Petals from the Basket

Blog

Weekend Hospitality Tip: Of Embassies and Ambassadors

For many years, I read one book a week. Then…I got married. Life happened. Schedules, priorities, and well…everything changed! It’s been good, mind you, but things have changed.

Recently, however, I’ve chosen to once again give my love (and yes, need) for reading a higher priority. I find that it feeds me, motivates me, and stirs the creative nature within me, and that creative side is an essential element of who God created me to be. One of the books I’ve enjoyed and learned from most recently, The Gospel Comes with a House Key (affiliate link), was recommended through a devotional I read a few months ago.

As a way of connecting spiritually with some of the younger women in my church, I began using the daily devotional option on the YouVersion Bible app. Because Joe and I enjoy entertaining guests in our home (both for meals and for overnights), I was drawn to a five-day devotional whose title intrigued me: Your Home Is an Embassy. Though its truths were quite familiar, the concept of viewing my home as an earthly embassy that serves as a representation of my heavenly citizenship altered my way of thinking. As dramatic as this sounds, it was life-changing for me. And for Joe.

We have prayed from day one that our home would be a haven, not only for us, but for all who enter. Yet, we didn’t want to cross the line that often can cause people to become focused on the physical building or its contents. Stuff is just stuff. But if that stuff helps to represent who we are as ambassadors of the King, strengthens our relationship with the King, refreshes our spirits in service to the King, and thereby points guests toward knowing more about the King, then its worth having. Otherwise, it doesn’t need to be in our home. (It’s been the most solidly motivating “decluttering” method I’ve ever used!)

“For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:1, 20, NASB).

It’s about more than entertaining. It’s much more than just having people over or letting people stay in a guest room. We now see our home as the place that God has entrusted to us in which we are to fulfill our role as His ambassadors, eagerly using each dish, couch, chair, room, word, memory, hope, dream, moment as a tool with which to show His love.

I would be remiss not to give you a word of warning. Do not use your home as an embassy, expecting to have the gift of hospitality reciprocated. Entertaining friends and strangers quite understandably can be overwhelming, and it’s not something everyone is asked to do.

But along with my warning I must also share some loving advice. First, read the five-day challenge I spoke of above (written by Barbara Rainey) and ask God to help you view your resources and your home as tools for serving Him—for helping others learn more of the King and of the place of your eternal citizenship. (By the way, believers and unbelievers alike need a haven where they are not only encouraged to take the next step spiritually but where it’s also safe to do so.) Here are a few practical ideas to get you started or to help you keep moving forward in your already established practice of opening your home to others:

  1. Pray about it. Ask God to open your heart to the idea of opening your home.
  2. Print your own free, grayscale, downloadable “Welcome to the Embassy” sign by clicking here or on the photo below. (We recommend that you frame it and either hang it near the front door or put it in a prominent location near the entry to your home.) This is a .jpg file (it will be an 8 x10 picture), so feel free to print it off at a local store’s photo department or save it as a .pdf and print it off on your home printer.
  3. Start small. Have a friend over for coffee; invite a young couple over for popcorn and “game night”; host a neighbor in the early evening for a light dessert.
  4. Enlist the other “ambassadors” in your home by letting them share in the joy of entertaining. Kids don’t “give up” their rooms for missionaries or for family guests; they get to share and to be ambassadors for the King!
  5. Keep meals simple. Check out our “Come on Over” category of blog posts for some quick, easy, inexpensive ideas!

We’d love to see your embassy sign, so feel free to comment with a photo or share it on our Facebook page!

In the meantime, thank you, dear fellow ambassadors, for choosing to let us share with you what God is teaching us! We appreciate you—big time!

Click to download this free, printable .jpg sign for your embassy!______________________________________________________

Would you like to receive these posts in your Inbox? We won’t spam you!
You will only receive e-mails from us when a new post appears on the blog. Click here to subscribe.

By Petals from the Basket | September 22, 2018 | "Come on Over" Recipes, Bible Reading, Books, Entertaining, Family, Friends, Ideas, Life Changes, Organization |

You’re sacrificing to go; we’re sacrificing to send you!

This post will most likely be filled with disclaimers. So let me start with one right from the get-go. I am not writing this post in response to anything or anyone specific. It’s been on my mind for many months, and the time came to put my fingers on the keyboard and send my heart out onto the screen.

My pastor’s wife (and friend) reminded us yesterday in our Bible study time that as Americans, there are, in comparison to women in third-world countries, very few of us who are poor to the level of wondering where our next meal will come from. For the majority of us, praying over our “daily bread” is not a matter of whether or not there will be anything to eat. It is more likely that our “difficult task” will be about choosing what we will eat from the many options available to us. In general, most truly have more than enough, and that is why I’ve been thinking about the fact that we must, without fail, be good stewards of whatever we’ve been given.

My husband and I find great joy each month in sending “above-and-beyond” funds to help support missionaries and organizations whose work we believe in. This is something we both did prior to our marriage to each other, and it’s been exciting to see God take those desires and habits and continue them in new and exciting ways. Perhaps this is why I’ve begun to think even more carefully about my/our responsibility to properly save, spend, and give (i.e., steward) what God has more than graciously given to me/us.

When we looked at our pre-marriage-to-each-other “charitable-contribution habits” long enough to reassess and confirm the whys and hows behind them, we had the ability to make wise choices going forward. While we are not poor by any stretch of most imaginations, we do make choices regarding our lifestyle so that we can free up those funds to help others or to support missions and Christian organizations. I say this, not to our praise, but to God’s glory!

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone; for even in Thessalonica you sent a gift more than once for my needs. Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

—Paul, thanking the church in Philippi for their sacrificial giving, Philippians 4:10–20, NASB

Please remember that as you read this post. Even the wealthiest among us (and we are not in that category, I assure you) most often must choose one thing over another. The same funds can’t be used for multiple items. When we as a church or as individuals send you “x” number of dollars each month, it doesn’t mean we have “x” number of excess dollars. It means that we’ve chosen to give (yes, sacrificially) those dollars to you and the work you are sacrificially doing for the cause of Christ rather than spending them on our own wants and desires. (I must add here that as a result, our great God often provides for those wants and desires anyhow…just because He can!)

Yet, often driven by the ease of social media and/or the human desire for approval, those in vocational Christian work see their friends posting photos of new houses, cars, gadgets, clothing, etc. and feel the need to do the same. I am not, in any sense of the word, saying that they should do without those things. But I am asking those in vocational Christian work to consider something: While you are sacrificing to go, others are sacrificing (be it great or small) to send you.

With that in mind, I’ll be honest with you. While I don’t know the backstory to the funds that provided your ability to complete an entire house renovation with hardware, flooring, and new furniture that many of your supporters can only dream of having, I do know that seeing them flashed across social media with no mention of God’s provision of them or with no gratitude for being able to do these (perhaps) needed changes makes our “sacrificial giving” to you a little more of a sacrifice. When you request funds for your missions projects while posting publicly about your latest multi-hundred-dollar decorating or technology purchase, my sacrifice suddenly gets weighed against your sacrifice.

So what’s the solution? Should missionaries live in abject poverty just so I feel better about not updating my kitchen or not putting in new windows? Absolutely not. However, a humble servant of God makes certain that all is done to the glory of God. If posting photos of things that you have will eventually serve to praise the God we love, please know that I will gladly rejoice with you over God’s provision and His blessing on your sacrificial giving of your life in service to Him. And I will gladly choose to invest in you and your work rather than in things that will one day fade away.

All we, as supporters of your work, ask is that you remember with each dollar you spend that the dollar you are spending is a dollar that was first entrusted to us (as a church or as individuals) by God and that is now being entrusted to you. Spend it wisely.

By Petals from the Basket | September 12, 2018 | Bible Reading, Ideas, Life Changes |

My Second Year as a First-Time Wife

Today, September 3, 2018, my husband and I celebrated our second wedding anniversary! Last year around this time, I wrote a blog post, “My First Year as a Second Wife,” in which I shared what our first year had been like, writing from the viewpoint of a second wife. (My husband’s first wife passed away in 2015.)

This year, however, I’m writing from a slightly different perspective. Though I am Joe’s second wife, it is only my second year in which to be a wife.

This year our focus—and therefore, our perspective—changed. We chose to be intentional about spending time living out the priorities of our home, repurposing things around the house to make it our house, and setting aside blocks of time that would allow us to strengthen our relationship and our relationships with others.

And it’s been an amazing year! We have stumbled over our self-focused efforts. We have triumphed at our others-focused victories. We have shed tears, had long talks about hard things, and laughed till the tears of joy momentarily blinded us. We have learned what works, what needs to be done differently, and what we should set aside as something not worth working at.

We have tried new recipes (and by we, I mean I). We have thrown out burned meals, been in a we-have-chicken-too-often rut, established some household favorites, and eaten out more than we probably should have.

I have learned more about airplanes and flying in the last two years than I ever knew was possible. My loving, caring, and generous husband has cheered on my favorite football team (Go, Irish!) and even knows what the players are doing on the field…sometimes even before the referees make the call!

We have come to realize that a new season of life isn’t something that has to be explained, tiptoed around, or even apologized for. It’s to be enjoyed. It’s a gift. A gift from God, no less, and therefore, we must use the gift of our togetherness as good stewards. Cherishing, utilizing, maximizing, enjoying, investing every moment of every day, of every week, of every month, of all of our tomorrows.

We have learned to encourage one another, lovingly admonish one another, and practice a level of patience that can only spring from hearts of love. We have chosen to remember that sometimes silence wins, while at other times, we must say the hard things—both instances finding their roots in those same hearts of love.

We still go on dates. We hold hands basically all the time. We kiss in the kitchen. We come up with new and exciting adventures. And we have fun. We enjoy the element of our companionship on a daily basis.

We read, learn, and study, and we share with each other what we are reading, learning, and studying. And through our own growth, we bring more to the table, allowing us to grow as a couple.

We pray in ways I hoped we would. We seek to use our God-given skills and abilities, acknowledging that we will answer to God for how we used them. We encourage, praise, and clap for each other. I want him to succeed, and I do so because he wants the same for me.

We’re a work in progress. But we’re together. Moving forward. On our knees.

We are blessed to have each other in this season of life.

And we are grateful.

By Petals from the Basket | September 3, 2018 | Events, Family, Ideas, Life Changes |

A New Look

When we read our Bible, we are often struck by the wonder of its words. God’s perfect Word never changes (as we were reminded in Lesson One of the online Bible study). Yet, how often when we read a familiar passage or a chapter or verse that we have seen multiple times over the years do we see it from a new perspective, thereby deepening its meaning and value?

I have read Psalm 42 numerous times, yet this week, I saw a “new” truth within its verses that spoke to me through its simplistic depth. My focus has often been on the first part of this verse, but it was new for me to learn (re-learn?) the lesson contained in the end of the verse:

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” (Psalm 42:5, KJV).

The help we need comes from “looking unto Jesus” (see Hebrews 12:2), gazing on His countenance, thereby finding our hope in God.

However, Psalm 42 held even more truths for me to learn! Look at verse eleven (which is so similar to verse five that I’ve skipped over this lesson before):

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God” (Psalm 42:11, KJV).

Wow! Did you see it? When we see Who God is—when our focus is on His countenance (verse 5) rather than on whatever is disquieting our soul—then our countenance becomes a “healthy” countenance, and our souls desire to praise Him!

That’ll preach…right to the depths of a disquieted heart.

_____________________________________________

Would you like to receive these posts in your Inbox? We won’t spam you!
You will only receive e-mails from us when a new post appears on the blog. Click here to subscribe.

 

By Petals from the Basket | August 15, 2018 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, Life Changes |

Storms

It is a fact of flight that all weather—good or bad—affects flying; therefore, all flying involves weather. In my early years of learning to fly planes (before I started flying for the airlines), my weather-flying experience was “fair-weather flying”: clear skies and no rain, snow, icing, or turbulence. As my career with the airline began, I also began to experience many different weather conditions while flying the plane, particularly because I flew in the US Northeast.

Executing many takeoffs and landings each day put me in various weather situations. It was great experience, and I couldn’t help but become a sharp “weather” pilot. I became aware of weather to fly in and wary of what weather conditions to avoid.

When flying in stormy weather, the pilot’s faith and trust are exercised—faith in his or her own training, experiences, and knowledge of procedures, along with trust in airplane systems (for example: weather radar, deicing and anti-icing systems, and powerful engines). The goal for the flight crew is to fly around or above the storms.

Just as weather-related storms come, so also storms (trials and difficult times) come into our lives.

When life’s storms come—and they will—how do we handle them? In whom or in what do we trust?

Thankfully, in the storms of life, we have God. He is always with us (Hebrews 13:5, KJV); He is all-powerful, and He is able to deliver us.

“Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Then are they glad because they be quiet;
so he bringeth them unto their desired haven” (Psalm 107:28–30, KJV).

How grateful we can be that in life’s storms, “[His] mercy is great above the heavens, and [His] truth reaches to the clouds” (Psalm 108:4, NKJV).

______________________________________________

Personal Bible study is an important element of the Christian life.

You can now view our four-lesson online “course,” Introduction to Bible Study, for FREE!

Click here to begin your lessons. (“Buy this course” is permanently on the button. Please ignore that! It’s FREE!)

 

All photos in this post: (c) 2018 Brenda Strohbehn Henderson

By Petals from the Basket | August 10, 2018 | Bible Reading, God-and-I-Time, Online Bible Study, The Captain's Corner |