Grandma’s Words

By Heather Arbuckle –

“You’ve always been strong-willed.” Grandma’s words stung as my wounded heart wilted for a moment. Searching for understanding, I shared my dismay at her characterization of me, her oldest grandchild, and asked her to explain. “It’s not a bad thing,” she clarified. “Ever since you were a little girl, you knew what you believed. And once your mind is set, it will not be swayed. You are strong. I have never worried that you would lose your way.”

It was one of the last conversations I had with my Grandmother this side of Heaven. Months later, she lost her battle with cancer and God took her home to be in His presence.  For years, when I reflected on our exchange, my heart hurt just a little. At the time, I wasn’t sure she knew me at all.  After all, I didn’t feel strong. I didn’t know which way to go. Life for me, a young woman in her twenties, was filled with uncertainties. In fact, most of the time the world made me want to retreat into hiding. Still, as I have grown, I have come to realize my Grandma saw me with faith filled eyes. She saw the me that was yet to be. And she had faith that God would lead me on my way.

Now, many years later, my heart smiles when I recall our last exchange. Though she is not here to teach my children, my Grandmother is part of the legacy I am growing in them. Today, as I raise up Godly children in a world hostile to absolute truth, I understand what my Grandma saw in me. For regardless of what political arguments may grip our nation, I am determined to raise my children God’s way. After all, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12 NIV).

For me, the right path was easy to find, for I had my Grandmother to walk it with me. She read me God’s word. Took me to Sunday School. She even paid for me to attend the church camp where I received Christ as my Lord and Savior.  But even more than that, she prayed for me and believed that God would finished what He had started in me even after she was gone.

Truly, my Grandma knew the right path when she saw it. She passed it on to me, and now I am teaching my own children to follow it as well. It’s the path of Christ and it leads to eternal life in God’s holy presence. To be sure, she would recognize the same spunky spirit in my own children that she saw in me. Those apples seem to have fallen right next to the tree! When I gaze upon them and teach them His ways, I recognize the strength looking back at me. It is the same look that lit the eyes of a little girl my Grandma understood quite well. For she knew me better than I knew myself, and she believed that God was faithful to His promises.

On my behalf, she claimed the promise that when we “train up a child in the way he should go, when he is older he shall not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6 NIV). It’s a truth that endures for sons. For daughters. For granddaughters. And now, when I reflect on the words of my Grandmother, a knowing smile comes over my heart.

Home

By Heather Allen-

When I reminisce about my childhood home I can practically smell the fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies. Running home from the bus, I could not wait to be at the kitchen table, even though an hour of piano practice followed. I am the quintessential homebody. I even opted out of Prom for a night relaxing with my favorite people, most of who were family members.

A few weeks ago, as I was prepping dinner, my son leaned over the discarded sweatshirt I had tossed on a kitchen chair. He sniffed unaware that I was watching him, a bemused smile on my face.  He met my smile. “This smells like you mom.” My grin widened “What do I smell like?”  “Home” he said, meeting my instantly teary eyes with a bright smile.

For over a year I have worked at wrapping my brain around Psalm 91 (NIV). Verse one says: “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

My son could not have guessed the mystery he helped unravel in his casual comment. I pulled paper and pen and began listing adjectives that describe my ideal shelter. Security, protection from the elements, peace, warmth and unconditional acceptance topped my list.

My suitcase has seen more travel & dust than I could have imagined. If I had realized my belongings would stay in boxes these many years, perhaps I would have decided to travel lighter. Like the Israelites, I too have journeyed through a wilderness and seen God move on my behalf. The places where He rescued me have become altars of praise.

My security and peace came from what was familiar; physical objects attached to warm memories. That has slowly begun to change. The Lord is becoming my shelter. And when I think that the world is His & all its fullness, I am reminded that our ownership is nothing more than an illusion.

Making the Lord my dwelling place is walking in His presence. And that is where I am safest. Nearness to Him is protection and peace. This is an appealing thought for a homebody nomad. A home away from any home, one that never requires moving. I am accepted, loved, and chosen. I will hold on to Him tightly and let my grip on the rest, go.

Shots and Smiles

By Aubrey Spencer –

I recently had to take our one-year-old daughter to get her blood drawn for a routine test. As I was sitting there with her on my lap, waiting for the tear-inducing ordeal to begin, I couldn’t help but to think back to our first experience with shots, after our son Oliver was born. He wasn’t very old when we experienced that inevitable, unavoidable, have-to-do-it-for-their-own-good, parental moment – the first set of shots.

I remember the day clearly. Oliver was asleep when we got to the clinic. Peaceful. Content. Unaware. Unprepared for what was about to happen. Jarrod sat him on his lap. Pinned his arms against his little chest. And, before we knew it, whammo! One awful shot down. One awfully sad baby. I think it had to be easier for Jarrod than for me. He might have had to hold him, but I’m the one who saw his face. Heartbroken. Scared. Shocked. Hurt. I wanted to pick him up and tell him that nothing else bad was going to happen. But, of course I knew better. He still had two leg jabbing, tear inducing, “what in the world did you just do to me?” shots left. Thankfully, in no time at all and three band-aids later, the whole ordeal was over. He ended up handling the situation pretty well. (His parents made it through okay too.) Tears only came when the shots did. And, he calmed down right away once we comforted him. Smiles even returned later that day.

I wonder if God has moments like that with us. Days when He has to let us go through something unpleasant, even painful, for our own good? Times when He allows the stabbing pain of loneliness, selfishness, bad decisions, or pride to prick our hearts? It must be awful for Him. He sees our broken lives, our hurt feelings, our scared souls. I’m sure He’d like to tell us that nothing else will ever hurt again like that. But, of course, He knows better. He knows us. We will mess up again. Life will be tough again. Tears will come again. He can’t keep us from experiencing all the shots we take in life. We oftentimes have to endure the pain in order to grow. He will, however, hold us, comfort us, and carry us through until the band-aids fall off and the smiles return!

PRAYER: Lord, I can only imagine how difficult it must be for You to watch Your children struggle, time and time again. But I praise You for always comforting us through the hard times and loving us through it all. Even though the process is most often unpleasant, I thank You, Lord for allowing growth to come from the pains we face in life, and for giving us reason to smile.

BIBLE VERSE: “For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations” (Psalm 100:5 NIV).

Ability + Obedience = Purpose

By Candace McQuain –

I am by no means a novelist, journalist or any other kind of literary “ist.” I have issues with comma usage, dangling modifiers and I still misuse “their” and “there” from time to time. So when God gently tugged at my heart and asked to me write on His behalf, I thought He had dialed the wrong number and I hung up the phone. Although, I do have a passion for words and stringing them together, to do so for real was beyond scary.

I continued to hang up the phone every time God called.

Lucky for me, His gentle tugs turned into jarring yanks and the next thing I knew I was writing for Him and I absolutely love it.

Imagine a world where everyone hung up on God.

There would be no beautiful architecture, no breathtaking paintings and no inspiring songs and words. Even more so, there would be no crops being harvested, no children being taught, no food being served and so on and so on.

God delights in us when He sees us at work for Him. He is beyond pleased when we recognize the gifts He has preprogrammed us with and we use them for His glory.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;  if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;  if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Romans 12:6-8 NIV).

Each and every talent, skill or unique ability we possess was put there by our Heavenly Father to not just possess, but to utilize.

What good is our gift if we only keep it to ourselves? What good is our gift if we throw it away or feel we have something different or something bigger to offer?                                                                                                                           

Beloved, there are no abilities larger or more important than any others. We are all equal in the eyes of God. So whether we are at home caring for children or running a multi-billion dollar company we are equal in His eyes. When we perform our tasks with honor, respect and a joyful heart we are bringing God glory, day after day, hour after hour.

He has got big plans for each and every one of us and a very hefty part of that plan depends on us being obedient and respectful of what He has gifted us and focusing on how we can do those things for His glory.

So again, no matter where we are in life, no matter our trade, training or ability, we were created by God to specifically do these things in His name. To bring glory to Him and to display the beautiful work He has done in us.

Let’s shine for Him! We should approach every day, as if we are working for God Himself, after all, we truly are.

Do You Have An Eating Disability or Eating Disorder?

By Julie Morris –

Tommy’s parents were so relieved.

This sweet, red-headed fourth-grader was doing terribly in school. His teacher said he wasn’t trying. Some of the kids in his class called him “stupid.” His parents were beginning to fear he was slow. That is, until they tested him and found that he has dyslexia. Tommy has a learning disability. It’s not that he won’t ever be able to read, he just has to be taught in a different way. It’s not his fault. It’s just a fact. Tommy is different, but with extra work, he’ll be fine. What a relief!

You may have an eating disability 

Just as it was a blessing for Tommy to find out why he was having problems reading, so it is for us to find out why we’ve had problems losing weight and keeping it off. No one likes to have a problem, but when we have one, we are relieved to find out what it is and what we can do about it.

Do you think that you might have an eating disability? Here’s my definition:

Anyone who can’t lose weight and keep it off has an eating disability.

Eating disabilities get more pronounced as time goes by. If they are ignored, they may turn into eating disorders.

Here’s my definition of an eating disorder:

Anyone who experiences serious health or emotional problems as a result of eating in a harmful way, yet continues that behavior, has an eating disorder.

When I found out that I had an eating disorder, I was relieved. (Since I alternated between bingeing and starving myself, I was classified as bulimic.) Now I could quit asking myself this question: 

“Why can’t I, a well-educated, in-control sort of person, quit overeating?”

No matter how hard I tried not to, I found myself eating too much. I constantly beat myself up for my lack of self-control. But when I finally began to understand the reasons for my actions, I was able to discard the “stupid” label–like Tommy did–and start doing what needed to be done to get better. 

Take this little quiz to see if you have an eating disability or disorder:

(Circle the answer that more accurately describes you.)

1. I have trouble sticking to a healthy food plan…

A. Even though I know I need to.

B. Even though my doctor or my medical symptoms say I need to.

2. Often I find myself overeating…

A. Though I feel guilty when I do.

B. Though I feel so ashamed of myself I don’t know what to do.

3. If certain foods are around, I…

A. Eat more of them than I intend to.

B. Eat them until they are gone or until I feel too uncomfortable to continue eating.

4. I overeat…

A. Two or three times a week when I’m busy or under stress.

B. Almost daily, no matter what’s going on in my life.

5. My health…

A. May someday be affected by my eating.

B. Is affected by my eating.

6. I am ashamed of the way I look…

A. But that doesn’t interfere with my activities much.

B. So I frequently don’t do things I’d do if I were thinner.

7. If I were thinner…

A. I would look more attractive.

B. I would be happier.

8.  When something is wrong…

A. I concentrate on fixing the problem, but I may be more tempted to overeat.

B. I am usually not able to face the problem without overeating. 

Count the number of “A” responses and then count “B” responses. If you had more “A” responses, you have an eating disability that has not progressed to an eating disorder yet.  If you have more “B” responses, you have an eating disorder–according to our definition–since eating has brought disorder to your life.

Don’t get upset if you recognize that you have an eating disability or disorder. It may be harder for you to lose weight, but you can do it! Reach out for help today!

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