Monday, August 30, 2010

Has Your Life Silenced Your Words...

James 1:22-25 tells us “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who observes his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer that forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.”

Yesterday our Pastor made this statement in passing, “The example (walk) of your life will silence your words” and/or “affirm them”

I wonder how many times in our lives our walk silences our talk. So often in the counseling area I come in contact with those that cannot understand why they need Jesus when they don’t see a difference in the life of so called, ‘believers’ around them.

Are you silencing your talk?

His,
vickie

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Please Remember...

Today, we remember a precious saint that so many of our team members met through trips to Senegal, West Africa. Shirley Nolte was an incredible and loving woman. She has been back in the states many years now sharing her heart and gifts from the LORD with Central Baptist Church in Jonesboro, AR. Recently she was in a car accident that God allowed to be her means of exiting this earth and entering His Presence. Please remember the family during these days as they rejoice in her presence with the LORD and grieve the loss of her presence in this daily world.

What an honor it is for Pure Joy to come to know so many women of all ages that have chosen to follow-Christ to the ends of the world! Shirley is one that has left an imprint on many of our hearts over the years.

We at Pure Joy have an exciting event coming up in the next couple of months. We will be sending out a letter to Friends of Pure Joy in the next couple of weeks. Be watching!

Also, if you have not signed up to be a Friend of Pure Joy go to www.purejoyinternational.org and click Register as a Friend and follow the directions.

As you continue through the week remember the words of Matthew 6:33…

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

Jesus is saying that the greatest concern of life is to place our relationship with God first and everything else second. One of the most difficult, yet critical, disciplines of the Christian life is to allow the Holy Spirit to bring us into absolute harmony with this teaching of Jesus - Oswald Chambers

His,
Vickie

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

He Named Each One of Them...

This past week many eyes were turned to the heavenlies to observe the meteor showers that were to fill the skies Thursday and Friday nights. My mom’s and my eyes were no exception. I stationed some lawn chairs on top of the garage and we took our seats for the show. As we sat there waiting on the meteor shower with sweat pouring off of us and mosquito’s snacking on our delicate skin (at 11:30 p.m. I might add) we looked up into the night sky and the following verse came to mind from Isaiah 40:26….

Isaiah 40:26 (ESV)
Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might,
and because he is strong in power not one is missing
.

Isaiah 40:26 (TMS)
Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this?
Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off,
calls each by name —so magnificent! So powerful!—
and never overlooks a single one?

Well, my mom and I didn’t see many meteors on Thursday night because we should have been out there at 2:30 a.m. I also camped out on top of the garage on Friday night, too, but this time it was more about being reminded of just how big My God really is!

You ever just needed that! A reminder of just how BIG GOD REALLY IS! Well I have found that flying over the U.S. and Foreign Countries helps me with that and looking up into a starry night. I know we could come up with tons more things that remind us of how BIG GOD is but with a human eye looking across that sky, well, I imagine it something like this………

God: Hey guys, it’s almost time for you. The curtain’s coming down! Darkness is settling in! Come on Sas, Kanis, Max, Hew, Vider, Brook, Joy, Amy, Josh, Hebert, and on and on and on bringing out the Stars - calling them each by name.

Wow! Calling them EACH by name! We have difficulty trying to come up with names for our children. Can you imagine Naming all the Stars! Wow! And better yet…can you imagine Knowing if just one of them is missing? Heck, we can’t even keep up with one kid in Wal-Mart!

And my favorite part of all…..

God: Hey Jet, get out there! You can’t hide from me. You know better than that!

Wow! And if one of them is missing He knows it!! That is so comforting to me! He KNOWS where I am. He Knows where you are.

My previous Pastor used to say, “do you feel like the stars are out of your sky?” Truthfully, I “feel” that way sometimes. But what gives me comfort is I KNOW the God that Knows where they are!

Next time you are down, overwhelmed, discouraged, frustrated, sad, grieved, etc., look up! HE KNOWS YOU BY NAME!

His,
vickie

Monday, August 9, 2010

School Days...

Well, if you have kids ages 5 and up, you have probably felt the crunch of the final preparations before school starts back for the fall.

It is a full sensory experience…

You can ‘See’ it when you pull into the Mall parking lot and can’t find a place to park. You can see it when you get inside the Mall because, “baby, it is a jungle in there!” And what really makes it wild is this time of year is the ONLY time your kids are willing to be seen in public with you because you have the Green Ones and/or some Plastic!

You can ‘Hear’ it in those one liners that go something like this:

“Mom”, I am not wearing that. Nobody my age wears that!
Why can’t I just have the money and pick out my own clothes!
I’ll wear another shirt under it, I promise. (Rightttttt)

You can ‘Smell’ it, which happens to be one of my favorite parts of the back to school shopping. All those hot fresh Annie Pretzels, Cookie Factory and Pizza, Chinese, Ice Cream, Candy store, etc., ....makes you hungry. Oh, wait a minute. We can’t eat that because we have to fit in a size 0.

You can ‘Taste’ it, too. I suggest you start out with a Grande Latte from Starbucks on your way to the Mall and then have a few more cups as you sit and wait for your darlings to come back from shopping with their friend that they just want to go to one store together with. (Righttttt)

And last but not least ‘Touch’. Yeah, touch those clothes and make sure you like them because you are going to be wearing them for a long time. And we don’t want to hear another word about it!!!

And you know you are getting too old to do this any longer when you are happy to go to Wal-Mart, Kohls, J.C. Penny’s, Sears. That last one will date you!

They like stores that sound like other things. For example…

Abercrombie & Fitch - Sounds like a mummy and a bird friendship
Hollister - Sounds like a good Western to me.
American Eagle Outfitters - Sounds like a Boy Scout group for College kids.
Forever 21 - I know some people that act like they might be stuck there.
Wet Seal - Makes me think of scuba diving equipment
Aeropostale - NASA for sure
TJ Maxx - what else but “Get Smart”

Ok, so I’ve had a little fun with you on this blog. But, seriously, do you as a parent invest this amount of time, energy and resources on equipping your child with the things of God that have eternal value? All the above things will pass away… Eternal things will not. Are you preparing them for eternity?

His,
vickie

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Walking...

Margaret Lee Runbeck, an American author (1905-1956), quoted the following:

A man leaves all kinds of footprints when he walks through life. Some you can see, like his children and his house. Others are invisible, like the prints he leaves across other people’s lives: the help he gives them and what he has said—his jokes, gossip that has hurt others, encouragement. A man doesn’t think about it, but everywhere he passes, he leaves some kind of mark.

Lord, as Your children, help us to leave Your mark on the people, places, and things of this world. Let us leave the marks of mercy, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another in love and forgiving one another as Christ has forgiven us.

Lord, reveal to us anything at work in our lives that would bring harm to Your name and ministry on this earth through word or deed. As we confess that which You reveal to us, then take it from us that we might be instruments finely tuned for Your Glory, walking in Your strength and ways!

Colossians 3:1-4
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

His,
Vickie