From: "Dwayne Savaya" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> God's Work Ministry E-mail
Dear Friend, We should never take for granted the special time that we have with those closest to us. The most important thing that we share with one another is the gift of ourselves. Material possessions and objects of desire over time will lose their luster, but the conversations, time spent with one another and simply being in those moments of love will outlast even the greatest of material interests. We must remember that Love is the greatest of all gifts and keep in mind the short time that we have with one another. We must not waste our special moments with things that do not matter, but rather we should make known our love so that down the line, there will be no doubt in their minds concerning how we feel about them. Be encouraged to let that one know how special they are to you now. It can be said simply on a card, in a letter or spoken face to face. Do not leave doubt because trusting in tomorrow is a mistake that many have made. The Bible says our life is like a vapour that appears for a short time and then vanishes away. You will be glad you took the initiative to let those closest to you know how special they are to you. (James 4:14) I hope this message encourages your heart to see that the best of gifts are given from the heart. Monetary value does not necessarily mean unspeakable joy or happiness. The love value will mean much more than you can ever think or imagine. FROM TIME TO TIME When I noticed the unused tissue on top of the neatly folded towels in the bathroom, I drifted back in time to my childhood... The weather had turned sharply colder and Christmas was nearing. Feeling grown up, privileged to know that Santa was “in spirit” and didn't really come down chimneys, I decided that the mature thing to do was to get a gift for my mom. We were poor, but only in money, yet my mom managed to have gifts for my six siblings and me every year. It was one of my first realizations that my mom was struggling to raise us. I guess some would call it maturing. But being only eight years old, I had never bought a gift before. I wasn't sure what to buy or where to get it. I emptied the change from my bank, earned from collecting empty soda bottles, and headed to the local drugstore. They had everything you could ever want there. When I entered the store, the air was warm and thick with odors. Even though Weber's Pharmacy sold medicine, they also sold so many wonderful things, and if I close my eyes, I can still smell the store's scent to this day. Wandering up and down each black-and-white tiled aisle, I carefully considered each item on every shelf. I looked at medicines and powders and things for illnesses that I couldn't even pronounce. With each item, I pictured my mother's expression while she opened it on Christmas morning. It was a difficult task. I saw stockings and perfumes and I looked at watches in a glass counter that had rotating shelves, pressing the button to rotate each shelf. I knew that the change in my pocket wasn't enough to buy one, but I picked out the one she'd like best anyway. I began to feel discouraged and without hope that I would find something. But when I turned into the last aisle, I saw exactly what I was looking for. It was next to the bars of bath soap -- the perfect gift -- a great big box of tissues. Now, a box of tissues may not sound like much of a gift to you, but they were one thing we never had in our house when I was growing up. With seven children and very little money, tissues were a true luxury item for us. My mother never bought them and for an obvious reason -- they would be gone in a day or two. I laughed out loud thinking of how my mother always said my brothers wasted things like that. I remember considering how my mother could have the luxury of her very own box. Not for the bathroom or where everyone would take some, but rather, to put on her own dresser where she wouldn't have to share them at all. I had a great big smile on my face as I took the box from the shelf and confidently walked to the cash register, satisfied in my gift selecting expertise. My mom was going to love this. Christmas morning came, and my mother, the most kind-hearted person in the world, loved the tissues. Aren't moms just the best! That satisfied feeling I had in the drug store returned again when I saw her happiness. The joy we felt couldn't have been any greater, even if it had been a necklace of gold. Sadly, it was her only gift. That year, I learned how to give a gift to someone special by selecting it with painstaking consideration and thoughtfulness, and wrapping it with ribbons of love. Today, as I looked at that tissue on top of the folded towels, I remembered what I had learned. I realized just how far I've come in life and how blessed I am. >From a time when a simple tissue was a luxury, to a time when one can be left unused and discarded, we should never go so far that we forget the little things that held big lessons and molded who we are. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” I picked up the tissue and wiped tears of love and appreciation from my eyes. By Jeanette Broderick Read and meditate on these scriptures: 1 John 4:7-11 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Romans 12:9-10 “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.” Romans 12:15-18 “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Galatians 5:22-26 “...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth...” All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today's Selected Poem: TRUE LOVE AND PEACE Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem177.htm Today's Selected Testimony: THE DAY THE ANGELS REJOICED Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony133.htm ================================================= God's Work Ministry E-mail Dear Friend, We never know of the trials and tribulations that others are going through and it is for this reason that we should always be quick to share an encouraging word and let those who are down know that it's not the end of the road for their life. We each struggle at times and it is greatly beneficial to our spirits when someone speaks a kind word or gives us a compliment for no reason. We find our spirits lifted when others sow kindness into our lives and because we know it works for us, we can also rest assured that the kindness that we share would also work on them. Use every opportunity that you have to share a word of encouragement. It may be a simple thing to us, but it may be a spring of water to those who are finding themselves in a desert of heaviness. Encourage yourself to know that you have the ability to change someone else's life for the better. Allow the Lord to use you to minister to that one who is hurting and in need. You will be blessed far more than the recipient because you will know that you were used to change a life around. (1 Corinthians 12:26-28) I really liked reading this story because it shows how anyone can be used to share a word of encouragement to someone in need. I hope this story challenges your heart to open yourself to the Lord and let Him bring great results through your vessel. AN UNEXPECTED MOMENT It was hard to watch her fail. Physically she was growing thinner and more stooped. Mentally she was losing her ability to sort out reality. Initially, my grandmother had railed angrily against the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease that were eroding who she had always been. Eventually, the anger gave way to frustration and then resignation. My grandmother had always been a strong woman. She had a career before it was common for women to have careers. She was independent. In her eighties, she was still dragging out her stepladder every spring to wash all the windows in her house. She was also a woman with a deep faith in God. As my grandmother lost her ability to live alone, my father moved her into his home. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren were often in the house. She seemed to enjoy being surrounded by the noise and activity of a large, extended family. As she slipped further away from us mentally, my grandmother would occasionally have moments of lucidity when she knew where she was and recognized everyone around her. We never knew what prompted those moments, when they would occur or how long they would last. Toward the end of her life she became convinced that her mother had knit everything she owned. “Mama knit my boots,” she would tell strangers, holding up a foot clad in galoshes. “Mama knit my coat,” she would say with a vacant smile as she zipped up her raincoat. Soon we were putting on her boots for her and helping her zip up her coat. During my grandmother's last autumn with us, we decided to take a family outing. We packed up the cars and went to a local fair for a day of caramel apples, craft booths and carnival rides. Grandma loved flowers, so my dad bought her a rose. She carried it proudly through the fair, stopping often to breathe in its fragrance. Grandma couldn't go on the carnival rides, of course, so she sat on a bench close by and waited while the rest of the family rode. Her moments of lucidity were now a thing of the past having eluded her for months, but she seemed content to sit and watch as life unfolded around her. While the youngest members of the family ran, laughing to get in line at the next ride, my father took my grandmother to the nearest bench. A sullen-looking young woman already occupied the bench but said she wouldn't mind sharing the bench. “Mama knit my coat,” my grandmother told the young woman as she sat down. We didn't let my grandmother out of our sight, and when we came back to the bench to get her, the young woman was holding the rose. She looked as though she had been crying. “Thank you for sharing your grandmother with me,” she said. Then she told us her story. She had decided that day was to be her last on Earth. In deep despair and feeling she had nothing to live for, she was planning to go home and commit suicide. While she sat on that bench with Grandma as the carnival noises swirled around them, she found herself pouring out her troubles. “Your grandmother listened to me,” the young woman informed us. “She told me about a time in her own life, during the Depression, when she had lost hope. She told me that God loved me and that He would watch over me and would help me make it through my problems. She gave me this rose. She told me that my life would unfold just like this rose and that I would be surprised by its beauty. She told me my life was a gift. She said she would be praying for me.” We stood, dumbfounded, as she hugged my grandmother and thanked her for saving her life. Grandma just smiled a vacant smile and patted her arm. As the young woman turned to leave, she waved good-bye to us. Grandma waved back and then turned to look at us, still standing in amazement. “Mama knit my hat,” she said. By Sara L. Henderson Read and meditate on these scriptures: Hebrews 10:22-24 “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for He is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works.” Romans 12:9-10 “Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.” Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 1 John 4:7-11 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” Revelation 22:12-14 Jesus declares “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.” All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible. Today’s Selected Poem: BRIGHTEN YOUR CORNER Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem71.htm Today’s Selected Testimony: STILL LEARNING Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony16.htm In Christ’s Service, Dwayne Savaya God’s Work Ministry Please feel free to visit the Website to read more Encouraging and Inspirational stories, poems and testimonies. Our E-mail Archives are available as well to read the messages that have been sent in the past. You can now hear our stories and poems right on our website. Volume One contains 15 messages that can be heard and enjoyed at Godswork.org. To hear our messages, please click on this link: http://www.Godswork.org/Audio.htm You can also send Free E-cards to friends and loved ones with the many choices available. You are also welcome to post your prayer requests in our Prayer Forum. All this and more available at --- http://www.Godswork.org You can also send prayer requests to --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Add your E-mail address if you'd like correspondence with the prayer partners.
