Stained Glass Pickup

2012-01-27T12:09:00.000-06:00

“If someone bows to you, return the gesture,making your own slightly deeper and longer, just in case.” This advice comesfrom Nancy McDonough, who for many years was an English teacher in Japan. Bowingto another person remains an intricate part of Japanese culture, whilewesterners most often greet each other with a handshake. A bow communicatesmore than most handshakes do, and at its best becomes an act of humility.
            The Japanese bow expresses manythings: respect, gratitude, remorse, sincerity, “Excuse me,” an apology,goodbye, or deference to status. “In general, the longer and deeper the bow,the more emotion or the greater the difference in social standing between thetwo parties,” says McDonough. Men bow with their hands flat against their sides,while women bow with their hands flat on the front of their thighs or crossedand flat. The back is held straight and eyes downcast.
            The angles of bowing range from ashallow fifteen degrees to a full forty-five degree angle, with the deeper andlengthy bows reserved for dignitaries. A person making a telephone call mighteven bow even though the other party can’t see them. Passersby may see an automobiledriver acknowledge another driver’s courtesy with a slight bow. Friends greeteach other with a quick bow. The bow also remains a part of the martial arts asa sign of respect. McDonough’s final advice to those who plan to travel toJapan, “Don't worry about doing it right -- just be sure to do it,” and shefurther said, the Japanese easily forgive a faux pas from a non-Japanese.
            I’m not planning a trip to Japan,but I am especially interested in the custom of bowing, dating back thousandsof years. Because of this column’s emphasis on humility in 2012, a detail inJacob’s return to his homeland leapt off the page and caught my attention. Inthe Old Testament, you recall how Jacob deceived his twin brother, Esau. Esaudespised his birthright when he was famished, and Jacob greedily traded a bowlof soup for right of firstborn. Later, on another occasion, Jacob agreed withhis mother’s plan and went to his aging and blind father disguised as Esau, sohe could lay claim to the blessing of firstborn.
            When Esau found out about thedeception, he grew angry and plotted to kill his brother. Rebekah, theirmother, sent Jacob away to her family before murder became another family sin. Whileliving and working with his mother’s relatives over twenty years, Jacob gainedtwo wives, two concubines, twelve sons, and flocks, cattle, camels, anddonkeys. Finally, he planned to return to his homeland.
            He sent a messenger ahead to alertEsau of his arrival. The messenger returned saying Esau was coming to meet himwith four hundred men. Jacob, “in great fear and distress” (Genesis 32:7),arranged his family in two groups, if one was attacked, at least one groupmight escape. That evening, he sent ahead a lavish gift of flocks, herds,camels, and donkeys.
            Jacob spent a restless night andtime in prayer, during which his hip socket wrenched. The next morning, Jacoborganized the four mothers of his children into family groups. Please picturethe next scene in your mind: Jacob went ahead of his family, and as heapproached Esau, Jacob bows to the ground seven times, in pain, he advances andbows on the ground and toward his brother. Seven times his knees hit the groundin humility.
            John T. Willis makes theseobservations about the humility and exchanges in the two more mature men: Jacobbowed seven times, called himself Esau’s servant twice, called Esau “lord” fourtimes, sent an extravagant gift, insisted that Esau keep the gift, and said,“to see your face is like seeing the face of God” (33:10).
            Willis says about Esau: he brought fourhundred men to provide Jacob with travel assistance and protection; he ran tomeet Jacob, embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him. He offered to giveback the gift; he addressed Jacob as ‘my brother,” and he finally acceptedJacob’s gift which in the day’s custom amounted to a pact of friendship.
            God’s timing, testing, andfine-tuning over twenty years caused these twin brothers to embrace the rolesGod planned for each of them. Through their stories, we see the continuingdevelopment of humility. May God grant the same growth to us.
            Hunger for Humility (4): “Godopposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).
            Cathy Messecar welcomes comments orstory suggestions at writecat@consolidated.net

Matching Speech to God's Standards

2012-01-20T06:58:00.001-06:00

When asking for a snack, myfour-year-old grandson Adam forgot to say “please.” I responded traditionallywith, “What’s the magic word?” He thought for a long moment then hesitantlysaid, “Abracadabra?”

Although “abracadabra”wasn’t the word I was listening for, it worked magic with this grandma. Skilledlanguage and good manners are vital to children and adults, and some adultsneed refresher courses in speaking with humble words, low-key enough for theyoungest ears.

PluggedIn Online is a Focus on the Family endeavor giving up-to-date reviews of moviesand television programs. In one review, Plugged In reports on “the animatedbrats in ‘South Park’” a “series about a group of foul-mouthed third-graders.”

Thedialogue is a “near-constant flow of profanity” and “includes hatefulexchanges.” The scripted lines apparently come from the dark recesses of adultminds.

Beforethe show debuted, “Newsweek” quoted its creator Trey Parker, “I can guaranteeit will be the raunchiest thing on television.” In one interview, creators Parker andMatt Stone spoke about the show’s profanity. “It’s made us a lot of money.” Iguess I have to ask where the adult-size bars of soap are when you need them.

To point a blaming finger atpropagators of filthy language is the easy way out. The difficult discipline remainscloser to home, to match one’s speech to God’s standards. “Do not let any unwholesometalk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others upaccording to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” (Ephesians4:29).

Language atrocities rangefrom filthy to flippant. Even indifferent responses leave impressions: Whocares? Whatever! No Problem. Oh well! When looking to Jesus as our model for humility,behavior, and language, it‘s difficult to picture him rolling his eyes and responding,“Whatever.”

We adults can give ourselvesa personal speech test by asking how much of our vocabulary hits the cuttingfloor before entering a church building, a house of worship. In everyday life,toes get hurt, hammers hit fingers, dishes slip and break, but profane wordsdon’t have to spew.

Brash, braggadocios words directlyoppose humble language. Prayers and purposeful screening of television shows cancreate barriers to keep harsh communication from entering homes. To young ears,wholesome language, affirmations, and gentle corrections become antidotes tostreet-language. In addition, old ears don’t need to hear course language either.

In the office, at home, and onthe street, use magic words: those that benefit listeners. When we speak, rememberGod hears not only our prayers but also the useless words we utter. Let’s speakas though our sweet grandmothers were listening and we’ll develop humble language.

Hunger forHumility (3): “Throw out the mocker, and fighting goes, too. Quarrels andinsults will disappear” (Proverbs 22:10).

ContactCathy at writecat@consolidated.net

Self-Imagined Greatness

2012-01-14T11:07:00.000-06:00

In lastweek’s column, I introduced our topic of conversation for 2012 – humility. Lastweek’s “assignment”: When you enter any room, think of yourself as the least,and look for ways to serve those present. How did you do? Did you find it toughto do? I certainly did.

We’re embarkingon this journey to deeper humility because Jesus called us to be like him, a servant.He set the perfect example and can inspire us to live as he did. One of theways we’ll do that is to focus every three weeks or so on one of JeremyTaylor’s (1613-1667) nineteen rules for humble living.

Theprivileges you were born into or now have, do ever feel pride rise up becauseof them? If so, then consider Mr. Taylor’s first rule of living humbly: “Do notthink better of yourself because of any outward circumstance that happens toyou.” I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth. That’s one way of saying I waswell fed but my family wasn’t the wealthiest on our block in Houston, Texas. However,compared to a child in an impoverished country, I had more than enough.

Considersome of the implications of Mr. Taylor’s first rule: If you are a whiz at math,do you get credit because your parents got together and created a mathematicalgenius? If you were born into a royal family, could you boast that personalachievement would eventually put you on the throne?

JeremyTaylor uses the example of a horse that can run faster than other horses. TripleCrown winner 1973, Secretariat was such a horse. A lot of circumstances andopportunities combined to put him in winners’ circles. Self-imagined greatness didnot make him a winner. Good athletes’ usually have great DNA and opportunities thatcontribute to their successes, but how fast they run, swim, or swing a tennisracquet isn’t their true make up. The true make up of a pauper or king is onthe inside.

RichardHagburg in a June 1996 issue of “Fortune” magazine relayed a story that awealthy executive told him: The executive and his wife stood in line at adriver’s license bureau to get his license renewed. After a rather lengthywait, the husband exclaimed to his wife, “Don’t they know who I am?”

His wifereplied, “Yeah, you’re a plumber’s son who got lucky.”

Naaman, aleper, commanded Aram’s army, but pride almost thwarted God’s intended healing forhim (2 Kings 5:1-19). Naaman’s wife had a maid, a young Israelite girl, whosaid, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would curehim of his leprosy.” Through a series of inquiries and letters, Naaman finallyfound his way to the Prophet Elisha’s home. The commander arrived with gold,silver, chariots, horses, and servants.

Elishadidn’t even answer the door when this officer arrived; he simply sent a messagefor him to go take a bath in the Jordan River. Everyone knew -- even foreigners-- that the river wasn’t more than a muddy canal. Naaman had imagined the manof God waving his hand around and making a big commotion as he invoked God’shealing. After hearing the prophet’s instructions, Naaman departed “in a rage.”

However, alowly servant displayed common sense. He reasoned with Naaman: if the man ofGod had asked you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? WhenNaaman ditched pomp and pride, dipped seven times in the murky Jordan River, that’swhen his skin became healthy. When pride rears its ugly head, it always casts ashadow on right thinking.

A Frenchproverb says, “The surest way to be deceived is to think one’s self more cleverthan others.” For the next couple of weeks, look backward in examination ofyour upbringing, and if extra attention, awards, or applause comes your way inthe next few weeks, remember Jeremy Taylor’s rule for living humbly, “Do notthink better of yourself because of any outward circumstance that happens toyou.”

Hunger forHumility (2): “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but inhumility consider others better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3).

Humility--Nothing to Brag About

2012-01-06T16:28:00.000-06:00

I findtruth in what Tim Hansel says about Christians living out our beliefs, He says,“We must take our Theology and make it our Biography.” Through this column,we’ll embark on a journey to do just that in 2012.

Last year, I read many books.However, one book and several of its reminders really stuck in my mind. Thebook is “Soul Work: Confessions of a Part-Time Monk” by Randy Harris, whoteaches at Abilene Christian University. Randy is part preacher, part stand-upcomedian, part professor, part mentor, but wholly dedicated to serving God as asingle Christian man.

He is part of an accountabilitygroup. As a group, they also have goals, one being when any of them enters aroom that they see themselves as the least in the room. Whether they are theauthor with the most books, the scholar with the most credentials, or the preacherwho has the highest salary, they long to heed the calling of Christ to be theleast.

What do you typically think aboutwhen you enter a room where there is one person or several people gathered? Doyou think about the enjoyment you will get in their company? Alternatively, doyou think how much fun others will have being around you? Maybe you are concernedthat your attire matches the occasion. Maybe you have a few cute or fun storiesyou want to tell, real attention-getters. Or maybe it’s a group of people whereyou can shine, network, and get a payoff from the contacts in the room.

How many of us typically walk into aroom and ask ourselves, “Who may I serve in this room?” Harris’ practices,guidance, and thoughts challenged me. These words define humility: humbleness, unpretentiousness, modesty, self-effacement.Self-effacement means looking at other’s needs before considering your own,much like the mother who sees one piece of pie left and declares she never likedpie anyway. Rick Warren said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking ofyourself less.”

Harris’ gives advice, lifted from the mid-1600sconsisting of nineteen rules, Christian disciplines that help his readers develophumility. JeremyTaylor (1613-1667) was a cleric in the Church of England, who remains best knownfor his devotional works: “The Rules for Holy Living” and “The Rules for HolyDying.” Among free spirits, rules are often snubbed as being out of fashion.However, we all live under rules. Try running red lights and stop signs and seehow free you’ll be.

Everyone has a personal rulebook. As a Christian matures,his or her list develops and governs their lives such as, always pray beforemeals, attend worship on Sundays, and meet at other times through the week withChristians. We have other rules we make to increase the order and harmony inour lives: make your bed every day, never let your gas tank get below onequarter, etc.

A quest for humility opposes the quest for more power, moremoney, and more status. When we seek humility, that’s when we say to God, “Putme to work wherever you will.” One might serve breakfast to the homeless at theHouse of Prayer in Conroe, Texas, one might preach for 30 to thousands, or onemight tuck three children in bed at night. James said, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up”(4:10).

In this columnthrough the next twelve months, our focus will be on humility. Each week, a scripturetagged “Hunger for Humility” will guide us. Again, I encourage you to writethem in a notebook or on index cards and keep them near, so you can memorizeand reflect on them. Every three weeks or so, we’ll discuss one of JeremyTaylor’s nineteen rules for living humbly (I’ll introduce the first one nextweek). Randy Harris said he wrote the chapter on Jeremy Taylor’s nineteen rulesbecause he’s “brilliant at looking inside of us and catching us.” So was Jesus.With the help of Jesus, nineteen tried rules, and scripture, we may ring in theyear 2013 as more humble people. Although you realize, it will not be anythingto brag about.

Hunger forHumility (1): “Humble yourselves, therefore, underGod’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6).

You may contact Cathy at writecat at consolidated dot net

Borrow the Language of God

2011-12-30T06:20:00.000-06:00

Borrow the Language of God

“What language shall I borrow tothank you, dearest Friend, for this, your dying sorrow, your mercy without end?Lord, make me yours forever, a loyal servant true, and let me never, neveroutlive my love for you.” These lines come from a Medieval Latin poem, and thewriter had found that language alone failed to show his love for Jesus and his grace.Today, as back then, many find difficulty in expressing their love in languagealone. Lip service remains empty of love unless accompanied by caring actions.

This year, myhome congregation’s scripture theme calls us to think on excellent things,which in turn leads us to virtuous living, a language those around us understand.As we think about New Year resolutions, new church goals, and caring for thosewithin our circle of acquaintances, let’s consider the visionary resolutions Godhas already outlined for his people. At the end of this article, read how onePuerto Rican woman exercised the language of love and obedience to comfort oneof God’s babes in his kingdom.

A vastdifference lies in doing more forJesus and being more like Jesus. Godcalls us to resolve to be his love wherewe live: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul andwith all your mind and with all your strength . . . Love your neighbor asyourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).

Right beforethe resurrected Jesus returned to the Father, he also charged and challengedthe faithful: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name ofthe Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Resolutions made for a lifetime and sanctionedby God are much better than weak human resolutions carried out through sheerwill power for two weeks or a month. Why not try the lifetime, God-approvedones. If every reader resolved to love his neighbor, in language and actions, thisyear would bring the comfort and care many need.

A true storyfrom Charisma magazine (1996) illustratesthe power of such love: A Puerto Rican woman became a Christian in the UnitedStates, and even though she didn’t speak English, she longed to express her newfaith and love for the Lord. The church minister asked her to ride on one of theirbuses each week. Soon she only wanted to ride one bus because she’d found atiny, neglected boy who tugged at her heart. Each week, she held him on her lapand said the only English words she knew, “Jesus loves you. I love you.”

For weeks, theboy never spoke a word to her. Yet, Sunday after Sunday, she gathered him inher arms, held him, and in beautiful broken English said, “Jesus loves you. Ilove you.” One Sunday, he finally stammered back, “I . . . I love you, too.” Thatsame Sunday evening, authorities found his body beneath a staircase at arundown apartment building. His abusive mother had finally beaten him to death.Some of the last blessing-words he heard that day were from an obedient womanwho simply gathered the child in her warm arms and assured him of God’s loveand her love.

Sometimes wordsfail us. We simply aren’t capable through language alone to reach others.However, when the language of love combines with the language of active kindness,God can multiply that kind of offering to feed one or a multitude.

In 2012, borrowthe language of God. Ask him to write it on your heart, and then watch foropportunities to serve. Your service may be something as innocent as taking ascarred child into your lap and whispering, “Jesus loves you. I love you.”

Index cardverse for week 52: “Behold, I stand atthe door and knock. If anyone hears my voice andopens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with me” (Revelations 3:20). You maycontact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

Fed with Human Kindness

2011-12-23T12:31:00.000-06:00

A true story to warm your heart thisChristmas -- I met Robert Reid, at Summit, the annual September BibleLectureship at Abilene Christian University. In his story, I saw a faithful, determined,and humble man, reflecting the image of Jesus Christ.

Robert,wheelchair bound, faced challenges all his life and wrote about them in hismemoir: “Bursting with Life: Cerebral Palsy.” In 1942 in a small West Texastown, he was born two months prematurely after 27 hours of labor. Not manyexpected him to live, but God had other plans, as Robert wrote in the opening ofhis book, “I am the central character of this true story, God is the author.”

Evenwhen released from the hospital, he couldn’t nurse, so his mother fed him withan eyedropper. By the age of two, Robert still wasn’t crawling and kept his fistsclenched. Eventually, doctors gave a correct diagnosis of cerebral palsy.

Robertexplains about degrees of cerebral palsy, saying he is in the middle range: “Iam able to talk (although not plainly) and use my feet, but I’m in a wheelchairand can’t use my hands.” His childhood filled with doctors’ differing advice andtherapies, both good and bad. His mother and father never gave in to those who wantedRobert institutionalized. Until the age of 12, his parents carried him in theirarms everywhere they went, so he could experience all they did.

Thatyear, he grew so fast that a wheelchair became necessary. Because of the damageto his body and his spastic movements, many wrongly assumed that Robert also hadbrain damage. Reading his story, I realized once more how many wrong judgments peoplemake. One occasion at a popular barbeque restaurant in Lubbock shows this: hisparents got his food first and sat him at a long bar with a row of stools. A couplecame in to eat, and the woman asked him to move down one spot so they could sitdown. He told her he couldn’t move, thinking his handicap obvious, but sheresponded by calling him a “spoiled brat.” Robert remembers that he would haveloved to be able to move and run around the restaurant like a spoiled brat. Despitesimilar incidents, Robert knew the blessing of his parents taking him to publicplaces and for never hiding him at home.

Told by many professionals that he’d neverget proper schooling, Robert pushed to get into public high school and enrollin college. In college, living away from his parents proved challenging sincehe couldn’t write, dress, or feed himself. Always dependent upon the kindness ofothers, fellow college students used carbon paper to make copies of their classnotes for Robert.

Twodriving forces kept Robert going: he knew an education would benefit hisfuture, and he knew without a doubt that God had a plan and a purpose in all “mystruggles” Robert recognized a calling to Portugal as a missionary. He masteredPortuguese, and with the invention of Velcro, replacing buttons and zippers onhis clothing, he could dress himself but it still took a long time to dress.

Whilein Portugal, Robert continued studying the Portuguese language in classes andthrough private tutoring. Another dedicated young man, Clay, was his roommate, andfed Robert his meals. Later, his roommate, Clay, returned to the United States,but Robert wanted to remain in Portugal. His first time to live alone gave him greatfreedom even though he had to crawl to the bathroom. Each morning, a kind man helpedhim down the flights of stairs to the street.

Oneof the things Robert most enjoyed about the culture in Portugal was theirrelaxed way of living and their compassion for his disability. In restaurantsafter ordering food, a waiter would see his struggle to pick up a fork andwould offer to feed him. Because many servers knew him, he summoned the courageto ask if they could feed him. They treated his requests with the “greatestrespect and dignity.” They only asked that he arrive before or after the lunchrush. “I don’t think I could have managed without such compassion,” Robertsaid. Eventually, he married Rosa, and they have an adult married daughter.

Fromthe nurturing family who fed Robert with an eyedropper to the waiters who fed himin restaurants, I found an echo of the story of Jesus Christ – the bread oflife. When we are fed by Jesus, his compassion becomes ours, enabling us to loveand care for others. Robert’s story reminds us that we all have disabilities – overcomebest when the spirit of Christmas rules our hearts all year long. MerryChristmas, dear readers.

Indexcard verse for week 51: “Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for themercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” (Jude 1:21).

A Better Recipe for Hope

2011-12-16T08:15:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, I wantedto bake a cake my mother used to make, but I didn’t know the name of the cake.I only knew it contained pecans, coconut, and crushed pineapple, and Motheralways baked it in a Bundt pan. Since mother passed, I asked my dad if I could lookthrough her recipes. He happily handed over her cookbooks and handwrittenrecipes. My sister, Sherry, and I hurriedly copied and assembled our families’favorites into a recipe booklet for the holidays. Even though I recalled someof the ingredients in the cake, I had to reach back to the original recipe to findmeasurements, correct ingredients, and directions.

When I reread Isaiah 9, it refreshed my memory of allthe good things that would accompany the birth of the Messiah. Listed in versesone through seven, are delectable, detailed blessings under the chapter heading,“To Us a Child is Born.”

God foretold through Isaiah that he would someday honorZebulun and Naphtali, “Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, alongthe Jordan” (v 1). They would become privileged to live during the time whenJesus walked the earth, “The people walking in darkness have seen a greatlight; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned”(v 2). That beam of light continues to shine through the ages.

Isaiah also foretold the reaction of joy in those whowould participate in and see the miraculous works of God done through hisservant-son, Jesus, “They rejoice before you as people rejoice at harvest” (v3). We know that an abundance of rejoicingdid take place – from the birth of Christ to his resurrection from the dead,and between those lavish happenings, joy occurred because many were cured ofillnesses, evil spirits, and dull faith.

Isaiah also revealed that in the day of Christ a newrule would be set up, a kingdom not of this world, governed by a lovingGodhead, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. This governmentcould happen right alongside any man-concocted form of rule, and those whowould choose to be under the personal governing of Jesus would have as theirconstant help, “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince ofPeace” (v 6). Those are only asprinkling of the identifying characteristics of Jesus. The Bible textattributes over 200 names and titles to him: Lord of Hosts, God with Us, MorningStar, the Way, Light, Rock, King, Wisdom of God, Bread of Life, Alpha and Omega(Beginning and End), and more. Want reminders of more: Bridegroom, Word ofLife, Servant of Rulers, Root of David, Rock of Offense, Only Begotten, Redeemer,High Priest, Judge, Lion of Judah, and Good Master. See Nave’s Topical Biblefor a full listing.

The part that most thrilled my heart in Isaiah 9 was this,“Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end . . . . establishingand upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever”(v 7). Revealed within that verse are so many full and time-honored promises ofan ever-increasing reign of Jesus in hearts. This reign would happen from thetime of Christ until now and on to an appointed time when this old worldshudders and shuts down.

That means, even with the dreary newscasts of doom andfinancial gloom, that something good will continue in 2012. Jesus’ government andpeace will increase in the hearts of humankind, founded on justice andrighteousness, and going on forever.

If you long for a better recipe for 2012, reflect on andbelieve in the ingredients of Isaiah 9:1-7. Filled with promise, they offerhope because “To Us a Child is Born.”

Index card verse for week 50: “And this is his command:to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as hecommanded us” (1 John 3:23).

Hold the Door Open for Hope

2011-12-09T04:32:00.001-06:00

A few years ago atThanksgiving, we hosted the family meal at our home. All our guests chipped inby bringing tantalizing dishes of food. We had the usual turkey, southerncornbread stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes. In addition, we had all thoseother good things that most adults enjoy, fresh cranberry relish, a gardensalad full of crisp veggies, candied yams, the traditional green bean casserole,and other favorites such as deviled eggs, sweet yellow corn, and yeast rolls. Allof that and we haven’t even strolled by the dessert table laden with pies inflavors of pecan, lemon meringue, pumpkin, cherry, and chocolate.

About thirty minutes after the meal, when we adults cleanedthe kitchen, sipping on our final cup of coffee to top off our very fullstomachs, my grandson, 6-year-old Adam, came into the kitchen. His appetitemore matched to McDonald’s menu than Grandma’s Thanksgiving feast, he openedthe refrigerator door, and took his time looking over the bounty of leftovers.

He stood there long enough for the cold air to seepacross the pine floor to where I stood. He looked but saw nothing to satisfyhis appetite. He finally shut the door, and said in a voice full ofresignation, “Grandma,do you have anything to eat in here?” Adam had bypassed a feast that dayand thought that my home held nothing tasty within it.

I’vetold you that story before, but I wanted to mention it again because many whohave suffered this year may relate to Adam’s statement. A death in your family,job loss, a devastating personal relationship – if you’ve suffered greatly, youmay feel that life doesn’t hold as many good things. Perhaps you, like Adam, holdthe door open and long for something better, but you most often see only leftovers.

ABible proverb states: “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longingfulfilled is a tree of life” (13:12), or I like Eugene Peterson’s paraphrasingof that proverb: “Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a suddengood break can turn life around.”

Somerefer to life as having mountain moments and valleys, but life is really morelike a railroad track. Right alongside, parallel of sad things are such good thingsas your next breath, friendships, a pasteled sunset, a family dinner, or thegiggle of a child. We’ve all experienced twofold moments of sunshine and rain.

During this joyous time of year when many in the worldremember the birth of the Savior Jesus Christ, you may lack the joy to join thecelebration. If so, I encourage you to do two things: Start a list of yourthanksgivings and take yourself to a Remembrance or Blue Christmas Service. Author Ann Voskamp wrote a book “AThousand Gifts,” but long before the book was published, Ann learned to write alist of daily Thanksgivings, she started doing that because a friend suggestedthe exercise because of an early trauma Ann had experienced. As Ann wrote downher thanksgivings, her life became less fearful and more joy-filled.

A mother of six, a pig farmer’swife, she learned that written thanksgivings brought happiness and restoredhope into her chaotic life. Ann says the discipline of writing down her giftsopened her eyes to things unseen before. She worked on her list “one-by-one, upto a thousand gifts. Not of gifts I want,” she said, “But of gifts I have.”Healing begins, when we practice thanksgiving. Start your list. Perhaps you,too, will be surprised by how quickly it can grow to hundreds of writtenblessings.

Second, Remembrance Services or BlueChristmas Services allow people to gather with others who are suffering. This past Tuesday, Sam HoustonMemorial Funeral Home hosted their annual Remembrance Service and “Doc” HiramJones, Father Ed Kucera, Jr., and I spoke. Doc and Father Ed shared some veryhelpful ways for coping with loss during the holidays. Several area churcheswill host Blue Christmas Services, including Montgomery Methodist Church onDecember 18, Sunday at 7:00 p.m.

Ipray that the God of all comfort gift what you need during this Christmasseason.

Indexcard verse for week 49: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, sothat we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you havebeen healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

Mercy in a Manger

2011-12-02T08:22:00.001-06:00

Mercy in the Manger

While teaching the scroll-thumping Pharisees,Jesus called them to live out God’s merciful ways. Declining, the judgmental Phariseescharged him with eating with ‘sinners’ and tax collectors. However, knowingtheir hearts, Jesus challenged them, “But go and learn what this means: ‘Idesire mercy not sacrifice’” (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13).

To the always-making-rules Pharisees, this wasnot a new concept. Through the prophet Micah, God had accused Israel of doingrituals while ignoring the compassion of God: “He has showed you, O man, whatis good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercyand to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

In February, Naomi and Ruth were the focus ofone of my columns. Ruth remains a good example of justice, love, mercy, andwalking humbly with God. In four chapters of the book of Ruth, their storiesunfold when a famine caused Naomi, her husband, and two sons to move among pagansin Moab. While there, Naomi’s husband died, leaving her the daunting task offinding wives for her sons. Poor. Without social standing. Doing a husband’sjob. She searched out two women to marry her sons.

Calm reigned for a few years, and then double tragedystruck -- both of Naomi’s sons died leaving three widows to fend forthemselves. Without any resources, Naomi decided to return to her hometown of Bethlehem.

Daughter-in-law, Orpah, returned to her Moabitefamily while Ruth chose to accompany her mother-in-law and travel to a culture foreignto her. Even in Naomi’s homeland, Ruth would have four strikes against her: shewas female, a widow, a foreigner, and barren. She made a crucial decision tocling to her mother-in-law because she’d experienced enough of Naomi’s faithand God to choose him. Ruth made a vow to Naomi to love her God and her people untildeath should part them.

When Naomi and Ruth returned to the town ofBethlehem, the “city of bread,” their prospects were bleak. They may have feltabandoned and, most likely, had many “why” questions. There’s every indicationthat these emotions fit their harsh circumstances.

Compared to the story of Job, Naomi’s is thefemale version of almost complete loss. Left in poverty and deep sadness, shereturned to her hometown after hearing how God had blessed the area with good harvests.From a pagan culture, the two marginalized women, Naomi and Ruth, moved back toBethlehem -- the future scene of a manger.

Carolyn Custis James writes in The Gospel According to Ruth. “When Naomireturned to Bethlehem, she may have felt like a useless piece of driftwood….InGod’s eyes, she was still on active duty and the treasure of his heart.” Mrs.James continues, “Her story has purpose written all over it although thesignals she receives from her own heart and culture say otherwise.” Naomi “isunaware of the fact that, instead of setting her aside, God is readying her fora strategic kingdom mission” because Ruth will be listed in the genealogy ofthe Messiah.

Naomi and Ruth chose God and walked justly andhumbly with him, unaware of his unfolding plan. They had learned mercifulliving, shown in their love and care for each other. God, in loving kindness, doesn’texile these widows to the margins of the Bible. In his mysterious ways, heplaces them in the middle of the redemption story in Bethlehem, where the truest expression of mercy on earth will have itsstart in a manger.

Index cardfor week 48: “Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world tobe rich in faith and inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?”(James 2:5).

You maycontact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

Narrow Escapes and Rescues

2011-11-25T10:53:00.001-06:00

Narrow escapes, everhad one? On October 17, a pleasant Monday, Dave and I traveled toward NewMexico in the Peterbilt tractor, pulling a load of pipe. The fresh plowed fieldsnear I-20 in West Texas and blustery wind had already gritted the air, but thatdust was minimum, compared to what we experienced after dark.

A cold front had moved into North Texas, a 75 mph duststorm, called a “haboob,” tossing tons of dirt into the air. “Haboob” is anArabic word for a massive sand storm, usually occurring only in North Africandeserts. The storm hit Lubbock during daylight hours, however, by the time itreached our location on I-20, between Abilene and Big Springs, it was after nineo’clock and very dark.

Dave said, “It looks like black smoke ahead,” just as aCadillac in front of us braked suddenly. Dave pulled into the fast lane toavoid hitting them, and that’s when we ran into the wall of black swirlingdirt. It obliterated the road. We could barely see a faint glow of theheadlights, but no visible road. The high winds sandblasted the truck, and allDave could do was steer, step on brakes, and start gearing down.

Then we felt the truck leave the interstate, ourdirection unknown. We sensed going down an embankment and up again and crossingdifferent levels of ground. We felt as if we hit 50 things before our80,000-pound rig and load finally stopped. I was on the phone with ourdaughter, Sheryle, during our entire wild ride.

Right before all this happened I told her, “We’re hittingsome fierce wind.” She went on the scary ride with us via her cell phone. I'msure it was very frightening for her as I said, "Oh God, we've left theroad. We're having a wreck."

"Mom, what's happening? Are you okay?"

"I don't know. We’re still having the wreck...Okaywe’ve stopped. We’re okay. I’ll call you back.” I asked Dave, "Where arewe?” "I don't know. I think wehit a bridge."

He grabbed a flashlight and jumped out to check the truck,having no idea where we were. He later told me he thought we were in themedian, partially in oncoming traffic. We actually had missed any surroundingvehicles, crossed in front of the Cadillac and traveled down and off theroadway. We then went up another embankment, crossed the feeder road and endedup in the ditch next to a plowed field. I couldn't even open the door of thetruck the wind was pushing so hard. Dirt blew perpendicular to the ground.

The husband and wife in the Cadillac stopped high aboveus on the shoulder of the interstate, and the wife braved stinging dirt tocheck on us. Dave still couldn’t tell where we were, but she told us we were tothe right of the feeder going west. By then Dave had inspected his load. Nopipe had shifted. We had not blown any tires. Not one scratch on the truck orus, and we were especially relieved that the folk in the Cadillac were okay.

We counted our blessings, and Dave eased the truck backonto the feeder where we drove several miles until the initial brunt of theswirling darkness died down. Sheryle later texted: “The minute you said youwere getting into high wind, I said a quick prayer, “Lord, protect them.”

Emily, a young mother, related her harrowing close callto me: Her husband and children were meeting family at their farm.Five-month-old daughter, Kaitlyn, had a cough, so Emily took a hot bath, andsat Kaitlyn in her car seat beside the tub, hoping the steam would ease herbreathing.

Emily heard a loud bang and saw pieces of the wall in herbath water. After looking around, the family found a small hole in the wallbehind Emily’s back and a hole in an opposite cabinet -- lodged inside abullet, possibly from illegal hog hunters in the area. The bullet holes werejust inches from where little Kaitlin sat and where Emily had bathed. Emilysaid, “I am so thankful that Kaitlyn and I weren'thurt. God was watching over us.” When rescues happen, we take comfort inknowing God has his eyes on sparrows, paths of big trucks, windstorms, paths ofbullets, and us.

Close calls can leave one trembling.God’s miraculous sparings, through his power and his angels, remind us of atleast two things: First, God keeps track of where we are and what’s happeningin our lives. Second, if we’re still on Earth, he designated that we have moredays. Have you had any narrow escapes this year or in the past?

On this Thanksgiving in the year of our Lord2011, knowing that God will protect us until it’s time for him to welcome ushome – now that’s delicious food for thought!

Index card verse for week 47: “Arenot all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inheritsalvation?” (Hebrews 1:14).

Linger, Remain, Stay, Delay and Dawdle--November 18

2011-11-17T14:10:00.001-06:00

I’m in love with theword “linger.” Actually, I’m in love with the essence of that word. I’m nottalking about forgetful lingering such as when you’re sitting at a red lightand you forget to drive when the light turns green. That’s simply not payingattention. I have in mind, a purposed time of taking longer than usual with thingsof importance, things that sometimes are rushed.

You’re familiar with the fourteen “time” passages inEcclesiastes 3, presented as opposites. There is a time for everything, and a season for everyactivity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time toplant and a time to uproot, . . . a time to be silent and a time to speak.”

Let’s focuson “there is a time to be silent and a time to speak.”What I’m suggesting for this next week of rushed schedules, family gatherings, andbaking and eating is to spend some time lingering. Lingering will boost yourjoy quotient in ways that busyness will not.

Lingering involves calming and quieting. Quieting meansdisconnecting from whatever worries assault you at present, giving the mind an okaysignal to vacation from your worries for a few minutes. First, quiet your body. Be still. Halt thenoise of your surroundings. Don’t shoot the cheery mockingbird outside yourwindow, but do turn off the television, telephone, and the sound on theinternet. Don’t let any pings, rings, or knocks disturb your settling down torelax.

That’s the easy part. Now try to quiet the noise behindyour eyebrows. Turn off the list of stuff that you want to do. Turn off doubts.Turn off questions. Turn off negative thoughts, and practice Paul’s recipe for cleansingthe inner person: “Whatever is true, whatever isnoble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever isadmirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about suchthings” (Philippians 4:8). A few minutes of quiet lingering can restoreyour focus, energy, and enthusiasm for life.

Having practiced stopping and quieting yourself, then carrythat spirit of lingering into your noisy, always-on-the-move world. What will “lingering”look like there? It will be time to hold a granddaughter an extra five minutesas you read her favorite book. It will mean taking a deep breath and sitting longerwith your hands wrapped around a mug of hot coffee. It means making time to sitby your spouse, hold hands, and simply be, even lingering over a kiss betweenyou.

It will mean not entertaining regrets about spending extratime with people instead of trimming the hedges, dusting, cooking, making out ajob bid, or cleaning out the gutters. On autumn days when David and I werenewlyweds, he would ask me to go for a walk on our wooded acreage. Sometimes hisinvitation would come just as we finished supper and before I’d cleaned thekitchen. After declining his invitation a few times, he eventually said, “I don’tmind that the kitchen sink has a few dirty dishes in it. I’d rather have youwith me, holding hands, and walking along the creek.” I learned to grab my flannelshirt and his warm hand and go for walks with my beloved.

Along these thoughts of lingering, I also have in mind a purposefulwaiting on the Lord in silence. Again, prepare that sound barrier so you can lingerover a psalm, pray, and wait for an answer. A peace beyond comprehension comesfrom such a meeting between the Lord and you. The Lord counseled hasty, out-of-sorts,and sinning Israel, “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness andtrust is your strength, but you would have none of it (Isaiah 30:15).

Want to have the best Thanksgiving ever? Quiet your body. Be still. Halt the noise. Lingerwith a friend over lunch. Take a refreshing nap. Look long into the eyes of theperson you love. Postpone an activity in favor of quietness and rest. Remain,delay, stay behind, dawdle, postpone, or reschedule. Take the time to linger. Iimagine that you too may fall in love with the essence of the word linger.

Index card words for week 46: “Grace to you and peacefrom God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philemon 1:3).

Soldiers and the Arm that Guides the Starrry Host

2011-11-11T05:29:00.001-06:00

In the winter of1777-1778, the Continental Army suffered months of hardship from lack of food,clothing, and proper shoes to keep their feet from freezing. The encampment attimes housed as many as 12,000 soldiers. "An army of skeletons appeared before oureyes naked, starved, and sick and discouraged," wrote New York'sGouverneur Morris of the Continental Congress.

Thearmy’s wintering took place near Valley Forge, so named by a forge owned by thebrother of Isaac Potts, a Quaker. Eventhough Isaac Potts opposed the war, as most Quakers did, Potts’ family historyclaims that 26-year-old Isaac lived at the Forge during the winter with hiswife to oversee the grinding of the grain that George Washington commissioned fromthe surrounding farmers to feed his starving army.

Several who lived during that time wroteaccounts of Isaac Potts traveling on foot through a wooded area near the encampmentwhen he heard the voice of one in devotion. As he drew closer, he heard and saw the commander-in-chiefof the armies of the United Colonies, George Washington, kneeling in prayer. Althoughseveral men claim to have written what Potts told them about Washington’s prayer,the most accurate account seems to come from a signed, handwritten document by IsaacPotts’ daughter, Ruth-Anna, written later in life at her father’s direction.

These excerpts are from what she recordedfrom her father: After returning home, he sat beside his wife,and she asked with tenderness, “Heigh! Isaac, thee seems agitated; what’s the matter?”

“Indeed,my dear, if I appear agitated ‘tis no more than what I am. I have seen this daywhat I shall never forget.” Her father said that Washington was“interceding for his beloved country . . . With tonesof gratitude that labored for adequate expression.” He expressed adoration toGod for lifting him to lead a great nation, who fought at “fearful odds for allthe world holds dear.” Isaac Potts said Washington “disclaimed all abilityof his own for this arduous conflict; he wept at the thought of thatirretrievable ruin which his mistakesmight bring on his country.” He pleadeda patriot’s despair mentioning “the interest of unborn millions beforethe eye of Eternal Mercy.” He then implored the “aid of that arm which guidesthe starry host.”

IsaacPotts continued, “Till now I have thought that a Christian and a soldier werecharacters incompatible; but if George Washington be not a man of God, I ammistaken.” Potts concluded: “And still more shall I be disappointed if God donot through him perform some great thing for this country.”

Today is Veteran’sDay, when we honor those who place themselves in harm’s way to defend ourfreedoms. On my Facebook page a few weeks ago, my friend posted photos in heralbum titled, “My Son’s Military Funeral.” God forbid that any mother shouldhave to remember her son through photos. Her highly decorated son (who helpedto recue Jessica Lynch), Army Ranger Kristoffer B. Domeij (Doe-May) lost hislife October 21 on his 14^th deployment to a combat zone. He servedin both Iraq and Afghanistan, his life ending in Afghanistan when a roadsidebomb detonated. He left behind a wife and two young daughters, his mother, and brother,and many other family and friends. He had enlisted shortly after September 11.2001.

His mother shareda post from her son’s Facebook page, written on September 24: “Then I heard thevoice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?"Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" - Isaiah 6:8; Thank you for allthe love. If I don't get back to you anytime soon....sorry.”

Whenever you see militarypersonnel, but don’t quite know how to express your thanks, you might adopt thehand signal from www.GratitudeCampaign.org: Place your hand over your heart and move it away from you, palm up, toward theman or woman in uniform. Many also mouth the words, “Thank you,” during thegesture.

In the Hallmarkmovie, “Winter’s End” (“Sarah Plain and Tall” series), a doctor who awaited hisson’s return from WWI, made a statement appropriate for days when all is well,and for those days when a knock on the door changes your life, “We’re in God’shand on every side.”

Index card forweek 45: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, tobe obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to bepeaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus3:1-2).

Billow Toss

2011-11-06T07:39:00.000-06:00

Okay, who really knows what“billows” are? For many years, Christians have sung words from the count-your-many-blessingshymn: “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you arediscouraged thinking all is lost.” We may not understand the meaning of thatphrase if a wicked wave has never thrown us overboard.

The word “billows” isn’t an everydayword. These examples should make the meaning clearer: Billows shoved the cruiseship around, or the salty sailor said, “The frothy billows prove this is a badday for fishing.” The billows splashed into the leaky Johnboat causing the anglersto bail with vigor.

“Billows” means waves, usually roilingand rolling ones. Life-billows must mean huge happenings that could causedrowning of the human spirit. We know that seawater can cause harm or good. Thesea supports its world and inhabitants, but humans, alien to life in the water,have been lost at sea. Humans can float on the sea, gather food from it, ordrown in it.

What can we do if we are tempest tossed?I’ve heard folks say that when bad times assault them, they can’t seem to pray.I’ve experienced that.

Others have told me, whenever pain,loss or devastation comes along, they find reading their Bible difficult. I’veexperienced that fogging of the brain, when I turned Bible pages, and readpassages, but my despairing mind blocked out the words of God. They remainedholed up, bound in leather, not penetrating my heart or consciousness.

What do you do when the presence ofGod seems far away? For Jesus and his disciples, when life got crowded,dangerous, or overwhelming that was when they fled to be alone for a day ornight -- alone with God. Jesus sought a quiet place with God when he heard aboutthe beheading of John the Baptist. He “withdrew by boat privately to a solitaryplace” (Matthew 14:13).

Oswald Chambers said when “God getsus alone,” that’s when his most effective teaching occurs. When Jesus walkedthis earth, he and his disciples were surrounded by the problems of others,what Robert J. Wicks calls, secondary stress in his book “Crossing the Desert.”

After a few intense days of servingand seeing so much suffering, Jesuswould call his learners to him and say, “Come with me by yourselves to a quietplace and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). When the disciples were finally alonewith Jesus, they asked many questions. Isn’t that what we do when something distressfulhappens? We give voice to many whys, whats, and what-ifs.

Next time billows toss you around, thelesson from Jesus and the disciples is to make time to be alone with God. AskGod your questions -- that’s praying, just look at the questions within thepsalms. After inquiring of God, then it’s time to discipline ourselves tolisten and wait for understanding or the strength to go on even though we don’thave answers. When we present ourselves to listen, that’s where rescue and survivalfrom billows take place.

Indexcard verse for week 44: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but aspirit of power, of love and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

2011-10-28T10:43:00.000-05:00

In myhome, I preferred to go bare foot until my arches gave way, and now I wear whatmy grandchildren call “granny shoes.” Hey, it’s better to wear “granny shoes”during the day than to have granny aches at night. My ancestry roots run backto the red dirt of Arkansas, so barefoot is simply what I prefer.

In a women’s Bible class, the subject ofbare feet came up. We were studying the life of Moses who was called at age 80to lead the Israelites out of slavery. When the call came and at God’s command,Moses took off his shoes near a bush that had an internal fire set alight byGod. Moses was at first hesitant to follow God’s calling, however his eventualfollowing caused a deepening devotion to God and the Israelites.

The Bible also includes other barefoot moments.In innocence and purity, the first humans Adam and Eve were barefoot in theGarden of Eden (meaning delight). Much later, during the tabernacle and templeeras, the High Priests entered the Holy of Holies shoeless, anointed on theirright ears, right thumbs, and right big toes, declaring that the whole man was setapart to serve God.

On the outskirts of Jericho, Joshuaremoved his shoes, instructed by an angel of the Lord to do so (Joshua 5:13-15). Hebrew mourning traditionsincluded taking off shoes (Ezekiel 24:15-17). On the cross and barefoot, Godrescued our High Priest Jesus from a world that spurned his purity. Jesus then re-enteredholy heaven, the court of God, to plead our cases.

When my grandson Jack waseight-years-old and I talked about these barefoot moments in scripture, Jacksaid, “And we’re barefoot when we’re baptized” (our fellowship practicesimmersion). Why are these moments so significant in the lives of Bible heroesand us?

Intimate meetings, the baring of oursouls to God (not just our feet)includes opportunities for God to ignite fireswithin – to ignite passions causing us to become his hands of help to theoppressed. Rick Warren spoke to 20,000 young people and asked them to hold upthree fingers to form a “W”. This signsignified “whatever, whenever, wherever” for the cause of Christ. Anotherspeaker at the same event echoed the call of Jesus to learn the ways of mercyand justice.

Even though Moses showed plenty of fear,he soon knew he was on the precipice of something startling and moving. WhenMoses allowed God to direct his life, that’s when God built a fire within.

Whatever. Whenever. Wherever. Take offyour shoes, bare your soul in quiet moments this week, and watch for holyground where God can inspire you to extend grace and mercy to others.

Indexcard verse for week 43: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in allcircumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians5:16-18).

Jesus Longs to Befriend You

2011-10-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

A Bible class teacherI know told about teaching prayer to preschoolers, kindergarteners, and firstgraders. Their Bible class system teaches through “centers,” meaning about 30children divide into three groups, and the groups rotate during class time. Thisteacher had about 15 minutes to teach the same topic to groups of ten childreneach, and then they practiced praying.

After teaching that prayer is “talkingto God about what is on your heart,” she took prayer requests from the four tosix year olds. She let them know they could bare their hearts, and she wouldpray every day for their concerns.

First, pets were on their minds.Ashes the cat made the list. The dogs -- Sam, Happy, Bubba, Buddy and Bandit --were covered in prayer that week, too. One other pet was AWOL. Each prayerrequest was accepted and treated with dignity.

Other boys and girls had noticed thesuffering of people. A grandpa was in the hospital. A lonely neighbor had moved.Someone had a broken spine. One daughter said her daddy needed rest. Two childrenremembered recent deaths of grandmothers and a cousin. Still, other little onesrequested prayers for moms and dads.

During the teaching segment, the teacher had explaineddifferent prayer postures. She told them about lying prostrate before God duringespecially trying or humbling times. One outgoing young man immediately threwhimself on the carpeted floor and demonstrated for the more reserved students.She talked about kneeling to pray, and when the time came to pray, the teacher invitedany children who wanted to kneel to do so. Each sweet child chose to joinothers in a circle and kneel in prayer.

We adults know that prayer is not a magic wandthat we wave to get God to do things our way. We have embraced it as a humility-talkfrom a grown up child to Father, expressing thanksgivings, fears, needs, doubts,and praises. I’m reading and putting into practice the praying of the psalmsand my teacher is Lynn Anderson, who recently wrote “Talking Back to God:Speaking your heart to God through the Psalms.” He says of that type of praying,“The Psalms are a place where contemporaries meet the ancients as we all try toaccount for the chaos, suffering, celebration, and lament we feel in our lives.”

For example, how often would this portion of apsalm speak about a place in life: “Listen to my cry for help; be not deaf tomy weeping” (39:12)? If you experience a time of exuberant happiness, perhapsthis would be appropriate praise: “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn ofpraise to our God” (40:3). Sometimes, even a single line from the psalms canbecome our prayer for months: “Give us aid against the enemy, for the help ofman is worthless” (108:12).

In the children’s prayer time, their requests andpraises reached beyond themselves. Not one child asked a prayer for himself. Ifind that remarkable. When we pray, God helps us untangle from selfishness: “A manwrapped up in himself makes a very small package” (God’s Little Devotional Book). Because of the nature ofprayer, any time we pray we admit that we’re not good enough, bright enough, orbold enough to meet all the needs of life.

One of the wonderful things about prayer is itsimmediacy. We don’t have to be at a special place or it doesn’t have to occur ata special time of day. Prayer can occur anywhere and anytime—from a whale’sbelly, from a cross, beside the Nile, in school, in the Temple, in a shoppingline, on a battlefield, on a mountain, in a valley, or behind the wheel of acar.

One of the surprising results of prayer is agrowing knowledge of the holiness of God, the littleness of man, and a gloriousfriendship between the two. Need a best friend, one you can call on for help,simply sit with in silence, or tell them about your day? Try talking to Jesus. Helongs to befriend you, and carry on a conversation for a long time.

Indexcard verse for week 42: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful andthankful” (Colossians 4:2).

Show, Don't Just Tell

2011-10-15T09:03:00.000-05:00

The Montessori instructor placedher left hand on an open door and her right on the doorknob; she gently twistedit quietly closing the door. She had just told her adult audience that oftenparents “yell” at a child, “Don’t slam the door!” However, the parent oftenfails to show the child how to shut a door properly. I sat in that audienceover 20 years ago and the gist of her message remains strong in my memory. Showinga child how to accomplish a task produces better results than simply telling achild. The lesson stuck: Show, don’t just tell.

Iparticipated in a teacher’s workshop, and one teacher wanted her students to“see” the Bible story of Zacchaeus and Jesus acted out. You remember the story,the short in stature and hands-deep-in other’s pockets Zacchaeus heard thatJesus was walking his way, and he quickly climbed a tree so he could see overthe crowd and spot Jesus. Jesus knew the location of this wealthy, chief tax collector’sheart and that he was spiritually out-on-a-limb—a limb that would eventuallysnap unless he changed his cheating ways. Jesus looked up in the branches andsaid, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today” (Luke19:1-10).

Melody,a Bible schoolteacher asked her husband to dress up as Zacchaeus to help heract out the story. She played the part of Jesus with her Bible times robe andwig and beard. Knowing that her husband, Monty, was resourceful, she didn’tdictate how he dressed for the part. When Zacchaeus entered the room, Melodyhad difficulty keeping the story from turning into a comedy. Her husband fully carriedout the characterization -- long robe, wig, and beard -- and he entered walkingon his knees with large soft shoes penned to his jeaned-knees beneath his robe.Zacchaeus was indeed low down to the ground.

Melody’sclass listened to the text of Luke and saw why Zacchaeus needed to climb a treeto see Jesus. Melody demonstrated the message that Jesus’ love can change tallor short thieves. Show and tell worked well.

In writing courses, one of the main elementsin writing fiction or non-fiction is to “Show, don’t tell.” A story writtenwith action and dialog is more understandable and readable than one where awriter uses only narration and a passive voice. Today’s popular novelist writein this style: Show, don’t tell.

Ifyou are a parent, you especially have learned the value of showing a child howto do something instead of simply giving a verbal command. People learn bestwhen there are demonstrations and then opportunities to practice. My husband couldtell me to change the oil in my vehicle, but believe me I’d need severallessons before that would even come close to happening correctly.

Goddid that for us. He didn’t simply tell us what to do, but he sent a livedemonstration in the person of Jesus Christ. He clothed God in flesh, andthrough divine help, Jesus showed us how to live a just, compassionate, andforgiving life. As I think back over the life of Jesus, I am encouraged to knowhe constantly patterned perfect behavior for those around him. He touched thesickest among the crowds. He forgave the vilest offenders. He accepted into hispresence both the prostitute and political official. He rubbed shoulders withoutcasts. In addition, he contributed no slander, no gossip – only truth.

Manyhave found the right combination of showing Jesus to others as they gentlyteach and demonstrate his love through their active involvement in others’lives. Know-it-all preaching rarely results in the softening of hearts. Recently,I spoke with a young Christian woman, part of a group who has moved into atroubled neighborhood on the East Coast, and she said to me, “We’re notpreaching on the street corners. We’re just living among them and showingpeople a better way of life by loving and helping others like Jesus did.”

Index card verse for week 41: “Rejoice! Letyour gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near” (Philippians 4:4-5).

Soul Droughts

2011-10-07T09:42:00.000-05:00

Soul Droughts

A glossypicture in a Christian magazine shows a young girl from a poorer nation, who splasheswater onto her face from a trickling faucet. Her turban-wrapped hair, closedeyes, and lips parted in a smile show her joy as she takes a drink of life-givingwater.

A look of intensedelight radiates from her countenance. The caption reads, "She's tastingpure water for the first time. Imagine her excitement when it reaches hersoul."

The photo reminded me of the Israelites’ water-needswhen they traveled from Egypt through desert lands. Bible scholars number thoseexiting Egypt between 1.2 million and 2 million, plus sheep, chickens, dogs,and other animals needing water to survive.

Later, when theygrumbled about their thirsts, a rock became a fountain. I had imagined at onetime a garage-size rock, Moses striking it with his staff, and then a smallstream of water emerging. However, trickles don't assuage the thirst of thousandsupon thousands.

The story of the Israelitesparched throats is in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20, but the measurable detailsabout the fresh water God supplied are in the Psalms: "Water as abundantas the seas" and water flowing down "like rivers" (78:15-16).When Moses struck the rock, "water gushed out, and streams flowedabundantly" (20).

Another psalm tells about the "God ofJacob, who turned the rock into a pool, the hard rock into springs ofwater" (Psalm 114:8). The additional information in the psalms deepened mysmall puddle thinking.

God is not a trickle fountain, nor is he tightfisted with water supplies. Those desert travelers needed sufficient water. God’smoisture-starved pilgrims needed an extravagance of water, and that's just whatGod gave.

The Israelites also "drank from thespiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ" (1Corinthians 10:3). God kept their bodies alive with water, while their spiritsfeasted on his presence.

Years ago on acountry road, my vehicle broke down in 100-degree weather. I only had a tinybit of Sprite with me. I didn’t have a hat to protect my head from the heat anddidn’t have appropriate shoes for walking. After two miles of hiking, my thirstwas extreme. Several cars passed but none offered a lift. Disheartened and dehydrated,I needed relief. The eventual savior-truck-driver dropped me off at aconvenience store where I immediately bought a drink.

Physical thirst isnot the worst I've suffered. In our water-pampered nation, thirsts are easy toquench, but there are worse ways to dry up. In the October 2011 issue of“Christianity Today,” the article “Saving China’s Daughters” says that 500women in China commit suicide every day traumatized by “gendercide and China’sone-child policy.” Tap water doesn't solve every thirst. Each person on earthneeds living water whether they acknowledge the need or not.

Every day peoplegive up on living and sink further into depression, some choosing to take theirown lives. Words from an old hymn state a truth. "There’s a fountainfree tis for you and me. Let us haste, oh haste, to its brink. Tis the fount oflove from the source above And He bids us all, freely drink.”

We’reall in need of refreshment. Is anyone thirsty? An oasis waits. In the name of Jesus, share a cup of"living water" with the thirsty – and imagine their excitement whenit reaches their souls.

Index card versefor Week 40: “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with oneanother in love” (Ephesians 4:2).

The Ant and the Book Signing

2011-09-30T11:00:00.000-05:00

The Ant and the Book Signing

Go ahead and call me an idiot. It’s okay. I’m not offendedbecause more and more the title seems to fit.

Do you wantto hear why I’m giving you permission to do that? Last week, I spoke at Summit,Abilene Christian University’s Bible Lectureship, where they sponsor a varietyof classes covering a large span of current topics. They host Bible teachers,authors, musicians, and community leaders who challenge Christians to livetheir calling in Christ, to endeavor to help the oppressed by halting sextrafficking, buying fair trade products, and remaining active in one’scommunity by caring for widows, orphans, and others who need a hand up.Students and thousands of visitors to the campus attend the sessions.

In thatsetting, my publisher had scheduled several book signings for me. I have asystem for signing books and it usually works. With three books published, Iwrite a particular message for each of those books and underneath I sign myname. If I know the person, I write a more personal message. At one of thosevenues, a woman I’ve never met wanted me to sign her book. If asked to signthat particular book, I usually write, “Be a blessing, Page 106, Proverbs17:17” and then I sign my name. Did I say I have a system and it normallyworks?

However, myplan didn’t work this past week when I was a few numbers off in my scripturereference. Heaven only knows who the book-buyer-woman was, and I do sincerelywish I could apologize for the scripture reference I accidentally wrote. Thatpage number that I refer to when signing is to direct the reader to a story orrecipe that I think is one of the better ones within the book. The story onpage 106 is the one when close-friend Doris took up an offer of free turnipgreens issued to both of us. Knowing I was very busy and couldn’t wash, drain,and de-sand them, she later surprised me with quarts and quarts of frozen ones.What a dedicated friend!

I like thatfriendship story, and most people can relate to it. Proverbs 17:17 says, “Afriend loves at all times.” I don’t write out the actual words, just thenumbers. It’s a general scripture, which could apply to many people andsituations.

At theexact moment I signed the woman’s book, the chosen Bible chapter and verse justwouldn’t surface in my mind. After a few seconds of delay, finally, my braintold me that the scripture reference that I usually write is Proverbs 6:6. Thewoman smiled happily, taking her signed book and moving on to the checkoutline, and I greeted the next person.

Later whenthe hubbub died down, I easily remembered that I’d written Proverbs 6:6 in thewoman’s book. My brain also reminded me -- far too late -- that I usually writeProverbs 17:17. To my horror, I wonderedwhat words of wisdom were in Proverbs 6:6. I knew that somewhere in chapters 3to 7 were some plain-talk descriptions about an adulteress. Naturally, all ofthe sudden my brain functions perfectly, reminding me of such descriptivephrases as, “Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.”Others quickly pop into my mind about the “immoral woman,” or the “adulteresswho preys upon your very life,” or how a “prostitute reduces you to a loaf ofbread.”

Why did mybrain that’s been with me all these years desert me when most needed during thesigning? When I realized just how BIG my mistake might be, worry began to gnawat my peace. Wondering what message isin Proverbs 6:6, I voiced my concerns to my traveling companion and sister,Sherry.

“I thinkI’ve done something really stupid,” I said to her. I explained the number foulup and my fear that I might have called a Christian book buyer a trollop.

My trustysister whips out her Bible and says, “Why wait to find out. I’ll just see whatit says.” She locates the verse, and I can see she’s reading silently to herself.She giggles and asks, “Are you sure those are the numbers you wrote.” I nod myhead. “You’ll either hate yourself or think it’s funny.”

I audiblygroaned. Sister Sherry read aloud Proverbs 6:6, “Go to the ant, you sluggard.Consider its ways and be wise!”

“Oh, goodgrief,” I said. “Some poor woman is walking around wondering why on earth Ijudged her a sluggard!” Then I remember it could have been worse. I could havetagged her as a loose woman who drags her “prey down to the grave.” Thank you,Lord, for small ant-sized favors. This is a sweeping apology to that unnamedwoman. In addition, I know she’s not the first I’ve offended with written wordsand she’s probably not the last, I apologize for any of my misspoken words orwritten words -- a bunch, I’ve no doubt.

A sense ofhumor, a willingness to confess, and a willingness to forgive – life’s tooshort to sweat the fumbles. Next time the ball’s up in the air and my brain isdisengaged, I just hope to pass along a smile and maybe a signature alone. Andthat will just have to do.

Index CardVerse for Week 39: “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself inlove” (Galatians 5:6).

You may contact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

Little Things Bouy One's Spirit

2011-09-23T08:31:00.000-05:00

Little things sometimesbecome powerful. The small moments in our lives often reassure us of God’s love,a family member’s, or a friend’s.

As I look at thetrees that line the creek near our home, I see them dying right before my eyes.Old oaks, stately pines, and a very old catalpa tree on our property to nameonly a few. We hope the trickle watering at night has been enough to keep theold live oak in our yard alive. I know that none of those trees really belongsto my family. I can’t determine their fate. Indeed, they came up as saplings because ofGod’s design and they remain rooted in God’s soil, and he will water them whenhe wants. A small thing a raindrop, but its single vitality serves to nourish despiteits smallness.

Our land in South Texas is usually so well watered thatit produces an abundance of mushrooms. I’m surprised we coast dwellers don’thave mushrooms growing in our lungs, since the air is so moist. Due to ourhistoric drought, I will sorely miss the abundant splendor of morning gloriesblooming on the roadsides in Montgomery County – their vines climbing fencesand roadway barricades.

The morning glory’s heart shaped leaves and lavender blossomshave always been a favorite because they are September bloomers – pushing theirdelicate vines up through the ground even when high temperatures are still thenorm. They arrive after dreadfully hot summers, but my search for them thisfall has only brought sighting of a few stunted flowers, strugglers heartyenough to bloom beside cracks in the soil that could swallow them whole. Acouple of tiny violet flowers, small things, but blooms during droughts always bringblessings.

Even as grass crunches and breaks under each step of myfoot, God’s ever nourishing earth disclosed something else this week. A surprise lily dared the terrible heat,punching its lovely stem up through the dried earth producing floral trumpets. Surprise lilies are just that. They mostoften bloom during hurricane season. They first grow broad leaves and aboutfive days after these leaves wilt, a stem quickly pushes up through the groundproducing the lilies.

We live on an old home place, and I don’t know the networkof old bulbs hiding beneath the soil; many have lain dormant for years.Suddenly, a resurrection takes place, and they surprise me by producing anarray of color through no efforts of my own. God in his mercy provides a tinybut potent pleasure when he allows one to pop up overnight, a colorful reminderthat he remains in control.

My mother passed away over a recent hot record-breakingweekend. As I washed the last clothesshe wore and folded her socks and washcloths, I also folded little squares offabric that helped to keep her hands busy over the last few years. You mayremember when I told you about her dementia and shrinking interest in the worldaround her. Bedridden she could no longer read, write, or comprehendtelevision. Family connections faded as well.

I know many dementia patients pick at their covers, but thereseemed to be more of a tailoring method as my mother, who could spend hours ina fabric store or at a pattern catalog, made exact pleats and smoothed them inplace. Knowing her love of textiles, an idea was born to furnish her with quiltquarters, colorful pieces of seasonal cotton fabrics to occupy her hands andfill the years upon years of lying in bed and growing more frail. Quiltquarters, an insignificant thing, but I hope they brought her peace, and onlyGod alone knows.

Do you know someone who would benefit from telling themabout the Talking Book Program (TBP), a division of the TexasState Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) in Austin, Texas, and works withthe National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS) inWashington, DC, a program administered by the Library of Congress?

They bring the world of literature throughthe tiny dots of Braille and through audio to sightless worlds of the blind.They also broaden the borders of the disabled through lending and mailing booksand the loan of audio playing devices as long as needed – one of their resources:“The Holy Bible” with both the old andnew testaments (narrated by Alexander Scourby).

This week, I pray that you watch forsmall but significant surprises brought to you by the Creator, and then maketime to shine similarly into someone’s life. Pay the toll for the person behind.Show a genuine smile. Speak to a stranger (it’s okay for adults). Give a hug.Hand someone a flower. Truly listen to someone. Look into someone’s eyes. Smallacts of kindness nurture others, and those deeds may become the dynamic catalyststo restore his or her hope.

Index Card Verse for Week 38: “Butwe have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power isfrom God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Contact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

Pool of Mercy

2011-09-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

Imagine you’re holding your newborn son. Perfect in every way. No treasure rivals a healthy child, but a few weeks later, an uneasy feeling invades. Your son turns his head toward sounds, but his eyes don’t focus on anything—not even your face.

To the parents and blind son of John 9, blindness became as familiar as daily bread. The son never saw a minnow or the faint yellow of fresh butter. The parents never witnessed his wonder at seeing a puppy or a lightning bolt.

By adulthood, darkness underwrote his world. He had no comprehension of light besides descriptive words. Around Jerusalem, the tentative man who had to feel his way around town was well known. Locals could tell any newcomer, “Oh, he’s been around for years -- blind since birth.”

One day, Jesus and his disciples passed near him. Jesus noticed the man and his disciples asked, “Who sinned, this man or his parents?”

Perhaps the sightless man overheard Jesus’ answer. “Neither . . . this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (9:3). Jesus continued, “Night is coming, when no man can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world” (9:4-5).

Jesus started the ball rolling, with mud balls, so that God would be displayed in the blind man’s life. Instead of immediate creation of sight, Jesus mixed a Sabbath-mud-and-saliva placebo, and smeared it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the pool of Siloam.”

Wherever the blind man was in Jerusalem, he obediently groped his way toward the pool. Did he encounter curious locals? Did hecklers ridicule his mud pack? Did brats jeer his stumbling walk or try to trip him? Did citizens pity him, thinking that both his mind and sight were now gone? Whatever he encountered, he pushed on to the pool of mercy.

When he reached the water, did he kneel and dip his hands in the water? Or with abandon splash into the pool, dipping his head beneath the surface? Did he rise, flinging locks, shaking off droplets, wiping watery dirt from his face and eyes?

With the soil of the earth washed away, his eyes opened. God met him there. Sweet sight. A spectrum of color. Adrenalin rush. Words and objects connected. For the first time, he had a live picture-dictionary of his vocabulary.

On that Sabbath, the blind man saw a mural—his parent’s faces, shimmering water, scowls from religious zealots, the synagogue. Yes, ugliness also treaded the boundaries of this healing. The Sabbath-Nazis aligned Jesus with sinners. Their anger stemmed from his claims to the title of Messiah and his so-called Sabbath offences.

In the first slew of questions from the religious leaders, the healed man couldn’t identify Jesus. He’d never seen him. After more questions later that day, still without a face-to-face meeting, the man declared Jesus was a prophet.

Then he met Jesus. The sweetest Sabbath sighting of all.

Afterwards, cranky religious leaders asked further arbitrary questions of the healed man. He confirmed Jesus’ deity with his notable evidence-reply, “I was blind but now I see!”

The assignment given to Jesus remains our spiritual calling today: “To open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:6-7).

This Sunday is “National Back to Church Sunday.” A survey showed that most people would go with a friend to church if they were invited. And on Sunday evening at Buddy Moorehead Stadium the “Go Tell” revival, sponsored by over 30 area churches will kick off with multiple national speakers. Do you have at least one friend that might go with you to church or to the community revival? It’s a small thing to do, but when you invite them, you’re opening a door to light and God’s pool of mercy.

Index card verse for week 37: “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow” (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Contact Cathy www.cathymessecar.com

My column ten years ago on Sept 14, 2001

2011-09-09T09:37:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago, Jim Fredricks (then religion editor) published my first newspaper column. Then, Reverend Gerald Kline wrote the regular column, but “The Courier” published guest columnist, too. Jim had approved several columns, I’d sent him, and had promised to run one when he had room. Then the tragic events of September 11 occurred. I sent Jim an email the next day and suggested one of the submitted columns would be appropriate should he choose to publish it that Friday. Jim, always generous, published the following column that Friday.

That column is now part of one of my books, a devotional book, “The Stained Glass Pickup.” In memory of September 11, 2001, the fallen, and of all the love-thy-neighbor goodness of that day and in the months to follow, I share my first column from ten years ago, September 14,, 2001:

“If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right” (James 2:8).

When my daughter Sheryle was ten, we stopped at a fast food restaurant in Houston for lunch. The dining room was filled almost to capacity, but we found two seats next to the rest rooms. Near the end of our meal, a teenage male employee began rolling a janitorial bucket and mop toward the rest rooms. The worker, dressed in his uniform of gray trousers and gray and white striped shirt, steered the sloshy contents with the mop handle. Approaching the rear of the restaurant where we sat, the young man began having a seizure. He fell to the floor and knocked over the bucket of water.

What could I do to help? The last time I witnessed someone having a seizure, several friends aided her with a substitute tongue depressor, to keep her from biting her tongue. I recalled that medical aid was now outdated.

Everyone close by stopped eating. The boy continued to have what I guessed to be a grand mal seizure. Within seconds, another teenage employee yelled to the front, “John’s having another seizure!”

At the first cry of alarm, a man stepped away from the crowded lunch counter and hurried toward the back. Dressed immaculately in a white shirt, gray flannel slacks, tie and textured jacket, he looked out of place in the casual,jeans-clad crowd. He calmly asked the other employee, “What’s his name?”

“John,” the employee answered.

On the floor, John’s muscles were racked by spasms, his teeth chattered, and his limbs jerked. The man moved the mop bucket away from John’s thrashing head to avoid him further injury. Then squatting, he placed one knee in the water, bent over John and said, “I’m a doctor, John. You’ll be okay.”

Over and over he called John’s name. He gently coached and assured him, “John, relax. This will be over soon. John, you’re okay. Relax, John. This won’t last much longer.”

Again and again he encouraged the writhing boy. Finally, John’s body, responding to internal signals and the soothing voice of the doctor, relaxed.

The close quarters and activity had confined the other diners and us to our seats. Sheryle and I gathered our remaining food and tiptoed through the puddled water to leave. The last thing John needed was a gawking crowd.

The picture of John and the physician remain vivid in my memory. One was in need of help, one was willing to step into the middle of things—in medias res— and extend compassion. My daughter and I witnessed the royal law that day when two pairs of gray trousers were soaked—one by circumstance, one by choice.

Index card verse for week 36: “We do not know what we ought to pray, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26).

Job Description

2011-09-02T22:07:00.000-05:00

Between Fairfield and Corsicana, Texas, my husband saw a highway paint crew at work. At the same time, he noticed a poor mutt that had met his demise in the middle of the road. The painters seemed oblivious to the carcass and sprayed a white stripe over the top of the dog. A similar picture circulates on the Internet with the caption, "Not In My Job Description."

Any honest vocation comes with a guarantee from God: "That every man may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil -- this is the gift of God" (Ecclesiastes 3:13). It certainly does bring gratification to finish painting a room and arrange the furniture back in place. Or, contentment settles in when school papers are graded or the final jar of canned pickles vacuum-seals with a distinctive ping of the lid. Closing an auto’s hood after an oil change, grabbing a briefcase to leave work, or punching a time card can all signal that the workday is over. A sigh of relief may escape each worker signaling their eagerness for a bit of down time, a tasty meal at home, and a nights rest.

The completion of work brings about satisfaction. Finishing work means that a must-do can be scratched off a to-do list for at least one day. A job finished. A job well done. A gratifying accomplishment.

Plenty of the current young generations have learned to work diligently. But some of the untrained have yet to experience the subsequent gift of satisfaction that accompanies hard work. A few parents see their job description as "activities director" instead of "work coordinator." I'll be the first to admit that Jack will indeed be a dull boy if he's all work and no play. However, for most children play comes naturally, but a learning process is involved in acquiring work skills. Blessed are the parents who recognize their role in this apprenticeship.

Employers are always on the lookout for enthusiastic workers. And anyone possessing a passion for excellence in their field of work is highly marketable and in demand. It takes many different skills and talents to keep a community functioning, and any honorable profession is worthy of respect.

John W. Gardner said: "The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because philosophy is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."

On this very hot September day, when you finally wipe the perspiration from your brow and get ready to shower and cool down, go ahead and eat a healthy meal and allow contentment to seep into your soul because you have worked well. Remember that God's job description includes gifting you with food, drink, and satisfaction as a return for your industrious labor.

Index card verse for week 35: “And [God] is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else” (Acts 17:25).

You may contact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

Kneeling in Prayer

2011-08-27T07:48:00.000-05:00

“Come let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” Psalm 95:6-7

Two wives were mending trousers, each mending her preacher-husband’s pants. One said, “My poor James. He is so discouraged in his work. He’s thinking about resigning and finding a regular job. It seems nothing goes right for him.”

The other wife said, “My husband says just the opposite. He is enthused. It seems like the Lord is closer to him than ever before.” A hushed silence fell as they continued to mend the trousers—one patching the seat and the other repairing the knees.

My parents knelt with my sister and me at bedtime and we said goodnight to God, and we learned bowing by example. My mother often prayed on her knees through the day, too, behind a closed door. We lived in one of those houses that had an old fashioned key latch, with key hole. When she went in and closed the door, I peeked in and saw her kneeling in front of the toilet, hands clasped in prayer, no doubt pleading to make it through another day with her four little rascals.

It's one of my most vivid memories of sneaking peeks at her through the keyhole of that old-fashioned doorplate, the kind unlocked by a skeleton key. God provided my mother with rest and re-creation and will also help any praying mother err on the side of sanity and love. My mother has a new home as of yesterday morning. Dad and three children were with her as she took her last breath. What a privilege to have been there at that moment and to have been her child.

The postures of prayer mentioned in the Bible are numerous — standing, lying face down on the ground, kneeling, hands lifted toward the heavens, eyes turned heavenward, and more. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he mentions his prayer posture, “I kneel before the Father” (3:14).

Our culture is an ocean and several centuries removed from bowing before monarchs. A bow or curtsy indicated that the performer would defer to the person of higher rank, whether they wanted to or not. In private, when knees are bowed to God, there’s more involved than coerced obedience.

A story of a father and son demonstrates forced compliance. Before seat belt laws, a traveling dad said to his pre-school son who was standing in the seat of their car, “Sit down, son.”

The child didn’t sit down, but after several more verbal commands he did. Finally seated, the boy looked at his dad and said, “But I’m still standing on the inside.”

In private, when knees are bent in prayer, it’s a voluntary act. When I was a teenager, I strayed from kneeling, but later on in life, I began praying on my knees again.

The first few weeks of adopting that prayer pose were difficult. For me, it meant allowing God to look into all the rooms in my heart, including the locked ones that had skeleton keys.

When kneeling, we’re physically closer to the earth, but somehow our hearts move to the courts of heaven. Try kneeling in prayer this week. Of course, you just might have to patch pant-knees but meanwhile God will be tailoring your life from above.

Index card verse for week 34: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Contact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

Storm Surge

2011-08-20T07:38:00.000-05:00

Book Give Away August 31: Reply, Comment, or post to enter. You choose which of my books you want: A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment, The Stained Glass Pickup (devotional), or A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts.

The boat rocked as waves slapped its wooden hull, and the men on board lunged with the craft, stances unsteady. Streaks of electricity split charcoal skies, and the men knew that it would take only one direct hit to the boat mast and they were going down. They might go down anyway because the small craft was nearly full of lake water.

Beyond the boaters’ control, the stormy night had also spewed water into the hull. If a massive wave came along, no human strength could stop the boat from capsizing. Casting nets. Mending nets. Filleting fish – all that they could manage, but the roiling lake was beyond their control. The storm grabbed the fishermen’s imaginations and took them on a spin of terror.

The men clung to the boat’s rigging, hoping for the storm to abate, but the storm didn’t go away. Instead, their reasons for alarm increased when what seemed to be a ghost appeared above the water surface. They wanted the approaching phantom to disappear. Blinking water from their eyes, shaking their heads trying to clear their senses, they tried to banish the ghost from their vision.

Still, the supposed apparition didn’t go away, but instead drew closer and closer and finally spoke to them in a familiar voice -- the voice of Jesus. His soothing voice offered the first notion of hope when two words buoyed their spirits, “Take courage.”

His presence and words seemed to say, “I’m here now. Cheer up. I’ve got enough courage to go around, and besides all that, watch as I control the fury of this storm.” After identifying himself to his disciples, Jesus again urged them “Don’t be afraid.” Then he simply climbed into their boat, and “the wind died down,” and they were completely amazed (Mark 6:50-51).

When the disciples thought they saw a ghost, they despaired even further. False spirits are at the root of creating doubts and fear, and fear over-clouds hope. Longtime preacher Charles Hodge says, “Fear is the darkroom where negativity is developed.”

In any coastal area, the term “storm surge” applies to the times that seawater takes up temporary residence on productive landmasses. Life can also resemble a coastline, and storm surges can arrive at any time, due to a bad health report, loss of a job, or trying relationships. Knowing that storm surges recede gives birth to hope.

Lyle Arakaki of Hawaii says that because of the time difference between the continental U.S, the NFL Monday Night Football game is actually played in mid-afternoon, but the local TV station delays broadcasting the taped game until 6:30 p. m.

Mr. Arakaki says that when his favorite team plays he’s too excited to wait until the television showing so he listens to the game, finds out the results and then watches the game in the evening. He said that influences how he views the game. When he sees his team fumble or throw an interception, it’s not a problem because he knows the outcome. During such times, he says to himself, “That’s bad, but it’s okay. In the end, we’ll win.”

When storms surge and we’re trying to find a plank to float on, it makes a difference when we know the outcome of all our troubles on this earth. The psalmist declared that when he cried out to God that God made him “bold and stouthearted” (138:3).

No matter what rumblings lurk in your near future, take a deep breath and exhale it in prayer. Jesus, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow says, “Take courage from me.” In addition, one of his specialties is climbing into rocking boats and calming storms.

Index card verse for week 33: “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him” (Luke 8:25).

Contact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com

“Come away with me. . ."

2011-08-12T08:21:00.000-05:00

“Come away with me by yourselves and get some rest.” These rank among my favorite things that Jesus said to his disciples. Probably every person has needed, at one time or another, to hear and practice those words. Especially now, disciples of Jesus experience refreshment when we set aside time for prayer, study of the Gospels, and meditation on how our Savior lived his daily life on earth.

Get ready for a treat if you decide to read the Gospel of Mark. You will meet anew Jesus the Wonderful, the breathtaking Savior sent to redeem the entire world. You’ll also get a glimpse of the time frame of Jesus’ day-to-day ministry, when he went from one good work to another and didn’t grow weary. The book of Mark uses the terms “immediately,” “at once,” “without delay,” and “as soon as,” over 40 times.

Those time references allow readers to realize that Jesus’ day was crowded with needy people much like some of ours’. The disciple Mark helps us to see the immediacy of the needs that surrounded Jesus, and that Jesus chose to lean on the Father, to fuel his teaching and compassion. New Testament writers tell us that Jesus was sometimes so busy there was no time to eat. Huge crowds pressed so close to him that he barely had room to move, and he even had to make special arrangements to have time alone with his disciples to train and teach them.

The purpose of Mark’s gospel—written primarily to Gentile readers—proves by Jesus’ works that he was sent from God, and empowered over nature, demons, and illnesses. Mark also emphasizes the authority and miracles of Jesus rather than the teachings of Christ. Mark’s inspired writing technique—of relating mostly miracles—reminded me of God arming Moses with miracles to prove to the Egyptians that God ruled supreme.

The word servant is only used seven times in the text of Mark, but the prevalent theme is captured in chapter 10:45 when Mark writes about Jesus that he came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many.

If I could rouse your interest in one area of Jesus’ life, I would encourage you to remember how he still interacts with you and life-supports you each day. I encourage you to daily offer a prayer of thanksgiving for Jesus’ intervention, rebuke, healing, or comfort. At the end of your day, think back over all the happenings and look for the moments when Jesus rescued, aided, or gave wisdom. Then think about Jesus’ life, stories about him and find one that correlates to your circumstances and pray remembering the old story and the your new experience. Christians know to pray through the name of Jesus, but so many times that phrase, In Jesus’ name,” can end up becoming trite or meaningless to us.

At the end of your day, freshen your walk with Jesus by really thinking about exactly how Jesus helped you throughout the day and end your prayers in that way. Here are a few examples of prayer endings: When you respond to accusations with silence instead of retaliating with unkind words, say thank you in the name of Jesus who stood silent before his captors, or when you choose to help someone instead of indulging in selfishness, give thanks through the name of Jesus who provided for a hungry crowd on a hillside.

Our county suffers from a heat drought that can cause us to be hot, tired, and frustrated, but a well of living water will quench thirsts, nourish bodies, and replenish strength like no other, and his name is Jesus. The calendar may say August, but a day can bring a refilling through time spent with Jesus. Do you want to shiver with delight in August? Spend an hour or so reading the book of Mark. Underline your favorite verses, and memorize our scripture words for this week, an invitation from Jesus that will give you a breather and help you endure.

Index card verse for week 32: “Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’” (Mark 6:31).

Basket Miracles

2011-08-05T11:00:00.000-05:00

Winner of the July book drawing: a male reader from Springfield, MO. Book mailed out this week. A new drawing for August. You choose which book you would like to receive. Reply or post to enter.

Miracles in Baskets

“There are no miracles, of that I am sure” Pearl S. Buck wrote in “A Bridge for Passing.” Shocked by her words, I read further to see what she based her statement upon. Near the end of this column, I’ll share her explanation.

Baskets of miracles dot the pages of the Bible. I use the term “baskets” quite literally. The first basket miracle assisted in the rescue of a baby. Born into an enslaved family, this baby Moses would become the Hebrews’ savior. Centuries earlier, the Hebrews lived in freedom on Egyptian grazing lands, but when their population grew to staggering numbers, a domineering Pharaoh bound them into servitude.

Despite hundreds of years of harsh treatment and living conditions, the prolific Hebrews kept adding names to their family Bibles. Finally, the Pharaoh issued an edict that all male babies should be drowned in Nile River. At least one Hebrew mother kept the secret that she’d birthed a third child, a son. Prudent, she kept him hidden.

In private, she wove a tiny bassinet of reeds and coated it with pitch. She placed her infant son inside, most likely christening the tiny boat with prayer. Then she launched the water-worthy vessel into the Nile, and guided by Divine current the baby drifted right into the path of an Egyptian princess and her entourage.

Discovered by royalty, the baby was named “Moses” because he was drawn “from the water.” Spared by God, Moses grew to read and write, tutored by the Egyptians. Later he would record the early history of mankind, from the beginning of the world through God’s law giving. One miracle in a basket.

Much later, when Jesus multiplied a few fish and loaves, there was a hearty catch of leftovers. Matthew 15:29-39 relates that the disciples gathered up seven basketsfuls of God-grown fish and God-baked bread. More baskets of miracles.

Even later, the apostle Paul encountered hostile religious leaders, who refused to listen to his message about the Jesus Christ. Their minds closed to any discussion of religious thought other than their tradition, they plotted to kill Paul. However, ingenious friends helped Paul escape at night by lowering him outside of the Damascus city walls. Another evil plan foiled, another miraculous escape aided by a basket.

The rescues of baby Moses and the adult Paul happened because God worked and kept them alive. Because of their leadership and teaching, others would also escape captivity. At God’s command, Moses led the Hebrews from Egypt. God-commissioned Paul preached to non-Jews, leading many to believe in the Christ.

By definition, a miracle is “an event that appears to be contrary to the laws of nature and is regarded as an act of God,” according to the Encarta World English Dictionary. When Pearl S. Buck wrote “There are no miracles, of that I am sure,” she followed with this explanation.

“If one walks on water and heals the sick and raises the dead to life again, it is not a matter of magic, but of knowing how to do it.” What we observe as extraordinary, the bypassing of the natural laws of the earth are no feat for God. Miracles are simply God’s natural work.

A baby rescued through the use of a basket, a cancer patient healed, thousands fed from a pittance of food, a prodigal returned home, an apostle survived to tell the good news—all engineered from God’s blueprint—because He is able.

Index card scripture for week 31: Jesus said, “I have compassion for these people….I do not want to send them away hungry or they may collapse on the way” (Matthew 15:32).

Forever Love

2011-07-29T09:37:00.000-05:00

Book Contest: A few more days to enter the drawing for A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment, to be held on July 31. Read Amazon user reviews here

FOREVER LOVE

In a tattered box at a garage sale, they lay, waiting to reveal century old secrets. Thumbing through a stack of miscellaneous items, I found two yellowed letters. Postmarked on November 17 and 18, 1908, two-cent stamps had provided passage from South Fairlee, Vermont to Bradford, Vermont.

Later at home, I read the correspondence from “Ed” to “Miss Abbie B. Avery.” In Ed’s exquisite penmanship, his salutations were, “To My One True Love” and “My Dearest One.” I pieced portions of their romance together from his letters.

Apparently, their affection had been concealed from friends and families because Ed addressed Abbie’s fears that the postmaster would become suspicious about their frequent letters. Ed wrote advising Abbie not to fret because soon they could announce their love to neighbors and friends. Abbie kept an engagement ring hidden, too. The gold band a bit too large, Ed planned to have it cut down by a jeweler.

Mixed in with Ed’s romantic musings were notations about everyday life, his coon dog, chopping wood, and a job “examination in N. Y. on December 8^th 9 A. M.” He was hoping to land the job and fund their new household. If he didn’t, Ed had alternate plans. He wanted Abbie as his wife.

Ed informed her about a “sad errand,” singing a solo at his friend Frank’s funeral. Frank’s widow once said about her marriage, “I should prefer to be with Frank in the wilderness than in a palace with anyone else.”

July’s the month when I tend to think more about courtship, romance, and marriage. My grandson Adam, at age four, had just learned about weddings and marriage, and he told us that one day he would marry a girl and “have true love.”

True love. David and my wedding anniversary is today, July 29, forty-four years. We plan to take a few trips in the fall when the weather in our region of the country isn’t so hot and humid. I’ve often said, it should be against the law in south Texas to issue marriage licenses during July and August because later in life because later anniversaries come in the midst of heat waves. Odd, though, the weather wasn’t a factor in July of 1967 when we dove into matrimony. The war in Vietnam loomed. Dave had already been drafted. We had no doubt that he would find himself in that war torn country. Within a few months Uncle Sam confirmed our doubts.

A favorite excerpt about weather and love comes from Ogden Nash’s Summer Serenade: “When shirt is wet and throat is dry, Look my darling, that’s July . . . Shall we postpone our love for weather: If we must melt, let’s melt together!”

Perhaps Ed and Abbie married on a chilly day, near Christmas. In one closing he wrote, “I am enjoying life greatly . . . before long we shall both be happy . . . The hour of darkness approaches, and I will say good night, my love. Yours forever, Ed.”

A forever love for Ed and Abbie — I hope it was so. I hope so for you, too.

Index card verse for week 30: “So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth” (Malachi 2:15).

Joy Advertises Jesus

2011-07-25T12:40:00.000-05:00

Book Give Away at end of July, comment or reply to enter for drawing of A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment.

A rural Arkansas church had a “penny march” where Preacher Bill Hyatt witnessed the joy of a young boy and sent me this story: Youngsters saved for weeks to contribute their copper coins to God, and on the appointed day, a four-year-old boy in the habit of coming to church with his grandmother “brought a pint jar FULL of pennies.” Children gave their donations immediately after Sunday school, and their pennies pinged into a specially built small church building. The congregation watched as this boy’s turn came and he meticulously deposited the pennies.

At first, he only dropped in one penny at a time, and then a few at a time. “He would put in a few pennies and then do a little dance.” Bill Hyatt said, “I told the folk just to let him take all the time he wanted because he was getting joy out of his giving!”

Another joy-story comes from Amy Hollingsworth’s The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers. She had the blessing of hearing a bell choir made up of people with physical impairments. The director used color-coded cards to signal the players. It was not a perfect concert, but pure joy to witness.

During the bell rendition of “Amazing Grace,” one short man in the back, color code maroon, “shook his bell so vigorously, I thought the tongue of the bell would dislodge and go flying.” The choirs’ enthusiasm and their offering to the Lord brought tears to Ms. Hollingsworth’s eyes.

I’ve studied the Bible book of Zechariah this past week looking for a verse to pass along to you. Zechariah like the prophet Haggai wrote to encourage the rebuilders of the temple in Jerusalem. Some Jewish captives had been allowed to travel back to the city as a rebuilding team. They also brought back temple treasures stolen by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.

Imagine the joy these chosen people experienced as they returned to their homeland to rebuild their beloved temple – the place where God promised to meet them. I envision even the adults happily trotting toward Jerusalem – dancing a bit, twirling around because of their joy.

In “Dancing to Zion” Judson Edward’s book about getting a head start on the joy of heaven, he notes a personal goal – to be “true to the Spirit who is rummaging around in my soul.” God-inspired joy is like none other, and the source is not self or accomplishments. In the book of Hebrews, the writer points out Jesus’ joy and quotes a psalm, “God has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (1:9). Meaning that Jesus embodied and expressed more joy than any person on earth ever will.

Some trucks have governors on their engines, restricting the amount of fuel, holding them back to a certain speed. I think that Christians sometimes “throttle” expressions of joy. I know I do. What will people think if I keep humming that hymn in the grocery store? Or what will other congregants think if my worship is more outgoing than those around me? I probably should be asking, what will God think if I quench his Spirit of joy.

I’ve been in corporate worship where the congregation remained subdued. But I’ve been in others where each worshiper feels free to clap, lift holy hands, or kneel as the Spirit leads. My hope is that all worshipers will refuse to pass judgment upon fellow worshipers and will simply rejoice that God still moves hearts, and that sometimes adoration is expressed through shouts, hands lifted, and knees bent.

I know that not everyone has the same personalities. Some are more reserved about showing joy in public, and that’s okay. Joy may be expressed in many ways; Choose to let your joy in the Lord shine this week. Our joy advertises Jesus. So, when the Spirit moves you, go ahead do a penny dance, ring a bell, or plaster a great big smile on your face because you above all people are blessed.

Index Verse for Week 29: “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you – righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9).

Drifting and God-Mending

2011-07-15T10:01:00.000-05:00

Book Give Away--Had a great meeting with a Bible study group in The Woodlands last evening as they started a study of A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment. To enter this month's contest to win a copy, simply leave a comment....Blessings....Cathy

The worn tablecloth looked homey when I first saw it laying on a table at a yard sale. The cloth’s once bright colors of peach, khaki, and complementary blues and yellows had faded from many washes. It felt similar to the softness of a worn but-still-serviceable blouse. The kind that has finally gotten comfortable enough that it’s a favorite and the owner dreads the day it will become threadbare and no longer wearable. The price was right so I draped the tablecloth on my arm and rummaged through other items. I kept my eye out for pie plates.

Somehow, my pie plates have walked off over the years, all with fresh baked pies warming their interiors. I don’t remember who I gave them to for a treat, but autumn and pie-baking season will be here before we know it. I’m ready for cooler days and a warm oven, instead of hot days when I don’t do much baking.

Did you notice that I rambled over several topics in the above sentences? Did you wonder where this article was going? Maybe not if you think I ramble often.

Better writers only include words that will advance their main point. In the above paragraphs, the blouse, pie plates, weather, and oven statements didn’t really fit the theme of this column. Why did I include them? To show how easily we can get off track, one thing leading to another until we finally float in a direction we never intended.

A life of purpose has specific goals for behavior and work. That person knows that even recreation and rest have a part in restoring balance and bringing energy to the tougher days. The easy, often traveled road is to meander through days without worthy goals. Billy Wilder said, “You have to have a dream so you can get up in the morning.”

I think that’s what happened to God’s people in the Old Testament. They forgot their calling to represent God, to be holy, opposite of the profane who surrounded them. They drifted away from their purpose for getting up in the morning: for honoring God, respecting life, and loving their neighbors.

When Christ followers drift from whim to whim or pleasure to pleasure, their focal point has shifted from God to self. Each day it’s possible to forget our godly goals. That’s when we may stray from our convictions for a brief moment. Harmon Killebrew, an American professional baseball player, recalled a scene from his childhood in the 1940s: “My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."

Dad would reply, "We're not raising grass. We're raising boys."

When I brought my new used tablecloth home, I imagined it spread over a table on our long front porch. I envisioned a homemade picnic of fried chicken, yeast rolls, baked beans, potato salad, and pickles. And accompanying that meal were fresh sliced tomatoes, lemon meringue pie, and a pitcher of iced tea. However, when I unfolded the tablecloth, it had a huge patch in the center. Still serviceable, it just didn’t quite measure up to my original image of the perfect, old soft picnic cloth.

God can enable us to live all he dreamed for us. But we sometimes drift, our fabric fades, and we lose sight of our original purpose. The beauty of our Creator is his willingness to forgive, remake, renew, and repurpose drifters. Longtime drifters or momentary drifters, when we stray, God loves to put lives back together, but not with a shabby patch that looks make-do. God-mending is perfect, as he weaves in his spirit and a new radiance.

If life’s been threadbare, if you’ve drifted, embrace the words God spoke through the prophet Zephaniah.

Index Card Verse for Week 28: “[D]o not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing” (3:16-17).

Contact Cathy at http://stainedglasspickup.blogspot.com/

Who Would Hide You?

2011-07-09T12:21:00.001-05:00

A Book Contest will run from now until the end of July. Want to enter to win a copy of A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment? Just leave a comment here or contact me by email and I'll add your name to the stash of hopefuls.

And a favor, please, pass along word about this newest book. Available at Amazon or ACU Press/ Leafwood Publishers.

And now.....for Friday's newspaper column: "Who Would Hide You?"

In Joseph Heller’s novel, “Good as Gold,” two men discuss friendship. One recalls the story of a Jewish man, who lived in Germany during his childhood. He and his family escaped the terror of Hitler because of courageous folks who hid them. During the conversation, one man asks the other longtime coworker, “Would you hide me?”

If you ask a friend that question, you cut through shallow skin and into heart muscle to find an answer. While researching for this article, I phoned my longtime friend Doris Allen and told her that story. I didn’t phone to ask her the question. I called to thank her. I knew how she’d answer if I asked.

Heller’s fictional story grew out of real, horrific happenings. The Hebrew word “olah” means “burnt sacrifice.” Later, Greek words “holo” (whole) and “caustos” (burned) combined to form the word “holocaust,” a term used to describe the systematic murder of Jews by Nazi Germany.

David Katz wrote about his family and being separated from his parents. Fleeing on foot at age 13, David walked, mostly by moonlight, a five month journey to occupied France. In hiding and disguise for several years, he found his first real bed and good night’s rest in the home of a Catholic priest. When the Gestapo prowled, the priest hid David inside an attic wall.

Other Jews escaped through underground networks, shielded in outhouses, forests, behind false walls, and in haylofts. During this time, plenty of folk turned their neighbors in for harboring Jews. Indoctrinated German children even turned in their own parents for sheltering Jews.

Julian Bilecki, a thin teenager in Poland, and his family hid up to 23 refugees for several years in an underground bunker. In the winter, members of the rescue family jumped from tree to tree bringing food to the bunker to avoid leaving traceable footprints in the snow.

Finally safe in the United States, many of the bunker survivors sent gifts to the Bileckis, who remained poor. Eventually, the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous flew Julian Bilecki and his son to the United States to reunite with some of the people the Belecki family had helped to save.

Mrs. Grau Schnitzer, who was nine-years-old when sheltered, met him at the airport and spoke to him in Russian and Ukranian, “God should be praised for this moment, and thanks for all your goodness.”

Pettiness pales when deep inquiries about life surfaces. How would you answer these questions?

Who would I hide?

Who would hide me?

Index Card Verse for Week 27: “And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Buy a Cup of Coffee as Thanks

2011-07-01T11:13:00.000-05:00

Book Winner: Joyce, who sent an email. I'll contact you for your mailing address.

Since we’re in a drought, fireworks are on the endangered list this Independence Day. So it’s an excellent idea to find a less flammable way to celebrate our freedoms. Here’s what I did to say thank you to the keepers of this liberty: I bought a cup of coffee for a soldier. Green Bean Coffee Company offers a way to buy a cup of coffee for men or women serving in our armed services through a program called a Cup of Joe for a Joe.

In 1997, two brothers, Jason and Jon Araghi, opened a gourmet coffee house in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. US Army personnel especially enjoyed the café, and soon the nearby Army base invited the company to open a café on their site. More invitations followed to open cafes on bases, and the next three opened at the Prince Sultan Air Force base, in Al-Kharj KSA. They now have coffee houses for the military in “Afghanistan, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Djibouti, Africa and domestically at military bases across North America.”

The company got its start with a unique dedication to the troops of the United States military, wanting to provide an environment where “soldiers, airmen, sailors, and marines can relax and feel at home.” Green Bean Coffee cafes, offers high quality coffee and tea beverages and baked goods. “Our fifteen-year heritage of supporting those that put their lives at stake in service to our country is firmly rooted and non-negotiable.” A portion of every sale is donated to “charities like TAPS [Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors] and Soldiers Angels that strive to improve the life for disabled armed services members, military families and their children.”

Their motto is “Honor First, Coffee Second.” Two dollars will buy one cup of coffee. I bought five cups of coffee at their internet site www.greenbeanscoffee.com . With each gifted cup of coffee the company also delivered my personalized note of thanks for each personnel’s service. I’m sharing their notes of thanks sent to me, but to protect their privacy, I’m not giving their full names or ranks if they gave them. The first cup of Joe went to a soldier serving at Phoenix in Afghanistan: Joe # 1 said, “Thank you for the cup of joe it made my day!!”

Joe #2 serving in Bagram South in Afghanistan, wrote “Thank you so much for the free cup of coffee! It’s the little things while over here that help!” Cup of Joe # 3 went to a soldier serving in Ali Al Salem in Kuwait, and Jane # 4 from Sather AB, wrote, “Thanks so much for your support and patriotism! Kristin, USAF Baghdad, Iraq.” I’m not sharing these to receive any pat on the back because the minute I sent my ten dollars on its way, that was enough for me, but Joe # 5 from Speicher, North in Iraq, wrote: “Cathy - thank you so much for the coffee. Your gesture of kindness means so much out here, believe me! Big hugs, you wonderful person! Marcus.”

Find out more about this patriotic company at their site and from their timeline detailing their additional openings on military bases in Asia and Africa. In 2005 Green Beans Coffee introduced their on-line coffee card to allow friends and family to purchase gifts of coffee for loved ones stationed around the world. The program was a success with hundreds of cards purchased online by Americans and corporate sponsors to show their support and appreciation of US and Coalition troops.

At their site, they also post via Twitter and Facebook pictures of military personnel at the coffee shops or even videos of surprise homecomings or marriage proposals. Not only do donations boost the morale of our military personnel, but my heart was touched when I took time to watch a couple of videos linked from YouTube. One showed a first time dad returning home as a surprise and then he got to hold his newborn son for the first time. Another showed a dad surprising his children upon his return stateside, and the final one I watched showed a soldier, upon his return, getting down on one knee to offer a proposal of marriage to the girl he obviously missed and wanted to be his wife. She said, “Yes!”

We non-military in the United States spend our days in the pursuit of happiness and go to sleep at night in a safe country because of the sacrifices of others. We rest because of their laurels. Synonyms for the word “laurels” are glories, successes, honors, and achievements. Our freedoms come at a cost to those who serve. The least they give is great. Some sacrifice their careers in the general work force, others are gone from home for numerous tours of duty, others carry battle scars for life, and finally others pay the ultimate price for God and country with their lives, leaving voids in families which will never be filled.

In July of 1776, the estimated number of people living in our newly independent nation was 2.5 million. Currently in the US, we have about 311,661,907 and these citizens are battling every kind of weather condition on the home front -- tornados, floods, and the south has turned into a dust bowl. Overseas or at home, we all fare better when each of us in our blended American family do our part to make where we live a better place. Consider offering a good will gesture through a cup of coffee, borne in the USA but sent into the world with a great amount of thanks. Happy 4^th of July.

Index Card Scripture for Week 26: “But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you” (Jonah 2:9).

Take Jesus at His Word and Depart

2011-06-24T09:48:00.002-05:00

Book Give Away: Leave a comment to possibly win a copy of my newest book: A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment. You can read more of my friend's journey in chapter seven.
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“My friend Bev.” That sounds like the title to a children’s story, but it’s not. Bev is a brave, great grandmother, who has battled cancer for eight years. I met her in California in 2006 where she attended a class I taught, “Praying in the Name of Jesus.” I later flew to her home state of Tennessee because she arranged for me to keynote at her home congregations’ annual women’s renewal.

We have emailed back and forth, phoned each other, and we reunited again this May on the Pepperdine University Campus, and I finally got to meet her sweetheart, John, to whom she’s been married for over 50 years. Beverly again attended a presentation I made when Leafwood Publishers launched my newest Bible study book, “A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment.” I didn’t want readers to just “hear” my voice and conclusions about contentment. Rather, I wanted readers to hear from others who had struggled with inner peace and arrived at a better place. So I included twelve personal essays written by three men and nine women (one of those men, “The Courier’s” own Mark Hayter), and Beverly’s essay is among those.

During her fourth episode with cancer in the fall of 2009, Beverly began writing a blog about her journey with the dreadful disease. Her posts can be found at http://johnswife.blogspot.com/ . Between reading each other’s blogs, personal emails, and talking by phone, we’ve kept our friendship updated. This May on our mutual visit to Malibu, California, she and I discussed compiling her newsy, history-laced, faith-filled blog into a memoir for her family or for wider distribution, if the Lord leads to that. When she returned to Tennessee, she experienced more pain, and her doctors diagnosed that the cancer is spreading. She can’t have any more surgery, so she faces more chemo or other treatments. Naturally, Bev wants to live, but part of the reason she undergoes the many experimental treatments is to further medical research and perhaps give another person the opportunity to live and regain their health.

I told you about Bev because rubbing shoulders with her faith has strengthened mine. Her cancer is not the only tough battle she has faced in life. She and John reared a mentally challenged son, Johny. Read more details of those blessings and challenges in her blog and in my book. Today, I told you about Beverly because of a story I read in the Bible this week, where one phrase captured my heart, reminded me of her, and led me to a better way of living out my faith.

Jesus returned to Cana, Galilee after the Feast of the Passover in Jerusalem, and a distraught, royal ruler from Capernaum, Galilee approached Jesus with a request for his son’s healing. He “begged him to come and heal his son, who was close to death” (John 4: 47). For this occasion, Jesus chose a long-distance miracle rather than traveling to the boy’s bedside. After Jesus made a comment about miracle seekers and belief, the father again urged, “Sir, come down before my child dies” (vs. 49).

Jesus replied, “You may go. Your son will live.” Here’s the verse that impacted my heart and caused me to further admire this father: “The man took Jesus at his word and departed.” He believed, walked away, and started down the road toward his home. Could I do that? Could I accept Jesus’ words as truth, especially in the dire situation of life or death? Before that daddy ever reached Capernaum, he met his servants on their way to find him and they had tremendous news. His son thrived! The dad asked when his son began to recover, and the servants said, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” The dad recognized it was the exact time Jesus said, “Your son will live” (vss. 50-54). Then his household believed, too.

The dad’s complete faith at ‘taking Jesus at his word” and turning away from Jesus and beginning his journey toward Capernaum helped me. How many times have I just needed to take Jesus at his word and depart from worry, hand wringing, and sleepless nights? Many of you are good at taking Jesus at his word and departing with faith instead of worry, but I still need much growth in that area.

I pray for Bev and any of you who struggle with similar troubles. May God bless you with assurance from Jesus, our always faithful brother. My friend Bev lives out her story of faith each day, and she summed up her outlook on trusting Jesus when she said to me, “I’m just living from scan to scan from grace to grace.”

May we all be as gracious to want the best for our neighbors and to surrender ourselves to the purposes of God.

Index Card Verse for Week 25: “You should not look down on your brother in the day of his misfortune….nor boast so much in the day of their calamity” (Obadiah 1:12-13).

A Tired Dad and a Coca-Cola

2011-06-17T10:31:00.000-05:00

My husband told me about a memory from his childhood, about a dad, a truck driver who looked very weary. Dave said he was about 12 and was with his dad at the Houston port to fill six barrels with molasses for their dairy farm. They were paying for their molasses inside an office where truck drivers came to finish their paperwork.

The trucking office had a habit of giving each semi-truck driver a cold Coca Cola, the ones in the thick greenish glass bottles. The cool drink helped to somewhat offset the blistering summer heat and sometimes long waits to get loaded or unloaded. Drivers could drink it in the office or pay the bottle deposit and take the refreshing drink with them.

One driver had a wife and child with him. In 1960, the 18 wheelers were not what they are today. In 2011, some of the over-the-road trucks have luxury walk-in sleepers. They have sleeping berths designed as a bedroom or it can be transformed into a sitting area. The trucks have power steering, air conditioning, and room to drive comfortably.

The cabs of yesteryear were small, little more than a few feet wide. Just steering a truck around town on a humid Houston day would be enough to cause most to look for a job elsewhere. The single cot-size sleep area could be accessed by climbing through an opening between the cab and sleeper, that opening a bit larger than a backdoor welcome mat.

Back to the dad in the freight office, he asked if he could buy an additional cola and he paid two bottle deposits. Dave, even at 12-years-old noticed how tired the man seemed. He then watched as the thoughtful driver walked out to his truck and gave one cold drink to his wife and one to his child, taking none for himself.

Too often we do forget the hard work that dads do: the earnings, the long hours, the sleepless nights when bills to grocer, doctor, repairmen and such don't match the income. Also, men often sacrifice their health so their wife and kids can live a more comfortable life. And for the most part they aren't whiners; they don't want any recognition and awards. They simply appreciate respect and love from the ones they are honor bound to shield.

A Nomadic tribe says that a woman is the tent pole. If women are the tent pole, then the men are the fabric that protects and holds it all together. They provide security and courage and literally lay down their lives daily for their families. I have a very soft spot in my heart for men who faithfully provide for their families, whether they work at computers and desks or at the helm of draglines digging gravel pits.

The words of this week’s memory verse come from Amos, a shepherd called from among the sheep to tend to people. Remember, most dads just want to be hugged and thanked for the many cold cups of water they’ve handed to us over the years.

Happy Father’s Day!

Index Card Verse for Week 24: “Seek the LORD and live” (Amos 5:6).

Caught and Taught Faith

2011-06-10T11:56:00.001-05:00

A bold title to an article stated, “God Has No Grandchildren.” Most of us know that faith isn’t as easily bequeathed to children as a set of silverware. While children may keep inherited silver, they may not embrace their parent’s faith.

In Darryl Tippens’ book Pilgrim Heart: The Way of Jesus in Everyday Life, he encourages believers to model and experience the Christian disciplines.

Two statements in his foreword shine a little light into my soul and cause me to give further thought to this faith-communities’ part in ensuring that there is another generation of devoted Christians. Darryl Tippens mentioned in his book and lecture a probing question Jesus asked, “When the Son of Man comes again, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

The second challenge came when during a lecture I heard Tippens give statistics from author Charles Williams. Because generations die off physically, faith is reestablished through new converts and Christians’ children. Here’s the staggering fact: In just 30 years of passive living, not reaching out to neighbors and not teaching children, the church could die in a locale.

Love for God is both taught and caught. Following are suggestions for parents who long for their children to inherit more than earthly estates:

Be a “taught and caught” parent. Model Jesus and talk about your devotion to God’s Son.
Act like God acts. Forgive like God forgives. Repent in your home before spouse and children when you do wrong.
Kick the world out of your home. Make a safe shelter where children learn godly virtues. Sleazy seems to be the world’s motto. Look at the top titles of music that teens are hearing. You don’t even have to hear the lyrics.
Read and tell Bible stories to your children and grandchildren. Memorize with them. Where do your kids get most of their Bible learning? Home should be their primary “Sunday school.”
Talk about your faith, your struggles. Do your children know your salvation story? Share how you came to know the Lord.

The really good news is this: when God gives us a task such as “go and make disciples” he also equips us for the work. Pray as you grab hold of God’s promises and his hand because we have plenty of work assignments during the next 30 years — to assure that faith will be found in this community. This week, recycle your faith into a younger generation as you tell them about the holiness, justice, and loving kindness of God.

Index Card verse for week 23: “Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation” (Joel 1:3).

Lions Gone Mild--June 3

2011-06-03T10:07:00.001-05:00

This week we’ll look at an ancient story and a twenty-first century story about ferocious lions gone mild. In both of these stories, jungle cats will forego their kill-to-eat instincts and instead leave an older man and, centuries later, a twelve-year-old Ethiopian girl unharmed.

Around 605 BC, the biblical story of Daniel begins when Jerusalem was invaded and its finest youths were carried away to serve a foreign government. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, wanted apt young men from Israel’s royal family of Judah to serve in his court. One young man, Daniel (his Hebrew name meaning “judgment of God”), was destined forever to have a place in biblical and world history. He was given the Chaldean name of Belteshazzar (signifying “keeper of the treasures of the master”). In Isaiah 39:7, a prophecy foretold that the young captives would be made eunuchs. Captives in training to reach high ranks in foreign governments were often rendered impotent so they could not produce offspring to challenge the throne.

Daniel served under several heads of state growing older and older in Babylon. When Darius the Mede took over the kingdom, he appointed Daniel and two others over the 120 governors of provinces. By now, Daniel is an older gentleman, probably approaching 90-years-old. Some governors didn’t like Daniel and wanted to discover unseemly behavior to tarnish his years of service. When they found nothing, they schemed to use his virtuous prayers against him. The governors asked King Darius to sign an edict stating that for 30 days no one could petition anyone except the king.

Their proposed punishment for offenders would be a free overnight stay at the Den of Lions. Once the edict was published, Daniel’s enemies obviously reported that Daniel still knelt at his window facing Jerusalem, and prayed three times a day. Much to the dismay of King Darius, he had to order his valued administrator to a pit of ravenous lions. Darius couldn’t sleep that night, but perhaps Daniel relaxed and dozed off when he saw that an angel of the Lord had shut the lions’ mouths. The ill that the governors had plotted for Daniel backfired, and they and their families were thrown into the pit and devoured by lions.

In Ethiopia in 2005, a group of seven men abducted a 12-year-old girl to force her to be one of their wives. The United Nations reports that in rural Ethiopia still experiences 70% of marriages taking place through abduction. A group of men will overpower a young girl to illegally force her into marriage. Afterwards they beat her into submission, and then they battle among themselves to see who will win the young virgin.

After beating this terrified 12-year-old girl, the seven men began their games to see who would get to wed her. The girl, the youngest of four siblings of brothers and sisters, was extremely traumatized by the events. They held her captive and beat her for seven days. On the seventh day, a group of three Ethiopian lions emerged from the wilds and chased off the seven men. For a half day, the huge cats stood around the young girl, never attempting to harm her. On that same day when the police and her frantic family finally located her, Sgt. Wondimu Wedajo said about the massive lions, "They stood guard until we found her and then they just left her like a gift and went back into the forest."

“If the lions had not come to her rescue, then it could have been much worse," explained Sgt. Wedajo. Four of the men were caught and a search was ongoing for the other three.

Every time I read Daniel’s story and this more recent account of the young girl’s rescue and protection, I’m reminded that we serve a God of miracles. God -- who turns things around, reverses nature, raises the dead, calls whales into service, or makes the sun shine longer than usual. Daniel surrounded for many years by foreign gods continued to serve the God of his youth, the God of his old age, “who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not” (Romans 4:17).

When God halted the appetite of lions in Babylon, he got the attention of King Darius, who sent out a message to his entire kingdom that the God of Daniel should be revered. Memorize that message (below). Write it on your number 23 index card and think about our Father at work shutting the mouths of lions centuries ago and 2005 in Ethiopia.

Index card verse for week 22: “He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6:27).

A Side Effect of Healing

2011-05-28T12:36:00.000-05:00

Advertising for prescription drugs nearly always lists possible side effects. Such things as heart attack, stroke, nausea, headache, or high blood pressure may be among the effects. Sometimes ads even say, “In a small number of cases death has occurred.” The audio versions of the ads are delivered via a pleasant sounding voice, similar to the calm assurance a mother would give to a child.

We’ve all heard mothers try to assure us as we weighed a new experience against the fear of getting hurt: “Honey, just try the monkey bars. What fun you’ll have. And if you fall, it’s only four feet to the ground.” After urgings to, “Go ahead. Have fun. You’ll enjoy it. Be a big girl,” the warnings also arrived: “Be careful. Hold on tight. Don’t fall.”

Those mother-messages had mixed blessings of love, concern, and caution. Re-reading portions of Ezekiel brought a question to mind for the drug companies and their ad campaigns: Why isn’t HEALING mentioned as a side effect? If an ill person looks for a cure, wouldn’t you want to hear that the main reaction most have to your prescribe drug is healing?

This week in our Bible-book journey, we’re in the land of Ezekiel, a major prophet, who spoke warnings and also pronounced side-effect-blessings. However the majority of the book of Ezekiel is filled with warnings, the ill side effects of disobeying God.

Filled with symbolism, a good portion of Ezekiel describes God and the judgment that has come upon Israel (Ezekiel and others were already in Babylonian captivity). Why were they there? Israel had broken faith with God and given allegiance to foreign gods.

But not every individual had abandoned God. As always a few remain devoted and Ezekiel was one of them. A characteristic theme throughout Ezekiel’s writing is individual responsibility before God. No wonder God chose this completely obedient man to act out messages to his wayward people. And his were tough assignments: Who among us could refrain from weeping if our beloved spouse died? Find out why in Ezekiel 24:15-27.

Or who among us could lie on our left side in public, eating only grain-rich bread for 390 days, and then roll over and remain on our right side for an additional 40 days? All of this was done so that Ezekiel might be a visual aid, a prophetic-one-man act, a sign to Israel about the punishment for their sins (Ezekiel 4). Since the bread ingredients are mentioned in the Bible text, some have attempted to duplicate this grainy bread that sustained Ezekiel for well over a year. At www.foodforlife.com you can buy the bread, or find a recipe at www.allrecipes.com

In other prophetic references, we see that Jeremiah, Baruch, and Ebed-melech were among those “marked” to be spared from the punishment that would fall upon so many. “The mark was the last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, ‘taw,’ written as a cross in the oldest script,” states “Erdman’s Handbook to the Bible.” Talk about symbolism!

Through Ezekiel God said each man will be judged according “to his ways.” They were told, “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.” God further encouraged them to get a new heart and a new spirit, also saying that he took no pleasure in the death of anyone. (18:30-32).

We hear of illness, tragedy, wrongs done, and we long to hear that all is right again. Things have been fixed. God’s mercy intervened and there was a good outcome. In an another scene, Ezekiel shows us a nourishing river with fruit bearing trees lining its banks. That’s how Ezekiel wraps up his writings by letting us know sin has awful side effects, but healing can take place.

Index card verse for week 21: “Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing” (Ezekiel 47:12).

Receive a blessing this Memorial Day, take time to thank our Father for the freedoms we enjoy because men and women were willing to love this country and us in sacrificial way.

Hibernacula--Covering with Prayer

2011-05-20T13:09:00.000-05:00

“Miss Goody Two Shoes” was a childhood slur cast toward girls, who were behaving well or flaunting their obedience. True goodness, purity of motives, and resulting humility comes from above.

If we humans were left solely to our own devices, I’m afraid we’d treat each other rather badly. We’ve all had our moments, and maybe lifetimes, of misbehavior. As the oldest sibling in my childhood family, I sometimes took advantage of my siblings’ weaknesses, played tricks on them, and agitated them.

At times, I could even coerce my sister, Sherry, 22 months younger than me, to join in tormenting our little brother. One such occasion happened when I was about 10-years-old. I hope my brother Kenny read this because we both regret telling you that the small round, red, very hot pepper, growing on the short garden plant, would taste just like an M&M. Your four-year-old mouth was not the only thing that burned that day. If I remember correctly, our punishment involved a bit of warming on the seat of our summer shorts.

After the flood, God said, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21). He accurately described the imaginations of my heart. I was definitely engaged in a war. I wanted to be good -- was good a lot of the time -- but temptations loomed everywhere, especially to cause my siblings misery.

I believe the prayers of my godly parents protected me during that time. The good news is that at any age, we can call on God to help us. His Holy Spirit will refine and tune our hearts to make better and best choices.

Earlier this month at the Pepperdine Bible Lectures in California, I heard a keynote from Samuel Twumasi-Ankrah from Accra, Ghana, Africa. Here in the states studying for his doctorate of divinity, he taught from Psalm 103. I wrote one of his short sayings in the margin of my Bible near that psalm. He said, “God is more willing to forgive than we are willing to be forgiven.” Isn’t that true! We are often reluctant to forgive ourselves when God has already forgiven and forgotten our sins.

Our memory scripture this week comes from the book of Lamentations. While most congregational worship seems to focus on celebrating the goodness of God, would a “lament” service be appropriate from time to time? This could be a time when we would consider our personal sins and offenses against God, mourn how we hurt our good Shepherd, confess our sins, and repent.

We sing a song in my home congregation, “O Lord Prepare me to be a Sanctuary.” As each person sings that request, they ask God to create a holier heart house, in essence saying: “Make me a dwelling place for you. Hollow out my heart. Sweep out all offensive things. Make a spotless place, dear God, for you to abide and guide.”

The word “hibernacula” in zoology means the dwelling place of a hibernating animal. In the world of botany “hibernacula” means the covering over a bud during its dormant phase before it blossoms. I’ve had on my mind, the tender hearts of our communities’ children and the summer ahead. Children pass through a stage of hibernation until they begin to emerge into their life story. Ever developing in stature, mind, and heart – wouldn’t this world be a better place if all children had the covering of their parents’ and grandparents’ prayers?

Jeremiah, noted as the author of Lamentation by some of the latest manuscripts, in five poetic chapters tells about the just judgment of God on his people. He and his countrymen ended up in a foreign country, captured, humiliated, and removed from their homeland because they rebelled against God.

Sorrow for wrongs committed against God permeates the chapters of Lamentations, but God steps into that pool of tears to tend and correct Jeremiah’s broken heart. God is truly “more willing to forgive than we are to be forgiven.” The Lord’s mercies are new every day to toward our developing children and their families who will call upon him.

Index card scripture for week 20: “Because of the LORD’S great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22, 23).

Contact Cathy at www.cathymessecar.com Book links, Speaking Schedule and Topics, and More

We Project Ruin, God Projects Salvation

2011-05-09T14:12:00.000-05:00

One of the bravest women mentioned in the Old Testament is the Hebrew mother of Moses, Jochebed. She lived under cruel taskmasters, her people enslaved for hundreds of years. When the slaves’ numbers grew, Egyptian officials feared that the slaves might join enemy forces and cause an uprising.

On the sly, Pharaoh wanted the Hebrew midwives to kill any male child at delivery. But the women feared God more than the king’s edict and refused. When questioned about their disobedience, they reported the vigorous Hebrew women had delivered by the time they reached the woman in labor.

Those midwives, who feared the Lord God and guided new life into the world, could not smother newly sanctioned breaths. So, the ruling dynasty gave an order to all his people, “Every boy that is born you must throw into the Nile” (Exodus 1:22).

In that wicked culture, Jochebed, whose name means “the Lord is glory,” delivered a son. Did her heart pound with fear when she delivered a male child? Had she plotted ahead on how to spare this baby? Did she expect the worse or hope for the best?

By the time Moses reached three months old, his mother had finalized and almost completed her plans. She built a mini ark, made of papyrus reeds, coated inside and out with tar and pitch. By then she had reached the limits of her protection.

Matthew Henry (1662-1714) says that often when “men are projecting ruin . . . God is preparing . . . salvation.”

The minute a child is born, a mother is born, too. All types of mothers have rocked cradles, the good, the bad, and the worse. But there’s nothing more heartwarming than a wholesome bond between mother and child. Sweetness exists in that relationship like no other.

No doubt Jochebed’s first few months with Moses were bittersweet. And one day, preparations made, Jochebed chose to place her infant son in the reeds near the bank of the Nile, post big sister Miriam as guard, and trust God to have a plan for a river, a floating bassinet and a beloved infant.

Some mothers will be able to embrace their children this Mother’s Day. Other women are separated by miles, while some mothers are separated by rifts. Moms, if you have a good relationship with your children, cherish the blessing. If your relationship has a few cracks, gather your tools and work on a patch job as soon as possible.

If your relationship is completely strained, pray over them and, like Jochebed, place them in God’s hands — it may be time to put them in the boat. Remember, sometimes when we project ruin, God is planning salvation.

Happy Mother’s Day.

Index Card Verse for Week 18: “”You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3).

The Real Jesus--No Pretense

2011-05-09T07:19:00.000-05:00

When Jesus entered a synagogue on the Sabbath, he didn’t adjust his language, any mannerisms, or thoughts. He didn’t force a smile to his face. The Jesus who walked into the place of worship was the same Jesus who walked the roads of Judea and Galilee on weekdays. He embodied truth and grace.

For most, it’s easy to be good inside the church building. Smiles, hugs and friendly handshakes come easy. Praise hymns ring out with gusto. Serious thought time is given to life, or when a minister says something lighthearted, wholesome laughter erupts.

In classes, when a Bible teacher's emotions are moved by a text, many Bible students are also moved and shed tears. The Holy Spirit presides over gatherings uniting worshipers. Praise, conviction, repentance, comes easier when we’re gathered with like-minded believers.

When it’s time for church members to leave a worship service for their separate homes, church leaders pray that the individual congregants will step out into their unique circles where their personal convictions will shine against the dark backdrop of the world. Godly leaders also long for our Sunday-hearts of worship to guide us Monday through Saturday.

Hearty corporate worship blesses us, but the extremes of Christianity—fanaticism and hypocrisy—can throw buckets of cold water upon someone who seeks to know more about God. Even an ounce of cynical spirit can douse a seeker’s curiosity.

In my home congregation, we’re encouraged to find one person, lodged in our weekdays, who shows an interest in learning more about Christianity. An important part of reaching out is to not prejudge whether someone might or might not come to Christ.

If I had been a traveling companion of Jesus when either the rich young ruler or Zacchaeus sought Jesus, I’d have placed my hopes on the rich young ruler, who was a member of the chosen Jews. He confessed that he kept the commands of the Mosaic Law. He had initiated his search for Jesus and asked what he needed to do to be saved. But, I would have been wrong. When Jesus told him to sell all he had, give it to the poor and follow him, the very rich young man turned away from the Messiah. While Jesus knew the young man’s heart, I would have only seen his outward appearance and heard his list of good deeds.

The last person, I’d expect to turn to Christ was literally found up a tree. Short in stature, Zacchaeus had climbed a tree to get a better view of Jesus when he walked on a nearby path. I’m told that the average height of a Jewish male during this time was 5’ 4”. Zacchaeus was a tax collector, known for underhanded shenanigans. He’d short changed plenty of local citizens. Surely, his failures and tarnished reputation would not fit in with a holy group of people. Could his sin encrusted heart really make a turn around? Wouldn’t his loathsome past cancel out any future good he might do? And yet, he was the one who longed to repent, to repair, and be replenished.

Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35). Jesus wanted his disciples to know that opportunities were everywhere to share their faith.

We would do well to put away our prejudices of who will accept Christ. A better stance is to remember that God doesn’t want any to perish, and he alone knows how to look deep into a person’s heart and draw them to himself. We are Yellow Pages for Christ, pointing others to him, anyone who asks!

We best light the path to God when we behave and love like his Son. The real Jesus walked into a synagogue and the real Jesus walked out, no pretense, no change to his demeanor. He remained true to God at all times. To shine against the backdrop of this world, fully imitate the Christ seven days a week.

Index Card Scripture for Week 17 – “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong” (Ecclesiastes 5:1).

POster "Girl" for HOPE

2011-05-09T06:42:00.001-05:00

When my dad worked as a minister just south of Houston, they met a woman in the congregation named Minnie Miner, not her maiden name. With her double M names it seems that she ought to be a poster girl for something. As her story unfolded for me over the years, I finally understood that she is indeed just that. She is a poster girl for H-O-P-E.

Last year, Minnie passed the milestone of 100 years of age, and I learned more about her life from her friend’s letter written to honor Minnie. When I first met Minnie she was 80 and had the energy of women half her age. A sad part of her history includes the year 1958. When she was only 48, her dear husband died inside their home. That first night she couldn’t make herself sleep inside. His presence seemed everywhere, so she slept in their car for one night.

After a year of deep sorrow, she knew the only way to step away from her sadness was to invest in the lives of others. Never shy, and having performed on the organ and piano, she made plans to cheer people up who were going through rough times.

She bought yards of white furry fabric, and without a pattern, she constructed a bunny suit, complete with a cotton tail and large pink ears. She found a job to support herself, and she often took the bunny suit to work with her, and didn’t go home until later in the evenings. Driving around Houston and Baytown in her pink Rambler, she visited shut-ins and the sick. She felt the gloom lifting from her life. Although she’d always miss the love of her life, she found a new passion for living.

Straight from work, she visited nursing homes. At other times she wowed the children at MD Anderson and other hospitals, schools, and doctors’ and dentists’ offices. For 26 years that bunny suit, and later also a Santa suit, helped her warm the hearts of the hurting. Mark Devon with “The Lake Travis View” interviewed Minnie last year close to her 100th birthday, and she said her daily goal was “to make one person happy.”

Her jovial spirit found her winning the “Miss Congeniality” title in the Miss Texas Senior pageant when she was 79. Minnie continued to work well into her 90s, and now lives in the Austin area with her daughter and family.

Back to thoughts about Minnie Miner as a poster girl for “Hope.” Her spirit of resolve to overcome misfortune and invest in others didn’t come from Minnie. That hope sprang from the heart of her risen Savior, poured out into her life. She’s not shy about her love for the Lord.

When Jesus walked this earth, his continuous message was one of loving our fellowman, and making things better for others in life, and he supplied all needed for his followers to do this. Through their witnessing of his powerful miracles, they knew that Jesus offered genuine help to overcome small problems and even death itself.

I am especially drawn to one biblical scene near the streets of Nain (means pleasant or green pastures). When Jesus and his disciples approached the city gate, they met a funeral procession and a large crowd of people carrying out the only son of a widowed woman. “When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry” (Luke 7:13).

When we see funeral processions driving toward us, we pull over, we wait. We show respect for the mourners by stopping our lives for a few minutes. But we can do nothing about the life that has passed. Jesus’ words were legitimate because he alone had authority over death, and the power to return her son’s life-breath.

Undoubtedly, Jesus had seen many funeral processions, but this time he intervened for the widowed woman, he intervened for those standing there that day, he intervened so we’d have this accounting of his power over death. He touched the coffin and those carrying it stopped. Jesus said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!”

And he did! Utterly amazing.

This spring, on church signs, in yards, and in greetings we see and hear the words, “He is risen.” They express confessions of belief that Jesus returned to life after his death by crucifixion. They express awe that Jesus intervenes in our everyday lives, and that he will raise us up at the appropriate hour, known only to God.

Minnie’s story. Your story. My story. They all include miracles of birth and the power of rebirth into the awesome arena of Jesus Christ. Like Minnie we can be poster people for hope, the hope found in trusting and obeying our Lord.

Happy Easter because the story of Easter spells H-O-P-E.

What's Your Favorite Proverb?

2011-04-21T17:03:00.000-05:00

“The darkest hour is before the doorbell rings.” That’s one of the winning proverbs from Domino’s Pizza Proverbs Contest. Last year, that pizza company opened a contest seeking modern proverbs which would fit their pizza products. Since the contest ended, each delivery and take-out pizza box features one of the eight winning proverbs.

While on last week’s trip to Santa Fe, Roswell, and Artesia NM, I’d pondered the book of Proverbs. I’d taken my oldest Bible with me, re-read my favorite passages, and I looked for a proverbial slant for today’s column. I continued to ask myself how I could tie the book of Proverbs into the Easter story. Because this column has taken us through the books of the Bible in sequence, here we are at Easter and we landed on the book of Proverbs.

When we’re out of town and our only transportation is an eighteen wheeler, we either find motels with restaurants in walking distance or order a meal delivered. We’d ordered pizza, and I still hadn’t resolved my dilemma of a tie in between Easter and Proverbs when I heard a knock on the motel door.

The delivery man handed me our pizzas. Later, I discovered that the box had a pizza proverb on the box: “Pizzas dare to go where hamburgers fear to tread.” I checked out the pizzaproverbs.com site and discovered that over 7,000 people had entered the contest. We prefer Dominos thin crust pizzas to all others, but I still have to say that pizza proverbs -- as cute as they are -- are not near as meaty as the proverbs left to us in the Bible.

The “Online Etymology Dictionary” says the word “proverb” originates from the Latin word “proverbium,” meaning "a common saying," literally "words put forward." Descriptive phrases become common sayings as people watch life and see that certain things usually turn out the same way. If you do things this way, they most always have the same outcome.

Even though proverbs are general statements that come true most of the time, they cannot be held up as absolute rules that always turn out the same results. We all know exceptions to proverbs. An example: if you train up children as to how they should live, those children when they grow to adulthood generally accept those guidelines for their lives (Proverbs 22:6). However, parents and guardians use many different methods to train many different little personalities, who may have developed many different aspirations or phobias. Anytime a human is factored into efforts, results can go in infinite directions.

However, the exception to those above statements is Jesus Christ. Although he inhabited a human body, his soul remained divine – his character, his actions, his heart always represented infinite grace and truth (John 1:14). During his ministry, Judea, Galilee and surrounding areas experienced unparalleled displays of favor in the form of Immanuel, God with us.

Throughout the three years of Jesus’ ministry, he continually portrayed the Heavenly Father with exact measure: “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being." (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus gave us truth about the Heavenly Father. Jesus was more than a proverb. Jesus embodied truth and absolute results of compassionate living and eternal power.

Jesus freely gave over-the-top care: withered limbs re-muscled; fishermen's nets overflowed; thousands ate from heaven's bread basket; massive waves and atmospheric elements obeyed his voice and ceased their violent nature—because extravagant God trod the earth.

Jesus, king of hearts touched foul flesh, sat in fishing boats, and cradled children on his lap. He washed feet, forgave murderous sins, and healed bad reputations. And then the ultimate show of authority came on the third day after his crucifixion when he arose from the dead.

Every day we hear clichés, old sayings, and modern taglines advertising products and pizzas, but none compare to the Son of God who represented the truth of heaven. Jesus moved us from maybes to miracles. Happy Resurrection Sunday.

Index Card Verse for Week 16: “He who listens to a life-giving rebuke will be at home with the wise” (Proverbs 15:31).

Name that Psalm

2011-04-15T08:39:00.000-05:00

"And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air," are familiar words from our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Those words are especially significant as we continue to experience the absence of troops from our country as they engage in foreign conflicts. Where do we go for comfort in times of anxiety over world, national, and personal events?

Dr. Anthony Ash wrote, "It has been said that somewhere in the Psalms can be found a reflection of virtually every religious experience known to man, and the person familiar with the Psalter can find balm for every wound." Mr. Ash admits that this statement may not be strictly true, but it does reflect the high regard for the Psalms from those who have experienced camaraderie and good-fellowship with the authors.

In the Psalms we find a blending of theology, worship, and daily living. One of my favorite psalms begins with these words, "God is our refuge and strength, and ever present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1). Within the lyrics, this psalm addresses three common trouble-areas: natural disasters, political upheaval, and battle fatigue. During any of these events, it is easy to lose sight that God remains aware of circumstances and controls the outcome. Even when world leaders topple and some abdicate, God will never abandon his post as Lord of lords and King of kings.

The third stanza of Psalm 46 portrays war and battle fatigue, and the psalmist gives advice to armed forces, those who keep the home fires burning, and for our ordinary days, "Be still, and know that I am God." What does that imperative mean to those in the middle of a raging conflict? It may seem a daunting request at first, but those who take up the exercise will find calm and solace and a place to anchor their souls in times of turmoil. On real battlefields with mortar fire or at the home front with verbal attacks, God can quiet us as we draw near to him. Inviting God to step into our landmine area is better than pulling on a flak jacket. He protects our souls from all kinds of bombshells.

In 1529, Psalm 46 inspired Martin Luther to write the words and music to a well-known hymn. Do you recognize the first line? "A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing." Through the Internet and television, color pictures and news stories arrive direct to our homes, covering wars, civil unrest, and rioting. If you need a refreshing break from warfare, turn off electronics this next week, and instead think about a week long ago -- the week between Palm Sunday and Easter.

Read an account in one of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John. Enclosed in that eight day period you will read a mixture of wholesome, depraved, and holy, the same mix that goes on day to day in this world. But you’ll gain hope as you read and remind yourself that “holy” always wins and always outweighs depravity. Jesus reminded his disciples during his last days, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

"Be still, and know I am God" isn't a take-or-leave-it instruction. It's a gentle invitation to bring a blessing into your life through participation with God. It’s a good phrase to pray over the unrest in the world, for all military personnel, President Obama, our country, and those who declare themselves our allies and enemies.

This fifteenth week, our index card scripture comes from the book of Psalms where the human experience is poetically displayed in songs of lament and praise. When you seek comfort, look through the collection of 150, you will most likely find one to guide you. Name your psalm, one will fit your circumstances. Perhaps our verse for this week will aid you in finding additional peace and assurance from the Psalter and our Father.

Index Card Scripture for Week 15: “‘Because he loves me,’ says the LORD, ‘I will rescue him’” (Psalm 91:14).

Job's Resolve

2011-04-08T10:31:00.000-05:00

Years ago, one of the television broadcasting networks decided that religion was an important part of American life. They hired their first religion correspondent to cover a broad range of how religion influences American lives. I heard that correspondent speak at a conference where she told this story:

Even though she worked out of her home in Texas, she flew to New York City for planning sessions to discuss angles for news stories. One story they were featuring was a minister’s family, and a son’s wife who had contracted the AIDS virus through a blood transfusion. The young woman didn’t know she had the virus and both of her children were born with it. The network wanted to cover this story and how the family would cope with the suffering.

As the group of corporate executives considered the angles and how best to present the tragic story with empathy, one of the un-churched team members said how about using the job angle?

The correspondent had trouble recognizing how she could report the story through the minister’s or son’s occupations and said so. The person who suggested replied something like this: “Not the preacher angle, not his job as a minister. You know job, job, that guy who suffered in the Bible.” The correspondent finally realized that although her teammate was unfamiliar with most things religious and didn’t know how to pronounce Job’s name, she had heard about Job’s suffering.

In the Bible, the written account of Job’s story drops us into the middle of his existence. He is wealthy, has a wife, sons and daughters. And he faithfully sacrifices and prays for his children, in case any of them inadvertently sin. All is well in Job’s world when we first hear about him. The only trouble is that we’re hearing about Job because a conversation is going on between God and Satan, and Job is the topic. God’s portion of that talk praised his servant Job: “[H]e is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil” (1:8). But Satan goads God by naming all of God’s “umbrella” blessings: A hedge of protection for Job and his family, and he has massive wealth. Satan then wagered if God stretched out his hand and struck Job and everything he has “he will surely curse you to your face” (vs. 11).

I don’t pretend to understand what happened in that context or happened next, but I do know that God took a stand for Job’s integrity and right thinking, saying in essence, “I know my servant Job’s heart and I can count on his faithfulness.” Satan was given permission to strike out against Job. In a single day, he lost his family and wealth, and all that was left was his wife. When Job refused to turn against God, then Satan gained permission to bring illness upon Job, but that’s where God’s permission stopped. He would not allow Job’s life to be snuffed out.

Job’s already pitiable life got really rough, and Job described the wretched misery of his illness: “My body is clothed with worms and scabs; my skin is broken and festering” (7: 5). Besides the physical pain, his four friends came to commiserate with him, but they salted and vinegared his open wounds by their judgments and words expressing that surely Job’s personal sins had brought about his affliction. They couldn’t have been more wrong.

Being misunderstood. Getting bad advice. Needing relief. Wanting empathy. Yearning to know why he suffered so much loss. Finally, a message came to Job from God himself. God told and showed Job that he doesn’t think, do, or imagine as man does. God revealed to Job that the human experience involves mystery and faith. And that some things we will never know.

Job’s faith might have trembled during his horrific ordeal, but he remained firm in his resolve that even if God allowed his life to be taken, God remained trustworthy: “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him” (13:15).

The epilogue of Job’s story tells us that God blessed his latter years even more than the first of his life (42:12-16). Our index card scripture for this week is a portion of Job’s response when God “answered” Job out of the storm. God often brings deeper understanding to us during our storms. And we, along with Job can express our praise when God allows us deeper glimpses into his loving kindness.

Index Card Scripture for Week 14: “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you” (Job 42:5).

What do you live for every day?

2011-04-01T17:06:00.000-05:00

Over a year before his death, Theodore Roosevelt was in the hospital but thought he might be near the end of his life. He and his sister Corinne talked about soldiers dying for their country and Mr. Roosevelt wished aloud to have “died for my country.”

Corinne told him, “I know you wish it, but I want to tell you something. Every one of us . . . would, I feel sure, if our country were in peril, be willing to bare our breasts to any bullet, could we, by so doing, protect and save our country.”

Corinne went on to say, “The difference, Theodore, between you and the majority of us is that you not only are willing and anxious to die for your country, but that you live for your country every day of your life.”

Corinne’s words were insightful. When one puts their life on the line, from soldiering in war zones to rescuing the helpless from burning buildings, their unselfish spirit is referred to as the ultimate sacrifice. Most of us will not have occasion to make that sacrifice, but each dawn offers a new opportunity to live an allegiance to the ideal of caring for your fellowman.

Paul encouraged the Colossians to live out their commitment to Jesus and others when he wrote, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” If all words and deeds were carried out in the spirit of Jesus, weapons could be packed away, and we could unlock our homes and cars again.

For me the daily challenge is to lasso my selfish nature, words, and pampering to bring them under the control of someone who has will power, compassion, and love for others than I sometimes cannot muster. Rick Warren writes, “Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation. We allow Christ to live through us.”

But that means that I need a new me. Making things new again is a task accomplished only by the Creator. This time of year, there is much talk about spring’s newness. We see bugs crawling out from under rocks, shaking off their many feet and trotting out to do some serious spring stuff. I saw a toad emerging from hibernation the other day. He blinked slowly, trying to warm up his cold blood, and didn’t seem to mind when I got down in his face and said, “Hello.”

Spring. Restoration. Rebirth. All, reminders of Jesus’ words. “I make all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Renewal means to bring something back into effectiveness. Corinne helped her brother Theodore focus on what he could do instead of what he wished he could do.

In the book of Esther, her Jewish countrymen were threatened extinction. As the Queen, she was in a position to do something. She called for her fellow Jews to fast with her for three days, and then she would approach the king about the planned annihilation of her people. Her cousin Mordecai suggested, “And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?” (4:14).

Not knowing the outcome, Esther accepted her mission to approach the king. He had sequestered himself from everyone unless they had an invitation. To enter his throne room uninvited meant possible death to Esther.

The index card scripture for this week is Esther’s reply to Mordecai, when he challenged her into service for her people. Her selfless words indicate her willingness to die if she must to save others. Her words echo her resolve to put herself last. She risked her good favor with the king. She risked her crown. She risked her life. She risked all in an effort to save others. As you know, her God-blessed decision had a good outcome.

Few among us will be called upon to sacrifice our lives to save another, but deep down could we if necessary? May Queen Esther’s words give us courage to live out the smaller challenges we face each day. May we focus on what we can do, and be willing foot soldiers, willing to ease daily burdens of those who suffer.

Index Card Scripture for Week Thirteen: “And if I perish, I perish” (Esther 4:16).

A "New Normal"

2011-03-25T09:46:00.000-05:00

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entered to win a copy of A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment. Drawing March 31

When Hurricane Ike hit South Texas, many homes were damaged. Our daughter’s home also took a beating, and when the wind and rain ceased, our family took pictures for insurance purposes and cut and lifted out the huge pine tree from the middle of their collapsed roof. Once the blue tarp was in place, our daughter and her husband began to make plans for a New Normal. Over a lifetime, many circumstances will call one into reshaping, remaking, or rebuilding.

“New Normal” was coined by Roger McNamee, a technology investor, in January of 2003, states “Fast Company Magazine.” He shared that tagline to describe how the failing economy called for a new way to conduct the old business of investing. The term has caught on and is now used to describe a number of life-changes and the necessity of doing life in a different way.

For instance, if someone in your immediate family dies that causes a change in your family dynamics. You experience a New Normal. If you lose a high salaried position with a Fortune 500 Company, then the unemployment line may become part of your New Normal. If a devastating illness invades your body, then you will begin to live out a New Normal. This list could go on and on.

Our Index Card Scripture for week twelve comes from the book of Nehemiah, and Both Ezra and Nehemiah give details of the rebuilding of the walls and gates of Jerusalem. Why were they broken? The Israelites had forsaken God and his laws, and he had allowed a foreign king to invade their homeland and carry them away into captivity. The temple in Jerusalem was ravaged, the city gates burned, and the stone walls broken down.

The people moved from their promised land to a land foreign in culture, language, and terrain. They moved from blessed to beat down. Instead of their lives of freedom under God’s tutelage, they became slaves to Babylonian kings. Many of the young men were made eunuchs. Men, women, and children, who survived the initial war and capture, became slaves.

Sometimes a New Normal comes about because of good things. A newly wed couple will naturally have a different life than they lived as a single person. When a phone call arrives letting you know that you landed a better job, that’s when another path opens. If you finally qualify to own a home instead of leasing, your mobile family can expect a more settled life. What about new faith in Christ? What about baptism into him? He promises to make things brand new through his divine gifts – new hearts beating in tune to God’s over-the-top love.

Nehemiah served as cupbearer to foreign King Artaxerxes, and when Nehemiah heard about the broken city of Jerusalem, his sad countenance came to the attention of the king. The king knew that Nehemiah wasn’t ill, and surmised, “This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” God moved the king to magnificent generosity to fund the rebuilding of Jerusalem and to allow his trusted servant to assist in the make-over project.

Nehemiah moved into a New Normal. Think back over your life and those times when you had no choice but to travel a different route. Perhaps you are in the middle of a New Normal. Maybe you are ready for the servant Jesus to create a new heart within you. When Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, he faced opposition, but let his words encourage and make you victorious.

Index Card Scripture for Week Twelve: “The God of heaven will give us success. We his servants will start rebuilding” (Nehemiah 2:20).

Contact www.cathymessecar.com

How Big is Your Heart?

2011-03-18T11:00:00.001-05:00

Book Give Away

Leave a comment to be entered to win a copy of my new book: A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment Drawing on March 31.

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Over this last week, the nation of Japan and the plight of its people took up residence in our hearts. Although most of us have never been shaken and flooded to the extent of their damages, we’ve experienced enough hardships to empathize with their plight.

I’m reminded of an earlier time in Japan’s and the United State’s history when even during wartime, truth reigned for a few minutes and highlighted our sameness. During WWII, those of Japanese ancestry, who lived in our country, were perceived as threats to our national security. Some were sent to interment camps around the country while others were sent home.

The same thing happened in Japan. Americans who lived there were shipped back to the states. The Bataan Death March saw 70,000 Filipinos and GIs number dwindle to about a third, due to murder, jungle heat, and lack of food and water. Survivors were forced to Japan to work as slaves in coalmines.

The beauty of bad relationships -- they can always get better. And later, that exact thing happened between our two countries. A glimmer of that future was seen in repatriation during WWII. In a harbor, anchored side by side, a US ship held deported Japanese, and a Japanese ship had Americans on board to send home. For a full day, they floated side by side, and I wonder what ran through the minds of each as they waited?

Passengers on both vessels most likely experienced at least some blame, fear, hatred, or loathing. Kenneth W. Osbeck author of “Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories for Daily Devotions” reports that for “an entire day they lined the rails, glaring at one another.”

As the day drew to a close, someone began to sing a popular hymn of that time, “In Christ There is No East or West.” Soon someone from the opposite ship joined in, and one by one more from each transport joined the melody. Though ship hulls, water, and a declaration of war separated them, those who had embraced Christ sang of their identity in him.

The words to the old hymn convey these thoughts: God-followers enjoy a great fellowship of love throughout the earth; hearts find communion in Christ; and servants of God Most High are bound together. One of the last lines states, “Join hands then, brothers of the faith, whate’re your race may be; who serves my Father as a son, is surely kin to me.”

In recent days, I’ve heard several news anchors mention that people have many things in common -- love for family, homes, and work. Those things that separate us are most times less important -- country borders, oceans, different cultures, ideas, and customs. When our response to others takes into account our commonalities, we fare better through our differences.

People who join hands to aid others can accomplish much. Our scripture for this week comes from 1 Chronicles, and it’s from the setting when King Solomon collects funds for building the Temple in Jerusalem. His father, the former King David, had collected building materials and given much of his personal fortune to that cause. As a leader he set the precedent for giving. We give in many ways -- service, money, time, prayers, and forgiveness -- are just a few of the categories in which we help others.

As the tragedy in Japan has reminded us, possessions can be stripped from us in a moment. King Solomon challenged those who gave monetary gifts to build the temple to also devote their hearts to God. Marjorie Holmes says, “Hospitality doesn’t depend on size or supply. If the heart is big enough, so is the table and so is the house.”

Index Card Scripture for Week Eleven: “Now, who is willing to consecrate himself today to the LORD?” (1 Chronicles 29:5).

Hair Shirts--Do you Own One?

2011-03-12T10:32:00.001-06:00

BOOK GIVE AWAY

Leave a comment to possibly win a copy of A STILL AND QUIET SOUL: EMBRACING CONTENTMENT.

Drawing March 31, 2011

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How do you reach contentment when troubles gimps your day? In the 12 chapters of A Still and Quiet Soul: Embracing Contentment, you'll learn the process for remaining content or re-learning contentment during feast or famine. You'll also read 12 true stories from people who struggled through different hardships and how God led them to a better place of contentment. Eight questions at the end of each chapter makes this a useful tool for an individual, Bible study group, Bible Study Book Club to dig deeper into Word of God. Contact me if you have questions, or read a description and early endorsements at http://www.cathymessecar.com/
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Sometimes we wear a hair shirt, but we do not pair it with repentance. What do I mean? In the Bible, repentant people who grieved over their sins turned away from those sins. They renounced their offenses, and in their mournful state they sometimes chose to wear sackcloth and ashes. The outside messiness and discomfort of their bodies reflected the inward sorrow of their souls.

We can compare the biblical sackcloth to what we know as burlap bags. If you’ve ever toted a burlap bag filled with raw peanuts on your bare sweaty shoulder then you know the conflict between rough fibers and tender skin. They can rub raw spots on the point of contact in 10 minutes. You know it’s true. A single scratchy tag at the back of your shirt causes irritation within seconds. Imagine the depths of sorrow over a sin that would cause someone to put on a whole outfit of sackcloth.

Quite a few references in the rest of the Old Testament refer to repentance and the wearing of sackcloth. But as I referred to in the beginning of this column, sometimes we wear a hair shirt, but it’s not connected to repentance. When we whine about annoyances, that’s when we pull our hair shirts over our heads and let them stir us up to complaint rather than repentance.

Really? Do we need to tell others about what annoys us? Whatever happened to the idea of blessing someone’s day instead of adding to their burdens? Constant complainers soon find themselves alone at the coffee shop because most folks have their own list of stresses. I don’t know who first said this, but I suspect there’s a bit of truth to it: “Don't tell your troubles to other people—95% don't care and the other 5% are glad you have them.”

I watched a video clip from the Texas Reporter television show about a blind quilter in Waco, Texas. Middle aged Diane Rose lost her sight to glaucoma, so naturally she lost her abilities to do many previous things. One day she questioned God about what her new talents would be? She lifted her arms in sincere prayer and asked what she could do now that she was sightless. She said warmth filled her upraised arms, and she felt God leading her to know that her talent lay in her hands.

The next day, a woman asked if she knew how to quilt? She replied no and the woman offered to teach her. She’s now made over 500 quilts. A friend helps her with color selections, but she does all the work from start to finish through her hands and sense of feel.

Diane Rose does not own a hair shirt. She quotes Ronnie Millsap and says that her blindness is just an “inconvenience.” Her attitude is stellar. She refuses to accept her liability as disability. Need a good dose of encouragement? You may Google her name and watch her interview on YouTube.

When King Solomon completed building the temple in Jerusalem, he dedicated it in a passionate prayer. During which, he knelt and stretched his hands toward heaven. And in that prayer he mentions repentance many times and asked God to forgive the Israelites in the future when they did wrong, confessed, and turned back to God (Solomon’s prayer:1 Kings 8:22-66).

Our bodies are often referred to in the Bible as a tabernacle (tent) or temple in which God dwells. Most of us know which temptations we give in to the most. Think about repentance today, and ask for God’s will power, to withstand temptation, whether it’s whining, coveting, or hurting someone. In Solomon’s prayer he asked God to remember all his requests at all times. I like that. God hasn’t forgotten the prayers of our youth, or any prayer asking forgiveness, or any praises offered. This week, take off your hair shirt and replace it with a spring garment of praising God.

Index Card Scripture for Week Ten: “[M]ay these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night” (1 Kings 8:59).

To Not Decide . . . Is To Decide: LeadHer...what?

2011-03-09T08:47:00.000-06:00

To Not Decide . . . Is To Decide: LeadHer...what?

Two Hannahs Set the Bar for Sacrificial-Love

2011-03-04T09:13:00.000-06:00

One mother in the Bible and one mother in modern times gave birth to her first child, weaned him, and then gave him over to another to rear. Today, we’ll consider both.

The story of Hannah’s sacrificial love and her firstborn son unfolds in the book of 1 and 2 Samuel. Hannah is introduced in another one of those Old Testament stories where a man has two wives. It may have been the norm in that culture, but from a woman’s perspective I can’t think of anything more devastating to a wife’s heart.

I don’t know if Hannah was wife number one or wife number two. In that culture, the first wife often held the most clout. Sometimes, spouses received the “wife” title, and sometimes they received the title of “concubine,” which can mean “second wife.” If this proverb, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” holds any merit, can you imagine the competition-cooking in that marriage? Elkanah was probably one weighty dude.

Elkanah’s other wife, Peninnah, had children by him, but Hannah remained barren. A woman’s infertility was sometimes judged by a community as a punishment sent from God. Hannah ached to have a child. Besides the emptiness of her arms, the other wife, Peninnah, irritated Hannah on purpose so we’re told. Peninnah “provoked [Hannah] till she wept and would not eat” (1 Samuel 1:5-8).

On an annual trek to worship God at Shiloh, Hannah’s grief had multiplied and she poured out her heart to God in silent prayer and vows. She told God that if he would give her a son, she would consecrate him to the Lord’s service. She eventually had a son and named him Samuel “because I asked the Lord for him” (2:20).

When he was weaned and still very young, Hannah made good on her vow, and her little boy began living in Shiloh and helped the priest Eli. Each year, Hannah made a new coat and took it to her son, and since Elkanah and Hannah lived a short distance away, it’s possible they visited Samuel more than once a year.

Hannah’s story takes place during the time of the Judges of Israel, and when Samuel became an adult, he was the last judge before the Israelites clamored to have a king like the nations around them. Hannah’s faithful prayers, sacrificial love, and keeping of her vows brought a large group of people their last godly judge.

In more recent times Rees Howells (1879-1950) and his wife, Hannah, gave up their son. Back in the days before modern medicine, missionary couples knew that they risked their children’s health and lives by living in malaria ridden lands. The Howells had vowed to serve in Africa before they had children. When Hannah became pregnant, they felt God leading them to also name their unborn child, Samuel. They both had premonitions, knowing that they might have to give him up to fulfill their vows as missionaries. An aunt and uncle with the last name of Rees met the child and adored him, offering to rear him as their own. Howells’ sister came into that family as a nursemaid, and all the pieces fell into place, similar to Miriam’s and Moses’ story.

Even though this modern Hannah’s heart shattered into tiny fragments at giving up her child, she didn’t want to break her vow to God to serve as a missionary. Howells recalls the morning his sister came to fetch their son: “I think in eternity, we shall look back on what we went through then, giving our best back to the Lord.” Howells continues, “We knew what it was to give money, health, and many other things, but this was the hardest test.”

If you think either of these women named Hannah hardhearted, then please read chapter 22 in “Rees Howells Intercessor: The Story of A Life Lived for God,” by Norman Grubb. Hannah Howells remembrance of that day, her lived-out-faith gives me courage to keep my lesser vows to God. Years later after their son’s formal education, he went to work alongside his birth father in the mission field. The son returned -- a gift from God’s own hand.

God notices when we sacrifice. He notices the causes for which we sacrifice. The biblical boy Samuel once heard God calling to him in the night. He finally figured out with the help and guidance of the priest, that God was calling him by name. May we each learn the value of awaking and greeting our days with little boy Samuel’s reply on our lips.

Index Card Scripture for Week Nine: “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

A Female Version of Job

2011-02-24T17:01:00.000-06:00

When a famine ironically caused a food crisis in Bethlehem (a house of bread), Elimelech packed up belongings and family and sought a better place to live. He and his wife, Naomi, and his two sons Mahlon and Kilion settled in the country of Moab, about 50 miles from Bethlehem. Tragedy struck the family when Elimelech died leaving Naomi a widow with little to no social standing or earning power. The task of finding wives for her sons also fell upon her, since her husband could no longer fulfill this traditional role.

Her sons married Orpah and Ruth. After ten years this family unit experienced even more sadness when both sons died, leaving no heirs. That’s when Naomi chose to return to Bethlehem, a city which had stores of food again because “the LORD had come to the aid of his people” (1:6). At first, her daughters-in-law planned to also go to Bethlehem, Judah. Obviously from the text, these women respected and loved each other. Barely out of town, Naomi stopped and urged these women to return and “find rest in the home of another husband” (vs. 9). Naomi kissed them, and the younger women wept. After more urging, Orpah returned to her family.

However, Ruth adamantly refused to go back to her childhood home, and instead stated her decision with passion. Her lyrical speech has become a celebrated pledge repeated by many: “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth even made a forever-statement to enforce her promise: “Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me” (vv 16-18).

Upon their return, word spread quickly the kindness this foreign daughter-in-law showed in caring for Naomi. Their bond of love caused Naomi to refer to Ruth as “my daughter” (2:2). Under the law, if a man died leaving a widow, then a brother or the nearest kinsman (called a redeemer-kinsman) purchased their land and brought the widow into his household and the firstborn son carried the deceased husband’s name.

Enter Boaz. There was one redeemer-kinsman nearer than he, but after negotiations with that man and the city elders, Boaz accepted the responsibility of taking care of Naomi and Ruth. Boaz told Ruth that he’d heard about her kindness of leaving her birth family, of traveling with Naomi, and he saw her gleaning the fields day after day to find food. (The Lord had commanded farmers to leave the corners of the fields for the poor to glean. They only gathered other crops once, not a second time. Leftover were for the poor.)

Ruth didn’t seem to mind the stigma of being poor, of working hard. She did what she could to provide for Naomi and her needs. Today, we recognize her as marginalized because she was a woman, foreign, widowed, and poor. But God chose the industrious and kind Ruth to become the wife of Boaz, a prosperous farmer from the tribe of Judah. The Lord “enabled her to conceive” and she later presented Naomi with her first grandchild. Only grandparents know the incredible love that deluges their souls when those tiny babes are first placed in their arms.

In four short chapters the life stories of these two women unfolds – their stories a blip on the timeline of the greatest story ever told. They lived during the period in history when judges ruled the Israelites and when “everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 21:25). But isn’t there always the exception to the rule. In the book of Ruth, we meet those exceptions as one after another, we learn more about Naomi, Ruth, and Boaz. Naomi had fortunes and family restored, this female version of Job. At a time when women had practically no standing in society, God elevated to a place of honor, the obedient Ruth, her name forever linked in the lineage of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:5).

Her story impacts us and will influence the world until the last day. When little Obed arrived, the women of Bethlehem showered Naomi with blessings, and they foretold how her little grandson Obed would sustain her in her old age. Their words mention the kinsman-redeemer. We also rely daily upon one born in Bethlehem, Jesus the Christ. Come, Bread of Life, allow us to place our feet beneath your table.

Index Card Scripture for Week Eight: Praise be to the LORD, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer” (Ruth 4:14).

Contact: www.cathymessecar.com

One Word

2011-02-18T06:36:00.000-06:00

A few of my friends and I centered our New Year’s resolutions on single words. We each looked at our goals, current circumstances, and needs and then chose individual words to express our desires for 2011.

Terra Hangen, from California, wants to “shine” for the Lord this year. Leslie Wilson, from northeast Texas, wants to “abide” in the Lord. Trish Berg, from Ohio, wants to remember that all of life is “worship.” I coined a word, “minute-grace,” as I try to live in the current moment each day, reflecting God’s care. Brenda Nixon, from Ohio, wants to be “salt,” backing up her choice with Jesus’ words, "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth." (Matthew 5:13, The Message).

This week, as I studied the Bible book of Judges, I was reminded about the word “obey.” If only the Israelites had chosen to focus their lives on the word “obey,” life could have been easier. Did you ever tell any children, “Just do whatever is right in your own sight. No rules. No boundaries.” God knew best when he gave the Israelites good commands, commands that would guard their souls.

If I’d been told, do whatever pleases you when I was in junior high, I’d not have done homework. I would have eaten Sugar Babies, Junior Mints, and drank Coca Cola until my heart raced from glucose gluttony. And I definitely wouldn’t have cleaned my room.

What would happen in our communities if each person did just as they pleased? What if your family members took care of only their needs and didn’t consider any others in your home? Chaos would reign. And your household would steadily slide into a murky world of selfishness.

That’s the gist of what happened to the people of Israel after the godly leaders Moses and Joshua were gathered to their fathers. Moses had set up a system of judges for the Israelites. So that rule was in place, and during the 300 hundred years when judges ruled, God also appointed specific judges to direct the Israelites.

When each of those appointed judges died, the people “returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their fathers, following other gods and serving and worshiping them.” And, “they refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways” (Judges 2:19). A summation of those recurrences is seen in these words: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judges 21:25).

Joshua had led a generation to follow the Lord, and he challenged them to “fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness.” He further charged them, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” gods of stone and wood or the living God. Then Joshua declared allegiance to God, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:14-15).

When I read the book of Judges, I read with deeper understanding now that I’m an adult. As a child, I heard the stories of Israel’s judges: Samson, Deborah, Gideon, Ehud, and others. Full of meaning, their stories were too complex for full understanding when I first heard them in Sunday school.

Such as when the tribe of Judah captured the enemy king Adoni-Bezek and Judah’s soldiers cut off his thumbs and big toes. As a child, I only considered the horror of that dismemberment. But, there’s more to the story than that. Even the wicked king who now lacked toes and thumbs saw the justice in what has happened to him, “Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off have picked up scraps under my table. Now God has paid me back for what I did to them” (Judges 1:7).

The book of Judges records a song of Deborah after her win over an enemy. In that song she gives a formula for victorious living: godly leaders doing their job, and people willing to follow. Leaders, shoemakers, bakers, business owners, and parents – all adopting one word “obey.”

That’s when songs abound. Will you sing along with the ancient and godly Judge Deborah? Will you join Brenda Nixon in her quest to bring out the “God-flavors” of the earth as she lives as “salt”? If so, your days will be filled with potency and power like never before.

Index Scripture for Week Seven: “May they who love you be like the sun when it rises in its strength” (Judges 5:31).

Did God become a Christian?

2011-02-12T08:44:00.000-06:00

When I was five, my grandmother, Margaret Turner, kept my sister and me for a week. She and my grandpa lived in a rambling old farmhouse, where many childhood memories originate.

For breakfast, she usually served us oatmeal with farm fresh cream and butter. We also had home processed bacon, homemade biscuits, and milk gravy. And in the middle of the table set a bowl of stewed prunes. They weren’t the pitted kind found on grocery shelves today. They weren’t wrapped individually in cellophane, nor did they have the essence of orange squeezed into their wrinkly bodies. These were plain prunes with pits.

Grandma Turner didn’t pamper us by removing the large seeds. After all, we’d seen adults eat prunes and spit out a seed into their spoon or napkin, and then place it on their plate rim. Grandma must have assumed we had watched and assimilated the information and knew how to eat prunes.

One morning, my little sis, Sherry, and I sat at the kitchen table on the bench seat. Grandma laid out breakfast for us, serving four prunes each. After blessing the food and God who supplied it, she left the room for a few minutes. Maybe she went to make beds. Maybe she just needed a few minutes to herself to nurse her cup of coffee, away from the early bird chatterboxes.

There we sat with our special plates in front of us, Sherry had a ruby red one, and I ate off the blue willow pattern. I still remember the particular day. When my grandmother walked back in the room, she heard me say to my younger sister, “Sherry, you’re too little to swallow the seeds. You got to spit them out.”

In horror, Grandma looked around my plate – all four of my prunes were absent. No pits in sight. I can hear my grandmother’s voice today, edged with concern, “Oh, honey, you don’t swallow those big old seeds, either.” I don’t know how my tiny throat managed to get those rough pits down when I now sometimes struggle to swallow a calcium supplement.

This week’s scripture verse comes from the book of Joshua, which tells the history of him leading the Israelites to conquer lands God commanded for them to possess. Long before Joshua, God promised Abraham that his descendants would inherit certain mountains, streams, and deserts. Joshua’s advance fighting men accepted the courage God willingly gave them to accomplish the conquering of these lands. Hand-to-hand combat required understanding, strong minds, and bodies.

Stories from the Old Testament confirm that when both the chosen Israelites and foreign nations descended into self will and ignored God, God often used invading enemies as a measure to bring about justice and allegiance to God’s will.

Today, one of the reasons some say that they don’t believe in God are those long ago battles against indigenous peoples. A third grade boy in a Tyler, Texas Sunday school, sat in on a similar discussion about the perceived harshness of punishing those who forsook God. After much thought, the lad came up with his own satisfactory explanation, “I think in Old Testament times God wasn’t a Christian, yet.”

Both the Israelites and pagan nations knew of the miracles God performed in Egypt. But people in both camps dismissed the miracles. Many Israelites gradually grew to trust God. And even some of the pagans came to belief and repented, such as Rahab of Jericho, and much later, the Assyrians, who lived in the capitol of Nineveh, heeded Jonah’s preaching and repented.

If we continue to learn about God, he reveals his nature and myths are dispelled. The swallowing of the prune seeds actually put my mind to rest about watermelon seeds. When I was a child, an adult had teasingly told me that vines would sprout from my tummy if I swallowed melon seeds. Low on knowledge, I had taken the gardening myth as gospel. Grandma Turner assumed I knew how to eat prunes, but granddaughter and grandmother both had some learning to do.

As I reread Joshua this week, it was difficult to read about the battles. But I have faith that infinite God remains wiser than my human ways and thoughts. His plans are perfect, he teaches us what to swallow about him and what to discard as myths. All our lives, we do best when we put aside assumptions and remain teachable and open to learning.

Index Card Scripture for Week Six: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Moving Right Along

2011-02-05T11:45:00.000-06:00

How many times have you moved to a different home? When I was a child, we often moved. My dad, a metal lather, had to find work in larger cities than Prescott, Arkansas. If a job was scheduled to last a long time, Dad moved his family. A short term job such as the Galveston stint had him working through the week, but home on the weekends.

Later, my husband, Dave, would mention a Texas city -- Longview, Beaumont, College Station, Bay City, and Houston – and I’d reply, “Oh, I lived there.” The list of physical addresses of my youth is long if all the Arkansas and Louisiana towns we lived in are mentioned.

By my fourth year in school, we settled permanently in Houston. Today’s parents worry about the effect multiple moves have on school aged kids. But my siblings and I turned out okay. I scream when I hear the rattle of a roadmap, but otherwise I’m pretty sane.

The Houston move enabled Dad and Mom to purchase our first home. The house wasn’t new, but it felt palatial compared to previous rentals. Dad came home to family every night. Mom painted her new kitchen a fashionable chartreuse green to match her new Fiesta dinnerware. We had our first pets and made longtime friends – friends with whom we still stay in touch.

No matter where we moved, one constant traveled with us -- God. Dad and Mom found time to share Bible stories with us, and find a church home where we could worship on Sundays and midweek. The unshakable God, Alpha and Omega (beginning and end), remained the cornerstone upon which my dad and mom built their mobile family. No permanent address required. Their main need was a constant God.

I believe that’s the overall message of Deuteronomy, the last of the five books of Old Testament law. From a Hebrew word, it means “second law.” Jewish sages refer to Deuteronomy as “Mishneh Torah,” The Repetition of the Torah.

Over a forty year span the Israelites were a mobile clan, wandering in deserts and around mountains, a purposeful journey which led them away from idolatry to the worship of one God. It was a time consuming process, and generation consuming. The mamas and papas died off during that period. That generation of grumblers and whiners did not inherit the promised homeland. Who did -- a younger generation, who found faith through God’s unrelenting love and provision.

The book of Deuteronomy contains three major addresses by Moses. He reminisces and recaps their history of travels. Moses warns against idolatry, and he repeats the “Thou shalt not” and the “Thou shalt” commands. In one address, because God allowed Moses to know his departure from this earth was at hand, Moses commissioned Joshua as the next leader (31:7-8).

Young Christian families consider many things before making physical moves: what schools will our children attend? Will our new salaries meet family needs? Will the new house be adequate? Is the area prone to harsh weather? How far will we be from extended family? The best information is that God’s residence is where they will move. He will be present as they pack and travel. God remains mobile.

In Deuteronomy, Moses emphasized the priority of the “Shema,” a declaration of belief in one God: “Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (6:4). One ministry leader (A Pocketful of Change) runs all her decisions through the merits of the Shema. Will her decision/s further her love for God, with all her heart, soul, and strength?

This week, test your decisions by the Shema. In the fifth book of law written so long ago, Moses reminded parents to teach their children about God’s love and care, about his laws, about the joy of obeying. Remember, God is on the move as you are on the move.

Index Card Scripture for week five: Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

The Outcomes of Our Futures

2011-01-27T16:58:00.000-06:00

In my teens during a summer break, my friend Shirley L. and I took a bus trip from Houston, Texas to Arkansas to visit my grandmother for a week. My Cousin Dorothy and her bevy of teen friends said we could also hang out with them.

The year in mention was long before television remote controls were in use. My grandmother had a large ramshackle home with huge rooms, the heightened ceilings right beneath the sky. Her spacious bedroom contained two full size beds, a sofa, several chairs, and her television. The week of our visit, we “girls” all slept in her bedroom -- Shirley and I in one bed, and Grandma Dora in the other.

My grandmother’s TV sat nearest the wall at the foot of the beds, but electricity powered it through a long extension cord plugged in near her wrought iron headboard. If she fell asleep while watching television and she often did, she could reach down without getting out of bed and unplug the TV.

One night during our visit, all tucked in, we began to watch a late movie. Soon after, we heard my grandmother’s soft snores. An hour of so later, just as the plot of the movie came to what we hoped would be a happy ending, my grandmother roused, thought we were asleep, and pulled the plug on the TV. We never found out how the movie ended.

As I read and meditated on the book of Numbers this week, it caused me to consider the outcomes of individual lives. When God freed the transitioning Israelites from Egyptian slavery, they had choices to make. Because of individual choices most became wanderers and grumblers. But some came to fully trust God and became obedient believers. Even though the book is called “Numbers” (two censuses recorded), it contains a wealth of other information and good news. In Numbers, readers encounter a mention of the promised Messiah when Balaam said, “A star shall come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” (24:17).

The account of Balaam riding his donkey is a favorite story included in Old Testament Sunday school curriculum (chapters 22-24). Balaam, armed with curses, rode toward the Israelites. While traversing a narrow path, God placed a sword-drawn angel in the donkey’s path, but only the animal saw the angel. Balaam beat his donkey to get her to move on, but the donkey stubbornly refused. Finally, the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth and she spoke to Balaam, questioning his severe treatment. The Lord also opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel. He recognized that the stubborn female pack-ride had spared his life, through God’s plan.

One of the children in our family was born with a very shy nature. One Sunday, the child’s teacher prepared to tell about God, Balaam, the angel, and the donkey by letting the children act out the scenes. Before the children heard the story, she asked who wanted to play the different parts. Our shy grandchild chose the part of the donkey, never realizing the donkey had a speaking part!

When we are young, because of our inherent nature and the circumstances into which we are born, we may think we are destined to manual labor or a profession, to shyness or boldness, to poverty or riches. But God remains the master of our outcomes. He knows the best path to set our feet upon so we can achieve the most for him. Like the Israelites, the outcomes of our lives may differ significantly from our early plans and dreams. Like Israel, we may be the family through whom a significant humble servant arises to help the stubborn human race.

Keep in mind that God still writes the scripts of our circumstances and numbers our days. Compare your life to a movie format? Where are you? Just getting started, or in the middle, or near the conclusion? Wherever you find yourself, look for blessings and hope through the same words God gave the Levite priests to bless the people of Israel.

Index Card Scripture for week four: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).