Prepare For The Rain

I would like to tell you a little parable that I heard on a movie the other day. There were once two farmers. The land in which they lived was dry and parched. The new years crops would die if rain didn't come soon. Things seemed hopeless, and worry filled their hearts. Each farmer prayed to the Lord for rain. The first farmer prayed and prayed for the rain , but did little else. He simply prayed and waited. The second farmer also prayed for the rain to come. However, he then went to his field and began to prepare it for the rain.

Which do you think had faith? The second right? When times are rough and there seems to be no rain in sight and the earth of our lives is dry and cracked we need to pray for the life giving rain from the Father. There is no doubt about that. Let us remember to be like that second farmer. Once we have prayed for the rain we must then go and prepare our fields for it. The Lord, in His time, will send the rain. We must trust His timing and care for us. Often we go through hard times not because of sin in our lives, but because the Lord wants to show His power and might in our lives. The story of the blind man from John 9:1-23 reminds us of that.

What is your field like today? Perhaps the Lord has sent your rain. Your fields are green and lush. Praise Him!!!! Give Him all the glory!!! Perhaps the rain has not fallen yet. Your fields are dry and dusty. Praise Him!!!!! Wait expectantly for the miracles He has for you, and give Him all the Glory when they come. The Lord hears the cries of the righteous. Go today and prepare your fields for His rain and praise Him as you wait patiently for it to come.

Spiritual Sandpaper

Have you ever had a person that is hard to love??? I mean almost down right impossible. They remind me of a huge thorn poking me right where I can't get to it. Bart relates this to having a cuckelbur stuck in his leg hair. Praise God for no leg hair! I often just don't know what to do about this type of person. I pray and pray and often they just don't change. In this case I begin to see if it is me who needs to change and not them. In this instance however, it is an issue with the persons meanness. Have you ever had to deal with a mean person weekly with no way out of it? A mean person who either thinks they are justified or don't see themselves as being mean. Let me tell you it isn't easy to remain blameless before the eyes of the Lord. I am a very sensitive person. I still tend to get my feelings hurt easier than I wish. After becoming a pastors wife when Bart surrendered to the ministry in 2004 I learned to have a little bit thicker skin. You just have to in any ministry position. I still don't have the water off a ducks back down just yet.

I have a dear friend of almost 13 years who once told me about a co-worker that often God uses people like this as a sort of spiritual sand paper. It helps us to smooth out our bumps and burrs that come from being fleshly. We all have things that we wish would go away and make our lives a little easier. For some it is a person or people, for some it is an illness, and for others a situation of life. The list could go on. For Paul, he called it his thorn in the flesh. He prayed and prayed for it to go away, but the Lord in His wisdom would not remove it.

The Word says this in 2 Cor. 12: 7-10 :
Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me--to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.
And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

God's grace is sufficient for me. Wow. His matchless grace that we sing hymns about is enough. It fills the need we have. It is sufficient. The salve for our wounds, if we let it be that. The Lord told Paul that power is perfected in weakness. Think on that one a while. Power perfected in weakness was modeled by Christ Himself. I prefer to think of it as meekness. Do we have the power to dish out what the other person is giving us. Yes. Can we be just as mean and hurtful to get the point across for them to see their error? Yes. However, can we, like Christ show perfected power in weakness? I think we must in a case like this. Who doesn't want the power of Christ to dwell in them? The key comes at the end of Paul's statement. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. We must learn to be content with the cuckelburrs, sandpaper, and thorns of life. Never forget that when we appear weak to others as Christ did on the day He have his life for you, that we are truly strong in Him.

May you see your sandpaper in a new light today, and remember our strength comes from our weaknesses. We can truly do all things through Christ who gives us His strenght.

A Crown Fit For a King

The word crown is mentioned 62 times in the Bible. As I thought of what a crown is today I came up with many things. They are an object of beauty and honor. Those given a crown are set apart and looked upon with great favor. We often think of royalty. They are pure gold and without blemish. Often adorned with precious jewels of infinite worth. Ornate. Precious and an outward sign of wisdom and power. Bestowed on leaders with many responsibilities.

The Bible verses I looked up defined the word crown by it's association with: blessings, being distinguished among others, made of gold, holy, costly, made of precious jewels and pure gold, with out blemish, bestowed upon those of grace and favor, and bringing life. I remember being a little girl pretending to be a princess so I could wear a crown. I would make them of flowers, paper, or whatever I could get my little hands on. I dreamed of prince charming and castles. Beautiful horses and long flowing gowns. I think all of us have pretended this before. I would like to show you a verse that really grounded me in my search for becoming a help meet to my wonderfully imperfect prince charming.

An excellent wife ( the KJ version says "A virtuous woman") is the crown of her husband, But she who shames {him} is like rottenness in his bones. Proverbs 12:4

Talk about a huge OUCH!!!!! This was one of those though moments for me. I had to come to grips with the fact that if I wanted to get serious about my marriage and being what God's will was for my life I was greatly lacking and had better clean my spiritual house. I remember thinking that rotten was a harsh word. I also remember thinking that it was sometimes hard to be a crown to someone I was mad at and didn't think deserved it at the time. We have all felt that way I am sure.

There is one thing though...... The Bible doesn't mention that the husband needs to be worthy or perfect. He was placed in leadership and that is that. I asked myself, " Do I set Bart apart from other men in a way that would cause rejoicing?" I had to say with a resounding ring NO. I was more like rottenness in his bones than honor or rejoicing. God's grace and forgiveness was sweet. He gently guided me in ways that I could change my attitude and stop being so selfish. Marriage is not about us. The sooner we can come to terms with that statement the better off we will be. We are here to serve the Mighty God of All and to serve others. We are not to think of ourselves. It is a very easy trap to become self centered in marriage.

I would like to leave you with this thought for the day.....

A wife must be of inner beauty, honor, with our blemish, precious and of infinite worth. She should be these things to her husband even if he is unworthy in our eyes. He is worthy in God's eyes and that is all that matters. Who would want to wear a crown made of filth, ugliness, and bitterness, and the like.

What kind of crown will you choose to be today?

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,but have not love, I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,but have not love,

my children learn cleanliness, ­not godliness.

If I scream at my children for every infraction,and fault them for every mess they make,but have not love, my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children. Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present "mommy,"the taxi-driver

to every childhood event,the counselor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,then stands aside

to let the youth walk into adulthood.Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.

All the projections I had for my house and my children

have faded away into insignificance,And what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abides in my home scratches on most of the furniture,dishes with missing place settings, and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters and markings,But the

greatest of all is the Love that permeates my relationships with my children.-

Adapted by Jim Fowler

image from allposters.com

Time Flies

As this weekend faces me I begin to think about my son. It seems that only yesterday I brought him home from the hospital. In a few days he will be 9 years old. I watched this morning as he reached into a top cabinet to get a glass down. These are small things and seem unimportant to some, but they are milestones to him. They tell him he is growing up and becoming a man. These moments are ours for only a little while, and then they are gone. Time flies so quickly.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says this about time, "There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven-- A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.

Time is a precious thing to God. He created a specific time for everything to take place. It is a comforting thing to know that the Creator of everything has time in His hands to mold and do with as He chooses. We rush around and try to control time. We have our daily planners, pda's, date books etc.... We schedule everything by our own convenience. I am so blessed to be reminded that I can plan until I am purple with polka dots, but the Lord is the one in control. It is God's time schedule not our own that we should go by.

Look at what Ecclesiastes 3:11a says, " He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart.." We need to see God's time frame for things in our daily lives.

Did you know that the word time appears 625 times in the word of God. God is concerned with time just as we are. Make every second of every day count for the glory of God. Treasure the short time we have to be about all the God has laid out for us to do.

May you be blessed by God's treasure of time today and always.

Just Foolin' Around

Just Foolin' Around
By: John Taylor
Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines foolishness, in part, as: Void of understanding or sound judgment; silly; vain; trifling; unwise; imprudent; acting without judgment or discretion. The antonym of foolish is wise.

It seems that foolish children have become the norm in our society. Parents or guardians excuse silliness by saying, “They’re just kids; they’ll grow out of it.” So they are allowed to be fools until it seems to be the accepted norm.Our culture is fabricated to cultivate foolishness. Kids play video games, watch movies, listen to music produced by fools, “chill out” with their friends, and just sit around the house doing nothing until the next pleasure is available. Then, when the time comes for them to sit still and pay attention in a church, they act goofy and can’t be still because they aren’t being entertained. There are some fun things that will contribute to a boy’s normal male development, but nearly all packaged entertainment is designed by fools for fools. They don’t teach boys to be men. Most boys today have one common problem, just one—lack of association with a strong father. Having a strong father but not associating with him is the same as not having a strong father. Boys need to be harnessed with men of character if they are going to grow up to be wise.When I was a boy growing up (I was the only son in our family), I worked right beside my daddy. I am sure that, like every little kid, at first I was a burden and slowed him down, but my skills grew until I knew I was needed. He would always say, “Ain’t no boy of mine gonna be a sissy.” So we worked hard, wrestled hard, and played not so hard. When I would have been silly, my daddy was there setting the tone, and somehow silliness was always inappropriate. He was the main influence in my life, not the video games, sport figures, or movie stars. I was never left to myself to develop apart from him. My dad, to a point, was my life. But as I grew older, I came to understand that the things he required of me were for my benefit. We as fathers have a huge responsibility to teach our sons to be sober minded. “Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded” (Titus 2:6). Foolishness is part of depravity and will come naturally if children are left to themselves. “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child” (Proverbs 22:15). That means you have to be there and be a part of their life all the time. Just as a tree cannot mature and bear fruit without the proper nourishment from the soil, sons cannot mature and bear fruit without our time and training. Around the ages of 12-16 years old they start to change. It is imperative that we have laid a wise foundation by that stage in their lives or the fool will emerge and dominate their lives.I am now 36 years old and have been married almost 18 years. I have 7 children and I still talk to my dad about some of the decisions I make. He doesn’t make them for me anymore, but I value what he thinks. You won’t instill that in your sons if you have not been the major player in their lives. You had better get their heart while they’re young.

This article came from the NGJ web site. If you haven't visited there yet please do. There is a wealth of information and wisdom that the Pearls share there. See my favorite links and it will take you right there. ;o)