Reflections on Ruth: Waiting

I bet many of you have not yet met Tracey McMahan because she is brand new to town.  But once you do get to know her you will love her.  I have had the pleasure of getting to know both her and her sweet mother, Joanie, through the ladies evening Bible Study.  Enjoy the wisdom in one of her reflections on Ruth.....

Driving behind a pokey driver when I’m already late for work. 

Standing in line at the grocery store with two whiny, hungry kids.

Counting down the days before a loved one arrives for a long overdue visit.

Who likes to wait? Waiting can be hard! Especially for the big things in life – test results, a family member stationed overseas, a first baby.

This week I thought about how hard waiting can be as I considered the final verses of Ruth chapter 3 (vv. 10-18). For some time Ruth had been working around Boaz, watching the respect he showed to his field hands, experiencing his kindness toward her. Then at the urging of her mother-in-law, she made her affections known to the man who was her kinsman-redeemer. Boaz responded in kind, yet reminded her that one man, a closer relative, might stand in the way of their marriage plans. So he asked Ruth to wait.

Often our Kinsman-Redeemer asks us to wait as well. To wait for that special someone to come along. To wait for a prodigal child to find his way back home. To wait for Him to answer a desire of our heart.

So how can we respond to our seasons of waiting? We can wait with a worry and a frown or patiently without fretting (Ps. 37:7). We can wait hopelessly or expectantly, trusting Him to answer in His perfect time (Ps. 38:15). We can wait with grumbling and complaints or quietly, relying on His faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-26). The decision is ours, because often we have no choice but to wait.

I admit that I have occasionally wasted  a particular season of waiting instead of using the opportunity to draw nearer to my own Kinsman-Redeemer.  In God’s economy, waiting has a purpose. Perhaps He wants to grow my patience. Perhaps He wants to measure my reliance on Him. Or perhaps, just perhaps He has something to teach me that I wouldn’t learn any other way. Something profound and meaningful and tailor-made just for me. Something I would have missed in my otherwise hurry-up, “happen right now” kind of world.

And so in His strength (and with an occasional reminder to myself), I will be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Easier said than done, right?

But so worth the blessing that often accompanies a season of waiting.

“The LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” (Isaiah 30:18).

Ms. Team (Memorizing Scripture): First Post

Posted by Trudy

Okay Ms. Team here we go....

We are going to be a smaller team than what we started out with in January but don’t let that discourage you. Some of the group needed to step out because they are leading others in a variety of capacities - some are even leading others in memorizing Scripture so those are all good things.

Since I made this personal commitment for 12 months I am in it until December, Lord willing, and am very grateful to have some fellow sisters to cross this finish line with. Thank you, Thank you Thank you for hanging in there with me. We even have a few new faces joining in for these final six months so that will make it even better.

I want to tell you up front that memorizing God’s Word is not going to please our adversary so expect a fight. He would love for us to have nothing to do with God’s Word, much less memorize it so it can be constantly at work in our hearts and minds. If you started in January and have made it this far, you know what I’m talking about. You have likely fought off all kinds of discouragement, distractions, and the lure to throw in the towel and quit. I respect you so much that you have hung in there. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Lets link arms and decide that we will fight off the enemy on each others behalf as we encourage each other to keep running this race to the finish line.

Okay here’s some logistics.
　
This will be our first chance to post what we are memorizing on the blog. This may take a little trial and error but if for some reason the comment button at the end of this post will not let you comment then email me and I’ll see if I can help.

Here’s a recap of what we are doing:

1. You choose any verse you want to memorize and start working on it. (2 per month)
2. You post it here under the comment section on the 2^nd & 4^th Mondays of each month (for July that will be July 11^th and 25^th. I will open with a post specifically for the Ms. Team)

3. You continue to review your previous verses as you memorize new ones and at the end of our  6-month run we will get together and celebrate the 12 verses you have memorized. (If you are continuing on from the original team who started in January you will have 24 verses...wow!)

For any readers who didn’t hear about this previously but would like to join us feel free to jump in anytime. You are always welcome here no matter what your starting point is.
　
Are we ready?

Give us your verse, the reference, the version of the Bible it's from and your name.

Here’s mine:

Trudy

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Cor. 9:6 NIV

Your up....

Reflections on Ruth : Prince Charming

Posted by Trudy

In the absence of my own Prince Charming this week, my affections have been lured by another.

Thankfully he’s dead.

Well not really, dead - alive in Christ - and definitely alive in the eternal pages of Scripture - but his handsome body has long returned to dust. At least until Christ speaks the word and it re-composes into an even more glorious body....Oh happy day!

His name is Boaz and you can read about him in the pages of Ruth. But be warned, this man is dreamy and if you are single he will set the standard high, but hey, nothing wrong with high standards my single-lady friends.

Will you be my guinea pig for a minute? Something about the description of Boaz has intrigued me and I wanted to see if it had the same effect on you. First, read what we know of him.

He was a:



mighty man of valor
well-to-do land proprietor
highly respected
kind
generous
strong
protector
provider
fair & just
godly
sensitive
responsible
kinsman redeemerNow...what picture of Boaz has your mind conjured up?

Ugly or handsome?

If your mind is anything like mine, that list and "ugly" just don’t partner.

But here’s the interesting thing. I couldn’t find anything in my version of Scripture that said Boaz was handsome. The focus was all on his character.

Which underscores this truth: Character is attractive.

It may not always be blonde haired, blue eyed, tall and chiseled, but make no mistake....it's attractive!

Now you want to see an interesting twist?

Guess what Boaz first notices about Ruth?

I don’t have trouble believing she was beautiful. Moabite women were known for their beauty and sensuality and somehow I don’t think her first husband Mahlon (who later passed away) would have traded the heavy expectation that he marry a Jewish girl for just any ole ugly Moabite girl.

But a quick glance at Ruth 2:11 & 3:11 will tell you it was not her physical beauty that first caught Boaz’s eye

...it was her character.

I know, I know, our culture today makes it hard to buy that a man valued character above beauty but read the Word...that’s what is says...

He had heard about all the things she had sacrificed and the hard work she had done on behalf of Naomi and took notice. And not just Boaz, he later told her "All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character." Her reputation had preceded her and it peaked his interest.

Its almost as if character begets character,

or maybe its just that it takes a person of character to notice and value character in another person.

Or maybe, the principal that you reap what you sow is in play here (2 Cor.9:6)

I find any of those encouraging and it makes me want to focus more on godliness than lipstick. The bottom line is Jesus just makes us prettier than what we really are and the glow he gives is just better than any night cream I’ve tried.

There are so many applications I could draw here, I pray that God speaks one that is just for you, but as a mom of 4 boys, a few of which are beginning to take notice of some pretty little faces I am going to put on my parenting hat and leave this one with you because I see it as a vitally needed thing in the culture we live in today.

Character....godly character to be specific....is wildly attractive and in the end, the internal beauty of godliness is far more valuable than outward beauty which will eventually fade. I am not blind to the attraction of physical beauty and often the two go hand in hand, but when there is a choice set before my boys to choose physical beauty over godliness, oh how I pray they will have been trained to value character more.

But I really think "trained" is a key word here. They don’t need our help identifying physical beauty. They are wired to find that all by themselves. What they desperately need is our help unveiling the beauty of godly character.

So here’s my challenge. Let’s set ourselves to the strategic task of pointing out the beauty of godly character before our children (and other’s) eyes. Instead of being the "Horse Whisperer" we need to be the "Character Whisperers". Our primary task is to first live out godliness, (please don't lose heart here...only through Christ...if you need some encouragement to know God can redeem all things remember that Boaz's mom was Rahab...look up the details and be encouraged)

The secondary task is to teach it to our children and one way we can do that is to highlight it in the lives of others.  The Scriptures are full of great models, books on good character abound, but don't miss the gold mine of simply pointing out the many real life examples in the course of any given day.

Like...

"Did you see how that girl volunteered to give up going shopping in order to bake some cookies for some lonely elders today? That’s a girl that has learned to put others before herself, that’s a quality that will give her so much more joy than self-absorption".

"Son, I loved how you stopped and helped that player on the opposite team up after he was unfairly knocked over. That showed good sportsmanship which is far more valuable than looking cool or tough."

"Did you notice how that boy was brave and secure enough with himself to step away from his familiar friends and welcome that new boy who didn’t know anybody? Wouldn’t that have felt great if you were the new kid in need of a friend? I really value that confidence in a person that allows them to be more concerned about how the new kid feels rather than fearing being ridiculed."

We don’t make character beautiful...it is beautiful....we simply have the task to unveil it for those around us and train them to value it.

It does take time and effort.

But in the end if they catch themselves a Ruth or a Boaz, the reward will be great!

Are ya in?

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

　
　
　
　
　
　
　

Reflections on Ruth

I have had so much fun studying the book of Ruth with the ladies this summer. We have such wisdom in our body. If you ever you feel you need some, ask God, who is willing to give it generously to you without finding fault and maybe even he’ll send ya to one of our Bible Studies where you will surely hear some spilling out of your fellow sisters in Christ.

We have learned so much this summer I thought it’d be fun to post some "Reflections on Ruth." These will come in small segments instead of lumped together in one big unreadable package so tune back in every now and then to find more posts.

These will come from different ladies who have learned a myriad of different things as we have walked through "Ruth" together. In fact, if you haven’t had a chance to read the post just before this one about "hesed" by Connie, that would be a great starting point. (Little did she know she was kicking off a series when you she wrote it) :)

I hope that God will use this to speak to your own heart and encourage you in your journey wherever you are. And if you happen to find yourself in the book of Ruth too, by all means, join the conversation.....we’d love to hear from you!

Hesed (no I'm not cussin'!)

The morning held a chill over it that wouldn’t pass. She shivered a bit, even with the car heater blasting out its warmth, with only a slight glance toward him as she passed by.

He stood on the corner of the busiest intersection in town, newspapers at his feet. His hands were cupped over his mouth, the steam rising from them with every puff of air he extended their way.

It was a backwards glance that she gave in her rearview mirror. She was late for her morning appointment, and didn’t want to be bothered with the lingering thought of him. Her McDonald’s bag laid snugly on the seat beside her, the smell of her egg biscuit wafting upward with the heat, not to mention the aroma of the untouched coffee.

Errrr…how she hated the interruption of conviction. She flipped her car around, making sure she was in the lane closest to him. Wouldn’t you know it? The light turned a bright red just as the car in front of her slipped through, leaving her stopped directly beside him.

She rolled down her window and without a word shoved the bag and the coffee toward the man. His frigid hands brushed hers as he bowed to gaze into her window. “Oh, thank you!” was all he had time to say before the light changed and she pushed on the accelerator. In her rearview mirror she saw him cup his hands around the coffee cup, turn it up and drink.

Hesed (kindness shown without expectation of it in return).
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The call came 7 years after the separation which led to her divorce. The woman who called had been her friend – her close friend – before, but the pain of the divorce had left her bitter and angry, and certainly not in a position to still be her friend. They hadn’t spoken in 7 years – until this day.

The offer was to have lunch, with a brief explanation that she ‘had some ‘splainin’ to do. Out of curiosity alone, she accepted the invitation.

Once at the restaurant, the awkwardness of the initial meeting was thick as both women said their polite hellos and seated themselves at the table. As soon as the orders were in and the waitress had left them to their awkwardness, the woman who had initiated the meeting leaned up close to her once-dear friend and whispered strongly enough to penetrate the deepest silence – “I am soooo sorry that I haven’t been here for you, and I want to ask you to forgive me.”

From there the conversation continued for some time, with the woman explaining her confusion over the situation, and her inability to face it with her friend. She was now offering to pay for her friend and her ex-husband to go through marriage counseling, having heard they were in the process of reconciliation after 7 long years.

Tears flowed, but acceptance of marriage counseling was far from this woman’s mind at present. She needed individual counseling…healing for her broken frame…before she could ever enter into covenant relationship again.

Without a blink, her friend wrote out the checks week after week (12 of them to be exact) while the woman worked through issues of guilt, shame and confusion – all leading her back to a love relationship with her Savior in preparation for a new marriage restoring the covenant that she and her husband had broken, but which God faithfully remembered and was longing to restore.

Hesed (kindness shown without expectation of it in return).
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She was an outcast by every sense of the word. A long history of sexual misconduct left her feeling vulnerable and unlovely, dirty and abandoned. Although newly “redeemed” by a loving God, not to mention a loving spouse, she had not yet experienced complete freedom from guilt and condemnation.

It was the friendships she lacked and craved most. Women didn’t trust her, didn’t like her, didn’t want to be around her. She couldn’t blame them…she carried so much shame and a past of relentless haunting.

It was in the midst of her aloneness that the call came. A woman she had barely met and hardly knew was asking her to meet for coffee.

She hesitantly accepted, then immediately feared what this meeting might bring. As she approached the coffee shop, she was mortified to see the woman waiting for her outside at a table. Didn’t this woman know who she was? Didn’t she want to hide inside somewhere where her friends couldn’t see her? Why was she here anyway?

The conversation was social, kind, of the sort that made you hunger for more. And - in the process of time – the woman befriended her and loved her through her insecurities, past failures and sins. Never once did she bring up the darkness of her past, and in the strength of her gentleness, she taught the outcast to accept the love Christ had shown her.

Hesed (kindness shown without expectation of it in return)
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I could go on and on with tales from my past, and with every remembrance I fear there would be far more extensions of kindness (hesed) toward me rather than from me.

I would be amiss not to credit God with each encounter, for I surely know and recognize that His presence was with me in every situation, prodding me both to extend hesed, and to receive hesed. I promise you that receiving was much more difficult than giving!

The Psalmist wrote (Psalm 63:3): Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You.

Really? Better than life?

Because Your lovingkindness (hesed) is better than life, my lips shall praise You.

I challenge you today to look for and to expect His hesed (kindness) toward you, and to give Him the praise He is due.

Holding Faith by Fingernails

by Stephanie McCall

Ladies, most of you know Stephanie but if you don't she is a dear gifted sister.  I am so glad she was willing to share some of her  inner "wrestlings with the Lord"  about her life and desires here.   Whether it is an encouragement to you  or a reminder to encourage and pray for her I hope (as I know she does) that the Lord will speak to you through it today!

Several years ago, during high school, I went to Lake Toxaway Baptist Church to hear a guest speaker, David Ring. If you’re not familiar with him, he has cerebral palsy. His case is more severe than mine—if I remember correctly, he uses a wheelchair. He also slurs when speaking. But David is a powerful speaker, and possesses powerful faith. During his presentation, he said he’d been told he’d never be married or have a family. He’s a husband and a dad. He lives a normal life. And along with him, other disabled people—blind people, wheelchair-users, even those with Down Syndrome—live normal lives.

I don’t think it started with David Ring, but I have a fantasy of being like him. I have a vision of getting up onstage in front of the church family who loves me and announcing that the impossible happened—that I’m a homeowner, a writer, a wife, and a mom. I picture myself praising God for what He did, because if He did these things, believe me, He’d get every ounce of credit.
From time to time, I’ve even wondered what it would be like if God chose to cure my CP. He did it for Marlene Kleppes, a severely disabled woman featured years ago on the 700 Club. Why not me, too? I’ve been bold enough to pray for it—facedown, nose in the carpet.

Except, that’s the ending. And so far, God has not allowed me to testify about the ending. See, I’m a writer, but Jesus stubbornly refuses to give me control of my own pen (or typing fingers, if you have to get technical). He writes one page of my story per day, and that day, one page is all I get to see. No skipping ahead, no guessing, no nothing. It’s cheating.

So far, this twenty-five chapter story (wow, now I feel old), is a good one. I spent chapters 18-24 in grad school, getting the straight A’s I never got in public school, no thanks to geometry and algebra. (Thank goodness for salvation; I’m pretty sure geometry’s what they do Down There.) In chapter 22, I got to go to Europe, something everybody else said disabled people never did. I’ve been shown incredible mercy despite big mistakes. Throughout the story, I’ve had a great biological and church family, and some lovely friends. I’ve had some great spiritual moments, and even been invited to tell my story to an appreciative audience.

But right around Chapter 24, the story stalled. I came home from grad school hoping for my first real job, but there was no work for someone with a Master’s in English. No thanks to CP, relocation was not a viable option. I couldn’t even drive a car to escape the house that, after about a year, threatens to close in on me sometimes. Add in some heavy personal issues, and I started to think Satan snatched the keyboard. My faith felt totally sabotaged. When I prayed, ugly words would enter my consciousness. I wasn’t saying them; I know who they came from. But there they were. I fought off thoughts like, "What good is God?" When disasters like the Japanese earthquake and tornado after tornado happened, I wrestled with the idea, "God doesn’t care about them, and certainly not me." I wondered if I was a big joke to God—a gifted woman He created, yet gave a disability, just to play with. You know, lead on and then drop. Without warning, I faced the tough questions I blithely and blindly thought a good church girl—who’d even been a legalist once—would never have to deal with. And there wasn’t a purpose for any of it. Every day for the past year, with few exceptions, has been exactly the same. For the first time, I looked right at God and said, "I won’t go into it for fear of what I’ll do or say, but I’m angry with you."

I’ve been holding faith by my fingernails for the toughest year in my life, and it’s a miracle my manicure hasn’t chipped. I have screamed at God, "I don’t care what you do, I’m not leaving!"—while He allowed Satan to turn up the heat on his new favorite teabag. Welcome to Sovereignty 101, class.

We’re taught that God knows what He’s doing. We’re taught to trust Him no matter what. But we think "no matter what" is something we’d pull out if we were, say, thrown in prison for our faith. We never think about "no matter what" applying if we break a bone, lose a job, flunk a class, divorce, or lose a child. Unfortunately, those situations are when Sovereignty 101 is the toughest.

I’m still waiting for Final Exam Day in Sovereignty 101. But in the meantime, I’m learning a lot, especially about love. See, I have frequently told God I trust Him—that should He want to "shelve" me permanently, I know He’ll make it okay. I suppose, like the perfectionist academician I am, such effort to trust would show Him I was serious. I thought that refusing to walk away from faith, tempting though it is at times, would make Him proud of me.

The other day, I prayed again, nose in the carpet, for healing from CP—either physical healing or the kind that comes from proof that I am not the outcast woman I see in the mirror. And I told God that if He said no, if I never left my parents’ house, if a man never held me in his arms—that He’d make it okay. Except He said,

"If I gave you these things, it would be because I love you."
 "God loves me" is not Comparative Literature in the 18^th Century. After hearing Monica say it in countless Touched by an Angel episodes, you’d think I’d get it. Maybe I won’t until I get to the ending. In the meantime, I’ll wait, and leave you with this post.


Blessings,
Stephanie McCall

I have no energy for that!

I have begun to notice how many times a fellow brother or sister has said to me the words penned above. I believe that could be translated: “I have no emotion left for that”, or “I really don’t value you enough to take time for you”.

You would think that I had asked for someone to clean my house, or balance my checkbook, or rear my children for the next 5 years. The response came, however, after expressing my thoughts to a friend, or asking for an opinion, on the color of a dress. And what was really “said” to me was, ‘It’s all about me right now.’

And so, if we don’t have energy (i.e. emotional energy) to be a friend to another person, or to offer an opinion when asked for it, then what is our energy being spent on? I offer a list of possibilities –

· Self-absorption? (isn’t that pride?)
· Self-pity?
· Frustration about what has already happened?
· Anxiety over what might happen?
· Anger over what just happened?
· Overwhelming, self-made demands?

Beth Moore wrote: The most effective means the enemy has to keep believers from being full of the Spirit is to keep us full of ourselves.

Daniel 7:25 speaks to the fact that Satan’s mission is to wear out the saints of the Most High. I think he is accomplishing his purpose pretty successfully.

Don’t think for a moment that I haven’t said the same words, maybe to some of you who are reading this. And let me stop here to sincerely apologize for my lack of concern for you or your needs.

Honestly, if we would just step away from ourselves and our consuming thoughts about us, then we might see the hurts that our brothers and sisters are carrying, and we might be able to ease their pain, if only for a moment.

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Self-control go a long way….the fruit of the Spirit….the fruit (isn’t that the good stuff on the tree?) that comes from being rooted in Christ.

How can we keep from being worn out? Humble yourselves (the opposite of being proud) under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care (distractions, anxieties, worries of the mind) upon Him, for He cares for you. I Peter 5:6-7

If I’ve stepped on your toes, please know that I have first stopped walking to examine my own two feet.

Sincerely, I want to love you more than I have in the past. May God’s grace abound.