by jot and tittle

 I've come to realize that a lot of young people have not stayed where they were planted. Some even go to other countries and don't see their families regularly. It's not as if people really planned their lives this way. We often do not end up where we thought we would be but we do always go where God will use us best. Some stay and some go.    How do we deal with this? How do we, the people who left, deal with not having the foundational group we grew up with? And how do we, the people who stayed, deal with being "left behind" by those we love? How do we reconcile with the fact that God has decided to plant us in different vineyards in this world? Do we stand before God and ask "why?" or do we bow before Him in worship and adoration because of His great wisdom and love for us, planting us in the soil that is best for us, even though we might not like things about it?        How amazing of God to give us commands and promises so that we will not be d

It had been a busy day. The store was cramped with people and the girl behind the counter, Allie, felt as if her face was about to fall apart or start doing muscle spasms due to all the smiling she had done for the last 7 hours. Only one more hour to go and then I'm done for today, she thought to herself as she smiled at a middle aged man wearing a dark suit. "And how are you doing today?" She asked the question so genuinely that the man looked up from his wallet in surprise.     "Fine," he answered.      Allie smiled again. "Well it really is a beautiful day. After all the rain we've had it's nice to see the sun for a while. Thank you," she took his money and returned some change. "Have a great evening!" She grinned and handed him his purchase.      "You too," the man muttered, received the bag from her and walked out the door. He threw the bag roughly into the passenger seat of his car, got in, and drove down the lonely

 It was a cool day where she worked. Bundled up in multiple layers she labored away at the tasks before her between helping customers select what they needed and load it into their vehicles. A young mother wanted some heavy pots and an elderly lady desired three bags of mulch. She loaded them into their cars, smiling, chatting, brightening the cool day with her own personal rays of sunshine.     It had been a rather hard and long day and she was looking forward to going home when an elderly man (probably between 75-80 years old) walked in with a cane and stood before the front counter. He was wearing a cap that must have been for free from the farm show and his face had a smear of dirt across his left cheek. His blue coveralls were faded and dirty and a bright red handkerchief stuck out his pocket.      "What can I help you with today, sir?" She asked with a bright smile.      "I need two bales of straw" he replied and lay his ten dollar bill on the counter. She

This past week I was talking to a few 16-year-old guys and it wasn’t long before we began to discuss them becoming “men”. This discussion naturally flowed into the topic of “man points”. For those of you who aren’t aware of the term “man points” let me explain. Man points simply show what level of manliness you are at by the things that you do. Here’s an example; if a guy holds open a door for a lady his “man points” would go up by, say, 20 points. If a guy opens the door for himself and goes through it before a lady can go through his “man points” would go down by about 100.       It has occurred to me this past week that there are some young men out there who are genuinely trying to grow in godliness and be the kind of men that God requires them to be. There are also some older boys who act as if they are still children and are content to play around rather than get serious about their faith. To those striving in godliness I encourage you, to those who are content to play I imp

      “I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever. With my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 89:1       “Your decrees are the theme of my song, wherever I lodge.” Psalm 119:54        What are you singing? What song is in your head right now? Does it reflect God? This is a lesson that God is teaching my more and more. I love music! But I love all different kinds of music, which can cause some unpleasant temptations when it comes to driving my car. I like the radio but I need to make more of an effort of listening to Christian CDs and try not to listen to so much stuff that doesn’t edify me. I am challenging myself to listen to music that will spur me onto “love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24) and now I am challenging all of you to do the same. See if for the next week you can stand to listen to music that only encourages you to love and obey God more. It might not be fun…but it will be worth it!

We all have them, those friends that think your sole purpose of life is to jump however high they demand on the spot. I recently had been building up a heavy dose of resentment toward one of my friends and this resentment came to a climax at one point last week. I was venting to my mother and little sister about this friend and they, in a godly way, were trying to convict me of my sin but I was so annoyed that I didn't bother to listen. It wasn't till later when I was reading the Bible that God hit me hard in the heart. I was reading 1 Corinthians 13 which really isn't the smart thing to do when you want to be angry. Here's how I read it. "Becca is patient with ____ Becca must be kind to ____" And so on. The parts that were particularly convicting had to do with not being rude, insisting on my own way, irritable (I was pretty irritable) or resentful. It was a good lesson for me. I hope those of you who are going through things with your friends will be enc

I stood by the counter at work bagging apples. I turned when I heard footsteps enter the store and smiled at a middle aged woman who entered. “Hello, how are you doing today?” I asked in a cheerful voice.      “Good,” she answered. “Do you have a washroom?” I said yes and proceeded to direct her when she said, “My son is coming in on crutches.” From the corner of my eye I saw a young man in his early twenties hobbling towards me. I mentally took a deep breath because I’m not fond of helping young men. He came closer and I looked him squarely in the eye and said, “right down this hallway, it’s the last door on the right.”       His eyes met mine and he responded with a gentle “thank you.” I turned on my heel and finished preparing the apples. The young man came back and helped his mother collect what they needed. When he was looking at the tomatoes I saw the reason for his crutches. The left leg of his track pants was rolled up just below where his knee should have been to

Today is an exciting day. Not only is it hopefully going to be warmer then yesterday but it is also the day that I graduate for my one year Bible Collage program. This year has been a great blessing for me. My classmates and I have learned so much about God and being part of His family!     Now, as our year together draws to a close, we must say goodbye to these wonderful people. We as a class have learned to love and respect each other in a way that could be compared with the way one is with their siblings. We as a group need to say goodbye to the church family that has embraced us and we must bid farewell to the teachers who have helped mold and shape us into the people we are today. I spoke to one of my classmates/sisters about this and she was saying that she wasn't looking forward to the end; we had learned so much, grown to love God more, grown to love each other more, gone on great adventures, walked through trials, spoken the truth in love, and shared the gospel. How co

Henry was walking quickly down the sidewalk one sunny summer afternoon. He had finished his chores and so his mother had let him go out to the park to play baseball with his friends before Dad came home for supper. Henry was quite excited about this adventure but he stopped suddenly when he passed the white church and saw his pastor sitting on the steps with a downcast expression on his normally joyous face.      "Hi Pastor Clay," Henry greeted him as he came to a complete stop just on the other side of the white fence.      "Hello Henry," Pastor Clay's answer was sad.      "How are you today?" Henry asked again, hoping all was well so that he could go play.      "Oh alright," Pastor Clay answered.     With all his might Henry wanted to nod and smile and be on his way...but he couldn't. Instead, he lifted the gate's latch and walked over to the step. Once there, he seated himself beside the pastor. They were an odd looking pair, Henry

After last week’s post about mending fences I was talking to one of my guy friends and he mentioned that it would be nice if I wrote something that was more applicable to men. After thinking about it I’ve decided to give it a go.     Let me start by saying that real men seem to be lacking in our culture. A real man is one who follows God’s commands and seeks to do God’s will. He loves Jesus more than anything else in the world. The Bible gives direction for men and let me tell you, there is more to being a Godly man then leadership.       Titus 2:6 gives one command to young men. Paul tells Titus “Likewise, urge the younger men to be self controlled.”   Matthew Henry expands on this passage by saying “Here is the duty of young men. They are apt to be eager and hot, thoughtless and precipitant; therefore they must be earnestly called upon and exhorted to be considerate, not rash; advisable and submissive, not wilful and head-strong; humble and mild, not haughty and proud; for there a