Happy Birthday, "Reba Jo"!

My Rebecca Jill
Senior Portrait, 2000

"Charm is deceptive and beauty does not last but a woman who fears the Lord shall be greatly praised." (Prov. 31:30)

O Heavenly Father, every good and perfect gift comes from You! I praise You and thank You for the wondrous gift You sent thirty-two years ago today: a sweet, little baby girl. You made all her delicate parts and fearfully knit her together in my womb. Your workmanship is marvelous, and my soul knows it very well.
       Thank You, for growing my daughter into an excellent wife and beautiful mother. Her worth is far above jewels. Her children bless her, her husband praises her, her brothers admire her, her sisters-in-law respect her, her father and I are so very proud of her, and all of us love her dearly! 
       As she spends her birthday on retreat with You, Lord Jesus, I ask You to bless her with times of refreshing in Your Presence and stunning revelations in Your whispers. Please continue to endow her with wisdom, guard her path, and preserve her ways. May Your favor be upon her and Your Holy Spirit fill her to overflowing - empowering her to be Your witness. May Rebecca greatly delight in You, and please grant her the desires of her heart. Be her Keeper, O God, and bless her going out and coming in from this time forth and forevermore! 
       In Jesus' name I pray, Amen and Amen!

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Songs in the Night

My Dan, 2009

   "...God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night." (Job 35:10)


         Last night, an Alan Jackson song came over the restaurant music system while we ate dinner with our two sons and their sweet wives. My daughter-in-law, Mandy, commented, "I love Alan Jackson music", to which Dan added, "Yeah, when I was in Iraq, if I couldn't go to sleep, I'd listen to the Alan Jackson CD Daddy gave me." The CD he referred to is Jackson's "Precious Memories", a collection of old-time gospel hymns.
        This mama's heart cried, "Thank You, Lord Jesus, for sending my boy songs in the night - Your blessed assurance - when he was in the sands of a desert 7,000 miles away from home! O, what a wondrous God You are!"

      O precious friends, I pray that Jesus sends songs of blessed assurance into the deserts of your lives today!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long! 1


1 BLESSED ASSURANCE. Fannie Crosby, 1873.

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Fishin'

My Ben, 1989

"[Jesus] said to Simon, "Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish...And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear!" (Luke 5:4,6)



       Like his mama, his granddaddy, and his great-granddaddy before him, my Ben loves to fish! Part of the thrill of fishing is that once a baited hook disappears below the surface, you have no idea what's  happening beneath until the bobber bobs from a fish tuggin' on your line!

       In the book of Luke, after Simon Peter's gargantuan catch that day, Jesus went on to say, "My friend, from now on you'll be fishing for people!"

       With every Bible study taught, blog post published, or storybook sold, I've gone fishin' with the Lord. When a prayer, the gospel, or the Word of God is cast into a mirky soul, I have no idea what's happening beneath in the depths of that person's heart, but God does. Every now and again, however, Jesus allows me to see the bobber bob - like yesterday when four gentlemen at the Foundry Community Center raised their hands asking God for His free gift of forgiveness and eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ.

       Where is the Lord sending you to fish today?

"How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things...Their voice has gone out into the earth, and their words to the ends of the world!" (Romans 10:15,18)

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The Rescuers

My Dan, Rebecca, and Ben as
Daniel, Miriam holding baby Moses, and a lion from the den
Fall Church Festival, 1987

"...we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope! And He will yet deliver us!" (2 Cor. 1:8b-10)


      One of my all-time favorite Disney animated films is The Rescuers - a story of two tiny, Rescue Aid Society mice, Bernard and Bianca, who embark on a mission to rescue Penny, an orphan girl held prisoner in the Devil's Bayou by the eeeevil Madame Medusa!
       The most thrilling rescue stories, however, are found along the pages of the Holy Bible. In the book of Daniel, when King Darius the Mede was tricked into sentencing Daniel to the lions' den, Scripture records that he set his mind on rescuing Daniel and made every effort until sundown to deliver him. Darius failed, but Almighty God, the True Rescuer, sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths!
       In Exodus, a young Hebrew girl named Miriam watched over her baby brother floating in a wicker basket on the Nile River until he was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter. That baby, as we know, grew up to be Moses - God's chosen one to rescue an entire nation from Egyptian slavery!
       In a recent issue of "In Touch" magazine, Dr. Charles Stanley tells the greatest rescue story ever:

        "Whether good or bad, our deeds don't determine where we will spend eternity. Apart from the Lord, no one is righteous - not a single person has done enough good to earn a place in heaven. But the Father loves us and wants us to live with Him eternally. So before the creation of the world, He planned solution.
         The rescue plan was simple - a perfect sacrifice had to be made for mankind's sin so that every one could be blameless before a holy God. By accepting this sacrifice on his or her own behalf, any individual would receive a new nature to replace the corrupted one. In addition, the Holy Spirit would indwell that person to provide truth and guidance.
         The sacrifice was Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, bearing all our sin. When we trust Him as Savior, our "flesh" nature dies with Him. The Holy Spirit comes to make our hearts new so we can find joy in obeying God. We are rescued and set free!"

     Are you in need of rescue today? Cry out to Jesus and trust Him to be your Rescuer!

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MOTO Run

My Dan in US Marine Moto Run, 2004

"Let us run with patience..."
(Heb. 12:1)


        On Parris Island, Family Day of the long-awaited bootcamp graduation  for Marine recruits begins with a motivational run referred to as the "MOTO Run" - a 4-mile course through four training battalions plus the Support Battalion. Selected recruits ring the Battalion Bell as the Company runs by singing cadence, signaling successful completion of Recruit Training.

My Dan, graduation day, 2004
Iwo Jima Memorial, Parris Island

         Running patiently is difficult for me. When Jesus gives an assignment, I tend to sprint full steam ahead, desperately eager to reach the goal line. But I'm learning that only in God's perfect time will that work be completed. 
         Therefore, let us trust Jesus to complete the good work He begins (Phil 1:6), wait patiently for Him, and fret not (Psalm 37:7). Because if we will run with patience, not grow weary while doing good, and not lose heart, then in due season, at God's appointed time, we will reap (Gal. 6:9) a mission accomplished for the glory of God (John 17:4)!

Iraqui Freedom Mission
My Dan, 2009

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My Love Stories :)

Our wedding day, Sept. 10, 1977

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." 
(Matt. 22:37)





      On Grand Ave. N. in Fort Payne, Alabama, the First Baptist and First United Methodist Churches sit side by side. On a spring night in 1971, while our youth group was playing whiffle ball in the churchyard, a couple of Baptist boys came over to "see what they could see." (smile)
       Being a typical 15-year-old, southern girl, I was playing ball barefooted. At the end of the game, a 6'1", blue-eyed Baptist scooped me into his strong arms and carrying me across the parking lot so the gravel wouldn't hurt my feet. Six years later, I married that handsome boy - the second love of my life.
       Phillip is my number two love only because Jesus Christ holds first place. As a fifth-grader, I realized my need for a Savior and at a Billy Graham film in the DeKalb Theatre, asked God for His free gift of eternal life through faith in His Son, Jesus. However, years and years would pass before I treated Jesus as my first love. 

        In a message to the Church of Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2, Jesus said, "I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance...but I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember your dear love and repent - turn back to Me!"

        O believer in Jesus Christ, is He truly your first love? Do you go to church, read your Bible, and pray because you're supposed to or because you long to spend time with the Love of your life? Let us spend time with our Jesus everyday and fall deeply in love with our Savior and Lord!



Snippet from Secrets of Shiloh (a Christian Storybook for families):

Their long, unhurried walk ended, to her surprise, at the cemetery behind Liberty Chapel. The Colonel opened the gate of the picket fence and said, “Did you know people are just dying to get in here!”

Rachel laughed and said, “Now that’s funny!”

Col. James led his loyal friend to an older section of the graveyard and pointed out the headstones of his parents and grandparents. Then he suggested, “Let’s go sit over there on that bench for a little while.” Rachel noticed that he looked tired and rather pale, but the old warrior never complained.

 “Rachel, I’ve shared many things with you over the years, but I regret that I’ve failed to share the most valuable part of my life – my relationship with God. Tough, old birds from my generation keep our faith to ourselves, and that’s not good. Well, I want to change that today...Rachel, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died in my place to take the punishment for my many sins. I’ve gotten to know Him over the years the same way you get to know anybody – by spending time together. Everyday, I hear His voice through the Bible, and I talk to Him through prayer. As a matter of fact, I pray for you and Martin all the time, and I’m sorry that I’ve never even told you that. I know things have been hard for you and your mama since your dad died. But, Rachel, life is hard in some way or another for everybody. Don’t become imprisoned by your problems like I was, but live in freedom by faith in God through Jesus – trusting Him in every situation." 

     

        

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The Lawyer and the Farmer

The lawyer and the farmer
(My daddy and his huntin' buddy, Dan Walker, 1980s)

"Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed!" (Psalm 112:1-2)


       As far back as I can remember, Dan Walker was my daddy's huntin' buddy - two men from the generation that, instead of "finding themselves", found a job. They served their country and their families. Their first wife was the only wife till parted by death. They feared God. Their children and grandchildren respected them.

      Last Friday, Raymond Freeman of that great, God-fearing generation entered eternity and saw the face of his Lord Jesus Christ. Well done, O man of God!

     May all who come behind us find us faithful!

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The Jesus of Steel Magnolias

My great-grandparents' 50th anniversary, 1950

"One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts!" (Psalm 145:4)

        During the Great Depression of the 1930s, my great-grandmother literally did not have a dime to buy a pair of badly-needed shoes, but Jesus sustained.
        While in their 20s, my grandfather died of pneumonia leaving my grandmother to rear and provide for two small children, and Jesus supplied.
        While my father served overseas during World War II, my mother contracted tuberculosis and resided in a TB sanatorium until her full recovery. Jesus strengthened.  
        Three generations of steel magnolias sustained, supplied, and strengthened by their God, the Lord Jesus Christ, blazed a note-worthy walk-by-faith trail for generations to follow.

My family, 2008
The next three generations

             I'm a grandmother, now. "I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not see the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread...For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake His godly ones; they are preserved forever...For the Lord is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations!" (Psalm 37:25,28, Psalm 100:5)

             May all who come behind us find us faithful!

         
           

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Undeniable Evidence

Alabama Cotton Field

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come!" (2 Cor. 5:17)


           In October, snow-white fields...after fields...after fields of cotton can be found along the country roads of south Shelby County in Alabama - undeniable evidence that, months ago, cotton seeds were sown changing dirt to valuable crops.  
          Dr. Luke tells the story in Acts chapter 19 that when sorcerers believed Jesus was the Christ, they burned their magic books of incantations. The magicians' bonfire was undeniable evidence of changed lives.

           For all of us who claim to be Christian, I ask, "What is the undeniable evidence that we are in Christ? Have the old things passed away? Have new things come? Have our lives changed?"

"Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit...Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions." (Matt. 7:15-20)

          

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Lip Lock!

Dr. and Mrs. Igou and me
Smoky Mt. Camp Ground, 1964

"Take control of what I say, O Lord, and guard my lips." (Psalm 141:3)


      Look at my mouth - wide open and talking 90 miles an hour - in this picture of me as an eight-year-old. My granddaddy once offered me a nickel if I'd be quiet for 10 minutes!

      Yesterday, I let careless words spew from my mouth that hurt a precious friend's feelings. I'm so grateful for God's forgiveness and hers!

      Do you ever let harmful words slip from your lips or is that sin unique to me alone? If you've spoken things you regret, I urge you to initiate the reconciliation process IMMEDIATELY - go quickly to the one you've offended and plead for forgiveness.

"Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord!" (Acts 3:19)

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and  my Redeemer!" (Psalm 19:14)

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Proverbs 31...Cupcakes?

"An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life!" (Prov. 31:10-12)


      When employees struggled to meet monthly goals, the Lord gave a creative idea to the boss's wife (who "just happens" to love cooking). The Lord prompted, "In addition to prayer, do something special for the workers who meet their goals. Bake giant, homemade cupcakes and wrap them in special packages with a personal note of thanks for a job well done."
       In just four short months, that job site progressed from unranked to #2 in production! Through my dear friend's obedience, she not only encouraged those employees, but she also came along side her husband, doing him good, as his godly help-mate.

       Let us all listen for the Lord's promptings today! And then use the talents He's given us to bless others in Jesus' name!

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise!" (Prov. 31:30-31)
       

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Power Moves for Champion Wrestlers!

My Rebecca "wrestling" her brothers, Dan and Ben, at her own wedding! 2004

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly     places! (Eph. 6:1-12)


       My Phillip was a champion wrestler in high school. So when our children were mire toddlers, he taught them to "wrastle" - even our daughter Rebecca! More importantly, my wise, godly husband also taught our children to use champion moves when engaged in spiritual battles. If Phillip sensed an attack of darkness, he'd lead the family in singing, "There is power, power, wonder-working power, in the precious blood of the Lamb!"
       Yesterday, after conversations with each of our now-adult children, I sensed that every Phillip Glassco family household was under enemy attack either physically or emotionally. This morning, I texted, "Sing, children, sing!"

       Dear friends, Jesus Christ, the Lord of Hosts, commands His team to "be on the alert. Our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But [we must] resist [wrestle] him firm in our faith" (1 Peter 5:8-9). 

I urge you to master two powerful moves of spiritual champions: 
1. Proclaiming the power of Jesus' blood and 
2. Singing songs of praise to Almighty God!

Would you be free from the burden of sin?
There's pow'r in the blood, pow'r in the blood!
Would you o'er evil a victory win?
There's wonderful pow'r in the blood!

There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r
In the blood of the Lamb;
There is pow'r, pow'r, wonder-working pow'r
In the precious blood of the Lamb! 1

1 THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD. Lewis E. Jones. 1899.

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The No-Worries Mate

My Rebecca and Stephen - God's chosen mate
April 3, 2004

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything! Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done." 
(Phil. 4:6)


          From the time my children were babies, I asked God to choose their mates according to His good will and perfect plans. When they "came of age" to date, I wish I could tell you that my faith in Father God never wavered. However, at times I did worry, but I also prayed...and prayed...and prayed...and prayed.
            In 2003, I witnessed the Lord change, in mid-stream, the course of my daughter's life to bring her Stephen - the perfect choice, no-worries mate who had been her best friend since 7th grade!

            What are you worried about today? Confess and repent of unbelief. PRAY to and thank Jesus - the ONE who has the best plans and is able to bring them to fruition! 

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for choosing Stephen as the perfect answer to my 22 years of prayers!

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Put 'em Back the Way They Wuz!

Cast of Li'l Abner, senior play, 2000
my Rebecca as "Daisy Mae" (center, in her Grandmother Watson's white blouse)

"Belief in Jesus is a miracle produced only by the effectiveness of redemption, not by impressive speech, nor by wooing and persuading, but only by the sheer unaided power of God! The creative power of redemption comes through the preaching of the gospel, but never because of the personality of the preacher." ~ Oswald Chambers ~

          Her senior year, my Rebecca played Daisy Mae in the musical "Li'l Abner". One of the most entertaining numbers in that play is "Put 'em Back the Way They Wuz!"

          Ephesians 1:7 states that people in relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ have REDEMPTION through Jesus's blood according to the riches of His grace. The Lord Jesus Christ literally paid His own blood on the cross to buy you back from the damnation of your own sins so that He might restore you back to all God designed you to be!
          
          Jesus sets His followers free from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and one day the very presence of sin! O child of the King, you are FREE indeed!

"It is for FREEDOM that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery!" (Gal. 5:1)

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