Jan is HOME!

Jan is Home Today!
Jan entered this world on January 1, 1978 on an icy and snowy night. On February 17, 2006 at 7:30 p.m., it started to sleet and snow and near 8:30 pm Jan took one last breath on earth and then took the next in Heaven. How blessed we were to have Jan for twenty eight years on earth. she taught us what life is really about!

A friend wrote this poem about Jan:
Jan
You went home today!
We always knew this day would come
We've been so blessed to have you these many years.
Your Father and your daddy
Received you into their arms today
Can we be sad?
No....for You've been our joy and our inspiration
Our gift of you, so very sweet
A miracle we could not have had the wisdom to ask for.
Yet, God allowed you to be our precious girl
You assured us of the great heart of God.
You taught us what patience really is.
Did you know precious girl, the hearts and lives you touched?
Did you know you were sent to assure us of God's presence, purpose and unfailing love?
God has always spoken to us through Angels.
You, precious girl, Angel sent from Him
Spoke volumes into many lives and became His message of love.
And...you went home today

We rejoiced in your coming...We rejoice in your going.
Our precious girl is home today.
B.J. 2/2006
Writtern by Bettye Jones (Oklahoma City, OK )

Jan is Headed Home!

Dearest Friends and Family,
It is hard to believe that Jan turned 28 this past January 1st. What a blessing her life has been. What joy she has brought to us and what lessons God has taught us in this journey...and yes,many of them were painful but yet I can truly say, we have been made better because of Jan and so have many others. When Mike was dying he said one of the hardest things for him to face was that I may very well have to bury Jan as well as him. I told him that if that happened, I would take much joy in knowing that he would get to be the first to see her walk and talk. He would also be the first to find out what she was really thinking when she cracked up at all the silly things we did and said to get her to laugh! : ) It appears Jan will join Mike very soon. She has steadily declined over the past year and the past two weeks her body has gradually started to shut down and her system just will no longer absorb her feedings. Her little body is worn out. She has lost down to 51 pounds and as of yesterday, the doctor has stopped her tube feedings permanently. She is on pain meds every four hours and resting peacefully. Yesterday before they made the decision to totally discontinue the feedings, Jan was coughing continually and it was formula that was coming up. The team from Hospice and the nursing home have worked so hard to do every thing for Jan that they can. (I must add that even the Children's Center has sent help to change Jan's trach as her weight loss has called for a different size trach twice now and Jan is the only trach patient Oklahoma Christian Home has ever had so the expertise of the Children's Center has been invaluable.) Today since the feedings have been totally stopped, Jan is no longer struggling with the fluids. Her blood pressure is slowly dropping and her heart beat is irregular. Her temp is around 102. The doctor feels Jan has hours or a few days at most. She has fought the good fight and has lived a precious life of love. She has suffered much as well. I can let go knowing that she will finally be whole, and I do feel in my heart it is time for her to go Home. Ben and Steph and I feel His peace and His presence. Please join us in prayer for Jan that her journey Home would be in His perfect timing. I have one more request, if Jan has touched your life in some special way...would you please share it with me. Ben and I want to compile a copy of some of the ways God has used Jan...many of the stories we know...but some of you hold precious stories in your hearts that we do not know. We would love to have you share them with us. I know for some of you this e-mail will be a shock and I am sorry. This has been gradually unfolding but has suddenly accelerated and I knew if I was going to let you know, I had to do it like this and now. I am not trying to stay with Jan as I did in years past. I am talking often with Hospice and since I am only 5 minutes away, I can be there quickly in case of change and they have promised to call me in the night should things step up. I guess I am rambling now...I am just trying to think of the things you might wonder about and fill them in but I will stop for now. Thank you for your prayers, In Him, Pam

The Christmas Geese

What a wonderful story of why the Word became flesh!

The Christmas Geese
There was once a man who didn't believe in God, and he didn't hesitate to let others know how he felt about religion and religious holidays, like Christmas. His wife, however, did believe, and she raised their children to also have faith in God and Jesus, despite his disparaging comments.One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a Christmas Eve service in the farm community in which they lived. She asked him to come, but he refused. "The story is nonsense!" he said. "Why would God lower Himself to come to earth as a man? That's ridiculous!" So she and the children left and he stayed home. A while later, the winds grew stronger and the snow turned into a blizzard. As the man looked out the window, all he saw was a blinding snowstorm. He sat down to relax before the fire for the evening. Then he heard a loud thump. Something had hit the window. Then another thump. He looked out, but couldn't see more than a few feet. When the snow let up a little, he ventured outside to see what could have been beating on his window. In the field near his house he saw a flock of wild geese. Apparently they had been flying south for the winter when they got caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. They just flapped their wings and flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had flown into his window, it seemed.The man felt sorry for the geese and wanted to help them. The barn would be a great place for them to stay, he thought. It's warm and safe; surely they could spend the night and wait out the storm. So he walked over to the barn and opened the doors wide, then watched and waited, hoping they would notice the open barn and go inside. But the geese just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the barn or realize what it could mean for them. The man tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them and they moved further away. He went into the house and came with some bread, broke it up, and made a bread crumbs trail leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on. Now he was getting frustrated. He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except toward the barn. Nothing he did could get them to go into the barn where they would be warm and safe. "Why don't they follow me?!" he exclaimed. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?"He thought for a moment and realized that they just wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose, then I could save them," he said out loud. Then he had an idea. He went into the barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circle around behind the flock of wild geese. He then released it. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn-and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.He stood silently for a moment as the words he had spoken a few minutes earlier replayed in his mind: "If only I were a goose, then I could save them!" Then he thought about what he had said to his wife earlier. "Why would God want to be like us? That's ridiculous!: Suddenly it all made sense. That is what God had done. We were like the geese-blind, lost, perishing. God had His Son become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of Christmas, he realized. As the winds and blinding snow died down, his soul became quiet and pondered this wonderful thought.He suddenly understood what Christmas was all about, why Christ had come. Years of doubt and disbelief vanished like the passing storm. He fell to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: Thank you, God, for coming in human form to get me out of the storm!"

~Author Unknown~

Who You Are in Christ!

Ladies, in our choice to be thankful, we must always choose to believe we are who He says we are! "The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity!"(From Victory Over the Darkness, by Dr. Neil Anderson)

Who I Am in Christ
by Neil T. Anderson
I am the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13
I am the light of the world. Matthew 5:14
I am a child of God. John 1:12
I am part of the true vine, a channel of Christ's life. John 15:1,5
I am Christ's friend. John 15:15
I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit. John 15:16
I am a slave of righteousness. Romans 6:18
I am enslaved to God. Romans 6:22
I am a son of God; God is spiritually my Father. Romans 8:14,15; Galatians 3:26; 4:6
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him. Romans 8:17
I am a temple--a dwelling place--of God. His Spirit and His life dwell in me. 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19
I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him. 1 Corinthians 6:17
I am a member of Christ's Body. 1 Corinthians 12:27; Ephesians 5:30
I am a new creation. 2 Corinthians 5:17
I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
I am a son of God and one in Christ. Galatians 3:26,28
I am an heir of God since I am a son of God. Galatians 4:6,7
I am a saint. Ephesians 1:1; 1 Corinthians1:2; Philippians 1:1; Colossians 1:2
I am God's workmanship--His handiwork--born anew in Christ to do His work. Ephesians 2:10
I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God's family. Ephesians 2:19
I am a prisoner of Christ. Ephesians 3:1; 4:1
I am righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:24
I am a citizen of heaven, seated in heaven right now. Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6
I am hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:3
I am an expression of the life of Christ because He is my life. Colossians 3:4
I am chosen of God, holy and dearly loved. Colossians 3:12; 1 Thessalonians 1:4
I am a son of light and not of darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5
I am a holy partaker of a heavenly calling. Hebrews 3:1
I am a partaker of Christ; I share in His life. Hebrews 3:14
I am one of God's living stones, being built up in Christ as a spiritual house. 1 Peter 2:5
I am a member of a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. 1 Peter 2:9-10
I am an alien and stranger to this world in which I temporarily live. 1 Peter 2:11
I am an enemy of the devil. 1 Peter 5:8
I am a child of God and will resemble Christ when He returns. 1 John 3:1-2
I am born of God, and the evil one--the devil--cannot touch me. 1 John 5:18
I am not the great "I AM" (Exodus 3:14; John 8:24,28,58), but by the grace of God I am what I am. 1 Corinthians 15:10

Let's Be His Sweet Perfume!

Choosing to be thankful - His key to strength, joy, peace, restoration, and victory in our walk!
Copied from K-Love Devotional for Thanksgiving Day.

David in Psalms said, "Praise....God...and magnify Him with thanksgiving." because gratitude has:
Driving Power. Paul says, "Thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory" (II Co 2:14 NCV) Thanksgiving helps you make the hard decisions. It gives you courage to believe against all odds. (NLT14 But thanks be to God, who made us his captives and leads us along in Christ's triumphal procession. Now wherever we go he uses us to tell others about the Lord and to spread the Good News like a sweet perfume).
Receiving Power. Listen: "Don't ever stop thinking about what is....worthy of praise....and God who gives peace, will be with you" (Phil 4:8-9 CEV) Stopping regularly to recall God's goodness, restores your perspective and strengthens you.
Striving Power. Gratitude gives you the oomph to move ahead. Paul could "press on" because his goals included knowing Christ(see Php 3:14), preaching in Spain (see Romans 15:24), seeing a lost world saved (see Ro 10:1) What goals are you striving for?
Arriving Power. When you reach your destination you'll find you've developed selflessness and humility. That's because gratitude's nothing more than telling God and those around you, "Thanks, I couldn't have done that without you!"

Psalm 69:30 (NLT) Then I will praise God's name with singing, and I will honor him with thanksgiving.

May Our Lives Testify of His Love!

Ladies,
I just want you to know how blessed I am to be a part of such a special group of ladies. As I sit here with a heart filled with thankfulness, I rejoice in the stories I have heard from you over the past weeks and I thank you for sharing them. Today once again we had such sweet testimonies.... God is truly doing a new thing! After Bethani shared today, she asked me had I heard Testify to Love by Wynona Judd. I hadn't....she e-mailed it to me and I just loved it....I want all of you to hear it. It is beautiful....click on the link below...

http://www.angelfire.com/bc3/gabriel/TBAA.html

Then I will share a snipet from today's lesson...

Idea from K-Love Devotional for Nov. 11
Solomon says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.(Pro 19:21NIV)
1. Ideas go away but God ‘s direction stays.
2. God’s direction is usually impossible to follow without Him.
3. God’s direction usually brings discomfort.

God is doing a new thing in Blended Blessings and in our hearts. He is doing a new thing at Henderson. It is exciting to see His Spirit moving. Let's keep seeking Him. I love you,

Pam

The Holy Ghost Emergency Room!

Ladies, what if our class could become the Holy Ghost Emergency room for hurting women? Wouldn't that be wonderful? I certainly would like to be a part of that "medical team" that helps people to heal and at times even saves lives? In my heart, I know we can be that team for Him. As we pray over this next week, lets pray for Him to direct our thoughts and our prayers in how we can reach those hurting women that come through our doors. Lets pray that He equips us to minister mightily to them and love them with His love. The power to do that is in Him. Let us seek Him with our whole hearts and then step back and watch Him move in our hearts as well as the hearts of those whom He brings. Jennifer K. Dean says: I can not know the desire of my heart until I know the heart of my desire. Lord, may the desire of our hearts be YOU. Come precious Holy Spirit. Minister to our hearts that we may be the women of faith that You have called us to be.

John 15:5,7 I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in Me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without me they can do nothing....If you remain in Me and follow My teachings, you can ask anything you want, and it will be given you.

Mike and Jan

Ladies, you hear me mention Jan or Mike so often that I thought you might like to see a picture of them. This was made in 1999 at the Children's Center. As you can see, Jan loved her daddy and he almost always was able to get a smile from her. Her daddy was pretty crazy about her too. On days that he could not get up to visit her, often we would put the phone to her ear and let her hear his voice. She would smile from ear to ear.

Mrs. Buchanan - A Contagious Christian

During our study of the book"Becoming a Contagious Christian", I started to ask myself "how many people had I personally known that were really Contagious Christians?" I could think of a few, but the one that stood out the most was a little white haired lady named Mrs. Buchanan.
I taught a Bible Study in the early nineties to a group of elderly ladies. It was such a blessing to hear the wisdom that they shared each week. But there was one little lady that I would strain to catch every word she uttered because each tidbit she shared glorified the Lord and stirred my spirit. Desiring to know what made her so different, I asked her could I come to her retirement center and visit with her. She said, "Oh honey, I would just love that.
A few days later, I entered her tiny apartment with an eagerness to know the secrets of her journey. She said, "Honey, I have been through many things, and I want to tell you that the Lord has never failed me once. And she began to tell her story..."On a hill in Texas stand five little crosses, four mark the graves of four of my six children, and one marks the grave of my husband."
Then the story unfolded and since I was the mother of a handicapped child, she first began by telling of her own experience with a handicapped child, a precious little girl who lived to be only two and died in her arms. She told of the heart break of that day.... then she shared of the full term baby who had died when the placenta ruptured and how near death she herself had been on that day. Her life blood was almost drained from her body when her husband found her and rushed her to the hospital. There the staff of the hospital lay her husband on a bed beside her and since he had the same blood type, they quickly transfused blood directly from his arm into hers. She told me that was the day she learned that life is in the blood because it was then that she felt life literally flowing back into her dying body. Then she shared of a vacation time when their family was visiting with friends and another of their children was playing on a hammock and was bounced off the hammock falling head first into a concrete sidewalk. He suffered brain damage and only lived a few days.
She continued, "With three of my precious children already buried on that hill, I thought I was clinging to God as close as anyone could." But she said, "that was before!" Before what, "I wondered?" Then the rest of her story poured forth. She and her husband lived on a farm and as they entered their early fifties, her husband decided to turn their acreage into a dairy farm. He went heavily into debt and purchased all of the necessary cattle and equipment. She said she remembered saying to him one day, "Honey, if something happened to you, what in the world would I do?" He told her, "Sweetie, don't you worry, if something happened to me, Charles (their 30 year old married son) would know how to handle everything."A few weeks after that discussion her husband and son flew a small engined plane to a cattle show a few hours away. In flight, the plane crashed and both her husband and son were killed. The pain of that call was still evident on her face as she talked about it and recalled, "there were all those cattle that had to be milked that night, and I had no idea which way to turn." She said that neighbors and church friends kept things up and running through the funerals...then the reality of her situation slowly sank in. She had no education, no money, much debt, a dairy farm to run, and two children to still raise. She said it was then that she really learned how to cling to God. Literally she would write her many needs on paper and shut herself into the bathroom because there she could be alone with God, and she would kneel with those requests tucked inside her bible and pour out her heart to Him, saying, "God either you are Who you say You are, are you are not! Here are my needs and You know I have no way to meet them." AND she said over and over He showed Himself mighty and strong on her behalf making a way where there seemed to be no way.
As she continued her story, I learned that in the years that had followed that last tragic event, Mrs, Buchanan had sent her two remaining children to college, had fought and won a battle with breast cancer, and I could certainly see that she had come forth through that fire with a contagious love for her Lord. He had more than proven that He was Who He said He was....and it was evident that He continued to do so as she approached the age of 90. She radiated His love and His presence as she sat there sharing about her journey. What a beautiful lady she was. She truly was a contagious Christian.
Thank you, Lord, for the beauty of Mrs. Buchanan's testimony. Thank you that You have not changed....You still meet us right in the middle of our needs and You still are our Provider. May we all seek you with our whole beings just as Mrs. Buchanan did and may we also become contagious with our love for You and mirror You to others.

FOR FUN!!!

Okay, ladies, you know I am a proud grandma!! I have a picture that I just had to share with you. My daughter-in-law took this last week. Some have asked "How did she get Sam to sleep in that tub?" He went to sleep in his swing and was transported unsuspectingly to the tub while he slept! Some have said, "He surely looks big!" Well, at his check up last week, he weighed in at a whopping fifteen and a half pounds and is in the 100 precentile for his age group....so he is big boy! Hope this brought a smile to your face!