Hello to all of you. It has been some time since I blogged. This is a new year and a wonderful/sad start.

As you all know the New Year brought us cheers and joy jut to have it interrupted later by the acts of evil. There is always something evil looking into our life to see what damage can be done to take away our joy. In Tuscon, Ar. 6 people was taken from us and many more hurt at the hands of one person. The bible tells us that by one man came death, by one man came life. Adam sinned and brought death. Jesus died, rose again and gave life.

I am so thankful to Jesus for eternal life, for His Grace and Mercy. As Christians' we are to continue to grow, like a plant when it is planted continues to grow to its fullest. Christians' need to be reminded to continue to grow in understanding the truth of the Gospel and applying it to our lives daily. Eph. 4:20-24

I was going through some notes of mine that I had made some time ago and it brought me back to thinking and remembering what I should do to grow spiritually. I had written down 8 things at the time and I am sure many of you can think of more but here are my 8.

1- Follow faithful leaders, not those who mislead.

2-Refuse to be influenced by false leaders, they will lead down the wrong road.

3-Be renewed in our mind daily. Romans. 12:2 says "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

4-Refuse to let the old nature control.

5-Give self away for God-give to needy.

6-Refuse to let Satan control our tongue, I have a book called, "Beauty Care For The Tongue, and it says that we can take our hair to the beauty parlor and get it fixed pretty but no matter where we take our tongue's it cannot be prettied up. We are to keep watch over our mouth.

7-Follow God's way and not our own. Our own way will lead us to destruction.

8-Walk in Love.

Those are some of the ways I have worked on to make life work but I sure have failed to do them faithfully which is very necessary to grow spiritually.

There is a saying I found in the front of one of my bibles that says:

"Sin will keep you from reading the Bible or the Bible will keep you from sin" I like that quote and it is so very true. Reading the Bible will also help us to know how to pray, as we listen to God's word we can see what He wants of us.

Here is another help I found that has helped me also. So many times we read Christian book that some one else wrote and don't read the Bible. Here is what I found to help me.

Read the Bible first: before reading books about the Bible. We need to know the Bible, we need to know what God is saying to us. Put down the Christian books though they are good but nothing can satisfy continually like the Bible, God's Word.

I hope that anyone who reads this will put it to work in life for yourself. You can't go wrong.

May God bless every one who reads His Word daily and strives to follow after Him.

Love to you all.

Mattie Harper

"Listening to God"

I don't know about you but I have always had trouble listening to God, my mind always wonders away to something else and I am always having to drag it back. when I was a young wife and mother trying to listen to God, I had all these other voices calling to me, even if husband was at work and children in school, those voices I heard when they were home were always present.

I would go away discouraged because I couldn't hear the voice of God.

I do remember once when I was 20 years of age; I was trying to quit smoking, so I got on my knees every night while waiting for my husband to come home from work, my children in bed. I would call to the Lord to help me quit smoking but I would go buy another pack of cigaretts. I would take one out and put the others under the water fasuet. In 30 minutes I would want another on, this went on for months. Finally, one night I got back on my knees and ask the Lord to help me stop smoking. Guess what! This time, the Lord did speak to me and this is what he said;" you fool, you ask me to help you and you wont help yourself. That is all he said but in my spirit I knew just what he meant, never buy another pack of cigaretts and don't put one in your mouth. I didn't and have not smoked for almost 52 years now.

Now, back to my thoughts; I worked at a hospital in Miami Florida as a nursing assistant. We had very few contour sheets, (fitted sheets) when the sheets would come in for the mornings work, we would all run for the fitted sheets, I would get mine and put them on a bed in one room and use them as far as they would go. Well, I said I would use them, the problem was that, some one kept taking mine. I found out who she was and got an attitude. I didn't know what to do about it because for sure the head nurse wasn't going to do anything about it, soooooooooooo! I took matters into my own hands. By this time I had gotten into having a quiet time with the Lord before going to work but I was not listening. I would have that time and then forget what God said to do because I didn't listen. Now!! I thought its time to listen because I don't know what to do about this. I went to my chair in the den and then I read psalms 62:1 then I remember reading Psalms 139: 23-24 Search me O God , verse 24 says, And see if there be any wicked way in me. I then started praying, it was ok to pray but I went on and on and it was a one way conversation, then something stopped me, making me realize, if only I talked and didn't listen to God then it wouldn't get me any where. I quit talking and started listening. I remember as I sat there quiet and trying to keep my mind from running to the lady who took my sheets, I started breathing deep the words of God, what he had said to me. This is when he spoke to me, I remember eating the words, swolling deeply, I wanted to take in everything he said. I really listened. He said to me, "when you get to work this morning, get your sheets and give them to the lady? What!!!? I sat there and remembered that he was telling me options I had, to do what he had instructed me to do or do what I had been doing and keep the wicked thoughts, The Spirit just filled me up with such anxiciety that I couldn't wait to get to work and do the right thing. I listened to God and gave her my sheets so she wouldn't have to steal them. I kept her from sinning. Praise God, he works through us and into other peoples' lives. That lady was so grateful and gave me great praise but she didn't know I had gotten my instruction from God and I listened.

I know this is long and probably difficulty to read but read anyway and know that God has the same message for you. Listening to God and obeying him is an awesome things.