Month: July 2013

Unexpected Kindness

At work I received an unexpected package in the mail from one of our vendors with whom we had placed a pretty significant order. I specifically chose them for this order because they offer great, reliable service. There was a handwritten thank you note addressed personally to me. The small package contained chocolates and a $50 Amazon gift card! This was totally unexpected and greatly appreciated. They showed unexpected kindness. Needless to say, it lifted my day but not as you may assume. Who wouldn’t want a $50 gift card but what impressed me the most was God’s reminder that over the years, I have regularly asked His blessings for our vendors and asked the Lord to help us find favor with them. This unexpected kindness reminded me that God hears my prayers and takes them personal.

In my morning quiet times I’ve been reading through the book of 2 Samuel. King David specifically sought out someone from Saul’s family to show kindness.

Now David said, “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Samuel 9:1)

The word David used for “kindness” comes from the Hebrew word chesed.

Strong’s #2617: Kindness, mercy, loving kindness; unfailing love; tenderness, faithfulness.₁

Chesed bears the connotation of a loyal love which manifests itself not in emotions but in actions. Chesed was reciprocal and expected, a deed performed in return for a previous loyalty. One who experiences the chesed of another is to reciprocate when the opportunity presents itself. Each sought to meet the other’s need.₂

David’s kindness was motivated by his loyal love for Jonathan. It was reciprocal and clearly unexpected by Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son.

Are you overwhelmed with the Lord’s kindness? Who can you specifically seek out to show kindness for the Lord’s sake?

₁ Word Wealth from in Spirit Filled Life Bible pg. 1326

₂ Holman Bible Dictionary pg. 841

Yes or No!

We’re half way through the year. Have you moved toward or achieved (or perhaps given up on) your 2013 goals? Every December, I prayerfully choose goals for the upcoming year which will support my life purposes and dreams. I try to be reasonable and yet push myself out of my comfort zone in order to grow. I like to review my goals regularly to see how I am progressing. As we hit mid-year I’ve taken steps toward my goal of starting a blog.

This took 6 months because I felt quite insecure. “Does the world really need or care to read what I have to blog?” “What can I say that hasn’t already been shouted from the rooftops?” Regardless, I knew it would challenge me and would require a time commitment. Since most people who start a blog soon give up I wanted to be sure this was for me. I asked the Lord if He would confirm my desire by having someone encourage me to blog.

So the wait was on!

Several weeks later, in a hallway conversation, a young lady (whom I greatly admire) said, “Mrs. Stucky, you should blog.” In that moment my heart rate elevated. Her words were almost exactly what I had asked of the Lord. Did she know her words were being used as confirmation? That experience should have been exactly what I needed in order to jump in and get started. So did I get started? No! My insecurity continued so I asked the Lord again if He would have one more person confirm my desire to blog.

It’s important you understand, this was not something I felt the Lord commanding me to do. If that were the case my lack of following through would have been disobedience. Instead, this was a desire on my heart that I was considering and I was asking Him to confirm the desire. Several of my favorite Bible verses are Psalm 37:4-5. I like to know that the desires of my heart are His desires for my life. The more I delight in Him the more His desires become mine. So I choose to commit my ways to the Lord. The word commit used here is a picture of a camel burdened with a heavy load; when the load is to be removed, the camel kneels down, tilts far to one side, and the load rolls off.

Six months later, I was telling someone about an experience that really encouraged me and reminded me of God’s goodness. As I finished the story she said, “You should blog that.”

So here I am still incredibly insecure about this adventure but willing to move forward.

Do you have a goal or desire you would like to achieve? What is one step you can take in that direction? Perhaps you could ask the Lord to confirm your desire.

“Yes or No Signpost” Image courtesy of [Stuart Miles] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Spur One Another On

As I participated in a 10K race this past weekend I was reminded of the importance of well timed encouragement. At times, we all need encouragement which can come in different forms. Sometimes it comes from family, your closest friends, an acquaintance or even a stranger. Who is your greatest encourager?

My greatest life encourager is my husband. As I ran the race he and my son positioned themselves where they could be there twice throughout the course to cheer me on. But as I approached the spot where I expected them I did not locate them. I immediately felt disappointed. I realized how much I was looking forward to seeing them and receiving their encouragement.

As I got closer I located them. They had moved back from their normal spot to find shelter from the rain. As expected, they cheered me on and encouraged my efforts. I felt a small sense of pride as I was accomplishing something outside of my normal behavior and it just plain felt good to share it with my family. I knew in that moment they were proud of me. Don’t tell them but I even picked up my pace while running by.

Sometimes our family and friends are not our best cheerleaders. It turns out that some of the best fans are strangers – people we don’t even know placed strategically throughout the course cheering us on toward our goal. There were hundreds of people lining the course clapping and yelling words of encouragement. One of my favorites was the lady with a water hose who sprayed my backside as I passed. Some were even holding signs.

A few of my favorite signs:

“I trained 6 months to hold this sign.”

“Yes, this does make your butt look fast.”

“You are not half way.”

Hebrews 10:24-25 says “²⁴And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, ²⁵not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

This is a picture of purposefully making an effort to encourage one another. How will you purposefully encouraged someone this week? Your encouragement may be just what they need to make it to the next mile mark.

“Cowboy Boot With Spur And Horse” Image courtesy of [franky242] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

SO I HAD A HARD DAY

So I had a hard week! Things didn’t quite turn out the way I had hoped and I was left disappointed & discouraged. As I continue my studies on the book of Ruth I’ve learned a valuable lesson from Naomi’s response to her tragic circumstances which would have brought tremendous disappointment.

•Due to famine, she and her family left Bethlehem to go live in the foreign land of Moab.

•Her husband died.

•Her sons both married Moabite women (probably not her first choice).

•Then the unimaginable happened; both of her sons also died.

•She was left in a foreign land with her two Moabite daughters-in-law.

Her world was turned upside down. So she, and her daughter-in-law Ruth, headed to Bethlehem.

When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?” “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.” (Ruth 1: 19b-21)

The name Naomi means “beautiful and pleasant,” yet she changed her name to Mara, which means “bitter.” I used to view Naomi’s response in a negative light and thought perhaps she needed a new attitude rather than her new name. However, after drinking from the cup of difficulties in my own life, I have come to appreciate Naomi’s ability to be sincere with this community of women. She didn’t put on a smile and pretend everything was alright. Clearly, everything was not alright. Naomi was REAL. She confessed that she had responded to her incredibly difficult, life-changing circumstances with bitterness.

Let’s not minimize her pain and deny her the time to work through that pain, even if it means going through a season of bitterness. Instead, may we learn from Naomi’s example of being real, admitting life can be difficult, as circumstances don’t always work out the way we hope.

Personally, I find great encouragement from the women in my life who are real and can admit the condition of their heart; the ones who know they need a Savior because they can’t do it on their own; the ones who know their Savior is bigger than their circumstances; the ones who trust by faith that the Savior is working on them right where they are – right in the midst of their bitterness. (Or grief, depression, disappointment, sadness, frustration, anger, loneliness, confusion, or sorrow.) You fill in the blank.