Inspirations & Photography

Have you ever heard the term “there’s a church on every corner”?  I have. Not only have I heard it, it’s absolutely true! Today, you can literally drive in any city and see a church on every corner. Why is this? And when did this happen? Well I’ve been recently thinking about this very subject, and during my research and meditation on the matter I remembered a scripture found in Romans 15:20-22 “My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has NEVER been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures where it says “Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand” In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.” This passage was spoken by the Apostle Paul, who for one wrote most of the new testament letters (by the Spirit of God of course) and secondly he was called by God and Jesus himself to go into such regions to start churches in these areas where NO OTHER CHURCH was present preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Wouldn’t it be fair to say that Paul was an authority on this matter? And wouldn’t it also be fair to say that Jesus, who is the Head of the church (body of Christ) revealed this to Paul? So then “why” have the Christian leaders NOT adhered to this truth and understanding?

Let’s take a look at what Paul said to the church at Ephesus (at the end of his ministry) found in Acts 20:28-31 “So guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd God’s flock–His church, purchased with his own blood–over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as elders.” I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock (wanting their own agenda). Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you–my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.” The Apostle Paul was warning the church then and now to be aware of such people. Now I am not saying that every church leader that has started a church across the street or even blocks from one another are the wolves, BUT I personally believe that over the last 2,000 years after Paul spoke to the church about this matter that it actually did happen and that over the years our leaders HAVE been influenced by others (this my friend is tradition passed down from those who were before us)  and have not followed the words of Jesus or His Apostles that were appointed by Him to oversee the church as a whole. Hence that is why there are so, so many denominations! Even those of us who call ourselves non-denominational have become our own denomination in our own way because of our beliefs.  And so throughout the last 2,000 years what Paul said by the Spirit of God did indeed happen. Let’s look again at verse 30 “Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following.”  Stop. If the Truth was NOT distorted we would not be in competition with one another, starting churches across the street from each other because of “our” personal beliefs and because we believe  that “our” doctrine is correct! No, had our leaders before us not listened to the “wolves” as Paul described we would not have fallen into this trap of “distorting” the truth–we’d do what the Holy Spirit said through Paul and go into areas where Jesus Christ is NOT being proclaimed.

It’s my personal prayer that we as Christian believer’s and Ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ get back to the words, teachings and instructions of our Lord and Savior AND the Apostles (appointed by the Lord Himself). Leaders, ministers of God called and appointed by Jesus Christ, by all means “Go into all the world” and preach the Gospel of Jesus…but let’s remember to go into areas, (the Harvest) where God has not yet sent laborers to start a church(s) just as Paul said.

God led our family to Ponce Inlet to start the FIRST church of any kind in our town. By the Grace of God we drove our stake in the ground and began to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and by His Grace we are still here today teaching about Jesus, helping and leading others to follow Him and His teachings. We are also active in practicing His commandment to Love followed by action in helping others in need. John 15, Mathew 25, James 2 and 1John 3. To God be the Glory!

by~Pastor Nina Tidwell
Ponce Church, Ponce Inlet, FL find us on Facebook Ponce Church Surfside~Ponce Inlet, FL

The new “Duets” which aired Thursday, May 24th was just in time! With American Idol finishing their 11th season, “Duets could not have picked a better week to debut their first show of the season.  I love the fact that “Duets” is  so very different from Idol,  The Voice and X Factor. I also love the  idea of pairing up artists who have made their way in the music industry with contestants who have the vocals that compliment each artist.

Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Robin Thicke and Jennifer Nettles have traveled the US to find 2 singers each as their duet partners. “The fact that I get to go out and find 2 people I believe in, sing with them every week and help them accompish their dream is an amazing thing I can’t wait to be a part of” said Clarkson in a press release statement from ABC. Each artist judges one another’s performances with their contestants.

The show kicked off with Nettles’s singing “Tonight” with contestant J Rome. Next in line was John Legend singing “Ordinary People” with contestant Johnny Gray. The third performance of the evening was with Robin Thicke and contestant Olivia Chisholm singing “Lost Without You” and last but not least of the first round of performances was Kelly Clarkson singing “Breaking Your Own Heart” with contestant Jason Farol. During the 2nd half of the show John Legend sang “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” with contestant Bridget Carrington. Jennifer’s second performance was with contestant John Glosson singing “Stay”. Robin performed “Magic” with contestant Alexis Foster. And finally the last performance of the evening was Kelly and Jordan Meredith singing “What Doesn’t Kill You (Stronger)”

Of all the great performances of the evening I felt that Kelly and Jordan’s duet was one of the strongest on the show. Jordan who is one of Clarkson’s biggest fans has a real uniqueness in her voice and given her talent she has what it takes to be a great artist.  I was however very surprised at the results of the evening given the amazing performance by these two  and it appears that Kelly was even more surprised.  Jordan came in 7th out of 8 performances total.

The following is the final scoreboard of this evenings show:
Position #1 – J Rome
Position #2 – Johnny Gray
Position #3 – Alexis Foster
Position #4 – John Glosson
Position #5 – Olivia Chisholm
Position #6 – Bridget Carrington
Position #7 – Jordan Meredith
Position #8 – Jason Farol

The show is said to air for a total of nine weeks and the winner gets a recording contract with Hollywood Records.

The reason why I’ve chosen this title is because it’s true! Growing up I never had  a weight problem, but as I got older, especially after having children, I have always fluctuated in my weight.  Once I became an aerobic instructor while living in Arizona, I was more mindful of what I was eating. I did what nearly every women who is  active would do and that is “watch” and be “aware” of what we’re eating.

Once we moved from AZ back to Michigan where I grew up, I continued with being active by brisk walking every day and of course keeping a close eye on my diet.  But once we moved to Florida, and started the first church in the history of our beautiful town of Ponce Inlet (Ponce Church) I let it all slip.  I found myself walking less and eating all the wrong foods, especially sugar! I remember driving over the bridge to the local Duncan Donuts getting my chocolate glazed donuts and coffee and sitting by the river enjoying the view. This became a habit and a bad one at that!  Then with the stress of starting a new church, I turned to food for comfort and this continued for nearly nine and a half years apart from one brief 6 months or so when my heart was not functioning correctly and because of a short bought of depression brought on by the doctors not being able to pinpoint the problem, I was unable to eat and so I quickly dropped the pounds. But thanks to the Lord for sending a heart specialist to find and fix the problem, I began getting back to my old self. I did begin to exercise a little bit more, but not enough.

Another thing that I have noticed over the last few years is my body’s response to sugar. I found that I am not able to eat too much of it (which is a good thing) due to the fact that my body reacts similar to a diabetic.   When I was in the hospital a few years ago I asked them to check for diabetes but the results came back negative. Needless to say, I am very happy that I cannot eat sugar like I did when I was younger.  Which now brings to mind Paula Deen. We all know her as the Queen of butter and cream. Not anymore! She was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and has lost 2 pants sizes. She says she also walks 30 minutes a day. Good for her! Not only has she adopted a healthier lifestyle, she’s also now able to influence all of her butter lover fans!

OK back to my story. Due to the lack of regular aerobic exercise and healthy eating, I maintained a very unhealthy weight for many years up until about 5 months ago (2012). Last summer I began to ride my bike a couple of times a week and watch my sugar intake, and because of this I did begin to see a slight difference, but not enough. My plan was to lose weight to buy a nice dress for our older sons wedding (November 12, 2011) but I did not quite reach my goal. I was hoping to be able to fit into a size 13-14, but was disappointed when all I could wear was a size 16. I hated this! I know hate is a very strong word, but I was so disappointed in myself that I allowed myself to get to this size! I like Paula Deen, do not weigh myself, that my friends can be one of the most depressing things a woman can do. I like to go by inches and dress/pant sizes  (I learned this method from being a certified aerobic instructor.  Those who do weight training increase the muscle which weighs more than fat)

So when did I REALLY wake up?  When I saw some photo’s of me dancing in a line with others at our sons and Brandi’s beautiful wedding. I could not believe what I saw!!! I thought to myself, “Do I REALLY look like that?!!”  Well friends this wake-up call moved me to take it serious this time.  In December of 2012 I began to ride my bike daily, I don’t mean a leisurely ride, I mean serious aerobic pedaling. Again I started to see a little more difference in the way my clothes fit, but still not enough. About six weeks ago I read an article that helped me with choosing healthier foods and continue my exercise regime.  It said to cut out 500 calories a day. Mine began with peanut butter of which I LOVE! Every night I would eat a peanut butter bagel or toast. Not anymore!! Just 2 tablespoons of my favorite Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter comes packed with a whopping 200 calories and 16 grams of fat! Another thing I began to do is eat more fruit! Fruit has fiber (which helps you to feel full longer). I have also cut out bread. I now eat high fiber wraps in place of bread. I eat tuna, turkey and chicken wraps.  I no longer order fries when I go out to eat, I get a side salad instead (another tip from my article) and if I want a taste I’ll take 2 or 3 from my hubbies plate!

One other MAJOR change I’ve stumbled across Smart One’s by Weight Watches. No, I am not a member of Weight Watcher’s but I was turned on to this very tasty, low-calorie a high protein, high fiber entree’s when I saw one in our freezer.  I ate it and it was soooo delicious and it filled me up because of the protein and fiber content! Listen folds, I’ve always steered away from frozen meals because in the past they tasted awful, especially the “diet” ones, ugh! But not these, I buy the meatless versions. They have a huge variety to choose from. I purchase mine at Wal-mart for only $1.98 per entree (meatless), what a deal!! My husband and our younger son loves them too! So when I don’t want to cook, we just heat up a Smart One!  And instead of bread with my meal, I take one of my Flat Out fiber wraps and lightly brush with EVOO add a little garlic salt ( very little) slice them in tortilla chip sizes and broil for approx; 1 minute. We also make our own healthy pizza  (no meat) using whole wheat flour and it is just simply delicious! I also opt for baked chips instead of the regular. Be careful with these as well, watch your portions!  I no longer sit and eat half a bag, I put a serving in a small bowl. Oh yeah, it really helps to use smaller plates and bowls, you’ll eat less, but your eyes see a full plate, trust me it works!

I am happy to say that I have finally fit into my new pair of white summer shorts that are 2 sizes smaller than what I’ve been wearing.  Now I am not finished with losing inches, but I have learned from the article that I read to be “patient”.  Losing weight the healthy way is the best way!! I do not look at it as dieting, I see it as making healthier choices!