Give it all away

Yesterday my boys and a neighbor girl spent the day doing a lemonade and cookie stand. They had helped bake cookies the day before and were excited! They decided at the beginning of the day to donate all the money they made to Do:Living Water, an organization that builds fresh water wells in Africa for villages that are without.
   For about the first twenty minutes cars just kept going by and the kids started getting disappointed and discouraged. They were complaining that they weren't going to make anything at all. I told them to just wait a little longer and I started praying the Lord would come through for them and show them what their efforts could produce. Boy, did he ever come through!
   During the stand when customers would come up, the kids would tell them, "50 cents for a cookie, 50 cents for lemonade or a dollar for both." Then they would politely get out a cookie or fill a cup of lemonade and take the money. At that point they would say, "Thanks. All the money goes to build wells in Africa." Often the customers would tell them to keep the change and offer more money. It was so fun to watch and very fulfilling for the kids.
   At the end of the day they had made $40. It was a great accomplishment for the kids since their goal was $30. They were counting it up and started talking about what they could buy with $40. Then they started talking about each keeping just one dollar. They were tempted by all that money there.
   I just listened quietly, wondering if I should step in and say something about their original plan, but I felt the Lord telling me to stay quiet. As they talked on about it, it came around to one of them saying, "No, I'm not taking any of the money. I'm giving it all to wells just like we planned." Quickly they all came to that consensus and I was thrilled to see the Holy Spirit work through three 9 year olds to make a good decision.
   I can't begin to describe how proud I am of my boys and our neighbor. They did an awesome job and made a God honoring decision! But even more than that, they learned that they can accomplish God's work with a little ambition, some team work, and a lot of fun.
   What a faith builder for me, to see how the Lord worked in them, and brought about a victory for His kingdom work.

Little Girl Lost

Not long ago around 9 in the evening, a young girl stopped by our house. She looked to be 15 or so. She was wearing pajamas and walking barefoot. She asked to use a phone and we let her. She tried a couple numbers and then handed back the phone. As she walked away the phone rang and it was someone she was trying to reach. So, she talked for a few minutes, handed back the phone and turned to walk away. My husband asked her if everything was all right, and she said, "yeah, fine". Then she took off running down the street.
   Around 10:30pm we got a call from her sister asking if she was here. We told her what we knew and she informed us that she had had a fight with her dad and ran away. We started to pray for her and felt burdened for her. Around midnight her family was still out looking for her and came through our street. Andrew was still in the garage and saw them drive slowly down the street, so he stepped out and talked with them.
   What he found out, scared us to the core. This young girl was trying to meet up with a man she'd met on the internet. A much older man who I'm sure did not truly want to help her.
   We found out the next day that she returned home in the middle of the night and was safe. Praise God!  But in the midst of this situation we thanked our God above that we knew where our daughters were in the middle of the night. I had to give them all big hugs in the morning. Not only that, but we realized the importance of the relationship between father and daughter.
   A father needs to love his daughter so much and show it to her, so that she won't have any reason to turn to an outside source to fill that need. And there is an innate need in a little girl to be doted on and loved and cherished by her father. That's not to say discipline and rules are set aside, but that there is a balance. That need doesn't disappear with age. In fact I think it grows stronger in the teenage years when life is confusing at best.
   In light of it all, give your daughters a big hug, and love them with all you've got. It will be what keeps them from running and leaving you wondering if your little girl is lost.

Taming the Tongue

James 3:7-8
 ³When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.
 ⁷All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, ⁸but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
 ⁹With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. ¹¹Can both fresh water and salt^[a] water flow from the same spring? ¹²My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
 How often do the words that emit from my mouth "curse men"? When was the last time I spoke ill of someone? Yesterday? A couple hours ago? All too often I justify our ungodly and hurtful words of another with all kinds of reasoning. I'm right and they're wrong so I can speak of it to another. I want to share the issue to have others pray. I want to help the person so we're getting advice from another. They all seem like good reasons, yet I am still using my tongue to "praise our Lord and Father, and curse men".
   A house divided against itself cannot stand. Verse eleven says,"Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" It can't. It wasn't created that way and it's impossible for it to happen. Why then do I think it's okay to let praise and cursing come from the same spring? It is a house divided against itself and will not stand long. It will come back to bite me in the butt.
    If I are to live the life Christ intends for me and be who He calls usmeo be, I need to tame the tongue. But, you say, how can you tame the tongue when the Bible says it cannot be tamed by man? Only by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead me and prompt me can the tongue be tamed. It's through His good work in me that I can overcome the evil that is the tongue.
   Ultimately, because men were created in God's likeness, if I speak ill of another person, I am speaking ill of God. Now that's convicting.