New every morning

It always amazes me, that we can feel……have…..know, the power of the resurrection each new morning. I didn’t feel very resurrected this morning at all, when I climbed into my sweats and went out to pray in the half light. But by the time I came out? I was a new creation. And once again I felt Easter. Each day somehow we get the strength to get up and do it all over again.

That’s the power of the resurrection, the power of the cross, the power of the empty tomb! Hallelujah……

I offer this poem to you this morning…….It moved me:

Psalm by Thomas Merton

When no one listens to the quiet trees,

when no one notices the sun in the pool

When no one feels the first drop of rain

Or sees the last star

Or hails the first morning

Of a giant world

Where peace begins and rages end:

One bird sits still

Watching the work of God:

one turning leaf,

two falling blossoms,

Ten circles upon the pond……..

from Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander…..full poem available there.

Random Thoughts on a Saturday

 

It’s been a long week. I am still lamenting the absence of turkey leftovers in the fridge. I could just taste it….mayo, big chunks of meat, dressing and a bit of cranberry and a liberal amount of salt piled on bread….Mmmm. I just may have to do a little turkey on my upcoming days off.

Yesterday the day just dragged out mercilessly. I finally crept out to my car at around 11 and put the seat back to catch a cap nap, but I couldn’t get comfortable. I crawled in my small back seat and with bent knees I arranged myself in a somewhat sleepworthy position. There in the back seat a memory of a long ago time came back and I wasn’t expecting it. No one was more surprised that I was when the tears slid down……

When my brother and I were small, a Volkswagen bug was our family mode of transportation. The seat folded down in the back and we loved it. Back then there were no DVDs to watch, just the hum of the 1967 Bug. We were together and it was a good time. We watched cows drift by and slept on and off and played Slugbug.

It was the nostalgia of it all that brought forth tears, that, and realizing how much time has gone by and how fast. The sorrow we have both already lived through, the death of both our spouses, what are the odds of that? And I prayed for my brother right there in that back seat, because he needs a touch from the Lord right now.

Don’t we all?

I got through the day and realized I had to brave Wal-Mart and it was still Black Friday. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be too bad. It wasn’t, but I still couldn’t wait to get out of there. After that I stopped by Panda to get  Joyce some food and she informed me when I came in the door that she needed a map to the house. And that it was after 6:30. I didn’t want to ask what prompted the map thing. I think she was glad to see me though.

I made her plate and told her it was on the table, and because the house was sealed up like a tomb, I ran around opening windows. It was around 80 in the house. After dashing in and out with groceries, and working up a sweat, I noticed her fixing herself another plate. Then she struggled with the tea because we usually make it for her and set it by her plate. Finally she was settled at her place and I did my other jobs.

The cats were still safely inside and I was thankful. She let Briggs out one day and my cats never go out of the house. He was dirty and a bit scared I think, but he came running when Elaine called. So that was making me nervous all day. One hop over the fence and out in the road and they would be goners.

I thought for the thousandth time, how in the world Elaine has done this for two years. Only God’s grace is how.

I settled in front of the computer for a while, and talked to dear friends via FB. And talked to my Mom on the phone and Elaine from Las Vegas. I got some texts from Heather about Christmas plans.

And God touched down once again through His people. I am blessed.

 

A post about nothing

This is a post about nothing. Kind of like when you go to pray and you feel you have nothing to pray about and you end up pouring your heart out to God anyway. Even the picture has nothing to do with this nothing post, I just like it. I can do that because it’s my blog.

I am gradually switching over from my Blogger format to WordPress, and so far I like it. I don’t know what I am doing but I like it. No doubt it will change….right now it is not very fancy. There are no tabs at the top to describe anything. Eventually there will be an “About Me” tab and an “About This Blog” tab and maybe a few more.

There will also be buttons for Pinterest and Facebook and Twitter. Maybe I will even get really, really brave and do a Facebook Writer’s Page, but so far I haven’t given myself permission to call myself that yet.

I am working on it.

So please give me suggestions and ideas, and thank you in advance for being patient. Sometimes I would like to just scrawl on a piece of paper what I write and post it to Face book that way. Sometimes I get stray thoughts like: If John the Baptist had a blog what would it be like.

Out here on the edge of the desert, I feel him close somehow. There are places here that are lonely and desolate, and sometimes when I am hiking (watching out for rattlesnakes) I almost think I can hear his voice carried across the wind.

Warning the world. He must look different now in Heaven, not like a wildman wearing camel’s hair. But sometimes I would like to get a glimpse of the original version just for a moment.

The fever pitch of Christmas is upon us. Soon the Saguaros will be decked out with white lights, and I do love to see that. And the crazier everyone gets, the more I will want to slow down and make it last.

One moment at a time.

And be ye thankful…..

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful……..

Today is a day to celebrate our blessings and lift our thanks to the Lord. Some of us will be gathered with loved ones around a beautiful table laden with all kinds of wonderful food. There will be laughter and noise and activity, and all the anticipation that accompanies a great meal. Others will be gathered where they really don’t want to be, eating someone else’s cooking when they would rather be eating their own. Let’s just be honest here.

I am very picky about my stuffing. I don’t want grey paste, I want something resembling the cornbread it once was, light and fluffy. And I don’t want giblets in it, thank you very much. And my turkey must be moist, not like the one in Christmas Vacation.

As much as we would all love to have that Norman Rockwell Thanksgiving Day, for most of us it won’t be a reality. And that’s okay. The thankfulness that beats in my heart today has nothing to do with a meal. It has to do with everything He has given me. Has given me, all my life.

I am spending the day at work because I opted for Christmas off.  

As much as I don’t want to admit it, there is always sadness attached to any holiday where I can’t have everyone I love in the same place at the same time. But there will be a dinner served here and I will enjoy it with some dear co-workers. All of us in the same boat. But all of us thankful.

My prayers will be with all those I love today. I pray that there will be peace and harmony and the Holy Spirit will do what He does best and bind together what has been broken in the past.

One thing that warms my heart today is that when my Mom was talking to my niece yesterday, she asked her what she remembers about Thanksgiving since she is not with them every year. I can see her expression and how she must have looked  when she said, “Eat…….” pause……and then she folded her hands and said thoughtfully,

“Pray” that’s when my heart seized up. She remembered.

Best answer she could have given.

Slowing Down

“Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway? But you say, ‘I can’t help it. I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’ Jeremiah 2:25

Every year it happens. Either I am driving on the freeway or in a store and there will be a moment when I make a conscious decision not to join in the madness that seems to be picking up tempo all around me.

My heart beat slows…. I take a step back. It happened this past weekend when I was driving on the freeway and I had to slam on my brakes because people were driving even crazier than usual. I realized the fever pitch had started. Speed bump number one.

Then at the Mall, it happened again when I saw Santa’s Village already set up taking pictures of the kids. I don’t remember them starting that early last year. I saw Santa sprawled spread eagle in the chair looking bored to tears while the “elves” were like circus barkers trolling for customers. Really? I asked the same question I ask myself each year.

This is Christmas?  Speed bump number two.

And last night I had the mute button all ready for when the decibel level went through the roof on the commercials.

Don’t get me wrong, nobody loves Christmas more than I do. I totally get into decorating the house and doing the baking, and I do love to buy gifts, but I don’t go crazy.  And I will deck the halls and love every minute of it. There will be a tree in every room. In my bedroom, the tabletop Victorian, and in the office, the Southwestern tree. And Elaine has an ocean tree, decorated with while lights, mermaids, and shells. 

And in the kitchen, a tiny tree with plastic snowmen and snowflakes and other Christmasey type things. Have to be careful with that one, the lights are old and very hot and if it fell next to something flammable it would be a tiki torch in no time.

And then there is the main tree, which is a pre-lit 8 foot we found in a Costco return line one year….I am always amazed when the lights come back on each year. One year I threw my back out trying to stuff it back in the storage container. The first two sections were no problem, it was the last (fat) section that did it.

Never again will I try to do that alone.

Advent is coming…..I feel it in my heart. I am slowing down. I will make peace with whatever doesn’t get done. I will not succumb to the alien gods of commercialism run rampant. I will however, enjoy every little moment God gives me before the calendar turns over yet again.

It will be over all too soon.

Holiday Speed Bumps

“Slow down. Take a deep breath. What’s the hurry? Why wear yourself out? Just what are you after anyway? But you say, ‘I can’t help it. I’m addicted to alien gods. I can’t quit.’ Jeremiah 2:25

Every year it happens. Either I am driving on the freeway or in a store and there will be a moment when I make a conscious decision not to join in the madness that seems to be picking up tempo all around me.

My heart beat slows…. I take a step back. It happened this past weekend when I was driving on the freeway and I had to slam on my brakes because people were driving even crazier than usual. I realized the fever pitch had started. Speed bump number one.

Then at the Mall, it happened again when I saw Santa’s Village already set up taking pictures of the kids. I don’t remember them starting that early last year. I saw Santa sprawled spread eagle in the chair looking bored to tears while the “elves” were like circus barkers trolling for customers. Really? I asked the same question I ask myself each year.

This is Christmas?  Speed bump number two.

And last night I had the mute button all ready for when the decibel level went through the roof on the commercials.

Don’t get me wrong, nobody loves Christmas more than I do. I totally get into decorating the house and doing the baking, and I do love to buy gifts, but I don’t go crazy.  And I will deck the halls and love every minute of it. There will be a tree in every room. In my bedroom, the tabletop Victorian, and in the office, the Southwestern tree. And Elaine has an ocean tree, decorated with while lights, mermaids, and shells. 

And in the kitchen, a tiny tree with plastic snowmen and snowflakes and other Christmasey type things. Have to be careful with that one, the lights are old and very hot and if it fell next to something flammable it would be a tiki torch in no time.

And then there is the main tree, which is a pre-lit 8 foot we found in a Costco return line one year….I am always amazed when the lights come back on each year. One year I threw my back out trying to stuff it back in the storage container. The first two sections were no problem, it was the last (fat) section that did it.

Never again will I try to do that alone.

Advent is coming…..I feel it in my heart. I am slowing down. I will make peace with whatever doesn’t get done. I will not succumb to the alien gods of commercialism run rampant. I will however, enjoy every little moment God gives me before the calendar turns over yet again.

It will be over all too soon.

Gratitude as a way of thinking

 

“The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.” Psalm 121:8

As I went about from window to window the other night closing the house up, my heart was seized with gratitude…..of having a home to come to, a warm place and a refuge from the noisy world. “Why me?” I thought, “when so many others have no home, no place to go?” Safety for them is a far-off dream, something other people have.

I could have been born any place at all but I was born here in America. The land of blessing.

It’s so easy to be Thankful when things are going well, but how thankful am I when things aren’t?

Gratitude, as I have learned, is more than simply feeling grateful, it’s a way of thinking. That no matter what happens, there is a reason for it because when we have God, we still have everything.

And it doesn’t mean you are doing a happy dance when things are falling apart around you. It means that you know deep inside who is ultimately in control and that you trust in His love because He has already saved your life, past present and future.

And when that terrible thing happened He wasn’t looking the other way.

And if you want to hear the best answer to a question I have heard so many people ask when prayers don’t go their way? You really need to go here and read this gem, by Duane Scott.

The thing that causes hearts to go darker than anything else is Lack of gratitude……..”For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21<sup class="crossreference" value="(A)”>

And today, I am also linking up with Ann at Holy Experience because she is the one that actually got me started with writing my gratitude down on paper and teaching me a new way to see.

Grateful for my home each and every day…….and that I have a job so I can help others…..for laughter in church…..friends at work who are like lights in the darkness……fixed cars that run like tops……thankful the driver behind me the other night was paying attention when the whole freeway stopped……formerly unknown people who I now count as dear friends thanks to FB, yes, FB…..pumpkin pie for breakfast……steaming cups of comfort to wrap hands around….being totally lazy on a day off…..a great day yesterday. #945-956

And for a great way you can build hope for children in Haiti, click on the Help One Now button on my sidebar, where just a little can go a long way. Blessings my friends, Lori

God in the Silence

 
 
 
 
Sometimes everything quiets down and we step out into the freshly laundered world, gingerly so as not to break the silence because we know it’s sacred……
 
Sometimes, we get the grace to see everything as new as when it was first created.
And in that sacred silence that is part of the eternal, we feel the pulse of life.
 
He gives us the same wonder He feels.
 
Heaven and earth meet, and it is peace.
 
God lifts the veil.
 
 
The woods are lovely, dark and deep and I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep……Robert Frost
 
Photos by Carolyn Fulton
 

The Blessing

 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” And He laid His hands on them and departed from there. Matthew 19:13-15
“I am doing a new thing with Lauryn now before she goes to her class,” my Mom said. “I lay my hands on her and pray a little blessing.” She saw someone do this on one of her Sunday morning shows. “I thought, why not do it for her.” So now right before she slings on her backpack and heads off to join her friends, my Mom holds both hands on a very fidgety child and says:
“The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.”
She went on to say that the first time she did it, she was wiggling around a lot, wondering what she was doing. “But now,” she says, “She expects it, and I think she likes it a little.” I verified this with my own eyes when I was there. She got this little mischievous smile that I caught on camera right after the prayer.
What a blessing to have a Grandma who prays for you………..and the laying on of hands? The Bible encourages it.
My Mom paused in her activity and said……..”Do you remember how you and I prayed before school by the fire?” Of course I do. I told her I blogged about probably more than once, and I know I have thanked her more than once too.
How could I ever forget those times? Just she and I in the warm glow of the firelight. She praying for a very unhappy teen aged daughter because she just didn’t know what else to do. I can still hear how she sounded, and feel her work-worn hands of love in mine. It makes me want to cry for the gratitude of her.
And it’s not like you are really praying for safety, because things do happen, despite the prayers before going out. It’s more like a release. It’s a way of saying:
I give you to the Lord, and no matter what happens, we will be okay.
And we will.
For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6,7

Why I took a break, and why I’m back

Sometimes the blogging world gets noisy. And sometimes you even forget why you blog. And you go to a post where you feel you have held your heart out to the world…painfully so, and you get no comments. And you are disappointed. Even though you know you aren’t writing for:
Accolades……Comments……Validation…..and those are all good things, that was never my motivation.
And you read all these wonderful other blogs, and you feel like your voice is just one more and it’s not quite as beautiful, as esthetically pleasing….as skillful, as creative….fill in the blank.
A scribbling on a blank piece of paper could save your life, if it is just what you need to hear in that moment. 
I have also been mad at the “blogger” platform. Different reasons. All of a sudden my playlist didn’t work. It won’t start playing right when you open my blog. I thought I had it set up to do so, but I still can’t get it to work right.
When I noticed myself scrolling to comments right away? That’s when I knew I had lost my way. I needed to remember Who I was blogging for and why I started in the first place.
Only three reasons, but they are big ones. God, the Word, and You the readers.
I have been going through some changes myself, and no doubt this blog will change with me. Change is a good thing. But the one thing about this blog that will never change is the message. It is a little four letter word but it means the world…..and it’s what the world needs right now:
Hope.
And I realized another thing. My little voice means something, and so does yours.
And after all, how many voices are too many for praise to the living God?
This year has been tough, and it still is. Going on two years of care taking and it takes its toll no doubt about it. But Elaine and I are still laughing despite the circumstances. And now I am going through some other things personally, physical changes which I have talked about here.
And even when the moods are incredibly dark? The amazing thing is that at unexpected moments I have this absurd joy. It just won’t stop, because God has me. And He has you too, no matter what else is going on in your life. Because each and every one of us has circumstances we have to deal with. Those will never go away.
But neither will God.
That, my friends is my main message. And this morning, as if to highlight what I was feeling, this song came on and it said: Let my life song sing to you.
Let my life song sing to you. And you and you.
And like those stones along the road to Jerusalem that would not be silent?  I will never ever stop praising Him, because He is worthy.