SPIRITUAL MARKERS

When I was growing up,my folks would always chart our growth,by measuring how tall we were on our kitchen door frame.We would stand with our backs to the door frame,and Mama or Daddy would measure the top of our heads,to get an accurate height.Every birthday,we added another line, and it was so funny to watch, as the lines for those "Ray kids" were drawn all up and down that door frame!I did this with my own children too,and it nearly broke my heart when our home was remodeled,and those door frames were repainted! Those marks had established a sense of growth for my children,and now they were gone!I was sick,because I could never get them back!
In the same way,it's just as important to mark our spiritual growth too.
When we first come to know God,we understand His word by tasting of it, as we would if we were drinking milk.We taste it,because it's easy to digest and very smooth and light going down......Spiritually soft!
When we have grown some,and ready to "chew on His word,",He will give us words that we can handle.....Words that are a little harder and ones that we have to really study. We learn to swallow and digest some;spit some out that don't hold true to scripture......but really feed on His word.
We need to mark our growth,to see if we have grown along the way,or stayed stagnant!
At my age,my heighth is beginning to shrink,so I hope that's no indication my spiritual age will shrink too!That's one mark I don't want!
If you continually drink spiritual milk,then you will need to drink a milkshake, and let God's word shake you up!
Becky

YES,YOU ARE!

Boy howdy did I get a blessing from God today! About 3:30 today,the UPS man delivered 4 huge boxes to the beach house from Edgar's Bakery,in Birmingham,Alabama.I was told that they were shipping a box of goodies to me,for my Mom's weekend,so I was expecting some muffins,or something like that! Boy,did I ever get a shower of God's blessings from Edgar's! I opened up 4 huge boxes ladened with about forty giant muffins; jelly filled danish pastries;scones;biscuits;coffee; 24 beautifully frosted cupcakes;a Strawberry cake and an Italian Cream cake. They also included written prayer bookmarks for each of the Mom's!
I am so humbled that someone would do something like this for my Mom's, and I know they will appreciate it so much.It will touch their hearts in a special way.
I think Dottie and Terry Smith,who own Edgar's Bakery must have learned a long time ago the art of giving from the Master of Giving.....Jesus Christ! They have somehow instilled in their employees this same "heart" for giving.My Mom's were the benefactor's of their generosity, and this blessing will be showered back on them a million times over from our Lord!
Becky

THE WAY

We came from a variety of backgrounds and distances,and our children left this world in a variety of untimely ways.We never knew each other, and were certain to be strangers when we opened the door,but a strange thing happend when we crossed the room.
We all became family!
It was as if the Lord stood in the entryway,and welcomed each lady home to this special family place. To these special and highly cherished Mother's,it doesn't matter,how our children died,or how old they were.The pain to any Mom who loses a child ,is that they died before we were ready to let them go, and it will always grieve us.As long as we live, it will grieve us.....We can't help it!
The disciples grieved over their Master,who left them too soon,for their way of thinking too.
We are grieving our children in a special way,in a special place.We don't have to understand the "why" of it, because we know the "Way" is n control!
Becky

HOW LONG?

I have been writing these journey's for 2,590 days,folks. I give my God all the glory for sending me on these journey's,and the Holy Spirit for reminding me of all the things I tend to forget,or need to know!
To God be the glory,great things He hath done.......
I have to give glory to Jesus too, and praise for making it all possible in the first place,because without Him,there wouldn't have been any journey to write about!
Becky

HOPE!

I'm sitting here at Edisto,looking out at the sparkling water,and the pastel blue sky.
Kay,and Michelle are down at the beach,and Mary and I are up here on the deck,just enjoying the sun and breeze from up here.I have fixed some gift baskets for my "Mom's" who are coming in this weekend,and have placed flower bouquet's in their rooms.
I can almost envision them getting ready to leave for the beach, and can see the healing process beginning to take place!Some of the new ladies will be coming for just the day on Saturday, and that will be fun too.
God has blessed me with being able to provide His gathering place for these Mom's to come and share their thoughts and feelings. Even the folks at the Piggly Wiggly are excited about my Mom's coming in! When I know that people from the body of Christ are praying for me for strength,and wisdom for this weekend,it is the most encouraging thing I can think of,that they can do for me right now!
Where there were once no sea oats,.......there are now many!
Where there was once no hope,.......there is now hope walking in the door Friday!
All because a man named Jesus opened the door and welcomed these Mom's into a safe and loving place to share their hearts......
Becky

MAPQUEST

I picked up a map today,that had directions to the home of our GEO fellowship out in Seabrook.I wondered if it could actually get me,there, because I'm not real good at following Mapquest's maps.Sometimes their directions take you the long way to get somewhere.
Jesus told us(Thank goodness!) that there was only "ONE WAY" to get to His Father's house,and I'm surely glad of that 'cause I don't want to get lost going there!
Actually,I don't think I can,because He's coming back to pick me up, and I'll be going back with Him!
Becky

LEFTOVERS

If I have leftovers,but not enough to serve a second time,or to compost,I will throw them out,but when I do,I have to make sure I shut the lid on the trash can securely.If I don't,those horrible rodents will find their way in and wreak havoc in my trash can!
In the same manner,we must be careful to close every opening that leads to our eyes; ears, and mouth,that might result in an infestation of satan and his crew of "rats".
They will try to infect your testimony with ungodly behavior, disobedience, and generally trash your testimony!
The trash begins to stink!
That's when you "resist the devil,and he will flee".You also need to close every door and crevice that you can get your hands on,and don't even peek when you think someone's knocking!When Jesus knock's,you will hear Him,and you will recognize His voice!
Throw satan out in the "Glad Bag"....and be glad about it!
Becky

TALK ABOUT A RESUME'

When I began my teaching career,I had to send out a personal resume' to a variety of schools.I listed all the usual requirements,along with the special activities that I participated in.I included my professional membership,and my specialization in Physical Education,but in the long run,they were mostly interested in my character.
When you look at a person's resume',you can only get a glimpse of who they are,with the exception of Jesus Christ! His resume' is exceptional!....One of a kind!
He is the image of the invisible God!.......(Wow!!What a claim!) Everything in Heaven and on Earth,that is made,is made by Him!(A claim that pretty much covers all of the universe).....Even those things we can't see!
Jesus is before all things,and every single thing has been created through Him.....and for Him!(Wow,again!)
He is the head of the church, and He is the beginning..the first born from the dead!
He will come to have first place in everything!(If He doesn't have first place now,someday,every knee will bow, and every tongue confess,that Jesus Christ is Lord!)God wanted all the fullness to dwell in Him.Infact,it was His good pleasure to do so!(Wow!...and double wow!)
Though we were once against Him in our body,He reconciled us to God through His death,so we could be blameless before God,and be beyond reproach!
Talk about a resume'
This is perfect!
(I wonder why?)
Becky

BURNED BICUITS

Someone sent me an email with some very wise advise in it.
When you are making something and it turns out "not quite so good, and the biscuits burn.It's frustrating,I know.We all have those moments,where nothing goes right.If you can learn to eat the burned biscuits that someone gives you, and smile when they give them to you,both of you will be much better off. Put the key to your happiness in your own pocket,and not in someone else's.Likewise,you can lather your biscuit with jam, and they will be fine!
Becky

YOU GET THE IDEA

When I graduated from high school,I went to Montreat College,in Montreat,NC for two years,before I graduatedc from Georgia Southern. Physical Education was my major and the women's Physical Education coach was Miss Bartlett and the men's was Coach Wilson.I spent alot of my spare time over at Coach and Judy Wilson's house during this time, where I baked cakes and talked "girl talk" with Judy.Coach became Dean Wilson of Montreat,some years later, but I always called him Coach,because that's what I first called him.( I first met Harold Cross in the hospital during a hip replacement and never knew he was a doctor,so I don't ever refer to him as Dr.Cross....Same idea!) Coach Wilson always called me "Bleach", and to this day,if I call him, I will say:"this is Bleach".....and he knows who it is!
Names are important, and how we remember someone is important too!
One person may look at God more as a healer,whereas someone else will look at Him as a provider.He is many things to many people, and He has many names.He is my El Shaddai! He is All Sufficient for me in everything! ......That about covers God for me.
He has pretty much covered every area of my life and He has been sufficient in all things to hold me up and through all the things I have gone through.
He's my Coach!
He's my Dean!
He's my Teacher!
He's my Tutor!
He's my......
Well, you get the idea!
Becky

HE'S GOT A SECRET!

When I was growing up,one of my favorite TV programs was "I've Got A Secret," hosted by Garry Moore. I loved to guess what the secret was that the guest shared with Garry ,but I never got it right!....It always remained a mystery to me!
There is one mystery that doesn't have to remain a secret to us though, and it's one that Jesus gave us to share! It's His wonderful "secret" for Eternal Life.Infact,we are commisioned to go unto all the earth,and make disciples of all men. Jesus wanted us to share His special "secret" with others.Jesus only gave the this to those who believed in Him, as that was the "secret" behind the whole gift!....Believing in Him!
If you weren't willing to trust and believe in Jesus,you wouldn't receive the gift! Jesus didn't make this a secret either......He told it from the mountaintops and to all the people.
The only trouble I've found, is that once you've found Jesus,you can't ever play I've Got A Secret" again!
It just doesn't work!
Becky

HE HAS....

God has given me the sweetest glimpse into what it cost His heart,when He allowed His Son to suffer on that cross.
Most of you know that when my Mom's come together,I take on all the hurts and pains of each one of them.My heart anguishes over every single one of them, and I am drained and spent after each weekend.I lovingly do it though, each February and Srptember,because I want to.God sort of hit me in the face with this today..... My pain is so small in comparison with what Christ suffered on the cross for ALL of humanity.
I hurt so much for these Mom's....
My pain pales in comparison and I'm humbled to think what anguish Christ went through for all of us!
Becky

TOAD HALL

In the 1950's,Walt Disney,came out with his version of "The Wind In The Willows", where Mr Toad drove his motor car super fast! He wore his driving goggles and his driving jacket and had a passion for driving fast.The movie depicted his eyes having big circles in them, going round and round.The circles got bigger and bigger, as he drove faster and faster. He was obssessed with driving faster,so he could save Toad Hall!As a child I thought this was so funny. Toad Hall and that motor car meant everything to Toad.
We don't need to need to drive fast to save a special place like Toad Hall for ourselves, because we are guaranteed a Kingdom if we just tell the owner we want to stay with Him!
Toad had to speed in his motor car to save Toad Hall!
We just have to say "Yes" to Jesus!
Becky