90&9 - Devotions

4 a.m.

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 16:11:37 -0400

March 19, 2007
By Kent d Curry

            It’s 4 a.m.
            “Daddy, I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
            It’s 4 a.m. and I am very awake.
I ask if he’s stood over the toilet. Yes. But he doesn’t feel so good.
“Well, then let’s go . . .”
            I get out of bed. He climbs into bed--and promptly throws up. I scramble him into the bathroom. While he finishes retching, I wet a wash rag, turn on the light, and start cleaning up.
            When it subsides, he speaks dreaded words, “Daddy, will you pray for me?”
            It’s 4 a.m., a scientifically proven low-on-faith hour. My mind is not with God’s. Still, I agree.
            As he leans over the toilet I pray without feeling or inflection whatever tired words tumble from my mind, though I do think to include a scripture about healing.
“I feel better already!” he exclaims. There is no color in his face.
            It’s 4 a.m.
I explain everyone feels better right after they’ve emptied their stomach--then it usually gets worse. I might as well have told him, “God didn’t answer that prayer, you just think He did.”
I tuck him in. He feels even better. My stomach feels queasy. Maybe I’ve contracted whatever he has.
It’s 4 a.m. Anything’s possible.
He wakes up at 7:10 a.m. per usual, talking excitedly. Soon he’s motoring around the house. He is fine. He was healed.
I still feel numb.
Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me…” (Matthew 19:14). Proclaiming a prayer as ineffectual is a form of forbidding, yet Jesus also shared that it only takes “Faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Matthew 17:20) for Him to act. Scripture says nothing about the pray-er feeling powerful, anointed, or awake. It says pray in faith. Maybe the faith just has to be in the one being prayed for. Maybe I should just obey and pray.
Even at 4 a.m.

The Ugly

Sat, 10 Mar 2007 19:51:16 -0500

March 12, 2007
By Tiffini Countaway

He always sees things differently--my dad. He’s a glass-half-full kind of guy. Last week, we were running an errand when I noticed and commented on the ugliness of the trees along the side of the road. Winter is in full swing and the trees have taken quite a beating. Several ice storms in our area have caused damage. The trees have lost all their leaves and their color.

Proverbs 31 Woman--Not Me!

Fri, 02 Mar 2007 16:52:59 -0500

March 5, 2007
By Tiffini Countaway

A Proverbs 31 woman I am not. I have never laid my hand to a spindle or made myself coverings of tapestry. I have never bought a field or planted a vineyard. But when I married a little over two years ago I had such high hopes for myself as a wife. I’d had good examples, I’d read books, and I just knew I was going to be good at it.

Just a Kid

Fri, 23 Feb 2007 21:54:59 -0500

By Tiffini Countaway

I hate being an adult! I say this to my husband about once a week. With all the responsibilities of working, keeping a house, family, church, and so on it can be overwhelming at times.

Preschool Lessons: Surprise 10th Commandment

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 12:24:09 -0500

February 19, 2007
By Shirley McDonald

Lessons from the preschooler?? How can it be that Lane is no longer a toddler, but already a “big” boy of 4 years old? oHo This articulate, questioning, and precocious boy sometimes amazes me with his insight. What a joy to learn from him!

The Salt Truck

Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:28:51 -0500

February 12, 2007
By Leah Taber

So I learned my lesson this morning.

I run out of my house, sprinting to my car like a mad woman; I was running about 5-10 minutes late, which isn’t life threatening but just enough to get my adrenaline pumping and to whisper prayers under my breath that I would meet my desk before my boss did. Usually traffic is pretty steady in Farmington, MI and there’s always some way to beat the light.

A Matter of Perspective

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:22:14 -0500

January 29, 2007
By Tiffini Countaway

“It’s the little things that frustrate me the most.”

I was referring to all the challenges we faced in dealing with our house. We had lived there only a year, and everything from the floors to the appliances had either been replaced or new parts had been added. I was telling a friend about my irritations when he challenged, “But you don’t know what could have really happened.”

Heart Healthy

Fri, 19 Jan 2007 12:55:45 -0500

January 22, 2007
By Theresa Huff

Recently I spent several hours at Texas Children's Hospital with my cousin. His 19-year-old daughter had received her second heart transplant earlier that week. There are so many hours spent preparing for the big event--time spent in the doctor's office, time in the laboratory, time spent with counselors helping you deal with the overall situation. I have no idea how I would respond to having to be on a ventilator, three chest tubes, a central line, oxygen and many more wires and tubes that I can’t explain. I wouldn’t make the perfect patient.

Sitting there in the waiting room, my mind began to run in the spiritual realm. Heart transplant . . .think about it! When we become a part of God's family, we have a brand new heart. The old, sick, and diseased heart that is full of worldly pressures, hate, stressors, and distress begins to beat in a different way. The hard heart that God spent hours of counseling and talking to is gone. That old, now empty, cavity is filled with a brand new heart and healthy things--things that will count for all eternity.

Being human, days go by and life changes, even hits us with the unexpected. Our excitement over the new organ begins to wane. We begin to feel weak and worn down and quite possibly need an attitude adjustment. Our anti-rejection drug, God's holy Word, encourages us to pray, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:10). When we in all honesty do that, we begin to hear the beating of our heart. Once again we feel the warmth of a healthy heart.

Iraq Prayers and the ‘To Do’ List

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:29:36 -0500

January 15, 2007
By Randy Bailey

As a dad, I have had to learn how to let go of the hands of all three of our sons as they began their own journey in life. It was one of the hardest things I have ever gone through because I have always enjoyed their company and we have bonded closely over the years. They are much more than just sons to me. They have always been a big part of my life, and we have always been a close-knit family.

Tiles, Grout, and God

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 22:17:56 -0500

By Randy Bailey

January 8, 2007

My wife has wanted me to put some stone tile around our garden tub in the master bedroom, so I decided this would be the weekend I would get it done for her. We went to our neighborhood home improvement store on Saturday morning and picked out the tile and some matching grout. After measuring the tub to find the center of the wall, I began applying the adhesive to the wall and started the first row.

Keep Your Hand on the Rail

Fri, 08 Dec 2006 12:43:42 -0500

By Tiffini Countaway

“Keep your hand on the rail!”

These were the words that I heard as a child from my father every time I attempted to walk down a flight of stairs. He always made sure I was paying attention and holding on when I went down so I wouldn’t fall. From a child’s point of view stairs are a perfect plaything, but from a parent’s perspective they can be dangerous. One miscalculation or a moment of distraction could turn into a bump on the head or a scuffed-up knee and plenty of tears.

The Little Things

Sat, 25 Nov 2006 12:41:34 -0500

By Tiffini Countaway

During the Thanksgiving season, we take time to reflect on things for which we are thankful. We usually start with family, friends, health, job - and thus begins our list.

It’s Crystal Clear: Imperfections Create The Beauty

Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:10:16 -0500

by Gabe Reese
November 13, 2006

“He hath made everything beautiful in his time....” Ecclesiastes 3:11.

It came to me in an 8th grade Earth Science class. I’m an ESL (English Second Language) para for immigrant students at our public school and we’re learning about the formation of minerals. God’s creation never ceases to amaze me and I found great inspiration in the way He makes crystals.

Lessons from the Grand-dog: Fear of Frogs

Fri, 27 Oct 2006 15:57:40 -0400

By Shirley McDonald

My grand-dog Biggio, named for the Astros player Craig Biggio (hey, this is Bradley’s dog), is 50+ pounds of lovable, handsome English bulldog. He is stocky, with a huge chest and a massive jaw. Most of the time his bottom teeth are visible, adding to his ferocious expression and appearance.

How Hungry Are You?

Thu, 19 Oct 2006 17:53:02 -0400

By Theresa Huff

With today's emphasis on healthy eating, why is it that fast food or soul food or comfort food - with all that fat, calories, and added cholesterol - sounds so much better than green veggies and tofu? The sound of red beans and rice cooked with ham and served with a side of heavily buttered cornbread sounds so much better than grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. Healthwise . . . not so! Even though we tend to lean toward all the “extras,” to be healthy there is a balance we need to maintain—and likely some things we need to sacrifice. This is not our idea of fun, but it can become a necessity. It can become a life or death situation.