2008 Staff Retreat

Helen is tied to bridge, afraid of heights. We love you, Helen!

Staff Retreat 2008

Hello, I haven't had a new post in a few days but I am working on one that I felt the Lord dropped in my heart Sunday morning. Maybe tonight I can write it.

I just got back off of a retreat with the staff here at First Assembly. They are a fun group to hang out with. We had a few laughs and enjoyed a time of refreshing and getting to know each other better. Some too well, we were next door to the musical cook and his wife and the walls were pretty thin. I'm not trying to start anything, I'm just saying...

By the way, Laura and her accomplices, thank you for the special gift you gave us.

We were blessed with a little surprise picnic in Heber Springs. Pastor(what a good looking guy), ask Rick and Cathy to surprise the staff with a picnic. They went all out. It was great. They had a fire going, tables decorated with flowers, fried potatoes, chicken, peas and homemade cookies from Virginia!! We were feasting. The staff felt loved and appreciated. Thank you for being such great support and friends to some of God's choice servants.

When we first arrived at the Bed and Breakfast we were staying at, I think we had a little panic going on. There was no cell service and no T.V. in the rooms. I personally thought it was wonderful but some have a different opinion of that. We had to TALK to each other! I loved it. I plan to go there again.

We enjoyed a tour of the Caverns. I have never been and that was very interesting. We also had a nice meal and was encouraged by our District Superintendent, Reverend Larry Moore. He took the time to come and fellowship with us and share words of encouragement.

We walked around town. They had some local things going on. I have a new discovery, the staff blessed us with a basket of goodies and inside the basket were some chocolate covered coffee beans. They are very good. If you haven't tried them and you like coffee, you have to give them a try. Maybe Pastor John will stock these in our Coffee Shop at church. Maybe if you ask him...

Thank you, church family, for treating your staff and letting them have a time away together to refresh. We love you and you are a great church. What does pastor always say? You are the greatest church in the world!!! Keep on keeping on...

Your servant,

Karen

I hope to post a picture soon

Anything You Say, Can And Will Be Used Against You

Remember this? Oh be careful little tongue what you say, oh be careful little tongue what you say, for the Father up above is looking down in love, oh be careful little tongue what you say... Did you sing that to yourself?

It is almost true that everything we need to know, we learned in first grade or whatever the saying is. I have had this on my mind for several days but couldn't decide if I wanted to write about it.

I want to refer to the message tonight. Mark 11:23, if you say to the mountain, move and you believe it, then it will happen. What you speak is very important. We must control our mouth because in it is life and death. My dad use to say to me, Kay, "think before you speak." He would tell me that when I was getting a little too mouthy.

Proverbs 21:23, "Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles." How many times have you wished you hadn't said that? Words can't be taken back.

One of my favorite stories and I have shared it a few times is about the two women who are very best friends. One day they get into an argument and one says something to her friend that she wishes she hadn't said. It changed their friendship and they were no longer close like before. After weeks and months of torment the woman goes to an older and wiser woman from the town and ask how she can make their friendship like it was before. The older and wiser woman tells her to get her feather pillows and while everyone is sleeping that night she is to go to every house in the town and put a feather at the front door. She is so happy to do this because she wants everything to be like it was before they had words. All night she works and works, the sun is coming up and she goes to the older womans house and tells her that she has finished. The woman tells her that next she must go back to every house and collect the feathers and put them back in the pillow case. The woman begans to cry, she says that it would be impossible because by now they have blown away and and she can't collect them and put them back. The wiser woman says that is true and once words have been spoken, they can not be taken back. It will take time to heal the hurt so be patient.

Be careful what you say. Think before you speak. Your words can speak life or death to someone.

I love you, you are my friend and I want you to be blessed.

Karen

Here she is with the new phone. Give us your number and she will call you or text you.

He Loves Us More

Good Afternoon:

Okay let me set the scene for you. It was about 6:30a.m. and Alan and I sneak into Jade's room and I sat a pretty pink gift bag on her night stand. We are peeking around the corner to watch her reaction. Alan dials her number and the phone begins to go off with some crazy ring tone her brother has put on it. The first call goes out, she moves around a little but doesn't wake up. So I whisper to him, call again. The call goes out and she sits up, she is a little unsure where the noise is coming from. We are two excited giggling parents watching her. The last call goes out and she sees the sack lighting up, she sees her parents watching her, she smiles and reaches down into the sack and there it is. A pink cell phone that she thought she couldn't live without. I don't know who was feeling more joy at that moment. I am so happy for her and she is trying to believe what she is seeing. Her smile is worth it all. I will continue to remember that smile when the bill comes.

This afternoon I am thinking of what the word of God says in Luke 11:13. If ye then, being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? It is hard for most of us to imagine that our heavenly Father loves us more than we do our own children. It came to my mind that maybe in heaven as our Father calls out to us and we don't respond the first call, he tells the Holy Spirit, call again, a little more response but still we haven't found the prize, call again, He says. Finally we hear the call and hopefully answer.

He left it all because He loves us more. I wish I could play the song for you that the choir sang Easter morning. He left the safety of heaven, Jesus left it, all because He loved us more. It is more than my mind can conceive, Jesus left it all because He loved us more. Wow! Think on that today.

Jade doesn't really realize the sacrifice her parents made to give her a cell phone just so that she can call and chat with her friends, do I realize the sacrifice made for me? Thank you, Father, for all that you have given me and sacrificed for me. I love you, Lord.

Karen

Last one, I love this picture

Happy 11th Birthday

Okay I'm crying now. I love you.

Mom

Favorite Birthdays

One of the Happiest Days of My Life

Goodmorning: This is a very special day for me. Eleven years ago, our lives were blessed with a beautiful little angel that we named Jade. She is a miracle. When I was about thirteen weeks pregnant we were having a special service with several churches and a guest minister. At the end of the service, there were many around the altars and I was one of them. I was just worshipping God and praying when the guest minister came over to pray with me and I fell to the floor as the power of God came upon me. I got up a few minutes later and he said to me that he knew in his spirit that I had received a miracle. He said that I may not even know that I needed a miracle but there had been a healing in my body.

A week later I receive a call from my doctor and the test that had been done on me a couple of weeks earlier had given them a reason to believe that something might be wrong with our baby and so I should come in that day and he would do more testing. So I go and the test were not conclusive and more test where needed but we decided that we were just going to trust that everything would be fine and not do any more testing.

There were many in the waiting room that morning and a shout came out when her doctor reported that everything looked normal. She is a very healthy and beautiful young lady and we are very proud of her.

She doesn't know it yet but she is going to get a cell phone for her birthday today. She has begged for one and so we are excited to give it to her. I know that she is too young but think of the control this will give me over her life. LOL

We know that God did touch me and Jade that day and we will always be thankful that He was there. Someday Jade will be a leader of women for God. That is the prayer that her father has prayed over her many many times.

Be blessed and have a great day!