Pass It On – in Memory of Norma Myers

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Yesterday was the 12th anniversary of my grandmother’s passing – 12/12. My Grandma Norma was a very special person in my life.

Grandma Norma came from a long line of Christians. This song, written by one of my grandmother’s relatives, attests to her Welsh ancestors’ love of music, family, church, and Jesus.

My great-great-great-grandmother, Margaret Rowland, was a woman of faith whose “supreme ambition seemed to center in her children — to provide them with all possible advantages for an education, and to train them for useful Christian lives” despite severe trials, including the loss of her first husband when she had six young children. She “lived a life of service and devotion, not restricted to her own family, but many in the neighborhood where she lived had occasion to feel grateful for help in time of need.”

Margaret Rowland’s daughter, Harriet, (my great-great-grandmother) was blessed with seven children and almost 50 years of marriage to her husband, Isaac.

Harriet, too, was a Christian mother dedicated to helping others, especially her grandchildren — like my grandma! My great-grandmother, Anna, is pictured at the top right. She is the pleasant looking one with a sweet smile.

Anna and her husband, Will, had four sons and one daughter. My grandma Norma was that one daughter.

Anna and Will were blessed with over 50 years of marriage and a house full of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

My grandparents were married on Christmas Day, 1938, with my grandmother carrying her Bible and wearing her great-grandmother’s brooch. (Aren’t they handsome? Did you notice how tall my grandmother is? I take after my dad’s side of the family.)

My grandfather passed away from pancreatic cancer shortly before they celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. Here they are in front of their restaurant, “The Purple Cow” with my older sister and me.

I have often wondered if my own faith has its roots in the faithful women who went before me. God heard their prayers, blessing them with generations of Christ-followers. As Paul wrote to Timothy of the faith that dwelt in Timothy’s mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5) “and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:15)

I’m praying for these four right here. My greatest desire for them isn’t to be the smartest, richest, most famous, or most popular. It’s simply for them to know and love Jesus, to live for Him and His glory.

Allow me to encourage you, mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, future mothers! You can pray for your sons and daughters, even for those not yet born. God hears you.

You can bless the generations to come by sharing the good news of the gospel and the truths of the scriptures. God will bless your efforts.

You can faithfully pass on your faith to the next generations. God is faithful. You can be faithful, too.

Heart check: How’s it going? Are you praying? Are your sharing?

TWIG

Christmas Celebrations + Body Life

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Dear friends,

Are any of you like me, with grand plans for all the things you’d like to accomplish for the Lord?  I love Jesus so much and want to do ALL the things.  But, I’m just one person with just 24 hours in a day and those days are already full.  So, when God began impressing on me to reach out to the ladies in my neighborhood, I began to pray for God to send someone to work alongside me.  He did.

Through the wonders of Facebook, I found a fellow Christ-follower who also wanted to reach out to our neighbors.  She offered to make and distribute flyers to invite the ladies over, while I opened my home to host it.  Debbie even went so far as coming over 3 hours early to decorate and set up!

God blessed me with this passage conveniently scheduled that morning in my Scripture Typer app.  1 Corinthians 12:4-7 ” Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;  and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

I love to talk, to pray, to share the good news of the love of Jesus.  And I got to do just that within the comfort of my beautifully decorated home.  Thank you, Jesus!  And thank you, Debbie!  And thank you to my 2-dozen neighbors who stopped by!

Friends, God didn’t design His body to operate as cut-off individual members.    We have different gifts, different passions, different ways to serve.  We need each other on purpose!

Heart-check: What God-sized goal is in your heart that you need someone to partner with you?  How are you trying to operate in your own strength, separated from the body of Christ?

Let me leave you with something I wrote several years ago, but seem to revise every year!

Keeping Christ in Christmas – Every Day of the Year

When a friend posted this question on an online forum, “How do we keep Jesus Christ and His birth at the center of our Christmas celebration?” I gave a lot of thought to my answer. This question is particularly important to me because I wasn’t raised in a Christian home, and yet, my family celebrated Christmas. We hung stockings, decorated a Christmas tree, exchanged gifts and played Santa, just like every other red-blooded American family.

By the time I was a teenager, I was an outspoken atheist who loved to argue with my Christian friends, and yet, I had little understanding of the Christian faith. I did not understand that Christians believed that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh and that Christmas was celebrated to remember the day He was born on earth to live as a man. It was not until I was 21-years-old and had many heated debates with a Christian young man (who later became my husband) that I heard the good news of the gospel – that I could be forgiven by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, turning away from my sin and following Him.

So, with that background, let me encourage everyone how truly important it is to keep the birth of Jesus at the focus of your Christmas celebrations. In response to the question, “How do we keep Jesus Christ at the center of Christmas?” the answer is to intentionally seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, setting your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)

Yes, we festively decorate our home and Christmas tree. Yes, we buy gifts for our children and other members of our family. Yes, we drive around town and look at pretty Christmas lights. But, no, we don’t spend days and weeks putting up and taking down decorations. We refuse to go into debt feeding our kids’ appetites for stuff and our own appetite to impress others with our earthly possessions. And, no, we do not pack on December with a dozen holiday events because, truthfully, they take our family’s eyes off the true gift of Jesus and just add busy-ness to our already full lives.

After following Jesus for over twenty years, though, I have learned that the Christian life is so much more than a list of do’s and don’ts. It really is a living relationship with the great Creator, Ruler of the Universe, and Lord of my soul, so please do not see my suggestions as added rules and burdens for you to follow. Evaluate your own advent activities to see whether they are drawing your family to a closer relationship with Jesus or pushing you farther away. Truly, when you seek the Lord with all your heart, you will find Him. Jesus is truly our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His Word is a light to our feet. You can trust Him, and you can trust His Word.

With that said, here are some choices we’ve made to help us not lose Jesus amidst our Yuletide celebrations –

  • We taught our kids from a young age that playing pretend is fun, but it’s just pretend. God is real. Santa is pretend. The Bible is real. Fairy tales are pretend. Yes, we put out cookies for Santa. Yes, we stuffed stockings. It was fun! But our kids knew the truth. I decided that God wanted us to be truth bearers and I wanted my kids to trust that Mommy and Daddy always speak the truth. That didn’t mean we couldn’t play pretend – but they knew we are pretending.
  • We try to have most of our gifts bought by December 1, so our minds are not consumed by shopping. The stress of finding “the perfect gifts” is not good for the “Christmas spirit.”
  • We limit ourselves to three gifts per child. This limits not only the money, but also the time and energy, we spend on Christmas gifts.
  • I force myself to go to bed at night. If it’s not done by 10:30, then it doesn’t need to be done. Tomorrow is another day. A tired mommy is a cranky mommy.
  • Each of our four children chooses a gift for each of their siblings and parents and they use some of their own money to buy them. This helps them focus on giving, rather than just receiving.
  • When it’s time to open gifts, we each take turns giving our gifts to the recipients, rather than the recipients taking their gifts.
  • We enjoy a daily time of prayer, scripture reading, and discussion for the 25 days of advent.

Which leads me back to the original question: “How do we keep Jesus Christ and His birth at the center of our Christmas celebration?”

This certainly is a good question to ask, but may I suggest that the better question is this:  “How do we keep Christ at the center of every single day of the year?”  365 days-a-year we can choose to seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, setting your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. I’m praying that this holiday season, and for all the days of our lives, that we would, trust in the LORD with all our hearts, leaning not on our own understanding, acknowledging Him in all our ways. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

You can download your own copy of Keeping Christ in Christmas here:
Keeping Christ in Christmas 2018

God with us

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The English name “Jesus” is taken from the Greek word “Iésous,” which is from the Hebrew for “Jehovah is salvation.”

Think about this name meaning when the angel said to Joseph, “Do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name JESUS, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

As I pondered this, two separate ideas came into my mind:

  1. God works through all different languages, which I find particularly fascinating.
  2. God is communicating to Joseph, “God (Jehovah-Yahweh) saves.” But He is also communicating that this baby boy conceived by the Holy Spirit in Mary’s womb will HIMSELF save HIS OWN people from their sins. This is additional confirmation that Jesus Christ, our Messiah, is Himself God in the flesh. There is only one God and Jesus is Yahweh incarnate (in the flesh). This is confirmed in the next two verses (Matthew 1:22-23) “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us).“

Come let us worship the Lord our King, God who took on flesh to save His people from their sins.

Thanks Giving

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Earlier this week, I shared the origins of the American Thanksgiving celebration with my dear “little sister” Zoe in China,

Here is her reply:

In this week of Thanksgiving, I want to give thanks in all circumstances.

There is always plenty to give thanks for, even if we sometimes have to search harder for it.

Father, thank you for a wonderful week spent with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and four of my nephews.

Thank you for the blessing it is to be a wife and a mother.

Thank you for the freedom to worship that I enjoy here in America.

Thank you for our financial blessings – for plenty of good food and warm clothing and homes larger than we need.

Thank you for the beauty of sunrise and the sunset and the big blue sky. Thank you for your majesty revealed from the heavens, that mankind would seek you and find you.

Thank you for the sisterhood of believers, both near and far.

And then … right at this moment, just as we’re driving back home across the great plains of the Midwest … just as I’m midway through composing this blog post … just when I’m chatting online with my little Chinese sister, encouraging her to walk by faith …

I received this heart-breaking message:

Is God real?

Does God work in time and space to draw men to Himself?

Does God use His children here on earth to share the good news of eternal life through faith in Christ?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Stay tuned — there’s more to this story.

Heart-check: Where are you struggling to give thanks? How can I pray for you?

TWIG

To the weary, laboring, and heavy-laden

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I grew up in the great state of Iowa, where the corn grows tall and people pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. My parents were hard workers, raised by hard workers. My mother’s parents were world-class farmers. My father’s parents were children of immigrants. My grandfather became an attorney of excellence. Hard work runs strong in my blood.

For years Matthew 11:28-30 has been special to me. I have (no-joke) labored to memorize this passage, treasuring it in my often weary heart. Indeed, I have labored and indeed I am thankful for the rest Jesus promises me.

“Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

This past week, as I’ve been studying this passage in more depth, I’m finally seeing the context in which Jesus is speaking.

These verses are sandwiched between Jesus denouncing the Jewish cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, and Jesus telling the Pharisees that they don’t understand what “I desire mercy and not sacrifice” means.

This paragraph begins in Matthew 11:25 with, “At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to little children.”

Jesus is talking to the Jewish religious sect called the Pharisees. Despite being eyewitnesses of Jesus’s miracles and hearing His preaching first-hand, they did not recognize Jesus as the promised Messiah. The Pharisees remained unrepentant. The Pharisees would have been considered the wise and understanding, but they missed the joy, peace and freedom that faith in Jesus could bring.

Like Jesus explains in Matthew 23:4, the Pharisees “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.” (You can read Matthew 23 for more on this)

These heavy burdens are not farmers’ chores, like plowing fields, slopping pigs, and shoveling out horse stalls. They are not housewives’ chores, like cleaning your house until the floors shine, cooking three nutritious gourmet meals every day, and homeschooling a dozen children.

Rather, the Pharisees’ heavy burdens are religious duties designed to earn salvation from God. Religious duties like strictly tithing, offering animal sacrifices and keeping the Sabbath down to the minute detail.

Or in modern American Christian culture, attending church twice a week, serving monthly at a homeless ministry, and knocking on your neighbors’ doors to share the gospel. And, unfortunately, in the modern American Christian homeschool community where I dwell, it may indeed include working your fingers to the bone cleaning your house until the floors shine, cooking three nutritious gourmet meals everyday, and homeschooling a dozen children.

Friends, these are all good things. Please, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men, like Colossians 3:23 instructs. Please, be workers at home, like Titus 2:5 says. Please, put your hand to the plow and don’t look back! (Luke 9:62) Please do!

But, do these works, because you’re following Jesus. Let these deeds flow from a place of rest, a place of joy and blessing. Jesus loves you and He wants to work through you to bring Him glory. Wow! What a privilege, that this little girl from Iowa can bring glory to the Lord of Heaven and Earth!

Jesus, the promised Messiah as foretold by the prophet Isaiah, took my sins upon Himself at his death on the cross. Jesus bore my griefs. Jesus carried my sorrows. I have been healed by His wounds. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Jesus invites us to give Him our burdens, to come to Him with the trusting faith of little children. In Jesus, we can find rest not only for our bodies, but for our SOULS.

Does your SOUL need rest? Are you tired of working to pay God back? Are you tired of trying to earn salvation? Are you tired of trying to atone for your own sins?

Friend, you can never, ever be good enough. Never. You can never pay God back. You will never deserve being saved.

Jesus paid the price for you. He is inviting you to take His yoke upon you and learn from Him, that you can have soul-rest.

Heart-check:

How are you tying up heavy burdens for yourself to carry? For others?

Have you come to Jesus and taken His yoke? What stands in your way?

How can I help you?

TWIG

Thank You, Father, for the Cold

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Thank You, Father, for the winter.
Thank You, Father, for the cold.
The cold drives me to snuggle in bed, cradling the Word of Life in needy hands.
The cold drives me to stay warm inside with my family, bundled in blankets, drinking steaming cups of hot chocolate.
Without the cold, I wouldn’t appreciate the warmth of the spring.
Without the cold, I couldn’t enjoy the beauty of fresh, white snow.
Without the cold, the tulips wouldn’t bloom and the wheat wouldn’t grow.
Thank You, Father, for the winter.
Thank You, Father, for the cold.

Dear Lord, Your Word tells me to give thanks in all circumstances, but some circumstances are easier to give thanks in than others. It’s easier to give thanks for prancing through fields of blooming flowers, than slogging through snow-soaked soil. I’m beginning to see, Father, that I’d never have the spring flowers without the winter cold.

It’s like some kind of crazy, divine geometry proof: If X, then Y. If not X, then not Y. If I hadn’t broken it off with Eric, I wouldn’t have married Bill. If Tommy hadn’t died, I wouldn’t have Nick. If Bill hadn’t lost his job, I wouldn’t have moved to Memphis. I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today were it not for the times of bitter cold. I am who I am exactly because of the hard things I’ve gone through. You’re teaching me faith and grace and perseverance and forgiveness and humility through those refining trials.

So, today, I say, “Thank You, Father, for the winter. Thank You, Father, for the cold.”

Romans 10:10

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“IF you confess with your MOUTH that Jesus is Lord -and- believe in your HEART that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one BELIEVES and is JUSTIFIED, and with the mouth one CONFESSES and is SAVED.”
Romans 10:9?-?10 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/rom.10.9-10.ESV

God wants us to BOTH believe with our heart AND confess with our mouth. Too often American Christians have a half-hearted “believe in their heads” which never travels to their heart, or their mouth.

If you truly believe that Jesus is God’s own Son, very GOD in flesh, who walked this lowly earth and died for your sins — it WILL change you! God’s love compels you to tell others that they, too, can be saved from eternal separation from God in hell.

Heart-check: When was the last time you told someone about your faith in Jesus? Where does your faith dwell – in your mind, or in your heart?

I’d love to help you move the gospel to your heart and mouth. Leave me a comment or send me an email.

Follow the Leader – Part 2

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This is part 2 in a series titled “Follow the Leader.” You can read Part 1 HERE.

In part 1, I shared the story of my giant puppy who insists on pulling himself back to the house – and I just let him go.

Check out this video clip of an exasperated mom who allows her son to have what it is that he THINKS he wants, despite all her warnings.

Do YOU have children, or pets, or employees, that simply refuse to follow your lead? What do YOU do when that happens?

As a parent and pet-owner, when I am not obeyed, I have two choices: (1) I can “let it go” and just allow the person (or animal) to go their own way (like I do with my dog who’s ready to go inside) -or- (2) I can actively give some kind of reward or punishment in an attempt to encourage obedience.

God, our good and faithful Father, also uses both methods to encourage His children to trust, follow and obey.

Sometimes, God lets His children have what it is that they think they want. In Romans 1:14-32, Paul writes three times, “God gave them up.” Each situation grows more dire as the people pursue more and more the lusts of their flesh, and God allows them to fulfill their passions. Finally, “They were FILLED with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are FULL of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:29-32 ESV)

Twice in the Proverbs, we’re told, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (Proverbs 14:12, Proverbs 16:25) This is not a way that SEEMS deadly. No, it’s a way that SEEMS right — but the end of that path is death. We’re pulling our own leash right to our own destruction.

Last month I read through the book of Numbers. In Numbers 14, the Israelites decided they didn’t want to go into the Promised Land because they were afraid. How did God respond? He let them get what they wanted. It’s as though He said, “Oh, you don’t want to go into this wonderful land that I have prepared for you? Fine, you can stay here in the desert.” (And in the desert they did stay — for 40 years!)

Is this punishment? Yes, I guess it is … But, it’s also God giving His children what they THINK they want.

Shortly thereafter, though, like most naughty children, the Israelites changed their minds. They decided they did want to go to the Promised Land after all … and to the Promised Land they headed, but against God’s commands. And do you know what happened next? Those who headed into the Promised Land against God’s commands all died at the hands of the people living in the land, just like the Israelites had feared would happen. If they had obeyed God, He would have protected them, but they didn’t, and He didn’t. You can read it here: Numbers 14. (Who says the Old Testament isn’t applicable for today?)

God (our good Father) desires His children to pursue Him, to seek Him, to love Him, to trust and obey Him. But when we choose to go our own way, turning our back on Him, refusing to trust and obey, then God oftentimes allows us to go astray. He gives us over to what it is we THINK we want.

Sadly, “the wages of sin is death.” The consequences of a lifetime of disobedience are more severe than a nasty taste in our mouth. Beware of where your path is leading. God loves you so much. He wants to bring you into His Promised Land – the eternal life available to you through faith in Jesus Christ. Choose to follow Him today by faith in His Son, Jesus. As Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, BUT the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Heart-check: In what ways are you going your own way, instead of following God’s plans? How has God given you what you “wanted” in the past? What lessons did you learn?

TWIG

Follow the Leader – part 1

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Have you ever played the game called “Follow the Leader?”

Image result for follow the leader

In this game, one person is the leader, and the other participants have to follow the leader wherever he goes.  No matter what that leader does, the followers have to copy them.

Well, I have a dog who refuses to “Follow the Leader.”  Rather than following my lead, he prefers to lead himself.  He’ll follow me when I’m going out, BECAUSE HE WANTS TO GO OUT.  But when he’s ready to go back into the house, he grabs the leash in his big mouth and starts pulling.

And, I must admit, I let him pull me back.  I figure, if he’s ready to go back in, then so am I!  This walk is over.

Jesus repeatedly told His disciples to follow Him.  Jesus’s disciples were expected to leave their homes, their families, their stuff, their livelihoods, whatever they were attached to … and follow Him.  God expects us to choose to follow His plans, rather than our own. “Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”” (Matthew 16:24)

As modern-day Christians (“Christ-followers”), Jesus is still calling us to Follow Him.  He is supposed to be the leader, and we are supposed to follow Him.

Heart check: Are you following Jesus – or yourself?  In what ways do you need to change the path that you’re on, letting go of pulling your own leash, and choosing instead to faithfully follow your good Leader, Jesus?

TWIG

Patience.

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Please rejoice with me at the miracle that has been happening in my heart. God is developing PATIENCE in me from the inside out.

I have been teaching English online for VIPKID for almost a year now, and the most frequent feedback that I receive from the parents is this: The teacher is patient. What did you say? Patient?  Who? Me?  This is nothing short of a miracle!


Ever since I was young, I have been terribly impatient and critical.  I have always had very high expectations for myself — as well as those around me.  I expected everything to be done perfectly and quickly.

In recent years, though, God has been chipping away at my perfectionist tendencies, teaching me about the incredible beauty of grace.  God has used the wisdom of his Word, mixed with some painful trials, and seasoned with some gracious women in my life, to sand away that impatience bit by bit.

Do any of you also struggle to be patient? I don’t just mean being patient when you’re on a time constraint — not just patient with the slow driver in front of you, not just patient when your kids are taking too long to get in the car — but patient with people who are driving you crazy!  The long-suffering kind of patience.

How can I be patient with the customer service lady when she refuses to give me a well-deserved refund?

How can I be patient with my husband when he just cannot seem to understand (and agree with!) what I’m saying?

How can I be patient with my children when I’ve explained the same math concept to them a hundred different ways?

Let’s look together at a passage of scripture that might help us.  (Matthew 18:23-35)

“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents [1 talent = 20 years’ wages]. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.  So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii [1 denari = 1 day’s wages], and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Dear friends, I lived like I could pay God back if I just tried hard enough and did enough good things.  I was wrong. Until we recognize that we owe a debt that is SO BIG that we are unable to ever repay it, we will keep working hard to repay God — and we will keep expecting others to work hard to repay US — and we will keep being angry with them when they don’t.
Jesus has already paid in full the price for our sin through His death on the cross.  Because of His perfect & sinless life, and because of His unique place as the God-man, Jesus is the only one able to pay for our sin.  The Bible tells us that, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “(Romans 6:23)
But, Jesus’s payment is not credited to our account unless we receive it, through faith in Jesus.  God’s part: Give the Gift.  Our part: Receive the Gift.
“[Jesus] was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. “(John 1:10-13)
How am I able to be patient with others?  Because God is patient with me!