Good Things

by E. Christian, McAlester, OK
Friday, May 4, 2012

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; 13 planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him. ” - Psalm 92:12-15(New International Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” - John 8:31-32(New King James Version).

A QUOTE
Faith is simply taking God at His word and acting as if we did. - D. I. Vanderpool -

A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER
A house is made of walls and beams; A home is built with love and dreams. - From Home is Where the Heart Is -

NOTES
Today has been partly cloudy with a high temperature of 84 degrees and a low temperature of 72 degrees. I had lunch with Charley and Bill. I went to the post office. I came home and turned on the cooling for the first time this year. I took my nap with Emmy. I was going to take Friendly to the vet for her annual Vaccinations. I got her in the carrier twice but before I could get the opening zipped closed she got out of the carrier and I couldn't catch her any more. I called the vet and canceled the appointment and told them I would come in some other day. My neighbor mowed my back yard this afternoon. I sat outside with the cats from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Good Things may rest again tomorrow night so don't be concerned if you don't receive them. I appreciate your e-mails and I appreciate each one who reads the Good Things. I am going to leave you a true cat story at the end of the Good Things. This story came out in Angels On Earth magazine a couple of years ago.,br /> The cats are fine. None of them are in the den with me at present but I have seen all of them this evening.
I will see you next time,
In Christian Love, Everett.
************************* Here is the cat story:
WHERE TWO ARE GATHERED By Lola Walker Alliance, Nebraska

My Mama Cat is more than beautiful. She has a special talent. Every time I kneel in prayer Mama Cat appears by my side to place a paw on my hands and mew along quietly. Even if I'm in another room silently praying, she somehow knows and comes running. Recently some friends joined me for a prayer meeting. Mama Cat prowled around our feet. She stopped to rub up against each one of us, adding her prayers to ours. How blessed I am never to have to pray alone.

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
May 3, 2012

“Being Teachable”
“I would not obey my teachers or turn my ear to my instructors.” – Proverbs 5:13

“I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.” – Philippians 4:12 (New Living Testament)

“Pain is inevitable but misery is optional.” – Barbara Johnson

A woman bought a parrot to keep her company but returned it the next day. "This bird doesn't talk," she told the owner.
"Does he have a mirror in his cage?" he asked. "Parrots love mirrors. They see their reflection and start a conversation." The woman bought a mirror and left.
The next day, she was back; the bird still wasn't talking. "How about a ladder? Parrots love ladders. A happy parrot is a talkative parrot." The woman bought a ladder and left.
But the next day, she was back. "Does your parrot have a swing? No? Well, that's the problem. Once he starts swinging, he'll talk up a storm." The woman reluctantly bought a swing and left.
When she walked into the store the next day she was sad and downcast. "The parrot died," she said. The pet store owner was shocked!
"I'm so sorry. Tell me, did he ever say a word?" he asked.
"Yes, right before he died," the woman replied. "In a weak voice he asked me, 'Don't they sell any food at that pet store?'"
The moral of the story is to always make sure to keep the main thing the main thing! Putting God’s principles and disciplines are always the first priority—and then allowing ourselves to be teachable!!
In one of her books, Barbara Johnson tells the story about a friend who saved money to buy very special, expensive wallpaper for her son’s bedroom. She had to special-order it. When it arrived, she put it away, planning to hang it as soon as she could. In the meantime, her husband discovered the wallpaper and decided to surprise his wife by hanging it while she was shopping one day. The design on the wallpaper was a group of colorful balloons with strings hanging down. It took him an entire day to finish the job.
He made one mistake: he hung all the wallpaper UPSIDE DOWN, with all the strings pointing up rather than down. When his wife returned home, she was pleased that her husband had done the job for her, but she was in shock that he had failed to hang it in an appropriate configuration. His work could not be re-done. The author commented, “She had wanted it to be just perfect, but it had come out exactly opposite of what she had planned.” Life is like that sometimes. We determine that things will turn out a certain way, and when they don’t, we are devastated! We make a concerted effort to do the right thing, but everything turns south. Conflicts happen. The choice is ours—be miserable or adjust to the circumstances. I like this poem:

Life is easier than you think—All you have to do is:
Accept the impossible, Bear the intolerable, and Be able to smile at anything.
How teachable are you? Seriously…are you teachable enough to allow God to make changes in your life…your agenda…your lifestyle if need be?
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
May 2, 2012

“Tour de Life”
“You will say, ‘How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction!’” – Proverbs 5:12

The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than 3,600 kilometers (2,200 mi) and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages. Individual times to finish each stage are aggregated to determine the overall winner at the end of the race. The rider with the lowest aggregate time at the end of each day wears a yellow jersey. The course changes every year, but the race has always finished in Paris. Since 1975, the climax of the final stage has been along the Champs-Elysees.
The “Tour de France” has been called one of the most grueling of all sporting events. The one who has been defined by it is American Lance Armstrong who has won it a record seven consecutive times. These victories were achieved after he overcame and survived a bout with testicular cancer. He contributed his victories in cycling to not his athletic ability but his disciplines in fighting cancer. He is quoted as saying, “Do the small things first…the rest will follow.”
As much as many of us do not like discipline, whether it is maintaining self-discipline or following the disciplines of others, especially God’s disciplines—in the end we realize the benefits that exist from it. The key is not waiting until it is too late to find discipline. Harry Emerson Fosdick once said, “No horse gets anywhere until he is harnessed. No steam or gas drives anything until it is confined. No Niagara is ever turned into light and power until it is tunneled. No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined.”
Emerson underscored two truths here. First, some things can be controlled by external forces—horses, steam engines, and giant rivers, for example. Each of these has intrinsic power, but when controlled by external forces, impressive results can be achieved. Race horses can be trained to run at amazing speeds in a one-and-and-eighth-mile race. Steam engines can generate incredible thrust when built into giant locomotives. And uncontrolled rivers can be forced through huge turbines that produce mega electrical power. Left to do their own thing, each of these would be mere footnotes in the pages of history. Second, Emerson said that in humans, internal controls are the only controls that last. External controls (by parents and others in authority) may be able to force certain types of behavior in children. But such behavioral modification will be short-lived. On the other hand, self-control learned through instruction and discipline will last. Emerson concluded, “No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, and disciplined.” And those results come through instruction that is internally applied.
Although he didn’t follow the advice he gave to others, King Solomon understood this principle of life. Going back if I could to the previous chapter we see Solomon saying these words: “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body” (Proverbs 4:20-22). Solomon was saying, “Embrace these truths—they will change your life!” An interesting side note: Armstrong had raced in the Tour de France five times prior to his bout with cancer and although was considered to be the top American cyclist, failed to finish in the top ten in any of those races. Although he was in very good physical condition he believes he was not in his top condition. Do not wait to be disciplined! All of us can become spiritually disciplined as we follow these guidelines! Are these disciplines painful? Of course. All meaningful accomplishments are. But as Lance Armstrong said about winning the Tour de France, “Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever.”
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Good Things

by E. Christian, McAlester, OK
Wednesday, May 2, 2012

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. - James 3:16-18(New King James Verssion).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. - 2 Corinthians 9:6(New King James Version).

A QUOTE,br /> Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not. - Ralph Waldo Emerson -,br />
A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER,br /> The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the Creator. - From It's A Beautiful Life -,br />
NOTES
Today has been partly cloudy with a high temperature of 81 degrees and a low temperature of 69 degrees. I had lunch with Bill. Charley had a luncheon at his church. I went to the post office and then home. My neighbor mowed my front yard today. I took a nap this afternoon. I don't think a cat took a nap with me. I sat outside with the cats this evening for about 30 minutes. I may let the Good Things rest for a while after tonight so don't be concerned if you don't receive them tomorrow night.
The cats are fine. None are with me at present in the den. They have all been seen this evening.
In Christian Love,
Everett

Good Things

by E. Christian, McAlester, OK
Tuesday, May 1, 2012

GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD
3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. - Genesis 2:3(New International Version).

GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD
(Jesus said) 19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21(New King James Version).
A QUOTE
And if tonight my soul may find her peace in sleep, and sink in good oblivion, and in the morning wake like a new-opened flower, then I have been dipped again in God and new-created. - D. H. Lawrence -

A THOUGHT TO REMEMBER
A mother's patience is like a tube of toothpaste - never quite all gone. - From Home is Where the Heart Is -

NOTES
We had a thunderstorm last night in the middle of the night. The thunder awakened me. Most of my cats were on the back porch so I opened the door and they came running in. Most of them get scared when it thunders but the thunder doesn't seem to bother Emmy, Little Girl and Rascal. Little Girl's hearing is getting bad like mine but I can still hear the thunder. Today has been partly cloudy in McAlester, Oklahoma, with a high temperature of 83 degrees at 3:25 p.m. I had lunch with Charley and Bill and came by the post office to pick up my mail. I sat out for a few minutes before my nap. I took my nap in early afternoon with Rascal. At 5:00 p.m. I went to Walmart's gasoline station and filled my van with gas at $3.46 per gallon. I then went to Sonic Drive In and brought home a hamburger and french fries for my supper. Hamburgers are half price after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesdays if you live near a Sonic Drive In. I sat ouside with the cats from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. I have had e-mails since last time. Thanks to Michele for saying that I don't ramble and thanks to my grandson, Chris, for saying that I am not senile. Thanks also to Gail, Geneva and Michelle for your kind words. Thanks to all of you for reading the Good Things. I still talk to my daughters every day.
The cats are fine. Rascal is on the desk near me washing his face. If you have never seen a cat wash it's face you have sure missed a Blessing. Little Girl is dozing on the sofa. Leo has been here this evening as well as friend Tony from across the street. I have seen all of the cats this evening.
I will see you next time,
In Christian Love, Everett.