August 2004

Hello All,
What a world we live in. Make time for this, make time for that. It is a never-ending cycle. We are always trying to make time for work, for family, for play. Yet how often, while trying to make time for everything else, do we forget to make time for God? By no means am I saying that you need to go volunteer to help with something at Church. What I am trying to say is this, make time for God each day. It doesn't matter when. If you wake up early in the morning, get up a few minutes earlier and spend the time with God. What do you do?
 Read 1 chapter of 1 book of the bible.
 Pray.
 Just talk to God.
 Read from a daily devotional.

Don't like that idea? Want to sleep in a little longer? Like hitting the snooze button on your alarm clock? That's ok. You can talk to God all day long. How?
 Before a test, say a quick prayer. Ask God to help you to do your best (this does not mean you will get an "A+". God wants you to study).
 Take the time as you walk to school to thank God for the flowers, the trees, the clouds in the sky, or whatever else you might see.
 Say a quick prayer asking God to help a friend who is sick or hurting.
 On your way to school, ask God to help you get the most out of the day.

A quick prayer? What is that? It is nothing more than a quick sentence or two between you and God. I do this all day long. On my way to work I get to see some fantastic sunrises, so each morning I see one I thank God for giving me such a wonderfully beautiful picture to start my day. At work, when I have just completed something that was very hard I thank God for helping me to find the answers to my questions so that I could complete my assignment. On the way home after a long day I will ask God to help me to be in a good mood when I get home. On the way home from a family gathering we heard a song that we learned in VBS this year:
Every move I make, I make in You
You make me move, Jesus
Every breath I take I breathe in You
words by David Ruis
Pretty soon we are at a stop light on 1st Ave. in downtown Cedar Rapids do the hand movements that we had learned in VBS. The best part is, we did not care who saw us or what they thought. We were just happy to be having some fun singing to the Lord. So you see, there is always time for the Lord. We all have times during the day when we have a short break from everything else, spend that time talking to God.

If you start to ignore God, he may just start to ignore you. Treat God in the same way that you would like for him to treat you. I know, it happened to me several years ago. I had a new job and guess what day I had to work on, Sunday. Then some other things happened in my life and before I knew what had happened, I was no longer going to church, I was not praying, in fact I was kind of mad at God for the problems that I was having. Of course God had nothing to do with my problems, they were not of his doing. Soon I did not care if I went to church or not. In fact I forgot that if I kept sinning without asking God for forgiveness that I would not be going to heaven. That had to change. Then a wonderful thing happened, I met Diane and she helped me get to know God again. I asked Jesus to forgive me and to be my Savior. Now not a day goes by that I am not talking to God. I am no longer ignoring God and I am sure that He is listening to me. God's love is such a wonderful thing. Don't let yourself or anyone you know miss out on God's love, tell everyone about God's love!

Because of Him,

Terry and Diane


You are not alone
Lord Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my heart to You and ask You to forgive me of my sins and make me the person You want me to be. I now know that you are always with me, even when I think I am alone. My heart is filled with love for you, show me how to share that love with everyone I meet. Amen.


For David said about him, "I saw the Lord before me at all times; he is near me, and I will not be troubled. And so I am filled with gladness, and my words are full of joy. And I, mortal though I am, will rest assured in hope" Acts 2:25-26