MOTHERS DAY 2002
"It is well."
MOTHER
M ... is for the million things she gave me,
0 ... means only that she’s growing old,
T ... is for the tears she shed to save me,
H ... is for her heart of purest gold ,
E ... is for hrT eyes, with love light shining,
R ... means right, and right shell always be.
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
Howard Johnson (C. 1915)
PROVERBS 31:10 31
10 An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain
12 She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
13 She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight.
14 She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.
15 She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong.
18 She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for herself, Her clothing is fine linen and purple
23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29 "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all."
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.
Real Mothers
Real Mothers don’t eat quiche; they don’t have time to make it
Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils are probably in the sandbox.
Real Mothers often have sticky floors, filthy ovens and happy kids.
Real Mothers know that dried playdough doesn’t come out of shag carpets.
Real Mothers don’t want to know what the vacuum just sucked up.
Real Mothers sometimes ask "why me?" and get their answer when a little voice says, "because I love you best".
Real Mothers know that a child’s growth is not measure by height or years or grade ... it is marked by the progression of Mama to Mommy to Mom.
Author Unknown
One of my favorite stories about the love of a mother is in 2 Kings 4:7 37. This story not long after Elisha took over for Elijah after he went to heaven. Elisha went to Shunem.
2 Kings 4:8 37 The Shunammite Woman
8 Now there cam a day when Elisha passed over to Shumn, where there was a prominent woman, and she persuaded him to eat food. And so it was, as often as he passed by, he turned in there to eat food.
9 She said to her husband, "Behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually.
10 "Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there."
11 One day he came there and turned in to the upper chamber and rested
12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, "Call this Shunammite." And when he had called her, she stood before him
13 He said to him, "Say now to her, "Behold, you have been careful for us with all this care; what can I do for you? Would you be spoken for to the king or to the captain of the army?"’ And she answered, "I live among my own people."
14 So he said, "What then is to be done for her?" And Gehazi answered, "Truly she has no son and her husband is old."
15 He said, "Call her." When he had called her, she stood in the doorway.
16 Then he said, "At this season next year you will embrace a son." And she said, "No, my lord, 0 man of God, do not lie to your maidservant."
17 The woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her.
18 When the child was grown, the day came that he went out to his father to the reapers. 19 He said to his father, "My head, my head." And he said to his servant, "Carry him to his mother."
20 When he had taken him and brought him to his mother, he sat on heir lap until noon, and then died
21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door behind him and went out.
22 Then she called to her husband and said, "Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return."
23 He said, "Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor sabbath." And she said, "It will be well."
24 Then she saddled a donkey and said to her servant, "Drive and go forward; do not slow down the pace for me unless I tell you. "
25 So she went and came to the man of God to Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to Gehazi his servant, "Behold, there is the Shunammite.
26 "Please run now to meet her and say to her, "Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?" And she answered, "It is well."
27 When she came to the man of God to the hill she caught hold of his feet And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, "Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the LORD has hidden It from me and has not told me."
28 Then she said, "Did I ask for a son from my lord? Did I not say, "Do not deceive MCI?"
29 Then he said to Gehazi, "Gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand, and go your way; if you meet any man, do not salute him, and if anyone salutes you, do not answer him; and lay my staff on the lads face."
30 The mother of the lad said, "As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you." And he arose and followed her.
31 Then Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the lad’s face, but there was no sound or response. So he returned to meet him and told him, "The lad has not awakened."
32 When Elisha came into the house, behold the lad was dead and laid on his bed.
33 So he entered and shut the door behind them both and prayed to the LORD.
34 And he went up and lay on the child, and put his mouth on his mouth and his eyes on his eyes and his hands on his hands, and he stretched himself on him; and the flesh of the child became warm.
35 Then he returned and walked in the house once back and forth, and went up and stretched himself on him; and the lad sneezed seven times and the lad opened his eyes.
36 He called Gehazi and said, "Call this Shunammite." So he called her. And when she came in to him, he said, "Take up your son. "
37 Then she went in and fell at his feet and bowed herself to the ground, and she took up her son and went out.
When God Made Moms
By the time the Lord made mothers, he was into his sixth day of working overtime. An Angel appeared and said "Why are you spending so much time on this one"? And the Lord answered and said, "Have you seen the spec sheet on her? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 200 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that can hold three children at one time and that disappears when she stands up; have a kiss that can cure anything from a scraped knee to a broken heart, and have six pairs of hands." The Angel was astounded at the requirements for this one. "Six pairs of hands! No Way!" said the Angel. The Lord replied, "Oh, it’s not the hands that are the problem. Its the three pairs of eyes that mothers must have!" "And that’s just on the standard model?" The Angel asked. The Lord nodded in agreement, "Yes, one pair of eyes are to see through the closed door as she asks her children what they are doing even though she already knows. Another pair in the back of her head, are to see what she needs to know even though no one thinks she can And the third pair are here in the front of her head They are for looking at an errant child and saying that she understands and loves him or her without even saying a single word. The Angel tried to stop the Lord. "This is too much work for one day. Wait until tomorrow to finish," "But I can’t!" the Lord protested, "I am so close to finishing this creation that is so close to my own heart. She already heals herself when she is sick AND can feed a family of six on a pound of hamburger and can get a nine year old to stand in the shower." The Angel moved closer and touched the woman, "But you have made her so soft, Lord." "Yes, she is soft", the Lord agreed, "But I have also made her tough. You have no idea what she can endure or accomplish." "Will she be able to think?", asked the inquisitive Angel. The Lord smiled and replied, "Not only will she be able to think, she will be able to reason, and negotiate." The Angel then noticed something and reached out and touched the womans cheek. "OOPS, it looks like you have a leak with this model. I told you that you were trying to put too much into this one." "That’s not a leak." The Lord objected. "That is a tear!" "What’s the tear for? the Angel asked. The Lord said, "Me tear is her way of expressing herjoy, her sorrow, her disappointment, her pain, her loneliness, her grief, and her pride." The Angel was impressed. "You are a genius, Lord. You thought of everything! Truly, You do all things well... Moms are truly amazing!" Happy Mother’s Day!
Erma Bombeck
Another Mother’s Day is here,
Bringing joy and pleasures new,
On this special day, Mother dear,
I want to remember YOU.
I cannot give you costly gifts,
And I’ve told you this before,
No matter what I give to you,
You give back much, much more.
I’m giving you a pure, sweet rose,
Gathered in the early mom,
This rose you planted in my heart,
The day that I was born.
In kindly, loving thoughts of you,
And with the faith you still impart,
The rose I give to you today,
is the love that’s in my heart.
(I do not know the authors name)
PLAN OF SALVATION
ROMANS 10:17
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
HEBREWS 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
ACTS 2:38
38 And Peter said to them, "Repent,"
ROMANS 10:9 10
9 That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
MARK 16:16
16 "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned."
MATTHEW 7:21
"Not everyone who says to Me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven."
