Do You Have A Good Name?

I like to write these blog articles a bit in advance, but sometimes I feel inspired to wait.  Here it is 6:30 today and I am writing fast and furious to meet my deadline.  However, I am glad I waited.  Today, I was inspired as I attended a retirement luncheon for a friend.  As I listened to the accolades piled upon her, I realized that every kind thing said about her was not only kind, but it was true.  According to her up line management, she was a perfect employee.  PERFECT.  According to the team that worked with her, she was hardworking, a reliable source of information and support.  According to those she mentored, she lovingly guided them, preparing them for challenges ahead. 

I worked with this friend for 10 years.  She was my Lead person for 6 of those years.  I had another Lead for a short while, but I immediately requested that my re-assignment be reversed. This was not because she was my friend.  It was because during the time I worked with her, I saw the spirit of excellence with which she approached every task.  I saw that she is a person of integrity, and realized that she is a woman to be respected and admired.  Her name is Tracy Sheeley.

I have observed that when people hear Tracy’s name, one of two things happen.  Either they are excited to have a person of such high caliber on their team, or they look for a way out of interacting with her.  Tracy is what a former manager has referred to as ‘refreshingly direct’ and dealing with her is not for the faint of heart.  However, I love the fact that whatever comes from Tracy’s mouth is going to be the truth, no spin, no non-sense.  I know that I can trust what she ways.  Tracy has chosen to live a life of good character.  She conducts herself in such a way that it has earned her a good reputation, a good name.    

Proverbs 22:1 says that, “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.”

Ecclesiastes 7:1 says, “A good name is better than precious perfume.”

According to God’s word, choosing a good name (choosing to live in a way that yields a good reputation) is more important than having great riches.  That’s because in God’s eyes, it is more important who you are than what you have.  You are more important to Him than your stuff.

Have you ever considered what happens when people hear your name?  Do you have a good name?  If so, praise God.  But if not, it’s time to be honest about who you are and what you do – no spin, no non-sense.  It’s easy to blame someone else for bad press spread about you.  And if others truly are fabricating tales about you and have caused your name to be tarnished, take heart in the fact that lies will always be unseated by the truth.   Don’t expect it to happen overnight, but don’t lose heart.  As you continue to choose like Tracy Sheeley to live a life of purpose, integrity, and excellence, your good name will emerge like a precious perfume. 

What If Daddy Didn't Do Right?

WARNING:  I apologize in advance.  This post is longer than my usual. 

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land that the Lord your God gives you.”  Exodus 20:12 (5^th Commandment)

Many would argue that the requirement for us to keep the 10 Commandments passed away as part of the Old Covenant when Jesus paid for our redemption by His blood.  Many others would argue to the contrary.  But no follower of Christ would insist that the 10 Commandments were bad things to do.  As a matter of fact, each one provides a nugget of wisdom and is the basis for the moral code of a number of modern societies. 

The 5^th Commandment speaks of honoring our parents which is a good thing to do.  It’s interesting that this is the first commandment with a promise – long life.  Nice.  So since I penned a tribute to mothers for Mother’s Day, I want to talk about honoring fathers today.  It is a difficult thing for me to write for several reasons:

·        I am a ‘daddy’s girl’ (Yes, I actually call him, “Daddy”)

·        Daddy passed away last year at the age of 93, I miss him

·        As the title indicated, my father not only didn’t always do right but he hurt a lot of people

·        I have to omit specifics because

o   I want to be respectful of people whose lives he negatively impacted and

o   I don’t want to cause any embarrassment to family members, my church or anyone I am in association with

But I know that I am not the only person in this world who has had to deal with a dad who didn’t always do the right thing, if that was your situation hopefully you will gain some encouragement from my story.

When I was a little girl, my dad was like a superhero to me.  I’m told he was handsome, but as his daughter I just saw him as my dad.  He was big, strong, authoritative, and he treated me like I was his little princess.  So much so that one day I even asked him if he would just change my name from BARBARA to PRINCESS.  Looking back I am grateful that he merely smiled, and assured me that I would always be his little princess.  That satisfied me.  I waited for him when he got home from work most days.  He usually brought me a treat that I had to find in his red ford pick-up.  I used to sit on his foot and wrap my arms & legs around one of his legs, so I could ride as he walked around the house.  We would play kiss tag, which was always to my detriment because by that time of day he would have major 5 o’clock shadow – I did not care.  He would read to me.  He didn’t do ‘girl things’ so he took me fishing and to baseball games.    I adored him.      The problem was that he didn’t treat others as sweetly as he treated me – some, but not most.  As I got older and began to understand what kind of person he really was, he began to distance himself from me.  I knew he loved me, but the shame he felt & his desire to continue living as he did came between us.   After that, there were times he wasn’t so sweet to me.

Fast forward to my adulthood.  Daddy continued to be a jerk.  He could be selfish and just plain mean, but I knew that I needed to love him.  Because God is love, I could not allow anyone other than Him to set my standard for how I treat others.  So I made the decision to love my father.  When he was other than kind, I would give him the choice as to whether I would love him up close or from a distance.  He would apologize and tell me that he wanted me close.  But he was prickly, I knew that at the drop of a pin, he could slip back into the mean Daddy. 

Fast forward again to my father’s later years, when he was unable to do for himself.  When his mind started to be less sharp, he became more distrustful along with the tendency to be mean.   Some days, I truly had to ask the Lord for strength to deal with him.  I was determined to see that he was cared for properly, and spend as much time with him as I could.  I wanted him to know that he was loved and not feel alone.  I said earlier that I made the decision to love him.  It was not only because of the love God wanted to give him through me, but in the natural I remembered the love he showered on me as a child. He was imprinted on me.  He was the man that showered me with love and made my childhood fun.  He was still my Daddy. 

I was rewarded for my efforts a few months before he passed away.  His vision was low and he was unable to read his Bible.  He had always read his Bible, he just didn’t follow it.   He actually had memorized a lot of scripture, and the Holy Spirit began to remind him of it.  He wanted to discuss it and he wanted to pray.  That happened several times, but one day, he broke down.  He cried like a baby, he confessed all the wrong he had done in his life and asked God for forgiveness.  Then he asked me for forgiveness, and told me how grateful he was that I’d shown him love when he had lived such a horrible.  He said he loved more than anyone else on earth, except for my Mom.  He said that he considered it a major blessing from God that he had lived long enough to not only repent, but to realize that I was in the Lord and had a wonderful husband to share my life with.  I was blessed to have been there to experience his acceptance of salvation, and have him share his heart with me.  

When Daddy passed away a few months later, I had perfect peace.  Yes, I miss him.  But I have no regrets over our relationship or my treatment of him because I had shown him honor.  And though his reputation was as one that others won’t expect to see in heaven, I look forward to a reunion with him there. 

I am a living example of how honoring my Daddy who didn’t do right, ended up being a blessing to me.  

But if you have one of those other kind of fathers, Praise God.  In either case, God has a blessing for you if you take care to treat your Daddy right.  Be encouraged. 

 

+++++

 

Happy Father’s Day to Daddies everywhere and all men who embrace the role of shaping young lives and raising up children in the way they should go.  You are our heroes!  God bless you!

 

Prizes and Rewards

‘“For I will surely deliver you … but your life shall be as a prize (reward) to you, because you have put your trust in Me,” says the Lord.’  Jeremiah 39:18

 

When people see me, many say the most obvious thing about me is my smile.  I smile because I have peace in my life and I have joy.  Peace and joy are good things!!  These good things are prizes and rewards from God that add fulfillment to my life.  Why is God rewarding me?  It’s not because I’m any more special or He loves me more than anyone else.  He rewards me simply because I choose to Trust Him!  I like prizes and rewards so I made the conscious, deliberate decision -- I choose to trust Him.  

 

 

A person’s life is made up of a culmination of their choices.  But of course, there are some things that happen that we don’t choose.  John 16:33 tells us that in this world we will have tribulation.  It is a fact, bad stuff is going to happen.  But how we choose how to respond to that stuff, those situations, and those people who caused them will make the difference in our lives.  Choose to trust God enough to handle the unpleasant things (and unpleasant people) according to the way He teaches us to handle them in His word.  You will have some hard times, but they won’t be the things that define you.  AND you will be rewarded for your trust.

 

When we trust and keep choosing to trust, it becomes a lifestyle.  That’s what we want.  I don’t claim to be perfect at it.  I admit that I find it easier to trust in some areas than others.  But the more you trust, the more you will see the result of that trust - the more you’ll be rewarded and the more you will want to trust.  The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

 

Do you need changes in your life? 

o   Make the decision - CHOOSE to trust the Lord enough to handle things according to His word.  Handle things the way He says they should be handled.  It may defy natural logic and it may be unpopular, but know that He is the omnipotent one who sees from the beginning to the end.  He knows how to work things out for your good.

o   Speak your choice to trust the Lord.  Declare it.  Confess it regularly.  The more you say what you've chosen, the more trusting God will become a natural part of you.

o   Remind yourself of past and current blessings.  God can be trusted if we have the courage to give ourselves over to Him.  It’s when we go off on our own that we find ourselves stressed and in trouble. 

o   Encourage yourself in the Lord.  Spend time with Him in prayer, praise and worship.  Study His word.

 

Doing these things will cause you to develop a lifestyle of trust in God.  His rewards will follow.  HE PROMISED!!!!

 

 

You Need What?

"And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever.  Amen."  Philippians 4:19, 20

 

This week, my blog post will piggy-back on Pastor Arland’s weekly email because the message was just so good.  We do collaborate in our writing sometimes, but I don’t generally take his whole message and insert it into mine.  But again, it was just so good.  And, well, didn’t the marriage ceremony make the two of us one?  With consideration to that truth, it was mine anyway.  Right?    So, I will just proceed on that basis. 

As you all know, Living Well Church is currently having weekly Bible Study with our Launch Team Members and Small Groups.  Our official launch will be September 13 of this year.  It is a huge undertaking.  There are many things that need to be arranged, purchased, and coordinated before that happens.   It can cause the mind to be bombarded with a boat load of questions:   What if this is a pipe dream?  What if nobody comes?  Where will we find the right worship leader or children’s director?  How does everything get paid for?  However, the story of the exodus serves as a great reminder that God has more provision than we can imagine and He know how to meet us at the point of our need.

 Moses led 3½ million people into the desert. That is 3,500,000 people.  Think about what it would take to support that many people.   According to the U.S. Army’s Quartermaster General:

·        Moses would need to provide a minimum of 1500 tons of food per day – picture filling two freight trains, each a mile long

·        Around 4,000 tons of firewood was needed per day to cook the food

·        If they only used enough to drink and wash a few dishes (no bathing), they would still need 11,000,000 gallons per day - that’s enough to fill a train of tanker cars 1800 miles

·        Every time they camped at the end of the day, a campground the size of Rhode Island was required – about 750 square miles

  JEHOVAH-JIREH was faithful to care for them throughout their journey! 

The likelihood that Moses sat down and figured out supply chain & logistics for his God given assignment before he set out from Egypt is unlikely.  And thank God, it was unnecessary.   Because for forty years Moses trusted their lives to the provision of God’s covenant.  We can take courage, as we serve the very same God - but we have a better covenant based on better promises (Hebrews 8:6).  With that in mind, we have faith that He will provide for the mission He set before us. 

 

 

 

Who Is Missing In Action?

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;  I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.”  Matthew 25:34-36

It’s been my observation that when many people go through hard times, they withdraw socially and some withdraw spiritually.  In John 16:33 Jesus said, “In this world, you will have tribulation.  But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  I love that scripture, it has been the source of great encouragement for me over the years.  But I have to admit that even though I know that I can be of good cheer, it’s always nice to have someone come along side to love on me and encourage me while I’m going through.  Since I feel that way, I consider it a must for me to do the same for others. 

When someone is missing from our social group, from church, or from work we need to check on them.  How hard is it to take a little time to let someone know you missed them and that you care?  It really isn’t that hard, if we make the decision to live a deliberately caring life.  We have to love people on purpose, not just when it happens to be convenient.  Why?  We should do it because people need love and encouragement.  We live in a world where many people are hurting.  People are in need of God’s loving touch that, today, may need to come through you. 

We, also, need to do it because the Lord said so.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”    God is so mindful that He already prepared us to be comforters by the comfort He has given us.  It is interesting to me in that scripture we are told to comfort those in ANY trouble.  They may need food & drink, they may be a stranger or outsider that has no friends, they may need clothing, they may be sick or even in the pokey.  God’s kingdom is prepared for His children who are willing to care for others on purpose. 

Take a moment.  Can you think of someone who is MIA….someone who just might need a caring touch from you?   If so, you know what to do.

“Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” Matthew 25:40 (b)

 

 

Friends, What Good Are They?

On my website in the pictures of things that make me smile, there is a picture of me with a group of ladies that I call ‘My Buddies’.  I love them!  These are 3 of 5 bridesmaids from my wedding and 1 who is an honorary bridesmaid.  The other 2 bridesmaids live out of state, so weren’t available when that snapshot was taken. But when I think of each one of them, I feel a smile inside.  My friends enhance my life. 

 

I have other friends.  I love them too.  But ‘My Buddies’ come to my house.  I go to their homes, we cook for each other (some of you don’t know this but I don’t cook for just anybody), we hang out, we go on adventures, we discuss things, we encourage one another, and let our proverbial hair down. 

 

I read the definition of ‘friend’ at www.Dictionary.Com.  Here’s what it says a friend is:

·        a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard

·        a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter

·        a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile

 

I smiled because My Buddies meet all that criteria.  But honestly, Dictionary.Com is not the standard by which I live my life, so I looked to the word of God to see what it has to say about friends.  This is what I found in Proverbs, the book of Wisdom:

·        The righteous should choose his friends carefully.  Proverbs 12:26

·        A friend loves at all times.  Proverbs 17:17

·        A person who has friends must himself be friendly.  Proverbs 18:24

·        Faithful are the wounds of a friend.  Proverbs 27:6

·        The sweetness of a friend gives delight by hearty counsel.  Proverbs 27:9

·        As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.  Proverbs 27:17

 

Each one of the women that I call my Buddy has been in my life for a number of years.  The one with the shortest amount of time is Sharon, my sister-in-law.  I met Sharon in 2011 and she has become the sister that I always wanted, but never had until then.  All the others have been in my life for over 10 years, and as many as over 50 years.  They were all chosen carefully.  We have had fun times, and I know that each one loves me enough to grab my coattail if I get out of line.  I count on them to speak the truth to me in love, counsel me when necessary, and cause me to be a better person than I would have been had I not known them.  That’s why we need to choose our friends carefully, because not everyone is capable or willing to show that kind of love. 

 

I thank God for all of my friends, but especially the faithful, loyal, godly friends that I count on to love, support, counsel and pray for me.  They are treasures that adorn my life and make it more beautiful!

+++++++

Janet Turner, Rita Garcia, Carla Scott, Ida Seow, Vanessa Judd, Sharon Steen

Thank you for being ‘My Buddies’

Love You Guys!

Behold Your Mother - Tribute to Mothers 2015

(Picture and Dedication at End)


Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!”  Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home.  John 19:25-27 

While Jesus was nailed to the cross, it is reasonable to say that He was having His worst possible day on this earth.  He had been falsely accused, disrespected in numerous ways, physically tortured, then nailed to a cross to suffer in the most horrendous way – a way that few now days can fully fathom.  Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of The Christ” could not fully portray the suffering, but did depict it in such a graphic way, that I admit that I have not been able to watch the complete movie.  Christ willingly endured all the things that I have been too wimpy to watch because of His tremendous love for us.  But even during the agony of hanging on the cross, He was mindful to ensure the care of His mother. ‘Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!”’  With the weight of the world on His shoulders, Jesus took time to see to the needs of His mom.  What a lesson to us! 

In all reality, we know that some moms are easier to behold than others.  There are mothers like mine, who for the majority of her life was (and still is) dedicated to caring for others – she was a housewife, mother of 4, went back to school at the age of 40, and worked outside the home – superwoman!  There are some mothers who were absent, some were negligent, some were abusive, and some just had no clue what to do with a child.  If your mother was less than super, for your sake forgive her - whether she is living or has passed on.  Take those hurts and disappointments to the feet of Jesus, and leave them there.  Don’t let the peace and joy in your life be hindered by the actions of anyone else – even if it was your mom.  That is not the life Christ sacrificed Himself to give you. 

We are to honor and care for mothers that are still with us.  But understand that caring for someone can take many forms.  Caring looks different in different situations because we don’t all have the same needs.  What makes you feel cared for may not be the thing that makes your mom feel cared for.  That’s why we need to do as Jesus said behold - look at, observe, regard, and give attention to your mother.  Take the time to find out your mom’s love language.  And speak that language to her the rest of her days.  It will bless you both.

This post is dedicated to my mom, Lucille Williams, who in January 2015 turned 90 years young!  I thank God for my mother.  I am grateful for her determination to raise me in the admonition of the Lord, teach me respect & responsibility, and to be a contributing member of society.

Thank You Mom!

I Love You!