True Story

My dad was going on a trip, I believe it was a business trip, and had just boarded a plane for take off. I think he had a middle seat, and was hoping that nobody would come and sit on the aisle seat so he wouldn't be closed in and could move over to the aisle seat. To his disappointment, a business woman with closely cropped hair came and sat down in the aisle seat next to him. Oh well, he thought, I might as well just introduce myself and be friendly. A small conversation was started and he introduced himself. "I'm Pete Connell." The woman's name happened to be Kathleen Connell. They had the same last name. Connell is normally an Irish last name, and our original last name was shortened from Kanelakos to Connell when my great grandparents came over from Greece. So, we are not normally any relation to most people with the last name Connell. My dad explained to her that his last name was actually shortned from Kanelakos to Connell. "Really?! So was mine!" They began comparing family history and found out they were distant cousins. Pretty cool, huh? My dad also recognized her name because the was the California State Controller and he had seen her name on state mail we have gotten. Click here to find out who our 'long lost' relative is. She does not look like us. lol

Lots of Good News today!

I'm 19 years old and I have been born and raised in Pentecost; It never gets old. It's always awesome when God reaches down and touches you again, and it's always exciting to see new people in the altars and God working in their lives. This morning we had an awesome service. A lady in our church has been teaching a Bible study to her co-worker who came to our service today. She had tears in her eyes throughout the service and was the first one to come to the altar. After she prayed, she told the lady that has been teaching her a Bible study, "I want to be baptized!" Praise God!! God is working on her! One of our new converts brought her youngest brother to church today, and God really touched him. He seemed touched in kid's church as well... (we had an AWESOME puppet show!) Hey, who says God can't touch someone with a puppet show? He did today! Anyhow, he came to the altar to pray and was crying... It was his first time and he didn't get the Holy Ghost, but he said afterwards "You people are incredible." It's not us, it's the Spirit that's in us! :) He was blown away by the service and what he felt. I think he'll be back.

We also had a backslider come to church who God moved on that said "I really need to come back to church." AND, a man who literally told my dad he would never come to our church came today for the 2nd time! God is good! He is very humorous, but later he told my dad "You know, my humor covers up a lot of my pain." God is dealing with him. It is just so exciting to see things happening and prayers being answered in our church. And all of this happened today! It's spring time in the spirit! Thank you Jesus!

It takes awhile to get there and we did have to fight to get where we are - with losses along the way - but looking back I can see that even through the losses, we have been on the winning side and we have gone forward. If you are doing something for God, don't give up just because things aren't happening the way you want them too. The only answer is to keep doing what's right! Eventually it will come to pass you and will reap what you sow.

Psa 126:5 They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Penne From Heaven

For all you pasta/carb lovers out there (like me), here is a recipie for you to try. I love this one!

Penne From Heaven

Ingredients:

• 6 0z. Penne Pasta pkg, uncooked


• 1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced


• 1 Tbsp olive oil


• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained


• 1 tsp. dried basil


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

This recipe is great with chicken added.

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Saute mushrooms in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil, and salt; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Drain pasta and add to mushroom mixture. Stir in cheese; heat through. Serves 5.

Mastiffs have the munchies - Eeeeek!

This is how big a mastiff can get - huge! Compare the head sizes!
One of my newer clients owns a dog; A very big dog, might I add. A breed called 'Mastiff.' The first time I was at their house the doggy was outside, or somewhere out of sight, so I was not aware that they even had a dog. The second time I went to their house, this HUGE dog comes trotting up to me and I froze. Talk about startling! I have a little dog so I'm not used to this it all. The owners told me that she's fine and she won't do anything, but I still tend to avoid her since her size makes me a bit uncomfortable.

Anyhow, one of my supervisors was over there working with the client, and for whatever reason the nice doggy that doesn't do anything came up and, well, bit his backside! Eeeek! Now I'm more wary of this dog than ever! If she wants me for a snack I'll have to go crazy in Jesus Name! lol And what is pretty gross is that all this slobber and black goo comes out of her jowls. Talk about YUCK. So, pray saints pray! I really don't want a chunk taken out of me anytime soon - or ever!

CPC Dedication & Anniversary service

We had a wonderful 8th Church/Pastoral Anniversary and dedication service on Saturday with Elder Hyler preaching. Once again, God really moved and His sweet presence was with us in that place. It's amazing all the people that came (even from foreign countries) to show their support! Thank God for the church! Afterwards there was a dinner for ministers and their families, and a potluck for the church and other guests. We all had a good time!

Here are some pictures of our service:
Song Service

Bro. Halstead making a presentation

Gifts/Presentation

Pastor opening a card

More of the presentation

Opening Gifts

Bro. Don Hyler III leading the service

Bro. Howard

Bro. Klann

Bro. Garza

Bro. Baker

Elder Hyler

Preaching an awesome message!

He had our family come up to the front and all the ministry gathered around us and prayed for us. The church family gathered around too and we all prayed together, then we all prayed over everything in the sanctuary, dedicating it to God and His purpose.

Thank you to everyone who made this day memorable and special to our church! We appreciate you!

2nd Annual Youth Rally Pics!

This past Friday night we had an incredible service and altar call. Elder Joel Pace preached an awesome message and the power of God fell; people lingered in the altar after the service was dismissed, for there was such a sweet presence of God in the House. There is nothing like the presence of God!

I did not get to take many pictures (as I'm sure you can tell), but one of my friends did take quite a few, so when I get my hands on those I'll post them up. :)

Youth Rally!

Tonight is our annual youth rally at church and I'm excited for it! Bro. Pace will be preaching the Word! He preached for us last night a message entitled " Being fruitful in your affliction." His text came from Genesis 41:50-52, which talks about what Joseph named his sons. I'll post more about it later, but it was an awesome message and really helped some of our people. Thank God for preachers!

And you think God can't use you?

He can use YOU!

• Noah was a drunk.


• Abraham was too old.


• Isaac was a daydreamer.


• Jacob was a liar.


• Leah was ugly.


• Joseph was abused.


• Moses murdered someone had a stuttering problem.


• Gideon was afraid.


• Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer.


• Rahab was a prostitute.


• Jeremiah and Timothy were too young.


• David commited adultery and was a murderer.


• Elijah was suicidal.


• Isaiah preached naked.


• Jonah ran from God.


• Naomi was a widow.


• Job went bankrupt.


• John the Baptist ate locusts.


• Peter denied Christ 3 times and cut off someones ear.


• The Disciples fell asleep while praying.


• Martha worried about everything.


• Mary Magdalene was demon possessed.


• The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.


• Zaccheus was too small.


• Paul used to persecute the church and caused some to blaspheme.


• Timothy had an ulcer…


• Lazarus was dead!

There is no good reason why God can't use YOU. Just because you messed up doesn't mean it's over. Get back up, God can help you! You can be an overcomer and become something great in the Kingdom of God! God specializes is taking a messed up life and making it into something beautiful.

Rev 21:7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

God isn’t finished with you yet!

Food Art

After seeing these pictures it made me think that someone has got a lot of time on their hands! Or maybe they do it for a business, which could be kind of fun. Maybe. :) Broccoli....poodle?

Hot rod carrot car

Panda Sushi

A lobster! Actually, just fruit. :)

Very interesting! It would be kind of funny to serve dinner this way though! You know, make a nice "lobster" dinner at a great price! lol

Things I love to smell - I was tagged by Mary!

I was tagged by the Classic Mary Moments Blog for a random blog game: Things I love to smell. I was reading hers and thought, wow, those are most of the things I like to smell. lol But here it goes... 1. The Fragrance after the Rain 2. A lawn after it has been mowed 3. Roses 4. Chocolate 5. Coffee 6. Just about any good food cooking 7. Sweet Pea body spray 8. The newborn baby smell 9. The clean linen smell 10. A new building freshly painted What are some of your favorite smells? Now I tag Hanna Kifle, Anali, Amber Nicole, Jen Lord, & Cait Kimbley.

Willingness and Weakness

Every single person born into the world has a weakness; We are all human. Everyone knows that there is no such thing as a perfect human being. Some may have a weaker character than others, but everybody has a weakness in one area or another. What makes the difference is what you do with that weakness of yours; Do you have the victory over your weakness, or do you give in? I can tell you one of my little weaknesses: CHOCOLATE. Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41 This is not really a big deal. (The chocolate weakness, not the verse above) We are not talking about sin, only chocolate, but I want to use this as an example. I really like to eat healthy! I like the way it makes me feel and the energy it gives me. My spirit is willing to be healthy, that's how I want to be. But when I see chocolate sitting in front of me, that weakness many times overtakes the willingness to resist the chocolate and be healthy. It is the same way with the things of the Spirit. Many want to live for God and resist temptation, but their flesh is weak. How do we overcome and keep from giving in to our weaknesses? (Temptation) The devil tempts us in the areas we are weak, because he wants us to give in to the things of the flesh. But the Bible tells us to watch and pray, that we enter not into temptation. The reason so many people lose the battle with the flesh is because they aren't praying and keeping their eyes open! Prayer is what keeps us from falling into sin. Prayer is what can help us grow strong in an area we are weak. Prayer really is the answer to the sin problem! If more people would just pray, the willingness would have the victory and the weakness would lose. As for watching -- A really good thing to look at is the Word of God! It is a reminder in front of our eyes, and something we can get in our hearts. "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11 What this is really all about is making it to heaven and helping others make it too.

Pray for Japan

Japan was hit with another earthquake today of a 7.4 magnitude, triggering a tsunami warning. The people of Japan have already suffered a devastating blow to their country last month when a 9.0 earthquake and tsunami hit them. These people really need prayer, and most of all they need salvation. It is times like these that cause people to turn towards God for help. God help our missionaries in Japan, keep them safe and help them to reach the lost! This is just another sign of the end times -- Redemption draweth nigh.