Simple thought

READ THE FIRST LINE CAREFULLY. . .

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Happy moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.

I Can Only Imagine

Here are the words from this incredible song, "I can only imagine"... transcribed from the recording:

"I can only imagine what it will be like, when I walk by Your side...I can only imagine, what my eyes will see, when Your Face is before me!

I can only imagine. I can only imagine.

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

I can only imagine, when that day comes, when I find myself standing in the Son!I can only imagine, when all I will do, is forever, forever worship You!

I can only imagine! I can only imagine!

Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!
Surrounded by Your Glory, what will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you, Jesus? Or in awe of You, be still?Will I stand in Your presence, or to my knees will I fall?Will I sing 'Hallelujah!'? Will I be able to speak at all?

I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine! I can only imagine! Yeah! I can only imagine!! Only imagine!!!I can only imagine.

I can only imagine, when all I do is forever, forever worship You!I can only imagine."

Copyright: ©1999 MercyMe
For more information about this song and the group, you can visit their WEBsite: MercyMe (MercyMe is not affiliated with but we support their ongoing ministry to the Body of Christ.)

The original is sung with pathos by the group Mercy Me. (It appeared on their 2001 album, "Almost There")

"What does this song mean?" You may be asking... it is written from the perspective of someone who, during their life, has asked the LORD to forgive them of their sins, and invited Him to be the Lord of their life. (A "Born-Again" Christian.) The song depicts this person now standing before God's Throne, and rejoicing. Because the person depicted in the song was Saved from their sins, and had accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savor, they now stand before Him to receive their Heavenly reward.
ALL have sinned, there is NONE righteous, no not one. Jesus Christ, died upon a cross. On the 3'rd day, He rose again. You can read about this incredible story in the BIBLE. Look for the "Gospel of John" in the New Testament. (It is the 4'th "book"- Matthew, Mark, Luke, JOHN.) There, you will read about the love of Jesus, and His offer of forgiveness.
God's forgiveness is NOT AUTOMATIC, though! Each and every one of us must ASK for it!

Won't you ask the LORD to forgive you of your SIN? You don't have to recite memorized words... you woudn't speak to your Earthly Father that way... come to God with a sincere heart, and ask Him to forgive you. Ask Him to be the LORD (ruler) of your life, and to come into your heart. Read the Gospel of John in the Bible.
Have YOU asked the LORD to forgive you of your SIN?

I suggest tuning around the dial, and look for a Christian radio station. Listen to it for a while. You will learn many things about the Lord that you never realized! :) You can also call that station, and ask about a Bible-believing Church in your area.

Works

In working with volunteers you see many lives and God's interaction in their lives.

In working to see that our outreach grows we have prepared many different versions of volunteer guidelines that attempt to describe how we expect people to act when associated with what we do. This has presented discussion at many levels. Ultimately many expect "exceptions" for themselves but not for others.

Counseling those who have needs is a tough thing. People who have problems in a specific area don't see their problems but attempt to point out the same problems in others.

When you discuss this they become defensive usually because they know they have a problem but won't verbalize it.

Call a problem a sin. Some Christians have developed an idea that sin has levels. Christ didn't ever present this.

One volunteer points out an "odor" about another volunteer. Yet, the cigarette smoke from volunteer 1's clothes is evident to a nonsmoker. Who has the worst odor?

And which "odor" represents sin? The one who worked all day or the one who smoked all day?

Is it a sin to work all day or sit and do nothing and smoke? Is working harming others or is smoking harming others?

For Christians, what is the example of smoking to others? Does this present a good witness? What is the example of working hard enough to work up a sweat?

We know smoking harms our bodies and that of those exposed to secondhand smoke. Clearly this is something we should not do. Why do people still do this and justify it?

Should we flush all those with ANY sin? The answer is NO. Christ spent time with sinners, not to take up their way of life but to change them and witness to them.

Did he 'convert" all sinners. NO. Did he decide one day that one sin is better or worse than another? NO.

When you work with sinners expect them to have failings. Just remember, unless you are Christ you are also a "sinner" so casting the first stone isn't an option.

Three Times as much fun

Jennifer is doing well. A little sore from being pregnant. Three children isn't much more trouble than one is it?

She is still working drawing blood but this will end soon as she will not be able to work being three times as pregnant. Exciting, fun, busy. Please pray for us.

One More Day

Another day filled with ideas and hopes and dreams.

Pray for those in need, Thank God for those who have received.

Post Moderns

On the New Castle Indiana EZ look Message Board someone posted about a gory message.


--Previous Message--: I want to make it : clear what respect is all about! Whether or : not names are given, would you all really : want to get on this board and read details : of a loved one's death? I mean, all the gory : details, lets discuss where body parts ended : up, how much blood sprayed the vicinity, how : long it took to get the brains off the : street, that kind of stuff! Since we have : quite a few people reading this board out of : town, out of state, you name it, it's highly : possible someone could read gory details : BEFORE even getting the call that a loved : one had been horribly killed! Someone silly : is trying to state that just because you : don't know the family, or state the name, it : should be totally alright to list gory : details and horrible injuries so all can : read! Is it just me, or is that terribly : disrespectful to family and loved ones that : may read or hear about it on this board? : It's enough for a young one to deal with the : death of someone close, let alone having the : continual pictures in their head of exactly : HOW they died! :


Being in the media....

We never release gory details until the police release this information. This means the immediate family has been notified. If it is here on EZ-Look then the media has the same opportunity to release the gory details...without the name.

If the not so immediate family gets the information another route - non family - if from television or even EZ Look - this IS the information age.

The price we pay for immediate information? Sometimes we hear about things in a non personal manner.

This doesn't make it wrong. This is called Post Modernism. The culture is changing...good or bad. Post Moderns want this information and their values and ideas are not the same as ours or our parents.

As harsh as it seems you cannot go back now unless someone "bombs us back to the stone age."

The 60's Truman Capote book and movie "In Cold Blood" was gory then. Now what is it? Our senses have changed and our sensibilities have changed because we have been exposed to more than our parents or their parents? Where does it end? Any ideas?

Friends

An eventful past few days.

As my body continues to fail I find a new ailment every few days. Over the weekend I found spotting on what sight is left and discovered this appeared to be red. My vitreous had seperated from myr etina in one eye and hemorraged. Yuck. A Sunday trip to the eye surgeon. Appears to ahve healed but the4 only reason given for this problem is that my diabetes has progressed.

As I end my day I have had an eventful full day. Help from a friend at home doing things I cannot do anymore. My wife and friends met this evening and we had fellowship together and have been blessed by our friends who stick with us even though our problems are many.

Be with Brink as he visits the dentist tomorrow. Be with Brook, a blesing from God who brings light to all she mets with her enthusiastic smile and adept ability to light up any room. Pray for my daughter Laura who will turn 21 this month. Pray that the blessing of God will be on all she does.

Be with the ministry of WJCF as new territory is available for reaping of the harvest for Christ.


Father Son and Holy Spirit Amen.

Claire Tatum

We have been following the progress of CLaire Tatum for sometime now. Claire attends Fortville Christian Church and has been disagnosed with an inoperable condition affecting her sight and ultimately resulting in death.

What a blessing this child and her family have been.

We read updates on Claire at http://www.livejournal.com/users/tatomupdates/ and regularly read about the events in the Tatom's lives which center around Claire.

Claire's mom Amber talks with volunteers about Claire's problems. She related that Claire thanked God for Her illness. She believes God is using her for a higher purpose.

Any time we have problems, remember Claire Tatom, and her family's struggle and their unwavering Love Of Christ.

Christ Mass Tree

--Previous Message--: My kids won't leave my tree alone i had to : take it down. they took everything off of : it HHHHEEEEELLLLLPPPPPP.

We tried keeping the tree from getting turned over but found the children were so excited every time they saw the tree they couldn't help but get close and sometimes it fell. With the youngest ones at 7,5, and 3 we discovered that a few broken ornaments were a small price to pay for the experience. COMPOSITE RESIN ORNAMENTS don't break as easily but they also break. How about having them make ornaments out of construction paper?

Real tree, fake tree, they all stand back up. We did buy a better stand which helped.
It was tough for a "type A personality" to accept the tree being mangled and the ornaments being moved but I got used to it. Last year we discovered no matter what we did that our tree had ornaments evenly spaced in higher areas. Anywhere a 2 year old could reach was bare except the area she wanted the ornaments in. A big glob of ornaments at 2 year old see and touch height.

Some of our friends have resisted placing trees in their homes because they feel it makes the birth of Christ too commercial. While we have a tree, and sometimes Christmas Lights also, we find that the meaning of Christmas is what we instill in our children.

It isn't about the tree or the lights, it is about the birth of Christ. God sent His Son to die for us. A forever present that we can share even if we are unable to afford "big" presents. The celebration is about the birth of Christ. After the presents break and the lights fade there is the hope that your children will remember the true meaning of Christmas. We have so little money to buy "presents" this year that the concern over a tree is somehow just wrong.

Christmas gets busy and it's easy to overlook the gift God has blessed us with - our children. Turn the problem into a blessing. Enjoy your children. When they tip the tree give them hugs and let them know why the tree is there. They will carry this message of Love, which is Christ, to their children, and theirs, and theirs...

Blessings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ