Who do you trust???

A pastor had been on a long flight between church conferences. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten Your Seat Belts.

 

Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened."
 
As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us."

And then the storm broke . . .The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if were about to crash.
 


The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.
 
"Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly.
 
"Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. 

When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes.
 

It was not surprising that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, our pastor lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.
 
The child replied, "Cause my Daddy's the pilot, and he's taking me home."

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky.
 
Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot... He is in control and taking us home. 

I choose to trust in the Lord, My God. You know I love ya - Don

The Greatest Job God Ever Created!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. Colossians 3:23 (TEV)

I am very thankful for parents the demonstrated for my sister and I what it meant to give it all in hard work. I saw two people work very hard in everything they did. We did not have much, yet it did not stop mom and dad from working hard and making the most of what we did have.

I am also thankful that they brought us along for the journey. We were never forced to labor, sure we had our chores and had to help out and do our part, but it was not like we were treated poorly, it was just the way it was. We were "Cranes" and anything less than our best would not lived up to our best for the family. It carried over in our school work, our volunteer work, and especially our work at the church.

Melinda Fillingum writes;

"After working with a title of "minister" for many years, I now work outside the church as a mental-health counselor. Even so, I don't feel any less a minister; my approach to this job is that of a Christian serving the Lord. Each person I see is a child of God. When I work with that in mind, my job becomes my ministry. Whatever job we have, whether a church job or a job in a secular field, we have opportunities to share the love of God.

In my current job, I see many people who would never enter a church. Because of this my ministry is more far-reaching than before. One day a co-worker asked me how I could treat our clients, who at times are belligerent, with such patience and kindness. I answered, "Because I'm doing it for God."

Each of us can look for opportunities to work for God in the way we do daily tasks."

This also carries over into what we do for pleasure, for a career, and for what we offer in worship. Everything we do becomes the ministry. It is also a ministry to be a parent. I am sitting next to our newest family member, Nicholas and two very special children, Matthew and Alice, are asleep in the next room. They are very precious and all three are a great deal of work. In fact, I think every parent would agree that parenting is hard work!

God chose to save the world by becoming a father. He already was the father of all mankind in creating us, yet he chose to come as a baby and grow into a man that would eventually be willing to go to the cross for my sin and your sin. As a father, God would redeem his fallen creation with the ultimate sacrifice...His Son. His redemption was also hard work. Yet, he was willing to do do the work, sacrifice for the work, and be willing to dedicate everything for the work. He truly was an awesome example.

I am thankful for good parents that were dedicated to parenting. I am thankful for a God that is the ultimate in parenting examples. I pray for wisdom, strength, and patience in being a good parent in return. Being a parent is the greatest job God ever created and I pray I never take advantage of the gift.

Working hard, striving to please Him, and loving you, Don