Busy Weekend

I work this morning and this afternoon then I'll be off to go to Kristina's wedding shower that her aunt is throwing for her and Josh. That should be so fun and such a blessing to see and meet all those that will be there from Josh's family and to see what they get for their house. Then tomorrow the church is having a bridal shower for her in the afternoon. Time is going by so quickly and there is still SO much left to do. We painted at her house yesterday and the house looks soooooo good!! Josh has done an awesome job with it fixing it up.

Also this morning is the first annual memorial bike ride in memory of my brother. He was a Marine and all donations from entering the bike ride are going to the Toys 4 Tots organization that the Marine Corps contributes to. My sister told me there were going to be at last report as many as 200 bikes taking part in the ride. I'm not able to be there due to not being able to get off work and both of Kristina's showers. My heart and my thoughts are going to be with my family as they take part in that bike ride but maybe I can make it next year. I hope to post pictures when my sister is able to send me some from the day.

Have a great weekend!!

I Know...I Know....

I know...I know. It's been FOREVER since I've posted anything. I have to be honest. I've not had much to post on in the devotional area of late. Well...that isn't entirely true either. I have but just haven't taken the time to sit down and do it. There has been so much going on that I've just been consumed with. Not so much physically but moreso emotionally and spiritually. I've been in a lull of sorts and have been trying to deal with it in my own way. My own way is to basically withdraw and deal with it on my own. Just me and the Lord. I have been posting on my Facebook but that has been the extent of it lately.

Kristina is now 47 days away from being married to her sweetheart. So we are quite busy planning for that special day. There is much to do before that day arrives. July 11th is that day and it will be here before we know it. I was telling her the other day it seems like just last week it was going to be 108 more days till the wedding. Now we are at 47 days.

I've also been dealing with the whole thing of my brother's murder. That has been quite a thing to go through lately. The man that murdered him signed a plea deal and we had the first sentencing on March 23rd. The second sentencing for the second charge of arson was to be on May 19th but that didn't happen. My parents, my sister and I all drove to Mississippi for that sentencing only to find out after arriving there that the sentencing had been continued. So that trip was a wasted trip. We did get the estate settled (which was quite emotional as well) but no sentencing took place. So now we are headed back to Mississippi on Monday (my parents) and Tuesday for me to HOPEFULLY see this all be finalized and hopefully get SOME closure on this. The sentencing is scheduled for Wednesday at 2:30 CST. I thought I was doing well with all of this until we settled the estate and found out that we'd have to wait another week for the sentencing. I have cried and cried and cried every day since last Monday. I found that I'm not handling it all as well as I had thought. Other things are going on in my life that are having an effect on me as well.

It also broke my heart that Michelle came down a couple of weekends ago to get the rest of her things to take them to NC with her. That pretty much told me that she does not plan to come back home. That also tore my heart out. She is dating a young man in the Army by the name of John. From what we can tell he is a wonderful person and we hope to meet him when he comes back from his deployment for R&R. He truly seems to love Michelle and for that I'm very thankful.

The better news is that Jessica and Ronnie are expecting their little girl Candyce to make her arrival sometime after the first of August. Jessica says they are not real sure of her specific due date now because Jessica is measuring a week ahead of the original due date. So they are hoping to know more at the next ultrasound appointment. We are very excited about getting to meet our granddaughter very soon. We praise the Lord that all is going well!!!

So that is what has been going on. Please continue to pray for my family and me. Pray the sentencing happens this time with no more continuances. We need this to be over!! Thank you all so much for you blogging friendship and your continued support and visits to Julie's Jewels. I love you all more than you will ever know.

Youth Today....

"Many youth today are reaching out for thrills and kicks, only to clutch the spider's web of sin and plunge in their ruin."

How many of us know young people who are doing just what that quote says? I know several. In fact...I'm sure we can all say that we know at least one young person who is indulging in sinful activity or activity that is not pleasing to God and are headed for destruction. They don't see that they are....but they are. The devil is a sly being who works subtly in people's lives. He has a plan to accomplish and he won't stop until he accomplishes that goal. The only one that can keep him from accomplishing that goal is the individual that he is working on.

We have the privilege and opportunity to pray for each young person we know that they would not give in to the wiles of the devil. God desires to use each one to further His plan to reach others with the gospel of Christ. We as parents need to be praying and seeking God in His Word for how to train up our children so as not to give the devil ammunition to use against us and our children. He has enough ammunition on his own without help from us parents. My desire for each of my children is that my children walk in the truth of God's Word and live according to His ways.

What is your desire for your children and/or the young people that you know in your life?

3 John 1:4 "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

What Is Grace??

Titus 2: (11) "For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men," (12) "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;" (13) "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" (14) "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (15) "These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let now man despise thee."

A person cannot adequately describe the grace of God. There are different definitions that people will give. But however you define it....it is a favor freely bestowed without anything asked for in return. It is an act beyond normal behavior.

It is awesome...amazing and mind-boggling.

(Verse 11) It is emancipating grace. Man tried everything and it failed him. God does not love us and did not die because we deserved it or are worthy of it. He loves us and died for us because He can't help it and wants to do it.

(Verse 12) It is educating grace. It schools us and teaches us. We need to live like we have God's grace. His grace gave us victory over our past and it can give us victory over our present. Soberly is our inward relationship-righteous is our outward relationship and godly is our upward relationship. But to live in His grace we must deny ungodliness and worldly lusts. We are all lured and enticed by ungodliness and worldly lusts. If you say you aren't then you are fooling yourself.

I've been convicted and given up some things in my Christian life...and it's God's grace that helped me to do that and helps me stick to it.

(Verse 13) It is expecting grace. Verse eleven takes care of our past. Verse 12 takes care of our present. This verse takes care of our future. We can expect the Blessed Hope. Before we were saved we possessed no hope. The grace of God found me when I had no hope and gave me an everlasting hope. AMEN!!

You Should Do What You Can Do

Jesus once said of Mary, "She hath done what she could." Most of us can do but a few things. Our talents are limited, but in serving Christ there is a place for whatever gift we may have. God does not hold us responsible for gifts we do not possess, but we are accountable to Him for the use of whatever gifts we do possess.

A Busy Week

Hello everyone!! I know you came by looking for a devotional post. I'm sorry to say that I don't have one prepared for this week yet. I've been quite busy with work and church. I worked Thursday through Saturday and then had church on Sunday. We also are having the Georgia statewide Preachers Fellowship at our church that goes until tonight. Today the services are all day but I wasn't able to go due to having to get laundry done. There hasn't been much opportunity to get that done for my husband the past couple of days. So today is devoted to that.

I hope to have a post put up later this week. The preachers fellowship last night was wonderful. We heard great preaching and it was great to see some preachers that we had not seen in a while. The church was full!! What a blessing!! We also got to have a visiting choir to come sing for us. One of my blogging friends was there since it was her choir (and she is a member of it) was singing last night. Sis. Leah...it was a true joy and blessing to get to see you again!!

I pray all of you are doing well. Please pray for the meeting tonight (Tuesday night) that those pastors and preachers that are going through tough times right now would get help and encouraged by fellowshipping with other pastors and preachers and also by the preaching and the singing. I think many got help last night!! Praise the Lord!!!

Grief + Grace = Glory

II Corinthians 12:7-10 "And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Grief + Griping = Gloom...this tends to be the equation that fits in most people's lives. It has been in my life before. But I'm happy to say that grief + grace DOES = glory. I've let God's grace enter into my life in the last year and I can say "GLORY!!!". I have experienced the glory in the midst of my grief. Praise the Lord!!!

II Corinthians 11:23-30 These are too many verses for me to quote here but I encourage you to go and read these passages of Scripture. If we had gone through even a little of what Paul had gone through...some of us would turn our backs on God. But God's grace got him through. Many of us reject God's grace and stay home from church when they have a headache or sore throat...yet they will go to work with the same ailment. It takes God's grace to get through such things as what Paul experienced. Nothing BUT God's grace.

II Corinthians 12:7-8 "...a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me." Paul had a thorn in his flesh and he asked God three times to take it from him. But God chose not to remove it but rather to give him the grace to endure. God's grace is MORE than sufficient. We need to remember that "no" is still an answer. He will not always say "yes". If God says "no" then He has something better ahead because of that "no".

God's grace is unlimited. It is not only enough but it is more than enough. God's grace cannot be found in a bottle, a pill or a psychiatrist. God's grace ONLY comes from God. It is a greater and more perfect fix than any of the fixes that this world tries to get. At the end of Paul's life he did not say he quit the race or that he gave up the fight. He said he finished his course. He knew the Source of his comfort.

God's grace IS sufficient. It's not was...it's not gonna be...it's not might be...IT IS!!! God IS!!! Verse 9 "...My grace is sufficient..." That means has been...is now...and is going to be in the future. If you have a thorn...God may choose to leave it in our life but God will give grace to us as we see God leave it there.

Jesus--The Ultimate Sacrifice

Hebrews 10:12 "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;"

Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice for sin. No other sacrifice has been needed. The Old Testament sacrifices covered sins but it was only good for a little while and then another sacrifice would be needed. That is no longer the case. Jesus is the COMPLETE sacrifice!!!

No other sacrifice for sin is needed!! Hallelujah!!! Praise His holy name!!! Does that excite you like it does me? I hope so!!

I know this is a short post....but it is on my heart this morning and I'm rejoicing in this fact today. If you have trusted the Jesus Christ and His atonement for sin....then you should be rejoicing as well. I think I'll take a moment and shout..... WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!

Have a great day and a great weekend!!

One + One = You

Romans 5:17 "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ."

One man got us into trouble...the first Adam. Only one man could get us out of trouble...the last Adam. Satan attacked both but only the last Adam could conquer him.

In the first Adam we all died. In the last Adam we were made alive. One man was a sinner and one man was the Savior. Because of the first we are all sinners...but because of the last we can be saints.

One sinner plus one Savior equals a child of God. One sinner plus church membership does not equal that. One sinner plus baptism does not equal that. Just as only one added to one equals two...only one sinner plus one Savior can equal a child of God. He is the missing element in a sinner's life.. Where sin distorted our past...the grace of God settled our present and our future.

Christ does for us what we CANNOT do for ourselves. We cannot make ourselves righteous. Isaiah 64:6a "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;..." Christ is the only One Who can.

In Genesis chapter 3 sin abounded in the family. It took a blood sacrifice to cover them in their sin and it took the ultimate and final blood sacrifice of the precious Lamb of God to cover the sins of all mankind.

In Genesis chapter 6 sin abounded in the flood. In Numbers chapter 21 sin abounded in the fiery serpents. Sin also abounded in the final assault that was given on Calvary. But Christ conquered forever that enemy of the assault.

Just as the first Adam stepped down to his bride to be condemned with her and stayed down....Jesus stepped down from Heaven to identify with us and raised us up.

One sin PLUS one Savior = You!!!

It'll Have To Wait

I was going to post today but it will have to wait till my next opportunity. Um...well...I should say I was going to post a devotional post that is. I guess you could say I am posting huh? LOL!! Kristina is not feeling well at all today and needs me to babysit my niece for her since she can't. So I won't be able to put the time into posting that I planned. It depends how she feels tomorrow that will determine if I get to post then. If not then I'll post it possibly Thursday.

I will go ahead and update you all really quick on the latest news. I hadn't posted it yet for whatever reason. It has been said that I didn't care enough about the latest event to post about it. That is simply not true. The news is (and most of you already know this) that Kristina is now engaged to her sweetheart Josh. They are planning a July 11, 2009 (yes...that is this July!!!) wedding. I have been having to work and then just hadn't posted it yet. The date was not officially set until Friday night. They wanted to make sure that our pastor (Bro. Joe Arthur...who is VERY busy!!) would be able to take part in it. So it has been set. They got engaged on January 31st. Kristina, her daddy and I went out to eat with Josh and his parents after the singing we had at our church with the Inspirations. We went to the place where Kristina and Josh first sat down and talked face to face....Arby's!! It happens to be both of their favorite restaurant...so how fitting that the proposal should be there. Kristina was totally surprised!! We are very excited and happy for Kristina and Josh. Josh will be (Lord-willing) closing on their house this week and then he can begin to fix it up for them to move into when they are married.

It has been a joy watching these two get to know one another. I have never seen Kristina like she is with Josh. They are soooooo in love!!

Jessica and the baby are doing great!! Well..the baby is anyway. Jessica still stays sick a lot of the time....just not AS sick. They did find out they are having a girl. The name is Candyce LeeAnn. Jessica is beginning to show really well for which we are very excited about. She is also feeling Candyce kick alot. We are anxious for when Ronnie can actually feel her kick. So far Jessica gets to experience everything. Thank you for praying for them and please continue to.

Michelle is doing well NOW!! She just got over a bout with Scarlet Fever. She had me VERY concerned for her. But she is well again and past that. Praise the Lord!!!

I pray you all have a great day and please check back for my next post. I hope to have it posted sometime this week.

Are You Blessing The Lord?

Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth."

I love this verse!! It is one of my favorite verses. Whenever I think of this verse I am reminded that no matter what comes into my life....I should bless the Lord at ALL times. Not just when things are going well...but when things are not going so well. His praise shall CONTINUALLY be in our mouths. Maybe things aren't going too well for you today and you don't feel like you have anything to bless the Lord for. You are wrong!! If you are saved and belong to Him...you have much to bless Him for.

Let's all take time out right now to bless His name and thank Him for His MANY blessings!! Count your MANY blessings...name them one by one!!

The School Of Opportunity

Philippians 4:11 "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."

Paul rejoiced in the things that the church at Philipi had done. But he also rejoiced in those things that they wanted to do but didn't have the opportunity to do. They didn't always have the resources to do so. But God did and He always met the need that Paul had. We may not have opportunity to meet someone's need...but God is pleased with us just wanting to meet the need. God will have someone else that He will use to meet that need. So don't be upset that you can't meet that need for someone...just pray for that one that God desires to use to meet it. (vs. 10) "But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity."

Just as the key verse says...Paul had learned no matter the situation or the need to be content. We need to learn this too. We won't always understand it all...but we are to be content. No matter how bad things are or how deep the valley...we are to be content. Jesus didn't always have it easy...but He was no doubt content.

(vs. 8-10a) "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly,...." Paul's attitude was that he rejoiced. He did not come to this attitude overnight. It was a process of learning. We will not learn to be content overnight either. We will need to learn it over time.

Paul was not a spiritual super-human. He experienced trials and testings that taught him to learn to be content. God used each one to teach him....not just some of them and then let him go through the others for nothing. Each one was a test.

We will go through tough times as well. We can come through them being a better Christian. Paul came through everything he faced being a stronger and better Christian...but only because of Christ and His strength. It was not Paul that got him through. It was Christ and His strength. (vs. 13) "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

I am not anything special. I am what I am by God's amazing grace. I'm still learning much. Have I learned to be content. No...I'm still learning. God has been and continues to be merciful with me.

The opportunities to learn this thing of being content are endless. We need to pass each test in order to get to this point of being content. Are you passing each test? As you pass one test (just like with school) the tests will get more and more difficult. But eventually you will have learned it if you pass each test. When you fail a test...you must go back and take the test again until you pass that particular test. Let's be like Paul and learn to be content.

Just An Update

Hello everyone!! I just wanted to let you know I'm still alive. My work schedule has changed and so with that and helping Kristina babysit my niece Hannah when I am at home then catching up on household things while I have the chance....it has made me have to put my blogging on the back burner so-to-speak. I do have several posts that I have on my heart and prepared to put up...it is just a matter of getting the time to post them. Please know that I am still visiting blogs and seeing what you all are up to and of course I pray for all of you when I pray. God allowed our paths to cross for whatever reason. Some of you I know come by and others I don't. But I know that God knows who does and you are who I am praying for.

God has a purpose in everything that He does and allows.

Ronnie and Jessica are doing well. The pregnancy is going very well. Jessica has been quite sick...but she is beginning to look pregnant and that is very exciting to us all. Kristina and Josh's courtship is going well too. They have a house and will begin fixing it up soon and preparing their new home for living in. We still have no wedding date but know that it won't be a long time from now. I'll keep you all updated. I guess I forgot to tell you that they officially got engaged three weeks ago. Michelle is still in NC and is doing pretty well. She is working and babysitting and has a boyfriend now who seems to be really good to her. I'm just praying for God's will. My husband is working his twelve hour shifts for the sheriff department and loves his job. The only thing he hates is that it doesn't allow him the time he would like to devote to the ministry. But we know that in time God will let us get to the place where he can devote all his time to that. For now he is still preaching in the prisons at least once a month and sometimes twice. Souls are being saved and that is such a blessing!!

Well...it is about that time....time for me to head out to work. Thank you to all who continue to come by and visit. It is truly a blessing that you do!! Just know that I am praying for YOU!!! I love you all!!

Deal Or No Deal

Mark 13:5-6 "And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."

I'm sure you've all heard of or seen the game show "Deal Or No Deal". On the show the contestant has a case that he or she has chosen. In that case is a dollar amount between $.01 and $1,000,000. They do not know what is in that case. They begin choosing other cases one by one to eliminate dollar amounts to try to determine what is in their case and if they want to stay with their case for the duration of the game or take offers that the banker would offer at the end of each round. Most of the offers were nothing but dollar amounts...but sometimes he would throw in other things that the contestant really wanted or had a passion for.

Our pastor had mentioned working on a message by the same title as my post. When he mentioned that the Lord gave me a thought.....

We are each given a case. God has chosen our case. The devil is the banker in our life. He is constantly offering us a deal to try to keep us from keeping the case God has given us. In our case is God's will (whatever that is for our life). The devil wants to buy our case from us. He will offer the best looking and sounding offer. But it is our choice to take the deal or turn it down. No matter what it is the devil is offering....no matter how good it sounds...it is not as good as what God has for us in the case He has given us.

God is sovereign. He makes no mistakes and will never lead us astray. The devil's desire is to do just that. Don't take the deal he is offering you. Stick with the case God has given you no matter how good the offer sounds that the devil is offering you. If you do...you'll win the jackpot of His blessings.

So my question to you is this my Friend.....Deal or no deal?