Linda Newton: News

THE BEST FUNDRAISER EVER

In these challenging economic times, we need each other more than ever. We need the safe, connected environment that a healthy church provides. But retreats and conferences are harder and harder to plan when more and more folks are struggling financially. So I wrote this article for retreat planners or lay people who believe ladies need to gather together and would like a way to make that happen.

My husband and I have been in ministry for nearly 30 years. I started when I was 2. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!) In all of those years, I’ve never heard of an easier more effective idea for raising money for your ministry than this one.

I have to give credit to Sierra Pines current women’s ministry leader, Janine Hendricks. This sharp lady came into our church with a heart for service and a head full of great ideas. For years our best moneymaking idea was having a church yard sale. We had everyone bring all the stuff they didn’t want from home and a few dedicated souls would sort, price, place, and sell everyone’s leftover junk! I didn’t even talk about the hassle of getting rid of the things that didn’t sell. We would work our fingers to the bone all weekend at a church-wide yard sale and barely clear a couple grand.

Janine’s idea was to have folks bring in the nicer things, brand new but unwanted gifts, barely used items, or even thrift store finds in great shape. With the help of the women’s team, she would lay all the items out on long tables and then she taught us how to “package them.” We collected things together with a theme or a color in common. Then she showed us how to place them in cute baskets purchased a local thrift stores for pennies, wrap them in cellophane, and give them a catchy title.

For example, Janine took a novel and devotional that someone donated, found a lap blanket, a cute pair of reading glasses, a journal, and pen, placed them in a basket and called it, ME TIME. Another creative example was a basket labeled, Just the Two of Us, that featured a romantic comedy, microwave popcorn, candy and candles. The possibilities are endless.

Then at our scheduled women’s events, we displayed these baskets with a small brown bag sitting next to them. When ladies enter the room, they are given an opportunity to purchase tandem tickets for $1 each, 6 tickets for $5, and 30 tickets for $20. Or more if they like ☺ They keep one and write their name on the matching one and place it in the bag next to the basket they want to win. At the end of the event, a ticket is drawn out of the bag and a winner is born!

A delightful addition to this great way of raising funds is the fun-factor it adds for your ladies. After several years of doing this, “basket time” has become as much a part of our events as our teaching time! Even if a gal doesn’t win a basket, she still finds herself cheering for her friends who do. Now we even have ladies bidding on baskets for each other!

Depending on the donations you collect, you can raise as much in several hours of combining and wrapping baskets as you would in several days of working to sell stuff at bake or yard sales. We have put together so many baskets now, that our women’s team is trained to look out for items that would work well together in a basket at yard sales or thrift stores increasing the basket supply.

No more standing for hours to cook for a pancake breakfast or washing cars in a parking lot until my fingers turned pruney! I’m sold. Thanks, Janine for a great idea. I may not be the only women’s leader it blesses.

If you would like a copy of my article How to Plan a Successful One-Day Conference, please email me a
lindanewtonspeaks@gmail.com

THE DAILY DIALOGUE
Sanity for me is an every-minute enterprise! I maintain it only if I stay on-line with the Lord all day long. I have to be intentional about keeping the communication lines open. If I’m not careful I find myself rattling off my morning prayers like items a child’s Christmas list. Then I say “amen,” hang up the hot line to God, or shut off the cosmic computer, and run out to tackle the day.  Then my day looks like this lady’s.
      Hester Sue wakes up excited about the new day, and she starts out with great intentions. She jumps into the shower and sends up a prayer for everyone—her kids, husband, her boss, his boss, her parents, the pastor, and even the neighbors to the north who are never very friendly. Then she towels off, says amen, and sails into the day feeling pretty prayed up. Half way to work her cell phone rings.  It’s her oldest, Susie, “Mom, Tommy missed the bus again.”  
    “Put him on.” Hester Sue feels her temperature rise as she grips the steering wheel.  “You are so busted, Mister. No phone, no T.V. and no video games.  I can’t believe you did this again. Is it so hard to get yourself ready in the morning?  For crying out loud, you’re almost ten.  How hard can this be?  You haven’t heard the last of this.  We will finish this later, Young Man!” Then she hangs up the phone just as she hears her dejected son whimper on the other end of the line.
     Hester Sue barely gains her composure as she pulls into the parking lot at work.  Just as she exits the car, the door handle comes off in her hand. “Oh that’s just great,” she mumbles to herself.  “How many times have I had this into the repair shop?  Those guys are such a bunch of rip-offs!”  So she shoves the handle into her purse, sucks back her mounting anger, and marches into work.  As she enters the outer office her mood worsens as she spots the secretary’s desk empty—again.  “How many days off do they give this woman?  Fabulous, another day of her work and my work too.”  The sarcasm doesn’t make things better but, by now, she’s beyond the point of caring.
     She rounds the corner to her cubicle and notices a note penned in black ink taped to the entrance.   It’s from her boss castigating her for not turning out the lights when she left work yesterday.  “ Oh, my gosh! I did forget.  I can’t deny it.  I rushed out of here to get Susie to the orthodontist and I forgot to flip the switch. Now I’ve managed to tick off the administration. Well, I can kiss that raise goodbye.”   Now feeling angry, guilty, and utterly frustrated, she rushes to restroom to meltdown and runs into Jenny who works in the cubicle next to her.  Jenny opens her mouth stepping on Hester’s reserve nerve, and Hester rips her head off!  And Jenny’s the gal she’s been trying to get to church!
       Let’s rewind Hester Sue’s miserable day and try it with the “Daily Dialogue”. Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6-8,  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Hester thoroughly and earnestly laid her petitions before the Lord.  But the day proved to have more anxiety that she could handle and she found herself in desperate need of some peace.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 advises us to, “pray continually.” So today Hester Sue stays connected with the Lord all day long.  She jumps into the shower prays for everyone and the cat, but this time she doesn’t say amen.  She doesn’t hang up the phone or click off the computer.  She stays on line with the Lord.
       She launches into her day and half way to work she gets a call from her daughter informing her that once again Tommy has failed to catch the bus and Hester Sue prays, “Dear Lord, please don’t let me kill my son!” She takes a deep breath and pulls into the parking lot at work. As she’s opening the door the handle comes off in her hand and she immediately accesses the Lord’s help not to say awful things about the repairman who continues to insist, “It’s fixed. You must be letting your kids swing on it.”  
     Hester Sue heads through the door at work and notices a vacancy in the front office.  This time she immediately prays for the sick secretary instead of deriding her. She’s starting to feel some of that peace that Paul talks about in Philippians as she trades her anxiety for answers. She knows how to respond in life’s situations because she’s tuned in to God’s frequency and He’s supplying all that she needs “according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19.
     Rounding the corner, she spots the note from her boss but constant communion with the Lord has been filling her tank all morning, so she isn’t derailed by her manager’s hate mail. Instead she takes ownership of her part and purposes to do better in the future. When Jenny approaches, Hester is prayed up and presentable, and she doesn’t wreck her Christian witness in the workplace!
     I believe that the Daily Dialogue, that continued communication with the Lord, determines the difference between despondence and abundance.  But you don’t have to trust me.  Try it for yourself.  I’m fond of saying, “Then watch how God shows up.”  But the reality is that God is always there we just aren’t tuned in enough to notice. There are days He spends a lot of time tugging on your sleeve to get your attention and, if you’re like me, your too busy to focus as you barrel through life going ninety miles an hour on a dead-end street.  But I challenge you to slow down long enough to look for His involvement in your daily routine—the parking space that came available right in front of the store when only had fifteen minutes to run in, the money that showed up unexpectedly at the moment of your greatest need, the peace you feel as you float through a demanding day. He’s anxious to show Himself to you. Keep your heart focused, your ears open, and your eyes peeled.

Adapted from 12 Ways to Turn Your Pain Into Praise. Click on Buy to purchase.            

SUMMER BUTTERFLIES~
This summer when you see butterflies floating through the air displaying their exquisite beauty note this awesome lesson we get from Romans 12:1-2,"Therefore, I urge you, brothers (and sisters), in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
      The word for transformed here doesn’t just mean change like, “I’ve changed from Colgate to Crest or I’ve switched to Geico!”. The word for change here is the word metamorphoo from which we get our English word metamorphosis used to describe the life cycle that transforms and unsightly caterpillar into a magnificent butterfly.
     Have you ever looked at a caterpillar? Sticking out of its head are long hairs that look like horns. It has strong jaws with other mouth parts on the underside of its head. It has antenna on either side of its mouth to help feel its way as it crawls along on its many undulating legs. A short structure called a spinneret sticks out below the mouth.  The caterpillar squeezes a thin stream of liquid through the spinneret that hardens to create a foothold wherever the creature goes. On each side of its head just above its mouth are six small eyes that form a curved line.
     I must admit, sometimes I feel like that caterpillar as I wander through life bug-eyed, buck-toothed, and drooling! Thank goodness God is in the transformation business! With His amazing power, He turns that unsightly caterpillar into a magnificent winged beauty—the beautiful butterfly that poets call Winged Flowers or Flying Gems. That’s what he does for us when we allow Him to transform our weak will, our shallow commitment, our fragile faith through the process of prayer and meditating on His Word.
I have had the blessing of watching the metamorphosis personally when I was teaching fourth graders. Every elementary school teacher gets this experience when some child brings a caterpillar into the classroom, and we all get to watch it spin a chrysalis around itself. Then after the proper time, it has to shed that cocoon it has woven so tightly around itself.  As the butterfly is struggling to emerge, it strains and pushes trying to break free.  Inevitably one of the students anxiously suggests that we make things easier on the poor creature.  “She’s struggling. We need to help her,” suggests a sensitive girl in ringlets and ruffles.
      But as the creature fights it’s way out of the sticky shell it’s legs and wings are strengthened for flight. If we intervened and “helped” the creature, we would cripple it for the very purpose for which it was created.
There are times when we rail at God because we don’t see him intervening in our struggles in the way we think He should. When all the while he knows that the faith we are growing is building strength in us to be the beautiful, strong creatures He intends us to be.
Now I recite Romans 12:1-2 every time I see a caterpillar creeping along, and my goal is to trust God more as I witness His power evidenced in every butterfly floating by.

My new devotional book is out~Sapphires from Psalms: 31 Gems of Comfort for a Woman Seeking God. Start each day of the month with scripture from Psalms to instruct you, and a story illustrating that scripture to encourage and inspire you.  It will be available on Amazon.com in the next few days, but you can get a discount now by emailing me at lindanewtonspeaks@gmail.com. Let me know you saw this on my website, and get a copy for $12 plus $1 shipping.

REFLECTIONS ON FATHER'S DAY~

ABBA FATHER, “DADDY”

When I read in Proverbs 14:26, “Those who fear the Lord are secure; he will be a place of refuge for their children,” I was troubled with the idea that we were supposed to fear the Lord. My mind conjured up pictures of a divine Dirty Harry in the sky, hovering over the smite button on His cosmic computer just waiting for me to mess up so I could make His eternity!  (Isn’t one day like an eternity to God?)
     The word for fear in this verse does not mean to cower in terror or anxiety.  There are other words used in the Old Testament that depict this kind of emotion.  But the word used in Proverbs 14:26 is the Hebrew word “yirah.”  It means to reverence or to treat with deep devotion and respect.  Vine’s Bible Dictionary explains it as a “reverential fear of God, as a controlling motive of life, in matters spiritual and moral.  It is not a mere fear of His power and righteous retribution but a wholesome concern for displeasing Him.”  Ironically, it is this kind of fear or awe that banishes the fear or terror that causes us to shrink from His presence.
     The Apostle Paul further explains this in Romans 8:15-16: For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship (and daughtership).  And by him we cry Abba Father.  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.  He tells us not to be debilitated by fear but to embrace God’s love like that of a father—more specifically “Abba” is translated as “Daddy”.     
     With this new understanding of who God is, I now crawl up into His lap, let Him comfort me, and tell me that Daddy’s going to make it all better.  Now that’s a day-maker!
    Here is a story from my book, Better Than Jewels that I think demonstrates the devotion our Heavenly Father has for His kids.

                                                        ASK YOUR DADDY
     It was one of those rare summer days in central California when the sky darkened and the air smelled like rain.  Ashley Rose, my five-year-old daughter, was playing outside with the little neighbor girl, Jessie.  Those two would occupy themselves for hours getting into all kinds of mischief and loving every minute of it.  But with the clouds coming up, I worried lightning might soon follow so I decided I had better call the girls inside.  
     As I approached the front door, their conversation caught me off guard. They spoke in slow, hushed tones in deep, meaningful discussion, uncharacteristic of the kindergarten girls who filled the hours with playful chatter.  Choking back tears, Jessie shared, “I have to have surgery on my foot. And I’m scared!”  
     I watched as Ashley wrapped her arm around her playmate and patted her back, knowing all too well what Jessie had to fear.  Ashley Rose had already survived two heart surgeries and was awaiting a serious open-heart surgery in just a few months.
      Ever since talk of this next heart surgery started, Ashley made it a ritual to squirm her scrawny frame into our bed every evening.   Needing a lot of reassurance, she would cuddle up between her dad and me and pose question after question.  “Is it going to hurt like it did the last time?” she asked with her big blue eyes open wide.  “Can Sissy and Jake come and see me?” she questioned, referring to her brother and sister.  “Will they let me keep Bobo with me?” she wondered about her favorite teddy bear.  
     As I lay next to her, all I could do was pray for fear that if I spoke, my words would belie my own fear and dread.  Yet, as she voiced her endless stream of concerns, her daddy patiently answered her questions even as the doubts she shared became more personal.  “Why am I like this and Jake and Sarah aren’t?  Will I always be this small?  Am I going to die?” However long it took to send Ashley off to sleep in peace, is the time her Daddy devoted to his special child.
     That’s why it came as no surprise to me that, as she sat with her arm around her frightened friend, Jessie, she shared with all the assurance in the world, “You don’t have to worry.  You just have to talk to your daddy.” Ashley had first-hand knowledge that her Daddy would be there to help her and offer her comfort and peace.  Our Abba-Father, our Daddy, longs to do the same thing for us if we’ll let Him.
     How long has it been since you curled up next to Him in the wee hours of the evening to let Him know your doubts and fears?  He’s waiting and He’s got all the time in the universe for you.


ENJOY THIS TRIBUTE TO MOMS EVERYWHERE~

MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME…
1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE: "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
2. My mother taught me RELIGION: "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
4. My mother taught me LOGIC: " Because I said so, that's why."
5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC: "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."
6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
7. My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."
9. My mother taught me about STAMINA: "You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
10. My mother taught me about WEATHER: "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."
11. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
12. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
 13. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION: "Just wait until we get home."
14. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE: "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."
15. My mother taught me ESP: "Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"
16. My mother taught me HUMOR: "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
17. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT: "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
18. My mother taught me WISDOM: "When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
And my favorite:
19. My mother taught me about JUSTICE: "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!"

HOPE FOR THE HURTING PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE
A Template for Dealing with Life’s Challenges

What do you do when God brings people into your life who need more than just a listening ear? What do you do when that hurting person is YOU? Try these time-tested-tools to turn your trials into triumphs.

PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR PACE, PITCH, AND TONE, Proverbs 15:1
When you share with the hurting person in a soft, slow pace, there is a better chance they will match your pace, pitch and tone and calm down long enough to form a reasonable response to the stressful situation.

PITCH A POSITIVE PERSPECTIVE, 1 Thess.5: 18
They may be facing some challenging pain, and the only way to get through it is to look for what’s going right. If they continue to fixate on what’s going wrong, they will be circling the drain by dinnertime! Without minimizing the hurting person’s pain, suggest she make a Blessed List & read it often during these trying times.

PROTECT YOURSELF, Galatians 6:2-5
Be careful not to do for the hurting person what they need to do for themselves. It’s easy to feel bad for a person in pain, but we have to remember: Empower, don’t enable! Encourage every step of courage, so the helpee can lean on God not on you.

HELP THE HURTING PERSON FIND:

POWER IN GOD’S WORD, Psalm 119:105
Employ the FREEING THREE. Select 3 Scripture verses that address your need. Read them 3x a day for 3 weeks. Place them in 3 easy-to-see places like the mirror, screen saver, refrigerator. Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” God’s Word is that truth about who you are in Him.

PRAYER: THE DAILY DIALOGUE, 1 Thess. 5:17
Once God’s Word builds a case for how much He loves us and wants to take care of us, we are able to connect with Him. That happens when we stay on-line with the Lord in prayer all day long. We don’t say Amen! We don’t click off the cosmic computer or hang up the hot-line to God. Instead we remain intentional about keeping the communication lines open throughout the day.

PATIENCE WITH GOD’S PLAN, Joel 2:27
Joel 2:27 reads, “The Lord will restore the years the locust hath eaten.” KJV. It takes time and patience for that to happen. Story below:)

PARDON: FINDING FORGIVENESS, Ephesians 4:32
Forgiveness doesn’t make your offender right, it just makes you free! Choosing not to forgive allows that person to continue to harm us as we endlessly relive their offense. Many times we are held back in our growth because we can’t let go of our pain. Let go of the offense, and free yourself from the pain.

PURPOSE: WHAT REALLY MATTERS, Ephesians 2:10
Many times a hurting person’s best therapy is to do something for someone less fortunate. It gets our mind off our problems and helps us count our blessings as we  realize we don’t have it so bad!

Adapted from 12 Ways to Turn Your Pain Into Praise: Biblical Steps to Wholeness in Christ.
Click on “STORE” to purchase or amazon.com.

Here are 3 verses for your Freeing Three to use depending on your need. Print them off, read them 3x a day for 3 weeks, and put them in 3 places where you will see them regularly. Focus on the Word not your worries!

COMFORT
2 Thessalonians 2:16, “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”
Isaiah 51:3, “The LORD will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; he will make her deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Psalm 91:1, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

PEACE    
Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!” NLT
2 Thessalonians 3:16, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!”
John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

HOPE
Joel 2:25, “So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten.” NKJV
Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’”
Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

FEAR
Isaiah 41:10, “So Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you. I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you” The Message.
 2Tim. 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”
Isaiah 51:12 , “I’m the One comforting you. What are you afraid of—or who? Some man or woman who’ll soon be dead? Some poor wretch destined for dust?” The Message.

PROVISION
Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Psalm 121:3, “He will not let your foot slip — he who watches over you will not slumber.”
Hebrews 6:18, “God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us” CEV.

SECURITY
Psalm 125:1, “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.”
Nahum 1:7, “The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him.”
Psalm 62:1-2, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  2 He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”

STRENGTH
Isaiah 40:28-31, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint”.
Psalm 37:23-25, "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
 24 Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand. 25 Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned nor their children begging for bread,” NLT.
Isaiah 43:1-3, “But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior”
Isaiah 12:2, “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation."

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE
Psalm 103: 8-12, “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.”
Isaiah 40:11, “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries
them close to his heart”
Psalm 40:1-3,” I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Zephaniah 3:17,”The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love he will rejoice over you with singing."

REST
Matthew 11:28-30,”Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
Isaiah 30:15, “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,”
Psalm 46:10,”Be still an know that I am God.”

Joel 2:25, the scripture reads, “The Lord will restore the years the locust hath eaten” kjv.  Often after I learned this verse I would quote it to myself as, “The Lord will replace the years the locusts have eaten.” Then one summer I tackled restoring an antique oak library table that had been in my mother-in-law’s possession since the 1850s. My husband wanted to use it as a desk in his office, so the project had special meaning.  His mom had redecorated a dozen times, and now the once beautiful tiger-oak table was covered in several coats of garish paint left over from the psychedelic sixties.

             In order to get to the real wood underneath, I had to slather on a caustic paint stripper that was so corrosive it would eat my hide if it touched my skin.  I’d let it set a few minutes so the chemical could erode the paint and then the hard work began--scraping layer after layer of scummy sludge off the desk. The old paint was stubborn and I had to apply countless coats of the corrosive chemical to the top of the desk, and employ endless hours elbow grease to restore the wood.

             Before I even started on the ornate legs, I remembered a gorgeous roll-top desk I had seen at Costco just a few weeks prior.  More than once, in the middle of that challenging task, I thought of backing the truck up to the loading dock at the store and hauling home a brand new desk for my husband to use.  But I couldn’t because the table had sentimental value.  The project meant too much for me to quit.

                 Then one afternoon as worked diligently on this project, scraping and sanding for hours, I remembered the verse from Joel.  As I recited it to myself using the word replace instead of restore, it hit me. Replacing it would be a picnic, but restoring the desk required messy, arduous, and tenacious labor. The Lord doesn’t promise to replace our years; He promises to restore those years and that may require some laborious effort scraping the scum of pain and poor decisions from our souls. We have to scour off the sludge of bitterness and resentment, and scrape off the layers of fear and doubt so that God can restore the beauty He intends for each of His children.  In his book Heaven, Randy Alcorn states that, “God always sees us in the light of what he intended us to be, and he seeks to restore us to that design.”

                 I believe that Jesus reaches diligently toward His children, but many times our ability to reach back is impeded by a big pile of emotional baggage, heaped so high, we can’t respond to His embrace. The process of unpacking the emotional bags full of damage that has visited upon us or that we have visited upon others--and ourselves-- requires considerable emotional elbow grease. But we can’t give up because that transformation process means too much to us in terms of future peace and fulfillment.  The Lord will be there every step of the way encouraging and empowering us to continue, but we will have to do the painful part of peeling off the layers of spiritual sludge and surrendering them to God.  The process takes patience and God will even help us with that.  Philippians 2:13 states, “ For it is God who works in you to will and to work for his good purpose.”  Not only does God supply us with the tools for transformation, but He will also give us the want to.

                 I finished restoring the library table and it is a sight to behold! The rich buttery brown of the bare wood showed off the detailed grain of the tiger-oak. The exquisite filigree on the legs that was barely noticeable until the paint was removed now displayed an intricate design.  It now stands proudly in my husband’s office and serves as a constant reminder of God’s ability to transform us, especially when we do our part—even if it’s challenging.

(From 12 Ways to Turn Your Pain Into Praise available on amazon.com or click on the “store” to purchase your copy today.)

I don’t know about you, but I have a love/hate relationship with Christmas. I love the decorations. My kids lovingly tease that I make myself into a decoration with my tacky Christmas sweaters. I can’t deny it. But I hate the stress of a crowded mall on a busy weekend. I love the family focus, but I hate the hustle and bustle and the stress of finding the perfect gift.

Try every year I try to keep the materialism from crowding out the true meaning of the season—God came to earth to be with us! It will take the rest of my life to get my head around that.

Isaiah 7:14-15 says, “The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel — 'God is with us.' 15 By the time this child is old enough to eat curds and honey, he will know enough to choose what is right and reject what is wrong.” Jesus was fully God so he could offer is forgiveness for our sins and fully man so he could pay the price for them. He was the perfect sinless lamb who sacrificed himself for our sins. What a gift!

Before the Christmas season overtakes you, pause a moment and reflect on the true meaning. Over the years I’ve stumbled on to a few ideas to help me do that.

•Brew a cup of Christmas tea, sit by the tree and think about the sacrifice Christ made leaving heaven to be born as a baby to die on a cross for YOU. Soak up the meaning of Immanuel-God with us, everyday all the time. Wow.

•Buy a book of Christmas stories about how God was with folks over the years. Read stories to your family by the tree each night. (I have long since forgotten the fastidious work I did trying to make the house perfect or to wrap a present to impress someone. But I haven’t forgotten all the cherished moments reading Christmas stories to my kids who are all moved out now.)

•Take your kids to the store and have each of them buy a gift for a kid their age and find a family who needs gifts for Christmas.

•Put your Christmas cards in a basket on the dinner table. Every night a dinner, have one of the kids pick a card. When you say the blessing, pray for the family who sent that card.

Thanksgiving is coming up but we can give thanks now…

A few weekends ago, I did a retreat for some wonderful ladies and I shared about how life changing learning to live in gratitude can be. I explained what I share often—that we can choose each day to view the cup of life half full or we can choose to see it as half empty. How we choose makes all the difference in whether we live joyful, satisfied lives.

A beautiful young mother came up to me after the session and said that not long after the birth of her second child, she went to the doctor with symptoms of depression. While her doctor put her on medication, she also talked to her about her perspective on life. She informed her patient that living in gratitude would greatly alter her mood. This wise physician instructed the dear mom to engage in a RAMPAGE OF APPRECIATION,constantly, and relentlessly thanking God for everything. I love the way the good doctor phrased her spiritual prescription.

We can be persistently grateful. You can thank God that it’s not raining because you’re not getting wet, or thank Him that it is raining because your yard needs the water. Thank God that you have food on your table, and your children aren’t living on the dump sight like the children our church ministers to in the Philippines. Thank the Lord for your hot water. My friends just got back from a trip to Africa and had cold sponge baths for three weeks!

 All the things that we tend to take for granted or feel as though we are owed, we now incessantly show gratitude for. What a great spin on having an Attitude of Gratitude! This Thanksgiving season, I am making a daily practice of having a Rampage of Appreciation. It’s making even the dreariest of days brighter!  

1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

“Linda, I’m driving to a doctor’s appointment and I feel the Lord prompted me to pray for you.” Danise’s sweet voice captured me as I listened to the voice mail on my office phone. “I have been praying for peace and strength for you—and for reconciliation.” Danise was a faithful prayer warrior and a good friend. I could tell she was thoughtfully considering everything she had to say. Tears welled up in my eyes. My schedule had been crazy. I was speaking every weekend at retreats and conferences, while maintaining a full counseling load. I felt up to my eyeballs in projects at our local church that needed attention. In times like this, I often said to the Lord, “I love doing all that I do, just not all at the same time!” Danise’s message reassured me that the Lord was calling on others to pray for the help I needed. I felt Danise had accurately identified my first two needs, but I was puzzled by her last comment. What did I need to reconcile? I got no clear insight from the Lord about this, but I plowed through my busy week, feeling empowered as a result of her prayers. As I sat in the Denver airport, my cell phone rang. It was my husband Bruce. “Sarah has her commissioning ceremony for the Air Force on Monday, and she wants us to go,” he said. I was stunned. Our oldest daughter Sarah was fiercely independent. At twenty-eight years old, in the middle of her doctoral studies in psychology, she had decided that she wanted to help soldiers returning from Iraq with post-traumatic stress disorder. Her husband Shaun was all for it. Shaun had served terms in Iraq just before he became an EMT. He was even considering reenlisting to join his wife in the Air Force. I’m glad he’s supportive, but I’m not convinced that my daughter will be all right in the military while our country is at war! I’d said to myself again and again. “I thought…they weren’t taking her until next fall,” I stammered into the cell phone. “They aren’t, but they’re swearing her in right away. She wants us to be there. We’ll have to leave early Monday morning. It’s a four-hour drive to Sacramento. Will you be up for it after traveling all weekend?” Bruce asked. “I wouldn’t miss it,” I replied. As I sat reviewing my notes in the airport, my thoughts turned toward Sarah. Where would she be stationed? She had assured us that her work would keep her out of harm’s way, but I knew our daughter. She was the little girl on the swing set always yelling, “Push me higher, Mommy!” She would volunteer for hazard duty. I was concerned about her stress level, too, while dealing with so much post-traumatic stress in others. I hadn’t shared these concerns with her because I never wanted to be a meddling mother. If she believed the Lord wanted her to help soldiers, who was I to get in her way? I’m her mother, that’s who! I thought. It became very clear in that moment that I was not happy with the idea of my petite, beautiful daughter becoming an officer in the United States Air Force during wartime. I had not reconciled myself to that idea. Show me the path to reconciliation, Lord. I don’t even know where to look for it, I honestly prayed. “Now boarding for Tulsa,” the loudspeaker announced. The flight was brief and I found myself immediately busy with wonderful women in Sand Springs, Oklahoma. After my talk Saturday, I placed a chair in the middle of the room and invited women who needed prayer to come and sit in it, while we gathered to pray for their needs. One by one, the ladies sat down and shared their hurts. After nearly three hours of praying, one of the women volunteered, “I think we should pray for Linda.” I immediately asked the group to pray for my daughter. “I have to confess that I am not crazy about her enlistment,” I confessed. Ami, the senior pastor’s wife, prayed that God would give me a sign that would calm my fears for Sarah. The prayers of other ladies offered much of that comfort. I arrived home late on Sunday evening, drained but delighted that God had blessed our weekend retreat. Early the next morning, Bruce and I picked up Sarah and Shaun and headed for Sarah’s commissioning ceremony. We arrived at what looked like a business office near a residential section of Sacramento. When every uniformed person in the building gathered to watch my daughter stand beside the American flag and be sworn in as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force, I had to fight back the tears. After lunch, we started for home. About an hour down the highway, we passed a green sedan driving on the shoulder. “Slow down and I’ll get the license number and report it to the CHP,” Shaun urged. We noticed that the driver, an older man, seemed unaware that he was driving illegally. He swerved back onto the highway and began weaving in and out of lanes. He clipped a white pick-up truck about four car lengths ahead of us. We watched in what seemed to be a slow motion as the truck slammed against the guardrail, sending dust and vehicle parts flying everywhere. We pulled to the side of the road as Bruce dialed 911. Then Sarah leaned forward, tapped her husband on the shoulder, and said, “Are we ready, Babe?” I thought, Ready? Ready for what? But before I could ask that question, Sarah and Shaun had jumped out of our car and run into oncoming traffic. I watched my diminutive daughter’s blond ponytail swinging in the wind as she flagged down an eighteen-wheeler to tell him about the accident ahead. I then jumped out of the car and followed her to the crushed pick-up. There Shaun was already attending a three-year-old in the front seat with a cut on her cheek. “I need a cloth or something to put pressure on her wound,” he called out. I rushed back to our car to retrieve a stack of clean napkins that I had accumulated in my glove compartment. All the while, Sarah was calming the driver. Speaking half English and half Spanish, she asked the woman for her cell phone, then called the victim’s brother to tell him where she was. By the time I returned with the napkins, a CHP desk officer from a station near the freeway had spotted the commotion and was on the scene. Clearly out of his element, he seemed to have no problem deferring to Sarah, who was giving everyone orders. “Do you have a first-aid kit?” Sarah asked the officer. As he handed her the kit, she pointed to the driver of the green sedan. “You need to get that man’s key,” she said. “I think he might be deranged. He doesn’t need to be on the road.” The officer responded immediately. Sarah dug through the first-aid kit, searching for items she needed to relieve the woman’s pain. She kept assuring the victim that an ambulance would arrive soon. I realized in that moment that I was absolutely useless except to pray, so I moved against the guardrail to get out of everyone’s way. As I did, I sensed God saying, Your daughter is not a little girl anymore, Linda. She is a grown woman capable of helping people. You have to let her go, so she can do that. Danise’s insight and Ami’s prayer had prepared me for that moment of reconciliation. Standing in the median of a congested freeway, I thanked God that he was using my capable daughter. I also thanked him for sending me two women who helped me see that.

Everyone has a story…a string of stories that make up life. Several years ago I started regularly writing down what I call Monumental Moments, times when God shows up and I am amazingly blessed. Like the time when our church lost an awesome young man in a tragic car crash. My husband and I were doing our best to comfort his family and prepare for the funeral. I had just come from speaking 4 times at a retreat on one weekend and I was heading into another worried about this young man’s parents and the church folks who were also feeling the loss. I opened my email to find that the speaker’s group I belonged to had “randomly” selected my name for prayer that week.I sobbed on my keyboard as I felt the prayers of my Christian sisters and as realized that God had my back. I wrote this blessing in my book of Monumental Moments to refer back to when I need encouragement. Whenever I add a story, I reread a few that I have already written and recognize how blessed I truly am. My book, Better Than Jewels is a result of collecting stories like that and more. Now in my counseling office, I recommend that folks needing faith write down their Monumental Moments and witness a pattern of God’s goodness and provision everyday. Try it and see what happens to your faith!

I recently saw the movie Slumdog Millionaire . It was nominated for 10 Oscars and won 8 of them including Best Picture. I heard it was “feel good movie.” A local business owner told me, “You will walk away feeling thankful for all you have.” The men receiving awards for the movie remarked how the movie depicted, “the beautiful city of Mumbai.” When I walked out of the movie theater, I didn’t feel good. I felt frustrated that beautiful children God created were stepping over sewage and sleeping in the rain. I felt heartbreak that motherless boys and fatherless children had to steal food so they wouldn’t starve. I felt angry that grown men would use little kids to feed their greed. I felt grateful for what I have but answerable to God to help provide what those children don’t have. When I saw “the beautiful city of Mumbai” I saw slums and I felt like I was in the Philippines again with precious but forgotten people who need to know God loves them and He wants to use us tell them that. Two years ago I went with my friend Leslie who now runs a YWAM base, Project Life, to help children and families who were literally living at the 12th Street dump sight in Olongapo, Philippines. The things I saw there changed my life and made me determined to do what I could to change the lives of the beautiful and struggling people in that town. Last week I went to the movies for a diversion. What I got instead was a commission-- one that we all share. When we’re confronted by the enormity of need in a movie like Slumdog Millionaire, it’s easy to say, “What can I do? The need is so great. I want to help, but where do I start? We start with one. Contact World Vision, Compassion International or my friends Leslie and Sonny Nabong at Project Life in the Philippines. For $8 a month you can educate a child and get them off the streets: YWAM Subic and Project Life website: www.ywamsubic.org New! Project Life/YWAM Subic Video. If you sponsor a child, email me at Linda@SierraPinesChurch.com and I will send my book, Twelve Ways to Turn Your Pain Into Praise FREE. Thanks for turning one child’s pain into praise! Let’s make a difference!

I’m working on a book titled, “You Can Fix Stupid: Seven Smart Choices for Mind, Body and Soul.” Sometimes when I view the news I feel like Will Ferrell’s character in the movie Zoolander, as he yells, “Am I taking crazy pills?” Either the culture’s gone nuts or I have! When I read that Rihanna has decided to stay in a relationship that is toxic—when she could have ANY man on the face of the planet, I realize stupid is curable but we have to know the cure. Apparently “stupid” is so common that MTV has just launched a new reality series, “Is She Really Dating Him?” about decent girls who are being stupid with guys who don’t deserve them. I want women to know how much they’re worth so they won’t settle for stupid because they don’t think they can do any better. I want to write about fixing the stupid of worthless worry and unwanted pounds, of sleepless nights and second guessing decisions. Have you fixed stupid in your life? I’d like to hear about it. Did you figure out the relationship you were in was damaging--even dangerous? Did you set boundaries or just get out? Have you found a way to fire yourself from fretting? I’m getting better at that, but I’d like to know what’s working for you. Email me at LindaNewtonSpeaks@gmail.com. I certainly haven’t cornered the market on sense, but if we can all share what we’ve learned, we can make the world a smarter place.