Month: July 2012

One Focus Blog

The Life Span of a Tree

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I love trees. One of my criteria for a good place to live is trees – in the surroundings and around the house. Trees add such a wonderful dimension to enjoyment for me.

I am often amazed at the difference between standing in the sun and slipping under the shade of a tree on a hot day. The welcome temperature change is immediate. Sitting under a tree while sipping a cool glass of sweet tea – well, what could be better than that?

Another reason I love trees is that they provide a habitat for my favorite animal – birds. Without trees, my feathered friends would not have a place to call home. My enjoyment of sitting under a tree or near them is magnified because of the chatter of the birds to each other and their songs – pure bliss.

90px-Dying_Tree_-_geograph.org.uk_-_802371Unfortunately, I sometimes observe the death of trees – in my yard, my neighborhood and throughout the landscape of the larger area where I reside in Texas. There have been many causes for these, but I am always sad to see the death of a beautiful tree.

Some trees have a predictable and fairly short life span. For years, sitting on my back porch, I enjoyed a beautiful red bud tree. That once healthy tree is on a downward spiral. It is dying. I’m not sure there is anything we could have done to save it. Red bud trees rarely live past forty years. Our home is over one hundred years old, so this tree could have been here for a long time.

Recently one of my neighbors lost a huge oak tree in their front yard. A strong wind blew it down, revealing a trunk that must have been diseased for quite some time as it was completely hollow. That tree might have lasted for many more years had it not been for the decay that had been hidden from view. After thunderstorms in our area, I noticed more trees that toppled, sometimes resulting in damage to property around it.

God made all these trees and He knows the life span of each one of them. There is one tree that He created that will never die. For those who know Christ as Savior, we will all get to enjoy this tree and all it has to offer. I am looking forward to seeing this tree. It will be one of the great gifts of eternity.


Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat and live forever” – therefore, the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden…To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God (Genesis 3:22, 23; Revelation 2:7).

 

One Focus Blog

America Bless God

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Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 
Bless the Lord O my soul, and forget not all His benefits (Psalm 103:1-2).

This year, as we celebrate Independence Day
There are some things we need to recall
How God has blessed us each step of the way
Without Him, we would have no blessings at all

What our ancestors acknowledged as true
We must remember this day and every day
It should be the same, even more now, for me and you
As there are those who would argue, the meaning is falling away

“All men are created equal and endowed by their Creator
with inalienable rights,” states the Declaration of Independence.
Those men who unanimously penned this document, included later
Their “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.”

“The Star-Spangled Banner,” the anthem of our land
Praises the God who has blessed us
With His power and His hand
As the One in whom we should trust.

Read these words written by Francis Scott Key
In 1814, nearly two hundred years ago
As I read them today, I could plainly see
How he recognized that God had blessed us so

“Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

In 1918 Irving Berlin wrote another patriotic verse
“God bless America, the land that we love”
In the form of a prayer, he acknowledged God first
And asked for this nation His blessings from above

“In God We Trust” was placed on the two-cent coin in 1864
Followed by the nickel, quarter, half dollar and the one
Finally all coins contained this motto, and more
For currency was also included, now it is on every single one

Over the years, God’s activity has been acknowledged
As our leaders continued to recognize His hand.
For Eisenhower, in 1954, included in the national pledge
“One nation under God” as Communism threatened our land.

It is not Communism today, but America is definitely under attack
Not from terrorists alone but also from some of our very own
There are those who want to rewrite history, turn the clock back
And say that what our ancestors said, they did not mean

The only hope that the blessings America has experienced will last
Is, like our ancestors, we recognize His hand on this land we trod
He does not need us – we need Him and His blessings of the past
God has blessed America.  America should acknowledge and bless God.

If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14).

One Focus Blog

The Cure for Worry

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Corrie ten Boom said, “Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength – carrying two days at once. It is moving into tomorrow ahead of time. Worrying doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”

How right Corrie is. Anyone who knows her life story can respect her advice. If anyone had reason to worry about tomorrow, it was Corrie.

Approximately thirty people were arrested in the ten Boom home by the Gestapo in 1944. Although Corrie’s family were sheltering six Jews and resistance workers in their home, their presence remained undiscovered while the ten Boom family and others were taken to a penitentiary.

The_ten_Boom_FamilySubsequently, all but three of them were released. Corrie, her father and her older sister Betsie remained in prison. Her father died there ten days after their arrest. Corrie and Betsie were later transferred to the German concentration camp Ravensbruck where they encountered unimaginable persecution. Betsie, who died in the camp, encouraged Corrie to see God’s hand in their circumstances, no matter how hard they were. Betsie’s calm assurance of God’s love and presence in their lives, as well as Corrie’s strength and courage, got them through some horrific experiences in the camp.
After the war, Corrie’s told their story – through books and speaking engagements. Her infectious joy as she spoke to large groups about God’s love and forgiveness led many to become Christians.

Corrie was a very courageous woman. She was not willing to relinquish any of the strength God gave her to worry. In every picture I have seen of Corrie, she has a huge smile on her face.

In the Old Testament, Nehemiah took on a seemingly impossible job with incredible opposition. He refused to be anxious about the trials. He stayed true to his task and declared that his strength for doing so came from the joy of the Lord. Just like Nehemiah, Corrie’s trust in God and her joy in serving Him gave her the strength she needed for each day.

As someone who has struggled with worry, I have learned a lot from people like Nehemiah, Corrie ten Boom and others. Worry is a true handicap. Many things you worry about never happen, but your anxious feelings can stifle your productivity.

Resisting worry is hard, but necessary. The only real cure is to replace worry with the joy of the Lord. When you substitute His strength and His joy for your imaginations, He is able to do what He desires to do through you.

Corrie says that worry carries tomorrow’s load with today’s strength. It is interesting to me that when Jesus invites us to come to Him with our burdens, He doesn’t offer to take the load off of our shoulders, but instead invites us to take His yoke upon us. It is sharing His yoke that teaches us humility and gives us rest for our souls. It is His joy that makes our joy full. He has overcome anything that we could possibly worry about. The joy of knowing Him is the cure for worry.

“So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble” (Matthew 6:34 Amplified). Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance (James 1:2-3 NIV).

Reflective Focus

Lace, Ladies and the Lord

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Speeches and formal announcements often begin with Ladies and Gentlemen. This greeting is more distinguished than Women and Men. When a man is called a true gentleman, that is meant as a compliment. When a woman is referred to as a lady, her gentle characterisitcs are recognized. Not every woman is a lady, however, nor is every man a gentleman.

Ladies and gentlemen are people of character. The truth is that every young female is a girl and every adult female is a woman, but it takes effort to be a lady. Every young male is a boy and every adult male is a man, but it takes work to be a gentleman.

God wants His sons and daughters to be people of good, gentle character. He can even take people with very rough, crude backgrounds and transform them into ladies and gentlemen.

Iris Blue’s testimony is a wonderful example of what God can do. She was a very rebellious young person, ran away from home, got involved in drugs and was sentenced to eight years in prison on armed robbery charges. Her attitude in prison was so bad that she had to serve an even longer sentence. After leaving prison, she continued on her path of rebellion until a young man told her about Jesus Christ and how He loved her. She responded to His love and her testimony is that she “knelt down a tramp and stood up a lady.”

God’s design for Iris was to transform her so that she could share His love with others, which she does. Her life and the lives of all God’s daughters who are gentle, caring and God fearing have some similarities to a beautiful work of art called lace.

Ladies are a lot like lace. They are created.

Someone has to create the lace. Handmade lace is always more valuable than lace made by machine. As time, effort and thought are put into the creation of the piece of lace, it becomes a work of art. The pattern of the lace reflects the design of the maker. If there is a mistake made in the handmade process, the thread is torn out to the point of the mistake and started over at that point. The important thing is the end result even if the process takes a long time.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth (Psalm 139:13-15 NIV).

Ladies are a lot like lace. They have a beautiful pattern.

Lace has a beautiful and intricate pattern. God has a plan for every woman’s life. He has a beautiful pattern in mind that is very individual. He weaves the delicate threads of a women’s life to make her the lady He wants her to be.

For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).

God was not surprised with Iris Blue’s rebellious life. He knew that His transformation of her life would reach many people for Him.

Ladies are a lot like lace. They are delicate.

Lace is delicate and complimentary. It decorates. It covers but not completely. It lets light show through. It has been said that “the light that shines the farthest shines brightest at home.” Ladies, who are God fearing and gentle in their own families, can be examples to a lost world.

Real ladies bring light into the lives of others – the light of Jesus. The word lace could be used as an acrostic: Ladies Are Christian Examples. Jesus’ example was full of grace and truth. He gave us the fruit of His spirit and all these things are qualities that a lady should have: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Ladies are a lot like lace. They add an element of luxury to their surroundings. 

Lace is a gift item. It is a luxury. Lace is considered a luxury and not everyone has the ability to have it, but ladies are capable of making luxuries where they are not otherwise possible. A German saying makes this point: “Honor the women. They braid and weave heavenly roses in earthly living.”

Ladies are a lot like lace. They are appreciated in a social setting.

Lace is only appreciated when it is displayed. Lace stored in a drawer does not contribute to the beauty of the surroundings. It must be displayed. A woman’s beauty is also displayed in her actions.

Lace and ladies are created with a beautiful, delicate pattern, providing luxury to their surroundings, having their greatest impact in society.

The death of two famous women – Princess Diana of England and Mother Teresa of India – occurred in the span of a very short period. Both were ladies in their own right, each contributing to society by their gentle spirits and loving concern for others.

The way a woman lives her life determines whether she is just a girl, a woman or a real lady.

© Stephanie B. Blake

July 2012

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