Exemplify Mag- October 2010

exemplify magazine October 2010

Enduring Seasons of Harvest Fall Decorating On A Budget When It Is Time To Heal From A Broken Relationship

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Welcome to Exemplify Magazine.

This is my favorite time of year. Leaves changing, dark coming early, cozy sweaters hanging in the closet, hot kettles steaming.

There is something about the season of autumn that makes me want to be at home - nesting, reading, cozying up next to my guy.

Autumn magazine issues are always the ones I look most forward to. And this issue is no exception! The team is sharing thoughts, how-to’s and encouragement on seasons of harvest and let me tell you, they are ministering powerfully this month!

It is my prayer this October you’d curl up with your favorite warm cup o’ something, a cozy sweater and get comfortable with Exemplify Magazine.

I pray our Lord says something to you here.

In King Jesus,

Kristen Schiffman Cover image: © Ioana Grecu | Dreamstime.com

www.inspiredheartsmedia.com

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Meet the Magazine Team Kristen Schiffman Founder & Ministry Director A New Yorker living in Texas, Kristen is just trying to make sense of sweet tea and A/C units. Together with her best friend & husband, Eric, she enjoys sketching out new ideas over Starbuck’s.

Kristen’s passion is equipping those in leadership to serve with excellence, encouraging women to get to know God through His Word and challenging women to live out their Godgiven purpose.

Andrea Mitchell Editor-in-Chief/Director of Web Content/Family Columnist Andrea Mitchell is a coffee drinking, Jesus-loving wife and stay-at-home mom of three in constant search of just the right mug for her brew. You can find her at her blog, UnderGraceOverCoffee.com where she shares the love she has found in Jesus, along with the caffeine-laden randomness that makes up the majority of her day. Grab your cup and come on over!

Christy McGraw Director of Social Networking/Single Channel Editor/Columnist Christy is on a journey to becoming a woman after God’s own heart. She delights in books, photography, her family and her friends. Christy has a heart for young women and single women. She also loves emails! thesinglejourney@gmail.com

Christine Johnston Director of Communications/Titus 2 Columnist Christine is a self professed “knitster” who loves watching a scarf come to life. She is the mother of four children, three of whom are full grown and one still making her way through high school.

She is married to her high school sweetheart and loves going on lunch dates with him during the week. Christine’s steady and sure faith in Christ, her value of justice and her compassion for that which Christ has compassion on daily shape her Titus 2 calling.

Tara Guy Director of Ministry Support/ Fiction & Apologetics Column/ Web Editor Tara Guy is a born-and-bred Southern girl who loves sweet tea, Jesus, and football - and not necessarily in that order. Visit her at Musings of a Future Pastor’s Wife, where she blogs about her day-to-day life as the wife of a seminary student/youth pastor and mom to a precious toddler girl, and the daily truths the Lord teaches her.

the team

Joanne Sher Magazine Editor Joanne Sher is a mother of two, wife of one, and, most importantly, daughter of the King. She was raised in the Jewish faith, coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus in her early 30’s. Her passion is for writing and encouraging, and editing actually helps her relax. She is in various stages of progress on two novel-length manuscripts: one about God’s provision during her husband’s serious health issues, and another Biblical fiction set during the time of 1 and 2 Samuel. She also loves to share her insights at her blog, www.joannesher.com, where she shares the “Open Book” of her life following Christ.

Karen Lowe Feature Editor A native of Kentucky, Karen is a country girl at heart. She currently resides in northwestern Illinois where she divides her time between being a wife, homemaker, homeschooler, mother, writer, and Bible study teacher. She loves a good cup of coffee and very rarely turns down chocolate. Karen has a passion to write Bible studies and teach women God’s Word. She began Truth and Grace Ministries to encourage women to grow in God’s truth and grace. You can find her writing at her blog, Living Life, where she shares God’s Word, devotionals, and various other posts about life as she strives to live in God’s truth and grace.

Judith Roberts Interview Columnist Judith Roberts has been married to her college sweetheart for four years, and both she and her husband are active in their church. She is a college instructor pursuing her doctorate and hopes to mirror Jesus in her everyday life.

Kara Cox Devotional Columnist Kara is a single, thirtysomething follower of Christ who loves to laugh and makes others laugh in the process. She is devoted to all things Autumn and thinks that pumpkins, fallen leaves and fall TV premieres are a highlight of life. She would also like you to know she is the most extroverted introvert you will ever meet.

Wendy Miller How-To Columnist Wendy Miller is a butcher (of words as she edits her novels), a baker (of birthday cakes and treats for her beloved family members and friends), and a candlestick maker (not quite, but she enjoys crafts of all kinds). She appreciates the outdoors, writing and laughing with loved ones. Wendy’s mission statement is to a live a passionate life filled with compassion, grateful to be called daughter of the Most High God. Visit Wendy at http:// thoughtsthatmove.blogspot.com/ or http://wendypainemiller.wordpress.com/.

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the team

Christa Allan Writer’s Help Columnist Christa Allan lives in Abita Springs, Louisiana and teaches high school English. Walking on Broken Glass, Christa’s debut novel, released in February by Abingdon Press. She’s written for Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Divorced Soul, The Ultimate Teacher, and Cup of Comfort for Parents of Children with Special Needs. A member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Christa is also a contributor to Afictionado, their online magazine. She is the mother of five and the proud Grammy of three. Christa and her husband Ken spend time with their three neurotic cats, play golf, and dodge hurricanes. She blogs at www.christaallan.com.

Alison Hunt Columnist Alison is a twenty-something single woman living in the now and hoping for the future. Based in North Florida, she an administrative assistant by day, and dreamer by night (literally). She can also be found reading under trees, Zumba-ing, spending time with family, and catching up with friends over coffee. Visit her blog at http://alisonlhunt.blogspot.com.

Brooke McGlothlin Columnist Lover of God and the man I’ve dreamed of since the 3rd grade...mommy of two little boys born just 23 months apart...CEO of the McGlothlin Home for Boys (my house)...passionate about life issues and finding Jesus in the everyday. Director of Clinical Services for a local Crisis Pregnancy Center with a BS in Psychology and MA in Counseling.

Deborah Boutwell Book Reviews Married for 23 years, 2 children (21 & 15 years of age), working outside the home in a Christian publishing house, serving in a small Southern Baptist church in various keys roles, hobbies include reading, writing, needle & thread handwork.

Iris Nelson Photographer Born and raised in Germany, Iris now resides with her husband Mark and Chihuahua Corky, in Arizona. Their grown son Daniel works as a software consultant in Arizona, living close by. Although the move from Germany to the US was not easy, God’s hand was evident. In Arizona, God called Iris back into His flock. Iris enjoys encouraging women by sharing His Word through the devotional team-blog ‘Laced with Grace’ (www.lacedwithgrace.com), which she ‘birthed’ with a friend from California in 2006.

Iris has always had a love for photography, but after her son Daniel moved out photography became more than just a hobby. Iris’ dreams are to self-publish a photography book with Bible passages; and becoming a full-time photographer—leaving corporate America behind. You can find more of Iris’ photography at www.inelsonportraits.com.

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Lori MacMath Moving Toward Holiness Columnist Having grown up in the church, Lori knows that her ‘true spiritual journey’ began with an experience with infertility and surrendering to the Lord, allowing HIM to break her and remake her.

The smile she wears tells that she is so happy to be on the journey that she is on now. A journey that includes homeschooling 3 wonderful children! Lori is the co~owner of Internet Cafe Devotions, an online daily devotional site for women. Praising HIM every step of the way, she encourages you to enjoy the journey with her at her personal website, All You Have to Give, where she can be found daily, enjoying each and every season to its fullest!

Holly Smith In The Kitchen Columnist Holly loves her job as wife to Chris and mom to Noah, Kylie, Tabor and Sydney. In her spare time she designs web pages (www.crownlaiddowndesigns.com) and marketing pieces. God has gifted Holly with a love of all things creative ~ from painting and wall papering to scrapbooking and design work. In addition to co-founding and managing A Martha Heart (http://www.amarthaheart.com), she writes about Jesus and cooking for Exemplify Magazine, as well as authoring a devotional blog, now closed, called Crown Laid Down. Holly and her family make their home within site of year ‘round snow-capped mountains in Colorado. She can be reached by emailing Holly (AT) a martha heart (DOT) com or connect with her on Twitter - @HollyGorinSmith.

Chrystie Cole Closet Issues Columnist Chrystie lives with her husband and stepson in the beautiful upstate of South Carolina.

She is a woman who was once lost, broken, desperate and hopeless. Yet because of a gracious and loving God, she was given a brand new life. She has personally experienced the power of His transforming and redeeming love. As a result, she is passionate about sharing His love with others and ministering to broken and hurting people.

Tracy Knowlton Women in the Word Columnist Tracy Knowlton is a Texan by birth, curious by nature and crazy about her husband of three years. She reads scripture and loves on her dogs, simultaneously. Tracy looks for Jesus in the ordinary, adds in scripture and waits to see what happens. Loving the Lord is her privilege and writing about Him on her blog, JesusWomanWords.com, is her joy.

Consider yourself invited.

Jenifer Jernigan Faith Applied Columnist Jenifer makes her home in North Carolina with her husband of ten years, three children, and English black lab, Bella. On a typical day, if there is such a thing, you will find her sipping a cup of coffee, home schooling her children, and digging into the Word. A former pit-dweller who has been saved by God’s amazing grace, Jenifer has a burning passion to share with women of all ages His unconditional love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness.

Singers of My Soul

Reviews by Deborah Boutwell

So many times I come before the altar of prayer with the correct posture… kneeling (physically and mentally), ready to speak and hear…and yet my mind goes blank. I have words that I want to say, groanings that I want to lay at the foot of the cross…and yet I don’t know how to speak or express them.

Thank fully, my God has already prepared a way for me to speak to Him when I don’t know what or how to speak. The Holy Spirit takes my meager offerings and places them before the King in an acceptable manner.

He provided another way for me to figure out a way to express my feelings, not only to Him…but to myself. God gave talent to artists that somehow are able to see inside my soul and sing the praise, the awe, the groanings, and the love that I want to express to Him. I call them singers of my soul.

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© image: tijmen van dobbenburgh | sxc.hu

For about 4 years now, I’ve been an avid stalker fan of Tammy Trent. I’ll confess to you now that until she came and spoke at a chapel service where I work, I had never heard of her. Tammy’s story that morning broke my heart, but her words captured my soul.

In Learning to Breathe Again Tammy starts her story at The Blue Lagoon in Jamaica, where her life changed forever when she lost her husband, Trent Lenderink. But she takes the reader back to their first meeting and even further back, as Tammy shares the story of her life.

In the details of being raised in a home where her mother sang at conferences, having divorced parents and stepparents, Tammy shares how she longed to have a loving relationship with her step-father, while continuing to love her father. She shares how the Linderink family took her in and the family dates she and Trent went on until he was old enough to date by himself.

Tammy and Trent’s story is a “made for TV love story”… except it was real, something every girl longs for. He loved her just as she was, and made her a better person with his love.

“You see, Trent loved me, just as I had been looking for the right guy to marry, he wanted to marry the right girl.

And he wanted his wife to have a servant’s heart. He knew there was a little vein of selfishness in me. Not that he ever criticized me. But we would talk about what it meant to be Christlike, and I started changing. And he felt reassured, thinking, This is the kind of woman I want to be with.”

So many times, Tammy mentions that Trent struggled with knowing what God intended his calling to be. It seems his true calling came in the aftermath of his life.

For 9 years now, Tammy has shared honestly about what happened to her the day that Trent did not resurface while free diving. Her pain is raw and you can’t help but be touched by the agony she lived through.

And then, in the midst of her pain, you learn how to deal with your own.

“I sat there with tears racing down my face, and all I could do at that moment, being so numb, so shocked, so scared, was to lift up my hands toward heaven {in prayer}.

It was an automatic reflex…..As I walked back and forth across the room, another automatic response began. I closed my eyes and started to sing: I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice…to worship you. Oh my soul, rejoice. Take joy, my king, in what you hear…. I was so broken I could barely get the words out, but still, they came, lyrics I had written or recorded or sung a thousand times.”

Tammy now makes it her goal, whenever she speaks or sings, to “pass along the message of Trent’s life and help others make changes in their lives that will lead them closer to God….show others, by his example, how they can become more thoughtful husbands and wives, more fun to be with, and how they can bring devotion to God into everything they do.”

Through her last CD, Stronger, Tammy Trent continues to speak to my soul. Her song, I’m Letting Go has become an anthem I sing when I want to speak words of commitment to God. “Holding nothing back from You, Ready to do all the things You call me to, Holy hands are reaching up to You, I surrender, I surrender, I’m letting go.”

But it’s her song, The Edge of the Water, which takes you to the place where her life changed, that expresses not only the pain that we all suffer, but the healing that takes place.

When I spoke with Sarah during an interview, I was blown away with her kindness. She shared a single with me off of her newest release, Midnight Sun, which released in September. Just when I needed to be reminded who my God was, her words sang to my soul….”Strength of the mountain, Depth of the sea, Hope of the rescued. Reigning in me, Author of justice, Defending the weak, Be God, be God over me.” (Day & Night) How did she know I needed to hear those words? Oh, yeah, she’s a Singer of my Soul!

Sometimes I seem to be behind the times. I find a new artist that captures my soul and sings the words that I can’t express myself and I start telling everyone about her….but everybody already knows about her! And they didn’t tell me how wonderful Sarah Kelly is!

Sarah shares some great advice for parents with children who want to be singing superstars. She teaches children to be songwriters and recently graduated 60 kids who completed demos with songs that they wrote themselves.

Two-time Grammy nominated singer/songwriter Sarah Kelly had been hiding out in plain view while she released 4 CD’s, tours 150-200 shows a year, and serves as worship leader for “girl’s night out” retreats and events at Saddleback Church. Where have I been?!

The style of her voice and songs puts me more in the spirit of seating in a darkened club instead of a big concert setting (or even my very conservative small town church).

Her sultry voice transcends the boundary lines of secular/Christian music. She says that her voice has been described as “Nora Jones and Janis Joplin, shaken in a bottle.” In a quick interview with Sarah, she described herself to me as “a worship artist that likes a good rock riff.”

However you describe it, I love her voice and her music.

But the best part is the words she sings! “You are my peace, You are my hope, You are my life, oh Lord. And there’s no place else I’d rather be, Than with You, I love You, Oh Lord.” (Sit with You a While)

Sometimes it’s not just music classified as “Christian” that speaks to my soul. Often I find country songs that seem to capture my emotions at the time. That’s what happened with this new artist, Jeff Cooley.

I work with Jeff on a daily basis and he is great at his job; however, whenever the lunch time bell rings or he has a free moment, he passes by my desk with guitar in hand, and I know that he is off to find a spot to fill the quietness with some beautiful sound that God has gifted him to create. He’s one of those gems just waiting to be found while he hangs out in Nashville. I’m glad that I found him so that I can share him with you.

Jeff writes songs that are inspired by his beautiful wife, Heidi, and his two children, Savannah and Shepard. Heidi also sings with him and he always says that she makes him sound better. His first CD, Family, includes a song that takes me “back to the front porch, where life moves slow, and less is more, you can lay your head down, that’s what my shoulder is for, love will find its way back to the front porch.” (Back to the Front Porch)

Jeff wrote a cute little song with Savannah that just makes you want to “feed the ducks.” Savannah has a cameo appearance on the CD with this song and it’s just about the cutest thing I’ve heard in a long time. But it is his song, Hey Daddy, which had my soul singing.

While Jeff wrote Hey Daddy about how his little girl has him doing whatever she asks, it reminds me that I have a Heavenly Daddy that longs to hear me call to him “and with just two little words I’ll do anything for her, hey daddy.” This song should come with a hanky warning, because you are going to need one.

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I’m so thankful that these three artists have allowed God to speak through them with words that express what I’m feeling so beautifully. I’m sure that their songs with also make them singers of your soul.

A Modern Suburban Written by Kara Cox I’m clueless when it comes to farming. I have always lived in the suburbs (much to the chagrin of my raised-in-the-country father). I don’t really understand the work and toil and time and skill that goes into making your livelihood from producing crops out of the ground.

If you stuck me in a field and told me I was going to be a wheat farmer and to get going with it, I’d stare back at you with that blank look fourteen-year-olds get when their parents ask them to take the garbage out. I’m sure I’d try to Google wheat farming or head to Barnes and Noble and see if they have Farming for Dummies in the how-to section, but more than likely you would return to that same spot six months later and find a half tilled, barren field with a note from me saying you could find me at the nearest Starbucks.

In the most basic, practical terms I understand that there is planting and there is harvesting, but the whens, whys and wherefores of how those seeds become grain and how that grain gets to become food is just a bit over my 21st century modern girl who loves Whole Foods Market brain. I’m no farmer. Instead I’m an office manager at a retail store. I understand the dollars and cents and profit and loss and how to connect the customer to the right salesperson. So please, don’t give me a field.

But even though I’m no farming expert, there are some spiritual principles in the sowing and reaping and planting and harvesting that I think I understand, thanks to the Bible (God sure does love his farming illustrations, doesn‘t He?).

First of all is the most basic: you reap what you sow.

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It really doesn’t take a seasoned farmer to tell you that if you plant a row of tomato seeds, you are going to get tomatoes, not potatoes.

It just makes sense. So applying that logic to the soil of my life, if I plant carnal messed up junk in my heart like bitterness, resentment and jealousy, then, you got it, bitterness, resentment and jealousy will be what comes out of my life. Likewise when I plant God’s word into my life, when I let the Holy Spirit plant His truth there, then eternal, good things come out of me.

The Apostle Paul states this truth plainly in Galatians 6:7-8 when he writes, “ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

(NIV).

Second, I’ve learned that if you don’t plant it, you can’t harvest it..

Let’s go back to my earlier example where you put me in a field and ask me to farm. It would be foolish of me to think that just because I have a field and you told me to be a wheat farmer that I could expect wheat would just magically come up from the earth, and magically harvest itself.

I love the practical simplicity of this truth illustrated in Proverbs. “A farmer too lazy to plant in the spring has nothing to harvest in the fall.” Proverbs 20:4 (MSG). Whether the reason is laziness, fear or procrastination, if I don’t show up, if I don’t do the work, there isn’t going to be a return. It’s an absurd notion to believe otherwise, but I think sometimes as Christians that’s exactly what we expect.

While there are a great many things God has freely given us, like salvation, grace, mercy and love, we cannot expect that every spiritual virtue is just a gift.

Girl’s Take on Harvesting I love how 2 Peter 1:5-8 explains this effort to add virtues to our lives, “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to selfcontrol, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This passage clearly shows us that we have a work to do in adding virtue to our lives under the direction of the Holy Spirit. It is a sowing with the anticipated reaping of good and godly things in our lives.

The third thing I’ve learned about planting and harvesting in my own life is this: the soil matters.

Like I’ve already said, I don’t understand a lot about farming, but I do know that different crops work better in different soil, and all crops thrive in fertile soil. Spiritually speaking, God’s Word is going to produce the best harvest in the right kind of soil, or heart.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells a huge group of his followers (and some skeptical Pharisees who were hanging around) this mysterious parable about a farmer who scattered seed.

In the parable he talks about four different places where the seed fell: a road, a rocky place, soil with thorns and thistles, and soil that was fertile and rich. The seed on the road was eaten by birds, the rocky place didn’t have depth so though the seeds grew up they had no root and quickly died out, the soil full of weeds choked out the seeds, and the rich soil produced a bumper crop.

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Jesus’ disciples (as well as the skeptical Pharisees) failed to see the meaning of the parable (perhaps, like me, they just didn’t understand farming) and so Jesus explained that the crops were like the different hearts of the people who receive God’s word. In the end, the heart where the seed of God’s word is planted,matters. “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road. The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it. The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it. The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.” Matthew 13: 18-23(MSG). Wouldn’t we all want to produce a harvest beyond our wildest dreams?

We need to be good soil.

So there is no way I’m ditching my office job for one spent toiling in fields from dawn to dusk, but I think I have come to have a great appreciation for all things sowing and reaping. God has given us glorious illustrations in the work and toil and time and energy of harvest work. And I know this: I want to be good soil, and I want to produce good crops. I want to reap a bountiful harvest. © Image: magicmarie | sxc.hu

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Enduring Seasons of Harvest

Written by Tracy J. Knowlton

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They do not say in their hearts, “Let us fear the Lord our God, who gives the rain in its season, the autumn rain and the spring rain, and keeps for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.”

– Jeremiah 5:22, NRSV A harvest is simply a time for gathering.

Seemingly, we are talking about a physical gathering: God’s provision as the apex of God’s abundance. He gives and, therefore, we have. As I read the Bible, I cannot separate the physical act of giving from spiritual circumstance. Instead of an exclusive relationship, they seem to breath the same air.

This physical provision even stands intertwined with the laws of nature. If fear is the beginning of wisdom, then one who knows the Lord is familiar with His providence and His harvest.

Harvest demonstrates our relational God. He initiates and reciprocates love of His people. While our love is demonstrated through our capabilities, such as prayer and song, His love is demonstrated through all of His. To be loved through His creation looks like harvest. The autumn rain and the spring rain arriving in their season, granting the blessing of predictability to His people.

All of His resources combine to display the wonder of His love for us. Thinking further, I know little about harvest. I know God from the vantage point of one in this world. I know Him through His Spirit. I am limited by my flesh, but I see that He is not limited in how He loves me. By unimaginable means, he has saved me for eternity to show me the harvest.

There are a few precepts to the harvest that I have found to be true.

In a harvest something matures.

The spiritual harvest is no different from the physical harvest. A seed is taken and planted. As a nonbeliever this was obvious. The Holy Spirit offered a gift to me. It was wrapped plainly but it matched the need in my heart. Grace had found my hands, and I used both to draw in this new treasure.

I considered myself a recipient in this moment that the impossible happened. I had become something from the barren ground. Something from nothing defies all logic. An eternal gift for one condemned to death did not seem a valuable trade.

This barren soil was tended by my parents and the church but the seed was planted by Jesus. Before time, he planned to grow me in the field where I had been planted.

Through the next twenty-six years, I was harvested over and over, and in different areas of my life. Harvest belongs to seasons: seasons of sickness, seasons of loss and seasons of life.

Usually, at the time I feel that I have achieved some measure of understanding, I am gathered and replanted. This brings me discomfort.

I fully expected to grow as a child. As an adult, the pain of growing is much more intense, and with each harvest the removal of the mature in deference to new growth complicates the way that I understand myself and my purpose.

This is where my flesh groans under the weight of harvest. I like being at the place of accomplishment and fulfillment. I like understanding my role. I like being a part of the abundant times.

I do not always get to be where I prefer.

Harvest is momentary relief that comes from maturity. It is not a season that stays past its welcome.

We endure the process of growing to anticipate the harvest.

In a harvest there is always more than when it started.

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September 2008 magazine 15

Over and over in scripture, God talks about restoring the physical status of His people. For the Israelites this was through fullness of life. It was a physical abundance, stemming from a spiritual reconnection.

My desire is to live in the state of harvest. I desire to constantly gather the abundance of God, to always be part of this restorative celebration.

Although I find the harvest completely satisfying, it is altogether too short.

For me, abundance was dignity.

If I were in control of the harvest, I would live in continual spiritual and physical abundance.

These are not the times that I learn more, or experience the most transformation. Abundance is a time of celebration after the growing pains.

I desire those weeks of celebration.

When God walked into my life, I had no knowledge of His promise to restore the condition of my life. I knew that the moment I met Him, my vision changed. He brought my life to a place that was whole.

I could not understood myself in a spiritual way.

I could not see myself through the agony of the cross. I could not see myself through the eyes of a Savior. These were lost on me before I knew Him. Then He did what I did not think was possible. He exceeded wholeness. God recreated me. The longer I know Him, the less I look like myself.

I am in a process of completion, sanctification.

Everything that does not look like Him is being removed. This is more than a common seed. Only the hands of the Father would restore and rename.

He did more than I could ever do for myself. Harvest in my hands is predictable. I plant flowers and, if I am lucky, I grow flowers. He plants a seed for the purpose of knowing who planted it, who watered it, and who kept it for His own purpose.

As there is always more of Him, there is always more than us.

A harvests last for a period of time.

My human condition does not contend with the presence of harvest, or the act of gathering. My struggle lies in the timing of harvest.

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But, a God worth fearing is also a God worth trusting. If He is love, then fearing Him is to understand the totality of His nature. He is not controlled by you or by me.

God intends harvest for a few weeks. As the most labor intensive of all growing phases, it brings the most promise. God promises to bring this season to us again. We are never left without it for too long. Knowing God is to know that we will be spiritually restored and celebrated with abundance.

Because of this, being satisfied in times of harvest is as important as being satisfied in times of growth. Constant abundance would ruin even the most faithful. Seasons of abundance allow us to remember who sends the rain. We must learn to celebrate the harvest, to speak His name from our hearts.

How amazing that each moment of life, each harvest, prepares us to embody His name. We will be ready for our final restoration, mature in faith.

Looking ahead, we can see the abundance of our salvation: unequaled harvest. We have been saved for eternity to share it.

Written by Christa Allan

Reflexive Pronouns Should Not Be Involuntary Reactions This is the what the sound of fingernails (think long, acrylic) scraping against a chalkboard would look like: hisself theirself/theirselves themself STEP AWAY FROM THESE WANNA-BE PRONOUNS! If you’re using them as dialogue for a character who speaks non-standard English, fine. Otherwise no, no, and no.

The STANDARD reflexives are: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, and themselves. Think of these pronouns as mirrors that turn back on themselves by turning the action back on the subject.

I [the subject] paid myself [reflexive pronoun that points back to the subject “I”] a million dollars in Monopoly money.

My sister awarded herself the same amount.

If you use a reflexive pronoun in a sentence, there must be a person the pronoun can “reflect.”

Remember the mirror? It needs a person [subject] to turn the action back on in the sentence.

Both of the sentences below are incorrect because there is no “I” in the sentence for the “myself” to reflect.

If you have questions, contact myself.

Bob and myself went to the show.

A reflexive pronoun can be used for emphasis (in which case it becomes an intensive pronoun): I myself am thrilled Wii makes games for adults.

You yourself may not be so happy to have such a program.

So, now that you can flex your pronoun muscles - go forth and write!

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image credit: microsoft

Finding His Plans Among t

Written by Christy McGraw

I love autumn.

It is my favorite season.

The crisp air, the gentle breezes, the changing of the leaves, and it starts getting dark earlier Why do I like that it gets dark earlier?

I love to go outside and enjoy an evening under the stars.

It started last year after getting up early one October morning to take in my first meteor shower. I sat for 2 hours watching the night sky and being in awe of our Creator God. It was an emotional moment for me and for days any time I looked at the sky a verse from Psalms would come to me.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1 NIV To say that 2010 has been a hard year would be an understatement.

I know that you have had those years too.

Part of this year has been slowly giving up my dream of a marriage and children. I assumed His silence meant no. In my mind all of my negatives plus His silence meant no in my head. I did not even realize I had given up on that dream until just 2 short months ago.

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In mid August of this year I had the chance to once again delight in some time watching the night sky.

The perseid meteor shower is one of the best each year and I could not miss another opportunity to be reminded of the beauty of the work of His hands.

I decided to go out after midnight this time. It was a very different experience from my October one in that this time it was filled with the sounds of night music.

the Stars I wondered if God made it so that we could not see all the stars right away.

That we had to sit.

Be still.

And wait.

And slowly they would be revealed to us.

I realized that the night sky is a lot like His plans.

We may be able to see small glimpses of it. Just like the stars. But we have to also sit.

Be still.

And wait.

And slowly He reveals them to us.

That night changed my thinking about God’s plans. I always thought maybe He did things deliberately. He said no deliberately. He kept me waiting because I deserved to keep waiting. My ideas of why He had not revealed that part of His plan to me was my fault. I had done something wrong. I did not deserve those things I so desired.

I don’t know about you single sisters but the waiting is hard.

At this point in my life I would have liked to have been married. To have at least 1 child.

Because those plans did not come to fruition I thought I had done something wrong.

I was not good enough.

How far from the truth we can be.

The skies proclaim the work of His hands.

We proclaim the work of His hands. There is nothing I had done wrong. It was not anything I had done. That night under those stars I realized that God had not said no. Like the stars there are parts of His plans still being revealed.

Do those plans hold a husband and children?

I don’t know.

I do know this. I should not give up on my dream.

We do not know His plans. Like the stars they are numerous.

So tonight my single sisters take the time to look up into the night sky.

Sit. Be still.

Wait.

And watch Him reveal His Handiwork and remember….His plans, just like the stars, are numerous. He will slowly reveal them to us and we should not give up. And sometimes….

He may send us something special….like a shooting star….to remind us that beauty is coming.

This autumn as I go out into the late evenings and look up into that beautiful sky this is what I am going to remember. My dreams.

His plans. The stars. All being revealed in His time as I follow Him. The Lord will guide you always.

Isaiah 58:11a

Feature Article

Fall Decorating on a Budget I love everything about Autumn - the crisp chill in the air, the sound of football fans cheering on their favorite team. Vibrant chrysanthemums immediately bring out my desire to decorate our home in the hues and style of the season. However, this always presents me with a bit of a conundrum because I am not particularly crafty and I like to decorate “on a dime.” What’s a woman to do?

Thinking that I may not be alone in the desire to decorate for the season and do so inexpensively, I decided to do some research in an attempt to find the top ten fall decorating ideas on a dime. I hope you enjoy these inexpensive ideas that can help you spruce up your home for Autumn.

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1.

Jars of Acorns: My very crafty friend, Staci Lee, suggested gathering acorns and placing them in various sizes of Mason Jars. She then covers the top of each jar with an autumn-like fabric, ties it with a matching ribbon, and voila… a very inexpensive centerpiece is now your very own. However, Staci Lee did share a bit of a tip that is somewhat important to know: acorns contain worms. You will need to place them in a bucket of bleach for a few hours; then rinse and dry them before putting them in the jars. Unless, of course, you are particularly fond of worms in your home and if so, don’t do anything.

2. Tower of Gourds: Fill a tall, glass vase with various colors of fall gourds and tie a festive ribbon around the top.

3.

Real leaves: Add color to your table by using real leaves! To keep your leaves from drying out, simply rub a moisturizer on the front and back. Scatter around your table, add a centerpiece, and you will be ready for company!

4.

Pumpkin Vases: Use taller pumpkins to hold fresh fall flowers! Remove the insides of the pumpkin and place a vase within. Put flowers in the vase. They will appear to be inside the pumpkin!

5. Cornstalks: Use tall corn stalks to decorate outdoor columns, posts, and mailboxes and tie with fall-colored ribbon. Accent with mums. For added height, add a potted mum or two to a bale of hay.

6. Fall Wreaths: I found this idea at The Cute Kid. Make a fall wreath to adorn your front door and involve the whole family! Simply purchase an inexpensive straw wreath from a craft store and go on a “nature walk”. Gather fall items such as leaves, old bird’s nests, pinecones, and seeds.

Use a glue gun to attach them to the wreath.

Adorn with an autumn-colored bow and watch your front door become ready for the season!

7.

Apple candles: Cut holes in the tops of apples to create taper candleholders. Arrange in a row on top of a fall-colored placemat or scattered leaves.

8.

Indian Corn: I found this idea on the Southern Living website where they offered a video showing several great ideas for fall decorating. Try this one. Arrange a row of Indian Corn in a glass rectangular vase. Place corn kernels on the bottom of the vase to hold corn in place. Keep stalk intact and arrange to fit your tastes.2 9.

Autumn Stovetop Potpourri: To add a festive feel to an Autumn gathering, stovetop potpourri can create an instant coziness to your home! Simply boil a saucepan of water on the back burner (leave the front burners for actual cooking) and add a sliced orange or apple or both! Reduce heat and simmer. Add a half teaspoon of nutmeg, a stick of cinnamon or a half teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and one very small clove. Cloves can be overpowering but will balance out the citrus aroma; so be sure it is a small one! Reduce heat to the lowest setting; it needs to be heated through but not boiling. Check the pan once each hour to determine if more water should be added.

This can be used for up to one day!

10. Twig Candle Holders: Place a rubber band around a drinking glass. Insert small twigs under the rubber band and around the glass.

Tie colored ribbon or raffia around the rubber band to cover it up and place a candle in the glass.

Happy Autumn to you and yours! May God bless you abundantly with gratitude and thanksgiving.

Meet Natalie Natalie Snapp is first and foremost a lover of Jesus, a lover of her husband, Jason, and a lover of their three children.

She is a freelance writer whose work appears in Blissfully Domestic and at her blog, www.mommyonfire.com. She also has a passion for women’s ministry and therefore is busy as the Co-Coordinator of her Mothers of Preschoolers (MOPS) group. In addition, she is an obsessive reader who loves to “talk books” with other book-loving friends. Natalie resides in the Midwest with the aforementioned family that teaches her the extent of God’s love on a daily basis. She is constantly thankful for God’s grace and mercy as she raises her young family to love Him and share their love for Him with others.

Endnotes 1Theresa, “Making Fall Wreaths”. The Cute Kid. 19 July 2010. http://www.thecutekid.com/ parenting/making-fall-wreaths.php.

2“100 Ways to Decorate for Fall.” Southern Living. 19 July 2010. http://www.southernliving.com/home-garden/holidays-occasions/ fall-decorating-ideas-thanksgiving-halloween Image: © Gabor2100 | Dreamstime.com

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Written by Alison Hunt In 2008 one of my best friends called to tell me she was about to go on a date. Before I go any further, let me tell you that she is kind and compassionate and funny and talented and a whole list of other wonderful things. To say the least, she was a highly sought after woman, but she usually was not interested. So when she told me she was going on a date, I knew this guy had to be different.

As those first dates turned into a relationship, and the relationship turned into an engagement, I was continually in awe of how he cherished her. He knew the valuable harvest he had in this relationship. I don’t know if they realize what an impact their relationship has had on me and what it has taught me about waiting well for the harvests God has for my life, specifically in the realm of love and relationships.

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During their wedding weekend God spoke to me so clearly that what He has for me is worth the wait too; that I am worth more than what I thought was destined for me. Of course I had a followup question, “God, what about in the meantime?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I already knew the answer: “Sow. Sow prayer and time into the marriages around you. Sow time with your family.

Sow time into my Spirit. Watch and see the good harvest that is on its way.”

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:7-10 (NLT)

That’s intense and pretty clear that you reap what you sow. The type of seed you plant is the type of harvest you can expect. That is a simple concept to grasp. What is not so simple is the time after the sowing when there is nothing more to be done but patiently wait for the rains to come and water your work.

As more friends get married, and as I spend more time with my family, and as other friends begin new relationships, I get to share in their happiness. I get to pray for God’s best to be made real in their lives. I get to be a part of their story. I’ve spent the last two years making a conscious decision to do that, but my attitude has not always on par with my effort.

Here’s a little glimpse:

“Wait? Um, excuse me, Lord? I did not sign up for the wait. I kind of expected an instant result.”

Does that sound familiar to anyone else? I cannot even count how often I have whined to God about waiting. Being that I’m a single woman in my late twenties, you can only imagine how many times God has had to hear those words come out of my mouth!

I knew something had to be done about my bad attitude on waiting. Let’s look at the book of James.

“Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.” James 5:7-8 (NLT) In this chapter James tells us that farmers eagerly look for the harvest to ripen. Did you catch that? James described patience as to EAGERLY look; not whining or complaining. Farmers know that if the fall and spring rains come, they have nothing to worry about. They’ve done their part by preparing the ground and planting their seeds.

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I have heard several people say that praying for patience is a dangerous prayer because God will then give you something to be patient about. While that’s true, I think the greater lesson is in learning to trust the timing of the Lord and to have faith the rain {aka the Holy Spirit} will come and water the crops. What I know is that when I complain, I am essentially saying the Lord’s timing is all wrong. Ummm….I don’t want to be the one to break the news to you, but God does not like when we think we know how to do things better than he does. Uh huh, I went there.

I’ve witnessed over the last two years the fruit of waiting well, and on the Lord, through my friend and her {now} husband. They chose to believe that God’s way and timing were better than their own. Their life together is proof that trusting the Lord brings the sweet harvest of closer relationship with God and glory to His name here on earth. Not one person could dispute the presence of God in their lives as individuals and as a couple.

Right now, life is about sowing into the people in my life and waiting on the right time for the something more in the future. Wait is no longer a dirty word, but one filled with the promises of something so much better than what I could ever imagine, or think to ask for.

I want to challenge you to not miss the joy of your present while eagerly looking forward to the harvest. It is so easy to get caught up in what we wish would happen that we forget there’s a whole world moving around us right now. I’m pretty sure farmers do not worry about their rain. So don’t you worry about the Holy Spirit.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Feature Article

Renewed Life After Death

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A seed is just a seed until it has the right environment in which to bloom. Until it has soil, water, and sun, its potential stays inert. The same is true with the seeds God plants in my heart – the fruits of His Spirit that He wants to flourish and grow within my life. Without God’s teaching, His quiet whispers of conviction, and His promise of unending love, the seeds He has planted will not mature.

The stagnant seeds in my heart are labeled selflessness and grace. God joyfully gives me the nutrition that these seeds need to grow – His word, His Holy Spirit, His unconditional love, and grace. Yet, even with these things, my heart struggles to yield fruit. Recently, God activated some fertilizer that has been in my being the entire time. It was bottled up in the life of my grandmother, who was quickly fading out of this world and heading toward the next.

As my grandmother began to die, I felt God leading me to appreciate not only who she was to me, but who she was – what made her different, what enabled her to cultivate deep relationships with both her friends and family and with the local grocery store clerk. What was it about her that struck the hearts of those around her, both grown-ups and little babies alike? God whispered, “She is a servant – selfless and kind, graceful and loving.” I saw all the ways that she went without so that others could have. I began to understand the gravity of the sacrifices she had made so that others could prosper. I then witnessed the fruits of her labor as the streams of people flocked to her bedside as she lay dying. It was an astounding testament to the power of living as Jesus commands us – “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Phil 2: 3-4, NIV) Despite her pain in the last days, despite the suffering she had to endure during her last months with cancer, I know that God gave this pain and suffering purpose – to allow her to reap her harvest, to show her how her light shined upon His creation, how He had used her to bring people to Him. 25 © exemplify magazine

Giving Up the Scale Seeing my grandmother reap such enormous blessings in her last days made me wonder…if I chose to live my life the same way she did, would it yield the same results? Seeing her in action – loving, encouraging, putting others before her – made me want to carry on her legacy; a fullon garden bursting of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

Looking inward, though, it looked like I had a lot of work to do.

Could I use the word selfish to describe my personality? Yep. Am I a naturally humble person?

No. Is my first reaction to extend grace and forgiveness? Nope. In short, I had a lot of weeds.

Yuck. I knew these things had to be pulled out by the roots, which would mean pain and sacrifice; but, at this point, if I wanted a garden, I didn’t have much choice. To live a selfless life, one must get rid of self.

I tend to live life by the scale, that is, I measure how much I have done and how much has been done for me. Awful, I know. But now, as I seek to develop fruit, I try to give without restraint. I try to put out of my mind what I have done for others and to give just for the sake of giving. I attempt not to dwell on my sacrifice, but instead focus on the joy and freedom that I am offering to others. How is it a gift when I expect something in return? I realize now just how much of a burden I was carrying; keeping track of favors I owed and those owed to me and then expecting reciprocity.

I also realize that when I release my desire to receive, when I seek to find joy in the offering, when I present God the needs and wants of my heart instead of pinning the demands on others, I can be more about my Father’s work instead of my own. Seeds of joy, kindness, and goodness sprout, crowding out the weed of self more and more.

The Choice to Extend Grace Perhaps the most painful weed to pull is the one called resentment. I find it easy to give surfacelevel grace; that is, glossing over situations with phrases like, “Oh that’s okay. No worries!” Then on the inside, I will still pout and glower, waiting for justice to be served. Yet, when I chose to cling to my anger, I could not forgive, and resentment poisoned the relationship.

God prominently revealed this weed to me during the last few weeks of my grandmother’s life.

God is so gracious. He pointed out my failure not with condemnation, but rather with a simple example of what real grace looks and feels like.

Again, He used my sweet Grannie. At this point, she was too weak to talk on the phone for very long stretches. Yet, I never knew when my last opportunity to whisper “I love you” would be. I tried to call everyday; but some days, life just happened and I never got to the phone. The next day, I would spend precious minutes apologizing for not doing enough for her and she would have to waste precious breath communicating to me that I was under grace. She would tell me, “You do so much for your girls. You have two jobs. You are enough.”

Now I wonder – how often do I extend, really extend, that kind of grace to those around me? How do I accept graciously what they can give, even if it doesn’t measure up to my expectations? Can I truly stop personalizing people’s thoughts and actions and instead think about where they are, where they come from, and what they need? In order to free up space in my sacred garden, I must give grace. For where grace is given, resentment fades and love blooms.

Meet the Author

One Piece at a Time If I said I had no more problems with self-centeredness and that I dish out grace like it was homemade vanilla ice cream, I would be lying. The fact is, I give into worldly temptations and indulge my sinful nature. However, I now recognize that this only bears fruit for death (Romans 7:5). God has shown me the reward of living a life that is based on selflessness and grace; I witnessed it with my very eyes as my grandmother’s life unfolded. As much as I mourn losing her, I know that she would be proud that, even in her death, she was still producing fruit in me. It is a slow process, much like my real garden in the backyard. I seem to produce fruit one tomato at a time. But at least it is fruit for life and that tastes good.

Jen Ferguson is a woman who does not know how to function without Jesus, her iPhone, and chai lattes. She is a marathoner who spends most of her days chasing after her two little girls and all the duties or her two part-time jobs. She is a woman who is fitting more comfortably in the robes of grace and who is shirking off the cloak of perfectionism.

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Have you stopped in today?

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Written by Andrea Mitchell

For What You’re Worth: Declared Holy

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What if you could find joy in the person you are?

Yes, you.

I know. For some of us, it seems like asking the impossible. After all, for too long now we have believed that our worth is wrapped up in our appearance, our success, or how other people value us. We never stop to consider that maybe, just maybe, there is Someone out there who actually thinks we’re pretty amazing just because we are His. I have to admit this is sometimes a tough one for me, too. Even now, staring at the sentence “He thinks we’re pretty amazing just because we are His.” brings tears to my eyes as I think to myself “Really? He feels that way about me?”

Girlfriend, yes He does.

And He feels that way about you .

Yes, you.

So how do we find joy in the person we are?

It’s important for us to understand exactly who we are in Christ. We know the basics – we are forgiven, we are loved. But do we really, truly understand the heart of that?

I know that until recently, I didn’t. Oh, sure.

I thought I did. You don’t go around believing in Jesus for 17 years without thinking you get it. But as I was studying First Corinthians several months ago it finally hit me full force.

First Corinthians was written by Paul to the church in Corinth around 55 A.D. Corinth was a town immersed in Greek culture, a town which valued wisdom highly. Its people also placed a high value on religion, housing at least twelve temples, one of which was to Aphrodite: the goddess of love, beauty, and sexuality.

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At the time of Paul’s letter the church in Corinth was spiritually immature and immersed in the immorality of its culture. One of the practices the church was particularly proud of was its sexual immorality. The Corinthians had bought into the belief that since they were forgiven, they could do whatever they pleased.

Paul instructs the church in chapters 5 and 6 to flee sexual immorality. Two of my favorite verses are contained in this passage: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. (6:19-20, NIV) Paul teaches that what we do with our bodies is indeed important, contrary to what the Corinthians believed. They thought that what they did to their bodies did not affect their spiritual life in any way whatsoever.

It’s hard for us to imagine our physical bodies as a temple, isn’t it? I love how the Message paraphrases this segment: “Or didn’t you realize that your body is a sacred place, the place of the Holy Spirit?”

Your body is a sacred place. The place of the One who created you and loves you.

Sacred is defined as made or declared holy; worthy of respect.

You, beloved daughter, are declared holy.

You are worthy of respect.

And just in case you are asking yourself “And just who declares me holy or worth of respect? Don’t you know the things I have done?”: Ephesians 1:4: “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love.” (MSG) Julu 2010 magazine 29

Through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross God has declared you holy by his love.

When I began to really let that sink in, it changed my perspective of myself completely. It is very hard to treat yourself as unholy when the very fact is God sees you otherwise!

For me, my struggle has always been with my appearance. When I began to realize that my outward actions were in fact affecting my spiritual life, I did an about face. I began seeking ways to honor God through my actions, even in the simple things like how I eat (no, I did not give up chocolate!) and how active I am. Instead of constantly worrying over how these things might affect how I look, I began to think about how they were bringing glory to the Holiest of Holies.

Through His love, God has declared you holy.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. I’ll be honest – I’ve been wrestling with this myself again recently.

But I do know that in the end, all that work and all those tears will produce a harvest of joy within us as we finally declare to ourselves:

I am holy because He has made me so.

He has made you so, dear sister.

He has made you so.

Your struggle with your worth might be very different from my own. But I challenge you with this: change your mind. Stop seeing yourself as un-

Take Action

Find some pictures of temples (or take your own!) and then read 1 Kings 6. Reflect on the beauty of the temples you see before you, and on the attention to detail God placed on building His own temple.

Recall that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit; think about the attention to detail God placed on creating you. Finish up by reading Psalm 84:1.

Does this verse change the way you think about yourself? Are you ready to believe that you are lovely, that you are holy and set apart because He said so? What changes might you need to make to live in a way that reflects that?

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Your marvelous doings are headline news; I could write a book full of the details of your greatness.

Psalm 145:6, The Mesage Š image: digital | sxc.hu 31 Š exemplify magazine

Can You

Really Have it All?

5 Great Questions for Moms

By Brooke McGlothlin 32 Š exemplify magazine

I’m teaching my sons about the sowing and reaping principle found in scripture.

To aid in creating teachable moments I bought one of those upside down tomato grower thingys that shall remain nameless. We brought it home, and sat on the back porch with piles of potting soil between us. As my little boys got their fingers dirty with earth I asked them what they thought this tomato plant would produce.

“Do you think it will grow strawberries?” “NO!” “Do you think it will grow watermelons?”

“NO!” “Do you think it will grow grapes?” “NO!” “Well what will it grow?” “TOMATOES!” Why, you might ask, would I choose to sit in the dirt and teach my (very) young sons about these things? Because the principle of sewing and reaping winds its way through every aspect of life on this planet. It’s a wonderful foundational concept for them to understand. It applies to them even as children. And it reminds me, as a mom, that what I put into my children is most likely what I will get out of them.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” ~Galatians 6:7 (ESV) How much time should we spend teaching our children? How much time should we actually spend looking for and taking advantage of teachable moments with our children? Once a week? Every night? On the weekends? Or must we look for teachable moments every single minute of every single day?

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I do a series on my blog that I call “Duped, Deceived & Disappointed.” You see, I believe we women are being lied to by the world, and more importantly, by the enemy of our souls. It’s an aged old scheme to kill, steal and destroy that started way back in the garden. One of the lies that we’re prone to believing is that our children don’t need a specific quantity of our time, but rather quality of time. So we work and we sing in the choir and we go to the gym and we have girlfriend time, and, if we’re lucky, we might even have a date night once a month. As long as the time we have with our children is spent in quality interaction, we believe we’re giving it our best shot.

I may sound a little radical here, but life as a Christian is radical. I think quality over quantity arguments only work to keep us from truly looking at our hearts and seeing our children’s true needs. In other words, this argument is part of the lie.

Look at your life for a moment friends. What are you sowing the most time and resources into? Is it your job? Is it your church ministry? Is it your girlfriends, your writing, the gym or (gasp!) facebook? Who or what gets the bulk or your attention? If it’s all of these things, it’s NOT your children.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” ~Galatians 6:7 (ESV)

If you’re like me, you have grand dreams for your children. When it comes time to harvest all that I have sown, I hope to see godly fruit coming from my boys’ hearts. I desire for them to be men who will be different – respecters of women, lovers of God. I want them to be men who will work with their hands, take commitments seriously and protect the least of these.

I hope to raise warriors, protectors, worshipers, peacemakers and friends. But in order to do this I have to give them my time.

Raising godly children requires time and a lot of hard work. There’s really no way around it.

If we’re always busy anywhere but at home (or even too busy while we’re at home) how will we reach their hearts for the Gospel? If we work all the time how can we notice those critical, teachable moments designed to touch their hearts with God’s Truth and God’s love?

We can’t.

Moms, I believe God is calling us home. Or at the very least, for those of us who have no choice but to work and support our families, to make home much more of a priority than we have in the past. He’s asking us to lay down the lie that says we can have everything and recognize the Truth of His Word, the principle of sowing and reaping, and to take a deep look into our hearts to see what’s seated on the throne there. Here are five great questions to help you as you ask God to search your heart and give you light for your path.

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1. Where do I spend the majority of my time? Are there ways I can decrease time spent away from my children and home?

2. When I am at home with my children, do I spend more time on the computer, phone or in front of the TV than I do teaching them or training them in godliness?

3. Am I willing to endure a season of living on less in order to sow into my children while they’re still so teachable?

4. Do I trust God to give me what I need day-by-day, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, so that I can shepherd the hearts of my children for the Gospel?

5. Am I willing to admit that I cannot have everything…be everything (successful wife, mother, employee, friend, church member) and ask God to reset my priorities?

A few weeks ago my oldest son, now five, came running to me in the kitchen with pure excitement on his face. For weeks he had been (kind of) patiently waiting for those tomatoes to be ripe…and they finally were. Juicy, red and round, we took great pleasure together in picking them from the vine. The harvest was here. Now, when I talk to my son about treating others the way he wants to be treated, he will have a picture in his head of tomato plants bringing forth tomatoes. Sowing and reaping.

What are you bringing forth?

@exemplify

When It’s Time to Heal

from a Broken Relationship

Written by Wendy Miller 36 magazine may 2010

Some people like to be hurt. They like the attention that comes in the form of concerned questions. They like to nurse their emotional wounds by encouraging bitterness to fester and spread inside. To some, a broken relationship turns into a victim badge. I tried, but they must not want to. The hurt pushes out accusation after accusation that resembles nothing more than the blame game.

But God has a different plan for His children when we’ve endured a relationship loss. Be it a friendship, romantic involvement, or sadly even a family member, no one is immune to the shattering impact of a severed relationship.

Have you ever noticed how beautifully the body heals after a damaging fall or a bloody accident? Skin scabs over with such a precise patchwork of replenishing restoration. Bones fuse together in a masterful production after a clean break.

Physically we represent an ingenious design. What can we learn from how our bodies come back to whole? How can we model this as best as we can in our relationships—on an emotional level?

Be Honest Yourself

with

It won’t help anyone if you attempt to run from the pain, bury it, mask it, or pretend it away. Relationships get ugly. It’s a consequence of living in a fallen world. You aren’t doing anyone any favors by acting like the broken relationship doesn’t hurt or by waving it off as though your heart has suddenly hardened thick as a knight’s armor. Feel it. Cry. “In a futile attempt to erase our past, we deprive the community of our healing gift. If we conceal our wounds out of fear and shame, our inner darkness can neither be illuminated nor become a light for others.” ~ Brennan Manning

If Possible, Work Toward Restoration

Learning how to say an authentic sorry is one of the best ways to improve relationships. If there’s anything (and I mean anything) that you’re responsible for in causing the relationship to sever, find it in you to apologize. Sometimes your apology won’t be accepted. I know this well. But I live at peace knowing I humbled myself and communicated a sincere apology. Some people won’t want it.

Some people might wish to stay mad or wallow in their anger. And unfortunately sometimes relationships are primed like a fault line to split.

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

Romans 12:18

Repent, Forgive & Let go

It’s during these times we might feel all alone. But we’re not. No one knows betrayal and separation from man better than our Savior. Upon the cross He endured the weight of all our sin and yet He chose to forgive us right then and there. Don’t delay the forgiveness process. Speak it as soon as the thought comes to mind. Ask for God’s forgiveness. Ask for God to help you forgive the other party. And then finally (and this is the most challenging one for me in this whole article) let go. I’m still waiting for a ten step program or a play by play guide on how to go about this. I’m fiercely loyal so telling me to let go is like telling a fish to shake free once the hook has pierced its belly.

I try. I shimmy. But I still haven’t nailed the letting go part.

Talk It Through

You’ve prayed. You’ve confessed any ugliness you put out there to make the relationship fail. Now what? If you’re hoping to grow and learn from the relationship you might want to seek out the advice of a trusted friend. Someone who will be loving, but honest with you. Is there a pattern in your behavior driving a wedge between you and others? Sometimes it’s nice to remember that someone will listen and support unconditionally.

Stop Talking

There comes a point when talk about the broken relationship needs to lull or cease.

It’s often we yammer on about something only so we can feel validated. We also go on and on to build our case, make excuses for ourselves, manipulate the situation and feed our anger. A good practice is whenever the circumstance brims at the edge of your thoughts, and moves to the tip of your tongue, to stop. Do something physical to remind yourself you’re done talking about it. Snap. Whistle. Whisper a prayer or a verse to God. Laugh. Do anything but circle that wagon. You’ll be doing more than saving yourself more grief; you’ll be saving your friend from having to hear about it yet another time.

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Pray More

Just when we think we’re over some kind of hurt that one song will come on and rattle us. Memories will rise out of nowhere to haunt us and remind us of every callous moment at the relationship’s end. We have an enemy that likes us bitter. He delights when we fester, when our thoughts sink back to regret, guilt, despair and disdain.

Our enemy knows our soft spots, our emotional bruises, our brittle and weak bones.

It’s his greatest desire to bring us right back to the most pressing moment of pain.

That split second of betrayal or loss. He wants us to stay there forever. Because of this we need to use our spiritual armor (Ephesians 6). It’s at these vulnerable moments God craves for us to reach out to Him like His own Son reached out while on the cross. There’s not a person alive who believes forgiveness occurs with the snap of the fingers. It’s a process. It’s a fight. And it’s one worth fighting if we hope to grow; if we hope to thrive in healthy relationships.

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

Put out Love

So we’ve been hurt. We’ve lost someone we once considered dear. No use going over the whys any longer. Learn from the relationship. Try to gain an understanding of what went wrong and how to avoid it happening in the future. Set boundaries. Become knowledgeable about human behavior. But no matter what you do, first and foremost, stay open. Have hope. Pour out love. God gave us the ultimate free refill in Jesus. We never run out of the replenishing resource of love. You never know how God will use the pain you went through in order to comfort another.

“Other people are going to find healing in your wounds. Your greatest life messages and your most effective ministry will come out of your deepest hurts.” Rick Warren Surviving a broken relationship is serious business. But God is all about mending. If it’s not the time for the relationship to be restored God still wants to repair you. Practice forgiveness. Talk it over until it’s time to stop talking. Pray more. Learn from the loss and find your strength in Him so you willingly choose to pour out love.

Scars act as reminders of all the ways He’s healed us.

Harvest is God’s enduring and neverceasing promise to each of us–as long as earth remains, we are promised a harvest. It symbolizes God’s blessing and fruitfulness in our lives. And yet, it is also food of which we can enjoy, share and partake. It is something He promises to protect for us, if we remain in Him–obedient, faithful children. Harvest brings about refreshing, rejoicing and shouts of joy!!

Do we really shout for joy when the harvest comes in? When God brings about a harvest after your hard work, do you take moments to rejoice and give thanks? We might sigh with relief and say, “Wow, it finally happened. Well it’s about time!” Our shouts of joy and celebration for the harvest have depleted to a whisper.

Perhaps as God told Jeremiah, “what God has given, He will take from us…due to our loathsome conduct.”

Oh, may it not be! A harvest is coming at its appointed time–let us celebrate and anticipate and give thanks to God!!

Do the Work Written by Holly Smith 40 © exemplify magazine

In Proverbs 10:5, Solomon writes that the one who gathers his harvest is wise, while the one who sleeps through the harvest is disgraceful. It brought to my heart this question, “Am I gathering the harvest God has brought to me or am I sleeping right through it?” Am I noticing and paying attention to the work of God around me? For instance that prayer request I have long prayed for has finally been answered! Do I take time to thank God and notice that He has answered a prayer, which I thought impossible and unlikely? Do I take time to respond in love to “gather in” the harvest of a relationship made right in the Lord? Oh, yes, yes, yes I do!

Then in Proverbs 20:4 Solomon continues that no plowing has occurred, so there will be no harvest. We need to do the work! We need to get our hands dirty, swollen and blistered as we prepare the soil for the seed. Then we need to diligently plant the seeds in the soil; and without high-tech machinery. Plowing by hand, preparing the soil and then planting and covering each seed–one by one–we find that this is hard work.

There is no way around it. Perhaps we might get tired and throw the seed, hoping some will fall in a good place to grow.

Perhaps we will fail to do the followthrough work, by tending to the weeds and watering in the hot and sweltering heat. There is no getting around it. To have a harvest, we need to do the work.

Back in 1996, my husband Chris and I bought a home built in 1854. It needed much tender, loving care. It needed hard work. At that time, we had struggled with infertility for a long time.

FARMING AND BIRDS © Constantin Opris | Dreamstime.com

So we poured our energy into the work– building, repairing, decorating, strengthening and remaking all the broken pieces that had been untended for years. I can still hear DC Talk and see the ladders and late night work lights. I can smell the crock pot meal I prepared…again. Who had time to prepare meals with all the work that needed to be done?

Within a year, I would have one child.

Then 21 months later another child. We made those rooms so beautiful. We tended to our children and our home and thanked God for the harvest! Within another year, God would lead us to buy another home. We knew it was His will. So we prepared beautiful landscaping–irises, hawthorns, plum trees, boxwood, azaleas and crepe myrtles.

We made our home as perfect, as we could with a home built in 1854 by someone who lacked a level. Yes, every room was crooked and it drove my engineer husband crazy!

We prepared and prayed and waited. In God’s time a buyer came, who paid us THREE times what we had paid in the beginning. Is that not a harvest? I can still feel the humid air after the rain that night we got the offer. I can still feel the joy of the harvest–and the sentimental feelings of the hard work, which another family would enjoy and surely take upon themselves to do more. When God leads us to such a harvest, how can we not be marked by it? Oh sisters, take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of for you. He has a plentiful harvest of people and events and food in store for you. With obedience and hard work, we may grasp hold of it and shout for joy!!

So this month I will share our very favorite Harvest Crock Pot recipes for you to enjoy on your days of hard work.

Mrs. Julie’s Applesauce 5 granny smith apples 5 gala (or another kind) red apples 1 cup of water 1 cup of sugar 1 teaspoon of cinnamon Peel, core and slice apples into about 8 pieces. Add all to the crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Then I used a hand blender to “mash” them. Leave a few chunks in it, if you’d like.Enjoy!

Tortilla Soup

4 chicken breast halves 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 t.)

2 T. minced onion 2 T. butter 30 oz. chicken broth 2 14 1/2 oz cans chopped and stewed garden-fresh tomatoes 1 c. of your favorite salsa 1/2 c. cilantro 1 T. ground cumin 8 oz Monterrey jack, shredded Toppings (optional): Sour cream, sharp cheddar, tortilla chips, jalapenos Boil Chicken in a large stock pot with about 10 c. water. Season to taste (salt, pepper, basil, onions, garlic). Save broth. Cube chicken. In another small pan, melt butter. Saute minced garlic and onion. In a crock pot on low, mix together broth, tomatoes, sauteed garlic and onion, cubed chicken, salsa, cilantro, and cumin. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Divide cheese on the bottom of 6 bowls, layer tortilla chips, soup, extra cheddar, sour cream, and jalapenos (if you’d like). So very good and hearty!

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Image: © nkz | sxc.hu

Exemplify recommends fonts for peas.

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A Harvest of Love

Written by Lori Macmath 44 magazine

“If you want to feel deeply about God, you have to think deeply.”

C.J. Mahaney Since the beginning of time all God has ever wanted was our love.

“The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul and ALL your strength.

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today.”

Deuteronomy 6: 4-6 NLT (emphasis added) It is, in essence, where the harvest begins.

Love is the harvest. Love is so important to God that His only Son emphasized it as well just to make sure that we understood that it was all about love. All about loving God. “You must love the Lord your God with All your heart, All your soul and All your mind.

This is the first and greatest commandment.”

Matthew 22:37-38 NLT (emphasis added) In the ancient Jewish tradition there is a great feast: The Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. In Jesus’ time this feast was held five days after the solemn Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur.

Once forgiveness and atonement had been made with God, a joyous feast followed. This feast would last for seven days. It was harvest time. God had instructed His people to build sukkahs or booths to recall the days that God had delivered them from Egypt and led them into the safe sanctuary of the desert.

These booths were to be constructed out of trees and His people were instructed to live outside for seven days. As they lived and ate in these sukkahs for seven days each year, they were reminded of God’s faithfulness and love. (Leviticus 23: 26-44) They were reminded of God’s abundant harvest. It’s not always the harvest that our flesh desires but it is certainly a harvest that sustains. God also instructed the ancient Jews;

“When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. Leave it for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:22 NLT It’s beautiful that God instructed the Jews of Jesus’ day to follow these commands, but what does this mean for us sojourners living in the 21st century? It involves a deeper dive into The Word. God wants ALL of our love; ALL of our heart, soul and mind. He wants our harvest. He wants our harvest shared with others; the “foreigners;” those lost and suffering among us. Yet, how often do we “hoard” the harvest for ourselves? We do not offer the “first fruits,” but rather the leftovers. That is not the harvest the Lord is asking of His disciples. We forget the God who was faithful then will be faithful today. We hoard, not harvest.

All He wants is our love. All of it.

Jesus took all of His Jewish traditions and taught what He knew from the Father. Over and over again, Jesus reminded us that we “reap what we sow.”

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Each of us has a field. Each of us plants seeds of some kind. Each of us will harvest something. Each of us will reap what we sow. Sowing is hard and thankless work: just ask any farmer. It’s not the sowing season that is rewarding, it’s the harvest.

Every single day we have an opportunity to sow and harvest.

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

Galatians 6:7 (NIV) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Galatians 6:8 (NIV) The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

What if our harvesting looked different?

Shane Claiborne challenges us with the following in “Jesus for President.”

“For our Biblical ancestors, the law set them apart from the world they came from – peculiar ways of living, eating, dressing. God also gave them laws for caring for the poor, the land, the alien and the immigrants. Much of the law was a warning: “If you do not do this, you will end up like Egypt.” Today things are a little different. It’s not circumcision or eating kosher that sets us apart, what marks us?

Wouldn’t it be beautiful if people asked questions like, ‘Why do they have homeless folks coming into their homes? Why don’t they watch television? Why are they so nice to people who ask questions like this?’” (page 239, Jesus for President) 46 magazine © exemplify magazine

We tend to look at the “big harvest.” What if we considered the “mini harvests?”

The harvests within the harvest. What if we saw that five dollars we found stuffed in the pocket of the jeans we wore weeks ago as a harvest? What about the harvest that presents itself in the opportunity to leave a tip for the waitress who served you lunch? Mini harvests on the path to a holy life. A farmer lives continuous harvests or he is no longer a farmer. We too have continuous harvests in our lives. Continuous harvests that will one day culminate into the harvest which will be our earthly life. On this path to holiness we must notice the harvests within the harvest. Jesus commands it. He challenges us to examine the daily harvesting that we can reap.

The daily harvesting that can meet the needs of friends and strangers. The harvest that is LOVE. What are we afraid of?

God is and always has been faithful. From the days of delivering the Israelites out of Egypt until today, He’s been faithful.

What if we began harvesting love on a daily basis? Love sowed from the Word of God and harvested in acts of love, exhortation, edification, forgiveness and grace extended. What a beautiful harvest that would be! A harvest of love, sown by the sower who from the beginning has only wanted love. ALL our love.

This month as we journal our way to holiness, we’ll be diving deeper and meditating on these words. We’ll look at what it means to “harvest daily,” and we’ll challenge ourselves to look inward at the areas of our lives where we may be hoarding the harvest. It promises to be challenging and rewarding as any farm labor will ever be.

It will make weary your heart and mind, but the harvest reaped will be incredible. We are called to harvest and as sojourners on this journey toward holiness we are called to go deeper and examine the fields in which we sow and the harvests that follow.

The invitation has been extended, the journal awaits.

The journal that just may lead to a harvest of love.

Download the journal here

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By Chrystie Cole

fruit basket turned upside down?

Four Key Factors In Living Fruitful Lives Š exemplify magazine

My husband has always appreciated my punchy one-liners.

It seems he finds my quip remarks entertaining. Invariably, we find ourselves in uncontrollable fits of laughter over something others may not find funny. I love that he appreciates my sense of humor even if it is, at times, directed at him.

One day in particular, as he playfully vented about a stressful situation in his life, he remarked, “I’m tired of being patient. It’s a limited resource, and I’m running out.” Without hesitation, I sarcastically shot back, “It’s a fruit of the Spirit, and it’s in abundant supply.”

That one comment sent us spiraling into the ugly laugh. You know the one; the one where you accidentally snort, or make funny noises as you try to catch your breath, or maybe you even honk like a goose. And while our little episode doesn’t translate as well on paper, we enjoyed a hearty laugh out of it for quite some time.

That day, as I lovingly and playfully jabbed at my husband, I had no idea my own words would come back to bite me. One morning a few weeks later as I was getting ready for work, I thought about how my husband had addressed my recent lack of joy. As I was running through all the excuses in my head about why I was not joyful, I heard my own voice come back at me, “It’s called joy.

It’s a fruit of the Spirit. And it’s in abundant supply, too.” Ouch!

The truth is, some days my fruit basket is turned upside down.

Joy? Zero! Patience? Zilch! Gentleness? Out the window! And on really bad days, my harvest might be plentiful, but the fruit isn’t so sweet; it’s bitter. In Galatians 6:7, Paul says a man reaps what he sows, and I have certainly reaped my fair share of bitter fruit.

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q Misplaced Priorities “You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.”

Haggai 1:6 ESV In the book of Haggai, the Lord withheld rain and plentiful harvest because His house (the temple of the Lord) lay in ruins while each man busied himself with his own house. Each man sought to satisfy his own fleshly needs first and foremost before considering rebuilding the temple of the Lord. As a result, the Lord saw to it that though they worked the land, the harvest would be little; though they ate and drank, they would never be satisfied; though clothed, they would never be warm; and though they worked to earn wages, they would have little to show for their labor.

If we spend hour upon hour building a comfortable little life, while our relationship with God lay in ruins, our priorities might be out of whack. This life is not about us. It’s not about creating and sustaining our own little world.

It’s not about working to satisfy our own desires. It’s about His glory and His kingdom.

When Jesus is Lord of our life, our heart is for God and for the things of God. We work not for ourselves, but for Him. We work not for our own glory, but for His. We work not to make a name for ourselves, but instead for His name and renown.

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Misplaced Delight “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:2-3 NIV In his article, “All of Life Is Repentance,” Tim Keller said, “The sin under all other sins is a lack of joy in Christ.” When our joy is not complete in Christ, we seek to have our joy fulfilled in inferior ways, like our marriages, children, or careers. These things are not intended to be our delight, and they cannot bear the weight of our expectations or fill our spiritual needs.

And when these things invariably let us down or are taken from us, our delight fades, and despair and disillusionment creep in.

Yes, the Lord rejoices when we delight in His creation, in His gifts, and in His mighty works; however, our delight is to be first and foremost in Him, not in the world; in the Creator, not the creation; in the Giver, not the gift. Do we find our delight in what pleases us, or do we find our delight in what pleases God? When our delight is in Him and we are living lives pleasing to Him, we will yield fruit in season.

q

Misplaced Trust “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:5-8 NIV Cursed or blessed. One or the other. It seems silly to think one would choose curse over blessing, but we do time and again. We place our trust in man and in the things of man. We trust in our own intelligence; our own ability to figure things out; our ability to create, invent, and innovate. We trust in our own strength and our own best laid plans. In verse nine the Lord says the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick (ESV). Our will and emotions are fickle and untrustworthy. Just like Adam and Eve in the garden, when presented with the apple, we would trust our own reasoning and intellect and eat the apple every time.

In whom do we place our trust or our confidence? Are we self-reliant and self-confident?

Or is our trust and confidence placed solely on the saving grace of Jesus Christ? Romans 10:11 NIV assures us that anyone who trusts Him will never be put to shame. Those who put their trust, confidence, hope, security, and identity in the Lord can be certain their foundation can never be shaken; what they have cannot be taken from them. When we place our trust in the Lord, we need have no fear of heat or drought because our roots are supported

by Him; and even in years of drought we will never fail to bear fruit.

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q Misplaced Life-source “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…” John 15:1-2, 5 NIV Jesus says He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6 NIV). He says He has the gift of living water (John 4:10 NIV). He says that when anyone believes in Him, streams of living water will flow from within him (John 7:38 NIV).

He says He is the bread of life (John 6:35 NIV).

The book of John is full of references to Jesus as our source of life.

Jesus isn’t just our source for eternal life; He is our source of life here and now. He says He came to give us abundant life (John 10:10).

When we dwell in Him, when He is our foundation for life, He fills us with the fruit of His life; the fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

When we place Him first and foremost in our lives, when we delight in Him above all other things, when we place our trust in Him, and when we draw our life from Him, the result will be lives that bear much fruit, and this will bring glory to our Father as we show ourselves to be disciples of Jesus. (John 15:8 NIV)

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A Harvesting Lesson Your Kids Will Love… (and

Learn From Too!)

© Smphoto | Dreamstime.com © exemplify magazine

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Whenever my two sons want to water my tomato plants, I cringe inside. There’s also a fair amount of groaning and subject-changing too. Not only is there the chance of them overwatering, but a bigger chance of them trampling and severing the plants simultaneously. I can’t understand their interest: if they didn’t like to eat tomatoes, then what was the interest in taking care of them? And why did they have to water mine?

I thought about why I liked gardening and figured they enjoyed and understood the basic concept behind it all. Harvesting from your hard-earned work (and reaping the reward) is something we all crave. Growing something from nothing (or a seed) is not only rewarding, but also pleasing … even for kids. It is as if they yearn for the harvest as much as I do, even though they don’t like the vegetable.

Where we live, we’re able to grow produce through the fall; but, having already sown the seeds, I realized that my kids missed the lesson. If I wanted them to see the cause and effect of seed to full-grown fruit, then that meant they needed to sow the literal seed and I had to teach them before spring rolled around.

I explained to them that harvest is what we gain after we reap. And while this method works for the farmer or average gardener like me, it’s a complete cycle that works its way into every facet of our lives. The moment they understand that this concept is applicable to everything around them, it’s a moment they learn not to take any action or inaction for granted. Every decision they make now, whether large or small, reaps a harvest (good or bad) over time. Letting them help grow a garden is a way to bring this into a working lesson.

We all can sow and reap to just the right degree and harvest something truly remarkable. And as a bonus, we can even teach our kids a few traits that they — if their listening ears are on — will use for a very long time. Let me share what I did with my own kids.

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© Jinyoung Lee | Dreamstime.com

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Let them pick out the seeds.

If your children don’t like the things that are growing, odds are good they won’t want to take care of it either. Let them pick out the things they want to grow, and ultimately, want to eat. You can do this now, in the fall, and get them thinking about what they want to eat…what they want to harvest. By choosing their future harvest, it encourages them to follow through. They not only comprehend but also utilize the reaping and sowing methodology: sowing something good, even if small, will reap something good! In turn, the harvest they gain reflects how important the decision is in sowing one, simple seed.

Read the directions to understand basic gardening.

Read the back of the seed envelope with them. Teach them how to follow directions in order to achieve results. Once planted, check the growth pattern of the seeds. How long does it take to mature? What is the height and width of future plant(s)? How much room do you need? What are the water requirements?

Does it need fertilizer? Going over questions makes them think. If they follow directions, they get results. If they don’t, they get nothing. Again, you can only harvest that which you’ve sown. If your children realize that understanding and thinking through every decision is paramount to sowing their crop, they’ll realize directions are important; just as the Bible, our set of directions, is important for us. In order for us to harvest a righteous crop, reading the Word is a must.

© exemplify magazine

Put your kids -and their future produce- on a watering schedule.

This is a good one because they learn how to care properly for their veggies or fruits.

It teaches them the benefits of taking care of what they treasure. Sure, they may complain about doing all the work. Remind them this is their choice…their desire. Following through (taking care of the plant) is part of the responsibility. To help them stay positive, remind them that in a few months this “responsibility” will reap results. The harvest, if properly fed and watered, will result in a great bounty.

Take inventory every week; look at the progress.

Watching plants grow is probably the most fun task in this process. The reality is, the plants (and their fruit) encourage the kids that their own handiwork yields results.

Through this progress, have them check for problems as well. You can never be sure that bugs or too little or too much water won’t change the outcome. This step is about responsibility and rewards rolled into one. By watching out for potential problems, as well as the up and coming gathering, they can be proud of their own work.

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Harvest time is a Big deal!

This is the big one. This is the day (and many days after) that they begin to feel the result of their hard work. But guess what? You get one more trick (life-changing lesson) to teach them: how to be givers. While this idea may be tough on their little minds, suggest they give a first part of their harvest to someone else. Is this hard? Yes. Is it necessary? No. However, if they choose to do this, they not only learn what it is to toil and sweat for their own sake, but they’ll also learn the value in taking care of others as well. A harvest isn’t truly a harvest unless it’s shared. Just as God expects us to return to Him what is His, He absolutely wants us to give to those in need and to those we love.

Your children can have and enjoy a wonderful garden of their own, all while doing most of the work themselves. Though you may have to assist them in some of it, over time, the responsibility becomes theirs. In the end, hopefully, they will look at the whole process as something to cherish.

With these simple gardening steps, they also learn important lessons; ones they can apply to their lives in school, homework, friendship and later on in the work/marriage/family cycle. Give them a rake and show them how to harvest their own crop. They’ll flourish, not just in the garden, but also in the garden of real life. Their harvest will prove if their past decisions sown were wise or unwise. When you can teach your children these lessons with the garden as a guide, wisdom doesn’t come better– and fresher– than that.

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j Meet Heather spiva Heather Spiva is a freelance writer from Sacramento, California, who loves to read, write and garden…especially tomatoes. She also loves to spend huge quantities of time with her two young boys and firefighter husband.

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Fields of Life Written by Jenifer Jernigan

“Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”

Revelation 14:15b, NLT

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It was definitely not my intention. My plan was to drive; to stay in the truck and enjoy the cool breeze of the A/C blowing into my face. My skin was already sun burned from the previous day’s swim club adventure with my kiddos, so to be out in the sun again wasn’t the wisest of choices. And, I was certainly not dressed for the occasion. A white tank underneath a cute little jacket, comfy Capri lounge pants, and black flip flops aren’t the usual attire one would choose to wear for an undertaking of this magnitude. BUT, my daddy needed help and when daddy needs help- well, what’s a girl to do? So, I took off my cute little jacket and all my jewelry, and with already crispy skin joined my daddy in the middle of the hay field.

The field was ready to be harvested. The hay had been cut, turned in order for it to dry, and then made into rectangular bales tied off neatly with two twine strings. Rows and rows and rows of hay bales lined the field with just enough room between each row for a vehicle to drive through. “Let’s go to the end of that row over there,” my dad pointed as he surveyed the best place for us to begin. “We’ll pick up where the last group left off.” And so it began; the tedious task of heave-hoeing 50-lb bales of hay and strategically placing them on the trailer so every bale would fit and stack nicely.

One hundred and thirty something bales of hay were loaded onto the trailer that day. By the time we were done I was disgustingly nasty and smelled of sweat mixed with the scents of stale hay and the tiny bit of what was left of the freesia deodorant I had applied to my underarms MANY hours earlier.

My burnt, crispy skin was now blistered and very painful. My white shirt wasn’t so white anymore and was covered and filled with hay. Now, not only were my flip flops black, but both of my feet were black from the dust in the field. The day was a complete success though. The task that had been set before us had been accomplished.

Our Daddy has set before each of us a task – a field, if you will – that is ready to be harvested.

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Survey the field God has planted you in at this time in your life.

Your job is a field. The gas station where you fill your tank is a field. Those restaurants you frequent are fields. Play groups, kids play team, those moms you sit with while your girls practice dance- those are fields God has given you to work and cultivate. Your church, home, and circle of friends are fields God has placed you in for such a time as this.

Purposefully build relationships with the individuals in your field.

God has strategically placed within each of our lives “hay bales” that are ready to be picked up and loaded onto the trailer of eternal life. We must be purposeful about investing time into these people.

It will require sacrifice on our part and quite possibly will stretch us beyond our comfort zones. There will be times when we’ll pick up where others have left off, but there will also be those times when we’ll begin our God-given task on uncharted land; we’ll be called to start something new and travel down a new path that has yet to be harvested by His workers.

Work diligently.

Just as the rows of hay bales had exactly enough space for a vehicle to travel through, God will give us exactly what we need to travel down the paths He has set before us. Yes, the task will be tedious.

And yes, it will be hard work. It will require that we get our hands dirty and maybe even our feet a little dusty. But, in the end, when His task has been accomplished and our work on earth is done, it will all have been worth it- even if we do come out a little smelly and exhausted.

Pray for the harvest to come.

Pray for the individuals God has placed in your field.

Pray that their hearts be opened to Him. Pray they are receptive to the Gospel message. Pray for lives to be changed. Pray that you would be faithful to the work God has called you to: the work of planting, cultivating, and harvesting souls for the Kingdom of God.

image:© Alexander Glagolev | Dreamstime.com

Feature Article

With the End in Mind

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Š Image:Daniel Martinez

It’s not by accident that the farmers around here spend a lot of time harvesting their crops. In fact, they carefully plan their whole year and do all they can to ensure that they have to spend a long time harvesting. These farmers know what they’re doing and do it well. They start preparing for their harvest long before the first seeds go in the ground, and they don’t plant just a few corn seeds or a few soybean seeds. They plant acres and acres and acres of them. They utilize their ground and resources so their bins are full after they harvest.

Those of us that put out only a few tomato plants don’t expect the same quantity as those farmers harvest, yet so often we do that in our spiritual lives. We plant a few spiritual plants or seeds and hope God needs a semi-truck at harvest time. It doesn’t work that way; not in life and not spiritually either.

Just like the farmers, we need to plant our lives with the end in mind.

Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. ~Hosea 10:12 NAS

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Prepare Early

Farmers start preparing for their harvest in the early spring when most of us are still scraping mud from the bottom of our shoes. They hook a disc to their tractor and turn the soil with the sharp blades so the field will dry faster. Then, when we’re out enjoying the beautiful weather, the farmers are out planting. With one eye on the weather and the other on the soil, they spend hours in the tractor planting. They strategize their planting and it still takes them many days to plant their fields.

Hosea tells us to break up our fallow ground— the ground that’s good land for planting but is unused at the moment. He says to break it up and get ready to use it. Have you ever seen farmers discing fields? Those discs are sharp and they cut deep as they break up the ground. It’s what needs to happen in our lives to turn us into productive land for the Father. That process hurts as God’s disc cuts deep and turns us, loosening the dirt of our life for His purposes. Deep, hidden things are brought to the surface and things are exposed, allowing God’s light in to do His work in us. It’s not easy; but if we submit, the harvest from our lives will be greater. Hosea says it’s time to seek God as He does His work in us.

Stewardship Seeds

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Hold

Out Your Hands

Once the soil of our lives is prepared, it’s time for planting.

Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; ~2 Corinthians 9:10 NAS Did you catch who supplies the seed? God does!

We don’t have to flip through seed catalogs looking for what to plant and we don’t have to decide what would grow well in our lives. We simply need to seek God and hold our hands out to Him and He will provide the seeds to plant.

God knows best! He knows what will grow well in our lives and He knows what crop He wants from us. All we have to do is plant what He gives us.

How many times have I sat in turmoil as I flipped through a seed catalog for my life? I’ve wasted so much time dithering over how much to plant where and what I want to be and do when all I had to do was close the catalog and plant the seeds He had put in my hand.

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of

God doesn’t only supply the seed for us to plant, He also multiplies those seeds! As we are faithful to plant, He multiplies the seed so His harvest is greater. There have been times I’ve stood at the edge of my field and looked at the few seeds in my hand and thought, “That’s it? This is all I get to plant?” I know there have been times when I’ve thrown those seeds over my shoulder in disappointment and disgust and let them land wherever the wind blew them; hard ground, rocky ground, in the thorns…wherever. God speaks several times in the Bible about sowing seeds among thorns. “…’Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.’” ~Jeremiah 4:3 NAS We’re not to do it. Those seeds that I disdainfully threw out because I didn’t think they were worth the effort because there were so few, were wasted. Not only that, but I missed out on seeing God multiply those seeds in my life. There will be no harvest from them.

Jeremiah tells us we’re to use the fallow ground, that unused land in our lives for God’s seed. We need to be good stewards and prepare that ground for God. Prepared land is more productive and yields a higher harvest.

I

meet patty

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With the End In Mind

Every farmer and gardener works for the harvest. They plow and plant with the end in mind.

If they want a large harvest then they do a lot of planting. If they want to can vegetables for the winter, they plant a large garden. If they want vegetables for the table, they plant accordingly.

If they just want a few fresh tomatoes, they only plant a couple of tomato plants. Each one plants knowing weather and insects can play havoc on the crops; but in our spiritual lives, we’re not responsible for the harvest. God is. We’re responsible for planting the seeds God gives us. So, keep preparing the fallow ground in your life because He’ll multiply the seed for you to plant.

Do you want God to have an abundant harvest from your life? Plant His seeds with the end in mind.

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Life is never dull for Patty as she juggles being a wife, a homeschooling mom of five, bookkeeper of their family business, a Bible study facilitator, an online blogging class teacher, a website manager, and a writer.

As long as she’s obeying God’s leading, she figures that sanity is a novelty and not a necessity. Patty clings to the promise that God will enable her to do what He asks of her. She writes about Finding the extraordinary God in our ordinary lives and weaves lessons she’s learned into short stories and devotionals, which are on her blog Patterings.

Interview by Judith Roberts

10 Questions with Author Beverly Lewis

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What can you tell us about your new book, The Thorn?

I’ve started a new series called The Rose Trilogy, which takes place in the mid-1980s. It’s a moving family saga set in southern Lancaster County among some of Pennsylvania’s oldest order of Amish. When the book opens, Rose Kauffman has just regained her freedom after caring for her invalid mother for several months almost singlehandedly. She is eager to return to the outdoors, and especially to her barn chores with favorite neighbor, Nick Franco, the bishop’s foster son. When her married sister, Hannah, called Hen, shows up for several visits, Rose worries something is terribly amiss with her now-English sister. The two girls had always been close, but when Hen married a worldly man, Rose just assumed she was lost to the Amish ways and the faith of their childhood.

Beverly Lewis is a New York Times bestselling author and most notably known for her Amish novels. She grew up in Lancaster County, Penn., the heart of Amish country, and started writing when she was nine years old. She has now written more than 80 books and is known for her ability to give an inside look at Amish life. Bev has lived with the Amish, conducting research for two of her novels, What can you tell us about your main charand many Amish have stated her books give an ac- acter, Rose Kauffman? curate reflection of Plain Life.

One of the books of her first adult trilogy, The Heritage of Lancaster County, The Shunning, is the story of Katie Lapp, an Amish woman who is drawn to the modern world due to secrets of her past. Beverly drew inspiration for this novel from her maternal grandmother Ada Ranck Buchwalter, who left the Old Order Mennonite ways to marry a Bible College student.

A beloved author of children’s, youth, and adult novels, Beverly Lewis and her husband Dave reside in Colorado Springs, Colo., and have three children.

Her newest book, The Thorn, is now available.

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Rose is a spirited young woman. She resonates with my own heart because she loves to read, loves the outdoors, and is caring and loyal to her injured mother, who was left paralyzed by a mysterious buggy accident. Rose is also loyal to Nick, the bishop’s foster son, even when others are not. Romantically-speaking, Rose is looking forward to being courted by a staunch Amishman her father approves of—Silas Good. But will her friendship with defiant Nick get in the way?

In the book’s title, what does the “thorn” You lived with the Old Order Amish on two refer to? occasions while doing book research. How did they respond to your living with them There are several “thorns” in the book. Nick in order to conduct research for a fictional Franco rebels, butts heads with the bishop’s book? natural son, and shows an interest in Rose that makes Rose’s father—and her Amish beau— quite uncomfortable. So Nick is a thorn in several people’s sides! There is also the thorny issue of Rose’s sister, who is considering leaving her modern husband to return to Amish life.

After growing up in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, you’ve obviously learned to write what you know. Did you have any Amish friends growing up who inspired your stories, or did more of your inspiration come from your grandmother?

Our family had Amish friends who invited us to their home for meals. The husband/father was curious about New Testament Scripture, and my dad, being a scholar of the Greek—and a pastor—was more than happy to impart to the Amish man the wisdom of God. There were also Amish and Mennonite courting couples who attended the evangelistic tent meetings during the time my father was a pastor in Lancaster.

And our home was close to Amish farmland as well. So there were plenty of story lines to draw from, beginning with my early childhood years.

As for my Old Order Mennonite grandmother, who was shunned, I also gleaned a wealth of information for stories ongoing from her life and her courage in making a new life for herself with her ministerial husband, who became my grandfather, Omar Buchwalter.

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I was forthright about my reason for being there, as well as wanting our children to experience the Plain life—during the first summer my husband and I did this. The second summer, just my husband and I went to a different Amish family. One of the Amish women opened her German Bible and told me how she read seven chapters from that Bible, then the same ones from the “English” Bible on the non-Preaching Sundays (the “off Sundays”), as the “house Amish” hold church every other Lord’s Day in different homes. I also learned about the practice of shunning—from the severe type to some that are more of a wink and a nod and aren’t followed as closely, such as merely throwing a tablecloth over two tables and pushing the tables together, to satisfy the “punishment” of not allowing the wayward church member to eat at the same table.

Also, there were accounts of fathers who secretly called their shunned adult sons at a phone booth, which was not unusual. In addition to this, I learned the daily routine of Amish households, the concept of Gelassenheit (self surrender and complete resignation to God’s will—and in most cases, total submission to the church of one’s baptism), and other church-related practices, based on the Ordnung.

These Amish families trusted me because they knew of my grandparents’ families, both Old Order Plain families in the area. And one family knew of my father’s long-standing ministry in the Lancaster County area, so the doors were wide open for my research.

Presently, I have consultants who can easily talk over the fence to Amish neighbors, as well as one consultant who has lived with several hundred Amish families. I’m truly blessed to have these invaluable resources ongoing, as well as direct input straight from the “horse’s mouth,” so to speak.

Do you know of any Amish who read your books? What have they thought about them?

Oh, yes. I’ve received many letters in the mail from Amish, and even some e-mails, too, from young people who are in the middle of their Rumschpringe (“running around” time prior to church baptism). The most common remarks from Amish readers are the following: “How do you know so much about our weddings and funerals?”; “I’m Amish, and I’ve been shunned four or five times.” Some Amish women admit to having read my books literally under the covers, and say that their sisters, cousins, and mothers are doing so also, despite warnings from their bishop. (One Ohio bishop “banned” my books to his church district.) One reader wrote: “What would you do if you were born into an Amish family and you felt that God had given you a talent— something that was forbidden by your bishop?”

Many of the young women have said that my books “get it right” as to the accurate depiction of their lives. Others have said they don’t want to read anything else—that they can’t get their chores done when my books come out.

What is your family like?

My family is just amazing—we are rather crazy about each other. My husband eats, breathes, and sleeps fiction, just as I do—and we both love making music together at the piano.

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Dave’s my first “eyes” and editor—he is also a bestselling novelist. We brainstorm every plot and all the little details of a character’s personality (especially have fun dreaming up the quirkier ones!). He reads each chapter I write, hot off the “press”—then we dissect it, toss out, add to, or simply polish . . . and laugh till we cry sometimes.

Our three children (two girls and a boy) were adopted as tiny babies and are young adults now— two are excellent artists (boy/girl twins) and one is a musician with one daughter and two stepdaughters. We hike, bike, travel, and make family “memory” albums together, chronicling our journey (spiritual and otherwise) through life.

How did you and your husband meet? How long have you two been married?

Dave and I met at our church, after I played the piano offertory one Sunday morning. He came up to the platform and asked me about some of the arpeggios in the middle of the difficult piece.

We’ve been married twenty-three years this summer (2010).

What is your favorite Scripture?

This year, it’s Zephaniah 3:17 — “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

What is your favorite song on the piano to play?

It would be impossible to name only one. My favorite composers for the piano are: Chopin, Robert Schumann, and J.S. Bach. I love to play the two-part inventions—they scramble both the brain and the fingers!

For more information on Beverly, visit beverlylewis.com and sign up for her newsletter.

There are also delicious Amish recipes found there, as well as book excerpts, and news of upcoming book tours.

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