Beyond Understanding

By Cheri Cowell –

“Can you tell me that my son has gone to heaven?” the mother asked the hospital chaplain.

Not knowing the family, and only knowing that the boy had committed suicide, the chaplain looked deeply into the soul of the seeking mother’s eyes. What do I tell her? What is the right thing to say, Lord? “Tell me about your son,” the chaplain tenderly said.

As the mother poured out her heart about the life of her only child, she heard within her own words the answer to her question, and the chaplain was once again reminded that true wisdom isn’t always the textbook answer. God’s answers sometimes carry wisdom that is beyond our understanding.

This Scripture is the first account of the use of Solomon’s gift of wisdom. Solomon asked for wisdom or discernment, not wealth. God was pleased with his request and gave him an abundance of wisdom. The dilemma Solomon found himself in with these two mothers would have been difficult for anyone, yet Solomon knew he possessed something outside of himself that would make all the difference. Often the solution to our own dilemmas is not logical, easily seen, or reasoned. But when the solution comes from God we will know, for His solutions are perfect.

PRAYER: Praise God for Your perfect wisdom. Help me seek Your wisdom when it would be easier to rely upon my own logic, reason, or understanding. Thank You for always providing wisdom that is beyond my understanding but not Yours.

“When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected the king, for they realized that he possessed supernatural wisdom to make judicial decisions” (1 Kings 3:28 NET).

Today’s devotion is by Cheri Cowell, who writes and speaks on topics of Christian discipleship. In addition to her books and articles, you can learn about her speaking ministry and sign up to receive her daily devotional at www.CheriCowell.com

The Power of Thanksgiving

By James H. Pence –

Have you ever been in a flood? Thankfully, I have not. But I have witnessed the destruction they can cause. Hurricane Katrina caused great devastation several years ago, but what nearly destroyed the city of New Orleans was not merely wind. It was a flood. When the levees broke, flood waters swept through the city. Five years later, New Orleans is still recovering from the damage.

A few weeks ago, the city of Dallas experienced a brief, torrential rain. Some parts of the city received nearly a foot of precipitation in only a few minutes. Entire neighborhoods were flooded by the late summer storm. That evening, the local TV news broadcast footage of the flooding. One of the most amazing images was of a Volkswagen Beetle floating away.

Think of it. A small car floated down the street as if it were no heavier than a child’s toy.

That’s power.

And it’s the power of a flood that I think of when I remember Paul’s exhortation to the Colossians. He tells them that they should “overflow” with thankfulness.

Over the years of my Christian life, I have discovered that when I give thanks, there is a power that I don’t fully understand. I can be facing a difficult problem, trial, even a tragedy that threatens to overwhelm me. But when I stop allowing my problems to crush me and begin to praise and thank God—when I “overflow with thankfulness”—God pushes those problems out of the way just as the Dallas flood moved that Volkswagen Beetle.

Don’t get me wrong. The problems don’t automatically go away just because I give thanks; however, my attitude changes. It’s as if God empowers that thankfulness to flood away all the things that are distracting me and pulling me away from Him. There is power in a flood.

Perhaps that’s why Paul also reminds us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7 NIV).

PRAYER: Lord, when trials, difficulties, and tragedies weigh me down, help me to overflow with thankfulness, and by that thanksgiving to flood away all that would take me away from You.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (Colossians 2:6-7 NIV).

Today’s devotion is by James H. Pence. James is an author, speaker, singer, and gospel chalk artist, but prefers to be known as a storyteller. To learn more about James and how he draws the stories of your heart, visit his Web site at: www.jamespence.com.

Milking the Bull

By Emily Parke Chase –

“Does that chicken lay eggs?”

Pushing back the brim of my bonnet, I look up at the tourist and then glance at the hen coaxing her young brood across the barnyard before I answer, “You think she just lays chicks?”

“Can you tell me where Herb’s garden is?” another visitor asks.

Pointing to a garden full of parsley, basil and oregano, I sigh and reply, “You’ll find Herb over there.”

A husband and wife point at a team of oxen. “Look! They have a male and a female!”

Do modern biology classes never mention that an ox is a castrated steer? That means no females.

As a seasonal guide at a reconstructed historical village, I have grown accustomed to tourists who ask unusual questions. Many of our guests, growing up in cities, have no idea that milk comes from anything other than a carton or that the cotton in their tee shirts once grew on puffy plants. Only at a place like Williamsburg, Plimoth Plantation, or Old Sturbridge Village will you find a crowd of adults focusing their cameras on a costumed worker unloading a pile of manure from an ox cart. Where are those light meters and flashbulbs when I’m turning over my compost pile in my back yard?

Other visitors to our village are experts in their fields. A few specialize in guns, some in early American pottery. Their questions are welcome and get accurate answers, but I discover that guides on tour from other historical villages take diabolical delight in testing my knowledge. They ask for obscure details about wallpaper designs or flower arranging, not because they care but because they want to see if they can catch me in ignorance. Here comes one of those visiting guides with a question. “Excuse me, miss. That desk over there across the room…can you tell me if it was made in eastern or western Massachusetts?”

I scratch my head and furrow my brow before answering. “It all depends on your perspective. If you are standing on the New York border, then it was made in eastern Massachusetts. But if you are standing on the tip of Cape Cod, it was made in western Massachusetts.”

“Ah, thank you.” The guide nods solemnly and moves on to harass the next staff person.

When tourists are not in sight, we staff members create our own entertainment. My friend “Betsy” is working upstairs in a museum area that few people visit. Bored, she writes a note, “Help! I’m being held prisoner in the lighting exhibit.” She rolls the note into a scroll and pushes it through a knothole in the pine floor. She has most sincere regrets when it falls to the head table in the formal dining room below, in front of one of the members of the board of trustees. From then on, Betsy decides to let tourists—only tourists—provide the fodder for her wit.

The next day a man wearing an MIT sweatshirt approaches. After watching our farmer use the ox to plow a field, he asks, “Does that ox give milk? Does it taste like cow’s milk?”

Hard to tell. You see, I only milk the bull.

“If any among you thinks that he is wise by this world’s standards, he should become a fool in order to be really wise. For what this world considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:18, 19, Good News Bible).

Want to schedule the author as a speaker? Interested in learning more about her books, including Why Say No When My Hormones Say Go? Visit her at emilychase.com.

Warning—Forgiving Can Lead to Excessive Giggling!

By Bruce Hebel –

Recently my wife, Toni, and I were at a church in California helping people walk through heaven’s protocols of forgiveness. Jan, a hospitality leader at the church, was assisting us by finding places where we could minister to the people we were helping. After we finished ministering, Jan told us that she too needed help forgiving. Since it was so late and given the fact that she had people waiting for her to give them a ride home, she wouldn’t be able to meet with us. I suggested to her that she drop her passengers off where they needed to go and then meet us in the breakfast area of our hotel. She agreed.

We had barely arrived at our hotel when Jan called to tell us that she was in the lobby. When we met her we found that she had brought her husband and her daughter Lisa with her, along with her daughter’s best friend. You see, the wound that Jan was struggling with also involved her daughter. Lisa had recently revealed that a family member had molested her for four years when she was a child. Both mother and daughter were clearly in torment. We decided it was best to work with them one-on-one, so Toni took the daughter and her friend into another area of the hotel while I stayed with Jan and her husband. We individually worked these wounded ladies through Heaven’s protocols of forgiving the deep wounds that were caused by that horrific experience. As Jan finished forgiving the offender and also forgiving herself, it was remarkable to see the peace and joy that began to shine from her countenance. Her smile was radiant. Her once sad eyes were now full of joy.

Later, when Lisa returned to where we were sitting, I asked her, “How are you doing? How is your heart?”  She just giggled. The more I inquired, the more she giggled. She could not answer me for giggling. When we first met her, she was withdrawn and depressed. Now, after walking through Heaven’s protocols of forgiveness, she was so full of joy she couldn’t talk.

That’s the way it is when we forgive. Forgiveness always brings joy to the one who grants it. Always! And sometimes it even leads to excessive giggling.

AUTHOR QUOTE: God unleashes His blessings on us when we choose to forgive!

“I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you, and your joy may be complete” (John 15:11 NET).

Today’s devotional is by Bruce Hebel, Forgiving Forward Seminar Speaker, President of ReGenerating Life Ministries, and Adjunct Professor at Carver Bible College. He is a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and has served in ministry for over 35 years.

Growing in Grace

By Marty Norman –

The spiritual journey is long. With each step we move one step closer or one step farther from the image of Christ. It is only through God’s grace and mercy that we grow.

Over and over the scripture explains that God is in the business of refining and purifying. John tells us that nothing is impossible for our God and Romans that God will make something good out of everything. It is normal for him to place each of us in the refiner’s fire because he is working on perfecting the final product.

For the past two months I have been in the refiner’s fire. Recently I moved my mom from the home that she has lived in for 45 years to a retirement home. To say that this experience was a test of character is an understatement.

The situation was clear. Although she is extremely active, everyone agreed that it was time. She was the one who broached the subject and initiated the transfer. None of us were prepared for the emotional and physical drain that would result from this endeavor.

The exercise began as a move; it quickly morphed into a memory walk. As we carefully combed each cabinet and drawer, I experienced the dismantlement of a lifetime -eighty-seven years of memories; eighty-seven years of life. Pictures, scrapbooks, mementos, pieces of furniture, clothing, dishes and serving pieces, each with a story, each with a memory attached. It was mind boggling. I had no idea some of my mom’s journey.

The most amazing part was that she knew what each piece or fragment represented. She remembered each story with clarity. She had written and carefully taped the story of each picture and piece of furniture on the back. Her life was played out before me in a drama I could not have imagined. I saw her as the lead role in a way I had never seen before.

The move lasted way too long and was started way too early. I was exhausted. But for my mom it was too short with not enough time. It made me wonder how much time one has to review and clean out a lifetime?

I learned a lot about my mom over the past two months. I learned a lot about myself. I learned to be patient when it took three hours to clean out or pack a cabinet, and I knew I could have done it in thirty minutes. I learned how much she loved her family as she laid awake nights thinking about which member to give each item. I could have distributed them in minutes, but the process took days. I observed the immense pleasure she received as she gifted the items. I watched the joy of the receiver. I saw with precision how well she knew each of us and how much this all meant to her. I learned to slow myself down, to match each step to hers as I allowed dignity and time to close this chapter of her book.

Did I grow in grace? You bet!  Was I refined and purified along the way?  Without a doubt!  But experiencing and watching my mom’s life flash before her eyes I learned about her refinement. Her life lessons are experiences I will treasure for the rest of my days.

Did God speak? You bet he did. But most of all he accomplished the impossible in his time while honoring her timetable? Everything turned out for the best, probably because we mutually respected and allowed the other’s journey as we grew in the grace of a loving father.

I am so grateful for this time of growing in his grace. But most of all I will make changes in my own preparations accordingly because of this experience.

Marty Norman is a wife, mother, and grandmother of five, who lives in Fort Worth, Texas.  She is the author of “Generation G – Advice for Savvy Grandmothers Who Will Never Go Gray.” You can learn more about her at:   www.martynorman.com, http://martynorman.blogspot.com, http://savvygrandmothers.blogspot.com.

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