Are You Prepared?

By Charlotte Riegel –

I was enjoying a relaxed and inspirational morning with books and notebooks strewn around my ‘in bed’ desk. The phone rang jolting me into the here and now. I wondered if it might be my daughter announcing the soon arrival of our next grandchild and was surprised to hear the sound of a man’s voice. It was a neighbor. “Look out your front window,” he said. “Three moose are right across the road from your house.” I thanked him for the heads up and rushed to the window but saw nothing.

Still in my night attire, I quickly pulled on a very long winter coat and went to the street so I could look past the trees in our front yard. The street was empty, except for another neighbor’s dog, barking towards the pond below a small bluff. I correctly guessed they must be in the lower area I could not see unless I crossed the road, which I chose not to do. The dog continued to bark intently and soon I saw the moose moving across the frozen pond and up a small embankment on the far side, then carry on across an abandoned rail line and on towards the brush at the base of a large hill bordering our Hamlet.

What a glorious sight. I wished I had my camera. I wished I had our binoculars. If I had been up and dressed when the phone call came, I quite likely would have been able to see the moose very close up and would not have been quite so tentative about crossing the road for a better look.

We are new to this rural community of nearly 100 people, having left a city of a million people and are now enjoying the wonders of country living. Coyotes, rabbits, owls, and an occasional deer were fairly common in our city neighborhood because of our proximity to wildlife preservation areas, but moose…Wow!

I have now placed binoculars by the front door and spent time learning how to use the camera on a newly acquired cell phone. I plan to be better prepared for more surprise sightings of wildlife.

This incident reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins in which the Kingdom of God is compared to a wedding where some missed the party altogether because they were not alert and prepared.

QUOTE: “One should plan for spiritual enlightenment. At least bring a flashlight.” Lia Hills, The Beginner’s Guide to Living.

“And Jesus concluded, “Watch out, then, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13 NIV).

Love Letters

By Jennifer Slattery –

One day, while cleaning out our closet, I found a shoebox tucked behind a bunch of clutter. Curiosity bid me, and I pulled it down and sifted through the items. It contained rusted railroad nails, an antique pocket watch attached to a chain, old baseball game stubs, and numerous other creased, rusted, or slightly tarnished items. My heart was touched to see the softer side of my husband displayed in the saving of each item.

I’m certain every stub and nail told a story, perhaps of the first baseball game he attended or the watch given to him by his grandfather who has since passed. But what touched me most were the numerous slips of paper and cards I found buried beneath it all, my young, immature writing scrawled across them.

I had to giggle at my immaturity. “I love you,” heart, heart, dot the exclamation point with a large heart. Those letters had touched my husband deeply, so much so that he had saved them all these years.

I paused, remembering the first love letter he wrote me. He’s not much of a talker, and even less of a writer. He’s notorious for the one word email. Or, the blank email, with everything I need to know written in the subject heading.

But on this day, he was Casanova with a pen. It was our first marriage retreat hosted at a nearby hotel. We went with scarred, yet healing hearts, and a bit of baggage. One of the first assignments we were given was to write a love letter to our spouses.

My husband and I found a quiet corner in a far back hotel hallway and set to writing what was in our hearts. We wouldn’t write about what was bothering us. It wasn’t time to resolve past hurts. It was time to love, and to tell each other what we cherished most about one another and our marriage.

Honestly, I was expecting a two, maybe three sentence letter: “I love you. I’m glad I married you. Love Steve.”

From the corner of my eye, I watched my husband hunched over his paper, pen in hand. He wrote, and wrote, and wrote. I write fast, so I finished first and set mine aside.

He continued to write. If only I had saved that first letter. I have no idea where it went, but it touched me so deeply, tears poured from my eyes as I read it.

Never underestimate the power of a written “I love you.” It has the power to heal, to soothe, to defuse, and to unite.

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1 NIV).

Sometimes we can get so caught up in the day to day, we forget to tell our spouses how much we love them. Often, we forget to think about our love for them. If you dwell on the negative, you’ll find it every time. But, if you seek out the lovely, good and pure, you’ll find it’s been there all along.

This Valentine’s day, I encourage you to write your letter a spouse telling them what you appreciate about them and what you love about your marriage. Perhaps, in the letter, reminisce about a romantic moment shared between the two of you. And most of all, cherish your spouse, focusing on their good qualities—those things that drew you to them—not things you wish they’d change.

100% Pure

By Cindy Martin –

Would you believe me if I told you I was a long lost daughter of Queen Elizabeth’s, and that I was banished from the royal family because I slurped my soup rather than sipping it? I probably can’t fool you on with that lie.

Would you believe me if I told you I once handed Queen Elizabeth a bouquet of flowers, and as I curtsied she nodded her head and said thank-you? Is this the truth? It’s a bit more difficult to discern if this is a lie or truth, isn’t it?

Like this example, the messages we hear from culture, our family and friends and even those that whisper inside of us are often difficult to discern between truth and deception.

If you had her size, you’d be beautiful too.
Your marriage would be better if your husband treated you like that guy does.
You’ll never get that job; you’re not smart enough.
If your co-worker liked you, she’d invite you out for lunch.

The most dangerous lie is the one that is closest to the truth. But there are no half-truths. Truth is pure, which means it has no contaminants. Truth is 100% true. Satan, the Father of Lies, takes truth and injects it with a lie and this deception wreaks havoc with our souls and minds.

God calls us to truth. God is the author of truth and His desire is for us to be so familiar and submersed in truth that we can spot a counterfeit. Deception kills, destroys and tears down. Truth builds up, holds fast and gives life. Our ability to discern truth comes from a relationship with God and He infuses us with wisdom and truth.

PRAYER: Lord, give me a passion for truth and may I cast off anything that is deception. Help me to know the difference.

“Keep me from deceitful ways; I have chosen the way of truth” (Psalm 119:29 – 30 NIV).

P.S. I did hand flowers to the Queen, just as I described. That’s the truth!

Enjoying Your Color

By Jarrod Spencer –

Most of you have probably heard for the song “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” It is a song that I have sung for as long as I can remember. The main verse that is sung mentions that whether you are “red, or yellow, black or white, [children] are precious in His sight.” We normally associate this with the color of one’s skin, to which it doesn’t matter, because Jesus loves all.

I want to take the concept of color into a little bit different direction. We all are a different color and together we make an awesome looking rainbow array of colors in this world.

We all have different skills, talents, favorites, desires, passions, education background, family background, and the list could go on. This brings us to this week’s quote:

The white light streams down to be broken up by those human prisms into all the colors of the rainbow. Take your own color in the pattern and be just that. – Charles R. Brown

If you’ve never had the chance to ‘break light’ with a prism, it is really a pretty cool thing to see. What seems like just ‘light’ becomes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Plus, there are variations of each one. There are more intense colors within a color and more dull colors within a color.

Our world is much the same way. The light will come down and be broken up into all of us. People made up of all types of talents, passions, desires, goals, etc.

We are not all administratively minded.
We are not all passive.
We are not all OCD.
We are not all parents.
We are not all CEOs.
We are not all miners.
We are not all artists.
We are not all musicians.

…get the point?

You are a person of color. Not pertaining to the color of your skin, but to what you are ‘composed’ of, inside. Sometimes you’ve been molded to become a certain color, people may have encouraged you to pursue something that you wouldn’t have tried, so they helped you become the color you are.

Appreciate whatever color you are…whether you are red, or yellow, black or white, you are still “precious in His sight” and your color is who you are.

And who you are is awesome!

Enjoying my ‘color’!

“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created” (James 1:18 NIV).

Ah, the Sweet Life

By Rhonda Rhea –

I don’t know why we’re always making things a lot more complicated than we need to, but repairs shouldn’t be rocket science. Unless you’re repairing rockets. But for everything else it’s a lot simpler than we tend to make it. According to my grandfather, if it’s mechanical, you fix it with duct tape or WD-40. In extreme cases, both. According to my grandmother, if it’s biological, sometimes you fix it with Vicks. Sometimes Camphophenique. In extreme cases, both. According to me, everything else that doesn’t require rocket science can most likely be fixed with chocolate. Also, for all the categories and for every fix-it need, you should actually always try the chocolate first.

I could be wrong but it seems to me most civil upheaval happens in the countries with the least amount of chocolate. Come on, just stop and think about it. I think I could demonstrate my reasoning with a pie chart. Of course, mine would be a chocolate pie chart. Then I could make my point slice by slice.

Ah, there’s the sweet life. Not to mention, I would be helping protect the civility of our culture one whipped-cream-covered bite at a time.

Where is it that we really find the sweet life? If you’re talking about the taste buds, sure, try the chocolate. But if you’re talking about the heart, that heart is going to have to be filled with something entirely different. Not a something. A SomeOne. Come on, just stop and think about it.

This is not about some sort of make-over of your cardiac muscle. Experiencing the real sweet life means giving Jesus the real heart of you—every single part of you. It’s more than just a little life-fix. It’s a make over, under, around and through as we allow Him to fill our every thought, check our every motive, influence our every move. It’s allowing Him to fill our everything. And to be our everything.

Paul said “For in Him we live and move and exist,” (Acts 17:28, HCSB). We live because of Him and He is the one who sustains this life. Every move is made in Him. There’s not even a remote possibility for the slightest motion without His strength. And we exist in Him. The original language gives us the sweet picture of our continual and complete dependence on Him for every little thing in this moment, and also for our continued existence in the next.

Life is sweeter at that place where we recognize it’s not really ours to fix. It’s not ours at all. It’s sweeter at that place where we recognize it’s all about Him and surrender every part fully to His control. There’s an amazingly sweet fellowship with Him there. Real worship. David said, “As for me, I will continue beholding Your face in righteousness (rightness, justice, and right standing with You); I shall be fully satisfied, when I awake to find myself beholding Your form and having sweet communion with You,” (Psalm 17:15, AMP).

“Sweet communion.” I love it. With or without whipped cream on top.

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