Lil' Patch
Daily Devotion 250
04:52, Sunday, September 7, 2008 .. Posted in Devotions and Bible Study .. 0 comments .. Link
September 7
Ask and Believe
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Matthew 21:22
It was a cold, snowy night. I had my Sunday school class over for supper and an evening of fun. Now I was taking them home. At several places the road was nearly drifted shut. I was getting close to one of my student’s homes. The road kept getting worse and worse. Finally, within half a mile of my destination, I got stuck.
After trying my best to get out, I knew I would need help. My brother and two of my students hurried on to enlist the help of a four-wheel drive truck. They were soon back.
We could not find a good place in the front of the car to fasten the strap, so we decided to attach the hitch and use it to pull out the car backwards. I got the hitch out of the trunk and put it on. Slamming the trunk shut I walked forward to start the car.
I was shocked to discover that the keys were no longer in my pocket. We had recently purchased the car and had only one set of keys. After vainly searching for the keys, I concluded that I had locked them in the trunk.
I decided to pray. Almost immediately, the thought popped into my head, “Check the snow around the hitch.”
I grabbed a shovel and dug in. With the first shovel of snow, my friend exclaimed, “There they are!” Sure enough, there they lay. Soon we were out and back on our way.
What a great God we serve! He even cares about a lost set of car keys.
Jamin Yoder, Middlebury, IN
O how praying rests the weary!
Prayer will change the night to day;
So when life seems dark and dreary,
Don’t forget to pray.
—Mary Kidder (1820-1905)
Bible Reading: Matthew 7:1–12
One Year Bible Reading Plan:
1 Corinthians 15:1–32
Proverbs 9, 10
Used by Permission of Vision Publishers
PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803
Phone: 877-488-0901
E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]
The birthday smile
Daily Devotion 249
04:56, Saturday, September 6, 2008 .. Posted in Devotions and Bible Study .. 0 comments .. Link
September 6
A Lesson From the Nail
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30
Philip could have felt that his ministry was being elbowed aside and eclipsed when Peter and John came to the mission he had developed. They just seemed to brush aside recognition of his excellent beginning in planting the church. But he accepted it graciously and moved on to the next assignment the Spirit had for him! He did not seem to care who got the credit for what he did. Because of his faithfulness, his work was effective.
The nail may hold a few lessons for us. After the torturous manufacturing processes, it is driven into its place of service by blow after cruel blow of the hammer. Nothing is left to sight except the head.
The poor finish nail is not only driven to its niche in life like other nails, but the nail set comes along and drives its head well below the surface. As if that were not insult enough, putty fills the hole on top of the head, and paint permanently conceals the place where the nail does its work quietly and faithfully, unnoticed for its importance.
How important is the nail? Suppose all the nails in your house would suddenly go on strike and stop doing their jobs. That would bring chaos.
We, too, are called to silently and faithfully do our work, even if we are not noticed. We tend to think we should receive recognition for the “head-pounding” we endure to hold things together. But God notices all that pertains to His children’s lives.
Our emotions are not made of steel like a nail, but of feelings and sensitivities. So we do need audible and tangible encouragement and compliments frequently. Today, your sincere compliment may be just what someone needs to encourage him to stick with it! Will you give one?
Elmer Schrock, Stuarts Draft, VA
It is amazing what God can do if we don’t care who gets the credit.
Bible Reading: Acts 8:5–8, 14, 27–40
One Year Bible Reading Plan:
1 Corinthians 14:21–40
Proverbs 7, 8
Used by Permission of Vision Publishers
PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803
Phone: 877-488-0901
E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]
Painful Palin Ponderings
I had no idea when I ran the last post that Blogland would be at the same instant exploding with Christian women earnestly trying to answer the same questions. I’ve been spending my computer time reading their thoughts and trying to digest them into some coherent and firm grasp of what my own personal responsibility lies in all of this.The sad reality is that even if I wanted to vote third party, my state does not allow it. That whole issue is fodder for debate, but one I am not willing to expend energy on. So, my choices are:
1. Vote for McCain-Palin.
2. Don’t vote at all.
Choice #1 means supporting a woman who is seeking to govern a nation at the expense of her family. And, no, I am not interested in joining a quote-Mommy War-unquote. But I, too, only have 24 hours in my day, and sometimes I can barely find time to fold the laundry before bedtime, much less carve out time to hop a jet to negotiate with foreign leaders. Of course, this could entirely mean that I am just not that well organized or have it all together. But, I am more inclined to believe that when a woman works outside the home, there are sacrifices at home to be made. I am not judging anyone for making those sacrifices, just stating the obvious that there ARE sacrifices.
Choice #2 means, in reality, voting for Obama (do we remember how Perot helped elect Clinton?) I find this so unconscionable. I simply cannot support this man, despite his good intentions, for a multitude of reasons. I find him so offensive on so many fronts, and it isn’t really worth my hashing it all out here to ladies who are (mostly) in my own choir.
I’m afraid I am not a good place to seek direction in this, as I am plenty conflicted about the whole deal. I am also ready to focus on other things again. Like my garden. Like homeschooling. Like do I make more laundry soap or go buy some?
I guess what I see in Sarah Palin is a woman who walks the talk. She isn’t afraid to be feminine in the midst of women who hate that she is. She doesn’t abort special needs babies, and understands that pro-life means more than just being against abortion. I don’t get the sense that her daughter is being forced into marriage; that sounds ridiculous even as Sarah’s marriage itself began as high school sweethearts. In essence, I don’t think she is clueless about the sacrifices she is making with regards to her family.
That being said, I think her family supports her in this. If she with blessing sacrifices time in her own home for the betterment of millions of other homes......is that so terrible? You know, Esther didn’t exactly run for the office of Queen, but God still allowed her the authority to personally face off with the King in order to save (yes, SAVE) the Israelite people. This is probably a bad analogy. And, no, I am not just trying to make "excuses" for Sarah to ditch Titus 2 and so forth.
I think the underlying issue is the lack of godly men doing what Sarah Palin has done and promises to do. This presses me further to raise up sharp arrows in my own household of boys, teaching them the Constitution and encouraging public service. And, yes, it means even raising strong, confident women who do not accept the propaganda that being a true woman means everything BUT staying home. My goal is always to seek to live Biblically, and to teach and train my children to do the same. I fail a lot. So do they. But we try.
Should Sarah Palin be a keeper at home? Yes. Am I always a keeper at home? No. Not if you mean wholeheartedly present and spirit filled, ready to take on each and every need of my family. I am certain that anyone with enough Bible knowledge could come into my home and write pages upon pages of the sins I am swimming around in, exhorting me to repent in all sorts of ways even though I pass the *test* of physically being in my home.
But I still have the support and encouragement of my friends to do the best that I can. And God still loves on me and uses me to His glory.
Regardless of how she got to where she is, there she is. I'm personally not ready to point fingers at her when she may be the instrument that helps to slay the march of Molechs throughout our nation. These are not easy issues, and you may come to differing thoughts. It's OK. We can still be friends.
May God help us to make the right choices not out of fear, but from a faith that springs from the love of Christ. And let us love another in the process, regardless of the directions (even in voting) that our families take.
{ Last Page } { Page 1 of 13 } { Next Page }
About Me
My Profile
Archives
Friends
My Photo Album
Links
MaryJane's FarmCumberland Books
The Family Homestead
New Harvest Homestead Newsletter
Titus 2
Small Farmer's Journal
Wild Winds Homestead
The Farm Chicks
Child Training
The Sparrows Nest
Turkey Feathers
Charming the Birds from Trees
Making a House a Home
The Partea Planner
Ladies Against Feminism
Ladies of Grace ~ Bible Studies
Categories
Daily JournalDaily Life
Friday
Joke of the Week
Monday
Poetry
Quote of the Day
Recipes
Thursday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Recent Entries
Plans for the WeekendSaturday
Back Again!
Hello in 2008!
Friends
tnschafferFern
BackyardTreasures
quiverfull
HillmanAcres
CatherineAnn
wannabeone
SimplifiedLife
annre
HandsNHearts
Boltbabe
sweetie
mullerslanefarm
MicheleC11
cherkeemom
Brownsmichelle
MrsBurns
j706nancyr
countrygirl35
mdonohue
mc2rwe
panshrmu
stitchnchick
PattyMarie
HuberHof
rellamom
SisterLori
kerimae
beverly
christianmommaali