Women of Great Faith

By Judy Davis –

For over 30 years our church has had a powerful ministry each Sunday at the nursing home in our community. Several members of our church meet there in the afternoon for worship, a devotional, message and prayer. The head of this ministry has a list of those in our church who are willing to speak.

Last Sunday, I spoke to these special ladies and gentlemen. After much prayer and seeking the Lord, I asked for a message that would be pleasing to Him. What would God want me to share? I knew in my heart the message would be on Women of Great Faith.

After searching the Scriptures and commentaries from various leaders, one example in the Bible I shared was about the woman of great faith in Proverbs 31. This woman is of noble character and worth far more than rubies. She is a hard worker. She gets up early in the morning and provides for her family and servants. She purchases land. She feeds the poor and helps the needy. She makes clothes for her family. She speaks with wisdom and knowledge. And her children and husband praise her. Many Christian women today love to model this woman.

Another example of a woman of faith is about the Canaanite Woman in Matthew 15. She did several things that made Jesus take notice of her.

1. She pursued Jesus.
2. She revealed her problem to Him.
3. She worshipped him.
4. She prayed a simple prayer: Help me.
5. She disregarded discouraging words.
6. She persevered through testing.
7. She humbly received from Jesus taking the scraps.
8. She received a promise from the Lord.

And Jesus said, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”

After speaking at the nursing home several women came and told me how much they enjoyed hearing this message. It is my prayer God will use what I speak and bless souls for His Kingdom.

Dear Lord,
We come boldly before the King of Kings seeking you with all of our heart. It is our desire that our children arise and call us blessed and we bring our husbands good, not harm, all the days of our life.

“Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised” (Proverbs 31:30 NIV).

A New Red Light District?

By Liz Cowen Furman –

Brick Red. How hard can it be? Much to my chagrin, I discovered that when one goes to a hardware store to choose and purchase paint it is wise to look at the color before leaving the store.

We were in the middle of the rebuild of our little family motel near Yellowstone in Dubois, Wyoming and had at last come to the painting of the garage. I posted a before picture to our Black Bear Inn Facebook page. We tore out the dilapidated old dog fence left by the previous managers, sent piles of detritus to the dumpsters, scraped, washed and vacuumed the building in preparation. I even found several perfect planters at a garage sale to put around outside and filled them to brimming with petunias that would make the place look inviting to our guests as they ate the s’mores we serve by the river campfire nightly.

After much deliberation, it was decided that we should paint the old cinder blocks brick color with white trim. You know that dark burgundy-ish old brick color.

My nephew, Jake, and I went to the closest lumberyard-only seventy-four miles away!- that carried five gallon jugs of paint, picked out the beautiful sample and commissioned a nice gentleman with the task of turning our world red.

When picking up the finished product I noticed that the sample he put on the color swatch wasn’t quite the color we had ordered but I assumed it must still be wet.
When we commenced painting, the color was very orange. Almost glowing orange. I so wish we could post pictures with these articles as that would be the laugh of the day. We kept saying, “It will dry darker.” But it did not.

The next Saturday, when I went to pick up my Bountiful Basket my dear neighbor asked if we were opening a new “red light district” over at the motel. It practically glowed orange. Ugh.

Since the garage needed two coats of paint I decided to give the guys at the lumberyard another chance. I went in and showed them a picture of my swarthy garage on the iPad. The man who waited on me was mortified; he assured me the next 5 gallons would be the correct shade.

When I picked up the finished jug this time I inspected the color closely. PINK. I couldn’t believe it. The woman at the desk said it is “the best they could do.” I politely explained that we could not have an orange OR a pink garage. So I left empty handed.

A few days later on a trip to Casper a nice man at Home Depot mixed the perfect color for me. It was the exact right color, that is until I painted it over the orange, at which point it turned an interesting shade of brown. I’m thinking the pink might have been better.

Now we have a rather different colored garage. I am amazed, but the new shade is growing on me.

The motel teaches me lots of lessons. This week’s was to go with the flow. I am learning to not sweat the small stuff, and with the exception of a very few things it is all small stuff. I love a saying my Dad would use when we were growing up and things would go wrong: “If this is the worst thing that happens to us today we are set.” He was right.

I Like What You’ve Done With the Place

By Cynthia Ruchti –

Some of the home improvement shows on television invite neighbors and prospective home buyers to walk through a house both before and after a major remodel. On their first trip, they’re filmed saying things like, “This room is so dark.” “What is that smell?” “Eww. Disgusting kitchen.” “Is that mold on the windowsill?” “The décor looks like something from the 60s, and not in a retro way.”

Then the remodel team shows up with paintbrushes, carpenters, designers, and granite countertops. They knock out view-prohibiting walls, replace or reinvigorate scarred hardwood floors, patch holes, paint walls and woodwork, and install state-of-the-art appliances. A designer sweeps in to stage the house with appealing furniture and distinctive lighting.

A second open house welcomes the same group of people who originally had little positive to say about the home. This time through, they make comments that in essence communicate, “I love what you’ve done with the place!”

Fresh colors. Better traffic flow. Clean. Crisp. Welcoming.

I’ve been thinking about the remodel concept since landing on a verse of Scripture that hadn’t drawn my attention before, for some reason.

Psalm 41:3 reads, “The Lord will strengthen them when they are lying in bed, sick. You will completely transform the place where they lie ill” (CEB).

Completely transform. God can completely transform a sick room. I wonder what that would look like.

The stale air would be replaced with the sweet fragrance of His presence. And that transforms everything. He knocks down walls blocking our view of Him and of the hope-filled future. He sands away the scarred places, digs and scratches from our experience. He patches holes, lines the sick room with a fresh perspective, stronger colors, evidence of the courage He offers in abundance. He lights the room.

In His Hands, a sick room can be “completely transformed.” The illness may remain. The diagnosis may be unchanged. But the place where the sick lie can be so thoroughly revolutionized by God’s presence that the suffering one will rise on one elbow to say, “I love what You’ve done with the place.”

PRAYER: Father God, it has sometimes been me in that sick room. Forgive me for not always noticing what You did with the place. And for those I care about who are lying in bed, sick, right now, I pray Your presence would be so strongly evidenced that their pain and distress are transformed in Your light.”

“The Lord will strengthen them when they are lying in bed, sick. You will completely transform the place where they lie ill” (Psalm 41:3 CEB).

Christianese

By Cheri Cowell –

In the writing world there is a term we use for the “insider” language Christians toss about without much thought. It’s called Christianese, and is to be avoided because it is precisely that–insider language. If you don’t know the code then you won’t understand what’s being said. At first glance, it appears Jesus was the originator of Christianese.

Jesus just made the startling statement that He was the Bread of Life and that whoever eats of this bread will live forever. The Jews that heard this must have been startled. The eating of meat and blood was carefully guarded. Here, this man was talking about eating his flesh and blood. There is no way these followers could have possibly understood the connection He was making from the manna in Exodus to His body broken at the cross and the future act of Holy Communion. So, if they could not have understood, why did Jesus ask whether His twelve would leave as others had done? When you and I turn the question to ourselves it helps us to see that staying with Jesus means we won’t always understand what He is doing or even saying, but as Peter says in John 6:68, “Lord, to whom shall we go?” (NIV).

“Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.’ He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum… From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ‘You do not want to leave too, do you?’ Jesus asked the Twelve” (John 6:53-59, 66-67 NIV).

PRAYER: God, I praise You for the great mystery of the Incarnation, and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross. Help me understand more completely, and when understanding is evasive, to have the courage to stay by Your side.

The Morning March

By Hally Franz –

Take the “way back machine” with me to the late 70’s and early 80’s. As my younger sister primped, polished and curled, I lingered in bed as long as absolutely possible before rising to do the most basic of morning preparations. Nails? Not really my style. Make-up? My boyfriend goes to another school. Breakfast? Who needs it?

Each morning, as I slept and my sister groomed, the radio played loudly enough to be heard throughout our three-bedroom ranch. And, every morning, I heard it—the signal that I could resist rising no longer. At 7:00 a.m., that newsy a.m. station played the morning march. This was not some meaningless alliteration, a catchy program name. This was a musical march.

“The Thunderer,” “Stars and Stripes Forever” and “Seventy-six Trombones” boldly blared from the living room, and I went into action. It was the faithful stirring cue that got me up and moving.

Our children, now all returned to school, are developing their own morning routines. Perhaps, it is worthwhile to consider what we can do each morning to help their days start out well.

For younger children, routines and structure are super important. We know adequate sleep and a good breakfast are critical for these little guys. At this stage, they are learning how to form their own good habits, so the routines you set are important on a daily basis and in teaching life skills.

For older children like mine, the focus is more appropriately placed on the tone or mood of the morning. Older kids can get up, dress and eat on their own. It may be the conversations that we have with them in those early hours that make the bigger impression.

It is in our daily commutes that I now find opportunities for “mom moments.” During those short drives to school, we’ve often prayed for our days. I use that time to give well wishes or bits of advice for whatever is going on with them. Sometimes, we turn on music, sing loudly and laugh.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there are also mornings that start with craziness and fussing. I’m still not a morning person, you see. Each year, though, is a new chance to develop those great morning routines that will bless and benefit our children now and in the future.

May all of our kids have a great school year!

PRAYER: Mighty and merciful Father, may your presence be known to our school children as they rise each morning, lie down at the end of each day, and in all their activities in between. That blessing is the most we parents can ask and all our children will ever need.

“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1 John 2:28 NKJV).

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