When I got married in 1971, I was truly one of those who had never boiled water!  I had zero experience cooking.   When it came to the kitchen, I did not know what I was doing! 

My husband and I both came from homes where our mothers were fantastic southern cooks.  I will always remember my mother’s fried apple turnovers, tomato-vegetable soup, and cornbread dressing, all made from scratch.  Gaylon’s mother was one of the best bakers on the planet – caramel cake, pound cake, pecan pie, red velvet cake, multi-layered chocolate cake.  My boys to this day still talk about Grandma Benton’s fried chicken. 

As a wedding gift, I was given a cookbook which was compiled of recipes from the women of First Assembly of God in Ashford, AL.  Many of those women were married to farmers and cooked wonderful food from fresh ingredients.   That cookbook is my most-cherished cookbook, especially at Thanksgiving and Christmas.  As you can see from the picture, it has been used quite a bit in the past forty-nine years.   I have learned when I need help, just go to the book.

Though I am older now, I still find that life presents me with challenges, and I do not know what to do.  I often do not have a clear path in a situation, or sometimes I am simply sorrowful in spirit as I look around.  When I need help in life, I go to another book that I have cherished for more than fifty years – the Holy Bible, God’s Word. 

Like so many others, I have felt the pressure of the year 2020.  It has been a year like I have never experienced – COVID lockdown, ugly politics, riots, watching friends go through great difficulty.  It has been tough!  I have worshiped and I have prayed.  One thing I have found that has helped me most is the Word of God. 

Since I was unable to travel in ministry, I chose to teach several books of the Bible online.   It is amazing how relevant Philippians, Ruth, and 1 and 2 Peter showed themselves to be in this present time.   My soul began to grow as my online “students”, and I fed ourselves with the Word of God.  

My heart goes out to so many who are in such difficult circumstances.  My advice is to open His word, and if you can, do it with friends.  You are certainly welcome to join my online studies, and there are many more online studies from which to choose.  Open God’s Word!  Open it on days when you feel like opening it, and on days you do not feel like opening it.  Read it, read it slowly and dwell on the life-giving words.  Believe the Word and let it soak deep into your soul. 

I am thankful for a well-worn cookbook and a well-worn Bible.  Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (NIV)

In the year 2020, it is hard to imagine life without a cell phone.  Some of us “senior saints” remember when mobile phones did not exist except in the world of George Jetsen.    When George would call his wife, she would pop up on a screen, and we thought that was cute for the kids to see, but it was never going to be a reality.  Never say never.    The year 2020 has most of us familiar with Facetime, Zoom meetings, and Marco Polo. 

A few days ago, my husband Gaylon lost his cell phone.  He had driven my car to run an errand and as he braked, the phone fell between the seat and the console.  Gaylon spent quite a while looking for it.  I did not know what was transpiring, so I went to the garage to check on him.    To his dismay, and soon to mine, the cell phone was nowhere to be found.  We checked every inch around the seats, under the seats, and in the console.  Gaylon activated his phone finder and it was evident the phone was in the car. I even peeled back skin on my hand looking for that valuable phone.  

Alas, I had an idea!  Let me call your phone and it will light up in the car and you will know where it is.  It worked!  He had never dropped the phone.  It was over the visor exactly where he had put it!   Oh boy!    Nevertheless, our priority was to find the valuable thing that was lost and return it to its owner.

Many of us have feverishly and relentlessly looked for something of value that was lost.  What would happen if we had the same attitude towards lost souls?   If we are going to have the heart of God, we must put true effort into finding the lost.   They are valuable to God, and they must become valuable to us.  How does God feel about lost souls?  Jesus told us exactly how God feels.

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:4-7.

On many occasions I have been asked to share my testimony.  As a child I was put through all kinds of abuse, lived in abject poverty, and was deeply lost emotionally.   That was tragic. Even more tragic was that I was lost and facing an eternity in hell without God.   I was certainly not popular, did not wear nice clothes, and was not included in many fun things with other kids. BUT GOD was seeking me, looking for the girl that He had created. 

Miss Poulos, as we fondly called her, found me and many others. She picked us up. Took us to church.  Taught us in Sunday school, and led us to Jesus Christ.  Others saw me as just another “snotty-nosed” kid from a dysfunctional home.   Miss Poulos saw me as valuable in God’s sight and put a lot of effort into finding this lost sheep. 

Today, I am still a child of God, serving in full-time ministry, and teaching others about the grace of God.  I have raised three sons.   One of them awaits me in heaven, and the other two have families that are serving God.  Sometimes I tear up thinking of the difference in their lives because of the difference in my life. It was all because Miss Poulos sought that which was lost.

We, too, were once lost in sin before the Lord found us and saved us through the ministry of others – whether through our parents, through a friend, by attending church, or any other means.  Sometimes we see unbelievers as the enemy.  God sees them as valuable.   They are not the enemy but are under the influence of THE enemy. 

The year 2021 will soon be here and we tend to set all kinds of goals.  Why not set a goal to win the lost?   I plan to set a goal to win at least one person per month to Jesus.  Can you set a goal to win six, four, or even two?   I am already praying for God to help me pinpoint those who are lost and help me to bring them to Him.

We must become imitators of God.  Thank God for Bible studies!  I teach them.  Thank God for prayer meetings! I am involved in several.  Thank God for good worship!  I love it.   I want to imitate God by having a heart that seeks the lost.  I want to seek them like Gaylon and I sought a cell phone that seemed valuable.    

I love the way Pastor Greg Laurie expressed his thoughts:

Jesus said, “You know the saying, ‘Four months between planting and harvest.’ But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest” (John 4:35 NLT).

Do not just think of the world. Think of your world. Lift up your eyes in your family. There are people ready to come to Jesus. Lift up your eyes in your neighborhood. There are people ready to come to Jesus. Lift up your eyes in your community. There are people ready to come to Jesus.

COVID-19, COVID-19, COVID-19!  Are you tired of the acronym for Corona Virus Disease 2019?   Even my grandson, who was three at the time,  told me we could not go to the park because there was “crona birus.”  

Because of this strange period of time we are in, I have seen little of my grandchildren who live in North Carolina and Louisiana. More than ten months passed without seeing their sweet faces.  Gaylon and I made a decision that it was time to see those precious children, so this past weekend, we drove to Hickory, North Carolina, to see Mr. Tucker Bryan Benton.   Tucker stayed in the hotel with us, and let’s just say he kept things hopping!  He is an energizer bunny  and Dennis the Menace rolled into one!  He is so much fun.  

On Saturday night as we went to bed, Gaylon and I  were both exhausted.   Papa and Grammy are not spring chickens anymore!   Tucker was already asleep, and around 11:45, Gaylon and I retired for the evening.   About 6:00 in the morning, I heard something.  In the quietness of the dark room, I listened carefully and heard it again and again.  Then, I heard a slightly different sound, followed by voices.  In my muddled state of mind, I wondered what was happening.

Then, it dawned on me that someone was trying to get into our room!  I whispered to my husband Gaylon, “Someone is at our door.”  He responded in his own muddled state, “What do you want me to do?”  What do I want him to do?!  Isn’t he the mighty warrior?   (He declares that he meant what did I think was the best plan of action.) 

I got out of my bed and walked to the door.  Through the crack of the door I said, “Go away.  You have the wrong room!”  I wasn’t too sweet about it.   I know you readers would have been so polite, but I was authoritative.   The person on the other side of the door had been slipping their key card in and out, and turning the handle, then talking aloud about how it didn’t work.  After I stood in authority, the ones on the other side of the door left!

How often does the enemy disrupt our peace in life?  He comes to our dwelling, and wants to move in.  James was very clear how to handle this.  “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7.     

First of all, let me go on record as saying there is a real devil…BUT, there is also a real God!   As believers who have been born again and empowered by the Spirit of God, we have authority over the devil and his imps.  Too often, we open the door and say come on in!  We have seen the devil increase his presence in America, and he’s not even subtle with it anymore.  It is time to submit to God, and to resist the devil!   Submitting to God must happen first or we have no authority.

Resisting the devil is not just about doing all night prayer meetings and hanging crosses throughout the home.  It is to submit to God, walk away from temptation, and stop living as the world lives. The power of darkness itself is subject to the resurrection of Christ. The only power it has over us is what we give it.

I have made a decision and hope you will join me by making your own decision.  It is time to stand at the door and serve notice on the devil.  You have no authority here.   None!   It is time for the Church to rise up in America, SUBMIT TO GOD,  and resist the devil.   I am going to defend the ground that has already been gained for my family and my city, and I am going on the offensive to take new ground by breaking the strongholds of Satan. 

I was really tired that morning in the hotel when an intruder wanted to come into my space.  I was tired enough to say, “No more!  You are not coming in.”  It required movement from my place of rest to assert authority, but the alternative wasn’t even an option.  Why wasn’t it an option – because I wasn’t just protecting myself, but I was protecting my grandchild. 

Child of God, it is time!  I know some of us are tired and don’t really want to arise. It is time to strengthen our hands for war. It is time to stop the double mindedness that has infiltrated God’s people.   It is time to have an urgency about us.  It is time to close the door on the devil.  Do it for yourself, do it for your family, do it for the country, do it for God’s Kingdom.

Devil, stop right there!

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”  – 1 Peter 5:8-10