Every Day Life: Project Eradicate Mystery Bugs

By Lara

I have mystery bugs in my apartment.

I first discovered them three weeks ago. I went to open a bag of flour, and there were three mystery bugs munching away on the glue holding the flour sack closed. I immediately exercised capitol punishment on the mystery bugs, and sifted through the bag of flour. No mystery bugs were found within the safety net provided by the thick paper sack. My flour was safe.

I cautiously looked through my cabinet and didn't see any more bugs. I didn't think too much more about the mystery bugs after that. I was hoping that it was an isolated incident of insect anomaly.

Let me describe these mystery bugs to you. They are small. Approximately the size of a long skinny baby ant. The smallest ones are black. As they get longer, they turn a reddish orange. The biggest ones are still rather small. They have a lot of little legs. I know what kinds of bugs they are NOT. I still have not identified them.

Last week I found more mystery bugs on my counter. It was time to declare war.

Friday night, armed with a can of bug spray, I opened my cabinet. I removed everything from the cabinet and inspected it for evidence of the mystery bug. Toby, my fearless gray tiger, was more than happy to assist. Once I declared my non-perishable food-stuffs bug free, I liberally sprayed all three shelves in my cabinet and shut the doors.

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One Word At A Time: Sacrifice

By Ginny (MAD21)

Something happened last week that made my heart ache. I was sitting in the waiting room while my girls were in gymnastics class. The room is usually pretty chaotic with kids running around and parents coming and going. I was concentrating on my book so I wasn't listening to any particular conversation going on around me. But suddenly I found myself tuning into a woman sitting near me. It was one of those moments when it seems that everything slows down and the room goes quiet except for the thing that got your attention.

I looked up to see who was talking. It was a mother I had seen there before. She is one of those ladies who once she starts talking to you, you are committed to listening to for the duration of your time together. Don't get me wrong, she's a nice lady, but she obviously loves to talk and will do so as long as she thinks she has someone's attention.

We had all been in the waiting room for some time, probably about half an hour. The woman had been talking to the lady sitting next to her and to anyone else within earshot. I vaguely remember hearing about car repairs and sick kids, but that isn't what really what made me take notice of their conversation. I'm not sure what they were talking about that led them to this particular topic, but she began to describe an experience she and her family had when visiting a church.

I didn't hear why they were at the church, but it seemed like a recent visit. She liked having her young children go to Sunday school to help teach them morals. I think this is what initially got my attention. As a person who has worked in Children's Ministry for years and is passionate about planting seeds of faith in their hearts, this really bothered me. I'm glad the mother likes to take her children to Sunday school, but there is more to God and faith than good morals. However, that wasn't what upset me.

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Why Worry?

By Pat

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (Matthew 6:34)

Worrying is one of the most difficult things we Christians wrestle with, usually on a daily basis if we're honest about it. Some days have few, but on other days we are overcome with situations that cause us to feel overwhelmed, burdened and far from God. Finances, health, jobs, families, children, and direction in our lives...these are just a few of the issues that we worry about and deal with. We do worry about tomorrow; the fear of the unknown. We try not to, but it's hard!

And so, I remind myself that no matter what tomorrow holds, God is already there. I am thankful for God's promises. I have given my cares to God, and no one can handle them better than He can. I praise God for blessings yet to come, strength that will be provided, wisdom which will be given when needed, and peace that is there for the taking. I praise God for His promise that I never walk alone. I praise God for darkness that will become light and rain that will change over to bright sunshine. I thank God for His wonderful gift of salvation, love that never fails, and the peace that passes all understanding. Indeed, why should I worry?

"You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall." (Psalm 18:28-29)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

God Is... Loving and Approachable

By Jay Cookingham (Soulfari)

The parable in Luke 15 shouts with the love and compassion the Father has towards us. See if you can spot the lessons He would love for us to learn from this story.

"So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.""

See how the father was expecting his son’s return! You don’t see people a long way’s off unless you are watching intently for them to appear. Day after day he continues his watch until one day He checks again and sees a figure, one he is familiar with. He is so excited, that he starts to run! He could have waited until his son reached him; after all he is the father and the one wronged. The father risks a loss of respect to run to a son considered lost, spiritually dead to the family, and does not hesitate a moment.

Here’s a point that I find wonderful, the son could also see his father coming after him! Imagine him practicing his lines; wondering about the response he’ll receive by his return. His head is bowed, he’s dressed in rags and he still reeks of pig dip. He lifts his head just a little and from a distance he sees his daddy trucking down the road towards him. Soon daddy is all over him, throwing his arms around him and kissing him. Dressed in rags, dirty and foul smelling, his father doesn’t wait until his son is cleaned up to embrace him with compassion. He was on a roll now and wasn’t about to stop.

“And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.”

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Organize This! Set Up a Filing System to Store and Manage Your Paperwork

By Stephanie Calahan (Calahan Solutions, Inc)

Paper!  Paper Everywhere!  Every horizontal space is covered in piles of the stuff.  With all of the talk of our society going “paperless” it has never happened.  In fact, we have more paper today than we did 20 years ago and it is still the #1 reason that people contact us.

Why is paper so difficult?  Well, for starters, it is hard for people to make decisions about what to do with the paper they have.  Sometimes just the thought of letting go of information causes panic attacks. 

Clutter of paper (and other items) accumulates for three primary reasons:

Fear of Scarcity

We worry that we might “need it someday.”  Right?  We fear that the paper holds important information that we need and we are afraid of losing.

When we are in a fear state, we very rarely make good decisions.  We are being ruled by negative emotion.  The solution is Trust!  Trust that you will make good decisions.  Trust that the systems that you put in place will work.  Most importantly:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your way acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

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