It is a sad day today...every time I finish a Bible Study...it is sad to me! For so many weeks you focus on a particular theme and then...you have to move on to the next subject. And most of you know I am a stickler for consistency and routine so moving on is always bittersweet!
I have been doing a Bible Study in my house for my neighbors this summer. It was on the book of Ruth. It was truly one of the best studies I have done. I saw Ruth in ways I have never imagined. And I saw God's glory showing BRIGHTLY in the smallest details. Details that I had overlooked the many times I had read the book of Ruth. I learned a little about the word "hesed" and how important it is to do that to each other (show extraordinary kindness). Maybe it was the effects of Ms Shelby's funeral this week combined with the whole end of summer Bible study night and it being month end at work...at any rate I have been a little out of sorts the last couple days! So I thought I would issue a sisterly challenge...
Show someone some "Ms Shelby" this week...show some "hesed" to someone...pick a person and shower them with extraordinary kindness. Try to do it anonymously...I realize sometimes not practical or possible though! If you do not have anyone in mind...contact me and I will hook you up with someone in need of some extra love and kindness!
And then after you do it...sit back and Praise Jesus for allowing you the time, money, talent, whatever He gave you...to be a blessing to someone in need of a Ruth! And if you will...post anonymously and share how you were a blessing or if you received it...how you were blessed! I love to see God at work in other's lives...let us live vicariously through you!
His Servant,
Kristy =)
kgardner1@aol.com
God’s Merry Go Round
ReplyDeleteWho doesn’t love to go to the park and ride the Merry Go Round?? It’s a ride that can be enjoyed by everyone – no size limits, no age limits, doesn’t hurl you around and make you barf. It’s a simple ride that generates giggles and endless Kodak moments. Can’t you just hear the music right now playing in your head??
Last weekend, after a month of huge financial hits at our house, I felt pressed to prepare a meal for a family. Even as I pulled into the parking lot, I was asking myself, “Self, how ya gonna pay the light bill if you spend all your money to buy groceries to feed another family?” Well, I told myself to shut up and I would deal with bills on Monday. So, I gathered what items I needed and headed home to cook. While I was in the kitchen, pots bubbling and the smell of sizzling fat meat filling the air, there was a knock on the door. It was a total stranger, a man in his 60’s, who asked me, “Is that mower beside your barn for sale?” I kinda hemmed and hawed, I hadn’t really thought about it…. but in the end the stranger handed me 5 crisp twenty dollar bills. I immediately thanked God for this stranger and went back to preparing the meal. I firmly believe, if I had listened to self, the man would not have shown up and two families would have missed out on a blessing. Self once again jumped in and said, “Goody, a hundred bucks for me!!!” I said, “Self, we have to share a portion of this gift God has sent us.” Self did not like that at all. So, I added to the meal I was already preparing. The meal was delivered, and enjoyed by many dear friends.
Fast forward to Thursday ~ my son is involved in a fender bender with a Town of Clayton work truck. A police captain comes, and their safety office comes and snaps like a hundred pics of minimal damage to their truck. Self tries to remind me that I should have kept the hundred smackers from Sunday. So, my mind is racing, oh no, insurance is gonna double – we have a police report and everything. I called the Town of Clayton and asked the Finance Director if I could take care of the damages out of pocket, and he simply agreed. What a blessing.
God’s blessings are like a never-ending merry go round. The tiniest bit we share out of pure love and kindness is rewarded by a faithful God. The more we share, the more blessings are poured and the more we have to share. We simply have to be willing to share what God sends our way and to listen to our heart, that still small voice that sometimes gets overshadowed by that annoying “self”. We must be willing vessels to spread His love and kindness to everyone around us.
I challenge you, if you have been blessed this week, PASS IT ON to someone else. There is another blessing waiting for you if you do.