Mother’s Day is a mixed bag, sheer joy for some, loneliness for others, downright depressing for many.
The new mom is ecstatic.
The woman with empty arms is dreading going to church.
The mom of the senior in high school is beginning to mourn (or celebrate) depending on her personality.
The lady with kids far away is wondering if she’ll hear from them.
The single woman with no children feels awkward when the moms are acknowledged in the church service. This day is all about women – but where does she fit in?
The frail frame of the one in the nursing home bed longs for a family touch and conversation.
The single mom may be struggling to make ends meet and to be both dad and mom, while feeling abandoned and longing for more.
The wife with a house full of kids is thrilled to have a day that Dad and the kids will cook and clean where she can put her feet up.
The pregnant woman is waiting with anticipation for the day she will have that babe in her arms, or else she’s living in fear of another miscarriage.
The single CEO is proud of what she’s accomplished, but reminded again of what she doesn’t have.
The empty-nester is looking back wistfully on those precious memories.
The first time grandma’s are some of the most thrilled of all.
On this gorgeous Lord’s Day, may we women encourage one another wherever we are and whoever the women are around us. Hug someone today! Love unconditionally! See every woman you meet as one in need of your blessing today!
It’s that time of year again! You know what I mean. School is winding down, but the kid’s ministry at church is gearing up. The Big Week is just around the corner – that life-changing time for kids in our communities. Crafts are being dreamed up and inflatables reserved. What is it?
But possibly when you see those letters, VBS, all you can see is a Very Busy Season. You think of all there is to do before the end of the school year, and you just want to rest when it’s over. Or you think of the challenge ahead this summer – keeping the kids entertained so you don’t hear continuous whining and fighting. Perhaps you’re in the heat of planning a family trip, getting ready for a wedding celebration, or transitioning a graduating senior to college. Even if it is something more constant like a demanding job, being a caregiver, or fighting a terminal disease, many of us can only see the busy-ness at this time of year.
Whatever season you are in at the moment, I challenge you to get a VBS mindset! VBS is the Vital Business of our Savior! This concentrated time of teaching, prayer, and fun, is crucial for the spiritual life of our children. Those who are in lonely and broken situations will be able to experience the love and acceptance of the Father through the hands of those VBS workers. The hurt and wounded will hear stories of God’s healing and redemption of any situation. Hope is given to the heart of many a child during VBS.
But most importantly, this is an opportunity for each child to come into a saving relationship with his/her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. How are we to know but what this may be their only exposure to the Gospel. It’s time for us to jump in on this Vital Business of the Savior: teaching, praying, giving, setting up, baby-sitting for the leaders as they prepare, donating supplies, making things, studying the lessons to teach, planning the fun!
Over the next few months we would be so grateful to be there to receive answers, healing, and life-saving treatment.
I would love to tell you that I handled the physician’s diagnosis that day with faith, totally depending on God, but that wouldn’t be true. My first reaction to this news was fear. I danced with denial, tried to brush off reality, but finally came up against a wall in a hematology office. Cold fear gripped me so much that it was a physical sensation down in the depths of my stomach. I lived for weeks with fear as my constant sidekick. I cried. I prayed desperate prayers. I freaked out to any friend who would listen. I lay awake in the night staring at my sweet husband trying to memorize his face in case he died. I kept going to church regularly, sitting in the back weeping the whole service. But sadly, what I did not do was I did not choose the path of faith right away. Over those months I learned that when we can’t see what lies ahead we have a choice to make: to walk by faith or by fear.
After that day we faced chemo, neutropenic fever, hospital stays, bone marrow biopsies, blood tests, isolation rooms, doctor visits and all the other not-so-fun things that go with cancer treatment. It was a long, tiring, often emotional journey. But we learned what mattered in life and what didn’t. We learned to walk by faith, not fear. We learned how deeply the Father loved us. We learned that Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for us was our treasure.
Rejoice and rejoice some more! Always. Not in our circumstances, but in the Lord.
Set it as your screen saver or lock screen on your computer or phone.
Within the oversized greenhouse, conditions mimicked those of earth. One unanticipated thing researchers found was that the lack of wind within the enclosure had a negative effect on trees. Trees in the biosphere couldn’t reach maturity because of the lack of wind! If trees didn’t have wind, they wouldn’t develop the inner strength of the wood to grow to maturity. While we think of hurricanes, tornadoes, and violent winds as destructive things, wind can also be very important in the life of a tree. There are several ways wind helps trees.
hereas a single tree growing in the open tends to be most apt to withstand winds. Most likely this is because the forest trees are sheltered from the force of winds and therefore never have the bending in the everyday blowing winds that cause the growth of stress wood. Thus, these sheltered trees are not strengthened to withstand the winds that will come when the trees around them fall or are removed.
The water was enticing as we walked along the edge of the rain-swelled river and my dog, Scout, wanted to dive right in. She is a Golden Retriever and it is the nature of her breed to want to get in the water and play. Every chance Scout gets, she runs to our neighbor’s pond and takes a harmless dip. This day was different; if I hadn’t kept a tight hold on her leash, she would have been carried away by the rushing waters. She had no sense of the danger of going too far into the water or being swept away, but I was there to protect her and pull her back to safety.
dangerous waters. He is an abiding presence. Unlike Scout, who had a leash around her neck and could be physically pulled back to safety because I was holding on tight, we are given free will. His gentle promptings remind us. We must keep our spiritual ears attuned to him through prayer and reading the word. We must maintain our relationship with the Lord, walking and abiding in Christ so that we may discern the promptings and hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speak to our hearts. We must OBEY his prompting in order to stay in the place of safety in our spiritual lives.
Maybe you have jumped into the rough water and the currents of sin are carrying you further and further from the place you need to be in your relationship with the Lord. One compromise has led to another. REACH OUT! We have an anchor for our soul. A lifeline that is always waiting to rescue us and restore our relationship when we call out for help. Jesus, our blessed Savior and the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. Our companion and help; the very presence of God who is always with us waiting to draw us back into the safety of an unbroken relationship with our savior.
But I’m a mom. And I have four children that I’ve been entrusted by God to raise up as arrows to send out to the battlefield. I’d be a deadbeat in spiritual training if I didn’t equip them with the weapons they will need to be effective warriors for God’s kingdom. If they’re to fight off the kingdom of darkness and walk in the light, they will need the weapons of their warfare, which is the word of God. So, since I can’t neglect teaching them the stories from the Bible or how to use and study the Bible, I also must train them to memorize it, so that the Spirit will be able to use it when they need it.
Second, you need to make time to practice the verse and review old ones. This could be at mealtime, in the car, or at bedtime. Choose a time when it will be easy to remember to practice, and when you can get your hands on the printed verse (with your Bible, or a printable, or even pulled up on your phone). After you introduce a verse, practice it a few times. On the next day, practice your new verse a couple of times and pick an old verse or two or three and review them. Literally, all of this will take 3-5 minutes at most. You’d be surprised, though, what kind of conversations learning new scripture will start! Be alert to opportunities to teach spiritual truths and willing to take an extra couple of minutes to do so. This is the whole reason we are memorizing the Word!
Priceless 