Away

This week I was faced with the fact that I must begin to work smarter not harder. You know the saying , " So much to do, so little time." As I performed my almost , normal routine I tried to keep this in mind and when visiting Home Depot I spotted the new " self cleaning shower machine" . Well not many of us have time to scrub the shower, so I decided to add it to the growing number of purchases , along with the blue tabs you drop into the tank of the commode so it can join the shower in becoming self sufficient as well.

The assembly was easy, to say the least , but my great revelation came when placing the bottle of cleaner into the actual dispenser. I won't embarrass myself with telling you how long I struggled with it until I finally punched the hole in the lid myself , convinced that the manufacturer had a great design flaw in this product, but upon pressing the start button for the beginning of our revolutionized bathroom experience , nothing! I pushed the button three times to convince myself that it still wasn't working. Admitting defeat , I went back to the instructions and noticed one little word that had eluded my sight when previously reading. " When placing the bottle in the dispenser turn the bottle with label facing ' AWAY ' from you. "

"Oh!" was my reaction and proceeded to change my mistake when it clicked nicely into place but not without bathing my face and hair with a very pungent cleaning product that I'm sure wasn't safe for ones eyes. As I hurriedly turned on the shower to relieve my stinging eyes and burning skin , I felt God speak to me .

" One word made a great difference didn't it." Yes, He knows me like that. He has a great sense of humor and knows me and how my mind works and of course had every bit of my attention. I began to ponder this thought and realized He was right, as if He wouldn't be, one word does make a great difference. In this case the word I had missed was the word 'away' . I then began to notice throughout the day how many one word sentences we use. " Go" , "Yes" , " No", " Stop" *hugs* etc.

My friend, the bible says :

Prov. 18:21 ¶ Death and life ARE in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

Your words are seeds sown into someone or something and we are like farmers planting crops , from the moment we wake until the moment we lie down again. What are you planting into your family , your fellow workers , your friends, even strangers on the streets?

The bible also says :

Gal. 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

I promise you this is true. It wouldn't take any of us long to remember a word we said to the wrong person or at the wrong time, most prevalently during our awkward teenage years. I hope , though, with that we would remember speaking good things into people as well.

What you say matters. You matter. God made you just the way you are for a very special purpose and don't ever let anyone or any word , make you think otherwise. Don't call people names. Having many children I've often thought of having this sentence tattooed on my forehead . I am just teasing, but when we call names we are breathing life into that word,and we are planting a seed into the mind of that person. I can testify , that when I was very young a relative spoke a lot of unkind words into my life and I became exactly what he said I would, except by the grace of God I am no longer who I used to be. Yet, I can also testify that there are people here in the ' Never, Never Land ' of the internet, and people at my work place that have spoken very nice words into my life, which I cherish like precious gems.

Sow some seeds of joy into someone's life today, or seeds of love , truth, wisdom . God bless you . You are precious and important . Don't quit being the wonderful you, you are.

Pastor Susan Honeycutt

Lead On Lord, Lead On

Is. 48:17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.............

I awoke this morning after a wonderful series of dreams all with one recurring theme , restoration of friendships of long ago. I now have a melancholy gratefulness for the extra sleep that was deep enough for me to dream yet I can't help myself from asking, " What does this mean Lord?"

This past year has been full of new friendships and old friendships restored. It has been astonishing and wonderful, yet very painful at times, to see where I have been and the good or bad that I have also done.

Did I really hurt so and so that badly that they did such and such? Yes , I did. Those realizations were hard pills to swallow to say the least. On the same note, did I really make such a difference in that person's life that they overcame that horrible pain in their life? Yes, you did , and with that I am suddenly aware of my individual uniqueness.

My heart's cry became , "Father, how did I get here, and why didn't you stop me when I did wrong and then only allow me to do good?"

This is the scripture He spoke to me:

Is. 48:17 Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.............

What? You lead me here? Of course I understood that my behavior at the places He led me were my own doing but , here, where I am today, is where He led me to be.

God, Ha Shem, Yahweh, the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, is bigger than your mistakes and orchestrator of your victories. He leads us in the way we should go , it is our choice whether we follow or not.

Lead on Lord, lead on.

They Are Waiting

They Are Waiting

"They are waiting for someone to help her..." was one of the quotes read today. Waiting. I can not begin to comprehend the kind of waiting the people in Haiti are enduring. For the average person waiting in a grocery store line could create tension of damaging proportions , not to mention waiting at a traffic light.

January 12 th, 2010 , a devastating earthquake seized the ground of Haiti and ripped her fragile community apart. It has been said that 500, 000 are estimated dead. unfortunately we will never know the exact total because most of the bodies will forever be entombed in the rubble. Already the first mass grave has been crudely dug and over 7,000 people have been laid to rest.

"Dear God send someone to help help her! " That was my first thought , but I knew the answer , because I know the scriptures ...

" Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" , Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature..... and go ye : carry corn for the famine of your houses:

Over and over the Lord commanded us to " go" . Alas , I can not physically go , so what does that mean to the believer if we can not jump on a plane and fly to Haiti and search through rubble? The pictures have begun and are being spread non-stop across the internet of people living, starving, dying and yet she waits....

First and foremost , we "go" to our knees and fervently cry out to our Abba , Father, to send the help they so desperately need. Secondly we " go" to our finances and formulate a plan to send whatever we can , even if it is a few dollars , to help these people who so desperately need it . Last , but not least , we "go " to our sphere of influence, whether that be home or work, facebook or twitter, and cry out on their behalf, and beg on their behalf for the assistance they deserve.

There is no need that they should wait too long when God's people are here , ready , willing , and able. Have you once cried out like I have ..." Here I am Lord , send me" ? This is your opportunity to be a blessing and make a difference in someone's life.

God bless you and be with you in all you put your hand to do.