Tag: Family Devotions

Daily Thoughts

Veterans Day Plus One

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Yesterday was a day of reflection and gratefulness. As I scroll down on all the post from FaceBook and see everyone give honor and thankfulness to those who served, I can’t help but think of something that continues to fill my mind. Yes, I am most grateful for each and every person who has served in our military and sacrificed so very much, sometimes even their lives. But as I get older, there is something that just fills my heart with wonder. As most of you who read my blog know, I never got to meet my biological dad. He and my mom never married and she had given him instructions to stay out of her life and not to try to even contact her or me, when she learned that he was also the father of another baby that was due to be born around the same time as she would give birth to me. Yes, I am very grateful that she chose to keep me and she loved me and married a man who adopted me and loved me as his own. But being an only child, it becomes such a dream to meet someone that is related to me. My biological dad was named Eugene Gaylord Gipson, known also as Jiggs, from Peru, Indiana. He had four sons and two other daughters. From his obit, I learned that he served as a US Navy veteran in WW2 and was on the USS Wisconsin. My mom always carried around one picture of him and had given it to me years ago so I would know what he looked like. He owned a Tavern, called the Jockey Club in Indiana, after retiring from the military. He died in 1973, I have heard from cancer.

My adopted father, Carl Roland Michaels, served in the Navy, in San Diego until being discharged due to scarlet fever. He married my mom when I was 8 months old and raised me, like I said earlier, as if I were his own. My mom and dad were actively involved in church, serving as youth leaders, then teaching Sunday School, sang in the choir and allowed so many different people, who needed a place to live, in their home. Did they have a great marriage? No, not really. But they did, in their own way, love each other and they did love the Lord. They taught me what serving others looked like so very well. At night, I would walk by their bedroom and see them both kneeling by their beds, praying after reading their Bible. We went to church each week, not out of duty, but out of honor and respect for God. They taught me that the best way to love God was to love others. I remember my mom always saying, to have real JOY, put Jesus First, Other’s Second and Yourself last. My mom struggled with depression and with some anger all of her life. But through those struggles, she always depended on God for provision and for strength. My poor dad seemed to catch the blunt of her anger so many times. But through it all, he still loved her. I have often thought about how different my life might have been had I known my bio dad. God always knows what is best for us and because my mom had a priority to marry someone who would be a good dad, I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home.

The purpose in me writing about this is that maybe you are like me and never met your real mom or dad. Maybe you did not have a family that was the perfect Leave It To Beaver family. But God……He who sacrificed His Son that we might live and live abundantly. Will your life be perfect, because you are a Christian? Of course not. But you will have someone who walks through the valleys of life with you. He will give you strength and peace and joy that the world cannot give you. This is not about joining a church. This is not about a religion. This is about giving your heart to Jesus, who loves you as His own. We all can be adopted into the family of God, no matter who your parents are.

I heard on the radio yesterday to ask yourself every day this questions:

“At the end of the day, what is one thing I did today that I did because I am a Christian, that I would not have done otherwise?” Is there anything that I did that would point someone to Jesus? That is what I am going to begin doing. It helps me keep my eyes on what they should be on…..Jesus Christ.

I might not ever meet any of my biological family members this side of heaven. But I do know that my Father in Heaven loves me and cares for me and will one day say, “welcome home dear child, you are mine and I love you.” What better words could we hope to hear?

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River of Blessing

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What a joy it was to visit my daughter and her family last week in Phoenix, AZ. Yes, it was very hot. But the times of laughter and just being with them after 5 months of not seeing them was such a delight. As we drove around with the younger boys (ages 8 & 11) in the back seat, they ask their mom, Jodi (my daughter) if we could listen to a couple of comedians who we have always enjoyed listening to. One is Brian Regan. He is one of those who just makes me laugh by looking at him when he is delivering his comedy routine. The boys also love listening to him. So as we drove around trying to find a restaurant that didn’t have an hour and a half wait, we listened and laughed. In fact, we were laughing so hard, we were almost crying. Our stomachs hurt, not from hunger, but from laughing. At dinner on Tues night with the whole family, we began to reminisce about when Caleb was born. We were there celebrating Calebs’ 11th birthday that night and as we began to think back about how we thought the first baby the nurse brought out was Caleb and we were all oohing and crying at how precious he was, only to find out that wasn’t Caleb at all, but someone else’s baby, we began to laugh, thinking back about that day. In fact, when the waiter came over several times, he told us, “every time I come back to your table, ya’ll are laughing hysterically” And we were. It was just one of those special times when everyone was in a joyful mood and everything seemed funny. Laughter is truly good for the soul. My last night there, I told Jodi, if laughter keeps a person from getting sick, I probably won’t be sick for the rest of my life, I had laughed so much. But this story is not complete until I tell about the river trip we made on Friday. It just was a reminder of what God wants from us….our trust.

As we were driving to the river, I began to ask Jodi all sorts of questions. I had never been on this river; much less ever thought about paddle boarding. At 70 years old, my idea of adventure is, well, not standing on a paddle board in the middle of the river, trying to balance so as not to fall off and then not be able to get back on the board. But as we drove, the questions increased. What if I did fall? What if I couldn’t get back up on the board? Would I be able to go the 6 miles that we would be paddling? Were there rapids, and if so how would I go over them without falling? Were there snakes in the river? What if I didn’t paddle well and couldn’t go in the right direction? What if I couldn’t stand up or sit on this board for 2-3 hours? On and on the questions flowed. Jodi kept assuring me that, “mom, I promise you, once you are there you will see that there is no need for you to be concerned.” Well, I could trust her or I could continue to allow the thoughts that kept creeping up in my mind, keep me from enjoying the moment. As soon as we arrived, the lady who was going to bring an extra paddle board, ended up bringing a huge float for me instead of the paddle board. So that took care of so many worries. It would allow me to just float behind them and I didn’t even have to paddle at all. All I had to do was sit back and relax and enjoy the trip. My float was actually tied to Jodi’s paddle board and she would be the one who would navigate us through the river. All I had to do was trust her to get us to the point of where we would end this wonderful trip and trust that she knew when to take us up out of the river. There were several places that had exit signs, but she knew where the car was and where we needed to be.
This is what I thought about this morning as I read Isaiah 41:18-20 “I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. In the deserts they will find pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the dry, parched land. I will plant trees-cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, fir and pine-on barren land. Everyone will see this miracle and understand that it is the Lord, the Holy One of Isreal, who did it.”
This scripture brought back to my mind the beauty of what i saw last week, as I floated for 6 miles down the Salt River. Indeed, all I had to do was trust in the one that was caring for me that day. I didn’t have to worry about any of the concerns that I had had. But just like last Friday, isn’t that what the Lord wants for us every day of our lives? He welcomes our questions. He understands our concerns. BUT…..He wants us to trust Him to be our guide “down this river of life” that sometimes has fast currents, sometimes has “rapids” and rocks which are hard to walk over. No, he doesn’t promise us that we won’t go through these hard times in our lives, but He does promise us that He will be with us and guide us thorough. He is and always will be our Lord, our protector, our Shield. Isa 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Yes, the unknown adventure can cause some worrisome thoughts. Just like the our futures are unknown. But isn’t it wonderful that just like being able to trust my daughter who has been on that Salt River more times that she can count, I can trust her to get me to where I needed to be; AND I can always trust in the God who created me and knows exactly how to guide me to get me to where I need to be…in his plan for His glory.

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor

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Here we are in week 7 of quarantine in 2020. So many of us are cooking and baking things we had never attempted before. But because we have time on our hands, we are trying new things.
Over the weekend, we were driving around looking at houses. We love to do. We have moved so many times due to work or just because packing and unpacking is a great way to burn calories, we have always just loved going to open houses and driving through different neighborhoods. Since the stores are not yet open, looking at houses, gets us out of this place and gets us out in the sunshine. As we drove through old neighborhoods where we use to live and some of where we might be interested when this lease is up, we noticed something spectacular.
In every neighborhood we drove, people were sitting out side in lawn chairs visiting with either family or neighbors. It was a sight to behold. It made me almost tear up. That was one thing I loved about living in CA. People sat out and talked to you as you would walk by. I have missed that so much. That is one thing that I hope doesn’t revert back to “normal”. It would be so great if we realize how much we have enjoyed meeting the neighbors and visiting with others on our streets. Even our kids yesterday when we drove to drop off cookies, admitted that they had enjoyed being outside more and had actually made friends with neighbors they had never met. That just thrills my soul. After all, how can we be a light to others when we don’t take the time to meet them? How can we show the Hope that is ours, when all we do is wave to people when we go to pick up our mail? Well, this post began as a post to give a recipe that is from my Italian neighbor back in the 70’s, but it has become a post of, like Gomer Pyle would say, “just flat neighborly” of ya!
I remember back in the 70’s, my next door friend, Dene and I would sit outside in chairs and our kids would go between her house and ours and run and play until we each had to go in to make dinner. In fact, because her husband owned a barbecue restaurant, she would sometimes call her hubby and tell him to bring enough barbecue for them and for us because we had stayed outside a little long to let the kids play and was too late to go make something for dinner. That was always a treat. The Italian neighbor lived on the other side of Dene and when she would come home from work, she would walk over, and visit with us. It was she (Cam) who taught me so much about cooking and to this day, any time I make spaghetti and meatballs or Chocolate Chip Pound cake, or Pecan Pie (her recipe called for a tablespoon of vinegar, which I had never seen in a pecan pie recipe before), I think of Cam and the friendship that lasted for so many years. It was such a blessing to grow up in a time when neighbors knew each other. Of course, there were always some “weird” or grouchy ones, but of course, that always gave us something to talk about. But our kids were so so blessed to have grown up playing ball in the front yard, and riding their hot wheels up and down the sidewalks. Knowing that when it was dark, or your mom yelled out the door, it was time to come home. They were great growing up years. This last 7 weeks, may we realize that maybe our kids and grandkids need those kinds of days. In fact, we, as adults, need these types of days. When we learn that “just call on me brother” to “lean on me, when you’re not strong, and I’ll help you carry on”. Oh may that not be forgotten in these days of learning just what we are made of and for.

It is my prayer that we don’t go back to the old “drive in your garage, close the door and go inside way of life” Let’s continue to “love thy neighbor as thyself” and care for each other. May we never forget after life gets busy,that this time has shown us just how lovely and loving our neighbors can be. We do need each other. We were not meant to live a life of solitude. Begin now to commit to staying connected to the people you have met during this time of difficulty.

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Freely Give

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Not sure exactly how to begin this post. It is 1:00 a.m. and I’m awake. It’s so very interesting when I know the Lord is nudging me to write. Sometimes,  I’m in the middle of something and I know that the feeling won’t go away until I stop and write. Then again, in the middle of the night when I have these thoughts that I know will become a story and they just won’t allow me to sleep until I get up and go write. This is one of those times.

All of us these last 40 days or so, are doing some soul searching. We have been given the task of accepting some new difficulties that we have not had before. There seems to be so many people who are asking lots of questions about God. They have lost their joy, possibly their jobs, or people who they love, due to the virus. What people depended on has maybe been stripped from them, leaving them wondering about a lot of things. Were we depending on activities that are not there right now? Was it our jobs that gave us security, or hope?  Was being able to go sit in a church building what brought us peace that we all long for? Is God present during these difficult times? Does He truly care what is going on in my life and if so, why does He allow things like this to happen? So many questions and “inquiring minds want to know” all the answers. Well, I don’t have all the answers, but this I do know. God is here and He loves you and me.. We hear folks say, “well, I don’t like religion” or “oh, I believe there is something bigger out there” or even “why do I need God, I’m in control of my life”

God is real and He wants a personal relationship with you.  When this all began, we, as older adults began to hear about all the things we could not do, or should not be doing. It was then that I began to think, “what can I do then to serve someone”. And that is where this story begins.

On FB I begin to read all the comments from some of the moms who had school age children and how frustrated they were at trying to do homeschooling and cook 3 meals a day and everything that goes along with this pandemic. The thought that maybe I could cook and take some meals to some of these moms would not leave me. When I mentioned this to our Sunday School class women, some of them got on board and said they would love to take a meal a week to a young mom, some of who were still trying to work while they had kids at home and still trying to home school.  So we all received names that we could connect with and take them a meal each week. We were so excited to be able to do this.

Then last week, a couple of young moms had emailed or texted me and began asking for some recipes that would be easy to make. One of the young moms, who has kids at home and is, like so many of you, home schooling, different age children, had ask me if I still sold the frozen casseroles I use to sell.  I knew that if I were one of those moms who was trying to cook 21 meals every week, plus home school children and keep up with daily chores of running the house, I would be so grateful to have some help with cooking. So yes, I would be glad to make her some casseroles for her to buy.  We agreed about how many she wanted and I began to plan what casseroles I would make for her. That night when trying to sleep, I just felt once again, this stirring in my heart. I sat up and thought about what I had said to her, that I would “sell” her the casseroles. That really bothered me for some reason. I began to pray and ask the Lord should I just give her the casseroles, instead of having her pay? “Lord, You know that we are already taking some meals to others right now and this would just be more food that I (yes, I still argue with Him sometimes when I don’t want extra responsibilities) would need to worry about getting and making more grocery orders and trying to find meat (which I had not been able to get in the last two grocery orders). Well, knowing the Lord would answer my questions in His timing, I finally fell back asleep. The following morning, I shared all my thoughts (can’t you just see Randy’s eyes rolling when I begin my stories of what has kept me up at night?) with Randy at breakfast and when I relayed my concerns about adding another person to our “meal delivery”,  and what if, once again, I was not able to get the meat that I had ordered? He looked at me and said, why don’t you just cook for her and give them the food instead of selling it to her? Well, Ms. Pious, as I like to call myself, told him that I had been up during the night and prayed and ask the Lord to tell me if that’s what He wanted me to do. (why don’t we as wives know that sometimes, the Lord speaks through our precious husbands and why don’t we just accept what they say to us?) But before Randy got up to go to his office (which is our 2nd bedroom right now), we had our morning devotion. As I picked up the book and began to read, I began to weep. The more I read, the more my heart just began to leap with joy. How does God do what He does? Because of time, I won’t quote the entire devotion, but the subject was about the different bodies of water in Israel. There is the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee has an inlet and an outlet and the Dead Sea is just that, Dead, only an inlet. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. The  devotion was this: (Taken from the Passion Code by O.S. Hawkins)

“So  it is with the vibrant believer who not only receives God’s fullness but also gives it away– and then, like the Sea of Galilee, is constantly being refilled with the Spirit. Let this remind you of these two very different bodies of water and of God’s desire for you to be like the Sea of Galilee, receiving His fullness and giving it away.”

And yes, the scripture of the day was Matthew 10:8 “Freely you have received, freely give.”

Well, you don’t have to tell me twice (ok, maybe He does with me) but I knew then that I was suppose to cook for this precious family a meal each week and “give it away”. And isn’t it just like the Lord, all the meat I had ordered this time, was in the order when I went to pick it up.

This story is not being written to tell you about me cooking for someone, but to show that the Lord does speak to us individually and He does want a personal relationship with us. He is not an absent God, nor does he expect us to live here without His love, His guidance or His protection. He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He lives, so we can face tomorrow.  He wants to be our strength, our hope, our all.

“On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

That is our promise from God, our God, who loves each of us personally!

 

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Through It All

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Well, if you are like us, you are probably about 7-9 days into being stuck in the house, oops, I mean, being blessed to be privileged with your precious husband, and/or kids/or both.  For some reason, when I got up this morning, the old song, sung by Ray Boltz but written by Andre Crouch, Through It All, was running through my mind:

‘I’ve had many tears and sorrows

I’ve had questions for tomorrow

There’re been times, I didn’t know right from wrong

But in every situation, God gave blessed consolation

That my trials come to only make me strong.

Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus I’ve learned to trust in God, Through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.

I’ve been to lots of places, and I’ve seen a lot of faces, There’ve been times I felt so all alone, but in my lonely hours, yes, those precious lonely hours, Jesus let me know that I was His own. Through it all, yes, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.’

This great song just keeps going through my mind as we wake again each day not knowing how long this trial and difficult time will last. But….we need to also remember that Joy Comes In the Morning!

This morning as i sat and watched GMA for a few minutes while drinking my Dr Pepper, it was just so sweet to see families who were coming together in ways that they had not done previously. As I sat there and watched, I was struck by the memories of years ago when my daughter came back from a very difficult time in our lives. She and I would sit and think about those hard years but also for what those hard years taught each of us. As she and I looked back at that time, we both, were thankful for the things we learned about each other and about relationships and the work that it takes to grow them and to allow each other grace. That was what I thought about this morning as I watched these precious families on TV. The laughter that was coming from the homes. The closeness and the togetherness that was so evident. Yes, we will all be so thankful when these hard and difficult days are behind us. But….may we come out on the other side being different people. People who are grateful for the little things, once again. People whose hearts are bent toward showing thankfulness and grace and enjoying others. For  awhile after 911 churches were filled and Bibles were being read. That didn’t last very long. My prayer is that this time, we will truly learn that the things we are experiencing are hard; but they are good in that it is teaching us to look through the eyes of others. To appreciate people and to share our hearts and God’s love and kindness to people.

Truly, may we never forget…….never!

Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in God!

 

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Artificial Light

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Isn’t it amazing how the Lord puts an idea in our hearts when we least expect it? This morning as I turned on a light that I  have turned on for the last 8 months each morning on my way to the kitchen, this thought immediately came to my mind….artificial light! Then walking into the kitchen, because that thought had clearly been given to me, I knew the Lord had put that little phrase in my mind, to then go and write this story.

When we were in Italy last summer, we began to look at places online. We knew where we wanted to live and so the search began. About once a week or more, I would go online to search out the possible places that would be available in July , back in Dallas, in our price range. Because we had friends who were living in the area where we wanted to be, they had told us that they would be on the look out for lease places which came up. One day, as I looked, the place where we are now living appeared on the search. Showing Randy the pictures of the place, it looked like something that we would love and we called our friend who not only had been looking here for us, but was also a realtor. Jack called us back and told us that he would contact the realtor and get the details. Well, from the pictures on line we saw that it was light and bright and had a great kitchen and a large living room. It was in our price range and we grabbed it. We were able to move right in when we moved back in July. The day we walked in to see it in person for the first time, we noticed that it wasn’t as light and bright as the pictures that we had seen on realtor.com. In fact, it was obvious that they had brought some professional lighting in to make the pictures look bright and sunny. In fact, the condo is in the corner of a building so it never gets direct sun in the living area, which causes the living room to be quite dark with only one corner window.  As we walked through the condo, I kept telling myself, ‘well, I can just use a lot of lamps and so the lack of windows won’t bother me.” The furniture arrived a few days later and we began to unpack. My son, Jamin, came over that same day and as he walked through, it was obvious that he didn’t like the place. That evening i texted him and told him I could tell he didn’t like it. He texted back to me, “mom, it’s not that I don’t like it, it is just that I know you and what a window person you are. You are not going to be happy in that dark house.” I assured him that I would just use all the little lamps that I have and always keep them on so it will be light. He told me that that was well and good, but I was still not going to like  not having windows and sun, like I had always been use to. Well, we had a two year lease that we had signed before seeing it in person and it was just going to have to be ok.

It is now 8 months down the road and I have to admit that it has been difficult to adjust to never seeing the sun out the living room window. The room is dark, in spite of the lamps. But it has also been a great reminder of so many times in my life that I have tried to substitute artificial sun for the real Son. When difficulties come, as they do, or circumstances arise that are beyond my control, what do I use for my strength, or my power? Am I looking to other things that try to grab my attention or stir my thoughts and affections off of the true “light”?  When days become monotonous or ordinary, what do I turn to? In these challenging days of trying to adjust to the new normal until this crisis passes us by, what is taking the Son’s place in our homes and lives?

As I look around this pretty dark room today, and with the rain, the 6 lamps that are turned on at this very moment, it is still very dark. But…..when my heart focuses on Him and I turn my thoughts to God, this room seems a little brighter to me. I take my focus off of me and turn it to Him and surrender my day and how I can reach out to others. Automatically, the room begins to lighten.

Isn’t it amazing how the true pure light of Christ can brighten up any corner of not just a room, but our hearts as well.  In this trying time, let’s keep our thoughts, our hearts and our minds on the true source of light…Jesus Christ. The dark days of confusion, fear and challenges will become a little brighter.

John 8:12 ” When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Lord, may I quit trying to fill my life with artificial light ,the things of this world that vie for our attention but look to the true source of light, Jesus Christ.  May my mind and heart stay on You and my mind be filled with “whatsoever things are pure, of good report and true” that I will think of these things each moment. Use me to share Your love and gospel to those who are hurting and needing  You. In Jesus Name, Amen

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Friends & Funerals

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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.”  

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Soul Shampoo

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TThis morning as I stepped into the shower, I happened to glance at once to the shampoo we had in the shower rack. At eye level, I noticed that of the two shampoos we had, both had words that caught my attention. On the VO5 bottle, the words, “refresh and renew” were on the label. On my shampoo, “Hair Food”. Why this morning did these words jump out at me? As I stood there and allowed the hot water to spill over me (and yes, it does take quite a lot of water to spill over me) it hit me why, today, that these words gave me so much thought.

As I thought back over the last few days, some of the Psalms came to mind. Scriptures that remind me that God wants to be the one who not only guards my soul, but wants to renew and refresh me each and every day. HE wants to be my Soul Food. The Great Shepard Who not only gave me life, but is able to keep me, to love me and protect me.

What is my first thoughts in the morning? What and who do I turn to when I need encouragement or wise counsel? Who do I rest in when trouble fills my soul? Is it my Creator, The God who gave up His Son that I might find eternal life? Where does my help, my joy and my strength come from?

What fills my mind these days? Do I look to God to guide me? So many questions began to fill my mind as I began to think about my day. Is He the first thing on my mind or is checking FaceBook? Do I begin to plan my day before asking the Lord how He wants to use me? Do i consider that He might have plans for me that I have to surrender my time and will to do His? Do I look to Him as the giver of the many blessings that pour into my life or do I just think that “it was just a great day” without giving thanks to Him for allowing the good things that do come my way?

It was such a wonderful feeling stepping out of the shower. Not only did I feel so very clean, but “renewed, refreshed” and had been reminded that not only did my hair need cleansing, but my soul needed that reminder this morning (as it does quite often) that God, the great King of Kings and Lord of all, is waiting and longing for me to look to him for all that I need to renew, refresh and feed my soul. He is the Great Shepard and lover of my soul!
Psalm 139:1,3,5,17,23 “O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me…You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest….you place your hand of blessing on my head…how precious are your thoughts about me, O God…Search me, O God and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts.”

Asa 121 “I look up to the mountains, does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let you stumble and fall,the one who watches over you will not sleep. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never tires and never sleeps. The lord himself watches over you!…The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

Isn’t it wonderful that our God, who loves us more than we can ever hope or imagine can talk to us through a shampoo bottle?

in the words of an old chorus “isn’t He wonderful, wonderful wonderful, Isn’t Jesus my Lord, wonderful? Eyes have seen, ears have heard, it’s recorded in God’s Word, Isn’t Jesus my Lord, Wonderful” Yes He is! Let that little chorus be in our hearts today, giving thanks and worship as we surrender this day to Him.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Spiritual Shelves

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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.

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Seasons of Change

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As I sit here looking out the window and waiting for my sweet husband to come back from talking to the listing agent, my mind is swirling around thinking about so many things. Once again, we are boxing up dishes and linens. Christmas Decorations and out of season clothes are being sorted as we tape up box after box. After we left for a month this summer to Texas and California, we came back with a dream of selling the house and heading to Italy for 3 months. Quickly we began to sort out different plans and decided that before Italy, we would love to go stay a while in Florida by our daughter and her family. Since they live clear across the good ole USA, we don’t get to see them as much as we would like, so we called Christi and started planning our adventure. We learned last night from a friend that the Villages are only an hour from our kids there in Florida so we might stay there and learn square dancing or alligator watching while Kenley is in school during the day.
When we arrived in Arizona, we didn’t think that we would ever get the opportunity to head back to Italy, especially for 3 months, but as these last two years have taught us, you never know the possibilities that will present themselves.
Sitting on the beach at Newport in July, we listened to the waves and enjoyed the cool sea breeze as we discussed what was going on in our hearts. Neither one of us are ready to just sit and wait to get old. We miss the adventures which use to tide us from one season to another. As we sat here one evening quickly answering the questions to Family Feud, Randy looked over at me and said, “ok, this is ridiculous, we need to go to Italy and get away from the TV”. So we got out all of our Italy maps and books and began to plan our escape.

It is exciting, but yet a little nerve wracking to think that I will be without all my baking pans and cute dish towels that go with every season. Gone will be all my Christmas decorations, including the 5 trees that light up my house. What will I tell my Southern friends who decorate each and every room with a different themed tree, when all I will have is a Christmas bracelet and necklace because all my “treasures” will be in storage.
Then Valentines, when I love to serve decorated sugar cookies on heart shaped plates. Oh no, Easter! What will my short term lease house look like without Easter bunnies and Easter themed plates? Do not get me started on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. All I know is I will have to buy a suitcase large enough to pack some Christmas, Valentine, St Patricks Day, and Easter decorations dish towels to use where ever we stay. As we planned our adventure, we realized that we need a box of clothes for winter, since we will be going to Dallas in January for a few days. We need clothes to go to Mexico with friends in January. Clothes for Florida for two months, then clothes for Italy. Im not sure, but I don’t think I remember seeing a Walmart in Italy. So am thinking of trying to find a continuing education class on how to pack a suitcase for all the different seasons.

As seasons of our lives change, we are finding out that our thoughts and desires change as well. Selling the house will be bittersweet. We have loved this house and have many great memories of having family and friends over for dinner. Randy and I also enjoyed a season of sitting out in the sunroom most mornings with coffee (well I had my Diet Dr Pepper, he had coffee) all the while having a morning devotion and would just sit and talk to each other. It was a different season of not being in a hurry to get someplace, but to simply sit and talk. I learned things about him that I did not know. He learned things about me that maybe he didn’t want to know. But we have met some precious folks here that mean so much to us already. As we pack and plan, we are praying that whatever God has planned for us in this new season, we will be ready to serve Him, no matter where He takes us, or returns us here.

Yes, Seasons change and locations change. One think that does not change is our desire to live and serve according to His purpose and plan for our lives. We learned a few years back never say exactly what we are going to do. God has a way of sometimes showing us that His plans are different from ours. We have learned that the hard way. So as we continue to box up another set of dishes, this thought will end this post today…..
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths” Proverbs 3:5-6