Meeting Goals, A Little at a Time

Genesis 1 and 2


When I read Genesis 1 and 2, I think "Wow--there's alot in these two little chapters!"  Read it for yourself and you'll see what I mean.  

Did you set a goal at new year's?  How's that going for you?  Have you set a new goal recently? The hardest part for me when I set a goal is getting started.  I'm looking at this hard task and wondering if I'm going to be able to really do it.  So, I think....just do it today.

EASTER IS HOPE!

There is nothing as hopeful as Easter!  Just imagine a time when you thought something had turned out completely different than your plan.  Imagine how lost and confused those disciples were when their ideas seemed to turn to nothing but pain and loss.  We've all been in a dark place of loss like that.  Sometimes over much less than the loss of a friend and a loss of a dream all in one act.  Not to mention being put in a position of making a possibly life-threatening decision.  It so reminds me of the story of

THE DRAWBRIDGE KEEPER.....

Sometimes It's Hard to Keep Up

Ever noticed how fast our society goes?  It's just hard to keep up.  A very smart person once told me that to say yes to one thing, is to say no to something else.  And that is what happened to this website for quite a while.  To say yes to some other works, I had to say no to this blog.  I cannot tell you that this is again a priority, but I can tell you that much is happening at Hebron. 

I hope you will be in prayer for our new and old members alike.
I hope you will be in prayer for our Women's Bible Study.
I hope you will be in prayer for those who have recently lost loved ones.
I hope you will be in prayer for some new programs that our elders have recently approved.
I hope you will be in prayer for our youth who serve so graciously.
I hope you will be in prayer for our pastor and his continued vision.

And if we can pray for you, please contact us.....our prayer warriors are mighty as is our God.

God Bless You this Holy Season!  We hope to see you this week at church!

Thoughts from our Travels to Ireland

ruins of the castle at the Rock of Cashel--Cashel, Ireland

Sightseeing can really bring scriptures to life.  Here's some examples of how our reading through the bible in a year matched up with our trip to Ireland!  Praise God for His timing!

July 18--Isaiah 17: 1 and 2--"Look, Damascus is gone!  It is no longer a city--it has become a heap of ruins! The cities of Aroer are deserted..."

A Race in the Snow

Three brothers were racing to their father through the snow.  The winner would not just be the quickest, but also the one with the straightest path.  The boys took off at his shout, "GO!"

The first boy was sure to win.  He was the oldest with the longest legs!  And to be sure he was going straight, he made sure to look back--first to the right, then to the left.  If he got off course, he corrected it quickly!

The second boy knew he had a chance to beat his older brother.  He noticed his brother looking back--first to one side and then to the other.  He noticed, too, that it was slowing him down!!  And it was making him have a zig-zagged path!!  So, he made sure to not look back very often and only look over his right shoulder!   He didn't realize that this was making him run in a slanted line!

The two older boys were concentrating so hard on each other and their own paths that they paid no notice to the youngest brother.  Now being the youngest--his mind was not on winning the race, but on having been included in the race at all!!  He happily raced with the big kids, running straight forward with his eyes on his father!!  Laughing and running and enjoying the look of pride and joy on his father's face!

What joy for the youngest when he realized that he had kept up nicely and the three boys reached their father at almost the exact same time!!! And then the father declared the winner!!! The one with the straightest path was the one who had kept his eyes on the goal and the face of the father and never looked back!!!

When Times Get Tough

forwarded from an e-mail--original author unknown
 
Malachi 3:3 says:

'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God ..

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: ' He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?'

He smiled at her and answered, ' Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

We have a phone

Well, the church has a phone!  We just got it last year!  Yep, we've stepped into this century!  Well, not really.  If you call it, you will only get a voicemail.  We will actually have to call you back because we do not have an actual phone!  In today's world, our cell phones are what we all use and we don't keep someone on staff to sit and answer a phone.  We mostly just needed a phone number to get us in the phone book and on GPS and mapquest and such.  But just like the boy in this story, if you call us, we will try to give you what you need. So, enjoy this story and call when you need us....we will get back to you!!

THE TELEPHONE ON THE WALL original author unknown

When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood.  I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

A Little Religious Humor--original author unknown

Thanks to my friends who often send me smiles like these!

DID NOAH  FISH?

A Sunday school teacher asked, "Johnny, do you

think Noah did a lot of  fishing when he was on the Ark ?"   

"No," replied Johnny.  "How could he, with just two worms."

We wish you a Merry Christmas
          and a Blessed New Year!
Enjoy this video as we enter into the Twelve Days of Christmas! (click words to view video)
then enjoy the story below copied from an e-mail (original source unknown).
And remember the reason for the season(click words to view video)!

The Advent Candles--Hope, Faith, Joy, and Love

Advent is a time of waiting.  As I travel through this season, so many things echo a single theme.  The candle's flame never shrinks as it lights further flames.  Just as God's love never shrinks as it lights the fire within us and our love never shrinks as we pass it from one to another.  A story of growing flames has come to me to explain the advent candles...

There was once a woman lost in the darkness, searching for anything that would make her life lighter, filled with HOPE that life would not always be this way. 


And one day, after much searching, she found a single candle and lit it.  And by this candle, she began to see what her life had become.  She set about working to clean things up.  She used the flame to light a fire to warm herself and began to wish that others could enjoy this warmth.  She decided to cook food over the flames and to invite people to join her.  She cooked, shopped, decorated and prepared in FAITH that the people would come.

And they did come!  They gathered around the fire and shared stories!  They filled their plates, as the room filled with laughter! And when it got dark outside, the woman lit more candles to keep it bright within! When the singing began, it was no surprise for who could contain the JOY of sharing such blessings!

But as it grew late, the visitors grew anxious.  They knew that they would soon have to leave this place of light and enter back into their own darkness.  The joy would be but a memory.  The darkness would overtake them.  But then, how could it if they kept the memory alive?  What if they could take some of the light with them?  What if their light could spread just as the woman's light had?  

The woman knew what was in their hearts and minds.  And the LOVE that she had found had given her a solution.  She began to give out the candles that she had bought for just this occasion. And as the visitors carried their candles into the dark, she knew the light would continue to bless their homes!  And she smiled from deep within as she planned her next gathering!!

May your advent be blessed with thoughtful meditations!!  Get ready---He's coming!!

speaking of food....

check out this spread.....

Poetic License?

Who else noticed that the movie "A Night with the King" took some poetic license? Now some of it, I understand. A movie is not good without some added drama--the running through the rain scene built suspense and could have happened that way. The dancing in the garden built character for Esther. And even the reading to Xerxes added depth to help us understand why Xerxes may have chosen her other than her beauty and performance when called upon. These aspects did not take away from my bible reading, but added some visuals that made my second reading more enjoyable.

But some of the changes actually changed some of the story. What about the timeline? I felt that leaving out one of the dinners really changed the mood and personality of Haman. In the movie, he seemed to be above and more in control than Esther. He knew more than the Bible version allowed. He seemed to have information to "hold over" Esther. The movie also did not portray Haman begging Esther for his life, but instead taunting her. That is a whole different feeling and mood, as well. Leaving out the first dinner, also changed the reason why the king couldn't sleep. I always thought that he was curious about Esther's request.

The biggest difference that I felt really changed the story was when Haman was so clear about the people being Jewish. In the Bible, this was always kept hidden so the king did not seem to understand the vastness of his decree. In the movie, parading through the streets, Mordecai was declared a Jew. It did make me wonder, how public this discrimination was in those times. It would make sense that Haman would have announced this because it was the reasoning behind Mordecai's "disrespect" and law-breaking behavior. But I thought it took away from Haman's justification against Mordecai because it gave him a very good reason to disobey the law and promoted the Jewish faith by honoring his actions and the reason for those actions.

I guess knowing the story from the Bible made the movie a little more confusing. I wonder how the movie appeared to those who had not studied this book before their viewing. All in all--it is still a good story and I enjoyed the movie's portrayal.
I guess the ultimate point of the Esther story is still that classic line--"Who knows whether you have not come...for such a time as this?"