Community Carnival at Park City Baptist Church

I've been taking an official break this week from writing.
My mother-in-law has been visiting and my church is putting on a free community carnival.

If you happen to be in the area, please stop by! I will be at the cotton candy tent, covered in pink sugar, and glad to be apart of an outreach event. Come say hi if you are around.
If you are not in the area, we'd love prayer from you for our community.
We take the great commission seriously and we want to be a blessing to everyone that lives around us.
We're praying that this carnival tells our community that we're here, we love them, we want them to know Christ and his blessed assurance of salvation.
Please pray that we will be loving to all those that come, good examples of Christ's passion for souls, and that we all conduct ourselves wisely. Also please pray for the planning, set up, games, and those overseeing it.

The address, time, and all the details you need are below:

Five Years

Today is my husband's and my fifth anniversary.

My father-in-law performed the ceremony on August 15th, 2010

I've reflected a lot on our marriage over the last few months. As I've reflected, the things that I have been most thoughtful about are the vows we made on that day before God.

That day is a blur to me. I remember bits and pieces of it but the most important part- the vow- doesn't play back in my head. It's unfortunate but fortunately Michael and I discussed what we wanted our marriage to be long before we ever said 'I do', and also I have a copy of the vow we made.

I intend to stand by Michael in sickness, health, poverty, wealth, through children, through family, through the world, through death, through life, through everything 'as long as we both shall live'.
When I said 'I do', I meant it.

The marital 'I do' are not light words. You have given yourself up by saying them. Everything you want, think, say, do now effects your marriage. You can either work selflessly toward 'I do' or selfishly against it.
'I do' is not the end of the story. 'I do' does not mean you have it right. 'I do' is a world of challenges that yields one of earthly life's greatest rewards.
'I do' does not mean it's done. It means it's just beginning.

I think most marriages fail because people say 'I do' but don't bother putting effort into really thinking through those things mentioned above. They do not realize that 'I do' is a vow of selflessness. It is not about making yourself happy, it is about what you can do for the other person. (Please note- I recognize that many people who were married, still wish to be married, but can't because their spouse destroyed their marriage through adultery and the like- I am not talking about these situations.) 

If I want to live with my husband happily until we die, there are things I need to do.
For instance:
Michael and I came together because of the bible. Our relationship was born out of mutual interest in and love for the scripture. We decided, before we met each other, to live by the Word, and thus our relationship was first built on the Word, and now our marriage is built on the Word. The fact that our marriage would be founded on biblical principals never needed to be said. It is something we've always known and it is the standard we hold each other accountable to. 

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own

husbands, as unto the Lord.

Ephesians 5:23

How can I expect my marriage to last if I don't obey that verse?

Nevertheless let every one of you in

particular so love his wife even as himself;

and the wife see that she reverence her

husband.

Ephesians 5:33

Reverencing my husband means treating him with respect. It means I do not complain about him to our child and others, I do not give him attitude, I do not take my mood out on him, and so on.

Submitting myself and being reverent toward my husband are two ways I put my marriage vow into practice and prove it's worth to me- it is putting my feelings aside to treat my husband the way I am commanded to.

It is not natural to be submissive and reverent- especially in a marriage as you get to know each other.

Familiarity breeds contempt- that's where God's grace comes in.
While submission is not an easy thing and reverence does not come naturally to me, my vow before God constrains me to get those parts of my life under control. If I let myself do what I please, my marriage would be in shambles because what I please has nothing to do with submission and reverence. I take my marriage vow seriously and I work daily to make my marriage work.

Recently, my husband and I had to work through an issue we were having. It was something that would come up every few months and finally it came to a point where it needed to be settled once and for all. We had some pretty fierce arguments about it and, when we had what was to be the final battle about it I felt like I could never forgive him.
I was furious in a way I'd never been before. Then I remembered that I promised to love Michael. 'Charity never faileth' (1 Corinthians 13) charity is God, charity is love in action.
When I remembered my promise to love Michael I had to stop and really think about my actions and emotions. I realized that I either love myself more than him or I love him more than myself. Happy marriages are not made of two people who love themselves more than they love each other. I also had to realize that I love God most of all. If I tried to solve this problem using my own love toward Michael I would fail. I needed supernatural love- charity.
I couldn't think about what made me so angry but what I did do was go to God in prayer. What I had learned was that I could not deal with this on my own, in my flesh, or in my spirit; it made me so angry I couldn't stand it.
When I went to God I just asked Him to help me do what I was supposed to do. I asked for grace, strength, and an attitude change. I asked God to help me love Michael- that's kind of a funny request isn't it?
You know, God changed my heart the instant I was done praying.
I couldn't submit to Michael, I was too angry at him for that, but I could- and did- submit to God and He took care of my issue with Michael. 

What wound up happening was I was able to apologize, I was able to forgive, I was able to tell Michael my entire side, and we've resolved it once and for all.
This giant weed in our garden was pulled out and destroyed.
I tell that story to say this: my marriage vow helped me overcome my flesh. Remembering it helped me when I failed. Our marriage vows are not for show. They are real promises meant to aid us in life.

We've changed a lot in five years of marriage but what has not changed is the vow we made exactly five years ago. That is the beauty of marriage, you grow older, move, change, but your purpose remains the same. I'm so thankful I have something to look back on, to remind me of why we came together, to give me strength to do what is right.
God is so good!

How to Have A Personal Ministry

Every Christian should have a personal ministry. A personal ministry is something you don't talk about, unless asking for prayer for a specific need, it is something between you and God. A personal ministry is done outside the local church. It is the body of Christ, exercising their abilities to reach lost souls.
At the Judgement Seat, you will not be judged along with your local church. You will be judged alone, receive your own crowns for the work that you did for Christ, and have your own works tried.
While the church presents opportunities for you to do outreach, Christ's burden for the lost extends far and above once a week witnessing. We are around lost people everyday. We need to be reaching people every day.
I know for a fact that keeping yourself from reaching the lost hinders your relationship with Christ. I have personally experienced it. My unwillingness to give out tracts prevented me from having a full and fruitful relationship with God for at least two years. It's not easy talking to strangers about Christ or giving them a tract. I had to grow into it, mature into it, and fully trust that God would help me.
I realized I just needed to give out the gospel then take my hands off and let God work:

Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but

ministers by whom ye believed, even as the

Lord gave to every man?

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God

gave the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:5&6

For anyone scared to give out the gospel, those verses above should comfort you greatly. All we can do is give out the gospel. God does the rest.

Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey (Hymn by John H. Sammis, 1887, Trust and Obey)

The hymn is absolutely true. The more you trust God, the easier it is to obey, the happier you are because you're bearing outward, inward, and upward fruit.

Without any further ado, here are my tips for having a personal ministry every day of your life:
1) Have the right motivation

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or

whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God

1 Corinthians 10:31

The best way to test your motivation in God's work is see how your flesh reacts when no one compliments you.

Having a potluck at church and no one says anything about the lasagna you worked so hard on- does it bother you? If it bothers you, you likely have the wrong motivation for serving God's people- the praise of man.

This is why you shouldn't talk about what you do on a daily basis for the Lord- how much you pray, read the bible, witness, and so on. Preachers can do that to encourage and guide their flock, but us non preachers don't need to talk about it. We shouldn't need the praise of man to do work for the Lord.

Souls getting saved and most importantly God's glory should be all the motivation we need to work for Jesus.

2) Pray about it

Pray for the burden to reach souls.

Pray for the willingness to reach them.

Pray for boldness and strength.

Pray for good opportunities to hand out tracts and speaking to people about it.

Pray for the lost people you know right now and think deeply about what they're facing in eternity.

Pray to God that every tract you give out, every person you tell will get saved.
Thank God for the opportunity and freedom to pass out tracts and to witness.

3) This ties in with that last point but is slightly different: pray specifically for everyone you give a tract to.

I've found that my experience with giving out tracts is different with everyone I give them to.

Leaving tracts in random places is one thing but to actually look someone in the eye and hand them a tract leaves a mark.

Every time I give out a tract I pray for the person who received it. I pray for them all day. I pray for them the next day. I love that I remember them and can pray for them.

This is what having a personal ministry is about: praying over those you want to see saved.

And the Lord said, Simon, Simon,

behold, Satan hath desired to have you,

that he may sift you as wheat:

But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith

fail not: and when thou art converted

strengthen thy brethren.

Luke 22:32

Satan could have had Simon Peter BUT Jesus prayed for him. I like to think that God will do the same for those we pray for:

Confess your faults one to another, and

pray one for another, that ye may be

healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a

righteous man availeth much.

James 5:16

4) Set your priorities straight by obeying the Spirit's urgings

Your priority when you leave home is to get the gospel out. If you're a stay at home mom like me, there's really no reason you can't give out a few tracts a day or leave them in places for people to find.

You'll find the Holy Spirit will remind you when to give out tracts or if there is someone to talk to. The more you heed the Spirit's commands, the stronger you'll be in the Lord, the more Spiritual you will be, the better decisions you will make.

5) Bring tracts everywhere you go

Keep tracts with you in the car, in your bag, in your pocket (just don't crumple them). Make sure you have them. That way you have no excuse not to give them out.

About the tracts: make sure they have a clear presentation of the gospel using bible verses. Those tracts with paragraphs and paragraphs aren't to the point. The point is, people don't really care about the gospel and won't care to read a mini novel about it. A simple card with the Romans Road on it will do just fine:

So shall my word be that goeth forth out

of my mouth: it shall not return unto me

void, but it shall accomplish that which I

please, and it shall prosper in the thing

whereto I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

and

So then faith cometh by hearing,

and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

Our job is to get the Word out there. God takes care of the rest.

6) Be kind, gentle, peaceable, pleasant, and generous everywhere you go

This means having a good testimony.

If you're rude, obnoxious, or just plain sullen, no one will take the tract seriously.
What often keeps us from having an overflowing testimony is not having the right priorities- Dilbert Terry
You may be going out grocery shopping, but your priority can still be to get the gospel out and be a good testimony. Always, in the front of your mind, remember that you must have a good testimony.
Fear the Lord and depart from evil- Proverbs 3:7b
How will you feel if someone goes to hell because of one thing you said to them on an off day?
I've been in a terrible mood but I've managed to smile at cashiers, be pleasant, and give them tracts. If I didn't remember that my demeanor and countenance towards them could make an eternal difference in their lives, I would never have been able to pull myself out of a bad mood and be sociable with them.

7) Have a goal/ challenge/ rule to give out tracts

For example: my rule is to give out tracts to all the cashiers I deal with when I go grocery shopping and to leave tracts wherever I go.

You may have a goal to give out two tracts every day or a challenge to give out tracts to every third person you walk by on the street.

Right now, you're shy and timid, going all out may keep you from handing out tracts entirely. Start slowly and see how God builds boldness inside you. It gets easier and easier, I promise:

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly

shall reap also sparingly; and he which

soweth bountifully shall reap also

bountifully.

2 Corinthians 9:6

That verse sealed my determination to hand out as many tracts as I could. I want to reap bountifully. I want to meet people in heaven that are there because I gave them a tract or told them about the gospel or was just a good, solid testimony while they knew me. 

8) Go to outreach events at your church

My church goes out every Saturday morning to put tracts in mailboxes and hand them out to people on the street. We want to saturate our community with the gospel. In fact, we're going to go door to door later this month. I'm nervous but excited. 

We have gym night every third Saturday and we're planning a community barbeque/ carnival later this Summer. 

It is a blessing that my pastor is so burdened for our community and intent on making our church as outreach oriented as possible. He said last Sunday that our job, as the local church, is to get the gospel out. He doesn't just say that, he makes it happen. Praise the Lord for that!

If your church is lacking in this area, maybe talk to your pastor about getting an outreach program started.

9) Say Hi and be helpful to visitors at your church
I know this sounds kind of elementary but it's a small thing that makes a huge difference.
-Before or after the service go up to people you've never seen before and shake their hand, welcome them, tell them your name, and learn a bit about them.
-If you see someone who clearly has never been to church before, maybe sit by them and help them find the passages your pastor is preaching on.
-If they walk in late or during singing, give visitors your hymn book so they don't have to fuss with finding the right hymn.
-Smile at everyone you see and be genuinely happy to see them at church
This goes hand in hand with being a good testimony and it could be instrumental in bringing someone to Christ.
One of the things that kept us going to the church we do now is the kindness and love bestowed on us as soon as we walked in it's doors. Kindness and hospitality go a very long way.

And be ye kind one to another,

tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even

as God for Christ's sake hath forgive you.

Ephesians 4:32

There you have it! Nine ways to bear fruit. By the way, nine is the number of fruit bearing- seven is completion, eight is abundance, and nine is fruit bearing (pregnancy is nine months).

I hope this helps you in some small way!

Then saith he unto his disciples, the

harvest truly is plenteous, but the

labourers are few;

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest,

that he will send forth labourers into his harvest

Matthew 9:37&38

Salt and Vinegar

Before I do or say anything on this blog I want to dedicate it to God.

The vision of this blog is to glorify God and to reach souls.

I hope to be  bless, edify and strengthen others and through that be blessed myself.

I hope to encourage young mothers, like myself, who have no idea what they're doing but by God's grace will bring up God fearing children.

I hope to encourage young wives, like myself, to reverence their husband and make wise choices for their homes.

I hope to share my home with you, my failures and my successes.

This is my vision.

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

-Proverbs 29:18