December 29, 2008

"For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Little did Jeremiah know thousands of years ago that when he penned that verse, he would bring so much comfort to a burned out minister in the 20^{th century. God gave my wife and me that verse when we left our church in 1991 with no job and no promise of one. But was he ever faithful. He met our needs and gave us a spiritual family to love and support us. Many times I have asked God what is going on in our world and my life and many times he has declined to answer. If he gave us a "divine blueprint" that explained everything he has done, is doing and will do, there would be no need for faith. Instead he reminds us to trust him and he will show us later. As we approach the new year, we do not know what it holds. But if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ, we know who holds the future. And, he is faithful.}

^{Thought for the week: The lack of emotional security of our American young people is due, I believe, to their isolation from the larger family unit. No two people - no mere father and mother - as I have often said, are enough to provide emotional security for a child. He needs to feel himself one in a world of kinfolk, persons of variety in age and temperament, and yet allied to himself by an indissoluble bond which he cannot break if he could, for nature has welded him into it before he was born.}

^{~Pearl S. Buck}

^{Funny for the week: An older, tired-looking dog wandered into my yard; I could tell from his collar and well-fed belly, he had a home and was taken care of.}

^{He calmly came over to me, I gave him a few pats on his head; he then followed me into my house, slowly walked down the hall, curled up in the corner of the sofa and fell asleep.}

^{An hour later, he went to the door, and I let him out.}

^{The next day he was back, greeted me in my yard, walked inside and resumed his spot on the sofa and again slept for about an hour. This continued off and on for several weeks.}

^{Curious I pinned a note to his collar: 'I would like to find out who the owner of this wonderful sweet dog is and ask if you are aware that almost every afternoon your dog comes to my house for a nap.'}

^{The next day he arrived for his nap, with a different note pinned to his collar: 'He lives in a home with 6 children, 2 under the age of 3 - he's trying to catch up on his sleep. Can I come with him tomorrow?'}

^{Some dogs have it made..................... Chaplain Barnes}

^{Last week’s answer: Approximately how many miles did Jesus walk from Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee to Jerusalem – 8, 23, 45, 66 or 80? 80 miles}

^{This week’s question: What was the name of the first recorded female Christian believer in Athens?}