THE STORMS OF LIFE

December 26th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

We were never assured life would be easy. Bad things happen to good people constantly. Review the last 48 hours in the South. The tornadoes, the blizzard, the snow. These can all turn into bad things, and it happens to good people as well as bad. We have no control, but it’s how we accept the bad that’s important.

As this year ends, we are reminded of a lot of sadness. I’m sure a lot of us have lost loved ones this year. How are you coping? I hope you are accepting the sorrow and looking to the future.

God did not promise us a bed of roses. If you do get that rose bed, it has thorns. The way we deal with sorrow and loss is what is more important to us. When Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, He wept, John 11:35. He knew he would raise Lazarus to life.

Through Jesus’ teaching we see compassion for others. Today we need compassion for others to help them through their storms in life. We will all have storms, but it is so much easier when we have people around who love us and care for us.

During the holidays we see people caring for others more than any time of the year. Why does it have to end on December 26? Why can’t we care about others all year long? Houses burn down, people are homeless, people lose jobs, they have difficulties. Do we care for them all year long? We should. We should be helping others during their storms all year long.

Since this is written for teen girls, what can you do to help? You are our encouragement. At this time in your life, you care for others and have a gentle spirit. Let that shine for the older folks to see. Be the first to encourage someone when they are hurt. Smile for the older people. A smile can show you care for those in need. It can lift someone up who is in sorrow. We think we have to say something clever, but we don’t. A smile can help so much.

We never know who is watching us. Be kind. Jesus was so kind to so many in the Bible. Read the Gospels to learn how to be kind as Jesus was. Live your life as an example to others. Show how much you care for those in need in this world. Be a light in the middle of a storm.

Do You Love Jesus?

November 19th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

John 14: 23-24 ^{23 “}Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. ²⁴ He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”

Yesterday morning I read this in my daily Bible reading. It stood out to me, and I asked myself how much I loved Jesus. Do I, or you, love Him as much as we should? Sometimes we all fail to grasp the meaning of parts of the Bible. This one sentence struck me pretty hard.

How much do you love Jesus? Do you love Him enough to stand up for what is right, according to the Bible? Are you afraid you will be ridiculed, or made fun of if you stand up for what the Bible teaches? When I was a teen, I was afraid to do that, but now that I am an adult, it doesn’t scare me. I want people to know that I believe in Jesus. I’ve had different, so called religious groups, threaten me in the past year, but I want to make it know that I stand up for Jesus and His teachings.

Am I afraid I will be persecuted? In a way, yes, but in another way, no. Anyone can hurt my body, but they cannot hurt my soul. My soul was given by God, I am the only one who can harm it, by not believing the Bible.

The key word is “love.” If you love someone, you will do anything in your power to make that person happy, and to show them you love them. It’s the same with  a Christian. We want to show God and Jesus we love them, and we will do anything to prove that we do.

The early Christians are a good example for us. They loved God, Jesus, and His Word so much they were willing to be sacrificed to prove their love. It’s a powerful love to die for Jesus. Many people have in the past and still do suffer for the Lord.

It’s wonderful to live in a free country where we can express our religions beliefs. We don’t have to worry about being put in jail for what we say, or what we write. I pray it will continue. We still need to stand strong for what Jesus taught in the Bible.

How do you show your love for Jesus? Do you attend services, read the Bible, tell others about Jesus, and try to do what the Bible teaches? This is a way to show your love for Jesus. He asks very little, but we can give so much. If we truly love Jesus, we will obey all of His commands.

HOW ARE YOU?

September 14th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

How many times does some one come up to you and ask, “How are you?” How many times do you wish you could tell them exactly how you feel instead of saying, “Fine. How are you?”

That questions seems to be the one most of us lie about. We’ll tell everyone we feel fine, even though we don’t. Although, I’ve know a few people who will tell you all their aches and pains when you ask. Really, how are you? How do you feel? Are you happy, sad, depressed, or what? Are you angry about something that happened? We’ve all had those moments, but we have to learn to accept them and improve on them.

The first thing we need to learn is to love and forgive. Jesus mentions “forgive, forgives, or forgiven” 49 times in Matthew through John. Forgiveness must be important or He would not have mentioned it so many times.

It’s hard to forgive. We continue to want to remember what a person has said or done to us. That continues to make us angry, but we have to learn to forget it as much as we can, if we truly forgive that person.

The forgiveness that stands out in my mind is in Luke 23:34. Christ had been hung on the cross. He was in pain from the nails in his hands and feet, but what did he say in that verse?  ”Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’” That is true forgiveness! This is our example today.

People will say, “I’ll forgive, but I won’t forget.” You haven’t truly forgiven if you continue to remember and let that hurt boil in your heart again. You have to forget. God forgives our sins and remembers them no more. They are blotted out of the Book of Life. We’re not that perfect, but we must forgive all who ask for forgiveness, and even those who do not. Acts 3:19, Revelations 3:5

When you love people, you receive love in return. In Matthew 5:39, we are told if anyone slaps us on one cheek to turn the other. In time this non-violence will turn to love. They will see you do not want to harm them and be impressed by you love. It’s hard to love someone that does not love you. Christ is our example of love. He loved us enough to die on the cross that we might have forgiveness of our sins. To suffer like He did is true love.

As you learn to forgive and love, you will feel better about yourself. Your attitude will be brighter. Isn’t that what we all want? That is called peace of mind. Belief in a Higher Being helps and that Higher Being is God. It’s no one but God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. Our peace of mind comes in studying the Bible and obeying it’s truths. It’s amazing how much better you can feel and when someone asks you how you feel, you’ll be able to truthfully say, “Fine. I’m fine.”

THE POINT OF LIVING

June 15th, 2012 | By admin

By Paul Holland

From Arcamax.com

Maurice Sendak died a few weeks ago. I was introduced to him when our girls were little and watching “Little Bear” and reading “Where the Wild Things Are.”  Before Sendak died, he made the comment that at death, everything is over. “Everything that I called living is over. I’m very, very much alone. I don’t believe in heaven or hell or any of those things” (quoted in World, June 2, 2012, page 12).

How dreary life would be if this is all there is. To answer Calvin’s question: “If we’re just going to die, what’s the point of living?” – there is no point if there is no God. Without God, do what you want to do. If you get by with it, all the better. If there is no judgment, do what you want to do.

But if there is a God, we will be called into judgment for what we do here on earth. And Jesus said our responsibility on earth is two-fold: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:36-39).

How does your life measure up to that purpose? Every decision we make needs to be made in light of those two over-arching purposes in life.

From Administrator. I have been ill recently and in the hospital. Paul has been kind enough to let me use some of his articles. Thanks Paul. I appreciate it so much. I pray my mind will come back as soon as I’m off these antibiotics.

MOTHER’S DAY

May 14th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Did you wish your mother a Happy Mother’s Day yesterday? I hope you did. I also hope you have a wonderful mother, one who loves you and cares about you. If your mother is not a loving mother, I pray that she has not hardened you to the world, and that you find someone who is loving to show you there is love in this world.

Eve was the first mother. I wonder what it was like for her to give birth to a child. How did she know what to do? I’m sure human instinct took over, and she knew to love that child. I’m sure she had seen animals react after the birth of a baby, so she knew how to love and nurture a child. God gives women that nurturing instinct through most of their lives. We want to protect and love our children, even when our children are grown with children of their own, then we want to do the same with our grandchildren. (more…)

MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS

May 7th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

There are several Mary’s in the Bible. The one that comes to mind the most is the mother of Jesus. That’s the one we are going to talk about today.

Mary was young when she was betrothed to Joseph. We don’t know how young, but she wasn’t in her twenties as she is pictured today. She was pure and sweet and kind. God knew what she was like, as He knows what each of us is like. He chose her for her goodness to be the mother of His Son.

Both Mary and Joseph are from the tribe of Judah. Their genealogies are the same until after King David. Study Matthew 1 for Joseph’s family tree and Luke 3 for Mary’s.  (more…)

DO YOU HAVE A DREAM GUY?

May 3rd, 2012 | By admin

By Aunt Mary

Sorry, I missed yesterday. As you get older, you find you see more doctors. Well, that’s where I was yesterday, but I’m back today.

Most girls have their ideal mate, or their “dream guy” in their head. They know what that guy has to be like. I remember those days. I had pictures of Hollywood movie stars all over my walls. My mother hated them, but they were my “dream guys.” Of course, that was back in the 50′s when we had really cute dream guys, or at least I think so compared to what I see today. At least their pants covered their backsides.

Flattops were the style, and my guy would have the flattest there was. He would be tall, handsome with the cutest smile. He would be popular with all the girls, but he would pick me. Little shy me. Oh, how I dreamed for that guy.  (more…)

THE WONDERS OF GOD

April 17th, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Each time I fly across America, I see the wonders of God. Yesterday my husband and I flew from Nashville, Tennessee to Lubbock, Texas. It’s amazing how much of the country you can see for 34,000 feet in the air. It has always amazed me to see the color of the earth from the sky.

The clouds covered most of the sky, but even the clouds showed the wonder of God. I don’t know how people can think all of this world happened by chance. It was spoken by God, Genesis, chapter 1. God said the earth and the atmosphere into being. To see the tops of the clouds is amazing. We only see the bottoms of them from earth, but from a plane, we see the tops. They are beautiful. (more…)

THANK YOU

April 13th, 2012 | By admin

bt Katt Anderson

It’s been over a year since we started this blog/web site. Through this year, most of the remarks have been from spammers. The same remarks over and over again. After a while, I memorized those remarks and automatically deleted them. Then we got remarks with such language I could not put them on a blog that was designed for Christians. Christians should not use such language.

Recently, I have begun to see a change in our viewers and commenters. More sincere comments. I can tell by the way the comments are worded that they are from the heart. That makes me feel so good.

We will never ask for money. The church is so generous to fund this project. We want to glorify God and not man. What I do  is very little. God receives all the glory. I love to write, and I love God, so it’s easy for me to tell a story about God. There are several people I know who feel the same way I do about telling the story of Jesus, so they have willingly offered their help.

What do I look forward to in the future? God’s Word to be spread through these humble stories we tell. I would love to see His name known through out all the world. It’s not possible for me to go physically to some of the places where we get hits, but I can go on the internet. Isn’t it wonderful how small the world has become since the internet was invented? I can go to Russia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, or any number of other countries by internet. Here I sit in the comfort of my family room, and I am talking to you in another country. It blows my mind! (more…)

DO YOU OWN A BIBLE?

April 3rd, 2012 | By admin

by Katt Anderson

Recently I met a woman who did not own a Bible. I thought about how many Bibles I owned and used regularly.  It was so sad to realize this woman did not even have one. Maybe I take mine for granted, I don’t know. One thing I do know, I hold my Bibles more dear now.

There are two Bibles that stay on my computer desk. One is a large New King James Version. I have about worn this Bible out, but I love to use it. It is coming apart. It has the best reference section of any Bible I have ever had. I can look up so many things in it. That’s one reason why I keep it near. The other is a New Testament that is called an Easy Read Version. I like to compare verses with it. It is easy to read, but I have to watch the translations. (more…)