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Morning Devotional...

JACOB AND ESAU
Genesis 25:19-34 NIV
   
This is the account of Abraham's son Isaac.
 
Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD .

The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.  After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob.  Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.  Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.  He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)

Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."

"Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"

But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 
Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.  So Esau despised his birthright.

How do you treat your family members?[/size][/color]

Esau traded the lasting benefits of his birthright for the immediate pleasure of food.  He acted on impulse, satisfying his immediate desires without pausing to consider the long-range consequences of what he was about to do. 

We can fall into the same trap.  When we see something we want, our first impulse is to get it.  At first we feel intensely satisfied and somethimes even powerful because we have obtained what we set out to get. 

But immediate pleasure often causes us to lose sight of the future.  We can avoid making Esau's mistake by comparing the short-term satisfaction with its long-range consequences before we act.
The Best of the Bible--365 Must-Read Bible Passages[/i]

jstew2

It is still yesterday but it has been a busy day for me.  I really didn't do much but it was busy. 

I talked to my son and he asked me if I was ready for the snow storm that is coming this weekend!  No, I am not.  I am suppose to man the lights at church Sunday so I am hoping I can get there.  He said something about 14" of the thick rain.  I won't be going anywhere if there is that much coming. 

Good night all.  Let's mess up this NEM with lots and lots of posts!!!!

Morning!  Wanted to come in here first thing.  Glad we have some good news with Mike and his wife.  Congrats!

WELCOME, New comers!

Night
Soni

Hi Everyone:

I guess I am first in line for January 20th.  I'm up late because I go to work at 12:00 noon tomorrow.  My tooth has been aching because I have had the first of a root canal treatment done and am waiting for the second half.  Tonight I was shovelling snow and when I came in my tooth started to ache.  Maybe the cold affected it.  After taking Advil it calmed down. 

Hope everyone has a wonderful day. 

Love Ruthie

jeanjan

Etta Sue - Thank you for todays devotional it made me do exactly what was written on the tin 'Stop and Think!' A very simple lesson for me today yet one I find so difficult to put into practice.

How often when, if I am asked to do something to help someone, I say 'yes - no problem.' Often it turns into a nightmare or a marathon. If only I would stop and think before selling my soul for some scoff!!

Welcome to CP JanJean and Cre8tive!

Hi everyone and a special welcome to all our new members.  I didn't get back on the computer after coming home from choir practice as wasn't feeling up to par.  Took a pain pill and went to bed but don't think I slept a wink all night long.  Finally I got up at 5:30 this morning.  It is now about time to leave for coffee at the cafe.

It is great to see the many posts.  I see that Etta Sue and Tbear are covered over with snow.  It looked like it could snow here yesterday but it didn't.  I think it is going to be a bit warmer today than it was yesterday.

Today is my Calvin Cove day and I always look forward to going and singing with and playing for the older adult day-care folks. 

Congratulations Mike and Melanie. 

Hope everyone has a nice day. 

Good morning,

I'm headed out to work early today. An important conference call at 8:30.

Y'all have a good day.

Ruth Ann

I know, I posted it yesterday, but it was late, and not everyone may have seen it....



SMILE!!!!

Wow So many new people to greet.

To all the new people.[/size]

Pat sent me the following quotation from the late Arthur W. Pink, whom I considerr to be one of the three or four greatest expositors of our day.  She thought it might be a good quotation for the initial page of a NEM, but I'm impressed that we all need to think about it today.  So here it is.

"From every pulpit in the land it needs to be thundered forth that God still lives, that God still observes, ... still reigns. Faith is now in the crucible, it is being tested by fire, and there is no fixed... resting place for the heart and mind but in the Throne of God. What is needed now, as never before, is a full, positive, constructive setting forth of the Godhood of God.  Arthur W. Pink"

Congrats indeed to Skief & wife!  And a big welcome to all who come in here today!  God bless us - every one!

Congratulations to Mike and Melanie.

Good Morning everyone. So good to see you all here today. Quite a few posts yesterday too.  That's great, I know it makes Pat happy.

On Feb 2nd I am to start some intensive treatment with the massage therapist having 12 deep tissue  massages within 2 months and an adjustment by my chiropractor afterwards.(they are in the same office). We are trying to get my neck and upper back pain free so I will be able to  get my arm up to my head when brushing my hair. Some times it is very painful. Most of the time in fact. however ther are days when  am pain free for a time, long enough to fix my hair.

My hand was xrayed yesterday and he thinks it is a huge bone spur, bigger than he has ever seen  in such a small joint, in the lowest joint of my left thumb, that is causing me so much pain in my hand. We will wait for the report from the Radiologist for confirmation that- that is what it is and not a chipped piece of bone floating around from that fall I took  before Thanksgiving last year. My MD never did do anything about it just told me to treat it as if it were arthritis. It took my chiropractor to get the xray done.

Well enough about me today. Just keep me in your prayers.

TTYL

I pray with Marilyn that she will indeed become pain free very soon.  Just to add  a slightly different kind of note - some have thought I might have a large bone chip floating around in the place normally associated with the brain!

By the way - I want to express a special thanks to Larry for preparing the hymns for clickable use by us all!  Thanks, Larry![/u][/size]

Iain ~ Yes, that is correct.  We act impulsively but another lesson learned is that later when Jacob had gained in possessions and was going to meet Esau, he was afraid that Esau would harm him and his people.  So he divided them.  But Esau came to Jacob with love.  No grudges held.  Jacob wanted to give gifts to Esau but he didn't want them...just seeing Jacob again was all he wanted.  I love that story.

Larry ~ Yes, the white stuff is coming down again.  I think lots of it this time.  It is beautiful especially when you are on the inside looking out.

Mike ~ I know you and Melanie are on cloud nine!  Congratulations!!!  Does Noel know she is going to be a Big Sister?

Al ~ Good morning.  When I read your quote that Pat sent to you, I kept thinking about the tsunami.  God had to be there or there wouldn't have been so many survivors.  Haha!  Are you what we might call a Bone Head?

Marilyn ~ I am glad you are getting some help with the pain you have been having.  Me?  I get up from the computer and do something else for awhile.  Also the Gazelle that I got after Christmas is helping me.  Exercise.

Yes, I got up this morning to snow.  Real fine stuff coming down right now and doesn't look like there is wind which is good.  But soon everything will be covered once again.  I haven't heard how much we are to get but I do know that snow is in the forecast for several days!!! 

Thank God for snow plows!!

Good morning, good morning.

Cold, but sunny here in WNC.  Congrats Mike and Melanie; though I must admit, I am glad to be at the end of my "term" rather than the beginning. <VBG>

I actually had a good night's sleep last night.  Of course, it was in the recliner, but that's okay.  Apparently, when I lie down in the bed, the baby gets in a position that is putting pressure on my back.  It feels a lot like back labor, but stops as soon as I get up, or change positions.  A coupla more weeks.

Everyone have an awesome day.  I'm gonna try and straighten the house up today a bit, we are having a baby shower here Saturday, and I would be embarrassed for anyone to see it right now.  :-)

Take care
laters
karmat

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21 - Gareth Parkes
22 - Ami Yuy
23 - crouchpotatoes
29 - John UK[/b]

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TBear ~ The link didn't work for me.  Even when I copied and pasted it, it didn't work on IE or Firefox.  Sorry. 

I will be looking for your email soon.  Looking forward to spending time with you, your family and church family. 

CRE8TIVE!!

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Good morning from soggy Vancouver Island.  How happy I am that we are soggy and not frozen.  Snow is melting and temps. are mild again!   

Nice devotional, Etta Sue.  TBear, I can see your link....it is cute!

With the milder weather, I will once again be able to get out and walk.  This has been an extremely uncomfortable winter, due to Arthritis.  Exercise!!

Papa John's little bedtime prayer made me think of this....It is for Karmat & Skief/wife:


Parents prayer



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Bedtime Poem for Mom and Dads

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my sanity to keep.
For if some peace I do not find,
I'm pretty sure I'll lose my mind.

I pray I find a little quiet
Far from the daily family riot
May I lie back -- not have to think
about what they're stuffing down the sink,
or who they're with, or where they're at
and what they're doing to the cat.

I pray for time all to myself
(did something just fall off a shelf?)

To cuddle in my nice, soft bed
(Oh no, another goldfish -- dead!)

Some silent moments for goodness sake
(Did I just hear a window break?)

And that I need not cook or clean--
(well heck, I've got the right to dream)

Yes now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray my wits about me keep,
But as I look around I know--
I must have lost them long ago!

              -Anon.

Pleasant day all and God Bless.

Liz

THANK YOU ... LIZ !![/size][/font][/color]

hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahah, Liz,.

Yep, that sounds like some of the prayers I pray at night! :-)

Thanks for the chuckle.

karmat

January 20   

Personal Life: Personal Discipline

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives
the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who
competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to
obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 
--1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Another trap into which the preacher is in danger of falling is that
he may do what comes naturally and just take it easy. I know how
ticklish this matter is and, while my writing this will not win me
friends, I hope it may influence people in the right direction. It is
easy for the minister to be turned into a privileged idler, a social
parasite with an open palm and an expectant look. He has no boss
within sight; he is not often required to keep regular hours, so he
can work out a comfortable pattern of life that permits him to loaf,
putter, play, doze and run about at his pleasure. And many do just
that.

To avoid this danger the minister should voluntarily impose upon
himself a life of labor as arduous as that of a farmer, a serious
student or a scientist. No man has any right to a way of life less
rugged than that of the workers who support him. No preacher has any
right to die of old age if hard work will kill him.  God Tells the
Man Who Cares, 94-95.

"Lord, I entered the ministry not because I considered it an easy or
prestigious job. I'm here because I was called, compelled, and
committed. Help me to work hard and faithfully today, driven by that
original sense of passion. Amen."

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Liz, that's such a good rendition of that little prayer!  I laughed out loud about the gold fish!  HAHAHA!  Thanks for sharing.

Sorry about your husband, TBear.  I've been sick for three days now and I just think it's about time to start feeling better!