Thursday, December 29, 2011

The New Leaf


The New Leaf

            With the coming of the new year, my mind goes back over the last year, remembering both the good and the bad.  I must admit that I tend to dwell on my failures.  I remember the line of poetry written by Francis Thompson, “while memory runs like a hunted thing down paths it cannot retrace.”  I am sometimes haunted by the memories, finding it hard to sleep, hard to concentrate on other things. 
            But then I read Philippians 3:13 and 14 the other night and recalled that God does not want me focused on the past.  “This one thing I do, forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.”  I do not want to be bound by the past.  I want to remember that I can have a fresh start, a new beginning, a new leaf.


The New Leaf
He came to my desk with quivering lip –
The lesson was done.
“Dear Teacher. I want a new leaf he said,
“I have spoiled this one.”
I took the old leaf, stained and blotted,
And gave him a new one, all unspotted,
And into his sad eyes smiled;
“Do better now, my child!”
I went to the Throne with a quivering soul –
The old year was gone.
“Dear Father, hast Thou a new leaf for me?”
“I have spoiled this one.”
He took the old leaf, stained and blotted
And into my sad heart smiled:
“Do better now, my child!”
~~Faith Lamb

Monday, December 19, 2011

To Grasp The Awesomeness

My finite mind struggles to grasp the awesomeness of God on a daily basis. And then I consider Mary, a virgin who was to conceive the Christ child….

Luke 1 says, “Gabriel appeared to her and said, "Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.  "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favor with God!  You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus.  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His ancestor David.  And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!" 

Wow! Talk about a struggle to grasp the awesomeness!! Then I consider her cousin Elizabeth who was to give birth to a son in her old age. Knowing this Mary hurried to visit Elizabeth. I am sure she longed for the wise counsel of her godly cousin not to mention they could go shopping together at Babies R UsJ Elizabeth greeted her with a glad cry and the baby in her womb jumped for joy! Elizabeth said Mary was blessed because she believed that the Lord would do what He said! Mary responded in the way only a woman of God would respond….

Luke 1:46-55 "Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!  For He took notice of His lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.  For the Mighty One is holy, and He has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear Him.  His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.  He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped His servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For He made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever." 

Elizabeth and Mary readily accepted what God had for them regardless of the struggle to walk through it while others either showed unbelief or scorn. These godly women are a wonderful example of how to walk the journey of grasping the awesomeness of God with grace and finesse.

Merry Christmas friends!

Tina Laubscher

Monday, December 12, 2011

Love Never Fails

I want to talk about love. I've been having some of the seniors that I teach read a few of Shakespeare's sonnets recently. I truly enjoy the sonnets, so I figure the kids ought to learn to appreciate them as well.  After reading several of them, we talked about the poet's view of love. Although we don't know for sure who Shakespeare had in mind with these sonnets---or if he was just writing about a theoretical love---the truth about real love is universal.

I was reminded of our class discussion in church Sunday night when Scotte Staab sang the line "Love won't compromise." I got out my pencil and jotted down some words from Shakespeare: "[Love] is the star to every wandering bark." Love is the sure thing we can depend upon. Like the North Star guiding ships of long ago, it is a stabilizing force in our lives.

Another sonnet recounts the speaker's dissatisfaction with his life until he remembers someone who loves him. Then he says, "Thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings, that then I scorn to change my state with kings." In all our lives, there is someone whom to recall brings a smile to our lips. "If you can't think of anyone else," I tell my students, "You know God loves you."

Just this week I was doing a Bible study on the topic of love. See what John says:

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another." I John 4:9-11.

Real love does not compromise. It doesn't settle for less than the best for the loved one. Since God gave his best for us, we ought to respond in love for him and his children. This is what God is showing me. It's not an easy thing to love like God loves, but I'm working on it.

--Sherry Poff

Friday, December 9, 2011

Burst Into Singing

If my computer doesn't freeze again before I post this week's Cup of Grace (for the fifth attempt), then I will burst into singing!! I'm not sure why God put pause on my writing this, but I hope you will enjoy it on a Friday as much as on a Monday.

If you're like me, then music touches your soul in a way that much else can't. I absolutely love music, and I thank God every day for placing me in a family with musical talents and abilities! One of my all-time favorite things to do is to sit around with my family and sing at the top of our lungs, all finding our own harmony! In fact, a secret (well not-so-secret-now) dream of mine is to sing in a Gaither video!! If you were to ask me my favorite song or style of music, I would be as indecisive as my Christmas playlist on my iTunes! (Yes, as a matter fact, I do have Handel's Messiah and Charlie Brown Christmas among many others all shuffled together!) :)

Tucked in the middle of this year's playlist is the song I get to sing with the choir on Sunday! I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that EVERY word makes me want to...
"Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music...(Psalm 98:4);"
Yes, a song makes me want to burst into song! Why? Because it's about my amazing God and what His Only Son did for me-a Gentile sinner-a couple thousand years ago!

This Christmas season, when the "...old familiar carols play...," burst into singing to the Lord, "for He has done marvelous things (Psalm 98:1)."

~Rebecca Phillips

Monday, November 28, 2011

Hear the Angels Sing!


Hear the Angels Sing!

            So Thanksgiving is officially over and the preparations for Christmas can proceed at full steam.  Yes, I know there have been Christmas decorations out since September.  Some of the stores have been doing Christmas promotions, even playing Christmas carols, but now Christmas officially begins.

            But there are many who are not looking forward to Christmas this year.  There are many of us in the church who are saying, “This is the first Christmas without (fill in the blank).”  This is my first Christmas without my mother.
           
            Others are so limited in finances that Christmas will not be the same.  Others are facing serious illnesses.  For some, there are fractured relations, not knowing if those relationships can be restored, knowing some cannot.

            So do we dwell on our losses, on our needs, on our heartaches?  Do we refuse to decorate, to sing, to celebrate?  Or do we choose to welcome the Savior who came to set us free—free from our sin, our fear, our grief?

            As you listen to the carols this year, listen to the words.  Listen to the fourth verse of “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”

            “And ye, beneath life’s crushing load,
            Whose forms are bending low,
            Who toil along the climbing way
            With painful steps and slow,
            Look now! For glad and golden hours
            Come swiftly on the wing.
            O rest beside the weary road,
            And hear the angels sing!”
                                                Edmund H. Sears

            Life does go on.  I have my first grandbaby, Mikaela Jocelyn, to remind me that it does.  I will listen to the angels’ song.  I may not do all of what I usually do, but I will still celebrate the birth of the Christ Child who came to save the world . . . and me.

                                                                        ~~Faith Lamb

Monday, November 21, 2011

Witnessing A Miracle

Our church body has recently experienced one goodbye after another. As our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ continue the journey of eternal life absent from the body and present with the Lord, we miss them and long to join them. At the same time our church body has recently experienced one hello after another. Precious babies have been born to begin the earthly journey of eternal life. Whether we are saying goodbye or saying hello, we are witnessing a miracle.
On October 18 at 11:27am God blessed us with Malorie Rebecca Neal. She is a precious petite bundle from heaven. I was able to be in the room when she was born. As I cried and thanked God for His grace in allowing both mom and baby to be fine, I knew I had just witnessed a miracle.
David put it so well: “For You formed my inward parts; you wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”  Psalm 139:13-1

 Paul put it so well: “God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee He has given us His Holy Spirit.  So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord.  For we live by believing and not by seeing.  2 Corinthians 5:5-7

Wikipedia says a miracle often denotes an event attributed to divine intervention. In casual usage, miracle is seen as any event that is statistically unlikely but beneficial, such as surviving a natural disaster, or simply a wonderful occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as a birth. Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or beating the odds. Some coincidences may be perceived to be miracles.

Tina says a miracle is when the God of the universe blesses His creation with His grace, mercy and loving kindness as He works out His will in our lives. His will may be the miracle of birth. His will may be the miracle spoken of in 2 Corinthians 5 of being absent from this body and home with the Lord. Our goal is to glorify Him and give Him praise in each and every miracle.

As I pray for each family who witnessed the miracle of a loved one leaving this earth, I am praising Him for allowing me to witness the miracle of new life as my fifth grandchild entered this earth.

Tina Laubscher

Monday, November 14, 2011

The Beauty of Holiness

Well, friends--I'm about funeraled out! I know that's not a word, but I'll bet you know what I mean. It's heartbreaking to see people we've known and loved for years weaken and die. I was standing behind Amy Smith in the line at the funeral home on Friday, and she noted, "Our church has been here way too much recently." Yes.

But while it is heartbreaking, there's sweetness to be found. The mere fact of a long line of people coming to express sympathy is sweet. The way the gentlemen at the funeral home open the door and point people in the right direction is sweet. The hugs, the smiles through tears, the precious notes---God gives sweetness in the midst of sorrow.

I was particularly struck by the flowers at our two most recent funerals. On Carol's casket as well as Dan's, the flowers were stunning! They were just a profusion of color: red, purple, yellow, pink, in settings of emerald green. Flowers really do bring comfort. I remember the ones so many people sent for my own mother's funeral. I so loved looking at each one and appreciating their sheer beauty, beauty that reflects the loveliness of God himself.

As I have been out and about this last month, I have just been amazed by the gorgeous leaves. I can hardly keep my eyes on the road. I find myself praising God for his love and goodness in giving us so much pleasure in life. All the goodness in the world is an expression of the person of God. James 1:17 tells us that every "good and perfect gift is from above." Psalms 96 says, "Honor and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary." We are told to "worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."

I hope we get a respite from funerals for a while, but regardless of what happens, I am so thankful for the way God keeps showing himself. It is as the poet Hopkins says, "He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change. Praise Him!"

--Sherry Poff

Monday, November 7, 2011

What the World Needs Now is...

Hate, pure hate!

If you're a Carpenters fan, you weren't expecting that, I know. The lyrics to their song have often bothered me, because of the lines that tell the Lord what we need and what we don't. But recently, they've bothered me in a different way. I've been overwhelmed by the immense love of God lately, and can't help but think that we're the ones responsible for the seeming lack of love, not God...His is immeasurable. However, while I agree that we do, in fact, need to love more, I am also convinced that we need more hate...hatred for sin!
I would guess that 99.9% of you would answer this question with a resounding yes, "Do you hate sin?" I would have joined that statistic, as well, before a great conversation with my dear friend, Cheryl Howe. We discussed how much we wish we hated sin!
Unfortunately, my life does not portray my hatred of sin. And I sincerely believe that if 99.9% of Christians did indeed hate their sin, this world would look different. In fact, maybe even the Carpenters wouldn't have needed to sing such a song about the lack of love in the world.
Romans 12 has a great list of righteous behaviors to those of us who long to live lives that are pleasing to the Lord. We're told to live sacrificially (vs. 1), renew our minds (vs. 2), live humbly (vs. 3), use our gifts generously (vs. 4-8), love sincerely (vs. 9), cling to good (vs. 9),  commit to love (vs. 10), honor others (vs. 10), serve passionately (vs. 11), hope joyfully (vs. 12), have patience in trials (vs. 12), pray faithfully (vs. 12), share with the needy (vs. 13),  offer hospitality (vs. 13), bless persecutors (vs. 14), rejoice with the joyful (vs. 15), mourn with the mourning (vs. 15), live harmoniously (vs. 16), interact with people humbly regardless of status (vs. 16), respond to evil without evil (vs. 17), live blamelessly (vs. 17), live peacefully (vs. 18), let God take revenge (vs. 19), give food and drink to the hungry and thirsty (vs. 20), repay evil with good (vs. 21).
Tucked in the middle of all of these is one that we often overlook, or maybe just misunderstand. Verse 9 tells us to "hate what is evil."
Again, most of us would honestly say that we hate evil - we hate theft, murder, rape and pornography. That is why we don't participate in them.
But do we hate immodesty? Do we hate laziness? Do we hate the irreverent use of God's name? Do we hate our lack of discipline with our money, time or eating? Sure. We dislike it. But do we hate it? Enough to turn the TV off when we see an inappropriate commercial exploiting women in too little clothing or hear God's name taken in vain? Enough to stop spending hours on Facebook when we haven't spent time in prayer or God's Word? Enough to sacrifice "me" time to invest in the lives of others? Enough to pray about a purchase rather than buying impulsively? Enough to go to bed at a decent hour so as not to be exhausted all the time? Enough to actually stop eating when we're so full it hurts?
I must confess, I don't hate my sin. I like it. I like it enough to make excuses for it. I like it enough to make jokes about it. I like it enough to still "struggle" after being convicted 10 years ago of the same junk! I like it too much to turn it off!
I could probably love so much more than I do, but I believe that the first thing I need more of is hate...hatred for my sin. In fact, I bet the solution to the deficiency of love is...hate.
The world needs to see God's love, but they must see with it God's hatred for sin. The world needs to know that they need God's love, because of their sin.  Because of our love for others, we must speak the truth about sin, and we must hate it!
So go out and HATE a little more this week!

~Rebecca Phillips

Monday, October 31, 2011

From Death to Life

“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” - John 5:24 (NIV)
 I was reminded this week that death is a gift to the believer. Scripture tells us that we pass FROM death TO life! It's been a difficult month for those of us who remain. But for our precious sisters and brothers in Christ, life has only just begun!
I had the privilege a few months ago to sit under the teaching of Carol Pappas in the Ladies’ Sunday School class. We studied the illustrations Paul used in 2 Corinthians. One of the first we studied, was the tent.

2 Corinthians 5 (HCSB)

Our Future after Death [I love how the HCSB titles this section of Scripture!]

1
For we know that if our earthly house, a tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2
And, in fact, we groan in this one, longing to put on our house from heaven,
3
since, when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
4
Indeed, we who are in this tent groan, burdened as we are, because we do not want to be unclothed but clothed, so that mortality may be swallowed up by life.
5
And the One who prepared us for this very thing is God, who gave us the Spirit as a down payment.
6
Therefore, though we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord—
7
for we walk by faith, not by sight —
8
yet we are confident and satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord.
9 Therefore, whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to be pleasing to Him.
10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.

Many of us have read over the last weeks and months of the groaning (vs.  2)  of Carol’s body due to the cancer.  On August 20, Carol wrote in her update...
"Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for You are the One I praise."  Jeremiah 17:14Another reminder to me that He is the One who does it all -- and does it so completely.  He will give me grace to praise Him.

Praise the Lord, that Carol is now “satisfied to be out of the body and at home with the Lord (vs. 8)”. Carol is home, her tent left behind. She is healed completely. Can you imagine what her first Sunday in Heaven must have been like? I picture her praising her Father, radiant smile beaming on her face, hands lifted high! Carol has passed from death to life everlasting!

May we be challenged and encouraged to live a life pleasing to the Lord as so boldly demonstrated by our dearly loved Carol Pappas.

~Rebecca Phillips


Monday, October 24, 2011

Gone Home!

Gone Home!
Her daughter rises to call her blessed

            On October 4, 2011, 5:30 p.m., Mary Lloys Rice Himes went to Glory.  She went quietly, easily, simply slipped away.  I had told God I was holding my mother on my open palm.  I knew she wanted to go Home and that it would be soon, but I still was not ready for it.
            Now that the initial shock has worn off and the busyness of trying to make arrangements for the funeral is past, I have been thinking more and more of who she really was.  I fear I had been so overwhelmed with taking care of a woman who did not want to be taken care of, who rebelled against anyone telling her what to do or even doing for her what she could not do for herself, that I forgot who she really was, who she was for eighty-six years.
            My mother was first of all a passionate lover of God.  I believe her goal in life was to please God.  She wanted to do what was right.  She had high spiritual expectations for herself and others.  She was a black and white person, one who was sure she knew what God wanted, not only for herself, but for others (which often caused a problem with others who were sure she did not know what God wanted for them!)
            She was a lover of the Word of God.  She not only loved and read it; she also memorized it and expected her children and grandchildren to memorize it with her.  One of the traditions she began and I have continued is memorizing scripture to be recited on all holidays.  We learned Luke 2 for Christmas.  We said Matthew 28 for Easter.  We said Psalm 103 for Thanksgiving.  To the very end she knew each scripture better than anyone else.  She felt cheated if those scriptures were not said before a holiday meal.
            She also loved to teach the Word of God, not only to her own children, but to Sunday School classes, to women’s groups like the Joyful Woman Jubilees, to Bible studies in homes, and also to residents at Creekside Senior Living, both before and while she lived there.  She still wanted to teach at Southern Oaks Assisted Living, where she lived for her last years.
            Mother loved people.  I often envied her ability to talk to anyone about anything.  She loved talking about the Lord the most.  She had a passion to see others come to know the Lord.  She never hesitated about asking someone if they knew the Lord.  I remember the neighbors she invited to our house for coffee, always talking to them about their personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  When I was a senior in high school I had made a new friend.  Regina had a deep hunger for spiritual things and I had been talking to her about the Lord.  I knew she was very close to wanting a personal relationship with the Lord.  I invited her home so I could talk to her uninterrupted.  But my chance never came.  Mother came into the room and immediately asked her about her relationship with the Lord and she led her to the Lord.  When I said later, “Mother, I was talking to her,”  she said, “I thought you invited her home so I could talk to her!”
            Mother loved music.  She played the piano at every church my dad pastored.  She taught piano as well, but she loved the piano for herself.  When we children would finally head to bed at night, she would sit at the piano and play for her own enjoyment.  I can still hear the notes of “Clair de Lune” floating up the stairs in the darkness and it brings sweet memories.  She loved to sing as well, still taking voice lessons when I was a child.  I sometimes sing songs to myself that I heard her sing, “The Holy City,” “In the End of the Sabbath,” even “Desert Love Song.”
            Mother loved knowledge for its own sake.  She read constantly and encouraged us to read.  Our dinner table was a center for knowledge.  Whatever topic came up was fair game, but when we had argued enough, she would say, “Look it up.”  Right beside the table was a small bookcase with an encyclopedia, a dictionary, and an atlas.  We couldn’t Google it, but we did look it up!
             Mother was a lover of hospitality and was convinced that it was a Biblical command and no one had an excuse for not welcoming people into their home.  She wrote a column for the Joyful Woman magazine on entertaining. 
            She was a good cook, loved good food.  Some of her loves I shared—asparagus, avocado, artichoke, black olives, but some I did not—calves’ brains in scrambled eggs, beef tongue or heart, pickled pigs’ feet, kippered herring, smoked oysters.
            I could go on.  I think of so many things she loved, her plants, her sewing, her bird watching. 
            Was she a perfect person?  No.  Did I always understand her?  No.  Were there ways I wished I could be more like her?  Oh, yes.  Will I miss her?  Oh my, yes!  I feel a deep hole in my heart.
            And I rise up and call her blessed.  I have a goodly heritage and want my children to have the same.


                                                                                       ~~Faith Himes Lamb


                                                                                   
                                                                    Mary Lloys Rice Himes             

Monday, October 17, 2011

Assurance at Sunset

I love fall sunsets. Recently my husband and I took our granddaughters to Pennsylvania to visit their great-grandparents. It is a fifteen hour drive so we stopped overnight. The weather was beautiful giving us breathtaking sunsets.  They reminded me of the assurance that every one of our days has been ordained by God. When I laid down to sleep at night, I remembered these verses of scripture:
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease.  Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning.  I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!"  The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him.” 
Lamentations 3:22-25 New Living Translation

The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For He knows how weak we are; He remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die.  The wind blows, and we are gone— as though we had never been here. But the love of the Lord remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children's children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!
Psalm 103:13-18 New Living Translation

God’s words are a comfort to me and I am thankful for the Holy Spirit who brings them to mind. The assurance of a sunset points me to the assurance that God is my faithful father!
Tina Laubscher

Monday, October 10, 2011

A Joy Forever

In his long poem "Endymion," John Keats declares, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." He goes on to show that once we have enjoyed something lovely, when we encounter it again, it carries with it not only its intrinsic beauty but also the beauty of the moment we first experienced it. We know this is true. Think about the power of music, especially, to take you back to a particular place and time.

Several weeks ago, someone (I am sorry I forget who it was) sang a beautiful song that asks, "What if your blessings come through raindrops? What if healing comes through tears?" Immediately I was transported back to a July night in Africa--the time I first heard this song--driving down a dark, bumpy road, three close friends also listening and sharing the moment. I'm sure we all were thinking of our own separate sleepless nights and tears, but we shared the truth that God is in control. Together we rejoiced that He has a plan bigger than we can understand. When I heard the song in church at Grace, I felt again the assurance of that night in Togo, and it reminded me to pray for my friends.

This past Sunday morning, we sang one of my favorites: "Blessed Be Your Name." This song describes times of sunshine and blessing as well as days in a "desert place." Whenever I hear this song, I remember a Sunday in May over two years ago when we sang it. On that day,  I looked across the auditorium at Rebecca Phillips, who had endured a tragic loss, and thought about what she might be thinking as we sang,

Every blessing you pour out
I'll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord,
Still I will say,
Blessed be the name of the Lord,
Blessed be your name.

I can never sing this song now without thinking of her, and it reminds me to pray for friends who are grieving.

Life is not easy, but it's sweet. I am grateful for the many ways God speaks, and particularly grateful today for music that helps me remember.

--Sherry Poff

Monday, October 3, 2011

He's Just That Into Me!

I found myself watching a movie on TV called, "He's Just Not That Into You." While I DO NOT RECOMMEND the movie, I found it humorous that many girls (and guys for that matter) will invent any excuse to avoid the truth of rejection. We don't want to believe that the guy/girl of our infatuation doesn't return the attraction. In the movie, a girl ignores all of the obvious signs that the guy does not like her and continues to place herself in awkward positions that leave her confused and feeling rejected. There are so many directions we could go from here, but it has been a theme in my life over the last few weeks that there is ONE who is just that into me!
Zephaniah 3:17 says, 
"The LORD your God is with you,
   the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
   in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
   but will rejoice over you with singing.”
The word "gul" in Hebrew is usually translated "rejoice." It means to "spin around under the influence of a violent emotion."
I love the idea that my Savior is so overwhelmed with emotion over me that He is singing and dancing over me! In the midst of chaos and trouble He is not just my Savior, but my lover! He takes delight in me
Two thoughts whelm at this idea:
1. I have not shown Him that I'm that into Him!
2. I am in awe that He loves me anyway!
I love the words of the song written by Jared Anderson, performed here by Phillips, Craig & Dean.
http://youtu.be/IdSW5zYCr7g

The lyrics:
You dance over me,
While I am unaware.
You sing all around,
But I never hear the sound.
Lord, I'm amazed by you
Lord, I'm amazed by you
Lord, I'm amazed by you
How you love me.
You paint the morning sky
With miracles in mind
My hope will always stand
For you hold me in your hand
Lord I'm amazed by you
Lord I'm amazed by you
Lord I'm amazed by you
How you love me.
Lord I'm amazed by you
Lord I'm amazed by you
Lord I'm amazed by you
How you love me.
How wide, how deep, how great, is your love for me.
How wide, how deep, how great, is your love for me.

Lord I'm amazed by you
Lord I'm amazed by you
Lord I'm amazed by you
How you love me.
Lord you love me.

He's Just that Into You, too!

~Rebecca Phillips

Monday, September 26, 2011

Hands open!

Hands open!
            Almost thirty years ago my first son was born—pale blond hair, deep brown eyes . . . and a cleft lip.  Plastic surgery repaired the cleft when he was three months old, but the incision began to scar within a matter of weeks.  Then began our visits to Vanderbilt for treatment for the scarring.  That began a series of illnesses, surgeries, and accidents that marked Stephen’s childhood.
            Stephen was a child who sickened easily, running fevers for no apparent reason.  And I became what is known today as “a smother mother.”  I became fearful that Stephen would be sick.  I got up in the night to feel his forehead, to touch his chest, just to make sure he was breathing.
            As Stephen grew I became convicted of my attitude.  I knew I was not the one who could protect Stephen.  I knew Stephen was only on loan to me, that he belonged to God.  But still I fretted.
            When Stephen was just past ten months old, I was reading in the book of Psalms, chapter 127.  The chapter begins, “Lo, children are the heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is His reward.”  I stopped there to savor the words.  I had been told several years before I was even married, that because of health problems, I had only a 40% chance of ever having children.  (God has a sense of humor since He gave me five children in just over six and a half years!) 
            Just then my eye caught verses one and two:  “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it.  Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.  It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows, for so He gives His beloved sleep.”
            I knew God was speaking directly to me. I knew He was saying, “Let go.  Let me take care of Stephen.”  So that night I relinquished both Stephen and Elizabeth to God.  I said, “They are yours.  I will trust You to do for them what I cannot.  It is not my job.  It is yours.”
            I thought that meant God was going to give me peace for all those little things I fretted over.  But God had something different in mind.  Less than a week later we were at Children’s Hospital with Stephen.  The doctors said he had spinal meningitis and might not make it through the night.  And God said, “Let go.  This is what I was preparing you for.  Unless I keep Stephen, you watch in vain.”
            Over the years God has said it over and over again in many situations.  He is still saying it to me today.  “Acknowledge that you have no control over people or situations.  Relinquish them to Me.  Let Me do My job!”
            To remind me, I had my son-in-law take a picture of my hands, held out open to God.  So in my house you will see that picture.  In my office you will see that picture.  On my keychain you will see that picture.
            “See, God.  My mother is in my open hands, for You to do Your job.  My children are on my open hands, for You to do Your job.  My daughter-in-law and sons-in-law are on my open hands, for You to do Your job.  I surrender control of what is not mine to control.”
            What are you clutching in your hands?  What are you trying to control when it is not your job?  Hold out your hands before you, open flat.  Visualize it.  See the person or the situation.  Say aloud, “God, he/she/it is here on my open hands.  I will not clutch or grab.  I relax my grasp.  Do whatever you see best.”
            I sometimes raise my voice when I say it.  I sometimes cry when I say it.  But I say it.  Will you?

                                                                        ~~Faith Lamb

Monday, September 19, 2011

Grab Every Moment

Over the years of life’s experiences I have learned to grab every moment. Recently I have experienced the emotions of finding out a young friend has been diagnosed with cancer and the unexpected death of another young friend as well as the memories of the anniversary of the death of a dear older friend.  Unless the Lord intervenes, another dear friend is coming close to the end of her journey with cancer. I praise God that each one is His child.  He not only holds them in His loving hands, but He holds our tears for them as well.

I have watched my friends and their families give glory to God through these earthly struggles.  They have blessed me by their love for the word of God, their humor and their words of inspiration while traveling the journey.  They are an encouragement to me as they live out their faith and grab every moment. Here are quotes from three of them:

“I am watching the sunrise through my hospital window. What a beautiful masterpiece God has blessed us with to see every day. How many times do we take that for granted? How great is His love for us and how great His power is. Why fear what is to come? My God, who created the beautiful picture outside my window, has got things completely under control. Ok God... let it be done! Let's do this!!

We continue to pray that the Lord would grant strength and healing.  I seek to quiet my mind and to remember to "Be still and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10.

“If things are tough, remember that every flower that ever bloomed had to go through a whole lot of dirt to get there! God will use life's reverses to move you forward. With Jesus you have not a hopeless end but an endless hope!”

Peter sums it up in the following scripture:
 “We have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while.”
1 Peter 1:4-6 New Living Translation

So I grab every moment seeking God’s guidance through His word, prayer and dear godly friends.

Tina Laubscher

Monday, September 12, 2011

A Continuing City

I must confess: I love living on earth. I realize that my sunny attitude toward this life is largely due to the facts of where and when I was born, who my parents were, and a host of other details that make my life very good. I hope I get to enjoy it for a long time.

Still, there are days when life on this planet is very troubling, when to be free from worry and fear would be such a relief. Watching friends--or even strangers--grow sick and die is hard to do, even on the best days. The impermanence of life as we know it is often sad.

These and other kinds of changes can rob our joy and make life seem wearisome. I remember when I was in college---so young and relatively innocent!---and grew tired of moving into the dorm and then out of the dorm every semester. My room at home, a room that had always been a comfortable and cozy place, became little more than a temporary stopping place between stints at school.

During one of those brief periods at home, I was reading my Bible one night and came across--for the first time I could remember--Hebrews 13:14, "For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come." When I read this verse, I stopped and read it again. It is right in the middle of a discussion of Jesus as the high priest and the sacrifice for our sins. Because of Jesus and His sacrifice, we have the hope of a permanent home.

The next verse calls us to "offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name." I am, indeed, thankful that one day all our good-byes and painful changes will be over. We will have a lasting home to share with all the other saints of God.

I am going to love life on earth as long as God leaves me here. I'm thankful, though, that on those days when the world is a sad and lonely place, I know a better home is waiting.

--Sherry Poff

Monday, September 5, 2011

My Faith Journey

I was 18 when I settled my issue with faith in Christ. Having grown up in a godly home, church and school where Scripture was the source of all we did, I knew everything I needed to know about salvation. I knew "once saved, always saved" and "not by works, lest any man should boast." So why was my life characterized by doubt?
As a 5-year-old, I listened to a chipmunk puppet say "the prayer" every Sunday, and just in case...I'd say it with him. Then, on the way to Grandma and Grandpa's house, my sister wanted to get saved, so I wanted to get saved too. On our 6th birthday our Grandpa, Evangelist Homer Britton, baptized us in little brown dresses. As a 9-year-old at a retreat, I wanted to "go forward" because I wanted my leader to know I was a good girl after being "convicted" after a sermon on "There's no such thing as 'Christian' Rock" so I did. She led me through the plan of salvation, and I prayed the prayer once again. I'd heard people in church go forward to "get assurance" so I just told people that's what I did. Several times after that I saw my leader in church and she would ask me why I hadn't gone forward to get baptized. I didn't want her to know that I had already been baptized as a 6-year-old, so I just avoided her. As a teenager, I put all of my energy into doing everything a good Christian does. Everyone believed I was strong in my faith, in fact, I think I believed it too. When I was a senior in high school, my pastor, Dr. Charles Wagner, began a series on the ordinances of the church. He talked about baptism. During this time, I had been doubting to the point that every night I would fall asleep praying, "God, if I didn't get saved last night, will you please save me tonight?" My pastor talked about how this act of obedience could resolve doubt issues. Well, I was so tired of doubting, I thought surely this would be the quick fix. So I told my youth pastor that I wanted to be baptized, because I hadn't gotten baptized after the time I'd gotten assurance of my salvation at age 9. I remember thinking as my youth pastor was dipping me in the water, "So I guess I'm really saved now?" When I left for college at TTU, I had to write my testimony for my ensemble director. I traveled with a singing group, and we had to be ready at any time for him to call on us to give our testimony. I remember telling high school kids that I no longer doubted my salvation, and wondering if I meant it as I said the words.
At the beginning of my sophomore year in college, a revival broke loose across our campus. Several pastors, including my own, Dr. Wagner, spoke some powerful messages that brought many of us to our knees in rededication to the Lord. On September 3, 1998, I had planned to go down to the altar with my sister and a friend to pray for another friend who "needed Jesus." However, as I went down to pray, I couldn't even speak. I remember looking into my sister's eyes and saying, "I don't even know if I'm saved." I stopped right there and prayed my own prayer this time asking Jesus to be Lord of my life, and I can say with confidence that I have not doubted a day since!
I no longer felt the burden of trying to prove to others as well as myself that I really was saved. I claimed the verses in Ephesians 2:8-9:
8For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
 9Not of works, lest any man should boast.


Would love to hear about your faith journey! Comment here or on the facebook page!

~Rebecca Phillips
I can't put a date on when I actually "believed in the Lord Jesus Christ" but I can say that my freedom in Christ came on Sept. 3, 1998. 13 years later, I have experienced such abundant life in Christ, and I praise God for pursuing me patiently until my years of knowledge of Christ finally became trust in Him!

Monday, August 29, 2011

CHANGE


CHANGE
Change:  “to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone”.  That’s the dictionary definition of the word “change.”  Right now at my school we are in the middle of “change.”  We have gone from the quarter system to the semester system, and that change has been and is still hard.  Students are finding the changes difficult, but the teachers have had an incredible challenge.  I am having trouble even remembering when my classes begin and end.  The syllabi had to be changed; the assignment schedule had to be changed; and on and on it goes.
          Actually, change scares me.  I like things to stay the same.  I am not an adventurous cook—I cook the way I always have.  I don’t like change in my home—I decide where the furniture should be and it will be that way for years to come.  I am still coming to terms with computers, though that sounds silly since I teach online classes.  I am afraid of trying new things on the computer, though, afraid that somehow I will mess things up.  Adjusting to change is a challenge for me.
          Life is full of changes, some big, some small.  Actually, though the semester change has been difficult, it is pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of life.  The same cannot be said for many of our changes:  marriage, children, job, empty nest, illness.  Some are good changes.  Some are bad.  Some seem bad, but have ultimate good results.
          I tend to yearn for the old ways, the old times.  I put a rosy haze around the past, sometimes masking reality.  But I don’t want to live like that.  I want to embrace the changes.  I want to learn, to grow, to reach forward.  I have a Mary Englebreit plaque that says, “Don’t look back.  You’re not going that way.”  Paul has a better way of saying it,
“One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 3:13-14)  So I’m reaching.
          EMBRACE THE CHANGE!

                                                                   ~~Faith Lamb