Our Friday Bible Study Team

Jeremiah 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

What a joy it is to be a part of the Bible Study Team from our church as we conduct a Bible Study at a Retirement Center every Friday morning. Our teacher is Carol ~~ pictured in the middle. The little lady ~~ Peggy ~~ is brand new to our ministry and so is a new friend. She has joined our team and has been such a blessing for the past 4 weeks with us! There's nothing like laboring together in ministry to knit hearts in close friendship. And of course, those dear residents we see every week are the highlight of our morning at the Center. We have about 15 who are very regular and others who are in and out. We know there are some who have not yet accepted Christ as their Savior and so that burden is on our hearts for they are elderly folks. I just wanted to highlight my sweet friends on the blog and give Praise to the Lord for allowing us this privilege of ministry and friendship.

"FLY THE FLAG ON SEPTEMBER 11" CAMPAIGN

Please join us in this FLY THE FLAG campaign and PLEASE forward this email immediately to everyone in your address book asking them to also forward it. We have a little less than one week and counting to get the word out all across this great land and into every community in the United States of America.

THE PROGRAM IS THIS:

On Tuesday, September 11th, 2007, an American flag should be displayed outside every home, apartment, office, and store in the United States. Every individual should make it their duty to display an American flag on this anniversary of our country's worst tragedy. We do this in honor of those who lost their lives on 9/11, their families, friends and loved ones who continue to endure the pain, and those who today are fighting at home and abroad to preserve our cherished freedoms.

In the days, weeks and months following 9/11, our country was bathed in American flags as citizens mourned the incredible losses and stood shoulder-to-shoulder against terrorism. Sadly, those flags have all but disappeared. Our patriotism pulled us through some tough times and it shouldn't take another attack to galvanize us in solidarity. Our American flag is the fabric of our country and together we can prevail over terrorism of all kinds.

Action Plan:

So, here's what we need you to do...

(1) Forward this campaign message to everyone you know (at least 11 people). Please don't be the one to break this chain. Take a moment to think back to how you felt on 9/11 and let those sentiments guide you.

(2) Fly an American flag of any size on 9/11. Honestly, Americans should fly the flag year-round, but if you don't, then at least make it a priority on this day.

Thank you for your participation. God Bless You and God Bless America.

Yin and Yang

Proverbs 15:13 ¶ A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.

A lot of my joy in blogging is in finding a verse in God's Word that goes along with what I am thinking or what new picture I want to share. Look at this~~~ what a perfect verse for this picture. Jaden and I met met a friend and her little granddaughter at McDonald's for playtime and lunchtime together. This pic was made at the end of our 2 hours there, and I guess Miss Cailyn wasn't quite ready to leave. Her Grandma Lucille is a new friend of mine. We have gone to the same church together for 4-1/2 years but had never met "good enough" to become friends. I talked to Lucille in church one Sunday morning and when I found out that she isn't working this semester but is keeping her granddaughter, I told her that I am keeping Jaden on Wednesdays if she would like to get the kids together and us visit. She thought that was a wonderful idea, so today was our first get-together. We had so much fun telling some of our life stories and getting acquainted. One of God's best blessings is when HE sends new friends into our lives, and I believe that a precious friendship was born today!! Just so you know that Cailyn's outing was a lot of fun, here is a picture with her beautiful beaming smile. I thank God for the special blessing of a fun time with friends.

URGENT PRAYER REQUEST FOR PASTOR POLLARD AND FAMILY IN NORTH CAROLINA

(Please see the url for link to TV news report at bottom of this prayer request.)

Prayer Request Received from Friend in North Carolina on Tuesday: On Monday night on their way to our church revival services, our student pastor Jeremy Pollard, his wife Tiffany, and their 17-month old son, Stephen, were in a very serious head-on collision. Both cars were traveling about 55 mph, when the other car crossed the middle line and entered their lane. Jeremy suffered multiple injuries to his legs. He underwent several surgeries last night. Both of his femurs are broken and both of his ankles are broken. He also has a broken wrist, fractured Adam's apple, & the balls on both of his feet are broken . He will require at least 2 future surgeries.Tiffany had an internal injury (torn lower bowel) that was repaired in surgery last night. She also has a broken femur and a broken ankle. She will require surgery later for her ankle. She also had a cut on her head that had to be stapled.Stephen was given CPR at the accident scene and revived. He suffers from bruised lungs and multiple bumps and bruises and remains under observation in Brenners’ Children Hospital (part of North Carolina Baptist Hospital). Both Jeremy and Tiffany are in ICU and will remain there for a few days. They are facing a very long road to recovery, including future surgeries and physical therapy. Doctors believe that they will have a hospital stay not less than 2 weeks.Please be in prayer for this family.

Wednesday Update: Thank you all so much for praying for the Pollard family and asking about them. I know that our church and the Pollard family appreciate it so much.

Tiffany, the mom, is doing better and has been responsive. Jeremy, the dad, is still unresponsive from his surgeries, but the doctors said that was to be expected. He had so much anesthesia and morphine that he hasn't woken up yet. This is probably the best for him right now because he will be in a great deal of pain for awhile as his body was crushed. Stephen, the baby, was moved to the PICU (pediatric ICU) yesterday because his lungs collapsed so they inserted a breathing tube. Please keep praying. I know that God is answering prayers.

Attached is a link to our local news station. They did a news piece on the Pollard family yesterday. It should be the fourth video down on the right hand side of the page.

http://www.wxii12.com/video/index.html

Grandkids~~~ at dinner tonight (Aug 28, 2007)

Psalm 34:11 ¶ Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

We enjoy our Tuesday evening dinners with Brian, Amy, and the
kids. It's always "active" over there with something going on. We want to be Godly grandparents who seek to back up what Brian
and Amy are teaching their children~~~ to reverence God. I made
a video of the 4 kids but can't seem to get the video to load, so this pic will have to do. If I can eventually get the video on here, I'll delete the pic. Wouldn't want to "over-do" my grands, now would I? LOL!! ~~Granny Susan

Raindrops

Hebrews 6:7~~ For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God

When Richard and I walked over to Brian's and Amy's for dinner, we noticed how freshly washed and pretty things looked in the flower bed. The rains today were a blessing for sure. Thank You, JESUS!!!

FISH TALE

John 21:12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord. 13 Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.

I have been on a prescription of Niaspan for 18 months, and it has done little good in lowering my triglycerides. In June, my doctor upped my daily dosage to 3 pills at a cost of $6 per day. The cost of the medicine has really irritated me every time I refill that bottle for $178.00. In another couple of days, it will be time to refill the Rx again so this morning I called my doctor's office to ask if there is anything else I could take to work on lowering the Tgs. Dr. V's nurse called back this afternoon to let me know that he said to take 2 fish oil capsules 3X per day. They are "OTC" and surely should cut down on the monthly cost of medication. I am so excited about this change and am going to work extra hard to eat properly and exercise more so that, along with the fish oil capsules, I will see a dramatic decrease in my Tgs when I have my December labs done. EAT MORE FISH!!! (Mercury-free, of course!)

Showers of Blessings

Ephesians 1:3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.

God's blessings are innumerable! This morning He sent a good rain, and we thank Him for every drop. Amy's eye is doing good. We thank Him for that. Our grandkids have gotten a wonderful start in school. (The picture of Jarrett, Belle, and Jaden was made this morning as they were just about ready to leave for school.) We thank Him for that. Our health is good. We thank Him for that. Our family is close. We thank Him for that. Chip is loving the ministry and God is answering prayer. We thank Him for that. God does send showers of blessings~~ both physical and spiritual. He is so faithful and so gracious. Giving thanks to the Father and to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!!

Speaking of showers, here's a picture of our good rain this morning. Unfortunately, the bottom dropped out right at the time all of my family (Richard and the next-door neighbors) had to leave to go to work/school. We've had three more good rains since 7:15 a.m. Almost seems like a tropical storm day. I'm enjoying the quiet beauty of the rainy day ~~ and God's blessings! ~~~Susan

Outreach Weekend

Luke 14:23~~~ And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

I love our church. It is a well-balanced church with a focus on leading folks to Christ. Everything done is for the purpose of winning the lost and glorifying Jesus Christ. This weekend, we had our annual outreach emphasis. On Friday night, the MEN'S STEAK-OUT was held. The men in our church were urged to bring a guest who needs the Lord. The men responded and it was a huge banquet feast on Friday night with a free steak dinner for every man and his guest. I heard that 30 men prayed to receive Christ on Friday night. PTL!!!

On Saturday at noon, our Ladies' Luncheon was held. I love to participate in it; and this year, I served as a hostess for the first time. That meant that I was given a table to "set" for the luncheon. I brought my table cloths and placemats, linen napkins, and a six-place setting of my china and crystal to use. I have several sets of china but had not used our "wedding" china in probably 7 or 8 years. What a blessing to bring it out to be used at the luncheon. The luncheon setting is always so beautiful as each table in the banquet hall is totally different from any other since each one is set by a different lady. The most beautiful part of the setting was the ladies!!! Our church ladies were faithful to bring in ladies who are unchurched or unsaved. We had so many guests that more tables had to be set up at the last minute. PTL!!!!

After a delicious lunch (the ladies of the church provided a myriad of salads and the church provided the grilled chicken and dessert), we had a hilarious skit. And then we got down to business. One lady gave a powerful testimony of God's saving grace and how she came to Christ, another lady sang a moving song, and then our speaker gave a wonderful talk on 'THE GIFT" which was God's gift of salvation. The plan was plainly given and 15 ladies responded by accepting Christ as their Savior.

Following our Ladies Luncheon, the BACK TO SCHOOL BASH was held with teens attending from all over the city. I can't wait to hear how many accepted Christ at that event.

It was a wonderful weekend of outreach ministry. To God be the glory!!!

Meet some dear friends of ours

Joshua 24:21~~ ...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

We were blessed to have a precious campus daughter from Ohio by the name of Morgann. We love to host the families of campus daughters when they come down to visit their girls. Morgann's family made one trip down when they all stayed in our home, and we made a fast friendship with them during that visit. Another time, they came and brought Morgann's Grandma Rosalie with them. She was so much fun to have in our home. Once Morgan's Mom (Diane) came and brought Morgann's best friend with her. Diane and Morgann have been back to see us, and Morgann came earlier in in the Spring to spend a few days. So you can see that they are dear to us.

Anytime that they came to visit and stayed in our home, they always brought special gifts: bounty from their crops (raspberry jam!), homemade cheesecake, steak from their herd, Rosalie brought me two beautiful crocheted doilies, and most of all, these folks always brought hearts full of love for our Savior and time to sit a spell and fellowship with us. A couple of days ago, I received a family photo from Diane (Morgann's mom). It was so good and her note interesting, so I asked if I could share it on my blog...

Here is a family picture. As so often happens in Ohio, we go from one extreme to another. We were in drought and now have had a lot of flooding near us and high winds. Ourselves, though it has just been soggy but no damage --we are praising the Lord for that and also praying for those who have a loss and clean up. Anyway, with the photo, it seems difficult to get a time when we are all home at the same time so I called a quick family photo while we were all here. Everyone changed their clothes( the boys were not too excited) and by the time (Grandma) Rosalie could come up to snap the pictures it was raining again-- (it ended up raining all night long (we had 3-4 inches but others had 8-9 inches) so we were trying to find a dry place to get a picture made while I had them all captured---- we ended up in the barn and it turned out OK!!!! I enjoy your blog--keep up the good work--Dian

We miss Morgann AND her sweet family!!

Picture ID: Melvin and Diane with their children: L-R: Jacob (16), Caleb (14), Ben (19) and Morgann (22).