We have two of our Texas grandchildren with birthdays this week! Brooke and Cade. May the coming year be full of new discoveries of God’s love & Goodness! Happy Birthday! We love you two!
Speaking of Texas . . . pray for those is the small town of Van, Texas who have experienced such tremendous loss!
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My friend, Teresa, has kindly volunteered to facilitate our writers’ group, Kingdom Writers Fellowship this year. Thank you so much, Teresa, you’re doing a fine job, and I am very grateful!
I thank God for the four wonderful children he gave me. I am so proud of them. Thank you, Sherry, Danny, Kristi, and Rod for your Mother’s Day wishes. I love you guys!


Word Gem: Rejection
The root of this word comes from the Latin, “ject” meaning to throw. We use many English words that are formed by adding a prefix and/or a suffix to this root. Words like project, interject, and conjecture are but a few. When the prefix, “re” is added to “ject,” the word reject is formed. “Re” means “back” or “again.” Thus “reject” means “throw back or to cast aside.
Rejecting a person is a serious matter, and its effects can be devastating and affect a person’s life for many years. Most people have felt rejected at some point in their lives and are familiar with the pain. I once heard it said that the mind often forgets, but rarely the heart.
Rejection has many faces, but primarily it takes the form of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. Each of these may involve, harsh criticisms, physical injuries, being ignored, deprived, or compared to another person, Rejection stamps its victims as unworthy.
Like most folks, I’ve had my share of feeling rejected—being left out, passed over for jobs, not measuring up to expectations, and being unfairly crititicized. When my husband of 20 years walked out of our marriage, I have to say that was probably my ultimate rejection. That was 36 years ago and even today, if I allow myself, I will feel the pain of that rejection all over again. I have learned through the years to reject the lies that Satan is eager for me to believe, although, I remember them all. I’m ugly, worthless, no wonder he left. I was a terrible wife, I should have tried harder. On and on Satan hurled the accusations. He loves to attack God’s children with lies about themselves. After all, he is the father of lies.
When we experience rejection, if we’re not careful, Satan’s lies may become our reality, our identity. We then see the world through this identity. It dramatically affects our decisions, our outlook on life, and our relationships.
What lies has Satan told you? Do you believe them? Perhaps you’ve decided one of the following is true.
-I’m ugly
-If my own mother didn’t want me, God sure wouldn’t.
-I’m just plain stupid.
-I never say the right thing.
-I have absolutely no sense of humor.
-I can’t do anything right, so why try?
To live a joyful life filled with God’s peace the lies that stemmed from rejection need to be dealt with. Doing that requires prayer and practice and will take time. However, if the lies are so deeply ingrained in your mind and heart, you may want to consider therapy with a qualified Christian therapist.
Make a list of what the Bible says is true about you. Pray these verses over and over. Here are some to get you started, but there are many more! (NIV of the Bible)
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. Psalm 139:13 (God made me!)
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:4 (I am His beautiful creation!)
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (God loves me so much He sent His Son to die for me!)
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people., Ephesians 1:18 (He will open my eyes to truth!)
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Psalm 147:3 (God will heal my wounded heart!)
One last point: Forgive the person who wounded you. The Bible says that we are to Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
Prayer for you today: May the God of all comfort soothe your wounded heart, impress you with His amazing love, and fill your life with abundant blessings and healing. Amen

On the subject of rejection, I remembered a story I had written about 10 years ago with a rejection theme. It’s a story meant primarily for young girls. Who knows, you might enjoy it. It’s called, Left Out, Thrown Out.
“Race you to the cabin!” shouted JaLissa.
Marcy and Zoe broke into a gallop. “You’re on!”
JaLissa reached the cabin first and screeched to a halt. “Whoa! It’s your stuff, Marcy.” The girls stared at Marcy’s belongings scattered on the ground.
“Wow. Who could have done this?” Zoe asked.
“I think I know,” Marcy said.
The girls lugged Marcy’s sleeping bag, suitcase and pillow inside and plopped them beside her bare cot.
“Maybe this will explain things,” JaLissa said, snatching a note taped over Marcy’s bed.
Marcy’s hands trembled as she read, “You are not wanted in this cabin.”
“What does it say?” JaLissa asked.
“Apparently I’m not wanted here.”
“That’s nuts!” Zoe said.
“Who do you think wrote the note, Marcy?” JaLissa asked.
“Bo-Anna. I’m sure of it.” She wadded the note into a little ball and threw it across the cabin.
“But . . . but Bo’s your friend,” Zoe said.
“I thought she was. Now I’m not so sure.” Marcy threw herself on her cot and sobbed.
“We should go get our counselor,” JaLissa whispered.
“No. I just want to be alone, Lissa.”
How could Bo-Anna do this to me? And why has she been so rude lately? Marcy wracked her brain. She thought maybe it was because of Eliana and Heather, two girls from another cabin that Bo had been spending time with. Word around camp was that those two were troublemakers. They had I-don’t-care attitudes. Some girls had overheard them swearing and mocking the counselors. It bothered Marcy to see Bo-Anna spending so much time with them and tried to warn her. Maybe they put her up to throwing my stuff outside.
The longer Marcy thought about the note and Bo-Anna’s actions, her tears subsided and anger took over. Bo is an ungrateful, rude smart-alec! Why she wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for me.
Bo-Anna’s family had recently moved next door to Marcy. She knew right away that Bo-Anna was adopted because she looked nothing like her parents.
“Hi!” Marcy yelled and waved.
Bo-Anna put down the box she was lugging from the moving van and returned the wave, then jogged to the fence.
“Hi. My name’s Bo-Anna.” Marcy expected her to speak Chinese or Korean, but she sounded just like any American.
“Bo-Anna?
“Yeah. When my folks adopted me, they decided I should keep my Chinese name, Bo. It means precious, and Anna is my adopted mother’s name. Weird, huh?”
“No. I like it. I’m Marcy Thompson.”
“Well, I better get moving so my dad can return the rental van before dark.”
In only a few days, the two had become good friends.
When Marcy’s church announced Grace Girls’ Camp, Marcy flew over to Bo-Anna’s.
“Bo! I have a great idea. Let’s go to camp together! How about it?”
“Camp?”
“Yes. Our church camp. It is so much fun!”
“How much does it cost?”
“It’s $100 for two weeks.”
“Nah. Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“No money. There’s no money for camp. Trust me.”
“Can’t you at least ask?”
“Marcy, my dad lost his job last year and couldn’t find another one for a long time. He just got a new one. That’s why we moved here. There’s no way my folks can pay for me to go to camp. Just forget it.”
Marcy would gladly pay for Bo-Anna to go to camp herself, but she only had a few dollars and the money had to be in by Sunday.
During dinner that evening, Marcy approached her mom and dad.
“Bo’s parents can’t afford to send her to camp. Do you think we can help her?” Marcy asked.
Her dad put down his fork and studied Marcy’s face. Her mom raised her eyebrows and looked at him. “Um,” he said, tapping his fork on the table. “Why don’t we think about it for a couple of days?”
Marcy was so excited she could scarcely finish eating. She looked forward to camp every summer, and it would be extra special fun with Bo.
At dinner on Friday, Marcy could wait no longer for their answer. “What do you guys think?” she asked.
“About what?” her dad asked. He helped himself to a piece of fried chicken.
Marcy sighed. “About helping Bo, Dad.”
“Oh. Your mom and I have decided that we will advance the $100 for her.”
“Very cool!”
“On one condition.”
Marcy, felt hope slide away.
“Marcy, it’s asking a lot for us to pay an extra $100, so we have an offer.”
“An offer?”
“Yes. We think that you need to be responsible for paying half the cost of Bo-Anna’s Camp.”
“Me? I don’t have fifty bucks!”
“We know. Here’s the offer. On Sunday, we will pay the $100 for Bo-Anna to go to camp, providing you are willing to receive only half your allowance for awhile.”
“Half my allowance?”
“We will keep the other half until it adds up to $50.
Marcy did the math. Half of her weekly allowance would be $5. It would take her ten weeks to pay her part of Bo’s camp cost. That meant she wouldn’t get her full allowance until some time in October. Would it be worth it? The thought had scarcely zipped through her mind before she agreed to her parent’s terms.
The longer Marcy lay and stared at Bo-Anna’s cot her anger grew to rage. After all I’ve done for her!
As in a trance Marcy arose, marched across the wooden floor and angrily jerked Bo-Anna’s duffle bag from under her cot. She ripped into the bag and pulled out Bo-Anna’s clothes and hurled them around the cabin. Take that, you traitor!
When Marcy’s hand curled around Bo-Anna’s hairbrush, she dropped to her knees, and furiously rubbed it back and forth across the dirty cabin floor. I’ll show her that two can play this game!
She picked up Bo-Anna’s pillow to toss it out the door and discovered a photograph underneath. What’s this? It was a picture of her and Bo. Marcy studied the smiling girls, standing arm in arm. Her anger cooled as if ice had been dropped down her shirt. She smiled at the memory of that day. Bo’s mom had snapped their picture, but Marcy had never seen it. She turned the picture over and her eyes filled with tears at the words “Best friends forever!”
Marcy surveyed the mess she had made. Clothing lay in piles around the room. What have I done? She laid her head on Bo-Anna’s sleeping bag and cried. She cried for the friend she had lost and for reacting in such a mean way.
The truth gave her renewed energy. Quickly she stood and began painstakingly folding Bo-Anna’s clothing and returning everything to its place. The problem was the hairbrush. Her heart lurched as she heard someone approaching the cabin. She hid the brush behind her back as Bo-Anna slammed inside.
Marcy glanced at her and saw that something was wrong. She had been crying.
“I hate this place!” spat Bo-Anna. “I’m calling my dad to come and get me.”
“Why?” Marcy asked. “Did something happen?”
“As if you care! You only care about Lissa and Zoe, your two rich friends!” accused Bo-Anna.
Rich friends? What is she talking about?
Suddenly Marcy understood. Bo-Anna had no spending money. She must have felt left out when the rest of us went for snacks or souvenirs. Bo was hurt and jealous!
“I do care, Bo. What happened?”
“They got me in trouble.”
“Who? Heather and Eliana?”
“Who else? They told their counselor that I took money from their cabin.”
“Did you?”
“No! I don’t steal, Marcy. They took it. The counselor found it in Heather’s stuff. Now, I just want to go home.” Bo started to cry again.
Marcy moved toward her.
“What’s that?” asked Bo-Anna, spying the hairbrush. Marcy’s cheeks flamed.
“It’s well . . . I did it, Bo. I was so hurt and angry that you threw my things outside, I wanted to get even. It was you who did it? Right?”
“Yeah. Heather said I should teach you a lesson for being so bossy.”
“We hurt each other, didn’t we? I’m sorry, Bo.”
“I’m sorry, too. I just thought you liked Lissa and Zoe better than me.”
“And I thought you liked Heather and Eliana better than me!” Marcy laughed.
What’s with the hairbrush, Marcy?” Bo-Anna frowned. “Why is it so dirty?
“Sorry, Bo . I . . . uh . . . guess I flipped out a little and rubbed it . . . I’ll get you a new one. I promise.”
“Don’t worry about the hairbrush. I borrowed it from Zoe.”
“Zoe!” they exclaimed. Together, they scurried to the bathroom.
That’s how Zoe and JaLissa found them—giggling hysterically and trying to clean a hopelessly filthy hairbrush.
