Ann Farabee

By Ann Farabee

This is my story

This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior. All the day long.

The choir director would be flapping his arms all around.

When we got to the word ALL on the last verse, he held his arms up and we would stretch out and hold AAAA-LLLL as long as his arms were in the air.

Now, I occasionally still hear that song at church, so in my mind, I always stretch out the word ALL as we sing!

Why?

Because ALL is one of my favorite words.

Why?

Because ALL means ALL.

Not just some of the day, but ALL of the day!

Yes, I was supposed to praise my Savior ALL the day!

How was I supposed to do that?

At the time, as a teenager, I had a secret life that made me feel less worthy in the eyes of those at my church – or so I thought. I had problems. My days were certainly NOT 24 hours a day praise worthy – or so I thought.

After church on Sunday night, I would go home to a father who had been drinking.

It was my secret life and I was ashamed.

I was jealous of the others in my youth group.

They went home to perfect families – or so I thought.

When I went home, I took fear with me.

I carried fear into my home, and took fear to bed with me.

I would lay there with my eyes open, hoping that sleep would come.

But I knew that at some point, my father would be drinking and begin fussing at my mother.

It was a small mill house and I could hear every word.

I was scared.

I began to stay after school to help my teachers grade papers.

I wanted to stay at school ALL the day long.

Coincidence? No.

It was a God-incidence.

God was preparing me for a lifetime of teaching.

How are we supposed to praise our Savior all day long?

Guess what? It is as easy – because Jesus gives us joy – no matter our circumstance.

It is easy because Satan has no power over us – for we are children of God.

It is easy because we have access to grace.

It is easy because we are justified by faith.

It is easy because we can speak the name of Jesus – and He hears us!

I have a powerful testimony.

It is hard for me to understand how I was able to touch my Savior at a young age and how Jesus removed my fear and replaced it with peace – even in the middle of the night.

Your story is just as powerful – no matter whether it was full of trouble or whether you never had a problem.

Share your story.

Ask someone to share their story with you.

Sharing our story or hearing someone else’s story lifts us up spiritually.

It increases our faith.

Maybe your story is this, “I don’t really have a story. I always went to church. I grew up in a Christian home.”  Guess what? That is a great story! Share it. Offer hope.

Go home  to your friends and tell them the great things the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. Mark 5:19

Sure, going to a foreign country to share Jesus is powerful – but we must also share Jesus in our homeland. The need is great.

“This is my story. This is my song. Praising my Savior all the day long…”

The next time you sing this in church – sing  the word ALL extra loudly – just for me.

By Ann Farabee

Sitting in a chair in the living room with my legs across the chair arm, holding a clipboard with a full pack of notebook paper underneath the clip and an ink pen in my hand, I would settle in for hours doing something I loved — writing.

I was a sixth grader and I was on tour with the Beatles. We traveled throughout England and then to many other places throughout the world. As Paul McCartney’s girlfriend, I had to endure all the other girls trying to vie for his attention, but he belonged to me. I knew the other Beatles personally, since we were on the road together, but Paul was mine. Every evening, Paul would step up to the microphone and begin singing, “Yesterday — all my troubles seemed so far away — now it looks as though they’re here to stay — oh I believe in yesterday.”

I filled 60 full pages of notebook paper of these daydreams, making sure they were written in blue ink, so they could not be erased and would be saved forever.

I would search through magazines to see the locations throughout the world where they were on tour. No, I did not own the magazines, but I would be dropped off downtown, so I could go to the newsstand (which was a small corner store with magazines in it) and stand there reading the magazines. Many of those magazines included pictures and news about the Beatles.

Most days, I would sneak my notebook paper with my Beatles story on it into my notebook, and take it to school with me just in case I had a few minutes during my school day to pull it out and do some more writing. If not, I could write that evening at home, and if not, I could write in my notebook while sneaking a flashlight under the covers with me.

At times, it was a Hard Day’s Night, but it was always worth it.

A couple of years later, I began touring with the Monkees, since I was then the girlfriend of Davy Jones. Then, I met Herman of Herman’s Hermits, who sang a song to my mother. I think the title was, “Mrs. Miles, you have a lovely daughter.”

It seems pretty funny, I guess. Or maybe just stupid, but honestly, it took me through many days of daydreams and much writing, writing and more writing.

I will never forget one day, after I had been in college for a couple of years, that as I was home for the summer, and I decided to clean out my closet. I threw all my writing away.

I now call that a mistake. After that mistake, my memories of them began to fade.

I mean, how many of you went on tour with the Beatles — and the Monkees?

I did. I’m a Believer.

Looking back, memories of those years seem so limited now. And the fact that the Beatles and the Monkees are part of my memories makes me wonder how many records I listened to each day. (If you do not know what a record is, ask your grandparents.)

What fascinates me is that memories become history.

History is made up of memories. Memories are like blankets that keep us warm.

Though we may not remember days — we will remember moments.

For that, I am so thankful.

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

By Ann Farabee

Sure I have peace. Well, I have peace as long as I do not have problems. When problems arise, I sometimes initially respond a bit differently.

Depending on the severity of the problem, I either live in fear or live in faith. I sometimes tend to go with fear followed by faith, when I should go with faith followed by faith.

While in church on a recent Sunday morning, as the worship songs were being sung and hands were being lifted in praise to the Lord, I decided to focus for a moment on the congregation.

There were tears. There were voices raised in praise. Arms were lifted toward heaven. Some heads were bowed with eyes closed. Some were looking up. Some were looking down.

We were united as a congregation.

Though each of us had a different story, different problems and different circumstances, we all were choosing to not only trust in Jesus, but to also worship Jesus.

Worship can spill out like the contents of a cup and it can spew inside of us like a fountain.

Worship can be internal or external, quiet or loud.

Worship can be beautiful.

John 16:33 says that in this world we will have trouble, but we can take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.

I am so glad faith follows fear and sucks that fear right out of me.

Sometimes faith arrives like a feather floating right into my heart, and sometimes faith arrives like a tornado, sweeping in and landing right on me.

Faith is such a beautiful gift from God.

Peace is not always easy to find — especially if one is not searching for it.

Everyone may not truly want peace, but instead may choose to be in a battle.

When in a battle, we have a hope of winning.

There has to be a winner, right?

No. Not in making peace.

Peacemaking can actually produce two winners, and peacemaking is God’s way.

That lets us know that being a peacemaker should also be our way.

How to be a peacemaker?

I suggest starting with the fruit of the spirit: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control.

Numbers 6:26 says that the Lord will give us peace.

Psalm 29:11 says that the Lord will give us strength and bless us with peace.

God gives us the gift of peace, and that promise is enough for me.

I choose peace.

By Ann Farabee

If only I had —

My thoughts beyond those four words are a bit too personal to share.

We all have to deal with our “if only I had’s” in life, don’t we?

Seems odd, doesn’t it? Most everything in life can now be changed, but changing an “if only I had” can be very difficult to change — and sometimes impossible to change.

What if we could take one of those “if only I had’s” away?

What if it became repairable? What if the slate could be wiped clean?

What if?

Have you ever had someone you owe money to tell you to just forget about it and wipe the slate clean? I have.

Have you ever had someone that you hurt totally and completely choose to forgive you and wipe the slate clean? I have.

Have you ever watched a classroom full of students using a whiteboard and wipe the slate clean? I have.

My students loved using the whiteboards. Everyone had one to use, the had a marker of their color choice and everyone had an eraser.

I would put a math problem on the board and they would work it out on their whiteboard. That was a lot more fun than using paper and pencil. They loved being able to erase their mistakes. On the whiteboard, there was no way to detect that the incorrect answer had been written on their first. Their slate had been wiped clean.

One time, my family had rented a video to watch at home, and somehow it went missing. I searched and searched and then I forgot about it. (I am not liable for this years later, am I?) Much later, I went to the video store to rent another video. At the checkout, I was informed that I still had one checked out. I froze in fear. I saw a sign in the store that made me realize that not returning a video was a crime.

Apparently, the fear on my face was enough because after a bit of research by the store employees, I was told there was no additional charge and to forget about it.

That, my friends, was wiping the slate clean.

That fear, though short-lived, was real. For a second, I wondered if they would actually charge me all those late fees. It would have been a debt that was due that I could not afford to pay.

The slate was wiped clean. In spite of my crime — I mean my mistake — I was still accepted and considered to be a customer of the video store.

Sometimes, those white boards were still a little smudgy after our math lessons.

That was when everyone’s favorite part of using the whiteboard came — each student used a spray bottle and a cloth to wipe it clean.

No matter how many marks were on it, wiping it clean happened almost immediately.

I love when Jesus picks up that whiteboard in heaven and says, “The slate has been wiped clean.” I will save you, guide you, give you rest and give you the Holy Spirit. I will give you a home in heaven.

By Ann Farabee

• Cancer
• • Sick
• • Too busy
• • Hurt by criticism
• • An inmate
• • Love an inmate
• • Stressful job
• • Feel inadequate
• • Discouraged
• • Marriage problems
• • Lengthy to-do list
• • Grieving
• • Children are struggling
• • An addict
• • Love an addict
• • Can’t pay the bills
• • Depressed
• • Brokenhearted
• • Feel like a failure
• Real people, real problems, real pain. These are samples of actual prayer requests I have received recently.
• We are often faced with overwhelming circumstances. Sometimes, our best just doesn’t seem to be enough. We begin to wonder if the light at the end of the tunnel has been cut off. Someone asks, “Are you OK?” Our minds scream, “No, help me!” but our mouths form the words, “Yes, I’m fine.”
• The word overwhelmed is a bit redundant. “Over” can mean overwhelmed and “whelmed” can mean overwhelmed. In that case, could overwhelmed mean “doubly” overwhelmed? Yes, I think so, because that is how I have sometimes felt — buried, drowned, swamped, submerged, flooded, inundated x 2.
• Psalm 77:3 says, “I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed.”
• My God, I remember what You have done for me in the past. You sent grace, mercy and love. But now? I need You more than ever. I hate to complain, but I am troubled. Why do I feel that my life and circumstances are out of control? My spirit is overwhelmed.
• Psalm 61:2 says, “From the end of the earth will I cry to thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
• Yes, Lord, I feel that I am in the most remote place on earth. So, I am crying out to You! My circumstance overwhelms me and overwhelms my heart.
• Lord, I see You — up there! You are the rock. The summit seems inaccessible from down here — it seems like an ocean between us and the pathway is so rocky and uneven. I’ll try, even though I am exhausted from my journey. Show me the way, Lord. Lead me through my raging sea of circumstance — move me above my circumstance — to the rock that is higher than I.
• Psalm 78:53 says, “And he led them on safely, so they feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.”
• Lord, You are leading me safely to higher ground — to the Rock. You say there is no need for fear, so I will not be afraid.
• Really? You mean that my enemy will become overwhelmed by the sea instead of me? That sounds “doubly” overwhelming — transferred from me being overwhelmed to making my enemy overwhelmed. Yes, my enemy — those things that have been controlling my thoughts, giving me doubts and keeping my eyes off my Jesus. Lord, thank You for tossing my overwhelming enemy into the sea.
• God may not remove our circumstance, but He has given us the power to not only go through it, but to live above it. “Above” means over it, and not touching it.
• (That made me smile as I typed it.)
• If you have read my previous columns, you may be aware that I am a teacher, so here is your homework:
• • Grab a permanent marker.
• Go outside and pick out a special rock.
• Write on it: OVERWHELMED.
• Pray over that circumstance that is overwhelming you.
• • Remember, you can’t. God can. Let Him.
• • Then, draw an X totally across the word you just wrote — OVERWHELMED.
• • Under it, write this new word: OVERCOMER. Yes, it is an overcomer’s rock and…. we all know that overcomers rock! Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker.
• Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

By Ann Farabee

My early experiences with a worship service took place when I was 13. It consisted of passing notes back and forth between my friends and boys that I liked. There was an offering envelope holder on the back of each pew and that envelope was perfect for writing notes to friends. Talking or whispering was not permitted.

At some point during my teen years, my friends and I began slipping down to the altar during what was referred to as the altar call. That was when I began to find less need for passing notes and a newfound need for bowing at the altar in prayer, surrounded by my peers in our youth group. Our youth group never went to the altar alone. We went together and our youth leaders went with us.

That group became my friend group. We soon began going out to eat on Sunday nights after church. I barely noticed at the time that my mother was one of the parents driving us there, and she was making friends, too.

Yes, these memories included food for our bodies, but it was much more than that. It was the beginning of my spiritual development that I would cling to throughout my life.

Our youth group met at church, met in homes, went bowling, played putt-putt, prayed together and stayed together. We shared our problems. We shared our testimonies. We were a group — that became a family — as a result of the sacrifice of time of a leader.

That leader made sure we would break bread and be fed during our teen years.

One evening during youth when we were praying as a group, I remember someone lifting a hand toward heaven in praise. I opened my eyes to see whose hand that was, and it was mine.

I never looked back.

There was spiritual power in that sacrifice of praise from my heart that day.

I recognized that power as the power of the Holy Spirit working in my life.

Never ever underestimate the power of a youth group. I learned the value of having friends who valued what I valued.

I learned about salvation through Jesus Christ. I learned about a relationship with Jesus Christ.

I learned to be friends with others who believed as I did — that Jesus died on the cross for us — and rose again — as a sacrifice for our sins — so that we could live eternally in heaven with Him.

Together, we also learned to worship. Worship is defined as praising, admiring and expressing reverence for God, both privately and publicly. Worship refers to an overall lifestyle of serving and glorifying God and reflecting His glory. The Greek word for worship means to encounter God with praise. An encounter with God is exactly what we needed then — and what we still need today.

Jesus placed a desire to worship in our hearts.

Each week, we need to break bread and be fed.

Still today, what I feel on the inside spills out of my heart and out of my mouth. However, I may feel a little guilty about the wasted offering envelopes.

Thank you to my youth leaders. Your sacrifice of time changed my life.

By Ann Farabee

For you have been my hope, my confidence since my youth. — Psalm 71:5

As a 13-year-old, I began attending church and became involved in a youth group. I knew little about God’s Word, but there were youth leaders and pastors who did. I accepted Jesus into my heart, and began my journey toward spiritual understanding.

When I went away to college, I stopped going to church for a period of time. Spiritually, I ended up in a season of indifference. But the spiritual seed that had been planted in my heart remained. I had my Bible with me in my dorm room, and occasionally, I would take a peek inside the covers of God’s Word, see a verse I loved, and underline it in red.

I knew in my heart that Jesus was my hope and had been since my youth.

I did not understand it, but my confidence in Jesus as my Savior remained.

I will hope continually, and will yet praise you more and more. — Psalm 71:14

I finished college and began my teaching career. God began to work in my life. As years began to pass, I began to turn toward my heart even more toward Christ. I began desiring a closer relationship with Jesus. The years were filled with seasons of success and seasons of failure, but my Christian walk was growing stronger every season.

The spiritual seed that had been planted during my youth had continued to grow. I had a teaching career, but I also spent those years serving the Lord while being a part of the local church. One day, I realized I had begun feasting on His Word not just at church, but also at home. My love for Jesus had grown.

I experienced Jesus being my Savior, Protector, Comforter and Provider.

I experienced Jesus.

And with me Jesus has remained.

I am in awe of how Jesus is with all of us at one time.

How can we help but praise Him more and more? Even when you are old, I will take care of you. Even when your hair turns gray, I will support you. I made you and will continue to care for you. — Isaiah 46:4

I think my hair may now be gray, but I have a hair stylist who makes that gray disappear before I can barely see it. I do admit that I may be starting to feel a little older, as the physical and the mental is a little more difficult.

But the spiritual grows sweeter every day. The Word of God comes more alive in my spirit. I can open my Bible and sometimes my heart begins to race as I sense His Word coming alive through the power of the Holy Spirit. There is something about the season of gray hair — or hair that is not yet allowed to turn gray — that is full of the sweet savor of my Savior.

Now that I think about it, all seasons of my life have been like that.

God has always been there. We have never been alone.

He made us, He loves us and He will continue to care for us, no matter our stage in life. Ann Farabee is a teacher, writer and speaker.

Contact her at annfarabee@gmail.com or annfarabee.com.

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!

By Ann Farabee

Compassion. We know what it means.

But even greater than that — we know how it feels.

No matter whether we are the giver of compassion or the recipient of compassion, we understand it.

Compassion is defined as sympathetic concern for the sufferings of others. When we need it and we receive, it sure can make a difference.

Do we look for the opportunity to show compassion, or are we just responders when the opportunity comes our way?

Compassion is for everyone.

Compassion has the word compass in it. On a compass, a needle is used as a pointer. It points toward the direction we need to go.

I believe we need to go in the direction of compass-ion.

Compassion can mean to suffer with — which means we allow our hearts to break for someone else. When we show compassion, we become willing to take on someone else’s burdens.

Wait a minute. We have enough burdens of our own, don’t we?

The answer is yes.

Do we even have time to take on the burdens of someone else?

The answer is yes.

We do it all the time.

It may be the burdens of a family member, friend, coworker, member of our church or a stranger.

Galatians 6:2 says for us to bear the burdens of others.

When we pray for those who are burdened, we are casting their cares on Jesus.

Matthew 11:28 tells us that everyone who labors and is carrying heavy burdens can come to Jesus and he will give us rest. What a beautiful example of compassion Jesus gives us in that promise!

Can we extend compassion to everyone? Yes.

Sadly, sometimes it seems more difficult to extend compassion to those we love the most or to those that have committed the infraction that hurts the most.

So, when in doubt, we can go to the greatest examples of compassion there are:

When the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said, “Do not weep.”

—Luke 7:13 Jesus called his disciples to Him, and said, “I feel compassion for the people.”

— Matthew 15:32 Like a shepherd, He will tend His flock. In His arms, He will gather the lambs.

— Isaiah 40:11 Have compassion?

Accumulate it and gather it. Appreciate compassion and recognize its worth.

Cultivate it and prepare and use it. Generate compassion and cause it to arise.

Communicate it and share it. Oxygenate it and enrich it.

Without a doubt, compassion can be spread by those who have it. When someone is hurting, compassion can help them heal.

No one has ever become poor by giving compassion — we only become richer.

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

By Ann Farabee

I am fairly certain I laughed when I first heard that term — struggle bus.

I totally and completely understood it immediately.

Being on the struggle bus means having a hard time facing difficulties, obstacles or challenges. As far as the bus part of the phrase, it means the person is stuck in a bad situation they cannot quickly escape due to traveling along a rough road full of problems.

People often use the term struggle bus because it humorously makes light of a challenging circumstance by referring to it as a bus filled with struggles that we cannot exit from until we reach our destination.

Alternative ways to express being on the struggle bus are: in a rut, in a jam, in a bind, in a pickle or in hot water. These phrases are not only pessimistic, but being in a pickle sounds scary.

When we find ourselves on the struggle bus, we need to either look for the next exit or push open the emergency exit door. I was just kidding about that one. Taking a leap out the emergency exit door of the bus in a non-emergency will not get anyone out of the struggle bus.

When I went on field trips on the activity bus with my sixth-grade students, there was nothing as tempting for some of them as desiring to pull the emergency exit door open. They would gather around it, look at it, talk about it, and sometimes someone would touch it. Since I had eyes in the back of my head, I would say, “Stop!” just in time.

What do we do when we are on the struggle bus — and need to get off?

*Find the first stop and exit. Getting off may be a little hard because those around you may not agree that you should get off there, even though you know in your heart that you need to exit.

An important aspect of being on the struggle bus is that the bus also has other strugglers on it. We can use that to our advantage. Talking to and listening to others is one of our greatest assets in life. When we do that, our problems can immediately feel minimized because we are transferring our troubles to a different location in our thoughts, as we help someone else with their troubles. The long-term goal is not to remain on the struggle bus, but while we are there, our healing can come as we minister to others who are also struggling.

When visiting France a few years ago, my husband and I were on a tour bus that was stopping frequently for us to see historical sites. We would get off the bus, walk to the site, enjoy it for a few minutes, get a photo, and head back to the bus. But — there were 50 of us and only 30 seats.

We were packed on the bus like a can of sardines and exited as if the can had been turned over and its contents spewed out. We had to fight to get off the bus and fight to get back on the bus. After several stops, most people chose to just stay seated. It apparently was not worth it to them to struggle to see the sites and make the memories.

It felt like a struggle bus, but instead of just accepting it and staying seated where there was almost no view, we clamored our way off and on that bus over and over and over and stood up the entire time at the front of the bus, since we no longer had a seat. Guess what? With struggles came progress. The struggle was so worth it!

Struggles develop our strengths, testimony, courage and wisdom.

According to Helen Keller, the struggles of life are one of our greatest blessings. They makes us patient, sensitive and more like Jesus.

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