Are You There God?
by Sharon Boling
Recently I took my 5th grade daughter to a college basketball game with all of the other 5th grade girls at her school. We were waiting to get seated and I went with another lady to get some snacks. When I returned, I didn’t know where my daughter was sitting. I looked out into the sea of 5th grade girls on the bleachers wondering how I was ever going to find her. Then I heard a voice, “Mommy! Over here!” Sure enough, I saw my daughter motioning me to come and sit with her. Even in the midst of all the noise from the game, the band, and other children; I heard my child calling me. Not so strange, right? I mean, after all, I have been listening to her cry, talk, (complain), laugh, and argue for the last ten years. I know her voice. Most parents can say that about their children.
God, our heavenly father, also knows our voice. He created us; he knows us better than we know ourselves. It says in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” The Bible also says that he hears us. Throughout the Psalms we can see where David cried out to God and God answered him. Psalms 18:6 says, “In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.” So God hears us when we pray to him.
But do we hear God? Do we know his voice? How do we know what he is saying? There have been times when I pray that I really need an answer from God. I need to know why I am going through a certain situation, or I need to know what choice I should make about something. I can pray and pray, but sometimes it feels like he is not answering.
10 Top Super Foods
Do you want to be a SUPER woman? I think deep down we all want to be. We must realize although we never can be perfect we are “super” in God’s view . David puts it this way, Proverbs 17:8(NIV) “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings“…God considers us precious and valuable, the apple of His eye. God sees each of us as unique and treasured.
Since my background is in health I’d like to share some super foods, foods that are power packed with the “good” stuff. By adding these into our day, we are taking an active role in taking care of ourselves so we can achieve all God has planned for us.
Here are 10 “super” foods:
1. Sweet Potatoes- a nutritional superstar, loaded with vitamin C, potassium and fiber.
2. Grape Tomatoes- packed with vitamin C and vitamin A and full of flavor all year.
3. Skim Milk- excellent source of calcium, vitamins and protein and little or no artery clogging fat.
4. Broccoli- lots of vitamin C, carotenoids and folic acid
5. Wild Salmon- omega-3 fats reduce the risk of heart disease. Try cooking it on a cedar plank for even more flavor.
6. Crispbreads- Ry-Krisp and Ryita, for fiber and no fat.
7. Microwave Brown Rice- a favorite of mine, contains magnesium, zinc, and copper. Done in 10 minutes or less.
8. Citrus Fruits- great taste and rich in vitamin C, folic acid and fiber. Try different varieties such as clementines or grapefruit.
9. Butternut Squash- a half cup has 5 grams of fiber and tons off vitamins A and C., buy ready diced and cook in the microwave for a soup or risotto.
10. Spinach- loaded with calcium, fiber, and vitamin C.
So when you head out to the “superstore”, pick some of these up and “super size” your diet with energy and nutrients. Hopefully you’ll find some new favorites and make a permanent investment in your health as well as your family’s.
Great Expectations
From the time infants are born, their temperaments and personalities are established. It is our job as parents to identify these traits and to train our children to establish healthy habits of belief, thought, feeling, and action throughout their childhood and teenage years. Before this type of effective training can begin, we need to understand that what we believe about our children will influence our own thoughts, emotions, and actions toward them.
All too often, our beliefs and expectations regarding our children are essentially negative. Scripture states that, “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). In other words, our words give away our true feelings and attitudes. Our words about our children to others reveal our heart attitudes and expectations of their behavior. For example, do we expect the “terrible twos” to be terrible? Do we roll our eyes when we say the word “teenagers”? Unintentionally, we buy into our culture’s negative beliefs regarding children and set up an unnecessary cycle of negative expectations and behavior.
Ultimately, beliefs generate thoughts and feelings that translate into actions. Therefore, what we believe about or expect of children as they grow is essential to a family’s long-term health and well-being. One of my firm beliefs is that training toddlers with positive, encouraging words and expectations sets a family on a good course for pleasant and enjoyable teenage years. Sound too good to be true? If so, stayed tuned for next month’s “how-to” on the subject of training your toddler to be a terrific teen.
Seasonal Friendships
I encourage us not to dismiss them but to embrace and examine these seasonal friendships as they are usually purposeful in our lives. The Word of God, in Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us that in all things, there are seasons and purposes. In thinking about it, I can bear witness to this truth, as it relates to some of my past friendships. Likewise, in asking others to think back, they too have had these seasonal friendships. Sometimes the seasonal friendship serves to provoke another to higher heights, to teach another, to share a burden, to walk with another through a valley of decision, or to mentor another. This list isn’t exhaustive. The purposes are many and sometimes very unique to our lives. The friendships seem like any other valued lifetime friendship, except in duration. They are of no lesser significance, however.
I know a young lady who had been promoted to a new position which was in a new office. After having been there for 2 days, a woman walked over to her cubicle and inquired how things were going. She replied, “things are going well; I have a lot to learn, however.” Without missing a beat, the woman said to the young lady (a 25 year old, who did not have a relationship with the Lord) —- “you’re not here because of what’s on your resume, you’re here because the Lord wanted you to come this way.” The young lady was polite, so her reply was “yes ma’am.” Her thoughts were, however, “this lady is crazy and that wasn’t very professional of her.” She made a mental note to steer clear of her. As the Lord would have it, however, He began to draw the young lady’s heart to Him but she didn’t quite understand what she was experiencing. The woman, the “crazy and unprofessional” woman, walked with her through several months of trying to rationalize what she was experiencing and answered many questions about spiritual things. For many months, for a season, the woman spent time with the young lady during lunches and breaks. Eventually, she led her to Christ. They both moved on to other places. For a season, though, they had an intense friendship, for the specific purpose of the young woman’s life being saved.
Some friends are for a lifetime, but sometimes friends enter our lives for a season. Embrace seasonal friendships, for there is a purpose.
Living Holy Lives In An Unholy Culture
by Linda Lail
Our culture would have us believe that living holy lives is old fashioned, passé, no longer relevant in our modern times. After all “we’ve come a long way baby” right? WRONG!!! We’ve come a long way backward.
Living holy lives is a great calling given to those of us who are preparing ourselves for Christ’s return. In Beth Moore’s study of the book of Daniel, we learned that Daniel and his three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego refused to participate in the Babylonian culture in which they found themselves. They were called upon to live holy lives in a culture that was filled with selfishness, ego and a sense of entitlement. The motto of the Babylonian culture was, “it’s all about ME”. Does that sound familiar? I was surfing the TV channels recently when something caught my attention. It was a young attractive woman being interviewed about an audition she was going for. She was asked how she felt about what she would have to do if she was hired for the part. She said “well, I am religious and there is a little voice in the back of my head saying ‘you shouldn’t be doing that’, but (laughing) God forgives”. I thought how much like Babylon we have become in our culture. As His bride, have we bought into the allurement of the present and lost sight of what it means to live holy lives, set apart from the world?
To live holy means to live lives of integrity and purity. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego had to make a conscious choice to defy the king’s decree and follow their beliefs. They refused to partake of the king’s table and purposed in their hearts to eat what was healthy food (Daniel ch.1). Think about what the “king’s table” represented to Daniel and his three friends. It would mean that they would practice self-indulgence, become filled with pride and ego and become part of a culture that defied the only true and living God.
For the woman of God and the bride eagerly awaiting her Bridegroom, this same table is spread before us today and like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego we have to make a conscious choice of how we will respond. We have been called to live lives of integrity, purity, and holiness. This call is of major importance in today’s culture and it is of the utmost importance in the body of Christ. Let us be faithful to the One who loves us and is coming back for us!!
Moving Through the Stages
by Nora A. Neal-Daggett
Moving through loss is an individual process and can best be described in five stages denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. (Kubler-Ross; THE FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF) Travel with me through my first stage… denial/disbelief.
The sudden death of the love of my life rocked the very foundation of my being. I found myself on the floor of the ICU conference room, sitting underneath a table. Right beside me sat the physician and the patient care advocate who held my hand as the doctor explained what had happened.
I was undone! Nothing else mattered. I had come to the end of our relationship…the end of us! How could this be happening? My husband was a young man, younger than me and in my mind that meant he should bury me!!!
A short time later, two very close friends arrived to be with me. They helped me call family and begin the activities that would frame the next few days of my life. I remember feeling numb, dizzy and, Lord, my chest hurt! It felt as if my heart had broken into a thousand pieces.
Later, alone in the restroom- I felt as if I didn’t have the breath or the strength to even stand up. I called out to God and I asked him- how am I going to live through this?
The reply returned, “one moment at a time… my child… one moment at a time.”
I whispered this prayer as I walked down the hallway.
Lord God, I place my broken heart in your hands. Thank you so much for the life and the love you allowed me to experience.
I trust what your Word promises… that you will walk with me through the valley of the shadow of death—one moment at a time.
New Beginning
by Tina Bruno
March!! Let us March on, the March Hare, Beware the Ides of March! These are all the things I think of when I think of this month. But the best thing about March? It’s a time for beginning.
According to the Jewish Calendar, the month of Nissan is the first month of the year, which coordinates with March-April. The Jewish calendar is based on three astronomical phenomena; the rotation of the Earth around its axis (one day); the revolution of the moon around the Earth (one month); and the revolution of the Earth around the sun (one year). Even though our Gregorian calendar has January as the first month of the year, to me this month, March, is the first of the year!
March is also the month in which Passover occurs. It also is the time of Easter, the resurrection of our Savior. How appropriate that the first fruits of our salvation would be in spring! When Jesus rose from the dead, He gave us new life…spring brings new life from the dead ground, our hope is renewed in spring. Let this March be a new beginning for you. Spring is in air!