More Better

 After being in Mississippi with Mom for the past thirteen weeks, my niece Elizabeth goes back to Chattanooga on Saturday.  It has been wonderful for her to be here.  Mom has loved it!  I love right next door, so I’ve loved it too!   

 We had a little get together in her honor last night.  We enjoyed a great meal and shared some laughs.  We also shared sweet memories of my dad.  We also gave her a gift – and that is the “more better” part of the story. 

 First a little background.  Mom and Dad rent pastureland to a friend of theirs.  He has several cows on the property.  Elizabeth enjoys watching the cows and their calves out in the field.    

 The gift Mom originally order did not come in on time.    So we went to plan B.   I would get something from the local gift and flower shop in the town where I work.  I ordered something online to be picked up at the store. 

 When I got to the store I saw a hand painted picture of a cow.  Wow!!  That is so perfect for Elizabeth.  But .. I had ordered another picture.   I went inside and told them I there to pick up my order. 

The ladies could not find the item I ordered.  They made a call to a co-worker and found out it was in a storage building a couple of blocks away.  One of them was going to get it for me.  I told them I changed my mind about that picture.

They were disappointed until I told them I wanted the cow picture in the window instead.  Boy, where they relieved!  They did a credit for the first order and I bought this cow picture. 

I was so excited and I told the ladies’ about my niece and the cows in the pasture and everything.  One of them said, “Well this was just meant to be.”  I totally agreed! 

Now I know “more better” is not grammatically correct.  However, there are times we mis-use words for emphasis.  I am here to tell you this cow picture was more better.   It was more fitting than the original gift.  And it was better than I ever imagined. 

I felt so great because I thought it was a lovely and fun little painting; but it was also very nicely done.  The artists’ work was top notch!  Elizabeth loved her gift!!

I have a dear Christian friend who would call this incident “a God thing.”  She is right on this. 

Unfortunately, we don’t always look for the blessings we have, but we should.  Scripture tells us “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  James 1:17

Finding that painting at just that time was a good gift.  In fact, it was just right!  So where did it come from?  James said it is from the “father of lights.” 

I guess that makes my friend right.  It was a “God thing.”  Oh, how He loves His children.  Oh how He works things out for us!   This is why we can say,  “Bless the Lord, O my soul,   and forget not all his benefits,”  Psalm 103:2

 Christ above all things – Robin

A New Frisbee

Lady got a new frisbee today. Robert bought it for her. She had chewed around on the old one so much that we finally took it away from her.

When I got home this afternoon, her new toy was in the middle of the living room. She is always excited to see me when I get home from work. Today she greeted me happily and then walked over to her new toy as if to say, “Look what I got, Mom!” 😊

After supper, we went outside to play like we usually do. It’s been too hot to stay out there long, but she is full of energy and loves to be outside.

Guess what? It is amazing how a new frisbee flies across the yard so much better than an old one that is all chewed up! The new frisbee seems to glide through the air gracefully. It has a smooth landing too.

Throwing that frisbee around made me think about what one of Dad’s Christian friends used to say. “God never promised us smooth sailing, but He did promise us a safe landing.” I was only a teenager when I heard it; but I wish I had remembered it more often.

I certainly could have used the reassurance over the past few months. It’s true, you know. God didn’t promise us that life would be easy. In fact, Jesus told His apostles “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

It is beautiful to know Jesus overcame the world and He will help us overcome it too. It is easy to think about a great victory in Christ when at that moment, nothing terrible is happening in our lives. But it can be quite a challenge to hold on to promise of victory when the storms of life are raging all around us.

To hear we will have tribulation is one thing. To face it head on is quite another. The devil will use heartbreak to try and break us away from God. He will send the naysayers our way. We may hear, “Oh you’ll never be able to do this. You are smart enough or strong enough.”

The father of lies will try his best to convince us God has left us alone to handle our own problems. That. Is. NOT. True. God is always going to be there. He has promised us this. He will never leave us; but we have to stick with Him.

Sometimes the storms will rage. The winds will howl. Tribulation will come. The sailing will not always be smooth. But as long as we have hope as our anchor, our faith will carry us through to that safe landing.

Christ above all things - Robin

The Third of The Three

In some cases being the third of three might not sound so good, but in the case of Shammah it was a great thing.  Have you ever heard of him?  I hadn’t either until a couple of Sundays ago. 

Our minister mentioned Shammah in a sermon about lesser known characters in the Bible.   He challenged us to look this man up in the Bible to find out what he did. 

2 Samuel Chapter 23 tells us about some of David’s mightiest warriors.  These were extraordinary men who were loyal to David and to God.  They fought against the enemies of God’s people.  Through their efforts the Lord brought about great victories. 

The first three men mentioned are simply called “the three” or “the three mighty men” (verse 8,9).  Shammah is the third of these men.  Still, that is certainly nothing to look at lightly! 

“And next to him was Shammah, the son of Agee the Hararite. The Philistines gathered together at Lehi where there was a plot of ground full of lentils, and the men fled from the Philistines.  But he took his stand in the midst of the plot and defended it and struck down the Philistines, and the Lord worked a great victory.”  (2 Samuel 23:11-12)

How amazing is this?!!  The Philistine army was gathered together in one place.  David’s men fled the scene.  Only Shammah remained.  He took his stand.  Such a simple statement, but it conveys so much!

I’ve read this passage several times – and read the entire chapter a couple of times too.  Such a powerful lesson is packed into these two verses.  Shammah had great courage to face all these men alone.  It seems the mighty warrior had no intention of giving up this plot to the Philistines.

I am reminded of Ephesians 6:13 – “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”  Shammah stood firm against the enemy and we must stand firm today too.  

I am sure we all have our own “Philistines” to face – our own plot to defend.  Everyone faces spiritual battles.  Sisters, we should help each other protect our souls.  We cannot be like the men who fled from the Philistines and left Shammah alone. 

The third of the three mighty men struck down the Philistines that day, but who actually worked the great victory?  The LORD did.  Our God worked the great victory!  All because Shammah took a stand. 

God still works great victories today – when we take our stand.  May we always have the courage to stand up for what is right!

Christ above all things – Robin