blogging

Changes……

He has made everything beautiful in its time. <sup class="crossreference" value="(G)”>He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom <sup class="crossreference" value="(H)”>what God has done from beginning to end.  I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.  That each of them may eat and drink, <sup class="crossreference" value="(J)”>and find satisfaction <sup class="crossreference" value="(K)”>in all their toil—this is the gift of God. Ecclesiastes 3:11-13


I am making some changes, soon I hope to be taking this little place I have cozied up to and I hope you have to, over to the WordPress platform. I have wanted to make some changes for awhile but I needed a little push. And I have some very kind helpers who are trying their best to answer all my questions.

And I keep having more and more of them. Questions, I mean.

I go over to the other site and almost have a panic attack. Then I jump back over here into the safe zone and breathe a sigh of relief. I know this, it is familiar. It is home.

But as in life and blogging and anything else, God doesn’t always want us in the safe zone. He wants us in the “trust me” zone.

And I know the other place will be home too, as soon as I know it better. Change is good, change is good. I know it is just another of my emotional attachments. I get attached to things like cars and furniture and dishtowels too. It’s a personal problem. I may need help.

So, here I am in my pair of fuzzy slippers.

For now. Until I get the courage to jump in all the way.

How Patient Am I?

One line of a book made me think…….”She hung up the phone.” I instantly thought of the old rotary dial phones I grew up with. I instantly remembered the way it sounded to actually hang up a phone. We don’t really hang up anymore. There’s no real finality to it. When you don’t hear that “clunk.” Used to, when you hung up, you hung up. But now, the hang up may be followed by a text…..”Nice talking to you….Oh, forgot to tell you…..” We are totally and completely connected. And then there’s Facebook and Twitter. Pinterest.

Earlier today I went visiting over at Debbie’s place and she challenged me with a question: “Just how patient am  I?” I think, not very. People have told me I am very patient, and I am sometimes, depending on the situation. But lately I am surprised at just how quickly the anger can flare up when the clothing I am trying to get off the hanger wont come off. Or when I am trying to find a parking place at work and someone beats me to it.

I text while in line at the store……Not a minute to be wasted. Or I take out my phone and get caught up on Words with Friends. I wonder……I remember, how would I feel now if I had to wait for that rotary dial to finish dialing that number. I hear it in my mind, and sometimes I wish I could hear it again. I remember my Grandmother’s dial was literally worn down she used it so much. She would have loved texting.

The hang up. The pause. The reflecting on the call that just finished. It seems there are fewer and fewer pauses anymore. That’s why I think it’s important we set out to create them in our lives.

That was the whole idea of doing my blog. Creating a quiet place of rest, carving out some time to meet with God…….getting out of the fast lane of life for just awhile. We need it more and more. I am thinking that our whole society, while dedicated to saving time, actually makes us savor time less.

I think we need more pauses. What do you think?

Wishing you a bit of grace

Not much going on around here…..just hanging out waiting to see if there is anything good coming out of the fridge!

Actually, I am at work. Briggs is the one just hanging out. More than likely right now he is dreaming of chasing mice or catnip…..

Until I can get a bit of time to post, I am at my desk.

Hope your Saturday is going wonderfully……

To all in Rome (and the rest of the world) who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7

The other morning before I left for work I grabbed a Bible CD from my bookshelf. I saw that it was Romans so I put it back, (I thought) since I had just read that. When I got in the car, I heard “Romans Chapter 1”

And I was glad, because you can never read the book of Romans too often.

Happy Saturday fellow bloggers and readers!

When in doubt, wait on the Lord

I had a whole post done when I realized I had no idea what I was trying to say….It seemed to be going in two different directions and I couldn’t make up my mind which path to go down…kind of like one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost……So in lieu of my own words, here are some of his.
I am waiting on the Lord today, and waiting can be just the right thing sometimes…..

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

A Very Merry Christmas

Wishing you all a very happy and restful Christmas, from Lori’s Prayer Closet……..my own little corner where all are welcome.
To dream, to pray…..or be silent.
To talk it all out with our Father in Heaven.
Thanking Him today and everyday for His Son that was given, and gave Himself…..
who intercedes for us even now.
He is our blessed hope…..
I love you all.
I pray for a closer walk for the coming year.
I just popped over to Panera for a quick cup of coffee and note to you all. I am on a mission to find a Panda Express for food tomorrow. Just a quick hello to say I was thinking of you all, and that while I may or may not be able to blog this week, you are in my thoughts, keeping things loose here…….
I do ask for prayers for my dear friend Elaine, who is back in Arizona. She had to take her Mom to the hospital due to dehydration and a bad case of the flu. I ask for strength for them both and rest for the caretaker, who is the last to be taken care of.
I do so appreciate all your thoughts, comments and prayers!

With a Grateful Heart

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder…G.K. Chesterton

Because of my dear sister in law who lost her battle with cancer, (but won the war, for she waits for us in Heaven) I always give thanks for my health. This morning something reminded me of a bad flu I had and I realized that there are many this Thanksgiving who would give anything to feel good.
I can’t imagine waking up day after day feeling sick, but there are many who do. I thought this the other day on my walk/run. The air was clear and cold. That particular day I felt like I needed to hear life and not the IPOD. Sometimes you just have to. I felt the blast of cold air through my nose, the tingle that makes the nose run…..I felt my lungs about to burst, pushing air through, my heart beating faster and faster.
It was life and life was good.
And I am so thankful for things and people who are life-givers and not life-takers. People who are quick to laugh, to bolster me up with their faith, who speak life and joy. Who build up and not tear down…..how I thank God for you!
I am thankful for the Christian music that uplifts……turns me towards God and makes me lift my hands, my heart, my eyes towards Him.
And I am thankful for realizing that despite some fleeting thoughts earlier this month, I could never pass the holidays by. For the first time in my life though, I do understand those who fly far away, or at least want to. And then the thought, maybe that was a gift too, because I didn’t understand before. 
With people living in different places, it seems like someone close is always getting left behind. I was tired of the heartache. I still am. I don’t want to wait for Heaven to have everyone in one place, my heart rebels against it. And then there is work. I always have to pick which holiday I want off. But then my heart wells with thanks because I have a choice, and a job. So many right now don’t.
Thankfulness bloomed then in my heart and I realized that I could never really be one of those that ignored Thanksgiving or passed on Christmas. They are lodged too deep in my heart and I can’t let either one pass without a celebration, for there is so much to celebrate and be thankful for this year……
as every year by God’s wonderful grace.
Also, be sure to check out my new blog, Lori’s Views. It’s more photos and less words. I am really excited about it!  I am still tweaking things up a bit so thank you in advance for your patience…. 
image of cabin  from google images

Need Blogger Expert!

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! Psalm 121:2

(And sometimes He uses people)

Does anyone know how to change template on blogger without a lot of hassle or know how? Despite the fact that I work in a technical field, this is by far not my expertise. I want a wider template that will allow me to display my pictures bigger rather than dinky size!

I am trying to avoid sitting in front of the computer all day running through tutorials! Any help would be appreciated.

Yes, I am being lazy…..

Much to do today 🙂

Blogging across the fence

I like to think of blogging as meeting for coffee, or over the back fence. People used to do that, and in some places they still do. Recently my Mom was over at my Aunt’s house and she saw a gathering of people in the front yard playing dominoes. Yes, in the front….almost scandalous nowadays. They were laughing and carrying on and having a great old time. It was a good thing to see. Of course my Mom, never having met a stranger, had to go talk to them.

They exchanged information…..greeting…..fellowship. A bit of bringing Heaven down to earth. All because they made themselves available. Open.

I have lived before in neighborhoods where every evening a symphony of garage doors would open with big yawns and swallow up the cars and the people in them and that was the last you saw of your neighbor. One time my Mom was visiting and she got so starved for people she flagged someone down who was driving by just for someone to talk to.

In these days of mobility and technology we often lose that sense of community. It gets to be a challenge to get back in touch with it. That’s why I like blogging. I feel like we are virtual neighbors meeting over the back fence. A little solitude is a very good thing, but too much is not good, we tend to make ourselves crazy.
God knew that too.

Sharing beliefs, joys and sorrows, snippets of our lives makes us feel like we are not alone. We join hands across the aisles, finding common ground in all sorts of things. We see how we are the same and how we are different.

And how wonderful to be able to pray for someone I have never actually met!

So pull up a chair, gather around, pour yourself a cup.

You don’t even have to call before you come by.

“…….and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24, 25