Born Again Christians Thread-No Bashing please

[ktink]

It's been a while since I've posted on this thread and I hope you all won't think that I'm being selfish. But could I ask you all to pray that we will have a safe trip? I just feel better with everything going on that if I have some fellow Christians praying for us that all will go well. I almost feel guilty about going, I've been so depressed this week w/ the Katrina coverage that I can't stand to watch it anymore. My heart breakes for these people.

 

[Grandma Bear]

ktink, I will keep you in my prayers. We are all saddened by Katrina's attack.
Our pastor called a special prayer meeting before our regular service to pray for all of those whoi were victimized by Katrina and to see what we can do to help those in distress.

 

[ktink]

ktink, I will keep you in my prayers. We are all saddened by Katrina's attack.
Our pastor called a special prayer meeting before our regular service to pray for all of those whoi were victimized by Katrina and to see what we can do to help those in distress.

Thank you. At our Wednesday night service the deacons raised the motion to send a large sum of money to the disaster relief and send bibles to the National Guardsman and all down there. Of course the motion was passed and we are currently coming up with other ways to help. There will be a blood drive on 9/6 and 10/11, there's just little things that go a long way at times like these.

 

[Albertan mom]

ktink, Have a wonderful safe trip!!! Will be praying for you. Don't feel guilty about going. Everyone could use a little Disney at this horrible time. Try to forget about what is going on, and engulf yourself in your disney experience. You have saved and planned for this vacation, you don't need to feel bad.

(Not trying to sound insensitive to the situation, but it will still be there when you get back, and you can help out then!!)

Again, have a great time!!
Say Hi to Mickey!!

 

[ktink]

ktink, Have a wonderful safe trip!!! Will be praying for you. Don't feel guilty about going. Everyone could use a little Disney at this horrible time. Try to forget about what is going on, and engulf yourself in your disney experience. You have saved and planned for this vacation, you don't need to feel bad.

(Not trying to sound insensitive to the situation, but it will still be there when you get back, and you can help out then!!)

Again, have a great time!!
Say Hi to Mickey!!

Thanks so much.

 

[luvthatduke]

ktink, no worries Sister!
Praying for your health & safety, enjoy your time with family.

Albertan mom, awww.... I knew you didn't post it
because you necessarily agreed with it! Blessings...

Tasha, so glad you are doing well, praise the Lord.

 

[Tasha+Scott]

Hey, everyone!

Thanks for all of the concern for my family and me this week! It means a lot, but we are truly blessed and were never in any real danger. We could have been if we had chosen to drive during the storm or the day after b/c of the severe winds but we didn't. Thanks again though. It means a lot to know you care.

ktink~ Have a great trip! I know what you mean about feeling guilty. Our trip is still nearly 8 months away and I still feel guilty for having a trip in the works when so many have suffered. But I agree that everyone needs a little vacation every now and then, and our trip is to celebrate dd's 1st b-day. I can't see cancelling it even though I do still feel guilty. Really...just make the most of it. You deserve to have fun with the mouse! I'll pray it is magical as well as safe for you!

Okay, just have to share this. I have been pretty upset about the devastation here in MS as well as NO and AL. My MIL didn't go to NO like I thought. She went to Biloxi, MS. It is really bad there! She called to tell us that after they arrived they needed more gas and it took them 3.5 hours to find a station that had any! And to make matters worse they have been sleeping on the ground in the parking lot of walmart! But she still feels that is a small price to pay to offer medical assistance to those that need it and have lost so much. Now it's no secret that she and I really are not close at all, but I am so proud of her and the sacrifice she has made that I just had to share. I admit I wish I could have gone too b/c I just ache to help these people but I have noone to keep Kylie and I am not about to take my 4 month old into those conditions. I have been doing my part here since we have people in shelters in our own town.

Another blessing that has literally made me praise God on so many levels that I must share. We went to walmart this afternoon to buy some groceries and the salvation army was taking donations. They gave me a list of what they needed. I tried so hard to buy things on that list. It consisted of things like water, diapers, toothbrushes, toilet paper, etc. Do you know that EVERY single item on that list was impossible to buy except water! Know why? Because the store was packed with people with shopping carts full buying the supplies that were needed. All of the needed items were bought out. I looked everywhere. All of the diapers, toothbrushes, etc., had been sold! It was unbelievable! The only thing they had left was a few cases of water. I bought some of that but I am sure it was all gone within the hour. I will say it is a good thing I have enough diapers for my own child to last a few weeks or I would be in trouble! But again, a small price to pay to help those in need and I have plenty of diapers. As a matter of fact I have a good many diapers that Kylie has outgrown. I had been planning to give them to my SIL who is expecting her 2nd child at the end of March but I am going to donate them instead. SIL completely agrees that I should as she isn't hurting financially or anything. Anyway, I read the thread about supporting the president that you started Albertan Mom and I just wanted to let you know that yes, there are those here that don't agree with the president and some probably downright hate him, but we are still doing our parts. I hope it is the same everywhere else. I know that we are a lot closer to the situation here in MS but I do think that probably all of the other states are doing as much as they can during this crisis too. That in itself has made my entire day! I was sad that I couldn't donate more but relieved and glad that the store was out of the items as a result of everyone donating. Praise God!!!

 

[Grandma Bear]

Tasha & Scott,
Isn't it wonderful to be a blessing to others. Enjoy your trip. You need time to be refreshed and then you will have strength to do what needs to be done. I'm grateful to hear you are ok.

 

[Albertan mom]

This thread has been awfully quiet lately.....what is new in your lives?

 

[Grandma Bear]

I went to a women's retreat with our church. It was on prayer. We all were
touched by what we heard and learned. Many of us had to examine ourselves and see if we had become what the speaker called ATM or Microwave prayers. Prayer of course is much more than asking God for things, although it's ok to ask;but we must also listen and let God speak/communicate with us on a daily basis. I'm sure many of us are trying to help the victims of hurricane Katrina and these people need daily prayer and guidance so this may be one reason for the slowdown.

 

[luvthatduke]

Actually, I was going to post this story tonight.
I believe this was on BET, after Jesse Jackson spoke
and when other black pastors were speaking:
A woman in a Texas shelter was despondent over
her missing daughter. She was intent on killing herself.
The pastor and others gathered to pray around her
and "out of nowhere" her daughter walks up!
If this is true, it is fantastic!
But, I can't seem to find anything specific about it.

 

[Albertan mom]

I hope it is true!!

 

[Grandma Bear]

Wow! What a mighty God we serve! I'm so glad he is still in the miracle
business!

 

[Talking Hands]

The choir did this song on Sunday. It is by Michael W Smith



“Never Been Unloved”

Verse 1

I have been unfaithful

I have been unworthy

I have been unrighteous

And I have been unmerciful

I have been unreachable

I have been unteachable

I have been unwilling

And I’ve been undesirable


Chorus 1
And sometimes I have been unwise

I’ve been undone by what I’m unsure of

But because of you

And all that you went through

I know that I have never been unloved


Verse 2
I have been unbroken

I have been unmended

I have been uneasy

And I’ve been unapproachable

I have been unemotional

I have been unexceptional

I’ve been undecided

And I have been unqualified


Chorus 2
Unaware

I have been unfair

I’ve been unfit for blessings from above

But even I can see

The sacrifice You made for me

To show that I have never been unloved


(Interlude)
Chorus 2
Tag
It’s because of you

And all that you went through

I know that I have never been unloved

 

[Talking Hands]

Got this from our FLA BAPT ASSOC Missionary to the Deaf plus another detailing what SBC Disaster Relief is doing. I'll post that separately.


Blue Springs open doors to storm victims


By Barbara Denman



MARIANNA--Workers at Blue Springs Conference Center in Marianna are scrambling to provide shelter for 150 Hurricane Katrina victims expected to arrive on campus before the week’s end.



Working in cooperation with the Jackson County Emergency Management Office, the center began housing nearly 40 evacuees on Thursday, Sept.1, three days after the killer storm struck News Orleans and the Gulf Coast.



Director Jeff Gnann said the conference center could handle up to 150 displaced persons in the youth camp. “We are here to serve the Lord and serve people. With this catastrophe, it is time for us to step up and minister to people who need to be ministered to,” he said.



Rodney Andreasen, director of the Jackson County Emergency Management Office, said the state predicted that a quarter of a million people will try to find housing along the Panhandle 1-10 corridor in the next few days. “No one has ever had to deal with a crisis of this magnitude in the U.S. before,” he said. “We don’t have the infrastructure to keep these people for 90 days, as they are suggesting.”



But turning to the area churches for help “has opened all kinds of doors that you wouldn’t believe,” he said. Many congregations are offering food, money as well as a place to stay, he reported, “We have tapped into a resource that will help us long into the future.



Other Panhandle camps and churches, including Marianna’s First Baptist Church and Eastside, will open their doors to the needy.



Many of the refugees had been staying in area motels since being evacuated from Gulf Coast communities but were asked to leave when they could not afford to pay the increased Labor Day holiday rates. Some motels were booked by fans attending the Florida State University-Miami football game—one of the year’s biggest games.



“They are dumping people out because these other people had reservations,” said Andreasen.



Gnann said many of the displaced persons had been referred to Blue Springs by the Chipola Baptist Association’s benevolence ministry, Quarter Store and Community Center located in Marianna.



A disaster relief mobile feeding kitchen will be in place Sunday staffed by trained Florida Baptist feeding volunteers to feed the refugees. Until it gets in place, Gnann expects to feed his new guests in the Center’s cafeteria.



Some motel rooms in the adult facility will be reserved for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary students who were evacuated from the seminary campus over the weekend before the storm hit. The seminary was flooded after the levee broke but the extent of the damage is not known.



The Blue Springs facility was made available to the seminary by John Sullivan, executive director-treasurer of the Florida Baptist Convention who called the seminary staff to offer use of the camp.



One issue facing the Blue Springs staff is providing linens since youth camp uses are required to bring their own. Gnann is looking for companies or persons willing to donate pillows, sheets and towels.



Security measures will be put into place, Gnann said. Identification will be verified and background checks for outstanding warrants will be made. County officials are providing two officers and 24-hour security.

 

[Talking Hands]

Florida Baptist volunteers serve nearly 3,000 meals on Wednesday; expect number to increase daily







HATTIESBURG, MS--Florida Baptist Convention disaster relief volunteers fed plates of beef stew and peaches to nearly 3,000 residents and displaced persons in Hattiesburg, Miss., Wednesday, Aug. 31, the second day after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region.



The team, stationed at Main Street Baptist Church, is expecting to feed more than 5,000 meals on Thursday, Sept. 1 as the word of their presence filters through the community, said volunteer Don Miller of Eustis, who is serving with the communications team.



Harrisburg, located directly north of Biloxi, has served as a haven for Gulf Coast residents who fled the storm. “We are getting people in who have been wandering all day and night with no place to go because they have lost everything,” said Kathy Farrabee of Sarasota, who volunteered after four hurricanes in 2005. “This is different than any place we have ever served.”



She told of a mother and daughter who approached the volunteers yesterday afternoon, lost and frightened. “They had just gotten in their car and drove north.”



Then a family of five arrived on foot near midnight, drawn by a light at the church, one of the few places where power had been restored. Church members took them to a nearby shelter after they were fed by the disaster relief team.



The team is communicating with the Alabama Baptist disaster relief team located in Biloxi, trying to sort out needs of the displaced persons and their families.



By Thursday, 130 volunteers were stationed in the Mississippi town. Another 50 were on their way, Miller reported,



“There is a lot of damage to houses, trees and debris everywhere,” Miller added.

While electrical power has been restored in some locations, few homes have electricity,” he reported.



With no running water, ice and water are greatly needed commodities, he said.



At least five Florida Baptist chainsaw units have been working throughout the town, clearing roads and cutting trees from homes and driveways.



The convoy of vehicles carrying teams to Hattiesburg arrived on Tuesday, escorted by the Chief of Police and officer from the Howey in the Hills police department.



North American Mission Board officials said the response by Southern Baptists to Hurricane Katrina will be the largest ever, with more than 1,000 volunteers and 100 mobile disaster relief units activated to hurricane-and tornado-ravaged regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

“The American Red Cross has asked our Southern Baptist Disaster Relief teams to immediately get ready to serve up to 300,000 meals per day to hurricane victims,” said Bob Reccord, NAMB president. “More than 100 mobile disaster relief units from 25 state conventions are in place or on the way to the devastated areas.

By Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 31, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from as far away as New Mexico, Michigan and Virginia were serving in various capacities at more than 20 locations. Mobile kitchen teams were set to begin operations at many locations today. Southern Baptist volunteers also are manning two American Red Cross kitchens and two Salvation Army kitchens.

“We’ve worked for 35 years to build capacity to respond to something like this. It will be a major test,” said Jim Burton, director of volunteer mobilization at the North American Mission Board in Alpharetta, Ga. “This is day 3 of the disaster, which is typically the most difficult day. We are beginning to understand the extent of the damage and the logistical challenges that lie ahead.”



For continuing coverage visit the Florida Baptist Convention website at www.flbaptist.org.

Southern Baptist teams are located in the following communities:

Louisiana

Baton Rouge
Rolling Hills unit (LA), Oak Crest Baptist Church
TN state unit, Jefferson Baptist Church
OK state unit, Florida Blvd. Baptist Church
TX, SBCT unit, site undetermined
Alexandria
Top of Texas, Horseshoe Drive Baptist Church
Lafayette
Texas state unit, Cajun Dome
Bogalusa
Illinois state unit, FBC Bogalusa
Covington
Louisiana state and Taminy unit, FBC Covington
Spirit of America, Taminy Parrish Fairgrounds
Hammond
Texas Tarrant unit, Woodland Park Church
Prairieville
Arkansas Forrest City unit, Fellowship Baptist Church
Kenner
Arkansas Independence, Veterans Parkway

Mississippi

Biloxi
Mississippi state unit, FBC Biloxi
Pascagoula
Georgia 11F unit, FBC Pascagoula
Hattiesburg
Florida state unit, Main Street Baptist Church
Kentucky unit, site undetermined
McComb
Missouri state unit, FBC McComb
Meridian
North Carolina state unit, FBC Meridian
Clinton (Jackson)
Kentucky state unit, Camp Garraway
Laurel
Arkansas state unit, FBC Laurel
Lucedale
Georgia 9, FBC Lucedale
Columbia
South Carolina unit, FBC Columbia
Tylertown
Michigan unit, FBC Tylertown
Picayune
VBMB unit, FBC Picayune
Columbia
South Carolina unit, FBC Columbia
Prentiss
SBCV unit, FBC Prentiss
Wiggins
Henry's Kitchen

Alabama

Mobile—Alabama state unit, Moffett Baptist Church

Georgia

Carrollton—Georgia associational unit

 

[Talking Hands]

I had to tell you this story of another hurricane, Andrew.
My husband, myself and 2 daughters were on vacation starting the week prior to Andrew. We had gone to DC to see my family. Driving back down to Florida via the Blue Ridge Parkway we started hearing about Andrew on the radio. We arrived on Orlando on Saturday and my husband was talking about us going home instead of staying in Orlando. We had reservations for a week at Ft Wilderness. I told him he could go home if he wanted but the girls and I were not going home to ride out a hurricane. So on Sunday morning, DH dropped the 3 of us at Ft Wilderness and headed home to So Dade to secure our home and ride out the storm. Meanwhile I call my girls godparents and find that they have already shuttered the house. Of course no way to tell DH this.
DH arrived home to find the house shuttered but he still needed to cap the wind turbines on the roof. He gets out the ladder and goes to the roof and puts the caps on. It is dead silent. No birds or animals about. And then DH hears a voice say "GET OUT." He looks for the person and no one is there. He again hears the same message but can find no one. DH gets off the roof, throws a bunch of loose stuff into the living room, locks up and decides to leave and return to Orlando. Heads up US 27 because he knows that the turnpike is bumper to bumper and gets back in about 4 hours. The girls and I came back from MK and instead of stopping to eat first at Trail's End go back to the cabin to find DH asleep on the couch. Who was the voice? Who told him to leave. We believe it was GOD. Our house went through the storm's eye.

 

[ford family]

Wow! What a mighty God we serve! I'm so glad he is still in the miracle
business!

Isn't it a pity that he's not in it more often.

ford family

 

[ead79]

I am so encouraged by the outpouring of love I have seen here in our country. I was really upset at all the bickering at first, but people are really pulling together for these victims. What a wonderful story about the sellout at Wal-Mart, Tasha!

Karen, prayers are being said for a safe, wonderful trip. Don’t feel guilty—we all need a break. Enjoy some time with your family!

Talking Hands, thank you for sharing that hurricane story. Sometimes God speaks to us in a still, quiet voice, and sometimes He yells. Sounds like it was important, so he gave your husband a little yell! He is GOOD!

 

[Albertan mom]

TalkingHands-your story gave me chills!! That is amazing, glad you were all safe!