SOMETHING DIVINE

Occasionally God allows things to get "shaken up" in our lives. He does it so that we will recognize Him as our source of strength for the ministry we are in. You may wake up one day and realize life as you knew it no longer exists. It can change that much and sometimes in an instant.

God is always at work around us and uses us as instruments to accomplish His work. We get the idea sometimes that we are doing a work and He is the tool we rely on to help us. Listen to this quote:

"There are times and places where God will form a mysterious wall around us, and cut away all props, and all the ordinary ways of doing things, and shut us up to something divine, which is utterly new and unexpected, something that old circumstances do not fit into, where we do not know just what will happen, where God is cutting the cloth of our lives on a new pattern, where He makes us look only to Himself."

Have you been there? Nothing familiar, no props, no human comfort, only the Lord. If you haven't, you will, and if you have, you will be there again. That is the only way we experience that "something divine."

Find comfort in this: "In sorest trials God often makes the sweetest discoveries of Himself."

* The source of the 2 quotes is unknown to me. I copied them from a journal that I record them in.

CLEAN UP! DRESS UP! MAKEUP!

I was standing behind a very young couple in the grocery store and couldn't help but notice they looked as if they had gotten out of bed, into the car and come to the store without even combing their hair. You've seen it too. Everywhere we go, people look as if they are in pajamas. I love to look at old movies just to see what people wore when they went out in public. I am old enough to remember people dressed clean and neat to go anywhere outside of their homes.

It does matter how we present ourselves in public. It is a reflection of what is going on in our heads and in our personal lives. If we look "messy," our homes may be messy. If our clothes are unkept, our laundry probably is not done. I never wanted my husband or children to be embarrassed by the way I looked or our home looked. We are also a reflection of how our husband is caring for us. It doesn't take a lot of money or effort to dress nice and do our hair and makeup.

There are women in our church who are well into their senior years and are a great example to us younger ones. They still clean up, dress up, and make up to go anywhere. I have the privilege of discipling one of these women and she is a joy to look at. My mother is 85 yrs old and still cares about her skin and her appearance.

A few years ago I attended a funeral of a woman in her seventies. I met one of her eleven children! She told me that her mother always came to breakfast dressed for the day, with hair and makeup done. She also said her mother's house was always in order and she never had dirty dishes in the sink. Now THAT'S impressive!

Ladies, take a good look at yourself. Would you want to be seen in public with someone that looks like you do at this time in your life? We serve a God that created a beautiful world for us to look at. It can bring Him great pleasure to see us (His greatest creation) care about how we look.

CHARITY

A few months ago my granddaughter, Lily, memorized I Corinthians 13 in school. When I heard her quote it, I determined to learn it myself. As I began to work on it, it began to work on me! I really focused on what I was saying and became convicted of a loveless heart in some areas of my life.

It can happen to anyone. We work, perform, do our duties, live and exist in a "neutral" mode. We do the same thing day in and day out and overlook the people on the other end of the spectrum. Love sent Christ to Calvary. It was a realization of that love that won my heart to Him.

Love can and has changed our lives. We all respond to it. We need a hefty dose of it everyday so that we can have it to give those with whom we come in contact. Has it been awhile since you memorized an entire chapter of scripture? I encourage you to memorize and meditate on I Corinthians 13. Allow the Holy Spirit to point out areas of your life that are lacking in love.

On Christmas morning, my husband read the last verse of this chapter in his sermon. Lily leaned over, looked at me, and smiled. It took a second, but I realized she was remembering that we both had hidden that in our hearts this past year.

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

TAKING IT PERSONAL

We recently had dinner with a retired pastor and his wife. In our conversation, the subject of church members who are unfaithful came up. He could see by our countenances that he had touched a painful spot in our hearts. He then made this comment: "It's hard not to take it personal, isn't it?"

Leading a congregation of people is a lot more involved than standing up and reading some type of sermon. There are hours of studying and seeking the Lord for direction about what he should preach. There is also the counselling of needy people, performing weddings and funerals,(sometimes for people you don't know), taking care of the business side and administrative duties as well of running a corporation.

When the pastor stands before his congregation and sees many of them missing week after week, of course he takes it personal. It is similar to how we women would feel if we prepared a fabulous meal, decorated the table, lit the candles, and some of the family decided not to come! The reason is that he cares about them. He looks forward to seeing them from one service to another. He also knows it is an indication of how they feel about their church.

God also takes it personal. He has instructed us to meet together often. He places a high value on faithfulness. People who come faithfully are there because they want to be. People who don't come much are saying by there actions that they don't want to be there. Thankfully, there are those who encourage their pastor by faithfully being present unless they are really unable to be there.

Many times pastors will stay for a few years at a church and then leave. He may pastor several churches in his lifetime, having a short "honeymoon" at each church. Pastor's wives' have to encourage their husbands to stay the course no matter what. God' s grace is sufficient to keep us going, come what may. It is so good to look back over 28 years in one church and see how God has kept us through it all.

WHO ARE YOU WATCHING?

We all have people we watch from afar. We follow their lives on television, in books or just sitting in the pew on Sunday morning. I began " watching" Christian women when I was about fifteen. It was at that time that I became involved in a youth ministry. There was something different about the women in that church. They were joyful and excited about their lives! Their difference had an appeal to it. They had something that I knew I needed and wanted. I soon found out that it was a very personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

I went away to a Christian college at eighteen and was introduced to many godly women, mostly through books. It opened a new world to me. I enjoyed reading about missionaries and other women who made a difference in this world. I heard missionaries speak in chapel at school and also in church. I sought out books for and about women with a passion to serve Christ. To this day, I feel as if I know them personally.

One woman in particular I seemed to relate to more than others. She is a no-nonsense kind of woman that believes you should just do the right thing! Don't sit around brooding about it, just do it! She was a missionary to Ecuador and her husband was killed there at a young age. You probably know I am referring to E. Elliot. I really like her. I have read many of her books, listened to her on the radio, and read her newsletters when she had one out. Once I went to a women's conference to hear her speak. I wasn't disappointed, that is, until I met her after the service.

Let me explain. We have an idea in our mind of who a person is, or we think they are. Then we meet them or get to know them and we are disappointed because we find out they are a lot like us. She never claimed to be anything other than who she was. It was me that made her to be something above human in my own head. Now when I re-read some of her books, I see her differently. She's like me! She's just a sinner saved by grace. I still like her and look forward to talking with her in heaven.

I have noticed people change toward me after they have gotten to know me. Perhaps they thought I was more than human because I am married to a pastor. I don't want to disappoint anyone, but I have always just been myself with GOD'S grace poured out all over me! Very early in ministry, my goal has been to please God and not people. Don't misunderstand me, I don't try to offend people. I actually do treat people as I would want to be treated.

If you are a ministry wife, may I share with you something that has helped me many times? It was said by one of John Rice's daughters. "Be the best you, filled with the Holy Spirit!" If you know a pastor's wife, pray for her and accept her for the individual that she is. We can all agree that we are works in progress.