The Master's Master

God is always teaching me old truths in new lessons. Reminding me to walk in total peace of mind and spirit because he is in control and know the beginning and the end of all things. I had a new lesson this morning... and several throughout the day.

I always prepare the Weekly Prayer Focus late Saturday night so as to include everything that might come in before Sunday. This week, I also needed to prepare a flyer with The Vine's National Day of Prayer details. I print the masters at home and make copies at church before the service.

So, this morning, I decided to print the flyers first because I would need to cut them in half, they were made two to a sheet. After printing, cutting and setting them out, I went back to the copier to print out the Weekly Prayer Focus, proud that I had plenty of time to do a thorough prayer walk before meeting with Jared to pray and prepare the communion.

But the Prayer Focus master was not by the copier where I thought I had left it. Thinking, I may have absent mindedly carried it with me to the office or the foyer, I retraced every step I had made since entering the building. Not there. I prayed. I asked others to pray. And I kept retracing my steps, wasting time I could be spending in my prayer walk. Obviously, if it wasn't in a particular place when I first looked, it wouldn't be there in the second, third, fifth or any subsequent visit.

Finally, I heeded the nudge of the Holy Spirit and did my prayer walk. After all, this was the master's master and He would have to find it, I sure couldn't. God would have to work this out His way. Well, duh! I should have known that from the start!

As I was finishing up my prayer walk in the main children's church room (where the copier lives) I was prompted to look behind the copier... again. This time, however, my gaze was drawn to the thin slit between the desk and the wall. Of course, you have guessed by now. There was my master page!

All my worry and fretting were for naught, but when I placed it in God's hands and left it there, going about the business He has called me to (prayer) He led me right to what I needed... and in plenty of time to make my copies. I just love how He works in my life... and all life.

No One's laughing Now!

Their Cinderella stories are not connected, but quite alike.

She's and out of work spinster who lives a quiet, humble life in a small Scottish village. Childhood wasn't easy for Susan. She struggled with learning disabilities and endured the ridicule of her classmates. She never married, indeed has never even been kissed. Having devoted her younger years to caring for her siblings and her parents, she now lives alone with her cat Pebbles. Many have labeled her "frumpy."  

Quiet and easily embarrassed, Paul is a 38-year old cell phone salesman with a baby face and bad teeth. They both grew up lonely, taunted by others, looked down upon, and taking secret refuge in music, for they each have an incredible, yet undiscovered voice. His appearance, like Susan's, is rather ordinary. They are not among the "beautiful people" at all and are, for most part, unappreciated on all levels.

Somehow, in spite of long histories of rejection, each found the courage to try out in the Britain's Got Talent show similar to American Idol. They were not esteemed. One look and everyone was ready for a laugh at their expense. In fact, both of these unassuming, unbeautiful people were almost ridiculed by their judges and audiences... until they opened their mouths and began to sing! 

How fulfilling it was for me to watch their vindication! It is always uplifting and somehow, at least for a small time, life-changing to see the underdog exalted. Christ said the first shall be last and the last shall be first... and even nonbelievers love it when that actually happens in a dramatic way. You'll have to see it to believe it.

I love it that God placed such fantastic (not a strong enough word) gifts in such unfantastic packages! It is a reminder that God has given every person He created a precious and special gift, and only a fool tries to judge by the sight alone.  Check this out...

I am not a big UTube fan because it draws me in and I end up on there for hours when I have other things to do, but I have been compulsively visiting these two videos that have so amazed me. Knowing, you, too, will be drawn in, I nonetheless shamelessly urge you to experience these. I promise, you will not get enough!

Here is Susan Boyle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

And now for Paul Potts:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k08yxu57NA

Crisis of Faith

Like individuals, churches don't often stride boldly away from Bible based truth. They edge away, taking barely perceptible baby steps, only to later find they have strayed so far they no longer think turning back is even needed.

A while back, some churches began the use of "forgiver and leader" instead of the traditional (and Biblical) "Savior and Lord." Words ARE important, and I find that forgiver and leader are so watered down as to render Christ's roles as Savior and Lord impotent. Our lost condition, our need of a Savior as well as Christ's absolute sovereignty are simply not conveyed in the bland wording of forgiver and leader.

When I asked why the new verbiage was coming from so many church leaders, I was truthfully told that many churches have gone to that terminology since today's people don't understand what a Lord is, and that even Rick Warren uses these more modern terms.

I agree people today don't understand Lordship any more than they comprehend their need of a Savior, and they never will unless they are taught. Also, let us not forget the role of the Holy Spirit. We don't have to help God by watering down or dumbing down His word! All we need do is what He has told us to do: pray and preach His Word (the Bible).

Whether it is a matter of important wording, or the lack of Bible teaching, or any other area where your church or its leaders are taking baby steps away from the truth of God's Holy Word, we need to pray, pray, pray. We need to make ourselves familiar with the statement of belief (tenets) of our church. Are they Biblical?  Of course, we must also speak with church leadership about any such issue. 

A word about Rick Warren. Pray for him, he needs it. Any of us could fall prey to the thrill of fame and the applause of men. I have had deep concerns about his loose play with scripture since I led 40-Days of Purpose small groups (we tested all his statements and scripture quotes using NIV, NASB and King James and found almost a fourth of his text seriously misleading).

But now, as his fame grows, his baby steps away from truth have become bold strides into outright lies and a public acceptance of homosexual life styles and agendas. These two short videos say it all:

Rick Warren in support of Proposition 8:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o4QqGbQmU0

On Larry King Live, Rick Warren denies support of Proposition 8, apologizes to gay friends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYIWSyMrhRA

My heart is heavy that the potential of so many mega churches is lost because the focus is on numbers at any cost, rather than having people counting the costs as Jesus admonished in Luke 14:25-35. Jesus' teachings were "hard to swallow" even to the people of his day, yet He never watered them down. Neither should we. He is still Savior and Lord!

____________________________________

And my day was like this...

I had a 9:45 doctor's appointment this morning and didn't get home until after 2:00! True, I had to wait a while, and true, I spend about 20 minutes with the new nurse practitioner, but the bulk of my time was wasted on trying to electronically coordinate between doctor, pharmacy and insurance carrier about a new medication I need. Funny, long ago when I was in high school, we all believed the "computer age" would bring about a time of increased efficiency and added hours of leisure each day. Sometimes I think our advances technology has lost more time that it's worth. 

On the other side of the coin, preparing and filing income taxes is tons easier now. We e-filed our returns last night. Quick and easy and we have a receipt that the IRS has them, proof we filed.

I had planned to go to the local Tea Party on the steps of City Hall, but decided to have a scheduled lunch with my Red Hat Society group instead. I protest the insanity coming from Washington by writing, emailing and phoning my representatives and the White House often. And I pray, which is the most powerful thing I can do.

To Go or Not to Go

We are tentatively planning a road trip for late May, We've been talking about this trip since last year when hopes for the 2009 annual reunion faded, so we decided on a country-wide road trip to see our kids, grandkids, great. grandkids, etc. Now two important dates are taking place: In May, the lovely Bethany is graduating in Denver and will head off to boot camp soon thereafter; and in September, the handsome Darel will wed the damsel Morgan whether she's in distress or not. Problem is they are in different paces at far apart times. We cannot logically combine the trips, and to go on either entails taking on some credit card debt.

We had our first meeting of our new small group series tonight, Topic: Christian Finances. Maybe this study will help us hear what God would have us decide about our trips.

Easter

Happy Easter!

A busy but beautiful Easter for me. Of course, I was a t church this morning. It was packed! More people than I had ever seen in that space. I cleaned as quickly as possible when the service was over, then went on over the The Holy Land Experience to serve. I have been serving there every day and evening of the Easter days celebration. The crowds have been large and I've met and prayed with many wonderful people.

But for now, a headache has overtaken me and I am going to close up shop for my brain until tomorrow.

The Last Adam

The Last Adam was amazing! It's a Broadway style "fully staged, fully costumed, full-length production" offered free to the public by The Holy Land Experience. I'm a Holy Land volunteer so I see their high quality productions all the time, but this was over the top, as they say.

If you live in the Orlando area, you are never lacking for something to do, and much of it is free or at least affordable. We find annual passes make sense. Even the higher priced ones like Disney World are a great buy. You get tons of top quality entertainment in this area, lots of bang for your buck.

There are the theme parks and I already wrote about out excursion on Tuesday, when we went on a luncheon cruise aboard the Rivership Romance. We have discovered mural towns, secret nature hireaways, all sorts of great places to explore and enjoy.

Well, before my brain just quits and you get gibberish like yesterday, actually, I am deleting the gibberish. Good night and God bless!

Wonders in the Wind

Last Christmas, Athena bought us a gift card for a 4-hour river cruise on which lunch was served. Hoping for warmer weather, we opted to reserve out cruise in April, little knowing our date would be in a cold snap.

Leaving from Sanford, The Rivership Romance takes a four-hour trek up the St. John river, then returns to port in Sanford. A surprisingly delicious luncheon is served during this trip, and live entertainment adds enjoyment and interest, but my favorite feature of this excursion was the river itself with its abundant wildlife and Florida flora all along the banks.

Blustery winds and unseasonably low temperatures (for Florida) were no problem since we dined in a cozy booth by a large window and later gathered on an enclosed upper deck for live music and comic banter.

After our cruise, we headed east looking for back roads to explore as we made our way toward the Atlantic Ocean. Once there, we found a lonely stretch of white sand beach and walked in the wind until we were both convinced it was time to settle onto our beach towel and just enjoy each other and the special sights, sounds and scents of the sea.

My heart has been heavy these past few days over issues and people very dear to me, so today's outing was especially welcome. It gave Richard and I a chance to pray about and discuss these situations in settings that reminded us continually of God's ever-present care and the fact He will work things out IF we trust Him and follow HIS plans rather than trying to manipulate people and circumstances toward a specific outcome.

Our pastor, Mike, does an amazing job of presenting Biblical Truth in a way that reaches the mind, emotions and spirit of his hearers. He did it again today leading us into the difficult links between suffering and growth and salvation.

It was good to see God's House so clean, the grounds looking so well groomed. We had a Spring Cleaning workday Saturday. It was such a blessing to work with those who came and have freedom to clean whatever I wanted. I am normally not supposed the clean the areas the paid cleaner does.

Good Stuff

Rain! We needed it. We've prayed for it. We finally got it. Of course, we need more.

The only downside to this mornings rain besides of course, that we need more, is that our Bible class was cancelled. I went over to the church anyway. The weather has never stopped me from trying to go. I've gotten myself in trouble a few times over that, but that's for another blog on another day.

I cleaned at the church and planned to clean at home, too, but by the time I had my lunch with the Lord (I do my Bible study and prayer with lunch) I was sleepy and napped away for about two hours.

One of the highlights of my day was discovering http://www.macheist.com/bundle/u/315105/ where I found some great solutions for managing my iPhone apart from iTunes and recording my old tapes into MP3, Quicktime or any other format I want. I was able to solve some other problems, too, plus there were some cool Mac aps and games I really liked. All for $39! NOW THAT I'VE TRIED THEM, I CAN RECOMMEND THEM TO YOU. If you have a Mac, I sincerely suggest you check this out.

Speaking of good deals, am I the only one on the planet that didn't know about the 49¢ hamburger Wednesdays at McDonald's? We were on one of our wandering around adventures last Wednesday and stopped at McDonalds to grab a quick bite. Wow! What a great deal!

The best deal of all, though, was the manna-like provision of God. Here's the story... a after driving all sorts of wilderness roads like we do, we discovered it was late and we were virtually out of gas. We usually both watch the gauge as we drive, but HE didn't notice until the low fuel light came on. We asked the Garmin to find the closest gas station. It wasn't close and before we got to it, our car switched from telling us how many miles before Empty to flashing the LOW FUEL light. We prayed we would make the station 42 miles away... and we made it!

But when we got to the station, it was closed. We prayed and kept driving. Finally, after even more miles, we found an open station. All the time we drove, we saw only one other car. It took 15.7 gallons to fill the tank, which the manual says holds about 15 gallons but not all can be drawn from the tank. In effect, considering how far we drove after each of the warnings kicked in, we should have run out of gas long before we made it to the station.

Good stuff!