Category: Inspirational

Thought of the day . . . .

This year’s elections, and our party’s choice of candidates have caused many to be frustrated.  Irene has a “Seize the day” desk calendar and wants to share last weekend’s quote – “Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”  ~ Harriet Tubman.

. . . and we will!

Strength in prayer; SUNACRW starts a prayer list

It was decided at the August 2011 to form a prayer list/group through SUNACRW.  President Bush noting that, “We’re a prayerful nation. I believe that makes us a strong nation.” Harking back to President George Washington, Bush recalled that, “It’s the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and to humbly implore his protection and favor.”

Christena Harder as agreed to be the Chair of this important committee.  If you have a prayer request, please email it to her at charder1@ptd.net.  A prayer request list will be sent monthly to paid members.

Freedom Fried

So now, come back to your God! Act on the principles of love and justice, and always live in confident dependence on your God.
~Hosea 12:6, NLT

The ‘Fourth of July’ selection for Crosswalk the Devotional.

It fell to me this year.

And whoa if I didn’t have a firecracker of a time coming up with what to write.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not riding on the trendy bandwagon of American self-loathing. I love my country. I dig personal and religious freedom. Without a free press I’d be out of a job, and without free speech I’d be locked up somewhere. But not here!

So why the long face on red-white-and-blue, take-a-day-off, fire-up-the-grill day?

…Because Christianity has so little yet too much to do with the American Dream. To wit: “After centuries of shacking up with ‘the American dream,’ churches have perfected a dicey codependence between consumer-driven therapeutic individualism and religious pragmatism. These theological proxies gnaw, termite-like, at our identity as the Body of Christ, eroding our ability to recognize that Jesus’ life of self-giving love directly challenges the American gospel of self-fulfillment and self-actualization” (Kenda Creasy Dean, Almost Christian).

…Because I get sad when I consider the evolution ‘Freedom’ has undertaken just in my lifetime – from “allowed to act responsibly” to “if it feels good do it” to “absolutely anything goes and don’t even try to suggest otherwise, or we might just take away your freedom.”

…Because “Independence Day” is a disconnect for me, devotionally speaking, from things I know to be true: namely, that independence has never served me well where family or friends or work colleagues or the Church or the Lord are concerned.

And so, left without the trite and tried-but-true for today’s devotional, I settled on the short, bittersweet, and eternal…

  • Neither politics nor religion nor any mixing of the two will save me. Likewise, patriotism and faith-in-Christ need not be shoehorned to celebrate either one.
  • Some things are really messed up. Most things are really not mess-up-able. A few things that are require only repentance to restore.
  • It’s never wrong or out-of-style to be thankful, to express gratitude. To Him who freed your soul, or to those who gave you a free country.
  • You can pledge your allegiance to the flag every day and admit your own and your country’s independence, but “when you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor” (James 4:10, NLT).

Have a safe and blessed holiday, everyone.

Shawn McEvoy

http://www.crosswalk.com/blogs/mcevoy/freedom-fried.html?utm_source=Crosswalk_Daily_Update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=06/30/2011

Lou Tice – “Being Wrong”

“Being Wrong”

Do you know anyone who has a hard time admitting they were wrong? If so, they may be struggling with uncertain self-esteem.

No one enjoys being wrong or making a mistake, but in spite of what some folks would like you to believe, we all do it. In fact, the more venturesome you are and the less afraid of taking risks, the more likely you are to be wrong from time to time. But then what? How can you salvage your self-esteem when your pride has been shaken by a wrong decision?

Well, it’s not as hard as you might think. Try just simply admitting it. Say something like, “I made a mistake. Thank you for correcting me.” Or, “I was wrong about that. Next time, I’ll do better.”

You see, by proudly proclaiming yourself to be a normal, imperfect, fallible human being, you give others permission to do the same, and, believe it or not, you also make yourself more loveable. After all, while we may respect each other for our strengths, it’s often our human weaknesses that are most endearing. When you are able to openly confess a weakness without making a big deal about it, you are honored by your humility and your dignity is nourished by your honesty.

It is only those people whose self-esteem is shaky, underneath an exterior pose of perfection, who have trouble admitting that they were wrong. So keep in mind that doing the right thing is always more important than being right, and when you’ve made a mistake, the right thing to do is admit it.

Lou Tice
The Pacific Institute
www.thepacificinstitute.com

Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas; remember the reason for the season

For Unto Us…
by Peg Luksik

There are more Christmas stories on television this year than ever – and not one of them even mentions the fact that Christmas happened because a Child was born.  So I decided to write a Christmas story that was actually about Christmas.  I hope you enjoy it.

For Unto Us…

The young husband watched his wife with worried eyes.  When she caught him looking at her, she always smiled, but he could see the lines of discomfort and exhaustion etched on her face, and his concern continued to grow.

It had been an incredibly difficult journey.  Because of her condition, they had needed to make frequent stops and to travel slowly.  Now it was nearly dark, and they were among the last to enter the tiny town of Bethlehem.  He knew it was going to be nearly impossible to find suitable lodging for them, especially with limited means.

He thought that they might do better if they tried one of the private homes that were taking in boarders.  It would be more quiet and perhaps a bit less expensive.

So he walked up to the first door with a sign on it, and knocked.  The owner answered quickly, interrupted his question to tell him that they were full and quickly shut the door.  He turned around sadly, and caught the briefest glimpse of disappointment in her eyes.  It was gone in an instant, replaced with an encouraging smile, but it had been there.

They continued down the street, and when they came to the second door, he straightened his shoulders and knocked.  It was like an encore performance.  This time, before he turned around to her, he carefully arranged his face to hide his growing anxiety.  When he looked at her, he saw that she had done the same thing for him.

He tried every house he could find, with no luck.  It became harder to keep knocking in the face of such continuing failure, but he didn’t give up.  And every time he looked at her, expecting and dreading to see that look of disappointment again, he found only a consistently caring and supporting smile.

Finally, they came to the town’s inn.  They could hear the noise from its courtyard a block away.  They couldn’t afford a private room, even if one was available, and he hated the thought of having her spend the night in that raucous courtyard, surrounded by Roman soldiers and caravan workers.

The innkeeper responded to his knock and peered past him to see her sitting on the mule’s back.  Her condition was obvious.  The innkeeper wanted nothing to do with such a possibility in the courtyard of his establishment.  He was polite, but blunt.

“There is no room,” he said.

The husband turned away, not having any idea of what he should do next.  He was supposed to be taking care of her, and at this moment he didn’t know how.

Then a quiet voice at his elbow said, “I know a place.  Follow me.”

He turned to see a small woman with intense eyes.  She didn’t wait for a response, but turned and started walking up the road leading behind the inn toward the outskirts of the town.  The husband took the halter of the mule, and followed.

They came to a small stable.  It wasn’t much, but it was out of the night wind.  The straw was clean, and the place was well kept.  The woman helped him get his wife into a soft bed of straw, and water the mule.

When it became obvious that the baby was coming, the woman disappeared.  He thought it would have been nice for his wife if she had stayed to help, but was grateful for what she had done.  The baby came quickly, and he found an empty manger to lay the Child in.  He was just putting fresh straw into it, when the woman returned with a swaddling blanket.

She handed it to his wife, saying, “I made this for my own child, but it was never used.  I would be honored to give it to you.”

His wife accepted the gift with a gentle smile and a hug, and the women wrapped the Baby who would save the world in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger.  Just as they got Him settled, He opened His eyes and smiled.

And the awful emptiness in the woman’s heart was filled.  She wiped away sudden tears, and gave the Baby and His mother a kiss.  Then the innkeeper’s wife returned to her noisy inn.

Merry Christmas!