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Attitude

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Right Turn

Posted on January 19, 2012

For four days now I’ve been wishing for a right turn. Right is the way I turn now to go to my dad’s regular hospital room and left is the way to the ICU, where he has spent the past three days. I’m thankful for all the turns in life through which the Father leads because I have that wonderful assurance of Romans 8:28. “All things” (the good things and the bad things) “work together” (are assimilated) “for good” (to be in the best eternal interests) “to those who love Him and are the called according to His purpose” (for faithful Christians). That makes every turn the right turn for me.

Lots of you already know that my father has been hospitalized since Friday afternoon. For many prayers and kind words and visits and snacks and meals and cards, we are very thankful. Dad’s main problem is pneumonia now and I covet your prayers for some easier breathing. I think the brewing pneumonia and resulting lack of oxygen to the brain last Friday morning was the cause for his disorientation and confusion, As he later said, “Cindy, I have just never been so inept and confused in my whole life.”

I said, “Dad, could you not even think to call me?”

“I could not think of the answers to any questions and I didn’t know what to do.”

So he went to the church building. In all of his confusion, he just put on his coat and tie, grabbed his glasses and his Bible and, in auto-pilot, he drove to the side of the building where he normally parks his car. There are six turns and about five stop lights between his house and the meeting place of the Jacksonville church of Christ. According to the surveillance camera later viewed, he entered the building at 10:24 A.M. and then proceeded to the auditorium. Still confused about why it was empty (apparently thinking it was time for one of the assemblies), he spent the next six hours, likely losing consciousness and falling, struggling to get up and becoming more and more desperate. Thankfully Homer Smith, one of the shepherds of the church, began to wonder about why his car was there and where he was. I was notified and I began asking everyone who might know about where he was until Homer, our new MVE (most valuable elder) found him and called the EMTs, who took him to the ER, where he was later admitted to the ICU.

He’s not out of the woods, but an enzyme count of 14,000–so very dangerously high–has dropped to 800. That’s impressive. He is completely coherent. That’s way better. His breathing is nothing but wheezing! That’s the part, for now, for which we need prayers. It’s really hard to watch and hear him breathe so laboriously.

But there is a blessing trail here. I can quickly enumerate ten of the many blessings about the whole episode:

  1. Win or lose the battle for life on this earth, the battle for life—the real battle–has already been won.
  2. There are ministers of the Father all around His people and they are extremely caring. They are servants with an attitude; the attitude of Matthew 25: 31-40.
  3. Eighty-nine years of relatively good health is a great record. Just being in this hospital or even on this internet makes us aware of so many whose trials are so premature compared to any we might be experiencing. Dad is the only surviving child in a family of eleven children. He’s been very blessed.
  4. When my dad “can’t think of any of the answers to any of the questions,” he goes to the place of worship. (That’s kind of like the Psalmist in Psalm 73.)
  5. There are lots of colder, more desolate places to be unconscious than in the church building.
  6. The proximity of excellent medical facilities in almost any region of our great country is a blessing we consistently count on.
  7. The presence of skilled doctors, nurses, technicians and even smiling volunteers is a very good gift from the Giver of all good gifts.
  8. Cousins, sons-in-law, husbands, fathers-in-law and brothers-in-law who are elders and preachers in the kingdom are double-kin and that’s special. I have about twenty-one of those and they are wonderful.
  9. Dad, the “lost” sheep, was found by a shepherd.
  10. “Clinically improved,” the term used to describe Dad today, is fun to hear and I love turning right.
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Why Me?

Posted on June 20, 2011
Yesterday, as is traditional in our worship assembly, we began with singing “The Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him. I’m always jolted to the reality of the seriousness of what is about to happen…worship—obeisance toward the Almighty. It’s a time to be real and reverent before the One who knows the inner recesses of heart and soul.
Late on Saturday night, a few short hours before entering the place of worship, I had gotten a call from a weeping mother—someone who had gotten the bad news that her daughter was in serious sexual trouble. Police had been involved and this desperate mom was searching for answers about parenting, about locating the right medical and counseling personnel. Even in the midst of her parental nightmare, I could not help but think about how far this mom had come from being a homeless victim of sexual abuse as a young teen in a large northern city. Seven years ago her perspectives changed when someone knocked on her apartment door and shared the gospel with her. While it was too late for all her regrets to be “fixed” this side of eternity, still, she was now at least looking in the right direction for the answers to the hard questions and predicaments caused by sin.
Then we sang, “He leadeth me, oh blessed thought! Oh words with heavenly comfort fraught. Whate’er I do, where-e’er I be, still tis God’s hand that leadeth me.”
I looked to my left and saw one of my deaf friends, Jennifer, recently baptized, faithful and fruitful, putting enthusiasm into the worship she offered through her hands as she “sang” songs we couldn’t hear, but that surely reached the throne. I saw Troy, putting all he had into leading this deaf section of worshippers. Troy just meandered over to our building one day from the nearby apartments. He was seeking truth. He learned it quickly, was baptized into Jesus and became one of the best Bible students in the church, as well as one of our best deaf interpreters. Troy lost his mom in a tornado when he was thirteen. His father is an atheist. I praised God as I watched Troy signing:
Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,? Sometimes where Eden’s bowers bloom,? By waters still, over troubled sea,? Still ’tis His hand that leadeth me.

I was happy, as I watched him, that God, through providence, had led Troy to a place in His life where he has a real family.
In front of me was a faithful family diligently working to raise their precious children for Him. I have personally been involved in some of their struggles. I have watched them cry in some pretty desperate times. But I watch them sing, now:
And when my task on earth is done, When by Thy grace the vict’ry’s won, E’en death’s cold wave I will not flee, Since God through Jordan leadeth me.

And, in my arms I held a baby…a sweet little curly-haired Hispanic baby girl, whose mom was visiting our services. This sweet young woman found her way to Huntsville, Alabama after some pretty devastating circumstances caused her to leave her mother country. She’s a hard worker, sending money back home to her ailing mother. She has been studying the Bible with me and I am praying she will soon become a part of God’s family. I sang about the old rugged cross, knowing it holds the only hope for the little girl who slept in my arms. I pray that her sweet mother will respond in faith to the cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain.
And after worship, I would get to study with Clare. Clare is visiting our services, too and she has a heart for Bible study. She, too, is seeking. She comes even when the person who initially invited her is out of town and our next study will be composed of questions she has compiled from the pretty massive amounts of Bible reading she is doing on her own. Yesterday she brought another family member to worship with her.
And I sang:
Come thou fount of every blessing. Tune my heart to sing thy praise. Streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise.

And as I praised the Fount, I thought, “Why me, Lord? Why was I born into a home where the gospel had already had its eternal impact on my parents? How was I so blessed to keep those parents through my childhood? Why am I the teacher instead of the seeker? I’ve never lost a loved one to a natural disaster or fled a country because of terror. Why me? Why am I blessed to be married to the one who gets up and proclaims the saving message? Who are these unbelievably tender people on the pew here with me, whose voices are so beautiful when they are blending together in praise? They are my children! Why me?”
And I sang “Teach me ever to adore Thee, May I still thy goodness prove. While the hope of endless glory fills my heart with joy and love.” My heart was full as I thought about the question: Why me?
I know I must go about proving His glory. With the realization of blessings in the extreme comes multiplied opportunities and my responsibilities gain new dimensions. I have to just look around me–in worship, in my neighborhood, and in my email—to realize the debt I owe. I must be filled with love for the lost. I must be willing to sacrifice time for those who struggle. I must share my remarkable hope of endless glory. Therein lies the answer, at least in part, to the question, “Why me?”
Please visit Cindy’s Blog at cindycolley.blogspot.com/
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Mary and Martha: Lessons for your Busy Day, Part 3

Posted on March 31, 2011

A Lesson about Persecution

From the day of Lazarus’ resurrection, the chief priests and Pharisees sought to kill Jesus (John 11:53).  They could not but admit that He was performing miracles (vs.47).  They could no longer make a reasonable case against His divinity.  So they decided just to get rid of him…destroy the evidence.  It’s funny how they had just seen Jesus concretely exhibit power over the grave and yet they thought they could contain Him in one!
The most amazing part of their reasoning, though  is found in the next chapter:  “But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;  Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away, and believed on Jesus” (John 12:10-11).
Lazarus had become a spectacle to curious Jews.  People were coming from miles around to see this Lazarus… to touch flesh that had spent four days in the cold tomb… to ask Lazarus about the other side.  Understandable.  But the Pharisees, upon seeing the numbers of believers ever multiplying,  felt threatened.  This walking, talking dead man was drawing people to Christ.  What if these Christ followers were to raise an insurrection and attempt to overthrow the Jewish government?  They were certain such an insurrection, should it occur, would draw the wrath of the Romans,  and what little control the Jewish leaders  retained would be quickly stripped by the powerful Roman Empire.  So the desperate, power hungry priests and Pharisees sought the life of Lazarus. Amazing, isn’t it, how they thought the grave could hold him this time if they could just get him in it one more time?!
Now think about it.  Lazarus had already experienced the bliss of the bosom of Abraham for four days. Do you think he could remember those four days?  Assuming he could, do you really think he preferred the life of a hunted man here on earth to that indescribable happiness on the other side?  Not a chance.  Would he have thought it a great tragedy to go back to bliss?  Hardly.  But Mary and Martha, remember, were still living with our perspective…that powerful survival instinct that God gives us.  They wanted to protect Lazarus and each other from the jealous enemies of Christ who would stop at nothing to silence Him.  They faced real persecution.

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Tim 3:12). 

Do you suffer any sort of persecution because you are His?  If not, are you sure you are His?  It is unfathomable to me that a person living in America today could boldly stand for principles of truth and righteousness for a lifetime and never face the modern American persecution of ridicule.  Has anyone ever told you that you are intolerant?  If not, are you silently tolerating sin?  Has anyone ever called you a religious fanatic or a moral extremist?  If not, are you faithful to every service of the local congregation and do you dress modestly, use pure speech, and abstain from worldly forms of entertainment?  See, people who are serious about Christianity today will frequently find themselves in situations where doing the right thing means drawing ridicule and criticism from the society in which we live.  I know teens who suffer exclusion on a weekly basis because they refuse to see the dirty and profane movies that even their “Christian” friends are seeing.  These courageous teens are suffering persecution.  Persecution, many times is the telling difference between those who say they are Christians and those who are Christians.  Mary and Martha’s bond with Christ became even closer after Lazarus’ resurrection.  They were suffering with him so that one day they could be glorified with him (Romans 8:17).  I believe the impending death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus –the gospel, became a very real cause to these sisters as they undoubtedly tried to protect their brother from those who were bent on sealing Jesus permanently in a tomb.  I believe this persecution was a factor in leading Mary to the point of anointing Jesus for His burial.  Perhaps the aroma of the precious ointment was the same fragrance she had smelled only days earlier when she anointed Lazarus for his burial.  One thing is for sure.  She had a stronger faith at the death of Jesus than at the death of Lazarus and it was a faith that demanded suffering.
Suffering is a token of salvation given from God in behalf of Christ (Phil.1:28,29).  I have some tokens that are precious symbols: a lock of hair representing the babyhood of my daughter, Hannah, a golden band representing the sacredness of my marriage, a diploma representing my graduation.  Suffering is the tangible token of salvation.  I  tell those young people who suffer exclusion, ridicule, and loneliness for the morality of Christianity that this is the token  you can  now hold that shows you are Christ’s.  Jesus says it best in Luke 6:22 and 23.  He specifically mentions those who would suffer reproach and exclusion.  Then he says, “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!”  Leap for joy!  Mary and Martha, two thousand years hence in a place of bliss, do not think it strange that Jesus said “leap for joy”.  They have seen the “great reward” .
Please visit Cindy’s Blog at cindycolley.blogspot.com/
Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

A Tale of Two Preachers

Posted on February 24, 2011
I just experienced the most unsettling phenomenon. I have never done this before, but I quite accidentally listened to two different preachers as they preached the same outline. Both of the sermons have been distributed on CD. Both of the sermons were very Biblical. The content was pretty much the same. The passages cited were almost identical. But they were still vastly different.

I know. You are wondering how they could be different. So was I. When I realized I was listening to the same message I had already heard from another preacher very recently, I thought I probably needed to just skip this CD and move to something fresh. But then I had to keep listening, because this rendition was miles apart—not in meaning, clarity, or theological soundness; but in tone– from the first edition.

One speaker was calm, yet resolved in his intonation, while the other was fast and furious and hyper; almost screeching, at times. One speaker was respectful of those he might be engaging who were from a different background. The other spoke in a “what-are-you-thinking sort of tone of voice. One began by expressing love to those of different religious backgrounds, while the other began by acknowledging the controversy in the topic. Both were very Biblical and clear messages. But the delivery of the first made me want to send it to my non-Christian friends. The delivery of the second made me hope they do not hear it.

Point for Cindy Colley? I want to be very careful as the vessel that’s so blessed to carry the gospel to ladies in many venues. Vessels are nothing but empty containers until they are filled with something (II Cor. 4:5-7). The “something” in me is THE good news. If the “something” in me were just good news about finances, fashion, medical treatments, or ecology, then it would not be so important what kind of vessel I am. But THE good news must not be carried in vessels that distract from the contents. May I never display harshness, ridicule, or condescension when I present the message. May my goal always be to save souls and never merely to win arguments. May my tone be clear and sound, yet always loving (Ephesians 4:15). May I always just get out of the way of the cross and let His grace teach people to live soberly righteously and godly (Titus 2:11,12). A couple of verses prior to this Titus 2 verse, servants are called to fidelity that they may “adorn the doctrine of Christ.” May I adorn the doctrine I teach. May I always teach the truth, but may I present that truth in a way that will make Christian sisters want to bring their non-Christian friends to hear His doctrine. At the end of the day, may people forget about me and remember about Him.

Many times, I have reminded myself that I do not want my children to obey me because I yell. I want them to obey me because I am “mama”. I was reminded of this maxim as I listened to this second CD today. I do not want women I teach to obey the Lord, becoming a part of His church, because I’m “yelling” that message. In fact, they will not. I want them to become a part of His church because they are lost outside of it.

Please visit Cindy’s Blog at cindycolley.blogspot.com/
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Sober Is Not Always Somber

Posted on December 22, 2010
Today I cried about the dumbest thing. I mean I actually wept over something so trivial that it makes me ashamed to even think about it. People I know are spending the night in hospital rooms beside the beds of loved ones who may not recover. Someone I know has recently found out her husband has been unfaithful. Someone I know is spending Christmas alone for the first time since she lost her husband in recent weeks. Several people I know have attended funerals of loved ones in the past few days. And someone I know has just found out that his young son is sexually active with multiple partners. It’s the observance of pain all around us that makes us soberly think about the things that make us cry.

Sober thinking is commanded in so many New Testament passages. It’s an elder qualification in I Timothy three. It’s something that older women are told to teach younger women to do in Titus two. Young men are to be sober (Titus 2:6) and all of us should be sober when we think about the way the devil operates (I Peter 5:8). Sometimes we define sober thinking as the mindset that makes us somber, grave and even a little sad. In reality sober thinking is realistic thinking. It’s really being spiritually reflective enough to consider matters the way they really are…without sugarcoating the bad or downplaying the obvious blessings. So while sober thinking might often make us sad (when we see sin and sorrow), sober thinking should also make us rejoice in the Lord and His abundant blessings in our lives. It should sometimes make us stop laughing at iniquity. It should sometimes make us stop crying about nothing. It should tie our emotions to God. Sobriety includes exuberance, laughter, weeping and indignation–all about the right things.

What makes God happy? What makes God cry? Now ponder that and you will be thinking soberly.

Now, here’s something to think about. Enjoy a couple of the best entries in the Christmas contest. Winner will be announced on Christmas Eve.

Popeye: The Present Pilfering Pit bull

Growing up, Christmas present Rule #1 was, “No Peeking!”

To ease this curiosity conundrum, my sister would employ various gift-inspection techniques to discover the identity of the hidden joy.

Wise to the ways of her eldest daughter, Mom began to double wrap the presents after finding one ripped open, only to have the offense recommitted the next day. The final straw fell when Mom discovered the “Christmas carnage” the following day; all the presents had been opened.

Positive it was an act of rebellion, Mom confronted my sister who pled her innocence. With tears falling and voices rising, Popeye, the family dog, sauntered through the room. Posted to his posterior was a shiny bow that once perched on a present.
After following him to his bed, we discovered the rest of the paper parcels. Popeye, it seemed, had developed a taste for Christmas bows.
-Sharon Simmons, Glencoe, AL
The holiday season of 2008 started with grief and pain. You see, on June 12, our son, Jesse, was born. Two days later, our world came crashing down when he went to be with God. I wanted to escape that Christmas. I wanted my son to be in my arms so badly.
On December 12, when Jesse would have been six months old, we found out we were expecting again. Christmas came, and it was very bittersweet. I am glad we were with our family. They needed us, and we needed them, too. It was our hardest Christmas ever, but God brought some light to our darkness. I thank God everyday for the best Christmas present ever- our healthy little girl, Lorelai.

Anna Maxwell, Eva, AL

Please visit Cindy’s Blog at cindycolley.blogspot.com/
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OUT OF YOUR SHELL IN JUST SIX MONTHS…

Posted on December 20, 2010
I was speaking to a friend recently who was thinking of going to a foreign country to do mission work. She said she was a bit afraid of some aspects of the work because of her shyness. I was impressed that, in spite of her admittedly introverted disposition, she was undeterred from her goal of mission work. So often, it’s not that way. People who are uncomfortable or shy around new people often use that characteristic to excuse themselves from speaking to people about the Lord. That’s a shame because all people, including shy people, are presented with unique opportunities to speak the gospel. A failure to speak may result in the loss of an opportunity that will never recur. It is for the potential of the shy in evangelism and service that I suggest the following series of activities. We need all of His people in the quest to fill the narrow way!

**Pray every day that you will not let yourself get in the way of your service.

Then do one of the following, in order, each time you go to services:
    
**Go up to one person and say, “Hey, how are you?”
**Go up to one person and say, “I want you to know I’ve been praying for you.”
**Go up to three people and say, “You have been a good example to me.”
**Go up to two children and say, “Can I have a hug?”

Then, outside of services, do one of the following, each week.

**Go to the nursing home and go by three rooms and say, “I brought you a surprise.”
**Go tell one teenager that you appreciate his/her example.”
**Write ten cards (handwritten) of encouragement and mail them.

Then, resume your work at services:

***Ask one person to go with you or with your family to lunch after services.
**Go up to one visitor, introduce yourself and say, “I’m so glad you are here.”
**Walk five pews and pat the people on the end on the back as you pass and speak.
**Now go ask one person over for coffee or breakfast and a trip out together to visit a shut-in or a trip to McDonalds with your kids to play.
**Now, volunteer to assist in a kids’ class next quarter.
**Take these kids in your class home with you one Sunday for lunch.
**Now make it your goal to be brave one Wed. night and get there ten minutes early and go sit down beside people all over the building for ten minutes. Put your arms around them and say, “ Tell me what the doctor is saying about your arthritis.” —“How did the picnic for the youth group go?—“Are you feeling better?”—I’m bringing you a casserole on Thursday when you all get home from the surgery.”—

Now, move around the building and sit in different places each time for a month.

Now, ask the preacher or a lady who studies with people if you can go on a Bible Study with her next time she has one.

You do all of this— just make yourself –and you will have conquered your shyness, at least to an extent where it is not debilitating to your service to God, in six months.

Please visit Cindy’s Blog at cindycolley.blogspot.com/