SPEAK TO THE BONES AND RESTORE YOUR MARRIAGE

1 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and placed me in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. 2 He made me walk all around among them. I realized there were a great many bones in the valley and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said to him, "Sovereign Lord, you know." 4 Then he said to me, "Prophesy over these bones, and tell them: 'Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 

(Ezekiel 37:1-4)

I am reminded of some couples that Pastor Grace and I have counseled. Many of their marriages were like dry bones. They were so brittle that they could break at any point of crisis.

Many of these couples had survived through very tough time together but their relationships did not improve. Some of them were even planning to separate and ultimately divorce.

However, because they were willing to let God be the Master of their marriage and submit to His will, the Lord intervened and spoke life to their relationships.

Through forgiveness, patience, love, wisdom and understanding, the love between the couples has grown and flourished.

Many still have to make daily adjustments as the Lord brings correction into their lives. The good thing is that the couples have learned how to speak life into their marriage and stir up the Agape love that God has blessed them with since the beginning of their relationship.

They no longer consider divorce as an option. They now know that they belong to each other and most importantly they belong to God. They have learned to draw strength and love from the Lord so as to love and cherish each other better.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Albert Kang

Fear of Love

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

I believe that the most lawless and inordinate loves are less contrary to God’s will than a self-invited and self-protective lovelessness. It is like hiding the talent in a napkin and for much the same reason. “I knew thee that thou wert a hard man.” Christ did not teach and suffer that we might become, even in the natural loves, more careful of our own happiness. If a man is not uncalculating towards the earthly beloveds whom he has seen, he is none the more likely to be so towards God whom he has not. We shall draw nearer to God, not by trying to avoid the sufferings inherent in all loves, but by accepting them and offering them to Him; throwing away all defensive armour. If our hearts need to be broken, and if He chooses this as the way in which they should break, so be it.

—C.S. Lewis (from The Four Loves)

For reflection — Matthew 25:14-30

Unaffiliated To Any Religions

A 2012 survey of US Millennials—ages 18 to 24— uncovered an interesting trend. The study, led by the Public Religion Research Institute, revealed that one in four young adults chose “unaffiliated” for their religious commitment. But 55 percent of that group had “identified with a religious group” when they were younger. They had simply walked away from the faith they once embraced.

Sadly, many believers in Jesus turn away from their “first love” (Revelation 2:4 NKJV). Knowing that the people of ancient Israel were prone to wander away from God, Joshua called together the “eastern tribes” to commend them and give them counsel. He commended them for faithfully following God’s commands as they helped to clear Canaan (Joshua 22:2-3). The Promised Land had been claimed and was now prepared for God’s people.

But as he sent the three tribes (Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh) back to their homes on the east side of the Jordan (Joshua 22:4), Joshua also had some instructions for them (Joshua 22:5):

• “Love”—To maintain their relationship with God, they needed to love Him deeply.

• “Walk”—To stay in step with God, they needed to follow His ways completely.

• “Obey”—To honor God, they needed to obey His commands unceasingly.

• “Hold”—To stay strong in their faith, they needed to hold firmly to God uniquely.

• “Serve”—To live out their faith, they needed to serve God sincerely.

To make sure you don’t begin moving away from God—slipping from unashamed believer (Romans 1:16) to unaffiliated nonbeliever—consider the five words Joshua spoke to the people. As we love, walk, obey, hold, and serve in our relationship with God, our hearts will stay rooted in Him (Joshua 22:5).

Godvine

Feelings! Nothing Else But Feelings?

Keep on pursuing love... 1 Corinthians 14:1

Learning to love is not easy for some people. Those who have been hurt emotionally find it difficult not only to give love but also to receive love. They live lonely lives and wonder why others do not love them. The basic problem lies with the wrong idea what love is all about. To them, love is an emotion and so "if I don't feel it, I don't show it".

Yes, we do feel emotional when we are in love or love someone but that is not the full story. Love is also an act of the will. We don't feel loving all the time and we definitely do not depend upon our "feeling" in order to love. When a spouse says, "I don't love you any more", he or she simply means, "I don't feel the love emotion for you right now". If the angry spouse were to cool down and think carefully, he or she actually does love his or her spouse. In fact, that goes with any types of relationship - whether they are between siblings, friends and relatives, we do love and care even some times, we do not feel like it.

Pastor Dick Innes shared about his own fear to love because of a negative experience in his past. He wanted to learn how to love and confided with one of his friends who gave a very good advice, "Just do the loving things". This fantastic advice has to do with the act of the will. It means when I don't feel the love emotion, I continue to produce actions of love, concern and care in spite of how I feel.

Some may question whether this is hypocrisy - that I am not acting how I feel. The answer is that there are at least two meanings to the word "feeling" in this context. One has to do with 'emotion' and the other has to do with 'conviction'.

For example, at a certain time of the month, my wife behaves a little 'weird'. Her behavior is a little spicy and so I have to be careful. I know that it's the "woman's thing" and do I doubt her love for me in time like this? Of course not! There are times when I retreat to my cave because I am not happy about certain things that my wife does. Yes, I may need time to get over my feelings but that does not mean that I do not love her. My wife is a smart woman and she knows that it is best to allow me to hibernate in my cave without disturbing me.

What I feel at that moment does matter to me but it must not be the catalyst of quarrels and disharmony. Coming out of the cave does not mean that such feeling is gone completely. The short solitary moment just makes it easier to manage the initial feeling of unhappiness. I have learned that the best option to overcome such feeling is to continue to do the "loving things". The amazing thing is that given lots of practice, doing the "loving things" becomes second nature. Yes, you read me right... it takes lots of practice. To be honest, I am still practicing but hope to graduate soon.

Conviction is another story. When I say that "I feel that racialism is bad", I will stand by my conviction whether I have any emotional attachment to it or not. It will be hypocrisy when to some, I say, "It is not okay" and then to others I say, "It is okay".

Now it is clear that if I act kindly and lovingly even when I don't feel like it has nothing to do with hypocrisy, then is this decision of mine also my conviction? This is a choice that I have made and a decision that I will live with for the rest of my life. To reiterate, it is indeed my conviction that even though when I do not feel loving, I must continue to show actions of love and care.

Affection is a must in a love relationship and so do be affectionate. On occasions when the well of feelings becomes a little dry and showing actions of love become tedious, then it is time to seek God for more love. Wait in the presence of God and let Him soak you with His eternal love. When you come out of this encounter, you will find that it is so much easier to love both with feelings or without them. That makes the journey of life with the people you love so much more exciting and endearing. The best of it is that the people around you can see the love of Christ shinning out of your life.

Remember, God is our endless source of love.

Albert Kang

Revealing Your True Self To Be Loved And To Share Love?

Growing in Love

"We love him because he first loved us."1

"How many feel they would like to have more love in their life?" is a question I have asked many times to seminar attendees. Many, if not most, hands are raised. When I ask the same folk how many feel all of their love needs are being met, very few hands are raised.

Some years ago there was a popular song by Jackie Deshannon that stated, "What the world needs now is love / Sweet love / It's the only thing / That there's just too little of / What the world needs now / Is love, sweet love / No, not just for some / But for everyone."

Those words still ring true because so many of our human problems are caused by a breakdown or failure in love. And when I ask people how we get more love in our life, inevitably almost all say by giving love. Sounds good, but that isn't always true because we can't give what we don't have. In fact, unless I have learned to love and accept myself in a healthy way, I am not able to love or accept anyone else in a healthy way. My love will be contaminated by need.

Thus, love is an action/feeling to be learned. We didn't come into the world knowing how to love—only with the ability to learn how to love. So how do we learn to love? John stated that we love God because he first loved us. The same principle holds true for human love. We love others because others (or another) first loved us. If they didn't, and we didn't receive sufficient unconditional love as a child and learned how to love then, we need to receive it now and learn how to love maturely now.

Furthermore, I can only be fully loved to the degree that I am known. Thus, the way we grow in and learn to love is by becoming vulnerable and allowing at least one or two safe, accepting, and non-judgmental persons see and know us as we really are—warts and all. And as they love and accept us as we are, little by little we learn to love and accept ourselves. And as we learn to love and accept ourselves, we are then freed both to give and receive love without strings attached. But as long as we hide our inner or secret self (our dark side) behind any kind of a mask (no matter how sophisticated that mask may be), we will never feel fully loved, nor will we be able to fully love. I repeat … we can only ever feel fully loved to the degree that we are fully known.

Risky? Yes. But not to learn to love is the greatest risk of all.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please help me to find a loving, safe, nonjudgmental, accepting person that I can trust, so I can share my total self with this person and be truly accepted and loved by this person for who I am (and not for what I do or don't do), so that I, in turn, can learn to accept and love others more fully. And help me to experience your love more and more so that I will also be able to love others more and more. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. 1 John 4:19.

Article by Rev Richard Innes

The Lessons of the Wounded Knee

There was water in the big black plastic tray under the dog cage. I had washed it the previous night and the water had gathered there. Early morning, I decided to clear the tray. As I carried the heavy tray to the drain, the right side of my Croc sandals got stuck to the rugged floor of the front porch. So it became a 'stumbling block' and I tripped over it. I fell head-on and landed with my head hitting the plastic tray. That somehow cushioned my head from being badly hurt. My two hands were also protected by the tray and so did not get bruised. But the two knees took the rest of the body weight. A jarring pain shot through the left knee, overriding the milder pain on the right knee and my forehead.

A delivery man at the neighbor's house shouted his concern. I got up, very dazed but could stand in spite of the pain. I waved at the concerned delivery man who was already observing me from the front of my gates. My three dogs went berserk and attacked the gates. I was in no mood to call the dogs off. All I wanted to do was to call Grace to help me.

After climbing the impossible staircase, I was safely in bed. Grace was surprised that I fell. She thought that I was joking but she began commanding the pain to go and the injured parts to be healed in the name of Jesus. She is one faithful Elijah Challenger, after having been trained with me by Pastor William Lau. 

After that, she took out her faithful bottle of medicated oil and applied vigorously on the 'blue black' spots. While I was screaming in pain, Grace was laughing. She thought that her husband was such a wonderful actor. All my former jesting and feigning calamities had caused her to think that I was just playing with her. Only when I put on a very serious face and exclaimed that I was not acting but dying of pain, then she finally believed.

For the life of me, I did not realize that knee injury could be so painful. I had not bruised my knees since army days... and that was about forty years ago. I had totally forgotten how such pain felt like. The next pain that I worried was the pain of my wallet. When Grace fell in the toilet, some months ago, and injured her knee, we spent a huge sum for her treatment. And she was no better after that... not until she went to church and was healed by the Lord through the healing commands given by two young believers. In the midst of the pain, I was determined to get well by divine intervention plus whatever intervention my wife lavished at my wounded knee.

While Grace ministered to my injury, I went online with my iPad to ask for prayers and healing commands. In Singlish, (since I am a Singaporean) we say, "Die, die, also must go online!"  Apart from having such attentive wife, I must say that I have many caring Facebook friends and church members. In response to my crisis report, prayers and commands for healing poured in. Grace and I were so touched and moved by their gestures of love.

One FB friend even gave the advice on how to treat swollen knees. He sent the acronym, RICE which stands for "Rest, Ice, Compress and Elevation." After reading this advice, my dear wife sprung into action. The left leg was quickly elevated (with pain and a little bit of complaining) with a host of pillows and the icy compress (made of multiple plastic bags of ice and a towel) was quickly placed on my swollen left knee. 

I couldn't believe it - the icy cold compress did not numb the pain but made it so much worse. It was "killing me softly" just as an old lyric declared. I wanted to take the cold compress off but did not. It wasn't because of my threshold of tolerating pain was high. It was rather the stern look of my wife that made taking the cold compress off undesirable. I was safer enduring the pain than having to face her unhappy stare for the rest of the day.


Thank God that the pain subsequently subsided when I remained still. The swelling went down but my movement still invoked sharp pain. The bladder was not sympathetic and rebelled. It forced me to visit the toilet three times in one hour. So, it was pain, pain and more pain all the way to the toilet. Then pain, pain and more pain back to the bed. The compress was put back again and the whole process was repeated two more times. After that, I had to command all bodily fluid to remain in the body.

After a long rest, the pain is more manageable. I can now hobble around with my old walking stick. The swelling has reduced to a small bump and the pain is only in between the left knee cap and whatever that is inside the knee. The laceration on the right knee was taken care of with antibiotic cream. Now, I can at least sit by the computer and type this blog without feeling much discomfort.

What have I learned from this accident? Well, I thank God for a good spouse and many good friends who care. I also thank God that He had kept me safe during the accident. I could have injured my head or neck because I landed on my forehead first. I learn that every part of the body is so uniquely designed by God that if one small part is hurting, the whole body hurts. 

As a pastor, this reminds of the Church. We should always care for one another. If one of us is hurting, we all should make every effort to care for that hurting individual. Since I did not amputate my left knee just because it hurts badly, so the Church should not quickly 'amputate' any member just because he or she is hurting. We should all seek to heal so that the hurting individual can recover and function normally as God has intended. 

I also learned that even though it was not the knee that tripped over the 'stumbling block' but the foot, the knee took the brunt of the whole fall. In many instances, one family member fails and certain family member or members may take the brunt of the failure. Therefore, we should all be sympathetic and kind. We must never be quick to judge but also be full of the grace of God. When someone is hurting in the Church, we should find out the reason so as to bring healing and cure. It is only through love and care, that the Body of Christ experiences joy and good health.


God bless!


Rev Albert Kang

Love versus Obligation

A house is a house is a house-until love comes through the door, that is. And love intuitively goes around sprinkling that special extra that transforms a house into a very special home for very special people: your family.

Money, of course, can build a charming house, but only love can furnish it with a feeling of home.

Duty can pack an adequate sack lunch, but love may decide to tuck a little love note inside.

Money can provide a television set, but love controls it and cares enough to say no and take the guff that comes with it.

Obligation sends the children to bed on time, but love tucks the covers in around their necks and passes out kisses and hugs (even to teenagers!).

Obligation can cook a meal, but love embellishes the table with a potted ivy trailing around slender candles.

Duty writes many letters, but love tucks a joke or a picture or a fresh stick of gum inside.

Compulsion keeps a sparkling house. But love and prayer stand a better chance of producing a happy family.

Duty gets offended quickly if it isn't appreciated. But love learns to laugh a lot and to work for the sheer joy of doing it.

Obligation can pour a glass of milk, but quite often love will add a little chocolate.

- Author Unknown

Ugly the Tomcat

Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and, shall we say, love.


The combination of these things combined with a life spent outside had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye and where the other should have been was a hole. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle, making him look like he was always turning the corner.


Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby, striped type, except for the sores covering his head, neck, and even his shoulders.


Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. "That's one UGLY cat!"


All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, and squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction.


If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around your feet in forgiveness.


Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love.


If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.


One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor's dogs. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was apparent Ugly's sad life was almost at an end.


As I picked him up and tried to carry him home, I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. It must be hurting him terribly, I thought.


Then I felt a familiar tugging, sucking sensation on my ear. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying, was trying to suckle my ear. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head, then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring.


Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battled scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion.


At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain.


Ugly died in my arms before I could get inside, but I sat and held him for a long time afterwards, thinking about how one scarred, deformed little stray could so alter my opinion about what it means to have true pureness of spirit, to love so totally and truly.


Ugly taught me more about giving and compassion than a thousand books, lectures, or talk show specials ever could, and for that I will always be thankful.


He had been scarred on the outside, but I was scarred on the inside, and it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.


Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful, but for me. . . I will always try to be Ugly.


Author Unknown

Love Opens Doors

According to an article in Today in the Word, soon after Queen Victoria's marriage to Prince Albert, the couple had a quarrel, whereupon Prince Albert locked himself in his private apartment. Queen Victoria knocked furiously on his door.

"Who's there?" asked Albert.

"The Queen of England, and she demands to be admitted."

There was no response and the door remained locked. The queen knocked furiously again.

"Who's there?" asked Albert again. The queen's response was the same … as was Albert's.

After more furious knocking and no response came a quiet pause—and then a gentle tap.

"Who's there?" asked Albert once more.

"Your wife, Albert," the queen replied. Immediately the door was opened.

As the writer of this article pointed out, "Love opens doors."

Rich Is Not What You Have

"Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."¹

Dr. James Moore wrote, "During World War II, four young American soldiers who had been on the front lines of battle for some time, were sent back to a small French village for a little R & R. When they arrived in the village, they realized that it was Christmas Eve. They began to discuss how they would like to spend Christmas. One of the soldiers said, "You know, as we were coming into town earlier today, I noticed an orphanage on the outskirts of the village. Why don't we go there in the morning and take some Christmas joy to those children?" The others liked the idea and the more they talked about it, the more excited they became. So they went out and bought all kinds of toys, candy, clothing, food, books, and games. Early the next morning they showed up at the front door of the orphanage with wonderful Christmas presents for all the children.

"The orphanage director was pleased and all the children were delighted as they opened their gifts. All the children that is, except for one little girl who stood quietly off to the side. She appeared to be 5 or 6 years old and her face looked very sad. One of the soldiers noticed that she was not participating, so he asked the orphanage director about the little girl. 'Bless her heart,' said the director, 'we just got her last week. Both of her parents were killed in a car wreck. There was no one to take her in, so we brought her here.'

"The soldier went over to the little girl and gently he said to her, 'It's Christmas morning and we have wonderful Christmas presents here: toys, clothes, candy, food, books, and puzzles. Which would you like? What do you want most for Christmas?' And the little girl said, 'I want somebody to hold me.'

"Maybe that is the best Christmas gift of all—someone to hold us. As somebody once put it, 'Rich is not what you have. It's who you have beside you.' Well, this sacred season comes along once each year to remind us that 'Love Came Down At Christmas,' that God is even now reaching out to us with open arms, and that He wants us to accept His love and to pass it on to others."²

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you that love came down at Christmas from Heaven in the birth of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to earth to give his life as a ransom for my sins. In gratitude for all you have done for me, help me to live with eternal values in view and not get caught up in the materialism of this world. But rather, help me to give to others as you have given to me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

Note: If you have never accepted God's incredible Christmas love gift, be sure to read, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. Luke 12:15 (NIV).
2. Dr. James W. Moore, ChristianGlobe Sermons, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2003. Cited on www.eSermons.com.

<:))))><

by Dick Innes

Cherish While You Can!

One day a woman's husband died, and on that clear, cold morning, in the warmth of their bedroom, the wife was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't there "anymore". No more hugs, no more special moments to celebrate together, no more phone calls just to chat, no more ‘just one minute….’

Sometimes, what we care about the most gets all used up and goes away, never to return before we can say good-bye, and say ‘I love you.’

So while we have it, it is best that we learn to appreciate it, love it, care for it and fix it when it's broken. We heal it when it's sick.

This is true about marriage... and old vehicles... and children with poor report cards, and dogs with bad hips, and aging parents and grandparents. We keep them because they mean so much to us and also because they are worth our care and concern.

Suppose one morning, you never wake up. Do all your friends and loved ones know that you love them?

I am thinking...if I were to die today, tomorrow or next week, are there any wounds that need healing and relationships that need rekindling? Have I expressed those three words “I love you” to those who have blessed and cared for me.

Just in case I am gone tomorrow, I want you to know that “I love you”. I live with cherished memories of those whom I love and had passed on. I wish I had spent more time with them and live with regrets that I had not expressed enough of love and care for them.

As tomorrow is not promised and may never come. And so today, I want you to know that I love you very much and treasure you deeply.

Saint of Auschwitz

Father Maximilian Kolbe

"Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."¹

You may be familiar with the story of Father Maximilian Kolbe, a Catholic priest who was imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. Father Kolbe's love for the other prisoners earned him the nickname "Saint of Auschwitz."

One day, a prisoner escaped from the camp. Each time anyone escaped, the guards executed ten men as a punishment. As the guards prepared for the execution, Father Kolbe came forward. He asked to take the place of another prisoner, a man named Gajowniczek. The guards agreed.

Father Kolbe and the other nine men were placed in a cell and starved to death over the next few days. Father Kolbe died on August 14, 1941.

Every year, Mr. Gajowniczek returns to Auschwitz to commemorate the death of Father Kolbe. It is his way to say thank you to the man who died in his place.²

Suggested prayer: "Dear Jesus God, how can I ever thank you enough for giving your life and dying on the cross in my place so that I could inherit your gift of eternal life. Help me to always live in an attitude of gratitude for all that you have done for me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

NOTE: If you have never accepted God's gift of love for you, be sure to read: "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian—without having to be religious" at: http://tinyurl.com/real-christian.

1. John 15:13 (NIV).
2. From "A Man for Others" by Patricia Treece. Found in God's Unexpected Blessings, edited by Kathy Collard Miller (Lancaster, PA: Starburst Publishers, 1998), pp. 79-80.

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By Dick Innes

Have You Made a Deposit Lately?

Think of your friends and relationships as bank accounts, into which you deposit and withdraw from. If you’re the list-making kind, go ahead and indulge to your spreadsheet-loving heart’s desire. Make a list of your closest friends, and consider your last few interactions with them.

Was your last conversation or last time together helpful, supportive or impactful for them—in the way of advice, listening or troubleshooting? Count that as a deposit. Did you seek advice, need a friend to hear your point of view, or ask a favor of them? Then, you made a withdrawal from your friendship’s “value bank.”

Evaluating your friendships this way will help you realize if you’ve been taking too much from your friends and not returning the favor. Or conversely, realize that some friends may readily detract from you and rarely reciprocate. Relationships, after all, are investments of your time but well worth the reward.

source: Encouragement-wired

The Red Marbles

Read this story. If you are like me, you will learn much from Mr. Miller.

I was at the corner grocery store buying some early potatoes. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas.

I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller (the store owner) and the ragged boy next to me.

'Hello Barry, how are you today?'

'H'lo , Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas. They sure look good.'

'They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?'

'Fine.. Gittin' stronger alla' time.'

'Good. Anything I can help you with?'

'No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas.'

'Would you like to take some home ?' asked Mr. Miller.

'No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with.'

'Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?'

'All I got's my prize marble here.'

'Is that right? Let me see it' said Mr. Miller.

'Here 'tis. She's a dandy.'

'I can see that. Hmmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red.

Do you have a red one like this at home ?' the store owner asked.

'Not zackley but almost.'

'Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red marble'. Mr. Miller told the boy.

'Sure will. Thanks Mr. Miller.'

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me.. With a smile she said, 'There are two other boys like him in our community, all three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes, or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble or an orange one, when they come on their next trip to the store.'

I left the store smiling to myself, impressed with this man.

A short time later I moved to Colorado , but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys, and their bartering for marbles.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community and while I was there learned that Mr. Miller had died.

They were having his visitation that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them. Upon arrival at the mortuary we fell into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could.

Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an army uniform and the other two wore nice haircuts, dark suits and white shirts . . . all very professional looking. They approached Mrs. Miller, standing composed and smiling by her husband's casket.

Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her, and moved on to the casket.

Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one; each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary awkwardly, wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and reminded her of the story from those many years ago and what she had told me about her husband's bartering for marbles. With her eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket.

'Those three young men who just left were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim 'traded' them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size.....they came to pay their debt.'

'We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world,' she confided, 'but right now, Jim would consider himself the richest man in Idaho.'

With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three exquisitely shined red marbles.

The Moral of this story: We will not be remembered by our words, but by our kind deeds.

Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. May the Lord bless you as you live a life full of kind deeds.

    "...love one another; as I have loved you.... By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."    John 13:34-35