God's Gift To Me

                                             God's gift to me,
                                         Is hard to understand.
                                            Does he even see,
                                       I don't deserve his plan.
                                  
                                    Ive fallen short of perfect,
                                     Ive strayed from his love.
                                        I ask him "Why this?"
                                    And he says, "Just Because".
                                     
                                       It's hard for me to see,
                                        Why it's this way.
                                   Why he chose to use me,
                                   A person who can stray.

                                  You see he saved my life,
                                    Not only once, but twice.
                                     Through his only son,
                              And three years ago, tonight.

                                         God's gift to me,
                                     Is the life I have today.
                                      To live for him only,
                                  Because it's his gift to stay.

I wrote this poem on the three year anniversary of a serious accident and God was reminding me how great it was to be alive.

Psalm 27:1

              Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afriad."

             When I saw this verse on the page of prompts It jumped out at me. You see I plan on being a missionary to the middle east, specifically in Israel. I have had a lot of people ask me "Why there?" and "Don't you know that place can really dangerous?". Yes I know this and a lot more as well. I know that I have a God in heaven who will protect me wherever I go, I know that He will never leave my side, and I know that He loves me even if I try to push him away and take the glory that rightfully belongs to him. I am only human and will do things that are not always right, but humans are not perfect so you can expect that from me as well as anyone else. I will try to follow what God has planned for me and walk in his light, and if I don't, God has a deep enough voice I think I will hear him quite fast if I was to wonder away. It doesn't matter where I go, even into the darkest parts of this world, because I have the Lord as my light and salvation, and when there are scary people, whom shall I fear? The Lord is my strength in life no matter how weak I become from lifes strunggles, and with the Lord by my side, whom shall I be afraid of? I want to thank Mr Crain for showing me this verse, because no matter where I go in life, it will remind me were God brought me from and that with Him I will always have His light, His gift salvation, His strength, and I shall never be afraid.

From point A to point B.

              I couldn't decide what to write about and began telling myself I just need to do what I can, Start with point A and continue writing until I get to point B. Although it sounds fairly easy I need to get motivated and just do it. So here it goes.

              When I was little my family would go to my grandparents house In Massechusetts. We lived in NC and usually drove so it took about 16 - 18 hours. It wasnt always fun, it was usually tiring, and the scenery outside my window always seemed to blend after only a few hours. Into the mountains and back out again, golden leaves, yellow leaves and a few green, this was not my idea of a fun trip. We usually went to my grandparents house for thanksgiving every year so the leaves looked the same... time after time after time again. I guess you could say the boring drive was worth it in the end when we arrived at our destination and I got to see my cousins from NY for the first time since early spring; But there has got to be a way for the drive up not to be as boring. Dont you think?
             After several trips I'd had just about all I could take with boring trips, so my brothers, my mom and I started playing the alphabet game. The point of the game is to spot the alphabet in order, outside your car, on either passing signs or other cars. I loved it but the hardest letters to find always seemed to be Q and J.... which my brothers always spotted first because my eye sight had already began to get bad.

             To this day on our way to Massechusetts we tend to get at least one game of "find the alphabet" done, even though we are all older and don't get as bored. So you see, no matter were point A starts and point B ends, if we look hard enough we will always find the good in any trip the Lord sees fit to send us on.

Today

Hello world,

Hello sunlight,

Hello birds,

And your beautiful sight.

Hello fresh air,

Hello breeze,

Enjoy the day,

Just look at the bees.

Enjoy the sunshine,

Enjoy your day,

Be a child,

And just go play.

Enjoy life,

Don't let it past,

Tomorrow's a gift,

That won't always last.

So enjoy your family,

Enjoy your friends,

Enjoy today,

Before it ends.

                          By: Katie Parsons

Our Missionary

This is a poem that I wrote in the late summer of 2011. I lost a missionary friend, it was hard and I found that I could escape the pain and hurt I was feeling by writing. Joy was an inspiration to many, many people and I will never forget the impact she had on my life. I do not like the fact that she is no longer with us but I find peace knowing I will one day see her again in Heaven.                                                                                                  

Down on her knees

Waiting on the Lord

Loving him whole heartedly

Knowing he'll be there

Walking everyday

In his Loving grace

Doing what she loved

Running the race

Step by Step

Holding his hand

Day by Day

Doing his plan

She did all this and so much more

Without ever wanting anything in return

And who is this I speak of you ask?

Our missionary full of Love for everyone

Always looking forward

Always helping out

Always there for you

Always ready to shout

The Love for her Lord

More powerful than most

She was always sharing

And would never Boast

She was beautiful,

Caring,

Loving,

And always there.

     A daughter,        

A sister,

An aunt,

A friend.

                                    We will always love You                                  

             Joy Beth Bausem               

                                                                                                              By:Katie Parsons                



Faith

"James, a servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, To the tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings."
This is how James begins his letter. What he writes next isn't something most would want to read.
James 1:2-4 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds.' He is telling us to take joy in our trials, that doesn't sound right. Why would we want to take joy in the trials we face? Let's keep reading, 'because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverence. Perseverence must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Has your faith ever been tested? Once I was in the hospital and the doctors told us that I couldn't possibly go home in less than eight months. I couldn't believe it.. eight months of my freshman year of highschool stuck in a hospital. My family, my friends, and a lot of people I didn't even know began to pray that God would heal me quickly. Along with all the prayers my father encouraged me to eat when I didn't feel hungry, do my therapy when I didn't feel like it, and walk when I was tired. It was all preparation to get myself ready to go home. God answered all the prayers, and because I had taken action and prepared to go home, I walked out of that hospital in thirty-three days.
Something I never realized is that it was Biblical for me to do all I did. We had faith I would get better, but we took action as well. In James 2:17 it says, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." Also in James 2:26 "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." I'm not saying that God wouldn't have healed me if I hadn't eaten, done therapy, or walked; but the doctors probably wouldn't have released me because I wouldn't have been physically ready. I took action, had faith in God, and through Him a miracle happened.
Life gets very difficult at times, but if we let ourselves get depressed how is it suppose to help us, it doesn't. If you stay happy or "Take joy", in the difficult times it will lift you up and bring you out of the hard times with a smile on your face. If we are never tested how are we to know our full capabilities? If our faith was never tested how would it get stronger? If life was always easy why would we need faith? So you see, your faith being tested results in you being complete.
In James 1:12 it says, "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him." With faith in God, perseverence, and actions, life can and will be a lot easier.
James made it pretty clear how we are to live by faith. Let's take action, have faith, and run after God!

Overcome

I WILL overcome

I WILL be happy

MY God Reigns

HE is safety

Are you hurting?

Are you searching?

Are you running?

Are you dieing?

God can save you

Set you free

He will love you

The enemy will flee

You CAN overcome

You CAN be happy

God Reigns

HE can be your safety

He is light

He is promise

He is love

He is Peace

Run to him

Fall at his feet

He will pick you up

Give you strength

You WILL overcome

You WILL be happy

Our God Reigns

HE is our safety