You Took my Place

A few Easters ago, my family and I were joined by some bi-annual church going friends for morning service and a brunch to follow.  The parking lot at church and sanctuary were running over as they  usually are at Christmas and Easter.  Once inside, the service was incredible as the Holy Spirit seemed to fill the deepest crevice of every heart.

A bit later as our group met up at the restaurant for brunch, the following conversation took place:

"What an incredible service, the music, the worship, the message, one was better than the next"  started one Church Regular.

"And the crowd?  Good grief that was insane trying to get in and out of the church not to mention the parking lot" added Bi-Annual Number One.

"Yah, the parking was brutal. Your church members were pretty aggressive when it came to getting out of there.  I almost got hit and ran over by several anxious to get to lunch I guess", replied Bi-Annual Number Two.

"Yah" with laughter Bi-Annual Number One chimed in, "and I bet they had that little fish symbol or better yet," haaa, haaa "a whole school of little fish on their bumper".

The Bi-Annuals were having some fun now.


I asked our guest how were they so sure it was the regular church membership behaving so poorly and not some folks like themselves of the twice a year crowd? 

That led us into a conversation about Believers can't claim perfect, just salvation by God's grace and anyone claiming to be otherwise is admittedly a hypocrite.

Sadly, I had to concede, we as believers all too often set ourselves up for such criticism when we brand our bumpers, t-shirt and handbags, mistakenly believing no one should hold us to a higher level of accountability, when they really should.

Believing friends, you may have read the following story before, even so, with another high attendance Sunday upon us, take another look.

One day, a man went to visit a church. He got there early, parked his car and got out. Another car pulled up near the driver got out and said,

'I always park there! You took my place!'

The visitor went inside for Sunday school, found an empty seat and sat down. A young lady from the church approached him and stated,

'That's my seat! You took my place!'

The visitor was somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.

After Sunday school, the visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down. Another member walked up to him and said,

'That's where I always sit! You took my place!'

The visitor was even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing.

Later as the congregation was praying for Christ to dwell among them, the visitor stood up, and his appearance began to change.

Horrible scars became visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet. Someone from the congregation noticed him and called out,

'What happened to you?'

The visitor replied, as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye, 'I took your place.'

When you read this, say a prayer.

Ask the Lord to circumcise your heart, that you may yield to the Holy Spirit's urgings as we get too centered on self and cease seeing the greater good and glory God might reveal through us in these situations.

Instead of focusing on self, focus on Him; then share a smile and give gentle answer and shine your Light that whole world all may see Him in you!

He took our place!

Hallelujah, I'm so glad He did!

            Happy Easter!

"The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live"    Deuteronomy 30:6

Discipline: Oh the blessing of it!

My niece Jessica is my eldest brothers’ child. Jess and I have spent a nominal amount of family time in each other’s company, yet we share so many similarities one would think we came from the same womb.
A while back I invited Jess to guest blog on one particular topic she and I regularly battle, weight: more specifically maintaining a healthy weight. Jess wrote an excellent post, “I Will Not Be Enslaved”
This past month I was encouraged by my friend Robyn’s post on the same struggle.
God has used these gals and a bunch of other things to begin training me up in the way He would have me go. To my great surprise I find myself in some of the sweetest dialogue with my Heavenly Father and NOT about weight, but discipline.


dis·ci·pline (ds-pln) n.

1. Training expected to produce a specific character or pattern of behavior, especially training that produces moral or mental improvement.
2. Controlled behavior resulting from disciplinary training; self-control.
3. a. Control obtained by enforcing compliance or order.
b. A systematic method to obtain obedience: a military discipline.
c. A state of order based on submission to rules and authority: a teacher who demanded discipline in the classroom.
4. Punishment intended to correct or train.
5. A set of rules or methods, as those regulating the practice of a church or monastic order.
6. A branch of knowledge or teaching.tr.v. dis·ci·plined, dis·ci·plin·ing, dis·ci·plines

1. To train by instruction and practice, especially to teach self-control to.
2. To teach to obey rules or accept authority. See Synonyms at teach.
3. To punish in order to gain control or enforce obedience.
4. To impose order on: needed to discipline their study habits.


Discipline, has been a word I have vastly misunderstood. To my way of thinking, discipline was chiefly connected to punishment and NOT training….especially gentle training.

Every New Year instead of listing resolutions, God lays a theme on my heart, something He plans to train me up in throughout that year. Last year it was obedience and let me tell you, what a glorious year in obedience we had! Never have I known such joy, peace and blessed humility as God led me along, taking much care and His precious time while blessing me in so many ways. Obedience is a very good thing and always brings blessings!

“If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:” Deuteronomy 28:1-2

In 2010, God made it clear; this would be the year of discipline. I admit to a bit of trepidation, but reflecting back on "The Year of Obedience", I felt safe in my Father's care, looking forward with great anticipation for the sweet communion He and I would share during this year of discipline.

Oh the blessing of it!

"Blessed is the man whom God corrects; so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty. For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal." Job 5:17-18

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions

Were it not for being contacted a few weeks ago about joining this blog tour it is highly probable I may have missed reading this latest publication from Mark Driscoll,

‘Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions'

…and that my friends would have been a shame.

Inspired by 1 Corinthians, in which Paul answers a series of questions posed by the people in the Corinthian church, Pastor Mark Driscoll set out to determine the most controversial questions among visitors to the Mars Hill Church website. In the end, 893 questions were asked and 343,203 votes were cast. The top nine questions are now each addressed in a chapter of Religion Saves.

Some details:
Following an introductory chapter devoted to the misconception that religion is what saves us, Driscoll tackles nine issues: birth control, humor, predestination, grace, sexual sin, faith and works, dating, the emerging church, and the regulative principle. Because the purpose of this book is to address commonly asked questions, all readers will find relevant, engaging material, written in Driscoll's distinctively edgy, yet theologically sound style.

Folks we live in a day when so many in and out of the church find themselves adrift and searching for doctrinally solid answers to questions like Pastor Mark addresses in Religion Saves. While these may not be your concerns, many of your friends, neighbors or family members are likely seeking a response – be they Jesus Followers or not.


Personally, I have ask some of these exact questions or I have been asked them by fellow sojourners. I admit to confusion at times over Emerging and Emergent churches (they sound so similar but are so very different). Pastor Driscoll does an excellent job in clarifying and separating the two.

Upon reading Religion Saves I was strengthened in my convictions and more confident at the prospect of engaging others in these 10 topics of conversation. I found sound biblical answers for myself and those I share my faith with. I found this book to be an easy read, yet will tell you, I purposefully took one chapter at a time, chewed it over a bit before continuing. I am grateful to have a resource I that espouses and directs me to so many biblical truths wrapped up in one compact publication.





Go here for the complete list of participants in the
'Blog tour for Religion Saves by Mark Driscoll'

Mark Driscoll is the founding pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, one of the fastest-growing churches in America. He is president of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network and is the author of several books, including Vintage Jesus.
Pastor Mark preaches on Sunday, trains pastors, and writes curriculum. Mark is married to his high school sweetheart, Grace, and they enjoy raising their three sons and two daughters. More about Mark here!
You may read or Listen to an excerpt here

A Challenge for Change

Last week, on the 36th anniversary of the Roe v Wade decision legalizing 1st and 2nd trimester abortions, my friend Melinda issued a challenge....a challenge for change.

Without divine intervention it seems almost certain that our current laws may become even more pervasive allowing an almost incalculable number of lives to be destroyed and lastingly scarred.

One thing that seems a no brainer, but often neglected is taking up the deliberate action of prayer.

Specifically prayer for President Obama's heart to change regarding abortion.

Throughout history, we know God has moved to change leaders hearts to bring about His will for His people. This challenge brings to mind Esther's King Xerxes and Cyrus King of Persia (2 Chronicles 36:22), both Kings were moved to make decisions that can only be attributed to the workings of the Holy Spirit in their hearts and lives. Personally, I would enjoy a front row seat baring witness to this kind of transformation in our President.

I don't know how God may do it, I just know He has called us to repentance ( 2 Chronicles 7:13-15)and promises when we join together and ask, it shall be done. ( Matthew 18: 18-20)

Melinda has asked that anyone wishing to commit to praying for our Presidents heart condition select a period of time you are willing to commit to praying every Monday, for a month, 6 months or a year - how about all four years?

Whatever you decide have a look here and if the Lord leads you, please join us in the challenge.

I will Not be Enslaved

Recently God has been dealing with me on some very weighty issues. Specifically, what my weight reflects when it comes to where and what I turn to other than my heavenly Father in satisfying my needs.



I shared these revelations God was revealing to me with my niece Jessica a few weeks back.



Shortly afterword, Jess posted the following note on her Facebook page. With her permission I share it with you.



With New Years just a few days away, so many good intentioned resolutions we tend to make - then break, it seemed only fitting.



1 Corinthians 6:12-20 "All things are lawful for me," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful for me," but I will not be enslaved by anything. "Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food"—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two will become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.



I’ve decided the best way to get my point across with loosely applying this passage to overeating is just to replace some words.



Please don’t get the fire burning. I’m not trying to be heretical…I realize there are some flaws to my logic, but I also know that I’m not trying to start a new idea or anything and this isn’t a “word from the Lord.” I’m just taking a passage that deals with a sin and applying it to another sin.



Here’s what I think Paul would have written if he were a woman dealing with food issues, LOL.



“All food is legal for me to eat, but not all of it is healthful. All food is OK for me to eat, but I will not be enslaved by it. Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food and they are both temporary and will not be important in the end. The body is not made for gluttony, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of the Pillsbury Dough Boy? Never! (My substitutions for verse 16 just got silly…I digress!) But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. Flee gluttony (the running wouldn’t hurt, either.) Every other sin a person commits outside the body, but gluttonous person sins against his own body (I know this may not be correct and go against what Paul originally said, but it makes sense, right? Without making me a heretic? Am I way out of context here?) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God with your body.”



I know some might think it extreme to compare gluttony to sexual sins. I think that may be because most of the time gluttony is socially acceptable. Only in America, folks. Home of the super sized, drive thru, delivered fast food, all you can eat buffets and restaurant meals that really should take a day to eat.



With some people, we have been taught to overeat. I don’t use that as an excuse, but we are not satisfied to just be full most of the time. It used to be that you only stuffed yourself that full on Thanksgiving, but now it seems like a more regular occurrence. If our stomach was meant to only hold so much food, why do we overfill it on so many occasions? We even make jokes about wearing our “eating pants.”I guess to some people this might seem extreme.



It’s just food, right?



If you have food issues, like I do, then getting to the heart of why we overeat is so important.



For me, I’ve narrowed it down to 2 words: Idle and Idol.



I eat when I’m bored and I try to replace God with food. Thinking that it will make me feel better. Choosing to comfort myself with food instead of God's Word.I’m hoping to do some more Bible “study” about this topic.



If you have any insight on this, please share! I think we do this by ourselves so often and it really is a big issue for some people.



Thanks, Tammy, for spurring my brain on this topic!

Passion for Pageants

This week has been very full as we put finishing touches on our annual Christmas festival.

After weeks of preparation, we're in the mist of final dress rehearsals-ironing out kinks in music, lighting, sound and other pressing matters.

The program has been billed as a night of 1, 000 voices and will include singers of all ages from kindergarten through our Senior adults. We will be accompanied by one of the finest volunteer orchestras you might ever hear. This musical mosaic will be melded together with powerful narration that presents the complete unabridged meaning as to the celebration of Christ birth.

Basically we're talking a Christmas pageant on steroids...the good kind.

I have known and loved Christmas plays and musicals my entire life. Those pageants that bring us back to the true essence of what we should be celebrating at this time of year. The programs that share the complete story of Gods amazing grace as witnessed by the gift of His Son Jesus.

Some of my fondest childhood memories include the annual pageants held at the church's and schools I attended. I was fortunate to be live during a time when Christmas plays included traditional Christ centered themes and music. My passion for pageants took root early in life. Most of the time these productions were based on the story of Christ birth as told in the second chapter of Luke , and you know...it just doesn't get much better than that.

As a child, my six brothers and I rounded out the cast of several local productions. We did our share of shepherding sheep, bringing treasure from the East, donned a few angel wings

and filled a stable or three with sheep, cows and other exotic livestock.

Yes, my clan played a part in many such annual presentations and have been all the better for it.

I'm excited to say that this year another generation makes their debut in sharing the Christmas story. Miss Kyra has worked hard to learn several intricate choral numbers and will be joining over 300 peers, her grandmother and many others as part of a thousand voice choir that will be telling the real story of Jesus in the next few days.

I can think of no greater legacy to pass on to my baby grands than knowing the reality of what God did for them by sacrificing His Son so many years ago.

I grew up with simple plays, scripture reading and traditional Christmas carols. Those were the pageants of my day and I am still reaping the benefits of those experiences.

My grands will know these same wondrous truths but with greater depth and richer understanding as to the fullness of Christ sacrifices by way of same scripture, powerful music and a bit more glitter.

Either way: It's all very good!

Should you be available to join us this Saturday or Sunday night, please check over here for details and directions. If you make it by the church, give me a holler, I would love to meet you afterward.

If you can not make it in person please join us online. Be sure to check in here by 6pm and don't forget to crank up the volume.

Blessings ya'll!

Hymn

God Stop Friday

God has really been impressing on me a call to love, prayer and revival. I've shed a bunch of tears and found myself nearly overwhelmed considering it all.

My sweet niece shared the following with me and so I share with you. Enjoy!

If to distant lands I scatter

If I sail to farthest seas

Would you find and firm and gather

'til I only dwell in Thee?

If I flee from greenest pastures

Would you leave to look for me?

Forfeit glory to come after

'Til I only dwell in Thee

If my heart has one ambition

If my soul one goal to seek

This my solitary vision

'til I only dwell in Thee

That I only dwell in Thee

'Til I only dwell in Thee

I am NOT Mary Lou!

Don't just love those 'Ah Ha' moments?

Just about the time your heads about to explode from blindly sorting through reams of data the lights come on, and it all makes sense. Much to your chagrin, the answers were not so deep and disturbing as you thought...you just couldn't see the forest for the trees.

Confused?

Let me explain.

I've been tryin to be Mary Lou....Mary Lou Rettnon that is.

No, I've not been tryin to schlep into a teeny leotard and join the Geriatric Gymnast Society....no, so get that visual out of your head right now!

This sudden illumination is the result of trying to be something I'm just not.

During the wonderful conference I attended last weekend in San Antonio, I took pages of copious notes, legible only to me I might add.

Having posted previously and giving my overall impressions of the event, I felt compelled (self compelled I might add) to not only share my notes but my thoughts as well regarding these sessions.

Clearly regurgitating that much information is not my gift, not at this point anyway.

I do have a bunch of my Siesta's who have these gifts and have been posting like nobodies business over here. Do yourself a favor and be sure to check out their posts. Through these blogs, you can virtually join us in San Antonio without the benefit of all that humidity!

One of the many points Mama Beth made was that God has given us different gifts that we can use or not. It is important that we need discover what our gifts are, and get to using them.

Another thing Ms Beth stated should have been obvious, but apparently isn't or she wouldn't have said it

"You are not Mary Lou."

Really? I was so thinking me, perfect 10's, gold medals.

No, "You are not Mary Lou."

Actually , I should not try to be...as it would be very ugly!

Right now my 'Mary Lou' is all these awesome bloggin Siesta's. As I read their post and I feel I'm back in the Alamo Dome all over again. They are the Howard Cosell 's of Siesta-ville.

Going through my notes I've attempted to recall all the stuff I did NOT jot down. Doing so has caused me to refresh my recollection of the whole San Antonio experience...but it doesn't change the fact that regurgitating this material is about as painful to me as tryin to retell a joke...it's awful!

My dear Sister in Love, Nancy is the sweetest and funniest gal you could ever want to meet.

Can she ever tell a joke!

Nancy's turn of a phrase leaves you with muscle pains in regions of your body you didn't know had muscles. Non stop belly laughs and bronchial seizures are a regular occurrences when spending anytime with this girl.

aaand....

Let me try to retell these same jokes or stories...WHEW!!

I'm usually stammering and stuttering or cracking up so bad I can't get the thing told. More often than not,I get to the punch line and draw a complete blank. What usually follows is this...

the 'How sweet...isn't she special' look.

Sooo...I try and leave the joke tellin to those more gifted than I.

Now that we've chased that pack of dogs, the point you ask?

I've realize I need to quit lookin around into other peoples yards, lives or blogs, all the while thinkin,

'Oh, oh! That's what I should be doin or posting about',

no...that's not my part to play.

I'm reminded

"If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 1 Corinthians 12: 17-20

I particularly like the version from the Message

"I want you to think about how all this makes you more significant, not less. A body isn't just a single part blown up into something huge. It's all the different-but-similar parts arranged and functioning together. If Foot said, "I'm not elegant like Hand, embellished with rings; I guess I don't belong to this body," would that make it so? If Ear said, "I'm not beautiful like Eye, limpid and expressive; I don't deserve a place on the head," would you want to remove it from the body? If the body was all eye, how could it hear? If all ear, how could it smell? As it is, we see that God has carefully placed each part of the body right where he wanted it.
But I also want you to think about how this keeps your significance from getting blown up into self-importance. For no matter how significant you are, it is only because of what you are a part of. An enormous eye or a gigantic hand wouldn't be a body, but a monster." 1 Corinthians 12: 17-20

I just need to get about what God has called me to be, and that's huge! Not in a selling out Phillips Arena sort of way, but in finding and fill'in the shoes He's prepared for me to fill and let Mary Lou be Mary Lou. How bout you?

...and not one Boring!

Had someone told me back in the nineties when I first jumped on this Internet super highway it would eventually lead me to hop'in a plane and spend several days with hundreds of women I did not know (except through a series of virtual postings and comments left hangin out there in cyber-space) in sweltering hot San Antonio, Texas, I would have said

'Ain't no way!'

I would have been so wrong!

This past weekend I was blessed to partake in such an event.

Here’s just very a few highlights:

From Thursday through Sunday we had what felt like a progressive family reunion.

The kind you WANT to go to, with all your favorite relative.

Let me tell you about of few of these relations.

There was Melana and Veronica,

the Godly Thelma and Louise of this here conference trekking across country with their trusty sidekick, Miesta Moose.

You can follow some of their adventures here.

Also in attendance was Holly aka: Crownlaiddown, easily mistaken as a bag lady as she rolled a case full of cookbooks between venues making sure everyone got a copy or two who wanted one.

We also discovered over the course of the weekend that just like Kevin Bacon, Holly was one or more degrees separated in some way to almost everyone there...I am not even kidding!

Oh, and let's not forget Patty

and Kim, no, no, no!

These hardworkin gals, made plans for about 300 and were met instead with some 1,100 souls. At every event the two met you with warmest hugs and smiles-o-plenty with 'nare a complaint. Among many other things, my two amigos created and co hosted our family blog where so many Siestas converged to get to know each other a bit better...a precursor if you will, to the actual Siesta Fiesta in San Antonio.

Oh...you should also know, this family is quite the dressers. Personally, I never knew such Siestawear existed.

The jewelry, Capri's, flip-flops, handbags and hats. Oh and the Pajamas, lets not forget the PJ's! And, if a gal was looking to change their 'do', as in 'hair do', this was the place to get ideas on real life action figures.

What an eclectic and fun bunch!

and, as we learned...

All heiresses of God...and not one Boring!

We spent much time huggin, chatin, sharing.

What a time of photos and fellowship!

We shared testimony, prayer needs and praises, passed recipes, addresses and phone numbers.

Our common lineage?

Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The entire meeting was squeezed in around powerful Word brought to us by way of the Living Proof clan headed by Mama Beth Moore.

Whoa!! Did the blessings flow!

I am catching up on sleep and life back home, still absorbing it all. I have many post roll'in round in my noggin so there will be more debriefing to come.

For today I have to tell you, I'm so grateful our Heavenly Father is so hip...so relevant, using the medium at hand to spread His good news, love and mercy in and through ways I would have never imagined.

To Him be the Glory!

Cardboard Testimonies

O'kay, now I'm a puddle.




Our God is so very good!

Whew! Can you say Deep!

Two weekends ago I was blessed to partake in the Deeper Still event at Philips Arena in downtown Atlanta. Some 19,000 women of faith packed the place out to the rafters breaking previous records for a ladies event. Philips had never sold out a women's event, but they sure did that week. It was a sight to behold and an experience that has left me overwhelmed, slowly savoring and digesting two days of what I have come to believe must be just the teeniest glimpse of the heaven on earth soon to be.
I had the sheer delight of being spiritually fed by three powerful women of the Word. My, oh my did they bring it! There was Kay Author, Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer. I was very familiar with Kay and Beth by way of books, Bible studies and television, but I had no experience with Priscilla.

What did our Mamas always tell us, "You are known by the company we keep"? Whew! I should of had a clue.

Anyway, Lifeway's AllAccess is doing a fantastic job rehashing the weekend, well worth checking out if you get a chance.

My pal Deborah and I got there early both days, and had a great time getting to know some spiritual Sisters while waiting in line. The stories of how and what brought us to the event were varied. Gals from everywhere for all kinds of reasons, expecting all kinds of things. It's really something to hear different testimonies...stories of peoples lives...to meet as strangers and leave as friends. One new friend was Toni, from Augusta.

What a sweetheart! God definitely used this conference to give us all a good word, whether we planned on it or not. I am so excited to see and hear where He leads in all our lives.

The three of us had wonderful seats directly behind our Governors wife, Miss Mary Purdue. Talk about Blessed! Miss Mary and the Governor are members of our church, so I see them most Sunday mornings from the choir, or like this yesterday, blessed with a sermon

from the Governor himself. I must tell you, it pretty much blew my mind and gave me such hope and joy as we studied, worshipped and praised right along with Georgia's First Lady.

If you ever get a chance to hear any of these women of God, go...you could not make a better use of your time. They will take you deeper still. At the end of Priscillas message Friday night she recited a powerful poem, from a song actually written by Aaron Jeoffrey. As far as I'm concerned, it's a keeper. I hope ya'll enjoy this as much as we did, look for HE IS.

Aloha!

Last week at this time I was meeting 21 of the sweetest 4 and 5 year old's ever.

We would spend 5 days together, from 8:30am to 12ish pm. We all would learn many bible verses, make crafts, sing songs old and new, dance ourselves silly (including the hula and Chicken Limbo!), perform a bit of drama (planned and otherwise), eat lots of tropical themed goodies and learn a lot about God and His love for us.

In case you haven't guessed it was VBS week.

What a blast!

Exhausting in the very best way...but a complete blast!

I saw and learned things I would never have known were it not for this experience.

Who knew in recreating the birth of Christ, nothing says Glory to God more than, 3 Mary's, 3 baby Jesus, 2 Josephs, 1 Inn Keeper, 2 Shepherds, 3 sheep, 1 grown Jesus, 1 Cousin Elizabeth with baby John the baptist (although it was pointed out by one precocious 5 year old, he was NOT the baptist YET!) and 5 angels in a palm tree!

What a blessing!

Several of these children have been in church since birth, ergo Cousin Elizabeth and baby John. Others, not so much...but they all were so excited to know Him.

Also, if you give a child a mission... say to bring dry and canned foods for missions. They will clean out the pantry at home and fill our class box to overflowing!

Or how about taking home their daily lesson card with activities to be worked at home with their parents or siblings and brought back each day to review and...claim a surprise? It is amazing what a little praise and a few tropical tattoos will produce!

These little folks blew my heart and mind with their recollection of 3 different verses each day, and details of 5 different stories. It was so exciting and the very thing that kept this tired, old grandma dragging her sorry self up each day. In they came with faces a glow ready and waiting for more of the Word.

I loved it! Can you tell?

Finally, on Thursday we presented the gospel to the class, and wonder of wonders, you could have heard a pin drop during the entire thing! All I can say is, that was God! In that entire week we had never had that level of concentration and participation. A few in the group told how they had already ask Jesus in their hearts, one telling how she was to be baptised soon, another sharing that she now was praying for other unsaved family and friends.

Oh, it was precious!

Will I serve again next summer...Are you kidding??

Unless God wills otherwise, count me in! This is what it's all about!

Thank you Lord for allowing me the privilege!

Aloha!