Jeremiah 26:13
“Now, therefore, amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the Lord your God…”
“I want it!”
“No! It’s mine!”
“You said I could have it!”
“I changed my mind!”
Mary Rose and her friend Ruthie were at an impasse.
Each pulling on one end of the shirt suddenly they both heard a ripping sound.
“R-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-p!”
They looked and saw a big gaping hole in the seam.
Each accusing the other of ripping the shirt they began shouting,
“It’s your fault!” cried Ruthie.
“No, it’s not, it’s your fault!” yelled Mary Rose.
Letting go of the shirt Mary Rose crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out at Ruthie.
Ruthie, with tears in her eyes, took the shirt and ran to tell her mother.
This was the first time Mary Rose and Ruthie had fought and they both ended up being selfish and unloving toward one other.
To begin with, the shirt was Ruthie’s and she said she was going to let Mary Rose have it, but changed her mind when it came to giving it away.
Ruthie’s mother took the shirt and looked at it. It was in need of some repair but thought it was able to be mended. She escorted Ruthie back to her bedroom where Mary Rose waited.
Mary Rose was beginning to feel bad about their argument and her behavior and let her arms hang at her sides. She kind of slumped over and walked to the bed and sat down. Ruthie joined her as her mother came in the room.
As the girls sat she reminded them of their sweet friendship and how important good friendships really are. She spoke of how she liked it when they were together and got along, but hated to see them arguing over something so trivial as a shirt. She reminded Ruthie of how she should think twice before promising something she really didn’t want to part with in the first place.
She held up the shirt and showed them what they had done.
” As much as this shirt needs mending, so does your friendship. I will work on mending this but I think you need to chose what should be done with it. It might be a fun if you girls would share the shirt. One of you could have it for a week and then give it to the other one for a week, or I know of another little girl who this shirt would fit perfectly and you could give it to her.”
Ruthie and Mary Rose were both sorry they had quarreled and apologized to one another. They sat and discussed it for a while and decided to keep the shirt and share it with each other for they didn’t even know if the other girl would like it as much as them.
Mary Rose was sleeping over Ruthie’s house that night and before saying goodnight Ruthie’s mother read to them from the Bible. She picked what seemed the perfect situation to read about especially after what had happened with the girls that afternoon, (Genesis 32-33).
She began telling them about two brothers. Twins.
She told how different they were and all the things that had happened between them to cause trouble, (Genesis 25-28).
“They ended up being separated for a long time because of what one had done to the other. Over time they had both married and while Jacob was away God had blessed Jacob with a large family of 13 children and lots of healthy animals. After 20 years (Genesis 31:38) of being away, God told Jacob to take his family and go back to his relatives to the land where he had come from and He would be with him, (Genesis 31:3; 32:9).”
“So Jacob was going to meet up with his brother Esau again and was hoping he was not angry with him anymore, so he sent messengers to let Esau know he was coming and wanted to find favor in his sight. But when the messengers returned to Jacob they told him that Esau was coming with 400 men. Jacob became very fearful, split his family and all he owned into 2 groups so when if Esau meant harm to anyone at least part of them would escape, (Genesis 32:6-12). Jacob prayed to God for protection. He and decided the best way to greet his brother was to send messengers before him with a gift for Esau, (Genesis 32:13-21).”
“After traveling for a good while, Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and behold Esau was coming! Jacob bowed before Esau 7 times until he reached him and Esau ran, hugged and kissed him and they cried because they were so happy to see each other, (Genesis 33:4-10). Esau had truly forgiven Jacob. They had mended their ways.”
The girls knew exactly why she had chosen these brothers to talk about. Mary Rose and Ruthie always wanted to be friends and the only way to do that was to try to do what God says and then be forgiving when they messed up.
Goodnight hugs were given. They settled down to sleep and were looking forward to another day together.
Find this month’s “Gold Star” visual aids by clicking on the gold star below!
Greetings! To my sister Bible class Teachers,
Have you ever had to mend a seam or a tear in fabric? The threads may not have been sewn well or just become worn. The fabric separates and certain stitches are required for mending. When there has been an all-out tear sometimes all we can do is gently add a sturdy patch and try not to tear it again. Any kind of mending depends upon a close look to know the best way to do the mending required to fix the problem. It takes time, patience, practice, and diligence or attentiveness.
Relationships are much the same. Sometimes relationships are or have become fragile, are worn, torn, or falling apart and require those “certain stitches” to be “mended” or reconciled.
Certain stitches of:
- Repentance and prayer, Acts 8:22.
- Forgiveness, Mark 11:26.
- Threads of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, Galatians 5:19-24.
- Love, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
- 2 Peter 1:5-11, Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble, (fall)…
I think the key to never stumbling is practice.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!
BE A DOER OF THE WORD.
- James 1:19-27, …For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless, (vain, profitless).
Sometimes mending a heart takes longer than what we would have hoped, but the relationship tends to be stronger if it is done correctly.
Hope you enjoy the visual aids!
Appreciative of you and all you do!
In Him,
Gwendolyn Schnell
She enjoys opening the Word of God with various ages, but children are one of her all-time favorites. Gwen has had the pleasure of putting the Word into the hearts of children for over 40 years and loves it still! Gwen also loves to conduct personal home Bible studies.
Gwen has been married to her husband Dan for over 45 years. He has been the pulpit minister at the Owasso Church of Christ in Owasso Oklahoma for over 26 years. They both love working with this congregation. They are richly blessed with 3 grown children who along with their spouses love and serve in the Lord’s kingdom in various ways. Gwen and Dan are even further blessed to have Jonathan, Matthew, Micaiah, Lydia, and Esther Rose join the ranks making them Grandma/Nina and Opa!
Gwen enjoys lectureships, outdoors, good movies, reading, crafting/sewing, organizing, pizza, and a comfortable chair.
She is the author of the book, Mary Rose & Me Learn Bible Truths Together! Mary Rose will help you love God, others, and yourself! Check it out at the link below!
https://www.amazon.com/Keaac-Womens-Pieces-Crewneck-Sleeve/dp/1943245150#customerReviews
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Welcome! We are so glad you stopped by. Come Fill Your Cup is a group of Christian ladies dedicated to equipping women for study and service. We know you are busy and that life’s hectic pace pulls you in so many directions, but you can’t truly be the woman God desires unless you take time to fill your own cup…not with spa days (though we love a good spa!) or the latest novel…but with God’s Holy Word. We want to help you with that! Our goal is to reach you in the midst of your busy day and give you encouragement, education, and fellowship as you strive to live the life God has laid before you. Our prayer is that we can help fill your cup so that you, in turn, can overflow to all those around you. So, as we like to say…come fill your cup, and let it overflow!