Bursting With Thanks

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I decided one year that Mom needed a break from cooking the whole Thanksgiving dinner. She and Dad determined still to have it at their house. They would provide the big pull-out table and some side dishes, while traveling relatives could bring fresh fruit and relishes. It was my graduation from Pillsbury Crescent Rolls and Niblets. I would roast (heavenly choir sings) The Turkey.

In preparation, I watched PBS cooking shows and checked out cookbooks from the library. I even found a video for my husband on how to carve a turkey. Thus equipped, I felt confident. After all, I come from good Scandinavian cooking stock.

We ordered a turkey big enough to feed nearly twenty people. He barely fit in my oven. I took no chances. He came with a pop-out thermostat and gravy pouch, and I stuck him in one of those convenient cooking bags. I glanced over the directions, noting how much time he’d need to cook. After a newlywed fiasco in which I served my husband’s bosses nearly-raw chicken, I thought I’d err on the side of well done. I’d cook it a bit longer, but with a cover over the pan so no moisture would escape. The fragrance soon promised a mouth-watering meal.

Pressed for time at the end, I whisked the food from the oven to a towel-lined box along with some pumpkin pies and Potatoes Supreme. I thought I would burst with pleasure at supplying the main dish for the first time! Mom stood by to help lift it out. My husband stood by ready to carve. My older sister stood by, curious. The guests, seated, seemed to suspend their breathing as I raised the cover to reveal a perfect wreck of a bare carcass. It looked like a bomb had landed in its middle. My husband would not need his carving lessons, with the turkey in bite-sized bits. I’d forgotten to cut venting holes in the cooking bag.

Let’s see; humility? That’s an important lesson. Plan ahead more? Be better prepared? Count it all joy when you face trials of many kinds? They say that at such times one’s life passes before one’s eyes. But I took comfort as instead, a verse from 1 Peter in The Message flashed to mind: “Love makes up for practically anything.” Then I obeyed the next verse: “Be quick to give a meal to the hungry…”

AUTHOR QUOTE: Thank God if you belong to a family who loves you whether you succeed or fail (even if they never let you live it down).

“Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Deadly, Dawdling Dial-up vs. Instant Eternal Access

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Click. Hear the bloops and bleeps as the telephone dials for Internet service. Feel the impending tedium as you prepare to wait. Pretend with me exactly as I did—when I still had deadly dial-up:

Click—wait for Home page: Pretend to walk upstairs, put on coat, grab keys, go out to the garage, get in the car, put keys in the ignition, buckle seat belt, adjust mirrors, turn on Life 102.5 Christian radio…

Home Page at last! I want the library’s online catalogue. Click—wait: Put car in reverse, back out, wait for neighbor to cross the street for the mail, head for fifteenth street, turn onto Grande, pass high school at 15mph, stop at crosswalk for sleepy-looking teens…

Library page! Click—wait for Search page: Drive 4 blocks to stop sign at 5^th, wait for crossing guard to maneuver a 3-foot tall boy with a 4-foot tall backpack across the street, wait for bus in front of me to turn, make silly faces at waving children in back window, pass grade school, continue 4 blocks to stop sign at Water Street, wait for five cars, turn right…

Finally! Type in full title of book, Click—and wait: Proceed south on Water for 2.2 miles, turn in at library parking lot, park, turn off car, remove seatbelt, get out, lock doors, walk up sidewalk, in the door, wipe feet…

Ah Ha! Click to check out book—and wait: Walk past check-out, greet friendly librarian, admire her antique pin, head for the stacks, look for desired book, back to check-out for expert help, follow librarian to the stacks, find book plus three more, back to check-out, lay books on counter, dig for library card, hand it to smiling librarian (who swipes it, swipes books and hands back my card in 4 seconds flat because she has High-Speed Internet), take books to car…

What? The book I want is not available; I need to execute a search for another? Ack!

Before High-Speed Internet, before Dial-up, before computers, before electricity, there was instant communication with the Source of all knowledge and wisdom. The Maker of all makes Himself available to all at all times. Unhindered by time, He has all eternity to consider each word we pray. Before a word is on a person’s tongue, He knows it completely.

AUTHOR QUOTE: Prayer. Faster than High-Speed Internet / More powerful than the IBM Roadrunner /Able to leap cyberspace or the entire universe in less than an attosecond.

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Bark, Please

By Robin J. Steinweg –

The front door stood open a few inches. I knew I’d locked it that morning. As we returned after dark, our son saw someone in the living-room, hunched over. I backed out and called 9-1-1. From a safe distance I watched two police officers enter my shadowy house with guns drawn.

They came out with good news. Nobody there, nothing harmed. How to avoid this in the future? Have a locksmith refigure the locks and get a dog. Barking dogs are a great deterrent to intruders.

At the humane shelter, Buddy sat politely in the midst of the other dogs’ frenzied barking, gazing at us. We brought home our canine alarm system.

But Buddy didn’t bark. I determined to train him. How does one train a dog to bark?

One barks.

I barked. Buddy and our boys watched. When I’d barked enough, I gave myself a treat (cookie). If Buddy even looked like he was interested, I gave him a treat (bone). I barked daily. Weekly. Monthly. I barked myself hoarse. We went through boxes of expensive treats for people and dogs with no sign of progress. I felt pretty foolish barking when there really was someone at the door. But I didn’t want my sons to see me give up. I wanted them to learn perseverance (I also wanted the dog to bark).

Finally Buddy’s lip twitched. I praised and petted him. When his lip curled, I praised him more. When he snorted a bit as his lip curled, I fawned over him. Eventually, he vocalized the tiniest bit. I went nuts. When he finally did bark, I rolled over, howled, sat up, everything but play dead. He knew he’d done something great. And he kept on doing it (in a week or so we’d trained him to quit barking when asked).

Someone has said, “The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running.”

What do you face today that you’re tempted to abandon? Fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who endured the cross—so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.

QUOTE: “The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground” (unknown).

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

What’s in Your Wallet?

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I attended one of those parties. You know, the ones where you can purchase interior décor, candles, jewelry or kitchenware in the comfort of a friend’s home. At this one, the guests were strangers to each other. To break the ice, the hostess had us play a game.

What’s in Your Wallet (or purse)? The owner of the most unusual item would be asked to explain its presence and would win a nifty grapefruit slicer.

It’s surprising what shows up in wallets and purses. Thirty-year-old ticket stubs, dead batteries, used string, a spoon, whistle, needle nosed pliers, shoelaces, an unfinished cross stitch project…

I pulled out a bullet shell-casing. Here’s the story I told as I accepted my prize:
My cousin Jay, a military man, died in his forties. Cousin Edie asked me to sing at his funeral. I carefully avoided giving in to grief so I wouldn’t be a mess when the time came. The graveside ceremony followed, with three rifle volleys, the playing of Taps, and a soldier presenting the folded casket flag to Edie. The family walked back to the church but I lingered a few moments, finally releasing some tears.

Outside the cemetery gates, one of the honor guard huffed to catch up with me. “Ma’am?” I turned around.

“Would you please take this, Ma’am?” He placed the bullet casing into my palm, turned, and trotted back to his outfit. I stood, turning the casing over and over. It was empty.

That’s when the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. Your cousin is not here. In the casket is only the empty shell that housed him for awhile. Because of his faith in the Son of God, he lives. You will see him again.

I carried that casing around in my purse for years to remind me of Christ’s victory over death. I got to share the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever it rolled out. So now I ask you: What’s in your wallet? Is there something that gives you a reason to talk about what Jesus did for you? Don’t leave home without it.

PRAYER: Lord, what a great hope and future You have for us! Reveal to us if there’s something tangible we can carry with us that might open opportunities to share Your gospel.

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15b).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Anit-wise Motion

By Robin Steinweg –

Dead ant, dead ant, dead antdeadantdeadant (sung to the Pink Panther theme). This is what goes through my mind when I enter my bathroom these days. That and some questions: why? Why are these ants in the bathroom when there’s no food? They don’t even seem to be looking for food. They appeared a couple of months ago from under the molding; aimlessly wandering in odd-shaped loops, then out of sight again—a perpetual, purposeless motion. In the past, they came into the kitchen in orderly troops, heading for crumbs on the floor. Not this time. I tried natural extermination methods first, without success. We’ve battled ants every summer for years, but I never think to have poison in the house.

I finally bought some. They lined up for it like piggies at the trough, gorging themselves. Some drowned, some staggered a few steps and expired, others faithfully carried the stuff back to the nest (I assume). I felt satisfied after they’d been gone awhile. The poison worked as it had every other summer. But the other day I noticed one tugging on something. And another. I looked closely. They were hauling the corpses of their fallen comrades to the middle of the bathroom floor, where they dumped them and returned to the molding. This went on all day. Hauling dead ants almost to my feet and dumping them off, as if they knew what they were doing—like a scene from a horror flick.

By now you are wondering what the spiritual application is. So am I! And if you are wise enough to find one from these erratic ants, would you please post it in the comments below for the rest of us?

All I know is that the Bible says to observe ants in order to be wise. Without overseer or ruler, they prepare their food in summer and gather it at harvest time. They plan ahead. I’ve been caught in last-minute panics and in an unprepared condition times without number for lack of planning. Unexpected visitors, sickness, people calling and needing to talk—or ants in the house—have brought stress or embarrassment to me and my family because I wasn’t prepared. I hope to be wiser in this way starting now. I’ll observe the ants. Just maybe not the ones in my bathroom!

PRAYER: Lord, You are the great Planner of creation and eternity. You planned our salvation in advance. You planned good works for us to do. You have plans to prosper us and to give us a future and a hope. You are even now preparing a place for us in heaven. I ask You for wisdom to be a better planner, able to learn Your wisdom even from ants.

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage” (Proverbs 21:5 NASB).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

« Previous Page — Next Page »