The Grumpy Christian

By Candace McQuain –

There is a staff member at my church who I see often and every time I do he is filled with joy, and always smiling and laughing. The man is perpetually happy and I must confess, I longed for that same unceasing joy, time and time again. Then it hit me, “Hey grumpy, you can have that to.” As a matter of fact, your God very much so wants you to have that very same joy and happiness. “But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful” (Psalm 68:3 NIV). I had to make a change.

I vowed to take His word to heart and really try to be a happier, more joyful person. Unfortunately, it only lasted about 10 minutes. Why? Because I don’t live in a bubble, I live in a big world filled with little annoyances and daily struggles. So now what? Should I stalk the happy staff member and see what he does on a daily basis to ward off the joy-stealers of the world? No, of course not. It’s back to the Word I go.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12 NIV).

There it is! Without having to peer through a window or eves drop during a telephone call I can tell you right now how and why that cheerful staff member is the way he is. He is joyful in times of need. He is patient when his heart is suffering and when he raises a prayer to his Father he is faithful that it will be heard. With all of this, the sky is the limit as to what he can let roll off his back or better yet what he knows he can give to God to handle for him.

We have that same joyful hope, patience and faith available to us; it’s just a matter of how and to what degree we are going to use it. Will we continue to use it sparingly, using just enough to get us by day by day? Or will we dedicate our lives to obtaining true happiness and joy? Let’s show that big world around us that we have the power and the strength to not let it get us down.

I want my God to see His daughter smile more than frown. Laugh more than cry and simply live a life that is a joyful example of His love and kindness so that people see Him in me, and not a grumpy Christian. So as the Partridge Family put it so eloquently, “Come on get happy!”

Candace McQuain, founder of Believers Empowering Believers, is a mother of 4 beautiful children and married to the love of her life. She is very active in her church where connecting believers with other believers is her passion. She was called to leave her job of 15 years in the Aerospace industry to provide support, encouragement and knowledge to her fellow brothers and sisters who are struggling or new to their faith.

Bump into God in the Parking Lot

By Pam Kumpe –

Do you think God looks for us in the parking lot of life? Does he have to yell before we will respond?

My hubby’s parking lot incident sent my thoughts to wondering how I’d react if God came looking for me, or if I’d hear the Lord call my name.

One night, I had driven back to my hometown, knowing, I needed to stop at the store for groceries. I didn’t want to circle back to do this task, however my schnauzer was in the car, so I need hubby to pick her up from me.

After I begged, he offered his assistance, to make a puppy exchange in the parking lot, so I could go shopping.

I parked my car, turned on the dome light and opened my car window. Macy’s black nose twitched in the cold air as I kept watch for hubby’s red Tonka truck.

Zoom. Zoom. He rounded the parking lot, and I expected his truck to pull up behind my Honda, only he zipped right past me and turned down the other lane.

This routine of drive-bys continued five more times. Finally, I dialed his cell phone, tracking the moving target. I didn’t wait for his hello. “What are you doing?”

Of course, in my retelling of this story, my voice is much calmer and sweeter. It’s always nicer on paper.

Hubby responded with, “I can’t find you. I’ve been driving around. I’m parking my truck and since you see me, you bring Macy to my truck.”

I grabbed my puppy and walked to his truck. Handing my barking pet to hubby through the window, she licked, whined and loved on her human daddy giving him doggy smacks.

Their reunion was interrupted with my yelling words.

“Ray. Ray. Ray. R … A … Y!” I bounced up and down like a pogo stick at his window, and with each roll of the tires, I screamed his name.

When his truck crashed into the car parked in front of his, Ray realized his foot had slipped from the brake pedal.

Crash. Boom. Bang. Dents. Scrapes. Embarrassment.

I learned from this situation, to never ask my hubby to make a doggy exchange, and to never stand outside of his truck while he has a dog licking his face.

However, when it comes to God, I must be ready at all times, so I can make the best exchange of all. The Lord wants me to put on the brakes and roll ahead with victory, as he directs my steps.

Scripture tells me, that whoever listens to God will dwell safely, and will be secure without fear of evil. (See Proverbs 1:33.)

In other words, a life listening to God has less bumps, and fender bender moments, however if we need to make a love-exchange with the Lord, he’ll meet us anywhere, even in a parking lot.

He will drive up and down the lane as he searches for us, ready to deliver his message of everlasting love, the hope we all need when life crashes in, or in the case of my hubby rolls ahead and into other folks.

Pam Kumpe writes a weekly inspirational newspaper column for the Bowie County Life/ Texarkana Gazette newspaper. She is the host of “Permission to Have Fun” an online radio show filled with fun, faith and encouragement, with the idea of rejoicing in the Lord, even when life seems out of tune. http://www.pamkumpe.com

Having Loved His Own

By Kathi Woodall –

“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for Him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1 NIV).

Many, if not all, of us can look back at an event in our lives and realize it was the last time we did something significant. We might say things like, “That was the last Christmas I spent with my dad.” Or, “I didn’t know that would be the last time I would see my hometown.” Often those comments are accompanied by wishes of things we could still say to that person or do in that place. That’s not the case for our All-knowing Savior in this passage. Chapter thirteen of John begins a long discourse Jesus gave during His last Passover meal on earth, or during what Christians call the Last Supper. Jesus knew everything was about to change. Within hours He would be hanging on a cross and He had some important words to speak before it happened.

Jesus knew that His time had come. Throughout the book of John, Scripture tells us Jesus’ time had not yet come.  However, now the time had come. What was it time for? Jesus had come to this hour to be lifted up on a cross, to die because of our sins, and by so doing, to be glorified (John 12:23-27). This process would also lead to Him leaving the world and returning to the Father, a key theme throughout the last minute instructions He gave His disciples at the Passover dinner.

The second half of John 13:1 says, “Having loved His own.” The phrase “His own” pertains “to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self” as opposed to another, and, in this usage, it means one’s household, family, or company. (See Acts 4:23, Acts 24:23, and 1 Timothy 5:8 where it is translated his people, friends and relatives, respectively.) This phrase also has the idea of privacy or being set apart.[i] In just those four little words, “Having loved His own,” we see that we are His, we are part of His family, we are set apart, and He loves us.

The problem of our story comes in the next phrase. We, His Beloved, are in the world. Jesus was leaving the world to go to the Father but we were staying here. Because of that great love, He couldn’t just leave that situation alone. He had to fix it. He had to make a way so we would not stay separated from Him forever but could have the hope of being reunited with Him again someday. He fixed this problem by dying on the cross, enabling us to join Him with the Father in Heaven and thereby experience “the full extent of His love.”

I’m not all-knowing like our Savior. In our tumultuous and changing world, I don’t know when my last meal will be with my loved ones. However, I can be at peace knowing that because Jesus loved all of us so much and because He made a way, we can all join Him someday with the Father. My prayer for each one of you this Easter season is that you also will experience the full extent of His love.

Kathi Woodall’s desire is to love and serve God. She primarily does this through writing and teaching the truth of His Word including her first published Bible study, “Seven Roles, One Woman: You Expect Me To Do All That?” Beyond that, she loves and supports her husband, Jimmy, takes care of their home, homeschools their four daughters, and serves in her church.  To learn more about Kathi Woodall, please visit www.growbarefoot.com.

Jeffrey’s Wheel

By Lori Freeland –

3:00 A.M.

I can just make out the small green numbers on the cable box. Why did I think this couch would be more comfortable than my bed? My body pillow hangs off the cushions and the blanket tangles around my legs. At least I’m free to toss and turn without heavy sighs from my husband’s side of the bed.

Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.

Jeffrey scampers inside the blue plastic wheel hooked to the bars of his hamster cage. For the last hour, I’ve been tossing and turning to the rhythm of his relentless, nocturnal quest. The wheel spins faster and faster. Jeffrey goes nowhere.

Pushing my head into the pillow does nothing to block out the squeak of Jeffrey’s wheel. Restless, I can’t get comfortable. How am I going to clean the house, get to the grocery store and back, make snacks for Maddy’s Brownie party, edit Alek’s World View paper, help Kyle study for his Spanish test, and still get schooling done  by 5 o’clock, in time to make writer’s group? Especially if I don’t get any sleep tonight?

How did I get so busy? Homeschooling. Charities. Teaching at co-op. Dinner. Cleaning. Laundry. Worrying. Am I praying hard enough for protection as Kyle backs out of the driveway? Did I make a mistake not pushing Alek harder towards sports? Is Maddy boy crazy at the age of nine? Can I be a better wife? Did I call my mother this week? My mouth is dry. It hurts to swallow.

Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.

Can you WD-40 a hamster wheel?

Jeffrey’s persistent quest continues. Half his body slides off, but a last second foot maneuver saves him and he catches the wheel and keeps on running. Give it up already. Face it, Jeffrey—it doesn’t matter how fast you run—you’re still going nowhere.

Despite the amount of body hair he sports, Jeffrey and I aren’t that different. We both run. Neither one of us getting very far. Day after day, commitment after commitment, mini crisis after mini crisis, Jeffrey and I race ahead,  never bothering to slow down long enough to look around and realize we haven’t moved at all.

What are we running for? What are we running toward? I can’t speak for Jeffrey, but my motto is Make It Through. I rarely stop and ask God what He wants me to do. I forget life is the sum of each moment. As I run past those moments, I’m wasting them.

In Matthew, Jesus confronts Peter on his wheel, challenging him. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Matthew 16:23 NIV).

Uh oh. That’s harsh. My entire wheel spins with human concerns.

In that moment, God reaches down and ever so gently lays the tip of his finger on the top of my wheel, slowing it down carefully, so I don’t fall off.

Okay, Lord. I don’t know what to give up and what to keep. What plans do You have for my kids? For our homeschool? Give me peace to let go of my human concerns and fall in line with Your plan. Weed out the distractions. Help me treasure each moment and not waste this time You’ve given me with my kids. Time I will never have again.

I roll to my side, snuggle into the softness of my body pillow, embracing the relief that always comes when I stop moving on my own power. Jesus, thank You that I don’t have to figure it out on my own. You know what You want from me.

Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.

Oh, and could You please put Your finger on Jeffrey’s wheel, too? Or at least make him very, very tired?

Rock Eternal

By Heather Arbuckle-

The past two days we have been homebound due to an ice storm that hit the area on Monday night. While the first day at home was a welcome break from the hectic demands of suburban life in North Texas, the past day has seemed to drag on considerably. Cold, bored, and at times without power, I began looking through old photos.

Not long into my walk down memory lane, I stumbled upon summer vacation pics from Okaloosa Island, Florida. Our family loves everything about the beach and this former Iowa girl never tires of the wonders of the sea. The dolphins. The sunsets. The surf. We love it all. Perhaps our favorite thing to do as a family is play in the sand. For several hours each day, my three children took delight in creating their very own architectural masterpieces in the soft, white sand. And every morning, as we strolled the beach, my kids found the tide had washed their sand castles away.

Some of us never outgrow our desire to build castles in the sand. As we strive to meet life’s demands, we erect our very own creations based on worldly desires and human principles. And it seems like the right thing to do. Still, over time we watch helplessly as it all falls away. For, “unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1).

Truly, the LORD will not allow anything to stand that takes His place in our hearts. We are told “everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:26-27).

We are not to place our hope in wealth, humanity, or infrastructure. All of these things, though reassuring, are temporary. To the contrary, we are told to place our hope in eternal things. Our efforts and investments must be in those things close to the heart of God. Reading God’s prayer and regular prayer give us a strong foundation of faith. It is the state of our union with the LORD that most concerns Him, and God does not take kindly to second place. Once we truly understand the heart of God, we are free to build for Him. Only then will our efforts stand up over time and bring Him glory.

The Bible teaches us that “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25). Truly, as God’s children, we have a moral line in the sand. It’s called the Bible and it’s truths endure time and culture.

We are His people. God’s ambassadors to a broken world. And as such, we must be mindful that “there is no Rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2). It is time for us to build on His promises and invest in those things our Heavenly Father holds dear. For the LORD is building His church on Christ, the Rock Eternal.

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