by Suellen | Successful Living
A few years ago, I watched an interview with Colonel Ted Martin of the 4th Infantry Division. His soldiers had been waiting for weeks off the coast of Turkey while war raged in Iraq. They were waiting for permission from the Turkish government to enter through their land.
“Are your troops ready?” Geraldo Rivera asked. “Or did they get rusty on the ships?”
“No sir. We used the time to train.”
“Are your tanks ready for the desert?”
“Yes sir. We spent a month in the desert. We traveled five hundred miles in the sand to prepare ourselves for what we would face. We are the best trained, the best equipped, and most disciplined fighting force in the world.”
The last decade or so has really made me proud – and appreciative of the soldiers who trained, disciplined themselves, and performed so valiantly in service of our country.
But there are other men and women who make me proud. They are the warriors who stand for God – for the right thing, no matter what. They have shown that they are warriors by remaining true to:
- Their identity as a Christian – even when it’s not the popular thing to do.
- Their personal integrity. They are determined to stay true to their principles
- Their family.
- Endurance through pain. Nothing will stop these brave people.
- Their friends.
- Their strong faith. They know their God and they know He will continue to be with them.
I am so thankful for these people. They are true warriors for God, and for His purposes.
Are you one of them? May you continue to know God’s greatest blessings!
by Suellen | Successful Living
William Booth grew up in Nottingham, England during the mid 1800″s. Born to a family that had lots of wealth, he knew what it was like to have all the material things he desired. However, when William was 13 years of age, his father lost the family business and they were suddenly broke.
Not having any money for his education, the lad went to work as an apprentice to a pawnbroker in a “seedy” section of London. That is where he gained a desire to help the “poorest of the poor.” In 1852, William left the business to become a minister.
After several years of preaching, he joined a group of ministers who preached from a tent. Then, as his ministry grew, he started an organization: The Salvation Army. Whereas many ministers wanted to preach to the rich, Booth wanted to preach to the poor. His crowd consisted of the worst of society – prostitutes, gamblers, drunkards, and thieves.
There was much opposition to this ministry. Many religious people were offended that he was helping the “rough” people in the name of Christ. In fact, he was often attacked physically by those who were offended, many times suffering wounds inflicted by them. He had many opportunities to stop his work, but an inner strength drove him to continue. To those offended, he returned only kindness.
Just a few months before his death in 1883, William Booth made his last speech.
While women weep as they do now, I’ll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I’ll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl on the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I’ll fight – I’ll fight to the very end.
And he did. William Booth lived a life of the High Road Principle. He lived his life following the inner voice of God, and no one could stop him. When he received evil treatment, he returned kindness. Although he had a crowd of hasslers who followed him everywhere he went, he never fought the people. He went about his business doing what God had called him to do, and he continued to help the “worst of the worst.”
Now his organization is a world-wide ministry, and very well-known for its generosity in times of need. When Booth died, he had no idea that he was launching such a huge plan, but he knew that he was following the call of God for the people of his day. And he never gave up.
When I encounter such dedication, such kindness, such determination, I am humbled and inspired, aren’t you? We can look around us today and see so many people who need us. They need Jesus, and they need us to help them make the transition. Sometimes the people may be victims of hurricanes or other natural disasters. Other times they are victims of their own evil habits. But either way, they need Him and they need us.
Just thinking about this makes me want to do more.
by Suellen | Successful Living
Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, All ye lands
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!
Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God. It is he who has made us, and not we ourselves (and we are His)!
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.
Be thankful and say to Him, bless affectionately praise His name.
For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.
It is amazing what a thankful heart does for us.
This is a time when we look around and see so much pain. Personally all of us have issues with which we are dealing. Money issues, family issues, health issues, and issues concerning the state of the world.
But in the midst of the trouble, we can look to our God for help, refuge, and strength. He is our deliverer, our healer, and our provider.
As we begin to praise Him, we are reminded of all of these things. He makes a table for us in the presence of our enemies. He anoints our head with oil.
The joy, which is our strength, bubbles up within us. Our faith rises up and we begin to see the way out. God’s plan is coming forth.
I am so thankful today to our God and His faithfulness to us. He is the greatest!
by Suellen | Successful Living
We woke up early today. Mickey has a men’s breakfast meeting in a nearby town, then church, and finally he will be speaking at an area Thanksgiving service. Whew! Busy day.
As I brewed my cup of coffee, I glanced out of the kitchen window, and was awed by what I saw. It was the same view I had admired often, but this time it was different. This time it seemed to speak to me.
I love sunrises – even more than sunsets. It’s, of course, the beauty of the swath of color, but it’s more than that. It’s announcing something – a new day. A new chance. A new breath. New. New. New. I love the message.
Maybe it’s because I never live up to my own expectations, but I’ve always loved new beginnings. Yesterday is gone, and you get to get up and go again. You don’t know exactly what the day will bring, the people you may meet, the opportunities and challenges you will face, but you are ready to “do it again.”
It’s as if God planned our lives in segments – segments we could handle. He wants us to value each segment and live it wisely. That’s all we get, really. One day at a time. Whether we are doing big things or little, we do them one day at a time. When we master that concept, we master many others.
Today is important. Today is someone’s birthday and another’s funeral. Today people will come to know Jesus. Today people will get engaged or married. Today new babies will come into the earth.
Today is also the day we need to diet, if we are going to. Or exercise, if we are going to. Or read the Bible and pray, if we are going to. Or forgive that person, if we are going to. Or stop drinking, if we are going to. Today is important.
When we “get this” concept, our lives change. It’s so easy to think that tomorrow we will accomplish what we dream about, but today doesn’t matter. But it does. That’s all we have – one day at a time.
As I look at the beauty of the dawn, something else comes to mind. Lamentations says that God’s love is “new every morning.” God’s faithfulness to us is symbolized in the fact that He never misses giving us a new day – not until the time we go to our next life. One more chance – and I’m going to take it.
Oops, I’d better get going. I need to face the day.
Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
by Suellen | The Church Awakening
“When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.” Proverbs 29:2.
Today is the day to make your voice be heard in our great democratic republic. Sometimes people may think that their voice doesn’t count.; it’s just one of many. But throughout history elections have been won by a few hundred votes. Remember the 2000 election? A virtual handful of votes in Florida decided the outcome. Just think if those few hundred had not voted, what would the outcome have been?
I have included some great historical quotes furnished by http:www.wallbuilders.com. They will inspire you to fulfill that great public trust we have been granted.
Pray and choose well. Then vote!
John Adams
We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands; we have a check upon two branches of the legislature . . . the power I mean of electing at stated periods [each] branch. . . . It becomes necessary to every [citizen] then, to be in some degree a statesman, and to examine and judge for himself of the tendency of political principles and measures. Let us examine, then, with a sober, a manly . . . and a Christian spirit; let us neglect all party [loyalty] and advert to facts; let us believe no man to be infallible or impeccable in government any more than in religion; take no man’s word against evidence, nor implicitly adopt the sentiments of others who may be deceived themselves, or may be interested in deceiving us.
[John Adams, The Papers of John Adams, Robert J. Taylor, ed. (Cambridge: Belknap Press, 1977), Vol. 1, p. 81, from “‘U’ to the Boston Gazette” written on August 29, 1763.]
Samuel Adams
Let each citizen remember at the moment he is offering his vote that he is not making a present or a compliment to please an individual – or at least that he ought not so to do; but that he is executing one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country.
[Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907), Vol. IV, p. 256, in the Boston Gazette on April 16, 1781.]
Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust be men of unexceptionable characters. The public cannot be too curious concerning the character of public men.
[Samuel Adams, The Writings of Samuel Adams, Harry Alonzo Cushing, editor (New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1907), Vol. III, p. 236-237, to James Warren on November 4, 1775.]
Matthias Burnett
Consider well the important trust . . . which God . . . [has] put into your hands. . . . To God and posterity you are accountable for [your rights and your rulers]. . . . Let not your children have reason to curse you for giving up those rights and prostrating those institutions which your fathers delivered to you. . . . [L]ook well to the characters and qualifications of those you elect and raise to office and places of trust. . . . Think not that your interests will be safe in the hands of the weak and ignorant; or faithfully managed by the impious, the dissolute and the immoral. Think not that men who acknowledge not the providence of God nor regard His laws will be uncorrupt in office, firm in defense of the righteous cause against the oppressor, or resolutly oppose the torrent of iniquity. . . . Watch over your liberties and privileges – civil and religious – with a careful eye.
[Matthias Burnett, Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Norwalk, An Election Sermon, Preached at Hartford, on the Day of the Anniversary Election, May 12, 1803 (Hartford: Printed by Hudson & Goodwin, 1803), pp. 27-28)
Forever Upward,
Suellen Estes.
A few years ago, I watched an interview with Colonel Ted Martin of the 4th Infantry Division. His soldiers had been waiting for weeks off the coast of Turkey while war raged in Iraq. They were waiting for permission from the Turkish government to enter through their land.
