Forgiveness

CFC, issumagijoujunnainermik!

Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

Today's word is not Hebrew or Greek, it's Eskimo! The word is issumagijoujunnainermik. When missionaries first shared the gospel with the Eskimos, they couldn't find any word in the Eskimo language for forgiveness. So, they took a number of Eskimo words and joined them to form a new word -- Issu-magi-jou-jun-nai-ner-mik -- and it became the Eskimo word for forgiveness. The individual words are "Not-being-able-to-think-about-it-anymore."

Too often we remember the hurt, replaying it over and over again in our minds. Forgiveness is not something we do just once. It is something we must reaffirm every day. Whenever a hurtful memory comes up, remember the word Issu-magi-jou-jun-nai-ner-mik, and say, "I can't think about it anymore, it's in God's hands."

CFC, rather than replay the hurt you may have acquired, replay God's mercy, His grace, His love for us (and them) -- when He freely gave His life. That will enable us to forget it and move forward.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Currently in Charleston, S.C.

A letter to Pastor

Dear Pastor, I know God loves everybody but He never met my sister.
Yours sincerely, Arnold. Age 8, Nashville.

Dear Pastor, Please say in your sermon that Peter Peterson has been a good boy all week. I am Peter Peterson.
Sincerely, Pete. Age 9, Phoenix

Dear Pastor, My father should be a minister. Every day he gives us a sermon about something.
Robert Anderson, age 11

Dear Pastor, I'm sorry I can't leave more money in the plate, but my father didn't give me a raise in my allowance. Could you have a sermon about a raise in my allowance?
Love, Patty. Age 10, New Haven

Dear Pastor, My mother is very religious. She goes to play bingo at church every week even if she has a cold.
Yours truly, Annette. Age 9, Albany

Dear Pastor, I would like to go to heaven someday because I know my brother won't be there.
Stephen. Age 8, Chicago

Dear Pastor, I think a lot more people would come to your church if you moved it to Disneyland.
Loreen. Age 9. Tacoma

Dear Pastor, I liked your sermon where you said that good health is more important than money but I still want a raise in my allowance.
Sincerely, Eleanor. Age 12, Sarasota

Dear Pastor, Please pray for all the airline pilots. I am flying to California tomorrow.
Laurie. Age 10, New York City

Dear Pastor, I hope to go to heaven some day but later than sooner.
Love, Ellen, age 9. Athens

Dear Pastor, Please say a prayer for our Little League team. We need God's help or a new pitcher. Thank you.
Alexander. Age 10, Raleigh

Dear Pastor, My father says I should learn the Ten Commandments. But I don't think I want to because we have enough rules already in my house.
Joshua. Age 10, South Pasadena

Dear Pastor, Who does God pray to? Is there a God for God?
Sincerely, Christopher. Age 9, Titusville

Dear Pastor, Are there any devils on earth? I think there may be one in my class.
Carla. Age 10, Salina

Dear Pastor, I liked your sermon on Sunday. Especially when it was finished.
Ralph, Age 11, Akron

Dear Pastor, How does God know the good people from the bad people? Do you tell Him or does He read about it in the newspapers?
Sincerely, Marie. Age 9, Lewiston

Worthy Brief - 2/27/2008

CFC, be passionate!

Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

As churches across the world prepare for their own "Passion" plays, I thought I'd share the history of how it originated.

In the early 1600's, a small village in Germany called Oberammergau, desperately cried out to God to save them from the bubonic plague which was devastating Europe at the time. The people of this town vowed to perform a play where every villager, both rich and poor, would participate. They would present the story of Messiah to the world every ten years forevermore, if the Lord would remove the plague from their people.

Even as thousands were dying in nearby villages, Oberammergau was untouched by this terrible disease. The people of Oberammergau were completely spared. This was the beginning of a tradition of which you've surely heard -- the renowned "Passion play".

CFC, no matter what is happening around us --wars, plagues, sin running rampant -- if we are whole heartily committed to serving God, we will escape just as the tiny village of Oberammergau!

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Currently in Wilmington, N.C. travelling and ministering in Charleston, S.C.

Worthy Brief - 2/25/2008

CFC, live like a king!

Revelation 1:5-6 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

One day a passerby saw a homeless man on the roadside. He stopped for a moment to hand him some loose change and casually said "God bless you, my friend".
"I thank God," said the homeless man, "I am never unhappy."
"What do you mean?" the passerby asked.
"Well," he said, "when the sun is out, I thank God -- when it rains, I thank God. When I am full, I thank God and when I am hungry, I thank God. And, since God's will is my will, and whatever pleases Him pleases me, why should I say I am unhappy when I am not?"
The man looked at him in astonishment and asked, "Who are you?"
"I am a King," said he.
"Where, then, is your Kingdom?" asked the man.
"In my heart." The homeless man replied.

Yes, we can have nothing, yet have it all. So often, we focus on what we have and forget who we are! The two are not related at all -- what we have (or don't have) has nothing to do with who we are! The Word says that we are kings and priests and so it is!

CFC, let's give all our concerns to the Lord and see ourselves as He does -- Kings and Priests! Thank God in every circumstance and there, we will find our victory.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Baby Obi
Currently in Wilmington, N.C.

An Interview with God

With my newly acquired title as a journalist, I decided to strike a high
note.
"Come in," God said to me, "so, you would like to interview Me?"
"If you have the time," I said.
He smiled and said: "My time is called eternity and is enough to do
everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
"None that are new to you. What's the one thing that surprises you most
about mankind?"
He answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to
grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health
to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That
by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such
that
they live
neither for the present nor the future.
"That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had
never lived..."
His hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said,
"May I ask you another question?"
He replied with a smile.
"As a Father, what would you ask your children to do for the new year?"
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to
let themselves be loved.
To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to
destroy it.
To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their
lives, but who they have in their lives.
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will
be others better or worse than they are.
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who
needs the least.
To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their
attitudes will control them.
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in
persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them. To learn to
forgive by practising forgiveness.
To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not
know how to show their feelings.
To learn that money can buy everything but happiness. To learn that
while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them
the right to upset those around them. To learn that great dreams do not
require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve.
To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has
found a true treasure.
To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others,
but that they forgive themselves.
To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and
slaves of what they say.
To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they
will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness.
To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn
to
be satisfied with what they already achieved.
To learn that happiness is a decision. They decide to be happy with
what they are and have, or die To learn that two people can look at the
same thing and see something totally different.
To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering
the consequences go far in life.
To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when
a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.

To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push
them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by
side
forever.
To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings,
it loses value when it is overstated.
To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love
them;
I simply do.
To learn that the shortest distance they could be from Me is the
distance of a prayer."

Shared by Fr. John Cef Ledesma.

Marriage

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her
hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate
quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let
her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic
calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me
softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away
the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we
didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find
out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a
satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her
anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which
stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my
company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who
had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt
sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take
back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly
in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was
actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me
for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing
something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep
and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with
Dew.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just
did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't
want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce.
She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal
a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a
month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked
me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her
out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was
going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her
odd request.

I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions. She laughed
loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she
has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce
intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the
first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is
holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From
the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten
meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't
tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put
her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove
alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned
on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that
I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she
was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair
was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I
wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of
intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her
life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of
intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became
easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday
workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a
few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my
dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so
thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness
in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry
mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an
essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer
and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I
might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms,
walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her
hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly;
it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I
held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to
school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life
lacked intimacy.

I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without
locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...
I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I
do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do
you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I
said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she
and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love
each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home
on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then
slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove
away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers
for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled
and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a
relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the
bank, blah..blah.. blah. These create an environment conducive for
happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be
your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that
build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

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