PERFECT

PERFECT   
by Barbara Chadwick

Did you ever notice how often we use the word "perfect"?

When Katie asked if I would help with the Vacation Bible School in Haines, Alaska I said, "Sure" and she answered "perfect."

Java Rush says they offer the "perfect cup of coffee."

When Kenneth asked how my birthday was I said, "It was a perfect day."

When each of our children were born we ever so tenderly touched their cheeks and examined their fingers and toes. In awe we said, "She/He is just perfect!"

The dictionary says the word "perfect" means without defect or fault. So it could be that sometimes we stretch the meaning a little with our use of the word.

We talk of our house, job, dress etc., as perfect meaning it fits our needs.  In some ways our house is perfect for us. It has the amount of space we need. The mountain location is beautiful. It is very quiet.
So many things are "perfect". On the other hand, it is too far from town (53 miles), doctors and stores.  Quite often something has to be fixed or at best tinkered with. Our closest neighbor comes up from Arizona once or twice a year. so we sometimes get lonely.  So not exactly perfect by the dictionary standard.

Then there are the people who are "perfectionists".  They want things to be done in a certain way and look just so. In their minds anything less is slovenly and without merit. It drives other people crazy! But in truth if we examined every single thing in their lives we would find things that were not "perfect"; that is to say, "without defect or fault." In this life we cannot be perfect.

Because I Corinthians 13:10 says, When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part will be done away.  When we get to heaven we'll know what "perfect" is. Hallelujah!

May the God of peace...make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.  Hebrews 13:20-21

The Wilderness

The Wilderness Experience
A book review
by Barbara Chadwick

Have you ever been in a place that you recognized as a wilderness? We have been hiking sometimes in places that seemed like a wilderness. But my wilderness -es have usually been mental and spiritual.  Times when I desperately wanted God to speak aloud to me but He seemed to be silent.

So this is a book review. I want to quote some things that impressed me from a book called The Wilderness Esperience by Robert W. Bailey (Broadman Press)

     A tourist visiting an apple orchard noticed some trees so weighted down with fruit they had 
     to be propped up. He asked of the orchard owner: "What is the secret? How do you grow them so 
     successfully?"
          The grower responded, "I can't explain why, but I can tell you what happened."
          He pointed to the base of one of the largest apple trees and indicated an ugly scar that had 
     partially healed during the past years. The owner explained, "In the beginning, too much of the 
     tree was going to wood and not into fruit. We found that if we scarred the tree, we got less wood 
     and more fruit. And we're in the fruit business."
         We are a people who avoid linking pain to growth.

          The wilderness is an experience of contrasts,
     It is an unsettled, barren, perilous area, but
          it is also a place where God is!
     It is a difficult, lonely, unnerving site, but
          it is also a place where God dwells!
     It is a draining, exhausting, discouraging situation, but
          it is also a place where God heals and strengthens!
     It is a remote, desolate, debilitating condition, but
          it is also a place where God moves and loves!
     The shadows and darkness of the wilderness we do not seek for ourselves, but we need not fear to 
     advance on our wilderness journey, God is there! He goes before us!
                                                                                     He comes behind us!
                                                                                     He journeys beside us!
                                                                                     He dwells within us!

          God allows His children to walk through the dark valleys and to journey through the wilderness
     The scars we encounter result in our lives being:
            more fruitful for Him.
            more sensitive to Him.
            more obedient to Him.
            more loyal to Him.

     The outcome of our wilderness experience depends on
        our attitude toward life
            our choice of response
                our relationship with Christ
                    our openness to growth
                        our desire for obedience
                            our sensitivity to support systems
                                our responsiveness to the Spirit

     Many people have gone into the wilderness and died there! Others have gone into the wilderness
     and come alive there! Enter boldly, thoughtfully, openly, carefully, and may you emerge stronger
     than when you entered! Brave Journey!

ARE YOU A KAWLIGA CHRISTIAN?

by Barbara Chadwick

Kaw Liga  by Hank Willliams
Kaw-liga was a wooden Indian standing by the door.
He fell in love with an Indian maiden over in the antique store.
Kaw-liga just stood there and never let it show,
So she could never answer 'yes' or 'no.' CHORUS:
Poor ol' Kaw-liga, he never got a kiss.
Poor ol' Kaw-liga, he don't know what he missed.
Is it any wonder that his face is red?
Kaw-liga, that poor ol' wooden head.

He always wore his Sunday feathers and held a tomahawk.
The maiden wore her beads and braids and hoped some day he'd talk.
Kaw-liga, too stubborn to ever show a sign,
Because his heart was made of knotty pine.

Kaw-liga was a lonely Indian, never went nowhere.
His heart was set on the Indian maid with the coal black hair.
Kaw-liga just stood there and never let it show,
So she could never answer 'yes' or 'no.'

And then one day a wealthy customer bought the Indian maid,
And took her, oh, so far away, but ol' Kaw-liga stayed.
Kaw-liga just stands there as lonely as can be,
And wishes he was still an old pine tree.

We just got back from a trip to Oklahoma. Driving across the country, seeing old friends and family , sharing meals and stories – it was great!

On Sunday we went to Friendship Baptist Church in Owasso, OK. These people live up to their name. Just about everyone we got close to talked to us. They made us feel welcome and included. They seemed to be full of joy.

Well, some of God’s people are wonderful after you get to know them. But at first glance it seems that their name could have been Kawliga! We’ve been in more than a few churches across our country where no one spoke to us. Cold. Unfriendly. No passion. Wooden! Makes you wonder why they came
.
When you go to a church like Friendship Baptist Church, it makes you glad you came. You want to sing. You want to pray with them. You listen to the sermon with your heart. And you’re so glad you’re not an old pine tree but a living, breathing human being able to worship the Creator God. Joy seems to emanate from the center of your soul.

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let is come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song… Come, let us bow down in worship, let is kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture… Psalm 95:1-2;6-7

As you go to your place of worship today I pray that you will smile, shake hands and give hugs with joy in your heart – that your worship will be real and your actions will be alive – full of love -  not wooden and lonely like Kawliga. Dead where you stand.