Lynna’s Letter “E”

by   February 26, 2025 with No Comments

By Lynna Clark

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” -James1:17

What a thought! ALL the good things, all the blessings, every joy in our life is sent to us by God. And best of all, because of His unchanging character, this will never change. As the old hymn says, “Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Tonight, focus with me on all the good things coming down from our heavenly Father.

Bonus verse:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man the things God has prepared for them that love Him.” -1 Corinthians 2:9

Being led by the Heart

by   February 25, 2025 with No Comments

You really need to consult your wife before making BIG decisions… Steve Hartman tells the story that illustrates what family can be and that dreams sometimes cost us more than we realize… ENJOY!!!

Easy or Not?

by   February 24, 2025 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

Easy or not?

How many times have I thought –

I need to find something easy to cook.

 I need to find something easy for the project I am working on.

 Is there an easy way to do that math problem?

Easy or not?

Probably not.

Remember seeing people at the fair or circus doing magic tricks?

Were those magic tricks easy or not?

Probably not.

They probably took some practice.

Have you seen a worker using an excavator to load up a ton of dirt? Well, it may not be a ton, but it looks like it to me. They swing that bucket around, move it here and there, and if we stay long enough, we will see them load up that dirt and dump it in just the right spot. Personally, I think it is worth stopping to watch.

Easy or not?

Probably not.

In the last several years, your family may have grown by a baby or two or even three.

One of the spouses may now stay home and take care of the baby.

Easy or not?

Probably not.

Worth it? Of course.

In the last several years, has your family faced hurdles or roadblocks?

We all run into those quite often.

If it is a hurdle, it must be jumped over.

If it is a roadblock, it must be gone around or broken through.

Sometimes, it must be picked up and moved out of the way.

That is not easy.

Doing hard things.

Is it easy?

Not likely.

But – is it worth it?

Of course.

Research shows that doing hard things in life brings results.

The unknown is that what is a hard thing for one person may not be a hard thing for someone else.

What about the things in life we wish we had done?

What about the things in life we wanted to do, but did not do?

Do the hard things.

We will grow as a person.

We will become a better person.

We will become more productive.

Doing hard things can actually be a time of joy.

Crossing a hurdle can seem difficult.

Going through a roadblock can seem almost impossible.

Life not only involves doing easy things, but it also involves doing hard things.

Interestingly, easy and hard can merge and blend into something that is no longer hard.

Having access to – and using – the right ‘tools’ makes all the difference.

Did Jesus do hard things?

You know the answer to that!

Romans 5:8 – While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rushing Through Life

by   February 23, 2025 with No Comments

By Ashlie Miller

It has become a common reflection that January drags on, but February is over before you realize it even began! Well, usually, that is the case. However, many may argue that with Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter, it has been more like Februweary – neverending. Are there seasons you wish you could speed up? It is a sentiment that is as old as legends. 

In Book of Virtues, William Bennett includes a story in the anthology about a young boy (Peter) eager to get through the boring and mundane things of life (like school days) to have fun and enjoy life. One day, an old woman meets him in the woods and offers him an extraordinary gift – a shiny ball filled with a golden thread. Ever so slowly, the thread dispenses from the ball with the passage of each moment. A word of caution accompanies the gift – the child may speed time by pulling the thread but can never put the thread back into the ball. Thus, careful consideration before tugging the string is a must. Also, he may never tell a living soul about this magical gift, or he will die.

Peter thoughtfully considers pulling the string while at school to rush towards playtime. After a while, that is not enough, and he is ready to be through with school years altogether. As you can imagine, the boy wishes to rush through many other struggles and heartaches – learning a trade, waiting to marry his sweetheart, years in the military, hard times as a family man, and the sickness of loved ones. Finally, as he ages, he notices his mother has, too, a little too quickly and then dies. He looks at the ball, whose thread has turned to silver and then a dull gray, and realizes that while he has gotten his wish to hurry time, he has also rushed life for himself and others. In his desire to get through mundane, tedious, difficult, and hard seasons in life, he now looks back on missed days accumulated as years with those he loved. Much of life was in both the tedium and the hardships.

We may not be assisting our moments and days away with a magical ball, but the lure of technology, numbing entertainment at the tip of our fingers, and mindless scrolling are but a few of the aids that have stolen our time. Are we conscious of the time we are losing? Are electronic devices the magic ball pushing us through time instead of experiencing seasons gloriously or even mostly unremarkably? Perhaps you can think of other things getting in the way of relishing simple joys.

Christians understand the need to make the best use of time (see Ephesians 5:16). Sometimes the best use of the time is not in our productivity or arriving at the goal but in the slow process of investing in the precious lives about us – little people in our shadows, cherishing those in the winter of life, appreciating those with whom you live and should love daily but most likely take for granted.

What will you see as you look back over your life – memories to cherish or missed opportunities – even in the uneventful or difficult seasons? How are you cherishing and investing today? There are still a few days left this short month – redeem the days you have ahead.

Ashlie Miller has enjoyed a very boring winter with her family in Concord, NC. You may connect with her at mrs.ashliemiller@gmail.com.

Are You Infectious?

by   February 22, 2025 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

                There have been a number of people I know who have been suffering from flu, RSV, or Covid. I have also heard people coughing in stores. I find myself wondering, “are you contagious?” I don’t want to get sick. I don’t have two weeks of my life to spend in bed getting over whatever it is that someone else is dealing with right now. I try to be careful and wash my hands and stay away from people who appear to be fighting some kind of illness.

                I struggle all year long with allergies, which are different from being sick. I don’t need to add sickness to my allergies. I went for my semi-annual check up with my doctor the other day. There was a woman in the waiting area who appeared to be sick. Another woman came out of the office who was obviously sick. The woman in the waiting area asked, “Have you got it, too?” I thought about what I observed. Both women, who knew they were sick, were considerate enough to have been wearing masks to protect others from whatever infectious thing they had.

                When I was a kid chickenpox was making the rounds. At the time, doctors told parents to expose their other children and go ahead and get it over with in their household. It is very contagious and kids passed it around like candy. We know now that was not a good idea because the chickenpox virus is what can cause us to get shingles later in life. Thanks, Doc!

                Our knowledge about infectious viruses grows as time moves on. We do the best we can with the knowledge we have at the time. We hope that most people will be considerate of others when they are contagious to stay home and try to get better before being around others and sharing their germs.

                The idea of being infectious or contagious has been tumbling around in my mind. I have been wondering if we have the kind of faith that is infectious or contagious. Do we live our lives in such a way that those around us could “catch it?” Are we living so others are attracted to our faith?

                The Bible tells us to be ready in season and out of season to give the reason for our hope. Our hope comes through our faith in God. We have a relationship with the living God and we can’t stop talking about it. Have you ever been around a newlywed couple? They can’t keep their hands off each other. They look like their eyes are glazed over. No one in the world exists besides their new spouse. That’s how it should be with our faith in God. Sickeningly contagious!

                I understand the reality of life. We all walk through trials and difficulties, but does that have to keep us from having a contagious faith? Imagine Paul and Silas; they are beaten and whipped, then put in a dungeon with their feet in stocks. They are hurting physically without pain meds. What do they do? They pray and sing hymns to God. WHAT? Guess what happens. The jailer and his entire family came to believe in Jesus. Why? Because in spite of unbearable circumstances their faith in God shone brightly. It was desirable to the jailer. He wanted what they had!

                When we find ourselves in the middle of difficulties we can’t walk around defeated. We can acknowledge the facts but we need to express our faith in God who we know and believe will come through for us. That kind of faith is contagious. It’s easy to have faith when everything is going great, but can we express our faith in God when things are not going our way? Do we believe that He can work all things out for us in a favorable way? When the doctor report isn’t great or circumstances are challenging us at every turn, can we and do we depend on God to help us overcome our circumstances?

                I want to encourage you to remember that God is on your side. He sees your problems and difficulties and knows the path to a better place. I know you trust Him because He has come through for you in the past. Express your faith in Him for your current situation because He will be faithful to you. When we can live expressing our faith during the trials of life we will have a contagious faith. We will have the kind of faith that others desire for themselves. The world around us needs to be infected; are you contagious? 

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

Everybody’s Doing It

by   February 21, 2025 with No Comments

By Roger Barbee

The ride on the stationary bike was damp and chilly this mid-February morning. However, what I saw in the world of birds on and around the feeders in our back yard confirmed a suspicion of mine formed last week.

Riding along, I saw more than one bird fussing with another, and not always for the sunflower seeds in the feeders and on the ground underneath them. It seemed that everywhere in the back-yard birds were glaring at each other or chasing another of the same breed or carrying on in a frenzy of, yes, spring. Perhaps the most dramatic display was by two brown thrashers: One would chase the other until the chased thrasher turned as if to scold the chaser who retreated a few paces. Then they would individually hunt for seeds, then the chase would begin anew. I finally lost sight of them when they disappeared into one of the large azaleas. The morning ride was easier because I watched the birds instead of the bike odometer, and the time of exercise was past.

However, as I later thought of the birds’ display of early mating, I thought of how the important cycles of the world go on, often without our noticing. We get so captivated by secular happenings we lose sight of the ageless cycles of life of our only planet. But the words of Solomon should be remembered and appreciated each day: “To everything there is a season….”

The natural world has much to offer. Yes, it is violent and harsh at times. Yes, it is beautiful and refreshing at times. But we are to be its stewards “to dress it and to keep it.” Yet, when we get too obsessed with the secular world we have made, such as the political one, we lose sight and appreciation of the natural world that surrounds us. When we become too self-important, we forget that we are just one of the many creations of Him. We are made in His image, yes, but if we allow that fact to “go to our heads” we run the risk of losing sight of our place in the totality of life.

All the birds are doing it—preparing for a new cycle of life. They, like the lily of the field, do what they do. Perhaps if we each got out more, leaving the cell phone in the house, and walk around our block, seeing the world as it is and not as some news channel reports it, we would see that we only have each other, all of us made by Him, who does not make trash.

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