Wet Blanket Maneuver

When I substitute in the public schools, inevitably there is one child during my day that seems to be the class target. This is the child who is the brunt of jokes, has few friends, and who is teased unmercifully. Usually, it is this child’s reactions to the teasing that spurs the perpetrators on to further abuse. I have a tender heart for these children because I was one. I was picked on in elementary and middle school and would come home crying out to my father. He would tenderly say, “Well, Cheri, you’re just so pick-able, that’s why they pick on you.” He’d then go on to tell me that my reaction was what was fueling their fire, and if I wanted them to stop, I needed to change my reaction. With his help, I learned to master the wet blanket maneuver. When someone meant me harm, I sent him or her blessings in my mind. After a while, it was no longer fun to pick on Cheri. This isn’t a new concept. God came up with it first.
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I Quit!

My four-year-old son attends a half-day preschool program offered by our church. Recently after a two-week break from school I went in his room to wake him up and the first words out of his mouth were, “I quit!”
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Ah Lord God!

On sunny blue-skied days, I always enjoyed my 25-minute commute to Covington, KY. The view was breathtaking! That drive time provided ample focus for self-reflection and prayer. I watched the scenery unfold like a movie before my eyes. The curves and hills gave me abundant opportunities to play peek-a-boo with God. He had a surprise for me around every bend.
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When Peace Eludes You

By Gina Stinson

Do you know someone who has been through a devastating circumstance and yet, through it all, they have had a peaceful countenance? I’ve heard it said that the depth of your true relationship with Christ is revealed by how you handle things when they fall apart. I’ve known some real peace-filled people who have managed to rest in the arms of Jesus during life-altering challenges…and then I’ve known people like me.
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The Spring of Hope

Tomorrow is my Mother-in-Love’s birthday. Lula Mae Willis always joked about being born on Ground Hog’s Day. My husband was also due on that date, but stubbornly waited until February 8th to arrive. This way, his mom got a day all to herself.

Mom Willis was one of my role models. I’ll never attain to her skills as a homemaker and penny pincher. But she gave me her heart for helping tween and teen girls. She attentively listened to them—not just hearing them, but enjoying their company, and always had two or three “adopted” well after her own girls had left home. She sang hymns with gusto and listened intently to sermons. She was uncomfortable in the water, especially before moving to a home that had its own pool, and it was a real act of faith when she was baptized by immersion. She always said as long as her feet could touch the bottom and her hair didn’t get wet, she could deal with being in the water-obviously baptism broke those two rules! She had a giving heart and loved seeing and meeting needs, often sensing someone was hurting when no one else noticed.
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