Have Faith in God

By Judy Davis –

 

While reading the Bible through each year I love to read about the women whose faith in God made a difference in their lives.  One of my favorite stories is about Ruth. The book of Ruth is more than a beautiful love story. It’s about an attractive but lonely widow who steps out in faith and, through perseverance and endurance, achieves the seemingly impossible. Her life is changed dramatically from poverty to abundance. How can this happen? Ruth chose to leave her home, the country of Moab, and follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, to the land of the Israelites, God’s chosen people.

As Naomi was leaving, both daughters-in-law, Orpah and Ruth, followed her; however, Orpah decided to return to Moab. Ruth couldn’t wait to arrive in Israel. She had seen the love of God’s people and faith had risen in her heart to turn from everything unlike God.  Even though Naomi tried to change Ruth’s mind about going, Ruth told her, “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God” (Ruth 1:16 NIV).

When they arrived in Bethlehem, Ruth immediately went to work as a gleaner, gathering crops that were left by the reapers. Not long after she started working in the fields she noticed Boaz, the owner of the fields. Each day he would speak to the field workers, always leaving with a smile. His way of saying thank you was, “May the Lord be with you.”

After Ruth told Naomi about Boaz, she was surprised to hear he was a relative.  According to Jewish custom, a relative was expected to marry the widow of the deceased.

Boaz began to notice what a hard worker Ruth was. He also saw her sincerity and integrity.  Love began to work a miracle in Ruth’s life. Because of her kindness and willingness to give of herself, God blessed her. It was not long before Boaz, a mighty man of God, fell in love with Ruth.

Ruth proved love could lift one out of a life of misery. Love can shed its light, like a sunbeam, on all that it touches. When she stepped out in faith, leaving her home, family and friends behind, her life could never be the same. It is faith that moves the hand of God.

Materially, Ruth had nothing; yet, she had so much to give. She gave up everything when she followed Naomi to Israel. She gave a labor of love when she went into the fields to glean what the reapers had left behind.

And, because Ruth gave of herself, God multiplied it back to her in a way she could never have dreamed. God made her name honorable throughout the end of the ages. For after her marriage to Boaz, she had a son, Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of  David, the ancestor of Jesus Christ. What greater honor could one receive?

PRAYER:  Dear Lord, we come boldly before the King of Kings seeking you with all of our hearts. Help us today to move forward having faith to believe that with you all things are possible.

Laundry Lesson

By Kim Stokely –

 

Our family pets love laundry day. We had a parakeet who could say two phrases, “Hi, bird” and “Praise God!” He loved to chirp back to the various squeaks and clicks the dryer made. When it came time to fold clothes, he’d tweet happily and call out “Praise God” while I worked. His gentle reminder to be thankful for God’s provision of clothes helped make the chore easier.

Alas, the bird passed away and now we have Ollie, the sock thief. This puppy has a nose for the smell of Tide and a desire to eat all of our socks and unmentionables. Who knew that washing clothes would require making a game plan of defensive maneuvers to keep the little fuzz ball from stealing items not only out of the laundry basket, but out of the dryer itself? While I’m busy folding t-shirts, Ollie sneaks behind me like a white, puffy ninja and slides a sock from the dryer. It’s only when he’s out of my reach that he lifts his head and trots happily toward the living room. It’s that happy gait that signals he’s done it again. I spend the next two or three minutes like something out of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, chasing the fluffy delinquent in circles around our house until he drops his loot.

As harmless as chewing a sock seems to be, I know that should he actually swallow the fabric, it could cause his little tummy a world of trouble. I knew of a Dalmatian whose fetish for socks landed her in the vet’s office, undergoing emergency surgery. Ollie may not understand why I keep taking away his seemingly harmless toy, but I do.

I love Ollie to pieces but get so frustrated by his constant desire to do the wrong thing. Whether it be to chew socks or tunnel under the fence, I have to keep a constant eye on the wily puppy. If only he understood that the boundaries I put up were for his own good. To protect him from harm and help him to grow up healthy.

I suppose God looks at us the same way. All of us are tempted, at least at some point, to do the wrong thing. Like Ollie, we may not even know it’s dangerous, but God does.  Psalm 25:8-9 says “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” (NIV). Just as I try and be patient with my puppy, God is patient with us. He guides us and, if we are willing, trains us to walk in His ways.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to run. The house is too quiet. Ollie must be up to something.

 

The Storms Crash

By Liz Cowen Furman –

 

What matches the excitement of an airplane trip? As a child, when I saw a plane overhead I said, ‘someone is going somewhere.’ I always wanted to GO SOMEWHERE. At that stage of my life, with a few exceptions, I took trips by reading books instead of hopping a plane. Books are great, yet nothing matches the feeling of stepping off a plane into some distant land you have never actually seen, smelled or felt.

Recently, we were planning to take our youngest to check out colleges in Florida. Suddenly, we discovered my husband had to have surgery. We had to get the trip in before, as I would not be able to leave for a long stretch once he had surgery, and then it would be Eagle Court of Honor and graduation time.

While I was at work, my son made the reservations for us. The next day when we went to print our boarding passes and leave for the airport my husband realized the tickets were for a week hence.

Panic would be an understatement; in searching for the best short notice deals he made our trip out on one airline and our trip back on another. Oh, and he put the wrong name on my ticket. Learning curve.

I prayed, then called the airlines and explained our dilemma. To our great surprise and relief they both called it a ‘same day ticket error’ and gave us our money back, so we were able to reschedule.

At the airport, we plopped our stuff in the bins to be x-rayed. As mine went through, the tub turned upside down. All the contents fell out and my driver’s license went missing. I prayed silently until a very nice TSA agent found it under the x-ray machine.  Thank you, Jesus.

When we bought dinner at Panda Express my veggies tasted like seafood. I am allergic to shellfish and I did not bring my EpiPen, so I was fearful. On the moving walkway I told Micah it felt like something was messing with us. We prayed.

As we sped away from New Orleans Airport the storm hit. Thunder and lightning flashed and crashed as the radio barked out tornado warnings. We prayed again. When the clouds rolled away we thanked our Protector.

That is how the trip went: Storms came; we prayed. Storms went.

We thanked Him for His protection and direction. We felt we were being attacked and protected at every turn. Just like life, when ‘storms’ hit we pray, and when we are protected we give thanks. When it seems we aren’t protected, we give thanks anyway, knowing that His hand is on us even when it doesn’t seem or feel like it. Because we know from Jeremiah 29:11 we are secure,we can rest under His wings.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

 

The Blessing Bunch

By Cheri Cowell –

 

Henry Ward Beecher is quoted as saying, “A proud man is seldom a grateful man because he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.” Those of us with a personality prone to the weakness of pride can also agree with the Apostle Paul. He said that although he knew what he wanted to do, he couldn’t seem to do it—at least not all of the time.

Pride tends to slip up when we feel unappreciated, unnoticed, overwhelmed, and taken advantage of—all signs of a self-focused person. God has given us a remedy for this sin. He tells us we should get our eyes off of ourselves and onto our blessings, especially those we receive through others. When we realize it is not “all about us,” it is easier to think of how we might be a blessing to others. When we put others first, we become a member of God’s Blessing Bunch, and soon discover that the blessings go both ways.

“When you think about them, let it be with great love in your heart because of all the work they have done. Let peace live and reign among you” (1 Thessalonians 5:13 VOICE).

Prayer: I want to be a part of Your blessing bunch, whose members take their eyes from themselves and who place others first.

Listen First

By Anne Johnson –

The smell of sizzling bacon wafted down the hall. Mom had hollered at me to get up and ready for school, but the scrumptious smell was truly my catalyst.

I dressed rapidly, ran a brush through my curly tangled hair and skipped to the kitchen.

“Morning M-” I was shushed before I could complete my greeting.

“Listen,” Mom whispered.

I sat at the kitchen listening to the announcer’s voice sounding from the cube shaped radio perched on the kitchen table. My siblings arrived and were also shushed. They plopped down in their chairs as we ate our morning meal in silence.

I have always enjoyed talking. My mom often told people that the only time I was quiet was when I was asleep. To my mother’s credit, she tried to warn me about stranger danger, but if she was with me, I had the confidence to talk to anyone.

I squirmed in my chair, folded and refolded my napkin and glared at the noisy annoying radio. Mom sat seemingly transfixed by the words of the announcer.

“And that is the rest of the story. Good day.”

Mom stood and began to gather the breakfast dishes. I sighed and pushed back my chair, “Well, he sure was a chatterbox!” I declared.

My family burst into laughter. When I was a child my nickname was “Chatterbox”. I had met my match. Some man named Paul Harvey had out-talked me.

After breakfast I pleaded with my mom, “Please, walk me to school today. I need to talk to you. It’s very important.” To my delight, she agreed.

“What was so important?” Mom asked as we neared the elementary school. I gazed at the ground, kicking the little pebbles that were in front of me.

“Well.” Nothing. I didn’t really have anything to say, I only wanted to talk. To have someone listen to the ramblings of my mind. I wanted to…well, chatter.

Mom stopped and knelt in front of me. “Annie, do you know why I wanted to listen to the radio this morning? It was a very touching story about a mother and her children.”

“Oh, but-”

“Want to know something special?” Mom asked.

I nodded. Mom shared a truth from God’s word that had changed her heart. She shared from a verse in James 1:19, “…Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (NIV).

My mom further explained to me that every word we speak needs to be carefully considered, for by our very words, we have the ability to share God’s truth and love. If all we do is chatter, what do we, or others, gain?

It wasn’t easy to change my habit of yacking. However, I reasoned that listening must be more valued by God than talking, since He gave us two ears and only one mouth. Breakfasts around our kitchen table took on a new tradition as the little cube radio entertained us with moving stories. As I listened I learned to treasure the wisdom and wit of Paul Harvey, but it was the tender moments after when mom asked me what I thought of the story that impacted me most. In this way, my mother was imparting to me the art of listening first before I spoke.

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