Columns – Page 176 – EncouragingU

She Might Be Wicked

by dcreamer August 3, 2018 with No Comments

I keep a list in the front of my Bible. The title is “Nutshell Verses.” If you’re not into wisdom, stop reading here. Just kidding. Have you noticed the newest tactic to get you to sign up for emails you don’t want? They’ll pop up a message which has choices like “YES! I want to receive a zillion emails about products I don’t use.” Or “NO! I do not like saving the earth and baby bunnies.”

Annyyywayyy, most of these nutshell portions of Scripture start with words like “Above all else,” or “This is what the Lord requires of you.” In other words, it’s usually a short list that will greatly enhance our lives. One of my favorites says: “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace and work to maintain it.”

This little secret to enjoying life is so valuable that the Lord included it in both the Old and New Testaments. [Psalm 34:12-16 and 1 Peter 3:10-11]

It even comes with a promise. Both passages add, “For the eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and His ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns His face against those who do evil.”

Are we wise enough to recognize evil when we see it? I think so… at least some of the time.

The following true story comes with a disclaimer. Please don’t think that I am crazy enough to believe that David and I are holy. How ridiculous would THAT be! We don’t even volunteer for Kid’s Club at church. Everybody knows that’s where the holy people are.

Anyway, years ago we bought a house. It was full, in some rooms from floor to ceiling with almost seventy five years of junk.

I know… probably not our wisest move. But it had a great porch and was right beside our church. Every time we’d make a little headway cleaning out the old place, the former owner would stop by, barge in and want stuff that she had not been able to see before we uncovered it. One day, David told her no. He latched the screen door and would not let her in. [We had closed on the house two months earlier.]

Merciful heavens she was hot! I seriously expected fire to leap from the bowls of hell and consume the man. If she’d had her way, David would be a smoking pile of ashes right now.

Later our sweet pastor’s wife innocently commented. “She might be wicked.”

I tipped my head at the understatement. Then I realized. We weren’t just dealing with a disgruntled person. We were actually in the presence of evil. I hadn’t recognized it. Therefore I had no idea how to deal with it.

Has evil ever knocked on your door? Did you recognize her?* Does she speak words of fear, temptation, anger, or lies?

Latch the door. Turn away. Pursue peace.

She may swear at you, stamp her foot, pound on the door and demand her way. But if you truly desire good days, ignore her little tantrum. Maybe have a bowl of ice cream or call your lawyer to draw up a polite letter.

She has no place in your life. You owe her nothing. In a nutshell, turn from evil. Seek peace. God watches over those who do right. His ears are open to your prayers.

When’s Your Then

by dcreamer July 31, 2018 with No Comments

Before the days of GPS or cell phones, I was driving home alone in an unfamiliar city late one night, and took a wrong exit on a dark, desolate road. Initially, turning around seemed a little tricky, so I kept on going, thinking I would eventually get to the right road.

Within a few minutes, I began to feel that the only way home may be to click my heels together three times, and repeat, “There’s no place like home.” It got scary. After some aimless wandering, I THEN decided to pray. As soon as I breathed that prayer, I knew immediately to turn around and head back to where I made the wrong turn. I then got back on the right road.

It reminded me of the story of Jonah. He wasn’t lost, but he did go one direction when the Lord told him to go a different direction. Big mistake!

He ended up in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:1 says, THEN Jonah prayed. Yes, the prayer came after he spent what surely seemed like an eternity in the belly of that fish.

According to Jonah 2:2-9, it was a prayer of thanksgiving! He was thankful he hadn’t drowned! The NIV version of this text expresses it as Jonah calling on the Lord in his distress – he had been hurled into the depths, the currents had swirled about him, the engulfing waters threatened him, and the seaweed was wrapped around his head.

That’s a pretty clear visual to provide during a prayer!

After his prayer, Jonah 2:10 happened, “And the Lord spake unto the fish, and it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.”

He was finally set free from the belly of the fish!
*Why did he not go the direction he should have to start with?
*Why did he not pray sooner?

*Why would we even ask those questions, when we do the same thing? We let it get really ugly and messy… hurled into the depths, currents swirling, engulfing waters, seaweed wrapped around our heads…before we pray.

Many of us have not had just one of those moments – but have had a lifetime of them. Choices made that were not taking us the right direction.

But… then.

‘Then’ means ‘at that time,’ and ‘when’ we have a ‘then’ seems to be exactly ‘when’ we remember to pray. Aren’t you thankful that God allows us to turn around and get back on the right road?

So, when’s your then?

***Contact me and let me know how your then’s go at annfarabee@gmail.com. It seems ‘fishy’ to me that it has been a ‘long time no sea’ for some of you, but no need to feel ‘gill-ty.’ I’m just glad you read my columns!

The Best

by dcreamer June 30, 2018 with No Comments

Is that the best you can do? The words were not said in a positive tone, and my sixth grade student stared at the test results his mother was referring to, in order to avoid making eye contact. We were in the middle of a parent-teacher conference, and she seemingly was implying that he had not tried hard enough. As his teacher, I had seen him work diligently – but he was just not ‘quite there’ with some of the concepts.

I truly felt it was the best he could do. The words the mother said may have been meant to encourage – but they actually really stung.

The memory of that conference came to mind while I was writing a recent column. I had been working on it for what felt like a really long time. A bit frustrated, I put my head down on the table where I was working, and prayed, “Lord, give me the words.” Almost immediately, these words popped into my heart, “Is that the best you can do?”

I looked around to see who had asked me that. I sat up. I sat back. I folded my arms. I looked around again. I looked at my words on the computer screen in front of me. I thought. And I thought. And I thought some more. I smiled – I think I laughed.

“Yes,” I responded aloud, “that is the best I can do.”
Happily, I submitted myself to that truth – and submitted my column to be published.
I was just going to let the Lord take it from there.
Maybe it was not the best someone else could have done – but I’m me – and it was the best I could do.

God made me. God knows me. God loves me. God knows my abilities… and my limitations. God brought me to this place – in this time – for a purpose. He has given me the assignments that I have.

If God only called the qualified, I would have very few assignments.
Instead, God qualifies the called.

I began to think back over my life, with those words in mind: Is that the best you can do?

Honestly, there have been way too many times the answer would have been a resounding, “No, I definitely did not do my best. I did what I wanted to do, instead.”

I cannot go back and recover those times, but neither can Adam, Eve, David, Jonah, Peter – just to name a few – who may not have always done their best in everything, either.

But…it is probably best that we stop trying to compare ourselves to others, and instead seek only the approval of the One who created us. Then, our lives would be a whole lot less complicated – and our joy would be a whole lot more full.

If we do our best – God will do the rest.

And… it will be best – if we can learn to rest – in that.

Always Ready

by dcreamer September 25, 2016 with No Comments

Always Ready

There is a group of teachers that get together before school on Wednesdays to pray. It is nice to know that there are colleagues who support and pray for each other in the workplace. I try to always be there even though sometimes I arrive a couple of minutes late. I find it to be a highlight of my week and an important spiritual boost in the middle of the week.

Last Wednesday everything was going along as planned. I woke up and started my day as usual. I even remember thinking about the fact that is was Wednesday and I needed to get going so I could be on time for prayer group. My routine moved along at a good pace. Everything was falling into place. As I finished getting ready, I remember looking at the clock and thinking, “I wonder why I am ready so early this morning?”

I couldn’t think of a reason why I was ready early so I decided to have some extra quiet time. I enjoyed my extra time with the Lord not realizing that I was missing prayer with my colleagues. I happily made my way to work. About half way there I realized it was Wednesday and I had just missed prayer group. I became very upset with myself. How could I have forgotten my reason for getting up early?

I arrived at work and was making my way across the parking lot when I heard a loud crash. Several teachers turned and headed in that direction. We found three cars that were involved in a wreck. Another teacher and I made the rounds checking on the people in the vehicles and then she called for help. As the police arrived, we headed into school.

The students picked up on the excitement and asked what was going on. I told them and they asked lots of questions. One of the students became concerned about whether someone in her family might be involved in the wreck. I told her I would walk out with her and check. Sure enough it was someone in her family. I assured her that they were alright and helped her to safely make her way over to her family member’s side.

As I walked back into school the Lord whispered to me, “Do you see why you missed prayer today? I needed you to be someplace else.” I stopped and turned back toward my student and was so glad that I could be there for her. I thought about this as I headed back into school. Sometimes God intervenes in our lives because He needs us to be someplace where He can use us. We may not always understand, but if we are observant and available He will use us.

I thought about Jesus; He asked the Father three times if the cross was God’s only plan, was there any other way to fix the problem. I noticed something really important about Jesus’ request for a change in plans. In each case Jesus ended His request with, “nevertheless not my will but yours be done.” While Jesus’ flesh wanted a different plan, His spirit was in submission to God’s perfect plans. Jesus went and did what the Father needed Him to do.

Moses didn’t want to go back to Egypt and bring the people out, but God sent him and he obediently went. When Ananias was told to go and pray for Saul he didn’t want to go. He was afraid and rightfully so. But God needed him to be obedient so Saul could be raised up to do a mighty work for God. God often uses reluctant people who walk in obedience.

I think that is the secret to being led by the spirit…obedience. God is always looking for people who will step in and bring His presence into a situation. He needs men and women who will be His light and bring His testimony into a situation. Our faithfulness will release His Spirit to work. Where His Spirit is there will be peace, joy, grace, mercy, forgiveness, and a whole list of God’s attributes. His presence will bring exactly what is needed in that moment and in that situation.

I want to encourage you to look around and be alert, especially when you find yourself in unexpected circumstances. God might have a plan that includes using you in that situation. He may want your light to shine to show people the way. His plan may include using you to encourage and strengthen someone in need. When we live alert and ready we can be sure God will provide opportunities for us.

Doug Creamer has two books at Amazon: The Bluebird Café & Revenge at the Bluebird Café. Contact him at doug@dougcreamer.com

Babes in Boise

by dcreamer August 3, 2016 with No Comments

Midwifery school is no joke. In the last three months I've been stretched, exhausted, miserable and brain-dead; yet somehow it has all been wrapped up in such a profound grace and a sweet, sweet glory. I have absolutely loved all the material and I could not be more stoked about this crazy path I'm on. Things have been so laid out for me in Boise, it's kind of crazy. I have accepted a wonderful internship that has me committed to the Treasure Valley for at least a year and a half. I have met and fallen in love with the most wonderful community and I get to live with one of the coolest chicks on the planet! And on top of all that, I've met a particularly good lookin' guy that I have become increasingly fond of:) Transitions typically are not my thing, but this one has been so easy and oh so good. Never in a million years would I have chosen Idaho as a landing point, but I feel so strongly this is where I'm supposed to be...for now anyway.

One thing that many people have been asking me, and quite frankly I've been asking myself, is why midwifery? Why am I, a free-spirited travel junkie, working towards a career that requires me staying in the same place and living on call 24/7? I don't have straight forward logical answers for you (no surprise there), but I will do my best...

My mom had three home births and used midwives so I have always been very familiar with the term. However, I can't say there was a specific time where I was like "Hey, I think I'll spend my life catching babies." Although let's be real, helping bring life into the world is a pretty sick job. Above anything, my heart is for empowering people; women in particular. I wouldn't go as far to say that I'm feminist, but I can definitely get pretty dang worked up when women are sent to the kitchen with their prego bellies and their bare feet. My heart's cry is to raise up mothers and teach them how to be daughters; daughters that are outrageously loved by their Father.

So what does that have to do with midwifery? And what even is a midwife?? Someone recently asked me if a midwife was the same thing as a surrogate. The answer is no. And we're not second wives either. I do have to be honest, coming into midwifery school I was pretty ignorant to what midwives actually do. I mean of course, they deliver babies, but aside from that I was pretty clueless. I didn't know what they stood for or how they showed care. I had no idea that I, as a future midwife, get to be an empowerer. I get to educate, influence, counsel and encourage women in how to be incredible mothers. In doing so, I get to teach these woman how to be daughters. I get to teach women how to care for themselves and for their children. I get to coach fathers in honoring their wives and loving their kids. I get to carry hope and diminish fear in people's homes. I get to teach people to love and be loved. As women, our bodies were made fully capable of giving birth. I get to release that truth and call out strength and identity.

As wonderful as that all sounds, I cannot deny that I am completely terrified at the idea of tying myself down for long periods of time. Turns out my commitment issues are real. This is where I'm learning to lean into that sweet peace, trusting that the Lord knows my heart and my love for spontaneous adventure. The glory is that midwives are needed all over the world! At this point in time Boise seems to be my spot. Aside from the days where I desperately miss the sea, I'm very much ok with that.

Over the last three months I got to experience the full beauty (and chaos) that comes with community living. I lived in a house full of girls and it truly was so wonderful. Sure, it got annoying and tiring and sometimes ya just want 5 minutes of alone time, but those girls blessed my life in so many ways. I will say that after living with ten other midwifery students I find that I've become extremely immune to discussing things that others may find offensive or even repulsive. On several occasions I've had to stop myself from talking about things that, well, aren't exactly suitable dinner conservation. Sorry, but our bodies are so freaking cool and sometimes I just feel like the whole world needs to know what they can do!

I am currently posted up on the East coast soaking up every ounce of Christmas break. It's so fun having such a legit fam to do life with. This time of year is truly the best. I mean how could anyone beat Egg Nog milkshakes from Cookout and Home Alone on repeat? It just doesn't get better. When break is over I will be heading back to Boise where the hands-on part of my school will begin. Bring on the babies!!

Always Learning

by dcreamer July 23, 2015 with No Comments

Last week I went to the annual Career & Technical Education Summer Conference in Greensboro. It’s an opportunity for teachers to learn some new things to bring back to school for next year. I do enjoy learning and being exposed to new things. I also enjoy seeing my colleagues who teach across the state. The older I get the fewer familiar faces I see each year. The older teachers have retired and others have gone on to different opportunities.
While I enjoy reconnecting with old friends, I also enjoy learning new things. Since I love technology, I always try to sign up for sessions that will expose me to new programs or apps that might appeal to my students. This year I discovered several new programs that I want to use in my classroom.
I took my ipad with me to the conference so I was able to go to the websites or download the apps right away. I used some of the programs and saw how they could improve my instruction in class. It’s tough to get and keep the students’ attention because they have so much pulling at them. If I can incorporate technology in the lessons it might help the students engage more with my curriculum.
In one of the sessions we learned how we could play learning games with our students. Some people believe that learning should be hard work, while others believe that making the learning fun helps the students connect better with the material. There are some people that believe the students need to sit in straight rows and face forward, while others believe in making the students move around the room while playing learning games. Who’s right?
I believe that every student learns differently. I am an auditory learner, if I hear it, I will learn it. My wife is better at learning through reading. I have taught many students through the years who didn’t learn something until they had to do it. So a good teacher, in my opinion, needs to incorporate a variety of learning techniques in the classroom. There is no one method that guarantees success with all students.
As a veteran teacher, I realize that I still have things to learn about education and educational methods. I look at my colleagues and see so many different techniques they are employing to instruct their students. When I consider these things I realize that I don’t know everything about teaching, and the same can be said about spiritual things.
I have been a Christian for a long time, yet I realize that there is still so much about God that I do not know. I have been fortunate to have some great pastors who pushed me deeper in my faith, yet I realize that even they have to learn about God. My current pastor is always reading and learning more about God. He is hungry for the things of God. That energy and desire challenges me to apply myself to what I have learned and to dig deeper and grow stronger in my own faith.
Like all learning, spiritual lessons are absorbed in many different ways. Some people only learn in the school of hard knocks. I want to grow by reading God’s word and applying it to my life. I want to grow because I am seeking God for a more intimate relationship. I want to grow because I have a pastor who pushes me because he is pushing himself. I want to grow because I am investing my life in others and they are investing in me.
I want to build my life with things that have eternal value. I know that if I apply what I learn spiritually I can build a reward for myself in heaven. That means that I don’t want to just grow lots of leaves, but I want to produce fruit for the kingdom. I want to be a blessing to the people in my life. I want to be a light in the darkness. I want to continue to grow and feed my spirit so I can have a positive impact on my little corner of the world.
I want to encourage you to never give up on growing and learning more about God. Each of us knows Him in a unique way and we have much we can learn from each other. My parents taught me by example that you should always be reading and learning more. God wants us to grow and learn more about Him. He has a purpose for each of us. His purpose is that we would know Him, which means we will never stop learning.

Doug Creamer has two books at Amazon: The Bluebird Café & Revenge at the Bluebird Café. Contact him at doug@dougcreamer.com

Critters

by dcreamer July 9, 2015 with No Comments

Last night I was taking out the garbage when I got a little surprise. I walked through the garage and noticed something long and black lying on the ground. When I took a second glance at the object to see what it was, I realized it was a snake. Once I was over the initial surprise of discovering a snake in my closed up garage, I helped him find his way out. It was a black snake and I know they are good for keeping the mice and other rodents under control.
Actually, I might like to introduce that snake to some chipmunks that have been causing problems on our back porch. The chipmunks have been getting the sunflower seeds we put out for the birds and planting them in all the flower pots on the back porch. They also ate more than their share of my blueberries.
There have been some other critters that aren’t making me happy. The rabbits have been helping themselves to my sweet potatoes. I have planted slips at least three times and they keep disappearing. I know some of the work has been done by the rabbits but they had some help from the deer.
Rabbits and deer are beautiful animals when they are in fields munching on grass and clover. When they come in my yard and eat my vegetable and flowers, they are no longer cute. My neighbor has pictures of the deer standing in my garden helping herself. I bought an electric fence to help “encourage” the deer to go someplace else.
I also have a box turtle who lives over in the woods but he likes to come to my garden too. He has a taste for the melons…which haven’t been able to grow this year because the rabbits and deer keep eating my young seedlings. I took the turtle a piece of watermelon rind when I saw him the other day.
I thought my beans might have a critter free year, but I was wrong. I went out the other day to discover holes in the leaves. It was some kind of bug that loves to eat bean leaves and they were throwing a big party. The plants are still producing beans, but they don’t look pretty.
I imagine it must be tough to be a farmer when I consider the battles I fight just to grow my garden. I think the battles I fight just to grow my garden are similar to the battles we must fight to grow our spiritual lives. God tells us that He wants to see spiritual fruit in our lives, but I believe there are “critters” trying to keep us unfruitful.
We live in a world where anger and bitterness thrive. These are not fruit of the spirit, yet talk shows and news programs build an audience through displaying these character qualities. If people act this way and they are caught on video, it will go viral.
It seems that hatred towards our neighbors and people who look or act differently has become the norm. Where has brotherly kindness gone? It seems that people are choosing to live in various kinds of sinful situations, so the answer seems to be to ostracize and vilify these people. We are all sinners in different ways; do you believe that God thinks one sin is worse than another? Where have the qualities of mercy and forgiveness gone? Jesus was often found with tax collectors and sinners. He told us it was the sick that needed his doctoring.
My pastor pointed out on Sunday that one of Satan’s purposes is to divide us. He wants husbands and wives to divorce. He wants to break down relationships between parents and children. He wants churches to speak negatively against other churches. He wants gangs and nations to kill each other. God want us to live in unity. It doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything, in fact, it’s OK if we see and believe things differently. We are Christians united around Jesus Christ our Savior. We are Americans united for freedom and liberty.
I want to encourage you to look around your spiritual garden and see what kinds of critters are eating your spiritual fruit. It’s not easy to live the Christian life, but He wants us to be fruitful. What kind of fruit does He want to see? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Imagine if everyone in the world lived like that, what a wonderful world it would be. I want to produce this kind of fruit for my little corner of the world; I hope you do too.

Doug Creamer has two books at Amazon: The Bluebird Café & Revenge at the Bluebird Café. Contact him at doug@dougcreamer.com

A Series of Fortunate Events

by dcreamer July 2, 2015 with No Comments

Favor is such a beautiful thing. I still can’t believe I got to travel around Norway and Sweden with my mom. I’m sorry, that is just too cool! We had such a good time! As it turns out Scandinavia is WAY more expensive than any place I’ve been. For both of us to stay in a hostel it would cost almost as much as a decent hotel in the States. No thanks. So aside from one night in a hostel and two nights on a train, we stayed at peoples homes through a site called airbnb.com. Similar to couch surfing, but you’re actually paying for a room, not just a free spot on a couch. The first place we stayed was in Gothenburg, Sweden. We were hosted by the sweetest girl who gave us full access to her cute little Ikea decorated home. My mom lived in Gothenburg when she was a teenager so we had fun exploring the same streets that she used to explore. Our next destination was Bergen and there we stepped into a higher level of favor. The lady who’s home we were staying at was out of town so she gave us the keys and told us to make ourselves at home. Upon arriving in Bergen we found ourselves walking up the cutest path and into the coziest house that there ever was with a beautiful view of the North Sea. The owner had just left earlier that morning so we walked into a fire going and pancakes on the counter. I’m telling you, favor is wonderful.

I have to give my mom some major credit. She is a trooper! Guys, I am not an easy person to travel with and having been on my own for over two months has only made matters worse. I never really know where I’m going but wherever it is I want to get there fast. And then once I get there I probably won’t want to stay very long cause I’ll be ready for the next thing- whatever that may be. Then there’s my mom and she is…well, not the fastest of people. Not that she can’t move fast cause she totally can, she just knows how to really enjoy beauty and all its little details. Literally, all of them. Like the lines on the floor giving the whole house a rustic feel, and the star hanging in the hall just waiting for someone to place a candle inside so it can illuminate the darkness and bring a sparkling light. These are things I never would have noticed. Not in a million years. But I actually think these little details are crucial, especially when traveling. If you don’t notice the detail and take in the richness then it all gets boring pretty quickly. Like castles for example. I have visited so many castles while on this trip and after a while it starts to loose its spark. A castle is a castle is a castle, but castle with a marble staircase that spirals upward towards a ceiling that is decorated with magical paintings that are dripping with history and all being held up by stone pillars that have been standing for hundreds of years- that is something entirely different. But if we do not notice the detail then that same castle is only a castle.

Back to Norway- that country is seriously doing something right. We came across the most friendly and most beautiful people that there ever was. Literally every single person in that country is gorgeous. On Sunday’s everything closes down (literally, everything) practically forcing people to get outside and be productive. The entire town of Bergen was outside on Sunday either walking, running or hiking. AND all they eat is dairy and bread. Seriously, I love their ways. On our last full day we planned to take a day train from Bergen to Oslo. However, my great last minute booking skills gave way and we were stuck having to take a night train (the second of our journey. I told you, my mom’s a trooper). So anyway, that gave us another full day in Bergen with no agenda. The weather in Bergen is completely unpredictable. It is actually the sister city to Seattle and these sisters certainly love rain. However, The Lord lavished even more favor on us and we ended up having the most beautiful day. We went into town with the intention of doing a short hike up a mountain over the city. Four hours later we found ourselves with a 360 degree view that totally blew our minds. The North Sea on one side, and endless mountains on the other. Norway is amazing. Hiking up we really had no idea where we were going we just wanted to get high. Seeing as neither of us could read the Norwegian signs we just kept walking in the general direction of where we wanted to go-up. About mid-hike we came to an area where the path split 3 ways. In the middle was this:

If you’re looking for a sign, this is it! Simple and humorous, yet profound. I mean really, how often do we get stuck somewhere cause we don’t know where to go next? Sometimes ya just gotta go with your gut and see what happens. Like I always say, why not?

And now I am in Germany with one of the coolest cats around. I am staying with Kathi, a girl I met in the States 8 years ago and we’ve kept in touch via Facebook (praise God for social media). She mostly remembers me cause we had the same shirt- instant connection. We were destined to meet again:) We’ve spent the last few days sitting on trains, visiting shopping malls, and eating proper German food. It’s been so good! Then next week I am off to the Netherlands to see Gillian, my sweet sweet Irish friend from Harvest School. So much glory awaits! Oh how I love favor.

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