Mississippi

Just wanted to add some pics I took of Mississippi. Mom and I went to Philadelphia, Mississippi to see her friend Ann a few weeks ago. We had a good time. Just wanted to share these pics. Ann has a piano and I took some pics of Mom playing.

The bridge is crossing the Mississippi at Vicksburg. The drive to Mississippi was much like driving through East Texas on the way to Lufkin. Not a bad drive. Enjoy the pics! There are no mountains :( in Mississippi and that's what I like to take pics of but the countryside was pretty. Momma "shucked corn", too, so to speak and that's the corn pics. The lady in the pic with mom is her friend, Ann Hardy. Enjoy!










njoy!

More on Friends

Good morning!

What a beautiful day it is outside. Also, I am so excited about the children's prayer revival tonight! I have seen all of the preparation and am so grateful at what is being poured into our children. Last evening Bro. Jamey preached an awesome message. I told him after church that I am so comforted to know he is standing in the gap for my daughter and son. Whew!

So standing in the gap? That's what friends do, huh? Yesterday I had a chance to observe a group of people in my workplace and I was totally shocked at their behavior. A group of people who can go out to lunch and have a great time and then two hours later completely try to destroy each other. What's that about? Many times we confuse friendship and being friendly. Being friendly is nice but shallow. But, friendship, my friend, is life changing. I ran across some quotes on friendship....

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.-- Walter Winchel.

One who looks for a friend without faults will have none. -- Hasidic Saying.

Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil.-- Baltasar Gracian (1647).

The only way to have a friend is to be one.-- Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Your friend is the man who knows all about you, and still likes you.-- Elbert Hubbard.

A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked. -- Bernard Meltzer.

Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief.--Swedish proverb.

A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words.--unknown.

You can hardly make a friend in a year, but you can easily offend one in an hour. -- Chinese Proverb.

When you are friendly with someone, you can easily walk away and leave them during times of stress or times when you don't particularly want to be around them. But when you have a deep friendship with someone, you will as the first saying goes, "Walk in when the rest of the world walks out." I have a special friend like that my friend Sis. Tamara Mahaney. That would describe her to a "T". She is there through the tears of sorrow and there through the laughter that brings tears it is so good. My desire is for our ladies to have a deep friendship and unity of spirit so that when the world walks out on us, we walk in for each other.

You, my friend, are special to me and I hope you have a wonderful day. Take some time out today and tell one of the ladies in the church how you value them. Walk out of your comfort zone and tell it someone whom you normally don't talk with often.

Love you all!

Sis. D.

Saving money eating at home

Anyone ever heard of Once a month cooking? It's when you make several meals at once for the whole month.I've never tried this before but I think it's a great idea.
We have just recently started buying food in bulk to save money on groceries(I haven't had time for coupons lately)I have to freeze a lot of food before it goes to waste.And now I'm thinking of making meals to freeze.One of my family's favorite meals is lasagna and they can't get enough of it.Next time I make it I'll make 2 or 3 batches to freeze for times when we need a quick meal.(Just remember to thaw before you put it in the oven!)
Now on the weekends and Sunday afternoons after church we come home to eat instead of eating out.It is way more convenient to go out to eat on a busy days like Sundays but this has helped us to save money for other things.
I've used crock pot meals to help me and those are great to save time when you're in a hurry.Just throw together a salad and some rolls and you've got a great healthy meal for your family.I'm sure all of you know all this already but I'm just letting you know what helps me out right now.
If you'd like to start freezing meals I've included a recipe below.

Sticky chicken
4 tsp. salt
2 tsp.paprika
1 tsp.cayenne pepper
1 tsp.onion powder
1 tsp.thyme
1 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp.garlic powder
1 tsp.black pepper
1 large roasting chicken
1 cup onion,chopped
In a small bowl,combine all spices together.remove giblets from chicken,rinse cavity well and pat dry with paper towels.
Rub spices into chicken,both inside and outside making sure it is evenly distributed and deep down into the skin.Place in a zipper food storage bag or freeze.
or if you're ready to roast,then stuff cavity with onions,place in a shallow baking pan and roast uncovered at 325* for 5 hrs.
After the first hour,baste chicken every 30 minutes with pan juices.The pan juices will start to caramelize on the bottom of the pan and the chicken will turn a golden brown.
Always let your chicken rest 10-15 minutes before carving.
Enjoy! Hope y'all have a great Wednesday!

May I Be of Service, Please?

Today, I'm looking back to about this time one year ago. A year ago, I took the Ladies department to try to fulfill a long desire I have had for a while. I went into it running. I wanted to serve in this capacity. I planned to have a ladies retreat, dinner, Valentine Queen, Lady of the year, and many more activities. About November, I hit construction in my life. I had to take a detour.

As some of you know, I became very sick. I have never been this ill before in my life. There were days I felt I would never be well again. I couldn't come to church like I always have. I tried to put on a good front and act like I wasn't sick but my family and friends knew just how ill I was.

I always love to sing in the choir. I sang in the ladies group and I loved it! As some of you know, I have played the piano for about 30 years, too. Well, this was all taken from me. I did not have the strength to do any of these things. I had to give up driving the Sunday School van (which I dearly loved)and for the first time in my whole entire Christian life I found myself sitting on the pew doing absolutely nothing. For the last nine months I have not been able to do anything. My, you don't miss it until you can't do it! But, guess what? This Sunday, after nine months I was able to sing! Awesome!

Ladies, I believe I am back! I feel strong and able to serve. I love to serve God's people. I am writing this blog to ask for forgiveness for letting you all down. I don't know why we go through times of trouble but it sure feels good to come through it!

The doctor says that there is no cure for what I have. However, the God that I serve both day and night is well able to keep and heal me. I am looking forward to serving the greatest ladies that I know. I love you all very much. If you ever need me, just call me.

Sis. Dotty

Building Children

It was so beautiful so see the young couple in church yesterday dedicating their two beautiful children to God. When Pastor was dedicating them, he said two things that profoundly caught my attention. He said that he knew this couple was serious about God because one of the first things they wanted to give to God after coming into church was their children. Secondly, he talked about a child makes their decision as to what type of dedication they are going to have to God by about the age of 11. I have found this to be so true. Yes, young people can come into church but truly we see those who are dedicating themselves to ministry begin those principles in their life at an early age. How many times have we heard a missionary or pastor say that God began to move on them on their childhood.

I thought back to people in my life and those who went on to do incredible things of God in most cases are those who were seeking God in their childhood years. This really causes me to look at what I'm establishing in my children and the expectations that I have of them. My parents expected that I would be in church and would be involved in every aspect of the church. It was never a choice until we reached adulthood (not even sure they would have accepted it then...ha). Many of you know that I work in education and have worked at all levels, teaching, adminstration, etc, for many years. Not once in that time have I ever had a parent tell me..."We leave it to our children if they want to attend school or not. We leave it up to our children if they want to be involved in class. We leave it up to our children if they want to do their homework. We leave it up to our children if they want to learn math in third grade. We leave it up to our children if they want to listen to the teacher." No, you get the idea. But, I have had several parents of kids 8-11 tell me, "I don't want to force the things of God on my child because I want them to make their own choices." C'mon now. That's not the responsibility God gave us. My main purpose in life is to pour everything into and mold three little Duvall children in my household so they will have the necessary tools to be powerful ministers. I don't want them trying to find out who God is at age 17. This is not the blog I had intended to write this week but feel impressed to pull the cover off the line the world tries to give us. We aren't here to be spectators in the spiritual development of our children but we are here to keep them on the path and give them a nudge when they are headed wrongly. Think of Hannah...she expected Samuel to serve. The Bible says in Joshua 24:15 (NIV), “But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua made a choice to serve the Lord. But notice what he said, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” First of all, he made that choice for himself, and as a result, he made a choice that affected his household. When we make a decision to follow Jesus, it affects all those who are in our household. Joshua said, “We will serve the Lord.” He made a quality decision that effected his eternal destination, and that of the members of his household.

This is not a new principle but are you making decisions with your children that have an underlying determination that they will serve the Lord or are you not making decisions for them because you have bought into the psychobabble of this world that says, "Let them find their own way."

Love all of you so much! Don't forget the Children's Prayer Revival. :)

Sis. D.

Happy Friday

Happy Friday, everyone! Hope this day is a good one. I’m having a little bit of writer’s block this week so I don’t know how good this blog will be.

I was going to continue with the history of how we got the bible and give you some more information on it but I just don’t feel that this week.

How do you get through a frustrating time in your life? As you all know, I’m looking for a job and have been since January. I didn’t think I would be in this place again in my life but here I am. So, I’ll ask the question again…How do you get through a frustrating time in your life?

I have always loved the story of King David. I have lots of favorite people in the bible and King David is one of them. In I Samuel 30, the bible says he “Encouraged himself in the Lord.” He had just gone through a rough time when the Amalekites had invaded Ziklag and burned it with fire. His wives, sons and daughters had all been taken captive. Now, I’ve never gone through anything like that and I’ve never experienced that kind of frustration but I can relate to the fact that David had to encourage himself. There was no one around him to encourage him. Not that my life is like that. I have a lot of people in my life, including all my sisters in the church, which encourage me. I believe that when David encouraged himself that day, though, he was remembering all the times when he was young, out in the desert tending his father’s sheep, that he communed with God and he knew that God was with him.

I believe that one way David encouraged himself was through music. That’s kind of the way I am. I love gospel music because it speaks to the soul and it lets people know that there is hope and that hope is Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that the Word of God does not do that but we all know that people don’t always listen to words. Whereas, a song and a melody can stick with you, if you know what I mean.
I admire people who write beautiful songs (I wish I had that gift) and one in particular comes to mind is “For Every Mountain” by Kurt Carr. I know most, if not all, have heard this song but the words are:

I've got so much to thank God for
So many blessings and so many open doors
A brand new mercy
Along with each new day
That's why I praise You
For this I give you praise

Chorus
For waking me up this morning
That's why I praise You
For starting me on my way
That's why I praise You
For letting me see the sunlight of a brand new day
A brand new mercy along with each new day
That's why I praise You
For this I give You praise

For every mountain You brought me over
For every trial you've seen me through
For every blessing
Hallelujah for this I give you praise

I don’t know the story behind this song but from the lyrics I would say that Kurt Carr went through some very discouraging times. This song is an inspiration to me because it reminds me that no matter what mountain I have to climb I know that He is there to see me through.

So, I’m encouraging myself in the Lord because, “I’ve got so much to thank God for…”….

This is probably the shortest blog I’ve ever written so enjoy. Can’t promise that next week will be short…You just never know what I might come up with….!
Until next time, love you guys,
Kimmie

Edification

It's Thursday.....

I get so excited about Thursdays during the summer because I have Friday off. So, it's Thursday but really Friday of the workweek! Yeah!

Thank you ladies for the most wonderful birthday ever. I absolutely love my purse. For those of you who know me well, you know that purses and perfume are my favorite things in life. My new purse is so beautiful and will be a treasure for many, many years. I can just imagine the experiences that it will go through with me. Times of refreshing, conferences, great services, weddings, just overall the path of life. And....the special thing about it is we will walk that journey together. Ever stop to think what it will be like in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years at Grand Prairie UPC? What kiddo in children's church do you think will be directing the choir in 15 years? Who do you think will be driving the bus? Who will be the church secretary? In 10 years, which of our young men will be seeking opportunities to preach in order to develop their ministry? Think any of our kiddos will head to the mission field? How will our ministries develop in the next 15 years? See today is not just for today's sake but just another stone in the foundation of the church in Grand Prairie that we are laying for our community. What we do matters in the kingdom.

One of our callings is to edify each other. What's edification? Edification means to build each other up so that He may become greater within us. Acts 9:31 NKJV says "Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied." This is my desire...that we have peace and unity and are able to put our selves aside in our to build each other up. Notice that when the Acts church did this, they had the comfort of the Holy Ghost and multiplied. We are in revival and that's because we are in a time of unity and daily seeking God's presence in our life.

In Ephesians 4:29 NKJV it says "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Wow! I love this scripture. Our words should be for edification so that hearer can receive grace. Do your words with each other bring grace or do they bring anger or condemnation? Communication is so casual with so many venues such as twitter, texting, email, cell phones, etc. However, all communication has an effect. Can we measure our words to see what result they are having?

I remember when Ellerie was really small. I was very, very frustrated with a young lady that was really just throwing her life away. I was talking to my husband and in my southern way said, "Oh, I'm so upset with her. I could just kill her for what she's done." Ellerie started crying and in her little 3-year old voice said, "Mommy, don't kill her. I like a lot of things about her." Wow! What a lesson to me as a mom in so many ways. We are called to find the good things in each other and build those up so that grace may abound and the undesirable things can be placed under the control of the Master.

One of the things that I have enjoyed doing through the years with Sunday School classes, youth groups, ladies, etc is called positive bombing. In positive bombing, someone sits in a chair with their back to the group. Everyone else in the group then begins to say things or "bomb" them with all of the things they like about the person in the chair. Truly, it is easier to say nice things about some people than others. But I remember a time when there was a very difficult young man in the chair and kids were saying things like "I love his socks", "He is always faithful to church", "He brings good snacks", and so forth. I could see this kid's face and with every comment, the smile was stronger and he sat up a little straighter. Our words do mean a lot. So...don't know how this will work but I thought we might do positive bombing in the comment section of this post. As you see one of our ladies post a comment, begin to bomb them with words you would like to say about them. Comment posted, we respond with positive "bombs".

Love you all so much,
Sis. D.