Choices We Make

Today I was struck with the realization that the choices we make will affect at least one other person, and depending on the choice more then one person is affected. 

I am in a current situation where this really hits home for me. I have made a choice that has directly affected another person.  But I also realize that when other people make decisions that affect us, in positive or negative ways, we have the choice of how we will act and what we will do.  Will we choose JOY in the hard times and good?

Old Moccasins my Grandpa used to wear …

For as long as I can remember I haven’t liked the size of my feet.  Maybe because I thought them too large to be considered “ladies” feet a “huge” size 10.  But recently I found reason to like the size of my feet. 

Last month my mother was going through my grandma’s items in my sister’s attic and stumbled across my grandpa Eberly’s moose hide moccasins, and since he has “small” feet (a size 8 mens) they fit me. 

Now I have my own pair of authentic moose hide moccasins, and every time I wear them I think of my Grandpa Eberly, a man I never knew, but have heard much about. I look forward to seeing him in glory!

A Pile of things to do …

There are piles of things here and there in my bedroom … but I lack the DISCIPLINE to DO that needs to be DONE!!

I have found that’s the way it can be spiritually too! A pile of bitterness here.  A pile of anger there.  A pile of immorality hiding under a chair.  and the list could go on and on …

I find it  easy to write about such things but to act takes too much WORK – I “know” what I need to do … but what about doing it?   

It Is Well With My Soul

People have been asking me: "How are you doing?" And I answer, "I'm doing well" – Some may ask, How can you be doing well considering the circumstances?  This is what I came up with …
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. 
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate and hath shed His own blood for my soul. 

It is well with my soul, it is well, it is well with my soul.  

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
And, Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight, the clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, even so,

it is well with my soul!

It Is Well with My Soul - Text: Horatio G. Spafford - Music: Philip P. Bliss

When sorrows like sea billows roll, he who puts his trust in his Heavenly Father can truly say, with the writer of this song:

It is well, it is well with my soul!

This hymn was written by a Chicago lawyer, Horatio G. Spafford. You might think to write a worship song titled, 'It is well with my soul', you would indeed have to be a rich, successful Chicago lawyer. But the words,
"When sorrows like sea billows roll ... It is well with my soul”, were not written during the happiest period of Spafford's life. On the contrary, they came from a man who had suffered almost unimaginable personal tragedy.
Horatio G. Spafford and his wife, Anna, were pretty well-known in 1860’s Chicago. And this was not just because of Horatio's legal career and business endeavors. The Spaffords were also prominent supporters and close friends of D.L. Moody, the famous preacher. In 1870, however, things started to go wrong. The Spaffords' only son was killed by scarlet fever at the age of four. A year later, it was fire rather than fever that struck. Horatio had invested heavily in real estate on the shores of Lake Michigan. In 1871, every one of these holdings was wiped out by the great Chicago Fire.
Aware of the toll that these disasters had taken on the family, Horatio decided to take his wife and four daughters on a holiday to England. And, not only did they need the rest -- DL Moody needed the help. He was traveling around Britain on one of his great evangelistic campaigns. Horatio and Anna planned to join Moody in late 1873. And so, the Spaffords traveled to New York in November, from where they were to catch the French steamer 'Ville de Havre' across the Atlantic. Yet just before they set sail, a last-minute business development forced Horatio to delay. Not wanting to ruin the family holiday, Spafford persuaded his family to go as planned. He would follow on later. With this decided, Anna and her four daughters sailed East to Europe while Spafford
returned West to Chicago. Just nine days later, Spafford received a telegram from his wife in Wales. It read: "Saved alone."
On November 2nd 1873, the 'Ville de Havre' had collided with 'The Lochearn', an English vessel. It sank in only 12 minutes, claiming the lives of 226 people. Anna Spafford had stood bravely on the deck, with her daughters Annie, Maggie, Bessie and Tanetta clinging desperately to her. Her last memory had been of her baby being torn violently from her arms by the force of the waters. Anna was only saved from the fate of her daughters by a plank which floated beneath her unconscious body and propped her up. When the survivors of the wreck had been rescued, Mrs. Spafford's first reaction was one of complete despair. Then she heard a voice speak to her, "You were spared for a purpose." And she immediately recalled the words of a friend, "It's easy to be grateful
and good when you have so much, but take care that you are not a fair-weather friend to God."
Upon hearing the terrible news, Horatio Spafford boarded the next ship out of New York to join his bereaved wife. Bertha Spafford (the fifth daughter of Horatio and Anna born later) explained that during her father's voyage, the captain of the ship had called him to the bridge. "A careful reckoning has been made", he said, "and I believe we are now passing the place where the de Havre was wrecked. The water is three miles deep." Horatio then returned to his cabin and penned the lyrics of his great hymn.
The words which Spafford wrote that day come from 2 Kings 4:26. They echo the response of the Shunammite woman to the sudden death of her only child. Though we are told "her soul is vexed within her", she still
maintains that 'It is well." And Spafford's song reveals a man whose trust in the Lord is as unwavering as hers was.
It would be very difficult for any of us to predict how we would react under circumstances similar to those experienced by the Spaffords. But we do know that the God who sustained them would also be with us.

http://www.biblestudycharts.com/A_Daily_Hymn.html

About a Playhouse

I'm a little playhouse, sized about 8 ft. wide by about 10 ft. long.  Right now I sit in the corner of my owner's backyard, I'm painted a pale pink, but my original color was barn red.  I was given to my two owners, Sara and Julia, on Christmas Day about 22 years ago, and have been played in by two generations.  Originally, along with my barn red color, I had clear Plexiglas windows and a swinging dutch door.  I was a real beauty.  Handcrafted by their older brother Douglas.  

Through the years the girls would play within my walls, sometimes the both of them, other times just one - if I was lucky they would have friends over.  Oh the laughter I heard.  The pure joy of hearing children play, using their imagination to create "life".  My roof got "fixed" so many times that my shingles started to tear off.  My door got so used that it no longer worked and I had no door at all.  My windows slowly got knocked out, either by a BB gun bullet, or just plain wear and tear.  

After "my girls" were older and didn't play in me near as much, I became a "goat shed" for sick goats with pink eye.  My, did I start to stink!  Then one day one of "my girls" came to the rescue and scraped as much of the dirty manure as she could off my floor.  Once again I became a place for children to play.  Now it was the younger generation.  The nieces and nephews of "my girls".  

I spent a bit of time at the household of "my girls" older sister and got played in by her children, this is the place where I got this lovely shade of pink.  Her husband fixed my roof.  But they soon got a bigger playhouse and I wasn't needed anymore.  

So now, here I am back in the hand of one of my original owners.  Will I get painted my beautiful barn red again?  It would be lovely to have a dutch door again ... and new windows!  I long to be played in again.  To hear the laughter of children.  To see them live out "life" in their imaginative ways.  To me, a playhouse, there is no better way to live.  I hope I may see many more generations playing within my walls!

Isaiah 14:24 - God will accomplish His will in my life ...

The LORD of hosts has sworn saying, 

"Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, 

and just as I have planned so it will stand.  

Isaiah 14:24 (www.biblegateway.com)

This verse has come to mean a lot me the past month.  What an awesome promise!!  

To borrow from a commentary:  John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; as he had shaped and schemed it, and drew the form and image in his own mind, or fixed and settled it there, so should it be done in due time, as every thing is that is determined by the Lord; and this shows that nothing is casual, or comes by chance, but everything as it is purposed of God; and that as everything comes to pass which he has resolved, so every such resolution proceeds from thought, and is the produce of the highest wisdom and prudence:

and as I have purposed, so it shall stand; or "counselled" (l); within himself, for he does all things according to the counsel of his will; and which always stands firm, sure, and unalterable, let what devices soever be in the heart of man.

I know that this verse is smack dab in the middle of a the prophecies concerning the fall of Babylon, or concerning the destruction of the Assyrian monarchy, but the words have spoken into my current life situations.  

What God has intended for my life will come to completion, and what He has planned will stand firm to the end of my life!  God is faithful, His promises are true!!  Now I just need to trust in His unchanging hand!! 

Learning to wait and trust!!

Praying on your Knees - an Altar to the Lord?

This evening at Bible Study I was introduced to a new concept:

"Prayer on your knees is like building an Altar to the Lord" 

- Beth Moore

In the Old Testament you see over and over that an Altar is built to the Lord God, Beth Moore was sharing how God showed her that all altars have four corners, and when we get on our knees there are four corners.  This painted a beautiful picture for me, it also convicted me to the heart! 

How often do I sit when I pray, instead of getting on my knees?  The Muslim community prays 5 times per day, often prostrate on their faces and knees.  I, a follower of Christ, find it hard to find time enough in my day pray ONCE, let alone on my knees, usually sitting "comfortably" in my arm chair. If Muslims can pray 5 times a day to a false god, how much more should I pray to the ONE TRUE GOD??  I heard once of a missionary who had callouses on his knees because if prayer.  What would it take for me to be that kind of prayer warrior?  

Another Quote from the evening:  "When we get down (on our knees), God gets UP!! ("Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: let them also that hate him flee before him." Psalm 68:1)   

O that I would be a person who prays, not just in the comfort of my bed or chair, but down on my knees, humbled before the God who has been so faithful to me in the past.  I know that He will continue to be faithful for my future as well! 

About Staying Home ...

During my day thoughts come to my mind concerning things I want to write about, but rarely do I actually remember what I want to write. Today was one of those exceptions ...


Recently as I've been thinking about my life and things I want to do in my lifetime I have had this overwhelming fear that ... I may never got to fly across the ocean, I may never get to visit Australia, China, Thailand, and other exotic places. Places where family & friends have gotten the chance to visit. I may never take my "dream road trip" that I've always wanted to take. I may never get to serve as a missionary in a foreign land, and experience the reality of living in a culture that I don't know the main language.


It's hard accepting that these things may never happen and I might live the entirety of my life in the US working as a cashier and home health aide, serving in my fellowship of believers (Rockville Mennonite) as a Sunday school teacher, and the closest I may ever get to overseas missions is by praying for my friends who are in those exotic places.

In my mind I "know" that these things (which I'm doing) are just as important in the Kingdom, but my humanness shines through pretty strongly - I WANT to go and see the world, at least see the US of A!!

Oh, if I only had the patience ...

On Being a Slave/Bondservant ...

There I was, sitting in Sunday School on June 13th, 2010. The teacher was teaching from Acts 2, Pentecost and Peter's sermon. He made a comment that made me think very hard, he said "as Christ's slave" and I balked. My first thought was "I'm not a slave, I'm a servant" ... so this lead me to the following study!

Acts 2:18 is translated:
"even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy." (KJV)

and:

"even on my bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of mu Spirit and they shall prophesy." (NASB)

I got to thinking ... "what does that word servant/bondslave mean in Greek? What is the root?

I didn't do an intense study but this is what I came up with:

• The word is δοῦλος (doo'-los) From the root δέω (deh'-o) [which is "A primary verb; to bind (in various applications, literally or figuratively): - bind, be in bonds, knit, tie, wind."]; a slave (literally or figuratively, involuntarily or voluntarily; frequently therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency): - bond (-man), servant.
  
• So this word can have three meanings:

1. A slave bondman, man of servile condition
   
2. Metaphorically, one who gives himself up to another’s will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing his cause among men.
   
3. Devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests

(taken from Thayer's Greek Definitions)

Looking at the context I tend to believe that we are more than a slave, who is bound to his master by demand.

We are ...

• Servants of the Most High God. Redeemed people who have given up our own will to the will of the Father. For the sake of the Kingdom, extending and advancing God's cause among men. Devoted to God, to the disregard of our own interest!

I want to live my life patterned after the LORD Jesus Christ, following the Father's will, and allowing the work of the Holy Spirit in my daily living!

God uses me ... a scary thought!

As I was driving to work this morning a thought came to my mind ...

"God uses me as a reflector of His image to the world around ... despite my failures, or should I say in spite of my many failures!"

This thought should motivate me to "act" more like a Christian ... to act as though I am being watched every moment of every day!

How am I shining His light?

1. In my work place:

• Am I a faithful employee?
• Do I work my hardest?
• Do I honor my employer? - this means no gossip!
• Do I honor my fellow employees? - once again, no gossip!
• Am I sharing my faith to my employer/fellow employees?

2. At Home:

• Am I honoring my parents?
• Do I respect those I live with?
• Am I "pulling" my fair share around the house?

These are just some thoughts that have been running through my head and I figured that I had better write them down before I forget.

I encourage you to, be a LIGHT to the world around you! Live your talk!

I go to write and the words seem to fail me ... there is so much that I want to say ... the past three weekends have been really good for me, here are some snapshots into some of the recent Sunday school lessons and sermons I have heard!

Sunday, April 11, 2010 ~ New Life Assembly of God, Farmville, VA.

A new perspective of the work of Christ, my High Priest:

• Christ stands in the Holy of Holies, ministering, interceeding for us. As the High Priest, Christ keeps us filled with the oil of the Holy Spirit to be a witness of the gospel. It is the Holy Spirit who gives us the boldness to speak in moments when we need to speak, to share the gospel to the world. Without the oil we lose our flame to shine the light of the Gospel. Christ is waiting, like the High Priest in the OT, for vessels to fill with oil (the Holy Spirit) - If you come to Him asking to be filled, He will fill you!
• You should expect Christ to pour out the Holy Spirit - to keep the gospel flame burning.
• It takes FAITH - this is how the kingdom of God is established. Asking, Seeking, and Knocking are the prayers of humility. We need to be PERSISTENT in faith, asking, seeking, & knocking!

Sunday, April 18th, 2010 ~ Rockville Mennonite Church, Honey Brook, PA

Ephesians 5:1-2

• Be imitators of God - Be a mimicker of Abba Father - follow His way.
• Live a life of love in response to God - just as Christ loved us - focus on the needs of others - reach out - show Jesus.
• Jesus said "I have come to do your will" - seek to do God's will.

Sunday, April 25th, 2010 ~ Rockville Mennonite Church, Honey Brook, PA

"Our Human Resistance to Grace

• We resist the grace of God when ... we refuse to forgive those who have "sinned" against us.
• We resist the grace of God when ... other people, who we think are less deserving, receive the same grace we have received.
• the grace of God does not excuse sin, past of present.

What do "grace people" look like?

1. They need to have experienced the grace of God.
2. They do not put confidence in rules or traditions of man, but in the Cross.
3. They make much of the Cross.
4. They are accepting people - non-judgmental
5. They extol the work of the Holy Spirit.
6. They really know how to worship, serve, & obey.
7. They are filled with JOY!

* some of these words are taken directly out of my sermon notes, I hope they make sense!

You have told me LORD,
that You take pleasure in those who fear You,
those who hope in Your mercy.
(Psalm 147:11 personal paraphrase)

So remember me LORD,
give ear to my cries.
In Your faithfulness, through Your righteousness, answer me!

(Psalm 143:1 personal paraphrase)

I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah.
(Psalm 143:6 ESV)

In the morning, show me Your Love,
for in You I put my trust.
Show me the way I should walk,
for to You I lift up my soul.
(Psalm 143:8 personal paraphrase)