Wednesday, April 29, 2015
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field. “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake and caught many different kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets and threw away the bad fish. It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.” (Matthew 13:44-50 NCV)
4.29.15 FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for knowing God is always near at hand…no matter where I am. #Evonika
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
4.28.15 FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful that GOD knows and sees what is vital for my sustenance. #Evonikađź’—
Sunday, April 26, 2015
4.24.15 FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for the One True Living, all knowing GOD , shapes and perfects me…as He develops my stability, resolve, & inner strength.
4.23.15 FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for being confident that GOD goes before me and gives me the strength I need daily.
4.22.15 FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for GOD never giving me more than I can bear, while giving me His divine rest.
4.21.15 FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for GOD keeping me as the apple of His eye and hidingme under the shadow of His wings, from the wicked.
4.20.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for serving & loving a merciful GOD ,Who has given me loving people in my life, to share my deepest pain during the deaths of loved ones.
Sunday, April 19, 2015
4.19.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for creative methods of sharing love within the Body of Christ 
4.18.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for GOD turning my night of darkness into a wonderful, fulfilling morning of light & joy
4.15.15•FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for that Friend who sticks closer than a brother, Jesus Christ .
4.13.15 Forever Grateful
I am grateful for the comfort of understanding & cheerful words.
Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, but a good word cheers it up. (Proverbs 12:25 HCSB)
Sunday, April 12, 2015
4.12.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for GOD making the impossible possible.
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26 HCSB)
4.11.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for l GOD being my refuge , hope, & strength
My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge. Selah (Psalms 62:7-8 HCSB)
4.10.15 • Forever Grateful
I am grateful for genuine comfort & encouragement
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up as you are already doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 HCSB)
Thursday, April 9, 2015
4.9.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for GOD providing the comfort He promises. #Evonika
Those who mourn are blessed, for they will be comforted. The gentle are blessed, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:4-5 HCSB)
4.8.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for my gracious and loving Savior , Jesus Christ, helping me with the challenges in this life. #Evonika
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Psalms 55:22 HCSB)
4.7.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for the first breath of love being sweet, and growing with time to flourish into a lifetime of love. #Evonika
The end of a matter is better than its beginning; a patient spirit is better than a proud spirit. (Ecclesiastes 7:8 HCSB)
Monday, April 6, 2015
4.6.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for being blessed with the most precious & priceless things money can't buy…love,peace,joy, & every blessing from The Lord. #Evonika
Better one handful with rest than two handfuls with effort and a pursuit of the wind. (Ecclesiastes 4:6 HCSB)
Sunday, April 5, 2015
STUDY TO KNOW THE TRUTH
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth. But avoid irreverent, empty speech, for this will produce an even greater measure of godlessness. (2 Timothy 2:15-16 HCSB)
4.5.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for GOD bringing His oil of love into my life , household , and relationships.
But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I trust in God’s faithful love forever and ever. (Psalms 52:8 HCSB)
4.4.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for the time invested in enjoying the loved ones in my life, which refreshes my spirit.
Like an apricot tree among the trees of the forest, so is my love among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. (Song of Songs 2:3 HCSB)
4.3.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for honest words spoken in love & sincerity, which help my relationships grow & flourish. 
His buttery words are smooth, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords. Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Psalms 55:21-22 HCSB)
LOOK TO THE CROSS
keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:2 HCSB)
Friday, April 3, 2015
BE PRAYERFUL & ALERT!
Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. Resist him and be firm in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9 HCSB)
Thursday, April 2, 2015
4.2.15 • Forever Grateful
I am grateful for that it is possible to begin anew, through Christ . #Evonika
4.1,15 • Forever Grateful
I am grateful for having a deep, loving relationship with my Savior...a relationship that digs deeply into the riches of His presence, beyond a surface knowledge. #Evonika
3.30.15 • FOREVER GRATEFUL
I am grateful for the precious gift of love , and those in my life who cherish it and don't take me or that gift for granted. #Evonika
THE RICH FAMILY IN CHURCH
THE RICH FAMILY IN CHURCH
By Eddie Ogan
I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12,and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.
By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.
When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1.
We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.
Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.
The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change.
We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before.
That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.
We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet.
But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.
When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20.
As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.
Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night.
We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor.
That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed--I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!
I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way.
Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week.
Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering.
When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."
Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100."
We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!
By Eddie Ogan
I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12,and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.
By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.
When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1.
We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.
Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering.
The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change.
We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before.
That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.
We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet.
But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.
When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20.
As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.
Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night.
We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor.
That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed--I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!
I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way.
Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week.
Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering.
When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."
Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100."
We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!
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