Dec 14, 2015 | Living Well
These pessimistic words were rudely pronounced when I informed a friend that a lifetime 
neighbor had died. He was number two. My mother’s passing the week before was number one. The implication was that someone we know is going to die soon. And someone probably will.
How can these prophetic words not be true? I know many older people who are not very healthy. Winter is especially hazardous for them with slippery walkways, flu, and pneumonia threatening. If we include all kinds of bad luck, I can say that the prophecy has already been fulfilled. The recent rains have made a mess of the construction site where we are trying to build a shop. Construction is hopelessly behind schedule.
Beyond the fact that such negative sayings do nothing to help anyone deal with life’s challenges, I do not consider any of these things as negatives. My mother was a spunky ninety-year-old and lived an active life until her last week. Mom declared in no uncertain terms that she did not want to lay around in bed waiting to die. She was granted this desire because she was only incapacitated for eight days before she passed from this life to her eternal residence in Heaven. Our neighbor was ninety-one, and he passed in his sleep. He was still living at home with daily visits from local family. His extended family loved him deeply. He lived a God-blessed life. As for the rain, we did not want it at this time, but I will never complain about rain when crops need moisture and ponds are not completely full.
How we see things is our choice. I choose to not let my thinking be controlled by the old saying about bad things coming in threes. That is man’s fatalistic thinking. The recent events may be challenging, but it takes very little effort to see how God is working in each of the “bad” situations to bring good things to those who choose to see His work around them.
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
Mar 17, 2015 | Living Well
“I am a good person. I cannot think of any sins I need to confess to God. I do not do anything wrong—not really. I am better than most people that I know. I believe there is a God. That is good enough.”
These words are not ones I hear from others. They are mine. Too often they invade my mind after I have finished some meaningful Christian activity. What is wrong with me?
Yesterday I purchased some huge strawberries. I could not wait to bite into the juicy fruit. But when I took a bite, the strawberry was dry and pithy inside. It had deceived me. On the exterior it looked red and juicy. On the inside it was hollow and pithy. It had been grown to deceive. It had been overly fertilized so it would grow to enormous size quickly—leaving the center hollow and white.
The strawberries I grow in my garden are smaller, but they are solid fruit–juicy and red throughout. They are lovingly grown—weeded, watered, and fertilized—to produce nutritious, tasty fruit.
Is your spiritual life like the overly-fertilized, fast-growing, but hollow in the center commercially grown strawberry. Or have you carefully tended to your spiritual growth through frequent prayer, daily Bible study, and regular worship of God?
What is your core like? Be truthful with yourself. God knows your true heart. Self-deceptive, half-hearted worship robs you and me of the true joy of living for our Lord.
I desire to be a fruity to the core Christian. Do you?
Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in his ways. Psalms 119:2
Feb 20, 2015 | Living Well
Clara did not sit in her regular pew. It was too painful to be that close to Susan. The wound of the hurtful words was still too fresh. Clara did not want any contact with her and thought it possible to manage avoiding Susan by sitting on the opposite side of the sanctuary.
Susan rushed in late and sat in the first empty pew she saw. It was two pews down and directly in front of Clara.
Clara’s anger rekindled. How dare Susan be so blatantly insensitive to her hurt feelings? When Clara drug her attention off Susan to the church service, she heard the pastor reading Luke 23:34.
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
How did Jesus do that? But he could because he was Jesus. No normal person would be able to forgive that brutality. Susan blatantly hurt me. I do not want to ever see her again. Thoughts excusing her lack of forgiveness toward Susan wallowed in Clara’s mind.
Then the pastor explained that the Greek tense used in this passage meant that Jesus had said the words repeatedly. He probably uttered these words when wrongful accusations were made, when he was spat on, when they beat him, when they pushed the crown of thorns on his head, when they mocked him. During each insulting and physically painful event, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do.”
Clara prayed, “Lord, forgive me for I do not realize my sin. Give me a forgiving heart toward Susan. Use me as a witness of your love. Create in me a forgiving heart.”
After the service, Clara humbly approached Susan. “Susan, I am so sorry for what happened. Please forgive me.”
They tentatively mended the relationship rift. It would take some time to completely heal.
Feb 18, 2015 | Living Well
My mother-in-law’s birthday was only a couple of weeks away. As to what to give her, I was clueless. She was an invalid. What do you buy such a person for a birthday present to make them feel special? Clothes were too utilitarian. Most of the gift ideas I had used in the past were useless stuff at this point.
During one long night sitting in the recliner monitoring her as she slept, I was thumbing through a catalog. There it was. A darling stuffed duck. She loved things like that. Just maybe she could find pleasure in holding it or looking at it. Best of all, it would sing a song when the battery was installed.
At her birthday celebration, my mother-in-law smiled as we pulled the duck from the gift sack. But when the duck’s hand was squeezed, her eyes lit up. She sat up straight, threw her head back and started moving her head back and forth the to rhythm of the music. Each time the duck sang, “You are my sunshine,” she sang too. Everyone laughed. And she laughed.
From that time on, whenever she saw the duck, she’d motion for us to start it singing. As she sang, my mother-in-law would look at her family with a gleam in her eye. She loved us.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.… So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love . 1 Corinthians 13:7, 13
Feb 11, 2015 | Living Well
Ray and I have been married almost forty-eight years. Here are five ways we nourish our love.
- Vacuuming the floors while I clean the toilets: He does the household chore I hate while I do the chore he hates.
- Cooking healthy meals: Ray loves to eat. My efforts in the kitchen are rewarded when he cleans up the kitchen after I have made a cooking mess. This is his way of telling me that he recognizes the time and effort it takes to make things from scratch because we are protecting our health.
- Saying I am proud of you: Ray uses this expression seldom but in timely, surprising ways. Yesterday he said, “I am proud of you for taking care of your health.”
- Having fun together in non-flashy ways: One of our favorite activities is going on walks. Sharing that day’s experiences, talking over plans, expressing dreams, and enjoying nature during our walks have all strengthened our love more than I thought possible. After all, it is just a walk. But there is something special about light exercise and being together.
- Being in the same room: Ray loves being able to look up from what he is doing and seeing me go about life. I may be across the room reading a book, pressing a shirt, or sitting on a deck chair watching the birds. He enjoys having me around.
- Making coffee and keeping my cup full: When I appear each morning to do my Bible study, Ray brings me a cup of coffee and refills it until he leaves for work. I feel pampered.
We have learned that enduring love is expressed through everyday activities.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
Feb 9, 2015 | Living Well
The love month is here and so is the pressure to show our sweethearts in some special way that we love them. Some of the popular, trivialized, media promoted ways to say love are flops.
#1—Love is not chocolates. I love like chocolate a lot. A quality piece of chocolate is fabulous, but a big box of it makes me fat.
#2—Love is not a dozen roses. I love like deep red roses, but they wilt.
#3—Love is not a beautiful piece of jewelry. I love like a gorgeous necklace. Beautiful jewelry makes me smile until I lose a stone or break the chain.
#4—Love is not a gigantic teddy bear. Gag me with a spoon! How high schoolish?
#5—Love is not a sexy pajama set. Sex is wonderful, but my husband better not make me feel like a sex object.
#6—Love is NOT “never having to say you are sorry.” This quote from the very popular 1970 movie Love Story is absolutely false. True love is making an appropriately timed, heart-felt apology. It validates my feelings and needs.
So what is love? Love is perfectly described in 1 Corinthians 13:7-8. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.”
Receiving any one of the above items, except the gigantic teddy bear, from my dear husband for Valentine’s Day would be a welcome expression of love because he demonstrates a deep love for me every day of the year no matter the circumstances.
neighbor had died. He was number two. My mother’s passing the week before was number one. The implication was that someone we know is going to die soon. And someone probably will.
