The cheese that wasn't a cheese

A man out walking noticed a nice round cheese in a window display, and entered the store.  Human beings are curious, and he was no exception, so he stuck out his walking cane and gently tapped the cheese.  If anything, it should have made a dull "thump", but instead it gave a little ring.

Investigating further, the man saw that the "cheese" was actually a fake.  The store owner, so as not to have to put out a fresh cheese in the window every day, made a ceramic model, then painted it over to look like the real thing.  It looked delicious...but not even a mouse would have wanted to actually eat it.
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Several things would help one to realize that the cheese was a fake:  appearance? smell? sound?  taste?  It looked all right, but it rang instead of thumping, it didn't smell like cheese and one couldn't really taste it, as it wasn't edible!

Sometimes people's faith is like that...even those who claim to be believers.  The outward appearance may not give it away...but that's no proof.  "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.""  (I Samuel 16:7)

Our faith in God should "smell right".  "For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.  To the one {the perishing} we are the smell of death , to the other {the believers}, the fragrance of life."  (II Corinthians 2:15)

As believers we can rely on the "sound" of our faith.  "Whether you turn to the right or to the left,  your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.  (Isaiah 30:21)  Do we share the Source of that "sound" with others? 

And what about "taste"?  "How sweet are your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103)  Do we share the "taste" with others?
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The fake and the real.  It comes down to what each one produces, it's "fruit"  The fake cheese was a false promise and produced disillusionment, disappointment and unsatisfied hunger.

And that of our faith?  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." (Galatians 5:22)

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May God help us to be real, not fake...producing fruit that attracts others to Him and doesn't disappoint, but offers satisfaction for the soul. As Ephesians 5 :15 says, "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise."

42 years later...We still do!

Our 42nd anniversary!  We were married on September 22, 1973, in Santo Domingo, Ecuador.  I had always wanted a "garden wedding"...and that's what we had.

I wore my mom's wedding dress, (which she made); also her tiara.  I had also always wanted to carry white roses, and I had them, too.




For the food part of the reception, everyone just got up and walked over to the tables in another part of the yard!  Then we walked back to the benches and continued with the fun and celebration.
                                                                                                                           

Do you see the little ribbons hanging out from under the bottom tier of the cake?  It's an Ecuadorian custom.  Each ribbon had a small "charm" (like for a bracelet) figure attached to the end that was under the cake.  Each of the single girls pulled one out, eager to see who would get the one-and-only gold ring at the end of hers...as (supposedly) she would  be the next to be married.

 Following a local custom, I didn't throw my bouquet.  All the single girls gathered around, and I "raffled" it.  (The winner would be whoever guessed the number I was thinking of.)  The lucky girl in red, my "maid of love"  (equivalent of maid of honor), really WAS the next one to get married!

                                                                         

On that day, we said to each other, "I do"...42 years later, we say to each other, "I still do!"                    *****************************************************

We lift our hearts in gratitude to God for His love and grace, and for giving us to each other.  We like this passage of Scripture as a continual reminder and challenge...for the next 42 years!  It is appropriate for any relationship, not only husband-and-wife. Will you share it with us?

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have...as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity.  Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.  And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."   (Colossians 3:12-17)

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If Esau had owned one of these cool things...he wouldn't have had to sell his birthright!

Esau could have left something cooking, gone out to hunt, and come home to a hot dinner!  Instead, he had to beg lentil stew from Jacob...and pay dearly for it..

My daughter and her family gave me this Wonderbag for Christmas, and I love it!  (My husband thinks it's great, too.)  You just let the food boil for 5 minutes on the stove, then place the pot in the Wonderbag, close it up...and hours later, there's a hot cooked meal ready.  It's a slow cooker, but it's not electric.  We had a power outage this afternoon, but that was no problem, since dinner was in the 'Bag.  (It would have been a problem if I had been using an electric crock pot.)  It's made of fabric and foam, and I think these are re-cycled.

The food comes out beautifully, too; ingredients don't mush together, moisture isn't lost, and when I open it up hours later, it's still very hot.  Another great reason to buy one of these (if you haven't already) is that for every one bought in the U.S. (and I assume other countries), one is donated to a woman from the African villages where cooking is done traditionally over open fires, which fill their homes with smoke and cause health problems.  With the Wonderbag, there is less deforestation, as they can use the fire only to bring the food to a boil 5 minutes, then put it into the 'Bag and forget about it while they're gone to the fields or jobs for the day.  They can come back to a smokeless house and a pot of hot food for their dinner.  It makes it easy to plan ahead.
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Of course, these weren't invented when Esau was around!  But at least he could have planned ahead and had something ready, right?  It's not as if he didn't know how to cook!  His father Isaac asked him to "..go out...and hunt some wild game for me.  prepare me the kind of tasty food I like and bring it to me to eat."  (Genesis 27: 3-4)  He must have known he'd come back from hunting all tired and hungry!
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I found this verse in Isaiah that I don't remember having read before.  Talking of what lies in store for those who oppose His people, he says "...as when a hungry man dreams that he is eating, but he awakens, and his hunger remains; as when a thirsty man dreams that he is drinking, but he awakens faint, with his thirst unquenched.  So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion."  (29:8) So...they will find that their dreams of glory and conquest will remain just that: dreams.  Their hunger and thirst for these un-eternal things will always be unsatisfied.  These nations will think they have planned ahead, only to find that it was all in vain. They trust the wrong source.

It's a constant point of gratitude that we can depend on our God, our Source, to supply our needs.  "Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."  (Psalm 107: 8-9)  And we know that it's not only physical hunger and thirst that He satisfies!

Opening our hearts to His love is like opening up the Wonderbag and breathing in the delicious aroma, the promise of a hot, tasty meal...ready to fill our souls with "good things"...ready to wrap us in His comfort and warmth!

Battles on the Bridge (a poem)

My husband and I are going through days in which we need the encouragement of this timely reminder.  It's not always easy.  But there's always HOPE when we hold His hand.   







                                      Battles on the Bridge
               
               Eternity's spotlight o'er Golgotha's ridge
               highlights Calvary's Carpenter's blood-carven bridge,

               one-and-only true access to God.  Mark it well.
              There's no other escape route from Lucifer's hell,

              so he hovers, and hassles and harries the one
              who determines to walk o'er the bridge toward the Son.

              On this bridge, oft my struggles keep feet from firm ground,
              but unbreakable guardrails protect all around.

              The path can get slippery and strewn with debris,
              but my sure-footed Savior says, "Hold on to Me."

              Should I still choose to to turn from the bridge and let go,
              I would lose by default, giving in to my foe,

              a foolishness born of discouragement's seed,
              of forgetting the victory Christ's blood guaranteed.

              For Eternity's spotlight o'er Golgotha's ridge
              highlights Calvary's Carpenter's blood-carven bridge,

              one-and-only true access to God's strength to cope.
              Why, then, quit?  My soul knows He's its sole source of hope.

              So long as my heart trusts the truth of His might,
              I've no reason to falter for fear of the fight.

              And as long as His hand heals the hurts I sustain,
              I've no reason to panic at pressure and pain.

              So, as far as the quitting before battles' done...
              don't even dare think it - God's already won!

           *************************************************************Becky Rhon

Your "fights" may differ from our (which are mainly health and ministry issues), but you, too can have HOPE when you hold His hand!

I bet God's refrigerator's never empty, Mom!

His expression says it all.  "Mom!  This is a disaster!  Where's all the food?  I'm hungry!"

At 8 months, Dan had a healthy appetite and seemed dismayed to see an empty refrigerator!  The house we rented during our years in Australia was an old one, and the fridge supplied by the landlord was an old model that had to be de-frosted and cleaned out regularly...which is what I was doing when I took this picture. (I didn't mind...appliances were way too expensive for us to get a new one at the time.)

Several years later, Dan approached me one afternoon, bent over, with his little arms clutching his tummy, and groaned, "I'm dying of hunger!"  (Actually, he said, "¡Me muero de hambre!"  because he didn't speak English yet.)  I guess he thought that adding a touch of drama would ensure a rapid response!

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For the first few years of their lives, our kids look to us when they're hungry or thirsty, with total confidence in our ability to feed them.  (They might not get exactly what they were hoping for at the moment, but they will get food.)

I've been watching news reports on the refugees crossing the Mediterranean.  It's heart-breaking to see them suffering.  It must be one of the most difficult things ever for the parents when they have to watch their little children go hungry, and not have anything to give them.  (I'd be devastated!)

Physical hunger and thirst will persist for as long as this old worlds exists.  God is aware of every person who suffers.  We don't always understand how and why things happen as they do...but He does.   Sometimes He uses us to be his hands.  Jesus describes the final judgement, and how His followers will say, "'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to eat?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for Me.'"  (Matthew 25:37,40)

On a much higher, eternal plane are spiritual hunger and thirst.  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled."  (Matthew 5:6)

"Then Jesus declared, 'I am the bread of life.  He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never thirst.'"  (John 6:35)  Like little children, we can go to Him with total confidence in his ability - and desire - to feed our souls and spirits.  (No extra "touch of drama" necessary!)
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Isn't it wonderful to know that in Heaven we won't have to worry about these things anymore?  Because there  "They will neither hunger nor thirst."  (Isaiah 49:10)  The supply of all the kinds of nourishment we may need will be never-ending, and always available!