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As I speak internationally to English speakers as well as through an interpreter, some of my greatest joys have been speaking to groups where participation from the audience is possible. Not only do I value the input of those in my conferences, but if they are actively involved (share testimonies, participate in prayer, read Scripture aloud), it is obvious that everyone is with me. I am interested in theological study, Christian writing, historical application of Biblical principles as well as writing as a craft and the current status of the publishing industry as a whole. As a result, I find myself following blogs of those whom I have learned to trust who contribute information in those fields. It occurred to me that blogs are the internet equivalent of audience participation in a conference setting. So, this blog is a result of that discovery. As much as possible (sometimes when I travel I do not have internet access), I will be making weekly posts of how everyday life is related to what God has revealed about Himself in His Word - maintaining one focus on that most important relationship. I would welcome your participation.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Playtime, Love and You

Being a grandmother brings back memories of time spent with my own sons when they were preschoolers. Then, as now, time was more plentiful than money; however, being forced to be creative in our playtime was, and still is, a good thing. Especially with the current economic situation, parents and grandparents are sharing tips that have worked for them as they help their children enjoy life without spending much money. 

I have noticed that expensive toys often spend the largest part of their time lying in the toy box or closet. Although rotating toys helps, after the novelty wears off again, they must then be put up once more or even given away.

Toy companies are expert at advertising, but not always so clever at creating toys children can really enjoy. A lot of toys do not hold the interest of a small child. Some toys wind up and do their own thing while the child sits by and watches. Some are just too difficult to play with. My husband and I bought the biggest and best transformer for one of our grandsons, but it was so hard to put together, I'm not sure he ever played with it.  I have discovered it is the simpler versions they like the best.   

Children love to work with their hands. Give a child time to play in a sandpile with old margarine tubs, kitchen utensils (sifters, spoons, etc.) and he can create anything - forts, farms, trains, churches, or just plain mud pies.

When my children were small, unless we had to go somewhere, I didn't worry about them getting dirty. They loved it. In fact, on nice warm days, they could water the dirt and have extra fun with mud. This kind of dirt play is not only enjoyable for children, it also develops small muscle coordination and their imagination. Playing outside makes them more aware of all the good things God has created for them to enjoy.

Just as children love to play in dirt and sand, they enjoy play dough or clay. I found homemade play dough lasted much longer than the purchased kind. Cookie cutters and plastic items from the kitchen are great things to use with play dough.

A lot of throw away items hold charm for a child: old clothes, bits of wood (with no splinters), old wooden spools, spray can tops, plastic bottles (not pill bottles), and boxes of all sizes. Uses are limited only to the imagination of the child. Children love to create something of their own. One of my grandsons is especially good at making something out of practically nothing.  I am always looking forward to seeing what he has created. 

Furniture boxes make a great play house. We sometimes placed one on a patio or the corner of a son's room. It became his private domain - with endless possibilities - a hideaway, a spaceship, an office like Dad's, etc. I just cut out a door and a window and let my sons do the rest.  They also often created a hideaway underneath the kitchen table, spreading a large blanket over the table and letting their imagination run wild.  

I remember camping out in the backyard with our young sons. My husband spread a blanket over two lawn chairs and fixed a pallet underneath for the boys. We slept on cots beside them. We had snacks outside that night and even took our portable television outside on the patio. The boys loved it and slept soundly.

When my children were crawlers and toddlers, I installed childproof openers on the cabinets I didn't want them getting into and put all plastics and light tin pots and pans in the remaining cabinets. While I worked in the kitchen, they would entertain themselves stacking the plastic bowls, banging tin dishes together and even crawling into the empty cabinet for a hideout. I remember one time in particular when my oldest son was about seven or eight months old, his grandparents, his Dad and I observed as he stacked pots and pans together matching the right lids to the proper pans. He struggled with a drip coffee pot until he got all the parts together again the right way which took him a good ten minutes. During all this time, he was concentrating so hard that he didn't even notice that he had an audience!

The most important of all is time a parent or grandparent spends playing with his child. I am so proud of my sons and their wives as they are taking advantage of every minute they have with their young children, recognizing that this stage does not last forever. There comes a time when a child is not as interested in spending all their time with their family, but for a preschooler or elementary age child, there is no one that can take the place of his parent.

During the important formative years, God made young children somewhat possessive of his parents in order to use this golden opportunity to influence that child for good.

Grandchildren are the crowning glory of the aged; parents are the pride of their children (Proverbs 17:6 NLT)

Sunday, September 18, 2011

The Miracle of Adoption

My newest grandchild became a part of my family today. I haven't met her yet, but I have been anticipating her arrival for three years.

In September 2008, my son and his wife felt God calling them to adopt a child - preferably a girl.  They have two terrific natural born sons, so they are in the minority of people who choose to adopt.  Since most couples adopt because they can't have children any other way, my son and his wife did not request a newborn. Wanting to keep the existing birth order in their family, they did ask for a child under three.

Anyone who has been through an adoption process or is related to someone who has knows that adoptions are expensive and enormously time consuming.  Deciding to adopt a child makes a bold statement.  Parents (and in some cases, siblings) are willing to pay the price to adopt a child.

In their case, two adoption agencies (the first one didn't work out), much money and three years later, the day has finally arrived.

With all the hiccups in the process, one blog entry of my daughter-in-law's was "God has a plan, God has a plan, God has a plan."  Today, we know what that plan was.

In September 2008 Olivia's birth mother was in her first trimester. After giving birth to Olivia seven months later (March 2009), she left her on a doorstep. Found, she was taken to a foster home that works with our family's adoption agency.

The referral from the agency came just after Olivia's second birthday in March 2011. As soon as we all saw her picture, we knew why God allowed the delay. Everyone instantly knew that Olivia belonged to our family. She was not even born when they started the process with the first agency.

Olivia's family is in China. They picked her up today. It was such a delight to receive pictures of her with her brothers and parents.

Olivia will know she is adopted. She will know that she is loved and wanted. She will be told that she was longed-for, chosen and considered worth any price that had to be paid so she could be part of the family.

God, the Father, and God, the Son wanted, longed-for and chose to adopt those who accepted the sacrificial gift offered by Jesus Christ. Through the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, He has told us that His adopted children are wanted, longed-for, chosen. He paid the highest price for each child of His: the life and death of His only begotten Son.


to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God... So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only Son... God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure (John 1:12, 14, Ephesians 1:5 NLT).

Sunday, September 11, 2011

The Cross and 9/11: Hatred Does Not Have the Last Word, Love Does

The 10th anniversary of 9/11 has enabled us to know more about the sacrifices of the men and women who lost their lives on that day.  Families have shared testimonies of last phone calls with their loved ones and phone messages left on recorders.  Common threads for these heroic men and women who died needlessly or sacrificed themselves attempting to save others is duty, dignity and love.

The terrorist attack on America on 9/11/01 can only be explained by pure evil.  Their aim was to kill as many people as they could and destroy the morale of a nation. Hatred struck our nation, but it did not have the effect the terrorists desired.  Yes, of course, life will never be the same, especially for those family members and friends who lost a loved one that day, but hatred did not have the last word.  Love did.

Firefighters, policemen and every day citizens did in the moment of tragedy what evil never would have done.  They thought of others instead of themselves - the husband who called his wife knowing he would not survive continued to tell her how much he loved her and wanted her to have a good life, the firefighters who went into the burning buildings knowing there was a good chance they would never come out, the people of New York who came out of their homes with sandwiches and water to give to anyone who needed it, the heroes of Flight 93 who took over the airplane knowing that it was a target for the nation's Capitol and many, many more stories like these that were proof that people cared enough for others that they would sacrifice their lives.  Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends (John 15:13). Hatred did not have the last word. Love did.

The airplane that struck the first tower shocked everyone.  Those in that building were taken by surprise. Many who sacrificed themselves during the next three crashes were aware of the attack.  Although they had little time to respond, there was a little forewarning because of the first crash.  Even so, the stories of heroism continued. Hatred did not have the last word. Love did.

In the intervening ten years, young men and women in our military have voluntarily gone into harm's way to protect not only the freedom of the country they love, but the lives of those they left behind. Hatred did not have the last word. Love did.

The legacy of these heroes is being lived out in the stories told by their husbands, wives, children, parents, grandchildren and friends. People are alive today because of the sacrifice of someone on 9/11 or because of the sacrifice of a serviceman on the battlefield. Many have decided to serve because their loved one served. Many are striving to live a life that would make their loved one proud of them.  Hatred did not have the last word. Love did.

Evil caused 9/11.  Evil caused the death of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for all mankind.  His trial, torture and crucifixion did not take Him by surprise.  It was His plan all along to declare His love through His sacrifice.  In the strongest sense of the word, the cross was His declaration of "I love you" to the world. All those who trust in Jesus are alive spiritually forever because of His sacrifice on the cross.  Hatred does not have the last word.  Love does.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers . . . will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35, 38-39).

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Some of The Richest People I Know Don't Have Any Money


Since I have the privilege of teaching Bible internationally, my friendship circles are as big as the globe. I have been incredibly enriched by getting to know so many people from a variety of different backgrounds and cultures.  I have been exposed to them in their churches and their homes and have been the recipient of their amazing hospitality.

Some of the richest people I know don’t have any money. “Poor me” is not in their vocabulary. In spite of extremely limited material resources, they do not feel deprived. They share what they have - many times giving the best of what they have to their guests. 

Their joy does not come in the possession of things, but in the contentment of a life that is counting for something far greater than anything material. They love God. They love life. They love people.

Like Jesus, who had nowhere to lay his head, they understand all the resources of heaven are at their disposal. Their measurements of riches, however, are not monetary. 

They are rich in:
  • loyalty, love and laughter
  • honor, hope and humility
  • generosity, grace and genuineness
  • patience, peace and purity
  • justice and joy
  • faith
Some of the richest people I know don't have any money. They have Jesus.

Paul: A Man Rich in Faith


My friends remind of the apostle Paul who discovered that the richness of faith outweighed the riches of the world. He was a man with many advantages in his life.  For a long time, he persecuted followers of Christ because he did not understand who Jesus was.  When he finally met Jesus and accepted His offer of salvation, he made an about face and never looked back.

Paul gave up the advantages of status and worldly riches when he became a disciple of Christ. What he gained was greater than what he lost.

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ (Philippians 3:7-8). 

Paul’s heart and his mind, given to God, enabled him to be content no matter what his circumstances.

I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:12-13).