Voices

 "Mama!" I heard as I finished putting dishes into the dishwasher at my daughter's house in Georgia on a recent visit. She had just left on an errand, so I responded, "Your mother has already gone!" Again I heard over the noise of the dishwasher, "Mama!"

"She's already gone to town!" I repeated. Then came the words, "Mama, it's me! I want to talk to you!" Oh! It was my daughter. I had thought it was one of the grandchildren. She was calling up from the garage to tell me she was taking the kids with her. With several family members around sounding so similar, it's no wonder I was confused.

I have learned not to answer every "Mama" I hear when I'm around my grown children. Once at Jamie's, our son who lives in Texas, he called, "Mama," and when I answered he said, "Not you, Tammy." They have small children and usually refer to each other as Mama or Daddy for their benefit.

I was "Mama" to all our children when they were young, but that became "Mom" from most of them as they grew up. However, Greg, our second-oldest son, has gotten into the habit of calling me "Mother". Perhaps to distinguish me from his wife.  Only one, Trevor, still calls me "Mama," and apparently, Amy.

Few of us ever forget our mother's voice. It always remains in our head with the memory of her calling our name from as far back as we can remember. My husband, Howard's, mother, always called him "Howardie," her pet name for him. We had lived away for nearly 40 years from the area where we grew up until a few years ago. One day we were in a place of business and fell into a conversation with a man whom my husband soon recognized as someone he used to know. When they realized who each other was, the man said, "I still remember your mother calling, "Howardie, it's time to come in," when we were playing."

The Bible says in John 10 that Jesus (the Shepherd of the sheep) knows the sheep and calls them by name, and that the sheep know His voice and follow him. Sometimes (not often, but it has happened) when I hear the phone ring I can't immediately distinguish which one of my son's is calling me. Though they sound different, there is enough similarity in their voices that sometimes they sound alike.

Mothers are not perfect. The Bible says in Isaiah 49:15-16 that even though a mother might forget her nursing child, that He will not forget Zion. He has them inscribed in the palms of His hands. He is speaking to Israel, but also to us. The nail scars prove it.

With Milk on the Side

 One day on a trip we stopped at a Cracker Barrel restaurant where I studied an old advertisement for cornflakes and found the proper way to eat them. The ad said they were "delicious with good top milk, poured into the side of the bowl, a little at a time." I guess that's why mine were always soggy. I dumped the milk over the top all at once.

I read once that cereal is the culprit responsible for America's obesity problem. The article recalled that a hundred or so years ago, people ate bacon and egg for breakfast. Then cereal was developed, and people stopped eating as many eggs, especially once it was known that they are high in cholesterol. Supposedly, cereal did not "stick to the ribs" all morning, and people ate even more for lunch. Well, they do fatten animals on grain, so maybe it makes sense.

Conversely, breakfast cereal was invented in an effort to give people healthier diets, as many people were troubled by intestinal problems back then. They often went to "sanitariums" to be cured. Dr. Harvey Kellogg was the superintendent of one of these sanitariums, strictly adhering to the guidelines of Sylvester Graham, who also invented Graham crackers. One day in 1894, as Dr. Kellogg and his brother, William Keith Kellogg, were experimenting with corn, they left the mixture out too long and it became stale. When they tried to roll it into thin sheets, it flaked up. Being thrifty, they decided to bake it anyway, and cornflakes were born.

Then, according to the article I read, a man with failing health visited the sanitarium. His name was C.W.  Post. He wasn't cured there, but he picked up the ideas on healthful eating, and went on to invent Grape Nuts, which made him rich. (It was sweetened with a type of sugar known as "grape" sugar, and it tasted like nuts.)

Diets come and go, and the pendulum now seems to be swinging to include fat in your diet(in moderation). Low-fat and fat-free diets are obviously not the answer to our weight issues. God created all foods to sustain us, and variety and moderation are no doubt the keys to good health. The focus of our society is almost exclusively on the temporal to the neglect of the eternal. Fashions, cosmetics, and exercise programs are all distractions that take our mind off what is really important. The body doesn't last, but the spirit lives on. That is where our emphasis should be. But a little bowl of cereal doesn't hurt, either. 

The Gift of Gab

 The Gift of Gab

My husband could carry on incredibly long conversations with people he had never met before. Even on the telephone. He had never had qualms about calling even the most important people for the minutest shred of information that he needed. I've been known to ask unbelievingly, "You're calling the (celebrity, politician, CEO) for that?" Not surprisingly, with his winning approach, he usually got the answer he wanted.

He had recently assumed the duty of choosing the name of a local pastor and a missionary for prayer by the congregation on Sunday mornings. That Saturday night I saw him perusing the ministry list, then heard him talking animatedly on the phone. He had recognized a familiar surname of a pastor and wondered if he were related to a minister he used to know by that same name and church affiliation in a neighboring town.

He talked so long and familiarly with someone, that after he hung up, I asked, "So he was related to your friend?"

"No! That list is out-of-date," he said, shaking his head. "The person I talked to doesn't eve live here anymore. He has a church in Kansas now."

"So what were you talking about so long," I wondered.

"Well, he knows a man that used to go to that church. In fact, this guy moved to that area and now goes to his church. Besides that, (the newcomer) knows (John) and (Bill) that I used to know well!" He proceeded to tell me of an inter-connecting string of people and events that was the topic of their whole conversation.

Howard had been on the phone all evening, it seemed, and we were just preparing for bed when the phone rang again. Another spirited, jocular, interchange ensued for so long that I went to bed.

"Why did he call back?" I asked when he finally got off the phone.

"That wasn't him, that was the other guy! The pastor gave him my number. You wouldn't believe all the same people that we know!" Yes, I would. Howard had lived around here all his life, going to school, having jobs, and meeting many people while working at the family grocery store.

Though I might have found my husband's effusiveness a little exasperating sometimes, I couldn't complain, for the qualities that other people liked about him are the same ones that drew me to him in the first place. I think most people would agree with me that when it came to Howard, "To know him was to love him."

"

Treasuring the Treasure of You

 Treasuring the Treasure of You

Howard looked like a master violin maker as he painstakingly worked to put the old violin back together. He'd had it since he was a child and had taken an interest in it lately. He had taken it from a hook on the wall and had spent the last few days hunting down accoutrements: polishing oil, a small piece of wood known as a "nut" to go under the strings , a new bridge, strings, and other necessities.

"When did you learn to do that?" I asked, seeing a side to him that was unfamiliar to me. He told me he had learned it growing up when he'd played the violin, accompanying his dad, who played the guitar as they performed for family and friends.

God had given my husband many gifts, the love of music being a major one. He has passed it along to our sons, and all four of them play the guitar or other instruments.

Howard was given a wonderful speaking voice which is a perfect complement to his love of the Bible and the sharing of it in ministry. Few eyes in the congregation stray when he preached sermons, liberally laced with gripping stories and illustrations, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

Stories were another of his gifts, an unlimited repertoire and an indefatigable memory, drawing from his years of public relations in work and ministry.

That my husband was a people person filled with compassion was demonstrated when he noticed a man coming out of a store walking along bent over nearly doubled, as was the woman, the "daughter of Abraham" that Jesus healed in Luke 13:13.

Howard approached him in a friendly way, draped his arm around his shoulder and prayed for his healing. The man smiled a "thank you," as we went on our way. He may not have been a master violinist, but when he reached out to that man, Howard definitely had the Master's touch.

You are the Air I Breathe

 While watching the film, EVEREST, at the IMAX theatre in Ft. Worth once, I learned something about the body. As the climbers ascend to heights where the atmosphere has become thinner, they begin to suffer oxygen deprivation unless they make camp, rest, and exert themselves as little as possible for a couple of weeks until their bodies acclimate to the new environment. Meanwhile, their bodies are producing more red blood cells than usual, enabling them to take in more oxygen and continue their climb.

In reading about this later, I found out that many athletic and Olympic training camps are held at higher altitudes to increase the endurance and stamina of the athletes, since they develop greater lung capacity and increased blood cells at these levels. This enables them to compete at greater performance levels, at least for a few weeks, when the body returns to its previous state in their normal environment.

There is even evidence that living at higher altitudes increases longevity, due to the increased red blood cells bringing more oxygen to the heart. I think I have read of instances of people from Tibet or other mountainous regions who have lived extremely long lives. Of course, they get a lot of sunshine up there, which makes them even healthier.

I wonder if in the same way we can increase our spiritual capacity? I know that once when I went on a three-day fast, I became more spiritually sensitive as I was less concerned about my physical needs.  It was if I had grown new spiritual receptors; the words in the Bible seemed to jump out at me with new clarity and meaning. People who spend much time in prayer seem able to do just that--spend a lot of time in prayer. They have grown stronger and increased their prayer stamina. Their hearts have grown stronger in the rarified atmosphere of prayer.

Colossians 3:1-2 tells us, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth." And in Matthew 6:19-21, we are admonished not to lay up treasures on earth, but in Heaven. Verse 21 says, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Jesus' blood that he shed has brought eternal life-giving oxygen to my heart, and I will live just fine in that ultimate High Altitude!

Just a Cup of Water

Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

He was teaching about the criteria to enter into His Kingdom, which included tending and bestowing kindness on those hungry and thirsty, a stranger or prisoner, and the naked and sick. The basis for judgment seems to be whether or not love was shown for God's people. (I John 3:14-14).

Many times people who may be at different stages of their lives think, "Well, I'd like to be a missionary or do something for God, but what can I do? I'm just a...housewife, farmer, businessman, etc." I tended to agree with the young mother I heard of once who said, "Well, I clothe the naked and feed the hungry every day--my children!" And it's true; as wives and mothers, our first mission field is at home. But there are many ways we can show kindness to our fellowman.

The Bible says to weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15). Jesus' words were prefaced by the righteous asking when they had ever seen Him hungry and fed Him, or thirsty and gave Him a drink, ministered to Him as a stranger, naked, sick, or in prison. That's when He told them that when they did it to the least of them, they did it as unto Him. We have the same opportunities today. We  just have to open our eyes.

Beauty for Ashes

 Beauty for Ashes

My husband was telling me of a customer who was sad about losing her job, having been employed there over 30 years. "I was a good worker, but when I hurt my leg I was let go and replaced with someone else."

Life can be so meaningless sometimes. Just this morning, today's daily Bible reading selection, which began in the book of Ecclesiastes, started with Solomon saying the same thing. He had tried everything and found it meaningless. He was jaded on life and seemed to conclude chapter 3, verse 22, on a fatalistic note that life is all there is.

Paul in II Corinthians 6:1-2 had a much more optimistic view of life and eternity, holding out the promise of God's grace to us. The scripture there says, "We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (2) For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation I have succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." It is a time accepted, or a time of God's favor.

That is the way we must look a life. Disappointments and injustices will always come, but they are nothing in the light of God's salvation. Paul concludes verse 10 with words that refer to himself and God's servants "as having nothing, yet possessing all things."

The next scripture passage is Psalm 46:1-11. It is filled with reassurances that God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, and that though the earth be removed and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, there is a river, whose streams make glad the city of God; He is in the midst of it.

The Lord of Hosts is with us and the God of Jacob is our refuge. We are told to "Be still, and know that I am God," verse 10. That is the key to dealing with our frustrations and questions, no matter how we are treated by the world.

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Flower Power

 They are gorgeous and spirit lifting! I searched around at home and found just the right vase for some flowers I bought. It's like something alive in the room, warm and glowing in the lamp light. Well,  with the packet of floral preservative included, they will look that way a little longer. I wondered what was in the stuff, so I did a little reading about it.

The preservative contains sugar, for food, citric acid to facilitate hydration, and an anti-bacterial agent to keep bacteria from clogging up the stem and cutting off the water. The article I read said that the packet usually does not contain enough of the mixture for the amount of water most vases hold, so the solution is weakened, and you might end up having just enough sugar to promote bacterial growth, and not enough anti-bacterial stuff to kill it. In that case, you'd be better off with just clear water. Who knew?

Somehow that struck a parallel of spiritual life to me. We are like a flower, one of God's wonderful creation. We need spiritual food, or the Word, and the hydration of the Holy Spirit for life and beauty. We also need an anti-bacterial agent to keep sin from clogging up our spiritual connection to the Water of Life. This agent is the blood of Jesus, the remission for sins.

I found that water molecules stick together, and as they evaporate, they are pulled upward into the flower petals, keeping them fresh and beautiful.  The right amount of acidity makes them stick together even more. Reminds me of the unifying power of the Holy Spirit, and the scripture, "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together," Hebrews 10:25.

If the gospel is watered down, like the too-week solution, it is almost worse than no gospel at all, with just enough sugar to let sin grow, and not enough anti-bacterial power to resist it. Evidently, some manufacturers of floral preservative think consumers don't know any better, and they get by with providing a too-small packet and too-little product to save a few cents. This results in dirty, smelly water and  and short-lived flowers. A lesson on dead churches and superficial Christianity.

 Proof Positive

"Dad, this is not the original car title, but a copy," Gary told his father as he came in from the DMV. He was getting a car from us for Paul to drive to school and was taking care of the paper work. Howard got up to go check his file for the original, but Gary interrupted him. "They said if I got a sample of your signature, and it matched the one you put on here, they would accept that, since I already had this notarized."

"Don't spread it out like John Hancock," I chimed in as Howard took pen in hand. "You want it to match." Sometimes my husband signs his distinctive signature in a scrawly flourish, but apparently it matched for Gary's purposes.

One's own name written in one's own hand. The power of a simple signature. Almost as reliable as a fingerprint, although it can be forged. Kings used to use signet rings as their signature. When pressed into a seal of wax, it put the power of the king behind whatever document it was upon.

Jesus' signature to us was the nail scars in His hands, His handwritten promise written in red that we could be saved from sin if we put our trust in Him. His obedience in bearing the weight of the sins of the world put all the weight of Heaven behind His signature. When our King pressed his signet ring into the wax of the Holy Spirit, we were sealed unto the day of redemption, Ephesians 4:30.

Car titles are proof of ownership. There is an old song, I Hold a Clear Title to a Mansion, referring to our home in heaven. Jesus said in John 14:2, "In my Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you."

Whether that means rooms, as some say, or dwelling places, the important thing is that Jesus will be there and there is room for all. In the next verse, He promises, "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." That sounds like the Signature on a Title to me!

3Christina Corpuz Yapnayon, Sandra Adkins and 1 other

 Come Unto Me

"Mom, I'm coming over to find Dad's keys," our son Greg said over the phone. Well, okay, I thought, but there's not much use. All week our searches had proved futile. But Greg had been known to go right to things before, so maybe he'd be successful this time. Only two days before I had thoroughly cleaned the bedroom where Howard's big desk is, pulling things out, dusting, mopping the wood floors and looking behind things. We had searched both cars and both desk areas.

Mister Master Detective swooped in and gave the house a once-over. He went into the dining room, looked under the bookcase, and gave the house a once-over.

"You say you always kept them in a global thing?" he questioned his dad. I told him it was the oval desk container with map designs on it. Finally, he said, "I'm going to go search the cars. Where are your car keys?" I pointed to the "map box" and he went to retrieve them, lingering over the desk a moment, then he said, "I found them!"

The lost keys? No way! Where were they? "Right here on the desk, he said, as if to answer my thoughts. I ran to look, and he pointed to a small sculpture, "Jesus and the Cross", received as a gift for our 5oth anniversary that I had only recently taken from a display case and set on the desk.

"They were hanging on the cross," Greg told me. The bronze look of keys and the medal hanging there had camouflaged them perfectly against the sculpture, besides which their vertical lines had hung in alignment with the crossbeams of the cross angled upward on the back of Jesus. Who put them there?

Whether they were there all the time, or mysteriously appeared there super naturally, the message has to be the same: Jesus is our burden bearer. Trusting Him is the "key" to freedom from the stress and worry that we try to carry ourselves. It hung on the cross with Him. Jesus said in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Never Too Early

 "Don't ask God for a task that fits your ability, but believe that God will give you the ability for the task," the evangelist said.

He recalled a time when he was a youth pastor when as a project for the youth group, he assigned them the task of hand-copying the Bible! Surprisingly, they rose to the challenge and worked long and hard for 18 months, the Bible being divided into sections for different groups.

"It was amazing, the former youth pastor said, holding up a newspaper clipping with the headline,"YOUTH COPIES THE BIBLE BY HAND".

"In stormy weather when the power went out due to snow and blizzards, they worked by candlelight, writing on old parchment paper, just like the scribes of old." 

He described one girl who was particularly dedicated to the project. "She was short and thin, with long, stringy hair and came to church even if she had to walk. She had the sweetest personality ever, but with her freckles and uneven teeth, she couldn't be called pretty. In fact, she was more than plain, she was ugly!"

"She was devoted to the task, though," he went on. Then the evangelist's voice broke. "And do you know where she is now, some 35 years later?" he asked. "She's in the jungles of Peru, working with Wycliff Bible Translators to translate the Bible into their language!" 

Tears came to my eyes at the realization of this marvelous outcome for the young girl, who seemed to have little to offer in the eyes of the world. The evangelist said he was firmly convinced that God had given her the ability for such a task when she was faithful to the lesser task way back then. Amen!

As Easy As Falling Off A Log!

 As Easy As Falling Off A Log!

Well, with seven brothers, I managed to get into some scrapes along the way. I remember riding on a log in a flood-swollen creek with my 8-year-old brother. Suddenly, I slipped off the log to find my eyes blurred with yellow water and my long, blonde hair being yanked to the surface and put back on the log!

I told this story several years ago to a friend sitting next to me in the church pew. (It all started when the pastor was giving an account of saving his brother from drowning in a pond, having been forbidden by their parents to go there.)

My seat mate related that she had had that near-drowning experience as a child. She, too had fallen off a log in a pond where some older kids were swimming.

The only difference was that her whole life flashed before her eyes before she was pulled up! I can't imagine a vision like that, but obviously the brain has incredible power. Perhaps near-death experiences are given a moment in time to repent and be saved! God is good!

Prayer

 Prayer

A visiting missionary at church said he wanted to give a short lesson on prayer. He said though there are many types of prayer, he would focus on three.

"There is the prayer of desperation, the kind many of us are used to praying. When something goes wrong, we quickly call on God to HELP us! David prayed this kind of prayer often. In Psalm 64:1, he prays, "Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer preserve my life from fear of the enemy."

And in Psalm 61, he beseeches, "Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer." We have no trouble calling out to God in times of desperation.

Then there is the prayer of perspiration, one of hard work and perseverance. But we are promised: "He who giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men will utterly fall; But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint," Isaiah 40:29-31.

Jesus was praying like this when in Luke 22:24, it records: "And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground."

Prayers of preparation are given in Ephesians 6:10-18, when we are told to put one the whole armour of God, including belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes of the gospel, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

If we pray the prayer of preparation at the beginning of our day, and are strengthened by prayers of perspiration, we may be less likely to have to pray in desperation, having been equipped against "the fiery darts of the wicked," or anything else life throws at us!

Exhaust

 Exhaust

We developed a small hole in an extension of our exhaust pipe on our car. I'd heard our high-school son, Jamie, asking what the hissing noise was. "Sounds like a hole in their esophagus," I remarked at the suffing air noise I detected when the window was open.

"That's what it is, a hole in the windpipe," my husband nodded agreeably. After a few minutes of reflection, Jamie informed me from the back seat that people don't really breathe air into their lungs, it forces itself in.

"You lower the pressure when your diaphragm contracts, and the air rushes in," he explained. He learned it in Chemistry class, he said.

I never thought of it that way. It reminded me of an explanation I'd heard on the scripture in Luke 16:16. "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man every man presseth into it."

And again in Matthew 11:12-13, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."

As those knowledgeable in the law realized their shortcomings in fulfilling it, when Jesus came, they were so ready that they pressed in violently on every side. That's why there were 3,000 saved on the day of Pentecost (these were very devout men who knew the law) and one reason the early church grew so rapidly.

As the law reveals our sin, (who has not broken one of the ten commandments?) we become aware of our utter helplessness and hopelessness and turn to the Lord. Only then can true repentance be experienced.

Acknowledging God's holiness and our need of Him should make us desire the breath of His spirit in our lives and allow Him to rush in even as our oxygen-depleted lungs gratefully accept air. He alone can fill the vacuum of an empty life.

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