Time doesn't just tick.

God made time. Have you ever really stopped to think about that? Although we know that God exist outside of space and time, he did create our sense of time, years, seasons, months, days, minutes. 

Genesis 1:14 - "Then God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night. They will serve as signs for festivals and for days and years."

God gave us signs so that we could mark the passing of time, look back on that time, even to have dead lines. Crazy huh? God makes the sun descend in the evening to show you that, yes, that midnight due date is coming. 

God gives us time like he gives anything else. He gives and he takes away. "Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Praise the name of Yahweh." (Job 1:21) The time he has allotted to us is precious. And some he has allotted more than others. 

He is almighty and able to manipulate time. He blessed Caleb with a longer day to battle for the Israelites. Joshua 10:12-14 "On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of Israel: “Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun stood still and the moon stopped until the nation took vengeance on its enemies. Isn’t this written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting almost a full day.  There has been no day like it before or since, when the Lord listened to the voice of a man, because the Lord fought for Israel. Then Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp at Gilgal."

So if God provides all we need, and he has also provided with markers of time, then God has given us all the time we need. Do we use that time as well as we use other resources the Lord has given us? 

The Bible speaks in may places about the way we use those things with which God has blessed us.
Luke 12:42-44 "And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions."

Are you a faithful steward of the precious little time God has given you? Do you live in the urgency of the Gospel? And even in meeting the most seemingly insignificant of deadlines, do you seek to glorify God with efficiency and punctuality?

An Old Table and an Old Memory

One of my very favorite Christmas memories tooks place at my grandmother's house. Every year we would go to Granny and B-bob's (my grandfather) house for family Christmas on my mother's side of the family. I would play with my younger cousins while we watched my uncles and older cousins play football in the yard. Everyone of us had at least one special ornament we would look for on Granny's tree. It was special because it was there just for us. 

Then we would open presents and the children would disappear with their new toys while the adults played a game of dirty santa. We anxiously awaited the day we would be able to join them. Although probably not as anxiously as we awaited the day we were taller than Granny. That's when you could have your food in the living room with the grown ups. :P

My grandfather passed away when I was just seven years old, so this memory is one from when I as quite little. I was probably five at the oldest. B-bob stooped down and scooped my onto his lap, then did the same to my little brother. We each sat on one of his knees as B-bob started to sing. We had these large bells in our hands. I am not even sure where we got them, but as my grandfather belted out the words to Jingle Bells, we offered him the greatest and loudest accompaniment we could afford. 

And that's all I remember. That simple memory has kept my grandfather's face in the forefront of my mind every Christmas season for the last 14 years. I still remember the feeling of his old but steady hands under my armpits, and the jolt of upward movement from  he floor to his slender knee. 

Ministry Report: Fall Newsletter 2012

The first newsletter of Savannah Barber, Missionary Candidate for Child Evangelism Fellowship, is now available. If you would like to see it, you may do so by clicking here. :)

TADAAA! :P

A current newsletter will be sent out quarterly, or every three months. It will include such information as my involvement in various ministry activities, how God is blessing my ministry currently, and any prayer requests or needs of the ministries. 

If you would like to contact me about receiving the newsletter in the mail, or you would like more information about Child Evangelism Fellowship or getting involved with my ministry, feel free to contact me at Savannah.barber@cefonline.com. Additional contact information is available in the left hand column of the newsletter. 

Have a great day and God Bless.

In Christ's love and mercy, 

Savannah Barber

What would you do for someone else's freedom?

 

 In light of Veteran's Day, I think a lot of people have freedom on their minds. 

We are celebrating a day of remembrance for those who have fought and died so that we could enjoy the freedoms we enjoy while living in this country. The many who are willing to put their lives on the line for people they don't even know. 

I remember when my sister got married in Mexico. My brother and her dad were on our way through the airport to leave for Mexico, when we saw a great line of men and women in camouflage passing by us. Who would have thought the simple words, "Welcome home" would taste so sweet coming from our mouths? But that was nothing compared to the gratitude they showed in return. 

As I was driving around today (fighting to make my defrost work so I wouldn't kill anyone between banks) I heard the song linked below. It's forceful chorus and inspiring verses got me really thinking about freedom. 

What would you do for someone else's freedom? This is a thought that pulls our focus away from ourselves. In a way we are asking not "What am I worth?" but "What is that lady in the drive thru worth?" or "How much is that guy that almost took off the front of my truck in the parking worth?" Because even these people have their freedom fought for daily just like yours. 

So what would you do for their freedom? Would you leave your home and your family for an extended amount of time? Would you venture to a foreign land in which you and the culture surrounding you don't understand one another? Would you spend days or weeks without proper bath, food, or sleep? Would you put yourself on the receiving end of a bullet? Or ridicule? Or a vicious torture device constructed of leather and metal? Or a crown of thorns? Or a cross?

He reighns and He would like you to stop bickering.

Face it people, we do not live in a theocracy. America was founded as a haven, freedom of (and from) religion. We live in a country with a system set up, one we learn about extensively in history class, that allows for the election of leaders. 

That being said, while God is control of our lives, man runs this nation. We live in a  fallen world. No leader can be perfect, and too often we forget that the man in the white house, is just that. A man. He is a person too. You aren't just electing a plan,  you are electing a person. 

God rules over his children from within. His Spirit lives in us and guides us. 

“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is Mine. This is why I told you that He takes from what is Mine and will declare it to you." (John 16:12-15)

His Spirit urges us to live in love and mercy toward one another. In no way is one us better than the other, weather by opinion, morality, view point. We are all equal in our sin,  and, for the children of God, equal in our sanctification. Proverbs 10:12 states "Hatred stirs up conflicts, but love covers all offenses." Put aside your snarky comments, your doom and gloom posts, your predictions of a downward spiral. The world is not ending because of the election, the world is not a bad place because of the president. The world is a bad place because of sin. 

Live in love, and let the living Spirit work through you to love even those who, God forbid, think differently than you do. That doesn't necessarily make them wrong, nor does it make them evil. God loves his creations. You should love them too. 

Breakfast of Champions -- a Legacy

This post is kind of a mixture of a few different things. First I kind of just want to brag about a culinary success that has been a long time coming. 

Let me introduce you to possibly one of the most unreasonably difficult but indescribably delicious meals of my childhood: EggnToast. If you have ever been to cracker barrel, you may know this as Eggs in Baskets. 

My mom made this all the time, it was always, by far, my favorite food EVER. This meal quite possibly defines my childhood. I remember my favorite glass to drink out of when I was very young: an old jelly jar that had mother goose and her goslings following her around the glass. Consequently, this glass was also the perfect size for cutting the middles out of the "baskets," also my favorite job to help with in the kitchen. Anytime mom asked what I wanted for breakfast, my answer was quite predictable. But I could never master cooking the egg just right or keeping the creation from falling apart. 

I also grew up understanding this as a sort of family heirloom recipe. This is partially because I VERY rarely met anyone who had even heard of it, and also because mom would always tell me about how Pop (my grandad on her side) created this recipe while he was serving in the military. So, yes, Cracker Barrell, I was eating "eggs in baskets" before you thought they were cool. :P *she said haughtily from behind her hipster glasses*

But today, I got a lovely craving (thanks, baby) for eggntoast and decided to accept the challenge. And what I got? Three perfect pieces (and one broken piece of toast. Our bread is a little stale.) But all in all a success. :) And, man, were they delicious.

But this also called to mind the words of a wise women I heard speak on the descendents of Cain a couple of Wednesdays ago. The women who gives the lectures at BSF said "It isn't when you pass on, but what you pass on."

The passage in question? The Line of Cain

LITL: See Instruction Manual

Unfortunately there are many things that do not come with instructions. For some people this isn't a huge problem. Take my husband for example. He can take a look at some pieces or the inside of almost anything and figure out how it works and how to fix it. 

Me? Not so much. I like to do research and be prepared going into a situation. I have to feel like I can control the situation if I want.

Lucky for me, God knows this. He created me. he knows how I tick. Is that an excuse? Not a chance. God often asks me to step out in faith, blindly,with out question, and I have found great joy in doing so. 

But every once in a while I remember that God also gave us specific instructions. Very recently, I studied the passage of the flood in Genesis. I would never have imagined how much it would mean to me to read through what seems at first to be obscure detail on building a massive boat, details I would never need. I prefer canoes, anyway. Less pieces. 

But for someone who gets terrified and incredibly discouraged when I find myself in the middle of a situation for which I am competely (or seemingly so) unqualified, details nad instructions pull from me a sigh of relief. 

Lately, I have been stuck in this terrifying sense of ineptitude. And it wasn't until reading through those specific instructions given to Noah that I realized that God had been pointing me towards the instruction I needed all along. Laid on my heart had been the answer I was avoiding. 

I can't imagine the that Noah found his task easy. I am sure this job God gave him was nothing if not overwhelming. In the same way, looking over the instruction God has given me can also be quite overwhelming.  But hey. God could have just told him to build a really big boat. I'm sure that would have been maddening. 

So I take courage from the fact that God did give me instructions. And I am eventually going to man up and read them. :P (hey give a girl a break.)

Genesis 6:9 "Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God."

Psalm 37:4,7 "Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass ... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him."

What instructions has God given you? Have you manned up and read the manual yet? What's keeping you?

Savy Shopping: First Baby Stock Up over 50% off

Not bad for a first time.Yes, this was my first trip couponing for baby stuff. I think the worst part was thinking about just how many diapers and stuff we're going to need. yeah let's don't go there. And now I have a better idea of what to look for, what prices to expect, and what coupons are out there. (I heart P&G). But like I said, Not bad. 

What are your favorite websites for saving on baby stuff?

$65 worth of diapers and wipes for *drum roll* $26. That's about $0.10 per diaper! Plus the free wipes :)