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Monday, February 25, 2013

2.24.13 God Bless the USA!


Bountiful Blessings

 
February 24th, 2013

            Good morning, friends and family. How are you? Things are finally getting back to normal in our quarantine zone. We have had our share of sickness this week - Jim, me, Summer, my Dad, my Mom. Its been rough. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. The last two patients have doctors appointments this week. Almost well… End in sight. J But to get to the letter and off of us….

            I was thinking and praying about what to write about this week and one thing continued to prey on my mind. (Hey… side note…. Prey -  pray. Cool. Yes, I know. Jim says that it must be scary living in my mind).  Where was I? Oh yea. The country. (Feel like we need a little patriotic music inserted here. Ohhhh, say can you see? Arent you glad it is a letter and not a recording?!) But seriously. The country and our future has been placing a burden on my heart. A couple of weeks ago all you heard on the radio and television was the fiscal cliff. Now its the budget cuts at FAA and the possibility of laying off lots of people versus the safety of flights. I don’t even keep track with the news and political stuff and I am worried. That is bad. I admit that I am one of those people. You know… the ostriches. If I have my head in the sand then I do not have to face what is happening around me. But it is scary. Social security, or lack thereof. FAA cuts. Higher taxes. Unfathomable national debt. And like I said, Im clueless. I know that there is so much more going on. (A little shudder just passed over me.)

            At one time, the United States was the most powerful and revered country in the world. Now? Not so much. What happened to us? We began as a few settlements in the Northeast. Settlers who left England to form a new country. Settlers who founded the country on Christian beliefs. We struggled. We made some bad decisions (some really bad decisions). We faced death and lost many lives in the process. We persevered. We gained strength. We gained prosperity. We gained knowledge. And those few settlements grew into the “land of opportunity”. The land that others dreamed of coming to. Our Statue of Liberty was, and continues to be, a sign of freedom for all. And yet, we have faltered. We have stumbled. We have backpedaled. We need to fall to our knees and pray for our country. For our future. For our children and our grandchildren. What legacy are we leaving them? We need to pray for our president (I don’t care if you voted for him or not. You don’t have to like him BUT he will be our president for the next four years. It is crucial that you pray for him and for him to make Godly decisions). We need to pray for Congress and the Senate. We need to pray for our military, our leaders, our teachers, our physicians, our lawyers. We need to pray for God to be reintroduced into our schools and our workplaces. We need to pray for the greeter at Walmart to the barista at Starbucks.

            Prayer is needed, no, necessary, for the survival of our country.

Bible verse for the week

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

2 Chronicles 7:14

Prayer for the week

Dear Lord,

We humbly come before you asking for your help. We are in trouble. Our land, our country, our freedom is at risk. Please guide us our leaders so they make Godly decisions. Let us follow you and your ways and depend not upon man. Raise our eyes upward for strength and guidance. Help us to bring you back into our schools, our homes, our workplaces. Lord, we know that you have the power to destroy us or save us. We pray that we may come together in unity to humbly ask for your saving grace. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Bible fun for the week

1. Fill in the blank: The Lord said the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was very ____________.

2. True or False: Lot pleaded with the Lord not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if ten righteous people could be found there.

3. How many angels came to visit Lot?

4. Who said, “Where are the men which came in to thee this night?”

5. True of False: The men of Sodom tried to break down Lot’s door.

6. Choose A or B: The angels at Lot’s house struck the citizens of Sodom with A) blindness B) plaque.

7. When Lot told his sons-in-law what was happening, how did they respond?

8. The name of the city Lot escaped to was: A) Jerusalem B) Zoar C) Jericho D) Babel

9. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt because A) she refused to leave Sodom B) she insulted the angels C) she looked back at the destruction of the city D) she refused to obey Lot

10. Who were the only family members who escaped with Lot?

Have a great week! Love you! Terri Chelle

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