We are instructed to say, "If God wills, I will do this or that," but I failed to get back on track as my intentions were.

Marjell often spoke of the man who was trying to escape Death, but Death had a way of finding him. Death has come again among us and we pray comfort for those "left behind" as we give thanks for their lives – Hermon Williams; our cousin, Helen Conner Albritton, 91 ¬‡ of Tulsa, who died on Jan. 2 out there. Her dad, Uncle James Conner, was preacher of Pinetta Baptist and principal/teacher at Pinetta in 1922, where their son, D.B., was born. Uncle James was preaching at Midway Baptist, teaching at Enterprise, when he died of pneumonia Dec. 8, 1924. Their Marie was missionary to China, then Taiwan. There is one child left, the youngest girl, Jimmie Lee Conner Chisdester of Macon, 85 ¬‡, a widow, whose husband, Dr. Paul, was a Baptist preacher, too. Also, remember the family of Eva Mae McCullough Luber, also a missionary preacher.

Then we pray for the many ill ones, Jane Simmons, now again in South Georgia Medical Center; Marjell's sister, Emaline, in Starke Hospital, but due to go back to the nursing home; Mike Woods; Cindy and Vernon Howard; Ilene Rivers, still in Knoxville, Tenn., ICU as she became very ill on their way to Ellijay, Ga. She is Hilda's and Jimmy's Gina's husband Eugene's mother.

We were blessed to again fellowship at Jimmy's and Hilda's Saturday with 60 of us there – his family and her family – and we all say thanks! Thanks for all kindnesses shown.

Thanks to Sue Quick for bringing the bulletin since I was sick.

A recent message was "God Had a Plan." His plan is that all might receive His Precious Gift – Jesus – and be saved. As I watched "The Nativity" at Berk's and Nita's, different thoughts came to me – thoughts of Mary and what an honor and, yet, what a cost. I thought about the many newborns in our circle of concerns and all the many items needed and received. I thought about what Mary and Joseph could take with them on their long journey – food for them, food for the donkey, water, clothes (swaddling clothes for Baby) and items required for delivery (by Joseph). I thought about Joseph and the cost to him and his acceptance of God's will. I thought about the joy of the angels and of the shepherds and about wise men and their gifts and the danger to them. I thought about the sorrow of the death of all two-year-olds and under and of Mary and Joseph's flight into Egypt, with Jesus.

Plans had been for me to go to Mobile, but when Sara Dene and Rhett became very sick (and they still are), the plan then was for me to go to Nita's. The snow caused the closure of many churches around Atlanta.

Many activities went on over the holidays and God blessed richly. Our church is bounding back with many special plans and prayers for the future.

Sunday, the 3B's sang, "In Time, On Time, Every Time." Roger McCollum gave an offertory prayer. Preacher Hackett gave the morning message.

As we are into New Year, we pray we will not forget to thank God for every good and perfect gift and to thank Him. He doesn't stop loving us when we fail to thank Him. Amen!

Faith is defined as "Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing." God is someone who we should put all of our faith into. His love is everlasting and His promises on our life are true. We should never doubt His power. We should be eternally faithful to Him.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For, by it, the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith, Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now, before he was taken, he was commended as having pleased God. ..." Hebrews 11:1-4.

God describes what faith should be in the passage above. Faith is the eternal commitment to something. Christ should be our eternal commitment.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope," Romans 15:13.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you," Jeremiah 29:11-12

"For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold," 2 Corinthians 3:10-12.

God will never let us down. He will always answer our prayers. Sometimes, the answer might be no, but He will always answer. Never doubt God's power in your life, His plan is far greater than any plan that you might have.

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life," Titus 3:3-7.

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit," Jeremiah 17:7-8.

God is our solid rock. He is unmovable and all-powerful. As a Christian, you have promised to remain faithful to Christ and to never stray. In return, Christ has made a promise to you, to never turn away from you.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us," Romans 5:1-5.

On Saturday, Jan. 15, at 9 a.m., stop by Bible Deliverance Church in Madison for a free hot breakfast, sponsored by the Men's Fellow-ship of the church. The breakfast will be available for take-out or dine-in.

"We are excited to be offering this new program to the community," Bryant Thigpen stated. "Every third Saturday of the month, the men of the church gets together and do an outstanding job preparing and serving the best breakfast in town. We invite everyone in the community to come out and enjoy a nice hot meal, at absolutely no cost to them."

Bible Deliverance Church is located at 720 SW Range Avenue, located by the cotton gin and in front of Farmer's Co-op.

For more information, please call (850) 464-0114 or (850) 973-4622.

The Pastor, Reverend Delvin T. Boatman and Genesis Missionary Baptist Church Family invite everyone to join us Sunday, January 2, 2011 at 3 p.m., for the celebration of the Church & Pastor's First Anniversary. Our theme is, "We Come This Far By Faith", scripture Joshua 4:20-24 and we are leaning on our Heavenly Father for His guidance. The speaker will be the Reverend Dr. Charlie Barfield and the Pineland M.B. Church Family. Dinner will be served.

The Pastor and the Genesis Family are eternally grateful to everyone who contributed and worked both on and behind the scenes to make Genesis Missionary Baptist Church an agent for kingdom building and soul winning. On Monday, Jan. 3, 2011 at 1:30 p.m., Genesis Pastor and Church Family will have a special prayer for the "sacrificial offering." We will tell God, thank you and bless each person who gave so that they may have a prosperous year.

Deloris M. Jones,

Program Coordinator

Reverend Delvin T. Boatman,

Pastor

It seems the theme for this Christmas season is "Go Tell It on the Mountain!" and it is what we should tell! Jesus is God's greatest gift – His own Son. The reason is that we must accept His gift in order to live with Him forever! As Preacher Tom Ray Kelley reminded us – the past is gone and can never be changed – the future we are not assured of – the present is where we are and the wisest man (Solomon) said, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might," for we shall never pass this way again. The important question is, "If I died today, would I go to Heaven?"

A beautiful, but unusual, arrangement was placed in church in celebration of Billy Rutherford's birthday on Dec. 27 by his grandchildren, Dawson, Mitch, Sarah Beth, Reese and Rhett and also Gina's birthday on Dec. 30. "Happy birthday, Mom, with love from Dawson, Mitch and Sarah Beth."

What a touching children's pageant by Martha Beggs and Martha Register's Sunday School class. These words from a Christmas card say it well:

Love So Amazing

With their ears, the shepherds heard the glorious proclamation that the Saviour was born...

With their eyes, they looked upon the Word who became flesh and dwelt among them...

With their hearts, they rejoiced in the gift of God's amazing love.

--Roy Lassin

And, of great interest, the story of the "Christmas Love" play. The little girl with the "M" held it upside down and some children laughed. At the close, the title was "Christ Was Love" – very fitting.

Of interest also, Martha Beggs' request to include in the minutes of the business meeting the reservation of the Sunday morning before every Christmas the time for the pageant – so voted on.

We give thanks Lois Wainright is home from the hospital and pray a speedy recovery for her; prayers for Will Terry; still for our nephew, Ron Denman, in Phoenix for serious cancer surgery; for all the many, many ill ones on every church's prayer list; for Cindy and Vernon Howard; for unspoken requests; for our cousin, Helen Conner Albritton, 91 ¬‡ in Tulsa, very ill; Her oldest sister, Marie Conner, was our missionary in China until the Communists took over, then in Taiwan; for Ashley Beggs, able to be in church Sunday; for healing and mending for Christine Blanton and Lee Gordon; for comfort for Eula Donaldson and their family in Clarence's death; for all others who are sad, who are ill and who rejoice.

It is said by Mother Teresa that a priest in China had such love for the people that his eyes became slanted like the Chinese.

A Russian proverb: If everyone gives a thread, the poor man will have a shirt.

A new song I like but had not heard before is about "The Little Stranger in the Manger."

What unbelievable Christmas sights at the Roebuck home south of Hanson. Blessings upon those who thought about them and then did them.

In night service, the many young people under the direction of Melanie Parks presented an intriguing program, "An ER Christmas" and we were all so thankful!! Sad that I didn't even know there were than many in church – sorry.

We welcome Judy Martin into our church and will pray for her family and her.

Very good business meeting after the program – a lot going on!

We wish all of us a very blessed Christmas and say, "God bless us one and all!"

The children's church group at Madison Church of God would like to request the assistance of the community. Madison Church of God is planning to remodel the old youth facility into a new room for the church's children's ministry.

They need to raise about $500 to make this dream come true. The children's group will be titled "One Way Children Ministries." The new room will be themed with cars and road signs and will allow the children to remember that there is only one way in life, and that is God's way.

The children's ministry at Madison Church of God meets on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. and Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. The group does arts and crafts, sing upbeat songs and have Bible lessons during their meetings. They often perform in front of the church on Sunday mornings as well. They do everything from singing to doing skits.

Youth Pastor, Avery Hutto, stated, "This new facility will give them a chance to have their own space."

The children's church is also selling calendars for 2011. They have inspirational wall calendars as well as pocket calendars. They are also selling notebooks.

Donations that are made to the children's ministry are tax-deductible and will be a tax credit at the end of the year. The church will supply you with their tax ID number.

If you are interested in making a donation, call the Madison Church of God at (850) 973-3339.

"Oh, for a thousand tongues" to tell of God's great love, His greatest gift, Jesus, and how he loves us so! My Nita send me Angels on Earth Daily Planner 2011. For July 21, "Saying thank you is more than good manners. It is good spirituality," William Painter. And on August 12, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle," Plato.

God does expect us to give thanks. Jesus asked where the other nine were when he healed ten. It is said that a soldier, who had been sent to a rest camp, wrote a letter of thanks to General George Patton. To which he replied, that for 35 years he had sought to give comfort and convenience to his men but that letter was the first thanks he's ever received. The same was said by an old soldier, 70 years old, when a little girl thanked him for being a soldier. These reminders cause us to want to be more grateful and to say so.

What a message for Mr. Buford Selman, 100, by Preacher Tom Ray Kelly, as he urged everyone to be sure of his salvation as Mr. Selman was. He died Dec. 4 and Dec. 6 would have been their anniversary.

The same message of salvation was given for my very special friend, Joyce Cason Norman, of Raiford by her preacher Harold Hudson, of Fellowship Baptist, Raiford. Seven years ago, on a Sunday morning before church, she asked him what must she do to go to Heaven and when he told she was saved that very day. She lived in Raiford all her life, taught school in Union County for 43 years, was a widow at 34, left with a daughter, Jan, and two sons, Joe and Jimmy. She was a niece of Mr. and Mrs. Lacy (Carlema Gramling of Madison) Cason. I began teaching in Raiford in 1952 and lived with Joyce's parents Mr. and Mrs. Joe Cason, for four years.

Sad about Mr. Clarence Donaldson's sudden death and we'll pray comfort for Mrs. Edna and their family. Only good things are said for him and what a fine man he was, Amen!

At noon on Saturday the tenth, our cousin Alex Agner was honored in the Fellowship Hall at Barbara Memorial Church of the Nazarene for his 90th (the sixth real day) birthday. His daughter, Helen Frances (Williamson) of Utah and Mart of Columbia, S.C. spent the week with him and along with others (three sisters, five brothers, nieces, nephews, cousins and others) shared the meal with him. Brother Robbie read fitting scripture and told interesting funny things about him.

Brother Sam and Jan sang (with help) three songs. Very neat table decorations, many pictures of him. He is at Madison Nursing Center (at present) and we were all so blessed to share and see him doing well.

A wonderful morning service! David Fries sang, "Mary, Did You Know?" Milton Driggers prayed for the offering. Worship choir sang, "Angels We Have Heard on High." Very good for John and Cindy Page and sons John, David, Austin and Andrew to be with us and for John to preach. He is such a fantastic preacher and spoke about, "God Had a Plan," from several scriptures. The Plan: Preparation for His birth, Humility of His birth, His changing the world, ever time, B.C. and A.D, proclamation of His birth and praise for His birth. He had great love for his church here, as does Robin Peavy.

The very stirring Christmas Cantata in evening service, "Jesus, No Other Name." Geoff Hill narrated it. Several had solo parts and each one was super. We were so blessed. The social hour was great afterwards. Thanks to all involved.

Remember the Lottie Moon Offering with a goal of $3,500.

Remember, too, all the special activities in the days ahead.

Prayers for many: Lois Wainright as she has a bad fall. Christine Blanton is home after a stroke. Lee Gordon is home after knee surgery, and all others on our prayer list. May our hearts be turned to God and may we be lead to see any need and any hurt and do "what we can," Amen! There are many needs. Amen! And God is love.

Midway Church of God will host A Christmas to Remember on Sunday evening, Dec. 19, beginning at 6 p.m. at the church, located at 2485 SE Midway Church Road, just off County Road 255, south of Interstate 10, Lee exit.

Midway Church of God's Christmas programs are always popular with young and old alike.

Following the Christmas play, delicious pound cakes prepared by Janice Flowers, wife of the church's pastor, Retis Flowers, will be presented to guests as will bags of fruit and candy presented by Elvoye and Betty Thomas.

This year's program promises to be equally as exciting as the ones in the past.

A group of special guests are also set to make a special appearance at the program.

On Sunday, Dec.12, Madison First Baptist Church will host their annual Christmas Cantata. The service will begin at 6 p.m. and everyone in the community is invited to join in this time of fellowship and fun. The theme this year is "Jesus, No Other Name," which was written by Randy Vader and Jay Rouse.

Practices have been underway for several months and will continue until the night of the performance. Not only will the choir be singing, but the orchestra will also play a few songs. There is no charge to enter, but a love offering will be taken up during the service. Following the cantata will be Madison First Baptist's church wide Christmas party.

On Dec. 19, during the Sunday morning service, the children's choir will be performing their Christmas pageant. Also on Dec. 17, during the evening service, the youth group will be performing "An ER Christmas."

Everyone in the community is invited to attend these events.

Also on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, First Baptist will have their Christmas Eve Candlelight Lord's Supper Service.

What's all the "buzz" in faith-based e-Publishing? A brand new company, NOVO Ink (whose name literally means "new ink,") is poised to take e-Publishing of faith-based books and magazines to a level not seen before.

"NOVO Ink is positioning itself to be the source for interactive Christian e-Book and e-Zines," says president and CEO Devlin Donaldson. "Each week we are adding hundreds of e-Book titles from some of the most well-known Christian publishers and authors in the business.

"We are offering new release titles, and at the same time, are digitizing and presenting back list catalog titles from faith-based publishers. NOVO Ink is also providing content from Christian authors not available anywhere else. In essence, NOVO Ink will be "the site" where readers will be able to find a unique library of faith-based books you can't find anywhere else."

NOVO Ink is also redefining how e-Books are being produced. "We are partners with Zinio, the largest distributor of digital magazines in the world. With their e-Reader, we are able to provide the Christian consumer several advantages over existing readers like Kindle and Nook," says Marketing Director Bryan Cole. "Readers now have the ability to enjoy features that have been unavailable in a digital format until now." (www.youtube.com/novoinkhrough the Zinio reader, NOVO Ink features a high definition color display with numerous fullyinteractive features. Among these features are the ability to adjust text size, clipping, social mediaconnectivity, multiple navigational choices and page turning technology.

The greatest capability NOVO Ink provides (through their exclusive relationship to utilize Ziniotechnology) is the ability to support enhanced content (audio, video and animation) embedded directly into the body of a book (or magazine). By including this type of content, publishers are able to begin creating a new and interactive reading experience for consumers that is highly engaging.

"You literally need to see it to believe it," Mr. Donaldson concludes. "We invite everyone to take a virtual tour by going to www.novoink.com and to begin to 'Rethink Your Ink'."

(Source: Christian Newswire)