| Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ~John 8:32

November 9, 2015
by saraha424 1 Comment

I’m Going to Thank God Anyway!

The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Job 1:21

I often empathize with Job. He was a good guy. He loved God and yet found himself the target of Satan’s hate. Recently, my empathy has turned into full-blown grief as I watch my beloved stepfather, prepare to leave this world.

My mother married a wonderful man three years ago. Both had suffered tremendous abuse in their previous marriages. God has blessed them with a beautiful union. Never has there been a greater example of Christ’s love to the church than with these two people. Every time I am with them I learn how I want to be in my own marriage. The core of their love is deeply rooted in Christ’s message: to love each other above oneself.

Time was a factor for them from the beginning. My step dad says things like, “What person would willingly love and choose to marry someone full of cancer? Oh, I know, my angel.” They have chosen not to waste a minute.

As my step dad’s illness grows progressively worse, he has become more and more grateful, praising God for all the time he has with my mom. He has this ability to just let the past go and completely surrender. All the while, he is in extreme, debilitating, take-your-breath-away pain. Yet, he is praise-fully happy to be alive.

I suppose it is at that level of pain that we are broken of our selfish thinking, our regret, our anger. When we experience that level of anguish, we have to make the choice to surrender and fully accept it.

Seeing someone you love slowly prepare to leave this physical world is one of the most unusual things to witness. It has to be both excruciating to watch and radiant with God’s grace. It is sad to hear him talk about the end but magnificent to hear him talk about his future and to hear him share about life, people, his choices, and his acceptance. To fully own his life and fully surrender it all at once is a lesson I take with me daily.

Sometimes I want to feel sorry for people like Job or like my mom and step dad. It’s easy to do. Job was in God’s favor, a loyal servant, but he was heavily afflicted and seemed to be punished. But in the midst of it all, Job stayed faithful and never once took the Lord’s name in vain. God blessed Job for his faithfulness.

Job’s story gives me hope. When I see those around me or find myself among the afflicted, He promises to remain faithful. He asks only that we find a way to stay faithful also.

My mom has shared a lot of her experience, and she admits her anger at times with God. But she also shared that when she came to the point of complete despair, she was embraced with open arms by Christ. When she was bent and broken enough to ask for help, Jesus was waiting to save her. It was in those moments that she felt covered in perfect peace, like being washed by the purest water. She immediately knew that she was in His protection and love and that He was going to take care of it all.

God has made enormous statements that proclaim victories found only in His son Christ Jesus. He has promised to make all things new, all things right, and all things good. He will wipe every tear, right every wrong, and fulfill every promise! He did with Job and He will again for all of us.

I heard someone recently put it perfectly: “What a high honor and such high esteem you must find yourself in if God has entrusted so much pain to you. Count yourself blessed to be given such a responsibility.”

My mother has written accounts of her experiences with her dying husband. Some are journal entries, some are poems, most are prayers. She has given me permission to share a very intimate poem that describes her days with her beloved man. She hopes it will help all who find themselves among the afflicted.

I am where I want to be.

My life is full of life. My life is full of death.

I am swept away by grief. Joy lifts me off my feet.

Sometimes I am alone. I am never alone.

I am where I want to be.

My eyes cannot bear to see the frailty of the body.

My nose senses disease and decay.

My hands caress and feel the bones.

I am where I want to be.

My former life is gone.

Today my lover needs my care.

I hold his hand. I stand by.

The days are long. The days are short.

Then I kiss his mouth; oh, it tastes so sweet.

I watch him sleep.

I am where I want to be.

~Michelle Vickers

Sarah Apa

November 5, 2015
by rtaylor633 Leave a comment

The Lord Cares Deeply When His Loved Ones Die

The Lord cares deeply when his loved ones die. – Psalm 116:15

Last night I lay awake thinking about my mother and glanced at the clock…2:17am. Did I do this twenty years ago when my father died? Is this part of the grieving process? My alarm is set for 5:00am so I tried to go back to sleep. I tried to think of comforting Bible verses from memory and started praying for God to help me get back to sleep. My thoughts went to Momma being with Jesus and how her body and brain were healed now. That brought me comfort and I could rest.

Momma died in July 2015 after a massive stroke in July 2012. Those three years must have been painful for Momma both physically and emotionally. She wasn’t able to communicate with us so it was just a guess, but the doctor said “mild Alzheimer’s.” She seemed to be able to follow a conversation, but when she opened her mouth to respond it was mostly mumbling with an occasional discernible word. To listen to her was both sad and comical; I couldn’t help but smile and sometimes she would give up and laugh at herself. She worked as hard as her feeble body was capable and endured months of painful physical therapy to try to stand up on her own and take a step. But the right side of her body was useless and never regained any strength.

It was sometimes difficult for her to control the left side of her body, but it was strong! She could hook her left leg over the side of the bed and pull herself up to a sitting position. Then, it was like she would forget her right side didn’t work anymore when she would attempt to stand up. If I was there, I would stop her and remind her that her right leg wouldn’t hold her up, but often she was alone. Of course she would end up on the floor. Fortunately for her the damage was never more than a bruise. This happened a lot during the first year after the stroke. In the last couple of years, she only tried to get out of her wheelchair or her bed when she wasn’t feeling well and needed to get to the bathroom.

I don’t think she ever learned how to call for a nurse. Not sure it would have made any difference anyway. They always had alarms on her bed and her wheelchair in case she fell, but even those alarms didn’t get immediate response. I believed that I was the only one who could give “adequate” care to my mother. I was willing to quit my job and take care of her full time, but she didn’t want to live with her children. Nearly thirty years ago she wrote my brother and me a letter stating if the time ever came when she couldn’t care for herself, she wanted to move to a care facility. She often reminded us of her wishes. But it was hard for me to be accepting of the level of care she received at either of the three different facilities in which she resided. I witnessed several sad events that still make my heart ache. It was sad for me and I was just visiting. How hard was it to live there? How hard is it to work there?

I often try to imagine what she thought about during those three years after her stroke. During her previous life she would often talk about “making memories” so that when she was old and unable to do things, she would have her memories to keep herself busy. So…was she able to recall all the memories she had made? Most of the left side of her brain had died because of the stroke, so could she even really “think” anymore?

Her hearing seemed to be particularly good during those three years. She didn’t want to have the television on or listen to music, but preferred to eavesdrop on her roommate’s visitors or the aides working in the hallway. She would raise her eyebrows and purse her lips when she heard something negative. She had a mischievous one-sided smile that warmed my heart to see on her face when she was pleased or thought whatever she heard was funny. And she did keep her sense of humor those three years and could join in with laughter when someone told a joke. I think she still thought and cared about others more than herself. It seemed to me that as soon as I arrived for a visit she was telling me I’d better start home. She didn’t like me to be on the road after dark or if the weather was bad.

There were a few times where she was unable to keep a tear or two from sliding down her face. I would try to discern the source of the tears…was she in physical pain?…was she thinking about her situation and feeling sad?…was she angry that she couldn’t form the words to tell me why she was crying?

As a servant of God, I strive to be generous, loving and hospitable like my mother. I will continue to miss her and recall the good times. I will find hope in the scriptures that promise I will be with her again someday in heaven. And I take comfort in knowing that my mother is with Jesus now and no longer trapped inside a painful, disabled physical body.

But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control. – Philippians 3:20

November 2, 2015
by Cindy Phiffer Leave a comment

Give Thanks IN All Circumstances

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Has anyone ever misquoted scripture to you? Perhaps you were the one who passed along something as scripture that wasn’t in the Bible, such as:

“Cleanliness is next to godliness.” John Wesley

“Money is the root of all evil.” (“For the love of money is the root of all evil…” 1 Timothy 6:10)

“This too shall pass.” Confucious

First Thessalonians 5:18 is often misquoted as follows: “Give thanks for all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ.” You may wonder what the big deal is about changing one tiny word. In fact, you may have missed which word was changed. Notice that the verse correctly reads “Give thanks in all circumstances,” not for all circumstances.

What difference does it make?

Imagine that you have just lost a child to leukemia. Thanking God for this circumstance might sound like this: “Thank you, Father, for leukemia. I’m so grateful that my child died of it.” Thanking God in this circumstance might sound like this: “My heart is broken, God. I don’t understand why this happened, but I ask you to use this to draw me closer to your side. May others see you in my life as I allow you to lead me through this valley of the shadow of death.”

The first response could actually result in putting a wedge of resentment and a root of bitterness into someone’s heart. We must be careful to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent.

During this season of thanksgiving, let’s think about a few ways to be thankful in all circumstances, even those that are most difficult…especially those that are most difficult.

Do you have to work on Thanksgiving? If you can’t be thankful for your job, be thankful that God is holding you in the palm of His hand, and He never takes a day off.
Is extra time with family causing extra stress? If you can’t be thankful for your loved ones, be thankful that you have space between you and them during the other 51 weeks of the year.
Are you concerned about financial matters during the holidays? If you can’t be thankful for what you have, be thankful for that from which the Lord has shielded you.
Has someone betrayed your trust? If you can’t be thankful for your friend, be thankful for the One who will never betray us—Jesus.
Have you overcommitted during this season of gatherings and opportunities to serve? If you can’t be thankful for all of the noise and confusion, be thankful for those rare quiet moments in between.

Won’t you please pray with me now?

Dear God, I love you so much and praise you for who You are. Thank you for holding me close today and during the other 364 days of the year. Thank you for space between loved ones and for all that you’ve protected me from this day, this week, this month and this year. Thank you for my good and loyal friend and brother, Jesus, and for your comforting Holy Spirit. Thank you for moments of serenity amidst the confusion. Help me to be kind and patient and forgive me when I’m not. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Cindy Phiffer

October 19, 2015
by Dee Baker 1 Comment

Three Reasons Not to Give Your Husband a Makeover

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2, NKJV)

Don’t you love watching shows where they do a total makeover of an old house? It’s fun to imagine what could be done with your own house, too. It’s not quite so satisfying or effective, though, when you try a makeover of your spouse.

Have there been times in your marriage when you felt you had to change your husband or die trying? How did that work out for you?

Have you perhaps tried anger, belittling, whining, temper tantrums, seduction? All those forms of manipulation may produce short term results, but at what cost?

If you think you’re being subtle in your attempts to make your spouse over into the perfect “Prince Charming,” you are definitely mistaken. Even if he doesn’t consciously acknowledge your disappointment with who he is (which is what motivated you to try to change him in the first place), he knows, and it definitely harms your relationship. It’s very difficult to have a good relationship with anyone if you believe it’s your job in life to change that person.

There have certainly been times in our forty-six years of marriage that I’ve felt my goal in life was to change my husband. When that didn’t work out to my satisfaction (which, of course, was always the case), I’ve had pity parties, grumbling sessions, counseling sessions; I’ve experienced depression, anger, resentment, fear — you name it, I’ve felt it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think Sam and I have a pretty good relationship. But sometimes we could both use a good makeover. What God has finally taught me to ask myself is this: “Who really needs the makeover here?”

Whenever my focus in life is to make someone else do or be what I want, I have to ask myself, “Who really needs changing here?” Making my husband over is not my job. Actually, even making myself over isn’t my job. My job is simply to submit to God and let him continue to mold me into the image of His Son.

I can’t be who He designed me to be if I keep holding on to who I want to become or what I want to do. And if I keep trying to use the “Prince Charming” template to re-do my spouse, I’m simply denying that God can do a far better makeover of him than I could ever imagine. I’m convinced I’d do a miserable job of it, anyway.

As I’ve finally learned through the Eight Principles of Celebrate Recovery, God hasn’t yet made me the Queen of the Universe, and He has no intention of doing so. Changing people is not my job. God is God and I’m not!

Actually, I’m deeply grateful that I’m not responsible for changing anyone, including myself. Let me paraphrase Paul in Romans 7:14-19, “what I want and intend to do, I don’t do at all, and what I don’t want to do is exactly what I end up doing.” It simply doesn’t work when I try to do a makeover of anyone.

So, what are the three reasons not to give your spouse a makeover?

Reason #1: It’s not your job — God is God and you’re not.

Reason #2: You’d do a lousy job of it, anyway, and probably make matters even worse.

Reason #3: God wants you to learn to submit to His will, and you can’t do that if your focus is on what someone else should do or be.

This week, let’s ask God to help us lose our desire to do a makeover of anyone else. Instead, let’s ask him to give us the makeover he describes in 2 Corinthians 3:18: “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (NKJV)

October 12, 2015
by saraha424 Leave a comment

Too Heavy to Carry

Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

If someone had told me a year ago that I would be living in El Paso, I would have laughed in their face! To top that, if someone had told me two years ago that I would have a third child, be homeschooling my kids and getting ready to plant a church, I would probably have smacked them!

Just this past year my husband was finally given the go sign (that would be by me) to explore the possibility of joining the military. After a long, grueling few months of paperwork and interviews, Anthony was accepted into the United States Army as a pharmacist.

From there, our lives have been moving at rapid speed. I have to be honest — I’m totally overwhelmed! We arrived last week in El Paso and nothing has gone as planned. Complications keep arising, and my husband and I are feeling a lot of pressure. The weight of responsibility rests right on my shoulders! I literally can’t stand up straight because I’m so “heavy” with stress and worry.

But just today as the children and I were reading the day’s focus verse in school, I was reminded of how I need to approach all of the chaos. Jesus says that his “yoke is easy” and his “burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). I am not in control of any of the current circumstances. There is only so much that Anthony and I can do. But isn’t that the truth? Aren’t we expected to do our part but then step aside and let God take over the rest?

When we decided to wear Christ in baptism, when we emerged from that water, we made a bold commitment that states: “When life is too heavy, we will choose to carry only the burden of Christ.” His load is light compared to the constant, pounding pressures that the world burdens us with. After this week, it is crystal clear that I’m not strong enough to withstand the pressures of this world. Dear sisters, I am grateful. I can’t handle it — and I don’t have to. Guess what? Neither do you!

As sisters in Christ, let us boldly profess that we will not be conformed to the world’s expectations. Let us accept ourselves exactly as we are at this moment, not perfect but progressing. Let us wear the easy, smooth yoke set before us by a Savior who is in love with us!

Sarah Apa

October 5, 2015
by Cindy Phiffer Leave a comment

Five Ways to Be Still and Know

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm 46:10

I often read the first part of the verse above and respond in one of the following ways.

“But I’m so willing to help you, Father, and you know how much there is to be done.”
“I will, as soon as I finish this important task.”
“Oh, just wait until you hear. I’m doing so much less than usual. This time last week I had seven major projects in the works. I’ve cut that back to only three. I’ll be able to take a break as soon as those are under control.”
“It’s obvious that you’re referring to worldly efforts. What I’m doing is the work of your church.”
“Ok. But just let me tell you one more thing. My cousin needs comforting…oh, and my friend has that test coming up…and don’t forget my sister’s request for your intervention…”

Do any of these sound familiar to you? If so, I hope it helps to know that you’re not alone. Let’s not despair. Just keep reading for ways to change unhealthy habits.

If we could still our minds long enough to hear God’s entire thoughts in this verse we would learn that not only does He want me to allow Him to be God, He goes on to say that when we do, He is “exalted among the nations…”

When I am in the throes of conflict, temptation, or depression it is hard for me to trust God to be in charge. As is said in 12-step programs, one of the most powerful things we can do is to “Let go and let God.”

But our culture demands that we be ever productive, striving toward first one goal and then another. After all, we don’t want to be a burden on others by not carrying our own weight. How can we possibly “be still” when we have so many responsibilities?

Here are a few ways to clear the path toward regular periods of stillness.

Share the joy of service. When I call upon a loved one to serve alongside me, I am offering her the chance to experience the satisfaction that comes with a life well lived. I suffer from infrequent bouts of positional vertigo. At times it interferes with my driving. One day I called a sister-in-Christ to see if she could take me to a doctor’s appointment. When explaining to me that she could not she thanked me for asking her. I got off the phone feeling better than when I was dialing her number, filled with the dread of asking. I quickly dialed another sister’s number before the evil one could dissuade me. She would be happy to take me, she said, then she thanked me for asking.
Think in bite-size portions of time. Sometimes I can talk myself out of doing something because I try to take on too much at once. If I tell myself that my quiet time with God has to last an hour to be worth anything to Him, I’m buying into one of the lies the evil one uses to isolate me from God. Even if I’m in the middle of an important assignment at work, I can often take a few seconds to close my eyes, take a deep breath and repeat the above verse in my mind. This not only allows me a moment to center my focus on Him, it can also result in better performance of my job.
Step away from the distractions of this world. Treat yourself to time without the television, iPod or cell phone so that you can listen for the Holy Spirit’s urgings. There is nothing inherently evil about any of these forms of communication, but they distract us from our goal when we set apart time to be still.
Be intentional and make quiet time a priority. We schedule dentist appointments, car maintenance and lunch dates. Why not schedule our quiet time with the Lord? Of course, simply entering QT into our calendars won’t guarantee that we make these meetings. It will then be up to us to defend and protect that commitment against potential intruders and usurpers. It is up to us to show up.
Think about what is keeping you from being still. Are you afraid to trust our God to take care of things while you’re off duty? Are you in fear of missing an “important” deadline? Are you terrified that you might find out that you are not the one in control? Fear can rob us of our joy. Put your foot down and remind yourself that the God who set the stars in the sky and the earth on its axis is big enough to handle any of our fears, even those thrown at us by the evil one.

Now say the verse above and wallow in the promise in the second part. If we focus on Him alone and are confident in His role as God, we will change the world. We don’t have to understand how this will work itself out; we just have to be obedient and take Him at His word.

Dear God, I love you and praise you for being who you are and for loving me as I am while calling me to greater heights. Give me the courage and the willingness to trust you completely. Thank you for using me to impact others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Cindy Phiffer

September 28, 2015
by rtaylor633 Leave a comment

Ever just need a hug?

Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Psalm 68:19 (NLT)

This morning I experienced a little heartbreak. My husband was on his way out the door then stopped and asked me a question. Looking back I wish my answer could have just been “yes.” But I’m one of those “high maintenance” people and a one word answer is never good enough, so as is my habit, “yes” was just the tip of the iceberg of my answer. I elaborated by adding my logic and reasoning to support my “yes.” To me, the words that followed my “yes” were important, revealing, intimate and personal; something that I would only trust to my closest friend. I thought I was being brave and loving and more open with my husband than I usually was. This was a big step for me; it’s something I’ve been striving to improve in our relationship: communication.

But instead of the loving affirmation I expected, he made a sound, like a grumble that made me think he didn’t like what I said. I asked him what was wrong and he said he did not understand me. So I tried again to explain myself and was careful to select different words and not just repeat myself. I wanted him to listen and understand this part of me that I was revealing to him. But my words weren’t getting the reaction I wanted. He appeared to be disgusted with me and I felt like he was angry at me. He sounded incredulous that I could be the way I described. It felt like he was ashamed of me. He was rejecting who I was, how I thought, and my truth. It hurt.

And he left the house shaking his head and muttering something I couldn’t hear. I stood there with a lump in my throat. Now what do I do? This was just a simple interchange between a husband and a wife, so innocent and insignificant. Why did it hurt me so much?

For one thing, after working through the eight recovery principles of Celebrate Recovery, I’m more aware of my feelings than ever before. I learned how to be still and feel my feelings rather than use food to cover them up. But I don’t like to hurt so what else can I do to ease the painful feeling?

First I said a little quick prayer, something like “Please God, help me.” Then as I drove to work, I reviewed the facts of what happened. This exchange took place early in the morning as we were rushing to get ready to leave for work. I know that is not the ideal time for a deep, meaningful conversation. He asked a simple yes or no question and I made the choice to provide a lengthy response. Maybe he didn’t reject me, but just didn’t have time to listen and respond the way he wanted to?

Still I held on to the hurt and felt like I needed a hug. Then I remembered that God delights in me (Psalm 18:19) and wants to care for me like a mother hen protects her chicks under her wings (Matthew 23:37). So many times over the five decades of my life I have needed a hug and didn’t know how to ask for one. But God had his arms wrapped around me the whole time!

Ramona Taylor

September 21, 2015
by Dee Baker Leave a comment

Are You on Team Grumblers or Team Grateful?

The Lord spread a cloud above them as a covering and gave them a great fire to light the darkness. They asked for meat, and he sent them quail; he satisfied their hunger with manna — bread from heaven. Psalm 105:39-40 (NLT)

Can you imagine getting up in the morning and finding that God has already prepared your breakfast? If I could see the manna spread out over the grass in my yard, not only would I be thinking, “Oh, wow, somebody else did the prep today!” but also, “Yay, no cleanup!”

However, I suspect that if I had to eat the same thing every morning for the foreseeable future, I’d be right there on the bench with the Israelite Team Grumblers. I’m not exactly into the whole let-somebody-else-decide-what-to-eat-every-morning thing, especially if it’s a constant diet of bread with nary a jar of jelly in sight!

What I am definitely into, though, is the thought that my God loves me enough to provide for my every need. That’s an awesome reality that I too often forget.

I don’t have to see manna spread on the ground every day to know that I cannot provide for my own needs, but it would certainly be a constant reminder. I desperately need to keep my mind centered on God and his never failing provision for me. Sadly, I often ignore the daily reminders he sends.

And it’s not just food he provides. He does that in great abundance, but he does so much more. As Nehemiah 9:19-21 tells us, “Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. For forty years you sustained them in the wilderness; they lacked nothing ….”

Even when we’re more like the Israelites than we’re willing to admit, he is faithful to give us everything we need. Not only does he provide for all our physical needs, he also gives us His good Spirit, he has great compassion on us, he lights our way, he never fails us, he never abandons us. In other words, we lack nothing.

When we stay focused on His unlimited provision for us, we can quit grumbling and put on our Team Grateful jerseys!

Father, forgive me when I grumble and complain. Help me to be grateful and praise you always for each blessing you shower on me. In the name of your precious Son, Jesus, Amen.

September 14, 2015
by saraha424 1 Comment

Beautiful Pain

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18

She was born in mid-September at the Med in downtown Memphis. It was fast. She looked perfect. But hidden just beneath the surface was a tiny heart that was, oh, so broken!

Olivia Ann.

She has suffered more pain than most would ever endure in a lifetime. But like Jesus, her pain was not in vain. She had a very complicated heart defect. It required many surgeries that held no guarantees. By the time she was two years old, her tiny, fragile heart could no longer keep pace with her growing body, and she was placed on the heart transplant list.

Like Olivia’s heart, broken and underdeveloped, my spiritual heart was in the same condition. It wasn’t long after she entered the world that I began to understand some of the characteristics of God that my pain had kept me from seeing.

You see, I was broken from my childhood—scarred from abuse and living in a constant state of torment. I carried with me the pain that I had suffered and the choices I had made based on that abuse. Being witness to Olivia’s life and watching God faithfully restore her with a heart transplant gave me insight into why suffering is a beautiful part of life.

Jesus’s suffering on the cross was tremendous, bloody, the worst. Yet the beauty found just outside that pain is awesome, cleansing, the best. It’s life wrapped up in the highest of glory.

Olivia’s surgeries were terrifying, gruesome, the worst. But worth all the agony. She’s alive because of them. Her pain was my calling from God. His outpouring to reach me. I believe it was His attempt to restore my heart as well.

It’s been six years since Olivia received her new heart. After years of walking hand in hand with Christ through the pain of my childhood, I have discovered the deep connection between tremendous, life-changing pain, the daily pain of dying to yourself, and the gospel. Paul says it best in Romans 8:17: since we are “co-heirs with Christ,” we can experience his sufferings and share in the glory of that suffering!

I want to be transformed through the pains of life. That transformation brings purpose to the pain. As Philippians 3:10 says: “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participate in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death….”

Sarah Apa

September 7, 2015
by Cindy Phiffer Leave a comment

Jumping Off the Wheel

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24

Do you ever feel like “a confused hamster”? Would you like to get off that wheel?

When our boys were young, we went to a science museum that had an exhibit about sound. I sat in a booth and put on a set of headphones in which a different person was speaking on each side. No matter how hard I tried, I could not listen to both people at the same time. Our brains simply don’t work that way. I could listen to one side and then the other, but not both at the same time.

In Boundaries for Leaders by Henry Cloud, he states, “The research says when we multitask, our brains run in a hampered state. Basically multitasking reduces an astronaut’s brain to that of a confused hamster.”

One morning I was feeling particularly stressed and the day had only just begun. I wondered why reading the Bible verse on my bathroom mirror wasn’t helping. Then I saw myself in the mirror. I was brushing my teeth with one hand and brushing my hair with the other. I immediately put down my hairbrush and slowed down, thankful that I hadn’t confused the brushes!

When we try to keep our eyes on Jesus and on the evil one at the same time, we fall short. Our Lord wants our full attention, as does any loving father. The evil one wants to divert our attention from our Father. Nothing makes him happier than drawing us away from God’s will for our lives.

Let’s make a commitment right now that we will not give him a foothold by trying to divide our attention between him and Him. Jesus deserves our full attention. His heart pines for us to look toward Him so that He can lead us closer to our Father.

Cindy Phiffer

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