We Got Old!

By Barbara Chadwick



We got old while we weren’t paying attention! All of a sudden our children want to take care of us.

Reality sets in when you look in the mirror and say, “Who is that woman with those canyons running down her face?!” or “Whose hands are those, with age spots and wrinkles?!” or “Those Ritis boys are bothering me again.” – you know - Arthur Ritis. Corny right? But I’ve learned that it’s true that old age is not for sissies!

I saw a woman on Good Morning America this morning who was celebrating her birthday. When they asked her which one she said, "It's my 60th and I'm proud of it!"  She was facing reality with a smile.

C.S. Lewis said, “Our job is to learn what reality is, then learn to like it.”  Well, most of the time these days I don’t really like reality!

We do learn to deal with the realities in everyday life. Somehow we cope and grow.

Learning to deal with God’s realities is another area of growth. When we accept God’s reality, we bend our will to His. We listen for His voice and want to do the things that please Him.

Sometimes though, thoughts come into our brains without invitation – thoughts that depress or anger us. Paul tells the Corinthians to, …take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5b

Also, Paul tells the Philippians, …brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. Philippians 4:8

There is excellence in maturity. Just look at fruit. Who wants a green apple? Or strawberry for that matter! You want a beautiful ripe fruit. With maturity you are ripe (and beautiful I might add). You’ve already “been there, done that”. Experience/maturity helps with the coping of everyday life. Experience also helps in following God’s reality for our lives. We can look back and see some of the missteps we’ve made along the way and can more easily sidestep toward a more heavenly way.

However, there is always a danger with our brain! It sometimes wants to go somewhere we’ve determined not to go or dwell on thoughts that are not excellent or worthy of praise. One woman said, “I tend to follow the Lord through my brain, but tend to sin through my mouth!” It’s true. At times it seems as if we have no control. Remember when Paul was talking about our conflict with the two natures within us? For that which I am doing I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do but I am doing the very thing I hate… Romans 7:15

But look in verse 25 of chapter 7: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ! And in 8:1-2 There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

So let us, take every thought captive - even those corny ones that make us dwell on ourselves and let us dwell on God’s reality – things that are pure, excellent and praiseworthy.

Just A Little More
by Barbara Chadwick


I slurped up the last bit of my Creamy Chocolate Slim Fast Drink through my straw and said, "I always feel like there should be a couple more ounces in these things." Kenneth smiled and said, "That's the way life is. We want a little more banana puddin' or little bigger house or a little nicer car and on and on."

When do we have enough?  Certain monks live in monasteries with austere bedrooms - cells, it seems like. They have a bed, a table and a straight backed chair.  I think of my bedroom with a carpet, a bed, two side tables, two easy chairs, a dresser, an antique secretary and a wood stove. And I think I need a new bed and a new chair! Let's don't even talk about all the stuff that's in the attic!!

Jesus said in Luke 12:15, Beware and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.


Paul, realizing the end of his life was near, said in II Peter 1:14, ...the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent...   And the Psalmist said, You, indeed have made my days short in length, and my life span as nothing in Your sight. Surely every man at his best is a mere breath.... he amasses riches and does not know who will gather them. Psalm 39:5 & 6b 

Life is too short to worry about possessions and to make life's ambition just to have fun.

I have some friends who think of life as a playground. They are always looking for the next funnest thing to do. As they sit around the table they take turns telling the next place in the world they want to visit and the exciting thing they want to accomplish in that far-off place as if that's what life is about - fun and games.

But we're told in Ephesians chapter 5 to:
        be imitators of God
        do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you
        you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light
        learn what is pleasing to the Lord
        be careful how you walk
        make the most of your time because the days are evil

Perhaps it would behoove us to think of our time on earth as fleeting or temporary. Paul encourages us in Philippians 4:8  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.... and the God of peace will be with you.

You don't need more you just need to be thankful for what God has given you.

The Water Of Life
by Barbara Chadwick
 
I went downstairs to get some water to take with us in the car. It is an hour and a half drive to town so I always take a bag of snacks  - and water. Carrying the bottle upstairs got me to thinking.

Looking at a glass of water it seems so, I don't know, innocuous or plain. And yet we simply cannot live without it. Our bodies need water for survival. Then there are the basics of bathing, cooking, cleaning.

I grew up in town and never had to think about whether there was enough water but when we went to visit relatives in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas I learned that water was precious. We had to guard the water that was in the well and use it judiciously.

Jesus was tired of walking and sat down at a well in Samaria.   A woman came to get water. He asked her for a drink. When she was amazed that this man - this Jewish man - would even speak to her much less ask her to serve him water, he said, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. John 4:10 
She was perplexed and didn't understand and said, Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep; where then do you get that living water?  Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone who drinks of this water shall thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life. John 4: 7-14

And again in John chapter 7 Jesus says, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.
John 7:37-38

Let us never take for granted the water we use in daily life and let us never look askance at the water of life that Jesus offers.

God Answers Prayer
by Barbara Chadwick


May the Lord answer you in the day of your trouble! May the Name of the God of Jacob set you securely on high! May He send you help from the sanctuary, and support you from Zion!
Psalm 20:1-2

Kenneth had a heart attack last week!

The doctor took me to a waiting room as they wheeled Kenneth into the Cath Lab where the doctor would put a stent into the artery that was 100% blocked. His eyes were full of concern and he said, "Are you alright?" I nodded and said, "Yes, I am."

I prayed as I sat there in this small room - for Kenneth and for wisdom and steady hands for the doctor. (God heard and answered)

Then I thought maybe our kids would want to know. As I heard the voice of each one I cried and could hardly speak. I thought it was odd that I seemed fine when the doctor sat me down there and as I prayed but hearing the voices of my children made the tears flow! Then they all came here to Ft. Collins, Colorado. One from New Mexico, two from Colorado, and one from Alaska. (God sent help from His sanctuary)

Kenneth and I have experienced blessings and trials from this.

TRIALS:
All of a sudden you can't do the things you want to do
You have to rest a lot
You have to take a lot of medicine
You have to eat low fat margarine instead of butter and fat free milk instead of 2% and IF you make Peanut Butter Fudge you cannot eat it but you have to take it to the doctor instead (Dr's orders!)
You can't just take off and walk in the mountains for an hour, instead you have to walk around the deck 15 minutes at a time

BLESSINGS:
Experiencing God's presence in the time of trouble
Realizing the love and care of family and how precious it is
The outpouring of love from friends through phone calls, cards, emails and visits is so sweet
Seeing that God provides what you need one day at a time

Kenneth will have to have by-pass surgery in a few weeks but we know that we can trust in the God of Jacob to answer us in the day we call on His Name. Psalm 20:9

Were You Ready?

When did you hear about it? Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with? All of our hearts were calling out WHY???

I wasn’t ready. I was in a middle school classroom interpreting an art class for a deaf girl and there just weren’t spoken words much less signed words to explain what was happening. We saw the second plane crash into the second tower and I remember my student tugging on me asking me what was happening and why were bad people doing this … and I just didn’t know what to say … stunned silence … really and truly my mind just kept trying to make sense of it all … and it just didn’t make sense.

Today, ten years later, it occurs to me that the day of disaster is not the day to prepare. Sunday, December 26^th it was too late to prepare for the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. Monday, August 29^th it was too late to prepare for Katrina.

What about illnesses? The Great Influenza, The Black Plague, Aids, Malaria, Typhoid, Cholora, … there is NO getting away from disasters. Disasters affect us physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. In Revelations we read that they, disasters, will come but will we be ready? Because really truly ONLY God can help us now. What IF you call on Jesus?

Is there life insurance? I mean real life insurance? Popular Mechanics .com lists what they consider to be the next 5 possible disasters to hit the US and has a list of things you need in case of a disaster … but most of the disasters mentioned above would only be useful if you weren’t right in the middle of the disaster.

The truth is there will be wars and rumors of wars, there will be natural disasters and man-made disasters and if you continue to live you will have to live through them or die because of them. So …

What do you need to be prepared spiritually for disaster?

· You need to know that you need a Savior

And there is ONLY ONE … His name is Jesus! I encourage you to seek His face while He may be found. Tomorrow … literally … it may be too late.

God B In My Head
by Barbara Chadwick



What kind of stories have you heard about college students: College girls getting murdered in Aruba, students on Spring Break in Florida and Freshman Orientation at various Universities - sex orgies, drinking capers, shop lifting, devil worship, trying to out-speak each other with cursing, on and on ad nauseum. I was despairing of this tribe of animals!

Our six grandsons in college who are growing in Christ and ministering in His Name and 20 college students from the University of Northern Colorado have restored my faith in young people.

The 20 UNC students began arriving at our mountain home about 6PM on Friday; seven cars winding up the mountain road. After grilling hamburgers, lots of jokes and kidding they sat around on the floor, the stairs and few chairs to have a devotional time. They sang as *Robert and Greg strummed their guitars. Samuel read scripture and told of how God had become real in his life. Then they began looking for places to put their sleeping bags. Some had brought tents. I, a 69 year-old grandmother, and Kenneth, a 74 year-old grandfather, went on to bed upstairs.

At breakfast Julie shared her story of her first time of sleeping in the mountains in a tent: She got into her sleeping bag in her tent. Almost asleep she turned over, encountered a spider and started screaming. Paula jumped out of her tent to help and her tent blew away down the hill – (where were the stakes?). Then Bill tumbled out of his tent to take care of the situation.

After pancakes and fruit they sang together; Give us clean hands, Give us pure hearts. Let us not bend our hearts to another. O God let us be and generation that seeks, that seeks Your face O God of Jacob… David read Psalms 24:1-6 The earth is the LORD”S and all it contains…Who may ascent into the hill of the LORD? And who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood…He shall receive a blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of those who seek Him, who seek Thy face – even Jacob. (NAS)

Then they went on a three mile hike. At nine thousand feet. Came back and played games! Oh to be young again!

The name of this group was Christian Challenge and it was their Fall Retreat. As they interacted with each other and with us we heard:

As Mike led the devotional time this morning he talked about the hurt of his parents divorcing when he was 10 years old and how emotionally crippling that was. Through scriptures he showed how God began to heal his heart and how all of us can experience renewal in forgiving others as God has forgiven us.

Charles told of growing up in a non Christian home. His parents argued, cursed and were unfaithful to each other. When he went to college he met some friends who invited him to Christian Challenge where he learned about God’s love and forgiveness.

Doug and Danny told of adventures on mission trips to Indonesia and Africa to help others.

As they were preparing to leave I saw part of the message on Sara’s Tshirt – GOD B … I asked what the rest of the words were. She pulled the shirt straight out so I could see. GOD B In my Head. Sara said she wears the shirt because that is what she wishes for.

Sir Henry Walford-Davies wrote these words in 1559:
God be in my head and in my understanding
God be in my eyes and in my looking
God be in my mouth and in my speaking
God be at mine end and at my departing

Over and over this week-end we heard these sentiments from these college students. They voluntarily joined together to pray for God's Blessings on our home just before they departed. May their tribe increase!

*Names were changed

ARE YOU A LIVING SACRIFICE?
by Barbara Chadwick

We recently returned home after a two week trip. A pastor asked if we had had any opportunities to witness on the trip. I answered to him that after many years of witnessing to our brother-in-law it was such a blessing to see him praying, talking about the Lord and helping others in Jesus’ Name.

We do need to be ready to tell someone about the faith within us – to witness to them about God’s great mercy and His love for us. In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. Do this with gentleness and respect. I Peter 3:15

When we left on our vacation we did not make a plan to intentionally find someone to witness to every day. We both feel like our spiritual gift is not evangelism. But Jesus tells us to be salt and light in the world. (Matthew 5:13-14) However, throughout the next week I kept coming back to the pastor’s question. We began to talk about our trip and the people we encountered and we remembered many little instances of giving a witness of our faith.

To a shopkeeper – Thank you. Have a blessed day
To a hotel clerk – Thank you. God bless you
Praying in restaurants before meals
Singing a Praise song in the bathroom
Participating in an offering to help someone in need

The Old Testament is full of sacrifices. The Israelites had all kinds of sacrifices. In the New Testament Paul tells us: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:1

Today, we too, can offer many kinds of sacrifices:
- Hebrews 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His Name
- Jonah 2:9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to You
- Ephesians 5:19b Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ
- Ephesians 5:2 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God
- Ephesians 4:32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as Christ forgave you
- Ephesians 5:20 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ

Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, You are the light of the world. And in verse 16, He said, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

I have never given myself to be a sacrifice for someone else – that is, to die for them. But I have to confess that some days I need to sacrifice my selfish spirit, or my cranky attitude in order to let the Light of Christ shine through me.

I pray that I will go through my days with more intentionality than ever before. I pray that I will:
- Confess His Name
- Sing a song of thanksgiving
- Live a life of Love
- Be kind, compassionate & forgiving
- Submit to others