Articles:
I. My Grandmother's Kitchen, by Billie Hawks
2. A Mother's Treasure Chest, by Billie Hawks
3. RESPECT: A Young
Girls' Fashion Show, by Lori Locke
4. Free Refills (Poetry), Melanie Joyce
Johnson
My Grandmother’s Kitchen
by Billie Hawks
Some of my best memories are those that took place in my
grandmother’s kitchen. During the day, that room was light and airy as sunlight
streamed through the back door and large window. Granny loved to bake, and
wonderful aromas often wafted throughout the room. We had many heart to heart
talks as she rolled out pie crusts or stirred pie fillings on the stove. She had
one of those old fashioned flour bins built right into the cabinet. I can still
recall the squeak of the handle and the small clouds of flour that would hover
as she turned the little crank to sift the flour. The kitchen was a warm and
pleasant place. Often, as she baked, she would give me a little taste of
whatever she was baking. It was just a small sample of the finished product,
enough to whet my appetite. I didn’t go to her kitchen just to get those little
treats. I went to be in her company. Whenever I was in that kitchen with Granny
as she bustled about working and cooking, all my troubles seemed to disappear.
There was nothing I couldn’t talk about with her.
It wasn’t the room itself that was the foundation for
my memories of peace, contentment and love. It was because Granny was there. It
was her spirit that made the kitchen a happy place, a place I longed to be, a
place I knew I could go to find peace and a listening ear. After she died, the
little kitchen was not the same. The sun still streamed in as it had before. The
flour bin was still there, but silent. I could still go sit in that chair at the
table, but I no longer found the listening ear that I once found. I missed the
presence of my grandmother.
I’ve been reading a book called The Papa Prayer. It
talks about learning to pray to God in a relational way, to achieve a point
where you see prayer as coming into God’s presence to talk with him and share
the deepest thoughts of your heart. The author, Larry Crabb, discusses how many
people use prayer like a vending machine to make their demands of a God who is
just there to satisfy all our whims. He admits there is a place for petitionary
prayer, a time to ask God for favors, but he believes we need to first learn to
have a relationship with God, a longing to be in His presence before making
requests. He further talks about how often our prayers center on asking God to
change circumstances and change other people, rather than asking Him to change
our hearts so we can be at peace regardless of what life brings.
This week as I reflected on those principals of
relational prayer, I began to remember my grandmother’s kitchen. I realized that
to really please God, and grow spiritually, I should be as eager to talk to God
as I was to talk to my grandmother. I should long to be in His presence and feel
at ease pouring out my heart to Him. My prayers need to be about my honest
feelings rather than simply being a list of demands and requests. “Pray without
ceasing,” Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:17. That’s baffled some people who
wonder if that means we have to just go around praying all the time. Perhaps it
simply means that we become so eager to be in God’s presence that we don’t think
twice about praying in all situations, not just when we need help or a favor or
are in trouble. As we learn to relish being in God’s presence in prayer, we
learn more about that peace that passes understanding. (Philippians 4:7) Similar
to the sample of pie filling or cookie dough that my grandmother shared with me
to kindle my taste buds for the whole dessert, that feeling of peace as we open
ourselves honestly to God in prayer is but a sample of the great peace we will
feel in eternity with God.
I loved spending time with Granny. She was more than my
grandmother; she was my good friend. I am learning to love spending time with
God in prayer, sharing with Him the deepest thoughts of my hearts, telling Him
things that no one else knows. What a privilege and what a joy it is to be able
to go to God in prayer!
Billie Hawks
billiehawks@hotmail.com
Columbia, MO
Member of
Eastside Church of Christ
---------------------------------
A Mother’s Treasure Chest
by Billie Hawks
I have always accepted it just as a Bible fact that
Mary was the mother of Jesus. It wasn’t until I came across two similar Bible
passages that I gained a new perspective. Even though I had read these passages
hundreds of times in my life, this time they allowed me to see Mary as a real
person and a real mother.
The first passage occurs shortly after Jesus’ birth
when the shepherds came to see Jesus. It says that Mary “kept all these things
and treasured them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). The second takes place after the
12-year-old Jesus stayed behind to talk to the officials at the temple, causing
Mary and Joseph to have to return to Jerusalem to find him. This passage says,
“And Mary kept all these things in her heart.” (Luke 2:51) It was, with those
words, that I realized Mary was a mother
with the same feelings as mothers everywhere. No matter
that she experienced a miraculous conception. No matter that her son was the Son
of God. He was also Mary’s son and she loved him with all her heart.
Because I am a mother, I know about “keeping things in
my heart.” There are things my son said or did as he grew up that I also keep in
my heart, and I’m still adding to it. You see, a mother has an internal treasure
chest. Sometimes her child will say or do something that touches her heart in
such a way that she tucks it into that treasure chest. Years later she can open
the chest and relive that moment.
The Bible doesn’t tell us what Mary’s thoughts were when
she first looked into the eyes of her newborn baby. I believe her heart was
overwhelmed with love and joy. That’s the way a mother feels when she holds her
newborn child. We recall that feeling forever. It’s the very first in a long
collection of “treasure chest moments.”
We know Mary stood by her son throughout his life. She
was with him at the wedding in Cana. When the wedding host ran out of wine, Mary
knew Jesus could take care of the situation. She believed in her son as mothers
should believe in their children. Even when he told her his “time had not yet
come,” she encouraged him to do what she knew he was capable of doing, and he
did it! The first miracle performed by Jesus was in the presence of his mother
and done at her request. That is a huge “treasure chest moment.” Our children
can’t perform miracles (although we might like to believe they do!) but when we
provide encouragement to them and they achieve we have another treasure chest
moment in their efforts and successes.
Mary was with her son when he died. She watched him
being rejected and abused, both physically and emotionally. She stayed with him
through his suffering. Even when God, the Father, turned His face away, there
was Mary, the mother, at the foot of the cross. (John 19:25) Out of that moment
when Jesus was giving his most gracious gift to mankind, he also gave a
different and very tender gift to his mother. He made sure she would be cared
for on earth by relinquishing her care to his dearest earthly friend, John.
(John 19:26) That is definitely a treasure chest moment.
We aren’t told if Jesus appeared to his mother following
his resurrection. If he didn’t, perhaps it was because saying good-bye all over
again would be too difficult for her. If he did, perhaps the moment was a
personal mother-son time that God didn’t feel we needed to be privy to. We do
know, however, that Mary’s love for her son (and now her Savior) did not stop at
the cross. After Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven, Mary was among
those believers gathered in the upper room to pray. (Acts. 1:14)
Mary, the mother of Jesus, was indeed a virtuous woman.
Yet, she was also a human who felt the emotions and the depths of motherly love.
To you mothers reading this, the next time you add a memory or pull one out of
your “Mother’s treasure chest,” think about Mary, the mother of Jesus and be
grateful that God gave us a heart we can fill with memories and that He blessed
us with the wonderful gift of motherhood.
Billie Hawks
billiehawks@hotmail.com
Columbia,
Missouri
Member of Eastside Church of Christ
---------------------------------
RESPECT: A Young Girls' Fashion
Show
by Lori Locke
One evening last spring I was sitting at an area-wide convention of young
people in our brotherhood. These were boys and girls who were competing in a
number of categories designed to help them grow spiritually. And though I was
proud of their efforts, I couldn't help but notice what several of the young
girls were wearing. I mentioned this to our youth minister's wife and she agreed
that they were rather scantily dressed. Then she turned to me and said, "Why
don't you host a fashion show to help these girls see how they can look great
without being so revealing?"
Immediately the wheels started to turn in my mind……I should do that, I
thought! What a great opportunity to show, not only
my 14 year old daughter and her friends, but other girls in our community that
you can dress fashionably without looking "sexy". So, on a whim, I emailed a
major department store in our area without really expecting to get an answer.
The next day I received a call from the manager of our local store indicating
that she would be glad to provide all the clothes, cosmetics, jewelry,
etc. for a fashion show along these lines! Wow….there was no turning back from
here!
Some of my daughter's friends had been wearing articles of clothing that
were way too tight, too low, too clingy….should I go on? They were just not
appropriate for young Christian women to be seen in. They were not setting the
examples they should be. As a mom, I want my daughter to look nice but in a way
that is appropriate and will command the respect of other people. And I want
the same for her friends.
A date for set for a Saturday in late summer, and the work for a fashion
show began in earnest. I started enlisting help, and in May I attended a
luncheon and fashion show put on by Vanderbilt Children's Hospital which
provided a great inspiration for the kind of show I had in mind. I could see
that such an event needed to be exciting for girls and their moms while sending
a clear message about what we were trying to do. For our theme we came up with
the title of RESPECT…..with an emphasis on modest dress in today's world. I
began contacting vendors that I knew would be of interest to the girls. I
looked through teen magazines and called their marketing departments, telling
them what I was looking for and what we were trying to accomplish. Most were
very helpful and agreed to supply us with items for goodie bags to be set at
every table.
After several months of work on the project, I enlisted the help of a
partner, a young lady in my home congregation of Concord Road Church of Christ
named Jessamyn Barrett. Through Jessamyn's mom, I learned that she was looking
for a Gold Award project to culminate her Girl Scout experience. It occurred to
me that the fashion show we had in
mind would be a great way for Jessamyn to complete her project. Being a young
lady with excellent taste, I knew she would be a true asset to this undertaking
that was becoming larger by the minute. Not only did the Girl Scout directors
approve the idea, they offered their assistance as well! They helped by
spreading the word throughout the Girl Scout community and by getting the
information out to all the scouts who were registered in our local community and
the whole mid-state area. One troop traveled 75 miles to attend our fashion
show.
In addition to the local department store which had committed to providing
the fashions, another company supplied makeup stylists for the day; and a local
beautician, a member of our congregation, offered to do hairstyling for all the
girls who modeled. Our plans were rolling! Girl Scouts of America offered to
host the registration desk and to collect the attendance fee that was necessary
to cover the cost of printing and lunch. Booths set up by other vendors featured
sample products of magazines, jewelry, and cosmetics, as well as information
from the local police department's DARE program.
Although this was primarily a scouting project, several women from our
congregation were recruited to help with the luncheon to be held in the
fellowship hall of our building. A "girlie" luncheon consisting of chicken salad
and deli ham on small rolls, congealed salad, chips and fruit tea was served to
approximately 250 girls and their moms. Dessert was a double chocolate
square with raspberry sauce and a luscious lemon square. Round tables covered
with floor length cloths and decorations filled the room. The words RESPECT,
printed on large banners, were suspended in several places throughout the hall
with colorful balloons that floated to the ceiling. Lattice wall panels and
large pots of greenery pointed to the focal point of the room, a custom-built
stage.
Lunch was followed by presentations from two speakers, one a designer who
spoke on fashion trends and the second a motivational speaker who talked to the
girls about self-respect. The highlight of the event was the fashion show
itself, featuring girls from our youth group and members of Jessamyn's scout
troop. Several young men also participated in that part of the event along with
the youth minister from a sister congregation. Their message—that guys need to
dress for respect, too!
We were pleased that several articles appeared in the local newspaper
about our fashion show and especially about the message we were trying to send
out. A photographer came that day and took pictures for the Nashville newspaper,
and we were even featured in a brotherhood newsletter that goes out to over
20,000 readers. Because of all the positive feedback that we received, we are
planning a similar event in 2008 to serve our community. It's our hope that
this effort, also, will be an encouragement to our teens and to others to dress
tastefully. We want them to see that they can be chaste and still attractive;
that dressing modestly earns respect from their peers and parents alike. Most
importantly, that our clothing reflects the person we inwardly are.
BIO: Lori Locke is the former director of marketing for a large nursing home
and assisted living company. She now serves as president of her own company,
L.L. Locke & Associates. She and her husband, Bill, are members of the Concord
Road Church of Christ in Brentwood, TN. and are the parents of four children,
ages 7-14. Lori loves to cook and to plan parties, and has been featured in the
Tennessean newspaper. She enjoys helping with fellowship meals and other
congregation-wide events.
````````````````
By Melanie Joyce Johnson
I am empty
I am dry
Yet Lord I try to live for you
You who restores my spirit
Lord
But I come up short; because I go
out and rejuvenate me
With greed, bad deeds, jealousy,
complacency
And praise you, you who is able
to do exceedingly abundantly;
Above all that I may ever ask or
thank you for not making me like
he or she is,
so God replenish me;
refresh my speech,
Just refill my cup, for
when my service is parched I can’t do much…
Come in Sunday for a pit stop of
pride, falsely stimulated, perpetratingly revived
Supplied with my sin,
restocked on rebuke, God I need a refill of you
I need to be relieved and
I know you will believe in me to provide freely, liberally, renew
me;
Please take this envy from me and
bestow peace in me
Endow me with
understanding you instead of underestimating you
God invigorate me with
your purpose and love, revitalize my soul, and reload my cup
Replace my pain with a
newfound elation, Lord strengthen my heart with a spiritual donation
I am empty
I am dry
Yet Lord I try to work for you,
You who renews my courage
Lord
So that I can be a better servant
for you
And worship you in what I know is
spirit and truth
So that my head is not bowed low
with
Defeat from the blows of satan
beating down on me,
But fortified from your
victory of the fight I’ve placed in front of me
Lord I am undone, but know you
are with me, to reinforce me
Energize me as a zealous
soldier in your infantry
God spiritually animate me
as with sinners I sup, as I recognize I’m one too, please refill my cup
Cause I am empty
I am dry
Yet Lord I try to breath for you
You who revives the fire
Lord, deep in my soul
As I live as I oughta, I’m
drinking from the saucer of the blessings you have showered down on me
You have refilled me,
rejuvenated me with the love that I have only seen in my dreams
````````````````
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