When I first became a Christian, my family joined a church that appeared to be warm and loving. We were so young in the Lord we didn't know any better until it was too late. Everyone was warm and loving for a few weeks after new members joined. However, if they did not conform to the accepted dress code and behavior quickly enough they were ostracized and treated like failures.

Many churches are like this. There are unspoken rules and guidelines that one must follow. Paul told us, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise" (2 Corinthians 10:12). 

God designed us so that we can all work together in His kingdom and carry out His plan for the world around us. He has placed each one of us in an environment that has been prepared for us. And He has prepared us for the environment. As we blend our different gifts into the work, the whole place benefits.

Baskin Robbins based their success on the fact that they offer thirty-one different flavors of ice cream. I love chocolate and orange sherbert in a waffle cone. My grandchildren always ask for the bubble gum flavor. They laugh at my orange and chocolate concoction and I yuck their bubble gum mess. Wouldn't the world be boring if we only had vanilla ice cream? Baskin Robbins would have had to sell hamburgers and get a Dairy Queen franchise. They certainly couldn't have become the success they are today if all ice cream were alike.

If we are going to carry the Gospel to the world or see our families come to know and serve Christ, we are going to have to learn to accept and embrace the differences in others. Not everyone is going to be like us. They may even hold differing viewpoints on important spiritual or political issues, but with patience and God's love, we can learn to appreciate the positive things they do offer. There is something good in everyone. We can be the one to find it and encourage others to accept them for who they are and not what we want them to be. When the church learns to do this, we will see the church come to life and begin to take her place in today's world.

 Today becomes the by-word. Yesterday is gone and I cannot change it. Tomorrow is only a hope, not even a promise, but today, today is mine. Today I can start that diet, write that letter, send a card to a friend, and take my granddaughter to lunch. Today I can put into motion all those wonderful 'what-ifs' that have been niggling in the outer edges of my mind. Today I begin again.

Spring is a time for forgiveness and for change. Beginning again implies we failed the first time and maybe a second, third or more. But, in the spring all that is forgotten and there is renewed hope; possibilities are endless.

 To harness all the energy that comes with this season requires an important commitment on my part. I must be willing to put the past behind me, forgive myself and anyone else involved in my failures, and look forward. For our weak human nature that is not always the easiest thing to do. Jesus is the ultimate example of forgiveness. He forgave me and He has forgiven millions of others for horrendous deeds.

 If Jesus can suffer the shame of the cross and love us while doing it, why do we have such a hard time forgiving ourselves and each other?

Unforgiveness is the acid that eats away our hopes. How can we hope to move forward if we are chained to the past by bitterness and unforgiveness? Families that learn the art of forgiving can be a positive influence anywhere. Families, who harbor grudges, refusing to see the other person's side, live in anger, hate, and bitterness that will, by its very nature destroy them.

 Learning to live a life of forgiveness is not easy. It requires a lot of pain and struggle. People hurt us both intentionally and unintentionally. We must remember that they and they alone will answer to God for their actions. We will account for our own. When we trust God to keep score, our minds are free to do other things. We can concentrate on the important things in life with fewer lines and wrinkles.

 While learning the art of forgiving others we must not forget that it is just as important to forgive ourselves. We all make mistakes, have regrets, and hurt others. We fail, grow weary and even undependable at times, but we must accept that weakness, strive to overcome it, and move forward.

Forgiveness brings change. By choosing to forgive, we choose life, and set in motion all those wonderful things found on a beautiful spring day.

 I was often the last one to drift off. I would wait until the others were asleep and I would ask my dad questions until I couldn't stay awake. Eventually, I learned to recognize the difference between truck lights and car lights. At one point, I could even tell what kind of car was coming toward us by its headlights and when a train was coming.

I could see the trains very far away and it thrilled me to be able to tell dad about the trains with such great accuracy. I asked him why the train light was so much brighter than those on the cars and trucks were. He told me that trains were so much more powerful than the smaller vehicles and they needed more light to see far enough ahead to travel safely.

One day while I traveling with my dad I realized that during the day, I couldn't see the trains as far off. It seemed that their lights weren't shining as bright. In fact, I could hardly tell that it was on. I noticed that I could see the train before I could see the light. Daddy explained why that light wasn't bright in the daytime. There was no night to make it shine.

As Christian women, we can be doing fine; everything is just great in our corner of the world. Blessings seem to be flowing into our lives. Then the bottom falls out and nothing seems to be going right. The difference is like day and night. The Lord said that it rains on the just and the unjust. He asked us if the world came against Him why would we expect it to be different for those that loved Him. He gave us His Word as the light to shine in front of us in the world of darkness. He said His Word was "a lamp to my [our] feet, and a light to my [our] path" (Psalms 119-105).

Today's Christian woman can be like that train. The train still has it light on during the day. However, we should be the brightest at night. When we hide God's word in our heart, His light shines through us in every circumstance. When everything is going right, the Word, living in us in is shining. It goes before us clearly revealing the tracks God has laid out for our lives, and shining brightly for others who need it. Though it may not show up as bright as it does when we're surrounded by darkness.

When darkness presses in on us, and it appears that we may stumble and fall, we have His Word to reveal the path ahead and show us the direction we should go. Unlike the world, our knowledge that God is with us, and His Word buried in our hearts, helps us keep our eyes are on our heavenly journey and not stray when things go wrong.

Lost women everywhere are looking for something that shines bright and stands out in the darkness. When we're moving on with the love, joy, and peace of God shining brightly through us, we can be a beacon of hope. Like that train, we will be visible for a great distance ahead. The darker it is around us the brighter our light will shine.

My husband compares God's Word to the white stripes in the center of the highway on one of our dark, soupy, foggy Houston mornings. Sometimes the fog is so dense we can't see the taillights on the car in front of us until we're right up on it and it's hard to be sure that we're in our lane. By keeping our eyes on the white stripes and carefully watching the limited visibility offered by our headlights, we can arrive safely at our destination.

When we rely on God's Word in this dark, soupy foggy world we live in, we have the same assurance that we will arrive safely at the destination God has planned for our lives.

 Forgiving others is an art. It's not something we do naturally. Like any other art it is something we can learn to do. Although some people do seem to be born with a disposition that makes them more incline to forgive, nobody naturally forgives everyone in every circumstance.

We are each born with our own unique temperament, which is the basic blueprint of much of our behavior and personality. Other factors, such as family, birth order, and environment blend with our temperament and help make us the people we are today. Inherent in our temperament is our propensity to forgive or to hold a grudge.

We can go into any hospital nursery or daycare facility, watch babies for a few moments, and quickly see these temperaments in action. A tiny little girl wrapped in a pink blanket in the corner will smile (yes babies smile) and coo at the nurses. She takes everything in stride. The little bundle of joy next to her will scream when she's touched, or not held, or not fed quickly enough.

In the daycare, we can watch three-year-olds interact and see the strong willed Choleric line all the other children up to play the games her way. The Melancholy will tolerate this as long as she likes the Choleric, but she won't be told what to do for long. The Phlegmatic isn't impressed with her ideas or her game, but she will play to keep peace. The Supine will follower her anywhere and obey every command while the Sanguine is too busy laughing with her friends to concentrate on the game. These five basic temperaments are the building block of our personality. Our temperament strongly influences our ability to forgive.

 Ideally, we learn to forgive others in a family where parents wisely guide and teach us. Unfortunately, most parents are struggling with their own issues and grudges and they fail to teach this important principle to their children.

The Bible has many things to say about forgiveness. One of my favorite Scriptures was written to the Hebrews, "Looking diligently lest any fail of the grace of God, or lest any root of bitterness springing up disturb you, and by it many are defiled" (Hebrews 12:15 MKJV).

If we dont learn to forgive others, we can easily destroy our own lives and the lives of everyone we love or who love us. We all know people who were wounded early in life and never to let go of the pain. Bitterness seeps into everything they do. They cant trust and are always looking for the bad rather than the good in others. They offend easily and quickly get angry for the smallest slight, where real or perceived. Unforgiveness saps energy and destroys our creativity. It makes us horrible people to be around.

 We can all learn to forgive. When we do, our relationships are stronger and it is easier to accept God's forgiveness. Jesus suffered more pain and humiliation than any of us ever will, yet while He was hanging on the cross some of His last words were, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34 MKJV).

Jesus wasn't looking at what they were doing to Him. He recognized that these mortals would stand before God one day and account for their actions. He knew that He was here for one purpose and the cross was part of that purpose. He learned to trust God with the plan for His life, including the cross.

 Years ago, we resigned a church that we had worked hard to build into a thriving, beautiful group of wonderful people. It was difficult for us because the congregation wasn't aware of the tension between some of the board members and us. This was one of the most painful experiences in my life. Before it was over, a couple of men got ugly and treated us badly. We loved those people and never spoke out against them, even taking undeserved abuse at times during the transition.

 One day when two men were being rather harsh in a church meeting God showed both my husband and son two angels sitting on the platform. They were weeping. Each of them had a pen and scroll in their hands. They were writing down everything that was taking place in that meeting. The angels were as grieved as we were.

God used that experience to show me that He was aware of what we were going through and it was all being recorded. We understood that those men would stand before Him one day and account for the actions that day. That difficult period in my life was a turning point. From then on, I knew that He was in control even when I couldn't be.

 Every one of us experience bitterness and hurt. We grieve over the unfair things people do to us. We must work our way through it. We can't allow ourselves to hold onto the bitterness and let it destroy us.

 If we can take our eyes off the one who has hurt us and focus on the eternal consequences of their actions, we can even love them. God isn't as concerned with what we go through as much as He is with our response to it. Our response to injustice is the mortar that goes between the bricks of events building our lives.

 Forgiveness isn't an option. We can't choose whether we will forgive. It's necessary. Without it, there is nothing but pain and anger ahead. Alexander Pope was right when he said, to err is human, and to forgive is divine.

 It's important to appreciate the price Jesus paid for our salvation. It's the only way to know the value of His sacrifice. The writer of Hebrews reveals, "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission" (Hebrews 9:22). To purge is to "get rid of whatever is impure or undesirable." Blood is the only thing that can remove sin. For centuries, God used the blood of animals to teach us the importance of Jesus' blood.

The Bible shows that it was necessary to shed blood for man from the very beginning. Immediately after declaring the curse on Adam and Eve, God had to kill an animal to provide clothing for them. Every important event in the Old Testament either preceded or followed animal sacrifice. God didn't demand this because His needs. It was done to illustrate the importance of Christ's blood to man's limited human understanding. It also revealed the immense sacrifice He would make for us.

 Old Testament man had only one hope beyond the grave; this was God's promise to Abraham. God gave Moses the Law while Israel wandered in the dessert. It was rigid. There was little flexibility in its demands. It declared "an eye for and eye and a tooth for a tooth."

 God promised Abraham a son who would be the source of a great nation. The nation of Israel would one day bring man's Redeemer into the world. Abraham believed God. This was the only way Old Testament saints could have hope. It was in the promise that one day a Redeemer would come. Their hope was a future hope. They hoped that one day their Redeemer would be born of the seed of a woman.

The law was limited in what it could do for man. It could only point out our flaws. It told us how corrupt and evil we were. Yet we had no power to change. It was like receiving an invitation to an elegant dinner and standing in front of a mirror to get ready. In the glass, you can clearly see a large smudge of dirt on your face and your uncombed hair. You try to wipe the dirt off your face and you realize that you can't move your arms. Time is passing quickly, but you can't wash your face or comb your hair. This is your only chance. You know you can never enter unless you are spotless. What can you do?

According to the law there was very little you could do except to wait on a promised comb, washcloth, and the freedom to move so you can use them. There is nothing you can do. You are completely dependent on someone else. Jesus brought the washcloth, the comb, and released us to have the freedom to clean up. It all came by His blood. His blood washes and cleans our hearts, giving us the power over self and Satan to get cleaned-up and to stay cleaned-up. Through His death on the cross and His resurrection, we can walk in the freedom God intended for his daughters.

A few days later, the FBI arrested him and questioned him for several days. They wanted to know how he got the information about the new radar guidance system. It took him some serious talking to convince them that he had acquired his information from the dreaded horn beetle.

It turned out that the radar guidance system that he had discovered was a new, state of the art, guidance system that NASA had begun to use in space travel. The 'secrets' were kept under lock and key, and only a limited number of people knew of its existence. Everyone involved in the project had the highest security clearance. The FBI couldn't believe that a mere agriculture scientist could possibly know of its existence and the intricate details of its operation.

Some scientists believe that the horn beetle has been around for three million years and makes up one forth of the animal population on earth at any one time. NASA stumbled onto the radar guidance system that God had placed in this insect so long ago.

Many of man's wonderful 'creations' are like this simple horn beetle. We think we're so brilliant and yet all we really do is uncover God's marvelous design that is already functioning in the universe.

Have you ever wondered how a salmon finds its way back home to spawn? After it hatches, it travels sometimes thousands of miles to the ocean and lives there for four to six years. Then, swimming upstream, it returns to the same river or stream where it was born to lay eggs and reproduce. It does this through its refined sense of smell.

Most things in nature have an even number of rows or lines. Corn always has an even number of rows on each ear. Watermelon has an even number of stripes and so does cantaloupe. It's impossible to understand how people can see God's design in the world and not believe in the Creator who put so much detail into it.

I heard Paul Selah once say that to believe in the 'Big Bang Theory' makes about as much sense as believing that an explosion in a printing plant resulted in the creation of the Webster's Dictionary.

God often used nature to get our attention. I have a pastor friend who was staying at a hotel in Alaska during the winter. He was going through a devastating experience in his life and was questioning his relationship with God and even his calling to the ministry. During a difficult moment, he went out to walking in the icy snow surrounding the hotel and wound up on a park bench next door. Of course, there was nothing green anywhere around him and the cold weather didn't help his mood any.

He closed his eyes and cried out to God in his pain. When he opened them, he noticed a single blue flower that had bloomed near the edge of the bench he was sitting on. He didn't know how long it had been there, but it was beautiful, the only living thing in all that ice. He told us that God had placed it there just for him.

God has a way of doing that. A bird singing, a single cloud the size of a fist, the smell of a new born baby, or a flower growing through ice and snow in Alaska can get our attention and reach our hearts wherever we are. With our busy schedules, we often forget to take time to appreciate the wonders of God's creation.

We all go through trying times and get discouraged at times. Or we get so busy doing His work that we forget Him in the process. God's sweet voice is easy to ignore or push aside when life's pressures push in on us. Sometimes we need to slow down, sit outside in a lawn chair, and breathe deeply as we contemplate the Creator who loves us so much, that He will use His own creation to bless and encourage us.

Have you ever  wondered  why  Jesus  left  heaven to live  in this  world clothed in a body  of  flesh?  Why  does the Bible call Jesus the Word?  Of all the names for Jesus, the Word is probably the least understood.

 Man communicates through symbols that represent words. A word is simply a sound or a combination of sounds, in speech or writing, that express ideas. These sounds communicate a meaning. For example, hieroglyphics are simply ancient symbols used to represent ancient words. The English alphabet uses twenty-six letters and ten numbers that we combine into words and ideas. I am trusting that the reader will understand these concepts as I combine letters into words, words into phrases and sentences, and sentences into ideas.

Even with alphabets and letters as symbols, some concepts are difficult to grasp without a picture or a visual illustration. Jesus is God's symbol. As the Word, he represents God in human form so that we can see God living in our earthly conditions and circumstances, and know what is valued in heaven.

The Old Testament unfolded God's nature in many circumstances. We can see evidence of His working, but he did not fully disclose himself. He worked through special men for special seasons. Moses saw him in a burning bush when God was ready for him to lead his people out of Egypt. He shared his plans for Sodom and Gomorrah with Abraham.

The common man, however, didn't know God. People settled for what their ancestors knew before them. At the synagogue, the priest intervened between them and God. They contentedly followed the crowd not caring about their destiny. Before the printing press made Bibles affordable, men couldn't search the Scripture to know God's mind.

 Hebrews reveals Jesus, ". . . [As] the brightness of His [God's] glory, and the express image of his person . . . (Hebrew 1:3 KJV). Jesus reveals God's nature so that all men could know him. Since Jesus communicated the Father nature of God to man, we can now know the joy of a relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Only through God's Son can we know God. He is the very expression of the Father in human form. We could not recognize this nature until it was lived out the life and testimony of Christ Jesus. By knowing Jesus we can know the Father.

Jesus declared, "If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know Him, and have seen Him" (John 14:7). He is the visible image of God to a world that uses symbols or pictures to understand new or complex concepts.

Jesus is our symbol to help us understand God's glory as shown in grace and truth. Glory is simply the honor resulting from a good opinion and describes the nature and acts of God showing himself to the world. We beheld His glory; we saw the good qualities, nature, and being of Jesus, as the only begotten of the Father.

What men couldn't see in the religious leaders, they could clearly see in Jesus Christ. God used many people to fill roles and complete tasks. Only one, however, is the Son of God, whose blood can wash away our sin.

Grace is divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in the life. Scholars call it the unmerited favor of God. Christ not only shows grace, he is its complete expression: grace in action. Grace gave Jesus the strength to reject Satan. Grace gave him power in the garden to set his own will aside.

Through Christ, we can clearly see God's grace. He didn't merely talk about it, or preach about it as others did. He lived it. He embodied it in his own life. We too can have this grace. Grace gives us what we need when Satan tries to destroy our lives and testimony.

Truth is more than information found in the God's Word. The Law of Moses was true. Truth, however, came by Jesus Christ. The Old Testament gave us shadows and promises; Jesus brought and gave the substance of those promises. Jesus Christ, as the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us, as the image of God, the Father, who is also full of grace and truth.

When we understand Jesus as the Word, we see why he entered the world clothed in flesh. Of the many names of Jesus, the Word is the very essence of God, the Father, lived out in his living Symbol, Jesus, the Son.

Jesus, I pray that you help us see our Father God as we cultivate a relationship with You. Thank You for becoming the Word and revealing God's nature to our limited finite understanding. You are truly Grace and Truth.

Closing Thought:

Have you worked to develop a separate relationship with God, the Father since meeting Jesus? We can know all Three Persons of the Godhead individually. If you haven't, start now to develop a relationship with each Member. You'll be glad you did.

 Have you ever forgotten the power cord to your laptop when you were away from home?  It always seems like that's when you need it the most. The battery is gone and you're not nearly finished with your project. You have a valuable tool that works fine, but it's useless to you because you can't plug it into a power source.

Don't you think that sometimes God feels that way about us? We have talent, skills, knowledge, even faith, yet without power, we're useless. Our internal batteries work for a while, but like the computer, we must have an external power supply. As the True Vine, Jesus gives us the power to serve. 

John shows us a wonderful illustration of a Christian's relationship with the Source of real life and everlasting hope. The world tells us that there are many paths to God. All religions offer some form of eternal promise. However, there is only one True Vine. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me" (John 14:6 MKJV). 

To abide in Christ is simply to stay plugged into the Root of all life. If you cut a branch off a vine, it will soon shrivel and die. There is no life in the branch. As beautiful as a rose is, there's a sadness about it when it begins to die. Even when you put it into a vase with water, it doesn't last long separated from the bush.

Life's battles aren't like the games we played as children. The weapons aren't imaginary and more than the one with the loudest lungs determines the victory. There are much greater stakes at the end of our war than those in our childhood games.

Our war began long ago. Satan deceived one third of the angels into rebelling against God and his government. God evicted them from heaven. He could never allow anything unholy to remain. To do so would destroy the sinless, beauty of His kingdom.

Earth was the perfect place to confine these malefactors. God could have simply annihilated the rebel who had loosened so much evil with his pride and lust for power. He could have vaporized these evil angels with a mere thought. God, however, had a plan, to avoid future uprisings of rebellion in His kingdom, and show the watching hosts the true nature of sin. He chose to deal with it here and prevent future uprisings and a repeated cycle of rebellion and death throughout eternity.

What better way to end all possible traces of sin than to plant a beautiful garden on this little planet, Earth? God created man and placed him there. He was dependent on God for everything. Yet, he could also choose to obey God or not. Although he didn't realize the spiritual results, God gave him two choices.

If Adam had obeyed God, he would have won the privilege of drawing all of his energies, drives, and desires from God's Spirit and have heaven on earth. Because he disobeyed, however, Satan took man's nature captive. When the first Adam yielded to his desires and lust, he destined all of his descendants to bondage to the elements of this world.

We perceive the world through our five senses. We see, taste, smell, feel, and hear our world. This is because we became alive to the world through the flesh and lusts and drives there. Adam's disobedience disconnected us from God, joining us to the elements of the world. Like a lamp cord, Adam plugged us in to a dead outlet. Before the fall, man communed with God because he was alive to Him, when sin entered; however, he died to God, becoming alive to the world.

God knew that Adam would fall dooming future generations to bondage to our lower nature. This did not catch Him off guard. God already had a plan. Jesus, the Son of God took up a temporary residence here. He was born of a virgin, and lived a life of sinless perfection.

As the Second Adam, He died to sin. Through rejection, deprivation, persecution, and many other dealings with sinful man, sin continually tempted Him. On the cross, He died completely to sin's power. Jesus redeemed mankind in this selfless act of love and made a way for fallen man to come alive again unto God, as he died out to the world.

God has used sin for thousands of years to prove Himself through the lives of men. In Moses, He prepared a nation to lead an obedient people to victory. He brought Jesus into the world through this special nation. In Joseph, He taught that faithful obedience, even in unjust circumstances, would lead to victory. In David, we see that God longs for His children's repentant hearts to cry out to Him for forgiveness and victory over sin.

Sin must run its appointed course. Like a river, begins small, grows in size and speed, as it rushes to its final destination, sin began in one heart, but eternity will reveal the results of its devastation and tragedy.

As we live unto God, we can live an obedient life in the power of His resurrection. The life of Jesus: His victorious, triumphant, and overcoming life is in each of us. As we die to sin and self, we become alive unto God. This gives us victory over any battle that we must fight. It is a fight to the finish, and the stakes are high: eternal life, or eternal separation from God. Thanks to Jesus, we can have victory in this most important battle: Life!

Approximately every 50 years or so, God shines his light onto a new facet of his plans for 'Operation Man.' In addition, he places a new emphasis on the gifts necessary to bring his plan to fruition for each age. Although his gifts are the same and will never change, history reveals that Christians in every generation brush the dirt off of buried truth bringing it to the light as God uses it to demonstrate his power. 

The baptism of the Holy Spirit, tongues, and the manifestation of certain gifts were seen sporadically throughout the centuries. Most of the early church fathers had some level of this experience at least once in their lifetime, even though they didn't fully understand it. Many of them lived their entire life and ministry from the power and sweet memory of this one unique experience or moment with God. 

We can see as far back as the 19th-Century how the early holiness movement and the Keswick 'Higher Life' movement ushered in an unprecedented time of revival. The first known person to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues was a woman named Agnes Ozman on January 1, 1901. She was a student in Topeka, Kansas. From Kansas, the Holy Spirit worked at Azusa Street in California for years. Today's Pentecostal movement began from these roots. Our founders started the Pentecostal Church of God in 1919.

During the 1940's, the Pentecostal Church of God more than doubled in size, increasing in churches, ministers, and constituents. The middle of the 20th-Century was an important time of renewal for the church. The large ministries of that period operated in the gift of healing. People like Oral Roberts and Kathryn Kulman lead the church into a new era of growth and prosperity. Healing was the expected result of faith and prayer.

Many of the churches and movements that grew so prosperously in the decade of the forties and fifties have reached a point of escalating decline in the latter part of the 20th-Century.

Today we're in a new century and a new era. God wants to do a new thing in our generation just like he has done in preceding ages. He is sweeping the dirt off hidden truths for our generation. He is moving through churches and bringing in the sweet fragrance of life. God is raising up leaders with vision. He is looking for mature, seasoned, capable men and women who hear his voice and know his Spirit through a deep, intimate, personal relationship.

The Holy Spirit is breathing a new spirit of revival into the church. Like the pastors and ministers in the forties, today's minister must seek the face of God and become sensitive to the moving of his Spirit. We can't expect him to bless our stale, outdated, outmoded programs. People are looking for something with life and excitement. They won't stay long in a church that has the stench of death.

We're living in one of the greatest times the church has ever known. These are the last days. You and I are hand picked vessels God is using to bring life to his church as we anticipate and work for his soon return. I hope you feel as exhilarated and as honored I as do.

 At other times, He leads us into the next step of our journey as He did king David, who fought a lion, then a bear. Only after he was ready did he battle Goliath. He was stepping up each time by facing what was in front of him and doing the right thing. Each step prepared him for the next one. He endured and became proficient at what the Lord had for him.

 As women, we often know that God has called us to serve Him and accepted it. The ministry isn't something that just happens or that we trip into. Sometimes people seem to be standing around waiting for the Lord to drop, knowledge, ability, and skills down upon us so that they will suddenly be able to do God's work. That rarely happens. God uses women in every occupation, but He expects us to be prepared when opportunity knocks.

 Paul said "study to show yourself approved..." (II Tim 2:15). If we intend to achieve God's plan for our lives we must first gain the wisdom and knowledge we need for a strong foundation. One of the most important things Jesus did was to train the disciples. He spent three years ministering and training them, teaching them how to minister.

 When God puts a calling in us, He is also calling us to learn things that we don't know. The Disciples submitted themselves to the ministry under Jesus for three years. Jesus taught them. They lived their lives with Him and became friends, willing to share His hardships and the burdens. They took on the vision that Jesus had for the lost. They realized the truth of Jesus' calling.

 The ministry isn't just the glorious, rewarding, self-fulfilling, exciting adventure that it appears. We must understand the full commitment. Peter was committed to Jesus from the start. He started following Jesus because he thought that He would take the kingdom back for the Jews. He wanted a physical kingdom. Eventually, he realized the vision of the eternal purpose of the ministry. Peter eventually became the leader for the local church. The true purpose of the ministry became his hearts desire. The truth was more important than his desire for the physical kingdom. The eternal kingdom was much greater that the earthly one.

The disciples became Apostles only after Jesus called them out. The word "Apostle" means, "sent out". They did not charge out on their own into a ministry. Jesus sent them out in agreement. In Acts (8:14) Peter and John were sent by the Apostles to Samaria. The importance of this is that one may think that he is ready for the ministry ahead of him; but only one that has been down the road knows what is needed to make the trip and what is required for the successful completion. Most ministries failed or lack in success because lack of training and knowledge.

Peace slips away slowly, when we're not even aware of it, usually one decision at a time. One small disobedient act leads to another, then to another, and another. God calls to us, wanting us to spend time with Him instead of watching our favorite television program. We promise Him we will stop and visit just as soon as it's over. At bedtime, we remember our promise, but we're too tired to give Him any quality time so we say a quick prayer and promise to slow down for Him tomorrow. Slowly good intentions replace obedience and we find ourselves pushing thoughts of God further and further back to alleviate feelings of guilt.

"It's the little foxes that spoil the vines" (Song of Solomon 2:15). One little compromise after another lead to bigger compromises until one day we look at our lives and realize we walked completely away from God's will into a life of trying to find ways to please God in our own abilities. We dust our Bibles off, promising God and ourselves that we're going to do better. For a few days, we're faithful to prayer and study, but no matter how hard we work at it we can't get back what we've lost. We measure every experience against memories of the past, the way it used to be. We begin to doubt whether we'll ever find that elusive peace that was once such an important part of our lives. Unfortunately, present experience never measures up and consequently we fall back into the familiar pattern of compromise and disobedience.

Until we can let go of our past experience and understand that God wants us to grow through to a new level we will never find what we need. The past was our childhood. When we cried, God was right there. He fed us when we were hungry, cleaned us up when we felt dirty, and held us when we were lonely. How silly would we look if we were to crawl into a baby bed and cry for a bottle? Yet spiritually that's what we do. We must let go of the desire to go back so that we can go forward.

Peace is the result of intimacy with God, knowing that we can trust Him in whatever enters into our lives. Intimacy with God is the result of dying to self and our own desires, wanting only to please Him. When all that matters is pleasing Him, we are open to new experiences and a new level of relationship; we become a friend of God.

Over eighty percent of our success involves relationships with people. Talent, education, and looks will only take one so far. Eventually, we must depend on the good will and favor of others.

God gives us a family where we interact and learn such relationship skills as patience, trust, and conflict resolution. We learn about God from our parents. We learn to relate to neighbors from our siblings. Our identity forms as we interact in the nurturing environment of a loving family.

Unfortunately, most families fall short when it comes to nurturing. Mine had plenty of love; the problem was that nobody knew how to show it. I had only one intimate conversation with my mother and none with my father in my entire childhood. They provided everything I needed and they loved me very much. They just did not know how important it was to express that love.

If we fail to learn these important lessons, we will have trouble in our marriages, families, jobs, churches, and neighborhoods. We will continue to relate to people the way we did in our childhood. 

Our pastor suddenly reminds us of our obnoxious brother with who drove us crazy. Our wonderful husband eventually turns into a carbon copy of our distant, uncaring father. The little priss with who shares our office is just like our tattletale of a little sister who seemed to be on this planet only to make us miserable. 

So what do we do? W e take it until we have had enough, then we call them the names we have always wanted to call our father, our brother, or sister, but never had the courage. We quit our jobs, walk out on our families, leave our churches, or move into better neighborhoods and start the cycle over with new people. 

A simple glance at church history teaches us that man has never understood relationships and their affects. Cain's murder of Abel is an excellent example of brothers who did not understand them. Abraham put Sarah in harms way to save his own life. Many of the heroes we use as examples in our teaching made foolish relationship choices.

God is preparing men and women to understand relationship principles and then teach these principles to others. He is concerned about our relationships. Above all, he wants us to know and understand him, to appreciate how he thinks and feels, and so that we can work more effectively in service to others.

I learned a whole lot about myself several years ago, during a three-month, doctor ordered sabbatical; and it was not pretty. I had lots of troublesome residue left over from my childhood. Although my marriage was great and my teenage kids were not threatening to sell their stories to Ophra or surprise me with an all expense paid trip to meet Jerry Springer, I still had a lot of junk in my belief system. 

After a happy ten-year marriage, I pretty well had much of the family thing down. The problems we faced and dealt with were from outside our home, finances and professions. That is where food addiction found its way into my life. I found myself turning to food for acceptance and comfort. 

My response to pressure was to pull back from the pain and retreated into food. The more pressure stirred my emotions the more control food gained over me. I would diet and loose twenty pounds. Six-weeks later, discouragement caused me to give up and within a few weeks, I would have gained thirty. Over a period of eleven-years, I had ballooned up to nearly 300 pounds.

One day after losing 80 pounds, I found myself standing in front of the refrigerator with the door open. My head was inside, my eyes scanning every shelf as if my life depended on what I would discover there. Suddenly I came to. I stood up straight, shook my head, and quickly closed the refrigerator door. I walked back into the living room where I had been standing before my eyes glazed over. I wasn't even hungry. Why was I foraging in the refrigerator? What was I thinking about before my mind went into neutral? 

My mother. I had been thinking about my mother and the fact that I needed to call her. A fleeting thought about her and the old behavior patterns associated with our relationship returned before I was even aware of their existence. I felt stress, I reacted. It didn't matter that it had been over five months since I had experienced this type of behavior. I did not even realize how much influence relationships had over me. 

The things we accept as truth about who we are often dictates our behavior. When we spend time in prayer, God shows us many erroneous beliefs we have accepted about ourselves hidden in our unconscious minds. Most of these are things either someone has told us, or misperceptions accepted as obvious truth simply because it comes from some authority figure.

These veiled imps rarely reach the surface. They hide deep in the part of our minds where we file memories we do not want to face. The moment our guard is down, they pounce. Before we are aware of it, that old, destructive behavior rushes forward, set to take action. These imps stand in position, ready to accuse us in a moment of weakness.

It takes a determined effort, but we can uproot many of them. You do this, by keeping a constant vigil and questioning every belief that reaches the surface in your thinking. Where did you come from? What are you doing here? What are your motives? Where have you been hiding? What comment, raised eyebrow, terse remark, shocked expression, or ear-piercing scream did you piggyback into my subconscious mind? You can never find them all. Of course, that would be impossible. Your mind, however, can be your greatest friend or your most deceitful enemy. It is up to you.

Only I can choose to live free and take control or I can let these childhood imps push me, cringing into a corner. I choose freedom. Not only does freedom feel better, but it also looks better in a bathing suit.

I'll never forget the day when all this changed. Brother Schuetz and I had been married less than two months. We were standing in the yard and he said something that infuriated me. My response was to jump in his face, screaming. He looked at me for just a minute and said, "Woman, when you can carry on an intelligent conversation I'll be in the house." With that he turned around and sauntered inside as if he didn't have a care in the world. All I could do was stand there, mouth open, without a word to say. How could I argue, he wasn't there to listen? He wouldn't have heard me if I yelled at him. I knew better than to follow him and argue or yell. There's no telling what he would have done. All I could do was stare at his back as he walked away.

That was a turning point for me. From the very early days of our marriage we've never really argued. When we disagree we focus on what we don't agree on and purpose to never hurt each other. We look for solutions to the thing we disagree on. The only time we ever have to apologize to each other is over misunderstanding and never for purposely causing each other pain. Our relationship is too important to both of us to drive a wedge  between us, for any reason. He's my best friend and I'm his. Why would we either one purposely hurt our best friend? 

This lesson didn't stop with my husband and children. It took a while, but it eventually seeped into other relationships. Many things have happened to us in the past 25 or more years that have taught us the importance of relationship. There was a time that I had to prove I was right. Even though I cared about others, I still had to at least feel "God and I" knew the truth.

This can really be destructive behavior for a pastor. Unbridled, it can even lead to one becoming defensive and angry. It's easy to lose your gratefulness to God. You can't understand why others don't appreciate and understand you. You begin to get angry because people don't recognize how you sacrifice for them. Left unchecked, it can lead to bitterness and even total meltdown.

It has taken years, but God's finally taught me "relationship is more important than being right." There are many times that I don't agree with another person, however, arguing with him will not change his opinion. Neither will condemnation, censorship, or gossiping about him change his perspective. I've found that if I love him and develop a relationship with him he will learn to trust me. Then I gain the influence and respect that will make him want to hear what I have to say.Proverbs 18:2 says, "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion."

Why lose an important relationship just for the surge of "power" or the sense of "pride" we get from feeling right? Does it really make any sense? What would happen if we were to occasionally admit that we might be wrong, and maybe bite our tongue, even when we might really know more than the other person? If every one of us made the commitment to hold our opinion for one month it would change our world. Who knows where that would lead.

Though we love our parents, we grow up; marry, move away, and start new families. Eventually, our children will leave and start families of their own. Couples are together long after the children are grown, so we should make our marriage our priority.

Cotten Mather wrote, "Well ordered families naturally produce a good order in society." God's purpose for a healthy marriage is to produce healthy families. Healthy families produce a healthy society. Marriage blends two people from different backgrounds and families, with different customs, traditions, and methods of communicating, into one. This will naturally cause conflict. Newlyweds are often like two porcupines trying to hug; the closer they get, the more they hurt one another.

By understanding a few important relationship principles, we can find new ways to handle conflict. After we're married, we can't react to anger and disappointment as we did before. Learning to disagree without disagreement is important to any family. Ideally, most couples should build their relationship before having children, to give them time to develop healthy methods of conflict resolution.

I'm from a large family with six screaming kids. My husband, Michael, was the oldest of three bookworms. We were married two months when we had our first blow up. We were outside when he made me angry. I started screaming. He simply said, "Woman, when you can carry on an intelligent conversation, I'll be in the house." With that, he sauntered inside and closed the door. I was speechless. This changed my life by forcing me to learn healthy conflict resolution.

Occasional disagreement is normal in marriage. How we treat one another during conflict seriously affects our relationship. We must focus on what we disagree on instead of throwing up past failures or using harsh, cutting words that wound. We need to find a solution, not win an argument. If we want to fight to win, we should take up boxing. If we want to build a healthy family, we should concentrate on what's best for the relationship and set aside our own agendas.

Our family is to have a positive influence on our community. We are God's testimony to a lost world. People observe how we interact with, and speak to one another. They see our children's demonstrations of love and it makes them wonder what makes our family different from other families. What better opportunity to share God's love and draw them into His kingdom? When we build our family using God's relationship principles, we will have achieved His purpose, and we will find our place in His plan for our lives and for our family.

Prayer is not a Band-Aid for a busy day, aspirin for the spirit, or antacid one takes after over-indulging in the world. It's powerful, exciting, refreshing, and brings vitality to any life willing to commit to pray.

As we understand prayer, and pray regularly, we think about God more. Joy becomes second nature and other relationships improve.

Prayer is man's acknowledgement of a higher being. When we pray we address God, the Creator of the universe; a mere mortal has a personal audience with the King of Kings. It is simply spiritual communion with God.

A young man visited his brother, a student at a large seminary. He was unfamiliar with the sprawling campus so he asked the first person who passed by, "Is this Davidson Hall?" The seminary student asked his brother if he had realized that he had been talking to a world-famous theologian. He had the opportunity to ask any question--and he asked about a building. Christians are like that. We have the opportunity to ask anything we want. Nevertheless, how many of us really do?

 Like anything else, our prayer life improves with practice and experience. Any new endeavor, takes time and commitment. It's like learning to type in high school. A teacher teaches the keystrokes, how to hold our hands and where to put our fingers. We can only become a good typist by practicing enough that we don't need a chart. Eventually, with enough experience, our fingers move quickly across the keyboard, often correcting mistakes without effecting our speed or accuracy. Quality comes with practice and experience.

At first, prayer may be nothing more than a child's sweet words, "Jesus, I love You." God's hears every cry of the human heart. Our prayers are so important to Him that He calls them incense, as a "sweet smelling fragrance" going up before His throne" (Rev. 5:8 KJV).

In this article we will examines five types of prayer. We won't pray each one every time we pray. However, with an active prayer life, we will regularly use them all, thus assuring us of a well-rounded healthy relationship with God.

The first is type of prayer is Praise. To praise God is to glorify Him. Glorifying simply signifies an opinion, estimate, and consequently the honor resulting from a good opinion.

As we praise God, we focus on Him and on the splendor of His character and nature. We tell Him how much we love and appreciate Him just because He is God. We draw attention to His holiness, His mercy, and His grace, telling Him what these attributes mean to us.

We don't praise God because He needs to hear it (Heb. 13:15). We praise Him because praise reminds us of His attributes. Starting prayer with praise breaks our minds loose from the cares of our day. As we speak, our minds begin to focus, our random thoughts slow down and positive images begin to form in our thinking. Doubts, worry, and fear loosen their grip as words of hope and encouragement fill our minds with faith.

 Praise prepares our minds, opening the door of communication between our spirit and God's Spirit. With the door open, we are ready for the second type of prayer, Confession. This is simply recognizing that we cannot measure up to God's holy standard. Scripture promises, "If we confess our sins He is just and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9 KJV). No one can reach God's holiness. We rely on His mercy and Christ's blood to cleanse us from a defiled conscience. With a tender conscience, we can walk in holiness, acceptable to God.

Several years ago, my husband and I went to New York. Our second night there, we rode the Staten Island ferry. I was shocked at the filth. Paper, cigarettes, empty cups, and puddles of spilled coke, coffee, and sticky drinks littered the stairs and walkways. We passed right by the Statue of Liberty. It was a beautifully clear cold night. We tried to see Lady Liberty from the warmth inside, but the windows were so dirty from years of grease, smoke, and filth that we couldn't make out her image. We had to go outside just to get a clear view.

Like the Staten Island ferry, if we allow sin to dirty the windows of our conscience it will block our communication with God. Our conscience is the hinge on the door between our spirit and God's Spirit. When we confess our sin and repent, we remove anything blocking our view of God, keeping the door closed between us.

Praising God and confessing our sins leads us to freely Worship Him, the third type of prayer. Worship is reverent honor given to God. After He forgives our sins, we want to fall on our faces, in worship. In worshipping God, we adore His majestic power and nature. With the door of communication wide open between us, our spirits share uninhibited communion.

Worship is different from praise. In praise, we verbally acknowledge and speak positively of God's attributes. In worship we lay prostrate [if only in spirit] before God, in awe of Him, as we profess His might and recognize our fragileness. We may weep or sit quietly basking in His presence.

Following closely behind worship is Thanksgiving. In Thanksgiving we simply appreciate Him for who He is and for all He's done. You can't praise Him, confess your sins, and worship Him without true gratitude. When we've seen ourselves through His eyes in confession, and received His love through worship, thankfulness floods our being. We want to express our appreciation and thank Him for His goodness. We call this an Attitude of Gratitude.

We can only successfully pray the fifth type of prayer after investing time in praise, confession, worship, and thanksgiving. This gives us power for Petition. When we've been in God's holy presence, we have confidence to ask for our needs. Our petitions match His will for us and for those we bring before Him. Our desires line up with God's will.

If we go to God with our petitions first, we actually limit our effectiveness. We receive answers to our petitions because we are His children and we want to please our Father. Praise, confession, worship, and thanksgiving prepare our hearts and minds to know what to ask. We will know God's mind on many matters and will not ask selfishly or fruitlessly. He will drop things into our spirits that He wants to see happen in the lives of others. This level of communication comes through Spirit to spirit unity, reached through praise, confession, worship, and thanksgiving.

We can compare praying to children learning to color. Children learning to color have two problems. They often chose inappropriate colors and they have a hard time staying in the lines. As they mature, they learn to do both, thus creating a nice picture.

Our prayer life is that way. We don't always know what to pray for and we don't always stay in the guidelines of God's will. As we learn to pray, utilizing praise, confession, worship, thanksgiving, and petition we will learn to pray for the right things and stay within His will, thus creating a good prayer life, and an intimate friendship with God.

Does this sound like someone you know? Perhaps it is your wife. Remarkably, you, her husband, make a greater difference in her life than anyone does. By learning about a few basic needs unique to a woman's nature, you can help her develop into the wonderful creature God designed her to be, the one you married so long ago.  

A woman releases her pent up emotions through talking about her feelings. This is how she finds solutions. Generally, she will not open up until she feels she cannot endure any more pressure. It is important that she have someone she can trust, someone who will really listen when she is ready to share her feelings.

She needs a husband who will allow her to expose her heart safely, and reveal her inward self. If you will not listen to her without criticism, judgment, or rejection, she will withdraw and find someone else to share this part of her life. Consequently, your marriage will suffer the loss of intimacy and trust. Although a husband with a compassionate ear is rare, you can learn the art of listening.

Why do women do this? Who really knows? Why do men not understand women? The best answer is that God wired us both differently. It is human nature to believe that everyone sees the world as we do. Men are especially guilty of thinking that women should think and behave a certain way just because that is how they themselves would do it. It is like bananas and strawberries. Both are fruit, but each has its own shape, flavor, and texture. By themselves, they taste good. However, mix them together and you have a wonderful fruit salad, yet each part keeps its own unique characteristics.

Marriage is like that fruit salad. A man and a woman, each with unique shapes, textures, and flavors, are good by themselves. Nevertheless, mix them together and you have a completely new creation. Yet, each one is still an individual.

Normally, when a man hears his wife cry, he embraces her and wants to help solve her problems. Once she gets a few intelligible words out through her sniffles, he holds his head back, sometimes he is even dumb enough to laugh, and he not too wisely says, "Oh, is that all? That's simple. This is what you need to do."

He is dumbfounded when she stops talking, looks at him and clearly says, "Never mind! I'll figure it out myself," and walks away with her hands up in the air. Now she is angry and frustrated as well as depressed.

He has no idea why she did not throw her arms around him, plant a big kiss on him, and thank him for all his wisdom. Men are ready to offer women a solution after hearing a few facts. Never mind that they heard on a fraction of the details. They do not need to hear it all. They have the answers and they want women to accept and act on them. Usually their answers are correct, if not appreciated.

The resulting argument puts pressure on an already strained relationship. What men fail to understand is that women do not want the answers given to them. That defeats the purpose. Men get aggravated when women reject their quick fixes.

God designed your wife to hold her emotions in, releasing them as she speaks. Through talking, she verbalizes her feelings. Her emotions begin to unwind, her mind starts to loosen, and confusion dissipates, allowing her to recognize the solution staring her in the face. You probably offered the same solution. Nevertheless, because of her tangled emotions she just was not ready to hear it.

 So many marriage problems could be resolved if we all understood one simple fact. God made each gender different. Our desires are different, our thinking processes are different, and our needs are different. Each gender has specific needs. Understanding them can help us make great strides in relating to one another. 

There are four things that every woman needs for security and a sense of completeness in marriage. When understood you can make a big difference in your marriage, revolutionize your home, changing the atmosphere from disappointment, confusion, and indifference to one of harmony and oneness of spirit and purpose.

The first thing your wife needs from you is the steady guidance of a spiritual leader. As a strong spiritual leader, you can fill many of her needs. Spiritual leadership reveals a man's spiritual condition and shows the direction he is going.

A wife aches for leadership when her husband fails to be the spiritual leader. God did not design her to take on the pressure of spiritual leadership of the family. If you fail here, you expose her to pressure not meant for her. She feels that her life is out of control. The resulting fear and helplessness forces her to make decisions she should not have to make. Then she has to accept the consequences and sometimes the blame from you if she makes the wrong choice.

As her spiritual leader, she needs to see that you have a real desire to know God. She sees this when you read his word, pray, pay tithes, and faithfully attend church. She needs to see that you have strong convictions based on Scripture and that you consistently follow your convictions.

You must reassure your wife that she is meeting needs in your life that no other woman can meet. This is the second important need universal to all women. She needs to feel special. God made her to be your "helpmate." The needs that she is meeting in your life must be important to you. The more impor­tant they are, the more you should compliment and appreciate her.

A man has the tendency to hide his real needs from his wife, wanting her to admire him and see him as a success. Before you have her honor, however, she must see your humility. You will receive and hold her love more quickly by sharing your failures with her than you will by sharing only your successes. You must not only explain your needs, but you should help her understand exactly what she can do to help meet them.

There are many needs in your life that only your wife can meet. She can help you guard against other women with wrong motives. We live in a world permeated with sensuality and lust. She can give you the joy of a physical relationship without guilt.

Her need for security and steadfastness will make you want to make sound decisions instead of hasty ones. It grieves a man when his wife suffers because of his poor decisions. When he understands that his choices affects his whole family, he takes more time and weighs the consequences before acting rashly.

Your wife instills godly character in your children and discerns their real needs. She is probably with them more than you are, and as a mother, she will often have insight in their lives that you may not. She serves as a buffer during conflict and is usually a peacemaker.

She will become discouraged if she feels that you are more concerned with the needs of employers, employees, col­leagues, friends, and church members, than you are with her needs and her world. She wants to be an important part of your world. If she is not, her world begins to disappoint and close in on her.

Third, she needs to know that you cherish her and enjoy setting aside time for intimate conversation. There is a difference between loving her and cherishing her. Most men love their wives whether they show it or not. Few men actually cherish them. To cherish her means that you value her as a person, that you protect her and you compliment her to others.

Your wife must know that she is an important part of your world and that you love her beyond what she does for you. Show her that you love her for her sake and that you long to be with her. She wants to know that the qualities in her that you fell in love with are still important to you. You need to repeat expressions of your love to her often. 

While men get much of their self-worth and approval from their profession, women get most of their value affirma­tion from their husbands. Even women with successful careers receive most of their personal affirmation at home.

You can exhibit your value of her in small ways. Showing her, the simple, common courtesy that you show the women in the office or the boss's wife will go a long way to show her that you cherish her. Take the few extra seconds necessary to open the car door for her. Open the door for her in public, pull out her chair and wait until she sits down before you do in a restaurant. Help her on and off with her coat, and lift heavy objects for her. You do not have to do all of this at home, but when you do it in public; you send a message to the world that she is important to you. This message does not escape your wife's notice. She will glow for weeks.

While leaving a restaurant several years ago, my husband, Michael, opened the car door for me, and our seventeen-year old son, Michael Jr., opened the rear car door for our fourteen-year old daughter, Kathryn. The woman in the booth seated next to where we had been sitting saw this through the window, reached over, and hit her husband. Kathryn and I laughed, but I was smart enough to realize how blessed I was to have a husband who enjoys "showing me off in public."

Your wife needs intimate conversation. This is possible only when you share oneness of spirit. She needs to talk and communicate her experiences so she can express her confused feelings. She needs to know that you are listening and not anxious to get away and do something else.

One way to assure intimate conversation is to have a regular time planned for it. Ultimately, the most intimate level of conversation occurs when your wife can trust you with the secrets of her deepest emotions.

Many wives have deep fears and feelings that they never share with their husbands. There are several reasons for this. Sometimes they feel guilty for their feelings and simply hope that these feelings will pass. They may fear condemnation and rejection from their husbands. Many times, they just want to reduce their husbands' burdens or they just know that they don't know the answer anyway.

You can help your wife overcome these fears by allowing her the respect and value of listening to her and encouraging her to talk. Whatever she has to say, it is important to her. Be careful not to belittle her or make what she has to say appear insignificant. If you do, she will find someone else to talk to, and your relationship will suffer.

Mike and Tina are so busy during the day that they sit up talking late many nights. This is usually the only time they have alone. As a woman, Tina often has emotions bottled up. Through the years, her wise husband has been a sounding board. Many times, he never says anything. He will often just say, "Urn-hum, yeah. Right." He draws her out with well-worded questions that helps her work through harbored doubts and fears.

As a woman talks, she finds solutions on our own. If things stay inside it just confuses and confounds her until she is an emotional wreck. She has to get them on the outside so she can 'see' them.

Your wife's fourth need is to know that you understand her by protecting her in areas where she may be weak. She needs understanding, especially from you. She wants boundaries that show your concern for her. If you fail her here, she will feel neglected. She wants you to be aware of her spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical strengths and weaknesses. She also wants you to have the wisdom and courage to provide loving but firm direction, so she will not fail by going beyond her limits.

She may occasionally ask you for something she really does not want, just to test you. She wants to know if you are perceptive to her real needs and the dangers she faces. If you give her whatever she wants, she will feel insecure. You should know your wife so well that you understand when to be firm and when to be lenient. She appreciates and respects loving firmness when you both know that it is right.

The main function of the head is to develop, train, and protect the rest of our body so the whole being can achieve God's purpose. In this sense you are to be the head of your wife (Ephesians 5:23). It is your responsibility, as your family's spiritual leader to set the example in your home. When your children see you treating your wife with this kind of love, they will respect her and admire you for being a man of strength and character.

As you learn to meet your mate's important needs, she will respond with acts of love and a respect for you that until now you have only imagined. Helmut Thielicke once wrote:

"I knew a very old married couple who radiated a tremendous happiness. The wife especially, had such a gratitude for life that it touched me to the quick. Involuntarily, I asked myself what could possibly be the source of this kindly person's radiance. In every other respect, they were common people, and their room indicated only the most modest comfort. But suddenly, I knew where it all came from, for I saw those two speaking to each other, and their eyes hanging upon each other. All at once, it became clear to me that this woman was dearly loved.

          It was not because she was a cheerful and pleasant person that her husband had loved her all those years. It was the other way around. Because he loved her, she became the person I saw before me."

 At other times, He leads us into the next step of our journey as He did king David, who fought a lion, then a bear. Only after he was ready did he battle Goliath. He was stepping up each time by facing what was in front of him and doing the right thing. Each step prepared him for the next one. He endured and became proficient at what the Lord had for him.

 As women, we often know that God has called us to serve Him and accepted it. The ministry isn't something that just happens or that we trip into. Sometimes people seem to be standing around waiting for the Lord to drop, knowledge, ability, and skills down upon us so that they will suddenly be able to do God's work. That rarely happens. God uses women in every occupation, but He expects us to be prepared when opportunity knocks.

 Paul said "study to show yourself approved..." (II Tim 2:15). If we intend to achieve God's plan for our lives we must first gain the wisdom and knowledge we need for a strong foundation. One of the most important things Jesus did was to train the disciples. He spent three years ministering and training them, teaching them how to minister.

 When God puts a calling in us, He is also calling us to learn things that we don't know. The Disciples submitted themselves to the ministry under Jesus for three years. Jesus taught them. They lived their lives with Him and became friends, willing to share His hardships and the burdens. They took on the vision that Jesus had for the lost. They realized the truth of Jesus' calling.

 The ministry isn't just the glorious, rewarding, self-fulfilling, exciting adventure that it appears. We must understand the full commitment. Peter was committed to Jesus from the start. He started following Jesus because he thought that He would take the kingdom back for the Jews. He wanted a physical kingdom. Eventually, he realized the vision of the eternal purpose of the ministry. Peter eventually became the leader for the local church. The true purpose of the ministry became his hearts desire. The truth was more important than his desire for the physical kingdom. The eternal kingdom was much greater that the earthly one.

The disciples became Apostles only after Jesus called them out. The word "Apostle" means, "sent out". They did not charge out on their own into a ministry. Jesus sent them out in agreement. In Acts (8:14) Peter and John were sent by the Apostles to Samaria. The importance of this is that one may think that he is ready for the ministry ahead of him; but only one that has been down the road knows what is needed to make the trip and what is required for the successful completion. Most ministries failed or lack in success because lack of training and knowledge.

The beautiful spring day turned a horrid black when Amy heard the ripping sound of zippers closing the ugly black bags that held the bodies of her beloved husband and daughters, Missy and Laura.

Gone? How could they really be gone? How could she go on? Where would she find comfort if not in Tom's strong arms? Oh, God, this can't be happening. It has to be a horrible dream. Surely, she thought she would wake up soon.

Try as she might, however, she did not wake up. Somehow, she made it through the funerals. She couldn't bear to pull herself away as Tom's casket was lowered into the ground. Saying good-bye to her daughters took all her strength. Amy could feel her heart slamming against her chest as two white caskets were carefully lowered into graves beside Tom's.

Tom and Amy had many friends. Their church provided food and comfort through the haze of the funerals and the months of smothering loneliness afterwards. She went back to work after a few weeks, and that did help, some. The long evenings were the hardest. Amy dreaded going home to a dark, empty house that no longer rang with laughter. Oh, how she missed the laughter.

Crying herself to sleep had become a ritual. In the beginning, her doctor gave her sleeping pills. She just needed something to help turn off her busy mind. After three visits, however, he refused her pleading and told her to see a counselor. She didn't want counseling; she just needed something to get her through the lonely nights of deafening silence. She found another doctor who gave her more pills, for a while. After he refused her, Amy went from clinic to clinic looking for the drugs she needed to still her tormented mind.

Amy tried to pray. In the past, she and Tom prayed with the girls every night. She loved God, but Tom had always been the strong one. Amy never understood where he got his strength. He was always reminding her of God's love and encouraging her to grow. She depended on him to guide her in her Christian walk. Now it seemed that God was even further away than ever.

For eighteen months, Amy found herself caught up in a cycle of drugs, tears, anger, guilt, and bitterness. So many endless nights of watching a clock that never moved. The pills no longer helped, but they were still necessary just to survive. She was toying with the idea of ending her torment. Why not? What could be worse than her present existence?

Her carefully worded note lay on the bed beside her, ready to console those she would leave behind. With pills in hand, she picked up the glass of water and the picture she kept by her bed. In anguish, Amy cried out to the picture frame, "Oh, Tom, I don't want to die this way. Show me what to do. Please. How did you stay so strong?"

In the frame, Tom had his arms around her and the girls. He was laughing, as always. But wait; there was something else. What was different about this picture? Love. God's love is what gave him such inner strength? God! This man knew God. He knew God personally. That was it! That's what made him so strong.

Amy knew she couldn't do it by herself. She needed to know God too. That's what Tom was telling her. Through her sobs, she cried out to Heaven. She prayed until there was nothing left of the old Amy. When she was finished, she fell into a deep, restful sleep. Amy McPherson was ready to face the future, pregnant with the promise of God's love.

Pain plagued Meg's powerless form. Duct-tape suppressed any movement in the tiny trunk. Three-hundred-horses under the hood, potholes, darkness, and searing pain joined forces against her. Terror wrapped its icy fingers around her throat, suffocating her. Bound and gagged, Megan Sanders, Lincoln High's Cheerleading Captain, was at the mercy of her captors.

 Meg had no warning that afternoon that her life would take such a drastic turn. The day started like any other. After school, at the soda shop she joked around with friends. Blonde hair hung loosely around slim shoulders; hazel-eyes scanned the room, her thick red lips puckered at the corners for effect. Joking around was a euphemism for tormenting the kids from the tenements across town, especially Beth Alexander, the waitress who worked after school to help her family.

 Meg's crowd hurled cruel insults at her. Beth had the audacity to challenge Meg's hypothesis that one couldn't be happy without money. Beth's Scriptural response, "I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly"(John 10:10 MKJV) wasn't appreciated.

 Beth Alexander, with her flawless countenance, long auburn hair worn back, contagious smile, explained that Jesus came not only to atone for our sin, but we receive abundant life when the Holy Spirit lives in our spirit. This abundant life includes spiritual power through a personal relationship with God. Meg was livid as Beth concluded, "In this kind of relationship, we can find joy in any circumstance."

 Meg was especially hard on Beth that day. She made an order and then refused to pay for it, saying that Beth must have written it down wrong. She knew Mr. Strickland would take half the cost out of Beth's paycheck, but she didn't care. "Let's see her find joy in that," she smirked, backing out of the soda shop.

 A quick stop at the Post Office changed everything. She never looked in the back when she returned to her car. He was crouching in the floor, behind the passenger's seat. A thin sun-baked hand held a gun to her head, forcing her to pull over down the road to pick up a friend. Grinding her teeth together Meg slowly inhaled when she saw his friend's beady black eyes and leathery face. "Drive 'til I tell you to stop. You'd better not do anything stupid."

 Just outside of town, Meg went in the trunk. Ghoulish laughter permeated the car. Meg's eyebrows furrowed in pain as she listened. Desperate to hear what they were saying, she couldn't make out their words. Her thoughts raced. Oh, God. Where are they taking me? What's going to happen to me? Please don't let them hurt me. Pain, fear, and engine fumes lulled her into a fitful sleep.

Meg woke to the squealing of brakes as they rolled to a stop. She had no idea where they were. The smell of pine needles mixed with exhaust fumes filled the air. She heard them plot while they built a campfire. Cackling over their plans, they both agreed that she would die after supper. 

Meg's mind was reeling. Thoughts flashed like frames on a strip of broken film. Let's see, if I can kick a panel out maybe I can reach around with my, "No, I cant move my legs. My arms are so numb. What can I do? There's no way out. Am I actually going to die? Oh, God! Let's see, I remember they taught us a prayer in Sunday school. Now what was it that stupid teacher said?

The smell of fried bacon and biscuits invaded her senses, hunger pangs screamed for relief. She heard forks scraping against dishes, pans tossed on the ground, and footsteps. The footsteps were getting louder. Let's see, what was it? Now I lay me down to sleep... No, that's not it! What was it? I bet Beth Alexander would know what to do.

The key turned in the lock, as the sun-baked hand stabbed a gun in her face. "Come on, Missy, it's time for a walk."

Meg staggered forward like a drunkard, every limb screamed in agony. "We'll take the tape off your mouth if you promise not to scream."

Her temples pulsed, eyes darting between her captors pleaded for mercy. She nodded in agreement. "Please, don't do this," desperation engulfed her.

Callous hands pushed her toward the woods, "Enough with the tears already."

Meg's mind was spinning desperately. I guess Beth was right; my money can't help me now.

2006 by Dr. Sharon Schuetz

All I've been able to think about for months is how much I want that promotion and the raise that goes with it. I've worked for this company for three years and it's about time. I've done everything that has been asked of me, and more. I brought in more money and clients in the last year than anyone else. I'm at work nearly an hour early and I stay late just to make sure everything is ready for the morning rush. I put my job before my family, my friends, and my church. Nothing is more important to me than my career.

I can just taste success. It's right at my fingertips. Nothing can stop me now. Sure, my daughter stayed home from school sick this morning. My husband thought I should stay home with her, but she has a phone by her bed and my number is on speed dial. If she really needs me, she knows how to reach me. Besides, he could have stayed home with her himself if it was that important.

If I miss even one day from work, especially for personal reasons, I won't get the promotion. I don't think I could stand that. I'll have lots of time to take care of my family and fulfill the commitments I've made at church after they announce my promotion this afternoon.

I've always worked hard at everything I've ever done. All my life I've wanted to grow up and have the perfect family. I do. I have a great husband and three wonderful children. I know I don't always put their needs first, but they just have to understand how important this is to me. I've also wanted to have a great job. That"s almost here. Not that I don't enjoy what I do now, I just know that there is more out there for me.

My husband says that I am never satisfied with what I have. He calls fulfillment on my terms elusive. That's not true. I am satisfied, at least for a while. I know Paul said that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6 KJV), but he didn't work at my job. I know that eventually I will feel the contentment he is talking about in this Scripture. I just have to focus on my priorities right now.

Oh, they just put up the announcement about the promotion. I can't wait to see my name beside the title Sr. Vice-President. Yes! I got it. I knew I would. Just wait until I get home and tell Steve and the kids. They'll be so proud of me.

Now why did those kids leave their toys in the yard again? I'm going to have to talk to them about that, but first I want to tell them the good news. Where are they? I've looked everywhere, but no one is home. Where could they have gone? Wait there is a note on the refrigerator from Steve.

Marsha,

The children and I have gone to stay in a hotel for a few days. I will be by at the end of the week to get our things. We can talk then. We just need some space. We still love you. Oh, congratulations on your promotion, I hope you find in it everything you need.

                                                                                                           Steve

"It's nice to meet you, Sarah," Steve Archer smiled as he squeezed her hand.

"I've looked forward to meeting you, too. Mark has told me so much about you." Mark has worked for Archer Investments for over a year and this is the first time she met his boss.

"What do you do, dear?" Always by her husband's side, Beverly Archer, smiled sweetly. Amy knew that Beverly managed the office at Archer Investments. Always immaculate, she wore a blue chiffon dress with pearl earrings and a matching string of pearls. Long auburn hair hung loosely around slim shoulders. This woman knew her place and took full advantage of it.

"I'm a homemaker," Sarah smiled.

"Oh, that's nice, dear," Beverly Archer gave Sarah an uncomfortable smile and quickly turned to her husband, dismissing herself to mingle.

Sarah touched Mark's arm. Mark responded by putting his arm around her. "Mr. Archer, not only is Sarah a great homemaker, she homeschools our daughters, teaches Sunday school, and reads to the elderly at the Sunshine Nursing Home, and she drives them to their doctor's appointments. She's terrific."

Sarah's cheeks were crimson. She whispered into Mark's ear and excused herself to find the ladies room.

Sarah stood in front of the long bathroom mirror. She was lovely. Blonde hair framed her tiny face. The black silk dress accented her slim figure. Black star Safire earrings, encased in gold, and a matching necklace completed her elegant, yet simple wardrobe.

I wonder if I look as stupid as I feel right now. Her mind was playing the same reel it does every time someone scoffs at her choice to quit her job at Nicholas Engineering to stay at home.

Why do I do this? I always know someone's going to ask me what I do for a living. It�¢ï¿½ï¿½s as if I told them I have AIDS or something every time anyone asks. Why do people act as if I'm an idiot when they hear that I don't have a 'real' job? They never stay around long enough to get to know me. I like being a homemaker. I thank God that Mark is such a good provider and I can stay home with my family. I love working with my 'grannies' at the home. Why do I feel this way?

Mark and Sarah left early because she had to be at the hospital at seven the next morning. Mrs. Peterson, from the nursing home, is going to have surgery. On the drive home, Mark softly laid his hand on her lap. "Honey, I'm sorry Beverly treated you that way. She's normally very nice and talkative. I don't know what happened."

"I do. I told her I was a homemaker. That happens every time someone asks me what I do." A single tear escaped, dropping onto her dress.

The next day, after leaving the hospital, Sarah stopped by the nursing home to visit a few of her regulars. She loves her grannies, as she calls them. Many go for months without a single visitor. She and her daughters always try to see them on special occasion, like birthdays. Coming here is the highlight of her week.

Sarah loves the nursing Home. She loves the sound of soft voices, muffled by partially closed doors, the funny squeak of nurses' shoes in the hallway, and the click, click, click as the medicine cart rolls from room to room. The smell of alcohol mingled with pine cleaner fills the air. It really isn't a great smell, but it brings back wonderful memories.

Her grandmother lived in a nursing home most of Sarah's life. Although she was lucid, she was bedridden, needing constant care. Sarah and her mother visited her twice a week, more when they could. She loved it there. She made so many friends; people who had no family, but loved children. She had dozens of grandparents.

As Sarah drove home, her mind wandered back to Beverly Archer. The hair rose up on the back of her neck for a moment. She felt the same defensiveness she experienced at the party. Then she thought about Mrs. Peter's surgery. She remembered the silly card Mrs. West received from her grandson today, and she laughed again at the joke Mr. Crain told the 'pretty ladies' as they all stood in the hall talking.

Sarah clutched the steering wheel with both hands and shouted aloud, "Eat your heart out Beverly Archer. You may have a job, but I have a life."

2006 by Dr. Sharon Schuetz

The church is moving into a glorious time of change and growth. Our spiritual fathers left us a solid structure on which to build, both for our present and for future generations.

            Approximately every 50 years or so, God shines his light onto a new facet of his plans for “Operation Man.” In addition, he places a new emphasis on the gifts necessary to bring his plan to fruition for each age. Although his gifts are the same and will never change, history reveals that Christians in every generation brush the dirt off of buried truth bringing it to the light as God uses it to demonstrate his power.  

            The baptism of the Holy Spirit, tongues, and the manifestation of certain gifts were seen      sporadically throughout the centuries. Most of the early church fathers had some level of this experience at least once in their lifetime, even though they didn’t fully understand it. Many of them lived their entire life and ministry from the power and sweet memory of this one unique experience or moment with God.   

            We can see as far back as the 19th-Century how the early holiness movement and the Keswick “Higher Life” movement ushered in an unprecedented time of revival. The first known person to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues was a woman named Agnes Ozman on January 1, 1901. She was a student in Topeka, Kansas. From   Kansas, the Holy Spirit worked at Azusa Street in California for years. Today’s Pentecostal movement began from these roots. Our founders started the Pentecostal Church of God in 1919.

            During the 1940’s, the Pentecostal movement more than doubled in size, increasing in churches, ministers, and constituents. The middle of the 20th-Century was an important time of renewal for the church. The large ministries of that period operated in the gift of healing. People like Oral Roberts and Kathryn Kulman lead the church into a new era of growth and prosperity. Healing was the expected result of faith and prayer.

            Many of the churches and movements that grew so prosperously in the decade of the forties and fifties have reached a point of escalating decline in the latter part of the 20th-Century.

            Today we’re in a new century and a new era. God wants to do a new thing in our generation just like he has done in preceding ages. He is sweeping the dirt off hidden truths for our generation. He is moving through churches and bringing in the sweet fragrance of life. God is raising up leaders with vision. He is looking for mature, seasoned, capable men and women who hear his voice and know his Spirit through a deep, intimate, personal relationship.

            The Holy Spirit is breathing a new spirit of revival into the church. Like the pastors and ministers in the forties, today’s minister must seek the face of God and become sensitive to the moving of his Spirit. We can’t expect him to bless our stale, outdated, outmoded programs. People are looking for something with life and excitement. They won’t stay long in a church that has the stench of death.

            We’re living in one of the greatest times the church has ever known. These are the last days. You and I are hand picked vessels God is using to bring life to his church as we anticipate and work for his soon return. I hope you feel as exhilarated and as honored I as do.

"The Art Center is having a contest," Sue Rhine bit her lip and offered Larry the crumpled flyer. "They're looking for a painting of the 'Essence of Peace'. First prize is 10,000 dollars.

Tightening his jaw, Larry Rhine hissed through clenched teeth, "That's stupid; how can you paint peace?" Larry had been in a funk since his parent's fatal car crash three months before. Consumed by anger and doubt, he blamed God.

           "You're a good painter, Larry. You have to get out of this mood. We can't live this way. I just thought maybe this would help,"Larry ignored Sue's monotone whisper. 

"How can I paint peace when I don't even know what it is?" He slammed the door so hard a cup fell off the counter.

With sagging shoulders, Sue rested her chin on her fist using the sofa as her altar. "Father, Larry is in such pain. I know he still loves you. Help him. This darkness is killing us. Please give him peace. Thank You.:

            In the garage, Larry paced, clenching his fists. I don't care what anyone says. They didn't deserve it. They were faithful to God and he didn't protect them. How can I have peace if I can't trust God with my own parents? He stopped pacing and spoke to God for the first time in months. "God, I dont want to go to hell so I'll serve you, even if I can't trust you."

            He went into the bedroom where Sue was reading her Bible. "I'll do it." Raising one eyebrow, he almost smiled. "Who knows, with luck I might win." Shrugging, he turned to leave, "Besides, we can use the money."

Larry painted for six days. Sue was delighted. She noticed a gradual change in him since he started working. The depression cloud was dissipating; he was softening, and even smiled occasionally. He was more preoccupied than normal, but at least he wasn't brooding. Always private, he was being almost tight-lipped, even hiding the canvas from Sue's curious eyes. When he finished he drove to the Art Center and entered it into the contest.

            The following Friday night they were to announce the winners at an open house. He was handsome in his tuxedo. Larry looked young for forty. Sue wore an exquisite blue floor length gown with a low cut back, the pearls Larry gave her for their tenth anniversary, and matching heels. She pinned her long, blond hair in a tight bun at the nap of her neck with a pearl studded clip.

On the way to the Art Center Larry squeezed her hand. "God and I've been talking for the past few days. He used this painting to show me how to find peace. Were ok now." That is all he said, but for Sue it was enough.

The gallery was full of mingling art patrons. Muffled conversation filled the large room. A large woman in her seventies stepped to the microphone clearing her throat. Greeting the assembly, she droned on about the Arts. Finally, she was ready to make the anticipated announcement.

"Third place, for 2,500 dollars, goes to Geoffrey Lindale for his, Morning Meadow." Trees, flowers, and butterflies covered the canvas, tranquil in understated beauty. The peace nearly drew you into the painting. You could almost smell the flowers and feel the soft breeze coming from Morning Meadow.

"Second place, for 5,000, goes to Mitzy Douglas for her, Lion and the Lamb. The king of the jungle laid quietly, his large head resting beside a soft, white lamb. They were nestled together in peaceful slumber, without a care in the world. Peace radiated from the near embrace of these natural enemies.

"And our 10,000 dollar, first place winner is Larry Rhine for his, In the Midst of the Storm." The eagles nest was perched on the edge of a ten-thousand foot cliff. A storm raged, threatening to destroy everything in its path, with lightening, thunder, and treacherous winds. Two tiny eaglets slept soundly, snuggled in the soft down taken from their mothers breast. Their parents sat close by watching over them. Oblivious to the danger around them, these eagle fledglings knew only contentment and trust.

Larry took the microphone. "God promised us that he'll never give us more than we can bear. As long as were in this body well have storms, even then our spirit can still find peace. I forgot that for a while. But God reminded me hes always there, even In the Midst of the Storm."

Rachel stood frozen, facing the door. Her delicate features hardened with the strain of the past two years. Tiny, soft hands were now calloused from harsh living conditions and her struggle to survive."They just arrested the Weinsteins." Fear had contorted her face almost beyond recognition. "Oh God, why? Why are they doing this to us? This is senseless."

Phillip pulled her against his strong chest. Rachel felt like a small child in his familiar embrace. His huge frame overshadowed her. "Shh, my Beloved. I cannot tell you why. Who can understand the rantings of a mad man?" Philip was always calm. Rachel depended on his strength.

Philip and Rachel warmed themselves by the fire barrel on the street of the interment camp. Rachel heard the truck tires crunch the ice and slide to a stop at the end of the street. The boots were even louder. Gunfire. Screaming. Cursing. Rough hands pulled at her, shoving her toward the trucks. She could see Philip's face in the dim firelight. Their eyes locked just for a moment before the butt of a rifle slammed into the back of his skull.

The long ride in the crowded truck was only the beginning of Rachel's journey. Men in uniform with guns and dogs surrounded the train station. Her determination crumbled as she realized that Philip was on a different train. The endless ride was worse than the rumors had described. No bathrooms, no room to sit, the stench of feces, urine, and vomit permeated the air. The dead body of an old woman, pressed against her, held up by the crowd. For four days, they stood in cattle cars; bodies pressed together, people dying from starvation and lack of oxygen.

            The train screeched as it pulled to a stop. Finally, the doors opened and the passengers could move again. The bright sun reflected off the snow. Once her eyes stopped burning she saw that the train had taken them to Ravensbruck, in Northern Germany. Rachel's empty stomach wrenched with terror as she realized that she was in a women's concentration camp and that she may never see her beloved Philip again.

The overcrowded barracks housed three to a bunk. The acrid smells of urine and rotting flesh assaulted her senses. The women worked sixteen hours a day. At night, they sat on the beds scratching fleabites and listened to the Scriptures read by two old Dutch sisters from Holland. They were daughters of a watchmaker who were here because they hid Jews from the Nazis in their home.

            Rachel couldn't understand the demeanor of these two women. Betsy was sick all the time, and her sister, Corrie, smiled incessantly. They even thanked God for the fleas that caused the German guard's refusal to enter the barracks and discover their disobedience. These two 'crazy ladies' confused Rachel. They had nothing to live for; nobody waited for them at home, yet they insisted that God's love would sustain them.

The days passed slowly. All she could think about was finding Philip. Day after day, she worked hard and at night, she listened to the Scriptures and occasionally asked questions.

Rachel had been at Ravensbruck for three weeks when she pensively made her way across the room and sat on the edge of Corrie's bunk. "Corrie, I don't understand how you can keep such an attitude with all you've been through. If I don't get some help I'll go mad."

"My dear, Jesus went through much more than I have suffered. Only through his strength can any of us survive." The kind old woman's raspy whisper cut deep into Rachel's anger. "The Bible says, "The joy of the Lord is our strength (Neh. 8:10). This encourages us to continue as we pour ourselves out for the needs of others."

"Help me, please; I need this God you speak of." A tear escaped as Rachel took Corrie's withered hand.

            Betsy died a few days later. Shortly after, an accidental clerical error caused the release of Rachel's friend Corrie Ten Boom, just one week before they exterminated all the women her age.

Death, starvation, hard work, excessive punishment, and harsh weather surrounded Rachel. Despair, her constant enemy sought to destroy her. Rachel, however, would not let go of Corrie's Savior. On occasion, she could be heard humming and if you asked her why she would simple smile and say, "The joy of the Lord is my strength."

     When I first met Brother Schuetz, I couldn't believe my good fortune. In fact, I had such a hard time accepting it that for the first two years after we met I kept saying that I knew it wouldn't last. It was too good to be true. Who was I to deserve a man like him? We had one thing going for us from the beginning, however, that we never even realized until years later. In the more than 26 years, since we met I have discovered it was not 'good fortune', but a marvelous God who loved me more than I could ever imagine. Throughout our lives, even before we knew God, he knew us and had a plan for our lives.

I didn't know God when I was growing up. We only went to Sunday school a few times. I went to a lot of  vacation Bible schools during the summers. (That's where you got the best snow cones.) Apart from that, I never really knew much about a loving God who cared so much about me. I had just turned 23 years old when Brother Schuetz and I accepted Christ as our Savior.

I struggled for 6 ½ years after this trying to please God while at the same time trying to overcome addictions to prescription drug, alcohol, and cigarettes. No matter how good I was or what I did it always seemed inadequate. God was never impressed for very long. It was as if he were always just outside my reach, nitpicking everything I did. I felt like I couldn't win. At this point, I got frustrated and stopped going to church for four months. When I was desperate enough, God introduced me to a new facet of his personality, the baptism of the Holy Ghost.

During this time, Brother Schuetz continued praying. I would walk into our bedroom and he would have his Bible open, reading. I couldn't understand why he could still love me so. I often took our last few dollars and spent it on drugs or cigarettes, even though I knew it would be days or even weeks before we had any more money. He never condemned or scolded me. He just continued treating me with the same love he had shown me for years.

When I got into a Full Gospel church, I started hearing about God's unconditional love, and his desire to have a personal relationship, even an intimate relationship with me. This all seems so foreign. I had never had heard of this kind of God. I tried to understand this concept for a while, even as I was struggling to get free of some of my old habits.

How could I understand a love that you can't earn or one in which you are not required to behave a certain way? There was one way. Brother Schuetz. You see, God said that I was the Bride of Christ. I could see that. I also knew that I was the bride of Bro. Schuetz. I could see that. Well, if I could receive love as the bride of Bro. Schuetz, even when I didn't deserve it, maybe I could receive God's love as the Bride of Christ. So I understood and accepted the unconditional love of God by comparing it to the unconditional love of Bro. Schuetz.

After this revelation, God started teaching me how he wanted to be my Father. It took him years to teach me how to think of him this way. Again, he used Brother Schuetz as an important instrument in my schooling. As I watched him relate to our daughter, Kathryn, I saw how I could relate to God as my 'Daddy.' I learned to crawl up in God's lap; lay my head on his shoulder just like any daddy. When I go to him in prayer it's no different from our children going to their daddy and asking to have their needs met.

Through the years, God has used my family to teach me many facets of his character and personality. As a mother, I have learned patience, another facet of God's nature. The love I have for my children teaches me how God loves me as his child. God places us in families for this reason. As we develop our relationships with each other, we learn more about God's love for us.

   Twenty-five years of marriage to such a man! I can honestly say that he is the godliest man I know. WOW! What a life! I know, without a doubt, that I didn't deserve it. Thank God I didn't get what I deserved. I got God's love and the love of a good man instead.

"Welcome to Life Quest? We have an exciting show planned for today. Both contestants committed treason and our studio audience will determine who will live and who will die. And now, the host of our show, Steeeeve Becker." Steve Becker sprinted in from the left side of the studio.

"Hello everyone, are you ready to play, Life Quest?" The audience erupted into wild applause. "As you know, we will ask each contestant one question and you, the audience, will decide their fate based on their answers. The loser gets life in prison and the grand prize winner will get to go to heaven tomorrow night on CBS's new reality show, Send Off." Steve Becker smiled into the camera, "Today we have a great program, so let's meet our contestants." Applause filled the studio as the camera moved in for a close-up of the candidates, chained to a console.

"Contestant number one is Elizabeth Winters, a housewife from Lexington, Kentucky. She was caught teaching Bible stories to innocent children and says she must obey God and not man." Elizabeth Winters donned a black eye and split lip from her jailer's beatings. Tear-filled eyes looked down at her restraints as she contemplated her children's fate without her.

"Our second contestant is David Albright from Houston, Texas. His family, loyal to our Messiah, reported his treason. David is guilty of hiding traitors and having Bible studies in his home. He says he would rather die than take our Messiah's mark." David's jaw tightened as he closed his eyes, seeking mercy for his tormentors.

Are you ready? Let's begin. Elizabeth Winters," Steve directed the camera to Elizabeth's bruised face, "what is life?" The audience waited breathlessly for her condemning answer.

Her beauty was marred by her wounds. Tangled dark hair hung loosely around swollen cheeks. Longing for the release of death, Elizabeth smiled through cracked lips, "Life is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ." Frenzied, the audience shouted for blood.

"David Albright, same question. What is life?"

Balding and rotund, David Albright smiled in spite of the pain inflicted by his tormentors. "Knowing Jesus Christ as my Savior." Though he could barely stand, David spoke with power; his deep voice resonated throughout the studio.

His bold declaration nearly sent the audience over the edge. More guards ran from the rear, erecting a barrier around the platform. A few audience members leaped from their seats, rushing the stage. "Ladies and gentlemen, I must ask you to keep your seats. You'll have a chance to be heard." Steve Becker consoled. The audience murmured and reluctantly returned to their chairs.

"I think we've heard enough, don't you?" Elated, Steve Becker turned to the agitated audience. He loved their reaction to such headstrong contestants. "Audience, it's time to choose who lives and who dies, Elizabeth Winters or David Albright? You're the judge and the jury. Cast your votes on the console on your right."

This was Steve's favorite part of the show. He thought it strange that Christians wanted the grand prize, death. It did bother him to see contestant like Elizabeth Winters beaten so badly. However, she did break the laws of the New World Federation. Steve Becker smiles directly into the camera. "It's time now to find out who will live and who will die."

Lively music played as he raised a hand toward the contestants. What's your verdict for Elizabeth?" Every eye turned to center stage as the word DEATH lit up the console.

"Okay, how about David?" The console flashed, DEATH.

"Okay folks, it looks like we have a tie. Before the show our producers drew a name and sealed it in this envelope in the unlikely event this would happen. "He held a white envelope up to the camera.

Elizabeth and David held their breath, waiting. Steve slowly opened the envelope and pulled out its contents. "Ladies and gentlemen, be sure to watch right here on Channel 11 tomorrow night as the new reality show, Send Off, gives a World Federation send off to, Elizabeth Winters, our grand prize winner." The audience went wild.

Elizabeth turned her face toward heaven and wept openly, giving thanks to God. David Albrights held his head down, a single tear escaped. He knew what prison meant.

Steve Becker smiled into the camera. "Coming up next, stay tuned to CBS, for the 2012 Oscars, hosted by Hollywood's newly reunited Brad Spit and Jennifer Annister. Good night everyone. We'll see you next week on, Life Quest."

"Good Morning U.S.A., we're the place for news, weather, and traffic updates, and here's your host, Diane Mason. Good morning, Diane."

"Good morning, Dave. Let me introduce our audience to this lovely lady beside me. Mattie Olsen is a member of an exclusive organization called Supercentenarians. At age 119, she is one of only seventy-seven people documented to be 110 years or older. Mattie was born on a wagon train when her parents traveled from Missouri to California. She has seen our nation go from the Old West to our modern age of cell phones, computers, and ipods.

"Good morning, Mattie, and welcome to Good Morning U.S.A."

"Mornin, dear."

"Mattie, you must have seen just about everything in your lifetime." Diane softly laid her slim hand on Mattie's gnarled ones. She was stunning in her blue suit and white silk blouse. Her long blonde hair added to her smart appearance. In her thirteen-years as CBS's senior anchor, she has interviewed Presidents, world-leaders, and a Pope. Never, however, had she anticipated an interview more than this one. To Diane, Mattie represented volumes of unwritten living history.

"Mattie, you're amazing. May I call you, Mattie?" Diane respected this woman and wanted to show it.

"Sure, that's my name, ain't it?" Mattie cackled at her own wit. Although she was bound to a wheelchair, her mind was as sharp as it was at forty.

Diane smiled at the joy radiating from this charming woman. "Mattie, tell me a little bit about yourself, your family, who you are."

The camera moved in closer, catching the twinkle in her eyes. "There's really not too much to tell anymore. I've outlived my husband, my children, my grandchildren, and everyone I ever knew. I grew up on a ranch in California with my parents, three brothers, and four sisters. "Course they've all been gone for years. My husband, George, and I were married fifty-five-years when he died." Mattie's lips turned up into a mischievous smile. "Those were fifty-five-years of adventure, for sure."

"Why is that?" Diane was curious.

"Well, we spent the first fifty-years or so figuring each other out. Then he had to up and die on me just when things was gettin' good." Mattie laughed.

Diane admired Mattie's sense of humor. Maybe this is why she had lived so long. "Tell me Mattie, to what would you attribute your long life?"

"To lots of things, I reckon." Mattie slowly leaned forward as if to share a secret. "I guess if I had to say it was one thing it would be I walked the walk, not just talked the talk."

"Really?" Diane furrowed her eyebrows.

"Yep. I got sick and tired of people who'd tell you how to live and what to do, but didn't do it themselves. 'Specially deacons."

"Deacons?"

"Yep, deacons. The itinerate preacher used to come to our neck o' the woods 'bout every three months and preach 'bout how we was supposed to live. Then he'd traipse off preachin' somewhere else, leavin' a deacon to take care o' the flock. That was like leaving a fox to guard the hen house. Why, our head deacon, Brother Tripe, would do all manner o' stuff. Acted like God's gift to the church, then went and had himself an affair with the school marm."

"What a shame." Diane wanted to laugh.

"He sure was ashamed when he got caught." Mattie doubled over in laughter. "I was just a kid but I decided I wadn't gonna live like that. I learned a long time ago that even a crib baby is walkin'."

"What do you mean?" Diane was intrigued.

"From our first breath to our last, we're walking through this world, leavin' footprints all over the place. Anybody can tell ya what ta do, but only God can help you do it. I met God when I was just a wisp of a girl. I asked Him a long time ago to let me see myself from where He sits, you know, lookin' down from heaven above. Deacon Tripe talked the talk, but didn't walk the walk. I've spent the last 105 years watchin' where I put my feet, and I think that's why I''m still around."

"Mattie, we're out of time. Thank you for being with us and for your wonderful insights. I've so enjoyed meeting you." Diane smiled into the camera with her usual outward composure. Inside she wondered how God saw her walk. She mused, Yes, Mattie Olsen is still leaving footprints.

2006 by Dr. Sharon Schuetz

Sometimes hope seems to hide in adversity's shadow. Adversity wants to convince us that it can destroy us. It taunts us and tells us there's no use to try. It wants us to give up and accept our circumstances.

A young couple enters marriage with great hopes and dreams, anticipating the wonderful future they will build together. They quickly learn that adversity walks alongside their hope. He loses his job, she miscarries their first child, and they are forced to live with their parents in a house shrouded in disharmony. The question, 'Why' hangs in the air.

In the beginning, there is always hope. Christopher Columbus left Spain because he had hope. The Pilgrims experienced unimaginable suffering just for the hope of freedom to worship their God. They spent two months on the Mayflower enduring taunting by the crew, sickness, storms, and death before finally landing at Plymouth Rock. They continued, however, and today we are a free nation.

The early American settlers traveled in wagon trains, thousands of miles across unfamiliar and dangerous terrain, just for the hope of a better life. Women buried their husbands along the wagon trail, yet they persevered and continued on their long journey west, their hope was their only comfort. Adversity was the constant companion of those heroes who struggled for a better way of life. Yet, hope was always close by, ready to encourage and nourish their battered faith.

I once heard a pastor preach a message titled, There is No Such Thing as Hope. His premise was that we must have faith. "Faith is to be sought after with everything in us. Hope is useless and unnecessary. It is faith that moves mountains," he shouted, "not hope." While it is true, faith is the drive that ultimately fuels our endeavors, hope is the spark that ignites faith's flames. How can we be confident that we will obtain our desires without the seed of hope from which to build?

Before every great work of art, before a nation is formed, before cathedrals are built, before a new life is born, there is hope. Hope is the seed of every great enterprise. It cannot be, if there is no hope. Adversity challenges every endeavor, every dream, and plan. We invest our finances, our time, and our energy, commitment, and reputation and adversity laughs aloud, calling us foolish. The lump of disappointment in our throat nearly chokes the life out of us as we raise our head up and ask, "Why?"

We wipe our tears and look across the horizon; we can see a cloud moving toward us. What can it be? How can we endure anything else? As the cloud grows larger, we can see the blue suit with the huge red "H" on its chest. The red cape of promise flaps as it moves closer. Hope has arrived. Adversity has to step aside while hope wraps its arms around us and soothes us with words of promise. Hope fuels our faith and we can go on once again.

Our dreams, desires, and promise are there for the taking. Adversity is there also, all set to destroy. Hope stands by, knowing that we will need it many times before we have achieved our dreams. For those who will let it, hope fans the flames of our faith with the promise of a better tomorrow.