Life is funny. You can go for the longest time with a burning flame inside you, a fire that's ready to ignite the world for Christ and feel like you are on the verge of exploding into glory! Then someone throws a bucket of cold water on your fire and it goes from a blaze to a fizzling pile of embers. Another bucket of water comes along and the embers are just a smoking pile of ash. All you have left is sadness, confusion and an empty void. In order to get that flame back you have to have a drying out period, a gathering fuel period and a time to get a spark again. Sometimes it takes days, weeks or months to go through the steps needed to regain your burning flame. It's a painful and arduous task that only God and time can heal.
Recently I had my fire snuffed out. I made an impassioned plea to the leadership of our church and it was ignored. My husband was called in to talk about the letter I sent...but not me. My husband got a text message saying that if I wanted to talk I could...but no text directly to me. I now know where I stand in the body of the church.
I tried to write devotionals for our church's women's page to encourage and edify them during this bleak season. When I asked leadership what they thought of them
I was told..."Well, I guess we need them now." (said with a shrug and a painful look on their face) They went on... " and I open FB in the morning and oh my gosh you're doing them EVERY DAY!" That was followed by lots of laughter.
Again, I am comfortable with my place in the body of Christ now that I know where I stand.
I have forgiven those that stepped directly on my toes but I know not to make the same foolish mistakes twice. So now is my drying out period...waiting for the the water to dry up so God can rekindle my flame. It's been a good learning experience for me because now I am ever watchful of my words to make sure that they edify and never quench someone's spirit. And I'm learning how to pray for those who are clueless as to how they speak to others.
So I guess it's true that all things work together for good to them that love God.
Thank You father for the experience of hurt in order to grow stronger in you.
1 Thess 5:19 - Quench not the Spirit.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Transferring devotionals from FB to here
I tried to do devotionals on FB but they didn't go over very well so I'm transferring them here and starting back to writing them for the blogosphere.
May 21st - So today is the big day.
It's May 21st. Today is the day that Harold Camping announced would be judgment day. You know when I first saw the billboards and saw the big buses touring around with motivated followers of Mr. Camping my knee jerk reaction was, “You've got to be kidding! Everyone knows that we don't know the hour of Christ's return! What a wacko!”
A few days ago a Pastor friend of ours sent out one of his sermons on, yep, you guessed it, May 21st. Before I opened it I was wondering if I even needed to read what I already knew. There will be no return on Saturday. But, after spending a few minutes reading I found a new perspective.
It's true that Harold Camping has gone through several dates that were supposed to be “the day” and they did not come to pass. But.... did it make a few wavering Christians take the time to review their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Did the idea of judgment day encourage someone to get a dusty Bible off a shelf and sit and read for a few minutes?
Maybe the knee jerk reaction I had should have been tempered with hope.
Maybe Harold Camping might be on to something.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. - Matt 24:42
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You want fries with those nuggets?
When our son was little he would always want nuggets, when we were out to eat. You know those crispy on the outside, deep fried, little chunks of mystery meat (chicken) that usually came with a side of fries and a toy Mc-prize. The nutritional value of those nuggets are questionable. Yeah, you could eat a bunch of them, dipped in the sauce of your choice, and feel full afterward, but were they really meant to be a dietary mainstay? Of course not! They are junk food. They are fun food for select occasions. If we tried to live off of them we'd probably have arteries constricted by cholesterol, be in a nutritional deficit and feel horrible.
Well, I want to share some nuggets with you today and you don't have go through a drive-thru to get them. They are nuggets of truth. They are the Word of God which, we are assured, that we can live on and remain spiritually healthy when we devour them.
So have a bunch of nuggets today, hold the fries and enjoy the prize!
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” - Matt 4:4
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For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. - 2 Cor 5:1
On days like today when the aches and pains of life are a little bigger, a little 'ouchier' and we move a little slower, isn't it great to know that this body is just a tent that we inhabit for a time?
So, while we are on this camping trip called life on earth...rejoice. How wonderful to know that the body that we will have in heaven will be free of aches and pains! That tent will be camped out in front of the throne. That tent will be the luxury model that has all the comforts of home. Yes, it will be our body made new and glorious.
May 21st - So today is the big day.
It's May 21st. Today is the day that Harold Camping announced would be judgment day. You know when I first saw the billboards and saw the big buses touring around with motivated followers of Mr. Camping my knee jerk reaction was, “You've got to be kidding! Everyone knows that we don't know the hour of Christ's return! What a wacko!”
A few days ago a Pastor friend of ours sent out one of his sermons on, yep, you guessed it, May 21st. Before I opened it I was wondering if I even needed to read what I already knew. There will be no return on Saturday. But, after spending a few minutes reading I found a new perspective.
It's true that Harold Camping has gone through several dates that were supposed to be “the day” and they did not come to pass. But.... did it make a few wavering Christians take the time to review their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ? Did the idea of judgment day encourage someone to get a dusty Bible off a shelf and sit and read for a few minutes?
Maybe the knee jerk reaction I had should have been tempered with hope.
Maybe Harold Camping might be on to something.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. - Matt 24:42
*******************************************************
You want fries with those nuggets?
When our son was little he would always want nuggets, when we were out to eat. You know those crispy on the outside, deep fried, little chunks of mystery meat (chicken) that usually came with a side of fries and a toy Mc-prize. The nutritional value of those nuggets are questionable. Yeah, you could eat a bunch of them, dipped in the sauce of your choice, and feel full afterward, but were they really meant to be a dietary mainstay? Of course not! They are junk food. They are fun food for select occasions. If we tried to live off of them we'd probably have arteries constricted by cholesterol, be in a nutritional deficit and feel horrible.
Well, I want to share some nuggets with you today and you don't have go through a drive-thru to get them. They are nuggets of truth. They are the Word of God which, we are assured, that we can live on and remain spiritually healthy when we devour them.
So have a bunch of nuggets today, hold the fries and enjoy the prize!
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” - Matt 4:4
**********************************
For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. - 2 Cor 5:1
On days like today when the aches and pains of life are a little bigger, a little 'ouchier' and we move a little slower, isn't it great to know that this body is just a tent that we inhabit for a time?
So, while we are on this camping trip called life on earth...rejoice. How wonderful to know that the body that we will have in heaven will be free of aches and pains! That tent will be camped out in front of the throne. That tent will be the luxury model that has all the comforts of home. Yes, it will be our body made new and glorious.
Newly Hatched Book Review
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
Rebecca Sckloot
This is bar none one of the best reads I've had in years! It is the story of a 30 year old woman named Henrietta Lacks that dies of cancer in 1951. But that is where the story starts, not ends.
Her doctor took tissue samples of the cervical tumor and began to grow them in his lab to study the tissue. Henrietta never knew he took the tissue. The doctor soon realized that the tissue began to thrive and multiply outside the body. These tissue cells divided and grew and became the basis for major medical breakthroughs, including the cure for polio.
Shocking truths about the medical community's use of the African American population, in the 50's, for experiments. These experiments were meant to further science but some were throw-backs to Natzi Germany.
The author incorporates Henrietta's life, her family and the cells that are still growing today into a most incredible read!
How the family learns of Henritta's immortality and how the author takes 10 years to uncover the truth for them is so touching.
So here's the eggs-cellant breakdown....On a scale of 1-10 eggs
Good read - 9.5
Supported by facts and evidence - 10
Easy read - 9 for me but some readers said they got bogged down in the medical parts.
Would recommended to a friend - 10
Rebecca Sckloot
This is bar none one of the best reads I've had in years! It is the story of a 30 year old woman named Henrietta Lacks that dies of cancer in 1951. But that is where the story starts, not ends.
Her doctor took tissue samples of the cervical tumor and began to grow them in his lab to study the tissue. Henrietta never knew he took the tissue. The doctor soon realized that the tissue began to thrive and multiply outside the body. These tissue cells divided and grew and became the basis for major medical breakthroughs, including the cure for polio.
Shocking truths about the medical community's use of the African American population, in the 50's, for experiments. These experiments were meant to further science but some were throw-backs to Natzi Germany.
The author incorporates Henrietta's life, her family and the cells that are still growing today into a most incredible read!
How the family learns of Henritta's immortality and how the author takes 10 years to uncover the truth for them is so touching.
So here's the eggs-cellant breakdown....On a scale of 1-10 eggs
Good read - 9.5
Supported by facts and evidence - 10
Easy read - 9 for me but some readers said they got bogged down in the medical parts.
Would recommended to a friend - 10
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