The open mike

By Tammie Ledford

I overheard a conversation I wasn't meant to hear. Call it a case of the “open mike”. My 82 year old mother fractured her back and was in the hospital. It was two in the morning, she was in pain so we rang for meds. The aide answered, he was with another patient but would tell the nurse. Then it happened, he left the intercom on.  It was amusing listening to him chit chat with his patient. 

I was contemplating leaving the warm blanket I was under to let him know of the faux pas, but he made it to the nurses station and told her our request. 

She lashed back.

Her words stung… "patients have too many rights." "I don’t need three people telling me to "get pain medication," there was more.

My face grew hot, I was shocked at her response. I thought about all the hardships my mother had endured in her life, how she had handled them with grace. If anyone had rights it was her! How could a nurse, someone dedicated to healing, respond with disregard for their patients? My anger was growing.

Then the Lord, as He always does, very gently reminded me of things I had said in the past, words I would have been embarrassed about if there had been an “open mike”. He reminded me that He is the open mike and every thing we say or think, kind or unkind falls on His ears. 

Ouch!

King David wrote in Psalms 139:1-4 

 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

    you discern my thoughts from afar.

 You search out my path and my lying down

    and are acquainted with all my ways.

 Even before a word is on my tongue,

    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

I thought about words, how powerful they are! In a flash words can tear someone apart or build them up. 

 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,

Or in James 3 and how impossible it is to tame the tongue, how the same tongue blesses G-d but curses the man G-d created and it shouldn’t be this way.

Slowly my anger was replaced with empathy. I thought of all the physical hurt the nurses saw every day on the trauma floor. People from all ages and walks of life. I tried to imagine how emotionally draining it must be to manage their pain. I could understand her frustration. Then empathy was replaced with compassion and I began to pray, I prayed for the nurses, the other patients but I also prayed that I would always use my tongue to encourage others.

Can I challenge you to do as I did in those wee hours and determine to choose your words carefully? After all there is always an “open mike”.

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! 

Psalm 141:3                   

About the Author: 

Tammie has been married to her best friend Randy for 34 years. They have three sons and two amazing grandchildren. She recently retired from a career in advertising and is pursuing a dream she never forgot, to write children’s stories. They have been residents of Wilmington since 1995.

Have You Been Tricked?

by Nivine Richie

But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 3:13

Several years ago, Hollywood made a film about a child adopted by a movie production company. In The Truman Show starring Jim Carrey, the boy was raised on the set for the television show and never knew that his “parents” were paid actors. His neighbors and friends were extras. Each day he walked down the street and greeted people that were paid to greet him in return. Then one day his eyes were opened. Instead of his perfect home and neighborhood, he saw an artificial main street. Rather than family and friends, he saw hired hands. His world, as enticing as it was, came to an end when he discovered the edge of the movie set and climbed out.

Sin is tricky. Like a movie set of a neighborly main street with beckoning storefront windows and inviting front doors, sin is an attractive façade. Look closely, however, and we find that nothing is for sale in the store, and no one lives behind those front doors. Sin is a charade, a mirage, a trick. It is never what it seems.

Not only does sin trick us into believing it is desirable, it has a secondary effect as well. Sin causes us to turn away from God. Whenever I’ve toyed with a pet sin, I’ve found myself uncomfortable in church. Believers irritate me. I’m critical of the preaching and the choir stops sounding good. I think I can walk away from my sin anytime I’m ready. Then, one day I wake up to find myself tangled in sin’s deceitfulness. Nothing short of the power of God can free me.

Have you ever experienced the deceitfulness of sin in your own life? Maybe what started out as a small thing turned into a sticky web, and the harder you worked to untangle it, the more trapped you felt. Freedom is available.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.                          1 Corinthians 10:13

I look back on those seasons in my life where I’ve been stuck in sin. Like the lead character in The Truman Show, I’m amazed that I was too deceived to see through the façade and recognize reality. I don’t need to be overwhelmed by temptation because God is faithful; He always provides a way to exit the movie set.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

About the author:

Nivine Richie is a women’s Bible study teacher in Wilmington, N.C., where she lives with her husband and two teenage children. A university finance professor, she is actively involved in the Christian faculty association on campus. Nivine has participated in and taught many small group studies over the years. She seeks to help others launch their own small group studies and is available to speak at women’s events.

This devotion is adapted from her new book, Enduring Faith: An 8-Week Devotional Study of the Book of Hebrews, available from Amazon on kindle at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KUZCZFS/ and in print at http://www.amazon.com/dp/1941103111/

Visit her at www.unfoldinghisword.com to find tools to help you grow as a small group leader.

Contact her at nivine@unfoldinghisword.com

on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UnfoldingHisWord 

or on Twitter at @UnfoldHisWord

Daddy's Girl

By Venus Schrader

"Daddy's girl.” Those words take me back to a time when I would cringe. My father was a man to be feared. He was as big as the Incredible Hulk, a body builder and a mean drunk. He spent most of his youth and early adult years behind bars, including the time of my birth. “Daddy's girl?” No thank you, I'll pass. However I did have a desire to be precious and provided for.

This had a huge impact on my life when I became a Christian. There I was, a frail twenty-one year-old girl, battered, abused by the world then thrown away like the evening trash. I was desperate for a savior, not a daddy. The last thing I wanted to hear is that God is my heavenly Father.  How can He be my father? Why is He my father? I don't need a father. My heart and mind were on overload with questions, fear and confusion. 

            
I wish I could say that all at once my mind and heart changed and I welcomed God into my life as a loving father. But it was a process, and God was patient and kind and He healed my heart along the way. During this time, I forgave my dad, started to pray that he would accept Christ and that we would have a relationship one day. He was living miles away in another state, and still drinking himself to death. So the odds were slim to none.

vintage family photo

            
In 2008 God answered my prayers and restored me and my dad's relationship. Our daily phone calls lasted for hours on end. The first time we prayed together, each word released a tear that washed away the past. The gratitude I had for God in that moment could have overflowed the Grand Canyon. Before I knew it, I looked up and at forty years old, I was a daddy's girl.

            
On January 16, 2011 at 2:30am our journey took a turn to eternity. The nursing home called with the message, “It won't be long now.” My feet seemed to dangle at the edge of the bed, I was three again and I wanted my daddy to be my hero, not a monster. And I praise God he had become my hero so far away from the monster of my past. “Can I talk to him?” I asked. As I turned to the 23rd Psalm, I was told he was intubated and could not respond.  Before I finished the Psalm I could hear my daddy trying to talk. I said a prayer of thanksgiving to God for his life and our relationship. I told him we would be together forever. They said he opened his eyes and was trying to talk to me. I heard every word, he said “You’re my girl.”

    
Is your relationship with God based on your relationship with your earthly Daddy?

 If it is anything like mine, know that God can make all things beautiful in his time.

Venus: My husband and I, three daughters and one granddaughter landed in Wilmington, NC five years ago. I enjoy spending time with family and friends exploring the wonders of life. As God leads I hope to express this journey of  life through the beauty of words.