The Little White Church on Beachley Street

Feelings of wistful sadness washed over me as I lay sleepless last night.  I thought of the small white church I attended as a pre-teen and teenager: First Mennonite Church on Beachley Street in Meyersdale, PA.  My throat tightened as memories crowded my mind.

I visualized the center row of long dark benches and two rows of shorter dark benches on either side, creating two aisles.  At the age of eleven, I stood at the end of one of those center benches to publicly declare my faith in Jesus Christ as tears rolled down my face.  And after a number of weeks of instruction, I knelt in front of that church to be baptized by the Mennonite method of pouring.  

I remembered a row of benches against the back wall of the church, too.  I saw the pulpit and the two alcove windows behind the pulpit, with a picture of Jesus praying in the Garden of Gethsemane hanging on a narrow wall between the windows.  I remember a door to the outside on the left.  A steeple with a church bell that rang on Sundays graced the church over the entryway.  Tall narrow frosted-glass windows looked like those of churches one sees on Christmas cards.

 

I thought about how that little church gave me the opportunity to develop in my Christian walk. Here in this place, I was asked to teach summer Bible School, Sunday school, and sometimes give a talk on a certain topic Sunday nights.

We had a great youth chorus under the direction of Ray Hershberger, the father of my best friend Maretta.  I remember the weekly practices and chorus programs we gave in churches and at Oakland Nursing Home in Maryland.  I think we sounded quite good!

I recalled the wonderful youth group we had under the direction of Sam and Elizabeth Yoder.  We held elections for a president, secretary and treasurer and followed Robert's Rules of Order in conducting our youth meetings.  I remembered the  mystery suppers, talent nights, hayrides and hot dog roasts, making food baskets at Thanksgiving for needy families, making candy in Elizabeth's (and my mom's) kitchens for Christmas packages, and more. 

I'll never forget my impression of a preacher from the Church of the Nazarene came to First Mennonite to preach for us.  I can still see him walk to the platform, get down on his knees, and pray for a little while before preaching. 

I remembered Ressley Tressler, Norman Teague and Ross Metzler who pastored our little church over the years.  I gave thanks to God for their faithful oversight of our little flock.

When the church disbanded, a group of Spirit-filled “Amish Mennonites” started a Charismatic church there called “Rock Church,” and my husband and I were so blessed to be part of that.  During that time, our first son was born (forty-five years ago) and we dedicated him to the Lord in the little white church.  My parents and Dave’s parents also attended there, and I thank God for their godly influence in our lives.

We drove past the little white church several years ago.  The once-special place is now used for some sort of garage or tire storage facility and the windows are boarded shut.  Overgrown with vines, trees, and shrubs that threaten the thirsty once-white clapboard siding, my dear little church looked forlorn and badly neglected.

I wiped my tears with the bed sheet.  Even though the church is no more, it was once used by God to give me spiritual life.  I felt deeply grateful to God for all the people who entered and exited the doors of the little white church on Beachley Street.

"The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance."  Psalm 16:6 (NIV)

  

Copyright © 2014 Elaine Beachy

Recycling Christmas Cards

Christmas time always brings a shower of beautiful cards from friends and family, and I delight in each one, taping them in the doorways to my kitchen and office.  They provide a festive look.  But after you un-trim the tree, take the Christmas lights out of the windows, take down the greenery, the outdoor wreath, store the table centerpiece and nativity set in big plastic tubs, wrap up the strings of tiny clear mantel lights, pack the Christmas stockings, take down the Command hooks, and have hubby stash everything in the garage for next year, what do you do with the cards?  I mean, it isn’t like you can display them again next year.  And they’re so pretty; I can’t bring myself to throw them out.  Surely there is a use for them.

My Amish grandmother, Olive Yoder, always had a basket that fascinated me.  It was made of old Christmas cards cut round at the top, sides tapered, with two cards placed together with their pretty sides facing outward, then sandwiched between two pieces of some kind of plastic cut to fit the card shape.  Holes were punched all around the edges and top, and crocheted together around an octagon-shaped bottom base also made of Christmas cards sandwiched together with plastic.  Each Christmas season, Ollie would bring out that pretty, artfully-crocheted basket and put it on her dining or buffet table and put her Christmas cards in it.  I wonder if she made them to sell or bought them from someone; I never thought to ask.

 A sampling of some of my gift tags

This year, I decided to use an idea I read about last year.  I made lots of gift tags!  I had three year’s worth of cards tucked away, and I spent the better part of three days going through them and cutting out tags.  For shapes, I used the rim or base of differently-sized tea cups to trace out circles, and also cut squares or rectangles around pretty parts of the card.  A hole punch made place to insert a ribbon.  

Another idea is to make Christmas ornaments.  Match the round, identically-sized ones, then glue them back to back and insert a length of pretty ribbon through the hole, then tie a pretty bow to hang on your tree next year. 

The neatest thing about recycling these Christmas cards was that my granddaughter Nicole was spending the day with me and we worked at my kitchen table together – she at her craft project and I at mine.  The largest cup I used was an old one my grandma Ollie gave me one Christmas when I was about sixteen years old.  It brought back memories of her love and kindness and Christmas time at her house.  I had tears as I told Nicole about my grandma Ollie and the cup and saucer gift.  I told her about the scalloped Christmas card basket too.  Such good moments with grandchildren are priceless!

Copyright © 2014 Elaine Beachy

Christmas Thoughts, Part Three

The circumstances surrounding the birth of Jesus, God’s Son, show us that God chooses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.  (I Corinthians 1:27) His Kingdom is not of this world.

Consider the reality of what Joseph and Mary experienced at the birth of Jesus:

·         They were under oppressive Roman rule with heavy taxes

·         Mary had to travel with Joseph to be taxed; there were no airplanes, luxury cars, trains or public transportation.  Mary had a long, bumpy ride on the boney back of donkey, plodding along mile after mile after mile.  It's likely Joseph had a donkey too.  Did they get rained on?  Were they hot or cold?

·         There were no phones, no computers, no Census Bureau that mailed a census questionnaire to their home, no H&R Block and no IRS to collect their taxes.  It was a person to person transaction.

·         Mary and Joseph were far away from home, and she was totally dependent on God and the husband he'd given her.

·         There was no place to stay because all the inns were full.  There was no comfortable Hilton Hotel, and for all practical purposes, they were homeless.

·         No sterile hospital welcomed Mary as she went into labor.  She didn’t have the aid and comfort of a mother or a midwife to attend to her needs.  But God himself helped her; he attended his own Son’s birth!  I believe Psalm 22:9-10 talks about this: “Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother’s breast.  From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.”

·         I wonder if Joseph felt inadequate as a man when he couldn’t provide Mary with decent sleeping accommodations.  I wonder if he was terrified at the thought of having to attend to the birth process himself.  Did he feel faint at the sight of blood?  Did he feel helpless in knowing what to do?  

·         Jesus was born in a smelly, unsanitary stable, and Joseph certainly couldn’t boil any water in that stable!  Jesus’ birth came in the lowliest possible way. 

·         There were no baby showers with relatives, friends and well-wishers, no party food or celebration, and no gifts of fine clothing.  But God saw to it that the Wise Men brought Him valuable gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

·         No birth announcements were sent to relatives, yet God announced it from the heavens through the lowest caste of society.

·         Shepherds were at their post, guarding their sheep from wolves and predators in a field at night when an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the brightness of heaven’s presence lit up the entire area around them, and they were terrified by the supernatural occurrence.  Here again, as to Mary, the angel spoke peace to them. “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.  Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.  This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (KJV)

·         In entrusting His message to lowly shepherds, God elevated them to a place of honor. 

·         God provided a lavish display of heaven’s joy as a great host of angels filled the sky, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”  His Kingdom had made its entrance into the earth with the birth of Jesus, and He was no longer angry with sinful humanity.  His Son would be the sacrifice for their sins.  He considered it done, even before full payment was made. 

·         Those shepherds believed the message from heaven, and were so overjoyed at the good news that they left their sheep and hurried off to Bethlehem to see what had happened.  In leaving their sheep, it shows they trusted God to keep their flock safe while they were gone.  They found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in the manger, just as the angel had said. 

·         The shepherds became evangelists as they spread the angel’s message about this baby, and everyone was amazed by what they heard.  The shepherds didn’t embellish the message by adding to it, and didn’t leave anything out for fear of offending some.  (I think of Peter in Acts 4:20 where he said, “We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.”) 

·         It occurs to me that the humble, simple folk are the ones who can more easily believe God and act on His word.  The intellectual types who rely on human reasoning and what people think have a hard time humbling themselves to accept God’s word.   

I’m fascinated by the statement, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  (Luke 2:19)  I can imagine as she and Joseph left Bethlehem and made the long trek back home, Mary pondered the enormity of what had happened. But she didn’t talk about it.  She didn’t try to prove her virginity when she got pregnant, and she didn’t tell folks back home what had transpired in Bethlehem.  Sometimes one shouldn’t try to explain the things of God to those of carnal mind. There is great virtue in keeping quiet about some things.  We needn’t say everything we know, or try to prove our innocence and the justice of our cause.  We are to live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.  (Micah 6:8)

I can’t help but believe that Joseph was impressed with Mary’s character and her faith in God, and that she indeed was a wife to be trusted.  I think of Proverbs 31:10 – 11:  “A wife of noble character who can find?  She is worth far more than rubies.  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.” 

God provided for his Son; Jesus was warm and fed, and God saw to it that his Son had godly parents to raise him to become the Savior of the world.  He’d be the One who would take the punishment we deserved when He died on a Roman cross thirty-three years later.  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”  John 3:16-18

Receive the Gift of Christmas from God to you; He loves you so very much!

*All scriptures are from the NIV translation unless otherwise noted. 

© 2013 Elaine Beachy

    

Christmas Thoughts, Part Two

Matthew 1:18-25 gives us Joseph’s side of the Christmas story.  In my imagination, it may have gone something like this: 

Joseph finished the table and placed it in the kitchen.  He’d made four matching chairs, and if he did say so himself, the set was a thing of beauty – a wonderful gift for his betrothed.  The polished wood shone from the expert care and skill his hands had given the pieces.  He’d see Mary tonight and show her what he’d made for their home.  Soon he’d bring her home as his wife!

As he made his way to Mary’s home after dinner, he reflected on his bride-to-be.  The past several months since she’d returned home from a three-month vacation to Elizabeth’s home in Judea, Mary seemed different; he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.  She had a glow about her and seemed – well, older somehow. Though he’d never considered her a truly beautiful girl, he was taken with the change in her looks, and thought her lovelier than before.  He thanked God for this blessing of getting such a beautiful bride, especially at his age.  He’d always liked her quiet shyness and the fact that she didn’t giggle like other girls her age.  The arranged marriage would be a good one.

Joseph knocked on the door, and Mary opened it.  Their eyes met as she invited him in.

“I’ve come to take you to see what I’ve made for our home,” Joseph said.  As Mary moved across the room to a sitting area, he noticed her shape was different – she must have put on weight or something.  He tried not to stare, but Mary caught his look. 

As they sat down on a bench, Mary folded her hands tightly in her lap and looked away from him. 

Could it be?  Could the gossip around town be true after all?  His Mary?  Had she played the harlot while she was away in Judea?  Shock and disbelief were followed by anger, and then more shock and disbelief.  Surely he must be mistaken.  But there was no getting around it -- they had to talk about it.

Joseph stood, and Mary looked up at him.  She was silent.  He ran his hands through his hair, and his jaw clenched.  He closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath before he spoke.  So the whispers and veiled comments by customers in his carpenter shop were true after all.  He never would have believed it.  Despair gripped his soul.

“Mary, what am I to think?  Who is it?  Who’s the father?”  Joseph restrained his anger, but his heart constricted as he spoke softly. 

“It’s not what you think, Joseph,” Mary began. “An angel of the Lord came to me and said I was going to give birth to the Son of God – our Messiah.  Then I went to Elizabeth’s house because the angel told me she had conceived a child in her old age, and was six months along.  While I was there, she gave birth to a son they named John.”

“Do you expect me to believe that story, Mary?”  Anger and disbelief rose inside him. 

The unfamiliar anger in Joseph took her by surprise.  “But it’s true, Joseph.  Elizabeth prophesied by the power of the Holy Spirit about the child I’m carrying – God’s Son,” Mary pleaded.  “She confirmed the angel’s message to me.”

Did he really know Mary?  Was she given to making up outrageous stories such as this?  He sat down, then stood up again, and paced the floor. 

“I have to go, Mary.  I need time to think about what I’m going to do,” Joseph said.  He felt her eyes follow him as he strode across the room and let himself out. 

“Dear God, what am I going to do?  What has happened to my sweet Mary?  Please help me!” Joseph pleaded in prayer as he walked home.  He opened the door to his home and saw the beautiful furniture he’d made for Mary.  It seemed to mock him.  He could never bring Mary home as his wife: what would the neighbors think?  They’d think he was the father and that they had…  He willed the shameful thought away.

Over the next few days, he threw himself into his work and found it hard to sleep because of troubling thoughts.  What would he do about Mary? She was young and foolish, but he had no wish to shame her by making a public example of her.  That wouldn’t be right.  He would divorce her quietly; that’s what he’d do. After all, divorce was allowed for unfaithfulness.  He’d get the papers drawn up tomorrow.

Joseph went to bed early and fell, exhausted, into a deep sleep.  Suddenly, he saw an angel of the Lord appear before him who said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Joseph awoke with a start.  So Mary had been telling the truth!  He had judged her so harshly.  How must she be feeling?  He had to go see her that very day.  He’d bear the gossip and reproach along with her. He wouldn't care what the neighbors or the synagogue leaders thought.  He knew the truth: heaven had spoken! God would be faithful.  He was settled; he’d bring Mary to his home, but wouldn’t consummate their marriage until after God’s Son was born. 

Mary was sweeping the front porch as he approached her house.  His pace quickened, and his Mary stood still, waiting.  As he took her hands into his, the shining look in her eyes was reward enough.

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy

Christmas Thoughts, Part One

Did you ever wonder about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the kind of person she must have been?  Was she ordinary or someone special?  We know she kept herself sexually pure, and was a virgin.  Was she in love with Joseph to whom she was engaged?  Was she pretty or did she consider herself homely and unattractive?  Did she feel “less than” her girl friends, if she had any?  Did she have an education?  How old was she when the angel Gabriel came to her and told her she would supernaturally conceive a child?

Online research revealed that her marriage was probably arranged.  Since it doesn’t mention her parents, I had to wonder if she was an orphan being raised by a relative much as Esther was raised by Mordecai in the Old Testament.  Were her caregivers eager to “marry her off” due to financial constraints?  Think how that would make you feel.  Some believe Joseph was likely a widower about thirty years old, and Mary was between the tender age of twelve and fourteen. 

I have read that every Jewish virgin hoped to be the mother of Israel’s Messiah, but perhaps Mary had given up that hope, given her lowly circumstances.  We read in Luke 1:48 that she considered herself to be of “lowly estate,” of poor standing in the culture of her day.  However, we know God delights to take what man considers the weak and “lesser” things of this world and give them special honor.  

Whatever her natural circumstances were, we can be fairly certain Mary knew Israel's history: how God delivered Israel from Egypt and all the signs and wonders He performed in their behalf.  I can imagine she longed for deliverance once again as she prayed about her beloved nation and the oppressive Roman rule her people endured.  Like Gideon in Judges 6, perhaps as she called out to God for deliverance, she wondered where all God’s miracles were and why God had seemingly abandoned them.

As I read Luke 1 and 2 recently, I could easily imagine young Mary praying for her nation and herself as she went about her work.  I imagine her in tears as she did the family laundry and washed the breakfast dishes as her mind also turned to wonder what marriage would be like.  Would she be a good wife?  Would she be able to have children?  Her relative Elizabeth was unable to have children all her life.  Did that curse run in her family? 

Just as easily, I can imagine she wiped her tears on her sleeve and bent to her tasks once again.  Suddenly she heard a knock at the door.  On opening it, she found a man who asked if he might come and rest a bit from his journey. Taught to be kind and hospitable, she invited him in and offered a seat.  I don’t think she realized he was an angel, because his appearance didn’t frighten her, but his words of greeting greatly troubled her: “Greetings, you who are highly favored!  The Lord is with you.” 

What was this?  The Lord was for her?  She was highly favored?  Really?   He had to have it all wrong – she was a low-class citizen, and a teenager too; surely he had to know that. What did he want from her?  The shock of his greeting unnerved her.  What kind of man just showed up at the door to pay attention to her?  Was he interfering with her engagement to Joseph?

The gravity of his next words must have convinced her he had a message from God: “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” 

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” 

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  For nothing is impossible with God.”

I can imagine her shocked surprise at the startling news that Elizabeth was having a baby.  Old women don’t have babies.  Impossible!  This had to be God.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered.  “May it be to me as you have said.”  Then the angel left her.

I can imagine Mary’s head spinning with joy.  She, the lowly one, was to be the mother of the Son of God!  She had to go see Elizabeth.  Surely if anyone was to believe and understand what had just happened to her, it would be Elizabeth.

Mary packed her travel bags and hurried to Judea to visit her relative, and when Mary greeted her, the baby (John the Baptist) in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy.  Imagine that—babies can receive divine inspiration from God in the womb!  (Don't ever abort a baby; he/she is God's creation, no matter how he/she was conceived!)  Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied to Mary that she was indeed blessed because Mary believed that what the Lord said to her would be done.  

Mary responded by the power of the Holy Spirit, “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant…” (Luke 1:46-48)  I like to think it was at this point that the Holy Spirit came on Mary, causing her to praise God and to conceive our Lord Jesus in her womb.  

Do you have circumstances in your life that seem impossible?  Believe that all God's promises in the Bible are for you.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you find God’s promises for you in His word and declare as Mary did, “May it be to me as You have said.”  I encourage you to give the Lord praise for who He is, and for what He has done for you, even as Mary did. (Luke 1:46-55)   I believe praise and thanksgiving in all things is the seedbed for God’s promises to take root.  Declaring what God does is powerful!  Remember the angel’s words: “For nothing is impossible with God.” 

It’s always darkest before the dawn.  Christmas is all about miracles and angels and the supernatural power of God invading our world.  God has not forgotten you; keep believing, not in Santa Claus, but in Jesus Christ, the One who came to us from heaven as a helpless little baby so as not to frighten us.  The One who walked our streets, got hungry and tired, faced every emotion, every temptation known to mankind, yet was without sin.  The One who is our Savior from the wrong path.  He knows how to help you by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He is not limited to our resources and way of doing things.  Who knows?  You may even entertain an angel unawares.  (Hebrews 13:2)             

A blessed Christmas to you, dear reader!

*All scriptures are from the NIV translation unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

That pesky, negative self-image!  Why does it seem to follow us around?  Can you relate?  We know we do most things well, but when we forget something important or someone makes one negative comment about our efforts, appearance, cooking, children, etc, our spirits sink and we succumb to guilt, heap blame on ourselves, and wallow in misery for hours, or even days.  We have a difficult time seeing ourselves as worthy of love, unworthy of being loved or given grace even by God.  

It’s true we are not to brag on ourselves, for Scripture says, “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips,” (Proverbs 27:2) but as Christians, we should have a sanctified self-image and learn to receive compliments with humility. 

Our son Doug has done some studies on Japanese culture and language.  He told me that if someone is given a compliment in that culture, they quickly say, “It’s nothing – it’s nothing!”  And if you leave a tip in a restaurant in Japan, they are highly insulted because they interpret that to mean they haven’t done a good job in serving you.  They’ll think you want them to do more – that the service was bad.  

Recently a friend on Facebook addressed a comment to me: “Mom can never seem to be able to enjoy her own food.  She always frets about it, and is convinced it didn’t turn out good (though it’s always delicious!)  Is this an Amish thing, or is she just unique?”

Being raised Amish is a unique experience in that a lot of cultural importance is placed on growing food, harvesting and preserving food, as well as food preparation and hospitality. I think cooks mentally compare each other's cooking much like women tend to compare their physical appearance to others.

Perfectionist tendencies make us so self-critical. It's okay to not be perfect! The Lord knows I'm not, but I decided several years ago to like "me" anyway!  Sometimes cooking for others is a way we show love, and when the end product doesn't meet our own high standards and expectations, we subconsciously feel a loss of self-worth. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves.

This mother would graciously give kindness and grace to other cooks who thought their food was not good, and find something encouraging to say.  Why not treat herself as she would the other person?  Something to think about.

There are underlying reasons for our thinking processes, and if we know what they are, we can be conscious of them and ask the Lord’s help in changing them.  There are many experiences that shape our self-image as children and adults.

Sometimes a mom or dad thinks they are showing love to a son our daughter by continually pointing out their faults.  One such young man, when asked to describe his mother, said she was disapproving, demanding, impatient and unreasonable – hard to please.  He had become a driven perfectionist who felt he could never please God or be close to him.  Parents can criticize their children to the point of exasperating them, making them feel hopeless and like a failure.  Ephesians 6:4 reads, “Father’s, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” 

 

As you can see, what we experience as children affects our view of ourselves and, worst of all, our image of God—the only One who can change our self-image.  We must know how much He loves and accepts us in order for us to accept ourselves.     

When someone gives us a compliment, we should humbly say “Thank-you” instead of feeling embarrassed or confused about whether to accept or down-play the compliment lest we be perceived as prideful.  When someone gives me a compliment, and I negate it, am I not telling the other person her opinion is worthless?  How does that make her feel?  

Also, if you repeat negative things about yourself, you reinforce those recorded thoughts and beliefs, kind of like worn grooves in an old LP album.  Remember how it sounded when the needle got stuck?  Sometimes we can get stuck in bad thought patterns.

It seems we in the church have somehow been conditioned subconsciously to be negative.   We don’t give ourselves permission to think of ourselves in a positive light – the light of God.  Instead, we feel uncomfortable when someone says something nice to us.   

Romans 12:3 says to “not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment.”  That is not saying you shouldn’t think well of yourself.  If you don’t love yourself, how can you love your neighbor?

You don’t love yourself by focusing on your faults.  And you don’t love your neighbor by focusing on his, either.  If you’ve been driven to perfectionism because of circumstances in your life, please know it’s okay to give yourself a break for not doing things right all the time.  

I once read the comment, “I can’t afford to have any thoughts about me that God doesn’t have,” and I totally agree.  God loves us unconditionally because He has chosen to give us grace.  Freely you have received – freely give.  Ask the Holy Spirit to help you give grace to yourself and enjoy your life as you rest in Him.  Be of good cheer, and meditate on how much God loves you.  He is the God of all comfort, and oh, how we need to let Him change our self-image!

There’s a wonderful bookmark packed with scriptures titled “I am Father God’s Happy Thought!” available online at http://www.shilohplace.org/products/view/55 that I believe will help you know how God sees you through Jesus Christ.  I do have a limited number of them here at the house if you’d like me to mail you one.  You may e-mail me at elainesplace4@verizon.net to give me your mailing address.

God bless you, dear reader!

I invite your comments where it says “comments” below.  I’ve changed my settings so you don’t need a Google account; you can publish as “Anonymous,” and sign your name with your comment in the box if you want to.  I also invite you to become a member of my blog.

*All Scripture references are from the NIV translation

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy

Women

WOMEN

There are women of power

and women of greed,

women of influence

in desperate need.

There are women of jealousy,

women of pride;

women of worry,

withering inside.

There are women of godliness,

prayer and good deeds;

women of godliness --

God's ways they heed.

There are women of honor,

and if you're like me,

a Spirit-led woman

you desire to be.

by Elaine Beachy

December 22, 1999

I wrote this poem to tuck inside a gift card for my daughter and daughter-in-law, announcing they would be getting a subscription to Spirit-Led Woman magazine as part of their Christmas gift that year.

God bless you, dear reader!

Copyright 2013 Elaine Beachy

A Softened Heart

“I’m not going to your parents’ house for Thanksgiving, and that’s that!”  Nancy’s eyes threw daggers at her husband as she sat down to watch television.

Frank sighed and threw up his hands.  They’d had this argument the past two years ever since Nancy had a falling-out with his mother.  Frank knew his mother spoke her mind, and he’d talked to her about the way she’d hurt Nancy’s feelings.  His mother had tried to apologize to Nancy, but she’d closed her heart. 

“Nancy, I miss not spending Thanksgiving with my parents; why can’t you understand that?  How would you feel if I refused to go to your parents’ home for Christmas?” Frank appealed.  Lord knows he’d prayed a lot about Nancy’s attitude toward his mom.

Nancy didn’t answer, but clicked on the TV.  The first words she heard startled her. 

“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her…” 

The minister went on to say, “This scripture from Ephesians 5: 21 to 33 talks about how husbands and wives need to submit to one another.  The husband must love his wife as he loves himself and the wife must respect her husband.  We read the same instruction in Titus 2 verse 5 that wives are to be subject to their own husbands so the word of God will not be ill-spoken of.”

Frank saw Nancy’s finger hover over the remote to change channels, but for some reason she didn’t change it. 

“Let’s not forget Ephesians 5:21 that says we are to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  The teaching that wives must submit to their husbands has been very misunderstood and abused in some Christian circles.  Sometimes people get the idea that women are basically to be a doormat for their husbands to walk on, while the husband is given unlimited authority over his wife.  In spite of this distorted teaching, we cannot get around the fact that the Lord did say through Paul that wives are to submit to their husbands.  Just because a teaching isn’t popular is no reason to discard it.  Indeed we dare not. 

2 Timothy 3:16 tells us that all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. We need to humble our hearts to the Lord to be taught by Him.  The Word of God teaches that the husband is the head of the home, and the wife should respect his role.  The husband should understand that such leadership requires service – he is to be a ‘servant-leader!’  The wife should willingly submit to her husband’s God-given role and not try to wrest his role away from him and upstage him.  The truth is, they are to submit to one another as they submit to Christ in their lives.  The husband is to love his wife, and the wife is to respect her husband.  This is pleasing to the Lord.”

Nancy turned the TV off and looked over at Frank.  He saw her face soften. 

“I’m sorry, Frank; I’ve not been respecting your leadership.  Please forgive me.”

Frank never felt more loved by his wife than at that moment as they embraced. 

Nancy reached for the phone.  “Call your mother and tell her we accept her invitation to spend Thanksgiving with them.”

God bless you, dear reader!

*All Scriptures are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy

  

Goodwill Is More Than A Thrift Store

Goodwill is more than a thrift store.  And it’s not cheap, either.  Kindness and goodwill mean choosing to think of others as valuable and in need of love.  Since I’m talking about godly older women teaching younger women as commanded in Titus 2:5, I’ll direct my comments about kindness and goodwill to the females of mankind. J

Women can be vicious toward other women.  Sometimes they can be gossips, unfriendly, snobbish, petty, condescending, critical, and argumentative with their husbands.  They can yell at their children and convey the damaging attitude that their little ones are a bother.  They can neglect their children, and even physically abuse them. 

Women often judge others by social/economic status and either envy them, or look down their noses at them because of the house they live in, the car they drive and the clothes they wear.  They judge others’ body size, appearance and hair style.

When I think of kindness and good will, I think of the love chapter in I Corinthians 13.  Verse 4 says love is patient and kind.  I think kindness begins with the thoughts we think about someone, and finally displays itself with acts of love toward them.  One could substitute the word “kindness” for the word “love” in this passage, and get the correct picture.  One can also substitute “God” for the word “love,” because God IS love! 

A woman who is kind is patient—not envious, boastful or proud.  She’s not rude, self-seeking or easily angered.  She keeps no record of wrongs and doesn’t delight in evil but loves the truth.  A kind woman always protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. 

No wonder God says in Proverbs 11:16 that a kind-hearted woman gains respect!  Apply the love chapter to the relationships in your life, and you will know how to treat your husband, children, and friends with kindness. 

There’s another aspect of kindness and goodwill we overlook far too much.  Can you guess what it is?  It’s being kind to ourselves!  Have you ever berated yourself over mistakes you made and wallowed in self-incrimination?

I had an experience just this evening that illustrates my point:

Our son Doug lives downstairs and takes his meals with us four nights a week.  Today he sent me an e-mail saying he has a haircut at seven o’clock, and so he’d need to leave around 6:40.  Somehow—don’t ask me how—I interpreted the e-mail to mean he has a haircut at 6 and would be home around 6:40!  I waited and waited to get dinner on the table until nearer the time I thought we’d be eating.  (We usually eat between 5:30 and 6:00.)  Since he always turns his outside garage lights on when he leaves his house, I kept wondering why his lights weren’t on, and I told Dave maybe Doug has been home for awhile and just forgot to turn his lights on when he left.  So Dave called downstairs at 6:30 to see if he was home, and he answered the phone!  Doug said he’s leaving for his haircut in a few minutes, and he’d just get some Chinese food when he comes home.

I couldn’t believe that I had misread the e-mail, and hurried to double-check it. There it was, in black and white!  I was so totally crestfallen over my goof.  All this food was ready, and now Doug had to go to his hair appointment hungry.  Tears pushed their way to the surface as I felt like a total failure.  I lamented over it and chastised myself for my failure.

I called Doug and apologized for not reading his e-mail correctly.  I told him I felt just terrible over it.  He replied, “Now, that’s a belief you have.  You don’t have to feel that way.  It’s okay, and I am not a victim.  I love you, Mom.”

The tears squeezed even harder against my eyeballs as I hung up the phone.

Dave was ready to bless our food, but I didn’t feel like praying.  He said,”You have to let it go, Elaine,” and gently put his hand on my arm.  Part of me wanted to be angry and reject his wisdom.  He said, “Out of the thousands of meals you’ve prepared, you make one little mistake, and berate yourself over it.  Let it go.  It’s okay to not be perfect.” 

I wanted to retort, “I’m far from perfect, and I’ve messed up lots of things in my life.  And I don’t like myself right now!”  But the Holy Spirit in me helped me to let it go.  He helped me be kind to me. 

Are you kind to you?  Do you give yourself goodwill?  Sometimes the one we’re most unkind to is ourselves.  I’ve come a long way over the years, but I used to say unkind things to my mirror.  I’d compare myself to other women who were slim, pretty, or talented.  I’d wonder if others were saying unkind things about me.  Those were the years Joyce Meyer’s books and TV ministry filled my life, and God used her so much to help me overcome a bad self-image.  Her books “Beauty for Ashes” and “Me and My Big Mouth” helped me tremendously, and I highly recommend them to you. 

I hope you’re not someone who says, “I don’t need to read books; all I need is the Bible; it’s just Jesus and me.” That kind of attitude smacks of pride; God made us to need each other, and the insights and gifts He’s placed in us.  No one is an island!

Ephesians 4:31-32 (NIV) says, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”  You are someone, aren’t you?  When you are kind to yourself you can then genuinely be kind to others. 

God bless you, dear reader!

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy

Is "Homemaker" A Dirty Word?

“A pregnant woman with her hair in curlers, wearing a frumpy housecoat and bedroom slippers.”  This was the humorous input of my oldest son, Doug, when I told him I was opening this post with the question of what image comes to mind when the word “homemaker” is said. 

Okay—not the most flattering definition.  Ahem.   

Perhaps you think of June Cleaver, Beaver’s mother with coiffed hair, bracelets on her arms, a string of pearls at her neck, sporting heels and an apron in the kitchen.  Is the mother of “Leave it to Beaver” your picture of a “homemaker?” 

Or is it June Lockhart as Timmy’s apron-wearing mother in the TV show, “Lassie,” your perfect image of a homemaker?”

   

Maybe you envision Aunt Bee on the Andy Griffith show bustling about, keeping things running smoothly for the Sheriff of Mayberry.  Aunt Bee, Andy Taylor’s paternal aunt, created a cozy home filled with warmth, laughter, love, and lots of good food for him and his son, Opie. 

Aunt Bee was played by actress Frances Bavier, but her personal life certainly didn’t reflect the part she played on the show.  I read online that Aunt Bee’s latter years were spent in seclusion in a spacious two-story Siler City home, and rarely left her house.  Her homemaking skills portrayed on the show were sadly absent from her own home.   

When she died, her dark and dingy home reeked with the stench of her fourteen cats that used a shower stall and a basement room as a litter box.  The plaster was peeling off the walls, there were no curtains on the windows, the walls were bare except for a few clocks, and the carpets and upholstery were worn and frayed. She had a $700,000 estate and personal belongings valued at $31,683.  Aunt Bee was known on the show for her good cooking, but there was only one cookbook in her house.

What do you think the world would say about a Christian wife whose home was as dismal, dirty and chaotic as Frances Bavier’s?  The Word of God would certainly be maligned.  That’s why it does matter how we live; it reflects on God if we carry His name. 

So—what does “being busy at home” look like, as instructed by God in Titus 2:3-5?

The word “keepers” in Strong’s Concordance at #3626 says it means “a guard, be ‘ware,’ a stayer at home, ie, domestically inclined, a good housekeeper.  The words “stayer at home” and “domestically inclined” caught my attention. 

Traditionally in the church, wives didn’t work outside the home except in extreme hardship cases.  They stayed home, raised a family and “kept house.”  But when the Women’s Lib movement came along, attitudes of “liberation” also found their way into the church.  I’m not sure how much of that is good, to tell you the truth.  In that respect, I’m glad for those old TV shows “Leave It to Beaver” and “Lassie.”  Call me a traditionalist fuddy-duddy if you want, but I have seen too much heartache and turmoil in marriages and homes because of this “liberation,” and a disrespectful, superior attitude toward men.   

Do you ever feel embarrassed by the term “stay-at-home-mom?”  You shouldn’t.  Being a mother and a homemaker is a high calling given by God.  The home environment you create and the children you raise for God are building blocks in the fabric of a stable society.  Remember: as the home, so the nation.

  

Some Christian women would rather run around shopping all day instead of cleaning a dirty house.  Dishes pile up in the sink, but she doesn’t feel like doing them.  Laundry that needs doing overflows the baskets, but she accepts invitations to attend jewelry parties, home decorating parties and lunch with friends instead.  She neglects paying the bills on time, and even loses her mail because of the mounds of clutter.  Meals are haphazard and unappetizing.  After all, she’s liberated; who has time for the mundane?

Some women simply want to work outside the home and be a gad-about because they can’t stand the mess at home.  Such a one needs training by a godly woman on how to manage her home.  And seriously, some women don’t even know how to clean a house because they have never been taught by their mothers.

Does it mean she can’t have a job outside the home?  I say a Christian wife shouldn’t have a job outside the home if she can’t manage her own household first.  Sometimes because of financial necessity, especially in the case of a single mom, she will have to work.  But she still needs to manage her home well.  Tough challenge.  My heart goes out to those women for whom this is true. 

If a woman wants to work outside the home, I believe the Spirit of God is saying that a woman must not neglect her children or her home, so that no one will have anything bad to say about the Gospel of Jesus Christ on account of how she lives.  It does matter how one lives.  I believe a mother should see her kids off to school and be home when the kids get home from school.  

To the best of her ability, the wife should make her home a haven, a place of peace, cleanliness, order and beauty.  The way a house looks affects the emotions and attitudes of every member of the family.  A home that is neglected reflects her attitude that she doesn’t really care about the family members either.    

The woman of Proverbs 31:10-31 is our godly example.  She was a business woman with good business sense, was diligent with her work and in her home, and had time for charitable work as well.  She watched over the affairs of her household and didn’t engage in gossip and idleness.  She had a good name around town, and everyone respected her husband because she was an excellent homemaker.

Adam and Eve were to “keep” the garden, their home.  Hmm.  Eve blew it.  Now there’s something to ponder.  Wives have been given a high calling; why do we esteem it so lightly?  Don’t ever again say, “I’m just a stay-at-home mom.”

God bless you, dear reader!

Copyright © 2013 Elaine Beachy