Ruth O'Neil's Blog, page 13

Song of the Week - "The Words I Would Say"

I am a firm believer of using our past experiences to help others. There are many times in life we are going through something terrible and we can’t see beyond the moment. However, once the dust settles and life gets back to the new normal, that is when we can help others. I believe that God put us through those situations just so that later in life we can help someone and be an understanding heart in their time of need.
Look back on your life. Is there any time you went through a tragedy? Do you know anyone else who has gone through something similar? Pray and ask God to open your eyes to where you can be a help and an encouragement. You are just what someone needs.





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Song of the Week - "Called Me Higher"

As believers we are called to work. I know, “work” is not always a nice word. Once we accept Christ, we could stay where it’s always safe. We could stay were we are familiar with our surroundings. We could stay where there are no surprises. But then again, when you actually think about it, what’s the fun in that?
God has a mission for each of us. We need to fulfill that mission. If we ignore Him, our lives could be miserable. I could have ignored the call of God on my life to write. It was hard trying to work with little kids running around the house. It was even harder while I was homeschooling all three of them. But I persisted, and God has blessed. Every time someone lets me know how something I’ve written has touched their life in a positive way, it gives me confirmation that I’m doing what He wants me to do. Those moments of confirmation are few and far between, but always when I need it.

What has God called you to do today? Are you doing it?






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With Deepest Sympathy

Not too long ago I received one of the strangest and saddest phone calls ever. It was an older gentleman with whom I used to work. We started our employment at just about the same time and after the business shut down we kept in touch somewhat, seeing each other around town on occasion.He was a widower and found his second wife who also worked with us. They shared several years together as a married couple, but then she passed away. That was the reason for the phone call. John called to thank me for the sympathy card I had sent.
“You are the only one who sent a card.”
I was flabbergasted. Even after retiring from the pulpit he still did some preaching, sometimes fairly regularly in churches. I found it extremely sad that no one else bothered to send condolences.
It was a good thing he asked me a questions after he made his statement, because I had no words. I didn’t know what to say. I almost felt like sending him another sympathy card, this time being sorry for people being so lousy.
Years ago I made it a point to always have a box of sympathy cards on hand. Friends, family, and church members would have a loved one pass away and I didn’t normally have a card I could send. By the time I would get to the store to buy one, it might be a week or two later. For some reason to me, sending a sympathy card that late just doesn’t seem right.
For us as Christians, we need to be there for others. We need to let them know they are on our minds. Cards are an inexpensive and easy way to do just that.
Here’s a challenge: Go buy several boxes of cards (birthday, thinking of you, get well, and of course, sympathy). Keep them on hand for when things come up in your social circles. Doing this one simple thing truly means a lot to someone who is hurting. If you doubt me, start sending out some cards. People will let you know how much it means.
Let’s be there for others and show them the love of Christ.




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Song of the Week - "Holy Spirit"

There are times when I am in awe of the feeling of the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life. I am amazed at His protection and provision for my family and me. I honestly don’t know what I would do if a day went by when I couldn’t feel His presence in my life.

Today, call on the Lord and ask Him to fill your home, your life, your work, your family, you.

Song of the Week - "A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea"

Because some weeks are crazy, hectic, frustrating, stressful, and (feel free to insert an appropriate adjective here) like my last couple of weeks have been, sometimes you just need to listen to a song that makes you smile. 
As you listen this week, know that I am praying for your week ahead to go smoothly and be filled with fun and laughter and love.



 

Song of the Week - "I Shall Not Want"

Every day I see and hear statements like these: “You deserve it!” “You can have it all!” “Buy now, pay later!” There isn’t necessarily anything wrong with these statements per se, however, the idea has gone too far. We don’t deserve everything. Sometimes you have to work a little harder for something you want so you don’t have to “buy now and pay later.” Paying later usually comes with consequences – and I’m not just talking about financial consequences.

The one thing we really don’t deserve is God’s love, yet it is there for us every moment of our lives. We can have it all in Christ. We don’t have to buy or pay for anything. The price has already been paid for us. Maybe once we realize that deep down in our hearts, we truly will not want what this world has to offer.

Song of the Week – “While I’m Waiting”

Wait. That’s not one of my favorite words. When I first began writing, I would send something to a publisher and…wait. I would just about pounce on the mailman when he came. “(Yes, this was before the Internet and email!) Even after I began sending things out by email, there was a lot of impatient waiting, checking my inbox several times a day. I wish I could say I had conquered this issue 100%, but not really. The key to writing is to not spend time waiting. I need to e working on the next thing in the meantime.
The same is true of our Christian lives. Many days we send p a request to God and spend (waste) our time waiting. That’s not how it should be. We should be moving on to something else. While we are waiting for God’s answers we need to be worshiping and serving.

That’s what the Song of the Week is about. Give a listen… 

Just One More Thing

You can download a free copy of this
 to-do list at Misfit Isle
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel like I struggle with laziness. I’m not sure if it’s that I am in fact lazy, or that I’m disappointed at the end of the day when I haven’t been able to cross everything off my list.(I’m definitely a list maker!) I don’t know if it’s because I work at home, that sometimes it’s easy to get distracted from work. I’m a writer, editor, and book reviewer. All of those cause me to sit. Either way, it’s something I’ve taken to God. Over the last several months I’ve prayed each morning for productive day, free of laziness.

God has helped me by nudging me to do “one more thing.” Each day, when I attempt to sit and do nothing, I tell myself, “one more thing” and I find one more thing to accomplish. Then there is that afternoon slump. There are many afternoons I feel like I could simply lay down and take a nap. Because I work at home it would be so easily done. The one good thing about me is that I’m not a nap taker. I never actually sleep and I feel worse after I get up so I don’t even bother trying. Instead, I use my afternoon slump as an opportunity to do one more thing. I know that if I get up and move around, I can work my way through the slump.

It often ends up that more than one thing gets done. For instance, tonight, after dinner it would have been easy to simply clean the kitchen and call it a night. But, I knew I needed to put some bread in the oven to prepare for tomorrow night’s dinner. Before cleaning, I put the bread in the oven to do its thing while I cleaned. Two birds, one stone.

Then, as I was pulling the bread off the pantry shelves to cut up for stuffing, I realized it wouldn’t take much more to move all the items on the shelf so I could wake them down and give them a good scrubbing, which they had needed for a while.

Now, I sit here writing this blog post. Instead of quitting, I’ve accomplished three more things that can be removed from tomorrow’s list. And that makes me feel better. Don’t misunderstand me, being lazy once in a while isn’t a bad idea. In these hazy, days of summer, there’s nothing more I enjoy than time at the pool. Being lazy once in a while is probably necessary for sanity’s sake.

Being wives and mothers takes up so much of our time, but let’s use that time to the best of our ability. We will never have EVERYTHING done. That’s just the way life works. Examine your life today, maybe you need to do that one more thing.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I’m going to get some watermelon for a snack.…hmmm…maybe the fridge needs to be cleaned out.

Song of the Week - "Words"

There seems to be an awful lot of word slinging lately, sometimes in surprising places. Everyone has an opinion about everything and they aren’t afraid to share it not matter how they sound or who they hurt. Yes, I have definite opinions about everything that’s happening in the news; however, I don’t scream my opinion to everyone on the Internet. I think most people who know me, know exactly where I stand on many of these issues. If someone wants to sit down and have a discussion (without bashing and hollering) I would be glad to. When you scream your opinion at everyone, soon everyone stops listening.
Words are something we use on a daily basis. I use mine for work. I want my words to be carefully chosen. I know that sometimes the words that come out of my mouth are not the ones that should. I think that’s why I enjoy writing…I can go back and scribble out the words that shouldn’t be there. Unfortunately, I can’t do that with my mouth.

This week, listen to the song, and then go out and make it a point to be careful with your words. Wherever you stand on many of the issues facing society today, don’t let your words be hurtful. You want to bring people to Christ with your words, not push them away. There will always be disagreements on issues, even among Christians, but don’t let that ruin your testimony. 

Meet Leo

I haven’t done a Real Life post in a while and thought it was time. I had actually forgotten about it until one of my son’s friends reminded me. I usually have stories about people stopping bymy house to use the bathroom, but not this time.

Last summer, I was busy working when my husband came home for lunch. After he left, he sat in his truck outside the house for a few minutes. I didn’t really think anything of it as this is normal for him. When the phone rang, I answered.
“Lock the door, quick!”
It was him. I saw a woman just standing in front of our house looking at it. For those of you who have never been to our house, it’s pretty much all open, especially during the summer. The curtains are open, the windows are open.
I quickly went to do as my husband requested. I barely made it. The woman was at my front door trying to open it. I didn’t even have time to lock it, so I just held the lock so she couldn’t enter without knocking. I scrunched down on the floor by the door so she couldn’t see me if she tried to look in. Leo, in his spot by the front door.

My husband got out of his car and asked her if she needed something.
“I’m looking for Leo.”
“Leo doesn’t live here.”
“Oh, I was told he did.”
“This is my house and there’s no Leo here.”
Finally the woman stumbled away.
My husband came in and got out a cane and put it by the door. “Just in case you have trouble later.”
My son decided to name the cane Leo. If anyone comes to our house looking for Leo, they may find him.

Yes, this is a true story. And people wonder why I'm a writer!