PRAYING OUR NAME

After writing a prayer using my name, I sent it to my grandchildren and encouraged them to do the same. Here is what I received from two of them. Mariah is 13 and Jasmine is 9. This is not only a "fun" thing to do, but is very rewarding spiritually.

Joy is Having Grandchildren

M -Miracle! God helped a man to see, when he was born blind. God provided fish and bread
to over 1,000 people in a famine.
A -Arose. Jesus arose from his grave, after they crucified him.
R -Rejoice! He should rejoice everyday that God is in our hearts.
I -Immanuel. The word for Jesus meaning " God with us."
A -Amen. Ending prayers with God, you should say amen.
H -Hope. Hope is my favorite word, but Jesus Christ always hopes the best for each one of us.

R -Repent. You should always repent and do as God wants us to.
A -Awe. We should all awe when we think of God.
E -Exalt. I exalt God, for he is my Father.
L -Life! God all gave us life.
Y -Yoke. To all join together like Jesus at his feast.
N -Noah. A man who created the arc.
N -Neighbor. As God says in the 10 commandments " You shall not do false witness against
thy neighbor."

S -Strength! You shall have great strength if you follow the Lord.
Z -Zeal. Zeal your Lord, for he is good.
O -Oracle. The word of God. The oracle of God is meaningful.
T -Tithe. Give 10% Of what you earn to the Lord.

Joy is serving Jesus

J -Joy. Have joy in your heart.
A -Abel-Second son of Adam.
S -Sanctuary.We should all have our own sanctuary to worship God.
M -Meek. Our Lord is a very meek person.
I -Israelite.Jesus was born for Jewish beliefs making him a Israelite.
N -Noah-The man who built the arc.
E -Equal. We are all equal through Gods eyes.

Joy is the Abundant Life

Happy Birthday Grampa

Tonight, May 25, 2010 some of the family met at Portillo's in Batavia, Illinois to celebrate the 80th birthday of my husband, Jim. It was a fun time. What a blessing to be able to live 80 years and most of them serving the Lord. Jim was about 32 years old when he gave his life to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our beautiful Savior!

I have been married to Jim for 30 years and can say that each year I see him growing closer to the Lord. You see, God is conforming His children to the image of His Son, Jesus, and so as we live longer and as we truly set out to live the life of a Christian, then God uses what He knows is best to conform us. I wish it were always easy, but sometimes we must go through some pretty difficult times to become more like Jesus. But, it is worth it all!

Happy birthday Jim - may God grant you many more to come.

MY NAME PRAYER

I was encouraged by our Assistant Pastor Steve, to use the letters of my name to say a prayer to God. So, I thought I would post it for you. It was wonderful to do and I now encourage you to also try it. We have a wonderful God and it is worth the time to do it.



Jesus, thank you for your
P - atience with me. You are truly an
A - lmighty God that I can count on for
T - ruth in my life because you have said that You are the Way the Truth and the Life. Because your
S - pirit lives within me I know this is true, for you are the same
Y - esterday, Today and Forever. How wonderful to know that you are the
A - uthor and Finisher of my faith. You are the
N - ecessary person in my life and as the
N - ame above all names, I will always call on you in praise and in want. Yes, I know you are a
J - ealous God, but you have a right to be; you created me, gave me life, and then gave me the joy of knowing I will live with you forever. You deserve all my heart. Knowing that you are
O - mniscient I can only be honest with you and confess daily my sins because that is what you desire of me - to be aware of my constant need for you. Oh, Father, when I think of how
H - oly you are I long even more to see you face to face. You are always
N - ear to me and definitely you are my
S - hield against this world’s influence. I am so grateful that you are
O - mnipresent because your presence is my protection and I can always rely on you to be my
N - eed “meeter” for I am truly in need of you. I can only say thank you from the bottom of my soul for all you have done, are doing, and will do in me. I love you and need you so much, Jesus.