An Evening under the Stars!!

Creation Science Club

presents

An Evening Under the Stars!!

You and your family are invited to this year's grand finale night!!

DATE: SATURDAY, MAY 3rd, 2008

TIME: 6:30 PM

PLACE: CMS CAFETERIA

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands."

Psalm 19:1

There will be a video from the Creation Museum planetarium, Praise and Worship time, and a time to expore God's handiwork through telescopes.

We'd love to have you!!

RSVP: Please let Kevin or Brian Auberry know if you are planning to attend.

Flex your spiritual muscles through Prayer!!

Prayer is essential if you really want to be close to God. If you desire to have that deep, abiding relationship, you must pray, if you want to see God work in your life you must pray.

Thursday is the 57th annual National Day of Prayer. I had no idea that this has been an annual event for 57 years now. The chairman for the National Day of Prayer is Shirley Dobson, wife of James Dobson. This year's speaker is Ravi Zachirias (one of my husband's favoites!!). So why do I tell you this? Well this Thursday, May 1st we will meet in front of the Middle School flag pole for prayer; prayer for our nation and the many obstacles we face, prayer for our military and their family, prayer for each other. This is a very important day for our nation, but let this cultivate within us an attitude of prayer not just a moment of prayer. May our hearts be so moved to action by an ongoing relationship with Father God that we are never the same.

You see this attitude of prayer is what I believe Paul was saying when he told us to "pray without ceasing". He wasn't meaning to just be in your prayer closet all day every day and never venture any further, but I believe that he was saying stay in an attitude of prayer and worship to God. Be ready for any opportunity that arises to share the Good News with others; be ready to offer hope to the hopeless and peace to the troubled; be ready to stretch out your hand and heart to another; be ready to lift the broken by a kind word or deed. But if you and I are going to be this kind of ready, we must be people of prayer.

So let me just encourage you to pray today. Find a quiet place to get alone with God and pour your heart out to Him, and then take time to sit in His presence and listen for guidance and help. He loves you so much!!

Have a terrific week!!

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

For Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory. . .

What a great lesson on Friday!! You Rock Carrie!! (I say that a lot and it's always true:)

Prayer is a topic that people have a lot of opinions on and a lot of guilt over. Some try to rationalize why they don't pray and still others think that prayers are necessary when you have a problem, but when things are going good, well isn't that when we can handle it?!! OH boy now that can get us into trouble ~~ can I get an Amen!! :)

In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 Paul tells us to pray continually or to pray without ceasing. So what does that mean? I'm going to wait to give you my understanding of this verse, because I'd like to hear what you think this means, and ways that we can go about doing this. So let me know what you think.

Also, since we're on the topic of prayer what do you think is the biggest obstacle to having an effective prayer life? What holds you back? Or what is it that maybe you don't understand or that is hard when it comes to prayer?

This is a topic that I have struggled with in my Christian walk, and yet it is absolutely crucial to living a victorious Christian life!! God has really helped me to overcome the sin of praylessness. He so wonderfully has guided me and taught me the importance of this discipline in my life. When you pray you are building a relationship with the One who gave it all for you. . .how absolutely cool is that?!!!

So this is a great subject to really dig in and discuss ~~ so let me know what you think.

You guys are so terrific and yes YOU ROCK TOO!!
Thank you for reading and I look forward to your responses,

In Christ Alone,
Dawn

Amazing Truth!!

In our lesson on Friday, we talked about Paul being chained to the Roman soldier, or as Paul saw it, the Roman soldier being chained to him. What an unlikely opportunity to witness for Christ. Listen to Colossians 4:5, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity." Those are Paul's words and in Ephesians 6 Paul is living them out in color!! Amazing!!

You see, it is the truth of Jesus Christ that transforms a person. And we see this being lived out in Paul's life, and it cost him everything.

When we first read about Paul in Acts his name is Saul and he is a persecutor of the church. Yep, he was one bad dude!! He persecuted Christians because they believed that Jesus Christ was the only way to God, but Saul was a (self-proclaimed) Hebrew of Hebrews, he didn't believe that Jesus was who the Christians said He was. Paul was legalistic to the core, but then. . . Yep Damascus and everything changed!!

He was blinded by the light of Christ and His heart captured by the One who would capture Him for eternity ~~ He no longer was Saul, but Paul. He was blinded for three days and then studied in relative obscurity for three years, and then he set out to evangelize; to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only way to God for Jews and Gentiles. And that is good news for us!!!!!

Paul understood heartache and pain. He knew persecution and abandonment, and yet he was willing to endure it all for the cause of Christ. He knew that Jesus was The Way, The Truth, and The Life, just as He had taught when He walked the earth. Paul was a follower of Christ and led many to Him.

Most people if chained to a Roman soldier would not have responded as Paul did. So what do you think made him different? He was an extraordinary man.

So what is our response to such a call as Paul's to make the most of every opportunity? I would love to hear some of your thoughts on this verse.

In Christ Alone,

Dawn

In the Secret. . .In the Quiet. . .

Psalm 131:2 "But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me."

Since we have been talking about testimonies, I'd like to interject another thought. Testimonies are brought forth out of the experiences we've had with God. When God gives us a testimony it is because He has done something for us. We heard testimonies Friday on salvation, the beginning of our lives in Christ, but we also heard a testimony about how God was using Jabez to further build relationship with Him, because of time spent learning more about the Savior. That is what this post is about; spending time with the Savior.

Growing and walking with God takes discipline, but it also takes sacrifice. In a lot of instances that sacrifice involves time. We have our day planned out, we go here and there doing, most of the time, what we "need"/want to get done, but have we considered God in our day?

For a very long time I struggled with the issue of prayer. I know that probably seems odd, but it was just hard for me to quiet myself down. There were constant to-do lists in my head, there was also this feeling of inferiority constantly on me, and then there was just me - my flesh wanting to do other things. But in more recent times, prayer has become key to hearing from God and living a victorious life in Him. I certainly do not always get it right, but when I pray God helps me. He helps me be the child of His, He created in His image to fulfill the unique plan that only He could have designed for my life.

I want to encourage you today to take time alone with God. Get somewhere that is quiet, without any distractions and just still yourself before Him for a few minutes. And then just begin to praise Him and let your prayers flow from the place of peace and security that you find in moments with your Savior.

In Christ alone,

Dawn

Testimony of Truth . . . Let the Record Show . . .

So, what is your testimony? Maybe today your thinking "I don't really have a testimony, my life is just kind of okay." Be encouraged, if the only testimony you can ever give is that He saved you, oh my goodness, that is the best. You have a testimony to give, no one can take it from you, be bold to stand and give it, because our testimonies help us overcome. (Revelation 12:11)

When we give a testimony about the goodness and the faithfulness of our Lord, He is praised and honored. When we live our lives in such a way that they are a testimony of the grace and presence of our God, He is praised and glorified.

So here is something for you to think about and comment on if you'd like:

• So we know that when we speak of the goodness of God in our lives it helps us to overcome the things of this world. With that being the case, then why is it so hard at times to give our testimonies?

I know for myself that sometimes it is just hard to say what is on my heart. Sometimes I am concerned about what others will think. So how do we overcome that tendency?

To all who were there this morning ~~ thank you so much for sharing your heart. I can't wait to hear more of what the Lord is doing in your life in the weeks to come. Please let this blog be yours. Comment, let us know what you think.

You Guys are Awesome!! And we love you,

C & D

~~ Our Maiden Voyage ~~

Welcome to Belief of My Heart!! It is the desire of my heart for you to be strengthened, encouraged and helped as you live the life that Christ has for you in Him. He is The (only) Way, The (only) Truth and The (only) Life. I have never regretted a day of my life in Christ. He teaches me more and more everyday what it is to be His. I cannot tell you the transformation that has happened to me because of the drawing of the Holy Spirit to become a child of the King.


I am a journaler (is that a word? :), and in my journals I write about many different things, but one of my favorite things to journal is what God speaks to my heart through the Holy Spirit. I have found it very important to write it down. On Easter this year God spoke to my heart with encouragement, peace and celebration. He told me that I was on the winning team, but He also spoke this to my heart that has captured me and I'd like to share it with you:


"Grab hold to that which has grabbed ahold of you. I will never let you go my child. You are mine!!"


So why are those words so meaningful to me? I have struggled all my life with feelings of doubt and insecurities. I have never felt good enough or worthy enough, and this encouragement spoke volumes to me, because He has grabbed ahold of me and He's not letting me go. Be encouraged today, Christ loves you and He's grabbing ahold of you; grab back!! Grab onto Him and watch where He will take you, it will be the best ride of your life!!

John 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing."

In Christ Alone,

Dawn