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Showing posts from July, 2013

The Meaning of 2 Eggs

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   Today, as we commonly do, we took an afternoon walk as a family around our village. We like to greet everyone and usually pick one of the fountains of the village as our destination point since it's hot out and the fountains run with the cool water from off the mountains. By the fountain we went to today, we met an elderly man who smiled and said hello as we passed by and then on our way back, he stopped us and we spoke with him for a few minutes as he commented on our 3 children. Then he told us to wait a minute as he went back into his house and he brought us out 2 fresh eggs from his hen as a gift for feeding the children. Having 3 children in Italy draws a lot of attention and he congratulated us and told us that he always tries to do nice deeds for people that he meets. As we thanked him and said our goodbyes and I carried the eggs home, I thought about not only how much his genuine kindness did my heart good, but also how at night he would lay his head down on his pillo

Leave Your Leaves

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Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/ By Pam Iannello (my late mother) Fall is my favorite time of the year and it brilliantly adorns the countryside of Tennessee ! One can't help but think of the glory of God while observing the fall foliage. As we behold the trees glowing radiantly against the fading green background of summer, their colors remind us that a new season is again on its way.  You know ladies, as Christians, we are all as different as the shades of the leaves in fall but God has placed us together in the body of Christ with the intent of creating a beautiful picture! Hopefully it is one that the world can observe and praise God for the work and changes He has wrought in every one of our lives… As you consider the trees and their marvelous color changes, think about this verse and liken it to your own spiritual life as nature provides many a lesson for us in the beauty of the seasons. Mark 8:24 (KJV) And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.

Learning Through Serving

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RISE AND SHINE FOR JESUS! By Pam Iannello (my late mother) If someone were to approach you and ask you, “What is service?” How would you reply? Basically, service is work done for other people or for God. Service could be slave labor and service could be forced labor but service could also be sacrificial… Service could even be daily work as well as being in an army. Come to think of it, service takes on all sorts of forms! But service at its best is worship and personal ministry for the Lord.  And oh, what things we learn when we make ourselves servants of God! In fact, we gain a tremendous education no matter who or what it is we serve. And there are some things you just won’t know until you get busy… Think about it, dear lady - all day long a mother is serving her infant child and while she serves she is learning so much about that child! A newly wed wife who eagerly enters the state of matrimony learns a great deal about her new husband as she sets out to daily meet

Knowing Your Foolishness

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RISE AND SHINE FOR JESUS! By Pam Iannello (my late mother) Psalm 69:5 (KJV) O God, thou knowest my foolishness ; and my sins are not hid from thee. Folly appeals to the senses. The pleasure of folly is temporary. And where foolishness is found, sin is a close companion. Wisdom, on the other hand, appeals to the heart and mind. The satisfaction that wisdom brings lasts forever, and praise the Lord for it! Unfortunately, it is easier to excite the senses than it is good judgment… Do you know your foolishness, dear lady? Do you know your sins? If not, you might try considering how your senses are most often excited and you will surely uncover your errors and your follies. After that, the wise thing to do would be to secure your Christian testimony from your areas of vulnerability. We’re all pretty familiar with asking God for help with our sins but have you ever appealed to Him for freedom from foolishness? What are the characteristics of foolish behavior? The an

1.5% out of 900

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I have wonderful news today! The last 2 weeks we have seen 3 people come to know the Lord as their Savior! One was today at our village Bible study and what a blessing to see the Lord working on a person's heart and drawing them to Him as they realize their need for the Savior!  So that is now 1.5% of our village that are saved which is actually wonderful percentage for Italy and we aren't stopping there! There are at least 5 more that are actively being witnessed to/open to the Gospel and are getting closer and closer to accepting the Lord as their questions are answered one by one from the Bible. Please keep praying for our efforts here in Italy as the Lord is still saving souls. Do you know for sure where you will spend eternity? If not, click the link and watch the video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkYnf7fLTTU If you know for sure you are saved, please share the above youtube video created by my husband with your lost family and friends!

KNOWING YOUR CHILD

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Rise and Shine for Jesus! By Pam Iannello (my late mother) Proverbs 20:11 (KJV) Even a child is known by his doings , whether his work be pure , and whether it be right . As mothers, in preparing our children for future life, we can discern what their greatest struggles may be by examining their early inclinations. This is one of the ways the Bible says we can KNOW our children – by their individual doings .  In fact, the way that any person makes known to others what he is like is by his deeds – omitted and committed. Hypocrites can fool people for awhile, but eventually their actions will betray them… So then, what does the behavior of your child indicate? Are their doings infected with impurity? Are their manners true and good in all settings? Is their attitude right; their purposes untainted? While you are pondering the matter, stop and consider how others KNOW your child/children as well. What kind of an impression have your kiddies made upon other people? Y

Dad Visits for First Time

What a blessing that this last weekend while my Dad was in Italy on business, he took the time to come down to where we live to visit us! We were so thankful to show him all the neat things we've discovered while being here and he really enjoyed seeing "old Europe" in the hilltop town we live in. Of course, our children were ecstatic to see their Papa again and unfortunately, as all good times do, the visit came to an end too quickly. We are thankful to the Lord for lifting our spirits with a friendly, familiar face. Here is a glimpse of our time together...

Knots In Your Shoelaces

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Rise and Shine for Jesus! \O/ By Pam Iannello (my late mother) Did one of your children ever get frustrated over trying to accomplish a task that was difficult for them, yet they neglected to ask for help?  I have!  Let me use the example of trying to get a knot out of a shoelace...  Observing my children when they were little, I remember on various occasions witnessing frustration on each of their faces, or hearing huffs and puffs and moans and groans from another location of the house. From there it usually proceeds to catching a glimpse of them slamming the object with which they are struggling, then eventually quitting altogether and stomping away from their “trial” in tears.  As a parent, there I was sitting by - ready, willing, and able to help with the problem, but they just never asked me!  I'd quietly say, "Did you want some help?"  With an air of spirited independence came the answer, "No, I can do it myself." Having reached the broken and d

1st Birthday and Anniversary in Italy

Well, it's been a couple weeks since I've been able to write and yesterday I saw that a friend wrote to me and asked me quite a few good questions that I thought I would turn into a blog since others might have the same questions as well.... "How are things going in Italy? Are ya'll having a good response from the locals? How do the kids like it? I know that Harrison was planning on trying to do a teaching job there, has anything come of that yet?" How are things going? Well, things are going how you might expect for a missionary in Italy that's been here almost 3 months! :) The culture shock hasn't been too bad, but there have been many trials and tribulations. Our support has not come in since we've been here and we don't know the reasons why, but God has been graciously meeting our needs and literally giving us our daily bread. There are bills that will come in this month, and we don't know how they will be paid, but we are trustin