The rich family....

THE RICH FAMILY IN CHURCH
By Eddie Ogan

I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy was 12,and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died five years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money.

By 1946 my older sisters were married and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially.

When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. When we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us babysat for everyone we could. For 15 cents we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1. We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives.

Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much. After all, every Sunday the pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering. The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change.

We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before.
That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering.

We could hardly wait to get to church! On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and
her feet got wet. But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the
Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt rich.

When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us kids put in a $20. As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1 bills.

Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor. We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our Mom and Dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the spoon or the fork that night. We had two knifes that we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor.

That Easter day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed--I didn't even want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor!

I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew that we were poor. I decided that I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed. All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we
were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way. Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse.

At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each
other and smiled for the first time in a week. Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering. When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church. He said, "You must have some rich people in this church."

Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100." We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus!

Pat's Thought for the day:
We are what we believe others see us as. Whose ideas are you believing?

Tapestry..

Penny's recent blog reminded me of a favourite poem of mine, which has helped me through many difficult times:-

The Tapestry

My life is a weaving between my Lord and me;
I cannot choose the colours, He worketh steadily.
Ofttimes, He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride
Forget that He seeth the upper, and I the underside.
Not 'til the loom is silent, and the shutters cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.

by A. Naismith

Pat's Thought for the Day:
It is extremely hard to always accept the dark threads as necessary in our life. Let's remember to pray for those who struggle, for it is often only in hindsight that most of God's plans make sense.

Diagnosis confirmed...

A huge thank you to all those who have been praying - diabetes was confirmed this afternoon.

However, the practise nurse seemed very pleased at the steps I've already taken to address weight loss and a change in lifestyle. My blood levels are way down, and looking good. I just need to keep on doing it, and practising what I now know to be important for me. I feel better, in just a few short weeks, and in the nicest possible way, I pray that over the next few months, you will all see less of me!

I've loved reading Sarah's blogs re; 40 Days - they have been an inspiration. I can identify with her blog for today, though - as I certainly don't feel like an evangelist. I know God has enabled me to teach believers, but in many ways, I feel very inadequate in sharing my faith to non-believers. But after Oaks & Acorns ( our Adults & toddler group) this morning, I popped over to a local sandwich shop to pick up some lunch for us. Whilst there, one of the ladies serving looked straight at me, and said, "You're from Elim Church, aren't you?" I told her yes, and wondered how she knew ( wasn't weaing my Oaks & Acorns shirt at the time, either!)

She said " I used to go there when I was little, and you used to hold my hand in Bible school". Apart from initially making me feel very old (!), I told her that we'd love to see her back anytime, and please come for Easter. Maybe that was encouraging one lady to take one step closer in returning to a faith of her youth. Is that what Tony meant by evangelism yesterday? I think maybe it might.....

Pat's Thought for the Day:
Telling someone about Jesus is often harder for us to contemplate than actually DO. Somehow, once you do it, it doesn't seem half as scary....

Keep on walking...

As part of a new lifestyle, one of the things I need to do is take considerably more exercise.

It is therefore with some excitement that I can actually say "I've joined a gym!" Thanks to my mum, I have joined Esporta (as a partner to her), and have already had some fun there with her. So far, I am takiing things carefully, and only using the treadmill, until I can get the weight moving , and get fitter. I really value the suport of friends and family, as this now has to be a lifestyle change, and not just a phase I go through. However, having made a committment to walking, whether at the gym or around the streets where I live, I can already appreciate the difference made in a few weeks

I know that any action plan for change is taken one step at a time, and this is literally true for me. It is also true in the Kingdom. It IS possible for things to happen spectacularly, all at once, but I think such times are rare. We should therefore never devalue when God works in someone's life, be it externally or internally, over the course of time. Each and every step is an important part of each journey, whether it's to lose weight, get fit, or simply aim to be a better reflector of God's love today than I was yesterday.

Pat's Thought for the Day:
One of the members of our 40 Days Small group said a few weeks ago "You know what is really important in your life, because that's the thing you'll make time to do". I wonder what's really important for you right now?

Silver Lightning....

Am now the very proud owner of a new car (well, one-year old!) as of 9 am today. It's a vauxhall Corsa, metallic silver ( the name of the paint is "silver lightning"!!), and she's gorgeous! Chris is now the proud owner of the micra, and God is good!

Only problem is, I need some help to come up with some kind of acrostic to remember the reg. number. With John's Focus, I can remember the number's OK, but I had to think up a phrase for the letters. As they are V*** LHJ, it was obvious - "Very Lovely Hubby John"!

I'm ok with the first half of my new reg number, but what about the last three letters - they are YNH.

Anyone got any ideas? Answers on a postcard ( or comments, or chatterbox! ) and maybe there's a bar of Galaxy for the best entry!

Aunty Pat....

As a child, I grew up in a loving, warm, friendly church in the Rhondda Valley. This church became my second home, and I knew most of the people who attended by name. Most of the adults carried the honorific title "aunt" or "uncle" to me, and I shall be forever grateful to many of these prayer warriors who saw me through some of the milestones of my childhood and adolescence. Whenever anyone asked who they were, I would reply, "they're not my REAL aunt, you know"!

But it's only in recent years that I have come to value how precious it is to be Aunty Pat. I have 5 nieces and 2 nephews, all of whom I love dearly, and some of whom I have the pleasure of seeing on a very regular basis. It is not a relationship I take for granted, but have pleasure in working at, to hopefully be someone special in their lives, however young or old.

But I have also noticed something else recently. There are a number of not so young people, some adults even, who call me Aunty Pat. And for me, this "term of endearment" is much more graphic than merely being "the sister of your mother or father" ( which is how most dictionaries define it). I have always disliked the epithet "Agony Aunt", as being something actually quite remote and distant. I like to get alongside people, one-on-one, and just spend quiet times together. God is allowing me to do that more often, which is fantastic.

So whether it's being with my actual family, or God's extended one, I think I like being an Aunty very much indeed.

Pat's Thought for the Day;
It is said that friends are the family we would have chosen, if we could. Cherish them often; hug when you can; encourage always. Wherever possible, put it in writing, as words can be stolen with time and distance. Incredibly, God calls us both family and friends...Amazing...

Re-surfacing...

Had a long chat with a very dear friend of mine tonight, who said that from my recent blogs, "I'd really been going through it".

Maybe... but I don't want to stay in that place for long. It's important to be honest about the downs, but also to say that as I "re-surface", things are improving daily, my blood sugar level is way down from what it was last Tuesday, and 5 days have made a huge difference

Looking forward to Missions Sunday tomorrow, and hopefully encouraging many more folk to get involved in the life and ministries of our church. We've got a lot to do, folks, and many hands make light work ( or sound, video, toddlers group, Discoverers and so on, and on, and on...) We have a great church, and one to be proud to be a part of.

And hopefully tomorrow we also welcome the Boss back...

Pat's Thought for the Day:
God has distributed all the resources we will ever need, both as individuals and as a church. We need to make sure that the distribution is even-handed, and that each one gets to both play their part, and have their share.

Toothless...

The dreaded appointment arrived today - yes, yours truly had one seriously decayed tooth removed this morning. I can't say "pulled", as it wasn't that straightforward. I also needed 3 injections, but for the squeamish amongst you, that's where I'll leave the story...!

It's been a rollercoaster week, trying to start an understanding of where I might be with a life-changing diagnosis. To keep things in perspective, I am beginning to appreciate that attitudes and approaches to diabetes are very different today from where they were years ago. I also need to understand that many other folk suffer from far more difficult conditions, and do so with more courage and grace than I think I'd have.

But if I've learned one thing as a Counsellor, it's that comparisons with other people, and other situations, can be a two-edged sword. Sometimes it banishes the fear of isolationism - at least I know I'm not alone in this. But conversely, no-one else has walked this particaulr pathway in exactly the same way as me, for I am unique. It is important to hold these apparently opposing viewpoints in tension.

And in a strange way, I now have two gaps to think about - the one where I once had a tooth, and the other, a life without diabetes. Very different in scope, but I'll have to adjust to them both. Both impact what I eat, and the way I eat!!

I've also begun to appreciate that I tend to want things done quickly, and yesterday if at all possible! I'm not always so good at disciplining myself for the long-haul. But after a shaky start to the week, I have now managed to catch up to date with a little backlog on 40 days reading, and feel better for it. I am also learning a little more each day about myself, and the need to pace things more evenly, rather than at a madcap speed which is not good for me ( or anyone, really!)

Pat's Thought for The Day:
Sometimes we experience gaps and losses. Not all of these are negative! They often mean we have to adjust, adapt and appreciate what remains, and grow as a result.

Breaking news...

Not been an easy 36 hours.

Feeling quite low with one of these colds that has now dragged on way past the "it lasts 7 days if you treat it and a week if you don't" stage, with loads of lemsip with honey and Benylin cough mixture, trying valiantly to make it through the night without having to get up for an hour or so coughing...

But by the end of last week, I was most worried about my new varifocals glasses. The bottom section of the lens (for reading) was fine; the middle portion (for screen and computer work) was fine, but the top section, for distance and driving, was terrible. After trying to hope that "it takes time to get used to varificals" , I gave in and returned to the opticians. A second eye test raised the possibility of raised blood sugar levels, and this morning I was checked out.

It's looking like I have diabetes.

I know that there are millions of people with this condition, and that I have been told that a healthy diet and exercise can go a long way towards helping this. But I also know that today I experienced first hand what an amazing family I have - especially my hubby, my sister and my mum ( who is also diabetic). I had succumbed last night to the terror of the domino effect - that place where I believed the worst possible scenario, and felt that my world was closing in around me. And once I got into a downward spiral, it was John's prayers in particular that brought a huge sense of peace, even in the middle of an emotional tornado of my own making.

My wonderful sister "frogmarched" me ( her words!) into getting the immediate testing materials I'll need, and was my "soft place to fall" ( see her blog for today!) Also getting my cough medicine changed to sugar-free stuff, etc...

My Mum was incredibly practical in helping me learn how to use a blood sugar level meter, as well as give of the benefit of her wisdom and experience.

A full diagnosis will be forthcoming in a few weeks, but for now, it's good to place on record my thanks to God for the way in which a check up was made available so quickly, as was the time of the Practise Nurse ( her patient just "happened" not to turn up, so she could see me immediately - a God set-up or what?)

I would value your prayers as I continue to come to terms with what this will mean for me

Pat's Thought for the Day:
God has a purpose in everything. Sounds trite, but everything MEANS EVERYTHING, whether at the moment I like it, or not......and espcially if I don't understand it yet!

Kevin & Margaret...

What a weekend...

Kevin & Margaret came to visit us, but I feel that God visited us through them.

This was not an interruption of the 40 days...

..rather it was moving the 40 days up a gear or two. God met with so many of us who are hurting through what life throws at us, through rejection, shame, or loss. In some ways, I feel as if I've just lived at church for two days - case of the "First in, last out Kennetts"! But it has been pretty amazing to be in His presence, and to see God at work amongst us.

Such a privilege to pray with people, and to know that God was meeting huge needs for them...

I know I have many of the individuals I prayed for very much on my heart, on my mind and in my ongoing prayers. Much of what went on is very private, and that is exactly as it should be. God is not a God who exposes individuals; He gently deals with deep issues, and if we allow Him to, He will begin a process of necessary change to bring about freedom from the things that hold us back.

We all know this; but sometimes it's important to allow that knowledge to permeate our actions and behaviours, as well as our reactions and our emotions.

No thought for the day; I'm still soaking in Him, and that is more than enough...