Prayer for Ashley

I am writing this to ask my friends to pray with our family for Ashley T. Wilkerson. She is my cousins wife. Isaac and Ashley were married in October of last year just a week after we brought Sam home! She has been diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia and is in ICU at Regional. She is on a ventilator and will likely remain in ICU through the weekend if not longer. Please pray for God's healing. She has underlying medical conditions that could make it harder for her to fight the pneumonia. Pray for her family as they spend their days at the hospital. Pray for peace and rest. Pray for Isaac as he stays by his wife's side. Thanks so much to my friends whom I know will pray with me. "Heal me , O Lord, and I will be healed; Save me and I will be saved, for You are my praise!" Jeremiah 17:14. "Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength; We will sing and praise Your power" Psalm 21:13.

The Scepter

I just wanted to share a quick word on something I learned in bible study last week. I am in the middle of Esther, the latest Beth Moore study, and have really enjoyed it! Thank you, Alyssa, for inviting me!! Anyway, I don't have time to go into the whole book of Esther so you'll have to read it for yourself but... here's the part I loved last week.

Esther 5: 1-3 "Now it came about on the third day (of the Jews in Susa fasting and praying) that Esther put on her royal robes and stood in the inner court of the king's palace in front of the kings rooms, and the king was sitting on his royal throne in the throne room, opposite the entrance to the palace. When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the tip of the scepter. Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be given to you."

The facilitator of our study is Brenda Blankenship. Each week she tries to give us a little something to remind us of a main point of that weeks lesson. Last week we each received a little heart scepter. Now, this was really a little Valentine floral pick but instead of a flower, each one had a red heart on the end. They look like little velvet heart wands but we called them scepters. She explained that during the week she had thought about the king extending the scepter to Esther. Esther was in a life or death situation. She hadn't been invited to come before the king and according to the law, she could be punished by immediate death for disobedience!! The only way for her to remain before the king was to have him extend the golden scepter to her, allowing her to appear before him with her need. Here's the point. We are all in a life and death situation before our King. If we place our faith and trust in Jesus, the King of Kings, we accept the scepter of life that has been extended to us. Jesus offers grace to cover our sins and allows us to have an audience with HIM!! From that point on we can boldly approach the throne of God with our requests. We don't have to put on a front or pretend to be dressed in perfection. We don't have to worry about being struck down with a bolt of lightning. We don't have to wonder if we will find favor in His sight! Jesus doesn't just extend a scepter to us, He extends His heart, His forgiveness and His love. Isn't our King amazing??? Love to you all!!
Shannon

Taste and See!

Dave and I recently visited Atlanta. We attended a conference but we also had the opportunity to visit with my sister, Amber and her husband Carey. They have just moved to Atlanta and so we all decided to take in some of the sites of the city. We ate at some great restaurants, marveled over the view from their 20th floor pad in downtown Atlanta, and we toured the World of Coke. Now, I know that Coca Cola is popular. I mean it is as much a part of our culture as toilet paper! But to have it's own tourist attraction right beside the largest aquarium in the US was a bit much. I have to admit that, as a teenager, Coke was the big craze. For my 14th birthday I received a Coca Cola shirt, Coca Cola Swatch watch and even Coca Cola jeans! I was a little Coke crazy myself!! That being said, I was interested in finding out about this World of Coke! The cost to get through the door is $15. Was it worth it?

Upon entering, you are greeted by beautiful murals and huge wooden coke bottles depicting all sorts of cultural artwork. You are then ushered into a room filled with an abundance of Coca Cola memorabilia from as early as the turn of the century. The story of Coke is displayed beautifully through artwork, historical information, and even the science of making the cola. But the best part of the whole thing is the Tasting Center. The first thing you notice are huge cylinders of light which represent different areas of the globe such as Asia, Europe or South America. In all there were about 6 different stations and each one had a soda fountain with Coca Cola products found locally in those areas. Cups were abundant and you could taste the fizzy liquid until your heart's (or stomach's) content! And so we did!! There were flavors like Bibo, Inca Kola, Fanta, Frutonic, Limelite, Vitingo and Vegitabeta (yes, it is a vegetable based soft drink and Dave and Amber liked it!) It was so much fun to experience all the flavors! Some of you are saying, okay Shannon, get to the point, so I will.

Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good, blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. " I was reminded of this verse while we were on the way home that day. Just another example of how God can use everyday things to speak to us. It was impressed upon me that I will never know what great things He has for me unless I am willing to try what He asks me too! In ministry, we have many opportunities to be involved in what God is doing in our church, our schools and our community. The problem is many times we don't accept the challenge. Maybe you think you're not the right fit, you fear that someone else would do a better job. Or maybe you just don't think you would like that particular part of ministry. But how will we truly know unless we taste and see? How do you know you don't like it if you don't try it!! God says taste and see but the second part of that is "blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." Just last week, one of our church members gave us definitions of refuge. He said a refuge is a shelter or protection. That is the part of the verse that pulls it all together! When you taste what God is offering to you, He will be your stronghold or protector to cover over you while you are doing His will and work! He says, "Here's you're opportunity, go ahead, take a chance on it, see how I will watch over you and help you! Don't miss out on this blessing because it is good!!" Hebrews chapter 6, beginning in verse 9, talks about the better things that accompany our salvation. The very things we can taste! I pray that as you examine the passage in it's entirety, God will weave all this together. God says here that we are heirs of His promise, that He doesn't change and He cannot lie! When He says "taste and see" way back in Psalm, it is just as true here in Hebrews and in our lives today! He wants to bless you! You have hope in Him and your soul is anchored in heaven because of Jesus. With this kind of refuge, we need to exercise our faith and trust God to bless the work He has called us to! Taste and see that the Lord is good. God is the "real thing" ! And I think $15 was a pretty good deal for a priceless word from God!

Chillipepper

Just wanted to show you some of our awesome young men and women!! They are the greatest!!! Please pray that God will continue working in their lives as they seek to serve Him. They want so much to stay committed to God's plan and not their own and we know how much stands against them. So please pray for our youth as well as those at your church. You can be the intercessor they need!! Thank you and God bless!!

We just got back from taking the best youth group in the world (well, some of them couldn't make it but they are still included as part of the greatest group) to ChilliPepper in Pigeon Forge, TN. It was excellent conference and we are so grateful to the Maiolo's for allowing us to stay at The Cedars...it was the most awesome cabin in TN!!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!! Everyone should go out and buy cd's by Down Here, Laura Story and Fee. Cool songs with strong messages and God all over them!!! If you have the chance to be involved with the youth from your church you should jump at it! Remember when you were there and think what most influenced you? Be a mentor, be a friend, be a role model, hold them accountable...they need you!!!! And if you are a parent of a youth, they may not act like they need these same things from you but they do!!!!!! If you have never checked out Concoxions Ministry, you should. Bill Cox does and excellent job. Go to www.concoxions.com. Kurt Cloninger, Duffy Robbins...they still have what it takes after years in ministry/youth ministry. I can't say enough!! If you want your kids to go to a summer camp, tell your youth pastor about SeeSalt and send them, you won't be disappointed!!
I know I have rambled but this weekend was great!!!!!! Spend some time making an investment in a teenager, your return will be a hundred fold!!! Say a prayer for the youth at your church tonight, they need it. Say a prayer for the youth pastor (and his wife if he has one!!) He really needs it!!! Love you all!!!

The Hair Piece

Ladies, I know you are going to relate to this one. The guys, well... maybe. It's tied in to one thing we ladies are somewhat particular about...our HAIR. Now, guys, you may be concerned about keeping your hair but we are concerned about keeping ours looking good!! In fact, over a girls lifetime, hair care may be our biggest personal expense. If you add up all the bottles of shampoo, mousse, gel, Sun-In and then something to take the sun out, cuts, colors, perms, straighteners, brushes, combs, picks, clips, ribbons, bows...should I go on?? I am beginning to feel guilty, is my hair really that important???
My good friend Anne came back to school after the holidays and something was different about her. It wasn't her new clothes or her beautiful jewelry, it was her hair. Don't get me wrong, her hair looked great! She didn't dye it purple or shave it off or anything. I really couldn't even put my finger on what the difference was, I just noticed it was not the same, so I asked her. She explained that she had parted her hair on the opposite side of how she normally wore it. Her stylist(or hair dresser for all my old school friends) had encouraged her to change it up a bit! I had heard this before; change the direction of your part every now and then to reduce breakage and damage to your hair. Throughout the day, I noticed she would begin to brush her bangs to one side, only to remember that she needed to brush them the other way. She made some comments about being frustrated because it wasn't what she was used to. Now, you can probably guess what is coming. The next morning I thought I needed a new look! Do not even go there, you know you would do the same thing. I mean if her stylist thought it would be good for her, it would be good for me too!!! Now ladies, if you have ever tried this, you know you can't style your hair as usual and then just brush it over in the other direction. This process must start at the root! I had to blow dry my hair in the other direction. I had to curl the strands in the other direction. I even had to check my make-up because now the opposite side of my forehead was showing; you know, the side with the unsightly mole that is usually covered up by my hair!!! This was more difficult than I thought. I was actually having to work at parting my hair! Now, I know why God brings things to my mind during these times. It's because He knows I will relate to the everyday stuff and maybe it will get through my thick skull! I thought about my kids (and myself for that matter) and how difficult it is to "train" someone. Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not part from it." Training up a child takes work. You don't just wake up each morning and your kids have learned and matured each new day in all the right ways. No, you wake up and it is on!! You have to start at the root, when they are newborns. You have to bend them to go in the direction you want because instinctively, just like my stubborn part, they are going to go in their own way. And our own way usually gets us in trouble!! Just like we are called to train our children, God is also training us. He knows the way He has planned for us to go. Is His plan easy to accomplish in us? That depends. We may sing "Where He Leads Me I Will Follow" on Sunday but on Monday we are singing "I Shall Not Be Moved"!! He has to start at the root with us too, the root of our sin problem. In doing so He will have to bend us in ways that make us uncomfortable. He might even expose "unsightly" areas in our life we thought we could keep covered up. We will want to go back to our old self. We will want to remain where our flaws stay hidden and there is no pressure for us to do anything different. But we are a lot like hair...we need to be groomed, trained and even trimmed up a bit to become more like Christ. Ephesians 5:1 says, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." Be imitators as dearly loved children...what is that saying to us? When we train our children up in the same way we allow God to train us, they will love us for that and follow our example. It's still gonna take work, and yes, it will be costly, but it is so worth it!! Think of all the breakage and damage it may reduce!! And just like I noticed a difference in Anne's appearance, the world will notice a difference in you too. It may not be obvious what has made the difference but whenever someone asks, you have the chance to tell them about Jesus. So, starting today, change things up a bit if you need to. Go in another direction if that's what it takes to be trained in the way God has planned. Yes, it's that important!!
Love to you all! Shannon

Well, to finish my last thought...I was blogging about the super mom of the bible, the Proverbs 31 woman. I thought it would be neat for you to ask your spouse (or a significant other) how many times they had read Proverbs 31. I asked Dave how many times he had read that passage. Now, he is a pastor and has been to seminary where they study the bible in detail, even going back to the original Greek and Hebrew languages to interpret it exactly!! He said he may have read it a couple of times! A couple??? I mean, come on! I've read this passage one hundred times!! I probably heard it read to me a hundred times too; well maybe not quite that many, but a lot! There is no shortage of material out there on Proverbs 31. There is even a ministry called Proverbs 31 (which is excellent, by the way, and you should check out their website www.proverbs31.org). It seems everywhere a girl looks Proverbs 31 is in her face! Why, just tonight, I began a new bible study and I am here to tell you that we sang a song taken right from Proverbs 31:30!! And when I ask myself "why?", God showed me the reason.
Take a look at the latest magazine and you will see all kinds of beautiful ladies throughout those pages. Most are tall, thin, graceful, and strikingly beautiful...models, to be exact. They show us the latest outfits, handbags, jewelry, perfume...heck, the chic in the Swiffer Sweeper ad is quite a looker. They are all trying to show us, or model, what the world thinks we should look like, have, do, be, etc... God, however, is trying to model what He thinks we should look like through the Proverbs 31 mom. All the characteristics she possesses are those that God has gifted to women. She is our example. Could we ever attain all that she is? Maybe. Should we strive for that goal?? Absolutely. In Philippians 2 verse 4 and following we are told,
"Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men."
The Proverbs 31 gal sure doesn't seem to be looking out for her own interests! She is always looking out for others. Even though her children call her blessed and her husband praises her, she clothes herself with dignity, not vanity. She empties herself out to her household and is not lazy! I don't know about you, but I see a woman, who even before her Savior came, was modeling His walk. God has given us a model to go by; not only in the life of Jesus, but in the life of this everyday woman who knew what it was all about. She is not selling us the latest fashion, shampoo, or "game" for Nintendo DS that will turn us into the Iron Chef; she is showing us how to be the Bride of Christ. We may not do things exactly like her, may not have the exact abilities or even the same desires. What we do have is the responsibility to clothe ourselves in strength and dignity. We can smile at our future with Christ Jesus as our Savior(vs 25). We need to speak wisely and teach kindness in what we say and do(vs26). We need to look after our household, to the best of OUR ability(vs27). We can't be lazy or apathetic when it comes to raising our kids, we only get one shot(vs27-28)! And verse 30 says, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised." Give God the praise for what He has gifted you to be able to do and you will be a Pro!! A Pro 31 girl, that is!!! Love ya'll! Shannon