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George Muller had run and orphanage in England in the early 1800s that cared for 5,000 children.  He had made a vow never to ask people directly for anything, but to ask God instead to inspire them to provide food, clothing, money, or whatever else was needed.  He eventually received more that 50 million British pounds in donations, all without ever asking anybody for anything.
Unknown

The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me.
Psalm 116:6
The New International Version

Believe in the Lord, and He will do half the work–the last half.
Cyrus Curtis

Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Romans 6:18
The King James Version

The more we love, the more we can forgive, and the more we forgive, the more we can love.
Criswell Freeman

Our children, relations, friends, honors, houses, lands, and endowments, the goods of nature and fortune, nay, even of grace itself, are only lent.  It is our misfortune and our sin, to fancy they are given.  We start, therefore, and are angry when the loan is called in.  We think ourselves masters, when we are only stewards, and forget that to each of us it will one day be said, “Give an account of thy stewardship.”
Thomas H. Horne

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 2:38-39
The New International Version

When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all of Christendom.
G. K. Chesterton

Pride leads to arguments; be humble, take advice and become wise.
Proverbs 13:10
The Living Bible

Every happening, great and small, is a parable whereby God speaks to us, and the art of life is to get the message.
Malcolm Muggeridge

PULLING WEEDS
by Eric Elder
The Ranch

Pulling the final patch of weeds between two trees:
before, almost done, and finished. New grass is coming soon!
I woke up early on Tuesday morning to do something I really didn’t want to do: pull weeds. I don’t mind pulling weeds, but this was the last patch of what had become a week-long project of pulling weeds, and I was wearing out.
At first it was kind of fun. I had put on some headphones, gotten down on my knees, and even took time to pray while I was down there. But after a week of pulling weeds I was wearing out, and I didn’t know how much longer it was going to take. I knew what I had to do though, and that was to just keep pulling weeds.
I decided not to worry about how long it would take, but to just keep going forward with the task at hand: pulling weeds. I got down on my knees again and began to pull. Surprisingly, after an hour of pulling, I was done! And not with just that patch, but since it was the last patch, I was done with the entire project that I had been working on for a week!  The end had been right around the corner. I just didn’t know it. All I knew was that I just had to keep pulling weeds.
Yesterday morning, I woke up with another task at hand: recording a new song on the piano that I’ve been wanting to record for several months now. Unlike pulling weeds, this was a project I really wanted to do. But when I woke up yesterday morning, I felt like I was facing the same final patch of weeds again, and I had no idea when I would ever be able to finish the recording.
All I knew was that I just had to keep going and take the next right step that was in front of me. Amazingly, within an hour I had made huge strides in the recording process and, by the end of the day, I had finished editing all of the individual sound clips in order to turn them into one seamless and beautiful  song. (I still have a few more “next steps” to take until the song is finished completely, so I can’t share it with you yet. But here’s a picture of the final note in the bottom right corner of what has to be the longest and most complicated song I’ve ever recorded.)

The final note (marked by an arrow).
One last story. I’ve been working through an unresolved situation with a friend for the past ten and half months. While I believed there would be a resolution at some point, I felt like I had done everything that I could do on my end, and I had no idea when that resolution might come.
This week I decided to take a personal prayer retreat for three days. While I’m planning to do a prayer retreat with others at the end of the year, I thought it would be a good time to set aside the same amount of time on my own and enjoy my own personal time with God.  Most of my kids were away at a music festival, so I had time to think and pray and play the piano. On my knees that first morning, I laid out the various things I was praying about in my life.
The first night of my prayer retreat, my friend called. And during our hour-and-a-half conversation, things were resolved. I told my friend that I had just started a three-day prayer retreat that morning. I said, “If only for this conversation, I am so glad I set aside this time to pray.” And I still had two days of “retreating” to go.
I want to encourage you today that whatever seemingly insurmountable mountain of task may lay before you, whether it’s pulling weeds or recording a song or reaching a resolution with a friend, keep focused on the task at hand. Do what God has called you to do. Take the steps He has called you to take. And trust the outcome into His gracious and loving hands.
Will you pray with me?
Father, thank You for giving us work to do here on earth, whether it’s pulling weeds, recording songs, or building friendships with others. Lord, I ask that You would help us stay focused on the tasks before us, not getting overwhelmed by all the things that need to be done, but moving ahead with the next right thing we know to do. Lord, help us to accomplish all that You’ve put on our hearts to do–for Your sake, for our sake, and for the sake of all those who will be touched by our efforts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
P.S. I’m 99% sure we will go forward with the retreat in early December, both in-person and online. I am working out the final details now and will let you know soon so you can start making plans. Based on my own personal retreat this week, I would like to encourage you, invite you, and welcome you, to join me and see what God can do, not just after three days, but even after day one!

Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible type of poverty.
Mother Teresa

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:6
The English Standard Version

He looketh into the heavens where God was lighting His lamps.
Unknown

Remember that you have only one soul; that you have only one death to die; that you have only one life, which is short and has to be lived by you alone; and there is only one glory, which is eternal.  If you do this, there will be many things about which you care nothing.
Teresa of Avila

“I will answer them before they even call to me.  While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!”
Isaiah 65:24
The New Living Translation

If I look at myself, I am depressed.
If I look at those around me, I am often disappointed.
If I look at my circumstances, I am discouraged.
But if I look at Jesus, I am constantly, consistently, and eternally fulfilled.
Unknown

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
James 1:2-4
The New Living Translation

You remember that among the Franks whole armies were sometimes given baptism at one stroke and many warriors went into the water with their right hands held high, so that they did not get wet; then they could say, “This hand has never been baptized,” and they could swing their axes just as freely as ever.  The modern counterpart of that partial baptism is seen in many people who have been baptized, all except their pocketbooks.  They hold these high out of the water.
Halford E. Luccock

Many people have the idea that in each of us there is a reservoir containing a certain supply of energy.  This is supposed to be strictly limited in amount.  If our expenditure is excessive they say, our energy is depleted and we suffer from fatigue.  So we take the attitude of economizing our little store of strength, conserving our resources, lest the stingy springs run dry.  In contrast with this point of view is one akin to the teaching of Jesus.  That is, our energies seem to be used up, not because the flow is checked, but because either the channel is blocked or we have not learned to use our capacities in the right way.  In other words, we are tired not when we do too much but when we do too little.  Our hidden springs are not of body but of spirit; we are not receptacles but conductors.
E. Stanley Jones

Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9
The English Standard Version

God is our true Friend, who always gives us the counsel and comfort we need.  Our danger lies in resisting Him; so it is essential that we acquire the habit of hearkening to His voice, or keeping silence within, and listening so as to lose nothing of what He says to us.  We know well enough how to keep outward silence, and to hush our spoken words, but we know little of interior silence.  It consists in hushing our idle, restless, wandering imagination, in quieting the promptings of our worldly minds, and in suppressing the crowd of unprofitable thoughts which excite and disturb the soul.
Francois Fenelon

Praise the Lord.  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments!
Psalm 112:1
The Revised Standard Version

Let us live while we live.
Unknown