PINECONE, Part 1
PINECONE started with PINE. This makes me think, which came first, the chicken or the egg? I have always said the chicken because GOD created the chicken, designed to procreate with eggs. So, the PINE comes before the PINECONE, because GOD created the pines to procreate pinecones!
PINE has many layers of meaning, as you know from PINE, Parts 1-5, but the acronym for PINE is singular, Pour IN Everything.
PINECONE has a double acronym with additional meaning in between, so PINECONE will have 3 parts to share these 3 meanings.
The first acronym for CONE is Cheer ON Everyone!
Cheer is one of my favorite words and one of my favorite things to do! Cheer is joy and praise and encouragement. Cheer is comfort and support. Cheer is confidence and strength. Cheer is gladness! Proverbs 17 says a cheerful heart is good medicine! Cheer is tidings of comfort and joy. Christmas Cheer always comes to mind! Cheers! is what we exclaim when we drink to the best and blessing of someone, at a wedding, or Christmas, or New Year's or other special life event or holiday.
Cheer makes me think of joy and happiness. Joy that gives you courage no matter what you face, even in the midst of the hardest of times, and happiness that comes from wonderful, delightful things taking place in your life or someone else's. Cheer is knowing you aren't alone and that someone is WITH you and FOR you!
We spread cheer, when we live in joy that comes from trusting our steadfast GOD. We cheer others up when we remind them of the faithfulness and goodness of GOD. We give cheer when we meet someone's needs. I have learned that bringing cheer can happen when you relieve someone's burden. Have you ever carried a weight, something too heavy for you to handle alone, and someone came along and helped you have a brighter perspective? or even took the burden for you? I have been on both ends of this, and there is great rejoicing either way! Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. This is so true! Imagine what He means! Because there is so much joy in receiving! When you have a need or desire that is deep and wide, or pressing, or painful, and someone comes along and meets you right where you are and lifts that burden from you, it can bring you to laughter and tears all at the same time! The courage and joy that shoots through your heart and soul when someone cares enough to cheer you that way, is incredible! And the joy for the one cheering his friend, is even greater! This is amazing!
One of my favorite memories of cheer was when I was 15, and my Dad was 58. He decided to run up the side of the dam in Mountainburg, Arkansas, in an event called "The Dam Scramble" which was almost straight up hill. It wasn't an easy run. He was by far the oldest guy in his category. I don't remember if it was 40 and older or 50 and older, I really think it was 40 and older, because I remember he was the oldest in the competition, by a good bit. I don't think I've ever cheered or yelled or screamed louder for someone in my life. I think everyone was amazed at the strength and passion I poured out. And it worked! He won! He outran all the other men who were much younger than he was. He was strong anyway, but he says he couldn't have done it without my passionate cheering. I didn't understand at that age how much that kind of win means to a guy, but I do now, and I am grateful for that memory. What I did understand, though, was the power of encouragement. I truly believed he could win and I poured everything I had in to cheering him on, and he says that was THE reason he won that day. I wish we had it on video. The whole thing. He shot to the top, with me cheering my lungs out! It was pretty amazing!
And that is what I mean by Cheer. Full on, wholehearted, loud if necessary, passionate focus on someone else winning their race!
Cheer ON Everyone. Who is Everyone? Everyone that GOD puts in my path. Everyone that GOD sends to me. Everyone that GOD came to save. This is why I want to multiply the cheers of the Body of Christ, to the ends of the earth---that everyone has the opportunity to know that GOD IS WITH THEM, and GOD IS FOR THEM. That in this world, we will have trouble, but we can be of good CHEER! Jesus has overcome! This is the Good News that should be run far and wide to the ends of the earth! I want to CHEER on everyone! Everyone that carries the good news! Everyone that Jesus died to make His own. Every. One.
