God, me, and overhanging trees

Living on a fixed income means keeping down expenses and praying for God to provide, especially when something untimely – like a hurricane – happens. In Florida, such a storm caused an unexpected surge in my homeowner’s insurance, even though I hadn’t needed to make a claim.

After many emails, a few phone calls, and a couple of changes in coverage and companies, I lowered my insurance bill considerably. Two months later, however, the new company advised me that the branches hanging over my roof had to be cut back in thirty days or the policy would be cancelled.

Actually, I’d been concerned about those ancient branches but figured I couldn’t afford to have them removed. With no choice now, I started looking for a professional tree service but couldn’t decide who to call. I needed a recommendation. And I prayed for the Lord to provide someone I could trust.

Since I had a lunch engagement, I went. Coming out of the restaurant I saw a half-dozen county workers in yellow slickers, so I walked up to them and asked, “Do you know someone reasonable and reliable I can call to cut back several tree branches?” They pointed to the guy in civies standing right behind them.

As God-incidence would have it, the man owned a tree service!

We agreed on a time the next day for an estimate, but rain forecasts caused us to reschedule for the following morning. And then he didn’t come. Or call. I even left a couple of phone messages but didn’t hear back.

I was so very sure God had arranged for this help that I decided to wait until Monday to call someone else. But who? After Sunday worship, I asked my church family if they could recommend a reputable and affordable tree service. A friend pointed to a card on the bulletin board and said, “They’re the ones who did work for the church.”

Monday morning, I called, and the owner of the company said he could come right then. He did. And his estimate was less than I expected, even though he agreed to do more. He even accepted credit cards! And he promised to come the next day.

We chatted a bit, and he said, “You might be wondering why a professional service would be available this quickly.” Well, yeah. Then he told me how, for a couple of weeks, a glitch in his phone had hindered calls. Sometimes the phone worked; sometimes it didn’t, so he finally went to buy a new one, but keeping his old number. He was coming out of the phone store when I called – the first call on his new phone.

Perfect timing! But as you know….

Things don’t get perfectly timed unless God orchestrates the circumstances.

And I would not have made that call when I did if I hadn’t waited until Monday to find another tree service.

And I wouldn’t have waited if I hadn’t believed God provided that first possibility, which He obviously did.

The Voice Bible translates Romans 8:28 like this, "We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan." 

Even tree branches aren't out of His jurisdiction to orchestrate - anything, anywhere.

Amen.

 

©2025, Mary Sayler

 

Beyond Belief

 

“By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my friends, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and one purpose,” 1 Corinthians 1:9, Good News Translation.

Despite our diverse cultures, radically opposing beliefs, and personal preferences for how things are to be done, we are all to be One in Christ.

 

First, we believe:

Yes! God DOES mean what He says!

Yes! God the Father gave us Jesus the Son.

Yes, the Lord eradicates our wrongs and resuscitates us to a new life in Christ.

 

Then, we obey:

We find out what God wants.

We read the Bible. We talk to God and listen.

We invite God’s Holy Spirit to guide and empower us.

We use the ministry gifts and other resources we have been given to build up the Body of Christ.

 

Together, we do even more:

In Christ, we worship God and work with God’s Family.

We pray for discernment and wisdom, compassion and mercy.

We invite others into our ever-widening circle of God’s Love.

Together, we encircle the world with the good news of God’s Son.

We extend respect to all peoples, knowing we are all made in the image of God.

We focus on needs and goals we share, rather than our differences.

As God enables us, we make peace in the Name of Jesus.

                                   

©2021, Mary Harwell Sayler          

 

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Corona goes viral! What to do.

If you’ve been hearing about the Corona Virus, you’ve been bombarded with precautions such as: Stay home. Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 second every time you have been out. Sit and stand several feet away from other people. Avoid hugs and hand-shakes. Cough into a tissue – things I hope you’ve already been doing anytime anything is “going around.”

We who love God also count on the Lord to protect us, and certainly, our faith will overcome fear. But that doesn’t mean faith wipes out good sense! On the contrary, believers in God do well to investigate what our Creator has placed in nature that will boost health now - physically, mentally, and spiritually.

Physically

Vitamin C in reasonable amounts will help to protect your immune system. However, too much can send you running to the bathroom where, oh no! You might not have toilet paper! (Hmm. For that, God made big leaves, right?)

Echinacea is a natural herb with antiviral properties. Its “dirty sock” smell and earthy flavor keep us from downing it like candy, which means it’s not to be taken like a bag of potato chips or chocolate squares. The trouble is, this herb works in the mouth, not the stomach, so instead of swallowing an Echinacea capsule, open it and dump the contents into a honey-sweetened cup of tea.

Low humidity dries out body cells, making mucous membranes less able to filter out dust, pollen, and germs. Besides drinking lots and lots of clean water, use a humidifier. Or put water on the stove to boil, then add a few drops of cinnamon oil or eucalyptus or peppermint.

Find something to laugh about – the more belly involved the better. Listen to soothing music. Sing. Dance around to get your blood and those happy endorphins circling.

Mentally

Focusing on fear gives whatever we’re afraid of power over us as fear becomes the focal point of our lives. We can’t always control our feelings, but we can change the subject of our thoughts.

Instead of panic, choose faith over fear. (Yep, it’s a decision! Do we trust God or not?)

Read Psalms, Bible prayers, and poetry to stimulate faith.

Journal. Paint a picture. Color with crayons.

Relax. Watch the sun set. Get ample rest.

Spiritually

Constant worry puts the body into a fight or flight mode. Every time you start to worry about something, pray about it instead.

Look up “faith” in a Bible concordance. Find verses that speak to you and claim them for your own. (For me, for instance, it’s Romans 8:28 and John 3:17.)

Pray the Lord’s Prayer aka Our Father as though it were an outline for praying. As you say each phrase, let God bring to mind the people or situations for whom you’re to pray. For example, “Give ___ today the bread needed to feed their family.” Or, “Lead us not into the temptation to give in to our fears.” Or, “Deliver us, Lord, from the evil of faithlessness, greed, and hardened hearts.”

Count your blessings. Thank God for each gift. Praise God as The One to Trust – The One Who Wills to work for your good, no matter how scary things seem.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2020.

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Leaving every stone unturned to bread

As my Bible Study group discussed Luke 4, we read about the temptations Jesus endured in the wilderness. Significantly, those tests of faith came immediately after His baptism in the Jordan River and immediately before His ministry began.

Each of those tests ultimately tempted Jesus to do something to stop the crucifixion – the final sacrifice to undo the works of the devil and remove every trace of sin inherent in every race of people. But the temptations began on a very human level of weakness – hunger.

After fasting for 40 days, Jesus became so close to starvation that Satan tried to take advantage of this weakened state. In the first temptation, he challenged Jesus by saying, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread,” Luke 4:3, English Standard Version (ESV.)

For one thing, if Jesus had done that, He would have been trying to prove Himself – something God doesn’t do throughout scripture. (See Exodus 3:14.)

For another, if Jesus had given in to hunger and temptation, the results would have been magic or sorcery, rather than the power of God.

Later, when the Lord turned water into wine and fed many thousands with a few little fish and a small amount of bread, He used what was there to perform, not magic, but miracles! He took something natural and real and expanded its potential – something we might pray for at every church picnic or potluck when we have less food than people!

Jesus wants us to reach out to others and feed His sheep without holding back in fear or stinginess, but He would never, ever tempt us to turn stones into bread! Why?

It would be a lie.

In the desert terrain where the temptations occurred, an abundance of wind-smoothed, rounded stones actually look like big loaves of bread. But rocks were not meant to be eaten. To make bread from stones means totally changing what something was meant to be into something that’s untrue to itself and to God’s creation.

Bread is what it is. We are who we are.

May we become our most genuine and truest selves in our lives in Christ.

May we become all God created us to be in The Way and Truth of Jesus’ Name.

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2017

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The New City Catechism Devotional

What do Christians truly believe and why? Do those beliefs differ as much as we suppose? The New City Catechism Devotional book, which Crossway kindly sent me to review, reminds us that we’re in agreement more often than we might think.

Edited by Collin Hansen, the book's Introduction by Timothy Keller laments the loss of catechesis in most churches, many of whom outline their beliefs in “statements of faith.” But is this enough? As the intro explains:

“Catechisms were written with at least three purposes. The first was to set forth a comprehensive exposition of the gospel – not only in order to explain clearly what the gospel is, but also to lay out the building blocks on which the gospel is based, such as the biblical doctrines of God, of human nature, of sin, and so forth. The second purpose was to do this exposition in such a way that the heresies, errors, and false beliefs of the time and culture were addressed and counteracted. The third and more pastoral purpose was to form a distinct people, a counterculture that reflected the likeness of Christ not only in individual character but also in the church’s communal life.”

In presenting a new catechism, “The New City Catechism is based on and adapted from Calvin’s Geneva Catechism, the Westminster Shorter and Larger catechisms, and especially the Heidelberg Catechism.”

This book differs, however, in that “The New City Catechism consists of fifty-two questions and answers, so the easiest way to use it is to memorize one question and answer each week of the year.”

Although you can do this alone, you’re encouraged to work with another Christian, your family, or a church group as you discuss the questions, quiz one another, and apply to your life these three areas of faith :

Part 1: God, Creation and Fall, Law (Questions 1-20)
Part 2. Christ, Redemption, Grace ( Questions 21-35)
Part 3: Spirit, Restoration, Growing in Grace (Questions 36-52)

In each section, pages begin with a question, relevant scripture, and commentary by contemporary and classic writers ranging from John Piper and Timothy Keller to Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and more with the back of the book providing brief bios on each.

Since I’m an ecumenical Christian who often thinks, “Can’t we all just get along?” the idea of this book greatly appealed to me. As I read the questions and answers, I saw that most Christians will likely agree with the responses to all but a very few.

For instance, Question 27 may leave some uncertain about their salvation, whereas Catholics, Orthodox Christians, and some Protestants will take issue with Question 43, “What are the sacraments or ordinances?” and Question 47, “What is the Lord’s Supper?”

I mention these differences in perspectives, not to point out what divides us, but to show how very few things do! The more we know this, the more apt we’ll be to show respect to other sincere Christians who have a different understanding than ours of what certain scriptures mean. The more we listen to each other, the more accepting we’ll be. The more accepting, the greater the strength and love in us becomes visible and winsome to the whole world.

Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, reviewer and poet-writer of the new book PRAISE!


The New City Catechism Devotional, hardback



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Trying to keep my eyes on Jesus - with or without clouds

The life of a Christian poet-writer is often clouded with interruptions and disturbances – some desirable, some not!

After a wonderful sisters’ cruise to the Bahamas in mid-March, I came home with a head cold aka sinus infection, both of which kept my eyes looking behind me as I tried to move forward and catch up.

Then, the very day my book of contemporary psalms and free verse poems PRAISE! was to be released by Cladach Publishing, my computer refused to work in total disregard of my plans for promotionals.

As soon as a new keyboard solved my pc problem, I resolved to blab about my book all over the Internet – a smart marketing approach for Christian poets and writers who hope people will actually read what they have written.

New book….
Fun time with siblings….
Head cold….
Fritzed keyboard….

Each caught my attention. Each clouded my focus, and yet each drew me back to prayer and a greater appreciation of the Lord in my life.

Praise the Lord for keeping life lively!

Praise the Lord for scriptures that draw us closer to Christ.

Praise God for speaking to and through us in what we’ve been given to write:

Cloud bank

Around us a cloud –
witnesses
of the faith –

and our faith rising
like cloud wisps
forming Jesus’ face –

a reminder of The One
toward Whom we run

as we leave behind
all hindrances –
obstructions, interruptions –

and open our own
luggage
to be searched by none
but Christ on the throne.

by Mary Harwell Sayler, © 2017, poet-writer who based the above on Hebrews 12:1-2, today’s Bible verse in a variety of translations from Bible Gateway

…

Getting inspired by God

In-Spired
by Mary Harwell Sayler

I love You, Lord.
I love The Way
You write
right through my hands
to touch
unknown readers’ eyes,
and immediately,
they see!
They love you, Lord.



©2015, Mary Sayler 

He is Risen!

After the Resurrection, Christ appeared to many people throughout Jerusalem and Galilee, and even then some did not believe, but Thomas did. Only a few days beforehand, the apostle had been willing to die for Christ, but he doubted the Resurrection until he saw for himself the wounds in Jesus’ hands and side. The Believing Thomas then exclaimed and proclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”

Thomas
by Mary Harwell Sayler

Why did you doubt
the real live blood that sprouted
from Christ's side and bloomed
in the room where you gathered –

a bouquet of wine
poured behind
closed doors?

Could you not see the pores
opened, aching for you, always
to be, not beside yourself,
but Him?

His side lay bare to let you in,
so enter now. Come round His side
and worship Him again.


© 2013 Mary Sayler, all rights reserved. “Thomas” originally saw print in a 1998 issue of Central FL Episcopalian.

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