This Could Be The Day!

As I was reading in Luke 12 this morning, as few verses really stood out to me.

"Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. . . . . . . . . . Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Luke 12:37-38, 40

The part that stood out to me most was the very first line, "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching. . ." Now I know that this particular verse is not necessarily in reference to our Lord Jesus Christ, but it is still applicable.

Are we truly:

• Watching
• Waiting
• Anticipating
• Longing for
• Ready for

our Lord's return? Are our thoughts and minds stayed on Him? Would you be surprised if He came today?

My pastor's wife said once that she tries to go about her day with the thought that THIS could be the day the Lord returns. The Bible says (Luke 12:40) that we are to be ready because we don't know when the Lord will come. As one preacher says, "We need to keep short accounts with God!" Leave no known sin unconfessed. I wonder how many of us would have different attitudes and actions each day if we were to think this way?

Is this our attitude?

Wake up with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Work with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Witness with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Worship with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Love with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Serve with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Praise Him with the thought: THIS COULD BE THE DAY!

Lay down our head at night with the though: THIS COULD STILL BE THE DAY!

I don't know about you, but I'm guilty of getting my eyes off of what is important. I needed those verses this morning. They were a wonderful reminder of my purpose in this life.

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:13

Until the Shout,

Sis. Tammy

Shingles Update

Today, Roger has been in a bit more pain around his neck and shoulder. He has only a few more little spots, which is a blessing. We are praying his medicine will keep it under control and that it won't be as bad as some we have heard about. I know he would appreciate your prayers.

Pray that the children don't get chickenpox. That would be a mess! YUCK!!!

It's about time to relax for the evening, so I won't keep you all.

Many blessings,
Sis. Tammy

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Shingles! Yes, I said SHINGLES!!! No, not me. My husband has them. Bless his heart! Really!

It was confirmed by the doctor this morning. What a mess! Let's just say we are beginning to be experts on the subject. Thank the Lord for access to useful information.

This is what we have learned so far:

• You had to have had chickenpox in order to get shingles. What happens is, once you've had chickenpox a part of the virus lays dormant in your body and can become active at any time after that. Resulting in shingles.
• Any one that has had chickenpox can get shingles.
• You CAN NOT get shingles from some that has it.
• You CAN get chickenpox from someone that has shingles if you've never had them.
• It is very painful and that pain can last for quite some time after the virus has disappeared.

Well, that's the long and short of it, anyway. The important facts! LOL Although my husband does not find it very funny!

There are a few more bits to it than that, but I figure if you wanted to know badly enough about it you could just look it up. Saves me repeating it all, and then I wouldn't have to worry if I got something wrong! HEHEHE

I pray you all have a wonderful mid-week service. God bless!

Sis. Tammy

Beatitudes For The Home

BLESSED are the husband and wife who continue to be affectionate and considerate, loving after the wedding bells have ceased ringing.

BLESSED are the husband and wife who are as polite and courteous to one another as they are to their friends.

BLESSED are they who have a sense of humor, for this attribute will be a handy shock absorber.

BLESSED are they who love their mates more than any other person in the world and who joyfully fulfill their marriage vows of lifetime of fidelity and mutual helpfulness to one another.

BLESSED are they who attain parenthood, for children are a heritage of the Lord.

BLESSED are they who remember to thank God for their food before they partake of it, and who set apart some time each day for the reading of the Bible and for prayer.

BLESSED are those mates who never speak loudly to one another and who make their home a place where seldom is heard a discouraging word".

BLESSED are the husband and wife who faithfully attend the worship service of the church and who work together in the church for the advancement of Christ's Kingdom.

BLESSED are the husband and wife who can work out problems of adjustments without interference from relatives.

BLESSED is the couple who has a complete understanding about financial matters and who has worked out a perfect partnership with all money under the control of both.

BLESSED are the husband and wife who humbly dedicate their lives and their home to Christ and who practice the teachings of Christ in the home by being unselfish, loyal, and loving. -

Author Unknown

April Showers . . .

Today was a busy day. School as usual, but after that I went to B&Q (kind of like Lowe's) and got my compost and flowers for my tubs. I couldn't hardly wait. I'm not into flower beds and all that big stuff, but I love to put pots out front. Bare brick gets drab after the long winters and I like to have it colorful for the summer months. If I can figure it out I'll try to put a picture of them up in the next day or so and then again when they are in full bloom. I put in some trailing lobelia and buzy lizzies. I usually put in the lobelia and trailing petunias, but wanted something different this year.

Once I got home the children had fun helping me fill the pots with the compost. They filled them and I put in the flowers. I think they just enjoyed playing in the dirt myself, but . . . . . . we had a good time anyway.

My dad is trying to talk me into getting them a tomato plant or something to mess around with. I might have to think about it. I know they'd like it. Our yard isn't big enough for a proper garden so that is out, but a pot or two could be workable. Anyway, it's something to think about.

I pray you all have a lovely weekend. Ours is actually suppose to be nice, but in England I'll believe it when I see it. LOL

Until the Shout,
Sis. Tammy

One of These Day!

I'm soooo glad that one of these days there is going to be no need for good-byes and tears. Praise the LORD!! Isn't that GREAT?

One of these days our Lord is going to split that eastern sky and we will get to be together forever. The Lord told us to comfort ourselves with these thoughts in I Thess. chapter 5. It seems thoughts like this are so much more prevalent when you've just had to say good-bye to someone that is very dear to you. But, I'm glad we have God's Word and what a comfort it is. Amen!!!!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words."
1 Thess. 5 v.16-18

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
Revelation 21 v.4

WHOOHOOO!

UNTIL THE SHOUT,
Sis. Tammy

Suprise Visitor?

You read it right. When my husband came back from the U.S. he said that we were going to have company for 2 weeks, but would he tell us who? No way! How cruel! The suspense was horrible. LOL

As some of you might recall, I wrote about our best friends moving back to the States for good. Well, I had not seen my best friend for nearly 2 years, although her husband was back in September to finish packing things up and trying to get the house ready to sell. In that time frame I hadn't been able to talk to her on the phone for about a year or more because they only had cell phones and it cost us both alot of money to talk, sooooo . . . . .

While my husband was in the States he got to go see them and used his phone card for me to talk to her. As soon as I heard her voice on the phone I started crying. I hadn't realized just how much I'd really missed being able to talk to her (not just via e-mail). Needless to say I think I cried throughout the whole conversation. It was soooo good to hear her voice and be able to carry on a proper conversation. What a blessing that was, and since they have found a cheap plan through the Internet that they can use to make long distance calls we will be able to talk as often as we like. Praise the Lord!

Anyway, back to my story . . . . I had absolutely NO IDEA who might be coming to visit. But, we drove to the airport and there she was. MY BEST FRIEND!!!!!!!!!!! I didn't know whether to shout or cry or both!! LOL LOL LOL

My friend, Kelley, and her oldest son have missed England terribly. She never had the opportunity to say a proper good-bye to her beloved England, so this was a combined trip. Although, I did threaten to steal her passport. LOL I told her husband if he wanted her, he'd have to come get her! LOL

We have had a wonderful time. God has been so good to allow us this time. We've been very busy, but having a blast. I'm not used to running this much, so I'm exhausted! LOL I'll give you a quick run down of her trip thus far:

*Wednesday - Ms. Kelley arrived in UK
*Thursday - went into Kettering town, ended up scoping out all the Charity shops (goodwills)
*Friday - Went to Peterborough (where they worked for about 10 years), shopped there for in the morning, the church in Peterborough had a get together for her so that they could all have a chance to see Ms. Kelley and say their good-byes. Also, we had Youth Rally that night at the church in Peterborough. Left home around 9 or 9.30 a.m. and didn't get until about 10 or 10.30 p.m. A VERY LONG DAY!!!
*Saturday - We left home around a quarter past 10 in the morning to meet up with Jessica,
a real sweet lady in the church and did some charity shopping in Northampton. We had a lovely Chinese Buffet (THANKS JESSICA, it was a blessing). Then we charity shopped some more. I would never have known there were so many if it weren't for Jessica. Thanks!!
*Sunday - Church. Bro. Constantine was back with us again. He works for IBM out in
California and he was doing some more work in the UK. It is always good to have him in the services. I believe we've just about made him and honorary member. LOL
*Monday - Ms. Kelley and I collapsed. Didn't do anything we didn't absolutely HAVE to do.
*Tuesday - We went to Leicester (pronounced lester). Did some looking around and had a
good time looking around and seeing how much the town has changed in the last few years.
*Wednesday - I had school and Ms. Kelley went with the others on outreach. They were passing
out tracts in the town center. It was one of the highlights of her week she says. Went to the national pastors church that night.
*Thursday - Didn't do much. Just kind of hung around home and got ready for our services.
*Friday - Left home a little before 9.30 a.m. and headed towards Moulton where William
Carey pastored, then went to Olney and visited the church where John Newton pastored and saw the house where he penned "Amazing Grace". We actually sang it in the church. Great accustics! LOL In the same town is where William Cowper lived. We saw the summer house where he wrote many of his poems and hymns. After that we headed to Bedford and the town of John Bunyan. We were telling the folks a Bunyan's where we had been and they had never heard of William Carey. Isn't that sad? Such wonderful history in this great land, yet folks
don't even know about it. Heartbreaking!! Had FISH-N-CHIPS for supper
*Saturday - Just hung out at home and then I took Caleb to Karate.


Sorry if I bored you to tears. I thought that as long as I'm writing this it would be a good way for me to also keep track of what we've done as sort of like a journal. Sorry you had to suffer through it all.

Needless to say, it has been great having Ms. Kelley here. She flies out on Tuesday. Pray for me. It will be hard to see her go. She is the sweetest Christian woman I know. Such a wonderful example of what a Christian wife, mother, pastor's wife and friend ought to be.

I pray you all have a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow.

Until the Shout,
Sis. Tammy