“Pain Management” - Sandra Fischer For the joy set before him, he endured the cross Hebrews 12:2b NIV This world is full of pain. For Christians, it should not be a surprise. Jesus said, “In this world, you will have tribulation.” (John 16:33a NKJV) It’s a given. I don’t know anyone who says they have never experienced pain. Our first cry at birth shows how becoming flesh is shocking and painful. From that moment on we look for ways to prevent, endure or manage our pain.   We try to avoid it, deny it, or use any means to dull it. It may present itself in physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual form. We despair its presence, but it has purpose. Without it we may not realize we have a problem needing attention. And we do have a resource, an example to help us—Jesus.   Jesus experienced the same kinds of pain we do because He chose to put on flesh. From his first baby cry to his final one of agony, he suffered rejection from his closest friends, emotional despair of being separated from the Father on the cross, the struggle in his spirit at Gethsemane to do God’s will, and the unbearable excruciating horror of death by crucifixion.   Why was Jesus willing to bear such pain and suffering? “For the joy set before him, he endured the cross…” (Hebrews 12:2b) The joy was knowing he was doing the will of the Father, to take our sin upon himself and reconcile us to God. And in John 16:33b, Jesus implores us: “. . .be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”   For Christians, our pain like Christ’s is temporary, and we can be of good cheer for our joy in what he has done. But for the lost who die without Christ, the pain will never end.   Father, help us endure our pain through Christ. Help us to share his grace with those who need the assurance of eternal life, free pain forever. Sandra is a FaithWriters Platinum member, check out her books or message her HERE.

 I love springtime in North Carolina, but each year in May I long for those days I knew in Indiana which meant the annual family tradition of mushroom hunting. Here's my reflection as found in my book, "Seasons in the Garden." -

"Remembering Springtime in Indiana"

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When I reflect on springtime in Indiana, I remember morel mushrooms. Hunting them and enjoying them in various culinary forms was a long-standing tradition in my family. My mother was the foremost morel aficionado, but one spring Mother couldn’t go mushroom hunting. After having surgery, she was recuperating at home. No scurrying off to the Hoosier woodlands to hunt the rare cone-shaped mushrooms, which have a short growing season. For Mother that was a real hardship; mushrooming was her gift.

Every year we kids would trail along, fanning out in different directions, searching in proven breeding grounds—patches of mayapple, rotting stumps, and fallen elm. But it was always Mother who called out suddenly, “Come see what I’ve found!” And in an unpromising pile of decaying leaves, half-hidden, would be precious honeycomb morel spikes peeking out.

I didn’t understand all the fuss. “Why can’t we just plant them in our garden and save the trouble of hunting them?”

Mother smiled, explaining that these mushrooms were special, sent by God to delight us. “He chooses where they grow.”

That spring, Mother longed to go mushrooming, but instead, she puttered listlessly in the garden. One day, while she was watering the tulips, I heard her cry, “Come see what I’ve found

There among the flowers I spotted something familiar—a morel! Soon we spied several, growing where they never grew before—and never did again. Mother couldn’t go to the mushrooms, so God sent them to her. I often think of how God blessed Mother with her heart’s desire that day. He delights in giving us such blessings when we delight in Him.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4

 The Sunflower—Not Just Another Pretty Face

Sunflower. The name itself elicits an image of a smiling face delighting in looking and following its namesake throughout the day. Like many flowers, it has inspired poets, songwriters and artists to capture its essence in their works of which Van Gogh’s several renditions are most famous. “The sunflower is mine,” he said, having painted several portraits of it, but I contend this yellow and orange blossom to be something special to all of us.

One of the tallest of flowers and having one of the largest of blossoms, the sunflower demands attention. Its bright face and foliage is a standout in any garden or bouquet arrangement. Its magnificent splendor is only part of what it offers us, as it is one of the most prolific of plants by what it provides.

Sunflowers have intrinsic properties allowing them to absorb poisons, such as lead and arsenic, so that the water and soil from which they are extracted are safe. Sunflower seeds produce versatile oils used in making butter, cosmetics, flour, plastics, and biodiesel fuel. They are also harvested as forage for animals, birds and for us—in the form of those roasted kernels we enjoy as snacks. The stalks are used to produce latex and the stems contain a fiber used in making paper. This plant is not just another pretty face!

While the blossom of the sunflower appears as one large bloom, it is comprised of thousands of disk flowers in the center with the outer edge border made up of sterile ray flowers. All the disks are arranged in a peculiar, spiral structure that has amazed and baffled scientists for centuries because of their unusual mathematical placement. The sunflower is indeed a “wonder” flower.

Oh, to be like this flower—presenting a glowing, happy countenance and a colorful personality while contributing so much more than these wherever I am planted in life’s garden!

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows. It’s what sunflowers do

                                                                        – Helen Keller

Excerpt from "Seasons in the Garden" by Sandra Fischer - Available on Amazon

A Building of God

                                                                

             Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain   ~ Psalm 127:1a

After retirement, we moved to a new community and built a new house. When the foundation and framework appeared, I saw a blessing from God that I wanted to acknowledge. Using a marker, I inscribed cement bases and wood studs with these Bible verses:

• Doorpost—As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15c)

• Living Room—Show hospitality. (Romans 12:13)

• Kitchen—Give us this day our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)

• Pantry—My food is to do the will of the one who sent me. (John 4:34)

• Dining Room—Taste and see that the LORD is good. (Psalm 34:8a)

• Laundry Room—If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

• Sunroom—The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. (Malachi 4:2)

• Bedrooms—Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

• Baths—Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalm 51:7b)

• Stairway—Let us . . .keep in step with the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

• Study—Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding. (Proverbs 3:13)

After the house was finished, I kept a copy of the verses tucked in my Bible. When I re-read them, I am overcome with gratitude for the home God provided. More so, I am grateful for the house He is building in me through the construction by the Holy Spirit and I look forward to the room He has reserved for me in a heavenly mansion.

Can you think of verses that show God’s has built where you reside or in you?

 

“Getting our Heart’s Desire”

Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.

~ Psalm 37:4

When we put coins in a vending machine, select a product and receive the one we choose, we are satisfied with the transaction. Our expectations are met. The motive behind our actions is the fulfillment of our desire because of what we gave to get it fulfilled.

Perhaps we get the same idea when we read Psalm 37:4. It may seem as if, when we praise God and delight in Him, He will give us whatever we want. Do we believe it to mean that our prayers and our wants are going to be fulfilled in exchange for our simply delighting in Him? Sounds reasonable (and delightful), but we should think about it. Are we treating His promises and blessings as vending machine products, dispensed to us because we earned them?

The promise for us to receive our heart’s desire is based on the object of our delight. If it is for the LORD Himself, will He not give Himself to us? What greater delight could there be? As the psalmist wrote, “The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup.” (Psalm 16:5a) and as He tells us in Psalm 23, our cup overflows with Him (v.5).

God does promise to give us the desires of our heart when we delight in Him. We find joy in His presence and fulfillment beyond measure as we exalt in Him for who He is, our LORD and our delight.

Do you “delight” in God and take joy in knowing Him as your loving heavenly Father? Tell Him.

Excerpt from "Faithbook Messages - Devotions to Like and Share" available on Amazon or directly from me.