Ring His Bell

Big Joe






It's a steep, dusty climb up century-old wooden steps that ascend this way then that, zigzagging ever heavenward inside the 260-foot German Gothic steeple of St. Francis de Sales Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Up, up, up, until you're almost intruding on the pigeons. In front of you hangs the largest bell ever cast in the USA. “Big Joe” has a 9-foot in diameter at its base, measures 7 feet from its rim to its crown and weighs in at 37,000 pounds. According to a legend, ''Big Joe'' was swung in its steeple just once, in January 1896. It responded with a serious E flat in the third octave below middle C. At that moment, every window facing the church for several blocks is said to have been blown out of its frame. The peal of the bell could be heard for fifteen miles. So the story says that it was decided that the big bell must never swing again. This is called a legend because in this century the condition of the bell and the known facts do not support the story. But for the purposes of this devotional I’m going with the legend.

A Pearl to String: How very sad to be a big beautiful bell and only be swung once. Oh my, do I have a bell for you. It came in my e-mail this morning. It’s a big beautiful bell you can swing for eternity.
(Note: If you copy and paste this half bell into word and center it you will have a whole bell - sorry I'm blog challenged and can't get this singularly centered)

THE BELL
I KNOW WHO I AM
I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15)
I am united with the Lord(1 Cor. 6:17)
I am bought with a price(1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ(1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation (Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31-34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God(2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God(Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12)
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's co-worker (1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship (Eph. 2:10)
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected (Phil. 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven (Col. 1:14). I have been adopted as God's child (Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
who you are?



May the LORD bless you and keep you;
May the LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
May the LORD turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

Lyndi

No Miles in a Heart

Giving thanks for all He is






Geography may physically separate people but a loved one and a friend is
a "in your heart relationship" and there are no miles in a heart.

There are so many people who will be gathering their families or friends, reaching out to the homeless, or giving their time to serve others in need this Thanksgiving holiday season. Whatever your tradition may be it is one of those wonderful stop times in life that we take time to reflect upon the goodness of the Lord. Oh it does get a little bogged down with the hurry, hurry, hurry, fix, fix, fix, gobble, gobble, gobble. And there are those families that really act like a bunch of Turkeys by using the special day to squabble. But if we don’t stop and give thanks for the gabillion joys God bestows upon us then our hearts will grow cold and hard and our lives will be overcome with darkness.

It is possible that for every person who has a plan to celebrate and give thanks there are the same number of people who are alone and hurting. There are those that just feel empty though they are surrounded by people who care for them. Sometimes it is difficult to know what you are thankful for when you have no job, or you’re hungry, or tired, or sick or have no place safe to live.

Psalm 118 verse 24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." God wants us to count our blessings, count them one by one. You can start small. How about giving thanks for: a baby laughing, puppies at play, autumn leaves crunching underfoot, red tennis shoes, the smell of oranges, or sipping hot chocolate. Perhaps you are thankful for being able to see your own breath on a crisp winter morn, winning a double dog dare, or someone looking right into your eyes and smiling at you. Maybe thankfulness grows when you see a spectacular sunset or majestic purple mountains or hear birds singing. It is an endless "I’m thankful for" list: Fireworks bursting in air, a horse running free, S’mores, white socks, finding an Easter egg in your raincoat pocket. Freckles, snowflakes, family baseball games, ice cold watermelon on a steamy hot day. Hot air balloons, swinging and touching the sky, fireflies, and a willow tree by the lake, Christmas lights, chocolate! Hope, kittens, popcorn, stained glass windows, the sound of the ocean waves, dancing at a wedding! Red cheeks, a winning team, chicken noodle soup, a field of yellow daffodils. I can’t stop … His word tells me "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13) There is so much to be thankful for all around us…. God even made laughing hyenas – how fun is that? A scavenger with a warning sound! That is how much the Lord God loves you and me and here’s the best: "God so loved the world" (the families of the earth), that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:16–18, italics mine).

A pearl to string: You can’t be far away from those you love when you hold them in your heart; there are no miles in a heart.

Happy heart giving thanks – Happy Thanksgiving
Lyndi

Entrusted Principle

God's smile!


I walked out my front door and walked all around the house then came back in. I sat in my chair bewildered. I didn’t see any sign on the house that read: "Wisdom Department”. I shook my head in despair, I don’t have answers. My husband can drive me coo coo too! Yes, I’ve got issues – pass the tissues! And yes, Coach Wonderful can go nuts at times in dealing with some of my issues but that’s another devotional.

How do I help a friend when her husband is acting like a snake with reptile dysfunction?

Just thinking of murder isn’t illegal ….. No, no, no……… that doesn’t lead down the right path! Just as I was about to give up on this issue for now my computer dinged. It does that when an e-mail comes in. No time to check it now – I need to focus - back to staring at my page while God works. Hummm 10 minutes, nothing! 20 minutes, more nothing! Ok, 45 minutes and a whole lot of nothing! I’ve either got writers block or my heart ears are plugged. Off to the pile of unfinished devotionals for ya! Bye!!!

Hello, I’m retrieving my tossed devotional because I just read the best advice ever in Oz Hillman’s devotional. It was one of those, “pop me in the middle of my head, I could have had a V-8” moments. Not new but just said in such a way that really hit home with me.

A woman of faith was struggling with a husband who does not seek the Lord first and wanted to make a large purchase. They could not afford such an expense and it would wreck havoc with their finances. She was completely opposed to her husband’s plan yet wanted to be God’s woman in the heart of the situation. She brought her dilemma to her Home Life group for their counsel.

Someone said, "You really only have a few options if you adhere to the principle that God has entrusted the man as the leader in the home. God has placed you under the umbrella of His protection as well as your husband. There are times when he will not make the right decision. Does that mean God is not protecting you? No. There may be several things working here. God may be testing your own obedience to this principle. He may use you to open up your husband's spiritual life due to your obedience and submissive spirit. Your obedience may cost your family something, but it will be beneficial in the long term. Your alternative is to rebel and pay him back for his decision by withholding your love from him, which is often what a wife does in this situation. It becomes a vicious circle of paybacks. My suggestion is to tell your husband how you feel about his decision and the impact you feel it will have on you and your family. If he still wants to make the purchase, you must let him do it and support him. What happens next will rest in God's hand as your ultimate protector."

A few weeks later the lady returned to her Home Life group. "I have some wonderful news. We did make the purchase. However, we were able to make it in such a way that we did not go into debt and I was able to support my husband. I have already seen a change in his attitude toward me by the way I responded to him in this. It has been a real lesson for me. I see him much more open to spiritual things since I made this decision and supported him, even though I disagreed with it."

A pearl to string: Oz stated that God has made man and woman equal in His sight. Yet He has given each a different role to play in marriage. Husbands must answer to God for their leadership in the home. They will be judged for that leadership. When a wife submits to that leadership, God protects her from wrong decisions of that husband, although sometimes it may not appear that way at first. You can trust God to protect you in your decisions that are made in obedience to His Word.

The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Trusting in His Word,
Lyndi

Heroes & Sheroes

The everyday folks loving their way through this life are my heroes & sheroes. The most gorgeous, attractive men on earth (which has nothing to do with their physical appearance) are the men I catch locked in that “love- eye” glance with their wife and children. Sweet talking, fast talker, oodles of words, big titles and great accomplishments are unimpressive to me. However, a man who treats his wife with tenderness, respect, is lovingly attentive to her and is daily involved with his children’s lives, oh that’s a very impressive guy. Now you top that off with his close walk and love of the Lord? HERO! Oh yes!

And who are my sheroes you wonder? Well it is hard to see them because they are in so many places throughout their day taking care of the needs of their family and extending their friendship to the community around them. They are loving, embracing, feeding, managing health, finances, cleaning, shopping, driving, serving, attending, giving in all directions and the only Prada they own is a picture in a magazine lying on the coffee table. They may or may not be organized, serve elaborate meals, make their own exquisite clothing line or have every hair in place but they are the heart of the family. My shero is a help-mate to her husband and a life teacher to her children and she serves the Lord by being His love to the hurting world around her. There are also about a gabillion Sheroes who are for whatever reason doing all this without a mate. Beautiful SHERO!

My heroes and sheroes don’t wear capes or fly or do anything in a single bound. Not one of them can stop a speeding bullet. So what does a present day hero or shero wear? Upon rising each morning they clothe themselves with compassion. They pull on kindness and humility. Their unhesitant response to others is to place the person’s interests before their own eliminating the possibility of resentment. They slip into shoes of gentleness, never leaving scuff marks of hurt or rejection on another person’s soul. They actively wear patience for it is not something a person has but rather something a person does. And the finishing touch is to wrap up in forgiveness and generosity buttoned down by love.

A pearl to string: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity”. Colossians 3:12-14

Thank you Lord for the Heroes and Sheroes in my life,
Lyndi