All of the Glory Belongs to My God (Finale)

In the graphic above, you see where some occurrences of working in the cotton field as being compared to the Christian life. 

• In number 1 you can see that one of the requirements of working in the cotton field chopping cotton is a sharpened hoe. That is being compared to being very prayerful in the Christian life. If your hoe is not keenly sharpened, then you will have trouble but down the troublesome weeds like morning glory and cockleburr that can grow on a row.
• In number 2 you can see that to do an effective job in the cotton field, one must have a good lunch. That is being compared to being an avid reader of the Bible. Just as the food in your lunch gives you the stamina to last during the day so does reading your Bible help a Christian to keep their faith intact during storm season.
• In number 3, reference is being made to how Johnson grass is handled on a typical row of cotton. All members of the chopping crew would get on the row that had the Johnson grass and help the row's owner with the chopping. This help was needed because Johnson grass is a rhizome and has to be dug up by the root to keep it from spreading. The amount of chopping necessary to eradicate a patch of Johnson grass might be too difficult for a single chopper. By the same token, other Christians come together to pray for Christians who are facing storms in their lives. The Bible does say that "The prayers of the righteous availeth much."(James 5:16 KJV)
• Number 4 mentions sore muscles. That is because when you have expended a lot of energy and strength chopping Johnson grass, your muscles are often sore the next day. In the Christian life, this can be likened to having a pity party.
• In number 5, to deal with the sore muscles mentioned in number four you had to rub up in some liniment. In analogy the Christian life, you need to attend the worship services and bask in the love of your brothers and sisters and let the songs, prayers, and preaching soothe your battered soul and renew your hope.
• Number 6 mentions singing. Often time in the cotton field, the workers would sing songs to make the work flow smoother and faster. Everybody in the field would sing together and a joyous determination to complete the task was felt by all. Now, that same thing can be said of the Christian life. As mentioned above singing along with the congregation can uplift your spirits. Another thing I want to mention about singing is that this is something that you can do to make yourself feel better. You can do this even when you are alone, to help you keep upbeat about the storm that you find yourself in. This goes back to that built in love connection that I told you the Lord gave us when we were formed. He has placed in our bodies hormones called endorphins that make us feel better when we do certain things, among which are singing, exercising, etc. Even if you don't feel like singing a real Zion song, you can sing something like, "I Am So Glad (that) Trouble Don't Last Always." That will do the job for you, too.
• The last one is the color green for green grass. It says this to you. Since you know that the Lord causes the grass to grow and has since the world began, be comforted in that fact that He is still in control and never forget that He has a plan for your life.

Good Friday morning to you! This is the finale of the lesson that I did at the Madison St. Church of Christ in Lexington on, "Shelter in the Times of Storms."  I want you to look at the three pictures above that have no caption under them.

1. The first one is a peaceful landscape with a gently flowing brook.  I am using that to represent a child of God's life when everything is going smoothly. There is an abundance of green everywhere with calm winds and peaceful flowing waters.
2. In the second one, you see a palm tree being buffeted by a fierce storm with a cabin in the background. This picture is used to represent a stormy time in life. The little tree is hit by the winds, and its fronds are blown to, and fro, and the waters wash over it intermittently. Yet the tree is held fast to the shore by strong roots. That is what we have to do as children of God. We have to be anchored down in faith to our God. Though the storm might not cease when we want it to, we know that eventually storm season will be over. We have to trust in our Father to make everything alright and to bring us safely home.
3. The third one is of a crack in the sidewalk of a hearty little weed still managing to grow though in harsh surroundings. This little picture is what I like to remind us all of, the fact that as long as grass grows green from season to season, God is still in control. You see, it doesn't matter what is going on in your life, you can make it if you keep your faith in God, pray, read your Bible, attend worship, ask for prayer, and sing. Those things build endorphins in our bodies which are a built in love connection from our Father. During our storms we have to be like this little spring of grass, hold on tenaciously to our God through our faith connection. The very presence of that spring of grass acclaims the fact that the Master Creator is still in control. And we know, no matter what circumstances would have us believe, that He loves us. So, hold on Child of God, hold on; you keep stepping for Him. He sees; He knows; He cares.

Doing What I Can, While I Can Because I Care,

Alma L. Stepping On Jones

Could Not Foresee

You took my storms, and you used them

To bless me in a way that I could not foresee

My God, how awesome you are and how

Blessed I am with the privilege to serve Thee.

You took my storms that some 

Hoped would break me

And used them so that into a woman 

Full-faithed, you could make me

Oh, how magnificent, marvelous

 And wonderful You are

My God, my Father, Builder of 

Majestic cities afar.

You opened my mouth and allowed me to tell

About how your rescue of me made my heart swell

With magnificent pride to be called your child

Worker of Wonders, You gave me back my smile.

Now I tell ladies everywhere I go

That You, my Father,  are awesome to know

And that You pay dividends that are

Compounded in a way that cannot be beat

And that you satisfy my soul and

Make my life complete.

Yes, I have started working on a second
Inspirational volume for ladies though
 I do not have a definite title for it yet
I just thought that this is something that
You would like to know.

So, please know that if there is a
Subject that you wanted me to cover
And I didn't in Chopping My Row
That there is a possibility that it may
Be covered in the second volume
You just never know down which
Avenue of thought I'll go.