He is ALWAYS There / Laura Faulk

Laura Faulk

Pastor's Wife

First Baptist Church

Groton, MA

He is ALWAYS There

Recently I was listening to the song “He is There.” I love this song and when a song speaks to me, I tend to play it over and over. As I listened, (over and over), it got me thinking about God always being with us. I began to think of a few times in my Christian walk when I didn’t think God was near me. I couldn’t feel His presence. That can be a sad and confusing time but as I look back on those times, I am amazed all over again at how good our God is! I am not proud of the times when I doubted God’s presence, but I do love the fact that I can look back on those days and see the mighty hand of God working!

Have you ever experienced a time in your Christian life that you didn’t feel God’s presence? Did you think something was wrong? Did you think God had left you?

I remember 3 distinct times when I didn’t feel God’s presence. The first time was when my father was about to leave this earth and make his entrance into his new heavenly home. I had 3 siblings at the time but none of them could handle the situation, so I was left alone to remain strong for my father and my siblings. I remember sitting by my father’s hospital bed thinking, “I can’t even pray, why can’t I pray? I don’t even know what to say; I have no words. Where are you God?”

Whenever one of my friends from our church came to the hospital I would burst into tears as soon as they walked in the hospital room door.” What in the world is wrong with me,” I thought to myself each time? I had to be strong, and I certainly didn’t want my friends seeing me falling apart! Later, after the storm had calmed down and I thought back on those days I could see exactly that God was right there with me the entire time! I realized that God had sent those “angels” to me so that I could release some of my grief and sorrow so that I could remain strong for my family. Not only was God always with me during that time but He sent me His hugs and embraces in physical form. Even though I couldn’t utter a prayer, God knew exactly what I needed and how to help me! He never left me and was always at my side holding my right hand! “For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:13

You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson from that, but Satan does an excellent job of fooling our minds into making us believe we are useless and not important to God. My second experience involved a huge ministry crisis, or what I thought at the time was “a crisis.” I honestly had no idea how I would make it through this trial, and it was even worse for my husband. Neither one of us could encourage the other. At one point, my husband had to pull our car over to the side of the road as he sobbed uncontrollably. I had never ever seen my husband so much as shed a tear and yet here he was sobbing. I felt helpless, useless, and alone. Again, where was our God during this time? I had no idea how to pray let alone what to say. Our lives had just been crushed and how did we even begin to pick up the pieces and move on? God seemed so quiet to me during those days; however, He knew exactly what was going on and never left us alone!! He was always right where He said He would be – at our side and holding our right hands (Isaiah 41:13)!! Once again, after the storm calmed down, I was able to look back and see how God was with us every step of that journey and in the end brought us great victory!

My 3rd “huge” trial happened almost 5 years ago when my daughter was diagnosed with a terminal illness. It took many grueling months before getting the proper diagnosis and finding out that the only hope of a cure was a bone marrow transplant. None of our other children were 100% matches so we had to rely on the donor bank. In the meantime, she was getting worse and sometimes in the ER several times a week. This time, I tried again to pray, and I even tried to cry but couldn’t do either. Again, I was trying to remain strong for my daughter, her husband, and her two small children. I felt the weight was on me alone and I couldn’t see God or talk to God. I was afraid to voice my feelings to God (is that silly or what?). My husband and I even had a hard

time talking about it together. It was a trial we certainly didn’t want to face! My husband called a few local preachers and we all got together to have a prayer meeting for our daughter and claim God’s healing on her body. I felt all alone, as I sat on that pew that night crying through her favorite song “In Christ Alone” and the many prayers offered up in her behalf. God did not heal her in the way we wanted but a few weeks later we found out that He did have a donor ready who was an absolute perfect match in every possible way and in just a few short weeks, the process would begin. This time God had sent little “angels” to me in the form of my 4 and 2-year-old grandchildren! They stayed with us for a month while Shannon was in the hospital going through chemo, radiation, and the transplant. As I loved on those grandies, how could I not see the love that God was giving me through them? As I think back on those days, I see very clearly that God was hugging and loving me once again in physical form through those beautiful “angels.” Even though I didn’t understand it or felt like I deserved it, God had finally given me such a peace that even though I struggled at times to remain strong and even though my voice struggled with finding the words to pray, I KNEW that God was in control and that somehow (no matter the outcome of the transplant) everything would be okay! I felt totally helpless because this was one time in my child’s life that I couldn’t fix a problem for her. But I didn’t have to feel helpless because God would take care of her and all of us. God would be with us every step of the way! Even though I struggled with the words to pray, I knew that my God knew my heart and what I would pray if I could!! As I think back on those days, I realize that God had given me a peace and calm during that time that even today I am amazed. To make a longer story short, this May will mark 5 years since that transplant day and God did heal our daughter!!

I know that many of you have gone through much worse trials and scenarios than my examples. And perhaps you never felt alone and always had the words to pray. But God had to teach me about His omnipresence the hard way. I know that I will still encounter many times ahead where I find my walk with God rough and demanding and my faith tested to the breaking point. At times it might seem as though the doors of hope will slam shut and the odds will be against me. Perhaps there will be times in my life again when I don’t feel the presence of God, but I know He is still there! Praise the Lord that in each of these scenarios I saw that God will allow me to go through trials but He will never leave me alone!!

Some people falsely conclude that when they don’t feel God, He is gone. He has disappeared. Remember, He is there, even when you don’t feel Him. The Bible tells us in Hebrews, “… for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (13:5). It is during these times that we must walk by faith, not by feeling, because God has promised in His Word that He will be with us.

No matter how lonely or abandoned we feel, Jesus is always by our side. In Matthew 28:20 he said, “. . . and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

I could list many examples in the Bible of people who felt alone in their trials, but they never truly were. God was always with them as He promised! In those days when we feel utterly alone, downcast, and like nobody cares, remind yourself of God’s words and promises to us. Yes, often it’s easier said than done but He Is There! Remind yourself to walk by faith in God’s Word and not by sight and trust in God’s promise never to leave you or forsake you! Highlight these verses in your Bible and post them where you will see them often.

He Is There

When the trials you face turn into your darkest night,

And you're hoping in some way, the darkness will turn to light,

And you feel all alone and no one is there with you,

Never fear, my God is holding you.

He is there to comfort you,

When you feel your world is shifting.

He is there to hold you,

When everything is changing.

My Lord's still there.

Somedays I was so lost,

I just couldn't see him.

There were moments

I felt my heart would just give in,

But when you're through trying

And there's nothing left to do,

Never fear, my God is holding you.

He is there to comfort you,

When you feel your world is shifting.

He is there to hold you,

When everything is changing.

My Lord's still there.

Be A Pineapple / Katelyn Rauhaus

Katelyn Rauhaus (soon to be Tyler)

Bus Ministry / Choir

Marion Avenue Baptist Church

Washington, IA

Be a Pineapple 

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am completely obsessed with pineapples. They really are the happiest fruit, but that is just my personal opinion. One of my favorite quotes is " Be a Pineapple, Stand Tall, Wear a Crown, and Be Sweet on the Inside."  Not only is it about one of my favorite things but it also has a spiritual aspect to it. 

The first part of this quote says to "Stand Tall" and in Deuteronomy 31: 6 it says "Be strong and of 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."  Stand tall ultimately means to be strong, this verse is not talking about our physical strength but our spiritual strength, also known as our faith. God tells us in this verse that he will not fail us or forsake us. Sometimes things in life will test our faith, in these times remember this verse and Stand Tall. 

The second part of this quote says to " Wear a Crown". Do you realize that we are all daughters of the King of Kings? If you have personally excepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and asked him to take you to Heaven when you die, you are a daughter of the King! John 1:12-13  says " But as many as receive him, but to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."   Being a daughter of the King that means that you are a princess and princesses wear crowns. Remember this next time you get discouraged or life beats you down, remember that you are a princess and wear your crown proudly!

The last part of this quote says "To Be Sweet on the Inside". Life is going to throw some really hard things at you and you will think to yourself “this is not fair, I didn't do anything to deserve this”. Truth is you probably didn't do anything to deserve it but God works in mysterious ways and we may never fully understand why bad things will happen to us, and if we aren't careful we will allow these things to make us bitter and steal our sweet spirit. Ephesians 4:31 says " Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."  Bitterness is something that can destroy you if you allow it which is exactly what the devil wants us to do. Remember Philippians 4:13 says " I can do all things through Christ, which strengthen me." Personally this verse has helped me through so many trials, It has helped me stay sweet on the inside. I do not know what you are going through right now but remember that God will never give you more than you can handle.

Pineapples bring me a lot of joy, and my prayer is that now they will bring you a lot joy too! My prayer is that next time you see a pineapple, God will remind you of these 3 things!  

Pray with Faith / Michele Pitre

Michele Pitre

Secretary at Providence Baptist College

Northwest Bible Baptist Church

Elgin, IL

Pray with Faith

There are so many sermons, messages, and books on prayer that what I have is miniscule in comparison. What can I say that hasn’t already been written or preached. Except to say that you can’t have prayer without faith. Do you truly trust God to answer your prayer? And are you okay with his answer even if it’s not the one that you expected or the time you expected it to come. We always ask God for healing or answers to questions that go in a direction that makes it easier for us to bear. We forget that God is the one that knows what is best for us. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways. And my thoughts than your thoughts.” Is. 55:8-9

We forget that God is trying to grow us into the Christian lady that He wants us to be. He only wants us. He desires only that we look to Him for everything and trust Him in everything. I know it’s easier said than done sometimes, but the Lord is the only one who can do anything about what we are going through. So let us stop complaining to everyone who can’t do anything about it, and take it to the one that can do everything about it.

In February 2017 my husband admitted that he no longer believed that there was a God. I had already noticed a decline in his spirits and had been fasting and praying for him once a week before that day. I hadn’t realized that it had gotten that bad. I continued to fast and pray, expecting a miraculous change because of my efforts. I thought that surely the Lord wanted my husband to change and that He would bless the Biblical principle I had set in my life. I think I lost sight of the reason God set that up in the first place: to draw the fasting and prayerful to Himself. I would get frustrated and want to quit each time I thought God would do something big and it didn’t happen the way I expected it to.

About nine months after that dreadful day, my husband decided out of the blue that He wanted to come back to church. I hadn’t pushed him to come, nor had I made him feel bad for not attending. I simply fasted and prayed, and begged God to change my husband’s heart. The entire time wondering if that was even possible, because I thought that my husband was the only one who could decide to change his own heart. God is the one that is in control of everything, even the hearts of his children. He is the one who decides when and where He will do the changing. If God can change the heart of Pharaoh, then He can change the heart of anyone He chooses.

I did not get the huge bells and whistles, but they were huge bells and whistles to me. Because the Sunday that my husband shined his shoes and trimmed his beard in preparation for evening service was the day that God revealed to me just how important the prayers of this unworthy sinner are to Him. I could hardly contain my excitement as we drove to church together that night. My husband didn’t all of a sudden quit his job to serve the Lord full time, or miraculously change. It’s been a slow progression. But it’s all in God’s time, and not my own. I am having fun just watching God work in my life. Though it’s still not easy to endure that “refiner’s fire”, I do know that God is on my side; and He knows what’s best and when it’s best to move in my life, whether hardship or no.

Increasing Strength / Natasha Wainscott

Natasha Wainscott

Pastor's Wife

Calavary Baptist Church

Waterloo, IA

Increasing Strength

I love the fresh start a new year brings, don’t you? An opportunity to evaluate our lives and see what areas need improving, an opportunity to make plans to head in the right direction. I’m not usually one to make New Year’s Resolutions, but this year I determined that I want to make some changes. I still don’t know if I would call them resolutions, but since I can’t think of a better word, I suppose they are! I want to be stronger. Physically, yes. A new decade of life is quickly approaching, and I feel the weakness of my body overtaking me year by year. But I also want to be stronger spiritually.

2018 was a difficult year for my husband and I—not in our marriage—but in “life”. We didn’t have any major catastrophe happen, but it seemed like a year of “blow” after “blow” knocking us down at nearly every turn. By the end of the year, I felt whipped. There were times I wanted to quit. Quit what, I’m not sure, but I sure didn’t want to have to fight any more. It was in this time of “fainting” that the Lord reminded me of Proverbs 24:10: If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Ouch, Lord. Then he reminded me of verse 5 of the same chapter: A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength. Double ouch. If I were wise, I would be strong (ie, not fainting). According to Webster1828.com, wisdom is the right use or exercise of knowledge. Somewhere along the way, I was forgetting to exercise the knowledge I had hidden away in my heart, and I was getting weak.

Strength comes from hard work. There’s just no way around it. If you want to be strong, you must exert energy and stress on those muscles in order for them to get stronger. The same holds true for our spiritual life. We must exercise our spiritual muscles in order to be spiritually strong. The problem lies within the fact that most of us hate exercise—physical and spiritual. I hate to sweat. I think it’s gross. That’s my main reason for avoiding physical exercise. But I also very much dislike trials. Trials?!? What does that have to do with exercise, you might ask. Well, James 1:2-5 says, My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. It is the trying of my faith that gives me patience. Trials are the “weights” that we must lift in order to be stronger in this area of patience. Wait a minute, we were talking about wisdom and now we are talking about patience. Why the switch? Hebrews 12:1 says, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily best us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, [underlining mine]. We are suppose to run this race, the Christian life, with patience. And patience comes from trials. Now, you may think that just because you have gone through trials, that you are in the clear. If trials produces patience, surely you are being strengthened. There is more to this strength than just enduring the trial. Look back at James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. That word “let” is a key word here, implying that we must ALLOW patience to do the work that is needed in our lives. If we are completely honest with ourselves, many of us go through trials kicking and screaming, looking for the easiest way out, resisting the pain and discomfort. In these instances, we are not allowing patience to have her perfect work. We just want out! The proper way to react to a trial is found by Paul’s example in II Corinthians 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. When we realize that the trials that come in our lives are meant to drive us toward Christ, to make us more like Him, our perspective on trials change. Sure, they may still be rather unpleasant, but we can see them for what they are—strength-building, faith-building exercises. None of us are getting out of this life unscathed. Trials are a guarantee (Job 14:1Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble.), but our response is up to us: resist or be strengthened. When we’ve strengthened ourselves with each trial, not only do we endure the next trial a little easier, but we come to despise the difficulties less and less, knowing it is all for our good and His glory!

Frozen Storm / Tasha Fowler

Tasha Fowler

Asst Pastor's Wife

Heritage Baptist Church 

Canal Winchester, OH

Frozen Storm

It is mid morning. I woke up over an hour ago with my back hurting from sleeping. This is when you know your life is on the decline. I hit my mountain top peak physically in my twenties and now my age is sledding down that mountain at full speed with wreckless abandon. I shoved my 14 week old contacts into my eyeballs as I checked my text messages, one being from my eye doctor saying I'm 2 years over due for my vision screening, but I hate being dilated and honestly just the thought of carving out time to sit and be checked out is a nuisance. Hard pass.

I sneak past all the kids rooms, as to not stir them and start the whirlwind of chaos before I get my coffee & Bible time. It takes me a solid 30 minutes just to talk myself into reading today. I know you're much more spiritual than I, and you've read 14 chapters and studied the whole of revelations in depth, but I am reading Psalm 107 for the 3rd day in a row, because it's having trouble sticking. The first 2 days I was so tired I had to reread the first few verses over and over because I forgot what it was even about by the 5th verse, or I was going cross eyed from sheer tiredness. I open my Bible and read my own notes surrounding other Psalms and laugh at how lame I am, in the top left corner it reads "check yourself before you wreck yourself" and on the right middle it says "think of the ship in the movie frozen on the waves in the storm" Like really... that's the best reference I could relate to? I should write a stinking commentary.

The kids are awake and begging for tv shows and food now. 30 minutes later after I've bent my will to their wishes, I open my Bible again. Verse 22 peaks my interest, "let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing" I know there are legit thanksgiving offerings but i dont know, the fact that it says that thanksgiving is in itself the offering makes me think. It is a sacrifice to get off the "woe is me" train, or the "I want/need" wagon, and actually be grateful for what I already have.

Then I read about these guys who get on some ships to sell some merch. They get in some big seas, and then it says "He(God) commandeth and raiseth up the stormy wind". Another nugget pops in the old noggin... The storm wasn't by chance. God saw the men on the sea and still said, ya I'm gonna give 'em a wide ride. He obviously thought they needed to learn something or at least see something. (because it mentions in verse 24 "these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep") It says that they mount up to the heavens and go down again to the deep (if it helps you, think of the super sad scene in frozen, not so stupid now huh!) It says these people are tossed to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man. Their soul is melted and they are at their wit's end. I can totally relate. My soul feels like my secret stash of chocolate melting in my van on a hot summer day. I feel like life is beating on my ship and I'm struggling to reach the wheel or sails or whatever controls a boat, but I'm being thrown back and forth. My favorite thing in this verse though is the wit's end bit. I looked that up, and it basically means they've reached the end of what their skill can do. I felt a little Holy Spirit on that one. That's SO me. My very basic and insufficient skill set has done it's best and still drastically fallen short.

Ya'll get ready for the best news. They cry to the Lord and in the same sentence, he brings them out of their distresses. He makes the storm calm and the waves still. "They are glad because they be in quiet" [Amen, am I right?! ]"So he bringeth them into their desired haven." If I want quiet, if I want a calm day and still waves, and if I have any hope to make it to my desired haven in one peace without losing my freaking mind... I have to realize I'm at the end of my capabilities and I have to just cry out, while I'm flat

out crying and let God do what I cannot. The reason we get so frustrated is because we are trying to work this junk out on our own, I don't need to regain control of the ship on these crazy waves of life and motherhood. I just need to let the master of the wind and waves do his thing!

Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up! / Tiffany Moore

Tiffany Moore

Bus Ministry / Super Church / Music Ministry

Trinity Baptist Church

Wills, TX

Help! I’ve Fallen and I Can’t Get Up! 

Proverbs 24:16 “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

When you are young and you fall off your bicycle, you scrape your knee. You might cry and go find your mom. You think getting a Band-Aid with your favorite cartoon character on it will make everything all right again. The next day you’re out on your street riding your bike again. If you fall off a bike when you’re an adult: You cry. Call an ambulance. Spend four hours at the ER. Rack up thousands of dollars in medical bills. You end up in physical therapy. You think “I am too old to be doing dumb stuff like that!” You never get back on a bicycle again. Just as a physical fall, falling into sin can have a different result at different ages. Not to imply that the young cannot make life altering falls in their Christian life, but it is usually harder on you when you fall as an adult or teenager than as a young child.

When we choose to sin, we forget that “falling into sin” can have lasting effects. I sprained my ankle when I was a teenager. I basically ignored it that summer. I’d elevate it when it hurt but I never let it heal properly because I stood on it constantly. That ankle ended up needing physical therapy. My right ankle is weaker than my left one even today, many years later. It will roll on me at the oddest times. I’ve sprained that ankle multiple times since that summer because it is very susceptible to sprain again-because it is weaker. After a fall in your Christian life, you have to be prepared for that weakness in your life. You have to be cognitive of the fact that you have a weakness and compensate accordingly. If I go roller skating, I will wear an ankle wrap. Not because I have a sprained ankle but because it needs extra support. It’s the same with our Christian lives. Maybe you need to type out Proverbs 15:1 and put it on your fridge if you have fallen in the area of yelling and arguing. Maybe you complain about everything. Strengthen yourself by reading Philippians 2:14-15 every day. Maybe you need a friend to hold you accountable for your social media usage. Maybe you need to drive a different way home. Maybe you need to listen to sermons online instead of the radio. Whatever your weakness is, there is a way to strengthen your life.

What new Christians do not realize is that it is not the first time you fall that it is the hardest to get back up. It is the second, third or fourth time you make that fall-that choice to sin. It is a shameful thing to have to say “Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, I know better but I did it again.” Did you notice that in Proverbs 24:16 it says that a just man falleth seven times? It is not the number that is significant. It is the fact that you will fall and you need to rise again. Is it hard to get back up after a fall? Yes! But we don’t quit things just because they are hard. The alternative consequence is too severe. “… but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”

Now it may not be everyone’s, but this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It offers such encouragement to me as a Christian. It is an acknowledgement that- yes, you as a Christian will fall. You are not perfect and neither is anyone else. Have you ever thought about when Christians in the Bible were used greatly? It wasn’t until after Peter denied Jesus three times that God used him to preach to thousands. It wasn’t until after Paul had held the coats during the stoning of Stephen that he was converted and turned the world upside down. The unsaved like to pounce on any discrepancies in the life of anyone who claims to be a Christian. They use these faults to try and discredit God and His Word. But the Christian understands that no person is perfect and we are all just sinners saved by grace. God can use anyone who doesn’t quit when they fall. Choose to forget your past failures. Make a plan to strengthen your life. Get up and do right from now on by the grace of God! “A just man falleth seven times and riseth up again.”

What's In Your Cup / Laura Doss

Laura Doss

Pastor's Wife

Faith Baptist Church

Richmond, KY

What’s In Your Cup?? 

I don’t know about your house, but occasionally we have spills… and it’s not always the kids!

One of the first things that I remember about about the oldest child we fostered (and since we have adopted) is when he spilled milk at our house. He immediately hid under the table. I asked him why he was hiding and he said he was afraid that he was going to be in trouble. I assured him that he wasn’t going to be in trouble for spilling something. Life happens….spills happens.

One thing I’ve noticed is that whatever is in a cup when it has been shaken or tipped over is what spills out. If milk is in the cup when it’s spilled, then milk is what will come out. If it’s coffee in the cup when it’s knocked over or bumped, then coffee will come up. Reminds me of the jingle, “the best part of waking up in Folgers in your cup”! YUK! I detest coffee!! I can’t even stand the smell of it!! I know….what’s wrong with me!!!!

Can we for a minute pretend this coffee cup is our life?

Whatever we put in our cup of life is what is going to spill out when someone or life bumps us and whatever we have filled our cup with spills out.

Have you ever been around someone that every time something happens in their life bitterness and hate come out. Or someone who is always sour and never has a nice or pleasant thing to say.

Matt 15:18 “ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man. “

What is truly in our hearts is what comes out of our mouths when we are tried and tested.

Have you ever been sitting next to someone and they spilled their cup and it got on you? If you spend time with negative people then it WILL eventually effect you. My husband has always guarded the time that we have spent with other people. We have always been an entertaining household! I love it! There have been times that have had to limit our time with people because we didn’t want was in someone else’s cup to spill out on! We wanted our cup of life filled with good things so that when someone or something bumps our cup, good things will come out.

Life is filled with all sorts of bumps. What I want spilling out of my cup is what I put in it. Here are a few things that I want my cup to be filled with:

Gal 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, (23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”

WHAT’S IN YOUR CUP?