Life: A Journey, Not a Destination

“Life’s a journey.”

All my life I have heard this cliché, but now I see its meaning with clarity. In my youth, I listened to the instruction of well-meaning men who taught us to “seek God’s will for your life,” and asked us to “find God’s call.” In theory, these ideas snapped together neat and tidy. First, we were advised to obtain the necessary skills to start our careers; then, to discover our life mates. We young people worried that we would somehow miss the “call” or fail to find just the right man or woman with whom to spend our lives. What if we united with the wrong person? What if we dozed when the call came? What if we misunderstood what God was saying?! We would be out of God’s will and ruined!

After I completed college, I secured employment as a social worker. I thought this ministry was my life’s calling…a destination, a place where I would stop until I retired, died, and then found a new life in Heaven. My social work “destination” was actually a long detour, a mere side road. (I certainly wouldn't call it a rest stop.) It took me eight years to explore that road all the while learning valuable lessons that would include how to be a better parent. Had I not prayed that God would teach me to be a good mom? Although far from perfect, I am a much better mama for having worked at a children’s home. God felt the detour was worth the time investment, and He does not get in a hurry - ever! I learned so much on that scenic by-way.

As I have grown older, I have little-by-little gained a more complete map of what my life will look like when it is finished. Side roads begin to link with longer highways revealing more and more of the journey with interesting surprises along the way. This life map consists of twists and turns, hills and valleys, rough roads and smooth, all revealed one moment at a time. As the map grows larger, I am able to zoom out and see patterns emerging and observe the complex plans the Master Mapmaker has wisely crafted.

As I walk with Him daily along these roads, He acts as my Guide. Whether I turn to the right or to the left, in my ears I hear a voice behind me, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (Isaiah 30:21) His Word is a light for my path with only a few feet illuminated at a time. Whatever road I travel, I know my calling is to follow and obey Him each day. This is made possible when we learn to trust in His goodness; knowing that He has our ultimate good in mind. The destination and the journey are the same – being with Him every step along the way.

-Joyce Hague

It's Poetry Time!

This month I offer you one of my very favorite fall poems.  It actually suits September better than October, but it’s on my mind, and it reminds us that God is in control of even the seemingly little things. Our world seems to be all out of whack. There are terrorist attacks and government take-overs in the news every day. Tennessee is the most violent state in the country (Who knew?)! Congress can’t get their act together. (I really don’t want to talk about it.)  But here is something that still works the way it’s supposed to.

I taught fourth grade for several years and read this poem to my students every fall.  They got it. They always got it. It’s wonderful. Enjoy.

    Something Told the Wild Geese
           
Something told the wild geese
It was time to go,
Though the fields lay golden
Something whispered “snow.”

Leaves were green and stirring,
Berries, luster-glossed,
But beneath warm feathers
Something cautioned “frost.”

All the sagging orchards
Steamed with amber spice,
But each wild breast stiffened
At remembered ice.

Something told the wild geese
It was time to fly,
Summer sun was on their wings,
Winter in their cry.

by Rachel Field

Have a great week! God is in control.

--Sherry Poff

THIS SEASON

Fall. Halloween. Football. Breast Cancer Awareness Month.These are just a handful of the seasons October brings. If you don't believe that these are all seasons, visit any store today and you'll find paraphernalia for all of them! And just like weather seasons, these items will soon be gone from store shelves and you'll be packing your own back in boxes to be replaced with your Christmas decorations.

What came to mind as you read those words? I'm guessing that nostalgia was stirred from the deepest depths of your soul, maybe not when you read "football"...but...maybe.

Fall makes me think of pumpkins, banana bread, hayrides, leaf tag, and sweatshirts. Halloween inspires jack-o-lanterns, pillowcases full of candy, my mother's rice and chili, spider webs, and headless scarecrows sitting in rocking chairs (I know, dark stuff.). Football did not become a part of my life until I started coaching cheerleaders, so the word doesn't conjure up team colors and tailgating recipes, although I'm learning that these are vital to my survival in the South, but I think of the "Star-Spangled Banner," megaphones, cowbells, bleachers, and...well...footballs. Breast Cancer Awareness Month causes tears to build in the corners of my eyes as I think about pink ribbons, 5K races, hats, bandannas, and Cherry Vanilla Bagels at Panera.

I could have added a name or two with each of the items listed above. In fact, it's not the banana bread or the bandannas that stir the nostalgia, but rather the memories of people I love that shared these moments with me.  In addition to countless childhood memories, I have shared bonfires, beach trips, birthday celebrations, white chicken chili, fall festivals, and football homecomings with dear friends...all in the month of October. 

However, despite the fond memories of Octobers past, the season also tempts a sadness that I won't see any of my family this month, I'll miss my nephews' first birthdays, and I don't have a husband and kids with whom to create any new nostalgia. The memories make me long for the past and for future moments to share with my family and friends.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 reminds me,

"To everything there is a season,

A time for every purpose under heaven:"

Whether the October season brings fond or painful memories or thoughts, God's purpose for these events in our lives is sure, and they come but for a season. As you reflect on past seasons while placing your newly "fundraiser-season-purchased" Caramel Apple Pie candles around your home, I pray that your thoughts toward your next season, whether joyful or sorrowful, will be filled with the confidence that God's purpose will far extend the existence of your freshly-baked pecan pie, and that it can be savored far longer than your Pumpkin Spice Latte.

~Rebecca Phillips

Confession Brings Healing

I was six years old, but I can remember like it was yesterday. I had been reading a book from my 1st grade teacher's "special" shelf. It was a big book with chapters. To this day I can't tell you what it was about, because quite frankly I didn't like it, and I didn't finish it. However, that didn't stop me from making up the end of the story when my teacher asked me how the book ended. I was more concerned that she believe I'd actually finished the book than I was about whether or not she'd probably read the book and already knew how it ended.
One night when my mother came to tuck us in for bed, I asked her-hypothetically, of course-the question that had been plaguing me for weeks, "If someone lies to someone else, do they have to tell that person, or can they just tell God?" I don't remember what my mother told me, but I do remember scheduling a time where I could go tell my teacher that I had lied to her. What a feeling of relief swept over me when I'd finally "...confessed my faults one to another (James 5:16)." I had told God countless times, yet relief, peace, and healing came when I confessed to my teacher.
God was preparing my little heart at age six for a huge truth I wouldn't come to understand until I was 33! The truth that AFTER the cross, confession of sins is to each other. AT the cross, my sins were forgiven once and for all!
Confession to one another allows relationships to be mended, private sin struggles to lose potency, and addictions to lose power. Hurts, habits, and hangups become distant memories that only remind us of God's grace, mercy, and power in our lives.
May your healing begin today.

~Rebecca Phillips

Vacation Time!

Well, folks, summer vacations are over. By now, we are all back in school—if we go to school—and with Labor Day in the past, we can effectively say good-bye to summer. Still, if you know me at all, you know I don’t easily let go of the sunshine and flowers. Until the autumnal equinox comes in a couple of weeks, it will officially be summer, and I’m going to enjoy it!  

I’m also remembering some advice I read many years ago—advice that helps me avoid stressing out when the days get so very busy. The advice was this: Learn to give yourself “mini vacations” throughout the day. Yes, the weeks at the beach are over, but that doesn’t mean I can’t take a seat on a sunny bench for a few minutes while I fill out those forms. I can take my lunch out to a quiet spot and enjoy the gentle breeze and birdsong of a late-summer day. I can put on some music and dance around in my kitchen before I get to the business of cooking supper.

A couple of weeks ago, my memory work was in Hebrews 4: 9-16. The passage begins, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his own works as God did from His.”  God did not get tired, so He didn’t need to rest in that sense. But he sat back and reflected, I believe; He enjoyed the work He had completed.  And he gave us a model. We need to rest, to stop pushing and striving and enjoy what has already been done.

A hymn by Jean Sophia Pigott says, “Jesus, I am resting, resting/In the joy of what Thou art;/I am finding out the greatness/Of thy loving heart.” The second verse is even better: “Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus/I behold Thee as Thou art/ And Thy love, so pure, so changeless/Satisfies my heart.”

God in His wisdom gave us a day to rest, to lounge in the hammock and read a good book. Even more meaningful, He shows us that our salvation is not dependent upon ourselves, that Jesus is the one who already completed the work of satisfying God’s requirement for sin. The idea of resting is a rich one that I am still learning, but all along the way, I’m thankful for each part of the lesson as God reveals his ways to me.

Have a great week, y’all, and don’t forget to take a few vacations!

 --Sherry Poff

Success Is . . . .

SUCCESS IS . . . .

            “Success to me is having ten honeydew melons and eating only the top half of each one.”  ~~Barbra Streisand

            “Success is stumbling from failure to failure, with no loss of enthusiasm.”  ~~Winston Churchill

            “Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”  ~~Maya Angelou

            “Success is determined not by whether or not you face obstacles, but by your reaction to them.”~~  Ben Carson

            “You are a success is as much as God reigns and directs in your life.”  ~~Dr. Lee Roberson

            Everyone has a different definition of success.  This week I heard Ricky Skaggs’ definition of success and thought, “By his definition, I may never be a success.”  His quote set me wondering about my definition of success.  What makes a person successful and what is it to be a success?

            Joshua 1:8 says, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success.”  So meditation and practice of the Word of God will give you success. That has to mean that we totally immerse ourselves in Scripture.  How else are to know how to glorify God, what pleases Him?  We need to read, think about, and practice Scripture.

            The Westminster Shorter Catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  I think the way to be successful is shown in Philippians 1:11, where it says that we are to be “filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”  Colossians 1:10 says that we are to “walk worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects.”  So to me, to be successful is to glorify God through my life and walk worthy of the Lord.  I do not think that means that I do things to win God’s love, in order to be successful.  Rather it means that I choose to do that which will glorify God because I love Him and want to please Him.

            I do not always choose the right thing, the thing which will glorify God, but I want to.  I want to be a success in God’s eyes.  That may be foreign to what men think is success.  Galatians 1:10 says, “Am I seeking the praise of men or of God?”  I may never be a success in the eyes of man, or even in my own eyes, but please, God, let me succeed in Your eyes.

                                                                        ~~Faith Himes Lamb

WHOSE JOB IS IT?

This might sound a little familiar if you've already read your church newsletter...

It's a little like the nature vs. nurture debate from my College Freshman General Psychology class. Since the beginning of humankind, we have been excusing our bad behavior by blaming someone or something else rather than taking responsibility. Some say, “They were born that way.” Others argue, “They were reared that way.” All agree, “They can't help it!”

So naturally…or nurtureally…we want to debate over whose fault it is when a child walks away from God after growing up in church. The parents want to blame the church, and the church wants to blame the parents. The responsibility of the spiritual development of our children is often left to a toss-up between parents and church. Parents expect the church to teach their children the Bible stories and doctrines, while churches shake their heads at the failure of parents to involve their children in the programs designed to do just that. When children walk away from their faith, the parents tend to blame the programs and practices of the church. The church assumes that the parents did not have good parenting skills and probably didn't place the proper amount of value on spiritual things. This blame game does nothing to fix or prevent problems. However, both home and church could have a positive impact on the spiritual growth of our children, if each would understand and accept their responsibilities.

So whose job is it?

In Deuteronomy 5-6, Moses is repeating the law to the Israelites. In the midst of his appeal, he urges parents not only to rehearse the law for their own benefit, but also to diligently rehearse it to their children. We often recite Deut. 6:7 as a reminder that parents have many opportunities to speak into their children's lives. The word "shan-an" translated "teach them diligently" is the word for sharpening, piercing or whetting. Throughout chapters 5-6 Moses urges the men and women to tell the story of deliverance over and over so that their children would know from where they came, what God had done to lead them, why God gave the law, and what the benefit of following the law would be. It has been proven that parents have the greatest influence on their children – positive or negative. So it makes sense that the parents have a great responsibility to positively impact their children’s spiritual understanding.

However, in Titus 2:1-8 we find Paul urging Titus to instruct the older men and women to teach and train the younger in what is good and right. They are also admonished to live according to these teachings so that they will be respected and proven righteous. It's interesting that these verses were not given to parents. They were instructions that were to be given to the church-the believers. This implies that the training of our children goes beyond the constant rehearsing from parents, but encompasses the whole body of Christ working together to instill Truth into our children's lives. How better to encourage a parent to fulfill the Deuteronomy Challenge than for our older men and women to carry out the Titus Challenge? And may I point out that the challenge goes further than a discussion? Our teaching and training is about much more than what we simply tell our children.

Our children are ready sponges waiting to soak up whatever comes their way. So don't delay! Parents, teach. Church, teach. Parents, live out your faith in front of your children. Church, live out your faith in front of everyone. I have a hunch that if we will passionately pursue the teaching of our children, the Holy Spirit will do His amazing work in their lives, and they will grow to be a generation that Knows God, Loves God and Serves God...naturally.

~Rebecca Phillips

~edited by Pearl Phillips, Rebecca’s mother, because it’s her nature to nurture