I No Longer Have To Prove Myself

By: Patricia Fennell I hope you enjoy this testimony of how Christ can RADICALLY change someones LIFE!
"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." -- Galatians 2:20



This past week I had opportunity to go to one of my favorite places to have coffee in the morning - Panera's in the local RiverTown Crossings Mall in Wyoming, Michigan. Having once had a job that I went to every morning for the past five years, I always went to Panera's to have my morning coffee and time to just read. That, and I came to know many folks that visit the place as regularly as I did, and I miss them.

While sitting there in my favorite spot, a lady came up to me and said, "I don't know if you remember me but you use to work for Arby's and I came in all the time." My face lit up. I knew who this lady was and we briefly played catch-up. Then as she and her now grown daughter began to leave, I thanked her for taking the time to stop and say "Hi" to me.
There was a time (especially while growing up) I strongly desired not to be forgotten. It was so important that when I left my life here on earth, I especially did not want to be forgotten ... even if I never made any major contribution to society or had lived some fantastic life according to the world's standard of achieving "success" or "fame." Growing up -- never fully being "loved and accepted" -- feeling more like I was more of a hindrance than a blessing to my parents ... it was hard for me to know what my value really was.

Over the years I involved myself in things that gave me a certain amount of value and then identified myself (value) through my marriage, my children, etc. Then people would remember who I was, I felt.
I accepted Jesus Christ into my heart at age thirteen, yet didn't really knowing Him, and who I am in Him. I was always searching for ways in which I would not be forgotten by those who I loved, whether I was at church, work, home, friends or family outings and the like.

In just this past year the truth and reality of who I am in Christ, that it is not "I" who lives, but Christ who lives in me, has become such a revelation to me. "He kept me as the apple of His eye." (Deu. 32:10). I no longer have to prove myself -- He loves me no matter what! I am accepted in the Beloved. More and more as I grow closer in my relationship with my heavenly Father, I want Him to be remembered - represented - not me. Giving up my rights to myself for His rights to live in me, and live His life through me.

I was out grocery shopping yesterday with my oldest daughter, Sarah, and we ran into a gentleman at the check-out stand (again someone I once knew) who I hadn't seen in several years, and I said "Hi" and we chatted. As we left, Sarah said, "I can't go anywhere with you where you don't run into someone who knows you or visa verse!"
I shared with my daughter that no longer matters anymore about who does or does not know me ... but it's all about knowing Christ who lives in me. Placing and keeping my focus on Him gives me great peace because I no longer have to be concerned about me, myself and I. I may be taking baby steps at this point in my life, but I am pressing forward, and that is a miracle in itself!

Christ will be remembered long after I am gone. He is still alive today. Oh is He ever! When I go to be with Him in my eternal home, I can only hope and pray that I left more of Him behind in this earthly world ... than me.
"Christ in me, the hope of glory" -- Colossians 1:27

I am His,

Patricia

The inauguration!

What a day! The inauguration was off the chain Rick Warren done a great job! The speech by Obama was one of the best I've ever heard. I'm starting to like the changes taking place throughout our land. I believe Jesus is fixing to rock this nation and really turn our eyes to him as a Country. The one thing I take time to do everyday is pray for our nations leaders. I challenge you to do this everyday. We must stand together through these challenging times and love one another. To every worker out there we must continue to work hard and better days are ahead! To everyone without work just put your faith and trust in almighty God he will pull you through! To all the racist, criticizing, negative people out there I pray that you would awake and realize that you reap what you sow! You know I wonder one thing...What if God was to turn everyone Orange? Would we then look at each other by race and judge by the very color of someones skin. I pray today for unity to sweep this land and that God would lift us up once again. I will end this post with a quote that rocked my world. "Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

I HAVE A DREAM!

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.
Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.
In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."
But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.
But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.
We cannot walk alone.
And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.
We cannot turn back.
There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only." We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."¹
I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.
Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.
And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."2
This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.
With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.
And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:
My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.
Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,
From every mountainside, let freedom ring!
And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.
And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.
Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.
But not only that:
Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.
Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.
From every mountainside, let freedom ring.
And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:
Free at last! Free at last!
Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

A Changed Life!

Written by Lorraine Ginquitti This is one of the best stories ever written. I had to share it with my viewers! ENJOY!
On September 11, 2001 I said my first prayer. My son was a police officer with the New York Police Department. As I sat watching the Twin Towers burn, at first I thought that he was fine since he worked a desk job at One Police Plaza. But what if he went over to help?
“Please God,” I said, “if you’re listening… don’t let them go in there. You can take my car, my house, take anything you want, but don’t let them go in that building. He doesn’t even have a baby yet, God!”
Finally, I was able to reach his wife, Geraldine, who told me that a bunch of people from One Police Plaza went over to help. I hung up and turned back to the TV just in time to see the first tower fall. I thought the worst, of course.
Parents: Can you forgive them?Fathers: The holes they leave
It wasn’t until about 8:30 that evening that I heard from the police department that he was on his way home.
But that almost wasn’t the case.
My son was heading into the World Trade Center when his lieutenant said, “We need more equipment before we go in there.” They turned away from the others and went back to their van. They were spared! And nine months later he and his wife had a beautiful baby girl. Our miracle child!
I got my miracle, now what?
I believed there was a God and he answered my prayer on September 11, but what to do? The most logical thing was to go to church, so off I went. But people there seemed to be just going through the motions, like they felt they had to be there. I went less and less.
One day, I received the news that my estranged husband had died. He had written me once in a while from Arizona and let me know that he was “saved” (whatever that meant) and that he was praying for me and the kids. My inheritance was a Bible full of Arizona sand. I thought I may as well read it and give church another try. Still, not much changed. Something was missing and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
Then one day I was watching a history show on TV. It was about the history of execution and towards the end, the narrator said, “Now for the most famous execution of all…” I had no idea what that could be. Well, I found out it was Jesus of Nazareth. Watching this segment, I was overcome by an awful feeling of guilt. The other stories didn’t bother me, why his? Listening to the account of Jesus’ death, I found myself asking, Why did he have to do that?”
Suddenly, I realized for the first time that Jesus was God! No wonder people talked about him. I knew from that day on things were going to be different.. I owed him big time. But what now…? Where do I go?
Watching the Passion
A few weeks later the Passion of the Christ movie came out and I went five times! I was fascinated by it and what Jesus had done. I needed some more info, so I hit the internet and just happened to come across this wonderful web site, Thelife.com. I checked out different articles and finally saw a button that said, “Discuss Jesus” That was my first introduction to a chat room.
Here were the people that I had been looking for, people excited about their relationship with God and not afraid to answer my questions. After about four months they were talking about how we could know for sure that we were going to go to heaven when we died. I asked, “How?” Right there in chat they explained that it was simply by inviting Jesus into my life… so I did it right there and then.
Rosie, one of the people in the chat room who was like a mentor to me, just happened to have a friend that was the pastor of a church that she thought, would have just what I needed. And it was.
I’m learning to forgive others and myself. I’m learning to be thankful and I’m learning what true happiness is. Best of all, I’m getting to know and love the Person who heard and answered my first prayer on that fiery September 11 five years ago.
A lot has changed since 9/11. Not the least of all me.
Take a look at your life. How would you describe it? Contented? Rushed? Exciting? Stressful? Moving forward? Holding back? For many of us it’s all of the above at times. There are things we dream of doing one day, there are things we wish we could forget. In the Bible, it says that Jesus came to make all things new. What would your life look like if you could start over with a clean slate?
Living with hope
If you are looking for peace, there is a way to balance your life. No one can be perfect, or have a perfect life. But every one of us has the opportunity to experience perfect grace through a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
You can receive Christ right now by faith through prayer. Praying is simply talking to God. God knows your heart and is not so concerned with your words as He is with the attitude of your heart. Here’s a suggested prayer:
Lord Jesus, I want to know you personally. Thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life to you and ask you to come in as my Savior and Lord. Take control of my life. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Make me the kind of person you want me to be.
Does this prayer express the desire of your heart? You can pray it right now, and Jesus Christ will come into your life, just as He promised.
Is this the life for you?If you invited Christ into your life, thank God often that He is in your life, that He will never leave you and that you have eternal life. As you learn more about your relationship with God, and how much He loves you, you’ll experience life to the fullest.

A Poem by Tim!

This poem will rock you if you read it with an open mind, if your close minded go ahead and click on the X button ENJOY!..........Broken No LongerA physician prepared his instructionAnatomy it would beWith hands on experienceAnd detail for all to see.
He began by building a modelProportioned in every partWith arms and legs and fingersAnd bone and nose and heart.
He made his model bigTwice that of a regular manHe wished his students to seeThe body's consummate plan.
But then he took a sawAnd cut it all apartHundreds of funny piecesAnd that was just the start.
He purchased a thousand magnetsTo hold the pieces in placeHe glued and glued and pastedHere and there as the case.
When each part had a magnetWhere each magnet ought to beHe surveyed all his workAnd thought all would agree.
This was a great inventionNone like it was ever seenHundreds of funny piecesNice and neat and clean.
After all, it was quite easyTo tear a body apartBut to put it back togetherNow where would each one start.
He imagined in himselfSome would take the heartAnd begin to the build the bodyBut would miss some vital part.
Others may take a toeAnd find it wondrous funTo build the body upwardsReaching to the sun.
He thought about the insightHe would gain into each oneAs he observed where they startedAnd what was left when done.
The first day of class beganHe brought out first the boxAnd dumped the pieces on the floorOne thought it was an ox.
But as they began to workSomething appeared quite wrongThe magnets were all backwardsTheir repelling strength was strong.
One student picked up the toeAnother took the footBut try as they mightYou never saw such a sightThe toe and the foot wouldn't stick.
Another tried the headBut could not get the earTo stick to the placeWhere the ear has its baseHe stuck it to the teeth.
The heart stuck fast to the brainBut repelled like crazy the vein.And the tongue to the eyeSaid "hi."
By now all the students were workingGiving effort to the causeThey retrieved from somewhere tapeAnd bandages and gauze.
But even these did not help themThe hand rejected the armAnd though bandaged tightly togetherThere was no connecting charm.
The experiment made quite a storyA lesson never forgotTo hold a body togetherTakes more than tape and cloth.
There must be some connectivityA relationship we must seeEach attached to anotherAnd connected properly.
The church is like that bodyWith many scattered partsEach with a functionNot everyone's the heart.
But if there is repulsion, Envy, discord, strife;We cannot fit together, So much for body life!

Desperate lyrics!

These are the lyrics from Lecrae's new song desperate! Have you ever felt this way?Lecrae Rebel Lyrics
Desperate ft. Cam
© Reach Records
Verse 1:(Lecrae)Woke up this morning too depressed and shamed to leave my bedCan't stand to see my own reflection so I hang my headfeel like a disappointment like the scum of the earthI'm so hurt I know you see I can't cover my dirtmy souls dying hearts weak and I cant even cryI'm sposed to run to you but WHY I'm such an evil guyThe sun's shining but for me it's the darkest of daysTry to pretend it never happened but the guilt remainsI leave the house it feels like everybody knows I did itFeel like they reading my mind and know the sin I committedThrough your blood I'm acquitted but my heart doesn't get itOh God I'm desperate for Help cause I'm grieving your SpiritI couldn't sing in the sunday service, Lord I felt fakeand when they started communion I just made an escapeI'm in need of your grace/ feels like you hid your faceLord Lead me back to cross and show me my sins erased
Hook:(Cam)I'm so desperate; I can't believe I've sinned against youCreate in me a clean heart (I'm so sorry)Your mercy is what I need
Verse 2:(Lecrae)I'm waste deep in my pity/ Is Satan tryna trick me and tell me you wont forgive mecause it's startin to get me/ Jesus help me quickly I hate the wrong I've done/ I know we all fall but I feel like the only one/ Feels like I should be shunned/ should I punish myself/ I know it's dumb cause by your death all my sin has been dealt/ But my sin is been felt/ I didn't want to do it/ but what I want to do I don't/ I swear I'm goin through it/ I'm tryna open up my bible need to read your pages/need you Lord but my guilt has got me feeling so faithless/ Help me see where grace is/ take me back to the basics/ help me find my joy in you and not people and places/ my sin is ever before me I turned my back on you/ Oh father break and restore me to bring me back to you/my sin is ever before me I turned my back on you/ God break and restore me to bring me back to you
Hook:
Verse 3:(Lecrae)have mercy on me God according to your steady lovewipe away my transgressions and wash me in your bloodCreate in me a clean heart renew a right spiritDon't hide your face from me God/ your Presence keep me near itI'm waiting patience on you Lord i know you hear my cryRestore your Joy in me/ for you alone I live and die/It's you I Glorify cause you don't want my sacrifice/ you want me broken and contrite trusting in the Christ/ I confess to you my sin and you show me mercy/ I turn away from it demonstrating that you are worthy/ over lust, over pride, over all sin/ is my affection for Jesus who died for all them/ I was lost now I'm found I was toss to the ground/ My sin weighed on me heavy but I am no longer bound/ As sure as Christ wear the crown/ I know that grace will abound/ And even when I feel lost I know in You I am found/

No Rush!

This is a posts I posted about 3 months ago. I wanted to post it again because I feel we all rush so much myself included! Good lunchtime to everyone. I encourage you to slow down today and just tell God Thank You. We have so much to be thankful for and sometimes or should i say all the time we rush through our day without a smile on our face and peace in our souls! Stop and listen, Listen to your spouse and your children today. But most of all listen to God, he is everywhere. He is in the wind, the rain, you see his beauty through the flowers and the sunsets. You will be amazed at what you will learn and what impact you will have on others as you go through your day not rushing! So smile and have a Blessed day! Love Jason