Good Things

by Everett Christian, McAlester, OK
Aug, 22, 2011

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
23 Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look. - Proverbs 25:23(New International Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
9 The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. - Proverbs 22:9(New International Version).
A QUOTE
Our altars are a place of prayer where we commune with God and offer ourselves as living sacrifices. - Robert D. Branson -

THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
People who are grateful for what they have aren't regretful for what they haven't. - From Reminisce Magazine - The less you talk, the more you're listened to. - From Reminisce Magazine -

A FACT ABOUT CATS
The games that kittens love to play enable them to practice specific hunting skills, such as stalking and catching. - From "Cats" by David Alderton -

NOTES
I had lunch with my brother, Charley. I went to the post office. I checked the air in the tires on my van. I went by Walgreens to pick up a prescription. As soon as I get in from lunch which is usually around 1:00 p.m. I take my nap as I am usually out of energy and hot by then. Rascal slept with me as I took my nap today. The picture I am sending tonight is four members of my family stretched out asleep. From left to right they are Rascal, Everett, Smokey and Itty Bitty. Since last night's Good Things, I have had e-mails from Burlene, Cathy Perks, Mary Jo, Mary Ellen, Geneva, Alice, Michelle and Paula. Some of them said they missed the Good Things Saturday night. Paula left a prayer request which I will include at the end of the Good Things tonight. The cats are fine. Little Girl is on the arm of the sofa now. The rest are elsewhere but I have seen them all this evening. Today has been mostly sunny with a high temperature of 99 degrees. Low temperature this morning was 75 degrees. At 9:45 p.m. skies are clear with a temperature of 82 degrees. I will see you next time.
In Christian Love, Everett

Here is Paula's letter:
Hi Everett, My 11 year old son was diagnosed with a heart murmur at his pediatrician on Friday of last week. I had taken him for shots and physical. His pediatrician arranged for him to have an EKG tomorrow. Please remember him in your prayers. He started the 6th grade today at a new school and I'll have to take him out of school early tomorrow for the appt. He will be stressed. I feel that he is healthy and the murmur won't be serious but please pray. Feel free to share with any of your prayer warrior friends. Much appreciated, Paula Caldwell
"What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?" Author-Unknown

Nan's Calendar

by Nan Forehand, Statesville, NC
Aug. 23, 2011

It is better to trust and sometimes be disappointed than to be forever mistrusting and be right occasionally. Neal A. Maxwell, Educator and Religious Leader

Trust men and they will be true to you; treat them greatly and they will show themselves great. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I want to take this one step further: trust yourself and be true to yourself. Trust God and be true to Him. Treat yourself with love and self-respect, then watch your world begin to change for the better. Your world will begin to change for the better because you will see the world through the eyes of love and with a trusting heart. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 New International Version

Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow" -- when you now have it with you. Proverbs 3:27-28 New International Version

It continues to amaze me how God guides me towards quotes and verses in the Bible to bring a message together. I think it is because of my prayer that I pray. "Lord, lead me, guide me and direct me in all that I say and do today so that my words and my actions are pleasing unto You." Amen Bringing Nan's Calendar to you each day is my simple way of giving good to you, because you deserve it. It is surely within my power to sit down, meditate, ponder and understand the guidance of The Holy Spirit as I compose my thoughts, quotes and verses. I am called to bring the good news to you today, for I never know if tomorrow will be a day too late. Today is the most important day of all, simply because it is here now. I can create within the hours of today something beautiful or something hideous. I will choose beauty every time!
I love you, Nan

Daily Jewel

by Pastor J>T. Carnell, McAlester, OK
Aug. 22, 2011

“Playing the Game Nicely”
"These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!" - Proverbs 1:18 (NIV)

One of my favorite games is Uno. A card game in which the goal is to get rid of the cards in your hand before your opponents can do the same. In the process of playing the game you will have several types of cards that allow you to hinder your opponents from getting rid of their cards. There is a draw 4 card, (the best of the bunch). There is a draw 2 card. There is a card which will cause the person next to you to lose their turn, and another which you can change the direction of game, causing someone next to you to lose their turn The problem comes is that once you throw one of these "mean" cards you set yourself up as fair game to have some thrown to you as well. Just when you think you have the game won, "BOOM!" here comes a draw 4 card aimed at you! Then, if an opponent goes out before you do the cards in your hand are counted against you and the "meaner" the card(s) you have left in your hand, the more points they are worth and the person with the least amount of points wins! In the game of life, that which people do to others will be done unto them. "To every action there is an opposite and equal reaction." That not only applies to the law of physics, but to the spiritual realm as well. What we do and say will come back to us. The cruelties that we extract upon others can come back upon us with even greater force. Conversely, our acts of kindness will only be to our credit. The classic feud between the Hatfields and McCoys is a prime example. The McCoy’s lived in Kentucky while the Hatfield’s lived mostly in West Virginia. Between the years of 1878 to 1891 a dozen members of both families had been killed. It started with Asa Harmon McCoy who was murdered on January 7, 1865. Jim Vance, the uncle of Devil (that name itself says something!) Anse Hatfield, despised Harmon because he had joined the Union army during the American Civil War. Harmon was discharged from the army and a few days later when he returned home Vance found him and shot him. The second recorded instance of violence in the feud occurred thirteen years later, in 1878, after a dispute about the ownership of a hog: Floyd Hatfield had it and Randolph McCoy said it was his. The pig was only in the fight because some of the Hatfields believed that since the pig was on their land that meant it was theirs. Some of the McCoys objected, saying the "notches" (markings) on the pig's ears were McCoy marks, not Hatfield marks. The matter was taken to the local Justice of the Peace, and the McCoys lost because of the testimony of Bill Staton, a relative of both families. Presiding over the case was Anderson "Preacher Anse" Hatfield. In June 1880, Staton was killed by two McCoy brothers, Sam and Paris, who were later acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. And it escalated from there! So…what kind of cards will be found in our hands? Are they ones of “vengeance?” Those to cause other’s pain? Solomon's direction is to show extreme caution in how we treat others for in the end we could end up harming ourselves! When was the last time, without anyone's prompting, you did something to show someone how much you cared about them? It's easy to throw our "hate" cards thinking we've won the game...but in the end no one wins those kinds of games.
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Nan's Calendar

by Nan Forehand, Statesville, NC
Aug. 22, 2011

Which of us lives on twenty-four hours a day? And when I say "lives," I do not mean exists, nor "muddles through." Which of us is free from that uneasy feeling that the "great spending departments" of his daily life are not managed as they ought to be? Which of us is not saying to himself -- which of us has not been saying to himself all his life: "I shall alter that when I have a little more time"? We never shall have any more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is. Arnold Bennett “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.” Henry Van Dyke

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me -- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. --Reinhold Niebuhr

My dear friends, this is the message God wants you to understand today. I bring to you the message of God for the people of God. I am but a humble messenger who creates the time in my day to listen and obey the direction of the Lord for His glory and honor. Today simply live, laugh and love. God gave each and every one of us 24 hours in a day. It's up to us how we use that time. People are precious. Don't waste one minute of the time God gives you. Always, Nan

Good Things

by Everett Christian, McAlester, OK
Sunday, August 21, 2011

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
23 This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the LORD. - Jeremiah 9:23-24(New International Version)

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; 26 it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. - Lamentations 3:25-26(New International Version).

A QUOTE
You are only what you are when no one is looking. - Abraham Lincoln -

THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER
If it ain't broke, don't fix it, but keep it in good repair. - From Reminisce Magazine - In a head filled with prejudices, there's no room for a good idea. - From Reminisce Magazine - When noble motives are uncovered, there's nothing to cover up. - From Reminisce Magazine -,br />
A FACT ABOUT CATS
Although cats are born with a natural hunting instinct, they have to learn the specific skills required. They do this in early kittenhood by observing their mother and other cats. The skills then have to be practiced repeatedly in order to become perfected. - From "Cats" by David Alderton

NOTES
Since the last Good Things sent out Friday night I have had one e-mail concerning Good Things. Burlene sent me an e-mail this morning saying she looked on her computer last night and this morning for the Good Things. Burlene, I am sorry but I didn't send them last night. Yesterday was such a hot day that I guess it took the energy out of me and I felt a little tired so I decided to rest last night. Did anyone else miss them? I attended worship service this morning. Pastor J. T. continued his series of messages on "Living With Purpose." Today's message was titled "Seeing The Unseen." The songs that we sang together were "Trust and Obey", "Only Trust Him" and the chorus "Step By Step." A special song was sung by Cathy and Janice titled "Where He Leads I'll Follow" which was beautiful. At the close of the service we sang together "I Surrender All" with several people praying around the Altar. I had lunch at home. I took a nap this afternoon. I didn't attend church tonight. Part two of "Noah, The Musical" was being shown tonight. I stayed home with my family(cats). I put out treats and food outside at about 6:30 p.m. I need to end this soon as I have to put the garbage out on the curb for pick up in the morning. My daughter, Treva, is a chip off the old blocks. She loves animals as much as her mom and dad. She got a new cat yesterday which makes three cats and a dog for her. I think she told me the new cat is about two months old. His name is Mojo and I am sending a picture of him tonight. The cats are fine. Little Girl on the filing cabinet. Rascal has been in as well as Tony visiting from across the street. This morning when I awoke it was a pleasant suprise to see it raining. The rain stopped by the time I went to church at 10:30 a.m. High temperature today was a pleasant 88 degrees. Low temperature this morning was 75 degrees. At 9:55 p.m. skies are clear with a temperature of 81 degrees. I will see you next time.
In Christian Love, Everett.