Forever Friends

Who is your refuge and shelter in times of trouble?

2009-10-29T11:20:00.001-04:00

“Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons.” Ruth 1:1 (NASV)

The times Elimelech and Naomi lived in were troubling indeed. The famine in the land was likely the result of a judgment from the One True God as the Israelites had turned to worship other gods. Elimelech, I am sure, wanted to protect his wife and children. His sons were sickly and continually in poor health. In fact, Vernon McGee translated Mahlon’s name as “unhealthy” and Chilion’s as “puny.” Imagine Naomi's pleading as she watches the grain stores shrink and her sons grow thinner by the minute. Imagine the shrillness of her voice as she argues for Elimelech to do something-- Anything so their sons will not die!

Elimelech did act. He journeyed to Moab for his answer.

Psalm 108:9 refers to Moab as 'a washpot' or 'a washbasin.' This pot was used for washing soldiers' feet. Some commentaries compared Moab to our present day 'trash can.' How ironic that Elimelech traveled from 'the house of bread' and 'praise' (the meaning of Bethlehem and Judah) to the 'washpot' of Moab. He traded the provisions of God for the food stores of a godless land. Elimelech’s family might have had full stomachs but their spirits were empty. (McGee, Vernon, Ruth, p. 15)

What do you do in your stressful times? Do you run to your 'trash can’ gods? You know what I mean: those small tiny gods that make you feel good for a moment but then plunge you into shame and sin. What is your Moab?

I am so thankful that God forgives and cleanses us as we turn from our ‘trash can’ gods to Him. Confess any 'trash can’ gods that you run to for comfort. Talk to Him about your troubles. Let Him be your refuge and stronghold.

“The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2 (NIV)

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9

God is like Maui

2009-04-23T22:00:00.008-04:00

Driving from the airport to West Maui, you encounter the city of Kahului and all the buildings that a modern city would develop-K-Mart, Krispy Kreme (yes, really) and all the fast food places. However the further you drive, the more wild and untamed the island becomes.

On the ocean side of the very curvy road, there are resorts and condos. Most of these were built after 1970. But on the other side of the road, undeveloped land rises up to one of the extinct volcanoes on Maui. Looking at the volcano, especially at night, you don't feel very safe. The landscaping is not sculpted or manicured like Disney World. It is just the way the volcano left the land.

Lately, I've been impressed how God is like Maui. He is wild. We can not tame Him. We try to put Him in our manicured 'Disney-like' plans but He will not stay where we put Him. We make our own plans and then we try to squeeze this GREAT, WILD GOD into them. And He will not be squeezed.

In Biblical History, the people God put in our paths to study were people that listened to God and did risky things He called them to do. He didn't listen to their plans and fit His Kingdom around their plans. He called them out to take risks and let Him develop the plan.

One of the books I've been reading is In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. He has challenged me to think about my life and the risks I ignore. I'm ashamed of the things God has called me to and I've ignored or pushed into a corner because of my fear. I want to choose the adventure God has for me rather than hold onto my fear.

How about you? How do you handle God? Or does He handle you?

The Devil Lives at Krispy Kreme

2009-04-07T21:23:00.005-04:00

When you turn 50, there are many things that change, the most notable is weight gain over nothing. Look at a piece of apple pie-gain 5 pounds, eat a bowl of Edy's Birthday cake ice creme-gain 10 pounds. Therefore I've been watching my calories, drinking more water and walking more. Things had been going well so I was encouraged to even keep these disciplines during our vacation.

During our vacation that week, I had just enough calories left at the end of one day to eat one Krispy Kreme doughnut and a glass of cold, skim milk. So we pull up to a Krispy Kreme. The first thing we notice is the 'hot' sign is not on. Somewhat disappointed, we pulled through the drive-thru and ordered 1 cruller and 1 blueberry filled doughnut. We continued to pull up to pay for our late night snack when the young cashier hands us a small bag on top of a dozen hot Krispy Kremes and says, "Enjoy a free dozen of Krispy Kremes!"

The devil's headquarters that night was Krispy Kreme.

<3

2008-12-07T21:52:00.003-05:00

Look at the title for this blog. What does mean to you?

I had seen it many times on myspace and thought, "Less than 3. Interesting. Wonder what that has to do with their boyfriend?

Come to find out, it means 'heart' or 'love.' And if you turn your head to the right side and squint your eyes, you can see it is a heart.

Another thing learned. My day is complete.

Check Your Joy

2008-11-21T12:49:00.010-05:00

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

As the days wherein the Jews rested from their enemies, and the month which was turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from mourning into a good day: that they should make them days of feasting and joy, and of sending portions one to another, and gifts to the poor. Esther 9:22

Sometimes life’s circumstances can suck the joy right out of you. A beautiful Jewish woman who God brought to power as the great Xerxes’ wife experienced this joy thief. Remember how she held the King’s heart in her hand. (And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vasht .Esther 2:17(KJV)) I can only imagine what she must have felt or experienced as the King’s favorite. To be at the center of the power of this great empire, stretching from India to Ethiopia, must have been heady.

Then, suddenly, her world and her very life were threatened. Don’t you think Esther, treasured queen, felt as if the joy had evaporated from her world as Haman plotted the destruction for the Jewish people? (This story of destruction is found in Esther 3.) Esther knew she and her people faced certain death. They all needed rescuing.

But follow the story further into the book of Esther and find how God intervened and rescued His people. Out of this rescue came the new holiday Purim. Look at their celebration in Esther 9:22 (See this verse at the top of the devotion.): What did their celebration look like? How did they celebrate this rescue? What emotions were involved? How marvelous is our God to rescue people out of certain death and turn their sorrow in to joy.

At some time in your life, just like Esther, you faced certain spiritual death and all your joy could have evaporated out of your life at a moment’s notice. However, if you asked Jesus to give you the marvelous gift of salvation, you were rescued from this certain death. And His joy was added to your life.

Do you have your own Feast of Purim? A time when you celebrate your rescue from certainty of spiritual death? Maybe you do this at Christmas or Easter or times you participate in the Lord’s Supper. Sometimes we forget to celebrate the good things or people in our lives, and as a result our lives become joyless. Are you bogged down by the circumstances of your life? Are you joyless?

Maybe this week you need to take a day, hour or moment to have your own joy celebration. Remember how you needed a Savior. Remember how Jesus rescued you. Finally, rejoice with someone else over your rescue. Joy turned from sorrow is a good thing.

Dear Jesus, Help me to make time this week to celebrate with joy how You rescued me. Thanks for reminding me of this fact. Amen.

*An interesting fact about Purim: the word Purim means lots. Haman (the evil guy in Esther) cast lots to decide the date of the Jewish execution. I’m glad God does not cast lots to see who He rescues.

Take the Love Dare

2008-10-14T10:52:00.002-04:00

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (KJV)

Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything. Proverbs 13:3

In the movie Fireproof, the Dad challenges his son (Kirk Cameron) to take the Love Dare, to help repair his marriage. The first day of the Love Dare is refusing to say anything negative to your spouse. No matter what they say or do, you will not say anything rude, offensive, sarcastic or argumentative back to them. Kirk Cameron’s character has a hard time with this first day.

Thinking back over your life, aren’t there words you wish you could shove back into your mouth and swallow. But’s that not possible, is it? Wouldn’t it be great if you carefully guarded your spoken words and didn’t need to undo all the mess your negative words caused.

Even in Jesus’ worst moments, He did not respond with negativity. Look at His verbal interchange with Judas on the night of his betrayal:

“As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.

‘What you are about to do, so quickly,’ Jesus told him…” John 13: 27 (NIV)

Imagine what we would have said in Jesus’ place: ‘I see your dirty, blackheart’ or ‘Peter, James and John, Judas is the traitor. Deal with him.’ Or in a sarcastic tone, ‘I can’t believe you think betraying Me is a good thing.’

Personally, there are moments when one of my family members, has come to me excited about sharing with me something from their life with me. How did I respond? I regret to say I tossed cold water on their enthusiasm with my negative words. They immediately retreat and silence themselves. Why? Because it is no longer a safe place to share hopes, dreams and excitement. How I wish I could have guarded my tongue better.

How about you? Who are you negative with? Does your biting wit or sarcasm shut down conversations? Or do your angry words escalate the argument?

Will you take the Love Dare this week? Take the challenge. Make the decision.

Dear Jesus, Too long I have not used my words in a loving way. This week help me to take the Love Dare and change how I respond to those around me. Amen.

F is for Family

2008-10-10T16:43:00.011-04:00

These are pictures from Easter 2008. At some holidays, we gather at my Mom's house in Cleveland County. You will notice that all of these pictures were taken outside. Though my Mom has a large house, we are much too noisy for the inside. So, as much as we can, we play outside.

The youngest grandchild in my family is Madison. She is all girl but can hold her own with her brothers. She is dramatic like my oldest and youngest.

This is Winston. He is the middle child of my youngest brother, Richie. He is the one we tease about girls and also love on, if he gives us a chance.

This strapping young man is Doyle. He and Winston are the best of friends and love to play together. Doyle loves, loves, loves football. When he was small, he would play football by himself all afternoon.

In this picture are my niece, Laura and my Hope. Hope probables hates this picture because she no longer has her braces. When Hope was younger, she could not have a birthday party without her cousins, Laura and Ashley.

This is Laura's sister, Ashley and Ashley's friend. Ashley is one year older than my Hope and Laura, her sister, is one year younger than Hope. Hope always had cousins to play with at all the holidays.

This is my other brother, Richie, whose full name is Richard Dan. He has 3 children: Austin, Winston and Madison. He works at Smurftstone in Shelby.

This is my sister, Karen, who works at Home Health is Shelby and she has 2 children, Chris, who is one year younger than my Charity and Jenny, who is one year older than my Faith. This is other brother, Butch (his real name is Conan Doyle, III), who works with the city of Shelby and has three children: Ashley, Laura and Doyle. (Can you guess where that name came from?)

E is for Easter

2008-04-03T21:24:00.003-04:00

I know Easter has come and gone but I want to share with you a happening in my life the weekend of Easter. Most Lents(the season leading up to Easter) I normally fast something, not because I'm so good but to remind me how good He is. This Lent I fasted fiction. Many of you know I dearly love to read. I can read a good fiction book in a no time flat. As Easter approached, I was longing to reading after all the Easter day activities. I don't usually long for things or events, so this was a different feeling. I couldn't wait! I was so anxious for Easter to come!

The Saturday before 'He is risen!' day as I was cooking and contemplating the longing I was feeling, the dear Holy Spirit spoke to me,"Do you ever long for coming of your Jesus? Do you ever stand on your tiptoes and try to peak at the next day to see if He is coming again? Do you ever go through your day thinking about His coming and wishing He would hurry and come?"

Needless to say, I was pierced by this word! I don't long for his coming everyday. I don't wake up and think 'Maybe this is the day my Jesus comes.'

I pray for such a longing! I pray that I will long for His presence in my life all day long and long for His coming! I pray I will put all of myself into looking for Him and living like I see Him coming over the my mountains very day.

Dear Ones, what do you long for?

D is for Daughters at Disney World

2008-03-13T13:56:00.012-04:00

Enjoy the hair styles and cute girls.

This is one of our first trips to Epcot. Charity was almost 10 and Faith(who was called Shelley at the time) was five. We love everything from the rides to the hotel swimming pool.

Even though you can't see Hope, she was actually with us on this trip!

This is the trip we made right before we moved to camp. Charity was 14,
Faith was 10 and Hope was 4.

All three look like Princesses! Notice Faith's fake glasses.

My favorite 21st century Disney picture: Hope and Faith are running from the Yeti.

C is for Cards

2008-03-13T13:17:00.003-04:00

My husband takes great care in picking cards for each of the appropriate holidays for me, however I do not. However, this Valentine's Day, I decided to do it differently. So, I headed into the local Hallmark shop to find the perfect card. I opened each card and carefully read each message. If it was a musical card, I listened to the song. I can't remember how many cards I considered. Finally, I discover just the right one.

Valentine's Day arrives and I start to open my card first, but as I lift the flap on the envelope, I see colors I recognize. No, no, no, he couldn't have chosen the same card! So, I stop and ask him, "Let's open our cards together." Sure enough, we bought exactly the same cards.

We have live together too long.

Random Eating

2008-02-25T13:00:00.002-05:00

This week, I've been watching what I eat until last night, when I remembered the 5 frozen sugar cookies at the RC. No matter that is a cold, dreary night, I hop in the car and drive to the RC and retrieve the cookies and come back to savor their flavor. However, this morning, I awoke with a sugar hangover. I feel listless and my body is not responding well to the tasks I give it to perform. Why, oh, why(as the country song goes) do I give in to momentary thoughts and send myself spiraling out of control? Was I too tired? Was I disappointed by something? I'm not sure. I'll have to think about last night for awhile.

What about you? What sends you spiraling out of control?

B is for Behind

2008-02-25T12:45:00.005-05:00

An authentic Southern lady never uses certain words in a conversation. This conversation language can be attained through tutoring for a gently aged ladies of the South or one could take lessons in Southern life from books written by Southern women.

One of things ladies do not talk about in public is the part of the body they sit on. If they must refer to it in public, they will use words like-the part of your body you sit on. These ladies might use other kind, gentle words, however they would never use the word ending in tt, even though this is a correct term. Just because something is correct, does not mean is proper.

In this day and age, it is extremely hard to find a Southern lady? Do you know one?

Coming soon: C is for cards.

A is for Angel

2008-02-18T14:42:00.005-05:00

You ever get stuck on a chapter during your quiet times and just can't seem to move on. I'm in Acts, and, boy howdy, I'm stuck on chapter six. I thought maybe you could help understand this chapter better, so I could move on. We'll see.

In chapter 6, verse 15 says

And all who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him and

saw that his face was like the face of an angel.(HCSB)

So, I've been meditating on 'the face of an angel' forever. (Well, not really forever but a few days.) It couldn't mean like the faces of the baby cherubims in sweet Valentine's Day cards or the faces of the Dreamsicles on my shelves or surely not the beautiful female angels at the annual Christmas play. But, what could it mean?

Finally, I had time to read about angels in a Systematic Theology book. I learned angels are created beings that worship God, take messages and fight demonic forces for us. I saw nothing about sweet baby-faced angels. So, what did the members of the Sanhedrin see?

Chuck Swindoll in The Living Insights Study Bible says, "Stephen's face shone with God's quiet, empowering presence, giving him uncommon confidence"(page 1163). So, maybe they saw the confident power the presence of God can give a person.

I am sure Mr. Swindoll is right, he certainly knows more than me. However I like to think the Sanhedrin saw the face of a warrior angel. Stephen was arguing the validity of the gospel and he had no reason to fear being wrong. He had seen first hand what believing in Jesus could do. He would do battle for Jesus, no matter the consequences.

The next time I read about angels anywhere, I will not be thinking about baby-faced cherubim. What about you? What do you think of when you read the word angel? Let me know.

Coming soon-B is for Behind.

Christmas Invasion

2007-12-20T22:33:00.000-05:00

Christmas invades our lives in December. Some people, eager for the season, rush into the season as soon as their family and circumstances allow. However, family and friends drag others, who dig their heels the whole way, into the celebration. In Matthew 2, there are two distinct groups invaded by the Christmas story: the Magi and Herod and his government.

The Magi, excited by the appearance of the star, traveled may miles to celebrate the birth of this baby King. Not sure where this King dwelt or the importance of His birth to the Jewish people, they traveled to Jerusalem to seek information. Assured by government officials in Jerusalem that Bethlehem was the place of a ruler’s birth, they traveled to that city. Overjoyed by the sight of the star in Bethlehem, they bowed down and worshiped this little King. Leaving with this King, precious treasures of frankincense, gold and myrrh, they traveled home a completely different road.

Herod wanted no part of this celebration. They would have to drag him, kicking and screaming, into this celebration. He would never celebrate this King’s birth. He would destroy this King if he could. In fact, later in this passage, we see his wrath has many baby boys killed. He would not celebrate another King. He was the only King.

As this season invades your life, how are you responding? Are you like the Magi, seeking ways to worship the King? Are you like Herod, looking for ways to do your own thing, be your own king?

Things Learned in a Long Weekend

2007-11-13T12:17:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, we had a long youth retreat-from Friday night to Monday. These are things I learned along the way.

1. Q-99 is the weapon of choice (Q-99 is a anti-bacterical spray we use for disinfecting everything.) I could not count the times I said, "Do not spray someone else with that Q-99."

2. Censorship, even kind censorship is not appreciated. I have a young friend on myspace that uses language not in keeping with her belief system. I reminded her that I read everything she writes and I discovered last night she unfriended me. (Do you know unfriended is not an dictionary word.)

3. New things are always more exciting than old things. This weekend, I allowed a staffer to fry, who had never fried, and it was the highlight of his weekend. This experience was much more exciting than washing pots.

4. You also find time for things you really want to do. Amidst standing on my feet 8 or more hours a day, supervising teenagers and writing checks, I still had time to work on my Beth Moore's Believing God Bible study and read a little of a book.

5. You can do whatever God puts in front of you. This weekend was a challenge. One of the groups made last minute payment and I was scurrying around to find enough workers. Most of my older staff were busy, but my younger staff did come through for me. Most of this staff had only worked one summer and maybe one retreat, however they did great and God was honored by their work. I, in the past, would be frantic about not having enough help, but I've learned to calm down and know He always supplies what I need.

6. Youth are great. I hear people talk about the youth of today: "They have no work ethic. They don't care about anything but themselves. They don't love Jesus. Why can't they be more like we were." The youth, I've seen, are wonderful. They love Jesus better than I did at their age and they are so willing to please. It is my privilege to work with them.

What did you learn this weekend? Let me know. I can't wait to hear.

Poisoned Trees

2007-10-11T14:06:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, I see on one of my Facebook friends that she is "...lying in the shade of poisoned trees." Now, granted she is 20 years old and in college but I think ,I know this is probably not a literal lying but is she in trouble or sad or just being really dramatic! So, what does a mother figure do? She messages her about the lying thing. Today, my sweet, young friend messages back to say, "LOL, no, this is the title of the new Dashboard Confessional's CD. Now, I know who Dashboard Confessional is but I had no idea this was a new CD. No matter how I try to keep up with things, the world changes way too fast for me. However, my young friends are so kind to put up with my lame comments and lack of knowledge.

Maybe, I should say something about riding in a Yellow Submarine or I'm jumping on Grandma's feather bed. Do you think they would understand what songs I was referring to by my comments?

How about you? What thing change too fast for you? Or does the world seem to stand still for you?

(You would be pleased to know, in only 10 minutes, I figured our how to hide the link above!)

Looking forward to hearing about the changes in your world!

The First of Many

2007-10-09T12:47:00.000-04:00

If you know me well, you know I love new things. Technology might anger me at random times but I love the challenge of learning new things. Being a blogger is a my new thing. I've been reading Beth Moore's blog at Living Proof's website and I am encouraged to the point of tears or laughter or both. I've been thinking about blogging and all the ramifications of writing a blog since I've been reading Beth's posts, so I decided to take the plunge today.

Years ago, maybe 15 years or so, God gave me a Godsend name. (If you watch Heroes, you recognize the term Godsend.) He told me this name would be for a ministry in the future. Therefore, over the years I tried to squeeze the name into every ministry I was involved in at the time. But, the name never seemed to fit. It didn't seem to fit a homeschool ministry, could fit a women's minstry but didn't seem to be the right time or right place and finally God didn't want to combine camping ministry with the name. I finally decided to give up! Wise of me, wasn't it?

Now years later, God says, "Write a blog!" and what name pops up-Forever Friends- my name of long ago! Not only does the name fit but when I am choosing a template to blog, I find the template Thisaway Rose. I'm blown away! Why? God told me to include a rose in the ministry's logo. How cool is God! Of course as I write this, I have tears streaming down my face. I'm grateful to serve a God who loves me and fulfills all my dreams and all His plans.

So here's hoping (in the Biblical sense of a certain hope), we become Forever Friends. Looking forward to a lifetime of posting and sharing.