Real Men Wear Pink

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. Luke 9:49,50 

There is always some sort of controversy going on in the church. When I was growing up it was the length of a guy's hair. Later it was whether women could wear pants. Music is still controversial and now I'm seeing things pop up about wearing our best. I'd like for you to think back a little to the time of our grandparents. Let's say the 1920's. 

Hard Choices

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10

Yesterday was the Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Sometimes choices are hard. Sometimes we make the wrong choice. Sometimes we don't fully understand the choice until it's too late to change the choice. But God is the Great Forgiver and Lover of our souls. 

When I began to keep chickens, I wanted to raise my own flock. I didn't know how to keep my hens from laying with my setting hen. I hated wasting eggs, so I attempted to sort them without candling them (looking inside with a light through the shell.) One day I cracked an egg into a bowl and there lay a yolk with a few arteries stretching across it with a tiny heart beating.

Oh no. What had I done? I couldn't put it back in the shell. I couldn't keep it warm, and I couldn't throw it in the trash. It was alive and dying before my eyes. Over the next 20 minutes, I watched the heartbeat slow as the egg cooled down to room temperature. I tried to walk away but I always returned to check on it, wishing it to live, knowing it would die. I had made the wrong choice. Finally, the little heart no longer beat. I slid it into the trash, my heart broken.

Jochebed (Exodus 6:20) faced a much harder choice. She conceived a child during the reign of a Pharoah that demanded all Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the river. What if she and Amram disobeyed? Could this child cost her her life? Could it cost Amram's life, the life of her other children as well? It was a hard choice to hide her newborn son but faith in the all powerful, all knowing God gave her the strength to hide him three months. 

When things became hopeless she placed him in a basket in the very river that should have been his death. She couldn't watch so she asked her daughter. Hidden in the reeds, Miriam watched. The daughter of Pharoah came with her maids to bathe. Seeing the basket she sent one of her maids to retrieve it. There she found a crying babe. 

The baby's sister stepped out of hiding and offered to find a nursemaid for the child. Jochebed's baby went home to his mom. 

We are sometimes faced with hard choices. We need to "candle" our choices. Hold them up to the Light. The right choice is often the hardest. 

Please - Choose Life.

Each Day's Plan

 

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Just before the new year, I came across plans for a Temperature Blanket. A friend and I determined we would give it a try. After reading the variety of ways to make this blanket that I call an afghan, I decided to go with crocheting the blanket in slip stitches. There will be 366 rows for the year 2020. I'm really not sure what the color of the day will be until I check the temperature each morning. I am reminded I am not in charge of the day. Each day is the Lord's. His design will be recorded in layers of thread each evening one day at a time. Don't look too close or you will see my imperfections. I suppose there should be imperfections in my blanket/afghan because my day is filled with imperfections. I am not the person I should be but each day brings me closer to being what the Lord wants me to be. 

I can't plan how this afghan will play out, how the golds of warmer temperatures will complement the cooler spring colors or how the crimson of summer will contrast with the snowy colors of winter. Following God's weather scheme of color is traveling into the unknown but like God's plan for me, I know it will be memorable and amazing. I plan to finish the edge with white to remind me that my sinless perfect God is in charge of every day. 

Like following the Lord, this blanket/afghan can be started any time during the year. It will still have a beginning and on the same date the next year will be the ending. Like the blanket, each of us makes the choice when we will begin following the Lord. He has the plan for our lives and the ending. It will be memorable and amazing when we follow His plan.  If you'd like to make a temperature blanket/afghan check out Pinterest and find the one that fits your style. Your blanket will be as unique as you because you are God's design even more so than the weather. We don't know what the future holds but God knows the plans He has for us. It is His intention to prosper us and not to harm us. He has plans to give us hope and a future. 

As we look back at our blanket/afghans we will see the chilly days, the insufferably hot days, the pleasant picnic days and the crisp autumn days. May we be reminded that life has chilly days, insufferable days, pleasant days and those wonderfully crisp days. God will never leave us or forsake us. He has the plan and we will receive His best. 

God's blessings for the New Year.

Gail

Attitude and Focus

This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24

I've been reading a true story about a believer named Joe who was wrongly imprisoned for attempted rape. He earned the trust of his guards who put him over a group of inmates on work details. The thing about Joe was his attitude, his smile and it was contagious. No matter what he was asked to do he did it with a smile. That's what had won the trust of the guards. 

Joe noticed when others were down. His focus was not on himself or his surroundings. His focus was on people. He noticed his fellow inmates. He cared about them. They learned to trust him. His focus on them helped him get work done and do it without undue stress.  As a believer, he trusted God to help him accomplish whatever task was before them. In other words, he left the day in God's hands and fulfilled his duties rejoicing in the Lord. Everyone knew Joe had something special. 

I'll tell you more about Joe but for now, I'll let you know I needed to check my attitude and how it affects my smile, my relationships at home and at work. While reading Joe's story I realized I live in a different time, under better conditions. I'm not in trouble with the law. I have food, warm clothes, and a good roof over my head. I live in the best times and in the best place, this world has ever known. Not because I'm better than Joe. It's because this is the time and place God chose to use me. I am here for such a time as this. Joe found ways to be happy and grateful in the worst of circumstances. He cheered himself up in the Lord. What's my problem? 

My attitude adjustment is to trust God with the day. I want to focus on the children I teach and the people I meet. The paperwork will get done and so will the housework. The children will learn what they need and my family will be happy if my focus is on them. I will not stress over just stuff. This is God's day and I will rejoice in it giving Him the praise for all He accomplishes in me and through me. 

Oh, if you'd like to read the rest of Joe's story it's in Genesis chapters 40 and 41. 

Blessings,

Gail