The Gift that Keeps on Giving
By Shannon Parish

The day still stands out in my memory as one of the most life changing and simplest of days that I can remember.  There was a bitter chill in the air, and because of the financial situation I was in, I had compiled a rather ridiculous wardrobe to protect me from the winter air.  Wearing a large brown sweater that I'd received from someone's poor attempt at knitting, and a woolen shawl wrapped around my head, I tried to ignore my freezing toes poking out from the sandals that were the only shoes I owned.

When hard times hit you in the face, it's all you can do to carry on with life, let alone with grace and dignity, but I was trying.  My young son was going to his first day of school after our move to this tiny west Texas town.  As I walked him down the street, I passed in front of a white paneled house where a very pregnant woman walked out of her door and made her way down the sidewalk towards me.  Catching her amused expression I smiled and said hello.

Merrilee introduced herself to me and suddenly burst out in laughter.  (She later told me she thought I was doing something for a school play - so much for fashion!)  We walked together and chatted all the way to school about our kids, the weather and whatever else one might chat about with a new friend.

What struck me the most about Merrilee was that she was real.  She laughed easily and carried on conversations like she had known you all your life.  When I would apologize for the way I looked, or something stupid I said, she would say, "Why do you care what people think?  It's what you think about yourself that really matters."

Eventually, I learned to relax and through the most nightmarish time of my life, I embrassed this wonderful companion who choose to walk along side of me, reminding me to laugh, and trust God.  Merrilee had goats and chickens in her back yard that fascinated my son and brought peace to my heart with their antics and Biblical eyes (as she called them), as well as fresh goats milk and hot brownies to warm our tummies. It was her kitchen table that inspired me to name our newsletter Joy In The Kitchen, because it was her example of unconditional love that I desired to see multiplied among pastors' wives and ministry women that met on the Internet.

From those days so many years ago, to now, I've learned to accept people for who they are and especially accept me for who I am.  Day after day I'd sit at her kitchen table and we would talk and laugh.  Sometimes we cried, and sometimes we even took walks and sang praises to God.

Yesterday I received a letter from one of the ladies in our congregation telling me how much she appreciated my honesty and how real I was, and that it was a testimony and an encouragement to her.  The letter was so restoring to my heart as I read her words of love and thankfulness.  It's so easy at times to fall into the trap of thinking that you are not doing enough, or that you need to be more....well, you know, more of what ever it is you aspire to be.

The only thing that God has ever commanded us to do is to LOVE.  All the other commandments are tucked neatly inside that one great word.  He never commanded us to be great speakers, highly educated or dramatically gifted.  But He did command us to love.  The first person you must love is yourself, accepting God's love for you, and enjoying who He has made you to be.  Love is what empowers you to activate God's supernatural ability through you, to a lost and dying world.

The next time you think you aren't doing enough, go love on someone else.  Listen to them and laugh with them. Many times Merrilee would say that she wished she had some answers for me, but her love and her prayers were enough.  She gave me a gift, and I give that gift to you, and you give that gift to that woman in your church who needs your love.  This gift will continue to give for an eternity and the harvest is an abundant one, filled with joy and wonder, and surprisingly enough, it doesn't require a PhD! 

 ______________________________  

You can't consistently perform in a manner 
that is inconsistent with the way you see yourself.
~ Zig Ziglar

______________________________

1 Cor 13:13
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; 
but the greatest of these is love. 
NKJV
______________________________

RETREATS!!

______________________________________

www.pastorswives.net 

Listing web sites from around the world 
that minister to Pastors' Wives and Ministry Women

Do you know of another site that is not listed?
Submit it here.

 _______________________________________

Congratulations Dianne Miller for finding the ball!

Previous Winners:
Dianne Miller, Florida
Tammy Haney, Florida
Vicki Brown, Oklahoma
Cynthia Brand, Texas
Michele Tomlinson, Illinois
Julie Brockett, California
Camellia Puffer, Florida
Karen Doane, Illinois
Brenda Begaye, Washington
Wanda Srader, Texas
Pattie Reitz, Missouri

Click Here to Play! 

Contact Sarahstent@sarahstent.com for more information.

If you are elected to bring a casserole to a potluck supper, here's a winner! 
(or for your own family).

SUPER CHICKEN

1 1/2 cups raw brown or white rice
Mix together:
2 cans cream of mushroon (or chicken) soup
(fresh mushrooms are a nice addition)
2 soup cans water
1 package dry onion soup mix

1 1/2 pounds chicken fryers or pieces
Salt, Pepper, Paprika

Spread uncooked rice in baking dish (largest Pyrex or 9 x 13) and pour undiluted soup evenly over it. Add water. Sprinkle with dry soup mix. Salt and pepper chicken. Lay skin-side-up on the rice. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Cover with lid or foil. Bake at 300 degrees about 2 hours. 

Dot loves to hear from you and answer your questions.  
You can reach her by writing to: DOTMI@aol.com 

________________________________

More funnies submitted by Kristy Smith

Evidence has been found that William Tell and his family were avid 
bowlers. However, all the league records were unfortunately destroyed in a 
fire. Thus we'll never know for whom the Tells bowled.

A man rushed into the doctor's office and shouted, "Doctor! I think I'm 
shrinking!" The doctor calmly responded, "Now, settle down. You'll just 
have to be a little patient."

A marine biologist developed a race of genetically engineered dolphins 
that could live forever if they were fed a steady diet of seagulls. One 
day his supply of the birds ran out, so he had to go out and trap some 
more. On the way back, he spied two lions asleep on the road. Afraid to 
wake them, he gingerly stepped over them. Immediately, he was arrested and 
charged with transporting gulls across sedate lions for immortal porpoises.

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Joy in The Kitchen Volume 4 Issue 32