 |
|---|
|
|---|
______________ ______________
|
Thursday, September 13, 2007
I try to surprise the kids a few times each school year by showing up at the school and taking them out to lunch. Today was that day. "Get in the car, Babies!" I hollered while we all piled in, excited to explore any road leading from the dullness of same-old-same-old. I passed our friends truck, and gave them a wave yelling, "We'll meet you guys there!" But as I did, I was stopped by her frantic wave urging me to stop. We had an issue, and since my mechanic background is limited to the occasional lift of a hood (once to be exact), we were pretty much stuck. My friend’s key was locked in the ignition. It wouldn't turn over--it wouldn't pull out--it wouldn't do anything but remain where it was. All of the kids were excited to go, but it was obvious that we had a big problem to deal with. It turns out that instead of going to McDonald's as planned, I had to rush through the drive through and get back to the school with food for both families. We ended up sitting together in the kindergarten room while the car with the key remained on the street. It wasn't our ideal lunch date, but it certainly was a road that led from the dullness of same-old-same-old. If I hadn't slowed down to notice, I would have missed my friend completely, who would have then been stranded with three kids and no lunch. This wasn’t a major issue in either of our lives, but it did get me thinking about the major issues that I do pass by. Interruptions are a wonderful gift from God. They're the moments that not only remind us that we're not alone in this world, but also that we have opportunities to serve those around us. Our days are filled with endless opportunities, but too often we rush by, never slowing down enough to take note of a need. One way to change this is to make request in our prayer lives to have an ever-growing desire to serve those in need. Eyes to see what others would miss; ears to hear the cry of ones heart, and hands to hold on to another in pain. “And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” ~ Luke 10:30-37 Labels: Darlene's Articles, service, serving God Leave a comment... 5 Comments Links to this post Our church just finished off another week of vacation Bible school, this year it was known as "Avalanche Ranch." It was time to saddle up the old doggy and send the sheep into the pasture. But it was wonderful while it lasted. I couldn't help but notice the decorations this year, and while I did I wondered who had spent the countless hours putting it all together. The cross with glowing Christmas lights, the forrest of trees, the sherrifs office, the barn, the hay bails, and the wildlife that looked all too life-like for words. It was amazing. What was even more amazing was the dedication that the crew leaders put in each year. Several adults spend their vacation time teaching our children so they will have a lasting reminder that God is alive. And those who don't work full time--stay at home moms like me--are also there doing their thing, or better said--sharing their gift. It takes all kinds of people to make a lasting impact. There's the fun loving bald guy who encourages the children to break down the walls of Jerico, as they charge through the field and grass stain their knees, but there's also the grey haired woman in the kitchen preparing the snack. All working for the glory of God. Outside the walls of "Avalanche Ranch" life is much the same in the family of God. No matter where you are in your life, sister--remember this...God can use your gifts to make a lasting reminder in someone's life. A reminder that God is alive. There's days when we might wonder why we're just a housewife...just a mother...just a friend, but average women might be "just" what God calls us to be, and there's nothing average about being used by the Lord! Whether we're serving at the pulpit, in the kitchen or while tumbling in the grass, we are servants of the Most High King. From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. ~ Ephesians 4:16  Visit me at my personal blog: DarleneSchacht.com Labels: Darlene's Articles, service, serving God Leave a comment... 6 Comments Links to this post
If you have ever read my biography, you know the very first advice I was given after my husband was called to ministry was to "learn to play the piano! Churches will be more likely to ask Luke to be their pastor if you can play the piano!" I did all this because I desperately wanted to be an asset to Luke and a jewel in God's crown. In those early days, my understanding of being worthy had everything to do with meeting other's expectations. Externally, I suppose I was shaping up nicely but on the inside, I was miserable. The challenge to live up to an unwritten code of Preacher Wife conduct was exhilirating as I checked off another issue on my "To Re-Do" list. However, what began as a thrill quickly became a yoke and it wasn't long until I realized I was making everyone happy except me. Please visit my personal blog, The Preacher's Wife. Labels: Insecurities, Lisa's Articles, serving God Leave a comment... 14 Comments Links to this post I had just walked in the door after managing to dodge the heavy rainfall. It felt good to be home--warm and dry. The crazy morning had me on the run, and I was finally ready to sit back, dig into email, and put my painted toes on a chair. The phone rang. In that moment it took to pick up the phone, I made a covenant with myself. It was a quick covenant because the phone only rang two or three times, so I'm guessing that I can talk at record speed in my brain. Whoever is on the phone, I told myself, is going to get my full attention and care. I'm taking this moment out of my life just for them, for in serving others, I'm serving God. It was my teenaged son. "Mom, you probably don't want this call right now, but it's raining, and I wondered if you could pick me up from school. Sorry to bother you." I had a choice to make--either I could lecture this kid on how I just passed his school 15 minutes ago, but didn't stop because he wanted to stay there, or I could stick with the plan, honor the covenant, and be a servant. I stuck with the plan. "Not at all!" I said, "I'd love to pick you up, where are you right now?" I think the boy must have fallen over, which is a long way to go since he's six feet tall, but if so, he managed to pick himself off of the floor to tell me he'd be at the back door of the school in ten minutes. He made apologies when he got in the car about how he should have told me to pick him up in the first place, how he could have taken the bus in the rain, how he would try to come up with a better plan next time... "Don't worry about it," I said, "I'm happy to spend this time with you." And I was. The rain poured down quenching our thirsty land, as the Spirit moved, quenching my thirsty soul. It felt good to be living my purpose. This little covenant, got me thinking... Since I practiced it yesterday, it served as a constant reminder today to put others first, I mean really put them first--by taking that "moment" out of my life to warm someone elses. To be a servant for the Lord. Yesterday is was this ride from the school; today it was patient understanding in miscommunication. And what will you require of me tomorrow Lord? I am your servant. "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." ~ Colossians 3:23, 24 I am a servant, getting ready for my part There's been a change, a rearrangement in my heart At last I'm learning there's no returning once I start To live's a privilege, to love is such an art But I need Your help to start Oh please purify my heart I am Your servant... ~ Larry Norman Visit me at my personal blog: Darlene Schacht dot com :) Labels: Darlene's Articles, Love, service, serving God Leave a comment... 7 Comments Links to this post  Last week I stood on The Great Wall. I never thought I would. In fact, I determined years ago that I wouldn't.As a newly married couple in 1991, my husband and I were sitting in our comfortable twenty-something, "young married's" Sunday School class one Sunday morning, when some visiting missionaries from China spoke. I remember noticing that my husband was becoming increasingly interested as they shared about their ministry in China. I also remember thinking, "No way!" I distinctly told God that day in my heart, "I'll go anywhere you send me, but never China." Why? Because China, to me, represented everything I feared- being on the opposite side of the world, completely away from the "familiar," having to eat food I probably wouldn't like... being totally out of my comfort zone. Furthermore, I never considered myself to have the "gift of evangelism," so the prospect of being about as far away from home as I could imagine, sharing the gospel, made me even more nervous! Nope. Not for me. Long story short- I went. In 2005, I found myself in China on a short term mission trip. It was quite a journey to get there, but by God's grace, He brought me to that point. I remember two years ago climbing, climbing that huge wall, looking out across the vast expanse beyond it... and singing "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God." This year I didn't climb quite as far or sing, but I was reminded that there I stood, once again, in a place I had told God I would never go. That wasn't the first "Great Wall" I'd climbed, actually. I'd climbed the "Great Wall" of stay-at-home motherhood, even though I thought I would be a lifelong "career woman." I'd climbed the Great Wall of homeschooling after teaching public school, which I loved. As I write I can think of many other "Great Walls" in my life, those "I'll nevers" that I've said to myself and to God. Brick upon brick, building my Great Walls. Do you have a Great Wall? Something that you've told God you'll never do, or are hoping He'll never ask you to? Maybe it's a place you don't want to go, or a ministry in which you don't want to serve. Perhaps it's a place you'd feel very insecure or don't feel you have the necessary gifts. Maybe it's a role that just seems downright unattractive or uncomfortable. Today I'm encouraging all of us to yield those walls to Him. I discovered, as so many women have as they've found themselves in a place they thought they'd never be, that it was a place of great blessing, a place of great peace. There is nothing like knowing that you are in a place you would've never put yourself, and that it must be the hand of God that led you there. Nothing compares to knowing that you are smack in the middle of His will and His plan. And there's nothing like standing in that place, knowing that you are not standing alone. The hand that leads you there is the hand that holds you in the mighty grip of His grace.  Visit my personal blog at One Day More. Labels: Cyndi's Articles, fear, Obedience, serving God Leave a comment... 8 Comments Links to this post  Thursday, on the drive home from school, I told my daughter that I was digging a garden. Plants have become the newest passion for this little girl, so much so that 5-year-old Nathaniel bought one on Wednesday, and surprised her by placing it on her window sill before she got home. It's all she's been talking about lately, so we couldn't pass by the Gerber daisies without wondering what Maddy might say if we brought one home just for her. Talk of the new garden in the backyard, got all of the kids excited. In fact, the minute I parked the car, they all ran to the back yard so they could get involved. You should have seen my kids in the garden, it honestly was the most precious thing I've experienced in ages--maybe ever. So, we started digging the garden I had started earlier--each one of them are helping out. It's adorable to see them pitch in because they are excited that we're creating something pretty. We took turns using the shovel, the spade, the fork, and even the garden gloves. Little muscles rolled back sod, grunting, and puffing all the while, then the teenaged eating machine came out and made the job easier for us until either his back was sore or the kitchen was calling his name. I see so much love going into this garden, that I know I'll cherish it for as long as I live. Right now we're only preparing the soil, but they've already asked if they can be in charge of planting or watering, or weed digging--too cute. About an hour into the project, I could tell that Maddy was a bit annoyed. Being the girl with the passion for plants, she wants to do it all. She didn't like the fact that her little brother was stronger and had more schutzpa when it came to tugging on the sod, nor did she like the fact that her older brother was a better digger than all of us put together. The last straw came when Graham said, "Mom, I want to water this garden every night, ok?" I could tell it was the last straw because she threw down the shovel as the pink rose in her soil stained cheeks. I guess you probably know the lesson that little girl needed to learn. It's the same lesson we all need to hear every once in a while as we're planting this garden of love for our Father...that "he that planteth and he that watereth are one." "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." ~ 1 Corinthians 12:5-11 Just this week, my friend leaned on the fence, looked at the soil and said, "They say that you're closest to God when you're out in the garden." Hmmm...you know what? Metiphorically speaking, that just might be true, but the question is are we in there working with our brothers and sisters, giving it all that we've got, or have we thrown down the shovel to let the pink rise in our soil stained cheeks? Grab a shovel ladies, we've got a garden to plant! :) Labels: Darlene's Articles, Parenting, seed-planting, serving God, Spring Leave a comment... 13 Comments Links to this post  "Now the LORD said to Abram, 'Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'" ~ Genesis 12:1-3 (ESV)Do you ever wonder if you are following His plan for your life? The daily choices you make? I do--constantly. As some of you might know, I worked in a church office until last year. I prayed for a very long time before I put in my letter of resignation. My best friend at the time asked me if I knew what I was doing. "How can you give up a position in a Christian environment?" she asked. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was doing. I trusted the Lord that it was time for me to move on--to go back into the world to be His tool. Was I afraid? No doubt about it. But I was confident that He would guide me to the right place. The time I worked/served at the church was my 'training ground'. To be in His Word on a daily basis--to encourage fellow Christians. He prepared me to stand firm in the dark and angry world. "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.My first question was "Lord, what do you want me do on a daily basis. You know I am not good at witnessing!"...I trusted that He would somehow reveal what His plan was for me. Over the past year I have learned to be His hands and feet. I pray for my coworkers. Every day He puts a different person on my heart. As I pray for them daily, He helps me to see their needs. Praying for a safe pregnancy, for safe travel, for good test results... As I pray for my coworkers, I see more and more of their needs--their need for Jesus...No, I don't stand in the lunch room with Bible in hand and proclaim that the end is near. I am still taking baby-steps--testing the water as some might say. He will give me the green light when someone is ready to hear the Gospel. I just have to trust and believe that He is my source of strength. Do I miss the 'safe' environment? You bet! Who wouldn't miss praying with fellow Christians before you start your workday? One thing I know for sure, is that since the Lord has blessed me, I want to be a blessing to others. Lord of Heaven and Earth. You are my strength and my portion. Lord, I am asking for Your help to become a blessing to others. I am trusting in Your lead and guidance. In the precious name of Jesus I pray ~ Amen.  Labels: Iris's Articles, serving God Leave a comment... 11 Comments Links to this post "Oh, I just can’t decide! What are you having?" "I just don’t know! It all looks so good!" "It’s just can’t make up my mind…" That's typical over-the-menu conversation at any lunch date with women. We agonize over what to choose, from the right salad to the right shoes. We ask one another's opinions on just about everything. We want input on our choices, and affirmation once they are made, whether it’s a haircut or home decor. We are creatures of choice. It's been that way since the first woman was fashioned by the Divine hands that chose to create us in His image. Part of that indelible image is "choice-maker." I'm sure some variation of the above "lunch discussion" happened in the Garden of Eden. It must have "all looked so good!" How could they decide? They had the ultimate salad ingredients, that’s for sure! One day, though, the simple decision of "what’s for lunch?" became a destiny-defining choice. I wonder if the forbidden tree had ever been an issue before then. Aside from knowing it was off limits, they had such a bountiful buffet before them daily that it's quite possible they hardly even considered it. But the enemy was able to persuade Eve that its fruit was a valid, even desirable, choice. And what she chose has affected us all. "Every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before... either into a creature that is in harmony with God, ...or into one that is in a state of war with God. Each of us at each moment is progresing to the one state or the other." ~ C.S. Lewis ~ Mere Christianity "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve... But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." Joshua 24:15 By nature, we are now creatures born into a “state of war” with God. But, by God’s grace, through Jesus Christ we can choose a path of harmony with God the Father, in tune with His perfect will. (John 14:6) So, the first choice is to decide whom you will serve: yourself, the world, God, or another person. Subsequent choices move you either closer or farther away from that chosen master. I can’t say "I will serve the Lord" and then make daily choices that move me closer to another master (and still be truly serving Him). The word "choose" in the above verse is the most common Old Testament word used to mean "to choose," "elect," or "decide for." My Hebrew lexicon says that this word, bahar, "always involves a careful, well thought-out choice." Further down in the explanation it says, "serviceability rather than simple arbitrariness is at the heart of the choosing." Serviceability. "...choose for yourselves... whom you will serve." Our choices not only indicate who we serve, but our choices themselves serve the master by advancing his or her purposes. If I have chosen to serve God, when faced with subsequent choices I must ask myself: Will this choice serve to bring me closer to God or further from Him? Will it advance His kingdom? make me more like Christ? help me model Christ for another person? Not that we should all live with deer-in-the-headlights expressions on our faces, while in a perpetual state of "analysis paralysis" over our choices of flip flops or pizza toppings. But just as Eve's choice had ramifications far beyond that moment in time, our daily choices do as well. How I choose to dress reflects my reverence for God. How I choose to spend resources reflects (and directs) my priorities. What I choose to eat reflects how I view my body, God’s temple. We don't need to be full of angst over each and every decision, for our loving God has not called us to a life filled with anxiety, nor has He saved us because of our works. But He has called us to a life of holiness, of being set apart for Him. He does desire us to live "in harmony" with Him rather than "at war" with Him. By God's grace, we have the profound privilege of looking at the Garden of Eden from this side of the cross. We have the opportunity to respond to Christ's invitation and to receive the gift of salvation and the accompanying indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us in our choice-making each day. It is only by doing this that we literally "have it in us" to make the right choices. If you have not yet responded and "chosen this day" to serve Jesus Christ, I encourage you to go here. This world offers many choices of "masters," but only one choice, Jesus Christ, leads to life. "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 If I delight in God, my desires will naturally (no, supernaturally) begin to line up with His. His desires will become my desires. God will change my "wanter." My "wanter" directs my "decider." The result will be choices that glorify God and bring me, with ever-increasing glory, more into conformity with the image of Jesus, who sits at the right hand of the Father in perfect harmony with Him.  Christine at Fruit in Season is our host for this week's In Other Words. If you would like to read other perspectives on this week's quote, or perhaps add your own, head on over. Thanks, Christine, for hosting us this week, and for this thought-provoking quote. I'm praying for all of us and the choices we will make this day. Labels: choices, Cyndi's Articles, salvation, serving God Leave a comment... 21 Comments Links to this post
__________________________________________
|
The Internet Cafe is the team blog for Christian Women Online Magazine, "your daily dose of inspiration." It's a place to kick back, grab a virtual chair at our table, and allow God to fill your cup to running over. It's addictive, but only He can satisfy the craving of your soul.  Copy this code to link your site to The Internet Cafe
 ______________ 
______________
 Christian Women Online Blog Ring Join | List | Random ______________
_________________
|
CWO Cover
Bonnie Hooley
