Soldiers in the Battle

Our family listened to a wonderful message on Sunday by Dr. Scott Pauley about Enduring Hardness          In that wonderful message was this poem, a wonderful reminder that we Christians are indeed in a battle daily, and that we are Soldiers in the army of GOD.                       I am a Soldier

Cindye Coates I am a soldier, a prayer warrior, of the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, Prayer and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity, and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the Rapture or die in this Army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out. I am faithful, capable, and dependable. If my God needs me, I am there. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior.   I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a solider, a prayer warrior.  I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His Kingdom! I am a soldier, a prayer warrior. No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy, or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.

ARE YOU WAITING TO BE CALLED?

This was sent to me by a friend-thanks Marie!-and I had to share it...

ARE YOU WAITING TO BE CALLED?

Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance

communication, a young man applied for a job as a Morse Code operator.

Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the office address that was

listed.

When he arrived, he entered a large, busy office filled with noise and

clatter, including the sound of the telegraph in the background.

A sign on

the receptionist's counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and

wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.

The young man filled out his form and sat down with the seven other

applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young man stood up,

crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in.

Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going on. They

muttered among themselves that they hadn't heard any summons yet.

They assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and

would be disqualified.

Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young man out of

the office and said to the other applicants, "Gentlemen, thank you very much

for coming, but the job has just been filled."

The other applicants began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying,

"Wait a minute, I don't understand. He was the last to come in, and we never

even got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That's not fair!"

The employer said, "I'm sorry, but the last several minutes while you've

been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the following message

in Morse Code:

'If you understand this message, then come right in. The job

is yours.'

None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did. The

job is his."
We are so busy living in a world that is full of noise and clatter,

like that office.

People are distracted and unable to hear the still, small voice
of God as He speaks in creation,

 in the Scriptures, and in the life and work

of Jesus Christ.

So I ask you, as I ask myself,

 "Are you listening, or are you waiting to be

called?

Do you hear the Lord when he speaks to you?

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Great food for thought isn't it!? Have a great day!

Old Fashioned Camp Meeting!

Well, another first for our family! Friends of ours invited us to a nearby town where they had an outdoor Tabernacle Meeting (tent revival). We went several nights and really enjoyed it!

The benches were made of good ol' fashioned hard wood. Everyone took quilts to sit on...I thought that was charming!

Here are our sweet friends who invited us standing with my son...

Above is the speaker: Evangelist Mike Renfrow. We really enjoyed his preaching.

If you ever get a chance to go to one, I highly recommend it! We were only a few miles away, out in the woods, but it really seemed like a different world!

It really helped us focus on the Lord.

No Pain, No Gain

Let me be honest...the past few weeks have been grueling! I have had trials, and tests, and difficulties galore! A few of the tests I passed, but many, I failed.
I am having difficulty totally, 100% trusting in the Sovereignty of God.

Last week we went to Family Camp. (Which I will post more on later). During the preaching at camp, my heart was stirred as the key-note speaker's wife said something during her lesson to us ladies. She said something like this, "We a person is putting their trust in the Providence of God, they cannot be bitter, or anxious, or angry.

Guess what? That's not me! I am always the one trying to figure out a better way, a solid answer, a painless ending... But sometimes God wants us to have the pain. He uses the pain to help us grow. To make us wise. To get our attention. To wake us up!

Well, He's got my attention, and I'm wide awake, and I'm hoping to grow. I want to grow wiser yes, but what I'd really like to do, is grow closer to Him.
I'd like to use the pain--to gain!

Anyway, I have been in this frame of mind, and then hopped over to my friend's site and she had posted this video. It really helped me put some things in perspective. I hope it touches you too!

Unusual Object Lesson...

Today was $2 Tuesday at our local Goodwill (did I mention that I LOVE $2 Tuesday!?) In case you don't know what this is--all winter clothes and coats for adults are $2, and kids are $1 every Tuesday in February.
Anyway, that's what drew me to the Goodwill today.

My mom was shopping with me, and we were going through the domestics section when she spotted brand new pillows that exactly match my living room curtains. Now, I already had 2 pillows, but I have a huge sofa, and needed 2 more--this style is older and they no longer sell them. So, for 2.50 ea. this was a great find!

Pardon me, I digress. :0) Anyway, I brought these lovely matching pillows home, put them on the couch, and was horrified! My previously (until that very moment) lovely pillows-looked awful! They were soiled, and I didn't even realize it! I never realized it until I plopped those brand new clean ones down.
So, off I went to the laundry tub to scrub and clean them. And while I was there, I started thinking...
That's the way that I am. Sometimes I think of myself as looking pretty good spiritually. If you look at "so and so" and her "big sin"--I don't look so bad at all! BUT, if you put me up against the clean and pure one- my Savior, Jesus....I realize that I am pretty dingy and dirty.
I'm glad that He made me clean again. :0)
And thus, my object lesson. It was a great reminder!