Author: StephanieBBlake

I love to help others focus on the one thing that's most important in life through my ministry, teaching and writing. As Vice President of Xtend Ministries International - www.xtendinternational.com, I travel extensively with my husband. I maintain two websites: www.onefocusministries.com and stretchmoney.wordpress.com. On the One Focus site, you can find free Bible studies, devotionals and information about my first book, "The Prayer Driven Life". My book, "Money: How to Be Rich Without It and How to Stretch It Using Ten Hints from the Past and the Technology of Today" was the inspiration for stretchmoney.wordpress.com. Money saving hints are contained throughout the book and this site was created to continue to give helpful hints on stretching money or having the proper view toward money.
One Focus Blog

Sidewalks, Footpaths and Steppingstones

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Photo credit: http://www.MikePerryMedia.com/ – Michael D. Perry

Walking is my favorite exercise. The best thing about walking is you can do it practically anywhere. As I frequently travel, the only exercise equipment I need is a pair of shoes that fit properly and are comfortable – as close to “made for me” as they can get. If I don’t wear a good pair of walking shoes, I pay the price for it later.

Some places make walking easier than others. Many countries offer wonderful footpaths through the forest. These have often been cleared of trees and fallen debris. It is therefore possible to walk through the woods enjoying the scenery rather than having to watch the ground for areas where you might trip up.

Many European countries offer pedestrian commercial areas. Without having to watch for vehicles, you can have a very pleasant experience walking while shopping, banking, dining or any other business you need to take care of.

Sidewalks are also provided in many places for walkers. They are even separated from designated bike paths, so if you stay on the walkway provided for pedestrians, you are in good shape. In areas where sidewalks are not provided or are not reliable, walkers have to pay much more attention to their path. That inhibits the joy of sight seeing as you walk.

Sometimes it is up to me to provide my own walking path. While working in an area on some land that had to be leveled because heavy rains had caused unevenness in the soil, I first placed steppingstones around the perimeter. That proved to be a very good decision as the stones were the only reliable walking area for some time.

Sidewalks, footpaths and steppingstones remind me that God has provided safe paths for us in life, if we will just take advantage of them. I know I have a choice. I can stay on His path or I can deviate from it. Life is always more pleasant when I stay on the path He established for me. It is when I get off His path that I am prone to trip up or make wrong decisions.

Just as I only need a good pair of walking shoes to make the most of the sidewalks, footpaths and steppingstones, the only thing I need for life is to truly trust God and let Him lead me down the path He has provided for me.

You will show me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore…. Uphold my steps in Your paths, that my footsteps may not slip …Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 16:11, 17:5, 119:105).

One Focus Blog

The Importance of a Good Seal

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Since my husband is a handyman (not by profession), he does most of the work in our homes himself. Watching him install a shower caused me to be curious about the word “seal”. The drain in that shower had to have an adequate seal to keep it from leaking. It became obvious to me that creating a good seal was not only important, but also takes a lot of work and patience.

As a noun, a seal can be an aquatic animal, a devise used for stamping a document to authenticate it, something that gives credibility to something else (a seal of approval), or a substance used to join two things together so as to prevent them from coming apart or prevent something else from passing between them.

As a verb, a seal can mean to make tight to secure against leakage (as in sealing windows or a shower drain), close securely (as in sealing an envelope or sealing homemade jams), prevent something from escaping by closing an opening, isolate an area to prevent entry and exit (as in sealing off a crime scene), apply a coating to a surface to make it impervious (such as sealing a finish with a varnish), fry a piece of meat briefly to keep juices intact or secure something to exclude the possibility of reversal or loss (as in sealing a business deal).

Pieczec_notariusza_wkskrakowThe definitions of seal have an application when applied to the Christian life. God the Father placed His seal of approval on His Son; God set His seal of ownership on His children and we are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit (John 6:27, 2 Corinthians 1:21 and Ephesians 1:13). Jesus never broke the seal during His lifetime. His integrity remained intact. He never allowed anything to come between Him and His Father’s will.

For the rest of us, it is a constant struggle to keep worldly temptations from distracting us. The apostle Paul reminded us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit, but as my husband often says, “we leak.” The presence of the Holy Spirit is real to us. We have already been “authenticated,” but while we are still here on a fallen planet, we must be diligent in remembering that we have to work hard at preventing anything from entering our lives that will dishonor the Spirit who lives within us.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:30-32).

One Focus Blog

The Work of a Carpenter

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Carpentry is hard work. I don’t know this from experience, but from observation. My husband occasionally builds things – something to make our lives easier. Sometimes I hang around just in case I’m needed and learn a lot from watching him work.

DSC06653Carpentry has to be precise. If things don’t fit together the way they are supposed to, modifications have to be made and that is even more work. Unfortunately, you can’t count on every piece of lumber being exactly the size you expected or that it will be perfectly straight. Some are bowed or have knots in them or some other imperfection that results in adjustments having to be made down the line. One place where I may help is at the lumberyard. I point out pieces of lumber that are bowed. It is best to leave those behind.

DSC06654Although many things made by carpenters are really works of art, that doesn’t seem to be a description that is associated with the profession. Carpentry seems to be an unsung profession. Few people realize what goes into building a table, a chair, a desk, a room or a house. By the time the product is ready for us, the real work is covered up. All the nails, screws, extra support boards and all the things it takes to make the piece sturdy are hidden. Only the carpenter, who often works alone, knows what is really underneath it all.

As a Christian, I have often reflected on Jesus’ choice of the man who would help raise Him. Joseph was a carpenter, evidently a quiet, faithful man who was obedient to God when he was told Mary would be giving birth to the Christ child. Children often take on the profession of their fathers. Jesus had to be about His Heavenly Father’s business, but while He was in Joseph’s home, surely He worked beside him and learned some lessons about carpentry. How amazing it is that the Son of God who created the world with only His Word was taught by Joseph to measure twice and cut once!

The finished product for carpenters is a nice piece of furniture, cabinetry, or an addition on a house or maybe a house itself. Sometimes the object is simple. Sometimes it is ornate. Every object that a carpenter makes can bring him pride because he knows the time and effort he put into it.

The finished product for the carpenter Jesus is a person who can glorify Him. Only He knows how much love, time and effort He put into working out the knots in our lives so that we might become someone He will be proud of.

Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? (Mark 6:3).

Reflective Focus

Living in the Land of Beginning Again

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

In the early 20th century, Louisa Fletcher wrote a poem entitled “The Land of Beginning Again.” Since then, others have added to it and even made it into songs. One version was sung by Bing Crosby in The Bells of Saint Mary. Now in public domain, Louisa’s original poem is as follows.

 

I wish that there were some wonderful place

In the Land of Beginning Again

Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches

And all of our poor selfish grief

Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door

And never put on again.

I wish we could come on it all unaware

Like the hunter who finds a lost trail

And I wish that the one whom our blindness had done

The greatest injustice of all

Could be there at the gates like an old friend that waits

For the comrade he’s gladdest to hail.

We would find all the things we intended to do

But forgot, and remembered too late.

Little praises unspoken, little promises broken,

And all the thousand and one

Little duties neglected that might have perfected

The day for one less fortunate.

It wouldn’t be possible not to be kind

In the Land of Beginning Again.

And the ones we misjudged

And the ones whom we grudged

Their moments of victory here,

Would find in the grasp of our loving hand-clasp

More than penitent lips could explain.

For what had been hardest we’d know had been best

And what had seemed loss would be gain

For there isn’t a sting that will not take a wing

When we’ve faced it and laughed it away.

And I think that the laughter is most what we’re after

In the Land of Beginning Again.

So I wish that there were some wonderful place

Called the Land of Beginning Again

Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches,

And all of our poor selfish grief

Could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door

And never put on again.

 

Most of us at some point in our lives share Louisa’s sentiment. We would like to go “where all our mistakes and all our heartaches and all of our poor selfish grief could be dropped like a shabby old coat at the door and never put on again.” We agree with Neal Morse whose lyrics to his song, The Land of Beginning Again include, “I wish there was a way to start again, to wake up among friends in the land of beginning again and I love my brother more than my own life and no one feels mean. All things are new. Behold, the slate is clean.”

It is uncertain whether the authors of the songs or poems about the land of beginning again knew they were talking about spiritual truths, but they were.

Decisions of our past, both good and bad, have a bearing on where we are today. We may be pleased with where we are or wish things were radically different. There may be scores of things that we wish we could change about our past.

Sometimes it is circumstances beyond our control that have put us in a place of sorrow, heartache or persecution. Perhaps the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, a natural disaster, ill health or any other sad events in our lives have been ever too present.

For a Christian, the desire to begin again is a reality. When we come face to face with sin in our lives, we wish we could begin again. In Christ, we can. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12 NIV). True repentance is more than regret. It is seeing ourselves as God sees us – sinners in need of salvation. His love in sending Christ to bear those sins on His cross makes it possible for us to start life anew. Once we repent of our sins, because of Jesus, our slate is clean. Now God sees His Son in us. Our sinfulness has been replaced with His righteousness. And the promise of eternity is that when we enter the gates of heaven, we will drop all of our sorrows at the door and never put them on again.

There is, however, the challenge of living day by day. Between the time we accept the gift of salvation through Christ and we go to heaven where there is no sin present, we must still live in a world full of sin. The Christian life is hard. Satan delights in attacking believers and tempting them in our most vulnerable points.

We must remember, then, because of Christ, we truly live in the land of beginning again.

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of God in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). God’s promises are true. In the good times and the bad times, trust in the God who gives us a chance to begin again.

© Stephanie B. Blake

January 2012

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One Focus Blog

Sunrise on Christmas Day

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People around the world look forward to sunrise on Christmas day with eager anticipation, especially young ones. Children who have been told that they cannot look under the Christmas tree until after sunrise can hardly wait for the sun to come up. They hardly sleep the night before and when the slightest hint of light comes out in the morning, they run to their parents and ask, “May I get up now? May I see what Santa brought?”

???????????????????????????????The traditions of Christmas are about family, food and gifts. Some people spend all year thinking about the next Christmas. They shop a little during the year, hide the gifts away and save up for the special treats that the family loves to eat at Christmas time. More books, songs and movies revolve around Christmas than any other holiday. It is a celebration for people of all nations and cultures, even for those who do not believe in the Christ who made it all possible.

The first Christmas was anticipated for centuries. The prophets spoke about the coming of the Christ child long before that day Mary gave birth to Him and laid Him in a manger. Mary herself must have been excited about the dawn of the day when the promise given to her was born from her own body. That sunrise brought her Son to her and to the world.

As people choose Christmas gifts, they put much thought into it because they want to please the ones they love. Sometimes that entails sacrifice on their part. They may scrimp and save in order to get that special item to wrap and put under the tree.

The gift of the Son to save the world was planned by God before time began. He knew the gift that was needed and He sacrificed much in order to give that gift. God’s love for us is so great that He was willing to suffer to give us the gift that we needed most.

As the sun rose on that first Christmas, one day the Son will rise again. What God promises He fulfills.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

One Focus Blog

Joseph, the Man in the Background in the Nativity

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800px-Nürnberg_Frauenkirche_Krippe_Anbetung_der_KönigeWhen unpacking my Christmas decorations, I love pulling out and setting up my collection of nativity scenes. It is the picture of the real Christmas story: the gift of the Son of God to the world.

Jesus is the central figure in the nativity scene. It would not mean anything without Him. When I am placing the other figures around Him, I usually place Mary behind His right and Joseph behind Him on the left.

The placing of Joseph in the nativity scene is somewhat symbolic of his life. He is the man in the background. Many stories have been written about how Mary was chosen to be the mother of our Savior, but little has been said about the man who was chosen by God to raise His son.

Matthew tells us more about Joseph than anyone else. Like me, I think Matthew must have been impressed with this humble man who loved God, loved the mother of His Son and loved His Son in a way that no one else could.

After Mary told him she had been chosen to bear the Christ child, Joseph had the first of his dreams that included instructions from God. The angel in the dream told Joseph not to be afraid but to wed Mary as he had planned.

Joseph was visited by an angel of the Lord in his dreams at least twice more. After the visit of the wise men, he was instructed in a dream to take his family to Egypt because Herod wanted to kill the child. He was told to stay until he was visited again. After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to go to the land of Israel. Joseph settled in the city called Nazareth, thus fulfilling the prophecy about Jesus that He would be a Nazarene.

Joseph is mentioned again when he and Mary found Jesus conversing with the teachers in the temple. When Mary questioned Jesus as to why He had not come with them when they left the city, Jesus said, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” (Luke 2:49). This is the last time Joseph is mentioned, so he must have died between the time Jesus was twelve and the beginning of His ministry.

Although Jesus’ brothers resented Him and for a long time did not believe in Him, that was not true of Joseph. He did not resent raising a Son that was not his own. He accepted that assignment from God without question.

Joseph was an unusual man, humble and obedient. What Jesus learned about carpentry, he learned from Joseph. Joseph must have also taught Jesus much about His Father’s word as well, for we know that Jesus learned the Scripture as a child.

I am looking forward to meeting Joseph in heaven, the man in the background in the nativity.

Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25).

One Focus Blog

Preparing for the First Christmas: Greetings from Gabriel

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Preparing for Christmas is a delightful experience to me. I love getting out the decorations, playing Christmas music, watching favorite Christmas movies, lighting candles reserved for the season, entertaining, preparing special treats that for some reason are only eaten during Christmas time, strolling through stores and malls with special decorations and driving through neighborhoods that have prepared for this most important day.

Most of all, getting ready for Christmas includes the reading of the Christmas story. As a believer, I continue to be amazed and grateful that God would send His Son to live among men so that we might live with Him forever. As God was preparing the world for the first Christmas, He enlisted angels to bring messages to those who would be directly involved.

DSC06772Many people are fascinated by angels, including me. Movies, television programs and books support the idea that good people become angels. That theory can make interesting entertainment, but it is not true. According to scripture, angels are unique creations of God and are spirits sent by God to minister to believers.

Other popular pieces of literature about angels concentrate on their involvement in the lives of people – sometimes detailing rescues and comfort in trying situations. Although it is possible to have encounters with angels, these visitations originate with God, not the angels themselves. Good angels are always on assignment from God. He deserves the credit for any rescue or comfort received at the hands of angels.

Joseph, who was engaged to the virgin Mary, came to understand his special role in the life of Jesus through many visitations of angels. After the birth of Christ, humble shepherds in the field were honored to receive a birth announcement – via special delivery through an angel and accompanied by an angelic choir.

Gabriel is one of two angels whose name we know. We first discover him in the Old Testament where he was sent by God to explain visions to Daniel. His most familiar appearances were in the New Testament as God sent him to prepare the world for the coming of the Christ child. He told Zacharias that God sent him to bring him news of the birth of his son, John the Baptist, whose voice in the wilderness would prepare the way of the Lord. When Gabriel is last mentioned in scripture by name, it was to deliver greetings from God to a young virgin who, because she had found favor with God, would be blessed among women and give birth to the promised Messiah.

“I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God… the angel Gabriel was sent by God…to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary…And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus…The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:19, 26, 27, 31, 35).

One Focus Blog

Heroic Shepherds

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Usually, when one thinks of a hero, someone who has been through the battlefields of war or has achieved widespread acclaim because of their accomplishments for mankind comes to mind. It is unlikely that anyone would initially think of shepherds as heroes. Yet shepherds are some of the notable heroes of scripture.

Abel, the First Shepherd

Abel, son of Adam and Eve, was a keeper of sheep. He gave the proper sacrifice to God when he brought the firstborn of his flock. God gave His only begotten Son – the firstborn among many brothers – so that whoever believed in Him would be saved.

Abraham, a Wealthy Shepherd

When Abraham proved to God that he trusted Him above all else, God substituted the lamb (ram) for the sacrifice of Isaac. John the Baptist announced that the living Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the Good Shepherd offered Himself as the sacrificial lamb, one sacrifice for the sins of all time.

Jacob, a Shepherd in Love

For the love of Rachel, Jacob served Laban fourteen years – seven for Leah and seven for Rachel. Before he died, he gave a blessing to his beloved son Joseph who was Rachel’s child. Israel (Jacob) acknowledged that the God of his fathers had been his shepherd all through his life and that his son Joseph was strong because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel.

Moses, a Shepherd in Training

Before leading the children of Israel out of Egypt, Moses spent forty years as a shepherd in Midian. This period of obscurity, guiding and protecting defenseless sheep, was preparation for forty years spent in the wilderness with fearful and stubborn people.

David, the Giant Killer

Although a youth, David’s experience as a shepherd enabled him to fight the giant Goliath. Even as king, David never forgot lessons learned tending sheep. His Psalm 23 is the most often quoted Psalm of the Bible.

Shepherds in the Field

Humble God-fearing shepherds were honored by a visit from an angel announcing the birth of the Christ child. Finding Him in a manger made them feel quite at home.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Shepherds, under-shepherds and sheep are an important part of God’s story. He warns against false shepherds. He calls His people His flock.

The Old Testament characters above (and others) pointed to the coming of the Chief Shepherd, the Son of God. Although heroic in their actions of protecting the sheep under their care, the true hero of the Book is the Good Shepherd, the Lamb that was slain.

The_Shepherd_and_his_Flock

Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rules for Him; behold His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young (Isaiah 40:10-11).

Reflective Focus

The Coming of the Lamb and the Shepherd

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Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock; you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth between Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh. Awaken your might, come and save us. Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved (Psalm 80:1-3 NIV).

Picture the nativity scene. That’s easy for most of us. Displayed in illustrated Bibles and Bible storybooks and set up in homes and churches during December, the characters are always the same. Mary and Joseph with shepherds and wise men and animals in the stall surround a baby in a manger – the Son of God who had just become the Son of Man.

The most striking elements in this picture are its simplicity and its majesty. No one seems to think it strange that rich wise men from the east are facing humble shepherds from the fields  – standing or kneeling on a carpet of straw with singing angels above joining sounds of animals below and the sweet coos of the baby who planned it all.

This scene had been foretold by many but understood by few. Unable to grasp the possibility that God’s Son would make His entrance with such humility, most were expecting the Savior to come with the only kind of majesty they were accustomed to – to reign and to rule.

Amidst the many prophecies about His coming, the two that capture our attention in the nativity are symbolically sitting at the feet of the child or standing at His side: the lamb and the shepherd.

The baby lying in this manger would someday hang on a cross. Naked, He would die there. His humble beginnings would lead to an even more humiliating climax.

Submitting Himself to be led like a lamb to the slaughter, the Good Shepherd did for His flock what they could not do for themselves. All His sheep having gone astray, the Lord laid on Him the sins of them all. He bore those sins on the cross and left them there.

The one announced as the Lamb of God also revealed Himself as the Resurrection and the Life.  Having shed His blood and redeemed His flock, the Good Shepherd walked out of the tomb.

There is no longer any need for a sacrificial lamb. Now, the church, the Bride of Christ, is being made ready for the Bridegroom, the Lamb who sits upon the throne.

The tranquil scene of the nativity makes perfect sense to those who worship the Son of God who came in humility in order that we might reign with Him.

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb . . . for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:10, 17).

© Stephanie B. Blake

December 2011

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One Focus Blog

Days of Remembrance

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Every country has national holidays, many of them commemorating a special event in the nation’s history. Traveling internationally exposes me to many local holidays and I learn something new about the country I am visiting each time one comes around.

Some countries celebrate some of the same holidays but with a different twist. Halloween, for instance, a hugh commercial event for America, is only given a nod by some countries. In Poland, for instance, Halloween is observed for the children, but the real celebration is the next day: All Saints Day or the Day of the Dead.

Although All Saints Day is officially only one day, it usually lasts for several days. It is common for Polish people to take off work for a day if All Saints Day falls close to a weekend. All Saints Day in 2011 fell on a Tuesday. Many families left work Friday afternoon (so many that the congestion on the roads leaving Warsaw resulted in many automobile accidents) to travel long distances to visit with families, took the following Monday off from work, and returned home on Tuesday evening.

In most European countries, cemeteries are more than resting places for the dead. Beautifully maintained by family members (not by cemetery staff), none of the graves are overgrown or neglected. Especially during All Saints Day, when people visit cemeteries to clean grave sites of loved ones and place flowers and candles on them, many people will wander through the cemetery to look for graves which have not been cleaned. Even if they do not know the family of these deceased, they will tend to the grave and put a candle on it.

I have visited a cemetery on All Saints Day with Polish friends. The beauty of the cemetery nearly took my breath away. There are so many flowers on the graves that it is more like a garden than a cemetery. At night, the glow from candles in glass containers of various colors (thousands in the larger cemeteries) accentuate the beauty of the stone grave markers and the flowers on top of them. The cemeteries are so full of people you can hardly walk. Graves of national heroes are easily identifiable as people put extra flowers and candles around them – so many that it is hard to see the grave stone.

America is the only country I know of that works its retail people harder during a holiday. In other countries, when it’s time for a holiday, everything closes down. That literally means that if you are out of milk and bread on a holiday, too bad. You must wait until the next day. Although I learned this lesson the hard way and still gets surprised sometimes by a holiday I was not aware of, I very heartily approve of this system. Owners and employees of businesses have the day off just like everyone else. A holiday is a holiday for everyone.

In many countries I travel in, the same is true for Sund800px-Niagara-on-the-Lake_Polish_Military_Cemetery_3ay. Unfortunately, this is changing in some places, but most of the time, Sunday is a day of rest. Families get together, go for walks together, and celebrate life. Although many that observe Sunday as a day of rest don’t do it for the same reason I do (God said so), they understand the value of a special day set aside for leisure, not work.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter, or your male servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it (Exodus 20:8-11).