Reclaiming Our Joy

By Rachael Sales

The phone is ringing! The children are screaming! The dog is barking – loudly I might say! The light bulb just blew out as you were on your knees looking for that last blue hair bow to match your daughter’s freshly ironed Sunday dress. You know the dress that she just poured grape juice all over because of the sheer joy it brought her? Yes – that dress!  And all of this is just the start of your morning! As the day goes by, only heaven knows what you must tackle just to keep a handle on your sanity, your patience, your passion to be on top of life! By the time that you look up it is noon and you’ve only checked off half of the fifty tasks that were supposed to happen by 10 AM!   While motherhood may not be your reality, none of us are exempt from the requirements of life. Whether married or single, white collar or blue collar, male or female, the demands of life come for us all.

We are active in our ministries, active on the PTA’s and softball leagues, awesome care-takers of our church members.  Where does the time go? becomes our daily war cry, does it not!  At the end of the day, it is often hard to remember what really matters. As a minister and a wife, I am often reminded that I must put first things first. First for me, is the quiet time that I spend with my God. This article is a call for all of us to remember.
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Teaching for Christ

By Jennifer Kearson

As a child growing up, I moved to several places and never got the chance to connect with anyone for a long period of time. After my parents moved from South Georgia, we didn't get re-involved in church matters. Years went by before I was given an opportunity to really get connected with a church and gain a deeper understanding about Christ. 

My aunt has always loved being with children.  So, one summer she decided to teach Vacation Bible School. To my surprise, she had also planned on having me as her co-worker, no exceptions. Scared as I was, since I had no clue where to start, I watched carefully and curiously at the way she handled the situation.
     
I don’t know if it was the way she presented the lessons or how she read the scriptures but, I definitely realized what wonderful stories I had missed.  We took many trips to Burger King to get the crowns from there so learning about Kings was a treat.  Even though the children were younger than me, we still had a fun time.  They probably didn’t even realize how much fun I was having as we shared and learned together.

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Thinking Way Outside the Box (and the bag)

By Dan Miller

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village money-lender. The old and ugly money-lender fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter, so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgive the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal, but the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. The girl would have to reach in and pick one pebble from the bag. 1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. 2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. 3) If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail until the debt was paid.

They were standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the money-lender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag. Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: (1) The girl could refuse to take a pebble – but her father would then be thrown in jail. (2) The girl could pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment. Or (3) The girl could pull out both black pebbles in the bag, expose the money-lender as a cheat and likely incite his immediate revenge.

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Whine and Cheese

By Lisa Brewer Buffaloe

For a number of years, health problems have plagued a friend of mine named Nancy. The doctors finally diagnosed her with a disease I cannot pronounce, much less write. Yet, even through the frustrations of battling the illness, her faith has never faltered in God and His goodness.

During a phone call, we updated one another on our ongoing medical conditions. She was beginning a new round of medication and knew the side effects would be nasty — puffiness, hair loss, nausea, etc.

I was well on my way to a major pity party of my own. It had been two weeks since surgery on the shredded tendons and ligaments on my hip. The first week had been tolerable, thanks to massive doses of narcotics dispensed through the pain pump tethered to my leg. But now, with the pump removed, the excruciating pain had returned.

We both knew God would help us through, but the whine was strong. We decided we should get together… let me share the gist of the conversation.

Nancy: Let’s do a whine and cheese party.

Lisa: Can’t do cheese, I’m lactose intolerant – that would be a big whine. How about chocolate instead?

Nancy: Oh great! Okay, let’s get together and have coffee at Starbucks too!

Lisa: Great, a whine, coffee and chocolate party. Problem is I still can’t drive.

Nancy: I can drive. I’ll come get you.

Lisa: Great. But who will help us with our wheelchairs?

Pause…

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What’s Your Sign?

By Christina Puntigam 

While preparing for a mission trip to Africa, my group leader told me that the Christians will be recognizable by their clothing. He said that people wear who they are on their clothes. It kind of confused me, because my thoughts were that everyone was running around with those cleaver shirts that you see in the Christian bookstores. When I finally arrived in Africa, I understood what he meant.  The natives have material printed with scripture and images on them and then make their normal clothing from that material. I found out while I was there that each church orders a special fabric to represent their Easter and Christmas season and then they continue to wear their outfits throughout the year. The fabric was beautiful, something that I would have worn myself, even as an understated mid-westerner.

It all came back to me while I was reading the book of John. In the 3rd chapter, Jesus talks about the truth being a sign and a seal.  In the days of Jesus, it was common for the head of the household to have a seal that he would wear on his finger.  When conducting business, this seal would be a signature.  The scripture made me wonder how it is that I use God’s truth as a seal.  I thought back to Africa and the clothes that they wear to show God’s truth as their seal.  I remembered all the jewelry that has been given to me to mark special occasions, marriage, graduation, and completion of ministry.  I began to search for what my seal looked like now.

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