Friends & Funerals

March 15, 2020 Chocolate Castles3 Comments

You must be thinking by the title of this post that it will be a downer to read, but that is not my intention! Today sitting and honoring a dear lady that I truly did not know well but wanted to honor her life!

As I sat there and listened to the minister that did know her well, a sadness crept over me! Yes I realize that is normal for being at a funeral, but this was different. It was a sadness that made me want to change my outlook and my everyday living of how I see people! As we sat there and heard stories of Carols life and the person she truly was, why did I not know all this? The answer to that questions is truly very simple! I never took the time or trouble to find out! As it brought so many memories about my dad and how I never gave him a real chance to be involved in my life, it all came back that I have lived so many years with always just being drawn to folks that I felt were just like me. Loud, impulsive, excited about every adventure that comes, sometimes (and this is hard to admit) “surfacy”, always ready for fun and games, wanting to be involved in everything around! And those are my good qualities! Don’t think you are ready to hear about my bad ones! But looking back because Carol seemed quiet to me when I saw her at church, I figured that she would not enjoy a person like myself, because she appeared more serious that I am! Had I got to know her, I would have found that she was truly a lady who lived and loved adventure! She ran marathons, loved the beach, loved to travel and did so quite often! She was a nurse and loved children and worked in the children’s dept at church for years! She went up in a hot air balloon! But most of all, she was a sweet servant to her precious family and loved the Lord! kIn fact, it was her kindness and faithfulness that won her husband to the Lord, just by watching how she lived. Why is it that because others may seem different than us, we tend to think that we don’t need to take the time to really know them! We are content with passing by with a simple hi and how are you and always gather to the friends who we have already connected! Maybe the quiet one in the corner is content to not have to be the center of attention, but is still quite entertaining, if given the opportunity.

This was our morning devotion this morning and seems so reverent to what I am trying to say.

*taken from The Passion Code by O.S. Hawkins

“Only “one of them returned” Luke 17:15 in thanksgiving. This leper, like the others, had a family to get back to, a business to tend to, but something was more pressing. We are not told his name. He belongs to that vast throng who live their beautiful lives and preform their selfess deeds in often anonymous ways. We may not know his name, but he is shouting to us today. “get back to Jesus. Be grateful. Give thanks for all He has done for you.”

This scripture and devotion portrays the life that Carol lived. She lived in purpose. To serve, give thanks for God’s goodness and by her actions and life, shouted to so many lives, “get back to Jesus. Be grateful and give thanks for all He has done for you.”

Carol, It is my regret that I did not get to know you better. But will one day walk the streets of gold with you and will then thank you for living for Your King and Savior. I bet you have already heard Him tell you, “well done, good and faithful servant.”

In The Belly of A Whale

October 4, 2019 Chocolate Castles4 Comments

October, glorious October when everywhere we look there are pumpkins around every corner. Fall….the most wonderful time of the year. My oldest son called from New York this morning, where they have gone to attend a wedding. As he began to describe the beautiful leaves that were changing and how the cool air was just so refreshing, it was easy to remember that soon, we, here in Texas will finally get to enjoy that most wonderful cooler air and the feel of Fall.

When Randy (oops, sorry, Peter Pumpkin and I are known as Peter and Penelope Pumpkin during this time of the year) aka, Peter and I began to realize that our travel time for 2019 was drawing to a close back in July and it was time to settle down here in Dallas, we had been praying about the church we would be attending, once we were here. In our minds, we knew that the church where we had belonged for 12 years was probably not an option as we were living in a totally different area of Dallas now. So we began to visit the churches around our new location. There were four churches which we felt would be possibilities. Like everyone, we had a checklist of things that were important to us. Did the church have Sunday School? Did it have a choir? Was it a church that preached that the Bible was the infallible Word of God and were they mission minded? Did they have a traditional service where there was a good mixture of hymns and praise songs?
Were the people friendly? As you can see, we certainly had a list of things that we had told God that was important to us. Why is it, when we are trying to find answers to our needs and questions, we tend to think that we need to tell the Lord what we need, as if He doesn’t know exactly what it is that we need?
As time went by, we had marked off a couple of churches that we did not feel drawn to or that just did not feel was doctrinally correct. But, we still had First Baptist Dallas which we had begun to visit. We loved everything about it. We loved the preaching that was truly so Biblically correct. They music was just amazing and the orchestra, do not even get me started on how this music major loved the beautiful music that was such a huge part of the worship service there. They had terrific Sunday Schools and it was not far from our home. One by one, we would check items off our mental check, each week we visited there. Each visit there we felt brought us closer to thinking that this would probably be the church we would grow old in. BUT God………..you would think that by this time in our lives, we would remember that sometimes our plans are just not lining up with God’s perfect plan for us. We think that just because we have found a place that seems “right”, it might not be what is right for us. This week, on FaceBook, a friend of mine posted a little slogan that has meant a lot to me the last couple of weeks’ Discernment is not the wisdom of knowing right from wrong, but the knowledge of knowing right from almost right.
Was there anything wrong with us making First Bapt Dallas our home church, no. Was it almost right as opposed to right? Well, here is how the Lord spoke to my heart Sunday, Sept 22nd.
We had gone to church that morning as we had the previous 3 Sundays at First Bapt. Wonderful sermon on Revelation and such amazing music. We left there on cloud Nine, and we talked in the car on the way home that we certainly loved the worship time there. But why were both of us not feeling like we should be there? We came home after having lunch and Randy laid down for a nap. This gave me a chance to work on my Bible Study lesson, which is a book on Elijah that I am attending on Wed mornings with a group of women. As I read about Elijah in 1 Kings 19:15-18 when God told him to go back the same way he had come,to fulfill some assignments God was going to use him for, these were the words that jumped off the page to me.
“Sometimes God moves us in new directions, but often He tells us to go back and stay the course. He sends us right back into the same group of people with fresh vision and purpose.” I began to weep. I sensed in my spirit that God was telling us to go back to Prestonwood, our home church before we had moved to California and Arizona. We truly had no intentions of going back there, when we knew we were moving back. It seemed illogical for us. It wasn’t close to where we were living. Why would the Lord call us back? Didn’t He know that it was 20 miles up the tollway? Didn’t He know that we wanted a church that was close by that we could drive our wheelchairs to as time went on? The church has so many new folks that have joined? Why would He ask us to go back? Had I, like Jonah, in the belly of a whale tried to run from God in fulfilling His purpose for us? Did we really think that we would know better than He where we should go?
When Randy woke up I shared how I felt that God has spoke to my heart about this and he agreed that the least we could do was go visit the next Sunday. So visit we did. What joy filled our souls. We left there excited and couldn’t wait for Wednesday night to get here so we could go back to the Wednesday night service they hold the first Wednesday of each month. So night before last, we attending that First Wed service. We got in the car and Randy looked at me and said, that was such a sweet service.” We knew in our hearts that we were being called back there. For what reason, we don’t know yet. But to see friends we have known for years and to just be loved on was such a great blessing.
As the Elijah study continues and I finish the book of lessons, this was in yesterdays study.*”Though we should always be open to new relationships and friendships, we should be careful to treasure the history we have with loyal friends.”
But God….we had prayed for months asking for direction. We knew He would be faithful to lead us and direct our paths. But we still tried to tell God what we thought best. You would think by this time in our lives, we would quit doing that. So thankful that those two little words, “but God” can change our perspective, our knowledge to know that He cares and is involved with the small and large details of our lives. But God…He will always lead us to not just to what is almost right, but what is perfectly right…every time we lean on Him and wait on Him to reveal His perfect plan.

* Elijah, Spiritual Stamina in Every Season by Melissa Spoelstra

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Spiritual Shelves

September 17, 2019September 17, 2019 Chocolate CastlesLeave a comment

Isa 43:1 “But now, thus says the Lord, he who created you, o Jacob, He who formed you, “Fear not, for Ihave redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
Matthew 6:30 “And if God cares so wonderfully for the lilies, that are here today and gone tomorrow, He will certainly care for you.

Yes, we have moved a lot. Yes, each move has shown me several different aspects of Who God is and how He delights to give good things to us.
This morning, as I was making breakfast, I happened to just glance over to the shelves which are in our kitchen. When we were in Italy and had begun to look for a place to live, through the internet, we knew the area we hoped to be in. Because we were dependent upon some friends of ours to check out any place that looked like it might be a possibility, we began the search, knowing that if this was where we were to be, God would provide a place. And that He did. We signed the papers via computer after Jack and Dena went and walked us through this place, via Face Time so we could see it (other than just the pictures on the web site) before making a final decision.

We have learned that from each move, we learn certain things to be sure to look for. Actually, some of the places where we lived for a month at a time overseas, reminded me of certain “necessities” such as a garbage disposal or dishwasher or washer/dryer hook ups, (which some of the places we stayed did not have them) that we should always be sure of before deciding. Realizing that most places now have these conveniences, automatically,I didn’t think too much about asking about laundry rooms or microwaves. The area we were interested in was built in the 50’s and 60’s and not your typical new Texas house with large closets or modern kitchens. They have large rooms and lots of character, but not all have built in microwaves or private laundry facilities in each condo. However, ours did have the laundry hookups…but…they were in the kitchen. Never noticed that when we were looking at it on FaceTime. My trade off is I have double ovens, which is actually more important to me than having a separate laundry room. In fact, I have got use to them in the kitchen and used them as extra counter space when needing a place to let dough rise, or cookies cool that leaves me my counter space by the sink. All this to say, that this morning, as I passed by the washer and dryer, as I glanced up at the shelves above them and the shelves opposite them by the fridge, I just stopped for a minute and realized that God is just so precious. Because I am a junkaholic and love to keep and display items which have become so special to me, I love having spaces to put out these different things that have special memories to me. Yes, we have scaled down our living space the last 3 moves which has forced me to “reduce and refine” but there are certain items which are near and dear to my heart that I keep until the kids back up a dumpster when we are gone and throw away everything that didn’t come from Crate & Barrel or Ikea. But that’s for another story.
As I looked at the items sitting on the shelves, I began to think back over some of these and how each one has been such a great reminder of God’s love and provision. He is so good to give us things that might seem so small to others, when in fact, these “small” little blessings are just a great reminder on days when we are in need of remembering how faithful He truly is. I didn’t even think to add “extra space” to exhibit important things to my list of things to ask Him for when we were moving here. But, because He does know our names and the desires of our hearts, we can always trust His heart to know that He wants to give us good things, even when we sometimes don’t think to ask Him.
Today, as I sat down to finish my lesson for tomorrows Bible Study, the author ask us to think of a time, when we sensed God’s presence this week. My answer was…this morning as I looked up at the shelves and could sense Him telling me that He loves me and He knows me by name. AND…He knows I needed shelves so I could have a place to see my sweet memories! That’s our God and He is a Great God. May I always remember that in times of difficulties or circumstances which might tempt me to forget that.