Tag: Religion

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Thanksgiving Memories

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It seems unreal that Thanksgiving is a week from Thursday. As I was sitting here looking through different magazines to see if there was a recipe which caught my eye to post, each recipe I read found made me remembering different Thanksgivings along with the pictures in my mind which kept coming with each one.
On FaceBook, there is Throw Back Thursday where people will post a picture from their past that has special meaning. Next Thursday, I’m certain that there will be many pictures posted on FB that shows family and friends sitting around the table with all types of delectable dishes. Sometimes, these pictures make me sit back and think, “my table never looks as good as those I see posted” or “that family looks like they have no problems sitting there with everyone smiling and laughing” We begin to compare our lives with theirs, even though we know nothing except what we see in the pictures.
This week, we will be going to California to see friends and celebrate a dear friends 80th birthday. This precious lady and her husband invited Randy and I to their home, when they barely knew us, when we moved to California back in 2010. She didn’t want us spending Thanksgiving alone our first year there. The memories I have of being in their home conjure up thoughts of being made to feel like a part of their family, even when we just met some of them that day. We sat around the table and ate foods that were not our traditional Thanksgiving foods, but it was the best dinner because of their hospitality. They taught us to play Hand & Foot after dinner, which is still one of our favorite card games.
Looking back over my pictures on my phone the other day, I found a picture of our last Thanksgiving in Dallas when Randy’s mom and dad were still with us. Thinking back about that has made me more aware of trying to make every meal with friends or family special as we never know what is around the bend.

Years ago, memories of Thanksgivings when the kids sat at the “kid” table putting black olives on the end of each finger and sticking peas up their nose to see if they could “blow” them out brings so many smiles to my heart. The laughter that came from the kids,when together with their cousins, was now, thinking back, a true Hallmark memory. Isn’t it funny how, at the time, we are so concerned if the kids are behaving and not really enjoying the things that bring so much laughter in later years.
Some years seem to be more about the food. The years when like Randy says are great, “the kids are all married, everyone has jobs and nobody is in jail.” That is his description of when people ask about our family. He thinks he is so funny.
One year Randy and I were cleaning up the kitchen after everyone left. We had had a houses full that year and there were people eating in the living room and the dining room. After we finished cleaning up, Randy told me that he would go and begin to turn out the lights in the living room and turn off the fireplace. In seconds, he comes around the corner and says, “Eric forgot his brother, Craig is in the living room, sound asleep in the lazy boy”. We quickly called the kids to turn around and come get the “left over guest”. Eric had parked in back and left through the garage so had forgot that he had also brought his brother. I can handle only one loud snorer in the house at one time! Hope they remember that they have 3 kids now and don’t leave them anywhere!
Then there are the years when there is a new family member or a new baby. Those years seem to be the ones which stick out in our minds. There may be years which a pinkie ring ended up inside the turkey or I forgot to thaw out the Sister Schubert Rolls.
When we hear the word Thanksgiving, we automatically think of turkey, dressing, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie.
This year, when we are gathered around the table I want to have different thoughts come to me. I hope that the words, grateful, blessed and contentment come to mind. Not just blessed to have family around us, but blessed to be a child of God. Blessed to have hope because of Jesus Christ who came to give us eternal life, if only we believe. Blessed to be a part of the family of God with friends who walk with us in this season of life. Blessed to have my own copy of a Bible, when so many in other parts of the world would give anything to have one. Blessed with joy and peace, because He gives a peace that the world cannot take away, no matter the circumstances going on all around us.
We are a blessed people and we owe God, the creator of all, to give Him our best and the first fruits of our lives. So in between telling the kids or grandkids to quit putting peas up their nose, or hurrying to take out the rolls from the oven before they burn, may we remember to turn our thoughts to the One who is the Giver of life and blessings.
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

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He Goeth Before Me

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This morning’s devotion brought back a memory of a poem that I saw years ago. As I was substitute teaching at First Bapt school Jr High in Dallas, TX, I was walking around the room looking over some of the students projects they were working on. As I stood behind a young lady, who was working on a poem, it was so powerful and spoke to my heart that I have remembered it all through the years. In todays devotion from Cheque Book of the Bank of Faith, it once again, came to my thoughts as I read the following:

“He goeth before you into Galilee, there shall ye see him, as he said until you.” Mark 16:7

“Where he appointed to meet his disciples, there he would be in due time. Jesus keeps his tryst. If he promises to meet us at the mercy seat, or in public worship, or in the ordinances, we may depend upon it that he will be there. We may wickedly stay away from the appointed meeting place, but he never does…
where two or three are met together in my name, there am I. He doesn’t say, “there will I be, but ” I am there already.”
Jesus is always first in fellowship. He goeth before you. His heart is with his people, his delight is in them, he is never slow to meet them. In all fellowship, he goeth before us.”

It was these words that brought back the poem, which I remember so vividly to this day. The young lady was writing a poem about a young man who was in a cafe, waiting for his fiancé. After a couple of hours passed without her showing up, the waitress ask him if he would like the check for his drink so he could leave. His response to her was, “oh no thank you, I”m sure she will be here, as she promised to meet me here today.” So he waited. Hours passed without a sign of her. Many attempts from the waitress to give him a check so he could leave always brought the same response, “oh no thank you, I will just wait, as she promised she would come and meet me.” At the end of the poem, the man in the poem was Jesus. The fiancé he was waiting for was you and I.
It brought tears to my eyes thinking about how many times had I promised the Lord I would meet with him in the morning and then got busy doing my own thing, and thinking, that maybe the day which dawned before me would slow down a bit and I would take a moment to sit down for a minute to read my Bible and pray. But then, it never happened.
Yet Jesus, God’s Son, has promised us that He will always be there waiting for us, as He has said in His Word. What is keeping you and I from meeting Him today? What is truly more important that meeting with the King of the Universe, our Creator? The answer to that question is nothing. Nothing should take priority over our meeting with our Lord, yet, then we wonder why He doesn’t speak to us. Where is God when we need Him? He is always there and will always meet us at our point of need, “he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.”
Before going into where ever your Galilee is, let’s take time to meet with Him that He would have a chance to speak to our hearts. He is the lover of our souls. “And we shall see him, for he promises to come to those who believe him, and to manifest himself to them. Rest assured that it will be so, for he does everything according to his word of promise…and be assured that to the end he will do for you as he said unto you.

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Tell Of His Wondrous Acts to Perform

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We are instructed in Psa 105, to “O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon His name; make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto Him, sing psalms unto him; talk ye of all His wondrous works.” When we pray asking the Lord to guide us, that is what we are suppose to do. To allow Him to guide us, not walk ahead of Him; but that is exactly what I have been doing.

When we moved to Arizona, we had spent many hours in prayer asking the Lord to lead us to the church home that He wanted us to be in service to Him. After visiting churches around the area, we found a church that had amazing preaching and people who were so very easy to love. Even though it was very different from the churches we have been members in both Texas and California, we felt that this church had great folks and great preaching, so we decided that this would become our church home. Each week, we would leave the service and get in the car and I would get teary eyed. Randy would take my hand and say, “I know this is not what we are used to, but churches out here are very different and I guess this is the best it’s going to be.” I know this is not the attitude that we should have, but I began to think that if we joined, maybe it would feel more like our “home church” and being a member would make us feel better about things. So I began to tell Randy that we should begin the church membership process. This is certainly not something that I am proud of, and is exactly why we are encouraged to allow the husband to be the head of the household. I could tell he was not feeling the same about joining, but after me continuing to say that “we need to do this”, he agreed and we went forward in preparing the church membership videos. The appointment was set to meet with one of the pastors and we went. The entire hour we met with this sweet young man, I felt a check in my spirit, but just decided that maybe it was because I was still trying to “make it happen”. So we joined. The two Sundays after joining, each week, we would leave the service and get in the car. Tears would fill my eyes, and we both knew that we had indeed got ahead of the Lord and was not in the place where we should be.

The week after joining, a friend called me to tell me that they felt that they had found their church home. She began to tell me about it and let me know that it had a traditional service and had Sunday School and a Women’s Ministry, which is something that has always been such a passion of mine. As she spoke, I remembered the whole past year of both Randy and I praying and asking the Lord to allow us to find a church which had Sunday School and a traditional service and a Women’s Ministry. Randy had heard the whole conversation because I had my phone on speaker phone. This was on a Thursday. Right then I decided that for once, (yes I do get ahead of God so many times) I would not even mention this to Randy, but to let him be the one who suggested that we attend Grace Community Church. Calling my BFF in Dallas, I began to relay the whole story to her when she spoke up and said, “Trudy do you not remember me mentioning Grace Community to you when you first moved there?” No I didn’t remember. She had heard about it from her daughter who lives in Scottsdale and had friends who attended Grace. The next Sunday morning, we got up and began to get ready for church when he quietly said, “what do you think about going to visit Grace Community this morning?” Quickly I responded, YES! So off we went. After the service, we walked out and got in the car and just looked at each other. As he looked over to me, I said, “what did you think? He told me that he loved it and we both said that it was a church we could see ourselves growing old in and serving” The next 3 weeks, we went back and have begun visiting Sunday School classes. But now the burden of telling our sweet friends who have been not only our small group leaders, but my ladies Bible study leader who invited us into their small group. We left for a couple of weeks for vacation and we ask friends in California to pray for us as we felt badly for now telling these folks who had become such sweet friends to us, that we would be leaving the church. But God….He truly goes way beyond our needs and answers prayers which still amaze! When I talked to Marilyn, she was just so sweet and kind and told me she totally understood. Then she told me a story. She said that as soon as she got my email explaining our story, she went in to tell her husband. It was then that he revealed to her that he had just received an email from a couple who had tried once before to get in their small group, but there wasn’t room. The man had written to Bob and had ask him if there was still no opening in their group, as their small group had disbanded and they were desperate to be in a small group. So us leaving allowed them to be able to invite this couple into theirs. All that happened on the very same day. A confirmation from the Lord that we were being called to a new place. So from this circumstance, several things were learned.
1. Do not try to “make things happen”. Allow God to lead in His timing, not mine.
2. Don’t settle for something less that what God has intended to give you. We had been praying for a year for a church that was more like our home church in Texas and California. We didn’t wait, but took it upon ourselves to get ahead of the Lord, thinking that this was as good as it was going to get. God never gives you anything but His best. Why can I not learn that?

3.When we don’t wait on God and lead ourselves, instead of allowing God to lead, there are consequences. Yes, He forgives our trying to control situations, but my consequences were that I had to go back then and tell precious friends that we had made a mistake and acknowledge that this was just not the place for us.

4. Quit trying to be the spiritual leader of our home. Randy was not ready to join, and had I listened to him, we would not have signed a church membership covenant.

Lord, there are so many times when I try to get ahead of you and think that I know better than you how to live my life. Forgive me Lord and may I learn to trust You more and more and may my faith in You grow no matter the circumstances.

“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24

2 Corinthians 5:7 “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

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Pasadena & Pine Cones

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A sweet dear friend of ours has given me permission to share this story. While we lived in Pasadena, we attended a wonderful church where a precious man, named, Dave, played the piano for our Sunday School class and his wife, Donna always greeted folks as they came in the door with the most beautiful smile. This precious couple became very special to Randy and I and several times, we were blessed to be in their home. Besides Dave being a fantastic piano player, he made the most awesome pies. His specialty was lemon meringue. Dave had some medical problems which put him into a care facility towards the end of his life. On one of our visits back, we stopped and bought a lemon meringue and went to the nursing facility and had pie with Dave, never dreaming that that would be the last time we would see him. He passed away a few days later, after we had gone back to Texas. We were so grateful that we had had several times of visiting with he and Donna in their beautiful home and at different restaurants, which we always came away feeling so blessed, as Dave was one of those men who, no matter how down he might have been, due to medical problems, he always seemed to have that “sunshine in his soul” which radiated out to others. About a year before he passed away, he gave a sweet testimony of how he felt the Lord had spoken to him and share it in class. This is Dave’s story, told through one of our class teachers, Les Stocker, at the funeral.

“It was a bright Saturday morning in late June 2012. The phone rang. It was Dave. “Les, I have a very personal story the fits perfectly with the series you are teaching right now in the Disciples Class. But it’s a bit complex to share over the phone. Can I come over?”

Thirty minutes later, Dave was sitting in our family room as he proceeded to tell me his pine cone story that was not only amazing, but transformative in Dave’s life.

Some years earlier, Dave was counseling with a pastor who was very close to Dave at the time when he was going through a period of discouragement and depression. As they talked, the pastor, who was an avid hiker in the local mountains, mentioned how he often picked up pine cones along his hikes. He reached for a basket of pine cones near his desk and picked one out.

He then told Dave, “I would like to give you this pine cone.” He did not extent it across the desk as one might expect, but simply held it near him. Dave felt an awkward moment. He was offered the pinecone, but by the Pastor’s actions, it appeared to not be offered.

A few minutes later the pastor said, “Dave, if you want the pine cone, you must reach out for it and take it. It is yours, but you  must reach out-just like the peace which passes all understanding that God offers us. He grants us many gifts, but we must reach out to receive them. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount said to “knock and it will be opened, seek and you will find, ask and you will receive.” We have to actively reach for those gifts.

That spoke to Dave that day. If Dave wanted the “peace that passes all understanding” he must reach out to receive it. A point of action. And so encouraged, Dave realized that he needed to reorient his thinking and receive this peace that God so freely gives to us.

Sometime later, Dave was again feeling a sense of discouragement as his medical problems began to escalate. He was out on some errands and stopped at the bank. He went in to conduct his business and on the way back to his car, he noticed a pine cone sitting upright, as though someone had placed it right on the curb, right in front of Dave’s car. In fact, it was so perfectly centered that if there had been a hood ornament, it would have been right above the pine cone.

Dave looked around. There was no one in sight. He then looked at the trees and other landscaping. No pine trees in sight. He immediately remembered the talk with his pastor, those years ago. The pine cone was such a dramatic reminder to him.

Dave wondered, “was this a miracle or just so bloke walking by and decided to place a pine cone at this perfect spot? We don’t know, but we do know that God spoke to him so graphically, reminding him that if we want His gifts, including the peace that passes all understanding, we have to do our part. We must reach out and receive it.”

Both Randy and I were so blessed to have been in class that July 1st, 2012 when Dave shared his story with the class. Now 5 years later, there is another story of God’s provision and care that comes from Donna, Dave’s wife.

One night about 2 months ago, about 9:30 at night, Donna texted me and ask me if I was close to my computer. After I said that I was, she gave me an address and told me to look it up and see what I thought. So I did. It was the real estate listing of a house that she had looked at that day in Pasadena.  I called Donna and she shared with me some of the details. She had always thought that the house where she and Dave had lived all those many years would be her home forever. Until now. She had gone with a realtor friend to look at this house and Donna became excited about the possibility of moving to a smaller house. She ask me to pray along with her and a couple of other friends about what God might want her to do. She was excited about the possibility of beginning a new season in a new place, but also sad, thinking about leaving the home which she and Dave had shared for 30+ years. She told me that if the Lord wanted her to have that house, He was going to have to move very fast and sell hers because she didn’t even have her house listed. This was on Wednesday night, I believe. That weekend a pastor who was moving from Washington to California was in town to look for houses. Her realtor called her to ask if she could show him the house, Donna agreed and in turn as soon as she knew that the preacher wanted her house, she put in a contract on the darling cottage that she had fallen in love with. She was so disappointed to find out that the owner of her ‘dream” cottage had accepted another offer. Donna’s response, “God must have something else for me, so I will just trust Him for His direction and His provision. A couple of days later, her realtor called again. The owner of the cottage had called and spoke with Donna’s realtor. She had ask if she thought Donna was still interested in the cottage, as there had been some problems with the other contract, so if Donna  still wanted the house it was hers. AND…the price had now been lowered. The Lord knew exactly what He wanted Donna to have to pay for the house, and had also provided a pastor to buy her house, a house which had been filled with many nights of prayer and Bible reading, was now being sold to a pastor who would, in turn, keep the prayers and Bible reading going.

We all know that all of our days don’t always turn out exactly like we want, and sometimes our dreams don’t all come true. But God is always faithful to provide and care for us in ways which we, in turn need to always tell of “His wondrous acts to perform.”

His word tells us to share with others the marvelous ways in which we see His goodness and grace. Yes, we have trials and tribulations. Those are our chances to grow our faith and to look for Him in ways which we might not have thought. God’s love is true, His ways are perfect and His will will always be for our best and for His glory, it is up to us to follow His will…to reach out for His promises and receive them. God was there for Dave and is still there, working and caring for Donna. Who knows, I wonder if she might find a  pine cone in her new yard one day?

Donna, thank you for allowing me the blessing of sharing how God worked in Dave’s life and is still working in yours. May your story, in turn, bless others and remind us all that God cares for each one of us, it is up to us to “trust and obey, for there’s no other way, but be happy in Jesus and to trust and obey.”

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Wilted Hearts

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Last evening when I walked into the den, I looked over to see a cast iron plant with leaves that were drooped over the flower pot. I took the plant into the kitchen and ran the hose over the leaves being sure the dirt was soaked before returning it to the den. This morning, walking into the den, I glanced over and saw that the water had indeed restored the plant and the leaves were now beautifully standing tall and soaking in the sun. As I walked over to my chair, it dawned on me that just like this plant, sometimes I feel wilted and need refreshment. It was at this moment I began to think about writing about the similarities of wilted hearts and wilted plants, when Randy walks in and says, “isn’t it amazing how just watering a plant can transform it?” Now normally you wouldn’t think anything about that, but just the fact that Randy had noticed the difference and then commented on it was, well, to say the least, odd. He just doesn’t comment about things like that. In fact, I never knew he even noticed when a plant needed water or attention of any kind.  Immediately, I couldn’t wait to sit down and write about the refreshment of our souls.

Isn’t it wonderful that when our lives feel wilted, as they do from time to time, from circumstances, or trials which have begun to take their toll on us, we can go to the source from which all our hope, our strength and our refreshment is given….Jesus Christ. His Word tells us that, “they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength,they can walk and not grow weary, we shall run and not faint,  they shall mount up wings as eagles!”

Isa 40:31

 

That is His promise to us. He meets us at our points of need. His love is truly a “fountain of living water” that nourishes our lives, allowing us to walk through our trials; that the brokenness which we might be feeling, can be transformed into knowing  that there is someone who is capable of giving us a life of spiritual abundance.  We can live with a joy knowing that God loves us and cares for us so much that He gave us His Son to pay for our sin. He took our place on Calvary so that we do not have to live a life of defeat. That is what we will be celebrating April 16th. A risen Savior who gave His life for us. Who loves us unconditionally. All He ask is that we give Him our love and admit that each of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

As we celebrate Easter in 12 days, may we recognize the need to love the Lord for who He is and not just for what He can do for us. My prayer is going to be that I may decrease that He may increase. That just like the plant which was wilted and needed water, I pray that I will recognize my need of the Lord to refresh my spirit, not looking to the world or others to give me what I need. May my eyes and my heart become so focused on the Lord that my life will point others to Him, by my love and actions to those who I come in contact.

John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

 

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All My Ex’s Live in Texas

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When I think of the word “ex”, I think about something that I truly loved and knew I couldn’t live without all the time I had it. We just returned from a two week trip back to our grand state of Texas to visit family and  friends. While there, I also attended a Women’s Conference which encouraged me to quit using “ex”cuses for not moving forward and not allowing God to use me where He has planted me.

On our two day drive across the desert, our conversation alway turned to which of our favorite restaurants we will visit while driving around Dallas. Which stores, that I do not have here in Arizona, do I want to spend our kids inheritance, while in Texas. How many Whataburgers can I consume in a 2 week period? How many times will I get to sit and listen to hymns sung by a choir (yes, I know this gives my age away) before coming back to services which end with drums, guitars and electric pianos?

Yes, I do admit that I do have one ex-husband which is still in Texas. Since he has never married in the 23 years since our divorce, I gather that I either ruined him on the idea of marriage or he figured that he would never be so blessed a second time; I like to think that is the reason, rather than the first. Not sure he would agree, but on to the story.

As we left Texas in the rear view mirror on Wednesday morning, we drove with anticipation as we neared the New Mexico border, getting us closer to home. We had had such a great time with our families and dinners with friends. Our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant had been crossed off our list twice in a 5 day period. We feasted on Texas barbecue, Whataburger more times than I care to tell you (yes, even had one for breakfast one day) and even talked Randy into driving me to my favorite Steinmart.

We sat in church Sunday morning and relished singing hymns that we both knew. After church we stayed around talking to old friends and then stayed just a little longer to listen to the music again as the second service started. It blessed my heart to hear one of my favorite songs being sung last Sunday, Every Praise is Due Our God; yes, every praise is certainly due our God. He had given us a great trip, watched over us as we drove, with a dog   in our lap, going and coming for the 1000 mile trip.

Randy was the chauffeur on the trip back, since I guess all that Mexican food, Whataburger and barbecue gave me bronchitis. I slept and had lots of time to think. Randy enjoyed the peace and quiet as each time I did try to talk, I would start coughing, so he told me to just be quiet and not try to talk. He assured me that he was just trying to take care of me. Yeah, heard that one before. I was able to muster under my breath that I had left one ex in Texas, I might be leaving another one there very quickly.

So, as we approached Phoenix, I really began to think about some of the things I had heard on the CD I had bought from Debbie Steward at the Women’s Conference last Saturday. One of the topics she had talked about was that we are always consumed with “are we in our sweet spot” rather than our “sent spot”. As I listened to her talking about where God sends us sometimes, as being our “sent spot” and how are we allowing Him to use us, it dawned on me that this is where He has me now. In a new community with new friends, a new church, new places to adventure. And what a great thing. How blessed Randy and I have been to be able to live in 3 different states and capture the new adventures which beckon us in each new “sent spot”. As soon as we arrived home, we had phone calls, a neighbor came by and several texted to check on us to see if we had made it home ok.

That is far more valuable than living by what we have always considered the best Mexican Food this side of the border. Will I ever return to Corpus to eat at Kikos, probably not, but I have the memories and the constant challenge of trying to duplicate their enchiladas ( I think I almost have it). Will I ever be able to live by any of the other grandchildren? I have no clue. But what I do know is that wherever I am, I want to finish strong. I want to be used by God to fulfill His purpose for leaving me here. Dallas will always have such a special place in our hearts, but even more special is the fact that we know that He has brought us to the place where He has placed us and we know that He is a great God….not only is He faithful, but we have a Whataburger 20 minutes away and am having a ball trying out all the different Mexican food places here. One of our favorite houses which we hated leaving in Texas has now become an “ex” as we have a new favorite house, here.

We continue to learn that “ex”citement can come with a new found joy of knowing that we are in the place for this season of our lives. We can now add precious friends who we already love and care about to our grateful lists of blessings.  Yes, we have lots of ex’s in Texas and California, but we look forward to the days ahead when we have a whole new lists of special memories and places which move us forward to a greater faith and a greater desire to live our lives for His purpose!

 

 

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Mexico Myths

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Here we are in beautiful Puerta Vallarta with some dear friends enjoying the gift of friendship, great food, gorgeous sunrises, sunsets and beaches!  We have discovered that all the ideas we had of what this would be like was totally unfounded. Because all I had experienced had been border towns where we use to drive for Mexican vanilla, huge bags of sugar and brightly painted pottery, my preconceived mental pictures of what we would find here was not only limited but very wrong.  As we flew over the town waiting to land, it became apparent that it certainly would look different from Juarez or Reynosa.  The mountains which stood so majestically around the beached town were so tall and rugged that it just amazed me how diverse the landscape truly was.  We landed and immediately was taken back at how friendly the airport staff beckoned to our every need.   A young man who was missing one hand insisted on helping us and saw us through customs, even helping me fill out a form when I didn’t grasp the questions being ask.   From day one we have encountered people from different social backgrounds, different cultures, different religions, and different lifestyles, convene together in restaurants, around the pool and places we have gone to explore.

My girlfriends and I went to ceramics to paint some plates which we will be so proud to take home and Show off our “talent” of Mexican painted  brightly colored flowers and fruit. As we were painting, a same sex couple came up to the young man and his wife who run the painting hut.   I saw them give money to the couple and told them to put the money aside for their two children for college or weddings.  The young mom cried and thanked the men.  When we heard them talking, the story unfolded.  The men had been coming here for several years and had met Irwin and Graciela the first year they visited.  From that point on the couple had saved all their change and had converted the change into dollars, which is the money they had given them  while we were there.  I’m ashamed of what my thoughts were when I had watched the same sex couple walk up that day. My mind had immediately began to focus on their lifestyle, which is very differently from what I feel God had intended for us! But as I watched this kindness transpire, I realized that even though our lifestyles and opinions are very different, their acts of kindness had shown me something.  I need to start looking a little more closely at people and listen. Listen to their stories. Listen to their dreams or needs. I know I can’t give every person I meet money or pay for their children’s education, but I can listen to them, and treat them for what they are…children of our great Creator, who made each of us unique in His image .  That they are not just people helping us at airports or carrying our luggage to the rooms or driving the buses which take us to markets. They are individuals who are loved by God and who deserve to hear how much God loves them.  It is my prayer that my eyes will be open to seeing the people who are truly put in my path and to not only open my ears to listen to them, but to open my heart to how God may use me to witness to someone, anyplace, anytime.

That is my dream!

 

 

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Words & Wonder

Chocolate Castles8 Comments

Saturday morning I went to a brunch where friends from our Bible Study gathered together around the dining table to share some great food and to share the word that the Lord had given to us for 2017.

About 4 years ago a dear friend use to tell us about having a “word” that she had ask the Lord. This “word” would seem to show up in devotions, in sermons, scripture or songs and she always told us that it was a word which the Lord would use to teach her, more of Him. So those of us who took Bible study from her began to ask the Lord if He would give us a word. I remember the first year that I began to ask for a “word.”  I wish I could tell you that I prayed with a believing heart that He would lay something upon my heart but as I prayed I felt myself wondering if truly, I would hear from Him. Each year, always in different ways, He would reveal a word to me that helped me focus on a certain aspect of Bible study which invariably  led me into a deeper knowledge of God and what He desired from me. The first year my word was serve, I began to write down scriptures which I would come across that centered on “serving”. As that year progressed, I found myself serving in ways which I had never thought about.

The following year, being thrown into a year of disruption of our lives and circumstances, the Lord clearly gave me the word, “restore” as I struggled with finding a new purpose, all the while knowing that He still loved me and wanted me to know that just because my circumstances had changed, His will for me had not ,and that was to continue serving Him, just maybe in different ways.

Well, in November of 2016, I began to pray, asking God to reveal to me what word He wanted me to have for 2017. As weeks passed, I wondered if He was ever going to give me the “word”.  On December 20th, I woke up at 5:30 a.m and the word, “tenacity” was just what I woke up saying. I wondered what in the world it meant. It was a word which I do not ever remember saying, much less using it in a sentence. I fell back asleep and woke up at 7 a.m and there it was again, “tenacity”. I thought about it all day and told Randy that “I think the Lord has shown me what my word for 2017 is going to be.” A couple of days later, there in my daily devotion, the word “tenacity” jumped off the page at me. It was then that I realized that yes, the Lord had truly spoken what word my focus would be for the year.  Looking up the definition, i realized that it means to “persevere” and to remain faithful through any circumstance.

As the ladies gathered around the table, last Saturday,we began to share just how God had revealed their words. This was new to each of them, but as we began to share the words which the Lord had given to us, we begin to realize how intimately God wants to be involved with our lives. Most of us were in circumstances which we would not have chosen, but God, in His infinite love and mercy had given each of us a word which shows His love and faithfulness to us. As we listened to the stories that morning,  some of the words which we revealed the Lord had given to us were; hope, steadfast, trust, rest, and calm. It was such a blessed morning to hear how God had been working in each of their lives and how they had been given their word for 2017. As I came home, I began to think about what had just transpired. Women who had never before ask the Lord for a word, had just shared how God had spoken to them, all in a different way, but each one, feeling so blessed by God that He loved them and answered their prayers of receiving what they had ask, a word that would be encouraging and cause them to remember how much He loves each one.

Why do we continue to wonder if God still speaks, when it tells us in His Word, that He has given us His Holy Spirit to speak truth to us.

John 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

Psalm 91:15 “He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver hi and honor him.”

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, which you do to know.”

 

 

 

Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized

Thanks For The Memories

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Happy New Year! Randy and I are in California for a few days celebrating the blessings from 2016, but also looking forward to what 2017 has in store. As most of you know, leaving California in 2014 was one of the hardest things we had done, after living here for almost 4 years. Those four years turned out to be one of the biggest and best blessings of our 20 years together. Our hearts felt at home here as God placed so many wonderful folks in our lives. We struggled so much as we drove out of town back in Feb of 2014, knowing that God had revealed to us that our time here was done, but still fighting with Him about putting our wants before His will. Each time we came back here to visit, the old desires of wanting to live here would surface and it made it hard to leave the place which we had come to love so much. As we both fought what we knew was God’s plan, we began to converse with each other thinking, “God would want us to be happy wouldn’t He?” Why would He ask us to live someplace other than where we want to? But as we both know, our hearts were not in a surrendered position to hear and obey His will. We did move back to Dallas for two years and discovered that just like the old tv show, Father Knows Best, truly our Heavenly Father does know best. We had two years to spend with our kids who lived there and was blessed to be there for our granddaughter to be born. It was great to be around old friends who had mentored both Randy and I and who we loved dearly. We both had lots of resentment in our hearts because of Randy having to retire and needed some healing to take place. We both learned that until we gave God our surrender and forgave some of the circumstances, we would never find the peace which God has promised. After two years of filling up on Tex-Mex, and finally surrendering our will to His, we knew that our time in Texas was behind us and moved forward (not only phisically but emotionally) to Arizona to live near our daughter who drew the short stick of being the one who would help us as we grew older (well, he might grow older, but I have decided that I am going to stay 66, just not in any shape to get older. I think I probably should have taken better care of myself and done more exercise and eaten healthier foods had I planned to really grow old).

We have now been in our new home in Arizona and love not only our new home, but our community and new friends. We are only 6 hours away from people here in California so it is so handy to drive out here to visit and some have driven to Phoenix and visited us.

As we have been back in town here in Pasadena for 4 days the old struggles have surfaced, as they always did. Yes, I got teary eyed after going back to the nail salon that I always went to. Of course I had to wipe my eyes at church yesterday as we sat there and remembered all the wonderful Sundays of getting to come and worship with people we adored. We have eaten our way through the places we loved to go and stayed with friends that always treat us like family. I havent’ got to the point yet that I can drive by our house here. So fortunately, since our street gets roped off for the floats to line up, it is impossible to drive by today (just when I think I’m truly strong enough to see our house without crying), but Randy knowing I needed some extra comfort, drove me to Dots’Cupcakes and bought me a dozen mini cupcakes. Ok, life is good again. What I have learned this past year are seveal things.

Knowing God’s will isn’t what brings about peace and comfort, but knowing and OBEYING God’s will. It has been hard some days to actually do that. All along when I knew what HE was asking, I fought with His will or listening to what I thought was best. When I surrender, it makes even the new places good.

I John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”

It is really not the location that makes us comfortable and full of purpose, it is the people that God plants in our lives which give us so much pleasure and purpose.

Proverbs 21:30-31 “There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed againt the Lord. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.”

That each new place (or season) which God takes us through is for our benefit and for His Glory. That faith grows when we confess our weaknesses and realize that only in Him will I feel complete and fulfill my purpose.

Isaiah 40:29″ The Lord gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Because of His great love for me, I can trust Him to complete His perfect will in me and know that He will give me the desires of my heart as long as I am praying His will be done.

Isa 26:3-4″ You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal.”

Will I ever get to move back to California? Only the Lord knows the answer to that. What I want to learn more of in 2017 is to truly lean on Him and trust that His way is perfect, whether I live in California or New York. What I need to do is to lean into Him and trust that He knows what is best for me and to know that He loves me;  that walking in His will takes us into adventures which we never dreamed would end up some of our best blessings.

Isa 43:19 “Behold, I will do something new. Now it will spring forth; Do you not see it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”

May 2017 be a year of Jubilee as we all remember to “let go and let God” be our guide!

Happy New Years! My prayer is to learn to say “yes” to Him before I know the question!

 

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King Herod,Scribe or Wiseman?

Chocolate Castles4 Comments

img_3799Just returning from Christmas Eve service, we are sitting in the house, waiting for bread to rise, kids to arrive and watching a rain storm descend upon us. Most of us have our meals planned, probably have most of it prepared and are just waiting for that special time when the houses are full of friends and family to feast upon the food we have taken so much time to plan and prepare. As I sat down to think about what we heard at church today, it made me realize that we certainly do spend so much of our time at Christmas, shopping, wrapping, sending our best wishes through cards, planning those special meals and then preparing the houses and tables to look just perfect. How much of my time did I leave to prepare my heart for worshipping the One who this holiday is suppose to be about?

As we sat in church today, Luke  (yes, his name is Luke and no, I didn’t get it mixed up with the Bible scripture we read today, I’m old, but not that old yet)preached on the familiar story of Matthew 2  and the passage when the wise men traveled to see the newborn King. As he continued to preach, he pointed out that there were 3 groups of people giving 3 different responses to Jesus birth and which one represented each of us the best.

The responses were:

King Herod Matthew 2: 3-5(rejection)-he struggled with hearing that there was a new king born and was afraid that this new King would take his place. He wanted control and did not want to share any part of his life or title with anyone. Saying he wanted to know where this new King had been born so he could go and worship him, but really wanting to know so he could have him killed.

Scribes Matthew 2 :5-6 (apathy)-when ask where this new King might be born, they read the prophets of old predictions and sadly, just answered the questions which the WiseMen had ask, but didn’t even care enough to go see for themselves.

Wise Men Matthew 2: 1-12 (worshipful)- The Wise Men were so excited about this new born King they traveled weeks, maybe a couple of months to take these precious gifts to the Christ Child, the Messiah, the New Born King.

So what is my response, as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, do I sometimes reject His love and guidance, because I don’t want anyone being in control of my life? Am I like the Scribes who strutted around, thinking that they had read the prophets, they knew the scriptures, that was all they really needed, they didn’t need to see Him personally or invite Him into their lives. They had all the head knowledge of Him they needed…do I live sometimes like that? Do I think that just because I know the scriptures that will be enough to live a life worthy of Him? Have I personally invited Him into my life to dwell in my heart and allow Him to guide my days?

Or Will I be like the Wise men and go and seek Him, whatever it takes? Will I be willing to travel the distance  in my commitment to go and worship? Do I want to give my best gifts to Him? Is my heart leaving room for Him? Am I really acknowledging Him as Lord and Savior?

May we all pray and ask God to take any part of our hearts that are like King Herod or the scribes and make us Wise Men who will seek more of Him in 2017…Merry Christmas to all of you and may we be a people who “proclaim the greatness of the Lord, and our spirits rejoice in God our Savior because He has looked with favor on the humble condition of His slave…to shine on those who live in darkness and the shade of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Mark 1:46-48a, 1:79