When You Feel Like An Alien

Hey Friend,

 

It doesn't take a long conversation with my mom until she settles in on, what seems to be, her favorite saying, "Our world is going to hell in a handbasket!"

Now I know generally what she is referring to - that our world is rapidly deteriorating and is on a course for disaster. 

 

Being the nerdy-wordy person that I am, I got curious as to just where that phrase originated.  One theory of origin derives itself from the use of handbaskets in the guillotining method of capital punishment.  The decapitated heads were collected in baskets and were most likely destined for hell.

 

Gruesome indeed!  But when I see even more gruesome acts perpetrated against believers like the pastor and members of the church in Charleston who welcomed a supposed seeker with questions into God's house, only to be gunned down by him in a brutal mass killing, I am shaken! 

 

Or, the youth in Pakistan who had petroleum poured on him by Islamic extremists, and then was set ablaze in broad daylight, amidst busy streets and no officials came to his aid or defense, all because he professed to believing in Jesus Christ as his Savior. How can people do this to other people?

 

Add to that Judeo-Christian values, long held, being overturned in our court system and any symbol of Christianity (like the 10 Commandments) being banned from government property and I begin to feel much like my mother.

 

Often in this world, I feel like I don't belong...that I am an alien!  

 

This question I ask, "Is it a bad thing if you don't feel comfortable in this world?... or...Is it far worse if this place feels like home to you?"

 

The Apostle Peter used very intentional words when he pleaded with the church in his day, "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul."( 1 Peter 2:11)                             

 

Yet, I admit, that accepting my standing as an outsider remains a point of struggle for me. 

 

My soul was made with a desire to belong - but this world is not the place to which I should attach my soul...

 

If I allow myself to feel too comfortable here...something is desperately wrong!

 

I like what Cal Thomas, had to say in a recent article for Fox News:

 

"As a longtime fan of Broadway musicals and plays, I believe that the original cast is always better than the touring company.  Evangelical Christians should return to the 'original cast,' whose members include Jesus of Nazareth, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James and Timothy.  Consider their lives and tactics as they faced a hostile political and religious environment that brought persecution, even death.  These men - and their followers - had little interest in an earthly kingdom.  Instead they focused on that other kingdom, and billions of lives have been transformed in the centuries that followed."

 

I don't think he is saying to turn our backs on this world because it's a gonner, but perhaps one of the best quotes I've read was in the op-ed section of the news in Hudson, WI:

 

"We cannot change a fallen world, but we can be God's instrument in saving people from it.  Eternally speaking, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain."  (J. Wheeler)

 

There are a multitude of scriptures that will confirm that we are "not of this world" - that we are indeed "aliens".

 

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  (John 15:19)

 

If you aren't convinced?  Try:  John 18:36, or Romans 12:2, John 8:23, John 17:14, Ephesians 6:12...and the list goes on.

 

Okay, so now I'm a hated, alienated, outsider with little hope of changing the world in which I live...where's the hope in that?

 

Great hope lies in two facts: 

 

1.  We know how the story ends

2.  God has given us the Good News that can usher people to an  eternal kingdom where they WILL belong.

 

In John 16:33, Jesus is speaking to his disciples, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

 

What are "these things" that Jesus shares with his disciples?

 

-  The Spirit of Truth will come upon you and He will guide you.

 

-  "In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while

    you will see me."  Your grief will turn to joy.

 

-  After a time of grief, I will see you again and you will rejoice and

   no one will be able to take away your joy (John 16:22)

 

-  An analogy in verse 21:  A woman giving birth to a child has pain

   because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets

   the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.

 

Friends, we are in the labor pains right now.  Wherever Christians are persecuted, mocked, and tortured, the world groans with horrific labor pains.  But a day is coming that we will no longer feel like aliens.  We will have a glorious homecoming when Christ returns and our grief will turn to joy - a joy that no one will be able to take away. 

 

What about you?  Do you ever feel like an alien in this world?  What gives you the hope to carry on?

 

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that through the shedding of the blood of your Son Jesus Christ, I am already a citizen of Heaven.  Help me to know that whenever I feel like an outsider, an alien, that this is truly a world that I am passing through and my eternal home is with you in Heaven.  Give me the strength and passion to stand up for my convictions, but when the world hates me, let me experience the peace of your promises.  I take heart because You have overcome the world.  Let me be an ambassador of peace, ushering those who are desperately seeking, into your Kingdom.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

 

Be blessed...

 

 

Ps. In our attempt to usher destitute children without hope into the joy and Kingdom of heaven, we are helping them seek refuge from the evil that surrounds them in their daily lives.  For only $10/month you can rescue one child and give them the hope of Jesus Christ and an education at Redeemer Christian School.  Would you consider sponsoring one child for $120/for one year or even $60/for half a year? 

 

See the faces of Nawaz and Muskan who have recently been sponsored.  There are now smiles on their faces where previously no joy existed.



 

 





Meet Nisha, Age 10

She has never been to school before.  Her mother is very sick so Nisha had to work in someone's home as a house cleaner just to survive.  Her first day of school at RCS she literally cried with joy.  She never dreamed that she would be able to go to school.

She needs a sponsor... 

 Meet Salman, age 7

He has never been to school either.  He went to work with his father and slaved under a harsh owner, for pitiful wages, as a brick maker at a brick kiln.  His story is not unlike the Jewish slaves in Egypt who made bricks for Pharoah.  Salman has found refuge at RCS and desperately wants to stay in school.

He needs a sponsor...

 Would you please prayerfully consider sponsoring, or providing partial sponsorship for one of these precious children so they can stay in school?  If so, please message me at:

bevduncan103@yahoo.com

 or

Contributions can be sent to:  Bev Rihtarchik (put RCS in the memo line)

                                                  103 Silver Lining Lane

                                                  Cary, NC  27513

 

* Though RCS is not yet a registered 501c3 ministry due to the high cost to do so, I can promise is every penny goes toward the education of a child you choose to sponsor!

 

Thank you for caring about the least of these...and letting them know they matter to God!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God Tests Where Our Treasure Lies

Hey Friend,

 

I am still trying to process just what happened this morning.  In the quiet of the early morning I read a devotion by fellow blogger and writer Beth Willis Miller (http://bethwillismiller.blogspot.com).  The devotion was titled "Our Inheritance in Christ".  In it, Beth shared different translations of Ephesians 1:11-12.

 

And here is the staggering thing - that in all which will one day belong to Him, we have been promised a share (we were long ago pre-destined for an inheritance).  (Ephesians 1:11)

 

Beth went on to point out so beautifully that In Christ we obtain an inheritance that can't ever be taken from us!  Amen.

 

As the sun was rising, I plugged in my ear buds to listen to one of my favorite artists - Christy Nockels.  As I walked I sang along (much to the birds dismay) to her song "Everything Is Mine In You".  The chorus echoed what I had read this morning:

 

And You say, You are my inheritance

And in You, I have everything I need.

 

 

Fast forward to running errands...I popped into the local drugstore to pick up two prescriptions.  It was still early and the store was quiet.  I went to the pharmacy in the back of the store, paid for my prescriptions and was heading to the exit at the front of the store. 

 

That's when I saw her - a beautiful young woman about my daughter's age.  She had gorgeous ebony skin and long black hair.  Her young baby sat wide eyed in her carrier seat, with deep chocolate eyes and long lashes, she gazed up at me. 

 

An assortment of baby items lay on the counter...diapers, wipes, formula, water, baby food, etc.  The young woman was visibly shaken and sobbing.  Her arms were outstretched toward the cashier as if pleading with her. 

 

"You don't understand,"  I heard the young woman eek out between hyperventilating breaths.

 

"I'm sorry ma'am.  There's nothing I can do," the cashier replied in a monotone voice. 

 

Part of me said, "This is not your business...keep on walking."

 

My heart said, "If this were my daughter, I'd want someone to come to her aid."

 

I kindly asked the cashier (with no personality) to put the items aside and I pulled the young woman and her baby aside.  There in the nail polish aisle, her story unfolded.

 

I held her hand and rubbed her back to help her staccato breathing calm down some.  As she wiped away the tears flowing from her eyes, I saw a very fresh, large red/purple mark by her temple, eye, and cheek.  Clearly she had been hit recently...hit hard. 

 

She tried explaining to me between halted breaths that this morning her boyfriend had beaten her and he had threatened to kill her.  She was scared and frightened for herself and for her baby girl.  On instinct she had done the only thing she knew to do at the time and that was to grab the baby, throw her into the back of their only car and flee. 

 

She had called the cops on her boyfriend and then in an effort to survive had sped away.  The only place she knew to go was to Texas where her parents and family still lived.  The only problem was that her boyfriend obviously had the presence of mind to freeze any access she would have to cash or credit.  Her MasterCard had failed to go through at the cashier's station....and that was just about the time I had come upon the scene. 

 

"I'm Ashley," she sniffled and said between gasps of air, "and this is Iceland."  She pointed to her five month old baby. 

 

"I just left and we don't have anything," she started crying again.  "I can't go back and I don't know what to do.  My parents don't even know I've left him," she blurted out.

 

"Has he beaten you before?"  I asked.

 

"Yes," she responded showing me bruises on both of her arms, her shoulders, and worst of all she lifted her pant leg to show me a gruesome scar with stitches from when he had shattered her ankle with a baseball bat. 

 

That's when it really sunk in that this frightened young woman was fleeing in order to save her life. 

 

Trying to calm her, I helped her to think of anything else she might need for the baby and for herself.  It was evident she was in shock and was looking to me to think clearly.  We grabbed several more items and I paid the still emotionless cashier.  Then we headed out to her car. 

 

"What's your name?" she asked me with gratitude in her soft, moist brown eyes. 

 

"Beverly, but you can call me Bev,"  I responded.

 

"Thank you Miss Bev,"  she said.  "Give me your phone number because I know my parents will want to repay you...I can't even begin to thank you enough."

 

I gave her my number, but first said, "You know, Ashley, I truly believe that everything I have comes from the Lord and honestly, it's not mine...it's ALL His and He would want me to help you."

 

"God bless you Miss Bev," she said sincerely.

 

I looked at her car as she gently strapped her tiny baby in and put the supplies in the back seat.  It was a big SUV with quite a few years of wear on it and balding tires.  As we talked further, I realized that they fled with nothing but the clothes on their backs and it would be a long trek to Texas.  There was maybe a third of a tank of gas and she would need gas and food along the way.

 

"Wait here," I said and went back to get cash from the ATM machine.  I put $200 in her hand and told her to use it as needed to be sure she got home.  He had promised to marry her, she told me, and against her parents wishes she had come to NC with him.  Now, the prodigal, she was returning home with her baby in tow.  Again and again she profusely thanked me. 

 

The last thing we did before she pulled out of the parking lot was we held hands and I prayed.  I prayed for travelling mercies and for God to put a hedge of protection around Ashley and her precious baby.  I prayed for peace and calm for her heart and for grace and mercy when she got home to Texas.  I reminded her that she was a daughter of the King and that he loved her and would be with her every mile of the way. 

 

I gave her a big hug and watched her pull away...still tears in her eyes.

 

God had given me His word and now He was testing me to see if/how I would act upon it.

 

God had told me that morning that my inheritance was in Christ not in my bank account. 

 

But, now He wanted to know where my treasure truly did lie?!

 

 

This was the scripture that urged me to share what really wasn't mine to begin with...

 

The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it...(Psalm 24:1)

 

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.  Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.  (Luke 12:33-34)

 

I have been praying all day for this beautiful daughter of God.  I will probably never see her and her baby again, but hopefully from our encounter she will know that God is good and He does provide in our time of need. 

 

I know that the Lord tested me to see if what I had read and heard early this morning had made it to my heart...

 

Where there was once trepidation, now lies peace in knowing I was obedient to His word.

 

God does move in miraculous ways, but He needs us to be the hands and feet through which He moves...

 

How is God testing you in the reading and hearing of His word?

 

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you that you care about all my needs and you want me to dwell in the refuge of your wings.  I claim the promise that everything I have is in Christ... in Him is my inheritance that can never be taken away.  Help me to store up my treasures in Heaven and not here on earth.  Help me to give freely and generously from the abundance that you have given to me.  Help me always to be obedient to your word.  Thank you for your love and your provision.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

 

Be blessed...

 

Ps.  Muskan, whose name means "smile" in Urdu is still in need of a sponsor so that she might seek refuge at Redeemer Christian School.  This is her destitute family's only hope for her receiving an education.  Her brother is sponsored and she wants to attend so badly.  Will you please prayerfully consider giving just $10/month to give her the love of Jesus and the hope of an education?

 

If you want to help, please contact me at: bevduncan103@yahoo.com

 

Or send a donation to:  Bev Rihtarchik (put RCS in the memo line)

                                       103 Silver Lining Lane

                                       Cary, NC  27513

 

There are also many more children who would love to be sponsored...the need is great!

MUSKAN Age 6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You A Child After God's Heart?

Hey Friend,

My children have known me long enough to figure out that "words" and "spending time with me" are two of love's languages that speak to the depths of my heart.  Perhaps that's why I was so excited that my daughter's Mother's Day gift to me was not a "tangible" gift I could open, but instead an "experience" that we would enjoy together.

My daughter and I, both, are/were dancers.  As for the gift of artistry through paint, pencil, and watercolors...well, we came up a little short in that department.  Fortunately, however, we both love to laugh at ourselves so when we arrived at "Wine & Design" for our adventure, we both chuckled in unison.

Nothing like a glass of wine to unleash your inner Picasso or Monet.  The next three hours flew by.  While attempting to follow the teacher's instruction, we chatted secretly like two giddy school girls whispering in class.  Somehow they instinctively knew to put us toward the back where we wouldn't disturb anyone. 

I helped her "smush" and "twirl" her hydrangea leaves.  She helped me give my mason jar a 3D appearance.  Sometimes we just sat quietly, side by side, working away.  Then, as if on cue, we'd turn to each other, make a similar face, and laugh about the acrylic mess we were creating. 

This was truly one of my most favorite gifts ever and my daughter was certainly a child after my heart.

 

After he (God) had removed him (Saul), he raised up David to be their king, concerning whom he also testified and said, "I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my heart, who will do all my will."  (Acts 13:22)

In reading God's word as to why He chose David to be king, I am drawn to the word "do".  God chose David because He knew that David could be counted on to "do" His will. 

I want to be a child after God's heart, so I try very hard to do His will.  Sometimes I try too hard...as if "doing" is the only way to speak to God's heart.

What if God has more than one love language? 

 

What if one of His love languages is having His children spend time with Him?

I so enjoyed being in my daughter's presence.  I am made in God's image, so what if perhaps, God is a parent like me, who simply delights in being in His childrens' presence?

Since God and I can't just cruise on over to Wine & Design, what then?  Where do I go and what do I do to be in His holy presence?

My first instinct is to "Go"...

"I have set the Lord continually before me; because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh will dwell securely."  (Psalm 16:8,9)

I love going to places that remind me of His majesty and power.  The crashing waves and salty spray of the ocean remind me of His boundless and powerful love.  I am the sand and His love never stops washing in over me...wave upon wave. 

The purple-hued mountains remind me that His ways are higher than my ways.  I am comforted to know that, like the mountains that have stood the test of time, God's strength and comfort can be counted on yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He is the Rock on whom stand.

My next instinct is to "Come"...

"And without faith it is impossible to please him for he who comes to God must believe he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

In order to "come" to God, I must believe that He IS the great "I Am".  Secondly, I must believe that He rewards those who seek Him.  I can come with my praise and my thanksgiving, but I can also come with my fear, my doubt, and my questions.  He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

Jesus told us, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink."  (John 7:37)

Drink what?  His word...living water...the only truth that quenches our soul.  By His Word and through my prayers I come into His presence.

I don't know why, but my last instinct is "to be"...

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?  (1 Corinthians 3:16)

When Jesus left to be with His Father in Heaven, he told his disciples that he would give them a comforter...a guide, to be with them always.  Why is it, then, that my last instinct is to turn inward to the Holy Spirit (God's very spirit IN me)?

I believe that, paradoxically, the hardest route to come into His presence is perhaps the simplest...we come into His presence by "being still"  and in being still we begin to "know" that He is God. 

His Holy Spirit living within us ushers us into God's presence.

 The Holy Spirit (if you are a believer) dwells constantly within you. 

The Holy Spirit, constantly there, waiting to usher you into God's presence. 

So, back to my original question, "Are you a child after God's heart?"  David, he made many mistakes, but he loved the Lord with all his heart and sought to do God's will.

David, in the Psalms, also wrote the words, "Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere."  He knew the closeness, the joy, the comfort of dwelling in God's presence. 

Seek God...learn His love languages...spend time in His presence and let Him delight in being with you.

Be blessed...and please see the opportunity to sponsor a beautiful child below...

Dear Heavenly Father, O how I want to be a child after your heart.  Help me to do your will, but even more so, enable me to be still and let the Holy Spirit who lives within me usher me into Your presence.  Let me experience You in my coming and in my going, but especially in just being.  Thank you for creating me for the sole purpose of being in relationship with You.  Let that be my greatest desire.  In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Please read on...

Meet Adil:  Thanks to your generosity, he is now a student at Redeemer Christian School!!  Just $10/month can bring one child off the streets and into

at atmosphere of love and hope.  Would you please consider sponsoring one of these precious children and let them experience the love of Jesus and the hope that an education brings? 

Meet Nawaz and Muskan:  They are brother and sister.  Muskan's name means "smile" in Urdu.  We would love to put a smile on her face.  Though they are blessed to have both mother and father, their father cannot find work and they are destitute.  Their family can barely put food on the table, and often they don't, let alone give their children the hope of an education. 

For just $10/month you can sponsor one of these precious children.  They truly are the "least of these".  If you would like to sponsor Nawaz or Muskan and surround them with the love of Jesus and the hope found at RCS,

please contact me:  bevduncan103@yahoo.com 

or

Send contributions to:  Bev Rihtarchik (put RCS in the memo line)

                                       103 Silver Lining Lane

                                       Cary, NC  27513

*Note:  RCS is not yet, a registered 501c3 organization for tax purposes.  Funds for legal fees to do so are not yet in our limited budget.  I personally promise every penny goes directly to the school and to the children.

Thank you!

How God Shows Up In The Struggle

Hey Friend,

My co-teacher had left the room to make some copies and so it was just me and a room full of rambunctious four year olds.  I loved working at the preschool.  There is nothing like the arms of a preschooler wrapped around your neck and their mouse-like voice telling you with every ounce of sincerity, "I love you Miss Bev". 

Their smiles gave me hope when many days seemed just plain hopeless.  Their unconditional love spoke volumes to me while another source of love in my life had died.  Their antics and imaginations distracted me from the reality that was my life. 

My husband had left and was having an affair.  He had done the same thing ten years earlier, but we had reconciled.  But, here I was back in the hell of separation and staring a divorce squarely in the face.  Those of you who have experienced this know the pain I am talking about.  There really aren't words to describe the soul-grinder of divorce. 

To further complicate things, when stress rises, my anxiety disorder (OCD) tends to flare (nothing like the enemy kicking you when you're down).  That particular day I was exhausted, stressed, and uncontrollably anxious.  Thoughts swirled in my head that I couldn't push out.  I felt that awful rush of anxiety swell from my feet to my forehead.  Feeling hot and flushed and with tears welling up in my eyes, I knew I had to open the door and just step outside so the kids wouldn't see me crying. 

My director just happened to be walking down the hallway when I stood a few feet outside the open door.  I thought she was coming to give me a hug because she knew what I was going through.  Instead she chided me, "What are you doing outside the classroom?  You KNOW one of you has to be in the room at all times!" 

To make a long story short, a day later I was let go...fired.  I had never been fired in my life.  I had always been the good, overachieving employee.  Never the one who got fired.  It's still a blurr how I drove home that day?  I know the tears distorted the view of the road.   How could my life get any worse?  My husband was gone, my source of income that I needed to make ends meet was now gone, and hopelessness was quickly closing in on my heart. 

 

In the depth of my pain, I tried to pray, but all that would come out was a guttural, "Jesus help!"  My daughter was off at college and my son hadn't come home from high school yet and so I sat there, all alone, in the midst of my despair and sobbed.  My self-sufficient side said, "Tough it out".  The aching part of me said, "Reach out".  One by one I tried calling my "go to" people - my mom, my best friends, my counselor, my mentor - no one was picking up their phone.  In an unusual move for me, I pulled up Facebook.  Maybe one of my good college girlfriends, or friends in other states, would be on? Someone?  Anyone?

The only person on Facebook at all, in the middle of the afternoon, was Dave - a high school friend of mine.  What's he doing home in the middle of the day, I thought to myself.  Shouldn't he be working?  Maybe he's working from home?  I stared at the screen some more.  Then in my very best English major grammar, I typed something very profound..."Hey". (In the south we say "Hey" instead of "Hi").  No response. Ok, that was stupid, I thought.

Just as I was about to close out of Facebook..."Hey", flashed up on my screen.
After a few pleasantries, I just blurted out, "I got fired today."  The quiet, unassuming guy I knew in high school responded in a way so keeping with his gentle character...  "Would it help to talk?"  he replied.

That was just about five years ago.  On June 2nd, every year, we celebrate "Hey" Day.  This June 2nd was our first "Hey" Day that we celebrated as a married couple.  It turned out that Dave was home that day because he, too, had been let go - one of the casualties of a big company merger.  He, too, had been through the pain of infidelity and divorce. 

When both of us thought that life couldn't stoop any lower...God gave us each other.

There in the depths of our struggles, God showed up in a big way!

"I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you."  (John 14:18)


Not every trial can be wrapped up with a rainbow at the end.  Sometimes struggles are just that - struggles.  God allows them so that He might shape and build our character as well as draw us into His love and build our reliance and dependence on Him.

Struggles take us to the end of ourselves where the loving arms of Jesus are waiting.

It takes perseverance to build character, and perseverance is built through trials

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.  (Romans 5:4-5)

Just recently I met with one of the area's top foot surgeons only to get the disappointing news that further surgery would probably not help with the chronic nerve pain I have dealt with for close to two years...in fact it might make it worse.

I was grieving the loss of a long held hope that a stellar surgeon may be the "fix" for my foot that I was looking for.  Still despairing one morning, I dragged myself to the gym to do the weight machines (at least the ones I could still do). 
In front of me, on a stationary bike, was a woman with a shriveled left arm and her left leg in a bulky brace.  With her good right leg she made the bike wheel spin.

Cheerily she chatted with the fellow biking beside her.  She was encouraging him about his post-surgical workout effort (yes I was eavesdropping lol).  I moved to a different weight machine and almost, as if in sync, she moved to a machine just in front of me that exercised only your arms. Though I sometimes have a slight limp, her gait was painful to watch.  Her left side, crippled from a stroke, contorted drastically as she made her way with her cane to the arm machine.  With her one good arm she made the machine go round and, as before, she chatted cheerfully with the woman beside her.

In that moment God showed up and gave me Wanda. 

I knew I had to meet her.  If anyone could have felt sorry for herself, it was her, but yet somehow she rose above it.

It came as no surprise, when I met Wanda, that she credited God for her strength and she simply said to me, when we parted,

"Bev, I just do what I can do."

Even while I was typing away, writing this post and reliving some very painful memories...God showed up.

I lifted my head from my laptop just in time to catch a beautiful yellow finch perched delicately on a pink and watermelon colored hibiscus flower in my yard.  He sat there for awhile and let me just take in the array of colors.  This was the first time I have seen this sunny yellow fellow in my yard. 

Just like Dave, just like Wanda, just like this little bird, God continues to faithfully show up in my struggles. 

In small ways and in big ways, the Creator of the Universe tells me that He sees me...and He cares.

He is "El Roi" - the God who sees.

Look around.  Has God shown up in your struggles?  If you are struggling right now - look around - is God showing you that He's there...that He sees you and that He cares deeply about you!

Dear Lord,  Thank you so much for being El Roi - the God who sees me.  Thank you that you show up in the midst of my pain and you do not leave me comfortless.  Open my eyes to see how you love me...how you delight in me.  Enable me to turn to you in my pain and simply let you hold me.  And, when I am well, help me to continue to rest and abide in you.  You are my Redeemer and Healer.  I praise you for your goodness and lovingkindness toward me.  To You be the glory.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Be blessed...

Redeemer Christian School Update:  Just a reminder that only $10/month will get one child off the streets and out of evil's path and into the school where they can find love, refuge, and hope.  Would you prayerfully consider sponsoring one child? 

Also, the one computer used by the Director and teachers has died.  They are preparing lesson plans and tests the old fashioned way, by hand.  This is tedious and time consuming.  We are setting up a special needs fund and a new computer is first on the list.  Would you consider a one time donation toward a new computer for the classroom? 

If so please send contributions to: 

Bev Rihtarchik (put RCS in the memo line)

103 Silver Lining Lane

Cary, NC  27513

**Note: RCS is not yet a formally registered 501c3 organization for tax purposes.  Legal fees needed to go through this process are cost-prohibitive at this juncture.  The children have been our first priority.