Ruminations of a Rookie Herbalist

I haven’t always been a nerd, but I married one. My husband is incredibly smart. He is curious about many things (most of which I am not). While he was growing up, his mom and dad looked stuff up in their encyclopedias, text books, and other reference materials ALL the time. Watching Jeopardy with them was an amazing thing! It is in this family that I learned to love learning.

My latest interest has been in herbal medicine. I have been interested in herbs and essential oils for a while, but I recently discovered an opportunity to take a beginner herbal medicine course. I am really excited about it. It is one weekend a month for 10 months, and I have attended 1 so far. And I am overwhelmed and asking myself if I am smart enough for this. Seriously. There is so much to know! But it’s fun, so I will be pressing on. When I finish, there will be much I will still not know. Here’s a small sampling of what I am learning: when selecting an herb, you must know what part of the plant to use (flower, leaves, roots, etc.), what part of the plant life cycle to harvest it, how to harvest it responsibly, and what chemicals within the plant are useful. Knowing the scientific names is essential to choosing the correct plant, and that is a whole learning curve. You have to know your victim, I mean patient, too. Do they run hot, cold, wet, dry…and lots of other questions. Then there is a whole list to know of possible actions that plant might have along with other plants that complement or don’t. And so many ways to use plants – tablets, caplets, ointments, lozenges, tinctures, infusions, decoctions…and how to make them. There is much more! But I love it!

Now let’s turn to a complementary resource – an anatomy and physiology book. My husband still has his from over 40 years ago. After I read the first chapter I exclaimed, “I really am fearfully and wonderfully made!” And that was just the first chapter! People who write these books cannot seem to stay away from the word “created.”

I am in awe of the intricacy of the plants I am studying and how they can be used or misused. To use these herbs on the complex human body with competence is daunting. Only God Himself, the Creator, can fully know how these chemicals will impact a particular individual.

I sincerely feel sorry for the people who are dissatisfied with how they were created – those who feel they were born the wrong gender, the wrong race, the wrong size or shape. Our bodies are amazing! Our minds and spirits are incredible! Made in the image of God. Wow.

 joyce hague

When I Grow Up . . .

 When I grow up, I want to be just like my Aunt Jessie.  Yes, I know I'm supposed to be grown up, but. . . .

My mother was the first of six sisters to be married and to have children, so there were five sisters at home when I was born.  I was the second niece.  Jessie told me more than once that I was her favorite because everyone else doted on my sister, just twenty months older than I.  And Jessie was my champion from then on until the day she died.

She was my champion, my defender, my encourager, my counsellor, my prayer warrior, my friend.  I am tempted to illustrate all of those points, and I absolutely could, but I'm not going to.  I have had a whole lifetime of Jessie, but she was all those things for many other women as well.  Sometimes it was through her books and her column, From my Kitchen Window, in the Sword of the Lord.  For some women it was as their Sunday school teacher.  Others found that encouragement from a college teacher.  Some found it in SOLOS, the group for singles that my uncle and she founded.  Some sang in the choir with her.  Others were neighbors.  But all were touched by Jessie.

What can I do for other women that Jessie did for me? How can I grow up to be like Jessie?

            I can notice another woman.

            I can spend time with her.

            I can listen to her.

            I can entertain her, invite her into my home.

            I can brag on her, compliment her.

            I can value her children and husband.

            I can pray for her.

I've only just begun.  Could we be a church full of women just like Jessie? Would we make a difference in our church?  I, for one, mean to try.

                                                                ~~Faith Himes Lamb

Something for All of Us

        On my kitchen wall is a sign that reads, “Sing unto the LORD, bless His name; show forth His salvation from day to day. Psalm 96:2” I like this verse especially because of the second part: “show forth His salvation from day to day.”  The influences of my salvation should “show forth” in my daily living; my attitudes, words, and actions should be different than my normal tendencies because of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. This verse is both an encouragement and challenge to continue seeking to let the image of Christ be more fully reflected in the routines of my life.

        Salvation is at the same time a punctiliar event (justification), a process (sanctification), and a future realization (glorification). Sometimes in Christendom, we tend to only apply Scripture to the initial decision to trust Christ for salvation. However, that is just the beginning! There is so much of God's Word to be gleaned for daily living! A couple weeks ago, I looked at the miracles in John's gospel through the lens of how they apply to Christians, and was truly blessed by that study. Jesus said that eternal life is to know the Father and Himself (John 17:3). The more time we spend with Him in Scripture, the better we know Him, and see His interactions with the ins and outs and ups and downs of our lives. Thus, that eternal life which began with my justification is more beautifully experienced on this earth right now.
         
        So, what do you need today? No matter what you may be facing, He has something for all of us, if we will sit at His feet with ears to hear...        

-MaryBeth Hall                                                                     

 

Something for All of Us

 

“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”  – John 20:31

 

Wise Solomon wrote eloquently:

“The thing that hath been, is that which shall be.”*

People today are, as in Bible days,

Desperate for help in identical ways.

John’s gospel records key miracles that give

Courage to trust as our lives we live.

There’s something for all, for all have a need

He can take every problem, and solve it indeed.

This poem is for those who are already saved;

Their bridge to heaven is already paved.

So start there if you’ve never His gift received;

John 14:6 tells what must be believed.

After that’s settled, read on then below,

There’s truth in these miracles that we ought to know!

 

John 2:1-11 – Financial Distresses
In what should have been a gala affair,
Shortage and lack caused worrisome care.
But behind the scenes a miracle He’d do;
Servants and disciples His glory knew.
Then let us seek Him as Mary of old,
Willing to do whatever we’re told.
Our financial troubles His wisdom can see;
Gracious and generous He’ll always be.
 
John 4:46-54 – Life-threatening Sickness of Loved Ones
A dad’s desperation for his dearly loved son
Who lay at death’s door after all had been done…
How many times have his feelings found echoes
Within our own hearts for the ones we hold close?
That dad came to trust that even over distance
Jesus’ word could be trusted without resistance.
Through His yes’s and no’s we likewise believe this;
Signs and wonders are sidelined – He is Who He is.
 
John 5:1-15 – Decades-old Problems
Thirty-eight years an infirmity he’d had.
He’d given up hope; life would always be bad.
And from words Jesus spoke to this man later,
It seems that sin was the real instigator.
As flawed human beings, it’s encouraging to know
God can change time’s deep faults His glory to show.
Bad habits and sins His power can transform
Life now made whole can be our new norm.
 
John 6:1-14 – Ministry Limitations
Challenged by an impossible question,
Philip must have thought, “What a suggestion!”
But Jesus already knew what He would do;
He took what was offered…see, how it grew!
And often in history, yes, in our own time
What God’s servants dare defies reason and rhyme.
His provision may not be quick or dramatic,
But of this be sure: our God is not static.
 
John 6:15-21 – Calamities in Nature
Even the most well prepared among men
Can be rendered helpless time and again
By nature’s calamities surprising and fierce,
As sky, sea, and land with fear the heart pierce.
Yet “what was over their heads was under His feet,”**
Creator o’er creation holds dominion complete.
When disaster strikes, we need not stay dismayed.
Find courage in His words, “It is I; be not afraid.”   
 
John 9 – “Why” Mysteries
When bad things happen and we don’t know why,
Playing the blame game is an easy reply;
But in healing the man who was blind from birth,
Jesus taught that some things are for God’s work on earth.
Then let us let Him make manifest His ways,
Through questions and trials that pepper our days.
If we’ll trust Him though blind, He’ll give us our sight
Perhaps now, but for sure, in eternity’s light.
 
John 11:1-46 – Death
The enemy none can evade
Before Him in the dust is laid.
The Resurrection and the Life
Brings end to death’s oppression rife.
Lazarus reminds us Jesus wins;
In Him eternal life begins.
As our tears fall, they fall in faith;
We trust the words that our Lord saith.
 
John 21 – Failure
Dawn’s brightness was clouded only by failure
Added line by line in his mind’s ledger.
To the Friend that he loved, Peter hadn’t stayed true;
The night’s work of fishing had been fruitless, too.
Then he saw Jesus, Who in a very real way
Spoke straight to his heart that His call would stay. 
Across the millennia His whisper still mends
His servants’ hearts, for they’re His to the end.  
 
 
 
*Ecclesiastes 1:9
**Original source of this quote unknown
***Thanks to my dad for giving me the idea for this poem many years ago.
 

The Sacrifices of God

 

Another season is quickly passing. I have noted before that just when I feel settled in and ready to embrace a season, it is almost over, and this quick passage of time just seems to increase as my age increases. Possibly some of you know what I mean. I have always been a person of routine, and in many ways, that is a trait that has served me well. Recently, though, I have been a bit troubled that some of the Christian disciplines have become too routine. Sometimes it feels like going through the motions.

I thought of Psalm 51 during the sermon this week (not sure why.) So I’m taking a closer look at that Psalm, particularly verse 16: “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.” Let’s stop here for a minute. Does this statement trouble you? The book of Leviticus is full of instructions and regulations regarding the offering of sacrifices, and yet here and elsewhere we read that God is not pleased with sacrifices. Why all the fuss if that isn’t even what God really wants?

In this psalm, the reason seems clearer. In verse 6, David says that God wants “truth in the inward parts.” Verse 17 says that the “sacrifices of God are a broken spirit . . . and a contrite heart.” In verse 19, we read, “Then you shall be satisfied with the sacrifices of righteousness.”

Bringing sacrifices to God without a proper heart is just like going through the motions. It’s doing good things but not really loving God in the doing. The first thing is to have a right heart; then the physical sacrifice is meaningful. We can read our Bibles, go to church, even kneel in prayer without a heart of humility and brokenness. Jesus made some observations in the Sermon on the Mount that seem relevant here.

 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” he said, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. . . Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.” 

I recognize my poverty; I mourn over my sinfulness; I feel the need of my soul. I seek a life of true righteousness, and I trust I shall be filled.  Also, I affirm that I cannot do the seeking on my own, but must give myself to my good God for even the stirring of desire. He is the source of all things that are true and right. He is the one who gives meaning to even the offerings we bring. 

--Sherry Poff