Prayers for a family

A friend and supporter, Sam Moore, lost his battle with cancer this past week. Today, was the first that we had heard about it, but we wanted to ask you to lift his wife Rita and the rest of their family up in prayer during this time. Sam was a man who loved life and loved Jesus. He will be missed, but is now enjoying his life after this one with Jesus!

Below is his obituary as posted in the State Newspaper:

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Samuel Edward Moore

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COLUMBIA - Samuel Edward Moore, beloved husband, father and Papa slipped quietly away on May 9, 2011, to be with his heavenly Father. He will be greatly missed by many but left a legacy that will not soon fade from our memories.

Sam was born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 20, 1945, to Russell Arthur and Betty Jane Loudermilk Moore. After serving in the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers, he graduated from Ohio State University. He began his career at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus and later moved to Columbia with his family in 1977. He retired in 2004 as Director of Training and Development with HCS Tricare Division. However, he longed to be among his many co-worker companions at Blue Cross Blue Shield of SC and returned to assist with projects for several years. For the past two years he was honored to be part of the Informatics Corporation of America proposal team in Nashville, TN. He was President of SEMcon, LLC and a Capital Partner with Wallick Investments, LLC.

As a member of Windsor United Methodist Church for 33 years, he served faithfully in many capacities. He leaves behind many friends who will miss his bright smile and warm hugs every Sunday. He also left a special secret for the children who loved "Mr. Sam".

He is survived by his wife, Rita; daughter and son-in-law, Suzanne and Michael Brown of Burlington NC; daughter and son-in-law, Cheryl and James Vanderslice of Taylors; grandchildren, Jacob and Phillip Brown and Emma and Palmer Vanderslice; sister and brother-in-law, Rachel and Larry Nichols of The Plains, OH; brother and sister-in-law, Russell H. and Lyn Moore of Phoenix, AZ; aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins all of whom were so special to him. He was predeceased by his brothers, Frank and Don Moore and sisters, Bertha McCollum and Pamela Mascari.

A memorial service for Mr. Moore will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, May13, 2011, at Windsor United Methodist Church, with visitation following in Harbor Hall. Dunbar Funeral Home, Northeast Chapel, is assisting the family.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial gifts be made to Epworth Children's Home, P. O. Box 50466, Columbia SC 29250 or to Windsor United Methodist Church Fowler Scholarship Fund, 9500 Windsor Lake Blvd., Columbia, SC 29223.

Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.

Published in The State on May 12, 2011

True Religion

I was reading a book this morning and really encouraged to examine my heart and its motivations. I thought I would share an excerpt that may encourage you today as well.

Blessings

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"Yet a man may both abstain from outward evil and do good, and still have no religion. Further, two persons may do the same good outward act--as feeding of the hungry--and one be religious, while the other is not. This is because one may do the act out of love and the other for the love of praise. Although real religion leads to good works and words, its real nature still lies deeper. Real religion lies in the hidden heart of man.

I say of the heart, because religion does not consist of right opinions or orthodoxy. While such matters are not necessarily outward things, they are not of the heart, but of the understanding. A person may be orthodox in every point, espousing right opinions and zealously defending them; he may think correctly concerning the Trinity, and every other approved doctrine taken from the Scriptures; he may agree with all of the historical creeds, and yet have no religion at all. He may be as orthodox as the devil, and still have no more religion than a pagan. He is indeed a pagan if he is a stranger to the religion of the heart.

This alone is religion as it is truly so-called. This alone is of value in the sight of God. Paul summarized religion in three particulars: righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit"

~ John Wesley

Something Funny

The other night, I was out for coffee with two of my friends here in Zambia (Luke Whitfield and Todd Meyer). On our way home, we stopped to fuel up the car. As we were sitting there and the gas was being pumped, we noticed some Zambians catching these rather large grasshoppers that were attracted to a nearby light. They were catching them for food! Yes, grasshoppers are eaten by many people here.

Anyways, as we talked with these guys, we began to hear Luke gagging profusely in the back seat. Luke got the bright idea that he wanted to identify with these Zambians in this endeavor of eating grasshoppers. So, he took one and, on the spot, popped it into his mouth and began to chew. The end result was many tears from me and Todd as we were laughing uncontrollably at Luke's gagging and a puke stain down the side of Todd's car as Luke eventually threw up. Gross, but extremely funny!

Mothering Encouragement

Kerri here. I had a great bit of encouragement from God's word concerning my job as a mother, and I wanted to share it. I'm sure that many of you friends can relate to my feelings and I hope you'll be encouraged by this as well.

Being with my kids 24/7 is an awesome privilege, but also a huge challenge. How often I fear that I am damaging my children when I don't walk in the Spirit, when I sin, when I lose my patience with them. How often I fear that they won't turn out right, that my efforts to lead them to Christ will fail, or that they will grow up to have negative feelings about their childhood. But God's word gave me the most awesome picture that puts those fears to rest. My friend and teammate from Zambia, Karen Singleton, is a mother to 4 grown children and she had often encouraged us younger moms by saying, "remember, girls, He gently leads those who are with young." So, finally I went to find that verse and read it in context. Here's what it says (in NASB):

"Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, in His arms He will gather the Lambs and carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes." Isaiah 40:11

This is an awesome passage talking about how God will restore Israel. But do you see the incredible promises to us as mothers? He gathers the lambs and carries them in His bosom. And He gently leads me - the nursing ewe. I guess I've always had the image in my mind that I was the one responsible for carrying my children. That as I follow Christ, I carry my kids along with me - A tough job that I'm called to do. But as I read this passage I see that in reality He is the one carrying them and loving them. They need not be a burden to me. All I need to do is surrender myself to the Shepherd and follow where He leads. He, the good Shepherd, will not stumble, will not drop His lambs, will not let them down or sin against them. He does not lose His temper, or shout, or slam things, or grumble at them when they whine. He is completely trustworthy and He loves them with a depth that I can't even comprehend. God still gives me the responsibility to "nurse" the young lambs He has entrusted to me. I get to love them and pour my life into them, but I also have the promise that He will carry them and that He holds them close to His heart. As I follow Him and watch Him, I will learn and become more like Him as I nurture my young ones. Cool, huh?

I thank God for leading me, for making me more like Himself as I follow Him, for being a God in whom I can place all my trust, for giving my husband and me the privilege of joining Him in the task of "nursing" our children in His word and His ways. I hope you are encouraged along with me and strengthened as we move to the end of Isaiah 40 and read:

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:28-31