A Word from the Schulers.....

In response to the prayer request I posted for the Schulers, Missionaries to Roatan, Honduras, I received a nice email from Mark and Susan thanking all of us for our prayers regarding Hurricane Felix that is threatening Honduras. Here is their note:

Thanks SO MUCH for putting this out. We are still in the US and are scheduled to return (to Roatan) on Saturday (we are in Philadelphia now). I really appreciate this. The worst thing about it from a personal perspective is that we can't be there to make preparations, so the windows and such will not be boarded up if the storm hits. More importantly, we need to pray that there is no significant loss of life; a house can be replaced. We prayed in that regard when Dean came through a couple of weeks ago and God graciously answered. Please pray that God would protect everyone in the path of this terrible storm. This situation is in God's hands and we are praying for His abundant protection.

May the Lord bless you, and thanks for thinking of us and praying for us. We will keep you informed as we learn what is going on down there.

In Christ,
Mark & Susan Schuler

Prayer Request for the Schulers in Roatan ~~ Hurricane Felix

Psalm 107:29 He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.


Hurricane Felix, a CAT 5 storm, may be making a bee-line for Honduras. Our dear missionary friends, Mark and Susan Schuler and their son, Joel, are missionaries to Roatan, Honduras ~~ a long narrow island off of the north coast of Honduras. They have been on deputation in the States but were to return to Roatan about now. Their work in Roatan, Honduras includes church planting, evangelism, youth ministry, orphanage ministry, and education ministry. I am asking you to pray for the Schulers and for the people to whom they minister as the hurricane threatens that country.

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