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You've found a great place to come and vent, share or ask for prayer support. This is a great group who will be very encouraging, caring and loving....anyone is welcome to join!

A Servent's Prayer

Jesus, My Jesus....How marveleous your ways....
Far more splendid than my mind can envision.
What an honor to be chosen by you.
A lowly child I am, but empowered by the Holy Spirit to fulfill the great hope to which you have called me.
I give myself totally to you, Lord.
Take my imperfect heart and make it perfect.
Peel away the hardness.
Close the doors I have opened to the temptations of this world.
Gently remove the roots of painful memories, sins, doubts and fears.
Discard anything that separates me from you.
Lord, fill the emptiness with the light of your love that I might be a beacon calling the lost back to you.

To love as you love.....
To serve as you serve.....
To forgive as you forgive.....
Always mindful of my nothingness while doing great and marvelous things in your name and for your glory.
This I pray, Jesus, in YOUR name.
Amen

HI GALS ~

I am finished with the morning paper and waiting to send the dogs in on Angie. She likes to sleep in until 6am but then gets up running! We will take the dogs out for their walk about 6:20. It is a semi cool windy morning here right now, rain expected sometime tomorrow.

We had a very mild Halloween. Sat out in the driveway at the front of the garage and visited with neighbors. Had about 50 kids I guess...all polite this year! I guess the rowdy ones were already at parties.

Talked to my nephew on Thursday night. It was his 18th birthday so he got to call us. He has acne so the NAVY has told him not to shave....well he was getting his boot camp pictures taken, he didn't want a beard in the pictures so he shaved it off....got in a little trouble for that one He seems to be doing OK, his graduation is Nov. 14th....

I worked yesterday but still got my miles in before trick or treat, made goal of 75 for the month. Holding this morning at 173, want to drop a couple before Thanksgiving. The quick dinner of hot dogs and chips didn't help out yesterday ....we get those good DODGER dogs or Nathan's at about 250 a piece and I had 2 plus extra chips.....dang! The 5 Budweiser's I had hanging out with the neighbors didn't help anything in the "take off weight" department either

Should have an easy week-end here. Have the family monthly get together for October tomorrow at a pizza place my niece picked out, we had to move it up because too many would have to miss last week. That will not help my calorie count either....this could be a tougher week-end than I thought especially since we are probably going out for Mexican food tonight...oh my I better do some extra miles today!

My son and daughter and son in law are going to the USC game today, they tried to get me to tag along since my daughter in law couldn't go.....seems the Charger cheerleaders have a camp they need to do today for little Charger girls. I opted out...too hard for me with it being a late afternoon game. I like watching it on TV....let the kids all go get rowdy and fight the crowds!

Well gals Gotta go get the mutts out of their crates and send them in on Angie Have a great week-end

Thought some of you may enjoy the weekly e-mail from our church this week for .

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said,
“If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

John 8:31-36



The Reformation

Grace Alone - Faith Alone - Scripture Alone





As we celebrated the reformation this past weekend, we pictured a humble monk - Martin Luther, posting a paper on the front door of the sanctuary, questioning the practices, and beliefs of the church. He realized that the traditions the church was holding on to were wrong, they had strayed from the word of God; Grace, Faith, and Scripture alone.



They had become slaves to sin - not recognizing the power, strength, glory, and majesty of the Son. They failed to look at Christ on the cross and receive the gift of salvation He freely gives. Instead they looked to their works and efforts, doing things like buying and selling “indulgences” to pay the price for their sin.



Martin Luther understood that the church was at a crossroad.



He asked: Do we co operate with God some how for our salvation?
Do we say God has done His part - now I must do mine?
Do my works of righteousness in any way save me, or influence my salvation?



"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" was the answer:



Sola Gratis: we are saved through Grace alone, it is a free gift of God given to us in and through Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.



Sola Fides: by Faith in Christ alone, not by good works, are we saved



Sola Scriptura: our only source of authority in spiritual matters is Scripture alone.



Today, we still fight those “demons”. We too, can easily forget about the Word and promises of God as we go about the business of living our daily lives. We, as humans, easily fall to the notion that we are ultimately responsible for our salvation, that we must do our part, as Jesus did His.



A slave can no more set himself free from slavery as a sinner can set himself free from sin. A slave needs his master to set him free, just as we need God to set us free from sin. We simply cannot do it ourselves



Jesus tells us in our text: “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin...If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."


As we celebrate the reformation - when God called His people back to the pure message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we have the joyous opportunity to stay diligent in our prayers, focus on Word and Sacrament, and remember:



Christ, and what He did for us upon the cross.





We know that we are saved by the person and work of Jesus Christ, the perfect Son of God.



We know that we can not on our own live a perfect life.



We know that Our Lord and Savior has paid the price / penalty for our sins. He became sin, our sin, so that we may have Forgiveness and Salvation.



We know that we are no longer slaves to sin, rather we are free because God loves us unconditionally, and makes us His own in Christ.



By faith in Him sin is replaced by His Righteousness, and the obedience of faith. Only in Jesus, do the faithful know the Lord.



We as sinners can not free ourselves.



What does this mean?
Martin Luther's explanation

I believe that Jesus Christ is truly God, born of the Father in eternity and also truly man, born of the Virgin Mary. He is my Lord! He redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, bought and won me from all sins, death and the authority of the Devil. It did not cost Him gold or silver, but His holy, precious blood, His innocent body -- His death! Because of this, I am His very own, will live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him righteously, innocently and blessedly forever, just as He is risen from death, lives and reigns forever.

As freed children of God, we have the certainty of:
salvation, a life of grace, strength through the Holy Spirit, and the opportunity to live and share that wonderful message here and now.



This is most certainly true!



AMEN

This is the day the Lord hath made;let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Amen to that Bargoo and continued prayers for your healing.

Good Morning everybody! Just wanted to drop in and say hello, dont have a lot to share. I prayed everyone here would be filled with Gods love during this month! We are about to get into some very busy months and I pray the light of God would shine in all of us during this time. God Bless you all

Hi all - glad to see bargoo back I hope you are doing well and that God is surrounding you with healing love and light!

Spent most of the day working on PowerPoint for the "All Saints" services tomorrow. We do quite a bit to honor/remember those that have passed on during the last year. We had 16 folk this year - which means that I had a lot of extra slides to prepare - pictures to scan, backgrounds to create, paragraphs to type - but - of course - it is SOOO worth the time it takes.

I think too often our older members - particularly those with health issues that can't attend regularly - don't receive enough of our love and care and prayers. This Sunday is a good reminder to all of us to honor those folk while they are still with us.

I hope you all have a blessed Sunday!

Hi everyone! It feels like forever since I was last here. I've been really busy at work as well as fighting a bug of some sort. My energy has been totally drained and I have a sore throat and plugged ears. I do feel much better today though for which I've been very thankful. Needless to say I've not been doing much of anything after work. Hopefully this week I can get back into a routine again.

I've missed reading the posts and will try to get caught up with them.

Good Lord's Day evening to all!
Thanks for starting a new thread, Gary.

Hi to Wilma(great to hear from you!!!!!!), Countingdown, Ray , Bargoo and Gary. Hope each of you had a great day....

Long weekend for me- our trip to Pa went well, but tiring.
I had a tooth extracted this am......still made it to church, numb mouth and all!

Probably had better go get some sleep. Have a great week!
Anyone have any special prayer requests?
Ginny

Gee, Never thought I would be the first one here today. Hope everyone is ok!!!

So far, today is going well. I did get my walk in this am- and got to my meeting (down 1.8#). I feel SO much better with that tooth gone- it must have been problematic and infected for a while, and I have a high threshold for pain, so would not know what was going on until it was a major issue.

Hope everyone is ok.......blessings to each of you as we begin a new week!
Ginny

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is well!! We had Luis Pulau at our church yesterday ( I am not sure if anyone knows who he is, but he is great!) So it was an awesome day at church! OHH the worship was awesome! It was one of those days where everything just worked together, the worship was awesome the service was awesome! It reminds me why I love to go to church so much! Today I have been busy, I cleaned out my closet took a few bags to good will, cleaned my car out even went through a car wash! Even if it is raining. My car was getting to the point I didnt even want to get into it!(a little ocd) it's back to looking good again! Not to much activity around here this weekend, guess everybodys been busy. Tis the season! Anybody started Christmas shopping yet? Not me, not yet! Be Blessed!!!!!

Hi all! Busy day here too!

Sunshine - LOL, I just commented on another thread that I haven't started my Christmas shopping yet - and usually I am done by now
I'm having a hard time coming up with gift ideas - seems to get worse every year.

Ginny - glad the tooth is no longer bothering you! It is funny what we learn to put up with in the pain department sometimes. Glad your trip was fun!

Wilma - glad to see you posting - we missed you! I hope you are feeling better soon!

Today was great - all the teachers had professional development, so my phone and email were quiet. I got caught up on several projects. I really feel like it was a productive day. I stayed a couple hours late, just to finish up a couple things - what a blessing the day was!

Prayers continuing for all!

Blessings!

Hi all, hope you don't mind if I join in.

I think it's a little funny how God works....I had a really hard day eating wise yesterday, and last night I sat down with a book of quotes and scripture. One in particular stuck out....

"Visualize in your mind, even for a few moments, what success would look like to you. See yourself somewhere in that vision as content and happy. You can achieve whatever you want as long as you have FAITH and believe that you deserve what God intended for you. Visualize what it is that you want, then work toward it; take one step each day. Half the battle is won if you just keep that vision firmly planted in your life. THE REST IS IN THE HANDS OF GOD." (Sherrie L. Householder)

I read this and thought, that is right. I have battled my weight my whole life, struggled with eating disorders...why haven't I given it over to God? So today I woke up with a new attitude, and decided to check out the faith based support on here. Low and behold, I actually know Ginny from way back on another thread. Go figure.

Anyway...I hope you all don't mind if I start posting here. I feel that I need to start taking this journey one day at a time, and pray for God's help instead of trying to do it on my own. I've lost about 50 lbs through Weight Watchers, but have really struggled with that since the spring. I've maintained until last month, when my weight went up about 5 lbs. I've gotten more comfortable around food at work (I am a pastry chef) and have just gotten lazy. I don't really want to follow Weight Watchers anymore...I don't want to count calories...I just want to eat lighter and in moderation and not have to THINK about how many points or calories I'm adding up.

Ginny-How have you been doing? I graduated last May, and am working in Middletown now. You should stop in sometime...the regular chef there is a WWer, and has put out a lot of healthier options. Just watch out for my desserts!

Hope everyone has a great day!

Hi everyone!
I just joined this forum yesterday and am excited to see a Christian group.
The Lord is great and greatly to be praised! He has done so many things for me.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

God Bless You

mpaigew & ruth - We LOVE new folk around here

I hope you will come back and visit us often!

mpaigew - I loved your post! You are of course right on with how we can be successful. I used a devotional guide "Faithfully Fit" during my journey. It was an excellent reminder that I needed to give up my control and my will when food was involved! God CAN lift us up over every temptation and obstacle!

Another good day here I'm really feeling like fall is in the air. I made chili over the weekend, and I bought fall veggies for a roasted veggie bake for tomorrow night. Warm comfort foods really seem to be calling my name!

Even though I left the house a half our early so that I could vote before work, I still got my pilates workout in this morning

Prayers continuing for all! Hope you had a wonderful Tuesday!