Jan

18

Do You Recall . . .?

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


Psalm 9:1 –  I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;  I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.

My mother kept photo albums. She was a shutter bug. Volumes of  them sat on the bookshelves. On rainy days, we’d take them down, thumb through them and recount the good times we had as a family. When the grandchildren came along, they picked up on the habit. Almost every visit included some time  scrunching up on the couch and looking at the pictures of their Moms when they were young and hearing the family stories. Our history came alive for them. Even now, they can join in the Thanksgiving conversations of, “Do you recall. . .?”

Recalling our family times and remembering the good moments bonds us together. So does my mother’s love, even though she passed on years ago.  How much more important is it to recount Our Heavenly Father’s love for us and all the times He sheltered us, taught us, did something special for us or even admonished us.  The next rainy day in your life, scrunch up on the couch and go through your memories. Ask God to help you open that Spiritual photo album and together recall all He has done for you. Then, write them down so next time you, and perhaps your children and their children, can recount your family story – the one of a child and the Father who loved her so very much.

Nov

10

Don’t Hide It from your Kids

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.   Psalm 78:4

When was the last time you witnessed to your child? It doesn’t matter if they are two or forty-two, they still need to hear how wonderful this God you worhisp is; how He sustains you and protects you and blesses your life.   Most of all how He loves you and forgives you.

We can teach our children about God, and sing hymns to them. We can read the Bible and have family prayers.  We can take them to worship, Sunday school,Vacation Bible School and church camp.  We can have Bible sayings on our walls and slip them notes in their backpacks.  We can even pray His word over them, and should. . .daily.

But the greatest gift we can give our kids, no matter what their age, is to keep showing them how Jesus is working in our lives. That means being honest and a bit vulnerable.  It means proving that you, as the parent, doesn’t know it all, but  that God does.  That can be a hard thing to get off the pedestal and put Him there on it instead. But what a  lesson it will be!  Max Lucado said that when we puff ourselves up there is no room for God, but when we empty ourselves, He has a vessel He can work with. 

Teach be example. Empty yourself and let your children watch how God uses you day in and day out. You may not think they are paying attention, but they are. And maybe, just maybe, when they need to call on Jesus, they will say, “You are always there for Mom. She really believes. Help my unbelief and come be Lord of my life, too.”  One more soul won for Christ- and what an important soul.

He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers (and mothers!!!)
to teach to their children,
 that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments   vs 5-7

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Nov

4

He. . .is me

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


For he delivers the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and precious is their blood in his sight.     Psalm 72:12-14

Sounds like God, right?  He delivers the needy when they call upon him,and redeems their lives from violence and oppression. Their very existence (blood) is precious in his sight. 

But David is talking in the psalm about the king ( no capital K). And, who is the king? David was. So, in essence, he is talking about himself, or how he wants to be with God’s help as the Almighty King of  kings.  It is David who needs to be compassionate and help the needy and the oppressed because God had placed him on the earth to reign. He was given the power by God.

Guess what, so have I and so have you. As Christians, we are now given the power through the Holy Spirit to spread the kingdom. Jesus told the people if they clothe the naked, feed the hungry and tend to the poor, they have also done the same to Him.   That has not changed.

Yes, we all lead busy lives, but if we seek God out and ask Him to show us how we can spread His kingdom and help the less fortunate and helpless, He will not only show us how, but help us find the time. 

The holiday season is upon us.  Food banks need food for the winter. Shelters will be serving Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. The nursing homes are full of lonely people who could use a little joy.  Angel trees are displayed in stores and restaurants and Policeman Santa’s helpers organizations have toy drives. Military families need support.

What if each of us tithed a tenth of what we were going to spend this holiday season on the poor, the imprisoned, the needy?  What if we volunteered just one or two hours a week to serve food in a soup kitchen, wrap presents, sort clothes or visited the shut ins, hospital wards, delivered meals on wheels to the elderly? What if it turned into a family project?  Wouldn’t that be a wonderful lesson for the kids, or the grandkids?

Just something to think about, and pray over. This just may be the best holiday season you ever had. The King is calling.

 

Bringing power and purpose to your prayers
Bringing power and purpose to your prayers

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Nov

3

Ripple Effect

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”  Revelation 11:15

One day that will cone to pass. Christ will come again and claim His own. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.   When is known only by God. But until then, we can usher in the Kingdom of Our Lord and of  His Christ into our little world

 Growing up along a river,  I would perch on the dock in the still of the morning and enjoy the serenity. The water currents lazily flowing by were barely audible. Then, a cypress ball would plunk into it from one of the mighty limbs that stretched over the banks.  The sound would catch my attention and I’d watch the glassy surface turn into concentric  circles, expanding out further and further.

So it is when we accept Christ to reign over our kingdom. He enters the world of our lives through our heart. From there His influence spreads out in all directions, touching the lives with whom we come into contact, first in our own homes, then the workplace and beyond.  Perhaps we do not notice the ripple effect. We think we are of no influence. But Christ is working through us in ways we will never know. All we see is the surface. 

From a mighty cypress tree that stands 3-4 stories tall drops one little cypress ball, about the size of a quarter. Yet, when it falls in the river,  it disturbs gallons upon gallons of water from coursing along. It interrupts the current.  So can our witness ripple into the world.

Never believe you don’t make a difference

 

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Jun

16

I Prayed for This Child

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


“I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him over to the Lord.”  1 Samuel 1:28

This was how Hannah dedicated her son Samuel to the priest Eli at the Temple. Samuel ended up being one of  the greats in the Old Testament – one of the few who walked with God. 

Are we as mothers not called to do the same? We are to pray for our children, no matter what their age, and give them to God because after all He gave them to us. Though, yes, at times we question that at different stages of their life. Like when they imitate Picasso on the wall of the living room or feed the dog jelly beans, or wreck the family car, or stop going ot Church, or get drunk with their friends we told them would get them in trouble.  Our kids are not perfect, God knows that. He also knows we are not either.

I remember asking my eighty year old mother one time after my grown son got into a sticky situation, “Mom, when did you stop worrying about us kids?”  She smiled and softly replied, “Ill let you know.”  As a woman of deep faith I am sure she spent many a sleepless night  praying for us. She gave us to God.  I am also sure at times when we rose above the crowds and achieved  a goal or served the Lord, she gave that back to Him as well in thanksgiving. Even though she is now asleep in the Lord, I still feel her prayers over me.

I don’t think it was a one time event for Hannah. I imagine everyday in her heart she repeated the act even though Samuel was not in her sight. I strive to do the same.

Lord God, children are a blessing from you. They fill our hearts with joy then break them, just as we do to You.  Today, I rededicate mine to You. I join other mothers and ask that Your will be done in their children’s lives. When we cannot, hold them, counsel them and protect them. Fill them with Your Spirit  and bring them peace until that day when You call us all home as your children to dwell in eternity. Amen.

“And again Jesus says, ‘Here am I and the children God has given me.’ Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death…” Hebrews 2: 13-14

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