Vacation Bible School

Our church recently held a Vacation Bible School which my family and I helped with. This year's VBS theme was Colossal Coaster World with a memory verse from 2 Timothy 1:7 which states; For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. My wonderful mother was in charge of the craft room which she excelled in. Laura Ashley and I were group leaders (I led the third graders). And Andrew was a participator. Each day at the VBS younger kids would watch part of a short video about a boy who trusted God and faced his fear of riding a roller coaster. After the video, I would lead the kids to each station; crafts, snacks/missions, bible study (about Peter the disciple), recreation, and music. Each station would tie into an amusement park or people who faced their fears and trusted God. While VBS took place, upstairs a man was leading an adult VBS (which was more of a bible study)  for the parents of the kids that were attending downstairs. When Vacation Bible School was over two children and two adult made confessions of  their faith. This whole VBS experience made me appreciate school teachers a lot more and realize that they are not paid enough. :) Actually, I had a great time and look forward to helping again next year.

Jesus

Today, I will be telling you about the most important person in the world. Perhaps you've heard about him. His name is Jesus. Why is he so important? Because he died for my sins and yours. (John 3:16 states "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." Everyone will have eternal life but unless you ask Jesus to come in your life you will have eternal life in hell.  

To be saved all you have to do is believe and say the ABC's to become a Christian. 

The ABC's to becoming a Christian are:

1. Admit you are a sinner. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23)

2. Believe that Jesus Christ died for you, was buried, and rose from the dead.
3. Confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

If you believe and say a simple prayer like this one below, that's all there is to it. You can accept Jesus Christ at this moment and not spend your eternity in hell.

Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name.

Amen.

A helpful site for new believers is here.

Now that you know how to become a Christian, you should do the following to help build your faith and gain support from other Christians.

Go to church. This is important because you can fellowship with other Christians.

Read the Bible so you can grow closer to God.

Share the gospel with other nonbelievers.

Becoming saved will not mean that your life here on earth will be perfect. The Bible states "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.  Christians still have problems BUT we are not alone, we have God to help us through hard times.



If you decide not to say this prayer today and are not saved, please talk to a saved friend or a pastor of a local Christian church soon to understand the importance of this message.  Don't wait.  You may comment on my blog and I will do my best to help if you have questions.

Louisiana

I will be doing two posts about a vacation we took, here go's. The first state we went to was Louisiana, we drove to the town of  Baton Rouge and spent the night in a hotel. The next morning, we drove to the Oak Alley Plantation, just outside of New Orleans. As their website states "It's more than a house. It's a majestic place by the Mighty Mississippi River where 300 year old oak trees have held root through times of prosperity and through times of suffering". This southern mansion is commonly called "The Grand Dame of the great river road" and that is what it is A beautiful house right next to the mighty Mississippi River. The admission to tour this house is $20.00 an adult, $7.50 for children 13 to 18 and $4.50 for kids who are between 6 and 12 years old. Even though this house is on the expensive side to tour, I would say that it is well worth it. The house and grounds take around two hours to see. My favorite parts are the antique vehicles and learning the history about the house. My favorite room of the mansion is the dining room. In the middle of this room, hung from the ceiling is a wood piece with fabric hanging from it.  A slave would have a rope tied to it and would slowly pull it to create a comfortable breeze. The dining room once had marble floors, but when the house was abandoned, cows got inside the house and cracked the floor and made a mess so the floor had to be changed into a wood floor.  I really enjoyed this tour and would go back again if I had the chance. The first image below is a video of the house taken from their website.

Master bedroom.

Bedroom.

Slave Quarters.

Grounds of the mansion. 

The parlor.

The dining room. 

Another thing we did in Louisiana was drive to the French Quarter in New Orleans and eat at Deanie's Seafood. To tell you the truth, I have had better seafood. After that, we drove to Mississippi; but that is an  another post....

A helpful tip for when visiting Louisiana is the following:  Louisiana is known for its gambling, so when driving through do not get tempted to do evil; for James 4:17 states "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin".

                                  Louisiana Facts                                       

                                         *State nickname is Sportsman's Paradise.

                                     State Motto is "Union, Justice, and Confidence "

                                  The Catahoula Leopard Dog is their state dog breed. 

                              Louisiana has the tallest state capitol building in the U.S.A

                                   Louisiana was named in honor of King Louis XIV.  

                                        State mammal: Louisiana Black bear.   

Peer Pressure

When we were at Teen Court, my sister and her friend were prosecution  attorneys representing the state of Texas in that case. The case was of a person who stole alcohol, drove and wrecked a golf cart that wasn't his and went on the school grounds at midnight with a bunch of "friends". By the way the person was only fourteen. The deliberation took a long time and was one of the longest in Teen Court. It took so long because most of the members of the jury felt that there was peer pressure involved. Finally, the other two jury members reached an agreement with the other members of the jury and the defendant got away with around 42 community service hours. My point in sharing this is that no-one should do something wrong just because that they're afraid of what someone else thinks. The Bible states that "For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10 If you are afraid to stand up and share that you won't do wrong; consider this verse, Acts 5:29 which states "But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than men."  I was one of the jury members that waited so long because I felt that the boy should have said "No" to peer pressure. If this situation happens again I will not hesitate and will share these Bible verses for Psalm 56:11 says "In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

 

Christmas cookies

 This year to start off the Christmas holiday, we made several batches of M&M, gingerbread men, spritz, and sugar cookies. After we finished baking all of the cookies, we delivered them to our friends, neighbors, and members of our church family. My favorite kind of cookie to bake is the spritz cookies because you   use a cookie press to make the cookie design. My favorite cookie to eat would be the sugar cookies. Although making Christmas cookies, giving and receiving presents and everything else that you do for Christmas is fun, make sure you remember that if God hadn't sent his Son Jesus Christ to be born on Christmas day we wouldn't celebrate CHRISTmas.  

Luke 2:9-14

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. (10) And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. (11) For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (12) And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, (14) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” To read more Christmas bible verses click  here

Jesus is the reason for the season art taken from here