This was sent to me in an email, several years ago, and it appeared in my inbox again today...thought I'd share it with you!
The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry,to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn, arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.
They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc., and on December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.
On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and lasted for two days. On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.
The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do but postpone the Christmas Eve service, headed home. On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.
By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.
She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.
Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?" The pastor explained. The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.
The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.
The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a house cleaning job.
What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return. One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.
The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how he wondered could there be two tablecloths so much alike.
He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.
The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.
He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.
True Story - submitted by Pastor Rob Reid
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Who says God does not work in mysterious ways? I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today, to guide you and protect you as you go along your way. His love is always with you, His promises are true, and when we give Him all our cares you know He will see us through.
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best.. Just remember I'm here praying and God will do the rest.
Commentary - Unknown
\o/
Welcome to "A Heart of Worship!" This is where I post things that have impacted my life spiritually. When we embrace the concept of worship as a lifestyle, we have an opportunity to see God reveal Himself in ways we'd never dreamed possible! Although this site was initially designed for my sweet "Sisters," my dear "Brothers in Christ," I encourage you all to feel free to respond to any of my posts or to start a new thought too. God's Word applies to all of us! Blessings!
Friday, September 30, 2005
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
My Manchild Again...
"But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7
If you have been with me from the beginning, you may remember a post entitled, My Manchild". If not, you may want to read it before reading on here.
As much as you think you know your child, in their hearts there is a tiny recess that even you as their parent can't know or see. Only God knows. I just had such an awakening.
At my church, for Pastor Doolin's 10th anniversary, they were videotaping several folks' testimonies, as to how they had been affected by the ministry at FCF. My "Manchild" was one of the ones selected to give his testimony. When I saw the tape and heard his words, I was shocked!
Paraphrasing here, my son stated that in his mind, he intended on doing whatever he felt big enough and bad enough to do in his life. He was gonna sin in any way he wanted, and wait until he was on his deathbed to confess his sins. BUT, since coming to FCF and learning the Word in a way he could understand, he now knew and understood that God had a better plan and a better way of life for him....at this point, the tears were gushing, my heart was pounding, so that is all I heard...
I was just glad to hear that the Holy Spirit had ministered to him, and now he fully receives the Word! This from a kid who told his grandmother a year ago that he did not own a bible, (he had several) to a kid who reads his bible on daily basis...on his own!
Aside from the inspired teachings that go forth from Pastor Doolin every Sunday for the general congregation, the church has a wonderful children and teens ministry that actively teach the Word of God. No boring Sunday school lessons here! I am sure they don't realize it, but the teens in my son's class are being mentored by positive role models that they interact with every week. I am sure my son has not thought about how Karl or Justin or some of the other teens and young men on fire for God have played a role in his decision to get serious about his personal relationship with God. I am just happy that it has! Thank you Lord!
Goes to show you--you never know what a person is thinking inwardly secretly, when they are demonstrating something else outwardly.
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12
And it brought my son to discover who God is, and the desire to get to know Him for himself through the Word a little better everyday. HALLELUYAH! \0/
posted by A Heart of Worship @ 9/20/2005 3 comments links to this post 
on the little white envelope shown above.
These comments were re-added here by me removing my full name that some of my posters inadvertantly used in their original postings. In order to be completely candid on this blog, I feel that I cannot include my full name in the internet postings.....
3 Comments:
- At Wednesday, September 21, 2005 4:47:00 PM,
Anonymous said...
Good Afternoon L, after reading the original "Man-child" I'm astonished regarding you’re son’s maturity. When it comes to spiritual matters, as parents we are concerned about our children and rightly so, but sometime it seems after we prayed for them and given them over to God...we can't "Let Go and Let God". Which reminds me of a little humorous anecdote at this point (I hope you don't mind) this mountain climber was on his way to the top of Mount Everest when all of a sudden he lost his footing and began to fall…on his way down he was able to grab a branch and hold on for dear life. After a few moments of evaluating his situation, he knew the branch would not hold him for long. In desperation he began to yell "hello is anybody out there" no response, so he yells again "hello is any body out there". Then a voice responds "let go and let God", the mountain climber yells again "is anybody else out there". Well we are like that mountain climber, at times we say we are going to let go and let God bring our children into the fold. However, do we really trust God with our children...remember how we were as children, oh yes we made it by the grace of God only...why can’t we totally trust God with our Children. God does know what he is doing. Your son, L gave an awesome testimony for his age and I know you are godly proud of him. I believe one day he will be used mightily in the
So I Go said... -
wow.. what an amazing testimony, and what an inspiring story of hope for all of our children..thank you!!
- At Thursday, September 29, 2005 10:51:00 PM, Carolyn said...
-
my precious sister. my heart rises with yours at the beauty of God's work in your child's heart. He is such a faithful God to a mama's prayers.
keep on your knees for him. how i rejoice with you!
Saturday, September 10, 2005
She's Back! Just Ramblings of One Who Has Been Away Too Long!
Hello Dear Blog Family!
It has been a while since I have written, and I definitely feel a need to start writing again! I've found that it's very therapeutic for me! (And sometimes for others who read it too!) But it's just been a matter of time, time and time! I am now in two classes this semester--you know me...still trying to do it all. ;-)
I have classmates who work full-time and go to school full-time...but I DON'T know how they do it! Maybe their jobs give them time off for various projects, papers and studying for exams. No such luck for me! But time is a'tickin'. I need to speed things up a bit myself! ;-) At this point I am one full time semester away from graduating....but ONLY if I do NOT have to take classes in developmental math to reach college level math. I have to take a placement test to place into college level math, then take the course, and pass it!
Any math whizzes out there willing to tutor a sista to get her ready for college level math? To be honest, my current skill level is at basic beginners algebra....any takers ready for this challenge? It is probably comparable to clearing the water out of the streets of
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Gee, what has not happened since the last time I have written? You know, looking at the plight of the folks in
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Have you ever sat outside on a gorgeous day, to look around and just "see" God all in it? Where I work, I have a spot on campus under a couple of maple trees where I hide out at lunch time to eat, read and pray in peace. It amazes me day after day how the beauty of God just cannot be surpassed by anything manmade. The sun, the clouds, the trees, the grass, the breeze on my skin...it's all so wonderfully, incredibly, beautiful! I wish I could use other adjectives to describe it, but I find words to be very limiting at times. How about you?
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On this past Wednesday afternoon before I went to work, I had a taste for some popcorn. I went downstairs to grab a bag of popcorn to pop, and before I knew it, I'd gotten distracted straightening and cleaning the kitchen, family room and the living room. And then it was suddenly time to get ready for work. (On Wednesdays, I am scheduled to go into to work later in the day to provide office coverage into the evening). I never thought about the bag of popcorn until I was on my way to work...and by then it was too late. I was disappointed, because I really had a taste for some good popcorn!
When I got to my job site, my supervisor arrived at the same time on the parking lot, and stated that when we got into the office that she had something for me. I said "OK" and immediately forgot all about it, as the office was quite busy when we arrived. About a half hour later, she comes to me and says, "Here, this is for you." My mouth fell open! In her outstretched hand she had a bag of unpopped popcorn....and it was MY FAVORITE KIND!!! When I popped that bag at work, everyone kept running to me asking me "What kind of popcorn is it?" or "It smells so good!" All I could do was smile and tell them what they wanted to know. But I was full inside my heart knowing that God sees the smallest things and sometimes He sends them our way as reminders of His care. I shared this story with my supervisor, and she was encouraged to hear it.
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Another story: The director of the office (the boss over the supervisor) and a few other female co-workers happened to be standing right outside of my office door talking when my director asked a question. I guess I zoned out for a second, because everyone was shaking their head "No," and I did not know what the question was. DUH! I asked her what she had asked, (because for some reason all I heard was what Charlie Brown's teacher sounded like. "Wa, wanh, wanh, waaaanh...") She had asked if anyone had an earring back, as she had lost one of hers that morning on the way to work.
She could not have possibly known that I had just "found" an earring back on my desk a week or so prior when I was cleaning up my desk and I saved it in my odds and ends compartment on my desk. (You know that place in or on your desk where you keep safety pins, a couple of bobby pins, extra coins, etc...) ;-)
Well, while I was taking the few steps into my office to look for the earring back, she added, "If anyone has one, you get to leave work an hour early!" (Hey, hey count me in on that!) I found the earring back--and lo and behold...somehow the one earring back had reproduced itself and now there were two! One plastic and one metal, there in my little odds and ends compartment side by side just waiting for me to pick them up. I offered them to her, and my boss was shocked that I was able to not produce one, but two! (She had meetings that she was going to be in all day, and I guess she wanted to feel "put together.") Need I say more? Of course, no one else had even one spare earring back, and I got to leave an hour early! WOOHOO! I went home and took a much needed nap! Thank you Lord for the small blessings! Small things add up to big things!!
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So this was just a blog of various unconnected thoughts to let you know that "Sister" L, is still alive and laughing her way through life! You'll be hearing from me real soon again. I know one of my classes will produce some interesting thoughts that will spill over into this blog. It is my 'Business Ethics in Society' class.
Be Blessed! \0/
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P.S.
Immediately after I posted this blog, my blog was hit by 2 spammers, which you used to be able to see until I removed them when I reposted this blog… In order to combat this I have turned on "Word Verification" in my blog.
What this does is to prevent automated systems from adding comments to my blog, since it takes a human being to read the word and pass this step. Whenever I receive a comment that looks like an advertisement or a random link to an unrelated site, as you see below then I know I've encountered "comment spam". A lot of this is done automatically by software which can't pass the word verification step that I just enabled in my blog.
What does this mean to you? Well, when you want to comment, you'll see a word that looks kind of distorted in a box, and you'll be asked to type the same word in another box.
(Most spammer's software can't read those distorted "passwords" that you see.) Just retype the word they provide in the box provided and follow the steps to comment as normal. It's very easy! Thanks!
posted by A Heart of Worship @ 9/10/2005 3 comments links to this post 
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2 Comments:
At Saturday, September 10, 2005 9:32:00 PM, 
said...
Just passing through and came on your site. I love Blogs! I'll check in occasionally to see how it will grow.
At Tuesday, September 13, 2005 12:35:00 PM, 
Carolyn said...
hello, dear sister. i have missed you. so glad to see you back.
i remember pastoring, counselling, mentoring, and teaching during my post graduate studies. how i managed to write a dissertation in 9 months still amazes me.
but ... it was God's work. He gets all the praise.
glad to see you back, please check out my life for updates. please do email as well.
i'll be praying for you.
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