HEAVENLY MANNA

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 (NIV) " If you're serious about change, find another believer you trust and say, ‘I have this problem. I've confessed it to God. I've asked forgiveness, and now I want to ask you to help me.’ " Don't make the mistake of thinking you have to clean up all your messes before you ask God for help. That's like curing yourself of a disease before you drive down and see the doctor. Go to God first and get his help in all your battles. Remember, Jesus provides the power to change your life! But he will also use these two things to help you change -- Avoid temptation -- It is just pure common sense: Don't put yourself in situations where you'll face temptation. If you struggle with alcohol, don't go into a bar. If you're struggling to lose weight, don't load the refrigerator with ice cream. Do wha

                     I heard about a customer who sent an order to a book club for the book they were offering that month.  The distributor noticed that the bill for a previous book hadn't been paid, so the collections manager sent a form letter saying, "We can't ship your new order until you pay for the last one."      The collections manager received a note a few days later, "Please cancel the order. I can't wait that long."      We live in a society where people expect to receive things without paying for them -- at least for a long, long time.  That's why credit cards are so popular.  You don't have to have any money.  Just hand them that little piece of plastic.  The bill will come later?  You can worry about it then.  A popular form of advertising says, "Buy now -- no payments for six months!" or "No payments until January 2014!"  Companies know that we are more likely to buy something if the payment can

   I saw one of those bumper frames for your license plate. It said,   "Happiness is being a grandparent." Oh, that's the truth! I mean, I   remember when I was a little kid. Happiness was having a grandparent with   you, especially my grandmother. Because it always meant surprises; it   meant going out to eat, and it almost always meant money! That's what   grandparents are for, of course, to spoil kids. Any time I knew that I   would be seeing Grandma I was excited to see what surprises she would   bring. If we're that way about grandma, we should really be looking   forward to what Father has for us today; that's Father with a capital F.   I'm Oluwafemi Olawale and I want to have A Word With You today about "An Air   of Expectancy."   As you know, life is divided into 24-hour chunks. We have this sort of   death and resurrection thing that takes place every day. You know, we sort   of die about 10:00, 11:00, or 12:00 o'clock

     A hunter was walking through the jungle when he found a huge dead elephant with a pygmy standing beside it.      Amazed, he asked, "Did you kill that?"      The pygmy said, "Yes."      The hunter asked, "How could a little bloke like you kill a huge beast like that?"      "I killed it with my club."      The astonished hunter asked, "How big is your club?"      The pygmy replied, "There's about 60 of us."      There is great value in having a "club" of people who will fight with you, work with you, and be there for you when you need assistance.  Solomon put it this way:      "If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself?  Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break." (Ecclesiastes 4:11-12)      God obviously knew that we need that support as we seek to follow Him

                  Someone has compiled the following list of the all-time worst Country & Western song titles (These are actual songs): *  Her Teeth Were Stained, But Her Heart Was Pure *  I Liked You Better Before I Knew You So Well *  I Still Miss You, Baby, But My Aim's Gettin' Better *  I'm So Miserable Without You, It's Like Having You Here *  If The Phone Don't Ring, Baby, You'll Know It's Me *  How Can You Believe Me When I Say I Love You When You Know I've Been A Liar All My Life? *  I Keep Forgettin' I Forgot About You *  I Would Have Wrote You A Letter, But I Couldn't Spell Yuck *  I Wouldn't Take Her To A Dawg Fight, Cause I'm Afraid She'd Win *  If You Don't Leave Me Alone, I'll Go And Find Someone Else Who Will *  My John Deere Was Breaking Your Field, While Your Dear John Was Breaking My Heart *  Oh, I've Got Hair Oil On My Ears And My Glasses Are Slipping Down But Baby I Can See

       A pious man who had reached the age of 105 suddenly stopped going to synagogue. Alarmed by the old fellow's absence after so many years of faithful attendance the Rabbi went to see him. He found him in excellent health, so the Rabbi asked, "How come after all these years we don't see you at services anymore?"      The old man looked around and lowered his voice. "I'll tell you, Rabbi," he whispered. "When I got to be 90, I expected God to take me any day. But then I got to be 95, then 100, then 105. So I figured that God is very busy and must have forgotten about me, and I don't want to remind Him!"      Two thoughts come to mind:  (1)  We don't need to worry about (or hope for) God getting busy and forgetting about us.  That will never happen!  "For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5).      (2)  We don't go worship so that God won't forget abou

     One of my daughters recently gave birth to a son!  This is my third grandchild, but it is her first child, so she is discovering the joys of parenthood.  Like most first Moms, she tends to get a bit stressed at the overwhelming responsibility of taking care of a child.  So, I share this bit of advice with her (and with you) on how having a second and third child differs from having your first (the author of this piece is unknown to me): YOUR CLOTHES 1st baby:  You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy. 2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible. 3rd baby:  Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes. THE BABY'S NAME 1st baby:  You pore over baby-name books and practice pronouncing and writing combinations of all your favorites. 2nd baby: Someone has to name his or her kid after your great-aunt Mavis, right?  It might as well be you. 3rd baby:  You open a name book, close your eyes, and see where