Giggle Don’t Care

by   March 19, 2024 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

I was in the midst of changing clothes when my beloved walked in. “It still looks a little jiggly,” he stated. My head came up and my mouth flew open. “I beg your pardon?!”


“The pie,” he said. “The timer went off, but I think it needs more time in the oven. It’s still a little jiggly.” He turned to go before I could hurl a shoe at his head.


I guess we’ve all been misunderstood before. Especially now with so many words flying around on social media. It’s almost like we have to dissect every comment we make to be sure we don’t offend someone. While that’s not a terrible thing, it would also be nice to experience a little grace. There’s a word used in the old KJV that I love. Forbear. I had to look it up because it’s a bit outdated. Wait. I DID NOT say the King James Version is outdated. What I meant was, the word forbear is not used in everyday speech that often. But its meaning is sweet. Forbearance is “out roofing” or covering for someone when they need a bit of grace. I get the picture of standing by a friend in the rain and covering them with an umbrella. I like it. I know I need that grace an awful lot since I’m such a wordy wordsmith. In my limited understanding it seems to be like giving someone the benefit of the doubt. Instead of suspecting ulterior motives, just assume the better option.


When I was telling my daughter about her father’s untimely comment, she asked, “What kind of pie?”


I shook my head and thought, “So that’s the part you picked up on?” It was a strawberry custard and turned out delicious. While I am struggling health wise, David is learning to bake. He’s always been a fabulous cook, but now baking too? What a man. Perhaps that’s why some of us are a bit jiggly.

Annyyywayyy… here’s the recipe.


Right now, while strawberries are coming in from not so local places, they need a little forbearance. So slice and sprinkle them with sugar. While they rest, preheat your oven to 425 and make the custard.
Combine and beat with a whisk until frothy:
3 eggs
2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
1 T. cornstarch
pinch of salt
Drain strawberries well so your crust doesn’t get soggy. Spread berries into two unbaked pie crusts; Pour custard mixture over berries. Place pies on cookie sheet for easier movement to oven, then bake at 425 about 15 minutes; reduce heat to 325 then bake 30 or so minutes more. Insert a knife to see if the custard is set or if it is still jiggly.


In the meantime, let’s practice this:
“With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;” -Ephesians 4:2 KJV
“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” -Col. 3:13 KJV

Like strawberry custard, forbearance is a sweet treat; especially if you don’t mind things that jiggle.

Focus: Please my Father!

by   March 18, 2024 with No Comments

By Rhonda Sassano

Note to Self

I just need to write some things down. If you don’t want to know any brutal honest truth about me other than what you already know,  don’t feel compelled to keep reading.  

A friend from my childhood came to visit me, and I loved her being here, but it raised some doubts about myself and who I am.  Maybe “doubts” isn’t the right word, but I realized a few things about myself simply because she came.

One of the things I realized is that I have based my life on two priorities.  First priority is to please other people.  (Yes, you read that correctly.  I truly wish it said “to please the Lord.) The second priority is my personal, internal peace.  These two priorities kinda feed off each other, in that, I need the people who are important to me to be happy with me in order for me to be at peace. Nothing earth-shaking there, right?  But this is both frustrating and disappointing to me, because I have been working really hard at not needing affirmation from anyone other than my heavenly Father. And this is no wimpy “oh, I’ll get over it” need, either.  It’s real and very deep and extremely powerful.  It literally is the driving force behind much of what I say, what I do, how I decide, and how I act, even.  And this discovery has been nothing less than wrecking, emotionally.  (If you’ve already known this about me, haha, just let me know!) 

Here’s the crux:  I feel unable to be any different, because I’ve spent 50+ years living out these two priorities.  The most challenging part is that one seems to equal the other:  I have peace when all the important people in my life are happy with me. So I make people happy by pleasing them, in order for myself to be at peace. Thus, all of my people-pleasing is really a selfish act on my part, performed to keep peace in my own heart. It all seems so selfish and self-serving and frustrating to think about a lifetime of continuing on this path I don’t know how to change.  

My only course is to plead for help from the Holy Spirit to live by these verses from Colossians 1 (my paraphrase)

“I will walk in the ways of true righteousness, pleasing God in every good thing I do. Then i will continue to be a fruit-bearing branch, yielding to His life, and maturing in the rich experience of knowing God in His fullness! And I will be energized with all His (noy my own) explosive power from the realm of His magnificent glory, filling me with great hope. My heart soars with joyful gratitude when i think of how God made me worthy to receive the glorious inheritance freely given to me by living in the light. He has rescued me completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated me into the kingdom realm of His beloved Son. For in the Son all my sins are canceled and I have the release of redemption through His very blood. He is the divine portrait, the true likeness of the invisible God, and the firstborn heir of all creation. For in Him was created the universe of things, both in the heavenly realm and on the earth, all that is seen and all that is unseen. Every seat of power, realm of government, principality, and authority—it all exists through Him and for His purpose! He existed before anything was made, and now everything finds completion in Him, including me.”

That’s a long way of saying that this life is about Him, not me.  It’s about pleasing Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith, not about pleasing my family or anyone else.  Many times, what I’m doing at any given moment is both pleasing Him AND pleasing a person.  It’s more about what is motivating my “desire to please” than my actual actions.  And no, I’m not good at remembering to focus on pleasing Him rather than her/him.  But with the help of the Holy Spirit and these verses, I’m going to improve. There are definitely plenty of opportunities to practice!  And daily, I have plenty of chances to practice keeping my peace when someone I love is unhappy with me.  

The Father is patient with me, so I guess I can be, too.  I cannot please everyone all the time.  But I can make it my life’s mission to please the One who matters most.  

With joy,

Rhonda

P.S.  If you struggle with anxiety, disappointment, despair, or depression, please reach out to me.  I am a certified mental health coach who also struggles with those things, and I would be delighted to share my healing and help you find yours! 

“God is not looking for those who can but those who will.”

How to share your faith

by   March 17, 2024 with No Comments

A few weeks ago, my pastor asked if I might kick off a series he was beginning about how to share our faith. It was a crazy morning at our church. We didn’t have heat in the sanctuary, the mike gave out on the pastor, and our video feed wasn’t working properly. We have a tech genius in our church who got the electronics to work. We came back online late but before I took the stage. You can advance about 15 – 20 minutes and join me for the message. Thank you for watching and enjoy!

God is a Writer

by   March 16, 2024 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            Someone recently asked me if I enjoy writing. Writing my column is enjoyable most days, as I am relating how I see God in my everyday life. Then there are times that I stare at the computer hoping something will magically appear on the screen. Those are tough days but I always enjoy the process and knowing I am reaching my readers.  

My students asked me if I prefer writing fiction or non-fiction. I told them that I enjoy writing both but that it is more fun to create fiction. When I write fiction I get to create the characters. They asked if the characters were based on real people or on me. I told them that the characters are developed from a mixture of the people I know. As far as basing a character on myself, I couldn’t deny that there might be a little piece of me in the characters I create.  

I think it is fun and interesting to put my characters in situations and see what happens. Sometimes I am surprised by what a character says and does in a specific situation. I also explained to my students that my characters are real to me. I feel like I interact with my characters in my mind. It is fun to think about the imaginary world of my characters and to create their lives.

            I taught Sunday school last week and taught my class about God as the author of our lives. There are several places in scripture that talk about God as our author. In Revelation, it talks about God bringing all the people of the world together for judgement day. On that day He will open the books of our lives and we will be judged according to what we have done. In another place it talks about us receiving rewards for all the good things we have done.

            In Psalms 139 it says God knitted us together in our mother’s womb. In that same Psalm it says that He saw my unformed body and that all my days were written in His book. It says he ordained my birth and He knows when I will die. Because God is omniscient and not bound by time as we are, He knows every detail of our lives. What is interesting about that to me is that in spite of all the bad stuff in my life, He still loves me.

            I told my Sunday school class that they didn’t need to worry about God knowing all the details in their lives, because there was something else that I learned about Him that would help for all the bad or sinful stuff that we have all done. In I John 1:9 we are promised that if we confess our sins, He will forgive us. That means we have to own up to our sins and shortcomings. Then Jeremiah 31:34 promises us that if we confess our sins to God He will not only forgive us but that he will not remember them anymore. In fact, in Micah 7 we are told that he will throw the memory of our sins into the sea where it will be forgotten forever! That is such great news, that in God’s omniscience He will purposefully forgive and forget our confessed sins.

            The other great thing the Bible tells us about God is that He plans good things for our lives; in fact, He has filled our future with hope. You may wonder why bad things happen in our lives. There is still a devil and he is up to no good. Even when we go through bad times we can trust God because He promises us that He can bring good things out of every situation we face if we will trust Him. Remember, He is the author of our lives, who is constantly looking for ways to bless us and He allows His favor to rest upon our lives.

            No matter what challenges you might be facing, I want to encourage you to turn to God and put your faith and trust in Him. He wrote your story and He has some great things planned for you. You are promised that He is looking out for you and that He will never leave nor forsake you. There is an exciting future waiting to unfold right before your eyes. Yes, there will be tough days, but you can be assured that you will never walk alone. The God of the entire universe is watching out for you, promising great things are planned for you and your life is encased in His unfathomable love.   

Contact Doug Creamer at PO Box 777, Faith, NC 28041or doug@dougcreamer.com

Hardships Offer Opportunities

by   March 15, 2024 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

Times of hardship offer opportunity. The trials may allow our best qualities to shine, or they may let our lower selves emerge. The writer Seneca wrote, “It does not matter what you bear, but how you bear it.”

During the present COVID-19 crises, I so appreciate the action of such people as Mark Cuban, Anthony Fauci, Yamiche Alcindor, and Peter Cancro. These four and many more folks have stepped up and led in their own way during the pandemic. They each are successful in their professional arenas, but their success has not kept them from sharing it with the nation when it is most needed.

I wish the owner of the shuttered Hahneman Hospital in Philadelphia was able to “step up” and give to the community. It seems, according to news’ reports, that Joel Freedman, the owner of the closed hospital, wanted to charge the city $400,000 per month to rent the space during this COVID-19 crisis. The city, in desperate need for additional hospital beds, turned to Temple University for space. The leaders of Temple, unlike Freedman, rose to the occasion and stepped in.

It is encouraging to witness so many folks being active supporters for the good of all. They are following the words of Seneca quoted above. But for some, like Freedman, their only desire is to act selfishly. Those people are missing a great opportunity to do a good and to grow as a person.

Spring Beginning Runners Class

by   March 14, 2024 with No Comments

By David Freeze

A few warmer days have a lot of folks starting to think about getting in shape for the beach and other warm weather pursuits. The 18th annual spring beginning runners class will kick off on Tuesday, March 12, at 6 p.m., again at the Salisbury Police Station at 130 Liberty Street.

The spring class will continue for eight weeks of Tuesday meetings, each time beginning with a 30-minute classroom session. Topics for these sessions include shoes and equipment, stretching and strengthening, running form, injury prevention, nutrition and safety.

Each participant gets a training schedule, a dri-fit training shirt, membership in the Salisbury Rowan Runners for a year and entry into the May 25 Bare Bones 5K. They will also get individual coaching and encouragement throughout the program and should come prepared to run/walk a half mile on the first night on the way to 3.1 miles during week 8. Classes are held regardless of the weather.

Children under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult or with special permission. Cost remains $65 per person. Registration is live at runsignup.com

Next up locally are three interesting races. A new race, the Wipe Out Colorectal Cancer 5K and Fun Run for Rowan Diagnostic Clinic is set for March 9. The 5K will start at the Catawba College softball field, then will use the greenway and a portion of the Crescent area on an out and back course. After the run, the scene will shift to the Rowan Diagnostic Clinic at 611 Mocksville Avenue for a block party and fun run. All runners and walkers will get a food truck voucher and commemorative t-shirt. Proceeds will provide free colonoscopies for those in need.

On March 16, the Love Thy Neighbor 5K/10K/ Fun Run will all be held as part of the 8th Annual Fundraiser at Concordia Lutheran Church. Both the 5K and 10K courses are rural near the church and will be protected by Atwell Fire Department. The scenery itself may be the prettiest for any race in the county. Participants, both runners and walkers, get a free country breakfast and shirt. All proceeds will be used to help with medical expenses for Kassidy Sechler, the South Rowan High School softball player who experienced a cardiac arrest at a tournament in 2021. Kassidy has experienced multiple hospital stays and visits since that time. A detailed story about Kassidy and the Love Thy Neighbor event is in today’s Post.

The last race of the month is the Mt. Hope Church 5K and Fun Run at Salisbury Community Park on March 23. All proceeds are used for missions, locally and abroad. The course uses pavement and hard-packed gravel surfaces.

All three races have refreshments, many overall and age group awards and are open to runners and walkers.

My latest book is just out and available locally at Father and Son Produce. It’s entitled “River Ride” and is a recounting of my bicycle journeys during the summer of 2022 and 2023. It encompasses my journey along the complete Mississippi River from the source at Lake Itasca State Park, Minnesota to New Orleans, Louisiana, and covering more than 2,500 miles. Additionally, I pedaled from Lake Itasca to Duluth, Minnesota, to jump into a new journey along the North Shore of Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes and the largest body of fresh water by area in the world.

Unusual to this book were a large group of people who I met along the way and were actively involved in the journey. Never before during any of the long-distance trips had so much of this happened. I am still in touch with a dozen or so of them and all will receive a copy of the book for their efforts.

Also included in this journey is the recounting of a 20-hour train trip back to Salisbury from New Orleans and a visit to the “Field of Dreams” movie site, where I got to run the bases and walk out of the corn just as the old-time baseball players did.

Look for more information on running and walking events at www.salisburyrowanrunners.org.

Remembering All He Has Done

by   March 13, 2024 with No Comments

By Ed Traut

Psalms 40:2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.

  • We remind ourselves continually of all the things He has done!
  • We do not forget from where we have come and how He has delivered us and done great things for us.  We allow no pride or confidence of our own achievements
  • We recognize that He has given us a place to stand firmly in Him.

Prayer:  Lord it is all because of You.  I have nothing to boast in, but Your goodness and what You have done for me.  I rejoice in the fact that I stand firm and it is all in You.  Amen.
 

Ed Traut
Prophetic Life

Words Wisely Spoken

by   March 12, 2024 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

How are you?

Fine.

Your call is important to us.

Really?

Why am I on hold for so long?

I hate to interrupt you.

No, you don’t or you wouldn’t have.

I am on my way.

This does not necessarily mean they are in the car yet.

This is the truth.

So, everything you tell me is not the truth?

Just forget about it.

This rarely means you should forget about it.

Be there in a minute.

It probably will be more than a minute.

I may be wrong but…

Well, why say it then?

Let me see what I can do.

I am not always hopeful when hearing this.

No worries.

For some reason, this comment worries me.

I will let you know.

Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don’t.

That is a short list of things we say that we often give little thought to as we say them.

And how about these oxymorons?

Alone together. Civil war. Crash landing. Deafening silence. Found missing. Paper tablecloth. Sad smile. Freezer burn. Good grief. Only choice. Pretty ugly.

During my teaching career, many of my students slipped me notes. On some of those notes were these words: Your the best teacher!

Yes, I knew your should have been you’re.

But those notes were perfect and priceless as penned. No corrections needed!

There are approximately 170,000 words in the English language. Connecting and communicating with others matters.

If not, God would not have given us the ability to construct or concoct that many words.

But our tone and our tongue can sometimes be tragic, even if we intend for it to be timely.

Perhaps with 170,000 word choices, we should always try to think before we speak.

Yes, I may make a blooper, a blunder, or even a boo-boo when speaking to someone.

And when I do, I always have regret, remorse and repentance take place in my heart.

Words can inspire or destroy. Words wisely spoken are winners!

Why is this Happening to me?

by   March 11, 2024 with No Comments

By Rhonda Sassano

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?  WHY DOES THIS  K E E P  HAPPENING TO ME?

We often wonder “Why, Lord, am I going thru this?”  The next divine encounter might be the reason why.  This is a small example, but maybe you can relate:  Last year, Victor had 3 flat tires in less than 14 days.  He was like, God, what is going on?!?!  He “got real” with the Lord for a minute.  Then, when Victor gets into the tow truck, he asks the driver, “How can I help you?” And based on the conversation, Victor shares his testimony with the guy.   Later, Victor’s father-in-law also had a conversation with the same guy about the Lord.  He didn’t know that Victor had already plowed the ground a bit.  And, no. No harvest that day.  But seeds went out or hardened dirt was tilled or fertilizer was mixed in.  Maybe it was just a little water to promote growth.   Either way, the Father has need of your story to draw in the next tow-truck driver.  Or the StarBucks barista or customer.  Or the impatient bank teller.  The careless buggy-collecting teen in the Harris Teeter parking lot.  Am I saying you should tell your story to every person you meet?  No.  I’m saying you need to be WILLING to share it with anyone you meet.  Am I saying that the Lord allows us to experience brokenness so someone else can get saved?  

Yup.  Not usually for that purpose alone, but yes.  And you need to get ready.

 1 Peter 3:15 “Worship Christ with your life. And be ready to tell anyone who asks about the hope that lies within you.”  Sometimes people ask without asking.  They’ll broach a subject or tell you something personal, and then they wait for your response.  That is STILL asking, even if it isn’t phrased as a question.  

 You need to be willing to face your area of brokenness and recognize it for what it is:  normal.  Not embarrassing or showing weakness or sharing TMI or any other lie the enemy wants you to believe.  It is NORMAL to be broken.  To have addictive behaviors.  Don’t misunderstand me here.  I am not saying it is ok to engage in addictive behaviors.  I’m saying we need to recognize them, understand what area of brokenness we are trying to cope with, and ask the Lord to forgive us for believing the lie there and replace it with His truth instead.  (A less offensive term for addictive behaviors is “coping mechanisms.)

You need to understand that God has a purpose for the brokenness He has allowed into your life.   He always has a plan.  A plan for your GOOD.  A plan for your GROWTH.  When you really consider all that has happened in your life: the good, bad, ugly, and beautiful, isn’t that exact conglomeration exactly what has perpetuated your closeness to Jesus?  Aren’t all the circumstances, challenging, easy, difficult, painful, joyful what brought you to where you are today?  Where else might you be except for the Lord intervening in one inconvenient way after another?

Listen.  Let me be really real with you right now.  It IS very difficult to be transparent.  It’s a huge risk to share your story and make yourself vulnerable.  It feels like one of those dreams in which you went to school not completely dressed.  And you don’t need to have the same level of transparency with every person you meet.  But you DO need to admit that you have brokenness.  That you are broken. That you have weathered some terrifying storms in your lifetime.  Earthquakes, even.  And each one of those experiences has changed you.  For better or for worser, you are not the same.

 When I am getting my heart ready for Sunday, every week, it’s tough.  I have to continually submit my will to the Lord.  I have to find the courage again to be vulnerable, to let you in to my pain. Every week, in the words I pray before the message, I intentionally lay my heart bare.  I remove all the covers from my life. In the prayers I pray, you can see all my struggles.  You can hear all my desires.  You can gain a sense of my failures and despairings.  I hope you realize that all I am, my whole life, is on the altar, but I’m still struggling to be still and trust Him when all I really want to do is crawl away and hide.  But you need to know that those prayers are birthed in the secret place where no one is allowed but Jesus.  Sometimes, when I start to write out what’s on my heart to say, words are just…too insufficient.  So I find a passage or a Psalm that communicates the love I want to feel from Him, the faithful kindness I want to experience, and all those things I’m only believing because I know God’s word is true, not because I’m feeling any of it.  So here’s the challenge.  Follow me as I follow Christ.  Take the risk to recognize the brokenness, recognize the goodness of God in it, and be willing to share it.  It could change someone’s life.

Would you spend some time asking the Father for His perspective on the circumstances of your life? Is there something you need to learn, to do, or to change?  Ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any coping mechanisms that have slipped in.  Ask Him to bring into the light any lies you are believing that are perpetuating that coping mechanism.   Ask Him to replace it with His truth and set you free.  Consider the grace the Father has extended to you.  How can we withhold that precious, life-changing grace from others?  

If you have the courage, here’s a prayer:  Father, I acknowledge my brokenness.  And I acknowledge that You have allowed it into my life.  Not for my hurt or for my pain, but to draw me closer to You, to push me to seek Your face more than ever before.  To honor me with a deeper understanding of Who You are.  So I receive all the brokenness from Your hand.  I let go of all the blame.  I forgive the one who has hurt me the most.  You allowed this, all of this, for my good.  So I would choose You.  Help me now to dig deeper, to discover the well of refreshing, the spring of rejuvenation that is found only in Your presence.  Help me hear the lies I speak to myself.  Give me courage to believe Your truth and be free of addictive behaviors.  I can endure pain without coping.  I lean into You.  You promised that when I am weak, then I am strong with YOUR strength.  

In Jesus’ name, amen. 

If you are struggling with depression, anxiety, discouragement, or disappointment, please reach me here:  sunnyshade13@gmail.com.  I am a certified mental health coach and work with those who are fellow-strugglers to find health and healing through creative experiences and expression.

With joy,

Rhonda 

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