Bees / Mrs Charissa Andrews

 

Mrs Charissa Andrews

Pastor's Wife

Amazing Grace Baptist Church

O'Fallon, MO

 

Bees

 

I've never really been a fan of bees. I really grew to have a strong repugnance for the little creatures after a scary encounter. My son was 9 at the time and my sister was watching my little guys for me. When I arrived home, I noticed that Daniel's face looked a little different. I couldn't really put my finger on what it was, it just looked different. I thought maybe one of his brothers had boxed him a bit, or he had run into something. I questioned him and he had no recollection of anything like that happening. It wasn't long before his lips began to swell. I started really questioning him and he then told me that right before I arrived home he had been stung by a bee, but no where near his face, only on his finger. I knew what I was looking at: anaphylactic reaction. I grabbed the Benedryl and Daniel and rushed to the hospital. On the way his tongue began to swell. The initial dose of Benedryl had calmed down the swelling quite a bit by the time we arrived at the emergency room. We got checked in and they had us in a triage room. Doing the blood pressure, weight, etc. All of a sudden the male nurse that was talking to us grabbed Daniel and took off down the hall yelling. I ran after him I watched as several nurses and doctors got him hooked up to an IV very quickly. The reaction came back, with a vengeance. Talk about scary! When I read an article after this experience that warned of a bee shortage, I almost got giddy. Yay!! Bees...be gone I say. However the article went on to explain the importance of bees. According to Business Insider, “a world without bees would also mean a world without fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds”.  Nearly one third of our world's crops are dependent on bees. One third. I began to think bees play a very important role in our lives.  There are another type of “bees” that also are vital to us. Our crops don't depend on them, but something even more important. Our christian walk depends on these “be's”. These are the “be's” of the Bible. There are so very many and I won't list them all. But I'd like to list some of my favorites. These are the “be's” God has given us because He loves us. They teach us how to love right, how to live right, how to serve right, how to honor Him with our lives.

These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but BE of good cheer; I have overcome the world. -John16:33
Satan is such a liar, and he is superb at his job. One of his most used tools on God's children is the tool of discouragement. But our Savior says, “Be of good cheer!!”

BE ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. -Luke 6:36
Mercy is defined as: compassionate or kindly, forbearance shown toward an offender, an enemy or other person in one's power; compassion, pity, or benevolence. How are we doing with this be? God is not telling us to just be merciful, but He is saying we are to be merciful just as He has been merciful. I don't know about you, but He has sure extended a monumental amount of mercy to this girl! And He asks me to be as merciful to my offenders and enemies.

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and BE ye thankful -Colossians 3:15
Ladies, when we learn to truly be thankful (for everything) something amazing will happen. The peace of God will rule in our hearts. The circumstances will no longer dictate if we are having an up day or a down day. Can the peace of God rule in my heart when I receive an unexpected medical bill or when I face heartache? What about when my husband takes a pay cut or one of my children begin to show a rebellious spirit? Can God's peace control and rule in my heart when things don't make sense? Nope...absolutely not. Not unless I learn to be thankful in those things. I think this one is such a biggie because the thankfulness can only result from trust. The only way I can thank God for the second child being diagnosed with epilepsy is if I completely believe that God loves me, that He is good and that He is trustworthy.

BE strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee.
- Deuteronomy 31:6
This is one of my all time favorite be in the Bible. The “cause” of this verse is “for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee nor forsake thee” and the effect of this verse is we can “BE strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid...” There are many things we fear, especially in today's society. Some of us fear that our children will be sick. Some of us fear being able to have finances that will meet the need. Some fear because of a lack of insurance. Some fear getting close to others because of past hurts. Some fear taking a stand due to criticism. Some fear losing their homes or jobs. Some fear the presidential elections and where our country is heading. However God admonishes His children to not fear these things, but to be very courageous. Fear paralyzes us, it prevents us from going forward, from advancing. It stops us in our tracks. Let's not forget that the very One who parted the Red Sea...He goes with us. The God who called Lazarus from the grave...He goes with us. His promises are true. “...he will not fail thee nor forsake thee”.

Therefore BE ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh
-Matthew 24:44
The last be I'll share with you today. Now, I know where I am. I know who I'm writing to; a bunch of amazing ladies. Ladies that love the Lord. Ladies that are pastor's wives, deacon's wives. Ladies that have been in church longer than I've been on this earth. My sweet friends, He is coming back. Soon. I believe so very soon!! I urge you to make sure you are ready. Don't allow anyone or anything to stand in the way of this most important matter. He is coming soon to snatch His bride. Not only should we be ready in the area of salvation (trusting completely, entirely and ONLY in the finished work of Christ on the cross), but we should be preparing to meet our Heavenly Groom. Remember all of the preparation you made to face your groom? The time and energy and investment you made for that day when you would face him as his bride. Let us give ourselves, our energy and investment in anticipation of meeting our Groom.

Are You God's Delight?? / Mrs Marcella Smith

 

 

Mrs Marcella Smith

Pastor's Wife

Sandy Valley Baptist Temple

Magnolia, OH

 

 

Are you God’s Delight? Are you delightful to God? Are you delightful to God daily?

Proverbs 8:30 …and I was daily his delight… 
Yes, I understand that this verse is talking about wisdom, but don’t you think that if wisdom can daily delight Him, we can too? God made us for His pleasure.

Delight is defined as:  enjoyment, pleasure, to incline to, to be pleased with, desire, favor

So are you delightful or are you…
Upset because you HAVE to serve God? You know…working in the nursery, visiting those bus routes, soulwinning in the middle of your Saturday, teaching SS every week, cleaning up the church (no one else seems to want to), making food for the funeral meals or shut ins… and the list could go on for some of you, I’m sure.

Are you delightful or are you…
 Angry because of some hurt in your life?  Things like broken relationships, a long -term illness, the death of a loved one, people who are always offending you or getting offended by every little thing you say…these things hurt us to be sure, but being angry is not the answer.

Are you delightful or are you…
 Too busy complaining about your life or life in general? You seem to never have as much money as so and so, your job is such a pain (they should really give you a huge raise for all you have to put up with), your bills are so unfair (your neighbors bills are so much less and they have a bigger house), your kids drive you crazy and just wont be well-behaved like your friends kids…

To be a delight… We must THINK and REMEMBER God’s blessing in our lives! This will enable us to: be grateful for what we do have, love and enjoy serving our Jesus, get over life’s many hurts, deal with sickness, and serve joyfully.

How can we accomplish this? 
1. Read about God’s blessing in the past in your Bible. Several chapters talk about how God took care of the Israelites many times over. (PSALM 107) That would be a good place to start.
2. Realize that God STILL blesses today! Think about blessings and look for them in other’s lives. (Sometimes it is easier to see how others are being blessed)
3. Revisit how God has blessed YOU in the past. I have so many examples of this, but one that has been recent is a funeral meal at our church. It was for folks we didn’t even know and had no idea how many folks to expect. So our church folks prepared in abundance…guess who received the delicious, abundant leftovers? We did! It certainly helped with my grocery bill. We ate for days. I want my children to notice God’s many blessings so I usually use sarcasm to make it funny… as in, when God’s blessing is so very obvious and we are lavishly spoiled, I turn to my kids and say “Oh my, It’s so haaaaard to serve Jesus. We are just suffering sooooooo much. (in the whiniest voice I can muster) They giggle and agree…God is so very good to us.  We have no reason to complain. Sure we put in long hours, (my kids included) do many things above and beyond, stay up late, etc. However, God’s goodness is so apparent that we could never say “we are suffering for Jesus”. There would be no truth to that. 

Psalms 107: 8,15,21,31 Four verses in the Bible that say exactly the same thing; “Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!” 
God wants praise, enough to tell us in the exact same words 4x. God gets delight through our praise. Are you delightful to God? Do you praise Him daily?

Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.”

My practical nature came to the rescue to help me with this problem of not praising God or being delightful to Him.

A BLESSING BOOK- a journal of sorts that you jot your blessings and answered prayers down in.  I choose to head the top of the blank, lined paper by each month. Then I simply use the lines to record God’s goodness. I usually put the item received and who gave it to us. For baptisms and salvations I write the person’s name and the date.  I read through this book when I am feeling down. It reminds me of God’s love and care for me.

Look for God’s blessings in the lives of those in the Bible so you can follow that principle and keep getting blessed, and then when He does bless, don’t forget to write it down.

Look for blessings in your daily life. You have to train yourself to think this way. We do not naturally see the good around us.

Ladies, we do not need to be sad, broken, depressed Christians. Look at how God has blessed and is blessing and you cannot help but smile. Sometimes we smile through our tears, but we can smile none the less.  We can serve Jesus and have true joy. 

If you are going through a difficult time in the ministry, step back and take time to get your joy back. Ask God for it. I have been there and never wish to go back. I don’t want to dread church. I don’t want to hate serving Jesus. I don’t want my children to run from the ministry. So, I have a blessing book and that helps me to focus on all the good that I do have!!!  I can smile now while serving, because I have true joy!!! I love being a Preacher’s wife. I don’t want to be anything else. As I sit at the piano and start the prelude music, I can’t help but hold back tears of joy because of the sweet peace and joy that comes from knowing that I am doing exactly what God wants me to do.

We don’t HAVE to serve Jesus, We GET to serve Jesus!!! 
(Oh, and it’s sooooo hard. Wink-wink)

 

 

The Vital Ingredient / Mrs Heather Sexton

Mrs Heather Sexton

Pastor's Wife

LaMarsh Baptist Church

Mapleton, IL

 

 

The Vital Ingredient

 

Cooking has never come naturally for me.  You know some ladies that throw a few things in a pot, and "Oh!!!  does it taste delicious!"  Other ladies, their food not only tastes good, but it looks like it came out of a magazine!!!  I hate to say that is NOT me.  When we first got married I prayed over the meal before I brought it to the table asking God to help it taste good :).  My cooking techniques have improved since we first got married, but still from time to time I will forget to put in a main ingredient.  Lately I have been studying the subject of Faith.  Faith is a vital ingredient in our Christian life!  The Bible says in Romans 14:23, ".... for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." And also in Hebrews 11:6, "But without faith it is impossible to please him;  for he that cometh to God must believe is, and that he is a rewarded of them that diligently seek him."  Faith is Essential!!!

Are you praying with faith believing that He hears and will answer.  Lately when I pray I quote verses about the power of prayer.  I once heard the quote, "God never gave His children a promise which He does not intend for them to use."  Don't stop praying even though you have prayed the same prayers for years.  Believe that, "He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think...."  Ephesians 3:20

Faith is the Victory!!!  1 John 5:4, "...and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith." "Little faith will bring your soul to Heaven, great faith will bring Heaven to your soul."

What's in Your Purse? / Mrs Vicky Mutchler

Mrs Vicky Mutchler

Pastor's Wife

Grandview Baptist Church

Beavercreek, OR

 

 

What’s in Your Purse?

Proverbs 1:14  Cast in thy lot among us; let us all have one purse:

Women do a lot of things in groups….go to the restroom together at parties….get ready for a major date or wedding….decide on a new hair do….BUT they could NEVER put everything in one purse!

Different women ...different purses!

There’s the Mary Poppins gal….you know who I am talking about...she has EVERYTHING in that purse of hers! I mean everything!  From a Q tip to a Capri Sun! She is Mother of the Year. She will pull out a Band-Aid, ibuprofen or ice pack on a field trip….then later a beach towel, an extra pair of water wings and a sewing kit! ( next will be the hall tree and an umbrella!)

There’s the Trendy: Less is More girl….she has a shoulder strap or small wristlet. It contains the bare essentials…. her debit card and drivers license. Maybe a lip gloss.

How about the Grandma Purse? Plenty of Kleenex… hard candy that at some point got “wet” and stuck to some of the Kleenex! Change in the bottom and 3 pair of glasses (one for reading...one for distance and sunglasses). Grocery receipts, hankie and loads of expired coupons!

Designer Diva….doesn't matter what’s inside it is the name brand that counts! LOL! However inside it the matching keychain...wallet and phone cover! Matchy/Matchy!

As Christians I was thinking what do we have in our “purses”?

Do we carry….

A smile ….for someone that needs a friendly reminder that they are loved?

A shoulder to cry on...for someone that needs understanding?

A word of praise… to lift spirits?

A hug….saying I love you!

A listening ear...saying I am here for you!

Maybe your purse is too little and you only carry what YOU need! Why not get a bigger PURSE so you can be more like a “Mary Poppins”...and keep pulling everything out...for the needs of those around you!

Happy Purse Shopping! :)