Yesterday I was reminded of the pain of a mother’s love. My younger daughter was scheduled to have all four of her wisdom teeth extracted. How I have dreaded this for her. Why? I’ve had mind cut out and remember the incident! It was no Saturday afternoon picnic, to say the least!

As we headed to the oral surgeon she was calm and unruffled by what lie ahead. She was ready for a few “down” days – soft foods, movies and taking it easy. We had gently warned her what it would be like, but the rude awakening came after we got home and the PAIN set in. She and I both had tears in our eyes as we waited for the medication to do its thing. After a call to the surgeon and another dose of medication she seemed to be doing better. Then another storm struck – nausea from the medication. She hasn’t been able to keep anything down, and of course that makes taking the next medication even more difficult to bear. It’s a vicious cycle and one that’s had me in tears more than once.

What mother can stand to see their child in pain or having to endure suffering? This one doesn’t do it so well. I’ve cried out to the Lord to help her and get her through these difficult days, thankful that He hears a mother’s prayer and understands.

He understands. His Son suffered much more than that of oral surgery. He suffered for sins He had not committed for people who would turn their backs on Him. He died for me, and God had to turn His back while Christ bore my sin. He couldn’t even do what I had done for my daughter – comfort, soothe, and be right there. How His heart must have hurt.

So I know when I pray for my daughter, God understands and He cares for me and for her. That gives me comfort, even while I wait for the next time I hear her call for me. God is waiting too, and is able to answer exceeding above all that I ask or think.

God understands what you are going through too. Whatever it is, He knows what you’re going through and He cares. More than a mother’s love is our God’s great love for you. Remember that and be comforted.

This weekend I pulled off of my book shelf a book that I bought in the 90’s. It was Emilie Barnes’ book on ordering your life. I have read it several times, but as I reread the first couple of chapters I was encouraged and challenged in some of the very ordinary things of life as a woman.

It’s easy to get slack and let things slide both at home and in my heart. I love reading inspirational books that are full of good ideas to make me a better woman, wife and mother. I need challenges that spur me on to make things richer in my walk with the Lord. I am thankful for encouraging thoughts to make my marriage sweeter. And I love good ideas to make my home a more inviting place to be.

So far here are a few thoughts that have been a blessing in those areas:

· Reading the salvation testimonies of others is a so encouraging. I plan on reading a new biography of a Christian in this next month.

· Creating a special dinner and a special place for dinner is one idea for my marriage that the Lord gave me just by seeing a picture of a backyard that had a little table out in their backyard. Here’s what I created for my husband as a result. He LOVED it!

· I saw a cozy kitchen in a magazine and thought, “I need to make my seating area more inviting; a place that encourages people to want to sit down and stay for a visit. Using the picture as a guide I gathered some things from other rooms in my home to make my bench the focal point of the kitchen. Here is the result:

· I borrowed a Cooking Lite cookbook from the library and have made four or five new recipes from it. Check this one out.

I’d encourage you to reread a book that was a blessing to you in the past. If you don’t have any resources to pull from, any book by Elizabeth George will challenge your walk with the Lord. A book by Emilie Barnes will get you on the road to organization. A good magazine borrowed from the library such as Southern Living or Country Living is a good place to get some beautiful ideas for your home or yard.

It’s so easy to get into a rut. Why not freshen things up this week with some fresh ideas?

Continued from yesterday’s post – July 16:

Most of us aren’t going to go out putting a sword in our belt just in case someone angers us today, so what relevance does David’s response have to us?

1. We can become like the person that is driving us crazy. Proverbs 26:4 – Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him. David is now acting just like Nabal. He’s not only talking foolishly, he’s also getting ready to act foolishly. Do you want to become like the fool you’re dealing with? Then stay on your warpath!
2. It’s easier to see someone else’s foolishness and wrong doing than our own. It was easy for David to see how foolish Nabal was in his selfishness and arrogance, but he is blind to the foolishness of trying to get even. We all need wise people in our lives that can be like Abigail’s to us to reveal our sin.
3. Like David, we often justify our behavior. “If he hadn’t said that to me, I wouldn’t have gotten so angry and lost my cool.” “She just pushed me over the edge and I had to stand up and let her know she couldn’t run over top of me.” We reason out our foolish behavior until we feel we have a right to act in this ungodly way.
4. We will act out of what is in our heart. Nabal responded to David out of the evil in his heart. David’s actions came from the same place. We must guard our heart and keep ourselves in fellowship with the Lord so that what comes out is the fruit of Spirit and not our flesh.
5. We need to HALT when someone angers us. If you are Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired stop before you respond to someone that’s provoked you. David was all of these and it caused his actions to be even more severe.
6. We strap on our swords in several ways.
· With our words – Proverbs 29:11
· With our actions – Proverbs 14:22
· With our attitude – Proverbs 23:7a
· With our silence – Proverbs 12:16a
7. Anger insights more anger. We get fueled when someone does something to us, then our anger fuels them and so it goes. But Proverbs 15:1 reminds us that a soft answer turns away wrath; it extinguishes it just like a water hose on a flame.

I read the story about the Russian Czar Peter the Great and how fascinated he was with the study of medicine. One day one of the Czar’s valets came running to him and asked him to pull his wife’s tooth. Peter grabbed his dental instruments and followed the valet to his apartment. There Peter pulled the woman’s tooth, ignoring her cries of protest. Only several days later did Peter learn that the woman had never had a toothache at all. The painful extraction was her husband’s revenge for a domestic quarrel! Talk about a “tooth for a tooth.” My guess is the tooth that was pulled wasn’t one in the back, but one of the front ones that would be noticeable and humiliating! Anger insights more anger!

8. Too often we minister to others with a measuring stick in our hands. We are willing to love and serve others sacrificially, but with a certain set of expectations. We expect that the same kind of love and sacrifice be reciprocated. When in return for our doing good, our neighbor gives us evil, like David, we get hot under the collar and look for some way to retaliate. We forget that, like Christ, our words and deeds may bring about persecution and suffering rather than approval and gratitude. Our reward in heaven will be great, but there may be no such rewards on earth. The problem with acting like a servant is that people begin to treat you like a servant. Like Nabal, we don’t mind doing something if it’s our idea, but if someone asks us to do something we feel humiliated because we’re being treated like a servant!
Being a servant is why Christ came to this earth according to Philippians 2:7,8. He took upon Him the form of a servant. Oh, that we would take the image of our Savior and be willing to serve, even if there is no reward or recognition.

In the news just recently was the story of a doctor who had damage done to his car in a parking lot. It seems that someone came along and scraped the side of the automobile with their key. The doctor was furious and was set on finding out who did this crime. After several weeks of investigating, the name of the man that was the likely suspect was revealed. The doctor, set on revenge, took a sharp knife and a small pistol and headed to the man’s house with the intention of slashing the tires of the man’s car.

He left his car running at the end of the street and made his way to the man’s house. Once the doctor got there he set about on his mission. Hearing commotion outside, the man in the house came out to investigate. A tussle ensued; the gun was revealed, and then traded hands. In the end the doctor had been shot to death…all because he was determined to get even.

While we may not strap on a sword or even carry a pistol with us, we too, are often set on revenge. Using our words, our silence, a slammed door, or an attitude we cause death too – death of relationships, death of our Christian testimony, and death to a Spirit-filled life. If there’s someone that has angered you, stop! Think about what you are doing. “The wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. “ Stop and take off your sword.

Have you ever noticed how many movies or even innocent television shows have revenge as their theme? Even the Andy Griffith Show often had episodes in which someone was out to get even with someone else. Do you remember the episode when Ernest T. Bass throws rocks through windows to get even with the authorities for not accepting him in the army? There’s also the show where Barney gets a convicted criminal arrested and the criminal points his finger in Barney’s face and says, “I’ll get you for this deputy!” Poor Barney spends the rest of his week in fear of being caught.

A person seeking revenge is a scary individual. In our lesson today we see that David, the man after God’s own heart turns into a blood-thirsty savage. Remember that even the most godly individuals can act in foolish and ungodly ways at times. Let’s see what caused David to be so angry he was willing to kill.

In I Samuel 25:4-11 we find that David is asking for what is rightfully his. He and his men had protected Nabal’s shepherds while they were in the field. They protected them from robbers and marauders, and after doing so, David had a right to ask for provisions for his men. This was a time of feasting and there was plenty of food. Nabal was a rich man and had enough to share and then some. However, when the request is made, Nabal throws out insults instead of gifts.
Nabal pretends he doesn’t know who David was, but his own words tell us he knew David as the son of Jesse. Nabal is also aware of the tension between David and Saul. He wrongfully accuses David of breaking away from his master. The truth was that David was fleeing for his life from Saul. Nabal reveals his foolish heart once again. His response to David was one of pure selfishness and meanness. Note all the “my’s “ in verse 11. Nabal only wants to help if it’s his idea. “Don’t tell me what to do with my stuff!” He is totally insensitive to the needs of others and basically tells David and his men to go elsewhere to find something to eat. His drive is to be in charge, in control.

In verses 12-13 we see the first of two responses to foolish Nabal. This first response is from David. When he heard Nabal’s answer to his request he immediately decided to retaliate, to get even. His temper got the best of him, and he told 400 of his men to gird on their swords. He was going to kill not only Nabal, but every one of his men.

At first this seems surprising. After all the times that David had endured insults and bad treatment at the hand of Saul, why would he be so upset at this one insult that he would want to kill Nabal? David had even at one point had the opportunity to kill Saul, but he did not. This evoked conviction in Saul’s heart as he told David, “You are more righteous than I; for you have dealt well with me, while I have dealt wickedly with you.” Saul was able to see David’s righteous heart. When we are provoked do others see our righteous acts, or as in the situation in which David now finds himself with Nabal, do they see us instead “strapping on our swords?”
I believe David took the insults from Saul because Saul was his authority, and because David knew he would soon replace Saul on the throne. Perhaps he reminded himself that Saul wouldn’t be around much longer to continue this unfair treatment. Nabal, however was not his authority – he was even a distant relative, but that meant nothing to Nabal.

David is upset because the kind treatment he’d given to Nabal is being returned with evil. He now feels justified in returning evil for evil. He wanted an immediate return on his kindness, and when it wasn’t given, he’s out to retaliate.

David’s response surprises me until I think of myself. After all, I have been very godly and large hearted to many people. They insult me. I pray for them. I love my enemies and do good to them… most of the time. But how about when someone cuts me off in traffic? Those spontaneous moments when I’m caught off guard allow my real heart to show. At those moments, I’m often not so spiritual, but often “Nabalish” instead.

This lesson will be continued on tomorrow’s posting.

Can you believe we’re already in the middle of summer? I thought I’d post a few summer fun ideas – just in case your creative juices are waning in the heat.

This clever treasure box, which is organized around the principle that anything goes, has ample room for plastic bags of beach sand, seed packets, subway tokens, maps, sea glass, photos, finger paintings, invitations or even a tiny book of best friends’ autographs. Start with a sturdy cardboard box (one with a lid), which your child can label with his name and the date. As he amasses odds and ends, he can tuck them inside or, if he prefers, glue some onto the outside of the box. To give the box a durable finish, brush on a coat of white glue thinned with water or cover with Con-Tact paper.

CRAFT MATERIALS:
9 (11-inch) balloons (for 3 balls)
Funnel
2 1/4 cups of dried lentils
Scissors
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
1. Stretch the first balloon by inflating it halfway, holding it closed for about 30 seconds, and deflating it. 2. Place a funnel in the balloon’s neck and gradually pour in 3/4 cup of lentils, pushing them in as you go. The balloon should be firm but squeezable. 3. Snip off the balloon’s thick rubber lip. Cut the neck off a second balloon and gently stretch the opening. 4. Ease the second balloon over the filled balloon, tucking in the neck as you go. 5. Cut the neck off the third balloon, stretch the opening, and ease it over the other two. Repeat this process to make a set of three balls, or however many you’d like.

How about making some cute cupcakes on the day your grass gets cut? What a yummy reward! This idea was on Family Fun web site.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
Chocolate-frosted cupcakes
Coconut, flaked
Green food coloring
Hershey’s Nuggets
M&M’s
Frosting
Black licorice laces
1. For each cupcake, mix a handful of flaked coconut with a few drops of green food coloring. Press a chocolate-frosted cupcake into the coconut to cover. 2. The mower is made with a dark chocolate Hershey’s Nuggets body, brown M&M’s wheels, and a red M&M’s engine, held in place with dabs of frosting. 3. Shape the handle from a piece of black licorice lace, then insert the ends into the cupcake.

Make a simple version of homemade ice cream –

What you’ll need:
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup milk or half & half
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons rock salt
1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
Ice cubes

How to make it:
Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt. Seal the bag.
Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal it again carefully.
Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes.
Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!

Tips:
A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don’t increase the proportions more that that — a large amount might be too big for kids to pick-up because the ice itself is heavy.

Don’t forget some of the good ol‘ standby summer fun things. Such as:

• Hopscotch on the driveway
• Hula hoops
• Sprinkler or water hose jump rope
• Cardboard boxes – find a refrigerator box and let the kids make a playhouse or puppet stage
• Make Popsicles
• Play hide and seek just as it’s getting dark. Use flashlights to tag!
• Don’t forget the library. There are so many fun things to do there!

Enjoy…summer’s going to be gone before we know it and we’ll be pulling out the sweaters!