Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Devil Spit In My Mommy's Eye

By Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy - Cheryle M. Touchton - The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NIV


Miss Barbara said the devil spit in Mommy’s eye. I didn’t actually see the devil do it but it made sense to me. It was the only explanation that that made any sense. Miss Barbara and Miss Gail work with us in the ministry. I love them both. Miss Gail said the devil was trying to stop Mommy from working and that Mommy should stomp her foot at him. If the devil spit in Mommy’s eye, I think closing her eye would be a better idea than stomping her foot.

The entire day felt like a slow motion dream. I thought we were going to hit the road early. Instead, Mommy got on a conference call. Boy, can Mommy, Miss Gail, and Miss Barbara talk. They prayed, read the Bible, planned, talked and talked some more. I thought Mommy would never finish.

Finally, we loaded the camper. Silly me. I thought we were leaving. Instead, we sat in the parking lot for over an hour while Mommy put together a bank deposit. Dollar bills were flying everywhere. Then, we went ½ mile and stopped for gas. Next, we tried to go to the bank but TomTom let us down and sent us to a warehouse. Mommy called Daddy and Daddy found us a bank. I couldn’t believe it when Mommy pulled into the grocery store parking lot. Didn’t she understand that our day was tick tocking away?

When Mommy came out of the grocery store, I ran to the back, barking to greet her. I saw something was wrong. Tears poured down her face and she held her right eye. She climbed in Halleluiah and took out her contact lens. She tried her glasses but couldn’t see to drive. She gave up. She was hurting so bad that she curled up in the bed and laid there moaning for over an hour. I tried to comfort her but I don’t think I helped.

Mommy realized she was in trouble. She left the camper and asked around about eye doctors. There was one across the street. We thought about walking but looked at the busy highway and changed our mind. Poor Mommy – she needed help driving so I sat in the front seat, barking at the cars. Someone needed to warn them.

I waited in Halleluiah for 2 hours while Mommy was at the doctor. She checked on me twice and was still in agony. The doctor said Mommy had a chemical burn. He asked what she got in her eye and Mommy had no idea. I guess she didn’t know about the devil spitting in her eye yet.

Poor Daddy - he doesn’t like it when Mommy is in pain so far away. He texted Mommy, “What can I do besides pray?” When she is in trouble, Daddy needs a job. Mommy knows that and always finds him something to do. This time, she asked him to find us a dog friendly hotel close to the doctor. He was happy to have something to do.

That night, Mommy curled up on the hotel bed and held her eye. Gradually the medicine helped and the pain got better. After about 2 hours, she got up, wrote a story, and put it on her blog.

She and I went to bed and slept until birds started chirping at about 12:30 AM. Mommy has got to change the ring on her cell phone. Mommy’s brother and uncle were both sick so the call scared me. Mommy just answered it. It was from someone who had read Mommy’s story and needed to talk. This was an old friend that mommy hadn’t talked to in a long long time. Mommy didn’t know this woman was even reading her blog. The woman must have apologized for how late it was because I heard Mommy say, “You’re important enough to wake me up.” I could tell this was going to be a long call so I went back to sleep.

I have 3 things to say about the devil spitting in Mommy’s eye.

Number 1 – I didn’t know the devil spit but I shouldn’t be surprised. He is mean.

Number 2 – His spit sure must be nasty because Mommy’s eye lid is blistered and her eyes are red. She feels better today but has to use her glasses and not her contacts. Her right eye is blurry and has a little double vision.

Number 3 – The spitting didn’t work. Mommy was too sick to go out into the world and help people so God had someone call Mommy in her hotel room. The devil can’t beat God, even if he spits.

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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.

This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at Donate

Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Mommy Is Discoraged

By Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy - Cheryle M. Touchton - The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44 NIV


Poor Mommy. I heard her tell Daddy that she thinks she is too disorganized to do this job. She wants to quit and go home. She had such a good day yesterday. She was excited because of the 5 new Christians. It seems like whenever we have a day that good, bad things happen for the next few days. I think Satan wants Mommy discouraged.

Mommy spoke at a church today. In the middle of her presentation, she hit the cord that connected her computer to her projector and the projector went flying off the table, bounced onto the stage and then onto the floor below. Mommy told Daddy that everyone gasped when it happened. Mommy looked at the expensive projector lying on the floor and said aloud, “That isn’t good.” Everyone laughed and she continued her presentation without her pictures. At least she was almost done. Pieces of the case and one of the feet broke off but the projector works. Mommy blamed herself because she’d put the projector on unevenly stacked hymn books on a tiny table.

We’d lived in hotels for 2 nights because Mommy had to speak early in the mornings. We drove all day yesterday. We were rushing to get to each place so Mommy just threw everything in the back of Halleluiah. It was such a mess that I had trouble finding somewhere to sleep. When we got to our campground today, Mommy started fixing Halleluiah. People had donated money, bought books, and filled out cards to be on our mailing list. When Mommy gets in what Daddy calls “Speak Space,” she gets forgetful. She had stuffed left over books, money, and information cards in brief cases, boxes, on the seat, and in her purse. I also saw her put both sets of camper keys in her purse. Daddy’s warned Mommy to always keep one set in the camper and I knew this wasn’t going to end well.

After about 2 hours of organizing, Mommy got worried. She was missing a business card from a pastor who wanted to be on our mailing list, a $25 donation check, and worst of all, Daddy’s camper keys. She searched for 2 hours. The good news is that her computer and projector cases, the 3 book boxes, and the shelves of Halleluiah are completely organized again. The bad news is that Mommy didn’t find anything she was missing.

Her best friend Nancy called while she was in the middle of searching. Nancy tried to calm Mommy down and when that didn’t work, she called our hotel from the night before to ask if they had the keys. They didn’t.

Mommy told Nancy that the only way to get more keys is to put in a different alarm system. Mommy told Daddy that only having one set of keys messes up her whole system because she keeps 1 set on a rope to wear around her neck when she goes to the shower and the other in her purse.

“I feel terrible,” Mommy told Nancy. “That woman was nice enough to give us $25 and now I lost it. I can get the preacher’s information from my cousin but the big problem is the keys.”

To Daddy she said, “Maybe I can’t do this. My life is too confusing. What if I can’t keep up with things anymore?”

Mommy speaks for a nursing home tomorrow and a television show on Tuesday. I think Satan wants her to stop doing what she is doing and I also think Mommy should just stomp her foot at that nasty old Satan. I don’t know why mommy is surprised she lost things. She has always has trouble keeping up with things after she speaks. When she leads people to Christ, she doesn’t come down to earth for hours. My opinion is that when she gets that close to God, she forgets about human things like zipping her purse. I was worried when she planned events for Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in 3 different states. I knew Mommy would do a good job but I also knew she was going to lose and break things.

If you know my Mommy, I’d like to ask some favors. First, pray for her. Next, would you remind her that that she is good at what she does and God wants her to keep doing it. Also, remind her that she’s always gotten discombobulated about details when she is in that place where she steps outside herself and lets God work. If you have some suggestions for how Mommy can keep up with things, you could pass them on to her. Tell her that she has been sick, that her mother-in-law just died, and if all this happened to anyone else, she’d be offering comfort and encouragement. It is silly for Mommy to feel so incompetent the day after she helped 5 people get to heaven. Even losing the keys isn’t the end of the world. The Devil is lying to my Mommy. Would you help me help her?
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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.

This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at Donate

Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries

Thursday, April 15, 2010

My Mommy Doesn't Work This Hard At Home

By Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy - Cheryle M. Touchton - The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady


I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phil 4:13 KJV

“Bob, where is my projector?” Mommy said into her ear bud. She must not have liked the answer. “But you wouldn’t have put it there. You knew I needed it and I can’t lower the spare tire. Even if I could, I can’t get it back up. Besides, the pin won’t ever come out for me.”

The back door was open and I stood on the seat with my head out the back window for moral support. I barked at the French Poodle across the street because I knew Mommy didn’t need company. She starts out thinking she can’t do things and by the time Daddy talks her through it, she gets it done. I know the Bible says she can do all things through Christ who strengthens her but for Mommy, I think it takes Christ and Daddy.

Bob, I have on white pants. If you oiled the pin, I’m going to get dirty.”

Even I could guess what Daddy said next. Mommy ignored Daddy’s idea to change clothes and tugged on the pin. Of course, it popped right out.

“The pin is out and my hands are dirty. I’ll never lower the spare tire. It’s too heavy”

Poor Daddy. He can’t see Mommy but she had it lowered before she stopped whining about it.

“Those boxes of books are too heavy. I can’t lift them over the seat,” Mommy said as she pulled, grunted, and hoisted them at me.

I backed up none too soon as they plopped right where I’d been standing. Some books went crashing to the ground, knocking the phone from the back bumper to the ground.

Shoot,” Mommy said. “Now I’ve dropped books everywhere.”

Daddy only slept 4 hours the night before and I knew his blood pressure was rising. He gets upset when Mommy messes up books. Mommy left the phone on the ground and picked up the books. They were fine.

“I found 2 boxes of books and the projector. I might as well put the camp chair back inside while I’m here. Which end of the chair goes in the bag first?”

Why does Mommy do that? She puts that chair in the bag all the time when Daddy isn’t here. OK – I’ll admit that she sometimes starts out backwards but she gets it in there. She folded up the camp table and put it behind the front seat. She pulled my leash stake out of the ground, twirled the leash around it, and put it under my seat.

“I’ll never get the tire back up,” Mommy wailed as she started lifting. “No, I’m not going to go find a man to do it for me. What do you mean use leverage? I don’t even know what leverage is and if I did, it probably involves getting my white pants dirty.” In a second, she had the tire back up, the pin back in, and her pants were still white.

“Hey, Bob,” Mommy said. “I found the Fresnel lens for the back window. It had fallen inside the back of the camper. I’ve been having trouble backing up. How does it go on?”

She listened, sighed, and said, “You know if you were here, you’d be doing all of this.” Of course he would. Daddy would rather do it than tell Mommy how to do it.

She went in the camper and got a bottle of water, a sponge, and some glass cleaner. She cleaned the window and the lens. Daddy talked her through rest. She poured water on the lens, slapped the lens on the window, and started mashing the lens to get the bubbles out. I’ve seen Daddy do this before and it took him seconds. It took Mommy 10 minutes but she did it.

Next, she went to the front of the camper and stared at the my seat. We’d been parked for days so Mommy had turned it around to sit and work. We were leaving early the next morning and I was glad Mommy was doing it now.

“I’ve never turned this front seat back around. I hope I can do it,” she said as she whipped it around and popped it into place. She went to the back of the camper and lugged all the boxes of books to the front seat floorboard. She stepped back and looked at it.

“I think if I slam on brakes, these boxes are going to crush Belle.” She listened to Daddy. “Yes, the boxes are taller than the seat. Yes, the bottom of the top box is higher than the seat.” She frowned and listened again. She took out the boxes and rearranged them the way Daddy said. I felt much better.

“Now I can’t find my phone,” Mommy said, looking everywhere. Boy did I wish I could talk. I went to the back and barked but she thought I was barking at the poodle again.

“Yes, I’m still talking on the ear bud. It can’t be far.” I relaxed when Mommy found it on the ground.

Bob, my life is hard. I don’t know how you stand staying on the phone while I do all of this. I don’t work this hard at home.”

She’s right about that. At home, she has to go to a gym to get exercise.

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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.

This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

Donate


Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries


Friday, April 2, 2010

It Takes a Village


By Belle Touchton – The Missionary Dog
Mommy - Cheryle M. Touchton - The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady



Whatever town or village you enter, search for some worthy person there and stay at his house until you leave. Matt 10:11

Mommy may say yes to God about taking these trips but it takes a worthy village for Mommy to go. Our village works hard. My friend Barbara works for weeks on mailings and handouts. Gail looks for places for us to go and speak. Our Board of Directors helps us decide what to do. People send us money. Daddy works really hard on Halleluiah, Mommy’s computer, and the website. Mommy’s church commissions her. A prayer team prays. Mommy’s best friend Nancy takes all of Mommy’s frantic calls and helps her figure out what to do next. Mommy’s friend and mentor Judy keeps her focused on the next right thing God wants her to do. By the time we leave, the entire village is exhausted.

I like it when Daddy goes on the first few days. No matter how hard Mommy and I try, we need Daddy. First, Halleluiah doesn’t much like sitting still so he always starts out grumpy. He also doesn’t like Pennsylvania so making him go back to work after he thaws out from winter is tricky. He started out grumbling, groaning, and leaking. We needed Daddy to make him stop whining and do his job.

Second, we need Daddy for the technology. Mommy and I spend hours every day writing our stories and putting out pictures. This year we added blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. I think Mommy is getting carried away but she didn’t ask me. It didn’t help that the company that hosts our website moved it to a different server just before we left. Poor Mommy. Nothing worked right on the first couple of days and she doesn’t like it when people go to our website and can’t find what they need. She needed Daddy and someone at the computer company named Chris. After phone calls and e-mails, Daddy and Chris got our website working but we couldn’t have done it without Daddy. Whew. Maybe we should elect Daddy the Mayor of our village.

In case Mommy forgot to say thank you, I’ll say it. Thank you, God for asking us to go into the world and tell people about you. Thank you, Daddy for being so smart and helping so much. Thank you, Gail and Barbara for loving, praying for, and working for God with Mommy and me. Thank you to everyone who sent money to help us tell people about Jesus. Thank you, Calvary Baptist for commissioning Mommy, donating money, and praying for us. Thank you to our Board of Directors for donating, giving guidance, and praying for us. Thank you, Nancy and Judy for keeping Mommy sane. Thank you to the rest of the family for being a good sport about Mommy’s crazy ideas. Thank you, the reader, for reading this, praying for us, and letting us minister to you. Thank you to the people on the street for talking to us and petting me. Thank you Mommy for taking me with you. I love our village.

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Cheryle M. Touchton is the Director of Pocket Full of Change Ministries. For more information or to schedule a speaker for an event, go to www.pocketfullofchange.org or call Gail Golden at 904 316-5462.

This ministry exists because people like you are called to help fund the work of the kingdom. To help keep the Pocket Full of Quarters Lady on the road leading people to Christ, you can donate at

Donate


Copyright: Pocket Full of Change Ministries