“May I say something?” I interjected at a Bible study last night. We were discussing hearing from the Holy Spirit and I was reminded of something that happened to me several years ago. As a church secretary, I was doing some errands on a beautiful fall afternoon, checking an item in a catalogue at a bookstore before I would purchase some hard to get items at the supermarket to send to our church missionary in Kenya.
Leaving the bookstore and stepping out into the glorious sunlight, I reached for my car door and saw a glint of silver twinkling on my steering column. My car keys were dangling from the ignition! I was locked out! A coat hanger! I thought. I wondered if the clerk in the bookstore had one. She did, but I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I knew I couldn’t poke the hanger through the key hole, but I saw no other way to get it in.
Finally, I pushed the hook of the hanger against the rubber that lined the window, and gratifyingly, I felt it give. Still, there was no way to guide the hook the tantalizing two inches to the protruding knob that would unlock the door. Risking all, I pulled the hook out of the window and decided to insert the corner of the hanger. It slipped in easily, too, and my confidence mounted. The sharp angle of the hanger would have caught the knob, but it was slanted away from the lock.
Try again. This time, I bent the hanger corner before I inserted it, and it slipped expertly over the lock. I held my breath as I gave a quick, but firm, yank (kind of like pulling a baby tooth). Incredibly, the lock popped up! I was positively euphoric. I had an impulse to keep the hanger, but it was all bent, so I deposited it on a pile of boxes at the back door of the bookstore.
As I was pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store, I was suddenly aware of an older man calling out to me from the parking space opposite mine. “I don’t suppose you have a coat hanger in your car, do you?” he asked with an embarrassed laugh. “I’ve locked my keys in my car.” I knew then why I’d had that inner nudge to keep the hanger.
Was that the Holy Spirit? I decided it was when I realized that little things we do and take for granted are actually part of living a Spirit-led life. “In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:6. The others tended to agree with me.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Daisies are for Love
“Would you like some daisies?” my neighbor was asking. “I am thinning out my flower bed and I have all these extra plants I’m getting rid of.” Daisies! My favorite flowers! Of course, I took them. Come Spring, I had thick, lovely stands of them bordering my front entry.
We were just getting settled after a transitional period between churches. We had recently assumed the pastorate of a small church and had moved into a modest rental home in the country. The location was idyllic, and I was able to overlook the shortcomings of the small house, which did have its own particular charms. It was light and airy with many windows overlooking a side yard where we had hung two porch swings right-angled from each other on the branches of two oak trees. It was a perfect conversation spot for us and visitors alike.
A tiny patio, a six foot square, was outside the front door. We bought a swing with a green and white awning that just fit on one side, and an umbrella table with chairs for the other side, the adjustable umbrella tilting to provide privacy and/or sun protection. A large shrub shielded one end of the swing. And then there were the daisies. Cheerful, thick and swaying gently on their slender stems in the hilltop winds, they brightened every morning for the entire season. When we moved from there a few years later, our land lady protested, “But you had made this such a home!”
Maybe that’s my knack, for as I was posting back and forth with a friend from Mississippi the other day who said she had lived in her home for 20 years, I mentioned that we had lived in our house there for that long. She said she remembered our “lovely house” and how homey it was. I knew I loved it, but it was nice to hear from someone else.
Then a few nights ago I had a gathering at our house for a church women’s group. One of our guests, especially, paid me lovely compliments on the décor (which is kind of Cracker Barrel-Inspired/Early Garage Sale). “You could have a bed and breakfast!” she exclaimed. (Well, I do have a “Mom’s Bed & Breakfast” sign in the kitchen I’d bought many years ago.)
The Bible says in Titus 2 that the older women are to “teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” A keeper at home. I guess that’s me. We have many more freedoms than did the women of that culture, but the Bible is timeless. My children have grown up, but I still keep house for their father. Women will always keep the home, whether or not they have an outside job. That too, is timeless.
We were just getting settled after a transitional period between churches. We had recently assumed the pastorate of a small church and had moved into a modest rental home in the country. The location was idyllic, and I was able to overlook the shortcomings of the small house, which did have its own particular charms. It was light and airy with many windows overlooking a side yard where we had hung two porch swings right-angled from each other on the branches of two oak trees. It was a perfect conversation spot for us and visitors alike.
A tiny patio, a six foot square, was outside the front door. We bought a swing with a green and white awning that just fit on one side, and an umbrella table with chairs for the other side, the adjustable umbrella tilting to provide privacy and/or sun protection. A large shrub shielded one end of the swing. And then there were the daisies. Cheerful, thick and swaying gently on their slender stems in the hilltop winds, they brightened every morning for the entire season. When we moved from there a few years later, our land lady protested, “But you had made this such a home!”
Maybe that’s my knack, for as I was posting back and forth with a friend from Mississippi the other day who said she had lived in her home for 20 years, I mentioned that we had lived in our house there for that long. She said she remembered our “lovely house” and how homey it was. I knew I loved it, but it was nice to hear from someone else.
Then a few nights ago I had a gathering at our house for a church women’s group. One of our guests, especially, paid me lovely compliments on the décor (which is kind of Cracker Barrel-Inspired/Early Garage Sale). “You could have a bed and breakfast!” she exclaimed. (Well, I do have a “Mom’s Bed & Breakfast” sign in the kitchen I’d bought many years ago.)
The Bible says in Titus 2 that the older women are to “teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” A keeper at home. I guess that’s me. We have many more freedoms than did the women of that culture, but the Bible is timeless. My children have grown up, but I still keep house for their father. Women will always keep the home, whether or not they have an outside job. That too, is timeless.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Sky Watcher
The weeping willows are shrouded with a green mist, my flowering quince has tightly wrapped pink buds that grow fatter each day with the promise of imminent blooms, jonquils appear around town and the forsythia next door is showing yellow. It must be Spring, that long-awaited sprite that tantalizes on capricious chilly winds warmed by tentative sunshine. I have been waking earlier as my bedroom window lightens right on time for the Daylight Savings that goes into effect this weekend. All undeniable signs of the changing of the season.
Yet another natural disaster of record breaking proportions has happened overnight with Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. Yes, we have always had earthquakes, but they are escalating in frequency and intensity, as are storms, floods, extremes of temperature and other weather related troubles. Many see these events as part of the sorrows, or “birth pangs,” that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24--an apt application, as labor pains are at first infrequent and erratic, then with shorter elapsed time between each pain that grows ever stronger.
Jesus gives a rebuke in Matthew 16:2-3 when He says, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
Another sure sign of Spring is the proliferation of robins the past few days. They are everywhere! All over town I see them sitting, as if deep in thought and solemnly considering where to build that new nest this season. Before we know it, gem-blue eggs will give way to fledglings that fly away.
The mother eagle makes the nest uncomfortable when it is time for her youngsters to make their exit. She removes the downy lining she has placed there to protect the tender, naked hatchlings from the sharp sticks and brambles of construction. But now they have grown and are fully feathered. They have no choice but to find relief by perching on the edge of the nest, where they fall or are nudged into the blue beyond. It seems to me our nest is getting a little uncomfortable, and that we may soon fly away.
Yet another natural disaster of record breaking proportions has happened overnight with Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami. Yes, we have always had earthquakes, but they are escalating in frequency and intensity, as are storms, floods, extremes of temperature and other weather related troubles. Many see these events as part of the sorrows, or “birth pangs,” that Jesus refers to in Matthew 24--an apt application, as labor pains are at first infrequent and erratic, then with shorter elapsed time between each pain that grows ever stronger.
Jesus gives a rebuke in Matthew 16:2-3 when He says, “When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?”
Another sure sign of Spring is the proliferation of robins the past few days. They are everywhere! All over town I see them sitting, as if deep in thought and solemnly considering where to build that new nest this season. Before we know it, gem-blue eggs will give way to fledglings that fly away.
The mother eagle makes the nest uncomfortable when it is time for her youngsters to make their exit. She removes the downy lining she has placed there to protect the tender, naked hatchlings from the sharp sticks and brambles of construction. But now they have grown and are fully feathered. They have no choice but to find relief by perching on the edge of the nest, where they fall or are nudged into the blue beyond. It seems to me our nest is getting a little uncomfortable, and that we may soon fly away.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Happy Birthday!
My little granddaughter’s birthday is coming up. She will be two. I think I will get her a Pillow Pet. Since she can’t read, I can write this. If I order it online, I won’t have to mail it.
Why do we celebrate birthdays? To mark the momentous occasion when a precious new personality was born into our lives, packed with potential and endless possibilities. Someone said, “Babies are proof that God wants the world to continue.” And how we celebrate when that new life comes into the world! Surely it is a reflection of the celebration in Heaven when a soul is born again!
We are assured in scripture that God thinks of us even in our mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13-18 says, “…Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret… Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written…when as yet there was none of them. How precious are they thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake I am still with thee.”
Little Maddie’s days were planned before she was even born. Her trips to the zoo, riding on the train in the park, wearing her tutu around the house, singing and dancing in worship time, tasting new foods, playing with her sister--all are orchestrated by God, not to mention the wonderful things He has planned for her future.
So we give gifts to show our love and appreciation and support of the marvelous gift of a child. After all, she is part of us--my mother’s red hair (and maybe even her temperament), her mother’s smile and so much more. Maddie loves soft and cuddly things, always reaching for her blanket for comfort, expertly tossing it onto the floor in an inviting heap and dropping down upon it, her two fingers in her mouth. Enjoying its familiar warmth and fingering its satiny edge when she goes to sleep, she can rest assured, “When I awake, I’m still with Thee.” Happy Birthday, Maddie. I think she will like her Pillow Pet.
Why do we celebrate birthdays? To mark the momentous occasion when a precious new personality was born into our lives, packed with potential and endless possibilities. Someone said, “Babies are proof that God wants the world to continue.” And how we celebrate when that new life comes into the world! Surely it is a reflection of the celebration in Heaven when a soul is born again!
We are assured in scripture that God thinks of us even in our mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13-18 says, “…Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret… Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written…when as yet there was none of them. How precious are they thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake I am still with thee.”
Little Maddie’s days were planned before she was even born. Her trips to the zoo, riding on the train in the park, wearing her tutu around the house, singing and dancing in worship time, tasting new foods, playing with her sister--all are orchestrated by God, not to mention the wonderful things He has planned for her future.
So we give gifts to show our love and appreciation and support of the marvelous gift of a child. After all, she is part of us--my mother’s red hair (and maybe even her temperament), her mother’s smile and so much more. Maddie loves soft and cuddly things, always reaching for her blanket for comfort, expertly tossing it onto the floor in an inviting heap and dropping down upon it, her two fingers in her mouth. Enjoying its familiar warmth and fingering its satiny edge when she goes to sleep, she can rest assured, “When I awake, I’m still with Thee.” Happy Birthday, Maddie. I think she will like her Pillow Pet.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Music for the Soul
“See you in half an hour?” I said to my husband early last Saturday morning.
“Half an hour!” he said indignantly. “I’ll be gone ’til noon, I imagine.” He had his portable CD player in one hand and his guitar in the other. This would be the first day of his Music Therapy ministry, and he was on his way to see a friend in a nursing home.
We had known this couple many years ago when we lived in Wichita, Kansas, and had just found out they lived here last year. They were older than us, and unfortunately Mel’s health was failing. Howard remembered him as an accomplished guitarist and singer, but he couldn’t be sure his friend even knew him now. His wife, Barbara, had asked Howard to visit her husband, since the doctor had indicated his time might be short.
Howard had had the vision of music therapy ever since his hospitalization last year, when listening to music made him feel so much better. He’d been reading up on it, and believed in the healing power of music. Of course he was familiar with the biblical account of David and Saul, and how David played his harp to dispel Saul’s moods. David had doubtless had many experiences calming his flocks of sheep with the soothing music from his harp.
A few hours later my husband burst triumphantly through the door, all smiles. “How did it go?” I questioned. He told me all about it, how his friend was unresponsive with his face to the wall when he got there. The man’s wife arrived about the same time, and Howard asked her if he could put on a long-playing CD of worship music he had brought especially for that purpose. As they sat quietly talking while the music played, an instrumental version of the song, “Be Still and Know that I Am God,” came on. The beautiful strains of the old familiar hymn filled the room. Suddenly they noticed movement from the patient’s bed. Mel was raising an arm in praise to God!
“Then when I got ready to leave,” Howard reported excitedly, “I asked if we could sing a song for him with the guitar. We began to sing ‘In the Garden’, and when we got to the part about ‘He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own’, I couldn’t believe my ears! Melvin started singing it, too!” He told me of the great presence of the Lord in the room and their joy and amazement at Melvin’s response.
“So it was a success?” I asked, happy for him. But the expression on his face said it all, as Mr. Music was already making plans for next time.
“Half an hour!” he said indignantly. “I’ll be gone ’til noon, I imagine.” He had his portable CD player in one hand and his guitar in the other. This would be the first day of his Music Therapy ministry, and he was on his way to see a friend in a nursing home.
We had known this couple many years ago when we lived in Wichita, Kansas, and had just found out they lived here last year. They were older than us, and unfortunately Mel’s health was failing. Howard remembered him as an accomplished guitarist and singer, but he couldn’t be sure his friend even knew him now. His wife, Barbara, had asked Howard to visit her husband, since the doctor had indicated his time might be short.
Howard had had the vision of music therapy ever since his hospitalization last year, when listening to music made him feel so much better. He’d been reading up on it, and believed in the healing power of music. Of course he was familiar with the biblical account of David and Saul, and how David played his harp to dispel Saul’s moods. David had doubtless had many experiences calming his flocks of sheep with the soothing music from his harp.
A few hours later my husband burst triumphantly through the door, all smiles. “How did it go?” I questioned. He told me all about it, how his friend was unresponsive with his face to the wall when he got there. The man’s wife arrived about the same time, and Howard asked her if he could put on a long-playing CD of worship music he had brought especially for that purpose. As they sat quietly talking while the music played, an instrumental version of the song, “Be Still and Know that I Am God,” came on. The beautiful strains of the old familiar hymn filled the room. Suddenly they noticed movement from the patient’s bed. Mel was raising an arm in praise to God!
“Then when I got ready to leave,” Howard reported excitedly, “I asked if we could sing a song for him with the guitar. We began to sing ‘In the Garden’, and when we got to the part about ‘He walks with me and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own’, I couldn’t believe my ears! Melvin started singing it, too!” He told me of the great presence of the Lord in the room and their joy and amazement at Melvin’s response.
“So it was a success?” I asked, happy for him. But the expression on his face said it all, as Mr. Music was already making plans for next time.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Fear Not
“Answer the phone! Answer the phone! I need help!” Sarah was screaming into her cell as it rang repeatedly at her home where her parents were asleep. My granddaughter was clinging to the slippery roof of her fiance’s car where she had scrambled in the middle of a flash flood in Tennessee a few days ago. They had been on their way to her house when they went over a hill and immediately found themselves in deep water and unable to stop until they came to the middle. Terrified as the water came into the car, she had climbed out the window to her precarious perch, while Kevin struggled against the current to reach her.
“I’m on my way!” her dad yelled when they called her back. “Call 911!” By the time help arrived, Kevin had managed to slog through the dark water, barely keeping his balance as he carried Sarah to safety, praying as hard as he had ever prayed in his life. By then they could see two other abandoned cars in the water. They learned that emergency vehicles had rescued the occupants, but no warning signs had been posted. I saw the television interview the next day as their car was being pulled from the water. Sarah’s fiance gave God the glory for saving them in the story by the news reporter.
I was reminded of this in a sermon Howard preached last night on trusting God. He referenced Daniel in the lions’ den and the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. The scripture says in Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flames kindle upon thee, (3) For I am the Lord thy God.”
The route the young people had taken ran beside a river, which had overflowed in torrential rains over Oakland road that night, but they were not hurt. Sarah’s triumphant account of their close call was on her face book status right away, which is where I learned about it, getting the full report from my daughter later. I was glad to be able to testify of it in church last night, not knowing what my husband’s text was going to be.
This couple was miraculously spared in a harrowing car wreck on Christmas night. Surely God has something good in store for them. Verse 1 of Isaiah 43 says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” A message to Israel and all God’s people.
“I’m on my way!” her dad yelled when they called her back. “Call 911!” By the time help arrived, Kevin had managed to slog through the dark water, barely keeping his balance as he carried Sarah to safety, praying as hard as he had ever prayed in his life. By then they could see two other abandoned cars in the water. They learned that emergency vehicles had rescued the occupants, but no warning signs had been posted. I saw the television interview the next day as their car was being pulled from the water. Sarah’s fiance gave God the glory for saving them in the story by the news reporter.
I was reminded of this in a sermon Howard preached last night on trusting God. He referenced Daniel in the lions’ den and the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace. The scripture says in Isaiah 43:2, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flames kindle upon thee, (3) For I am the Lord thy God.”
The route the young people had taken ran beside a river, which had overflowed in torrential rains over Oakland road that night, but they were not hurt. Sarah’s triumphant account of their close call was on her face book status right away, which is where I learned about it, getting the full report from my daughter later. I was glad to be able to testify of it in church last night, not knowing what my husband’s text was going to be.
This couple was miraculously spared in a harrowing car wreck on Christmas night. Surely God has something good in store for them. Verse 1 of Isaiah 43 says, “Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.” A message to Israel and all God’s people.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Fruit of the Righteous
I love fruit. Right now in my kitchen I have bananas, pineapple, oranges (mandarin and navel), grapefruit and cantaloupe (we ate all the strawberries). Oh, and canned peaches. My husband loves it when I mix several into a fruit salad or put them into pudding. He’ll even eat some that way that he doesn’t like so much.
Last night we were reading in John 15 about Jesus being the vine and we, the branches, bearing fruit. Verse 5 says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” Then Jesus says, “If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples,” verses 7-8.
Many people think that this is permission to ask for anything they desire, even material or worldly goods. But could it be that Jesus is talking about the Christian traits that make us more Christ like? According to Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.” Jesus even mentions joy and love as fruit in John 15:11,12. Maybe we should ask for more of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
II Peter 1:5-8, instructs us, “And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, he says, “…we…do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;…unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness,” Colossians 1:9-11.
It is clear that Jesus is interested in our spiritual growth in our Christian walk. It is only by our abiding in Him that He can produce in us these fruits of the Spirit. If we ask this, according to His will, (and if we abide in Him, we will ask according to His will), it will be done “unto” us.
Last night we were reading in John 15 about Jesus being the vine and we, the branches, bearing fruit. Verse 5 says, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” Then Jesus says, “If ye abide in Me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples,” verses 7-8.
Many people think that this is permission to ask for anything they desire, even material or worldly goods. But could it be that Jesus is talking about the Christian traits that make us more Christ like? According to Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance; against such there is no law.” Jesus even mentions joy and love as fruit in John 15:11,12. Maybe we should ask for more of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
II Peter 1:5-8, instructs us, “And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
In Paul’s prayer for the Colossians, he says, “…we…do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;…unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness,” Colossians 1:9-11.
It is clear that Jesus is interested in our spiritual growth in our Christian walk. It is only by our abiding in Him that He can produce in us these fruits of the Spirit. If we ask this, according to His will, (and if we abide in Him, we will ask according to His will), it will be done “unto” us.
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