Mimes for God?

I found a very moving article about a set of North Texas twins who let their hands do the talking as Christian mimes.... The article in the Dallas News tells the story of the troubled teens who stumbled into their calling after volunteering to participate in a pastoral installation ceremony for an incoming minister in 1999.

The parents said they were shocked and amazed when the twins, then 19, came out on stage in mime makeup and performed a dramatic dance to an inspiring gospel song. The audience members at the Bethlehem Pentecostal Holiness Church in Dallas rose to their feet, sang and cried during the performance.

Enjoy the rest of the article at Dallas News.

New Version of Footprints in the Sand

New version of
Footprints in the Sand

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your prints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures and returns. For much of the way it seems to go like this. But gradually, your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends.

This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: your footprints that once etched the sand next to the Master's are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints is the small 'sand print', safely enclosed. You and Jesus are becoming one.

This goes on for many miles. But gradually you notice another change. The footprint inside the larger footprint seems to grow larger. Eventually it disappears altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one.

Again, this goes on for a long time. But then something awful happens. The second set of footprints is back. And this time it seems even worse. Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Deep gashes in the sand. A veritable mess of prints. You're amazed and shocked. But this is the end of your dream.

Now you speak. "Lord, I understand the first scene with the zigzags and fits and starts and so on. I was a new Christian, just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with you."

"That is correct."

"Yes, and when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps. I followed You very closely."

"Very good. You have understood everything so far."

"Then the smaller footprints grew and eventually filled in with Yours. I suppose that I was actually growing so much that I was becoming like you in every way."

"Precisely."

"But this is my question. Lord.. Was there a regression or something? The footprints went back to two, and this time it was worse than the first."

The Lord smiles, then laughs. "You didn't know?"

He says. "That was when we danced."

By Mark Littleton
© 1990

Favorite Song

I was inspired by my friend Lara over at Lara's Place to share a song that touches my life. That was easy. The song that has touched my life from the moment I first heard it is 'Praise You In This Storm' by Casting Crowns.

With all that we have been through with Becca's health, I have to remember to praise Him through the storms in our lives. Even though I may not always see Him, I know that He raises me up when I stumble in the wind.

Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus

"Jeopardy" Bans Bible Category

Found this interesting article over at Tominthebox News.

July 5, 2007 LOS ANGELES, CA - In a surprise move this past Monday, the hit TV game show Jeopardy banned the "bible" category from any future programming.

TBNN was contacted on Tuesday by numerous elderly folks complaining about Jeopardy's decision. For example, Mabel Simmons of Tampa told us, "This just isn't right. I watch Jeopardy every weeknight, except Wednesdays of course, and I love the bible category. I usually know most of those answers. I have no idea about categories such as 'movies,' 'music,' or 'magazines,' but I know the bible. Can you nice young men at Tominthebox do something about this?"

We at TBNN felt like we had to respond.

Unfortunately, we had no success in speaking with Alex Trebek. We were told by his staff that he was simply too busy writing answers to talk with us. Despite four attempts at phone contact, we got nowhere.
Jeopardy staffer Davis Sikes told us that he could speak on behalf of the game show. We began by simply asking why Jeopardy was dropping the "bible" category.

Mr. Sikes responded, "The reasons are quite complicated, and it is difficult to get into all of that right now. We at Jeopardy try to serve all of our viewers and players with a nice variety of answers that will best meet their needs. We greatly appreciate everyone who watches our show."

We thought about that for a minute, and then realized that he had dodged the question. We said, "Thanks. But tell us why again the "bible" category in particular was dropped?"

Mr. Sikes clearly wanted this issue to go away. He finally simply responded, "We dropped it because no one knows the answers. We ran a statistical analysis of all of our different categories. 'Bible' consistently registers the lowest number of correct responses. In fact, only 22% of the 'bible' questions are answered correctly. The next lowest category, 'molecular thermodynamics', fell at 34%. We just had to get rid of the 'bible' category."

TBNN was not willing to buy into this simplistic answer. We, therefore, analyzed the last three years of Jeopardy and found some amazing results. The key finding was that different groups of people who participated on Jeopardy knew far different amounts of the bible. TBNN results show that Jeopardy participants who described themselves as Protestant answered "bible" questions with an accuracy rate of 77%. The other groups are as follows: Jews - 33%, Catholics - 18%, Muslims - 11%, Atheists - 9%, Agnostics - 7%, and Other - 6%.

After compiling these results, we quickly called Mr. Sikes with the results. At that point he came clean. Mr. Sikes admitted, "O.K., the reality is that some people know the answers to the 'bible' category. However, we kept receiving complaints from our Jewish and Catholic participants in particular. They told us that it was simply unfair for them to have to answer 'those bible questions.' They kept using words like 'intolerant' and 'biased.' One young lady even told us we were guilty of a 'hate crime' by making her think about the bible. Well, that got us pretty scared. So we dropped the category."

We thanked Mr. Sikes for his candor. As we were about to hang up, he told us one more interesting thing. "We ran those same statistics that you did," said Sikes, "but we broke down Protestants even farther than you did at TBNN. As far as denomination goes, Baptists and Presbyterians tied for the highest percentage of 'bible' questions correct with 86%. Episcopalians came out at the bottom with only 35% correct. Interestingly, one other group that crossed several denominations obtained the highest score - 98% correct. They call themselves 'Calvinists'."

We simply replied, "Thanks."

Warring Nations

As I read my Bible every night, I often get the different nations mixed up... who was fighting who?

You can test your Bible knowledge with the following quiz that I found at Christianity Today. I didn't do too bad! lol! How did you do?

Test Your Bible Power

by Lynn Austin

Warring Nations
Today's headlines of conflict in the Middle East are nothing new. The Bible records many clashes between Israel and surrounding countries, dating from the time God first formed that nation. Test your knowledge of these biblical enemies of Israel (listed below). The questions get increasingly more difficult as you go along.

Possible answers: Amalekites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Edomites, Egyptians, Midianites, Moabites, Persians, Philistines, Romans, Hittites, Arameans.

1. In Jesus' day these enemies had conquered the entire nation of Israel and imposed high taxes. Their soldiers carried out Christ's crucifixion.

2. This nation initially welcomed the Israelites but later enslaved them. God sent Moses to their leader demanding that he "let my people go."

3. This nation overcame Israel's champion, Samson, by cutting his hair. Later, their champion Goliath was defeated by young David.

4. These people were already living in the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants. Joshua led Israel's army into battle to expel them from the Promised Land.

5. God ordered King Saul to completely destroy these people. Because he disobeyed, one of their descendants nearly destroyed the Israelites. Only Queen Esther's intervention saved the Jews.

6. These traditional enemies of Israel descended from Abraham's nephew, Lot. An Old Testament heroine also came from this nation.

7. This nomadic people purchased Joseph as a slave for 20 shekels of silver. Later, a huge army of this nation was defeated by Gideon and only 300 men.

Answers to Test Your Bible Power

1. Romans. The Roman Empire had conquered the known world by Christ's time. Thus, Jesus was executed by Roman crucifixion rather than the Jewish method of stoning, fulfilling Old Testament prophecy (Isa. 53:5).

2. Egyptians. Egypt was sometimes Israel's friend—appointing Joseph second-in-charge to Pharaoh (Gen. 41:40), allying with King Solomon (1 Kings 3:1); and sometimes Israel's enemy (1 Kings 14:24, 2 Kings 23:29).

3. Philistines. Israel battled this nation often. Its leaders paid Delilah to learn Samson's secret, but he died wreaking vengeance (Judg. 16). Philistines captured Israel's Ark of the Covenant, but returned it after plagues struck (1 Sam. 6). Goliath taunted Israel until David defeated him. The modern term Palestinian is believed to derive from Philistine.

4. Canaanites. The Canaanites' religious practices, which included child sacrifice, were so wicked that God ordered Israel to destroy them (Num. 33:51-53). When Jezebel married Israel's King Ahab, she reintroduced Canaanite religion (1 Kings 16:31). Two Canaanite women, Tamar and Rahab, appear in Jesus' family tree (Matt. 1:3, 5).

5. Amalekites. This tribe attacked Israel soon after the exodus; Aaron and Hur held up Moses' hands during battle until Israel prevailed (Ex. 17:14). God vowed to destroy the Amalekites, and Saul lost his kingship for failing to do so (1 Sam. 15:26). Haman, an Amalekite, plotted to destroy Israel, but his plans were foiled by Queen Esther.

6. Moabites. Abraham's nephew Lot fled to a cave after God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. While there, Moab was born from Lot's incest with his daughter (Gen. 19:36, 37). Later, Moab's King Balak hired Balaam to curse Israel (Num. 22). Ruth, King David's ancestor, left Moab (modern Jordan) to worship Israel's God (Ruth 1:16).

7. Midianites. The Midianites descended from Abraham and his wife Keturah (Gen. 25:1, 2). Moses fled to Midian (modern Saudi Arabia) after killing an Egyptian (Ex. 2:15). In the time of the Judges, "Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord." Gideon delivered them (Judg. 6, 7).

Adam and Eve Jokes

A Troublesome Fruit (Adam & Eve Joke 1)

It wasn't the apple that caused the trouble in the Garden of Eden, it was the pair on the ground.

Domestic Problems (Adam & Eve Joke 2)

Adam was walking outside of the Garden of Eden with Cane and Abel when the boys were young. Cane and Abel looked into the garden and viewed waterfalls, lovely birds, lush forests and fruit trees bending over because of the large amounts of fruit on them.

Then they took a long look at where they lived at. It was dry, dusty with weeds and sickly-looking trees.

"Daddy? Why don't we live in there instead of out here?" they asked innocently.

Adam said, "Well sons. Eve and I use to live in there at one time. But your mother ate us out of house and home."

The Cost of Living (Adam & Eve Joke 3)

God said to Adam, "I am going to make you a helper, a companion. What would you like your companion to be like?" Adam replied, "Well I want someone that is humorous, witty, intelligent, compassionate, caring, loving, trusting, polite, generous and beautiful."

God paused a moment after Adam's wish list and told Adam that a companion like that 'would cost him an arm and a leg.' Adam seemed a little dejected and then brightly replied: "What can I get for a Rib?"

A Grateful Heart

This is a devotional is from www.Proverbs31.org . I read these devotionals in my email each day and this one really made me stop and think.... I've sometimes asked myself this same question, so it was great to have it explained in such easy terms.

Cultivating a Grateful Heart

By Glynnis Whitwer

Have you ever wondered why God wants us to ask for things in prayer? I mean, after all, He knows everything! He knows my first thought in the morning and my last one at night. He knows my frustration when I’m late and stuck in traffic, and the words I’m biting my tongue not to say. When I think I “need” a brownie, He knows I really need a carrot. And I don’t have to tell God I need help keeping calm while trying to get five kids out the door each school morning. So, since He already knows what I’m thinking and what I need, why do I need to ask Him for help?

One reason I believe God wants us to ask for help is that when we ask and God answers, we appreciate His work in our lives in greater measure. If God provided everything we need before we asked, we could easily believe we are entitled to things. And, if we never saw how sweetly God cares for our needs, we might take His goodness for granted. I’ve learned this lesson a few times, but the one that stands out involved grapefruit.

When I was a child, my mother fixed our family breakfast before my dad left to teach for the day, and before my sister and I went to school. Since my dad enjoyed his routine, breakfast usually consisted of bacon, eggs and toast. On a cold day, Mom occasionally substituted hot cereal for the toast. And during the citrus season, we might have found halves of juicy pink grapefruit on the table.

I’ll never forget the first time I prepared my own grapefruit. I had moved away from home and was attempting to establish some of my own routines, so I had brought home a pink grapefruit. I cut it in half, grabbed a spoon and prepared to scoop out the individual segments like we had done at home. I planted my spoon at the grapefruit’s thick outer rind only to have the fruit not budge. I tried to saw it out with my spoon, but it was stuck fast. I thought I had purchased a defective fruit. My mother’s grapefruit sections slipped effortlessly onto our spoons!

So I did what every wise daughter does: I called my mother for advice. Imagine my surprise when she told me that before we got to the breakfast table, she had already separated the grapefruit sections with a small, serrated knife. For years I thought grapefruit came like that and was shocked to learn it wasn’t so! It was my mother who did all the work without being asked.

I never appreciated my mother’s work because I never knew she did it! Now I know how lovingly she cared for our needs by performing this time-consuming task. Now I am even more thankful for this small act of sacrifice on her part, which is just one of the many ways she cared for our family.

This is the same with God. If He removed all obstacles and challenges from our lives before we knew about them, we could easily become complacent. We wouldn’t see our need for Him and would think we could manage on our own. Each time we ask for God’s help and see Him answer, we appreciate Him even more. By having us ask, God is teaching us to cultivate a grateful heart, and a grateful heart is a good thing! Even sweeter than a pre-sliced grapefruit.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing me to come to You in prayer and share my daily needs and those deep in my heart. I thank You for caring about me and for acting on my behalf when I pray. Help me to be more aware of Your presence every moment of the day, and to see Your hand in every area of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

We're Back!

We've been off on vacation for Becca's Make A Wish trip to Orlando! Check out my Bev's Bits blog to read all about it and see some of the pictures that Becca and I took.

Ruth Graham's passing...

Everything that I have read about Ruth Graham has shown that she is a woman who above all else, loved God with her whole heart. Mrs. Graham passed away on Thursday, June 14 at the age of 87.

I read this article and it brought tears to my eyes. She will be sadly missed, but her family knows she had a wonderful reception in heaven.

I hope and pray that when I pass from this earth, that through my actions, those that love me believe that I will have a wonderful reception in heaven as well.

God bless you Mrs. Graham.

Father's Day

T he things you taught me I will always know.
H ow could I not? The roots have sunk so deep:
A ll lessons of the heart that I will keep
N o matter who I am or where I go.
K ids learn from what their parents are, and so
Y ou are my book of life, the thoughts I reap;
O nly in your arms I quiet sleep;
U nder my words your voice sings soft and slow.
F rom you I learned the rules of right and wrong
A gainst which I at times had to rebel,
T hough with regret I carry with me still.
H ow lucky I am to have been loved so well,
E ven as I pushed against your will,
R elying on a father fair and strong.