ETERNAL INK
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The articles within this publication remain the copyrights of the authors.
Any permission to reproduce any article, in any format, must be granted
by the author.
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Editor-in-Chief of Eternal Ink - Mary-Ellen Grisham
meginrose@...
meg@...
Administrative Editor - David Davis - fishercaster@...
Devotions Editor - Annettee Budzban - ahrtwrites2u@...
Features Editor - Carl Phillips - CarlPhil10@...
Eternal Ink Web Site - www.eternal-ink.com
ISSN#: 1528-9605
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Table of Contents:
1) Mary-Ellen's Note
2) Devotion
3) Inspirational Thoughts
4) Prayer Requests
5) Intermission
6) Meditation of the Heart
7) Feature
8) Poetry
9) Memorable Words
10) Closing Words
ISSN# 1528-9605
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1) Mary-Ellen's Note
I used to hear the expression, "the fullness of summer." Images of trees clustered against deep blue skies would come to mind. I would think of swimming pools, lemonade, radiant sunsets, and soft, warm evenings. I would remember fireflies and fireworks and bigger-than-usual full moons in navy blue skies, with untold numbers of stars like diamond chips twinkling across the black dome of night.
I would think of picnics and rowing boats, vacations, and hiking. I would anticipate family get-togethers with platters of buttered corn-on-the-cob, deep red tomatoes, and luscious bowls of home-made ice cream covered with strawberries, peaches, or raspberries. Hmmmm...the delicious taste of summer!
God has given us such bountiful blessings in all the seasons, but right now in high summer, we ought to be enjoying the fullness of his summer blessings. How long has it been since you walked through that garden you spend so much time cultivating really seeing the beauty of each plant and flower? How long since you watched the irrepressible critters and creatures scurry and scamper around your yard? Do you remember the texture and colors of butterfly wings, the quick wing movements of hummingbirds, the buzz of bees?
"The earth is full of thy riches." (Psalm 104: 24b KJV) Let's get out there and enjoy our blessings! Praise the Lord!
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2) Devotion
Proverbs 6:16-19 (NIV) "There are six things the Lord hates, seven are detestable to him: haughty eyes, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers."
In Proverbs 6:16-19, King Solomon discusses what is detestable to the Lord. Ever since I read this passage, I felt secure that the line about "haughty eyes" did not refer to me. My image of haughtiness was a hair-flipping, "nose in the air" type of person--someone with an "attitude." I don't act this way, I reassured myself. But then the Holy Spirit began to speak to me.
I remember being the recipient of haughty behavior: I had a friend in grade school whose country club-set parents looked down at my middle class family. I can still feel their lack of responsiveness when I would share a personal story with them. It was not what they said, but what they didn't say that I can still feel. They had a way of saying, "That's nice," and cutting me short in a condescending and insincere way that made me feel ashamed of my family. They had haughty eyes.
I vowed I would not treat others like that. Yet recently I was shopping with my mother. We were helping each other select clothing. A young mother was looking for someone to help her critique her outfit, and she struck up a conversation with me. I was with my mother; I did not have the time or the patience to be friendly, so I froze her out with a terse reply. I realized again that it's not what we say, but what we don't say that can hurt. That cold response, or lack of response when we snub someone is haughty. I later remembered how I felt to be snubbed, and now I deeply regretted that I had done it to that young woman.
I believe this is the cruelest sin of all--the sin of the superior attitude. Satan felt superior to God, didn't he? All people are made by the same loving God, out of the same matter. It's funny how we think one person is superior to another. In the book of Isaiah, God says, "We are the clay and He is the Potter....can the clay say what are you making?" It is foolish to criticize God's ways. Through criticizing others, we are telling God how "He might have done things better."
The expression of our eyes is more than an outward appearance. It is also a reflection of our inner selves. In Matthew 6:22, Jesus says, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light."
Ironically, since I've confessed my pride, I must also confess that I cannot correct this problem alone. Thankfully though, with God's help, even the worst of sinners can be transformed. He can conquer both pride and prejudice. God always welcomes a repentant sinner --- even though I don't deserve it.
(c)2003 Catherine Hansen
ahrtwrites2u@...
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3) Inspirational Thoughts
MUSIC TO MY EARS
By Lois Elizabeth Reese
Have you ever heard something that sounded like music to your ears? What was it, a gurgling brook? A choir of birds singing? Or was it the wind whistling through the trees.
Have you ever sat at the seaside and listened to the rhythm of the waves ebbing up the sand? That ocean lullaby tends to ease tension. With the clean smells of the sea breezes and the feeling of wet sand squishing between our toes, we are able to escape the tensions of life, as we watch sea gulls in flight and sand pipers strutting about in search of something to eat.
And what about the sound of silence after a wintry blizzard? For those of us who work in a noisy neon world of concrete, that sound evokes healing within.
What is music to your ears?
Consider the gurgling of a cool refreshing waterfall or the creakity-screech of an old fashioned windmill as it pumps water up from the depths of the earth. Listen to the sound of bees buzzing as they collect nectar from fragrant blossoms.
And then there's the sound of our fellow man. Sometimes, at the mere sound of someone's voice during prayer, we know that God's love is with us in our sick room. Depression and despair can then be replaced with Heavenly thoughts as we contemplate a better place.
And we ourselves can administer words of kindness to our fellow man. With words of kindness, we can strike chords of compassion as we weep with our brothers and sisters in the Lord. With words of happiness and cheer, we can fill other's hearts with joy until that joy starts spilling over their vessels onto those around them.
Even the sound of music itself penetrates human icebergs. As we listen to an old familiar hymn, our heart is melted. At the sound of music we can be brought to our knees with conviction as we confess our sins to God and become converted and committed.
Music changes facial muscles and seems to bring life to the listener. Have you ever walked into a home full of anger, sadness, gloom, and hopelessness and shared a song with the destitute inhabitants of that dwelling? Upon your departure from that home, your song has replaced evil thoughts with thoughts of hope and joy. Just like a mother's lullaby is used to calm and quiet a little one, so too our songs shared with those around us bring peace and reassurance.
So, what it music to your ears? May I suggest that you find out what it is, and that you tune into it and listen often. And as you do so, may you hear the still small voice of God speaking to your inmost soul.
Lois E. Reese
220 Rich Street
Delta, CO 81416
970-874-7729
rreese50@...
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4) Prayer Requests
Please pray for Chalk and Helen Champlin. Chalk is beginning treatments for prostate cancer. Helen's sister, Jean Patrick, is going through a rough time. Her son, Mark, has cancer and has been given only a short time to live. Prayers for Mark Patrick and Jean would be much appreciated.
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5) Intermission
CALLING ALL POETS! We would like to announce the annual Eternal Ink Poetry Contest for 2003. This year's contest will be slightly later in the year with a final deadline date for entries being November 1, 2003.
THE HARVEST HOME POETRY CONTEST will be a gathering of Christian poems on all topics, in all styles of poetic form. We will once again ask authors to submit no more than three poems. Each poem should be no longer than forty lines. Give your poem a title, include your byline, send your poem in the body of an email, and conclude the entry with your copyright, email, and snail mail address. (No attachments please!)
First, second, and third place winners will be published in Eternal Ink and on the new Eternal Ink website. These top winners will also be awarded an appropriate Christian book.
Honorable mention winners will receive publication in Eternal Ink and on the Eternal Ink website.
You will retain your own copyright, of course, and after publication with Eternal Ink, you will be encouraged to share your work with other Christian sites and contests.
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CHRISTIAN WEBSITE! Please remember to visit the new Eternal Ink
Website: www.eternal-ink.com
New materials are being added weekly, and many of our readers would enjoy participating in the forums, chat-rooms, and prayer rooms. Christian news, free email cards, and access to prior issues of Eternal Ink are also featured. Take a look!...and register!
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6) Meditation of the Heart
KEEP US CLEAN, LORD
By Melva Cooper
"Let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit.
And let us work toward purity because we fear God." II Cor 7:1 (NLT)
Our eight year-old granddaughter, Mary Kathryn, wanted me to rub her back
before she went to sleep. She had just gotten her bath, shampooed her hair,
brushed her teeth, and was ready for bed.
I was in the middle of folding one more load of clothes for the day. Then I
had promised her sister, Faith, I would 'do' her nails for 'red, white, and
blue day' at school. So, I told Mary Kathryn to go ahead and lay down and I
would be there as soon as possible.
Hurrying along, I was still a few minutes before I could get to her room. She
hadn't forgotten and was struggling to keep her eyes open until grandma could
get there to rub her back.
Gently, I laid down beside her. Her body smelled so clean. The scents from
the shampoo in her hair wafted across her face. Praying aloud with my arm around
her, I thanked God for warm baths, sweet smelling soaps, and clean towels and
wash cloths.
And then I asked God to help us to be diligent about cleansing ourselves from
anything that defiles our bodies and spirit. I prayed Mary Kathryn would
always, through Jesus Christ, be as clean and fragrant inside as she was outside.
Melva Cooper
Jmelva@...
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7) Feature
A Smile - A Knowing
By Betty King
There are some things in life that put a smile on your face and a knowing in your heart.
The first time, at fourteen, when my eyes met the gaze of a lanky browned eye seventeen-year-old boy, I smiled and knew. The year was nineteen fifty-four; even then, when my heart skipped a crack in the sidewalk, there was a knowing of what was ahead in my future. Today like a child playing leapfrog my heart skips a beat when he gets that special look in his eyes, even after forty-six years.
When our first child was born, dawn peeked through at the very moment water gushed and he entered the world, I smiled and knew in my heart, God had just preformed a miracle.
My husband and I went on to conceive three more children; there was always a smile on our faces and a knowing in our hearts, at each birth, that it was indeed unique in its precious wonderment.
Our lives ran a race with time and grandchildren became a part of our lives. We look upon them and see a resemblance to their parents; we smile to ourselves and know genes and habits are passed down through generations.
I used to look in the mirror and smile. I knew in my heart time was passing faster than I realized; I heard a remark escape my lips and smiled to myself knowing that I was indeed becoming my mother.
Then one day I caught a glance at my reflection, and my grandmother smiled back at me. I knew the matronly woman greeting me had indeed evolved; the calendar was flipping pages and my years were dwindling down. I smiled to myself and knew that I was indeed, like she, a bit pudgy.
The wind blows and the wind chimes outside my door sound their warning; there is a storm blowing in. A smile forms at the corners of my lips; I know God is sending us much needed rain.
When we moved into our home, several years ago, there where a few lone perennial plantings out back by the property line. A lone Peony bush and a straggly little rose bush. I ignored them. Later when adding on to our house we decided to do some landscaping. We added to the flowerbed expanding the plantings. We discussed digging up the lone scrawny rose bush; after all it was puny, not much flowering to it. But I said, oh, just leave it. I smiled to myself and said from my heart - what does it hurt?
As the yard became mature and the daffodils, irises, tulips and other flowers in the garden bloomed each season, I noticed the plantings were flourishing. The rose bush, though, remained scrawny, a little like a malnourished, emaciated American beauty. It blooms one lone rose at a time; yet, when it does, it is a beauty. Red and luscious, it stands out like a first-place contestant on stage, a trophy in the hands of a winner. It brings a smile to my face and a knowing in my heart; it is small, scraggly, but faithful.
I came home the other day, a bit of stress settling in. I looked out the back window and smiled. I knew in my heart, it wasn't by accident the red beauty greeted me. Faithfulness always emits beauty.
As fall rolls around every year and the yard and garden begin to prepare for the hibernation of winter, one thing remains. The gaunt little rose stem with a leaf or two hangs on as if clinging to an intravenous lifeline. But before the first freeze or snowfall, winter's sleepover, a last rose will bloom. I smile to myself and I know in my heart the lone rose will bloom again when spring once again greets me.
When the rose refuses ever to bloom again, the pages on my calendar will cease to turn. It will be your turn to smile and a knowing will come to your heart. All things must fade away and die; life on earth is but for a season. Smile and know in your heart I shall bloom again in God's garden, where I shall never wither or die.
Betty King is a freelance writer and author of two books, "It Takes Two Mountains to Make a Valley" and "But - It Was in the Valleys I Grew." She is a newspaper columnist writing, Betty's Points to Ponder. She has a story in Chicken Soup for the Mother and Daughter's Soul and one in Alice Gray's book, Stories from a Soldiers heart.
Visit her website www.betty.newsmoose.com
or email her at baking2@...
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8) Poetry
God's Gifts
By Marian Jones
There are treasures that money can't buy,
Like the smile on a baby's face,
A stroll through a garden of flowers,
To rest in a tranquil place.
The magic of a sudden rainbow,
Colors that never change,
The pattern created by God,
A plan we can't re-arrange.
A meadow turned emerald green
By the touch of an April shower,
The warmth of the summer sun,
The scent of a beautiful flower.
The comfort of murmuring water
From a river sparkling with light,
The sun going down in the evening,
Making way for the stars at night.
The seasons that come and go,
Changing as God had planned,
His wondrous power we behold,
On every part of the land.
It's not the things that we buy,
That bring us the greatest pleasure,
If we look at the beauty around us,
We'll find joy in God-given treasures.
Copyright Marian Jones 2002
Marion.Jones1@...
Nightfall
By Marian Jones
I sit and watch from my window,
As the stars come out at night,
Sparkling against a black velvet sky
Filling the world with light.
I sit and watch, and I wonder,
How can this miracle be?
The light from the sun has gone
Then this magic performance we see.
Somewhere high in the Heavens,
God's hand is changing the view.
I bow to His mighty power
The wondrous things He can do.
I sit and watch from my window,
God's beautiful work I survey;
My soul is touched by His presence
When night welcomes the end of the day.
Copyright Marian Jones 2002
Marion.Jones1@...
Visit Marian's web pages to read others of her beautiful poems:
http://www.geocities.com/marians_words_of_life/homepage.html
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9) Memorable Words
"He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: Things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
Colossians 1: 15-20 (NIV)
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10) Closing Words
We truly hope that you have found inspiration and blessing from this issue of Eternal Ink. If so, please feel free to forward a copy to a friend or relative.
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Until our next issue, may God bless you richly, Mary-Ellen.
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WE ARE PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE ARKWEBS TEAM OF MINISTRIES.
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