Write This Down

By Rhonda Rhea –

What do you do when you have a pen that won’t write? If you’re like most of us, you sling it a few times in that stabbing motion, hoping gravity is going to somehow jar the ink loose (I wonder if that’s ever really worked for anyone). Then you scribble. Then you scribble bigger and faster. Then frustration builds and you scribble harder. Then harder. You scribble until you tear a hole in the paper. Then you throw the pen. Then you look around to see if anyone saw you throw the pen. Then while you’re feeling silly about throwing the pen, you pick it up and pretend it just slipped out of your hand (yeah, sure—it slipped out of your hand and spontaneously flew across the room). Then you shrug and smile and put the pen in your pocket.

Then later you get home to find the pen leaked and left a giant splotch of blue on the front of your favorite shirt. Why can’t a pen simply consistently do its job without frustrating the tar out of us and making a big, fat mess?

I wonder if God ever asks that question about me. I think I’m a bit of a pen hypocrite. I’ll judge the pen for not consistently delivering and for making messes, but if I get honest, I’ll admit there are entirely too many times when I’m not consistent in the things the Lord has shown me. And even though I’m not where I know I should be or I’m not doing the things He’s already shown me to do, I’m fussing and scribbling because life isn’t unfolding the way I planned. What a mess. A mess that I’ve made with my own hand. And the ink ends up everywhere except where it was intended.

Life is much less messy when we stay consistent in His word and consistent in those things He’s called us to do. I know, no big revelation there. But sometimes it’s the simplest things that give us the most trouble. And it’s neglecting those simple disciplines that can leave us frustrated at the end of the day—big ink stain and no eternal fruit. Second Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT) says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

So here are today’s lessons to live by. Lesson number one:  Obey God. Number two is related:  Stay consistent in doing the things He tells us to do in His word and allow Him to give life meaning and make it fruitful.

Oh, and lesson number three:  A cheap pen is, what, less than fifty cents? When it won’t write, for heaven’s sake, just toss the thing and get a new one.

What’s Wrong Here?

By Kathi Woodall –

I have been temporarily working in the office of a local Christian school. Most of my time is spent either in the lobby answering telephones or updating files in the back room. I haven’t spent much time in the main office area. However, on my second day, a question regarding a phone call sent me back to an open area where four desks sit, with the office of the school director just beyond them. I walked in and asked my question but while we were discussing it, the director, while on her way to her office, walked into the open area and started laughing. I hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary in the office so I was surprised by her laughter. To explain her laughter, the director said, “You are all in the wrong place; you usually sit here, you are usually over there, and you sit right here!” I was new and barely even knew everyone’s names. I definitely didn’t know which desk belonged to which person. The director, used to seeing them each at their own desk day after day, knew immediately when something was off.

Since I didn’t have the day after day exposure to what was correct in the office, I didn’t recognize when people were out of place. I just knew all of the right people were in the office. Similarly, someone with a surface knowledge of Christianity might walk into a church, read an article, or listen to a spiritual message where all of the right elements are present and not be able to discern that the elements are out of place. God is mentioned although the name of Jesus may never come up. Prayers are said but they bounce off the ceiling. Perhaps, Bible verses are even read, albeit out of context.

The director knew what she was seeing was off because she was in the office every day. The Bible is the source of what is correct and true. Like the school director, when we read and study the Word of God on a regular basis, we can walk into a church, read an article, or listen to a spiritual message and recognize when things are out of place. We will be able to discern the truth.

David wrote in the Old Testament, “Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4-5 NIV). We often long for God to show us His way, to teach us or guide us. We want to know right from wrong and truth from false teaching. We want to be like the director who walked in the room and immediately recognized something was off. The Holy Spirit will “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NIV) but He uses Scripture to do it. Unless we are regularly spending time reading, studying and memorizing His Word, we will be as oblivious as I was when I walked in the office and everyone was out of place.

God Power and Light

By Cheri Cowell –

Several years ago we went without power at our Florida home for just a few days during our “hurricane summer.” I didn’t realize how dependent life had become on having electricity until we were forced to live without it. Not only is it the big things like A/C and lights, but it is also the little things, like a night light in the bathroom. Without power our whole lives were turned upside-down.

As Christians we talk about Jesus being our power source, but how many of us really live that way? One woman in the Bible did.

This woman knew in her heart Jesus held the power to heal her, so much so that she knew if she could simply touch the edge of His garment, she would be healed. She also knew touching Him would cause Him to be made unclean in the eyes of the religious rulers. She was afraid her sins would sully Jesus, yet her belief in His power caused her to push through her fears.

When we say Jesus is our source of power, are we really saying we believe He holds the power to cure us from all disease and free us from all bondage? When we are willing to risk it all, and push past our fears, just to touch the hem of His robe, then we will hear Him say, “Go in peace and be free.”

PRAYER: I praise you, God, for the power You hold and Your willingness to restore the power in life by the touch of Your hand. Help me become more bold in reaching out to secure the power for my life that You so freely give.

BIBLE VERSE: “At once, Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering”  (Mark 5:30 – 34 NIV).

Stuck in the Tree of Security and Comfort

By Marty Norman –

We all like our comforts, our secure home where we live unchallenged, unyielding and unmoved. We love the place where we park ourselves at night, our trees and gardens, the block where we live. We are safe and secure; it is our home. Often it takes nothing short of an earthquake to dislodge us from this covering of safety.

That’s why mission trips are so hard.  Talk about getting out of your comfort zone. In a matter of hours one is transported from the safety of home, that cool, green shade of comfort that provides a canopy of safety and love to a different culture that consists of strange foods, habits, eating and sleeping arrangements, customs and languages. In other words, we are moved from our tree of comfort to a new tree from which we launch our day.

Sometimes it’s too much for even the seasoned missioner, not to mention the all-weather traveler, to contemplate

Summer is definitely the time for mission trips. Church groups, non-profits, individuals, youth groups, medical teams, college students, and others are all eager and willing to give of their time and expertise in order to experience the unknown in a far off land.

I, myself, have been on four mission trips.  Each one is unique, different, structured specifically by a loving God for a specific purpose and goal.  None of my mission trips have even halfway resembled another.  From the dark of a Tanzanian Africa, to the green hills of Ireland, from the seashores of Belize, to the river banks of Lake Malawi, I have answered the call when it came in order to do the will of He who calls out his people.

I remember my first mission trip in 1996. With trepidation I flew across the ocean to spend three weeks in Northern Malawi, East Africa. A life changing experience I was transformed by the people of that region known as the warm heart of Africa. A kinder, gentler people cannot be found on earth.  It was there I was introduced to the baobab tree a metaphorical symbol of the heart of these people. Thick, strong, large, with a canopy of leaves for comfort and exposed roots for strength it was a metaphor for the people and their tiny country. I knew immediately I was out of my element, transplanted into a place I’d never seen before. No security or comfort there, but somehow it seemed to fit.

In 2007 I went to Belize.  I remember watching the view out the window as the plane landed at the small airport in Belize City.  Most of the trees were green, but short. But ever so often a tall tree would burst forth from a clump of smaller trees. The Lord spoke to my heart.  Look for the tall trees, “ he said.  “You will encounter many people here in Belize – people of strong faith. They will stand head and shoulders above the rest.”  And indeed I did and they did.

Last summer I traveled to Tanzania, 27 hours, six stops one way, for a week long teaching mission in the heart of Tanzania. The travel alone was a challenge, but being allowed only 15 pounds of luggage almost put me over the top.  Somehow I managed without an ounce to spare. Traveling through the haunting landscape that is Tanzania, the green grass blowing in the wind, I marveled at the hundred year old trees standing guard at the entrance to villages. I felt protected. The first day I just walked around the taking photos of the amazing trees. Here a fire tree, there a baobab. Again out of my comfort zone, but comforted by their haunting beauty and the safety they represented. I was reminded that they are not unlike the trees of my own backyard.

Everywhere we went in Tanzania we met missionaries: from Dallas, Texas to Atlanta, Georgia, from the University of New Mexico, to San Francisco, people who left hearth and home to minister to God’s people in need.  All of a sudden I was surrounded by a garden of flowers, trees of every hue and color, blooming in an unknown land, spreading their aroma and fragrance of the gospel to all with whom they came in contact.

I remember thinking to myself, ‘How wonderful is that?  People taking time out of their busy lives to use their vacation time to give to others.  Only in America would you see this so widely practiced. Only in response to the call of God would you meet such dedicated souls.”  It just made me proud.

I am not going on a mission trip this year, but my good friend Debbie is.

I have just returned from helping her pack for a three week mission to New Zealand and Australia. Part teaching and part on-site ministry she must prepare for many venues. She has no idea what kind of trees she will encounter.

Her trip is complicated. Last week she fell and broke her wrist. She had to have surgery to put a steel plate in her arm.  She is not in a cast but has a sling and a brace.  But is she canceling?  Not on your life. Security or not, she is going.

I am astounded at her commitment and courage. This mission has been planned for months, so she would not hear of not going.  Clearly she has a call. And when one hears a call, how do you say no to the Lord. You don’t. Unless the Lord releases, you go.

So she is going. Limited not in spirit, but only in the use of her left arm she gives thanks that it is not her dominant arm.  Sternly instructed to not drive, lift anything heavy or carry anything of any weight, she reasons she is primed for the trip. All of her focus will be on the experience abroad rather than the things left undone at home, for she can’t do them anyway. She claims she will just move with the flow. Pretty ambitious by my way of thinking but she will not be dissuaded; she is determined to go. Who am I to argue with her or with God?

So help her I do. Even I can see that Satan is erecting all sorts of barriers in her way.  Clearly trying to discourage her, he continually puts up road blocks along the way to dishearten.  The good news:  he is not winning.

So that’s where I come in.

My job, pick out, fold and pack her clothes for three weeks.  We spent the morning going through her closet, coordinating, eliminating, refining, refreshing, figuring out, weighing, evaluating what would and would not work with a splint and her limitations.   After a few hours we had it all worked out. Now all I need to do is go to the grocery store and buy Ziploc bags to keep her clothes divided so she can better find what she needs.

I can’t wait for her to get back to the States to tell me all that the Lord has done. I know that she will describe her experiences in detail, the trees she encounters, the new things she learns. Surely she will have one large tale to tell.

Out of her comfort zone – you bet. But sturdy and strong she stands. Debbie is one of the tall trees of Belize. Her strength and courage stand heads above the rest. The winds may come and the winds may blow, but her roots are deep. Her tree stands tall. And after this month she will have more trees to add to her mission experience.  I can’t wait to see the acorns she brings back to plant. But even more, I can’t wait to see the oak trees that grow from her obedience.

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!  (Romans  10:15 NIV)

 

Served With Love

By Carin LeRoy –

The first night after arriving home from my honeymoon, I wanted to make my new husband a nice meal, so I decided I’d make my Mom’s homemade potato soup and cornbread. I thought that would be a goof-proof meal. It would be the first meal in our little home. After work, I got busy peeling potatoes and putting all the ingredients in the pot to boil. Everything went well. That is, until I realized I burnt the soup.

Oops. I guess I had the burner on ‘High.’

We ate the soup anyway, and I don’t remember my husband complaining. He knew better than to fuss about his new bride’s food. That was the first of many meals I’ve cooked for my family. While raising four children, food became an important part of family life. I’ve had many nights when I’d rather not cook, but when there are four starving kids and a fellow who comes home hungry, it’s a part of life.

Rather than think of it as drudgery, consider it a way to serve and show love to your family. Good nutrition is essential to good health, and we do want our loved ones to thrive. The virtuous woman gives us a good example when we read that “she gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls,” (Proverbs 31: 15 NIV). I don’t have servant girls and I’m not keen on getting up while it’s dark, but I can provide food for my family. Reach for the cookbook (or the frozen casserole) and serve up some love to your family today.

PRAYER: Lord, keep me mindful that showing love to others is a reflection of Your love for us and that even the mundane things of life are a way to serve and love our family.

BIBLE VERSE: “Do everything in love….” (I Corinthians 16:14 NIV).

 

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