Are You a Servant or a Servaholic?

Do you have a servant’s heart?

Don’t be too quick to answer YES! Consider this: Do you become resentful or impatient when asked to perform a service for others? Do you feel that any of the required tasks are beneath your dignity? Are you reluctant to perform small favors for those outside of your church family? Will you want credit or recognition for each task you perform? If so you may be more of a servaholic than a servant-leader.

God’s Word calls us right into the tension between self-love and self-denial. Jesus assumes that we love and care for ourselves to some degree (Matthew 22:39) but he also calls us to radically die to our own desires (Matthew 16:24).

How are we to navigate this paradox? To what degree should we care for ourselves—and why is it important to do so? Can we live out Jesus’ call to self-denial while also living a healthy, balanced life? The tension between self-love and self-denial is not easy to sort out. How do you care for yourself—body and soul—in God-honoring ways? What do you see as the right balance between self-love and self-denial?

The bottom line in servant leadership isn’t how far we advance ourselves, but how far we advance others. We must do the things that God would have us do. This can only be achieved INTENTIONALLY.

Serve joyfully, not out of compulsion or for a desire to be significant in the eyes of others. Serve as Jesus would have you serve.   

An award-winning writer and frequent conference speaker, Shirley Raye Redmond is the author of three inspirational novels, as well as two dozen children’s books, including LEWIS & CLARK: A PRAIRIE DOG FOR THE PRESIDENT (Random House), which was a Children’s Book of the Month Club selection. Her book, Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Women of God will be released by Harvest House in January. Touch bases at shirleyrayeredmond.com or Facebook

Climb Every Mountain

By Shirley Raye Redmond

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

Bandoola, a powerful Burmese elephant, climbed 5000 feet along the narrow ledge of a sandstone cliff face covered with dense vegetation. With grit and determination, the great tusker and his oozie or elephant handler, led 198 people (including sixty-four women and children and four British army
officers), forty-five elephants and eight calves more than one hundred miles from Burma into India in an daring attempt to escape invading Japanese troops during World War II.

So great was the strain that the elephants’ leg muscles shook for nearly an hour after their ordeal. Upon their safe arrival in India, Lt. Colonel John Williams, the officer in charge, offered up a prayer of thanksgiving. The nineteen-day trek had been grueling for animals and humans alike. Williams well knew that Bandoola and the other tuskers were used to hauling lumber for building bridges and military outposts, but were not accustomed to climbing mountains or carrying cargo. When he asked Po Toke, who’d raised Bandoola from a baby calf, what he’d told the elephant to get him to achieve the near miraculous feat, the oozie simply answered, “Must climb, Bandoola.”

The trust between Bandoola and Po Toke was so strong, the situation so dire, that man and beast strove together to lead the others on the dangerous journey to freedom. Although I’ve never faced such a journey as Bandoola’s, I have occasionally endured hardships that left me shaken and exhausted. Perhaps you have too. Thankfully, we have a trustworthy Savior who walks with us each step of the way, no matter how tough those steps may be.


Prayer Starter: Lord, you are the Good Shepherd who will lead me safely through life’s difficult mountain passes and the lowest valleys. Strengthen my resolve to trust in you.

I’m giving away a copy of Guideposts new inspiring devotional, ALL GOD’S CREATURES. Several of my own devotionals are included in this volume. If you’d like to participate, leave a comment. I will pick a name at random later in the week and the lucky recipient will receive a hard cover, signed copy of the book.

Calendars and Question Marks

By Barbara M. Britton

Happy birthday Stitches Thru Time! Thank you for encouraging readers and writers for five years, or 1,826 days.

Do you have your 2019 calendar yet? I haven’t purchased one, but a freebie came in the mail the other day. I was so excited. Now, I could clean out all the appointment cards and notes stuffed inside my current calendar. Even this morning, I was planning where I would be in the spring and checking where the dates fell in the week.

I guess it’s beneficial to be a planner, but as I scheduled my life nine months in advance, I realized only God truly knows my schedule.

Proverbs 27:1 reminds us:

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Every day is a gift from God. I know this all too well as a breast cancer survivor. If you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, say a prayer of thanks to God. When I speak about the chaos of my cancer, I speak to the blessing of a new day. Oncology wards bring you face to face with the reality that tomorrow is not a guarantee.

Okay, we’re celebrating here, so I don’t want to get too heavy. What can we do to celebrate life? Praise God and thank him for each new day.

Live on God’s schedule and take the detours He places in our lives. We can be a light to people God puts in our path. A smile. Kind words. Patience. All of these may seem small, but they can make a difference in someone’s life.

If you’re a Christian writer, stay in the game. Write out of a passion for your story and a passion to influence this world for Christ.

Make time for prayer, worship, Bible reading, Bible study, mentoring, and encouraging others. These can get left off a busy calendar and we need to fill our spiritual tanks, so we can zoom into the next week.

When your freebie calendar comes in the mail, remember God is the true organizer of our days. Don’t forget to pencil some time in for Him and leave time for some spiritual detours. You never know what activities God has planned for you in 2019.

How do you keep your focus on God when your calendar looks like doodle art?

Barbara M. Britton lives in Wisconsin and writes Christian Fiction for teens and adults. She has a nutrition degree from Baylor University but loves to dip healthy strawberries in chocolate. Barbara brings little-known Bible characters to light in her Tribes of Israel series. She is a member of RWA, WisRWA, SCBWI and ACFW. Find out more about Barb and her books at www.barbarambritton.com.

Leave a comment and you will be entered into a drawing for one of Barb’s books (reader’s choice).

Author Interview with Sharon Rene and Giveaway!

Today we have a special treat! Children's author Sharon Rene is here to share some fun with us today, including a paperback giveaway of her book, A Mixed Bag of God's Grace!

Sharon Rene strives to honor God in all her writings and help people know Him better. Currently she’s working on a Christian Young Adult series.  She’d love for you to connect with her on her website www.sharonreneauthor.com to learn more about her Divine Destiny series.

 

Welcome Sharon! We're so glad you could visit us today. Tell us about your book.

A Mixed Bag of God’s Grace is a collection of short stories for elementary and middle-grade children. The stories are biblical, historical and contemporary. A devotion follows each story.

Where did the inspiration for this book come from? 

When writing this book, I thought of a parent who had three or four children. One child liked contemporary stories another preferred historical and the others loved the great stories in the Bible. A mom or dad can please every child in the family with A Mixed Bag of God’s Grace.

Mixing short stories and devotionals is an interesting weave of fiction and spiritual content. Can you tell us more about how you work your faith into your writing?

I’ve taught Sunday school, children and youth, for over fifteen years. I’ve had to be creative to capture my students’ attention. I use the art of story-telling to pull the child into the situation. Before they know it – they’ve learned something.

One of my critique partners suggested that I add a devotion behind each story. She thought this would be a great way to help children learn and remember. I loved the idea.

Tell us how you chose the title.

Since this is a collection of short stories the name couldn’t be based on a character, place or situation. I thought that these stories were like a “mixed bag” a little bit of everything and God’s grace was the one common factor.

What do you enjoy most about writing for children?

Children are very imaginative and impressionable. I hope children will be entertained by my stories but also learn more about history and the Bible.

What was your favorite book or movie as a child?

I read every Nancy Drew mystery I could get my hands on. I also loved Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’ve always been a history nut. That’s why my book contains three stories set in England in the middle ages.

What advice would you give to parents and grandparents that would like to encourage their children to read more?

Reading is one of the most important things a child can do, especially in our high-tech society. I would encourage parents and grandparents to find books that will tempt the child to read. If the child is interested in planets and space find books on these topics. If they prefer American history search for books in that category. And, of course, buy A Mixed Bag of God’s Grace to satisfy everyone.

What are you working on next? 

I’m currently writing a Young Adult series. Hesitant Heroes is set in 2062. Jordan Scott, a teenage computer geek, discovers that Christian students are disappearing from her high school. She and her friends are pulled into danger and intrigue as they try to solve the mystery.

Very interesting. Looks like you have some great stuff going on. Thank you so much for being with us! 

Readers, Sharon is giving away one paperback copy of A Mixed Bag of God's Grace, so be sure to leave her a comment to get your name in the hat! Winner announced in the Weekly Windup.