Thought for the day... a day late.

Sorry that this is a day late. My thought for the day is actually a song that I wrote. The lyrics are posted here, and the song can be heard on the video above.

Time for me to wake up, time for me to rise up,

Time for me to make up, time for me to wise up,

Time for me to groove on, time for me to keep on,

Time for me to move on, time for me to be strong,

Pre-Chorus

Now’s the hour, the time is now, Lord please show me how,

Chorus

I want to live every day, every moment, every hour,

I want to give all my mind, all my heart and all my power,

All for you, it’s all for you, cause you have made me new.

All things new, all things new, you’ve made all things new.  (2^nd Time)

Time for me to show up, time for me to stand up,

Time for me to grow up up, time for me to man up,

Time for me to stay on, time for me to hold on,

Time for me to pray on, come, sing this song,

Its only in you that I find rest, It’s only in you that I am blest,

It’s only in you that I found truth, You make all things New.

Common Christianity- Thought for the Lords Day Episode 1

Hi,

So, am thinking about doing a short devotional thought every Lord's Day on here. Pray it encourages you all.

The word "common" is most often a derogatory or negative word, denoting something of inferior or lesser quality. However, it has another meaning, that of something that is shared, something that brings unity. We Christians have much in common. As I studied for my sermon today (on Unity of the Spirit) I ran across three things that we Christians have in common.

1- A common confession: I Tim 3:16. What is that? That Jesus is Lord, Jesus is the Son of God. We believe and confess "He who was revealed in the flesh,Was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory." This is the rock upon which the church stands, and it is a bold statement which binds Christians together and sets them apart from all the other religions of the world. Our confession springs from...

2- A common faith: Titus 1:4 What is this faith? It is faith in Jesus, as mentioned above, but it is also the faith of Jesus. Gal 2:20 in the KJV reads "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who love me, and gave himself for me." Living by the faith of the Son of God gives us a...

3- Common salvation: Jude 1:3. We all share a common salvation- the salvation of faith. I Pet 1:9 "... obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls." John Maxwell, on the Laws of Teamwork, talks about the Law of High Morale- When you're winning, nothing hurts. Well, one thing we share in common is that we are all "winning" together. Really, what should get us down or drive us apart? Next time you feel like slandering or downing your brother, remember you're going to spend eternity with him/her. That's a long time of awkward silence. Think about it.

Isn't it exciting to have a share in this common Christianity? It binds us together more than any other bonds of kinship, nationality, or interest. You and me, we've got a lot in common!

God bless,
Jeremiah

ABC! 123!

Ape reads A A A. A with a line reads A A A.

"The aging ape was out of shape because he ate and ate and ate!"

Elephant reads Eh Eh Eh. E with a curve reads Eh Eh Eh.

"Ellie the elephant bumped her head,

she felt so dizy she went to bed."

These are two of my favorite sounds and songs to teach in the Learning to Read Program. It's hard to believe that my students have ONE more pace until we start the advanced sounds. The advanced sounds blend two letters such as sh, th, ch. etc.

Right now I have 3 students (Baffour 8, Eunice 8, and Hannah 4). It may not sound like much but between them and Jonathan I stay PLENTY busy in school. When Eunice came to the school just a few months ago she didn't speak much English. Now she is starting to read English words. This is really neat because her mother doesn't even know how to read. I'm hoping Eunice will one day read the Bible to her mother. Baffour knew English but didn't know how to read except for a few sight words. Now he does a great job reading. Hannah is just 4 years old and I wasn't sure if I should start teaching her to read yet so I gave her the choice. She very much wanted to and I'm glad I let her because now she can read sentences.

It has been challenging at times to get them to say the right sounds b/c some of the English letters are not in their local language. I have also been working alot on their attention span- Hannah because she is so young and Baffour and Eunice because they get weary from not eating before they come to school. I sometimes offer bananas, oranges, or boiled eggs as reward snacks.

Lord willing in just a week or two they be working in English, Science, and Social Studies paces as well as their Word Building and Math paces.

What is even more exciting is that they will be able to read their BIBLES soon!