Read the Red Words

The tall, thirty-something woman with large eyes and humble spirit chatted with me while watching her two-year-old play on the slide. She was waiting for her six-year-old to step out of Vacation Bible School at a local church as I waited with my daughters to pick up grandchildren. I steered the conversation to spiritual things. When I asked her how she came to know the Lord, she shared her story.

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She did not grow up in a Christian home--far from it. Steeped in relativism and the humanistic thinking of our times, she had no regard for God, until she met a lady who modeled her faith in ways she found captivating and inviting. While she couldn’t pinpoint a specific action, she noted the woman’s winsome ways through simple acts of kindness. Later, another woman invited her to a Bible study. While she admitted she kept going primarily to be with the other women, she identified a pivotal study that initiated a change of mind. At one point, the group showed The Truth Project series produced by Focus on the Family. So compelling was the evidence for God and His fingerprint on every area of life that she could no longer escape the fact that God existed. He was real, and He was truth.

Still, she remained frustrated. She wanted to know more of God, but she simply couldn’t put the pieces together. In her words, she “didn’t get it.” One morning, she woke up still longing to know Him. Before her feet hit the floor, in her mind she heard, “Read the red words.”

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She knew the red words referred to certain sections in a Bible she owned, but she did not know until she read them that they were the words of Jesus. She devoured His teaching and believed His message of love, grace, and forgiveness.

In the telling of her story, she wept, overcome with emotion. “How can I ever repay Him for what He has done for me? What can I do for Him?”

I thought for a moment, gazed at her little son, now moving over the mulch in our direction. “Read the red words to your children. Your kids are your number one discipleship mission. Read them the red words.”

Her eyes brightened, and her shoulders noticeably lifted.

I left that encounter reminded that it is God who sets salvation in motion; He seeks us; He places the desire within us to know Him; and He does whatever necessary to bring the light of His Word to us so that we can receive His gift of forgiveness and eternal life. He is faithful God, true to His Word.

I also left marveling at how often we get the erroneous impression that our service for Him is “out there somewhere” demonstrated in some grand display when often our greatest ministry lies right in front of us as we go about our day. 

How about you, dear reader? 

Do you know God through His Son, Jesus Christ? Do you sense that tug on your heart to know Him? Have you responded to Him? Share your story below wherever you are in your spiritual journey (a seeker or a follower).

Have you ever experienced a time when you longed to serve the Lord in some grand way only to find the “grand” way was right in front of you? Share your story in the comment section.   

   

Moving Past the After-Christmas Blues

Last night at church a young mother pulled me aside before the children’s Christmas program. “I remember what you shared with our women’s group a few months ago—about how you experience the blues after Christmas is over. I can relate. I’m dreading it.” Her soft blue eyes filled with unwarranted apology.

My heart ached for the woman. I assured her she wasn’t alone. Many experience the same foreboding feelings when January rolls around. 

Here are some tips I shared with her that I’ve found helpful. Perhaps they will encourage you as well. 

Plan ahead.

Just as you prepare for the holiday season, plan for the post-holiday season. Often we’ve invested so much energy shopping, decorating, baking, and visiting family that once the holidays are over, we drop into a chair exhausted, totally spent, and without a clue how to move forward into the new year.

Treat yourself to some much-needed rest. Sleep in on the weekends. Take a “4R Rejuvenation.” This is exactly what I have planned for our Life Group ladies on January 26. We will meet together to reflect on our lives, rehearse God’s faithfulness, renew ourselves in His love, and release everything and everyone into His hands. We’ll eat together and treat ourselves to massage therapy. 

Having something fun to look forward to, preferably with others, will breathe new life into your spirit. 

Invest Time in a New Hobby.

This one thing has greatly helped me over the past two years. Two or three months before the New Year begins, I decide on an outlet I want to pursue that is fresh and new. One year, Chuck and I took a six-week Shag dance class, which got me through to the end of February. I knew the previous October that I’d have this new outlet to liven up the winter months. Another year, I invested more time in my artwork, a hobby I don’t typically spend a lot of time doing.

Take a Winter Trip. 

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get away. A “trip” may simply mean taking a short drive to a nearby museum or concert. Or it may mean a weekend away at a Bed & Breakfast (one of our favorite getaways). Whatever the trip, plan it in the fall, so that you have something to look forward to in the winter months.

Take your Vitamin D.

This one is getting more press these days, but it was not always so. The winter blahs can sometimes be traced to a lack of sunshine, so make sure you take a good quality Vitamin D supplement to chase away fatigue and depression.  When winter sunshine shows up on your doorstep, take advantage of it. I eat lunch with the front door open, since the sun streams through the glass door. 

Keep Moving. 

After consuming all those rich holiday foods, our bodies tend to be lethargic. Couple that with cold weather and we often resist the admonition to exercise. It’s so vital to the body and the mind to keep moving. Take a walk. Sign up for an aerobics or swim class. Use the rebounder while watching your favorite television show. Set some nutritional goals or revive old ones. 

Get Involved in a Volunteer Activity.

Joy is never experienced so thoroughly as when we give ourselves away to meet the needs of another. Consider volunteering at your local Rescue Mission, food pantry, Battered Women’s Shelter, teen center, or Crisis Pregnancy Center. 

Get Together with Friends.

It’s easy to pull within ourselves after a busy Christmas season. Resist the urge to do so. We need each other! Go out for coffee. Invite a friend over. Knit or talk or bake, or whatever it is you love to do, with someone else. 

Stay Close to the Lord.

Sometimes during the busyness of the holiday season, we let our devotional lives slip. We talk about the Lord; we do things for the Lord, but we fail to spend quiet time in His presence. Thus we enter the New Year spiritually depleted, longing for love and fulfillment. If we’re not careful, we’ll allow Satan, the flesh, and the world to complete our desires rather than turning to Jesus. Monitor your temptations according to 1 John 2:16 (the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life). Remember that God wants to provide the way of escape if you will draw close to Him (1 Cor. 10:13). Surround yourself with the Body of Christ—don’t isolate. 

According to Philippians 4:9, often we simply have to do the right things before we feel like doing them. God will honor our godly actions with good feelings of joy and peace. 

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The House that Wisdom Built

THE HOUSE THAT WISDOM BUILT

As you spend time with family this holiday season, look for the treasures that building a godly household provides. Since wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view and then acting upon that godly knowledge, Proverbs, the book of godly wisdom, is an excellent place to immerse our families with practical principles for living.

Read through Proverbs during family devotions and have each member list the characteristics of a godly home. Younger children may wish to DRAW their "characteristics," so provide paper, crayons or markers. Kids love to ACT OUT things, so let them dramatize a characteristic and you guess what they are doing and what biblical principle it illustrates. You could also keep a FAMILY JOURNAL of your "discoveries" from Proverbs.

Keep the devotional time short. No longer than 15 minutes, unless the kids are really "into it" and just don't want to stop. Hey, it could happen! Concentrate on one verse or principle at a time. Discuss how the wise characteristic can impact the daily life of each family member. Conclude your time together by PRAYING for God's power and grace to implement the characteristic for that day. You might even have a special surprise waiting for the child who is able to report during the next devotional time how he/she implemented the characteristic.

A TREASURE BOX of inexpensive goodies/trinkets/coupons that is only opened during devotions is a fun way to reinforce godly principles. Our family was blessed with a grandpa who loved to do wood-working, so he crafted us a beautiful wooden box (similar to a pirate's treasure chest) with a special brass latch that made the experience all the more alluring. Your box can be anything you want it to be! You might decide to let the kids help craft the treasure chest out of a shoebox, scrap lumber, or a plastic Rubbermaid container. Let your imagination be your guide!

EXAMPLE OF FAMILY DEVOTIONS FROM PROVERBS:

READ Proverbs 1:5:  "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel." (Try reading in different translations).

CHARACTERISTIC FOR TODAY: TEACHABLE

PRINCIPLE TO LEARN AND APPLY: 

A wise person will allow other members of his family to offer constructive criticism or advice. He will listen, evaluate, and make a decision before God. But he is willing to be taught, to learn from other members, even if they are younger than he is. (How often I have gleaned a helpful insight from one of my kids! And how useful and good that makes them feel!) It benefits the entire family when members are teachable. The reverse is also true:  it affects the entire family negatively when members insist on their own way and refuse help of any kind. DISCUSS further thoughts as a family and how the principle can be APPLIED to each life today.

Don't worry about "conquering" the entire book of Proverbs. Go at a pace your family can tolerate. Often small chunks are absorbed and remembered better than large chunks. So don't overdose!

Most of all, have fun! Laugh! Lighten up! God's Word should be a place the kids want to visit. A place of joy and rest. Even as truths bring conviction, as we submit to God's growing process, we discover joy and rest for our souls. Help your children understand that obedience to God yields the peaceable fruit of right living (Hebrews 12:11). Be an example of what it means to be a spiritually alive and growing person. Make memories around God's Word as a family!            

Have fun discovering the house that wisdom built this holiday season as you work your way through Proverbs!

Welcome Cynthia Simmons, author of Struggles and Triumphs!

Author, Cynthia Simmons, shares her thoughts on spiritual gifts from the scriptures.


Do you ever feel insignificant and wonder if anyone would notice if you disappeared? On the other hand do you struggle with thinking too highly of yourself? The following verses in Romans teach us proper self esteem. “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith God has assigned. For as we have many members and the members do not have the same function.” Rom. 12: 3-4

Pride comes so easily to us, but so does poor self esteem. Neither extreme brings good mental health. So what’s the answer? In the next few verses the Apostle Paul launches into an explanation of spiritual gifts, and I believe that forms an excellent basis for a balanced view of ourselves.

Think about it. God gives every believer a gift. No one gets left out. Furthermore your gift may be mercy, but it will have a different slant than others in the church. You’ll be uniquely gifted to do a job no one else can do the way you can in the time and place you live. Even more than that, when you exercise your gift, you become a vital part of the whole church—a necessary cog in the workings of the machinery. Should you fail to use your gift, the church will lose the special ability to touch the world as God planned. Imagine your body deprived of an eye, or even the big toe. Doubtless you’d miss either one.

Let’s revisit the verse above. Paul taught each believer in Rome “…not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…” In other words, he’s saying not to be proud. A prideful person would think of himself as the entire machine. Nothing would happen without him, and we all know that’s not true. That’s disobeying this verse—he’s not that important. But if a believer sees himself as a vital part of the machine, or the body of Christ, that’s healthy. He’s valuable and has something to offer. Paul continues Romans twelve this way, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them…”

Do you battle with thoughts of insecurity? Discover and use your spiritual gift. Do you combat pride? View yourself as a member of God’s church with a vital role to play. The church needs us all, working together for God’s kingdom.




Cynthia L Simmons and her husband, Ray, have five children and reside in Atlanta. She has taught for over twenty years as a homeschool mother and Bible teacher. Active in Christian Authors Guild (CAG), she conducts writing workshops and has served as president, vice president, and conference director. In December 2009 the membership granted her Life Time Membership for her numerous contributions to writers. “Cindy” is fond of history and writes both historical fiction and nonfiction. Her writing appeared in CAG publications, NATHHAN NEWS, Chattanooga Regional Historical Magazine, Georgia Right to Life Newsletter, Chattanooga Times Free Press, Catholic Exchange, and Christian Devotions.us. Her first book, Struggles and Triumphs, came out in 2008. While promoting her book, she had interviews on radio and TV across the nation and was nominated for 2008 Georgia Author of the year. She also conducts monthly podcasts called CAG Spotlight in which she interviews authors and VIPs in the writing industry. At present she is completing a twelve week Bible study using the stories in Struggles and Triumph.



What’s wrong with our world? Shouldn’t a God who claims to be all powerful and flawless prevent suffering? How can we continue to believe when storms rage on in our lives? If you’ve ever had tough questions like these Struggles and Triumphs Study Guide is the book for you. Author Cynthia L. Simmons will guide you toward answers with her unique and enlightening approach. Her twelve-week Bible study for ladies comes from stories of real women as told in Struggles and Triumphs: Women in History Who Overcame. As you study, you’ll come to understand God’s perspective on timeless issues that impact your life. The carefully chosen Scriptures combined with interesting historical information will challenge and encourage you.