From the Internet

The Daffodil Principle...Author Unknown

Several times my daughter hadtelephoned to say, “Mother, youmust come see the daffodils before

they are over.”I wanted to go, but it was a

two-hour drive from Laguna to LakeArrowhead. “I will come next Tues-day,” I promised, a little reluctantly,on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold andrainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove

there. When I finally walked into Carolyn’s house andhugged and greeted my grandchildren, I said, “Forget thedaffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds andfog, and there is nothing in the world except you and thesechildren that I want to see bad enough to drive anotherinch!” My daughter smiled calmly and said, “We drive inthis all the time, mother.”

“Well, you won’t get me back on the road until itclears, and then I’m heading for home!” I assured her.

“I was hoping you’d take me over to the garage to pickup my car.”

How far will we have to drive?"“Just a few blocks,” Carolyn said. “I’ll drive. I’m used

to this.”After several minutes, I had to ask, “Where are we go-

ing? This isn’t the way to the garage!”“We’re going to my garage the long way,” Carolyn

smiled, “by way of the daffodils.”“Carolyn,” I said sternly, “please turn around.”“It’s all right, Mother, I promise. You will never for-

give yourself if you miss this experience.”After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small

gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of thechurch, I saw a hand-lettered sign that read, “DaffodilGarden.” We got out of the car and each took a child’shand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, we

turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped.Before me lay the most glorious sight. It looked as thoughsomeone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it downover the mountain peak and slopes. The flowers wereplanted in majestic, swirling patterns-great ribbons andswaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink,saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored varietywas planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like itsown river with its own unique hue. There were five acresof flowers.

“But who has done this?” I asked Carolyn.

“It’s just one woman,” Carolyn answered. “She liveson the property. That’s her home.”

Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house thatlooked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We

(Continued on page 4)

Inside This Issue:

EditorialSpringing Into New Life · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page 2

Wee Wit & Wisdom · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page 4

Spotlight on Orphans· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page 5

Come Sit at the Feet of JesusThe Fall and Restoration of Eve· · · · · · · · · · Page 6

Encounters With JesusMartha’s Garden · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page 7

Happy Homemaking and Family HarmonyMothers—We Have a Mission from God · · · · · Page 8

A Page from My ExperienceDiscovering God· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page 10

Health is WealthA Secret for Losing Weight · · · · · · · · · · · Page 11

Report from Day BreakThank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!!· · · · · Page 12

Scripture StudyThe Everlasting Gospel· · · · · · · · · · · · · · Page14

Woman to Woman

Vol. 5, No. 2 “And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:10 Mar./Apr. 2002

MAIL CALL:

Thanks for the newsletter, Hearth

to Hearth, I really enjoy it and I will pre-pare an article titled "God's Match-maker" it is a beautiful testimony, like alove story, about how God preparedme and prepared Brother Aland, since Iwas 15 years old, without knowing thathe existed, but in God’s plans I knewhim. It is a real and beautiful story. Ihope and pray you print it for all thosewomen that still don't find their help-mates this will be a hopeful messageso they will keep praying and claimingto God for the gift in Jesus’ name.Amen. Peru

[Thank you for thinking of us. Weappreciate it when our readers submittheir story for publication. It helps us toget better acquainted. We print asmany as we can. Editor]

I have appreciated your Hearth to

Hearth publication. Much is needed toencourage women, especially youngerones, of the importance to be homewith their little ones. Also appreciate

the articles on marriage. That is alsomuch needed. The devil is out to de-stroy what God has blessed; the Sab-bath day and our homes. Keep up thewords of inspiration. Tennessee

I was so pleased to learn about theorphanage, in Hearth to Hearth. I wastalking to two of my friends about theproject in Africa regarding the orphan-age. They are interested in receivingyour paper. I am sending an offering to-day to help to cover some expense. Soplease send your current Heath to

Hearth. Thanks.Arizona

Will you please give me informa-tion concerning the orphanage inKenya. How much does it take to spon-sor an orphan per month? Or is that upto you? Is the money to be sent to you?

Ohio[Please accept our apologies. That

information should have been includedin last month’s newsletter. We are re-questing $30 per month to sponsor achild. However, there are those whocannot afford that much, so some are

sending $20 or $25 a month and we areallowing them to sponsor a child for thatamount. $20 a month is much betterthan nothing and these children neednot only financial assistance, they needyour love and encouragement in theform of letters, cards and gifts. A giftcan be anything from a picture post-card or bookmark to an item of clothing.

Yes, the money is to be sent toHearth to Hearth, but letters and giftsare to be sent directly to the children.Editor]

I just received Hearth to Hearth

and read your article, “Spotlight on Or-phans.” I want to sponsor Nereah orJulia if someone hasn’t taken them. Ifthey have been sponsored please sendme another name that needs help.

I really enjoy reading Hearth to

Hearth. It has drawn me closer to theLord. I’ve always had a burden for or-phan children… My heart goes out tothese poor orphan children.

May God bless you in your workwith Hearth to Hearth. Tennessee

Please put me on your bi-monthlynewsletter [mailing list]. At the momentI study and teach in a school about nat-ural health remedies. I feel a deep needto keep in contact with you women orsisters in Christ and help each othergrow closer to Jesus in these end timesand also care more and understand ourhusbands. Finland

I’m not sure you are the person thathandles the funds for the orphan minis-try of Romania. However, if not, pleasedirect it to the proper person. Enclosedis $__ for this work.

Pennsylvania[Thank you for your donation for

the Day Break orphanage, which wehave forwarded to the CordellaBrummet. Again, we apologize that weneglected to include this information inthe last newsletter. Editor]

I appreciate your articles in Hearth

to Hearth and I would like to be able tohelp the unfortunate children in the or-phanages… I wish I could do more butright now I cannot, but I do pray for theinnocent children. Maine

[Thank you so much for yourprayers for the children. Editor]

Could I please start receiving yourHearth to Hearth newsletter… Itsounds very encouraging. Looking for-ward to reading it! Australia

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Editorial

Springing Into New Life

Spring is so wonderful, bursting with new life and beauty. It fills mewith awe and causes me to contemplate on Jesus. He is love and newness oflife; a breath of fresh air. When we choose Him we become new life in Him,to flower and grow in His garden of love. What a wonderful promise thatwe may someday go home with Him and be forever with Him in eternity.The wonder takes my breath away and fills my heart to overflowing.

It reminds me of the little boy who had just recently given his heart toJesus. His first service in church he watched as the plate was passed. His lit-tle heart ached as he searched his pockets and found nothing to give. Hecame from a poor home where money was scarce. As he watched the platepassed from row to row he cried within, for he had nothing to give his won-derful Saviour. Then, just as the plate reached the back of the church, hejumped up and ran to the usher holding the plate. He took it from himand, sitting it on the floor, he stepped inside saying, “I have no money, buttake me, I offer myself to You, use me as You need. I give You my heart andmyself.” I doubt many people came out of that service without being trulytouched by the love of that one small boy.

Now, as spring freshens our world may we all find new beauty and lifein our relationships with God. May we stand for Jesus and say with thatsmall boy, “I give You myself, use me as You need.”

Alice Fredrick

I have written this letter to tell youhow much I have enjoyed reading yourperiodical and to say that I will help tosupport the orphan ministry as much asI can. I am praying that the Lord willcontinue to bless this worthwhileprogramme.

JamaicaI am writing in regards to the issue

in the Hearth to Hearth publication on“Spotlight on Orphans.” I would like todonate something towards sponsoring14-year-old Julia and 16-year-oldNereah. May God richly bless BrotherLawrence and his family for having it inhis heart to take in these orphans. Ican’t give a lot but I can do a little!Maybe later on I can do a littler more…

I enjoy reading Hearth to Hearth! Itis like a breath of fresh air!! Ohio

Enclosed please find a check forsponsorship of Mercy Anyango for themonth of February. We are anxiouslywaiting for a reply from Mercy. Wewrote her two weeks ago so plan tohear from her soon. Minnesota

[Please be aware that it may (butdoesn’t always) take three weeks foryour airmail letter to reach Mercy, thenanother three weeks to get her reply.Anything sent surface mail can take upto five months to reach her. Editor]

GIFTING CORNER:Enclosed please find a check for

$___. This check is to be used for theOBREC Orphanage in Kenya, Africa. Itis a gift in honor of my many adult neph-ews and nieces:

Tim and Alicia KritzellMitch and Laura KritzellLarry and Melissa KritzellLisa and Tom HoweCate PrestonMark PrestonBrian PrestonBetsey AlbrightDoug AlbrightI’ve heard about this effort from my

sister, Vicki Kritzell, and my nephewand his wife, Tim and Alicia Kritzell.This check can be used wherever Law-rence deems most necessary. Thankyou for your help.

Molly Franks/Michigan

PRAYER CALL:1) There is a brother in Zimbabwe,

Michael Sibanda, who is currently ondeath row for a crime he did not com-

mit. Michael was working away fromhome and when he returned he foundhis wife dead in his apartment. Asmuch of a shock as this was to him, hewas then accused of murdering her.However, two women prior to this hadbeen murdered in the same apartmentcomplex before Michael and his wifemoved into it and the manager of theapartments was a suspect. I am sureMichael will be grateful for every prayerthat is offered up in his behalf.

You may send letters and cards ofencouragement to Michael and hismother at her address:

Melody Tshabalala1031 EmaganwimiP.O. NkulumaneBulawayo, Zimbabwe

Esther McDaniel/West Virginia

2) Please remember ShaneFredrick in your prayers. He has had 32surgeries already and is in danger ofhaving another one that is very major.Another time I will write a testimony asto the miracles God performed for hislast surgery. Shane is a testimony inhimself. He has spina-bifida and I wastold he would be unable to do mostanything. He is now 23 and in a wheel-chair. He is high functioning to the de-gree that he is going to move into hisown apartment. This is another prayer;that he will be able to maintain this onhis own. Thank you for your prayers.

Alice Fredrick/Arizona

EDITOR’S NOTES:

» Moving? If you have changedyour address, please kindly notify us toavoid missing any issues, as well as tohelp us save on expenses. Postage forreturned newsletters is very expensiveat $2.44 each. Thank you for your help.

» Reminder: The return addressshown on the back page is strictly forpostal purposes and should not beused for correspondence. The correctaddress for correspondence is Hearth

to Hearth, P.O. Box 247, Pineville, WV24874. (Please see box at right.)

» The Gifting Corner is an addi-tion to our magazine to make provisionfor those who choose to show their loveto family and friends by giving gifts intheir name to our orphan project. Insharing our bounty in this fashion, ourgifts do truly take on new meaning ascoming from the heart. Love does grow

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Our Method::

Hearth to Hearth is published bi-monthly and sent free upon request.Voluntary donations are appreciated.

Our Mission:

Believing that we can findcompleteness in all areas of our livesonly “in him, who is the head of allprincipality and power” (Colossians2:10), it is the mission of Hearth to

Hearth to provide a forum for Christianwomen to reach out to each other infriendship, joy and hope; and toencourage each other to find ourcompleteness in Christ as we sojournhere on our way to the kingdom. By thiscompleteness in Christ we becomebetter wives, mothers, daughters,homemakers, neighbors and friends. Asan outgrowth of this completeness, wewill desire to share the love of Godthrough our efforts to meet the needs ofothers and to relieve the suffering ofthose for whom Christ died.

Our Staff:

Editor:

Esther McDanielAssociate Editors:

Alice Fredrick - ContentKendra Beachy - CopyGeorge McDaniel - CopyJennifer Priddy - Layout & Design

Contributing Editors:

Onycha HoltVictoria KritzellPat KroegerDorothy ManningDee Stringfellow

Treasurer:

Kendra BeachyAssistant Treasurer:

George McDaniel

Our Address:

All letters should be sent to Hearth to

Hearth, P.O. Box 247, Pineville, WV24874. (The return address printed onthe newsletter is for mailing purposesonly.)

Phone: 304-732-9204Fax: 304-732-7322E-Mail: esther@smyrna.orgPrinted by: Smyrna Gospel

Ministries, Welch, West Virginia

more powerful when we pass it on.Please designate such gifts for theGifting Corner.

» Mail Call: We have always re-served the right to print your letters. Inthe beginning, we were printing the firstname and the two-letter state designa-tion. Later, we began printing only thestate from which the letter came.

In an effort to foster a closer “fam-ily” atmosphere in our magazine, weare planning to begin, with our next is-sue, printing your full name and yourstate, along with your letters. There-fore, if you do not wish to have your let-ter printed, or if you prefer that yourname be withheld, please specify thiswhen you write to us.

In any case, we will always con-tinue to be conscious of sensitive is-sues by not printing letters that containthem without receiving specific, priorpermission. We may edit your lettersfor clarity and space.

» There are several who havewritten in, expressing an appreciationfor Hearth to Hearth. We are thankfulthat God is reaching out to you throughus. If you have anything to share in let-ters, articles, anecdotes for “Wee Wit &Wisdom,” prayer and praise reports ortestimonials, we would love to receivethem. We are constantly striving to en-rich and uplift each of your lives throughour magazine. To those of you who arecontributing we say THANK YOU.

Orphan project: We wish to thankeach and every one of you who have sograciously given of your time and in-come to support our mission outreachproject. You are blessing these childrenand making their small lives more toler-able and joyful. God will reward yourichly!

(Continued from page 1)walked up to the house. On the patio, wesaw a poster.

“Answers to the Questions I knowyou are asking” was the headline.

There it was, The Daffodil Principle.For me, that moment was a life-changingexperience. I thought of this womanwhom I had never met, who, more thanforty years before, had begun one bulb ata time—to bring her vision of beauty andjoy to an obscure mountain top. Still, justplanting one bulb at a time, year afteryear, had changed the world. This un-known woman had forever changed theworld in which she lived. She had cre-ated something of ineffable (indescrib-able) magnificence, beauty, andinspiration.

The principle her daffodil gardentaught is one of the greatest principles ofcelebration. That is, learning to move to-ward our goals and desires one step at atime-often just one baby-step at atime—and learning to love the doing,learning to use the accumulation of time.When we multiply tiny pieces of timewith small increments of daily effort, wetoo will find we can accomplish magnifi-cent things. We can change the world.

“It makes me sad in a way,” I admit-ted to Carolyn. “What might I have ac-complished if I had thought of awonderful goal thirty-five or forty yearsago and had worked away at it ‘one bulbat a time’ through all those years. Justthink what I might have been able toachieve!”

My daughter summed up the mes-sage of the day in her usual direct way.“Start today,” she said. “It’s so pointlessto think of the lost hours of yesterdays.The way to make learning a lesson ofcelebration instead of a cause for regretis to only ask, ‘How can I put this to usetoday?’

�

[This beautiful story was sent as ane-mail forward. Our thanks to the un-known author. Editor]

(Continued from page 5)garbage to survive. In order for Samwelto remain at OBREC and continue his ed-ucation, he desperately needs a sponsor.

To sponsor one of these young per-sons, or any of the others aged 1 through18, requires a monthly promise of only$20 to $30 (depending on what you can

give). This small amount of money (byour standards) will keep these children inschool and provide food and medicalsupplies. The donation should arrive atHearth to Hearth Ministries by the firstof each month, in the form of a check ormoney order made out to the ministry.The money is then deposited in the bankand transferred by Western Union orbank wire directly to OBREC. Whenyou decide to sponsor a child, we willsend you a picture provided by Law-rence, as well as instructions on how tocommunicate with your child.

Because of the outpouring of sup-port from our readers since the start ofthis project, approximately five shortmonths ago, over $8000.00 has been sentto the orphanage. With that money, inaddition to feeding the children, pur-chasing school supplies and giving sti-pends to the teachers, many temporaryimprovements have been made. Unfor-tunately, that amount of money wouldonly fund the most necessary improve-ments to the existing, temporary struc-tures, that would allow the school tocontinue for another year. Plans havebeen drawn up for a simple, new, perma-nent structure, which would cost approx-imately 12,000 US dollars.

Lawrence would also like to set up aprintshop where some of the students canlearn the printing trade while producinggospel literature for distribution and alsodoing some commercial printing to bringin money for the school. We have adream of obtaining a 20- or 40-foot con-tainer ($4,000 or $5,000 respectively, de-livered to, filled and shipped from ourlocation in West Virginia), in which toship used printing equipment and sup-plies as well as food staples, clothing,bedding and other items for the children.If anyone has any ideas about this, or howto obtain the needed supplies, we wouldlove to hear from you.

The opening of your hearts hasworked miracles! We are all on a journeyof great importance, but we have thegreatest Guide of all.

�

[Vicki lives with her husband, Larry,in the small town of Clyde, Ohio, whichis located near Lake Erie. They have fourgrown, married children and five grand-children. Vicki is thrilled to be involvedin the OBREC project and hopes to keepyou up-to-date on developments there.]

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Wee Wit & WisdomOne day I heard my three-year- old

son yelling for me to come see. He burstthrough the door and showed me asmall broken egg and a tiny baby birdthat had fallen from a nest. In the fall, theegg had broken open. My son wantedme to fix the bird so he could live. Whilewatching me, he had a questioning lookon his face. When I asked what waswrong, he queried, “Why does the birdiehave mustard and catsup on it?” I cansee his innocence and concern yet.

Alice Fredrick

SPOTLIGHT ON ORPHANSVicki Kritzell

When Esther called and dis-cussed the possibility of me becom-ing involved in the OBRECOrphanage project for Hearth toHearth, I accepted without hesitation.After meeting Lawrence during hisvisit to America, I felt moved to helphim; I just didn’t know how until Es-ther’s call opened the door for me.

This is a tremendous project. Al-though we are all aware of the effectof HIV/AIDS on East Africa, it iseasy to ignore when not directlytouched by it. Lawrence providedthat direct touch. His pictorial storiesof 126 children, so simplistic andheart wrenching, do not allow us toshut our eyes to what is going on inthe lives of a whole generation of Af-rican parents and children.

Upon doing research, I wasstruck by the magnitude of this prob-lem. The statistics are staggering; 1.5million children, in Kenya alone,have already lost one or both parents.By 2010, the projected number is 2.3million. It was also estimated in 1999that by the year 2000, AIDS wouldalso infect 153,000 Kenyan children.Visualize the horror of a child so des-perately ill without a living parent togive comfort, love and care in theface of such suffering.

My first reaction to some of theseoverwhelming statistics was despera-tion. What good can one man facingsuch a huge problem do? Then Istarted thinking about my own dearchildren. What if my baby was alone,hungry, and ill with no one to admin-ister love and attention to her? Whatif she were living in the street, forcedto turn to begging, or worse, to sur-vive? Perhaps no one would step for-ward to help because she was part of alarge group of suffering children, andnot all could be saved. What wouldyou want if this were your little one?We must reach out even if we canonly save one child. That child is ours

the same as if we had given birth toher, and cannot be ignored.

The value of a child in such needknowing someone far away caresabout his welfare is tremendous. It isnot in what we say, but what we dothat things are changed. ConsiderLawrence. He did not go home at theend of a day in the city and discuss thesuffering children with his wife overdinner. He brought them home, andhe and Sophie are de-voting their lives tocaring for them. Theyhave forsaken mostcreature comforts,even selling off theirown possessions, in or-der to provide suste-nance for thesechildren who were des-tined to live in thestreets. He has a visionof a future for thesechildren that includesproviding a lovinghome, food, and education; achance at life. We are blessedthat he was guided to come toAmerica to give us the opportu-nity to help him in achieving hisgoals. We have been given somuch that is good; we need togive some back.

To date, there have been 25sponsors who have been fortu-nate enough to provide assis-tance for at least one child. Thatmeans there are at least 100 peopleout there who can still have the op-portunity to be a parent for one ofthese children. What a wonderfulchance to enrich our spirit instead ofour bank account!

Aside from sponsoring a child,there is so much need in other areas,as pointed out in the previous two is-sues of Hearth to Hearth. These chil-dren are sleeping on rags, food is at aminimum, teachers who provide notonly education but love and guidance

need to be paid, housing needs to bebrought up to standard, electricityand water must be available, clothingand school supplies need to be pro-vided. Medical care is sporadic, somebeing provided by Doctors WithoutBorders when they are in the area.The list is endless. Then there is the is-sue of the thousands of other childrenliving alone in the streets of HomaBay. We know Lawrence will con-tinue to bring them home as long ashe has a place for them, no matterhow rudimentary it may be.

As part of the effort to find lovingsponsors for these children, I wouldlike to take the opportunity to intro-duce you to two of the children whoare hoping to continue their educa-tion. The first is Carolyn Anyanto,who is 15 years old. Both of Caro-

lyn’s parents died fromAIDS when she was veryyoung. There was no familyavailable to care for her, soCarolyn, not wanting to re-sort to life in the streets, wasable to find bits of work toprovide the most basic neces-sities. As she was strugglingto survive, someone told herof the OBREC Orphanage.She found her way there, andis now experiencing life in aloving environment, whichhas allowed her to return toschool. Carolyn dreams of

someday coming to America andstudying to be a doctor, and returning toKenya after her education is completedto help the children of her homeland.

The second is 15-year-oldSamwel Ouma. Samwel’s parentsdied from AIDS when he was a smallboy. His surviving relatives were liv-ing in poverty, unable to provide fortheir own children, much less an-other. When Samwel was brought toOBREC from the streets of HomaBay, he had been discovered eating

(Continued on page 4)

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Samwel

Caroline

Come Sit at the Feet of Jesus

The Fall and Restoration of EvePart II

Esther McDaniel

God placed Eve in the beautiful Garden of Eden and gaveher the responsibility of being her husband’s helper in dressingand keeping it, but Eve found herself gazing at the one tree thatGod had forbidden them to eat from, or even to touch.

As Eve was lingering near the forbidden tree somethingcaught her attention, and in my mind’s eye I can see her goingcloser to investigate. “Why, that’s a serpent in the tree and he’seating the fruit!” she says to herself.

Surely her conscience must have reminded her that she wasgetting too close to the forbidden tree. “But I am not doing any-thing wrong,” I can hear her rationalize. “Surely it can’t hurt tojust stand here and watch to see what that serpent is doing.”

Suddenly Eve is astounded to hear the serpent begin tospeak to her. God did not create animals with the ability tospeak to humans. Satan was speaking to herthrough the serpent. Satan said, “Yea, hathGod said, Ye shall not eat of every tree ofthe garden?” (Genesis 3:1) Eve re-sponded, “We may eat of the fruit of thetrees of the garden: But of the fruit ofthe tree which is in the midst of the gar-den, God hath said, Ye shall not eat ofit, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”(Genesis 3:2, 3)

Then Satan concluded with a halftruth. He said, “Ye shall not surely die: ForGod doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, thenyour eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowinggood and evil.” (Genesis 3:4, 5)

In effect, Satan was saying, “You think God is good, butHe told you this fruit is bad; in that, He lied to you. In reality,this fruit is good—-God is bad.” Eve’s curiosity was aroused,she chose to listen to Satan’s words, which caused her to dis-trust God, and she ate of the fruit of the tree. God had freely of-fered her the good, while in His wisdom He had withheld theevil. Now the “book of evil” was opened to her and what bale-ful results have followed!

Do we also linger in Satan’s territory? Do we rationalizethat it is okay because we are not doing anything wrong? Canwe teach our children the evils of compromising principle ifwe, ourselves, make compromises?

Though it is true that we cannot of ourselves obey God, it isalso true that we can do all things through Christ! God requiresobedience, no less of us than He did of Eve. His biddings areHis enablings!

As women, God has given us a work to do in representingHim to all with whom we come in contact. He has given manyof us the responsibility of being help meets to our husbands andteachers of our children. He has commanded the elder womento teach the younger women. (Titus 2:3-5) We cannot be faith-ful to this work He has entrusted to us if we allow ourselves to

be distracted by the enemy; if we allow our minds to linger onthe suggestions of Satan. We must keep our eye single (fo-cused on one thing) to the glory of God.

“The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eyeis single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eyeis evil, thy body also is full of darkness.” (Luke 11:34)

It is in the realm of our thoughts that a fierce battle must befought. “But every [wo]man is tempted, when he [she] is drawnaway of his [her] own lust, and enticed.” (James 1:14) Satanwhispers his words of enticement into our ears just as he did toEve. He knows our weaknesses—our lusts. “Then when lusthath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished,bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15) In other words, when Satan’senticements meet up with our lusts and find a favorable re-

sponse, conception of sin takes place.

Dear sisters, if we are going to avoidthe penalty of death, we must practicestrict “birth control” in the arena of ourthoughts! We must reject those lustfulthoughts before conception takes place.That is the only way to keep sin from be-ing “born” in our lives.

Satan is a cunning foe. He will stealevery inch of ground that he possibly can.But we have an advantage! God is on our

side!! “For though we walk in the flesh, wedo not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our

warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pullingdown of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and everyhigh thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience ofChrist.” (2 Corinthians 10:4-6)

What are you lusting after today? Is it rich and fatteningfoods? Indulgence in idleness? A forbidden romance? A spiritof negativism, whining and complaining? Whatever it is, if youwill stand guard over your thoughts and evict those thoughts assoon as they try to enter your mind, that sin will never be con-ceived! Jesus gained the victory over every temptation and Hegained it for us and can gain it again in us if we will let Him livein us. (Colossians 1:27) We can have victory in our lives. Thechoice is ours.

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I prayGod your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blamelessunto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he thatcalleth you, who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24)

LESSON #2: In order for us to avoid the trap that Eve fellinto and regain the ground that she lost, we need to reject ourown thoughts and surrender our God-given power of reason tothe mind of Christ. (See Philippians 2:5) And, very important,don’t try to reason with the serpent!

�

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Encounters With Jesus

Martha’s GardenOnycha Holt

This was where He liked to come the most, she re-flected, gazing upon the familiar scene. Here, and on therooftop. Often the four of them would eat outside, aroundthe table by the grape arbor. She would rinse a few grapeleaves in the water barrel, and arrange them on the table fordate-nut balls she had made, rolled together with a littlehoney and coriander. Then she would place a plate or an-other grape leaf at each setting for flatbread, generously spread with mashedbeans and topped with olives, choppedcucumbers, onions, sprouts, a few curds,and sprinkled with a little olive oil.

Her garden was special to her becauseit had been her mother’s before she died.She had tended it lovingly, and Marthacontinued its tender care. One reached itthrough the front gate. Around her homewas a stone fence, but in the front was agate that could be barred at night. This wasthe only way in, and the garden was in theback. There were a few trees for shade, agrape arbor of about eight sturdy plants oneach side that had been the focus of her fa-ther’s attention, and many fragrant flowersgrowing along the inner wall. Near theback were a couple water barrels, one for washing, and onefor rinsing. There were also open spaces in the garden,where friends could gather and eat, neatly crafted with bor-ders of blooming shrubs or plants.

When Jesus came He was often weary and hungry. Hewould bathe and wear some of Lazarus’ clothes so shecould wash His old ones. After eating, they would go up onthe rooftop and talk. The starry heaven was always mag-nificent. Often the three of them would sing praises toGod, and she noticed at these times He would not sing with

them, but rather He listened graciously, as if acceptingtheir songs of praise. While they sang, He would graduallylay down, and before too long would be sound asleep. Laz-arus always stayed with Him on the rooftop at night, whileshe and Mary went downstairs.

In quiet moments like these, Martha would reminiscewith poignant satisfaction that Jesus was refreshed at her

home. And not only refreshed, but madehappy by their friendships. What amazedher the most was the way He treated her.She was a woman, but He talked with herintelligently. He expected her to thinkthings through, to understand deep mat-ters, and she felt honored to be in Hispresence. She could even disagree withHim without fear, as she did at Lazarus’tomb when He was about to have thestone rolled away. What love the King ofHeaven showed her!

Now that Jesus has returned toheaven, Martha sometimes daydreamsabout a heavenly garden, with archwaysof gardenias, wisteria, and orchids, allleading to sculpted alcoves of lovelyflowers, waterways, bridges, and ponds.

On and on it goes in her mind, and in these gardens shesees birds of lovely hues, and little creatures sitting on lilypads. Martha also sees Jesus visiting her there, perhapsaround another table spread with delicious food, and per-haps with a few friends. Maybe you and me.

“Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”

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[Onycha writes from her home in Camden on Gauley, WestVirginia, where she is eagerly awaiting that visit with Jesus andMartha in the Garden. ]

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Spring is Here!All the earth quivers in sweet anticipation,

And creatures of the forest join in celebration

Because spring is here!

My own heart beats faster,

And my spirits rise higher,

Bursting fetters of winter that bound me.

Deep in my being

Joy fills me at seeing

The wonders of nature unfolding around me.

I want to sing with birds

And run with the brook,

Even bloom with the flowers that surround me!

I feel a oneness with nature,

At peace with the Creator

Of all the wonders of earth that astound me,

Because spring is here!

Grace Pennington Cox

Happy Homemaking and Family Harmony

Nancy Campbell

“I want to have Family Devo-tions with my family, but what do Iread to them? Where do I start?”

I would suggest that you have adaily reading, but once a week dosomething different or special. Don’tget in a rut. Never let Family Devo-tions become boring. Always readthe Word of God with faith and ex-pectancy. Believe God is going tospeak to you. Here are a few ideas toget you started. You will think ofmany more.

You can start at the beginning of abook in the New Testament and readuntil you get to the end of the book. Ifyou have little children, only read twoor three scriptures each night, andleave out the passages that may be dif-ficult for them to understand. Makesure each child is asked a question.Questions keep your children’s atten-tion. When your children are older,you can read a chapter each night.When you have finished a book of theNew Testament, read through a bookof the Old Testament. A good idea is topass the Bible around so each personcan read two verses each until thechapter is finished. This gets everyoneinvolved. Paul said in Acts 20:27, “Ihave not shunned to declare unto youALL the counsel of God.”

When the children are a littleolder, you can read a chapter of Prov-erbs each day. There are 31 days inthe month and 31 chapters in Prov-erbs. This way we can continually fillour children with practical wisdom.

A good exercise is for a father ormother to read through the book ofProverbs and write each scripture un-der the appropriate heading, e.g. Dili-gence, Laziness, Honesty, Purity,Wisdom, Understanding, Handling

money matters, Adultery, The fear ofthe Lord, Companions, and so on.When you have all the scriptures listedunder the headings, keep them in afolder. You can then take one of thesubjects on the appropriate occasionsand read those verses to your children.

As you read the Word of God,look out for all the different names ofGod or Christ. Each name of God re-veals another attribute of His charac-ter. Write down the name and thenunder the heading gradually write allthe scriptures that refer to God orChrist as this name, e.g. The GoodShepherd, The Prince of Peace, TheMighty Warrior, Father, The Com-forter, Jehovah Jireh, a Good God, theFaithful God, and so on. You can alsouse the help of a Concordance. Whenyou have a few scriptures under thesenames, use them to read to your familyfor a Family Devotion. What a won-derful way to teach your children moreof God’s character.

For a change you could play thisgame. Choose some suitable scripturesready for the occasion. The childrenmust each have their own Bible andput it on top of their heads withouttheir hands touching the Bible. Whenthe father or mother calls out the refer-ence of the scripture, it is then a com-petition to see who can find it first.They then read the scripture to thefamily. Have some little prizes readyto give to each one who finds it first.

Look up scriptures about Jesusbeing the light of the world, and howHe also wants us to be a light in theworld, and have them ready to read tothe family. For this particular meal-time, turn out the lights and have yourmeal by candlelight only. Don’t haveany other light on in the house. When

your children ask why all the lightsare out, just say, “Wait and see.” Readthe “light” scriptures at Family Devo-tions and of course don’t forget to askthe questions. Remind your childrenthat we are the only lights in thisworld of darkness. If we don’t shinefor Jesus, there will be no light! Sug-gested scriptures for you to choose:Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 4:18; Isaiah9:2; Matthew 5:14-16; Luke 12: 35;John 1:9; 3:19-21; 8:12; Acts 26:18;2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 5:8;Philippians 2:15; 1 John 1:7.

Prepare scriptures about the pre-cious blood of Jesus and make thisyour theme for the family meal table.Choose all red foods for this meal,e.g. beets, radishes, red beans, tomatosauce or soup, potatoes or rice coloredwith red food coloring etc. For dessertyou could have lovely red fruits suchas pomegranates, blood oranges,cherries, strawberries, watermelon orred grapes, You could ask the chil-dren to find all their white clothes andwear them to the table. Of course theywon’t know why! It’s fun keepingthem in suspense isn’t it? Childrenlove surprises. When you have readthe scriptures, or asked each child toread one of the scriptures, you can ex-plain to them how their sins arewashed away in the blood of Jesus.That’s why they have white clotheson for this meal. Sing some songs to-gether about the blood of Jesus. Wecan’t speak or sing about the blood ofJesus enough. For example:

» “What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

» “Have you been to Jesus for

the cleansing power? Are you

washed in the blood of the Lamb?”

» “There is power, power, won-

der-working power, in the precious

blood of the Lamb.”

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Suggested scriptures for you tochoose: Exodus 12:12-13; Psalm103:12; Isaiah 44:22; Ephesians 1:7;Hebrews 9:14, 22; 10:17; 1 Peter1:18-19; 1 John 1:7-9; Revelation1:5-6.

Look up all the scriptures abouthow God wants us to be continuallygrowing in His ways, and how Hewants us to be always green, even intimes of drought. For this meal, serveeverything on their plates green. Itwill be a healthy meal because youcan serve all the green leafy vegeta-bles. You could color the potatoesgreen also. When the children askwhy everything is green, once again,say, “Wait and see.” After Bible read-ing and questions you will encouragethem to be continually growing in theLord. They will always rememberthis because of the green meal. Mealtimes are the greatest way to make our

children understand the meaning ofthe scriptures. Suggested Scripturesfor you to choose: Psalm 1:3; 52:8;92:13,14; Proverbs 11:28; Jeremiah17:7,8; Ezekiel 47:12; 1 Timothy4:15; 1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18.

Previously to the mealtime, lookup a number of scriptures about sing-ing and praising the Lord and espe-cially singing a new song to the Lord.After reading the scriptures, encour-age all the family to write a song. Doit together. It only has to be a very

simple song. Then think of a tune andsing it together. Suggested Scripturesfor you to choose: Psalm 5:11; 33:3;40:1-3; 96:1-4; Psalm 91; Psalm 100;144:9; Isaiah 42:10-13; Ephesians5:18-20; Colossians 2:7; 1 Thessa-lonians 5:18; Revelation 5:9,10; 14:3.

Prepositions begin many mightyscriptures. Why not have a BUT night!Or an IF night. Or a THEREFOREnight! Get out your concordance andchoose some powerful scriptures start-ing with the preposition of yourchoice. Encourage the children to re-peat them after you, putting the em-phasis on the preposition. It will helpthem to remember the scriptures.Here’s some to get you started:

» BUT: Psalm 1:1-3; Isaiah40:31; 53:5; Acts 17:30,31; Galatians2:20; Ephesians 2:4-6; 2 Timothy 1:7;James 1:5, 6.

» IF: There are 2,500“Ifs” in the Bible. Deuteron-omy 4:29; 2 Chronicles 7:14;John 14:15; 1 Corinthians9:16; Galatians 5:25; He-brews 2:3; Hebrews 4:7;1 John 1:7, 1:9; 1 John 4:11;Revelation 3:20.

» THEREFORE:Romans 5:1; 6:12; 8:1;12:20; 1 Corinthians 4:5;2 Corinthians 5:17; 1 Thes-salonians 5:6; 2 Timothy2:3; 2:10; Hebrews 2:1;4:16; 10:19; 10:25; James

4:17; 5:7; 1 Peter 4:7.

You could gather 12 large stonesand pile them in the middle of the ta-ble—this will be your centerpiece forthis meal. For Bible reading you willread Joshua chapter 4, which tells thestory of the children of Israel crossingthe Jordan and how God wanted themto place the 12 stones in the Jordan asa memorial of what He had done forthem. Another story you could use isfound in Joshua 24:15-28. Anotherevening you could place a stone by

each person’s plate. Choose 1 Peter2:1-10 for your Bible reading and ex-plain how each one of them is a livingstone to be built into God’s building.

Memory verseChoose a memory verse for the

family at the beginning of the week.Recite it together at the family meal ta-ble each night. Write it up in big lettersin your house. Also write it on cards sothe children can put it in their pocket orfather can take it to work in his pocket.By the end of the week everyone in thehouse should be able to recite thescripture. Learn a verse together as afamily each week. Here’s some goodmemory verses for you to learn as afamily: Joshua 1:8; Joshua 1:9; Psalm119:11; 119:105; Proverbs 3:5-6; Isa-iah 26:3-4; Matthew 6:33; John 8:12;John 14:6; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 6:1-3;Philippians 1:6; 2:14-15; 4:13; 1 John1:9; 1 John 2:15-17; Revelation 3:20.

When children are older, they canbe asked to take a turn at leading theFamily Devotions. They are to find asuitable passage from the Word andread it to the family and share whythis passage is so special to them. An-other idea, especially with older chil-dren, is to ask each one what theyreceived from the Word of God intheir Quiet Time at the beginning ofthe day. We should encourage ourchildren to have a daily Quiet Time.We can then encourage them to sharewhat God has spoken to them in theirdaily reading.

The above ideas are just to get youstarted. I know you will think of loadsmore. As much as possible, use reallive illustrations for the table and foryour food to help teach your childrenthe ways of God. This is the greatestway they will learn.

�

[The above article is used by permis-sion of Above Rubies, P.O. Box 681687,Franklin, TN 37068-1687. It is a little,slightly edited, excerpt from the manual,The Family Meal Table and Hospitality.For information on how to orderthis manual, visit their website atwww.aboverubies.org. ]

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A Page from My Experience

Discovering GodPart I

Pat Kroeger

Picture this. It’s your first day of class, Brain Surgery 101.With your laptop and course book in hand you eagerly walkinto the classroom, find a seat, and prepare for the first lecture.But before you know what hit you, your instructor starts bygiving a pop quiz, and informing you that the score will ac-count for 90% of your final grade!

Sounds like a nightmare, right? Being unprepared for im-portant situations in life can be devastating. However, it can beinfinitely more devastating when it involves one’s eternal des-tiny. This is precisely the situation I found myself in not longago.

Somewhere out in cyberspace my path crossed with thatof a self-declared atheist. How he came to have my e-mail ad-dress could only have been divinely ordained. Normally, Iwouldn’t bother wasting my time. But that first e-mail, for-warded to a large group of seemingly unrelated individualsand addressed to no one in particular, was such an insult to ev-erything I held dear to my heart that I could not in good con-science hold my peace. Yet, little did I know how seriouslyunprepared I was for the impending battle for I had consis-tently neglected to study to show myself approved in the mostbasic area of faith: the existence of the Creator God. (See2 Timothy 2:15)

Learning the rules of engagement with an atheist was myfirst challenge. What seemed to me to be obvious “proof” ofGod was nothing more than blind faith to my atheist. Likeblanks in a gun, my “arsenal” seemed powerless against hisendless logic. Still, the challenge was not all mine. My facelessopponent had his own problems, very basic concepts he failedto discover in his godless world: compassion and genuine con-cern for the life and well-being of his fellow man. His crudebehavior towards people in general, and especially Christians,was his first challenge as to why he thought his way of beliefwas superior to mine.

As we took aim at one another’s beliefs it didn’t take longfor me to begin to realize that my faith was indeed blind, for Ihad absolutely nothing concrete upon which to base it (despitethe fact that I had always considered the Bible as sufficientlyconcrete). I had failed 1 Peter 3:15: “But sanctify the Lord Godin your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to everyman that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you withmeekness and fear.” Worse, I had failed my Lord. This real-ization left me deeply shaken and at the same time ashamed fordismissing so many past opportunities. What’s more, the tim-ing couldn’t have been worse for I was already thoroughly ab-sorbed in my own personal struggle. In my increasinglydarkened spirit, it was all I could do to feebly pray for guid-ance. And if that wasn’t enough, it was also during this timethat a close relative came to me with news that he had given upChristianity in favor of Judaism, claiming that Christianity wasa farce and we’ve all been duped in some grand conspiracy!

By this time I was starting to sweat. Doubt was beginningto haunt me, taunting me to give in to “the obvious.” Still, mymind was repeatedly impressed with Romans 1:20, “For theinvisible things of him from the creation of the world areclearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are withoutexcuse.” If the eternal power and character of God are clearlyunderstood through the things created, then somewhere out inthe world there was “proof.”

My prayer turned to desperation as I clung to the faith thatGod was there to answer. Of course, God did answer, and ratherquickly once I got serious. He then brought to my mind thatsomewhere in my possession I had a few pamphlets oncreationism vs. evolution. I had never had a use for these pam-phlets before, yet for reasons unknown to me at the time I heldon to them. Since evolution and atheism go hand in hand, Iknew that had to be my starting point. My thoughts raced, men-tally searching through every nook and cranny. Within a matterof minutes I held the first ray of light I had seen in weeks.

While the information on those pamphlets was quite ab-breviated, they did include where to go for more detailed infor-mation. What they did was open up to me a whole new worldwhere countless believers and scientists defend the faith withstrong, scientific data. Romans 1:20 was so true. Everything Ineeded was there, woven within the very fabric of creation. Ithad been there all along.

As I began to discover God again I became humbled andawed by our Creator’s thoroughness with His own handiwork.While the act of creation, in and of itself, is still technically afaith-based theory (since no man was there to witness it), andbelieving in a Creator still takes a certain amount of faith, notbelieving in a Creator takes an even greater faith. Creationismsupports and compliments many known laws of science. Theonly other alternative, evolution, though widely taught as fact,is also a faith-based theory. Yet evolution in its very concept,that life originated from non-living inorganic matter, defies atleast one very basic known law of science: life can only comefrom life. The truth is, the theory of evolution contradicts manyknown laws of science all in the name of science. Go figure.

As for my atheist, I was finally able to give him a real, de-finitive answer. Funny though, I never heard from him again.“For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adver-saries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.” (Luke 21:15)

�

[Pat write from her home in Louisville, Kentucky, whereshe lives with her husband and 12-year-old son. For more infor-mation concerning the scientific data that supports creation anda Creator, contact any of the following, or check out their websites: Answers in Genesis, P.O. Box 6330, Florence, Kentucky41022, Institute for Creation Research, San Diego, California,Creation Research Society, P.O. Box 969, Ashland, Ohio.]

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Health is Wealth

Drink water! That’s right, just drinking enough wa-ter will help you lose weight. Some people give up waterwhen they diet, thinking they’ll lose water weight; actu-ally, just the opposite happens. If you don’t drink enoughwater every day, your body may be storing water—andfat—that you don’t want. Here’s why.

The human body is 60% water. You can only survivea few days without water. If you don’t drink enough, yourbody thinks it’s in danger and tries to hold onto all the wa-ter it can get, storing it between your cells. This stored wa-ter shows up as extra weight. Your feet, legs, and handsmay even swell up. The best way to stop this is to giveyour body what it craves: more water. When your bodygets enough water, the stored water will be released.

Water is necessary for your body to burn fat. Withoutwater, your kidneys can’t do their job properly and your

liver has to pitch in to helpthem. While it’s helping thekidneys, your liver can’tburn as much fat, so some ofthe fat that would normallybe used as fuel gets stored inyour body instead. Drinkingmore water lets the liver getback to its own job, turningfat into fuel. Dieting peopleneed more water becausethey want to burn more fat,and because they have to get

rid of more waste, like all the fat that has been used up.Water also helps keep muscles toned and skin soft.

Here are some more good things that happen whenyou get enough water:

You won’t feel hungry as often. Water is a natural ap-petite suppressant. A glass of water before eating will helpyou feel full and eat less.

You will get rid of extra salt. Americans eat a lot ofsalty foods, and salt can cause the body to hold on to wa-ter. Drinking more water will get rid of salt.

Drink at least eight glasses (two quarts) of water everyday. An over-weight person should drink an additionalglass for every 25 pounds of excess weight.

The International Sports Medicine Institute says todrink one-half ounce of water for every pound you weighif you’re not active (that’s 10 eight-ounce glasses if youweigh 160 pounds), or 2/3 ounce per pound if you’re ath-letic (13-14 glasses a day, for 160 pounds). Cool or coldwater is best. Cool water is absorbed more quickly, andcold water may actually burn calories.

Don’t drink cola oranything with caffeine init. Caffeine is a diureticand will cause you tolose water. Caffeine canalso increase nervoustension.

A common questionis: “How do I know ifI’m drinking enough wa-ter?” Remember feelingthirsty? Natural thirstwill return when you getenough water. Your

urine will be a clear color. You might think that drinkingall that water will make you have to run to the restroom allthe time, and for awhile it will. After a couple of weeks,though, your body will adjust.

If you stop drinking enough water, your body fluidswill get out of balance again and you’ll retain water, gainweight, and stop feeling thirsty. Then you’ll have to startover again to get back on the road to a healthy body.

Here’s a sample sched-ule of 12 glasses a day tohelp you lose weight:

» Morning: 4 8-oz.glasses of water within 30minutes.

» Noon: 4 8-oz.glasses within 30 minutes.

» Evening: 4 8-oz.glasses between 5:00 and6:00 p.m.

Stay healthy by drinkingat least eight glasses a daywhile you maintain yournew weight.

�

[Adapted from articles by Donald S. Robertson, M.D., M.Sc., Leroy R. Perry, Jr., and Barbara Liukkonen. Produced bythe University of Minnesota Water Resources Center.http://www.extension.umn.edu/extensionnews/2000]

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Report from Day Break

Thank You!! Thank You!! Thank You!!God is doing exciting things in

Apold, Romania!Today is an important day for all of

us at the orphanage. It is our secondBirthday!!

We want to share our happinesswith you for it is all of you who havesupported us, and prayed for us, thathave made all this possible! We don’tknow all of you, but we knowthat you all are people withbig hearts, willing to helpthese children at the orphan-age. All our thanks and grati-tude goes out to you.

In the beginning, Henk, aDutch friend, was our onlysupport. Now, for more than ayear, your united efforts havehelped us to continue thework. It is a very importantday for us because all thechildren we’ve had from thebeginning—children whohave been abandoned by par-ents in the hospital or thatChild Protection brought to us as emer-gency cases—all of them can walk bythemselves; and also they can say lotsof words. All of them can walk, that is,except Casandra, a little girl.

The police found her in a very badhouse without windows or doors, underan old stove, in a shoebox. She had beenabandoned there for two weeks beforethe police found her. She was eightmonths old, and weighed only 2.4 kilo-grams (about five pounds five ounces).She almost died of starvation. Theworms and other insects had eaten herbottom. She had red bites all over so itlooked like chickenpox. When theChild Protection arrived in our village,on the same day, they decided to bringher in to our orphanage because shelooked so bad that they were sure shewould die soon.

The pictures above are of Casandra.The first was when she first arrived.After good care, she has survived and isthe happy little girl in picture two. Butwait! Here she is today, taking her firststeps!

It is wonderful how newborn ba-bies arrive at our institution and grow inJesus’ love. Here they take their firststeps and here they speak their firstwords; to our great joy and delight. Wecan see how God is working for thesechildren, and giving them all they need,through you and other people who havethis work on their hearts. Still, there are

so many childrenwaiting for a placelike this. They dis-solved the State or-phanages, and theyplaced all the chil-dren in the chil-dren’s hospital.There the childrenare obliged to spendall day tied to ironcribs so they can’tjump out. I took mynursing clinicals

there andI saw theold nurseseating thechildren’sfood,stealingthe Pam-pers,whichsomeAmeri-cans werebringingto them. Then I saw how they were cut-ting the bed sheets to make diapers fromthem. They changed the diapers onlyonce or twice per day. A stench hungover the whole room. When I finishedmy nursing degree, I understood whychildren of four and five years are re-tarded and can only walk in a walker.To me it is a crime to let a child spendfour years of his life in a crib, withoutthe light of the sun.

We are all so happy to see our chil-dren’s progress. They arrive here with

scared faces, shaking, skinny and full ofwounds. In a few weeks they changetheir attitude, trusting us, smiling andgrowing as flowers after rain.

Still, there is more to be done. Wegive them our love, care, food andclothes, but we cannot give them a fam-ily; a mother and a father. That’s why wehave a wonderful plan for the future. Wewant to make four apartments for fami-lies who want to care for children. So in-stead of a cook and an administrator, wewant to have a mother and a father tocare for four or five children. The motherwill teach her children how to cook andhow to help to clean the house, and thefather will teach them how to work in thegarden. They will play and work to-gether. We think that this is ideal forthese children, to help them grow nor-mally. At the end of our letter, we wantto let you know that we appreciate yourefforts so much, and we want to thank

you from our hearts for that!With love,IoanaThe childrenThe orphanage staff

A Note from Cordella:Dear Friends of the Apold Or-

phanage,The plan for the future that Ioana

speaks of is this: The ideal place for achild to grow up is in a family. I knowthis is ideal because that is how Goddesigned it. But in our sinful worldmuch has gone wrong.

Many, if not most, of these or-phaned and abandoned children are

tied up in red tape. In the past this hasmeant that they were condemned to lifein an orphanage until they were 16-18years of age. At that age they “gradu-ated.” In other words, were kicked outonto the street with no way to make aliving and no place to live. This has ledto street/sewer people. Most steal andcommit other crimes just to be able tolive from day to day. These people havechildren and the problem continues. Agood many of these people don’t have“papers.” The long and short of this isthat if you don’t have papers, then you

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are not human. Without the papers youcan’t get a job, or medical care, or wel-fare and your children can’t get papers.

The use of primitive abortions isrampant. Because of this many babiesare being born handicapped. One of themethods is to use a certain type ofshampoo and mix it 50/50 with thewoman’s own urine. Then the womandrinks it. If this happens early in thepregnancy, then the abortion occurs.When an abortion of this type fails, thechild is born blind.

Back to Ioana and her plan:Goals:1)To assist the

children who can beadopted in findingparents.

2) To assist thechildren who can’t beuntangled from the redtape to be placed inpermanent foster care.

3) To use the cur-rent orphanage build-ing for the housingand schooling of blindand other physicallyhandicapped children.

Where we are at:1) Henk, our friend from Holland,

owns a number of old buildings/housesaround Apold. He has offered to letthem be fixed up to become homes forpeople who are willing to become per-manent foster parents.

The largest of these buildings wasan old stable. We are having the plansdrawn up for this to be converted into atwo-story, four-family apartment build-ing.

A building on the other side of thecourtyard from the “stable” we plan tomake into a Community Center. Itwould be used for Bible teaching, mu-sic classes, cooking classes, health lec-tures, better living skills, etc.

The courtyard can be enclosed for asafe play area for the children. There isgarden space between the back of the“stable” and the river. Each permanentfoster family would raise five to sixchildren.

There is also an old bakery that canbe set up to assist in health awareness,

as well as in helping to support the pro-jects. A German friend gave us an ovenfor the bakery.

2) Once the children currently inthe orphanage have been adopted orplaced in foster homes, then this build-ing would become the home/school forthe unwanted blind children.

Before Ioana started the orphanageshe saw that the children would neednursing care. She graduated with anursing degree a year ago. She has seenother needs of the children. She is nowworking on a degree in psychology. Allof her electives she is focusing on

classes that relate to the needs of handi-capped children. Ioana is one of themost amazing people I have ever met.

Update:

Dorin, one of the children that mysister, Stella, has been trying to adopt,has finally gotten his abandonment pa-pers. This clears the way for the nextstep in the adoption process! The otherchild that Stella was trying to adopt, thelittle girl named Minodora that youhave been praying for, is still with herbirth mother. (See Jan/Feb issue, page14) Stella and her husband made a sur-prise visit to see how Minodora was do-ing and were pleased to learn that sheappears to be taken care of at least. Shewas clean and in the process of beingfed when they arrived. Their hopes ofgetting her back, however, are gone be-cause the court system does not inter-fere in such cases. Though thesechildren were under the supervision ofthe orphanage, Stella and her husband,Stefan, were caring for them in theirown home while they awaited the com-

pletion of the legal adoption process.Please continue to pray for Minodora.

The same day that Dorin got his pa-pers, Villy (see the Nov./Dec. 2001 is-sue) and two other children also gottheirs!!! There is a young family inter-ested in adopting Villy. Please pray forthese children and their prospectivenew families.

One sad note: Bobby's parentshave seen him only once in the past twoyears. They were unable to take himwith them at that time as certain neces-sary papers were not in order. There isreason to believe that they are only try-ing to get him back to sell him out of thecountry. Ioana has gotten word that theyare making an organized attempt toclaim him. Pray that God watches overBobby and protects him.

Good News:Robert’s family has sent word that

their situation has improved. The plan isfor him to be reunited with his family.

History: Robert’s father is confinedto a wheelchair and is unable to work.His mother was out of work, also, andthey got behind in the rent and wereevicted. So the family, with a number ofchildren, moved under a bridge; Robertwas the baby. His parent felt that hewould be better in an orphanage thanunder a bridge. Not knowing when or ifthey would ever be able to care for Rob-ert again, they offered to sign papers sohe could be adopted. They loved him somuch that they wanted him to have afamily even if it was not with them. Theparents have not yet reunited with Rob-ert, but I am very hopeful that his storywill have a happy ending.

Thank you so much for your prayersand support over the past two years.

�

Cordella Brummett

[Editor's note: Although Day Breakhas been in existence for two years, wehave just started contributing to its causeas recently as November, 2001. If youare able to help in a financial way, if youare interested in participating in the mis-sion trip next summer, or if you wouldsimply like to know more about the or-phanage, its funding or its operation,please write to: Cordella Brummett, POBox 14, Tappahannock, VA 22560,Phone: 804-443-3232, E-mail: cordellab@hotmail.com]

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The precious children of Day Break

Scripture Study

Lynnford Beachy

The term “everlasting gospel” isfound only once in the Bible, in Reve-lation 14:6. In context of the crisis ofthe mark of the beast, an angel ap-pears on the scene with the solutionthat will enable us to gain “the victoryover the beast, and over his image,and over his mark, and over the num-ber of his name.” (Revelation 15:2)

John described, “I saw anotherangel fly in the midst of heaven, hav-ing the everlasting gospel to preachunto them that dwell on the earth,and to every nation, and kindred, andtongue, and people.” (Revelation14:6) This angel represents God’swork through human agents topreach a message to “them that dwellon the earth, and to every nation, andkindred, and tongue, and people.”This is the same message Jesus re-ferred to when He said, “And thisgospel of the kingdom shall bepreached in all the world for a wit-ness unto all nations; and then shallthe end come.” (Matthew 24:14)

Just before the end comes the ev-erlasting gospel will be preached inall the world. What is the everlastinggospel? The word gospel means “gladtidings” or “good news.” “As it iswritten, How beautiful are the feet ofthem that preach the gospel of peace,and bring glad tidings of goodthings!” (Romans 10:15) So this mes-sage, that is to go to all the world atthis time, is everlasting good news ofgood things. What good news couldbe everlasting good news? Someonemight tell you, “I’ve got good news!You’ve just won a million dollars!”This might be good news, but it is noteverlasting good news. Everlastinggood news is good news that will begood news throughout all eternity.

Paul shed light on this questionwhen he wrote, “I am not ashamed ofthe gospel of Christ: for it is the powerof God unto salvation to every onethat believeth; to the Jew first, and

also to the Greek. For therein is therighteousness of God revealed fromfaith to faith.” (Romans 1:16, 17) Thegospel reveals the righteousness, orthe goodness, of God. Truly this is ev-erlasting good news; good news thatwill still be good news a million yearsfrom now, and for all eternity.

Paul stated something else inthese verses, which we need to partic-ularly notice. He said the gospel is“the power of God unto salvation.”When the goodness and love of Godis revealed to you it becomes the mo-tivating power that changes your life.Paul expressed it in another place inthis way: “the goodness of Godleadeth thee to repentance.” (Romans2:4) Understanding the goodness ofGod, His love, compassion, gentle-ness, and mercy, leads us to repen-tance and motivates us to continueserving God. Love is the agent thatGod uses to remove sin from ourlives.

Now that we have a good under-standing of what the everlasting gos-pel is designed to do, we can look atwhat this angel with the everlastinggospel has to say to us. He cried “witha loud voice, Fear God, and give gloryto him; for the hour of his judgment is

come: and worship him that made

heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the

fountains of waters.” (Revelation

14:7) Two more angels immediately

follow this angel, with additional in-

formation to help us gain the victory

over the mark of the beast, but this is

the only one that directly instructs usto take action. There are three thingswe are instructed to do:

1) “Fear God”2) “Give glory to Him”3) “Worship Him that made

heaven and earth”

We can see that the first angel’smessage is calling people to the ac-knowledgment and worship of thetrue God of heaven. Based upon whatwe just learned about the everlastinggospel, we know that this message isdesigned to reveal the goodness andlove of God. Let’s analyze each ofthese commands.

To fear God does not mean to beafraid of Him as someone would beafraid of an enemy who is seeking toharm them. In fact, those who “fearthe LORD, trust in the LORD”(Psalms 115:11) and love Him.“What doth the LORD thy God re-quire of thee, but to fear the LORDthy God, to walk in all his ways, andto love him, and to serve the LORDthy God with all thy heart and with allthy soul.” (Deuteronomy 10:12)

When we fear God as He wishesus to, we will respect, reverence, love,and trust Him with all our heart.Fearing God means to respect Himfor who He is, and be in awe of Him,realizing His greatness, power, andposition. When we contemplate how

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When the goodnessand love of God

is revealed to youit becomes the

motivating powerthat changes

your life.

Everlasting goodnews is good newsthat will be goodnews throughout

all eternity.

great God is and realize that He ten-derly loves us as a father pities hischildren, then we will love Him in re-turn. This godly fear causes us to hatesin and turn from it. Solomon ex-plained it in this way: “The fear of theLORD is to hate evil.” (Proverbs8:13) “By the fear of the LORD mendepart from evil.” (Proverbs 16:6)

Fearing and loving God willcause us to turn from our sins andkeep God’s commandments. AgainSolomon wrote, “Let us hear the con-clusion of the whole matter: FearGod, and keep his commandments:for this is the whole duty of man.”(Ecclesiastes 12:13)

The first part of this angel’s mes-sage is calling us to love, honor, re-spect, and fear the true God of heaven,which will cause us to turn from ourevil ways.

Man was made to give glory toGod. God said, “Every one that iscalled by my name: for I have createdhim for my glory, I have formed him;yea, I have made him.” (Isaiah 43:7) Itis our highest privilege to give glory to

God. But how can we do this? Is it ac-complished by singing praises to God?That is part of it, but giving glory toGod includes much more. In order togive glory to God we must first under-stand what glory is.

One day Moses pleaded with Godto show him His glory. He said, “I be-seech thee, shew me thy glory.” (Exo-dus 33:18) God, in His tender loveand compassion, honored the requestof Moses. He answered, “I will makeall my goodness pass before thee.”

(Exodus 33:19) Notice how this di-rectly relates to what we have learnedabout the everlasting gospel being thegood news about God’s goodness andlove. God’s glory is primarily Hisgoodness; His character of love.

God has given us a clear revela-tion of His glory through the life ofHis Son, Jesus Christ. John wrote,“And the Word was made flesh, anddwelt among us, (and we beheld hisglory, the glory as of the only begot-ten of the Father,) full of grace andtruth.” (John 1:14)

The glory of God’s wonderfulcharacter of love was manifested inthe life of Jesus Christ. When Jesusreached out His hand to lift a leper toHis feet and give him healing; whenHe touched the eyes of the blind togive them sight; when He saw themultitude and was “moved with com-passion,” it was merely a reflection ofthe what God the Father would do ifHe were in the same situation. For Je-sus said, “The Father that dwelleth inme, he doeth the works.” (John 14:10)

Paul wrote, “God, who com-manded the light to shine out of dark-ness, hath shined in our hearts, to givethe light of the knowledge of the gloryof God in the face of Jesus Christ.”(2 Corinthians 4:6) God has shined Hislight into our hearts for the purpose ofgiving us the knowledge of the good-ness of God, which is revealed in thelife of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ re-flected God’s character perfectly. Of allthe people who lived upon this earth,Jesus Christ gave glory to God morefully and perfectly than anyone elseever has. He is our example. His life isthe one after which we are to mold ourlives.

Paul explained to us how we cangive glory to God when He wrote,“We all, with open face beholding asin a glass the glory of the Lord, arechanged into the same image fromglory to glory, even as by the Spirit ofthe Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18) As webehold the goodness and love of God,we will naturally begin to reflect thatgoodness in our own lives. John put it

this way, “Behold, what manner oflove the Father hath bestowed uponus.” (1 John 3:1) The more we see thegoodness and love of God, the morewe will love, praise, and give glory toHim. The only way we can truly giveglory to God is by first beholding Hisglory; His goodness and love.

The second part of this message iscalling us to behold God’s characterof love and reflect that character inour lives.

The first angel finally comes tothe climax of his message: worship.Notice the order in which this mes-sage goes forth. First we are called tofear, respect, and honor the true Godof heaven. Secondly, we are called togive glory to Him by beholding Hisgoodness and love, which will pro-duce a corresponding goodness andlove in our own lives. Finally, we arecalled to worship the only true Godwho made heaven and earth. If we donot fear the only true God, and giveHim glory, we cannot possibly wor-ship Him correctly.

Notice how David said we are toworship: “Give unto the LORD theglory due unto his name; worship theLORD in the beauty of holiness.”(Psalms 29:2) To worship God cor-rectly we must give Him the glory Hedeserves, and worship Him in “thebeauty of holiness”; with a holy life rep-resentative of the holy God we worship.

God commanded us, “There shallno strange god be in thee; neither shaltthou worship any strange god.”(Psalms 81:9) A stranger is someonewe don’t know. If God is a stranger tous, our worship is in vain. Paul said to

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When we fear Godas He wishes us to,

we will respect,reverence, love, and

trust Him withall our heart.

The only waywe can truly give

glory to Godis by first beholding

His glory; Hisgoodness and love.

the men on Mars’ hill, “For as Ipassed by, and beheld your devotions,I found an altar with this inscription,TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whomtherefore ye ignorantly worship, himdeclare I unto you.” (Acts 17:23)

Jesus encountered a similar situa-tion when He met a woman in Sa-maria. He said to her, “Ye worship yeknow not what: we know what weworship: for salvation is of the Jews.But the hour cometh, and now is,when the true worshippers shall wor-ship the Father in spirit and in truth:for the Father seeketh such to worshiphim. God is a Spirit: and they thatworship him must worship him inspirit and in truth.” (John 4:22-24) Je-sus rebuked this woman for worship-ing someone she didn’t know.

In order to worship God correctlywe must know Him, including whoHe is, and what He is like. Jesus saidthe true worshipers “worship the Fa-ther in spirit and in truth.” In spirit be-

cause their hearts have been softenedand subdued by the transformingpower of beholding God’s love, andin truth because they are worshipingthe only true God (the Father) whomthey have come to know in truth.

It is clear that the first angel’smessage is calling us:

» to recognize God’s greatnessand supremacy, reverence Him, andturn from our sins,

» to come to know the true Godfor who He really is by beholdingHis goodness and love, which willcause us to give glory to Him,

» to worship Him in spirit and intruth after coming to truly know Him.

This message comes at a timewhen most of the world is worshipingstrange gods. It comes at a time whensoon “all that dwell upon the earth...whose names are not written in thebook of life” “shall worship” thebeast. (Revelation 13:8) Worship isthe testing point upon which God’strue followers will be distinguishedfrom the majority of the world whoworship the beast.

My friends, please take the timeto carefully search the Scripturesdaily, for your success or failure in thecoming crisis depends upon a properknowledge of, and love for, the onlytrue God.

�

[Lynnford Beachy writes fromWelch, West Virginia. He edits and pub-lishes a Bible-based study paper entitledPresent Truth. You may view both Pres-ent Truth and Hearth to Hearth at hiswebsite: www.presenttruth.info.]

In order to worshipGod correctly wemust know Him,

including who He is,and what He is like.

Hearth to Hearth MinistriesHearth to Hearth MinistriesHC 64 Box 128-B

Welch, West Virginia 24801

U.S.A.

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