Even The Small Things Are Important

By Pat

I often struggle with feeling inadequate in God's kingdom, and wish that I was in a position to do bigger, better things. I call it the "Mother Theresa" syndrome. It seemed as though the little things I do are very insignificant, and that I am hiding my light under a bushel basket.

But very recently, as I shared those feelings with a friend, I was reminded that sometimes it's the little things that can make the largest impact; in this case, kind words. Just by caring about him, praying for him, and sending words of faith and encouragement, I reminded him that God is at work in his life, and that He loves him. My heartfelt words, although they seemed small to me, impacted him deeply, and I had no idea. When my friend shared with me what a difference my words had made, I was truly surprised. But why? God tells us through scripture of the importance of our words and of the impact they can make, both positive and negative.

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Praying For Self-Control

By Nick (My Experience As...)

Because I want to!!!

As the parent of young children I am very aware of what self-control, or rather a lack of self-control, is all about. My oldest son, currently six, is a prime example. He will get into trouble for doing something he knows he shouldn’t. Being a good parent I sit down and talk with him. After all discipline is rooted in teaching and teaching is rooted in communication. 

We will talk about what he did and how it was wrong.  He will understand the reasons for why he should take a toy from someone or whatever the offense was. He’ll understand how it feels if someone does that to him and even feel sympathy for how he made the other person feel. Then we will get to “why?” 

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Rejoice In the Boredom

By Pat

Have you ever wished your life was more exciting? I admit that I have, and I am pretty sure that at some point we all have. I have often felt bored and restless, like one day is the same as the next with the only variation being the dinner menu and clothing selection. You know..."same stuff, different day"...But I have been learning that, instead of grumbling, it's actually a reason to rejoice.

No funeral to attend? Praise God! Car didn't break down? No accident today? Praise God! No trip to the doctor, or hospital visit to a sick friend or loved one? Praise God! No crisis? No family emergency? House didn't catch fire or become flooded? Praise God!

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God Knows Me Best

By Pat

I often struggle with feelings of inadequacy and uncertainty in my Christian walk, feeling like I don't have the knowledge and confidence required to move forward in certain areas. I allow what I see in myself to supersede what God sees in me, and become afraid to take chances for fear of failure. For instance, many times I have considered hosting a Bible study, but have never felt that I could be an effective group leader, and am afraid I might say something wrong.

I forget that God is in control, and that when the Holy Spirit nudges me, it's the Lord speaking. In Jeremiah 1:7-10, Jeremiah voices his reluctance to God regarding Jeremiah's prophet abilities: "but the Lord said to me, "Do not say 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord. Then the Lord reached out His hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth."

Over and over throughout scripture, we see examples of God equipping us with whatever is necessary in order to do His work. I have to stop relying on what my limited eyesight can see and allow God to give me what I need to serve Him effectively. God knows us better than we know ourselves!

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.

Love Is...

By Nick (My Experience As...)

Love is the Greatest

1 Corinthians 13

 ¹ If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. ³ If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

 ⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud ⁵ or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. ⁶ It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. ⁷ Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

 ⁸ Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! ⁹ Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! ¹⁰ But when full understanding comes, these partial things will become useless.

 ¹¹ When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. ¹² Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

 ¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

If you have been a Christian for more than five seconds this is probably a familiar passage. My wife can quote it by heart, and often does.  Not in the “you need to learn what love is so you can treat me right” kind of way (I probably deserve it but she gets the passage and know that would be missing the point). No, she tends to remind me when I’m getting bent out of shape on something trivial with someone else. She’s pretty compassionate like that.

I think this is all a lesson we want our children to learn too. I pray for my kids to know what real love is, so when they start dating (around 30) they won’t be fooled by someone telling them how much they “love” them.

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