Read a Good Book Lately?

Here on the First Free Women’s Blog, we’re interested in posting content that is encouraging, informative, thought-provoking, and Christ-honoring. Since First Free is blessed with a great library, bookstore, and Bible studies, not to mention our own Book Club, we know there are engaged readers here!

Have you recently read a Christian book [fiction or non-fiction] that brought you new insight or challenge? One that memorably transported you to another place or time? Maybe a study or devotional that helped you make a significant step in your spiritual walk?

If so, we’d like you to consider writing a 1-2 paragraph summary or review and submitting it to us for possible posting on our blog. All submissions are appreciated, all will be subject to minor editing, and we cannot guarantee that all will be posted within a certain time frame, but we value your voice.  We reserve the right to determine which reviews will and won’t be posted to our blog. All book summary or review content that is posted will include the name of the reviewer who submitted it.  Book Club titles are welcome as well.

Please send any submissions to Kathy Holliday; electronic files may be attached to an e-mail and sent to kateye7hollidays@comcast.net. Hard copy [paper] files may be sent to Kathy’s attention at First Free Church, 2223 N. Mulford Rd., Rockford, IL 61107.

We look forward to hearing from you!

Time’s Not Up!

By Kendra Johnson

Here I am, at that stage of life. You know, when your kids are grown and they have children of their own. Whether they are local or live in another state, there is sometimes a strange feeling when we are together.

When changing a diaper, reassembling a dropped Lego Ninja character, or playing Monopoly with a determined-to-win grandson, I sometimes find myself just sitting back and watching. Sometimes I feel like I’m on the outside looking in, seeing them through the eyes of a mom who has “been there, done that.”

I enjoy watching them grow, reliving in memory when my own boys were little and I experienced those same moments of joy and — to be honest– frustration that all parents of young children have felt. Spending time with my grandsons is such a blessing, and I love it! Proverbs 17:6 says it all: “Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.” I love my boys, and their boys!

End of story? Do I now just “relax” and “watch”? Not at all. In 1 Chronicles some people of each of the tribes were given responsibilities related to the Temple and how it functioned. It seems they were given their specific tasks according to their abilities and experience. When we look at 1 Chronicles 9:31 we read, “Mattithiah was entrusted with baking the offering bread”; in chapter 9, verse 26 the four principal gatekeepers “were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God”, and chapter 15, verse 22 says, “Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.”

What is my responsibility now, as a grandma to 5 boys who will be changing into teenagers, then into men, before my eyes? I certainly did not do everything right when my boys were small, but that time as a mom has given me on-the-job experience. Even now, I sometimes find myself looking back, wondering what I could have done differently.

But, is our time up? Is our opportunity to encourage and guide gone? Can we share what we have learned without being a “you should be doing it this way” kind of person? Absolutely not… our time is not up! Whether you answer to Grandma, Mor Mor, Mapa, or GiGi, let’s commit to pray – then watch for how God can use us!

• Pray for wisdom, then watch for opportunities to bring God’s Word into simple conversations with little ones, and remind them that God is with them and loves them. Be supportive of your adult children by reminding those little ones that God has given parents to them for a reason, and they need to obey them.
• Be creative when you ask older grandchildren questions. Ask them what God is doing in their lives and what you can pray about for them. Continually spur them on to good works, as you challenge and encourage them to be loving to their friends at school, and to be bold when they see situations where someone needs a protector.

I am blessed to see my boys stepping up into their role as dad, and how they go above and beyond with the lives that God has entrusted to them.

They are a crown to my aging head that I gladly wear.

“This is Only a Test”

I recently faced a situation that challenged my faith.

I felt like God didn’t have my back. I felt disappointed. A friend or two – ok….maybe pretty much everyone who I complained to – mentioned that perhaps God was testing me to see what was really in my heart. Sort of like a Deuteronomy 8 thing: “And He humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” [verse 3]

The words hit home.

Your test might not look anything like my test, but when it comes to God and His ways, the test never unfolds exactly how we think it should. Typically, God’s tests usually come when we’re smack dab stuck in the middle of the wilderness with no easy way out.

If you feel like you’re in the wilderness right now, maybe God is simply testing you. I’ve compiled 10 thoughts about the tests that we face, meant to strengthen our faith. How might God be testing you right now?

• The test of your faith comes in your lack
• The test of your joy comes with your loss
• The test of your humility comes when you’re unjustly treated
• The test of your surrender comes when you lose what you love the most
• The test of your contentment comes when others get the one thing you want
• The test of your endurance comes when you’re given the chance to quit
• The test of your intimacy with God comes when you feel lonely
• The test of your purity comes when you think no one will ever find out
• The test of your love for money comes when you can get it bigger
• The test of your generosity comes right after you’ve given more than you needed to
• The test of your forgiveness comes when you’re wounded
• The test of your faithfulness comes in the mundane

Get this: In every single test that Jesus faced He overcame it with the power of God’s word.

Your weapon to make it through any test has always been and will always be God’s word. Wield it often and wield it well and watch God walk you straight through your wilderness.

The following blog post by Bible teacher and physician, Lina AbuJamra, appeared on her blog www.livingwithpower.org on Sept. 11, 2015.  Lina was the keynote speaker at the 2015 First Free Women’s Retreat.