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His Name is Wonderful
Hugging my young son, Ben, was always a joy. Now that he is a grown man, I don't remember every hug, of course, but one special one I will never forget. It happened on the first school day in January. In his class they were to bring a favorite Christmas gift for show-and-tell so they could tell why it was special. Ben was leaving the house with nothing to share and I asked why.
That dear little six year old boy dropped his head and said it was because he didn't get anything he wanted for Christmas. I knelt beside him and almost cried. However, we hugged and I expressed my sorrow that we had not chosen gifts that made him very happy. In the days to come we went shopping and he chose a favorite toy that he had wished for. ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"I'd Rather Have Jesus"
Cheers and tears of joy came from a crowd of almost two million on January 20, 2009 in front of the White House in Washington, DC. It was Inauguration Day and there was a change of leadership in America.
(Read the entire
article HERE)
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Sweet and Powerful Moments of Prayer
Before I left church Sunday, my friend Linda asked if she could come to my house later that day and talk with me about prayer. Since she was a very busy person, I was glad for the opportunity to listen to her and share what I had learned about that all important subject.
I knew that for some Christians, prayer comes easily. It depends on one's relationship with Jesus since childhood. Heartfelt prayers can be a natural part of growing in the faith. For others, their life of prayer needs to have a definite beginning.
(Read the entire
article HERE)
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Come Ye Thankful People, Come
When Henry Alford was only sixteen years old, he wrote a statement of faith in the front of his Bible: "I do this day, in the presence of God and my own soul, renew my covenant with God and solemnly determine henceforth to become His, and to do His work as far as in me lies."
Alford was born in London, England, on Oct. 7, 1810. He was nurtured by Christian parents and greatly influenced by a grandfather and father who were Anglican clergyman. Their example guided him into a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.
(Read the entire
article HERE)
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Our Resolutions vs. "O God our Help in Ages Past"
What's up with your New Year's Resolutions? Several weeks into the New Year and I am already a little sluggish with some of mine. But I regain my determination with one of the greatest hymns of prayer ever written:
"O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.
Our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home."
When a "stormy blast" comes, I will always rely on God's presence and promises, not on a New Year's resolution. Then, I find my strength as He guides me through every new year.
(Read the entire
article HERE)
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Tell Me the Story of Jesus
Summer days or school days, nothing to do, boring day, all were thoughts of my early years. In spite of much fun stuff, I began many pages in my fourth grade diary with the title, "Boring Day."
My school friend of many years ago agrees. "Yes, those were my feelings too", Sally remembered. "It was all slightly boring." Then we often discuss our years of teaching and laugh when we wonder if we too had students who shared our same thoughts about their studies.
(Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Love & Christmas: A Perfect Match"
The breezes were cold but our hearts were warm. When our choir went from door to door singing our favorite Christmas carols, we threw in a golden oldie that is not often sung. But the universal subject of LOVE is what Christmas is all about...
"Love came down at Christmas. Love all lovely, Love divine.
Love was born at Christmas, a star and angels gave the sign."
(Read the entire
article HERE)
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"O Little Town of Bethlehem"
It seems strange, but singing the same Christmas carols year after year is delightful. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is one of them. It never ceases to be meaningful as I picture the many visual images in the words. I accept its beauty with joy in my heart and the simple beat of its music. (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Bless This House"
Home and Thanksgiving day are a priceless combination! The smells of turkey roasting, yeast rolls rising and all the fancy dishes touch the heartstrings. My children especially like the crystal dish filled with cranberry sauce, spiced peaches and olives. We even have a tradition that's strange but fun. Those who love to eat whole spiced peaches try to be the first one to drop the seed into the plate, hoping it will make a funny sound... "ker-plunk"! (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Reformation Day: A Mighty Fortress is Our God"
Try reading the book of Acts in the Bible and not getting excited about the growth of the early church. The disciples heard and obeyed the risen Christ when he commanded, "go into all the world and preach the gospel." (Matthew 28:19)... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus"
When I was a little girl I was my dad's favorite date to baseball games. Since no one else in our family wanted to go I felt very special. I loved the smell of popcorn and the sounds of the balls hitting the bat. But I had a secret that I tried to keep to myself... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"As Olympics End, Never Too Late To Pray"
The world has been looking toward China as we watched some of the greatest athletic events since the Athens games four years ago. The 2008 games ended Sunday, but let us continue to pray for all of those who were involved as athletes, coaches, or spectators. The prayer team at Long's Chapel United Methodist Church set aside a Day of Prayer for China and the Olympics when it began on August 8. .... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"It Seemed Impossible, but... To God be the Glory" The hot August afternoon did not discourage the football teams. Sweating, running, tackling was all part of the game. It was almost over and the Loretta High School Mustangs were winning. Then disaster struck. The star player, Van Johnson, was down! He was young, but he weighed 215 pounds and it was all muscle and daring. Mustang fans moaned, "Why won't Van get up? We can't win the game without him."
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Precious Lord, Take My Hand" Each time I leave our beautiful church I remember two Sundays when disaster was just around the corner. The first experience involved our daughters' family who was there for a visit. One of their children disappeared. Yes, he was lost, but in a short while, he was found and our joy overflowed into thankfulness. After that experience, I wrote a letter to our newspaper:
"There is a wonderful man in our town and we want to thank him for finding our lost grandson. Last Sunday after church three year old Tevin wandered away from us...
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Thousands of Tongues Still Sing" The merry month of May is merrier for me this year. Two great events of significance have occurred and the memories will last forever. One of them was Mothers' Day, that special Sunday when children express love to their mothers.
My four adult children have always remembered to send me flowers or cards and to make phone calls. But this year it had greater meaning than ever. It began on Saturday morning. As usual, I received a telephone call from a florist. They said they were ready to make a delivery to my house and needed directions. My excitement grew...
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Christ the Lord is Risen Today" Slowly we walked back home from the Easter sunrise service. We looked forward to this annual event on the lawn of the church where my husband was minister. This year the beauty was too lovely to leave. The glorious day of resurrection of our Lord Jesus began on a chilly, cloudy morning, but eventually sunshine had spread it's rays across the sky. We praised God for His creation and for the joy of resurrection.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go" I awoke crying, quickly reaching out to touch my sweet husband, Woody, as he lay beside me, peacefully sleeping. But in my dream - or nightmare - he was the man who walked into our home after a brief absence and quietly began taking pictures off the wall. He casually remarked,"These have always been my favorites, you can keep the others. I won't be coming back again." .... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"His Eye is on the Sparrow"
Ever wonder why our Lord chose
such a common little bird to illustrate
such a profound truth? Everyone
and everything God created is
significant. So when Jesus was
teaching He questioned the listeners,
"Are not five sparrows sold
for two pennies? Yet not one of
them is forgotten in God's sight"
(Luke 12:6).
My friend Richard, a former
inmate who has been released from
prison, learned this truth the
hard way (see thesparrowministries.org).
For several years I wrote words
of encouragement to him. After
becoming a Christian, he wanted
to grow in the faith but there
were obstacles. One of the most
difficult is printed below
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"His Name is Wonderful"
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"His Name is Wonderful"
Hugging my young son, Ben, was
always a joy. Now that he is a
grown man, I don't remember every
hug, of course, but one special
one I will never forget. It happened
on the first school day in January.
In his class they were to bring
a favorite Christmas gift for
show-and-tell so they could tell
why it was special. Ben was leaving
the house with nothing to share
and I asked why.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"Now Thank We All Our
God"
Each Thanksgiving our family
laughs about the sermon that turned
us into a few muffled gigglers.
It happened years ago, when our
children were young and we were
visiting at the community Thanksgiving
church service.
The preacher kept repeating his
favorite phrase: "This worship
service is for more than Thanksgiving
-- it is for thanksLIVING."
The children continued to get
tickled as he increased his volume
each time he stressed the word,
LIVING.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"More Love to Thee"
A little green book with ragged
edges entitled Stepping
Heavenward has a prominent
place on my bookshelf. The author
is Elizabeth Prentiss. The book
was published in 1869 and sold
more than 200,000 copies in America.
But its age and its popularity
are not the reasons it is special
to me. On the inside front cover
a young boy wrote his name when
he was twelve years old. That
signature was written so long
ago it has almost faded away.
That boy was my father.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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"She May Not Know Me
- But I Know Her"
For several months sweet old
Mr. Sam went to the Nursing Home
each morning at 9:00. One stormy
day the nurse who cared for his
wife, wondered if he would come
out in this awful weather. But
he arrived exactly at the same
time ready for his special visit.
Nurse Susan commented on his faithfulness
to his wife who did not even recognize
him anymore. Mr. Sam smiled and
replied, "She may not know
who I am, but I know who she is."
With those words of love, he
entered the same room, and sat
in the same chair and took the
same cherished and wrinkled hand
he had held for almost 60 years.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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Since the 1950's, a cartoon
known as "Peanuts" has
brought laughter and joyful wisdom
to millions of readers in newspapers
across the world. In the beginning,
Charlie Brown was the only character.
Soon the cartoonist, Charles Schulz
began to add other little people
to the cartoon. I always chuckled
at the conversations that Charlie
Brown and Lucy had. One such cartoon
pictures them sitting together
in a chair watching television
as the announcer says, "All
is right with the world."
Charlie turns to Lucy to ask
what that means. Her smug reply
is, "All is right with the
world when Lucy's here!"
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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Classes had been slightly boring
this Friday at school, and I was
ready for a long weekend. The
books in my arms were heavy so
I hurried home. As I plopped them
into a chair, my Bible fell to
the floor. I picked it up to place
it on top of the stack of textbooks.
Before I set it down, I lamented
over the bad grade I had made
in my Bible class the day before.
It was a sad surprise, but all
of my studies were taking second
place these days.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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It is simple to spell l-o-v-e,
not always so simple to experience
it. But just as a baby wrapped
in the arms of a loving parent
is fed even if he is not drinking
milk, so God's love can flow through
the loving arms of a mom or dad,
and give that baby strength for
a lifetime.
With each new stage of growth
there is that same basic need
for love that fills the heart
and soul of every child. After
talking with a judge of a family
court, one statement in our discussion
has stayed with me.
.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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What's up with your New Year's
Resolutions? Several weeks into
the New Year and I am already
a little sluggish with some of
mine. But I regain my determination
with one of the greatest hymns
of prayer ever written:
"O God, our help in ages
past, our hope for years to come.
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
and our eternal home."
When a "stormy blast"
comes.... ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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It seemed to be a regular night
in Bethlehem over two thousand
years ago. Shepherds on the hillsides
were caring for their sheep. I
imagine it was dark and dreary,
because they were astounded when
angels appeared with a message:
"Do not be afraid, I bring
you good tidings of great joy
which will be for all people."
Even more exciting were the words:
"For there is born to you
this day in the city of David,
a Savior, who is Christ the Lord"
(Luke 2: 10-11). ... (Read
the entire article HERE)
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It seems
strange, but singing the same Christmas
carols year after year is delightful.
"O Little Town of Bethlehem"
is one of them. It never ceases to
be meaningful as I picture the many
visual images in the words. I accept
its beauty with joy in my heart and
the simple beat of its music. ...
(Read the entire article HERE)
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Walking
slowly from the church, we lifted
our candles high into the darkness
of the night. What a beautiful sight
to behold. Those little lights were
a symbol of the true message of Christmas
as they glowed from our church lawn.
God sent the Light of the world to
us thousands of years ago. So we sang
with gusto, "Go Tell It On The
Mountain." ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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Since the early
days of America, there have been
many gifted people, of all races,
who are a part of the greatness
of our country. During Black History
Month in February, the media focuses
on the many contributions made by
African-American leaders.
But why was this not always an
important part of American History
classes? ... (Read the entire
article HERE)
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