Handmaidens -All Around Home

Summer, 2000
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Just a Thought...
By Staff Writer Sharon Barrett
John 4:14 " But whosover drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

Christ was speaking to a Samaritan woman. The Samaritan people had been despised by the Jews since Old Testament times. Christ treated the Samaritans graciously, as evidenced by his dealings with the Samaritan women at the well. We can do no less in this day and age. We must share the word with all people. We must show the same attitudes of Christ. We have no idea who will accept Jesus into their heart and who won't - only God has that information.

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The Glass House
By Maria Sgourakis Buehler

Peering through the panes of my house outsiders seem to see
The very strengths and weaknesses that exist deep inside of me.
My soul exposed alike to friends and foe
Vulnerable to opinions that freely flow.

Wondering how I have arrived in this glass enclosure
Why would God allow such extreme external exposure?
Opportunities knock, blessings abound, still my heart remains reserved
Fearing man, fearing perceptions, fearing what may be said or heard.

I'm in the struggle to survive this lonely road, this mental abyss
All the while learning how to lean on God - Satan to resist!
More oft than not I succumb to the eyes which seem to see inside me
Until I recollect my thoughts and see how JESUS sees me!
Through eyes not judging the external but looking at my heart,
I only need to look to HIM to recognize my part...

He's placed me in this big glass house to live the life He's given,
Set forth as an example, NOT as perfection this side of heaven.
I must remember my goal is not to please all who see me or perceive me
But to please my maker and be who HE alone intends for me to be.
It takes more discipline, more resolve than I alone possess
To live my life before others with such a Godly brand of finesse.

So I hear the Lord as he gently whispers saying,
"Your glass house is a blessing I have given.
Seek me, trust me, allow me to mold you,
Fix your eyes on me - not others - and your heart I will renew
So that you can live in this glass house with anticipation and with hope
NOT merely trying to exist or attempting to simply cope.
You are equipped for my purpose, I have made you so
Allow me to lead you to where I would have you go.
Open the doors of your glass house and let others in,
I know it won't be easy but oh the victories you will win.
For when you love without fear - love without reserve,
Your capacity to give grows and multiplies in return."

In gaining God's perspective, in looking through His eyes,
I can see the hidden blessings that ought not be passed by.
So I live in this glass house transparent and clear
Living - loving victoriously in Him without the need to fear.

***

About the Author: My background includes a federal career as a trainer/educator, publication specialist, and intelligence researcher. However, I recently ended my federal career to be a stay-at-home mother to my fifteen month old daughter, Sophia. As my husband is a Christian and Missionary Alliance Jr. High Youth Pastor, I also am involved in the youth ministry of the church and the discipling of young women. My role and experience as a youth pastor's wife in a very large church has been the inspiration behind this particular piece. If you choose to use this poem, my hope is that it will be an encouragement to other women who find themselves in a similar spotlight.

Clutter
Submitted by Carol Skipper of Apron Strings Devotionals

It arose one morning from the bowels of my desk, a formless mass that spread and covered itself over anything I was looking for. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Clutter," the mass answered, "and I am here to confound your life. I am the things you refuse to throw out though you haven't used them in six years, the miscellaneous papers, phone numbers, business cards, and checks you accumulate and don't put away. I am the inevitable manifestation of your sloppiness. I am Clutter."

I grabbed Clutter and moved it from one end of the desk to the other.

Clutter chortled, "That's my favorite pastime. Moving from one end of the desk to the other."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"To frustrate you. I will resist all attempts to remove me, reduce me, or otherwise eliminate me. It's my purpose to hide whatever important piece of paper you need, whichever phone number you must call."

"I'm throwing you out," I stormed. Clutter shook his untidy mass sadly, as in pity.

"Not without looking through me to see if there's anything you really need," Clutter answered. "the odds are slim, but you won't take that chance. And while your sorting through me, I'll re-form in another pile."

"But you'll be smaller, more manageable."

"Not really. You'll decide to keep 90% of me, as you always do. And soon, new papers, numbers, documents will gather, making me more obstructive than ever."

"You won't ruin my life, Clutter! I'll start a filing system! I'll put every bit of you where you belong."

Clutter gazed at me contemptuously. "The last time you tried that, you created my cousins, Chaos and Disorder. It'll never work."

Clutter had me and I knew it. Attempts in the past to file things alphabetically had only created 26 piles of mess instead of one. I was desperate, so I decided to bluff. "I'll take a time management course," I threatened.

Clutter quite rightly ignored my remark. I wasn't dealing with an idiot, after all. "Then I'll buy a computer and store you on my floppy disks!"

"And within a month your disk-filing system will be in total disarray, plus you'll have another pile of papers waiting to be entered onto disks. Face it, you can't win.

Exasperated, I ran to the closet. "I'm getting some air." Clutter had been to the closet before me. Shoes were scattered, shirts were unhung, clumps of pants and underwear lay strewn next to towels and a lawn chair. Socks congealed in small piles, looking like the waste product of some nylon-eating monster. Cliff notes from A Tale of Two Cities lay atop the heater.

"Clutter," I yelled. "You have crippled my productivity for the last time. No longer will I be late, no more will I miss appointments, never again shall I be overwhelmed by your size and withdraw into reading old magazines. I am going out to the store to buy a paper shredder."

I looked around for a long moment. "Now where did I leave my keys?"

....Clutter burped.

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