From Dottie's Heart




My Testimony

When I was fourteen years old a dear Pastor, who was to become one of the major influences in my life, knocked on the door to our apartment in Memphis, TN and gave me the first clear presentation of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ that I had ever heard. I listened and prayed, but I did not truly received Christ as my Savior that day. The events that led to that day are a story of God's amazing grace. From as far back as I can remember as a child there was violence and turmoil in our home. My mother was a preacher's daughter who married an unsaved man and paid the consequences of that wrong choice for seventeen abusive years. She was a loving mother who did her best to make a home for my younger brother and me, but my father who was a drunkard kept our home in constant turmoil. With the exception of only a few, every weekend that I can remember my dad would leave us on Friday night for a weekend of drinking and carousing. And as far back as I can remember every Sunday night was filled with fear knowing that when he came home he would become violent. As the years went by his violence was directed not only at my mother, but to my brother and me as well.


God brought into my life a best friend who came from a Catholic home, but lived across the street from a little Bible-believing church.  Her family allowed her to visit the little church across the street. She invited me to go with her and to my amazement my dad allowed me to go. It was there that I met the pastor, who later visited me in our apartment, and his precious wife. The two of them were to make the greatest impact on my life of any others. I visited the church on the weekends that I would spend the night with my friend. Pastor and Mrs. Comfort (isn't that a wonderful name for a Pastor?) reached out in love to a young teenager whose life was filled with fear and turmoil. The love of Christ was so evident in their lives. In the wonderful and amazing providence of God my family moved into an apartment right next door to the little church. My dad's drunkeness was escalating to the point that he was drinking during the week and missing work. My sweet mother had to work to keep food on our table. Home was becoming more and more tumultuous. But in the midst of all this turmoil a pastor and his wife kept reaching out in love to me and my family. My girlfriend and I would spend the night with the pastor's wife when he had to be away. I never had felt such serenity and love in a home. I knew that they had something that I wanted desperately. An evangelist came to our church when I was sixteen years old and I was so arrested by the gospel that I went forward and gave my life to the Lord. Shortly after that my dad left us and I was to see him only one other time before he died in 1969. My mother rededicated her life to Christ, my younger brother was saved and our house became a home. The little church next door became our life. When I graduated from high school I went away from the Lord for a while. It was during that time that I met Tom and we were married. God was so good to draw me back to him and to save my husband just a month after we were married. For so many years the words that best described my life and my home were "NO PEACE". But when I came to know the Lord He gave me the peace that passes all understanding and I took as a life verse Romans 5:1 - "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our  Lord Jesus Christ."




Some Books I Love
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A Prisoner and Yet - Corrie Ten Boom
A Tramp For the Lord - Corrie Ten Boom
A Woman After God's Own Heart - Elizabeth George 
Becoming a Woman of Wisdom - Joyce Rogers 
Candles in the Dark - Amy Carmichael 
Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman - Anne Ortlund 
George Mueller - Faith Coxe Bailey 
How to Bring Your Children to Christ - Andrew Murray 
How to Raise Your Children for Christ - Andrew Murray 
In My Father's House - Corrie Ten Boom 
Lies Women Believe - Nancy Leigh DeMoss 
Loving God With All Your Heart - Elizabeth George 
Mrs. C.H. Spurgeon - Charles Ray 
Simple Secrets to a Beautiful Home - Emilie Barnes 
Susanna Wesley - Arnold A. Dallimore 
The Choice is Yours - Terri Chappell 
The Hiding Place - Corrie Ten Boom 
The Red Sea Rules - Robert J. Morgan 
The Spirit of Loveliness - Emilie Barnes 
The Welcoming Hearth - Elizabeth Skoglund 
Time for a Trade-In - Cathy Corle 
We Didn't Know They Were Angels - Doris Greig 
Welcome Home - Emilie Barnes 
What is Modesty? - Michelle Broc
Loving God With All Your Heart - Elizabeth Georg
Teachers of Good Things - Francie Taylor 



IS YOUR HARVEST PLANTED?

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"....for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.  For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  And let us not be weary in well doing:  For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.  Galatians 5:7-9

Most often when we think of Galatians 6:7 we think we think of the man or woman who lives in sin and disobedience to God and eventually ends up reaping heartache and sorrow.  The person who drinks can reap being enslaved to a substance and perhaps losing his family and fortune.  The person who lives in immorality can reap disease and shame.  And certainly that is one side of the coin.  "..For he that soweth to his flesh shall of his flesh reap corruption.  Galatians 6:8."  But sowing and reaping can also apply to the good and godly seeds that we sow in our lives.  "But he that soweth to the spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.  Galatians 6:8."  I heard someone say recently "Many people are frustrated waiting a harvest they did not plant."  How true that is.  If we want to reap a harvest of a life that is used of God,  we must plant seeds of discipline, faithfulness, Bible study and prayer.  If we want to reap a harvest of a happy home we must plant seeds of love, kindness, selflessness and loyalty.  

We will never reap a harvest that we did not plant.  God encourages us to not be weary in planting seeds of righteousness because in due season we WILL reap a harvest.



KNOWING HIM

".....shew me thy ways, that I may know you..."  Ezekiel 33:3

"But let him that glorieth glory in this, he understandeth and knoweth me.."  Jeremiah 9:24

"But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  II Peter 3:18

The Bible is our "know" book.  It tells us how to know we are saved and it gives us promises that we can know and claim to help us live a victorious Christian life.  But  more than that, it helps us to get to know our God in an intimate way.  Often we read our Bible in a perfunctory way with little enthusiasm or expectation.  Recently I was challenged to ask when reading scripture,  (1)  What does this scripture tell me about God.  (2)  What does it tell me about His character .  What does it tell me about His love, His providence His holiness.  I want to know Him more intimately through His Word.

"The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring  men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His presence,  may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their heads."  A.W. Tozer






DO NOT DISTURB

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" A man's heart deviseth his way:  but the Lord directeth His steps."  Proverbs 16:9

Have you ever wished you could have a 'Do Not Disturb' sign around your neck?  When I get engrossed in a project I have to confess that I sometimes wish I had that 'do not disturb' sign.  Please don't bother me!  I am busy!  God convicted me about this  several years ago.  It was a busy Saturday afternoon and I was in a tremendous time crunch trying to get my junior Sunday School class decorated for the new fall quarter so I could get home for more preparations for Sunday.  A little head popped in the door.  "Do you need any help, Mrs. Lancaster?"  It was one of my Sunday school students.  My first impulse was to say, "Thank you, honey, I don't believe I do."  But the look on that little face and the nudging of the Holy Spirit caused me to say, "Well sure, I could use some help.  Come on in."  There is no doubt in my  mind  that I could have finished quicker had I worked alone, but I would have missed the opportunity to get to know my student better, to talk with her about spiritual things and to make some sweet memories for both her and her teacher.  I was reminded that day of Proverbs 16:9.  "Man deviseth his way , but the Lord directeth his steps."  We can carefully plan and organize our days, but ultimately it is God who directs our steps.....even our interruptions.  God is teaching me to not treat interruptions as a source of frustration or irritation, but to consider whether the interruption could be an opportunity from Him.



WHAT IS ON YOUR DREAM LIST?


"For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."  Proverbs 8:11

See the source imageWhat is on your dream list?  I have dreamed for years of visiting the New England states in the fall when the leaves are resplendent.  Another dream has been to take our entire family on a cruise to "somewhere."  Those are just dreams...one is perhaps more feasible that the other, but it is fun to dream.  What do you dream of...a new house, a dream vacation, a beautiful new wardrobe.  Or maybe you dream of perfect health for you and your family, or a large bank account.  Do you ever dream of being a wise woman?  Proverbs 8:11 tells us that "..wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it."  Whatever those things are that are on our dream list, they cannot compare to the value and importance of wisdom in our lives.  We certainly need wisdom on a daily basis, don't we?  Each of us wears many different hats: wife, mother, sister, colleague, friend.  And with those many different hats we are called on to make many decisions every single day......many times a day.  We need wisdom!  First of all we must desire it.  In II Chronicles 1:7-10 God ask Solomon the fairy tale question, "what shall I give thee?"  Solomon's answer was  - - wisdom and understanding.  He desired wisdom above all things and then he took the next step and asked for it.  James 1:5 says, "If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally...and it shall be given to him."  There have been chaotic, defeated, discouraging days in my life that would have gone so much better had I taken the time at the beginning of the day to ask for wisdom.  And of course all wisdom comes from God's Word.  We will never be women of wisdom if we are not women of the Word.  May wisdom be at the top of our dream list.




Mean What You Say

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Has God ever convicted you, as He has me, of saying to someone, "I'll be praying for you," and then not following through with your promise?  We often use this phrase in the same way we would say, "See you later."  How serious is it to God that we follow through with our promise to pray for someone?  In I Samuel 12:23 the Bible says that we sin against the Lord when we fail to pray for each other.  Prayer was instilled in the prophet Samuel at a very early age.  His mother, Hannah, was unable to conceive a child.  She cried out to God and made this vow to Him: "O Lord of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life..."I Samuel 1:ll

God heard her cry and answered her prayer.  She then carried through with her promise to God.  Through out the scriptures we find examples of Samuel praying for others.  I love in I Samuel 7:5 when Samuel said he would pray for the children of Israel - - he did so immediately.  Many times I have seen someone come up to me husband in a service, or some other place, and ask him to pray for a particular person or situation and he would stop right then and pray for them.  May the Lord help us to follow through when we make a promise to pray for someone.  And better still, when we tell someone that we will pray for the, stop and pray right then...in the grocery store, on the phone, at work, in church.

"Confess you sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. (my emphasis).  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.  James 5:16



The Power of Words

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue."   Proverbs 18:21

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  Ephesian 4:29


See the source imageThe tongue is powerful.!  James 3:10 tells us that blessings and cursings can come out of the same mouth.  How true that is.  I want to be a blessing with my words, but sometimes the most hateful things can come from my mouth and I realize once again how powerful and untamed my tongue is.  Our words can indeed be a blessing or a curse.  They can hurt or heal.  They can encourage or discourage.  They can lift up or tear down.  They can build or destroy.  As Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue.  Words can be death of a friendship.  Misunderstandings can escalate into unkind, hurtful, hot words and soon a friendship is dead.  Words can be the death of a marriage.  Many marriages are dying a slow death because tongues are not guarded and one day words are said that cannot be taken back and a marriage is dead.  Words can be the death of a reputation.  Many people's reputations have been hurt or destroyed by mean words, critical words, slanderous words and sometimes lying words.  Like feathers to the wind words cannot be taken back.  But our words can also bring healing and life.  Have you ever been discourage, at the end of your rope and ready to give up?  And then someone spoke words of life to you, healing words, encouraging words and those words gave you new energy, a new attitude and a new determination.  I can remember so many times when I was discouraged and a a note would come with healing words, or a telephone call  would come with encouraging words.  Our words are very powerful.  How can we use our words to minister grace to the hearer as Ephesians 4:29 says?  Here are some things I've asked God to help me with:  1.  To remember that God will hold me accountable for every word I speak.  Matthew 12:33-37.  2.  To make a commitment that I will try to use only kind and gracious words that will build up and encourage.  3.  To focus on the positive and not the negative.  4.  To not waste time talking about things that can't be changed, or things that I am not a part of the solution.  5.  To ask questions.  To try and find out more about the other person and their feelings.  6.  To remember that sometimes the most gracious thing to say is nothing.  7.  To constantly check my heart because my words reflect my attitude and motivation.



The Law of Kindness

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Proverbs 31:26b - …..in her tongue is the law of kindness.

A law is something that governs  or controls our actions.  Laws govern our society,  laws are designed to keep us safe.  If we are driving in a 35 mile an hour speed zone and we are driving fifty miles per hour, we are breaking the law and there will probably be consequences.   It doesn't matter if we are late for an appointment or if the traffic is slow and driving  faster would not be a danger, we  are expected to drive fifty miles an hour.  It is the law!  We are expected to obey the law for our protection and the protection of others.  That law controls our actions.  It would be a chaotic and dangerous world if we had no laws.  The Proverbs 31 woman had a law that governed, or controlled, her tongue and it was the law of kindness.  What a difference it would make if each of us would be subject to the law of kindness - - if we let the law of kindness control  our words.  No  matter what the circumstances, no matter what our mood was, no matter what time of the month it was,  we would let the law of kindness control our tongue and we would only speak words of kindness.  We would obey the law!   Does that verse convict you like it does me?  May we let our tongues be controlled by the law of kindness.


A Life That Counted

Mark 14:8a - "She hath done what she could.....

Here is a profound truth:  we are all getting older.  Time flies, doesn't it?  And the older you get the faster time flies.  Someday each one of us will come to the end of this journey called life.  When that time comes what will be said about you and me?  If you have received Christ as your Savior you will stand before the Bema seat.  What will God say about your life?  When your pastor stands before  your grave will he be able to say even one thing you have done for the cause of Christ?  Mothers, will your children say you made an impact on their lives?  There is a woman in the Bible who had a life that counted.  How do we know?  The Lord said of her, "wherever this gospel is preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of her for a memorial of her."  Mark 14:9.  What did this woman named Mary do?  She loved and worshipped the Lord with all her heart.   She wasn't a valiant Deborah, or courageous Esther.  She was just a plain, village woman named Mary.  She didn't compare herself to anyone else, she just did what SHE could.  The woman who had the greatest impact on my life was my first pastor's wife.  She was a short, plump woman who was plain by every standard and yet she impacted my life more than any other person.  As the child of an abusive, alcoholic father, my home life was very chaotic and disfunctional.  She offered to me what I needed:  love, support, spiritual guidance, peace, encouragement, direction - TIME.  The many times she invited me to her home were an oasis for me.  She taught me, not only with her words of wisdom, but by her life, love and compassion.  What can you do?  Whose life can you invest in and affect?  Be a Mary and do what YOU can.


Change Me!


2 Corinthians 3:18 - But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.


See the source imageSome time ago I was driving my car to a local mall to do some shopping.  There was someone else riding along with me that day with the smell of hell all over him.  Yes, it was the devil himself and he was rehearsing with me some  hurtful words that someone had said to me earlier.  He was careful to remind me of every word, every expression, her countenance, inflection of voice and body language.  The devil, if anything, is very thorough.  I, in turn, was complaining to the Lord about the situation.  "Lord, please help her to see how wrong she was.  Please change her!"  Immediately the Lord spoke to my heart.  "Are you sure it is she who needs to change?"  He reminded me of how my response had been.  He reminded me of how my attitude had been.  Had I displayed a more Christlike spirit the situation would no doubt have been different.  As I asked the Lord to forgive me He gave me the words to this little chorus that I sing often when I need an attitude check:

Lord, change me.  I long to be like Thee.
Change me.  Help me Thy will to see.
Change me, in Thy image I would be.
Change me Lord, change me now,
Change me.


Contentment

Philippians 4:11-13 - Not that I speak in respect of want:  for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.  I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound;  every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry,  both to abound and to suffer need.  I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

I admire  Paul in so many ways, but none more than in his commitment to be content no matter what his circumstances.  This is my desire, but I know I often fail.  My discontentment leaks through in so many subtle ways:  complaints, irritations, frustrations, impatience - - all are evidences of my lack of contentment.  One definition of contentment that I read said "a state of calm, peaceful satisfaction." I have asked God to help me to be a satisfied, contented Christian, especially in four areas.  1.  With WHO I am.  I am who God made me to be.  God can use me just as I am.  2.  With HOW I am.  Even if I am not feeling well I can be pleasant and not complain.   3.  With  WHERE I am.  Whereever God leads me - - no matter if it is the most remote place on earth, I can be satisfied.  4.  With WHAT I have.  Paul knew how to be abased and how to abound and to be full and to hungry.  I can be satisfied no matter if I have much or little.

Are you a contented Christian?  Are you in a state of calm, peaceful satisfaction today?  Are you contented with who you are, how you are, where you are and what you have?  Determine in your heart that with God's help and strength you will be content, no matter what state you are in.



Waiting on the Lord

Isaiah 30:18 - And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you:  for the Lord is a God of judgment:  blessed are all they that wait for him.

Patience is a virtue with which most of us struggle.  Sometimes I think it has to do with control.  Often our flesh wants what we want, and we want it now!  Patience involves acknowledging that God is in control and that He knows what is best for us.  Patience also involves waiting, and oh how hard that is for those of us who are so impatient.  But looking back over situations in my life in the forty plus years I have known the Lord I can see that waiting was the best thing.  My husband, Tom, was saved immediately after he joined the Marines in 1962.  Very shortly after he was saved God called him to preach.  He wanted to begin Bible College right away so he put in a request for an early out from the Corp.  The request was approved all the way to the Commandant of the Marine Corp and then the Vietnam war escalated and all requests for early outs were denied.  We were so disappointed, but as we look back over the four years "we" spent in the Marine Corp we know that they were invaluable years in terms of our Christian growth.  Even though we went on to Bible College later,  we learned lessons in those four years that could never be learned in Bible College.  And God put a love in our hearts for the military that finally led us to serving our U.S military full time in Germany for over twenty years.  We can see how gracious the Lord was in making us wait and how He was exalted through it all..

Are you waiting for an answer or direction from the Lord today?  Wait patiently for Him and be assured that He is in control and when the answer comes you will see His grace and mercy was at work.





































Lord Jesus Christ."