"Ketchup On My Face"

"Perfect in CHRIST JESUS." Col. 1:28


"Great is HIS faithfulness; HIS lovingkindness begins afresh each day.  My soul claims the LORD as my inheritance." Lamentations 3:23-24


Dear Praying Friends and Family,
    I actually wrote this yesterday, but just have not felt like sending it out today.  Today is our son's 22nd birthday, and he had to buy his own birthday cake...that's  sad, but i appreciate him and his girlfriend doing that and going to the grocery store for me tonight.   So, since i must be feeling a little better, i'm going to go ahead and send it out tonight and trust this is GOD's perfect timing for whatever reason.  I am thankful to be able to do that...

     I am sitting on the back porch eating a peanut butter sandwich my housekeeper fixed for me...writing you.  Sounds like the life doesn't it:).  Actually it's not what you think...it's raining today and turning colder...thankfully, the breezeway is covered where i am sitting in my coat and my husband's sandals...with no socks on.    My washing machine has been smelling like mold for a couple of weeks now, and my housekeeper poured bleach into it and ran it through the cycle a couple of times to see if we could kill the mold that lurks somewhere inside.   So since i am so sensitive to chlorine...i am outside until it gets out of the house.  Guess i could be out campaigning...my husband is running for Circuit Court Clerk, but yesterday and the day before i went out in our neighborhood and the one close by, and went through too many yards that had been sprayed and got overloaded on fertilizer and pesticides of which i am highly allergic to. Riding up to  Pulaski to pick up my cat that had surgery with signs in my car, even though they were enclosed in a suitcase and plastic didn't help either.  Today, my son used the wrong shampoo, and it was the straw that broke the camel's back.  If you want to see what i look like overloaded with chemicals you  should have been in my bedroom this morning as i had a "come apart" because the shampoo, on top of everything else,  reduced me to tears and anger...it was not a pretty site.    I haven't had a meltdown like that in a long time...but i did today.   Funny, that comes right after my neighbor told us the other night that his little boy said i was the best CHRISTian he knew.  I joked that night he just needs to see me when i've been around the wrong kind of shampoo...didn't know that i was prophesying the future of two days later.   GOD knows how to keep HIS children humble, and I am humbled this morning for my behavior and I have asked my son and my husband and my LORD to forgive me.  It makes for good writing material but not good relationships when you get so angry. Oh what a SAVIOR you and I have, and it is for this reason HE died for you and for me to forgive us for all of our sins.

     Though i've had a rough morning...my heart is full of thanksgiving for my LORD, and even for the roughness and trials of the morning.  I don't know all the reasons HE tells us to give thanks in everything...but i am going to thank HIM for the morning...knowing it prepares the way for HIS salvation, as it says in Psalms.  


 "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God." Psalm 50:23


   

   I shared more about this in last week's email, "One Thousand Gifts,"http://mitzi-hisgraceissufficient.blogspot.com/2012/01/one-thousand-gifts.html if you want to learn more about how offering a sacrifice of thanksgiving prepares the way for GOD's salvation in our lives.  

    We are so very thankful that my Mother in law received a wonderful report yesterday from the doctor about her liver.  Thank you so much for praying for her these past several weeks.  We were all afraid she might have cancer,  but she doesn't.  The spots we were concerned about are hemagioma's ( clumps of blood vessels) on her liver.  What is interesting is we learned these are hereditary, and our daughter was born with a hemangioma  in her windpipe and almost died before the LORD used the doctors to save her life.   It's just kind of neat to know she might have inherited that instead of it being from the pesticides that affected me so adversely....there again...in everything give thanks!  Even for those things that have caused me to cling to the LORD so, like pesticides and other chemicals...wow!!!  I read a verse from Romans this week that said " And not only so but we rejoice in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance  produces proven character, and  proven character  hope, and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us." Romans 5:4-5

    Didn't look like a lot of love had been poured out in my heart this morning...but i'm so thankful that JESUS loves me and forgives me and picks me up when i fall flat on my face.

     After i took Peach up to Pulaski to the vet to get the tumor removed on Tuesday, I came back through Elkmont, and the LORD guided my steps to a sub and pizza shop owned by a friend of our family.  I asked if he minded putting out some of our campaign fliers.  He said he'd be glad to and then we got to talking.  I had no idea the man had been so sick last year, but he had been through a really rough time.  We talked about a lot of things, and GOD gave me an open door to share CHRIST with HIM.  I don't think this man has ever accepted JESUS, and I was happy that I got to share the LORD with him.  He didn't really say anything, but i pray that he will accept CHRIST before it's too late for him.  As i left the shop, i was really happy the LORD had led us into this campaign, and given me the opportunity to share CHRIST with this friend.   My friend told me about the "Old Gin Restaurant," that had just opened up, so i drove over there and put out a few fliers, as i did at a busy gas station in downtown Elkmont, which only has a few stores, and several of those are closed.  On the way home, i felt led to stop in and see my old softball coach and ask him to vote for us. He wasn't home, but his daughter was and she invited me to come inside.  His daughter and i played softball a few times together, but i hadn't seen her in years and wasn't sure if that was her or not.  She has had a lot of serious  health issues, and she lives with her Daddy who helps to take care of her.  We visited about 20 minutes or so, and it was such a blessing to visit with her.  When i left, once again i was happy the LORD had led my husband to run for office or i wouldn't have been stopping by to see this old friend.   As i drove into town, i felt the LORD leading my steps to stop in at another old friend's house and ask them to vote for Johnny.  I wasn't sure if i had the right house, but I was relieved when they came to the door and it was them.  They were very gracious and also invited me in.  She invited me to sit down and we talked awhile and enjoyed some sweet fellowship in the LORD.  We all used to go to church together when Johnny and I first got married, and i could tell, this couple has some wounds that the LORD is healing.  It was such a blessing to be in their home too, and i left there very thankful for all the places the LORD had led me.

     That afternoon, after i came home and ate a bite, and talked to my friend, Wanda, on the phone...I hit the campaign trail again....in my neighborhood.  I cleaned out the kids old wagon that my Daddy had given them.  It serves as my garden wagon now with all my supplies in it and i turned it into a campaign wagon.   I put up EVANS for Circuit Court Clerk signs on the sides, and a flier on the back, and i put my signs and fliers in it.  It was a beautiful afternoon and the many of the neighbors were outside in their yards working.  As i walked down the street, i noticed smoke coming from a nearby backyard, and i walked over to my neighbor's yard where she was burning leaves to ask her to vote for Johnny.  Even though she and I are in choir together, i had no idea her Daddy was so sick, and as she and I talked, she poured out her heart to me about his situation and she and I prayed together for her Daddy and his care, and all the decisions her family was having to make.  My heart hurts for my dear friend who is such a dear sister in the LORD and once again i was so thankful for "the campaign," that led my footsteps to be able to share this burden with my friend.

An embarrassing thing happened after i made all these visits to my neighbors.  Johnny drove up in the driveway, and I was standing outside.  He said i had spaghetti all over my face.  I say, huh?  It wasn't spaghetti, it was ketchup from the hamburger I ate for lunch.  In my haste to get out the door after talking to my friend Wanda on the phone, i forgot to check my face after eating lunch.  That was really humbling to think i had been to see all my neighbors with "ketchup on my face."


   Life is like that isn't it...we often find ourselves with "Ketchup on our face," experiences...GOD gives us the grace to handle situations in HIS SPIRIT and sometimes we blow it big time like i did this morning, and I am embarrassed and sorry for being so out of control with my family.  I am so thankful for my SAVIOR WHO knows my weaknesses and limitations and loves me just as i am. 

     GOD has given me so much to be thankful for, including "ketchup on my face" experiences and when I fall HE picks me up again. I am so glad that when my FATHER looks at me, HE doesn't see the "Ketchup" on my Face"..instead HE sees the perfection of JESUS. These words from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening   encouraged my heart:

"Perfect in Christ Jesus."

--Colossians 1:28

Do you not feel in your own soul that perfection is not in you? Does not every day teach you that? Every tear which trickles from your eye, weeps "imperfection"; every harsh word which proceeds from your lip, mutters "imperfection." You have too frequently had a view of your own heart to dream for a moment of any perfection in yourself. But amidst this sad consciousness of imperfection, here is comfort for you--you are "perfect in Christ Jesus." In God's sight, you are "complete in Him;" even now you are "accepted in the Beloved." But there is a second perfection, yet to be realized, which is sure to all the seed. Is it not delightful to look forward to the time when every stain of sin shall be removed from the believer, and he shall be presented faultless before the throne, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing? The Church of Christ then will be so pure, that not even the eye of Omniscience will see a spot or blemish in her; so holy and so glorious, that Hart did not go beyond the truth when he said--

"With my Saviour's garments on,
Holy as the Holy One."

Then shall we know, and taste, and feel the happiness of this vast but short sentence, "Complete in Christ." Not till then shall we fully comprehend the heights and depths of the salvation of Jesus. Doth not thy heart leap for joy at the thought of it? Black as thou art, thou shalt be white one day; filthy as thou art, thou shalt be clean. Oh, it is a marvellous salvation this! Christ takes a worm and transforms it into an angel; Christ takes a black and deformed thing and makes it clean and matchless in His glory, peerless in His beauty, and fit to be the companion of seraphs. O my soul, stand and admire this blessed truth of perfection in Christ.

    It is a great joy to be reacquainted with so many folks we don't take time to go and visit ordinarily.  We have campaigned at the county basketball tournament this week and i've seen folks i haven't seen since high school.  I know the LORD has HIS reasons for directing our paths this way for the next couple of months at least and you just stand amazed and you thank GOD for leading and guiding your paths in all things...even over fertilized yards and things that make me feel badly.  HE has a plan and a purpose.  One of the friends we saw at the County Tournament has been newly diagnosed with cancer.  She and I played ball against each other and she is one of the sweetest sisters in CHRIST.  She blessed me when i saw her Tuesday night and spoke briefly with her and she said the LORD has already brought about so many good things through her sickness.  Please pray for her as you read this and her dear family and close friends as they go through this journey with her.   And then we saw the grandparents of Elliot Malone, the young man i asked you to pray for a few months ago who was in a car accident and lost both of his legs.  They were singing GOD's praises with all they have been through...and continues to, Elliot has his prosthesis now, and has a staph infection.  You could tell they were genuinely thankful, and the grandmother said she could not "get off her knees," from being so thankful.  What an example...please remember these two families as your read this and pray for them.

    It sure is getting cool on this back porch...i went and got the heater and put it at my feet, but thankfully for the moment the wind has died down.  Troy, our Maltipoo, is laying across my lap sound asleep as i type.  I wanted to share with you, from my back porch, a devotion i read this morning from "Springs in the Valley," about GOD leading and guiding our paths.  It really blessed me...as i realize more and more HIS divine presence and guidance in every step that we take...nothing is an accident.

"I being in the way, the LORD led me." Gen. 24:27

     "The way" means GOD's way, the pathway prepared for us; not our way; not any kind of way (Proverbs 14:12); not man's way; but the direct way of duty and command.  In such a way the LORD will be sure to lead and guide us.  The LORD answered the servant's prayer exactly as he prayed, step by step.

     GOD never gives guidance for two steps at a time.  I must take one step, and then I receive light for the next." 

     As thou dost travel down the corridor of Time

Thou wilt find many doors of usefulness;

To gain some there are many weary steps to climb,

And then they will not yield! but onward press,

For there before thee, in the distance just beyond

Lies one which yet will open; enter there,

And thou shalt find all realized thy visions fair

Of fields more vast than thou hast yet conceived.

Press on, faint not; though briars strew thy way,

The greatest things are yet to be achieved;

And he who falters not will win the day.

No man can shut the door which GOD sets wide,

He bids thee enter there-thy work awaits inside.

                                                                                                    -Fairelie Thorton

          Keep to your post and watch HIS signals!  Implicitly rely on the methods of HIS guidance.  

    The methods of HIS guidance for me and my family have oft been through my sickness.  I am going to have to rethink my campaign strategy because going door to door in neighborhoods that are heavily sprayed is not going to work for me.  So ya'll pray for us...as we learn to work the kinks out and see what works best and doesn't work for Mom.  GOD will use those things to lead and guide our paths...to just the people and places HE wants us to be.  

   We're praying for success and GOD's favor and we thank HIM that HE is giving it to us- one visit at a time.

   The greatest success in the world is leading others to a personal relationship with our LORD JESUS CHRIST and encouraging our brothers and sisters in the LORD.  If you don't know CHRIST as your SAVIOR today, ask HIM to forgive you and trust in HIS blood to save you from all the bad things you've ever thought or done. HE loves you so much, and the things that may seem to be going so badly in your life right now, are the circumstances that GOD is using to get you to turn to HIM.  

     "For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only Son that whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John  3:16

  "Just As I Am," is the way my SAVIOR wants me to come to HIM.  Tonight, I come with "Ketchup on My Face," and ashamed for the way i acted yesterday with my husband and son.  I am so glad that I can come to my SAVIOR, Just As I am...this is a beautiful version of this old hymn...http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=qOnBFGAevks    We all need a Savior ...we all get angry, we all lie, we all cheat, and lust and fall short of the glory of GOD.  For this and so much more, JESUS died on the cross to forgive us of our sins against a HOLY and RIGHTEOUS  GOD.   Just read these words early this morning from Chuck Swindoll's Book, Great Days with the Great Lives,  and it was encouraging about how GOD gives us "New Beginnings," no matter where we are or what we've done:

A New Beginning Posted: 28 Jan 2012 02:55 AM PST by Charles R. Swindoll Read Acts 9:10–19 Regardless of what you have done, no one is beyond hope. That's the great hope of the Christian message. No amount or depth of sin in your past can trump the grace of God. If you question that, remember Saul, the brash Pharisee of Tarsus. When the Lord saved him, He didn't put him on probation. The other disciples did that. No, God gave Saul a new name and, in the process, made him a new creation. That's what makes grace so amazing! Even though your past is soiled, anyone can find a new beginning with God. I've made the same statement throughout my ministry: It's never too late to start doing what is right. When Saul knelt before the living God, he finally faced the reality of his sin. Deep within the man, Christ transformed his life, and he started doing what was right. Grace provides that sort of new beginning.

   Thank you for letting me share with you from my back porch.  I am going to check and see how the bleach smell is coming along...and hopefully i can get back inside soon....i might should  check and see if i have peanut butter on my face:).  I am very thankful for the back porch, which has been my refuge from chemicals inside the house on many occasions and has given me the opportunity to write you today.  I wished i had used it earlier today and prevented a major meltdown. GOD is always our refuge and wants us to run to HIM to prevent major meltdowns and to forgive us when we do have meltdowns. 

     Ya'll pray for us...we are sinners saved by the blood of JESUS, and I am so very thankful for HIS lovingkindness and compassion to us.    


                                                           With all HIS love and forgiveness,                                                                                     
                                                                                    mitzi


   

"But every worshiping, grateful souls thrills with awe and delight and wonder at the daily blessings and loving-kindnesses of the CREATOR FATHER."
                                                         Hinds Feet on High Places, Hannah Hurnard

   “The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the souls of the redeemed men and women is the throbbing heart of the New Testament.”


~A. W. Tozer


“Seek every day to have closer communion with Him who is your Friend…


True Christianity is not merely believing a certain set of dry abstract propositions: it is to live in daily personal communication with an actual living person – Jesus Christ.


‘To me’, said Paul, ‘to live is Christ.’ ” (Phil 1:21).


~ J.C. Ryle

-- 

"For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON  that whosoever believeth in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5beoRa_HR8o&feature=share

John 3:16

"One Thousand Gifts"

"From the fullness of HIS grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16

Phillip Anderson showing us how to give thanks to the LORD!

       

    Dear Praying Friends and Family,

             While my husband is out on the campaign trail with my Daddy canvassing votes for "Circuit Court Clerk," of Limestone County, i am going to try to snatch a few moments to write you in between bites of some kind of healthy version of Coco Puffs...they are really good, and i'm just hoping i'm not allergic to them!

              Thank you for praying for my nephew, Dusty Fowler, who was unanimously voted on this past Weds. night to become Minister of Preteens and Middle School at Willowbrook Baptist, Church in Huntsville.  GOD has been preparing Dusty since before he was born to serve HIM in this position, and we are rejoicing with my brother Joe, and his wife Marilyn, and the rest of our family in GOD's calling on Dusty's life.  Dusty officially begins his duties this Sunday at Willowbrook, so ya'll please pray for him.

              Wow, it's been a busy week of campaigning around here...GOD has been so gracious and between allergic reactions and everyday life, HE has enabled me to be a helper to Johnny doing the "office" stuff here at home, making phone calls, sending emails, waiting on fliers to come in...etc.  John Mac designed Johnny a FB page for Circuit Court Clerk this morning so be sure and check it out if you are on FB and "Like" him.  You go to Johnny Evans for  Circuit Court Clerk.  Please use this page as a reminder to pray for us...that GOD will be lifted up and glorified in all that we do, and the other candidate's life.  Please ask that  HE will put favor in the hearts of the people of Limestone County to vote for Johnny.  Our opponent is a really nice guy too, and his wife is a supervisor at the Homehealth Care Agency that administers my IV's.  She has really been a help to me and it's interesting the LORD has put us together in this race. In fact, i was at a gospel music singing last Saturday night, and she walked up to me.  The singing was held at her church...small world and interesting how the LORD works, and leads and guides our paths.  A few days ago, the LORD laid it on my heart to pray for Brad and his wife  as they campaign too.  It's really neat, the love the LORD gives you for those you are running against.  GOD knows what He is about, and the plans and purposes HE has not only for our lives and our opponents, but for all whose lives who will be touched by this campaign.  Our family has some great memories of times that we had the privilege of campaigning for Wayne Parker when he ran for Congress three times.  Though Wayne was not elected to the office, GOD did so much in the lives of those who were involved in the campaign...friendships were forged in the battle, souls were saved, and we were trained how to run campaigns of our own!  All gifts the LORD bestowed upon us as a "byproduct," of a political campaign.  I will never know all the things that GOD is going to do in the midst of our campaign, but i do know this...it has caused us to work together as a team in our family, and stretched us out of our comfort zone to reach out to our friends and family, and meet new people the LORD is bringing into our lives...I am thankful for this stretching...and i look forward to the weeks ahead and the "gifts," that GOD has for  each of us as the days unfold.

Please vote for Johnny Evans March 13th

     The reason i am mentioning these "gifts" from the LORD is because they are a fresh on my mind from a book I started reading this week called, "One Thousand Gifts," by Ann Voskamp, http://onethousandgifts.com/.   A few weeks ago, i was eating out with my dear friend, Gena Spearing, and she asked me if I had read "One Thousand Gifts." She said I needed to read it.  It was about learning to be thankful right where you are living.  Gena is always one to recommend good books, so i knew it must be good, but honestly i forgot about it.  I few days later, i got an email from Compassion International sharing a wonderful story about the book, and how the proceeds from it where going to an orphanage in Guatemala, i believe.  I decided then and there to order it from www.Amazon.com and i'm so glad i did.  It's really blessed me, as i have begun to put into practice the challenge that was given to the author, to write down 1000 things for which she is thankful.  She begins the book by being quiet honest, telling how her little sister was killed when Ann was four.  After her sister's death, the family just never got over it and her death hung over them for years.  This book is a true story of how counting GOD's blessings and giving thanks for them one by one has transformed Ann from being a bitter, resentful, angry person into a child of GOD who has a grateful, thankful heart for even the tiniest of GOD's blessings. 

       I started reading this during a really bad allergic reaction i was having and the LORD really spoke to my heart, and encouraged me to start writing down HIS gifts to me.   I  bought a journal last fall at WalmartFrom the fullness of HIS grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:16.  The LORD knew what i was going to use the journal for and this week, i began my own list of "One Thousand Gifts."  As of right now, I am up to number 66..."The Government shall be upon HIS shoulders." 

         You may wonder why I am particularly thankful for the prophecy of "the government being upon HIS shoulders," this day.  It dawned on me that JESUS rules the governments of the world now from heaven, and one day HE will rule the government here on earth.  JESUS is involved in government and the government is HIS ministering agent for our good.  Many in the Bible were involved in "government," Nehemiah, Daniel, and Joseph to name a few...and King David, "a man after GOD's own heart," how could i forget!   I struggled somewhat with why GOD didn't call my husband back into "full time ministry" like preaching instead of running for a government office.  In today's Bible reading, GOD sure did encourage me, that men in government are pretty special and important to GOD...important enough that HE spent years preparing Joseph to serve HIM in government, and important enough that HIS SON, the KING of KINGS is ruling the affairs of earth right now and will be ruling the government on earth one of these days, along with those of us who have trusted in CHRIST JESUS as our LORD and SAVIOR and repented of our sins.  

    "If we suffer with HIM we will reign with HIM." II Tim. 2:12

"And since we are HIS children, we are HIS heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share HIS glory, we must also share his suffering." Romans 8:17

     

     As i read my Daily Bible reading today, it was about the story of Joseph and his brothers selling him into slavery then him getting falsely accused of trying to have sex with Potiphar's wife (Potiphar was an officer of Pharoah) and then he was in  thrown into prison for probably around 12 years.  Joseph tried to get out of his situation by interpreting the dream for the baker who was released and Joseph ask him to remember him before Pharaoh.  The baker forgot, and Joseph stayed in prison until it was GOD's ordained time for him to be released.  Boy, did this remind me of me...i have tried every which way to try to escape from my latest health trials...and GOD has reminded me, over and over that until it's HIS timing to bring me forth from my "prison," I will remain as HE accomplishes HIS plans and purposes in me.   The verses in this passage  from Genesis 39-40 really blessed and encouraged me in the place GOD has me and my husband walking:

     "The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.  And his Master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand. So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him."  Gen. 39:2-4

      One of the things GOD has led me to pray for my husband during this campaign is for "favor" in the hearts of the people of Limestone County to vote for him.  This passage just encouraged me all the more to ask for GOD's favor, not only for my husband and this campaign, but to pray it for my children, and other loved ones...to find favor in the place GOD has them serving HIM.  

    The next passage was also a blessing to me:

     " The LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field." Gen. 39:5

     I sure want that favor and blessing to be upon our lives, and those of my children and loved ones so that others may recognize the LORD is with us, but the next part starts getting a little "sticky."  Joseph was falsely accused by Potiphar's wife of trying to have sex with her, when she was the one wanting to have sex with him!                 This is a lesson 1) to be very careful with the situations we find ourselves in...like married men, not being alone with other women, and vice versa that someone could make a false accusation against them and 2) That even when GOD's favor is being poured out upon us and His blessings are pouring out on those around us because of us, things can seemingly go very wrong in the way our circumstances unfold...as in Joseph getting falsely accused when he was a man of integrity, and being shipped off to prison for a long, long time.  Wow...was this GOD's favor too?  Yes...Joseph didn't do anything wrong that GOD would have withdrawn HIS favor from him, in fact Joseph was being obedient in the place GOD had him serving.  It wasn't the place of Joseph's choice, nor was Daniel when he was carried off to a foreign land and was serving in the government there, but it was GOD's place for them to display HIS power and might and glory.

      What we see of the "prison experience," in Joseph's life and our life, is usually time wasted, and we just want out of it as fast as we can...i know i do.  But GOD was preparing Joseph in that prison to be a leader and governor of his people...to become second and command of Egypt and help save those all around from famine in the land by his wise leadership.  In Genesis 39:21 it says,

    

  "But the LORD was with Joseph (in prison)  and showed him mercy, and HE gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.  And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.  The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper."  

   Wow, i have never thought about GOD showing HIS favor to us in our "prisons," that way that HE showed HIS favor to Joseph in his prison, but our GOD does that...that's where "HIS grace is sufficient and HIS power is made perfect in our weakness..." II Cor. 12:9 GOD was preparing Joseph to lead by having   be in charge of all the prisoners ...not your ordinary method how to prepare men how to be second in command over the entire country of Egypt and the region...you would have thought GOD would have led him to go to one of the finest of schools, like their version of Harvard or Yale or some other way to show favor to Joseph and prepare him for this role.   With "favor," like that...who wants it:)....Could it be that the "prisons," you and I find ourselves in truly are ordained by GOD, and are a "gift" from HIM to prepare us "to rule and reign with HIM," one day in his earthly reign and for all eternity?  Could it be that this "prison" that i find myself in with my health issues is the place where HE wants to show me HIS "favor," and HE is indeed showing me HIS favor?  YES, YES, YES..."One Thousand Gifts," YES!!!   The essence of Ann's book, it that by learning to be thankful for even the smallest of GOD's gifts, we see HIS loving favor all around us, and as Psalm 50:23 teaches:

     "Whoever offers praise glorifies ME; and to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of GOD."

    Ann had a very interesting insight about the parable of the 10 men who had leprosy that JESUS healed.  Only one returned to say "thank you," and JESUS said, "Were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to GOD except this foreigner?"  And HE said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well."  Ann Voskamp and John MacArthur both tell us that the Greek here for "made you well," literally means, "saved you."   The man who had a grateful heart was saved and so it is with us.  Our gratefulness to JESUS for what HE did for us on the cross, prepares the way for HIS salvation to come to our hearts.  Our gratefulness to JESUS for the gifts HE bestows upon us, all around us from the smallest to the largest blessing prepares the way for HIM to "save us," in other areas such as from bitterness, hatred, resentfulness and usher in HIS peace, HIS joy, and HIS salvation. 

   Added on Jan. 22:  At church this morning, Pastor Edwin preached about the prophet Jonah.  In Chapter 2 as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish, he prayed, and thanked GOD before he was delivered for the LORD's salvation:

       Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his GOD from the fish's belly And he said:

     "I cried out to the LORD because of my affliction, and HE answered me.

       Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and YOU heard my voice.

       For YOU cast me into the deep, Into the heart of the seas,

       And the floods surrounded me;

       All YOUR billows and YOUR waves passed over me.

       Then I said, "I have been cast out of YOUR sight; 

       Yet I will look again toward YOUR holy temple.

       The waters surrounded me, even to my soul;

       The deep closed around me;

       Weeds were wrapped around my head.

       I went down to the moorings of the mountains;

       the earth with its  bars closed behind me forever;

       Yet YOU have brought up my life from the pit,

       O LORD my GOD.

       When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the LORD;

       And my prayer went up to YOU into YOUR holy temple.

       Those who regard worthless idols forsake their own Mercy

       But I will sacrifice to YOU with the voice of thanksgiving;

       I will pay what I have vowed, Salvation is of the LORD."

       So the LORD spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land."

       

       

   WOW!!! Never saw this before and realized that Jonah offered that sacrifice of thanksgiving while he was still in the fish, and GOD saved him!

     

     I don't know all the plans and purposes that GOD has for the gift of my health issues, and i don't know all the plans and purposes HE has for your "prison," that you are experiencing right now, and want out of so badly.  But i do know this...HE wants us to realize "THIS" is the place HE has ordained for whatever purposes and they are not only for our good, but for the good of others as Joseph's prison experience was...and THIS place is the place that HE is pouring out HIS FAVOR upon us, and HE wants us to be thankful as thankfulness prepares the way for HIS salvation.  Wow, a challenge to my own heart, as i continue to learn to be thankful for my "thorn in the flesh."

     

    Do you know HIM as your LORD and SAVIOR?  Have you thanked HIM for what HE did for you and me on the Cross of Calvary to rescue of from a burning hell forever and ever, and paid the price for all the sins that not only you and i would ever commit, but those of the whole world?  If you haven't ever asked JESUS to be your LORD and SAVIOR, do it today, right where you are, and then thank HIM for saving you, and making you HIS CHILD.  Find a church home where the WORD is being taught, and the body loves CHRIST and each other, and began to grow in the "grace and knowledge" of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST."

        "For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS one and only SON that whosoever believeth in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

     

   One of the gifts i had yesterday was picking  up my friend Darlene's son, Phillip,  from school yesterday.  Darlene went home to be with JESUS last September after a lengthy battle with cancer.   Phillip came bounding out of school with a smile on his face, just like his Mom would have had...her face always lighting up when she saw you.  When we got home, it was a beautiful afternoon and Phillip and I took our three dogs, Midnight, Dixie, and Troy on a walk in the field.  Midnight, the black lab actually took Phillip on a walk til we got the field, and what a special time i had watching Phillip shimmy up the fallen tree, explore the old shed, play in the waterfall and creek as we walked along. Even though i didn't feel too good, i was thankful to be able to do those things with my friend's little guy...she would have love to have been out there with us.  Darlene was always up for anything!   In the picture above, you see Phillip reaching up to the heavens with open arms...in a stance that shows how our hearts should be thankful and open to the LORD's ways in our lives, even when we don't understand and our way is painful.   What a wonderful example he and his whole family are to me, as they are learning to say "Yes," to GOD, even in the death of their Mom, and be grateful for GOD's plans and purposes.  GOD gave Phillip's Dad a new job this week, where he can work regular hours now and be home with the kids in the evenings to prepare supper and go to their activities with them...GOD's loving favor in the hard places,  is one of HIS "One Thousand Gifts," to the Anderson family and to your life and mine. 

    This devotion from JESUS Calling by Sarah Young   today reminds us that JESUS is sovereign over all the affairs of our lives. HIS plans and ways are higher than we can began to ask or imagine and HE asks us to trust HIM when the bottom falls out and thank HIM in faith for what HE is doing.

:Approach this day with awareness of who is Boss. As you make plans for the day, remember that it is I who orchestrate the events of your life. On days when things go smoothly, according to your plans, you may be unaware of My sovereign Presence. On days when your plans are thwarted, be on the lookout for Me! I may be doing something important in your life, something quite different from what you expected. It is essential at such times to stay in communication with Me, accepting My way as better than yours. Don’t try to figure out what is happening. Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance for the good that will come out of it all. I know the plans I have for you, and they are good.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
—Isaiah 55:9–11

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
—Jeremiah 29:11 

    Each day is a gift from GOD and as a dear friend recently shared with me, that is why it is called "The Present." In order to see our days as a gift, we must have thankful hearts that recognize GOD's favor in the smallest of ways.  Little by little HE will transform us and fill us with HIS joy even in the midst of our most difficult trials. 

  I've used the song "Blessings," by Laura Story http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CSVqHcdhXQ a couple of times in  my emails as it is such a powerful song about GOD's gifts to us.  They often come packaged...not exactly how we would want them, but nevertheless, they are HIS gifts to us each day.   We are to give thanks to HIM in faith for HIS purposes in them...."what if trials of this life are YOUR mercies in disguise." 

    You are one of GOD's "One Thousand Gifts" to me and my family and how I thank HIM for you and your love for us. Thank you for taking time to read this email...blog whatever you want to call it.  I pray the LORD will bless you and encourage you to write down your own "One Thousand Gifts."  May HE open our eyes more and more to see HIS loving favor in the hard places HE walks through with us and  may we thank HIM for HIS lovingkindness in all the places HE plans for us. 

                                                                                          With all HIS love,

                                                                                                 mitzi

      

"Running to Win"

   "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus:  not with uncertainty.  Thus i fight:  not as one who beats the air.  But i discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when i have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."  I Cor.9:24-27

   Dear Praying Friends and Family,

     Wow, it's really snowing outside as i write on a cold and blustery winter afternoon...

     It's been a great week for football here in the State of Alabama as you can imagine with Alabama winning the National Championship for the second time in three years!  We had a great time as a family Monday night as our whole family, including my Mother in law, gathered around our TV to watch the game, while many of our friends and some of our family,  my nephew Dallas and his wife Laurie, had the privilege of being there in New Orleans to watch it live. We had a mixture of Auburn and Alabama fans in our crowd as we watched on TV and we rooted the Tide on, almost united:).  GOD really blessed Alabama's hard work and preparation to win against LSU.  It was the first time LSU has not scored in a long, long time in a game, and the last time that happened it was against Alabama. Congratulations to the Tide on an AWESOME game Monday night!   It's fun to live in a state with such well coached football teams,  who prepare their teams so thoroughly week in and week out to play their best to win. We had four players from our local high school participating in the National Championship game...three on the Alabama team, and one on the LSU team. One of the young men, William Ming, attends our church, where he grew up, and his family is very faithful and well respected in our community.   We rejoice with them,  in William's second time to be on a National Championship team...that is amazing!   Whether it's Alabama or Auburn who won the National Championship last year,  it's humbling and amazing that GOD has shown HIS favor and allowed our state's teams to do so well.  I know they have worked very hard to "run in such a way to obtain the crown," and with GOD's favor and blessing they won the Championship and that beautiful crystal football.  I know the hardship that our state went through this past year, including Tuscaloosa that was hit so very hard by the tornadoes last April, made the victory that much more sweeter, and helps to keep the victory in perspective that it is a perishable crown...there is a crown that is for more important...the imperishable crown of winning souls for CHRIST JESUS.

    

   We have heard and read so much about Tim Tebow in recent weeks, and what an awesome victory the LORD blessed the Denver Bronco's with over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first play of overtime last Sunday night. Tim Tebow threw a pass and the receiver ran it all the way down the field for a touchdown!!!  Wow...we have a nation that is Tim Tebow crazy and many are realizing that something really supernatural is going on when they looked at Tim's total passing yards at 316 last week, and he averaged passing 31.6 yards per pass...many know that Tim unashamedly wore John 3:16 in the National Championship game when he played at Florida and over 90 million hits were made on the internet as people flocked to their computers to see what that verse said:

     "For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON that whosoever believes in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

     You can't read any news lately without Tim Tebow being in the midst of it...yesterday on Drudge it had an article saying Tebow was the most popular athlete in the U.S..  I read an article earlier this week about him being a "Mom, Phenom," cause Mom's like me are watching football in droves to cheer Tim Tebow and his team on and using him as a role model for our kids, and ourselves!   One of the best articles  http://www.focusonlinecommunities.com/blogs/Finding_Home/2012/01/11/tebow-makes-kids-w15hes-come-true i read this week was an interview taken after the big win on Sunday:

“Football is amazing. We love it. We're so passionate about it,” Tebow said in his postgame news conference Sunday. “But the real win, at least I would say today, is being able to comfort a girl who has gone through 73 surgeries before the game and get a chance to go hang out with her now.

“That's the biggest win of the day. They're both exciting, but that's what I'm even more proud of."

    Wow, talk about running to receive the prize...Tim Tebow reminds us what is most important in this life, and it's not the perishable crown, but the imperishable one where our lives are hidden in CHRIST JESUS, and HE lives HIS life through us everyday, wherever our platform is, to reach out to others with HIS love.  Tim Tebow's platform is football right now, but GOD has given you and me our own circumstances and platform to "run the race in such a way as to win the crown..." Hope you can take time to watch Tim's testimony here...he is "running to win." 

http://dl2.cbn.com/Stream_Flash8/vod/SB101v2_web_WS_HD720.mp4- 

     

         Speaking of "running to win,"    last week, when i wrote you, i told you i ask you to pray for wisdom and guidance concerning some upcoming decisions we had in our family...thank you so much for praying for us.  This week i can share what that prayer request was about since it's official now...my husband has decided to run for Circuit Court Clerk of Limestone County http://www.decaturdaily.com/stories/Retiring-circuit-clerk-expecting-exciting-race,89993?content_source=&category_id=&search_fil .     Charles Page who has been a long time friend of both sides of our family,  has been the Circuit Court Clerk for 4 terms  and has decided to retire when his term is up.   It wasn't but a couple of weeks ago that my husband first mentioned that he and his brother had been talking about the possibility of Johnny running for office.  I was surprised, (GOD is full of surprises:)... cause running for a political office was one of those "never's" Johnny said he wouldn't do, along with being a bivocational pastor, and running a restaurant of which he has done both:).  If there is one thing we have learned in our marriage it's never to say "I will never do so and so."  Seems like GOD just kind of delights in showing us different than what we have our minds set on:).  

    If any of you are like me and you are wondering what does the Circuit Court Clerk does, i can read to you out of our local  newspaper this week what the job description is:

    "As Circuit Court clerk, he serves as the business manager for the trial courts, handling millions of dollars annually.  He is the custodian of records and is the chief magistrate, absentee election manager and passport agent.  His duties also include jury orientation, management, excuses and payment for service."  

    Earlier this week as i was praying about the "race," that is set before us for the next 8 weeks at least, (the primary is March 13th), i started thinking about  how GOD had prepared him for this race, and hopefully to serve in this position. Johnny grew up literally "in jail," as he starts his testimony off, from the time he was 6 until he was 13.  It was a state law back then that the sheriff's family had to live in the jail.  He was constantly around law enforcement growing up, going out on calls with his Dad, and other deputies, and serving as a reserve State Trooper.  His Mom and Dad were great examples pouring out their lives serving those who were in need.  The most important qualification is the LORD reached down and saved my husband when he was 25 years old from his sins, and he gave Johnny a new heart, and a desire to serve the LORD in whatever way the LORD led him. When he was 27 or so he felt the LORD calling him to be a foreign missionary, and Johnny went back to school finished his degree in Business Administration and Personnel Psychology, while he continued working full time as a security guard for General Motors.  He was making real good money, but he said "yes," to the call of the LORD and after finishing his college degree in 1986,  he retired from GM after 10 years and continued on to seminary where he got his Master's of Divinity of Degree.  While pursuing that degree, he was an Associate Pastor at Beverly Hill's Baptist Church in Ft. Worth, and then later became pastor of Indian Grave Baptist Church in Billingsley, Alabama. 
        It was at Indian Grave Baptist that my health issues mushroomed when our children were barely two and a newborn.  As much as we hated to leave the pastorate, we felt the need to move home to be closer to our family to help with the children during my time of extreme distress. I will always appreciate my husband caring for me and putting my needs ahead of his desire to be a pastor.  After moving home, which we thought would be a temporary move, he joined the family restaurant business...one of those "nevers," i mentioned.  During that time, he was active as an elder, at Elkmont Baptist ,then after 6 years when we went to First Baptist, Athens, he was on the Business and Finance committee.  He helped to make wise decisions how to spend the large sums of money the people gave each week for the ministry of the Church.  A few years later he started a church, while continuing to work in the restaurant business doing the payroll and being general manager doing whatever needs to be done (another "never,"he said he'd never do).  He continued pastoring for about a year an a half until the LORD led us to join another New Life Baptist Church in Madison where we were  with other dear homeschool families during our children's junior high and high school years.  GOD nurtured us there on HIS WORD through pastor Andy's teaching and John Mac met his future wife.  As the LORD would have it, GOD led me and Johnny back to First Baptist after the kids graduated high school. During that time he and his brother established a bail bonding business, to go along with the restaurant business. Though Johnny is on call 24 hours a day, he never complains, and goes up to the jail all hours of the night and day to bond people out.  When he first went into that business i was surprised again (GOD is full of surprises)  but I wasn't surprised too because of his love for law enforcement and it gives him a chance to witness to folks whose hearts are usually softer  because they have gotten in trouble.       Johnny shares CHRIST where the LORD JESUS opens the door for him whether it be in the pulpit,  talking with someone at the restaurant about the LORD, or one of their work release workers, or someone he is bonding out of jail.  He uses the "platforms" GOD has given him to be a faithful witness for CHRIST. 

    Earlier this week, i read this verse from 2 Corinthians 2:14  the LORD used  to really encourage me in this latest "leg" of the race the LORD has set before us:

     "Now thanks be unto GOD, which always causeth us to triumph in CHRIST, and maketh manifest the savour of HIS knowledge by us in every place." 

     Joining a political race is something that I know Johnny and I both never thought we'd be in...but it's another "platform" that GOD has given us to "maketh manifest the savour of HIS knowledge by us in every place." I also like the translation:  
     "...WHO diffuses by us the fragrance of the knowledge of HIM in every place."


 As i thought about what people would think with Johnny running for office, i thought well, they will think he is making a mistake, being a preacher in the past and now getting into politics.  I worried about that, but when the LORD reminded me through our pastor's wife, that "the ministry" is anywhere the LORD puts us, it made me feel a lot better that she understood. These words from Charles Spurgeon from Morning and Evening, Jan 12 are also a great encouragement that GOD uses us where HE will to "diffuse the fragrance of the knowledge of HIM in every place" and shine  forth HIS light through us:

 A City Set Upon a Hill

"I have yet to speak on God's behalf."
--Job 36:2

We ought not to court publicity for our virtue, or notoriety for our zeal; but, at the same time, it is a sin to be always seeking to hide that which God has bestowed upon us for the good of others. A Christian is not to be a village in a valley, but "a city set upon a hill;" he is not to be a candle under a bushel, but a candle in a candlestick, giving light to all. Retirement may be lovely in its season, and to hide one's self is doubtless modest, but the hiding of Christ in us can never be justified, and the keeping back of truth which is precious to ourselves is a sin against others and an offence against God. If you are of a nervous temperament and of retiring disposition, take care that you do not too much indulge this trembling propensity, lest you should be useless to the church. Seek in the name of Him who was not ashamed of you to do some little violence to your feelings, and tell to others what Christ has told to you. If thou canst not speak with trumpet tongue, use the still small voice. If the pulpit must not be thy tribune, if the press may not carry on its wings thy words, yet say with Peter and John, "Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee."

By Sychar's well talk to the Samaritan woman, if thou canst not on the mountain preach a sermon; utter the praises of Jesus in the house, if not in the temple; in the field, if not upon the exchange; in the midst of thine own household, if thou canst not in the midst of the great family of man. From the hidden springs within let sweetly flowing rivulets of testimony flow forth, giving drink to every passer-by. Hide not thy talent; trade with it; and thou shalt bring in good interest to thy Lord and Master. To speak for God will be refreshing to ourselves, cheering to saints, useful to sinners, and honouring to the Saviour. Dumb children are an affliction to their parents. Lord, unloose all Thy children's tongue.

 The Bible has some encouraging words to my heart to help me trust GOD's paths for us when they come as a surprise:

•       Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, How then can man understand his way? Proverbs 20:24
•     "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." Proverbs 16:9
•     "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23

  And the wonderful verse from Proverbs 3:5-6 that is an anchor for so many of us:

            "Trust in the LORD with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all of your ways acknowledge HIM and He will direct your paths."

     Well, i'm holding on,   trusting  LORD knows what He's doing,  and excited about the next 8 weeks of this race.  I am having to trust the LORD for my strength, and i ask you to pray for my husband's strength, wisdom,  for GOD's favor in the heart of the voters and that we would manifest the savour of HIS knowledge in every place," most importantly.  I am looking forward to "running" together with my husband in this race.  If there is anything i have learned from my dear Mother in law's example...is her husband's success as Coroner, and then Sheriff for 16 years in our country was largely in part to her great campaigning...my Mother in law "NEVER," meets a stranger and makes you feel very warm and welcome the first time that you meet her.  She also was blessed was abounding energy when he was running, which i haven't been, but i am depending on the LORD grace and favor, and your prayers and help to us, in whatever way the LORD might lay it upon your hearts.  
    Monday night as we sat on our couch watching the National Championship game,  my Mother in law asked me if she could tell me a few things:  I said sure, and she said, "You know behind every good man is a good woman.  I told her i knew that she was behind Pop's being so successful to run for office." She told me to be patient with my husband during this time, and every day to watch the newspapers to see events that he and i could go to campaign.  She also told me to keep a notebook and pen beside the phone and write down all the calls and be careful remind Johnny of important calls...she knows i am subject to forget things:).  What a blessing to be "coached," by this "Champion" who has gone before me.  I am humbled that GOD chose me to be the daughter in law of this remarkable woman who had poured her life into helping her husband be successful in serving the people of our county.  Pop is no longer with us, having gone to be with JESUS last Oct. 6th, but i will never forget the awe of "Sheriff" Buddy Evans when i was growing up as a little girl, and the wonderful privilege that GOD chose me to be a part of this special family.  My Mother in law and my husband knows what it feels like to be on both sides of the fence...to win and to lose, as my Daddy in law lost two elections in his latter years.  Feeling rejection is not a pleasant experience and that is a "Giant," we have to face in this race.  We all have "Giants," in our races that the LORD sets before us, and have to trust HIM to help us to defeat.  The verse from 2 Corinthians 2:14  brought peace to my soul...we will triumph in CHRIST, no matter what the outcome of the election is, as long as we keep our focus to "manifest the savour of HIS knowledge by us in every place."  It's a win/win race...and as my husband prayed this morning we want to "run" in such a way that we will be witnesses for CHRIST to those around us.

     When i was thinking about what song to use this week, the LORD brought this song from Twila Paris to mind..."Runner." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgtMzBUFL84. I haven't thought of this song in a long time...it was one of the songs that was sung at the missions conference when we surrendered to the call to the mission field.  We didn't have any idea at that time of the "giants," we would face with my health issues, but GOD did.  He uses our health issues...and whatever weaknesses we have to pour out HIS grace and be strong in our weaknesses and HE strengthens us to "run to win."   May i be like Paul and say, "Therefore I will gladly boast in my infirmities, that the power of CHRIST may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for CHRIST's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong." II Cor. 12:10

    As this quote shares, it's not important that i have my health, I can "run to win," without it. What is important is that i have truly repented before CHRIST and experienced HIS love and salvation and share HIS great love with others:

The Absolute Necessity of Repentance

Posted by Erik on January 13, 2012 in Repentance

You live in a world of cheating, imposition, and deception. Let no man deceive you about the necessity of repentance. Oh, that professing Christians would see, and know, and feel, more than they do—the necessity, the absolute necessity, of true repentance towards God! There are many things which are not needful. Riches are not needful. Health is not needful. Fine clothes are not needful. Noble friends are not needful. The favor of the world is not needful. Gifts and learning are not needful. Millions have reached heaven without these things. Thousands are reaching heaven every year without them. But no one ever reached heaven without “repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”

~ J.C. Ryle

Old Paths, “Repentance”, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1999], 414.

   I love you, dear friends and family...and you are so very dear...thank you for spending this time with me, and i pray the LORD will use it to encourage you and inspire you in the place GOD has you "Running to Win," that imperishable crown.  Please remember in your prayers my nephew Dusty, an  Alabama alumni:), who will be voted on this Weds night at Willowbrook Baptist 

http://www.willowbrook.org/mediafiles/january-15-newsletter.pdf  to be their minister to preteens and middle school.  What a privilege to watch as GOD has had his hand on Dusty for so many years, as we have watched him grow and mature in the LORD and now GOD is calling him to minister in this position. GOD has been using Dusty all along, as a high school student he ministered to the younger kids, as a college student he discipled his fellow college students, as a recruiter for UAH he continued to disciple and minister, and now GOD has given him this platform to minister for HIM through Willowbrook Baptist Church. Dusty is "running to win," and is a great example of a godly, disciplined young man who has his focus on what is truly important-knowing CHRIST and making HIM known to others.    Praise the LORD...and what a great job GOD has done through my brother Joe (another Alabama alumni) and his sweet wife, Marilyn to raise up this godly young man.  We are so thankful for all that GOD is doing in the lives of our nieces and nephews.  We enjoyed gathering last Friday night at a Mexican restaurant to meet our nephew Drew's girlfriend as they were on their way back from Indiana to LSU where my nephew is in graduate school.  In addition to meeting Drew's sweet gal, we congratulated my niece Melissa on her recent marriage, while others congratulated my son on his engagement to his fiance.  With two Alabama graduates in the gathering and my nephew attending LSU, we all had a wonderful time of fellowship-now that is triumphing in CHRIST!!!  

                                                                                        With all HIS love,

                                                                                             mitzi

     

    

--

"We're on a pilgrim road.  It's rough and steep, and it winds uphill to the very end.  We can lift up our eyes and see the unseen:  a Celestial City, a light, a welcome, and an ineffable face.  And that makes a difference in how we go about aging." Elisabeth Elliot, www.elisabethelliot.org

"These all...confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland." Hebrews 11:13,14

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnNG3pJoExs

"Where Joy and Sorrow Meet"