OUR CELEBRATION LUNCH

July 15, 2010

Happy Anniversary to my dear husband of 22 years. Yesterday, we went out to Ryan's and had a celebration lunch with our kids. Here's some pictures.
God has been good.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENJAMIN

July, 13th, 2010

Yesterday was our fifth born's 4th birthday. We are having Vacation Bible School this week at our church. Things are a little bit hurried, hectic, and rushed this week so I'm posting this late. I thought I would show you some pictures from yesterday.
These are not in the order they were taken, but it will work.
Pic 1- Birthday visit from grandma(my mom)
Pic 2- A kiss and hug for her present
Pic 3- her present- a Toy Story play tent
Pic 4-I got this shot just a few minutes after he woke up. He was imitating me holding the camera to take his picture.
Pic 5-Me and Benjamin on his 4th birthday.
Pic 6- His birthday card from me(mama)
Pic 7- Blowing out his #4 candle
Pic 8- His cake

CHURCH SIGNS

Friday, July 9th, 2010

I saw the words below on a church sign along time ago as I was on my way to church.

"NO JESUS, NO PEACE; KNOW JESUS, KNOW PEACE"

For just eight words, they hold a big punch.

THE BLACK FAMILY MEN

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

This was taken hours before our family fireworks show started. They(except their dad
in the middle) were all wearing their new patriotic t-shirts I had just bought them. I thought it made for a nice "Fourth of July" picture.

OUR JULY DEVOTION, PART 5

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Coincidence?

(In May of 1919 at Dusseldorf, Germany, the Allied Forces obtained a copy of some of the
“Communists’ Rules for Revolution.” Eighty-nine years later, the Reds are still following the rules.
As you read the following, stop after each item and think about the present-day situation where you live-and all around our nation.)

THE RED RULES

A. Corrupt the young; get them away from religion. Get them interested in sex. Make them superficial; destroy their ruggedness.

B. Get control of all means of publicity, thereby;

1. Get people’s minds off their government by focusing their attention on athletics,
sexy books and plays, and other trivialities.
2. Divide the people into hostile groups by constantly harping on controversial matters of no importance.
3. Destroy the people’s faith in their natural leaders by holding the latter up to contempt , ridicule and obloquy.
4. Always preach true democracy, but seize power as fast and ruthlessly as possible.
5. By encouraging government extravagances, destroy it’s credit, produce fear of inflation with rising prices, and general discontent.
6. Form unnecessary strikes in vital industries, encourage civil disorders, and foster a lenient and soft attitude on the part of government toward such disorders.
7. By specious argument, cause the breakdown of the moral virtues, honesty, sobriety, continence, faith in the pledged word, ‘ruggedness’.
8. Cause the registration of all firearms, on some pretext, with a view to confiscating them and leaving the population helpless.
-Selected
Great Preaching on Patriotism

OUR JULY DEVOTION, PART 4

Monday, July 5th, 2010



Meaning of the Flag Draped Coffin
All Americans should be given this lesson. Those who think that America is an arrogant nation should really reconsider that thought. Our founding fathers used GOD's word and teachings to establish our Great Nation and I think it's high time Americans get re-educated about this Nation's history. Pass it along and be proud of the country we live in and even more proud of those who serve to protect our 'GOD GIVEN' rights and freedoms.
I hope you take the time to read this ... To understand what the flag draped coffin really means ... Here is how to understand the flag that laid upon it and is surrendered to so many widows and widowers. Considering we celebrated Mother’s Day in May, and then we will celebrate Father’s Day in June, please pay special close attention to the meanings of the 9th and 10th folds.
Do you know that at military funerals, the 21-gun salute stands for the sum of the numbers in the year 1776?
Have you ever noticed the honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the United States of America Flag 13 times? You probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies, but we learn something new every day!

The 1st fold of the flag is a symbol of life.

The 2nd fold is a symbol of the belief in eternal life.

The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing the ranks who gave a portion of their lives for the defense of the country to attain peace throughout the world.

 The 4th fold represents the weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.

The 5th fold is a tribute to the country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, 'Our Country, in dealing with other countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong.'

The 6th fold is for where people's hearts lie. It is with their heart that They pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States Of America , and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.

The 7th fold is a tribute to its Armed Forces, for it is the Armed Forces that protect their country and their flag against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of their republic.

The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of day.

The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great has been molded.

The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of their country since they were first born.

The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit.

The 13 th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are ! uppermost reminding them of their nations motto, 'In God We Trust.'

After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving for them the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.
There are some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep meaning. In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.

Share this with your children, grand children, etc. you love and all others who love what is referred to, the symbol of ' Liberty and Freedom.'

MAYBE THE SUPREME COURT SHOULD READ THIS EXPLANATION BEFORE THEY RENDER THEIR DECISION ON THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.





I received this in an email and chose to add it to this devotion in honor of
Memorial Day, May 31, and Flag Day June 14

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

Thank you to all our American soldiers, in all branches of the military, and their families. We proudly solute you.

MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND MAY GOD BLESS AMERICA

OUR JULY DEVOTION, PART 3

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

Words From a Soldier
This is our Independence Day/ July devotion. As most of you know, this is the month we celebrate the “4th of July”, our country’s birthday, our county’s God given victory for independence.
As we all know, our freedom God has blessed us with, “WAS NOT FREE”…………….
Literally thousands and thousands have and are still shedding their blood or sacrificing their lives so we might continue to have the freedom so many take for granted.
On a monthly basis there are many, many men and women being deployed somewhere, to serve their country in some way. Every one of these soldiers are some ones husband or wife, some ones mom or dad, some ones son or daughter. They are a special someone to someone. For many of these men, when they are deployed, in most cases, they must leave their families regardless of where they are in life. They leave prepared for the worst, and yet praying and hoping for the best.
Our family has the privilege of attending church with one of these special soldiers and his wonderful family. His name is Mike Pendley. Some of you reading this know who he is and some don’t. He was deployed to Iraq more than a year ago and thankfully the Lord saw fit to return him safely home, this past May. When he left, he left a sweet wife(She was taking care of her dear terminally ill mother. She met Jesus about a month before bro Mike came home), a son, daughter-in-love, and his first and only precious grandchild(he could not be here for her first birthday). When he left, his only daughter was months away from getting married and his youngest son was months away from graduating from high school.
He could only pray to return home in time to see his son receive his diploma, the last part of May, and to give his daughter away in marriage in June. We are thankful God allowed him to return home in time for both.
For those who don’t really know what life is like for one of our soldiers, I asked bro Mike if I could interview him for a small look into who and what he is as an American solider, and his thoughts on some other issues. He graciously allowed me to do so. I chose to print this interview in a question/answer format.

What branch are you in and what is your rank? Army National Guard/ CW2(Chief Warrant Officer 2)

How long have you been in the Army National Guard? 29 yrs. (bro Mike is in his early fifties, so he has made a life career out of serving his country)

What is the most difficult part of your job? mentally-dealing with certain soldiers,
physically- physical training, emotionally- separation of family

While in Iraq, what was the most difficult to deal with? Separation from family and church family

When our soldiers are on deployment to their different destinations, what is the best way the average American citizen can support them? Send them cards, care packages, any type of
correspondence.



Being who you are, going where you have gone, seeing what you have seen, how do you think it would change the hearts of Americans concerning God, our nation, and probably much more, if they could walk a mile in your shoes? It would give us a greater love and appreciation for where we live, our freedoms we are blessed with, and our God who chose to bless us with it all.

So many people have lost their sense of patriotic spirit and have forgotten as a US citizen, they have a duty to be the best citizen they can be for all who are concerned. Can you give me some thoughts on what one could consider to regain our American pride and high sense of duty to God and our country? People need to learn, however they can, what life is like for a soldier, his family and the sacrifices they must make. Sometimes the sacrifices occur on a daily basis. It would be a learning experience, and worth our time and effort, just to have an idea of the price of our freedom.
Thank you again bro Mike for your help with this. It was most appreciated.










As I have said earlier, my family has the privilege of attending church with his family. I believe we have only a small idea of what he and his family deal with, as his heart has remained faithful to God and his calling to remain in the military and make sacrifice after sacrifice, for all of us. I have heard his wife say, she and her family would not have made it as well as they have, if it were not for the tremendous support of their church family. I know she and her family have been blessed many times, in many different ways, by different loving and caring members of our church. Our dear and precious pastor and his wife were never an exception to this. They not once, wavered in showing their love and support for bro Mike and His family.
If you attend church with or at least know of someone in the service, I encourage you to thank them/their family, for their many sacrifices, for us and this nation. A hand shake and “thank you” is the least we can give them for what they and God have blessed us with.

OUR JULY DEVOTION, PART 2

Friday, July 2nd, 2010

Watch Your Walk

Do you know people are watching you? I don’t care how insignificant you think you are, someone is watching you! We should all know God is watching our every move, thought and conversation, but we should also remember, people we come in contact with are watching our walk!
Are we walking in a way that will lead them to the Lord? Or, Are we just going through life, not planting any seed, not concerned about our fellow man, NOT LOVING GOD AND SERVING HIM AND HIS CHURCH; our fellow Christians.
A friend of mine was going to church one Sunday evening. He didn’t know they had moved the service to the fellowship hall, for some reason. He went to the front door of the church and tried to open it, but it was locked. He walked to the side of the church and looked at the fellowship hall and could feel there was someone there. As he walked back to the fellowship hall, one of his friends came out to greet him and said, “I could tell it was you by the way you walked.” We must depend on God to help us to walk in a way that is pleasing to Him. We must pray for His help in planting the seeds and watering them the way we are supposed to!
We were not made to be independent of God and His laws. He is the Creator, we are only the created. Therefore, He has the right to rule over us.
Refuse His rule, and we must accept the wavering wisdom of the people of our day.
Refuse Christ and you will end up in Hell!
On this Fourth of July, let us lift one voice for the world to hear this question: U.S.A., who is your king? Friends and brothers of mine, Who is your King? Make Christ your Lord and King, TODAY!
Remember To Watch Your Walk; Someone is!
In Christ, Joe Black

Colossians 1:10

OUR JULY DEVOTION PART 1

Thursday, July 1st, 2010
Our new chosen icon for our ministry.

Under His Wings
(In the Shadow of His Wings)

Psalms 91:1-7
Beginning last month, we decided to use this picture of an eagle with wings outspread and the American flag flowing from them, as a cover page for our devotion and an icon for our ministry. The idea of this picture is to remind those who see it, as long as Christian Americans keep their eyes on God as we soar into unknown heights in His service, we are protected, “under His wings”, or “under the shadow of the almighty”.
In the past, we have tried others, but they did not work out. We decided to go with this design for two reasons. First, it is said the eagle was used as a national emblem because, at one of the first battles of the Revolution(which occurred early in the morning) the noise of the struggle awoke the sleeping eagles on the heights and they flew from their nests and circled about over the heads of the fighting men, all the while giving vent to their raucous cries. "They are shrieking for Freedom," said the patriots.
Although there are certain characteristics the eagle has which makes him somewhat less than appealing as a choice national symbol, there is something about the eagle that uplifts the human heart. Like our nation itself, for all it’s faults, our eagle can attain the highest heights and rest there unafraid and unblinded by the sun. He carries our vision and our ideas into the loftiest blue. So let the eagle scream.
Our second reason has to do with our scripture reference in Psalms. When we as Christ-ians put forth our daily efforts(as we should) to be a shining light for Christ, we can always be guaranteed Satan will use every available opportunity to hurt our witness and discourage our hearts and efforts. When you see our eagle icon, we pray it will be a reminder to seek shelter Under His Wings and remember the verses of Psalms 91:1-7.
Through the Lord, and upon His leading, we started this devotion to encourage others(and prayerfully continue to do so). Several months into it’s distribution, we found the need to encourage Christians to be and do all they could to help restore a faith and love in our nation and God. We are in our third year with this and we are no less burdened with this goal. Considering this is an enormous task(humanly speaking)I know we can and will get tired in our daily efforts. When we see this need to relax, may we remember we can find rest “under the shadow of the Almighty.” He is our refuge and fortress, in Him we should trust. He will deliver us from the traps of the devil and his evil ways. When we seek shelter under His wings, He will protect us.
We will not be afraid of the terror at night, nor of any harm in the day. We will have no need to fear any evil that walks in the dark, nor things that destroy at noon. A thousand things can fall in our path, but we will be protected, “Under His Wings.”
In Christ, Stephanie Black