Midweek Morsel: God Welcomes All

January 23, 2014 by 2 Comments

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Consider this great picture painted in scripture of how God welcomes all into his house, into his family.

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! . . . Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself where she may have her young—a place near your altar, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.” Psalm 84:1, 3-4

Just as the birds found a home in God’s holy temple, everyone is welcome in God’s house today—at his altar, near his throne, indeed near his heart and in his family.

No one is too lowly or insignificant to be wanted by God. After all, everyone is lowly when it comes to approaching God. His love and acceptance of us is not based on who we are but on who He is. He is the Lover of our souls, and he wants all of us to come to him in faith. He wants to be our home. Have you made him yours?

“I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” Psalm 61:4

*What else speaks to you from the scripture passage above?

*Flickr photo by Geraint Rowland

*The next issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter, will come out in early February. Sign-up is free and to the right!

Filed Under: church, family, fellowship, home, love, Word of God

A Country Church Memory

May 26, 2013 by 5 Comments
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*Here’s a post for you this holiday weekend from the archives. Hope you enjoy!
On this Memorial Weekend, as we remember loved ones who’ve gone on before us, I’m reminded of both sets of my grandparents. They lived on neighboring farms and attended the same little country church.

My cherished memories of their church inspired the following poem. Some of you may have read it before in my Life Notes newsletter (sign-up is free and to the right!), but I thought I would share it here again in honor of Memorial Day — in honor of my grandparents. Hope you enjoy!

Country Church Comfort

Country church painted white
Each Sunday morning comes alive,
Trails of dust converge into one
As faithful neighbors begin to arrive.

No big parking lots here
Just pull onto the grass,
Like everywhere the talk is weather
And will it ever pass.

Across the way the cemetery stands
A wealth of history under the trees,
Happy times are remembered here
And with heaven’s hope, sadness flees.

Seasons come and seasons go
A country church weathers them all,
As favorite hymns fill the air
Hear country church comfort call.

“I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.” Psalm 122:1 KJV

*Do you have your own memories of a country church? Or maybe another special place associated with your grandparents?

*Flickr photo by p medved, Creative Commons License

*Connect with me on my new Cheryl Barker, Writer page on Facebook!

Filed Under: church, family, memories, poem

Church in a Condo

August 21, 2011 by 5 Comments

3568886566_68510519a4_zHave you ever had church in a condo? We enjoyed just such a time a few weeks ago during our family vacation to beautiful Colorado. (Sorry to keep referring to our vacation, but lots of life happened during those days that I’d like to share with you! :) )

That Sunday started off extra sweet as Kelli and Jake made cinnamon roll pancakes for us for breakfast. (And yes, they tasted every bit as good as they sound!) But what was even sweeter is what happened next. Church happened. Right in the midst of our family. Right at the dining room table.

While everyone chatted, I slipped away for a moment. When I returned with my Bible, I was pretty sure my girls knew what I was up to since they had grown up with good ole Mom trying to jumpstart some kind of family share time during holidays or vacations. During their teen years, protests or groans usually ensued but not anymore. (All of you with kids at home, take heart—they do grow up, and there is hope! :) )

No, this time a slice of heaven on earth—at least to this mom’s heart—transpired. I began our share time by reading one of my favorite Bible passages and then suggested that everyone else either share their one of their favorite scriptures or tell what God had been doing in their lives lately.

Along with my husband, one by one our daughters and their hubbies shared scriptures and stories of how God was teaching them something or encouraging them in some way. Bottom line? We had church. What a blessing to sit back and listen to our adult kids talk about the Lord and His Word. What a blessing to see our kids walking in the truth.

Church in a condo? You bet. No greater joy… no greater joy.

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 1:4

*Flickr photo by ALM Portraits, Creative Commons License

*Don’t forget to enter the “Back At It” Giveaway 2! You must comment on that post by noon Aug. 28 for a chance to win.

Filed Under: blessing, church, family, joy, travel, Word of God Tagged With: , , ,

Us

June 29, 2011 by 5 Comments

5241046624_76bb6b5145_z“…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1b

“Us.” One tiny word, two little letters, with giant impact.

Who is to throw off everything that hinders? Us. Who is to run with perseverance? Us. Who is the race marked out for? Us. Not me. Not you. Us. We don’t have to run the race alone.

Just think of how that one little word changes everything. We can have support. We can have camaraderie. We can have the encouragement of others as we run our races, whether they’re races wrapped up in relationships, jobs, illnesses, goals, losses, or living lives of faith with victory.

In fact, we’re not meant to live the Christian life independent of other believers. Another passage in Hebrews (10:24-25) tells us, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” Do you see it again? Us. Yes, we need to run together.

Let’s consider each of the races in our lives right now. Do we have running partners or groups running alongside for each one? Do we have those who are spurring us on, encouraging us, and giving us strength to persevere—or are we out there all on our own?

Let’s not forget the little word that changes everything. Let’s not forget “us”.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

*Flickr photo by Drongowski, Creative Commons License

*Next post will bring the return of Summer Photo Fun. Don’t miss it! :)

Filed Under: church, fellowship, Friend, group, help, little, perseverance, team, Word of God

The Key

June 12, 2011 by 8 Comments

We looked for the key high and low. Okay, I take that back. We looked high.

Last Sunday, my Sunday School co-worker Mary and I couldn’t find the key to our closet. Since I’m the keeper of the key and had been out of town the prior Sunday, Lisa (another co-worker then) had placed it in the cabinet above the sink so it would be there for me when I returned.

The problem? Lisa was not there last Sunday, and we didn’t know exactly where in the cabinet she placed it. My first attempts at looking and feeling around yielded no results. Next we started pulling items out of the cabinet and found everything but the key (not wasted effort — it needed to be cleaned anyway). We decided Lisa must have meant to leave the key and then forgot to put it in the cabinet.

While we were involved in this search-turns-into-cleaning-project, Alyssa, our lone little student that day (we teach in the nursery), had been happily having a snack and playing. Even though I had taken the Bible out of the cabinet first thing and placed it and the pictures for that Sunday’s story in the same spot I do every week, it was midway through our class time, and Alyssa still hadn’t wandered over and “found” our Bible. I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands.

“Alyssa, where’s our Bible?” I asked. I knew that’s all it would take to send her hurrying over to find the Bible so we could begin our weekly singing of The B-I-B-L-E. As always, I patted the Bible and pointed to each letter as we sang the song. After our customary clapping and yays, Alyssa opened the Bible, and what do you think we found there? That’s right. The key!

Mary and I laughed and wondered why we hadn’t looked there first. Of course, the Bible held the key! Immediately we started tossing out truths we could teach the kids in the future, while hiding a key in the Bible on purpose.

We could teach them about finding treasures in the Bible. We could teach them that the Bible holds the key to eternal life. We could teach them that the key to wisdom for every situation they’ll enounter is found within its pages… And then we remembered we teach one and two-year-olds :)

We laughed again, realizing these truths were a little too abstract for our little ones. In fact, they were suited better to us.

So to all of us, let me pose these questions. Have we found the key to eternal life in the Word of God? Do we mine its pages looking for treasures? Do we seek wisdom from the Bible for our everyday lives and the perplexing situations that arise? Do we hurry to the Bible with excitement the way little children do?

“Oh Father, send us running to your Word each day!”

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty.” Jeremiah 15:16

*Flickr photo by ~Brenda Starr~, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: church, surprise, Word of God
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