I Dream of…Genealogy?

I love to write suspense.  Out of nothing—poof. I dream and worlds appear.  It’s fun to make up characters.  Maybe my protagonist should have purple highlights, drive a Karmann Ghia, and walk with a limp. And the food! I can whip up grilled pork roast, guilt-free Alfredo sauce, and crème brûlée. The setting? Antarctica. Or a planet of my own making, complete with talking chimera.  Whatever I do, one thing is certain: My plot must hold readers captive so they neglect the laundry, the bathtub, sleeping, and breathing.  The last thing I do if I want to tell a dramatic story is include a long list of names in my story’s climax.  That would be like rolling the credits as the main action in a movie.  Yet leave it to God to break all the rules when breathing inspiration into the best-told stories of all time.

Ending with a genealogy is exactly what He did through the human of the Book of Ruth.  And once we “get” what He’s doing, we have to admit He has provided an utterly dramatic landing.  The readers of “Ruth” lived in a world before moving pictures.  No photos; only drawings.  When a loved one died, the bereaved had no hope of ever seeing that person’s face again.  The only thing left was a memory, and a name. So for the descendants of Abraham, genealogy ruled.  What might seem anticlimactic to us thrilled the readers of Ruth’s story.  Why? The last name on that list was King David.

What Ruth could not have known, but those who heard her story would have quickly discerned is that God blessed her long after her death.  She was the grandmother of the greatest earthly king ever. And it keeps getting better: Much later Matthew records her name in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.  A Moabite girl with the wrong pedigree was grafted into the royal tree.  And all because she embraced the Lord as her God and showed loyal love to a helpless widow.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that You love mercy and justice and humility, and You care for the needy and the vulnerable.  Thank You that You are able to do far beyond what we can even ask or imagine if we trust in You. Glorify Yourself through my life that I might shine forth something of Your glory.

“These are the descendants of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron, Hezron was the father of Ram, Ram was the father of Amminadab, Amminadab was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmah, Salmon ^was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed, Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David,” Ruth 4:18-22 NET.

Today’s devotion is by Sandra Glahn, Th.M. She is an adjunct professor, Christian Education and Pastoral Ministries, at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS), her alma mater while currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Aesthetic Studies (Arts and Humanities) at the University of Texas at Dallas.  Her books include The Coffee Cup Bible Study series and the medical suspense thriller, Informed Consent (Cook). She and her husband, Gary, have been married over thirty years and have a daughter who joined their family through adoption.

You’re Fat, Crappa!

By Lane R. Johnson

The television commercial was for a weight loss program and featured names like Dan Marino and Don Shula.  It promised incredible results and advertised itself to be just the thing for men.  I had seen the ad a hundred times and really wasn’t paying attention.  After all, Cullen, my five year old grandson, was sitting next to me and I felt like I was on top of the world!  Anyway, that commercial was for fat people.

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Persimmon Pie

A plastic bag full of persimmons appeared at our doorstep while we were out one October morning.  An attached note explained that the bag contained fresh persimmons and that the fruit was sweetest when the skin was slightly wrinkled.  Those wrinkles should have been my first warning.  Never having eaten a persimmon before, I was intrigued by the small round fruits.  How did one prepare them?

I remembered how a newlywed once called my mother for cooking advice.  The woman was having trouble preparing an old family recipe for stewed chicken.  “Mrs. Parke, the recipe says to put the chicken in a kettle, cover with water and simmer for two hours.”  The directions seemed simple enough.  My mother asked what the difficulty was.  “I can’t get the chicken into the kettle.  It won’t go past the spout.”  Suddenly we realized that the young woman was trying to squeeze the chicken into a teakettle!  Now it was my turn to seek advice.  Because my mother was no longer alive, I called an older experienced cook, Ruth, to see if she could suggest a recipe that would use the fruit.  In her eighties, she had a lifetime of wisdom.”  Oh, my husband Bob loved persimmon pie!  He always ordered it whenever we went out!”  Ruth continued, “I’m sure I had a recipe for it once.  I’ll look for it and get back to you.”  The next day Ruth called to say she couldn’t find the recipe.  That should have been my second red flag.  Instead, I pushed ahead.

I typed “persimmon pie recipe” into the search field of the browser on my computer, and sure enough, the browser promptly provided a link to a recipe.  I printed it out and headed to my kitchen.  The recipe called for two cups of persimmon pulp.  There were no directions on how to transform the whole fruit into said pulp, but I washed the fruit, removing the stems and a sharp little thorny stub at the base of each fruit.  Did I need to remove the skins?  The recipe didn’t say.  (Was that yet another red flag waving on the horizon?)  I reasoned, when the whole fruit was only the size of a walnut, what pulp would remain if I tried to remove the skin?  I decided to leave it on.  As I began to mash the fruit into pulp, however, I discovered that each little persimmon contained several large seeds.  Some had as many as five seeds, and by the time I carefully removed these obstacles, what remained in my mixing bowl was something less than the required 2 cups of pulp.  Persevering, I added the remaining list of ingredients – sugar, cornstarch, milk, and an egg.  The result was a mixture that looked like custard with peach-colored flotsam floating on top.  The mix might not be attractive, but it smelled palatable.  I poured the whole business into a fresh unbaked pie crust and tucked it in the oven.  An hour later, the sweet fragrance of persimmons flowed out from my kitchen to the living room where my husband was reading.  We both were anxious to taste the results of my labor.

After allowing the pie to cool, I carefully sliced a piece for each of us and carried it to the table.  How can I describe the flavor of this exotic dessert?  Honestly?  The crust was tender, flaky, and delicious.  The filling?  It was sweet and chewy.  Especially chewy.  Chewy, like caramel-flavored bathing caps.  I called my friend Ruth once again and invited her to come try a piece of my pie.  “Tell me, Ruth,” I asked as we sat at the table, “what was it that your husband liked about persimmon pie?”  My friend smiled.  “Oh, Bob never actually got the pie when he ordered it.  No restaurant ever served it.  He just ordered it to tease the waitress.”  I should have guessed.  Bob was notorious for playing jokes.  When Ruth had told me the day before that she once had a recipe for persimmon pie but could no longer find it, I should have been suspicious.  And now, after tasting my pie, I understood why.  Proverbs 12:11 “A hard-working farmer has plenty to eat, but it is stupid to waste time on useless projects.”  (NLT)

Reminders

God has a gentle way of reminding us that He is in control. Last month in Beaumont, Texas a tornado popped up without any warning. The TV weathermen all tried to figure out how they didn’t see it coming. One of them finally admitted that sometimes things were out of their control.

Sometimes? 

Giving God control of all things…big or little makes life a little less stressful.  When you aren’t in control, your only obligation is to do what you’re told—to obey. Well, that’s exactly how it is with God. People ask “How do I know what God is telling me to do; how do I know what to obey?” When you begin reading God’s Word you become familiar with His voice, His commands, His Words, His direction. It doesn’t mean that you’ll never go another way, but it does mean He will guide you if you give Him control.  Just like the weathermen in Beaumont, don’t be surprised when God pops in and does something unexpected.  It’s just a reminder that in this world of crazy control freaks and manipulators, He really is still in charge of everything!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for Your guiding hand that controls my life.  Help me to submit to those things You allow and to learn from the valleys and the mountaintops.

“Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power,” Psalm 150:1 KJV.

Today’s devotion is by Gina Stinson, wife to Bruce, mom to Savannah and Tucker and publicist assistant for Kathy Carlton Willis Communications.  In her spare time you can find her blogging, gardening and working in her community and church. Check out her blog http://journalinggina.blogspot.com

Faith Not Fear

Faith not fear….In times of adversity, I have found that faith has always worked best.  If you listen to the lies of the enemy and believe what you hear, then fear enters in your mind in a big way. Things such as “You’re not smart enough, you’re not attractive enough, you will never get ahead, your dreams will never come true. . .” and so on.

We must believe what God’s Word says about us, that we are fearfully and wonderfully made [Psalm 139:14 NIV]. For every lie of the enemy, there is a truth in Christ. God loves us unconditionally. He wants to guide us through life’s experiences with confidence in Him. He will see us through it with peace in our hearts. We must be willing to be changed, to be used, and be obedient.

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