Thank You Only Takes a Moment

image from pixababy

Psalms 100
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.
Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

A lone hummingbird visits my feeder this summer. This morning I remembered it had been a few days since I filled the feeder. I filled it before settling down on the porch to enjoy the morning with my latest book.  As I sat reading I heard his familiar buzz but not at the feeder. My hummingbird buzzed near me as if he was taking time to say thank you before going to his perch for a quick sip. Later another swooped in to the feeder. 

This little bit of activity made me stop and think how good the Lord is to supply all my needs. He never forgets. He's never late. How often do I forget to just whisper a simple thank you for all He does for me? How often do I direct others to the goodness He shows to all of us? Even the tiniest hummingbird knows how to say thank you. 

The Lord gave all when He sent His son to die for our sins so we might have eternal life. I wonder if others see my gratitude for His gift? Many have given all on the battlefield to give us freedom in this life. As we go about our weekend of celebration, may we remember this weekend is not for celebrating us but to honor those who gave all for us. 

May we take a moment to reflect and say a little thank you for those who gave all. 

Heavenly Father, Thank you for those who laid down their lives for our freedom, for we know there is no greater love than to lay down our lives for a brother and sister. Thank you for showing the greatest love of all by sending your son to die for our sins so that we may have eternal life. In Jesus's name. Amen. 

 Hey Kids:

Years ago many people called Memorial Day Decoration Day. They took picnic lunches to the cemetery and spent the day cleaning and decorating the graves of their fallen heroes.  Is there someone in your family who gave their life on the battlefield? Here are some ideas of ways to honor your heroes.

• visit the cemetery and place flowers on the graves of fallen heroes.
• take time during your family picnics to recall family histories and stories of your family.
• look through family photo albums for pictures of your family in uniform.
• include stories of faith in your time of sharing 

The Seed

 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. ~John12:24 NKJV

The Seed

The seed fell to the ground

Not knowing it was dying.

It soaked up the rain,

Snuggled into the warm earth

All the while it was dying.

Inside a little root

Pushed its way out into the soil

A tiny stem with two leaves

Raised its head

Breaking the crusty ground

Reaching for the light

But the seed was dying.

Giving way to the root and the leaves

Draining itself out of all that was inside.

It shriveled and disappeared

As a new life began

From a seed that died.

I love planting a garden and watching it grow. I get so excited when I see little seed leaves push up out of the soil. I know something is growing. I know there will be spring flowers, summer tomatoes, and fall watermelons. I don't usually think about what's going on under the soil. The little seed I planted a couple of weeks ago has been dying. It contained the life that is needed to make a new plant but the seed itself is being used up. A root grew down into the soil. A stem sprouted upward and broke through into the sunlight to begin the new plant. But all that was left of the seed was an empty shell. It will finally decay back into the soil, with nothing left. 

Jesus used a grain of wheat as an example of people who follow Him. We must die to ourselves to win people to Jesus. If all we do is sit on a church pew on Sunday and then live our lives the rest of the week we are like the seed that sits in the package but never gets dirty in the soil. 

When we have a vision of winning souls we have to get "dirty". We have to be witnesses to others. Yes, being kind is part of being a witness, but unless we tell someone about Jesus we aren't getting dirty. We all have a testimony if we have asked Jesus to forgive us of our sins. We all have a testimony of changed lives. Like the seed, we have to be willing to give up our personal lives, those comfortable lives, and be willing to risk whatever reaction the world may have when they know we are Christians. Sharing Jesus with others is the only way we can "bear fruit". Not everyone will go to church and hear a preacher. We must be willing to die to ourselves and be used by Jesus so we bear fruit.     

Heavenly Father, Help me be willing to put the message of Jesus before myself. Help me die to myself knowing you will bring others to Christ through my witness. Like the little seed, I may never see the results but You see and one day so will I. In Jesus's name, we ask for boldness to be your witness. Amen.  

Hey Kids:

Have you ever watched a seed grow? 

Fold a paper towel in quarters. 

Dampen it and wring out the excess water.

Place it inside a sandwich bag.

Lay any type of seed on the paper towel. A bean seed is the easiest to watch.

Tape it onto a window that gets plenty of light.

In a few days you will see the seed begin to sprout.

Keep a journal of what you observe. 

Write the date. Draw a picture. Label the parts. 

What happens to the seed? 

                                                                         

Weathering Trials

 

 

One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.

Psalms 145:4 (NKJV)

Author Nancy I. Sanders has discovered a very old tree in Massachusetts. It was planted in 1632 by John Endecott. The most surprising part is that the tree is still there almost 400 years later. Mrs. Sanders has written a children's picture book about the pear tree, The Very Oldest Pear Tree. The tree, brought from England in 1630 at the request of John Endecott, was planted on his farm; Orchard Farm near what is now Danvers, Massachusetts. Mrs. Sanders tells the story of how the little tree had to be nurtured for a couple of years because of the long voyage and the tenderness of the tree. Other trees were also shipped for his orchard. He planted them together but this one little pear tree went in front of where he would build his house. When fires raged through his orchard, the little pear tree was safe. He told others that the tree would outlive him but he had no idea how long it would live. It produced fine little pears for cooking and making jam but they were a little tart it seems for eating.

Long after John Endecott died, John Adams finished his term as president and moved back to his farm. It was only a few miles from the Endecott farm where the tree was still growing. A friend brought Adams a basket of pears with the note to "eat with our forefathers." Wow, can you imagine eating from a tree that is well over a hundred years old? Can you imagine how those living back then would have enjoyed the pears? Can you imagine the conversation about the pie or the jam around the family table?

The Endecott pear tree, as it became known, also survived storms. It survived the building of factories and railroads. It even survived vandals who stripped it of its limbs, leaving only the trunk. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a poem about it. Later, in honor of Arbor Day, Lucy Larcom also wrote about this little pear tree. Today a fence with a plaque surrounds the tree. Little branches have been taken to a Germplasm Repository where they continue to clone this magnificent little tree. 

My favorite quote from the book is "The tree was small and sturdy. Though young, its roots reached deep." I think there's a truth there for all of us. No matter how small or how young; when we plant our roots deep in God's word and investigate the roots of our Christian forefathers, whether our family or our nation, we become strong. We can survive the fires and the storms of this life. We can be the trees and fruit from which our descendants can gain strength. Mrs. Sanders’ book is dedicated to her grandson. She leaves him with this verse: "Pass the story down from generation to generation." Joel 1:3 — NIS. 

Heavenly Father, help us to be rooted in your word and demonstrate to the generations to come of the great strength you provide to those who are called by your name. In Jesus's name. Amen

Hey Kids:

One of our presidents received a note with a basket of pears from the Endicott Tree to "eat with our forefathers". It's likely you don't have a tree or anything passed down for hundreds of years except the faith of your forefathers. 

Father's Day is just a few weeks off. Whether we know our birth fathers or not, we do have a legacy of faith from our spiritual fathers. I thought you might enjoy hearing a song that is not sung very often except on Father's Day. It tells of all the trials our forefathers went through to bring us the faith in Jesus that we can still claim today. The song is called Faith of our Fathers. 

The history of some of our forefathers of faith can be found in  The Trail of Blood, Martyr's Mirror and Fox's Book of Martyrs. 

Mother's Day Recipe for Life

 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.    ~John 14:6 KJV

I’ve got this pretty good pound cake recipe I like to use for Mother’s Day because it goes well with fresh strawberries. I say pretty good because it has a good texture and flavor, but to make it Mad Dog Pound Cake I have to add the boiled syrup. I pour the syrup over the cake and in the middle. It sits and soaks and mmmmmmmmmmm. With the first bite, the syrup is running out the corner of your mouth and dripping off your chin. Of course, that’s an exaggeration but it sure seems that good.

Our lives are a lot like a pretty good pound cake. Most of us would say we are pretty good people, but is pretty good, good enough to get us into heaven? My pound cake totally changes when the syrup is poured over it and into it. The syrup can’t be removed and no one would want to scrape it off. No one wants the cake without the syrup once they’ve tried it. Jesus said no one comes to the Father but by Him. He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). We can’t get to heaven or be a true Christian without first coming to Jesus. When our lives are covered by His blood and filled with the Holy Spirit, we are totally different people, fit for the kingdom of God. Only Jesus makes us good enough. Like syrup, once we’ve experienced salvation, there’s no going back to the old pretty good person and no one would want to.

                                        Have you allowed Jesus to pour over and into your life?

Heavenly Father, help me not to think I am a pretty good person, that my good outweighs my bad. Lord, help me look into my heart to make sure I belong to You because of the repentance of my sin and faith in your Son, Jesus. Help me allow your Holy Spirit to pour into and over my life, revealing You to all who are willing to taste and see that the Lord is good. In Jesus's name. Amen.  

If you'd like a recipe for Maddog Cake, subscribe by email in the box at the top right and leave a comment below. 

Happy Mother’s Day.
Gail

Hey Kids:

Have you ever tried to make a recipe and it "flopped"? Once I used the wrong kind of flour in my cake recipe. It overflowed into the oven and created a horrible mess. 

I just used self-rising flour instead of plain flour! Not a big deal, one would think.

What would happen if I had put in salt instead of sugar? The cake would have to be completely thrown out and started over!

Our lives are like recipes. 

God has the recipe for us. We just need to read and follow His plan.

Romans 3:23 says For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Somehow we all manage to add that sin "ingredient" into our lives.

Now, how do we fix the problem? We can't, but God can!

Romans 10:13 says Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

One Apple Tree Alone

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. ~Hebrews 10:25 (ESV)

My apple tree stood alone this year during bloom time. Lots of pretty blooms covered the tree but no baby apples grew. We had to cut down the two trees that stood on each side. They were rotting and produced poorly. I intended to replant but it just didn't happen. Apple trees need one another to pollenate and produce apples. 

Churches need their members to produce fruit. They need people to faithfully do the necessary jobs of preaching, teaching, disciplining, singing, making music, and just faithfully encouraging one another. If the members forsake meeting together, who will invite, who will greet, who will instruct, who will sing and make a joyful noise? Who will encourage us? How will the church produce the fruit of the next generation? 

Maybe we can start here.

• Pray for those we noticed who weren't there this week.
• Let others know they are missed by sending a card, visiting, or making a call or text.
• Reach out to co-workers and friends who do not attend a church. 
• Volunteer to do something, sing, play an instrument or put together a family night.
• Volunteer to teach a class.
• Clean the bathrooms (everything is an important job).

Just like apple trees, to produce fruit, we need one another. May I encourage you to go stand beside someone at church this week?

Heavenly Father, help us to encourage one another by inviting others to your house, by participating, volunteering to do the scary and necessary jobs. Please help me to be present to greet those who have come to worship you. In Jesus's name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

What kind, or encouraging words can you share with others? How can you be helpful at church, at school, and in your neighborhood?

Even a child is known by his deeds,

Whether what he does is pure and right.

~Proverbs 20:11 (NKJV)

Even a young person can do many of the things in the bullet list above. How will you stand with others to help your church produce fruit?