A Christian

This was in a post in CafeMom:

A Christian

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to him self, 'You'd better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.' Then he thought, 'Oh, forget it, it's only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' and keep quiet.' When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, and then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, 'Here, you gave me too much change.' The driver, with a smile, replied, 'Aren't you the new preacher in town?' 'Yes' he replied. 'Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I'll see you at church on Sunday'. When the preacher stepped off of the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and said, 'Oh God, I almost sold your Son for a quarter.' Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read.

Always be on guard -- and remember -- You carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself 'Christian.'

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

His Essence

My very dear friend, Becca Doyle, is a missionary living in Taiwan. Becca and I share many interests, one being teas. We enjoy the company of one another whenever she can be home in the states. On her most recent visit, last summer, she gave me a beautiful hand made necklace from the ladies in Taiwan. It is made of a black cord with tan and clay brown twists spaced apart. The base is mostly clay brown cord. Hanging from the cord is a tiny clay pot with a cork at the top. On the sides of this pot are beautiful pink flowers hand-carved of the layers of dried clay.

Becca explained to me that the tiny clay pot is used to hold fragrant oils in order for a lady to dab on perfume as needed. I treasure this necklace from my friend Becca, not only because it is from her but also because of what it means to me.

When I wear this necklace, I am reminded that we can be beautiful on the outside but how do we "smell" inside or are we simply empty inside. If we fill ourselves with the fragrance of Jesus, then we can "dab" some of Him on so that others will catch a whiff of His scent.

In 1 Peter 3:4 it says to be beautiful inside, with an unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God's sight. When we continue returning to His Word for guidance, we will have His essence for others to experience. I love the Proverbs 31 woman also. My favorite part of that passage is, "she laughs at the days to come." She does not let the worries and cares of today or tomorrow wear at her heart. She knows that Jesus will be alongside her each and every step that she takes. Because she can "laugh at the days to come", we are most certain that she fills her "little clay pot" with the Essence of Jesus "as needed" (which for most of us is often). Be beautiful with the fragrance of Jesus.

Spring Break

This is just to let you all know that I am going to be away this week to visit friends. It is the boys' Spring break so we are taking some time to be away. I hope you have a wonderful week. God Bless!

The Church of Oprah Exposed

I always knew Oprah was very much into the New Age but I believe this needs to be more exposed to people. The video is about 6 minutes long.