Great Return on Your Investment

Our Dan, 2000
Mowing Miss Mattie's yard

"And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than receive.'" (Acts 20:35)

When our kids were teens, we helped Miss Mattie and Mr. Fred with yard work and such. Our family received the greater blessing - the privilege of knowing, loving, and gleaning from these godly and wise old saints.

Beloved, constantly search for opportunities to help those in need. You'll earn a great return on your investment and bring glory to God to boot. 

Mattie B. Taylor,

A great woman of God

May 10, 1907 - March 26, 2006

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Believe, Children

Our grands

"...Jesus Christ the faithful witness...who loves us and has washed us from our sins by His own blood...be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." (Rev. 1:5-6)

Last weekend, for the first time ever, ALL our little chickadees gathered at the river cabin. I love my grands so much that I would die for them.

Jesus already has.

Believe, children. Believe in Jesus, the Lord!

"If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Rom. 10:9)

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Rest in God's Peace, Baby James

Ft. Myers, Florida
(photo by our Rebecca)





"He will wipe away
every tear from their eyes,
and death shall be no more,
neither shall there be
mourning,
nor crying,
nor pain
anymore..."
(Rev. 21:4)


Sweet baby James -
now in the arms of Jesus
with his sister, Arizona.

Please pray for their family.
Praise God for heaven.

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Tell the Children

The Phillip Glassco Family 2016

"Let each generation tell its children of Your mighty acts; 

let them proclaim Your power." (Psalm 145:4)

silly Glasscos

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Full House

Kids and grands with Granddaddy

"Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior's hands. How joyful is the man whose quiver is fun of them!" (Psalm 127:4-5)

Five glorious days with our 12 kids and grands! O happy day!

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." (Psalm 136:1)

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Who's on Your Throne

Our grandgirl 

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (1 Peter 1:3-4)

"Sin is blatant mutiny against God, and either sin or God must die in my life. The New Testament brings us right down to this one issue - if sin rules in me, God's life in me will be killed; if God rules in me, sin in me will be killed...The culmination of sin was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ...It is the only explanation why Jesus Christ came to earth..." ~ Oswald Chambers

Sin or God. Who's on your throne, beloved?

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Just a Walk in the Park

My girls and little guys
Helena City Park

"If we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another..." (1 John 1:7)

One morning each summer week, I take my sweet daughters-in-law and their three little guys on an outing. Yesterday, we played in the shade at the creekside Helena City Park.

The English idiom "a walk in the park" refers to something very easy and pleasant to do. Fellowship with those you love, beloved. It's just a walk in the park for you and yours.

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Rejected

my girl, A.K.A. Miss Bea Yonce
"pied" - VBX 2016

Jesus said, "Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; but whoever rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." (Luke 10:16)

At one stop along my spring book-reading tour, an elderly lady was all smiles until I mentioned Jesus. Her eyes glued to the floor and lips locked into a hard line. The millisecond I concluded my talk, she gave away the free book I'd given her and rushed from the room like a woman with her hair on fire.

I don't know her story, but it seems pretty safe to say that a loving relationship with Jesus probably isn't part of it. I'm praying about that. 

Been rejected because you love Jesus, beloved? Don't take it personally. Pray for the rejecter. 

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Baby James Update

Baby James

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous - how well I know it. You watched me as I  was being formed in utter seclusion, and I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered!" (Psalm 139:13-17)

Report from NICU, 8:15 p.m., 6/18/16 - He's doing great!


Keep sending those prayers up to Jesus in heaven, beloved!


"So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most." (Heb. 4:16)

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Please Pray for Baby James

Sweet baby James

"...The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." (James 5:16b)

Eddie and Kathryn are a lovely, young couple, both US Air Force airmen in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Last week, Kathryn prematurely (23 weeks) gave birth to twins - a beautiful baby girl, Arizona, and sweet baby boy, James. Arizona is now in the arms of Jesus. James is bravely and courageously fighting to thrive!

Please pray fervently for this sweet family.

"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for welfare...to give you a future and a hope."

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Wise Decisions

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)


I remember my parents deliberating for days between the floral pattern of Pennsylvania Pottery that Mother preferred or the black rooster design that Daddy liked. Buying a new set of dishes was a big decision for them in the 1960s.

Life is a chain of choices. "It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped." (Tony Robbins)

Personally, in decision making, I have decided to follow Jesus. 

What guides your decisions, beloved?

(By the way, mama got her complete set of floral Pennsylvania Pottery and daddy got one rooster cup and saucer.) 

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Fear Extinquisher

Armor of God Friends and Me (kneeling),
1990s

"Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit." (1 Thess. 5:16-19)

Upon a recent potentially dangerous situation for one of my kids, fear knocked at my door. 

I prayed. 

God answered, "Satan just shot a fiery-fear dart at you, Jill. Raise that shield of faith and quench it! Trust Me."

And the moral of this story is: Fear quenches the Holy Spirit, but faith in Jesus quenches fear!

Got it, beloved?

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Are You More Encouraging Than a Third Grader

The Schoolhouse by Kyli

"For instance, there was Joseph, the one the apostles nicknamed Barnabas (which means "Son of Encouragement").

Yesterday, the mailman delivered a manila envelope stuffed with illustrated notes from third graders, thanking me for their free copy of The Schoolhouse. Those kids' encouragement made my day!

Make someone's day, beloved. Encourage. Thank. Or just smile for heaven's sake and the world's.

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Hope for America

VBX 2016

"O Israel, put your hope in the LORD - now and always!" (Psalm 131:3)

A thousand little hands worshipping Jesus - there's hope for America, beloved.

"Rest is not some holy feeling that comes upon us in church. It is a state of calm rising from a heart deeply and firmly established in God." ~ Henry Drummond

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God's Phone Number

VBX Kids
(Can you spot our happy grandboy?)

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit." (Psalm 51:12)

I'm having an exceptionally fun summer. Could it possibly have anything to do with the fact that my eldest, fun-loving son often asks Jesus to give me a blessed and fun day? 

Positively.

God said, "Call to Me and I will answer you..."

Want God's phone number? Dial (that shows my age): 

Jeremiah 33:3

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The Two Step

Fruit of superman's labors

"How joyful are those who fear the LORD - all who follow his ways! You will enjoy the fruit of your labor. How joyful and prosperous you will be!" (Psalm 128:1-2)

I confess. In April, I fell off the healthy-eating wagon. Higher than normal blood pressure inspired me to pick myself up, dust myself off, and dance the two step: a little more exercise and a lot less salt. 

Beloved, are you on the healthy wagon or flat on your face in the dust? Dance the two step: fear the Lord and follow His ways. It's good for your body, soul, and spirit.

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No Pain, No Gain

My girl and her boy

"No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening - it's painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." (Heb. 12:11)

One parenting mistake I made while raising my kids was sometimes "rescuing" them from negative consequences of their bad choices.  My efforts to block their pain in point of fact hindered God's discipline and right-living training. I learned the hard way that rescuing was NOT helping but in the long run hurting them.

"My child, don't make light of the LORD's discipline, and don't give up when He corrects you. For the LORD disciplines those He loves, and He punishes each one He accepts as His child." (Heb. 12:5-6)

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Miss Bea Yonce

My girl AKA "Miss Bea Yonce" (pretty in pink)
This week's VBX
(Vacation Bible X-treme)




"Trust in the Lord with all your heart..." (Prov. 3:5)

QUESTION: Why do thousands of people spend thousands of hours and thousands of churches spend thousands of dollars  preparing for summertime Vacation Bible Schools?

ANSWER: To help thousands of children make the most important decision of their entire lives: trusting the Lord Jesus with all their hearts.

So beloved, how are you spending your hours and dollars this summer?

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A Hole in the Bottom of the Sea

Our oldest grandboy
Alabama Gulf Coast, 2015

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (1 Thess. 5:18)

Remember that children's build-a-song "There's a Hole in the bottom of the Sea"? It starts there's a hole in the bottom of the sea and ends there's a flea on the hair on the wart on the frog on the knot on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea.

Saturday, I dashed to the grocery store only to discover an empty meat counter due to a broken freezer. A bit miffed, I began with, "Man, now I have to run to another store," but ended with, "But thank you, Lord Jesus, for the good health to work a job to earn the money to buy meat in a town with more than one place to get food and please help Winn Dixie with their freezer problem!"

Beloved, the next time you run into a hole-in-the-bottom-of-the-sea situation, sing a chain of thanksgivings to God and squash the complaints!

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Memaw Summer Camp - Last Day

Fishing in a bucket

"Jesus looked at them intently and said, 'Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.'" (Matt. 19:26 NLT)

Lesson #8 - Jesus can do anything!

From A Chancellor Ferry Tale:

Not all bugs had it so easy, though. As a youngster, Norman, unwise to the hazards of human-folks, had lost his right foreleg in a slammed screen door on Mrs. Adkins’ back porch and was pitched headlong into the School of Hard Knocks. He soon learned that single-legged meal trapping was pert near unmanageable, and simple things like walking through tall grass or creeping up a church wall took him twice as long as the other little mantises. And to make matters all the worse, instead of being sympathetic to his dilemma, the local bug-boys poked fun at his awkward prey-catching and called him “Preyless” Hyde.

Because his slowness made him customarily tardy, by the time Norman reached the windowsill, Pastor Titus was concluding the morning message. The preacher pounded the podium with his fist and bellowed, “Beloved, we may be troubled on every side, but we refuse to be distressed.”

“Amen!” shouted Norman, but the humans didn’t seemed to notice.

 “We may be cast down, but we will not be destroyed,” the preacher thundered. “Yes, like the Apostle Paul, we know what it’s like to go hungry, but whether in lack or abundance, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us! Men and women, boys and girls…”

And bugs, thought Norman.

 “Poverty must not paralyze God’s people from taking the hope of the Gospel – the Good News of Jesus – to a hurting world. As the prophet Isaiah heard the cry of the Lord the year King Uzziah died, oh, people of God, hear His voice calling today, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’”

Norman volunteered quicker than an American Revolutionary minuteman. He waved his front leg enthusiastically and cried, “Here am I; send me!”

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Memaw Summer Camp - Day 8

Our three littlest boys

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed...Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." (Eccl. 4:9,12)

Lesson #7: Better together.

From A Chancellor Ferry Tale:

“Pete,” Mr. Weatherby called.

“Yes, sir?” Peter answered.

“Come help me mend the fence when you’re done in the garden.”

“Yes, sir,” Peter said.

“Some children, nowadays, complain if they have to carry a paper plate to the wastebasket after a microwaved lunch,” noted Mrs. Willowkins.  “But Peter liked working on the farm – especially alongside his papa…”

Peter held the boards Mr. Weatherby nailed to the posts and sang boisterously. Norman joined in on the chorus:

“To the work! To the work! Let the hungry be fed;

To the fountain of life let the thirsty be led;

In the CROSS and its vict’ry our glory shall be,

While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”

“Work for Him by His grace;

Work through Him for His praise;

Work with Him all the days;

And work in Him in many ways.”

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Memaw Summer Camp - Day 7

Our happy boy

"Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD..." (Psalm 40:4)

Lesson #6: If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!

From A Chancellor Ferry Tale:

Peter collected three more frogs and then plopped down beside Norman.

“See those clouds building over yonder and feel that breeze?” Peter said. “That means rain’s comin’. We better go home.

Drop.

Drip.

I believe Peter is the smartest nine-year-old in the whole state of Alabama, thought Norman.

Drop.

Drip-drop.

Drip-drop-drip.

The pitter-patter of raindrops rapidly sped to a downpour.

Peter danced through the cotton shrubs and sang:

“It’s raining; it’s pouring.

The old man is snoring.

He went to bed and bumped his head.

And he wouldn’t get up till morning.”

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