Lessons from a guinea pig named "Fluffy"

This morning, I sat down with my cup of coffee and prepared to read my daughter's library book to her as she ate her breakfast. She likes to be read to in the mornings before school, and it is a great way to get her brain going! We read every morning and every evening. Each night before bed we have a family devotional time where we teach her the principles of God's word. I find myself encouraged by the Word as I teach her those precious truths. Now, I know that you nay think I am about to share something that God showed me in His Word. However, this morning, I received a lesson from a different book. It was called Fluffy Goes Apple Picking by Kate McMullan. Yes, I learned a lesson from a cartoon guinea pig named Fluffy.

The entire story hinged around the idea of an elementary school class going to pick apples at a nearby apple orchard. The class also decided to take their class pet, Fluffy the guinea pig, along on the field trip. The book depicted bright colorful images of apple trees set on hilltops.

As I was reading to my daughter, the owner of the orchard was telling the children that the apple trees grew best on the hill tops. In the midst of her story, God spoke to me and yes....it was through a children's book.

Let's switch gears here for a moment. The owner of the apple orchard shared with the children that the apple trees grew best on the very top of the hills. As, I read that, God reminded me that the trees produced the most fruit and the prettiest of fruit the higher they were on the hilltop. Then, I thought of how that relates to our life as Christians. The apple trees produce more fruit of better quality the closer they are to the sun. They are not shielded by shadow and so every area of the apple is exposed to the sun so that it can thrive and grow to its fullest potential. Just like those apple trees, Christians produce more fruit the closer they are to the SON - God's Son. When we are completely exposed to the nurture of the Son through spiritual disciplines such as prayer and Bible study, that is precisely when and where we produce the best "fruit" - spiritual fruit.

So, where are you planted? Are you close to the Son and producing much fruit out of a thriving and growing relationship with the Savior? OR - Are you at the bottom of the hill struggling to grow because you are covered over with shadow? Get close to the Son and STAY CLOSE. IF you stay close to the SON, then you can't help but produce fruit that pleases Him!

Thank you God for using Fluffy the guinea pig to remind me of a truth that needs to remain at the forefront of our minds as followers of Christ. Yes, we are to bloom where we are planted, but we have to be planted close to the Son!

How's Your Serve?

My days are usually filled with some mundane chores of housekeeping and such. However, I LOVE being a stay-at-home Mom. Ruthie keeps me laughing and is really great at entertaining herself when I am busy doing something and cannot play. Friday, she was playing "Queen" complete with her dress-up attire of a feather boa, a plastic tiara, two plastic high heel shoes, beads, and of course a scepter that we bought at the Dollar Tree to complete her regal outfit! She was doing really well and had entertained herself for quite some time as I was cleaning house - major cleaning....Through out the day, she and I would comment to each other and I would address her as "Queen" which she thought was wonderful. I made sure that she knew we were playing and that this was not a formal title which she could claim to have ownership of any time she wanted something. The day went on and I became more frustrated with tasks that were time consuming yet had to be done. Although my spirit quickly began to gloom, hers did not. I listened (as I cleaned) and she played the role of Queen very well. She talked to her "court" a group of dolls she had on the floor, and she continued to change her attire as a queen might do for different stages in her day.

While I was cleaning, she addressed me as "Servant Mommy" - yes, that is what I said, "Servant, Mommy." As I type, I cannot help but chuckle, but the time when I first heard my new name was not the timing for her to bark out an order along with it. She bellowed, "Servant Mommy, I need some more juice!" I stopped for a moment and thought to myself, "Did she really just call me Servant Mommy?" When she repeated herself, the reality of it set in and I then realized that she meant every word. I went back there and of course in the role play mentality responded with a "Yes, Queen. It is on its way." I retreated to the kitchen and later returned with her juice. She said, "Thank you, ma'am! You are a good Servant Mommy!" I thanked her and returned to my "castle chores" of cleaning and keeping house.

I called Jeff, my husband, to tell him of what had just taken place, and he laughed so hard in my ear that I had the pull the phone away. I then vented to him that I know she was only playing because she was in her "Queen" role and was dressed for the part. We had a great phone conversation and we were both laughing by the time I hung up the receiver. As I sat at the kitchen table, reminiscing of the "Queen's" demands of me, God spoke. He reminded me that I AM supposed to be a servant to my child. In one way, she was right, one of my titles should be "Servant Mommy" - Not because I am allowing my child to call the shots, but as a subtle reminder that my attitude should always be one of service. In ministry, we serve others so willingly, yet sometimes our attitude towards serving our spouse and children is not the same attitude with which we serve others. God reminded me that if I joyfully serve others for His name sake, then I should definitely serve my spouse and child with a joyful spirit. So, the next time you feel as though all of your acts go unnoticed, especially by those you live with, remember that we are also ministering to our family through day-to-day tasks like sweeping and mopping, and YES, even that brings God glory! After all, when Jesus had a sponge and a basin of water, He was demonstrating true servant-hood and believe me, the Father was definitely glorified!

How's Your "Pitch?"

I just heard a commercial on TV, as I sit here typing and it made me wonder something. Am I annoying others?...Let me explain. You may have heard the term "pitch people" which are the people on TV who loudly exclaim that the product they are currently advertising is amazing and how we (as prospective consumers) are missing out on something if we fail to purchase what they are "pitching" to us. Billie Mayes is a famous pitch person as well as the young lady who does the commercials for Rug and Home. I can honestly say that these types of commercials actually turn me off instead of inspiring me to go out and purchase it. Their annoying nagging, especially when they are practically screaming on TV, distracts and annoys me more than it convinces me to buy what they are trying to sell me. So, I wonder, as a Christian, am I annoying others by "spiritual nagging" when instead I could have effectively won someone over with a "gentle and quiet spirit" ??? What about you, do you live what you scream, or does your "spiritual advertising" turn people off because they fail to see you using the product which you are trying to get them to sell out too?

IT'S BEEN TOO LONG

Okay, so I am VERY AWARE that I have yet to blog consistently like I said that I would. I am very frustrated by the fact that I have once again failed to do what I said that I would do consistently. ANYWAY, I am going to blog today - a few times. No the dates will not be accurate to when I experienced the events, but at least they will have made them on here.

My blogs are usually full of scenarios that God has used to show me something or teach me something about Himself. However, I am also now venturing into posting general "what's going on" topics as well. So, if you are reading this right now, hold on, because today I am catching up on blogging!

The Ultimate Cardiologist

WOW!!!!!! What a day yesterday! I wanted to blog last night before going to sleep. However, I was unable to stay awake. It is with great joy and overwhelming exuberance that I blog this morning. Yesterday, God did some AMAZING things in the life of my little girl, Ruthie. She is our 5-year old little miracle. However, yesterday her Daddy and I witnessed two more miracles back to back.

The morning started off with a visit to her cardiologist in Greenville. Ruthie was born with a small VSD (hole in the heart) and has been seeing a cardiologist for the past 5 years. Yesterday, she went in for a checkup and here is how everything unfolded. She was examined by the cardiologist and she had an EKG and an echo cardiogram done. After an hour and a half of tests and exams, Dr. Raunikar came in to talk with Jeff and I about what he found. The answer was overwhelming. What he found was NOTHING! The hole that she had been born with (the VSD) had closed up on its own and could not be found. The wonderful thing about her cardiologist is that he is a Christian and did not take any of the credit. God did a work in her body and closed up the hole in the heart. What he said was this : "Well, she looks good. There is no VSD - God just closed it up and if there is no heart problem, there is no need for a cardiologist." So, she was released from her cardiologist yesterday and her heart looks WONDERFUL!!!! Praise the Lord.

Well, we rejoiced with her and of course called family members to share the good news. I had no idea that we would call them only a few hours later to give them even better news.

Last night, we were doing Ruthie's devotion and then we talked about prayer. She has a "Prayer Pocket" that she has on her wall. In one pocket are three index cards. Each card has a prayer request on it that she prays for each night. When God answers a prayer, she then moves her card to the next pocket where she keeps the cards with prayers on them that have been answered.

Well, last night, Ruthie said "Mommy, God answered my prayer about my visit to the doctor today." Ruthie had been praying that her doctor's visit with her cardiologist would go well, and as mentioned before, it did! So, she then moved her card over to her pocket of answered prayers. Next, she said, "Mommy, God heard my prayer! Does God hear me every time I pray?" "Yes, Ruthie, God hears us when we pray." She then said, "Well, I haven't prayed that God would come into my heart." I told her that her Daddy and I had been praying that she would do that when she understood what she was doing and when she knew that God was wanting her to do that. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. Ruthie said, "Mommy, I need to pray and ask Him into my heart." I asked her why she needed to do that and she said, "Because I am a sinner and because God is knocking on my heart and he wants to be in my heart. God can hear me, Mommy." I asked her what sin was and she said that it is anything that we think say or do that makes God sad. She answered my questions correctly and said that Jesus died for her on the cross so she wouldn't have to. I was amazed at her honesty and the grasp that she had on the entire concept of salvation. So, not wanting to lead her in a prayer and possibly give her false hope, I wanted to hear her pray and do this completely on her own. I in no way wanted to instill within her any false hope. After all, there is no specific prayer that needs to be prayed in order to accept Christ, just specific things that need to be acknowledged. Here is what Ruthie prayed: "Dear God, come into my heart and help me do what makes you happy. I am sorry for the things that I do that make you sad. Help me live right." I was bawling afterwards, and she then immediately said, "MOM, I JUST GOT SAVED!!!" I said, "Yes you did, baby" She then looked at me with those big brown eyes and said, "Mom, why are you crying. Getting saved is a good thing." I then had to explain that they were tears of joy. IMMEDIATELY after that, she said, "Mom, I want to get baptized, and I want Daddy to baptize me." I knew then that God had done an amazing work. Ruthie has always been TERRIFIED about even the idea of baptism. Then, once God worked in her heart she immediately wanted to respond with baptism. At that point, I knew for sure that she had gotten it. I asked her if she was afraid, and she said,"No, Mom. Jesus lives in my heart now. I'm not afraid." So, her Daddy is going to baptize her. I couldn't help but think of 1 John 4:17 which says, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." Ruthie's fear of baptism was gone because she had been made "perfect in love" through the process of salvation. Once Ruthie prayed to receive Christ, God's perfect love for her cast out the fear that she once had and replaced it with the peace of God. Needless to say, we are ALL STILL ELATED and will continue to be. We then called family members a second time to let Ruthie tell them of her experience with the Ultimate Cardiologist.

So, God healed her heart in two ways yesterday. Yes, there was the physical healing and the closing of the hole that she had originally been born with. However, she experienced spiritual healing and her heart was made new last night through the wonderful and precious grace or my Savior (and her Savior) Jesus Christ. Welcome to the family, Ruthie. You are my child, but now you have become my sister in Christ and that is a prayer of mine that I have prayed for years. Now, I can move that prayer request of mine over to my section of answered prayers!

"In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son to the world, that we might live through Him" - 1 John 4:9

So, now I have a question for you, the reader. How is your heart? Have you experienced life with the Ultimate Cardiologist and do you keep regular appointments with Him. How's YOUR heart?

Wisemen in February

Yes, I have taken a break from blogging but I now hope to be on here more regularly. I purposely waited to make my next entry. It is considered uncommon to be discussing "the wise men" in the month of February. However, is it really that absurd or have we missed one of the most powerful messages within the early years of our Savior, Jesus Christ?
While reading the story of our Savior's birth throughout the month of December and even afterwards, I was praying that it would not be read with a sense of vain repetition, simply because it was "The Christmas Season." I longed for God to show me something new - so I prayed that the scripture would captivate my heart in a way that it had never done before while reading "the Christmas Story" out of the Bible.
Some may think it seems harsh to say the the wise men don't belong in the nativity set, but think about it. Every nativity scene that I have seen has Mary, Joseph, the shepherds and the wise men surrounding the Christ child or "Baby Jesus" in the manger. However, I cannot find it in scripture where the wise men came to the manger. Read with me in Matthew 2. starting in verse 1-2 "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." Verses 9-11 says, "When they had heard the king (King Herod) they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh." The events of the chapter more than likely took place when Jesus was no longer an infant. Enough time had passed where Joseph and Mary were in a "house" (verse 11).. Also, Jesus was referred to as a "child"(verse 11) and not and infant. Later on, in verse 16, it also states that King Herod had all the male children in Bethlehem that were 2 years old and younger put to death, "according to the time which he had determined from the wise men." So, according the the scripture and the insight that I pray for in interpreting them, I believe that Jesus was a toddler and not an infant being around 2-3 years old at the arrival time of the wise men.
The worship of the wise men took place in an ordinary house on an ordinary day. However, the Savior was present.
How often do we fully worship the Savior each ordinary day when there is no significant holiday to spur us on? I admit that I struggle to do so and the truth is that we all do. None of us ever "arrive" spiritually and so it is an effort to consistently place God in His rightful position as supreme in all and over all. So, this past holiday season, I decided that I would leave out what I used to call part of my Christmas decorations. However, it has now become a part of my living room year round. I have a pillow with just wise men on it and I left it out to remind me that I am to worship my Savior with reckless abandon on a daily basis. So, the next time you are tempted to confine the uninhibited worship of the wise men just to the month of December, remember this blog, but more importantly remember what the wise men put forth in order to worship the king. It cost them several things in order to worship uninhibitedly.

• First, they traveled many miles to find the Child.

We do not always have the luxury of worshiping when we are most comfortable (sitting in a church pew on a Sunday morning). However, true worship takes place as well when you have to make diligent search for the Savior, seeking Him with "all your heart," (Jeremiah 29:13). How determined are you to seek the Lord's face?

• Second, they put their lives in danger.
  

So many of today's Christians have no idea what it means to be scrutinized, threatened or persecuted for the sake of the Savior. However, the wise men could have been killed for refusing to worship King Herod. Yet, they were willing to put it all on the line for the Savior. What are you willing to give? Will it be your best or will it be mediocre?

From this day on, if you come to my house and you see a pillow with wise men on it sitting in my living room chair, don't think it was some mere Christmas decoration that just didn't make it into the attic. Instead know that it is my reminder that worship is not seasonal...it's a lifestyle.

"Don't draw on the china!"

Tonight, we made our way into Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for our annual trip to what Ruthie calls "The Christmas House." It is actually a cabin in Hidden Mountain Resort where our family goes each year as a Christmas tradition. We arrived and got everything unloaded. Then we headed off to Johnny Carino's to eat supper. We entered and were seated rather quickly. Upon waiting for the waiter, Ruthie and Mahagany started coloring on the little coloring sheets with the crayons they received when we were seated. As the conversation between all of us began to gain more and more of our attention, Ruthie began to experiment with her own form of "artwork." As we all laughed, reminisced, and waited for our food to arrive, Ruthie decided that she would decorate the bread plate with her own "whirlpool" design as she called it. I was enjoying great conversation with my family when my Mom gained my attention, by saying "Courtney, look at what Ruthie drew." When I turned to look at what I thought was on paper, Ruthie held up the bread plate that had blue and yellow "whirlpool"swirls drawn in the center of it. I immediately reminded her that we only draw on the paper that the waiter provided. I said, "Ruthie, Don't draw on the china, Sweetheart! That is not paper!" She remorsefully tried to clean it up and we turned her "artwork" into the waiter. He smiled and shared a similar story of something like that he and his wife experienced with their two-year old. We all knew that it would come off with soap and water. Therefore, I was able to breathe a little easier once the artwork was taken to the sink museum to be cleaned up. Later on tonight, I asked Ruthie, why she drew on that pure white bread plate, and she replied by saying, "Mama, it just needed some color."
How many times do we try to add things to our lives that we think will make it so much better? We think we need to add a little color sometimes and spice things up only to later realize what a horrible mess we made. The next time you try to add your own personal touch to God's pure plan, remember that today's addition just may very well become tomorrows mess. Think of all the unnecessary work that has to take place when we try to add to what God says is enough.