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This past weekend we went to Richmond, VA to visit Tommy's brother. While we were there, we took the kids to Kings Dominion. They had a blast! We had been trying to convince the girls to step out of their comfort zones and get on a few rides that they may have been afraid to get on in the past. Well we finally talked them into facing their fears! And as freaked out as they were, the first thing they wanted to do when the ride was over, was ride again.
This brought to mind all of the times that the Lord laid something on my heart that was out of my comfort zone. Sometimes we are cool as a cucumber, like my brother-in-law pictured above. Sometimes we just get plane excited, like the picture of me. Sometimes we can get like Anita (in the upper left hand corner) and hold on for dear life and pray that we live to tell the story :) And sometimes we just totally freak out, like Jamie in the upper right hand corner, that our hair is actually standing up in the air!
Whatever the case may be, I would encourage you to step out of your comfort zone to do whatever it is that God has called you to do. Let's not forget all of the knuckleheads that God used in the Bible to accomplish His will. He does use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. Let Him use you!
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I see so many things that go on in the social networking world that simply baffle the mind. It is shocking to see what some folks will fall for these days. So I decided to compile a list of things to beware of while having 'fun' on a social networking site.
Please feel free to add anything you have seen or learned along the way. Some of these things may seem very obvious to many of us, but others may not seem so obvious. Many of these things are just my humble opinion, so please take them or leave them at your own discretion.
1.) Okay, so you set your profile to private. Then you accept every friend request that comes along. How private is that? :)
2.) You post pictures that you want your friends to see. But have you considered that a predator may also want to see these pictures? I tell my kids to only post photos that you wouldn't mind anyone seeing, rather than just thinking of their friends. It is simply not safe to post inappropriate pictures. Put some cloths on!!
3.) You accept friend request from anyone who asks. I used to do this, until I realized that many spammers out there will use this to their advantage. These scammers will often use your friendship to get your money. Many of these spammers will pose as "Missionaries," "Pastors" or even someone who runs an orphanage. And let's not forget that adding your mug to their page, adds credibility to their page.
4.) You post lots of personal information on your page; such as your phone numbers, or your instant message screen name. I have even seen posts on Facebook where the teens will say they lost their cell phones and need everyone's phone numbers again. Teen after teen will then come on and post their information for the world to see! Predators look for this stuff. My daughter posted her IM info on the social networking site she is on, because she saw the owner of the site had his on his page. It wasn't long before she got lots of disgusting IM's and we had to close the account.
5.) You give out your personal e-mail address. One of many spammer's goals is to get you on their turf. Because they know if they ask you for your money on a social networking site, they could get kicked off. Why not tell them that you prefer they contact you on the site you're already on, if at all?
6.) You allow your kids to have a site. Great! Have you checked their site lately? Do you know what they are posting? For my kids, I do random "spot-checks." I will pop in and say, "Who are you talking to?" Or "What are you doing." Not like I am lording over them, but as if (and I do) care. Another idea is to have an account on the same site, and add yourself to their friends list. This way, anything they post will show up on your page for you to see.
7.) You have met someone who seems like a perfect mate. This person can be anything or anyone they want to be online! You've heard the stories, of girls posing as boys, neighbors posing as perfect strangers. You may love who they say they are, but who are they really?
8.) And last, but certainly not least.... If it sounds too good to be true, it is! No one is really willing to give you their deceased husband's millions. They want your money!
I am sure most of you are practicing Internet safety, but there are a lot of teens (and even some adults) who have to learn this information the hard way. If even one can be spared from having to attend the school of hard knocks by posting this, it was worth it. This is a self-compiled list from things I have seen on the web. I am not speaking on behalf of MyChurch, but as a personal post on my personal account.
Have you noticed anything that you feel is unsafe Internet practice? Please let us know about it in the comments.
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I was just pondering the other day about all of the times when God's people have really been a tremendous blessing in my life. I have way too many stories to tell in this one little blog. But I thought I would share a few and ask you to do the same. This blog exists to give God glory, and to hopefully stir in each of us to be the blessing that so many have been to us.
Here are some of the stories that I will never forget:
When I was in the hospital with pregnancy complications for 9 weeks, someone came to my house and cleaned it from head to toe, even though it had not been cleaned in over 2 months! What a blessing!
During that same 9 weeks, the Pastor from my previous church, came to visit me every other day. He also sat in the waiting room with my parents till 1:00 AM waiting for Jamie to be born. He lived 1 hour a way. So 2 hours up and back, and yet he was there faithfully. He also came each time the complications got worse. I firmly believe that this man prayed my youngest daughter into existence.
When I first quit my full time job. My friend John, who owns an auto garage, used to stay after hours to work on my car, and only charge me for the parts.
A family at my old church saw I needed another car, so they gave me one!
That's enough for me for now. I may add more in the comments later. But I want to hear some of your stories! Bring em on!! Don't be shy :) We are family!
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Dear MyChurch Family,
Please pray for a friend of mine who got some real bad news. He went in for a MRI on Friday, due to the fact that he lost his peripheral vision. He was also having trouble with his short term memory. They found a 4 inch tumor on his brain and said they need to do brain surgery tomorrow. While he was waiting for the surgery, he had a stroke. His name is John and he is only in his 50's.
Please pray for John, his wife Wanda and their son BJ. I have known John for about 18 years, and was always the kind of person who was right there for anyone who needed a helping hand. Now he is in much need of your prayers. Would you please take a few moments to pray for my friend? This is quite a shock to all who know and love him.
Thank you for your prayers.
Sue
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I've gotta tell you the truth, I really don't mind getting older. Yeah things are definitely slowing down and I simply cannot keep up with these young cashiers at the grocery store anymore. It used to be that I would put the groceries up, bag them and be ready to pay in the amount of time that it took them to ring everything up. Now, forget about the coupons. I can barely get my items on the belt and pull my wallet out to pay, in the time it takes them to ring everything up and bag the groceries. But the thing that really made me feel old is when I discovered that all of the baby showers and weddings that we are now invited to, are now for our friend's children and our cousin's kids. One day I was going to showers and weddings for our friends and the next thing you know that all changed. How did this happen????
But I can honestly say that after turning 30 and then 40, I really don't mind. For starters, each day brings us one step closer to glory. But life does seem to get better every single year. For that I give God glory for the changes He has made.
When I was a teenager, life was a complete bummer. There didn't really seem to be a reason to live. I didn't know Jesus and life was the pits. But now that I look back, I realize that life stank because of the choices I made. Because I made a choice to live a life that was in complete rebellion to God and my parents. I was living in a trap. I lived this life till my mid-twenties.
It was then that God saved and changed my life. What a miracle! Now I had a reason to live! Now of course, I do still make some bad choices, but I can learn from them. And in the process, look to the future instead of dwelling on the past. A preacher once said that dwelling on the past is like dragging mud into a clean house.
To those who may feel that life is not worth living, I must say to press on! Your future is ahead of you. We should look forward to what the Lord has in store for us. It's exciting! And while the Lord is in complete control, your future is ahead of you and waiting for you to make the right choices. Getting older can mean getting better. Life can get better for you. Live for Him! He has a life planned out just for you! Live for Him who died for you and not for yourself. I am here to tell you that living for yourself is a dead end street. Been there, done that...
5:15 And he died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
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