In The Spotlight

Elsie Aubrey

Born on January 15, 1954 in Dallas, Texas to Fred and Viola Mullis, Elsie is part of a big loving family. Fred and Viola Mullis had 9 girls and 2 boys, out of which, 8 survived. Elsie grew up with her 5 sisters and 2 brothers in West Dallas or Big “D”, as Elsie likes to put it. Her sisters were Freda, Sarah, Barbara, Diana, and Pamela. Her brothers were Johnny and Herbert.

Childhood Memories

One early childhood memory is when she was 5 years old. She had a crush on her older sister’s boyfriend. Her sister was 15 at the time. The boy’s name was George and he would let her follow them around. She remembered that this was her first love. She never forgot his kindness to her.

Another fond memory also took place when she was 5 years old. She watched someone make fig preserves. She told her mother about it. Her mother put Elsie up on the kitchen counter and she told her how to make them. Of course, at 5 years of age, she had no idea how to make it but her observation skills helped her out and her mother made fig preserves.

Dating and Marriage

While attending Bro. Wheatley’s church in Dallas (church is no longer there), she was introduced to a nice young man named Kenneth Aubrey. She was introduced to him through Letres and Jim Cherry. Elsie was 13 at the time. They dated for about 9 months and then got married. She was 14 when they were married. Elsie says there were 3 main events in her life. She was born, potty trained and then she got married! Her and Ken will celebrate 41 years of marriage next month. They were married on June 8, 1968 and have 4 kids. (Carol, Christy, Kenny, Josh). And she has 5 grandkids (Brandon, Christopher, Kayla, Dustin and Landon).


Grand Prairie

Elsie and Ken moved to Grand Prairie in 1969 and have lived here since. They started attending Bro. and Sis. Lee’s church around that time and have remained faithful through the years.




In 1975, Elsie started teaching the 4 and 5 year olds in Sunday school. She taught for 23 years, until 1998. She says she loved every minute of it and has many fond memories of those times. One in particular instance is with a little boy named Ricky. In class one morning a bus kid came in. This little boy had ½ bologna sandwich and was very unkempt. The lesson that day was on friends. Observing the little bus kid, Ricky went over to him, hugged him and said, “He’s my friend.” This brought tears to Elsie’s eyes and she never forgot that moment. It taught her a lesson that even though the bus kid was messy and she knew he didn’t have much he still needed to hear the Gospel and needed friends. That really touched her heart. Isn’t it true that “A little child shall lead them”.

Not only were there serious moments during those times but there were also some funny moments. If there is one thing I know about Elsie…she loves to laugh! She remembers one time when some grandkids of one of the ladies in the church (Betty Smith) were in her class. They had just got caps put on their teeth. Of course, they thought that was cool so they were showing them to Elsie. Elsie was telling them oh, that’s cool and how do I get some of those. Well, the kids told her how to get them. They said, “Well, just don’t brush your teeth”! Kids are hilarious and will say the funniest things!




I asked Elsie if teaching was rewarding. Her reply was that her time of teaching was the most rewarding time of her life. She loved it!

Even though her days of teaching are over, she always will remember those times with happiness that she was able to shape and mold children and point them to God.

She is also thankful that God has been good to Grand Prairie church. We have been blessed with great pastors. Grand Prairie Church has a good heritage. We’re blessed that the Lee’s founded the church and we were blessed with Bro. and Sis. Martinez’ loving spirit. Nobody could love you any more than Bro. Martinez! Elsie considers the Martinez’ boys to be part of her family. Those boys were and are a big part of her life!

She also wanted to say that she loves Pastor and Sis. Duvall! She is so thankful that God placed them at our church. We are blessed to have such a great Pastor and family to carry Grand Prairie into the future. God is good!

Well, I think I’ve just about covered everything about Sis. Elsie. I love this lady! She is so sweet and I love her ability to make me laugh. You can’t be down when you’re with her! I hope you’ve learned something new about her.

God bless you and see you next week!

Love ya,
Kimmie

I am good at...

dropping the ball..... so for all of you who tried to come read "in the kitchen Wednesday" yesterday, I am sorry (Sorry Sis D!). My mind has been a bit overwhelmed with getting money up for camp that the blog slipped my mind. No excuse by any means....but I am still sorry!

I have had the idea of this blog subject all week, it has been moving about in my head like a pinball machine, trying to come up with a funny, cleaver, and witty way to explain it, but when it comes down to it, I will have to get straight to the point...

Money.
It is hard to come by for a lot of people right now.
Food.
It is hard to buy healthy nutritious food for your family if you don't have money.
Help.
Where do you turn for help getting food on the table?

I can't find you a job, I can't come up with food to make your dinner.... but it has been impressed into me that I need to share with you, a way to get food.

Angel Food Ministries.

It is a church based operation started in the early 90's, a pastor and his wife felt the need of her neighbors and church family....they needed help putting dinner on the table. From their back porch they supplied food for 34 families, and now they are still supplying food, but on a larger scale. Angel food ministries supplies food for 34 states, and reaching over 500,000 families a month.

Each month AFM offers a menu, and with that menu is enough food to feed a family of 4 for at least a week. And the cost is $30. The average cost of each box of food, if purchased at a grocery store is estimated at $64. Here is what going to be offered for June.


1.5 lb. Ribeye Steaks (4 x 6 oz.)
2 lb. Homestyle Lasagna Dinner Entrée
2 lb. Beef and Bean Burritos (8 x 4 oz.)
2 lb. Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breast Chunks
28 oz. Jumbo Beef Pattie Entrée with Gravy
1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
1 lb. All Meat Hotdog
10 oz. Individually Wrapped Sliced Cheese (16 slice)
20 oz. Shoestring Fries
1 lb. Broccoli Cuts
12 oz. Peanut Butter
1 lb. Rice
1 lb. Pinto Beans
1 lb. Margarine Tub(Zero Grams Trans Fat)
32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
Dozen Eggs
Dessert

This isn't food that is about to expire, or a bunch of cheap off brand reprocessed food. It is healthy fresh food that is distributed from top national ranking food distributors.

There are also specialty boxes you can purchase....

Senior boxes are $28 and come with prepackaged easy to prepare healthy foods, and this box will last one senior for almost one month.

Allergen Free Box
Seafood Box
Grill Meat Box
Fresh Fruit and Veggies Box

A few of the specialty boxes can only be ordered if a standard meal box is ordered.

But guess what.....there are no applications to fill out to do this. You will just have to find the local host to this and arrange for pick up of your food. There is no limit to how many boxes you buy, so if you are struggling, and know someone who is struggling also, purchase one for you, and bless someone else.

And for those of us who are using EBT/Food Stamps, they also accept food stamps as payment to the food boxes. What a blessing!

I haven't done this program justice in this blog.
You need to go explore their website
www.angelfoodministries.com

Resources for Prayer on Thursday!

I have been thinking about resources lately. Resources that can help in our prayer lives and so from time to time I get on world network of prayer a link from the UPCI website and there is usually an article or two or three or four that really ministers to me. So I wanted to share with you bits and pieces of those today. The first one is titled Hindrances to Prayer by Lisa Marshall and so I have included her list of what hinders prayer.

1. Not Fellowshipping with God
To fellowship means to partner or spend time with. Why would God answer prayers of someone who never speaks to Him? An example is a friend vs. a total stranger asking you to borrow $100. If a close friend asked, you would probably give it to them – but if a stranger asked, you would be less likely to do so. What if I pledged my loyalty and love to you and then we left church and I refused to speak to you all week. We went back to church on Wednesday and I did the same thing, yet when we left, nothing but silence all week. You tried to talk to me and I ignored you. You wanted to spend time with me but I refused your request. After a few times of this, how much confidence would you have in my words? We say, “God, I will do anything you ask.” He’d better ask on a Sunday or Wednesday or many will never hear the question.
2. Not Asking According to God’s Will
God won’t answer a prayer that’s against His will – even if you have faith. For example: “God would you let lightening strike that person who cut me off in traffic!.”
3. Not having God’s Word in You
John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you.” Reading the Bible is important. You may even get the answer you need from God – after all, it is His Word.
4. Doubt & Unbelief
James 1:5-8 says to ask God in faith without doubting for your request to be fulfilled.
5. Not praying in Jesus’ Name
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name.” Colossians 3:7
6. Not Asking or Asking with Wrong Motives
If you don’t ask, your prayers won’t be answered for sure. Don’t pray selfishly. God wants more than your grocery list. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss.” (amiss defined as wrongly) James 4:3

7. Giving Up
Luke 18:1 says to “pray and faint not”. We must be persistent even if it looks impossible. Don’t give up; the next prayer may bring the answer.

8. Unforgiveness
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your father will forgive yours.” Matthew 6:14

9. Unconfessed Sin
Psalm 66:18 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” You may hide sin from others, but you can’t hide it from God.
a. Now that this is out of the way, try the key again.



Another article and resource I thought was really good is titled Creating a Vocabulary of Praise and in this article the writer gives us 31 scriptures with an attribute of God to be praised and he uses them as “Praise Starters” and says this has just been wonderfully helpful. So what he does is uses one scripture a day for a month and starts from at the top of the list the next month. I believe I will be giving this one a try. Here is the list of scriptures and it was taken from Pray Magazine.
1. God the Creator. “Creator God, I praise You because ’you made the heavens, even the highest heavens, and all their starry host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven worship you’” (Neh. 9:6).

2. The Only God. “God, I praise You because You are ’the LORD, and there is no other; apart from [You] there is no God’” (Is. 45:5).

3. The Almighty God. “’O LORD God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O LORD, and your faithfulness surrounds you’” (Ps. 89:8).

4. The Everlasting Father, the Ancient of Days. “I praise You, Lord, as the ’Ancient of Days’ (Dan. 7:9), the ’Everlasting Father’ (Is. 9:6), who lives forever and ever.”

5. A Loving God. “I praise You because You are a loving God, whose very nature is love”
(1 Jn. 4:16). 6. A God of Justice. “Lord, I praise You and magnify You, who is ’just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus’”
(Ro. 3:26).

7. A Faithful God. “Heavenly Father, I give You my praise and adoration, because You are a ’faithful God, keeping [Your] covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love [You] and keep [Your] commands’” (Dt. 7:9).

8. A Merciful God. “’You are a gracious and merciful God’ (Neh. 9:31), and I praise You for Your great mercy.”

9. God, My Refuge, My Fortress. “I praise You, Lord, for You are ’my mighty rock, my refuge’” (Ps. 62:7).

10. A Patient, Persevering God. “Father, I praise You because You are ’patient with [Your children], not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’
(2 Pet. 3:9). Thank You for Your patience with me.”

11. Eternal, Saving God. “I give praise to You, Father, ’the only God our Savior.’ To You ’be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore’” (Jude 25).

12. The Holy One. “Holy, holy, holy [are You] Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come”
(Rev. 4:8).

13. A Personal God. “I praise You, God, because You are a personal God, who gives me the honor of knowing You personally, even inviting me to feast at Your kingdom’s table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Mt. 8:11).

14. A Giving God. “All praise and honor be Yours, O God, because You are a generous God, who did not even stop short of giving Your own Son” (Jn. 3:16).

15. A Provider God. “I praise You today, Lord, as my Jehovah-Jireh (the Lord Will Provide), who makes all grace abound in me and generously provides all I need”
(2 Cor. 9:8).

16. God, My Shepherd. “I bless Your name and praise You as my Jehovah-Rohi (The Lord My Shepherd), who will shepherd me and guide me in the paths of righteousness for Your name’s sake” (Ps. 23:1-3).

17. God, My Victory. “Praise to You, my God, because You are my Jehovah-Nissi (The Lord My Banner), God, my victory, ’who always leads [me] in triumphal procession in Christ’” (2 Cor. 2:14).

18. God, My Peace. “I praise You with all my heart, Lord, because You are my Jehovah-Shalom (The Lord Our Peace), ’the God of peace [who] will soon crush Satan under [my] feet’” (Ro. 16:20).

19. The God Who Heals. “Father, I praise You because You are the Lord who heals me” (Ex. 15:26).

20. The God of All Comfort. “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor. 1:3).

21. The God of Miracles. “Lord, I praise You because ’you are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples’” (Ps. 77:14).

22. A Forgiving God. “I want to bless You with praise, Father, because ’you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love’” (Neh. 9:17).

23. The Burden Bearer. “Praise be to the Lord, to God [my] Savior, who daily bears [my] burdens” (Ps. 68:19).

24. A Faithful God. “I praise You because ’your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies’ (Ps. 36:5), and ’great is your faithfulness’” (Lam. 3:23).
25. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. “All honor and praise be to You, my God, ’the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light’” (1 Tim. 6:15).
26. God the Liberator. “I will praise You because ’you are my help and my deliverer; O LORD’” (Ps. 70:5).
27. The Lifter of My Head. “Father God, I praise You because ’you are a shield around me, O LORD; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head’ when I am weary or despised” (Ps. 3:3).
28. God of Light. “I praise You, Lord, because You are ’my light and my salvation’ (Ps. 27:1), and because You know ’what lies in darkness, and light dwells with [You]’” (Dan. 2:22).
29. God of Joy. “I give You praise, O Lord, because ’you have granted [me] eternal blessings and made [me] glad with the joy of your presence’” (Ps. 21:6).
30. The God Who Answers Prayer. “I praise and honor You, Father, because You are a God who loves to answer prayer and who begins to answer even before I pray”
(Is. 65:24).
31. The God of All the Earth. “I praise and adore You, Lord, as ’the Holy One of Israel . . . [my] Redeemer . . . the God of all the earth’” (Is. 54:5).
Oh, that all just makes me so excited. I don’t know about you but when I read about all the good things my God is and does and will do. I get an untamable excitement deep down in my heart. It makes me what to just go have a time of praise. So this is what I have for you on Thursday. Until next week and I hope you just go have a Praise Session with Jesus after reading these scriptures. Another thought I am so glad we praise God because he is worthy and not we ourselves because my list would be very short of my worthiness and definitely would not provide untamable excitement down in someone’s heart but YES it is God and God alone who is worthy. Until next week!

Sis. Kim

Family of God

Hello, All,

Last week God impressed a blog to write upon my heart and I wrote it but today I feel impressed to go in a different direction.

I want to stop and say, "I love my church family." Ever have one of those days when you just feel so grateful for the love and support of our fellowship?

Recently, I have had several hard knocks and the breath knocked out of me. Know what I mean? Does life every come at you that hard? I had probably five of those knocks on Sunday and Monday. But....I absolutely felt no anxiety, instead, I just felt so at peace with my church family. I went to bed on Sunday night bruised and battered but woke up Monday morning with a heart of purpose and joy. The fellowship of the brethren will cause this to happen. We are each other's strength.

Sunday night was such a sweet, refreshing time of consecreation. Over and over I looked around the sanctuary and became so grateful for the lives I saw. So many hard times represented but yet so many hands praising God. I heard the message on SIN..and saw some of the young people who have only been there less than two months be the first to stand in support. I saw the elderly saint of God raising his hands and face to a God who has carried him many miles. I saw the young child who was alone overwhelmed by the sweet presence of a God that cares. I saw families binding together in consecration. I saw men praying for each other. I saw ladies reaching out a caring hand. I saw the church celebrate lives consecrated and serving in youth ministry for so many years and heard the plan for those lives to be used in even greater ways. I saw the laughter and heard the conversations of a church enjoying each other in fellowship. I saw the church come together and work as a team putting together a celebration. Last Wednesday night was much the same...the laughter and conversation was long gone from the auditorium but there was one lone teenager still in the altar drinking in His presence.

We have a great church family that has been through tumultuous times but is still standing. When I think of where we are going, I become so very excited. Are you ready, my friends?

I love each of you so much and wanted to take an opportunity to say that when life knocks me down, you are the first group of people I run to and what a delight to be part of the family. I can't wait for us to meet at the river and join hands and cross over into the promised land shouting, "We made it, we made it." Yours is the hand that I want to grasp.

With lots of love,
Sis. D.

Decorating With What You Already Have

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