Stinkin’ Thinkin’

By Robin J. Steinweg –

My name is Robin J. Steinweg, and I am a closet pouter.

It took reading a post on The Barn Door, a blog started by my friend Lisa Lickel, to wake me up and hear the non-music of my complaints.

I’m cold. I’m hot. I’m tired. I’m hungry. That was too much walking. I don’t get enough exercise. Too much noise! Way too much mess. Too busy. I’ve got nothing to do. Is it snowing again? This computer strains my eyes. My closet is stuffed. I’ve got nothing to wear. You wanna hear complaining? I’m just getting warmed up!

So what was it that started this round of whining? I had a week off from teaching. It’s called Spring Break hereabouts, and many of my students had trips scheduled to warm, sunny places (and had the nerve not to invite their music instructor—go figure). So I filled in the gaps with a schedule of tasks I don’t usually have time for. With more work than usual on my list, I began to feel sorry for myself, a response that crept in from a very warm place indeed. Well, to be fair, the devil shouldn’t get so much credit for my attitude, when my own sinful nature has no trouble grumbling all on its own.

How does God stand me at such times? I can hardly stand myself. In the Old Testament, there are accounts of God so frowning on Israel’s bellyaching, He sent poisonous snakes among them.

I need to face facts—my gripes are a tacit criticism of the day the Lord has made. And shame on me. It’s time for a radical purging of the Big Stink I’ve been putting up. Time for a week of Spring Cleaning. As Henry Ward Beecher said, “An ungrateful heart uncovers no mercies; but if a thankful heart sweeps through the day, it will find some heavenly blessings in every hour.”

QUOTE: “It is literally true, as the thankless say, that they have nothing to be thankful for. He who sits by the fire, thankless for the fire, is just as if he had no fire. Nothing is possessed save in appreciation, of which thankfulness is the indispensable ingredient. But a thankful heart hath a continual feast.” –W. J. Cameron

“Do everything without complaining or arguing” (Philippians 2:14 NIV).

How Much for Your Life?

By Peter Lundell –

What would it be like to grow up without a father and your mother in jail—knowing that when you were a baby, your mother murdered her friend over twenty dollars your mom borrowed to buy you Pampers but used the money for something else?

There will soon be a boy like that. Recently in Brooklyn two young ladies ranted at each other for a few days on Facebook over twenty dollars that the teen mom borrowed and used for something other than the Pampers she said she needed it for. The one who lent the money confronted the mom, and the mom stabbed her. The one killed had just finished college and planned to go to law school. Dead in a dispute over twenty bucks.

Only now does the accused realize the absurdity of what she did. But she cannot escape the consequences.

Most people would need much higher stakes before they’d throw their lives away. But they’ll still throw them away. If the stakes were twenty million dollars rather than twenty, wouldn’t a lot of people fight or kill and risk their lives, even their souls? From God’s perspective, might that not be absurd as well? To God, would twenty dollars really be that different from twenty million? Money has no value in eternity (though we can give and use it wisely to gain a better eternity).

It could be said that from God’s perspective, anyone who chases after anything material and sacrifices his or her life in the process is ultimately committing an act of absurdity. Jesus had plenty to say about that.

Though we gasp at the absurdity of being killed over twenty dollars, from God’s perspective losing ourselves over any amount or anything in this world would be absurd. Don’t get lost!

PRAYER: Lord, knowing You is important above all else. May I never forget. And let me never give in to an opportunity, however great, that would tempt me to sell my soul.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36 NIV).

Handle with Care

By Emily Parke Chase –

What college student does not delight to open up his or her mailbox and find a request to pick up a package at the desk?  Thus I bounced from my mailbox to the counter, and the woman in charge handed me a small brown carton swathed in tape.

This was the first and only time in all my years at college in Ithaca, New York that I had received a care package from my home in Arizona.  I eagerly tore off the wrapping to reveal…a box of candied apricots.  Apricots? My pleasure in receiving a package turned to confusion. What was my mother thinking?  But here in my hands was a tray of shiny apricots, each glazed with a thick sugar syrup coating.

My friends had received stranger gifts from home.  My roommate’s mother once sent an envelope full of little packages of ketchup and mustard that she had picked up with her order at a fast food restaurant.   Perhaps she thought we would find them handy in our campus residence hall?  And we might have used them but she forgot to write “hand cancel” on the envelope, so they went through the automatic cancellation process. The machine pressed the contents flatter than the postage stamp.  Red and yellow stains obliterated all but the address.

Another thoughtful mother mailed an Easter basket.  She went to her local K-mart and picked out a large basket filled with chocolate bunnies, plastic grass and marshmallow eggs, all wrapped in single sheet of cellophane.  She tied a tag to the handle and dropped in in the mail.  I can only imagine that the postal service accepted it as a challenge.  In my mind’s eye I see each carrier setting the basket on the seat next to him in the truck, handing it gently to the next person, and the final mail carrier delivering it in triumph to our dorm.  Not a jelly bean was jostled out of place.

Still, as I looked at the strange gift in my hands, I wondered what had prompted my mother to send this package of fruit.  I did what any intelligent Ivy-League student would do.  I called home.

“Hi, Mom.  I got your package today.”

My mother chuckled, thus confirming my suspicion that a story lurked under that sickly sweet glaze.

“Your brother just moved out of his apartment in California.”

I knew my brother was leaving the country for a year.  He was driving across the country before taking a flight to Greece, and was stopping to see relatives along the way, including my folks in Phoenix.  Mom explained that he found the apricots at the back of a cupboard in his kitchen, and rather than toss them, gave them to her.  She didn’t know what to do with them and so she mailed them to me.

With a saccharine smile, I thanked her for thinking of me and hung up the phone.  Unlike her, I knew exactly what to do with these super-sweet fruit-flavored sugar cubes.

My brother was due to arrive in Ithaca the next week.

“How sweet are your words to my taste, they are sweeter than candied apricots” (Psalm 119:103, paraphrased).

(Send all care packages to the author at emilychase.com and read about her books, including Help! My Family’s Messed Up!)

I See You

By Cheri Cowell –

How silly we must look on Sunday mornings dressed in our Sunday best driving our air-conditioned fancy cars to attend worship, all the while passing by the real needs of the world. This idea struck me the other day when I passed by a church with its manicured lawns, and right across the street was an old man struggling to remove a fallen tree from his front yard. How many people at that church even knew the old man lived there? How many people saw the large oak tree in his yard and thought about his needs? There is nothing wrong with worshipping on Sunday morning, or even dressing up and driving our nice cars to church, but God doesn’t want us to miss the needs along the way.

The Pharisees probably knew the man with the crippled hand. He had no doubt been there before, praying, and offering sacrifices for his sins that supposedly caused his deformity. When the man entered the temple, Jesus was angered by the Pharisees’ desire to continue in their pious worship rather than tend to the needs of this man. They were more interested in playing the part of religious observer, than acting like the true follower they were supposed to be. Jesus not only wants us to worship Him, but that worship should cause us to see the needs around us, and to act upon them, healing in the name of Jesus.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for the community of faith where I am able to worship the Word Made Flesh who came to serve and heal. On my way to worship this week, help me see beyond the walls of my church to the needs of the man or woman across the street.

“Another time Jesus went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’ Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent” (Mark 3:1-6 NIV).

Where Are You God?

By Sherri Holbert –

God’s Word tells us He works all things for our good. Why do we sometimes struggle with this concept when in the midst of stressful situations? Perhaps you’ve been laid off from your job. For a year you’ve been prayerfully looking for a new job to no avail. Now your savings account is almost depleted. You were faithful and purposeful in your marriage but your spouse didn’t play by the same rules and you are dealing with divorce. You raised your children with a solid, Christian foundation yet now find yourself dealing with a prodigal.

“God, where are You in this? Why am I going through such hardships? I’m spending daily prayer time with You, I’m faithful with tithing, I’m connected and serving at church. When will You show up and direct me to something better?” Have you ever found yourself asking these questions?

John Chapter 11 gives us three solid points assuring us that when we experience painful and difficult times God knows what He is doing:

1)      God always has a plan. His plan will help us strengthen our faith. God will always work things out for our good (vs. 2).
2)      God’s timing is always perfect. He’s not late. He’s not early (vs. 4-6).
3)      God is building our faith in our circumstances. He is working in our lives to change us for His glory (vs. 11-15).

How can we apply these concepts to our personal life during tough times? We must seek God. Ask Him to teach us how to walk in complete trust knowing His plan is perfect. Hold on to the promises He has made to us through His Word in the following scriptures: Do not be afraid (Isaiah 41:10). Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). God will supply all your needs (Philippians 4:13).We have redemption through Christ’s blood (Ephesians 1:7).

PRAYER:  Father, I am so thankful You are a God of purpose and plans. Help me focus on Your sovereignty when I am going through trials. When my faith is lacking and I question where I am going, help me remember that You have designed me for a specific purpose.

“God not only loves you very much but also has put His hand on you for something special” (1 Thessalonians 1:4 The Message).

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