|
March 23rd, 2009
The Hippity Hoppity Easter Gift Basket is a fun way to say Happy Easter to a loved one. This basket would be appropriate either for children or adults. It comes in bright, fun loving colors and is filled with delicious food items and unique books and toys. The gift bag itself is cheerily colored with a bright pink flower, and is decorated with beautiful silk flowers, decorative painted eggs, and a fun, smiley faced butterfly. Your loved one will thoroughly enjoy and appreciate this cheerful Easter gift.
This unique Easter basket is filled with delectable snack food items with a unique, elegant touch such as bananas foster cookies, cookies and cream crunchers, creamy chocolate melt aways, and vanilla crunch snack mix. Also in this gift bag is a friendly, plush yellow bunny rabbit named “Sunny”, who is ready to wish that special person in your life Happy Easter. An Easter book, “Easter Fun With Peter Rabbit,” is also included in the basket. Children will love reading this book and playing with the included games and stickers.
September 3rd, 2008
How is it that one can gain more by giving than receiving? In 1936 two men met in Akron Ohio. Both were afflicted by alcoholism, a condition whereby over prolonged and excessive use of alcohol a human being can lose not only health and sanity but all generosity of spirit. At that time there was little or no hope for such people, the prognosis being death, insanity or incarceration.
Yet by using principles laid down by The Oxford Group, a fellowship who applied Christian principles to the condition they came up with a twelve step program which freed them and over the years freed millions of others from their affliction. The twelfth step deals with sharing this relief with other sufferers. They found they could only maintain their sobriety by giving freely to others what had been given to them.
This apparent paradox, that they could only maintain the state of grace that had been given to them by sharing it with others is at the heart of the program of recovery which has since been applied to many other area of addiction.
Truly it is better to give than to receive.
July 24th, 2008
Every day I try to do something for someone besides my family. Today I taught a friend how to get the most out of shopping with coupons. She isn’t the greatest with numbers so she can’t do the math in her head quickly like I can. I am a patient person, but her lack of addition skills tests my ability to stay calm at times.
What usually takes me 30 minutes in the grocery store now takes an hour or longer. When I feel myself becoming frustrated, I just put myself in her shoes, then realize how grateful she must feel to have someone mentor her in the art of saving money.
July 22nd, 2008
July 22nd is St. Mary Magdelene day. Everyone knows the story of Mary Magdelene the sinner approaching Jesus and cleansing his feet. We know she was forgiven of her sins and became an important figure in His life and Death. She was chosen to anoint His body for burial. She discovered his body missing.
Did you also know she was sent away on a boat with no oars, landed in a foreign land? She helped convert people to Christianity in her early days in this new land, but longed for solitude. The angels granted her wish and bore her to a secluded mountain and lived the rest of her days in a cave. Angels from above gave her a basket of food consisting only of the Holy Eucharist. This was the only thing she partook of for the rest of her life
June 26th, 2008
God made each one of us unique. Not one of us is identical to another, not even twins. Since we are different, we should not compare ourselves to another. This will only invoke jealousy and want. We also should not look at someone else and think how much better we are because we have more than them. This conceited attitude is frowned upon by the Lord. We are all how God wants us to be and we are like this for a purpose. We shall know that purpose when we get to heaven. In the meantime, love yourself for who you are and what you have, God does. Don’t forget to pamper yourself with little gifts every now and again.
April 4th, 2008
Too often we look back and wish we had done something different. You could have visited Grandma before she passed away. You should have said "I love you" more to your previous spouse. You would have spent more time with your children had you not been so busy. Now is the time to stop wishing you could change previous actions.
Start forming your future past by doing in the present. Today is tomorrows yesterday. Make tomorrows memories what you want them to be. Call or visit someone you haven’t spoken to in a while. Thank someone in your life that deserves it. Compliment a stranger. Live the life God intended us to live today and you will have no coulda, shoulda, woulda’s to regret.
March 31st, 2008
So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Romans 14:22
People in general love to gossip about one another. Gossiping can be harmful and even mean. Remember the game “Telephone” when you were a child? Everyone would sit in a circle. A person would start off and whisper a statement in the person’s ear beside them. Each person would then turn and retell the sentence to the person on the other side of them until it went all around the circle. The last person would say the sentence out loud. More times than not, the story had changed drastically from the original.
The same happens as adults, but it isn’t a game. Lives can be ruined and names can be slandered. Before spreading stories around, ask yourself how you would feel if it was about you. I’m pretty sure you would then keep it between you and God. The gift of silence can be priceless.
March 26th, 2008
Improving one’s self and gaining skills are both part of personal growth. To become humble and less self-righteous is what we should work towards. Becoming self aware and believing in yourself is the first step. Once you are aware of who you are and you believe you can become who you want to become, you are ready to accept the Lord into your life. If the Lord already resides in your heart, you are ready to make a life game plan. Set your goals and strive to meet them. Goals don’t have to be monstrous. Goals can be as easy as vowing to say “Have a great day” to 10 people every day or buying someone a unique gift, once a week.
The last part of personal growth is taking responsibility for your actions. To admit fault and refrain from placing blame is the hardest part. Once you master that, the rest is easy.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
Romans 12:3
March 24th, 2008
Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, "He has been raised from the dead and is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. Behold, I have told you." - Matthew 28:1-10
Today is glorious Easter day, when Jesus rose from the dear to sit at the right hand of God. His gift to us was atonement for our sins and the promise of everlasting life. What better way to show our appreciation by following his lead. Live each day practicing the three “Gs”:
Grace
Gratitude
Generosity
Hold yourself with poise and grace. Be thankful for what you receive generously to others. Do so without motive or agenda.
Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.
Luke 6:38
March 21st, 2008
In my church, there is a group of ladies that make gifts for the sick and injured members of the congregation. They spend Saturday afternoons preparing the surprises. Each Monday they deliver the presents to either the home or the hospital room of the recipient. These items are homemade gift baskets customized to each ill member’s likes. The person’s spirits on the receiving end are always lifted up when they see the basket made especially for them.
I wish I could custom make every gift I give. One of these days when I have more time, I am gonna become one of the “Basket Ladies” as we fondly call them. Until the day comes that I can help, there are sites like The Basket Spot to assist me with my heartfelt giving. Do you have any favorite gift sites you utilize that you care to share with everyone?
March 14th, 2008
On last Sunday, one of my partners, in the ministry, gave me a gourmet gift basket for my birthday. It was really nice and I actually enjoyed it. Most of the time, I’m not good at excepting gifts for other people because I’m so use to giving gift instead of receiving gifts.
The spirit of God laid it on my heart to do a search on why it’s important to give and to receive. We have to realize that when we receive gifts, we are allowing that person, who gave you the gift, to do exactly what they are suppose to do. You are helping doors to be opened for them. You are allowing them to operate in the will and call that God has ordained for them.
For so long, I was extremely shy about receiving gift, because I thought people would assume I’m all about the money. But from the start, Jonas Clark Ministries have been about giving back to the needy and pouring into families. We strongly believe in the power of giving. Our mission is to reach people way beyond our walls and to touch individuals that didn’t even know they needed to be touched.
But we have to remember that receiving is also apart of giving.
March 1st, 2008
If you’ve been in ministry for some time now, I’m pretty sure you know how hard it can be to grow your ministry.
It’s always hard to get the word out and find loyal, committed people to help you push your ministry forward.
One of the things that I want to remind you of is that we’re living in a different day and time. Churches are no longer being built on allot of word of mouth or mere principle. In order for you to grow your ministry, your ministry will have to offer your people a great word from God and also consistent outreach ministries.
Marketing and advertising is also a very important aspect of church growth.
And always remember, the Internet is a great catalyst to church growth.
February 27th, 2008
Most people fail to realize the importance of giving. Giving is a requirement of good living. Giving is what opens the door for you to receive.
It took me awhile to realize how valuable the principle of giving could be to my life. I always thought giving was an option and that I needed to hold really tight to my money.
I felt like I worked hard for my money and belongings, therefore I should keep them.
But it took some unforeseen circumstances for me to change my mind.
Based on experience, the more you give, the more you receive. You give to make room to receive. It’s kind of like having a closet full of clothes that you need to get rid of. If you don’t get rid of them, how will you fit new clothes in the closet.
God is calling us to give. Give, Give, and keep Giving. He wants to bless us with more and more. In order for him to bless us, we must bless other people.
The formula is very simple, give then receive.
February 4th, 2008
Jonas Clark Ministries is a worldwide organization that is striving to bring the word and power of God back into the lives of believers. Jonas Clark is spreading the truth of the Word as well as revealing the power that we all as believers possess against Satan and his demons. His soft cover book, Come Out!, deliberately delves into the world of possession and witchcraft and teaches us how to fight and resist the evil that struggles to consume our souls every day. Through his guide, believers can learn scriptures to cast out devils as well as reveal the hidden ways in which they enter our lives. The goal of the Jonas Clark Ministry is to give the power of God back into the hands of his faithful followers.
January 25th, 2008
What I’ve learned over the years is that when God asked for an offering, he always asked for a sacrifice. Some people may say, what is a sacrifice?
A sacrifice is a gift that you give away that you want. It’s something that you would like to keep and enjoy. A sacrifice is not something that you don’t want. It’s something that you and somebody else would definitely use.
A sacrificial gift could be clothes, shoes, a car, your time, food, and much much more.
The reason I’m writing about this subject is that my aunt asked me to give her 1 of our cars. My family has 3 cars; A 2004 BMW, 2002 Honda Accord, and a 1992 Honda Accord. All 3 cars are in GREAT condition. They all work really well, even the 1992 Honda Accord. I love our cars and it would definitely be a sacrificial gift to my aunt.
I haven’t spoken to my spouse about this yet, therefore I don’t have a concrete answer to give her. But what I’ve realized is that God always requires us to give, so that we can make room for more that he wants to give us.
| |
