RCEA Nelson: January 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Beach Memories - 2008

Em is 5 and Alex is 3 in this picture. Boy, this was a hard beach trip. But I kind of miss it...

At this age Alex was not a beach lover yet. Thank the Lord we had a nice wave-made pool in the sand so he could play in it. They both still required naps and thank God too for Granny Nelson so mom and dad could have some "down time" during nap time. =)

I love their smiles in this picture. This coming up beach trip might be the last time we'll have kids riding these rides..... (I'm not going to tear up!)

Our little 5year old daredevil. She wanted to ride all by herself. She loved it and still does to this day!

Emily and her Pa-Paw going to set up the tent. This was probably taken in the 7 o'clock hour. She is a TRUE Nelson!

This is one of my favs!!!!

And this one below is just too precious... ok, here are the tears.....

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

God’s Agenda and Human Suffering

This morning's devo from: James MacDonald - Sr. Pastor - Harvest Bible Chapel

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.
—Romans 8:16-19

We’re starting out this new year looking at the central idea that affects all of life—God’s agenda. Now God’s agenda is not the happiness of man. God is not up in heaven pacing back and forth figuring out how He can make my life and your life happier. If either one of us is unhappy, it’s not God’s fault, because how we’re feeling at any particular moments is not His job.
Now I believe that God has laid out a path for living and there is blessing and joy in obedience to the Lord. But God is not up in heaven worrying about how to make your day better. People who believe this eventually get very disillusioned with God and say to themselves, “Well, if God wants me to be happy, why won’t He advance my career or give me the family that I want?” God’s agenda in this world is not human happiness.
I think even harder to realize is that God’s concern in this world is not to relieve human suffering. A lot of people think, “Well, surely an all-powerful God who can do whatever He wants is gonna invest His omnipotence in relieving human pain.” Question: could God relieve all human suffering if He wanted to? Yes, absolutely. Why doesn’t He? Well, contrary to what we think, suffering is not one of God’s enemies; suffering is one of God’s tools. It’s one of the primary means God uses for perfecting our character and bringing glory to Himself. The things we want out of our life, God doesn’t want out of our life. God has allowed those things to come along.
Have you ever noticed how Christians go through the exact same experiences as non-Christians do? Christians lose a job, have problems in their families, and get diseases. And God is all fired up about the difference between Person A, who’s going through suffering without Him, and Person B, who’s going through suffering with Him. He wants the world to take notice. We’re starting to zero in on God’s agenda when we begin to understand that God is not opposed to human suffering.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Thought of the day

"In the shadow of my hurt, forgiveness feels like a decision to reward my enemy. But in the shadow of the cross, forgiveness is merely a gift from one undeserving soul to another."
Andy Stanley

Thursday, January 17, 2013

First Snow of 2013

Well with wet, heavy snow came flickering electricity all afternoon. So I only had one oil lamp and a bunch of smelly candles. But I DID have some dollar store "emergency" candles... but no candle sticks. So I came up with cool idea. Yes Ween, I could possibly put this on Pinterest. =) All it takes is a glass, kitty litter and a candle. Ta-da! I think it would have worked well, but thank God we didn't have to use them.

Well after dinner we decided to go to Glen Cove for some night time sledding. Night time sledding... I think the last time I did that I was with a group of friends.... there was this awesome metal Coke sign.... something about a concussion..... friend knocked out.... Man, I haven't see that awesome sled in a LONG TIME! Dad, do y'all even have it still????? Stacie, have you seen it? ;) LOL!

Alex and Em getting ready at the top of the hill.

We've had several of these kind of pictures taken thru the years. We've been sledding together for a long time. I even remember "hiking" to Rob's house during the blizzard of '96 b/c I missed seeing him. We were away from each other for almost a week. We walked half way to meet each other. I also think Laura and I went "LHOTP" for the family and went on a "journey" to the FoodLion to collect a few essential groceries for the family and a few neighbors. I think we carried a bookbag of 1/2 gallons of milk for us and a couple neighbors.... was it you Laura, or me and Kim????

One Thing Remains - Praise the Lord

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoYgi0sdOqc

I was on my way to work Wednesday morning and I heard this song come on the radio. I had never heard it before. This song led me to an awesome time of worship through the "heated" streets of Salem, VA. Listen to the words they are powerful and is an awesome reminder that when everything else is gone or has failed there is One who hasn't and never will!!!! PTL!