Hammer on Anvil '

Good evening everyone! I haven't blogged in a few weeks because honestly, I forgot to! Wow the enemy knows how to distract you from doing God's work!

It is a new year! For many that brings thoughts of new beginnings, fresh starts. But one thing that sticks out in my mind is that God's mercies are new everyday. When He wakes us up, He gives us another chance to get it right. To serve Him with ALL that we have. To give everything over to Him. To trust Him completely. I made a list of things I wanted to do this year, not really resolutions, but things that I am going to work on for the reat of my life. At the top of the list, to grow closer to God. I truly want to live my life for Him and no one else. No one has been there for me like He has. He has seen me through some of the darkest times of my life. He continues to bless me every second of everyday. I am just so grateful to Him for ALL He has done for me.

Turn your life over to God and see what happens!!!
Have a very blessed night everybody! Love you all!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone! I pray that you all having a good weekend.

In light of everything that has happened over the past week in our country you maybe wondering what is going on. You maybe wondering why are all these horrible things happening, especially this time of the year.

We ask all kinds of questions, some of them will never be answered. One reason is, there is no answer or explanation. Another reason is, we are not suppose to know the answer to somethings that happen in this life. And the one reason I want to focus on tonight is, we don't ask the right person.

I had a grandmother and mother that hardly ever used a recipe. They just knew that it was right by the look, taste and feel of the food. I learned to cook by watching and asking them, what is that, what are you doing now, how does that work. I was asking the right person the right question to learn to cook.

If you want to know why you are here and what your purpose is in this life, go to the source. God is the author and finisher of our fate. He created us, so He knows what we are suppose to do. We spend all kinds of time and money trying to figure out what we should do with our lives, when all we have to do is get in alignment with the perfect will of God, He will take care of the rest.

So if you have questions about what you should do, ask the right person, go to the Source, God!!!

Have a very blessed weekend everybody!
Cheryl

Good evening! I pray your weekend is going well!

Praise, we sometimes seek approval from others when we feel that we have done a good job or when want to please them, and when we don't get it, we tend to feel slighted and let disappointed.

But, in His word, God said to seek the rewards of Heaven. If you receive your praise here on earth, then you have no rewards in Heaven. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to hear someone tell you 'Good job!', 'Way to go!', but we are to give ALL the glory to God! He is the One who deserves ALL of the praise and glory that we have.

I have a friend who is very humble and always gives the glory to God. I admire him for it, because that is the way we should all be. In his best selling book Purpose Driven Life, Pastor Rick Warren says that our main purpose is to please God and to give Him praise. Really, that is all we have to give Him, He has everything else, everything belongs to Him.

So, give Him praise! It is why we are here! Hallelujah!!!

Have a very blessed evening!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!!! I pray that you have had a great weekend, I know I have!

Being a high school Special Ed. teacher, I find myself telling my students to watch their mouths a lot. I have noticed that they use very colorful language like it is second nature, my have times have changed. But I am not going to talk about the down fall of the English language in America.

I want to speak about what we say to ourselves. I have found myself saying and thinking many negative things about myself and my life. What we think and say is what we become. Plain and simple. I thoughts and words are so powerful that God said in His word '...the tongue is sharper than a two edge sword.' Words have power! God spoke and the world came into existence. Words have power!!! That is why we have to watch what we say each other and to ourselves. I am a living witness that you can speak to a situation in your life and it will come to pass, good or bad.

Speak positive things into your life. Think positive thoughts about yourself. It is a very difficult thing to do, because we are so use to thinking badly about ourselves and putting ourselves down that it has become a habit. Replace those negatives with positives and your life will change in a dramatic way. God gave us the spirit of love and a sound mind, not fear and confusion. "He saw the best in me..." See what God sees when He looks at us, THE BEST!!!

Have a very blessed evening everybody!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone. I pray that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I certainly did. It was filled with family and friends and great food.

There are roughly 31 days until Christmas and I have to say that I was out with the rest of the bargain hunters looking for a good deal and I found some, but once again I heard disturbing news of people treating others with disrespect, hatefulness and disregard. These kinds of stories always hurt my heart because this is suppose to be the time of the year that we as the human race are to show loving kindness toward our fellow man. But it always seems to bring out the worst in folk.

So, I want to issue a challenge to everyone, 31 days of kindness. During this month, November, people have been writing about what they are thankful for on many of the social networks. In December, I would like for people to do a kind act toward another human being each day of the month and not tell a soul they have done it. Keep it between you, the other person and God. He sees your heart. He knows your spirit. There is no need to let everybody know what you have done. You will feel like a brand new person. Helping others helps you.

Have a very blessed night everybody!!! Love ya!!!
Cheryl

Hello everyone!!! It has been a great day! I spent time with my church family today, good times.

What do you do when you are tempted to do the wrong thing? Do you give and let it get the best of you? Or do resist it and pray through it? Temptation is very difficult to deal with and you cannot do it alone. God has to help you through it. That is why it so important to have a relationship with Him. You need Him everyday to make it, you need Him every second of everyday to see you through.

Prayer and faith are the keys to beating temptation. You must believe that He is and that He can help you. Yhen you must take action and resist, resist, resist!!!!

Have a blessed day everybody!!!

Cheryl

Good evening everyone! I pray that you got out and enjoyed your day! I did!
I had a question posed to me from a fellow believer, can you drink alcohol and still be saved. I told her that I felt that yes you could drink a beer and still be saved. I told her that everything must be done in moderation, everything can become a sin if you let it consume you and you put it before God. Food, alcohol, money, people, shopping, anything.
Then we talked about Biblical times and how Jesus turned the water into wine, it wasn't just grape juice, the Bible says wine. the Bible says things should be done in moderation. We are not to over eat, we are not drink too much, we are not to do anything to the point of where we feel that we cannot live without it.
I like to shop, but there was a time that instead of praying and meditating on God's word, I would go out and spend money that I didn't have to make myself feel better. And when I couldn't shop, I would feel bad about it until I could. I had to ask God to help me with my problem and He did!
The point is, everything must be done in moderation and to the glory of God. So, whatever you do remember, God comes first, always!!!
Good night, have a very blessed weekend!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone! I pray that you have had a restful and blessed weekend so far.
The beginning of November, Thanksgiving month. Several years ago I read in a popular magazine that many people keep a gratitude calendar during this month. Each day on the calendar they write down one thing they are thankful for in their lives. I now see that the world has upgraded to posting daily statuses on Facebook and Twitter of how thankful people are.
Although it is wonderful to give thanks for the things you have in your life and for just life itself, but why wait until November to do it? It  should be a 365 day a year thing, giving thanks. I know every morning I try to say Thank You Lord when my feet hit the floor, thankful that I can move and do for myself. So many in this world can't do say that.
So, don't just be thankful because it is Thanksgiving month, be thankful because God has done so many things for you that you can't even count them, and He will continue to do great things for you the rest of your life!
Thank You Lord for ALL You've done for me!!!!
Have a very blessed night, don't forget to set your clocks back 1 hour! Love ya'll!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!
It has been a glory filled day in church for me.
Waiting, it is a hard thing to do. Nobody really likes to wait on anything. We want it right now, when we order food, get our car fixed or go to the movies, we want instant gratification. Many of us have become that way with God too. As I sat in church this afternoon, I began to think about all of the things that God promised to me and then I began to wonder, "When will these promises come to pass?" Immediately the scripture,...wait upon the Lord...came to my mind. God's time is not our time, His ways are not our ways. He does things differently than we would. And thank goodness He does!!! Can you imagine if we did everything the way we wanted how much more our lives would be messed up!!! I know my life would have definitely taken a different path!
So, I'm glad to wait on God to fulfil His promises in my life. I know that it will be well worth the wait!
Good night, sweet dreams and God bless!!! Love ya'll!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!
It was certainly a beautiful Saturday here in Mid-Missouri! I hope you enjoyed your day today.
Have you ever been working on an important document only to loose the whole thing because you didn't take the time to hit the save button every few minutes? I have and it is very frustrating and disappointing to realize all your hard work was in vain. Now they have something called automatic save where your computer saves your words for you every once in awhile. My computer is doing it for me as I type this entry.
This got me to thinking, is it like that for our souls? Are we automatically saved? The answer is not really clear. We first have to believe that God is, then we must accept His Son Jesus as our personal Savior and confess our sins. If we do that, then automatically we are saved. It is nothing we can buy or do for ourselves, salvation is a gift from God Himself. "I'm so glad that Jesus saved me, I'm not what I used to be, thank God that now I'm free, I'm so glad that Jesus saved me!!!"
Believe + Accept + Confess = Saved!!!! Praise Him!!!
Have a very blessed evening everybody!!! Love ya'll!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!
It is a lovely stormy Saturday evening and God has been blessing all week.
If you want abundant blessings from God, YOU MUST TRUST HIM. If you don't trust Him with every part of your life, you will never experience the abundant life that God has for you.
Many people look for financial blessing, especially in hard economic times like these, but God can bless you in many different ways, good health, happy marriage, loving children. These are blessings also that many people take for granted until they loose them.
You must always be thankful for everything you have in your life, because you never know when like Job, your faith will be tested. Brother Job lost everything, absolutely everything, but 'In all this, Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.' Job 1:22 I sing a song in church called 'It's Only A Test' and it talks about keeping your faith and not giving up because it is only a test that we are going through. You must trust God through all of your tests and trials. For He is the only One that will be with you until the end. He is a friend that sticks closer than brother.
Thank You Lord for being with me these 44 years and for seeing me through many dark and stormy nights. I will trust in the Lord til I die!!! Amen!!!
Have a very blessed night and God bless you all!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!
It has been a great week, very busy!
In my busyness this week, I thought about how busy God is. He takes care of every single thing in the universe, EVERYTHING!!! That is a huge job. And yet, He is always there for me, whenever I need Him, whenever I call on Him, He is there. It is just amazing, He is amazing.
Then I thought, not only is He always there for me, but He is always there for everybody! You, me, everybody. God is truly the greatest love I have ever known. His love is greater than my parents, family or friends. He has never disappointed me , let me down or failed me. I know that I can always count on Him. For this I say Thank You Lord, I love You with all my heart. I don't know what I would do without You in my life.
Have a very blessed weekend and God bless you all!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone! It has been a wonderful day!

What do you do when you encounter a nonbeliever? Do you enter into a debate with them hoping to change their minds? Do you get angry and become argumentative with them? Or maybe you are quite and say nothing at all. No matter how you handle it, you have to know what you believe. Your faith has to be strong and you must be sure of what you believe. The enemy is smart and he knows your weaknesses. He will use the nonbeliever words to place doubt in your mind.

How do you protect yourself from this kind of attack? In my church we always say, 'Stay prayed up'. That means that we always need to be in constant communication with our Heavenly Father. Ask Him to show you the pitfall of the devil before you fall into them. Stay in His Word. Read your Bible everyday, more than once a day. It is the food for your soul. Fellowship with our believers. Seek counsel from other children of God, we are here to help each other. These are the things that will protect you from the enemy.

You must know what you believe, or you will fall for anything.

Have a very blessed weekend everybody!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!
I pray you all have had a great weekend!
I always marvel at those people who direct, produce and star in their own films! They do it all!!! It got me to thinking about God and the role He plays in our lives. He wants and deserves to be the Star in our lives, He wants to be front and center. But He is always working behind the scenes as well. Working things out in our favor, He does it all!!!
He is the Star in my life and I'm happy to report that He continues to work things out in my favor everyday! I'm so thankful that He saved me almost 30 years ago. I am still being edited and He continues to reveal my script to me everyday! One day I will receive my Oscar, meeting the author and finisher of my fate!
Good night, sweet dreams and God bless!!!
Chery

Good evening!
What a marvelous day!! Every morning when we get up, most of us go to the bathroom and take a look in the mirror. I know I look like I just got out of bed!!! Sorry, trying to be funny! But I start examing my face. That line wasn't there yesterday, where did that spot come from? I see everything that is wrong with me. But how does God see me? The Bible says that we are wonderfully made, in His image and He sees me as beautiful and perfect.

It is difficult to see ourselves the way God sees us, but we must begin to believe that we are who God says we are. We have to start seeing ourselves and our lives through His eyes. When we do, things will dramatically change in our lives. We will begin to truly live for God. It won't matter what is going on around us, we will be at peace. We won't look at ourselves and see all the flaws, but we will see the beauty within us! We will be able to live our lives the way He intended for us to. Amen!!!
Have a very blessed night everybody!!!
Cheryl

Good evening everyone!!! What a glorious day this has been!
Thank God for the much needed rain! Please pray for my church as we have a leaky roof and had some water come in since the rain started.
Sometimes we forget who we are. Things happen in our lives and people hurt us so badly that we begin to believe that we deserve what we are getting. Don't believe the bad stuff! We even beat ourselves up for the mistakes that we make. It is an old trick of the enemy to get us to stop believing what God tells us in His word. God sent His only Son to die for our sins, we are Redeemed. God paid  for our sins by sending Jesus Christ. I'll say it agian, Jesus The Christ was sent by the Heavenly Father to buy our souls back with His prescious blood. "His Blood still works and I'm glad to report that it never lost it power. Yes It works, I've been redeemed by the Blood of The Lamb!" So, stop with all the self hate and remember, you have been redeemed by the One and Only Jesus!!! Thank God redeemed...
Have a very blessed Labor Day weekend everybody!!!
Cheryl

Good morning everyone!
It is another beautiful day that the Lord has blessed us with!
Have you ever taken the time to reflect back over your life and wondered about those times that you didn't know how you were going to make it through your circumstances? Well, I have been doing a lot of that lately and the only answer I have found is, God brought me through! He was right there in every situation that I found myself in. I may not have realized it at the time, but in retrospect, He is the only answer.

With that being said, I have to give Him my unfailing love and gratitude for keeping me through many things that I could not have made it through without Him on my side. He has been my doctor, lawyer, father, mother, friend and companion when I needed Him the most. So, I love You Lord and I thank You Lord for ALL You have done for me!!! There is none like You, never has been and never will be. You are One of a knid!!! Hallelujah!!!! Praise Your Holy Name!!!!

Have a very blessed day everybody!!!
Cheryl

Good afternoon everyone!
One of my favorite church songs from my childhood says, 'I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord, I will trust in the Lord, til I die!' When the old saints of my church would lift their voices and sing that song, it felt like the whole church would move. When I was young, I liked the feeling that those songs would give me. It wasn't until I grewer older that I learned that those songs had powerful meaning in the words.

In the past two years, I have grown to truly understand what it means to trust in God. Not only to just trust Him, but to put ALL my trust in Him. As you all know, I have stated before that I am a worrier, I always like to know what is coming next. If I don't know, it weighs on my mind. I wonder how things are going to turn out. But, during this time of transition for me God has shown me where He has been taking care of me all of my life and I have nothing to worry about.

He says in His word, 'Cast all you cares upon me,' don't fret about anything. God has got it all under control. So, I am beginning to let go of my worries and let God carry my burdens. I must say, I am a much happier person because of it and I am enjoying that everlasting peace that only He can give.

Try giving it ALL to God. Everything! Anything you worry about, ask Him to take it and leave it with Him. I promise you, He will take care of it!!!

Have a very  blessed evening everybody!
Cheryl

Good day all!
I pray everyone is having a great weekend. Throughout the course of our lives we learn to be afraid of many things. When I was young I was afraid of the dark and of dogs. Both of those fears came from my sisters. Some people are afraid of heights, flying, closed in spaces and countless other phobias. All are learn from others or first hand experience.
But God told us not to be afraid because He is with us always, even unto the end! I heard a preacher say once, 'That God has already lived our life, He's been at the beginning, in the middle and at the end. He already knows what is going to happen.' I thought about that and it is true, so, if we trust in Him and follow His lead, we have nothing to be afraid of, He's already been there, done that. He knows how our story ends and so do we, VICTORY!!!
So, No Fear, No Worries! Thank You Jesus!!!
Have a very blessed day everybody!!!
Cheryl

Good afternoon everyone!
Woooooo! It has been a long week, but God has brought us to this point, Praise Him!!!
Sometimes as we get older we begin to want to stay to ourselves. We get into a groove of life and we become comfortable, sometimes too comfortable. We don't want to come out of our groove to try new things, meet new people, do something different. But what we fail to realize is, we must break out of our mold in order to grow. A seed can't become a plant if it doesn't break it's shell. A caterpiller won't be a butterfly if it doesn't brust the cacoon. If we want to grow spritually, we must know that there is something Bigger than oursevles. We have to be open to do something that we have never done before. We must be willing to talk to people that we don't know. We must be ready to go places we have never been. We must be obediant to God when He calls us to action. We have to be prepared to be BIGGER than we could ever imagine we could be!!!
Have a blessed day everybody!!!
Cheryl