Message of Salvation Given at the Funeral

The staff at Fox Creek were very saddened to hear that our dear friend and colleague, first grade teacher, Mrs. Smiley, was no longer going to be seen throughout the hallways of our school again. I was elated to know that she was saved and with our Wonderful Lord and Savior, but sad for all of us that are left behind and those dear little first graders that don't quite understand everything that has transpired. We found out that Joyce had cancer in May and now, only 6 months later, she is no longer suffering, but is praising God at this very moment!

When I was at the visitation this past Thursday I found my way up to the casket and cried tears of sadness for her wonderful husband, Jim, her daughters, sons-in-laws, dear grandchildren, and for myself too because she was such a sweet blessing and I will need to wait to see her when I am also with our Lord. When I got to her one son-in-law, the one that was going to be officiating at the funeral on Friday, I asked him if he was going to be preaching the plan of salvation and he replied, "I will and that is what Joyce wanted. She didn't want us to spend time talking about her, but to tell others about the Lord and how they can spend eternity with him." Well, on Friday, our ENTIRE staff, except for one teacher and one of our administrative assistants, was in attendance and they were presented with the plan of salvation. Thank you, Joyce, for allowing us to give this message loud and clear to those who so desperately need to hear it and don't seem to understand how important it is to take that leap of faith NOW. There is NO time to wait . . . we never know when our last breath on this earth will be. Please pray for the teachers at Fox Creek and for their hearts to be opened and willing to submit themselves to our gracious and loving God who is also a good and righteous judge.

Please also pray for Jim, her loving and devoted husband, who now goes home to an empty house. May he find comfort and peace during this difficult time, as well as the staff and students at our school.

Where Will YOU Spend Eternity?

Oh, it was sweet to sit down and talk with one of my daughter's 14 year old friends, Nicolle, last night while she was sitting in our kitchen. We were all talking about something . . . and I asked Nicolle if she had ever received a million dollar bill? She smiled when I gave it to her and then I proceeded to give her the BIG money, a few more million dollar bible tracts, AND showed her the optical illusion one too! She was amazed and excitedly told Kienna, "So that is where you got all of those!"

I asked Nicolle, who came with us to church last week, if she knew where she was going to go when she dies. She told me that she was hoping she would go to heaven. I asked her why she thought she would go to heaven and she was pretty flustered because she really didn't know why and tried to recite some things that she has heard in the past, but really didn't know how to respond. I then took her through three of the commandments and said that if she were to stand before God on judgment day, where she would go and she said, "I guess I would go to hell." Then, I got to tell her about the best news of all. "You don't have to go to heaven. What you need to do is find a quiet place and pray to God. You need to ask the Lord to forgive you of all of your sins and believe that Jesus came upon this earth to die for our sins so we could spend all of eternity with Him." She replied, "I really need to do this!" Hooray! I was elated and thankful that the Lord gave us the opportunity to talk. It was such a blessing and I praise God for the time we had.

I asked Nicolle if she would like to come to church with us and she said that she would LOVE to and that her mom is looking for a new church. Pray that they are able to come and the Lord speaks to their hearts! - Amy
"On the day when the Lord Jesus comes, . . . all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus." 2 Thessalonians 1:10

Did You Copy That?

Standing next to the copier during a much-too-short lunchtime, I had the opportunity to talk with a colleague. Vickie had just made some copies and I had to make a few before the bell rang and I needed to pick up the kiddos for the afternoon. The Lord gave me just enough time to ask this super sweet and very energetic woman, Vickie, where she went to church. I told her that I went to Calvary and absolutely LOVE it because I have learned so much, have learned to grow in my relationship with the Lord, AND most importantly, KNOWING where I will spend eternity. Growing up Catholic I only had hopes that I would be good enough to go to heaven, but now I KNOW what the bible says.

I proceeded to ask Vickie where she was going to go when she said and she replied with, "Heaven" and I asked her why. She didn't really have an answer so I asked her if she thought she was a good person and then took her through three of the ten commandments. I explained the whole courtroom scene with Vickie and that if she were to be found guilty, she would spend all of eternity in hell. However, if she asked for forgiveness of her sins, and believed that Jesus died on the cross for her, she could have eternal life with the Lord!

We didn't have too much time to expound on this, but she sweetly smiled and me and said that it was nice talking with me. May the Lord work on her heart so she can truly have eternal life!
(Did she copy that? I HOPE SO!) - Amy