Differances between Men and Women

Difference Between Women And Men

1.NAMES

If Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara go out for lunch, they will call each other Laurie, Linda, Elizabeth and Barbara.

If Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Godzilla, Peanut-Head and Scrappy.

2.EATING OUT

When the bill arrives, Mark, Chris, Eric and Tom will each throw in a $20 , even though it's only for $32.50. None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.

When the women get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

3.MONEY

A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need, but it's on sale

4.BATHROOMS

A man has five items in his bathroom: a toothbrush, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel from the Marriott.

The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337. A man would not be able to identify most of these items

5.ARGUMENTS

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that... is the beginning of a new argument.

6.CATS

Women love cats.

Men say they love cats, but when women aren't looking, men kick cats.

7.FUTURE

A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.

A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

8.SUCCESS

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.

A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

9.MARRIAGE

A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.

A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change , and she does.

10.DRESSING UP

A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the garbage, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.

A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.

11.NATURAL

Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.

Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

12.OFFSPRING

Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children. She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.

A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.


13.THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Any married man should forget his mistakes. There's no use in two people remembering the same thing.

Flag Football

So, My husband (and I by default) will be coaching flag football this year. 8 5-6 year olds. oye. Our son is on the team. My worst fear is that my daughter will not be a cheerleader on the team he plays for.

This is YMCA flag football.

I guess we are finding something to get involved in. Tomorrow I will spend all day calling parents to set up a practice. I hope the Lord leads us in his ministry even here.

I also called campus ministries. The guy is gonna call me back...maybe. Guess we will have to see. I feel like I have not been doing what I should lately.

I can Sleep At Night -Mid Week Epistole by Jim Massey

I CAN SLEEP AT NIGHT!
A farmer needed a hired man. After trying several, all of whom failed to meet his standards, a quiet man walked up to the farmer and asked for the job. “What qualifies you for this job?” The man answered, “I can sleep at night.”
That wasn’t the exact answer the man was looking for, but he was getting desperate so he hired the man.
Later on, there was a terrible thunderstorm. The farmer awoke, ran to the hired man’s room and tried to arouse him. He could not. Muttering to himself, the farmer went outside into the night and the driving rain. He found the barn doors securely closed, the hay stack well covered and the tractor put away in the shed. There was nothing he could do but return to the house and go back to bed. Then he understood why his new hired man said, “I can sleep at night.”
One of the great things that I have learned in my walk with God is that when I work faithfully for Him and I place all the cares of the world firmly in His love and care, then I can sleep at night. It is when I worry and fret that I try to continue to labor on the tasks of the day that I cannot start the next day rested.
Are you the same way? Perhaps we need to remind each other more frequently who we need in control of our lives.

Loving Father, we come to You this day and ask that You take control of all that we are and ever hope to be. Only by the guidance of the Holy Spirit will we ever know the true meaning of the Peace that Jesus gives us. I know that is why He reminds us that “it passes all understanding.” Let us rest in that glorious peace we ask in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

May you truly rest easy until we meet again in the Mid-week Epistle and we find the line dividing our lives.
Jim Massey

Life And God's will.

Life has a way of getting so confused. Things have not been going so great lately and I am afraid it is just taking its toll on me and my family. We keep waiting for God to reveal to us, what He wants for us. We are open to His plan...but God's time and man's time do not always line up. One day soon I know He will reveal to us what His will for our lives is. Right now it is total chaos....it has been for a year. But sometime soon I believe His plan will be revealed.

Please, pray for us if you read this. Pray that God will reveal His mighty will. Everything here tells us we are not where we should be. But as bad as things are, can we last a year here until it is time to move on to the next spot? My children's school is ...terrible. I mean...really truely terrible. This is the worst school I have ever seen. They have already failed my children in so many ways. And I am not sure what I can do or even should do. God's will.

I know I have to let go and let God. But the headache still builds. Please, Keep us in your prayers.

John 3:16

He loved the world so much, that He sent His son to offer us a gift. The catch is, it is our choice to accept that gift or turn our back on it. God loves us all, from the person who sits and argues that God is not real, to the preacher who leads many more to His fold. Do they all get to go to heaven is a different question.

John 3:16 is kind of my personal pet peeve I think too many times we focus on that one part of John 3...and forget the rest...

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."

A study in Me....

Richard Cory
by Edwin Arlington Robinson, 1869-1935

Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him;

He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.


And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;

But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
“Good-morning,” and he glittered when he walked.


And he was rich—yes, richer than a king—
And admirably schooled in every grace:

In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.


So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;

And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.

This is my favorite poem, I am just going to copy and paste what I wrote in a post on why...

I am a very closed off person . I can acknowledge that about myself. I let people in as far as I want..and then i have this giant wall that people seem to ram into. It is why I do not have a lot of close friends, but i have a ton of acquantiances. I have been through a lot in my life, and it is very very very hard for me to just let people into that last part of who I am. I hate that part of myself. And yet... I do not feel confident enough to let down that wall. People always think they know so much about me, until they get to that really really close part..where the wall is and then suddenly they feel like they do not actually know anything about me at all. I can not tell you the number of times I have seen that happen in my life.

It is a vicious cycle of my own making. And yet, one I am not really sure I can ever do away with. It got worse after my mom died...because I moved up where I slammed the wall down. I do not think I have made more then a handful of what I would even consider real friends in the last 11 years since she died. Before that I would walk into social situations and be the life of the party so to speak. Open, friendly, etc.. Its weird...bc that is how people describe me IRL. And it is not the me, I see. Even with my husband...once in a while he breaks down part of that wall...and I fall to pieces bc its so hard letting go of that. I used to say, I know I will have found Mr right when after 40 years, He really does know everything about me. Brian was already one of my best friends before we started dating...so I think he still feel's side swiped sometimes when something from behind the wall bubbles to the front after all this time. We have known each other for 15 years.

I know it all sounds crazy...but that is why I love that poem.

A Forward to Share....

In Dallas - as the doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing; She was still groggy from surgery. Her husband, David, held her hand as they braced themselves for the latest news.


That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only 24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver couple's new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.


At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already knew she was perilously premature.


Still, the doctor's soft words dropped like bombs........


"I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could.


"There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a very cruel one."


Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.


She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind, and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from Cerebral Palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on.


"No! No!" was all Diana could say. She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the day they would have a daughter to become a family of four.


Now, within a matter of hours, that dream was slipping away. But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.

Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw', the lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength of their love.


All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God would stay close to their precious little girl.


There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger. But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here and an ounce of strength there.


At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold her in their arms for the very first time.


And two months later, though doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving, much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.


Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the end of her story.


One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving, Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.


As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent . Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell that?"


Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."


Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"


Once again, her mother replied, "Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain."


Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced...


"No, it smells like Him. It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."


Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the other children. Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in

their hearts, all along.


During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life, when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.
-----------------------------------------------
"I can do all things in Him who strengthens me."


This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, He saw me, and

He asked: "My child, what is your greatest wish for today?" I responded:


"Lord please, take care of the person who is reading this message,

their family and their special friends. They deserve it and I love them

very much" The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginning,

but not its end.


ANGELS EXIST but some times, since they don't all have wings, we call them FRIENDS.

Rest - Mid Week Epistole by Jim Massey

Rest
One man challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. "I don't get it," he said. "Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did."
"But you didn't notice," said the winning woodsman, "that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest."
God demands us to rest. Even the commandments tell us this - "that on the Sabbath day you shall rest." I am beginning to learn that this means that I should lay aside the worries of the day and listen to the Word of God telling me the true direction that I need to take. That lesson may come from Worship in Church, the Word of God opened during a Bible Study with friends, or simply your taking the time to let God be the only one you spend time with.
Rest helps us sharpen our lives to cut down the sin of the world that grows so freely in the world today. Be sure that you are ready for each new challenge.

Loving Father, we come to You this day and ask for Your Holy Spirit to sharpen the faith that we proclaim. Jesus said for our "yes to be yes, and our no to be no". The only way we find the direction that is true is during the time of rest we stop trying to interpret what we mean in life and understand what You mean in salvation. Give us this glorious power this day, in the blessed name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Now that we have a direction for our rest, join me next week when we find a sure cure for sleepless nights.
Rev. Jim Massey

11 years and counting

God I feel sick just thinking back. 11 years at this time, they were dragging me into a little room. Telling me my mom had died. the nurse was crying. The doctor was worried. They needed me to call the organ donation place right away. Not even giving me time to deal with my grief. The only thing she was able to donate were her cornea's because they did not know how she died. She wanted to be an organ donater. I am glad they could give more life to someone else.

I still miss her so much. I drank last night until I could fall asleep. I just want to get past this terrible day. It still physically hurts. When people tell you the time will help heal you... It may on the day to day, but not on the anniversaries. They still kill you.

I just want to crawl back in bed and hope I wake up tomorrow. I know, all day I will look at the clock and see where I was that day. The funeral home. The mall getting my hair cut, buying clothes for the funeral. people putting food in front of me, I had no desire to eat. Trying to comfort my grandma and sister.

Brian had to cover a shift today. Of all the days. I hate it here so much sometimes. I know it is just because we hardly know anyone. But there are problems with my kids school. Brian works so much, he is not ever here. I feel like I am always alone lately...except for Kate. But holding on a conversation with a 3 year old gets tiring and gives me a headache. I just want this year to pass quickly.

My stomach has been killing me. I have not excatly been eating healthy. In some ways I feel the spiral and I cant stop it. I hate that. I just hope today passes quickly.

Not quick enough for me.

Lakeshore on my mind

Every once in a while a hymn will get stuck in my mind. Life has been so stressful lately, but I do not want to go into that now. I pray that God hears our prayers, and know He does. I hear Him call me, and Although I fail to always follow....I pray for each chance I get to try.

1
Lord, you have come to the lakeshore
looking neither for wealthy nor wise ones.
You only asked me to follow humbly.

Refrain
O Lord, with your eyes you have searched me,
kindly smiling, have spoken my name.
Now my boat's left on the shoreline behind me;
by your side I will seek other seas.

2
You know so well my possessions;
my boat carries no gold and no weapons;
But nets and fishes -- my daily labor.

3
You need my hands, full of caring,
through my labors to give others rest,
and constant love that keeps on loving.

4
You, who have fished other oceans
ever longed-for by souls who are waiting,
my loving friend, as thus you call me.

Fanny Crosby

Our preacher told about this poetress and hymn writer last weekend. it was not anything i had not heard before. She truely is an inspirational person....But the title of his sermon was "Eyes Wide Shut"...and he talked about how sometimes we have to close our eyes to the world, to feel God's hand moving in our life. And she is such a great example of that. So I wanted to share a little about her in hopes that you all too may be touched by God's hand, with your eyes wide shut....through her story today.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Known as an American hymn writer and poetess, Fanny Crosby wrote over 9,000 hymns during her life. She entered the NY Institute in at the age of fifteen and afterward taught English and history (1847-58). As a pupil and as a teacher, Fanny spent 35 years at the school. Her first book of poems was published in 1844 was called The Blind Girl and Other Poems.

Although blinded by an illness at the age of 6 weeks, she never became bitter. One time a preacher sympathetically remarked, "I think it is a great pity that the Master did not give you sight when He showered so many other gifts upon you." She replied quickly, "Do you know that if at birth I had been able to make one petition, it would have been that I should be born blind?" "Why?" asked the surprised clergyman. "Because when I get to heaven, the first face that shall ever gladden my sight will be that of my Savior!"

One of Miss Crosby's hymns was so personal that for years she kept it to herself. Kenneth Osbeck, author of several books on hymnology, says its revelation to the public came about this way: "One day at the Bible conference in Northfield, Massachusetts, Miss Crosby was asked by D.L. Moody to give a personal testimony. At first she hesitated, then quietly rose and said, 'There is one hymn I have written which has never been published. I call it my soul's poem. Sometimes when I am troubled, I repeat it to myself, for it brings comfort to my heart.' She then recited while many wept:

Some day the silver cord will break,
And I no more as now shall sing;
But oh, the joy when I shall wake
Within the palace of the King!

Refrain

And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace;
And I shall see Him face to face,
And tell the story—Saved by grace.

Some day my earthly house will fall.
I cannot tell how soon ’twill be;
But this I know—my All in All
Has now a place in Heav’n for me.

Refrain

Some day, when fades the golden sun
Beneath the rosy tinted west,
My blessèd Lord will say, “Well done!”
And I shall enter into rest.

Refrain

Some day: till then I’ll watch and wait,
My lamp all trimmed and burning bright,
That when my Savior opens the gate,
My soul to Him may take its flight.

Refrain

At the age of 95 Fanny Crosby passed on and on her grave in Bridgeport, Conn., there is a simple little headstone with the name "Aunt Fanny," and these words:

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine.

Hymns by this wonderful women include... Blessed Assurance, Near the Cross, Calling for you, Close to Thee, Jesus is Tenderly Calling You Home...and one of my favorites Tell Me the story of Jesus.

Lieberman

Ya know, I keep reading over and over this morning...this is about the war...this is about the war. But ya know, if anything...this is not about the war, but about how the war has divided the Democrat party. That division could be fatal at a time, they are trying to regain seats.

a party that runs a man as thier Vice President Candidate...and didnt people go nuts when he ran for his seat while he ran on the vp ticket? I seem to recall that. But a party that runs a man as thier VP....and then 6 years later he is forced to run as an independent because he has been labeled as "not a team player". And yes, I realize the republicans too turn thier back on people who vote against them. Look at Mccain. But although Mccain has ran for President on the ticket, he has never got the nod or been chosen as a VP either. The party told him then he did not represent them well enough to be President or Vice President. That is not the case with Lieberman.

I always thought that Al Gore and him were like opposites. USing one to draw votes from both sides. Maybe the party realized before this election that the party was divided on a large number of issues and tried to correct it with a Gore/Lieberman ticket. But when the lost the election, Those who thought like Gore, have lost it. 9/11 pushed them over that final edge.

Acts Study

As I said, we are doing a study of Acts....One of the things I found interesting was today's study on the Council of Jerusalem.

Acts 15
The Council at Jerusalem
1Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." 2This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. 4When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."

6The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? 11No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

12The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me. 14Simon[a] has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself. 15The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16" 'After this I will return
and rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17that the remnant of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things'[b]
18that have been known for ages.[c]

19"It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers
22Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers. 23With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
30The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers. 33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.[d] 35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

there were 4 "laws" that the Councel gave. It was Made up of Peter (the rock), James (the brother of Christ) and other elders and apostoles we are told. Paul in this case (with barnabas) is argueing that the Gentiles (which is the people who are the ancestors of the modern church) should not be under the law that they Jewish Christians could not even follow.

I find it very Ironic that we see Paul as such this hard person, who is unchanging...and here he is the one who is argueing in favor of not holding the new converts to the old law.

Then we have James, brother of Jesus, who hands down the laws that the followers must follow.

1. No Sacrifices Basically
2. No Sexual Intercourse outside of the Marriage bond as described in Leviticus
3. No eating of Strangled Animals
4. No eating of blood. as they believed that a blood contained an animals spirit.

so on issues such as homosexuality...was paul really the "bad guy of the new testement" in not allowing homosexuality relationships...or was it really the Council and James? And if Paul was in fact, just following what was decided by the Elders of the baby religion... Why do we blame him today? People are happy to just "do away" with Paul's teaching because they say he did not "walk with Christ" But here....we have someone else telling the story. Peter steps up and says...Remember...I was called first to do this (the story of Peter in prayer seeing the table cloth lowered and God telling him to eat the unclean food 3 times. and that God makes it clean....and peter knowing this is the message that others could recieve God's holy word. Peter goes in and "backs up" what Paul has been doing basically. And again, this is not Paul's telling of the events that happened...they are Luke's.

My question is, why on this one issue....does Paul take the "blame"? Doesn't this scripture prove that this was not his decision? That he was the radical proclaiming that the Gentiles should not be held to the old law that not even Jewish Christians could follow?

Choices - Mid Week Epistole by Jim Massey

Choices
Many times in my life I have been confronted with choices. Not just the daily ones of where to go or what to eat or what to wear, but difficult choices. Ones that require me to stop and evaluate everything that I am and have dreams of becoming in the future. It is at times like this that I am reminded of a poem by Horatius Bonar.

Choose Thou For Me

Thy way, not mine, O Lord,
However dark it be!
Lead me by Thine own hand;
Choose out my path for me.
I dare not choose my lot:
I would not, if I might;
Choose Thou for me, my God,
So shall I walk aright...

The kingdom that I seek
Is Thine: so let the way
That leads to it be Thine,
Else I must surely stray.
Take Thou my cup, and it
With joy or sorrow fill,
As best to Thee may seem;
Choose Thou my good and ill.

Choose Thou for me my friends,
My sickness, or my health;
Choose Thou my cares for me
My poverty, or wealth.
Not mine, not mine the choice,
In things both great and small;
Be Thou my Guide, my Strength,
My Wisdom, and my all.

What would happen in your life if these words were to become a guide for you? Would it change anything, or would it affirm the path that you are walking with God right now.
Take a moment and prayerfully consider what these words might mean to you today. Then please lift your heart and hands to God and offer Him all that you are.

Holy God, many times we try to make choices that will make our life bearable in the midst of a trying situation. We do not realize that Your grace is guiding and teaching us at that very moment. Give us the wisdom to turn loose of the direction we are taking if it is leading us away from You. Let us hold strongly to the path to leads us to Your throne. We pray this in the blessing name of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. Join me next week and we will share a special witness together.

Where Are You? - Mid Week Epistole by Jim Massey

Where Are You?

I was reading the Creation Story and three words of God kept returning to my mind. Do you remember when Adam and Eve had eaten the apple in the Garden and suddenly their eyes were open? They discovered who they would become without the presence of God and that was one who was weak and defenseless. Their reaction to this became clear when God entered the Garden and they hid in the bushes. It was there that God asked: "Where are you?"

That question is so real today in our lives. "Where are you" in your relationship with God? He is continually searching for and loving you in such a powerful way that even in the depths of despair, His voice is the only one that proclaims the greatest strength of all. His voice is not the one telling you to desert or denounce your faith and friends. His voice is not the one who tells you it is all right to break the sanctity of marriage by not loving and caring for your mate and family because someone else pays "special" attention to you. The world calls to you in its "special" way continually, and what you hear above it all is that voice of God urging you to look and see where you are.

What about your life? Do you hear God calling to your profession, your family, your witness, or your faith with the same voice that He would call to Adam and Eve and all His creation as He posses the great question of today, "Where Are You?" What would be your answer?

Almighty God, I treasure the times when you come in your love to search for me. Always remind me, even in the darkest moments that your loving voice still calls to me. We pray this in the blessed name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

This has been Rev. Jim Massey. You have a choice to make today. You can tell your friends and have them join us next week or you can simply ignore the gift that God has given you to be a witness to others. Which will you choose?