Snippets

By Anita White

Direct, plain and often with much humor I believe God speaks to us individually according to our personality types. As I read God's Word He speaks to me in a very real way. I often write these thoughts down in my journal or Facebook notes to ponder over at a later date. The more my friends asked me to print a note for them or speak at one of their gatherings about what I had written the more I thought about putting them into a more accessible format. In my walk with God I have learned there is no judgment in Christ, God's Word is still just as relevant today as ever and He will meet us where we are if we come to Him with an honest heart and no preconceived notions. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary a snippet is defined as a small part of something. Snippet is also a programming term that is often used in Mac and Windows operating systems to clarify the meaning of an otherwise "cluttered" function. The snippet reduces the detail into a smaller, more understandable format. Thus the name for my first book; "Snippets" is just that - thoughts that God has used to summarize my reading of the Bible into smaller, more understandable pieces of His big picture. This short devotional is just my way of including others and inviting them to join me on this wonderful journey I call life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Anita White
• Release date: Jul 16, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311911483

Anita White

Intent on being a stay at home mom, over 20 years ago I quit my job as a payroll administrator and moved from Birmingham, Alabama to a small country town. I had dreams of how my life would be, how my husband would be and what my son would become. Over the course of these 20+ years those dreams often changed and some got placed on hold for what seemed like an eternity. I can't tell you that I have realized every dream I had before that move but I can tell you that I have learned to enjoy an abundant life and live it to the fullest. I have learned how to operate a John Deer Tractor and ride a motorcycle. I have learned that if your neighbor's goats eat the bark off your fruit trees the trees will die (and I did have the fleeting thought of the goats perishing as well)! I have had a herd of horses gallop across the road, into the back yard and through my newly manicured flower bed and I have trudged into the kitchen on a particular morning to have a steer (yes, of the bovine family) peering in at me through my patio doors. As with every change, this city girl has had some adjusting to do but overall it has been most rewarding. I have learned so much over the course of my life and I'm looking forward to learning so much more! Many of my writings contain these lessons, some humorous and others not so much. I hope as I publish more books you will follow along with me and we can live, laugh and learn together!

Book preview

I have a favorite coffee mug I've had since 2006. If you were to pull it out in front of my family they would say that is mom's coffee cup. This morning as God and I are sitting at the kitchen table talking the cup is turned just so and I notice a finger print.  At first I think it's just on the surface where the potter thumb-bumped the glaze or maybe brushed the paint before it was dry.  By now I'm picking the cup up and really studying it. The print is actually in the clay. There are rings where the cup was on the wheel being turned but the print is ring-less. This print is literally in the clay, not recessed or marred but there none the less. I can't scrape it off or remove it. It is there...period. Then the Lord spoke to me and said That's the print of the maker. That print links the maker to the vessel without argument. That's what I want to do to you. The world may look at that print and claim an imperfect vessel - a second if you will - but I see something different. You see, this print signifies ownership, care and time. This cup wasn't mass-produced by cold, harsh machinery with a stamped one size fits all pattern. This cup was individually made with a specific plan in mind and a vision of what the finished product would be. This cup was not only made to serve a purpose but to bring beauty through that service...and it has been touched by the maker so many times in the process of ‘becoming’ that his print is now a part of it. Inseparable. That's what I want to do with you.

Now I find it strange that I am just noticing this print. I mean, I know I'm not the most observant person at five in the morning but I have been using this cup every morning for seven years! You would think I would have seen that print before now. Maybe over all these years the heat has just pushed it out. Maybe it was drawn to the surface by the cool water I use to rinse it each day. Perhaps it has always been there but it's just now beginning to surface.

God speaks to me through the most unusual things. Some people might call me crazy, weird, fanatical or over the top but that's OK. I like the way the Maker speaks to me. I'll take this crazy over the world’s crazy any day. So I guess I felt compelled to write this because I feel God is saying to His children: I want my print to become visible on you. The more you are used by me through the heat of adversity, the more cool waters of the Holy Spirit you allow me to wash you in, the more my print will show. How do others see me in you? This is how: Do what I've called you to do regardless of how ‘hot’ you may become; then at the end of the day allow me to clean you off with the convicting, cleansing power of the Holy Spirit and watch my glory be drawn to the surface.

Philippians 1:6

One Answer

Over the course of my life I've had many questions; some selfish, some silly but others truly legitimate and heartfelt. We all have them - these questions of why and how. The What was I thinking?! questions and the Where do I go from here? questions. We dream big but when those big dreams fall in like a house of cards the questions fly up in our faces like shards of glass from crashing windows. We stand stunned when the job we've worked at for 30 years suddenly disappears or when the wisdom of our parents falls prey to dementia or when the child we prayed over and raised to serve God seemingly follows a different path.

As I've written before in previous notes, I have many questions but on this walk with God I am learning that He is all the Answer I need. Often I've tried to help Him provide answers but that only brings delays. Imagine trying to tie someone's shoe laces when they won't let go of the ends - it just won't work. I must let God lace my ends into His perfect holding pattern. He did that for David and for Paul as they learned to let go of their lives full of questions and give Him total control.

Yes, I have many questions, I also have many dreams. Even though my questions are often frequent and many of my dreams not yet realized I walk with the one Answer that matters most.  I walk with the one Answer, the ever-present God, Jehovah-Shammah that has all I need for the moment I'm presently in. This one Answer is more than enough and when I look back I see His goodness filling every crack and crevice of my life.

Heb.6:17-20 The Message Bible

When God wanted to guarantee His promises, He gave His word, a rock-solid guarantee - God can't break His word. And because His word cannot change, the promise is likewise unchangeable. We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It's an unbreakable spiritual lifeline, reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up His permanent post as high priest for us.... The NKJV Bible