Leaving a legacy


I picked up “The Christmas List” by Richard Paul Evans at the library a couple weeks ago, being a fan of his other Christmas themed books starting with “The Christmas Box” several years ago now. I was captivated by the theme. What would happen if you read your own obituary in the newspaper. That is exactly what happens to James Kier to his shock and amazement. It gets even more interesting when he starts to read all the comments of his business associates about his death. He learns how they really feel about him. I won’t give the rest of the plot away, but suffice it to say, I had no problem reading it under the seven days…..

It raises some very important questions. What kind of legacy do we want to leave? What kind of legacy do you want to leave for your children? What kind of legacy does God want us to leave?

There are many things that this world considers important and noteworthy, worthy of recognition. How do those things line up with what God considers important?

Micah 6:8 He has showed you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

How about this one…. James 1:26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

I think leaving a legacy of kindness is one of the best ways that we could glorify God. Being known as kind, nothing more complicated than that.

Precious nuggets from Psalm 68


The other day I was considering which Psalm to put to memory (other than the 23rd) which always gives such comfort when I can’t sleep. No sooner had the thought entered my mind when Psalm 68 popped into my head, and it wouldn’t go away. Thinking that God must have whispered it, I looked it up. No small Psalm was this. I was hoping for a short one, but no, 35 verses in all. I thought, “God, surely You don’t mean this one, knowing how long it takes me to memorize anything!” But it kept catching me unawares, Psalm 68 there in my mind again. So I have resigned myself to going at it one section at a time for now.

Here are some treasures from this Psalm that continues my count toward the thousand gifts of gratitude….

Vs.1 “Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered.” So many horrific things are happening now that we cry out for justice and wonder how so many can get away with doing so many terrible things to innocent people? But not one act will escape His notice.

Vs.4 “Cast up a highway for Him who rides through the deserts, Whose name is the Lord, and exult before Him.” I have always loved this passage, also found in Isaiah and familiar with those who listen to Handel’s Messiah, during Christmas and Easter.

Vs.5 “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows is God in His Holy habitation” How comforting is that?

Vs.6 “He makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious live in a parched land”

Vs.11 “The Lord gives the command; The women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host.” God likes women and women like Him!

Vs.19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden” You mean I don’t have to???

Vs.35 “O God, Thou art awesome from Thy sanctuary. The God of Israel Himself give strength and power to the people. Blessed be God.”

This makes #193 toward 1000 and beyond,
holy experience

Photo of Razorwire and Cross by Steven Crisp

In the morning….

Image “Morning” by William Barclay

I like to think that all of the prayers we offer to God rise through the clouds and mingle with the strains of Heavenly praise as they float across that sea of glass and reach the very Throne of God. There they fuse together with the very pulse of Heaven itself as they enter God’s own heart.

The Bible says that God collects all our prayers in a golden bowl. If that is true, then not one prayer will ever be missed. God hears the smallest whisper, sigh, however faint. The gift of the Holy Spirit insures that even our very breath is recorded and known, so that we may never have to worry that He doesn’t know what I am going through down here. “Down here” is the same as “Up There” to Him.

Sometimes as I go about my day I think of our times together in the mornings just God and I, and I can’t wait for the next one. They are like survival islands in my life as I hop from one to the next, each time growing closer to that green shore, that place of ultimate safety where My Shepard waits, His arms held out for me. I know as long as I keep my eyes on Him there is no need to fear.

As I lit my candle this morning I thought of other prayer times over the years, they leap out like beacons marking time…..I thought of when my Mom and I prayed in front of the fire in the mornings before school. I was having such a difficult time, but she would grab my hand and we would huddle together before the warmth of the fire and pray. Even all these years later I can still feel her hand clasping mine, and hear her voice. Then I would get up and go. I know her prayers followed.

I thank God for my praying Mom today.

Seeing things differently

Walk Softly by Bev Doolittle
Some people see the wolf in the center of this image right away, others only when it’s pointed out. Perspectives are like that too. Two people can read the same thing and have two completely different reactions.

My post the other day produced a very strong reaction from my dear friend who reads my blog everyday. I was surprised by her reaction, but when I thought about it, it made sense knowing the person she is. She is one of those wonderfully engaging people who dares to get involved in the lives of others, even if it hurts. She routinely goes out of her way to make sure others are okay even if it means making personal sacrifices. I thought I would post what she wrote today because I really appreciated what she had to say. To me that is the wonderful thing about blogging. It sparks conversations that sometimes you would not otherwise have, and that is a very good thing!

Her email response below:

Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you . . . remember that the lives of others are not your business. They are their business. They are God’s business . . . even your own life is not your business (Frederick Buechner quote)
I could not disagree more with this statement as a whole!
1….Protect Meaning and Definition. (v. t.) To cover or shield from danger or injury; to defend; to guard; to preserve in safety; as, a father protects his child.2….Rescue-deliver, redeem, ransom, reclaim, save mean to set free from confinement or danger. rescue implies freeing from imminent danger by prompt or vigorous action. Deliver implies release usually of a person from confinement, temptation, slavery, or suffering 3…..Judge : to form an opinion about through careful weighing of evidence and testing of premise 4……Manage- to handle or direct with a degree of skill: as a: to make and keep compliant b: to treat with care : husband c : to exercise executive, administrative, and supervisory direction of
2 : to work upon or try to alter for a purpose
3 : to succeed in accomplishing : contrive
4 : to direct the professional career of …..I get that we need to hand things over to God! Ask for help, let God do what He can do best BUT!!!!! If we all took this literally in today’s time it would be a bigger mess than this world already is, we could just walk around and tend to animals and carry on conversations with them, why talk to one another? Just think if Jesus did this when he was here on earth as a man! I have experienced just this in my life and I do not believe this is how God wants us to live…………

Yes I had to get this off my chest!!!!!!
THERE DONE!
I Love You my best friend.
Elaine Dupree

*LIVE SIMPLY. LOVE GENEROUSLY. CARE DEEPLY.*
*SPEAK KINDLY. LEAVE THE REST TO GOD.*

Happy New Year!

Arizona Republic Photo
I don’t know, it was supposed to be a blue moon but it looked like the same old yellow to me. But it is stunning all the same. I went out and looked after it had risen and it was silvery white, but not blue. Oh well, it is always great to meditate on God’s creation whatever the color.

A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
2 From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:1-5

Good advice


“Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you . . . remember that the lives of others are not your business. They are their business. They are God’s business . . . even your own life is not your business. It also is God’s business. Leave it to God. It is an astonishing thought. It can become a life-transforming thought . . . unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy . . . What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort . . . than being able from time to time to stop that chatter . . . ”
— Frederick Buechner (Telling Secrets)

This is good advice and the closest I will come to making any kind of a New Year’s resolution. I know better. No sooner do I put pressure on myself to do what I should already be doing that I fail miserably within a few weeks. The best thing I can come up with for 2010 is to keep doing the same things I did in 2009 but lean on God even more and myself even less. The best way to keep myself honest is to keep the Word close at hand. It shows my utter failure to do anything at all of eternal value in my own power. And it also shows that the giants of the faith had the same stuggles that I have. That makes me feel a bit better.

So today, and hopefully tomorrow I will get up and start all over again with a spirit of thanksgiving regardless of what is going on in my life, knowing that each day, each breath, is a precious gift from You, God. Thank you for the compass of Your Word and ones you have placed in my life to straighten me out when I need a bump on the head.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:22-25

Miracles in the Mundane


I have had the blahs the past two days. It is grey out which isn’t usual for us in Arizona. I have wanted to hole up and do nothing except grab a blanket and read. I have contemplated taking down the decorations but no far have had no motivation to do it. Company is gone, and I need to think about cleaning house, making Dr. and Dental appointments, and moving onward with the routine of life.

Sometimes in the afterglow of celebrations, returning to the routine can feel somewhat mundane. But it is in these times especially that our faith becomes real; that in spite of the blahs, we get up, get moving, start the day, do what needs to be done. That is when the real miracle happens and the mundane becomes the miracle itself because God reveals Himself to us in it.

Each day becomes a celebration all over again because God is placed squarely back on the throne of our lives. Yes, He lives. He is truly God with us, Immanuel. I think of how Peter must have felt when He thought Jesus was gone forever. All hopes dashed, dreams crushed in the dust. He did the one thing that always gave him comfort, he went fishing.

John 21:1-4
Jesus Appears at the Sea of Galilee:
After these things Jesus manifested Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and He manifested Himself in this way. Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing. But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Can you imagine the joy Peter must have felt when he realized who it was on shore cooking breakfast for him? That is how God works, just when you think He is gone forever He shows up and produces a miracle in the mundane!

An invitation

Photo by Ben James
You’re invited!
To: The wedding supper of the Lamb
Date: Sometime in the future
Dress: Come as you are, clothed in righteousness
Time: For all eternity
Guest list: All who accept the invitation
Then I heard the sound of massed choirs, the sound of a mighty cataract, the sound of strong thunder:
Hallelujah!
The Master reigns,
our God, the Sovereign-Strong!
Let us celebrate, let us rejoice,
let us give him the glory!
The Marriage of the Lamb has come;
his Wife has made herself ready.
She was given a bridal gown
of bright and shining linen.
The linen is the righteousness of the saints.
The Angel said to me, “Write this: ‘Blessed are those invited to the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.'” He added, “These are the true words of God!” Revelation 19:6-9
Jesus said:
“Don’t let this throw you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home. If that weren’t so, would I have told you that I’m on my way to get a room ready for you? And if I’m on my way to get your room ready, I’ll come back and get you so you can live where I live. And you already know the road I’m taking.” John 14:1-4

All we have to do is accept the invitation…..Counting my blessings today with thoughts of both earthly and heavenly homes.
A place of no tears, where sorrow and sighing are no more
Eternal light
Squeaky floors and screen doors
No more sadness, no more goodbyes
A tea pot on the stove
Reassuring hum of refrigerator
Shoes by the door
Books, books and more books
A river of life that runs right through the middle
Worn Bible
A barrel of firewood
Rustling grocery sacks
Car tires announcing arrival
The most beautiful music you could ever imagine
Squeak of ironing board
Eternal conversations with God
and loved ones
This makes #186 toward 1000 and beyond,
holy experience

Something we can all do….


We all pray whether we think of it as praying or not. The odd silence we fall into when something very beautiful is happening, or something very good or very bad. The ah-h-h-h! that sometimes floats up out of us as out of a Fourth of July crowd when the skyrocket bursts over the water. The stammer of pain at somebody else’s pain. The stammer of joy at somebody else’s joy. Whatever words or sounds we use for sighing with over our own lives. These are all prayers in their way. These are all spoken not just to ourselves but to something even more familiar than ourselves and even more strange than the world.
By Frederick Buechner

Prayer……its something we can all do! At any time of the day, and He will hear.

Psalm 5:3
My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct my prayer to You, and I will look up.

“Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God may open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; in order that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak.” Colossians 4:2-4

Camp stories


I have actually seen bears sit at tables like this. One time in Yosemite I actually saw one open a full jar of mayonnaise, proceed to lick it clean and then belch loudly before padding off the to next site. Another time a neighbor left their small dog tied to the car door overnight. The window was open a crack, just a crack mind you. The next morning they told us the dog had been so scared that he wedged himself into the car through that impossibly small crack. If they hadn’t told me, I would never have believed it! We nicknamed him Houdini after that.

Another time we had just set a beautiful table for breakfast, eggs, bacon, pancakes, the whole 9 yards. No sooner had we put the first forkful into our mouths we hear shouts of, “Bear, bear!” echoing throughout the camp. We looked up to see a good sized one trotting right towards us. I guess the human fear was overridden by the smell of bacon and maple syrup. It was every man (and child) for himself, as we all ran in different directions. He proceeded to clear the table of everything, including us.

In their latter days of camping my Mom had taken to sleeping with a scissors close by her bed, “In case I need to cut my way out the back when the bear comes in.” I guess she was assuming that the bear would automatically use decorum and come in through the front flap. Ever tried to cut into heavy duty canvas? I guess with the presence of adrenalin and fear anything is possible. Just ask Houdini dog.

This picture brought back some good memories of camping in my youth.