Songs that Uplift People

"Give me Your eyes so I can see everything that I keep missing, Give me Your love for humanity." Words to a song I heard on the radio today. It gives me hope that when I am looking at the world, I can have the chance to see what God sees. This can apply not only for everyday life, but we will be able to see all the injustices that are around us everyday.

In my family, there have been a lot of challenges lately. My brother and I changed schools and by the Grace of God, we are able to go to an amazing school. My parents have had a difficult time, but we are working through everything. Their marriage is completely fine, but the financial aspect is a challenge a lot of the time. These past 4 years of my life have really had me thinking about my faith and trust in God a lot more. Now that I am a Senior in high school, I can honestly say that I don't know everything, not even close, but I can tell you from personal experiences that God has a plan for everything and a purpose for every good and bad thing that happens in your life. I would love to go into more detail about what has happened in my life that has opened my eyes to see the goodness that God has placed in my life, but I can't at the moment for personal reasons. Later I will discuss and describe how persecution is happening right here in our own country. There are people here who confess that their God is the Lord God Almighty but persecute people in their very own communities and work environments. It shocks me and angers me how many people can just stand by and not do anything to help the people who are being persecuted around them.

Thanks for reading this if you made it all the way to the end!

Update on the T-shirts: We will be delivering the bags of t-shirts we collected on Wednesday, thanks to my Mom! She will be transporting the t-shirts. We hope to have two more t-shirt collection drives at our sister High Schools sometime this fall or next semester. If you have any ideas or thoughts please do not hesitate to e-mail us at fiftyplusonenow@gmail.com we love feedback even though we don't get a lot of it!

Love,

The 50plusONE girls

IRAN Pastor In Trouble

I signed a petition and have been receiving updates for the Iranian Pastor Nadarkhani. He is in trouble and has been put on trial for many months. The press and mainstream media has started to believe the lies and here is the note from Jordan Sekulow, the ACLJ Executive Director. Read over this and then click on the link I put below to sign this petition. Thanks and keep Pastor Nadarkhani in your prayers!

Once again, in the face of the immense international pressure that you have helped place on Iran, its government is spreading more lies in an attempt to divert media attention away from Christian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani’s death sentence.

Now, a state-funded news agency is reporting that Pastor Nadarkhani’s conviction has been overturned by the Iranian Supreme Court for a new trial. However, this is a blatant lie – it is regurgitating old information as if it were new news.
What’s worse is that the mainstream media has begun to run these reports as fact. It is critical that we keep the pressure on Iran, as Pastor Youcef’s fate remains in the hands of the Ayatollah Khamenei – and ultimately, in God’s hands.
Please continue to sign our petition to pressure Iran for Pastor Youcef’s unconditional release.
We have sent this petition with over 160,000 signatures to Secretary of State Clinton, but we also made it clear that thousands of people are continuing to stand in support of her direct intervention with the Iranian government on behalf of Pastor Youcef.
Please continue to share this petition on Facebook and forward our email updates to prevent Iran from continuing to spread lies and confusion.
Here is what we know has really happened. This past June was the last time Pastor Youcef’s case was before the Supreme Court, which found that “further investigat[ion]” was needed to determine if Pastor Youcef was a Muslim before converting to Christianity. The Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court, stating that “if it can be proved that he was a practicing Muslim as an adult and has not repented, the execution will be carried out.”
That hearing already occurred late last month, where the judges found that Youcef was a Muslim because his parents where Muslims; and he was ordered to recant or die – to which he replied, “I cannot.” As we await a written verdict from this court, the court has requested the opinion of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Make no mistake; Pastor Youcef’s case is in the Ayatollah’s hands. Do not let yourself be duped like the mainstream media has been by Iran’s misinformation. Please read and share my latest article for the Washington Post, “Clearing up the facts on Pastor Nadarkhani’s fate,” where I clearly explain Iran’s latest attempt to divert international attention from this human rights’ abuse.
Earlier this week, the Justice Department revealed that Iran orchestrated a plot to assassinate foreign dignitaries on U.S. soil and bomb the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. This is the same Iranian government that continues to spread lies about Pastor Youcef.
Now is the time to turn up the pressure on Iran to release Pastor Youcef. Please make sure that Iran is held accountable for their actions by using the “Like” buttons in this email to share this article on Facebook and to prevent Iran’s lies from continuing to spread.
Thank you for your continued support for Pastor Youcef. Your voice is having a tremendous impact on the unrelenting effort to save his life.
Jordan Sekulow
ACLJ Executive Director

Success!

The T-shirt drive was a success! Thank you to everyone who helped us get this far!! Here are a few pictures of the outcome!

Thank you for your support and love!

Love,

50plusONE girls

REMINDER!

Don't forget to continue to collect your t-shirts this week! We will be collecting on Sunday September 18th arund 2pm. Thanks again everyone for participating!

Love,

FiftyPlusOne Girls

Pictures

Here are some pictures of us putting up the flyers around my neighborhood! Praying that we have a great turn out! Thanks to all of our volunteers for helping us: Jane, Paul, Paul Jr. , and Mrs. Gruhn! Don't forget to give Shelby or Claire your t-shirts this week!

T-shirt Drive

Hey everyone!

The t-shirt drive has begun! We will be collecting old t-shirts until Sunday September 18th. Check older posts to see what colors are needed but we will accept any color. Place them in a bag and give them to Shelby or Claire this week. Thanks and have a great and blessed week! Don't forget to pray for Asia Bibi and her family as they go through this difficult time.

Love,

Shelby and Claire
50plusONE

T-Shirt Drive

Hey Everyone!

We have officially set the dates for the Open Arms T-Shirt Drive! We will begin collections on September 4th and continue through September 10th. We will be coming around to specific neighborhoods so if you have a neighborhood that you would like for us to collect at please e-mail us at: fiftyplusonenow@gmail.com . In previous blog posts we listed the colors we need, but here they are again: Burnt Orange, Red, Brown, Navy, Black, Grey, and Maroon. We are welcoming every color t-shirt, but these are the colors Open Arms told us they were in need of at the moment. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you so much for supporting our organization and Open Arms in this wonderful opportunity to provide refugees with an income for their families while they are here in America.

God Bless,

50plus(ONE)
“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12

T-Shirt Drive Pre-Post

Hi 50plus(ONE) followers!

We are so grateful for the support of everyone and we want to step it up another notch! We have been in communication with Open Arms and we have decided to host a t-shirt drive. This is a heads up. We haven't finalized all the details but make sure to set a side all the t-shirts you no longer need from the summer months. Here are a few colors that Open Arms is in need of: Burnt Orange, Red, Brown, Navy, Black, Grey, and Maroon. Thanks so much! Keep looking back for more information about this unique opportunity to help our sisters in Christ!

Inspiring Verse

Today I was listening to one of my pastor's at my church and she had such an inspiring and uplifting verse that she talked about. The verse was Hebrews 13:5b "..I will never leave you, nor forsake you." This reminded me that God will always be with us no matter what we are going through. He knows the trials and tribulations we go through because Jesus went through even worse when he was on the cross. Our brothers and sisters in Christ who are being persecuted all over the world need the reminder that God will never leave them and will be with them forever. Not only do they need the reminder but so does the rest of the world when we are going through hardships.

50plus(ONE) challenges everyone who reads this to pray for the persecuted people in other nations that they will feel God around them every moment of their lives and for them not to give up on what He wants them to be doing, which is spreading and sharing His great Love and Word.

4th of July

As we celebrated the birth of our Nation (the United States of America) this past weekend, I was in constant awe of how amazing and blessed we are as a country. We sometimes forget how lucky we are to be able to pray, worship, and go to church whenever we want to. We can say the name of the Lord without being afraid of going to jail. People in other nations don't get the same opportunities we have here.

Next time you pray, say God's name, worship, or go to church remember to pray for the people in persecuted nations around the world. Not only do they need our help but they also need our prayers and thoughts.

“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.” Matthew 5:10 (MSG)

Persecution In Our Communities: Update #1

Persecution. When people hear this word the only thing they think of is international persecution. In places and coutnries such as, China, Egypt, Middle East, that literally throw people in prison for believing in Christ. The truth is that persecution not only occurs in countries arund the world but also in our own communities. It never occurs to most people that they are persecuted, but in a sermon I heard from my pastor this past week, I relized it happens. When people put you down or think less of you because you believe in God, God tells us that it is not our fight to fight, but His. He will win the fight for us if we let him fight for us.

Psalm 9:13 "O LORD, see how my enemies persecute me! Have mercy and lift me up from the gates of death."

Next time you hear, see, or are involved with persecution in your community and life, remember that God is with you and that He will fight your battles only if you ask Him to. Have a blessed week, and check back next week for another Persecuted Profile or Update

Persecuted Profile #2

This information is from Opendoorsusa.org and can be found in that website.

Elizabeth is a mother of 12 children at the age of 22 and was trained in Open Doors Training for pastor's wives. She and her husband pastor a church that is meeting under a tree during this point in time because of how terrible the persecution is in their country. She has asked for prayer for her church and for the homesickness that comes with training in America. Here is a picture of Elizabeth courtesy of opendoorsusa.org:






Please pray for Elizabeth when you take time out of your day to pray. Thank you and God bless.

Verses to inspire those who are persecuted

Whether you live in the United States or in North Korea, you are persecuted in some way for being a Christian. Praying and reading scripture is one way for us to help people in countries that can't read the Bible or pray out loud. For us in America we have the right of free religion and with that can pray for others in different areas around the world.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:10-12

Here is a list of the top persecuted countries, ways you can pray for the people, and what their statistics and information are for a specific country. It is one of Open Doors lists and it can be found at the website listed below:

http://www.opendoorsusa.org/persecution/world-watch-list

Holocaust

We were able to go to Washington D.C. this past week with our junior class on their Impact Trip. While in D.C. we visited the Holocaust Museum and were able to hear a personal account of the Holocaust from a survivor. His name is Herman Taube and he spoke about his life as a doctor during the War and while he was in Poland when it was taken over by Germany.

Having witnessed the excruciating pictures, videos, and artifacts from that time period we realized how terrible the people were treated. It made us want to try and do more for the persecuted church. We don't really know what we can do yet, but your prayers would be very helpful and appreciated as we go through this.

Praying for these countries will do a lot for the people in bondage over there. They will have strength, encouragement, and the help of God when we bond together and pray for them.

thanks so much for your support and prayers!

Scarves

Claire and Shelby were given the greatest opportunity a few weeks ago. They were able to go to an "open house" for the business/organization of Open Arms.

	Open Arms is a social enterprise founded to provide refugee women in the US a living wage for making stylish products from recycled t-shirts.

We came to hear about Open Arms from our Impact Missions teacher/leader Ginger Lambert. She told us all about it and we loved the idea so much that we wanted to see for ourselves what a marvelous organiztion Open Arms really is. When we got to the open house, we noticed a little shopping area. We strolled over and realized that these scarves are very unique and each have their own style. With the help of Open Arms, 50plusONE will do a one week t-shirt drive sometime in the future. We will provide you with more information very soon, but until then please keep the persecuted nations and people in your prayers.

Prayer and Support

These three amazing women of God have embraced 50plusONE and have continuously prayed for us during the entire time we have been organizing and planning this wonderful opportunity. I would like to thank Kelly Mata and Laura Koke from Shoreline Church in Austin, Texas for all their support and prayer. Also, I would like to thank Holly Wagner for allowing me to meet her and take a picture with her while she was in Austin speaking to the congregation at Shoreline. Holly traveled all the way from the Oasis Church in Los Angeles, California. May God bless you and use you in more ways than you could ever imagine.

Left: Kelly Mata is an Executive Pastor at Shoreline Church where she has been in full time ministry for 20 years. Her enthusiasm for encouraging people to reach their potential is contagious. She is passionate about getting people involved using their unique gifts and talents to serve the local church and their community to advance God's Kingdom.  Kelly serves alongside her husband Sam and their 2 teenage sons, James and Robert.

Right:Dr. Laura Koke and her husband Rob are the Senior Pastors of Shoreline Christian Center in Austin, Texas. They have witnessed God’s love transform the lives of thousands of people. Laura is a leading voice when it comes to living a consistent (real, genuine, dependent) and healthy lifestyle. She is a wife, mother, teacher, friend, author and Chiropractor, who will inspire you to take your health and (personal life or something to that effect) to a new level in a simple, fun and challenging way. Her authenticity and engaging communication style will inspire you to be your best - spirit, soul and body.

Left: Holly Wagner is a popular conference speaker known for her challenging, humorous style of addressing real-life issues. She offers powerful direction in the areas of building friendships, enhancing marriage and developing character. Holly's husband, Philip, is the senior pastor of the Oasis Christian Center in Los Angeles. Together they lead a multi-racial church that reaches families, entertainers and business leaders. Holly's dynamic women's ministry encourages women to become the person God has called them to be. She and Philip have two children. They also started an organization that supports and builds wells in nations that need water called Generosity Water. 

The New Logo

Here is the new logo thanks to Mr. McGinty! He donated a lot of time to helping us make 5 different logos. So here is the final logo:

Persecuted Profile #1

Hello Everyone!

This is the first official Persecuted Profile!

Person:

  Somchi

Country:

  LAOS

Problem:

  Village people have been persecuting her because she is the only Christian   in her village. They broke into her house, burned her Bible, and took all of   her Christian possessions.

What can we do to help?

  Pray daily for the next month for Somchi, that her village will accept her,   and for her to be a light to a dark community.

Thank you for your continued support in praying for all the persecuted people around the world!