Bring Others Into the Sunshine of God's Good News by Linda L. Linn - HTML preview

Chapter 7

Proverbs 16:3, Commit your works unto the LORD,

and your thoughts shall be established.

After the next time of teaching editing on the ranch, Brad got to talk to just Denji and Sara for a little while and he told them about his life before he had come to the ranch to write that story. Then he told them his desires, plans, and the reasons for them and why he had come to be impressed with Irene.

Denji and Sara had listened carefully and Brad continued, “I'd like to tell you about my great-great-grandfather. When he was young, he asked some parents on a farm for permission to come and visit the family often and get acquainted with their young daughter as she grew up, because he had already decided he liked her a lot.

“Her family lived on an old time farm with no modern appliances. Years passed, and their daughter began to like him also. He spent time helping her learn how to read and write since there was no school close enough for her to attend.

“Later he got a job working for her dad on the farm. With her dad’s permission, he built a cabin during his off hours, so he and his beloved could live in it after they were married. They got engaged and the sheets for their bed had already been washed but not put on the bed. The house he built had hand made furniture and hand-me-down pots, pans, and dishes from the parent’s house. When the circuit riding preacher would come around the next time they would be married in the farm house.

The day the preacher arrived, everyone scurried to get ready for the wedding. Clothes were washed the old way with a washboard and boiling them outside over a big fire. Then they were line dried and ironed with flat irons.

The couple then bathed separately in an old-fashioned oval bathtub made of tin, which was carried inside and filled partway with warm water. It was emptied outside between baths.”

Sara exclaimed, “It’s hard to understand that people used to live like that. We have it so good here on the ranch!”

“For sure!” Denji agreed. “We have inside plumbing and hot and cold running water for baths or showers!”

“Right,” Sara declared, “and we have laundry facilities for wash and wear clothes! We hardly ever need to iron anything. And besides all those things, we don’t have the hard work of living on a farm.”

At this point, Brad found the courage to ask, “May I please have permission to get better acquainted with Irene and for her to get to know me better also. I know and agree with the rule of no dating here on this ranch. Maybe we could continue the lessons and other family activities. Plus, I realize that even if she agrees to raise foster girls here on this ranch, and if I do woo and win Irene, we will have to wait until she becomes nineteen for the wedding, and then also wait until a house is finished on the ranch so we can be foster parents here.”

 

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“This is rather a complicated situation,” Denji responded. “I think Sara and I will need some time to pray, think about it and how it might work, and get counsel from Sara's parents, my parents, and the owners of this ranch.”

Brad replied, “I understand, and I agree with you. I’ll be praying also and will you call me when you are ready to talk more about this? Here’s my phone number.”

“Of course we will,” answered Sara, “and thank you for understanding. If the others agree, I think we will need to ask Irene how she feels about you and your proposal. It is rather an unusual way to begin a relationship because you would both know the desired outcome.”

Brad nodded emphatically and stated, “But we would both need to feel free to stop, if at any time one or both of us doubt that this could work, or that we are incompatible or whatever else. I know what I desire and think she is the best possible choice, but I still want to give her the chance to choose me and I would still want to propose to her in the proper manner. Maybe we could change your word ‘proposal’ so this would not sound so finalized already.”

“You are exactly correct, Brad,” acknowledged Sara, “let’s just use the word ‘plan’ instead. She has said nothing about you, so I have no idea what she might be thinking.”

Denji concluded, “Thank you, Brad, for being so open and honest with us. We’ll be in touch with you as soon as we can.”

“And I thank you both for your time and consideration,” said Brad.

Greg introduced this section of “Become Honorable People” by saying, “This lesson can help us whenever we have to put up with sneering comments and other types of persecution from others when we try to share the Good News.”

During a Bible Study Group teaching time on the farm, William used Acts 3 and 4. He began the lesson by saying, “All of you boys have been on this farm long enough to know that when you try to be missionaries in the public schools you might have to face some threats and persecution. Find John 16:1-4a and read it aloud with me.” Jesus said, “ These things I have spoken to you, so that you should not be unaware. They shall put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time comes that whoever kills you will think that he does a service to God. They will do these things to you because they have not known the Father, nor me. But I have told you these things, so that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.”

William continued, “Jesus said this to his disciples just before he was arrested and crucified. Today let’s study how the disciples responded to persecution in Acts 3 and 4. To me, it’s like reading a thrilling adventure story and I know it really happened. First read Acts 3 and through verse 16 in chapter 4 to yourselves and write a summary of it in your notebooks.”

When they had finished he requested, Hugo, would you please read your summary to us?”

“Yes,” Hugo replied, “Instead of giving money to the lame man, Peter told him, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’ The lame man was healed immediately and praised God. Then Peter explained to the people who saw the miracle that it was not his power, but Jesus’ name and faith in his name that made the man strong and able to walk. Then he told the people to repent and be converted. The leaders of the Jews were displeased and put Peter and John into prison until the next day. When questioned they replied in verses 10b-12 of chapter 4, by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole… Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. The leaders could tell that Peter and John had been with Jesus, and decided to threaten them as it says in verses 17 and 18.”

“Good job Hugo,” commended William and he had another boy read those two verses. But that it spread no further among the people, let us strongly threaten them to not speak in Jesus' name. And they called them in, and commanded then to not speak at all or teach in the name of Jesus.

Then William had Jose read verses 19-21. But Peter and John answered "Whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you more than God, you judge, for we cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard.” So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way they could punish them because of the people, for all men glorified God for what had been done.

Another boy read verse 23b, Then the disciples went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

Pedro read verse 24, And when they heard that, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord, and said, Lord, you are God who made the heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. … …

Luis finished the story by reading verses 29-31, … … And now, Lord, behold their threatening, and grant to your servants boldness to speak your word, and stretch forth your hand to heal, so that signs and

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wonders may be done by the holy name of Jesus. When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together, was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Next William stated, “Thank you guys for your good reading with expression. If you want to read another exciting account of some more persecution and how the apostles responded, read Acts 5:12-42 at home sometime. I especially like how this one ended. Have a good evening and I’ll see you next time.”

Karen taught a similar lesson on the ranch. A short time later, both Karen and William had a short meeting for the students who were in high school now. They explained that the Grace ‘n’ Faith Church had found out about a tiny book called, “The Life Book,” which is put out by The Gideons International. They had used the web site thelifebook.com, and had obtained hundreds of the books to be given out by students in the public high schools.

The books contain an introduction to the story of the Old Testament and then the whole Gospel of John and later a part that asks questions to point out the need for Jesus to be the Savior. It’s all done in an interesting way that will keep the students reading.

Karen and William told the students on the farm and ranch, who were in high school, to give away as many of these books as they could and to pray for the Lord to use them to bring many others to belief in Jesus. These students looked through the books and were impressed by them, so they were looking forward to giving them to their friends and anyone else who would take one and read it. Other high school youth groups did the same things.

Greg put the book down and said, “The end of this lesson.”

Max commented, “I especially like Acts 4:12, which says that Jesus is the only name by which we can be saved.”

“I do also,” and then Cory remarked, “It was a good lesson and the Life Books are a super way to get high school students interested in Jesus. I'm grateful we don’t have the kind of threats and persecution the disciples had.”

“Same here!” Daniel declared, “and those tiny books are a very effective way for us to be missionaries in high school.”

Levi inserted, “Super! It’s good to know that I’ll have some of those to use next year when I start high school!”

“Positively,” agreed Kevin, “and I was amazed at the boldness the disciples had after they prayed together!”

Ellie and Lisa talked to each other about planning for careers after graduation from the ranch. Ellie stated, “It's hard for me to believe the two of us are really seniors already.

“Same here,” agreed Lisa, “and the year is going so fast! We need to decide what we might be able to do when we go to live in Pine City.

Ellie suggested, “Maybe we could look at the web and get some ideas, because my mind is a blank.”

“Great idea,” Lisa replied. “We can write them down and then talk about how they might work for us.”

Ellie nodded and then mentioned, “Both of us will have our nineteenth birthdays in the spring, so we don’t need to be in as big of a hurry as some of the other senior girls on the ranch.”

“True,” acknowledged Lisa, “But I don’t want to be caught off guard and not be prepared.”

Lisa and Ellie decided they could work at the Local Grocery with hours that match Mindy and Julie’s hours at the church school. They could ride with them, helping to pay their way by giving money for gas and some of the car maintenance. Mindy and Julie could drop them off at the grocery store on their way to the school. Ellie and Lisa would save all but the money to pay for the ride and their tithe, to buy what they would need for city living when they turned nineteen.

A few days later Lisa remarked, “I feel good about having a plan for what we can do after we graduate from school and the ranch, but I’d really like to do more than that for the rest of my life.”

“Like what?” asked Ellie, “we haven’t found and developed any talents we could use to make a difference in the world.”

Lisa explained, “Well I don’t agree, because we’ve lived on this ranch since we were just over ten years old. Think about all the things we’ve learned since we came here, like horseback riding, doing all our household tasks willingly, getting good grades in school, and especially all the things we’ve learned about the Bible and how to live like Jesus wants us to live. Plus we’ve both learned how to sew and cook.”

“Positively!” Ellie declared. “We both wrote our essays about those things when the journalist tutored us, as a way to thank us for our time when he interviewed us. We didn’t choose to write about a career since we hadn’t even thought about it yet. But how will those things help us?”

 

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Lisa answered, “Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I could make a difference in my world since last year when I was a junior. We got to spend a lot of time with Sara and Candy while they lived on the ranch and they told us of their desire to be foster mothers here on this ranch. With God’s help they have both become very good ones. Maybe we could go visit with them and find out how they did it.”

“What an inspiring idea, Lisa!” Ellie exclaimed. “But I think I’d rather live on the farm and raise foster boys instead, like Kim is doing. Maybe Sara could tell me how Kim got to do it because they were roommates.”

“I agree.” stated Lisa, “so let’s call Sara first and see when she could talk to us about these ideas”

Sara was happy to make time to tell Lisa and Ellie what she and Kim had done, and also promised to pray for them. She also stressed, “It would not be exactly the same for you, but God can work it all out in his time and way if this is his will for you. You will need to pray a lot about it and ask for his help. It also might be a good idea to include your desire to be foster mothers on the ranch or farm in you speech at the graduation / going-away party. If there are guys on the farm who are thinking along the same lines, it could help you meet them more quickly and easily.”

Later Ellie and Lisa went to visit with Candy, and they asked her the same questions. Sara had told them about the small group and dating they had done while living in Pine City. On the other hand, Candy explained, “Evan and I did not date but we did things with the Hopkins family, with many opportunities to get better acquainted with each other. And I also want you to know how important it is to tell the young man your desire to be a foster mom, soon so he can pray about whether he would be a foster dad.”

After those visits, both Lisa and Ellie had some good ideas to pray about and talk about with each other and their parents. Jeff and Karen were both pleased with the mature way their girls were planning for their future.

Greg was glad to read a section of “Become Honorable People” to the boys this evening, so he started.

William and Karen sent e-mails once in a while to share teaching ideas for the different age levels. They used easier things for the younger children. The following idea was for the older children. They started by singing “How Majestic is Your Name,” which begins almost the same as Psalm 8:1a, O LORD our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth.

Then William stated, “All God’s promises are true. He keeps all his promises and covenants. God and the promises he makes are like all the good things mentioned in Philippians 4:8. Who’d like to read that verse for us?”

Luis read, Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honest, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.”

“Good job, thank you, Luis.” said William. “Now I’d like to read it again leaving out some of the words, and putting ‘boys,’ in the place of ‘Finally brothers,’ Boys, whatever is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and worthy of praise, think about these things.”

He had printed this on a big piece of poster paper so they could see it from their seats. He continued, “Somehow this is more meaningful and more easily understood without those extra words. Now everyone read it out loud putting your name in the place of boys.”

They all did it together and he asked, “How did that help you?”

Hugo remarked, “It was like I was talking to myself.”

“Yes,” Pedro went on to say, “it was like I was commanding myself to think about those things.”

Another boy continued, “It made the verse be easier to understand without all the ‘whatever’ words in there.”

Jose commented, “It is indeed, but we just learned in school the other day that if the words just had commas after them here in the Bible it would mean that each thing we’d think of would have to have all eight of those attributes, and we wouldn’t be able to find as many things.

“I agree with all of you,” stated William. “Let’s put the word ‘or’ after each attribute in the verse and it’ll mean we can think about things that fit each category. I left the word ‘finally’ out because today, for this lesson, we aren’t going to study the statements that come before this verse.”

A boy asked, “What does virtuous mean?”

“I’m so glad you asked that question,” declared William with a smile. “How many of you have dictionaries in your homes?”

All the boys raised their hands looking rather puzzled at the way he had avoided answering the boy’s question by asking another one.

William admitted, “I know it’s usually not a good practice to respond to a question with another question, but his question was a perfect lead in to your homework for this weekend.”

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The boys all started chuckling. William had a way of making learning fun.

Jose guessed, “I’ll bet we need to use our dictionaries at home in order to complete our homework.”

“You’re right, Jose,” agreed William. He handed out pages with the verse he had reworded at the top with a blank for the boy to insert his name. Then he had them put ‘or’ after each attribute. The directions stated, “Write the meaning and as many synonyms as you can, to go with each word listed under the verse.” He asked, “Where did I get the words under the verse?”

Some of the boys said together, “From the verse!”

Another boy inquired, “Why do you want us to do this?”

“Good question!” exclaimed William. “I have a very good reason! I know that most of you have unhappy thoughts come into your minds now and then. If you think about them a lot or for a long time, you begin to feel unhappy.”

The boys all nodded and he continued, “2 Corinthians 10:5b tells us to bring into captivity every thought to be obedient to Christ. The best way to do this, is to give the unhappy thought to Jesus and then replace it by thinking about things from the list in Philippians 4:8. Memorize the verse on your paper with your name at the beginning and then follow the command. The meanings you’ll find as your homework will help you have many good things to think about in the place of those sad thoughts.”

Pedro remarked, “I’ll bet the next part of the homework is to practice doing what you said and tell you about it at the next meeting when we bring our homework to show you.”

“You’re exactly right, Pedro,” William congratulated him. The boys smiled as he said, “See you all on Monday.”

Then Greg mentioned, “This ends this section of the book.

“I get it!” Kevin exclaimed. “William didn’t answer the boy’s question because he wanted the boys to look up that word and the other seven at home.”

Daniel agreed, “Many times when we have to look up something on our own the meaning sticks longer.”

“For sure,” stated Cory, “and I think it works the same way if I look something up on the computer.”

Max asked, “Do we have the same homework as they did, to do for this lesson?”

Greg nodded at Max and then Levi commented, “I think it will be good for me to do it and have all those good things to think about, instead of some of the hard things that happen at school.”

Later Greg checked with Levi about school, and they came up with some additional things Levi could do about school.

One evening Ted and Julie called their friends Larry and Jane Kelsey who used to live in Pine City. But they had moved several years ago with some other people in the church to a city in a southern area to help plant a church there.

Ted began the call, Hi, Larry and Jane, it’s time for our usual weekly visit with you. We are all fine. How are both of you doing?”

“We’re fine too and it’s good to hear your voice,” answered Larry.

Jane added, “It sure is! This is one of my favorite times all week! I’m so glad we’ve been able to continue our friendship by using the telephone.”

“Same here!” Julie exclaimed. “These phone calls are the next best thing to seeing you in person, since we live so far away from each other now.”

Ted mentioned, “I just found out during our last music preparation time that you, Jane, are the one who did the lettering for that splendid banner in that room of the church. Your calligraphy is excellent.”

“Thank you,” said Jane humbly.

“You’re welcome,” he replied and continued, “the scripture from Psalm 33:1-5 is so meaningful, because it tells us to rejoice, praise, sing with instruments and play skillfully. Every week when we read it, it helps us to get ready to sing and praise the LORD.”

Larry inserted, “She also lettered a banner like that for us.”

Julie commented, “Jane, you talent is wonderful and I’m glad you use it to glorify the LORD.”

“That’s easy to do, since he gave me the talent in the first place, I enjoy using it for him,” explained Jane. Then she asked, “Did your girls finish embroidering the verses I wrote for them the last time we visited you in person?”

Julie chuckled, “Positively. They were very motivated and worked carefully on them every day until they were finished within a couple months. The verses are framed and are hanging in their bedrooms. They look beautiful because of the excellent job you did on the calligraphy and each girl’s careful embroidery.”

“They sure do,” and then Ted changed the subject, “Here’s the latest news from the ranch. We had a young reporter living in the Visitors’ Cabin for a few weeks writing a story about Mercy Valley Ranch. He

 

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did an exemplary job on the story and Oscar and Vera were interviewed on the TV program, ‘Meet Some of Jesus’ Servants.’ It was a very good program also.”

“The ranch is becoming famous!” Larry declared.

“I think so too,” agreed Julie, “and interestingly enough, the people on the ranch all liked him and many of them asked him to come back and go horseback riding with their families.”

Jane supposed, “I can almost guess what will happen next, but please tell me instead.”

“It has been fun to watch,” responded Ted, “although it’s still very much just speculation on our parts. His name is Brad, and he interviewed the families on the ranch and gave some of us thank-you gifts when he left. Later he came back, and as thanks to all the ones he interviewed, he taught interested high school girls writing skills so they could write better essays for school and so forth.”

Julie went on, “When he finished those classes, he offered to tutor families with junior and senior girls, who wanted to learn more or had questions. He spent a week with each of those families except for Denji and Sara Suehiro's family. He’s still working with them after several weeks. No news have leaked out yet.”

Larry finished, “But I imagine many people are watching, waiting and wondering, just like you and now we are.”

“Please keep us posted on the news,” Jane requested.

Julie replied, “We’ll be sure to do that, and now let’s have our usual conversational prayer time before our time on the phone runs out for today.”

Denji called Brad just a few days after their last talk. But it had seemed a long while to Brad while he was waiting, so he had kept himself busy praying, and continuing to study the Bible and other books, going to the evening classes at the church and doing the assigned work for them plus his daytime job.

“Hi, Brad, this is Denji, and Sara is listening to the speaker on the phone. I'm sorry it has taken so long for us to get all the asking and talking done here, but I’m happy to say that everyone we talked to is in agreement with your plan, including Irene.”

Sara continued, “Irene looked very surprised to find out about your interest. But she agreed that she would like the chance to get to know you better. I’ll leave the rest of what she said for her to tell you in person the next time you come to the ranch to teach another lesson.”

“Thank you both so much!” Brad exclaimed. “I’m very pleased that you and the other people agreed to this plan! Like I told you about my dreams and prayers, I think the Lord is leading me, and I will continue to pray for his guidance always. I realize I am a new believer still, but I also told you the things I’m doing to get caught up with Irene, so I can be an honorable man, a loving husband, and a good foster father. I look forward to seeing you this coming weekend.”

Denji responded, “You’re welcome, and we’ll be glad to see you also. We are both impressed with what you are doing and the way you desire to handle this situation in keeping with the rules of the ranch.”

This is the next segment of “Become Honorable People,” that Oralie read to the boys after chores were done and they had all been outside playing with their family dog, Jolly, in the back yard.

During one of the girls’ Bible group teaching times, Karen said, “I heard a meaningful quote the other day. It says ‘Make the most of present opportunities.’ What does it mean to you?”

Kim shared, “I think I should look at things existing in my life not as problems, but as chances to improve the things.”

Sara said, “For me it means, if I don’t do my best with each circumstance as it happens, I might not get another chance later.”

“Those are both good,” said Karen, and they both smiled.

“Here are some Bible verses to go along with these thoughts.” stated Karen. She gave a reference and asked for a volunteer to read it. Then they discussed what the verse meant before going on to the next one.

Galatians 6:10, Therefore as we have the opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who are believers.”

Ephesians 5:15-17, Be sure to walk carefully, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time because the

days are evil. So do not be unwise, but be understanding of what the will of the Lord is.

Colossians 4:5,6, Walk or act in wisdom toward those who are not believers, redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace … so you may know how to answer everyone.

Then Karen suggested, “Before our next meeting, notice some opportunities you have during the week. Write them down and also write what you did to make the most of them. I’d love to hear about them next week. Just before we leave let’s sing the song, ‘Freely, Freely,’ because it goes so well with this topic.

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The Bible verse is Matthew 10:8b,… freely you have received, freely give. Jesus has given so much to us and we can share his love with the other people we meet.”

During the following meeting, Candy said, “I did notice a chance to help a girl at school who dropped her books, but by the time I realized I could help, she had already picked them up. I guess I need to think faster.”

Karen agreed. “Good job, anyway. At least you’re looking for opportunities and the next time, your brain will be quicker with a way to help. The chance you had goes well with Galatians 6:10 that we read at our last meeting.”

June shared, “I had a chance to answer a question from a friend at school. She wanted to know why I seem so happy now. I was able to tell her about my new family and how they helped me accept Jesus as my Savior.”

“Wonderful,” said Karen. “We read Colossians 4:5,6, last week, and it told us to be ready to answer those kinds of questions.”

When Oralie finished reading she asked what did you think of these two short lessons about opportunities?”

Max reflected, “I wish we could have heard their comments about those verses.”

“Ditto,” agreed Cory, “maybe we could give our own comments about the verses instead, like I noticed the phrase, redeeming the time, was in two of the verses, so it must be an important thing for us to do.”

“I agree,” said Kevin, “and I liked the antonyms in the Ephesians verses.”

Daniel concurred, “Yes, and those verses say that wise people redeem the time and understand what the Lord’s will is.”

“Right,” Levi went on, “and wise people will know how to answer unbelievers with grace.”

Max complimented his brothers, “That was a good idea to make your own comments. I enjoyed listening to them.”

“So did I,” and then Oralie added, “we could make Psalm 90:12 a prayer. LORD teach us to number our days, so that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

They all agreed and prayed it together, whenever there was something that reminded them to make the most of all opportunities.

When Brad arrived at Denji and Sara’s house on the weekend, he taught his next lesson and then three of the girls left to do their homework, so Irene had a chance to tell Brad the rest of what she had said. Her parents stayed to listen to their conversation.

“I know Mom told you I was surprised about your interest,” Irene began, “and that I would like to get to know you better. When you had us write that first essay I chose my favorite activity, because at that time I did not feel free to write about my desires for a career.”

Brad listened carefully and encouraged her to continue.

Irene visibly relaxed and went on, “After you left that day I did sit down and write about it. Then I used what I had learned with the other essay to edit and proofread this one. So I thank you again for what you have taught us and will continue to teach us. Would you please read this now?”

With that question, she handed to Brad her finished essay, and he smiled at her as he took it and replied, “You’re very welcome. It’s my pleasure, and I will be happy to read this now.”

He smiled at the overall neatness and beautiful handwriting and the date at the top, which was the same day he did their first tutoring lesson. Then he kept smiling as he read all the way through the essay twice. He could have shouted for joy, but he remained calm and gentle.

“Irene,” he stated, “this is a very well written, edited, and proofread essay, and the very best part of it, is that it tells me exactly what I need to know about your desire to be a foster mother like Sara has been for you.”

“Thank you for the compliments,” Irene responded, “and I also told my parents that it seems like God is answering my prayers even before I pray them, because my sisters have all said they would never be able to do what Mom has done for us. They assured me they would not be envious of me or resent the family time this plan might take. So I know that I have the full support of this wonderful family as we get to know each other better and see where our Lord Jesus will lead us.”

Brad complimented her again, “That was very well said, and I’m glad to know those things also. I appreciate the way your family has accepted me. I’ll tell you all a little bit of my background. I’m an only child and my parents were good ones. They still do not know Jesus but I continue to pray for them and witness when appropriate. I finished high school and the university early, so that’s why I was able to get a job as a journalist by the time I was twenty years old. I have never dated, so we are in the same place

 

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there. Did your parents tell you the things I’m working on so I can catch up to where you are as a believer?”

“Yes they did,” she replied, “and I was very impressed. I’m glad to know that you understand how important this is. Mom told me about how her friend and foster sister, Candy and her husband handled getting to know each other without dating. They came here to the ranch and did things with her parents and her three sisters. It worked well for them and it think it will also work well for us. Oh my! I just looked at the clock and it’s time for our family horseback ride. I hope you can join us. You and I will be able to ride side by side and talk some more.”

“Hurrah!” Brad cheered, letting his joy show through. “I’m elated about everything you just said, and I’m looking forward to coming here to do things with you and your family!”

In his mind, he was astounded by the way Irene had open up and blossomed like some of the flowers he had seen on videos done with time lapse photography. It was going to be pure joy getting to know her better in this safe, open atmosphere of her loving family. He would also be able to learn more about parenting from her very successful foster parents.

While they were riding Cloves and Allspice side by side with the rest of the family on the beautiful ranch, Irene shared with Brad her abused childhood and how Jesus had rescued her from that family and put her here on Mercy Valley Ranch. Jesus had saved her, healed all the past hurts, and helped her to forgive her other family.

Then Brad shared with Irene how Jesus had saved him after he saw the miracle of healing on Reba's leg, and how filled with peace and joy he still was. Even though she had heard it already from Evan, Candy, and their family, Irene rejoiced and thanked Jesus for what he had done for Brad.

Greg smiled as he said, “This is a fun lesson from ‘Become Honorable People.’ I think you will all enjoy it this evening.”

William asked the boys in one of his Bible Study Groups, “Do you know where this farm gets its water?”

One boy remarked, “I think this might be a trick question, but I’ll try anyway. The water comes from the pond at the high end of their property.”

“Correct,” William smiled. “And where does the pond get its water?”

Another boy answered, “Mercy Stream goes into and out of the pond like it does at Wild Mint Lake on the ranch.”

“You’re right,” stated William. “Where does the stream get its water?”

Pedro replied, “From rain and melted snow running into it and smaller streams that join it.”

“Correct again,” William almost laughed, but he stayed serious. “How about the rain and snow?”

Jose answered, “In science we learned how water in the clouds condenses around a dust particle and keeps getting larger until it’s heavy enough to fall as rain. In the winter it forms snowflakes.”

“You’re right too,” continued William. “How about the water in the clouds?”

Luis responded, “We learned about that in science also. The water in streams, ponds, lakes, and the ocean evaporates and rises in the air until it cools and condenses, making a cloud.”

“Right, said William, “what all of you just described is called the water cycle, and you did a good job of it. One more question and you’ll see where I’m headed. “Who made the water cycle?”

They all laughed, catching on immediately and they shouted, “God made the water cycle!”

“Precisely!” exclaimed William. “We all realize that something as complicated as the water cycle could not have just happened. It needed a very wise creator just like everything else he created. Listen to Psalm 104:1,10,11,14, Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, you are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty… You send the springs into the valleys which go among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field. The wild donkeys quench their thirst. He causes the grass to grow for cattle, and vegetables for man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth.”

Hugo observed, “Those verses say God created everything and keeps it all working together to provide the animals and men with food and water.”

“Very true!” Then William suggested, “Let’s see if we can find a couple more verses about rain. I usually give you the references, but today I want you to try to find them.”

One boy asked, “How can we find them? We aren’t as smart as you are. How do you find them?”

William laughed. “You don’t have to be as smart as I am, you just have to learn how to use the concordance at the back of your Bible. Find the end of Revelation, the last book in the Bible, and then keep going and you’ll find the concordance.”

There were exclamations and comments like: “Wow!” “What a lot of words!” “They’re in alphabetical order.” “It’s kind of like an index but gives Bible references instead of page numbers.” “I found the word rain, and there are lots of references for it.” “How do we choose the right verse?”

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William replied, “There are probably a lot of right verses. You’ll notice that there are some words before the reference that can give you a clue as to what the verse is about. Spend some time right now and look up a few of them. See if you can find any that relate to what we talked about earlier today.”

The boys looked diligently for about ten minutes and several found the following verses:

Hebrews 6:7a, The earth drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and brings forth vegetables for

those who planted them.

Acts 14:15b,17b, God made heaven and earth and the sea and all that are in them. … God gave us rain

from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling us with food and gladness.

William congratulated all the boys, “You all did a good job of learning how to use the concordance today, and I especially like the verses you found. They’d also be good to use for next Thanksgiving. Practice using your concordance to find other verses you might be interested in, and I’ll see you next time.”

“The end,” said Greg. “I could see you boys smiling when you caught onto William’s plan and realized where he was going with it before they did.”

Levi stated, “For sure, and it’s probably because we had the benefit of learning those things at the church school.

“Positively,” agreed Cory, “and I liked the way William introduced them to the use of the concordances in their Bibles. He and Karen make it fun to learn, so that helps make up for the fact those boys didn’t get to attend the church school.”

“You’re right, Cory,” remarked Kevin, “and I agree that the verses they found in Hebrews and Acts would be good for Thanksgiving. Plus they would also be good to make into personal prayers of thanks for any day.”

“Yes they would, and the lesson was a good review and Bible study time for our evening devotions,” Daniel added.

Max stated, “I think so too, and I would add Amos 5:8b to this lesson about the water cycle. It shows that the Bible is scientific proof of God’s creation. It says, (Seek the LORD) who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth. The LORD is his name.” And then Max concluded, “You were right, Dad, this was a fun lesson!”

The next time Brad was at the ranch, the girls had decided they would not need any more lessons about editing. So Brad suggested that he and Irene could write an essay on issues and have it ready by the weekend after next. This would give them a chance early in this time of getting acquainted, to find out if they would be compatible. For the weekend in between, they would just do fun things with the family.

So, Brad and Irene wrote their opinions about the important issues that need to be discussed while a couple is getting better acquainted. For this essay, they both used the list of issues that Fiona had compiled when she was dating Matt. The ranch had copies of it and had been using it for many years. They both edited and proofread their own essays carefully, and then shared it only with the person involved.

For that weekend they all went to the game room. While the others in the family were playing a Bible board game, Brad and Irene had a chance to read the other person’s essay and talk to each other. They were able to ask questions, get clarification and be glad about agreements. They both appreciated the efforts the other person had made in editing and proofreading the essays before letting him or her read it.

Both of them had been nervous when writing and preparing the essay, and especially when they were reading what the other one wrote. But by the time they were finished, both of them were relieved that they agreed about most of the issues and had found ways to solve the ones they didn’t. They were both glad to find out they would be compatible.

Now they could go ahead getting better acquainted and checking all the things on Karen’s and William’s lists of things to look for in a mate. As for Brad, he had already checked yes for most of those things as he was observing her beforehand. He tried to tell himself to guard his heart, but he knew it was already too late for that.

On the other hand, Irene was being very careful to learn as much as she could about Brad before becoming emotionally involved. For her, this was a very important decision to make and she didn’t want to rush it and make a bad mistake. She had agreed with that lesson Karen had taught to their Bible Study Group and the one just for seniors.

Hugo and Jose were talking as they got ready for bed. Jose mentioned, “I'm glad we got to go back to being roommates again now that our new young foster brothers have adapted so well and wanted a roommate of the same age.”

 

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“So am I!” Hugo exclaimed. “It’s good that we could help them and now we get to have time again to talk about things that are important to us.”

So they decided to tell each other about their daydreaming session earlier that year and what they had prayed about with their parents. They were pleased to find out that their desires were similar.

Hugo noticed, “We’re both planning to do things that go with our favorite places, and we need to figure out how to make them work.”

“You’re right,” said Jose, “and they are already building the fourth house on the ranch. Because of that, I feel like there’s not much more time for this plan to be able to work for me. So let’s pray about it some more.”

Hugo replied, “I agree, because if our plans are also God’s will for us, he will help us and make them work.”

A few days later Jose mentioned, “Hugo, I just remembered that your birthday and mine aren’t until the springtime. If we would get lucky, no, it’s not luck,” he corrected himself, “because luck has nothing to do with our lives. Rather, if Jesus will work out things in our lives, we might be able to do like Evan did and find young women on the ranch who are hoping for the same things you and I are hoping for, beyond just careers.”

“I understand what you mean,” declared Hugo. “Maybe we could include our desires in our speeches for the graduation / going-away party, which really isn’t that far away, because time goes so fast.”

Jose exclaimed, “Brilliant idea, Hugo! This would save us from what Gary went through waiting and then having to ask Kim if she would be willing to be a foster mom on the farm.”

“Let’s write that part of our speeches right now so we won’t forget when we write the rest of our speeches,” suggested Hugo.

Jose added, “I agree and I’m going to write the part about how grateful I am to Mr. and Mrs. Lucero for being such wonderful foster parents. We should also put a note at the end to ourselves to be sure to listen carefully to all the girls’ speeches in case a girl or girls might mention their desire to raise foster girls or boys on the ranch or farm.”

“Perfect,” stated Hugo, “and if we write the girls names as they start their speeches, then we can put that desire by the name, and then we’ll know who to have our parents call and invite the family to the farm for a meal with us.”

Jose concluded, “I’m so thankful that Gary told us about this opportunity not too long ago in one of his special meetings for the senior boys and how much easier it would have been for him, if he had done that after William mentioned it to his group.”

There were a dozen girls in Ted’s choir this year, because there were 12 senior girls in high school this year. One evening he was a little late getting to the living room where they were waiting. As he came to the door he heard some remarks about time running out for some who wanted to do as Sara, Kim and Candy had done. Others were worried about finding jobs good enough to make their own livings after leaving the ranch.

So Ted began by saying, “Be optimistic. Listen to Habakkuk 3:18-19a. After a list of bad things happening, he said, Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength…”

“What a good scripture!” Lisa exclaimed. “I’ll memorize it and say it whenever I start to worry.”

The other girls nodded in agreement, and he continued, “Look forward and press on with no regrets, like it says in Philippians 3:13b,14, Does anyone have it memorized and would say it for us”

Nora and Kathy said it together, … This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

“Great job, you two!” Darla declared. “It’s another good one!”

Ted agreed and went on, “Now find the song, ‘Living by Faith,’ in your hymnals.

“I see that Romans 1:17b, The just shall live by faith, goes with this song,” mentioned Irene.

Ruby nodded. “It also goes with James 2:18b,... I will show you my faith by my works.

“Both of those verses go very well with the song,” Ellie remarked.

Rita said, “I agree, and as I look at the first stanza of the song, it says it doesn’t matter what happens tomorrow, because the Lord rules over all things, so worrying is in vain.”

“Right,” added Wendy, “then stanzas two and three talk about tempests and storms. Whether they are the weather or other things in our lives, Jesus will be with us to help.”

Dana went on, “Yes, and the chorus would be a good one to memorize and sing whenever any worry comes.”

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Then Ted had the other two girls read the chorus out loud, which talks about living by faith in Jesus. When we trust and confide in his love, we’ll be safe from harm, and not be alarmed. After all their comments the girls were very motivated to learn the soprano and alto parts for the song and they sang it through several times.

They decided it would be a good song to add to the one Ted wrote last year that had so many good scripture verses from Philippians in it. It was called, “Faithfully Serving Jesus In the Sunshine of His Love.” They desired to sing both of them at the graduation / going- away party, which was coming up more quickly than any of them wanted to admit. Although it was interesting to speculate about the senior boys from the farm who would join with them later to learn the songs so they could help sing them for the party.

Kosuke and Aneko went to visit with Yoshi and Sakura at their house on a weekend evening. Aneko mentioned, “The other day I was taking a walk down memory lane, back to the first time the four of us went on double dates and all the fun times we got to have then.

“For sure,” agreed Yoshi, “and that set of double dates resulted in a wedding for my dear Sakura and me.”

“Exactly!” Sakura exclaimed. “I am so glad our family moved to Pine City and we had the chance to get acquainted and come to love each other.

Kosuke declared, “The same applies for me! Even though our second set of double dates were postponed for about two years, they resulted the fulfillment of my desire to be married to my delightful Aneko! And for us, the fun times continue.”

“They surely do, Honey,” Aneko concurred, “and I’m so glad the Lord worked it all out for you to come back to Pine City from Japan.”

After enjoying some more memories, Sakura brought up another topic. “What do you all think about our parents, the Makino ones, idea to adopt two Japanese boys near the ages of our three boys, so ours can have some playmates?”

Kosuke stated, “I think it’s a great idea, since our parents are still so healthy and young at heart and love kids so much. And besides, Aneko and I won't be having any children because of our jobs and ministries even though we talked of adopting.”

“Right,” Aneko continued, “and it might give them a chance to continue the family name through one or more of the adopted boys.”

Yoshi added, “Yes, and I’m sure it would be good for those little boys to be in a loving home.”

A month or so later, this same group of four were visiting again and Sakura exclaimed, “I would never imagined my parents could get through the adoption process so quickly!”

“I agree!” Then Yoshi remarked, “It usually takes months and even years to adopt even one child.”

Kosuke inserted, “Absolutely, but this time there were two brothers who needed to be kept together if possible and also have Japanese parents, according to the desires of the parents in their wills.”

“Yes,” said Aneko, “it was very sad about that terrible accident. But it was good that they had their wills finished and the court followed through with their desires.”

Sakura went on, “So now we all have two little brothers, and our boys will have uncles who are their ages and they will be more like cousins to them. Their names are Yuki and Riku.”

“Exactly,” and Aneko reasoned, “and you and your mom can use the church curriculum for daycare and get all of the boys ready to attend the church’s school.”

Kosuke nodded emphatically, “That K through third grade church school does a great job getting children educated and ready to be missionaries in the public schools.”

Greg read this segment of “Become Honorable People,” only to Cory and would read it to the other boys as they got to be seniors in high school. First he had Cory read 2 Corinthians 6:14, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship does righteousness have with unrighteousness, and what communion does light have with darkness?

Then Greg explained, “The verse you just read can go with many things in the following lesson.”

William and Karen had made up separate lessons for their older Bible Study Groups to do when they were seniors in high school to help them learn to become committed, virtuous believers who could choose the kind of person they would want to court or be courted by, while they were looking for a possible marriage partner. These groups were smaller and were limited to only that age group. The ranch and farm both used these lessons for the first group that were seniors and each group of seniors after them.

Karen used Fiona’s list, and William used one he had developed. Both lists included good and bad things to look for in the other person. These things can be noticed by observing the person in large or small group situations or on double dates. The lessons encouraged them to watch how people treat

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others, listen to how they talk, and even what they laugh about, and especially what they criticize. Many of the bad things could be a stop sign for the relationship. The following ideas were compiled from the first three books in the Sunshine Series.

Bad things included, being a bad loser, constantly teasing others or you, being critical of others or you, especially when the others are not present, making fun of others, especially you, complaining or arguing about many things, ignoring you, not listening and/or not trying to understand you, using what you say against you later, being pushy, disagreeing about important issues, or trying to convince you to have sex before marriage.

Good things included the opposites of all the bad ones, plus acting like a gentleman or lady, caring about your comfort or feelings, listening carefully and agreeing when possible, treating others with respect, being a believer so you can have unity.

If possible, before even consenting to date someone, you could ask,”Do you believe in Jesus as your Savior?” And if so ask, “How do you serve him?” If the person is an unbeliever, it would be best to not even consider him or her as a date or possible marriage partner. You can’t change or convince a person after marriage and it would only cause trouble and heartache.

The following questions can be asked about some issues to check for compatibility. What kind of movies do you go to, or watch on TV? How do you feel about jokes and teasing? How do you feel about having premarital sex? What other relationships have you had or what dating have you done?

How often do you like to go to church and small groups? How much money do you like to give to do God’s work? What’s your opinion about finances and having a budget? What place should God have in a person’s life? What place does God have in your life and what does God want you to do in the future? How does it mesh with God’s plan for my life? Do you agree with and adhere to the beliefs of our church? Are you committed to following Jesus and doing his will? Is putting God first in your life and each other next essential? Would you be willing to pray about a ministry we could do?

If you get married, would you like to have a family, and if so how many children would you like to have, and do you want to have them naturally or would you rather adopt them or have foster children? The woman might ask, what do you think about me continuing to work after we would be married or after we would have children?

How shall we handle disagreements? Will we talk over and pray about every important decision? Do you agree that a healthy diet and good exercise are necessary for a good lifestyle? Plus you can add any other questions you think are important.

All the high school seniors at the farm and ranch took these lessons very seriously and since the things to look for were written as lists, they were easy to check off and keep track of as they got to know each other. In addition they were good reminders of the ways good believers should act in order to please Jesus as it says in Ephesians 4:1b-3… walk worthy of the vocation to which you are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with patience, bearing with one another in love and endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The answers to the issue questions could be written out to be read by the other person and it would save time during dates and also help the people to answer the questions honestly.

Cory remarked, “This was a long lesson and loaded with very important information. I’ve known for a long time that I only want a believer who has been raised on the ranch for as long as I’ve been on the farm. I’ll make a copy of it so I can use it when I get ready to look for a possible marriage partner. I see what you meant by the verse at the beginning. Any area where there differences that are too big could make people be unequally yoked.”

“I agree,” said Greg, “and if both people follow the commandments Jesus gave in John 15:12, Love one another, and Luke 6:31, as I paraphrase it, Do to others what you would like them to do to you, then they would probably be compatible.”

The Fosters on the ranch were getting ready to go choose horses for the ride of the day. So when they got to the tack room, they looked at the list of available ones for that time slot and each one said the name of the one they would choose and described it.

Roy was first, “Today I’ll ride Goldenrod, the darker one of the beautiful palominos with no white marks on his face.

“Good,” Sherry decided, “then I’ll ride Marigold, so I’ll be on a horse that matches yours, but is a little lighter gold.”

April said, “I like to ride Prince, the black horse with a crown shaped marking on his face.”

“Perfect,” May went on, “so I’ll ride Princess, a black horse with a star, and we will be on matching horses too.”

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Tina explained, “I’ll ride Boots today. I like his light brown color with white boots on two feet.”

“I’m glad there are two small horses that look alike,” stated Lina, “this way I can ride Socks and match Tina’s horse, except he has socks instead of boots.”

Joy was next, “I really like the reddish brown color of Chili Powder, so I’ll ride him today.”

“I like that color also,” agreed Hope, “so I’ll ride Paprika and we will also be on matching horses today.”

When the family got to the pasture each one did a good job of remembering which horse to choose. The new girls had quickly decided that riding horses was their favorite fun time activity to do on this amazing ranch. So they were very careful to follow all the rules and do a good job of caring for the horses before and after each ride.

Today the family practiced crossing Mercy Stream and rode along the other side for a while before recrossing it and practiced having their horses go at faster gaits until it was time to walk them to cool off, before grooming them to take them back to the pasture. Then all of them did a good job of cleaning and replacing the tack.

There was a dude ranch in a beautiful part of another state. It had two cabins for vacationers to rent during the work week, meaning Monday through Friday. The ranch also had several families raising foster girls, and these families liked to use the horses on most of the week nights and weekends. When they were riding they used both hands to direct rein the horses and they rode in pairs or three abreast when there was room. If the trail was narrow they went single file, but always in control of the horses they were riding.

While the vacationers were there at the dude ranch, the guests would follow behind a guide, all riding horses, enjoying the views of the area in the early morning. Sometimes for a very early ride, they would eat a breakfast of granola / protein bars and sip on apple juice as they were riding. But they had to be sure to not leave any trash along the way. Instead they put it in the saddle bags on the horses.

They would ride for several hours, singing trail songs like “The Tumbling Tumble Weed”… They could snap pictures as they rode away from the dude ranch and back another way, because these horses were also trained to follow along one after the other. The reins were tied and just lay on the horses necks. Each day they would go to different places.

After horseback rides the guests could choose other activities the ranch had available during the daytime. The choices were things like hiking, playing horseshoes, flying kites with kites provided. Or they could make kites themselves and keep the ones they made. At night they could choose stargazing, playing board games, table tennis, or putting puzzles together in the game room. If there was enough snow, they could go cross country skiing during the daytime in the winter.

In the evenings, if the weather was good, there were campfire meetings with singing of hymns and gospel presentations. The foster girls and their parents enjoyed joining these campfire meetings and helped with teaching the guests how to use a hymnal and answering questions the people asked.

Oralie instructed, “Listen carefully for the homework assignment Karen gives in this part of ‘Become Honorable People,’ because it will also be your assignment. Then she read the lesson.

Karen and William used Ephesians chapters one, two, and three as a homework assignment for all the girls and boys in their classes who were eleven or more years old.

Karen instructed, “Please open your Bibles to Ephesians chapter one, and read the first three verses to yourself.”

After they finished she said, “Now focus on the last part of verse 3, which says God has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. If I asked you to personalize that part of the verse, I would mean for you to say it in a way that has either your name or a personal pronoun. For example I’d personalize this verse for me like this: God has blessed me with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”

The girls nodded in understanding, so she continued, “Who’d like to try personalizing verse 4?”

One girl responded, “I will. God has chosen me in him before the foundation of the world, that I would be holy and without blame before him in love.”

“Excellent,” commended Karen. “Now somebody do verse 5.”

A girl who was 12 years old read, “God predestined me to be adopted as his child by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will.”

Karen continued having all the girls do a verse and then commended them and remarked, “I can see you understand how to do this and therefore your homework for the next class is to read the rest of chapter one and all of chapters two and three in the same manner. Be sure to use your name in some of the places. And of course, there are some verses like one and ten in chapter one that don’t work well to be

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personalized. The next part of the homework is to write down in your notebooks how you felt when you read it this way and how it helped you.”

They all smiled and nodded and she said, “See you next time.”

Max noticed, “This was a very short section of the book. I guess it’s because it didn’t include what all the other girls did for their verses.

“Right,” agreed Levi, “and I assume it didn’t include them because then one third of our homework would have already been done.

“Exactly!” stated Daniel, “Those three chapters in Ephesians are full of very good ways God has blessed us!”

Kevin mentioned, “I observed that Karen didn’t say they had to write all the verses, just to read them in the way we would personalize them.”

“Correct,” and Cory went on, “all we need to write in our notebooks is how we felt when we read them and how it helped us to read them with our name or with a personal pronoun. Plus I remember reading some personalized verses in the ‘Your New Life’ booklet.”

Greg remarked, “I’ll be interested to listen to what each of you writes in your notebook. Your mom and I will do the same homework and we can share it tomorrow evening.”

Brad was enjoying the times he spent with Denji and Sara’s family. He was also very thankful for the way they made time so that he and Irene would be able to talk to each other during each visit so they could continue getting better acquainted.

This weekend, Denji taught him how to row a flat-bottomed boat on Wild Mint Lake. Brad ended up with wet feet this time, but he told himself that with practice he would learn how to get his passenger in and then launch the boat and get in without getting his feet wet.

Irene encouraged, “Almost everyone gets their feet wet the first few times they try to launch these boats. It just takes practicing a few times.”

“Thank you for the encouragement, Irene,” said Brad, “I was feeling rather embarrassed. Maybe I can practice a few times when we get back to the shore after I learn how to row.”

She smiled at him and his heart did a flip-flop. “If you want, I’ll show you what I know about rowing these boats,” she offered.

“Yes, please,” he nodded in relief, “I would appreciate that.”

Brad caught on quickly and he was strong enough that he could row them both and she could just relax if she desired. Irene did enjoy just riding and watching his muscles flex. A wonderful feeling spiraled through her as she realized he had passed all the tests on Fiona’s list by having the positive things and not the negative ones. She was beginning to like Brad more and more each time he came to spend time with her and her family.

When the family all returned with their boats to the shore, Irene remembered he wanted to practice launching so she stayed in the boat. Denji showed him another time how he did it and when Brad remembered to do it that way, it worked very well. He practiced two more times and then helped Irene get out of the boat.