Well, Hurricane Irene has come and gone. She made landfall here in North Carolina on Friday and didn't leave until sometime late Saturday night.
We lost power around 2:00 a.m. Saturday morning. What a very long day without power and having to ride out the storm! My husband and I looked out of our dining room window, and watched as shingles flew off of our garage roof. What can you do, except just watch and pray that the damage is not too extensive.
But, God is so good to us! He protected us during this hurricane. The loss of shingles and branches was the worse for us. This was not so for everyone else in our county and surrounding towns. As of now, there are still so many without electricity and phone service. My husband and I are very blessed as our power was restored at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon and our phones this afternoon. Many, many trees down, houses and vehicles damaged, and much flooding. Even cel phone service was limited. Gas stations are slowly getting power back, so everyone rushes to fill their gas tanks and their generators.
Please keep us all in your prayers as we all try to get everything cleaned up and back in order.
It's funny how we take all of our "modern technology" for granted, until we don't have it! The Lord blesses us so much in so many ways!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Earthquakes and Hurricanes
As we here in Eastern NC are gearing up for Hurricane Irene, which may be a category 4 by the time it makes landfall on Saturday, we felt the aftershock of an earthquake in Virginia. What a strange feeling to one who is not accustomed to earthquakes!
It's funny, but with all of the crazy weather and earthquakes that we have been experiencing, it is all so clear to me as a believer in Christ that everything that the Bible says will happen in the last days is coming to pass. But, when I try to say this to my unsaved friends and co-workers, they just kind of "hem and haw", give me a funny look, and say that it is just "nature". Oh, the prayers I put up for those souls who need the Lord, that He would open their eyes before it is too late!
Something else happened that same day which I definitely took as a "teachable moment" for my boys.
When I talked to Nathan after school, he told me something that worried me and had me calling the school to check into.
He told me that they were all told to get under their desks because there was a man outside their school, wearing a mask, just standing there staring at the building. Of course, in this day and age, this is a very real concern. I asked him repeatedly as to whether or not this was just a drill, to which he answered very adamantly that it was not a drill.
Of course, I called the school to verify this. I was pretty certain that it really was just an earthquake drill, but I had to make sure. The school reaffirmed what I thought. It was an earthquake drill.
As I got off of the phone, I asked my son where he had heard this information. It came out that he heard it from one of his friends, who "heard" two teachers whispering loudly. Boys like action, and since I'm sure they didn't feel the tremor, this was a more exciting way to explain the drill.
Well, I took this opportunity to talk about gossip. Even we as adults are guilty sometimes of spreading some news that sounds interesting or exciting about someone before we find out if it's actually true or not. We, as Christians, should not do this. If someone comes up to us trying to talk about another person, we should stop the conversation before it even starts.
Did you know that the Bible says, "A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter." Proverbs 11:13? The Bible has alot to say about those who gossip and spread stories about others. A Jewish proverb says, "What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth". I also have a saying on my desk that says, "Whoever gossips to you will be a gossip of you." How true!
Lets stop that gossip wheel!
Please keep those of us on the East Coast as Hurricane Irene makes landfall.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)
It's funny, but with all of the crazy weather and earthquakes that we have been experiencing, it is all so clear to me as a believer in Christ that everything that the Bible says will happen in the last days is coming to pass. But, when I try to say this to my unsaved friends and co-workers, they just kind of "hem and haw", give me a funny look, and say that it is just "nature". Oh, the prayers I put up for those souls who need the Lord, that He would open their eyes before it is too late!
Something else happened that same day which I definitely took as a "teachable moment" for my boys.
When I talked to Nathan after school, he told me something that worried me and had me calling the school to check into.
He told me that they were all told to get under their desks because there was a man outside their school, wearing a mask, just standing there staring at the building. Of course, in this day and age, this is a very real concern. I asked him repeatedly as to whether or not this was just a drill, to which he answered very adamantly that it was not a drill.
Of course, I called the school to verify this. I was pretty certain that it really was just an earthquake drill, but I had to make sure. The school reaffirmed what I thought. It was an earthquake drill.
As I got off of the phone, I asked my son where he had heard this information. It came out that he heard it from one of his friends, who "heard" two teachers whispering loudly. Boys like action, and since I'm sure they didn't feel the tremor, this was a more exciting way to explain the drill.
Well, I took this opportunity to talk about gossip. Even we as adults are guilty sometimes of spreading some news that sounds interesting or exciting about someone before we find out if it's actually true or not. We, as Christians, should not do this. If someone comes up to us trying to talk about another person, we should stop the conversation before it even starts.
Did you know that the Bible says, "A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter." Proverbs 11:13? The Bible has alot to say about those who gossip and spread stories about others. A Jewish proverb says, "What you don't see with your eyes, don't witness with your mouth". I also have a saying on my desk that says, "Whoever gossips to you will be a gossip of you." How true!
Lets stop that gossip wheel!
Please keep those of us on the East Coast as Hurricane Irene makes landfall.
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)
Thursday, August 11, 2011
VBS, 2011-"TREASURE QUEST-PURSUING THE RICHES OF CHRIST"
At last! Here are some pictures from our VBS this year. The Lord blessed us tremendously! The children and adults all had a wonderful time.
The descriptions are below the pictures. If you need ideas, I hope that some of these pictures help. Also, I found the ideas at http://bogardpress.org/vbs2011/index.html helped us alot!
The descriptions are below the pictures. If you need ideas, I hope that some of these pictures help. Also, I found the ideas at http://bogardpress.org/vbs2011/index.html helped us alot!
OUR SAPPHIRE GLACIER ROOM
TOPAZ RIVER ENTRANCE
TOPAZ RIVER CLASSROOM
ANOTHER VIEW OF TOPAZ RIVER
THE SANCTUARY
(WE ALWAYS TRY TO BE RESPECTFUL WHEN WE DECORATE THE SANCTUARY)
ENTRANCE TO DIAMOND MOUNTAIN CLASSROOM
EMERALD FOREST CLASSROOM
(WE USED BRANCHES FROM A COUPLE OF TREES BEHIND THE
CHURCH THAT HAD BLOWN DOWN IN A STORM)
OUR LITTLE ADDITION-THE GEM MINE.
WE HAD A "GEM MINE" THAT THE CHILDREN WALKED THROUGH. AFTER GOING THROUGH, THEY EACH RECEIVED A SMALL CLOTH BAG WITH DIRT IN IT. WE THEN LET THEM DUMP THE BAG INTO SOME SIFTERS (BEACH SAND SIFTERS FROM THE DOLLAR GENERAL-SEE 3 PICTURES DOWN). INSIDE WERE ABOUT 5 JEWELS THAT THEY COULD KEEP. THE CHILDREN LOVED IT!
Please let me know if these helped!
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
PROVERBS 27:2-OUR "I" PROBLEM
"Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; a stranger, and not thine own lips." Proverbs 27:2.
My children and I are getting ready for our annual eye exams this week. All year long, of course, I watch my two boys for any vision changes or eye problems. But when it comes time for the exams, I take an extra hard look and write down any questions or concerns about their eyes, so that I can ask their eye doctor.
As I was doing this, my mind wandered off to people in general; not to "eye" problems, but to "I" problems.
Today's society says that "I" am most important. It's all about me. What a selfish society we live in!
Have you ever been around someone whose conversations mostly consist of what THEY are doing, what THEY have accomplished? The word "I" comes up in every, or every other sentence?
My friends, if you are a true, born-again Christian, then we are called to be a humble people. 1 Peter 5:6 says, ""Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." Verse 4 just before this stated that, "for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
We all need to take an "I" exam, not annually, but every day. Look at your life and conversation. Are they centered around yourself, or Jesus Christ and others?
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)
My children and I are getting ready for our annual eye exams this week. All year long, of course, I watch my two boys for any vision changes or eye problems. But when it comes time for the exams, I take an extra hard look and write down any questions or concerns about their eyes, so that I can ask their eye doctor.
As I was doing this, my mind wandered off to people in general; not to "eye" problems, but to "I" problems.
Today's society says that "I" am most important. It's all about me. What a selfish society we live in!
Have you ever been around someone whose conversations mostly consist of what THEY are doing, what THEY have accomplished? The word "I" comes up in every, or every other sentence?
My friends, if you are a true, born-again Christian, then we are called to be a humble people. 1 Peter 5:6 says, ""Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time." Verse 4 just before this stated that, "for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble."
We all need to take an "I" exam, not annually, but every day. Look at your life and conversation. Are they centered around yourself, or Jesus Christ and others?
Have a wonderful and blessed day!
Beth :-)
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