my own quote..=P

"Why seak the counsel of a stranger, when you can receive the HIGHEST counsel of a Savior, who knows what you need more than the stranger"

~Rachel R. Layton~

My Own Personal Psalms Of Truth

Oh God Your word is clear and true.
Your ways oh Lord are magnificent in the end,
but the fight to understand them along the way deepens my faith and trust in You.
Your love oh God is of one who has never known my faults.
My walk with You changes me and molds me to be like You.
I read in Your word that You love the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
I know this to be true oh God.
For when my heart was broken You loved me.
When my spirit was crushed and saw no hope in the future You saved me!
You’ve taught me to be strong, courageous, and not to be terrified or discouraged during the most hurtful times of my life.
For You were there beside me when my tears were falling and my arms bleeding wanting to help, but I pushed You away when I should have reached out to Your hand oh God!
Then I couldn’t hear You over all the voices in my head!
But now I’m reaching arms wide open to You God.
For Your ways are higher than mine, for You are all knowing, and all powerful.
You have been here, for there is nothing new under the sun, moon, or stars that You have not already seen or have gone through.
Oh Lord You give me hope in the darkness.
So once again I give You my life to guide and to control, for You will carry me through the rest of my days!

written by:

~Rachel R. Layton~

in March 2008

poetry

People around me say the church is full of
hypocrites,
but that’s just not the case.
The church is the body of Christ.
We all have our mistakes, our shame,
but without God
we would be nothing but filth and dirty rags.
The people who make that accusation,
are the people who see us when we are down
and in the valley.
Church is where we come back to the One of
forgiveness and hope.
People have got to remember that Christians are
not perfect,
but forgiven people who were just like the ones
who think that we are
hypocrites.
But God knows your heart and where you
stand.
You may be a hypocrite and leading people away
from the forgiving
God.
Then again, there are the ones who try to be that
witness and show the
truth!
I want to be that witness.
God forgive me,
and those who try to be that witness but
fall.
Let us leave that legacy that You -the God of all - are
REAL!!!




written by:
~Rachel R. Layton~

in october 2007

Answers to the last blog "how to find a good church"

1. What is man's biggest problem, sin or self esteem?
Seeker sensitive and felt-needs churches focus on man’s hurts and problems. The Bible says
that man’s biggest problem is sin.
2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?
Repent and trust is the Biblical answer. If the word "repent" is never used, say, "Thank you."
3. How do you deliver the salvation message?
Ask the pastor to describe specifically what he says. Does he encourage people to simply say a prayer? Does he tell people to ask Jesus into their hearts?
The salvation message should include: God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, God’s response (hell), God’s kindness (Jesus on a cross), man’s response (repentance and faith).
4. How hard is it to become a Christian?
The "formula" is simple, doing it is not. It is not easy to believe.
5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?
Balance is key. This should not be the only emphasis, but it should be a regular emphasis.
6. How seeker sensitive is your church?
It is o.k. for a church to be "seeker aware" but seeker sensitive means that they lean toward
seekers and not the saved.
7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?
"Both" is not acceptable. Church should be done for members and the unsaved are welcome to attend.
8. Do you dumb down your sermons?
If he says yes, he is probably not trying to wean his members from milk to meat. Answers like,
"We try to make our sermons accessible to everyone" are sermons that are not meaty.
9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?
Topical preaching is fine, but if a pastor never or rarely preaches expositionally (verse by verse),
then you are going to be learning from the pastor and not God’s Word.
10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they just relevant?
Everyone should say their sermons are relevant, what you are looking for is if they teach
theology.
11. Describe your youth programs.
If fun and games is the major (and usually first) emphasis, you have a youth program that is trying
to compete with MTV.
12. Describe your evangelism programs.
Don’t just accept, "We have an evangelism committee." Dig. Are they serious about saving
souls?
13. What church growth model do you follow?
Hopefully they don’t have one. Churches should be reaching out to the lost, but churches that
are plugged into new church growth models tend to follow man’s modern ideas rather than the
Bible.
14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?
Again, this reveals the heart of the church. While most churches give to missions, many never
consider the poor.
15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?
No equivocation allowed here.
16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?
Jesus did (Matt.19:4).
17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?
Jesus did (Matt.25).
19. When you distribute the Lord's Supper, do you emphasize the need to examine
yourself?
Paul did (I Cor.11:27-32)
20. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?
Sinners can certainly be forgiven, but practicing sinners cannot inherit eternal life (I John3:8,9).
21. Does your church exercise church discipline?
Paul said we should (I Cor.5).
22. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs and salvation, or are all volunteers accepted because of a lack of volunteers?
23.What are the essentials of the faith?
Father, Son, Holy Spirit, Salvation through faith alone, the inerrancy of Scripture.
24. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?
Many remove it because they fear it will turn off seekers. They should glory in the cross.

the answers and questions came from "The Way Of The Master"
i hope you all thought bout them deeply like i asked... sense i got no comments...

"How to Find a Good Church????"

How to Find a Good Church

1. What is man's biggest problem, sin or self esteem?

2. What must a man do to inherit eternal life?

3. How do you deliver the salvation message?
4. How hard is it to become a Christian?

5. How often do you talk about sin, righteousness and judgment?

6. How seeker sensitive is your church?

7. Who do you do church for, seekers or members?

8. Do you dumb down your sermons?
9. What is your mixture of topical vs. expository preaching?
10. Do your sermons emphasize theology or are they just relevant?

11. Describe your youth programs.
12. Describe your evangelism programs.
13. What church growth model do you follow?
14. How much do you give to missions and the hungry?
15. Do you believe the Bible contains no errors or contradictions?
16. Do you believe in a literal 6 day creation?
17. Do you believe in a literal hell and eternal punishment?

18.When you distrubute the Lord's Supper do you emphasize the need to examine yourself

19. Can a person who is living in a persistent lifestyle of sin inherit eternal life?

20. Does your church exercise church discipline?

21. Do Sunday school teachers, nursery, and youth volunteers fill out an application to answer questions about their core beliefs and salvation, or are all volunteers accepted because of a lack of volunteers?

22. What are the essentials of faith?

23. Do you have a cross in your sanctuary?

answers in a few days.........

the time is now for church examination......

so please think deeply about the ?s above

~thanks

Sarrah and Adams wedding, two days ago....=D

So, I have realized it has been a very long time since I have updated on here. And for that I'm sorry, I have said before I hardly ever update this, so you cannot say you have not been warned. Any how, Sarrah and Adams wedding was last sat. Seems like just the other day i said that they were engaged... but now they are husband and wife.

Odd? yes, but it's all good right...

I never lost a sister... I gained a brother that I always begged for.

Mission accomplished...

By the way, the first picture here is Bethany and I, the two brides maids, and I being the maid of honor.

The second one is Bethany, Sarrah (my sister), and I.

And this last beautiful picture is my sister and my brother-in-law, Adam.

They make such an adorable couple...

I wonder what their kids will look like... but one thing at a time right?

Hmm, that is all for now...

I'm planning to update more often...

More than I have, I should say...

Well enjoy the pictures.

=D