Get Set

by   March 1, 2020 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

On your mark. Get set. Go.

Year after year, early each morning I would go to my classroom, sit down at my desk, and look over my plans for the day. On that desk, I always tried to set out everything my class would need for that day.

Then, as the school day ended, I would finally sit down at my desk again. By this time, a lot of stuff had accumulated there. Those late afternoons brought organizing, paper grading, preparation, reflection, and closure. Before I left school, my goal was to set before me every thing we would need for the next day.

What happened in the hours between the beginning and the ending of our day? A lot of hard work.

Getting set for each day was important. If I was set for the day, it made a difference:

* I was a better teacher.
* I was a better person.
* The students were better, too.

As I was getting set one morning before students arrived, I was looking for something – not sure what it was – in my right hand desk drawer.

As I rummaged through it, I noticed a Bible.

I took it out.
I opened it.
I immediately saw these words: I have set the Lord before me always: because he is at my right hand. Psalm 16:8

I looked over at that right hand desk drawer.
I looked back at the Bible in my hand.
I read the verse one more time.

I decided that the Bible in my right hand desk drawer opening to that verse when I picked it up was not a coincidence.

In some ways, we all get set for our day, don’t we?
We plan. We work hard. We organize. We make sure everything is ready – for ourselves and for others.

But to set the Lord before us always – is more important than any plans we ever make.

As we begin our day.
As we go through our day.
As our day comes to an end.

Because He is at our right hand.
That is close.
He protects us. He has plans for us.

Whatever our days are like – in a classroom, in a living room, in a prayer room, in a conference room, in a hospital room, in a dorm room – we can set the Lord before us always – and know that He is at our right hand.

At our right hand. Right now.
Amazing, isn’t it?

Let’s set the Lord before us – always.

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

Taking Steps

by   February 29, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            At the beginning of the year, my pastor did a series of sermons on taking steps. At the end of the series he gave us each a keychain with a foot on it. It’s on my key chain to remind me that this year God wants me to take steps of faith. So, naturally I asked God, “What steps of faith do you want me to take this year?”

            I had an idea for a major step of faith concerning my EncouragingU website. Thankfully I discussed it with a former pastor who has a strong business background. He reminded me that the Bible says to count the cost before building. The wisdom we need about life is often available if we are willing to listen and obey.

            Just because the major step I was going to take wasn’t the right one for the moment didn’t mean that there weren’t any steps to take. I have been taking smaller steps to move the website along. I was ready to take a leap and God just wanted me to take steps.

            God started stirring in my spirit that He wanted me to take some other steps. I have to be honest, I struggled to obey. Ironically, I was willing to take a leap of faith, but a little less willing to take the steps that He was setting before me.

            I have been making videos on YouTube sporadically. I felt like God wanted me to do them regularly. Many of my videos have been done outside, about gardening. It’s winter and I couldn’t think of any topics that would be interesting for regular videos.

            I was lying in bed late one night praying and talking with the Lord when I felt His Spirit encouraging me to do the videos again. I asked Him what He wanted me to do in the videos. Isn’t it amazing that we can wonder about something and feel no direction simply because we haven’t asked? As soon as the question was off my tongue, an idea dropped into my head.

            Many years ago a traveling minister and artist would come to our church. He challenged the congregation many times with a simple idea. He said that if anyone read a proverb a day and wrote a reflection on some verses from that proverb each day for the 31 days, he would give them a print of one of his paintings.

            As I lay in bed thinking about this challenge, God suggested that I read and meditate on a proverb a week and do a short video on my reflections. While the idea was clear and the execution very plausible, I resisted His idea. This was going to be different than what I had been doing and what would people think? Probably more importantly, would anybody care or watch?

            When God asks us to do something, He isn’t seeking our opinion or permission. He wants us to take steps of obedience. I admit I wrestled with God for a few weeks. I wanted to be obedient, but the idea felt…well, crazy. Who would want to hear what I thought about a few verses from the proverbs every week?

            I decided that obedience trumped my feelings. What I have discovered over the last few weeks is that it is more about me seeking God’s face and meditating on His word than it is about me doing the videos. God wants to talk to me about me and my life through the proverbs. God wants me to spend more time meditating on His word. A by-product of me reading and meditating on His word would be the videos.

            It is difficult to understand the Lord and His ways. Sometimes we get the best understanding when we look in the rearview mirror. It’s interesting when I reflect on my prayers recently; I keep telling God that I want to draw closer to Him. What does He tell me to do? Read and meditate His word. What has the result been so far? I have a renewed mind and my heart is stirred even more to want to get even closer.

            I want to encourage you to ask God what steps He wants you to take this year. How can God grow and stretch your faith? What steps will you take this year to draw closer to God? If you want to join me on my journey, then look for my videos on YouTube. We serve an awesome God who works behind the scenes to draw us closer to Him and to make us more like Christ.

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

God Our Healer

by   February 22, 2020 with No Comments

By Doug Creamer

            Last week was a busy one. It wasn’t overly busy; it was the “just right” kind of busy. I have a crazy schedule where I get up before dawn and teach online courses to children in China. I love my little job and I especially love the kids. This early morning interruption of my sleep often causes me to take a nap later in the day. My cat loves to curl up with me when I lay down.

            Last Friday, Valentine’s Day, we decided to order food out and to avoid all the lines. We did some domestic engineering so we could have nice romantic evening at home. We watched a romantic comedy and had a great evening. At the end of the day I felt like I had worked in the yard all day.

            Saturday found me resting and laying low all day. I had a few other symptoms and told my wife that I would probably go to the doctor on Monday. I rarely go to the doctor.  I sent a few emails asking for prayer. Something was up.

            On Sunday, I woke up feeling worse. I considered staying home from church, but it was my week with the children and I wanted to be there for them. I also wanted to go ask for prayer. While I believe in modern medical science, I always like to check with my Heavenly Father first.

            After the music part of the service, the pastor asked anyone who needed prayer to raise their hand. I raised both my hands. The congregation gathered around those of us who raised our hands. The pastor prayed for us, while those standing around us also prayed. The presence of the Lord was sweet.

            The first thing I noticed when the prayer was over was the feeling of fatigue was gone. I still had some pain, but it was less. By evening, I thought that even the pain would be gone by Monday morning. That wasn’t the case, but I felt better and decided to wait on seeing the doctor. I am hoping and believing that everything will be better.

            Why did God stop and notice me on Sunday? Did all the others who asked for prayer receive what they asked for, too? I know that we are all special in God’s sight. We are, after all, His children.

            I have known some people who were in stage 3 and 4 cancer who were completely healed, and others who went home to be with the Lord. The question we all want to know is why? We don’t always get to understand everything on this side of heaven.

            I will share with you some personal insights. When Jesus died on the cross between two criminals, only one got into heaven – the one who asked. I think we often forget to ask God for His healing touch. Maybe we falsely believe that God is too busy. He’s never too busy for His children. We also need to combine faith when we ask, believing that God can and will heal us.

            Sometimes God heals, and sometimes God chooses to walk with us through the medical procedures. I don’t know or understand why. I do know that I have many friends who have gone through incredible medical nightmares and discovered that their faith grew in leaps and bounds. They have a testimony they share every chance they get, and God gets the glory. I know firsthand that when you walk through the storms of life, God walks incredibly close to you. AND He will see you through.

            I know that our God is faithful and He will NEVER leave or forsake us. It may feel dark and you may feel alone, but I promise you that God hears your cries and He will answer your call. God never promised an easy path in life, but He did promise to be with us. Don’t give up. There are so many promises in the Bible for you. Spend time searching and finding them. Write them out and keep them in front of your eyes. God’s promises will never fail.

            I want to encourage you, yes you, to ask God, to fan the flames of your faith, and to trust your Heavenly Father who loves you more than any human being ever could. It’s scary to ask for a touch from the Master’s hand, because He may not bring an instant healing. But I believe that God can guide the doctor’s hands, give the doctor wisdom, and I KNOW He will walk with you as you go through this terrible storm. I am praying for you, believing with you, that you will soon have a testimony to share.

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

Be a Hero

by   February 22, 2020 with No Comments

By Ann Farabee

His age is 24. His number is 15. His name is Patrick. He plays football.

And faith in God was his message in an interview:

*He had gone to church since he was young.

*He kept going to church when he got older.

*He went to Bible study on Friday.

*He went to chapel on Saturday.

*He walked into the stadium on Sunday.

*He kneeled – and prayed – at the goalpost.

Toward the end of the interview, he said that he liked being at a stage where he could glorify God.

He sure was that night as 148.5 million watched.

Patrick Mahomes, quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs, had just led his team to a Super Bowl victory.

On that huge world stage in his life – and in that important stage of his life – his faith was displayed.

He was a hero.

He was a man of faith.

A hero – of faith.

I watched in awe, as I said to my family, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to be able to have a world stage like that to share your faith on?”

Hebrews 11 has a list of what is often referred to as heroes of faith. The list includes:

*Sara – who doubted God.

*Noah – who had gotten drunk and embarrassed himself in front of his sons.

*Rahab – who was a moral failure.

*Moses – who was disobedient to God.

*Abraham – who was old when he began his journey of faith – and who lied, deceived, and laughed at God.

Their lives were not perfect, but their purpose was. They were on the stage where God put them – and in the stage of life where God wanted them.

They all had faith. And their faith still impacts us today.

Can we be a hero of faith?

Maybe not to THE world.

But maybe we can to OUR world.

In our ways. In our words. In our work. In our worship.

On a stage – or in a stage – where God can use us.

Our lives are not perfect – but our purpose is.

The world may not see us kneeling at a goalpost, but a child may see us kneeling by their bedside.

The world may not hear us say the name of Jesus to an audience of millions, but some in our world will see – and feel – our heart as we share the love of Christ daily with those God has put in our path.

Don’t feel like a hero?

A.W. Tozer said, “We can be in our day what the heroes of faith were in their day – but remember at the time, they didn’t know they were heroes.”

I believe there can be a hero of faith inside each of us.

Tell someone they are a hero of faith.

Be someone’s hero of faith.

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

It’ll Go Up

by   February 21, 2020 with No Comments

            By Roger Barbee

Tucked in the driver’s door of my van is a small CD case. Most of the CD’s in it are commercially made, but a few were made by friends. Last week I removed one from the back  of the case that had written on it “Good ones” in the precise black ink penmanship of Connor, a deceased brother-in-law who had complied many CD’s for me before he died. After his funeral, I gave the ones I had to his  granddaughter, but this one had somehow remained with me, tucked away.

The note on it is correct: The jazz, soul, rock, and blues songs are by various artists and all are good. It is a soulful and restful gathering of vocals and instrumentals, but none of the songs or the musicians are identified. Yet, I put it in the slot and listened as I drove around on errands. The ninth song on the CD grabbed me: A rendition of Bob Dylan’s song from the 60’s, I Will Be Released. Driving about town I would push the repeat button each time the song finished, listening to the voice that I could not identify but liking the way the unknown woman had arranged the song of injustice. After about a week of driving and listening, I came into the modern world and typed the song title into the search engine of my computer. Mercy! This old dog finally found Nina Simone singing the version that Connor copied for the CD.

When you have 4:21 to spare, go to: https://youtu.be/w-du8MDE8nk and treat yourself. You will hear Simone’s  great voice and the fabulous musicians give life to Dylan’s song. But as much as I like the rendition, it is the first fifteen seconds that cause me to remember Connor.

Listening carefully, you will hear the musicians beginning, but something goes wrong and Simone says to them,  “Y’all pushin’, you’re pushin’ it, you’re pushin’ it!  Just relax, relax. You’re pushing it. It’ll go up by itself! Don’t put nothin’ in it unless ya feel it! Let’s do it again, please.”

Relax she says and it will go up by itself. While Simone is speaking about the cutting of  the song, her words carry way over into living. I like to think that she knew that, and I  know that Connor did. He lived that. He never pushed because he  knew that it would go up by itself. He was not indifferent or lazy. In fact, he was quite successful. But he enjoyed living. He loved people. Being around him was relaxing and fun and it required nothing but feeling life: The good living he modeled by feeling it.

What a chance for me on removing the gold CD from the back of the case. While Connor comes to me through the music on the CD, he especially does through cut number 9 and Simone’s charge not to push it, but to relax and feel it. It will go up by itself.

So, Why Can’t Everyday Be Like Christmas

by   February 17, 2020 with No Comments

By David Freeze

    I often wonder if others get as excited about every new day as I do. I just came back in from a Sunday run, amazed that I got to see one of those sunrises filled with reds, blues and oranges. That sight was awe inspiring, but I wouldn’t have seen it without getting up at 4:40am, running the right route and finishing just at the right time. Within minutes, the awesome sunrise had clouded over.

    I mentioned getting up at 4:40am. Some days, I can’t even wait that long. Two things have happened to my day as I’ve gotten older. I go to bed later and I have continually pushed my get up time earlier. It isn’t always when I wake up because the alarm does break the silence on some mornings. Still, on most days, I am already awake by the planned “get out of bed” time.

    What makes the early mornings happen is the excitement for the upcoming day. I remember one Christmas morning when I was about 12. There was a good chance that a real bicycle of my own was going to be under the tree, or at least in the same room. Just on the other side of one door, the magic of Christmas waited. I hardly slept that night and finally at some point had to get up and look. What I found was a brand new Schwinn bicycle, all shiny and ready for all the joy it could bring. I didn’t know how to ride but anticipation of learning was another joy ahead.

     Over the years, I began to seek those days with something special on the agenda. Including those made by others as much as driven by me. The best ones come with maybe a little missed sleep filled with anticipation with what might happen. Others are surprises, just like the sunrise this morning.

    In just the last few days, here are a few examples. Our local running club culminated months of planning Wednesday with the announcement that a check for over $13,000 would be presented to Rowan Helping Ministries, our local homeless shelter. One of my favorite young runners just scored 1,000 points in her high school basketball career. And my YMCA basketball team, 5th and 6th graders, just finished their season yesterday with huge improvement and many lessons learned over a 10 week season. Today, I saw the sunrise.

    Those few days of excitement should lead to more. In fact, I will do my best to make it so. My new granddaughter is coming to visit tomorrow afternoon, with no particular agenda. That’s right after I get to work with three of my wellness clients who are seeking better health. Interaction with them is always fun. Mixed in is a produce delivery to Partners in Learning, something that I started years ago in hopes of improving the diet of day care kids and staff.

     There is much to do. We’re planning a much improved walking and running track at one of our area parks. The pieces are coming together. And an annual fundraiser called Love They Neighbor is well underway to benefit a young mother with colon cancer.

      Back to the early mornings, why does it work for me? Years ago, as a young dad, I remember getting up at 5:30 am nearly every day. Since then, my mornings consistently get earlier. And people seem to marvel at that. I don’t understand why. I want more of those experiences described above. As much for experiences received as for gifts I can give. Fitting them in with my daily exercise and work responsibilities have driven the earlier wake-up time. I’ll take the trade!

    I recently came across a forgotten Bible verse that backs these thoughts. From those to whom much is given, much is expected! Luke 12:48. Count me in Lord, I’ll do what I can.

     All this from a guy with two small year-round Christmas trees, one upstairs and one down. Yes, the lights stay on full time. As for me, I’m going to celebrate Christmas every day!

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