Being in the ministry requires stepping outside the parsonage to minister to people. One of the places we frequent is the hospital. It’s not always easy – especially if things are critical, but sometimes it is truly a special time – especially if we visit a strong believer who has gone through, or is going through a hard trial. That may sound odd, but the blessing is in finding a seat, and then just listening as they speak.  That was the joy I had yesterday.  I sat and listened to a dear lady who has been ill for over a year share what the Lord has been teaching her.  Wow!  I heard what God’s grace has done in her life.  Let me hit some of the highlights with you:

• If I had been wealthy, or had lots of possessions, even that wouldn’t have stopped this from happening.  However, those things couldn’t have given me the peace the Lord’s given me.  You can’t put a price tag on that!
• The Lord has been so faithful.
• I’m not afraid. I can honestly say, whatever the Lord wants, I know will be good for me. 
• I wish I could be doing other things, but I’ve had lots of time to pray and I’ve been praying about…..and….and….
• I used to have to be in control, but the Lord’s showing me that I must take my hands off and let Him be in charge.
• The Lord’s been teaching me some wonderful truths from His Word…
• A wife needs a husband that will stick with her in times of sickness like mine has.  You don’t just stay together when things are easy.
• The Lord has been so faithful.
• I’ve been through some painful things, but I try to cooperate with the hospital staff.  When they tell me what a sweet patient I am, I tell them it’s because of God’s grace.
• The Lord’s been showing me unconfessed sin and He’s digging deep in my heart.  It’ been hard, yet so sweet as He’s revealed these things to me.
• The Lord has been so faithful.

A 15 month-old boy scrambled up into his grandad’s lap to view pictures on Grandad’s phone.  After siezing the phone from his grandpa, the little tyke held the phone with both hands, thumbs placed squarely on the keys, and began moving his thumbs all over the key pad as though he were texting!  He had seen his parents do this many times, and was now perfectly immitating their texting skills!  What a hilarious sight!

What a reminder that our children are watching us and will learn about their world from what we do.  They will also imitate the things we do, as illustrated by this tiny texter!  It’s a sobering thought!  What would their actions reveal about how we pray?  Do they know our place of prayer? Would they know the notebook where we keep our prayer lists?   Would they know how to open the Bible and search through its pages because they’ve seen us doing that on a regular basis – not just at church, but also at home? How does their speech reflect what they hear come from our mouths?  Do they see us using our free time in a way that’s productive, rather than sitting for long periods of time at the computer or television? Do they know to always bow their head and thank the Lord for their food because we wouldn’t think of eating without thanking the Giver? 

These reminders are not to give us a guilt trip; that’s Satan’s tactics.  But we need to be reminded that our children are watching and will imitate what they see in our lives.  Ezekiel 16:44 says,  As is the mother, so is her daughter.  It’s certainly true also of sons.  Oh, that they will be godly because that’s what they see in us!

With love,

Being prepared on Sunday is easy when you do a little planning ahead.  This dish was even easier to make because I had cooked several chicken breasts earlier and then frozen them for dishes such as this.  So all I had to do was cook the noodles and assemble the casserole.

Chopping things up for salads for the week can also be a time-saver.  If all you have to do is grab the bags of chopped vegetables and add them to your lettuce (I seldom ever buy the packages of salad mixes; they’re too expensive), add croutons and cheese and you’re salad is done!

Here’s another dish I made for a weeknight using some of the chicken I cooked and froze.  These were Chicken Taco Salads.  I make my own Tortilla shells by baking them in the microwave.  They are so good with this salad, and you really don’t miss the “fried” taste! I tipped the tortilla bowl over on its side for ease of eating and looks…

Put a large flour tortilla into a microwave safe bowl  (cereal size).  Microwave for 1 minute.  Remove and let cool.  That’s it!

For the salad part I add lettuce, cool, cooked corn, tomatoes, diced mango, red onion and the chicken strips I cook in the oven with salt and pepper.

The dressing is 1 part Ranch dressing to 1/2 part salsa.  It’s a favorite meal of ours.

Here’s a new dessert recipe – Upside down Pear Cake.  Yum!  This came from my Taste of Home Magazine.  With fresh pears, molasses and walnuts, this is super good.  I served it with frozen yogurt and it was a hit!

Friday is here!  You made it through the week!  Let me ask you, where has this week led you?  To the grocery store?  On an airplane?  Waiting in a line at the post office?  Seated in a lobby near strangers? What did those places mean to you?  How aware were you that those places were your opportunities to share the Gospel with others?

As believers, we have all probably been reminded many times that we need to be a witness for Christ.  This is the area  of my Chrisitian life that I feel weakest.  Why is it so hard to tell others of our wonderful Savior?  Many times I get so caught up in what I’m doing that I miss the who of the task.  If I’m shopping for groceries, I’m concentrating on my list, my coupons and the task at hand.  If I’m at the library, I’m thinking about what I’m looking for.  If I’m at home and a delivery is made or a worker comes to the house, I’m concerned about what they’re doing instead of what I can do for them.  I’m truly asking God to change my focus from me to others.  He’s used the Scriptures recently to reveal how to do that.

As I read recently about Paul in the book of Acts, I was struck by this thought – wherever he was, he saw the opportunity, not the task or problem.  His arrests didn’t anger him – he shared his testimony of his conversion!  His imprisonments didn’t stifle his ministry – they became his ministry!  The chains gave him the chance to be very close to a couple of men where he had their undivided attention.  He used those times to give the Gospel.  People’s lives were changed as a result!

So now, I’m asking the Lord to help me to be aware each day of those  who I am “chained to” that day.  If I have to wait in line somewhere, the people near me are “chained to me”!  I need to be ready to share the Gospel!  The girl who cleaned our hotel room this week was “chained to me”.  The person seated beside me on the airplane is “chained to me.”  I must be ready to share Jesus with them.  These folks can’t go anywhere, and a sovereign God put them in my path, and it is His will that I be obedient and tell them the Truth that will change their eternal destiny.  The reuslt?  Absolute joy!  I never go away sorry I told them!  Joy follows obedience!  If they trust Christ they won’t be sorry either!

So, who are you chained to today?  Don’t miss your opportunities to give the Gospel!

See you in church Sunday!

With love,

The world would say, “Oh really?!” to the previous verse, but if you have ever watched a family be destroyed because of misplaced priorities, you would see that the Lord is so gracious to give us this warning.  Things don’t:

• last
• love
• linger
• listen

but people do!

Many young people don’t understand that they cannot have what their parents have right now.  It took their parents years to have a roomy house, or a second car, or a savings account.  It’s not worth the sacrifice necessary to try to accumulate wealth.  It’s truly crazy unwise to exchange righteousness for things.  They’ll never satisfy.  If the Lord blesses you in years to come with any type of monetary wealth, there’s certainly nothing wrong with that – just use it for Him.

Here’s the perfect illustration of a man whose life wasn’t about things – but people –

“The body of David Livingstone was buried in England where he was born, but his heart was buried in the Africa he loved. At the foot of a tall tree in a small African village the natives dug a hole and placed in it the heart of this man who they loved and respected. If your heart were to be buried in the place you loved most during life, where would it be? In your pocketbook? In an appropriate space down at the office? Where is your heart?”

With love,