Thankful Thursday 

Well another Thursday, and are we still praising the lord!!! Amen I am, an I always will, it is my life, and Jesus is the love of my life. Remember when you were young and had a boy you liked, he was all you talked about, right?. Well Jesus should be the love of your life and he should be all we talk about. I praise his where ever I go and I love him deeply with each year of knowing him. 
Jesus and I been one almost 40 years now and he is sweeter today than he was yesterday. 

I am thankful for him loving me, saving me, and making me what I am today, I still am not what he wants me to be, but sure closer than I was 40 years ago. 

Pray for my dh as he is preaching in Blackshear, GA Sunday, morning and evening services, they have a parson's chambers there so will spend the day, and return the next morning. It will be a long and exhausting day for him, pray God will keep him strong, and that he will preach what the lord gives him clearly, and with much holy ghost power. Thank you ahead of time.

So on this wonderful Fall Thursday may you all be blessed by the hand of God, and live for him, and love him, because he first loved you, and HE is worthy.

My friend Becky at http://considerhimhebrews12.blogspot.com/ posted this
I really agree and wanted you to see it too, making it easy for you. 

I wanted to repost this article because it is really good and it says just what I believe about Halloween.  Christians need to consider what we do and why we do it and if it is pleasing to the Lord Jesus.  Happiness should not be our goal.  Our goal should be holiness.  So, if you can celebrate the holiday and please the Lord, by all means do it.  I cannot, but I'm not condemning those who can.  Halloween is quickly approaching and I wanted to share this article with you from my favorite preacher.  I did not write this.  Pastor Knox has given me permission to post this on my blog.  I hope you enjoy!

What About Halloween?

This is taken from the largest web site by and for PAGANS. Note carefully how they view Christians who do not follow the word of God. Their concluding remarks are especially telling. 
There appear to have been four major holy days celebrated by the Pagan Druids, possibly throughout the Celtic territories: Samhain, Oimelc, Beltane & Lughnasadh (in one set of Irish-based modern spellings) on the eves of November 1st, February 1st, May 1st and August 1st, respectively. Since we have conflicting evidence on how the Paleopagan Druids calculated these dates, modern Neo-pagans just use whichever method is most convenient. This means, of course, that we aren’t all doing anything uniformly on any given night, which fits perfectly with the Neo-pagan saying that, “organizing Pagans is like herding cats.” It doesn’t match the Evil Conspiracy theories — which have us all marching to a strict drumbeat in perfect Satanic unison — at all.
These four major holy days have been referred to as “fire festivals” for at least the last hundred years or so, because (1) to the ancient Celts, as with all the Indo-European Paleopagans, fire was a physical symbol of divinity, holiness, truth, and beauty; (2) fires play important roles in the traditional customs associated with these festivals; and (3) several early Celtic scholars called them that. Whether in Ireland or India, among the Germans or the Hittites, sacred fires were apparently kindled by the Indo-European Paleo-pagans on every important religious occasion. To this very day, among Eastern Orthodox and Western Catholics, you can’t have a satisfying ritual without a few candles being lit — of course, the Fundamentalists consider them Heathen too!
Samhain is often said to have been the most important of the fire festivals, because it may have marked the Celtic New Year. Samhain was the original festival that the Western Christian calendar moved its “All Saints’ Day” to (Eastern Christians continue to celebrate All Saints’ Day in the spring, as the Roman Christians had originally). Since the Celts, like many cultures, started every day at sunset of the night before, Samhain became the “evening” of “All Hallows” (“hallowed” = “holy” = “saint”) which was eventually contracted into “Hallow-e’en” or the modern “Halloween.” Being “between” seasons or years, Samhain was (and is) considered a very magical time, when the dead walk among the living and the veils between past, present and future may be lifted in prophecy and divination.
At this time people did crazy things, men dressed as women and women as men. Farmers’ gates were unhinged and left in ditches, peoples’ horses were moved to different fields, and children would knock on neighbors’ doors for food and treats in a way that we still find today, in a watered-down way, in the custom of trick-or-treating on Hallowe’en.
But behind this apparent lunacy, lay a deeper meaning. The Druids knew that these three days had a special quality about them. The veil between this world and the World of the Ancestors was drawn aside on these nights, and for those who were prepared, journeys could be made in safety to the ’other side’. The Druid rites, therefore, were concerned with making contact with the spirits of the departed, who were seen as sources of guidance and inspiration rather than as sources of dread. The dark moon, the time when no moon can be seen in the sky, was the phase of the moon which ruled this time, because it represents a time in which our mortal sight needs to be obscured in order for us to see into the other worlds. The dead are honoured and feasted, not as the dead, but as the living spirits of loved ones and of guardians who hold the root-wisdom of the tribe.
With the coming of Christianity, this festival was turned into Hallowe’en (31 October), All Hallows [All Saints Day] (1 November), and All Souls Day (2 November). Here we can see most clearly the way in which Christianity built on the Pagan foundations it found rooted in these isles. Not only does the purpose of the festival match with the earlier one, but even the unusual length of the festival is the same.
The Christian Church was unable to get the people to stop celebrating this holiday, so they simply sprinkled a little holy water on it and gave it new names, as they did with other Paleopagan holidays and customs. This was a form of calendrical imperialism, co-opting Paleopagan sacred times, as they had Paleopagan sacred places (most if not all of the great cathedrals of Europe were built on top of earlier Paleopagan shrines and sacred groves). So when Fundamentalists come to your local school board and try to get Halloween removed from the public schools because “it’s a Pagan holiday,” they are perfectly correct. Of course, Valentine’s Day/Lupercalia, Easter/Eostre, and Christmas/Yule also have many Paleopagan elements associated with their dating and/or symbols, as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and others have pointed out for decades. So if we decide to rid the public schools of all holidays that have Pagan aspects to them, there won’t be many left for the kids to enjoy.
Jeremiah 10:2 
Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen

Have A Blessed Weekend

Well I am sorry, it has been way too long since I have added anything to my blog, life has certainly gotten into the way of my computer time. Seems we stay so busy these days, I really do not have much time to spend in blogging, maybe at a later date I will be able to, right now just impossible to be faithful to this.
I thought perhaps this holiday of old Testament would be of interest to you, it is always wonderful to see  how the bible comes inside with certain holidays. Lord willing I will be more active when winter gets here.


Next Wednesday Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur,  this is a  Jewish holy day: the holiest day of the Jewish year, on which Jews fast and say prayers of penitence. Read Leviticus 16; It explains it so well.

Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) is one of two Jewish High Holy Days. The first High Holy Day is Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year). Yom Kippur falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah on the 10th of Tishrei, which is a Hebrew month that correlates with September-October on the secular calendar. The purpose of Yom Kippur is to bring about reconciliation between people and between individuals and God. According to Jewish tradition, it is also the day when God decides the fate of each human being. 

Although Yom Kippur is an intense holiday it is nevertheless viewed as a happy day. Why? Because if one has observed the holiday properly by the end of Yom Kippur they will have made peace with others and with God. 

There are three essential components of Yom Kippur: 

Teshuvah (Repentance) 
Prayer 
Fasting 
Teshuvah (Repentance) 

Yom Kippur is a day of reconciliation, when Jews strive to make amends with people and to draw closer to God through prayer and fasting. The ten days leading up to Yom Kippur are known as the Ten Days of Repentance. During this period Jews are encouraged to seek out anyone they may have offended and to sincerely request forgiveness so that the New Year can begin with a clean slate. If the first request for forgiveness is rebuffed, one should ask for forgiveness at least two more times, at which point the person whose forgiveness is being sought should grant the request. The rabbis thought it was cruel for anyone to withhold their forgiveness for offenses that had not caused irrevocable damage. Learn more about teshuvah. 

This process of repentance is called teshuvah and it is a crucial part of Yom Kippur. Although many people think that transgressions from the previous year are forgiven through prayer, fasting and participation in Yom Kippur services, Jewish tradition teaches that only offenses committed against God can be forgiven on Yom Kippur. Hence it is important that people make an effort to reconcile with others before participating in Yom Kippur services. 

Prayer 

Yom Kippur is the longest synagogue service in the Jewish year. It begins on the evening before Yom Kippur day with a haunting song called Kol Nidre (All Vows). The words of this melody ask God to forgive any vows people have made to God and not kept. 

The service on the day of Yom Kippur lasts from morning until nightfall. Many prayers are said but one is repeated at intervals throughout the service. This prayer is called Al Khet and asks for forgiveness for a variety of sins that may have been committed during the year. The Jewish concept of sin is not like the Christian concept of original sin. Rather, it’s the kind of everyday offenses like hurting those we love, lying to ourselves or using foul language that Judaism views as sinful. You can clearly see examples of these infractions in the Yom Kippur liturgy, for instance in this excerpt from Al Khet: 

For the sin that we have committed under stress or through choice; 
For the sin that we have committed in stubbornness or in error; 
For the sin that we have committed in the evil meditations of the heart; 
For the sin that we have committed by word of mouth; 
For the sin that we have committed through abuse of power; 
For the sin that we have committed by exploitation of neighbors; 
For all these sins, O God of forgiveness, bear with us, pardon us, forgive us! 
When Al Khet is recited people gently beat their fists against their chests as each sin is mentioned. Sins are mentioned in plural form because even if someone hasn’t committed a particular sin, Jewish tradition teaches that every Jew bears a measure of responsibility for the actions of other Jews. 

During the afternoon portion of the Yom Kippur service the Book of Jonah is read to remind people of God’s willingness to forgive those who are sincerely sorry. The last part of the service is called Ne’ilah (Shutting). The name comes from the imagery of Ne’ilah prayers, which talk about gates being shut against us. People pray intensely during this time, hoping to be admitted to God’s presence before the gates have been shut. 

Fasting 

Yom Kippur is also marked by 25 hours of fasting. There are other fast days in the Jewish calendar, but this is the only one the Torah specifically commands us to observe. Leviticus 23:27 describes it as "afflicting your souls" and during this time no food or liquid may be consumed. 

The fast starts an hour before Yom Kippur begins and ends after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. In addition to food, Jews are also forbidden from engaging in sexual relations, bathing or wearing leather shoes. The prohibition against wearing leather comes from a reluctance to wear the skin of a slaughtered animal while asking God for mercy. 

Who Fasts on Yom Kippur 
Children under the age of nine are not allowed to fast, while children older than nine are encouraged to eat less. Girls who are 12 years or older and boys who are 13 years or older are required to participate in the full 25-hour fast along with adults. However, pregnant women, women who have recently given birth and anyone suffering from a life-threatening illness are not required to observe the fast. These people need food and drink to keep up their strength and Judaism always values life above the observance of Jewish law. 

Many people end the fast with a feeling of deep serenity, which comes from having made peace with others and with God. If you would like to learn more about fasting, check out this About.com article: Best Ways to Prepare for the Yom Kippur Fast.

WOW!! Labor Day Already

It seems that it was just Spring, now Summer is almost over,
where has this time gone? I seem to get farther and farther 
away daily, I just cannot keep up any more.

Please pray for my friend Pat Miller, she is a long time friend
who has just been diagnosed with lung cancer, she had breast
cancer 3 years ago, and has been cancer free until now, this is
such a shock to us all, keep them in your prayers, wonderful, godly people., been serving the lord for so many years. May the will of God be done in their life.

We have been very busy here, and seems it is one thing right after another going on here too. Last Wednesday our water pump went out, for our well. Come to find out it was not installed right and it is now at the bottom of the well, lol a dear friend and his son come and put so much time in helping Chuck get this fixed, we bought a new pump and finally Friday evening we had water again. You know you really do not know how much water you use until it is not running freely from the tap.
We did manage though, with the help of God giving us some wisdom on how to live without running water. We got water from the creek to flush our toilets, had some bottle water to drink, and Chuck went and got a big container of water from town to use for dishes, so we did manage, but there is nothing like turning your faucet on and having water run freely, I thank God for his ways, and how he brings others into your life to help in a time of crisis, we can never praise him enough.

I had a wonderful birthday Saturday, with so many well wishes and cards and my dh took me to eat at Olive Garden, oh my it is such good food, I got some more turquoise jewelry too beautiful two strand of beads and earrings to match. It was a good day for turning 40, LOL yeah right, but most days I do feel 40, except when my RA is acting up. I recently had two shots put in my arm that I have suffered with for months now, it seems to help, and I had some therapy also, I do the exercises daily too it really helps. So that about brings you up to date with me and mine, keep us in your prayers, and I am sorry I do not get here much any more, I want to take a day where I can visit your blogs again, and make comments, I do miss this, I love blogging but time does not always permit it.
So until next time, Be loved, Be friendly, and Be blessed. ♥

Another Fabulous day in the house of the lord, it still gives me goose bumps thinking of some of the things our Pastor preached on, and in Choir practice we sang Fill my Cup Lord, and mine sure got filled yesterday, It was good being in the house of the lord with his people. Our Choir is coming right along will start singing in two weeks. 

We came home to have our youngest daughter and her husband to fix a wonderful steak dinner for us, had such a sweet time of fellowship too, pray for my grandson Justin, he broke his foot and he is a basketball player and sure will miss being out on the court playing, pray it will heal correctly and quickly. 
Today is a new day, what will we do for Jesus today? hum, ans we will do something, let us make it a time to glorify him in all we do, everywhere we go, and in all we say, let us praise God. 
I leave you today with these words: Ps 30:12 To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever. 

Be blessed and be a blessing

Each time is see a rainbow in the sky I think of when I first was saved, I read so diligently, and I found out about how God made this covenant with Noah, it just amazed me, how God in all his wonder would take time to tell Noah about the rainbow in the sky, since then I have learned about many wonders and miracles God has created and God has given to us, as his children. I soon learned that there is no private interpretation either, that the word is given freely and for all to understand. When I told my dh what I had found in the Bible I was so excited to share with him, he laughed and said Oh I knew that, I read that a long time ago, lol it was fresh to me, and exciting, and we as Christians should always be excited about His word, from time to time we get indifferent, and loose our enthusiasm over all the marvelous things that God have so freely given to us.
Take time today, to look around you, and see all that God has created just for you, to enjoy, to excite you, to make you alive and know that He is God.. Only our heavenly Father could make such a perfect environment for us humans to live in, then give us all the wonderful beauty about us to see, to feel, and to experience in our daily lives. Thank you Father for giving to me the most wonderful gift of life, salvation, the new birth, the wonder of it all still amazes me. 
This is going to be another busy week, we are starting a Family Revival tomorrow at our church, Brother Max Alderman will be the evangelist preaching, and his wife will have part too. on Thursday night she will share and teach the women of our church, that will be amazing I am sure. If you are in or around Hilliard, Florida, stop by and visit with us, First Avenue Baptist Church , 7 PM nightly, I am looking forward to this time in growing in the lord. You know your church is only as strong as your weakest family.
Be blessed and be a blessing to those around you, Sorry I do not keep up with my blog as before, perhaps soon I will be able too, I do miss you all and reading your blogs too. 

With all the bad news in the world, let us sing praises to God, for his everlasting love and devotion to his children,
 we know he holds our future in his hands, and no matter how bad things look around us, 
He is still God, and will take care of his own. If you are not one of his children you can be; he is just a prayer away,
simply know that Jesus is God manifested in the flesh, who left heaven to be born of virgin and to die on a old
rugged cross, that precious blood he shed on the cross made the payment for our sin debt, one we could never 
pay ourself. He died that day, was buried in a borrowed tomb (for he knew he would not be in there long) then 
the best part is he arose on the thrid day, and is sitting at the right hand of God once again, he will come again 
for his children, we will go to meet him in the air, and forever be with him, now is a wonderful aim for your life.
Just ask him to forgive your sin, and come into your heart, let him be lord of your life. 
I made that decision long ago, and it was forever settled in heaven, my name is written in the Lamb's book of life.
I do pray that your is too. 

Isa 40:31  But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

This is Amazing...It is no wonder there are scriptural references to the eagle! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did. And, no there is no wonder the bald eagle has such a significant symbolism to our country. What hope!!!!

When it rains, most birds head for shelter; the eagle is the only bird that, in order to avoid the rain, starts flying above the clouds...

An amazing tidbit about the Eagle's eyesight: The eagle can probably identify a rabbit moving almost a mile away.

That means that an eagle flying at an altitude of 1000 feet over open country could spot prey over an area of almost 3 square miles from a fixed position.

No wonder God wants us to spread our wings and soar with eagles.  I hope you enjoy this information as much as I did, the eagle is a spectacular bird, God knew what he was saying and when he made it in comparison with us.

God Bless all who share this.

Magnificent Monday

Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. For they sleep not, except they have done mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence. (Proverbs 4:14-17 KJV)


I see so many running with the crowds of today, God told us Christians to come out from among them and be ye separate, and that is exactly what he means, he did not tell us hob nob with the world to get them to come to Christ, we are to set a standard, and to show the world Christ did make a difference in our life, there fore he will make a difference in their life also. I saw this verse on another blog, an thought how very fitting for what I wanted to say today.


If you are truly a child of God, born again by the payment that Jesus Christ made by dying on the cross, then you have an obligation to serve him, to obey his word, and to live a godly life that points to Christ. Trust me, I was in the world, lived 30 years in that ugly nasty world, but when I accepted Jesus as my saviour he changed my life, he showed me the biblical way to live as a child of the king, and I did a complete turn around. You could not entice me with any thing this world has to offer, I am forever settled in heaven, my name is written down in glory., and I am one happy woman who loves the lord. 


I hope you will rejoice as a Christian, and do remember what that name means, it means Christ like, just in case some may of forgot. Have a very blessed day in serving him. 


Love in Christ, Barbara

God Blessing in spite of the storms...


Where to start, been a week since I updated, and so much has happened since then, I am still praising the lord, and thanking him for keeping his hand upon us. We had water come all the way up to the carport, but none in the house, thank you lord, some did get in my dh little blue car, and started coming in his shed, but no real damage, with water you never know, it has an unstoppable power that rages through where ever it may, some may loose faith, but I know God allows things to happen to us also, just like the lost world, it rains on the just and the unjust, one of my verses I remember now, and took it very serious this past week.  Mt 5:45  That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
Some times we just need to be reminded of this statement, even when we are in the will of God, doing his work we still may go through some things that are not very good, though very profitable to our spiritual being, this has been one of these times. Take a minute and pray for all those who have been so devastated with the flooding, the fires, and the earthquakes, to name a few, seem God is pouring his wrath out on America, how many of us are looking up and listening and then heeding his ways? I for one am, and know many who read this blog do too, we much not take a day for granted, but live like it is our last, doing all we can to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.


We had a wonderful week so far, the church we been attending had services Tuesday evening, we went and were blessed by the wonderful and special singing, and preaching. Now yesterday being a holiday, I fixed a macaroni salad, hot dogs, and fresh tomatoes from our garden, although the water destroyed much of our garden we did have a few tomatoes left. Then last night went to a local church having services, and was blessed yet again, God word is true and does what it says, fills us with complete joy, and gladness, such simple verses can really touch your heart, and bring in joy ever lasting.


Today, staying inside, too hot to do much outside, still in the high 90's here, and the humidity is way high too, best place for old folks like us is inside. We may venture out later to pick up a few things needed, but not for long, I hope your Thursday is a good as mine, and you can say along with me, Praise God for his goodness and mercy upon me. Have a blessed day, and know Jesus loves you.