A Couple of Days Left

We still have a couple of days left on the Easter Challenge that I put forward last week. I am sure that all of us found some way--other than on the Internet--to share the Gospel with someone else. Please feel free to share that experience with us, whether it worked out the way you wished, or not.

With all the horrific events that have occurred lately, maybe you can find a way to reach out to someone who is suffering and provide them with relief. If so, perhaps you could do this as an act of sharing your faith. Gently suggest that you were motivated to help by your faith in Christ. It is a powerful thing.

I remember being stranded on the highway after a divorce and being unable to change my flat tire. I wondered what would become of me. Then a man dressed in a nice suit stopped to help me and invited me to church. I knew, from that point on, that God hadn't deserted me and He would make sure I was all right. The man didn't just change my tire. He helped strengthen my faith.

Please do that for others--and please share the experience with us.

EASTER CHALLENGE

On Resurrection Sunday morning we pause to remember that first Easter, the joy--so great that followers could not contain it. They could not keep from telling the story.

I remember being in college and having a month long assignment. Instead of writing a paper, we had to keep a journal containing methods we had used to share the gospel, daily. Each day, for a month, we had make a new entry. Missing one day without being a witness meant failure. It was a pass or fail grade.

This was in the day before Facebook, blogs, and most people didn't have cell phones. In fact, email was a very new concept to me. Though I did use snail mail to complete my assignment, this was a very difficult challenge.

On this Easter Sunday, I would like to give readers a slightly similar challenge. I would like for readers to, at least once this week, to share the gospel with someone in a creative way--without using the Internet. You can use the phone or mail, though.

Then I would like you to share your experience on this forum.

This challenge will serve to encourage other and strengthen us all.

CHANGES ARE COMING!

Circumstances in my life are changing. I have shared some of these changes in my little blog. Now it is time for that blog to change, once again.

I will occasionally give you some health updates, but 2 things have caused me to change the focus of this blog. One is the memory of Mrs. Ruth Wilburn, a great encourager. The other is the Make a Difference Monday, sponsored by the syndicated radio station, KLOVE.

Every Monday I found myself thinking, "What can I do today to make a difference in someone's life?" It is a good thing to ponder.

Sometimes making a difference is a thought that is so overwhelming that we dismiss the idea altogether. That is where I hope to help. I would like to encourage action and give a forum for people to share their experiences.

Let's begin sharing today.

I once organized a Sunday school class to have a monthly random acts of kindness. It really changed the lives of others, especially those who were doing the acts of kindness. It seems that doing good is medicine for the spirit.

Now it is your turn to share some of your experiences!

GREATNESS

Greatness.

It is something many of us seek. We wonder how we will be remembered when we cease to walk this planet. When I was a teen I attended a small country church. The pastor at the time was a man named Harry Wilburn. Though he was a wonderful pastor and a greatly loved man, as I look back on those days, I kind of think that much of the spiritual power brought to that church came from his unassuming wife, Ruth Wilburn.

Mrs. Ruth, as she was known, was a quiet woman, an exhorter, a cheerleader of sort. She was a walking example of that scripture, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things." Perhaps that was the reason I was unable to ever say, "No," to her.

It was about 15 years ago that I last saw Mrs. Ruth, but we exchanged Christmas cards every year. She always included photocopies of magazine articles or newspaper stories about her 3 sons, all of whom were preachers. She was a very proud mother.

Last year I didn't get a Christmas card and that concerned me. Only this week did I learn that Mrs. Ruth did not see last Christmas here on Earth. It was a loss for this world, but for the first time in 20 years, she was reunited with her husband at Christmastime.

It is with true sadness that I know I will not receive another Christmas card from Mrs. Ruth. I have met few in my life (men or women) who have won my respect as Mrs. Ruth did. She was a woman of greatness.

FAITH & HOPE

When I was in high school, my history teacher asked me, "What is faith?" I replied that, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things yet unseen." You see, I had memorized my Bible verses well.

The teacher challenged me further. He did enjoy challenging his Christian students. "Just what does that mean?"

I muttered something, but both he and I knew that I didn't have a clue what the scripture meant. Over the years I have remembered that conversation, because I don't think I really ever discovered the meaning of that verse until recently.

When I lost my dream job I hoped for a new job and a better day. When I went with my son on visits to see my ex-husband before he died, I hoped that someday I could laugh and be happy again. When I got a new teaching job, I hoped it would be the one that could satisfy me. When I write at the computer, I hope that it will lead to the manuscript that others will wish to read. As I try to put my life back together in this bad economy, I hope for a better day--or even a day like I used to enjoy.

About 1 1/2 years ago I was in chronic pain, so bad it regularly woke me from my sleep. I had seen doctors in the past who told me it was all about my weight. Doctors didn't realize at the time that my weight gain was a symptom along with the pain--not totally what was causing the pain. Time after time I visited doctors, hoping to someday escape the pain.

Visiting doctors was an act of faith. When a diagnosis was finally reached--I was given specific instructions for a lifestyle change, but no medication. To comply with these activities was an act of faith.

Faith is not a noun. It is a verb. Hope is seeing something--visualizing it. Faith is moving toward that vision. Faith is the actions you take to reach the goal for which you hope. When I worked out to strengthen my muscles and relieve my pain, it was in essence an act of faith. I hoped to someday be able to walk without a limp, to be able to sleep through the night again, to escape the chronic pain. Today I was able to work in the yard, to rake, to shovel, to sweep for over an hour. That was such a victory. Faith and hope took me there.

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen."

I will someday find a satisfying career again. I will write something that others will want to read. I will someday find a way to overcome, even in this economy. I have hope. It is what keeps me filling out job applications and typing on this computer. Hope is the goal. Faith is the action.

It took about 30 years, but now I can explain it to my history teacher.

New Focus

Once again, I feel the need to change the focus of my blog. In the beginning it was about me, as a writer, making observations. Then it moved to my focusing on my New Year's Resolution (both 2010 and 2011) for both physical and financial health.

I have seen great strides in my New Year's Resolution. I have lost over 20 pounds, 1 dress size, and am walking without a limp, again. My stamina has increased.

I will occasionally update you on my Wellness Goals, but I think it is time for the focus of this blog to broaden once again.

I hope you will enjoy.