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

Chapter 9

Ecclesiastes 3:1, To everything there is a season

and a time for every purpose …

One day Nathan and Esther and their girls reviewed what they had done with Double Diamond and Serving Spoon, the two newest horses on the ranch. Both of those medium brown horses were healed up, rehabilitated, trained, and ready now to be ridden by anyone on the ranch.

Nathan mentioned, “It was worth the extra month we took to just feed them and tend to their wounds before we started their training.”

“Definitely,” agreed Esther, “because we didn’t inadvertently hurt them by starting their training too quickly. We made sure all the wounds were really healed before we put saddles and bridles on them, and even then we waited another couple weeks before we actually started riding them.”

Nathan continued, “Correct, and during the same time we were able to start training them to not be frightened by things fluttering close to their faces or seen in bushes or trees.”

“We kept them in their paddock for an extra month so we could control the amount of exercise they would get while they were gaining back the weight and muscles they had lost from malnutrition.”

Lucia mentioned, “They both liked it a lot when they got to join the rest of the herd. I had seen them look over at the other horses when they were still in their paddock.”

“I noticed that also,” added Val, “and now they look so content and they fit into the herd very well.”

Holly remarked, “Yes, and I like the way each of the new horses copied what the rest of the herd does when they all hurry over to greet the people who go to the pasture.”

 

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“It’s so neat,” her twin, Willow, continued, “and I’m glad they all have learned to stand still when a person goes up to them. I think they like the attention, and it sure makes it easier to put on the halter and lead rope so we can take them and get them ready to ride.”

Esther commented, “I've noticed that you twins choose those new ‘twins’ very often when we go riding, and they behave very well for you. They sure are a beautiful brown, now that they are healed and have filled out with all the good food they get.”

Willow explained, “We really like them. Besides being beautiful now, their faces are very expressive.”

“I agree,” Holly went on, “it’s almost as though we could know what they are thinking, but not quite. They are both very attentive to what is going on around them.”

Nathan concurred, “Those two are very special and they’re interesting to work with now that they’ve been rehabilitated.”

This year the Thanksgiving holiday seemed extra special to the people in Pine City and on the Mercy Valley Ranch and Farm. One of the church services near the first part of November suggested finding a scripture verse about being thankful or with some form of the word “thank” in it. The example was Ephesians 5:20, Give thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ… In addition to the verse it would be a good idea to write a sentence about at least one of those things. The following verses were found by three of the families.

In Pine City, Don and Anita Ross had fun with this idea since their children were now in middle school and could also do it on their own. They shared them with each other at various times during November.

Mary found Psalm 106:1, Praise the LORD, O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and his mercy endures forever. This year I’m very thankful for my brother Timothy who kindly showed me around the middle school last December and helped me get used to it when school started again in January.

“I'm glad I could help you, Mary,” stated Timothy, and then he read Psalm 95:2, Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. One of the things I’m thankful for is that we still get to go ride horses with the Blake family on Mercy Valley Ranch.” His family nodded.

Later in the month Don shared, “After I read the first verse of Psalm 136, I couldn’t stop there so, I chose verses 1-3 and 26 because they repeat many of the same words over and over but use different names for the LORD, and the first verse is just like part of Psalm 106:1, which you read, Mary. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his mercy endures forever. O give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy endures forever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures forever. O give thanks to the God of heaven, for his mercy endures forever. There are several things in verses 4-9 of this psalm that I’m thankful for today. The LORD alone does great wonders…, and he made the heavens and the earth…, and he made great lights… like the sun and the moon and the stars. And verse 25 states that he gives food to all flesh.”

Another day Anita read Colossians 2:6,7. “ As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him: rooted and built up in him, established in the faith as you have been taught, and abounding with thanksgiving. I’m thankful that our whole family does what this verse says to do.”

On the farm, Sunny Lucero read Psalm 69:30, I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. I’m grateful for the way our family can sing praise songs together with our boys accompanying us on the piano.”

Luis, who was visiting for the day stated, “I’m very grateful we could take piano lessons rather than harp lessons. Many Bible verses talk about praising the LORD with the harp, like Psalm 98:5. Sing to the LORD with the harp, … and the voice of a psalm. So I chose Psalm 95:2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving and make a joyful noise to him with psalms. This is what our family does. I’m grateful for our family.”

Also visiting for the day, Pedro continued, “So am I! Living on the army base is so different. When Luis and I get together we do what it says in Colossians 1:3. We give thanks to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, always praying for you… “

“We do the same for you, Pedro and Luis,” Felix declared, “as it says in Ephesians 1:16, We do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in our prayers. And we always enjoy your visits.”

“For sure! Jose exclaimed. “And Dad, I’m grateful that you taught us to not use foolish talking or jesting, which are not appropriate, but to rather give thanks, as I summarized the verse in Ephesians 5:4.”

Hugo finished those verses with Colossians 3:15, “ Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, … and be thankful. I’m grateful for God’s peace.”

Nathan and Esther Mendoza’s girls on Mercy Valley Ranch had started Thankful Notebooks like the girls in Karen’s classes had.

 

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Val had her notebook with her for evening devotions time and shared Psalm 100:4, “Enter into (the LORD’s) gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful to him and bless his name. This is a verse I found for the pastor’s idea for November. I’m thankful for being able to ride taller horses than when I first came to live here.”

“Yes” Esther agreed, “we are all thankful for the way you’ve grown and progressed here on the ranch. And I found a verse in Philippians 1:3 and it goes with this idea for all of you. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”

Nathan added, “Indeed, and we could all say 1 Chronicles 29:13 together, Now therefore, our God, we thank you and praise your glorious name. I’m thankful we could have Honey here for the time when Val needed a smaller horse.”

“She was a sweet little horse,” Lucia remarked, “I liked having her on the ranch even though I was too big to ride her. I changed a word in 2 Thessalonians 1:3 to fit our family better. We are bound to thank God always for you, (sisters,) … because your faith grows, and the love you all have toward each other abounds.”

Holly smiled. “What a good verse since we are all sisters in the Lord, and here in this family. 1 Corinthians 1:4 goes with your verse, Lucia. I thank my God always on your behalf for the grace of God which is given to you by Jesus Christ. I’m grateful for our family.”

“So am I,” Willow nodded and smiled at her twin sister, Holly. “And we can all say Psalm 118:1, O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good and because his mercy endures forever. I’m very thankful for all the things I’ve learned here on this beautiful ranch!”

One evening in the game room, after more visits to the ranch, Brad sang a song he had written just for Irene. The lyrics included that he likes to dream about Irene, who is just as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. She has wavy brown hair, eyes as blue as the sky, and a happy smile that lights up the room when she enters. He also likes her beauty, personality, talents and abilities. He had made up his own tune and words so there would be no problem with copyrights.

Everybody else in the family stopped what they were doing to listen while Brad sang to Irene.

After singing the song, Brad admitted, “I've been waiting for just the right time for my proposal, and this is it, because everyone is listening.”

Brad got up from where he had been sitting and knelt in front of Irene. “Sweet, beautiful Irene, have you had enough time to get to know me? I know what I desire and think you are the best possible choice for me, but I still want to give you the chance to choose me and so I will propose to you in the proper manner. Therefore I kneel to ask you, Irene, will you choose to love and marry me and work together to raise foster girls on this ranch? I love you very much, and I think we can do this with Jesus to help us.”

Irene answered, “First, I thank you for all the compliments, and I hope I can live up to them. Brad, you are everything I could ever hope to find in a man, plus you are a devoted believer in Jesus and you also want to raise foster girls. I love you very much and so I can answer, Yes, I will be overjoyed to love, marry, and work together with you to raise foster girls on this ranch. And I agree that Jesus will help us to be good foster parents.”

“Thank you, Irene!” Brad exclaimed as he stood and welcomed Irene into his arms for their first hug. They would save kisses for the wedding and their married life. He continued, “You are welcome for the well deserved compliments and I know you will continue to live up to them. I feel like the most blessed man in the world because I now know that you love me and will be my wife!”

At this point, the rest of the family started cheering and came to congratulate the happy couple.

Then Brad reached into his pocket and brought out an antique looking little box. “This ring belonged to my great-great-grandmother for the many years of their long happy marriage. If you like it, you may have it for your engagement ring, but if you would rather, we can go buy one you like better.”

“Oh, Brad,” she declared, “this ring is perfect! I’ve never seen anything so lovely before and just knowing it was worn for many years in a happy marriage makes it even more special. I like it a lot and I wonder if it will fit me.”

He lifted the ring out of its box and placed it on her slender finger. They were both immensely pleased that it just fit. Then he showed her the matching wedding bands in another box and told the four girls in the family the story about his great-great-grandfather, like he had told her parents.

“This is amazing, Brad,” Irene stated, “it’s like a page out of a story, but it’s even better since it’s a true story from your own family. These rings are just right for us and we get to continue their love story in our own ways in our lives together.”

Brad smiled at her saying, “That was very well put, dear Irene. Besides all the other things I said about you already, you are very articulate and know how to show your delight.”

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Soon Brad and Irene went to see Oscar and Vera, since they were now engaged and asked to be put on the waiting list for the next available house on the ranch.

Vera gave Irene a hug and shook Brad’s hand. “Congratulations, you two are perfect for each other. Thanks for telling us about your courtship and proposal and about the beautiful rings.”

“Absolutely!” Oscar exclaimed. “Now let’s look at the waiting list. As you can see there are two other names on it already, and one of them would like the lower level, and the other couple decided to stay in the city instead, so their name is crossed out. This means that you are next on the list and will get to move into the upstairs of the fourth house when it’s finished, if you get your license and you still desire to do this after you get the training and learn how hard it can be.”

Brad requested, “Will the two of you please pray with us in agreement that Jesus will help us with all of the things you mentioned and everything else we need to do to get ready for this merciful ministry that the two of you started here on Mercy Valley Ranch?”

They nodded and then the four of them joined hands to pray together, knowing that Jesus would answer in the affirmative.

Ernest and Connie Clay were very patient with their new foster girl, Tanya, because her life had been a very hard one. First they worked to to earn her trust and help her learn to follow their rules. At least she wasn’t rebellious. But she was closed off and skeptical about adults in general.

They were finally able to get her interested in learning things about the Bible with the videos they were able to borrow from the church. The videos were the ones people used in the middle and high school Bible Study Groups.

Next they had her look with them at the Bible Book Store for a book she liked about the Bible. She chose The Bible Made Easy – For Kids, because it looked interesting, was colorful and had places for writing and other activities to do. They also bought her a new Bible like the one used in the church they attended. She would get to have it for her own.

Every day Ernest and Connie lived exemplary lives and loved and prayed for Tanya. After many months she finally softened and began listening to the Good News they told her about. When she finally accepted Jesus as her Savior, she really did become a new creature, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things have passed away, and all things have become new.

At the end of each day in middle school, she went to The Garden Shop after school where she did her homework in the lunchroom / Coffee Shop. Soon she would also learn how to help Connie with some of her work and how to care for the blooming plants.

Karen’s former coworker, who was married to a nonbeliever, called her and said, “I received some more helpful, excellent verses from a support meeting. I really like to go to those meetings.

“I’m so glad!” Karen exclaimed. “Do you have time to have us look up some of them and read them with our comments?”

“Yes I do,” she answered, “I’ll do the first one. Philippians 4:4, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. I looked up always and it means all the time, consistently, all day every day, on all occasions. So this is a big order. The next one is Psalm 5:11.

“For sure,” Karen agreed, “that verse says, … let all those who put their trust in you, LORD, rejoice. Let them ever shout for joy because you defend them. Let those who love your name be joyful in you. This verse uses a lot more words to say almost the same thing as the one you just read.”

“You’re right and it really expands it,” she agreed. “Now I’ll read Psalm 118:24, This is the day which the LORD has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. This would be a good one for me to memorize and say it additional times when things go wrong. The next scripture you get to read is Romans 5:3,4.

Karen read, “… we glory or rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces patience,… experience,… and hope. I’ll have to admit that I have a hard time rejoicing during tribulations.

“Same here,” she concurred, “but then 1 Peter 4:12,13, make it a little easier. Beloved do not think … the fiery trial which is to try you, is some strange thing happening to you, but rejoice since your are partaking of Christ’s sufferings, so that when his glory shall be revealed, you also may be glad with exceeding joy. OK, you get to do the next two since one is not very long.” Then she told Karen the verses.

So Karen read, “1 Thessalonians 5:16, Rejoice evermore. That’s short and sweet! Then she read, Philippians 3:1, Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble for me, and it is good for your safety. I think it’s good for all of us to be reminded about this and other things in the Bible.’

 

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“So do I,” and she added, “The leader told us to read these verses aloud daily with lots of expression and also to read them with different synonyms, like feel joy, gladden, cheer, relish, celebrate, be pleased, be glad, be joyful, be delighted, be jubilant, or enjoy. Then she said to look up some other verses with those synonyms. So I did that and found the following ones. Proverbs 17:22a, A joyful heart does good like a medicine… now you read Psalm 37:4.

Karen did, “ Delight yourself in the LORD and he shall give you the desires of your heart. I notice that this one uses ‘in the LORD’ like the first one you read.”

“Yes it does,” and she continued, “and Psalm 1:2, says… delight in the law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night. Plus Psalm 40:8a, I delight to do your will, O my God… So there are two more things about the LORD to delight us. You get to read the last one, which is Psalm 16:11.”

So Karen read, “ You, (LORD,) will show me the path of life. In your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures for evermore.” Then she started singing “In Your Presence LORD,” and her former coworker joined right in.

Many people attended the December graduation service for the ones who had finished the evangelism class. They were prayed for and commissioned and would be sent out to do ministry wherever God wanted them to be.

Very soon after that graduation some of the pastors met to decide when to send out a church plant, where it would go, and who would be in the group with a graduate of the Church School of Evangelism.

Patrick and Glenda had asked the Ross family to come have dinner with them on the weekend and after visiting about several other things, they asked Don and Anita about how they get a church plant ready to go.

Don explained, “First there needs to be a church that’s large enough to need to send some of it’s congregation to a needy small city with a pastor who agrees to lead the small group that accompanies him and his family if he has one. He also agrees to find a job in the city to support himself and his family, plus be a pastor to the new church they start.”

“Amazing!” Patrick declared. “He and his family have to be very dedicated to even consider such a big responsibility.”

Anita continued, “For sure, and so do the people who go with him. The volunteers who might go with him attend a meeting and get all their questions answered. Some of them decide to not volunteer, for one reason or another. Next the pastor interviews the remaining volunteers and chooses nine couples or families to go with him. They continue meeting as a small group for at least a month with him as they make preparations to go.”

“Wow!” Glenda exclaimed. “No wonder those people have to be very dedicated. They have to get new jobs in the new city, sell their houses, buy or rent another one in the new city, pack up and move. I remember hearing some of this when the first group went.”

They talked some more about it and then Don concluded, “There’s a little booklet about more of the details if you’d like to get one from the church. I just realized we need to get Timothy and Mary home so they can finish their homework for school on Monday.”

“Indeed we do,” agreed Anita, “the time went so fast today. Thank you for the delicious dinner and time to visit.”

“You’re welcome,” Glenda responded, “we enjoyed the visit and I think we’ll get a booklet, but not because we want to move!”

“Definitely!” Patrick stated, “But it is interesting and also we can pray for the ones who do go.”

One day Yolanda mentioned, “Ian, Dear, I’m so pleased with the way Sara and Candy and their husbands are doing here on the ranch being foster parents to four teenage girls who had been abused.”

“For sure, Honey,” Ian responded, “all their girls have accepted Jesus and are becoming exemplary Christian young ladies. I was thrilled when both of them wanted to join this ministry of mercy here on this ranch.”

Yolanda continued, “So was I. When our Darla and Rita came home from Ted’s choir the other evening, they remarked that there are some other senior girls who are afraid time might run out for them to be able to do the same thing.”

“Right,” he agreed, “So far our two haven’t said much about what they want to do when they graduate, and it isn’t too far away, but I don’t want to push them.”

She nodded and said, “No, I don’t either, but we do need to know what they might be thinking.”

Ian suggested, “Well, maybe you could ask them separately if they have any plans, so they won’t feel like they’ve been put on the spot in front of their foster sisters.”

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Yolanda carried out his recommendation and found out that both of them have been looking at career choices for women on the web. They were in the process of reading about them and deciding what would work best for them.

After a while, they chose to find a job each in a local department store after high school and then to share the rent and other expenses for an apartment when they were ready to move to Pine City.

Greg remarked, “I’m glad we were all able to get our chores finished quickly this evening, because this next section of ‘Become Honorable People’ is pretty long.”

William taught again from some verses that would help the older boys become real men, good husbands, and fathers. He began, “If you know God wants for you to be married, this first verse is for you. Listen as I read 1 Peter 3:7, “You husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, giving honor to your wife, as to a weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered. This verse clearly states that men should know how to respect their wives and be in unity with them since both are believers. Otherwise their prayers will be hindered, meaning they will be delayed, held up, even stopped.”

William continued, “1 Timothy 3:1-15, lists good qualities and bad behaviors for men and women. In my opinion, they would be good for all people to develop or to avoid, not just bishops and deacons. If you ever want to be one, though, you need to start developing these qualities now. Follow along as I read one or two verses at a time. We can discuss them as we go.

“ This is a true saying, if a man desires the office of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, be vigilant, sober, of good behavior, be hospitable, be able to teach,”

William explained, “A bishop here, means an overseer, not a high leader in the church, as many modern dictionaries say.”

Sam had looked up “vigilant” in the dictionary and added, “Vigilant means to be watchful, observant, attentive, and alert.”

Another boy took the dictionary and found, “Sober means not drunk, but other synonyms are: clearheaded, abstinent, and someone who does not drink.”

“Thank you, boys,” said William. “Knowing what the words mean helps us understand the verses better. I’ll continue,

not likely to drink wine, not a striker, not greedy for money, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous,”

The dictionary was passed around and a boy explained, “A striker is someone who hits or assaults with his hands.”

Evan read, “A brawler is a person who’s in the habit of having noisy, rough fights or quarrels. I can see why neither of those would be good qualities for a church leader.”

Another boy read, “Covetous means wanting to have something that belongs to someone else.”

William agreed with them and continued, “ one who rules his own house well, having his children in subjection with all gravity. (For if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Here, ‘in subjection’ means that he can control them in a good way.”

Carlos found and read, “With gravity means with seriousness.”

Gary mentioned, “I like the words inside the parentheses. They make very good sense.”

“I agree with you, Carlos and Gary. I’ll continue reading. He should not be a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he could fall into condemnation … A novice is a beginner, or learner, or new believer.”

A different boy commented, “It takes time to learn the things a person would need to know to be a good leader.”

“Yes, it does,” agreed William. “The next verse says, Moreover, he must have a good report of those who are outside the church, …”

Sam exclaimed, “Yeah, it wouldn’t look good to have a person nonbelievers didn’t respect leading the church!”

“Exactly,” agreed William and then he continued, Likewise, the deacons must be grave, not double-tongued, not likely to drink much wine, not greedy for money, holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience.”

From the dictionary, Evan read, “A double-tongued person lacks integrity, honesty, and isn’t sincere. He’d make a terrible leader!”

“Yes he would,” William concurred, “and he’d also be a terrible man, husband and father. Here’s the next verse, First, these should also be proven, then let them have the office of a deacon, if they are found blameless.”

Carlos asked, “Does proven mean it’s like they have to pass a test to show they have the necessary qualities for being a deacon?”

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“Yes,” said William, “I think that’s a good way to put it. The next verse is exceptionally important for you to do as you look for a wife. Be sure she has the correct qualities and no bad behaviors. Their wives must also be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Slanderers make false statements about others that damage the person’s character.”

Gary remarked, “She needs to be a very good woman.”

“You’re right, indeed!” emphasized William. “Women like this cannot be found just anywhere. You need to look in your church, preferably in your small group and observe them long enough to know a lot about their character before you even consider dating them. … The next verse says, The deacons should be the husband of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

A boy mentioned, “There are several qualities repeated for both kinds of church leaders. Usually repetition means it’s very important.”

William nodded emphatically and then read the next verse. “Those who do well in the office of a deacon will purchase for themselves respect, and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Then he explained, “Paul was writing to Timothy, a leader in the church in Ephesus, as it says in chapter 1, verse 3. Then he said, ‘ I write these things to you hoping to come to you soon, but if it is a long time, you now know how you ought to behave yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.’ Now that we’ve read and understood these verses, we also know how to behave ourselves in God’s church. If you DO what these verses say to do, then you will become real men, good husbands, and fathers. Plus you can be deacons or overseers in God’s church here on earth. I pray that all of you will work hard with God’s help to DO this!”

The boys nodded in serious agreement and left quietly.

Karen used the same verses for discussion and then focused on the parts about the men’s wives for the older girls on the ranch. She concluded, “It would be a very good idea for you to add those qualities for the men to the list Fiona supplied for you about things to look for in the man you might marry, if you know for sure it’s God’s will for you to be married. If you can find a man as good as the ones described here and in Fiona’s list, you’ll save yourself a lot of misery in your life, and have a happy, loving marriage where both of you can serve the Lord together. That’s my prayer for you!”

The girls nodded emphatically and left talking to each other about how important and helpful this lesson had been.

“The end of this lesson,” said Greg.

Kevin commented, “This was a very serious lesson and it had many helpful scriptures telling men and women how to live.”

“For sure,” Daniel agreed, “and I think it would be good to add the woman’s qualities to William list.

Cory added, “I think so too, and I will put a note for myself to do it when I get a copy of that list.”

Levi nodded, “There’s so much to learn about growing up, especially if it’s to be done correctly.”

“Exactly,” Max concluded, “and I’m sure we all want to grow up correctly.”

Many people were planning for their children who would be starting high school after the two week vacation.

In the Iverson family, Levi would be starting high school the next year. Kevin and Daniel both volunteered to show him and also Ryan and Bruce, who were in Gary and Kim Beckett’s family, around at the end of the last school day in December. They would also take turns to help them the first week of school in January, so they wouldn’t have to worry about getting lost or being late to a class. Levi also got to join one of Gary’s Bible Study Groups.

About the middle of December Esther asked, “Vera do you think your girls would each show one of my girls around the high school the last school day in December, and then be there to help on the first few days in January?”

“Of course!” Vera declared. “Let’s meet in the game room after supper this evening and let them pair off. My girls will reassure them and follow through too. It’s hard for me to believe that your girls are really going to be in high school also!”

So Stella helped Holly, Liz helped Willow, Emma helped Val, and Nan helped Lucia, and all these students from the farm and ranch would be off to a good start for the new school year. Also Val, Lucia, Holly, and Willow joined one of Karen’s Bible Study Groups where she was teaching others who were their ages. Esther’s girls all really enjoyed being in a support group with believers who were their ages.

Besides all the students planning to start high school, in January many young people from the ranch and farm would be seniors who would be graduating from high school. They would all work very hard so they could finish well and get good grades on all the exams.

 

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Recruiting children for the church school kindergarten was sometimes a hard thing to do now that there were two schools in the city. They didn’t have a waiting list like they used to have.

Kindergarten was a hard class to teach, especially at the first of the year, unless the children had been in home daycare situations or had mothers at home who used that curriculum. But the teachers were dedicated and helped the children to learn how to go to school and how to enjoy and learn something every day.

The youngest students we know of in Pine City are Barnabas Beckett, and the twins, Faith, and Grace Anderson, who would be starting kindergarten this year. Johnny and Patrick Anderson, who had been in first grade and kindergarten this year, would move to second grade and first grade.

The other students we are acquainted with will all move forward one grade level. Mary will be in the second year of accelerated studies at the middle school. The quadruplets and Hope, Joy, Max, and Timothy will be in eighth grade. Daniel and Kevin will be in tenth grade in the high school. Emma and Nan will be in eleventh grade. Cory, Stella, Liz, Christi, and Hanna will be seniors this year. Their parents asked, “How does the time go so fast?”

Irene remarked, “It’s time for the two week vacation from school, and I was wishing Brad could get time off from his job so he could come more often now that I’ve graduated and have more time, but then I realized that I need to get started working at the Discount Mart as soon as I can, so I can start saving money to buy the things we’ll need on the ranch as soon as the upstairs of the fourth house is finished.

“I agree with you,” Ruby replied, “I wish I had a plan for my life, but all I have is an idea of where to work and no roommate for an apartment.”

“I’m sorry, Ruby,” said Irene sincerely. “Let’s go ask Dad and Mom if they have any ideas for you and we can all pray about it too.”

Denji’s answer was, “I know it must be a hard time for you, Ruby, and I’m thinking there are probably some other girls on the ranch with some of the same feelings.”

“I think so too,” agreed Sara, “maybe we could plan to go horseback riding with each family that has seniors who have just graduated. You can ride between the two of them and all three of you can talk and share ideas.”

“Great ideas, Dad and Mom! Ruby exclaimed. “I feel better already. I’ve had such fun watching Irene and Brad get to know each other and fall in love, that I forgot to plan for myself.”

Then they all prayed with Ruby. The family went on many rides with other families. Ruby found that Darla and Rita who were in Ian and Yolanda Hopkins family, would be glad to have her join with them to help pay rent and living expenses in an apartment they would all share. They planned for her to also get a job at the same department store where they would work. Then they could all ride the bus together to and from work and grocery shopping. So Ruby was very relieved to have a plan she could follow.

Afta and Hana and their girls liked to go horseback riding at the same time as Denji and Sara and their girls because all the girls were close to the same ages. It made a very good time for the adults to visit together. But when other families went riding with them, Irene rode between her dad and mom so they could talk, make plans, and they could answer her questions about many things. Irene liked having a time to talk with them without her younger sisters listening to things they didn’t need to know yet.

Greg was ready to read from “Become Honorable People,” when the boys came back from helping Oralie with supper clean-up.

William and Karen taught a lesson on God’s promises for the ongoing Bible Study Groups. William began by saying, “God’s promises are precious and trustworthy. Today please use your concordances and find some scripture verses about things God has promised. Find three you would like to read and write a comment to share with each of them. Then if two others have the same ones as yours, you’ll still have one you can share.”

William gave them time to find and write comments and then they started sharing, with William being first. “I found Hebrews 8:6b, (Jesus) is the mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises. The promises for the old covenant weren’t as good and needed to be replaced by what Jesus did when he came to live a perfect life on earth.”

One boy commented, “Thank you for explaining that verse. I’ve often wondered what it meant.” William nodded his welcome and the boy continued, “I found Psalm 119:162, I rejoice about your word (promises,) as one who finds great treasures. To me God’s promises are huge treasures, because he always keeps his promises.”

 

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“I agree,” and Pedro continued, “and I think part of what makes his promises so special is that he has the power to keep them as it says in Romans 4:21, Abraham was fully persuaded that what God had promised, he was able to perform.”

“I think so too,” a boy went on, “I personalized 2 Peter 1:4a, which tells us the reason for his promises. God gave us exceeding great and precious promises, so we might be partakers of the divine nature…”

Hugo remarked, “Yes, and I think Hebrews 10:23 tells us how to act about his promises, Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful who promised.”

Another boy suggested, “Maybe the reason we can hold fast is found in 2 Corinthians 1:20, For all the promises of God are yes and Amen to the Glory of God… God doesn’t waver between yes and no about the promises he makes.

“I’m sure glad about that!” Jose declared, “because to me this next verse, 1 John 2:25, is the most precious of God’s promises. And this is the promise that he has promised us, even eternal life.”

“Absolutely,” a different boy added, “because of that promise, we have the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began, Titus 1:2. These verses go well together.”

Luis nodded and stated, “Yes, we might have problems here on this earth, Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness dwells, as it says in 2 Peter 3:13, and it’s because of those two verses.

“Good job everybody!” complimented William. “Now for the end of this lesson, find 2 Corinthians 7:1 and write it as a personalized prayer in your notebooks.”

After they finished writing he closed with his own personalized prayer for the last verse, “Since we have these promises … help us cleanse ourselves from all bad things and become holy in the fear of God, 2 Corinthians 7:1.” And they all said, “Amen.”

Greg concluded, “This is the end of this short segment. It was full of very good scriptures.”

“Yes it was,” stated Max, “and I’m going to put most of them in my Thankful Notebook.”

Levi complimented, “What a good idea, Max. I’ll do the same, and I liked the comments the boys made to go with the verses they read.”

“So did I,” Cory remarked, “and the last verse William used is a good one to personalize and pray often.”

Daniel declared, “Ditto!”

And Kevin exclaimed, “Absolutely!”

Brad really enjoyed getting to spend Christmas day with Irene and her family. The traditions they had developed as a family were special and meaningful. He wrote them down in his notebook when he got home that evening. Later he and Irene chose the ones they would continue with their own new family on the ranch. They would add others when they had time to plan after their wedding.

Another day he was able to go skating with the family on the frozen Wild Mint Lake, which he had helped Nathan clear off for all the families. It was a fun outside cold weather activity. He was grateful he had learned to skate and still had his skates from times with his parents. Brad and Irene were closely matched in ice skating skills and had a lot of fun and even had time to talk and plan for their future.

When they all got too cold to stay out any longer they went back to her house where the two of them helped Sara fix hot herbal tea to help everyone warm up. It was fun to listen to all the comments about what fun it was to ice skate.

On the next weekend, Brad came and joined Denji and Sara and Ruby, Irene, Lois, and Vicky, who were outside with Evan, Candy, and Bonnie, Flora, Kate, and Reba after a big snow storm.

Lois asked, “Mom, is this snow cold enough to make ice cream in the old-fashioned ice cream machine in the wooden bucket? It’s the one we bought at a thrift store.”

Sara answered, “I’ll go inside and get the thermometer so we can check the snow to see if it will work.”

While she was gone Vicky mentioned, “There sure is enough of it so we can keep replacing it if we need more.”

Ruby and Irene nodded, and Bonnie reflected, “I’m glad we had this idea a couple months ago and we have all the right ingredients already.”

Flora continued, “We can take turns helping with the recipe that sounds so yummy.”

Reba stated, “And we can all take turns cranking the ice cream machine.”

“Right,” and then Kate suggested, “Brad can have a turn also since he’s so strong.”

“Of course,” Brad responded, “I’ll be glad to help crank it and I’m sure I’ll enjoy helping to eat it too! I think my great-great-grandmother probably had one like that.”

Irene exclaimed, “I’m glad we can all have so much fun together.”

 

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Sara came back with the thermometer and found out that the snow was cold enough that they could use it with salt instead of needing to buy ice for making the ice cream.

It was a noisy, busy time for everybody, working together and having fun in the process. It was delicious. After emptying the first container of vanilla they made one with chocolate that was just as good and went just as fast with so many people eating it.

Later in the day, Brad and Irene learned that planning their wedding was also a fun indoor cold weather activity. Denji and Sara joined in their fun and brought a calendar to give ideas for a date for the wedding. Brad had brought his notebook that day and he wrote notes about the things they had decided to do. They were all pleased with the plans they had made.

Walt and Betty’s small group was going to have their last meeting in December. They had not gotten any new members, so they invited the whole big Foster family to come join them for this last meeting. Roy, Sherry, Joy and Hope, explained to April, May, Tina, and Lina about the small group they had been in before moving to the ranch. So, they all happily went to the meeting.

Roy and Sherry had been faithfully updating Walt and Betty with their praise reports and prayers. Those were passed on to the members of the group every week. Walt and Betty had kept Roy and Sherry up to date with what was going on in the group. Therefore it was like they had continued being absentee members of the group.

This last meeting was held in Matt and Fiona’s big house so there was plenty of room for everyone. Knowing how busy Fiona was with her four young children, Sherry called her and offered, “I’ll volunteer to bring home baked cookies to the meeting.”

Fiona gratefully agreed and said, “Wonderful then, I’ll provide the apple juice to go with them for the fellowship time.”

During the praise time, April, May, Tina, and Lina each praised God in different ways for putting them in the Foster family on Mercy Valley Ranch and for bringing them into his big forever family. They got to hear the praises of the other members of the group also.

Then they all enjoyed singing, communion together with fellow believers, the conversational prayers, and fellowship time. It was a good memory for everybody and the rest of the group was glad to meet the new members of the Foster family.

Oralie called to the boys, “Come and be ready to write some of the scripture references in the part of ‘Become Honorable People’ that I get to read today. For the first part, just change the word ‘women’ to men’ in your mind as I read.”

Karen and William taught a lesson on some of the virtues listed in the Bible. Karen began her lesson by having two of them find the definition of the word ‘virtue.’

The dictionary was close to Lisa so she read, “A virtue is a behavior or a quality that shows high moral standards, or is considered good, desirable, or useful.”

Then Nan read out of the Bible dictionary, “Virtue is moral excellence or goodness; having value or worth.”

“Thank you Lisa and Nan.” Then Karen instructed, “Next let’s read Proverbs 31:10 together, Who can find a virtuous woman? Her price is far above rubies.”

She continued, “I think we all want to be virtuous women. So now we’ll look up and talk about Bible scriptures that have some of the virtues in them. Maybe we can get some ideas of things we can add to our lives and make them part of our identity.”

She handed out small papers with references on them for the girls to look up and read aloud.

Stella found and read, “Colossians 3:12-15, Put on therefore, as the elect or chosen and holy and beloved of God, mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering or patience, forbearing and forgiving one another… and above all these things put on charity or love, … let the peace of God rule in your hearts, … and be thankful. I really like these verses and I have a copy of them in my Bible so I can pray for God’s help to put on these virtues.”

“That’s a good idea, Stella, so I’ll do it too,” then Christi read a summary of 2 Peter 1:5b-7,… add to your faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity or love. I think it’s interesting that the word ‘virtue’ is part of this list of virtues and they are all such good qualities.”

One girl admitted, “Yes, and I need to work on self-control and kindness the most in that list. Now I’ll read Ephesians 4:2, (Walk) with humility, meekness, patience, bearing with each other in love. If I would bear with people, I would probably be more kind.”

 

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“Good point,” stated Ellie, “I’ll try to remember to do it myself. Galatians 6:9 says, … let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not faint. I guess the virtue in this verse is well doing, and it would also include doing any of the virtues.”

Another girl mentioned, “All the words in those lists go very well with the definition Nan read out of the Bible dictionary. In Hebrews 10:36 it says, For you have need of patience, so that after you have done the will of God, you might receive the promise. This verse goes very well with the verse you just read, Ellie.”

“I agree,” remarked Hanna, “those verses show that we need to work on developing virtues and Galatians 5:22,23 says, the Holy Spirit produces this list in us. … the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering or patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control… I’m glad for his help.”

“Same here,” Liz continued, “I’ll read Ephesians 5:8b-10, … walk as children of light, for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable to the Lord. These verses go very well with your verses Hanna and I’m very grateful for the help of the Holy Spirit also.”

“Same here,” a different girl agreed, “and 1 Corinthians 13:4a and 7 also have a lot of virtues in them. Love is patient, love is kind; It bears and believes and hopes and endures all things.”

Emma commented, “We use Philippians 4:8 many times for other things but I think it goes well here also. I’ll say my personalized version of it. Emma you need to,… think about things that are true, or honest, or just, or pure, or lovely, or of good report or have virtue, or are worthy of praise.”

Karen concluded with, “I really like the way you girls read these great verses today and your comments helped this to be an outstanding Bible study. God bless all of you as you continue developing these virtues. Just remember this is a lifelong process and we have God’s help to do it. Let’s read the context for the verses Christi read to us earlier. It will help us see how God helps us.”

2 Peter 1:1–9 says, Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained this precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ: grace and peace be multiplied to you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord. According to his divine power, he has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who has called us to glory and virtue. By these, we are given exceeding great and precious promises, that by them you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue and knowledge and temperance and patience and godliness and brotherly kindness and love. For if these things are in you and abound, they shall … make you fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The end of this lesson,” said Oralie.

Max exclaimed, “That last scripture was very long, but it was a very good conclusion for the lesson.”

“I think so too,” agreed Levi, “the best part of it was where it said how God helps us. I’m glad we don’t have to try to do it alone.”

Kevin mentioned, “I’m glad I wrote the scripture references in my notebook. I think I’ll look them up and compile a list of all of the virtues without duplicates.”

“Great idea!” Daniel declared. “It might not seem so overwhelming by being consolidated and not so spread out.

Cory stated, “I like that idea also, so I’ll do it too and I think I’ll add a prayer thanking God for the help he gives us.” Then to himself he said that he had written a lot of things about the girls by hearing their comments in this lesson.

The list the boys came up with from all those verses contained the following virtues: mercy, kindness, humility, forbearance, well doing, forgiveness, knowledge, virtue, godliness, righteousness, truth, honesty, justice, purity, loveliness, of good report, praiseworthy, and the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control.

During the two week vacation the families with seniors started some review and new teaching for those who would be leaving the ranch and farm soon. On the ranch the mothers have been teaching all the girls how to cook, bake, and sew. Now they needed to learn about how to run a household on their own.

Cooking and baking were taught by demonstration and the girls helped by bringing ingredients or other things needed by their mother. When they had watched enough times she explained, “Girls, you’ve seen me cook meals many times and have helped me. It’s time to you to start taking turns cooking whole meals so you’ll know how when you graduate from the ranch. I’ll be here to coach you but not to bring things to you, since in your own home, you’ll have to do it alone.”

She went on, “It’s the same thing with baking. And you need to plan ahead by studying the recipe you want to cook or bake and be prepared with the right ingredients by making a list of things you will need and buying them before you cook or bake. Also remember all the things you’ve learned about good nutrition.

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Make your grocery lists to include those items and others things you will be using often in your cooking and baking so you don’t have to make an extra trip in the bus to the grocery store before you can cook or bake. Try to keep your shopping trips down to once a week.

Many things like laundry, and cleaning, including vacuuming, dusting, and mopping have already been taught as part of their tasks or chores to keep the family running smoothly. On the farm the boys were taught those same chores and also how to sew on buttons and mend tears in their clothes. The dads taught about car and house maintenance.

As they got closer to graduating from the ranch or farm a mom might say, “You’ve watched me do the bookwork for this family. Now you need to learn how to pay bills, balance a check book, keep receipts for all purchases in case you need to return a defective item, and to check them off of the monthly credit card statements. But only use a credit card if you know you will pay the whole balance every month. Otherwise, it’s a total waste of money to pay the high interest they charge on the unpaid balance. Plan ahead and stick to your budget. Save up money to buy larger items by paying cash for the thing rather than getting a loan or putting it on a credit card that you can’t pay off by the end of the month.

“Keep learning good and new things all your life. It’s good for your brain to keep it active by learning.”

After graduating from the ranch or farm, apartment mates took time to work out a schedule for all the tasks / chores they would need to do for their home and then alternated daily so it would be more fair.

After school started in January, Beth Davis shared Julie and Mindy’s ideas with the other second and third grade teachers as an option if they desired to try them for their classes. For example reading aloud to the class while they practiced handwriting.

Another was to add enrichment to Nature Corner stories by finding extra information about the topic on the web. Since they found it on their own time it did not take up extra class time, but added much interest and visuals to the stories.

Some of the other teachers were happy to get the new ideas and put them into practice with good results. Others, especially if they hadn’t been teaching very long, decided to wait until they felt they could make them work.

Another thing Beth did was to ask each of the kindergarten teachers for ideas she could use to recruit students for the kindergarten classes. One of them suggested, “Maybe you could make an announcement at one of the church services about ways people could afford the tuition and also how to prepare their children for attending the church school by using the church curriculum for preschool day care.”

“Thanks,” Beth responded, “sometimes people need to be reminded about those things. I will try in our next service and if it works well, I’ll see about doing it in the other churches that meet in our sanctuary.”

Greg announced, “As soon as all of you are finished with your chores I’ll read another part of ‘Become Honorable People’ to you. There will be some good scripture references to write.”

Karen and William both did a lesson for the groups who had lived longer on the ranch and farm. They called it “Praise, Bless, and Worship the LORD.” First William had Luis look up and read the definition of ‘worship.’

Luis read, “Worship as a verb means to show reverence and adoration and honor for God. Some similar words are, give devotion, praise, thank, glorify, bless, exalt, give respect, honor, esteem, love, cherish, admire, magnify.”

“Thank you, Luis,” said William. “Those are good words that can expand our understanding when we see them in scripture. Read them again slowly so everybody can write them in their notebooks. … Good, now find Psalm 71:8 and let’s read it together. Let my mouth be filled with your praise and with your honor all day.”

Hugo remarked, “It sounds like a personal prayer. But I don’t understand how it could work if it really would be all day.”

“I don’t either,” answered William, “and I ask the same thing for the next verse in Psalm 34:1, I will bless the LORD at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. Maybe it’s exaggerated for effect. Remember the word, ‘hyperbole,’ from your English classes? I think some scriptures use that figure of speech.”

“Oh, yeah, it could be,” said one of the other boys who then wondered, “Do you think the people in Kosuke’s class for chaplains would have more time to praise the Lord than other regular jobs?”

William replied, “They might, especially during the classes, but they also have regular jobs to do during the daytime.”

Jose suggested, “Maybe the writer used exaggeration to show how important it is to praise God often and get people to thinking about doing it as often as is possible for them.”

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“I like your idea, Jose,” responded William. “Now look up and read Isaiah 25:1a with me.” O Lord, you are my God. I will exalt you, I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things...

A different boy stated, “This is a good verse because it tells one of the reasons to praise God.”

“Right,” agreed William, “and the verses that follow it tell some more reasons, even though we might not be able to relate to some of them because they went with things happening in those days. Now let’s read Psalm 95:6 together, O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD our maker.”

Pedro reflected, “I like the way we can raise our hands, bow our heads, or kneel as we sing worship songs at our church. It helps me concentrate when I get my body involved like that.”

“Good point, Pedro, “said William, “and our last verse for today tells why and how to worship. Find Psalm 29:2 and read it with me. Give unto the LORD the Glory due his name, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. I think this means to be reverent and keep our lives pure. Thank you for your good comments and questions today.”

Greg commented, “this lesson seemed a little short. I wonder if you could find some more scripture verses to go with it.”

The five boys got busy and looked. Daniel was first. I found Hebrews 13:15, By him, (Jesus) let us therefore offer a sacrifice of praise to God continually, which is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. This verse says thanksgiving is a way to praise God.”

Max said, “Psalm 106:1 goes with your verse, Daniel. It says, Praise the Lord. O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. It also has two reasons to thank him.”

“Right,” agreed Kevin, “and John 4:24 says, God is a Spirit. They who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. This is another verse that tells us how to worship him.”

Cory said, “That’s a good one, Kevin, and I like Nehemiah 9:5b, Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever. Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. It sounds like a triumphant song of praise.”

“I agree,” and then Levi read, “Psalm 117:1,2, O praise the LORD all you nations. Praise him all you people, for his merciful kindness is great toward us, and the truth of the LORD endures forever. Some day all the nations and all the people will praise him!”

The graduation / going-away party was in early February this year. The young people we are more acquainted with were Ellie and Lisa, Darla and Rita, Ruby and Irene, Nora and Kathy, Dana and Wendy, Jose and Hugo. They all gave good speeches that included thanks to their foster parents and to Mr. and Mrs. Yardley for turning their dude ranch into Caring Foster Homes or to the owners of the farm for having the homes on the farms be for foster boys. The graduates all had good plans.

When the Spencer family got back to the house and had changed back into regular daily clothes after the graduation party, Lisa quickly asked, “Ellie, did you notice how much Jose’s speech closely matches my desires?”

“Positively!” Ellie declared. “And also Hugo’s speech goes very well with mine!”

Lisa stated, “I know, and I'm so astounded! I’d like to ask Dad and Mom to call right now and invite them to a meal soon, but I also know they would rather wait and see if their parents will call us first.”

“We might not have to wait very long,” reasoned Ellie, “because as I listened to the other girl’s speeches, ours came the closest to matching Hugo and Jose's desires.”

Lisa nodded, “I agree, so let’s tell Dad and Mom that we’ll wait to see if they call, and if they don’t, then we’d like Dad to call them. But we need to give them time to get back to the farm, since the party was here at the ranch.”

The girls went and told their parents what they had decided and then sat and crocheted on a hot pad while they waited. But both of them were startled when the phone rang!

In the meantime, when Felix, Sunny and their boys got back to their house right after the graduation party Hugo asked, “Dad and Mom, would you please invite the Spencer family to a meal soon.”

“Yes,” Jose agreed immediately, “because, as only our awesome God could work it out so well, both of the girls we are interested in are in the same family!”

Felix acknowledged, “Our God is an awesome God! And I’m not surprised at your requests, because as I listened to all the young ladies’ speeches, Ellie and Lisa’s fit both of your desires perfectly! Yes, I’ll call them right away. When would be a good time for you, Sunny, Dear?”

She answered, “The graduation was today, which is Saturday. I think we can be ready by lunchtime tomorrow.”

Felix went to dial the number half expecting it to ring before he started dialing, but it didn’t. When he finished the call, he went back to report, “Jeff answered the phone and very graciously accepted our

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invitation to come to lunch tomorrow. He didn’t even have to ask the rest of the family. I assume they must have talked about it and were expecting a call.”

Jose and Hugo jumped up and shouted, “Hooray!” And Jose added, “Mom, what can we do to help you get the meal ready?”

“Thank you for your offer, Jose,” she replied, “first, let’s use the rest of today to clean the house, eat supper and do clean-up. Then we can decide what we want to serve them, and get to bed early. For tomorrow I’ll be glad to have you help cook and set the table. And then you could look through the pretty artificial flower bouquets I keep in storage, and choose one for the center of the table.”

Lunch the next day was delicious and the house was sparkling and cheery. The girls enjoyed the pretty bouquet and could have said the name of each wildflower, but the timing wasn’t right, and it might be considered showing off. So they paid attention, made appropriate comments and answered questions. The time at the table was spent enjoying the food and for the families to get acquainted. Then the younger boys went to finish some homework, and the younger girls helped Sunny put the left overs away, and wash the dishes and clean up the kitchen. The rest of them went into the living room to talk some more.

Hugo exclaimed, “Ellie, I was astonished when your speech so closely matched the desires I told about in my speech!

I felt the same way when I heard your speech, Hugo,” Ellie responded.

Jose inserted, “The same applies to me about your speech, Lisa! And we promise we had written our speeches weeks before the party and we made no changes in them after hearing yours.

“I believe you, Jose,” stated Lisa, “only our awesome God could know our desires and make them match up so well.”

The adults joined in with their praises and thanks to give God the glory he deserved. The young people were all glad they didn’t have to wonder or question, because the speeches had said it all. They could go directly to getting to know each other better, discuss issues, and feel certain about compatibility.

Before going home, the Spencer family invited the Lucero family to come for a horseback ride the next weekend. After that, the families got together regularly for horseback rides, and other activities. There were many opportunities for the couples to get better acquainted and have fun together. Later, Jose and Hugo went alone to do things with the Spencer family, or Lisa and Ellie went to the farm to do things with the Lucero family. Jose, Hugo, Lisa, and Ellie would all turn 19 in the spring, so they would get to stay on the ranch and farm during that time and do family activities with their chosen ones.

This next scene is a new one, written just for the short book. Greg read this part of “Become Honorable People” only to Cory, but would wait until the others were older to read it to them separately. Before he started, Greg suggested, “Cory, look for what you should, and should not to do as a man. This lesson was for the girls on the ranch. All you need to do is change some words to make it relate to you.”

Karen taught about the importance of saving themselves for only their future husband to her classes that had junior and senior girls in them. First she explained that marriage is just one man and one woman. Any other way the world might explain it does not agree with what the Bible says. The way some of the world acts is clearly explained in Romans 1:24b-28. … They dishonor their own bodies between themselves. They changed the truth of God into a lie… For this cause God gave them up to evil affections… even their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature… Likewise also the men leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men with men doing that which is indecent… And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a corrupt mind, to do those things which are not right. Verses 29-32 list all those things and state that those who do them are worthy of death.”

Karen emphasized, “These verses are especially important for all of you while you are single. Be very careful who you choose for friends! They can pull you right down with them into those sins if you are not on your guard. It would be best if you only choose friends from believers in Jesus who live as the Bible teaches!”

Next Karen had them look up and read aloud together the following scripture verses.

1 Corinthians 6:18-20, Flee from fornication, which is sex outside of marriage… He who commits sex outside of marriage sins against his own body. … Know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, … you are not your own, for you were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5, For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sex outside of marriage and that every one of you should know how to possess his body in sanctification and honor, not in the lust of sexual desires…

Hebrews 13:4a, Marriage is honorable … and the bed undefiled…

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Ephesians 5:3, But sex outside of marriage and all uncleanness, … let it not be once named among you as becomes saints.

Romans 6:12,13, Do not let sin reign in your body by obeying its lusts. Do not yield your body as an instrument of unrighteousness resulting in sin. But yield yourselves to God … as instruments of righteousness.

2 Timothy 2:22, Flee from youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

On the ranch Karen emphasized, “The verses we just read together make it very plain that we need to keep sex only for the one we marry. Remember, repetition is a way to show how important a topic is, so you can see this is very essential. So if someone suggests and pushes for sex before marriage, just say, ‘No!’ Then dump that guy as not being worth your time.”

“For sure!” One of the girls stated, “I overheard a conversation at lunch about a girl being disgusted with a date she went on and a guy suggested it even on the first date. The girl she was talking to mentioned that she thought some guys just took girls on dates to see how many times they could talk girls into doing it.”

Another girl declared, “I’m very thankful for the rule we have here on the ranch about no dating on the ranch!

“Same here,” continued the next girl, “but it’s good to know what to say after we do leave the ranch and start dating.”

The fourth girl admitted, “Maybe it would be easier to just stay single and not have to go on dates.”

Yes it would,” Karen inserted, “if being single is what God wants you to do. All of you need to pray for him to guide you about staying single or getting married.”

“Exactly,” the fifth girl reasoned, “The rest of the time we are on the ranch would be a good time for us to pray and find out what God wants us to do about this topic and about the rest of our lives.”

“Good idea,” said the sixth girl, “We have a big responsibility as we go out on our own when we are nineteen, and we need to know those answers ahead of time so we don’t make big mistakes.”

“I’m glad we are learning about these important things while we are here and still have time to prepare,” added the seventh. “And I’ll be sure to tell my roommate about this lesson since she had to stay home sick today. Thank you, Karen!”

“You’re welcome,” she replied,” and remember that the scriptures we read today are your sword to fight temptation. Plus, here’s an extra one for you. Joshua 1:9, I have commanded you to be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

The boys on the farm had similar thoughts and conversations during their class with William.

And then the young men and ladies on the farm and ranch all prayed and ask God to show them his will for their lives and to help them save sex until after marriage.

Later one young lady, who had graduated from the ranch, made a phone call to Karen and told her of an experience she had on her last date. Karen invited her to come to a special class she would set up on a Saturday so all the girls in eleventh and twelfth grades could hear her story.

The young lady came and shared, “I had gone on several dates with a young man I had met at work. On one date we went walking in the park while we talked about our opinions about issues on the list Karen gave to us before we graduated from the ranch. It was getting close to suppertime, and he invited me to go with him to meet his parents and have supper at their house.

“I agreed to go with him, because it sounded safe enough. When we got there his parents were not home, but he said not to worry, he could fix us some TV dinners for supper. We talked some more while we ate.

“Then just as we were about finished he got up and went into his parent’s bedroom to see if it was ‘OK’ I surmised. When he returned he stated, while we finished eating, ‘What I would like to do, is find out if we would be compatible sexually before we would have any more dates, and we can use my parents bedroom.’ He said that they wouldn’t mind, because they had told him many times how important sexual compatibility is.

“I thanked him for supper, said no to his suggestion, and left before he realized he had forgotten to lock the front door. Since I had kept my purse on my lap during supper and I had driven my car to follow him to their house, I was able to get back to my apartment. Needless to say I have not, and will not date him again! And from now on, I will only date guys from our church!”

Karen and the girls all thanked her for coming to describe this experience to them. The girls promised to be very careful!

“That’s the end of this section,” remarked Greg.

 

133

Cory exclaimed, “Thank you, Dad, for reading this just to me so we can talk freely about it without my brothers! I wrote all those scripture references and will memorize them and keep my sword sharp. I learned that it’s important for me to flee and abstain from sex before marriage. Instead, I need to yield my self to God and be righteous.”

“Well put, Son,” complimented Greg. “I’m sure you will do well.”

“Thanks, Dad,” responded Cory, “and I will never even suggest to my date that we could try sex before marriage! And I will dump any who suggest it to me!”

Greg added, “I can tell you realize how important this lesson is, and I’ll be sure to read it to the other boys when they get old enough. I hope they will feel the same way you do about it!”

“Same here,” responded Cory, “because otherwise they could ruin their lives in this matter.”