The Cruise Ship is Coming

Yesterday morning while getting things packed to leave - I looked up and saw a big cruise ship. Thinking what a beautiful picture it would be with the clouds behind it - I ran and took a picture.

A little later looking out the window again the cruise ship was heading right towards the room. It felt a little strange to say the least seeing a ship that big coming toward me. It had started it sideway moving and dock right next to our hotel. Looking sideways outside the window. Later that evening while I was telling some friends about the ship - they exclaimed that they had seen it on the news. It was the first of many cruise ships that plan on docking in Seattle to do some shopping. It looked bigger then a lot of small cities I have been in.

The Armor of GOD

On Wednesday nights the children have been learning about the ‘Armor of GOD’.

The younger classes made armor to go along with the lessons.
This last Wednesday night they dress up in their armor

and paraded through the sanctuary.

While in the sancutary the adults gathered around them and blessed them.

As you all know we have the greatest kids!!!

Coffee Tree in the Living Room

Many people have been amazed that we have a coffee tree growing in our living room. It started out as a small plant from Safeway in Anacortes in 1994. It is now touching the ceiling- so had to put some weight on the top to slightly bend it over.

For a little over a year it hasn’t produced any beans. Just last week there was one small bean again. Yeah! (I guess you wouldn't know that I am very happy with this tree.)

From this new bean I’m going to start a new plant. Don’t know if it will work but I’ll try.

2006

In 2005 - Isaiah and Ezekiel help pick off about thirty beans.

What Stitch Am I?

Tom was preaching last week about our desire to understand what the LORD is doing with and in our lives. Tom said that we want the LORD to explain - why He lets things happen in our lives. But often we are falling for the deception, that if we understood we would therefore obey! Is our understanding really the obstacle to our obedience?

What if the LORD said to you - that you are a knot stitch? Wouldn’t we reply, “Huh?” and wouldn’t we be more then a little confused. I thought about the needlepoint pictures I have done. The knot stitch is a little stitch but needed in the completion of the needlepoint picture. Today at the library there were beautiful needle points hanging from the ceiling. I wrote this last night so within myself I chuckled. Just to see the beauty that a person could produce and thinking about what the LORD would reveal to us in eternity delighted my heart.

The needle point hanging down was so big it looked like a tapestry I wanted to stand there and enjoy its beauty but it was time to go. Next week if they are still there I will stop to enjoy them.

Here are a few of the stitches I know. Chain stitch is also known as tambour stitch and point de chainette, Backstitches, Basketweave stitch, Knot stitch, Parisian stitch, Cashmere stitching, Mosaic stitch, Jacquard stitch, Byzantine stitches, Gobelin stitch, Continental Tent stitch, Half Cross stitch, and Overcast stitch. When all these stitches are used together in a picture the results can be breath taking.

This is one of my early needlepoint pictures which I did for Grandma when I was seventeen. Many of the above stitches were used in it. See the little knot stitch flowers?

The LORD calls us a tapestry and when we see the finished work we will all gasp in awe at its beauty - then we will understand every stitch was important. For now let’s be content with who we are and live life to the fullest.

Colossians 2 :2-4
I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of GOD. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, GOD's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret." (The Message)

Earliest Easter Date

Easter is always the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). The dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar.

“Easter Sunday is the Sunday following the Paschal Full Moon (PFM) date for the year. In June 325 AD astronomers approximated astronomical full moon dates for the Christian church, calling the Ecclesiastical Full Moon (EFM) dates. From 326 AD the PFM date has always been the EFM date after March 20 (which was the equinox date in 325 AD).”

Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare.

Here’s the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years old or above!). And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you’re 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier, March 22, will be in the year 2285 (277 years form now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

Hi Ya All,

I want to share about what the children are doing as a group. They are bringing in nonperishable food and clothes for those in need. We will be collecting stuff every season.

In the 'Big Glass Bottle' we are collecting money for different ministries. We have sent over a hundred dollars - two summers to 'The Gospel Box'. 'The Gospel Box' goes around the world to tell children that have never heard - the Good News of Jesus. This Christmas we sent a hundred dollars to 'Charlie's Lunch'. Ask a child and they will tell you about 'Charlie's Lunch'. I was thinking that this next offering we send to the Root family to bless them for Easter.

Have I told you yet that our kids are the GREATEST! They are a group of willing workers with really big hearts.

Some of you might not have children in Sunday school or you might be a teen but I was thinking you might want to participate, too.

Love ya all,
~ Pastor Cindy

Isaiah 58
6-9
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed, cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.
Do this and the lights will turn on,
and your lives will turn around at once.
Your righteousness will pave your way.
The God of Glory will secure your passage.
Then when you pray, God will answer.
You'll call out for help and I'll say, 'Here I am.'

Our Church Name Change

Today was a special day for me. We have been the city of Lakewood for many years and yet our church was still considered Tacoma Foursquare. Friday the paper work came through that now we are Lakewood Foursquare. I guess that I delight in what others would call a little thing. Praise the LORD for all things.

Also on this special day John was appointed as our Associate Pastor.

Good things are happening here. Thank you LORD!!

Honoring Pastor Tom

Vision Night

Sunday night at Stadium High School they honored Tom’s 25 years of Ministry. It was a great night of different people sharing and encouragement.

Pastor Burt share about the yoke. How the yoke for the oxen was carefully made with each ox in mind. It was made so it wouldn’t hurt the animal. Jesus never meant for us to be burdened under the yoke. But because of words spoken to us – you can’t …., you should …, you did it wrong, your time of ministry is done, or maybe you shouldn’t be in ministry…. – the yoke has become a stock. He spoke words of encouragement to us and had us break those stocks and put back on the yoke. Thank you Jesus!!!

Tom and I went up front

And Pastor Burt thanked me too saying I have been working right along side Tom. They gave him a framed plaque, roses and a beautiful Waterford© Crystal Clock.

Tom and I went down and people gathered around to pray over us.
Afterward we went out to eat with my sister Sue, nieces Amy & Natalie, youth leaders; Josh, Nichole, Jasmyn and her sister join us.

What a wonderful evening. Love ya all.

Tom & My Ordination

Tom & I were ordained. The eve of July 24, 2007 overlooking Jerusalem. Along with us on the same night Jerry and Judy were ordained. It was a great day all around.

The day began with us walking down the Mt of Olives. At the convention that night we saw the live program of the ‘The Covenant’. Later we went out on the balcony of the hotel where a previous wedding had taken place the night before.

Sunrise from the end of the hotel balcony

Night time viewThey had set out a table with two menorahs. Pastor Burt along with

our friends Scott & Pat who emceed the night.

As different people came up to share they lit a candle which promptly blew out by the wind

or blew upward.

They anointed our toe, thumb and ear.
Group prayer.

Next Tom anointed Jerry

And I anointed Judy.
Hugs all around.

In my wildest imagination I would have never dream that we would be getting ordained in Jerusalem. Father God is so good to us He gives us our hearts desire in the most awesome ways.

Some people have asked me why this was so important to me and I couldn’t explain why. Then while watching the video ‘The Covenant’ that Pastor Jack Hayford sent us for a Christmas present - which was another one of my heart desires- when I saw Samuel anointing David king as a young boy, I started dancing with joy because that is how I felt about getting anointed. Do you know that David killed Goliath after he had been anointed?

At the Jerusalem Convention they also honored Tom’s 25 years of ministry. Last night, January 27th, they gave us the plaque, pin, a beautiful lead crystal clock and roses. I will write another post about that. What a wonderful night.

The Holy Alphabet

I received this on
Wed, 22 September 2004

Whoever came up with this one must have had some Divine guidance!

A lthough things are not perfect
B ecause of trial or pain
C ontinue in thanksgiving
D o not begin to blame
E ven when the times are hard
F ierce winds are bound to blow
G od is forever able
H old on to what you know
I magine life without His love
J oy would cease to be
K eep thanking Him for all the things
L ove imparts to thee
M ove out of "Camp Complaining"
N o weapon that is known
O n earth can yield the power
P raise can do alone
Q uit looking at the future
R edeem the time at hand
S tart every day with worship
T o "thank" is a command
U ntil we see Him coming
V ictorious in the sky
W e'll run the race with gratitude
X alting God most high
Y es, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...
Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!

The $2 Bill... Everyone should start carrying them!

Don't know where this came from but it makes me laugh. How many of us have two dollar bills? I have a few.

I am STILL laughing!! I think we need to quit saving our $2 bills and bring them out in public. Our younger generation doesn't know they exist.

THE STORY:

On my way home from work, I stopped at Taco Bell for a quick bite to eat. In my billfold are a $50 bill and a $2 bill. I figure that with a $2 bill, I can get something to eat and not have to worry about anyone getting irritated at me for trying to break a $50 bill.

Me: "Hi, I'd like one seven-layer burrito please, to go"
Server: "That'll be $1.04. Eat in?"

Me: "No, it's to go."

At this point, I open my billfold and hand him the $2 bill. He looks at it kind of funny.

Server: "Uh, hang on a sec, I'll be right back. "

He goes to talk to his manager, who is still within my earshot. The following conversation occurs between the two of them:

Server: "Hey, you ever see a $2 bill?"
Manager: "No.. A what?"

Server: "A $2 bill. This guy just gave it to me."
Manager: "Ask for something else. There's no such thing as a $2 bill."

Server: "Yeah, thought so ."

He comes back to me and says, "We don't take these. Do you have anything else?"
Me: "Just this fifty. You don't take $2 bills? Why?"

Server: "I don't know."
Me: "See here where it says legal tender?"

Server: "Yeah."
Me: "So, why won't you take it?"

Server: "Well, hang on a sec." He goes back to his manager, who has been watching me like I'm a shoplifter, and says to him, "He says I have to take it."
Manager: "Doesn't he have anything else?"

Server: "Yeah, a fifty. I'll get it and you can open the safe and get change "
Manager: "I'm not opening the safe with him in here."

Server: "What should I do?"

Manager: "Tell him to come back later when he has real money."
Server: "I can't tell him that! You tell him."

Manager: "Just tell him."
Server: "No way! This is weird. I'm going in back."

The manager approaches me and says, "I'm sorry, but we don't take big bills this time of night." Me: "It's only seven o'clock! Well, then, here's a two dollar bill."

Manager: "We don't take those, either."
Me: "Why not?"

Manager: "I think you know why."
Me: "No really, tell me why."

Manager: "Please leave before I call mall security."
Me: "Excuse me?"

Manager: "Please leave before I call mall security."
Me: "What on earth for?"

Manager: "Please, sir."
Me: "Uh, go ahead, call them."

Manager: "Would you please just leave?"
Me: "No"

Manager: "Fine... have it your way then."
Me: "Hey, that's Burger King, isn't it?"

At this point, he backs away from me and calls mall security on the phone around the corner. I have two people staring at me from the dining area, and I begin laughing out loud, just for effect. A few minutes later this 45-year-oldish guy Comes in.

Guard: "Yeah, Mike, what's up?"
Manager (whispering): "This guy is trying to give me some (pause) Funny money."

Guard: "No kidding! What?"
Manager: "Get this .. A two dollar bill."

Guard (incredulous): "Why would a guy fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know. He's kinda weird. He says the only other thing he has is a fifty."

Guard: "Oh, so the fifty's fake!"
Manager: "No, the two dollar bill is."

Guard: "Why would he fake a two dollar bill?"
Manager: "I don't know! Can you talk to him, and get him out of here?"

Guard: "Yeah."

Security Guard walks over to me and...

Guard: "Mike here tells me you have some fake bills you're trying to use."
Me: "Uh, no."

Guard: "Lemme see 'em."
Me: "Why?"

Guard: "Do you want me to get the cops in here?"

At this point I am ready to say, "Sure, please!" but I want to eat, so I say "I'm just trying to buy a burrito and pay for it with this two dollar bill. I put the bill up near his face, and he flinches like I'm taking a swing at him.

He takes the bill, turns it over a few times in his hands, and says, "Hey, Mike, what's wrong with this bill?"

Manager: "It's fake."
Guard: "It doesn't look fake to me."

Manager "But it's a two dollar bill."
Guard: "Yeah?"

Manager: "Well, there's no such thing, is there?"

The security guard and I both look at him like he's an idiot and it dawns on the guy that he has no clue. So, it turns out that my burrito was free, and he threw in a small drink and some of those cinnamon thingies, too. Made me want to get a whole stack of two dollar bills just to see what happens when I try to buy stuff. If I got the right group of people, I could probably end up in jail. You get free food there, too.

Just think... that manager and server probably voted last week.........

Today Would Have Been My Sister's 49th Birthday

Today would have been my sister Jenny’s birthday.

It has been a hard day in our family for years.

She was with us for only a short time - 16 months.

She drowned just before Easter in 1960.

The below picture -

of her, my brother, and me is our Easter portrait .

Today I went to the funeral of my good friend, Glynis’ 23 year old son Klinton. That can be read about on his blog. Last week I didn’t know how I was going to make it through the service. It being on this day. Through a lot of prayer and pressing into the LORD, His peace filled my heart. And I did my own memorial for my sister during the service. Afterwards I felt a peace about my sister death that I have never known. It is very hard to discribe other then I feel different.

This last week I have thought a lot about life and death. Knowing that GOD is good and He doesn’t play games of meanness. There had to be a reason more than I understood about what we call traumas. This is what I have come to realize.

The joy of the LORD is my strength, period! GOD is a Good Father and He delights in us. He takes great pleasure in watching us enjoy His world. A good Father doesn’t purposely hurt His children. Watching love ones die or live with handicaps is so very hard but I think that even GOD’s heart aches with us. Will we trust Him when we don’t understand and delight in His presence? Or will we grow bitter and angry? His Son Jesus paid the full price for us to be with Him forever and He is worthy of all worship.

Ecclesiastes 3
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (NKJV)

I know that no one wants to talk or even think about death but it happens to us all. I want to give you a hope! When our time is coming to an end - walking in the strength of the LORD keeps us going. In the LORD (I need to add that -in the LORD- is accepting the gift of eternal life through believing in Jesus, who paid the debit we owed. So that we could love GOD and enjoy GOD forever.) our body that is wearing out and dies get put in the ground as a seed but our soul-spirit (who we really are) goes instantly home (heaven). We will be changed as a seed that is planted looks nothing like the plant. All that I know is I am looking forward to the day when I am with GOD. I drink in the beauty here on earth that I can’t even begin to imagine the splendor in the presence of Almighty God.

1 Corinthians 15
35 But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?” 36 Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body. 39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man. (NKJV)

He paid the price through His death and Resurrection because of His great love and delight in us. We are of more value to Him than we know. Just think in heaven the streets are paved solid gold. The walls of the city are precious gems. People are of the most value and every life precious. I pray that you will see the smile of GOD and feel His intense pleasure in you. Wow am I looking forward to being with my GOD!!!!! Rejoice

Zephaniah 3:17

“The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save.He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (NIV)

I pray this will touch your heart.