Freedom Actions

“You have the freedom to choose your actions, you don't have the freedom to choose the consequences of your actions”

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.Watch your words, for they become actions.Watch your actions, for they become habits.Watch your habits, for they become character.Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Humor :) 5 Most Constipated Men in the Bible

Who are the five most constipate men in the Old Testament?

Cain - because he wasn’t Abel.
Moses – he went up onto the mountain and took two tablets.
King David – he sat on the throne for forty years.
Solomon – neither heaven nor earth could move him.
Noah – because he was at sea for forty days and forty nights and all he passed was water.

Media Quotes for Thought

"It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference." - Tom Brokaw

"Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. ... It's the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what's right." - Peter Parker in Spiderman 3

"I want to see"

46-48They spent some time in Jericho. As Jesus was leaving town, trailed by his disciples and a parade of people, a blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting alongside the road. When he heard that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by, he began to cry out, "Son of David, Jesus! Mercy, have mercy on me!" Many tried to hush him up, but he yelled all the louder, "Son of David! Mercy, have mercy on me!"
49-50Jesus stopped in his tracks. "Call him over."
They called him. "It's your lucky day! Get up! He's calling you to come!" Throwing off his coat, he was on his feet at once and came to Jesus.
51Jesus said, "What can I do for you?"
The blind man said, "Rabbi, I want to see."
52"On your way," said Jesus. "Your faith has saved and healed you."
In that very instant he recovered his sight and followed Jesus down the road.
Mark 10:46-52 found in the Bible

For SCC - Miracle Whip Needid 6-24-07

This past Sunday Sunrise ended our "Meet the Imperficts" series. Hopefully we all have gleaned some insight into the family unit and have grown in our relationship to God and family members during this series. The last topic for this series was chosen because in our imperfect families we need God's grace to abound and miracles to happen. We sometimes need medical miracles, money miracles, forgiveness and restoration miracles, strength miracles during times of hardship and various other miracles or pouring out of God's grace are needed in our families. God is into family. He wants us to experience healthy, vibrant, and encouraging family relationships. But because I am imperfect, and are imperfect this can often times be difficult if not seemingly impossible. We live in the Young and the Imperfects, or the Bold and the Imperfects or, As the Imperfects Turn. Soap Operas are much more than TV shows they are sometimes are lives. Broken relationships between parents and children and siblings. The sudden loss of a loved one when all seems to be so well. Divorce, addictions, hurtful words and actions, and the list could go on. STOP. STOP. God's grace and truth can bring positive change and hope to individuals and families. God will meet us at our need and can do a wonderful work if we are willing to allow Him to do so and believe in Him and His word. No, all will be perfect, but you and your family can move into a new realm of thinking, relating, caring, forgiving, helping, encouraging, sharing, and growing together in Christ and with one another if we will choose to allow God to meet our needs and choose to belief Him and His word . Please back up and read that sentence again. One more time. May God work a miracle in our lives and may we become the change we wish to see in the world. May God work a miracle in our families and....

For SCC - Dads' Get Dangirous 6-17-07

The Father's Day service was very upbeat and we gave away some really neat gifts to men. Thanks to Kathy Holland and Jenny Michonski for helping with the gifts that were given away.

Flag Day

This is a day that we honor Old Glory, the flag of our great nation. There is great symbolism in the folding of the Stars and Stripes. The folding of the flag 13 times is for the original colonies. 1st fold is a symbol of life. 2nd fold, belief in eternal life. 3rd fold, in honor of veterans. 4th fold, the weakness of humans and our dependence on God. 5th fold, a tribute to our nation. 6th fold, honoring the Pledge of Allegiance, "one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all." 7th fold, tribute to the Armed Forces. 8th fold, tribute to one who entered the shadow of death that we might see the light of day. 9th fold, tribute to mothers. 10th fold, tribute to fathers. 11th fold, glorifies the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 12th fold, emblem of eternity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 13th fold, the stars are uppermost, reminding us of our nation's motto, "One nation under God."

This is an excerpt from a devotional from Daily Guidepost website.

You can count on...

GOD'S MERCY for our past mistakes.

GOD'S LOVE for our present needs.

GOD'S SOVEREIGNTY for our future.

Saint Augustine. for more about Saint Augustine google or yahoo his name.

I will...

Today, I will...
choose to love.
choose to respect.
say, " I love you", to family members.
thank God for lunch.
try to be positive.
stop, think and pray (STP).
smile.
enjoy work.
notice creation.
say, "I am sorry".
help someone.
sing in the car or shower.

I will. We get choose. I will...

Love and Respect website

www.loveandrespect.com

This is the official website of Love and Respect. Good Stuff.

Ephesians 5:21 -33 The Message

The following passage of Scripture is from Ephesians 5:21-33 and is taken from a transaltion of the Bible called The Message by Eugene Peterson

21Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.
22-24Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
25-28Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ's love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They're really doing themselves a favor—since they're already "one" in marriage.
29-33No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That's how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become "one flesh." This is a huge mystery, and I don't pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.

For SCC - Love and Respect 6-10-07

Sunday was about Mr. and Mrs. Imperfect showing love and respect to one another. We took a brief look at a few verses found in Ephesians 5:21-33 that offer some instruction on a relationship between a husband and wife. We focused on a husband showing love for his wife and a wife showing respect towards her husband.

I prefaced what was presented with the following comments. Family is very important to God. It was His idea. Marriage, the union between a man and woman is very important to God. It was His idea. In Scripture you will find various roles that a husband and wife will fulfill in a marriage. Friends,partner, counselor, lover, confidant, encourager, corrector, buddy. You will not find in Scripture that the wife is too stay at home and be a homemaker and the husband is to go to work and earn the income and the wife is to take care of "homemaker stuff" and the husband is to take care of "manly stuff". You will find that a husband and wife are to honor one another, lift one another up and honor God in their relationship. In Ephesians 5:21-33 you will find that out of honor to Christ we are all to submit to one another and respect one another. You will find that a wife is to submit to her husband as she does to Jesus Christ and that a husband is to love his wife as much as Jesus loved the church and gave His life for the church.

A husband is to love his wife. The Greek word used for love in this passage means an unconditional love, a welcoming love, a love that bestows life into a person. It is the type of love that God has for us. It is not a "I love you if... or a I love you because..." It is a "I love you (period). This love is much more than a feeling. It is an action word. It is self sacrificing, giving, other oriented, and very considerate of the other. This love that the husband is to show for his wife is relational. It moves past rules, regulations, guidelines and preconceived roles. In this type of love the husband is committed to is wife's fulfillment, joy, purpose and beauty.

A wife is to respect her husband. The Greek word used in this passage means for the wife to submit to her husband. It means to arrange under, to submit to one's control, to obey. In the military sense it means to troop divisions under the command of a leader. In the non-military sense it means to have a voluntary attitude of giving in.., cooperating, carrying a burden, to place yourself below the other. a wife is to honor and respect her husband. When a wife submits to er husband as she does to Jesus Christ she is honoring her husband and God. This does not mean that a wife is n to be heard. This does not mean a wife is to be a doormat. this does not mean that a wife is to stay at home and take care of all the "wife stuff". It does mean that a wife is to willingly submit to her husband. It does meant that a wife is to honor her husband. It does mean that a wife is to lift up her husband and respect him.

Love and Respect is not all there is to a marriage relationship. There is much more, but the Ephesians passage is about love and respect. the two words if fleshed out taught in this passage will produce satisfying fruit in a marriage relationship.

As a Hope Deal I have to opportunity to be involved in wedding ceremonies of various types, but every couple has one intent in their marriage, "BLISS". These truth of love and respect can lead to marriage bliss.

A GOD GIVEN DREAM

A GOD GIVEN DREAM will stir your passion.
A GOD GIVEN DREAM will be humanly impossible to accomplish.
A GOD GIVEN DREAM will make a life time impression on you.
A GOD GIVEN DREAM will lead you to practice strong faith.
A GOD GIVEN DREAM will be attacked by the dark side and enemy of our souls.

Adapted from 40 Days of Fasting and Prayer, Injoy Stewardship Services

JFT (Just For Thought)

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
Thomas Edison

Variety and Unity

The following are just a few verses of Scripture about the topic of variety and unity. These verses were written to a specific group of people and were addressing a church family. They can be applied to todays church family, work groups, friendships and the family unit.

3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4 Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. Romans 12:3-7

4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. I Corinthians 12:4-7, 12, 14

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:2-3

For SCC - Thank God for One Anothir 6-3-07

This month Sunrise is continuing with the theme of The Imperficts. During this series we are delving into family life and issues and discovering ways to live in joy in the midst of The Imperficts or the family unit in which we live. This past Sunday the topic was Thank God for One Anothir: Family Fun. In our families we can thank God for many things, but we focused on giving thanks for variety and for unity. Thank God for variety. Thank God for the different personalities, abilities, and ways of approaching life that each family member adds to the family unit. Variety adds spice and pizazz to the family. Variety broadens your horizons, leads to learning and makes family life and life in general more enjoyable. Instead of picking one another apart we can choose to be thankful for one another and place a high value on variety and each family members uniqueness. We have the opportunity to choose being thankful and enjoying variety which will lead to more family conversation, openness, forgiveness, encouragement, and joy in our lives. We also discussed being thankful for unity. Family unity leads to less "busyness" and more purpose, direction, meaning and joy. The poll questions about busyness revealed no one in the crowd desired more busyness in the lives, and yet almost everyone desired more purpose, direction, meaning and joy. Seeking to create unity and thanking God for one another will lead to more purpose, direction, meaning and joy in our family lives and in life in general.

Variety comes somewhat naturally in the family unit because none of us are alike. We may have some of the same tendencies but each person in the family is a unique individual. Unity does not seem to happen naturally. A few ways we can develop unity in our families are spending time together, listening to one another, sharing with one another and having family fun together.

This week speak these words to your family members on a regular basis. If you cant do it during the week do it just one evening. "I love you." "I thank God for you." "You are important to this family." These three statements are a good start to Thanking God for One Anothir.

Communicating With Your Child

Eight Helpful Hints for Healthy Communication with Your Child:

1.Think before you speak.
2. Stress the positive.
3. Deal with the negative in a very clear, concise and character building manner.
4. Spend time with your child.
5. Love your child even when you do not like what your child is doing or has done.
6. Apologize when you make a mistake or "blow it".
7. Keep in mind that parenting is not a dash it is a marathon.
8. Pray for yourself and your child daily.

These are adapted from Making Children Mind Without Losing Yours by Dr. Kevin Leman.

Hopeful Prayer

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:3-6

9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. Philippians 1:9-11

Praying with a thankful, hopeful, and bold heart. The above prayer was written by the apostle Paul while he was on an extended vacation and enjoying the beaches of the Med. WRONG. The prayer was written from jail. Not a jail with A/C, ping pong and three nice meals a day. A jail that was not very sanitary, meals were not a given and neither was his next day. Yet, he writes with hope. How? v.6 above. Paul had confidence not in himself or in his circumstances, but in God. He knew God would complete the work He had begun. God is in Control. Really. God is in Control. God is working in you and He will complete the work. HOPE. God is moving in your family and He will complete the work. HOPE. God is moving in your job situation and He will complete the work. HOPE. God in working in your spiritual growth and He will complete the work. HOPE. God is working in your finances and He will complete the work. HOPE. God is moving. HOPE. Look again at v.6 above. Claim this verse for you, your family, your career, your finances, your faith walk. HOPE.

Hit the pause button in life today and HOPE for just a few seconds.

For SCC - 5-27-07 Raising Heavin Raisirs

On Sunday, May 27 we dreamed about "Raising Heaven Raisirs". Actually we did more than dream. Steve Gabriele put together three drama sketches that helped us see a heaven raisir who was 7, 15, and 40 years old. It was a pretty picture. It helped us see what a heaven raisir may look like in everyday life. "Raising Heaven Raisirs." If you are a parent, uncle, aunt, grandparent, step parent, foster parent, etc. you have the opportunity to raise heaven raisirs. What a thrill. What an opportunity. What if? What if we who are parents, uncles, aunts, grandparents, step parents, foster parents developed a plan to raise heaven raisirs? What if we sought to raise up a whole generation that loved God, loved people, and served Jesus Christ. What if we prayed, planned, and prepared to raise children who are givers, respectful, honest, bold, fun, thankful, obedient, healthy emotionally and walk with God? Just imagine. What if? Well, if you are around children you have that opportunity and, "What if?", can become more of a reality if we will choose to practice the following.

One. Humble yourself before God. Place yourself and your life in God's hand. recognize that their is a God and you are not He or She. In humbling yourself before God you begin to recognize His blessings, you begin to understand that life is a gift, you gain insight into life, meaning, purpose and raising heaven raisirs.


Two. Be bold in your faith. Faith is the assurance of things asked for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). Live in hope. Place your faith in God and watch him begin to be and do wonderful things in your life and in the life of your children. Choose to live in faith in the good times and in the bad times. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Seek to please God by living in faith in your family life, financial life and work life. Please God by living in faith. Pray for your children. speak words of truth to your children. By faith raise heaven raisirs.


Three. Be what you want them Your children) to be. None of this, "Do what I say, not what I do." Instead. Be what I am showing and living for you. You want your children to obey. Then obey. You want your children to be honest. Be honest. You want your children to apologize when wrong. then apologize when wrong. You get the picture. Be what you want them to be. Be a heaven raisir. You ask, "What is a heaven raisir?" I answer, "What is a hell raiser?" You know. Now go opposite. Yeah, that's it. Let me help you out. A heaven raisir is caring, respectful, honest, fun, joyful, shares, is thankful, helps around the house, listens, is positive about life, .....

What if?

The various verses and passages used from the Bible: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5;
Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:1-4; Colossains 3:20-21.

Birthday

The Nethery clan celebrated Dawson's 14th Birthday yesterday. We celebrated by saying Happy Birthday to him many times, giving cards and gifts, and eating at his place of choice, Chili's. He likes their rib's. His friends helped him celebrate by giving him their lunch money change to the total of $8.00. Pretty Cool. He stayed up late playing Call of Duty 3 on his playstaion and had a great time. Birthdays. Hope. Birthdays are fun unless you are a forty year old woman or man. Just Joking. Birthdays are a time of celebration. One friend celebrated his wife's B-day on May 22 by spending the day with her and hanging out while browsing and shopping in area malls and stores. She did not have to do a thing all day, but enjoy. Another guy I know recently had a 40th surprise party for his wife. It was awesome. Huge crowd. Great food and fun. Perfect gifts. Celebration. And she was SURPRISED. Birthdays are fun. Hope is fun. Hope is positive, sees opportunities, speaks encouraging words, gives live, and is a gift from God. HOPE. Birthdays are also a gift from God. Today, live in hope.