Zeroing In - Anita van der Elst

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?” Luke 15:3-4 NLT

Ever feel lost in the crowd? Though surrounded by people, are we even seen? 

A dear friend shared with me that she’d been accepted as an extra for the filming of season five of The Chosen, a popular Christian TV series set in New Testament times. How excited I was for her. 

Many years ago, she and I were involved in church theatrical productions, sometimes with speaking roles, but often just part of the background crowd, adding a sense of realism. Now, whenever I watch a movie or show, I tend to search out the scenes behind the major players.

One requirement that my friend had to fulfill was to provide her own costuming. A perusal of the tote bin of costumes I’d saved from years before revealed a couple of items that could serve as part of her wardrobe. She was happy to accept the loan of the pieces to augment her own. I told her that I would search for her in the crowd scenes when the show aired, knowing what she’d be wearing. 

The heart of Jesus longs to pick each one of us out of the crowd. Jesus looked for me, searched for me as the Good Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to rescue the one lamb that strayed. 

Jesus zeroes in on the individual. He’s looking for you. He treasures you. Don’t hide from him. 

Anita van der Elst finds joy in creating with words, believing God gifted her with the desire to do so. Married to her best friend, Edward, since 1976, she is a proud mom of four adult children and Oma to three of the most delightful grandchildren ever. Other joys in her life include bringing beauty to Facebook through photos she takes on her iPhone, exploring the state parks in the PNW, facilitating a small group of women, and participating in a Bible study.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Share the Load - Martin Wiles

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 NIV

With more than two thousand miles to walk, he chose carefully what to put in his backpack.

World War II was over, and Earl Shaffer needed to walk it out of his system. He chose the Appalachian (or Government) Trail to do so. At the time, the trail began at Oglethorpe, Georgia, and extended to Mount Katahdin, Maine. Since most of the men had been away fighting in the war, the trail had fallen into disrepair, making the journey more challenging. 

Earl’s motto was “Carry as little as possible but choose that little with care.” And he did. He carried a survival tent, poncho, rain hat, knife, axe, sewing kit, snake-bite kit, cook kit, clothing, and a week’s worth of food. Even though he chose the bare minimum to put in his pack, he still felt overloaded. 

Because of Earl’s training and determination—and because he carefully chose what he carried—he became the first person to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. 

I’ve done a little backpacking myself and know how important it is to choose my load with care. My first extended backpacking trip with my daughter revealed I hadn’t learned Earl’s wisdom. My pack weighed in at fifty pounds, and my daughter’s at thirty-five. Although we had fun, we also experienced misery because of unnecessary weight. Our loads slowed us down and taxed our backs. 

What Paul states in this verse makes common sense. Any burden shared is lighter. Jesus said the load of obeying him was easy, so if following him is causing us misery, we must be doing something wrong. 

Burdens are cumbersome when we carry the wrong things in our life’s pack. They might include bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, immorality, depression, frustration, hurt, or lies. When we carry unhealthy emotions, actions, or relationships, our souls ache. Nor does anyone want to help us bear them. 

Helping others with their loads makes the load lighter. Many people helped Earl along the way, making his journey more bearable. People who took him to get food and supplies. People who gave him a place to stay out of the inclement mountain weather. Giving others permission to hold us accountable, helping others bear their life loads, and depending on God for strength are all vital. 

Don’t try to do life alone. Share the load. 

Father, motivate me to carry others’ loads and, most of all, to depend on you for strength to do so. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Chocolate Chip Dessert

 

 

Ingredients

2 packs of Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 - 8-ounce tubs of Fat Free Cool Whip

2 Cups 1% Milk

Directions
Pour the milk into a bowl, dip each cookie in milk, and place on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.

Top the layer of cookies with Cool Whip.

Continue layering until all cookies are gone.

Top with the remaining Cool Whip.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Faith over Feelings - Martin Wiles

I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I look to the south, but he is concealed. Job 23:8-9 NLT

Feelings don’t always mirror reality.

Frank had hit bottom. He couldn’t imagine losing any more than he had already lost. His roller coaster ride began with his wife’s confession of unfaithfulness. He had his suspicions, and he had noticed people at church whispering. But he trusted her and had promised to love her for better or for worse. Now, however, he knew he couldn’t trust her. She didn’t love him and wanted a divorce.

Had Frank worked a regular job, his wife’s leaving probably wouldn’t have mattered. But his profession made a difference. His personal and family life weighed heavily on the outcome like a piece of lead. When he shared his news with the church leaders, they suggested he resign. Since he and his family lived in a church-owned home, he knew what that meant. Finding a place to live. 

The confession started the dominoes tumbling. Over the next few years, Frank experienced numerous fallouts. He lost his retirement savings, withdrawing it to pay bills. He took a job making one-third of his church salary, which meant some bills went unpaid. Soon, the collection agencies would knock on his email and snail mail doors. Months later, he found himself alone after his daughter went to college and his son decided to live with his mom. 

Frank never imagined facing such dire straits, but he never forgot that God hadn’t left him. Regardless of how he felt—and he often experienced that “dark night of the soul”—his faith remained anchored in God. 

I, too, have experienced some “dark nights of the soul.” Times when God felt distant and unconcerned. Job experienced the same. He lost almost all a person could lose—and God allowed it. Satan needed proof that Job wasn’t merely following God because of God’s blessings. 

When we experience those dark nights, we must remember that God hasn’t left us. He promises never to leave or forsake us, and his character hasn’t changed. He knows all we experience and controls the intensity and duration. We can also remember his unconditional love. Allowing us to experience valleys leads to spiritual growth, not detriment. Additionally, we can recall his power. With a spoken word, he can end our cloudy days—and will, at just the right time. 

When you feel God has left you in the darkest valley, remember feelings don’t always mirror reality. 

Father, thank you for never leaving me during my dark night of the soul.

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Let’s Pray - Patricia Jordan

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16 ESV

Feeling excruciating pain in one of her eyes, Mary screamed for help. A coworker rushed to her side, then yelled, “Quick, call an ambulance! Mary’s eye has blood in it.” 

The ER doctor informed Mary she had suffered an eye stroke. When I saw her a few days later, wearing an eye patch, she told me about her health scare and her fear of losing vision in that eye.

Later, at her pre-op appointment for surgery, the ophthalmologist told her she might be out of work for up to seven weeks. A pre-existing health issue would complicate her healing. 

Naturally, she felt apprehensive about not returning to work sooner. Her husband, however, assured her everything would be fine and encouraged her not to worry. She needed rest after the surgery.

I saw Mary on the Sunday evening before her surgery on Tuesday. “Let’s pray,” I suggested, and she agreed. 

“Can we include Monica?” I asked. I found Monica and asked her to pray with us. We formed a prayer circle, with each of us praying for the surgery and Mary’s complete healing. 

Including Monica in our prayer circle helped. She is a firm believer in God and His Word and fluent in Spanish, Mary’s first language. When Mary and I talk, she sometimes tosses in some Spanish because she can’t describe what we talk about efficiently in English. Thankfully, I always grasp the big picture of what she says.  

After praying for Mary, we went our separate ways. When I saw Mary again, I saw no eye patch. Her eyes appeared normal to me, and she was driving, so I asked how the surgery went. 

The surgery had gone smoothly, and she had completely healed over the two weeks since our prayer time. Additionally, the doctor had cleared her to return to work.

God gives us wonderful opportunities to intercede for others. Make time to pray for others. 

Yahweh Rophe, You are the God who heals. Our hope is in You, O Lord. Amen.

Patricia Jordan is a seventh-generation southerner from the Appalachian Mountains. She is thankful to return and live there after living in various parts of the world with her retired military husband. They have raised three daughters. She has published You Are Valuable (Westbow), which is her story of how she overcame chronic low-grade depression through Bible study, prayer, and talk therapy. Lately, she has turned her writing talents to writing devotions about walking with God.  

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

 

Mind the Chickens - Martin Wiles

Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean.” John 13:10 NLT

Sometimes, chickens leave behind more than eggs and meat. 

My maternal grandmother had a dozen or so chickens wandering around her yard. At night, she enclosed them in a small pen with a coop, and there they slept. 

Being country boys, my cousin and I romped outside most of the time, foraging in the woods, playing in the hog pens, and mulling around in the yard—the same yard the chickens scratched in. Since we didn’t always wear shoes during the summer months—and even if we did—our grandmother would warn us before we came onto her porch or into her house: “Check your feet (or shoes).” 

Chickens, it appeared, left more than eggs, and my grandmother didn’t want it in her house or on her porch. When we discovered this unwanted material on our shoes, we paused to scrape it off on the dirt or a grassy patch. Doing so became such a habit that eventually our grandmother didn’t have to remind us as much. 

In Jesus’s day, getting one’s feet dirty was a fact of life. If people wore shoes, they wore open sandals, and open sandals don’t keep out dirt. And since the main form of travel entailed using one’s feet, people’s feet stayed dirty. When guests arrived, the owner—or more commonly a slave—washed the guests’ feet. He didn’t, however, wash the entire person. If the person needed a full bath, they could take care of it themselves. 

Jesus’s meaning is deeper. The bath happens when we trust Christ as our Savior. God the Father takes the righteousness of his Son and applies it to our sins, making us pure and holy in position—although not in practice. 

But daily living is like walking in my grandmother’s yard. We’re subject to getting our feet messy with unwanted things. The world is full of sinful influences and tempting temptations. 

The news isn’t all bad, though. Jesus says we just need to wash our feet. Through the spiritual disciplines of praying, meditating on the Bible, and confessing, we scrape our feet across the dirt or a grassy patch, removing what shouldn’t be there. Confession brings restoration, and knowing God’s Word keeps our lifestyle aligned with God’s principles. 

Learn to mind what the chickens of this world leave behind. 

Father, give me the insight and courage to avoid those things that dirty my feet and taint my soul. 

I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.

Grape Salad

Ingredients

2 POUNDS GREEN GRAPES

2 POUNDS RED GRAPES

8 OUNCES SOUR CREAM

8 OUNCES CREAM CHEESE

½ CUP SUGAR

1 TEASPOON VANILLA

Topping

         1 CUP BROWN SUGAR           

1 CUP CRUSHED TOASTED PECANS

Directions

MIX SOUR CREAM, SUGAR, CREAM CHEESE, AND VANILLA.

STIR IN GRAPES.

IN A SEPARATE BOWL, MIX TOPPING AND THEN SPRINKLE ON TOP OF THE GRAPES.

CHILL OVERNIGHT.

If you seek hope and healing because of hurts you have faced, then Hurt, Hope, and Healing is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.