Archives

Be a Blessing

Apr4

Yesterday, in what to me was a very simple gesture, I had the opportunity to be a blessing to two friends by 20120404-112624.jpg providing them with dinner at their office before they came to lead a Marriage Oneness group David and I attended. They’ve been working extremely hard on a huge event coming up next week, and they weren’t going to be able to go home before coming to lead us. I had a big container of leftover soup; they had a need for a meal. It was a simple blessing, but an encouragement to them.

Galatians 6:10 says, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (NIV).
Going out for a meal? Be a blessing to your server by leaving a generous tip and a kind “thank you.”
At the grocery store? Speak kindly to the cashier. Engage them in conversation.
Know of a widow or single mom who needs work done around their house? Offer to help.
Being a blessing doesn’t need to be something huge; sometimes just a kind word is a blessing to someone who doesn’t hear such things very often.
Who can you bless today?
Thankful today for:
166. Jesus’ death on the cross for my sins
167. The encouragement of my students’ moms
168. My husband’s love for our kids

Out of Control

Apr2

I think I just figured out what fear is: being out of control. When I enter a situation that is not familiar to me; when I face something I’ve never faced before; when I’m uncertain whether the outcome of something is going to be good or bad.

Faith is the peace that comes from knowing that He who is familiar with, yea even made, all things, has faced every situation and knows exactly what the outcome is going to be is right there by my side, holding me close.

I need to be out of control so that He can be in control. Boy, is that uncomfortable for me. And the only way for it to become more comfortable is for me to do it more often.

Do I trust Him or not?

Thankful today for:
157. Ministry partners
158. Indoor plumbing
159. Two more months until summer break
160. Our anticipated annual Easter gathering
161. The pool being ready for baptisms again
162. Ice

Going Out on a Broken Limb

Mar29

I was listening to a conversation between my husband and his mom tonight as she continues to try to figure out why she fell so hard to the colds that were running around our house, and why it’s taking her so long to get her strength back. Her bottom line? She went  out on a limb, going beyond what God had called her to do, and that limb broke beneath her.

If we feel overwhelmed, it’s not because God made us so; it’s because we’re not giving Him the burden, or it’s because, like my mother-in-law, we’ve taken on things we had no business taking on.

“Oh, but I love doing things for other people!” You might say. And doing things for other people is a good thing. But there are a lot of people out there who need things done for them. Does that mean you have to do it all?

“But God has given me the gift of (fill in the blank),” you might say. “I’m not fully using the gift He gave me if I don’t do (fill in the blank).”

But, but, but. We can always come up with good reasons to do the good things that we do. My mother-in-law is a piano teacher. Teaching kids how to make music is certainly not a bad thing. Nobody would say it was.

Bottom line, though, is that it was for freedom that Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1); not for slavery to “good deeds.” He sets the boundaries, He makes the calls, He directs our steps. We’ve got to ask Him what He wants and then listen to the response. If we don’t, we risk burnout.

Just ask my mother-in-law. She’s knows how that feels. And it doesn’t feel very good.

Thankful today for:

148. the beach

149. aloe

150. ibuprofen

Off and Running

Mar28

I teach second grade. That means that I have charge of 10 7- and -8-year-olds for about four and a half hours each day that I teach.

One of the wonderful things about our school is that we take a lot of field trips. Recently, I and two chaperones took my brood to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse as we were wrapping up our study of U.S. sites and symbols.

In their enthusiasm to see everything, the kids wanted to run on ahead and get to the next place first, ahead of everyone else. Problem was, they didn’t know where they were going. Many, many times during our time there, I had to call out and say, “Wait a minute! Come back here! We’re not going that way! Wait for me!” Or something to that effect.

How much easier would it have been if they had just stayed with me and seen all that I wanted them to see? Considering I was fighting a virus and had very little voice that day, it sure would have been easier on me.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust int he Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Aren’t we just like second graders, wanting to run ahead in our enthusiasm to see what there is to see? But in the process, we can miss what God is wanting to show us. We’d accomplish a lot more if we’d take His hand and walk by His side.

Thankful today for:

145. Rosie

146. Lessons in the little things

147. TheCity (our youth ministry. See TheCityStudents.com)

Sink or Swim

Mar27

This is Zoey. Isn’t she adorable? She’s the 4-month-old lab mix that our friends brought over for a playdate with Berkeley. The point was to give her a little socialization, and to give her a chance to try swimming for the first time. On both counts, Zoey was a little hesitant. OK, a lot hesitant. Although she eventually warmed up to big ol’ boisterous Berkeley, she didn’t want anything to do with the pool. Now, Zoey is a lab mix. She’s got webbed feet. She was made to swim. She just doesn’t know it yet.

And then there’s Berkeley. He lives with a pool. He’s been swimming many, many times. He loves it. And he’s four years old, not months, like Zoey. She’s still a baby. She doesn’t know how much fun it is.This is Berkeley, without hesitation taking a leaping dive into the pool after his beloved ball. He knows what he was built for: to play ball, and to swim, and to bark at whatever passes within 100 feet of our property.

Zoey has yet to learn these things. But I’m confident that she will, if she’s exposed to water enough. We put her in the water and she immediately began to dog paddle. Her children were surprised by that, but I showed them her webbed feet and told them that this is what she was made for, even though she was mortally afraid.

How often are we afraid to take that leap and do what God has designed us for?

The Bible says, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).

If God has called you to do something, He will completely equip you to carry it out–with His help. He doesn’t just toss you in to sink or swim. He’s there to uphold you, to teach you, to guide you every step of the way.

Go ahead, take a leap of faith.

Thankful today for:

143. haircuts

144. people who know more than I do

145. fans