Mining for Truth

 Photo courtesy of Matt Seymour

 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. John 17:17

Have you ever been gem mining? My grandson always loved swishing a pan of sand in the water and finding little gems. The water helped the sand pass through the sieve, leaving the goodies in the pan. If the sieve had a hole in it or was coming loose from the side, the gemstones would slip through and be lost. That would never do. We needed a good sieve so he could come away with a nice pocket full of rocks.

Just like with gem mining, we need a good sieve in life.  It's often hard to figure out the truth. We hear so many versions of "truth". We see so many video clips trying to convince us of "the truth". We read so many "facts" to demonstrate "the truth". We need a good sieve to pass all this information through. One with no holes or loose edges that would allow an untruth to pass through. 

 Jesus said that God's word is truth. How do we filter everything through God's word? It's hard to understand. It's a big book. We don't have time. My grandson didn't pour water over the pan of sand and just wait for the gems to appear. He had to swish it and dip it again and again. Each time swishing and taking out little treasures until he had devoured the whole $15 bucket. So too, we must take little bits, letting the Water of Life swish over the words, revealing the gems a few at a time. Here are a few tips I use:

• Commit to reading one chapter each day, just one.
• Pray before reading to commit that chapter to God's revealing.
• Look for the gem, the one thing God is speaking to you about in the chapter.
• Journal your find.
• Write an application for yourself.
• Write a prayer about that application.
• Share your gem with someone else, a spouse, your family, a friend, etc. 

One find leads to another. As soon as my grandson finished one bucket of sand he always wanted more. When you begin to find the gems in God's word and apply them to your life and the things you hear and see and read, you too will be hungry for another chapter of truth. 

Blessings, 

Gail

Tale as Old as Time

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

This weekend our school district presented four performances of Beauty and the Beast to packed out crowds. The participants were from four years old to high school seniors. The performance was outstanding!

Why do we continue to love fairy tales? Could it be we see ourselves, the condition of our lives and the answer to our struggles? Yes, Beauty and the Beast has that underlying theme of Romans 5:8, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Let's examine some of the characters and how they resemble us today and our relationship with Christ. 

The story starts with a handsome prince refusing compassion on an old woman who in reality was a beautiful young girl with the power to turn him into a beast. His true self now showed. His lack of compassion also affected the rest of his kingdom transforming them into fixtures. 

Meanwhile, back in town a sweet innocent young girl, Belle, was being harassed by Gaston, or tempted. We might say the lure of the world and all it had to offer was at work in that town. Belle's father was an inventor, a creator, rejected by the town, but loved by his only daughter. Belle would do anything for her father including sacrificing her own life when he was taken captive by the Beast. Belle also had compassion for the Beast and his kingdom, though treated rudely by the Beast.  Then there's the rose, slowly wilting, shortening the time left for the rescue of the Beast and his kingdom. Belle's first thought is always to please her father. Her second thought is to have compassion on those in need.

We are in need. A loving Son who always seeks to please His Father has compassion on us and sacrificed Himself for us. The change He makes in us gives us a compassionate heart like His and reaches those around us. (Acts 16:31 Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved and thy house). Time is short. The rose is wilting. Our lives are running out. Have we chosen Christ? Or are we still chasing the things of the world like the silly villagers always after Gaston's approval? 

Hey Kids:

We often relate to stories because we identify with a character in the story. 

What is your favorite fairy tale?

Why and how do you relate to it? 

Please share your thoughts.

Have the Compassion to make a Difference,

Gail

Thank a Veteran

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:41

Several years ago, a teacher in our district asked his students to make Christmas cards for veterans in a VA hospital. I believe it was his dad who was willing to take the cards to the hospital. Over the years, this one small request turned into the whole school making cards. Now the entire district sends thousands of cards each year to veterans who otherwise may not receive any other Christmas wishes. There are even opportunities for parents to sign cards at school events. Some of the cards go to veterans' hospitals nearby. One of our veterans makes an annual trip to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC to deliver cards. 

Men and women in veterans hospitals may be far away from family and friends and find themselves alone during the holiday season. Cards from students and their families can mean a lot. Jesus said if we have done it unto the least of these our brethren, we have done it unto Him.

Parents, you may want to investigate the address of a veterans' hospital or visit one if you live nearby. Other ideas may be to send cards to someone who is currently serving overseas who won't be able to be with family this year. Your Sunday School class, scouts, home school association or other groups may want to join in the mission. 

Thank you to all who serve and who have served.

Gail

Hey Kids

Making cards is fun and easy. 

Fold a piece of copy paper in half.

Draw a large triangle in the center of the card. 

Open the card and write your message before you decorate.

Put a small amount of glue in the triangle. 

Crumple small scraps of green tissue paper and place on the glue to make a 3D Christmas tree design. 

Stick colored foil stars to the tissue paper tree. 

Change it up any way your artist inclinations lead you.

You may not know who gets your card, but Jesus sees and is thankful you were willing to bring the message of Christmas to someone.

Our Tears in God's Bottle

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalms 56:8 NLT

We’ve seen so many tragedies on the news and on the internet this year - hurricanes, wildfires, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Some have lost their lives, others their homes and communities. Lately things are hitting close to home for us. Two of my friends have children desparetley ill, one from a flesh eating disease, the other has cancer. A child in our school lost a close family member to a drunk driver. No matter the storm, Jesus sees them all. He cares and “bottles our tears”, records them. Does that seem hard to imagine? We record things that are important to us. We tell the best and the worst in our private diaries. Our tears stain those recordings. Jesus also sees and feels our deepest sorrows.

I recently finished reading Blue, part of the Baker Mountain Series by Joyce Moyer Hostetter. Blue is mid grade historical fiction set in Hickory, NC during WWII. Ann Fay, a thirteen year old girl faces similar tragedies and joys just as we do. Her day is drafted and is sent to fight the Germans. Her four year old brother contracts polio. After carrying the weight of the family while mom is away at the hospital with brother, Ann Fay also succumbs to the virus.

Hostettler’s books deal with war, illness, death, loss, race relations, and bullying. She deals with each situation realistically; the fear, the ignorance, and the hateful side, but also with faith, neighbor helping neighbor, church involvement, strangers with words of encouragement.  All those things help get us through the hard times and as Ann Fay would say “make us tough as hickory.”

Hey Kids:

Is one or both of your parents deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan?

Does someone you know have cancer or some other devastating disease?

Have you lost a classmate or family member?

Have you prayed about the situation, written about it, shed tears on the pages?

Maybe it’s time. Jesus the Great Comforter stands ready to catch your tears for His bottle, knowing and remembering your sorrow.

Blessings,

Gail

"Bear" With Me

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone. Matthew 14:23

This weekend we traveled to Cades Cove in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park for a well deserved rest and a few bear hunts. The last couple of weeks I've had parent conferences, a great math workshop, a testing report to finish entering and grades to enter as well as teach 41 four year olds, all before Thursday, because we had a three day weekend at the end of the grading period. Exhausted is not the word for it. 

Jesus faced lots of work and pressure, just as we do. When he needed to rest and pray and relax, he went into a mountain apart. Yes, He is God and yet fully man. His body needed the rest and He needed to spend time with the Father.

Our camping trip gave me time to hike, rest, pray, reflect, and prepare, spending time with my husband and grandson and a friend. Though my time in the mountains was busy, it was a different kind of busy, a constant prayerful busy. When we returned home, I didn't feel tired. I felt refreshed.  When is the last time you spent a few days away from the rat race and in touch with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? There's no better place than to go into the mountain apart. 

Hey Kids:

Are you sometimes overwhelmed with all the pressures of school and sports and other activities? 

Do you have a special quiet place you can go to relax and read and pray, away from all the technology and distractions of our time?

As a child, my pastor had a favorite rock, where he would go to get away from the distractions.

My mom would hide out in the leaves of a giant tree where no one could find her. 

My spot is my garden when I can't get away to the mountains, but there's nothing like hiking in the cool fall air amidst the changing of the colors, the ridges wrapping me up like a blanket as the sunsets on a quiet day. 

Quiet blessings, 

Gail

True Colors

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord. Psalms 134:2

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park has over 9 million visitors each year. I think all 9 million of us must choose the same weekend to visit. The views are amazing and no picture can ever capture the feeling of actually being there. The sound of the last cicada trying to whir, the crickets in the leafy sides, the caw of the crows, all added to the peace and drama of the real scene. Yes, there are oodles of people, but for the most part, quiet people releasing the things of this world and absorbing the beauty of God's creation. 

In autumn the true beauty of a leaf shines forth. All the green of spring and summer cover up the real color of a leaf as it tries to create the food necessary to maintain the life of the tree. Green is the color of chlorophyll. As a leaf finishes its job, the chlorophyll no longer controls the leaf and the true color is the beauty we see in fall. 

I got to thinking, people are a lot like leaves. We put on a front while we date or at our jobs or wherever we think it will benefit our lifestyles, but our true colors will eventually shine through. Most of the pictures were taken as we caught our breath on our way up Clingman's Dome. As we rested again at the base of the tower, a young father came up and addressed my husband who was wearing a Christian t-shirt. The father said, " I like your shirt. You must know the Lord." My husband and I affirmed his assumption. "We are to lift His name on high. We're high!" the father said as we shook hands and began our assent up the tower. 

We often feel alone in our walk with the Lord, but when, like the leaves, we let our true colors show, we find there are lots of others around us who want to join us in lifting the name of the Lord on high. The cool autumn air, the quiet of the forest, and the meeting of a brother and his family, felt really good after a long hard week of work. 

Friday night as we sat out on our balcony, a falling star graced the sky. 

Great and marvelous are Your works,

Lord God Almighty!
Just and true are Your ways,
O King of the saints! 

Revelations 15:3b NKJV

May you find rest in His marvelous works this week. 

Gail

Hey Kids!

Have you tried nature art?

As the leaves change, have you noticed what a rainbow of color you can find?

My kids began picking up leaves on the playground and arranging them by color. It was not my idea, but kids in play came up with an amazing piece of nature art. They chose:

• Maples for red
• Poplar for yellow
• Sassafras for orange
• Pine for green
• Blue spruce for blue
• Dogwood for purple

What types of trees are showing their colors in your neighborhood? 

I wish I had taken a picture of the leaf rainbow my kids made.

Perhaps you could share a picture of your nature art.

What are your thoughts of God's amazing creation? Perhaps you would like to  share those with your pictures.

On Eagle's Wings

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him. Deuteronomy 32:11,12

Eagles nest high on cliffs and ledges. Their nests are hard sticks, softened by their feathers. They watch over their fledglings, helping them, encouraging them to fly from the nest. The mother carries them on her wings, dropping them to allow her babies to try their own wings. Then she flies under them, catching them until they learn to soar on their own. So the Lord alone, led the children of Israel. As long as they followed Him, they were blessed and He carried them.

Who Am I? - Identity Crisis

 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Genesis 1:27 KJV

How do we answer our children's questions or their silence about their identity? With honesty.

Satan is using every possible means to confuse our tweens, teens, and young adults as to their God given identity and their roles in society and their homes. But is this a new trick? 

Satan tells the same lies to every generation with a new twist. Think back to when you were beginning puberty. Did you ever wish you were the opposite of who God made you? I'm going to be honest. Yes, I wished I was a boy, prayed for God to turn me into a boy, and did things to try to help God make that happen. Had it not been for an aunt and grandmother who were wonderful female mentors and who were willing to talk openly about their experiences, I'm not sure how I would have turned out. I wasn't a Christian at the time. 

At fifteen, I received the Lord as my Savior. Then Satan hit me with suicide. I didn't want to die, but I was afraid to be alone, especially in the kitchen with the knives. No one knew about my anxiety, but my grandmother kept pouring her life experiences into me, helping me grow as a Christian. The Lord kept giving me a verse in a song. Finally a pastor said we all needed a verse of assurance. I realized the Lord had been giving me that verse all along, but Satan had me afraid to believe it, stealing my joy and my effectiveness as a witness. 

So how do we share these hard things with our children? We tell them what they want to know when they ask or when we see a teachable moment at the mall or in the park, or on TV, because they may not ask. In love, we help them understand that everyone has feelings of confusion and fear. Satan uses those feelings to lead people into sin and to disable Christians from being useful. Let your children know they are loved by you and by God. Let them also know the people being led astray are loved by you and by God. Christ never despised anyone. He shared with them honestly, but in love. Jesus tells us to go and do likewise. 

Hey Kids: 

Did you know God has a special purpose for each and every person? If you're a girl, God has a special purpose for you. If you're a boy, God has a special purpose for you. 

How can you know that purpose? You might begin by making a list of things you like about being a girl or a boy. 

Now think about all the ways God can use the things you like. Those are your talents. 

Maybe you like creating new clothes with your mom. God may use you to design modest fashions for young girls. 

Maybe you like working on cars with your Dad. God may use you to be a mechanic or design cars. 

God is preparing you right now to fulfill His purpose for which He created YOU!

Why not thank Him for making you who you are and giving you the talent to fulfil His purpose. 

Blessings, 

Gail

In His Hand

In His hand are the deep places of the earth;

The heights of the hills are His also. Psalms 95:4

This week we traveled to visit our daughter over 800 miles north and west. By the time we did sight seeing and drove back, we had covered over 2300 miles of America. We were awed by the wind turbines of the plains. We walked down into the earth at the Cave of the Mounds in Wisconsin. We drove through fields of corn and wheat and crossed some of the highest mountains in eastern America. And God was there every mile and step of the way.

When the expanse of miles almost brought me to panic, I remember the depths of the earth and the mountain peaks belong to Him, to God the Creator. Rather than panic, I tried to listen to His voice as He called from His word, 

"Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.

7 

For He is our God,

And we are the people of His pasture,

And the sheep of His hand." Psalms 95:6,7

We laid our head in a motel whose walls were covered in pictures of river rocks. For me, they were stones of remembrance. A remembrance of all the good things God has done for me and my family, all the things He has brought us through. Exhausted and filled, we returned home to find everything in order and a happy hound dog to greet us.

How about you? What has God shown you about Himself this week? What memories has He brought to mind? 

Hey Kids:

Have you ever traveled down in a cave or cavern? 

This week we walked down into the Cave of the Mounds in Wisconsin. The guide showed us domes in the ceiling where acid that formed in the waters below had risen to eat out the domes. The guide attempted to explain this happened millions of years ago.

I wondered had she never heard of Noah? Never read Genesis 7:11?

In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

A few years ago I visited the Creation Museum in Kentucky. Now there is a replica of the ark. I haven't yet visited except by technology. You may enjoy an internet visit too. Visit ark .

I've seen fish fossils in caves and coal mines. I've seen upright fossilized tree trunks in a coal mine in Virginia. The more I see of God's creation, the more I know He still confirms His word.

What has God shown you that confirms He is Lord and Creator? 

How did it make you feel? 

Can you draw a picture or write a story to share with a friend or family? Don't forget about us. We'd like to hear from you too!

Blessings,

Gail

Hide Away

And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

 Exodus 34:29

It's blackberry picking time here in the mountains and my 18 month old granddaughter LOVES blackberries. Her dad calls her his little Brer Rabbit. While picking berries, Fern found a tunnel underneath the arches of blackberry canes. She quietly crawled under to sit and eat her fill of the purple delicacies. When her dad found her, her face was a purple smile. She hadn't even noticed the long scratch the briers had made on her arm. 

Do you have a favorite place to hide away from the world and be alone with God? Are you able to forget the wounds the world has scratched on your soul? Can others see the joy on your face from spending time with God? 

Hey Kids:

Moses spent time with God. 

God used him to not only lead the children of Israel out of Egypt but give them the Ten Commandments. He went up on Mt. Sinai for 40 days to listen to God's instructions. When he came down his face shown. The people knew he had been with God. His face shown so much, they wanted him to veil his face to protect them from the brightness. 

Do you have a special place where you can get alone with God? 

How has time alone with God changed you?

Can others tell by the smile on your face?

If you haven't found that special place yet, might I suggest a special tree limb or under an arbor? Some folks use a boulder out along a path as their place to sit and pray. What about a sand dune or just tucked away in a cozy corner of your room. 

Wherever you hide away, make a habit of visiting often with God.

Blessings,

Gail

Campfires and Stargazing

“Can you bind the cluster of the Pleiades,

Or loose the belt of Orion?

 

Can you bring out Mazzaroth (constellations) in its season?

Or can you guide the Great Bear with its cubs?

Job 38:31,32

Did you know there is an app for that? I love sitting around a campfire and stargazing. My favorite sight is looking from Cades Cove, TN back toward NC. On a clear night the Milky Way is visible.

A Strong Tower

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; 

The righteous run to it and are safe.  

Proverbs 18:10 NKJV 

I watched as the kids built towers, hiding their toy people inside, finding ways to topple the tower just so they could build it again, making it stronger, less vulnerable. 

I thought of all the things we trust to keep us safe, as a nation, and as individuals. 

As a nation, we trust that building strong armed forces, a strong economy, and a strong educational and medical system will protect us. 

As individuals, we trust that our job, our money, our doctors and our various insurance policies will keep us secure.  

Take a few minutes to watch the news. Hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes destroy homes and communities. How do the people cope? Where do they turn? 

Terrorism, wars and famines destroy lives. People flee for their lives, but where do they go? 

Watch the advertisements for St. Jude’s and Cancer Centers of America and all the medicines available for life threatening diseases. The health issues our friends and families face every day are scary.  

So what is the answer? The name of the Lord! Jesus! We may not escape the trials and devastations of this world, but through faith in Jesus, we have a strong tower. Run to Jesus. 

Life is fleeting. Those who trust in Jesus know their eternity is safe and secure.  

When the going gets tough, run to Jesus. His arms are open wide.  

Hey Kids: 

Do you like to build towers? 

Try using 6-12 blocks of any kind to build a tower. 

Then with a variety of balls try to knock the tower down. 

How can you rebuild the tower to make it strong enough to withstand the “weapons” used against it?  

Satan will try all kinds of ways to tear down our lives. 

When we build our lives on Jesus, it will stand anything Satan brings against us. 

The scripture verse today would make a good memory game.  

Write each word on a separate index card. Include the reference. 

Make a second set. 

Mix up each set. 

Invite a friend or team of friends for a Bible verse race.  

Give each team a set of cards. 

The team who puts the verse together first is the winner.

On your mark. Get set. GO! 

Blessings, 

Gail