The Lion and the Gazelle

Based on an old African proverb, there's a quote that says, "Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle; when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

When we awaken each morning, we must realize that there is a roaring lion who wants to devour us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary - the devil - walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Satan has targeted you as a victim. He knows your name and address, your strengths and weaknesses. Somewhere in the shadows, he and his forces lurk, waiting, planning for the moment they will strike when you’re caught off-guard.

If we're ready for him, if we're prepared for his tactics, we can resist him. Not by our own power or by our own strength, but by allowing the Holy Spirit who lives in us to confront him and defeat him.

1 John 4:4 "Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world."

James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

A pearl to string: Our greatest weapon is prayer. In Psalm 5, we read that David came to God early in the morning and asked for his protection and help.

"The Secret"
By Bishop Ralph Cushman

I met God in the morning
When the day was at its best,
And His Presence came like sunrise,
Like a glory in my breast.

All day long the Presence lingered,
All day long He stayed with me,
And we sailed in perfect calmness
O'er a very troubled sea.

Other ships were blown and battered,
Other ships were sore distressed,
But the winds that seemed to drive them,
Brought to me a peace and rest.

Then I thought of other mornings,
With a keen remorse of mind,
When I too had loosed the moorings,
With the presence left behind.

So, I think I know the secret,
Learned from many a troubled way:
You must seek Him in the morning
If you want Him through the day!

Know you are loved,
Lyndi

GREAT GRANDMA RUTH

The Voice of Downriver
Family gathers to mark 100th birthday
By Paula Evans Neuman - Published: Wednesday, June 30, 2010



Ruth Lloyd McCartney was joined by many family members to celebrate her 100th birthday at Belle Fountain Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Riverview recently.

The eighth of Joseph and Margaret Lloyd’s nine children, she was born on June 22, 1910, in West Virginia.

Her mother died when she was 7, and her father had to move away to find work, so the five youngest children in the family moved in with their grandparents, George and Mildred Griffin, who had a farm.

“Most of her childhood memories came during this time with Grandpap and Grandma Griffin,” said Ruth’s son, Richard McCartney.

Her grandfather was a lawyer, and she remembers him as “a cantankerous sort.”

“When Grandpap would do something which didn’t sit well with Grandma, she would say, ‘Law me, that old man,’ McCartney’s son said. “That phrase stayed with Ruth her entire life.”

She also tells of stopping to visit her mother’s tombstone on a hill on the way to the one-room schoolhouse she attended.

Ruth and her older sister, Mary, moved to Ohio when they were a little older. Ruth went to “beauty school” there, and the two sisters moved to Detroit in the late 1920s.

Ruth married William McCartney, and they had a daughter, Jeannine, and two sons, Tom and Bill. The family moved to Riverview in 1945, and it was there that Richard was born.


“In addition to raising her children, Ruth spent some time working as a waitress at Corrigan’s Café and Blossom Bar in Wyandotte,” Richard said.

Ruth and her husband attended many Riverview High School sporting events when their children were in school there, and helped form the Riverview Booster Club.

Ruth and William retired to Florida and lived there through the 1970s and early 1980s. During that time, Ruth worked in a high school cafeteria.

Her husband died in 1986, and Ruth moved back to the Downriver area.

“An avid bingo player through the years, she could be found playing as many as 12 to 15 cards at a time while in her upper 90s,” her son said.

She has 16 grandchildren, 25 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Coming from Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Ohio and across Michigan, most of them were in attendance during her 100th birthday celebration.

The Power of the Tongue

There is a story about a group of frogs that were traveling through the woods when two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump out of the pit with all of their might. The group of frogs kept telling them to stop because they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died. The second frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out.

You see this frog was deaf, unable to hear what the others were saying. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches a lesson...."You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say. What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words" (Proverbs 18: 20,21).

A pearl to string: There is the power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill their joy. Are there times your words can be intimidating because of the strength of your opinion and how verbal you are in expressing that opinion? Proverbs 15:1 tells us that "A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare." Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.

The power of words... an encouraging word can go such a long way.
May your words be a blessing to someone today.
Remember you are loved,
Lyndi

A thinker

VS

Ever wonder what would happen if we treated our Bible like we treat our cell phone?

What if we carried it around in our purses or pockets?

What if we flipped through it several times a day?

What if we turned back to go get it if we forgot it?

What if we used it to receive messages from the text?

What if we treated it like we couldn't live without it?

What if we gave it to Kids as gifts?

What if we used it when we traveled?

What if we used it in case of emergency?

This is something to make you go....hmm...where is my Bible?

Oh, and one more thing.

Unlike our cell phone, we don't have to worry about our Bible being disconnected because Jesus already paid the bill.

When the Going GETS TOUGH

....THE TOUGH GET GOING

John 15:9

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love". (KJV)

Persevere

Besor Brook

1 Samuel 30 - Have you studied this before? What a disaster! David and his six hundred men took off on a military mission with King Achish of Gath. They were forced to leave their wives and children at Ziklag unprotected. A raiding ban of Amalekites, long-time enemies of Israel, destroyed the village, kidnapped the women and children, stole everything in the place, and left a smoking wreck. David’s men were choked by rage when they returned to this catastrophe and it went downhill from there. Grief clouded their minds; anger hardened their hearts. They wanted to kill David. He was their leader and should not have left the village unprotected. David was definitely in serious trouble so what did he do?

"….. David strengthened himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6).

David worshipped; David called on his pastor for counsel. David went deep within himself, met God, and found strength and direction. David came out from the place of quietness and counsel and prayer with a plan. He set out to bring back the lost women and children. David’s men didn’t think it possible. They were fatigued and demoralized. The journey was strenuous with riveting twists and turns. They didn’t think it could get any worse and then a third of the men just gave up and sat in exhaustion at Besor Brook. The rest of the men left them there and went on to find their families. Well the news turned out good after a good Samaritan act brought about information that led to a victorious battle. Bottom line to all the incredible excitement: every wife & child was recovered and all their stuff too. What a grand celebration! Read it for yourself – it’s an amazing story and I just touch upon it here.

You might think this is the end. What? Do you live in Hollywood?

Spoilers exist and they were at Besor Brook too. The spoilers did not want to share the bounty of the battle with the men who had deserted them and a great argument ensued. “Give them their families and tell them to shove off – we don’t’ need quitters in this company.” (v22)

David intervened and that was the climax to the story. David ruled that everybody at the brook that day -- the two hundred who had been unable to continue and stayed with the supplies at the brook (1 Sam. 30:24) and the four hundred who had fought for their lives -- were equals and would share everything equally: "Everything we have is a gift from God; we share it with all who are saved by God" (1 Sam. 30:23-25).

A pearl to string: “Besor” means “good news”. The good news that day was the underserved grace the weary & heavy burdened received. Isn't that a foreshadow?
Jesus: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light”. (Matt. 11:28-30). That day at Besor Brook David seemed to anticipate and emulate the very actions Jesus himself would do nearly 1,000 years later.

Jesus is our rest giver,
You are loved,
Lyndi

DIS-SAT-IS-FIED

DIS-SAT-IS-FIED Kind of a squirmy, wormy little word isn’t it. How many of you are dissatisfied with life? Hmm? Politics? the economy? delayed flights? changing our history in our history books? lack of this, lack of that….? I mean things are not going so well out there in la-la land. It’s enough to gag a rhinoceros!

But for many of us, this dissatisfaction is a symptom that we have focused too much on ourselves and are angry with life. Stop in your tracks! Did you read that? Are you angry with life? Have you forgotten to count your blessings? Are you neglecting to give thanks to God? Have you become silent in your praise to our Father? Have you quit helping those around you? Thinking of others is how Christ lived. When we follow his example, our actions make a difference in the lives of those we bless and we also find ourselves immensely blessed as well. Can you say, 'It's not about me'? Lizza Baro said, "We may think people make us angry, but most of the time they simply reveal our own selfishness. What usually makes us angry is our lack of control over people and circumstances". Ouch! Lord have mercy!

A pearl to string: If you are finding yourself cranky at every turn, dissatisfied with every aspect of your life ….then change! Change one little thing …. Go… go do something that will bless someone else’s life. It doesn’t have to be a big thing; it doesn’t have to cost money.
Don’t have time? Come on..... pick up your neighbor’s newspaper in the driveway and put it on their doorstep or roll the trash can up from the curb and put in by the garage. OK, don’t tell your neighbor what you did just bless them and thank God you still have a heart to give to others for their benefit and not your own.

“Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up”. -- Romans 15:2

Staying focused on your trouble will make your trouble sticky and stay around much longer. Staying focused on troubled times will begin to consume your mind and increase frustration and anger. To do either one leads to self imprisonment. Philippians 4:8 shows us how to accentuate the positive. 'Finally, brothers and sisters, keep your thoughts on whatever is right or deserves praise: things that are true, honorable, fair, pure, acceptable, or commendable'. God has gifted the body of Christ to help one another. We each have our gifts and our gifts are a valuable necessity to benefit one another. You are a blessing and you are needed to bless others.

Focus on the positive and see that you are too blessed to be stressed,
You are loved,
Lyndi