grace farm music

Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

 

I am writing to thank each of you from the bottom of my heart for the love, prayers, and kind words of encouragement you have shared with me in the months since my diagnosis of MS.  In the last few weeks my body has reached a tolerable level of adjustment to treatment. Although I still have difficulty due to the medication, it is not nearly as debilitating. It is now possible to commute to work on a regular basis again, and to interact normally with others for most of the day, when previously I could only do so for a few hours.

 

I believe that we should encourage each other with accounts of God’s presence in our lives and to report the fruits of intercession and loving relationships.  This honors Him and gives us hope, confidence, and strength for the future.  We should never take love for granted, nor His answers to our prayers.  When we report back to each other, we can be assured that He hears us when we pray.  We can be assured that He has not abandoned us, that He has in fact sent us the Comforter, and that we can indeed rely on Him. We have His joy, strength, and peace when we live in this mindset, no matter what. 

 

Jesus said, “You will have troubles in this world, but take heart, for I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The apostle Paul did not shy away from the difficulties and weaknesses he experienced, but rather, regarded them as an opportunity to know Christ more intimately (2 Cor 12:9-10). Paul learned to draw strength, joy, and the capacity to endure from complete reliance on the Father in every situation (Gal 2:20-21,  2 Cor 4: 7-18).  “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not quench” (Isaiah 42: 1-3).  

 

The Lord “gently leads those who are with young,” “carries the lambs in His arms”  (Isaiah 40:11) and “suffer[s] the children to come unto me” (Luke 18:16). This is a God who says that we are loving Him when we visit those who are in prison, tend to the sick, share clothing and resources with those who lack, and food with those who hunger  (Matt 25: 34-40).  If we give “even a cup of cold water”  to a little child, we “will not lose [our] reward” (Matt 10: 42);

yet we love not for the promise of reward, but because “He first loved us”  (1 John 4:19).   Though we have need of endurance in this life, “the work you do for the Lord is never in vain” (1 Cor 15: 58).

 

So to each of you, thank you for showing love to me, and may the Lord continue to pour out His Spirit and favor upon you, “for with the measure you give, so you will receive; a good measure, not pressed, but overflowing”  (Luke 6:38).

 

I remain your grateful Sister in Christ.

 

 

 

Dear Family and Friends of Pattie,

 

In lieu of a letter I am sharing this photo of a hickory chair that I recently designed and built to honor her memory. 

 

The legs symbolize Pattie’s firm foundation in Christ.  If you’re reading this, chances are that you observed Pattie’s faith in Jesus Christ.  In Him, she found the strength to endure all things, and in Him, she prayed for all of us.   Note that the feet of the chair seem to “hover” just a bit.   I made them that way to represent the “uplifting” love, joy, and encouragement that Pattie shared with all of us.

 

The seat of the chair symbolizes Pattie’s spiritual gift of hospitality.  Who among us hasn’t enjoyed an awesome “country” dinner, quiet conversation, boisterous laughter, a thoughtful card, a generous financial gift, a hug and a kiss, a bed or even a floor to sleep on when many were present?  She freely gave of her home, but in so giving, Pattie experienced such overwhelming joy that we could not help but be encouraged as well. 

 

The back of the chair symbolizes Pattie’s faithfulness during our time of need.  Whether her child, sister, brother-in-law, grandchild, son-in-law, niece, nephew, or friend - we knew we could lean on Pattie and rest, assured that she was dependable and if asked would give us only straight answers.

 

The absence of arms is also purposeful, representing the unseen and unknown sacrifices that Pattie made for each one of us.

 
The seat-to-back connecting mechanism represents Pattie’s acknowledgment that Jesus Christ was God’s Son and that He died on the cross for us, as a sacrifice for our sins.   This knowledge “held her up” during good time and difficult times, and it was Pattie’s greatest hope that each us would come to know and receive the same forgiveness through Jesus Christ.  In so doing, we will share with her God’s own “hospitality” forever.

 

I miss her.                                                                                       

Tags: faith, persevere, strength in Christ

     An encouraging sermon by Father Michael Ducette, St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Woodstock, Illinois.

But seek ye first His kingdom, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

     In [this passage], Jesus is trying to tell us how we should regard the things of this world; where our priorities should be.  “Seek ye first the kingdom of God.” 

     Now we all from time to time have been anxious about something and have been prone to worry about whatever might be bothering us.  “Will I have enough money for this or for that, will it rain, will it be hot, will my children have a good life, will I trip and fall, will I be able to come up with a decent sermon?” — the point is, we have all worried about something: it’s human nature.  We often worry about some important things and we also worry about some silly things, but in the end we hopefully discover that worrying never accomplishes anything — but makes us anxious. 

     And that is one of the lessons that Jesus is trying to get across to us.  He doesn’t want us to waste the mental energy on worrying about things that, compared to our relationship with God, are really not very important at all.  In reality, the things of this world don’t really amount to a hill of dung.  

     God wants us to get our priorities straight.  He wants us to focus on Him.  He will take care of the rest.  He wants us, in effect, to turn the things that concern and worry us over to Him.  He is more than willing to take care of all of our needs.  As Jesus asks the disciples,

Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye of much more value than they?

     The answer is, of course, yes. God has given man dominion over all things in the world.  All Jesus is asking us to do is to have enough faith and trust in Him to take care of all our needs that we keep our priorities straight; and that priority is to focus on our relationship with Him.

     Jesus is encouraging us to turn our worries, cares, and concerns over to Him.  For some of us this is not really a very easy thing to do.  Many of us have been taught to be self-reliant, to be tough, to be responsible for all that we do and are and to secure our future ourselves.

     Many people think that money will take care of all their problems and concerns.  “If I only had enough money to do this or buy that, then I would feel secure and happy.”  “A new car or a better house or some other thing would make me happy and give me joy.”   Not likely.

     I have known some very wealthy people in my life, and some of those same people are the unhappiest people that I have ever met.  That is not to say that I have never met some very wealthy people that were fulfilled and happy because I have; but those people were ones that had their priorities straight - those were the people that, although they had great worldly wealth, they also had great spiritual wealth; they had their priorities straight and they put God first in their lives.  Worldly wealth was not their god; they had things in the proper order.

     Those people who put God first, though they be rich in worldly terms, are the example that Jesus wants us to follow.  God is willing to give us what we need; to give us the desires of our hearts.  God is willing to fill our cup to overflowing, if we keep things in their proper perspective.  If we recognize that He should be number one in our lives; not money, not power, not our comfort, and not even our families; but God and our relationship to Him as the number one most important thing in our lives.

     God wants us to keep things in perspective by coming to the realization that God is where the focus should be and our relationship to Him should be first above all worldly concerns.  We should concern ourselves more with pursuing an understanding relationship with God first, rather than pursuing wealth, power, or comfort or anything that we put before God.  Those things get in the way and put distance between Him and us.  But if we put God first in our lives, all the other things will fall into place, and we will have nothing to be anxious or to worry about.  He will fulfill his promise to us - He will give us all the desires of our hearts; he will give us true happiness if we put God first and come to the realization that it’s all His to give to begin with, and that He wants us to be fulfilled and have happy lives.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

      God wants our hearts set on Him.  He is a jealous God and wants us to worship Him in love and thanksgiving.  God wants to be the provider of all things, especially our happiness, but we have to let Him.  Not always an easy thing to do, to have faith in a God we cannot see - as we can a nice house or a new car or cash in the bank - but God wants to demonstrate His love for us, not only spiritually, but in gifts that we have not even imagined.  Our cup will be filled to overflowing if we have faith and let Him be the source of all our needs.  As Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33,

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

In other words, don’t worry; and don’t be anxious about tomorrow; it is in God’s hands anyway.  He is in control, and if you have your priorities straight and put Him first, He will grant you the desires of your hearts.  He will give you what is truly important - and that is the love a Father has for His children.

Tags: authentic, faith, unfailing love