The Stranger
By
Christina
Weimer
I am wondering: Did you bring a stranger to church with you on Sunday? I am not talking about an everyday sort of a stranger. This is a stranger that you are all to familiar with, one with whom you really should know. This stranger is your Bible.
As a Pastor's wife there are many demands that are placed upon you. Demands that the normal lay person has no clue about. You are often asked to do things above and beyond what you would like to be doing. You hear things and know things that would stress out even the most rigid nerves. Your family is often times put on the back burner for the sake of the church. At a moments notice, or the ringing of the phone, your family can go from having a wonderful family time to suddenly having the father/Pastor gone to tend to the needs of the sheep.
Every week you go to church. You put on the face of the happy Pastor's wife. You show the love and support that you feel for your husband. You hear the complaints of the people and yet you strive to be positive. You desire to give hope to your husband/Pastor as well as the people. When people speak of the problems of the church you strive to show them that things will not always be this way… However, they do not know that deep inside you are stressed out and many times burnt out.
The Bible you carry to church feels like a stranger. The promises that are spoken within its cover seem so far away. You have taken on so much that you are blinded to the love that can be found within the many pages of God's word.
Why is it that when we, as children of God, are stressed out, burnt out or just plain tired, we try to fix things on our own. We forget that the stranger we carry to church holds many answers to the questions we have in our heart. Are you listening to the advice you give others? Does your heart hear when you tell another to seek answers within God's word? Have you forgotten that you are His precious little girl? Have you forgotten that He loves you just as much as He loves all those who sit around you on Sunday?
Remember, there is a time and a season for all things. God's word is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. When you are stressed, burnt out, overwhelmed, and frankly tired of being the "Pastor's wife," remember that you still need to be reading the word. When the well is dry one must find a better source of water. The best place for that is where the spring never fades. Do not turn from God in times of trouble. Read His word and know that, yes these may be hard times, however, they will not last but for a season. Force yourself to read His word. Even when it doesn't seem like it is doing anything for you, continue to read. If only to keep it from being a stranger, read. When the times improve, or when you can see more clearly, those things, which you have read, will come back to encourage you.
Do your very best to make that precious book you carry a friend that will see you through the good times and the bad, the sorrows and the triumphs, the boredom and the elation, the reality and the impossibilities.
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O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly;
My soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
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Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.
Psalm 105:4
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It's time for apple recipes! I'm hungry for Apple Crisp, and this is one from our daughter's old 4-H recipe booklet that has become our favorite. You can quickly make this for dinner tonight!
APPLE CRISP
1 c. oatmeal
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
Mix the above together and blend in 1/4 c. butter or margarine with pastry blender.
Place mixture over 4 c. peeled, sliced tart apples or peaches or rhubarb in 8 x 8" buttered baking dish. Press mixture down lightly. 30 minutes at 350* or till apples are tender.
Dot
loves to hear from you and answer your
questions.
You can reach her by writing to: DOTMI@aol.com
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Submitted by
Christina Weimer
* A bus station is where a bus stops.
A train station is where train stops. On my desk, I have a work station...
* If quitters never win, and winners never quit,
what fool came up with "quit while you're ahead"?
* I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible whole lot more as they get older, then it dawned on me. they were cramming for their finals.
* I thought about how mothers feed their babies with little tiny spoons and forks, so I wonder what Chinese mothers use...Toothpicks?
* If it's zero degrees outside today and it's supposed to be twice as cold tomorrow,
how cold is it going to be?
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"There are two ways of spreading light - to be the candle, or the mirror
that reflects it." - Edith Wharton
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things. It consists in
accepting, with a smile, what Jesus sends us. It consists in accepting and
following the will of God."
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Joy in The Kitchen Volume 4 Issue
33
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