Gifts

Gifts

by Barbara Chadwick

I was standing at the jewelry counter looking at watches. Kenneth said, "I'll be back. You just get whichever one you want." The clerk, a tiny young lady, smiled, then chuckled and repeated, "You just get whichever one you want!" That's wonderful! I wish my guy would say that!"

I tried on one and then another and made comments. I like this about one and that about another and she repeated "You just get whichever one you want!" and she chuckled again and said, "You are very lucky." and I smiled and said, "Yes, I am. He likes to give me good gifts and tomorrow is my birthday. He said I could pick it out"

You know the Lord wants to give us good gifts too. He offers Joy and Peace, Love and Salvation and He says to us, "You just take whichever one you want. I love you and want to bless your life."

Sometimes we want to choose just "stuff". Have you seen the movie "Confessions of a Shopaholic?" Becky Bloomwood, the protagonist, can't walk past a store without being drawn in by the things advertised in the shop window. Her apartment is crammed with "stuff." There is hardly room to move around. She has even forgotten she had some of this "stuff".

Now, this "stuff" wasn't blessing her life. In fact, it was messing with her life. There was no joy, peace, love Or salvation in any of it. There was no room in her home for another thing and yet she couldn't stop herself from going into another store when her eye caught something she thought would make her life complete.

If our eyes could catch the vision of being in harmony with God and letting Him fill our hearts then our lives would be complete. Jesus says in John 15:9-11:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

What My Father Did

What my father did for me is probably something that I will never fully grasp. The things he denied himself in order to provide for me and my brothers; The quiet restful evenings he could have had if he hadn’t engaged me in conversations based largely on the never-ending questions of a pre-schooler and in later years the endless haggling and gripping known fully well to parents of a teenage girl.

My Dad also gave me some things that I came to appreciate eventually, like long hikes in the mountains, and all the “drug” habits he forced on me. (Like the song-writer, my parents started me early on “drugs”. They drug me to Sunday morning and evening services. And they drug me to Wednesday night prayer meetings. And they drug me to funerals and weddings. They drug me to school.)

When I was eleven we moved to Las Cruces, NM. My father was a new catalytic missionary and he wanted to help Hermano Ernesto Prieto with the church he had started in La Mesa. We were the only two families attending this church … like forever! I cannot begin to describe to you how incredibly boring that was for a young girl with adventure on the brain. My life certainly didn’t read like the novels in the school library. (Although I’ll bet the novels were significantly tamer than they are nowadays.)

Fast forward to 2007 - my husband felt like God wanted us to move to New Mexico and here I am once again living in the Rio Grande valley under the shadow of the Organ Mountains which guard the city of Las Cruces.

A dear friend called me the other day to tell me that Ernesto Prieto had passed away. My mind flooded with all the sweet things that man did for me and my family. And I realized if it weren’t for my Dad, I never would have met Hermano Prieto. I never would’ve known an angel in real life. He was an angel along the lines of Gabriel or Michael. He was huge and powerful and passionately devoted to God. Even though at that young age, I thought he was a boring speaker, I was inspired by his life and his love for others and wanted to learn more about God and to have that same kind of passion for myself.

I called my Dad and thanked him for introducing me to the Giant, Ernesto Prieto. I believe that God uses our Dads to show us things about life, seemingly insignificant things, boring things, things we never would’ve looked for, but things that reveal God to us and open our eyes to the Giants among us. That's what our Father God does for us.

The Giant Named Ernesto Prieto

I was eleven years old
when my father introduced me to his friend
the Giant named Ernesto Prieto.

He was towering over me with that great big smile
and as I lifted my hand
two buckets of steel reached down and
held my hand tight.

His hand descended onto my shoulder
Eyes burned deep holes into my head
“Cristo te ama …
Jesus loves you!
… Me too!” he said,

His laughter rumbled
His voice rolled like thunder
The sky split open when he smiled

I can still hear that voice praying for me
Talking to his God like one friend to another
They carried on long conversations
… while I waited and listened
… trapped under the weight
of his hand on my head.

He spoke with confidence
Like he really knew
Someone was listening
and would answer him too.

His prayer was simple
Straight from his heart
“Cristo bendiga esta niña
y déja que su vida
estará dedicada a Tí.
… Jesus, … bless her,
make her life Yours!”

Although there was a gap
in my understanding … and his
He was a man who loved God with a passion
that could only be explained by
a Giant whose God was even greater than he!

He became my friend too,
The Giant Named Ernesto Prieto

by Audrey Wauson

Grant Us Wisdom

Grant Us Wisdom

by Barbara Chadwick

Last year at this time Kenneth had served for nine months as interim pastor Canyon Ridge Baptist Church in Bellvue, Colorado. The church called a pastor and he had just arrived. The following is my journal entry for that day:

Last night I was disgruntled and anxious after Praise Team practice. My fingers just wouldn't follow the music!

My thoughts:
- Maybe somebody else should be playing the piano
- We should go somewhere else and give the new pastor (here one week) a chance to get settled
- And what IS God going to do with us now?
- What IS our future going to be?

I fretted all the way home from Bellvue to Crystal Lakes - an hour and 15 minutes

When we got home we had our evening devotion before tumbling into bed. Our devotional book for that time was a book on hymns. Kenneth began to read:

Joshua 1:9
Be bold and strong! Banish fear and doubt! For remember the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

God of grace and God of glory
On Thy people pour Thy power
Crown Thine ancient church's story
Bring her bud to glorious flower
Grant us wisdom
Grant us courage
For the facing of this hour

Set our feet on lofty places
Gird our lives that they may be
Armored with all Christlike graces
In the fight to set men free
Grant us wisom
Grant us courage
That we fail not man nor Thee
by Harry Emerson Fosdick 1873-1969

Lord, I pray that as I remember Your creation, Your mighty acts of deliverance and Your awesome being I will remember that You have the power and desire to grant us wisdom and courage for facing life in retirement.

Soon after that day we got a call from Glacier Valley Baptist Church in Juneau to come and serve as interim pastor. I praise God for His faithfulness.

Help her … You ARE her only hope!

My recently moved neighbor/friend dropped by today right in the middle of my messy cooking. We’d been busy all morning digging holes for planting trees and rose bushes and then planting them and then watering them, so everyone was hungry and I was cooking an early lunch … or brunch. When I finished, she and I went out to the back porch to talk.

That’s when all hell split open, and in my backyard unbelievable ugliness reared its horrific head. She told me that she’d discovered that her husband was having an affair … again (this is the third one in 25 years of marriage). And it’s been going on for almost three years!

How do you get over that? How do you recover? Where do you go from here? Tears spilled over and splashed on my cheeks. It’s never happened to me but it’s so horrible that what I see and hear breaks my heart.

I’m thinking, "Revenge! Or just simply kill him and put us both out of our misery. Oh that the ground would just open up and swallow me and deliver me from this agony!"

The problem is … there’s no getting away from the pain. Even if you could exact pain and retribution, you still have a crushed heart … the petals of your crushed heart leaving stains on the sidewalk … you still have ashes for dreams … you’re still broken and no one can fix that.

Or maybe there is only just One who can. But how do you let Him? How do you let go of the pain long enough to ask for help? How do you trust anyone after that? Even God … I mean the anger … the rage … … the hopelessness … the utter aloneness. Because even if you share with someone else what’s going on … when you leave them you’re still left with those raw infected emotions and the fever of pain burns through every pore of your body.

Oh dear sweet Jesus … please have mercy on my friend!

Like Jeremiah, I hear my friend saying things like, "Cursed be the day I was born! ... cursed be the man who brought my father the news ... May that man ...hear wailing in the morning and battle cry at noon. For he did not kill me in the womb ... Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?"

Jeremiah 20:14-18

Someone asked, “Where was God when this horrible thing happened?” and the reply given was, “The same place He was when His own precious Son was nailed to a tree.”

Please Lord Jesus, help my friend to know ... really know that, "You long to be gracious to her, that You rise to show her compassion. For You are a God of justice. And she will be blessed if she waits for You!" Isaiah 30:18

Dear God please have mercy on my friend. God give her courage to face this situation, give her strength to carry on. Surround her with the knowledge of Your love, comfort, and protection. Help her … You ARE her only hope!

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!