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

Made For This

Wow!  I apologize for the long lapse since my last post.  I certainly did not intend for so much time to go by.  

I was blessed last week to attend Maywood Christian Camp as a counselor and Bible class teacher.  It was certainly a blessing to me.  I love working with children and learning so many practical lessons from them.  

"Made for This" was our theme for the week last week at Maywood.  Our sermons each night were about something Christians were made to do.  We were made to worship our great God.  We were made to serve Him faithfully, to teach about Jesus,  to encourage, and finally Friday night’s lesson was “Made to Live the Life” – meaning the Christian life. 

Each lesson was powerful.  It reminded me of what Mordecai  told Esther “For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish.  And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”  Esther 4:14

The book of Esther never mentions God.  But it is all about His providence in preserving the Jewish people.  Mordecai  raised the girl who became queen.  He wanted Esther to speak to the king about Haman’s plan to kill all the Jews in the country. 

There are many lessons in this book but I think the turning point is found in Mordecai’s charge to Esther.  He gave her a purpose.  He gave her the courage to take on the dangerous task of seeking an audience with the king. 

Esther rose to the challenge.  We all know through her efforts, the Jewish people were saved.  It is quite an incredible story. 

We are all created for the purpose of glorifying our Heavenly Father.  For some things, that is the same for all of us – like worship.  We all worship the one true God.  We all worship on Sunday, the first day of the week (Acts 20:7).

But for other things like service or teaching, we know our purposes aren’t always fulfilled in the same way.  Each of us have our own talents and abilities.  Some of us have more than one talent.  Some of us don’t, but we are still commanded to use what we have for the good of the church. 

We do not all have the same experiences in life.  We live in different parts of the world.  God doesn’t place the same people in my life that He places in yours. 

We each have our own unique personality and our own set of circumstances.  I was not created to reach the same people you were created to reach.  But we were all made to teach, serve, and encourage. 

We were made to live the life God gave us and to glorify Him through that life.  We were made for this life…. We matter … We all belong to Christ and He loved us before the foundation of the world. 

Isn’t it wonderful to know we were Made for This? 

“ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”   Ephesians 2:10

Christ above all things - Robin

 

A New Pair of Shoes

The past couple of weeks or so I’ve been looking for a new pair of shoes – more specifically a pair of sandals that will look good with a dress or pants. After a few years of service, I’ve finally worn out the pair I have.

Every time I go shopping, I come home empty handed. I either find something I like, but they don’t have my size - or for one reason or another, I don't like the ones I find in my size, usually because the heels are too high for me to wear without breaking my neck. Oh well, I know I will eventually find something.

From a spiritual perspective, the shoe is not nearly as important as how we walk, right? But that doesn’t mean the way we actually move our feet. In the Bible our ‘walk’ means our manner of life. It is much more about the way we do the things we do and say. And I know I need to work on myself every day!

Living as Christ would have us live is hard – sometimes it is very hard. We fight the good fight every day, don’t we? A few of the devil’s tools are disappointment, discouragement, doubt, and full blown depression. That old snake in the grass loves to use all four of these! Oh, yes and I forgot one of his favorites – deceit.

In Revelation 12:9 the devil is called “the deceiver of the whole world.” The Savior Himself called the devil “a liar and the father of lies.” He will use many sources to try to trick us into many things. One of those things is that you are of no value to Christ.

Please do not ever believe that lie. Even if you or I were the only person or persons to ever live on this earth, God would still send His son to die for our sins. He loves His creation that much!

God’s love for us does not lessen every time a new child is born. That is not the way our Heavenly Father is. The Bible tells us He is not willing that any should perish. He wants all of us to repent and follow Him.

Well, it seems I veered from my original topic somewhat – chased a couple of rabbits, so to speak. Then again, believing God loves us has a lot to do with the way we walk.

It is the way we walk. Paul told the Ephesians to “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

See what I mean? Christ gave Himself up for us, so we are to walk in love. Treat everyone we meet with love and respect. Sisters, that’s the why and the how right there in one sentence.

A few verses later we read “for at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).”

The shoes don’t matter. How we walk does.

Christ above all things - Robin

Lady's Squeaky Ball

Hello there!  I hope everyone is well.   

Being a German Shepherd, Lady is a very high energy dog.  She loves to play fetch.  The only problem is when either of us take her out to play, usually she only fetches one time.  This is especially true if we throw her favorite ball to her first. 

The one she loves to play with is a bright orange squeaky ball.  Once she gets hold of this one, she rarely lets it go.  So I take another ball outside with us.  If I don’t, our game is very short.  The funny thing is when I throw the second ball she chases after it, but she keeps the squeaky ball in her mouth. 

Lady is missing out because there is no way she can catch the other ball I throw.

Oh well, I certainly get my exercise walking after one ball only to pick it up and throw again.  About one time out of ten, Lady will release the squeaky ball so I can pitch it out to her. 

It makes me think about my relationship with God.  I cannot tell you how many times I’ve taken my troubles to God and He has thrown them away for me!  But what do I do?  I chase them down and then I hold onto them all over again. 

Why oh why do I do that?  God does not want us to be without His love and comfort.  He is willing to give us strength, peace, courage, and love.  We should not miss out on all the love He sends our way.

I don’t always accept the comfort and wisdom God offers because I am so busy holding on to my own squeaky problems instead of giving them to God to keep. 

Our God is an awesome God!  He can help us when we are weary, heartbroken, and feel all alone.  He WANTS to be there for us.  But He can only do this when we are willing to let go and allow Him to handle our problems.    

Hellen Keller once said, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”   Oh, how true this is!

Psalm 55:22 is such a comforting verse.  “Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.”

Another verse that hits home right now is 1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”    

Only when we cast (throw) our burdens to God, will He be able to send us blessings instead! 

Christ above all things - Robin

A New Pair of Shoes

The past couple of weeks or so I’ve been looking for a new pair of shoes – more specifically a pair of sandals that will look good with a dress or pants. After a few years of service, I’ve finally worn out the pair I have.

Every time I go shopping, I come home empty handed. I either find something I like, but they don’t have my size - or for one reason or another, I don't like the ones I find in my size, usually because the heels are too high for me to wear without breaking my neck. Oh well, I know I will eventually find something.

From a spiritual perspective, the shoe is not nearly as important as how we walk, right? But that doesn’t mean the way we actually move our feet. In the Bible our ‘walk’ means our manner of life. It is much more about the way we do the things we do and say. And I know I need to work on myself every day!

Living as Christ would have us live is hard – sometimes it is very hard. We fight the good fight every day, don’t we? A few of the devil’s tools are disappointment, discouragement, doubt, and full blown depression. That old snake in the grass loves to use all four of these! Oh, yes and I forgot one of his favorites – deceit.

In Revelation 12:9 the devil is called “the deceiver of the whole world.” The Savior Himself called the devil “a liar and the father of lies.” He will use many sources to try to trick us into many things. One of those things is that you are of no value to Christ.

Please do not ever believe that lie. Even if you or I were the only person or persons to ever live on this earth, God would still send His son to die for our sins. He loves His creation that much!

God’s love for us does not lessen every time a new child is born. That is not the way our Heavenly Father is. The Bible tells us He is not willing that any should perish. He wants all of us to repent and follow Him.

Well, it seems I veered from my original topic somewhat – chased a couple of rabbits, so to speak. Then again, believing God loves us has a lot to do with the way we walk.

It is the way we walk. Paul told the Ephesians to “walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2

See what I mean? Christ gave Himself up for us, so we are to walk in love. Treat everyone we meet with love and respect. Sisters, that’s the why and the how right there in one sentence.

A few verses later we read “for at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).”

The shoes don’t matter. How we walk does.

Christ above all things - Robin