Beginnings

by   September 8, 2019 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

It was quite a nice conversation we had going on as a family. I had just told them my favorite Bible verse, when my then 8 year old grandson said, “My favorite Bible verse is Genesis 1:1. Just the first 3 words.” We all looked at him, nodded, and kept nodding, since no one had to open our Bible to look that verse up. I was thinking maybe it was the only verse he knew. But, he awaited our response, and then felt the need to explain, “Because that is where it all began – in the beginning – and without the beginning, there would be nothing. God is where everything starts.”

We were pleased hearing his explanation of the scripture, but even more pleased when he said, “But when you add in the 4th word and then it says, In the beginning God, that says it all, because without God there would have been no beginning. God is where it all started.”

Somehow, the simplicity of that comment seemed to carry great wisdom in it.

In the beginning God…

What a beautiful four words to hang our hats on – I mean – to hang our hopes on.

We have a lot of beginnings, don’t we? Beginnings are defined as the point in time or space where something starts. The beginning of a new job, beginning a new school year, beginning a family, beginning a diet, beginning a savings account, beginning to build a new home, beginning to heal, beginning a new commitment… the list is full of promise. Because…the beginning is where it all starts.

Think for a minute about a beginning in your life. Or in the life of a loved one.

Got it in your mind? See if this is some of your experience:

*God was there in the beginning. And… God is there in our beginning. He would not have brought us to it, if He could not bring us through it.

*Our present circumstances do not determine where we go – they only determine where we start.

*We had to do as Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”

*What sometimes may have seemed like the end was really just a new beginning.

Facing a new beginning?

You can do it.

God is in our beginnings.

Ready? Set? Begin…

Ann is a speaker and teacher. Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com

Why The Measles Surge Could Open The Door To A Host Of Other Diseases

by   September 7, 2019 with No Comments

With measles making a comeback in many upper-income countries including the United States and still rampant in some poorer nations such as Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar, a leading measles expert is warning of a danger beyond the spread of the disease itself: There’s mounting evidence that when a person is infected with measles, the virus also wipes out the immune system’s memory of how to fight off all sorts of other life-threatening infections – ranging from gastro-intestinal bugs that cause diarrhea to respiratory viruses that trigger pneumonia. From WFDD Radio

Reflection and Renewal

by   September 7, 2019 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            I know that many churches have renewal and revival services. Some last all week, while others have them over a weekend. A special speaker is chosen who will bring a fresh perspective to the congregation. It’s a time when we can stop and take a spiritual inventory and work on rekindling the fire of our faith.

            Last weekend we had a special speaker at our church. I had been looking forward to his coming. We’ve had him before and he is so refreshing, encouraging, challenging, and inspiring. He helps stir up our faith, and makes us reconsider our priorities. He makes me want to draw closer to God.

            We had two sessions with him on Saturday, and then he led the service on Sunday morning. In one way, it doesn’t seem like much time, but in another, he deposited so much in us. I have reviewed my notes and listened to some of the messages again because there is much more than you can grasp in one sitting.

            We got the chance to talk over the weekend, and he picked up on something that I didn’t realize about myself. He said that I was a detail person. I like specifics and want to know everything. At one point while he was teaching he was covering some detailed background to his story and he looked over at me and said, “You must be loving this.” I was eating it up. He shared details about relationships and places from the scripture that I found completely fascinating.

            Throughout the whole weekend he shared some insights and perceptions he felt from the Lord about our church and its place in our community. That’s something we all need to realize, that God has a specific purpose for our church to fulfill in the community. Then to take it a little deeper, what is our individual role in fulfilling our church’s purpose? When God calls us to attend a specific church, then He has a reason for us to be there.

            When we get the chance to attend a conference, we have to work to protect the seed that was sown. The enemy wants us to quickly forget what we learned and return to our routines. That means we have to reflect on what we heard and figure out how to apply it.

            In our conference we learned that the purpose of a church is to help raise up the next generation. God wants us to grow in our faith and trust in Him. He wants us to draw closer and to open our hearts to His great love. But He also wants us to find a way to reach the next generation with the Good News of his gospel.

            To me that means we have to look around and ask, “Are we attracting the younger generations to our church?” Consider where you go to church. Do you have young families that attend? If not, how can you pass the torch to someone who isn’t there? We may have to consider doing somethings differently in order to attract them.

            I know that thought may be unpleasant. I understand; I don’t like change either. But if what we are doing now doesn’t bring in the next generation, how are we going to pass on what we have learned about God? Some churches offer different services with different formats to meet the various needs. That’s great. The only question that lingers in my mind is how will the older generation pass on their wisdom if they never meet the younger generation?

            The solution is… I don’t know. How do we reach the lost and disengaged? All of us have relatives who are unreached. Don’t we want a local church to reach out to them with the love of God? We have to realize that others are praying for us to reach out to their family members who aren’t saved. If what we are currently doing is not reaching out to the lost, then we have to change, to do something that will attract them.

            I want to encourage you to consider how you came to know the Lord. Most of us would have to admit our lives were in a mess. That’s where God chose to meet us, when we were at our worst. So, in order to reach the lost, we are going to have to open our hearts in a different way to receive the broken, discouraged, the hurting, and those who have all kinds of problems. Jesus came for them and He wants to use us. They will be the ones who will carry the torch into the future.

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

Big News!

by   September 6, 2019 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

Happy Happy Joy Joy!  My new novel The Weakest Reed is about to be released on Amazon! I hope you love it! So many things happened to prevent the publishing. But the Lord graciously did for me what I could not do on my own. I love His kindness! If you’d like to read a snippet, see below or go to Amazon. If you buy the printed version the ebook is free. As always, I really appreciate your encouraging comments, likes and shares, and especially your reviews. They’re so important! Thank you! Can’t wait to hear what you think!

Here’s a preview:

There once was a lovely girl who was the delight of her parents. She was obedient almost to a fault. Often we wondered if she’d ever think for herself. When she finally did, one poor choice changed the entire direction of her life.

As her father I watched helplessly as she struggled to overcome the odds. Her natural personality as an introvert became exaggerated. Fear took over and became her closest companion. Seldom did she smile and rarely would she leave the house.

So we prayed.

Night and day her mother and I lifted our daughter up to the Lord. She seemed broken beyond repair. I held tightly to a promise in Scripture and did my best to believe it.

“He will not crush the weakest reed nor put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.” –Isaiah 42:3

This is her story.

Our beautiful Laurel… the weakest reed.

Meet a Therapy Horse

by   September 4, 2019 with No Comments

When Heidi Weston had a serious accident with her horse, she thought she’d never have horses in her life again… until she met Trusty the miniature horse.

The first time Trusty, a miniature horse, went to a memory care facility, he went over to a woman with dementia. From KUOW.ORG

The Challenge of a Tree

by   September 2, 2019 with No Comments

By David Freeze

   I have lived on a farm nearly all my life. Born into a small dairy farm family, I now own another small farm. One constant in all that time has been chainsawing trees. When I was small, I remember my dad using a chainsaw but I also remember him trying to cut down trees using a two man saw. If you haven’t seen one, the thing has two big wooden handles, giant teeth and preferably two men to pull it back and forth to eventually fell a tree. It doesn’t work as well with a grown man and a spindly kid.

    When I was in college and shortly after, I spent several years cutting trees to sell firewood for extra money. It was a lucrative side job and as you might have guessed, I loved the exercise involved. Sawing the tree down, cutting it into certain lengths, manually splitting the thicker pieces, and loading trucks for delivery had a certain manly appeal.

   On my farm now, occasionally trees fall and need to be cut up. I know of two along the creek that need attention now. A least a couple saws are usually ready to get some action. Almost never do I cut a tree that is healthy. Most of my experience has to do with trees that need to come down or have fallen on their own.

    Such was the case with one certain pecan tree on Millbridge Road this morning. The tree had outgrown its area and a portion of it was hanging over the owner’s house. She called and wanted me to take it down, so I went early last Sunday to check it out. Just a little touchy in spots on whether the falling tree would hit the house, I planned to use experience, a quality helper, a good saw, a tractor and a stout rope to make sure the tree didn’t damage the house.

     Yes, I’ve taken down trees that worry me before. One of the most interesting situations involved a good-sized tree that likely would fall on an ex-mother in law’s house. I thought I could take it down safely and she and her husband didn’t want to pay the high price of a tree company. And the biggest thing—I wanted the challenge to get it down.

     Licensed tree removal companies should have insurance to cover the damage of a mistake. A farmer with a tractor, a saw and some rope likely doesn’t. But the price is right. That was the situation this Saturday morning as I started removing low hanging limbs about 8am. My nephew joined me about 10am as we used a tractor and front end loader to take off some limbs that would counterbalance the way I wanted the tree to fall.

    With all that done, one major limb still hung over the house and could spin the tree once it started to fall. With the rope tautly stretched to the tractor and my nephew set to pull it north as it started to fall, I circled the tree a couple times to make sure where I wanted to cut next. The base of the tree was about 17 inches thick, meaning that the 20 inch bar would be almost fully in use.

     I took time for prayer twice during this adventure, just to ask for God’s to help me make the right decisions. At the last minute, I changed positions to cut from the uphill side of the tree. The saw ran perfectly and hit the pre-cut notch just right while the rope and tractor pulled forward after I signaled my nephew to do his part.

     I run for fun and my heart is used to a good workout. Once I saw the chainsaw cut start widening, I knew the tree was slowly starting to fall. We had already cleared out good exit routes in case the tree twisted as it fell. I jumped up and ran up uphill, then turned to see the tree fall perfectly as was planned.

     My heart was pounding, but all was well. Faith in my own experience and equipment, but a much greater faith in the power of prayer helped me to move forward. Similar situations occur often in life. Trust yourself and then trust God more. Move forward, dream and then be encouraged to achieve. You can do it with God’s help.

Labor of Love or Just Labor

by   September 1, 2019 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

So funny. I was in the grocery store and there was a man standing at the back of the store – with maybe 5 items in his buggy. He was talking on the phone. As I walked by, I heard him say in an irritated voice, “I’m IN the checkout line right now, but I will get OUT of line and go back and get IT for you!” (You can hear that tone of voice as you read, can’t you?)

Now, the man was nowhere near the checkout line and he knew I heard him, but all I got when we made eye contact was an irritated look to go along with the irritated voice. I, however, smiled brightly, and came very close to laughing. Oh, the wife (my assumption) was going to receive the item she had called him about, but he WAS going to make sure that she knew that he did NOT want to go ALL THE WAY to the other side of the store to get it. This is not what I would describe as a LABOR OF LOVE. Yes, he was willing to labor, but he was not showing the love.

The reality of my grocery store visit insight was that it brought me to a place where I examined my labor. Is it a labor of love or is it just labor? Does my conversation and demeanor show that I am laboring in love? Or, does my conversation and demeanor show that- yes, I labor for others, but I want to be sure they know how hard it is for me? Good question.

Where can we show our labor of love? Children, spouse, family, friends, the workplace, home, community, organizations, the church… In general, it is anywhere that we spend our time. Labor can be done with a spirit of love and purpose, or it can be done with a spirit of negativity. (Yes, ‘negativity’ is exemplified by the guy in the grocery store.) And, those we labor for can usually discern the spirit that we labor in….

God’s Word gives us great insight about our labor:

*Power of Labor- Ephesians 4:28 – Let him labor, work with his hands the thing which is good,   that he may have to give to him that needeth. (Yes, our labor helps us help others.)

*Promise of Labor- 1 Thessalonians 1:3 – Remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love. Matthew 11:28 – Come unto me all that labor and I will give you rest. (Yes, our labor of love will be remembered and God will give us rest.)

*Profit in Labor- Proverbs 14:23 – In all labor, there is profit. 2 Thessalonians 3:10 – If a man will not work, he shall not eat. (These two verses are pretty clear.)

*Prayer is Labor- Colossians 4:12 – Epaphras always labored fervently in prayer for others. (Let’s not forget to labor in prayer.)

I love the story where a little boy was carrying a heavy load of books. When the load became too heavy, he dropped them. His dad reached down, picked the books up, and put them back in his son’s arms. He then picked up his son and carried him. That is the same way God works in our lives as we labor. We may become weak, but that is when He actually makes us strong.

No, the ‘wife’ did not know that her husband was not already in the checkout line when she called, but she did know that he was not happy about having to pick up an additional grocery item for her. Dear man in the grocery store, here is a better response: “Yes, I’ll get it.” Translation: I love you, and I will show it- as I labor in love for you.

Now that I think about it, do we even need to call it labor? Let’s just call it love.

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