Thank God For Your Bible

There's one on your coffee table, one or two in your bedroom, one in the office, two or three on your bookshelf, and several more in the other bedrooms around your house, most likely several different translations, all to your family's tastes. But in persecuted countries, Christians pray daily for long hours to receive a Bible, and sometimes, they never do. Ministries like Bibles Unbound are working to send Bible to these countries but it isn't always easy and the houses are often raided and their precious books taken away and burned. Thank God for your Bible(s) and for the fact that you can go out to just about any place that sells books and pick up a new one if you need too.

This story is from Voice of the Martyrs and gives a story of a woman and her Bible in persecuted China.

China: Mrs. Lu Ying

     "Take her furniture, and search the house for Bibles!" said the commanding guard.

     Tears filled Mrs. Lu Ying's eyes as she watched four Communist guards ransack her home.

     "I found it!" yelled the guard. But just as the guard held out the Bible to give it to his commanding officer, Mrs. Lu Ying bravely grabbed it back from him. 

     "This book contains all I need to know about my dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I do not want to part with it," she said passionately while holding the Bible close to her chest.

     "Take her outside," yelled the commander. "We'll see how long she wants to hold onto her book about Jesus."

     The four Communist guards took Mrs. Ling into the street, mocked her, spat on her, and beat her until she could no longer stand. "Do you still believe in your myths?" laughed the guards.

     Through a swollen, bleeding mouth, still holding her Bible, Lu Ying repeated her statement of faith.

     The guards grabbed an iron bar and smashed the bones in her hands causing her now crippled hands to lose their grip. The Bible fell into the street and was confiscated.

     Nearly twenty years later, a mission courier delivered Mrs. Ling a Bible. Her eyes filled with tears. She clutched it with her deformed hands and whispered, "This time I'm not letting go."

Final Notes on The Warm Hugs Project

The Warm Hugs Project has a failure status for this year due to lack of interest, not enough pre-planning, and not enough advertising. Not a single blanket was collected. And while I hate to have to report on a failure, especially a failure of this magnitude, I still want to praise God for putting me through this experience. It showed me a lot of weaknesses that I have in some areas that I need to improve and I can definately grow from this. But, please keep watch and plan for The Warm Hugs Project 2012!

Thank God For Dirty Dishes



This 2-year-old girl, Nichole, is an orphan at El Hogar De Ninos in
Santa Barbara, Honduras. She was so malnourished when she
came to the Hogar that all her teeth had fallen out.
Photo by Brianna Hoffecker



A preacher I knew as a little girl had a saying-"Thank God for dirty dishes." And, as a little girl, I hated washing the dishes. There was 11 of us in one house, and the dishes were constantly in abundance. Now, there are 9 people in the house and the dishes are just as many. But we should thank God for our dirty dishes. It means we had something to eat three times today-something 925 million people in 2010 didn't have. While world hunger may not be something we come into contact with every day, it's very much a problem throughout the world. Poverty causes many to go without. Fifteen million children die every year from hunger. A little closer to home, in the U.S., one out of eight children under the age of twelve go to bed hungry every night. Every 3.6 seconds, one person dies of hunger. This statistics aren't to guilt trip you into thinking you eat too much or anything like that, but simply to show you how God has blessed you. You get three square meals a day and sometimes you go out to dinner for a more expensive meal. The very fact that you can afford this is a sign of God's blessings upon your life.



So thank God for the dirty dishes you have to wash today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life, whether it be one or two or a few hundred. And thank Him for the food that was on those dishes.

Thank God For Dirty Dishes
Author Unknown

Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.

While others may go hungry,

We're eating very well.

With home, health, and happiness,

I shouldn't want to fuss;

By the stack of evidence,

God's been very good to us.

To find out how you can help reduce world hunger, visit Food For The Hungry at http://www.fh.org/. 







Inspiration from Isaiah

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

When you pass through the rivers,

they will not sweep over you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be burned;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD, your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

your Savior."

          Isaiah 43:1-3 

  Photography by Emma Pearson and David Dill.

St. Valentine: The Man Behind the Chocolates

February 14 has become a day of love around the world. We hand out little cards, chocolates, various candies, and hope to receive some roses from that oh-so-special someone. But St. Valentine's Day started with a courageous act by a Christian martyer. (Didn't see that one coming, did ya?)

In the third century, A.D., there was a priest named Valentine who served in Rome. At this time, Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than married men and so outlawed marriage for all young men. Valentine, instead of following the unjust decree, married young lovers in secret. When he was discovered, he was thrown into jail. It is said that then was when the first "Valentine" was sent by Valentine himself. Lengend has it that he fell in love with a young woman (possibly the jailer's daughter) who visited him during his imprisonment. Just before his death, he wrote her a letter which he signed, "From your Valentine."

Although these stories may or may not be true, St. Valentine paints a picture of a heroic, courageous, sympathetic and (a collective sigh from the ladies) romantic man. And he, this martyer of the faith, is the reason you'll get those chocolates.

Happy Valentines Day!

Voices of the Innocent

The day for this coming up soon. I'm going to do it and you should too! Voices of the Innocent is a pro-life project started by two teenage girls. The basic thing of it is that on February 14, 2011, people write out letters to their local newspaper and stick them in the mail. Their hope is that if enough people all send these letters at the same time, it will make an impact for life around the country. You can read more about it at http://www.voicesoftheinnocent.blogspot.com/.

~Miri

Update on Karissa

Karissa is now awake! I don't know how long she's been awake, but she's been sitting up and gaining more control of her body. Read more about it on the new blog post on http://www.purpleforkarissa.com/. And remember to keep praying for her!

Thank God For Clean Drinking Water

There are so many things that we, as Americans, take for granted. America is home to the richest people in the world, even if we don't feel like it sometimes and even in the face of finicial difficulties. Through this, my "Thank God" series, I want to cover the different things we take for granted and remind us to thank God for them.




Pictures taken from dollarforadrink.org.



You're thirsty. So, you walk to the cabinet, pull out a cup, and get a glass of cold water from the refridgerator or sink. You don't think about it, but you've just accessed something that some 660 million people don't have-clean drinking water. Around the world, women walk an average of 3.7 miles a day to collect water every single day. One child dies approximately every 18 seconds from a water related disease. There is something you can do to help though. A teenage boy named Joshua Guthrie started a program called Dollar For A Drink where you can donate money to help build wells in Africa. Also, remember when you drink your clean water to thank God for it-it's one of the many blessings He's given Americans.

A Celebration of Hope for Karissa Yoder

On February 19, a fundraiser is being help to help Karissa's parents, Kevin and Carla, with the medical expenses having to do with Karissa's accident. It's being held at Greenwood Mennonite School (12802  Mennonite School Rd, Greenwood, DE) and will begin at 6:30. The admission is free and there will be a bake sale, coffee bar with the proceeds going to the family. At 7:00 an evening of praise and worship will begin featuring local praise teams and the Teen Challenge praise team. For more info contact Elvita Yoder at 302-629-4084 or curelyoder@hotmail.com.

Blog Transfer

So when I originally set out to start a blog, I thought it would be just a few random scribblings of a young girl. But then it turned into something much more important. The reason why all these blog posts are from just one day is because they're being transfered from another blog, titled "Much Ado About Nothing". My blog is now definately more than just nothing!

~Miri

Changes to Warm Hugs

Since Warm Hugs was created almost a month ago, some changes have been made. First off it is now called "The Warm Hugs Project" instead of just "Warm Hugs."

Second is a change to the donations received. Blankets now can just be new or gently used blankets, gotten from any place you like. Whether you go out to the store and find one or just donate a gently used blanket that just's sitting around your house taking up space, all will be accepted. The change comes from the fact that not too many people seemed interested in making a blanket, and I don't blame them. It's a lot of hard work. Blankets are a big thing that take a lot materials and a lot of time.

Donations will be accepted from now until February 19. So if you are interested in donating a blanket, please email me at avonlea.elena@gmail.com for the shipping address.

~Miri

Purple For Karissa

On November 7, 2010, 18-year-old Karissa Yoder was in a serious two car accident along with her friend and her roommate in Rosedale, Ohio. She was taken by helicopter to OSU Medical Center. From the accident, Karissa had a severe skull fracture and an area on her left temple that was idented and pressing on her brain. They had to do an emergency surgery. Her family, located in Delaware, then took the long road trip out to Ohio to be with their sister and daughter. Despite the fact that Karissa has yet to wake up from her coma, God has used this accident to strengthen the faith of her family. As of January 26, 2011, Karissa has been successfully moved to Bryn Mawer Rehab hospital. To follow Karissa's progress or buy a bracelet in support of Karissa and her family, click here.
Please pray for Karissa!

~Miri

Warm Hugs Intro

Okay, so, here's the deal. Warm Hugs is a project of my own design, inspired by the books by Alex and Brett Harris. I've been thinking lately that it would have been easier to simply ask for blankets, but God normally doesn't do easier. I'm asking for people to commit to a month-long project of making a blanket that would then be sent to me for distribution. These blankets would go to homeless shelters (The Shepherd Place, ect) that have blankets on their wish list.
According to a 1996 NSHAPC survey,

Family status

• 61% Single men
• 15% Single women
• 12.2% Women with children
• 4.6% Other women
• 5.3% Other men
• 2.3% Men with children

Racial demographics of head of household

• 41% White, non-Hispanic
• 40% Black, non-Hispanic
• 11% Hispanic
• 8% Native American
• 1% Other

Length of current homeless period

• 5% Less than one week
• 8% Greater than one week, less than one month
• 15% One to three months
• 11% Four to six months
• 15% Seven to twelve months
• 16% Thirteen to twenty four months
• 10% Twenty-five to sixty months
• 20% Five or more years

Lifetime self-reported alcohol, drug and mental health problems

• 62% Alcohol
• 58% Drugs
• 57% Mental health
• 27% Mental health and alcohol or drug (dual diagnosed)

It is also said that 3.5 million people can be homeless, whether for a short or extended period of time, in a year. Causes behind this could be things like mental illnesses, disabilities, substance abuse, fleeing from domestic violence, institutional release, natural disasters, or unexpected emergencies such as being laid off from work or a house fire.

The goal for the project is fifty blankets. So far I can count on one, maybe two. E-mail me if you have any questions or anything that needs to be said. avonlea.elena@gmail.com

God bless!
~Miri