OVM News - May 2006

Shawn's Two Cents
I hope everyone is enjoying the new format. It is a great deal easier to manage and pulls in a whole new audience. I have received correspondence from folks that normally would not visit our web page and believe that this new format is an awesome new opportunity of ministry for OVM.

Please continue to keep my friend in your prayers as she fights to get away from her abusive husband. As threats and irrational behavior have come into play from him over the past several days against anyone that knows her, she is once again scared for her well being and that of her family. After all, he is a well trained and decorated marine. I guess they aren't that picky over who that honor now days.

Oh well, have a great weekend and hopefully you will hear more from us next week.

Devotion of the Month
I am a busy man. I live a busy life. I have a busy job, a busy church, and a busy family life. I feel at times that if I stop, the universe will fall apart. While I know this is not so in my heart, I have been going full power for so long that life tends to brainwash me to believe this.

While visiting Tybee this month, I took some time just to walk and listen to what God had to say to me. No deadlines, no prayer requests, no family to tend to - just me and God. As I walked the entire length of the island twice (from and then back to my motel), I enjoyed the time of silence. I could see the world living around me, but somehow I just felt like I was no thing more than an observer. I saw children chasing the waves, teenagers flirting with each other (I'm sure I was never that obvious), couples enjoying their time together, and parents putting their babies in the water for the first time. In the distance I could see people working their jobs, trying to earn money to take care of their families. I saw the world going on, but me - I just didn't feel a part of it.

Dr. Dobson of Focus on the Family once spoke of his daughter's hamster. He said that he would watch as the little hamster would try dilligently to escape the little cage while the family dog sat below the cage licking it's lips. The hamster was living it's life, trying to get what he could out of it all, not thinking about the unseen dangers that lie before him.

This pretty much sums up how I felt as I walked along the beach. For once, I was the one that was simply watching life go by. In that moment, God spoke to me as he hasn't in a long time. Maybe it was because for once I was silent. I didn't try to do all the talking, all I did was listen. Won't you try this month to spend some quiet time with God. Don't talk, just listen.

Web Page of the Month
www.fbcvision.com

We have been working on a new web page for our home church (First Baptist of Blairsville, Ga) for some time now and are proud to finally be able to present it to the public. Featuring sermon transcripts & powerpoints, an audio sermon podcast, updated church news, ministry information, and private items for members, we believe it opens an awesome new outreach opportunity for our church. Please check it out and let us know what you think.


OVM News is an outreach ministry of One Voice Ministries and OVM Online. For more information on our ministry and outreach projects, please visit us online at www.ovmonline.com.

Harry Potter and Satan's control over America's Schools

Anger filled my heart as I watched the Atlanta news tonight. A 15 year old girl spoke out about her experience with Harry Potter and how she was sucked into the Wiccan religion due to her school teaching from the Harry Potter books. She asked that the books be removed from the school , yet all of the teachers and many parents spoke out against her. "These books make children read." was spoken over and over again.

When Angela and I first moved to Blairsville, I witnessed the grip of Satan over the school system as I worked part time as a substitute teacher. As teacher after teacher began telling me that my remarks against the witch books were not appreciated and that there was nothing wrong with the books because they make kids read I was HORRIFIED. How could these "Christian" people teach such material?

Let's look back at the news report. What ifthis child had been converted to Christianity from Islam or any other religion that is accepted by our society by teachers using the Bible as reading material in class - making the statement that it ruined he life? It would be immediately banned from the classroom and nobody would dare stand up in defense. After all, the Bible shouldn't be in school anyway (isn't that what they say?).

Don't be confused by the rambling radio announcers. . . the books are not just in the library, THEY ARE TAUGHT FROM IN THE CLASSROOM and TEACHERS ENCOURAGE YOUR KIDS TO READ THESE BOOKS WHICH ENDORSE WITCHCRAFT!! I have seen it myself. OUR SCHOOLS ARE INFESTED and TEACHERS ARE BRAINWASHED. . even many of the ones you sit next to in church. I have seen classrooms decorated with Harry Potter junk, many teachers even have Harry Potter screensavers and themes on their computers, and yet we do absolutely nothing. Oh, we will stand against those who try to take God out of the constitution and remove the Ten Commandments from the courthouse, but we don't do anything to try to remove Satan from the schools. We are a sad people.

I preached against Harry Potter once in my own church. When I made the statement that Witchcraft was being accepted in our schools, a gasp filled the church. You could hear a pin drop. Most people turned me off then. Brainwashed!

What is the hold that Harry Potter has on our schools, our teachers. . our children? Satan is in charge and witchcraft is alive and well. It isn't a game, or a fun fantasy . . it is real, and it is taking over the next generation of children. Many of our children will go to Hell because of these teachings and the teachers that defend them. Is it enough that children are reading? Does content make any difference? It does to me. Maybe you are a teacher reading this, angry at my post. My only question to you is how many children have you sent to Hell? God help us all!

shawn

Domestic Violence up close and personal

Every day I deal with battered women - and every day my heart breaks at how much damage can be done by a man trying to compensate for his inadequacies. Every day I watch women who have battled abuse for years, some who have even watched as they were powerless to stop abuse of their children. I've seen broken jaws, arms, legs, and most of all, spirits.

I have always had a heart for Domestic Violence, and have always been very careful in counseling these broken souls - trying to make them understand that they are special, beautiful, deserving and capable of living a happy and prosperous life. It is very hard to convince a woman that the man that she loves, and that she THINKS loves her, is really just using her to fufill his need for control, but I have seen so many come through.

This month all of my training, experience & education in this area became personal as I watched a dear friend that I love dearly escape from a tyrant. I had felt that things were heading in this direction, but it had progressed much faster than I had even imagined. Hearing the things that he had done were no different from what I hear everyday, except that it was someone I cared about being abused. Even as I write this, I must fight back the tears that have plagued me for around a week now.

If you are a woman or man living in an abusive relationship, I beg of you to protect yourself and your family from the agony that you are going through. You can live without him, it isn't your fault, and there are people out there with resorces and the heart to help you get started on your new life. If you have any questions, email us at admin@ovmonline.com. Stop the cycle before it passes on to another generation!

I love you all,

~Shawn