Don't Waste Your Grief

Recently a friend of mine asked me to speak at a women's prison.  I have talked to women before...but only in the churches I have attended.  You know - people I already knew.  She (my friend) was teaching on Grief for a few weeks and asked me to speak on God's love during grief.  She also warned me that God may take me through some difficult situations in order to prepare me.  That became very true.
Grief wears many faces.  Maybe you have grieved for all the obvious reasons such as the loss of a loved one, a job, your position in life, etc.  I think people also grieve for what 'might have been', dreams unfulfilled...your perfectly planned 'whatever' that never came to be. God is there and sees every tear that is shed and He knows every heartache.
I spoke to these women yesterday.  There were about forty in the class. I told them God knew long ago that one day we would meet in this room.  I could state with certainty that neither of us (me or them) would ever have thought this would happen.  They smiled and agreed.
I told them that God was, is, and will be faithful.  I also told them that I was not, am not, and will not be faithful...but as long as I am trusting in His Son Jesus as my Savior, I am safe.  It isn't 'me' or my behavior that keeps me in His care, it is His great love for all who will believe.  I will fail Him, but He will never fail me.  My goal is to live for Him with all I am or ever will be.
Grief is part of everyone's life. We can all make lists of what makes us sad, and what we lost, but until we can also list what we have gained, then what is the point of the pain?  God makes beauty from ashes and mends the broken. That is Who He is.  He is the Finder of the lost...the Redeemer of those in bondage.
Sometimes it takes years to see anything good come out of the bad.  One lady asked me if this was possible in every situation.  She just could not believe it was true.  Her loss must have been great.  I could confidently share with her that it was true...but only through Christ Jesus.
So I challenge you to list your griefs. Take note of your losses.  Look for what you have gained. Ask God to help you see His goodness in your sadness and then share it.  Someone needs to hear it.  Don't waste your grief.

Quit Doing That

I have a Page labelled "Notes to Me From Life" where I write notes to myself about changes that need to be made...or really whatever...but yes, it is usually regarding my mistakes and shortcomings.  I thought you might have your own personal "quit list."  I am sure I will be adding to mine....as time passes.  So I share with you...

Dear Me,
1. You are going to quit...having a periodically scheduled cleaning day.  You are, instead, going to clean as you go.  You will not allow dust to pile up for weeks at a time.  You will not stare at the same stain on the kitchen floor day after day.  You will attack those bathrooms regularly - unless they need it more often.  (You know how accidents happen when children are around.)
Leaving your house with a layer of gunk, while waiting for that 'scheduled cleaning day' just isn't working for you.  It's kind of like when some people wait to go to confession so they can be free of all kinds of sins committed.  What is that?  Why do people do that?  Walking around with all that filth in you - just because you won't take care of it by repenting and asking for forgiveness.  So, you will clean up your act - both spiritually and physically - as you go through your day.
2.  You are going to quit...wasting time.  Read more.  Pray more. Write more.  Sing more. Plan more.  Visit more.  Slow down more.  Life is in the details of everything.  Don't miss it by hurrying.  Don't miss it by being lazy.  Don't miss it.  Be intentional in this area.  Don't waste your time or your life.  Press on.
3.  You are going to quit...talking so much.  I like you much better when you are wisely silent...don't you? Silence is very appealing.  You used to think you had to fill dead air space.  Sometimes dead air space is really okay.  It is reflective.  Don't poison it with opinions and speculations.  Fill it with invisible joys...praise, memories, prayers, ideas, and the view around you.  It may be awkward when the conversation lags, but let it lag for a minute.  Do not always be the first to speak.  I promise someone else will..if you won't.
4.  You are going to quit...being sarcastic.  Okay, well maybe not all at once.  You find sarcasm extremely funny at times, I know.  It isn't very feminine, though - to have a sarcastic wit all the time.  So really...watch that.  Curb that tongue, especially when you are angry or upset with someone.  It rarely if ever gets the response you want.
Okay, that is enough for now.  Jesus went about doing good.  Be an image bearer and go about doing good...in His name.  To be continued....

My Love For the Orange

It is coming.  Orange-ness is on its way.  As vividly as my mind can portray it (in sweltering Texas heat), Fall is approaching.  I smell it in the candles I am burning in my house.  Okay, yes.  Say nothing to me about this, but I am burning candles.  My recipe books of soups and stews have come off the shelf.  My calendar is marked and circled with coming events that involve pumpkins and festivals.  September is days away.  Tick tock!

I am a fool for Fall, so let the fool press on in her delusions.  It's time to clean out the backyard and trim up the bushes in front.  My kingdom for a lawn guy...oh wait!  I have one...no, two!  We have mowers that come weekly, but Tommy did some heavy cutting today.  Poor guy!  I think it did him in.  Well, what else does he have to do?

I read an article today that said pastors feel like they work all week to give birth on Sunday, only to find out they are pregnant again on Monday.  After living with one for many years, I would say, "Yep! That sums it up!"  He agreed.

Straight from hard labor to begin hard labor. (Wink.)

His Reign is My Comfort

This is just a reflective post.   On occasion I want time to stop.  It is usually when family is gathered and the warmth I feel is so wonderful I could burst...or maybe I am physically somewhere watching the waves crash and digging my toes in sand.  Forever moments do not last....until they are forever one moment in eternity.
Pain seems to slow time, whether it is physical or emotional.  Like everyone else, I have experienced both.  When I am enjoying the bright side of life, I may be grateful, but I am not seeking answers. Pain brings on a search for relief...anything to diminish the time spent there.  A fix.  It is in searching that I find God.  He is there, waiting for me.  An ointment for my soul.

Psalm 29:1-11  Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.  
2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.  
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters. 
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.  
5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.  
6 He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.  
7 The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.  
8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.  
9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth and strips the forests bare, and in his temple all cry, "Glory!"  
10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.  
11 May the LORD give strength to his people! May the LORD bless his people with peace!

It isn't the shadow of His wing I look for, though I know it is there should I desire it.  My comfort comes in knowing that my Redeemer lives and reigns forever.  He is still on His throne and so all is well in my soul.  All in my world is as He sees fit for the moment.  I will praise His holy name.

Job 19:25  For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. 

A Moth in My Window

This morning as I was cleaning in the kitchen, I noticed a moth on the inside of this vase, next to the water line.  It made me wonder if he wanted a drink, or did he just wander in and could not wander out?  So, I moved the vase around and he fell into the water.  He seemed to be suffering, and I felt inhumane. Then I decided to pour the water down the sink and use the disposal to be done with it.  I mean, we kill bugs all the time, right?  (So much for my guilt.)
I refilled the water and put the vase back.  There he was, inside the vase.  He had clung to the vine. Suddenly, mercy overflowed in me.  He was clinging for life to the only thing he knew to hang on to.
It was a reminder to me - that when the water is almost over my head, I must cling to the Vine.
I again poured out the water out and he stayed in the sink.  Scooping him carefully into a napkin, I set him free through the back door.
It just seemed a perfect example of life.  Cling to the Vine.  I will be there, too.

John 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

Growing in Stature...in SS

My lesson this week was about Jesus being left behind in the temple when He was twelve.  I asked the children if that had every happened to them.  Almost to a child they told stories of being left, or a sibling that had been, or they knew of someone who had.  Then I asked, "For three days?"
This is a picture of my marker board.  This is how I teach.  They understand my scribbles, but you might not.

I promise this makes sense to them.  I erase and rewrite stuff all through my lesson, but this is how it ended up.

 If Jesus was God, and Messiah had come, and Mary and Joseph knew it, then why make the trip to Jerusalem for offerings for sin, and Passover celebrations, etc?
Because the cross had not happened yet.  Payment for sins had not been made. Mary and Joseph continued in the faith they knew.
Jesus was in the temple doing the will of His Father. He left when his parents came to get Him, and it says He obeyed them and grew physically and in wisdom.
So we measured each child and wrote their height in inches, and they proceeded to decorate their chart.  Enjoy their creativity.

Olivia is making a list of some sort.  She hung hers in the class.

Bryce

Maggie

Penny and Ava

Ethan L making a list of adult weapons he wants for Christmas.

Ethan J making a Christmas list of toys.  Daryn's is just colorful.

Addicus likes dragons and lizards.

Interpretation: Cannon.  P.S. I designed it.  Laser gun.

This is James.  Another boy who loves weapons.

Kristen, my helper.  We maintain little control.

Cid - who made his into a 50 inch beard.

May all of these young hearts grow in wisdom and favor with God and man.

Luke 2:51-52  And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man. 

Knowing and Being Known

I love this picture of Tommy and Emma

I have been challenged by the questions, "Do you know God?" and "Does God know you?" God knows everyone in a sense, right?  I mean He is sovereign, isn't He?
Everyone however, does not know Him...in an intimate way.  I want that.  And I see in His word that Him knowing me is way more important that me knowing Him.  I say I do.  I say I believe, but my actions do not always reflect it.
So ask Him with me, "God, do You know me?"  No one will ever know me better or love me more in spite of me.  "God, please know me...as I am right now.  Know me into eternitiy."

Jeremiah 1:5  "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." 
Nahum 1:7  The LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him. 
Matthew 7:23  And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' 
Matthew 12:33  Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. 
John 10:14-15   I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. 
1 Corinthians 8:3   But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 
2 Timothy 2:19   But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: "The Lord knows those who are his," and, "Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity." 
1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 

Where Do You Get Thick Skin?

This post could have been titled so many things.  You will see as I ramble on.  I was making a grocery list and thinking about some difficult issues I am facing in my life. So here is how my list went:
cream of tartar
mop head refill
scrubby thing refill
dish detergent
balsamic vinegar
pepperoncini
salad
avocados
tomatoes
a thick skin of love
What?  Did I really write that down?  I continued on with my thoughts...
Where exactly IS the School of Hard Knocks?  Wait.  Never mind.  I KNOW where it is. It's in that kitchen I wrote about recently where so many lovely things happen.  It's in the bedrooms, living room, den, bathroom, and garage.  IT IS AT HOME.
Where can I purchase the thick skin of love needed for living with others and raising a family?  Exactly.  It cannot be bought.  It is a priceless commodity.  It is a precious gift given by our heavenly Father. We are not born with it.  He gives it to us through others...and we do not get to pick the givers.  He does.
So, next time someone you love hurts you, ask God for a skin of love...so you can take the hit, grow more love and press on.  If this has never happened to you, get ready because it will.

1 Corinthians 13:3-8  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.