Well well well! I posted the last post, and then whamo! Out of nowhere, it starts snowing like a blizzard, and our power went out! We got about 3 inches here in town, and our beautiful silver maple in the backyard lost about ten large branches from the weight of the heavy snow. I am NOT ready to have snow before halloween... it makes for a very long winter when it arrives that early. I called my mom, who arrived in Florida last week, to inform her of the early arrival, and she told me that it was 90 degrees and humid where she was.... no fair. I'll take that over snow any day!
Okay, I'm done complaining now. But I know one reader of this blog (pastor) who is a fellow snow disliker! We are in agreement that snow is beautiful right around Christmas time, and after that, it can GO! I think a perfect winter would be about 4-6 weeks. Then spring! That would work for me.
Well, the power came back on at 10:27, after being out for 3 hours. Now I can go to bed without the fear of candles burning my building down! Pray for warm weather! Peace out!
Friday, October 20, 2006
Busy life!!
Well, I owe y'all an apology... been missing in action for a bit here. There's quite a bit going on in my life these days. First, our church is really moving into revival, and our pastor warned us that it is not all peaches and cream... in fact, it can get quite ugly as the Lord brings to the surface things that must be dealt with and done away with in your life. Yes, that has indeed been happening in our lives. It's been tough, but God has been so faithful. We are really excited about all that is happening to prepare our family and our church for an influx of new souls!
We are having four days of revival services at our church in Jericho on Nov. 2-5, featuring a fabulous evangelist from Rhode Island by the name of Rev. Jay Stirnnamen. He has been a friend of our church and our district for many years, and we are thrilled to have him coming up in 2 weeks!
I have also begun working with my friend Ellen (wife of the pastor of the Burlington church) and our friend Rebecca on a couple of projects. First, we are putting together a Bible Study promotion for our district, and the excitement builds each time we get together! Also, we are working together to promote the Nov. revival services with Bro. Stirnnamen. In the process, we are rekindling the friendship we first developed when they moved here from Maryland. It is a wonderful feeling!
What else is happening of note? My mom and Ray headed to Florida last week for the winter *sniff, sniff*. We will miss them, but they are planning to be back for a visit at Christmas time. Also, Jason's dad and company (Al, Winnie, Matt, Brianna, RAVIE, James, and Collin) are coming from Maryland for Christmas. So.... it will be a busy time this holiday season. And unfortunately, Jason is WORKING 6am-6pm on Christmas day (that really really stinks!). But God knows and understands. We'll make it work somehow.
My husband and I are ALSO in charge of the children's harvest party at our church this year. The usual party planners are both VERY pregnant... well, actually, one just delivered a month early last week. The other one is due in about 30 days. It will be a fun time... hopefully we can do the former planners justice! :) We will have gourd bowling, turkey in the straw hunt, squirrel nut hunt, apple bobbing, donuts on a string, a pumpkin seed toss, and various other craft, coloring, and fun stuff to do! We are hoping all will have a good time just being together with friends.
Okay, done. I need to tend to the house now. Will do my best not to ignore this here corner of the web from now on. Blessings!
Michelle
We are having four days of revival services at our church in Jericho on Nov. 2-5, featuring a fabulous evangelist from Rhode Island by the name of Rev. Jay Stirnnamen. He has been a friend of our church and our district for many years, and we are thrilled to have him coming up in 2 weeks!
I have also begun working with my friend Ellen (wife of the pastor of the Burlington church) and our friend Rebecca on a couple of projects. First, we are putting together a Bible Study promotion for our district, and the excitement builds each time we get together! Also, we are working together to promote the Nov. revival services with Bro. Stirnnamen. In the process, we are rekindling the friendship we first developed when they moved here from Maryland. It is a wonderful feeling!
What else is happening of note? My mom and Ray headed to Florida last week for the winter *sniff, sniff*. We will miss them, but they are planning to be back for a visit at Christmas time. Also, Jason's dad and company (Al, Winnie, Matt, Brianna, RAVIE, James, and Collin) are coming from Maryland for Christmas. So.... it will be a busy time this holiday season. And unfortunately, Jason is WORKING 6am-6pm on Christmas day (that really really stinks!). But God knows and understands. We'll make it work somehow.
My husband and I are ALSO in charge of the children's harvest party at our church this year. The usual party planners are both VERY pregnant... well, actually, one just delivered a month early last week. The other one is due in about 30 days. It will be a fun time... hopefully we can do the former planners justice! :) We will have gourd bowling, turkey in the straw hunt, squirrel nut hunt, apple bobbing, donuts on a string, a pumpkin seed toss, and various other craft, coloring, and fun stuff to do! We are hoping all will have a good time just being together with friends.
Okay, done. I need to tend to the house now. Will do my best not to ignore this here corner of the web from now on. Blessings!
Michelle
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Steve Irwin @ Late Night with Conan O'Brien Promoting "Croc Week"
| This is too funny not to post! What a shame to have lost such a dynamic personality. I'll bet his children thought he was the coolest dad ever! View All Steve Irwin Video - http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=steve+irwin+aiaiai.com View Others - http://aiaiai.com | |
Phenomenal God!!
WOW! This week was the General Conference for the United Pentecostal Church International in Columbus, OH ....... WOW! I love technology! For $40 (thank you Julie!) we were able to watch all the services live, and if we missed the daytime ones due to work, we could watch them in the archives. Plus, my pastor was there and was "live blogging" on the ninetyandnine.net website, and he was hilarious! He and 5 others were commenting on all aspects of the conference, from business meeting election results, to "hall ministry" out in the lobby, to the fashion statements being made by certain individuals (green towel girl!), to the powerful, anointed preaching and the sovereign moves of God that were occuring during the services! It was almost like BEING THERE! All I can say is that revival has arrived in America! I am not even going to go into the content of the messages given each night (because this post would be WAAAAAAYYYY long). All I will tell you is that Sunday night in the crusade service, over 1,100 people received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, speaking with other tongues as the SPIRIT OF GOD gave them the ability! WOW! Did I already say Wow??? It was an awesome sight to behold. Also, back in April of this year, we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Azusa Street revival, where God poured out the Holy Ghost in an unprecedented way, filling 1,305 with His Spirit in two days. Hang on, folks! The wave of revival that is about to sweep this nation will be something that no man can take credit for. Jesus' return is VERY near! I'm so excited about the harvest of souls that is beginning in these last days! If you have been watching CNN, then you know that evil and darkness, hopelessness and despair are rapidly consuming this lost and dying world. This is the hour of darkness, but the victory belongs to Jesus and His church! When it gets this dark, the Light of Truth shines brighter than ever; a beacon of hope leading people out of darkness into His marvelous light! Remember that Sunday school song?
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine!
Well, I refuse to be silent in these perilous times! I can't be! People are going into our children's schools and killing our kids, they are hijacking planes and using them as weapons with innocent people onboard, the atrocities happening in Sudan and other oppressed areas around the world are unthinkable and unacceptable. The Gospel of Jesus Christ declares that the only real hope is found in the blood of Jesus! It is in HIS NAME that we are saved from our sin. Yes, sin. Nobody likes to talk about that word anymore. SIN IS THE REASON FOR ALL THIS WICKEDNESS that is occuring today! And whether people want to admit it or not, EVERYONE is a sinner in need of God's salvation. Period. There is no other way to heaven.... this interfaith GARBAGE that says, "Just believe what you want... there's more than one way to God..." is a lie straight from the pit of hell. Jesus said "I AM THE WAY, the truth, and the life, and NO ONE comes to the Father except through ME". It doesn't get much clearer than that. The salvation message is not some big mystery that can only be figured out by going to seminary or Bible college. It is a very simple message. Jesus came back from the dead and spent 40 days with his disciples in His resurrected body, opening their understanding of the Scriptures and telling them exactly what the message was that they were to spread to the world. Then He said, "Go to Jerusalem and wait for the power. After the power has come upon you, THEN you will be witnesses to all the world." They went to Jerusalem, they received the baptism of the Holy Spirit speaking with other tongues. They were accused of being drunk. Peter stood up and preached what the resurrected Jesus had just told Him 10 days earlier. "Repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus (yes, the name of Jesus) for the remission of your sins, and you WILL receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost." He did NOT say, "Just believe in the Lord and you will be saved." That was Paul's encouragement to the CHURCH of Rome which had already followed Peter's instructions to repent, be baptized in Jesus' name, and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY! We are accused of being intolerant and narrow- minded, but we cannot believe something that is NOT in God's Word.
There are too many people who have settled for "easy believism" Christianity... who have been sold a lie that just believing is enough. It's not. The Bible clearly states that in the last days, there will be people with a "form" of godliness, that reject the power of God... and it says "from such turn away". The power is in the infilling of God's Spirit. If you haven't received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, don't take a chance. Eternity is too long to be wrong! This is not meant to condemn people or belittle them... it is simply a warning being shouted out to the people I love! I love you too much not to tell you what God's Word says about how to save your soul.
If you are interested in checking this all out for yourself, there are some great online Bible studies you can do on your own... get your Bible out and see if I am telling the truth!
If you don't have a home church, or if you have been wondering, "Is this all there is? Is God real or not?", then please please visit one of our churches (ours is in Jericho, VT). You can locate the church nearest you on the www.upci.org website using the church locator. You will be glad you did!
Monday, September 25, 2006
Journey into 40
Hello friends! Well, the countdown is over, and I am officially in my 40s. Yikes. I have to tell you , though.... I dreaded the day. But God, my pastor, and my husband, family, and friends made it a wonderful day to remember!
First... we went to church. The children's choir was gathered in the back room for prayer before opening the service with singing. They were being a little goofy and silly, distracted from the purpose before them. So, I sort of laid the smack down. I told them there were people in the congregation that needed the Holy Ghost. I told them there were children in the children's choir who needed the Holy Ghost! I asked, "Do you think God will move and fill someone with His Spirit if we go out there and just sing without really worshipping? If we go out there and goof around? He could, but probably won't. You have a big responsibility... let's give God the opportunity to save someone by lifting Him up!" Then we said a simple prayer. "JESUS, DO AMAZING THINGS WHILE WE SING! AMEN." Let me tell you... those children sang with passion and enthusiasm, and they lit a fire under the seats of the adults! They were on their feet worshipping and singing their hearts out, along with the children! It was awesome! And God DID do amazing things during that service... it was powerful. God is so good. :) My pastor then got up and announced that he would be remiss in his duty as a pastor if he forgot to do the birthday and anniversary celebration today. So I went up and got my birthday candy bar (I paid with forty pennies). Of course, his wife's birthday was the day before mine, so he had double "duty" in that department!
Second... I went home, and did NOTHING! It was cool! My hubby did the dishes for me (LOVE YOU BABE!), and the children played quietly. I played the piano a little, but basically sat around BORED... because I never have nothing to do! Finally, Julie showed up to pick up the boys, and my husband and I headed out for a nice quiet, romantic dinner for two at a wonderful local restaurant.
Here's where it gets interesting. We get to this wonderful italian restaurant, and we are seated in a room by ourselves. The traditional music of Italy is playing softly. The manager brings a vase of flowers with a balloon that says Happy Birthday in bright cheery colors. This is going to be wonderful, I think to myself! Suddenly, behind me, I hear BOO! Happy birthday! It is my son! Both of them. And Julie and Jack. Now, don't get me wrong.... but I was disappointed! I didn't want them there! They were spoiling our romantic moment! This is esp. bad because we did not get to go out to dinner for our anniversary because of the tragic events that occurred in Nick's elementary school, resulting in the death of a teacher, and a second teacher being shot and wounded. So this romantic dinner for two was sort of a combination birthday/anniversary celebration. So I thought. I smiled and acted happy to see them. :>) Then, my step brother and his family walked in. Then my mom and Ray. Then my next door neighbors! OK, I get it! By the time all was said and done, there were over 30 people there to ring in my 40s with me! My husband is very sneaky! I am very impressed at his ability to pull this off. The biggest and most cool surprise was seeing my sister from Maine! How awesome was that??? I love you Bean! So totally cool that you came all the way up to celebrate with me! Remember all the years of having our parties together, because our birthdays are only one day apart? It was like old times!
Once the celebration was over.... it wasn't over. My friend Sandy went to my house to relieve Julie and Jack of babysitting duty, and Jason took me to the waterfront on the boardwalk. We just walked, sat on the swings, cuddled, talked, and enjoyed the peace and quiet, as well as each other's company. Ahhhhh... the little things in life! I realized that evening that I am truly maturing. I didn't even give ONE THOUGHT to receiving gifts or cards or any type of recognition when I woke up that morning. I just had one thing in mind... being with my family.
Thank you ALL for making the beginning of this journey into the 40s a positive and happy experience! I am blessed to have such outstanding family and friends!
First... we went to church. The children's choir was gathered in the back room for prayer before opening the service with singing. They were being a little goofy and silly, distracted from the purpose before them. So, I sort of laid the smack down. I told them there were people in the congregation that needed the Holy Ghost. I told them there were children in the children's choir who needed the Holy Ghost! I asked, "Do you think God will move and fill someone with His Spirit if we go out there and just sing without really worshipping? If we go out there and goof around? He could, but probably won't. You have a big responsibility... let's give God the opportunity to save someone by lifting Him up!" Then we said a simple prayer. "JESUS, DO AMAZING THINGS WHILE WE SING! AMEN." Let me tell you... those children sang with passion and enthusiasm, and they lit a fire under the seats of the adults! They were on their feet worshipping and singing their hearts out, along with the children! It was awesome! And God DID do amazing things during that service... it was powerful. God is so good. :) My pastor then got up and announced that he would be remiss in his duty as a pastor if he forgot to do the birthday and anniversary celebration today. So I went up and got my birthday candy bar (I paid with forty pennies). Of course, his wife's birthday was the day before mine, so he had double "duty" in that department!
Second... I went home, and did NOTHING! It was cool! My hubby did the dishes for me (LOVE YOU BABE!), and the children played quietly. I played the piano a little, but basically sat around BORED... because I never have nothing to do! Finally, Julie showed up to pick up the boys, and my husband and I headed out for a nice quiet, romantic dinner for two at a wonderful local restaurant.
Here's where it gets interesting. We get to this wonderful italian restaurant, and we are seated in a room by ourselves. The traditional music of Italy is playing softly. The manager brings a vase of flowers with a balloon that says Happy Birthday in bright cheery colors. This is going to be wonderful, I think to myself! Suddenly, behind me, I hear BOO! Happy birthday! It is my son! Both of them. And Julie and Jack. Now, don't get me wrong.... but I was disappointed! I didn't want them there! They were spoiling our romantic moment! This is esp. bad because we did not get to go out to dinner for our anniversary because of the tragic events that occurred in Nick's elementary school, resulting in the death of a teacher, and a second teacher being shot and wounded. So this romantic dinner for two was sort of a combination birthday/anniversary celebration. So I thought. I smiled and acted happy to see them. :>) Then, my step brother and his family walked in. Then my mom and Ray. Then my next door neighbors! OK, I get it! By the time all was said and done, there were over 30 people there to ring in my 40s with me! My husband is very sneaky! I am very impressed at his ability to pull this off. The biggest and most cool surprise was seeing my sister from Maine! How awesome was that??? I love you Bean! So totally cool that you came all the way up to celebrate with me! Remember all the years of having our parties together, because our birthdays are only one day apart? It was like old times!
Once the celebration was over.... it wasn't over. My friend Sandy went to my house to relieve Julie and Jack of babysitting duty, and Jason took me to the waterfront on the boardwalk. We just walked, sat on the swings, cuddled, talked, and enjoyed the peace and quiet, as well as each other's company. Ahhhhh... the little things in life! I realized that evening that I am truly maturing. I didn't even give ONE THOUGHT to receiving gifts or cards or any type of recognition when I woke up that morning. I just had one thing in mind... being with my family.
Thank you ALL for making the beginning of this journey into the 40s a positive and happy experience! I am blessed to have such outstanding family and friends!
Monday, September 18, 2006
Long lost blogger found!
Hello everyone! Remember me? I haven't been here to write anything in over a week. Sorry for putting y'all on hold. There is plenty to write about, so hang on and get comfy. :)
First, the countdown now stands at 6 days.
Second, our beloved goldfish Toby, whom we have had for seven years, died on Saturday. We were sad (heck, he's been in the family since Nick was 6 months old!), and because he was so big, I was afraid to flush him (who wants to call a plumber on Saturday because your dead goldfish clogged up the john?). SO... we had ourselves a little fishy funeral, and buried him in the backyard. He has a little tombstone that says:
First, the countdown now stands at 6 days.
Second, our beloved goldfish Toby, whom we have had for seven years, died on Saturday. We were sad (heck, he's been in the family since Nick was 6 months old!), and because he was so big, I was afraid to flush him (who wants to call a plumber on Saturday because your dead goldfish clogged up the john?). SO... we had ourselves a little fishy funeral, and buried him in the backyard. He has a little tombstone that says:
Toby
1999 - 2006
We love you
Then, Adam went inside and retrieved from the tank our little shark guy leaning on a sign that says "only cool fish allowed". He told me, "There will never be a fish as cool as Toby." and he placed the little statue on Toby's grave. Sweet. We went to Wal-Mart that evening to pick up some stuff for Sunday School the next day... the boys and I lingered in the FISH dept. We gave daddy some puppy dog eyes, and left the store with two new fish! One looks just like Toby (only much smaller), so we call him Junior. The other one is orange, black, and white, and Jason thought he looked like Joseph with the coat of many colors, so he is named Joseph. Junior and Joseph. We like it! Don't tell Adam, but I think these fish are going to be cool, too!
Third, we had another FABULOUSLY anointed church service Sunday evening, with yet ANOTHER teen receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost, speaking in other tongues! That is three teens in three weeks! Jordan was first, then Travis, now Chris. I feel a revival coming on... in fact, Pastor's message was incredible.... A REVIVAL OF ONE! I am a revival of one! I am hell's worst day! Enough is enough, and the devil can just go suck his thumb, because I am going to live my life on the edge! Bold! (WORD!) LOL! You'll have to ask my pastor about that one!
In other news, we celebrated my brother-in-law's birthday on Sunday afternoon (Benjammin). It was good to be with family. I love our family so much! Family is God- ordained, and a precious gift. It infuriates me that these homosexual activists are spending billions of dollars trying to destroy the family. My family brings me such joy! My brother calls me on the phone just to say hi and check in... you don't know how much I appreciate and enjoy that! I feel loved.
Well, I am certainly rambling here. What have I been learning from God this week? That if God is not in it, no matter what you are doing, then it is meaningless. God should be the center of every area of our lives. He is pleased when we get ourselves off the throne of our hearts, and allow Him the privilege of ruling and reigning there.
I pray you all have a blessed week. Make it a point to put Jesus in the center of your life this week. Find out more about Him this week! Seek Him while He may be found... His return is very very close! Love y'all!
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Rejoice, and again I say Rejoice!
I have been in such a "funk" lately... crabby and anti social. But tonight I have much to rejoice about! What an awesome day this has been in the Lord!
This morning we began a new adventure in Children's Church. We turned the Sunday School building next door into an auto mechanic's shop, called the Master's Care shop... total care for your soul. It was so much fun! We were packed in ( a total of 34 people in one room full of tools, keyboard, etc etc) and I don't know who had more fun, the children or the adults! Crystal took lots of pictures, and I will post a few of them once they give me a CD of them. Kelly kindly videotaped the whole thing for us, and I can't WAIT to see it! Ben let us use his video camera (thank you thank you thank you!!!) so we need to borrow it from him to be able to watch it. Their were many fun moments, like when Ron blew the air horn and freaked a few children out (not bad... they laughed afterward)... and when he did a load test on the battery and caused smoke to come off the battery (planned, not dangerous)... and when Seana smeared car grease all over her face... lots of laughs! But there were also some serious times, like Bro. Lyon's message about the flat tire, the nail representing sin. Very powerful image for the children. And the prayer time at the end was wonderful... all the children were praying. However, the highlight of the day was when Ron took them outside to the huge tractor trailer truck he had parked on the front lawn, put them all in the sleeper cab, and took them for a ride down the street! They'll be talking about that for months to come! They got to pull the horn and shift the gears! They were thrilled! They were wondering if we were going to be doing this every week... LOL! NOT! Maybe every 8 weeks or so... but not every week!
THEN, we went to brunch with Jack and Julie at a new restaurant called "Tuscan Kitchen". I have never been there, but it was delicious! It was a Sunday brunch with a little bit of everything you can imagine! YUM!
Then off to evening service. WOW! The Lord was really moving, and one of our teens who has been seeking the baptism of the Holy Ghost for a year and a half finally received it at the end of service! What a wonderful time of celebration! I think he spoke in tongues for about a half an hour. The angels of God rejoice over ONE sinner who repents... so we just celebrated right along with them! He was so full of the love of God, he just hugged and hugged people! It was so cool!
SO, I apologize for my complaining. It is not a godly characteristic. I choose to rejoice tonight!
This morning we began a new adventure in Children's Church. We turned the Sunday School building next door into an auto mechanic's shop, called the Master's Care shop... total care for your soul. It was so much fun! We were packed in ( a total of 34 people in one room full of tools, keyboard, etc etc) and I don't know who had more fun, the children or the adults! Crystal took lots of pictures, and I will post a few of them once they give me a CD of them. Kelly kindly videotaped the whole thing for us, and I can't WAIT to see it! Ben let us use his video camera (thank you thank you thank you!!!) so we need to borrow it from him to be able to watch it. Their were many fun moments, like when Ron blew the air horn and freaked a few children out (not bad... they laughed afterward)... and when he did a load test on the battery and caused smoke to come off the battery (planned, not dangerous)... and when Seana smeared car grease all over her face... lots of laughs! But there were also some serious times, like Bro. Lyon's message about the flat tire, the nail representing sin. Very powerful image for the children. And the prayer time at the end was wonderful... all the children were praying. However, the highlight of the day was when Ron took them outside to the huge tractor trailer truck he had parked on the front lawn, put them all in the sleeper cab, and took them for a ride down the street! They'll be talking about that for months to come! They got to pull the horn and shift the gears! They were thrilled! They were wondering if we were going to be doing this every week... LOL! NOT! Maybe every 8 weeks or so... but not every week!
THEN, we went to brunch with Jack and Julie at a new restaurant called "Tuscan Kitchen". I have never been there, but it was delicious! It was a Sunday brunch with a little bit of everything you can imagine! YUM!
Then off to evening service. WOW! The Lord was really moving, and one of our teens who has been seeking the baptism of the Holy Ghost for a year and a half finally received it at the end of service! What a wonderful time of celebration! I think he spoke in tongues for about a half an hour. The angels of God rejoice over ONE sinner who repents... so we just celebrated right along with them! He was so full of the love of God, he just hugged and hugged people! It was so cool!
SO, I apologize for my complaining. It is not a godly characteristic. I choose to rejoice tonight!
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