Mother's

Thank God for mothers. I want to recognize three things that can happen when a mother places her faith in the promises of God.

Number one, a mother’s faith can bring heaven to earth.

Luke chapter 1 tells the story of Mary’s faith bringing to pass God’s promise of a Messiah. I think one reason Mary was chosen was because she would believe what God told her. Notice her response to the angel when she was told she would conceive a child by the Holy Ghost who would be the Savior of the world. She said, “May it be to me as you have said” (v. 38).

Mary’s faith literally brought heaven to earth, but when any mother lives by faith in God, there will be “heaven on earth.” Children may be surrounded by humanist ideas, hatred, or even violence throughout their day, but when they come home to a godly mother, they can experience a little heaven on earth. Dad may be at work all day, striving to succeed in our competitive society, but when he comes home to a godly wife, he can experience a little heaven on earth.

Number two, a mother’s faith can produce a godly legacy that affects generations to come.

There are two aspects to a mother’s faith. First, she believes what God said in His Word. And, second, she believes in her children. Our mothers believe in us even when we don’t believe in ourselves.

Mothers have the privilege of bringing new life into the world, but they are also uniquely equipped to nurture and help a child grow. A mother’s influence on her children is far greater than even she may realize.

If you are a mother and you are wondering if your good example has taught your children anything, I want to assure you that it has. I want to encourage you to keep up the good work. Your faith is more powerful than you think!

Number three, a mother’s faith can change circumstances in life.

A mother’s faith can propel children to do things they never thought possible. A mother’s faith in her child can cause him to succeed where he would otherwise fail. That is why it is so important for moms to believe in their children and speak positive, faith-filled words over them.

Did you know that if it had not been for a mother, we may not have electric lights today! When Thomas Edison was a young boy, his teacher sent him home with a note that said, “Your child is dumb; we can’t do anything for him.”

Mrs. Edison wrote back, “You do not understand my boy. I will teach him myself.”

She did—and the results were world-changing!

Where would we be without the love, prayers, and support of our mothers? I encourage you to take time to thank your mother for her faith—the faith that brings heaven to earth, gives you a godly legacy, and changes your circumstances for the better.

Are We Ready for The Royal Wedding?

"For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready." Revelation 19:7

Girls dream for years about their wedding day. Somewhere stashed in the single gal’s closet is some sort of wedding magazine. Guys, a word of advice right now: DON’T have an opinion about what you want for your wedding. Your woman’s got your whole wedding planned – and it was already done 10 years ago. But that’s the thing; guys don’t sit around chatting to each other about their future weddings over tea. They don’t have secret stashes of wedding magazines under their bed (or maybe they do?) They don’t think about the wedding DAY…. enough said.

But imagine the bride wasn’t ready…. Imagine a bride frantically trying to find a wedding dress store open the eve of her wedding? Imagine trying to find a venue for the wedding the day before? And what about food?! It wouldn’t happen. The wedding day would come and there would be no wedding, only a very disappointed couple.

It seems crazy to not be prepared for a wedding, yet we have no problem not being ready for the ultimate wedding day: when Christ comes to meet His Bride, the church.

God has been dreaming about His “Bride” from the beginning of time. I got some of you confused. Yes, God has a “Bride”. Now before we get all sorts of wacky thoughts about that, let me explain.

God calls His church His “Bride”. That means each person who follows after Christ is His “Bride”. I don’t find that so strange, but I really don’t know how men process that…

This “Bride” doesn’t imply anything sexual, but it speaks of intimacy, friendship, close relationship. God dreams of the day when we, who walked with Him daily, will be with Him forever. Just like any man here on earth, He waits for a Bride that will love Him. He longs for the Bride who will be faithful to Him till “death do us part”. He envisions a Bride adorned in purity and innocence, not tainted by cruelty and selfishness. And just like a man wants a life-mate who shares common interests, God is no different.

My greatest advice to single girls waiting to meet the man of her dreams is this; “BE the kind of person you want to attract”. In other words, if you’re promiscuous, greedy, selfish, or materialistic…. expect something of the same sort in those attracted to you. This same applies to God. He is looking for a people who are pure in heart, loving, full of humility and those who care about the things He cares about.

One day, Christ is coming back for His Bride. We don’t know what day. We don’t know what time. But when He comes, some will be ready, some won’t.

Most Outstanding Student

I am so proud of David's academic achievements. He was presented with an award for Most Outstanding Microeconomics Student today. Highest average campus wide!!! Go David!!!

Thoughts on 2 Timothy 1:7

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline.”2 Timothy 1:7

God never meant for us to be in control, strong in and of ourselves. We were meant to show His strength in our weakness as He provides for our needs. We were created to live like little children, dependent on the care of our heavenly Father. When we insist on living life our way, in our own strength, we experience the same result as Adam and Eve. We will live in fear. This is right where Satan wants us. If the enemy can keep us contained by fear, we won’t be able to fulfill our potential or make a difference in the lives of others. Satan knows what we are capable of with Christ. To prevent us from that realization, he poisons us with fear — fear of trusting God, fear of surrendering ourselves completely to His plans.

Fear that is fueled by Satan’s lies can be described by this acrostic:
False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

It’s not that we shouldn’t be concerned about certain issues of life such as safety and health. But when worrying takes over by keeping us up at night and shutting us down during the day, we move into a place we were never meant to live.

We need to live in God’s presence and rely on His promises and provision. Only then will we be able to distinguish between truth and lies. Only then will our lives be marked by faith, not fear.
My prayer for each of you this week is that Christ will help you to discern between false fears and real concerns.

As I commit God’s Word to memory, I pray He will make His truth alive in my heart so that I can battle fear and live by faith.

Panera's Cream Cheese Potato Soup

On Mondays Angela and I enjoy meals that David is not willing to try or just doesn't care for. Last night we were trying to come up with something different and Angela suggested trying to find the recipe for Panera's Potato Soup. After searching the internet for less than 5 minutes, I found a super easy and super yummy recipe! I added some crescent rolls and crisp, crumbled bacon bits and God added a rainy evening!

Ingredients:
* 4 cups chicken broth
* 4 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
* 1/4 cup minced onion
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
* 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, cut into chunks



Directions:
Combine broth, potatoes, onion, and spices.
Boil on medium heat until potatoes are tender.
Smash a few of the potatoes to release their starch for thickening.
Reduce to low heat.
Add cream cheese.
Heat, stirring frequently, until cheese melts.

On March 19th, a full Moon of rare size and beauty rose in the east at sunset. It's a super "perigee moon"--the biggest in almost 20 years. The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993! Loved capturing it on camera as it rose over Lake Okeechobee.

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Once upon a time there was a blog that was updated daily or at the very least weekly. That was before the administrator of said blog discovered Facebook and began to neglect her blog. Someone call and report Blog Abuse! For fear of being reported here's a quick update of our lives. . .

We have visited family over the past two months making trips to North Florida and South Georgia. Our time with them was sweet and as always never long enough. In October we celebrated my dad's birthday with family and returned in November for Thanksgiving. During our visit in November we traveled 4 hours north to watch my Alma Mater play in their State Playoffs (sadly they were defeated) with my baby brother and his wife. The kids experienced their first Florida State/University of Florida game (FSU won!).

Over the past month we have experienced the death of two dear friends and mourned the loss yet rejoiced in knowing they have seen the face of their Savior.

David is now registered for 3 pre requiste classes at Palm Beach State and once he completes them will once again apply to Florida State University where he plans on majoring in Business with a minor in Marketing.

Angela is half way through her junior year and is looking forward to Christmas break. She is doing Stats for the High School Soccer team and dating a very sweet young man.

Christmas is only a week away and we just put the tree up Sunday evening and I have not bought the first gift. We are all anticipating what the New Year will bring and look forward to see what God has in store for us.

Deacon Ordination and Pastor Appreciation

Tonight the family of First Baptist Church of Clewiston gathered together to ordain Josh Sherrell as a Deacon and show our appreciation to our Pastor, Todd Buck.