Ann Farabee

By Ann Farabee

I understand, Habakkuk.

I really do.

Life sure can be a mystery.

Sometimes, there are things we need to know.

Sometimes, there are questions we need to ask.

Knowing that you — a minor prophet — took your questions to God, helps me know that God will answer my questions, too.

When reading your questions from Habakkuk 1:2, I felt your pain. I felt you crying out.

I sure have been there.

You asked, “Oh Lord, how long must I cry out and You will not hear me? How long must I cry out and You will not save me?”

I sure am glad you asked God those questions, because I really wanted to know the answer, as well. We may not often admit it, but sometimes it seems as if it is taking forever for the answer to come.

Yes, Habakkuk. God answered you.

God who created the world — and created us — is willing to answer our questions.

That knowledge takes my breath away.

As does the response Habakkuk received.

God’s response? In Habakkuk 1:5, God said, “Be utterly astounded! I will work a work in your days, that you would not believe, even if I told you.”

God was going to do an unbelievable work in Habakkuk’s days. “Will work a work”’ meant that he would begin, continue and finish. “In your days” meant it will not be deferred, put off or postponed. The unbelievable would happen in his lifetime.

We need to believe God will do the unbelievable. Really believe — not just for the past or for the future, but for the here and now. God is here. His presence is real. He will work a work in our days.

Mark 11:24 tells us that whatever we ask in prayer, believe that we have received it, and it will be ours.

Jeremiah 33:3 says that we are to call on him and he will answer us, and show us great and mighty things, that we did not know.

• Lord — your plans are bigger than we could ever imagine.

Help us to imagine the unimaginable.

• Lord — you still do the unbelievable.

Help us to believe the unbelievable.

• Lord — you still can — and you still will — astound us.

Help us to be utterly astounded.

Lord, may we expect to be astounded by the unimaginable and the unbelievable. Amen.

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

By Ann Farabee

Letting go.

It is personal.

No one can do it for you.

Telling someone to let go can be helpful — but only if they let go.

As a 10-year-old, I attended swim classes at the YMCA. The instructor was nice. The water was not too cold. I would sit on the steps of the pool. I would then walk down the steps while holding on to the side of the pool.

The next step would be to let go of the side of the pool. I refused. Not one time during those lessons did I let go. I regret that my parents had to pay for me to hold on to the side of the pool.

As a 20-year-old, I was required to pass a swim test in college in order to pass PE. My teacher very calmly told me that I would need to let go of the side of the pool in order to swim.

I promised I would try. He waited. Nothing.

Finally he counted expressively, “One, two, three. Let go!”

After a few countdowns, he gently spoke these words, “In order to let go, you will have to open your hands.”

Trust me — the side of the pool was not easy to let go of, but I finally did. Instruction became possible. I learned to swim that semester and earned my A in PE. My teacher was proud.

Until I opened my hands, let go and chose to trust, there would have been little chance of overcoming my lifelong fear of the water. I could have held on with hands tightly clenched to the side of the pool for the entire semester — and admit defeat. But I chose to trust my teacher and then began to trust the water that surrounded me.

Trust changed everything.

Trust. It is a small but beautiful word that brings out our emotions and resonates as a firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or some thing.

When most of us were growing up, we may remember standing on some stairs yelling out, “Catch me, Daddy!” Then, with reckless abandon we would let go and fly through the air because we had complete trust that our father would catch us. He always would.

Or maybe we remember our children jumping into their father’s arms from the stairs, as they yelled out, “Catch me, Daddy!” and went diving through the air with complete trust that he would catch them. He always would.

The trust a child can have in his father — it is an amazing thing.

The trust we can have in our heavenly father — it is an amazing thing.

Which would feel sweeter?

How we feel when we know we can trust God?

Or how God must feel knowing that we trust him?

I think both make him smile.

Ecclesiastes 3:6 tells us that there is a time to let go.

Trust God! Do not fear. He will catch us!

Every. Time.

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

By Ann Farabee

Without a doubt, the columns I have received the most messages and emails about have dealt with going through difficult circumstances in life. The Lord has certainly allowed me to go through many trials — and my tests have become my testimonies.

I love the promise in John 16:33: “These things have I spoken unto you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

How much tribulation must we deal with that needs to be overcome?

In most of our lives, the answer to that question is: a lot!

But we can be of good cheer! Not only can we be of good cheer, but we can have peace. Not only can we be of good cheer and have peace, but we also have an overcomer! His name is Jesus!

To overcome means to prevail over, to defeat, to overpower or ascendancy. The word ascendancy is a noun that means to occupy a position of power or influence.

The Lord is our overcomer! He prevails over our lives. He defeats and overpowers our enemies. He occupies the position of power and influence in our world. This knowledge surely can bring peace in our lives.

It seems way too often that my husband and I have to look at each other with a sigh and a head-shake as we say, “It’s always something!”

It is always something, isn’t it? I mean — that’s a promise, right? We will have tribulation. The meaning of tribulation is great trouble. Yes, great trouble comes quite often.

I like to repeat this often: Jesus is my overcomer.

• Health problems? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Financial needs? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Anxiety? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Spiritual weakness? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Emotional problems? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Children struggling? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Marriage problems? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Fear? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Problems at work? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Loneliness? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Grieving? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Failure? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Ice cream in a cone melting over my hand? Jesus is my overcomer.

• Need to get a flying bug out of my house? Jesus is my overcomer.

The last two were to see if you were paying attention, but also remind us that Jesus is not only our overcomer in times of life’s big problems, but also in our everyday lives.

Jesus is my overcomer!

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

By Ann Farabee

On an early March morning in 1995, my family gathered around the bedside of my mother. She was on her final earthly journey, as she was heading to see her savior face-to-face.

All we knew to do as a family was to be present, to hold on to her, to pray and to sing.

This is a song I remember us singing to her that day:

Jesus loves me — this I know.

For the Bible tells me so.

Little ones to him belong.

They are weak — but he is strong.

I wonder how Anna Bartlett Warner felt when she wrote these words. Surely they brought tears to her eyes. It was set to music by William Bradbury, who also added the chorus. She taught it to cadets at the U.S. Military Academy. Soldiers sang it on the battlefield. It became even more well known through a picture of a dying child being comforted by the words. Anna could never have had any idea of the hope and peace that song would bring to the world for generations to come.

The words are so simple: Jesus loves us. We know that because the Bible tells us. We are his little ones. We belong to him. We are weak. He is strong.

When my mother breathed her last breath, I never thought I would regain my strength. I was too weak. But when we are weak, we can become strong. How do I know?

Second Corinthians 12:10 says, “For when I am weak, then am I strong.”

Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my life.”

Isaiah 40:29 says, “He gives strength to the weak.”

We all go through times of being weak. Some of those times may have been in seasons of difficulty: the death of a loved one, pain, sickness, disappointment, depression, discouragement, financial loss, fear, anxiety or a broken heart.

I am so thankful God has provided a way to give us strength in our times of weakness. How can we find that strength?

1. Pick up God’s word. Open it. Turn the pages. Read the words. The Holy Spirit will give our weakness strength through those words, for God’s word is alive and active, and still speaks to our hearts today.

2. Talk to the father. We may feel weak and weary. Our flesh and heart may fail us. But — we are his little ones. We belong to him. He wants us to talk to him.

Weak but strong?

Yes, we are.

Because God is our strength.

Because God gives us strength.

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

By Ann Farabee

• Consider our ways.

How can we consider our ways? To consider means to think carefully about something. Ways means our way, our journey, or our manner. As we consider our ways, we could ask ourselves this question, “During my time on this earth, am I more concerned with my own needs than I am with fulfilling God’s will for my life?

Lord, help us to understand that we belong to you. Help us to consider our ways and make serving you our top priority.

Repeat as needed: Consider my ways.

• God is with us.

This is powerful. To even begin to understand that God is always with us is more than the heart can take. We are a friend of God. Do we deserve to be? No. But we are.

Lord, help us to truly grasp that You are surrounding us and that the Holy Spirit is living inside us. When we begin to understand, we will never be the same.

Repeat as needed: God is with me.

• We can be strong.

How can we be strong when we are so weak? We can be strong because God is with us. God gives us strength. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will give strength to his people. That’s who we are — his people.

Lord, help us to see that we do not have to toil or labor for our strength. Help us to remember that you give strength to us. It is a gift from our heavenly father.

Repeat as needed: God will make me strong.

• In this place God will give peace.

How can we have peace when our lives are not peaceful? Peace is inside us. God gives it to us. Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will bless his people with peace.

Lord, help us to remember that you have blessed us with peace. Not just tomorrow’s peace, or yesterday’s peace, but peace in the place we are today — this place.

Repeat as needed: God will give peace in this place.

• The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.

Haggai spent much time encouraging the people to make the work of rebuilding the temple their top priority. It can be so easy to falter and without even realizing it not put God as our top priority — even though he makes us a top priority.

Lord help us to remember that this life is not about our earthly home — but is about the glorious kingdom not built by man. Thank you for the promise that you will make all things new and that the end will be better than the beginning.

Repeat as needed: The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.

This has been brought to you from the book of Haggai.

Read it.

It is only two chapters.

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

By Ann Farabee

Walking in the grocery store felt like a privilege. Every color imaginable was there. There was even fruit! The colors seemed brighter than I remembered. Hmm? The grocery store is a beautiful place? I had never noticed it.

Until… I was no longer going to it.

There were people.

They thought no one was paying attention to them.

They thought no one was even noticing them.

They surely did not think anyone was appreciating them.

But I saw you. Some of you I knew. Most of you I did not. When I passed by you, I may not have even acknowledged you. We may — or may not — have said hello in passing.

But I felt like I knew you.

You were a family member buying food for a meal, sometimes with a child in tow.

You were the one who helps your child daily with schoolwork.

You were the one who leads them in prayer at night.

I have seen you volunteering — at food pantries, at organizations, at church, with youth sports.

I see you investing in lives of your children — and some who are not your children — so they can be successful.

I see you — the one who prays for many daily, and they don’t even realize it.

I see you — the worker that always goes beyond expectations. You are the pastor, the teacher, the nurse, the plumber, the cashier, the businessman, the mail carrier, the delivery man.

I see you — the exhausted parents — or grandparents — raising children.

I see you — caring for the elderly or the sick who need constant care.

I see you — the father — the grandfather — who always finds time to say yes, even if your tired body is saying no.

I see you making sacrifices daily for others.

I am so thankful we are not in this journey called life alone.

I smile as I think about you — those who would be at my doorstep in a minute if I needed you. And… I would be at yours if you needed me.

That is the way life is…

We are family.

Not always by blood… but family in our hearts.

Never feel that no one cares.

Never feel that no one notices.

We see you. We know how hard you work. We appreciate how hard you work.

We just fail to tell you.

Sometimes we even live in the same house — and still fail to tell you.

But we know. We are all doing the best we can.

We are still in the midst of a season of life that has been like none other.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 says for us to encourage one another and build each other up.

Love and encouragement matters now more than ever.

Tell someone you appreciate them.

We all need to hear it.

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

By Ann Farabee

What an evening it had been! Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He took part in the Last Supper. He predicted his betrayal and foretold that Peter would deny him. Jesus told the disciples that He is the way to the father. He promised that he would not leave them comfortless, but would send the comforter. He taught them that he is the vine and they are the branches who produce fruit. And, that even though the world would hate, they needed to love. And…they needed to pray.

He finished this time of preparing his disciples for what was to come by praying for himself, praying for them, and praying for us — the future believers.

He then took his disciples with him to the Garden of Gethsemane. He began to feel sorrowful and very heavy. He told them to watch and pray, as he had taken them as far as they could go. He had to face this — for them — and for us — alone.

For, Jesus was to bear the cross, carrying the weight of the sin of the world. Our sin. Each of us. All of us. What he would have to face was unimaginable. Suffering. Pain. Agony. Anguish. Darkness. Separation.

Then, Jesus went a little farther. He fell on his face and prayed, while in deep agony. In his prayer, he asked the father to let the cup pass from him, and then submitted to the will of the father as he continued, “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done.”

He had just prayed the greatest prayer in the history of the world — as he made a way for the salvation of the world. The heart of Jesus was now prepared for what was to come.

As the evening was ending, Jesus was betrayed and arrested.

He then entered into the worst day in human history.

He who was not of the world — came to the world — for the world.

I am so glad He went a little farther.

And… he went to the father.

He went farther than anyone had ever been…for anyone.

That anyone was everyone. It was you. It was me.

I believe, without a doubt, that as Jesus looked down from the cross to those who were putting Him to death, and said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do,” that He looked ahead in time and thought of me — Ann.

And, I believe he thought of you.

Three days later, the best day in human history arrived. The stone was rolled away. He was not there! For he was risen!

It is not just a story, my friends. It is history — his story.

Jesus, thank you for going a little farther that day in the garden for us.

Thank you for going all the way — to the cross. 

Help us each day to go a little farther for you. Amen

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

By Ann Farabee

The memory:

While sitting in the auditorium of my elementary school, looking up into the eyes of a nurse dressed in white and wearing a white nurse’s cap, I remember her being quiet, polite and serious. I reached up to receive a sugar cube dosed with serum as part of the distribution of the Sabin vaccine. It was believed by scientists that it could eradicate polio.

Polio was something I knew very little about. I was too young to know. But I did know people that had died from it and a classmate at my school suffered paralysis from it.

That was enough knowledge for me.

I believed the sugar cube could protect me from the dreaded disease.

I nervously — and gratefully — took it.

I wonder how the nurse felt that day.

It was a seemingly simple task.

At the same time, it held great responsibility.

Just another day at work? I doubt it.

I believe she knew what she was doing was highly important. I believe she held hope that this would help bring an end to polio that was devastating families.

That memory of the polio vaccine from more than 50 years ago had come to mind that evening, as my husband and I walked into the pharmacy for our second COVID vaccine.

The moment:

6:45pm. COVID vaccine No. 2 — also known as the Fauci Ouchie.

The pharmacist giving us our vaccines was quiet, polite and serious. He had been giving the vaccine all day. I was No. 45.

I wonder how he felt that day.
It was a seemingly simple task.

At the same time, it held great responsibility.

Just another day at work? I doubt it.

I believe he knew what he was doing was highly important. I believe he held hope that this would help bring an end to COVID that was devastating families.

The aftereffect:

We were aware that side effects from the second shot may be greater than they were from the first vaccine.

They were — for my husband.

For me, No. 2 was much easier.

My husband: Fatigue, arm soreness, fever, muscle aches, headache, chills.

They began 24 hours after the vaccine — and lasted 24 hours.

Me: Muscle aches and headache.

They began 24 hours after the vaccine — and lasted 12 hours.

I am fully vaccinated!

We have the sticker and vaccination card to prove it!

There are differing opinions about the vaccine.

I choose to respect all opinions.

I choose to make pandemic-related decisions based off what is best for my family.

I choose to respect your pandemic-related decisions based off what is best for your family.

I choose to trust the vaccine.

I choose not to trust COVID.

Having gone through a case of COVID where I felt at times that my next breath may not come, there is one word that now comes to mind: Gratitude.

Gratitude — to God who not only forgives our sins, but also heals all our diseases. — Psalm 103:3

Gratitude — for all the world changers who go to work — or stay at home — and help keep our country in sync and in harmony as we are going through this pandemic together.

I see hope,  in all of you.

I see hope, in all of us.

For that, I am grateful.

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

By Ann Farabee

I stepped away for just a second. It was long enough for her paper towel bib to be removed and the bowl of spaghetti to land on the front of the white shirt.

She screamed, “It won’t come off! It won’t come off!”

She tried to wipe it away with all her might — as sauce and spaghetti noodles flew.

No, it won’t, sweetheart.

It won’t come off.

Apparently, it was more than a 4-year-old can endure, because tears came. Although I was the one who should be crying, I tried to comfort her. After I convinced her to take the shirt off and exchange it for a clean one, I tried to blot the stain out.

Blotting it out did not work.

I then began washing it in an attempt to remove the red stains from the white shirt.

I soon realized I had used every stain removal technique in my repertoire.

The stain remained.

It could not be made white again.

It was stained beyond repair.

It had lost its value.

Something about that white garment stained to a crimson red made a connection in my spirit.

It reminded me:

Sin will stain what it touches.

But there is a solution that can take away the stain and blot out our transgressions.

Isaiah 1:18 says, “Though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be made white as snow.”

1 John 1:7 says, “The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.”

Isaiah 43:25 says, “I am he that blots out your transgressions and will not remember your sins.”

What can wash away our sins?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Oh, precious is the flow

That makes us white as snow.

Sin won’t win.

The stain won’t remain.

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

By Ann Farabee

“You are doing a great job!” were the words my principal spoke as he left my classroom. Hearing him say those words melted my heart. I clung to his every word.

“I love you Mom,” were the words written on a note pad and handed to me many years ago by my six-year-old son. I wrote back, “I love you, too.” The look on his face melted my heart. I clung to his every word.

“You are really good at puzzles!” I said to my little grandson as he was working away. He smiled and then gave a lengthy explanation of puzzle-working strategies. The look on his face melted my heart. I clung to his every word.

Those were three simple moments in my life:

*Words from an employer I longed to hear. Words that made me want to be better.

*Words from my child — written in love, handed to me, and remembered years later.

*Words my grandson enjoyed hearing and I enjoyed saying. Words of encouragement.

What if it had been this instead?

“Hopefully you will improve the longer you teach.”

“You left out the comma.”

“Is that all you like to do? Work puzzles?”

It certainly would have taken away some precious memories.

The power of words.

Words said.

Words written.

Words heard.

They all mean something.

Choose them carefully.

They may be remembered years later.

Proverbs 16:24 says, “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones.”

A honeycomb is a place where bees store their honey. It seems like a good idea to have a storage place for our sweetness and our kindness.

Oh, we do have a storage place. It is in our hearts and in our spirits. God puts it there for us to give out to others.

Good words. Worth much. Cost little.

A kind word — can change someone’s day and sometimes change their lives.

Be careful of the words you say — keep them short and sweet.

You never know from day to day which ones you’ll have to eat!

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