To Everything There Is a Season

 Wheaton, Illinois, 1950s, this time of year.  Brilliant arches of maples, oaks, and elms over streets, red, orange, and yellow.  Leaves deep enough on the ground to wade through , make forts from, jump in piles of.  We raked the leaves onto tarps, then dragged those tarps into the back yard and piled them with heaps of others.  Later we burned them, the acrid smell forever buried in our memories.My grandmother would set up a sleepover for my sister and me, allowing us to invite one friend each.  Saturday morning she would hand each of us a rake.  The team that made the biggest pile in the time allotted won the bragging rights and the prize.  Sweet memories.  

I am enjoying the memories,  but I am also enjoying today.  I love the fall season. I am not a hot weather person, so I welcome the relief of cooling temperatures.  My favorite colors are the colors of fall, orange yellow, and colors in between.  I love fall flowers, mums and pansies.  This week I spent time planting them.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”  Just as the year moves from season to season, so I believe do our lives.  I am in the late fall and early winter of my life.  I have been considering what that means.  Life is winding down for me.  There are some things I cannot do any more, some things that require more time and energy than I have. There is not the busyness of the constant demands of family and responsibilities.  Instead there is freedom to choose what I will do with my time.  I can actually choose to not do anything,  Everything requires a choice.

I choose to invest in other people, to spend time with others. If I wind up alone with no friends, that will be largely my fault. I will work to be an encourager, not a complainer. I want to be the kind of person that people will want to be around.

I choose to be careful with my finances, but also to be generous.  The temptation is to be tight, to worry about whether I will be able to pay for my needs.  I cling to the promises of Matthew 6:31-34,  “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow.” My bank account is not an accurate indicator of my future.

These are only some of my thoughts on the season of my life.  There are two Scriptural passages that I cling to.  The first is Psalm 31:15, “My times are in Your hands.”  The second is Psalm 90:12, “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”  I want to be continually growing, through both the fall and winter of my life.

~~Faith Himes Lamb

On Psalm 116

 On Psalm 116

“I love the Lord, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications, because he hath inclined His ear unto me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.”

I love the Lord because He heard the frightened cries of my childhood.

He answered me, He saved me because -- 

• He knew me in eternity past.

• He drew me, died for me, kept me – and continues to do so -- in eternity present.

• He will glorify me in eternity future.

“Even a child is known by his doings, whether his works be pure and whether they be right.”

Therefore, I will call upon Him for as long as I live.

I love the Lord because He heard the longings, the joys, and the tensions of my youth.

He answered His child, He guided my way --

• He taught me.

• He gave me Godly parents and grandparents to remind me of the lessons I was to learn.

• He positioned His people in my life to show me, to love me, to correct me, to encourage me.

• He enabled me to learn, to grow, to see beyond myself. He has not stopped.

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.”

Therefore, I will seek to obey Him for as long as I live.

I love the Lord because He knows of the uprisings and my downsittings of my adult years--

He hears my grief in loss, my fears,  my lonelinesses, in service, my worries concerning provision, my insecurities, my nastinesses, my hard-heartedness, my failures – He knows it all.

• He comforts me.

• He reassures me of His presence.

• He reproves me.

• He provides for me.

• He forgives me.

• His still small voice whispers peace to my soul.

“Like as a father pitieth his child . . .  He remembers our frame, He knows that we are dust.”

He also hears my joys, my excitements, my successes, my contentments …

• He comforts me.

• He challenges me.

• He loves me.

• He gave me husband, sons, lovely daughters, grandchildren, a home, and purpose to fulfill.

• His still small voice whispers assurance to my soul.

“Therefore, seeing we have a kingdom that cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Therefore, I will thank Him.

I love the Lord because He already knows the future – it is written by His hand, and it will be guided by His promise to never leave me or forsake me.

• He has promised me a future with Him – a table prepared by Him.

• He has promised to walk through the valley of the shadow of death

• He knows each step and in this final wilderness, all I have to do is follow.

Therefore, I will trust Him, and I will not be afraid.

What, then, can I render to the Lord for all of His benefits?

By His grace and undergirded by His hand, 

• I will thank Him – continually

• I will confess -- readily

• I will praise Him – daily

• I will worship Him --abandonly

• I will serve Him -- faithfully

• I will obey Him – instantly

As God enables, I will walk by faith, I will pay my vows to Him, and I will trust in His grace as long as He gives me breath.

“Praise ye the Lord.” Amen

Janet Hicks, 2026

You Belong

 Belonging. Everyone wants it. Everyone needs it. Children and teens break rules to fit in with their friends – even rules with serious consequences. Adults participate in the usage of drugs, alcohol, gossip, slander, and other bad habits to be accepted by others. 

I know a young man who is obsessed with his social life at the expense of other important parts of life like school, work, and chores. But it’s understandable, because he has had a lot of rejection in his life, and he’s trying to fill that hole in his heart with friends. Sadly, friends keep letting him down. They were not made to carry the burden he places on them. They are busy with their own responsibilities and relationships. He gets offended when people do not think of him and check on him when he is absent. He feels let down when people forget to speak to him at a social gathering or when passing on the street. Human beings are good at making other people feel like they don’t belong, intentionally or unintentionally, and it hurts deeply. 

Some people refuse to believe they are accepted even when they are. People might reject others out of their own insecurities as a self-defense mechanism. Someone has hurt them in the past, so it’s easier to block people out. It’s complicated, isn’t it? 

We cannot, of course, control what other people do. We can hone our own social skills, but we might still be rejected or forgotten. 

What does God say about all of this? 

He wants us to love one another, overlook faults, extend grace, and get along. It grieves Him when we don’t. The Apostle Paul has written extensively on this. Only in the power of the Holy Spirit! It’s hard! 

These things I know: God loves you and me. He paid a high price for us, and we belong to Him. He promises to never leave us. People might leave, but God doesn’t. We belong because He said so. We come from a place of abundance. There’s room for all of us and all of our gifts and abilities. He has a plan for my life and for yours, and He has placed us where He wants us to be. We can celebrate the successes of others, because it doesn’t subtract anything from us. And what about those difficult people who want to hurt us by excluding us? God can deal with them in His own way. 

We love to feel valued by others, but our value is not dependent on them noticing us or giving us accolades. We are secure in the love of the Almighty, even when we sit alone. 

joyce hague

Our Times Are Safe in His Hands

For the last few months in my time with the Lord, I have been going through Psalms. About a week and a half ago, I was reading Psalm 31 and got to the verse that said, “My times are in Your hands” (31:15). I was about to leave for the hospital to spend the day with Mom. Two days prior, she had decided to transition into hospice care as the cancer was now in her abdomen and there were no more viable treatment options for her. Additionally, she was dealing with incredible pain, and we knew that her time here on earth might be nearing the end. Here was a verse that spoke right into our situation: Our times belong to the Lord. Mom’s time belonged to the Lord.

            Psalm 139:16 says that “all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.” From before Mom was born in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, on November 29, 1951, the Lord knew that her final day on earth would take place on September 29, 2026, while she was at home with her husband and children. This was God’s plan for her; it was born out of an all-loving, all-wise Fatherly heart. And this truth gives peace in the midst of the sadness. We do not have to understand why this was the time the Lord set for her. Yet we are called upon to trust that the Lord is accomplishing His will and that He is good, even as we grieve and miss her terribly. We know that she is happy and whole in the presence of her Savior and that we will see her again in the place where there are no more goodbyes.

            There is a song we used to sing in Germany based on Psalm 31:15. The chorus says, “My times are in Your hands. Now I can be at rest (at peace) in You.” Believing that God knows the number of our days, that our times are in His hands, helps to quiet our troubled hearts. No diagnosis, no accident, no tragedy will alter the plan God has for us or the days He has numbered for us. There is peace in knowing that God is in control, even over the day of our homegoing.

            As I was studying this passage a bit more this week, I learned that the word used for “times” means more than just the passing of time. While it does relate to the number of days that we have on this earth, it is not limited only to this application. The word “times” is translated “circumstances” in 1 Chronicles 29:30 which references the account of David’s life “and of the circumstances that came upon him.” It is not just the number of our days that are in God’s hands, but also our circumstances. The challenges we face, the disappointments we feel, the grief we bear – these, too, are in His hands. Therefore, with King David, the author of Psalm 31, we declare, “But I trust in You, O Lord; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in Your hands” (verses 14-15a).

I know this truth helped sustain Mom as well, for yesterday, as I was leafing through a journal in which Mom had copied bible verses after her cancer diagnosis, I saw that this passage was one of them. She knew that her times were in God’s hands. In the midst of great sadness, we rejoice that the God who led Mom to Himself through her faith in Christ also led her, in His perfect time, safely home.

-- Amy O'Rear

God Gives the Increase

 

My drive to church takes me down Standifer Gap Road past the turn-off to Gavin and Sandy’s house, up over the ridge where Brent and Sarah used to live, and down past the fire station. You know the section I mean? Around several curves along the flat stretch of road, we eventually come to the area hit hard by the tornado of 2020, and on the left side of the road, right near the Harry’s gas station and convenience store, there has been a lot of ground work this summer for what appears to be a future construction project.

When I first saw the trees coming down and the piles of trunks and branches and such, I felt very discouraged. It is my personal view that we have enough houses and apartments and not enough wild spaces. I realize that I can do little to change what is happening there next to Standifer Gap Road, but I can let God work in me to teach me a lesson through what I observe.  

In the past couple of months, as the ground has remained relatively undisturbed, I have been delighted to see bright goldenrod, tall Jerusalem artichokes, healthy ragweed, and numerous things I can’t name growing on the hillside. No one planned a garden there or worked to place seeds and give them appropriate water. These plants grew because that is the nature of seeds and plants.

There are numerous places in scripture where Jesus and others use the metaphor of sowing seeds to talk about the concept of spreading the gospel. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the parable of the sower. Here’s how Mark gives it to us: “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the ground and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows—how, he himself does not know. The earth produces crops by itself” (4:26-28a). This is how God made the earth. Seeds fall into the ground, and when conditions are right, they sprout and grow.

The principle of sowing and reaping—though in a different context—is eloquently stated in Psalm 126: “Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting” (5). The expected result of sowing is reaping what was planted.

When urging Corinthian believers to maturity, Paul likens sharing the truth of God to planting. He says to the church members, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth” (I Corinthians 3:6)

Here’s my point: God is the one who causes seeds to sprout and grow, both in the natural world and in the spiritual world. Sometimes we share the good news and pray. We weep over friends and loved ones—even strangers—who need the Savior. When we don’t see any growth, it can be very discouraging. But God is at work. God is the one who makes everything work together to accomplish His purpose. The once-barren hillside along Standifer Gap is alive with growth. Every time I drive by it, I see the flourishing, and it gives me encouragement.

I may not see how the seed of truth is germinating in someone’s heart and mind. I can’t observe the leaves uncurling underground and making their way to the light, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

What is my job? Not to command the sun and rain; I can’t do that. Not to urge the seeds to growth; it doesn’t work that way. My job is to spread the seed and trust God to make it grow. Let’s be encouraged. God is at work.

--Sherry Poff

Praise Upon Praise Upon Praise Upon . . .

 Wednesday morning I was listening to The Worship Initiative. This is one of my favorite resources for a few minutes of worship time each week morning. It’s like a mini podcast where they share a hymn or praise song every day and then a devotional that goes along with it. I highly recommend it!

 The focus that morning was on praise. And there was one thought presented that I loved: that “the prerequisite for praise is breath. And the prerequisite for praise is no breath.” If you have breath - men and women, boys and girls - praise the Lord. If you have no breath - rocks and hills and the ocean and all of creation - praise the Lord! Let all nations, all peoples, all creation praise.

 So in light of our first morning in our own building after years of waiting following the 2020 tornado, let’s do that - let’s bring praise upon praise:

 

Praise Upon Praise

We praise You for this space, this place

We praise You for a building to be

We praise You for the rooms for classes

We praise You for the auditorium for learning,

Singing, growing

 

We praise You for the body that is the church

We praise You for our friends, our family

That we are there together, but that it is

The together that matters more

 Than the bricks and walls

 

We praise You for the time we were waiting

It was hard and at times confusing

But we stated what we knew to be true

Your timing is good and perfect and You chose us

To be taught the patience and to be taught together

 

We praise You for the hands that have worked so hard

For the minds that planned, for the people who have met

We praise You for the paint on the walls

We praise You for the windows and the stairs

And the roof and the chairs

Praise Upon Praise Upon Praise

 

We praise You for the hands we can raise

We praise You for the voices singing in the choir

We praise You for the people you have brought together

To be a local church, loving, supporting,

Worshipping together

 

We praise You for the trials You allow

Those who are hurting physically, emotionally

The burdens we can help one another bear

We praise You for the times we are weak so that our only hope

Is the strength You provide

 

We praise You for the times of peace

For the mercy You give when we don’t deserve it

We praise You for the days of rejoicing and the times

That we are reminded of the hope eternal

That only You can give

 

We praise You for the body of Christ

We praise You for those around the world

That praise Your name in different languages

And rhythms and cultures

That it is our one true God who unites us all

 

Praise Upon Praise Upon Praise Upon Praise

 

We praise You that you are our Father

That You are good and have a plan

We praise You that You loved us first

And that You hold us to comfort and hold us

To a standard of holiness

 

We praise You that when we couldn’t meet that standard

You gave Your Son

We praise You for Your sacrifice

We praise You for Your rescue

And for the friend that Jesus is to us

 

We praise You that You gave us Your Spirit

To lead us in love and joy and peace

We praise You for the help that He is

We praise You for Your Word

That we understand and apply with our Guide

 

We praise You that You heal

We praise You that You hear

We praise You that You protect

We praise You that You restore

We praise You that You are good

We praise You that You are right

We praise You for You are worthy

 

We praise, Nosotros alabamos, Nous Louons, Wir Preisen…

Praise Upon Praise…

 --Sandy Gromacki

Out in the Fields with God

 My favorite room in my house is not really a room–it’s my front porch.There’s a table and chairs, a papasan chair, a loveseat, two rockers, other chairs.  There are wind chimes and bird houses and bird feeders.  But there is mostly quiet, silence.  I spend hours out there, reading, napping, entertaining, but mostly sitting, praying, thinking, being.  I think being is perhaps the most important.  I am a doer.  I think I have to be productive.  But sometimes I need to just be.  I need somehow to let go of the things that burden me.

In the last few days I have remembered a short poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I have needed the reminder.

The little cares that fretted me,

I lost them yesterday

Among the fields above the sea,

Among the winds at play;

Among the lowing of the herds,

The rustling of the trees,

Among the singing off the birds,

The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what may happen,

I cast them all away

Among the clover-scented grass,

Among the new-mown hay;

Among the husking of the corn

Where drowsy poppies nod,

Where ill thoughts die and good are born

Out in the fields with God.

Are you fretting over little things?  Perhaps even big things are bedeviling you.  Cast those away. Lose them. Let God bring the peace you need.

                                                                ~~Faith Himes Lamb