The Old Boom Box!

I keep the old boom box that I purchased in the early 1990’s on the counter that separates my kitchen from the living room.  Since my home entertainment system isn’t fully programmed yet, I still use the radio to listen to the local Christian radio station, news talk/extreme weather stations and have the ability to listen to some of my old audio cassettes.  I normally listen to the Christian station for a few hours first thing every morning.  The hosts are funny, inspirational and informative, especially concerning local events in the Tulsa area.   Around ten I usually switch to satellite radio where I enjoy the southern gospel channel on the enLighten station, permeating the house with deep notes that play through my big floor speakers.

This morning after flipping off the radio station, I paused and pressed the play button on the cassette player in order to catch a few moments of Piper’s voice from a sermon she preached twenty years ago during a Wednesday night service at our church in California.  In the spot that played, she was accentuating the point of our ability as Christian’s to be “more than conquerors” in the negative situations that come against us in this world, as stated in Romans 8:37.  I listened for a short period of time and with a huge smile on my face and in a loud tone of voice, called out to anyone listening (ie; the dog sleeping on the couch in the study) “That’s my girl!”

My pleasure and joy was due to the excitement that she was projecting with her voice as she hammered home her point.  You see, I knew her well and every time she got excited and the anointing of God came on upon her while preaching to the adult congregation or teaching a lesson to our children’s or youth classes, the volume as well as the pitch of her voice got higher and higher and louder and louder!  She was by no means a screamer, but anyone listening in the room clearly knew that God was making HIS purpose known through her!

That walk down memory lane this morning brought to mind a little blurb I posted on Facebook yesterday afternoon.  In it I related the sullenness that I saw on the faces of many of the people in the Super Walmart that I shopped at earlier that morning.  The people’s expressions seemed to exhibit how tired they were of the local “Stay at Home” policies enacted across the country… and most of the world for that matter!  My antidote was for us Christian to let the light and love of Christ shine through us by “Being cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. And let His joy overflow, for we are united with the Anointed One!” (Philippians 4:4 The Passion Translation)

I’m not sure what process you might use to cheer yourself up when life attempts to drag you down, but in our house, it was through a dose of the Word of God and a time of praise unto the Lord.  Piper even made mention of this during that same sermon, telling of how she and the kids would take “Praise Breaks” in the afternoons when everyone in the Berruto Homeschool was getting tired, attentions were waning and attitudes needed a little adjusting.  That’s what I meant when I hollered out “That’s my girl!” in the midst of her demonstrated excitement over the Word that she was sharing with the congregation on the cassette.  Her words and actions that night was simply who she was!  She was giving the people that night an honest and humble glance into the daily life of Piper Kaye Berruto.

I noticed very early on as Piper and I walked along that final stretch of the trail of her life from 2010 – 2018, that I would be in a much better state of mind, emotional well-being and physical strength when my faith was current, active and built up.  The beginning of Proverbs 3:5 in The Passion Translation encourages the reader to “Trust in the Lord completely…” I came to understand that if I discovered at any point during the day or night, that I wasn’t totally believing that statement… if I could not honestly say that I was trusting the Lord COMPLETELY – then I needed to pause right then and there, take a “Word and/or Praise Break” and get things right in me.

Throughout our personal lives and ministry, Piper and I gained a pretty good knowledge of the personal and collateral damage that being out of FAITH and in FEAR could have on an individual, their spouse and on their family.  We saw it happening in the lives of family and friends around us and always strove to avert it on our lives.  We faced it head on throughout our journey with the battle for Piper’s health.  We had first-hand experience with the reality of how FEAR is repulsed by FAITH. 

Psalm 27:2 says that “When evil ones come to destroy me, they will be the ones who turn back.” We saw that happening as our stand of faith just seemed to be too much for some people to handle and they slowly but surely backed away from us.  Likewise, Romans 8:1 asserts that “the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot!”  (both verses from – The Passion Translation)

I firmly believe that this is the only explanation for why some reacted the way they did to our needs back then.  I have to believe in my heart that they really wanted to help us and be a strong part of the answer to our situation and not part of the problem, but couldn’t respond as such due to the FEAR that they had – whether knowingly or unknowingly - allowed into their lives… that was repulsed when it came in contact with FAITH.

So, what is the proposed solution to FEAR and/or letting the negativity in life get the best of us?  Simply said: DO Proverbs 3:5 and learn to take whatever steps are necessary for you to get into the Word and exercise your ability and right to PRAISE HIM whenever you need to.  Remember that I John 4:18 informs us that: “No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love.” (God’s Word ©)  And how do you access His Love… You guessed it… By getting into HIS WORD!

So, as we enter into this weekend, let’s plan to get into HIS WORD and take regular PRAISE BREAKS along the way!  Then you can say with great expectancy that, “I am expecting to take the action steps that I require in order to stay uplifted and thereby be a blessing to others this weekend!