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It's time to sing our praises to the Lord! For too long our songs of praise have been drown out by the complaining, nagging, screaming, and sinful voices that this world has to offer – but no more! It's time to stand up, raise our voices, and make His praise heard over all the hubbub and confusion! Stand up for the Truth! Get off your pews and make a joyful noise unto the world! Join me as we, the Church, proclaim His name, and make our Father proud!
In His Service, Matt TABLE OF CONTENTS ACROSTIC FOR NOVEMBER WHAT DO YOU THINK? BIRTHDAY GREETING INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT WORD IN ACTION SING YOUR PRAISE TO THE LORD THINK ABOUT IT! TESTIMONY TIME CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH RECIPE OF THE MONTH QUICK TIP OF THE MONTH CRAFT OF THE MONTH SKIPPING STONES BIBLE QUIZ CHECK IT OUT! JEM'S PUZZLER OF THE MONTH ACROSTIC FOR NOVEMBER By: Denise Imbody Now is the time for us to praise Our Heavenly Father by lifting our Voices in song throughout the Earth...for He is our Creator and we are His Masterpieces...and we Belong to Him Eternally and that alone should make us want to Rejoice and give thanks in praise! --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Do you have an opinion or thought that you'd like to share with JEM-Precious Stones readers? Well, here is your chance...if you'd just like to comment on the E-zine or if you have something on your mind about current events that you'd like to share...as long as they are clean and family oriented and NOT against God and His Word...please feel free to share them with us, and we'll use them if we can. Comment Submitted by: Matthew Imbody Since it began, JEM has had a devotion list. In the past several months, however, I have been very unfaithful in getting these devotions out – so much so, that our list on Associate.com was deleted by the owner. This month, I'm coming to YOU to ask you what you think about a devotion list. Is it something we should start up again, or has it outlived it's usefulness? You can write me at the JEM Devotion address, or you can put in a “yes” vote for a devotion list just joining it. The address to join is, Devotion-subscribe@yahoogroups.com Thank you all so much. As I said, I haven't been faithful putting devotions out, but, if you all want me to try again, I know that God is faithful to provide all our needs. :) --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- BIRTHDAY GREETING Happy Birthday to those celebrating their special day in November. How we thank God for you and pray that He is fulfilling His purpose in you each day. May the eyes of your heart be enlightening so that you know Him and the hope to which He has called you. Blessings for your day and the days ahead. --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHT By: Gwen Tweedy For the victory He has won, Praise Him Higher! For the gift of His own Son, Praise Him Higher! For a home in heaven above, Praise Him Higher For Father, Hope and Love, Praise Him higher. For listening to our prayers, Praise Him Higher For showing us He Cares, Praise Him Higher. There's no other friend so true, praise Him Higher. When you're down and filling blue, Praise Him Higher. When all comfort and solice seems to fail, Praise Him Higher . His strength and courage will prevail, Praise Him Higher. When you are on that mountain top, or in that valley low; I'll tell you where to go, Praise Him Higher! --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- WORD IN ACTION By: Jan Dobens Ways to praise your Lord! With your heart: Psalm 86:12 I will praise Thee, O Lord my God, with my whole heart; And I will glorify Thy name for evermore. With your whole heart: That means holding nothing back. I know for me for 21 years I have been a Christian and God is doing all He can to Strip away the things in my heart that do not please Him and I hold so tightly to. If I let go, I will praise Him with my whole heart. With your breath: Psalm 150:6 Let everything that hath breath praise Jehovah. Praise You Jehovah. “Are you breathing? As long as we have breath and we say we serve Jesus, we need to praise the Lord.” With Singing: Psalm 147:1 Praise Ye Jehovah; For it is good to sing praises unto our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is comely. Sing? Yes, sing. He did not say you had to have the perfect voice, just to sing and it pleases Him. With Instruments: Psalm 150:4 Praise Him with timbrel and dance: Praise Him with stringed instruments and pipe. Do you have the ability to play an instrument? The play it and play it for the glory of God. With your Lips: Psalm 51:15 O Lord, open Thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth Thy praise. How often in the day do we bring praises to the Lord with our words? I am so guilty of complaining and thinking negatively. “Lord, help me praise You with my mouth.” You know, if you’re at work, or talking to neighbors and they talk about all the things that are wrong, it is a great time for us to turn the conversation around to praising the Lord. No one who serves Him can tell me they have nothing to praise Him for. Reasons for praising Him: Grace: Ephesians 1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved This scripture just makes my heart skip a beat with joy. Read it, digest it, and praise Him because of the free gift of grace. His Mighty Acts: Psalm 150:2 Praise Him for His mighty acts: Praise Him according to His excellent greatness. Loving Kindness: Psalm 63:3 Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise Thee. Righteousness: Philippians 1:11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. Strength: Psalm 21:13 Be thou exalted, O Jehovah, in Thy strength: So will we sing and praise Thy power. You must see what I am saying and I pray we will praise our Lord with all that is with in us. * Editor's note: Yes! praise ye the Lord! May all we are, all we do, all we feel and all we live praise His Mighty Name! Praise Ye the LORD! --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- SING YOUR PRAISE TO THE LORD By: Denise Imbody As you can see we've been focusing on how we should sing our praise to the Lord in this issue. And that is great, and all very true, but if you are like me, there are times (as sad and true as it is) that we just don't "feel like" singing praise to Him. Or maybe, we are spent, and out of strength to sing praise. But no matter how we "feel" or not we should always sing praise to Him, because He gives us joy unspeakable and full of glory (Another good song, btw.)...and this joy is a constant thing, so should our praise be a continual thing. I know we have been quoting a piece of the song that we've been featuring each month, this year, but I would like to quote a part of another song. It is titled PRAISE THE LORD, and is by the Imperials. It starts off like this... When you're up against a struggle that shatters all your dreams And your hopes have been cruelly crushed by satan's manifested schemes And you feel the urge within you, to submit to earthly fear Don't let the faith you're standing in, seem to disappear CHORUS Praise the Lord He can work through those who praise Him Praise the Lord ...and that is just part of the song...think about that with me for a moment. "He can work through those who praise Him"...WOW!!! Just that line alone should make us all want to just begin praising Him no matter what is going on...doesn't it? Now, let's look at a bit of the actual song title we are featuring this month. It is SING YOUR PRAISE TO THE LORD, it is written and sung by Rich Mullins, but you might remember a more popular version done by Amy Grant, back in the early 80's... CHORUS Sing your praise to the Lord Come on, everybody Stand up and sing one more Hallelujah Sing your praise to the Lord I can never tell ya Just how much good It's gonna do ya ...and part of the second verse goes like this... So, forget the game of being good and your self righteous pain Cause the only good inside your heart Is the good that Jesus brings ...sounds like words that just reflect the earlier words from the PRAISE THE LORD song. See, if we take the time to praise Him no matter how we are feeling, or what's going on, He is going to work through us. I don't know about you, but this sounds like the best way to go about things..praising Him no matter what! Ü --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- THINK ABOUT IT! Swallow your pride occasionally, it's non-fattening! --Author Unknown to Us --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- TESTIMONY TIME My Testimony: By Barbara Lea Campbell All of us have times where we are in a funk.. or a bad mood. Maybe we are worried.. sad.. frustrated.. sometimes we just feel down for no real reason. I have learned that the best way to lift myself out of that pit is to praise the Lord... even if I don't FEEL like praising. There is just something about the act of praising. There are several ways I praise the Lord. I will speak verses of praise to Him... I especially love Ps. 103:1-5 and I like to personalize the Scripture and speak it to the Lord: I praise You, O Lord with all my soul... all my inmost being praises Your holy name. How I praise You, Lord with all my soul remembering all Your benefits. You forgive my sins... heal me... You have redeemed my life from the pit and crowned me with love and compassion... You satisfy my desires with good things so that I am renewed! O Lord, how I praise You. I also praise Him for who He is in my life and what He has done and promises to do.. in this way, I am not only praising Him, I am claiming His Word. Things like.. I praise You, Lord, for You are Jehovah-Jireh.. the Lord who provides and You have promised to provide for all my needs (Phil 4:19)... and I praise You for that.. for You always keep Your Word! And finally.. I praise Him with song... I sing His praises. God isn't looking for pitch perfect singing.. He is listening to your heart! Often, I turn on Praise music and sing along, but at other times I just start singing. I have been known to sing in a lot of places... store parking lots... my back yard.. walking around the neighborhood... pretty much anywhere! I find that when I sing praises to Him, it is as if those praises push out whatever is causing my bad mood. When I just don't feel like praising, I turn on praise music... I find I am drawn into it and my heart starts to praise even before my lips do! So when you are feeling down, lift up your head and praise the One who loves You most and will never leave You. Works for me every time! ***If you would like to share your testimony in an upcoming issue of JEM Precious Stones, please feel free to send it to Precious_Stones@JEMMinistries.org. If we use it, you will get full credit, but please know that due to the number of contributions, and other concerns, we may not be able to use all submissions.*** --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- CHALLENGE OF THE MONTH We really should be getting into God’s word, as much as we possibly can. We would like to encourage you with a challenge each month, to memorize a portion of Scripture. So, we will provide a passage, and hope that you will take the time to study it daily. If you are already doing this on your own, that is great--we just thought with prayer, and making it a bit easier for some folks, that we could help those who may not be doing this yet. All passages will be from the King James Version of the Bible. We do not mind other versions, and you can study it in whichever version you like. We have chosen KJV, because it is public domain. We pray that you will hide His word in your heart. Psalm 104 33 I will sing unto the LORD as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the LORD. --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- RECIPE OF THE MONTH Submitted by: Joy Taylor Pumpkin Spice Bread INGREDIENTS
In a large bowl, combine sugar, oil and eggs. Add pumpkin and mix well. Combine dry ingredients; add to the pumpkin mixture alternately with water. Pour into two greased 9-in. x 5-in. x 3-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 60-65 minutes or until bread tests done. Cool in pans 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack; cool completely. Do you have an original recipe that you would like to share? Click here to submit it! --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- QUICK TIP OF THE MONTH Submitted by: Barbara Lea Campbell Reopening Envelopes If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily. * Editor's note: Don't use this tip to read your spouse's mail. That's just rude...LOL Do you have an original Quick Tip that you would like to share? Click here to submit it! --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- CRAFT OF THE MONTH Submitted by: Denise Imbody I thought since we were focusing on SINGING OUR PRAISES to the Lord that this would be a really nice gift to make for any occasion...and what better time with Christmas coming up?! :) Materials Needed:
or you can do this on a computer if you prefer What To Do...
***If you have an original recipe, quick tip, or craft, that you would like to share with us, please send it in with your first and last name, and your email address to Precious_Stones@JEMMinistries.org. If we use it, you will get full credit, but please know that due to the number of contributions, and other concerns, we will not be able to use all submissions.*** --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- Praise: "While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God. Psalm 146:2 Etchings: When we thank God for all blessings we receive each day, we have little time to complain about our circumstances. If we can think of nothing to be thankful for, we have a poor memory. We just need to add up the blessings the Lord has brought to each of us. Verse: 'I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1 Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank you for today and the blessings that we have received and teach us to praise You each day. May we be a blessing to others as we sing Your praises. Thank You, Amen. --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- BIBLE QUIZ In this section, you will find five questions each month. Scripture references will sometimes be provided, but other times you will have to seek out the answers. We pray this will help you to get to know God's Word more. There are a number of ways to praise the Lord... in fact, the Bible specifically tells us some ways. Let's look at 5 ways we can praise the Lord. 1) When praising this way, some have perfect pitch....others make a joyful noise... it all sounds wonderful to the Lord! 2) This method of praising can look a bit like an aerobic workout as we strive to reach up to Heaven. 3) Don't be silent.... praise the Lord this way so all can hear. 4) When your toe is tapping and your hands start clapping, get up and do this in praise to the Lord. 5) It is wonderful to praise the Lord in that still quiet time you have with Him, but we are also to praise Him in this setting. Click here for the answers --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- CHECK IT OUT! In this section we will share, and recommend our favorite website, book, movie, or any other favorite things we can think of to share with you. These are all highly recommended. CD of the Month: All to You (Live) Recommended by: Barbara Lea Campbell All to You (Live) by Lincoln Brewster Our e-zine focus this month is on praising the Lord and this CD is a great way to get us started! I have heard the name Lincoln Brewster for years, but never had his CDs until now. This is a tremendous CD! The songs focus on God and our relationship with Him. Not only will they get your toes tapping and your hands clapping (you cannot be still when you listen to this one!).. they will also get your heart soaring and your face turned up to the heavens. One thing I really love is that much of the wording used in his songs comes straight from Scripture. We start off with "Majestic".. proclaiming "Lord our Lord how majestic is Your name in all the earth..." followed by our desire to live for the Lord "Everyday". One of the most powerful songs, to me, is "Surrender".... in fact, the words are like a prayer: I'm giving you my heart, and all that is within I lay it all down for the sake of you my King I'm giving you my dreams, I'm laying down my rights I'm giving up my pride for the promise of new life And I surrender all to you, all to you And I surrender all to you, all to you I'm singing You this song, I'm waiting at the cross And all the world holds dear, I count it all as loss For the sake of knowing You for the glory of Your name To know the lasting joy, even sharing in Your pain For those who are fans of the Shrek movies, there is a fun surprise... "Another Hallelujah" is Brewster's remake of a song heard in the Shrek film. And the CD ends with a wonderful upbeat time of praise proclaiming to the Lord "You are Good!" There are plenty of other songs in between.. "Son of God", "All to You", "Love the Lord" and more. This is one of the absolute best CDs I have ever heard. It is more than just good music ... it is a tool to help you lift your voice in praise to your Lord and Savior. DVD of the Month: Gideon: Tuba Warrior Recommended by: Matthew Imbody Gideon: Tuba Warrior by VeggieTales If you know my family, then you know that we are all veggie-fanatics here. Now, I'm not saying that we love our peas and carrots – I'm saying that we love our VeggieTales, and we run out to get them every time a new story is served up on DVD. Now, I do have to admit that I haven't been impressed with all the new stories that have graced our DVD player. LarryBoy and the Bad Apple was the best story in a long time, and, so, with that wonderful title just released last summer, I was afraid that our favorite sink dwellers might relax a bit and let this newest Endeavor slip down the drain… But, to my great delight, they didn't! The DVD starts off, as usual, with Bob and Larry – but before our favorite tomato can do very much, the show is shanghaied by The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything! It seems the guys are getting board, and have decided to actually do something. Since Scrap booking is out, Bob finally, reluctantly decides to let Mr. Lunt, Pa Grape, and Larry, (who has, of course, joined his piratie buddies) do the show this time. The title story, of course, is the story of Gideon – but I was even more impressed with the first story that Pa Grape told about George Mueller, “a man who trusted God for everything” This story shows how we can trust God with everything – and does it in a way that many Christians would, sadly, think is ridiculous – or, at least, unpractical. Once you dry your eyes from George Mueller's story, you will be treated to Bob's hesitant performance of a Ukulele Karaoke, written by the French peas. Finally, Gideon: Tuba Warrior is the story of a humble tuba player who is called by God to defeat the enemy's advancing hoards with just a few men, some band equipment, and a couple dozen flashlights! You get the idea…LOL Gideon: Tuba Warrior is both entertaining and inspiring – full of laughs and things to ponder. It is, in my opinion, one of the Veggie's best efforts, and will certainly be watched many times in our home. Idea of the Month: Group Sing-a-long Recommended by: Denise Imbody I thought since we were focusing on SINGING OUR PRAISE TO THE LORD this month, that this would be a perfect time for this suggestion. It is the MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR, when we observe our Savior's Birthday. Now, I know we all know, that it is really not the actual part of the year when Jesus was born, but it is the time we have chosen to celebrate. What better way to combine our SINGING PRAISE and our CELEBRATION OF HIS BIRTH, than gathering together with friends and family? Have some practice time to sing some of your favorite Christmas songs--fun and serious or more traditional--and take your group on the road. You could visit some shut-ins, or patients in a hospital, nursing home, or rest home, or hey...maybe you could just do some Christmas caroling in your neighborhood. You will have so much fun, touching the Lord by lifting your voice in praise, and you never know who you will bless in the midst of all the joyous singing, and visiting. --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- JEM'S PUZZLER OF THE MONTH In this section you might find a word search, An unscramble the words, OR any kind of word puzzle. We hope you will have fun with it! Ü Unscramble these THANKSGIVING words.
Click here for the answers --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- Please feel free to pass this along! If you would like to be added to the JEM-Precious Stones mailing list, send an e-mail to Precious_Stones@JEMMinistries.org requesting to be added in the message field. If you are not a member of the JEM community, and you would like your name removed from this mailing list, please send a message to the above address, and request removal in the body of the e-mail. Please e-mail us with any comments, suggestions, or feedback, at: Precious_Stones@JEMMinistries.org. We would love to hear from you! We would also love it if you would visit our JEM website, at: http://www.JEMMinistries.org As we continue with this monthly E-zine, you will also find a link to past issues there. May God bless and keep you throughout this month! May He smile upon you, and show You mercy all of your days--and may You find peace in Him, and through Him! In Jesus' name, Amen Answers for this month's BIBLE QUIZ: 1) Sing our praises to Him -- Ps. 147:1 Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant and praise is becoming. NASB 2)Lift Our Hands in praise -- Ps. 134:2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the LORD. NIV 3) Speak praises to the Lord -- Heb. 13:15 Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. AMP 4) Praise Him with dancing-- Ps. 149:3 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with tambourine and harp.NIV 5) Together with other believers -- Heb. 2:12 I will proclaim Your name to my brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise. NASB --Back to BIBLE QUIZ-- --Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS-- Answers for JEM'S PUZZLER OF THE MONTH:
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