We are fairly busy this week as we will be leaving for S Texas the end of the week. The virus there has simmered down and we do need t get back to see what is happening there We probably will not be able to start up the food and clothing ministry yet, but I am sure we will find other way to serve those less fortunate than we. We have had a wonderful time here with the family, doing lots of projects learning new ideas of decorating, and even trying out new and delicious recipes. One, which is a strawberry-rhubarb dessert id wonderful but rhubarb is hard to find here in AR. It used to grow crazy in WI and we had an endless supply throughout the summer and fall, and froze a lot of it. My favorite was canning the rhubarb as a sauce for winter - it as so delicious as it was bubbling and simmering down. A person had to be careful though as it had an adverse effect on your bowel system!! We finished all of our physicals, even finally seeing our family doctor after 2 years. He had mouth cancer and was recuperating. He always had facial hair but due to radiation he is now clean shaven (no hair grows on one side of his face) and certainly looks different. Life is a series of changes, is it not??
I still find excitement in the everyday wonders of this earth - the low rumbling of thunder in the distance the sunset, the multitude of creatures God has created for our enjoyment. We had some pears we were feeding the wild creatures but during the night the raccoons got to the bags and strewed them all over the place. So glad we have plenty to go around.
We attended actual church services again on Sunday - only our second one while we were here, and felt somewhat bittersweet as we realized that we would not be here for the next Sunday service. We so much love our home church family that it is hard to say good-bye again.Hopefully, as we wait patiently for God to find a buyer for our home in S Texas, we will be back here in AR for good. There are many ministries that we can become involved in, as well as being much more active in the church. We also plan on being a part of CRMI as much as we can as chaplains.
Vance continued in James on Sunday, teaching us from Chapter 5:15-18. Prayer!!! We always need to go to God in prayer. Satan sometimes tries to keep us form our relationship with God through worldly distractions. He trembles when he sees the weakest saint on his knees. Become humble before GOd in prayer - do so on your knees. James was called "old camel knees" because he spent so much time on his knees that they became calloused. James encourages us to be fervent - be connected to God through prayer. Jesus always carved out time to be with God as we should strive to do. Get up 15 minutes earlier to fellowship with Him, spend 30 minutes less on your phone or computer, take a walk at lunch time and meditate on Him. Out of 24 hours in a day,I am sure you can find at least 30 minutes to be with Him. Go to God in prayer in every situation in life.
There are 4 areas when we can go to God in prayer:
1)When you in trouble and suffering.An example is in II Kings 19:14-19. Read this. God wants you to come to Him in time of trouble. Man cannot solve the issues of the human heart. This time of trouble pushes us to go to God.
2) When you are soaring you can go to God about it. We need t go to Him in times of feeling good. Singing and worship keeps your life in perspective.
3)When you are sick you can ask God to heal. Go to the elders, pray, and be anointed with oil. In ancient times, anointing with oil was used for medicinal purposes, thought to heal. Prayer is the most important part of it. Pray first, then seek medical help. Why does it happen that we pray and God says no?? We do not know the answer to that. God's ways are our understanding. We need to always trust God's judgement. Pray in faith. Pray for His will to be done.
4) When you are sinning - you can find healing. We should cry out even though we are sinful. Confess your sins to the Lord. Satan knows sin hinders our relationship with God. There is nothing that you have done surprises God - He knows what is in your heart and that you want to repent.
Pray always - in times of need and times of joy.
A couple more ladies from the Bible who are certainly not role models for us, but from whom we can learn great lessons.
Penninah -the insecure woman with the fake smile. Peninnah was less favored than Elkanah's other wife, Hannah; although she had borne him children while Hannah was childless, Peninnah also brought grief and disharmony to the household by her mocking of the childless Hannah. Every year, when Elkanah offered up a sacrifice at Shiloh, he would share out the portions of meat and give Hannah a double portion, which made Peninnah even more jealous. Peninnah would taunt Hannah for being childless. She would make Hannah cry by means of ordinary everyday activities, taking pains to remind her, at all hours of the day, of the difference between them. Perhaps Penninah was trying to cover her own insecurities by making Hannah cry and making herself feel superior when she actually the one who was so miserable.Eventually, in answer to her desperate prayer, Hannah’s womb was opened, and she bore Samuel, and later another three sons and two daughters. After the birth of Samuel, Pennninah is not mentioned again. Don’t put on a fake smile or only post happy moments on Facebook or Instagram. Be real. Talk about what hurts – not necessarily on social media but to close friends or even your spouse. You may find that you actually have more friends than you thought.
Michal – the woman who let resentment ruin her. Was she as pretty as a princess? Or a royal pain in the neck? Probably yes on the second. As the daughter of King Saul, Michal might have enjoyed a life of privilege. When we first meet Michal, she has fallen in love with a handsome young musician named David. “When they told Saul about it, he was pleased” In fact, her father “rubbed his hands in anticipation” not because he wanted David for a son-in-law but because he wanted David dead. When Saul sent men to David’s house to put an end to him, Michal warned her husband, “If you don’t run for your life tonight, tomorrow you’ll be killed” Then she let him down through a window and put a large idol in his bed, so when the men came for him, that’s all they found. So far, Michal was a hero. She defied her bad dad and saved her good husband’s life. David stayed away 14 years—when he returned Michal was someone else’s wife. Now that David wanted Michal back, “Paltiel, her husband, went with her, weeping behind her” as she was David’s wife. Later, Michal always the daughter of Saul, was watching from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing nude before the Lord, she hated him in her heart.David’s eyes and heart were focused upward, worshiping his God. Some Bible translations say she called him a dirty old man, a burlesque street dancer, and a vulgar exhibitionist. Perhaps she was jealous of his love for God. Her love for David had grown cold. Michal greeted David in anger: “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” Her words could not be more humiliating. David told her that he would humiliate himself further if necessary, to bless the Lord. And so, Michal daughter of Saul had no children. At the end, her heart no longer belonged to her husband. And the lesson for us is clear. However, justified our anger, our bitterness, our disappointment, God is still God and is ever worthy of our worship, don’t be a woman who holds resentment in her heart.
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