Finally

I’m not going to be like some authors, who shall remain nameless. I don’t want to gloat and carry on and make a big deal, but…GUESS WHAT? I GOT PUBLISHED! Okay, so I didn’t receive a publishing contract…or any money for that matter, but still, I GOT PUBLISHED! I received a really nice e-mail from Promotion Consultant, Debbie Sills, with the North American Mission Board stating (http://www.namb.net/), “we loved the drama and have uploaded it to our website.” She went on, “Thank you for sharing your talent through the drama. Many churches will benefit from your work.” What does this all mean? It means that my skit, “That’s Not Funny Annie” is now posted on the North American Mission Board’s http://www.anniearmstrong.com/ website, and…I GOT PUBLISHED!

Don’t get me wrong, I know who is really responsible for every good and perfect gift, and I;
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is GOOD; His love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34

P.S. If you would like to view the skit, go to the Annie Armstrong website above, put the cursor over “Promotion Resources”, scroll down and click “Drama Suggestions”. I’m the second drama listed on the page.

That's Why They Call It A Medical Practice

I sat at the hospital with a sick friend today. She was having her third hysterectomy. How could she be having a third hysterectomy you ask? Well, I suppose stranger things have happened. It all comes down to certainty. If you have a hysterectomy, it would stand to reason why you might feel fairly certain that you would never have the procedure again…and again. And after what my friend has gone through, it’s easy to see that what we might view as certain may not be the case.

There is one thing, however, that is always certain, and that is the promises of God. In 1 John 3:1-2, the Bible says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

I’m sure glad that we have a Heavenly Father that is a sure thing. We never have to worry about that. What He says that He is, He is. What He says that we are, we are. What He says that He’s going to do, He does. There are no uncertainties with God.

As for my friend, the doctor said she thinks she got it all this time…but she can’t be certain.

Barnabas Babes :)

I don’t feel like I’m much of an asset to my critique group. If I had to grade my ability to pick out faults in other people’s work I would give myself an F-. I’ve even gone so far as feeling sorry for my critique partners. I brought them all little gifts the last time we met so they wouldn’t kick me out of the group. I make comments on their work such as, “This sentence doesn’t sound right. I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but it’s just not right.” Oh my gosh! Who says stuff like that except me? I’m really glad that all the members of my group are good Christian women who love me in spite of my sucky critiquing skills (or lack thereof.) The only thing I have to offer the group is my ability to occasionally make them laugh. Oh, and I thought up the name for the group. If you’re in my critique group; and you know who you are, thanks for being the encouragers God has called you to be. Barnabas would be proud of you.

Connor on God

Connor is seven. Most of the time, Connor and I talk about things such as Zelda, Avatar, swords or even dragons. Every now and again, however, we have conversations of a spiritual nature. This is my recollection one of those exchanges.
“Hey, Mom, my friend at school saw that movie The Golden Compass and she said…”
“Oh, Connor I told you we weren’t going to watch that movie. “
“I know, but why did her mom take her to see it, if it’s a bad movie?”
“Well honey, her parents don’t go to church, so I guess it’s not important to them that at the end of the book, the movie is based on, two kids kill God.”
“Oh… Mom, pretend like you don’t even know who Jesus is.”
“Okay…uh, who is this Jesus guy that everybody keeps talking about?”
“Mom, you know who Jesus is.”
“I know, but you told me to pretend I don’t know Him. I thought you were going to tell me about Him.”
“Oh…well, he was born on Christmas day.”
“Yeah, I think they call it Christmas day, because that’s when He was born.”
“Then He grew into a fine boy.”
“Uh huh, then what happened to Him?”
“He grew into a man, and he healed lots of people.”
“That’s right. What else happened?”
“He died on a cross.”
“Why did he have to die on a cross, Connor?”
“Because, everybody hated him, and they said, ‘crucify Him, crucify Him, crucify Him! Then they did it.”
“But did Jesus have to die?”
“No, He could have lived a lot longer.”
“I know, but why did Jesus have to die?”
“He died because of our sins.”
“Bingo! So tell me, what did the girl tell you about that movie?”
“Well, I told her that I got a Webkinz® for Christmas and she told me she got a Webkinz® too. Hers is the penguin from The Golden Compass and she got it for one dollar.”
“Oh, that’s cool.”
“Mom, I saw that girl at our church one time. Why did she even come to church?”
“Her grandma used to go to our church, but moved away, so now when she comes for a visit, she takes all her grandkids to church with her. Her grandma knows that it’s probably the only time they ever get to go to church.”
“You should go to church all the time if you love Jesus.”
“Yeah, that’s what I think.”
“I love Jesus more than anything.”
“I know you do, Connor. You love Him so much that you invited Him to live in your heart.”
“That’s right. Mom, I love you.”
“I love you too, Connor.”

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AND RIP PIMP C

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been complaining about my birthday. Four days after Christmas, December 29th is quite possibly the worst time ever to be born. The only time worse would perhaps be, I don’t know, December 28, 27, 26 or the worst of all, December 25th! Can you imagine the conversation? I’ve recently learned that I have the same birthday as John Voight, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jude Law. Oh that’s nice…I share my birthday with Jesus Christ! You people with July birthdays have no idea what I’m talking about, but anyone blessed to have been born between say, December 23rd through December 30th know exactly what I mean when I say, “here’s your Christmas, and um birthday present.”

Sad as my birthday may sound, during my e-search of famous people that share my birthday, I found one whose birthday is even sadder still. I dedicate the remainder of this blog entry to Pimp C. You see today, December 29, 2007, Port Arthur, Texas native, Pimp C would have been 34 years old. Instead, on December 4, 2007, just 25 days shy of his birthday, Pimp C was found dead in his hotel room on the Sunset Strip in California. I admit that I’d never even heard of Pimp C before his untimely death, but I’m not completely ignorant to the hip hop genre. I can crank dat Solja Boy with the best of ‘em.

So what is my point…I have no idea, but I did find some interesting information that came out of the Pimp C funeral. The service in Port Arthur, Texas was led by Reverend John R. Adolph who began with a prayer: “The Bible says, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want.’ The trumpets shall sound and the dead in Christ will rise. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.” Instead of Pimp C songs, hymns were played between eulogies and prayers. Pimp’s mother, Mamma Wes, said that her son had researched the word pimp and found that the meaning had changed over the years. She said of him, “It once meant the nice dressed man who dealt with the girl in the corner. He discovered that pimpin’ now deals with all us from the ghetto who is trying to get out.”

Reverend Adolph asked everyone to gather around Pimp’s casket. The Reverend told the crowd that Pimp joined his church on November 18, and he didn’t even make it to December 18. He bowed his head and said, “Lord, it may be hard out there for a pimp, but there is hope in here for those who believe.”

Wait, I do have a point! I’m not positive, but judging from post funeral interviews with the ‘rap royalty’ in attendance, I believe that Brother Adolph must have then led the crowd in a prayer of salvation. James Prince, CEO of Rap-A-Lot Records agreed with Adolph, saying “It’s hard out here for a pimp, but I have hope in Jesus Christ. So I got hope today.” If James Prince heard it, so did Chamillionaire, Bun B, Trae, Mike Jones, Willie D, and Slim Thug.

The Apostle Paul said in Colossians 1:23, “If you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I have become a servant. Chad “Pimp C” Butler did not die in vain. More than 2,000 people heard the Gospel message as a result of his death.

Happy birthday Pimp C, and rest in peace. I hope I see you when I get to heaven.
Some quotes taken from article “Friends, family and fans come out to honor Pimp C” by: Joey Guerra and Eyder Peralta on www. Chron.com

Greatest Find of The Year

Attention people of the northern hemisphere! I’m going to need everyone’s help in order to get the word out about the latest discovery I happened upon…Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha.
It’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever tasted. I know what you’re thinking. I want a delicious Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha. Where can I get myself a delectable white chocolaty indulgence? This is the great part; you can get your very own Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha from a place called Starbucks®. And they’re everywhere! Having been a lifelong Diet Coke® drinker, I’d never even been in a Starbucks® before. I don’t know how I’ve lived this long without it. I want to tell the world about this virtual treasure trove of caffeinated goodness I’ve stumbled across.

Seriously, Starbucks® does make a great cup of joe, but I’m kidding about wanting to tell the whole world about it. I used this illustration to make a point of how excited we can become over the least little mundane thing that we find to be good or new or exciting. I admit it; I’m as bad as the next person when it comes to jumping on the ol’ bandwagon. After all, I have been back to Starbucks® more than once since my first visit. I have to ask myself though, when is the last time that I’ve been this excited telling people about my Lord and Savior? I wonder what it would have been like on that holy night so long ago if the very first witnesses were as lackadaisical as we are today. And yet I wonder…doo, doo, doo…doo, doo, doo…doo, doo, doo. (Flashback music)

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him…they went into town to spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. As they traveled through the town they noticed that one from their own tribe had recently opened Achmed’s New Wine and Sheep Wash. Suddenly they forgot all about spreading the good news of the newborn king, and decided to stop in for a spot of new wine and to run the sheep through the wash before the upcoming Passover.

Fortunately for us, the shepherds took a pass on stopping at Achmed’s and instead did what God called them to do. Perhaps we should take a queue from the shepherds and remember the very last thing Jesus told us to do in Matthew 28, on his parting over 2,000 years ago…"go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

As for me, I’m going to go see if there is anyone at Starbucks® that I can share the Good News with. While I’m there I’m going to see if they can make a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha…FRAPPUCINO!

THE STAR by Annette O'Hare

Beautiful Bethlehem star so bright,
Your radiance to celebrate this one holy night.

To announce the birth of the newborn King,
Let heaven, nature and all creation sing.

Your brilliant beams of heavenly light,
Lead wise men through the dark desert night.

To the place where God’s perfect love,
Descended from heaven above.

You shine on the One God gave us,
You shine on Him who will save us.

One bright star, one holy night,
One Savior born to make the whole world right.

Beautiful Bethlehem star so bright,
Shine your joy 'round the world on this one holy night.