I certainly don’t have much wisdom of my own to share and I don’t want the title for today to come across in a proud way. Everything I’m sharing is ideas from others. I heard someone once say, “If you don’t have brains borrow them; just be careful where you get them.” 🙂 With that said, here a some clever ideas…

Have you made this wreath yet? Here’s a picture of mine. I made it in two consecutive nights while listening to a preaching service on the web. Anyone can make this! Cut and poke – that’s the talent it takes to make it! It took just under a yard of fabric to cover the wreath form and make it full and fluffy looking. You could make a round wreath in the spring with pastel colors, or red, white, and blue in July. Cute, cute, cute!

My dad told me about a recent good idea my mom had. She had a nice tablecloth that was a bit worn, but she loved it. It wasn’t good enough to use as a tablecloth anymore, so she cut it into squares and made napkins out of it. I love that idea because I have a beautiful tablecloth that got stained. It’s so pretty I couldn’t make myself get rid of it, but I never use it. Now I have a plan! If you’d like to do that and you’re not sure how to go about it, go here for a good tutorial. Thanks for the great idea, Mom, and Happy Birthday!

Did you know that Crayola makes bathtub crayons? Your kids can write on the bathtub and have all kinds of fun, but I recently read about a husband and wife using the crayons to leave notes for each other in the shower! With Valentine’s Day approaching I think that’s a great way to be creative!

I’m always looking for a good book to read. At our missions conference our preacher, J.B. Godfrey mentioned the book, The Triumph of John and Betty Stam. I will be on the lookout for this in our library. If they don’t have it I see that Amazon has copies as low as $6.

How about you? Come across any good ideas, books or new products?

‘Til next time…

“One of the most well-known martyrdoms in the history of Christianity in China occurred in December 1934, when a young American missionary couple, John and Betty Stam, were beheaded in Anhui Province along with a Chinese Christian named Zhang Shuisheng, who had pleaded for the Stams’ release.

Before she was appointed for service, Betty wrote:I want something really worthwhile to live for. Like most young people, I want to invest this one life of mine as wisely as possible, in the place that yields richest profits to the world and to me…. I want it to be God’s choice for me and not my own. There must be no self-interest at all, or I do not believe God can reveal His will clearly. … I know very well that I can never realize the richest, most satisfying life Christ meant for me, if I am not giving my own life unselfishly for others. Christ said: “He that would find his life shall lose it,” and proved the truth of this divine paradox at Calvary. I want Him to lead, and His Spirit to fill me. And then, only then, will I feel that my life is justifying its existence and realizing the maturity in Him that Christ meant for all men, in all parts of the world.”

We can all only admire a heart that devoted to Christ. Knowing the heathen-like hearts of people who have never heard the Gospel, we would perhaps even say, “If the Lord called me to the mission field to minister to people such as those that John and Betty had a burden for, I would go.” It would not matter to us that the people to whom we were called were dirty, or different or diseased – we would go to share the Good news.

At a recent service at our church, we had a young woman enter the building after the service had begun, her two children and one of their friends following behind her. After the service ended she asked to speak to the pastor about a need she had. I had the privilege of getting to talk privately with her while our youth pastor took the teenagers with him. I learned that this dear girl is very sick. She has had a very difficult life, seeing things that no human being should ever have to witness. My heart ached for her. There was a sparkle in her eyes, however, when she told me about trusting Christ as her Savior when she was a little girl.

As I sat and talked with her I had an argument with myself. “Should I give her my cell phone number so she can call me if she has a need? Will she call too often? What would others do?” Then, “No. What would Jesus do?” A song I had recently learned came to my mind, “Love as I loved. Give as I gave. These are the people that I came to save.” I gave her my phone number and embraced her before she left. I went home blessed with the opportunity to call her my sister and help bear her burden. She went home with two children and their friend that had become children of God after they heard the Gospel!

As I’ve thought on that incident, I’ve thought about how we hold at arm’s length those that are different from us. If they don’t dress like we dress, smell like we smell, and have “decent” financial means we often look down on them. We shake our heads that they’re dependent on the state for their livelihood. But if those same people were in another country and we went to minister as missionaries, we’d think nothing of it! Yet, here there are, walking into our churches, or shopping at our Walmart, wondering if there is anyone that will love them and help them. Jesus would have. He fed the multitudes. Whenever He looked up He was looking at the people. What people has He put around you who are wondering if you care? A neighbor? Someone in line behind you at the grocery store? A visitor at church? Love them the same way you were loved and give your life for “something worthwhile to live for.”

With love,

This week I was in a place where I heard a little child crying for its mother – not just once, but many times over in the span of an hour. Bump on its head. Cry for Momma! Wanted to do something but was told “no”. Cry for Momma! Hungry tummy. Cry for Momma! This little one showed his dependence on his mommy every time he cried out for her…that’s what children do!

How dependent are you on the Lord? “Oh, very!” we might all say. But how often do we cry out to him? Does a “little bump” make us cry out? Does an unfulfilled need cause our voice to be heard at the Throne of God? When we feel opposition do we run to our prayer closet?

Our dependence on God is shown by how much we pray! We can’t say we need God and only pray in the morning or at meal times. If we really, really depend on Him then we will pray about everything. Dependence is “the state of relying on someone.” If we run things our way instead of praying about it then we are saying we don’t need God.

Today let’s practice being God’s child and cry out to Him all day long because we realize we are dependent on Him for every thing that touches our lives!

With love,

Great Products to try:

Winter months can really be hard on your skin. I recently read about Johnson’s Be Radiant Body Lotion. It came highly recommended to sooth dry skin and it’s listed at $5.99 – very affordable!