WORTH IT!

I knew this would be a different and somewhat hard Christmas for me this year, but my God always comes through for me!
I should have known by now that He would surprise me for Christmas!
First He gave me the most beautiful Christmas Eve candle light service at New Covenant, where I reveled in their music and message, and then on Christmas morning, I was able to watch my daughter read the Christmas story to Emery, and then watch as she saw her first gifts being opened.(She had trouble keeping Mama from opening them herself!(lol)
I told her that this would be my first Christmas in 63 years that I wouldn't have my sweetheart fixing my stocking, to which Josh handed me one that they had fixed especially for me! (Talk about making Becky cry!)
Next, I drove to Melissa and George's house for dinner and their gift to me was a set of weights, to help build my strength for the trip to Israel.
George chose to celebrate our Christmas dinner with all our relatives on the 26th, because he wanted to honor the three month anniversary of his Daddy going Home to be with Jesus. He fixed a mean roast too!
Yes, it's been a hard and different kind of Christmas this year, but to know that my David is in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, makes every ounce of hard, worth it!
Becky

WEEPING & JOY

"Weeping endureth for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
It took me a good while to understand this phrase after David died, because my heart was broken for longer than just that night. However, when I thought about it, I understood why God gave us that phrase!
Because I knew where he was, and when God gave me that assurance, there was definitely to be joy in the morning and in the following days and nights too!
Becky

ONE IN HIM

Some see our Lord through the eyes of sorrow. They fear that gladness will never find its way back into their hearts again! They will often weep with those in sympathy, but rejoicing is unknown to them, for it's a foreign concept.
Some see our Lord through the eyes of joy. Sorrow has never touched their lives, so they cannot weep with those who need comfort.
They will never know that joy and sorrow are within each other!
Or will they?
They will only know this, through the presence of the Creator of Sorrow and Joy, and who was the "Very One" who walked through each emotion....joy and sorrow, wearing a crown of thorns, and came out wearing a Kingly Crown!
Those nail scarred hands, showed the eyes of joy that our Lord was a King of Joy, and gave us great victory!
Those nail scarred hands showed the eyes of sorrow that our Lord was a King of Sorrow, and the scars on His hands are of the agony that He suffered on our behalf!
So, by coming together, they found that united in Christ, joy and sorrow, could be one in Him!
Becky

JOY IN THE MORNING

"Weeping endureth for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."
It took me a good while to understand this phrase after David died, because my heart was broken for longer than just that night. However, when I thought about it, I understood why God gave us that phrase!
Because I knew where he was, and when God gave me that assurance, there was definitely to be joy in the morning and in the following days and nights too!
Becky

REFRESHED

When David was dying, Kelly's best friend, Martha would often come down to Beaufort and help out with the care of Emery, so Kelly could be with her Daddy. Martha loved "Cap'n Dave" and did everything she could to help Kelly through that difficult time, even with two boys of her own !Martha faced the same thing with her own Father this past month, and Kelly was there for her too, when her Daddy died. Clay and Milledge were big supporters of Kelly's when she got married, and Clay's brother Ben, and wife, Lea, were dear friends of ours too. Their son, Rick, was the young man I wrote to, while he was in prison in Florida! (See how God always brings these things together?)
This will be hard on Martha, but she will learn, as we all do, that when we are weak, our God is strong! This is when He does His best work, and will use Kelly in a mighty way to help both Martha and Clay get through this time. Those who refresh are themselves refreshed!
We don't always understand God's ways, but we can always understand that the way God does things will be the best way!
Becky

FREEDOM

It was 3000 years ago, when the children of God made their exodus out of bondage from Egypt!
Today, the children of God can make their exodus out of bondage from sin through Jesus Christ!
(and they don't have to wander in the wilderness for forty years either!)
Becky

TAKE ME

Ramelle's husband has been over in Afghanistan since late summer, and she has been so excited because she was going to pick him up today at the Columbia airport! She got a surprise though, when Devon flew in early and drove to Turbeville last night and surprised her!
She was thrilled at this unexpected surprise too!
That's how it will be, one day, when our Lord comes back for us too!
He has told us in His word that we won't know the hour or the day, but He will come and we need to be ready!
His arrival shouldn't be unexpected, and we should be prepared for it, at anytime, so that wherever we are or whatever we are doing, when He comes to get us, when can drop everything, and say," Here I am, Lord, send me!" Better yet, we can say...".Take me"!
Becky

HELP

This may help many of us, who suffer from not wanting to allow people to help us.....(Me included)
When I had my brain hemorrhage, I had to allow people from all over, to do things for me, but the worst thing for me, was to have my dear friend Pat, take me to the grocery store. There's just something about being able to do that by yourself, and not have to count on anyone else to do it for you. Over and over again, Pat would selflessly show up on Monday mornings to take me shopping. When I expressed my thoughts concerning this to Pat, she told me that sometimes God places these burdens on the hearts of people to help others, and when you are dismissing them from helping you, that you are actually dismissing God from helping you!
I had never thought of it that way, but it's true!
If He cares enough to send someone to you, then the least we can do, is to accept them.....
I do believe He even said, "when you have done this even unto the least of them, you have done it unto me."
Not that my friends are the least, but knowing that I would have no problem accepting help from God, I think He must have known that by sending the "least" one of my friends, would be the same as sending Him! So, if you have someone who has trouble accepting help, remind them that this is God's gift to them, and sent from Him, but delivered by you and with your love!
Becky

CHANGE

The flower fades and the wind dies down.
The rain dries up and the sun sets.
The trees die and the birds fly away.
The seasons come and go, and the tides roll in and out, but are never the same.
Infact, everything in life changes, if you think about it.
There isn't one thing we encounter that won't change in our lives.
It may last for just a day, or for a long time.
But eventually it will change!
Except.....
The word of God stands forever, and that's a change I can live with!
Becky

BUFFALO NICKEL

I was going through my night stand today, and came across a buffalo nickel in one of the boxes that belonged to David. What a treasure! He had saved that nickel from way back when, so I will treasure it!
As much as I will hold on to what it represents to me, I will remember much more what my Lord and Savior represents to me!
Jesus Christ is our Eternal treasure, and He is priceless and pure!
That nickel is shiny now, but it will tarnish, and it's value will fade away one day.
The Glory of Jesus will shine forever, and His value is everlasting!
Becky

HE MEANS IT!

I have seen God remove my memory banks, so that after David junior died, I couldn't recall any of those horrific moments!
I have seen God remove those parts of my memory bank that stored the pain of my cerebral brain hemorrhage and when Dr Epstein put the shunt in my brain!
I have seen Him remove so many unpleasant memories from my brain, that weren't beneficial to me, so when God says that He will forgive our sins and remeber them no more and that they will be as far from Him as the east is from the west, then I do believe He means it!
Becky

ANOTHER TREASURE

When I was born, my Mama took a cutting from Grandmother Bouterse's Frangipani(Plumeria) and gave it to me. It has been blooming(off & on) in my household now, for some 63 years! I have carefully tendered that plant so it wouldn't freeze in the wintertime, and David even rigged up a special area under our steps that houses my Frangipani, during the winter months.....complete with a heater!
The only problem I have found so far, is that David knew how to check the heater to make sure it would go on and off at the correct times! He knew how special this plant was to me, and knew how to make sure the heater stayed on during those freezing temperatures!
He's not here now, and I could get myself really upset over losing this plant, if it does ever freeze. After all, it was my grandmother's, and I've had it for 63 years. I know it will hurt, because I've had it for so long, but somehow I think that the Mighty God I so love, will probably have another one~~~~and even better one~~~~waiting for me, when I get to Heaven,
and this one will never freeze or die!
And that's worth rejoicing over!
Becky

THE GRADER

David bought a road grader a few years ago, to grade and smooth out the road coming in to Jeannine Court. It's a dirt/ gravel road, and when it rains, there are ruts in it that will knock your socks off!
He would ride that thing up and down the road and smooth it out so that it would pave a smoother way for us to drive on. What a relief it was too!
You know, God has done the same thing for us!
He has actually paved the way for us to walk down a much smoother road in life, by accepting Him as our Savior. He grades the road in our lives by removing those sinful stones in our lives and making a much smoother road for us to travel! If we do come upon a big, seemingly immoveable boulder in our road, we can just call on our own personal grader to remove it, or smooth over it!
He is so great about showing up right on time too, and never charges for any of His services, because they have all been paid for!
David and the neighbors paid for our road grader!
God's Son paid for our personal grader!
Becky

GOD'S VISION

This is a cool thought, and journey for me right now!
I told you how I thought God gave me the trip to Israel, and how excited I was to be going on it. Two days before David died, I said that I didn't think David was going to be here this next year, and that's why God was giving me this trip, so that I would have something to look forward to in 2011. Then, not two days later, David was taken into ICU and the whole down spiral began and two weeks later he was gone!
Now, I am actually walking through the actual time frame that God gave me that vision for, several months ago!
It is a cool, yet bittersweet picture!
I am making my plans and getting ready for the trip to Israel, as David so wished for me to do, and I am so excited!
God knew I would be too!
God did this for the people in the Old and new testament's too. He gave them a vision and then allowed them to walk through it.
Some, like Noah, He told just to go....and they went on faith!
Others, like Paul, had God's vision .......and walked it everywhere!
Yes, God has a vision for all of us, and it is exciting when He let's us partake of those visions.
It's more exciting when our vision is God!
Becky

MY TREASURE

Memories of a young girl with three older brothers and an older sister!

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, as Daddy painted the nativity scene on our big living room mirror. There was a huge Scotch Pine Christmas tree that stood in front of the plate glass window overlooking Lake Dora. It was my favorite scene, because my brother Michael always went to the scrub in the Ocala National Forest and found our tree. As I got older, I was able to tag along, but I think it was a little closer to home. Daddy made a big wooden plus sign that he propped the tree in, and there it sat. Back then, they didn't lose the needles so fast, because they were fresh trees. Mama would always read the Christmas story to us and then sometime before Sunday, she would sing "O Holy Night", because she always sang it on Christmas Eve in the Methodist Church.
On Christmas morning, after I awoke, I ran and got my brother Chris and( everyone else in the house), and made them get up and come see what was in our stockings from Santa. Then, we would have our breakfast of Mother's homemade cinnamon rolls, that she especially made for Jeff, along with eggs; bacon and anything else to prolong the wait to open our Christmas gifts! Grandmother and Granddaddy Bouterse along with Granddaddy and Grandmother Ray always joined us for this exciting event, so we had to wait on them. In the afternoons, there were visits by the Eichelbergers; Mr and Mrs. Frick; The Howards; The Reids and the Bakers. I've probably missed some too, because this ole brain "ain't" what it use to be!
Jessie Mae worked for us then, so we would take her home with plates of food and bunches of hugs, and our usual...."May did it"!
Memories are a wonderful thing. They can be a treasure to us when we look back on them.
We were also given a wonderful treasure of our very own,that is ours forever.
My Christmas wish for you this year, is that you will treasure our Lord, Jesus Christ, as your richest treasure, and keep His memory alive in your hearts everyday.
He is our treasure this side of Heaven!
God's blessings to you in 2011~~~
Becky

THE SINGLE'S MIGHT TOO

The widow gave her all to the Lord, even when the Pharisees were giving much riches, she gave her one small, yet only treasure....Her widow's mite!
It was all she had left to give, and in return God richly blessed her.
God has blessed me so much in my lifespan, but more especially in the past few months as I have seen myself taking on the role of a widow.
He has become my widow's mite. He has given me my all in all, and given me His widow's might. His strength, and might is sufficient for me.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. It may take me a little longer to do them, but they will get done!
Having gone through the death of a son in 1995, and a cerebral brain hemorrhage in 1996, I knew the faithfulness of God, to see me through. I learned that from my Grandmother early on. She told me how Jesus was going to prepare a place for me and that He would come back and take me to be with Him in Heaven. I believed that promise at the age of five, and His promises have stayed with me ever since then! When my husband became ill with Cancer in 2008, I knew I was looking at a long road of prayer and trusting in the One who has never lost a battle! David's Cancer came back in full force in 2010, and He faced death square in the face on September 26th. My God, was faithful to me to the very end though!
He was with me every step of the way. The widow's "Might", that He provided for me was strength beyond anything that I could ever imagine!
I wrote out His obituary for the newspaper before he died and I wrote the service for the funeral! God kept my thoughts and mind completely clear and level headed during this time too!
I took care of every single detail that needed to be taken care of until that Thursday night, when He allowed my feelings to surface, and I knew when He did, that the time was close! When you know your God so intimately, you can tell when His timing is close. That Sunday, He even allowed me to give my goodbye's before He took him Home!
My God is The Best !
His Might is the best Widow's Might........ and Single's Might too!
Becky

The widow's mite

The widow's mite gave her all.....her widow's mite!
God has given me His widow's Might......His All in All! ♥
Becky

GOD'S WING

Sometimes, when you tell people that they are under God's wing, they don't usually get it right away. They can't quite process what that picture means. It's cool though, when you see the light go on inside them,..... when they finally grasp the mental picture of God placing someone under His wing! Under His wing, where it is safe; secure, and comforting!
It's like He places a blanket around you , it's so comforting and protective, and anything harsh that could possibly ever hit you, you won't feel it! Nothing can touch you.Watch a grieving Mother sometime as she trusts God, and you will see how He carries her through this time! As it gets a little easier for her, God will place her under the shadow of His wing. You will be able to tell, because you will watch her walking with more confidence and grace.
It's uncanny how God does this every time too! He gives her more strength to cope and carry on, and you will see it, and hear it in her voice.
He's still close by, but He gives her a little more stretching room in the sun.
Life won't ever be the same if it's a loss, but life with the "Son" never is the same either, is it? In fact it can be pretty remarkable, if you ask me!
By God's Grace they can be spiritually stronger, when they are under God's wing, and it's the nicest place to be, even if it hurts to get there!
Becky

RIGHT NOW

Right now, in this moment in time, I am strong, yet fragile.....
I am strong because I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me,
I am fragile like the tiny Sparrow, and the lilies of the field, and yet our Father above even cares for these too.....
Becky

JETS

The jets were flying overhead as I was driving back home today.
They were circling overhead almost as if they were doing a protective maneuver, and just knowing they were overhead and watching over me, gave me such a sense of relief and comfort.
It's the same way with our Heavenly Father too, as He stretches out His never ending arms to cover the world. He extends His Grace to cover all our sins, while He watches over each individual one of us!
Everyday!
Over and over!
He does this for you and me!
Non Stop!
What a sense of relief and comfort, just knowing He is watching over me!
Our Heavenly Father does this same thing, over and over, because He loves us,................. and He doesn't even need a jet to do it either!
Becky

GOD'S WORD

When I was about nine years old, Grandmother Bouterse gave me one of those cross necklace's that had all those rhinestone's in it, and in the very center was written The Lord's Prayer! I thought it was the coolest thing!
I wore it everywhere too! I came across it the other day, and looked at it.
It looked like it had gone through three world wars. Every single stone was missing, and it looked pretty pitiful. I held the centerpiece up to the light, and you know what?....... I could still read the Lord's Prayer!
God's word stands forever, doesn't it?
Even when all else falls down around us~~~~
Or the stones come out!
God's word still stands!
Becky

HELL

We talked about this in Sunday School today, and it was a startling thought! Made ole Bec get on her band wagon!
So many folks today do NOT want to hear anything about hell fire and damnation, or anything having to do with hell, or the concept of hell. It's a shame too, because if they truly knew and understood what God's word says about hell, it would shake us all up. Even those of us who believe, shudder when we think what the non believer will face one day! When the non believer dies he will be given a new body for him to adapt to his life in hell. One that will not decay from the continual fire, and other methods satan will have in hell. The body will be hit with barrages of continual fire, and just like your hand when you burn it on a stove, it hurts and you jerk it off the burner. Well, in hell, the non believer won't ever be able to jerk himself away from that constant burning, .....ever! Over and over again and again, he or she will be burning, but they won't be able to burn up and die.!
If the fire doesn't get them, the worms will! When a body dies, the worms and maggots invade and dispose of the body, eventually. However, in hell, this new hellish body will be in disposable, and they will just keep eating away at man forever and ever. Now, I can't imagine worse, or that you or I would ever want anyone that we know to be in hell, if we knew they didn't know the Lord, so I say, let's get on our bandwagons and get the news out to these people about what is going on in hell for real!
Some people think hell is a joke!
This is no party some of our friends are facing. It's the pits!
Let's get them on the top of the mountain with the King, instead!
Becky

REFRESHED

When David was dying, Kelly's best friend, Martha would often come down to Beaufort, to be with her and help out in any way that she could. She wanted to help Kelly with "Cap'n Dave in any way that she could. Martha has always been there for her through all of this, even taking Emery home with her and her own two little boys!
(Now that's friendship!)
Now Martha is going through the same thing herself! Her Daddy has been given a short time span left himself and Kelly will be there for Martha.
Her parents, Clay and Milledge were so supportive of her when she got married, and Clay's parents were dear friends of ours. Clays brother in law, Ben, was the Father of the son who was in prison in Florida, so there was a strong attachment there to begin with!
This will be hard on Clay, but this is when God gives His greatest amount of strength to us. "When I am weak, His is strong."
Kelly will now be able to give back to Martha in a small way. "He who refreshes, will himself be refreshed." We don't always understand God's ways, but we can always understand that in the long run, whatever He does, will be for the betterment of our lives!
Becky

THE POWER OF THE CROSS

When I had my shop, "Lock, Stock & Barrel," I painted a sweater for myself, that had square designs on it. In each square I chose to paint some of my very favorite things, and those things that I enjoyed doing the most. I painted a Jaguar, because at the time I was driving one from David's car lot. I drew a picture of an easel with a paint brush because I loved to paint; a drawing of my family; a mystery book, because I loved to read mystery novels; a cross; a flower pot and trowel because I love gardening; a jump rope for my PE classes.....
What was so neat about the sweater, is that I loved all these things, and God allowed me to do all these things at one time in my life, but now, every single one of these these things has fallen by the wayside, except one.
Look the list over and see!
They're all gone.
I don't have my Jaguar anymore!
I can't teach PE! anymore!
I don't live in Aiken anymore!
I don't read mystery's anymore!
I can't garden anymore!
I don't have all my family anymore!
I don't paint anymore!
The One thing left on my sweater that still stands and will always stand is the cross!
The word of God stands forever and the power of the cross will always stand the test of time!
Becky

DEATH US DO PART

I've always known that divorce hurts little children, and you can see the damage that is inflicted on families after the families split up, but let me tell you that the heart ache that comes when a twenty one year old hears that her parents are divorcing after forty years of marriage, is just as devastating! I was the baby of five children and as far as I was concerned I had the perfect family and was the apple of my Daddy's eye! When I was growing up, and in my small town of Mount Dora, divorce just wasn't heard of, and I think Mama and Daddy's divorce was one of the first that I was aware of, or at least in my eyes it was! I was thrown for a loop too! You just didn't do it! Today, it's so common place, that if it doesn't work, "you can always get a divorce" seems to be the norm! Nobody wants to work at marriage anymore!....... What a pity!
Daddy ended up marrying Jean, and six years later, Mother married Bob, which in the long run ended up being best for both sets of parents, but that's what God does when we go our own way. He took a situation and worked it together for good, for those who loved the Lord and who are called according to His purpose. I don't try to figure out His purpose, but I know by now, that He can, and will, take any situation and work it together for His good!
The pain from divorce can last a long time. That pain and the memory of when they leave, you never forget, no matter how old you are.
I tend to like that part of the vow that says, "for better or worse and 'til death do us part!"
Becky

PHILIPPIANS REVISITED

I can't remember if I've told you this or not, but here goes anyway!
Many of you remember that Audrey encouraged us to memorize the book of Philippians, several years ago, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I took up that challenge, because the son of a friend of mine, was in prison in Florida, and as you know, Paul wrote that book while he was in prison!
I wrote back and forth to Rick for quite a while, until for some reason my letters were returned. I was so saddened and sick at heart. I had been encouraging him with Paul's words and now it looked as if the enemy had won! About a week before David died, Rick's Father called to speak to David. After telling him his words of encouragement, I told him what had happened and how horrible I felt. I asked him to please tell Rick when they saw him that my letters were being returned, and that's why he hadn't heard from me. Ben told me I could tell him myself, because he was out of prison and living at home now!
Praise God!
Rick got on the phone and I couldn't stop crying! He said that he was so grateful for my letters, but especially the words from Philippians. He said that when he was down, he would pull out my letters and read those words! I know now why God's word is sharper than any two edged sword!It was able to penetrate down to the very marrow of the enemy and slay him! Rick received Christ in prison and God is doing some mighty powerful things in him now.
Does that surprise me? ......Who me?
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me", so no, that doesn't surprise me one bit!
Becky