show me how much He loves me. It’s incredible to think that someone like me, who doesn’t deserve His love because of my sins, should be forgiven by the blood of Jesus. I am loved by the Father, saved by the Son, and guided by the Holy Spirit. I am guided through this life until I see my Saviour face-to-face. Little babies are miraculous beings – totally dependent upon their families. Sometimes, I crumple in my adulthood and become childlike and needy, just wanting to sit on my Heavenly Father’s lap and have His arms around me. And you know what? He’s never too busy to do that for me because His love endures forever. Hallelujah!

May God’s blessings rain down on you, your families, and furkids (if you have any).

Michelle Rose

Daily Jewel

by    Pastor J.T. Carnell,  McAlester,  OK

“When You See a Fork in the Road…Don’t Take it” 

“Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths.” – Proverbs 7:25

            I’ve mentioned this man’s name before and his unique way of expressing himself, but few can ignore the contributions that Yogi Berra has provided to our society and language. 

            Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra is a former Major League Baseball catcher, outfielder, and manager.  He played almost his entire 19-year baseball career (1946–1965) for the New York Yankees. Berra was one of only four players to be named the Most Valuable Player of the American League three times and one of only six managers to lead both American and National League teams to the World Series.  He was elected to the baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

            As prolific as his baseball career was, today he is probably better recognized for his misuse of the English language (which is quite a feat unto itself).  Whether or not he actually coined these phrases intentionally or they just came out…few can question the impact they have had.  Here are just a few:

As a general comment on baseball: "90% of the game is half mental.”
On why he no longer went to Ruggeri's, a St. Louis restaurant: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.”
"It ain't over till it's over." In July 1973, when Berra's Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East.  The Mets rallied to win the division title on the final day of the season.
On being the guest of honor at an awards banquet: "Thank you for making this day necessary."
It's déjà vu all over again".  This quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hit back-to-back home runs in the Yankees' seasons in the early 1960s.
"You can observe a lot by watching."
"Always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours."

What is perhaps my favorite is this one:  When giving directions to former Major Leaguer and best friend, Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home, which is accessible by two routes: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

I recently had an experience similar to this.  I was coming back from a visit to Tulsa and on my way back decided to visit a family that lived in the country.  I took an exit off of the highway that I was unfamiliar with and came literally to a “fork in the road!”  One way went left the other to the right.  I had no idea which one to take so…”I took it.”  (I went to the right)  Thirty miles later I found my destination but only later did I discover that I had taken the wrong road.  Had I taken gone to the left I would have cut my journey in half. 

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.” – Matthew 7:13

            Centuries before Jesus uttered these words Solomon provided the same advice.  He knew there are dangers all along the road we call the Journey of Life!  There will be numerous opportunities to take paths and detours that will not lead us to our destination—or should I say the destination that we need to find!

            The path to life has no “forks in the road!”  It is straight—it is direct and if you need to stop and rest from time to time He has made allowances for that as well! 

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28

            So, if you are looking for a response for realizing if you get off-track from time to time, use one of Yogi’s quotes:  On why the New York Yankees  lost the 1960 series to the Pittsburgh Pirates: "We made too many wrong mistakes"