Monday, December 19, 2011

Holidays: Friends or Foes?

When my kids were little I longed for the days when we could mess up the kitchen with Christmas cookie making and then fun crafts. It usually happened during winter break or when we got snowed in. It was fun, creative, tiring, and rewarding all at the same time. Today, my children are grown up with teenagers and busy schedules to occupy their time. Finding even two hours to spend doing something creative or fun has to be slid in between gymnastics, basketball practice, weightlifting, and band concerts. Are these the new ‘fun’ activities of contemporary times?

Everyone seems to have periods in their lives which are considered the good ol’ times. I think my grandkids are in the middle of their good ol’ times. They enjoy their events, the practices, and the challenges on multiple levels. They may not be itching to put on their snow pants and slide down a hill, but they’re doing what they enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with that!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a stickler for staying in the past, that’s for sure. I love being up-to-date technologically and keeping up with my grandkids’ gadgets, events, and schedules. The pace may be faster than when I was a kid, but hey, what hasn’t gotten faster since then?

I think I’ll kidnap a few of the kids over the holidays and take them back a few years to Christmas cookie making and crafts that are just plain fun in my book! It may seem old-fashioned to them, but I find it relaxing and enjoy seeing what kinds of cookie shapes they come up with and what crazy crafts we can make. My house will be a mess, but who cares? It’s worth it to spend some quality grandma time with them.

I could be an old Scrooge during the holidays because the kids don’t have a lot of time to spend with me, but I don’t think that helps anybody’s situation. I enjoy what I enjoy and I try to enjoy what they enjoy, too! Does that make any sense?

So keep your cool during this year’s celebrations. Remember to think beyond yourself and consider others’ schedules, not just your own. Put on a genuine smile, reflect on all God has given you: His Son’s birth, your family, and your friends. And show everyone His love. You’ll find that you will enjoy the holidays even more!

Monday, December 12, 2011

High Stress Holiday - Taking the easy way out

This is the time of year when stress levels run extremely high. It’s a time when family relationships teeter on the brink of disaster and loneliness is the number one killer.
I’d like to talk about that last one.

This past weekend my sister tried to kill herself…again. Taking large amounts of Vicodin severely damaged her liver and almost ended her life. She did this once three years ago.

What brings a person to that ledge and entices them to look over? Is it all an emotional decision or can some of it be attributed to circumstances or choice? Does the person in that state of mind have a clue of the ripple effect of their choice? If I only had all the answers I could help my sister. I could recommend she read this self-help book or go see this other psychologist who seems to know what they’re talking about. But when I reflect on these possibilities, I honestly don’t think either is the answer.

What keeps me from losing my mind and making really terrible decisions is a close relationship with a loving, understanding Father in heaven. I’m not being cliché about this at all. I’ve sat many hours listening to a psychologist try to talk my sister down from this latest episode and I’m concerned she’s being fed the wrong information. Our circumstances don’t cause us to lose touch with reality and make bad choices. When we believe the lies that satan is trying to feed us and when we do not have a relationship with the One who has all the answers, we lose sight of what is really important in life! That’s how we really go off the deep end.

We need to focus on the One who created us and cares for us more than an identical twin sibling or even our parents. He is the living, never sleeping, ever-present God of creation who knows us inside and out and loves us with an undying love that is unmatched. He’s ALL of these things!

If you’re being attacked by the demons of depression right now, shut down your computer, get down on your knees, and get back in touch with the Father of Light, God himself. Read His Word with a passion like a thirsty camel. Drink it in! Seek Him! Stop believing all that satan wants you to believe. God CAN and DOES change lives if they seek Him!

            “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will
            be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
            and to him who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Sleepless Again

Have you ever had a sleepless weekend? You spend the entire two days thinking and worrying your problem through, writing down notes, saying heart-felt prayers, and you still don’t have the answer. You read Bible verses that apply, ask God for direction, and try working it out in your mind but you can’t see how it’s all going to play out.

It’s a fact: It’s not our job to know. First of all, God tells us not to worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He already knows the outcome of our problem. God is enough to meet our needs. Secondly, depend on His Word. If God leads you to certain scriptures to help you through, apply them to the situation. Use your name in place of “you” or “they” when you read the Bible. Make it personal!

Recently I struggled through an entire weekend and didn’t get much sleep thinking about a hard job I had ahead of me. Monday morning during devotions God led me to the book of Jeremiah. The book begins examining the inner struggles of a prophet of God. Well, I’m certainly not a prophet but I really struggled!

I read the first chapter and wouldn’t you know, God had a message for me. Jeremiah had been called by God to do a job but he was afraid his words would not be accepted. God said, “…and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of their faces, for I AM with you to deliver you, says the LORD.” The great I AM is with me, wherever I am, in whatever I am doing. HE IS THERE.

Well, that squelches my idea of fear and worry, and trying to work through this dilemma by myself. I guess all that loss of sleep was for naught. So how many weekends like this do I have to go through to learn my lesson? GOD is enough! It’s a simple thought but because we mix ourselves up in the equation that it becomes muddied and complicated. But it’s really simple. God is enough to get me through anything!

Now, time for a much deserved rest!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

That Crazy Ticking Clock!

I have a strong dislike for clocks. I don’t care if it’s a wind-up, a digital, or a grandfather clock—time reminders are not my best friends. The problem with clocks is that they simply show you all the time you’ve wasted! Yes, that’s what I said, wasted.

When I rise in the morning I know that somewhere between 5:30 AM and 10:30 PM I’ll see my bed again. Some days that time can’t come soon enough. Other days I’d like to stretch those hours to be so much longer than they are because there is so much to fit inside of them! King David said it best in Psalm 89:47, “Remember how short my time is…” Time is a stealer of life. I can hear the tick, tick, tick of my office clock passing seconds of my life right now! AGH!

I’ve learned one thing about time in the last five years. It runs out before you can complete all the dreams you have planned. God’s beginning and ending plan for our lives is totally in His hands, not the hands of a surgeon, a drunk driver, or a disease. Doing all we can to prolong our life and be healthy is good, but it’s not putting you in control. The sooner we learn to deal with that truth of life the more peace we’ll experience.

So what are you doing with the TIME you have left? If you had 10 years to live what would you do? Would you take a trip around the world or bungee jump off a high bridge? If you knew you had five years would you do things with more urgency than you are now? What if you knew you only had today? How would that impact you? What would be at the top of your bucket list of things to do before you die? My hunch would be that the list would change quickly.

Your lifetime is a God-given gift; what you do with it is a reflection of how much you love Him. Have you thought about that today? Do the things you have planned for this evening reflect your love for a God Who gave His only Son for you? Or do they reflect a selfish person who likes to plan their own schedule and do their own thing? Don’t give me that, “I’m so busy” line either. I would like you to put your busyness up next to God’s original plan for this day and see how that stands up. We create our busyness and then make it impossible for God to fit in.

The clock is ticking. What are you doing with your life that reflects your Creator? Tick-tick-tick……..

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Recommendation Series – Live Today!

I’ve lived a long life. I’ve laughed, had dreams, and suffered much heartache. Through it all, God has been present. He’s known about it all and planned only the best for me.

In the good times I’ve learned how to sit back and relax, breathing in the summer air and watching the colors of fall sprinkle through the trees. I’ve held my own newborn babies and then felt that softness in my heart again with my grandchildren. I’ve watched young believers energetically rise above their circumstances and boldly walk into their new lives of faith with enthusiasm. Ah, good times.

Then the days of adversity appear and my reaction to them challenges my relationship with Christ. Will I accept His comfort and rest in the reassurance of His care? Or do I challenge Him on every front with not only questions but also a fighting tongue with actions to match? Do I cringe away in unbelief that a God of justice has put me through yet another faith test?

Recently, two friends of mine passed away. One was very old and one was my age. The older saint was ushered into heaven with praises for a life well lived and hallelujahs for his relief from pain. The other one was just so sad. She was a person in her prime waiting for an easier life in retirement with her mate. That’s not going to happen now. There will be new plans made and new dreams. I know that path, for I’ve already walked it.

What we have to remember in these two cases is that both of them were believers. They are experiencing heaven in a way we cannot begin to know about. They are walking down streets of heaven, seeing saints from the Bible who can tell them all those stories face-to-face now. What an amazing experience that must be!

It’s too many funerals for me in one month, but the one thing I’m taking from them is this: I’m living my life every day like it was my last. I’m more driven now than ever to tell kids about Jesus and make sure my relatives know about Him, too. The desire to meet some personal goals in my spiritual life has been put on the top rung, not in the middle or near the bottom. The stuff mart has stopped and my hands have become open to whatever God is giving me. He will bless the giver and give peace to the faithful. 

Monday, September 12, 2011

Extraordinary People – Recommendation Series

I know people who have never left their place of birth! How could that be possible in this day and age? There are actually people who confine themselves to familiar things and miss the best part of life—meeting extraordinary people.
.
I’ve traveled a lot in my lifetime; every day is filled with meeting people with stories I couldn’t even make up they’re so amazing. On a plane trip recently I met a young man named Que who has to stay in Singapore for nine weeks at a time for his job. He has twin children and a loving wife at home in America. He doesn’t like being away from them one bit! I’m praying his job changes soon and that I planted seeds for the Lord.

You may have read that I had an exciting opportunity to travel to Singapore for a global summit for children’s ministry leaders.  While there I was introduced to hundreds of people from around the world. All of their stories were so interesting and some broke my heart to hear. I learned about customs in other countries and I told them about some of ours. We laughed together over things that were similar (children and their pranks) and cried over others (children and their needs). I will never forget their conversations or the faces of those extraordinary people telling their remarkable stories. They are forever stamped on my brain.

Keeping your world so small keeps you small. Hearing about other countries from newscasts is not experiencing the world. Reading a stagnant newspaper is not interacting with an extraordinary person. Get out into the world and experience all God has created! It’s absolutely, outrageously beautiful out there! Experience the mountains, the valleys, the buildings with grand architecture. Search for the slums and the churches and the people who can enrich your life just by knowing them. God will lead if you will go.

How? Start with a mission’s trip with a team you know from your church or a local ministry. Go prepared to minister and give of yourself. Accept their world; don’t try to change them to meet yours. Let them tell you stories about their lives and how they got to where they are now. You’ll be amazed at how humbling it is to just listen, not talk. God will bless your efforts and broaden your worldview! Go meet some extraordinary people today!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Consequences

It was just one apple—one bite and then sharing. How could that be something bad? It certainly isn’t sin, whatever that is. That snake had made the fruit sound so wonderful, but now…these consequences.

When Eve took that one bite of apple all those years ago, I’m pretty sure she wasn’t thinking about the consequences of her disobedience that would last for centuries. If she had, she might have thought twice. If she had considered all the pain she brought upon women in labor, the losses suffered in leaving the garden, the work it placed on their shoulders, and the separation from God, there may have been at least a minute of reconsidering.

What about you and me? Do we consider the consequences of those “little” sins we do each and every day? Do we consider how it affects our mates, our children, our grandchildren for centuries to come? If we did would we decide that little sin wasn’t worth the consequences we place on those who follow after us?

Stretching the truth on a story, going along with a friend to a movie you know will put ungodly thoughts into your mind, sneaking just one more peek at that ad on the Internet, taking that sip of a drink that changes our thinking processes. Maybe you’re thinking, She must be talking about somebody else, not me. I may not know your list of sins but God does. He knows not only the ones we actually do but also the thoughts we have about doing them beforehand. Is a thought a sin? Or does it only count if we’re actually doing them?

Man, I wish I was perfect but I’m not. I sin. I know what sin is and I know the consequences. But when I think of sin in the arena of consequences upon my children, my grandchildren, and their children after me it puts a whole new twist on life. I don’t want to cause my children pain or my grandchildren to go away from God. Will they see Christ in me every day? Will they see Him when I get angry—not specifically at them but just at the stuff of life?

Precious Father, I pray your Holy Spirit will convict me the minute I have a thought that is sinful. Prevent me from taking action on that thought and bring me to a whole new level of consciousness about what sin is. Remind me of Eve: her choices and who had to pay.

Monday, August 22, 2011

This is NOT your Momma's CBH


Have you met them? Those wonderful, creative people who love to make memory books for families and individuals to treasure? They spend hours cutting, pasting, stamping things into scrapbooks, and adding some pictures and short sayings. These books end up looking like works of art! It takes time and patience, that’s for sure. I’ve often wondered what a book would look like if you did one for, let’s say, Peter, Samuel, or Moses.

Moses would be hard. One page is a picture of him working steadily with the gratefully freed Isrealites, leading them on to the Promised Land. Every other page would be Moses on his knees on a mountain pleading for the Lord not to kill these ungrateful people because of their unbelief and complaining! Maybe you would only need two pages!

Joshua 4 tells of a memory made after God’s people crossed over the Jordan River. Joshua placed twelve stones from the Jordan River in plain sight for all to see and said, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come saying, ‘What are these stones?’ then you shall let your children know…” Joshua wanted this memory of God’s faithfulness kept alive for generations to come. Now there’s a memory that will stick around for a while!

I’m privileged to direct a small ministry that has a big impact around the world. It’s called CBH Ministries. It used to be called Children’s Bible Hour because our program was an hour long radio broadcast. Our name might be shortened now but the way God has increased the ministry’s borders is not. We receive more than a million visits to our website every month! Mercy! That’s a lot of work and a lot of emails to answer!

The memory book of CBH Ministries will consistently say that our desire has been to place God’s Word in the hearts of boys and girls all over this world. The current CBH may not be your momma’s Children’s Bible Hour with rallies and concerts, but the purpose is the same with different media. For a look at what we’re doing now, head over to:  www.lostinthequeueblog.com
You might be surprised at what you see!

Also check out:

Our new beta website is up. Take a look then answer the questions to get 25% off anything in our store! http://beta.cbhministries.org/

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

The Mis-qualified Parent!

Ever wonder why you can’t figure your kids out? Ever think this parenting thing is in the too-hard-to-do category? Ever wish you could transfer to some other kids’ homes and see how THEIR parents are reacting to the same things you’re going through? I can honestly say a qualified “yes” to all of the above.

OK, so I’m weird, that’s a given. But I have been on the brink of making some pretty rash decisions when it comes to dealing with my kids. Oh, so you don’t use the word kids, you use the word children. No, I use the slang word kids because it fits. Don’t ask me why. I guess I’m not the most proper parent.

But, really, what would make a tween pick his nose and wipe it on his sister’s pants? HUH! And what about showing a reasonable amount of manners at the table? Burping? Really? Sitting with your back against the chair and letting all of your food drop onto your newly purchased discount retail store school shirt? Come on! Hard-earned money bought that shirt and blueberry stains don’t come out easily! (Insert small, inner temper tantrum here.) It seems like no matter how much they are taught about manners and how to act at the table, they do just the opposite.

I was raised in a family with three daughters. The burping and gas-passing was never something that happened at our table. We understood those were private matters. So why do boys bring out the worst in what I grew up doing only behind closed doors? It’s almost like something they have conquered and want to boast about it! I don’t have a clue why that is, but I do know that no matter what, it’s going to happen. It doesn’t matter where you are, whose house you’re in, what function you’re attending or what restaurant you’re at…don’t bring your teenage boys or else these actions will happen closely followed by uncontrollable laughter with grunts and snorts. I’m sorry, it’s the truth. That was when I was sure God meant these boys to belong in another family—certainly not mine!

So what do you do? Did God make a horrible mistake and put me in the wrong family? Am I unqualified for every aspect of this job because these kids are certainly not turning out the way I’d planned? The answer is no, absolutely, no. I’ve learned more about how to be humble and gracious, how to accept and enjoy, and how to be in life more from my kids than anyone else. They’ve taught me unequaled love, compassion for the underdog, and all about a servant’s heart. I’ve watched them grow from bizarre teenagers to adults who hold responsibility with respect.

Was this the wrong job for me, this parenting thing? Nope. It was the perfect job because God ordained it, planned it, and created it just for me. I can do this thing called parenting! I may be a little weirder at the end of it, but I can do it! Thank you, God.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The Recommendation Series – Yield to the Right Way

In Nancy Leigh DeMoss’ Bible study Lies Women Believe, she brings out a great truth about yielding. After discussing all the rights we claim we have or need to have today she makes this observation:

The fact is, successful relationships and healthy cultures are not built on the claiming of rights but on the yielding of rights. Even our traffic laws reflect this principle. You’ll never see a sign that says, “You have the right of way.” Instead, the signs instruct us to Yield the right of way. That is how traffic flows best; it is also how life works best.

We spend so much time placing sticks in the ground and claiming our rights to this cause or that cause or our own selfish rights that we never stop to consider yielding to the rights of others or to God. I’ve seen many relationships falter and fail because neither party was willing to give in or even consider what the other person needed.

In reality, as believers in Jesus Christ, we yielded all our rights when we became servants of the Most High. We supposedly gave up the selfish desires of our flesh and all that it contains to follow the Living Lord. But did we really?

Some may think the idea of motherhood means giving up everything you want because you have kids. So? What could be more important than raising a bunch of really great kids and loving it? If that’s God’s plan for you, then do it with all your heart. God will give you everything in abundance—including all the love you can handle, more hugs than anybody deserves, and a fulfilled heart’s desire. Where’s the selfishness in that? You’ve yielded your life’s plan to God’s perfect plan for you. There will never be a better way than that to live your life.

I’m not sure what you need to yield today but if it’s your selfish will, then get off your high horse and get down on your knees right now and turn those things over to Christ. If it’s your comfort, your wealth, your relationship with your husband or wife, or whatever it is, give it up. Yield it to God’s plan, not your selfish way. Take yourself out of the picture and see how yielding to God can give you abundant life!

Monday, July 18, 2011

The Recommendation Series – Two – Stop, Write, and Send

Note: This series is going to deal with recommendations on how to live life to the fullest.

Stop, Drop, and Roll is an action to help save your life if your clothing catches on fire. The same concept is true of stop, write and send. Let me explain.

When my husband developed a brain tumor, we started our own webpage called Care Pages. It was a website where we could write updates on how he was doing during his treatments and surgery. So many people took the time to write encouraging words to us on those pages. Throughout the three months of his treatment, during the surgery, and afterward the volume of notes and emails continued to grow. When his sudden and devastating death happened, the pages raced to over 400.

Before and after the funeral and for two months longer we kept the pages up. My family would read all the notes and be comforted. Some people wrote verses, some cried right along with us, and others sent condolences. It was the most amazing thing to see people pour their hearts out in expressions of love to our family.

During our days the Lord brings people to mind who need those same comforting, caring words, and we need to stop and send them an email or a card. I have hundreds of cards from well-wishers who wrote lovely notes to me and my family. All of my children have cards they’ve received and kept throughout the last five years. Often, I’ll just read two or three and it’s a real blessing to me. I printed out all the care pages and reread parts of them when I need some encouragement. I can’t even put them into one notebook there are so many!

Don’t tell me you don’t have time. Don’t even go there! If you have time to read this post, then you have time to stop, write and send an encouraging note or email to someone God’s put on your mind. It may be an inconvenience to you but to the recipient, it’s like two arms lifting her up and carrying her through a difficult situation. Don’t just choose any card but choose one specifically for that person. God will lead you to one. And if you send an email be sure to let her know you’re praying for her and then do it! We’re so busy in our lives that we say, “I’m praying for you,” but may never really take the time to pray.

Remember these three words: Stop, Write and Send. They may not save someone’s physical life, like stop, drop and roll, but they can produce comfort to a hurting heart! Be an encourager today!

The Recommendation Series – One – Break the Restraints!

Note: This series is going to deal with recommendations on how to live life to the fullest.

Recommendation #1

The first thing I recommend you do is this: Do something absolutely crazy. I don’t care what age you are, what your status is in life, how much money you have, what neighborhood you live in, or if your first name starts with a T or a Q, you need to cut loose once in a while. I’m not talking about doing unlawful things; I mean shaking off the stress and pressures of work and life and dancing to your heart’s melody, the one that God put there.

There were many times when my kids were growing up that I must have looked like an absolute idiot to my neighbors and friends, but I really didn’t care. The things I did to make my children happy or to have a lot of fun often included some process of making me look ridiculous to some people as an adult. So what? I’ve always believed that I need to be myself, not who the world expects me to be or how they want me to act. God created me uniquely. Very uniquely, as my children would say!

I don’t know many mothers who would put on a big, brown garbage bag, stuff it full of newspapers, paint their face brown and dance around like a California raisin for their high school senior’s graduation awards ceremony, but I did. Of course I persuaded two other friends to do it with me! Then how about the time I donned a Chucky Church Mouse costume and did the polka around the lobby of our local bank with the bank president for his birthday? Yes, I did this! I’ve dressed up as a French chef and served cow tongue and eyeball soup in a local restaurant to a friend who was celebrating 25 years of employment. And…the list goes on.

Am I crazy? Is there more than one screw loose upstairs or one brick short of a full load? No. I just know that breaking out of the mold that most people put themselves in is good for me. It makes me laugh and makes others laugh, too! Kids love it and it brings you to their eye level instead of them always looking at your knees.

Break out! Do something crazy! Go skydiving (oh, I’d love to do this!), take a balloon ride (check), get on a SeaDoo and go 70 miles per hour across the big lake (been close-65!), buy a Harley (hmmm, that could be arranged!). There is so much to see and do that gets passed by if we live within the restraints of the world. Our mighty God is so big and He’s given each of us opportunity after opportunity to be what He created us to be. Stop trying to impress the world and live it up! This life, your life, was made just for you! Life’s short, time is short—don’t short-change yourself!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Waiting for Glue to Dry – The James Sequence

“Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” James 5:7-8

I’m sure you’ve heard this before: Don’t pray for patience because the Lord will give you something to be patient about! Oh, brother! Like I need that! I wouldn’t believe this old wives’ tale if I were you. Being a patient person is what James is talking about in this verse and the ones that follow. He gives the example of a farmer who plants crops and then patiently waits while the rains come at the right time to bring the harvest.

It would be rather comical to see a farmer plant his crops of corn, grab a chair, and wait right next to the plants until the first sprout breaks through the ground. I can imagine him three weeks into the planting and he’s jumping up and down in the middle of the night out there in the field with his chair and flashlight! He just couldn’t wait until that first plant showed up! A rather ridiculous picture to imagine, but that’s a visual example of what James is saying. Be patient!

I’m not really patient when I’m waiting for glue to dry, which has become the one thing in my life that continually haunts me. There is always something broken at my house and no matter how much I try, I can’t wait for the super glue to dry before I let go. I have to see if it’s hard yet, so I take my hands off. Oops! Not yet! Let’s try that again. And again. Elmer’s glue is worse. I definitely can’t wait around for that stuff to get hard. Ugh! So when my grandkids want to make popsicle stick houses that need to be GLUED…I’m outta there! You’re on your own, guys!

God’s plan often means we have to spend our time in the waiting room of life. We can pray continually for something like a job opening, a future mate, or some special place we want to go, but God says, “No, wait.” Speaking for myself…I really, really don’t like waiting. Unfortunately, waiting is not one of my strengths. I have spent an enormous amount of time going back to fix something that I’ve rushed into. And that brings me to another point. If I would have been patient in the first place I wouldn’t have to repeat so many experiences just to get it right on the second or third or even fourth try.

So, Lord, how do I get the patience to wait for your plan? I know, I know…wait, You’ll tell me when You’re ready!

Monday, June 27, 2011

Living in the Vapor- The James Sequence

“For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” James 4:14

Have you ever walked around a cemetery and looked at the dates on the tombstones? There are the dates the people were born, then long dashes and then the dates they died. Those dashes are what James is talking about in this verse. He calls our life a vapor, something that appears and then vanishes in a short time. It’s what’s in-between the dates, the dashes, that tell about how you’ve spent your life.

When my husband died five years ago I didn’t hesitate putting his life verse on his tombstone. That verse is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Those verses were a testimony to my husband’s life and all he accomplished in his 60 short years. On the front of his tombstone are words about him being a father, son, husband, and champion for the unborn because of his work starting crisis pregnancy centers in Eastern Europe. These words are a testimony to a life well-lived for Christ.

In stark contrast to my husband’s tombstone is the one standing next to his. The man’s birth and death are stated and then there are two pictures engraved in stone. One is a bingo card and the other is a set of golf clubs. I’ll let you think about that for a moment. Bingo and golf, not the worst things to spend a leisurely afternoon doing, but is that all he accomplished in his lifetime? Is that the extent of how he will be remembered?

Sometimes I think it would be great to know when my last day on earth would be because I could make so many preparations beforehand. I would make contact with all my loved ones and give them goodbye hugs and kisses. I would finally witness to our unsaved relatives and friends so they would know what I believe and have an opportunity to know Jesus as their Savior. I would get my family papers in order so that relatives wouldn’t have to shuffle through them looking for relevant files. I could also arrange my funeral service so none of my favorite songs or verses get left out. It’s unfortunate, but we won’t have time to get these things in order if Christ should come back today!

When life is over and you stand before Christ to answer for that vapor that was your life, what will be your response? Will your accomplishments for Christ far outweigh the other things that occupy every moment of your life right now?

Monday, June 20, 2011

A Truly Humble Person – The James Sequence

“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” James 4:10

I love what the Urban Dictionary says about this word:
Humble: An admirable quality that not many people possess. It means that a person may have accomplished a lot, or be a lot but doesn’t feel it is necessary to advertise or gab about it.

Do you know people who would be considered humble? What are their attitudes like? Who do they put at the forefront of every action or reaction? What stimulates their actions? Would you consider yourself when mentioning the word humble?

I’ve know some amazingly humble people in my lifetime. Their primary attitudes are servitude and almost seem to say, “What can I do for you?” They never put themselves at the forefront of anything but are the ones serving in the background, not wanting or needing the spotlight. They often take action to help someone before anyone even asks. They seem to have a sixth-sense about when help is needed. It just comes so naturally to them.

1 Peter 5:6 also tells us, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time...” This verse says that if we behave in a humble fashion, God will take care of the recognition. He alone will lift us up to a place of honor, not as the world does but in His own time. So many people I know seek the limelight in a way that is almost shameless. They did this, they did that, and nobody can do these things as well as they do it all. There is definitely no humility there!

It’s really hard to bestow honor upon someone who is truly humble. Their downcast look or hesitancy in receiving the award awaiting them could be mistaken for meekness. But I have a great answer for those who are described as meek! My former pastor used to say, “Meekness is not weakness, its power under control!” Well, I think that puts a little different emphasis on the word humble. Humble people possess a huge amount of power to be able to pull back from the limelight and be content in their servant’s shoes!

So how would your friends, colleagues, and family describe you? Would they say you’re arrogant, pushy, stepping on anyone in your way as you strive to get to the top? Or would they say you’re a humble person? One who doesn’t seek for self but works well with others and puts the needs of others first?

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

God With Flesh On – The James Sequence

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” James 3:17

If you’re like me, you have plenty of friends who are willing to offer advice about any aspect of your life. They may be good friends and have genuine intentions, but is their wisdom and advice purely from a godly viewpoint or just what they would do in your circumstances?

Critical times in your life are when you need someone to give you advice that is truly God-centered. This is advice from someone who prays for you, knows your heart and wants God’s best for you. That’s why it’s important that you develop close relationships with Christ-centered believers early in your life. I know this for a fact. I’ve had two prayer warriors in my life for over 40 years!

When going through a crisis or painful time in your life, sometimes you are unable to make decisions on your own. It’s hard enough just to motivate yourself to get out of bed, get dressed, eat, and live. I can speak from experience about this. When my husband died five years ago in the month of June, I was stunned. Unexpectedly, he passed from living one day to heaven the next. How was I to keep going on alone after 40 years of marriage? He was the only one I’d dated, the only one I ever cared for. How could this be God’s plan for my life?

Through those rough, awful days of the funeral I knew two ladies specifically were praying for me. They didn’t need to know details about anything, they just prayed full-time for my needs and for God to give me strength. I felt it. I experienced it in dramatic ways. I can’t explain what all happened during that time, but when I needed someone to talk to, they were there. They mostly listened but when they did offer advice I knew they had already prayed about what to say to me. It wasn’t frivolous stuff like my unsaved friends and relatives were offering. It was solid, Bible-based instruction on how to go on with life. How God would provide for me through His servants. How God had a plan for me, too. Oh, I didn’t know how to believe that at the moment, but they did and they prayed over me and with me. It was my salvation through those very, very tough days. They were God with flesh on for me.

Today, they’re still praying! They ask me all the time how I’m doing. They write me encouraging emails and let me know that they want to know what to pray for. Isn’t that amazing? I’m amazed! Those two ladies have taught me so much about being a wise person who gives wise advice. Not to be frivolous in offering just any words, but words of encouragement, peace, and strength. I want to be that kind of wisdom seeker, don’t you?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

If You Can’t Say Something Nice… – The James Sequence

Ever been punched in the gut? I’m told it hurts terribly! I’ve never had the physical punch but the verbal one hurts just as bad.

James tells us, “The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature…no man can tame the tongue! How true it is. The tongue, my tongue in particular, makes me look like a raging lunatic some days. Why is that? Why can’t I tame that little thing to do what I really want it to?

I have an active Facebook page and often I post about experiences I’ve been through. Like recently, when Dr. Jack Kevorkian died. If you aren’t aware of who he was, he had perfected a combination of drugs that, when administered correctly, would kill you. So people who wanted to die (usually because they were going through difficult diseases) injected themselves with this potion that killed them in a short amount of time.

Forty-four years ago I worked for Dr. Death, as he was called by his colleagues. He was the head of Pathology in the hospital I worked in. I was his stenographer in the morgue and also in the lab for biopsies he performed.

When he died recently, I posted the information and stated that I wasn’t too sad about it. Many of my friends commented about the fact that I’d worked for him. But one person posted this: “Jesus was sad.” Ugh! Ouch! Right in the gut! Why hadn’t I thought about what that little phrase would really mean? Of course Jesus was sad! He was sad that the doctor hadn’t chosen eternal life.

Have you ever felt like you needed to have a proofreader review everything you say so you don’t say something stupid? I sure do. Right when I think I have it all together, my mouth opens up and out comes something I immediately wish I could take back. Oh, help me!

James goes on to say that our tongues are full of iniquity…and it is unruly and full of poison. Precious Father, help me realize that what comes out should be a reflection of You! If I take that perspective, possibly, hopefully, I’ll gain some ground in this war of the tongue!

So consider your tongue to be your greatest asset or your biggest enemy, whichever fits. Pray that God will help you tame it into submission soon!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Footsteps from Above – The James Sequence

Once a month I have breakfast with a bunch of ministry leaders at a local mission. We sit in a quiet room eating breakfast as we listen to each other’s prayer requests. At the end of the meal we pray together.

The mission where we meet houses many homeless women and their children. Often while we’re praying, the kids are getting ready for school. We can hear their tiny footsteps walking or running overhead. Some may think this would be an interruption to our quiet prayer time but I think it’s just about the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard.

Those little footsteps represent children being helped—a family being saved from living on the streets. It tells me of the eagerness of the children to get to the normality of school and friends. Mission living is not normal; a house is normal, an apartment is normal. The kids need normal. The mission is the beginning for them—a start-over you might say. It’s a place where their family can heal and put life back together.

James tells us we should be doing all we can for those in need. In chapter two verses15-17 it talks about faith and works. If we see a poor, destitute person and just tell them, “Depart in peace and be warmed and fed,” but do nothing to ease their hunger…in what way are we helping? We have to make our faith in God real and visible to them. We need to put our faith to the test and see if we really believe what we say we believe. If I give my food to a hungry person can God replace it with what I need to survive? Yes, He can!


Those little children tromping across the floor at the mission depend on folks like us to step up to the plate to do what we can to help them. They’re too young to understand foundations and donations and all that stuff, but they’re not too young to understand a hug, a look of love, and help from a friend. It takes God’s people to show His love to the unloved and hurting. It takes our hands to give and hug someone in need.

So are you going to put your works next to your faith and help someone? It may be rewarded with footsteps from above someday!

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Kings and Beggars – The James Sequence

“If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well’ but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” James 2:8-9

Have you ever walked the streets of your city and mentally stuck your nose up at a beggar, vagrant, or bum? Oh, you may not say anything out loud about them but as you’re driving down the street in your nice car you may be thinking in your head, “Why don’t these people get their acts together?” Do they scare you? Just what are you afraid of? Becoming like them one day?

Beggars and bums are not so different than you or me. Their struggles and failures, unlike ours, are more visible to the world’s scrutiny. But they still need a loving, caring God. They still need a Savior.

James tells us that we should show no partiality to people whether they are a king or a poor person. So how do you greet the kings and beggars who come into your church? Is it done with partiality? Do you seat the kings in the front rows and best seats and leave the beggars to sit in the back unwelcomed and alone? Sure, everyone is not so distinct to be seen as a king or a beggar, but we do play partiality even if it’s unintended.

I will never forget as long as I live how this lesson was brought to life for me as a young married inexperienced believer. My husband was witnessing to a man who had come to our church for charity. His name was Terry Heaven. He asked Terry and his wife and children to come to our home after church one evening. I panicked! These folks were not the cleanest or the best-smelling folks I’d ever met. All I could think about in my selfish heart was…they’re going to sit on my couch. Their dirty little fingers were going to touch my nice clean stuff. I was the epitome of selfishness.

My husband led Terry Heaven and his wife to Jesus that night, sitting on my couch with their little children handling all the figurines on my coffee table. I felt as if God had slapped me right upside the head! You fool! Don’t you know what’s important here, He said? That was a heavenly-timed event! One week later Terry was killed crossing a busy street in Grand Rapids. What if I had refused to let them come to my home? What if I’d thought my couch was more important than the people were? Stupid, stupid stuff! That was a good 30 years ago and I’ve learned a lot of lessons since then. Thank the LORD I’ve grown some spiritually and know that loving people is the most important thing.

So have you entertained any kings or beggars this week in your home? If not, open your door. You’ll be amazed who’s standing there waiting for you to ask them in.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Orphans, Widows, and Purity - The James Sequence

“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” James 1:27

Because they were alone, pastors, deacons, and bishops were instructed to visit the orphans and widows and take care of their needs. I know a lot about both of these people groups and certainly not because I’m a pastor or bishop.

1. Orphans: a subject dear to my heart. I’ve made 16 trips to Romania to work with orphans in a government-run hospital. I’ve seen and dealt with just about everything. Our teams cared for orphans who were not only abandoned, but also some were HIV positive, had Down syndrome, were hydrocephalic, and some were dying. I’ve seen couples walk into a hospital, sign abandonment papers, turn over their newborn baby, and walk away. The baby was inconvenient for them. Imagine a healthy, perfect baby being inconvenient!

I’ve held a newborn baby girl (diagnosed with Down syndrome who had been abandoned to die) just so a human touch would console her as she took her last breath. These kinds of events change your worldview about humanity and the lengths they will go in selfishness. Caring for orphans is a privilege, not a chore or an inconvenience. It’s our responsibility.

2. Widows: now there’s a subject I also know from personal experience. My husband of forty years died when he was 60. Besides my family, my pastor, the deacons, and the body of Christ were the main forces during my bereavement. They still are! They comfort me, love me unconditionally, allow me space, and provide for me as believers should. I have family, and Scripture says in I Timothy 5 that if you have family they are to help you first, and they do. But my church family is like my own family and they care for me in other ways. Like praying for me when I go out speaking or on a ministry trip, or by sending me cards on the anniversary of my husband’s death. I know the body of Christ is there when I need them. It’s more than a comfort to me.

3. Purity, or keeping oneself unspotted from the world, is a mighty big order. My only thought on this is that if we’re in the body of Christ, doing His work and accomplishing His plan for our lives, we won’t have time to become spotted with the world’s view of life. The Prince of this world, satan (sorry, I won’t give him the recognition a capital deserves!) won’t be able to get our attention because we are focused purely on doing God’s will and plan for us. We’re not being constrained within the walls of the world doing satan’s bidding. We’ve expanded ourselves to heavenly bidding!

So care for the orphans, console the widows, and keep yourself separate and unspotted from what the world would have you do and be. The rewards are unbelievable. You might even say they are heaven sent!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

What Tempts You? Number 2- The James Sequence

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15


Temptations. I’m not talking about silly stuff like eating decadent chocolate or buying another pair of shoes. I’m talking about temptations that deal with the real you and those places in your heart and soul that nobody knows about.

What goes on inside that inner part of you that, if told, would blow people away? What are you thinking in your head that if uttered by mouth would sink your spiritual reputation in an instant? Don’t tell me you don’t have these thoughts because we all know better.

There’s that person you just wish would disappear and you wouldn’t have to deal with again. The really pretty girl that grabs the attention of a married man when he least expects it and those angry words on the tip of your tongue just waiting to be said.

The natural man wants to sin—that’s a given. It’s what we as Christians do with those urges and temptations that call us to attention in front of a holy, reverent God. A friend of mine said that men are born to look; it doesn’t mean they want it, they just look. Satan can do a lot with that look. It can turn into something that grows and is fed by lust. That lust has ruined many marriages and families over the centuries. Is that your temptation?

Satan’s desire is that the temptation he lays before you will draw you away from a holy God. He creates that temptation in the form of another human being, a gambling habit you can’t break, the insatiable desire to have the biggest, best, most expensive of…something. Whatever he sees in you that is hidden in that inner part of your heart and soul that is not God-like, He expands it right in front of you and makes it so enticing the urge to resist flees.

Don’t forget about the last part of that verse either. “When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Many of us think things in our heads and hearts that never come out. We never allow Satan the upper hand and let the temptation metastasize. But…(that little word), when we DO, we’re sinning and sin brings death. The Bible says physical death and (I’m thinking) death of your testimony before others. Death of relationships long nurtured. Death of God’s perfect plan for your life.

THANK GOD for salvation, forgiveness, a loving God! Without His accepting love covering our mistakes we would be sunk. Thank you, Jesus, for making a way of escape from Satan’s tempting snares.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Are You A Perfect 10? The James Sequence

You remember that movie The Perfect Ten with Bo Derek? Yeah, I thought you would. It’s become a universal representation for what everyday women should look like. Or I should say try to look like. So how many of you have lived up to that criteria? Do I see any hands?

Outward appearance, how we look to other people, has become a status symbol. Do we have the right up-to-date hair style and cut? Do our clothes have the best labels, shown specifically on the outside of our clothing now so as to make sure people see them and acknowledge that we can afford to shop at certain stores? Are we the right height, weight, size? Do we have the prettiest hair and eye colors? Are we perfect tens in the world’s view?

I’d like you to see God’s description of a perfect ten. It’s found in James 1:2-4:

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Did you notice that the passage didn’t say anything about perfect relating to outward appearances? It talks about endurance and patience, and if we make it through the various trials before us, we’ve reached a good end! Because we’ve made it, God counts that as perfect and complete and whole.

I know some perfect tens. One is a lady around 80 years old who has endured so many trials in her life that her countenance shines like 2500 florescent light bulbs! She draws people to her like a magnet because she has been where they are now. She’s lived through the fires and has risen above the scorching flames because of God’s influence in her life. It shows in every little thing she says and every action she completes.

Perfect tens are not always noticed. Sometimes they are the prayer warriors on their knees for others going through trials. Often these warriors can sense God’s leading for them to pray before the trials even arise. They are so close to God there is no space between them and the Savior. They sense His heart for others and in this way serve Him with strong hearts through prayer.

So don’t look in the mirror to find out if you’re a perfect ten. Go look in His Word to find the patience that will bring you to a complete and perfect life on the inside. Sounds perfect to me!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Proverbs piece #10 – If You’re a Mom You Can Tell

“Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right.” Proverbs 20:11

If you’re a Mom you can tell when your child is lying. It’s just something Moms know and can tell by the eye contact, body language, and tone of the child’s voice. Don’t ever try to fool us because it just doesn’t work. The Message translates the verse this way: “Young people eventually reveal by their actions if their motives are on the up and up.” That is so true! Even sweet little girls who look like angels with beautiful blue eyes and soft baby-like skin can lie. It’s true even when we don’t want to believe it.

Grandmothers can also tell when their grandkids are lying. I remember catching my youngest grandson in a lie a few weeks ago. One day, I found wrappers under the cushions in my couch. “Moe, did you put those wrappers there?” His huge blue-green eyes looked up at me with his extremely long eyelashes half-lowered, “No.” I knew in an instant he was lying to me. When I told him I knew it was him who had done the dastardly deed a pouty lip popped out and tears glistened in his eyes. “But, I didn’t do it!” he protested. “Are you sure?” I asked in my most grandmotherly voice. All the signs were there and now it was time to pour on all he had. Lip fluttering in and out, he quietly replied, “No.” I’d seen this all before. It was Moe’s way of saying, “I did it, but I didn’t want to be caught.”

What do we do when we’re caught? When God sees all we do anyway, how in the world do we think we can get away with the things we do? Do we really believe He’s not watching and is going to be surprised to find out? Come on! We’re just like my little grandson who knows it’s wrong to do something but does it anyway hoping nobody saw. How like little kids we are!

And like little children we too are prone to sin and our motives, though we somehow think are ok, are not. It’s sin. Just call it what it is. Take a good look through your heavenly Father’s eyes today and try to see yourself as He sees you. You are known by your deeds, whether or not they’re pure and right. Kind of shows the little kid inside of you, doesn’t it?

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Proverbs Piece Number 9 – The Splash of Cold Milk

“The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish pulls it down with her hands.” Proverbs 14:1

When my husband and I began our family, we were determined to make our home a great place for kids to grow up. I don’t mean all the stuff it takes to make a house, but the stuff it takes to make a home. I learned long ago there is a big difference between a house and a home.

Proverbs 14:1 talks about how a woman builds her family inside her house. What is she doing to encourage her children and husband? What characteristics are her children picking up from her that will help shape their personalities? What kind of disciplines is she using to train up her children in the ways of the Lord? Well, there you go, I’ve failed that one already! As a mother, I’ve done some things I’m not too proud of. One that my sons frequently bring up is about a cup of cold milk. For the sake of making a point, I’m going to tell a true story about myself. Honesty…here we come!

One night when my husband wasn’t home, my children (ranging in ages 8-14) and I were eating dinner when the phone rang. I answered the call, and it developed into a rather long and serious conversation. During that phone call, my teenage sons began to be rowdy and wouldn’t calm down. Since the phone was connected to the wall, I couldn’t leave. Soon, they became louder. They wouldn’t listen to me. The hand motions I was making failed to stop whatever they were doing, so…I did the only thing I could think of to get their attention. I threw my cup of cold milk on one of my sons who was laughing the loudest. I know, I know, not the best way to handle the situation but it instantly quieted the crowd. To this day, whenever I’m anywhere close to my son with a glass of milk, he says, “Watch out, Mom’s got milk!”

Did I leave a good impression on my kids that night? Probably not. Was that the best thing I could have done? No. I have no excuse and I am not going to make one up because sometimes Moms make mistakes—plain and simple. We’re not perfect people just because we’ve taken the handle of Mother. We fail, fall, and fake a lot of what we do because we’re making up the manual as we go. Only by the grace of God and His leading are we able to make it through those years of raising young kids.

So this week when you see your Mom for Mother’s Day, give her a hug and tell her, “Hey, thanks, Mom. I love you anyway.” She may not know what you’re talking about, but you do. Let bygones be bygones, and love her while she’s here and you’re able. You’ll never regret it.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Proverbs Piece #8 – Tasty Gossip

"The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles, and they go down into the inmost body.” Proverbs 18:8

There have been times in my life when I have walked all the way around the block in another direction to avoid talking to a person who I know is a gossip. That was a drastic measure I know, but like the plague I try to avoid people who gossip!

There was a time in my life as a young girl when I was a gossip, so I know what they do. I used to take people’s information and think I needed to be the first one to tell everyone else! Somebody needed to tell them so why not me? Well, that came back to bite me. I won’t tell the story, but it was devastating; I learned my lesson at a very young age. I say all of that to let you know that I’m aware of how gossip hurts people. Like the verse says, it goes down like a tasty morsel but once it’s inside your heart…it literally makes you sick.

How do you avoid gossip? The first thing is to not listen! If someone begins to talk about another person or situation, walk away; end the conversation quickly before you hear something you don’t need to know. When someone starts their conversation with, “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this…but…” tell them they’re right. They probably shouldn’t be telling you whatever it is. If that doesn’t shut them up, then walk away, click off the phone, end it now before you regret it.

If you have problems with being a gossip, telling things you shouldn’t, then stop! You will never gain the trust of anyone if you are a gossip. You will lose the respect people should have for you if you are a talebearer. Is that what you want to be known for? Is that what a child of God should be doing? Dig a little deeper inside yourself and see if all the things you’re telling people really need to be told. Do you feel comfortable telling them or is the Holy Spirit telling you to zip it?

God makes it clear in this passage that being a gossip is something that will end up hurting you. It will harden your heart against compassion because you’ll hurt people with your words. Watch your mouth today. Make sure your words are lovely, not laced with gossip. Be a tasty morsel of good to someone today. You’ll love the results and it will be good for your heart!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Proverbs Piece #7 – Are You Overwhelmed Or Are You An Overcomer?

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Proverbs 24:10

I love the translation of this verse in The Message where it says, “If you fall to pieces in a crisis, there wasn’t much to you in the first place.” How very descriptive that translation is!

So how do you hold up in a crisis situation? Are you the level-headed one who goes immediately into action and knows exactly what to do? Are you the one who runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, screaming and yelling and making no sense? Or are you the one who faints dead away?

I remember one incident when I was about eight months pregnant with my youngest child. I was down in the basement doing laundry when my oldest boy (about eight years old) came into the house and yelled for me. I could tell by the tone in his voice that something was really wrong. I ran to the bottom of the stairs and there he was, holding his head and blood was running everywhere. The neighbor boy had thrown a rock at him and he was bleeding profusely.

After hefting my large growing belly up the stairs as fast as I could, I quickly cleaned off the wound and knew it needed stitches, probably more than a few. I gathered the other kids in the car and raced off to the doctor’s office. I didn’t realize until later when we were all home, the stitches in place, and things were calm how mechanical it all happened. I didn’t scream or get upset during the crisis; I kept a level head and did what needed to be done.

This verse doesn’t just talk about a physical crisis situation, but spiritual adversity and trials, too. Where is our strength when a trial comes? Who do we lean on to get us through those tough times when we really don’t know what to do? If our strength is in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10), we will stand through the trial. If we rely on our own strength, we will fall or faint. “He doesn’t have a root in himself…when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, straightway he stumbles,” (Matthew 13:21). You can be a strong, handle-the-crisis person and still need to rely on God’s strength in the hard times. There is nothing written in God’s Word that says a leader or a person who can handle stress doesn’t need God. He should always be the source of our strength!

Keep digging in His Word to get your roots deeply planted so when the storms of life come you won’t be overwhelmed—you will be an overcomer!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Proverbs Piece #6 – Listen to Your Father

“Listen to your father who begot you, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” Proverbs 23:22

Little girls have a “thing” for their dads. I don’t know what it is, but it’s something special that involves a unique connection.

As a little girl, I remember looking up at my dad and thinking he was the most handsome man I had ever seen. He had dark black hair and a big smile. His eyes were brownish and always twinkled. I knew when he spoke to me it was out of concern and care, and his reprimands meant business. I loved him dearly and still do. My daughter experienced the same thing with her dad, my husband Tom.

Now that my Dad is very old and feeble, my respect for my father remains. I listen to him and still hear that same care and concern in his voice. I have that same respect for my mother, although she’s not the same person she used to be. She has dementia. When she makes a crass comment to me, I know it’s not because she means it, it’s because she’s very sick and this illness is taking her away from us at a rapid pace.

As our parents age, they often lose touch with reality. They don’t care to learn new things; they enjoy the old things they know and are familiar with. They reflect on what’s happened in their lives and sometimes retreat to that place in their minds to rest for a while. They become easily confused and disoriented with the onset of certain illnesses which can bring on agitation. As the caregivers, we need to realize that inside that crippled arthritic body lies years of experience, knowledge, and many adventures. Treating them with little respect is like saying they don’t matter anymore.

If the last thing I can do for my parents is be respectful, then I will be. If it means I take some verbal abuse from a dementia patient, then I will. God tells us to “not despise our mother when she is old”; even though it’s hard sometimes, I’m working at it daily. Do you know why? Because I know that I could be there some day and would like people to treat me with respect. I’d want them to think of me as a real person, not just some body that can’t participate in society anymore.

God’s command to listen and respect our parents should not be taken lightly. Remember, someday…that could be you!

Proverbs Piece #5 - A Sharing Machine

“Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.”
Proverbs 21:13

I’ve known some pretty stingy people in my lifetime. You couldn’t wring a dollar bill out of them if you tried. They’re the kind of people that never pay when you go out to lunch together. They scrimp and save for heaven knows what all their lives and they wouldn’t buy a box of Girl Scout cookies if it meant somebody else would get something out of it. I call that a pretty selfish life.

Can you imagine what it would be like to get to the end of your life and realize that all you’ve done in accumulating wealth all those years…amounted to nothing? No purpose was accomplished; no good came from it at all except to benefit you. If you’re thinking, “Well, what’s so bad about that?” then I suggest you read on a little farther to see exactly why it’s so bad.

God did not make us to stay cocooned in our own worlds and accumulate things. He gave and gives to us so that we will show His love through becoming a sharing machine! We should not be giving just what’s left over to the poor, but what they need.

Think about this for a moment. When we donate to Goodwill, most of the time we give old stuff that we’ve used and are trying to discard. But what would happen if…just if…we called Goodwill and asked them what they needed most and then went to our closets and gave exactly what they needed? Whoa! That’s a new thought!

The above verse also says that the selfish person “will also cry himself and not be heard.” Someone who is selfish often finds herself alone at the end of her life with no one who really cares about her. She calls the grocery clerk or the bank teller her best friend when she barely knows them. It’s so sad to see someone this lonely. When she is old she cries out for help but no one is listening.

Let me suggest this one thing to you. While you’re able, with what you’re able…give not only stuff, but also give of yourself to others. Be a friend. Enjoy what God blessed you with while you are alive. If you see a need, meet it to the best of your ability. If you have a chance to share with a family poorer than you, find out what they need and go get it for them. People will be drawn to you like a magnet when they see your true heart of unselfishness as you answer the cries of the poor.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Proverbs Piece Number 4 – The Rich, the Poor and Everyday Dishes

“The rich and the poor have this in common the LORD is the maker of them all.” Proverbs 22:2

When I think of rich people I think of the Donald Trumps of this world who have more money than they will ever need. There’s even a ranking for the richest people in the world, but you can rest assured that most of us are not on that list! Those people live a completely different lifestyle than the common man. This verse tells me the more important thing is that GOD sees all of us as a wonder of His creation. He made me just like He made them. I love the old saying, “They get up and put their pants on the same way I do every morning…one leg at a time.”

Isn’t it amazing to think that God doesn’t put us into categories of goodness in order to love us? He doesn’t look at our clothes, our hair, or our stack of possessions and love us any more or any less. He’s not impressed by the wealth of a person like we sometimes are.

I have a question: What different preparations would you make if you knew Prince William and his new bride were coming to dinner next week, as opposed to if your husband invited three street people he met in the mission house that day? Would having royalty in your home make you fix expensive specialty foods or buy a new tablecloth and dishes with fancy flowers in the center of the table? What would you buy new for the street people? Would you set their place setting just like you would for the prince or would they get the everyday dishes? God tells us they’re both the same value to Him.

Watch yourself! You may not think you put people in categories, but you do. Think twice before you raise one person above the other. As far as I can see in the Scriptures, we are all on the same playing field in God’s game of life. You might want to check that Pharisaical hat at the door before it becomes glued to your head!

Proverbs Piece Number 51 – The Wise and the Foolish Sons

“A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.” Proverbs 10:1

Remember when your kids were four or five years old and you could see their individual personalities developing? You had one child who was always the leader, the one without fear, and another child who did not take chances because he watched what his older sibling did and learned valuable lessons.

As your children grew, you began to think what they might be when they grow up to be adults. Would the leader child be fearless in business or a renegade in some other job? Would he use his strengths for good or bad? Moreover, the child who was the follower would he be a thinker who charted his course carefully with gained knowledge?

This verse in Proverbs talks about sons and the different characteristics that appear in their personalities. The wise son makes a father glad or happy. The father is proud of the son’s accomplishments and probably brags about him often. Maybe this son is a chip off the old block and is acquiring attributes like his father.

But what about the other son, the foolish one who brings grief to his mother? How can a parent be proud of this son’s accomplishments? Often, the parent is grieved instead of proud of that son. The son’s or daughter’s actions have caused pain and heartache beyond belief. So do the parents give up on him or her? Do they throw him to the wolves to live in disgrace?

As a believing parent, the option of giving up on a child is out of the question. Hours and hours of prayer, tears, and years of pleading with God is what a parent should do. Tell some trusted friends about the situation and ask them to pray, too. There is much, much power in the prayers of God’s children. I have seen the results. I know the power of words prayed in earnest before a loving, listening, forgiving God.

Never give up. Never, never, never give up! The results you have prayed for may not happen in your lifetime, but God’s timetable needs to be played out for that son or daughter who is living in sin. They need to experience what HE has prepared for them to go through. So remember, He hears your every word and knows your deepest heartache. He knows what you pray for that child and hasn’t God told us He will give us the desires of our hearts? Turn all your children over to God, keep praying and love them with all your heart, no matter what.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Proverb Piece #2 – The Generous Eye, Proverbs 22:9

“He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.”
Have you been looking around lately? There are all kinds of ways out there to bless people’s socks off! But, I know, sometimes it’s easier to divert our eyes from what needs to be done. Especially if it means we have to open up our wallets and purses! Wow, God’s asking me to give money? Now wait a minute.

In Matthew West’s song My Own Little World, he uses these words: “What if there’s a bigger picture? What if I’m missing out? What if there’s a greater purpose that I could be living right now!”

What great questions to ask yourself. What is that bigger picture or purpose God might have for you right now? Could it be that you need to turn a generous eye toward someone you’ve been ignoring whether or not on purpose? That homeless person, that invitation to an event to raise money for a worthy cause or that office worker in need needs you to turn your eyes on them. You need to actually see the need with a direct look, not a passing glance. Dip into your pockets and begin to experience the blessings of giving.

This verse says God will bless that person who has a generous eye. Don’t you want to be blessed by God? Do you know what that means? It doesn’t just mean God will bless you a little. It means God has a whole bunch of blessings He’s just waiting to give to those who see a need and meet it!

And just what could those blessing be, you ask? Have you ever been on a mission’s trip or gone to help a needy family and had a small child reach up and give you the biggest hug ever as their way of saying thank you? It’s an amazing experience. It makes you want to get down on your knees and say, “Why don’t I do this every day?” It makes you want to drop all your money on the table along with your leather shoes and new spring jacket and say, “Take this! It’s yours! What else do you need?” Now, THAT’s a blessing!

So open up your eyes today and see if there’s a way you can bless someone’s socks off. You just might be surprised how much YOU are blessed in the process.

The Proverb Piece #1 – Commit Your Works, Proverbs 16:3

“Commit your works to the LORD and your thoughts will be established.”

Most times I think this verse is taken backward—we think about something and then do the works. But here the Lord is telling us to DO the works and then our thoughts will be guided or established afterward.

Let’s talk about this. If you had the choice to step out in faith, what would it actually take for you to lead out in that first step? Would you have to have all your proverbial ducks in order, the last jot and tittle marked, and the entire process planned step by step? I have to tell you that I am not this person.

When the LORD lays something on my heart to do, I will most likely step up and do it now, not later. It is through this process that I have learned how to place complete trust in God. Some have equated it to stepping out of an airplane door 50,000 feet up and knowing beyond a doubt that your parachute is going to open. That’s me. If I am sure God has placed the work in my head to begin with then why wouldn’t He help me accomplish it? Maybe that’s why people think of me as the oddball. I have no fear of failure!

As I look at my life in retrospect, I can see how this commitment has helped me focus more on God. I truly believe if we are as close as we can get to Him through reading His Word and through prayer that He will direct our thoughts to do His works. Don’t let that work of kindness, that telephone call you need to make, or that job you need to do for someone pass by as a fleeting thought. If you’re living your faith-life as you should, God might have placed that thought in your head for a reason. Step out, do it now…without fear! HE will provide the blessing and your thoughts will be established on Him!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Childhood Friends,

Somewhere between grade school and high school, kids develop very independent spirits. They want to choose their own clothes, their own mode of transportation, and especially their own friends. They seek out the crowd where they’re most comfortable and grow along with them. I think this is a normal, natural, healthy progression of events in a child’s life.

As parents, we want our kids to have healthy relationships with others. We desire in our deepest parts to have them live normal lives (or as close to normal as possible). When they begin choosing friends, we want to know who those kids are, what they act like, and what kind of influences they will bring into our children’s lives. We often want to know and meet their parents, too, all under the umbrella of protecting our children.

So what do you do when your children make unwise choices in selecting friends? What if in, let’s say, sixth grade your sweet little girl comes home with a bedraggled, foul-mouthed friend who can’t put being nice together even if it was wrapped in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Do you tell your daughter to find other friends who are more like her? Do you question your precious princess about what she sees in this girl? Start preaching?

I know your daughter would never do this, right? Don’t be so sure. Our perfect little children do grow up to be individuals who make their own choices. We’ve brought them up that way, remember? Always saying, “You’re a big girl now you can do this” or “Be a big boy and learn to do this by yourself.” So now they’ve done that and we’re in a panic!

I’ve had four kids with four different personality types. They’ve all chosen ways of life and friendships on their own. They were always independent! So my prayers for them have been for wisdom in choosing friends and lasting relationships—basically for living their lives. I pray that they will know those verses from their childhood that say, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” I pray they don’t want to have friends that are of the world so I pray for Christian friends and life mates that will honor God and will complement them. I pray for continued relationships with their heavenly Father who loves them more than I ever could. All I can do at this point is pray.

Back to your daughter with the unkind friend. Did you ever notice that kids can see more than adults sometimes? Often, a friend like hers needs to know what love truly is and she sees it in your child. You’ve nurtured your daughter, helped her grow spiritually, and been the best example of God’s love to her as possible. Now she’s choosing to show that love to someone else. So don’t shut the foul-mouthed little one out too soon! She may be searching for a friend just like your daughter, who is exuding Christ from every pore in her body!

Monday, March 28, 2011

Making a Decision with Wisdom

Recently, there was an opportunity to make a pretty big decision for CBH Ministries. It dealt with standing on principle (what our organization is known for) or simply completing the project because it was expected of us.

I chose not to make the decision from the top, but to allow those involved in the project to come to a conclusion as a group. That’s a hard thing for me to do as the leader, but I was more interested in seeing what would happen as a result of their choice, not mine.

As in most corporate organizations, the leader is expected to make decisions for the company or ministry. The thing that impresses me more is to find out if the administrative workers know me so well they could make the choice that I would have made anyway. If that happens, then I know I’ve done my leadership job well. If it doesn’t happen, then I still have much work to do.

Leaders are known for what they stand for, not for what they don’t stand for. Standing up for what is right in the eyes of God, being a person of integrity, and being compassionate toward others are parts of my character I pray people see. Knowing those traits and bringing them to the forefront of leadership happens in the decision-making process. How I choose to handle certain situations and in what manner I handle them will be the true test of my Christian character.

I’m waiting in my office right now for those folks to tell me their decision. Will this go as I hope it will? Is there another viewpoint I need to see? Ah…here they come!

YES! It’s just like I’d hoped. They made the right decision but came to the conclusion from their own point of view. Now that’s what I’m looking for.

Do you have decisions you need to make? Are your decisions made according to life principles that are not negotiable? Pray that the LORD will make you wise in your decision-making. If you are a leader, pray that those in your care are learning—not just your ways—but the ways that are right in the eyes of the Lord. Above all else, pray that you will continue searching for wisdom in all your decisions in life. Psalm 51:6 says it best: “Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts (where no one but God sees) and in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.”

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Pruning? Again?

My grandma used to own a cherry orchard. The sour cherry trees were in the field behind her house, but the sweet cherries were right up next to the house within easy access. I remember sitting in the trees filling myself full of that dark, sweet fruit when it first became ripe in the early summer. I loved cherry everything and you could tell by the deep red stains on my shirts!

Every spring the workers would prune the branches and leave mounds of limbs to cover the ground beneath each tree. It seemed like such a waste but the pruning actually helped the tree to bear more fruit by concentrating the energy from the tree trunk to fewer limbs and producing bigger cherries.

Scripture tells us that pruning needs to happen in our lives, too. In John 15 Jesus speaks of taking away the dead branches that do not bear fruit and pruning the good ones so they will bear more. That sounds just like my grandma’s orchard! Here in these verses Jesus is speaking about our lives as believers. Are we producing the optimal fruit for Christ or are we allowing parts of our lives to be lacking in fervor for Him?

Let me ask you this question: If you could take away three things from your responsibility list right now—any three things—would they be truly missed or are they really just making your life too busy to spend time with Jesus? Being busy is a real catch phrase today. It’s used as an excuse for everything from not attending church to not helping out in your community. Jesus would call some of your busyness dead branches. Take a moment to think about that and I’m sure you’ll see what He means.

Don’t make being busy an excuse for not being in the Word of God either. Reading it, thinking about it, applying His Word to your life are the most important things you can do every single day. Don’t make it just another thing to check off your list of things to do today. Being with God should never come last or take second place in your life. It should always be first on your list!

So if God asks you to take away the dead branches and prune the ones that bear fruit, let Him do His perfect work in you. It can only lead to a vibrant, alive believer who bears MUCH fruit!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Break Out of Your Rut!

I have always been a child at heart. I love to think like a child and wonder how “older” people would react if I actually did what I was thinking! Oh, heavens!

I’m sixty-two years old and I often wonder what it would be like to do crazy things at my age. Like learn how to skateboard and ride the rails! Or bungee jump. YES! What about drive a really fast race car in the Indy 500? Then I could always surf the “big one” in Hawaii! Yeah, there ya go. Dude, that sounds gnarly! Am I crazy or what? No, don’t answer that.

I guess I’m just one of those people who has done a lot of things in life but still wants to do more. Are you like that? Or are you…old? Have you settled into life like a well-worn recliner? Do you give old answers when people ask you questions? What do I mean? Well, if I were to ask you, “Hey, would you like to go on an impromptu vacation?” would you answer by saying that you have to have a plan and map and schedule of where I’m going and you have to know five weeks ahead of time and it takes you forever to pack? That’s an old answer. I’d rather hear something like, “Yeah, where are you going? Let’s do this thing!” Maybe I’m too impulsive for you or maybe you’ve just lost the impulsiveness of childhood to take a chance on doing the unplanned.

I think the best vacations our family ever took were the ones we didn’t plan. We just threw stuff in the camper and took off. We didn’t make reservations or plan out a road trip map or contact a travel agent. We let the open road be our guide and just made the most of it. I loved that part!

Our lives can become too planned if we’re not careful. Every day becomes like the last one and we can grow into a routine that’s so boring even our phone apps are sleeping! I can’t believe that’s God’s plan for us. He’s created a world to explore and people for us to meet. We can become so steeped in our daily patterns that it’s hard to break away. I think that’s one of Satan’s ploys to make us content, comfortable, and c-o-m-p-l-a-c-e-n-t! Boring!

So try this on your next free weekend. Starting with Friday night, don’t make a plan—just throw a few clothes in your overnight bag, grab your camera, your family or a friend, and take off! No, really! Take off in some direction that’s new. Don’t take the expressway either. Travel on a road you’ve never been on. Don’t use your GPS or check Mapquest. Just go! Spend the night in a bed and breakfast or some out of the way place. Grab the tent and spend the night in a state park. Do something new, adventurous, different. You’ll be amazed by how it adds a spark you may not have felt in a while. You’ll also be surprised by how much you look forward to the next unplanned weekend!

Oh, don’t write to me complaining you have a bad experience either. That’s just part of the adventure!

Monday, March 7, 2011

Does the Boogie Man Rule in Your House? (part 3)

The last part of Paul’s reminder to Timothy says that God has not given us a spirit of fear but of sound mind or self-control. In Greek these words mean that you’re of sober mind, prudent, or that you use discretion. How does that apply to you today, right now?

It means that you are not easily swayed to believe in opposition to what God wants for us. You are able to stay focused on how to dispel fear with God’s power and love because your mind is geared to follow His leading. This played out for Timothy when he was able to stand his ground and be unafraid to preach the truth of the Gospels to churches. He lacked the fear Satan tried to instill in him. This was a great accomplishment for Timothy because it helped him to stand after Paul was martyred for his faith.

Let me apply this to life today. Do we have the stamina to stand like Timothy did? Are we able to look forward to the future with a positive attitude because of God’s power working in and through us? Can we love like God loves because we know Him intimately from His Word? Can we step out in faith toward new projects, ministries, and adventures for God and not be swayed by Satan’s attacks or how he makes us question our abilities?

Oh, that’s so powerful! I’m telling you that YOU have the POWER to do works for God that you never imagined. You can conquer your fear of ALL things through the power of the Holy Spirit that works and lives and breathes within you. On top of all of that, you can realize your full potential God has planned for you in conquering your fears. Oh, how HE wants that for you.

So don’t let fear steal your blessings. Give the Boogie Man the boot! Say, “See ya. Wouldn’t want to be ya!” Do whatever it takes for you to get him out of your life! I’m telling you that your life will take an immediate change from timidity to tall tales of adventures when you put God in charge. You’ll see things you never saw before. You’ll feel life like it’s brand new and you’ll realize what you’ve been missing all these years. Open the door of your heart to let God do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think! Get ready to be amazed!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Does the Boogie Man Rule in Your House? (part 2)

God’s ability to dispel the fear that Satan tries to implant is amazing. When you least expect it, God displays His love for us that covers fear like a large, warm quilt on a cold winter day.

A fear that may rule in your home is that of the unknown. Many people do not venture outside the walls of their home to accomplish God’s purpose for their lives because of the fear that they will not be able to handle the things they do not understand or like or even know about. Opportunities come and go to be on church evangelist outreaches, participate in mission’s trips, or help others in some way. These chances are quickly pushed away because of the fear of the unknown. We tell ourselves, “They certainly don’t need me,” “I have nothing they could use on this trip,” and various other excuses we contrive.

It’s been my experience that you can conquer the fear of the unknown with love. That’s right, love. It’s a strange concept but Paul tells us otherwise.

This kind of love is shown when you can comfort a distraught person who has lost their home and everything dear to them in a flood or tornado. When you can help rebuild their house and make it into a home again. It’s the type of love that you give when you hold a child who has no parents and longs for a hug, a smile, and some compassion. It’s putting your arm around a widowed mother who is left to raise her children alone. These types of love can only come from a holy God and be shown through you giving it out to those around you. You become the conduit of an Almighty God. You, being used in ways you never thought of and couldn’t even imagine. You, receiving the blessings of a lifetime through these experiences of using love to conquer fear.

God’s love can easily help us overcome fear because we are directing our love at someone else. We’re not centered on what we’re afraid of, but instead we’re focused on using the power of His love to take us out of our comfort zone into the ministry zone. So as we look further into what we’re afraid of in part 3, don’t be surprised to find that the end of your fears leads to working in the field which leads to amazing blessings!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Does the Boogie Man Rule in Your House? (part 1)

When I was a child I truly believed the Boogie Man lived in the chimney of our coal furnace. He made rumbling, scary noises every night when I tried to sleep. I was sure he climbed up the outside of that chimney and looked into our second story bedroom window at night. I could just feel it! I get goose bumps just thinking of how scared of him I used to be!

That’s all childish imagination gone wild. What scares you now? What provokes a fear in your heart that is hard to relinquish?

I used to be afraid of many things, but as my faith grew, that fear diminished and is now gone completely. In the book of II Timothy, Paul reminds his dear protégé that “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (II Timothy 1:7, NKJV) That power is evident as we implement it into our work situations, our church responsibilities, and our families. Let’s explore that verse a little deeper.

I’ve often heard people say that they could never be a public speaker because of their fear of crowds. Just what are they afraid of? That the crowd will throw tomatoes? That they will walk out or that they will rise up in protest? Our fears are so ridiculous sometimes. Satan is such a provoker of fear and the unknown. He puts barriers up that prevent us from taking steps of faith. Instead, we end up missing opportunities for God to work in us and through us to reach others for His glory!

The power that Paul speaks of in II Timothy is the Holy Spirit. He is there with us at that speaker’s podium or at the head of that Sunday school class filled with eager students. He is present in our hearts, souls, and minds to work His wonder with our words. I’ve often left a speaking opportunity wondering just what I could have said that made any impact at all! That’s Satan using his power to make me feel incapable. Later, as I’ve talked with people, shook their hands, and listened, I’ve heard different words spoken into my heart, words of hope and help that were spoken through me to their hearts and souls. They were words that only God could have put there and used in His mighty way. Sometimes when I speak I say things that I’m not even aware of where they came from because they certainly were not in my speech or presentation. That’s truly a God-thing.

(Watch for parts 2 and 3)

Monday, February 28, 2011

Love Leads to Action

"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:5-8, NKJV)

Years ago when I started working with children, I taught a lesson from these verses that became sort of a signature with me. I usually asked a youth leader or pastor to be my guinea pig when I taught and this was no exception.

After the person joined me on the platform and I asked that they begin reciting all the verses they had ever memorized while doing a few small things. The first one was first sit on a chair (while reciting), then walk around the aisles (while reciting). Next they were to lie down on the floor (while reciting), then they rose up (while reciting) where they began the process all over again. At the end while they were still reciting I had them begin to write the verses on a sample of a door post I brought up on the platform. Oh, and before they began this whole cycle I tied a small square box to their left hand and also one on their forehead above their eyes. These boxes contained small scrolls with scripture on them called phylacteries.

The children enjoyed this process immensely. They laughed when the pastor or leader couldn’t remember the Scripture or when they had a hard time getting up off the floor. But when I began to relate to them why I was doing all of this they became alert to the thought behind it all.

Parents have a tremendous responsibility to give the Word of the Lord to their children. They should be implanting it in everything they do with them from getting up in the morning, sitting down to eat breakfast, walking with them through the day, and lying down next to them at night to say prayers. Everything a parent does should reflect God in some way. What a huge responsibility for their parents! What a large, all-encompassing, life-filling job they have!

What about you? Are you living the Deuteronomy 6 challenge every day as a parent? Where do you fall short? What’s keeping you from doing your job and fulfilling this Scripture? Take a second look at your busy schedule and don’t just fit it in, make it a living part of all you do every day. You will be amazed at how your children change when they see the pattern you’re living right in front of them. Let God help you. He can do that, you know.