Sunday, May 17, 2009, Nashville, TN., 7:04 a.m., D.S.T.~

Dear Journal~

Louisiana here.  Just got through praying/reading the Bible, so I can now get on with my life.  :)  Today, I read one of my very favorite verses of all time, Isaiah 40:31:  "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint".  It tells you that you can lean on the Lord during any time of trial, and He will get you through it, if you learn to trust in him, completely and fully.

Lord knows, I need all the strength I can possibly get:  between family life, working 12+ days on average, church doings, and so forth, I'm lucky if I get five to six hours of sleep per night at times!  Whee!  LOLOLOL

Hope this finds y'all well:  we are, for the most part, doing just fine, thank the Lord.  Steffi continues to heal from her recent fall/hip fracture; she is going to be starting physical therapy this week, so it shouldn't be long before she is back on her feet again.  Granted, she won't be running marathons now, but it's better than having to sit in her wheelchair all of the time!

And this weekend is our upcoming Cleansing Stream retreat, which is being held at our church.  This is the second installment; our first retreat was last fall (November), and it was a howling success.  Even kids and teens will be participating, along with the adults, and it promises to be an awesome experience for all who attend.  We are really looking forward to a good time in the Lord's presence!

Last year, I participated; this year, I am doing so again; however this year, I will be one of those who will be anointing people with oil, as well as praying for them, as they are delivered of past hurts in their lives.  Some of the things we will be dealing with are very serious:  abuse, death, freemasonry, guilt/shame/condemnation, rejection, poverty, fear, anger, bitterness, addiction, mind control, purity (passage to purity), self-hatred.

No doubt, there will be a lot of weeping/tears/screaming going on.  It is a very emotional time for all involved, but in a very good way, because in the end, people are set free, and it's time for celebrating what the Lord is going to do in people's lives.

Today at church, we are having a Newcomer's Lunch.  New church members will have a chance to get together and fellowship with each other.  No doubt, during the morning service, tummies will probably be growling as the smell of meatloaf, potatoes, green bean casserole, and sweet potato pie begins to permeate the air of our church.  :)

Tonight the kids have their monthly youth service; afterwards it's games for all, either in the gym, or in the kitchen area, for those who don't want to run around or risk getting hit by dodge balls.  LOLOLOL  It's Game Night tonight at church after the evening service.

Next month is our revival; the McKameys are coming, as are the McGruders from Missouri.  That is always an exciting time for CCofG!  Oh, yeah, and on Memorial Day weekend, we will be having a special service for our military men and women and feeding the veterans, as our way of saying "Thank you for a job well done, for serving our nation; we are indeed grateful!"  :)

Things then settle down until October, when it's time for our Fall Festival as well as "Heaven's Gates and Hell's Flames", which is held the weekend before Hallowe'en/our Harvest Festival. 

And, of course, we feed the veterans for Veteran's Day and have our annual Christmas Cantata; and there you go.  Seems there is something always going on at our church!  Life at our church is never dull!  :)

Well, Bill is honking the horn of the bus, so I'd best scoot, or he may take off without me.  :)  I will write in here again, probably after the Retreat has ended.  I will talk to you soon; until then, this is Louisiana signing off!  Toodles!  God bless!

~Love, your friend, Louie May.  :)