"Lemon, definitely lemon," she suggested.
"Don't forget the onion and ginger," he added.
These two were giving me ideas to help me get my voice back. I was at a wedding reception in Sydney. In fact, I had participated in conducting the wedding itself which ended half an hour earlier. Unfortunately, my voice was weary; I had preached three times two days earlier and was depleted. My voice was shot and my usefulness in the wedding ceremony itself was minimized.
At the pharmacist earlier that morning, I had purchased a spray product. Why? I asked the chemist for a suggestion to help me since I had lost my voice and needed help getting it back. "I recommend this one," as he pointed quickly and carefully to a product whose manufacturer I had never heard of. Even before I got back home, I opened the spray bottle and squirted four shots into the back of my throat. That was soothing, but not sufficiently therapeutic.
All day, I alternated between squirts of spray, bites of fresh-off-the-tree oranges, and cup after cup of lemon-ginger tea (with honey at times). I felt the medical assortment should have sustained me, but in the end, I only slightly improved.
At the reception, the couple with whom I was sitting gave unsolicited advice, which was not at all unwelcome. And on my way home, I pondered their thoughts. I had heard others too, who joined that conversation. One suggested, "Garlic; it's the key." Another added, "Don't just use ginger powder, you have to use fresh ginger." And on and on it went.
The previous day I had gone over the figures of the ministry's budget with our office administrator and our volunteer treasurer. And the dollars were going out faster than they were coming in. We were depleting, although not as quickly as my voice was deteriorating. What is the recipe for fixing this problem?
My pondering of the recipes when depletion exists led me to this thought. Everyone has ideas about how we should get more income, or to slow the expense drain. And I don't find any of them wrong, in and of themselves.
When we had troubles every once in a while in years past, when we told our friends on the mailing list, and brought the problem to them, they were not only appreciative of the difficulty, they were appreciative of our bringing it to their attention. So I guess that's what prompted this blog and letter-to-come. If you are able to support us just now, with a one-off donation, to our organization, this is a great time to do so.
In the USA, use this link: http://j4j.co/bob In Australia, use this link: http://www.jewsforjesus.org.au/giving Thanks!
The Bible says, "Lift up your voice." In fact, we used that verse as a launchpad for our ministry over the course of 18 years ending in Jerusalem three years ago.
"Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Lift up your voice mightily, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” (Isaiah I40:9)
When depleted, when needy, we are reminded by the Lord to "ask and it shall be given to you." (Matthew 7). We need funds. We need to lift our voices. Is now a good time for you to join us? If so, let me say 'thanks' and if not, please know we are grateful for your being part of our team nonetheless.
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