I received this in an email so I can’t credit the author. I liked it and wanted to share it with you.

Top 10 Predictions No Matter What Happens in the World

1.  The Bible will still have all the answers.
2.  Prayer will still work.
3.  The Holy Spirit will still move.
4.  God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5.  There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6.  There will still be singing of praise to God.
7.  God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8.  There will still be room at the Cross.
9.  Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.
and God approves this message!

ISN’T IT GREAT TO KNOW WHO IS REALLY IN CHARGE

My favorite wacky holiday (though I do not claim it to be wacky) is National Teddy Bear Day.  A national day set aside to especially enjoy our teddy bears. This year it is September 9.

Here are a few “Teddy Bear Day” activities for you:

at Crosswalk dot com you can find this e-card to send

at A Kids Heart dot com there are many fun activities and printable color pages

About dot com offers a list of things to do to make the day filled with fun

e-How author AuntPhyl has prepared some wonderful ideas to celebrate the day.

You are never too old for a teddy bear. So grab your favorite and spend the day enjoying the love and comfort he/she has to offer.

Remember, too, there is One who loves us even more than our teddy bear does.  Jesus Christ.

I have had the pleasure of spending a few day in the San Francisco area.  There is so much to see. I don’t know if my pictures and descriptions can do it justice but I plan to give it a try over several postings.

To start out the trip my knitted teddy bear “Purl” helped pack my bags and jumped into my carry on so she wouldn’t be left behind.  She was excited when over the past 2 days we visited not 1, not 2, but 3, yes 3 Build A Bear Workshops.   In each she was able to purchase another accessory for herself and view the latest fashions. I know she will go back to the bears at home and brag about her visits.

Because I am unable to walk any distance comfortably hubby bear pushed me and Purl across the Golden Gate Bridge in a wheelchair. We went 1/2 way then turned around and headed back. It was windy, and cold (remember I left Kansas City at 100 degrees the previous day) but we completed the walk. It was a great adventure.

Purl posed at several stops along the way. 

A recent news report commented on the number of suicides by jumping from this great bridge.  We saw several of these Crisis Counseling phones along the path.  Sometimes it is easy to dwell on hopelessness when it appears everything in your life is failing.  It is important to remember there IS hope. His name is Jesus Christ.  “For God so loved the world He gave His only begotton Son, that whoever believes will have everlasting life.”   John 3:16.

There is much more to see. 

Until next posting,

God’s there, listening for all who pray, for all who pray and mean it.   Psalm 145:18 MSG

I am enjoying the pleasant summer weather sitting on my deck, listening to the birds, viewing the majestic beauty in the trees and flowers around me. 

My husband is current working in San Francisco where he looks out to view the glorious San Francisco Bay.

Separated by half a county we can share pictures of our view and tell stories via email, instant messaging and phone conversations.  We can keep in touch throughout the day.

We can keep in touch with God all day, too.  He’s listening. We don’t need a cell phone or a computer.  Just start talking. Tell Him your thoughts of the fantastic view He has provided as you walk along a sea shore or tree lined street.  Ask for help with a personal problem. Just talk.  That’s what prayer is, talking to God. You don’t need a fancy location or the latest gadget. God is listening. What are you waiting for? Start praying.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.  Mark 16:16

Palm Sunday 5 generations sat excitedly in the pew as my grandfather, age 96, was baptized. It was encouraging as we tried to explain to my 3 year old grandson why that man dunked grandpa in the water. Everyone laughed at his concern but we used the opportunity to discuss Jesus with him.  (see the baptism video on God Tube)

There is only one way to heaven. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)  There are no magic crystals, you cannot be good enough, you can not give enough to get to heaven. You must accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Period. In obedience you will be baptized. In obedience you will follow Him.  “We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”    Romans 6:4

Today there are many who are trying to teach shortcuts, saying you can make your own set of rules.  These are false prophets and will lead you down the wrong path. Jesus warned of this in Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”  

There is only one way.  Just before warning of the false prophets Christ told the people to “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

For more information on entering this gate check out Billy Graham’s Steps to Peace With God.

Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. Hebrews 10:36

Wool felts with water and agitation which causes the scales on the wool to swell, rub against each other and bind together. This process creates a denser, shrunken fabric. Felting is the name of the process that give us the finished product.

Have you ever noticed in Bible stories that a person is often put in situations that can be described as “agitating”, often “rubbing against” someone or something? In the end they become stronger in Lord.

Think about King David. Before he slew Goliath, became king he was shepherd boy. How did David know he could take down Goliath? By the many years he spent protecting the sheep from wolves, bears and other torments. He had been in danger, in agitating situations, many times and had learned how to handle himself.

What about Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego? Imagine the agitation they felt standing in a firey furnace.

Ruth went through the loss of her husband, leaving her family and hometown. She cared for her mother in law and moved to a country where she was an unwanted foreigner. She went on to be a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ.

What other Bible persons can you name? How about persons in your life you have witnessed experience this “felting” in their life? How have you been “felted”?

Can these discouraging periods of our times remove us from God? Read Romans 8:35-39 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other crated thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Are you “felted” into Jesus?

If you would like to try your hand at felting check out some of these links:

Make a heart necklace   click here

Make a laptop sleeve    click here

Make a guitar strap      click here

Each should use whatever gift they have received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s faith in its various forms. 1 Pet 4:10 NIV

As knitters we have a gift that can be used to serve God by serving others.  In an effort to share in that gift, Bear Witness is hosting a Baby Shower to provide knitted baby hats, blankets, booties and teddy bears for Sanyati Baptist Hospital in Zimbabwe.  A local couple serve as missionaries there and are currently back in the States for a few months.

The “shower” will be held at the Lee’s Summit Community Church on May 3.  You and your projects are invited. Knit along as Angie Byler tells about life in Zimbabwe and their work at the hospital. Cake and punch will be served to keep with the fun. If you don’t knit there are other ways to participate.

For more details, click here.   Contact Bear Witness via email  bearyann @ bearwitness dot org (use appropriate no spaces and a period for the word dot) if you have items to contribute.  Funds are also being request due the high cost of shipping even these small items to Africa. Click here for more information. Be sure to note AFRICA in the notes section.

I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.   Psalm 119:11 NIV

I received this in an email recently and the fluff in my head started whirling around thinking about it. Read it, then check out my thoughts:

CELL PHONE vs. BIBLE
I wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cellphone?
What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?
What if we flipped through it several time a day?
What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?
What if we used it to receive messages from the text?
What if we treated it like we couldn’t live without it?
What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?
What if we used it when we traveled?
What if we used it in case of emergency?
This is something to make you go….hmm..where is my Bible?
Oh, and one more thing. Unlike our cell phone, we don’t have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.
Makes you stop and think ‘where are my priorities?
And no dropped calls!

With the advances in technology today I keep my cell phone AND my Bible with me all the time. My Bible is on my cell phone. It can also go on a PDA, Pocket PC and/or your computer.  Of course the question then becomes, which do you use more often?  Hmmmm, What if I used half as many minutes in my Bible as I do using the voice portion of the phone? OK, the fluff in my head just got all knotted up. I wasn’t even going that direction when I started this blog entry!! How can I possibly use the excuse “I don’t have time” when I don’t even have to go looking for my Bible? If you are like me you have no trouble locating your cell phone. So, what would prevent me from studying? That would have to lay completely at my own heart. If there is time to talk to friends and family maybe I need to make it a point to take time to talk to my Father, Lord and Savior.  I think I need to stop and think about this.    But in the meantime, if you’d like to add the Bible to your PC, PDA or Cell Phone click on the link below. Laridian offers several translations as well as commentaries, Bible Studies, devotionals and a memorization program. Priced very reasonably and easily downloadable the program keeps God’s Word very close to your heart, your ear, your eyes and your hands.

Click here

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. Mark 16:6NIV

  It was a quiet Sunday morning. Three women are walking to the tomb of Jesus (Mark 16:1).  They are carrying spices to prepare the deceased body of Jesus.They haven’t even considered how they were going to roll the large stone away. They only knew they had a job to do and they set out to do it. That part of the story amazes me.   When they arrived the saw an angle who told them Christ had risen just as He said He would. The angel told them to go “tell the disciples and Peter”.  This passage is so encouraging.  Peter was a disciple so why was he singled out? I believe it is because Peter needed the reassurance after doing as Jesus predicted by denying He was with the Lord.  These two events remind me that God is in the little things. He makes note of all the small details in our lives.  I praise God for His eternity, for His blessings, for the risen savior. The tomb is empty. He Is Risen. He is risen, indeed.

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome brought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?”

But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.’ “      Mark 16:1-7 NIV

Praying you will have a Easter filled with blessing from the risen savior.  Happy Easter.