Stinking Thinking pt 2

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 19th 2010
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Stinking Thinking
Part 2

"When you are DOWN to nothing ... God is UP to something.

(3) Stop worrying and complaining. IN EVERYTHING,
let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:6).
That sounds easy, does it not?
Yes, but doing it is another matter;
however, it is not impossible.
Were it impossible God would not have told us to do it.
GIVE IT A TRY!
(4) Finally, brethren, [Christians]
whatsoever things are true,
whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, ..... think on these things" (Philippians 4:8).
Wow, what a great mental health exercise this is!!!!!
Get your mind off "stinking thinking"
and focus on things that are pure, honorable, kind, etc., etc.
Guard your mind.
Don't allow just anything to come into it
and take up residency and make you depressed.
Charles Spurgeon said that we cannot
keep birds from flying over our head,
but we can keep them from making a nest in our hair.
(5) And here's the most important thing of all.
Read God's word every day.
Ask God to show you your sins that depress and weigh you down.
Write them down.
Look for the things you do and say and
believe that are contrary to God's law-word.
These things, however small you may think they are,
are leading you away from God's joy and peace in your life.
Weed out those awful sins, just like
you would pull weeds out of your flower bed.
It's simple: when we eat bad food it makes us sick.
Likewise, when we sin it makes us sick....
we don't always throw up, but we become "stinky"
and putrid and that works out into our lives and spills over into everything.

IF YOU ARE EVER GOING TO GET OVER "STINKY THINKING"
YOU'VE GOT TO START SOMEWHERE.
WHY NOT START AT THE STARTING PLACE....
START TODAY WITH GOD...
AFTER ALL, HE SPOKE THE WORLD INTO BEING
AND IT'S NO BIG DEAL FOR HIM TO HEAL YOUR MIND
AND YOUR EMOTIONS
AND BRING YOU INTO FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM WHERE
YOU CAN BE HAPPY AND AT PEACE IN YOUR SOUL.
Amen!!!
And SMILE!!!
Let's Help Them Find Their Smile
By Connie Ciccone
Today Lord, as we walk along,
Please guide the words I say.
Oh, lead me to that special one,
That I may help today.

I know there must be lonely souls,
That need a special friend.
Someone who asked in fervent prayer,
For someone you may send.

Give me the perfect words to say,
To tell them of your love.
A greater love they have never known,
You Love From Up above.

Concern for them is in my heart,
I lift them up to you.
Oh, let them feel your precious love,
So they may know you too!

Please help me find the words to say,
To make them feel worthwhile,
Then I know that you and I,
Have Helped Them Find Their Smile
Let's Help Them Find Their Smile

Connie Ciccone © November 2003



May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAyfcO-X3k&feature=related

DO YOU HAVE "STINKING THINKING"?

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 18th 2010
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DO YOU HAVE "STINKING THINKING"?
PT 1

(Isaiah 9:7). Recognize the fact that God is increasing
His government, His peace in your life.

If you are like me, you often allow "stinky" thoughts to grow like weeds
in the flower bed of your mind.
"Stinky" thoughts just appear and all the while,
if undetected they take root,
seriously rooting out the good stuff the Bible tells us to think about.
As our minds follow that root systems we become consumed
with "stuff" that takes us down, down.
Then we notice, or often times we do not notice,
that we are worried, anxious, depressed, unhappy, discontent
even miserable and not really enjoying anything.
We become preoccupied.
We either try to sort out everything or ignore everything.
Everything is wrong and nothing is right.
We are not sure how we got to where we are
and we are not sure how to get out of it.
Either way, the peace we once had is gone.
We do not see a way out.
Everything is intertwined in a mesh that plunges us further down, down.

What does the Bible say about "stinky thinking"?

Is there any real help?

ABSOLUTELY...

the Bible says the weapons of your warfare are

MIGHTY THROUGH GOD TO THE PULLING DOWN OF STRONG HOLDS

(2 Corinthians 10:4)
....strong things that bind up our minds, taking us captive.

Below are some beginning points for getting rid of "stinky thinking."
(1) Read your Bible.
Look up verses that pinpoint your problem

and believe what God says about them.
Commit that Scripture to memory
Rely upon it.
Trust in its effectiveness for your life.

(2) Bring your every thought into captivity (2 Corinthians 10:5)
don't just let thoughts come into your mind
take every thought captive.
Fight the good fight of faith.
When "bad" thoughts appear, say to yourself:
"No, I am not going to entertain that thought.
" When you start resisting "bad" thoughts you will feel tired at first,
because you have begun the battle of taking back your mind’.

Recognize the thoughts that come to you.
Recognize the lies,
the sin, the wrong from the right.

Ask God to help you.
He Is Waiting For You!

Ask Him to show you truth.
Receive His truth and refuse the lies that have the ability
to depress and destroy your happiness.
This is how I do it: When "stinky thinking" lodges in my mind,
I say out loud "No, I will not have that."
If I am somewhere where I cannot speak out loud,
I shake my head ever so slightly and pray,
"Father, help me replace the lies with your truth.
Help me to quit worrying and start trusting.
Help me to get my mind off of myself and get it stabilized on YOU."
[ALSO, I busy my mind with memorizing and meditating on Scripture
And if you’re at home Play Your Christian Music Loud!!!

Watch the Devil Run!!

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mi_aRcGaEs

What The Bible Says about Meekness

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 16th 2010
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What The Bible Says about Meekness

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” Matthew 5:5

A popular hymn that received much acclaim several generations ago
unintentionally derides our Savior as being "gentle Jesus, meek and mild."
Meekness is a fruit of the Spirit that seems very much lost in our aggressive,
self-centered culture.
Because people associate it with weakness,
most today do not admire others for being "meek,"
but as we shall see, it is not what they assume.
It is a quality of character very noticeable in the greatest human being
ever to grace this earth
and one that all of us sorely need today.
A modern English dictionary or thesaurus makes it clear why meekness
is associated with weakness.
Notice its synonyms as listed in the Reader's Digest
Oxford Complete Word Finder: tame, timid, mild, bland, unambitious, retiring, weak,
docile, acquiescent, repressed, suppressed,
spiritless, broken, and wimpish.
Not a single one of these words applies to Jesus Christ or even to Moses,

who the Bible claims "was very meek,

above all the men which were upon the

face of the earth" (Numbers 12:3, KJV).
Do these terms describe the warrior-king David,
a man greatly beloved by God?
Or Paul, the fearless and tireless apostle,
who courageously faced his share and more of dangerous,
painful persecutions?
No, yet once we understand what biblical meekness is,
we can easily see that these men were indeed meek.
Surely our understanding of this remarkable characteristic must be askew!
Bible commentators generally agree that modern man,
living in our Western, Judeo-Christian cultures,
lacks this godly attribute. Meekness,
being a fruit of the Spirit,
is an attribute of God Almighty Himself and important to our being
in His image and a true witness.
Indeed, this characteristic will largely determine how much peace
and contentment are in our lives and how well we do during trials.


We do not stand alone in our misperception of the word meekness.
The ancient Greeks did not rank it as a virtue either,
except in a very narrow circumstance.
At best, they used it as we use "condescension"
today and by it referred entirely to men's external relations with other men.
Jesus, while retaining its reference to men,
lifted it from its narrow context and made it refer primarily to our relations with God.
In his comments on Galatians 5:22-23,
William Barclay adds that
meekness is "the most untranslatable of

words in the New Testament" (p. 51).
Some have tried to use "humility" as its equivalent,
but both Hebrew and Greek have specific words that are synonyms for humility.
Besides, humility does not fully catch its meaning.
Another word associated with meekness is "gentleness,"
but the same is as true for gentleness as humility.

Both are part of meekness, but it is not really either.
Its characteristics and use are much more involved than either of them.
The Hebrew word translated "meekness"
is anav or anaw, meaning "depressed (figuratively),
in mind (gentle) or circumstances (needy, especially saintly):

humble, lowly, meek, poor"
(Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, #6035).
The translation depends upon the context in which it appears.
The Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon adds,
"afflicted, miserable . . . ;
commonly with the added notion of a lowly,
pious, and modest mind, which prefers to bear injuries rather than return them" (p. 643).
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament indicates why this word
is so difficult to express as a single term:
"anaw expresses the intended outcome of affliction" (p. 1651).

Ephesians 4:1-3 states:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy
of the calling with which you were called,
with all lowliness and gentleness [meekness, KJV],
with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,
endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace

Zephaniah 2:3:
Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth,
who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility [meekness, KJV].
It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger

This is not a virtue to ignore because carnal men consider it weakness.
It may appear to them as weakness,
but the spiritual reality is that it is great strength,
an attribute of Almighty God
and a fruit of His Spirit we greatly need.


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-8rmvWNpIo&feature=PlayList&p=BECB8BBCDAD7300C&index=0&playnext=1

Are There Angels Among Us?

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 15th 2010
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Are There Angels Among Us?


Hebrews 13:1-3
“Keep on loving each other as brothers.
Do not forget to entertain strangers,
for by so doing

some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners,
and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.”

How would you act if an angel came to your door?
How about an itinerant preacher you encounter on the street?

It may be a clerk, policeman, meter reader,
repairman ― as a matter of fact it could be anyone.
Someone you encountered at the grocery store,
or behind you at the checkout stand.

Would you be able to discern if any or all of these may be angels?

In Scripture we read that from time to time angels appear to humans.
There have been reports in our modern era of encounters with angelic beings.
I have had this experience,
and I believe it is safe to say that most of you
also have had one at one time or another.

In Genesis chapter 18, we read that Abraham was visited by three men.
As it turns out, two of the men were angels
and the third was Jesus Himself.
It was one of the rare instances where Jesus visited the earth
in human form prior to His birth in Bethlehem.

Abraham’s reaction to the visitors was to leap to his feet and greet them.
He opened his heart and home
to them and insured that they received nourishment.
Hospitality was shown before he became aware of who they were.
In giving them water and food he entertained angels (and the Lord) unawares.
That is what today’s Scripture from Hebrews 13 says we may experience.

The bottom line is that we are called to be the friendliest
and most gracious people on the face of the earth.
People should see Jesus in the way we reach out
and make people feel welcome.
There are scores of lonely people who are starving for hospitality.

Are you and I willing to open our hearts to them?

Remember ― it may be an angel calling!

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVbkz_3lO3c&feature=related

Choice’s

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 10th 2010
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Choice’s

Deuteronomy 30:19
“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you
that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Now choose life,
so that you and your children may live.”

Why do people make the choices they do?
For that matter, why do I make the choices I do?
Some choices are wise and prudent while other choices
we make are unwise and detrimental to us as well as others.
There is no way we can force people to make the right choices.
Across the years of my ministry I have shown people God’s absolutes.
Sadly I have observed some who felt
they knew better than God what was best for them.
The result of going against God’s law always results in chaos.
Moses was delivering his “upper desert discourse”
(better known as Deuteronomy)
and leaving a ringing challenge to the Israelites.
He had faithfully delivered God’s perfect plan for them.
If they obeyed they would experience life and blessings.
If they disobeyed they were sure to find curses and death.
That challenge is still true for us today.
We are promised life (eternal life) and blessing after blessing
If ? We Obey God.
Just as true, we are facing curses here on earth
and an eternal death in a sinner’s hell if we reject God’s commands.
Which choice should we make?
To me it’s a no-brainer.
I choose life and blessing!

Consider This….. What Choice’s Will You Make Today?
You Now Have 24 Hours To Think About It…

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.mtmchoices.org/choices

DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED???

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 9th 2010
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DO YOU KNOW HOW THE APOSTLES DIED???

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake:
But he that endureth to the end shall be saved." Matthew 10:22


Matthew
Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia,
killed by a sword wound.

Mark
Died in Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by horses
through the streets until he was dead.

Luke
was hanged in Greece as a result
of his tremendous preaching to the lost.

John
Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge basin of boiling oil
during a wave of persecution in Rome.
However, he was miraculously delivered from death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos.
He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos.
The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop
of Edessa in modern Turkey.
He died as an old man,
the only apostle to die peacefully.

Peter
was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross.
According to church tradition it was because he told
his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die
in the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

James
The leader of the church in Jerusalem,
was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast
pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
When they discovered that he survived the fall,
his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
This was the same pinnacle where Satan
had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

James the Great
Son of Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus
called him to a life time of ministry.
As a strong leader of the church,
James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem.
The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed
as James defended his faith at his trial.
Later, the officer walked beside James to the place of execution.
Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge
and knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

Bartholomew
also known as Nathaniel - Was a missionary to Asia.
He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey.
Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia
where he was flayed to death by a whip.

Andrew
Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.
After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied
his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony.
His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross,
Andrew saluted it in these words:
'I have long desired and expected this happy hour.
The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.'
He continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he expired.

Thomas
Was stabbed with a spear in India during one
of his missionary trips to establish the church in the sub-continent.

Jude
Was killed with arrows when he refused

to deny his faith in Christ. Matthias –
The apostle chosen to replace the traitor
Judas Iscariot was stoned and then beheaded.

Barnabas
One of the group of seventy disciples,
wrote the Epistle of Barnabas.
He preached throughout Italy and Cyprus
. Barnabas was stoned to death at Salonica.

Paul
Was tortured and then beheaded by
the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67.
Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment which allowed him
to write his many epistles to the churches he had
formed throughout the Roman Empire.
These letters, which taught many of the foundational doctrines of Christianity,
form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here
are indeed minor compared to the intense persecution
and cold cruelty faced by the apostles/disciples
during their times for the sake of their
Faith.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60o3UP4Kjwg&feature=related

HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST PT 2

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 8th 2010
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HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
Pt 2

Spiritually speaking , there are many parts that work together
in order for the body to function properly .
Jesus tells us that we are the branches and he is the vine .

The vine feeds the branches and the branches bear fruit .

If the branches are cut from the vine there can be no fruit .

Without fruit in our lives we are dead to the vine .

As Christians we are members of Gods family .

Every family has to support each other
and love each other to be functional .


If we as Gods family reach out to others then we are being Christ like .

If we are Christ like we can reach out to others with his arms
, his eyes , his voice , his ears , his heart , to comfort ,
to preach and to teach , to assist carry that load ,
to listen to the troubled and lonely ,
to give and to understand those who are not welcome ,
to welcome the stranger and to pray for those who need help .

Because Jesus is alive in us so is the Father and the spirit .

Because we are part of the body of Christ we can love even our enemies ,
we can forgive those who hurt and offend us .


The spirit of God can touch others who we meet .

The love of Jesus wants his love surround you every night and every day .

There is no barrier to his love .

It can transcend and break through the barriers that we put
and other place before us so that we can become happy in every way .



That is God’s plan for us all .



With Jesus in our eyes we can see far beyond the things that we call reality .

We can perceive mystery in a place where the love of God lives deep within our soul .

With faith and trust we come to an understanding of infinity .

Eternity is a place that is not so far beyond belief .

If we believe then we shall see that the love of God goes on forever and ever .

Where there is love that's where Christ will be .

If we are part of the body of Christ then his love has made itself a home in us .


In every country around the world the body of Christ are found to be at prayer together
helping each other and caring for others .

Organizations and ideals have been built on the foundations of Christ's teachings .

As we encounter hurt and disappointment in our lives
we are united with Christ who also suffered .
Jesus is there in the our suffering and despair.

To suffer for Christ 's sake is a precious thing
and if one part of the body suffers usually
it will have an impact on the rest of the body .

So in our suffering we can be united with others .

Together as the body of Christ we are strong
but if we cut ourselves away from the body
then we die to the other parts of the body .


As members of the body of Christ we must support one another
and not fight or do harm to others .

We must support the weak parts of the body
so that the whole body can survive.


The world will reject us as Christians ,
like a foreign or unwelcome influence ,
so we must stand together and be one .
That is where we get our strength .


In this life if we choose to follow Christ ,
we must walk as one in body and mind .

The journey ahead is never an easy road .

The world will not welcome those who are members of the body of Christ .

But if you trust in him and welcome him , he will make a home in you ,

Rejoice and be glad if your home is founded in Jesus Christ .

His love and mercy endures forever .


Even though around the world we are many we are one .

One in our faith and one in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ
who has made a home in us .

As one voice we can praise his name .




WE PRAY AS ONE BODY OF CHRIST

Oh God what can I say about Jesus your only son ?
No words could ever express how I feel .

What can I say about his life ?
No words could express
the mystery that only you can reveal .

Oh God what can I say about what you gave to me .
My words are only those of a mortal man .

Glory Halleluiah .
All praise and glory to you God Almighty .
To you I lift up my hand .

I lift it up in praise,
Much higher than my life ,
I lift up my prayer to you

Higher than the sky .

I lift up your name ,
your name is Mighty .
Praise and Glory to you
I lift up your name God on high

For the blessing you have given me ,
I thank you God .
I raise my hand and my prayer to you in praise .


I raise my voice to you ,

Oh God of mystery,
hear me Lord
Dearest Lord I want to give you praise .

All praise to the Father and the son .

Praise to the spirit .

All Glory and praise to the trinity .

May people of all nations praise the name of Jesus .

As one voice and as members of one body .
AMEN



May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTByEgZ8dgY&feature=related

HOW TO HANDLE HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 4th 2010
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HOW TO HANDLE HURT IN THE BODY OF CHRIST
PT 1

“bless those who curse you and pray

for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)


There was a time when a good friend of mine,
said she had been so hurt by the “Body Of Christ.”
I write this for my friend…JN

One sure thing that you will face in life, and yes, in church,
is that sooner or later, someone will offend you.
Many Christians will have occasion to be greatly offended by the words
and/or actions of other Christians.
How we handle these offenses has a profound impact on our spiritual advancement
and the progress of those around us.

All too often Christians become “stuck” in a place of being wounded
and become dysfunctional members of the Body of Christ.

Like it or not, people problems are one of your greatest opportunities
for spiritual advancement.
Relationship failures serve as a catalyst for spiritual growth
as the deep emotions of sorrow, anger, self-pity, bitterness, hatred, rage, vindictiveness, etc.
must be processed in healthy ways for our character to mature.
There is no way to avoid this process of maturation.
It does no good to guilt oneself by declaring,

“As a Christian I should not feel this way.”

All emotions, even negative ones, are God-given gifts
and are a part of what it means to be human.
The mature Christian does not necessarily have less anger
than the immature Christian.
The mature Christian has learned to process their anger in healthy
versus destructive and self-defeating ways.
Wounded people tend to fall into two general categories.
One group continues to replay the offense
and to recycle their negative emotions until
they build into waves of self-pity or crescendos of rage.
This is debilitating and can draw sympathizers deep into
the dysfunction of the wounded party.
The other group refuses to succumb to the nurse and rehearse syndrome and,
in the midst of personal pain, has the courage and fortitude
to seek a positive resolution to the problem.
This is both an emotional and intellectual process
that is a key dynamic to spiritual growth.

The Bible commands us, in many places,
to "love one another."
While most believers are well aware of these words,
acting upon them can be very difficult.
Obedience requires that we work through our negative emotions
to the point where we have gained the capacity to think
of the welfare of the offender regardless of what they have done.
This is a huge step forward. Compassion for the offender and
is one of the surest signs that God’s love has arrived on the scene.
We need to learn how to grow and walk in God’s love even in the worst of circumstances.
Love, in the biblical sense, is far more than an emotional feeling.
Love is a spiritual condition that allows us
to overcome the hatred and wrongs of others.

Jesus was filled with this kind of love when He declared from the cross,
“Father, forgive them.”
He exhorted his followers to demonstrate such love when he taught,
“bless those who curse you and pray for those who persecute you.” (Matthew 5:44)
So Remember…
Love is a commitment towards others, even when it hurts.

May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KsfwvpcQhY&feature=related

The SPARROW at STARBUCKS

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 3rd 2010
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Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin?
And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered Do not fear therefore;
you are of more value than many sparrows.
(Mat 10:29-31)

The SPARROW at STARBUCKS


The song that silenced even the cappuccino machine....

It was chilly in Oxford but warm inside the Starbucks shop.
Early November weather in Oxford which is a college town holds only the slightest hint
of the bitter chill of late December and January,
but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for
available space and warmth.

For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told,
and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right.
Apparently, we were striking all the right chords
that day, because our basket was almost overflowing.

It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard
And was singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm
with an arsenal of percussion instruments.
We mostly did pop songs from the '50s
to the '80s with a few original tunes thrown in.

During our emotional rendition of the classic,
"If You Don't Know Me by Now,"
I noticed a young Blonde lady sitting
in one of the lounge chairs across from me.
She was swaying to the beat and singing along.
After the tune was over, she approached me.
"I apologize for singing along on that song.
Did it bother you?" she asked.

"No," I
replied. "We love it when the audience joins in.
Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?"
To my delight, she accepted my invitation.
"You choose," I said. "What are you in
the mood to sing?" "Well. .... Do you know any
hymns?" Hymns?
This woman didn't know who she was dealing with.
I cut my teeth on hymns all my young days at church.
I gave our guest singer a knowing look.
"Name one."

"Oh, I don't know. There are so many good
ones. You pick one." "Okay," I replied. "How
about
'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted.
Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said,
"Yeah. Let's do that one."

She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse,
straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop.
With my two-bar setup, she began to sing, "Why should I be
discouraged? Why should the shadows come?"

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed.
Even the gurgling noises of the

cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped
what they were doing to listen.
The song rose to its conclusion.
"I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free.
For His eye is on the Sparrow And I know He watches me."

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed
to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall.
Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din,
"Oh, y'all go back to your coffee!
I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in
here to get something' to drink, just like you!"
But the ovation continued..

I embraced my new friend.
"You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"

"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.
"Why is that?"
"Well . .." she hesitated again, "that was my friend Lillian’s favorite song."
"Really!" I exclaimed.

"Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands.
By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual..
"She was 87. I took care of her for 8 years. She had no family and was like a mother to me.
“ She died from Alzheimer’s and old age last week."
Before she took her last breathe she said Connie “My Eyes Are On The Sparrow”
I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence.
"Are you going to be okay?"

She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands.
"I'm gonna be okay.
I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs,
and everything's gonna be just fine."
She picked up her bag, gave me her card, which later I found out
she was a preacher with an internet church site Called Faith It Out!

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in
that particular coffee shop on that particular November day?
Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened
to walk into that particular shop?
Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from,
I just happened to pick the very hymn
that was the favorite of her precious friend,
who had died just the week before?
I refuse to believe it.

God has been arranging encounters in
human history since the beginning of time,
and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach
into a coffee shop in Oxford and turn an ordinary gig into a revival.
It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him
and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.
Because
'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!
:WOW THIS IS AMAZING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fi_olWLdXg

Can you explain the Trinity?

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 3rd 2010
Please share our website with your friends and family

http://www.faithitout.com/blog.html

http://www.faithitout.com/

Can you explain the Trinity?



There is no God but one. (1Cor. 8:4)

"Trinity" is a term that is not found in the Bible but a word used to describe
what is apparent about God in the Scriptures.
The Bible clearly speaks of
God the Father,
God the Son (Jesus Christ),
and God the Holy Spirit...
and also clearly presents that there is only one God.
If we were to use math, it would not be, 1+1+1=3.
It would be 1x1x1=1. God is a triune God.
Thus the term: "Tri" meaning three,
and "Unity" meaning one,
Tri+Unity = Trinity.
It is a way of acknowledging what the Bible reveals to us about God,
that God is yet three "Persons" who have the same essence of deity.
Some have tried to give human illustrations for the Trinity,
such as H2O being water, ice and steam (all different forms, but all are H2O).
Another illustration is an egg having a shell, egg yolk and egg white,
but this egg illustration shows that there would be
"parts" to God, which isn't the case.

God the Son (Jesus) is fully, completely God.
God the Father is fully, completely God.
And God the Holy Spirit is fully, completely God.
Yet there is only one God.

In our world, with our limited human experience, it's tough to understand the Trinity.
But from the beginning we see God this way in Scripture.
Notice the plural pronouns "us" and "our" in Genesis 1:26 -- Then God said,

"Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule
over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air,
over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Though not a complete list, here is some other Scripture that shows God is one, in Trinity:
• "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!" (Deut. 6:4)
• "I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God." (Isa. 45:5)
• There is no God but one. (1Cor. 8:4)

• And after being baptized, Jesus went up immediately from the water;
• and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
• descending as a dove, and coming upon Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying,

• "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matt. 3:16-17)
• "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
• baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)
• Jesus said: "I and the Father are one." (John 10:30)
• "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)
• "He who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." (John 12:45)
• If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. (Rom. 8:9)
• "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife;
• for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 1:20)
• And the angel answered and said to her [Mary],

• "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
• and for that reason the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35)

• [Jesus speaking to His disciples]
• "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
• that He may be with you forever; the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive,
• because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you,
• and will be in you." ... "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;
• and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." (John 14:16-17, 23)

Know that He Is God …..and…….HE IS ABLE
As we wait upon the Lord


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
WOW THIS IS AMAZING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxifqtpW4H4

Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand Today.

Faith Filled Thoughts
March 1st 2010
Please share our website with your friends and family

http://www.faithitout.com/blog.html

http://www.faithitout.com/

Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand Today.

Micah 7:8
"When I fall, I shall arise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord shall be a light to me."

This puts a lot of things into perspective....
A blind boy sat on the steps of a building

with a hat by his feet.

He held up a sign which said:

"I am blind,
please help."

There were only a few coins in the hat.


A man was walking by.

He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat.
He then took the
sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.
He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see
the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up.
A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon the man who
had changed the sign came to see how things were.

The boy recognized his footsteps and asked,

"Were you the
one who changed my sign this morning?

What did you write?"






The man said, "I only wrote the truth.

I said what you said but in a different way." I wrote:

"Today is a beautiful day
but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind.

But the first sign simply said the boy was blind.
The second sign told people that they were so lucky

that they were not blind.

Should we be surprised that the second
sign was more effective?


Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have!...
Be creative. Be innovative.
Think differently and positively.
When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry,
show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.
Face your past without regret.
Handle your present with confidence.
Prepare for the future without fear.
Keep the faith and drop the fear. (FAITH IT OUT)
The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling…
And even more beautiful, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!
Catch yourself when you start complaining about what you don’t have.

Remember, where there is life, there is hope.
Enjoy your day with a heart of gratitude


May He Bless You and Keep You Today!

With Great Love
IN HIS SERVICE
Pastor Connie
Please click below to see something Jesus left for your Spirit!:
WOW THIS IS AMAZING

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-7qCG2_aaA