A thought for your day...

Used with permission by Christian Quotes 

Press on!

Encouraging our Siblings

As a big sister to five of the most wonderful brothers and one precious sister, I have plenty of opportunities to encourage my siblings. Each day the Lord gives me with my family is a priceless gift – and I thank him for both.

Abigail and Micah

Here are some practical ways sisters can encourage their siblings.  There are so many avenues you can travel down, but I hope my ideas and thoughts will only be a starting point for you.

-Memorize Scripture with your siblings.  Encourage them in personal Bible reading.  I know many of you are already doing that.  One way my siblings and I like to get into God’s Word together is by participating in the National Bible Bee.

-Praise them!  “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (Prov. 25:11). Words are so powerful – we can’t take them back after they have been spoken – why not say words that will build them up?!

-For siblings of younger ages, tell them stories or read to them.  My 2 year old brother, Micah, loves to cuddle in my lap have me read a story to him. Sometimes even my siblings that are older will gather round to hear also!  You can also play with them.  Micah loves for me to build him big train tracks or chase him in a game of tag.  It’s also fun to sing together.

-Have a party, just because!  Invite them to a special time together – it could be one-on-one or all together. Have a special snack and drink, maybe play a game they enjoy.

-Take an interest in their activities. A building project with the brothers, a little bread loaf your sister made or even a simple drawing your 2 or 3 year old sibling made are opportunities to praise them!

-Including them in your activities is another wonderful way to build relationships. They will be thrilled to be doing “big people things”. If you’re washing windows, get them a rag and let them help!  Letting a little sibling help you with a baking project would make them so happy.

-Give them little letters and notes. I like to write little notes with scripture or a word of encouragement or praise to them. Put them somewhere where they’ll be surprised – like on their pillow.

-Do a special project or activity together. For brothers, this might mean playing baseball or Frisbee with them, building towers together with Popsicle sticks and hot glue, going with them on hikes or ATV rides in the woods… And for sisters, you could do a baking project together, card making or do her hair a special way.  If you do not sleep in the same room, let her “camp out” on your floor once in a while.

-Give them hugs and tell them “I love you” often. You never know how much more time you have with them – treasure the moments! It’s so precious to have them return the smiles and hugs.

There are many, many more ways to encourage and bless our siblings. Branch out and find new ideas and activities and make lasting memories with them.

May Jesus bless you abundantly – Press on, sisters!

Why I Love Doing the Dishes

     Each person in a home has their own job or chore.

     Mine is doing the dishes.

     One of the worst jobs, I used to think. Because no matter the time of day, the day of the week, no matter whether the day was busy or quiet, no matter the place in infinity, no matter how I feel - there are dishes to do!
     Thus, having the job of keeping up with the dishes of seven people may have helped me learning some responsibility. And although I am thankful for that, it’s not the reason I enjoy the chore.

     The reason is time.

“The kitchen sink” by Alan Cleaver is licensed under CC BY 2.0

     Time to think, reflect, consider, remember. Time when my hands are busy and my mind and heart are free to fly as they will. So they do.
     They fly through the memories of the day. Little memories and large memories. Sweet and bitter.
     Then, running over the memory, my mind considers.

     It draws its conclusions.
     And plans the future.

     Trying to look past my reflection in the window to see the stars at night, and past the soap spots to see the seagulls by day, my heart is singing.

     This is wonderful.

-Rhoda

Why Your Blog is Like Your Life

     Good morning, friends!
     Since I’ve only just started writing for JOJ, I thought it would be good to tell you about

My philosophy of blogging

     First off, I’m talking about blogs like JOJ and my own blog. They are public blogs, not private blogs or public websites. I view blogs like ours as places on the internet where Person A publishes information and Person B reads it. It is a mainly an impersonal way of communicating with other people.
     I say impersonal because it is not in person. When Person A publishes a post, she does not know who will read it. Many of the Persons B who read the post will not know Person A personally.

“Underwood” by Ian Livesey is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

     Because I don’t know who is reading this post, I cannot tailor it perfectly. However, I have a good idea that most of you are unmarried Christian young ladies. :) If someone comments on this post, it may be only the first or second time I have come into contact with her. Thus, what she says may come across in a very different way from in that which she intended it! So, if you don’t understand what another young lady has said, either ask her what she meant, or leave it alone. Keep personal conversations, which are likely to contain misunderstandings, to emails.
     I’m not saying “Don’t post controversial stuff.” I’m saying, keep the controversial conversations/arguments which often follow to emails. Most bloggers have a contact page, so use that to keep the argument private.
     What you say on your blog is your view, maybe not mine. What I’m saying here is my view, maybe not yours. And sometimes it’s best to just walk away and leave people alone. We aren’t going to agree on everything!

     Because I don’t know who is reading this post, I don’t know how they understood it. I’ll never know who read it, who was encouraged by it, blessed by it, etc. (Unless you leave a comment telling me!)

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform; (read the rest here)

     Now to my second point:

Why your blog is like your life

     Because you never know who was watching! You don’t know who was reading your blog post, and you don’t know who was watching you hand out the crackers at morning tea on Sunday. You’ll never know who learned something from something you did. And that has two implications:
     First, you should always be on your best behaviour. Not the most important reason for doing that, but still it is one.
     Second, you should be on your best behaviour just in case someone is blessed by it. You never know what God will choose to use for anything!

     We never know what the next day will bring. We never know who has been encouraged by our blog. We never know who we have blessed by our lives. We don’t know so much - but

God knows everything.

     And He works all things for our good.
     Isn’t that worth praising Him for?

-Rhoda

Guest Post :: Gleaning Gems of Wisdom

Gleaning Gems of Wisdom

-Courtney Minica-

Credit: Minica family

The deep furrows traced on her gentle hand reminded me of a fresh-plowed field of sod. As she cuddled my newborn brother, I marveled at the difference time and trials had made in her wrinkled skin, once so fresh and soft. I held his chubby hand to hers, and realized what a priceless gift I possess in her. I contemplated the difference in their palms; one life just dawning, and the other growing dusky and dim. My mind wandered through all the sweet memories I have of our special relationship...

...”Dranny, tan do outside?” the little girl with bouncing curls begged eagerly. ” See, shoes!” “We just went outside ten minutes ago!” the indulgent granny laughed. “Are you sure you want to go again?” “Me twime on wocks adain. Pwease, Dranny? Me weally want do outside.”…

...”Wook Mama – dere’s Dranny!” shouted the excited child from the shopping cart, pointing towards an elderly lady with white hair who vaguely resembled the said granny. “Shhh, that’s not Granny, sweetheart,” remonstrated the laughing mother. “Dranny, Dranny, hi Dranny!”

Sad indeed was I when the lady didn’t turn out to be “Dranny” after all…

Though I remember little of those days when Granny babysat me, the few memories I have of them are among my most cherished. Even though now I see her less often, I often think how blessed I am to have a great-grandmother still living.

Granny was born during the Great Depression. She enjoyed a relatively peaceful life, but she did not lack her share of struggle. Throughout the course of her many years, Granny began to doubt some of the religious beliefs her family held, and searched the Scriptures to find the truth. She eventually came to see many of the traditions and doctrines her church and family held in a new light, and as a result she became estranged from both. She sacrificed much for her faith. Like silver, Granny was tried, and was found worthy.

Granny married a Minica in 1941. God blessed them with three children, one of whom is my grandfather.

Each time I talk with Granny, I am impressed by her godliness and how God has worked through her life. She is almost 92 years old – I know that every day with her is precious.
One memory of Granny that particularly stands out in my mind was at my thirteenth birthday party over a year ago. In our family, we have started a tradition of throwing a womanhood/manhood party for the one turning thirteen. One of the highlights of the event is when my parents and other mentors share words of advice and encouragement with us, and invite others to do the same. I specifically recall Granny’s words, sitting because she was too weak to stand for long, her loving eyes fixed on mine. She spoke of when she cared for me as a toddler, and how I never wanted anything to eat but bread and peanut butter. She analogized that memory with Matthew 4:4, which speaks of how we should rely on God’s words even more than our daily bread. She encouraged me to always lean on the words of God. I could see how she applied that to her life, which made her words much more meaningful to me.

Thinking through these things as I sat there, I resolved to spend more time with

Granny. I looked thoughtfully at her aged palm that had soothed teething babies, hand washed laundry, cooked thousands of meals, cleaned hundreds of messes, held the Book of Books for hours upon hours, been folded in prayer, and I wondered. I posed the little baby hand next to hers, each one so very different and special. I decided to take advantage of this great gift from the Lord, and use the little precious time I have with my only remaining great-grandparent. Now, while I am young, and my spiritual “skin” is still fresh and unscarred by the world, to be able to interview the years that have gone before me, and gather what wisdom I can from the lessons she learned in her life – this is not a privilege to be taken lightly.

Though many of you who read these thoughts may not have living great-grandparents, or some of you even living grandparents, I urge you to learn from your parents and other elders! When they are gone, their years of wisdom will be gone with them, never to be found again. Question them, unearth long-buried lessons from their failures and their triumphs, their struggles and their victories. Soak in their stories, never get tired of listening to them speak about their lives. Do not spare any pains in order to learn as many things from them as you can! You will be glad you did.

...........................................

Courtney Minica (14) is a daughter of the greatest King, and her greatest desire is to serve Him. Her hobbies include babysitting, crocheting, painting, playing piano and participating in the National Bible Bee.

Enjoy the Moment

I wish Mummy would hurry up and have the baby.

I wish it was teatime already... that chicken cooking smells soooo good!

I wish the lawnmower outside would quit making that horrible noise.

I wish it was time for camp again.

I wish I had lots of chocolate.

I wish I was 16. 15 is such a boring age.


I want you to do a little exercise for me. Think back to a time when you wished something would hurry up and happen. Maybe you wished it was time to go away on holiday, for example. Whatever it was, did it happen?

Did wishing it would happen make it happen any faster?

The correct answer is, of course, No.

Now don't get me wrong. I am looking forward to when Mummy has our precious new baby, and I am looking forward to a time when I have lots of chocolate. :) But there is a perceivable difference between looking forward to something and wishing away our days.

Here's an example for you. Right now I wish I was older and married and had children of my own. But guess what - Mum is older and married and has children of her own... and she says it happened really quickly!!

Before you know it, the time you were wishing for will have come... and gone.

So here's my point. Enjoy the moment. 

Jon Sullivan

Don't spend your life wishing you were the next year older,  it was the next month later etc! There will come a time when you will look back and wonder why you wished away the best years of your life.

Not meaning, of course, that the best years of your life are not yet to come. But isn't it nice to be the age you are? Isn't it nice to have some time to stop and smell the roses? Isn't it nice being who you are, where you are?


Ecclesiastes 11:9 says:

Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes.

Enjoy every moment!

Blessings

~Bonnie