Under the Influence

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (II Kings 10-12)

"Jehoash (Joash) did what was right in the sight of the Lord all the days in which Jehoida the priest instructed him." II Kings 12:2

It was 1979 and Charlie had accepted a transfer to Corinth, Mississippi to be the operation’s manager for a new mill that was being built there. We knew we were supposed to go because we were reading in Acts 18 and the scripture jumped out at us, “Go to Corinth for I have many people there.” God couldn’t be much clearer than that!

Was it hard to leave Wisconsin and family and friends again to go back “down south?” Yes, it was. But looking back, I can see that in our lives there is better and best. This step of faith turned out to be the very best for Charlie and I and our four children. What God had for us in Corinth far surpassed the difficulties of saying goodbye and moving away from our beloved state. He did, indeed “have many people there.”

That became immediately apparent when we attended a church on Sunday morning and liked the preacher so much that we went back the same Sunday night. After the evening service, we went downstairs for a get together. We had no idea that the people we were about to “get together” with would change all of our lives. I was drinking a cup of punch and casually chit chatting with a woman named Lynn. All of a sudden she said, “Have you met Mary and Elaine?” Before I could even answer she disappeared. Soon I spotted her towing two delightful women who both beamed at me with welcoming smiles.

Lynn was right. Mary and Elaine and I instantly connected. It was more than that, it was a knitting of our hearts as all three of us immediately realized that we were kindred spirits in a very deep love for Jesus. Only a week later, I was attending a Monday morning Bible study in Mary’s home, which “happened” to be just a block away from where I lived. Mary taught and Elaine led the singing and I just studied with them and soaked it all up.

Soon Charlie became friends with Sherman, Mary’s husband. They were our southern “Priscilla and Aquilla.” Sherman and Mary loved our children and were spiritual grandparents to them. When Sherman went to be with the Lord six years ago, Charlie was one of the speakers at his “Homegoing Service.” He was so influenced by this Godly man’s life that he named our collie……… Sherman!

When wicked Athaliah became queen of Judah, she immediately destroyed all the royal heirs except for one. While they were being murdered, the daughter of the dead king, Jehoshabeath, rescued little one year old Joash. She secretly hid him in a bedroom with his nurse for six years. (How do you hide a toddler anyway?) Somehow no one knew he existed except Jehoida the Priest who just happened to be married to Jehoshabeath. When Joash was seven, he was made king of Judah after a daring coup in which the throne was rightfully restored to the Davidic heirs. It amazes me that a helpless one year old boy was the sole link that saved the dynasty of David and the very lineage of Jesus Christ. Jehoida the Priest mentored Joash and under his influence Joash “did what was right in the sight of the Lord.” (II Kings 12:2) We are told that he even restored Solomon’s elegant temple to its original condition.

All was good …until Jehoida died. After the death of the High Priest, the true character of King Joash became clear. Joash listened to the ungodly leaders of Judah and turned away from following the Lord. We read that “they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass. Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them but they would not listen.” ( II Chronicles 24:18,19)

The sad story of King Joash spirals down into incredible depravity. When Zechariah, the son of Jehoida came to warn Joash about his ungodly choices, he killed him. He stoned the son of the man and woman who had saved his life and mentored him. Incredible!

God is so patient and good to us. He sends us many people over the years. We can listen and learn from them or we can reject them. We think we’ll have them forever, but we don’t.

After two years we moved from Corinth to Connecticut. I had a hole in my heart for months and months after leaving Mary. But, we stayed in touch in many miraculous ways over the years. You’ll hear a lot more about Mary in my blog. But, I have to go because we call each other every Monday morning at nine. We talk and pray. Her wisdom and love for Jesus can be counted on to lead me to the highest road on my joyful journey to heaven.

Happy Memorial Day! As we remember the sacrifices of so many veterans for our beloved country, let’s also be thankful for the Godly Jehoidas who have given their lives to mentor us.

How To Be An Excellent Leader

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (I Kings 12-14)

“Then King Rehoboam consulted the elders who stood before his father Solomon while he still lived, and he said, “How do you advise me to answer these people?”

And they spoke to him saying, “If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.” I Kings 12: 6-7

“Charlie,” I said, “I’d like your advice on a question I’ve been thinking about.”

My husband put down The Wall Street Journal and looked at me with a half smile, “Are you feverish?” he questioned.

“That’s not funny,” I replied, “You know I ask your opinion about lots of things.”

“That’s true.” He continued his bantering, “But asking advice and taking it are two different things.”

I smiled at him still enjoying his teasing after 45 years of marriage. Kicking off my shoes and putting my feet on the coffee table, I pressed on.

“You were in operations for many years. You were a mill manager with lots of people working for you. What is the best advice you could give about leadership? Tell me some things that you tried to do.”

“I Kings 12,” he said without hesitation. “That’s management 101!”

I leaned back on the sofa and smiled to myself because I actually knew that was what he would say. “Tell me, elaborate,” I urged.

“Well, you know the story. King Solomon had died and his son, Rehoboam was about to be the new king. The people of Israel gathered together and asked him to lighten the great tax load that his father had imposed on them during his lavish reign. Rehoboam said, “Give me three days to reply” and he went to the still living elders who had worked with Solomon. He asked these wisest of men how they would advise him to answer the people.

“Yes,” I said, “That’s right where I was reading today.”

“Well,” he continued, “The advice that they gave him can be applied to any leadership position. I read and reread these verses so many times and tried to apply them in my job."

“Be a servant to these people.” "I always found that if I showed those who were working for me that I wanted to help them succeed, they responded well because they knew I cared about them. Little things like helping them get the right resources to do their jobs are very important. Usually if you serve your employees, they will catch the vision and serve others.

“I think the rest of the advice of the elders is key, too. ..”serve them and answer them, and speak good words to them,” I tried to apply this and answer the questions my deputies asked. Taking time to listen and reply to their inquiries helped them to feel valued and respected.

Charlie went on, ““Speaking good words to them” is communication – giving them information about why the team is doing what it is. I always felt that if my employees had the same information that I did, they would probably make the same or even better decisions.

"You know," he said, "I think that a good word from a boss or leader is a great way to encourage people. When my boss said something complimentary or helpful to me, it showed me that he believed in me and in what I was doing. I would go a long way on those words.”

“then they will be your servants forever.” "It is a rare person who will leave a team that values and communicates with them,” he concluded.

“Charlie,” I said, “That’s why being married to you for forty five years seems like about forty five minutes. You do all those things to me – answer, speak, communicate good things! Yes, I'll be your servant forever!”

“Why,” I exclaimed now on a praise roll, “what more could I ask of a husband?”

He reached for his glasses, picked up his Wall Street Journal again and started to laugh. “Oh, I’m sure you’ll think of something soon. Isn’t this Sunday Mother’s Day?”

That’s a snippet of our life together.

I could go on about how Rehoboam also consulted the young men of the kingdom who told him not to listen to the people but to tax and burden them much more than King Solomon had. Rehoboam foolishly disregarded the advice of the wise men. After three days we are told that

“he answered the people roughly, and rejected the counsel which the elders had given him;

And he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; “My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scourges.” I Kings 12:13-14.

As a result of his foolish choice, I Kings 12 is the turning point of the book of Kings. Rehoboam lost the support of the people as they rejected his leadership and turned to Jeroboam to be their new leader. The united kingdom of Israel became the divided kingdom of Israel and Judah. Remember the old saying, “United we conquer, divided we fall?” Israel had begun its fall.

The Role of Role Models

Reading Through the Bible in 2010 (Joshua 22-24)

“Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel.” Joshua 24: 31

I was ten years old and I was dreading 4^th grade. Older, wiser students had warned me about the austere woman who would be my teacher. As I entered the classroom, my eyes focused on the cursive letters above the blackboard. I was scared to even glance in her direction. But, happy chatter forced me to look around the room - what was so exciting?

There she was! Or I could say, there she wasn’t! I stared incredulously at the young woman smiling at me. There was no sign of the teacher that I had feared. But, who was this? She walked up to me extending her hand. “I’m Miss Jones and I am your 4^th grade exchange teacher from England!”

“And what is your name?” she asked, her direct gaze sizing me up quickly. I was so dumbstruck that I just stood there and stared at her. She was so beautiful and I had never heard a British accent before.

“You must use good manners and reply when I ask you a question,” she stated with a fleck of humor in her eyes. “Now, I’ll ask you again, dear, what is your name?”

I replied, “My name is Betsy.” I could have added, “Did you hang the moon?” I was already that dazzled by this new teacher.

Fourth grade with Miss Jones proved to be a highlight of my life. She was a wonderful teacher who loved us and regaled us with songs and stories of her country. She taught us about the changing of the guard and the coronation of Queen Elizabeth. Her descriptions of Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey made them real places we wanted to visit. Everyone tried to please her – even the behavior of the “awful” boys in the class went up a notch and they learned “God Save the Queen.”

One night she came to our house for dinner. I sat next to her and gazed enthralled while she entered into “grown up” conversation with my parents. The next day I reported every bite that she ate to my enrapt classmates. It’s a wonder that she didn’t waddle back to England; everyone wanted Miss Jones to come and eat a meal in their home.

That year I understood what it means to have a year fly by. In June 4^th grade was over and Miss Jones returned to the British Isles. A light had gone out of my life and my heart hurt. I spent the summer climbing the tree in front of my house trying to go high enough to see England. That fall, our fifth grade teacher had the unenviable job of trying to educate “Miss Jones’ students.” We spent many hours at our desks daydreaming about things that our beloved English teacher had taught us.

But she wasn’t really gone. We didn’t forget her and she never forgot us. Letters were sent across the sea. If we wrote her, she wrote us back. We were spellbound over tales of her marriage to the handsome John. My parents visited Miss Jones when they went to Europe, reporting on the beauty of her village, Henley-On-Thames. They brought back pictures of children - her English students.

Our letters continued over the years. I married prince Charlie and had children and grandchildren. A long time later, when her beloved John died, she wrote me about her broken heart and across the ocean I cried tears with her. After his death, she sent me her favorite poetry book filled with comments written in her smooth cursive handwriting. Two Christmases ago, I opened a package containing a hat and a scarf knitted by my dear teacher - now in her eighties. This Christmas there was a message on my answering machine – her British accent assuring me that she was thinking of me.

Joshua was a wonderful role model for the Israelites. The people loved him and respected him. It is recorded in today’s Scripture that “Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had known all the works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. (Josh. 24:31)

Who can measure the influence in our lives of the people we admire? They spur us on to be like them. They give us incentives to be all that God made us to be. We never forget them or the things they taught us. The elders who outlived Joshua remembered his leadership so clearly that they served the Lord all the days of their lives. I think about Miss Jones who has been in my life almost sixty years and I tell my grandchildren – “Be a teacher like she was, be a teacher who changes lives!”

How are you doing with the people God puts in your life? Are you a positive person who offers hope and encouragement for them, one who spurs them on to be all that God wants them to be? I know you are. After all, that’s the role of role models!

Bonny Doon

“Ye banks and braes o’ Bonny Doon, How can ye bloom so fresh and fair?How can ye chant, ye little birds, when I am so weary full of care?Ye’ll break my heart, ye warbling birds that warble on the flowery tree,For my false lover stole the rose, and left and left, the thorn with me.”

(One of the many songs that Miss Jones taught us. I sang it to my children and grandchildren when they asked, “Sing ’Bonny Doon’, Grandma!”)