KEEP YOUR FORK
I suspect I have said “The best is yet to come” a thousand times over the years. The following story by an unknown writer is a good illustration of someone who believed that.

There was a woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as as she was getting her things “in order,” she contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in. The woman also requested to be buried with her favourite Bible. Everything was in order and the pastor was preparing to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.

“There’s one more thing,” she excitedly.

“What’s that?” came the pastor’s reply.

“This is very important,” the woman continued. “I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.”

The pastor stood looking at the woman, not knowing quite what to say. “That surprises you, doesn’t it?” the woman asked.

“Well, to be honest, I’m puzzled by the request,” said the pastor.

The woman explained. “In all my years of attending church socials and potluck dinners I always remember that when the dishes were cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, ‘Keep your fork.’ It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming… like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and of substance! So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder, ‘What’s with the fork?’ Then I want you to tell them: ‘Keep your fork… the best is yet to come.’

The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the woman goodbye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven that he did. She knew that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the woman’s casket and they saw the pretty dress she was wearing and her favourite Bible and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the pastor heard the question, “What’s with the fork?” And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and what it symbolized to her. The pastor told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either. He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you oh so gently, that the best is yet to come.

As you face the difficulties of life I hope you will remember this story, because it is really true! I’m  not just saying something better is coming, such as a headache being better than a heart attack. It is the best that is coming, that which is perfect and glorious beyond anything we can imagine. Remind yourself of that every morning and you will have a better day! – HDS

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble,TX

Adoniram Judson’s Rules of Life

(Judson was a missionary in Burma for almost forty years. He died in 1850. If you’ve never read the book “To The Golden Shore”, the story of his life, I urge you to do so.)

1. Be diligent in prayer, every morning and evening.

2. Never spend a moment in mere idleness.

3. Restrain natural appetites within the bounds of temperance and purity.

4. Suppress every emotion of anger or ill will.

5. Undertake nothing from motives of ambition or love of fame.

6. Never do that which at the moment appears to be displeasing to God.

7. Seek opportunities of making some sacrifice for the good of others.

8. Endeavor to rejoice in every loss and suffering for Christ’s sake, remembering that like death, they are of great gain.

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

Sent by David Stone on Saturday, October 4 at 5:49AM

MORNING MANNA             10-3-25

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭

David Stone  

Lakeway Baptist Church 

Humble, TX

SUCCESS
“–Thy will be done–“ Matthew 6:10
“–not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39

Just about everyone would say that they want to live a successful life, but few are successful! What is success? It is doing the will of God, nothing less and nothing more. If you have any other purpose, aim, goal, or ambition as the main thing in life it is wrong. It’s not just wrong but wicked also. We have no right to do only as we please–unless what we please pleases God.

The truest test of one’s life is character. Reputation is one thing, character is another. Reputation is what others think you are, character is what you are. Although we should be some what concerned about what others think about us it is God’s opinion that matters most. With Him it is character that counts the most. It also what makes us do the things we do. That’s why we often hear it said, “Being is more important than doing”. It can also be said that a man of noble character will prize God’s will above all else. He is pleased by what pleases God.

It is only as we do the will of God that we are able to please God and, as strange as it might seem, we please self also. Man was created to live in communion with God, in harmony with His will, and only in doing so can he find true fulfillment and complete satisfaction. To prize and pursue anything else as our reason for living is foolish. It is like a child chasing a soap bubble—it disappears the moment he grasps it. Such an endeavor is a waste of time and energy.

He who makes the pursuit of pleasure, power, position, and possessions his sole aim in living will never achieve true success–he misses the target every time. In their place these things might be fine, but they are never “in their place” when they are in first place. They can never be any better than of secondary importance. Only the will of God should be given top priority.

A life well lived is one which submits cheerfully to the will of God, seeks mainly the glory of God, and serves faithfully according to the dictates of God. Anything less is not enough. The true success has for his purpose, pursuit, pleasure, and prayer the will of God. He does it regardless of cost, conditions, circumstances, or consequences. So, how successful are you?- HDS, 3-18-12

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346