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).

T-Shirts Over Time

By Hally Franz –

Girls like bling; boys like t-shirts. Specifically, my 13-year-old son loves his t-shirts. He’s amassed quite a number of them over his double-digit lifespan, many of which I have retained for posterity. Early endeavors into Tae Kwon Do and soccer are commemorated with t-shirts, as are more recent seasons of Khoury League baseball. There are 4-H club and camp t-shirts, as well as drama club shirts. And, he rotates four VBS shirts in blue, green, yellow and purple on Sundays when I allow jeans for services.

Ivan attends a Christian school, and, of course, he believes the school’s modified dress code is horribly restrictive. So, when given an opportunity to buy an item of clothing, he’s likely to choose yet another t-shirt. The elective t-shirt purchases will typically reflect one of two themes: anything country/cowboy or St. Louis Cardinals.

I have seen moms hang their kids’ t-shirts on display at high school graduation parties, and I’ve heard that awesome quilts can be made from your graduate’s childhood shirts. Maybe that’s what I’ll do when 2016 arrives. It would be a terrific souvenir of what my son has done, what he likes and where he’s been at the age of 18.

It makes me wonder, though, what Ivan’s shirts would say about his activities, interests and experiences after he leaves our home. What phrases will sum up his adult life?

One cotton favorite might read “married the girl that God made just for me.” Perhaps, he’ll don a tee with the words “took my son and others on a mission trip this summer” or “faced some tough decisions at work, but Jesus gave me wisdom.” As seasons pass, Ivan may wear shirts that tell how he “faced grief, but God granted mercy and strength in pain” or how he “celebrated when the youngest completed a college education.”

Many young people will complete high school or college this year. We’ll celebrate their accomplishments and encourage them as they enter a new phase of life. The future can be scary and there will be struggles for these young people, but hopefully they will each move forward with their Heavenly Father at their side.

My boy isn’t there yet, but it is time to order another shirt. This one is our 2011 VBS shirt. The theme is “Stepping Up to the Plate for Jesus.” That’s one he’s going to love!

 

PRAYER: Mighty and merciful God, place your loving, guiding hand on those young people who draw to a close one period of their lives to begin other phases. Bless them with your wisdom and protection.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them”  (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV).

 

Finding My Answers on Father’s Day

By Janet Morris Grimes –

I often wonder how it went, that last week of his life.

The accident was on a Tuesday morning just outside of Memphis, TN. Daddy was in the passenger seat, taking his seatbelt off for a moment to reach for some books in the back seat. The brakes failed. Going through the windshield, he hit his head on a tractor-trailer parked on the side of the road.

Mom tells me he never woke up. His head shaved and swollen; his broken jaw was wired shut, making him unrecognizable.

My grandmother once shared that she knew they were in trouble when they moved the family to a private waiting room the following day. Her ‘mother instinct’ kicked in before the doctors delivered the news.

November 15, 1967

Cause of death: Severe Cerebral Contusion.

After piecing this together for the past 43 years, I know this part of the story well.

But it leaves a million unanswered questions.

What did he do for his 27th birthday, just a couple of weeks earlier?

What did he preach about for his sermon that last Sunday morning?

What did he say to Mom as he left that morning, and who called to let her know?

As a young girl, I hated the fact that I had no memories of my Daddy. The truth is that to this day, I would still give anything to have known him, to remember his voice, his touch, and the look in his eyes.

But I realized something through the years of this process known as grief; maybe, by having no memories of my own, God was somehow protecting me from the pain.

Because I was a baby, I never received the phone call that changed everything, nor did I suffer through a painful funeral, visit the crash sight, or see my Daddy so broken that he was unrecognizable.

Having no memories might just be a blessing. Because of this, I was free to be an innocent child. A child, who, for as long as I can remember, had only one goal; the goal of getting to heaven.

This week, especially, I have no choice but to think of Daddy in a way that rips my heart open.

It’s what stops me in my tracks the second I hear of someone else’s loss. It’s what draws me to all the other mommies and babies who lose their daddies. It holds me accountable and allows me to treasure the life and family that I’ve been given.

And for all of my unanswered questions, I believe I finally found an answer to my greatest one; the question that kept me awake at night for most of my life.

Dear God, Why couldn’t Daddy have lived?

The answer is on right in front of me, hand-written on his death certificate.

“Severe Cerebral Contusion.”

I fully believe now that God rescued my Daddy on that early Wednesday morning back in 1967.

He saved him by bringing him home, because that was the only way to completely heal him.

By doing this, God protected him from the pain, just like He did for me.

And now I understand what healing is all about.

PRAYER – Dear God, Be with the fatherless on this Father’s Day. Hold them close, and be their Father, just as You have done for me. Heal any broken relationships, and mend the hearts of those who are hurting. Thank you for Fathers, and for choosing us to be your children.

“A Father to the fatherless, a defender of widows is God in his holy temple” (Psalm 68:5 NIV).

A Father’s Day Gift to My Kids

By Art Fulks –

This is a really weird year for our family. This year, our oldest daughter’s birthday is on Mother’s Day. Our youngest son’s birthday falls on Father’s Day. So who decides where we go to dinner? This dilemma caused me to consider their gifts. Our daughter wants clothes and our son wants a new guitar. But what could I give them as a dad that would really last?

This week, I spent a considerable amount time thinking about it and realized how fleeting and perishable my gifts usually are. Then I read a bit from Peter and Paul. They really loved their spiritual children. And their writings gave me two potential gifts to give my kids this Father’s Day.

How about hope and holiness?

You probably had the same reaction that I did when these ideas crossed my mind. But after a bit of contemplation, I realized that there are no more valuable, lasting gifts that I could give them than the message of hope found in Christ and a model of holiness founded in the truth of God’s Word.

In this fatalist culture in which we (and they) live, they need to be consistently reminded of the incredible, Living Hope who is Jesus Christ. His gracious gift of salvation and grace even during the most difficult of circumstances will never fail them. It provides a perspective that allows them to see through the deepest, darkest days of their journey.

The holiness part was a bit harder to deal with considering they know how imperfect I am. However, the challenge is not striving for perfection, but for consistency. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, stated that through Christ we have the ability to experience “moment by moment non-transgression of the known will of God.” Could I give my kids the gift of a consistent life pursuing full surrender in worship of my Heavenly Father?

I realized giving my children these gifts would require sacrifice of my will and desires on a daily basis. But just as much, it would require the courage to say with the Apostle Paul, “Imitate me.” It sure is a scary gift to give, but there is nothing more valuable!

“I exhort you therefore, be imitators of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16 NASB).

Dog Gone Wealthy

By Cheri Cowell –

When I was growing up, we had a huge collie named Happy. Happy was the perfect dog for children; he was protective, playful, gentle, and a lot of fun. We often dressed him up like a doll, and he loved to play in the Water Wiggle with us in the back yard. It was my job to feed happy at night, which meant filling his water bowl, scooping a big cupful of dry food into his dish, and then topping it with table scraps. The bowl would almost overflow, but it didn’t take long for it to disappear. Every once in a while my father would stop at the butcher to get meat for our family, and while there, he always got a box of bones for Happy. Once a week, my sister and I would go into the freezer and get one of those bones for him. You would have thought he had died and gone to heaven. Today I believe he is enjoying a doggie banquet in heaven, where even the lowliest of us here on earth will one day sup with God.

The term ‘dog’ is the same word the Jews used to demean gentiles. In the scripture listed below, it tells a story of a woman used to approach Jesus while he was eating. Jesus was not demeaning the woman by using this term; He was showing the hypocrisy of those around her. She saw in Jesus someone whom she could trust so she offered to eat the scraps from His table if He would heal her daughter. This woman, a Canaanite enemy of the Jews, was then offered the best meal in town, for her faith brought her the very thing she wished. All of us are equal in God’s eyes, so one day we should not be surprised by who is seated next to us at His large banqueting table in heaven.

PRAYER I thank You, Lord, for the privilege of even allowed the crumbs from Your table, yet You have offered a seat of honor there. Help me treat others the way You see them – valuable, worthy, and to be honored.

“The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment” (Matthew 15:25-28 NIV).

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