Fellowship With God

Do you ever think about what it would have been like to be Eve before the first sin?  Walking around in the garden of Eden, not a care in the world, just enjoying the beautiful creation and enjoying talks with God and spending so much time with Adam.  Doesn't it sound wonderful - before the fall? It sure does to me! I can't even imagine how it must have been.

As Christians, we have a fellowship with God, as well. It's different than Eve's was, of course, but it's still a closeness, an intimacy, that is there for us if we take advantage of it. 

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.  But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  

 1 John 1:5-9

But just like sin got in the way of Eve's fellowship with God, it gets in the way of our fellowship with God, as well.  However, the blood of Jesus was shed for our sins, and though we will still mess up from time to time, we can continue in that fellowship with God by following out His commands:  Walk in the light and by confessing our sins.

God WANTS us to walk in the light! He longs for us to have fellowship with Him!  Isn't that wonderful news?!  He's not putting guards at the entrance with flaming swords denying us further access from Him.  Jesus did away with all barriers between us and God. He was and is our bridge to Our Heavenly Father!

Below is a breakdown of the words above from the original Greek meaning (www.blueletterbible.com) and from the Vine's dictionary on that site.  It's great seeing the original meaning to gain further understanding into the scriptures.

Fellowship: fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation

Walk: To make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities

Darkness: of ignorance respecting divine things and human duties, and the accompanying ungodliness and immorality

The light: God is light because light has the extremely delicate, subtle, pure, brilliant quality of truth and its knowledge...together with the spiritual purity associated with it....that which is exposed to the view of ....all, openly, publicly reason, mind....the power of understanding esp. moral and spiritual truth

We have: To have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have (hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating emotions, etc.), to hold fast keep, to have or comprise or involve, to regard or consider or hold as

One with another: with, after, behind

Cleanses: In a moral sense: a) to free from defilement of sin and from faults, b) to purify from wickedness, c) to free from guilt of sin, to purify, d) to consecrate by cleansing or purifying, e) to consecrate, dedicate

Sin: that which is done wrong, sin, an offense, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act

Deceive: to cause to stray, to lead astray, lead aside from the right way, b) to go astray, wander, roam about...to lead away from the truth, to lead into error, to deceive...to be led into error...to be led aside from the path of virtue, to go astray, sin...to sever or fall away from the truth of heretics...to be led away into error and sin

Truth: what is true in things appertaining to God and the duties of man, moral and religious truth...the truth as taught in the Christian religion, respecting God and the execution of his purposes through Christ, and respecting the duties of man, opposing alike to the superstitions of the Gentiles and the inventions of the Jews, and the corrupt opinions and precepts of false teachers even among Christians

Confess: to confess, i.e. to admit or declare one's self guilty of what one is accused of...to profess...
to declare openly, speak out freely

Faithful: of persons who show themselves faithful in the transaction of business, the execution of commands, or the discharge of official duties...one who kept his plighted faith, worthy of trust...that can be relied on

Just: righteous, observing divine laws...innocent, faultless, guiltless

Unrighteousness: unrighteousness of heart and life...a deed violating law and justice, act of unrighteousness

Silly Soup Sunday

Every month our local church family has a fellowship together. It always has a fun and catchy title, thanks to our preacher/brother-in-law!  This month it was SILLY SOUP SUNDAY!  And we had soups.....and some silliness mixed in....just for fun!

He was a youth minister, so he's carried a lot of the fun games and activities from the youth group days to the whole congregation.  The older people here enjoy it a lot, as you can see!

 They played lots of "Minute-to-Win-It" games....very successfully, at times.  

 To play, they had to wear reindeer antlers and a Rudolph (clown) nose.  It was so much fun!

 Everyone was such a good sport for the games.  

 The young people and rest of us all cheered them on.

 Their determination to perform the game successfully was inspiring.....

 ....they completed each game/task without getting all discombobulated!!! 

 I'm not sure I could have done that!

 The cups would have been flying with me, yet each of them did their game with ease and grace.

 This fun game was a snowball toss. I had bought these for our elementary party...from Target. The buckets were numbered, making it easy to score.

 The plush snowballs were from Oriental Trading.  Hallmark sells a big bucket of them, as well. The red buckets came with ping-pong type balls that would have been fine, but the plush ones added an extra element of fun. 

 This game was the funniest of all! The four contestants had to move the piece of brownie down from their forehead to their mouth without using their hands!

No one was successful, but the winner was determined to be the one who didn't drop it, but only left it setting on her head!  Don't we have some wonderful people in our midst?! They are willing to have fun and didn't mind us laughing along at their fun.  A GREAT SILLY SOUP SUNDAY!

2nd Annual Spring Cookout

(Note:  I will resume the "Who's in Charge?" posts tomorrow!)

What a great evening for our annual cook out!  Last night was beautiful - with no wind and great temperatures!  Perfect for our church family to gather together after evening worship.

We had lots of great smoked meats - prepared by a few of the men.  I'm sparing you the picture of the whole pig that was served - and laying out on the table.  Everyone loves the meat, but I can't even look at him!!  Later on my husband actually brought the pig head to me - to torture me.  That wasn't very nice, was it??!!  Ha ha!  My brother-in-law said I needed to face my fears.  I don't think so!!

We had a huge group for worship and the picnic afterwards.  Most of us had ordered matching shirts with the message "On the Move" printed across the front.  We should be a church that is "On the Move"! "On the Move" doing what God asked us to do!

You may remember all of the shower decorations I've posted in the past.  Here are the babies that the showers were honoring!  This picture is missing one or two babies, but what fun having them in our midst! 

Apparently there was a fierce ping pong competition going on between these two!  I hear that my nephew won.  He looks intense in this picture, for sure!!

Lots of people enjoyed playing the 9-square game.  It's always very popular between young and old.

The best part of the evening was the fellowship with one another - getting to know each other better.  It is great to be part of a growing Christian family.  That's not always common in a small community, but it sure is here!  We're excited about being "On the Move" for God in 2013!

Ladies' Salad Supper 2011

Tonight was one of my favorite traditions of the year - an annual Ladies' Salad Supper that I host each spring (with the exception of last year) for my sisters in Christ.  The favorite part of the evening for all of us, I'm certain, is getting to know each other better.  Hearing stories and memories from times gone by.....reminiscing about those who are no longer with us here on earth......learning more about each other.  It's all so special.  And, as an added benefit the food is always great, too!

Here are some of the pictures from the evening:

These plates were bought in November from Hobby Lobby. I liked the brown and cream design, but I wasn't sure how to make them look "Springy", then decided on chocolate bunny centerpieces.  My mother-in-law made the fabric carrots years ago.  They're so cute!

This big bunny was the chocolate bunny inspiration.  He used to be pink, but with my red/gold/brown tones, pink doesn't work.  So, he got painted a few years ago.

Lots of wonderful salads!  Yum!!  A few of these are on my family recipe blog:  Avocado Potato Salad and Ramen Noodle Salad.  They are both delicious!  I've asked for some copies of other salad recipes, too.

There were 19 ladies in attendance tonight. We were blessed to have four out-of-town guests....Sojourners who are in town with their husbands working at Tipton Home for a few weeks.

 I asked each lady to bring three things (hidden in a box or bag) that were special to them.  One by one, I opened the bags and showed the items.  The ladies tried to guess whose items they were. 

  This is my mother-in-law showing a camera that was her mothers.  It still has film in it!  Attached to the camera she had a large picture of herself as a little girl.  The picture was taken with that very camera.  How neat is that?!

 This sweet sister brought a picture of her late husband.  He was wearing his Navy uniform and the photo was in an official U.S. Navy frame.  So neat!  She brought lots of pictures.  I had to laugh when I grabbed her bag.  It was in an Avon bag and SHE'S AN AVON LADY!!!  I teased her that it sort of gave it away when everyone knows she's the Avon lady!

Deb brought a package of seeds, as she loves gardening, but also two small Bibles.  One from first grade, given to her by a Bible class teacher.  The other given to her from her parents after she was baptized.  So special!

Phyllis had a handkerchief that was (I believe) her great-great grandmothers.  She and all of her sisters used it in each of their weddings.  It was over 100 years old.  She read a cute poem called "Grandma's Shoes".

The poem was about a "grandma's ugly shoes" from a grand-daughter's perspective and her dreading wearing them when she got older, only to find by that time she was wearing Reebok's and the teen girls were wearing the ugly "grandma shoes"!

Margie brought dog tags that belonged to her dad, her husband, her son and her father-in-law from their years in the service.  It was so neat to have all of them on the chain and to see the inscriptions.

Judy brought a beautiful quilt she designed for her granddaughter.  The quilt has a Noah's Ark theme and has the song, "Noah's Big Boat" quilted in a corner on the back.  She said that song is what the granddaughter always wanted her to sing when she was little and still wants to her from her now - years later.

Verna had several jewelry pieces to share.  One ring was her grandmothers and was over 100 years old.

Renee' shared three special items that were made by each of her three children and her daughter-in-law.  The Mother-in-Law poem embroideried by her daughter-in-law was really sweet.   

There were lots of special "things" talked about during the evening, but we all realized that it wasn't the "things", but the people that made those "things" special.  Without the people attached and etched in our memories to those things, there wouldn't be anything special about them.

After the sentimental journey, for some reason, our conversation turned to skunks.  For the next 15 minutes or so, we laughed and laughed about skunk stories!  You'd be amazed at how many there were! 

Thank you, ladies' for a wonderful evening of fellowship, friendship, food, and fun.....and even skunks!

Fellowship with Christians Friends

It's been a long time since we've hosted our church family at our home. It used to be something we did every October, but the past few years there have been too many conflicts and it hasn't worked out for us to have it.

Instead of waiting and trying to work it out later on, we decided to schedule the fellowship time for tonight after evening worship services. Because it's a holiday weekend, we knew there would be a lot of people out of town, but we still ended up having a good crowd. It made it great for the kids and many of the adults, since tomorrow is Labor Day and there's no school and many don't have to work.

Everyone brought finger foods and desserts (including homemade ice cream - YUM!)and enjoyed the time visiting in the coolness of the day. The teens and children enjoyed volleyball, swinging, and some even caught a few frogs!

It's nice to get together to visit and enjoy the company of fellow Christians. In the hurried lives we all live, it's a nice change of pace when we're able to slow down for a while.

If you are off tomorrow from work or if your children have the day off from school, take the time to relax and enjoy being together with friends and/or family. If you do have to work tomorrow, be thankful for your job. So many are struggling with job loss at this time - work is something to be especially grateful for.

To all of you - have a great week!

We All Scream For Ice Cream!

Every year on the last Wednesday night of the school year, our congregation has an ice cream celebration. Ladies sign up to bring ice cream, toppings, cookies, and brownies.


I usually make ice cream shaped sugar cookies, but this year my daughter, Lauren, made them. Thanks, Lauren! As you can see, we always have plenty of sweet treats!


Tonight, just as we were getting ready to serve, someone announced that a young lady had decided to become a Christian and was going to be baptized! We all hurried back over to to church building to be part of that special event and then back to the fellowship building part to enjoy the ice cream, cookies, and brownies. It reminded me of Phillip teaching the Ethiopian eunuch and he said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"(Acts 8:26-39) The chariot stopped right then. Tonight we stopped right where we were (well, we had to walk next door, but the young girl was already there!) and this young girl became a child of God!





Our friend Jimmy allowed me to snap a photo of his lovely ice cream sundae! Thanks, Jimmy!

The sundae makes a good illustration of the Lord's Church. Christ is the base - the bowl. We are the ice cream. The ice creams come in different flavors and different textures. As Christians, we are all different. None of us are made exactly alike. Now for the toppings. There are many different toppings - caramel, chocolate, fruits, whipped toppings, and nuts. We all have different talents, different abilities, different personalities. We all have different roles to fill in God's Kingdom. And the cherry on top? That's the fellowship we have with one another, and the fellowship we have with God because of our relationship with His Son, Jesus. The church, which is rejected by so many in the world today, is one of the greatest part of being a child of God!

Romans 12:4-5 "Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."

Sweet Fellowship, Precious Memories

For the past 6 years I've hosted the ladies from our congregation in my home for a spring salad supper. Everyone brings their favorite salad and we enjoy the meal together. After the meal, we do some kind of activity to get the ladies talking about themselves. This is always the highlight of the evening.

This year I announced for everyone to bring one or two things that were special to them. They all mentioned how hard it was to narrow it down to one or two! Several brought pieces of jewelry and knick knacks that were given to them by their children or passed down from their parents or grandparents. One Christian sister brought a silver dollar that her husband had as a teenager. He was going to use that silver dollar to take her to the movies, but she had some money and "bought" the silver dollar from him. She didn't want him to use it. She has had that silver dollar in her billfold for over 50 years now!

Several women brought Bibles that were their own when they were younger or had belonged to their parents or grandparents who are now deceased. It was interesting seeing how they were written and marked in. Our preacher's wife brought two letters that had been written to her by her dad and her son many years ago. The one from her son was written the night before he left for Japan. He wrote it not knowing for sure that he would ever see his parents again. She read the letter to the group. Very heartwarming! Thankfully her son did return home and is doing fine, but what a special letter she now has.

Another Christian sister brought an old 7up bottle. This bottle is used when she bakes angel food cakes. It holds the pan upside down while the cake cools. But, what is special about this bottle is that it was given to her when she and her husband were houseparents at Tipton Home. A teenage girl in their cottage became very sick with a rare type of pneumonia and later passed away from complications of the illness. That bottle has a sticker with the name of the young girl on it and is a reminder of her memory each time the angel food cake is made.

We know that all of these earthly "treasures" will some day be gone and that our real treasure is in heaven, but it's the special memories of the people associated with the "things" that make them special.

Christian fellowship was one of the main goals of the early church. Acts 2:42 tells us, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Hmmmm. They "devoted themselves....to the fellowship". What does that mean? What is fellowship? A potluck dinner? No. It may include a potluck dinner, but that is not what defines Christian fellowship. Fellowship in the Greek means "to share together, take part together". Christian fellowship is being together. It is sharing together. It is having a relationship with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Precious memories are made when Christians come together and share sweet fellowship with one another. Is Christian fellowship important to you? Are you "devoted" to the fellowship as the early Christians were?