With the final stages of the Inspire Mililani Church renovation & winter break here, Alisa wanted to help dad at the church last Friday. Since no kiddies are invited to help, the G girls came to stay with Gma. We watched some cartoons, ate Christmas goodie leftovers & worked on their scrapbooks. The word for the day was BLESSING and we talked about how we can bless others & identify when we have been blessed by someone else. I was still addressing & writing notes in my handmade Christmas cards & inserting this year's Christmas letter & picture.
I decided to make Oatmeal Toffee Cookies (from the Heath Toffee Bits bag) & use the leftover caramel apple toppings. Made 5 dozen from one batch--happy, happy. Packaged them in 5 bags, attached a tag & card & went around to make the deliveries. Someone was home at every stop & the girls were encouraged to say 'Happy New Year'. Blessing 101.
On Saturday, Mrs. Loo came down the driveway with a bag of my favorite avocados & also to check out the walls which Cliff pointed out was just right for sitting. She found a spot in the shade & we had a nice visit.
On Sunday, Cliff served on the video team which meant we left the house @ 6:30am. I needed to catch up on my Daily Bread devotions & read 'Letter to a Child':
Even at the end of his life, C. S. Lewis showed an interest in the spiritual nurture of younger believers. Although in ill health, he took time to respond to the letter of a child named Philip. Complimenting the boy's fine written expression, Lewis said he was delighted that Philip understood that in the Narnia Chronicles the lion, Aslan represented Jesus Christ. The next day, Lewis died at his home in the Kilns, Oxford, England, one week before his 65th birthday.
The apostle John, in his later years, sent a letter to his spiritual children. In it we see the joy of a mature believer encouraging his spiritually younger disciples to keep walking in the truth and following Christ.
John wrote, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 1:4). Short by New Testament standards, John's letter demonstrates the joy that comes in nurturing and watching the next generation's spiritual growth.
Encouraging spiritual understanding in the next generation should be the pursuit of mature believers. Sending a note of appreciation, giving a word of encouragement, praying, or offering sound advice can all be ways of helping others on their spiritual journey with God.--Dennis Fisher
To help another in Christ to grow
You have to pay a price
It takes the giving of yourself
And that means sacrifice.--D DeHaan
THE JOURNEY IS BETTER WITH SOMEONE WHO KNOWS THE WAY.
I was so refreshed & confirmed that the simple act of baking cookies can become some avocados which became the yummiest guacamole shared with church staff. God teaches me in so many little ways. I've been blessed. It's like a game of tag, you're it. He wants us to bless people who will in turn do likewise. Multiplication. Contagious. My mango flowers are popping up on both trees as I look out my window. What opportunities will they bring?
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