I woke up on the last day of July and realized that not only was it the last day of the month, it was also the last day for Dale and me to serve on summer staff at The Wilds Christian Camp. For the last nine weeks, we have traveled to Brevard, NC to spend Tuesday through Thursday ministering alongside the sponsors – those who bring campers to the campsite.
It’s been an incredible summer of serving, praying, talking, encouraging, but also being strengthened and so blessed in the midst of the busy and very full days.
Many people who learn of our opportunity to serve at The Wilds have said things like, “Well, how did YOU get to do that?!” Or, “Man, you’re living the dream!” If you’ve ever been to The Wilds you understand what they’re saying, and I certainly get it, too. But I would be lying if I said it was always easy. I often felt like an exile. Does that sound strange? Here’s the reason –
How refreshing it is to stand in a stream and hear its bubbling song. There is just something about flowing, moving water that invigorates! It refreshes! If you’ve ever stood at a stream’s edge in the countryside you know what I mean.
Some time ago, I was given a handout entitled, “Twenty Ways to Refresh.” Due to the nature of my blog and my desire to refresh others in their heart, home and life, I gravitate to the word, “Refresh.” Harold Vaughan, the founder of Christ Life Ministries, is the epitome of Encouragement and he is the author of this list I was given. When we refresh others, we are pouring life into them, like that flowing stream does for us! If you’re like me and you have difficulty thinking of ways to encourage others, this list will help you.
Here are the first ten:
Greet people on Sunday mornings (at church) with a smile. It is okay to let your face say that you are happy to be at church. Go out of your way to say, “Hi.” Ask questions about the lives of others, and listen attentively.
Visit the widows and shut-ins of your church. Take an afternoon and visit three or four. Sit, talk, listen and be willing to look at their photo albums – all of them.
Have a mouth that is overflowing with grace and is slow to wander down any other road.
Show up each Sunday morning with a mental list of three or four people that you are going to find and minister to. Many of us walk into church with an attitude of, “I wonder who will minister to me today.” Nothing can be as drastically encouraging to a local church’s membership than a people united in the understanding that they are there to serve and love one another.
Be a Monday morning encourager instead of a Monday morning critic by sending your pastor an email detailing what you appreciated about his Sunday sermon.
Don’t rush out of church on Sunday mornings. Be one of the last to leave because you are taking the time to talk with everyone you can.
Often remind others of the benefits of salvation and the graces that flow from union with Christ. Let it season your conversations.
Routinely have a crock-pot meal or roast cooking on Sundays and spontaneously invite a visiting family or family in need for supper following the service. (See my Successful Sunday Dinner series!)
Seek out those visiting the church, get to know them, and introduce them to others. Find connections, and be a networker to the glory of God.
Aim to remember people’s names and greet them by name each Sunday. This takes work, but it can happen. (I go to my seat and write their names in my journal, with a brief description of the person!)
This really inspired and refreshed me! Which one of these points speaks most to you?
In a couple of weeks, I will have completed another read through the Bible. That’s saying nothing about me, but I do want to say something about God’s Word – it changes me!
The reason I started reading through the Bible many years ago is because I had not really gotten the “whole story” in my head. I had broken up segments of the Old Testament happenings I’d heard since my childhood. I knew some of the psalms and loved Paul’s epistles, but reading all the way through the Bible has taught me and profited me so much!
Reading through the Bible has shown me the thread of redemption that is woven throughout all of Scripture. After the fall of man,, we see God providing, not just Adam and Eve’s present needs, but telling He would provide a sacrifice for mankind. Then all through its pages, we see pictures and types of Christ, coming to save us from our sin. From Abraham, Joshua, Moses, Joseph and the psalms, we are pointed to His suffering, death and resurrection!
Reading through the Bible has given me a greater love for God’s Word. I see the way Scripture commentates on itself. I see Christ on each page. I see the way the Word is knit together like the yarns of a scarf through the weaver’s shuttle. It’s a Book like no other book! It is alive! It is powerful! It is life-giving!
Reading through the Bible has caused me to grow spiritually. Oh, how dear it is to open my Bible and hear God speak Truth to my heart! The Spirit of God teaches me His character, gives me hope for the future, and convicts me of sin so I can get it right. All of this causes growth.
Reading through the Bible has given me a greater desire to memorize Scripture. Because I see its value to change me, I know it’s essential to have it hidden in my heart. Psalm 119 is full of reminders why I need to memorize – it gives comfort, it gives me words to answer others, it guides me, it keeps me from sin…and so many other reasons.
I will definitely be reading through the Bible in 2022. Whitney shared on her blog this week that she’s going to be doing The Bible Recap. That is a chronological reading. I’m praying about whether to do that or to repeat the Bible in a year on you version. It takes you through the old and New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs. I love the variety. Through this plan I’ve also seen the redemption thread woven so beautifully.
Have you ever read through the Bible? If it seems daunting to you, realize you just take it one day at a time. I believe having a plan doesn’t overwhelm you, but it keeps you on track. Pray and ask God to give you a hunger for His word, and then make a plan to dive in come January 1, 2022.
You can go here to see a tool that has helped me as I’ve read the Bible.
Last week I stepped outside my front door on a springlike morning. Ahhhh, so beautiful! Then I looked down at the porch where I was standing and saw a hundred dried up worms that were the residual from the previous day’s rain. I stepped back inside the door and grabbed the broom and began my efforts at ridding the concrete of the crusty creepies.
That was only ONE of the many not so glamorous tasks I did that day. My work also included cleaning out the kitty litter box, doing laundry, cleaning the bathrooms….well, you get the idea. It was a day full of dirty jobs, but it was my day and also my delight to serve the Lord in my home – in this quiet corner of my world.
For the last several months, in between my chores, I’ve been studying in preparation for a Ladies’ Prayer Advance where I was to speak. I always feel the heavy weight of responsibility of giving out God’s Word. It MUST be accurate. It must be in context. It must be applied.
The day after sweeping up the dried worms, I made my way to that conference where for the next several days I had the blessing of speaking, but also gleaning from the other speakers. .
I had the joy of gathering with about 300 women to worship, pray and pour over Scripture. I had the delight of meeting so many ladies, of listening to their hearts as they introduced themselves to me. It was a blessing to stop and pray with each one who shared a burden or need.
It was exhilarating. It was a far cry from sweeping up dead worms!
But as all wonderful weekends do, the conference came to a close and we headed home. Monday morning I stepped out to take my daily walk and I was greeted once again with…dead worms. When I returned home from my exercise, I got the broom and got back to the task of trying to sweep them away.
As I swept I thought about the invigorating days that came between my lowly task of sweeping the porch. I was reminded that THIS is what life is. It’s full of high’s and low’s. It’s not always worship songs and wondrous events – it’s also worms and work.
But every day, every task, every moment belongs to the Lord. He has called us to this moment. We must be faithful whether we’re on a platform or the front porch. How are we to push through on the days that are not so glamorous or fun? The difference is our worship.
Personal worship of God each day can elevate the mundane into the momentous.
Where does today find you? On the day when it’s not your birthday, you’re not on vacation or headed to a Ladies’ conference, but you find yourself doing the monotonous, turn your heart to our great God. Open His Word and find the wonder of Him throughout the pages of Scripture. Bow at His feet and adore Him. That act will turn your heart into a sanctuary of praise.
Some verses that remind us of this truth: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men. Co. 3:23
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Ps. 103:1
For from him and through him and for him are all things.To him be the glory forever! Amen. Romans 11:36
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me?Put your hope in God,f or I will yet praise him,my Savior and my God. Ps. 42:11
It won’t matter that you’re “just at home” or “on your way to work.” You will be filled with the Spirit of the One that created you as much for this moment as He did for the “more holy” tasks. Worship makes those worms momentous. Sound silly? Try it and see how worshiping God elevates your mundane into the momentous!
Yesterday I went to our local Ingles to do my grocery shopping. When I had finished and returned to my car, I looked up and saw the car pictured here. That car is not in motion! It’s parked like that! I laughed out loud, then I had to snap a picture. It was too unbelievable not to share.
When my husband sees a car parked like that he’ll say, “For heaven’s sake, if they’d just take five seconds…” It’s true. How much longer would it have taken for them to actually get their car all the way into their space before they jumped out? About five seconds.
When I got home and was thinking about the driver, I thought, “If they get the tail of their car hit, they surely asked for it.” A person who has a license knows the rules of driving. They know what is expected of them when they call themselves a driver, yet so many drivers don’t take the time to do the right thing.
I call myself a Christian. Do I take the extra time to:
Share the Gospel with a stranger?
Stop and pray with a friend who just shared her burden with me?
Write a get well card to someone at church and add a favorite Bible verse?
Volunteer to serve at my church?
Invite an unsaved family to my home for a snack or meal?
None of the things I just mentioned really take that much extra time from our day. Just like the careless driver, we can tend to recklessly plunder our way through our day without slowing down for “five seconds” to just do the right thing.
Don’t allow yourself to be the target for someone’s photo of a careless Christian. Slow down. Consider where you’re parked, then look around to see if you need to straighten things up a bit.
Think about what have you done recently that showed that you were taking the time to do the right thing as a child of God. Ask the Lord to reveal any areas that need to be “straightened out” in your life.
Oh, and take those extra five seconds to park your car in the lines. =)
RefreshHer 