A homeless man and his 6 children showed up at my door.  Rather than knocking they allowed themselves into my house and proceeded to the kitchen.  In shock, I followed behind them where the man pulled a drink out of the refrigerator. Since I did not recognize the drink container I suddenly realized – they had been here before!  This was not the first time they had allowed themselves into my home.

While we awkwardly discussed their story at length his children were incredibly well behaved.  They sat with great expectation to my response to their need for shelter.  He was working hard to save enough money to afford housing for his family.  In the meantime, he was depending upon the kindness of others.

My heart was heavy with desire and I desperately wanted to help!  I knew I did not have the beds or bath to host such a large family without causing great sacrifice to my own family.  My head was swimming with ideas of how to respond.  How could I make a difference?

I noticed the door that leads into the attic was open.  We keep the door locked at all times.  We hardly use the attic other than storage.  Why was the door open?  Curiously, I walked up the stairs to investigate.  To my utter shock there were six beautifully made beds.  They looked like something out of a magazine.  How did those beds get into my attic? Who made them look so beautiful?  The Lord had sent another to come and help me help others!

I woke from my dream confused!  For a long time I contemplated the details of the dream of the homeless family and how closely it related to my own life.

My heart desperately longs to help others through my speaking ministry.  I dream of opportunities to present God’s word.  I study and diligently work on goals and spiritual disciplines.  Yet, the door appears locked and I am limited to what I can accomplish on my own.  That very week I had approached an organization to request consideration as a speaker for their weekly devotional.  I was discouraged because it appeared as though I may not meet all qualifications.  Sometimes the door is locked and we must rely on the help of the Lord to send others.

That morning I prayed and asked the Lord to specifically send another to open an attic door of opportunity.  I was bold in asking specifically that He would move on my behalf that very week!

Today, I received a speaking invitation!  When I read the invitation I began to sob.  Immediately, the Lord reminded me of my previous prayer.  He did not just send anyone – He sent a very dear friend whom I greatly respect and admire.  As an early believer I sat under her teaching for years.  I once asked the Lord to give me the heart she had for His word and the ability to present it with such passion and sincere desire.  The invitation was incredibly humbling!  My God cares about the desire of my heart to help others!

He cares about the desires of your heart too!  Do you have a dream or desire?  I hope you dream big dreams; dreams that are greater than you can accomplish on your own.  Go after those dreams!  We must do everything we you can to accomplish our dreams and be sure to have faith that the Lord will send others to help open the attic doors!

What is your dream?

Copyright©2014, Gloria Stucky

Photo by “Family” by Graur Codrin/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Our church had encouraged us to participate in SERVE LEXINGTON, a project challenging our members to get into the community and serve others. It sounded like such a great idea when Steve & I signed up with Habitat for Humanity®.

But now here it was Friday night and we were exhausted.  Neither of us was excited about our commitment for the following day.  “Do we have to go?”  We seriously thought about abandoning our commitment.  Realizing it was not an option, we tried to encourage one another:  “We’ll be so glad we did.”  We went to bed dreading the following day.  We were so tired and had so much to do of our own.  How could we commit an entire day to serve another?

We showed up Saturday morning and the team so happily greeted us with smiles.  We were given our instructions and directed to the small house on the corner where we would spend our day serving another.  We worked hard!  We laughed, we made new friends and we were incredibly blessed by the stories of the other workers.

A curious woman who had been driving by stopped and offered plenty of conversation but didn’t offer to help.  She said, “I wish I had time to volunteer.”  I thought to myself, “We’ve all put in a full week and have plenty of our own work to do but we have CHOSEN TO SERVE.” One of the other volunteers was bold in his reply, “You have time.  You’ve had time to have three strokes in the amount of time you’ve been here talking.”

We were there serving because we chose to be there serving.  We were there serving because Christ calls us to serve others!

 ¹⁶ By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. ¹⁷ But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?   1 John 3:16-17 (NKJV)

We left the project exhausted and yet exhilarated by the experience.  As we walked to the car to leave I glanced back at the homeowner.  She was smiling ear-to-ear admiring the results of the day’s work.  I knew we had made the right choice.  We have the awesome privilege to serve others!

Copyright©2014, Gloria Stucky

Photo by Mitch Lawrence

The load is heavy and we cannot bear it on our own!

As I grow more aware of the need for Christ’s power in my life, developing a deeper prayer life has become a priority.  I started my day at 5 am in an extended time of prayer.

Then read about a father who brought his boy who was possessed by a spirit to the disciples to drive out the spirit.  The disciples were unsuccessful so Jesus rebuked the impure spirit and commanded it to come out of the boy and never enter him again.

Jesus had previously given the disciples the authority to cast out demons.  They were attempting to accomplish one of the very things He had sent them to do yet they were unsuccessful.

They asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” (Mark 9:28b).  He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.” (Mark 9:29)

Is it possible the disciples, who had experienced previous success, had approached the task in their own strength rather than prayerfully drawing on divine power?

The Lord has called each of us as believers to specific tasks.   May we not attempt to function in our own power or rely on previous success.

Let’s prayerfully depend upon the One who grants the strength and power to succeed!

What is your task at hand and are you relying on the power of prayer?

 

Copyright©2014, Gloria Stucky

 

 “To Do File Shows Organizing And Planning Tasks” by Stuart Miles

 

 

We’ve walked down a few rocky roads to get here and after 27 years of marriage, here are a few things I find incredibly attractive in MY man and one that makes him IRRESISTIBLE!

• He can bring home the bacon AND fry it up in the pan.  As I’ve increased my working hours Steve has become incredibly helpful in cooking meals which frees me up to be his helpmate in other areas.  Men, don’t be afraid to make your way in the kitchen.  Ladies, get out of his way in the kitchen and let him do his thing even if it’s different than your thing!

• He works hard to support our family and keeps it positive.  He rarely complains and yet patiently listens to me communicate every detail of my day.

• He is an unselfish lover.  That’s all I need to say about that.  Husbands, be unselfish lovers.  Wives, give your man the opportunity to be an unselfish lover.  It’s a gift from the Lord and healthy for our marriages.

• He verbally expresses his love for me and tells me I am beautiful on a regular basis.  He says it with such sincerity that I believe his sincerity. Men, sincerely tell your wife how much you admire her beauty.  Ladies, accept & acknowledge his words as truth.

• And here is something I find IRRESISTIBLE about MY man.  Are you ready for this?  He prays for me!  A few weeks ago I felt overwhelmed with the responsibilities of my day.  My stress had reached an unhealthy level.  Sensing my heaviness he acted and what happened next made him irresistible!  He wrapped his big strong arms around me and began to pray over me and my day.  As the words flowed from his mouth I admired him all the more for his leadership!

Men, pray over your wife!  There is little more appealing to us than to have our husband lead with prayer!

Ladies, what do you find attractive about your man?

 

 Copyright©2014, Gloria Stucky

 

“Couple Sitting Face To Face” by Ambro/FreeDigitalPhotos.net