Testaments

The Old Testament recorded that the Israelites built small stacks of stones on the road to the Promised Land. These stacks were a testament of something that God had taught them or a difficulty that He had seen them through. A few years ago, Jim Darnell (one of the greatest preachers I have ever heard) took us through the testaments of his life. His salvation, his encounters with the Holy Spirit, etc. He felt that we are too quick to forget these moments that can change the courses of our lives.

This picture is one of my own testaments. My parents brought me to this church when I was a baby. My father had received a calling to First Baptist Church of Aberdeen, MS. We left when I was five years old, only to return as he began an evangelical ministry. We were there for four & a half years. Needless to say, I knew every corner and alcove of that church. It is the church of my childhood. People are still there who knew me as a baby. For someone who has moved every four years, it is rare for anyone other than family to have known me that long.

It was in those classrooms that I first heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was introduced to mighty men like David, Joseph, Noah and Moses. Ruth and Esther became real women to me. I sometimes forget the legacy that I was given in that blonde brick church.

It isn't perfect, but God is there. I guess you could say the same about myself. I'm not perfect, but God is with me.

Lara

Unexpected Sources

I'm sure that Balaam was not expecting anything from that donkey! Have you ever had the Lord speak to you in an unexpected way? I remember when He was leading me through a very painful time and I had a question. I wish that I could tell you that I asked this question in a humble and contrite manner. I didn't. I couldn't understand why I was on that path. It was NOT one I had chosen. And I had a legitimate question. It came from the depth of my heart and I cried it out to Him. And I mean that I cried out literally, with anguish and pain. How gracious is the God we serve! He answered my cry. Have you ever read those words in the Old Testament and truly thought them through? HE ANSWERS YOUR CRIES!

He answered mine in an unexpected way. I worked with a woman who took His name in vain just about every day. I wasn't sure she was a Christian. But I loved, and still do, her. She has a beautiful sense of humor. You guessed it... She spoke the word of the Lord to me. She shared out of her heart and relieved my fear and pain. Did she know that she was sharing Him with me? Probably not. Does it even matter? She spoke out of her own experience and through that my question was answered and stilled.

Don't miss those unexpected moments. Don't forget His voice is still and small. He speaks through many vessels. He is unexpected.

Lara

Mary Tyler Moore

There is a movie that my sister & I love. I know, I know, you're shocked! Anyway, the female lead is very funny and very normal looking. She's not stick thin, not too tall, just normal. The male lead, in a romantic moment, mentions that she reminds him of Mary Tyler Moore. Giggling, she says, "Oh, I am SO not Mary Tyler Moore!" I love that line.

How many of us just long to be Mary, when in actuality we are Rhoda? For those of you who are too young to know who I am writing about & have never watched the reruns on Nic-at-Nite or TVLand, here is a description. Mary is tall and thin. Rhoda struggles with pesky pounds. Men frequently fall in love with Mary while Rhoda continually looks for (& never finds) Mr. Right. Mary catches her cap every time she throws it in the air. Poor Rhoda has to pick hers up off the sidewalk. Getting the picture, yet? Mary had her hard times, but life always seemed to work out right--not so for Rhoda. She was the comic relief.

Sometimes I want to be the lead, not the relief! In a class I began last night, the teacher said this, "God can and does use every pound (& self imagined fault)!" What a relief! He doesn't want a bunch of Mary's! He wants all the Rhoda's, Phyllis', Mr. Grant's & Ted's! (The show had a lot of comic relief!) So, pick your cap up off the sidewalk and have a good day!

Lara