I recently went on a medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic. Before signing up, I asked our leader, Dr. Evan Johnson, “Would there be anything for me to do on the trip? I’m not a nurse or pharmacist.” “Oh yes,” he replied and began listing the many options. “I don’t want to go and be a hindrance or dead weight.” He assured me I was fit to make the trip and that I would be used.

Not many days afterward, he called to tell me he already had a job for me. He told me about The Lily House near the SCORE international facility where we would be staying. It is a refuge for former prostitutes and for girls who would be put out of orphanages and government facilities at age sixteen. The only way they could earn a living would be in prostitution if it weren’t for the Lily House rescuing them and teaching them a trade. He wanted me to do an article for The Alabama Baptist. I didn’t tell him the steps required to get an article accepted. I just accepted the assignment. After calling my editor, she said they would love to have the article with pictures.

That assignment just took one day of our trip. When he started taking volunteers for other assignments, I raised my hand when he named evangelism. I feel I could just die and go on to Heaven today after the way God used me and our team. We saw over 600 patients that week, and each one came through our evangelism station. Over 50 prayed to accept Christ; it was my privilege to lead more than 30 of those. I don’t say that pridefully because it was the Holy Spirit working through me. That just might have been to show others there is no age limit for being used by God. The people listened intently as I presented the gospel to them one-on-one most of the time. They were very honest. If I asked if they had the peace of Jesus in their hearts, if they did, the smile and countenance on their faces answered the question before they could word it. They would pat their heart and say, “I’m a Christian.” Some would pray with me to accept, but some would answer later. I even presented the gospel to two men who said they had the duty of leading their families in witchcraft before they could become Christian. I told them that witchcraft is of the devil.  I don’t think they cast a spell on me. If they did, my armor -the Holy Spirit- blocked it.

At eighty-two years old, God’s not through with me yet. I pray he will keep on keeping on as long as He gives me breath. Nothing satisfies a Christian like sharing the peace, joy, and love of Jesus.

Every spring my mom would buy flowers, seeds, or bulbs to plant. When dad gave her money to go shop for them, he would tell her, “Now Willie, get a bunch of the same kind.  They just look better and grow better if there is a group of them.”

As the beginning of spring nears, I thought of his admonitions as I’ve enjoyed seeing the brave little jonquils sticking up their heads.  If you notice, they mostly grow in groups.  It doesn’t matter if they are in a pasture or a yard; the group of them makes a glorious bouquet.  When you pick just one, it doesn’t seem as healthy or vibrant.

That’s when my mind went to church attendance. Yes, I can and do worship out in nature, but do I really grow and glow there by myself? Not really. To be a beautiful garden in God’s sight, we need to flourish there with other Christians

When you ask people why they don’t or won’t attend church, you get funny and ridiculous answers.  I asked one lady to come to church with me.  She said with anger, “I’ll never set foot in that church again.”

“May I ask why you feel that way?”

“That pastor’s wife told me to bring the tea for our fellowship, and I don’t want anyone telling me what to do.”  That particular pastor and wife had been gone from the church for over twenty years.  Since that time, the lady had spiritually withered until she was no longer beautiful or useful to God.

God saw the importance of corporate worship as he gave detailed instructions to his people for building an elaborate temple. (Exodus 26) Jesus joined with others in worship. When he was only twelve and was separated from Mary and Joseph, he was found in the temple discussing scriptures with learned me.  (Luke 2: 42-52)

The no-tea lady wasn’t alone in missing the blessing of joining with other believers in a garden for God.  Here are some more of ridiculous excuses I found for not attending church:

I gave blood yesterday and they ran out of cookies, so I’m mad at God.

The version of the Bible on the projector and the one I read are different.

My good church T-shirt was dirty.

I hear people preach on Facebook all week.

The pews are so comfortable that they make me want to go to sleep, and I can’t sin in church.

The Pastor preaches from The Message Bible.

The PowerPoint guy can’t keep up.

I already asked Jesus in my heart; what else do you want?

Jesus never went to church.

They never sing my jams during worship.

One word….NASCAR!

Pastor be spitting on everyone in the first ten rows.

I’ve already skipped to the end of the Bible, and so I know how it ends.

Pastor always uses me as a bad example.

Church? Are we still doing that?

I have gas.

The parking lot is always full and I have to park at the Korean place across the street.

My date from Saturday night wasn’t a Christian and I didn’t want to force her to go to church.

Pastor lies when he says the grape juice is wine.

I have children.

Oh, it wasn’t daylight savings time?

*http://www.backrowonline.com/sensiblechuckle/100-lame-excuses-for-skipping-church

If these seem to be lame excuses to you, how do you think God must feel about yours? What is important to you?  Your time and money reflect this more than your words.

If you aren’t regularly attending church, how ridiculous do you think your excuse sounds to God.

The bible is clear on the importance of corporate worship:

Psalm 35:18King James Version (KJV)

18 I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people.

Psalm 100:4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Psalm 122:1

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.

Isaiah 1:18

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

——

March 14, 2017 3 PM Branchwater 763 Medical Center Pkwy, Boaz, AL 35957 First Baptist Boaz WMU and others Speaking on Holy Land Trip and mission trips.

May 19, 2017, 5 PM, Sr. Adult event, Clearbranch Methodist Church, 8051 Glenn Rd., Trussville, Al.

TBA – my new novel Beginnings will be out in several months. I will be doing book signings at that time. (Update – there has been a hitch in publication.  My publisher, Tate Publishing, has closed its doors.  I’m now working on getting Beginnings with another publisher.)

I will be co-hosting another Holy Land Trip Feb. 12 -22, 2018.  Call me for a brochure. Space is limited.

I’m open for 2017 speaking events, women’s retreats, widow retreats, banquets or whatever the occasion might be. Call me at 256-878-5934.

As Thanksgiving approaches once again, a plethora of life happenings flood my mind for which I’m thankful.  When I ask at our Thanksgiving table each year for each person to say something for which he/she is thankful, it probably sounds much like it would at your house – family, health, comforts of home, finances, and etc.  Those are great and I ditto each, but today I reflected on a couple of other things – children’s prayers and mother-in-law funnies.

One friend has three wonderful children who have learned from their parents to pray about all things.  Here is one of their prayer sessions. So here’s how the pre-dinner prayers went.
Rafe: (after making a few preliminary statements) Thank you for this food and please take care Nana and anyone who is sick, hurt or sad.
Sophie: God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Please help Nana Mary and anyone who is in trouble.
Bryce (the toddler at that time): God is great, God is good. And if you’re in trouble, just yell for help. …

I think most of us have Bryce’s prayer down pat. It may be that we yell for help more than we praise God for what he has already done.

Another mother reported: My daughter has recently stopped ending bedtime prayers with “Amen” and now just tells God “goodnight”. She talks like she is talking to her friend!

 I want to be more like her!

—

Some people bash their mother-in-law. Others enjoy their humor.  I loved my mother-in-law dearly as she did me. I had to laugh at this exchange though: After Steve’s mother became hard of hearing, she did a funny. Steve was taking her and her sister out to eat. Hazel, her sister, said, “That Barbara is a dandy.” Nona, my mother-in-law, replied, “Yes, but I think she will lose it after Christmas.” Apparently she thought they were talking about my weight; I don’t know what she thought she heard, but she would always take up for me.
???

 A friend shared a story about hers: Richard’s mom and dad had been out on a long trip, traveling home from early afternoon until after dark. She became concerned that the lights on the car kept getting dimmer and dimmer: she thought the alternator was going out. She kept asking if they would make it home. It wasn’t until she walked into her home and turned on the lights and then she realized she still had her sunglasses on!

Another friend told about an incident with her mother-in-law: Once while visiting my mother-in-law, I laid my glasses on the counter before going to bed one night (apparently where she usually kept hers) . The next morning when we got up, she was sitting in her rocking chair visibly upset. When asked what was wrong, she said we all needed to gather the family to come over and pray for her, that she had lost her vision overnight, she couldn’t even see with her glasses on. As we looked, she was wearing my glasses she had picked up off the counter. Needless to say, she had a few hallelujahs!

Let’s be thankful and find laughter every day.

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a while.”
– Peter 1:6

How happy are the people who can worship joyfully! Lord, they walk in the light of your presence. – Psalm 89:15

I’m not much of a resolution maker because I don’t want to lie to myself and to God.  I will make one or two some years.  Last year, I resolved to pray for our President when I felt like criticizing him.  I wasn’t perfect in keeping it although I did do better.  Maybe resolutions are goals to aim for. This year, I resolve to be less judgmental.

Those who know me well have heard me confess that being judgmental is a sin in my life. I know that is not what God would have me be, even though some friends have tried to soften my confession by telling me I was just being a “fruit inspector. By their fruits ye shall know them. (Matthew 7:20) But sometimes I judge by appearance, language, and even deeds.

Children listen to adults’ words; thereby, they add images to their minds and vocabulary.  A teacher was praising a little girl for her art work.  Another teacher told her, “You should see the paintings her mom and grandmother do. It must be an inherited talent.  I think they are part Indian,” she added. (I don’t know what that would have to do with it.)

Later the girl’s teacher commented to the child, “Someone told me you are part Indian.  What tribe?”

“I’m not sure,” replied the young artist, “but I believe I’m part Red Neck.” Someone had planted that word of prejudice in the child’s vocabulary.

Well, as my columns often do, this one follows a stream of consciousness. I got red on my mind. My beautician told me one of her clients has an autistic grandson. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Register, much (he always called her Mrs. Red Shirt because he couldn’t say Register).  Recently, he went to her desk and just had an autistic come-apart.  He was so distressed another teacher heard him and came in to see if she could help.  She held him to calm the child.  Finally she asked him, “What’s wrong; why are you so upset?”

“Mrs. Red Shirt is hurt; her wips (lips) are bweeding (bleeding.)”  She was wearing bright red lipstick that day.

I had praised a church member’s beautiful red blooming plant one Christmas.  I had asked what kind it was.  She told me it was an Amaryllis.  Later I found an envelope with my name on it in my Sunday school room.  When I got to the car, I asked my husband why anyone would give me one turnip. I don’t even like turnips and have never cooked them.  I just put it aside and dismissed the dilemma. Later the lady asked if I found the Amaryllis bulb she left for me. I’m glad we didn’t eat it.

Normally we think of white for New Years, I suppose to remind us we have a blank slate to begin a new year.  Mine must be red this time, so I guess red is the new white for me.

Lord, I pray I will have a fresh beginning, a do-over. and please forgive me and make my sinful, judgmental self white as snow,

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18.

Cook about 5 strips of bacon in your wok. Remove bacon. add a little butter or olive oil. Put in a diced onion and cook until almost tender. Then add a head of chopped cabbage. Stir until all is coated. I then add about 2 T. water and cover the wok with the lid and cook just a few minutes until almost tender. Then add juice of one lemon, 1 8 oz. carton of sour cream, 1/8 C. sugar, salt and pepper. Stir until all is well heated. (Don’t keep cooking; just heat after adding the sour cream) Crumble the bacon on top, and presto – the best cabbage dish you will ever eat.

May and Mother’s Day evoke many memories of my dear mother. Hardly a day passes that either my husband Steve or I will begin a sentence with “As Mamma Willie would say.” Her sayings have become known as “Wilieisms” in our family. She didn’t mean to be funny nor did she know she was, but recalling some of her sayings and comments never fails to bring a smile to my face.

When one of her children of grandchildren would achieve something, she would comment, “I’m so proud of you, I don’t know what to put you in.” Often when we would sit down to one of her lovely meals, there would be something on the table we didn’t recognize. Steve would ask, “Willie, what is in this?”

She would simply reply, “Something good. If I told you, you might not eat it.” She knew there were certain foods Steve wouldn’t eat. Turnip greens was one of those, but finally after she insisted he try them for the umpteenth time, he finally tasted them and actually liked hers. One reason was she thought a little sugar helped anything. She helped the greens a lot.

If there was a person who had fallen into some evil ways, Mother would whisper, “She’s just gone to the bow-wows.” One of her dear nieces and her husband had visited us from North Carolina. It was the middle of summer, but as we were all saying our good-byes, Mother said, “Your visit has just made Christmas.” We all had a laugh at the time, but now when something makes us happy, we quote her and say, “That just made our Christmas.”

Mother played the piano at their little country church from the time she was eleven years old until near her death at ninety-one. If she thought the music was dragging a bit, from her place on the piano stool, she would speak up and say, “Let’s pick that up a little.” In her later years, she would have problems finding the number the director would call out. One day she flipped through the hymnal one way and then back the other. When she finally found the number, she eased the tension the congregation felt for her when she spoke up and said, “That one almost wasn’t in my book.”

Yes it’s May, so I will follow the tradition which was important to my parents by going to Decoration Day, but as I place flowers on their graves, it won’t be with tears, but with smiles as I think of the joy they brought in my life.

Although many sites in the Holy Land are not totally proven to be the exact spots where events took place, that was insignificant because the WHO (Jesus Christ) and WHY (to pay the ultimate sacrifice for my sins) are so much more important the exact WHERE.  Nonetheless, I KNOW I walked where He walked. In His own country where most of His own people rejected Him and many persecuted Him, I saw people practicing various religions where loud chanting and even ritualistic body movements and other outward acts were their ways of trying to please God or gods.  I found it sad that the evidence of Jesus was so readily available to them, but their eyes are blinded to the fact He had already done all that was necessary, and if they would only believe and accept Him,  all their ritualism would be unnecessary. I can’t say thank you enough that we found Jesus’ tomb empty.  He is alive and lives in the hearts of believers today.

I take away from this experience much, but perhaps the greatest truth is we can’t do anything to earn what He has already bought and paid for.  All we can do is say thank you and praise him and glorify him in all we do.

Jesus tomb (are one like it)