HURLED HEADLONG!

HURLED HEADLONG!

            Friday morning the forecast of a widespread ice storm in our area was not fulfilled.  This despite the fact that almost every school in the area had already announced closures (though not the school I teach at!).  So I headed out for school, going in a little bit late.  But I never got to school!  In fact, I never got to my car.  A few tentative steps out onto the walkway which leads to the street, I hit glaze ice; perhaps I should say “black ice,” for I never saw it.  Instantly I went straight over backwards, hitting my head and landing flat on my back.  No, I am not seriously hurt—headache for a day and increasingly sore muscles, but I am moving a bit slowly. 

            There’s a lesson in this experience.  One of my favorite chapters is Psalm 37.  That’s the one with the verses about trusting in the Lord and delighting yourself in the Lord and resting in the Lord—all great verses and sources of much comfort.  But perhaps my favorite verses from the chapter are verses 23 and 24, and those are the verses I thought about in connection with my fall.

            The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way.  When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds his hand.

            You see, the picture in my mind when I read these verses is of a little girl holding onto her father’s hand.  They are walking on a slippery path and the girl’s feet slip out from under her.  She is dangling, but not down, because her father holds her hand.  He stops and helps her to get her feet back under her.  She doesn’t go all the way down.  She has not been hurled headlong.

            I am walking on a slippery path spiritually.  There are all kinds of things which can cause me to fall.  The verse says “when he falls,” not “if he falls.”  I will fall, but I won’t be hurled headlong, I won’t go all the way down, because my hand is enfolded in the Lord’s hand.  He is helping me get my feet back under me.  He is helping me stand. 

                                                                        ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Who's in the Mirror?

Combing my hair to come to church on Sunday morning, I kept getting glimpses of my mother in the mirror.  When I stopped to look closely, she was gone.  This has happened before---and more and more often these days. I look more like my dad than my mom, but once in a while, I see her in my mirror.  Maybe it has something to do with the brown eyes I got from her –or this time it could have been the red bead necklace I was wearing that used to be hers. 

My mother was a lovely person and one of the most unselfish people I have known.  Certainly she wasn’t perfect, but I have memories of her making a hundred little sacrifices every day--staying up late to get things ready for an early breakfast when we came home for Christmas with our children. Sleeping on the couch, insisting that she found it very comfortable.  When I was a little girl, we were always giving someone a ride to church, staying late to help clean up after church dinners.  It was just what she did. 

So I have to confess that I was at first a little put off by the Rejuvenate announcement that was said to be “all for us.”  Aren’t we supposed to be doing things for others?  But then I realized that this little mini-conference is an opportunity to connect with other women and meet their needs, to be of service.  The mission trip to the Dominican will be a great opportunity for those who can go.  I’m glad to hear that there’s a good group taking part. The rest of us need to find ways to be an encouragement and blessing close to home.

Pastor Euler gave us an interesting quotation from Francis Bacon: “A poor center of a man’s life is himself.”  It’s true for women as well.  John Donne, another notable English writer and preacher who lived at about the same time as Bacon, is the one who wrote Meditation 17 that contains the well-known lines, “No man is an island, entire of itself.” These men were onto something. If they could connect and care for one another in the seventeenth century, we have no excuse in the digital age. We need to look outside of ourselves and remember the words of Jesus: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples: if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

I imagine I will keep getting glimpses of Mom.  It will remind me to emulate her, and possibly to leave a legacy for my own daughters to live up to.

--Sherry Poff

SIMPLY CHARMIN'!

If you need a reason to smile on a Monday morning,

please watch this video. I promise you will not regret it.

However, if you choose not to watch it, then don't finish reading this post!

It will ruin the surprise ending. Seriously!!! You have to watch this!

See, didn't I tell you...best way to start the week!

If my niece isn't scarred by the millions of people that view this when it goes viral, I hope and pray she'll one day realize how Simply Charmin' she was.

How many of us in our best dressed efforts still seem to find the toilet paper tucked into our pantyhose? On numerous occasions, when I wanted to feel confident, poised and elegant, I couldn't help but drag the roll of insecurity, self-defeat and well...toilet paper behind me, oftentimes without even noticing!
I think there are probably many spiritual applications that can be made from this incident, but I just wanted you all to have a good, hearty laugh this morning.
May you be filled with joy as you carry out your daily routine, 
and may others find you simply charmin'.

John 15:11

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, 

and that your joy might be full.

~Rebecca Phillips