Words from Psalm 90

So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalm 90:12 

Tell Me the Stories of Jesus, Write on my Heart Every Word

Tell me a story about when you were little – a small voice would say and either Gramma or Papa would comply. It was fun for both of us.

Now, these small people are grown, and they can tell me stories about their work and their travels and their lives. They still remember our stories but now they are all woven together in family lore. Jesus also used stories (parables) to make his points. They were probably hard to understand for the followers but how wonderful they are to us. Reading the Bible, we read the stories of Jesus and they are never old to us as we enjoy them over and over.

As a child, living in the country, my father would take me to town on Sunday morning to go to Sunday school. We would arrive early and I would take the long stairs to the basement of the church. The teacher would not always be there yet but the lights were on and the janitor was kind. 

One Sunday, the teacher used the part of the Bible about Jesus welcoming little children and what he said to his followers when they chided Him. “Suffer little children to come unto me and forbid them not for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” I was overjoyed. There were a lot of children in my family. Yes, I was the youngest of the first branch but my brothers and sisters were already having children of their own. It was wonderful to know that Jesus welcomed us all. My little washed-out cotton dress didn’t matter. I had found a place where I was welcome in the town church. A little country girl welcome in a big church in town. God welcomed me. 

Church was never the same after that. I entered into the discussions and continued to attend that same church until I graduated from high school and then returned six years later to marry. Jesus had welcomed me.

Carolyn Olsen

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day on Sunday, June 21!

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you." Exodus 20:12

"As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him." Psalm 103:13

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

God-Given Brain

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30 

He has filled the hungry with good things. Luke 1:53 

The Spirit of God has made me: the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

Marie Chapian says in Quiet Prayer, 31 Days of Meditation For Women that everything you think and do in your daily life is in response to what you tell yourself. When you consider how busy your mind is with all of its clutter, as well as all of its brilliance, it’s easy to become impatient with silence. The impatience comes from what you’re telling yourself. It’s your unruly thinking that will defeat you.

Have you ever thought about how many thoughts you have in a day? I certainly never did until I read Tame Your Thoughts by Max Lucado. He has written a lot of very good Bible Studies I have used and many books. On page 3 of this book he states: "Thoughts. They heckle; they help. They remind us of regrets. They convene committee meetings in the middle of the night. Like a swarm of bees, they buzz about, some making honey, others inflicting pain. No way could I count them. The researchers at the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, University of Southern California, did, however. According to them, your brain is a three-pound computer that processes seventy thousand thoughts each day."

SEVENTY THOUSAND? That is an unbelievable number! But I thought about it for a while and realized my brain continues on and on from one thing to another. Think about it. You can be busy getting done what was scheduled for the day and zoom, you realize you hadn’t done something very important. Sometimes you cannot get certain things out of your mind. You try and try, but they keep coming up. Where do they come from? How have they changed over the years? 

Romans chapter 12 says: "Conversion and sanctification are the renewing of the mind; a change, not of the substance, but of the qualities of the soul. The progress of sanctification, dying to sin more and more, is the carrying on this renewing work, till it is perfected in glory. The great enemy to this renewal is conformity to this world. Take heed of forming plans for happiness, as though it lay in the things of this world, which soon pass away." Max Lucado says we can change our thoughts. These verses from Romans say we can change our thoughts.

What do you suppose would happen if we remove the unhappy thoughts and replace them with happy thoughts? I am going to try to do this and hope you join me.

Prayer: Dear Father in Heaven, open our minds to only good thoughts, teach us to control our thoughts before we speak. Help us to use our speech to guide others. Make us aware each day to think well of others and pray for them. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck

What's Your Story (Part 1)

Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. Romans 12:6 CEB

Perhaps it is not a prudent idea to ask someone my age, “What’s Your Story?” because when you ask someone in their late 80’s that question, the answer is going to be really long. There’s no need to brace yourself for a list of bragging situations. Rather, it will be a long list of living situations and of learning and relying on guidance from the Holy Spirit’s urging me to use my gifts and then pulling me through the situation.

I’ve always loved to write and in fact I started by writing a byline (a column) that ran in my high school newspaper way back in the 1950’s while I was a student. I have loved being a Sunday School teacher, a Women’s Exercise leader, and cradle roll monitor here at Eastridge. Reading the bible in search of answers to unusual questions, and baking bread with ancient grains was kind of a passion for a while.  Sharing bread with friends is sacred to me. All these things have been part of my faith journey.  

This past year, our EPW (Eastridge Presbyterian Women) bible study taught us to seek joy in our faith journey and I started thinking that my faith journey has not only been a long one, but it has been divided into 5 parts with each part providing its own kind of joy. 

FIRST, as a child and student in Sunday school, I loved the stories and the songs and the fellowship with the other children. 

SECOND, in my 20’s, I was a Sunday school teacher and bible school teacher (kindergarten and 4th grade) and a crafts leader. I really didn’t think I wanted to be a Sunday school teacher but with Reverend Huxtable’s urging I decided to try it and it was with Tom’s good mentoring that I learned how to read and love the Bible. I’ve always loved exercise so I also led a women’s exercise class here at Eastridge in the 1970s. I’m not sure we lost any weight but we really had a good time trying.   

During the years I worked outside the home, I took a hiatus from teaching, but I enjoyed reading about different topics from the Bible. I always wanted to know things I’m sure no one else ever cared about like, “How did all those Israelites know to bring and wave palms on Palm Sunday?”  “What happened to Aaron’s rod of flowering almond?”  “Why was finding the baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes a special message for the shepherds?” I’ve had many more such questions. As I said, probably nothing of interest to most Christians.

THIRD, I really loved reading about the plants of the OT which started me reading about the ancient grains such as barley, rye, and Kamut. 

FOURTH, this led me to years of baking bread including some of these grains. Then I shared bread along with biblical bread stories. Did you know that the word “bread” is mentioned more than 400 times in the KJV version of the Bible? Soon, I began calling those who received my bread and stories, my “bread friends.”

FIFTH, and presently I still write devotionals for the Eastridge page, and at Pastor Thomas’ request I share bread with fellow Eastridge members through the Care Giving Group here at our church.

I, for one, have found real joy in my faith journey through all these years and the stories are many. Some could tell of success, some could tell of heartbreak and sadness, some could tell of the hardship of the loss of a spouse, some could tell of failure and humility, but the stories I’ve learned to love the most are the ones that have humbled me and have become humorous as I look back.

As a writer for the Eastridge devotional page, I started writing for the Advent and Lenten booklets back in the year 2000. I plan to share a few of my amazing faith journey stories separately during this summer series entitled, “What’s Your Story?” I did warn you that Octogenarians have a really long story! Perhaps my story is best heard in small doses. At the time the stories were happening, I didn’t see them as using my Spirit given gifts but hindsight shows me how not only the gifts but the use of the gifts was spirit driven.

Prayer: Our Father in Heaven, we praise You for the gifts we’ve received through the Holy Spirit and We thank You for all that You do to love us throughout our faith journey on earth. Also, we thank you for uplifting us with our successes and teaching us with our humbling experiences while showing us always that Your love never fails us. In Jesus's holy name we pray. Amen 

Judy Welch                                                                                                                                                                    

Words from Second Corinthians

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
 

Love

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

The 13th chapter of 1st Corinthians in the New Testament is often referred to as the “Love Chapter.” It is regularly used at weddings, intended as a description of the love between the bride and groom.  

But here’s a different way to think of this scripture. I recently attended a meeting where a pastor used this chapter as part of a meditation. He asked us to substitute our individual names for the word “love.” Try it. Read the above passage and put in your own name each time the scripture uses “love” or “it.” 

How did it feel to say that you are patient and kind? Can you honestly say that you do not dishonor others? Are you not easily angered? Do you rejoice with the truth?

If we substitute God’s name in the passage, we are reminded that God is patient and kind, and He always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. Whether we substitute our own name or God’s name in these verses, the meaning is clear - we are called to love one another as God loves us.                 

Prayer: Dearest Lord, thank you for sharing your love with us and for showing us how to share our love with others. Forgive us when we are envious, boastful, or proud. Help us to work toward becoming more like your son, Jesus Christ, in making our names synonymous with love.

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2018)