The Things That Matter

This Sunday afternoon after coming home and cleaning up our messes and washing the dishes,
I was hungry for God's Word--and something that would relate to what I was dealing with,
something that mattered.


Deeply disturbed about something that had happened earlier, I went out to the deck to read my Bible, doubting that John 4 would have anything to say to where I was at the moment--
but in fact, that chapter was richer than I ever experienced before in my life.

I had read the first part of the chapter another day, how Jesus sat down at Jacob's well to rest.
"being wearied with His journey, He sat thus on the well."
And we, being weary, sit as well, at times,
wondering,
pondering,
sometimes floundering.

But whether He meets us sitting at the well, or we come to Him with an empty water pot,
He will be sure to bring us right to the point of the things that matter.

Water was what mattered to the Samaritan woman,

and Christ used her need of water to offer her the exquisite gift of Living Water--

and more than that,

a Fountain of Water, Springing up into Everlasting Life!

The word pictures were profound.
Nothing sparse or poverty-stricken here!

His words flowed with abundance,
flowing,
gushing,
springing,
splashing,
everlasting.

And when she asked for that Living Water,
Christ again confronted her with something that mattered--
her sin.

He could not give her that Fountain of Springing Water

with the sin in her life.

And so He confronts us today with what matters--our sin

and His righteousness.

Our mess and His salvation.

All at the same time, commentary Matthew Henry notes,
the woman both denies and confesses her sin.
Christ graciously and tactfully puts the best construction on what she said,
taking her denial as confession!

And then He brings her religious question around to not where  we are to worship,

which doesn't matter,

but how--which does matter.

We are to worship not only in spirit,

but in truth.

We cannot worship God while living a lie,
believing a lie, or swallowing something that is not in truth.
We cannot base our lives and worship on the winds of people's opinions
or strange winds of doctrines.

We do not test the spirits by what someone's father did,
or someone's mother said,
but on God's holy word.

When the disciples, who had gone shopping at some country general store, came back to Christ and urged Him to eat, His response was that His meat was to do His Father's will.

Those words stuck with me:
"My Father's will."

When our Father's will means more to us than our food and drink,
we have caught on to the things that matter:

our Father's will,
our Savior's Word,
the Spirit's wisdom.

And when those are the things that matter the most to us
as we follow our Shepherd's way,
then through every busy day,

or every lonely night,

we can be assured that we may experience that Fountain of Springing Water,
and the comfort of
His Sheltering Wing. 

"When You Always Feel Like the Weird One"

I read a blog post recently titled, "When You Always Feel Like the Weird One."
Wonder why I clicked on that title?
The author was telling about a family reunion after which she had been bemoaning that she was always the weird one.
 

This sister was so good with the kids,

and that brother was so fun to be around,

and that in-law was an outstanding cook.

But her?

She was always the weird one!

She said she burst into tears telling her husband about it, and he (who had a degree in psychology or something like that) just laughed!

And he said, "Nobody is normal."

Everybody has been made unique by God.

You are unique.

I am unique.

What if the grape moaned because it was not a peach?

 And what if the peach moaned that it was not an apple?

About a week and a half ago, we picked grapes at one place,

and apples and peaches at another where a couple was so glad we showed up again like last year. 

The squirrels were knocking the apples down and then the deer got them!

They were so happy for our family to put the apples to use,

as well as the peaches.
And we were so happy for that wonderful fruit, all free!

These peaches were delicious!
No spray, just homegrown.

The children had so much fun picking, and I had fun watching my children have fun.
Here they are on the roof of a little shed, picking all they could reach.
Timmy is busy with an apple picker further into the tree.

Each of us may as well be content to be who we are, 

although we ought to be the best we can be.

And it certainly doesn't hurt us to learn new things and grow and improve and stretch and get out of our comfort zones.
Just because a grape is a grape doesn't mean it should be bitter or that it should not grow.
Just because a strawberry is a strawberry doesn't mean it's okay to be a rotten one and not ripen.

Just because an apple is an apple doesn't mean it can be a wormy one, or all shriveled up instead of sweet and nourishing and juicy and crisp and keep growing till it is as wonderful as it can be.
And just because you are a remodeler doesn't mean it's permissible to do a shoddy job.
Just because you are a mom that stays at home doesn't mean you can slop around and be lazy.
And just because you like to write or draw or work with music more than you like to cook or play around with little tykes or sew or quilt or teach doesn't mean you are weird.

"Whatever you are, be a good one," said Abraham Lincoln. 

So if all you are is the doorkeeper at the house of the Lord,

or the one responsible for putting in new doors,

or the one who paints the doors,

or the one who just slips inside the same doors hoping for restoration spiritually and emotionally,

be the best one you can be!
Whether you are emotional, or unemotional,
 unconventional or refined,
noisy or quiet,
funny or creative or serious,
be the best that you are
for the glory of Him Who called you to his purpose and grace.

(Here's a link to the article I mentioned above: http://www.christyfitzwater.com/family/if-you-always-feel-like-youre-the-weird-one/)

How Slapping My Husband Saved Him $75

Now don't get me wrong!

I am not in the habit of slapping my husband!

My goal is to honor and love and respect my husband 

and cherish him till death do us part.

And I do just that.

Except at auctions.

At auctions, like last Monday, there are occasional emergencies.

Actually, half the morning had been an emergency.

Jonathan and Sam were planning to go to auction to buy a new calf to raise, but despite their early departure to work in the morning, they could not get away from work in time to come home and hitch up the trailer and get to auction in time to bid on a calf.

So--

The girls and Timmy and I had the honors of getting our cattle trailer to auction.

That included finding a hitch for the van,

attaching it, 

jacking up the trailer,

backing up to the trailer and getting hitched up,

finding the magnetic lights in the garage since the trailer lights don't work,

untangling the long wires for the magnetic lights,

repairing broken wires,

and attaching the wire gismo to the thingamabob on the van so the lights would hopefully work.

(They didn't.)

Please don't blame me. 

At least the kids and I got the whole train ready to go--pat us all on the back.

I had planned to stay home and have a few quiet hours.

That turned into trying to do a man's work with my kids helping me.

(They did most of it, and were proud of themselves!)

However, we got to auction.

Sam didn't 

Jonathan arrived late with our check book.

And then we waited about an hour and a half while pig after pig,

sheep after sheep,

and goat after goat went through. 

We thought the goats would never end. 

Every new one brought fresh groans from this family waiting for a calf.

This tall guy standing right by the rail, buying up a lot of the animals, had the right idea.

Eat your plate of dessert right in front of everyone and have yourself a merry time!

But back to my story.

Finally a black calf came through, and Jonathan says, "There's our calf!" 

But before long the price is up to about $1.30 a pound and that steer calf weighs over 500 pounds, so go figure the price.
I tell Jonathan, "No, we need to wait for a smaller calf."

We could buy a lot of feed and hay for the amount of money that calf would cost.

So we let that calf go, and I was worried that maybe we would end up going home without a calf at all.

But before long, another smaller black calf came through, and we were on the edge of our seats.

The auctioneer was gradually coming down to $1 a pound because no one was bidding.

I could tell that he was keeping on coming down till someone bid, and I hoped he would go even lower, but Jonathan's hand shot up at $1 a pound, which would make the calf cost about $400

and that is when I slapped!

I just slapped his hand down fast before the auctioneer or any of his helpers would see it

because if the auctioneer kept going down, our calf would be cheaper!

The auctioneer kept droning his amounts, lower and lower, and before you know it, 

he had dropped the price to just 80 cents a pound!

We were the highest bidder at about 83 cents a pound,

so we got it for just $325!

And so that is the story of how a wife's slap saved her husband $75!

This beautiful planter was in front of the auction barn, 

and it is made of two tires painted white and light blue, with a curved section of rubber tire for the handle.

Isn't it cute?

When a Mother Feels Rewarded

So maybe you haven't made the Guinness Book of World Records for the greatest mother in the world.

Or any Hall of Fame for "Best Mom Ever."

Or status as "Mom of Highest Excelling Home School Bumpkins."

Or even honorable mention in some local newspaper under the title "Community Mom Receives Honorable Mention Award."

You're just this little, unknown nobody out on the prairie or back in the woods or huddled in the middle of the big city.

But when you look at your kids, and they are happy just sleeping out on the deck under the stars,

and you are happy to snuggle in with them for a while...

you start counting your blessings. 

Maybe you are just a nobody, 

but it's a noble aspiration to raise contented and caring kids,

even if they're just your own.

You've chosen to be a mom who puts her family ahead of a job,

and her kids ahead of a career.

And that has meant staying home and living on one income no matter how small through the years. 

It has meant finding work for your kids in the country even though it means you have to give up having a nicely manicured yard and property because chickens and goats and steers and cats and dogs and kids are all over the place. 

And you spend time every other day picking up behind puppies that manage to find all sorts of trash to tear to bits in the front yard.

But when you and your husband have to get into your 18-yr-old son's truck to go somewhere,

and the radio turns on with the engine--

and you hear acappella singing of sacred hymns by an old fashioned men's quartet,

you sit there with your heart welling up with thankfulness.

How did he find that station? 

We didn't even know it existed.

That's a moment when you feel so rewarded.

The station could have been set to rock, or jazz, or even classical or to some talk show.

But in moments like those, you know your efforts and sacrifices have been worth it.

And when you go to the bookshelf to look for something, and start noticing the titles of some of the books your teenage girls and boys have picked out last time at the library,

your heart wells with joy again.

The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook

Colorado Place Names

Elk Hunting Q & A

Biographies like Benedict Arnold

Mr. Revere and I

You breathe your blessings into your husband's ear, and he murmurs back,
"You've done a good job!"

And that is when all those 20 years of hard work 

and getting up umpteen times at night

and struggling through loneliness and misunderstandings and feeling like a failure

just sort of evaporate.

Three of your kids sit down at the piano on their own and fiddle around with laughs and teases 

and play a trio while the boy bounces on his big ball all at the same time,

and you are so glad they are doing that instead of running around outside trying to find Pokemon.

Instead they are begging you to take them fishing up at the little lake at the park nearby,

and coming home with several fish to fry for breakfast or supper!
And you just bow your head and say, "Thank You, Lord!"
If it wasn't for His grace and help and forgiveness and mercy and wisdom and
fulfilling of promises made to those who obey and trust Him,
this would not have happened.
When we reap the fruit of our labors, we feel rewarded, but
all the glory belongs to Him!!

When Mondays Are Difficult--"God is Already in Your Tomorrow"

"Everything you need for this week you will find in Christ."
I read that in one of my favorite blogs a couple days ago.

I know this is Tuesday, but it's after one of those Mondays.
You know, the kind that leaves you ready to hang up a sign like this one at a cabin Jonathan and I were allowed to spend a night at last week, before estimating remodel work. 

I had taken along a magazine from the library to perhaps read an exciting story to Jonathan as we drove,  in between the hours of him being on the phone with business issues and us working together on putting together a list of names and phone numbers to call for the next Mission Helps trips. 

But the story ended up being about a man getting mauled by a bear and surviving, 

so gory that as I skimmed through it, I was going weak, and decided not to read it aloud.

And then when we got to the cabin, it was called, "Bear Claw Cabin."
Great thought just before going to bed for the night. 

Also the name I'd like to call our house on some Mondays when the kids are tired -

and Mom is drained from the tough day Sunday 

and the house is full of dirty laundry and bedding sprawling in the living room from the kids' night out on the deck, and there is no end of little messes needing dealt with

and you really need to start school at 9:00.

So on Monday afternoon when I discovered this little blogpost by Christy Fitzwater about Monday mornings, I could really relate.

***'

She wrote, "My momma says it’s like the weeks after Christmas, when all the hoopla is over and you feel the letdown.  For two weeks I have had this feeling, along with trouble getting out of bed and working up the fortitude to get dressed and keep moving.

When we feel low, the temptation is to curl up in a ball somewhere, but as followers of Christ we are required to work when we are depressed, to pray and read the Bible and seek God.

So I did the work.  And now I must tell you the happy ending.

"Today my step is once again light, and I declare that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

From every direction last week God spoke to me of the gospel of Christ.  In my Bible reading, in my reading of other literature, in sermons I listened to, and in song God clearly said, What you need is the power of the cross.

The gospel seems rudimentary, and so we tend to receive it, feel that we have graduated from it, and can move on to “greater” truths, but this is wrong.

"Elisabeth Elliot writes, in Keep a Quiet Heart, 'In difficulties of all kinds I’ve been wonderfully helped by taking time to look at them in the light of Christ Himself. ..He calls us to give up all right to ourselves, take up the cross, and follow.  This hard place in which you perhaps find yourself, so painful and bewildering, is the very place in which God is giving you the opportunity to look only to Him, to travail in prayer, and to learn long-suffering, gentleness, meekness –in short, to learn the depths of love that  Christ Himself has poured out on all of us.'

..".You tell me –how is it that a woman who has walked with God these thirty-six years [just one year less than I!] needs to have the good news preached to her?  Why do I need to hear again that...I have no power to pull myself up out of the pit of despair –that only Christ can do this?

On a Monday morning, then, when we feel the weight of current difficulties and the inevitable trials of a new week coming, what we need most is the good news of Christ.  Jesus loves us.  He died to take the punishment for our sins, and by the power of God he was raised back to life.  So we can live in that power, too.."

That's what Christy wrote.
Strange that I had just read John 1 and 2 on Sunday, and was supposed to read John 3 Monday--
and wondering what I was going to get out of it--
it's just about being born again.

Just about being born again.

 Rudimentary, of course, when we think we need something besides the gospel,
or the cross,
something that will help us in our trials and troubles and overwhelm and issues....

But really, 
what we need, down underneath everything,
is the good news of Jesus Christ.
"He must increase, but I must decrease."
So if in the flesh we decrease and decrease and decrease,
it's so the power of God may rest upon us.
And isn't that good news?

While you’re reading this, God is already in your tomorrow. -Fitzwater.

http://www.christyfitzwater.com/joy/monday-needs-good-news/