Nan's Calendar

by Nan Forehand, Statesville, NC
Dec. 9, 2011

Note: Sorry this one is late. I had trouble with the computer the day I posted this one and attempted to send it to you and it took me until this evening to resend it. Take care! Love ya! Nan

I always want to give you something meaningful each time I write to you. You are important and you deserve the best I can give you. I write because it is how God directs me. More than anything, God deserves my best every day. That being said, I want to share with you something priceless. It's value can not be measured, in my estimation. It is the wisdom of God given to us through the writings of Don Miguel Ruiz. The book I'm about to share with you is not new. It was written in 1997. It is called The Four Agreements. I recently learned of this book and by the grace of God, I found it in the Goodwill store a few weeks ago. It took me a while to get around to reading it and now I am almost finished reading it. I can print the agreements here, but I want you to get your hands on the book and read it cover to cover. It ranks on my list with Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life...... way up there! If you're searching for a special gift for someone this Christmas, yourself included, I highly recommend The Four Agreements. When you learn to apply the wisdom contained in this book, you will find your life has dramatically changed for the better.
1) Be impeccable with your word
2) Don't take anything personally
3) Don't make assumptions
4) Always do your best
There is so much more I could say about this book and the wisdom contained therein, but I want to whet your appetite to get the book and discover this timeless wisdom for yourselves. Don't hesitate.
I have to get up from here right now and get ready for work! Before posting this message, I received a call from my daughter and it was an awesome conversation. Well, I could go on and on! I have to get ready and get out of here in 30 minutes, so I'll leave you with a smile and a twinkle in my eye! Take care and have an absolutely incredible day!!!
Love ya! Nan

Good Things

by Everett Christian, McAlester, OK
GOOD THINGS Monday, December 12, 2011 GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH HIS HOLY WORD 11 Rejoice in the LORD and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart! - Psalm 32:11(New International Version). GOD'S PROMISE TO US FROM HIS HOLY WORD 3 He (the Lord) will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. - Psalm 121:3-4(New International Version). A QUOTE A single candle can light a thousand more without diminishing itself. - Hillel The Elder - THOUGHTS TO REMEMBER What's the use of having an enemy if you can have a friend? - From Reminisce Magazine - By the time somebody decides to make a long story short, it's already too late. - From Reminisce Magazine - NOTES Today has been a cloudy day with light sprinkles of rain now and them. High temperature today was 46 degrees and the low was 42 degrees. Charley and I attended a funeral today for Shirley Raye McNutt. We have known her for many years. We have known her husband, Leon McNutt, since we started to elementry school in the little country school of Bohannon. Shirley was 75 years of age. She leaves behind her husband, Leon, and their daughter, Sherry McNutt, and many relatives and friends. Charley and I had lunch at Taco Bob's with our friend, Bill. Bobbi was our waitress today. I took my nap with Beau, Emmy and Smokey with Rascal on a shelf in my bedroom. At about 3:30 p.m. I went to Walmart and the Petsense store. I filled my van with gasoline at Walmart at $2.92 per gallon. I watched "Trains and Locomotives" starting at 5:20 p.m. The trains they showed today were the more modern trains in the beautiful California country. Since last time I have had e-mails from Alice, Geneva, Janice and my granddaughter, Carissa. Carissa lives in Yukon, Oklahoma. The cats are fine. Little Girl is lying on the floor in front of the heater. She has been snoring again. Rascal is sleeping in a rocking chair in the living room. The others have all been around this evening. Have a nice Tuesday. I will see you next time. In Christian Love, Everett.

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Dec. 13, 2011

Daily Ornament!
A Week of Joy: Tuesday, Day Seventeen of Advent

“God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our king, sing praises.” – Psalm 47:5-6

Gospel Reading: Matthew 24:32-44
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” – Matthew 24:44

“Not knowing when Jesus will return should not produce fear in us. Not knowing keeps us from unnecessary worry. What is important is that Jesus said He would return, and He teaches us that His words will never pass away (Vs. 35). We can trust Jesus that what He says will happen.” (Illuminate, pg. 51)
The Bible tells a story about two “comings” of Jesus Christ—two advents, one finished, one yet to come. Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of both. As Christians everywhere are preparing to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, let us not forget that the First Advent made it possible for us to celebrate the Second Advent, the return of Christ in glory and splendor.
The First Advent consisted of the events of Jesus’ birth—his “arrival” on earth. It was not a very well-attended event—a few shepherds, Mary and Joseph, and the infant Jesus. The place of his birth was a shelter where animals were kept and fed. Luke wrote, “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger” (2:7).
The First Advent was an introduction. It was a modest, humble beginning. The Second Advent will be a coronation. The presence of angels marked the First Advent as God-ordained. But everything about his Second Advent will mark the event as God-ordained. It will not be a modest event—it will be massive. It will not be to a group of shepherds in a field near a small town in Palestine; it will be gigantic and will be witnessed world-wide. It will celebrate Christ’s triumphant return to earth in judgment and glory.
Jesus himself described his return. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory” (Matthew 25:31).
In his first coming, Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes, a helpless infant placed in a hay trough. In his second coming he will be clothed in garments fit for royalty. In his first coming, he was surrounded by cattle and common people. In his second coming he will be accompanied by the armies and angels of heaven. In his first coming, his arrival was announced by angels to a handful of shepherds. In his second coming his arrival will be announced by heaven’s trumpets blasting and an angelic host singing, filling the world with the sounds of his coming. “For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt. 24:27). In the Revelation, the apostle said, “Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see him” (1:7).
In his first coming, his voice was the tiny cry of a baby. In his second coming, his voice will thunder so loudly that it will be heard at once by people everywhere around the entire world. In his first coming, he was known as the son of Nazareth’s carpenter. In his second coming he will be called the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. Of him, the apostle John wrote, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8).
Jesus is coming again! We can be sure of that—REJOICE!!
Pastor J. T. Carnell

Details

Exodus 25:31-33 "And you shall make a lamp stand of pure gold. The lamp stand shall be of hammered work, its shafts, its branches, its bowls, its ornamental knobs and flowers shall be of one piece. Three bowls shall be made like almond blossoms on one branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower, and three bowls made like almond blossoms on the other branch, with an ornamental knob and a flower - and so for the six branches that come out of the lamp stand."

Exodus 28:31,33-34"You shall make the robe of ephod all of blue. And upon its hem you shall make pomegranates of blue, purple and scarlet, all around its hem, and bells of gold between them all around: a golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem all around."

The God of the Bible is interested in details. How can knowing this help when facing the diagnosis of cancer? Does having cancer fit into God's plan? Recently I had read God's instructions for making the lamp tand and ephod. God called for almond blossoms and not apple, six branches and not four, three bowls and not five. When speaking of the robe, He was just as precise. This robe was to be worn by the high priest entering His temple. In the above passages and throughout the books of Exodus and Leviticus, God revealed Himself as a being who is not haphazard. Why did He want alternating pomegranates and bells? Why so particular? Why such detailed instructions? All  of the natural world is ordered and precise. My world, even when it's been turned upside down is still ordered. Even these details are under His sovereign control. Nothing escapes His loving, watchful eye.

Help us to remember that You are a God of details. You have established Your throne in the heavens, and Your sovereignty rules over all. Thank you!

Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
Dec. 12, 2011

Daily Ornament!
A Week of Joy: Monday, Day Fifteen of Advent

“We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days long ago. With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our fathers; You crushed the peoples and made our fathers flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory. It was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, for you loved them.” – Psalm 44:1-3
Gospel Reading: Matthew 24:15-31

I like what the author from Illuminate has to say regarding the theme for this week, that being “Joy for the Light.”
Christian joy is greater than the joy the world offers. The world offers us joy in “sleek-designed” gadgets wrapped in shiny paper. The world’s joy lasts only for a time. Christian joy flows from the moments of life. Money from an unknown donor, survival from a severe illness or accident, and an encouraging word in a time of despair—all are examples of God’s presence in life’s impossible moments. Add all those stories to the countless stories from the time of Genesis to today, and you have reason for great joy. So let’s throw all of our efforts into joyfully preparing for the celebration of our Savior, who has come and will come again.” (pg. 48)
Yesterday, we lit the third candle of the Advent, which for this year is the “Shepherd’s Candle,” representing the joy they experienced, as well as the “wonder” for what they had just witnessed—in more ways than one. Here is a better way to explain it:
The sound of the blast-off was slightly delayed because of the distance from the actual tower. It was December 7, 1972, and it was the first night-time launch of a manned space craft. Jack Needleman was one of the reporters covering the historic launch. He reported that at lift-off the space craft “seemed to have become a star as it carried three men bound for glory.” Needleman concluded, “Men’s eyes were filled with light, their mouths wide open, and their faces lit by the inner glow of sheer wonder.”
If that was the reaction of reporters that had witnessed dozens of earth-shaking events in their lifetimes, think what it must have been like for the shepherds who were quietly tending their sheep when an Angel and a chorus of angels suddenly appeared to them to announce the Savior’s birth. The shepherds had never seen anything like it in their lifetimes.
In a word, what the shepherds experienced was wonder. Lloyd Stilley described wonder this way: “A sense of wonder comes when our expectations are exceeded. Wonder is being astonished at the fantastic, jolted by splendor. It is the byproduct of being in the presence of something that takes your breath away.”
We live in a “been-there, done-that” culture. Hollywood has turned the spectacular into normal. Do you remember the “Wizard of Oz” motion picture? Can you recall the feeling you had when the “yellow-brick road” splashed on the screen in brilliant color? The 1939 edition of “Oz” was produced in black-and-white, and Color. Technology was not anything like today’s technology. But the contrast between the familiar black-and-white and color in that movie was stunning, making it unforgettable to all who saw it.
The lives of the shepherds were changed in an instant. It took a few minutes for them to realize that the residents of Bethlehem hadn’t seen what they saw. Otherwise, people would be running from house to house to ask, “Did you hear the angels singing? What is going on here?” After the angels disappeared, the night returned to being silent again. “Can we go and find the baby?” a shepherd boy asked his father. “Please, Papa, can we go and see this thing that has happened?” Hastily, the shepherds agreed on who would go and who would stay to watch the flock. Luke tells us that they hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph, and the baby asleep in a manger.
The song the angels sang is the third of four songs we celebrate at Advent. Mary’s Song and Zechariah’s Song preceded the appearance of the angel and the angel chorus. The first two songs came to people chosen by God—persons with a lineage. The Song of the angels came to nobodies. Shepherds were even restricted from attending the synagogue, because by nature their work made them ritually unclean. They were society’s outcasts. But God placed them squarely in the midst of history that night near Bethlehem. In Chicken Soup for the Soul, author Dan Millman tells the story of Sachi. When she was four, her baby brother was born. Sachi asked her parents if she could be left alone with her new brother for a few minutes. Like most parents, her mom and dad were reluctant to do this. They were fearful that an accident might occur if they were not close by. Eventually, her parents relented and told her she could be alone with him in the bedroom. But the parents were not far away. They shut the door to the bedroom, but left the door ajar—just so they could observe from a distance and see if everything was safe for both children. They saw Sachi walk quietly to the baby’s bed, put her face close to his, and say, “Baby, tell me what God feels like. I’m starting to forget.” (p. 283) Christmas is a time when we can draw close to God and feel his Presence near us and worship and praise Him. It is a time for us to wonder and be amazed. It is a time to allow the Spirit of Christ to whisper hope and peace and joy to our troubled hearts. Christ has come. It’s time to sing again. Merry Christmas!
Pastor J. T. Carnell