Jamey Herd writes that Pleasant Ridge enjoyed a good service with Brother Carl bringing the morning message. Laveta Ray had Children’s Church with seven little ones with Susan Dugan and Angie Modar as helpers. The children sang before going to Children’s Church.
Laveta Ray helped in the T.O.P.S. booth at the Seymour Apple Festival and Brother Carl worked in the Historical Booth.
We thank you Lord for the blessing of rain this past week. The grass, along with the weeds, has greened back up.
Jamey and Billy Joe Herd enjoyed a great evening and fish fry at Fair Grove Baptist Church on Saturday evening. Son, Ron Herd and daughter Sami, rode along also. A lot of their former work buddies were there and they had a great visit with old friends.
Susan Sinclair tells us God is good, all the time! We had a wonderful worship service and Sunday school session Sunday, with our monthly church dinner and board meeting following morning worship. Our fellowship portion of the old church building was pretty full, and we look forward to using the new space the Lord has provided. Our new building is up, and all doors are installed, and since we are in partnership with our Lord Jesus in the redemptive process of bringing people to Him, and not in any way wanting to tempt people to sin, we want to pass along that we do not keep any received offerings in the church overnight.
Members of our Dogwood local missionary group spent a few hours clearing brush, trimming branches, and cutting grass in preparation for installing the new wheelchair ramp for our brother who lives on O Highway. This is a modular type that is bolted together, and makes it readily movable as necessary. Next step is getting the modules framed.
As a follow up to the thought that was shared last week, the thought that comes to mind is “Dare to Believe!” This is not a teaching that can be given in one setting, because it truly starts in Genesis, and continues past Pentecost, when the Comforter, the Teacher, and Counselor, – the Holy Spirit- came to seal and work with believers in Christ.
We each must come to a point in our relationship with God that we trust Him enough to believe what He says about Himself and about each born again believer in Jesus Christ, instead of believing what we see with our senses. Missouri is known as the Show Me State, but our God expects His children to live by faith and not by sight. It is a perfectly normal, natural, worldly thing to live by what we see, (our aches and pains, our bills, our troubles) but God calls us to live by what He says, not what we see. If we continue to believe what we see instead of believing what God says, we will continue to get what we believe. God says that without faith it is impossible to please Him.
Have you ever skimmed over a portion of scripture because it seemed too unbelievable to believe and your mind could not grasp the possibility it could be true? I encourage you to dare to believe these marvelous words of God Almighty and trust what he says is true. It is important to keep what God says in the context of the writing, so we don’t confuse the message, but rather read the entire Word to get the full meaning.
Here are a few wonderful verses to study:
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding
1 Peter 2:24 Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Psalm 107:19-20 Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saveth them out of their distresses. He sent his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, that whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which He saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
John 10:10 The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.
We serve the Sovereign, Great God Almighty, Lord of Hosts, the creator of things seen and unseen, who cannot lie. It is time, as we are able to grasp it, to grab onto God’s truths and to live by them. All Glory to God forever and ever.
Until next time, God bless you and your loved ones.
Carol Boeddeker-Genet reports another welcome 3” of rain at her place and yes, I started mowing this morning. The ruts from last winter’s load of hay are as annoying as are the holes dug by the armadillos. Today I’m putting out more moth balls in hopes the armadillos will go elsewhere. I’m still fighting a flea infestation, apparently just in the front yard as the dogs in the back yard show no signs of fleas. Others in Douglas County have commented on a flea infestation. Have you ever watched how far a flea can jump? Amazing! And they are hard to kill with your fingers!
A friend from northeast of Ava e-mailed me that her daughter’s big bay horse and large white Pyr guard dog were both shot with arrows. A veterinarian was called and was able to save both animals. Surely honorable hunters would not mistake either animal. It is about time for deer to be on the move, adding to road problems along with the smaller critters. Please drive and hunt carefully, and not at the same time.
A county road just north of Hwy. 14 was the sight of a light UPS delivery truck being stuck last week. Residents there managed to get him pulled out. Several months ago another one of the area roads was impassable and neighbors had to help residents by going in with 4-wheelers. Surely with an election right around the corner one would think such problems would be addressed, quickly.
Regina Boeddeker is on her long trip here from California, taking the northern route to avoid the desert heat and visiting an uncle in Wyoming on the way. Regina called from Wyoming this morning and said she has another 16 hours or so of travel to get here. Her son, Justin, has had enough of road trips for a while. We surely hope Justin will like the Ava school system. Rachelle Boeddeker called from her home base of Gulf Port, Mississippi and says she is doing fine.
Rex Boeddeker worked several hours this past week at the Fox Trotter grounds, helping his Uncle Rory. From what I’ve heard so far the show was quite a success. Of course, most of the results are in this edition of the Herald.
The Dogwood Nazarene Church building is looking good. This is a big undertaking for any small church and the members are to be commended. St. Leo’s annual picnic was Sunday and well attended. The Seymour Apple Festival was wonderful, as usual. Trish Bohn, Tina Chriss, Arlene Boeddeker and I went together, enjoyed visiting all the booths, ate too much and enjoyed the Double Barrel Band. We met some locals there and some former locals: J.R. Garrison; Paul and Wanda Dugan and their daughter, Pam; Buddy Watkins and his family (now living at Brushy Knob) – and did a lot of catch-up visiting.
Here is a question for you: Why is it that our children can’t read a Bible in school, but they can in prison? Another question: How come we choose from just two people to run for president and from over fifty for Miss America?
