Month: January 2011

This is how I write…….

“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you. I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write……” 2 Thessalonians 3:16,17

I saw it laying on the table when I got home……a letter from my Dad. Again I thought, I will miss not seeing one of these, someday. So personal, handwritten letters. Like a bit of that person traveling across the miles. Their mark is on it, in their own handwriting. I call him before I read it, “He says to me, “Well, after you read it you may be sorry…..” I was not. Emails are great, they are instantaneous, they are convenient, but nothing beats a handwritten letter. There is much you can read in between the lines, you can sense the depth of their feelings and their emotions by how they form their letters, how big or small the writing is, how it scrawls across the page.

When someone sends a handwritten letter or card, they are saying to me:

“This is really important and I want you to hear what I am saying.”
“I want to show you how important you are to me.”
“I trust you with these feelings.”

It is hard for me to throw anything handwritten away……As I leaf through the pages of Dad’s letter, I feel that there are not so many miles between us after all.

A couple of times in my life I have gotten a long letter from my brother, one time very unexpectedly and at a time when I really needed it. I never forgot it, I remember riding somewhere on my bicycle with the precious cargo laying in my basket…feeling the strength from it.

Letters have tremendous power. In war times, letter carriers masqueraded as harbingers of hope or angels of death. We are all seen the bicycle-riding, telegram bearing scene in the movies, how everything and everyone stopped and held their breath, hoping that it wasn’t their house, their door……My Parent’s generation remembers those times.

Over and over in his letters Paul states……”I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand” He wanted there to be no mistaking his message or who wrote it.

Maybe someone specific is on your mind today. Their name keeps coming up and won’t go away. I encourage you to sit and write them out a note, a letter. Maybe you don’t mail it, just leave it where they can find it. Maybe they will do the same.

Counting along with the gratitude community today…….toward 1000 but not stopping there, grateful for all the ways God speaks to me:

In the written word of ones I love, in the sunrise and sunset, His salutation of love, His Spirit who prompts me to love others, sparks of spontaneous joy at unexpected times, in the words of gifted teachers of the Word, through kindness of strangers, through answers to specific prayers, through hope that never leaves, nature who always speaks loudly of His touch, through the community of believers called His church…..#622-632

holy experience

photo from google images

Imagining how it was…..

I was asked the other day if I thought Jesus sang…….like did He ever walk down the road and break into song? I said I thought He probably did. The Bible says He sang songs of worship with His disciples, and He was filled with the Spirit so, yes I believe there were times when He spontaneously burst into song. Just imagining that set my mind in motion. Can you imagine hearing Him sing, or laugh? Seeing His face light up with a smile?

I think sometimes it is hard for us to think of Jesus as fully human. But I love to imagine Jesus doing the simple things of life. Walking down the road with His friends, or maybe helping His Mom with a task around the house, sitting down to dinner with His family. It is hard for us, for me anyway, to imagine Him being silly or joking around. Did He tease His Mother? Pull a practical joke on His brothers or sisters? I like to think He did. He was after all, fully God but also fully man, and fully human. 

I like to imagine those simple times when He greeted His friends with a smile or put an arm around them while walking, lifting His face to Heaven while He prayed, or sang a song, swung a child around just to listen to them laugh.

I like this form of meditation, imagining Jesus and how it was….. I think that many times He probably felt very burdened when He looked out over the crowds, at the immensity of the need, the desperation. I think it made Him sad many times, when people just didn’t get the message, couldn’t grasp His love for them.

But I also think there were times when Jesus had to lighten the mood by cracking a joke.

Church Etiquette

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14

Has something like this ever happened to you? You are sitting in church, trying desperately not to be distracted, but directly in front of you is a couple who can’t seem to keep their hands off each other. It happened to me this past Sunday. Now this was not a young teen aged couple, they should have known better. They were 30 something, maybe even 40. What made it worse was this was during communion. I elbowed Elaine, sitting next to me who I knew was trying just as hard as I was to keep focused. Usually I can focus. Rattling papers, whispering, people walking up and down the aisle, no problem…..I can pay attention.

It went on and on…….I had so many crazy thoughts. I was almost ready to wad up my program and toss it in their direction. Where is the mischievous little boy throwing spit wads in class? I wished he was there. C’mon, we are trying to have a Holy moment here! Concentrate, breathe……..focus. Even the Pastor, who was right in my line of vision and theirs, was looking at them.

He had his hand wound up in her hair, and she was making (as my Dad would say) cow eyes at him. She even puckered her lips at him, I swear! My mind twittered thoughts right and left…….”at least they could have sat in the back row…..don’t they have any clue about church etiquette? Why are they here? They really need to get a room.”

Finally, at a loss as to what to do, I prayed for them, and for me. I know it was Jesus idea. It did help, it diffused the irritation. Opened the channels to a bit of love and understanding…..everyone has to start somewhere after all.

What do you think? Was it good that they were there regardless of how they acted? Had something like this happened to you?

“What then shall we say, brothers and sisters? When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” 1 Corinthians 14:26

Nothing to say?

I thank you God for this most amazing day, for the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and for the blue dream of sky and for everything which is natural, which is infinite, which is yes. ~e.e. cummings

Whenever I start to write anything, I notice two voices speaking at once. The one that says, yes this feeling is true, someone will relate to this, you have something to offer. And then there is the other rising up simultaneously…..Oh that will never do, you really have nothing to say today, who do you think you are, the nerve….what do you think you are, an authority? You are really making a fool of yourself with that one…..Then I remember, if God is moving in my life, there is always something to say. If I am alive, that is reason enough to write about it!

I look at this picture above and wonder who chopped that wood, and then I think of the time my Dad and I stacked wood together. Every now and then he reminds me of it. I look at the photographer’s name, Brunhilde Reinig and I hear my Grandmother’s voice speaking in German to her sisters, I remember that I love you in German is Ich Leibe Dich……and I wish that could have been said and done, instead of the Holocaust and I wonder again how it could have happened. I think of the German speaking people who did good, who hid Jews at the risk of their own lives…..

I think of the trip to the grocery store yesterday with my best friend and her Mom who is suffering with Alzheimer’s. It was sad, it was tragic, and yet there were some humorous moments. She always has to get three items no matter what….potatoes, ice-cream and hamburger…..And we always have to go in the same door. And she gets insulted if you tell her to make a list. My friend tells me even when she was in her right mind she was insulted if you suggested a list. Funny how disease touches some parts and leaves some parts untouched……

I think of she and her brother, each of whom have grieved both parents already, neither one are the person they were before. I think of the many divorced people out there who are grieving walking dead…..dead to them anyway. What heartache they carry. I think of how wonderful it is that little green shoots of love can bloom again in that same heart……love born again.

Yes, as long as there is life, there are words to say.
As long as there is God, there is Spirit movement……and hope.

http://www.publicdomainpictures.net/ by Brunhilde Reinig

Clay jar or crystal pitcher?

“Give your entire attention to what is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.” Matthew 6:34 The Message
I lost a day to worry. That opened the door to depression. Thinking about events on “the road ahead.” I was bogged down and I couldn’t see things clearly. I have touched on the fact that I am a worrier before. But Jesus commands us not to worry. This is a problem if I want to live for Him! I hate to think of the many moments and days I have wasted on events that may or may not happen. It all comes down to one thing…..When I worry I am living for myself and not for God. When I worry I am taking Him off the throne of my heart and life!  
Paul was having some discouraging moments dealing with the Corinthian church. He was right in the thick of things, not like me, worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, he was fighting a real battle. I can imagine that he was in prayer, and God spoke to him about the clay jars lining the walls. I can imagine him feeling as humble and lowly as one of those jars. But God showed him how valuable he was and he spoke these very wise words……
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-10

Paul knew where his strength was, I forgot for awhile. A few weeks ago out of the blue I thought of a song that I sang years ago. I had totally forgotten about it, but as I remembered it tears sprang to my eyes. That particular time, life was simpler (or maybe it just seemed so)……I was young and life was not so complicated. I had yielded myself to God and I saw His power work through me in a way that I never forgot.While I was thinking of that song a beautiful image came to my mind, an image of a crystal pitcher with clear water being poured into it. I have wondered about it ever since. Then this morning I read this:

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.” Revelation 22:1 

I think He was trying to tell me that He sees me as that crystal pitcher filling with the water of life……His life. Most days I feel just like that little clay jar, humble, weak and scarred; yet He has poured His pure Spirit inside of me and even now is turning me into that Waterford crystal vase, sparkling with His life, reflecting His light for all to see. He sees me as the finished product already and wants me to see myself that way too!

This is the comfort I bring today…….”For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13:12

If Paul can carry on right in the thick of the battle, I can surely carry on when the things I am worried about haven’t even happened yet!

Faith takes over…….

Sometimes the words aren’t there, but the gratefulness still is.
Sometimes faith has to take over when you have momentarily misplaced hope.
Sometimes you have to be reminded that God is still God, and that
everything is going to be okay.

And things are still very good indeed, it is your mind that is
temporarily looking at things askew. Temporarily is the key.
Because things always turn around, I know that for a fact.

I am so thankful for those in my life that have surrounded me over the years,
when I have felt like this, come alongside and believed with me…..

Yes, it will be okay.

There are many more reasons for praise than for despair.
You start counting, and before you know it,
you are restored, I am restored.

Thank you to all of you……….you know who you are.
This post is dedicated to you today.

sun through clouds, voices of hope, hands grabbing mine, prayers sent with my name on them, smiling eyes over lunch, beautiful songs that leave you breathless, God in the silence listening always, listening, dawn breaking inside and knowing where it is coming from, blogger friends, friends old and new, memories that bring smiles, laughter in the midst of tears…….#609-621

The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
The LORD protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me. Psalm 116:4,5

holy experience

photos: google images

My Prayer Cave

“I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:1-4

It was very cozy in my prayer shed/closet today. I lit the little stove in the corner as well as the lantern that sits on top of the roll around toolchest……It was windy and cold, and the windchimes sang the accompanyment to my prayer this morning. I was thankful, so thankful for this moment, these moments that come at the start of every day. He has brought me through another week.

As I end my prayer I think of going out for a walk, but as I open the door it blows in like a gust……and I sit back down. Maybe a bit more prayer instead…..

Say what???

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

It has never been hard for me to accept the Genesis account of the fall of man. I guess because I can easily see that as good and beautiful this world is, what we had before was much, much better. Why would God make something as wonderful as bearing children so very painful, if not for the fall. I have tried to grow things and I can attest to the fact that it is toil. The Bible teaches creation itself to be under a curse. This is very easy for me to believe as well. All I have to do is look around.

I can imagine that it was so much better than this, yes. Even as good as it is. I can imagine being unhindered by time and space, by death. I can imagine colors we have never dreamed of, walking through walls, and time travel.

I have always assumed that Eve was tempted by Satan but the Bible says that it was a serpent. Well, Satan working throught the serpent. It also says that he only slithered on the ground after the fall. I think he was probably a very captivating and stunning creature, and of course extremely crafty and intelligent.

What amazes me though was that Eve didn’t seem surprised that this creature talked. Can someone correct my theology here? Even if it was Satan talking through the beast, don’t you think Eve would have been just a little surprised? What if your dog or cat started talking all of a sudden? Whoa……

No, if I had been Eve, I think the conversation would have been different.

The Serpent: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”

Eve: Dumbfounded that the serpent was actually talking, she ran to get Adam. “Come quick, you gotta hear this.”

So was the serpent talking all along? Did all the animals talk? Was C.S. Lewis onto something?

When I think of how it must have been in Eden, my head spins. If Hollywood can create wonderful, magical worlds like Oz, Narnia, Middle-earth, and Pandora, just think what God could do. And by the way, the Bible never said it was an apple either. I think it was probably one of the most beautiful sparkling luscious things we could ever see. I think it caught the light and danced on the limbs like prisms….

photo credit: google images

Bought another goat!


I bought another goat this year through World Vision. This is a wonderful gift. You have heard it takes a village to raise a child, well these goats can raise a small village. Well, okay a family anyway. They use the milk to make cheese and they also use the manure to fertilize their crops. The goats can also provide income for the family by being able to sell extra dairy products and produce at market. You can donate in someone else’s name and they will get a card in the mail notifying them of the gift, which is pretty cool!

I have donated to World Vision for many years…..there are other wonderful organizations out there who are doing great work also, Compassion International and also Heifer International are some others you can check out who also participate in the animal donation program.

Of course the skeptic in me rises up and wonders if my goat really gets there, or if there is a goat at all, or if my money actually goes where it says it goes. I see the cute little picture of a smiling child with an adorable baby goat and I hope and pray that a few seconds after the photo, the goat is snatched away and…..well, never mind……You can ease your mind by checking out the accreditation’s on all the websites and you can also view all of your donations online. I encourage you to do your own research.

I always feel that if you donate your money to a reputable organization, the blessing will come back to you.

So where’s my goat? I did an online search and found someone else who was asking the same question. He actually did a documentary that chronicles his journey to Zambia to track down his charitable goat. See the website here.

I have a warm fuzzy about buying this goat and I pray it is a blessing wherever it goes.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  Luke 6:38