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May I? Can I? – He Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:02:41 +0000

Can I? May I? – He Said

“…Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” – Matthew 6:10

In first grade we had a bathroom in our class. Why, I don’t know. I guess back then kids were navigationally challenged and teachers were afraid we couldn’t be trusted to walk down the hall without getting lost. In fact, David Ashworth once asked to be excused and never returned. I was glad. David was a mean boy.

Anyway, a few weeks into the school year I raised my hand and asked, “Can I go to the bathroom?”

As kids, especially kids in the first grade with fidgety bottoms, we asked to be excused a lot. But Mrs. Swartz said I could, so I got up and headed for the bathroom. I’d almost reached the lavatory sink when she said, “Eddie Jones where do you think you’re going? I didn’t give you permission to get up from your desk. Now sit back down.”

“But you said it was okay.”

“I said no such thing. You asked if you could go to the bathroom. I’m certain you can. I’ve watched you go before. But you may not at this time. Now sit!”

I learned that day there’s a big difference between what I can do and what I may do.

Each morning when I look up at the sky, I begin my devotional time by saying, “Lord, may your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth… and in my life… as it is done in heaven.” I want to remind myself that God is in heaven and I’m on earth―that He is king and I am not. I know there’s a lot of trouble I can get into each day so, before I rush off to work, I want to find out from Him what’s permissible and what’s not.

This prayer also places me in a position of submission before Him. It is here, in the center of God’s will, that I learn to listen, love and obey my Father. Had Adam paid more attention to God’s voice and the details of His instructions, we might not be in the mess we’re in now. But if not Adam, then someone else. Probably someone like David Ashworth.

Speaking of messes, I made one myself that day. By the time Mrs. Swartz finally gave me permission to use the restroom, my bladder was moving faster than my fingers and before I could get my zipper down it was too late.

Don’t you be like me. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Invite Christ into your heart today. Ask God to allow His will to be done in your life. Pray for His kingdom’s provision.

And, if you see David Ashworth wandering the streets of your city, please send him back to Mrs. Swartz’s class. We miss him.

His Way – She Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 18 May 2012 04:01:14 +0000

“your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:10

I’m a seeker. Always asking questions, trying to understand, wondering and even wandering , too. I’m also a little stubborn—not my best attribute, but a part of me that at times works” for” and “against” me.

Through the years, I’ve found my love for seeking has gotten me in trouble. To me, there’s never a half-empty glass. It’s always half full. At the risk of being cliché, “Where there’s a will there’s a way” and most of the time my way is pretty good. It may not be the most conventional, but it generally gets me from point A to point B with little trouble.

Still there are the times when my mind is set on an idea and my way seems to be the only “right” way. Thus, I’ve turned my husband down a few roads off the interstate that led nowhere. And since I’m being honest, I’ve broken a few things by accident because I was sure I had the right way to fix them.

But one place I rarely wander as a seeker, is my way to God. I learned a long time ago that insisting on my way spiritually lead to nothing but disaster. I’ve sought after God’s kingdom , prayed for His will and bounced off the invisible wall label “NO” more times than I could count.

That’s when I ask questions. “I don’t get it God, I’ve asked over and over. And you said, ask and you’d provide. I don’t get it. Why are you ignoring?”

I feel Him nudge and whisper, “That’s your will, not mine. It has to be my will, Cin.”

Seeking God isn’t always as easy as the feel-good preachers say. Searching for God and His will can be very trying, and lonely. It can be heart- wrenching wondering if the steps I take are filled with discernment and wisdom or if I’m assuming my way is best

I’ve learned to ask God for His will and then let go and wait for His way. Praying for His presence to come—His kingdom to come and His will to be done means I have to concede, give up, and trust.

I’m a seeker, constantly praying, continually asking for God’s will in my life, then patiently watching. It isn’t easy but it’s always worth the end result. Walking within His will is peaceful and pleasing. Inside His will I never really want.

Won’t you seek His kingdom and will on earth as it is in the perfection of heaven?

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Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and cofounders of ChristianDevotions.us. They cowrite the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host Blog Talk Radio’s Christian Devotions SPEAK UP! along with Scott McCausey. Eddie and Cindy travel and speak at conferences across the country and they are available to speak at your church or conference. Contact them at cindy@christiandevotions.us.

Do you sense something vital missing from you relationship with your spouse, children, and God? Try He Said, She Said: A Devotional Guide to Cultivating a Life of Passion. This compilation of 54 devotions includes scripture verses, space for journaling, individual prayers and words of wisdom from two of today’s funniest and insightful Christian authors. This heart-warming collection of stories will inspire you to reach for the true source of joy: a life lived for and through God. These deeply personal devotions offer biblical insights and spiritual truths from the perspective of one man and one woman.

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Heaven Only Knows – The Best of He Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:02:41 +0000

Our Father who is in heaven… Matthew 6:9

My Father, who is in heaven. Can I ask? Will you tell me?

You remember Gayle, don’t you? Of course you do. You’re God. Do you recall how, when she was alive, she demanded that her sister carry her outside for a smoke? Remember how the snowflakes stuck to her oxygen tank and formed icicles as she inhaled one cigarette after another? And how she cursed you, saying it was your fault she got cancer. Well I heard from a friend that with those same nicotine-stained lips she called your name and said, “ I surrender. Take me Jesus. I want you to be my Lord.” Is Gayle there?

My Father, who is in heaven. What about that blond-haired boy who sat next to the preacher? The one who wore the white robe, lit the candle, and barely made it through confirmation class. Did he make it to heaven, Lord? Do you see him much? Or did those later years of binge drinking and promiscuity keep him from your throne? You know, God. Will you whisper his name in my ear? I need to know that boy made it.

My Father, who is in heaven? Do you see Dad. God, I hope so. Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it that way, but if Dad didn’t make it then I don’t know what I’ll do. Remember Dad? He goes by Raymond. Or did. You may have given him a new name. I hear that’s what happens when you get to your kingdom. Assuming he arrived. He promised me he gave his life to you, but really, how can I know. How can any of us know the heart of those we love?

My Father, who is in heaven. Do you see empty chairs beside my seat at your table? O Lord, I hope not. Please, tell me my family is there. Or will be. And that my friends have a reservation.

My Father, who is in heaven . . .

“Not enough, Eddie. Not enough.”

Who makes your joy complete? Introduce them to Christ.

For the Love of God – The Best of She Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 11 May 2012 04:01:34 +0000

This, then, is how you should pray: ” ‘Our Father in heaven…

Right there. The place where there’s nowhere else to look, but up. That’s the entrance to heaven, I’m sure of it.

When you scan across the ridge, your eyes catch a glimpse of the outstretched arms of the pine trees and the breeze carries the sweet fragrance of the Father. This is the opening of heaven. Here I wave, and here I wonder if He sees me.

Most little girls adore their dad. I’m no exception. As a child, I loved my father, but we weren’t close. His time was spent working at the local paper mill which left him tired and grumpy most of the time. In fact, Dad was a gentle man, but rarely friendly. So I stood at a distance and longed to know his heart.

Things changed when I became an adult. Dad met the Father and his demeanor changed from the inside out. We drew close—inseparable. Then Dad died. He left me.

When I sit on the mountaintop and gaze across the valley, there is no doubt in my heart Dad is there. As the clouds sift their way through the cliffs and down into the pass, I see them form the illusion of stairs climbing their way upward and vanishing into the depths of the blue ocean. That’s when I lean back and pray.

Our Father in heaven…my father is in heaven. Thirteen years after his death, I miss him the same as I did the day he left me.

I find my heavenly Father in the breath of the mountains. Maybe that’s why I love coming to the summit. It’s here I search. And like a little child, I find myself peering under bushes and pulling back limbs to see if He is, by some slim chance, hiding there. I can’t see Him physically either and that makes me lonely and hungry for His presence. Sometimes fear tells me my heavenly Father will leave me too. Even when I know He won’t.

So on the rare opportunities when I get to climb the face of the mountain, I sit there and pray. I rest assured that God is close. And though at times I feel lost and alone, sometimes abandoned…I know I’ve never really been left. He’s never very far away.

To pray the prayer of Jesus and know that it’s for His love, ever present in me, filling me—keeping me, tells me both of the Fathers I love completely are in heaven.

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Heartbroken

Eddie — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:02:13 +0000

Heartbroken

My son, give me your heart. Proverbs 23:26a

“Grumpy for Life” – that’s the shirt I purchased outside Disney’s Magic Kingdom. I wanted to get an Eeyore sweatshirt but couldn’t find one. Somebody must have taken the last one. That’s just the sort of luck I have . . . always wanting what’s not available.

Grumpy is me in the mornings. Grumpy is me before coffee. Grumpy is how I bumbled down the steps in the dark and entered my friend’s kitchen. Yes, I have friends. Two, in fact, though one is in jail right now and the other recently “unliked” me on Facebook.

I found the coffee pot and pressed the ON button, then using the light from my cell phone, I checked the cabinets until I found a bowl of sugar. I poured myself a mug and was about to sweeten my bitter brew when a voice – God’s maybe – told me to stop. I wet my finger and tested the sweetener.

Salt.

Isn’t this so like us? We look sweet, but we’re not. We profess to have the love of Christ but our words are salted with bitterness. “Let your gentleness be evident to all,” Paul writes. “Love your neighbor as yourself,” says Jesus. “I’ll preserve them with the salt of the gospel,” we proclaim, seeding God’s fields with our toxic words.

Real love, the love that heals broken hearts and flows from God’s Spirit, draws others to us. This is why we can never manufacture love. Oh sure, we can produce lust, obsession, and a measure of kindness. We can even act with compassion and practice gentleness, but sincere love – the kind displayed by Christ — can only come from God.

I have a broken heart. I don’t know when it cracked. Maybe I was jiggled and jilted once too often and cracked from too many rejections. Or maybe my heart’s always been busted.

But I know this. I am capable of testing my sweetener before dispensing to others.

To all my friends, co-workers, authors, family, and anyone else I’ve offended this week, last week, and the weeks before that, I say I’m sorry. I should’ve tested the bowl before I poured salt in your wound.

###

Lord, take my heart and fix it, please.

King of Hearts – She Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:01:08 +0000

God is the King of Hearts

My son, give me your heart. Proverbs 23:26a

My heart hurts. When Dad died, it hurt. It broke when I divorced and burned when a friend said there was nothing left. It tore when our child became a prodigal. When my Dalmatian died, the faithful friend who walked at my heels and loved me regardless, my heart seriously hurt.

I know what it feels like to have my heart hurt. So when I woke up in the wee hours of the morning unable to go back to sleep, I recognized the pain.

I crawled out of bed and headed downstairs. The glow of the computer screen highlighted a deck of cards. The top card…the King of hearts. I smiled at the irony. “Why Father,” I whispered? “Why does my heart hurt?”

Perhaps it’s just the season of life I’m in when I see the reality of my immortality. My children are grown, gone, and I’m not needed as much. I’m growing older, my body aches a bit more, time passes faster and through all this…my heart still hurts.

When God impressed His answer on me, it wasn’t exactly comforting. Give me your heart. I’d hoped for relief not a request. A quick fix. Anyway, why would God want a heart so banged and battered that it hurt?

But He did. He specializes in hearts.

God knows us inside and out. He created us, giving us the tenderness that lies within. He placed our most vulnerable part in what we symbolically label as our heart and then He asked us to give it to Him.

Our Father wants to care for us, to protect us. He wants our trust and for us to find Him in the soft spot of our soul. Giving my heart to God is all He asks. Not just because I love Him, but because God is the King of Hearts.

If my heart belongs to God it doesn’t stop the heartaches of life, but the comfort I find in Him certainly eases the pain I occasionally face. It makes me stronger spiritually, allows me to slip through the hardships a little easier, and bask in the joys a little longer.

Even when my heart is broken and tattered, it’s not easy to give it to anyone. Instinct is to hold on and protect myself. But when I offer it to Christ, the simple touch of His love heals the deepest hurt.

Give your heart to the King of Hearts…the King of Kings. He will care for you.

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Fleshing Them Out – She Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:02:35 +0000

Fleshing Love Out

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24

“Eweee.” My son’s attempt at whispering his displeasure at the minister’s statement was less than quiet. “Mom, why would they want to cut off a wife with a cleaver and be one flesh?”

I pressed my finger against his lips. “Sssh. It’s not a cleaver. It’s cleave. And it’s a symbol.”

“Cymbal? I thought that was something on a drum.”

I squinted my eyes into the mom stare. “Now would be the appropriate time for you to be quiet. Watch the wedding.”

My then, six-year-old son’s sense of humor was cute but not in the middle of a wedding. His vocabulary had always been advanced so I knew that he knew what cleave and flesh meant however, I wasn’t sure he got the symbolism involved.

It’s not always easy to wrap our minds around the idea of marriage and how God wishes for us to launch out on our on into deep, committed, and meaningful relationships. As a mom, my love for my sons runs way beyond deep. It’s insatiable. I want them happy and well cared for but I also understand the line God drew in the sand. It was the same line my parents parked their toes on and didn’t step on or over.

When our oldest son married, we welcomed his new wife into our family but we also knew this was his time to step forward, take his bride, and solidify a tight and lasting relationship with her. His love and devotion for his wife didn’t mean he no longer loved us, it just meant a new level of maturity for him.

It was his time to leave us and begin to flesh out his love and new life with his wife. Together, they would grow in the hope of what tomorrow would bring. His decisions would become their decisions. Her desires would become their desires. Together they would be one.

I wish everyone entered into marriage with the level of commitment God placed on it…for when they do…when they make every effort to cling to one another… the joy and happiness found in being “one flesh” is beyond insatiable. It’s the closest thing to the heart of God they’ll ever experience.

Whether you’re getting married in the near future or whether you’ve shared a sixty-year relationship with your honey—trusting that relationship only to Christ is the glue that holds things together. Snuggle up to your “sweetie” and let God lead your love.

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Pooh Finds His Honey – He Said

Eddie — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:02:14 +0000

Pooh Finds His Honey

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. Genesis 2:24, Darby Translation (DARBY)

One day when the sun rose over the Hundred Acre Wood, bringing with it the smell of Spring, and all the streams in the Forest were tinkling happily to find themselves their own pretty shape again, Christopher Robin said to Owl, “I am going to give a party.”

“Oh? You are, are you?” said Owl.

“And it is to be a special sort of party, because it’s for Pooh. Will you hurry quickly and tell Pooh and the others?”

Owl tried to think of something very wise to say – a very witty and clever remark – but couldn’t. So he flew off to tell the others. And the first person he told was Pooh.

“A party for me?” said Pooh. “Will there be those little cake things with pink sugar icing?”

Owl felt that it was rather beneath him to talk about little cake things with pink sugar icing, but he allowed that. “Yes, I suppose there will be sweets of all kinds for you are the sort of bear who enjoys such things and after all, what sort of party would it be without you and sweets?”

“And honey? Will there be honey?”

“I suppose. But now I must be on my way to tell the others.” Owl flew off to tell Eeyore and Piglet and Roo.

“A party for me?” thought Pooh to himself. “How grand!” And he began to wonder if all the other animals in the Hundred Acre Wood would know that it was a special Pooh Party and why he deserved such a grand event.

While Pooh pondered these things, Owl was talking to Eeyore. “Eeyore,” said Owl. “Christopher Robin is giving Pooh a party.”

“Very interesting,” said Eeyore. “I don’t suppose Christopher Robin thought to invite me to Pooh’s party.”

“Yes, yes! I am your invitation.”

“Very well. I shall come. Only don’t blame me if it rains.”

But it didn’t rain. Christopher Robin had made a long table out of some long pieces of wood and they all sat around it. Christopher Robin sat at one end, and Pooh sat at the other, and between them on one side were Owl and Eeyore and Piglet and all of Pooh’s closest and dearest friends. It was a fine party with little cake things with pink sugar icing and everyone had a grand time.

“Only…” said Pooh, looking down the long table filled with wrapping paper and opened boxes and new jars that had the words POOH on them, and new fluff for when his stuffing fell out…. “Only where is the honey?”

Christopher Robin smiled and said, “Silly old bear. Did you think we would forget your honey?”

Owl and Eeyore and Piglet and all of Pooh’s closest and dearest friends rose from the table and left the room and returned quickly with a large box — one nearly as large and round as Pooh.

“Open it, Pooh!” said Piglet.

“Yes, hurry!” exclaimed Roo.

Pooh tore at the wrapping paper and lifted the lid of the box. Immediately his face clouded over with confusion. “But this… this is not honey,” he said, sadly. “This is only a…”

“Girl,” replied Christopher Robin. “She is sweeter than honey. And when you feel lonely or sad or your stuffing falls out, she will be there to help put you back together. She, Pooh, is Mrs. Pooh.”

Pooh found himself at a loss for words, which for a bear with a very small brain happened often. His eyes began to leak. Then a most wonderful thing happened. The new Mrs. Pooh touched his cheek with her fingers and Pooh found himself thinking, not of honey, but of how beautiful Spring smelled and how the tinkling of the streams sounded like wind chimes and how this new Mrs. Pooh stuck to him like honey.

“Honey, if you live to be a hundred,” Pooh whispered to Mrs. Pooh, “I want to live to be a hundred minus one day.”

“But why?” asked Mrs. Pooh.

“So I never have to live without you.”

The End.

(Adapted from A.A.Milne’s, Winnie-the-Pooh – Eddie made up the Mrs. Pooh part.)

###

This weekend our oldest son, Win, marries his Honey. Congratulations, Pooh!

I’ve Got a Beef With Greed – He Said

Eddie — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:02:10 +0000

Frozen Cow Cabin, AP Photo

…for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10 NIV

I don’t wish to alarm anyone but two very troubling stories came to my attention this week. One involves frozen cows and the other a welfare mother scraping by on $735,000. First the cow catastrophe.

You may recall that in 2011 the University of Colorado Buffaloes bolted from the Big 12 Conference and joined the Pac-12. At the time, no one paid much attention to this news. In fact, many of the Buffalo players were not even aware they had changed conferences until they ran onto the field at the Rose Bowl wearing layers of fleece and wool under their uniforms and promptly passed out from heat exhaustion.

Now we learn that around the same time the Buffaloes were losing 45 to 6 to the UCLA Bruins, stray cattle were seeking shelter from the cold inside a Colorado cabin. This week, those six cows were found frozen together. U.S. Forest Service spokesman Steve Segin said of the catastrophe, “Time is of the essence. We don’t want them defrosting.” According to Seginm, officials are worried that if the cows start decomposing, they could contaminate the water in the nearby hot springs.

The same day the frozen cow story broke, a Michigan lottery winner admitted to collecting $5,475 in food stamps and public medical benefits. Amanda Clayton, recipient of $735,000 in the lottery-sponsored game show “Make Me Rich,” continued to collect food and aid because, in her words, “I have bills to pay. I have no income. And I have two houses.” No word on whether one of those houses is a cabin in Colorado.

God may own the cattle on a thousand hills but He also knows our every need…and greed. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the poverty line for an individual in the United States was $10,830 in 2010. This means the poor in America are in the top 14% of the global income distribution. As a nation we are blessed like none other. We have cows sleeping in cabins, amateur athletes making millions for their universities, and single mothers winning the lottery.

What we do not have is the good sense to know when we have enough. If a cow knows when to come in from the cold, shouldn’t we be smart enough to recognize the providence of God and His blessings? We do not need a lottery to “Make Us Rich.” As a nation we are rich. What we need is to acknowledge the source of that bounty.

Find a cow – or stranger – and make them rich today. Give them God’s love.

Mine, Mine, Mine – She Said

Senior Editor — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:01:28 +0000

Mine, Mine, Mine!

…for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Psalm 50:10 NIV

“Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.” My son rewound the DVD so we could see the sea gulls in Little Nemo fly around fighting for food. “Mine, mine, mine,” they screeched.

Chase roared. “That’s just like those birds on the beach last summer. Greedy.”

Sadly enough, I related to the greedy birds. Over the last few years, I’ve found myself grasping hold of things that aren’t mine…holding to what I thought would keep me secure. The harder I held on to these things and the more I circled and shouted, “Mine, mine, mine,” the farther away God seemed.

Don’t get me wrong. I know God has never left my side, but there are times I felt like He was veering away. I’ve come to call this time, my desert. I’ve wandered for months, said I was walking in circles, searching, waiting for God’s direction. With every circle I made I found myself saying, “Mine, mine, mine.” But God had the opposite end of my greed, yanking it back to Him. No, Cin…it’s mine. Give it back. It’s mine.

God is the infinite Creator. Everything I see, touch, or breathe is His but my tendency is to say, “Mine.” How Christian of me to say, “Everything is God’s.” It sounds really holy on my part, when the truth is . . . I just hope people believe I trust Him.

My heart has ached for weeks. I’ve shed more tears trying to please others, until I finally let go of the rope of greed.

My eighty-five-year-old mom had major surgery. As we walked her down to surgery, tears welled in her eyes. I knew, she knew, this could have been the last time we saw her. I kissed her head, told her I loved her, and squeezed tight to her.

I heard a whisper. She belongs to me. Let go.

“She’s not mine is she?” I replied.

No, nothing is yours including your fear, your insecurity and your worry. It’s all mine. I own it all and I’ve never agreed for you to have these things. I want you to have happiness.

“I’m tired of walking on egg shells, fearing I’ll upset someone. I’m tired of worrying. Tired of begging, God. Can’t you share?”

Yes, I thought you’d never ask. And He did.

A weight lifted, my heart opened, and God shared what was His…love, compassion, comfort, and peace.

The God who owns it all right down to cattle on a thousand hills simply waits for me to give up the greed so He can give me what I need. Is it time for you to let go? Loosen your grip and let Him take control.

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