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Shod With Good Shoes

My first memory of shoe shopping is leaving the store crying because Mama bought the ugly tie-up shoes instead of the cute Mary Janes I wanted so badly. Another time when I was being fitted, the man pressed on my toe and I pulled it back, so when I got home that pair of shoes was too short for me and I couldn’t wear them.

When I was born my feet were crooked.  My older sister said, “They shipped her in too short a shoe box.” Mama said she held my little feet in her hands to straighten them out, as she rocked me and prayed over my feet.
I wear narrow width, so it is hard to find odd-size shoes in a small town. I usually buy a pair of shoes anytime I go to the Big City, but mainly I order my shoes online. Mama always said to dress your feet first and she always bought the best shoes she could buy, even if it meant doing without something else.
A horse is shod by attaching horse shoes on his hooves. Or he is s-h-o-e-d; that is where that  ‘shod’ came from. We are “shoed” or shod when we put our shoes on our feet. Shoes protect our feet, give us stability, allow us to stand a long time, help us be firm-footed. Shoes stand between us and obstacles, such as thorns, sharp rocks, broken glass, biting insects or animals. Shoes also keep the soles (or souls) of our feet soft and pliable.
“Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Ephesians 6:15-16 NKJV.

Put your shoes on in preparation and plant your feet firmly, so you will be ready and prepared to resist and stand your ground against evil forces that come against you, by the power of the word of God.
If you have your shoes on, you are ready to face the day. Whatever comes, you will be prepared.
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Your Bucket Your Heart

Most people in a small town don’t drive badly, but the ones that do irritate me no end. Small-town drivers stop where there is no stop sign and run stop signs. They pass on the right, where there is pavement but only one lane, especially where someone is making a left-hand turn. They don’t signal or give any indication that they are going to turn, because they don’t decide till they get to the intersection whether they are going to turn or go right through it.
However, the rule has always been that we don’t call anyone stupid in my house, so I have to be very careful that I don’t use those words that are floating around in my mind while I am out driving with my grandson.
What words float to the surface of your mind when something irritating happens? When your “bucket” is kicked, what comes out? Just like a water bucket that the oldtimers used to carry water from the well, your heart is a depository. What are you putting in your heart, your “bucket?” Are you filling it with the Word of God, with songs of praise and worship of the Lord, with words of gratitude and thankfulness?

Or are you filling it with words of complaint and grumpiness? With feelings of irritation, stress, and aggravation? Do you go about your day grumbling about being mistreated and abused by your co-workers? Do you complain about the weather, the economy, the IRS and income taxes, the price of gas?

In Matthew 15:11, Jesus said, “Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man: but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
Whatever your heart is full of will come out when somebody kicks your bucket.
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Daniel Repented

Daniel was one of four most prominent Jews in Babylon. He and the three Hebrew children–Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—obeyed the law even in a foreign country where they had been carried captive. Through the lions’ den and the fiery furnace, they prevailed and were admired by the king who promoted them, with Daniel rising to rank right under the king himself.

Daniel stayed loyal to his faith, yet served the king faithfully for many years. He kept the commandments of God, followed the guidelines of his religion and studiously read the Torah and prophets.

One day while Daniel was reading the scroll of the prophet Jeremiah, he discovered that Jeremiah had foretold the captivity of the Jews in Babylon and had predicted right down to the very year when the captivity would be over, which was very soon. Then Daniel did the only thing he knew how to do—he prayed.

The prayer of repentance in Daniel 9 is an example to us all. Daniel prayed, “We have sinned.  We have not obeyed Your voice. All Israel has transgressed Your law.”  Daniel identified himself with his people. Although he was probably the godliest man in the whole nation of Israel, he repented.  He repented for himself and for all of Israel as their representative.  Then he called on the God’s mercy. “O my God, incline Your ear, for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.” Daniel 9:18 New King James version.

That is not the typical Christian’s prayer these days. What do we pray? “Lord, do you see those heathens who are killing unborn babies and promoting sex and violence? What are you going to do about it? We want justice. Get ‘em, God.”

Le’s take a lesson from Daniel. Let’s repent for our nation including ourselves, even if we are not personally guilty of the sins that have been committed.

Father, have mercy on the United States. Forgive us for we have sinned.”

 

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Beauty for Ashes


Last fall when the peonies died, I was struggling with allergies so I didn’t pull or cut the dead stalks. I didn’t pull grass out of them. Okay, I didn’t do anything, I just let them die and lay there on the ground,reminding me every time I got the mail that I needed to do that. Now it is spring, almost summer, and the peonies are blooming on new stalks that grew up through the old dead stalks.

Keeping up a yard is work. My husband is wonderful with the lawn, and trimming shrubs, but I have usually worked with the flowering plants.My plan has always been to plant perennials so that they don’t have to be replanted every year, and will bloom with the seasons without my extra work.The previous owners had planted beautiful shrubs in the front yard and some blooming shrubs in the backyard, such as Rose of Sharon and flowering hibiscus.I have planted roses, daylilies, and a few other things that sadly need to be replanted for various reasons.

Rose of Sharon, peonies, hibiscus, roses—those are old-fashioned names that bring back fond memories. Mother loved her flowering gardens. Mother had one rose bush by the back door that had miniature wild roses that she had named the Edward roses, after my little brother Ross Edward.

Peonies were always Mother’s favorites and this year they were in bloom for Mother’s Day, but she moved to heaven two years ago. I planted peonies and daylilies on her grave and they were doing well a few weeks ago when I went there.

“To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1 New King James Version.

Just as the peonies can bloom through the dead stalks of last year’s growth, so through the struggles and deadness of our lives, we can bloom. God gives us beauty to surround us.

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Mother’s Prayers

 

My little brother Ross and his playmate came into the house one afternoon to get a drink of water. As they passed the bedroom, they heard Mama praying. Ross’ playmate asked, “What’s she doin’ in there?” Ross replied, “Oh, don’t pay no ‘tention to her. She’s always praying.”

I have often wondered where I would be in life if it weren’t for a mother who knew how to pray. I have faced a life of sick children, divorce, financial problems, church splits, deaths in the family. Through it all, Mother was my most faithful prayer partner.

Maybe you don’t know what to pray for your children. Start with the easy stuff. Does your child have nightmares? Pray for sweet sleep. Does she need help in school? Pray for wisdom and favor with her teacher. Is your teenager showing rebellion? Pray for God to surround him with Christian friends who can be a good influence on him.

The time to start praying for your children is before they are born, but if you didn’t start then, it is never too late. Are your children grown? Perhaps you were not in church when they were young. Is there any hope? The good news is that prayer for your children is as effective when they are grown as when they were small. When the jailer in Philippi asked Paul, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul answered “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.” Acts 16:31NIV.

Praying your family into the kingdom of God requires more effort when they are grown and it is harder to see immediate results, but it is worth it.

“Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded. There is hope for your future. Your children will return to their own land.” Jeremiah 31:16 New International Version.

God is faithful to His word and He will see that you are rewarded.  The greatest thing a mother can do for her children is pray for them.

 

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Payday is Coming

 

How do you get paid? By the job? By the month? In tips? Once a week?  My first job was working after school at the Hotel Vinita Coffee Shop, which I began in the fall of 1965. From then till June, 2003, when I started drawing a monthly check, I received a paycheck every two weeks at each job I held.

God has a payday system in place in the universe. Spring is the season of planting, summer is the time of growth, fall is the time of harvest, and winter is the time of rest and reflection.

However, God doesn’t always pay on Friday. He promises us that we will be rewarded but some rewards are given here and some in heaven. Don’t give up just because you don’t see any results. Each seed has a germination time, growth time, a flowering time, seed-setting time, then the harvest. Some corn and tomatoes ripen by 4th of July, but some not until August.

In 2 Corinthians 9:10 says “Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.”

“Now” means at this very moment in time, not the past, not the future. What God is doing for us is in the “Now.” However time is always Now to the eternal God, so His ‘now’ and your ‘now’ may not be the same.

God is the source of the seed which we plant and the food we eat. He gives us enough seed to plant and enough to make into bread to eat. God will multiply the seed you have sown, not the seed you have eaten. It all depends on your sowing. Galatians 6:7, 9 says, “whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

Keep sowing, because harvest time is coming some day.