Not too long ago I shared with a friend how God had given me a new appreciation for 2 Corinthians 12:9 ("But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me"). That new understanding came by way of a Satanic attack that caused my husband to become anxious, angry, and sullen, and which brought me to a point where I felt as if my sympathy had run dry.

It was at that moment -- when my mind was filled with unloving thoughts toward my spouse -- that the Holy Spirit revealed to me just what it means to have God's power perfected in my weakness. Because I was so desperate for His peace and direction, when I heard His gentle voice whisper, "Pray," I didn't hesitate but immediately repented of my sinful thoughts and admitted that I couldn't overcome the resentment in my heart. The Spirit's voice immediately grew louder and I was instilled with a wave of powerful, godly love toward my husband as well as a desire to show him mercy through the simple act of a gentle word and a smile.

That act of mercy was the turning point. Over the next few days my husband and I were unified in our prayers and our time spent in the Word, and we overcame the attack. Thankful to put the situation behind us and sure that things would be calm for a bit while I reveled in my new insight, I was surprised to find out that God had other plans.

The past seven days have been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting: a "simple" switch of Web hosts for the church ended up in shambles; my nine-year-old daughter's tendency toward the dramatic went into overdrive more than once (more than a half-dozen times, in fact); efforts to provide local families-in-need with a Thanksgiving meal went awry; I (once again) caused my daughter to break out in hives by inadvertently feeding her food made with pea flour; my computer, for no apparent reason, decided to stop working; and to top it off, two of my chickens suddenly and very mysteriously stopped laying eggs!

On more than one occasion over the past week I have been tempted to forget what God had just taught me about His strength in my weakness---and more than once I came very close to the edge of that dangerous cliff. Thankfully, however, He is faithful and His Spirit never once stopped whispering to me, "My power rests on you." Now that this difficult period seems to have come to an end, I can look back and see that God allowed me to have one of the most troublesome weeks of my life so that, through each and every trial, I would fall back into His arms and be reminded of His perfect strength.

-Trish Gerstel

As most of you know, today was a very hard day for many of us at church. This morning Doctor Victor Burdick (Doctor Vic) died, and while he is joyfully celebrating and meeting his Savior, the rest of us are left missing him. He has only been in the area a short time and yet was loved by everyone he met. Why was that?

 

First of all, Doctor Vic passed the love of his Savior onto everyone he met by being genuinely interested in their lives, both the good things and the struggles. He prayed for a large number of people on a daily basis and frequently asked for follow-up information about their situations so he could better direct his prayers. Doctor Vic also stepped into a leadership role simply by being a mentor and sounding board. He demonstrated Jesus’ long-suffering spirit by being long-suffering with others, particularly in caring for his wife. He strived to demonstrate the character and love of Christ in everything he did.

 

Doctor Vic also stepped-up to the plate and became involved in the church and its ministries even though physically he was limited in what he could do: He planned and prepared intricate Children’s Messages, read and frequently contributed to the weekly blog, wrote articles for the church newsletter ("The Buzz") based on his recent study of Scripture, he was a prayer warrior, and he willingly took on a ministry group as a deacon. Even though he could not physically serve communion or physically assist the individuals he ministered to, he supported them through regular contact and through prayer. Most of these things he did from the comfort of his own couch using his computer and cell phone.

 

Doctor Vic could have moved to Stephentown and become bitter. Bitter that he was not living on his own. Bitter that he was no longer a practicing physician. Bitter that his wife was struggling with dementia. Bitter that he was physically struggling with a disease that left him weak and out of breath, and that limited the time he could be away from home. Bitter that he could not actively participate in the church in a way that he was able to do when he was younger.

 

Or, he could have sat back rested on his accomplishments: He had served in the mission field; worked as a physician for many, many years; raised three successful children; been active in several churches; and served on the diaconate. He could easily have come to Stephentown in his final years and let the church serve him.

 

Many of us drop out of ministry when life gets hard, when we cannot do the things we used to do, or when we just decide we are too old (or too young . . . or too inexperienced) and someone else should step up to the plate. Doctor Vic was our shining example of how a Christian should live out their final years on earth. They should continue to be a servant of Christ in whatever way they are able to, right up until the end.

 

There is always a ministry you can be doing no matter what your age, health, finances, or skills. God can use you and wants to use you. When you die, the church should be left with a hole, and if they have to scramble to find someone to fill the ministries you were doing, all the better. Let Doctor Vic’s life be a challenge to your own Christian walk. Step up to the plate, figure out what type of ministry you can do based on the cards you have been dealt, and just do it.

 

Ellen Olson

Parenting is hard - especially in those moments when you and your spouse don't see eye-to-eye on how to handle a child-rearing situation. Thankfully these types of moments don't happen very often in our home. Even better, my heart has been softened and I now seek out God's guidance so He can gracefully lead me through those situations when they do come up.

A few nights ago my spouse was disciplining our child and acted in a way that I found harsh. In the past this would have caused contention, maybe even an argument (maybe even an argument in front of the children!) - but not this time! Instead of immediately jumping in to give my opinion on my spouse's terrible parenting technique, I prayed to the Lord for His guidance, waited until the initial anger had gone, and then spoke with my spouse. Through God's grace my words were words that built up instead of tearing down, and my spouse and I both left the conversation feeling enlightened instead of angry and bitter.

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. -2 Corinthians 12:9

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. -Romans 8:28

It is an amazing gift: When we read passages of Scripture -- or even another Christian's account of God touching their lives -- the Holy Spirit gives us a supernatural understanding of those words (John 14:26, 16:13) so that we are able to apply them to our lives and share them with others. A more amazing gift still is when God gives us an opportunity to experience His Word.

The gift of experiencing God's Word is something that has happened to me a few times (i.e., when I was so badly hurt by someone's words and actions that I didn't know what to pray, but I could feel the Spirit interceding on my behalf [Romans 8:26-27]; or when I was facing a situation that should have terrified me, but instead I felt a sense of peace because I focused on God's promises [John 14:27]) -- but without a doubt the events of this weekend were the most powerful imparting of the gift I've yet to receive.

Thursday afternoon I began to get a headache; that headache continued throughout the day on Friday, and by Saturday morning it reached a level where I (a stubborn mule if ever one existed) asked my husband to take me to the local urgent care clinic to get things checked out. With an initial diagnosis of lyme disease and a prescription for antibiotics, we left the clinic thinking that things would get better from there. They didn't. All of Saturday evening and throughout that night I was crying out to the Lord, asking Him to take away a pain so severe there really are no words to describe it. In the midst of my pain and my desperate pleas for relief, I felt Him guiding, telling me that He was not going to take away the pain, but that there was a reason; 2 Corinthians 12:9 and Romans 8:28 were continuously brought before me, and I submitted to His will.

As events unfolded Sunday -- beginning with a trip to the Emergency Room at St. Peter's and ending with a diagnosis of bacterial infection (possibly lyme, but possibly something else [it takes days to get the blood work back]) and even more antibiotics to take -- it was made clear to me exactly what the Lord had done: He allowed me to experience the initial pain because without it I would not have gone to the doctor on Saturday, learned that I most likely had lyme, and gotten my first antibiotics; and He had allowed the excruciating pain of Saturday evening/Sunday morning, because without it, this stubborn mule would not have gone to the Emergency Room, would not have received stronger intravenous antibiotics as well as a second prescription to take home, and thus would not have the correct medications needed to kill the bacteria besieging her body. The Lord allowed me to experience a pain unlike anything I've ever encountered, because without that pain I would not have received what I need to heal.

This weekend, I experienced God's Word, and that is a gift of grace beyond measure.

-Trish Gerstel

About Grace Notes in Music

For me, the music of the ensemble at Emily Olson’s wedding was a huge second blessing. As always, one has to marvel at the effect of notes in the music of the artists: The beginner plays the composition consistently, just according to the score, but the artist -- adding a few extra notes here and there, trills during rests, unexpected brief pauses between notes, a slight shift in the rhythm, added emphasis during certain passages -- makes for beautiful music. These "grace notes" are the musician’s unique effort in interpretation, to capture the mood of the composer.

Translate that into the life of the church: Beyond the church’s standard note-by-note order of worship there are these "grace notes" -- spots of humor in the sermons (planned and spontaneous), a child’s cry at a surprising moment in the flow of the service, freedom of members to interject a thought or a comment meaningfully, a young child’s funny remark during the Children’s Sermon, someone stepping aside during praise time to allow one seated behind them to read the verses on the screen, another's following a coughing old man to help him in the foyer, hearts open and vulnerable to share prayer needs, spontaneous clapping at exciting moments in the praise songs, an occasional "Amen" at an appropriate time. Would not the Composer be pleased?

Doctor Victor Burdick

My personality tends to be a bit "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde." On a day-to-day basis I am "Type B" -- relaxed and flexible, I take things one step at a time and don't stress over bumps in the road. Once I've been handed a responsibility, however, a switch is thrown and "Type A" kicks in -- aiming at efficient perfection, I plan and organize things to the Nth.

There have been many times my Type A side has been an asset (I cannot imagine coordinating the Food Closet or homeschooling my children without the ability to organize), but it also has, like Mr. Hyde, proven destructive. All of that organizing and planning comes with a tremendous amount of worrying: If this piece falls through, the whole plan will be thrown out of whack, and then what?! Can I keep everything on schedule? What happens if . . . ?! And so on, and so on. The worrying is (obviously) stressful, and stress causes a plethora of unwanted physical and emotional side effects.

This Spring I began to once again plan for the Summer Feeding Program ministry, and Mr. Hyde made himself known: Dates were set, sign-up sheets were distributed, charts were made . . . all my ducks were in a row. And then reality happened; my ducks started to wander and my attitude quickly began to sour.

Thankfully, the Lord showered me with His grace when things started to get hairy -- especially in this past week when things reached an almost comical state of confusion. First and foremost, God urged me to be faithful in remembering Who is in control, and in doing so gave me a sense of peace; He also guided me toward humility and reminded me of the true purpose of any ministry, which (of course) is to show His love.

Faced with the circumstances of this week and left to my own devices I'd be a mess and the Summer Feeding Program would be in peril. But praise be to God that I am not left alone - I have the comfort and the strength of the Lord Almighty, and He is victorious!

-Trish Gerstel

Today (May 29, 2015), on our fifty-sixth anniversary, I was contemplating what would be a key factor in our marital longevity, and one word came to mind: Sabbath.

Each of us has attended SDB churches since conception. We were brought together at our Makapwa Mission in Malawi, as nurse-midwife and doctor, in its only medical outreach in the world.

The Sabbath has also had a big part, I think, in keeping us together in all the years since then: Each place we’ve lived—except Phoenix—has had an SDB church, and our involvement in them with our children in Sabbath worship, has given us a stability morally and emotionally -- or at least helped us through the “tough” times. Not that the Sabbath in any way keeps us together now – that’s fixed in the Rock, so to speak – but the Sabbath, as it is so important as a part of our life as we share in the Berlin SDB church family, adds a sort of final Crown of Joy to our lives. And all that, for the Grace of God.

Beth and Victor Burdick