Stir up love and good works

Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.

1 Peter 4:7-8 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins."

Came across these verses and thought of our small group. Thank you Group!!! for your Prayers and Love.

Continued Prayers for Cooper

Cooper is going to Scottish Rite Hospital tomorrow for a ct scan to see how his head is healing. Please continue to pray for Cooper and his family. Cooper is still in a lot of discomfort, Kim and Wes are exhausted and Avery is hanging in there. Hopefully they will have more answers after tomorrows tests.

I hope y'all have a great rest of the week and an early Happy Father's day to all you awesome dads!

Megan

When God places someone on our heart to pray for or nudges you to reach out to, he is confiding in you and whispering "here is where I am at work". He has just let you in on his plans! You know something that no one else knows. Isn't that cool?! (taken from a facebook friend)


Carolyn

Another Update

Here is the latest info that I've received.

The clot is outside of the brain but putting pressure on it. Doctors said that the clot hasn’t gotten any bigger. They said it could still get bigger so they are going to watch him overnight and do another scan in the morning. If nothing changes they will probably do the surgery then. They are wanting to wait as long as possible in hopes that the clot will start to dissolve and they won’t have to do the surgery.

Cooper takes longer to recover from most things so we're praying that is the case here as well. Continue to pray that the clot goes away on it’s own.

Megan

Update on Cooper

I talked with Kim's sister, Tiffany, and this is what she told me. Cooper was taken to Egelston around 4am. The clot in his brain is about 2 cm and it hasn't changed size. Cooper is in and out of consciousness, but when he's awake he is responsive. The doctors will be doing another scan around noon and if the clot hasn't changed they will do surgery. Continue to pray that the clot dissolves on it's own.

Megan

Prayers for Cooper

Please pray right now for Wes and Kim's little boy Cooper. He is at Egleston Hospital with a blood clot on his brain. They are waiting to hear from the doctors on whether or not he needs to have brain surgery. I will update y'all as soon as we know more.

Megan

Sunday June 6th- Be There!

Good morning small group. It seems like forever since we were all together. I do not know about yall but I am looking forward to get back in the groove. There seems to be a missing ingredient here this last couple of weeks and the only thing I can attribute it too is the lack of small group and that accountability. I hope everyone can be there on Sunday at 5pm. We will finish our book, talk about the trip to Stone Mountain, and you guessed it play a little "spin-the-bottle" for the memory verses. We have Galatians 5:16 and Colossians 3:13, know them, love them.

Have a great rest of the week,
Joshua

Memorial Day Weekend

Enjoy your families this weekend and remember those who have served and are serving this wonderful country in which we live. God Bless America.

No small group Sunday. You still better know your bible verses.

THOUGHT PROVOKING

I was lessening to a CD called Purpose Driven Life all week and this question had me thinking.

Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; but He whom God raised up saw no corruption.

Thought= It is our time. Neither the past generations nor the future generations can serve!

Ecclesiastes 9:11 But time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatever your hands finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:4 But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

Question = Am I really serving God's purpose for my generation?

I also thought it was interesting that Paul says David is asleep and saw corruption. I know his body saw corruption but his soul must be resting.

2 Corinthians 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

1 Corinthians 15:49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.

There is Hope of doing something to the glory of God!!!

A Deceitful Heart

A Deceitful Heart

The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick- who can understand it? I, the LORD, examine the mind. I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve. – Jeremiah 17:9-10

1. Do I trust the LORD with all my heart?

2. Do I rely on my own abilities rather than letting God take the lead?

3. Do I give my time and money looking for a big return?

4. What is my motivation in trusting God?


This is part of my devotion today and thought it was pretty good. Kind of squares you up right in the face. I think my motivation is lack of control; I truly trust God to handle my problems but I find that I only go to God when I know I don’t have control, but what about when I think “I got it”? We still need His help in good and bad. Praise God in the good and in the times he is developing our character. Easier said then done for me!

Prayer Requests

Please keep all of theses people in your prayers.

• The Lesniak's friends, Joe and Mary Ann, who recently had a miscarriage.
• Kim's sister who is struggling with severe migraines and her pregnancy.
• Anna and Kim and their pregnancies.
• Toby's neighbor, Bill, who is having surgery.
• Barry and Wendy's son, Hayden, and the healing of his broken arm.
• Eric Crisp and all of the Dominican Republic mission trip team.
• My friend Juli's trainer just found out that she has brain cancer. Pray that the surgery she is scheduled to have on Monday removes as much of the tumor as possible. You can read about her story here http://www.prayforstevie.blog.com/.

Stone Mountain Laser Show

Here's what I found out about the Stone Mountain Laser Show.

• The Laser show is free with your $10 vehicle fee to enter the park.
• You can bring your own food and drinks or purchase something there.
• The show will begin around 9:30 pm and it lasts 45 minutes.
• Starting May 29th they have the Laser show daily.

Let's try and pick a day that works for everyone that wants to go. Fridays will probably be best since it'll be a late night. Here are 4 choices: June 4th, 11th, 18th or the 25th. Leave a comment letting me know what day works best for you and we'll try and get the date set.

Pass Along...

Great time this afternoon folks. Thank you Anna and Toby for reciting the memory verse. I updated the settings on the blog so please pass along the the URL to your friends, Romans, and countrymen.

Have a blessed week,

Daily Devotionals to Consider

Alright, Andy Stanley apparently doesn't seem to have anything out there for free. But here are some options.

Moments With You Couples Devotional - By Dennis and Barbara Rainey - Jenny and I have taught out of their book, Starting Your Marriage Right. They are solid...and for Bran's liking, there is a question at the end of each day. Not extraordinarily deep, but they typically make really solid, practical analogies.

UpWords Devotions - By Max Lucado - Once again, Lucado is not typically super-deep, but is very practical and is a great story teller. These are exerpts from a variety of his work.

Love Worth Finding - By Adrian Rogers - One of the most well known pastors in North America. Very short and sweet with a question at the end.

Desiring God - By John Piper - Longer and deeper than the others...very good stuff.

And finally, how do we determine which one to choose, who will say the memory verse, or what time we will meet next week...SPIN THE BOTTLE OF COURSE!

Faithfulness

My eyes favor the faithful of the land so that they may sit down with me. The one who follows the way of integrity may serve me. Psalm 101:6

Faithfulness means being a person who can be trusted in word, work and actions. We look for it in friends and colleagues. It’s a quality we admire because we live in a culture that too often affirms faithless actions. In Matthew 5:33-37 Jesus told his disciples that they should be known so well for their integrity that they should never have to take an oath.

We are faithful creatures it’s just often that we are faithful to the wrong things, sports, shopping, TV, family traditions, etc. Not that these are bad things or even bad qualities, but do we stay as faithful to God by not going a day with out prayer or reading the bible. I know it would take a lot for me to skip a practice or Heavens forbid a game but how hard is it to put off those thirty minutes of devotional and prayer a day? Do we justify our actions to make them seem NORMAL or ok?

Press on and fight the good fight.

PS: I copied the top part.

WALKING IN THE SPIRIT

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Galatians 5:16 NKJV
This is a promise/truth that we can use, Paul says that we can live a life not gratifying the desires of the sinful nature. IF we walk in the Spirit. Walking under the Spirits control gives us absolute victory over the desires of the flesh. So how do we walk in the Spirit continuously?

Update on Lindsay

I just wanted to update everyone on Lindsay's doctor appointment. I got a text from her tonight letting me know that everything went well with her tests and thanking us for having her on our prayer list. So, thank you for keeping her in your prayers. Lindsay is a wonderful girl. She's great with all of our kids and we are so blessed to have her care for them.

Megan

What Does 'Fruit of the Spirit' Mean?

I found this tonight while doing some computer work. Pretty neat:

When Christians speak of the work of the "Holy Spirit", they are speaking about the operations of the Spirit of God in the material world we live in, and within us. But God the Holy Spirit isn't here just to hang out, or to do a miracle or two for sport. The Spirit is there to cause things to happen in peoples' lives that bring them more in tune with God's purposes on earth (and beyond). When the Spirit starts changing someone, it shows as a growth in character, a change in their way of life that is good for the people they live among. This change in character is called a 'fruit of the Spirit', like the fruit grown by a tree can feed people and wildlife. From ancient times to today, abundant fruit from an orchard is seen as cause for hope and celebration. Abundant spiritual fruit also breeds hope and is well worth celebrating.

There is that word again, "HOPE".

Have a great night.

Thank You for This!

Josh and Megan, Thanks for setting this up! Bran, thanks for the idea!

I have done more reading in the last couple of days than in a while. I have a really good commentary on Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians and just wanted to post what it says on our memory verse, Galatians 5:18.

Galatians 5:18 - "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

from Holman Commentary..."In summary, Paul tells us that victory over sin is not the result of living under the law. Instead, it is the result of actively yielding to the Spirit. Therefore, both the first step of salvation and its ongoing steps (sanctification, growth in holiness) are brought about within us by God's Spirit working through faith. To be saved, we must have faith in Christ. To walk in God's way, we must have faith in the Holy Spirit, for he empowers us to walk in obedience."

Let the Spirit lead you today!

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:14-15
As we begin to live by the Spirit our desires begin to change and we begin a new walk. A walk with Christ!!! "Love God and do what you please"