“I Will Never Speak to You Again!!!”

Have you ever…

Have you ever said or done something that you wish you could take back?  And whomever you said or did it to has made it very clear that they want nothing to do with you?  Or maybe someone has said or done something to you and you have let them know that you’re done.  You don’t want anything more to do with them.

This can also happen if a person feels like another person is not what they should be.  They don’t act like me or think the way I do so they must be mean or evil.  I want to feel comfortable with the person that I am with so I will shun anyone that takes me out of my comfort zone.  This doesn’t always come with words it can just be an obvious shunning.

Sad

Since we have had two recent deaths in my family this has hit close to home.  In both cases, we spent time with family, some of which we have not seen in years.  But one thing stood out is the division within the family.  Someone said or did something I didn’t like so, therefore, I do not want any more to do with them.  Or their lifestyle or how they think about things is different than me so I am just going to write them off.  The sad part is that some of these people claim to be Christians.

And what makes me even sadder is the fact that this takes place within the Christian church as well.  I see people that are struggling spiritually and others shun them because they don’t fit their criteria.  And what happens eventually to the ones that are struggling?  They leave the church and a lot of them give up Christianity altogether.  Why would they want to be a Christian?  They have gotten a false picture of what Christianity is all about through people who claim to be Christians.  But the reality is, if we are not being like Christ we are not Christians.  So what constitutes a true Christian?

Story

I want to share a story I recently read as an example of a true Christian. This story took place during the genocide in Rwanda.

“‘I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’ (John 10:9–11)

Several years after my family returned from mission service in Africa, I was working in the in Portland, Oregon. The genocide in Rwanda had taken place about four years before this. When we heard about it, we felt sick. We had been to Rwanda. We thought it was an amazing country and had many Christian friends there.

One day a visitor came to my office. Her name was Adele, and I noticed that she had a big scar on her forehead. Adele had just come from Rwanda to visit her daughter in the United States. She wanted to tell me her story.

Adele had been married to a pastor in Rwanda. When the genocide started, she, her son, and her husband ran to the church with many other church members, thinking they would be protected there. Similar attacks, but on a much smaller scale, had happened years before, and at that time the people had fled to the churches for safety. As the members were praying inside the church, thugs came and surrounded the building.

‘You have to come out!’ they yelled to the people inside.

They asked for the pastor, Adele’s husband, so he went out. ‘We’re going to kill you!’ they said.

‘Can I pray for you first?’ he asked.

They agreed, and he prayed for them. Then they took a machete and dealt him a deadly blow to the head. In a rain of terror, the machetes and other weapons began swinging upon the defenseless church members.

Adele looked over and saw her son raise his hand to wave goodbye to his mother. Just then, his arm was cut off. Moments later, he was hit and killed. All of a sudden, Adele went unconscious. She was hit in the head, and that is why she had the terrible scar.

Three days passed, and someone who was walking by saw a little movement among the piles of decaying bodies. The person went over, touched Adele’s body, and found that it was still warm. She was still alive!

He picked her up, put her in a little Toyota pickup, and took her to the dispensary. While she was recovering at this little hospital, she had a dream. In the dream, she was in heaven. Jesus spoke to her and said, ‘Look and see.’

She looked and saw her son and husband. Jesus said, ‘It’s going to be all right—you’re going to see your family in heaven.’

That assurance gave her such courage and hope. ‘It’s the only way I survived all this,’ she told me later.

Adele got well and returned home. About four years later, she was at the marketplace in her village. Looking down toward the end of the vendors’ tables, she saw a young man with long, matted hair. He had been hiding out in the jungle. As she looked at him carefully, she recognized him as a young man who her husband had baptized—the same young man who had killed her son!

Adele walked up to him, and he began to tremble. He thought, of course, that she had been killed in the genocide. ‘What are you going to do to me?’ he quivered. People were starting to turn around to look.

All Adele had to say was, ‘You killed my son,’ and they would have killed him right there. Instead, she said, ‘You come with me now.’ Trembling, the young man followed her to her house. ‘What are you going to do to me?’ he asked again.

‘Just sit down,’ Adele said.

She got some water and began to wash him and cut his hair and clean him up. She gave him some food. Then she took some of her son’s clothes and said, ‘Put these on.’

‘What are you going to do to me?’ the young man repeated, almost frantic.

With tears in her eyes, Adele said, ‘I have no one, and you have no one. You have killed my son, so now you must become my son.’

Then they had prayer together, and they wept together. About six months later, the young man was put in prison for killing other people. Every week Adele would go to see this young man in prison and take him food and clothes.

I have since been to Rwanda and visited Adele. She has told her story at my meetings there. It is an amazing story. Adele is a living example of the greatest miracle of all—the miracle of forgiveness. 

Through faith we receive the grace of God; but faith is not our Saviour. It earns nothing. It is the hand by which we lay hold upon Christ, and appropriate His merits, the remedy for sin. And we cannot even repent without the aid of the Spirit of God. The Scripture says of Christ, ‘Him hath God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.’ Acts 5:31. Repentance comes from Christ as truly as does pardon. (DA 175)”

— Elder Duane McKey

Forgive

This is an amazing story to me and really shows us the power of forgiveness.  This is not something that we can accomplish through our own strength.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us that we can accomplish this.  Probably a lot of us, after reading this story, have realized how small our trials are.  It can make us wonder why we have not forgiven.

One of the reasons that we find it so difficult to forgive is pride.  We feel that we have a right to feel the way that we do so we keep not forgiving.  We can think, “If I forgive them they aren’t going to change.”  It has nothing to do with them changing, it all has to do with us.  As it says in the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”.  God does not forgive us if we do not forgive. (See Matthew 6 9-13)  We can’t edit His prayer to our liking.

It makes it even more clear in Matthew 6:14 & 15, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:  But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

We even deny that we have not forgiven.  We say we have forgiven but then we shun them.  This is not true forgiveness.  Does Christ shun us?  And as Christians, we need to be like Christ.

What makes me even sadder is what will happen within the Christian church.  People shun people because they do not think as they think, which is really a part of forgiving.  Their thoughts are that if you are a Christian you should be doing this, this and this.  And because you are not doing those things they sometimes politely, but others times not so politely, ignore you.  You suddenly are no longer their friend.  They may reason that they are trying to protect themselves from false but the reality is they are not being like Christ.

If we think a person is doing something that will keep them out of heaven should we shun them for fear of contamination?  The answer is a clear no.  We need to be their friend and be a living example while reflecting Christ.  Love them and when they see a reflection of Christ in our lives they will want what we have.  But if they only see a critical spirit they will run the other direction as fast as possible.  A critical spirit does not draw to God and is not of God.

There is something very important to remember.  The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25, they were all doing the right things.  They were all good Christians, even the foolish virgins.  Many scholars today, which I agree, believe that the oil in the parable represents the Holy Spirit.  As I see it we can do all the right things but still be lost.   If we are not doing them with the power of the Holy Spirit working through us and we are just doing them on our own we are like the foolish virgins.  We are out of oil (The Holy Spirit).  And we are not any better off than the person we are critical of because they don’t do the things that we are, which to me is unforgiveness.

If we really grasp the meaning of all this, we will be on our knees praying for others and loving them instead of pointing fingers.  In our hearts, we will be forgiving them and being a living example of Christ-likeness.

But how can I…

The reality is we cannot forgive and be a Godly witness, without judging and pointing fingers unless we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

  • Prayer

Prayer is the key that unlocks heaven for us. We need to spend much time in prayer.  In order for God to hear us, we need to make sure that we do not have any iniquity (sin) in our lives.  Whether it is thoughts or actions.  “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:” (Psalms 66:18).  So the first thing we need to do is confess before God specifically anything that we have done that has been displeasing to Him.  We may not even know what it is we have done.  Maybe we have forgotten or we are not aware of some things we are doing that are displeasing to Him.  We don’t need to worry.  We can ask Him to show us and He will reveal to us anything we need to confess.

As we come to God in confession He will forgive.  Then we are able to ask anything according to His will and He will hear and answer.  “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14,15).  This is such a great promise.

Now we know that we can ask for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that God’s will can be worked out in our lives.  “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”  (See Luke 11:9-13)

We know that it is His will that we forgive others and that we have a love for one another.  So we can ask God to give us forgiveness through the power of the Holy Spirit.  And we can ask for His love to flow through us.  “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).  We need to power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish this in our lives.

  • God’s Word

We need to spend time in God’s Word.  And we need to do more than just read the surface.  We can be on a schedule of reading the Bible through in a year but are we really getting something out of it.  Take the Word verse by verse and don’t move on until you understand what you are reading and how you can apply it to your life.

  • Memorize Scripture Verses

Memorizing Scripture verses, for when those times of temptation or discouragement come, can help you through.  I recently heard someone share about reading through the book of Psalms.  A lot of what is in Psalms are prayers.  The suggestion was to read a chapter a day or less splitting the longer ones into two or three days.  Choose a marker color for promises and as you read underline the ones that speak to you as a promise.  This may be different for each person.  Then when you are in a time of prayer you can claim those promises.  Start putting those promises to memory so when you are in need of prayer, no matter who you’re with or where you are, you have a verse to claim.

Conclusion

As I said earlier my heart aches.  We have but a short time upon this earth whether we die at the average age of 80 or the Lord comes.  Life is way to short to not forgive and love.  Others may not forgive or love us but it all starts with each one of us.  We have to look at ourselves and allow the Lord to change us.  And as we are changed there is a higher chance that those we love will also change.  But God gives everyone the freedom of choice to change or not to change and we have to have that same kind of love that God has.

The thing that is great about the forgiveness and love that God works in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, it brings us happiness.  It gives us a freedom that is so amazing.  The stress of holding on to unforgiveness is a heavyweight and when it is gone, what a relief.

Dear Father,

We need the power of Your Holy Spirit.  As we come to You with a heart that is open to Your forgiveness and Your will we ask for Your leading in our lives.  We ask You to give us Your Holy Spirit.  Give us forgiveness and love for others that only You can give.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Come to God today confessing and then asking for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit so that you can have the power to forgive and love others.

Love you all.

Have you had an unforgiving spirit that the Lord has helped you overcome?  Share the results below.

 

“I Know I’m Right!!!”

I’m Right!

Have you ever felt like you are right about something?  You even feel that you are so right you may even argue about it.  You might even feel a little ticked off at someone who tries to tell you that you are wrong.  I have been there!  And it can be so embarrassing when I discover that I was wrong.  I thought I knew the facts but I didn’t.

My husband and I just went to MN where most of his family lives to attend a memorial service for his dad who passed away in July.  One of his aunts invited us to stay at her house.  And since we were flying her granddaughter loaned us her van.  It was so wonderful of them to be so giving.  It helped us save money.

Parking

Our aunt and her husband drove 2 hours to the airport to bring us the van.  They had to drive separate vehicles because we were not going to their house right away.  We had another family that lived south of them about 2 hours that we were going to visit first.

Our aunt met us at the luggage area and walked us to where she parked the van they were loaning us.  She had written down on a piece of paper the location of the van in the parking garage plus the license plate.  She emphasized to us the importance of not losing the key.  It is one of those new kinds of keys that don’t even look like a key.  The only way to get into the car is by pushing a button.

We finally found the aisle where it was parked and then she walked right to the van.  She gave the key to my husband and he went pushed the button to unlock it but it did not work.  She told him he needed to be pretty close to get it to work.  So he got closer but it still would not work.  She could not understand why it was not working.  I asked her if she was sure this was the correct van.  She told me yes and eventually pulled out the paper that she had written the license plate number on.  And sure enough, it was the right van.

She finally took the key and tried herself then called her husband, she told him she could not get the key to work.  She was looking for other ideas.  Then she decided to try the lock button and when she did she heard a beep.  The embarrassing part is that the beep was coming from a van a few cars over.  So we were at the wrong van.  Now the question is how did she get the wrong license plate written down.  She thought about writing down the license plate after she was already part way down the row.  She went back to write it down and chose the wrong van.  They were very similar.  One way she knew it was the wrong van also was the fact when she looked in the window she didn’t see familiar things, like her can of almonds.

Another story

This reminds me of another time I was at a grocery store.  I was with my son and we had just gotten out of our vehicle and headed for the store.  There was a lady walking from the cars parked on the right of us to go to the other side on the left.  She stopped us and said, “I just have to tell someone.”  She had come out of the grocery store and went to her car and loaded her groceries into her trunk.  She went to get into the vehicle and realized it was not her car.  In her case, her keys worked for another car.  I don’t believe it was an electronic lock but just the key.  When she talked to us she was headed to the cars parked on the left where her car really was.  An amazing story!  She did it without knowledge until the evidence presented itself.

Christians

This makes me think about the way the devil works.  He makes his ways look similar to God’s ways, especially from the outside.  It looks like it is safe and won’t harm us in any way.  He likes to catch us off guard.  And he wins almost every time when our guard is not up.  The outside of “the car” looks so similar that if we don’t pay close attention we may not pick God’s ways.  We cannot go through life lazily.  We have to be a diligent Christian.  As it says in Matthew 7:13, 14, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”  We have to be alert.

This verse may be discouraging to some.  But I know God wants us to know how serious it is to be alert.  It is meant to help us realize how easy it is to be lost if we are not alert.  But God is the one that does the work in us if we so allow it.  Now, this doesn’t mean if I am alert that I will never make a mistake because it is a growing process.  But I will be on the correct road journeying with Christ.

Alert

So what can I do to stay alert to the wiles of the devil so that I am not pulled in to his sophistries?  He is so good at what he does and we cannot combat him.  We cannot battle with him.  But we can allow God to battle him for us.  Here are some crucial steps for us.

  1.  Prayer.  We need to stay in communion with God.  We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:19 to pray without ceasing.  This is not meaning to be on our knees every hour of the day. It means that our minds need to be so in tune with God that our minds turn to prayer throughout the day as we encounter every circumstance.  I have found that if I am intentional about spending time with Christ each morning in prayer, the study of His Word, and memorizing scripture it becomes more of a habit to turn to God in prayer throughout the day.
  2. Study God’s Word.  There is such a need to spend time in God’s Word each day.  It is more about quality than quantity.  The bottom line, It is not about how many chapters you have read but how much you understand what you have read and can apply it to your life.  It is best to take a few verses and walk away with knowledge for the day than read a lot and walk away not even knowing what you read but you did your quota.
  3. Memorize Scripture.  We need to hide God’s Word in our hearts.  “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalms 119:11).  When we are tempted throughout the day we can draw from the scripture that we have placed in our hearts to combat Satan.

It is a heart work and Jesus will do it for us if we give Him consent.  He will identify Himself with our thoughts and aims and bring our hearts and minds in line with His will so that when obeying Him we will be carrying out our own impulses.  This will only happen as we draw closer to Him and allow Him to work.  And we can only get to know Him by spending much time in prayer and study of His Word and hiding it in our hearts.

Dear Father,

I want to recommit my time to You.  There is a time and season for everything and I am not good at regulating my time.  I can get so distracted and forget what the priorities of life are.  Continue to guide me in my journey of drawing closer to You and getting to know You better. I want to be lead by You and to surrender all my ways to You.  Thank You for Your love and compassion for me.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Him today and commit to spending time with Him.

Love you all.

Do you have a memory of being forgetful?  I would love to hear your story.  And what lesson can you draw from it?

 

“I Blew It Again!!”

Explosion!

I am sure we have all had a blowout at some time in our lives.  I personally have never had a blow out while driving.  But I do remember driving one time and all of the sudden I heard an explosion.  I had no idea what it was but my first response was to break and go over to the side of the road.  It turned out that it was a semi truck in front of me that had the blowout.  If I had not responded the way that I had I could have been hit by a tire.

The tire that you see in the picture above was actually my son’s tire.  He is traveling all over the United States doing deliveries.  My son does what is referred to as Hotshot hauling or Hotshot trucking.  He does not drive a semi truck but hauls a trailer with a pickup.  It seems with all the heat and putting a lot of hours on the road has an effect on tires.  He has had more than one blowout.  It amazes me how shredded the tire was.

Christians

It reminded me of life as a Christian.  As we surrender our lives to Jesus each day and allow Him to have full control, life can get “hot”.  The devil does not like it when we allow Jesus to have full control of our lives.  So he turns up the heat.  The trials come.  And how we deal with the “heat” will determine whether we have a “blowout”.

When you are driving in the heat it is really important to keep the pressure of your tires where it needs to be.  You need to be sure to check them often because the heat causes them to expand and therefore can cause a blowout due to too much pressure.

In the same way in our Christian walk, we have to make sure that we are maintaining our connection with Christ through the study of His Word and prayer.  If we don’t have enough “air pressure” (God’s Spirit) filling our lives we will not handle the “heat”.  Although we can’t get too much of God’s Word or prayer like a tire can have too much air, it is true that we can spend so much time that we do not take care of the responsibilities God has given us to do.  We can use spending time with God as an excuse for laziness, which is just as detrimental.

We need to have balance in our lives.  Just like with a tire on your car, too much or too little air can cause a blowout, so spending too much time or too little time with God can cause us to spiritually have a blowout.  If we are just filling our lives with God and not sharing it we are going to have a “blowout”, just like too much air in a tire.

Trust

What it really boils down to is trust.  When my son is traveling he could be worrying all the time if he is going to have a blowout or he can trust that he has done what he can to keep it from happening and go on without worry.  Does not worrying about it mean he will never have a blowout?  No, but it does make life a lot more pleasant.  And in the event, he does have a blowout he just needs to fix it and get on with life.

It is the same in our Christian walk.  We know the devil is going to pour on the heat.  But if we are doing everything to keep our lives connected to Jesus we don’t need to worry or fret.  We just need to stay surrendered to Him.  We don’t need to worry about whether we are going to have a “blowout”.  And in the event we do, instead of wallowing in the “mud” get up and confess.  Do whatever it takes to make things right.  Fix the “tire” and keep going.  A lot of times we can start saying, “I blew it again”, “I am never going to get this”, “I’ll never make it”, etc.  But that is just where the devil wants us.  He is the one whispering those things into our minds.  Let’s just fix the “blowout” by getting back in connection with Jesus and keep going.

Leak

When we are in the heat of a trial we feel more of a need for Christ.  But the real danger is when we have a slow “leak”.  On our cars when a blowout happens it is like a major trial but there are times that we just have a slow leak and we don’t even notice until we hear or feel something not quite right.  It is the same with the Christian walk.  We can be slowly getting away from that time with God.  We spend less and less time each day, slowly allowing the “air” (power) out of our lives.  And before we know it we have a “flat tire” (discouragement, depression, anger feelings, etc.)

Keep Connected

The key to success is keeping connected with Jesus.  He is the One with the “air” (power) to keep us filled so that we can come through each trial with the victory, no blowouts.  It is when we start to focus on the “heat” of the trial that the friction gets to us and we end up with a “blowout”.

When we have little trials each day they can also draw us away from spending time with God because we are so busy putting out the “fires” that we don’t take the time we need.   I have found that as I spend time with God, no matter how much I need to accomplish in the day that I always have plenty of time with even time left over.  But when I don’t spend that time the day is chaos and I don’t get as much accomplished.  That is the miracle of God.  We work on addition and He works on multiplication.

Dear Father,

Help us to not forget the need to spend time with You, in study and prayer.  I want to recommit my time to You.  Thank You for Your patience and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Commit to spending time with Jesus today in prayer and study of His Word.

Love you all.

Have you ever experienced a blowout like this one?  If so, how did it turn out and what spiritual lesson could you share?  Share below.

“Pushy Peers!!”

What is the age limit for peer pressure?

Peer pressure touches all of us no matter how old we are.  If someone wants to say that they are older and have gotten over that problem they probably are blind to it.  Subconsciously we can respond to the pressure of others and then afterward realize what we did or we may even catch ourselves right in the middle of it.  No matter what your age I challenge you to take another look at peer pressure.

Driving

This really hit home a few days ago when I was driving.  On my way to work there was this truck that started following me not long after I had left home.  I live in the country so there were a couple of roads that we were on before hitting the main highway.  This truck was not allowing me my space, he/she was following me really close.  I think that you can all relate to that.  It is very nerve racking to have someone right on your tail.

After about 3 miles we entered the highway.  I got up to speed (55) and this person was still right behind me riding my tail.  On my way to work, I often sing so I was singing and I thought I was ignoring the truck.  I always check my speedometer now and then when I don’t have it on cruise control to make sure I am still on track.  When I looked down I was amazed to find that I was up to 65 and he/she was still riding my tail.  At that point, I slowed and put my cruise on.  What amazes me the most is how the peer pressure was affecting me even though I didn’t even realize it.

As I slowed and put my cruise on I noticed that there was another truck behind the one following me.  He/she in that truck was also in a hurry and passed me first and then the one behind me passed.  After they passed they were going so fast that the distance between us was quite a distance in seconds.  It is true that they didn’t make it far before there were more people going the speed limit.  I am old enough to be a grandma now but I have never been pulled over and I don’t plan on starting now.  But here’s the question, is that a good reason to go the speed limit?

Following the crowd

What came to my mind is how easy it is to follow the crowd; the truck behind me without even realizing it was pushing me.  He/she was so close that it made me automatically speed up without any thought.

It made me think about how it is as a Christian.  We are in a group at work, school, or even church and they may be doing something we know is displeasing to God but we don’t want to be different.  Sometimes we just don’t even think about it.  The next thing we know we are involved with some gossip, bad mouthing someone, or just listening in to an ungodly conversation.

When we start to feel the pressure we feel uneasy and we don’t like that uneasy feeling.  We are afraid about what others are going to think.  But we suddenly forget about what God thinks.  The question is why does it matter so much what others think?

Sin

My son is away at school and he called me the other day and asked, “What is sin?”  I replied, “Separation from God.”  He said, “It is the absence of Love.”  I agreed.  This is so true.  Who do we love?  Do we even have true love?

Without love, it is impossible to please God.  I was thinking after those trucks passed me how many try to avoid the law.  We can be Christians that believe that we are following God.  I mean we go to church, don’t kill, steal, etc.  But are we Christians.  I know people who claim to be Christians that have Fuzz Busters so that they can speed and not get a ticket.  There are many examples that could be cited here but this is just one.  Are we truly a Christian if we try to avoid the laws of the land?  And when we avoid the laws of the land does that affect our relationship with God?

I believe that as a Christian we need to obey the laws of the land or any law that we may be under, at our school, work etc.  “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,” Titus 3:1-4.

Some people may be asking how can that be, we can’t obey every law because it may be going against God.  And yes that is true.  We need to obey every law unless it goes against the laws of God.  “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him” Acts 5:29-32.

A lot of times we make excuses for not obeying laws that do not seem to go specifically against God’s law.  But the reality is if we disobey authority over us, whoever they may be, and what they are asking us to do does not go against God’s Law we are disobeying God.  We are not being a Godly witness.

Love

The thing that is amazing is it still goes back to love.  Our human love is full of frailties.  But God’s love is not and He will give us His love as we surrender our lives to Him.  No matter what choices we make, even if it seems that we are doing some wrong to others, we are really doing wrong to God.  It reminds me of Joseph in Genesis 39:7-9, “And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”  Every sin that we commit no matter who it is against is actually a sin against God.

Everything that we do goes back to whether we love.  And it is whether or not we love God supremely.  If we love God supremely we will love others.  If we try to love others without supreme love for God it is a selfish love.  We can only love selfishly.  But thank the Lord He will give us His love.

Here is a quote from one of my favorite authors.  It really sums it up perfectly.  “All true obedience comes from the heart. It was heart work with Christ. And if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our hearts and minds into conformity to His will, that when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses. The will, refined and sanctified, will find its highest delight in doing His service. When we know God as it is our privilege to know Him, our life will be a life of continual obedience. Through an appreciation of the character of Christ, through communion with God, sin will become hateful to us” {DA 668.3}. The bottom line, fall in love with Jesus.

The question is how?  Spend time to get to know Him.  Read about what He has done for you.  And then ask Him for that love.  And if we give all to Him He will make it happen.  Prayer is such a key, I am realizing this more and more.  And it is not just talking but also listening.  “Lord, what wilt thou have me do today?  Who can I serve today?”  We need to get our minds off of self.  If we can reach out to others it will change our perspective.  We may think life is tough but when we ask God for someone we can help or serve He will bring us to people and we will realize how great we really have it.  When we focus on self, our failures, people who have done us wrong, or anything that is of self, we become discouraged and depressed.  We need to keep our eyes on the One that loves us with so much love that He gave up His life so that we can live eternally with Him.  Now that is love.  That is the kind of love that He can give us.

Dear Father,

I want this love.  I want to surrender daily my life to You and be of service to others.  Give me Your love because my love is so full of self.  Show me today who I can serve and share Your love with.  Thank You for Your love and what You have done for me.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all to Him today, asking Him for His love.

Love you all!

Do you have a story about peer pressure?  A story where you stood your ground and did not give in to peer pressure or a story where you gave in to peer pressure and the results of it?  Share below I would love to hear your stories.

“It’s Broken Down Again?!!!”

Machines!

If you work with machines at all you understand the frustration when it breaks down.  It may even be your car, a blown tire or something you use quite often in your home.  And usually, the timing is never good.

It seems we have breakdowns often at work and the timing is never convenient.  It seems like it happens when we are the busiest.  I work at a print shop and run the digital department.  I have two machines that I run, the full color and the black and white.  The full color we have had for almost a year so it is fairly new.  The black and white was there when I started working and I am told it is old, I believe it because it breaks down a lot.  They keep coming to clean and fix on it but it doesn’t seem to help and my conclusion is that they need to replace parts rather than continue to try and make the old parts work properly.

The digital color is used a lot and needs cleaning quite often and parts replaced now and then.  But when it does need a part replaced it has an effect on the whole shop.  The fact is regular maintenance is necessary if you don’t want a major break down.

Here is where I find the problem, in order to save money they just keep coming out and cleaning often instead of replacing parts.  This does not seem logical to me but they seem to be determined not to give new parts.  I guess it gives the repair guy something to do.

What about us?

This made me start to think about us as Christians.  Some of us are new to our faith in Christ and we are on fire for the Lord.  Some of us have been in the faith for a long time.  But no matter how long we have been in the faith we all go through trials.  Some days are worse than others.  We break down and need some cleaning and repairing.  And it seems the timing is never good.

God wants to not just clean us up but He wants to replace old parts with new parts.  “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean:  from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.  A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.  And I will put my spirit within you, and curse you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them” Ezekiel 36:25-26.

But our tendency is to want to bypass the new stuff and just keep getting a cleaning.  Because a new heart means total surrender and we are not so sure we want that.  We still have little darling sins we want to hang on to and don’t want to let go and let God.  We think we want “new parts” but when it comes down to it we want to keep our old ways and  “parts”.

What do I do?

The question always comes, “What do I do?”  The Christian walk is not as easy as some may think.  Dying to self and giving up our control and letting God take control is not natural.  It can be our Gethsemane.  How many of us have sweat “as it were great drops of blood” (See Luke 22:44)?  I can say I haven’t.

It wasn’t easy for Christ in Gethsemane to drink the cup.  He took on the sins of the whole world for time and eternity.  Jesus knew it would separate Him from His Father.  He had such a love for His Father that He did not want to be separated from His Father with sin.  We are so drawn to sin that our agony is different.  We agonize over giving up or letting go of sin.  I want to get to the point that I want no sin to come between my Savior and me.  So what do I do?  Get to know Jesus, fall so in love with Him so that you would rather die than hurt Him.

  1. Spend time in prayer.  Don’t just spend time in prayer spend quality time in prayer.  When you are talking to God speak to Him as you would a friend.  Share everything that is on your heart.  Yes, it is true that God already knows but as we speak it to Him it changes us.  Communicate with Him.  For those of us that are married or dating, if we didn’t talk to the one that we say we love our relationship would fall apart.  But if we love them we want to spend time with them.  We don’t have to force ourselves we look forward to it.  If we just said a quick “hi” and “goodbye” to them each day we would be in serious trouble.  The same is true with God.  We need communication with him that is meaningful.
  2. Listen as He speaks to you.  Communication is not one-sided or it is not communication.  If you did all the talking in any relationship you had you probably would lose all your friends, spouse, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. The same is true of our relationship with God.  If we do all the talking our relationship is dead.
  3. Read God’s Word.  God will talk to us through impressing our minds but the biggest way He communicates with us is through His Word.  But if we never open His Word He cannot speak to us through it.  Another way He often speaks to us is through nature.  The more time we spend out in nature the more He can speak to us.  I have been taught so many lessons through nature.  I also realize that if I was more attentive He could speak to me even more.

The reality is if we do not long or even enjoy spending time with Him now we will not enjoy heaven, therefore, we won’t be there.  God wants to enjoy fellowship with us.  He loves us with a never failing love.  His love is nothing like human love.  He is always there willing and ready to forgive and spend time with us.

Dear Father,

Forgive us for our lack of communication with You.  We want that close connection with You but many times we get distracted.  Thank You for Your patience and Your reminders that come in many different ways.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Surrender all the Him today, especially your time.  He longs to spend time with you and trust me it is worth it.

Love you all.

As you have spent time in prayer, God’s Word, or nature what has God shown you?  I would love to hear.  Share below.

 

“What is it?!!!”

The unknown!

Have you ever had something crawling on you and you had no idea what it was?  You brush it off and the next thing you know it is there again and again.

This is what happened to me recently.  We went to a creek with some newly made friends.  We were sitting there with our feet in the water when I felt something crawling on my foot.  I looked down and there was a rock on top of my foot.  Shoving the rock off, I went on listening to the conversation that was happening.  Then I felt something on my foot again.  I looked down and there was another rock on my foot.  And of course, I shoved it off again.  I did this a number of times.   You can see the video here:   IMG_1464

You might be saying, “Well, you have your feet in a creek and water is moving constantly.”  You’re exactly right.  As it kept happening I never gave it much thought but then I looked more closely.  I realized that it was something crawling up onto my foot.   We pulled out the rock and discovered it was not a rock at all, it was camouflaged like a rock but it was hollow inside and there was an animal in it.  I am not sure what it was but when it would come out it was black.  So it would go in to hide but when it thought it was safe it would start to crawl around on the bottom of the creek.  I could not believe how much it looked and felt like a rock.

Lesson

Camouflage can be a good thing.  God has made it a way of protection for creatures.  But there is a bad side to camouflage.  A creature can disguise itself so it is not seen and pounce on its victim when they are not expecting it.

So here is the question, is there a good side to camouflage in the Christian realm?  There are many Christians who just want to fit in with everybody else.  They will become like a Chameleon, act or be like whatever group they are in.  Being different is not what they want to do, they just camouflage right in.  They don’t want to stand out or be different because they are afraid of losing influence, friends, popularity, etc.  I think we have all been there at one time or another.  We don’t want to rock the boat so we just fit in.  What can make the difference?

There is only one thing that can make the difference, falling in love with Jesus Christ.  How can we really do that?  Spending time.  You don’t get to know someone without spending time with time.  You cannot truly fall in love without getting to know a person.  It is the same with Christ.  We have to spend time getting to know Him.  We need to realize what He has done for us.

Think of someone in your life that you would stand up for no matter whom you’re with.  You love them so much that when people start talking bad about them or just act certain ways, you would not just keep silent, and you would stand up.

The only way we can stand up for Christ and what He has done for us is to get to know Him and have such a personal relationship with Him that no one can tell the difference between us and Jesus.  We are camouflaged with Him.  When they have been with us they have felt as if they have been with Jesus.

Counterfeit

Then there is the camouflage we have to keep our eye out for.  The devil has the best camouflage for evil.  And just like this little creature kept creeping up onto my foot, the devil knows how to disguise things so that they look as innocent as the little rock looked to me, and it creeps in.  We start by reading, watching, or listening to something that is mostly good but just has a little taint of bad.  But slowly a creeping compromise happens and we are reading, watching, or listening to things we thought we never would do.

Getting back

Thank the Lord for the forgiveness that He has for us when we return to Him with a confession.  Confession is the beginning of getting back in right relation to Him.

We need to get back to the simplicity of God’s Word.  He makes things so simple but we complicate things.  A lot of times it can be because we just want to keep on doing the “little” things that we so enjoy.

What can we do?

  1. Spend a thoughtful hour each day contemplating the Life of Christ.  As we can come to realize what Christ has done for us so that we can spend eternity with Him, it can help to change our mindset.
  2. Spend time in prayer.  Having that communion with God is so important.  He longs to hear from us.  It doesn’t matter what, He wants to hear our worries as well as our victories or requests.  He is always there to guide us.
  3. Hide God’s Word in your heart.  It is always good to have scripture that we can draw from to guide us with our decisions each day.  Every time we need to make a decision about whether something we want to read, watch, or listen to is right or good, here are a couple good verses.  “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.” Psalms 101:3.  And another favorite is in Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Dear Father,

You are our ever-present power if we will just reach out to You for strength to overcome.  Forgive us for all our shortcomings and help us to stay in Your Word.  Give us wisdom each day as we are on this journey of life.  Show us Your ways.  Thank You for always being there ready and able to help us as we allow You.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Give your life in full to Jesus today so that you can reflect His character.  Stay so close to Him that you won’t get caught off guard with the devil’s camouflage, but that you will be fully reflecting Christ.

Love you all.

What is the most unusual camouflage you have seen?  And what spiritual lesson can you share about it?

 

 

 

“Yes! Backpacking!!”

Backpacking!

Have you ever been backpacking?  If you haven’t you ought to try it.  One of the great things about backpacking is that you can get into some areas that are so beautiful and there are not a lot of people.  I can’t say I am really experienced because I have only done it twice.  I am really grateful to a friend who got my boys interested.  They love it and are now sharing that love with the rest of the family.  Now I have to say that it is tough on me.  But what I can say is no matter how old you are you can learn something new.

Rain

One thing that I have never liked about tent camping is having the rain.  And when you go backpacking into the wilderness, tent camping is the only option.  When we headed to our spot it was beautiful but it was not long when things started looking suspicious.  We got to our camping spot, hurriedly set up our tents and barely made it inside before it started to thunder, lightning, and have pouring rain.

We went backpacking with friends and now we were all lined up in two-man tents.  And one of my son’s had a tarp tent, what good is that in the rain.  We ended up spending the evening and night huddled in our tents.

The next day did not look much better.  When we got up it was not raining.  So after having breakfast, we started thinking about how we could make this day fun despite the rain.  It is amazing what you can do with what you have if you put your mind to it.  We took the three two-man tents and put them together and cover the center part with my son’s tarp tent.  Then we were able to open the doors to our tents and sit around visiting and playing games.  It did let up a little so we could take a little hike.  It was such a beautiful place with lots of little lakes, flowers, and streams.

The big hike

The next day was still looking cloudy but there was some sun.  So we decided to take the risk of heading out hoping it would not pour rain.  Because at that point how would you get warm. It turned out to be a beautiful day.  Yes, we had a sprinkle here and there but nothing drastic.  We were actually thankful for the clouds.  The sun came out a few times, which made it really hot but for the most part, there was a cloud cover.  It was a long a grueling hike but the view was spectacular.

Sunscreen

It seems when there are clouds no one worries about protecting your skin from the scorching sun but WARNING.  When there are clouds it is a time when you can really get burned.  You think you don’t have a need to protect your skin but you do.  A lot of us got burned because we did not wear protection.

I really have not liked sunscreen over the years because they are so toxic but as of late I have been making my own with some more natural ingredients. Here is a general recipe that a person can try.

Natural Sunscreen

3/4 cup Coconut oil (antibacterial and antifungal, coconut oil for

skin is an excellent moisturizer)

1 T.  Bees Wax (helps soften and soothe skin.)

2 T. Zinc Oxide (zinc oxide protects against UVA and UVB light

rays and is often used as a natural, non-toxic

sunscreen to prevent burns)

2 T Shea Butter  (soothing to the skin)

12 drops of doTERRA Helichrysum essential oil (Helichrysum

keeps the skin looking young and healthy.)

You want a double boiler or I take a metal bowl put in my Bees Wax in and then put it in a pan so it is above a couple of inches of water.  As the water gets hot it melts the wax.  Then add the coconut oil and Shea butter. (It is harder to melt the wax.)  Make sure it is mixed well.  Take from the heat and add your Zinc Oxide.  If you want higher protection you can add more zinc oxide.

“Safest Baby Sunscreens For Your Baby” is a great article on some healthier options.  With all the toxic things out there we need healthier options.  To me, if it isn’t good for my baby it is not good for me.

Remember, no matter what sunscreen you use, you need to put it on several times a day as you are enjoying your day in the sun.

Nature

The most incredible thing about backpacking is the nature.  It is worth all the sore muscles and sleepless nights.  I have never been to a more incredible, beautiful place.  Pictures can’t even do it justice.

Imagine in your mind a meadow that is green with wildflowers everywhere of all different kinds.  And through the meadow, a stream is running.  Then you look up and there are incredible mountains of beauty that is not explainable.

And then there are the lakes.  The colors are unimaginable.  They are not full of pollution.  They are crisp and clean.  We filtered water out of the lake and it was so incredibly good.  There are little islands and greenery all around.  It is so beautiful it is hard to explain.

Where there are water and mountains there are also waterfalls.  Everywhere you looked you could see a falls coming down from somewhere.  Some were so far away that you could not see them well but you could hear them as they crashed over the rocks falling hundreds of feet down the mountain.

It was the home to all kinds of creatures, large and small.  It is an incredible place for the creatures to live in.  Way out away from city life.  It is serene and peaceful.  To me, that is where they belong, instead of back at my house destroying my yard and coming into my house.  The mice were everywhere but it did not bother me because that is where they belong.  I am not sure the name of all the creatures but it was wonderful to watch them, chipmunks, ground squirrels, frogs, etc.  We did not see any really big animals like deer or bear, which is fine, especially the bear.

Thinking

This trip in nature started me thinking what an incredible God we serve.  I also started thinking about what spiritual lessons I could find from our adventure.

There were the rolling hills filled with beautiful greenery along with a multitude of different flowers scattered throughout.  You could have picked them and had a variety that would have made a beautiful bouquet.  This reminded me of how beautiful heaven will be but also the results of sin.  We could have picked those flowers and made a beautiful bouquet but the beauty would have lasted a short time because as soon as we picked them they would start to die.  It is the same with us as soon as we come into this world we start to slowly die because of sin.  But even though we may die physically if we have surrendered our lives to Jesus when He comes in the clouds, He will raise us up and take us home with Him and we will live eternally.  And then there will be no more death!  Praise the Lord!

Sunscreen

Whenever you are out in the sun it is always good to protect yourself with sunscreen, even when it is cloudy.  When the clouds are out you think your safe but really you are not.  A lot of the sunscreens are so toxic with chemicals that you wonder if they are safe to even use.

What sunscreen made me think of is how we need to protect ourselves from sin.  Sin can “burn” us and when we least expect it like we get sunburned when it is cloudy.  What is the best protection?  Can there be things out there that are “toxic”?  There are things out there that are toxic.  We can think that it will protect us spiritually but can it really.  Does it have some real truth mix with a little error?  It is like the sunscreen,  it can have a lot of good stuff to protect us from sin but then there are a few chemicals that can be toxic to us that really defeats the purpose of protection.  So what is the best spiritual protection?  Can we rely on men/women?  God uses men/women to share the protection of truth with us but how do we know it is not “toxic”?

The only safeguard is the Word of God.  We need to put on the whole armor of God as it says in Ephesians 6:11-17.  We also need to be as the Bereans and “search the scriptures daily,” to see if what we are being told or taught lines up with scripture.  See Acts 17:10-11.  And then “if they speak not according to this Word” we can know there is no light in them. See Isaiah 8:20.  We need to be sure we are using the nontoxic spiritual “sunscreen” to protect ourselves, God’s Word.

Rocks

We went for a climb up the mountain.  We climbed up the mountain an elevation of 2,000 feet.  Most of the way up it was big boulders and areas of smaller rocks.  We had to be careful when there were the smaller rocks because they could loosen and start to roll down the hill.  There were two things that could happen, if someone was below us those rocks could hit them and cause some real damage or we could slip and start sliding down the mountain.  There were a couple of things that we tried to do.  We wanted to stay on the big boulders as much as possible and if we did have to go through an area where there was no choice but the smaller rocks we did not want someone following us.  The best place for them to be was walking beside you.

This made me realize how important it is to stay on the Big Rock, Jesus Christ.  As we “hike” along in this life, there are so many loose “rocks”.  If we choose to get off the Solid Rock there are two things that can happen.  First, we can fall into sin and secondly if someone is following us we can lead them off the Sold Rock.  And they can get damaged by sin or even lose their eternal life.  We need to stay on the Solid Rock.

Rain

The rain reminds me of the trials we go through as Christians.  Just like we brought our tents together and covered the cap with a tarp tent, we as Christians need to draw together under the “Tarp Tent” Jesus and help each other through the difficult times.  It is so much better than trying to travel alone.  Travel together, pray together and study God’s Word together.

Dear Father,

Thank You for nature and what we can learn through it.  I thank You for being the Solid Rock that we can rely on.  Thank You also that when we do get off on the loose rocks You are there to pull us back onto the Solid Rock, all we have to do is reach out our hand.  I also thank You for Your patience and love.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Put the spiritual “sunscreen” on today, stay on the Solid Rock, Jesus, and stay in fellowship with fellow believers.

Love you all!

Have you ever been camping, backpacking or just hiking?  What adventure do you have to share?  I would love to hear it.  Please share below.

 

“Memories of My Brother”

Siblings

How many of you have a brother or maybe even a sister?  Some of you may be an only child and don’t have the “privilege” of having a sibling.  Having a sibling has its ups and downs for sure.  I mean you have to learn to share and not always have things your way, LOL.

I have often envied those that were close to their brother or sister.  They have great times together and do things together.  Treasure those times because you never know when it will be your last.

Gadgets

In our early years we lived in Bend, OR.  We did not have all of the gadgets of today that can be so distracting.  So we had to use our imagination.  We had little cars to play with; they might have been hot wheels I don’t remember.  But we never had all the tracks and things of today, we had our imaginations.  I remember going out in the dirt and making the most incredible tracks in the dirt, along with tunnels.  We had great times playing in the dirt.

Now playing dolls was another story.  I loved my dolls but to try to get my brother to play house with me was challenging.  He did play house with me at times but I think we played with cars and trucks more often.

I remember one year at my birthday I went to work with my dad.  I thought that was so special.  While I was gone my mom and brother made a special meal for me.  We had homemade ice cream for dessert.  My brother was the one that ran the hand crank on the ice cream maker, no electric stuff, just work.  I don’t even remember what we ate; I just remember the ice cream.  How many of you have good memories of the old ice cream makers?

Christmas

There are a few good Christmas’s that stick out in my mind.  We never had a lot of gifts.  I think, for the most part, our parents gave us each a gift, at least those are the ones that have stuck in my memory.  If they gave us other gifts I just don’t remember.

I remember the year that my parents got me a doll and my brother Lincoln Logs.  We both loved what we got that year.  That was my favorite doll over the years.  We played with those Lincoln Logs quite often.  I still have the doll but I don’t know what happened to the Lincoln Logs.

I believe it was the very next Christmas that my bother was so excited about the gift he had for me.  He could hardly wait for me to open it.  When I did open it I was so excited.  It was a highchair for my doll.  I still have the highchair today.  I will cherish the memory.

Then there was the year that I saw the most amazing thing that I wanted to get my brother.  It was a red fireman’s hat.  Now in those days, it was a nice hard plastic, not like the junk today.  But I was really struggling because I wanted to get one for me too.  But reluctantly I got one just for my brother.  I mean after all that is a boys thing anyway, right?  When Christmas Eve came and we opened gifts my brother and I had a surprise.  We both gave each other red fireman’s hats.  So I discovered that my brother had the same struggle I did.  Of course, I am sure my parents helped coordinate the outcome but I never felt they did.  And as I look back I don’t remember ever feeling suspicious or anything.  It was a great Christmas.

Church

I remember in those days we had little booklets that we would get with pictures and memory verses for the quarter in the young children’s classes.  Every quarter they would have the young people classes come and do a program for the adults.  My brother would memorize all the verses and he would be the only one that could stand in front of the congregation and say them all from memory.

My brother and I also sang together for special music.  One time stands out very vividly in my mind.  He was 2 1/2 years older than me so when we would sing I just followed him.  We had a scripture song that we were going to sing that was a chapter long.  He really wanted to sing it because our dad really liked it.  He was so determined that he knew it well enough, but our mom and dad had concerns.  We never went up with any words with us, we did it all from memory.  We walked out from the back onto the platform and then we just stood there.  He couldn’t remember the words.  Then he promptly said, “I guess we’re done”.  The audience started laughing and then he walked off the platform leaving me standing there.  As it sunk in, what just happened, I followed him off.  My parents had to comfort him in the back as he cried.  He thought people were laughing at him.  Of course, they weren’t laughing at him it was just funny what he said.

My brother was very musically talented.  He had a great voice and could have played any musical instrument that he wanted to.  He even wrote some music for a school he attended one year.  It became the school song.  Here are the words:

Cypress Gardens School Song

Lance Davis                                                                                                    Monte Lambert

There is a place that’s dear to us amid the rolling hills,

The scenery is ever-changing, in Cypress Garden’s fields,

Where sunsets ever glowing will brighten up the sky,

Where in the early morning we know that God is near;

 

So teach us, Lord, as our lives go on to be reflectors of Your love,

And help us all as we prepare for the glorious home above.

 

We learn and work together as we seek to know God’s will,

For if we will be happy, we must His will fulfill,

And when we know God’s leading, we’ll step out without fear,

For here at Cypress Garden, we know that God is near.

 

So teach us, Lord, as our lives go on to be reflectors of Your love,

And help us all as we prepare for the glorious home above.

 

Our goal in life is service, so we must with others share,

The wonders of God’s blessings, He shows us everywhere,

We want to all be ready when Christ shall come again,

And we’ll go home together, to a land that’s free from sin.

 

So teach us, Lord, as our lives go on to be reflectors of Your love,

And help us all as we prepare for the glorious home above.

Other memories

I don’t remember how old we were but we had to be fairly young.  Without our parent’s knowledge, we would do chin-ups on the shower curtain rod.  One day we got this bright idea about both doing the chin-ups at the same time.  Well, it did not work out so well.  The rod could not hold both our weight so we came crashing down.  I can’t remember if it was my brother or I that ended up with our foot in the toilet.  I don’t remember anything about the consequences either.

Even though my brother was 2-1/2 years older than me, it was not long before I was taller and had bigger feet than he did.  It use to really frustrate my brother.  He always told me, “When we grow up I am going to be taller and have bigger feet than you.”  But the day never came.

One memory in my early teen years that I remember quite vividly is the day I got my hand stuck in a mixer.  I was making homemade bread.  I was whipping the bread with an electric hand mixer.  When I shut the mixer off I reached down to clean the mixer blades off before it was completely done turning.  I ended up with my hand between the mixing tongs.  My mom tried to push the release button so that they would come out but the pressure was too much so they would not release.  My mom was a little freaked out.  She called my brother to help.  Of course, he just started laughing and reached over and pulled the tongs apart.  It just never occurred to my mom to do that.

My parents did so much for us, especially in those earlier years, when my dad was in business for himself and he had more freedom and my brother was around.  We did things special every weekend.  We were either camping, hiking, or spending time together with a good book.  The books were more in the winter.  We would put puzzles together as my mom read a story.  We had great times together.  I remember when my dad would come home early on a Friday, we never knew when this would happen, and he would say, “Let’s go camping.”  Wow!  My brother and I would go into action to get ready so fast your head would spin.  We loved camping.

One of the things my brother and I loved to do is make a dam in some creek with rocks and we often camped or hiked where there was running water.  What great times my parent gave us.

Not all pleasant

Not all was pleasant over the years.  There were always difficulties.  My brother was a pathological liar.  In those earlier days I did not fully understand or recognize what was happening, neither did my parents, but I can look back and see things more clearly.  It brought many a heartache to my parents and me along with bringing hurt to others as well, it seems unrepairable hurt.  My parents, at first didn’t recognize the issues but even when they did, what could they do.  We suffered physical and emotional pain from my brother, yet very few knew or even recognized it.  My brother made many people believe that my parents were evil people, which is so far from the truth.  We continued to love him and my parents did everything they could to show it to him but also they had to place boundaries, which my brother never liked.

There are many people who think that my brother suffered and lived in a horrible home.  The reality is my brother had fewer restrictions than I had.  But I can say I am very grateful for the home that I grew up in, it made me who I am today and I am very grateful to my parents.  My parents weren’t perfect but who is.  But I can say that my parents were the most loving parents.  They were very long-suffering to my brother.  No, he didn’t really accept it but they kept giving and loving.

Even though others believed his lies and had such negative thoughts of them they pressed forward, ignored their negative thoughts toward them and still loved him, even though they knew he was destroying their reputation.  I call that a Christ-like love.  Isn’t that what Christ did for us.  He still loves us even though the devil throws accusations.  The devil wanted Christ to think we were not worth the sacrifice but Christ didn’t listen.  He gave His life for us.

My brother never liked my choices in life.  He would always try to get me to do wrong.  When I would resist it would make him angry.  Who knows what he told others that I did, he wanted to make me look as bad as his choices.  But I had to learn that what I did before God was the most important and I couldn’t worry about what he or others thought.

The truth is supposed to set you free but it never set my parents or myself free because not many believed the truth.  It reminds me of the truth of God’s word.  It also is supposed to set us free from the bondage of sin but not many believe the truth and therefore they are still held in bondage.

A day to remember

The year was 1987.  It was one of those years of sorrow.  In September of ’86, my grandma died at the age of 56.  Then my grandpa died in April of ’87 and his brother, my great-uncle died in October of the same year (These were my mom’s family).  We were at the funeral that was 4 hours away from our home.  It was a Friday and our thought was that we would stay the weekend but my father felt pressed to get home.  So we drove home that night.

I vividly remember getting up on Saturday morning, walking out of my room, and seeing my parents.  I could tell that they had been up for a while.  Then they told me that my brother, who was in the military at the time, had shot himself and that he was given a zero chance to live.  My parents were working on getting tickets to go back to Tennessee from Washington State.  I was blown away.  It was hard for me to believe what I was hearing.  Now I knew why my dad felt pressed to get home.

When my parents arrived at the hospital there was a “friend” of my brothers there.  He was so angry with my parents that the hospital finally had to escort him out.  They had no warm reception from anyone that knew him except one couple.  They told my parents that as soon as they met them they knew that the stories he had told couldn’t be true.  One story that they said he had shared was that his sister was dead and it was his parent’s fault.  He would just share things to get people to feel sorry for him and give him sympathy.  It was so painful for my parents.

My parents prayed a prayer that day and said, “Lord, if there is no way for his salvation just let him go to sleep but if there is hope please allow him to live.”  The Lord answered that prayer in a way that even I at times have questioned.  But I always believed there was a reason.  They did a partial lobotomy and he was never the same.  He was still a pathological liar but it was harder for him to keep his stories straight.  He did become more dangerous because he didn’t have the decision capabilities he once did.  Our family doctor and friend at the time said, “Medically speaking there is no way for him to make a decision for the Lord.”  But this doctor was also a Christian and he also added, “Except a miracle of the Lord.”

He went on to have some children and hurt many more people.  I think he wanted to love but it seemed he was incapable of loving.  In later years he did say how sorry he was for the pain and hurt that he brought to my parents and I.  He did recognize that he had brought pain but didn’t seem to connect all the dots.  He didn’t recognize the fact that his continual lying kept bringing more pain.

His final days

There was more than one time my brother should have died but the Lord saved him.  He overdosed a few years ago and lay on the floor of his apartment for several days.  My dad was not able to get a hold of him so he finally drove around 10 hours to go check on him.  He couldn’t get in his apartment but when he did, my brother was a mess.  The Lord saved his life.  There is no way that he could have made it otherwise.  After that, my dad talked to him every day for quite a long time.

Then he got involved with a bad crowd and the short of it is that he lost his right arm.  They had to amputate it in order to save his life.  When he was found he was taken to the hospital as John Doe because they had no idea who he was.  When he finally came around he called my dad and he headed directly there to help.  Again the Lord spared his life.  And the question may come, “why?”  Here is the answer,  “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9.

I loved my brother and really wanted a close and better relationship with him but that was never to be.  He would call me 2 to 3 times a year just to talk and say that he loved me.  The last time that I spoke to him was in March on my birthday.  Any time he called he would usually do most of the talking, telling his stories and I would just listen.  But there was one thing different this time.  He brought up something he was reading in the Bible.  I don’t even remember what it was, even though I really wish I could.  But it did surprise me.

Then the day came.  It was the same day my father-in-law passed away.  We had finished all the things we needed to do at the funeral home when I got the call from my mom.  She told me, “Lance is dead, he killed himself.”  The news was shocking.  I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised.  I just couldn’t believe this was all happening.  To realize that it is just my parents and me now is hard.  And even harder is to realize that when something happens to my parents I will be alone with no sibling to go through that sorrow with me.  Despite all his problems, I loved him and he will be missed.  All my dreams and desires to be really close to him are no longer possible but he is at rest with no more heartache and sorrow for which I am grateful.

I know that there are people who would say, “Well there is no hope for his salvation because he killed himself.”  My take is a little different and that is why I am grateful that God is the judge.  I didn’t know his heart.  God takes all things into account and I am going to trust Him with the decision.  At all appearances, even to me, it doesn’t seem possible but only God knows.  And He is a just and merciful judge.  There are those that heaven wouldn’t be a place where they could be happy and God knows who they are.

Dear Father,

I know You were there with my brother in his last hours.  You knew his heart and I leave him to You.  Thank You for Your love and Your mercy.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Stay in touch with those you love.  You never know when it could be your or their last day.  And if you have not given your heart to Jesus, do it today without delay.

Love you all.

Did you know Lance?  Do you have a memory to share?  Please share below I would love to hear some good memories.

 

“A Tribute to My Father-in-law”

Closeness!

How close are you to your father-in-law?  I imagine there are varying degrees of closeness to a father-in-law.  Some are very close, others not so close, while still others can’t stand to be around their father-in-law.  But however close you may feel or have felt toward your Father-in-law they are human beings that deserve to be treated with love, respect, and honor.

Meeting

When I first met my husband he had a real struggle with his father.  There were ways that my husband was treated growing up that caused him to struggle.  He did not want to have a whole lot of contact with him.  I encouraged my husband in forgiveness.  In time he did process through some things.  As he processed through things he started to remember the good times.  Sometimes we get so caught up in the bad that someone has done we miss out on the good.  One thing that he remembers was about when his father would give him a spanking.  Afterward, his dad would hold him in his arms for a few minutes and then go into the bathroom and wash his face with cold water.  So the first meeting I had was through the words and experiences of my husband.

Not many of my husband’s family were able to come to our wedding.  Most of his family was in Minnesota.  After we were married for a while, we went to visit.  My father-in-law seemed nice enough but I definitely noticed that he did not know how to love.  But for me, I could see through the reasons.  It is easier if we are not emotionally attached to someone to see passed what he or she seems to be.  I recognized that he had never learned to love.  How does a person learn to love if it has never been demonstrated to them?  He didn’t know how to hug you, say I love you, or show any compassion.

Moving

18 years ago Dad Rittenour went through a divorce and ended up moving from Minnesota to North Idaho where we live.  He came and lived with us for a time.  For a time he dealt with depression that took him in and out of the hospital.  I remember once, in the middle of the night, him coming into the house falling apart.  My husband, who at the time had not really learned to love either, did not have a clue what to do.  I am so grateful for my upbringing with loving parents, I was able to show my father-in-law love that he had never experienced growing up.  I held him in my arms and began to pray.  And within a short time, he was calmed and went back to bed.

Organized

There is one thing that my father-in-law was good at and that was being organized.  He helped out around my husband’s cabinet shop.  Every day he would go to the shop and tinker around organizing.  He would separate everything into containers.  At the time, baby wipes came in nice plastic containers.  He would take everyone that became empty and use them to help him organize.  He would use old peanut butter containers, coffee containers, or whatever he could find.  It was definitely a blessing for his son, my husband, Kent.  He never had to worry about his shop being kept clean.

His Organization skills never changed with his independence.  He finally got his own apartment.  And I can say not many men would keep their house like he did.  Even though his heart was weak he still would keep things organized.

Once he was unable to live on his own and moved to a care facility, Life Care, he still constantly was organizing his room.  He was never quite satisfied with the way things were.  I would go to visit him and where something once was it no longer was there but somewhere else.

Memories

I don’t remember how long he had been living with us when this happened but it was not long.  Our son, Aaron, was such a chatterbox.  One day while sitting at the table eating Dad quietly pulled a quarter out of his pocket and laid it on the table.  He let it sit there for a little bit. Then he pushed it toward Aaron and said, “If you are quiet the rest of this meal I will give you this quarter.”  Aaron stayed quiet and earned the quarter.  The chatterbox ability has led Aaron to many great things now that he is older.

Our son Aaron also loved Grandpa’s little red Ford Aspire car.  He told Grandpa one day that he wanted to buy it from him.  Grandpa told him if he filled a 5-gallon bucket with coins he could have it, of course, he never did it.  But years later when Grandpa wanted to sell his car, Aaron did end up buying it.  Then our oldest son, Jeffrey bought it from Aaron, and now our son Caleb has it.  It is still within the family.  It has gone over many mechanical changes but is still running.

Our son Caleb remembers riding in the little red car with Uncle Tim as Grandpa was going to Uncle Curt and Aunt Colleen’s home.  There was more than one way to get to their home and Grandpa had the way he liked to go.  He said to Caleb, “Your parents don’t like to come this way because of all the deer but I have deer whistles on my car.”  He really believed in the deer whistles and I would have to agree with him.  They really work.

Dad was a smoker.  He had smoked for many years and even had to physically retire in his fifties.  Our children didn’t want Grandpa to die and they knew that the cigarettes were killing him.  So one day they took a carton of cigarettes and hid them.  If I am remembering correctly they buried them.  Of course, when I found out I made them give them back.  Grandpa never knew.  I commended them for their desire to help Grandpa but this is Grandpa’s choice.  He did finally give up his smoking in November 2010.

I remember how Dad would love it when our daughter, Rebekah Lee, who was somewhere around one or two, would feed him.  She would go over and pick up the spoon that was in his tea or coffee cup and give it to him a spoonful at a time.

Our son Michael loved to make things for Grandpa.  He would pick out something that he thought Grandpa would like and make it on the scroll saw.  When he was 11 he made one that Grandpa just loved.  So many times, that I can’t count, he would say to me how much he liked it and couldn’t believe that Michael had made it.

Dad lived in his own place for a while but things started to change.  He couldn’t do all the things he once did and it became apparent that he shouldn’t be driving anymore.  He had been a truck driver for so many years that the thought of him not being able to drive seemed devastating.  Whenever he would talk about the past, trucking was brought up quite often.  Even though he did other jobs through his life trucking was by far his favorite job.

I remember the day that I went to take away his keys.  It was not easy to do.  I let him know how much I loved him and because of that love, I was taking away his keys.  He didn’t show any anger toward me but I knew that it was there.  The frustration for him must have been enormous.  He had been so independent all his life and to lose that was so hard.  I don’t believe he ever got his keys back from that point on.

There are so many memories that I could share that it is hard to pick and choose and to remember them.  I know it was not too long after he lost his driving ability that he ended up in the care facility.  He fell and broke ribs and ended up in Life Care Post Falls, Idaho.  And shortly after that he fell and broke his hip.  He declined at that point and never did end up living on his own again.

I remember helping Dad go through his things at his apartment.  It took time to go through things and help him pack up everything.  He had softened to the point that he really realized that he had not been the father he should have been.  He shared how he loved his boys and he hoped that they could love him but he understood if they couldn’t.  It made me realize that he probably lived with a lot of guilt.  A few tears were shed that day.

I wish I could remember the day that he first said I love you.  We all just showed him so much love that changes started to take place.  They were slow but we could definitely see it.  And then there was the day that he actually initiated I love you.  That was amazing!

I became the one to be involved in his health care.  Each doctors’ appointment he had I went with him and stayed closely connected with what was happening with his health.  I became a listening ear for him.  If he was having a bad day or was frustrated he would call.  I would listen, encourage and at times pray with him.  It was a growing experience in my life.  I learned to love no matter what he said or how he said it.  I learned to love him despite at times his anger for my stand.  He felt that unconditional love and care that I gave him.

It meant a lot to me that he called me his “guardian angel.”  I never thought of it that way but I did advocate for him many of times and his life was spared.  I know that there are many others in his family that would have done for him as I did if they would have been able to do so, but time and distance was a barrier.  I feel so privileged to have been able to take part in his care.

While he was at Life Care he loved to play Bingo, it was his favorite game.  When he played and would win he could pick from a box of things.  There were a lot of knickknacks and other things as well.  He would pick out what he thought I would like and when I would go to see him he would have bags of things for me to take home.

He let me know that his son, Kent needed to build me a curio cabinet for all the knickknacks he was giving me.  I know that he gave them out of love for all the things that I was doing for him.  I did not have room for all the things so I kept out some and then packed everything in boxes.  My husband, Kent, could have filled all my walls with curio cabinets and there still would not have been enough.  He also showered our daughter with stuffed animals until she was overwhelmed.  But then great-grandchildren came along and he shared the blessing with them, of which she was grateful.   I did not feel right getting rid of all the gifts because they were gifts from his heart.  I told Kent that I would keep them until he passed away.  Who would have known that he would have lived so long?  He amazed so many people.  Even the doctors and nurses would say, “He has more lives than a cat.”  So I have many, many, many boxes of gifts.

Another thing that he told me multiple times is, “Kent better hang on to you and treat you right, you’re a keeper.”

Dad became very faithful about reading his Bible.  (A side note.  He was very particular about what Bible he read; it had to be a KJV.  He felt the other Bibles had been tampered with and could not be trusted).  In all his years he had never read his Bible through.  There were certain books or verses that he would read but he had never read through the Bible.  So as he read through his Bible he would call me.  He would have questions about some things that he read or he would share excitedly about something that he had learned.  The excitement in his voice about what he was learning was priceless.

The best memory

One of my best memories took place a couple of months ago or so.  He wasn’t doing well so I was stepping up my visits.  I was leaving for work over an hour earlier so I could go see him before going to work at 8 am.  One morning when I was there he started to talk about God.  The tears started to flow as he shared.  “Every time I think of what Jesus has done for me, it amazes me.  He loves me so much.”  He said more but words cannot express it.  But the tears flowed freely.

Dad also became very bold in his faith.  He wanted to tell others about the love of Jesus.  He told me that he believed the Lord was keeping him alive so that he could tell others about Him.  He felt his place in Life Care was to be a witness.  He may not always have been tactful but he certainly was bold.  At the last when he wanted to see a couple of specialists, he asked one doctor,  “Are you a Christian?”  When the doctor replied yes he said, “Good!”  The doctor did not have good news for him.  He told him there was nothing he could do for him.  Dad responded, “I knew that would probably be the answer.  But because you are a Christian I will see you again in heaven, right?”  The doctor replied, “yes.’  And again Dad said, “Good!”

Prayer

He loved it when I would have prayer with him, especially when he was having a hard time.  He never asked me to pray for him but when I said I was going to pray he was so grateful.

He was very particular about how prayer was done.  He made it clear to me earlier on that it bothered him when people would say, “Dear Jesus.”  He told me that we are supposed to pray to the Father in Jesus Name.  So I would pray, “Dear Heavenly Father…In Jesus Name, Amen.”

There were a few times when I was done praying that he would pray.  When I was through praying he would often say, “Thank You, Jesus,” especially when he was having a tough time.

His last words to me

I visited him the last Thursday before he died.  It was suppertime so I asked him if he wanted me to take him down to supper.  With much difficulty, he responded yes.  Even though he could hardly speak he still had his routine.  I knew his routine by heart. So when he was trying to tell me what he needed but could not quite get the words out, I helped him.  He wanted his light tucked on one side of him, his box of tissues on the other, his black Sharpie in his shirt pocket, a straw and his pair of scissors.

When we got to the dining hall he couldn’t even do his usual routine.  He was usually so particular about how his table was set up but this time he had no energy for it.  I read the menu for him and asked him what he wanted.  He wanted mashed potatoes with gravy and Italian dressing, which wasn’t even on the menu.  When he ordered drinks he ordered two apricot nectar, a V-8 juice, and ice water with lots of ice.  He didn’t even order a cup of coffee, which is unusual.

When the food came I fed him his mashed potatoes, which he ate little of and he drank a little apricot nectar and some water.  At that point, he was ready to go back to his room.

His son, Kent, my husband, showed up at that point and he spent a little time with him while I talked with a CNA, Teresa.  She cared for him a lot and had tears in her eyes as we talked.

Before we left that night I had prayer with Dad.  My prayer was different this time.  I usually asked for healing but this time it just didn’t seem fitting.  I asked for Jesus’ arms to be around him and to give him courage.  I told him I loved him and that I was going to get some extra help in for him and he said, “Good.”  Hospice was coming in by Monday but he passed away before they came.

Goodbye, Dad.

He will be missed but I am grateful for the resurrection.  The next thing that he will see is Jesus coming in the clouds and what a glorious day that will be.  He will be full of health and vigor.  I, as well as all of his family, are looking forward to that day so that we can be reunited with him.

Dear Heavenly Father,

We long for the coming of Your Son, Jesus.  We know it is soon.  Help us all to be ready.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

If Dad were here today he would ask you, “Have you given your heart to Jesus?”  If you haven’t given your heart to Jesus do it today without delay.

Love you all.

Do you know Don?  If so share a memory below about him.  You may not have known him but if you have words of encouragement or wisdom feel free to share.

 

“Mommy, Wait, Mommy Wait!!”

Wait!

Remember back when you were a kid?  For some of us that is a lot farther back than others.  Remember how you would be almost running along to try and keep up with your mom, whose legs may have been two to three times longer than your own?  At times it may have seemed that mom was oblivious that we were even behind her.  But the reality is, she always knew we were there.  You probably remember the times where she would tell you to quit doing something and she hadn’t even turned her head to look at you.  It was like she had eyes on the back of her head.  I don’t know about you but there were times that I would say, “Mommy, wait, Mommy, wait.”  There was this fear that she would leave me behind.  But, of course, it was unfounded fear because my mom would never have left me behind.

Moms

We live in a world where there are moms that are not really moms but I am not going to address them here.  But what I am going to talk about is how moms should be and most of them are.

Being a mom myself, I realize the heart of a mom.  Once you are a mom life is never the same.  Everything about you is different, body shape, vitality, sleep, worry, love, etc.  When you have little ones and all the care it takes the thought is when they get older I will get some relief.  This is far from the truth but I guess it helps you get through the earlier years.  Even when we were young we wanted to get older because we thought life would get better.  Our perceptions are so wrong.

Then my children started getting older.  Worry set in even more.  They start to make some of their own choices, which are not always what we want for them as a parent.  Moms have to pray a lot.  And, unfortunately, we worry.  It seems to be our job to worry but God does not want us to worry.  He wants us to give our children to Him and pray daily, hourly, moment-by-moment for them.  Praying moms have been what has brought many a son or daughter back to Jesus.  Even if our children are compliant, compliance doesn’t bring salvation.  Compliance that is from a heart of love for God and a connection with Him is what brings about salvation.  We need to pray daily that our children gain that connection with Him that will bring about salvation.

Nature

I was away from home for a weekend and where I was staying they had a large beautiful yard.  Each of the three mornings I was there I would look out the window in the morning and see this family of quail.  The momma quail was running around eating and behind her was her brood.  There was a lot of them.  But the amazing part is that no matter where momma went they were following her.  She was going so fast they had to run to keep up.  It was so cute.  I imagined them saying with their little peeps, “Mommy, wait, Mommy, wait!”

The other thing that I realized, as I pondered what was happening, is the father quail.  He was the keeper of the gate, the watchtower, and the protector from the evils that surrounded them.  He was keeping the predators away.  The mother was not worried about the outside “world.”  She was fully concentrated on her children.  God shows his plan for the family, even through nature.  There has been many a worried mom because they don’t have the protection of a spiritual father.  They could be a single mom, living with a husband who is not a Christian, or living with a husband that is a “Christian” but has not taken up his duty as the spiritual protector and leader.  This can mean more worry for a mom and prayer becomes even more valuable.

God’s plan

I think God’s plan was for a mother to be able to be home with her children.  She was supposed to be the first teacher that they had.  She was to guide their minds toward God and teach them His ways.  But unfortunately, many mothers have to work.  Whether a single mom or a family that cannot financially make it on one income, it is the reality of the age in which we live.  Many children spend more time in daycare than with their parents.  Or once the children are legally old enough they are home alone.  This is a very sad fact.

The plan for the husband and father is to be the spiritual protector from all the things of this world that can trickle into our lives.  I had a father that did this and it was such a blessing.  Many fathers today are not the protector.  They either don’t have the backbone to stand up and do their duty, they have lack of knowledge to know how, or they love the things they love and don’t want to give up what they want to protect their families.

The things of this world can be so attractive.  And the thought may be, “Oh this is not so bad.”  What I like to call it is a creeping compromise.  A good example for me is the television.  How many people, back when television first started, would have accepted what is on television today?  I believe they would have thrown it out in a second.  But that is not how the devil works.  He starts things out as mostly good and maybe a little bad but it is so little people don’t pick up on it.  The things of today, that would not have been acceptable then, are accepted by the majority now.  That is how creeping compromise works.  We have to examine our lives to be sure that creeping compromise has not entered there.

Unfortunately,  we do not live in a perfect world and fathers and/or mothers may not be doing their part.  As a mother, you can do your part all you want and the Lord will help you but if the father is not doing his part it can destroy the family.  It doesn’t mean God is not working or He is giving up but He also gives freedom of choice.  And when compromise happens it is very difficult to gain back the ground you lost.

Dear Father,

The world in which we live is so worrisome.  I know we need to leave all our worries with You.  But Lord it is so hard.  We ask for Your love and grace to come and work in and through us.  Forgive us for compromises that we have made.  I pray that each mother and father will take up their duty with Your help and courage.  Give us strength and endurance to run the race that is set before us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

Make a stand today to be the father and mother that God has intended for you to be.

Love you all.

I would love to hear your nature lesson.