He Has Risen!

Can you imagine how you would have felt,  as one of the women coming to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus?  Very early in the morning on the first day of the week, they came expecting to see His body, but received a greeting that would change their lives forever.   The angel said to them, “…I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified.  He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” (Matthew 28:5,6)

Rejoice, for the tomb is empty and Christ has conquered sin and death forever!!!

We serve a risen Savior……Happy Resurrection Day!!!

An Easter Acronym

As I was pondering what to write about in the blog, I prayed and asked the Lord what He wanted me to say.  Also, realizing that this is the time when we “celebrate” Easter, recognizing the life, death, burial, and resurrection of our Blessed Savior, I wanted to honor Him in a special way.  

However, when I think about Easter, I know that for me it is not just a once a year observance, but an everyday reality of what the Lord has done in my life, in the lives of many of you who read this blog, and in the lives of countless believers all over the world.

 I truly praise God for my Savior, who loves me and sacrificially gave His life so that I might know what new life and abundant living are all about.  In honor of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit placed on my heart an acronym for EASTER.  

 E---Everlasting Father   When the prophet Isaiah announced those wonderful attributes about our Savior hundreds of years before His birth (Isaiah 9:6), the name Everlasting Father, speaks of His eternality, that He was, is and is to come, the One who has always existed and knows the beginning from the end. He knew in eternity past that He would come to take away our sins.

A---All Sufficient Sacrifice  The Lord’s death on the cross paid the precious price for our sins, and no other price needed to be offered or paid.  The writer of Hebrews says, “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)    It is finished, hallelujah!

S---Savior of Sinners    The Lord’s mission when He was physically on earth was to seek and save those that are lost.  He came to preach the Good News about Himself,  so that all who would receive Him would become part of God’s forever family.    In 1 Timothy 1:15, the apostle Paul declared that, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”   Rejoice that our Lord saved us and is still saving the lost!

T---Truth    Many times throughout the Gospels, the Lord would say “Truly I say to you”, and His followers could know for certain that He always spoke the truth.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).  Knowing Him, who is Truth, sets us free from a life controlled by the deceitfulness of sin.

E---Exalted King   He is the Exalted King, of whom Paul spoke about when he declared that , “…one day every knee will bow…… and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:10,11)  He will reign forever and ever and His kingdom will never be destroyed. How awesome it is that we who belong to Him are part of that kingdom!

R---Righteous  Ruler   The apostle John called Christ the Righteous One (1 John 2:1).  He is righteous and true in all of His ways; He will always do what is right because He is the perfect, blameless, holy Son of God.

This week and beyond, let us worship Him for who He is,  adore Him for why He came,  love Him completely, serve Him passionately,  and share Him with others. 

PRAISE THE LORD

He's Alive....and I'm Forgiven....PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Taking Care of Your Body

We all are aware that we should take care of our bodies.  That is a given....especially when you begin getting a "few years of experience" under your belt like me.  Smile.  My husband and I have great intentions........exercise....eat better, etc.  HOWEVER....we get caught up in this busy world that we live in and many times the exercise is a time factor and the diet is lost by eating on the road.

God finds ways to help us with all of our problems...and excuses.

Our daughter, since giving birth, as developed pre-diabetes so she is on a strict diet.  Since her carbs are limited, I have been forced to come up with more creative methods, etc. 

Also, I mentioned the last time I blogged that our son got a new job in Chattanooga and he and his wife would be moving in with us for a while.  Well...she is a nutrition major and they are always "watching" what they eat, so we are now eating more meals a home and making better choices on the road.

We have a "Fast Fitness for Ladies ONLY" in Dayton but it is hard for me to motivate myself into going alone.  My daughter-in-law has asked if I would go with her.  NOW...I have NO EXCUSE.  Smile.

Anyway, I say all of this to say....we all know that "exercise" and "diet" are big factors to our over-all health.  I would like to challenge you.........If I can do it...anyone can.

I am publishing this on Friday, but writing this on Thursday night becauseThursday afternoon was our first day at "Fast Fitness" and I may not be able to get out of bed tomorrow.  Smile.

EASTER

HAPPY EARLY EASTER

Where Did They Go?

We have been at our church for 16 years.  During this 16 years, many folks have come and gone.  Sometimes you expect it and sometimes it comes as a shock.  Where did they go?

We have some very good friends that were missionaries.  When we first went to our church, he would call and ask how the church was going.....and we would really be down and say, we thought it was doing well, but two families just up and left.  His reply would be, "Amen, praise the Lord!!!  We have been praying that God would get rid of the dead wood at Whites Creek."

WOW....what a way to look at it.  I am not saying that all of them are dead wood, but they may be dead wood at our church.  By this I mean, for some reason this is not the church for them so they are not able to serve God the way they should.....so essentially, they are dead wood.  It has always amazed me when folks leave..........I always remember what this missionary said and most of the time, our church begins to "grow" or "re-new" when I am expecting it to hit a slump.  It is as if God DID prune the dead wood.

Recently I discovered that one of our couples had joinned another church.  At first it bothered me a bit..........then I thought about it and realized that the couple had probably only attended our church 2-3 times a year in the past several years........so, maybe they will become more regular at their new church.  They have only been members by name at our church.

I guess we should not always question, "Where did they go?"......just accept it as God's will regardless of the reason....and keep looking to the future.

Conference Update

The last time I blogged, we were getting ready to attend the Bi-Vocational Pastors and Wives Conference in Pigeon Forge.  What a blessing.  If you are a Bi-Vocational Pastor's Wife, I would like to encourage you to make plans to attend next year.  You will not be sorry you did.  It is well worth the $175 for the conference.  Since we are bi-vocational and do not get to attend the Southern Baptist Convention, our church sends us to the Bi-Vocational Conference every year.  They tell us it is well worth it because through the conference we get renewed and come back excited.

This year's conference was about Renewing Your Relationship with the Master, with the Ministry and with your Marriage.

On Friday, we had a special service where we re-newed our wedding vows.  What a special service.  The day before, our husbands were instructed to write us a letter and give it to us after this ceremony.

I am telling you....the conference is well worth the money.  We left feeling closer to God....closer to our spouses and excited to about our churches.

On top of the awesome conference every year........and yes, every year we go away saying it will be hard to top THAT one....and every year it seems as if we manage to top it.  But, on top of the awesome conference, you build friendships.  We have met couples through our 14 years of attending this conference that we would have never met any other way.  We fellowship, laugh, cry and keep in touch during the year.  It is important to have this, especially as pastors and wives.

So....we watching for dates and times.....and plan to attend next year!!!  Hope to see you.