Passport Stamps

In honor of the Fourth, I thought I would post some thoughts on citizenship I wrote while living overseas.

Passport Stamps
May 5, 2001

Sometimes I still feel like a small child on Christmas morning, filled with excitement at the possibility of fulfilled dreams. My excitement spills all over everyone in my path, and I just can’t control my enthusiasm. I had one of those days last Thursday. Everyone in a five mile radius knew I was giddy with excitement when our Slovene friends announced that our Friday plans included an excursion into Austria. (Ok. Ok. Maybe not a five mile radius, but everyone in the house.) You might be wondering, “So,what’s the big deal?” Well, to this country, Mississippi girl who has memorized most of the songs from The Sound of Music, going to Austria was big stuff. My expectations weren’t even great. I didn’t have to go to Salzburg and take the Sound of Music tour. (Even though I’d love to some day.) I didn’t have to enjoy authentic Austrian food. (We ate at McDonalds.) I didn’t even have to “shop ‘til I dropped”. (I bought some shaving cream and a few postcards. ) Learning German and living like an Austrian weren’t even part of the plan. I didn’t want to live there, I just wanted my passport stamped. I wanted proof to show that I’ve been to Austria. It was a tense moment when the border guard tried to wave us through with just a count of passports and passengers, but our driver kindly asked if the Jeffcoat’s passports could be stamped. (Which he did!) I was thrilled and satisfied.

Even though my excitement nearly drove Raymond and the kids crazy, I don’t think it was a bad thing to simply want my passport stamped with the Austrian insignia. (I’ll be glad to show it to you sometimeJ) But I did get to wondering…Do I/we ever approach the kingdom of God the same way? Sure, we all want to enjoy the Kingdom of Heaven in the next life. But do we really want to be a part of it in this one?

If I go to church on Sunday and live like I want to Monday through Saturday;

if I give begrudgingly to the church or special offerings;

if I join the church and am baptized, but my life hasn’t changed;

if I do things for God out of a sense of duty and not out of my love for Him;

even if I live as a “missionary” in a foreign country, but have a heart full of self-pity;

then I’m only having my spiritual passport stamped for show and am not really living the Kingdom life.

I don’t think God wants tourists to His Kingdom on earth, He wants committed citizens. He wants people to live the Kingdom life here and now every minute of every hour of every day. If I were a citizen of Austria, I wouldn’t be merely passing through, I would plant my life there. I would have to leave my American comfort zone, give up my American ways, language, and life style, and abide totally by Austrian rules and culture. It wouldn’t be easy.

If I want to be a genuine citizen of Christ’s kingdom, I have to give up my worldly ways, language, life-style, and totally abide in Christ. Often that means reaching beyond my comfort zone to touch the lives of others. It isn’t always easy. But it is always worth it, because even though His Kingdom is one of self-sacrifice and self-denial, it is a kingdom of love. There’s no place like it on earth.


“But your hearts must be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands…” (1 Kings 8:61) “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:23)


Dear Lord,
Help me to make the necessary changes in my life in order to be a committee citizen of Your Kingdom. When it comes to Your Kingdom, I don’t just want my “passport” stamped, I want to live, breathe, and experience You every minute of every hour of every day. Amen.

Striving to be a good Kingdom Citizen with you,
Drewe Llyn

True Freedom

"We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances." ~ Viktor Frankl

Clue

If you are looking for a great youth/family activity, have I got an idea for you!! (It's not totally my idea as I got it off the internet somewhere, but I did tweak it to fit our youth group.) I called it "Someone Broke the 6th Commandment." (Now, I must stop and give a disclaimer here, as I was using the internet to verify my commandment numbers, I discovered that some faiths divide them a little differently. Where as we Baptists have the 6th commandment as "Thou Shalt Not Kill", some have it as "Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery". You should really want to be careful with that one. Can you imagine the gossip at church if I'd gotten that one wrong! ) We had 13 youth playing and it took about 1/2 hour each time. The youth played twice, then they sat in the rooms and let the adults play. Then, some of the adults and some of the youth wanted to play a fourth round so those of us not playing sat in the rooms. It was so much fun, and turned out to be a great family activity.

Here's how to play:

Clue

Before Hand

• Choose seven rooms in your church facility (or wherever you’ll be playing). I chose: Nursery, Youth Room, Library, Church Office, Sanctuary, Children’s Church Room, and Ladies’ Sunday School Room. Create signs to clearly mark each room.

• Choose seven weapons. I chose: Brick, knife, Hymnal, poisoned chocolate, guitar strings, mike stand, and garbage bag.
  
  
  
• Write each room name and each weapon on separate index cards.

• Write each room name on seven separate envelopes.

• Write “solution” on another envelope.

• Create Sleuth’s pad with each item listed and plenty of room to add “suspects”.
  
  
  
• Choose seven non-playing people to sit, one in each room, as witnesses. Make sure they know the rules and what is expected before hand.

Day of the Event:

• When the entire group arrives add each person’s name to the Sleuth’s pad then make copies. Write each person’s name on individual index cards.

• Create three stacks of index cards: One stack with names, one stack with weapons, and one stack with rooms. (Make sure each stack is well shuffled) Take one from each stack and place in “Solution” envelope. Make sure only one person (who is not playing) knows what is in the solution envelope. Divide the rest of the index cards among the seven “room” envelopes making sure the remaining room cards go in the matching envelope (the library card goes in the library envelope, the youth room card goes in the youth room envelope). Don’t seal. Give the envelopes to the appropriate witness. (The “Sanctuary” envelope to the witness sitting in the sanctuary, the “Nursery” envelope to the witness in the nursery, etc.)
  
  
• Divide the group into teams. I think no more than three to a team works best, but feel free to try it any way you like.

Directions to Witnesses:

As detectives enter your room they will accuse one of the suspects of committing the crime with one of the weapons in the room you are in. Check your envelope. Do you have any of those cards? (You should have the room card unless the murder happened in your room.) Show any cards which contain any part of the accusation. You can show up to two cards to the detectives, but not all three even if you have them. Continue doing this until someone wins the game. (For example: The team may say, “I think Cassie did it here in the library with the hymnal.” If you have Cassie, the library, or the hymnal show that card to the team. If you have two of those, show both cards to the team. If you have all three show only two to the team.)

Directions to Detectives:

Someone broke the 6^th Commandment. Who, with what, and where are in this “Solutions envelope”. Only I know the answer. You’ve each been given a Sleuth’s pad with all the possible rooms, possible weapons, and suspects on them. You will go from room to room making accusations as to who, with what, and where, and will mark off any of the items shown to you by the witnesses in each room. If the witness has the card in his or her envelope, then the card is not in the solutions envelope. You may enter the rooms as often as you need to, but not immediately. You must enter another room and make an accusation before re-entering. Your entire team must be in the room before making accusations. When you think you’ve solved the murder, find me and make a formal accusation. If you are correct, the game is over. If you are not correct you must sit the game out until someone else has solved it.

I hope that's clearer than mud. LOL! Have fun!

He's Back!

Just a little update to let everyone know my Dear Son age 19 is back from his mission trip. I wish I could really share with you where he went and his deep insights on that experience, but I'm afraid it would jeopardize the Kingdom work going on in that particular part of the world. You'll just have to trust me that it was awesome for him and for me to vicariously go with him. He returned at 4:15 am Monday morning. DH and I got up and looked at his 163 pictures. (Oh the wonder of digital cameras!). He was so hyped up from the experience that I had to rejoice with him all day. (Or at least until he totally crashed at 6:15 last night. He was wide awake this morning at 3:00! Jet lag is getting the best of him.)

Why am I doing this?

Oh, yeah, it's because I love blackberry jelly!

My back hurts.

I'm sore all over.

My hands, arms, and legs are covered with scratches.

I must be crazy.

I guess I am...crazy about blackberry jelly! About a month ago my dad gave me a gallon of beautiful blackberries. Since I'm not crazy about plain blackberries, I decided to make jelly out of them. All I can say is, "AWESOME!" My kids and I can't get enough of that stuff. A friend of mine has quite a few bushes growing on her pond dam, so the girls and I picked another 5 quarts. When I discovered that blackberries added to homemade smoothies are the bomb (an exclaimation of delight used by today's generation), I knew I didn't have enough in my freezer. DD12 and I picked another gallon today. I made these into jelly, six pints to be exact. Now I'm in the process of making homemade bagels to go with it. (Thanks for that recipe, Jimmie! It's the bomb too!)

(Note: These pictures weren't taken today, though they were taken at my house of my goodies.)

A Praise from Kris' Mother

"After 34 days in the Trauma unit we were finally released!!! We were transferred to the rehabilitation hospital in our own town!!!! He is doing very well!!"

(Don't stop praying!)

Update on Kris

From Kris's Mom:

Kris is at (name of hospital). He had surgery Thursday on his broken pelvis. He is improving. They are going to try to ween him from the ventilator this week. He will be here for 6-8 weeks, during his healing. He has an external stabalizing bar on his pelvis that will have to be surgically removed in 6 weeks.

The trauma nurses call him a miracle. We had already knew that!! I will let you know more as we go.

Bloom where you are planted.

"Bloom where you are planted" was my first thought when I noticed this petunia growing by my grill. But the more I've thought about it, the more I think this photo should be labeled "With God, all things are possible."

This petunia wasn't "planted". Obviously a very, very tiny seed (Have you ever seen a petunia seed?) fell from my window box last summer and got washed into this crack in our patio. Then, unnoticed, unloved, and uncultivated it not only made it to maturity, it bloomed!

As followers of Jesus we often try to plant "seeds" of kindness, love, forgiveness, and hope in difficult places - prisons, hardened hearts, and cracked lives. Many times our efforts seem futile. Can change really happen? Can love truly bloom? Can people honestly break free from the strongholds that control them?

God just smiles; for in His kingdom there is no one unnoticed, unloved, or beyond His reach. He can take the smallest "seed" in the hardest heart and cultivate into something beautiful. See the proof for yourself.

Blessed Memorial Day

This is the Memorial Day Cartoon which will run in Monday's local paper. A picture surely paints a thousand words.

Memorial Day Cartoon

Living for God

I wrote this in my old journal dated 12-25-00 and decided to ponder on it today:

We shouldn't spend all our time living for God, trying to do His will. He desires that we spend all our time living in His presence, in perfect unity with Christ. The former is us saying, "I will do everything in my power to please God." The latter is Christ saying, "Abide in Me; without Me you can do nothing."

Update on Kris

From Kris' mom:

Kris is still in critical condition. But Friday the Doctors finally said he had some hope. I never gave up hope!! He has pneumonia but that goes along with the lung condition. His lungs were badly injured in the accident and it is a long slow process to heal. His pelvis is crushed but surgery is not an option until he stabilizes. Keep us in your prayers and I will keep you posted.

Please Pray...

...for Kris S. He is the 16 year old son of a high school friend of mine. He was recently in an auto accident with an 18 wheeler. His mom said all they have is hope and prayer. I don't know how serious his injuries are, but anything involving an 18 wheeler doesn't sound good.

Thank you.

Nice? To Her?!?!?!

The sign hanging from a pink polka-dotted ribbon boldly declared, “DO NOT DISTURB.” What better invitation did a twelve-year-old need to barge into her older sister’s room?

“Get out!” the eldest yelled, “And I mean now!” Rather than leave quietly, the younger began a volley of less than loving words. The older was more than up to the challenge. After several rounds, the younger finally ended it with a slam dunk and a slammed door. With determination she set off to find a sympathetic ear (a.k.a. me, her mom.)

In an effort to justify herself, my younger daughter let fly a string of examples to prove she is always mistreated by my older one. I listened patiently, finally counseling her to “just be nice to your sister.” (This seemed the motherly thing to say)

“Why?” She demanded, “Why should I be nice to her?” (With an emphasis on “her” as if uttering “her” real name might cause regurgitation.) Without waiting for a reply she proceeded to list all the reasons her older sister did not deserve kindness. And while there was some truth to her words, I knew her sister could compile a similar list. Exasperated by this time, I once again admonished the younger to treat her sister with kindness. She looked at me with her own frustration and demanded once more, “Why should I?”

All the good things her sister had done for her were on the tip of my tongue waiting to fly off like messengers of grace to bridge this valley in my daughters’ relationship. I realized, however, that the younger was not in the Land of Reason, so I decided to put it bluntly, “Because I said to.”

She gave me a bewildered look and left deciding, I suppose, the cat appeared to be more sympathetic than I.

I began to think.

How often do we, God’s children, exchange cross words with one another justifying each one? Do we explain to God why we can’t be nice to So & So, detailing all the reasons they don’t deserve kindness?

Perhaps the reason we are to treat our “brothers” and “sisters” with love is not because they deserve it, but because Dad said to.

That’s something to think about.

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” ~ Ephesians 4:32

Sisters who usually get along.

Becoming My Mother Update

I called my mother today. Here was the conversation:

Mom: I laughed when I opened the card you sent.

Me: Why?

Mom: Because I bought the same one for Mamaw!(Her own mother!)

Me: Great minds think alike! I guess that means you liked the card.

Just another sign I'm becoming my mother!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

Jesus with the Little Children

When I was a little girl I owned a picture of Jesus with the little children. It was a cheap, cardboard print in a cheap, plastic frame. But, oh, that picture of the kind, loving Christ warmed my heart! Part of the charm may have been a little poem written at the bottom that made me wish I could sit at the feet of Jesus. Through the years the print has been lost and the stanza has faded from memory, yet there are still times I wish I could look at it once more, or even go back in time to put my special picture of Jesus in a safe place.

Then along came the internet.

A google search of "Jesus and the Children" brought up that long lost picture by Francis Hook entitled "Jesus with the Little Children." Another search with the few lines I could remember brought up the poem entitled "The Sweet Story of Old" by Jemima Luke! Please take a moment to follow the links and be blessed.

Here are the lines on my precious print:

I wish that His hands had been placed on my head,

That His arm had been thrown around me;

and that I might have seen His kind look when He said,

"Let the little ones come unto Me."

Becoming My Mother!

Becoming my Mother!

© Drewe Llyn Jeffcoat 2005

It’s official – I’ve turned into my mother.

I suspected as much last summer when we were both caught wearing similar bathrobes and slippers. It became clearer upon discovering both our pre-Katrina preparations included boiling eggs and filling the bathtub with water. Let’s face it, for years we’ve laugh at the same jokes, enjoyed the same books and movies, and appreciated good puns. (Not everyone can, you know.) And in spite of the fact she loves squash, which I despise; my notion that I was becoming my mother were recently validated at the local Dollar General Store.

“I’ve got to get a pair of reading glasses,” she began. “I just can’t read the fine print on boxes anymore.” As she perused the reading glass rack my suspicion was confirmed, for it wasn’t my mother who was trying them on and speaking, it was me!

I’ve always had 20/20 vision and became slightly irritated when my mother would say, “Just a minute, let me get my glasses first,” every time I asked her to look at something. Over the past year, however, I’ve noticed a few changes. Manufacturers have changed the print size on their packaging, the light by my reading chair has grown dimmer, and people have been standing too close to my face during conversations.
Alas, the evidence mounted to beyond a reasonable doubt, so I scheduled an appointment with the optometrist. “When you reach forty your eye muscles start weakening,” she politely said during the exam. “You could use a pair of reading glasses.” What she meant was, “Nothing’s wrong with you; you’re just getting older.” Well meaning? Yes, but it brought little comfort coming from a twenty-six year old.

My mother and mother-in-law are forty…well, er... at least they were the last time I noticed. My mother-in-law’s fortieth birthday celebration was only yesterday. Wasn’t it? I was madly in love with her son at the time. The simple fact she was my boyfriend’s mother meant she was old. (Ahem…I mean old-er.) My own mother was forty when I married that same fellow, and we’ve only been married a mere…let’s see…twenty-one years. Twenty-one years?!?!? Yikes! That makes me…oh, my!...forty-one! How did that creep up on me?!?!?! That means I’m old! (I mean old-er.)

To be honest, turning into my mother isn’t such a horrid thing. She’s smart, caring, a hard worker, has a heart for God, and can make an awesome pan of chicken and dumplings. She has a great sense of humor and a love of books that’s been passed down to me and at least one granddaughter. She has a creative side I greatly admire, is a good listener, and repeatedly puts her faith into action. I consider myself blessed to be her child.

I modeled my new reading glasses for my own children the night I got them. “They’re cute!” one said kindly. Another wasn’t quite so tactful. “You look like Grandma,” she declared.

Actually, I hope I do.

Me and my parents. How many years ago????


Me with my youngest dd. She's twelve now!


My mom and I just a couple years ago.

Just Like Everyone Else

Life is hard.

Period.

There is no way around it. Sooner or later everyone breathing on this planet will experience difficulties of some kind. The possibilities are endless:

• financial hardships
• family strife
• sickness
• relational issues
• hurricanes
• fire
• tornadoes
• cancer
• alcoholism
• drugs
• flood
• famine
• war
• depression
• death of a loved one

As I said, the possibilities are endless. There are some who think, even preach, that hardships are brought about by sin in one's life, that "Good Christians" don't suffer like everyone else. And while I do concede some "trials" are self-inflicted, it is downright cruel and just plain wrong to say Christians are above the hardships of life. We weren't promised a "smooth ride" when we gave our lives to Jesus. (Sorry to burst anyone's bubble.) Christians experience life just like the rest of the world.

We are tossed, battered, and bruised by life's storms, but we have an Anchor keeping us from being totally demolished.

We sometimes lose our way and get confused, but we have a Compass to refocus us and put us back on track.

We sometimes get discouraged, depressed, and heart-broken, but we always have Hope.

We make wrong decisions, bad choices, and miserable mistakes. Often we don't resemble what "Christians" should be, but we have forgiveness, mercy, grace, and rest for our souls.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." ~ Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." ~ John 16:33

Frodo's Calling

It seems improbable that I include The Lord of the Rings Trilogy on my list of all time favorite movies, especially since I’m generally into “Chick flicks” and not “shoot ‘em ups”. (Or in this case “spear and slash ‘em up”.) Yet, I absolutely love these movies. I suppose I’m drawn and captivated by the many spiritual truths they contain – truths about friendship, loyalty, devotion, self-sacrifice, and calling.

Frodo, one of four extraordinary Hobbits, was quite evidently “called” by some higher being to carry the power-wielding ring to its destruction. No one else could do it, not even his faithful companion Sam. The wise elf-queen Galadriel said quite plainly, “If you don’t find a way, no one will.” And of course by movie’s end, he does find a way, receiving high commendation for his service from the King of Gondor.

I love stories where ordinary people step up to the plate and selflessly attempt an extraordinary task for the betterment of others. They travel long and perilous paths sprinkled with splashes of joy and tender moments. There are always “Gollums” who would derail the mission, and occasional “Sams” who forward it by their own devotion and self-sacrifice. And in spite of all the harrowing experiences and difficult challenges, in the end, the mission is accomplished making the world a better place. *sigh* These always leave me inspired by the hero’s courage and inner strength and yearning deeply for a calling of my own. I want to make a difference in my world.

After much pondering I’ve come to a staggering realization, I have received a higher calling, one requiring a generous supply of inner strength and courage, one that will impact my world, changing the course of history for those around me. It’s my job and mine alone, a task that won’t get done unless I find a way.

What is this task? The Great High Power, God Almighty, has asked me to care for those He’s personally entrusted to me - my children and my husband - not to their destruction, but to their construction – nurturing, encouraging, and building them up to be all He created them to be. Sure, someone else can cook, clean, shop, and read to the kids. Indeed, millions of women around the world have received similar callings, but God has uniquely crafted and gifted me to be the mom and wife these children and this man need in order to fulfill the call on their lives. If I fail – if I’m not true to the things I’ve been asked to do, if I don’t run the course, if I choose a different, easier path – what then?

Well…I’m sure, at first, Frodo and Sam didn’t fully understand the magnitude of their mission, or the consequences of failure. Neither do I.

So, I have accepted the challenge and press patiently onward…past runny noses, spilled milk, and sticky faces; through mood swings, broken hearts, and temper flares; tackling dirty faces, greasy dishes, and stained laundry, while stomping the occasional spider. Fortunately, my path is dotted liberally with lullabies, rocking chairs, and campfires; snuggles, chocolate chip cookies, and shopping sprees; church plays, family outings, and read-a-louds. I’m ever mindful to be the loving hands, feet, and voice of Christ to my family, so at the end, on that day when we all stand before the King of kings, we can all hear, “Well done, My good and faithful servants.”

I dare not fail.

“…I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” ~ Ephesians 4: 1 & 2

Facing the Giants Study Guide Part 2

Does God care about football?

In the locker room….

Coach Taylor: "10 bucks to the person who can tell me who won the state championship a decade ago."

Football Player: "Walker Jennings"

Coach Taylor: "No."

Football Player: "North Metro."

Coach Taylor: "Stop guessing you know it or you don’t...How about 5 years ago?"

Football Player: "Richland"

Coach Taylor: "That was 3 years ago. You can't remember can you? That leads me to ask a couple of questions. What's the purpose of this team?"

Matt: "To win ball games?"

Coach Taylor: "Then what?"

Matt: "We get a trophy and people talk about us"

Coach Taylor: "Maybe for a while. Then what?"

Matt: "I don't know. Get a scholarship, play for college, and coach Little League."

Coach Brady Owens: "What are you gettin' at Grant? You think we're just wasting our time?"

Coach Taylor: "If our main goal is to win football games then yes."

Matt: "You don't want us to win games?"

Coach Taylor: "No. Not if that's our main goal. Winning football games is too small a thing to live for and I love football as much as anybody. But even championship trophies will one day collect dust and be forgotten. It's just that so far all this has been about us. How we can look good. How we can get the glory. The more I read this Book, the more I realize life's not about us. We’re not here just to get glory, make money, and die. The Bible says that God put us here for Him. To honor Him. Jesus said the most important thing you can do with your life is to love God with everything you are and love others as yourself. So if we win every game and we miss that, we've done nothing. Football then means nothing. So I'm here to present you a new team philosophy. I think that football is just one of the tools we can use to honor God."

Brock: "So you think God does care about football?"

Coach Taylor: "I think He cares about your faith. He cares about where your heart is. If you can live your faith out on that football field then, yes, God cares about football, cause He cares about you. He sent his son Jesus to die for us so we could live for him. That's why we're here. But see, it's not just on the football field, we've got to honor Him in our relationships, in our respect for authority, in the classroom, and when you're at home alone surfing the internet. I want God to bless this team so much people talk about what He did. But that means we're gonna have to give him our best in every area, and if we win, we praise Him. And if we lose, we praise him. Either way we honor Him with our actions and attitudes. So I'm asking you, what are you living for? I've resolved to give God everything I got. Then I'll leave the results up to Him. I wanna know if you'll join me."


Questions:

What was Coach Taylor trying to prove by offering $10 to the one who could name the state champion ten years ago?

Think about what you spend your time doing right now. Will it matter in ten years?

Does God really care about the little areas of our lives?

If life is all about bringing glory to God, how can what you’re doing bring Him glory?

Facing the Giants Study Guide Part 1

I've already given my review of Facing the Giants. I showed it to my Sunday school class and they all loved it as much as I did. In order to glean all the wonderful lessons it contains I went on a search for a companion discussion/study guide. That has been easier said than done, so I decided to create my own study guide. I'm posting it here for anyone who wishes to use this movie as a teaching tool. Almost all the quotes from the movie were captured by my daughter ClassyCassie. (Thank you, Dear!) I'll be posting these in segments as there are quite a few lessons to be learned.

Open Doors

Mr. Bridges, the gentleman who has been praying over the students' lockers for six years, has a word from the Lord for Coach Taylor. It comes from Revelation 3:7 & 8: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut.

Questions:

What does Mr. Bridges mean by this statement?

How does that apply to our lives?

Praying for Rain

Coach Taylor to Mr. Bridges: “I admit to you I have been struggling. But I’ve also been praying. I just don’t see Him at work here.”

Mr. Bridges: “Grant, I heard a story about two farmers who desperately needed rain. And both of them prayed for rain. But only one of them went out and prepared his fields to receive it. Which one do you think trusted God to send the rain?”

Coach Taylor: The one that prepared his fields for it.”

Mr. Bridges: “Which one are you? God will send the rain when He’s ready. And you need to prepare your field to receive it.”

Questions:

What does it mean to “prepare for rain”?

How does this apply to our every day lives?

Is there some area of your life you've been asking God to take care of? How are you "preparing for rain"?