Last Sunday night, we worked together as a church on “Operation Salvation.” We packed approximately 20,000 CD’s in their jackets, then loaded them into boxes so that these Gospel stories in French could be delivered to Haiti this Christmas. What a blessing to see the Body of Christ coming together to work and get the Gospel to Haiti!

Take a look at some of our workers…

(I think my husband is wondering why I’m not in my chair working!)

Young children, teenagers, young adults and adults all worked together!

Neither one of them is able to stand up to do this kind of work, and sweet Hope had hurt her hand recently and so was hindered there also. But did they just stay home? No way. They were there to support us, and I’m sure also pray for those that will receive these CD’s in a few months. They were as much an encouragement to my heart as the fastest packer there Sunday night!

I’m not desiring to lift the Carter’s up, and they wouldn’t want that, but as I saw them come in, Rod with the help of his cane, and Hope with her bandaged hand, I couldn’t help but thank the Lord for them and their faithfulness to the Lord and Boones Creek Bible Church. They are there every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. They are faithful to special meetings, and extra-curricular activities. If they are absent, you can bank on it that something pretty extreme has happened in their world. Is it easy for them to get there? No. They are both dealing with trouble walking. Do they hear everything going on? No, but they want to be there to hear as much as possible of the preaching of the Word. Do they always feel like being there? I’m sure not, but they dismiss their feelings and get there just as often as they are able, which is about 95% of the time.

If they can get there with their struggles, how valid are our excuses? I know not everyone is able to just will themselves to church. There are many very sick people. But I’m thinking of well-bodied people that come up with every reason under the sun to miss church. There are

How can a thing become an Old Friend? I’m not really sure, but this sewing machine was my Old Friend. I got it in 1976 when I was a senior in high school. I paid $100 for the machine and the cabinet; a lot of money for an 18 year-old working a part-time job.

I wanted to learn to sew and now with my New Friend at my side, I enrolled in an evening Singer class where there were only a few students. Each student in the class had ample individualized time with the instructor because of the ratio. I learned tips and tricks that got me started on the path to becoming a beginner seamstress. My Old Friend never laughed when I sewed my corduroy skirt with the knap going in opposite directions, or when I had to rip out the same sleeve three times to get it to hang straight. No, it just kept helping me to make beautiful things from pieces of fabric all those years.

I wish I knew how many miles I put on that Old Friend! In the past 37 years, I’ve made dresses, blouses, skirts, aprons, curtains, baby dresses, doll dresses, bags, a partial quilt (still working on that one!), pillow cases, napkins, a coat and many Halloween outfits. I taught my daughters to sew on my Old Friend. It has given me hours and hours of sewing pleasure with very little mechanical difficulties. It was a faithful Old Friend.

Yesterday I sold my Old Friend.  Gulp. I felt like a piece of me left with it. It probably sounds silly to others, and frankly, I was surprised at the emotion that gathered in my throat when I watched it being carried out to the buyer’s car. We’d had many hours together, me and my Old Friend. I was young when we became acquainted. It got me through many seasons in my life.

Hmmmm, kind of reminds me of a mentor, a discipler, if you will. A disciple sticks with another person to teach, encourage, and be there through the seasons of their life. They don’t laugh or ridicule when mistakes are made; they are faithful to stay by your side, cheering and motivating the next right step. I’ve had mentors like that – my mom, another pastor’s wife and others. But I wonder to how many women have I been an Old Friend? There’s nothing like a that kind of confidant, who will instruct and guide, pray and help, smile and encourage through every stage and phase you go through.

My “Old Friend” was just a machine, but my real “Old Friends” were anything but mechanical – they dealt with me from the heart. That’s the best part of an Old Friend. Your hearts are connected in Christ. A true friend will always point you back to Him.

Are you being an Old Friend to another woman? I don’t mean just a buddy, I’m talking about discipling someone. No matter your age, there’s someone younger than you are that needs just what you have to share – your heart. Won’t you prayerfully consider someone to whom you could be an Old Friend?

Oh, and by the way, a dear lady gave me a new sewing machine recently. It does all kinds of fancy stitches and tricks! I see a new friendship in the making!

Have you had someone who invested in your life and is an “Old Friend” to you? I’d love to hear how she impacted your life!

With love,

For years my husband has told the “story” of a man who died and was buried in his Cadillac. His buddy came to the funeral and when he saw his friend lying there in his Cadillac he said, “Man, he sure is living!”

What is really living? What does it look like?

 Yesterday when I read Proverbs chapter 12, I thought of what good advice the last verse in the chapter is for anyone who wants to know how to approach life as a believer; to know what it’s like to truly live. It’s the best advice for a single person, a married couple, a young person or someone up in years. It’s the same for all of us. Here’s what the first part of the verse says…

If life is found “in the way of righteousness,” what is the way? It’s only when we are right with God that we can even be called righteous, so that’s the first point. This is a person who has accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross as payment for their sins. They are now right with God. Then to continue “in the way,” we obey God’s Word and His Word says, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” It is by faith that we are saved, and we must continue to live believing God for everything in our lives.

Being in full-time ministry, I can’t remember a time that my husband and I haven’t had to live by faith. We stepped out into our first ministry unsure of how we would make ends meet, but we knew we had God’s promise to provide all our needs. Many, many times we have had to pray and wait on God to supply for every day needs, funds for camp for our girls, books for school, or money for a bill and God has always been faithful.

Even now, as we’ve embarked out into the realm of purchasing a home, we have PRAYED (my request began 10 years ago!), waited, prayed, looked, prayed, offered, prayed, waited and THEN we saw God provide the perfect house at the perfect time in a way that only He could get the glory!

I know there are many people who have the funds to buy whatever they want, and trusting God really isn’t in their view finder. I’m sorry for them. Watching God at work is incredible! But living a life of faith is more than just money – it’s turning to God about everything – job, church home, vacation, retirement, how to spend the money you do have, investing in others, and day to day decisions.

Are you really living in the way of righteousness? When you are, then and only then are you really living.

Why not embark in that righteous way today? Stop and ask the Lord to reveal how you’re going your own way instead of trusting Him in faith. You’ll find greater joy and fulfillment as you wait on Him to reveal Himself in every area of your life!

With love,

I had been standing in the condo kitchen for about an hour packing up dishes because, in answer to months of praying, my mother-in-law’s condo has sold! So my house isn’t the only place I’m packing! We now are in the throes of packing up what seems to be a mountain of books, a city of dishes, and a nation of pictures at the condo!

I thought I was finally nearing the end of all the kitchenware when I dared open a cabinet door as suspiciously as a mouse entering a room full of cats. When the light hit the inside, it bounced off of a whole cabinet of Corning ware. I groaned – not just inwardly, but out loud. “You have got to be kidding me! Who needs this much Corning ware?!” My complaint ricocheted off the condo walls and echoed in my ears. More importantly, it hit my heart. I knew then it was the Holy Spirit’s conviction. The words in my heart were His whispers –

“If the condo hadn’t sold, you wouldn’t have to be packing all these dishes. This is all due to your prayers being answered.”  “Oh, Lord, forgive my complaints. You are so good, and I will choose instead to be grateful for all You are doing in our lives.”

For the rest of the time I worked, I purposefully chose gratitude, thinking about the joy of this need being taken care of. What’s a little more newsprint on my hands? So what if it takes a couple more days? God did this, and I will be glad! It’s amazing how my perspective changed the afternoon.

Have you found yourself complaining and groaning in your spirit today? What’s causing it? Is it the mountain of laundry? The attitudes of your little ones? The sleepless night? The load on you at work? An unreasonable boss? Start thanking God for that thing instead and watch it change your heart and the situation!

With love (and a stack of happy boxes),

As I was studying my Sunday school lesson this week, a memory popped into my mind. It was that of our laundry room that was in the house we lived in when I was a teenager. It was a basement laundry room, and there were no windows in it. It was dark. Very, very dark. I remember not even being able to see my hand in front of me when someone (honestly can’t remember who) turned the light out on me. Even as a teenager, it was creepy! I inched my way toward where I thought the door was and found the light switch and turned it on. The darkness was gone. Did the light change the room itself? No, but thankfully, it made the darkness disappear!

The illustration in our lesson reminded us that the light doesn’t change the room; it simply dispels the darkness. It makes the darkness disappear. In a much greater way, when Christ lives His life in us, the darkness of our sin nature is gone and Christ is seen instead. Oh, how I long for that to be true in my life!

How does that happen? It takes place when I yield myself to Him. I must ask for His Spirit to fill and control me. I must obey His Word instead of the pull of my flesh.

I wonder how dark we look to the world around us? Or is it obvious that Christ dwells within us because that Old nature is dispelled by the Light of the world? Oh, may it be so!

How have you seen Christ’s light in others?

With love,