Tag: Faithful servant

A Life Well Lived

On By CarmenLeave a comment

In this post I would like to honor my uncle Gerald who recently passed away in November, just one month short of his 85th birthday.

He was born on Christmas Day in 1939 and was the younger brother and only sibling of my father.

My husband and I were in Louisiana visiting family for Thanksgiving and for a quick getaway.  

While in New Orleans, I received a call from one of my cousin’s wives who told me he was in the hospital and the doctors said he was not going to last long. He passed a couple of hours later, but…

I am happy to say that I know he is with our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ.

The day he died, he made a call to my father and spoke with him and my mother. My dad said he was in good spirits and told him that he had a good report from the doctor—he was cancer free and had received his last round of treatment. He was making plans to drive down to my parents’ home to go out for lunch and then start traveling again.

Growing up we lived two hours apart, so we did not spend a lot of time together, but we did make an effort to get together during the holidays.

The last time I saw him alive was the previous year (2023) during the Christmas holidays. We took my parents to see him and visit with him and my cousins. It was a good reunion where we talked about growing up and remembering many funny things we did at our grandparents when we were kids. We had some laughs and did some catching up.

As we were about to return to my parents’ home, my uncle looked at me and said, “Carmen, please pray for me.” I told him I would and I prayed for him then and throughout the year of 2024.

I knew he was concerned about his health, because he had cancer and some other health issues, but he still looked good and strong to me.

After he went to be with the LORD, we took my parents to his viewing and I spoke to my cousin who found him unconscious at home and had him rushed to the hospital the day he died.

It was so touching to find out that uncle Gerald was in his chair at his desk going over his Bible study lesson for the upcoming Sunday.

May I be doing the same when the LORD calls me home!

In fact, may I do many of the things that my uncle Gerald did while he was alive!

These are the memories that I have of him:

He loved the LORD and he loved his family.

We may not have seen each other often, but I do know how he acted when he was around us.

He was a humble man.

He was not self-centered. He never talked about his accomplishments, his wants, his rights.

I never heard him complain, although I am sure he had reason to at times.

He often played with us as children out in my grandparents’ yard, just like my dear grandfather.

He was not focused on being a millionaire, instead he was focused on being a provider for his family and having a loving relationship with his wife, children (five sons), and other family members.

He worked at the same place of business for 42 years until he retired.

I never saw him argue with anyone, never saw him swear.

He was not judgmental and he never talked down to anyone.

One of my cousin’s wives who lived near him said, “I’ve never heard him say a bad word about anyone. He always found the good in them.”

He exemplified Jesus!

He was able to laugh at himself and laugh at funny memories that he and my dad had of their childhood.

He was respectful to us (nieces, nephews) as grownups and was genuinely interested in our lives as we moved out on our own, got married, had children, and shared our experiences with him.

He loved to travel. I had to ask my cousins for help on this one as I wasn’t sure of all the places he visited. I was informed that he had been to most all the 50 states, including Alaska and Hawaii. He also traveled to Egypt, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and missed out on Israel due to Covid shutting things down.

He served in the church he attended for 60+ years. He was a Bible Study teacher for most of those years until he became ill, and he also served as a deacon.

When he retired, he looked for even more opportunities to serve others. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, he went down with his church a few times to serve food to the people who were devastated. He also volunteered in Alabama when they were hit with multiple tornadoes in 2011.  

When his wife, my aunt Billie, passed a few years earlier, he did not become angry, bitter, or reclusive. He continued to live his life for the LORD and continued his relationship with his children, their wives, his grandchildren, and other family members.

For me, my uncle Gerald was a good example of how to live life for God and for others. He simply gave of himself until his last breath on this earth.

I am sure that he heard those words that all of God’s servants long to hear when they graduate to heaven to be with the LORD for eternity—“Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  

I want to share one scripture verse with you of how God wants us to live our lives.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 12:2

Thank you, Uncle Gerald, for showing me and many others that it is possible to live a life according to God’s will.

May we all do the same.

I hope you enjoy this beautiful song I have included for your listening pleasure.

“Well Done” – The Afters

Money – Blessing or Curse?

On By CarmenLeave a comment

I’ll start by writing that that there is nothing wrong with being wealthy because God does give wealth to people. A great example of God’s benevolence is to King Solomon. He told King Solomon to ask Him for whatever he wanted. Because he asked for wisdom to govern His people, God told him he would not only give him wisdom, but He would also make him the wealthiest king ever. See 2 Chronicles 1 for the full story. God is indeed generous.

Many of us are not wealthy; some are middle class, some are poor. We are what we are because of God’s will and also because of our own choices. Wherever we are, the apostle Paul tells us in the book of Philippians that we should be content with our current circumstances. 

Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 
Philippians 4:11-12

I write from experience that our current circumstances will not always be our future. By this I mean if you are barely making ends meet today, it doesn’t mean that your tomorrow will necessarily be the same. I remember a time when I was single and had only $5 in my checking account. I was waiting for an overdue check from the company that I worked for and I was in a state of panic. My bills were paid for the month, including rent, but it was too close for comfort. I did not always manage my money wisely in the past, but by this time I had become conservative in most areas of my spending. I had been tithing my money for God’s work and had the habit of saving money, so I knew that God would not let me down. I continued to do without many material things that others seemed to be able to afford for a few years, but I learned valuable lessons and was a better person for it. That was eighteen years ago and I can honestly say that God has brought me a long way. My husband and I consider ourselves blessed by God in all that He has given us, even though we are not rich and we still have a mortgage.

When we prioritize God, we see Him work on our behalf. It may not be right away, but He will help us improve our financial situation if we continue to be faithful. If you find this hard to believe, He tells us to test Him.


"From the days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the Lord of armies. "But you say, 'How shall we return?' "Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' "In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this," says the Lord of armies, "if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you," says the Lord of armies. 
Malachi 3:7-11

Although this was written by God’s prophet Malachi to Israel in ancient times, it still holds true for us today. If we prioritize God in our earnings, He will not only pour out blessings, He will keep what we do have in good shape. Most of us no longer grow our own crops, but we do have jobs and we have things that can break down. We have unexpected emergencies that require us to spend money. This is what God means by rebuking the devourer and not allowing him to destroy the fruit of our ground. In other words, He will keep your old car running as you prioritize Him. He will provide what you need to make it during those emergency situations. I for one can say this is true, because I have seen God do this very thing in my life. God provides for His children in ways that we cannot imagine.

All of those extra material things that we think we have to have or need can wait. It’s not that God doesn’t want us to have nice things, He wants our devotion to be to Him first. Then He will provide for us in His time and in His way. You may have heard the saying, “show me your checkbook and I’ll show you your priorities.” What or whom do we prioritize? If it’s not God, then we will miss out.

Let’s look at another verse concerning worldly riches.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for  yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 
Matthew 6:19-21

For those of us who like “nice things,” this verse should help put things into perspective. Instead of spending all our money on the things that we like and want, God is saying to prioritize some of the money we bring home—for His kingdom. These treasures in heaven can’t be destroyed, but our material things here on earth wear out after a while.

How can we store up treasures in heaven?

First and foremost, we can share the gospel of Jesus Christ with others who may not know Him. This only costs us our time to learn how and to share Christ’s saving work on the cross. If you are not sure how to share the gift of Jesus Christ with others, I have included a link below for Dr. D. James Kennedy’s book, Evangelism Explosion, to get you started. Years go my church in Miami offered this course, so I took it and it taught me scripture verses to explain Jesus’s work of salvation and gave me field experience speaking to others about the Gospel. It was certainly worth the investment even when I had to make the time to attend and spend a small amount in course materials.

Second, we can give our tithe weekly or monthly to our local church and/or an organization that seeks to help those who need Jesus and who may be poor, hungry, persecuted, and affected by wars or natural disasters. Many of these organizations not only help alleviate suffering, they also share the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, we could give directly to others that we know are hurting and have limited resources. We can even take someone to lunch who is down and out to let them know that they are loved and valuable. We can also volunteer our time and talents which can positively impact someone who needs a mentor or friendship. 

Our lives are but a vapor and how we steward what God gives to us is what matters. I hope that when I get to heaven, God will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” I know that when I am there, I won’t be thinking about money or the material things that I possessed here on earth. How about you?

May God bless you abundantly as you seek His will for your life.

Evangelism Explosion – Dr. D. James Kennedy

https://a.co/d/bmi9wLD”

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.