Thankfulness

I am reading Colossians.  Over and over the scripture tells us to be thankful in all things.  Obviously God sees our hearts and knows we are an ungrateful lot by nature. And we are. What must we sound like to Him? Always asking for something.  We hear His name thrown around in casual slang and even obscenity.  Seldom are we thanking Him for His goodness and His gracious and generous gifts to us.
Colossians 3:15-17  And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 
Colossians 2:6-7  Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 
Ephesians 5:4  Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 
Let's just think on these three segments of scripture.  Just three.  There are many more, but these three will do for now.
Be thankful.  Be mindful of what comes out of your mouth and what goes through your thoughts.  Thank God for the life you have and the circumstances that surround you.  Just see what He will do with your grateful heart.

"I Was in Prison and You Came to Me"

I went to prison this week.  Actually it was a state jail.  I guess there isn't much difference where freedom is concerned...from the inmates' point of view.  I tagged along with a friend who is presently teaching on the subject of grief.  Who has not experienced grief at some time in his/her life?  The loss of something or someone. From my grandmother's 1953 Thorndike-Barnhart dictionary:
Grief - deep sadness caused by trouble or loss; heavy sorrow.  Anguish, heartache, distress, melancholy.
Now, doesn't that say it all?  And yet if each of us wrote our losses down, we would all use different words to express our pain.
The study was in a women's prison and while I thought I would feel ill at ease, all I felt was love and compassion for these ladies.  That surprised me.  (Believe it or not I am normally very shy, but as a pastor's wife, I have had to step out of my comfort zone on a regular basis.)  My job was to sign them in and hand out pencils and homework papers. I introduced myself and asked their names.  They greeted me warmly and thanked me for coming.  They called me by name and asked me to come again.  I don't know what I expected, but I was touched by their faces.
Some looked rough around the edges while others seemed like innocent babes thrown into a place where they did not belong.  I was surprised to find they did not even know each other.  Some began the homework right away as my friend talked.  Some just listened and only a few slept.
I watched them and tried to put names with faces, but there were too many to remember.  The Lord knows. My desire is just to be used by Him for His glory.
Hebrews 13:3   Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 
I can't know what it is like to be in prison, but I can pray.  
Matthew 25:34-40  Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.' 
We are told to visit those in prison and those who are sick, hungry, poor.  Prison is a new experience for me.  My job is not to judge the guilt or innocence of anyone.  My job is to be Christ to others and do as His word says...setting all comfort zones aside and pressing on.

"Easter Saturday"

 On the Saturday before Easter we have an egg hunt for the smaller members of my family.  Everyone brings eggs to hide and the younger ones look in the backyard while the older ones look in the front.  It never ceases to amaze me that despite the thoroughness of the lookers, I find eggs throughout the summer, unopened and full of melted candies.  Oh well, that is the result of chaotic greed....overlooking the prize in front of you for the one in greener pastures.  Remember that.  A small moral in this little story.  Enjoy the pix!

Ah, yes.  Confetti eggs.  Thank you, Aunt Vickie

Molly's spoils

Let Me Not Forget

Isaiah 53:11-12  Out of the anguish of His soul He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, my Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Jesus makes us righteous by bearing our iniquities on the cross and dying, putting death to death.  He poured out His soul and was counted among the sinners (me) and yet he makes intercession for them (me, too) to the Father. He is our (my) High Priest.  We need no other.
Sometimes I forget the sacrificial price He paid so that I might live eternally...and I profess to love Him.  So let me not forget the suffering, the burden, the death.  May He be high and lifted up in my life as the reason for which I live.  Because there is no other reason I am here on earth.  I just forget that sometimes.
Did you  know that man's reason for existing is to bring God glory?  Well, it is.  So do that...bring Him glory. Live for Him.  It makes living worthwhile.  Oh yes, and Happy Easter!

A Little Fun in the Sun...Finally!

You know how you can check the weather on your phone.  Those full sunny days are hard to come by lately.  There is always a cloud involved, or wind, or just plain rain and cold temps.  Last week, a sunny day appeared unexpectedly.  I called Shannon and we headed to Sylvan Beach for a couple of hours.  It is amazing how much fun you can have in just a little bit of time mixed with sunshine and love.

A boy and his toys are never parted.

Emma heads for the water every time, with Shannon shouting, "Don't get wet!"

On a journey.

Sisters.  Love the shadows.

Notice the crackers in the air.

Mama and Ivy, who would not be put down.  She did not like the sand.  It's going to be a long summer for her.

Some sunbather overtaken by water.

The invite was for me to play with her.

Bella has a message.

So long til next time!

A Birthday Party on Bible Study Night at Our House

 Ivy's second birthday is April 18th.  We decided to celebrate at our bible study on the 14th.  Close enough -  and since we were all together, why not? So the following is the result with comments along the way.  Daddy, Uncle Owen, and Nanny could not be there, but we managed to press on.  (Though it was difficult, guys.)

Miss Ivy June Dahn

After gifts and eats, we try to settle kids down to some quiet activities.

Some use bibles on their phones or computers and some use hard copies.

Sorry for the blur.  Notice the abandoned baby near Josh.  He had been holding it earlier as if it was real.

No, they are not reading scripture on their Kindle Fire.

And neither are they.

                            

We are in John approaching the crucifixion.      

I just need one more cupcake before I leave.

Out of Love

Isaiah 53:2-12   For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

Why would God send His Son to die for us?   Out of Love.
Why was it God's plan to redeem us from our bondage to sin?   Out of Love.
Why was it God's will to crush Him and put Him to grief?  Out of Love
Why was Jesus willing to do this for us?  Out of Love


As you and I approach Easter, think on the cross...high and lifted up before all to be mocked and ridiculed. Embrace what went on there.  I see sin die on my behalf...because of love.  Love is a very powerful motive to live for Jesus.  1 John 4:19  We love because He first loved us. 

Ezekiel, Wings, and Bones

Ezekiel's visions of angel wings and dry bones.

I love my Sunday School class.  We have been studying Ezekiel, the prophet.  Of all the prophets, his dreams and visions are the ones that have stuck out the most.  So odd.  Wings and wheels with eyes all around, and dry bones brought to life as a picture of God's faithfulness to Israel.  My class definitely will remember these stories.

Today I brought Q-tips to represent the bones and they built Israelites out of them.  Enjoy the pictures!  Sorry, the white on white doesn't show up much.  :(  But don't the kids look great?

Abby says her person has hairy legs.  (She undid the cotton on her Q-tip)