Bull Ring

Coming soon: a special blog about my friend Paula Mowery's new book, "Blessed Seer."

I love big hoop earrings, but I wouldn’t want one in my nose.  Growing up on my grandfather’s farm, I saw lots of cows and bulls with rings in their noses.  I always thought they looked uncomfortable, but the animals didn’t seem to mind. Guess they got used to them.  I watched my grandfather and uncle gently tug on the rings to lead the cattle to where they wanted them to go.  I was glad God didn’t make me a cow, but you don’t have to be a cow to have a ring in your nose.

Let me give an example.  I was raised in church and I can remember, as a child, hearing some sermons that I didn’t understand. Don’t misunderstand me here. I was not saying the preacher was wrong.  I just wanted somebody to be able to explain it so I could better understand. I first asked my mother, but she wasn’t sure herself.  But when I asked my grandparents, the only answer I would get was, “The preacher said it!”  Then they got mad at me and refused to discuss it any further.  Who has the ring in their nose now?

“Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” Acts 17:11-12 (NIV)

The Berean Jews didn’t doubt Paul nor did they say he was wrong.  They simply referred to their Scriptures to make sure he was preaching the truth.  There’s nothing wrong with that; in fact, I think it should be practiced more.  Whether it be from a preacher, bible teacher, Sunday school teacher, or friend, if you hear something being taught that you’re unsure about, look it up in the bible yourself. Pray for God to open up His truth about it. You may learn more than you planned on. If you notice, Paul didn’t seem to get offended.  As a result, “many of them believed.” 

Personally, I think preachers have a difficult job.  We need to give them and their families our prayers and support. In fact, this is true for all church workers from nursery workers to Sunday school teachers. But remember, if you have your nose in your bible, then you don’t have to worry about somebody else putting a ring in it!

Eureka

            Eureka!  I discovered something better than gold.  I learned the secret on how to get more out of my bible.  Here it is: teach a children’s class at church.  Really!  You’ll be amazed at what you will learn from them.

            One Sunday morning, Ms. Christy and I had taught about not using “bad words” such as profanity to our second grade Sunday school class. We also told them not to call people mean  and hurtful  names.  One of the little boys came up to me and he was so excited, “Ms. Brooke!  Ms. Brooke! Did you know an angel wouldn’t call Satan a bad name when he wanted Moses’ body?”  I have to admit, I was speechless for a few seconds, which was unusual for me.  I had never heard that story and I was raised in church, so my first thought was to say, “No way.” Instead, I told him I didn’t know about it and I asked him where I could find it.  He didn’t know, so I promised to look it up and get back with him the next Sunday.

            I got my bible out and thought, “It’s not in here and I’ll have to disappoint him.”  Well guess what happened?  I found his story in Jude 1:9, “But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (NIV).  I was floored.  This child was right and I was wrong.  What else is in the bible that I had been missing my whole life? 

            I got 3 things out of this experience.  First, if the archangel Michael wouldn’t condemn Satan, who is pure evil, than who am I to be disrespectful to those who upset or hurt me?  Name calling or using “bad words” only makes any bad situation worse and it puts you on their level.

            Also, God gave us the WHOLE bible for us to study and not just the popular or big stories such as the Exodus, Jonah and the Whale, or David and Goliath. Its “chopped full” of amazing and wondrous words just waiting for us to read and soak them up.

            Lastly, as adult Christians, we should always be aware of our mind set.  I was somewhat prideful and immediately doubted his story.  I had studied the bible for years and this child was telling me a bible story I didn’t know.  Ouch!   Jesus put it very eloquently in Matthew 18:3, “And he said: ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.’”(NIV) 
 So open up your bibles and read with a zest as if you are a child with an open mind and heart.

          

Toilet Paper Bride

               

                For all of you who have daughters, I have found a way to save money on a wedding.  Instead of paying hundreds or thousands of dollars on a wedding dress that will be used once, buy some toilet paper and turn your imagination loose. A toilet paper wedding dress has many advantages.  The total cost is under $20.00.  The dress doesn’t have to be dry-cleaned or put in storage.  No hemming or altering is necessary.   If you’re not satisfied with the design, just start over and make another one.  And best of all, it can be recycled. Once you’re finished, just put it in a bag and save it for later use. 

                My daughter Sara is modeling a toilet paper dress in the above picture.  Doesn’t she look happy?  Notice she is holding a pack of toilet paper instead of flowers.  Another money saver!

                You know I’m joking right?  The picture was taken at a cousin’s bridal shower.  We played a game where two “brides” are picked and each team decorates the “bride” in toilet paper.  If you look close, you can see an engagement ring on Sara’s finger also made of toilet paper.  We had a great time at the bridal shower, but real marriages are not only about fun and games.  They’re about commitment to each other and to God.  I looked up verses about marriage and some stood out to me

“I found the one my heart loves,” Song of Solomon 3:4.              
  I have to say it, “AWWWWW!”  What a wonderfully sweet verse.  I am very blessed for I can say this about my husband Tim. 

                “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it," Song of Solomon 8:7

                "Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth," John 3:18

                Real love is a blessing and comes from God.   Even though it can’t be quenched, love still needs to be nourished and cherished.  As for the reception, I haven’t figured out yet how to use the toilet paper for cups or utensils.  Anybody got any suggestions?

YOKED

This is a picture of me and my husband Tim taken at a miniature golf course in Ormond Beach Fla.  If he had known I was going to use this picture for my blog, he wouldn’t have made that face. 

Our wonderful picture reminded me of a verse: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.  For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?  Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NIV).

Tim is a believer, but I want to a make point here.  When you yoke two oxen together, they have to work together.  They have to follow the same path.  They have to be led by the same driver. They can’t go in two different directions at once. If you are yoked in a relationship with a non-believer, which direction are you going to go in? God’s or theirs?

What if they want to watch an ungodly movie or TV show? Do they curse and you catch yourself doing it too?  Do they want you to get drunk with them? Do they respect God and His laws?  When you are in a relationship with a non-believer, it’s harder to say no to them than to someone else. Don’t allow yourself to be put in a situation where you can be persuaded to go down the wrong path.

I’m not saying to ignore the lost.  In Matthew 28:19, Jesus told us to “make disciples of all nations.”  You can still witness to non-believers without being in a close relationship with them.  By following your Godly path, you may influence them to follow you instead of their ways.

Abraham and Carl

   I have created a bookmark based on this week's post.  If  you want one, please leave your mailing address in the comments section or e-mail it to me at brookec@tds.net

I’ve got a riddle for you.  What do the Biblical patriarch Abraham and astronomer Carl Sagan have in common?   Let me give you a hint.

He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Genesis 15:5 (NIV).

Did that clue help?   They both counted stars, but for very different reasons.  Being an astronomer/scientist, Carl Sagan did it for a living.  Abraham was requested by God to count the stars.  At this point in Genesis, Abraham and Sarah were still childless, and God was promising Abraham offspring as countless as the stars.  When he looked up at the stars as God instructed, Abraham probably saw thousands of them with his naked eyes, or did he?  No, I’m not talking about Abraham needing glasses.  I’m referring to the stars themselves. 

Did you know a star is not always a single star? There are more double (binary) star systems then there are single stars like our sun.  They so far away (millions & millions of miles) that they appear as a single point of light in the night sky instead of two. 

Wow.  We just increased Abraham’s number of stars.  Now we’re going to increase the star count even more.  Our sky is full of galaxies so far away that they also appear as a single point of light. Each galaxy can contain millions or billions of stars themselves. 

 The picture above was taken by the Hubble Telescope courtesy of NASA.  Can you see all the galaxies?  This is in just one section of the night sky.

Too bad Abraham didn’t have a modern telescope like Carl used. He would’ve seen countless stars.  Then Abraham would have been overwhelmed when he realized how big God’s promise to him truly was.  Does the same hold true of the promises God makes to us today?  Absolutely! We’re the ones who put a limit on His promises based on our understanding of the world and what’s going on around us.  God’s promises to us have NO boundaries.  Don’t believe me?  Download a Hubble deep space image and try to count each and every star.  By the way, if you ever get done, let me know.

            Below are a couple of links to check out all the stars and space stuff God has created.

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/     Hubble telescope pictures

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html    NASA’s Astronomy picture of the day.

All I Saw Were Lights

           

         This is a special blog dedicated to my husband Tim.  We had our first date on May 8, 1982 and we've been together ever since.  The picture on the bottom is of Tim when we were still dating.

            I’m not going to talk about Christmas lights or UFOs.  This one is going to be serious as it concerns people I love.

            My husband Tim loves older model Camaros.  When we were dating, he had a 1970 Camaro that was a pretty shade of light blue with white stripes down the sides.  It was his baby.  He was driving it out to see me when my neighbor’s dog ran in front of him. It had been raining, so when he slammed on his brakes he lost traction and spun around out of control.  As a result, his Camaro was totaled.  Tim was heartbroken over that car.  I felt sorry for him, but I was more thankful he didn’t get hurt. Then he started driving his late grandfather’s 1963 Chevy Truck.  Being an older truck, it was made out of metal and sturdy. 

            We have always lived in Knoxville, TN. which is mountainous and hilly.  After he took me home one night, Tim was almost back to his home when he topped a hill.  “All I saw were lights!”  He was hit head on by a drunk driver on Tim’s side of the road.  This drunk driver was chasing another drunk driver and they were driving on both sides of the road at high rates of speed. If Tim had been in his Camaro, it would have killed him. The truck’s left front tire was bent up under the driver’s side.  It looked as if somebody had taken a huge bite out of the front of the truck.   

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Psalm 103:2 (NIV)

Wow!  God knows what’s better for us than we do.  When Tim wrecked his Camaro, God was actually saving his life for He knew what was going to happen! Talk about a blessing in disguise!  This December, it’ll be 30 years since that awful night.  Even now when I think about it, I shiver and say a prayer of thanks.  Not only would I not have Tim, but I wouldn’t have our daughter Sara either. 

“Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits” Isaiah 55:8-9(NIV)

Elephant on a High Wire

                “Oops!”  That word is a big part of my vocabulary.  It doesn’t take much to send me careening through the air.  If we do have guardian angels, mine would be stressed and overworked. 

  So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” Daniel 6:16 (NIV)

                Okay, I wasn’t going into the Lion’s Den like Daniel did; instead, I was going into my Cousin Juanita’s den.  It was downstairs and her kitchen was upstairs.  Do you see where I’m going with this?  Somebody handed me two full glasses of tea for me to take downstairs.  I don’t know why anybody who knows me would hand me anything and expect me to make it safely down a flight of stairs.  That’s like asking an elephant to walk on a high wire; technical possible, but not a good idea.

My cousin Doug was sitting in a chair next to the bottom step.  I was afraid I’d trip and spill tea on him, so as I started down, I told myself, “Just goes slow and careful.”  Uh…it didn’t work.  A couple of steps from the top, I felt my left foot catch behind my right one.  I started down, but I managed to keep myself upright as I plummeted down the steps.  I remember my feet touching some of the steps, but I flew over most of them.  

                As I stumbled down, I gained momentum.  When I reached the floor, I went straight down on my knees.  With all that energy, I continued to slide until I came to a stop behind Doug’s chair.  All you could see behind him were my arms sticking up and my hands still grasping the glasses. I didn’t spill a drop!  Best of all, I wasn’t hurt and Doug didn’t get soaked. Too bad somebody didn’t have a video camera.  I could have won $10,000.

                I know my little trip doesn’t compare to Daniel being thrown in with hungry lions, but the same God who rescued Daniel also watches out for me and for you.   If you notice, King Darius wanted Daniel’s God to save him, which He did.  Also notice the phrase, “whom you serve continually.”    Daniel didn’t just serve God when it was convenient for him and he didn’t quit praying to God because of an unfair law.  Daniel was faithful to God and God was faithful to him.  Want to know the best part?  It’s the same for us today, except for the lions.