Be God's Valentine

Do you get any Valentines yesterday? Valentine's Day is a great day to write and receive love notes. There is nothing sweeter than having the one you love share their feelings with you.  Getting love notes from your kids is especially sweet. Reading "You are the best mom ever" is a wonderful feeling.

But what if you are alone on Valentine's Day? Or if even with your family around, you weren't feeling the love?  Remember that God is love. (1 John 4:8) And God wrote a love letter to us. It's called the Bible, and here are some excerpts from that love letter.

I love you. (John 3:16)

There is nothing you can do that will make me stop loving you. (Romans 5:8)

I will never leave you. (Joshua 1:5)

You are valuable to me. (1 Cor 6:20)

I rejoice over you with singing. (Zeph 3:17)

I will do more for you than you can ask or imagine (Eph. 3:20)

I want to encourage you and give you hope. (2 Thess 2:16-17)

There is nothing than can separate me from you. (Romans 8:38-39)

Be Mine. (1 Cor 6:19-20)

Hallmark holidays can be hard when you aren't in the perfect relationship. But then no relationship is perfect...except the one between you and God.  Won't you be His Valentine?

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Blow Gently

I was blowing bubbles with my daughter the other night. As we took turns, I noticed that when I blew, lots of bubbles would come out of the wand. Yet on her turn it seemed only a few bubbles would come out. Each time I heard her "Pffffft" as she blew with all her might with little results. Then I let her in on a little secret. You get more bubbles if you blow gently, than if you blow hard.

It reminded me of the Biblical principal, evangelism. Evangelism is the preaching of the Gospel. It is telling people about Jesus. But over the years, I've learned that if you "blow gently" you get more interest than if you "blow hard."

This principal is clearly stated in 1 Peter 3:15b, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." We are called to be prepared to give an answer to everyone, (blowing). We are to make sure that we keep ourselves filled with the "bubble juice" of Gospel so we are ready to blow. But we are cautioned to do this with gentleness. Blow gently.

There are people out there just waiting to learn about Jesus. It's our job to share the message! But we don't force it on people; we gently share it and let the Holy Spirit do His work in them. We don't convert people. We simply share the message, and the Holy Spirit does the rest. So remember, blow gently. Because nobody likes a blow hard!

Kelly Combs is a Christian wife, mom, writer and speaker. You can learn about Kelly by visiting her website at www.kellycombs.com

Seeds of Encouragement - Book Review

Seeds of Encouragement is a series of stories by Andrea Sharp of SharpWomen.com. Each chapter tells a story taken from circumstances in Andrea's personal life. Andrea shares her short stories of love, faith, and holidays, to provide life lessons that we can incorporate into our own lives to grow closer with, and strengthen our connection to God.

Following each chapter is a "Seed of Encouragement" or application lesson from the story which point the reader to the direction of God.  Following the "seed" is a quote from a famous person that also applies to the essay. I enjoyed the way she included the seeds and quotes to turn each essay into a package.

Andrea's love for the Lord is clear in her stories. I enjoyed the way she keeps her eyes to God whatever the circumstance and did find that encouraging.  

The reader should take note that each chapter is independent of the others—similar to a Chicken Soup for the Soul book.The book also contains a multitude of topics including faith, parenting, care giving and more, all with the inspiration to draw the reader closer to God. 

Andrea is an inspirational speaker and author. You may purchase her book here. Please also visit her blog: http://sharpwomen.com/blog/ 

I was provided a copy of this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.

When Life Gives You Avocados...

“Whatcha doing?” my sister asked, her standard phone greeting.

“Just making some guacamole.” I answered.

“What? Why?” Her surprise was natural. 

Growing up with a mentally ill mother, dinner was often McDonalds...when we were lucky.  Other times it was a cold hotdog.  I remember the night my mom made macaroni and cheese.  It was the standard blue box variety, but she had forgotten to cook the noodles.  As she stirred the sauce into the crunchy uncooked noodles, she realized her mistake and said, “I messed up the dinner, you’ll have to make yourself something to eat.” She then went to bed.  I was left staring into a nearly empty refrigerator, and eating yet another cold hotdog for dinner. 

Consequently, I've never been good at "domestic" stuff like cooking, cleaning, decorating, and crafting. Without training, I was challenged in these areas. But then something changed.

I joined a cooking co-op. If I would cook dinner just 1 night a week, for myself & three other families, then 3 nights a week I would have dinner delivered to me by another family. To someone who hated (aka can't!) cook this was a dream come true. What happened next was truly a surprise.

I had to meal plan. Once the calendar was set, grocery shopping was easier. And once I started putting some real effort into my cooking, the compliments (from my own family AND the other three families) started coming in! Soon I was buying fun kitchen gadgets (did I say fun and kitchen in the same sentence?)

Now, I can honestly say now I am a good cook. I can meal plan. I just had to learn how. Titus 2:3-5 says we older women are to teach the younger women to be "busy at home." That means cooking, cleaning, meal planning, decorating. I was never taught. But rather than carry on this omission, I am now teaching my children the joys of things like cooking.

When I received a co-op meal that included salad items including onions, tomatoes, cilantro and an avocado, I decided to use the leftovers to make some home-made guacamole.  That’s when my sister called.

“We may not have had the best childhood,” I told her, “But I don’t have to hold onto those years as an excuse not to learn basic domestic skills.  I am no longer stunted by those years.”

“I’m really proud of you,” she said.  I smiled at her encouragement, then held back my laughter as I told her, “When life gives you avocados, make guacamole!”

What challenges are you working to overcome in your life?

Using Your Special Gifts with Your Unique Quirks

"Mom, look what I can do!" my 7 yr old exclaimed as she sniffed hard, pulling both of her nostrils closed.
"Wow, impressive!" I responded enthusiastically, as any mom would.
"It's my special gift from God," she told me.

We all have special gifts. God gives each of us gifts according to his purpose. But we also have quirks. We can mistake our quirks for gifts.  (Watch any episode of America's Got Talent, and you will see examples of this.)  But sometimes we can combine our quirks with our gifts, to create our own unique ministry.

I believe that my writing is a gift. I also have the uncanny ability to remember song lyrics. This leads me to break out into song in almost every conversation, because a single word or phrase can bring an entire song to mind.

I used this "quirk" with my gift of writing, to create Musical Mondays here on the blog. I combined my quirk with my gift and incorporated it into my blog. While it may have seemed clever at the time (okay, I still think it was clever!) it never grew into what I expected, which was a devotional book based on the premise.  But it did create my own unique devotional style.

You are unique too!  God made you special with gifts to use for his glory, and quirks that make you you! It's our job to figure out our gifts and use them for God's design. And if you're a little quirky too, just go for it. It's what puts that unique spin on your gift.

Finally, don't compare your gifts with others!  In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul spells out how we are all uniquely gifted, like different parts of a body. Foot, ear, eye...all are needed for a unique purpose! None are better than the others. So then are our unique gifts.

Use your gifts, embrace your quirks, and don't compare! After all, we can't all sniff hard enough to close our nose! But we can all use our gifts (and quirks!) to glorify God.

What are you gifts? What are you quirks? How can you combine them to create your own unique ministry?

When Grace (seems to) Let Us Down

Giving the gift of grace doesn't guarantee a happy ending. Oh that it would! I remember when my daughter was in 1st grade. She and another young girl were sharing a computer when my daughter accidentally elbowed the other little girl.  "I am so sorry," my daughter exclaimed, "Would you forgive me?" The other little girl, angry, said, "No!" My daughter was devastated.

Just because we do the right thing, doesn't mean we get the right ending. Such is life. In our relationships, we can give and give and give, and still, sometimes not win over the other person. That's not to say we shouldn't try. We should love as Jesus loved. We should give grace. But we shouldn't become doormats or co-dependent.  Sometimes the most graceful thing to do is to walk away from a relationship. To continue to "love" and "give grace" from afar.

In Acts 15, the Apostle Paul and his ministry partner Barnabas have a disagreement. Neither is willing to relent, and so they go their separate ways. Both men of God, both spreading the Word of God. Yet, not together. Still, Paul speaks with esteem and affection about Barnabas in the epistles written after the event.  He gives grace to Barnabas, even while choosing not to continue in ministry with him.

Outside of heaven, will we not have perfect relationships. We are not perfect people, and even if we are, we are around other non-perfect people. The only grace that never fails is God's. His grace saves, and never lets us down. We can show love and grace to others, but we must show ourselves that same love and grace. And that means sometimes choosing to walk away.

The Gift of Grace, part 2

On Friday, we discussed giving the gift of grace to strangers we "meet" in the media. Today, we focus on giving grace to those we know personally.

Another cancellation? It was almost laughable. One of my best friends and I have weekly lunch dates, every Friday. In December with school parties and the 2 weeks of Christmas break, we hadn't had a chance to see each other.

Then came January. She went out of town for a long weekend. I had to cancel when an appointment was unexpectedly rescheduled. Then she had a sick child. We had good spirits about the whole thing, laughing as the next cancellation came, more expected now than not.  Neither of us ever considered that the other had any motive other than to get together, but life happens.

This is a sharp contract to another friendship I had several years back. Again, in December, I knew my schedule would busy, so I emailed the friend to explain to her I wouldn't be able to get together much that month. Imagine my shock when I received a response saying, "If you want to end the friendship just say so, don't make excuses." Of course I emailed back apologizing! However, soon after came another email and another, every time assuming the worst about me or my intentions.

My "friend" had experienced a childhood filled with rejection. And so in adulthood, she expected it.  And she expected it so strongly that she went looking for it, and accusing of it at every turn. Not surprisingly she often found rejection because of her actions. Those actions, the coping mechanisms that protected her in a sad childhood, hindered her in her adult life.

I tried extending grace to her in spite of her actions and accusations, but she couldn't extend any grace my way, sure that every action had an ulterior motive. Finally I realized that perhaps the most graceful thing to do was to exit the relationship. (On Wednesday we'll talk more about what happens when relationships fail in spite of grace.)

But today, I'm glad that my dear friend who I missed seeing all of December, and most of January this year, believes the best about me. She gives me the gift of grace, as I do her. We may let each other down at times, because we are human. But because we extend grace, there is always forgiveness.

Are you extending grace in your relationships?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8