Are You Ready?

By Judy Davis –

It was 12:30 a.m. when I woke to the sound of a loud, screeching siren. I jumped up and started shaking my husband. “I think there may be a fire in the building,” I shouted as I grabbed my housecoat. Having recently returned from my nephew’s wedding reception, we had been asleep about an hour. It was our first trip to West Palm Beach, Florida, and one I will never forget.

I slowly opened the door to our hotel room. There were several people standing out in the hall. I asked if there was a fire, but no one knew. The siren was still blaring. I ran back into the room and called the desk clerk asking, “Is there a fire?” He told me the fire fighters were still checking and instructed me to stay put.

We were on the fourth floor and I realized I didn’t want to “stay put.” I went across the hall to my mother’s room. Her room adjoined that of my sister and brother-in-law. I kept knocking and finally woke all three of them. I told my sister to hurry because we had to go down four flights of stairs.

Needless to say, I was concerned about my mother who was 75 years old. As we were rushing down the stairs, I almost bumped into a fireman coming up the stairs. He asked what floor we came from and told us he believed the alarm was set from the second floor.

Outside, all we could see were people in robes and flashing red lights from the fire trucks. Later, we were told it was a false alarm. Now we had to climb those four flights of stairs, but we were so relieved there was not a fire. We were anxious to get back to our rooms and go back to sleep.

The next morning I read in my daily devotion God sends messengers in the form of pastors, prophets, and teachers who announce the present kingdom of heaven. It reminded me of the events of the night before and what could have happened. I realized how important it is to be ready to meet the Master at any time. “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night” 1 Thessalonians 5:2.

Resisting Stillness

By Rosemary Flaaten –

I felt the blood draining out of my legs as they dangled over the hard wooden pew. Confined to my limited square footage, I simply wanted to wiggle and squirm in an attempt to find a spot where my bottom could feel some reprieve, but instead my mother’s strong hand rested on my knee as a means of quieting my movement. Sitting still in church was a requirement, but seemingly next to impossible for me as five year old.

Roll forward forty years—I still find it hard to sit quietly. All my kids had flown the coup leaving an empty nest. There were no mounds of dirty laundry to wash and sort. There were no groceries to replenish. There were no slamming doors or buzzing cell phones. The house was quiet. Life was still.

But my soul was not.

The passage “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 NIV) always makes me squirm. I am a doer. I like to accomplish things and prefer the verse “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26 NKV). But how can I reconcile my physical need for action with my spiritual need for stillness? They seem to be at odds with each other.

I am learning that when I discipline myself to sit quietly in the presence of God, He quiets my spirit, allowing my mind, heart and soul to breathe deeply, slowing the frenetic pace of my mental acrobats. I experience the truth of Psalm 131:2 “But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me.” (NIV). The gentle hand of my Father rests on my knee, not to chastise me, but to say “Be still. I want to fill you with my love, peace and direction, but its next to impossible to fill a moving vessel. Be still and know Me.”

I am still not good at sitting and doing nothing, but I now relish the quiet moments of each day, when I can soak up the presence of my Heavenly Father. It is from that place of quietness and stillness that I am rejuvenated in spirit and become ready to take on the world.

PRAYER: Father, calm my thoughts and banish my worries. Help me to experience the reality of Your love and approval as I sit and soak up Your presence.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:2 NIV).

Chosen

By Cheri Cowell –

I often heard my mother-in-law recall the tragic day they lost all they owned in a house fire. It happened right after Christmas and the children had just received new bikes. Of all the things in the house, they chose to try to save the bikes but were unable to do so. Over the years, however, it was not the bikes she missed, it was the little things. Photos were at the top of the list of things she wished they had saved. Though these things were forever lost, it was her family she cherished the most.

Recently, after watching news coverage of people returning to find what nature left behind after fires, floods, and tornados, I was reminded how blessed I am. Yes, I am blessed to be in a home surrounded by the things I cherish, but more importantly, I am blessed because of my relationships. I am blessed by my family and many wonderful friends. And even more than all of that, I am blessed because regardless what disaster may strike, I have been chosen, and so have you.

What are our spiritual blessings?

Eternal life, freedom in Christ, forgiveness, unconditional love, and the right to be called sons and daughters of God and a brother or sister of Christ, are a few. We didn’t receive these blessings because we live in the right neighborhood, were born into the right family, or follow the rules of faith. We received them because in God’s grace, He chose us. He chose us to walk blameless regardless of how much we deserve to be blamed; and to be holy, even as He is holy–not because we are, but because He is.

How blessed we are no matter what disaster we may encounter.

PRAYER: Thank You, God for Your richest of blessings, including my life in Christ. Thank You for choosing me and help me remember my spiritual blessings when at times it seems all earthly blessings are burning, washing, or blowing away.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight” (Ephesians 1:3-4 NIV).

In Our Time of Need

By Cynthia Ruchti –

My sister Carol carried a double major in college—Vocal Music Education and Spanish. At the time, all music education majors were required to pass Piano Proficiency to demonstrate at least a moderate ability to play the piano. The challenge was equivalent to passing the state bar exam while undergoing a root canal.

For whatever reason, and despite her love of music and outstanding skill vocally and on the French horn, at that time Carol and a piano knew nothing but discord in their relationship.

But getting her degree depended on passing Piano Proficiency. So she studied and practiced and agonized and fought off an army of knife-wielding nerves while the family prayed.

Often the phone rang with, “Get on your knees! Carol’s taking Piano Proficiency again!”

We prayed and consoled when she was handed negative results and told to retry in a few weeks. We prayed and consoled ten times.

We knew she could do it. And we knew God answers prayer—not because we deserve it but because He is merciful and gracious. So Carol took the risk and we who love her took to our knees an eleventh time.

Did you hear the shouts of joy from all over Wisconsin when after those unsuccessful attempts she passed Piano Proficiency and was freed from ever going through it again? Yup, that was us.

Did the Lord make her great at the piano that day? Or did He make the instructor think she was great so she could pass the test? It doesn’t matter. Either way, it was God’s grace.

Today she’s an amazing Spanish teacher who uses her music skills for worship.

Has the Lord intervened in your life to get you through the impossible, feed your courage to try again, take another risk, or trust, despite the odds?

AUTHOR QUOTE: When your need is great, tap into His limitless need-meeting ability.

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16 NIV).

Hamster Meets Mini-Houdini

By Connie Cavanaugh –

Our three-year-old granddaughter Madi’s middle name should be Houdini. The minute you turn your back on her, she floats away, opens a door more quietly than a safe cracker, slips out and flees! Several frantic searches over the last year have found her happily riding a tricycle down the middle of the street in winter wearing nothing but a diaper, exploring a neighbor’s backyard while frolicking with their dog, or nibbling a snack and playing the Wii in her auntie’s basement a few doors down from Grammy’s house.

That’s why I was a little nervous about leaving her with Papa for an hour while I went with my son and his dogs to the off-leash park. It was Mother’s Day and my daughter, Madi’s mother, needed some rest after a busy weekend of ministry with her youth group and worship team so I gladly volunteered to bring Madi home after church and keep her for the afternoon.

Before leaving for the dog park I made sure Papa understood he must not take his eyes off her for a minute. I locked the door leading outdoors from the family room. Off I went for a happy hour of watching two dogs run, roll, chase balls, splash in the river, shake water all over me, get covered with dirt which quickly became mud, and if dogs could grin, I would say they had grins a mile wide. What apartment dwelling dog doesn’t love an hour of unbridled freedom?

When I got home, windblown and chilly but heart-warmed and happy, the first thing I saw when I stepped inside the house was my wild-eyed husband charging up the stairs from the basement where I had left him and Madi sixty minutes earlier. He was carrying a shoebox.

“Where’s Madi?”

“I just dropped her off at Christine’s house,” he wheezed. The shoebox he clutched rose and fell on his heaving chest, Christine is our other daughter who lives nearby.

“What’s in the box?” I asked.

Wordlessly, he lifted the lid. I peeked inside.

“A hamster?”

“Is that what it is?” he asked. “I thought it was a mouse at first but it looked too well fed so my next guess was a gerbil.”

“Where did it come from?”

“According to Madi? Louisiana!” he replied, shaking his head.

The story unfolded. Papa decided to watch a movie with Madi while Grammy was out. A dangerous idea since television is like a narcotic for Pastor Papa, but on Sunday afternoon, TV works faster than Nembutal delivered intravenously. The movie had barely begun when the snoring started.

We have no idea how long Madi waited but she quickly sensed the wind was in her favor, tiptoed upstairs, and let herself out the unlocked front door. She made a beeline next-door where 10-year-old Hannah lives. Hannah often lets Madi play with her hamster.

Hannah’s family wasn’t home so Madi tried both doors; the back door was not locked. She found the hamster in its cage, liberated it, and was heading back to Grammy’s house for some fun when Papa woke up with a start, discovered she was gone and began dashing and calling. He found her outside our front door, clutching the little critter. Thinking she had a mouse in her pudgy fists, he almost threw it into an adjacent green space. But a second look made him think it was more domesticated – hence the “gerbil” classification.

“Madi! Where did you get this gerbil?”

“Louisiana,” she replied with a poker face worthy of Cool Hand Luke.

He asked a second time and got the same response. It was at that point he realized he was dealing with not only an experienced jail breaker but a seasoned perjurer since we live in Canada.

Disgruntled church members, power-hungry deacons, political positioning, tight budgets, needy parishioners – all this and more Pastor Papa handles with diplomacy and grace but a wise man knows his limits. He pried the hamster out of her sweaty grasp amid a flood of weeping, boxed the pet and marched Madi over to Auntie’s house. He knew he was in way over his head.

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