Best Friends

All Creatures Great and Small

“If you have men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.” Saint Francis of Assisi
Today I honor our animal friends with a photo essay of “Briggs.” I am so thankful for the joy and the laughter our pets bring to our lives, and for the comfort they so unreservedly give, expecting nothing in return. They leave their footprints across our hearts and change us for the better. I am thankful for all those who volunteer in shelters, giving their love and time and extending their compassion to all God’s creatures who have been left behind and abandoned.

“Oh, no she has that black thing out again that clicks and flashes the bright light………must you do that nooowwww?”

“Okay, if you insist on doing that, I will just do my best to ignore you and take a bath……”

“Doing my best to look thoughtful and pensive……how am I doing?”

“This is all so very tiring…..I think I will just lay here and guard my mouse.”

“A cat’s work is never done……”

Thankful today for all the ones I have held and known, run and played with throughout my life. Thankful for a loving God who saw fit to create them for us as wonderful companions in the journey of life.

Briggs is the king of the house and loves everyone…..Sydney adopted me as his own and follows me everywhere, flopping upside down in my lap every night…..

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
Cecil Frances Alexander

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Set your mind……

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:1-3

A pilot friend of mine once said that there was nothing in the world more relaxing than flying. Something about being above it all makes your problems seem smaller. Every now and then I have flying dreams, and it’s wonderful. I soar around skyscrapers and sometimes I just hover and float. Don’t you wish we could just order up our dreams?

There is a way however, that we can lift ourselves above it all, where Christ is. That is by setting our minds on things above. Scripture is the best and most immediate way to do this. Since the Bible is a living book, it has the power to transform our very thought process! This is not Harry Potter magic, where you wave a wand and presto, all your problems go away (darn) This is actually way better, because though circumstances can change in the blink of an eye, God never does!

When we read the Bible with an open heart, we are tapping into the very source of Life itself.

The Word was there from the very beginning………”In the beginning was the Word…….” Not only that, the Bible says the Word and God are one and the same! It is timeless, ageless, and all sufficient. It is wisdom, it is power, it is the bread of life, it is the manna that came down from Heaven! It is the best way I know to keep my thoughts going in the right direction.

If you are living with someone who constantly sees the negative in every situation, it is hard not to find yourself going right down that road with them. To stop being who you are, and become them. But you don’t have to. You can be determined to set your mind above, where God is.

Find some life…..

Go outside, take a walk.

Go to the Mall and watch people.

Get around someone who can show you yourself again.

Do like my best friend who has been known to break into song and dance everytime Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” comes on. And if she can still sing and dance after everything she has been through this year, anyone can….like she is fond of saying:

Sometimes you just gotta give it a little dance.

Happy Birthday Elaine, best of friends…….you continually inspire me to see the good in everything…….

Thankful for Positive People

“Forgiveness is unlocking the door to set someone free and realizing you were the prisoner!” Max Lucado

I am very thankful today for all the people in my life who have been positive. From my earliest memories I can recall hearing my Mom sing in the mornings, up early before anyone else, starting the day in a good mood. We never had to worry about approaching her……I realize now, what an incredible gift that is. My best friend says they never dared approach their Mom unless she had her two cups of coffee in the morning.

Both her parents continually saw the worst in everything and everybody. Unfortunately, they still do. She never felt like she could share anything with them. Whatever she did was met with either cynicism or criticism! The amazing thing is, she remembers always waking up in a good mood. Even her Mom says, “You were always a happy kid.”

No matter what is going on in her life, she always has a smile and a word of encouragement for others. And these days, there is much in her life that would keep her in bed all day. I am in awe of that.

All my life I have been surrounded with people whe have made the choice to face each day with hope, gratitude and expectation. They know that every day is a good day simply because they get another chance! I am realizing this is not the case for many many people…..How rich I am, how blessed! In turn, the best way I can repay God is to give that gift to others…..I pray that I will, with God’s grace.

The best thing I can do to honor God today is to wake up positive. No matter the circumstances!

So today I salute all of you positive people out there…..You know who you are!

Tomorrow I hope to have some photos to share. Since my computer crashed, I haven’t been able to get them to transfer from my computer to blogger very effectively.

Until then, I am continuing the Gratitude Count in my heart’s tally today along with Ann and many others. May the Lord bless you and make His face to shine on you today….Lori

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A Different Kind of Lent

“Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:10

A couple weeks ago I was praying and speculating about whether to give up something for Lent. Being raised in a Baptist church, we didn’t do Lent, but I have always liked the tradition. Coffee, books, sugar….those are the things that came to mind right away. I was keeping my heart open……Soon after that, events transpired that made it necessary for my best friend’s mother to move in with us. Suddenly we had to figure out how to make a two bedroom house big enough for three.

My self-sacrificing friend is now sleeping in the Arizona room, which the cats had previously taken over. She gave up her room to her Mom. At first the cats gave the bed a wide berth, a bit apprehensive when they saw it being wheeled out to “their” room, but they are now thrilled at having another place to sleep.

She has a tough job. Her folks are not easy to care for. They are not positive people and never have been. They have taken much and given little. There is one consolation when all is said and done, she will know that there is not one thing more she could have done for them.

There are times, however, when this is not much consolation, especially when your own sanity is in question.
In spite of everything, she remains positive, gracious and a joy to be around. I don’t know how she does it, but then again I do…..loads of Grace, and Prayer. Did I mention her Mom has Alzheimer’s?

In the midst of insanity, and chaos, and stress, there was some humor yesterday.

The remote control was ringing

Lipstick seemed like a good idea on cheeks

She lost her pants, which were in plain sight on the dresser

She programmed the microwave for 1 hour and 55 minutes to heat coffee

And this was all within the first hour of the day. When she saw her Mom furiously scrubbing her face at the bathroom mirror she figured out what she did. And then they both had to laugh…..Grace. Life and death side by side. Things like Alzheimer’s have a way of making death more visible and just when you think it is gone forever the old life comes back……that’s what makes it tough.

And every time we give up something and make room for His grace we wear a bit of the sacrifice of Jesus.

“But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6

Peace Be Still…..

“He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” Matthew 8:26,27

The people of Japan are experiencing the horrific effects of a massive earthquake. The footage is heart-breaking. To see homes, buildings, streets washed away is devastating. It was unexpected and there is never any preparation for something like that….It happened around 2 PM right in the middle of a work day. The fear is resulting Tsunamis up and down the coast…..

The truth is, there are all kinds of Tsunamis in life. My best friend feels like she is standing in the midst of one right now. She is under so much stress she actually forgets to breathe. She has the burden of taking care of both elderly parents, neither one of whom can get around, one suffering from Dementia and one from Alzheimer’s. Most of the time, they don’t talk, they bark orders.

She feels like her world has stopped, and it pretty much has. Life is going on normally without a hitch for others, but hers has stalled out. There is no time for herself. And it is affecting her health…..Life can feel very much like you are standing in the middle of an earthquake that is still going on. Nothing feels stable, nothing can be planned, because the job is never over………Whether it is a natural disaster, or a family problem, the symptoms are the same. Stress is stress, and the body doesn’t know the difference. It screams, fight or flight.

She longs to hear the words of Jesus, “Peace Be Still.” Oh, how she wishes she could be still, just for a moment. How she longs to be in that boat with Him.

Hear the wind cease…..feel the torrential wind die down……hear the sound of the waves lapping gently against the boat…..

But she can. As believers we have the assurance that He is keeping us. That He is here with us, this He has promised us. His peace is for us. And we have help…..”But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.” John 14: 26,27

Know right now……..He is keeping you. You may not feel Him there, but you know He is. You have not blown up, hit anyone, exploded, and you are still laughing at times. He is keeping you…..and He will continue to keep you. Sometimes it just boils down to that. And one minute, one hour at a time.

When I was writing this post I remembered this song that was popular back in the seventies….

“Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently
By puttin your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee….”
(As recorded by Ocean) GENE MACLELLAN 1970

I am so glad I know that Man, and so glad my friend does too…….Please pray for those in Japan today and all others affected by stress of all kinds. If you can, help them carry their burden today…..

Journeys……

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,” plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:11,12

I heard trains last night…..I am presently in Barstow, California, the stopping point for this particular journey…..along with my very best friend at the wheel of what I call “the Bus” a 32 foot motor home. We are enroute, she to her brother and his family and myself to my parents house. We have made this trip many times, and there is always a new experience no matter how many times you have been down the same road.

We saw a semi-truck on its side yesterday, there were some high winds, but not terribly high. He may have fallen asleep and lost control….we whispered a prayer as we drove by. Our precious cargo includes “the garden.” We didn’t want to leave it home for the neighbors to watch, since my green-thumbed friend wants to take full responsibility. They are her babies now. Every sprout is encouraged, and exclaimed over. Now I know a little about how a farmer feels.

We passed the state-line without a hitch. I had forgotten all about the rules about bring plants over…..I can just imagine the headlines…..”Two Church going Christian women caught, accused of bringing marijuana over the border! I could hear us now trying to explain that it is our future garden, consisting only of Okra, marigolds, radishes and spinach, but no pot…..Oh my!

The little green charges are currently on the dash recieving their morning dose of sunlight. Soon she will be bent over them with a water dropper for their watering and “encouragement.”

We think our neighbor may be a Vietnam Vet, judging by the various bumper stickers which are plastered all over the back of his vehicle. He just walked by and looks like he may be related to Charles Manson’s brother….Never a dull moment. One of the bumper stickers says, “Breast inspection 20 miles ahead, please have them out.” Forgive me for that, but sometimes you have to be plunked right down in the middle of humanity like Jesus was. If we make it out of here without an incident we will be very happy. You never know what you might see in a KOA park.

What a blessing this trip….already. Everyone needs someone in their life that they can travel with so companionably. Nothing is a problem and everything is an adventure and a potential source of laughter……

This morning we read from the Bible and shared thoughts on Ephesians 6……we forge ahead today, each one of us reaching our destinations. In our hands, our hearts, we bring encouragement and blessings and love to our families who are all going through their own trials and hardships. And of course, they will do the same for us…..

Hopefully tomorrow I can post pictures of the “garden.”

Remembering our Brokenness

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Looking back is good sometimes. It reminds us of all that God has brought us through and I think it gives us the courage to keep walking. Remembering where we came from and what God has done for us is humbling. We remember the victories, the parts of us that were mended along the way, all the joys strewn along the path. We collect them like shining treasures, even the heartaches, because He got us through those too.
I broke a figurine the other day when I was dusting a little over-zealously. I heard a sickening thud and distinctly heard pieces break off. I was afraid to look. I already knew what it was, the little angel that I bought my roommate for her Birthday. “Don’t worry, she wasn’t expensive,” I said, “I wanted to go back to that store anyway. I’ll buy you a new one.”
“I don’t want a new one,” she said. “I will glue her back together.” She gathered the pieces and put them carefully on the shelf in her room. I was still insisting on buying her a new one, when she looked at me pointedly and said softly, “It means more knowing that someone loves her enough to put her back together.”
I think when she said that she was thinking of how God puts us all back together, but especially how He put her back together. She was remembering when she was broken. 
Her life was changed one morning in an instant when a truck driver who was thinking of too many other things pulled in front of her and broadsided the cement mixer she was driving. Yes, I said cement mixer. She has never been afraid to tackle anything. She remembers broken glass, and being pulled out of the truck by two good samaritans who happened to be eating their lunch close by and saw the whole thing. She remembers spending six long months in a body cast. Today she tells anyone who will listen that it was the best thing that ever happened to her. That it saved her life.
She fought through the pain of therapy and made a full recovery ahead of time. Then she moved to a strange town, my hometown, and ended up getting a job where I worked. At that time I was still grieving over the death of my husband but I clung to my faith in God and I guess she was watching me, because she started asking me questions about the God I worshipped. “How can you still be so positive?” she would say. “Because of everything He has done for me,” I said back.
About a year or two later, the woman who did everything on her own in life because there was no one to do it for her, met Jesus and was baptised in a river with a crowd of witnesses and me, and she has never been the same since.
 She has held that gratefulness fresh like a flower, close to her heart ever since. She remembers being broken. I think that is why she has an unquenchable desire to fix people, things, situations. That is her gift. She is a joy to be around and a strong witness for Jesus by how she lives her everyday life. She is the first to offer help to a neighbor, to sacrifice her time, to go out of her way, all
Because she remembers who healed her…..and who keeps healing her still.
She is a fixer, like He is a fixer. And we are all broken angels sitting on a shelf, just waiting to be picked up and glued back together if we will let Him. As He repairs us, we help to repair others……
Even Jesus was broken so that we could be healed of our brokenness…….”so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28

Pushing through fear


Have you ever met anyone who would just try anything? They seem to sail through life devoid of fear, embracing change and leaping over roadblocks and challenges that would cripple the faint of heart. The reality is: they DO have the fear, they just don’t let it stop them.

My best friend is one of these people. I think it comes from living in an “unsafe” environment growing up. She had a mean older brother and every day she was faced with waking up having to push through her fear of what he might do. She knew that her folks would do nothing to stop his behavior; they never had. So it was up to her to push through…..As a result it left scars, but it also made her a survivor.

When she was 18 a friend offered her a job driving a logging truck. Here was his lesson, “I will drive up the mountain, you watch what I do and it’s your turn on the way down.” Mind you, these trucks have two gear boxes and sometimes as many as 16 gears! She made it down the mountain and got bit by the professional driving bug.

Later on she drove a cement truck for several years, until the day another truck driver pulled out in front of her. He was completely stopped at a stop sign. (Tell me how you miss a cement mixer?) He looked right at her and pulled out. She sustained a broken back and the other driver was unhurt. His license was revoked and he was cited. The police officer said that if it hadn’t been for her exemplary driving skills, they both might have died. She has since said that the accident was the best thing that ever happened to her….I met her not long after that and as a result, I introduced her to the One who not only could heal her body, but her soul as well.

I never had to fear that much growing up. My home was a calm, peaceful, happy place. However, when I was 27 and my husband died unexpectedly I was introduced to real fear. It stretched out in front of me like a “black hole.” I got reintroduced to prayer like never before and I learned that when I didn’t have the courage to get out of bed, I rolled out anyway on raw faith; knees hitting the floor first! Everytime He met me there. Through those experiences, I learned that His promises are true.

Now all these years later I am working at a place I never dreamed I could be, doing things I never thought I could do. Fourteen years now at Intel,Corp. Always there has been help. At every turn He has been with me, and sent special “angel” people (and undoubtedly real ones too) to surround me during times I felt like I would cave in and run home. (Well, I did do that but only once.)

Whenever I feel fear nipping at my heels, telling me I can’t do something, I rest in this verse: “I can do ALL things through Him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Depending on Him through prayer, reading His word, believing Him for His promises. That is the only way to banish fear and send it packing back to hell, where it belongs.

For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7


“Nothing fosters courage like a clear grasp of grace.”
“Feed your fears and your faith with starve. Feed your faith and your fears will.”
“Fear corrodes our confidence in God’s goodness.”
From “Fearless” by Max Lucado

Multitude Monday (one day late)

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The list continues, due to labor day and driving back from San Diego no chance to blog on Monday!

11. Happy reunions with old friends.

12. A few days off! Gazing at the ocean once more, hearing and feeling it’s magic!

13. Calls from home (glad you’re home safe, and we are all okay)

14. Sometimes I forget God, but He never forgets me 🙂

15. Being able to clean house…..dust bunnies beware!

16. There is always another good book to start.

17. Thankful for every little thing, my Mom taught me that!

18. Pets that curl up beside you!

19. Hugs from little arms

20. Good food, had alot of that in San Diego.

Soft answers….and best friends.


Last night I met “my snippy self” again. She comes out every now and then. I was minding my own business getting my hair done when she made her appearance. My best friend was in the next chair waiting for her turn. We were having a “hair party” both getting beautified and I was so glad to be getting a trim. Everything was going along just fine until my friend kindly and helpfully said, “Are you sure that length is right?” You see, I had been complaining about it earlier, how I just couldn’t do anything with it and I couldn’t see my earrings because my hair was hiding it….blah, blah, blah. In an instant, out of my mouth came a very snippy retort. I don’t know where it came from, I wasn’t irritated, I was in a good mood, but there it was. Old snippy me right out there. I said rather tersely, “we talked about this earlier, she knows what she’s doing.”

A gentle (soft) answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

In my mind and to my ears, it didn’t sound bad at all, but to her ears it sounded very harsh and unkind. I believe her because I know my friend. How could something sound so different in my own head, so much so that I was surprised by it when she brought it up later. She was wounded by it. She was reaching out in helpfulness, and was rebuffed.

Words said the wrong way can be just as painful as an insult, and I missed an opportunity to respond with kindness, and a soft answer….

What I didn’t know was that earlier that day she had been wounded by someone else she had been trying to help. It was uncalled for and she didn’t deserve that one either….My best friend is one of most kind, helpful people I know. She is one of those who never fails to get aside her own needs to give time and attention to someone else.

She really didn’t deserve that.

My mind wandered back many years to when we first met. She had just moved to my hometown and started working in my company. We were both wounded souls back then. She had cut herself off from some negative people and places, to start a hopeful new life. Escaping the dark looking for the light. She just had been through a terrible accident and was still recovering from months of painful therapy. I had just lost my husband, had my whole world turned upside down. We were sitting side by side much like at the hair place. She innocently asked what I was thinking. I replied, “If it pertains to you, I will let you know.” Wow, what a (fill in the blank)! I don’t really know why she ever talked to me again. But she did.

We have laughed about that so many times since…..

She didn’t know God back then, although she had heard of Him. I knew Him but really wasn’t living for Him…so many conversations about God we had, so many prayers, tears and laughter shared.

That was about 21 years ago…..in many ways we are not the same people we were then. God has brought us both through so much in our separate journeys, but thankfully we have been able to walk the path together. So many things we have shared over the years….joys and sorrows. Her baptism to new life and running over a carpet on the way home, dragging it down the freeway. Jesus did have the wheel that night! (Nobody was hurt and we got off the freeway safely, one smouldering carpet later.) We have stood in the shadow the shadow of death…. planning a funeral for a stillborn niece (hers.) Seeing my sister-in-law valiantly fight a cancer who had the last say on this earth but not the next. She is with God waiting for the rest of us, as are so many others. Many other exits from this world to the next. Many prayers said together for our families…..so many needs. And now with parents getting older, we share grief over what the future holds for them and us….her Mom suffering mid-stage Alzheimer’s. Nobody prepares you for that.

But still we have kept our best-friendship intact…snippiness and all.

I look back over the years and reflect on all that God has brought us through, and I marvel. Sometimes snippiness happens, and sometimes the best intentions go sour. But this has given me pause to thank God for such a wonderful friend and what a blessing she is to everyone, and me. Thank you Elaine for 21 years of “best friendship!”

Call your best friend today and tell her (or him) how much they mean to you…..

“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (And it is not snippy) 1 Cor. 13:1-7