Michele Huey's Blog: God, Me, and a Cup of Tea, page 21

The Deathbed Perspective: Part 1 Fight the Good Fight

Read and reflect on 2 Timothy 4:6–8.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. – 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)

Call me crazy, but I tend to make important life decisions from what I call “the deathbed perspective.” I imagine myself on my deathbed, looking back on my life. At the end of my earthly sojourn, would I regret this decision or rejoice I chose to go that route?

Of course, we know when faced with a decision, we can always ask God for wisdom, and He’ll oblige (James 1:5). Perhaps this is God’s way of giving me that wisdom, because from the deathbed perspective, my priorities are clear, and I know the way I should take. So far, I’ve never regretted a decision made from the deathbed perspective.

In his second letter to the young pastor Timothy, the apostle Paul also had a deathbed perspective—and it truly was his deathbed. He was in his last days on earth—imprisoned in a cold dungeon, chained like a common criminal, alone, as he awaited his martyrdom.

Here he penned the words I told my husband I wanted on my tombstone: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).

But those aren’t just words to die by—they’re words to live by.

This week we’re going to look at the first part of that verse: I have fought the good fight.

This tells me the Christian life is a battleground not a playground. The life of faith is a fight because faith doesn’t come easy and it doesn’t grow easily.

As believers we are in a war with God’s infernal enemy, and we do battle daily in three arenas of warfare: the world, the flesh, and the devil (yes, he does exist).

The world is the spirit of the age, the anti-Christ attitude, the realm of the God’s enemy. Paul accurately described the spirit of the age in his letter to Timothy (read 2 Timothy 3:1–5).

The second arena is the flesh—our human, or carnal, nature, prone to sin, which is constantly at war with our spiritual nature (John 3:3; Romans 7 & 8; 1 Corinthians 2:6–14). Just look at the temptations to sin you face daily. This war will rage until our spirits are freed from our earthly bodies. 

The third arena is the devil. When you receive Jesus as your Savior, you immediately switch sides in a war that goes back to Lucifer’s rebellion in heaven (Isaiah 14:12–15; Ezekiel 28:11–19; Luke 10:18). The enemy has been prowling around ever since, seeking the destruction of believers (1 Peter 5:8).

But we are not left without weapons.

First, put on your armor (Ephesians 6:10–18). After all, why would the Word advise us to put on our armor if we weren’t to do battle?

Second, pray. A praying Christian terrifies the enemy.

Third, know God’s Word. It is your sword (Ephesians 6:17). Learn to use it and use it often and well.

Fourth, resist. The Word tells us to “resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9).

Fifth, remember that “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world”(1 John 4:4).

Finally, remember the war is already won. It was won when the Son of God died in your place on a Roman cross then burst out of a sealed tomb three days later. Don’t believe me? Read Revelation.

I know, there are times you feel anything but a victor. You feel beaten, weak, small, forgotten, and alone.

But you’re not. Remember these verses:

When you feel beaten: You are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37).

When you feel weak: His grace is all you need (2 Corinthians 12:9). Christ living in you gives you strength (Philippians 4:13).

When you feel small: You are loved by the God who created the universe (Psalm 36:5). You are the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). You are engraved on the palms of His hands (Isaiah 49:16). You are precious to Him (Isaiah 43:4).

When you feel forgotten and alone: He will never forget you (Isaiah 49:15). He will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). His Spirit lives in you (1 Corinthians 3:16).

Onward and upward, soldier. Keep fighting the good fight.

Remind me, Father God, I’m in this world not to frolic but to fight the good fight of faith. Help me to use my weapons often and well. Amen.

NOTE: Next week, we’ll look at the second part of that verse: “I have finished the race.”

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.

In Midian

Image courtesy of Deposit Photos, photo by gorlovkv

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will be established. —Proverbs 19:21 RSV

Moses. Now there was a man who had it all—prosperity, power, prestige. But this prince of Egypt, thanks to his impulsive nature and nasty temper, became a refugee, fleeing for his life in disgrace and fear. Instead of a palace, the wilderness. No longer the proud prince but a lowly shepherd. Talk about culture shock!

As he tended sheep in the godforsaken desert and on the lonely mountainsides of Midian, did he think he was all washed up? A has-been? That the best part of his life was over? How long did it take him to stop missing the splendor, the hype? Did he feel as though he lost his purpose?

Then after forty years, Mission Impossible: “And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt” (Exodus 3:9–10 NIV).

Oh, right. Like that was going to happen. Moses knew Pharaoh. But Pharaoh didn’t know God. So Moses hedged. He made more excuses than a kid who doesn’t want to do his homework.

But man cannot argue with God. Well, you can, but you can’t win. For every excuse once-mighty Moses gave, God had an answer.

Moses spent the next forty years leading a stubborn, rebellious, cantankerous nation over one million strong through both a physical wilderness and a spiritual one. It was for this that Moses was enshrined in the famous “Hall of Faith” (Hebrews 11).  He died a great leader with a fame that endures to this day, a fame he never could have achieved as a prince of Egypt.

But I wonder, as he dealt with the constant complaining, the mercurial temperament of a nation whose loyalty and emotions were as fickle as an ambivalent teenager’s, as he quelled rebellion after rebellion, as he wore himself out settling their petty disputes—did he long for the quiet hillsides of Midian, tending to a flock that was undemanding, whose major flaw was stupidity?

Sometimes we find ourselves in Midian, wondering if we’re all washed up, if somehow we missed God’s purpose for us. Or we wonder if we’re being punished. Or perfected. I’ll never be perfect, so I wonder if I’ll spend the rest of my life stuck in Midian, in a wilderness where the only attention I get is from needy sheep.

I’ve already discovered I can’t handle the pressures Moses had when he traded sheep for people. But then, everything that happened in Moses’ life had a purpose: to prepare him for the job God had planned for him all along. Moses wasn’t perfect when God called him—or afterwards either. Moses blundered and thundered and made both the Almighty and the Israelites angry.

Through the trials, he learned in lean times to lean on God. The leaner the time, the harder he leaned. And he learned where God sends, He also enables and provides. 

God hasn’t changed.

If you find yourself in Midian, enjoy the peace and quiet, the absence of strife and chaos. Work with God as He molds you for the job ahead. Then you might wish you were back in Midian.

But, then, it could be your job is Midian.

In that case, take to heart the words of another man who, centuries after Moses, found himself in his own Midian, the apostle Paul in a jail cell: “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11 RSV).

Dear God, if I spend the rest of my life in Midian, help me to be content. Help me to know that You will fulfill Your purpose for me (Psalm 138:8). Amen.

Read and reflect on Exodus 2:1–3:10.

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.

Need a speaker?

Things have been quiet the past year, with events cancelled and many more not even scheduled due to the Covid-19 virus. Although the pandemic isn’t over, the number of cases seem to be decreasing, and the vaccine shows hope that we can once again get together without fear of getting sick. We will, however, still practice safety measures.

That being said, I am booking engagements for this fall – September through December – and next spring from March on through the fall of 2022. So, if you’re considering a luncheon, ladies’ conference, retreat, or dinner (such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day), and are looking for a speaker, please consider me. You’ll find a list of my speaking topics on my SPEAKING/TEACHING page (click here). If none suit you, I will develop a topic based on your theme.

Thank you and God bless you and keep you safe.

BFF

Sharon and me enjoying lunch together at one of our favorite restaurants

 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. . . . There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. – Proverbs 17:17; 18:24 (NIV)

Sharon and I met at a Bible study when we were young wives and mothers, and discovered we had much in common. Over the 44 years of our friendship, we helped our husbands build our houses, living in our basements for several years to save money, and raised three children each. We contributed to the family budget with jobs outside the home, planted gardens, canned produce, and shared recipes.

In the early years, we’d spend hours on the phone—usually me calling her when I needed to rant. I still hear her wise advice during one of my tirades: “Michele, we’re not going to have heaven until we get there.”

Nowadays we spoil grandchildren and adjust to life with retired husbands. Although we don’t spend as much time together as we did when we were younger—with the kids grown up and gone, I have much less to rant about—I know I can count on Sharon. During my year of health issues, when I needed someone to drive me to medical appointments, I called Sharon. She rearranged her schedule to bring me home from the hospital after my last surgery and spent the day with me so my husband wouldn’t have to take still another day off.

During the good-weather months, we enjoy an occasional girls’ day out. Although the busy holiday season and unpredictable weather keep us from getting together, I know she prays for me and I pray for her. We’re never far apart in mind and heart. When we get together again, it’ll be like we just saw each other yesterday. Our friendship is as solid as the foundations of the houses our husbands built. We truly are BFF’s—Best Friends Forever.

I liken my friendship with Sharon to my relationship with God. He, too, is there when I need Him. He, too, listens patiently to my rants. Even if I skip my quiet time, I know I am still in His mind and heart, every moment of every day. “See,” He tells me in His Word, “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands” (Isaiah 49:16).

Sometimes folks think our relationship with God is only a prayer relationship in which the more we pray, the better chance we have of the answer we want. But our quiet-time minutes with God aren’t like frequent flier miles (the more miles you fly, the more benefits you get). In fact, I don’t even have to tell God when I need, for He already knows (Matthew 6:8).

My time with God is like my time with Sharon—building a relationship, growing a friendship that will last forever.

Thank you, Lord, for being not only my heavenly Father, but also my friend. Amen.

Read and reflect on John 15:13–15.

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.

BOOK SALE

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY:Books 1 & 2 of the PennWoods Mystery Series are available for download to your Kindle for only $.99 each. To get your copy, click on the book titles below.GETAWAY MOUNTAINGHOST MOUNTAIN

Reclusive romance novelist Melody Harmon, her career on the skids, flees to her writing retreat in the Pennsylvania mountains rather than team up with Don Bridges, an ex-cop turned suspense writer. When she discovers caches of cash—to the tune of a million dollars—she assumes it’s her late husband’s gambling winnings. Then dead bodies start popping up. Don wants to help her solve the mystery, but she doesn’t know if she should trust him. Can Melody overcome the pain of betrayal and learn to trust before the killer strikes again?

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY: GETAWAY MOUNTAIN

Life is anything but a sweet plot for romance novelist Melody Harmon. Not only is she under contract to work with ex-cop-turned-suspense writer Don Bridges, but he’s also her on-again, off-again boyfriend—currently off again. But when cast members of the local production of “The Hound of the Baskervilles” turn up missing, the director asks them to solve the disappearances discreetly. According to legend, the old sawmill-turned-playhouse is haunted—by ghosts known to abduct a human or two on occasion. Then the director’s mauled body is found in the woods surrounding the mountaintop theater, and Don’s granddaughter Kadie, a junior member of the cast, vanishes without a trace. Police say wild dogs killed the director and Kadie ran away. “It’s only a legend,” they insist. But is it? Melody and Don must put aside their differences, defy the police’s orders to back off the case, and find Kadie before it’s too late.

ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY: GHOST MOUNTAIN

Searching for Signal

You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. —Jeremiah 29:13 NKJV

I was watching a baseball game on television one rainy evening when the picture began breaking up.  The screen went black, and white letters appeared across the bottom: “Searching for satellite signal. Please stand by.”

After a half hour of trying to keep up with the score on a fragmented, silent screen, I gave up and went to bed. The next day, however, the reception wasn’t any better, but then again, neither was the weather. 

“I don’t remember the reception ever being this bad,” I complained to my husband.

“Maybe I didn’t angle the dish right,” he said.

At the time we were siding our house, and he’d taken the dish off the side of the house and attached it, facing the southern sky, to a post in the ground.

He pulled out the instruction manual and flipped through until he came to the section on adjusting the dish. Fifteen minutes later, we had a clear picture. Although the dish had been pointed in the right direction, it had to be at a precise angle to receive the signal from the sending satellite.

Sometimes the storms of life interfere with the signals God sends me. Or sometimes, even though I’m facing the right direction, I’m not receiving what He’s telling me because I have the wrong angle. That “angle” could be selfishness, hurt feelings, a touch of envy or jealousy, or a simmering anger. Maybe I’m nursing a grudge and harboring unforgiveness. Perhaps my desires are becoming worldly, or I’m pursuing something I know is not in God’s will for me.

Whatever the interference—whether outside of my control, such as a storm, or within my control, such as my own rebelliousness—it causes me to lose contact with a God who promises never to leave me nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6,8; Hebrews 13:5).

So how do I adjust my angle so that I’m once again getting a clear picture?

First I pray, confessing my willfulness and sin. Or, if a life-storm is the problem, I ask God to guide me through it, protect me, and strengthen me.

Source : praying hands with bible background 12

Then I read His Word. While I don’t play “Bible roulette,” picking verses at random, God’s Holy Spirit often brings to mind certain portions of Scripture that address my beleaguered spirit. Frequently the day’s scheduled reading is just what I need. His Word truly is “a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105), “full of living power, sharper than the sharpest knife,” cutting deep into my innermost thoughts and desires, revealing to me what I really am (Hebrews 4:12).

Just reading His Word isn’t enough, however. I must meditate on it, think of how it relates to me, how to apply what I’ve read to my own situation. Then I pray again, asking God to forgive me, help me, and guide me.

Unlike my satellite dish, my angle needs adjusted every day, even moment by moment. But I know, whether storms are raging outside or inside, if I seek God with all my heart, He has promised I will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13). Only then will I have a clear picture.

Thank You, God, that You are never far away. Why, You’re as close as the mention of Your name! Amen.

Read and reflect on Psalm 63:1–8.

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.

New Book Release

Melody and Don are all set to get married in a country chapel in Seneca Forest. Don’s oldest daughter Carrie arrives from Arizona with one intention: to stop the wedding. Then an arsonist torches the church, with the pastor in it. Now, instead of heading off to the Blue Ridge Mountains in their new RV for their honeymoon, Melody and Don find themselves caught up in a murder investigation and a race to find the arsonist before he—or she—kills again.

Fire Mountain (Book 3 of the PennWoods Mystery Series) will be released on MONDAY, MARCH 8, 2021, in both print and Kindle editions. You may pre-order your Kindle version now if you wish. (Click HERE to pre-order.) It will automatically be downloaded to your Kindle on that date. Below is the link to pre-order.

If you would like an autographed print copy, please email me at michelethuey@gmail.com. Thank you!

Nothing Wasted

“Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” —John 6:12 NIV

I learned resourcefulness and frugality early. I was nine years old when my father lost his job and used his skills as a carpenter to put food on the table. Meatless meals, such as bowties and cottage cheese or tomato soup and potato pancakes, were the standard fare, as were leftovers.

The truth of the adage “waste not, want not” was a lesson well learned, for I needed to apply it when my husband and I were raising a family and building a house on one income. I threw nothing away. Even small, one-serving portions of vegetables were saved and used in a stew. Sometimes I forgot about the leftovers stashed in the refrigerator until obnoxious odors sent me on a search-and-pitch mission. At least a healthy growth of mold assuaged the guilt I felt throwing away food.

As the children grew, so did our income, and I began to be less frugal. By the time the empty nest years began, disposable dust rags, toilet bowl cleaning pads, kitchen and bathroom wipes, and eyeglass lens cleaning cloths filled our cupboards. It’s easy to become careless when there’s plenty.

Jesus, God’s Son, who had the riches of heaven at His disposal, disliked waste. After He miraculously fed a crowd that numbered close to ten thousand people (the Gospels indicate five thousand men were fed that day, but that number did not include women and children), He told His disciples to gather up the leftovers.

“Let nothing be wasted,” He said.

Jewish tradition dictated that bread scraps be picked up and saved, since the Jews considered bread, which often represents life, as a gift from God.

What a far cry from our attitude today! A mentality that everything is disposable has spilled over into how we view relationships and life itself. Aborting an unborn child, abandoning a spouse for greener pastures, and assisting the suicide of a chronically ill person demonstrate today’s throw-away attitude: “When you’re done with it or don’t want it, throw it away, whether or not it can still be used.”

The speaker for the 2014 Punxsutawney Christian Women’s Conference, Linda Evans Shepherd, had a daughter who was paralyzed and brain damaged in a car accident when she was eighteen months old. Laura was now in her twenties and had a host of ongoing medical problems. But she was able to communicate “yes” and “no” with her tongue. Linda said Laura was doing what she wanted to do, which was to live. She has since passed away.

In spite of their difficult life, however, Laura brought much joy to her family.

“Let nothing be wasted,” Jesus said.

Nothing. Not the shards of our fractured lives and shattered dreams. Not broken relationships or wrecked bodies. Gather the fragments and give them to the One who will make each fragment count.

Thank You, Lord, that, in Your hands, nothing is wasted. Amen.

Read and meditate on John 6:1–13.

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

The Miracle of Love

Dean and me in the spring of 1973

Read and reflect on Ecclesiastes 4:9–12

Then the LORD God made a woman…and he brought her to the man. – Genesis 2:22 (NIV)

“Love is a miracle,” I told my husband the day after we attended a wedding.

The groom’s love for his bride shone from his eyes, was etched in every line of his face as he watched her approach him on her father’s arm.

“You must be so in love,” I told him after the ceremony.

He beamed. “Oh, I am!”

Love is a miracle. Think of it—one man meets one woman and falls in love—and she loves him in return. What, with all the billions of men and women in the world, are the chances of that? Yet it happens everyday.

I remember when I met my husband. I was drawn to him instantly—his gentle manner; his tall, slender frame; his trim beard; and curly, shoulder-length hair—but it was those twinkling blue eyes that did me in. That’s why all the love interests of the protagonists in the novels I write have twinkling blue eyes.

What a wonder when I found out that he was attracted to me, too! I mean, I was the girl who, in grade school, could never get anyone to “like me back.” Who wondered in high school if she’d ever go steady (I did). Who, in college, accepted a proposal from someone she thought was the love of her life, only to have him drop her a year later without an explanation. Who, after having her heart shattered, gave up on love and focused on a career.

And then, three months after vowing never to fall in love again, I met Dean. On our first date I knew deep down, where there are no words, that he was “The One.” We married eleven months after we met. The heart, indeed, has a mind of its own.

 I still thrill at the sight of him. Time and life, with all the disappointments and curve balls and tests and trials, have only strengthened and deepened the bond we share. And, wonder of wonders, after experiencing me at my worst, after 48 years, he loves me still!

Some call it chemistry. I call it God.

After all, He is love (1 John 4:16). He created woman for man and performed the first marriage ceremony (Genesis 2:18–25; 1 Corinthians 11:8–9) because He knew that “two are better than one” (Ecclesiastes 4:9–12). He blessed us with the gifts of romance and passion, which, within the boundaries He set, are gifts, not sin (Song of Solomon).

Love is a miracle and miracles are matters of the heart, not the head. If you have to talk yourself into loving someone, it isn’t love. With love, using your head and all your reasoning ability doesn’t work.

The miracle of love. One man. One woman. Loving—and in love with—each other. Wow.

Dear God, thank You for the love that blesses and brightens my life. Amen.

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea for the Seasons, © 2018 Michele Huey. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Lazarus at My Gate

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  —Matthew 6:33 KJV

Global seems to be the latest buzz word. You’ve got to think, speak, and act globally. No more the small-town mindset. Anyone who isn’t sophisticated, well-informed, and technology-savvy just isn’t with it these days.

This global philosophy has infiltrated the Christian ranks too. We’re to pray for the world, for the country, for worldwide missions, for people we don’t know and probably never will. Now, this isn’t bad. Someone needs to pray for world peace and give to missions.

There are those who can handle this information overload. I’m not one of them.

Quite frankly, it depresses me. I’m overwhelmed by prayer lists that grow longer and more disheartening by the day. I feel helpless when I read of a 101-year-old woman on her way to church who’s mugged by an addict who targets elderly women to get his drug money; of children and animals that are tortured and killed; of government officials who are more interested in playing politics, posturing, and pointing fingers than running the country; of misused money that was sent in good faith to alleviate others’ suffering.

Do I really need to know all this? My global prayers seem weak, bumbling, pat, and ineffective.

I keep thinking of the question God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2).  And then I see the need to focus on what I have in my hand. I’m sensing the need to reach out to people around me who are hurting—something I’ve neglected because I’ve been too focused on the global.

 I realize God has been saying, “Look to the Lazarus at your gate.” The older I get, the more people whom I know will be hospitalized, lose loved ones, experience crises. These are the Lazaruses at my gate. Yet I’ve insulated and isolated myself from my immediate world in pursuit of the global.

How many decades did Mother Teresa labor in the ghettos of India unnoticed? Now, this woman didn’t think globally. Yet her words resonate in my soul: “God has not called me to be successful; He has called me to be faithful.”

When we focus too much on the global, we can overlook the people around us—family, neighbors, those we meet at church, in the store, at ballgames and on the street—because we may think ministering to them is too small. But the globe is made up of folks like these, and if we each reached out and touched them, the ripples will be felt in all the world.

Dear God, open my eyes to the Lazarus at my gate today. Amen.

Read and reflect on Luke 16:19–31.

From God, Me, & a Cup of Tea: 101 devotional readings to savor during your time with God © 2017 Michele Huey. All rights reserved.