JUST WAIT!

I have two subjects with which I am well acquainted at this time in my life...Krispy Kreme donuts and Grief.  And since there are no words to adequately describe the almost spiritual experience of eating a hot Krispy Kreme, I'm left with the latter.

If you haven't met grief, you will...in some form.  After my husband's death four months ago and even before, I was drop-kicked into a thick, heavy cloud of pain and fear.  It hurts!  It hurts a lot!  Along with the unbelievable emotional pain, there are so many unexpected physical symptoms...tight chest, headaches, panic attacks, sleeplessness, fear, frizzy hair and forgetfulness. (I just threw the frizzy hair in there for sympathy). I forgot where I was on more than one occasion and it wasn't an "I've lost my car at the mall" forgetfulness.  There are some days that I am afraid to look down for fear that I am not fully dressed.  However, before you run out to Walgreens to stock up on Valium just to get through this blog,  my point is to tell you that through this shroud of horror, through the darkness of Dan's illness and death, God was drawing me closer to Him and teaching me things that I just didn't want to learn.  I'm still not a great fan of learning hard things but that's what He does whether we like it or not. 

One of those lessons is “to wait”.  Just wait!  I don’t like it...never have.  From big things to little, it didn’t matter, probably a flaw in my personality but I have never had patience. I wanted things fixed so that my mind could be clear and I could sleep at night.    And when Dan first became a victim of this horrendous disease, I was not going to become a victim of other people’s timetable.  And It worked, at first.  I was able to tactfully barge my way into offices and kindly demand what I needed to know, and developed a “professional” way of nagging through letters and phone calls.  For months I read books and articles on cancer and recovery, I talked to nurses and other hospitals and finally, when I realized that there was no other way out of this sad and desperate situation other than God, I sat back and listened. 

And God said, “Wait”.  And we did.  We waited through surgery, and for the doctor, we waited for bad news and waited for good, we waited for morning during long nights, and for the sun to go down on hard days, we waited for phone calls, for pain to subside, we waited through chemo, and we waited for God to heal Dan.  But He didn't!  And finally, we waited for the Lord to take him Home. 

And now, on my own and without my husband God still tells me to wait.  Through my grief and His Word, He tells me to lean on Him because He is preparing me for something great. So, I wait!  I wait for the morning that I don't feel pain,  I wait for God to heal my heart, to show me what’s next in my life, to light my path and to give me direction.   I wait because He has promised joy again, he has promised to restore me and to pull me up from the pit. And I wait on Him with a calm heart because I know it’s best for me and that by doing so He will give me His peace.  And He has.

I’m not so impatient any more. I probably wouldn't even get angry if you took my pew at church..but don't!  I even find myself driving the speed limit and standing in long lines doesn't phase me.  But I must warn you..if  the “hot donut” sign is flashing and you are in front of me, I make no promises.

Joy Dilts

Higher Ground

When the Voices of Praise started singing “Higher Ground” on Sunday morning, I was transported back to Spruce Grove Baptist Church in West Virginia.  I was a little girl of six or seven standing next to my mom, with the songbook balanced on the back of the dark wooden pew, following along as the big folks sang and I learned the words.  I still remember the picture the song made in my head of a dusty path winding up and up a mountain.  I couldn’t figure out what a “table land” was—and I’m still not entirely sure—but it seemed to me to be a sunny, happy place since everyone wanted to be there.  Hearing the song again after so many years, I sensed again the urging to be better and strive upward to a place of service and blessing.

Another old thing that I saw in a new light this week was the fourth chapter of John.  We are studying the book in Sunday School, and we’ve been watching dramatizations of it as we go.  It has been eye opening to see the old stories in a new way—to see, really see, Jacob’s well and the woman standing there talking to Jesus. I always knew she was a real person, but to see an actual woman and to watch the expression on her face as she realized she was talking to the Messiah was a new and moving experience.

Dr. Euler talked on Sunday morning about looking at Genesis in a new way. This book about the very oldest of humans is coming alive with fresh ideas to me. I’m so glad that we deal with eternal truths that never really get old.  And yet, they seem new and interesting time after time.  Ecclesiastes reminds us that “there is no new thing under the sun” (1:9).  However, at the end of his search for meaning in life, the writer concludes that the only meaningful life is one in which we “fear God and keep his commandments (12:13).  This kind of life keeps being renewed and refreshed.

Lamentations 3:22-24 speaks of newness alongside stability: “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul; ‘therefore will I hope in him.’”

My prayer for all of you—and for myself—this week is to find fresh energy and new ideas in the old, the tried, and the true. May each of us press on to “higher ground” with God and “catch a gleam of glory bright” that we have never seen before.

--Sherry Poff

Would You Jump Without a Parachute?

I know you won't believe this about me, but I am not much of a risk-taker. If you're going skydiving, rock climbing, deep sea fishing, or riding the Ferris wheel...I'm not your girl! I'm saving those activities for Heaven!
But in my spiritual life, I haven't always been so careful. In fact, I've jumped from the plane of truth without a parachute, climbed mountains of decisions without a harness, gone to the sea of choices without a life jacket, and boarded the Ferris wheel of purity with people I knew would find it funny to rock the seat!
Sparing you the details of a life filled with unnecessary sin and self-centered choices, I write today to praise the Lord for His protection! I am in awe that He has preserved my reputation, my paths, my purity and my life.
In Proverbs 2, the writer urges his son to call out to the Lord for wisdom. Notice how the Lord grants more than just wisdom, and included in the list...a whole lot of protection!

Proverbs 2 
¹ My son, if you accept my words
   and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom
   and applying your heart to understanding—
³ indeed, if you call out for insight
   and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
   and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
   and find the knowledge of God.
⁶ For the LORD gives wisdom;
   from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
⁷ He holds success in store for the upright,
   he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,
⁸ for he guards the course of the just
   and protects the way of his faithful ones.
 ⁹ Then you will understand what is right and just
   and fair—every good path.
¹⁰ For wisdom will enter your heart,
   and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
¹¹ Discretion will protect you,
   and understanding will guard you.
 ¹² Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men,
   from men whose words are perverse,
¹³ who have left the straight paths
   to walk in dark ways,
¹⁴ who delight in doing wrong
   and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵ whose paths are crooked
   and who are devious in their ways.
 ¹⁶ Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
   from the wayward woman with her seductive words,
¹⁷ who has left the partner of her youth
   and ignored the covenant she made before God.
¹⁸ Surely her house leads down to death
   and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
¹⁹ None who go to her return
   or attain the paths of life.
 ²⁰ Thus you will walk in the ways of the good
   and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹ For the upright will live in the land,
   and the blameless will remain in it;
²² but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
   and the unfaithful will be torn from it.

Praying God's wisdom for each of you, for with it comes protection!

~Rebecca Phillips

Pain in the Body

Pain in the Body

Ecclesiastes 3:4  “a time to weep”

Romans 12:15  “Weep with those who weep”

            Almost nine years ago our family met with three or four other families.  While I sat and listened to one of the men I felt an overwhelming pain in the room.  I couldn’t concentrate on anything being said because the pain was so intense.  I thought I knew where the pain was coming from.  I toyed with the idea of saying something to the woman I suspected of being the source.  But I didn’t.  After all, I didn’t know her very well.  Suppose I was wrong.  I would embarrass both of us.  So I said nothing.  Within three months she and her husband had separated, followed by a bitter divorce.

            I saw the woman later in a parking lot.  I approached her car, wanting to simply say I was sorry and was praying for her.  She barely rolled the window down, obviously did not want to talk to me.  What did she think I was going to say?

            I hesitate to share the next story.  I am by nature a private person.  I am not of the Facebook generation, posting a detailed account of each moment of my life, along with the accompanying angst.  But I feel compelled to be vulnerable with you and I fear it.  You see, by its nature, vulnerability is dangerous, risky.  Vulnerability may open me to more pain, to misunderstandings.  Vulnerability means I must trust you.

            Almost eight years ago my children and I left home, fleeing an abusive situation that culminated in my husband’s declaration that God had told him to kill me and my children.  We fled for protection.  I was overwhelmed with grief at this ending of a twenty-five-year marriage.  My life was agony.

            I experienced a myriad of reactions to my leaving home.  There were a few who told me I was utterly wrong to leave, that I was commanded to stay in my marriage, even if it cost my life.  One woman invited me out to eat, only to spend the entire lunch reading me Scripture about God’s command to me to be a submissive wife.  Fortunately the ones like that were few.  Many more offered support, even if they did not understand.  Many took the same route I had taken just a year earlier, choosing to stay silent.

            Those first months I was paralyzed by sorrow.  I had avoided people’s eyes before I left home, afraid they would see the pain I felt revealed in my eyes.  After I left home, my eyes betrayed me for they were continually full of tears.  I cried through every church service.  One day I received a note from Carol Pappas.  I didn’t really know her; we spoke when we passed and that is all.  But Carol’s note said, “I saw your tears today, and if I saw your tears, how much more did the dear Lord Jesus.”  I will never forget Carol because of what that one note meant to me.

            One couple in the church told me that when they heard, they dropped to their knees by the bed and cried for me and prayed for me.

            Others spoke encouraging words and when I cried at their words, apologized, saying, “I didn’t mean to make you cry.”  They didn’t understand that I cried because I felt someone cared.

            As I said, some took the same route I had taken a year before when I felt the other woman’s pain.  They simply said nothing.  I do not fault them for I have done the same many times.

            There are many kinds of pain in the body.  Last fall my mother died and members of the body wept with me.  Mom’s death was followed by Marvin Euler’s, Dan Dilts’, Carol Pappas’, Tammy Evans’.  Many of our members are weeping because of a loved one’s death.

            Others weep in illness:  Debbie Darling’s mother, Trish Tweedie’s parents, Tina Holcomb’s young niece.  Many of our members weep because of physical pain.

            Whatever the cause of the pain, many of our members are weeping.  My own experience has taught me and is teaching me to weep with those who weep, to mourn with those who mourn.  Our body is hurting.

I Corinthians 12:25, 27  “If one member (of the body) suffers, all the members suffer with it. . . . You are Christ’s body and individual members of it.”

                                                                        ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Remember This My Heart.....

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.”
2 Corinthians 1:21-22

We can experience sadness, grief and brokenness. Then we remember we can trust our God.

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8

We have indecision over the direction our life should take. Then we remember God’s plan is perfect.

“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11

We have a bad report from the doctor and know that it is going to take every ounce of strength we have to carry on. Then we remember God is our strength.

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” Psalm 28:7

We face an enemy once again with no relief in sight. Then we remember that God is our refuge.

"Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies; I take refuge in You."  Psalm 143:9

We look at ourselves and believe we are not good enough for the task.  Then we remember that we are God’s workmanship.

"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10

We are convicted when the thoughts in our hearts are wrong. Then we remember that God is willing to change that.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

Remember this, my heart.....

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.”

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

Tina Laubscher

Let's Talk About Ferns!

Ok. I'll talk about ferns. I've always loved them. When I was a little girl, there was a hollow at the base of the mountain behind my house where huge boulders lay as if they had been thrown there. Growing around and between those boulders were large green ferns. It was sort of a magical place. Occasionally my sister and I picked some of the ferns for flower arrangements.

I always loved the outdoors, and I remember when I first learned about the spores on the bottom of fern leaves. Whenever I came to a fern in my rambles in the woods, I would turn over the leaves to assure myself the information I learned in school was true. There is something very reassuring about seeing in life the things you've read in books.

In a similar way, I've enjoyed recently seeing God work in my own life the same things I've read about in the Bible and heard from other believers. Answered prayer, help just when it was needed most: these things show us God's love in tangible ways. Like ferns that remain faithful to the pattern God created for them, God's goodness just keeps showing up in my life.

Several summers ago, I was with a group of teachers in Togo. We attended a baptism deep in a valley among the mountains. First we went up, up, up the mountain to church. Then we walked around and around paths and roads; then we went down, down, down the mountain side to a pool of water. It was exhausting and spectacular! But on the way down the mountain, we passed these enormous ferns taller than me. I kept saying, "Look at these ferns!" But my friends just smiled at me and kept going.

I sit in church and notice the fake ferns in our pots at the front. Someone did a good job making them look real. I'm not sure what kind they are supposed to be, but a quick scan of a plant list will show you that there are many many varieties of fern, and most people don't give them a second thought. But they are a good reminder of the wonder of God's creation and how many beautiful and amazing things we take for granted---things growing around us as well as God's work in us.

The next time you see a fern--a real fern--turn over one of the little leaves and let it remind you of God's creativity in the world and faithfulness in your life and mine.

--Sherry Poff

Bandaids or Stitches?

An incident this week reminded me of the time that I was quickly getting pink ribbons measured and cut for my cheerleaders to wear before a game. I hadn't even cut two before jamming the scissors into my hand. Who does that?? Simple gauze and a Band-aid weren't taking care of the problem. I had to leave the game and go get stitches for the first time in my life!
I spoke to a lady this week whose pink ribbons are her identity and whose scissors are her marriage. Over five years of using the simple gauze of "pretending her life was perfect" has caused infection and scarring. Her marriage is on the rocks, her identity is marred beyond recognition, and she is exhausted from trying to stop the bleeding on her own.
It made sense for me to go to the clinic to get stitches. A few hours of waiting and several days of carefully avoiding overuse of my hand was worth it.Similarly, it makes sense to go to the body of Christ for healing of emotional, spiritual wounds.

James 5:16 says, "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

As believers, we know that confession of sins is no longer necessary for salvation and approval before God. However, there is healing found in confessing to each other. The prayers of believers are powerful and effective! When we confess our sins, people can pray for us! We are not in this battle alone! Sharing our hurts, habits, and hangups allows us to find help and accountability. It would be ridiculous for me to have gone into that clinic and tell the doctor that nothing was wrong or to pull the stitches out early. So why do we hide from the healing powers that come from praying believers?
I remember the doctor carefully taking my hand, cleaning it, numbing the area he would be sewing and then ever so gently stitching me up. He gave me instructions to follow that would ensure complete healing. I have a little scar on my hand that reminds me of that time, but there is no more pain, and my hand has been restored to full usage.
When a brother or sister in Christ comes to the church for healing, be gentle, stitch carefully, and give wise counsel. It may take time, but full recovery is the goal. The doctor knew what I needed. I can't imagine that he'd get away with lecturing me on how to hold the scissors while avoiding my bleeding wound. Yet, we'll lecture a hurting member of our body about their particular issue while allowing their wound to go untouched.
It's time for healing. So whether you're the one hurting or the one healing, let's go get some stitches rather than trying to cover up deep wounds with small bandages! 
~Rebecca Phillips