Chuck’s World

by Susanne Scheppmann

“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 (NASB)

Devotion:

I pulled in the driveway grateful to be home after a five-day conference. I pressed the remote and the garage door rolled open. Bloodied water trickled toward me as I stepped from my car. I knew immediately what had happened – the freezer had gone out. All the meat had thawed and the bloody, watery juices had drained out of the freezer into a maroon stream that slowly ran toward the driveway. Yuck.

Mark, my husband, was out of town. I stood in my garage disgusted and slightly freaked out. Of course, I called my husband for help. I didn’t care if it was late and there was a three-hour time difference between us.

He patiently said, “Check the G.F.I.”

“The what?”

“The ground fault interrupter. It’s in the electrical outlet where the freezer is plugged in.”

Sure enough, the G.F.I. had tripped and in response the freezer shut down. Nothing was technically wrong with the freezer, except now it had hundreds of dollars of rotting food sitting inside it. Because of a tripped G.F.I., my evening turned from one of anticipated relaxation to hours of vexing cleanup.

Isn’t our faith sometimes like that, too? We are believing and trusting the Lord, when all of a sudden something unexpected happens – our own G.F.I (God Faith Interrupter) gets tripped. In response, our faith shuts down and we melt like a gallon of vanilla ice cream in a hot garage.

It’s certainly difficult to understand the twists and turns in our journey of faith. When a God Faith Interrupter occurs, we grope in the darkness for something to reassure us that regardless of our circumstance, the Lord is loving, merciful, and He will guide us. God Faith Interrupters might shake our faith. They can be scary. They certainly will be unexpected and uncomfortable, but the Lord holds the charge of power to uphold our faith even when it shuts down temporarily. We must turn to Him.

Express to the Lord your fear of a “God Faith Interrupter” tripping you up. Then thank Him that He will be with you, showing you mercy and loving-kindness, no matter what happens in the days ahead. Then resolve to stay plugged into Him, no matter what.

by Dennis and Barbara Rainey

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Do you really believe God works for good in all things?

Being able to make that statement begins with acknowledging that God knows what He is doing. He is not only all-powerful, or sovereign, but also all-knowing. Even when pain and tragedy strike, we can trust God to know what is best for our good.

The problem is we don’t know His plan. We would like to know the reason for our trials, but God doesn’t always reveal it to us. We wonder how He could possibly cause this or that problem to work for good.

But through Scripture and the natural order, God gives us a hint that it can happen, even when we can’t see how. Jesus said:

I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit (John 15:1,2).

During the last several years, our own family has endured several such prunings. Barbara has weathered major heart surgery, the removal of a benign lump in her breast, five debilitating sinus infections, sinus surgery and Lyme’s disease. And I have previously told of our son Samuel’s bout with muscular dystrophy.

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I grow a little weary from so many snips from pruning shears in my life.

But I really love the fruit bearing. While I wish it could happen without the pruning, life just doesn’t work that way. Our family has experienced growth from the pruning. It has enriched my ministry to other families who hurt.

Scientists don’t fully understand the pruning/fruit-bearing connection in the plant world. Why should I insist on understanding it in human lives? It’s more important to bear fruit than to understand the pruning process.

This is the Sweet Peppers Deli again.

I needed to get out, so I decided to go take a walk. These photographs were taken without a tripod, but I thought they came out pretty well. It wasn’t New York City, but it was a nice walk.

Apple Store and Williams Sonoma

Clock Tower (No Clock Yet)

Sweet Peppers Deli

Sweet Peppers Logo

The Mission of the Make A Wish Foundation:

We grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy.

Today we participated in a walk-a-thon for the Make A Wish Foundation. The last I heard, we had raised enough money to grant the wishes of four children. I thought that was pretty exciting!

So many days, I let the problems in my life get me down. Can you imagine what a child and their family must go through when they are dealing with a life threatening illness? I can’t. I am blessed with two perfectly healthy children. However, so many children aren’t and are required to be brave beyond their years. These wishes attempt to bring just a bit of joy into their lives and give them a break from their daily struggles.

If you want to learn more about the Make A Wish Foundation, then go here.

I took this picture today, while at a fundraiser for Make A Wish, and it reminded me of the freedom that all of us have here in the United States. I think most of us take that freedom for granted.

As we go into the up and coming presidential election, think about and cherish the opportunity you have to voice your opinion and vote for the candidate of your choice.

God Bless America!

Hot Chocolate at Angelina’s in Paris, France

flickr Photo Link

Rue de Rivoli (Paris, France)

flickr Photo Link

Café Marly at Night

flickr Photo Link