"Found"

Kids sometimes think, “If I go to a different school, I’ll get away from my problems.”  “I just need to get away.”  “I just need new friends.”  “I just need…..”

I wrote this when I was a teenager after my dad told me that no matter where I go, I could not get away from myself. 

I fled from something,

Of what I do not know.

New problems it would bring;

It followed me everywhere I would go.

So to a mountain, I fled,

And it was there waiting for me.

Oh, the anguish and the dread,

I thought to get away, so you see.

I thought to go far away,

To a quaint old country land.

But as we docked in the bay,

There it was upon the sand.

I’ll go to a place never found,

And there I’ll finally be free.

All alone on an safe and sound.

But to my great dismay;

As I stepped upon the ground,

It was there waiting that day.

I wanted to scream for I had been found.

I looked a little closer at it before me,

And found that it was a person.

I stared and thought it cannot be!

I was found out and undone,

For that person was me.

I could not get away,

Because that was me!

So that’s why it found the way.

I could not hide,

I could not run.

For you can’t run from pride,

I was the one undone.

Truth is we all need to face ourselves.  We all need to be still and self-examine.  Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 

Even as adults, we can find ourselves trying to “escape” our problems.  Yet we cannot escape without facing ourselves.  Jeremiah 17:9-10, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”  The LORD knows us better than we know ourselves.  He is the one we lean on to help us overcome!

Running away from our problems will not make things better.  I’m so glad that as Christians, we don’t have to depend on ourselves.  We don’t have to be strong, for the LORD is our strength.  We don’t have to pull ourselves up.  We are not alone.  The LORD has us in his hand. 

So if things are overwhelming you and you are feeling alone, have you spent time with JESUS lately.  Remember YOU DON’T HAVE TO FACE YOUR PROBLEMS ALONE!  Jesus is always the answer!  

My Little Bit

2 Kings 4:1-6 - The widow with the little bit of oil....

I have this little Bit

It's all I have this Little Bit

To pour it out

Oh How it would spoil

It's all I have this little Bit

I have been told that I must pore it out

and I will receive all the more.

Oh, how I want to shout!

It's all I have this little bit.

To pour it out would cost me great

Can I not keep it safe this little Bit

Oh what shall be my fate;

It's all I have and no more

I've shut the door expecting no more

then only what is on the floor

So quietly into the vessels I pore

And from this lesson I've been taught

that God can use a little bit

and give more then I could ever wrought

I must give my little Bit!

... When you give your little bit to God, God can use it and give you more then you could ever imagine.

Feathers in the Wind

In the 16th Century, a woman went to her Priest after spreading gossip about people in the town under the guise of truth. Her Priest told her for penance to take a bag of feathers to the bell tower and dump them out. Afterwards, he told her to pick them up. She was in shock! What! She knew she never could pick them all up. The Priest explained that the feathers represented her words that she could never get back. 

And so I wrote this Poem

As I watched the feathers fall,

The wind shifted and blew.

The soft sound of the bird call,

As every last one around me flew.

Thousand of feathers drifted away,

To pick them up! My voice did crack!

Impossible! It would take all day! 

That's when it hit me like a smack!

Like feathers, my words I could not take back

The hurt and pain they had caused.

My words... integrity did lack,

On this I thought and paused. 

What does God want for Christmas 🎄

What does God want for Christmas

This video didn't go to plan. But that's true for many things in life. In the end, it doesn't matter that your kid burped in the video, or played with her tiger. It doesn't matter that in reading you missed a few words. What matters is those little moments. Those moments of teaching Christ to your children. What does God want for Christmas? .... You!

The Ripple Effect > Leaving a Legacy

When I was a teenage, one of my teachers showed us an illustration using a bucket of water and his hand.  He said his hand represents our life as he began to splash in the water. He walked around the room showing each of us the bucket.  I remember the water splashing all around the side of the bucket and even at one point it splashed out by accident and we all laughed.  The teacher not missing a beat continued his illustration, some people make lots of splashes in life and some only make a few.  He pulled out his hand and showed us the ripples.  When you are gone from this world, what ripples will you leave behind?  Will you leave any? The ripples won't last forever, but you never know who you will touch with your life.  Will you leave a legacy behind? 

As I leave this office for the last time, I hope I've left some ripples behind.  "Every day is an opportunity to be a blessing to someone." I pray that will continue to be my motto as I step into this new journey of life. 

To the Berean students: past, present and future, make some splashes and leave those ripples.  "Be a Light" Was the theme my first year at Berean.  "Walking in the Light" is this year's theme.  Coincidence? The LORD has always known my path.  

Let's keep walking in the Light and SHINE! 

Tomorrow...

I wrote this 20 years ago

Tomorrow, What lies in Tomorrow?

Will we be standing all alone facing the foe?

Our lives weigh in the balances of time,

The very essence of peace or of crime

Will on the morrow be made known!

America, your true colors shall be flown.

This once great nation under God was thought forever;

And Tomorrow we will see what is the great endeavor!

A cry goes out to all those who have some moral value still;

Vote!  Oh, moral American! It is your freedom; it is your will!

America, America God shed his grace on thee;

But now I fear His grace we shall no longer see!

Oh, I have heard prayer changes things;

And I believe everlasting peace God brings.

But what of a nation that will not look and repent;

What of a people that heeds not the warnings sent?

Judgment is sure; O Lord please I ask thee to see

That there are some righteous still near to thee.

I am not able to say that I am totally free and blameless;

I have not prayed as I ought; forgive the unfaithfulness.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, What of this day?

Lord, so humbly I come to thee, have thy way.

Forgive my fear of the unknown and my worry;

I've forgotten to seek thee in all of my hurry.

The power of prayer can change the polls;

And the hearts of thy people can pray for souls.

I pray for these men that are for president running;

I pray for them even if they are crafty and cunning.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, I've laid all my anxiety and worry down.

I'm looking up to heaven, no longer will I tarry, looking at the ground.

Hope is what I have; it comes directly from my Savior;

Christ, my Lord gives my life an everlasting Fervor.

Hope, I fear is so lost to many;

They do not have joy so plenty.

Please, Lord give me strength to be a blessing to the Lost; 

So I might pray and with your help lead them to the cross.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow, O my Lord, what is in Tomorrow?

God hold the keys to Tomorrow, so let there not be any sorrow.

Written November 2000

Rest

Rest (Written for Joycelin)

By Jennifer Tackeberry

September 10, 2018

When the trials come … Rest!

When the heart doesn’t understand… Rest!

Lay all at His feet, no need to retreat!

The LORD is near we shall not Fear.

When the Answer doesn’t come… Rest!

When it’s hard to take a Breath… Rest.

Draw near to His light, for it is good in His sight.

In the arms of the Father, you’ll be safe from the tempter.

When your heart won’t stop pounding… Rest!

When you feel all alone… Rest.

He won’t forsake you, He’ll carry you through!

He won’t let you fall, He’ll give you his all!

So when the answer comes … Rest!

When you don’t understand, Look up dear heart… REST!

(The words in Czech: You are my God, You know my future, no one can take me from Your hands.)