Samuel

Over the past 23 years we have lived in Lebanon, Missouri, we have been blessed to have shared our lives with 27 cats, 1 dog, 3 hermit crabs, 4 beta fish, several gold fish and catfish.  Each are special and have their own special place in our hearts.    

One hot summer evening Steve chose Samuel from a litter of kittens.  His beautiful short black tabby stripes shined in the evening light.  Samuel’s cute little black tail stood straight up in the air making him irresistible.  Steve just could not leave without Samuel that night.  As we rode home in the van all Samuel did was mew.  “Meow, meow, meow, and meow!” loudly proclaimed Samuel.  It was as if he were saying, “Where am I going?  Who are you?  I am so excited!”  All the way home for 15-20 minutes there was a constant mew!

We petted and held Samuel and loved on him.  When it was time to go to bed, he just kept mewing.  Finally he shut up and fell asleep.  And thus that is how Samuel acts.  He is high string, determined, and nervous individual.  He is referred to as the “problem child”.  In fact if there ever was such a profession as cat psychologist, then Sam would have went for therapy.  

Samuel annoyed each family member with the exceptions of Steve, Stephanie and Hannah.  Even our American Eskimo Dog, Nanook, felt this cat’s temper.  Even though Nanook attempted to build a relationship with Sam, he was slapped time and again.  Sam stubbornly refused to be kind.  He slapped and hissed at Nanook.  It took several days before Samuel even warmed up to his fellow cats.

On bitterly cold winter evenings, we allowed the cats to spend the night in the garage.  The next morning the cats were ready to eat and to go outside for fresh air.  Which cat was mewing?  Yes, you guessed it.  Samuel.  “Mew, mew, mew, mew, and mew!” Samuel carried on and on.  Missy, part Norwegian Forest Cat, had ran out of patience.  Suddenly Missy, growled and hissed at Sam.  Then one could a lot of wrestling around and banging on the garage door.  Then all one could hear was silence.  It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  Then Samuel broke the silence saying quietly and questioningly, “Mew?”

Trust in the Lord With All Your Heart

I lead on fear at Bethel Missionary Baptist Church’s Wednesday Night Bible Study one evening.  Even though I am anxious about leading I am so glad that I follow through when all is said and done.  The learning is worth it all.  I want to share what I have learned. 

Fear is an emotion everyone experiences to some degree or another.  It is caused by the presence of evil, anxiety, or pain.  Some people cower in the face of fear.  Others boldly face fear.  What does the Bible teach us about fear?  How are we as Christians to deal with fear? 

Allow me to share a couple of fearful experiences with you.  I remember watching “The Wizard of Oz” when I was 5 or 6 years old.  It was one of my favorite stories; however, there were parts of the story that absolutely terrified me, such as the witch on many occasions and the monkeys.  I hid behind the coach and peeked around it to keep up on the happening in the story.

Another memorable event was when my three young children, Stephanie, Christopher, Hannah, and I toured the Wax Museum in Branson.  Excitedly, we entered the museum with the anticipation of seeing Elvis and other celebrities, but instead we gasped!  We were face to face with Frankenstein, Dracula, a Werewolf, and other ominous wax figures.  Stephanie and Hannah immediately grabbed my arms.  “We do not want to take another step into this place!”  I responded, “I understand.  However, this is just a small portion.  All we need to do is just walk past these wax figures.  Hang onto my arms, close your eyes and I will guide both of you through.”  Christopher ran on ahead laughing.  Suddenly the elevator door opened revealing a living person in a wheel chair.  “Boo!”  Chris jumped and ran to a closed door since that appeared to be an exit.  He turned the knob to open it and the door would not budge.  The girls squeezed my arm tighter in their panic.  “Let’s get out of here!  Where is the door?”  Our hearts began pounding and beads of sweat appeared on our brow.  Then Chris tried the next door.  Success!  He opened it wide and we all ran through it.

These two stories demonstrate that our imaginations must be controlled.  Our minds can make up all kinds of fears that are not even real.  We all have experienced anxiety.  For example, when I was lost, I wanted to be saved, but was scared to be obedient to Jesus.  I thought people would laugh at me for going to the altar, for praying out loud, and more.  These were all lies from Satan to stop me from seeking the Lord and being saved.  I am so glad I was obedient to Jesus.

The other example is the times the Lord calls on me to testify.  Negative thoughts go through my mind.  Such thoughts as that would be stupid to say, are you really led to stand up?  When I am disobedient I miss out on the blessing and I am also filled with regrets.  I am thankful for the times I have stood for my Lord and received a great blessing.  Living life without regrets is much better.

At this point I want to share a Bible verse that has been a great comfort to me.  It is found in Romans 8:38-39.  It reads, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, not powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  This tells me that no matter what we encounter in life the God is always with us.  Nothing can separate us from Him.  I love this scripture. 

Where does fear come from then?  In II Timothy 1:7 it says, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”  This reveals that fear is NOT an emotion from God.  God gives us power, love, and a sound mind.  Fear comes from the enemy.

We should never fear, but we are only human.  Like us, Jesus’ disciples were fearful.  In Mark 4:36 we read about their fearful situation.  “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.  And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awake him, and say unto him, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?”  And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, “Peace, be still.”  And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.  And he said unto them, “Why are ye so fearful?  How is it that ye have no faith?”  And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, “What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Since God is always with us, then we ought not to fear.  But instead have faith in God or trust God to see us through the fear.  I believe that as Christians we should face our fears and push through them to receive a blessing.  We should not hide from our fears like I did when watching the “Wizard of Oz” or run from our fears like Stephanie and Hannah wanted to do in the Branson Wax Museum.  We should push through our fears.  And when we do, we grow into a stronger person.  We allow God to mold us into being more like Him.  Isn’t that amazing?

There are numerous examples of individuals who have faced their fears and overcame them.  A courageous Queen Esther approached the King to plea for her people.  The Hebrew people were protected due to her willingness to trust and obey her God.  Noah overcame the fear of rejection from his peers.  He was building an ark in obedience as protection from a world wide flood.  The world had no rain up until that time.  King David, Mary (mother of Jesus), Stephen, and many others have trusted God to see them through.  I love reading and learning about these great people.

I am recalling Phillipians 4:13.  It says, “I can do all things through Christ which strenghtheneth me.”  Yes, we are never alone in the storms of life.  “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”  I am so thankful for God’s love.

Bringing Mom Home!

I have been a stay at home mother for 24 years!  During that time I successfully home educated our three great children.  I loved spending all the hours with my children.  We studied at home, went on fabulous field trips with other homeschooling families, we traveled on extended family field trips to Florida, Colorado, and Indiana.  I have always desired for every mother to be blessed with the opportunity to be a stay at home mother.

You see, many times in my homeschool endeavors I became acquainted with mothers who would say, “You are so blessed to be able to stay at home and home educate your children.  I wish I could do that, but I am needed to work.”  My heart would break for them.  Leaving your children at a baby sitter or sending your children to public school when you felt that homeschooling would have been a better option.  I wanted to help them in some way.  At that time I did all that I knew to do.  I prayed for them.  I prayed that God would help them find a way.

I never in my imagination thought God would provide me with the answer.  Let me tell you I have two years experience in being a successful business owner who aids people in building financial freedom.  I am thankful to be a part of an amazing and caring team of friends and business partners.  Being a part of this endeavor allows me to coach moms and set them on the road to a great financial future.  It is so very gratifying to bring mom home.  I love hearing their stories such as my friend and business partner, Sarah, excitedly sharing with me that she is able to stay at home with her 6 month old baby boy!  God is GREAT!!

Bobbie!

When our oldest daughter, Stephanie, was about 2 years old she was given a little rag doll dressed in pink wearing a bonnet.  Stephanie loved the little doll at the very moment she received it.  “Bobbie!” she exclaimed.  This was her attempt to say, “Baby”, so Bobbie became the doll’s name.

Stephanie took Bobbie everywhere.  Bobbie was always tucked under her arm.  Stephanie napped and slept with Bobbie, watched the movie, “101 Dalmatians” with Bobbie, ate with Bobbie, fed Bobbie, shopped with Bobbie, and much more.  One morning Stephanie, Bobbie, and I went shopping at Kmart in Lebanon.  Stephanie and Bobbie rode in the shopping cart.  While I was looking at 1T and 2T clothes, Stephanie was playing with Bobbie.  She set Bobbie on a shelf.  Stephanie and I traveled away from Bobbie.  Stephanie pointed at Bobbie, but I did not understand and I was distracted.  I should have paid attention to Stephanie.

We checked out, traveled home, and ate lunch.  Then it was time for a nap.  Our routine was to sit in a rocking chair together with Bobbie and watch Reading Rainbow before drifting off to sleep.  Only this time Bobbie was not with us.  Stephanie said, “Bobbie?  I want Bobbie?”  I jumped up looking all over the house and the car.  Bobbie was no where!  I began thinking where I saw Bobbie last.  I recalled our shopping experience.  I did not remember getting home with Bobbie.  She had to be at Kmart.  I called, but no doll had been turned in.  The feeling to just go check for myself haunted me, and that is what we did.  We went to the store to check for ourselves. 

On the way to Kmart I told Stephanie that we would find Bobbie.  I believed it.  We walked all over the store.  No Bobbie.  I decided to look again, but this time more carefully.  And lo and behold we found Bobbie on the shelf just where Stephanie had left her.  I handed Bobbie to Stephanie and she hugged her tight.  As I hugged them both, I remember how Stephanie tried to tell me about Bobbie on the shelf and I just kept moving away. 

It is important to stop and to listen.  I know Bobbie is just a toy, but a special toy.  When children are growing up toys are like their best friends.  I am thankful Bobbie was still on the shelf waiting for us.  As Stephanie matured and did not carry her everywhere, she was placed on the shelf in Stephanie’s room.  Stephanie is 23 years old and she still has Bobbie.