No Fail Brownies Will Trick You

I woke at 3am remembering my mother's love for a No Fail Brownies Recipe and it set off a train of thoughts about what is so appealing with this recipe.  Mainly ladies are looking for something that is guaranteed to please and to work every time.  So I looked up the recipe this morning and what did I find?  The last sentence of the directions stated, "Do not over bake".  Wait a minute!  Do you mean to tell me that I can fail at making "No Fail Brownies"? All I have to do is over bake?  By how long?  Two minutes?  Five minutes?  That seems to be cutting it close between success and failure!  What if my thermostat is a little off on my oven?  I think I will avoid making them because I might fail, and then what?  Will I be the first person who has failed at No Fail Brownies?  How devastating!  No, not really.

Failure is part of being human and attempting to do things we wish to accomplish!  If I asked you to make a list of everything you can think of where we might fail, the list would be, as the child said in the AT&T commercial, "infinity times infinity plus one!"

So what do we do? Do we refuse to try?  Of course not!   If we were a magnificent sailing ship safe in harbor would we remain tied up and never leave the shore for fear of a storm or a torn sail?  Of course not!  What's the use in being a mighty ship if not to sail the seas? 
Fear of failure can be a paralyzing thought that limits us from experiencing the life we have been given and the gifts we were meant to share.

Will our friends and relationships fail us?  We know they will.  It doesn't matter how many things you find in common with each other and how much affection and admiration and love grows between you, there will be moments of failure in relationships.  Do we decide not to love, again, or to make a new friend?  Of course not!

What we fear is not failure itself, it is the disappointment and in some cases, disillusionment that follows.  Feeling disappointment and disillusionment lead to so many other feelings of self-doubt, self-pity and self-criticism.  Oh why did I do this?  I should have known better!

What we may forget  is we are all going to fail at tasks and relationships in our lives.  They are stepping stones to improving our ability for self-growth, making better choices and constantly readjusting our own thoughts about what and who we love, what is good for us and what we can do next time to do even better.

Failure is a normal part of life.  It is a form of mental and emotional and physical compass that tells us where we are in our life and how we can adjust our path.  As we grow older, our compass lets us know things are changing.  When we were kids we could, as my dad said, "Shin-y up a tree!"  It wasn't a question of whether we could do it or not, but how fast we could get to the top!   Now, as adults, the challenge of climbing a tree might set us up to fail the task.  Do we go into a state of self-contempt?  Or do we use the failure as a gift of an inner compass letting us know our limits and our abilities.  Do we stop attempting any challenge because climbing the tree is no longer doable?  If that's our mindset, we may as well be that glorious, seasoned sailing ship forever moored at the dock, never to test its seaworthiness and love of sailing, again.

Friends and those we love will fail us, disappoint us and possibly hurt us for days or weeks to the point where we have to sever our ties.  Again, it is senseless to avoid all relationships for fear of failure.  We simply must reassess our own needs from friends and loved ones and reevaluate our guidelines for what we will accept from others and what we have to give.  

We are forever changing as we traverse life's seas.  Storms may come and threaten us and cause us to fear or to feel disappointment, but an adjustment in our compass will lead us to calmer waters and we can continue on in this adventure of life.

There is no such thing as a "No Fail" Brownie or a no fail relationship.   There is no sea that can be sailed without storms and challenges and threats to our comfort zone of being safe and secure.  Once we accept that and understand that failure is nothing more than an opportunity to see how strong we are and how we can adjust to improve our lives and be wiser than we were, we will not fear failure.  Failure serves as our compass home.

Go, love life!  It is a gift to us in which we can care for and touch the lives of others.  We were never meant to be isolated.  

The only relationship that will never fail us is the one we have with Christ our Lord and Savior.  He will never fail us in whatever we experience.  If you are searching for a guaranteed, no fail relationship, He is your answer.  Will we fail Him from time to time?  It's a given.  Will we claim we do not hear His answers to our prayers?  Yes.   Will we be confused when we feel He did not help and we have no understanding of the "why" to answer our questions?  Yes.  But the wonderful news is that He will never fail us.  He is our friend, our guide, our light. 

Be brave, love life and accept the fact that we will experience failure, but we will never be alone.  Our Lord is with us through all disappointments and all storms.  What have we to fear?

Psalm 27:1

The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

2 Timothy 1:7

For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."

Dear Heavenly Father,

You have given us so many gifts and such a beautiful world.  Shore up our courage with your loving strength.  Keep us ever mindful that whatever failures, disappointments or fears we face , you will never leave us.  You will never fail us or forsake us.

In Jesus' Precious Name we pray,

Amen

You've Got to Begin Somewhere

You've Got to Begin Somewhere

Peggy K. Mack

July 30, 2013

This morning I was thinking about the upcoming school year and my excitement over the opportunity to help Mickey Mullins in her four year olds Pre-K class at Forrest Brook Elementary.  I thought about all the things I love to do with them from telling them a story and watching their eyes sparkle with anticipation, to assessing them on their progress in new skills they have acquired.  One of the things I love about Mickey's room is the required, but adorable self-portraits that are replaced once a month by a new, and improved self-portrait.

That's when the thought struck me.  As Christians, we all have to begin somewhere.  We cannot wait for the moment when perfection strikes and then we take our first step.  That's simply ludicrous.  The reason it makes no sense is because all adults know that to get to a place of skill and understanding now, we have to first begin with the simple, easy attempts and with time, work, focus and diligence, we show a level of progress and improvement and growth.

With each little drawing you can see progress in their understanding of how they look to themselves and others.  The first immature drawings are alien like and bear little resemblance to the precious child that created the "self-portrait".  In some cases, the child's image is nothing more than a big circle in the middle of the page with four sticks "growing" out of his head that represent arms and legs and somewhere on that circle, maybe upside down, but nevertheless there is a smile.   To the uneducated mind, a person is left to wonder what is wrong with the child.  To those of us who spent a lifetime loving children and celebrating in their growth in knowledge and confidence, we see the potential, the beginning moment when the child will start to learn.

For this skill, of drawing a self-portrait, it comes with practice, observing other children, following a step by step lesson from a classroom assistant using a mirror.  It includes songs like: "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" to help the child acquire an awareness of where everything is on his body.  And with each passing month, a new "self-portrait" is created.  We, as educators and volunteers watch for progress and a level of new understanding as we compare their picture last month to now.   In a few rare cases, there is little progress and we call in professionals to help decide if further assessment is needed for the child.  In most cases, the child progresses through the year from his alien like appearance to a precious drawing which might include teeth, glasses or a beautiful bow that matches an outfit.  The child displays a growth in knowledge, a clearer self image and true progress.

We as Christians cannot compare ourselves to others who are walking in their own journey in faith.  The truth is we have no way of knowing what their relationship is with Christ and it is not our job to focus on them and heavens forbid to judge them.  Our focus should be on our own reflection.  Wherever we are today is where we begin.  Our resources are a few tried and true volunteers to walk with us as we begin.  Along with those fellow Christians, we seek more knowledge through a few well recommended references and we keep the Bible as our main source of knowledge and light.  We enrich our understanding with listening and following and practicing.  We may not see the progress along the way, but with time, others will see it in us.  Our focus remains on God and our walk with Him.

God has seen us as we are from the beginning and He sees who can become when we follow His will and His light.  We do not see it, at first, but with spiritual maturity we begin to have a clearer image of how we can serve and our gifts in the Spirit and the mature Christian we can become.

Where we end up with our new adventure is unclear.  The important thing is that we do not let anything stop us from beginning what we feel we are called to do.  Our trust is in God who teaches, guides, corrects, assesses, reteaches and shows us His love.  Just like the classroom teacher sees the child and knows their self portraits will improve and mature with time, God sees the best in us now and knows the best we can become.


When I return to the classroom in a few weeks, I will think of taking first steps for Christ and allowing myself to improve with time.  The most important thing to do is take the first step.  You've got to begin somewhere.


Dear Heavenly Father,

Through my lifetime of teaching small children I have so often been able to see your loving guidance and feel your support.  Your children are such blessings to us all.  I pray for the children we are responsible for caring for, teaching and loving.   God bless your children here on Earth.  May we all learn from them and keep our faith as the faith of a little child.

In Jesus' Holy Name,

Amen

Matthew 11:29   New King James Version (NKJV)

29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Luke 9:23 (English Standard Version)

23 And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

1 Peter 4:10
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.

Finding the Good in Grief

Finding the Good in Grief

Peggy K. Mack 

July 29, 2013


Last night I was watching television and saw the news of Rick Warren and his wife's return to serve in their church, The Saddleback Church, following the death of their son.  I remembered weeks ago hearing on the news their son had committed suicide at the age of 27.  TSeeing Pastor Warren standing in the pulpit, so broken and filled with grief I was stricken by the sheer power of grief we all must bear sometimes in our lives.   

Your level of faith does not diminish your absolute grief stricken pain.  It is the worst emotional, mental and physical pain we can know.

As Rick Warren spoke, he said, " I asked God every night for 27 years to remove this mental illness from my son."  He went on to explain that though he cannot explain why his prayer for his son's healing was never delivered,  he will not let this death separate him from God.  Then in a trembling voice he defiantly said, Satan picked the wrong family when he chose mine!"

In recent weeks Dottie let me know that she had found no way to celebrate in her sadness over losing her dog, Maddie.  Maddie was only six and her suffering and death caused by an annual shot made no sense.  There are deaths and there is suffering that cannot be made sense of in our minds and the reason in that is, it makes no sense.  Seeking to find some understanding only makes our suffering worse.  We grieve when we lose someone who is fragile and elderly and wants to die, but we find peace early in knowing they had lived good lives and truly were tired and ready to go to Heaven.  We have an understanding and acceptance.  Those two emotions help a great deal in our healing process.

The sheer agony comes when we lose someone so full of life or someone we have prayed for and know they are such good people who love God and they are taken from us. Their deaths make no sense.  We do not understand and cannot accept what has happened to our loved one and to us.

On the news today, I saw where a bus had overturned on an interstate exit.  A child, a youth pastor and his expectant wife were killed. The driver reported the brakes failed.  My first thought was for the church congregation and for their families, knowing the cry would be, "Why would God take such great people who loved and served Him with all their hearts?"

Mother and Dad died in their early 70s, both of colon cancer.  I had held them in my sad heart for decades with no understanding or acceptance.  I still had memories and questions about a young family of three from our church killed unnecessarily on the interstate outside of Atlanta on the way to a family wedding. Their deaths brought so much sadness to our church with seemingly no answers to, "Why?"   My lack of understanding lead to my turning away from my walk with God. God never abandoned me, but I chose to walk away from Him.  As I often told others, "I believe in God, I just don't want to talk to Him."  For 14 years I did not talk to Him and remember thinking how much easier life was for me.  Everything was going well for our family and life was so good.  Until it all fell apart and we never saw it crumbling. 

Dottie taught me so much about grievous suffering in one little phrase.  She told me, "I could not find anything good in Maddie's death and I know I am supposed to find joy even in suffering, but I just cannot".  I can't remember the Bible verse she mentioned to me that challenges us in the worst of times, in the most painful of losses, when we have no understanding of the "why", we are challenged to search for something good.  Is God serious?  How do you find good in the loss of innocents, in the suffering of those who mean the world to us?  The answer comes not in being joyful for their death, but in knowing, that in our suffering God will make something wonderful happen.  It may not even be related to the one we've lost, but it will be in God's direct response to our cries for understanding, acceptance and such deep sorrow.  He will come and bring us a peace which passes all understanding. It is simply our task, in our grief, to watch for the something good that will come from God.  And if we do, joy follows.  Yes, we still feel great loss and our sadness lingers for years, but we feel God's presence and we find a tiny gift that keeps us in our faith.

I realized this morning as I have said in an earlier writing, there is no good, no sense in the death itself.  The good comes from how God takes our afflictions, our grief and uses them to speak to others hearts and in doing so helps to heal our own.  For me, Dottie's comment was a huge "light bulb" moment or what we sometimes call, an "aha" moment. For me it was a "God moment".  I had this peaceful sense that God was with me.

My prayer for Rick Warren and his family as they fight through this grief is that God will begin to heal their hearts and fill their mind with peace by giving Rick powerful sermons for others to heal on how to survive the worst of times and stay close to God.  I pray that Rick and his wife and family will know of God's reminder to us in our grief to find joy in it.  I believe that it is in that joy we find the beginning of healing when understanding and acceptance are impossible to find. When the "why" never comes, in its place we find the tiny light of joy.  He is such a powerfully, uplifting pastor and my prayer is that Satan stays far away so that God can give Rick time to find something "good and positive" that comes from their painful loss of their beloved son. He's already made a commitment to fight for a better understanding in society of mental illness.  That fight may be the source of his joy and will keep him strong in his faith and service.

One of my statements that had stayed with me in conversations with others for years was, "I will never understand long suffering and death of innocents and when I get to Heaven I am going to ask God to explain it to me."  Maybe I don't have to wait.   Maybe God is showing me now, some twenty years after my dad's death.  I have never understood the "why" of his long suffering and death, but maybe finally, my eyes are being opened and I can begin to see the joy in my writing and sharing it with others.

Dear Heavenly Father,
We know that part of living here on earth is learning to deal with the death of those we love.  In those times when we are grieving, surround us with those who would lift up our hearts and carry us on until we can find our own way, once again.  For those of us who have returned to a place of peace, please call us to minister to those who are grieving.  It is in losing that we gain peace, comfort and a deeper sense of love from our fellow man and from you.  Walk with us Lord when our hearts are broken and keep our faith strong in you,
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Irish Blessing
Author Unknown

 May you see God’s light on the path ahead
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall—
You do not walk alone. 

John 16: 20 (Now Jesus said.......) "Most assuredly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; and you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy."  

John 16:22 (Now Jesus said......) Therefore you now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you.

God's Will for Us

God's Will for Us

Peggy K.  Mack

January 28, 2013

In recent weeks, my joy in returning to my daily walk with Christ has taken a new turn filled with more desire for learning and knowing Christ.  I never know from day to day where I will find my inspiration.  But I can tell you I am truly filled with anticipation, joy and a new curiosity for more knowledge.  With this thirst for knowledge, I am beginning to find messages I promise I never realized before and yet, I understand with each time we study God's word we begin a new level of understanding and spiritual maturity.  My most recent discovery is in the connection between our first step of claiming God as our Creator and our continued walk in faith and discovery.   For those of you who are reading my posts, please pray for my clear awareness of God's will for me. 

God is all around us. Scientists agree the universe and all life within it had a point of origin. That point of origin is the creation of this amazing world we call home.  This creation had by definition a creator leading us to a clear understanding and belief that God is our creator and that is the beginning of faith.

Within the human mind is not only the need for knowing more about our world but also the need to fill a longing corner of our heart which begs to know the creator as our personal Savior.   If we believe in creation and its creator, we believe in God.  He asks us then to seek Him. While He knows us and watches over us and cares about us, He leaves it to us to seek Him and his will.

God is all around us in our world.  He speaks to our hearts through the sound of the morning birds.  He whispers in the soft wind blowing gently through the weeping willow tree.  He calms our hearts and soothes our minds at the seashore.  He opens our hearts and minds through healing measures of music.  He touches our hearts and brings us smiles through the antics of a small impish child.  He leaves us in awe at a sunset rich in colors of magenta and lavender and indigo.  Often, we do not connect the wonders we enjoy with our Creator, but the truth remains, God is all around us.

Once we accept God as our creator of this amazing Universe and we actively seek Him in our life, we begin to feel His presence and to understand that we are far stronger with Him as our guide through life. We begin to actively seek to learn more about Him.  In opening our hearts to our God, we find comfort in knowing that He will never lie to us. We can trust him. And as in every plan He has in creation, He has a plan for our lives also.  

It is our responsibility to seek Him, to trust Him and to understand that if we follow God's will for us, He will grant every request we ask.  Can you imagine that?  Every request we ask will be granted to us if it is in line with the plan He has for us to lead a godly life.
We must learn to come to Him with gratitude and with hearts wanting His forgiveness while being totally honest with Him about our lives. 

If we chose to continue to ask for those things we desire and focus on our wishes without asking Him to show us and guide us and bring us closer to His will for us, God will protect us from our own self-destructive behaviors but we will not receive our own desires from God.

Matthew 7:7  Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you.


1 John 5:14-15

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

James 1:5

New International Version (NIV)

⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
   
The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6:10
10.) Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
You have taught us through your own words and the lessons and letters of your disciples.  We are to seek thy will for our lives, and in doing so, we can come to you in prayer believing You will hear our prayers and answer us.  We ask your blessings on our lives and guidance as we follow you.
In the Holy Name of Your Son, Jesus Christ,
Amen

My Forgiveness Box

My Forgiveness Box

Peggy K. Mack

July 28, 2013

 Today our Pastor's sermon was about life and failure.  I listened as he explained that the Bible is filled with individuals who failed.  Simon Peter swore to Jesus he would never deny him and he did that three times in one day!  There are no individuals living who have never failed, so though we do not like to accept it or admit it or even think about it, we all fail.

The question then is; What do we do with our failure?  For many of us we may pray about it and then continue on as if there are no next steps, but there are!  The most important one is to admit our failure to God and to ask Him to not only forgive us but to protect us from doing the same thing, again.  We have to return to a close relationship with God.   We have to apologize with true contrite hearts for the damage we have caused due to our failure or our sense of failure.  In some cases, when you go back to truly apologize, they have already forgiven you or may even tell you that there was no need to forgive because they feel nothing wrong was done to them.  We have to re-establish a close, personal relationship with Christ to see our failures and to become better Christians.

I taught my Kindergartners when they said "I'm sorry", that they also had to say  and "I will not do it, again."  To be truly sorry we must realize that our actions cause pain or sorrow and if we are sorry, how could we want to hurt someone, again?  

Failure is the best teacher in life.  We learn more from failing at something than we ever do with success.  It is the open door to new thought, new life styles, new relationships, it is, in fact, an open door to a new opportunity.

One year in my summer preparation for  my class of five year olds, I discovered these wonderful, little packages of erasers in different styles of all kinds at the Dollar Store.  They were colorful, small and easy to handle and store.  I used them to teach forming patterns and basic addition or subtraction.  The children loved working with them.  When we didn't use them, I stored them on a shelf in the kitchen area with other math game materials.

One day when the children were all gathering on the group rug, I noticed a child had one of the football erasers.  A few moments later, I spied a soccer ball eraser in another child's hand.  I paused for a moment and thought.  Hmmm...I wonder what is going on here!  I called one of the children up and asked for the football.  I inquired where he'd gotten it and he would not answer.  I got the same result with the other child.

Then I took a marker from my dry erase board and drew a big empty box on my board.  Suspecting there was a tiny conspiracy going on, I quickly figured out a way to get to the bottom of the "straying eraser mystery". 

I began telling the children that the large drawn box was a very special box.  I said, "I have a feeling several of you have something that belongs to me and you feel badly about taking something that isn't yours.  I am sad because if I don't get my missing erasers, none of us will be able to have fun math time on Friday.  If you raise your hand and show me the eraser, I will be happy to put the eraser back in the box, and put your name up here in this very, special box.  When we finish, something amazing is going to happen!"  The children in the past, on occasion had seen one or two names on the board of children who needed to "think and have a second chance."  But the big empty box connected to a surprise was new!

  Two or three readily hopped up and delivered the eraser they were holding in their tiny fists. "Oh! Thank you", I would tell them."I am so proud of you!"  Their names went in the box and I said, "You are going to love this surprise!"  Soon seven more children followed hoping for a great surprise.  Then I asked, is there anyone else?  There was silence for a moment and then a little girl said, "Christina did this.  She got the erasers out.  She's the one who gave them to us."

  I looked at Christina and in her defiance she crossed her arms and scowled at the group as if they had betrayed her.  Her lips were tightly pinched together and I could tell she was going to be a tough one.   So I said, "Christina, I promise this forgiveness box is amazing."  She did not budge.  So with that I said, "Would all of you who were honest about your mistake and have your name in the box, please stand up?"  The nine little children who returned their erasers stood in anticipation.  I began with," when I was little my mom taught me about forgiveness.  It means you did something you shouldn't and  you are sorry.  But the best surprise is this!  if you are really sorry, you are forgiven and this is what it feels like!"   I took the eraser and slowly wiped their names off the board.  Then I said, "I thank you for doing a very good thing by returning my erasers and .....I forgive you!  You are not in trouble with me and I won't need to send a note home.  You are forgiven! Then I hugged each child and smiled at them.  They were so happy!

Then I said to Christina, I want you to think about how good this feels.  I will draw a box just for you if you want me to after lunch.  She did not budge after lunch and I gave up on that approach for her.  I visited her mom after school, shared the story and asked her if she could talk to her.  Christina was defiant.  She was not interested in forgiveness.  Her plan to give away the erasers by sharing some and taking the rest was a failure.  I could not force her to accept her mistake or to ask my forgiveness.  She had to be willing to be forgiven.  I thought for certain that she'd never budge.  But on Friday, she drew her own box and handed it to me.   "I'm sorry", she said, "and I won't do it, again"

  I hugged Christina and smiled at her and told her she was an amazing little girl. You are forgiven and I am not mad!  You did a very good thing in saying, "I'm sorry" and I know you won't do it, again.  When she returned the erasers we were able to have our fun math Friday.   The class learned a whole lot more from those erasers than just our math patterns and so did I.  

When I went to the teacher's work room that day with my classroom assistant she told everyone there of the "Forgiveness Box". I knew it was truly a gift from God.  I was in a pinch with 22 of his precious, impressionable little five year olds and the problem was in my hands.  I knew God was with me that day and so did Mrs. Limberg.

Whatever you have that is gnawing at you, causing you to have feelings of regret and you cannot let go of it or cannot forgive yourself for doing it, accept that we all fail.  It serves a purpose.  If you begin by acknowledging that we all are human and fail, then you can decide what you want to do with the failure.  Renew your relationship with God and promise never to commit that sin or failure, again.  It will feel wonderful and it frees you to love and serve God with all your heart.

Matthew 6: 9-13
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.
For thine is the kingdom and the glory.
Amen

 “For nothing will be impossible with God”
-Luke 1:37


“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” -Philippians 4:13


“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” -Proverbs 16:3

Joy in Faith

 Joy in Faith

by Peggy K. Mack

January 27, 2013

The word joy is often found throughout the Bible in direct contrast to fear, worry and long suffering.  While it is true that our journey in faith requires dedication to a scheduled time of silent meditation and prayer and a calling to worship and service, we must not lose focus on the sheer joy and excitement that comes in our walk with Christ.

I spoke with my friend and inspiration who shared with me her joy in waking each morning and looking forward to her time in prayer and meditation.  Through her commitment to the importance of finding time daily to speak with God and to study His word, she has found joy in looking forward to the sense of peace you receive when you feel God's love and His listening to your prayers.   There is an amazing feeling of anticipation in the next opportunity to tune out the world and tune our thoughts and hearts into God and His word.

In my decision to walk away from worship, twenty years ago, I gave little thought to the fact that other than not wanting to worship with others, I was depriving myself of the feeling that came after church of forgiveness, peace, comfort and yes, joy.  I hurt myself by letting go of my commitment to worship with others.

Now that I have returned, not only to worship, but to devotional time, I sense the anticipation of what the morning will bring and the gift of joy.   We associate joy with special occasions like weddings, new babies, graduations, birthdays, family reunions and picnics,etc. but we rarely think of the fact that attending church, singing praise to God and surrendering our sins over to Him for forgiveness each Sunday will leave us with a calm elation and a positive outlook on our world.  My dad used to refer to church as a time to go get "recharged".  I can see him so easily in my memories on Sunday mornings.  He was dressed from suit to shoes in a matching outfit and had a smile on his face a mile wide.  He got to church early to make certain the air conditioning was running well and that doors were unlocked for others to prepare the church for service, and all the while, he was beaming with joy.  He had a joke and twinkle in his eye for anyone who shook his hand. 

How could I have forgotten that joy and not wanted it for myself?  I believe it was because of his suffering and death after three years of battling cancer and the fact that the church he loved seemed so empty without him.   Everyone continued on with their praise, singing and worship. All I felt was deep loss, endless pain and lonely sorrow.  After numerous weeks of making the effort to go to church and needing to run out when I heard a verse in a song that re-opened the wound, I gave in to the sadness and let go of the search for healing and joy.  

This morning two Bible verses were there on the page of my devotional book and they struck me.  While we focus on our commitment which includes daily devotions and prayers, worship and service, we must not forget the wonderful gift of joy.

Maybe the reason sinners go to church, is not as the skeptics would say "to be hypocrites"  but instead, to worship God with fellow Christians and to gain so many blessings.  For the time we take in preparing and participating in worship, we receive fellowship with other Christians. We hear God's word and receive his message through our pastor.  We sing with all our hearts in praise.  We listen to the choir's special music and our hearts and minds are stirred with emotion.  We are forgiven of all our sins and we are blessed with God's words of hope.  Finally and best of all, we receive joy.
For the time we dedicate to worship, we in turn, receive "one blessing after another."  In your walk in faith, be certain you acknowledge all the joy.

Psalm 100:1
Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.

Psalm 95:1
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

John1:16
From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Dear Lord,
Let us remember one of the sweetest gifts in knowing, loving and serving you is deep joy. 
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Keep Your Eyes On Jesus in a Storm

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus in a Storm

by Peggy K. Mack 

July 27, 2013

In recent weeks, I have developed an ever growing prayer list for individuals with serious concerns in their lives.  Many are carrying great emotional, mental or physical burdens. Most are hundreds of miles away from me.  At first, my question was "What can I do for them that would make a difference?"  

The answer comes in our walk in faith.  We have our gift of thought, words and deeds.  We have our gift of prayer on their behalf. But most important of all, we have our time to go to God in silence and meditation with heartfelt pleas.  We have our faith, as weak as it might be, to believe not in ourselves or in the act of praying, but in God's willingness to listen and to do that which we wholeheartedly petition Him to do.  As I have mentioned before, it is through our asking that God recognizes our prayers and He takes on the task of repairing lives and bodies and minds and hearts.  

Often times when we see someone we care about going through a difficult time, it is our nature to say the first thing that comes to our mind.  We ask questions, we offer solutions and we often times get frustrated and even give up when we see no changes or progress, or worse yet, we see things getting worse.

I thought back to a time when I was in the center of a storm in my life.  It was during that time that I received much advise from friends, family, counselors, Christian counselors, our pastor and members of our church.  Anyone who would listen to me was willing to give advice.

And although, I valued their time and their advice I had this need to keep my eye on God.  I felt compelled to test my own faith with being patient even though the pain I was experiencing in life was causing me to be sleepless, to feel ill, to lose weight without dieting and to finally lose fistfuls of hair from my head.  I could not even brush my head gently without thousands of strands literally leaving my head.  It seemed the more I struggled, the more challenges piled up on me.  I was feeling overwhelmed and had the intense feeling of drowning. 

 It was during that time I recalled the Bible story of Jesus walking on the water.  I researched the story and found it in Matthew, Chapter 14, verses 22-33.   My mind was filled with this vivid image of Peter finding the courage to step out of the boat, and even then, his courage and faith were strong, he lost sight of Jesus and focused on the storm itself and began to sink. Jesus was with the disciples in the storm and once he saved Peter, he calmed the waters and the disciples knew He was the true Son of God.  He showed them that in the worst of storms, no matter how strong we believe our faith is in Him, ultimately, we will fail unless we keep our eye on Him in the storm.

I endured twenty -two months filled with uncontrollable sadness and tears, a sense of loss and betrayal, an overwhelming fear of being in my own home and the need to run.  And yet, my eye remained on Christ.  My true belief was that I was going to have to ask for patience and faith.  I was going to truly take a walk in faith that required me to ignore my fears and focus on Christ.  I had to dig down with His help and rely on faith to keep me safe and patient until I knew without any doubt that the time was right to be free. I literally had no idea how I was going to do all that was required of me and had to believe that doors would open, opportunities would come and I would find a peace that passes all understanding and I did.

I look back now and understand that when we have a loved one who cares, listens and prays for us, we are surrounded with their love and it lifts us up and holds us strong.  But ultimately, the answer comes in keeping our eyes on Christ.  If we rely on the advice of our friends, we are risking sinking into the stormy sea.  Only Christ can carry us to calmer waters.

  
It hurts us when we see loved friends and family going through a storm.  We know what they are feeling and we feel powerless in carrying them.  But God never asked the disciples to carry each other in the storm.  He asked them to stand strong in the storm, to ignore the lashing waves, the torrential rain and the sinking boat and to focus on Him.  

Our best defense that we can offer those we love is to send them words of encouragement, to pray for them with all our hearts and to answer questions they have with the best wisdom we can ask God to give us.  And finally, our best advice is to tell them to "keep your eyes on Jesus in the storm."


 Matthew 14:22-33

verse 30:
 But when he (Peter) saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, Lord save me.  And immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and saved him.



Dear Heavenly Father,
Hear our hearts and minds as we pray for those in their storms of life.  Bless our prayers that we ask in the true belief that You can do anything for those who come in humility, with contrite hearts and who pray believing.  Be their strength in the storm and speak to them with words of calming hope. Let them never be filled with fear and lose sight of you, for you are with them. 
 Fill us with acts and words of kindness and encouragement.  Carry those we love to safety.  Calm the waters and free their hearts and minds to praise Your good works in their lives.

In Jesus' name we pray, 
Amen