Writings, Poems and Stories     "A stale Christian is a Christian who needs a little, "Moisture" to refresh their soul".                                                                                          -C. Dunkin- Bread that is left open becomes stale, in that same way Christians can also become stale. Bread can be refreshed by adding a bit of moisture. In this same way a Christian can also be refreshed with water, John 4:13-14 Tells us; "Jesus answered and said unto her, whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life". Below are articles, poems, and stories having to do with Christianity. Some are writen by us, some are writings that were sent to us that we felt worthy of posting here. If you have a writing you would like to share with others, we would be happy to put it up on this page. Trusting God With The Faith Of A Child Copywrite 2007 - Carmella Dunkin What does it mean to trust God with the faith of a child? Well I guess the answer to that question all depends on who you ask. For me, the answer is simple, "to have so much faith and trust in God, and believe so strongly that he will take care of your every need that you are willing to head out on the road with your husband, three kids, a van with almost 200,000 miles on it, over loaded to a point that it looks like you are popping a wheely $1500.00 to your name, (and not a penny more anywhere), and absolutely NO idea of where it is you are going, other than West to find a place to build a community to help sick people. Now that is having the faith of a child, and that is exactly what our family did. On May 10th at approximately 5:00 PM, we set off for.... We did not know! All we knew was we were being led by God away from the town, the state , that had nearly claimed the lives of our whole family, and left us all very sick, and was being drawn to the Western part of the Country. Our initial plan was to take I-70 West to Denver, then take I-25 down into New Mexico, and find an area in New Mexico that we liked. As things turned out though, we ended up going to Dan’s mom’s house in South Bend, Indiana first to say good bye since we were going so far away and had no idea when we would ever be able to make it back. From there we took the 80 across and into Chicago, then we went South to St. Louis. Just a bit East from St. Louis is a small town called Granite City, Illinios, which is where I am originally from and where my Grandma and Grandpa live. We stopped in and spent the night with grandma and grandpa, then we headed into Missouri to see our son TJ in Union, Missouri. After seeing TJ, we headed up to Kansas City to get on I-70, (you know Denver bound), once we got into Kansas we found a nice KOA where we camped for 3 days. It was in a college town called Lawrence, and let me tell you, the streets in that town where CRAZY!!! However it was a pretty cool little town, and we enjoyed our stay at the KOA there. From Lawrence, we headed South to Wichita to stay with a family friend. Unfortunately by that time my allergies to the outdoors of the Midwest were so bad, I could barely see. My eyes were so red and swollen and burned so bad, plus my voice was entirely gone. So we did not even stay the night, never got to see our friend either : ( At that point we wanted to get into the desert area so bad, that we decided instead of going back up to the I-70, we would just skip going through Colorado and go directly to New Mexico. We wanted to go through Colorado because we were unsure of just where God was leading, and we felt drawn to Colorado, but also felt that the desert of New Mexico was what we needed. Never go on what you think you need, it is all about what God wants for you that matters, and God will get what he wants, sooner or later no matter what you do. So anyway, we headed for New Mexico, ignoring what we felt we where supposed to do. We made it almost to Texas that day and spent the night in a KOA cabin in Oklahoma close to the Texas State line. The next morning, we set out for Tucumcarri New Mexico where we spent the night at another KOA cabin. New Mexico was very beautiful, but there was just something that felt like we were not in the right place. We continued into Alberqurque and spent a day and a night there, but for some reason we did not feel as though we belonged there! We felt like aliens on a strange planet, besides it was way too big for us, and too fast paced. We also discovered something about New Mexico, the construction of their homes and buildings is by and large adobe with flat roofs. Flat roofs tend to develop leaks, even in areas that don’t see much rain, and this causes mold growth which fires up our allergies which is why we were heading to the drier Southwest, so we headed north to Las Vegas New Mexico. Very nice town, friendly people, but the wind was horrible and it did not feel like the right place still. So we headed to Raton New Mexico, a small town just South of the Colorado State line, (see what I mean, you have to follow what God wants, sooner or later he wins). It was nice there, and the mountains and wild life was spectacular, but it still did not feel like the right place. So after a few days we headed North for Colorado and ended up in a small town that used to be a mining town called Trinidad. Now we started feeling like we were where we were supposed to be, so we went to a couple of Realtors and asked about temporary rentals while we look for land to start building the community. Unfortunately rentals were prized gems and were grabbed up as soon as they hit the market, and we were about out of money and could not stay and wait, and hope that a rental would open up. We stayed at the Trinidad Lake State park for a few days, it was awesome! After a few days we continued on to a little town about 40 miles North of Trinidad called Walsenburg. We went to the Lathrop State park and stayed a couple of days, checked out the town, and decided we liked it a lot and went to a Realtor and as luck would have it, she not only had a house for rent, but she had a house that had no carpeting at all, (remember my allergies? Carpet kills me, so I have to have hardwood, or linoleum). For the most part this house is in good shape, there are a few issues, but they are in the basement and only minimally affect us. For the next year Walsenburg will be home, it’s a nice town, with very friendly people, and did I mention that this is God’s Country out here? It is so beautiful here. We are now looking for the property to build the first "The Joy Of Hope Foundation Community". We are looking at a valley West of here. Land is cheap and the Country is just so awesomely beautiful. So that is our story and why we believe and trust in God so much, that we have the faith of a child and will always trust and believe that if we listen to God’s calling, and follow what He wants, not what we want, or think we need, then we will be just find and everything we need, God will see to it that it is provided for us. BTW, we believe that since we were thinking we needed to be in New Mexico, but felt like God wanted us in Colorado, we believe the diversion to Witchita Kansas was Gods way of diverting us to New Mexico first, instead of driving all the way down there then bringing us back. He knows what is best, and showed us what we thought we wanted first, then lead us to where He wanted us. If you would like more info on "The Joy Of Hope Foundation" and what we hope to achieve, please visit us at: http://www.thejoyofhope.com   This morning when the Lord opened a window to Heaven, he saw me, and he asked: My child, what is your greatest wish for today? I responded: "Lord please; take care of the person who is reading this message, their family and their special friends." The love of God is like the ocean, you can see its beginnings but Not its end. ANGELS EXIST, but sometimes, since they don't all have wings we call them FRIENDS, SUCH AS YOU. Pass this on to your friends and family.     If God brings it to you- God will bring you through it.  V   ,//// ........, ___________ *'o oo`* /__/ _/.._ ____/.. ```)"(''' | | | | | | | || |l+-+-+-+-| ,,.-*o' ,,.-*~*~*-.,, `o*-. :oo *~*~*-..,, As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. DIRECTIONS TO OUR FATHER'S HOUSE. Make a Right onto Believeth Blvd. Keep straight and go through the Green Light, which is Jesus Christ. There, you must turn onto the Bridge of Faith , which is over troubled water. When you get off the bridge, make a Right turn and Keep Straight. You are on the King's Highway - Heaven-bound. Keep going for three miles: One for the Father, One for the Son, and One for the Holy Ghost. Then exit off onto Grace Blvd. From there, make a Right turn on Gospel Lane . Keep Straight and then make another Right on Prayer Road . As you go on your way, Yield Not to the traffic on Temptation Ave. Also, avoid SIN STREET because it is a DEAD END. Pass up Envy Drive , and Hate Avenue . Also, pass Hypocrisy Street , Gossiping Lane , and Backbiting Blvd. However, you have to go down Long-suffering Lane , Persecution Blvd. And Trials and Tribulations Ave. But that's all right, because VICTORY Street is straight ahead! AMEN!!!!! SEND THESE DIRECTIONS TO YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY SO THEY WILL NOT GET LOST. Life is God's gift to you. The way you live it............is your gift to God. Bless the LORD Oh my soul & All that is within me Bless His Holy Name! Bless the LORD Oh my soul & Forget not all His benefits! Who forgives all thy inequities... Who heals all thy diseases... Who redeems thy life from destruction... Who crowns thy life with loving-kindness & tender mercies! Psalms 103: 1-4 Have a Jesus filled day!     APPLES A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which held a display of baskets of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding. All but one. He paused, took a deep breath, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved goodbye, told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor. He was glad he did. The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd swirled about her, no one stopping, and no one to care for her plight. The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them into he baskets, and helped set the display up once more. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket. When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, "Here, please take this $20 for the damage we did. Are you okay?" She nodded through her tears. He continued on with, "I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly." As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, "Mister...." He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes. She continued, "Are you Jesus?" He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul: "Are you Jesus?" Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and paid in full for our damaged fruit. Let us live like we are worth the price He paid. -- Author Unknown   -- Hi, I just want you to know how very special you are, your so awesome Jesus actually died for you. Thats pretty special. I hope you and your family have a wonderful and safe week. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...Someone said "Show me where GOD is".... So I Said "Show me where GOD isn't!"... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A man may go to heaven...... without health, without wealth; without fame, without a great name; without learning, without earnings; without culture, without beauty; without friends and without ten thousand other things----- But he can NEVER go to Heaven without Christ.   Scriptures Know God...Know Jesus -- Know Love...Peace...Hope...Eternal Life. John 17:3 "May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love." --Ephesians 3:17 "Your GOD is here...He'll calm you(r fears) with His love and delight (over) you with His songs." --Zephaniah 3:17 This is eternal life: knowing the One True God, and Jesus Whom He sent. Jesus, John 17:3   ************************************* I Don't Know I don't know what to do anymore I feel like my world is falling right through the floor Oh Father please help me, I don't know how to go on I feel as if all hope for my family and I is now gone I'm told by friends that not asking for help makes me a sinner Yet when I do ask for help I'm treated and made to feel like a looser I don't know what to do anymore and sometimes I just feel like giving up but that is when I sit and Pray and ask you for your help I know that all of this is part of a bigger plan one that you have planned for us it's just that sometimes it gets so tuff trying to live through all this mold and dust Copyright 2005-Carmella Dunkin   ************************* Father Why? Father why must there be so much pain in this world? Father why has everyone turned their backs on you? Father why does life have so much pain, Father why? Father why do we allow the slaughter of unborn babies? Father why do we allow gay rights? Father why are we all turning our backs on you, Father why? Father why can this world not get along? Father why is there so pain, Father why? *********************** Things I Wish I Had Money to support missionaries and to help the needy Not to mention money to help our Church to grow and prosper A home that is safe and won't make us all sick, A car that can be trusted to travel up to 66 ******************************** "I'd rather be poor and know that I was poor because I gave, than to be rich and know I was rich because I coveted." - Carmella Dunkin I love History as much as I love Jesus, because it is HIStory! -Carmella Dunkin ********************************  Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.Ps 33:2-4 ***************************************** "For God so loved the world, he sent his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in him shall never die, but have eternal life." *********************************************** I shall allow no man to belittle my soul by making me hate him. -Booker T. Washington *********************************************** If you have a favorite qoute or poem and would like to share it with others who visit this site, just send me an e-mail and I will post it here.