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James 5:14 KJV “ Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:” My younger sister has had some kind of disorder that causes her stomach to hurt whenever she eats more than a couple of bites of food at a time. Because of the pain, sometimes she will not eat at all. Other times she will get very hungry, or want something very badly, so she would go ahead and eat. She said her stomach hurts so badly that she often can keep it down for only a few minutes. It started during her teenage years. In her 40’s, she became so ill that she had to be hospitalized often, so she had a lot of testing done. The doctors never found the source of the problem, or a treatment for it. She was already too thin, but started losing even more weight. She got down to 88 pounds, and had to go to the hos...

There were 102 passengers that left Plymouth, England on the ships, Mayflower and Speedwell, headed for the new world. It was September in the year 1620. Thirty-five or forty of the people were looking for a home with religious freedom. They were Puritans that were persecuted not only for breaking away from the Church of England, but also for their different beliefs. They called themselves 'Saints' but later came to be known as the Pilgrims. The other passengers were lured to the new world by the promise of owning land and hopes of prosperity. They were called 'Strangers' by the religious group. A rich merchant agreed to loan the money for the voyage. The Virginia Company gave them permission to build a plantation in the new world. The king granted them permission to leave the Church of England. Soon after setting sail, Speedwell began taking on water, and both ships had to turn back. Speedwell's occupants had to board the already crowded Mayflower. This ...

Thanksgiving is one of the three most important holidays. Christmas celebrates Christ's birth. Easter celebrates Christ's sacrifice on the cross for our sins and His resurrection. Thanksgiving is to thank God for our many blessings. Christmas and Easter have become too commercialized. Many have gotten so caught-up in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and buying gifts that these holidays have lost all real meaning. Almost all children can tell you about Santa and the bunny, but hardly any can tell you much about Christ. Thanksgiving hasn't had nearly as much commercialism as other holidays. That has not helped it keep it's religious significance. There are a few decorations in the stores that can't be used for Halloween, but not many. The symbols of Thanksgiving are turkeys, Pilgrims, Indians, pumpkins, corn, and scarecrows. Quite a few people have added football. There are few Thanksgiving books, coloring books, or toys to help teach children abou...

Trick-or treat night is here. The weather is horrible! It's cold. Rain, snow, and wind are whirling around the house. The kids want to go trick-or-tricking. You want to stay in where it is warm and dry. What should you do? If you have school-age children, wrap them up warm under their costumes. Maybe they, and you, can hold out for a little while without freezing to death. Most kids will be ready to go get warm in a little while. Younger children will be just as happy to stay home and have a small Halloween party in the house. Everyone should dress up, even the adults. You can set up little areas inside the house for them to trick-or-treat at. Family members can give out the candy. Have a costume parade and march around the living room. You can make cookies or popcorn balls. Play games, like bobbing for apples. Then end the day with some Halloween cartoons, or read some stories. All of these ideas will be fun for the older kids when they give up and go home to get warm...

There are all kinds of instructions on ways to preserve a jack-o-lantern and make it last longer. Some work, some don't, some work better than others, and some are just too much trouble. If you want the jack-o-lantern to last around 2 weeks, untreated, keep it out of direct sunlight. Bring it inside when not in use, as it should not be too hot or too cold. You can put a wet towel in it, wrap it in plastic, and store it in the fridge if you want. If it starts to dry out you can also soak it in the sink a few hours. There is a product named 'Pumpkin Fresh' that you can buy at the store that will also preserve your jack-o-lantern for about 2 weeks. Keep it out of the weather, and spray it inside and out everyday. To make it last even longer, put it in the freezer for about 2 hours after spraying. Store it in a cool, dry place. Another way is to carve your pumpkin, then let it soak for 8 hours in bleach water. Use one teaspoon of bleach for every gallon of water. Spray i...

Halloween is a good time to watch scary movies. There are so many movies for kids, it's hard to know where to start. I couldn't possibly name them all. There are several that made a hit with my family, so I will name a few of the favorites. "When Good Ghouls Go Bad" is just a little scary, but mostly funny. Danny Walker (Joe Pichler) and his dad (Tom Amandes) move back to their hometown of Walker Falls. His dad plans to reopen the family business, Walker Chocolates. They move in with Danny's grandfather, who acts more like a kid than an adult. Everyone calls him Uncle Fred (Christopher Lloyd). All of the town's people are unfriendly and seem a little weird. Nobody celebrates Halloween anymore due to a mysterious death of an 8th grader, Curtis Danko, and a curse on the town if they ever celebrated Halloween again. Uncle Fred gets killed when a tower of pumpkins fall on him. After his funeral, he comes back as a zombie to save Halloween. That's when the...

Some people don't believe in celebrating Halloween. It is often hard for children when all of their friends are getting so excited about it. There is no reason for them to miss out on all the fun. You can have a Happy Autumn or Happy Harvest celebration instead. Decorating is easy. Just stick to the basics. Uncut pumpkins, gourds, squash, hay bales, corn stalks, Indian corn, mums, colored leaves and scarecrows all make good decorations. Window clings with leaves, acorns, and scarecrows are sold in many places. Children can make a lot of their own decorations with construction paper or felt material. To make decorations water proof, cover with Contact adhesive plastic. Another perk to these decorations is that they will fit right in with Thanksgiving. There are a lt of fun places to go and things to do with the kids. Many places offer corn mazes, the apple or pumpkin farm, and hayrides. Some towns and schools have fall festivals. You can also make your own fun....