Ladies, Here is our final session from Journey to Know God by Name - Session 7. Special Thanks to the New Bethel Holiness Church Women's Mininstries for hosting. The food and fellowship was amazing. Session 7 Journey to Know God by ...
READ THISHere are the notes and the video from our Session #6 at Lighthouse of Living Faith on March 21, 2024. Session 6: Journey To Know God by Name
READ THISDue to a death in my daughter-in-law's family, we did not have a live session for this week. However, I did go ahead and publish my notes for the handouts. I also did a Zoom session going through my notes. You are welcome to download them as you ...
READ THISLadies... If you missed the live session last evening at Barlow Chapel Community Church, you missed a TREAT. The Barlow Ladies' Ministry provide us with so many wonderful goodies, soups, fruit, desserts... I say we "feasted!" And I thank them so ...
READ THISLadies, We had a wonderful time on Thursday, February 29. We finished all the Old Testament names for God, and we started on the New Testament names for Jesus. If you would like to view the study, please click on the video below. Also I am ...
READ THISIn this session, we looked at several Old Testament names for God: Jehovah Raah, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah Tsidkenu, Jehovah M'Kaddesh, El Olam, & Elohim. Here is the video from this session, and the handout provided. Handouts ...
READ THISThis was our first week of Bible Study for our Journey To Know God by Name. We covered El Shaddai, El Elyon, and Adonai. Session Notes and Extra Take Home Packet Included in Links Below. Journey to Know God by Name Session 1 Notes Journey to ...
READ THISTucked far away in the Yellow Pines of Washington County, Alabama in a little town known as Millry, you will find a place that will transport you back in time: Healing Springs. I have often been intrigued by the stories I've heard about the ...
READ THISI was invited to speak at a local church's annual "Festival of Tables" (Millry Baptist Church). When the women's ministry team reached out to me, they told me the theme was "older women mentoring younger women" and "putting down roots". Well... ...
READ THISThis is the final session for us using our Journey of the Soul book for study. I hope you all have enjoyed these 7 sessions. I pray for each of you to be greatly blessed in this Easter season. Enjoy your family; rest and rejoice in your soul.
READ THISThis week we talked about the following topics: 1. The Generous Soul 2. The Quiet Soul 3. The Sweet Soul 4. Comfort of the Soul 5. Loving the Soul 6. Good News for the Soul 7. Advice for the Soul Thanks to Sis. Martha Sikes for ...
READ THISThis session was a little bit unusual. I had 3 extra guests. My grandsons were with me. So, if you want to know what it's like to juggle... this is the session for you! :) Including a complete view of what it's like to get hit unexpectedly in ...
READ THISNotes: Journey of the Soul Session 4
READ THISThis session deals with several actions of our souls: Pouring - We need to pour our souls out to the Lord as Hannah did. He heard and answered Hannah. When we pour ourselves before the Lord, he hears and answers us. Loving - Jonathan loved his ...
READ THISExodus 23 Numbers 15, 30 Deuteronomy 4, 6, 11 Psalm 55 This week we have had a lot to cover with the soul. We started on Thursday by looking at our sojourning soul and how we should treat others in their own journeys in life. God calls us to ...
READ THISGenesis 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. As I prepared for our Zoom session yesterday morning, these thoughts came to my mind: He formed us ...
READ THISLent 2022 is quickly approaching. I believe it begins on March 02, 2022. I have written another Lenten Devotional for this year. The title is Journey of the Soul: Finding Rest, Purpose, Happiness, and Peace. If you are looking for something ...
READ THISI want to share some of the Sunday School Lessons we have created for our kids at Lighthouse of Living Faith. Feel free to use them or share them with others. We love our kids! Stars & Sand July 26 Living Water July 19 Here Come the ...
READ THISJuly 23, 2020 This is my final blog for "When the Lights Go Out." Intensifying Your Love When the Lights Go Out When you lose a loved one... parent, spouse, child, or other... Your heart is truly shattered... for a time. But there comes a time, ...
READ THISJuly 22, 2020 Rebuilding Your Life When the Lights Go Out This was such a monumental trip for me. It was during this trip to St. Louis I made the decision to go out on my own and start my own consulting business, Vann-Ray, LLC. This picture was ...
READ THISJuly 21, 2020 Moving Forward When the Lights Go Out As difficult as it was for me to accept my future without Andrew, I realized at some point I had to move forward. If I didn't move forward, I would lose my life. I would stagnate. I would die ...
READ THISJuly 20, 2020 Dreams & Expectations Come When The Lights Go Out I am a hopeless romantic (defined as - of, characterized by, or suggestive of an idealized view of reality). I look for the good in all people. I look for the good in all things. I ...
READ THISJuly 19, 2020 Reaping God's Goodness When the Lights Go Out On October 28, 2014, some 16 years after Andrew's death, Andrew "Clemens" Odom was born. He made his Mimsy sit up all night long waiting for him. But when that child made his first little ...
READ THISJuly 18, 2020 Saying All the Things I Wished I Had Said When the Lights Go Out. So many things have gone through my mind through the years... things I wished I would have said to Andrew... Things I wish I would have done. ...
READ THISJuly 17, 2020 No Longer Afraid When The Lights Go Out I can't tell you how long it took me to get to this point. But I can go to bed at night now without the sense of despair racking my body. I am no longer afraid when the lights go out. Actually, ...
READ THISJuly 16, 2020Releasing Anger and Embracing AcceptanceWhen The Lights Go OutOne of the hardest things for me to do as a mama was to accept that I would never hold my child again in this life. I would never hear his laughter again. I would never ...
READ THISJuly 15, 2020 Growing Spiritually & Emotionally When The Lights Go Out When your life is turned upside down, the devil thinks he's won. He is pretty sure of himself, and as you grieve, he gleefully thinks he has his next victim wrapped up in a ...
READ THISJuly 14, 2020 Remembering Those Vows When the Lights Go Out Some people say the death of a child puts an enormous amount of stress on a marriage... I'd say "Some People" are right. How can it not put stress on a marriage? Remember, we don't grieve ...
READ THISJuly 13, 2020 Understanding Survivor's Guilt When the Lights Go Out In the middle of all my grief, I never even really thought about Gideon dealing with Survivor's Guilt after our wreck. Looking back, so many things now make perfect sense, and had ...
READ THISJuly 12, 2020Remembering to go to Church When the Lights Go Out Half-way there today! Today happens to be a Sunday in my journey, so I thought it would be fitting to discuss going to church when you are grieving. Going back to any normal activity ...
READ THISJuly 11, 2020 Dealing with Regret When the Lights Go Out I don't know how many times in the past 22 years I have thought to myself, "I wish I would have..." or "I wish I hadn't..." Countless times, I'm sure. I wish I had said, "Yes, you can," ...
READ THISJuly 10, 2020 The Deafening Silence When the Lights Go Out Andrew and Gideon were 16 months apart in age. Andrew was the social child; Gideon was the stubborn child. When you put them both together, I cannot tell you how many times I have heard ...
READ THISJuly 9, 2020 The World Keeps Spinning When the Lights Are Out One of the most difficult things for me wasn't when "time" stood still for me... but that "time" moved on. During our wreck, as we were spinning after the initial hit from the other ...
READ THISJuly 8, 2020 Dealing with "Those Days" when the Lights Go Out July 24, April 2, December 25, February 14... and then there's Easter, Thanksgiving, and the beginning of school... All these ...
READ THISJuly 7, 2020 Your Life Is Changed When the Lights Go Out It's ironic that I am writing about this topic today... for I am struggling... as usual... on my taxes. The irony - before Andrew died, I always did our taxes. I loved the thought that I ...
READ THISJuly 6, 2020 Finding Purpose When the Lights Go Out When Andrew died, I was teaching at Citronelle Middle School (later became Lott Middle School). My world was shattered. Since the boys and I were in different school districts, our spring breaks ...
READ THISJuly 5, 2020 Remembering Those Who Are with You when the Lights Go Out On April 2, 1998, I lost my oldest son. Ray lost his oldest son. Gideon lost his older brother. My family members lost a little boy they loved. Andrew's classmates lost a ...
READ THISJuly 4, 2020 Finding God when the Lights Go Out I have heard it all my life that we are not supposed to question God. Well, I did... Every day... Many times a day... If I asked God one time, I asked Him a thousand times why Andrew had to leave ...
READ THISJuly 3, 2020 Finding Others When the Lights Go Out As the darkness of grief slowly engulfed my soul, I kept thinking, "I need help." I knew I needed help. Losing a child was more than my heart could handle. I had friends, and in their ...
READ THISJuly 2, 2020 Finding Yourself When the Lights Go Out When you lose a loved one, like I lost my son, Andrew, you also lose yourself. Now before everyone starts preaching to me... I know that a person is not truly "lost" if you know where he/she is. ...
READ THISWhen the Lights Go Out Years ago, on an April 2nd night, Rev. Henry Sheppard told me he thought I'd write a book one day about that night. He said the title should be "When the Lights Go Out." It's been over 22 years since that day. Andrew will ...
READ THISHere is the Wednesday Night Bible Study during the COVID-19 Quarantine. March 18, 2020
READ THISOur Sunday Morning Service at LOLF during COVID-19 Quarantine March 22, 2020
READ THISThe Great Commission There are so many scriptural references to the saving of souls. I know that Jesus left each of us with a job to complete. We all have our unique talents and gifts, but at the same time we are all given the same commission... GO ...
READ THISWednesday Evening Sermon Rev. Ray Odom November 6, 2019 (Or Click Here to be taken to podcast)
READ THISThe last few days of Lent, 2019 I have finished my 40 journey, and during this time I learned a lot about Jesus and the miracles He performed. I also learned a lot about myself. I know that for the remaining part of the year, I won't to do ...
READ THISWe have finally reached the final week of Lent 2019. At this point in my journey I am in awesome wonder of all that Christ has done for me. I love my Savior, and I only wish I could convey how much I am thankful for all He did for ...
READ THISJesus had His fair share of "critics." But He did not allow this to keep Him from doing the right thing. Some of His critics even sought to kill Him simply for His goodness. We have to be willing to take chances when we help others in the ...
READ THISWhat Manner of Man Is This? The Devils Feared Him! "Who Touched Me?" The People Laughed, But Only for a Moment! They Believed, and so They Were Healed! So for the past few days, I've been running, rushing, working, and blogging has been on ...
READ THISWhen a mom loses literally everything, Jesus decides to do what must have been unimaginable for her. He gave her back her son... her only son. We know she was a widow, and when her son died, she truly did feel as though she had lost it all. But ...
READ THISJesus was willing to heal a withered hand so a man could regain his ability to work even if it meant His enemies would do what they could to hold it against Him. I find it hard to understand how a group of people, who were supposed to be ...
READ THISToday I tried to spend time with family. My sister was in from her hometown, and we had lunch. It was great to have time just to sit and talk with her. As I went through the day, I looked at several issues in life... and in each one, I truly ...
READ THISI love that Jesus had such crowds that the people had to take the roof from the home just to get to Him. That had to be an amazing sight. Yet Jesus was more concerned with the man's salvation than his physical healing. This troubled some - ...
READ THISTwo things really stuck out to me today in the scripture reading: The faith of the Centurion. How Jesus marveled at the Centurion's faith. Because of a pattern I see as I read through all the miracles of Jesus, one thing begins to unfold to ...
READ THISI love how the leper approached Jesus with the words, "Lord if you will..." And I equally love how Jesus responded... "I will!" I find that amazing! I wonder how many times we could help make someone's life better if we would just say the words, ...
READ THISI love this story. Peter is worn out... but he helps his friend, Jesus, have a platform to preach. Then Jesus (whom Peter knows as the teacher) finishes and says, "Hey, Peter... go out into the deep and cast your nets there." I think Peter may ...
READ THISAt the End of a Long Day - He Healed! I know Jesus must have been extremely tired after teaching all day, yet there He was... healing as many as He touched... at the evening time. There are three things that stuck with me in these verses: He ...
READ THISHealed to Help I love this little story. It's in 3 of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, & Luke. There are only a couple of verses in each account. But the message is clear: Peter's MIL had a fever and was very sick. Jesus rebuked the fever; ...
READ THISSunday - Rest Day I don't know about you, but I love rest days! So many days filled with anxiety, stress, and compiling problems... God knew we mortals could not handle all of that for extended days on end... So, He gave us a rest day. Today I ...
READ THISWhat A Word Is This? From the moment Jesus started in the synagogue, the people were amazed. When He delivered the poor man with an unclean spirit, their expressions became: "What A Word Is This?" Two quick things to share: The people ...
READ THISHaving Faith Without Miracles & Wonders As I read the scriptures for this little walk in the wilderness, I realized that Jesus wanted more from those around Him - He wanted them to believe in Him without having miracles and wonders. OK... I don't ...
READ THIS1st Recorded Miracle of Jesus' Earthly Ministry - WOW! Do you know what I love most about this story - 2 things - Jesus did it for His earthly mom (Mary) & Jesus' mom had confidence in Him. Oh the things we do for family! But... one question ...
READ THISAnd so the journey begins. I've taken my first few steps. I think I have my fasting in order; I've also gotten some inspiration as how I should pray. I'm asking God to show me daily what He would have me give. Day 1 - The Miracle of ...
READ THISPreparation for Lent - in FPG Mode There are 3 Main Tenets of Lent: fasting, praying, and giving. When you take a look at these principles of faith, you find Jesus embodied all three during His earthly ministry. When you read of Jesus' ...
READ THISMy Love, My Life, My Forever Valentine When I met this guy, I was only 15. He was stationed in South Korea, and his family had been a part of our community forever. I'll never forget my first memory of seeing him... In his dress greens... at ...
READ THISI don't know about you, but my heart breaks on a regular basis when I hear of how people whom I love dearly are falling into the trap of alcohol and drug consumption to the point they are putting their lives and the lives of those around them at ...
READ THISToday is my Daddy's Birthday. It's been 45 years since I've seen him. My memories of him are sketchy at best. When I look at the few pictures of him I have, I realize about the only physical feature I inherited from him is the dimpled chin. ...
READ THISRecently I was reminded I do indeed live in a glass house. I'm a PW, which I think is worse than a PK. When you are in the ministry, all your walls are glass. Every word you say is dissected. You are supposed to be in check with your ...
READ THISThese are troubling times for sure. It has become a huge distraction for me on a daily basis. I do my best to overlook... scroll past... have not reaction... but almost on a daily basis, I find myself upset over something I've seen or read. ...
READ THISI have never seen a time when being a Christian has been met with more hate that today. It seems if we hold any truths self-evident we are misconstrued as hateful, biased, and non-tolerant. I read a quote today where someone likened us to ...
READ THISI am a passionate person. When I believe in something, I believe it with my whole heart. Sometimes that gets me in trouble. To be truthful, this is the 3rd time I have restarted or rewritten this post. It pains me greatly to know that we have ...
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