The Christmas Pageant

My husband and I had been happily
Married (most of the time)
For five years
But hadn't been blessed with a baby.

I decided to do some serious
Praying and promised God
That if he would give us a
Child,
I would be a perfect mother,
Love it with all my heart
And raise it with His word
As my guide.

God answered my prayers
And blessed us with a son.

The next year God blessed us

With another son.

The following year,
He blessed us with
Yet another son.


The year after that we
Were blessed with a daughter.

My husband thought we'd
Been blessed right into poverty.
We now had four children,
And the oldest was only
Four years old.

I learned never to ask God
For anything unless I meant it.
As a minister once told me,
"If you pray for rain,
Make sure you carry an umbrella."

I began reading a few verses
Of the Bible to the children
Each day as they lay in their cribs.

I was off to a good start.
God had entrusted me
With four children and
I didn't want to disappoint Him.

I tried to be patient the day
The children smashed
Two dozen eggs on
The kitchen floor searching
For baby chicks.

I tried to be understanding. ..

When they started a hotel for
Homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours
To catch all twenty-three frogs.

When my daughter poured
Ketchup all over herself and
Rolled up in a blanket to see
How it felt to be a hot dog,
I tried to see the humour
Rather than the mess.

In spite of changing over
Twenty-five thousand diapers,
Never eating a hot meal
And never sleeping for more
Than thirty minutes at a time,
I still thank God daily for my children.

While I couldn't keep my promise
To be a perfect mother -
I didn't even come close...
I did keep my promise
To raise them in the Word of God.

I knew I was missing the mark
Just a little when I told
My daughter we were going
To church to worship God,
And she wanted to bring
A bar of soap along to
"wash up" Jesus, too.

Something was lost
In the translation when
I explained that
God gave us everlasting life,
And my son thought it was
Generous of God to give
Us his "last wife."

My proudest moment came
During the children's
Christmas pageant.

My daughter was playing Mary,
Two of my sons were shepherds
And my youngest son was a wise man.
This was their moment to shine.

My five-year-old shepherd
Had practiced his line,
"We found the babe wrapped
In swaddling clothes."

But he was nervous and said,
"The baby was wrapped
In wrinkled clothes."

My four-year-old "Mary" said,
"That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly.

That's dirty, rotten clothes."

A wrestling match broke out
Between Mary and the shepherd
And was stopped by an angel,
Who bent her halo and lost
Her left wing.

I slouched a little lower
In my seat when Mary
Dropped the doll representing
Baby Jesus, and it bounced
Down the aisle crying,
"Mama-mama."

Mary grabbed the doll,
Wrapped it back up
And held it tightly as
The wise men arrived.

My other son stepped forward
Wearing a bathrobe
And a paper crown,
Knelt at the manger
And announced,
"We are the three wise men,
And we are bringing gifts
Of gold,
Common sense
And fur."

The congregation
Dissolved into laughter,
And the pageant
Got a standing ovation.

"I've never enjoyed a Christmas
Program as much as this one,"
Laughed the pastor,
Wiping tears from his eyes.

"For the rest of my life,
I'll never hear the
Christmas story without
Thinking of
Gold,
Common sense
And fur."

"My children are my pride
And my joy and my greatest
Blessing," I said as I dug
Through my purse for an aspirin.

Jesus had no servants,
Yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree,
Yet they called Him Teacher.

Had no medicines,
Yet they called Him Healer.

Had no army,
yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles,
yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime,

yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today.

If you believe in
God and in Jesus Christ His Son,

Feel honoured
to serve such a Leader
who loves us.

Thanks Bro. Bob K.

Paganism Strong @ Vancouver 2010

Mascots unveiled for Vancouver Olympic Games

Organizers with the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games unveiled three mascots and an honorary sidekick on Tuesday.

The Olympic mascots were presented during a 35-minute live show at the Bell Centre for Performing Arts in Surrey, B.C.

They include:

• Miga -- a snowboarding sea-bear inspired by the First Nations' legends of the Pacific Northwest. Miga is part Spirit Bear, which is the official provincial mammal of British Columbia, and part orca whale.
• 
  
• Quatchi -- a shy and gentle Sasquatch with a long brown beard and blue earmuffs meant to conjure the mystery and wonder associated with the Canada's wilderness.
• 
  
• Sumi -- an animal spirit who flies with the wings of the thunderbird.
• 
  
• Mukmuk - a Vancouver Island marmot sidekick considered an honorary member of the mascot team.

More than 800 excited schoolchildren from eight different elementary schools were on hand for the announcement.

The new mascots were designed by Meomi Design based in Vancouver.

The mascots will appear in advertisements for the Games, official publications and websites, and will provide souvenir-minded Olympic fans with stuffed toys and other trinkets to take home.

They will also serve to "bring humour and light-hearted fun to the Games experience and help provide a warm welcome to athletes and visitors from around the world," the Vancouver Olympic Games website said ahead of the announcement.

The identities of the new mascots were a highly guarded secret ahead of Tuesday's announcement. Speculation swirled as to what distinctly Canadian symbols would represent the Games -- a moose, maple leaf, hockey puck, beaver, etc.

edited by JNH

WHAT WE BELIEVE

The ABC's of Our Statement of Faith

We Believe:

A. That the Bible is the Word of God, given by direct inspiration; and is infallible and inerrant. We believe specifically that the Authorized Version (KJV) is a correct translation of the Received Text (Textus Receptus) which has been divinely preserved from the original autographs given to the prophets and apostles by plenary inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This church does not accept or use any other translation in the English tongue (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

B. That there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Psalm 2:2,7; Psalm 139:1-16; Isaiah 63:10; John 4:24; 15:26; 16:7; James 1:17).

C. That the Lord Jesus Christ is the uniquely begotten Son of God, and fully man; that He was virgin-born, lived a sinless life, was crucified, died and was buried; that He was resurrected, ascended to the Father bodily and will return for His saints before He comes to judge the world and rule the world, and that Christ died for the sins of the world, and that His blood on Calvary has paid the full price for mankind's redemption and has eternal power to cleanse from all sin and save from Hell (Isaiah 7:l4; Matthew 24:29-3l; Luke 1:3l-35; John l:l,2; Romans 9:l5; 1 Corinthians l5:l-4; 2 Corinthians 5:l4,l5; Philippians 2:6-8; Revelation 3:l0).

D. That the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; and that He is the supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers at salvation, indwelling them, and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John l6:l3; Ephesians 5:l8; 1 John 2:20,27).

E. That all men are by nature sinful and lost and that for eternal salvation, Holy Spirit regeneration is absolutely essential (John 3:5; Romans 3:24; 5:l; 6:l0; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; 1 John 2:2).

F. That men are justified on the single ground of faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ (Acts l6:3l; Romans 5:l; 2 Corinthians l5:l8-2l; Titus 3:5; 1 John 2:2).

G. That Satan is a person and that the lake of Fire is a place of eternal conscious punishment for all unsaved (Isaiah l4:l2-l4; Ezekiel 28:l4; Revelation. 20:7, ll-l5).

H. That a New Testament church is a local organized body of baptized believers practicing Scriptural ordinances and being actively engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19,20; 1 Corinthians 5:4; Ephesians 4:ll-l6; 5:23,24; Hebrews l0:25).

I. That all the redeemed, that is those who are "born-again", are kept by God's power, and are secure in Christ for eternity (John 6:37-40; l0:27-30; Romans 8:l,38,39; 1 Corinthians l:4-8; 1 Peter l:5).

J. That it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Romans l3:l3,l4; Galatians 5:l3; Titus 2:ll-l5).

K. That sanctification is God's will for all believers and that it involves the believer's separation from the world, his cleansing in life, and complete dedication to Christ in service; but not the eradication of the Adamic nature. That all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproach upon their Saviour and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, worldly practices and associations is commanded by God, including all forms of immorality and homosexuality (Romans l2:l,2; l4:l3; 2 Corinthians 5:l9,20; 2 Timothy 3:l-5: 1 John 2:l5-l7; 2 John 9-ll).

L. That water baptism by immersion following conversion is a symbolic ordinance setting forth the death, burial and resurrection of Christ; and the believer's union with Him in death and resurrection. That baptism is a Scriptural ordinance of the church requiring immersion of believers only, to be administered by the New Testament local church (Matthew 28:l9,20; Acts 2:38; l0:47; l6:33).

M. That the Lord's Supper is a Scriptural ordinance of the local church to be partaken of by the local church membership (1 Corinthians ll:23-34).

N. That there is a physical resurrection of both the saved and the lost; the saved unto the resurrection of life and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation (1 Corinthians l5:5l-57; 2 Corinthians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 4:l4-l7; Revelation. 20:ll-l5).

O. That there will be a pre-millennial, pre-tribulation rapture of the saints (1 Thessalonians 4:l4-l7; Titus 2:l3; Revelation. 3:l0).

P. That the modern Charismatic Movement (i.e. tongues, prophecies, healers, signs and wonders, etc.) is not Biblical and we do not accept it as being from God.

Q. That the ecumenical drive to unite all religions into one super church is totally unscriptural.

jnh

Baby Kittens

So there I was . . . just relaxing in front of the T.V. when the kids yelled, 'Hey Dad, come see the kittens.'

Know Your Nose

TOP TEN THINGS TO DO WITH YOUR NOSE WHEN YOU’RE BORED…

10) Look down it at somebody (Pride)

09) Poke it into someone else’s business (Strife / Dissension)

08) Snoop around with it (Nosey / Gossip)

07) Get it out of joint (Anger)

06) Cut it off to spite your face (Bitterness)

05) Pay through it (Materialism)

04) Find something right under it (Love / Salvation)

03) See past it (Eternity / Hope)

02) Keep it clean (Humility / Obedience)

AND THE NUMBER ONE THING TO DO WITH YOUR NOSE…

01) Get it stuck in a book (The Bible!)

Veteran's Day 2007

Please pray our son, Andrew Hallmark, who is in Baghad, Iraq till May of '08.

Today is Veteran’s Day, and here is a presentation that is a “must see” for every American this special day, especially since we are in wartime. Take the 5 minutes to watch this for the troops’ sake in harm’s way today, and pray for them.

This film was made by a 15 year old girl. It is the hottest thing on the internet and on Fox News today. There have been over 3,000,000 hits as of this morning.

Watch all of it (and make sure you have the sound on for the background music).......and, pass it on!!

http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1

Seven Reasons NOT to mess with Children

7 reasons not to mess with children.

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.


The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.


Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.


The little girl said, 'When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah'.


The teacher asked, 'What if Jonah went to hell?'


The little girl replied, 'Then you ask him'.



A Kindergarten teacher was observing her
classroom of children while they were drawing. She would
occasionally walk around to see each child's work.


As she got to one little girl who was working diligently,
she asked what the drawing was.


The girl replied, 'I'm drawing God.'


The teacher paused and said, 'But no one knows what
God looks like.'


Without missing a beat, or looking up from her drawing,
the girl replied, 'They will in a minute.'



A Sunday school teacher was discussing the
Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.

After explaining the commandment to 'honour' thy Father and thy Mother, she asked, 'Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers
and sisters?'

Without missing a beat one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, 'Thou shall not kill.'



One day a little girl was sitting and watching
her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out in contrast on her brunette head.


She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, 'Why are some of your hairs white, Mom?'

Her mother replied, 'Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white.'


The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and then said, 'Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?'



The children had all been photographed, and
the teacher was trying to persuade them each to buy a
copy of the group picture.

'Just think how nice it will be to look at it when you are all grown up and say, 'There's Jennifer, she's a lawyer,' or 'That's Michael, He's a doctor.'

A small voice at the back of the room rang out, 'And there's the teacher, she's dead.'



A teacher was giving a lesson on the
circulation of the blood. Trying to make the matter
clearer, she said, 'Now, class, if I stood on my head,
the blood, as you know, would run into it, and I would
turn red in the face.'


'Yes,' the class said.


'Then why is it that while I am standing upright in the
ordinary position the blood doesn't run into my feet?'


A little fellow shouted, 'Cause your feet ain't empty.'



The children were lined up in the cafeteria of
a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large pile of apples. The nun made a note, and posted on the apple tray:

'Take only ONE . God is watching.'

Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end of the table was a large pile of chocolate chip cookies.

A child had written a note, 'Take all you want. God is watching the apples.'

Remembrance Day 2008

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— John McCrae


Reposted From Last November

HONEST HYMN SINGING:

If we were entirely honest every time we sang a hymn or gospel song, here's how many of our old favorites would sound:

* I Surrender Some

* There Shall Be Sprinkles of Blessings

* Fill My Spoon, Lord

* Oh, How I Like Jesus

* He's Quite A Bit To Me

* I Love To Talk About Telling The Story

* Take His Life And Let Me Be

* It Is My Secret What God Can Do

* There IS Scattered Cloudiness In My Soul Today

* Onward, Christian Spectators

* Where He Leads Me I Will Consider Following

* Just As I Pretend To Be

* When The Saints Go Sneaking in

* Brethren, We Have Met To Have A Business Meeting

* Sweet Minute of Prayer

* Let Me Have My Own Way, Lord
************

Tips at the Pump

Good information from a petroleum worker.


I don't know what you guys are paying for gasoline.... Here in California we are also paying higher, up to $3.50 per gallon. But my line of work is in petroleum for about 31 years now, so here are some tricks to get more of your money's worth for every gallon.


Here at the Kinder Morgan Pipeline where I work in San Jose, CA we deliver about 4 million gallons in a 24-hour period thru the pipeline. One day is diesel, the next day is jet fuel, and gasoline, regular and premium grades. We have 34 storage tanks here with a total capacity of 16,800,000 gallons.


Only buy or fill up your car or truck in the early morning when the ground temperature is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground the more dense the gasoline, when it gets warmer gasoline expands, so buying in the afternoon or in the evening....your gallon is not exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role. A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.


When you're filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode. If you look, you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high. In slow mode you should be pumping on low speed, thereby minimizing the vapors that are created while you are pumping. All hoses at the pump have a vapor return. If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank, so you're getting less gas for your money.


One of the most important tips is to fill up when your gas tank is HALF FULL or HALF EMPTY. The reason for this is that the more gas you have in your tank, the less air occupying its empty space. Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof serves as zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, here where I work, every truck that we load is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.


Another reminder. If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up-- most likely the gasoline is being stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.

Hope this will help you get the most value for your money.

The Beliver's Perfect Standing

BELIEVER’S PERFECT STANDING

Hebrews 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

1 John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

God requires a perfect standing

Of all who come to Him;

The holiness of God demands

Separation from sin;

The human heart cannot attain

That perfect sinlessness,

It’s received by faith alone:

Imputed righteousness.

The law demands the sinner’s death,

The law is just and pure;

God gave the law on Sinai,

So there is no detour;

Some one must pay the penalty,

The sinner’s sin must bear,

So on the cross of Calv’ry,

Our Saviour bore it there.

And since He bore our sin and shame

Upon the cruel tree,

The judgement of the Great White Throne,

Is past for you and me;

For us there’s no condemnation,

His wrath’s forever past;

We’ll never cease to praise Him,

So long as life shall last.

The only judgement for the saved

That they will ever meet,

Will follow rapture of the saints

Before the judgment seat;

Rewards bestowed, rewards withheld,

Will be the order there,

This great event will follow

Christ’s coming in the air.

By Benj. F. Dotson, D.D., Litt. D.

Pastor-Poet-Bible Teacher-Evangelist 1949

Church Planters in US of A

Here is a site that will help you with the stats in your Zip Code.

Here is a great site for Demographics in any zip code in the US of A.

http://zipskinny.com/

God Bless, Bro. Jeff Hallmark