Today's Verse  John 8:32

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Lately, I have been thinking about Jim Jones and Marshall Applewhite.

Mr. Jones had people believing he was the Messiah (chosen man of God to save the World). He told them the end of the world was coming and they needed to do several good works to become “holy”. People left their homes and families to follow this guy. Many of them moved to the jungles of South America where they set up a colony called “Jonestown”. The people worked in camps to support the group. The work was hard and everything you worked for you had to share. The people were terrorized by their leader, who was paranoid that they people were out to get him. On November 18, 1978 all 909 people (including 287 children) who lived in the commune committed suicide by drinking poisoned Kool-Aid. According to notes and audio recordings of the incident, the people did this just because their “leader” told them to.

Mr. Applewhite had a large group of people believing he too was the Messiah and the planet Earth was about to be wiped clean and that the only chance to survive was to leave it immediately. On March 26, 1997 39 people took heavy drugs and committed suicide. They believed that they would be swept up in a passing comet (The Hale-Bopp comet was passing near earth at the time) and taken to Heaven. In life they were required to cut their hair a certain way, dress a certain way and in some cases undergo painful medical operations to be part of the “group”. They had to leave everything and live with the group.

These cults may seem silly, but people fall victim to false teachings all the time. God has asked for one thing, that we accept his Son as our savior. He already sent a Messiah. God made it clear what is required of you in his word. Anything else is an addition by Man, not God.

Here are a few false beliefs that are out there in the world:

Religion #1: There were seven levels of heaven. In this religion if you do enough good works you can make it to the top level and become a God of your own universe. There are strict rules which seem to change every 10 years or so according to some old guy who says he is a prophet and has “visions.” There is no Hell, just lower levels of heaven.

Religion 2: Perhaps by following a strict set of rules which include 5 mandatory daily prayer times, strict rules about what you can and can’t eat, and a mandatory trip to a “sacred city” you can get to heaven. Your life is regulated by religious law and order.

Religion 3: There is no “God” but instead God is in the entire universe. Your soul is not something that is special to you, but just a reflection of the universe. Pain is caused by the lack of knowledge and wisdom. Through constant study and meditation you will achieve absolute wisdom which will cause you to enter a state of feeling where you don’t feel pain. In this state of mind you will automatically do good. If you do good and stay in this “mind” when you die you are allowed to live again, this time with more earthly things (like money and riches) if you fail, your next life will require you to spend more time studying. There is no judgment, only a repetition of life until you get to the highest point of wisdom.

Religion 4: There is no God, no heaven or hell. You are on your own. When you die worms eat you.

Religion 5: There is no God but rather a “Mother Goddess”. There was never a beginning and there will be no end. There is no sin. We all have magic in us. Good people have “white magic” while bad people have “dark magic”. We need dark to have light. Satan isn’t bad, just the other half of good. We need that for “balance”.

Religion 6: The Bible is good, but more needed to be added. In fact, a central “church” needed to be created because people are too stupid to understand what the Bible really says. The “central church” gives laws and rules and translates what God “really means”. Faith in Jesus is good, but it isn’t enough. You need to complete a set of “steps” before you can go to heaven. Not doing it all may cause you to lose your salvation.

Religion 7: There is no Christ, just God, but he goes by another name. You have a rewritten “gospel” which has many changes from the Bible. Maybe Jesus was an angel, but not the son of God. You need to tell as many people as possible about God (by his other name) or else you can’t get to heaven- so get busy!

Now what the Bible says:

1. The Bible is the inerrant (without error) word of God. (John 1:1 and 2 Tim 3:16) Adding to it is dangerous and isn’t from God (Galatians 1:8-9 and Rev 22:18-19)

2. Man is not perfect. (Rom 3:23, Ephesians 2:8)

3. God is perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4-5 and pretty much the entire Bible)

4. Man’s sins keep him from God (Rom 6:23). Doing good work or “being good” is pretty worthless (Isaiah 64:6).

5. God love humanity so much he chose to send his son to take our punishment. He did this even though he knew many would reject this gift. (John 3:16 and Romans 5:8)

6. By accepting the gift of salvation through Christ’s death (saying that you believe Christ died for you and asking God to forgive your past sins.) you will stand before God like someone who never sinned. (Romans 10:9-13) Jesus loves you too much to force you to choose him, but you must decide if you accept his sacrifice or not.

Todays's Verse  Romans 3:22-24

For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

Mr. Herron came up with a great program to help handle our children’s behavior when he would travel out of town for work. It’s called the “Random Reward” program. Basically, I keep a log of all the children’s behavior (good and bad) while Mr. Herron is out of town. The child who has been the “best kid” wins a special award from Daddy’s trip. This is usually a small thing, like a travel souvenir or a sweet treat. The kids also watch Mommy (that’s me) and I can earn yummy Seattle Coffee or Gourmet foods

I have to admit that it is very fun to watch my kids struggle to be the “best kid”. I have yet to see one of my kids be perfect. In fact, I usually end up picking the kid who was the “least bad”. It’s too hard to be perfect.

Imagine trying to meet God’s standard. The Bible tells us that we ALL fall short. We ALL fail at being “the best kid”. There is no way you can “work” your way to heaven. Just as you get ahead, chances are that you will mess up. God already knew you couldn’t be perfect. Instead of asking you to be perfect (impossible) he gave you a “gift”. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, God is just waiting for you to accept the gift. He wants you to ACCEPT that you are a sinner and can’t “work” your way to heaven and that the punishment for this is eternal separation. The good news is that even though God knew that we would sin he sent the world a “gift”.

He wants you to BELIEVE that God sent his Son, Jesus, to earth to take your punishment. Finally he wants you to turn to him and believe that CHRIST took your punishment by dying on the cross and rose on the third day. It’s as easy as ABC! That’s all there is to it. You don’t have to be a really good person or perfect before God will love you. He loved you before time began.

Dear Trekkers:

The cat is out of the bag. We don’t celebrate Halloween. We are often asked “why”. Some people are curious; some bewildered, and some just plain mean. Some people have actually called us “cruel” for not doing the whole Halloween thing. You would never know that Halloween is such a hot topic with people.

The main questions I hear are; Why do people celebrate Halloween? and Why don’t you do it?

The WHY of Halloween is a difficult one. I could tell you the history of the holiday from a pagan New Year’s celebration to the multi-million dollar celebration it is today. I could do that, but I really don’t feel like it. If you are interested you can check it out here: (http://www.theholidayspot.com/halloween/history.htm) I guess the simplest answer is that everyone loves a party and Halloween creates a time for that. I mean who couldn't love loads of sweets and dressing up.

To celebrate or not is a personal decision. Our family chose a few years ago not celebrate the holiday the normal way. We felt that the holiday celebrated darkness and the macabre. We considered this decision with much prayer before finally deciding against celebrating it.

Does that make everyone who celebrates it evil? Are they all hell-bound for dressing up and eating massive amounts of sugar? Am I going to punish you for celebrating instead of doing what I do?

One answer: Nope.

What does God require of you to go to heaven?. (hint: Acts 16:31) I respect each of you because you are who God created and a disagreement about a silly thing like Halloween isn’t going to make me hate you.

Just wanted to clear that up :) Mrs. H.

Today's Verse  Joshua 24:15

And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.

Okay, here it is. The blog you will hate me for. I want you to gather round the old computer and settle in for Story Time. Go ahead, get comfy. I’ll wait a moment for you to get a drink and maybe a snack.

Okay, glad you are back. Now since I can’t tell you this story (I’m busy at home right now probably cleaning something) you will have to read it yourself. Before you start, here is a quick vocab list so you aren’t confused.



Baal and Asherah : False gods who Israel had begun to worship.

Ahab: King who had turned from the Lord to worship Baal

Jezebel: REALLY evil queen (I mean EVIL)

Obadiah: King who was faithful to the Lord

Elijah: Messenger from the Lord (as known as a prophet)



You go ahead and read. I’ll be here when you get back. Click here for the story of Elijah at Mount Carmel.

Hey, you back already? So what happened? The people had ditched the God who loved and created them for a fake one. Back then people had this crazy idea that since the couldn’t physically touch and feel God, he wasn’t real. Instead they replaced him a statue. Something they could touch. These people knew who God was and what he had done for their people for generations but had chosen to reject him anyway. I think God wanted to send a wake up call, reminding people what was important.

So he sent Elijah. Elijah challenged the “true” believers in Baal and Asherah to a little competition. In the end, God won, leaving the false gods literally in the dust. I don’t think we need such a grand display of power to know that God is real. His Word tells us of his love for us. It tells us of his sacrifice of his Son to us even though we were still sinners. There comes a time when we have to choose whom we serve. You can’t serve God and serve a fake god. Just like the Israelites, we must choose to serve God or serve a something that is false and can be destroyed in an instant.

   Today's Verses

Apart from me, you can do nothing.” John 15:5

“I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13

Remember a few weeks ago when I told you that I was a good cook? Well, I have to confess. I have had a few really bad dishes. Something happens right before I go food shopping. I am usually out of everything and I am trying to make something out of a very limited food supply. One time I mixed ham with broccoli and mixed it with cream of mushroom soup. Yucky.

I admit it. I cannot make something out of nothing. I need the proper supplies to create a suitable dinner. This goes beyond my kitchen. Could I watch a movie without a DVD player? Could I play chess with out the pieces?

We couldn’t do any of these things because something was missing. I can’t prepare dinner without ingredients. I can’t play chess without the pieces and I can’t watch the movie without the player. This is how it is with our lives. God in our lives makes us complete. Without him we are empty. I love this story I read in Our Daily Bread:

There's a story about a group of scientists who decided that humans could do without God. So one of them looked up to God and said, "We've decided that we no longer need You. We have enough wisdom to clone people and do many miraculous things." God listened patiently and then said, "Very well, let's have a man-making contest. We'll do it just like I did back in the old days with Adam." The scientists agreed, and one of them bent down and picked up a handful of dirt. God looked at him and said, "No! You have to make your own dirt!"

God can do anything. He made the world from nothing. He created you and loves you. Ask him into your heart and see how complete you feel.

Today's Verse  Nahum 1:7

The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

I had an awful day today. I awoke early (4:30!) to a wrong number call. I tried to make a special breakfast for my family, but had a culinary accident. My kids were ALL very badly behaved. I got bad news and never finished any task I started. I was feeling pretty lousy. By the end of the day, I was wound up ready to tear the head off the first person who tried to cross me.

I decided to sit and take a moment for prayer. This is basically what I managed to say:

"God, Father…I can't handle this. I'm dying here…Please show me I am loved...Show me I don't have to carry this alone."

I was interrupted from my prayer by my 3-year old. I opened my eyes, ready to come unglued when he looked at me and said,

"I wuv you mommy. You are so bootifull"

That's all he said and then he walked away. Within minutes I got a text on my phone from an organization that sends me bible verses daily. It was the verse above from Nahum. I realized I was never alone. I only need to trust in him in my times of trouble. I believe he sent my son to remind me that I am loved and the verse to remind me to have faith to trust him

Remember, God is faithful and true. We only have to trust him.

Today's Verse  Psalm 63:1-2

O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory.

Last week we sang a really cool song. If you were there do you remember what it said?

If you guessd "it repeated the word "forever" like a million times" you'd be correct. The song is actually called His Love Endures Forever and is by a great song writer named Chris Tomlin. If you have an MP3 player, I'd totally find a copy of the song and download it. (The song has been remade by several artists, but I really like the original by Chris Tomlin)

FOREVER God is faithful. FOREVER God is strong. FOREVER God is with us. These are the words of the chorus. The last one reallystuck with me. Forever He is with us. Wow. Forever is a really long time.

Recently I was watching a football game on TV. It was against the Oakland Raiders and The San Diego Chargers. Now the football fans in Oakland are pretty darn serious about their football. There is one area of the bleachers called "the Black Hole" and is designated for die hard Radiers fans. They wear silver and black with pride and are usally the loudest and most roudy bunch at any Raider's football game.

This game was no exception. The television camera showed a shot of the stands, all the fans yelling and growling (yes, they were growling). At the bottom of the field was a lone security guard. He was a short skinny man who looked very frightened to be in charge of this group crazy people.

I looked at this poor guy and thought, "Wow. He's in trouble." I was reminded how I feel like that guy when I am facing the troubles in life. Those stressfull things are just like those crazy fans, yelling and screaming at me. You every feel like that? You ever feel like school, activities and life are so overwhelming you feel like you are drowing. Yeah, me too.

The camera moved through the crowds above this guard to show that just above him was about 10 really large guys further up in the stands. I actually laughed because at that moment I realized this man's salvation and safety was just above him. I realized that sometimes I focus on the crazy stuff here on the earth and forget to look up. God is right there waiting to help me.

We humans tend to worry about everything. We forget to look up and see our salvation. No matter what you face today, remember that God already has it under control.

Hello All!  

If you are reading this then you are now a part of the most fun group in Fernley. As you already know I am Mrs. Herron (or Mrs. H for short). This is basically a "getting to know" type of blog.

This will be the easiest extra credit this entire year! Remember, to get your credit you either have to email me a response or hand write a response and turn it in at the beginning of club. In the coming weeks, you will be able to post them right here.

You can email me at mrsh@herronweb.com. If you can't email or respond, don't worry. Just write all your answers and bring it to me next week. I will check it out then. Remember your response must be THOUGHTFUL and GOOD. Please don't rush. Take your time on these. Ask me, Mr. H, Mrs. G or Mrs. Toby for any help.

Ok...about us.

I have been Christian for approximately 10 years. I gave our lives to the Lord in 1998. I wasn't raised in church or even went much as a child. I love to answer any and all questions about Jesus, God, man and religion in general. I will warn you I don't have all the answers, but we will try really hard to find them.

I love to play games (board games, card games, computer games, I love them all) and am very competitive.

Here are some quick love/hates about me:

Mrs. H: Loves: things with the letter P. (Pumpkins, pomegranates penguins, pasta
Dislikes: whining and people who eat food before paying for it.

And of course I love Jesus first and foremost.

My Helpers:

Mrs. Toby is a wife (she was married on my birthday!), a mommy (she has 2 kids-the guy in T&T with the wild curly hair calls her Mom) and Grandma. Ask to see photos, she loves to show them off!

She loves the color black, not because it is depressing, but as every girl knows it makes you look thinner. She has a cool key chain that moos when you squeeze it-I dare you guys to ask her about it.

She claims she isn’t old-just going blond one hair at a time.

Mrs. G came to know Jesus in the parking lot of a church after her birth mom “explained the gospel”. She grew up going to church about twice a year (Easter and Christmas). Mrs. G knew Jesus died for her sins but until her mother shared it with her, she never knew what that meant personally. That event changed her life.

Mrs. G met her husband in college. She thought he looked like a long haired Elvis. Mr. and Mrs. G are techno geeks and love to “noodle” with buttons and knobs and tweak sounds. Mrs. G sings, is a sound engineer and a DJ. In her day job she works with little kids and their families. Mrs. G goes by the nickname Mozepy, which is a combination of three words Moo, Zebra and Preppy. All were considered insults to her as a teenager.

Mrs. G's favorite number is 9 because it looks like a sideways balloon on a string and because of cool number tricks that helped me learn multiplication. Favorite color is yellow, as it makes her happy. Mrs. G was adopted and has been blessed to know her birth mother, who also led her to salvation through Jesus Christ. Her husband is also adopted. She has a step brother, half brother and two half sisters but grew up as an only child. Mr. G knows very little about his birth parents. Their son Zeph is in T&T.

Now it is your turn. I want you to either respond with a comment or email a little about you. You can be as open or closed as you want. We really are interested in who we spend every Tuesday with. I need your responses before next Wednesday before club. If you want your prize, you gotta be there to claim it.

See you next Tuesday.

Mrs. H and Crew