Vacation Postcard 

We are on vacation in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Two nights ago, Kevin, the boys, and I toured the historic bathhouse row in downtown Hot Springs. These famous bath houses use steaming hot water that comes up from the ground out of several natural springs. Our family walked in front of the bathhouses on the main street and admired their stunning architecture, and we walked behind the bathhouses on the Grand Promenade and saw the water bubbling to the surface and the steam rising up out of the springs. We all appreciated the beautiful landscaping, the brick pathways, the ivy covered hills, the fireflies glowing, and the antique architecture. “Spa City” is truly a magnificent city! 

Today, we are still on vacation here in Hot Springs, and I get out my Bible to do my morning devotional, and it just so happens that the scripture I read is all about springs.

James 3:10 – 12, “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus, no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” 

In Hot Springs they built bathhouses on top of springs that were always, consistently hot. Would they have built these spas on springs that were sometimes hot and sometimes cold? I doubt it. Why? Because they were building businesses that needed reliable springs. They needed springs they could count on to always be hot.

The one and only Great God wants to build something on my life. My kids are building lives, and I need to be a steady, reliable spring for them. People are counting on me to be consistent. Am I reliable? Am I always hot? Or am I sometimes hot and sometimes cold?

I thank God that HE is that for me. People will fail. I will fail. God never fails. HE never changes. HE is reliable, faithful, consistent, and trustworthy, and I am supposed to grow more and more like HIM every day. 

It’s been a great vacation! If you haven’t been to Hot Springs, Arkansas, I suggest you take a trip here sometime. It’s a gorgeous town!

Love,

Martha 

     

It’s almost Christmas! I love this time of year, and I’ve been thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus, for the past couple of days more than I’ve ever thought about her for some reason. One thing that keeps going over and over in my mind is this – Mary is a human delivering the King of Kings to the world – isn’t that exactly what we are all supposed to be?

We all have Mary built up in our minds as an untouchable, pristine, porcelain figurine of a person, but, of course, she was a normal, teenage girl. Have you ever thought that, as Christians, we are to be like Mary? Mary delivered Jesus to the world. Isn’t that one of our primary purposes as believers? To deliver Jesus to the world?

It’s my prayer that I can respond to the call to deliver Jesus the same way that Mary did. Mary responded by -

1.)             Saying “yes.” How many times am I guilty of saying “no” or “later” or “maybe when circumstances are better, when I’m not so busy I’ll tell them about you Jesus.” But not Mary. She just agreed.

2.)           Not being controlled by her fear. Obviously she was afraid, but she didn’t allow her fear to control her.

3.)           Receiving encouragement from a godly friend. The encouragement from Elizabeth was so valuable to Mary. Oh, how we so benefit from the encouragement from our godly friends!

4.)            She knew that she would have temporary pain, ridicule, persecution, discomfort, but she also knew the eternal rewards would far outweigh any temporary pain she would endure.

Lord, I pray that my words, actions, and attitudes would deliver JESUS to the people in my world!

Have a Merry Christmas! 

Love, 

Martha