Ladies and Students

Thank you for visiting the Ladies Page. Christian Bulletin also features Vital Info, Fun Quips, and a Christian Treatise, where we speak of Christian subjects, and even society, culture and other religious and spiritual matters of interest. Come again soon, ya'all!

Christian Bulletin speaks of Christianity, society, culture, religion. Christian Bulletin also talks about the religious bulletin, the spirituality of different people, along with their spiritual condition. God is also mentioned in Christian Bulletin, along with Jesus, Jesus Christ or Christ himself. Psalms and Proverbs, along with the church is spoken of by faith. Christian Bulletin includes worship and mention of Baptist churches. Religious people don't mean to be too religious or seem too spiritual.

Pray for this Web Site and pass the name along, maybe via E-Mail with the Site Address at the end - www.christianbulletin.com

Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don't have film.

Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching. Jim Stovall. You don't have to be Blind to See. Thomas Nelson

O Jesus, Light of all below,
Thou Fount of life and fire
Surpassing all the joys we know
And all we can desire.

Tie in a living tether
The prince and priest and thrall;
Bind all our lives together,
Smite us and save us all.

In ire and exaltation
Aflame with faith and free,
Lift up a living nation–
A single sword to Thee.

And you as well must die, beloved dust,
And all your beauty stand you in no stead;
This flawless, vital hand, this perfect head,
This body of flame and steel, before the gust
Of Death, or under his autumnal frost,
Shall be as any leaf, be no less dead
Than the first leaf that fell,–this wonder fled.
Altered, estranged, disintegrated, lost.

Nor shall my love avail you in your hour.
In spite of all my love, you will arise
Upon that day and wander down the air
Obscurely as the unattended flower,
It mattering not how beautiful you were,
Of how beloved above all else that dies.
–Edna St. Vincent Millay

Somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond
Any experience, your eyes have their silence:
In your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
Or which I cannot touch because they are too near.

Your slightest look easily will unclose me
Though I have closed myself as fingers,
You open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(Touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose.

Or if your wish be to close me, I and
My life will shut very beautifully, suddenly,
As when the heart of this flower imagines
The snow carefully everywhere descending;

Nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
The power of your intense fragility: whose texture
Compels me with the colour of its countries,
Rendering death and forever with each breathing.

(I do not know what it is about you that closes
And opens; only something in me understands
The voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
Nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands.
–E. E. Cummings

When I Was One-and-Twenty

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free.
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
Tis paid with signs a plenty
And sold for endless rue.
And I am two-and-twenty,
And oh, ‘tis true, ‘tis true.
–A. E. Housman

The Bus Ministry
Pastor Jeff Fugate

Discipline on the Bus Route
Perhaps the questions asked most about the bus ministry are about discipline. These are most important questions. There must be a plan of action to care for discipline problems, or emotion and anger will cause a bigger problem than the bad behavior of the child. Remember that problems prevented are much better than problems solved!

For sake of space, let me get right to the instructions.
1. A set of rules needs to be posted inside the bus.
The rules to ride the bus to church need to be typed and posted on the bus where everyone can see and read them. The rules need to be concise and complete. The rules will only serve as a foundation for a good bus ride— they will not guarantee it.

The rules of a game allow us to play the game; they are not the purpose of the game. For example, in basketball the emphasis is not on the boundary lines, but there must be boundary lines within which the game is to be played. Similarly, the rules on the bus allow for the program to be conducted. The program is the purpose, and the rules allow the program to fulfill its purpose of teaching, training and enjoying the ride to church.

Here is an example of rules you could use on your bus.
• No hitting
• No cursing
• No running on the bus
• Everyone in a seat while the bus is in motion
• No arms and heads outside the windows
• No fighting
• No throwing of objects

There are many examples of rules posted online by almost every school district in America. These give an idea of necessary rules, and the experience of running a church bus program will also give you ideas on rules that need to be posted and followed. Perhaps the rules in your area will be rules that are familiar to your bus riders.

2. Rules need to be read aloud each week by the captain and riders.
Once everyone is on the bus, it is a good habit to read through the rules with the bus riders. Let them read the rules out loud with you. This will remind them and instill discipline in them. Discipline provides security.

You may also want to have the rules printed on your bus flier now and again so that the parents know what the rules are and that discipline is being enforced while their children are riding on the bus to and from church. Most parents appreciate discipline on the bus.

3. Rules must be enforced, or they become a problem rather than a solution.
4. Let the riders know of the punishment for not keeping the rules.

Here is a list of ideas for discipline.
• Correct in word and in love. Remind them of the rules.
• If a child is out of control or will not follow the rules on the bus, it is best for the captain to go talk to the parents.

Try to go that day if possible and let them know of the child's wrong behavior and the specific rule(s) broken. Often this corrects the problem, and many parents want to know if their children are not behaving on the bus.

NOTE: Please be reminded of the home situations in which many of our bus riders live. As you work your bus route, you will see that many lead difficult lives, and often a difficult day at home causes the child to misbehave on the bus ride.

• Take away a privilege. When your riders get on the bus, remind them of any promotion you are having that day. I think it is best, when possible, to give any promotional item at the end of the bus ride.

Let the riders know that they can lose their right to the promotion if they do not behave. (If this happens, be sure to meet the parents and let them know the true story, so the children are not dishonest about why they did not receive the promotion that day.)

• If problems persist, tell the rider that he cannot ride the bus for two weeks. Again, meet with the parents to let them know the offense and the decision that you had to make.

During the two weeks that he cannot ride, be sure to visit him anyway to assure him of your love for him. This often causes children to become closer to the captain and gives an opportunity for greater influence in their lives. When they learn of a promotion they are missing or a special day they are missing, this encourages good behavior when they return
.
I do not recommend that you tell a bus rider that he cannot ever ride the bus again. This could hurt him for the rest of his life. Discipline may have to be extended to a month or three months, but I do not think it is wise to tell him he can never ride the bus again.

Be sure to pray for your bus riders each week, especially those that are being disciplined for bad behavior.

Here are some final notes and reminders for discipline on the bus route.
1. Do not physically restrain a child unless he is about to cause bodily harm.
2. No child will be removed from the bus ministry without approval from the Bus director.
3. Learn how to instruct without threatening.
4. Don't yell or scream at a child.
5. Pray for wisdom for each discipline problem
Until next time, let's keep those buses rolling! Contact me at pastorfugate@msn.com  —Sword of the Lord

Do You Believe

There was this Christian lady that had to do a lot of traveling for her business, so she did a lot of flying. Flying made her nervous, so she always took her Bible along with her to read and it helped relax her.

One time, she was sitting next to a man. When he saw her pull out her Bible, he gave a little chuckle and went back to what he was doing.

After awhile, he turned to her and asked, "You don't really believe all that stuff in there do you?"

The lady replied, "Of course I do. It is the Bible."

He said, "Well, what about that guy that was swallowed by that whale?"

She replied, "Oh, Jonah. Yes, I believe that, it is in the Bible."

He asked, "Well, how do you suppose he survived all that time inside the whale?"

The lady said, "Well, I don't really know. I guess when I get to heaven, I will ask him."

"What if he isn't in heaven?" the man asked sarcastically.
"Then you can ask him." replied the lady.
Inspirational Christian Stories

gibbons5@cox.net

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