Learning to Relax

Three years ago we adopted a girl named Jeanne into our family. Jeanne was just turning five and had lived in two different homes before coming to ours. She was a nervous girl, frantically wanting to be by my side every minute. Every time I would go up or down the stairs in our home or enter another room, Jeanne was sure to follow.

The other day, I walked into our kitchen to wash the breakfast dishes. The click, click, click of Jeanne's nails on our wood floor sounded behind me. I turned from the sink and saw Jeanne, our Yellow Labrador Retriever, sitting next to me.

"Jeanne, I wish you would learn to relax." I patted the head of our family dog and rubbed her silky ears. She seemed satisfied for the moment. Lumbering over to the adjacent family room, she curled up on the edge of the soft taupe-colored rug.

How often do we become frantic and worried over life's events? God our Heavenly Father wants us to relax in His care, secure in the fact that when we become His child, He will never leave us or forsake us - no matter what happens.

Today, think about God's care for you. How has he helped you through life's difficulties? Praise Him for His loving care and remember His promises from the Holy Bible.

"Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." I Peter 5:7

"As one whom his mother comforts, So I will comfort you;" Isaiah 66:13a

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass." Psalm 37:7

Collars, Kids, & Christians

"I hate turtlenecks." My eight-year-old tugged at the neckline of his shirt. It was Sunday morning and my sports-minded child wasn't happy about wearing something other than a soccer shirt.

"Hon, that's not a turtleneck. It's just a shirt with a collar." In fact it wasn't even a dress shirt, it was a casual shirt.

I watched the antics of my youngest child while sipping a glass of orange juice. He continued pulling at his sky blue collared shirt as we got ready to leave for church. "You're going to wear that shirt."

My son flopped onto the family room couch. "Collars are for dogs."

I took a deep breath. What was this child going to think of next?

How often do we complain to God? "I don't like this" or "This doesn't feel comfortable". But God knows what is best for us every day of our lives. When we know Jesus as our personal Savior, we are His children. The Bible encourages child-like faith, not childish behavior.

At times we can be childish in our attitudes. Let's take a good look at our lives today and learn from God so we can grow up and become mature Christians.

"When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things." I Corinthians 13:11

"So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground." I Samuel 3:19

"The works of the LORD are great. Studied by all who have pleasure in them." Psalm 111:2

Stop, Look, and Listen

Sometimes it's nice to revisit the past, just as long as we don't live in it. Memories can warm us when we stop to remember the multitude of God's blessings in our lives.

While looking for a past post that I wrote about a specific topic, I came across this post from January of 2008. I pray that this little story that happened to our family will warm your heart and remind you that God is in the little moments of our lives, giving us unexpected gifts when we make the time to stop, look, and listen.

Enjoy!

The mysterious sound of who-whooing sang from somewhere behind our house. I climbed out of our SUV and stood next to my six-year-old son in the wet grass. Jim slipped in the back door to retrieve a spotlight.

“Look, Joel.” I pointed to the barren treetops. “Somewhere out there is an owl.” We had just read the children’s story Owl Moon a few nights ago so my heart pounded with excitement as our own version of Owl Moon unfolded in our backyard.

I craned my neck, trying to spy the owl’s hideout. The tree’s spindled arms fanned out into slim fingers. A dark shadow sat high in a limb, silhouetted against the silver sky.

The whooing continued, echoing across the hundred-yard distance from the edge of the woods. I crouched next to my son. “Do you hear that Joel? Remember the story we read? There’s a real owl in one of those trees, just like in our book.”

Joel’s eyes widened like saucers.

“I’ve got it.” Jim raced down the back steps and clicked on the spotlight. A bright beam cut through the darkness. “There it is Joel. See its eyes reflecting the light? That’s an owl Joel.”

The corners of my mouth lifted in a smile watching my husband and son.

“Wait.” Jim strode to the edge of our property lifting the light above his head. “There are two owls in the tree.”

I plunged my hands deep into my coat pockets and lifted my eyes above the tree line. My thoughts drifted for a moment to the God of all creation, my Savior, Jesus Christ. I lifted a word of thanks to the One who turns darkness to light and who lets us experience the simple pleasures of life. On this night, it just happened to include two owls singing their winter song in a silver sky.


“I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert. I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop. But You, O LORD, shall endure forever, And the remembrance of Your name to all generations. He shall regard the prayer of the destitute, And shall not despise their prayer. This will be written for the generation to come, That a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.” Psalm 102: 6,7,12,17,18 NKJV Bible

The Sack Lunches

I post this story in honor of my grandfather, my Pappy mentioned in the article below, a WWII veteran. This story was forwaded to me by my brother-in-law. Let's lift up a prayer for our troops today!

The Sack Lunches

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought.

Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation.

'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me.
'Petawawa. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Afghanistan

After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached the east, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time...

As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to base.'

His friend agreed.

I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me.. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq; it's almost like you are doing it for him.'

Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?'
'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class.

'This is your thanks..'

After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room.
A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did.. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars.

Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand and said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.

Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm.

When we landed I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!

Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base.
I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base... It will be about time for a sandwich.
God Bless You.'

Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers.

As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little...

A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.'

That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

Let us pray...

Prayer:

'Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands. Protect them as they protect us. Bless them and their families for the selfless acts they perform for us in our time of need. Amen.'

Prayer Request: When you read this, please stop for a moment and say a prayer for our troops around the world.

Picture Perfect

All I can say is that the Lord sure does work in mysterious ways.

The day after my grandmother's funeral, I decided to write a "Letter to the Editor" of my local newspaper. Marlene, who is the director of the Christian writing group I attend, always encourages us to be a witness for Christ and to "Write His Answer".

Technology as it is these days, I emailed my submission to the newspaper. Less than two hours later, the phone rang. I looked at the caller ID - Calkins Media. No, it couldn't be...

"May I speak with Susan Skitt?"

"Yes, this is Susan."

"I'm calling from the Intelligencer to verify that you were the person who sent the article, Picture Perfect, to our newspaper."

"Yes, that was me. The article was about my grandmother."

"We're going to try to print it with the picture. We can't guarantee it. Only if there's room."

"Thank you. I understand."

And that was the end of the phone conversation. Lord, it's in your hands. If you want that article in the paper, you'll make a way.

Two days later, on New Years Day, I get a phone call from my parents.

"Sue, one of Uncle Jerry's church members just called to say that there is an article in the newspaper about Nanna."

I turned to my husband Jim. He was making waffles for us on his day off from work.

"Wow, Sue. They printed it."

"Oh my. We need to run down to the mail box and get that newspaper!"

And so, here's a copy of what the paper printed. I've included it on this post with a color picture of my entire family - my grandmom who we called Nanna (who is home with the Lord) and grandfather, my mom and dad, my two sisters, their husbands and their children, my brother, his wife and his children, and oh yeah, my husband, my boys and me. The paper even graciously included the picture in black and white with the article.

The title I sent was, "Picture Perfect". The newspaper added to the title making it, "A Picture Perfect Gift for Nana" - which is even better. Editor's are good at that. May the name of Jesus be proclaimed!

The Zweitzig family - for nana

A picture perfect gift for nana

To the Editor:

Three days before Christmas I walked into a local arts and crafts store - Michael’s in Warrington - with an important request. “Could you please put this picture into the frame I am purchasing from your store? I’m taking it directly to my grandmother. She went into hospice last night and doctors haven’t given her much time to live.”

I knew the framing department was busy - the manager told me so - but this young lady named Jen, took three minutes to quickly clean up the glass and place the beautiful family picture in the frame.

After leaving Michael’s, I drove directly to Abington Memorial’s Hospice in Warminster. I sat next to my grandmother’s bed and helped her open the package. “Oh this is the best Christmas present ever,” my grandmother exclaimed. Knowing her life on Earth was near an end she added, “Next to knowing Jesus of course.”

A smile lit up nana’s face as she gazed at the framed picture of her family – her oldest son and his wife, four grandchildren and their spouses, and eleven great-grandchildren. In the middle of the picture sat my grandmother, age 89 and my grandfather, age 90. I placed the 10x13 inch framed photo on a table next to her bedside.

The next morning nana slipped into a coma. A few hours later, less than 24 hours after giving her the framed family picture, Jesus took her home to Heaven.

I am thankful for that young lady at the store who took a few extra minutes to make my grandmother’s last present on earth “picture perfect.”

Susan Kelly Skitt, New Britain Township