candsw's Blog

Ok so I don't watch American Idol every week, but I did get a chance to watch it Tuesday. I also watched the results show tonight. I have to say that I was disappointed that Carly got booted.

But for fun since I found out next week is Neil Diamond week, how predictable are the contestants???

Here is what I predict they will sing next Tuesday night. What do you predict??? Leave me a comment and we will see who was closer to right.

Jason Castro - my first pick is Red Red Wine but he will do it UB40 style. My second pick for him would be Beautiful Rosie.

Brooke White - September Morn is my first pick or she may do He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

David Cook - Solitary Man is my first pick or Forever in Blue Jeans. lol

David A. - Girl You'll be a woman soon or He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

Syeisha M. will do You don't buy me flowers and I don't have a second pic for her.

They will probably open the show with Coming to America...or Sweet Caroline.

That is what I think...what do you think???

If you have been watched the price of gas at the pumps lately, you will see that it just keeps going up.

A local church with the vision to see global impact is hosting a gas buy down.  They wanted to do something to help their community.

If you live in or around Rolla, Mo. You will want to come to Mobile on the Run on Hwy 63, Friday April 25th starting at 3pm. CLC will not only be there to pump your gas for you but they are paying for 20 cents for every gallon.

 

 

discourage : to deprive of courage or confidence   dishearten :to cause to lose spirit or morale  disfavor :the state or fact of being no longer favored The list goes on and on...DIScredit, DISadvantage, DISapproval, DISlike, DIScord, DISsonance, DISdain, DIStraught, DIStrust, DISrespect,DYSfunctional, DISsociate, DISunite, DIScharge, DISmiss...and on and on.  Go ahead and take a look as these meanings. www.m-w.com
Dis is more than a prefix for pain it has become a word in our english language. Look at the definition below. Diss - 1slang : to treat with disrespect or contempt : insult2slang : to find fault with : criticize Have you ever felt dissed? In one way or another I am sure we all have. You may have even been told you were disliked, disadvantaged or dismissed at one point in your life. Maybe you have been discredited, discouraged or disheartened. Please stick with me, I am not a doctor but I know one and He has a prescription for your pain.  If you will take one dose a day I think you will find your way from distrust to trust and from dislike to like.

It all starts with maybe an instance or situation. Take one of my life stories...I was about 6 or 7 years old and my grandmother would call me her dumb blonde, now she meant it affectionately, but listen to what I heard and follow my diagnosis and you will see why treatment was needed.  Words will mold and shape us, especially when we speak them to ourselves. Words are powerful. She would always love me and hug me. I knew she loved me, but somewhere along the way, I felt very dumb. These words were only compounded when I quit school in the 11th grade to help my family with their finances. I went to work full time. I would hear those words even years later. I was homeschooling my own children and I would hear thoughts like "you can't teach them, you didn't even finish yourself." With the help of a friend that the Lord sent to ENcourage me I went back to school and finished. I was almost 28 years old and I don't listen to those thoughts any longer. The thoughts were not verbalized until I started speaking the same things myself to myself. This was one of my first prescriptions I had to take several times a day. 2Corinthians 10: 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; A stronghold is nothing more than stinking thinking. I had to not only capture every thought before it became something I believed I had to put truth in its place. Instead of being held captive by your thoughts you should instead hold your thoughts captive. What does Christ have to say about the situation or thought that you are letting hold you? Philippians 4:8 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. The reason there is a list of things to think on is because it is up to us. We choose to think on the negative things in our lives, world, job or we choose to think on the things listed above.

If we are not careful we will add to our discouragement, discontentment, which will lead to dislike, distrust, disrespect and ultimately discord and dissonance. That is why it is so important to take your daily dose of 2Peter 1:5-8. 2 Peter 1:5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. I think we all need blinders and bridles. blinder 1: either of two flaps on a horse's bridle to keep it from seeing objects at its sides. We are not to look at the left or right but straight ahead. Do they have those in my size?? Not only do we need a bridle for our mouth, so it doesn't speak the junk we think, but we need to shield our eyes as well. A thought doesn't become a belief until we allow it to drop from our head to our heart. The physician I have spoke about is God, the reason his word has the cure for what ails us is He is also our creator. The author and finisher of our faith. I am not going to allow the enemy to DISS me anymore, nor am I going to allow anyone else to do the same. See I have learned it is up to me. I choose what stays a thought and becomes a belief. So do you! Don't be Dissed anymore- stop finding fault with yourself or others. Also if I can add one more thought to all the parents that may read this...be careful what you speak over your children. Even the most well intended thing can cause harm if that is all they ever hear and later believe.

It is amazing the life you will live if God is in the drivers seat. I was being very reflective last night and this morning. Just reminiscing about where I am at this moment and where I am headed. I remember this timid little scrawny blonde haired girl, that my grandmother called her dumb blonde that would go to church via a bus ministry every Sunday, while her parents would be getting over hang overs from the weekend of partying. I remember believing that I was never alone...never. That there was a man, a saviour that promised to never leave me like my biological father had. She was quiet and a tad shy . Fast forwarding a bit, now a teen trying to figure out life. Working full time helping out the family. I get married the weekend after graduation. I know you are thinking that this is about my husband, its not. I asked the question who is your one, well hang in there and we will get there. He is the one I was created for, but not the reason God created me. God has a plan and a purpose for each of us. I say that over and over in my blogs and forums because as I get older I can see the handiwork of God all over my life. He is and has worked his plan and purpose through out my whole life. His plans and dreams for my life leave me in awe most of the time. I was reading last night in the book of John. I started a very familiar passage, John 3:16, For God so loved the world...you probably know the rest, if not look it up. I conitnued for a few chapters and stopped at a very casual, yet profound verse. Well, lets just say it was profound to me. John 17:6 starts like this

6"I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world.

He then goes on to say, They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word."

If you haven’t read the chapter, Jesus has went to pray. He starts with prayer for himself. He then turns his attention to his disciples.

Who has God given you? If you are a mother, then it could be simply put my children. If you have siblings, maybe it is them. If you work in an office, maybe it is the people you work with. No matter where you are in life, God did give you someone.
He said to his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. (this is the great commission) This is the mission of every church. *or it should be* So, He has given us all someone or maybe more than one. I have 5 children and I know that my responsibility is to reveal God to them, or make him known to them. Then I have a large group of children and teens that God has put in my path to also reveal Him to them. I have a group of friends that God has placed in my sphere of influence to encourage and reveal his love to them. I know my "ones". Do you?

Our Pastor asked us to commit to bring, you know if we all commited to bring our "one" whom God gave us out of this world, we would see global impact and we would have exponential growth. Who has God given you?

You may say I am a new mother, or I am new to this town, job, school, area...the list of our excuses is endless. Moses led the children of Isreal out of captivity but first he had his excuses. He said but I am slow of speech. God knew and gave him Aaron. All David had was a sling and a few smooth stones. But he knew something that I feel needs to be remembered. God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.

Who is your one? Is it a son or daughter, a sister or brother, how about the neighbor, coworker. That cashier you speak to every morning when you get your morning coffee or diet coke? Maybe it is a boss, an old friend. Who ever it is God placed you where you are on purpose for a purpose.

I know that all my life experience has led me to this place called Rolla, Mo. to a church called Christian Life Center on purpose for a real purpose. To create an atmosphere to convince the unconvinced. To reach the children in Rolla and the surrounding areas with something that is real, relevant and relational. To lead them to become fully devoted followers of Christ.

You were not meant to do life alone. I don’t mean you need a spouse, what I do mean is get connected.

I will end this long blog with this...Jesus goes on to say in John chapter 17 this...

9.I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.10. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. 11. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name--the name you gave me--so that they may be one as we are one. 12. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled. 13."I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. 14.I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.

15. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17.Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.18. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.

This is also my prayer for you. If you have asked Jesus to come into your heart, accepted his free gift of eternal life, then you are not of this world.

As you celebrate Easter pray for those that God has given you and if you go to church, invite them to go with you.

Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got.
Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot.

Wouldn't you like to get away?

Sometimes you want to go

Where everybody knows your name,
and they're always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows
Your name.

You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows

Ok so if you watched any tv in the 80's or 90's you are very familiar with this tune. Cheers! Thats right. Well I sent it to a good friend and then I meditated on the words for a bit and felt to write and get something off my chest, our of my head or however you want to classify it.

Sometimes we feel that we are the only ones facing our particular situation...and truth is we are not...Sometimes we feel alone in a crowded room but obvisouldy we are not...Sometimes we feel used, forgotten, mistreated, overlooked, ignored. But Truth is if we have Christ as the center we will realize that those things doin't line up to his word...He said he would never abandon us. He would never forsake us. We choose to meditate on things, just like me meditating on this songs lyrics. I thought to myself isn't that why we congregate in certain places...some of us go to church- where hopfully everyone knows our name, were we know that we will connect and know that we don't face things alone. Some of us it might be band nights, bars, clubs, music stores, our favorite coffee shop or our favorite venue...what draws us to keep going back is that sense of acceptance. That there is a place where we are known and loved for who we are.

So this is wrote to the one who feels like they are the only one going through something right now...you are not alone.

It is for the one that feels forgotten...He knows your name

For the one that feels the fool or the failure...Get back up, you have more fight left and you never fight alone if you have Christ as the center. He fights for you!

For the one that feels unlovable due to the worlds standards on when and where and how you should live your life...God loves you...He has since the beginning of time...he has the perfect college, career, mate, house, car....and all the other things that we seem to worry about all planned out. He declares that he knows the plans....we just need to go to the one that knew our name since the womb!!!

Acceptance is important to every living being....and all you need to know is that He accepts you just the way you are and there are a whole lot of others "cheering" you on.

If you know Christ, then I am so excited...because we are friends forever!!!

I was writing earlier and a word just popped out in my mind. It was nagging and wouldn't go away so I did what I always do; I pulled out the dictionary. The word was transcend. The meaning is 1 a: to rise above or go beyond the limits of b: to triumph over the negative or restrictive aspects of : overcome c: to be prior to, beyond, and above (the universe or material existence)2: to outstrip or outdo in some attribute, quality, or power intransitive verb: to rise above or extend notably beyond ordinary limits

Wow what a powerful meaning the word transcend has. That word makes me think of the character of Christ. He did transcend. He went beyond limits set on him. He did triumph over death, the grave and hell.  He overcame! He is, was and will always be. He was prior to the beginning of time. John chapter 1 verse one begins

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

He came to outstrip and outdo the power of satan. He came so that we through him would be able to rise above every life situation and go beyond ordinary limits. Through him is eternal life. I would say that makes it possible for us to go beyond ordinary limits. He has overcome the world and because he has so can we. Read the following verses.

Jeremiah 1:19 They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. 
Luke 10:19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.
John  16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world
Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 
1 John 5:4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I think one of my favorites is John 16:33 right in the middle of it, he says I have told you these things so that you may have peace...IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE, BUT - BUT take heart, I HAVE OVERCOME the world.

I pray that you find peace and follow it. I pray you find contentment, which can only be found with Christ as the center of your life.

The numbers of hope. The numbers of peace. It's more than a verse, its the answer.

For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

You can watch the following video. It is 9.55 minutes in length but shares John Chapter 3 and 4.

www.youtube.com/watch

Max Lucado is an excellent author and shares the message of John 3:16 in his new book 3:16 The Promise. 
I am not much into numbers or the meaning of numbers but some people are. Did you know that Palm Sunday falls on 3 -16 this year? Is there any significance in that? As you read the words of John 3:16 and then think about Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday you may find a message that transcends any thing that this life has to offer. It will triumph over every negative aspect of this life. I believe and pray that in it you will find something that springs forth anew in your body, soul and spirit. That draws you to the only true source of life. It can change you and bring your to a meaning, a true meaning for living.

 

How much of your "energy" drink would it take to kill you? I found this site among others in my search to find out about Energy Drinks. Obvisously they aren't healthy, but what is the harm. Check out the following sites.

http://www.energyfiend.com/death-by-caffeine/p>

http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Servic
es/Health_Education/atod/energydrinks.htm

Every where I go I see pre teens and teens drinking beverages such as RedBull, Full Throttle, Monster, RockStar and others. It just freaks me out that kids are drinking these. They are loaded with Ephedrin, 80 plus miligrams of Caffeine and other legal stimulants.

EPHEDRIN has led to heart attacks. I can't imagine the damage that this is causing. I would love for the morning show to ASK Dr. Hollar what he has seen or thinks about kiddos drinking this stuff.

Concerned mom

You have to read the following article and listen to the 9 1 1 call.

Banned From Church

Reviving an ancient practice, churches are exposing sinners and shunning those who won't repent. By ALEXANDRA ALTER
January 18, 2008; Page W1

On a quiet Sunday morning in June, as worshippers settled into the pews at Allen Baptist Church in southwestern Michigan, Pastor Jason Burrick grabbed his cellphone and dialed 911. When a dispatcher answered, the preacher said a former congregant was in the sanctuary. "And we need to, um, have her out A.S.A.P."

Half an hour later, 71-year-old Karolyn Caskey, a church member for nearly 50 years who had taught Sunday school and regularly donated 10% of her pension, was led out by a state trooper and a county sheriff's officer. One held her purse and Bible. The other put her in handcuffs. (Listen to the 911 call)

The charge was trespassing, but Mrs. Caskey's real offense, in her pastor's view, was spiritual. Several months earlier, when she had questioned his authority, he'd charged her with spreading "a spirit of cancer and discord" and expelled her from the congregation. "I've been shunned," she says.

Her story reflects a growing movement among some conservative Protestant pastors to bring back church discipline, an ancient practice in which suspected sinners are privately confronted and then publicly castigated and excommunicated if they refuse to repent. While many Christians find such practices outdated, pastors in large and small churches across the country are expelling members for offenses ranging from adultery and theft to gossiping, skipping service and criticizing church leaders.

Dave Krieger/Getty Images PODCASTS
  • Hear an interview with Doug Laycock, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Michigan, about the legal implications of church discipline. • Hear the 911 call made by Pastor Burrick. * * *
 CAST OFF
  • Timeline: View a brief history of shunning and excommunication.

The revival is part of a broader movement to restore churches to their traditional role as moral enforcers, Christian leaders say. Some say that contemporary churches have grown soft on sinners, citing the rise of suburban megachurches where pastors preach self-affirming messages rather than focusing on sin and redemption. Others point to a passage in the gospel of Matthew that says unrepentant sinners must be shunned.

Causing Disharmony

Watermark Community Church, a nondenominational church in Dallas that draws 4,000 people to services, requires members to sign a form stating they will submit to the "care and correction" of church elders. Last week, the pastor of a 6,000-member megachurch in Nashville, Tenn., threatened to expel 74 members for gossiping and causing disharmony unless they repented. The congregants had sued the pastor for access to the church's financial records.

First Baptist Church of Muscle Shoals, Ala., a 1,000-member congregation, expels five to seven members a year for "blatant, undeniable patterns of willful sin," which have included adultery, drunkenness and refusal to honor church elders. About 400 people have left the church over the years for what they view as an overly harsh persecution of sinners, Pastor Jeff Noblit says.

The process can be messy, says Al Jackson, pastor of Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, Ala., which began disciplining members in the 1990s. Once, when the congregation voted out an adulterer who refused to repent, an older woman was confused and thought the church had voted to send the man to hell.

Karolyn Caskey was expelled from Allen Baptist Church after clashing with the pastor.

Amy Hitt, 43, a mortgage officer in Amissville, Va., was voted out of her Baptist congregation in 2004 for gossiping about her pastor's plans to buy a bigger house. Her ouster was especially hard on her twin sons, now 12 years old, who had made friends in the church, she says. "Some people have looked past it, but then there are others who haven't," says Ms. Hitt, who believes the episode cost her a seat on the school board last year; she lost by 42 votes.

Scholars estimate that 10% to 15% of Protestant evangelical churches practice church discipline -- about 14,000 to 21,000 U.S. congregations in total. Increasingly, clashes within churches are spilling into communities, splitting congregations and occasionally landing church leaders in court after congregants, who believed they were confessing in private, were publicly shamed.

In the past decade, more than two dozen lawsuits related to church discipline have been filed as congregants sue pastors for defamation, negligent counseling and emotional injury, according to the Religion Case Reporter, a legal-research database. Peggy Penley, a Fort Worth, Texas, woman whose pastor revealed her extramarital affair to the congregation after she confessed it in confidence, waged a six-year battle against the pastor, charging him with negligence. Last summer, the Texas Supreme Court dismissed her suit, ruling that the pastor was exercising his religious beliefs by publicizing the affair.

Allen Baptist Church

Courts have often refused to hear such cases on the grounds that churches are protected by the constitutional right to free religious exercise, but some have sided with alleged sinners. In 2003, a woman and her husband won a defamation suit against the Iowa Methodist conference and its superintendent after he publicly accused her of "spreading the spirit of Satan" because she gossiped about her pastor. A district court rejected the case, but the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the woman's appeal on the grounds that the letter labeling her a sinner was circulated beyond the church.

Advocates of shunning say it rarely leads to the public disclosure of a member's sin. "We're not the FBI; we're not sniffing around people's homes trying to find out some secret sin," says Don Singleton, pastor of Ridgeview Baptist Church in Talladega, Ala., who says the 50-member church has disciplined six members in his 2½ years as pastor. "Ninety-nine percent of these cases never go that far."

When they do, it can be humiliating. A devout Christian and grandmother of three, Mrs. Caskey moves with a halting gait, due to two artificial knees and a double hip replacement. Friends and family describe her as a generous woman who helped pay the electricity bill for Allen Baptist, in Allen, Mich., when funds were low, gave the church $1,200 after she sold her van, and even cut the church's lawn on occasion. She has requested an engraved image of the church on her tombstone.

Gossip and Slander

Her expulsion came as a shock to some church members when, in August 2006, the pastor sent a letter to the congregation stating Mrs. Caskey and an older married couple, Patsy and Emmit Church, had been removed for taking "action against the church and your preacher." The pastor, Mr. Burrick, told congregants the three were guilty of gossip, slander and idolatry and should be shunned, according to several former church members.

"People couldn't believe it," says Janet Biggs, 53, a former church member who quit the congregation in protest.

The conflict had been brewing for months. Shortly after the church hired Mr. Burrick in 2005 to help revive the congregation, which had dwindled to 12 members, Mrs. Caskey asked him to appoint a board of deacons to help govern the church, a tradition outlined in the church's charter. Mr. Burrick said the congregation was too small to warrant deacons. Mrs. Caskey pressed the issue at the church's quarterly business meetings and began complaining that Mr. Burrick was not following the church's bylaws. "She's one of the nicest, kindest people I know," says friend and neighbor Robert Johnston, 69, a retired cabinet maker. "But she won't be pushed around."

Karolyn Caskey reads her Bible.

In April 2006, Mrs. Caskey received a stern letter from Mr. Burrick. "This church will not tolerate this spirit of cancer and discord that you would like to spread," it said. Mrs. Caskey, along with Mr. and Mrs. Church, continued to insist that the pastor follow the church's constitution. In August, she received a letter from Mr. Burrick that said her failure to repent had led to her removal. It also said he would not write her a transfer letter enabling her to join another church, a requirement in many Baptist congregations, until she had "made things right here at Allen Baptist."

She went to Florida for the winter, and when she returned to Michigan last June, she drove the two miles to Allen Baptist as usual. A church member asked her to leave, saying she was not welcome, but Mrs. Caskey told him she had come to worship and asked if they could speak after the service. Twenty minutes into the service, a sheriff's officer was at her side, and an hour later, she was in jail.

"It was very humiliating," says Mrs. Caskey, who worked for the state of Michigan for 25 years before retiring from the Department of Corrections in 1992. "The other prisoners were surprised to see a little old lady in her church clothes. One of them said, 'You robbed a church?' and I said, 'No, I just attended church.' "

Word quickly spread throughout Allen, a close-knit town of about 200 residents. Once a thriving community of farmers and factory workers, Allen consists of little more than a strip of dusty antiques stores. Mr. and Mrs. Church, both in their 70s, eventually joined another Baptist congregation nearby.

About 25 people stopped attending Allen Baptist Church after Mrs. Caskey was shunned, according to several former church members.

Current members say they support the pastor's actions, and they note that the congregation has grown under his leadership. The simple, white-washed building now draws around 70 people on Sunday mornings, many of them young families. "He's a very good leader; he has total respect for the people," says Stephen Johnson, 66, an auto parts inspector, who added that Mr. Burrick was right to remove Mrs. Caskey because "the Bible says causing discord in the church is an abomination."

Mrs. Caskey went back to the church about a month after her arrest, shortly after the county prosecutor threw out the trespassing charge. More than a dozen supporters gathered outside, some with signs that read "What Would Jesus Do?" She sat in the front row as Mr. Burrick preached about "infidels in the pews," according to reports from those present.

Once again, Mrs. Caskey was escorted out by a state trooper and taken to jail, where she posted the $62 bail and was released. After that, the county prosecutor dismissed the charge and told county law enforcement not to arrest her again unless she was creating a disturbance.

In the following weeks, Mrs. Caskey continued to worship at Allen Baptist. Some congregants no longer spoke to her or passed the offering plate, and some changed seats if she sat next to them, she says.

Mr. Burrick repeatedly declined to comment on Mrs. Caskey's case, calling it a "private ecclesiastical matter." He did say that while the church does not "blacklist" anyone, a strict reading of the Bible requires pastors to punish disobedient members. "A lot of times, flocks aren't willing to submit or be obedient to God," he said in an interview before a Sunday evening service. "If somebody is not willing to be helped, they forfeit their membership."

In Christianity's early centuries, church discipline led sinners to cover themselves with ashes or spend time in the stocks. In later centuries, expulsion was more common. Until the late 19th century, shunning was widely practiced by American evangelicals, including Methodists, Presbyterians and Baptists. Today, excommunication rarely occurs in the U.S. Catholic Church, and shunning is largely unheard of among mainline Protestants.

Little Consensus

Among churches that practice discipline, there is little consensus on how sinners should be dealt with, says Gregory Wills, a theologian at Southern Baptist Theological seminary. Some pastors remove members on their own, while other churches require agreement among deacons or a majority vote from the congregation.

Since Mrs. Caskey's second arrest last July, the turmoil at Allen Baptist has fizzled into an awkward stalemate. Allen Baptist is an independent congregation, unaffiliated with a church hierarchy that might review the ouster. Supporters have urged Mrs. Caskey to sue to have her membership restored, but she says the matter should be settled in the church. Mr. Burrick no longer calls the police when Mrs. Caskey shows up for Sunday services.

Since November, Mrs. Caskey has been attending a Baptist church near her winter home in Tavares, Fla. She plans to go back to Allen Baptist when she returns to Michigan this spring.

"I don't intend to abandon that church," Mrs. Caskey says. "I feel like I have every right to be there."

Write to Alexandra Alter at alexandra.alter@wsj.com

 How many of you feel like there is a lot of serious issues that the church ignores or they just don't know how to approach. Well SOSCHURCH.TV is not afraid to confront life's issues head on. Check out this clip in a series that they are running in February. They are all about being relevant.  

I have been getting alot of interesting emails. This one was true and I thought I would pass it along to you. Be cautious when it is wet or icy out. Read the following -

I wonder how many people know about this ~ A 36 year old female had an accident several weeks ago and totaled her car. A resident of Kilgore, Texas she was traveling between Gladewater Kilgore. It was raining, though not excessively, when her car suddenly began to hydro-plane and literally flew through the air. She was not seriously injured but very stunned at the sudden occurrence


When she explained to the highway patrolman what had happened he told her something that every driver should know - NEVER DRIVE IN THE RAIN WITH YOUR CRUISE CONTROL ON. She thought she was being cautious by setting the cruise control and maintaining a safe consistent speed in the rain.


But the highway patrolman told her that if the cruise control is on when your car begins to hydro-plane and your tires lose contact with the pavement, your car will accelerate to a higher rate of speed making you take off like an airplane. She told the patrolman that was exactly what had occurred.


The patrolman said this warning should be listed, on the driver's seat sun-visor - NEVER USE THE CRUISE CONTROL WHEN THE PAVEMENT IS WET OR ICY, along with the airbag warning. We tell our teenagers to set the cruise control and drive a safe speed - but we don't tell them to use the cruise control only when the pavement is dry.


The only person the accident victim found, who knew this (besides the patrolman), was a man who had had a similar accident, totaled his car and sustained severe injuries.


NOTE: Some vehicles (like the Toyota Sienna Limited XLE) will not allow
You to set the cruise control when the windshield wipers are on.

With YOU DECIDE 2008 here and the voting year here are you edcuating yourself? I received this email and I am wondering the validity of it. I am also wondering what you all think about what it says. I am more worried about the terrorist connection and the anti American sentiment then I am the religous tones. You all know if you have read my blogs or forums very long that I am a Christian (Christ follower) I do not claim one banner over another (religion). However, I am not nor will I ever be Anti God. This email was troubling and I will continue to search out for myself information from all available media whether print or political news.

Read the following email I received and let me know what you think. What is the effect on a child when raised at an early age in certain religions, regions or beliefs? Do you not let certain things affect you and your beliefs? How much does it weigh on you, the values of your parents? I would wager that it weighs heavily. I would love to hear what a pyschiatrist would have to say.

EMAIL_

Subject: Who is Barack Obama? ONE YOU MUST FORWARD TO ALL
Very interesting and something that should be considered in your choice. If you do not ever forward anything else, please forward this to all your contacts...this is very scarey to think of what lies ahead of us here in our own United States...better heed this and pray about it and share it.  We checked this out on 'snopes.com <http://snopes.com/> '.
It is factual. Check for yourself.  Who is Barack Obama?
 Probable U. S. presidential candidate, Barack Hussein Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Barack Hussein Obama,Sr., a black MUSLIM from Nyangoma-Kogel, Kenya and Ann Dunham, a white ATHIEST from Wichita, Kansas. Obama's parents met at the University of Hawaii. When Obama was two years old, his parents divorced. His father returned to Kenya. His mother then married Lolo Soetoro, a RADICAL Muslim from Indonesia. When Obama was 6 years old, the family relocate to Indonesia. Obama attended a MUSLIM school in Jakarta. He also spent two years in a Catholic school. Obama takes great care to conceal the fact that he is a Muslim. He is quick to point out that, 'He was once a Muslim, but that he also attended Catholic school. Obama's political handlers are attempting to make it appear that he is not a radical.Obama's introduction to Islam came via his father,and that this influence was temporary at best. In reality, the senior Obama returned to Kenya soon after the divorce, and never again
 had any direct influence over his son's education. Lolo Soetoro, the second husband of Obama's mother, Ann Dunham, introduced his stepson to Islam. Obama was enrolled in a Wahabi school in Jakarta,Wahabism is the RADICAL teaching that is followed by the Muslim terrorists who are now waging Jihad  against the western world. Since it is politically expedient to be a CHRISTIAN when seeking major public office in the United States, Barack Hussein Obama has joined the United Church of Christ in an attempt to downplay his Muslim background.
 ALSO,keep in mind that when he was sworn into office he DID NOT use the Holy Bible, but instead the Koran. Barack Hussein Obama will NOT recite the Pledge of Allegience nor will he show any reverence for our flag. While others place their hands over their hearts, Obama turns his back to the flag and slouches.
Let us all remain alert concerning Obama's expected presidential candidacy.
The Muslims have said they plan on destroying the US from the inside out, what better way to start  than at the highest level. through the President of the United States. One of their own!
 Please forward to eveyone you know. Would you want this man leading our country ....... NOT ME!!!!!!! _end email

 I, like some of you may be wondering who is going to be the last two standing after all the primaries and caucuses. Then after all is said and done, who will be the next president of the United States of America?

I don't often get into political debates. I try to be as informed as possible on every issue. Below you will find a list of helpful sites if you would like to see where they stand right now with the number of delegates, background and a pretty cool site that may match you with your candidate.

For background and news information visit   http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/ or http://www.foxnews.com/politics/

For the candidates and how they side with issues go here http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

For all the mud and dirt you can handle go here http://www.realchange.org/

To find out which candidate matches your beliefs the best try here http://www.realchange.org/

I hope this helps you to become more informed. Please feel free to add any site that you visit for information.

Thanks
Stacy

Merrian Webster says this about a resolution and revolution.

Resolution 1: the act or process of resolving: as a: the act of analyzing a complex notion into simpler ones b: the act of answering : solving c: the act of determining

Revolution 2 a: a sudden, radical, or complete change  c: activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation d: a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something : a change of paradigm

January makes people think about change or new beginnings but I think about change daily. I don't mark on my calendar January 1st as my date to make things different. I know that this isn't for everyone and alot of you do make changes at the first of the year. It is my hope that you change them for good...not just a week, month or 3 months and then it drops off. I challenge you to look at it as a day to day change. One day at a time. We fall into slumps when we slip up on the commitment we made. We decide to just drop it when we fall once or twice...instead of picking back up and going on.

We need to change first the way we think about things...then from there resolve or determine to make it happen.

So in my mind a revolution is what we need before a resolution.

tell me what you think?

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Proverbs 24:16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again, but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

 

I was asked a few months ago to go to a private screening of VeggieTales- Pirates Who Don"t Do Anything...

It comes out in 9 days and I highly recmmend it to all families. If your kids are wanting to go to the movies and you were worried about films that our out right now, no need to worry with this one.

I took all my kiddos ages, 15, 13, 11, 9 and 7 to see it. We all enjoyed it. It is the Pirates of the Carribean for young kiddos.

You can check it out here. http://www.veggiepirates.com/

Saturday morning fun, Sunday Morning values.