Muck

One of our many animal acquisitions last year was a sweet little duck named Spike. We raised him from a duckling, and though he seemed quite content to hang out in the living room, as he grew we knew he needed a home outdoors. He settled nicely into his new coop and we decided to build him a little pond. The children were excited about the pond and set about to stock it with all kinds of water creatures. They caught tadpoles and salamanders and a little painted turtle which they gleefully slipped into the pond. We also picked up a couple of coy and some water plants to complete the picture. Everyone seemed to be doing well, but Spike seemed a little lonely.

Later in the year, we adopted three other full-grown ducks from a friend that needed to be rid of them. They got along well with Spike and so we thought that this was a good move. However, the little pond did not seem to agree. You see, ducks are very messy. They began to fill up the pond with their muck and that did not fare so well for the other creatures.

In just a little bit of time, the pond needed to be cleaned. The plants had not survived very long and the fish could not be seen through the dirty water. Jerry worked hard to drain some of the water and cleaned out as much muck as possible, but in just a few days it was full again. Soon, we found our poor little coy floating on top of the water and the other creatures were no where to be found. It seemed that the ducks had poisoned the pond and the other animals were not able to survive in that environment. Jerry continued to clean out the pond, and one day as he was scooping muck he saw a little head poke out of the bottom. It was the painted turtle! “How in the world could he have survived?” we wondered. As we pondered that, we realized that while the fish were breathing in the poisoned water, the turtle, though he lived in the water, actually came up for air. He could survive in that toxic environment as long as he didn’t ingest it!

Scripture tells us throughout the Bible that we are to live in the world, but not to be of the world. Just like the muck in our pond, Christians often feel that we are covered in the “muck” of this world. We are constantly bombarded with the toxic ideals and lack of morals that society puts on us. In these ever-changing times, it seems that our country gets further away from the truth every day. Sometimes it is exhausting to try to swim through the muck without just giving in. We must be careful though, not to ingest the poison of the lies of this world.

Jesus prayed for his disciples in the garden just before his crucifixion. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:15-17 Just as He prayed for His disciples, He also prayed for us. We must remember His words and know that the only way we can survive this toxic world is to be sanctified by the Truth. There will come a time when our world will be finally rid of all of the muck. Until that time comes though, we will continue live day by day in the midst of worldly lies. We must remember to “come up for air” and to breathe in the pure, clean, true Word of God.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

James 1:27

The Easy Way

When my son, Carter, was very small he had quite a bit of separation anxiety. He would become especially distressed when I would try to leave him in the nursery at church. He would fuss when I left him with a babysitter as well, but after a few moments, when he realized I was truly gone, he usually settled down and enjoyed the time with her. However, at church, he seemed to know that I was still in the building and if he cried for long enough, someone would always come and get me. I was never able to hear a full sermon and Carter was not working through his anxiety.

After realizing that my giving in to his demands of “only Mommy” was not helping him or me, I decided to be firm with him. Carter was a very smart child and I could reason with him fairly well, so I developed some language to help him understand. “Carter,” I would say at the doorway of the nursery, “we can do this the easy way or the hard way. The easy way is that you go in without fussing and have a good time until I get back. The hard way is that you scream and cry when I leave, and then I will go anyway. Which way would you prefer?” After some time of realizing that I meant business, (with some help from the nursery workers of course!) Carter came to understand that the easy way really was best. He began to go into the nursery with no problem and even grew to enjoy it.

It is never easy to be firm with a child. Most of us would prefer to give in rather than to cause them discomfort. But I have learned that giving in is not God’s way. There are many stories in scripture that show us how God has been lovingly firm with His children in order to develop their character and to learn the right behavior. He allowed the Israelites to wander in the desert for forty years due to their mistrust and complaining. (I have a hard time keeping mine in their rooms for a five minute timeout!) He allowed Jonah to get swallowed up by a huge fish in exchange for his blatant disobedience. (Talk about letting him experience consequences!) And Moses was not allowed into the Promised Land because he struck a rock. (And I feel bad if my kids miss out on anything fun when they have misbehaved!)

There have been many times in my life that God has said to me, “Wendy, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Which will you choose?” Unfortunately, there have been too many times that I have chosen the hard way. Kicking and screaming, I have continued to go my own way, until exhausted from beating my head against the wall, I have given in to God’s way. The funny thing is that once I settle down, I always find that His way was best all along, and I even end up enjoying myself.

Why, oh why, do we have to be so stubborn? When will we learn that God always has our best interest at heart? When will we trust Him and come to know that God is sovereign? He will have His way in the end. But how it comes about will be up to us.

So, what will it be for you – the easy way, or the hard way?

This is what the sovereign Lord says: None of my words will be delayed any longer; whatever I say will be fulfilled, declares the Sovereign Lord.

Ezekiel 12:28

The Sunrise

by Wendy Custer

As we were making breakfast this morning, the sunrise caught my eye from one of the windows in our kitchen. It was beautiful with purples and oranges and the sun itself was like a glowing ball of fire. I commented on the magnificence of it and urged the children to take notice.

Two of the kids who sit at the end of the counter said, “Oh yes! That is pretty! The sky is purple.” But as I walked around to their seats, I discovered that they could only see the pale purple in the distant sky. They appreciated what they saw, but it was merely a faded picture in comparison with the real thing. I encouraged them to get down out of their seats and to come around the counter so they could really see the sunrise. As soon as their eyes landed on the view they both gasped, “Wow that is beautiful!”

One of the kids could see the sunrise, but his comment was, “Yeah, so what? It always looks like that.” I tried my best to help him understand that each sunrise was different and what a miracle it was, but it was to no avail. He had it in his head that it was no big deal. He has learned to take nature for granted and nothing I could say would convince him otherwise.

The fourth child had a clear view of the sunrise from where she was sitting. She appreciated its beauty quietly. She was not surprised by it, nor did she take it for granted. In her eyes it was a wonderful display of God’s power and she enjoyed it for what it was.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I wonder how we see life around us. God is active and moving in and around us all of the time. He causes the sun to rise and to set in our world in a literal and figurative sense. It is really up to us how we choose to see Him working and how we choose to respond.

Will we be like the first two children, and be satisfied only to notice how God is working around the edges? Will we pay attention to only the faded remnants of His glory, or will we get down out of our seats and move so that we can get a full picture of God’s power in our lives?

Are we like the child who says, “No big deal,” and takes for granted the works of the Lord? Can we view with boredom and complacency, the many miracles that God performs daily in our lives? Have we become so desensitized by the busyness of this world, that God no longer appears awesome to us?

Or will we be like the fourth one, fully aware of the wonder of His power, but not surprised by it. Will we able to sit still right where we are and quietly appreciate all that He is doing around us. Will be able to take in the fire and light all the way out to the pale edges that fade into our everyday life and know, “That’s my God!”?Choose this day how you will respond the glory of the Lord in your life. Open your eyes and look around. He is all over your day! See Him at work and praise Him for the wonders that He is performing as you go along. Don’t miss it and don’t take it for granted! God is amazing!

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Psalm 19:1

Hello world!

God is amazing! I see Him working in and around my life all of the time! My friend, Heather, says that whenever I tell her something that is going on in my life, she watches to see what God is up to! I love to write about my experiences because hopefully you will identify with something in my life and you will be encouraged, both by the fact others are experiencing what you are experiencing, but also by being able to see God in it! I have published a book called “A Cup of Encouragement” that is full of my stories. You can check it out on my website http://www.freewebs.com/cupofencouragement/. Stay tuned for more encouragement!

Wendy