Served With Love

By Carin LeRoy –

The first night after arriving home from my honeymoon, I wanted to make my new husband a nice meal, so I decided I’d make my Mom’s homemade potato soup and cornbread. I thought that would be a goof-proof meal. It would be the first meal in our little home. After work, I got busy peeling potatoes and putting all the ingredients in the pot to boil. Everything went well. That is, until I realized I burnt the soup.

Oops. I guess I had the burner on ‘High.’

We ate the soup anyway, and I don’t remember my husband complaining. He knew better than to fuss about his new bride’s food. That was the first of many meals I’ve cooked for my family. While raising four children, food became an important part of family life. I’ve had many nights when I’d rather not cook, but when there are four starving kids and a fellow who comes home hungry, it’s a part of life.

Rather than think of it as drudgery, consider it a way to serve and show love to your family. Good nutrition is essential to good health, and we do want our loved ones to thrive. The virtuous woman gives us a good example when we read that “she gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls,” (Proverbs 31: 15 NIV). I don’t have servant girls and I’m not keen on getting up while it’s dark, but I can provide food for my family. Reach for the cookbook (or the frozen casserole) and serve up some love to your family today.

PRAYER: Lord, keep me mindful that showing love to others is a reflection of Your love for us and that even the mundane things of life are a way to serve and love our family.

BIBLE VERSE: “Do everything in love….” (I Corinthians 16:14 NIV).

 

When Life Throws a Curve Ball

By Carin LeRoy –

Ten months ago, my husband and son picked out a rescue puppy. When they brought him home, he was cute, tiny and covered with interesting little markings. At nine weeks, he only weighed nine pounds.

I asked my husband, “What is he? How big is he going to get?”

“They said he’ll be a medium-sized dog and won’t get too big. He’s part Australian Shepherd,” my husband said.

“Well, I hope not,” I said, “I don’t want a huge dog running around the house.”

“Naww,” he said.

The dog soon began to gain weight and grow like a weed.  I knew we were in trouble when the exterminator came to our house said, “Oh, he looks like he’ll be about 70 pounds.”

I worried even more when my son’s friend came in the house and said, “He looks like he’s part Saint Bernard.”  By six months, he weighed 50 pounds. Now, at ten months, he’s 78 pounds and still growing—not exactly what we thought we were getting.

We now have a small pony that runs around the house! When he is excited, his tail can swipe items off the coffee table, whack a grand baby in the face, or knock the paper you’re reading from your hand. His favorite pastimes are to lick toes and loyally follow your every step. He likes to dig holes, eat my flowers and leave his muddy footprints on my hardwood floor.

But I choose to look at the bright side: He’s very friendly; he loves the yard, and he never barks. We can leave him in the yard for hours and he won’t bother the neighbors.

Life will always contain the annoying and the unexpected. So when life throws you a curve ball, look at the bright side!

“So I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of his life God has given him under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 8:15 NIV).

Praying with Grandma

By Carin LeRoy –

The story is told of two little boys who were praying with their Grandma one night before bed. The older boy prayed first about his day and all the things he had done. Then the younger brother started to pray in a loud voice.

“God,” he said, “I really need a bike, some new toys….”

He continued praying through his list of all the things he wanted. When he finished, his older brother said, “Why did you pray so loudly? God isn’t deaf.”

“Yea,” he said, “but Grandma is.”

This little boy had already decided how he thought his prayer should be answered, and by whom.  How many times do we do the same thing? We pray, but rather than wait on God’s answer and timing, we try to implement our own answers. Rather than trusting God, we seek out answers by other means.

One example of this in the Bible is Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 16. God promised that He would give them an heir, yet for years God did not fulfill that promise. Instead, Sarah decides to give Abraham her servant-girl to bear his child. Rather than refuse, Abraham agrees, and Hagar becomes pregnant. Strife then develops with Sarah, and years of anger, pain and resentment result. Instead of waiting on God’s timing for His promised child, they created their own answer. Thousands of years later, we still see tension between the descendents of Ishmael and Isaac.

In 1 Samuel, we read the story of Hannah, who also was barren. Fervently she prayed for God to give her a child. She waited for God’s answer and eventually gave birth to a baby. When he was weaned, she dedicated him to the Lord. He served with the high priest Eli, became a prophet and judge, anointing the first two kings of ancient Israel. He became a great man of God and leader of his nation.

Waiting on God’s answer for your prayers is worth the wait.

PRAYER: Lord, give me patience to wait for answers to my prayers. Keep me mindful that You know what is best and that Your timing is always perfect.

QUOTE: “God teaches us that an answer to prayer is conditional upon the amount of faith that goes into the petition. To test this, He delays the answer. The superficial pray-er sinks into silence when the answer is delayed. But the man of prayer hangs on and on. The Lord recognizes and honors his faith and gives him a rich, abundant answer to his faith-evidencing, persistent prayer.” E.M. Bounds

Worth More than Rubies

By Carin LeRoy –

When I was in high school, I had a friend who always wore the latest styles. One day she sported another new outfit. When I asked about her latest garment she said, “My Dad just got paid so my mom and I went shopping and spent his whole check on new clothes.” Years later, I heard a conversation in which one woman went on a shopping spree and then came home and hid everything under the bed before her husband saw it. She knew he would not be happy with her. I doubt that either of these husbands wanted to trust their wives with the paycheck due to their lack of financial restraint. Impulsive shopping shows lack of control and discipline, and many marriages have folded under the pressure of overspending. The number one cause for divorce is financial issues.

In Proverbs 12:4 we read, “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.” God values a woman of prudence and character. She is a woman marked by self control. Her husband believes in her skills and trusts her to make wise decisions. He has no reason for worry or concern because he knows she will act with good judgment.

If you are a wife, how well does your husband trust you? Do you give him cause for concern, or does he trust in your ability to use good judgment?  Don’t be a wife whose husband worries about your spending habits. Be a prudent manager of your household and the wife whose husband shows confidence and trust in your skills. It not only makes for a better marriage, but it is highly valued by God.

PRAYER:  Lord, help me to be a wife that shows self control and good management skills. Protect me from frivolous spending and develop habits that will honor You and build trust and peace in my marriage.

“Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord” (Proverbs 19:14 NIV).

Laboring for the Prize

By Carin LeRoy –

I dread going to a dentist. There isn’t much in life that gives me more stress. Recently, I spent the morning in the dentist chair. When the doctor arrived to see me, the first thing I see is a needle aimed at my mouth. Closing my eyes, I mentally braced myself as several shots of Novocain were injected into my gums. Soon, I hardly felt my nose, so my only comfort at this point was that maybe I wouldn’t feel what would come next.

Then the grinding starts—lots of it—as he removes the upper part of my decayed tooth. Bits of dust fly everywhere as he works. My hands grip the chair and my body tenses as I lay there mouth open and unable to swallow. Neither do I find the short episodes of squirting water and suction any reprieve from all the grinding. It’s all just misery for me. After two hours, I emerge with an empty wallet and a newly crowned tooth.

Some things in life must be endured in order to gain something better. Laboring through birth to cuddle your newborn; Sitting in a 2×3 foot spot for endless hours in order to get to a vacation destination; raising a challenging teenager in order to make them a responsible adult; going through years of classes, papers and exams to obtain your degree. Many things in life require work, time and diligence in order to receive the desired reward that awaits us at the end.

Life has it’s hard times. We have challenges, pain, misfortune, death, sickness and debt. Many things bring difficulties into our life. But in the end of it all, if we believe in Christ who died for us, we have a wonderful “prize” that awaits us—eternity in heaven with a Savior that loves us. Let’s fix our eyes on eternity as we endure the struggles of this life. This life is temporary, but heaven is forever. Whatever you are dealing with today hang in there, because heaven waits!

PRAYER: Lord, give me strength as I face life’s challenges today and give me a heart that will focus on You. Keep me mindful that the struggles of this life are temporary and that You will walk with me through them until we meet in heaven.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV).

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