"Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will that go among so many? Jesus said, 'Have the people sit down.' There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about five thousand of them. Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, 'Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.' So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten." John 6:9-13
This past year at school I took on a new role. I became the sponsor for our Student Council group. It was a new position so I probably didn't do everything "right" but I had fun with the kids and learned a lot. During the year we did several activities that dealt with fund raising for different groups. Toward the end of the year the students voted to have a penny drive. I had been part of penny drives before but just by bringing pennies and dumping them in the collection container. Great idea kids!! I was very naive! My plan was to collect all the pennies and then have the kids help me count and wrap them. It would work out well! Or so I thought!
Right now I have two very large boxes full of pennies in my dining room. Some things happened at the end of school that prevented the STUCO students from helping me with the counting and wrapping part. So the responsibility fell to me. This summer I have been counting and wrapping pennies. The problem is the more I count and wrap the more pennies seem to be in the box. When I think I'm getting towards the end there is a multitude of pennies left!
I keep thinking it's like the loaves and fishes! However, I have not been thrilled by the new appearance of more pennies. After reading this verse this morning I realize the people of Jesus' time must have been overwhelmed with this miracle and thankful for the food that was supplied!
Suddenly, I am very humbled. I realize that I have been seeing this penny counting as a terrible chore that just has to be finished. I have been dreading sitting and counting and wrapping. I have been selfish in my thoughts about how I wish the students had not voted to do this project. Now, I see the beaming faces of my students as they proudly added their pennies to the container knowing that their money is going to help children suffering from cancer. How many other small parts of my life do I see like this? Am I thankful for the clothes we have to wear or do I grumble about how much laundry I have to do? Am I thankful for the house I have or do I complain about having to clean it up? Am I thankful for my job or do I dread having to grade papers? Am I thankful for my husband while others are widowed or do I get upset that he's not romantic enough for me? Am I thankful for my three healthy children or do I get ruffled over their smallest offenses? I think you get the picture!
How many of us go through life with so many blessings from God and never pause to even acknowledge them? Sure, we are great at being thankful for the big stuff-the clear CT scan, the promotion or raise at work, the tornado that didn't hit our house, the accident that didn't happen and so on. How are we at the small stuff though? Check out this passage in 1 Thessalonians, verses 16-18.
"Be joyful always: pray continually; give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
The emphasis on the word "all" is mine. I see that it doesn't say "give thanks when you feel like it" or "give thanks when it's something really great" or "give thanks when you feel you deserve it". I might be naive when it comes to penny drives but I am not naive enough to think that I will suddenly start being thankful for "ALL" in my life. I do know though that if I ask God to start helping me in this area of my life he will. Then it will come more naturally. It is definitely easier to be a complainer or whiner in this world. So will you be thankful with me my friends? Let's give it a try with God's help! And, while I'm being thankful, I think I might take the advice of my principal who helped carry one of the penny boxes to my van. "Next year we'll do a dollar drive-it'll be lighter!!"
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Living Waters
"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11
Back in the seventies when I was a young girl my family took a vacation to the southwest part of the United States. I don't remember exactly where we were but I know that we were in the middle of a desert and it was definitely a sun-scorched land! We had our trusty red and white water Thermos that traveled with us on all our family vacations. It had this cool little cup that fit inside the lid. We all used that cup and nobody complained that there might be germs or even thought about separate bottles of purified water! The Thermos had a spout at the bottom so usually when our family made a stop we would open the van/camper door, slide it to the edge and fill the white cup with water. We had pulled off the road (to probably take pictures of the glorious view) and everyone got their fill of water. That's when IT happened. Somehow the Thermos was knocked out of the vehicle. (I'm sure it had nothing to do with kids scrambling in and out of the vehicle!) Our precious drinking water was being sucked into the dry cracked earth!! We were in the middle of the desert with miles to travel before we could refill the water!! I don't really remember a lot about those miles except that we kids were THIRSTY-PARCHED BEYOND BELIEF!! I'm not sure how our parents put up with us during those miles but somehow we survived to tell the story!
Today opened with a verse from Isaiah in which we are assured that God will take care of our needs. He promises to make us a "well-watered garden". Although I know that God sees to our physical needs I also know there is more to this verse than that. Has there ever been a time in your life in which you have been parched?? I'm not talking here about some child's imagined thirst because she knows the water supply is limited. I'm talking about the need down deep inside that threatens to overtake us. The one in which everything seems like it will never be right again. The one that drags down our day until we are numb. The one that cries out for somebody to love us and cherish us. The one that begs to be understood when we are in the valley of the shadow. All of us have this parched feeling inside of us that far surpasses the physical. We all have a need inside of us that calls out for something to quench this thirst. Many of us flit from one worldly idea or product to another trying to find this "spring whose waters never fail". The problem is we will never find it in what the world has to offer.
Move forward into the new testament of the Bible to the gospel of John. Here in Chapter 4 Jesus has asked a woman in Samaria to draw some water for him to drink. The author has my attention now! The Son of God?- a Jew?-is asking a Samaritan woman to give him some water? That would have been unheard of during Jesus' times. She knows this to be true also and questions him about it. Jesus replies, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10 She misunderstands him and questions him about the water in the well and how he could get the water without even having a jar. He responds to her with these words. "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
Now please feel free to turn to the fourth chapter of John and keep reading to see what happens to this Samaritan woman and her friends and neighbors! I know you'll love the ending! However, let's focus on what this means to you and me. This parched feeling we have inside us has to do with a separation from God that happened a long time ago in the Garden. There is nothing in this world that will satisfy this thirst, not even a red and white Thermos in the middle of the desert. But, you can find it through God's only son sent here because God loves us so much and desires for us to be with him for all times! Start quenching your thirst my friends!!
Back in the seventies when I was a young girl my family took a vacation to the southwest part of the United States. I don't remember exactly where we were but I know that we were in the middle of a desert and it was definitely a sun-scorched land! We had our trusty red and white water Thermos that traveled with us on all our family vacations. It had this cool little cup that fit inside the lid. We all used that cup and nobody complained that there might be germs or even thought about separate bottles of purified water! The Thermos had a spout at the bottom so usually when our family made a stop we would open the van/camper door, slide it to the edge and fill the white cup with water. We had pulled off the road (to probably take pictures of the glorious view) and everyone got their fill of water. That's when IT happened. Somehow the Thermos was knocked out of the vehicle. (I'm sure it had nothing to do with kids scrambling in and out of the vehicle!) Our precious drinking water was being sucked into the dry cracked earth!! We were in the middle of the desert with miles to travel before we could refill the water!! I don't really remember a lot about those miles except that we kids were THIRSTY-PARCHED BEYOND BELIEF!! I'm not sure how our parents put up with us during those miles but somehow we survived to tell the story!
Today opened with a verse from Isaiah in which we are assured that God will take care of our needs. He promises to make us a "well-watered garden". Although I know that God sees to our physical needs I also know there is more to this verse than that. Has there ever been a time in your life in which you have been parched?? I'm not talking here about some child's imagined thirst because she knows the water supply is limited. I'm talking about the need down deep inside that threatens to overtake us. The one in which everything seems like it will never be right again. The one that drags down our day until we are numb. The one that cries out for somebody to love us and cherish us. The one that begs to be understood when we are in the valley of the shadow. All of us have this parched feeling inside of us that far surpasses the physical. We all have a need inside of us that calls out for something to quench this thirst. Many of us flit from one worldly idea or product to another trying to find this "spring whose waters never fail". The problem is we will never find it in what the world has to offer.
Move forward into the new testament of the Bible to the gospel of John. Here in Chapter 4 Jesus has asked a woman in Samaria to draw some water for him to drink. The author has my attention now! The Son of God?- a Jew?-is asking a Samaritan woman to give him some water? That would have been unheard of during Jesus' times. She knows this to be true also and questions him about it. Jesus replies, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." John 4:10 She misunderstands him and questions him about the water in the well and how he could get the water without even having a jar. He responds to her with these words. "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." John 4:13-14
Now please feel free to turn to the fourth chapter of John and keep reading to see what happens to this Samaritan woman and her friends and neighbors! I know you'll love the ending! However, let's focus on what this means to you and me. This parched feeling we have inside us has to do with a separation from God that happened a long time ago in the Garden. There is nothing in this world that will satisfy this thirst, not even a red and white Thermos in the middle of the desert. But, you can find it through God's only son sent here because God loves us so much and desires for us to be with him for all times! Start quenching your thirst my friends!!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
The Tongue
Have you ever thought about your tongue?
Okay, a weird question but it got your attention didn't it? Do you ever say something that you regret the moment it comes out of your mouth? Recently, I did this very thing. I was tired and frustrated with my oldest daughter and before I could stop it my tongue was in action. It was like I was spewing poison. The look on her face told it all. The next day I asked her to forgive me but I also gave some excuses trying to make myself feel better. But scripture kept coming to mind and then my favorite ministry website devotion that day spoke directly about this problem of the tongue. Yes, God speaks to us through many means and he was getting my attention!! I have this problem of speaking before thinking. Although I have improved over the years I find myself backsliding sometimes. As I looked over the last couple of months I could see words coming out of my mouth that I was not very proud of. In the devotion I read that day the author had us read a passage from James.
"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:3-6
Those are extremely harsh words! God wants us to understand though how important this issue is and that we need to work on taming the tongue. James goes on to say in the this section that no man can tame the tongue. I believe that to be true. No man can tame the tongue but Jesus can for us. If we ask him to help us with this problem he will! In Proverbs we read,
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
Proverbs 12:18
Jesus is the tongue of the wise. He is the wisdom that we need to heal up the wounds that we as sinners make. Only with him will we be able to tame our tongues. My plan is to ask Jesus to be my wisdom every day. Won't you join me in making this request my friends?
Okay, a weird question but it got your attention didn't it? Do you ever say something that you regret the moment it comes out of your mouth? Recently, I did this very thing. I was tired and frustrated with my oldest daughter and before I could stop it my tongue was in action. It was like I was spewing poison. The look on her face told it all. The next day I asked her to forgive me but I also gave some excuses trying to make myself feel better. But scripture kept coming to mind and then my favorite ministry website devotion that day spoke directly about this problem of the tongue. Yes, God speaks to us through many means and he was getting my attention!! I have this problem of speaking before thinking. Although I have improved over the years I find myself backsliding sometimes. As I looked over the last couple of months I could see words coming out of my mouth that I was not very proud of. In the devotion I read that day the author had us read a passage from James.
"When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell." James 3:3-6
Those are extremely harsh words! God wants us to understand though how important this issue is and that we need to work on taming the tongue. James goes on to say in the this section that no man can tame the tongue. I believe that to be true. No man can tame the tongue but Jesus can for us. If we ask him to help us with this problem he will! In Proverbs we read,
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing."
Proverbs 12:18
Jesus is the tongue of the wise. He is the wisdom that we need to heal up the wounds that we as sinners make. Only with him will we be able to tame our tongues. My plan is to ask Jesus to be my wisdom every day. Won't you join me in making this request my friends?
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