Years ago, my dear friend Betty Fitzsimmons shared with me the concept of God’s soap making. She talked about the sacrifices in the Old Testament. The ash, the water, and the fat that we see evident in these Old Testament sacrifices.
As a soap maker (lye soap maker) myself, I found this very interesting at the time and have never forgotten it.
In Malawi, laundry is done with water drawn from a nearby well and scrubbed by hand, in a bucket with bar soap. Unlike the lye soap I make, it is green. I have yet to figure out why it is green.
Recently, I came across this article in Apologetics Press and thought it would be great to share with you.
Have you made such connections? Have you connected the washing in Titus 3:5 with the cleansing in the Old Testament and the cleansing in baptism?
And 1 Peter 3:21 “There is also an antitype which now saves us – baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus, Christ,
God is amazing! His word is amazing! Jump in today!
For this year I am switching from the NIV Bible I have used for many years. I decided to read the NKJV for a fresher look at the scriptures. Sometimes it helps me to see the scripture in a different light when I read it in different versions.
There are so many reading plans now! I haven’t settled on a plan yet though in 2023 I want to read through the entire Bible. The important thing is to get started! Read something from the Bible each day! Your life will be better!
Have a reading plan you love? Share it in the comments.
This year I have decided to use the Daily Walk Bible for my quiet time. This last year I really had a hard time keeping my focus on staying in the word. I have ALWAYS received a great benefit from much time spent in the word. I am amazed at how timely God’s word is to my life and situations. Somehow I let myself be distracted from this way too much in 2010.
In the front of this Bible I found an article. Here are some of the highlights.
Seven Benefits from Reading Your Bible
All seven are taken from Psalm 119.
1. The Bible will help keep you from sin. verse 11
2. The Bible will lift your burdens. verse 28
3. The Bible will guide your steps. verse 105
4. The Bible will bring you joy. verse 111
5. The Bible will lead you to wisdom. verse 130
6. The Bible will give you peace. verse 165
7. The Bible will bring you back to God. verse 176
Reading my Bible:
1. makes me a calmer, happier wife and mother.
2. helps me deal more appropriately with the daily trials and temptations which come my way.
3. gives me a rich supply to share from with those who need help and hope in this world.
This year I am focusing on the word for myself and the benefit I will receive from spending time with God. Reading the word alone is not enough but it is a start. I need the word daily and I need a closer relationship with God. This is a desire I am sure God will honor. I am sure he will help me apply the word and grow from it if I am willing.
Let’s have a gratitude attitude. Can we? Yes! How do I cultivate an attitude of gratitude even when things are not going so well? Or during what I call downtimes? We have had a lot of downtimes with Covid these last two years but there is still lots of room for gratitude.
Count Your Blessings Even When You Don’t Feel Grateful
I need to acknowledge the innumerable things I have to be grateful for each day. Count them, write them down or at least mention them out loud. It lifts my spirits when I confirm the goodness of God. My head knows God’s daily goodness to me but sometimes I may not feel so grateful. So remembering these blessings in a tangible way makes me feel better.
Count Your Blessings
Read Your Bible
Keep this one routine. Read your Bible! If you think you don’t feel like it, deciding to read one verse and thinking about it will help. This one routine will help you stay on track and lead to additional benefits. I just pick a book of the Bible I haven’t read in a while and start working my way through it whether by one verse or several. When I complete a book of the Bible I write the month and year on the title page. I am always glad I did!
Read Good Books
Reading good books helps me insert something positive into my day. When I may not be very motivated to do a lot whether it’s from sickness or the blues I can feed my mind on learning something beneficial. I love to read non-fiction and memoirs as they share the struggles and the best of times. This helps me find perspective in my day when I realize we all have them!
Helping others is great therapy when I am feeling down or struggling with the blues. Get moving! Having a plan for the day instead of sitting helps me to adjust my attitude, I feel better when I am moving. If I can’t bring myself to do much or I am unable to do a lot physically I can give an elderly person, a shut-in, or an old friend a short call just to say hi. I guarantee you will feel better.
Examples of Gratitude
I have two great examples from ladies I have known. One was Eva Lee Smith. She was in her 90s and couldn’t get out much. One day I went to visit the hospital and the lady I was visiting was on the phone with Eva Lee. She couldn’t leave her home but she was checking on others and you know she brightened their day. The second lady, Mrs. Renfro was 86 when I met her at a yard sale. She told me a Bible verse that became one of my favorites, Nehemiah 8:10 “the joy of the Lord is my strength”. She also told me she helped little old ladies and that sure made me smile. What a joy she was, it was obvious she was enjoying life!
What are some things that keep us from having a gratitude attitude? Focusing on our problems. Forgetting to notice the little blessings. Thinking only of myself. Feeding my mind on the wrong things. Having no goals or plans for the day. All of these can steal our joy and keep us from having an attitude of gratitude.
Have a beautiful day full of gratitude! It’s up to you today!
Glory’s parents came to thank us for all the help we have provided for the nursery school. This is our third year working with Glory. They brought us gifts of nsima, beans, and Fanta. Somehow Glory misunderstood when I asked for her school colors. She thought I was providing uniforms for the students. I must be more careful.
Sewing Group
Christina came to the sewing co-op and brought corn and a live chicken. She thanks us for what we have done. The rest of the sewing group is gathering for a day of work.
The elders stopped by for a final meeting.
Bless Soko and 2 fellow preachers came by asking about raising support for workers.
Nursery School
This is our final stop at the nursery school and we take gifts. We gave them a soccer ball, book, markers, posters, and sweeties.
Lovemore Nursery School
While in Manyamula we make our last purchases. I know we will miss this place. We bought two cool rugs for $1000 K each ($1.50).
Lucia Has Made a Dress!
The sewing group has made great progress and Lucia has made a dress! She is. very proud of her accomplishment and wants us to take a picture of her. We are very proud of her too!
Lucia and Lucy. Lucia made her first dress!Busy Sewing Group
Chili
Last night I soaked some beans and made plans for chili for our lunch today. I wanted to cook for the whole sewing group. They were very happy about this. Early this morning I started them over the wood fire outside in the cooking building. I gave some Nsmia to the ladies and they agreed to cook it to go with their lunch. I still haven’t learned how to cook Nsima!
We eat our chili and rice and head out for some visits.
Isaiah’s Study Group
The drive to Isaiah’s house was beautiful. I was amazed to know how far he has been riding his bicycle to bring the lessons to be graded.
The group was waiting for us when we arrived. It was so wonderful to meet such dedicated people. Isaiah has been hosting nightly Bible study meetings. They have all finished their 7 courses and we are here to present a Bible to each one of them.
They are so excited. We congratulate each one and take a group photo. They asked us to please send more lessons that they may continue their studies. Note to self. Find more advanced lessons.
They present us with a live chicken the second for the day. Even with little, these people are so generous and we love them! Tonight we will have chicken and rice with gravy.
Isaiah’s Study Group
Abisha and Agness
Today is the only day left to visit with Abisha’s wife Agness. He came Sunday and asked us to visit with her before we left. She hasn’t been attending church and he is worried about her.
So we make a call and go for a visit. We sit outside and chat for a bit. Agness is a lovely lady and seems happy for us to visit her. We greet the neighbors and I give sweeties to everyone. One child is traumatized when he sees me. I have a scary white face. Somehow everyone is amused by this especially my husband.
I finally sit and chat with Agness. She tells me her story and her history of growing up in Catholicism and how she came to the church and raised her family there. After a bit, I pray for her, and I ask her if she would like to study. She tells me she will be in church with her family on Sunday. We hug and say our farewells.
AgnessReda, Agness, AbishaLiquid Manure
Village Savings and Loan
While we were chatting the Village Savings and Loan group have assembled. They charge 20% interest on loans and they also charge a fine if you are late to the meetings. I am very curious about these groups.
I got up early this morning and Wanangwa was heating water outside in the cooking room over wood. Are we using too much propane? I’m not sure. I wash the dishes and then get my bath.
Donuts for Sunday Breakfast
Today is Sunday! For breakfast, every Sunday Rapha makes donuts for us. We enjoy the donuts with our tea with milk.
I clean my room and organize some of my stuff. It’s always a mess. Today is the school supply giveaway after church. I have all of the bags ready to go to the car.
We arrive at church early to sing as usual. They really like for Lawrence to lead singing before class. As we sing everyone arrives for class. This morning Lawrence is teaching the class and doing the Lord’s Supper message. The sermon is in Tumbuka and I am able to follow along with at least the Bible passages.
After the communion and contribution are over it is customary to write the contributed amount on the board. 24,850 K. This morning I notice that the board also has a count. I must have missed this before. M – 35, F-52, C- 60. (Male, Female, Children).
Sunday Board
School Supply Give-Away
After church one of the men comes forward with a list and they have me and Esther give out the school supply bags as they call the kids to the front. The kids are very excited and a bit shy about receiving their bags. It is customary for them to hold out two cupped hands to receive a gift. The children and parents are very appreciative. The school will resume this week after a break because of Covid.
School SuppliesGroup Picture at School Supply Give-AwayEsther giving school suppliesStudents receiving suppliesHappy StudentGroup picture
Esther Teaches Class
Esther usually has a class in the afternoon with the youth. While she does that we go to comfort another family who has lost a loved one. As a church, everyone goes together and has a devotional which lasts about an hour. Sometimes they pass a bowl for a collection for the family. Other times individuals just give the family some money. This is my second time visiting this family and it is heartwrenching.
Esther teaching about being salt and light
We go home for lunch and over lunch discuss the possibility of helping the task force get the jerseys for the soccer team. We eat kidneys, rice, and greens for dinner.
Today is my mother-in-law’s birthday. She is a wonderful Christian lady. She got us involved in this work about four years ago. One of the family members had organized a zoom Happy Birthday Song. It actually worked and we were able to see a lot of our big, crazy, happy family. Although it was almost bedtime here and a bit dark we were thankful for the internet tonight.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Trust in the Lord with all Your Heart
First Memory Verses
This is the first Bible verse that I teach my children around two years old. Yes, I teach them John 11:35 but the first verse is to Trust in the Lord! Don’t lean on your own understanding. Acknowledge God he will smooth the way for you. He will make your path straight if you will let him.
POW Toilet Paper Bible
Memorizing scriptures is very important to me. I first got a glimpse into the importance when I was middle school age and heard a POW speak at an assembly at Mortimer Jordan High School in Morris, Alabama. It so impressed me! I wish I knew who the man was. He probably has no idea what an impact he made on my life. Nonetheless, I still remember his description of how the prisoners pieced together a Bible. They wrote on toilet paper the verses that they could recall from memory. This was a joint project. They valued these words. These scriptures carried them through a dark time of imprisonment.
Freed-Hardeman
As a college student, I was impressed with a professor who memorized chunks of the Bible and sometimes books of the Bible! I wanted to do this!
Would there ever be a time when I would not have access to a Bible? Doesn’t everyone have a Bible? What if the only part of the Bible you could have right now was what you have committed to memory? How big would your Bible be?
Malawi
As I travel to Malawi I see a hunger for the word of God like none I have ever witnessed. They want to own a Bible. They want to hold and read a Bible because they know it contains the words of life.
What a blessing to be able to own a Bible. What a blessing to recall scripture from memory!
Count your blessings today!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
