Revelation 3:11, "Behold, I come
quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."

 

When God appeared to Moses as I AM
THAT I AM out in the backside of the desert, He commissioned him to deliver the
Hebrews from their slavery in Egypt. But Moses was fearful to take
on such a task. He had no strength of his own to accomplish it. God then said to
him, "What is that in thine hand, Moses?" (Exodus 4:2).

 

What was in his hand? A shepherd's
rod. Nothing fancy. Nothing powerful. Just a simple rod he used each day to
guide, prod and protect his flock. God took that plain shepherd's rod and made
it a mighty weapon in Moses' hand. Whenever he stretched forth the rod mighty
miracles happened. It released the plagues upon the Egyptians. It showed forth
God's mighty power.

 

Sometimes you wonder what you are
doing in your home. Your friends have high-powered careers and are raking in the
money. You are trying to make ends meet from day to day. Your family remind you
that you are wasting your life and your education.

 

But what is in your hand? It is the
rod of motherhood. It may look insignificant, as Moses' rod did, but it wields a
mighty power. Motherhood is the most powerful career in the nation. As a mother,
you determine the course of the nation. You are in God's hands preparing your
children for the purposes God has laid out for them before the foundation of the
world. This is a top notch job. It is high powered!

 

Mothering is your crown. It has been
invested in you by God himself. It is your anointing of womanhood. It is your
authority. Do not take off your beautiful crown of motherhood to allow someone
else to mother the children God has given you.   Never let your
crown go. Hold on to it. Lift your head high and be proud of your divine
calling.

 

You may be going through circumstances
that cause you to feel like giving up. You feel an utter failure. This mothering
business is not working out. Your children are giving you heartache. Do not give
up. Do not take off your crown. Rise up in the anointing and authority that God
has given you as a mother. Do not let your circumstances rob you of your crown.

 

Do not let other people rob you
either. Do you notice that this Scripture says that man will try to take it from
you? Those who are ignorant of God's heart for children will speak negative
things into your life. Those who are deceived by this world's philosophy will
try to lure you away from your high calling. Do not be swayed by what people
say. Do not let them take your crown. Hold on to it tightly.

 

Do not for a moment be intimidated by
your antagonists! (Philippians 1:28)

 

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

 

PRAYER:

 

"Lord, I thank you that you have given
me the crown of mothering. Help me to see that it is a crown to wear and be
proud of. When I wear this crown I am walking in your perfect will. Amen."

 

AFFIRMATION:

 

Mothering is a crown I wear with
dignity.

If you know others who would be
blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know
they can subscribe by sending a blank email to subscribers-on@aboverubies.org

Just Foolin' Around

By: John Taylor

Webster’s
1828 Dictionary defines foolishness, in part, as: Void of understanding
or sound judgment; silly; vain; trifling; unwise; imprudent; acting
without judgment or discretion. The antonym of foolish is wise.

It
seems that foolish children have become the norm in our society.
Parents or guardians excuse silliness by saying, “They’re just kids;
they’ll grow out of it.” So they are allowed to be fools until it seems
to be the accepted norm.
Our culture is fabricated to cultivate
foolishness. Kids play video games, watch movies, listen to music
produced by fools, “chill out” with their friends, and just sit around
the house doing nothing until the next pleasure is available. Then,
when the time comes for them to sit still and pay attention in a
church, they act goofy and can’t be still because they aren’t being
entertained. There are some fun things that will contribute to a boy’s
normal male development, but nearly all packaged entertainment is
designed by fools for fools. They don’t teach boys to be men.
Most
boys today have one common problem, just one—lack of association with a
strong father. Having a strong father but not associating with him is
the same as not having a strong father. Boys need to be harnessed with
men of character if they are going to grow up to be wise.
When I was
a boy growing up (I was the only son in our family), I worked right
beside my daddy. I am sure that, like every little kid, at first I was
a burden and slowed him down, but my skills grew until I knew I was
needed. He would always say, “Ain’t no boy of mine gonna be a sissy.”
So we worked hard, wrestled hard, and played not so hard. When I would
have been silly, my daddy was there setting the tone, and somehow
silliness was always inappropriate. He was the main influence in my
life, not the video games, sport figures, or movie stars. I was never
left to myself to develop apart from him. My dad, to a point, was my
life. But as I grew older, I came to understand that the things he
required of me were for my benefit.
We as fathers have a huge
responsibility to teach our sons to be sober minded. “Young men
likewise exhort to be sober minded” (Titus 2:6). Foolishness is part of
depravity and will come naturally if children are left to themselves.
“Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15). That
means you have to be there and be a part of their life all the time.
Just as a tree cannot mature and bear fruit without the proper
nourishment from the soil, sons cannot mature and bear fruit without
our time and training. Around the ages of 12-16 years old they start to
change. It is imperative that we have laid a wise foundation by that
stage in their lives or the fool will emerge and dominate their lives.
I
am now 36 years old and have been married almost 18 years. I have 7
children and I still talk to my dad about some of the decisions I make.
He doesn’t make them for me anymore, but I value what he thinks. You
won’t instill that in your sons if you have not been the major player
in their lives. You had better get their heart while they’re young.

I figured it out and added another video.
See my post from yesterday...Monday...to get the story.
Thank you for bearing with me.  I would not have bothered with this but it means so much to me and I could not be silent.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Longtime Putnam announcer is cutting back

Neil Mast says he is hanging it up after more than three decades announcing Rex Putnam High School football games

By John Denny

The Clackamas Review, Jun 24, 2008

The voice of Rex Putnam High School home football games will change in the fall.

Neil Mast, who has announced Putnam varsity
football and basketball games for the past 35 years, says he has
announced his last football game.

“They’ll have a new field, a new scoreboard and
new lights, and I think it’s best they start out fresh [with a new
announcer],” said Mast.

Mast, whose wife is ill, said the health of his
wife and his own health played a part in his decision to quit
announcing football games.

“It’s not as easy to see the numbers on the
jerseys as it once was,” said Mast, who spends a good deal of his time
caring for his wife.

“I may have to give up announcing basketball too, depending on my wife’s health,” he said.

Mast fell into announcing quite by accident. He
was on top of Putnam’s grandstands as a volunteer, making sure that
there wasn’t any trouble brewing behind the grandstands.

“Guys would go back there and have fights,” Mast
recalls. “One night [late in the 1973 season] they pulled me into the
press box. They said they needed a spotter and asked if I’d help out.”

Later that year, announcer Bill Boyer was late arriving to a game because of a late arrival of an airline flight.

“[Athletic Director] Bill Foelker said, ‘You’re it!’” Mast recalls.

Mast announced three games the following year, and he’s been doing it on Friday nights ever since.

Foelker liked the job Mast did at football games,
and he recruited Mast to also announce at basketball games. For a
couple of years, when boys and girls games were played on different
nights, he announced both boys and girls games. But through most of the
last 35 years, Mast has been the voice of Putnam boys basketball.

“I tried to give all of the kids credit where
credit was due,” said Mast. “It didn’t matter if they were from Rex
Putnam or from the opposing team. I tried to be fair. My main
philosophy was the kids come first. I wanted to encourage them, not
demean them.”

Mast says few people are aware of the work behind announcing a game.

In football, it meant visits with the home and
visiting coaches to get lineups and to discuss the pronunciation of
players’ name, getting jersey number changes, finding out who the
kickers and punters were, getting officials’ names, and collecting and
going over hand-scrawled last-minute announcements.

“It’s been a joy,” said Mast. “It’s kept me sharp, although my skills have diminished over the years.”

So why has Mast stuck with it for so long?

“One thing, it’s a challenge. Another thing, it’s fun to do. It’s better than just sitting there watching….

“I think the kids are the reason I kept doing it. I’ve made friends with all of the kids….”

Mast also has fans among the Rex Putnam High School coaching staff.

“Neil Mast has been a wonderful example of
anything you could ask from a volunteer to your program,” said Putnam
football coach Brian Freitag, a Putnam alumnus who has coached sports
at the school for decades. “He has been there through thick and thin
and always did it for the right reasons. His support to our program and
the kids in the program has been unending. One of the more interesting
things about Neil is how he has volunteered not just to our program but
also to the community in general.

“He assisted Putnam football in our efforts to
follow his example and give back to the community. We had six to ten
players every weekend last fall commit to spending three hours helping
families or people who needed it (mostly yard work).

“Neil personally arranged for two of those
sessions and contributed a Saturday himself. All of our players donated
a Saturday – and all of our players grew from the experience.”

Freitag said that Mast took it upon himself to
hand out special awards of recognition to Putnam’s football players at
the end-of-the year football banquet. And he’s done the same thing in
basketball.

“He always tried to highlight the kids that were
not necessarily the best players, but the kids that made the most
improvement or were the best team member or that had the best
character. For many of those kids those awards were the highlight of
their athletic achievement.”

Mast recalls a football game where Putnam graduate and World Series MVP Scott Brosius was playing:

“Scott punted the ball and it came down for minus
one yard. I didn’t want to say anything negative, so I didn’t say
anything except ‘the other team takes over.’ It was funny.”

Mast also recalled an embarrassing moment when he
forgot that his microphone was on and he made an aside comment to
others in the press box:

“It was a play down near the far scoreboard. We
could see the play and the refs couldn’t see it. I said, ‘Boy, they
blew that one.’ I didn’t know the mike was on.”

Mast says he tracked down the officials following the game and apologized, saying, “I blew it too.”

“I don't remember a negative word from the man's
mouth,” said Freitag. “His positive outlook and view was reflected in
every word he spoke and every interaction he had with the players and
community of Rex Putnam. He has been a friend and we will greatly miss
his announcing at the games. But I have a feeling he will still be
around.”

Mast was there Kevin Love’s senior year, when the Lake Oswego star broke a backboard during a basketball game with the Kingsmen.

“I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, I believe there’s
going to be a slight delay.’ It was more than a slight delay. The game
was at Clackamas the next night.”

Mast recalls some successful years for Rex Putnam football.

“In 1984 or 1985, they went to the quarterfinals
and played Glencoe. Wayne Harris and Darren Moreland were on that team.
They were really exciting to watch.”

And Mast remembers the 1976 Putnam football team.

“My son Tim was on that team,” Mast said. “The
team went 6-3 and their three losses were by a total of six points.
They didn’t have a kicker.”

A high point in announcing basketball came in
2002-03, when Mast was asked to announce consolation games of the Les
Schwab Invitational.

Mast watched his daughter Marcia (1981) play on Putnam basketball teams that placed third and fourth at state.

Over the years, Mast has also announced Putnam
gymnastics, dance team, track and field, wrestling, baseball and
softball competitions. He also announced American Legion and Babe Ruth
baseball games in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

Mast received a high honor a few years ago when
the Oregon School Activities Association and National Federation of
High School Coaches honored him with their “Award of Excellence.”

The award reads: “For exemplary display of sportsmanship, ethics and integrity.”

But Mast insists his biggest reward has been watching young people grow and mature.

“It’s all about the kids,” he said. “When you
honor the kids, and keep encouraging them, that’s what it’s all about.
You get to watch how they turn out and hope that you’ve made a positive
difference in some way. That’s the reward.”

LINK Below....*

“Strongest Dad in the World” based on the story in Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly

Eighty-five times Dick Hoyt has pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2
miles in marathons. Eight times he’s not only pushed him 26.2 miles in
a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming
and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars–all in the same
day.

*EDIT.....I will somehow try to post the video here instead of linking you to YouTube to view it....ugh....no one needs to see the adds and other videos on the side bar.

Presidential frontrunner
Barack Obama has called for a “civilian national security force” as
powerful as the U.S. military, comments that were ignored by the vast
majority of the corporate media but compared by one journalist to the
Nazi Hitler Youth.

“We cannot continue to rely
on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives
we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s
just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded,” Obama told a
Colorado Springs audience earlier this month.

World Net Daily editor Joseph Farah asked if he was the only journalist in America who found Obama’s statement troubling.

“If we’re going to create
some kind of national police force as big, powerful and well-funded as
our combined U.S. military forces, isn’t this rather a big deal?” wrote Farah.

“Are we talking about
creating a police state here? The U.S. Army alone has nearly 500,000
troops. That doesn’t count reserves or National Guard. In 2007, the
U.S. Defense budget was $439 billion. Is Obama serious about creating
some kind of domestic security force bigger and more expensive than
that? If not, why did he say it? What did he mean?”

KnoxNews.com is seemingly the only other media outlet to express interest in exactly what Obama is proposing.

“The statement was made in the context
of youth service. Is this an organization for just the youth or are
adults going to participate? How does one get away from the specter of
other such “youth” organizations from Nazi Germany and the former
Soviet Union when talking about it?” wrote Michael Silence.

Obama’s proposal smacks of an expanded version of an existing program in
which hundreds of police, firefighters, paramedics and utility workers
have been trained and recently dispatched as “Terrorism Liaison
Officers” in Colorado, Arizona and California to watch for “suspicious
activity” which is later fed into a secret government database.

It is also reminiscent of the supposedly canned 2002 Operation TIPS program, which would have turned 4 per cent of Americans into informants under the jurisdiction of the Justice Department.

TIPS lived on in other guises, such as the Highway Watch program,
a $19 billion dollar Homeland Security-run project which trains
truckers to watch for suspicious activity on America’s highways.

More recently, ABC News reported
that “The FBI is taking cues from the CIA to recruit thousands of
covert informants in the United States as part of a sprawling
effort…..to aid with criminal investigations.”

Since authorities now define mundane activities like buying
baby formula, beer, wearing Levi jeans, carrying identifying documents
like a drivers license and traveling with women or children or mentioning the U.S. constitution
as the behavior of potential terrorists, the bounty for the American
Stasi to turn in political dissidents is sure to be too tempting to
resist under Obama’s new program.

Article from roguegovernment.com

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