A Call from Colleen

Some days can be a struggle no matter how much coffee or tea you've had.  It's in those times when I don't know what to do, don't know where to read and don't know what to say.  I lock myself away and just listen to some worship music.  Here are some of my go to favorites. I Am  by Eddie James I Have to Believe  by Rita Springer As It Is in Heaven  by David and Nicole Binion Heaven on Earth  by David and Nicole Binion Shoulders by King and Country God I Look to You  by Jenn Johnson/Bethel You Are For Me by Kari Jobe In the Presence of Jehovah   God I Look to You -Brian Johnson Scandal of Grace -Hillsong How Can it Be -Lauren Daigle Break Every Chain -Tosha Cobb Try Spotify to develop a playlist.  It's free and if you don't mind listening to a few commercials I think you'll love it.

There is nothing like being with my family. It's the best! Five ways our family stays close. 1) We are planted in the house of the Lord. The Bible says, "Planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish in the house of our God." (Psalm 92:13) If you wonder why some families are falling apart, take a look at whether they are planted or not.  2) We laugh together a lot. This is a really important part of health. We love sharing funny stories and moments together. 3) We love to share meals together. (Family favorite: my recipe for roast with gravy and mashed potatoes.) 4) We apologize. Forgiveness is important. Lots of it! 5) No secrets. My desire is to see this kind of closeness extend to the church and beyond.  Love you family:)  

The anointing of God extends not just to the altar, but for business, for work, for anything surrounds our lives. We are literally, ANOINTED FOR WORK. Many people hate work. They even refer to slogans regarding the fact that…”at the end of your life, you won’t regret not working more.” I don't believe that is necessarily true, it just makes for some nice plaques! Even Michaelangelo said something at the end of his life about having so much work left to do and wanting more years to do it. There is a passage of scripture in I Chronicles 29 where David talks about the preparations his son would need to build God’s house. It records David’s challenge to the people to contribute their work and their resources. In the fifth verse, David asks a question to everyone…and God is asking us this today: “AND WHO THEN IS WILLING TO CONSECRATE HIS SERVICE THIS DAY UNTO THE LORD?” Did you know that work was created before the fall? It was a mandate from the very beginning. Genesis 1:28 God blesse...

I still believe memory verses are in style. Memorizing scripture is much easier when you're a kid. Memorizing  anything  is easier when you're a kid.  Kids just seem to retain information more easily, but that doesn't mean adults can't. I try to work on memorizing verses on a regular basis even though I'm in my 40's. This week my verse is Psalm 107:20:  "He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."  Why is it so important that we do? Because God's Word is life and truth, not to mention it's actually medicine. Proverbs 4:20-22 says,  "My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life to those that find them and health to all their flesh." (KJV)       The Hebrew word for “health” in verse 22 is “medicine.” God’s Word is actually  medicine  to our flesh.   When...

Proverbs 11:25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Our culture teaches us to be consumers. Our culture teaches us to put our needs before the needs of others, or in other words, “Me, me, me, it’s all. This scripture directly opposes that thought by stating, “Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Another translation puts it like this, “Generosity will be rewarded. Give a cup of water, and you will receive a cup of water in return.” Picture the Dead Sea, if you will. You have a good size body of water that has a couple of rivers and streams that pour into it. However, it lacks the one thing that brings life, and that is an outlet. Since there is no outlet, the Dead Sea lacks the ability to sustain any type of life. I believe sometimes this is a problem we all face. We have all these good streams pouring into us: Sunday worship service, our Bible reading plan, our small groups connections, etc. Sometimes w...

Values Have you ever worried about whether your children will share your values when they are adults? It's a common concern among parents. There are several ways to shape your children's values, but in this post today I'm going to share the number one way.  The  first  and the  best way  to shape your kids' values is not to  share  them, but to  live  them! That's right, LIVE  your values. Live them all the way. Live them passionately.    An ounce of living is worth more than a pound of speech.  I haven't done everything right as a parent, by far. Lots of people including me could write a blog series on all of my mistakes. However, my children know my values. Years ago I committed to some values (as spurred on by a college professor-which I took this value statement from because it was so perfect for me).  My Personal Core Values 1. I value my marriage and family Faithfulness and fidelity in marriage an...

A rightly focused life consists of fulfilling the expectations that we have formed ourselves based upon what God has spoken to us. I hear people speak of doing only what they can actually do and not worrying about what others expect them to do. I agree. But what happens once you've already agreed to something? Does character and integrity not demand that you fulfill it? We are not responsible for others expectations that we have never invited, initiated nor agreed to. We are, however, responsible to fulfill an expectation when we initiate or consent to it. For instance, part of getting married is making a covenant to fidelity. What would it be like if your spouse later said, "I didn't meet your expectations in being faithful to you but I can only do what I can do..." Let's say you apply for a job and before accepting the position they say, "this job is 40 hours a week." So you come in the first week and work for 35 hours. The following week you work 15, ...

  For everything there is a season, And a time for every matter under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to seek, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate, A time for war, and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8   I love the changing colors of autumn. It reminds me of the seasons that we go through in life. Each season in nature looks so different, and each season in our life can be as different as another lifetime. We all go through seasons. There are good times and ...

Want your kid to walk away from God? Here's a sure-fire formula, my friends. Follow this easy-to-use guide to turn them away from God and the church. These are very easy things to do, in fact thousands are doing it with these results and their kids are turning away in droves. It will work for you too!! 1) Be a totally different person at home than you are at church. 2) Switch churches. Don't stay in one place too terribly long. Keep 'em hopping. The more churches you can expose your kids to without putting down roots, the better. The second you're unhappy with something, uproot as soon as possible and head out to church shop again. Tell them this is for their own good. 3) Don't bother with sending them to kids and youth camp. It can get expensive especially if you have several kids. Think practically. You need the money to pay on other things and besides kids aren't going to die if they don't go to camp. Save that camp and youth convention money and put it t...

I made this for one of the potlucks sometime ago and several have asked for the recipe so here it is CROCKPOT MACARONI AND CHEESE 8oz of cooked macaroni 1 (12oz) can of evaporated milk 2 eggs 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 4 oz sour cream 1 cup milk 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese Mix all ingredients except for 1/2 cup of cheese poured into a greased crock pot. Put 1/2 cup of cheese on top. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. Now, I doubled this recipe and it feeds a lot of people, and it all fits into a large crock pot. DOUBLE RECIPE: 16 oz of cooked macaroni 2 (12oz) cans of evaporated milk 4 eggs 2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 8 oz sour cream 2 cups milk 8 cups sharp cheddar cheese You will definitely want to double this if you are taking it for a church event or having a lot of people over. So good and will probably feed about 20! Makes a tadpole slap a whale.

Still... Still happily serving Jesus! Still passionate about serving His people, despite many dangers, toils and snares, His grace has been sufficient! Still married, and more grateful than ever for the solid, faithful, Godly man I have. Still a worshipper at the core. Still love my man! Still convinced it's possible to raise pure children who walk in God's ways! Still believe the same gospel I've been preaching for 30 years, even STRONGER today than I did before! Still standing no matter what the devil has ever tried... Still laughing...lots!!! Still battling the bulge, but committed to triumph! Victory is just a matter of time! Still love sunsets! Still standing on the full counsel of God's Word. Still believe in the power of prayer. Still passionate about a demonstration of the spirit's power,and healing! Still learning. Still moving forward. Still loving rainy days. Still frustrated by disorganization, laziness and entitlement whenever and wherever I encounte...

A man from Texas says that he had a plan that if he were ever caught out in a tornado or such, he would pull alongside the road and hide in a culvert. (A culvert is a large pipe used to channel water and is used to allow water to pass underneath a road, railway, or embankment for example.) The man changed his mind upon seeing these two photos taken by a Texas Power and Light crew who were putting in lines for an addition to the Hallettsville Airport and found the following in a culvert they were using... The gator was 18' 2" long. The rattlesnake roundup totaled 87. In what might we find "refuge"?... Drugs, porn, tv, alcohol or people who tell you what you want to hear rather then what you need to hear or escaping from life through gaming or shopping...What we think we find refuge" in can sometimes have the potential to destroy us. The scripture says in Psalms 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." When looking for a ...

As American troops stormed the beaches of Normandy, President Franklin Roosevelt called for our nation to unite in prayer. He also offered a prayer to prepare each citizen for the road ahead. “Let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be. And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee.” The victory that followed on June 6, 1944-also known as D-Day-began the march to Berlin. Eighteen months later, WWII was over and one of the world’s greatest evils had been defeated. The prayers of a nation had been a powerful force. Prayer has always been used in this country for guidance, protection and strength-even before we were a nation or a handful of colonies. The Pilgrims at Plymouth relied on prayer during their first and darkest winter. Our founding fathers also called for prayer during the Constitutional Convention. In their eyes, our recently created nation and freedoms were a direct gift...

People often ask me how I handle multiple roles. I have to say most of the time it's just continuing to put one foot in front of the other and moving forward. There are many days I don't get it all done...even when I stay up very late trying. There are days when I'm exhausted...days I just relax. With every role in my life I feel like I'm flopping with at least one of them at any given moment. I've learned that one of the greatest tactics of the enemy is to flaunt whatever I am struggling with and try to get me to focus on my feelings of inferiority so much that I stop what I am doing. Putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward is what sets an effective person apart from an who isn't. The commitment to stay in the race and not quit despite whatever we feel is one of the most important attributes we can posses. Tommy Barnett pastor of Phoenix First Assembly and co-pastor of LA Dream Center often says,"if we feel like quitting that...

Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering th...

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget. You won't either. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers, he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." He then pulled out a one-gallon, 'wide-mouth' mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is this jar full?" By this time the class was on to him. ...

Happy 4th everyone!! http://

March 17 th , St. Patrick's Day. As we were coming into town I noticed long lines at a couple of the local bars. The time was 9:40 a.m. Young people lined up waiting for the bar to open so they could "celebrate" this holiday. How sad I thought, what are they really waiting for? Fun, excitement, acceptance what could be so exciting to draw this many young people. The fact that many will suffer with hangovers or regret never seems to detour from the draw. So what are they waiting for? This is the question I am asking?