Preserving Children

      Recently I came across a "recipe" in an old church cookbook 

I was planning to donate to a garage sale.  I glanced through it just

to check if anything caught my eye to make for supper before giving it away.
The cookbook's date was 1977 and although the hundreds
of recipes (99% contained cream of mushroom soup)

didn't get me to stop and make a grocery list, it was the last

three pages of "recipes" that caught my attention.

       The three pages contained the homemakers wisdom passed down
in a clever, creative way which were then titled as "recipes". 
These recipes created a hunger in my soul and caught my heart's attention
 to want to "make" them in my life.

There was a recipe for  "A CAKE OF HAPPINESS",  "A HAPPY
HOME RECIPE",  A RECIPE FOR SPRING, and another one on
"HOW TO PRESERVE A HUSBAND".

        The recipe that touched me most was "PRESERVING CHILDREN".
Reading the ingredients brought happy tears to my eyes because
of the memories I have of summertime when my children were little.

                RECIPE FOR PRESERVING CHILDREN

1 large grassy field
4-6 children (all various sizes)
3 small dogs (rat terriers preferred)
flowers
Deep blue sky
Narrow strip of brook (pebbly)
Hot sun
1 praying momma

Mix children with dogs and empty into field, stirring constantly. Sprinkle the field with flowers. Pour brook gently over the pebbles. Cover all with deep blue sky and bake in hot sun. When children are well browned, they may be removed. They will be found right and ready for setting away to cool in the bath tub, ready for praying momma to enjoy.

  I have 2 grown children and 2 middles schoolers so my summers
are filled now with more travel activites such as baseball games or visiting
my daughter in another city. 

         But way back when,  there was a different season of my life when I
remember my children  as toddlers and we spent many happy summers
just being outside and playing at home.  Here is a picture of
my 22 and 20 year old when they were 2 and 4 laying in a hammock discovering
a bug.

      It is a sweet memory to me but also a  reminder
of what was really valuable in the lives of my children as they grew up.

      They needed to be children, --in God's creation, ---in fellowship with
other people, ----discovering God's mysteries.

      Sure we did summer programs, swim lessons, and little league as
they grew up but I am very thankful,  by God's grace, 
He helped me give them times like these. 

      Since God calls me -His Child, - perhaps remembering this
 simple thought is as valuable now to me as it was to them then.

       I need to remember , I'm His child,  -- in His creation  ---
 in fellowship with other  people,  --- discovering His mysteries.

       Maybe then I will awake with peace, will love other people more
and will be filled with wonder

..........as God helps me see His mysteries each and every day.

                       

My 22 and 20 year old children...on a recent trip in God's

creation....discovering God's mysteries.

 

Err on the side of Mercy

People are often unreasonable and self-centered.

Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people will accuse you of ulterior motives.

Be kind anyway.

If you are honest, people may cheat you.

Be honest anyway.

If  you find happiness, people may be jealous.

Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough.

Give your best anyway.

For you see in the end,

it is between you and God.

                                                                Mother Teresa

LIVE IT

Mercy Triumphs ~ Session Four

Isn’t it awesome when we discover a biblical promise?  This week Beth Moore shared the NET version of James 1:25, our memory verse:

“The one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there,  and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out - 

he will be BLESSED in what he does.”

One who lives it out - this is what James is all about.  Just as Nike tells us to “just do it” James tells us to “JUST LIVE IT”.

I love it when God reiterates a point He wants us to hear.  Sometimes it gets verified in our personal devotions, a sermon on the radio or our pastor speaks on the subject.  How very fitting  that last Sunday Pastor Dan challenged us to be diligent to deepen our relationship with Jesus in ONE significant way for the next 90 days.  To DO something. 

So I will leave you with two questions Beth Moore asked us this week:

Are you still changing because of the power of the Word of God?

When was the last time scripture changed you?

LET’S LIVE IT LADIES!

Prayer of a Passerby

Prayer of a Passerby

Daily, I pass all kinds of people,

Whom often, I do not know,

May never again encounter,

Prayers for them are the seeds I sow.

With some, our paths cross often

For a limited span of time;

My frequent petitions shower their lives;

To believe in God’s love; with hope shine.

For others, I may see them just this once,

But for this moment, a difference I make,

By asking my Heavenly Father to work

In their hearts for his kingdom’s sake.

Each moment, though brief is important,

My compassionate glance to a soul;

Silent whispers bridging heaven and earth;

Each one’s heart, through its troubles, be whole.

May I never pass through time and space

Without leaving some prayers behind,

That the people I see on my path each day

Will God’s truth and salvation find.

Teresa Wright Page

October 15, 2011

Journey in James: Taking The Initiative

2 Peter 1:5

 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; (KJV)

One of my favorite devotionals is Oswald Chambers' "My Utmost For His Highest".  His words seem to be exactly what I need to hear.

Oswald points out that the word "add" in this verse means we have to do something.  We cannot save or sanctify ourselves, that job belongs to God.  We can however, do what we have been called to do.   God doesn't "make" us choose right.  We must form good habits of our own.

I have a tendency to relate everything to athletics because sports have been a very large chunk of my life.  I am grateful for the many lessons sports have taught me.

In order to get a stronger body, I had to work out.

 In order to get started, I had to make the decision to get off my couch.

Sometimes, just making that decision can be a big deal; but putting that decision into action is an even bigger deal.

How many of us have tried to lose weight and spent what seems like eternity just 'thinking' about doing something about it?   Once we decide that enough is enough - we make a plan to DO something about it.

I believe that our Christian walk is very much the same.

In Philippians 2:12, we are told "to work out your salvation with fear and trembling".   God has called us to be spiritually fit and we need to get busy doing it.   Starting new habits can be hard - but I've heard it said, "well begun is half done".

Oswald finishes his devotion with this great wisdom:  "We have to get into the habit of carefully listening to God about everything, forming the habit of finding out what He says and heeding it.  When a crisis comes, if we instinctively turn to God, we will know that the habit has been formed in us.  We have to take the initiative where we are, not where we have not yet been."

Today I am going to make a plan of action for my spiritual life.   I will start with making sure I spend time EVERY day talking with my Lord and listening for Him to lead me.   This sounds like such simple stuff, but is it really?   I can spend time reading my bible every day, but am I listening??  Have you ever heard a loved one talk to you but you aren't sure what they just said?  I do that to my husband too often (another habit I am working on changing!).

I don't want to be a hearer only, as James warns us,
  "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." James 1:22

I believe that in order to be a doer of the word I need to spend time listening, not just hearing.

Lord, help me to carefully listen to You about everything.   Help me to form the habit of finding out what YOU are telling me.   Help me to DO what it is You want me to do.   I thank you Lord, that when a crisis comes, I am able to turn to YOU as my first instinct.

But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1:25