Obedience

OBEDIENCE
by Barbara Chadwick


To obey is better than sacrifice. (I Samuel 15:22)

Heavenly Father, I ask You to give me wisdom and discernment in reading Your Word.
In I Samuel 13:7-9 we read about how Saul took matters into his own hands. How human!

I'm so critical of Saul when I read about him however, when I think of how many times I have taken matters into my own hands - just reacting to a situation - and not taking the time to stop and pray and seek God's face about it, I feel pretty sure I would have acted in the same way Saul did in this circumstance. Look at the situation as Saul saw it:

In verse 6 - "the men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and their army was hard pressed. They hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns."

Verse7b - "all the troops were quaking with fear."

Verse 8 - "He (Saul) waited seven days, the time set by Samuel" This is a most critical time. Just when we think the time is up - we need to wait some more!

"but Samuel did not come. Saul's men began to scatter."

Verse 9 - "So he, (Saul) said, bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offering." When we think we're in charge our brain says, "It's up to me!"

Verse 11 - "Samuel said, 'What have you done?'" God is speaking through Samuel here.

Verse 13 - "You acted foolishly. You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you."

Many times Saul made desicions on his own, on his own knowledge and what seemed right to him at the time. I'm afraid I do the same thing.

But, we need to remember the words of Hezekiah in 2 Chronicles 32:7-8:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord, our God to help us and to fight our battles."

So whether the battle is a physical one involving others or a spiritual one within us we must be obedient. First, before all things, we must call upon the Lord, our God to show us the way. Then we need to wait upon Him.

The Psalmist said, "Wait for the LORD; be courageous and let your heart be strong. Wait for the LORD." (Psalms 27:14)

Dear Heavenly Father,
I'm sorry, Lord. I need Your hand to guide me. I ask You to forgive me. I need Your Presence to nudge me at those times and cause me to hesitate. Make Yourself known to me. I want to follow Your leading. I want to be Your servant.

To obey is better than sacrifice. I Samuel 15:22

Just Fix It

I'm always getting some joke, story, or U-tube video to watch. This last one by Dennis Swanberg about his friend Bengy and his wife's zipper had me and my family rolling in the floor. Mostly because we relate so well. Here's the link to watch it http://technorati.com/videos/youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DqWH-VToohro

But it got me to thinking about how we relate to each other. Especially to those closest to us. In particular at one point in the story the wife tells her husband, "Just fix it ... you have to fix it!" I hate it when there are misunderstandings that can't be "fixed".

While I was traveling home from Alaska last month, I had to use a hotel van to get to and from the airport. Now, I have traveled all over the world and quite a bit in the US. But it's mostly been with my husband and in our car (or truck). But when we've flown, mostly it's been straight to and from some place with no taxi's or vans helping us. So-o-o as I was planning for this trip I decided not to take cash because a credit card would be a lot less hassle.

When I got off the plane I went to the place where they said to wait for the van, which showed up in just about 3 mins, and got in with about 3 other stewardesses. The driver was playing Christians music and it was just a wonderful ride to the hotel. I was so tired after traveling most of the day, so I was just humming along to myself when one of the stewardesses turned around and commented about how nice it was to hear Christian music. We had a very nice chat about that.

Now at this point in the story let me mention that this particular stewardess is oriental / asian and so was the driver. They both had heavy accents. And I am aware that many Christians in foreign countries view Americans as “light-weight” Christians.

So we get out at the hotel. Now remember, I'm beat. It's almost 11 pm which is at least 2 hours past my bedtime. And I notice everyone is tipping the driver .... ugh!!! I'm standing there trying to figure out what to do. I begin sputtering something about being so sorry and I didn't know that I needed to tip, etc. Now the stewardess that was being so friendly suddenly looks at me like I'm some kind of pagan Christian ... you know the kind I'm talking about ... the kind that "says" they are Christian but acts like they're pagan. And the driver is looking at me like he doesn't believe me either. And I'm completely at a loss for words (ok some of you are having a hard time believing that but really ... I was just muttering - stuttering - stammering).

I collect my bags and go to my room, which was just wonderful. It appeared to be such a contradiction in terms. (we actually got the room really cheap on priceline.com) But the appearance was that I was just being cheap ... and cheap to another believer. Ugh!!!

I called my husband and told him the story ... I was so mortified. He was very reassuring and prayed with me. And I was able to sleep well and enjoy the room and the blessings God has given me.

But as I was preparing to leave the next morning, it occurred to me that I would have to go through the whole scenario again ... because remember I have no cash. So I decided to buy something from the restaurant and ask for a couple of dollars extra so I could tip ... nope they don't do that, nor do they do that at the front desk. So it kinda spoiled some of it for me. I SO wanted for my husband to be there so he could "Just Fixit!" for me!

It got me to thinking about how hard it is to overcome a misunderstanding. From the other person's point of view I was just being inconsiderate and selfish. From my point of view, it simply never occurred to me. Some things we just have to leave in God's hands. From now on, I want to be a bit more sensitive to other people when there is a possibility that I might have misunderstood the situation, or something that they did or didn't do.

Even though that stewardess and driver may never really understand what happened to me, my God knows what happened and He promised that all things work together for the good of those who know Him and are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28) I’m also grateful that since God is for me (Rom 8:31) then I can trust Him to either speak to them in ways that will help them to understand me or I can trust Him to be my Defender. (Ps 119:54) I’m so glad that even if I’m never understood here on this planet my God is able to "fix" things for me eternally, and "Just Fixit!" or "fix-me" so that I can trust Him to be God ... my God ... the One I love and serve.

Approach Your Day With Beauty

Approach Your Day With Beauty
by Barbara Chadwick

Psalm 34:12 (The Message)

"Who out there has a lust for life! Can't wait each day to come upon beauty!"

What a way to approach your day - looking for beauty!

Some friends came into Juneau on a cruise ship and we went sight-seeing with them. We saw the Mendenhall glacier, of course, then showed them our church (so that when they pray for us they can visualize our work) After that we went to the top of Mt. Roberts on the Tram where we had lunch. It was a sunny day (can you believe it!) so we had a glorious view. On the way down we saw eagles and a mama bear with one of her cubs munching on some roots. So for Cheechakos it was an outstanding day!

"He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." Psalm 42:11b (The Message)

Could you capture on a camera the essence of the smiles of friends when they meet, the joy of discovering their journey, the blessing of the fellowship that follows?

"How exquisite your love, O God." Psalm 36:7 (The Message)

After leaving them we visited a family with a brand new baby. Is there anything more precious than this tiny miracle from God? The pride and love on the mother's face was too sweet to

behold.

The beauty of God's creation - how awesome! Look at Psalm 96:2, 5 & 12b (The Message)

"Sing to God a brand new song! Earth and everyone in it, sing! Sing to God - worship God! For God is great and worth a thousand Hallelujahs. Put every tree of the forest in the choir."

Don't you love that idea!

So, let us look every day for God's beauty in His creation, in our friend's faces, in the work He gives us to do and in new life. Let us say with the Psalmist, (Psalm 92:1-2) "What a beautiful thing, God, to give thanks, to sing an anthem to You, the High God! To announce Your love each daybreak, sing Your faithful presence all through the night."

What a way to end your day, remembering the beauty God provided during that day!

Brown Paper Pkgs & Favorite Things

This morning when I went into the kitchen there was a small brown package wrapped in string with some tiny dried roses on top. My son, Robert, asked me if I saw them. He said that a thread of a song kept running through his head when he was trying to decide how to wrap it … “brown paper packages tied up with string … these are a few of my favorite things.” I can’t wait to open it.

Thursday night a bunch of us went to see “The Sound of Music” that was put on by the Mesilla Valley Christian School drama team. It was a lot of fun. Robert actually went with us. Being my son, he’s seen the movie several times. We got to talking about how many times we’d seen “The Sound of Music.” I actually wrote a paper for a journalism class on it. There are several versions of the movie and of the play. But the most famous is the one done by Julie Andrews in 1965.

The way I remember it … it was the first time I remember going to the movies. We got in the Oldsmobile someone had given us ( my parents were attending Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in San Fransico) and drove a l-o-n-g time to get there. The theater was h-u-g-e and it was in Color! It was so amazing. I felt as if I’d been transformed to another place. The music, the colors, I just wanted to sing and sing and sing. I lived in a dream world for weeks.

My mother bought the record and we listened to that record until we knew all of the lyrics by heart. That is one of my most precious memories … my mom and I singing and cleaning and dancing around our house. In my mind, my mother was Julie Andrews, and that’s who I wanted most to grow up and be like … my mom.

Today, physically I don’t look a lot like my mom but everyone says that we look alike … I think it’s because we have a lot of the same mannerisms. You see I watched her and listened to her for years until … I knew her by heart. These memories I have and the ones we continue to make are “a few of my favorite things!”

That brown paper package sitting on the table reminds me of a whole lot of “favorite things” between me and my son. I pray that God will bring to your mind some “favorite things” this Mother’s Day.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable

—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—

think about such things.

9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me,

or seen in me—put it into practice.

And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:8,9

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things

Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels

Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles

Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings

These are a few of my favorite things

Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes

Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things

When the dog bites

When the bee stings

When I'm feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad

Your Day - A Blank Page

Your Day - A Blank Page
by Barbara Chadwick



Each day when you open your eyes you have a whole new day ahead of you, an entire blank page. You may think your day's page is already full but you have the power over your page. You have the power to insert some splotches of color onto a gray page day, to rejoice over a day already filled with color, or to fill a totally blank page with blessing others.

I am on lesson 40 in my writing course. It is titled, The Creative Process. The point is to write. The first assignment is to fill three double-spaced pages as fast as you can. It's an exercise in free writing. It doesn't matter what you write!

In the textbook the author tells about larceny in his third grade. When the teacher left the room he would take some blank pages from her desk. He'd fold the pages over then staple a construction paper cover to the back. He could hardly wait until school was over so he could begin filling those empty pages with stories!

How wonderful would it be if we could hardly wait to get up in the morning to begin filling the blank pages of our day with our story!? Then if the words and actions on that page would glorify God it would be amazing!

Jerry Jenkins says, "As a Christian the pages of our days should be sacred - devoted to God." Paul says in Romans 12:1 that presenting ourselves to God is our reasonable service. It is an act of worship. So, in a writing course to bring out the creative side in us we can just begin writing. We can write anything. We can write as fast as we can without thinking about punctuation or - consequences. However, in a life it does matter what we write on our days. Our days are not an assignment or just practice. We need to be thinking about intentionality.

When I prayed at breakfast this morning I thanked God for the day and the opportunities it presented to us. Now, after having my devotional my mind goes to the day before me. What do I have to get done today? My mind makes a list: lesson 40, a luncheon with friends, mending, grocery shopping, etc.

On the blank page of my day have I put down any intentional activities to be encouraging to anyone? (I need to include my family here!) Will I speak to anyone about Jesus? How can I share my resources with someone in need? Can I show kindness and love to someone today? (How about my family?) I keep inserting "family" here because so many times our families receive the gray or even black pages of our daily story! They must receive some of our rosiest pages.

If we could keep a tablet (of blank pages!) by our bedside and just before going to bed we could jot down whatever way our page for that day was a blessing to someone, would it help to remind us that tomorrow we have another wonderful page to fill with God's goodness and grace?