The following is an overview of our DVD lesson in Loving God with All Your Mind.

Mary’s life was forever changed when an angel appeared to her and announced that should would be the mother of the Son of God. For each of us a phone call, an appointment or incident can be a turning point in our lives. What are we to think about the unexplainable things that touch our world?

We can see in Mary’s response the way we, too, should respond.  She listened and then she asked, “How?” She consented to God’s plan for her life. By one act of God her life was changed. The first clue to how she accepted this was her calling herself the “handmaid of the Lord.” This was evidence that this was her mentality. She considered herself to have no right, will or possessions.

In Mary’s response to the angel’s announcement, we read Mary making 15 references to the Old Testament. She had a working knowledge of the Scriptures that taught her to know her God!

Many women are majoring on the minors. But instead we need to major the major: knowing God.

What are some of the majors we need to understand?

1. His wisdom – Where do we go to find wisdom? We find it through the Proverbs, discipleship or mentoring relationship, through commentaries, Bible studies. But God is wisdom and His ways are past finding out. We must obey in faith, though we might not understand.

2. His knowledge – God is knowledge and is the source of all there is to know. It’s impossible to understand because it lies in the realm of God. What does he know? He knows very situation of every woman. He knows all our thoughts, challenges, our husbands, or if there is no husband, he knows why. He knows the number of children, or if there are there are no children he knows why. He knows our sufferings. He knows how each situation will end and when.

3. His judgments – They are unsearchable. This is how God makes decisions. This is not the way we make decisions. Psalm 46:10 – Cease striving for it is I, God, who is doing this. We must just submit without understanding. This is what Mary did – “Behold the handmaid of the Lord.”

4. His ways – They are past finding out! This has to do with God’s methods. It is not the way we would do it because we are not God!   Isaiah 55:8,9 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

When you think about your situation:

• Realize that you don’t have to understand.

• Why ask “why?” Instead, ask “Who.”  “Who is behind the scenes?” Let go of your rights. These are God’s decisions and we are not going to understand.  We can trust His ways!

Elizabeth used this illustration – After an earthquake that made absolute chaos of their home, she went into the library and began putting the books back on the shelves between two bookends.  She was trying to make order in the midst of the chaos.  Put everything that is happening to you between the bookends of God’s wisdom and knowledge.  It’s there that we will have order and peace – even if we don’t understand.

Whatever the “unacceptable thing” is in your life, you can learn to accept it by carefully viewing it from the realm of God’s wisdom, knowledge, judgments and ways rather than your own.

With love,

What a special day Easter Sunday is!  Of course we celebrate the resurrection every day, but the special emphasis over this weekend is such a blessing. We witnessed a drama, When Jesus Comes, that portrayed the difference Christ makes in a life.  He has certainly made a difference in mine – how about you?!

 After our morning service I invited my mother-in-law and two other sweet ladies from our church to join us for Easter dinner.  I try to look for people who might not have families here to have dinner with and invite them to join us. 

My husband chose the menu for this meal.  I like it when he’ll ask for certain foods, because I like fixing the things he enjoys.  We didn’t stray too much from our traditional menu, just a little.  We had:

We’ve all heard about baby cubs and the danger of being near one.  Why?  Because their momma is somewhere very nearby and is ready to attack in order to protect her baby. 

But human parents can be just as protective.  After hearing about what seemed an unfair treatment recently with one of my girls, I wanted to go set somebody straight!  Of course I wouldn’t have torn anybody apart like the momma bear, but just wanted to “share a piece of my mind”! I restrained myself, however and simply prayed about the situation!   Any other moms been in this place?  We all probably have.  We love our children and want to protect them from unfair treatment. 

Now, let’s magnify that a thousand times and think about God the Father’s love for His Son.  What kept Him from calling a score of angels to rescue Jesus from the cross?  He could have done it and they would have obeyed.  He loved His Son, yet His love for us is as great. (Amazing, isn’t it?) He knew that without this perfect Sacrifice you and I would never be restored to a relationship with Him.  He turned His back on Christ while He bore our sin so that you and I could have forgiveness and eternal life.  This was far more than restraint…this was perfect, sacrificial love for YOU and ME.

The Love of God by Frederick M. Lehman so beautifully describes the wonderful love of the Father.  Here are the words:

See you in church Easter Sunday.  We have lots to celebrate, don’t we?  Our church is doing the drama we did for our Ladies’ Winter Tea – When Jesus Comes.  If you live in the area I hope you’ll join us!  It’s going to be a great day at Boones Creek!

With love,

P.S. BCBC ladies, make sure you’re ready for Bible study this coming Monday night.  Finish up your lessons in Week 5, if you’re not done yet.  Please join us…this study on Loving God with All Your Mind has been such a blessing!

I shared a couple of years ago about our family’s Easter traditions which included our “Easter Saturday” events, coconut cake, and brisk sunrise services at home on Indiana mornings. They are special memories to me, and I love to reminisce about the fun we had together as we celebrated the empty tomb. I think it’s special for a family to have certain foods and traditions that make the holidays really memorable.

When I was a little girl, my family had a tradition that we all loved.  For our Easter dessert, my dad always made us a bunny ice cream treat.  He would put a nice round scoop of ice cream in an ice cream dish, then he’d cut a banana half in half lengthwise and use those for the bunny’s ears.  Jelly beans created the face.  I think there was also coconut added.  We would have been disappointed if that treat hadn’t made its way to our dinner table on Easter!  It was Dad’s addition to our meal, and to our family. 

For our breakfast this Easter Sunday I’m making Orange Hot Cross Buns.  This is a new recipe, but it has high reviews, so I’m going for it!  Who knows?  This might be a new tradition in the Cunningham’s parsonage!

What does your family do to celebrate Easter? 

With love,

Ever try to sing a song that you could barely sing because the message was so powerful?  Recently our church choir has learned a new song written by Keith Getty – The Power of the Cross.  The first verse and chorus are as follows:

I think about a day when I have awakened from sleep and had a dread hovering over me.  Consciousness falls upon me and a reminder of that heavy thing comes to my mind.  It could be an unpleasant appointment ahead, the remembrance of bad news I’ve received the day before, or an unpleasant task awaiting my attention.  But can you imagine waking to the dawn of THE darkest day?  That day was the day Christ died for our sins.  For whom was it a dark day?

• For Christ.  He was headed to Calvary on that day.  He knew what was ahead – “tried, torn, beaten, nailed to a cross of wood,” yet He chose to obey His Father and carry out the plan for my salvation. 
• His disciples.  They didn’t understand what was happening.  They were torn with being faithful to their Savior, yet fearful for their own lives.  The grief must have been heavy as they watched from a distance, Christ suffering for their sin.
• The women who had followed the Lord and loved Him.  It tells us that they stood by the cross of Jesus.  One of those women was Jesus’ mother, Mary.  She was a sinner, Friends.  She conceived Christ by the miracle of the Spirit of God placing that babe in her womb, but she needed the Savior as much as the other women that stood with her.  She knew that this day was coming – she’d been told that He would be the Savior of the world.  This was the darkest day for her.

In reality, anyone who had followed Christ, been touched by Him and knew that He was the Son of God, had to have experienced a dark day on the dawn of this day.  But oh, the wonder of the joy that was just before them!  Did they have an idea of what was to come?  Were they putting the pieces together of what Christ had been trying to tell them?  Because you and I are on this side of the cross, we read the Gospels and want these sad-hearted people to be encouraged because we know that beyond the cross was great joy!

What darkness enveloped you when you woke up this morning?  If you and I could get a glimpse of what is just ahead for the child of God, we would understand the great joy that is just ahead for us, too!  Our sorrow would be turned to laughter, our heaviness would be lifted.  Read the “back of the book” and rejoice today!  Victory, joy and perfect peace is just ahead for all who know Christ as their Savior.  He’s coming very soon and all will be made right! 

I pray you’re ready for His appearing.  I pray you’re looking for Him to come.  It could be today that He will turn the darkness to great joy!

With expectation,