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I was taking pictures of my mom’s dahlia’s a few days ago, and a couple of dahlia blooms broke off. I was immediately reminded of a verse of Scripture that I learned as a child from the book of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 8: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” As winter is quickly approaching (although, we seem to still be experiencing summer), I am reminded that the summer flowers have become scraggly, and withered, and the fall flowers will soon wither away or be frozen! I am so thankful for God’s Word that will never wither away. Full of wonderful promises, God’s Word is a sure and constant source of abiding joy, peace, hope, direction, refuge, and strength.
“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
“This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast…” Hebrews 6:19
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6
“God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:10
The Fly Family Children- Natalie, Nathan, Adrian & Nolie
One of the great joys I’ve had in traveling to Ecuador over the years, has been meeting the Fly Family. The Fly Family have been missionaries with Global Outreach International in Ecuador for 11 years. Dad, Jared, Mom, Elisabeth, and their four children, Nathan, Natalie, Adrian, and Nolie are a delight! Nathan and Natalie have started a fun weekly show on YouTube called the Ecuador Show. I encourage you to check it out! Their son Adrian, is a sweetheart! Adrian has Cerebral Palsy, and next month, their whole family will be traveling to Germany for Adrian to have surgery. The goal of the surgery is to help reduce the tightness in his legs to make it possible for him to one day walk independently. As you can imagine, this will be an expensive endeavor as the whole family will be in Germany for a month for the surgery and recovery. Today, I ask that you join me in praying for the Fly Family, and for Adrian’s surgery to be successful! Anyone who would like to make a donation to help with the expenses related to Adrian’s surgery, may do so by clicking on this link.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to spend some time sewing with the ladies from my church. These ladies are a great encouragment to me and many others as their love for Jesus is manifested through this sewing ministry. Quilts, feminine pads, diaper bags, and dresses have blessed others in at least three different continents (and maybe more) since these ladies started this sewing minstry several years ago. Sewing individually or meeting together on 5th Sundays, our ladies are committed to serving the Lord through this ministry.
Sewing Blankets
Sewing Quilts
Cutting and Pinning
Ironing
Diaper Bags
Let me encourage us this week as we go about our every day lives that “it is the Lord Christ you are serving.” (Col 3:24b) Ecclesiastes 9:10a says “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…” Let’s serve Him with our all our heart & hands!
This past week I made some snap tabs for Hurricane Florence Relief. I will post these for sale on my facebook page as they are available for $3 each. Thank you Melanie @ Spunky Stitches for a wonderful Carolina Strong design to help with disaster relief for Hurricane Florence Victims. I will donate all $3 to Baptist on Mission (NC Baptist Men) to help with their on-going relief efforts. Please check the Baptist on Mission Website for updates as they are still serving thousands of hot meals each day, doing chainsaw work, mud-outs, tear-outs, etc.
On the weekends, I usually read devotions from Our Daily Bread. Today’s devotion fits so perfectly with the purpose of this blog. It is my desire and goal to “Be a Barnabas” to all my readers whether through sharing encouraging Bible verses, devotions, Bible journaling or artwork, sharing about ministries, sewing projects, essential oils, good deals I find, or just everyday life. Social media makes our lives look so great, but we all know that is not always the case. We all struggle with difficult situations. They may be health related, finances, relationships, emotions, etc. Bottom line – We all struggle. That’s why encouragment is needful and necessary. Speaking life to each other, prayers, being a mentor to someone, acts of kindness- they are all so important! Let’s all try to “Be a Barnabas” to someone God places in our paths this next week! Please, if you have a chance, read The Blessing of Encouragers on Our Daily Bread (September 22, 2018).
Helping our “Son” Mauricio move into his apartment
Emma getting Mauricio’s dishes ready to use.
A sweet, precious 12 year old from our church, Melia, is waiting for a heart transplant. Melia and her mom are living in the hospital as part of the process of receiving a heart transplant. Melia’s mom shared that “one thing we have enjoyed seeing while being in the hospital is all the cool t-shirts that families and nurses wear in support of the awesome kids here at the hospital. We were encouraged to make our own shirt. Melia, the future fashion designer, took the challenge and designed a shirt!”
Melia loves cats, fashion design, sewing, and crafts. She is very talented and has designed a beautiful t-shirt. Please consider supporting Melia, and spreading transplant awareness by purchasing a t-shirt. You can order one (or lots more, if you like!), through Saturday, September 22nd. The orders received so far have been a great encouragement to Melia!
Welcome to my “almost” weekly post sharing what projects I have been embroidering. This past week I completed one project – some Fireflies in a Jar Snaptabs. The design is by Parker on the Porch. I love how these turned out! Of course, if you are from the South, they are Lightning Bugs in a Jar!
A couple of years ago I heard about a great ministry called Appalachian Christmas Outreach. Through this outreach backpacks are distributed around Christmas to areas in need in the Appalachian region. Last year our church had the opportunity to deliver backpacks to Ministry of Salvation Church in Steubenville, Ohio. We had a great time meeting Mrs. Dianna who coordinated the effort at Ministry of Salvation. She made us feel right at home from the beginning! We enjoyed meeting lots of sweet children receiving backpacks, and shared a fellowship meal with the children and parents. It was a great time to share the love of Jesus with our new friends! We plan to go back to Ministry of Salvation again this December!
Mrs. Dianna
Preparing Treat Bags
Giving Out Backpacks
More Backpacks
Sweet Kids
It’s time to pack backpacks again! North Carolina has set a goal of 12,000 backpacks this year! In our association, we have set a goal of 500 backpacks! You might ask “What is in each backpack?” Each backpack should include a Bible, The Christmas Story, a new toy, non-perishable pop-top canned food items, hygiene items, and small clothing items such as mittens, hats, socks, etc. Instructions for packing can be found here.
The collection day for the backpacks is November 3rd. Collection Sites are listed here. I hope you will consider joining this effort to bless the children of the Appalachian region, and share the love of Jesus with them!
North Carolina is not the only state who packs backpacks for this important outreach! There are 10 partner states!
Listed below are links to the other state’s backpack info.
http://alabamawmu.org/backpacks
https://gabaptist.org/backpacks/
https://louisianabaptists.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Christmas-Backpacks.pdf
http://www.kybaptist.org/backpacks/
https://www.mississippiriverministry.com/christmas-backpacks
http://www.scbo.org/content/christmas-backpacks
https://www.scwmu.org/christmasbackpacks/
https://www.tnbaptist.org/backpacks
https://www.sbcv.org/2018-mission-projects-christmas-backpacks-for-children-in-appalachia/
What a great day for my first blog post! Happy National Encouragment Day! I believe we can all encourage each other this week. As many of us are fearful of a monster hurricane approaching, let’s encourage one another! Acts of kindness, patience, smiles, prayers, encouraging words, building up one another- that’s the focal point of 1 Thessalonians 5:11 and the focal point of this blog, Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. Let’s all look for ways to encourage one another this week!