My First Thanksgiving

I was nine months old. My parents had been brought up in church, but had not attended since they were teens. They both knew that they wanted to raise their new little girl (me) in church. So they prayed. They were too shy to go from church to church looking for just the right one, even though they still lived in the same town in which they grew up. Maybe because of that reason, who knows? So they prayed. They prayed for God to send someone to them. I know that’s not a very active way to seek an answer to prayer, but it’s all they were willing to do at that time in their lives.

Then, Thanksgiving Day, 1979 rolled around. They were sitting at the dinner table chowing down on turkey when someone knocked on the door. It was two women. Two church women, Sharon and Annie. They invited Mom and Dad to church, and my parents went.

I was raised in that church, saved in that church, and baptized in that church (well, really it was Indian Creek, but I was with my church family). I called my mom tonight to get the details. She said that all four of her kids grew up gnawing on the backs of those wooden benches.

I love God with all of my heart, and I am working to pass that on to as many people as possible. Where would I be today if Sharon and Annie had not responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit 32 years ago? They had the guts to knock on someone’s door on a holiday, no less! Did they knock on a lot of doors that night, or only one? I can’t help but wonder. Anyway, I thank God for them, and for the domino effect they caused in my life!

I said all that to say this: your associates, acquaintances, friends, etc. might be praying right now for God to send someone to them. Deep down inside, I think that every person desires a relationship with Him, and some are just on the verge of accepting Him. We don’t know which ones. Please do everything you can to reach out to them. Be brave! You never know how a word from you may affect generations to come! Eternity is at stake.

Learning to Listen

When a friend or an acquaintance is going through a trial, probably the best thing you can do for them is to just show up and listen. Try not to give too much advice, unless the Lord specifically lays something on your heart. This is sometimes difficult to gauge because most of us are in love with the sound of our own voices. 🙂 I have found that the more time I spend in prayer, the more often God will give me exactly the right words at exactly the right moment. (On the other hand, I always mess things up if I try to figure out what I’m going to say ahead of time – I think because I try to force the conversation in a certain direction, rather than actually listening).

By learning to listen, you are giving your friends the much needed opportunity to work things out on their own. Either God will answer your prayers, and their troubles will dissolve, or He is allowing them to grow by seeing them through the crisis. If that turns out to be the case, they may need to talk things through and discover just what they are learning or how they are changing as a result of their current situation. We often merely need to chat for a while, asking questions, answering some of our own questions, and just basically meander through our own thoughts and feelings to reach a conclusion. I don’t know how many times I’ve had a “chat” with my sister, father, or husband in which they only said a couple of words; I did the rest of the talking, but by the time I ran out of things to say, I had pretty much figured out what I needed to do or learn. Anyway, your friends probably already know the answer, but they haven’t arrived at it consciously.

…from the Mouth of Babes

I recently read Kimberly Williams’ new book …from the Mouth of Babes.

When I was a girl, I always figured I’d marry a preacher. It just seemed like the natural course of events for my life. God had other plans for me, but it was extremely interesting to crawl into the mind of a pastor’s wife for a little while. While Mrs. Williams is full of the wisdom one would imagine a pastor’s wife to have, she maintains a humble attitude. Readers will understand quite quickly that the author’s family is her life. Many of her posts involve either her husband or her children, and they are filled to the brim with encouragement for the Christian woman.

From the very first page, I was encouraged by the wisdom that Mrs. Williams had to offer. Because I am a remarried Christian, I was encouraged by her exhortation to “teach … [my] children the consequences of [divorce] and the standards that God has set (pg. 2).” Too many times, we try so hard to hide our mistakes, that our first-hand experiences can’t be of any use to anyone. We must never brag about our sins – past or present. But we can use them to identify with others and to point others in the right direction out of experience.

Mrs. Williams also touched on service, (pg. 7) which is an aspect of the Christian walk that is close to my heart. Years ago, I was searching for God’s will in my life. For some reason, I thought that God needed to tell me in no uncertain terms what to do next. As I was praying, it occurred to me that if I would only seek out a life of service, God’s will would naturally open itself up to me. It’s so nice to make yourself available to minister to the needs of others, instead of constantly searching for a preconceived position that we think is ours to fill. We wrongly wait for God to open up the specific door we are looking for. In the meantime, nothing else gets done, and the needs of others go unmet. The author writes that “God reminded me in His Word that my service to others is service to Him (pg. 7).” She goes on to explain that even the most mundane tasks can be offered as a service to God, such as doing laundry for our families. (As an added benefit, she also gives us a simple recipe for inexpensive laundry detergent.)

I also really appreciated Mrs. Williams’ take on obedient wives. So many of my acquaintances believe that they don’t have to obey their husbands because their husbands are so very wrong. The author makes the valid point that “you will be accountable to the Lord for your obedience, not your husband’s (pg. 9).” If we could only get this idea across to all of the Christian women, I believe that the world would change as a result. Maybe even the non-Christian women would realize the benefit of deferring to their husbands if only they could see it in action once in a while. Since we already know that it is God’s will that we obey our husbands, “without submitting myself to my husband I could never be in the will of God (pg. 10).”

I will tell you that it is refreshing to me to find a Christian who believes in obedience to our government (pg. 17). When it comes to filling out taxes and obeying speed limits, sometimes I feel like I’m all alone.

I have so many good things to say about this book, that I fear my review will run for pages and pages. To keep from scaring people away, I’m going to cut the review a little short. Allow me to just mention a few more of my favorite passages:

On page 19, Mrs. Williams relates a story that caused me to look at prayer in a new light. She says, “It thrills my heart as a parent to be able to bless my children, especially when it is something they have been diligently asking for.”

I like the way that she takes responsibility for training up her children: “My children’s behavior is a direct reflection of my training…When I allow my children to disobey me I am training them to grow up to disobey God (pg. 28).”

I love her comparison of life to a corn maze (pg. 69). Only God can see the whole picture, and when we do finally see it, it will make perfect sense.

I enjoyed her reminder of the original meaning of the word “Christian (pg. 80).”

She addresses television on page 90, 128, & 139. She touches on modern problems such as evolution (pg. 106-107) and feminism (pg. 108-109). She even gives us practical ideas for how to spend your time or give gifts when you are running low on cash (pg. 51 & 151-153)!

One of the ways this book has most helped me is in the area of contentment. It seems like I constantly think that I need to go buy something. I don’t usually just wander around aimlessly looking for something to buy, but when I’m at home, I think of something that I could really use, and then it seems like I have to run out and buy it. It is especially easy for me to rationalize when it comes to something that would make the educational process easier for me or my students. She addresses this problem on page 49, 53, and even though she isn’t specifically talking about covetousness on page 139, her exhortation about not loving things that God hates spoke directly to the covetousness in me.

And then there are the essays that are so close to my heart, it would take me pages and pages to explain how much they mean to me. For instance, the one titled “I’m Dying,” on pages 156 & 157, and the one titled “Giving Thanks” on the following page. Pondering these essays was like having an epiphany. I walked away thinking, “so that’s what God really wants from me.” I still feel like I need to spend an hour or two just considering the implications in my life. In fact, after reading the entire book, I still have several pages dog-eared for re-reading and re-thinking.

Note: I received this book at no charge in exchange for an honest review.

The Guilt-Driven Life

What makes you feel guilty? I feel guilty when I gossip, watch something questionable, lose my temper with Ian, spend too much money, eat too much fat, etc. The list goes on, of course. Actually, I’m tempted to stop right now and attempt to complete the list for my own sake. A list would be a good starting point for creating a plan to help myself overcome my weaknesses. It would also be a good bouncing off point for prayer time.

Why do you feel guilty? Is it because you aren’t living up to your ideal, or do you actually suspect or even know that God isn’t happy with you when you engage in certain activities?

If you don’t think God approves, or even if you’re just not sure, why not trade in your activity for a guilt-free conscience? Is continuing in the activity really worth the guilt you’re feeling over it? Can you live without it or find something to replace it?

Even this is from a selfish perspective. I’m trying to persuade you that it’s better for you to live a guilt-free lifestyle – that you’ll be happier that way. In reality, we should be as sinless as humanly possible because that’s what God wants. He created us, and He makes the rules. As an added benefit, yes, you will be happier that way. We’re always happier when we do things God’s way.

Whenever I feel guilty about something, I try to figure out a way to stop doing whatever it is that makes me feel that way. Sometimes, I have to find a way to stop without offending other people. If I don’t want to watch something that’s playing on television or continue a conversation that includes gossip, I sometimes have trouble expressing why. I never want to make anyone feel that I think I am better than they are.

Sometimes, letting go of an activity is a process. I have to keep praying for myself over and over. Eventually, I will feel peace about letting go completely. It always feels good. I don’t even have to beat myself up over past mistakes if I know that I am truly repentant, and ready to begin a new chapter in my life.

Guilt can be a good thing. The Holy Spirit points to things in our lives that need changing. Once you have made those changes, ask for forgiveness and let go of your guilt. Why feel guilty over something for which God has forgiven you and has Himself intentionally forgotten?

Now, I’m gonna finish my list, and try to think of ways to cross things off for good.

A quick question before I go: Do any of you have a humble way of telling others that you don’t want to gossip, watch TV, etc?

Time for God

Sometimes, most times, as I sit in church listening to a special song or a sermon, or even sometimes when I am taking part in a congregational song, I become so struck with the message that I fear that I will burst into tears. Over the years, I have learned that it is much less distracting to everyone else if I allow the tears to stream down my face, wiping them away once I am finished or allowing them to dry completely on their own. (This is one advantage to rarely wearing make-up!) Anyway, lately, I’ve been unsure whether I can even hold back audible sobs. Sometimes I am really tempted to get up, leave the sanctuary, and find a place to be alone and pray. I often feel that I need time to reflect on the message in order to assimilate it into my life. I think that my body is telling me that I need more times of praying, worshipping, and listening to God. I’m confused by one thing though: I am almost always in public when I feel so emotional; why do I rarely feel overwhelmed this way daily when I am alone with God? Am I trying to get my Bible reading out of the way in the mornings so that I can get on with the rest of my day? I try very hard to pay attention to everything that I read. If I feel like I have glossed over something, I try to go back and reread. At night, when I pray, sometimes I am tired and fall asleep before I really feel like I’ve covered everything essential, and before moving on to really “talking” to God and worshipping Him. Throughout the day as I talk to God, I am usually in the middle of something else as well, so I rarely drop everything I am doing to get away. I think my schedule needs revamped to make quality time for the most important Person in my life. I wonder then if I will be less emotional in public? Any ideas? How do you all make time for really communing with God? When you do feel overwhelmed in public, how do you handle it? Do you write down the passage or the message and address it later when you are alone?