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What Weakness? – Abbey Medcalf Cooler
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And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet. 2nd Samuel 9:12

“Why can’t I be in the red group for math?” Those were the words I spoke through tears as my fourth grade teacher moved me away from my friends and into the low math group.

Her answer: “It doesn’t matter what math group you are in. You won’t graduate from high school anyway.”

Those words stung my heart and marked the starting point of believing I wasn’t good enough. I’d been taught God loved me and had an amazing plan for my life, but I really didn’t believe it. Then I read the story of a man with a funny name, Mephibosheth (say that three times fast). He was lame in both feet—handicapped—a burden. During his life he faced many challenges, heartaches, and difficulties. Yet he didn’t realize the king of Israel was about to bless his life. King David was the most powerful man in all of Israel, but he went out of his way to bless someone others viewed as unworthy. Our King of kings, our great Lord Almighty desires to do the same for us.

Have you been told you are too fat, too skinny, too short, too tall, too young, too old? You may be dealing with a handicap, the loss of a child, divorced, single, unable to have children, without a job, or living with regret over past mistakes. We all face challenges and difficulties in our lives that make us feel unworthy to serve the Lord.

We feel there is no way God could possibly use us and we only see the things we can’t do for Him. But stop. Think about the things we can do.

God doesn’t look at our outsides, our limitations, or our failures. He looks at His perfect creation (that’s you and me), and says, “I can use you; I want to use you.”

Live in this truth and don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way of serving our great King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

Abbey Medcalf Cooler is a dynamic and energetic speaker with a heart for women. She has a Masters of Arts in Christian Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from Gardner-Webb University. Abbey has served as the Associate Director of Elementary Ministries and as the Preschool and Children’s Director before moving on to teach sixth grade. She is currently residing in Acworth, Georgia and is a stay-at-home mom. Abbey is married to Adam and they have a daughter, Ava.

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Tea Party – Abbey Medcalf Cooler
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…But Martha was distracted with all her preparations… Luke 10:38-42

It was a busy morning! It was filled with laundry, a trip to the grocery store, taking the car through the car wash, picking up the dry cleaning, and then back home to dust and vacuum the house. When we returned home from our many errands, my daughter Ava began playing with her little Fisher Price kitchen. I was busy putting up the dishes and laundry, and wiping down the kitchen cabinets and countertop. I looked in on my daughter playing and she was pulling out her tea party set. She looked at me and smiled.

At first I thought about all the housework I needed to be working on while she was entertaining herself. But then I thought about how fast she is growing up and I did not want to miss out on a “mommy and daughter moment.” So I set aside my “to-do” list and sat down to have a tea party. Ava and I were joined in our tea party by her Cabbage Patch dolls and Curious George.

As I read Luke and thought about the real life experience I had that morning, I was reminded to put everything in my life into the correct perspective. In less then 18 years my daughter will be graduating from high school and moving on into the exciting future that God has for her. She may be going on the mission field, entering college, or starting a career. I don’t want to miss a moment or take for granted the time that God has given me with my precious daughter. My calling as a mother is to invest in the spiritual, emotional, educational, and physical life of my child. When Ava is grown up and she looks back at her childhood, will she remember the perfect house that I kept or will she remember that I took the time to have a tea party?

Abbey Medcalf Cooler is a dynamic and energetic speaker. She has a heart for women, whether young, old, married, single, working, or stay-at-home moms. Her messages are filled with encouragement, Biblical truths, and humor woven together with her own personal experiences. Abbey has a Masters of Arts in Christian Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from Gardner-Webb University. Abbey has served on the staff of First Baptist Woodstock as the Associate Director of Elementary Ministries focusing on the third-fifth grades. She has served on the staff at Noonday Baptist Church as the Preschool and Children’s Director before moving on to teach sixth grade at Cherokee Christian School. She is currently residing in Acworth, Georgia and is a stay-at-home mom. Abbey is married to Adam and they have a daughter, Ava. Read Abbey’s devotions.
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Put on Your Big Girl Britches – Abbey Medcalf Cooler
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The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. Psalms 18:1-3

“I put on my big girl britches this morning!” I said as I bolted toward the nurse who attended my daughter. Due to some pregnancy complications, my precious, beautiful daughter was born ten weeks premature. At just two pounds and fourteen ounces, she spent the first eight weeks of her life in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).

My tiny daughter lay in her incubator with all types and colors of tubes coming out of her little body. I sat by my daughter in her incubator, talking with her and praying over her, when a nurse came by and said it was time to change out her IVs.

“You don’t have to stay in the room while I do this,” said the nurse.

“I’m fine; I wore my big girl britches today!”

I had awoken early that morning to spend some time with the Lord before heading to the NICU. During my quiet time with the Lord, I opened my Bible and read Psalms 18. These verses tell of the comfort and strength we can receive by holding on and relying on the Lord. There are many difficult situations we may be forced to deal with in life and God may ask us to step-up our faith or to “put on our big girl britches.”

What can we do to grow our faith? We can start with prayer, reading scripture daily, attending church and developing Christian friendships. During times of challenge, the most important thing we can do is to hold to the Rock of our salvation…Jesus Christ our Lord.

With a slight giggle from the nurse…a deep breath from me… and a high pitched cry from my daughter, the nurse removed one IV and reinserted another into my brave, precious daughter’s arms.

Be brave. Let God lead you through the difficult times.

Abbey Medcalf Cooler is a dynamic and energetic speaker with a heart for women. She has a Masters of Arts in Christian Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education from Gardner-Webb University. Abbey has served as the Associate Director of Elementary Ministries and as the Preschool and Children’s Director before moving on to teach sixth grade. She is currently residing in Acworth, Georgia and is a stay-at-home mom. Abbey is married to Adam and they have a daughter, Ava. Read Abbey’s devotions