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Noise From The Barnyard

This is where family and friends hang out and discuss world events, family happenings, valley news and things I'm "moosing" about.  It's the day to day across the fence chatter.

Thankful November Day 28-Memorials & Memoirs

11/28/2021

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Over the last couple of years, I've had the opportunity to travel throughout PA and learn of its history. Many of those trips involved visiting memorials. Memorials recount a person or an event that had significant meaning. Without them, much would be lost. Included in some of the museums that we visited, there were also memoirs, written by observers or that were actual autobiographical accounts. 

As a child, I loved family reunions. One of the highlights was when activities were dying down, everyone would gather and share their own oral memoirs-i.e. stories of family history and events. Hearing them gave me pride, (most of the time LOL), and a sense of where I had come from-a foundation of sorts. How I wish that I had written them down because the tellers are mostly dead and many accounts have been lost. 

God saw the importance of memorials and memoirs in scripture. Many times altars or memorials were built in places where sacred events took place. The Bible is a book of historical events that have brought us to where we are. Its pages give us a sense of where we come from. It is a foundation for where we are and a roadmap for where we are going. In the times in which we live, it couldn't be more valuable to me as I navigate my ever changing life. 

For years I have journaled, catching my thoughts, reactions and milestones on paper. It's not the most exciting reading but perhaps someday it will give my children and their children some understanding into where they have come from and what their heritage is. 

Perhaps the most telling memoir can be found in my Bible. Beside certain scriptures there are dates and a recollection of what that verse meant at the time. They are the reach-out-and-slap-you-in-the-face ones that God used to really get a message to me that I desperately needed at the time. I love that every answer I need can be found in scripture. There's nothing like God talking to you through His Word. It just grabs you on the inside and you feel your spirit gaining ground.

Those are the things we should never forget. They are the things that we go back and re-read when life is hard and we once again need a definite answer from God. They build faith and confidence to ask and receive in prayer. 

Just a few I have marked are:
~the first time God spoke to me directly through his Word as a young Christian
~the day God promised this barren woman that I would become a Mamma
~the day that God told me I was getting a job that the interviewer said I wasn't getting
~several verses regarding childbirth with each child I carried including one that promised me a baby that the doctor said I lost. She goes to church with me every Sunday.

There are many, many more and each time I come upon them in my reading, I re-live the faithfulness, power, and promises of God to in my life personally. They are like candles that shone in a dark place that led me along the path of life. His Word is truly a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I love His Word. I love His voice. I love that He gives me stories to remember and pass on to the next generation. 

Today I am thankful for memorials and memoirs.

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Thankful November Day 27-Eternal Perspective

11/27/2021

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Did you watch the Penn State/Michigan State Football game? How about the Penn State/LSU game? How are you feeling? Frustrated? Sad? Mad? Is there a dark cloud hanging over your head? Our Happy Valley is not so happy today. So close, but no cigar. Mostly due to poor coaching decisions and lack of depth. Fortunately, my future is not hanging in my ability to win victories! Not in the natural and not in the spiritual realm either. 

We have an enemy, but our commander is greater! The enemy makes plans but the Lord destroys them. He causes us always to triumph through Christ, who won the victory over our enemy on Calvary. Does that mean that we never have a contest, that we will never have need to step on the battlefield? NO! Even though the battle of Jericho was pre-determined, Israel had to march around for 7 days in obedience to the Lord's instruction. But they were already promised the land so their victory was already secured, their history already written. Gideon was promised victory but he still had to gather an army and show up for the battle. I love when the Bible tells of the many ways that God would confound the enemy and cause them to turn on themselves while Israel stood and watched. 

God knows the end from the beginning and when He chooses to let us in on that, we must also be like Israel. We must obey His instruction. We must show up to the battle prepared to use the weapons that we have been given to wage war and win! We must leave the details and the timing up to Him without losing faith in the midst of the battle. And we must keep the end in our eye's view. 

In the last couple of years, God laid some things on my heart. Then He confirmed what He had spoken to me in several different ways, just so that I would know for sure that He said them. Yet still, in the midst of the battle, I was tempted to listen to instructions and earthly wisdom other than what He had spoken because it appeared that I was losing on all sides. But when I would get alone with God and He would speak those things again, I would remember to believe Him, no matter what. God does not go back on His Word. He said to me over and over again, "Remember what I said at first! That is what I'm going to do." 

We can't always explain why things happen. Some things will never make any sense. And that's okay. If God has spoken about them, then that is all we need to know and that is where our thoughts need to be centered as we stand and see the Lord work out His Word in His way and in His time. And no matter how bad things may get here, this is not the end. 

We are not of this world. We're just passing through. Our home is in a whole other Kingdom. Once God's plan for earth is complete and we enter into the fullness of eternity, all that we experienced, accomplished, and suffered here on earth will be no more than a blink of an eye. There is something beyond what we could ever imagine waiting for us there. Something good! 

So when I face things in life, I stop and ask myself if this will affect eternity.  Do I need to take up my sword and go to the battle or is this really not going to be important in the end? Oh how much worry and stress and discontentment we would save ourselves if we did this. When it comes down to it, the only thing that matters in this world is souls and the Word of God.

 I don't know about you but thinking about eternity comforts me. Everything there will be right and perfect and beautiful. It will be beyond my wildest dream. And it will last forever! And that makes what I face here on earth seem a little less daunting. God is with me now and I will be with Him forever! There is coming a culmination day when I will stand in front of the Lord Jesus Christ and He will say to me, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest." Oh, what a day that will be!

Today, I am thankful for an eternal perspective.



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Thankful November Day 26-Hope

11/26/2021

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Thanksgiving Day was a mixed bag for me. So many things were good-good food, food family, good fun! There were 4 generations present. That hasn't happened in awhile. Great grandsons got to meet their great grandmother, uncle and great aunt for the first time. Others renewed their relationship with them after the long covid break. The cousins had a time, overdosing on Scotcharoos, running all the sugar off outside playing with nerf guns, and culminating in a rousing, rambunctious and hilarious game of Pie in the Face.

Sadly, some were missing. My father-in-law, my sister-in-law, and a grandson were missing. My father-in-law has stepped into his eternal reward. The others were missing because we live in a sinful, dysfunctional world which seems to be most impactful for me around the holiday season. No matter how full the day may seem, there's a little emptiness that just can't be filled. 

It's then we turn to hope. There is an earthly hope. We "hope" that things will change and work out for the best. We "hope" that next year everyone can be there. We "hope" that situations and circumstances and people will be different. We hope that Penn State will win a football game.  My grandson "hoped" that he wouldn't get pie in the face. We "hope." 

For me, love is what keeps hope alive. Even when love hurts, it causes us to hope, and dream... and pray. Prayers are what give wings to hope as they ascend to a Father who is the Great Redeemer, the God of Impossibility, the All-mighty one, the one who can make our hopes reality. And as our hopes reach Heaven's gates, the Father looks to see if they are fueled by faith. And if they are, then hope is no longer tentative. At that moment, they become an answer. When prayers are according to God's Will ( found in His Word) and are filled with faith in the One who spoke that Word, then hope becomes surety. And surety becomes sight. And sight becomes reality. And reality becomes a dream come true, those dreams that were born in hope. 

I have hope that I will see my father-in-law again. There's not a doubt in my mind. I have hope that circumstances here on earth will change as I pray and believe that God will accomplish His will in each situation. I've seen Him do it so many times when "hope" and a dream were all I had. When my hopes traveled on nothing more than a wing and a faith-filled prayer. I know God is able. I know God is willing. I know that He will. There is nothing touching me that is hopeless if I will put my trust in the Lord.

Ps 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.

Today, I am thankful for (the God Kind of) hope







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Thankful November Day 24- Fullness

11/24/2021

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Now you are probably thinking that I'm talking about Thanksgiving Dinner, right? Not really. 

Too many people these days are so busy. If you ask them how they are, they are always busy, harried, rushed and in a hurry running from one errand to another, from one project to another, from one goal to another. Gone are the days of just dropping by someone's house to visit. Now you have to schedule weeks in advance. 

I got into the busy trap. I had three kids in diapers and one in middle school. My husband was working two jobs and away in meetings a lot in the evening. I was his proverbial errand boy on top of taking care of the kids. Twice a day I would bundle the three little ones up in snow suits, boots, hats and mittens and put them in their car seats. That took half an hour. Then I would drive 5 minutes to the school to either drop my oldest off or pick her up.  I was also teaching close to 20 piano lessons a week. I was always "busy!" Busy became a negative lifestyle to me and I found myself complaining and whining a lot of the time. 

So I made a decision. Instead of thinking that I was busy, I decided to look at my life as full instead. I still did the same things but with a different attitude. Busyness made me negative. Fullness impliec blessing and contentment so when I thought of my life as full, I felt a sense of purpose and blessing. At the end of the day, I could look back at all I had gotten done instead of regretting all that I didn't get done, like I did when I saw my days as busy.
 I could pray in the morning and ask the Lord to fill my day. When I laid down at night, I could rest in the knowledge that He had and that He was pleased. It made a huge difference for me. 

Busyness was often self-imposed or culture imposed responsibilities that presented themselves as necessity.  Fullness was whatever God decided to fill my time with. Fullness allowed me to trust God's timing in everything and to believe that I had walked in His timing for my day. 

God always has a plan and in the fullness of time, He brings seasons into our lives for us to walk through. He is always in control. He knows what He is doing. They may be busier than the season before and for that there is grace and strength to endure. They may be slower seasons that cause us to wonder if we are missing His plan or being lazy, but we can rest knowing that He has a plan and in the fullness of His time, everything will make sense. And we will be grateful. What a peaceful way to live. Walking with God. Living life in the fullness He provides, whatever that may look like. And being content.

Today I am thankful for fullness.





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Thankful November Day 23-When Jesus Bargained With God

11/23/2021

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I'm not sure when this happened. Perhaps from the foundation of the world. But at some point in history, God and Jesus made a covenant with each other. In that covenant God asked His Son to come to earth in human flesh and fulfill the law culminating in the sacrifice of His own life to satisfy the wrath of God on sin. God promised that He would hold Jesus's hand and lead him through every second. He promised that the Devil would not be able to get to him and destroy him.

In agreeing with this, Jesus made one stipulation. He told the Father He would do what God was asking as long as what He would accomplish in human flesh, by the Spirit of God, would also apply to His seed, i.e. His spiritual seed. That's you and me and every person that puts their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation.  

This  revelation was received by the Apostle Paul and is what he fought so strenuously for his entire ministry because the revelation of the New Covenant is the source of victorious living for every believer and the devil has and is working hard to dilute and twist it. He understands that if believers truly understood this, they would be unstoppable.

Paul listed all the things he had accomplished in his flesh. He was "circumcised the eighty day...a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.  We all know people who do the same thing today. In fact, I'm sure we all have done this at one time in our Christian walk. I know I have. And yet, in all of my perceived spirituality, I was giving myself some of the credit, which is flesh. Flesh will always fail, no matter how strong the resolve may be. 


Paul dismissed all of this as "putting confidence in the flesh."  BUT whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ." He told the Corinthians "for I have determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified." He understood that there is NOTHING of our flesh that pleases God, but if we are IN Christ, then we also receive the benefits and promises established by the covenant Jesus made with the Father. Not because of anything about us, not because of anything we did or are doing, but simply because we are found IN Christ. 

So, believer, if you struggle with a sin or addiction of some kind, if you think that every time you sin, God erases your name out of the Book of Life and that He's done it so many times, there is a hole in the space where your name used to be, listen up! Just as God held the hand of Jesus and led Him through His life in human flesh, He will do the same for you! When your flesh tries to lead you into sin, reach out and grab God's hand and see yourself IN Christ and remember that God, through the Holy Spirit is making you into the kind of person that you need to be. There is nothing you can do but yield, trust and believe. Then rest in His love for you. 

Religious activity will not benefit you if it is not first birthed in you by the Holy Spirit. Therefore it remains an outworking of what the Spirit has wrought on the inside of you. Too many Christians have this backwards. They think that reading the Bible and praying, along with community service and evangelism will change them on the inside but it won't. I'm not advocating not doing these things. I read my Bible and pray every day. What I'm getting at is that your efforts do nothing to change you. That is the Spirit's job. Your only responsibility is to yield in faith to Christ. It's so simple, it's almost too hard to believe. It takes the Spirit to reveal it to you. 

Every evening, my husband and I pile into bed and find a good sermon on YouTube to listen to. This sermon by David Wilkerson presents this so clearly and is something every believer should hear. This message is something I desperately needed and it has been revolutionary to my spiritual life. It has brought my knowledge into reality living.  I've spent the last year or so growing in my understanding and it just keeps getting better and better. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GS6EGiFOkk

Today I am thankful for the New Covenant.

 


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Thankful November Day 22-God had a Tree

11/22/2021

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In our Pastor's sermon today, he quoted an excerpt from Max Lucado's book, Let The Journey Begin. It read:

 "God is for you. Turn to the sidelines; that's God cheering your run. Look past the finish line; that's God applauding your steps. Listen for him in the bleachers, shouting your name. Too tired to continue? He'll carry you. Too discouraged to fight? He's picking you up. God is for you. God is for you. Had he a calendar, your birthday would be circled. If he drove a car, your name would be on his bumper. If there's a tree in heaven, he's carved your name in the bark. We know he has a tattoo, and we know what it says. 'I have written your name on my hand,' he declares (isa. 49:16)." "  

Although I appreciated the sentiment, a thought immediately struck me. God did have a tree! He hung Jesus there. And God carved my name on His Son.

In my mind, I pictured my name carved in the skin of Jesus. As the blood flowed from that wound, my name got bolder and bolder. Eventually there was so much blood that it flowed down to the ground, covering my name as it went. My name was gone. My sin died with Him and was washed away by His sacrifice. Thanks be to God!

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
​He washed it white as snow

Today, I am thankful that God had a tree.
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Thankful November Day 19&20-Spiritual Heritage

11/21/2021

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It's been three days since I posted. Some might think I'm slacking, but I'm not. You see, I was without a computer because we were away visiting. 

Three days from now will mark the one year anniversary of my father-in-law's passing. It will be our 2nd Thanksgiving without him and he is just as missed this year as he was last year. If you are not familiar with his life you can read about him here: 

https://atypicalpastorswife.weebly.com/noise-from-the-barnyard/sorrow-on-sorrow-thoughts-on-passing

For the last year, we have devoted at least one weekend a month to visiting my mother-in-law and my husband's aunt whom I warmly refer to "our ladies." They are in their 80s but there are no other people alive that we would rather visit with. We look so forward to being with them. It's not just that we get to eat pizza late at night, or feast at  the local buffet, or buy yummy cinnamon jelly beans. It's much, much more than that. 

These two women have lived life with the Lord. They prayed my sorry self into the Kingdom of God. They fasted until I got right and I will be eternally grateful. Their experiences, insights, revelations, and correction when we need it, are invaluable. At the sign of trouble, my first call is to them. Their prayers are powerful and they've learned to persist in patience and faith. Many times my husband's aunt has kept my feet on level ground when I just wanted to dig a hole and die. I felt this way about my father-in-law as well and begged the Lord to let him stay on earth but it was not to be. 

I have determined to not have regrets where my spiritual heritage is concerned.  When I get the opportunity, I pick their brains concerning scripture and what they've experienced as Pentecostal believers through the years. I ask them what God is teaching them now. Their answers are so rich and deep. You see, my husband is a 3rd generation Pentecostal. First hand stories have been passed down through the family almost from the very beginning of Pentecostalism in the United States. It's a testament of who God is and what He could do if we would let Him.  I feel that I could never fill their shoes, but I desire to have their mantel in the Lord. I pray that the residue of who they are will settle on my life.

These last days will require for believers to be at their very best because deception will be strong and many will be destroyed, even the elect. So the days we spend recalling the works of God, the salvations they've witnessed, the supernatural events they saw and experienced, the deliverances they've seen are so valuable to me. There is also so much laughter and love as we go on adventures together, eat together, and yes, even nap together. (They wear us young ins out!)

Even today, we realize that some day, we will go visit their grave marker, as we did my father-in-law's just yesterday. But we won't be crying because we wish that we had spent more time together. We will cry because we miss them. We will cry because we are grateful for all that they poured into our lives. And we will laugh as we remember the stories they told and the adventures we had with them. But most of all, we will carry their lives in our hearts and they will spur us on in hope, encouragement, and love until we all meet again, this time never to say goodbye.

(The photo is of my father-in-laws tombstone. May the same be said of me when I'm gone).

​Today I am thankful for my spiritual heritage.





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Thankful November Day 18-Water

11/18/2021

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Today I'm thankful for water. That might sound weird but right now, we don't have any! There is a break in the water line so we will be without water until this afternoon sometime. I'm prepared though. There are buckets of water in the bath tub for flushing, water in pitchers on the counter for drinking and water in my canner for cooking, should I need it. My philosophy is that I should just make today a skip-the-gym-shop-til-you-drop-eat-out kind of day. Of course, I'm not much of a shopper but I do have a buddy who LOVES to eat, no matter where it is so maybe he'll help me out.

There are so many things that come mind when I think of water. It is essential to life. Our bodies are up to 60% water. There is nothing so refreshing as submerging yourself in cool water on a hot summer day or drinking cold water after a workout. It's rejuvenating, refreshing and restorative. When we feel depleted, there is nothing that satisfies us as much as water does. 

For me, there is nothing more calming than finding a comfortable place to sit and close my eyes along a stream and just listen to the sound of the water as it bumps and jumps over the rocks. Before I started doing this, I didn't realize that you can actually hear the flow changing as the water encounters fallen trees and other obstacles along its way. The sounds change so much that it can sound as if the water is singing. There is one particular place I go where the water sound is almost mesmerizing. That coupled with the smell of honeysuckle in the summer has to be as close to Heaven as we get here on earth. 

 I love the shower after a hike. I'm usually a hot mess by then from all the altitude changes and nothing feels better than a long, hot shower. One of my favorite things to do is to shower until there's not a drop of hot water left in the tank. That's not popular with my family especially if they're next in line, but it's their fault I'm like this. You see, when they were small, I rarely got any time alone-ever. In their toddler years it was just safer to take them in the bathroom with me through the day to avert bleeding, major destruction or a catastrophic disaster. So showering happened when they were asleep and it was rare that all 4 of them were asleep at the same time so showers were a non-event, a custodial type of activity where faster was better! I missed out on so much. Now I'm catching up! 

I've found that thirst will masquerade as hunger. Headaches can be a sign of dehydration. If you're not careful and attuned, you'll be fueling yourself with things that don't satisfy like chips or chocolate during your mid-afternoon snack attack. 

 In John 4:13-14 Jesus says to the woman at the well: "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." 

Scripture speaks of the cleansing effect of the Word of God. That is the cornerstone of the Christian life. We must be cleansed of all sin in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Once we are citizens of God's Kingdom, we must have the continual washing, refreshing, rejuvenating work of the Holy Spirit in our spiritual being just as we need water every day.  And just as thirst is not always recognized in our physical bodies, the same thing can happen to us in the spiritual realm. 

There are so many spiritual fads in the world today. A lot of them have us do things in the physical realm promising health in the spiritual realm. They tell us to affirm ourselves, breathe a certain way, think a certain way to re-wire our brains, as if these temporal activities will manage what the devil is doing to us. 
When our spirit is telling us that we are thirsty, we often go everywhere but to the well where the spiritual water is found. Jesus is calling to us telling us that He is enough! He is everything! Everything we need is found in Him! All spiritual nourishment comes through Him! As Christians, we all say this but is it what we practice?

We're not supposed to manage the devil's tinkering in our lives! We are to take authority over him in our lives. He has no right there. He has been banished by the Blood of Jesus, but yet, we allow him access to our minds. Breathing techniques, mantras repeated over and over again, thinking right about ourselves, eating certain foods, taking certain supplements, and all the other "activities" WE do might help in the short term, mostly because it's a distraction, not a remedy. You will be doing it again tomorrow and the next day and the next day.  Why not go to the source of life, that water of the Word, and drink long and deep? Let His Word wash, refresh, rejuvenate and heal you. Let the Holy Spirit change you!

We are so busy looking for the next great thing that is going to infuse our spiritual lives when what we need has always been and will never change. No amount of research or earthly discovery is going to enhance our spiritual state. When Jesus cried "It is finished!", it was finished. Everything we need to live the way God intended was accomplished. So why do we spend time going from one thing to another when all we need is found at the foot of the cross? All we need is found in pages of His Book. The Word IS life! It's not a how-to book in that it tells us what we must do. It tells us what HE has already done! Just take it by faith! 






  





Swimming, creek, drinking, bathing, refreshing, 
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Thankful November Day 16&17- Valleys

11/17/2021

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What???? Thankful for valleys? You mean Happy Valley, right?

No, I mean dark, long, lonely, awful valleys. Those one-way valleys that you cannot get out of unless you walk through them. Valleys that may or may not be of your own making. Valleys that overshadow every part of your being-body, soul, and spirit. Valleys that seem that they would swallow you up, where there's no light or end that can be seen from where you are.

There are two kinds of valleys. Some valleys we enter because of our own stupidity or misguided thinking. We're not walking close to God, not paying close attention or living frivolously in our spiritual life and we end up in trouble. These could be avoided, but God, in His mercy will bring us out if we are sincere in seeking for His help. I don't recommend this way of living. You won't make much progress and you're life will be filled with drama. I hate drama!

What I'm speaking of are the valleys that we come to when we're walking closely with God. This begs the question of why bad things happen to good people? Why does devastation come to the child of God? Why is God allowing this to happen to me? Am I able to trust that God is still good, that He has a purpose in this, that He will bring me through to the other side, that He will fix this?


I've asked God these questions before. And I've had many valleys to walk through- valleys of sickness, injury, and death; valleys of relationships broken by lies, betrayal, misunderstanding, and unkept promises; and valleys of broken dreams and disappointments that becloud the future and shake the very foundations that I've built my life on. In all of this, I've learned a few things.

If you are walking closely with God and He brings you to a valley, know this, He will not leave you. Take His hand and walk just as closely with Him through the valley as you did before the valley. Do not "fear any evil, for He is with you." There is something that He wants to teach you or strip off of you that you will need further along in your life journey. If He strips things off or takes things out, then He will certainly add things to you and fill you up with something better. Can you look to Him for that in trusting anticipation? Can you put on blinders to the evil and darkness that is all around you and walk in the peace that comes when your eyes are fixed on Him? Is His Word a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path?

When you're at the deepest, darkest, driest place in the valley and you think that you cannot go one more step, when you've been weeping night after night after night, it's then you need to "dig deep to find a pleasant pool where others find only pain." Ps. 84:6 Watch God take you "from strength to strength." Truly "joy does come in the morning." Ps. 30:5 

Realize that "there is no testimony without a test." (D Swaggart) That sounds simple but yet is so profound. To face the giant, we must have first fought the lion and bear. The war we wage is weighty with the eternal souls of mankind as the spoil. We must be trained and proven in order to fight effectively.  We must allow ourselves to be made into soldiers who are willing to detach ourselves so that we do not become "entangled in the affairs of everyday life so that we may please the one who enlisted us." Life may not turn out the way we planned or imagined and we must be okay with that. We must know that we are not our own anymore and that we can trust our general's instructions even when they don't make sense to us. We learn this in the valley where we see nothing but the mountains looming on either side and the darkness of uncertainty lying ahead, in that place of no escape except that we walk forward, in faith, with Christ.

I've written volumes about things I've learned and experienced in the darkest valleys of my life, I journaled my way through them, taking time to examine feelings and fears, and laying them all out in front of the Lord for His remarks.  When I look back at all that I saw God do in me, for me, and through me; how He showed Himself to me and others; and how He kept His every Word spoken to me, I can honestly say THANK GOD for the valleys. They were hard and they hurt. They wrung out every ounce of self sufficiency, pride, and self-esteem that was in me and forced me to fix my eyes on God as my only source of life, hope, and deliverance. And in all that, He showed Himself to me in ways I had not known Him before.  


 
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Thankful November Day 14&15

11/15/2021

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Took a sick day yesterday. It was Sunday and I rested. Ever since I can remember Sunday has been a rest day. When I was growing up, all the stores were closed except for the drug store so my Dad would stop there on the way home from church and grab a paper. After he was finished, we were allowed to grab the comics and read them. I spent many an afternoon with silly putty copying Snoopy and Charlie Brown. Occasionally we would pile in the car and go for a Sunday drive. That usually ended in a stop at the local dairy for a sandwich or an ice cream cone. 

When my husband went into the ministry, Sunday got a bit busier especially when he decided to pioneer a church. I was the piano player/worship leader and we rented a space just for Sunday so it involved moving equipment every Sunday morning. We had 4 children at the time, 3 in diapers, and one that hated to get dressed who was built like a cement truck. I had to sit on top of him to dress him. And in the time it took for me to slip on a dress and brush my hair, his sister might have decided that he needed a diaper change and I would find him either naked running for her or in a diaper that was half hanging off his body that on backwards. So we started the process all over again and by the time I got to church, I was exhausted and flustered. We remedied that when a teenager from the congregation volunteered to come every Sunday morning and feed the kids breakfast and get them dressed. I just relied on her to have them together when it was time to leave and things ran a whole lot smoother. 

Hebrews speaks of Sabbath rest. Some take it literally in that you can't do anything on Sunday. Others think it's a time to do whatever they want. I mostly stick to keeping Sunday for church attendance to whatever services are offered at the church I attend, and to taking a nap somewhere in the day. Oftentimes, my husband and I will steal away to the marsh or the creek for a walk in the sunshine, weather permitting of course. 


Hebrews 4:4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works
 9 Consequently, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. 10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. 11 Therefore let’s make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following the same example of disobedience. 
 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession. 


As I took a long look at Hebrews, I realized that the sabbath rest is not a day, it's a practice. And since Christ pronounced that "it is finished" on the cross, I can rest in that everything that God is ever going to do for me was completed at Calvary. Therefore, I do not need to strive or work for anything that I need from God. It's already been purchased and it belongs to me by virtue of my elder brother, Jesus Christ. I rely on Him to save me and keep me until the day I see him face to face. I only need to fight the fight of faith to receive it and see it come to fruition in my life. All the activity, unless directed by Him, is useless and exhausting. 

What the author of Hebrews was saying was that spiritual, emotional and physical rest is ours through what Christ did for us. Everything that comes to us comes through the Christ of the cross. We cannot become more spiritual, that was accomplished by Jesus. We can only become more holy, more set apart to the Lord from the world. Many of our "spiritual" labor is in vain if we think that it is going to make more saved or more accepted by God. Our only labor is the fight of faith-to believe that victory is ours through the Blood of Jesus Christ and sin no longer has dominion over us. 

So today I am thankful for sabbath rest, everyday! To rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ is truly a blessed and happy life. And especially on Sundays, I remember and reflect upon what Jesus has done so that I no longer have to strive in life, but just rest in thankfulness and praise for what He has done for me. 

 


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Thankful November Day 13-Our Brightest Moments

11/13/2021

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"Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth." Ps. 71:9
"They shall bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing." Ps. 92:14


My hubby and I were out and about today. We didn't have any particular adventure in mind unless you call a haircut an adventure. Considering that he goes to a place where you never know which employee will cut your hair, I guess it could be considered an adventure. LOL! 

As we traveled around town, we noticed that the red and orange leaves are coming into their own now that the yellow leaves have fallen away. They reminded me of a blog I wrote years ago that I usually share this time of year. Each year that I live, it becomes a little more applicable to my life since I am getting older but the promise of God remains the same. 

I remember these thoughts first came to me as I watched leaves falling from the trees and fluttering to the ground. I was enraptured with the beauty of them. Then all the sudden it hit me that these leaves were dying! At their brightest moment, they fell to the ground to die. But oh, how bright was that moment and I asked the Lord to let my life be as theirs had been, fully alive and thriving right up to the moment when I am released to die. (Of course, I would much rather prefer that He return because I think that going in the rapture would be so awesome!)

Here is the blog:

I have entered the last season of life. All too soon I, like the leaves, will cease to live. Just as the leaves come to the end of their appointed season, I will too. Lord, grant this one desire. 

When people see me in the last stages of life, let the color of my life be as brilliant, as vibrant, and as loud as the fall leaves. Let it sing with as much beauty as your creation does as it basks in the autumn sun. Let the lifetime I spent growing in the grace of the Son of God crescendo with as much splendor and beauty as the leaves of autumn. Let the harvest of my old age be God's abundant life touching all those around me. And long after I'm gone, may the residue of my years be like an aromatic oil and a sweet fragrance to those I leave behind. 

Today I am thankful that my brightest moments always lie ahead of me and not behind.

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Thankful November Day 12-Don't be a Turkey, Give Thanks

11/12/2021

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Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Have you ever noticed that Thanksgiving day seems to have become less and less important in our culture? Where it used to be a day for family gatherings and fellowship, it’s been reduced to a freezer full of turkeys and some festive tableware at the local grocery store and wild shopping deals.  In our homes, it's a gluttonous celebration with some football and pumpkin pie for dessert. Thanksgiving day is blurred by the darkness of Halloween and drowned in the frenzy of Christmas. When did you ever see a house decorated for Thanksgiving? It seems as if overnight the world transforms from ghosts and goblins to the angelic and magical with nary a mention of what lies in-between.

We see in the scripture above that in God's economy, thanksgiving is extremely important, if not essential in prayer. It's the catalyst that gets us from the darkness's of life to the glorious light of prayer answers.  Just as Thanksgiving Day  is a resting point between the evil of Halloween and the song of the Christmas angels declaring that God has come near, the practice of thanksgiving in prayer is what carries us from problem to provision, from anxiety to answers, from trepidation to truth, and from obstacle to overcoming. 

 
Here we see it, sandwiched in between our pleas and the answer. In between our petitions and the provision. It is the conduit, through which our faith travels, that leads to the ear of God and what is needed to move His heart and His hand. The result of thanksgiving offered in faith is the presence of God in our lives and the reality of answers to prayer.
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So today, in the in-between, in-between Halloween and Christmas, in-between my petitions and provision, I choose to give thanks. I focus not on food or family, fortune or fame. I focus not on future plans or present realities. Instead I will give thanks for the provision of God smashed between evil and good, between being lost and being found, between separation and reconciliation. I will give thanks for the coming of God’s Son to sacrifice His life for me. I will glory in all the provisions that His death now makes available to me.

And my reward? His presence.  Presence in prosperity or problems. In joy and in sadness. In the turmoil, turbulence, troubles and transitions of life. Transcending presence born on the wings of faith-filled thanksgiving.

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Thankful November Day 10&11-The Object of My Faith

11/11/2021

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I've been thinking about the story of Cain and Abel for two days. I tried many times to write down my thoughts but it took me awhile to decide what to write.

As a young Christian I could never understand why God did not accept Cain's offering. I had the same attitude as I see many have in the church today. Cain gave the first and best of what he had toiled over and grown. I can just imagine the spread he must have laid before the Lord. To have it rejected would have been very disappointing and frustrating. After all, isn't that what God had given him to do? He tended the crops and Abel tended the sheep. Why wouldn't God be satisfied with the best that he had to offer? Why wasn't his sacrifice enough cover what he owed?

I soon came to understand that in Christianity, there has to be the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sin because "the wages of sin is death." Cain knew this. I'm sure Adam and Eve had told them the story many times of how they had sinned and tried to cover themselves with fig leaves but God came and shed innocent blood and covered them with the skin of the sacrifice. They obviously had been schooled in the bringing of sacrifices before the Lord in remembrance of what God had done to cover their sin and in anticipation of the promised perfect sacrifice that would come and "bruise the head" of the deceiver that had led them there. 

In the last couple of years, God has been revealing to me the greatness of my salvation. Too many times we see the Cross as the starting point to God, which it is but then we have the tendency to relegate it to the starting point as we move deeper into spiritual understanding of the working of the Spirit. The most spiritually effective people I have known in my lifetime have managed to maintain their fascination, adoration, and appreciation of the Christ of the Cross. I realized that I did not have the understanding that they had, therefore I was not as spiritually effective. I figured out that I was missing something, so I began to pray about it asking the Holy Spirit to help me and teach me. 

In the last year I have come to learn that the finished work of the Cross is as important and effective in my life for my sanctification as it was for my salvation. When Christians struggle with fleshly sins, addictions, and character flaws, when they are praying for healing and it doesn't come, it doesn't mean they don't love God. It doesn't mean that they don't have faith.  It doesn't mean they are not saved. Salvation means that we have placed our faith in the finished work of Christ on the Cross. It has nothing to do with what we experience here on earth. Faith in the cross is the only thing that saves us. 

Where things go awry is in their attempts to correct their behavior through the desperate efforts of denying themselves, going to counselors, participating in 12 step programs, spending increased time in prayer, confession and other spiritual activities. They soon find that these things may provide temporary victory, but no lasting effect. They grow frustrated with themselves and suspicious of God and His Word and they wonder why it's not working for them. Eventually they form wrong ideas about God or they walk away from the faith altogether. I've seen it time and time again. I'm not saying that any of those afore mentioned things are wrong or bad. I've tried most of them myself and I know they are not effective.

In thinking about Cain and Abel, God made this so clear to me. The reason that Cain's offering was rejected was because he put his faith in what HE brought, in what HE had to offer. He thought God would accept what HE had toiled to produce by the sweat of his brow. The object of his faith was in something he had labored to produce. 

On the other hand, Abel's faith was in the sacrifice. He knew that it was the blood that impressed God. It was the sacrifice of the spotless innocent lamb, the toil of the lamb in giving his life that made it acceptable to God. Nothing of humanity was part of the sacrifice. The object of Abel's faith was the work that the lamb did, not his own work. And God accepted it. 

How often we do this. After being saved by nothing more than putting our faith in what someone else did for us, we then rush on to the doing and object of our faith quietly shifts. There is doing in faith but those things are the result of where we have put our faith. If what Christ did on the cross is not the object of our faith, our faith will fail. We must always go back to what Christ did, because it is through His work, His sacrifice, His offering Himself for us that we receive salvation and all the promises of victory and the fruit of the Spirit. Everything we receive after salvation comes through the same means that our salvation came-the finished work of Jesus Christ.  Therefore, Jesus has to be the object of our faith, the center of our joy, the foundation of our hope in order to have victory in life. "He causes us always to triumph THROUGH Christ Jesus!" 

It seems a subtle thing, but if our faith is in our prayers, our confession, our efforts, our obedience, it will surely fail because there is nothing in us or about us that could possibly equal what Christ accomplished for us on the Cross. HIS accomplishments are why we have anything. Everything we are promised is what He deserved, but in the divine great exchange, Christ opened the door for us to have His blessings. So everything we need in this life, in our sanctification, comes through Jesus Christ. When the Spirit sees our faith is in Christ, He then has opportunity to work in us to change us and to answer our prayers. You see, it is His job to reveal and glorify Christ always and only. 

I wish it hadn't taken me this long to learn it, but I'm so thankful that I did. The peace, the joy, and the victory it has brought into my life has been revolutionary. I no longer manage things in my life that Jesus died to destroy. I look to what He already purchased for me when I'm tempted and find strength to overcome. I'm still growing in this knowledge but I'm not the same as I was. I don't want one drop of that precious blood to be wasted in my life. I want all He died to give me both in this life and the next. 

"Thank you Jesus for the blood applied
Thank you Jesus, you have washed me white
Thank you Jesus, you have saved my life
Brought me from the darkness into glorious light."
Crystal Gayle



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Thankful November Day 9- Lost But Found

11/9/2021

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I got lost on the mountain today. Well, sort of. You see, I know where the mountain is and how it relates to the other mountains, so even though I got off the trail somehow, I still knew generally where I was. I had never hiked this particular trail, but I had my phone tracking my progress so if need be, I could always turn around and follow my phone down the same way I had hiked up. I didn't want to do that because the way up had been STEEP and I had to stop and rest multiple times. I couldn't imagine trying to go down without slipping on the autumn leaves. 

So I got out my trusty map and discovered that if I walked west on the trail I was on, I could juke over to the main trail and take it down the mountain. From the markings on the map, I saw that it would probably be an easier walk and since my legs felt like jelly, I decided that would be the safer choice. I came along to a little trail that went the right direction and down the mountain on the opposite side of where my car was parked so I took it figuring that I would hit the main trail very soon. Nope! You see, I figured out later that I had been on the south side of the little loop at the top of the mountain instead of the north side, so when I juked over, I hit the top part of the loop, not the part that jukes over to the main trail, so had I stayed on the path, I would have just continued to go in circles on the top of the mountain.

So I found a trail that went the right direction on the right side of the mountain and started down. It was just sort of treacherous. I think only deer could have traversed this trail safely but I didn't panic because I could still see the valley and landmarks below so if I could just get down the mountain on the right side, I could find the main road and walk back to my car (or call my trusted hiking buddy to come get me).

As I clung to trees along the trail to keep from sliding down to the rocks below, I prayed that God would get me down safely. About that time my husband texted wanting me to bring him a snack at work. I thought to myself, he may have seen me for the very last time and all he cares about is a snack! LOL! I stopped for a rest and got out my phone and just for fun opened Google and said, Google, where am I? A map pulled up on the screen and miracle of miracles, the main trail that I was looking for was on it so I followed the little blue dot on the Google map all the way to the main trail, sliding on my butt at times because it was too steep to try to walk it and picking up a few ticks along the way. Turns out I would have found it without Google but it felt a whole lot better knowing that at least Google knew where I was.

Do you ever feel like this in life? Lost, alone, in a wilderness, not knowing which direction to go? I know I have. And it's nice to know that at any time, I am a little blue dot on God's radar. He knows exactly where I am and where I need to get to. I'm not lost to Him. If I follow the directions He has mapped out for me in His Word, I will reach my destination. And I can call Him up anytime day or night and He's never out of range. We are so blessed to have a God that is so near. 

 





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Thankful November Day 10&11-Surprised by Abundance

11/8/2021

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"And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." Rev 22:1

I love streams. Listening to them is like listening to music. I've often wondered if music comes from the river of God that flows from His throne. Scripture does say that if we won't praise Him, the rocks will cry out. I just imagine that that heavenly river sings as it flows. I could be totally wrong of course but it's nice to sit and dream of heaven. (I secretly think that there will be popcorn balls at the marriage supper of the Lamb too. At least I'm hoping there are.)

This morning, I drove out to the mountain and took a trail I had never taken before. That's always a little daunting to me given that I have no sense of direction whatsoever. But I did have a map and an app on my phone that tracks my progress that I can follow back to my car if I get lost. 

I usually plan my hikes to go near water. I love to listen to it trickle over the rocks. I love waterfalls too and I was thrilled to find this little one along the way. As I walked back to my car, I was thanking God that I didn't get lost or snagged up by a mountain man and drug into the wilderness. (Hey, it happened to a girl back in the 60s.) I also thanked him for the little waterfall that I had seen. I often think that God does things like that just for me because He knows how much it delights me. Just as I said that, I looked towards the sun and thought I saw a waterfall. Sometimes the sun shining off a metal cabin roof can look like a waterfall, just in case you're wondering. As I bushwhacked into the woods, I came across this:


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That is so like my God. I sat down on the water's edge and just listened for a long while. I thought, isn't that just like God. Here I was thankful for a trickle, but He had so much more in mind. He is a God of abundance. He is abundant in mercy, in kindness, in compassion, in provision, in goodness, in redemption, in forgiveness, in wisdom, in knowledge, in all that He does and we are the object of that abundance!

Have you ever been surprised by the abundance of the Lord? I have many times. His abundance flows from His character and that fact that He is just a BIG God. He doesn't do things small. He may do small things, but He never does anything small. Think about that!

So today I am thankful that I was surprised by abundance and I am challenged to believe God for so much more than I can imagine because He wants to answer your prayers, "abundantly above all that you could ask or think!"  What are you asking Him for today? Get a picture in your mind of what that would look like and then get ready and see what the Lord will do!
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Thankful November Day 6-Farewells and Funerals

11/6/2021

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You may think it strange that today I would be thankful for farewells and funerals. I found it a little surprising myself.

Today my aunt was laid to rest at 96 years of age. My husband and I rose early this morning to make the almost 3 hour drive. As we drove, I thought of all the memories I had of her. She was a beautiful woman with dark curls, dark eyes and an infectious laugh. My mom and I used to go visit her on days when we got haircuts because they lived close to the salon where we went. My neck was always red and my nose itchy from the hairs that fell as I got my pixie cut. My aunt would put talcum powder on my neck and somehow knew that the perfect solution to an itchy nose was a snack. Her house almost always smelled of fresh cut flowers that were prominently displayed in the living room. Today I learned that her neighbor worked for a florist and kept her in abundant supply. That spoke to me of what kind of person she had been. My favorite thing about visiting was when she would play the piano. She could really play a piano and my love of music made visiting her always a delight. Perhaps she partially inspired me to learn to play myself although I will never command a piano like she did.  

My cousin, her son, is enough years older than me that I always thought he was a grown up so we weren't close growing up, but when I was around him, he was always warmly welcoming and kind and made me feel like the most important person in the room. I felt that again today when I walked into the funeral home and as I observed his interactions, I realized that he makes everyone feel that way. And when he hugged me, it just felt like an I'm-so-glad-we're-family kind of hug even though I hadn't seen him for over 2 years. And his wife, who I always thought was one of the most kind and beautiful women I ever knew was so gracious to us, taking time to "catch up" during the meal after the service, even after my uncle and cousin had left. That was a blessing. 

We attend funerals to let those left behind know that we care, that the person they lost was important to us and had an impact on our lives. I've buried two of my immediate family in the last 3 years and it seemed to me that every person that came to say goodbye also helped to lighten the load of grief, if just for a few moments. That's one reason that I felt so compelled to go today. I pray that my presence there helped to lighten the load, if just for a brief second. 

What I wasn't expecting was what I received by attending. When I saw my uncle, I saw my mother's eyes again and for a brief moment she felt very near even though she's been gone almost 20 years. My cousin looks strikingly like my brother, who passed way sooner than he should have, and when he hugged me, he held me tight just like my brother did the last time I saw him. All of these things seemed to fill in the empty years between today and when I lost them and brought them close again, if just for a little while. 

The minister soberly reminded us of the importance of knowing God in this life and the reality of not knowing him in eternity. I appreciated that so much. More and more I see the fragility of life as people that I know are passing from this world to the next. We really don't know what tomorrow holds, but if we know who holds tomorrow, then we can live in peace and anticipate eternity with joy.

As I talked with my uncle we spoke of the scripture that reminds us that those of us who know the Lord do not mourn as the world mourns because we know that the death of a believer is more of a "see you later", than a goodbye. And for a moment I saw that familiar flicker in his eye as he assured me that his wife was in a better place and his trust was in the Lord. 

So though today was sad and death causes us to mourn the way that life used to be, we know that there is a time to be born and there is a time to die. And today, a life well lived in-between was celebrated. Our loss is her victory. And that is reason to be thankful.
 




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Thankful November Day 5

11/5/2021

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 I awoke early this morning, even before the 5:15 am alarm. Maybe the smell of coffee woke me, I'm not sure. (I'm so thankful for coffee makers that turn on automatically!), but that's not what I'm going to write about! 

Let's suppose that the coffee maker caught on fire and I had to evacuate my house. What two things would I grab, other than family members. One, for sure, would be my Bible. My Bible is decades old. It is covered with packing tape to keep the leather in place. The ISBN# wore off ages ago. It's the one with the binding that has been cut and glued so many times, stock prices for silicon glue have drastically increased. People always say to me, "you need a new Bible." The problem is, I can't part with it. I don't think it's sacred or anything. The words in it are though. 

This is the Bible whose margins are full of study notes, sermon notes, and specific dates when God has spoken directly to me about anything. It's promises are colored in so that when I need them, I can find them quickly. 

This is the bible that I opened across my chest and clung to because in it was the promise God had given me that I was not going to miscarry my youngest daughter. I was in an ambulance on my way to a hospital, bleeding and passing huge clots. I knew what God had said He would do. I heard what the doctors were saying was happening. I clung to God and He kept His promise to me.

This is the Bible that holds the verse God spoke to me during a worship service when I was exceptionally upset about something promising me that He would comfort me. It's the one that holds promises spoken yet unfulfilled that I am eagerly anticipating. It holds my past, my present, and my future. In it are recorded the very best and worst times of my life. 

This is the bible that flew around our van the day we had a terrible accident. It was the Bible that I opened every single morning before going to the hospital beds that held my broken, comatose children. For months, God never once failed to speak something personally to me for the day. No matter what hard decision I had to make that day, God had already told me what to do.

This is the Bible that reassured me that everything would be okay when my husband was gravely ill and the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. It was the one that gave me promises to speak to him every time we had to make a frantic trip to the emergency room. 

This is the Bible that I slept with at night when my world fell completely apart, the one that held the promise of abundant, complete redemption and restoration. It's the one that I prayed on, cried in and laid beside my head on my pillow when I was all alone. It's the one that helped things that were happening make sense to me and the one that gave me courage to be strong and not give up.  

This Bible has been my counselor, my teacher, my correction, and my hope. Its words taught me of my sin, it led me to the cross where my shame was removed and my whole life was turned around. Its words have been my constant companion and my very best friend. They've never failed me, not once. 

You see, Jesus and His Word are one. This Bible contains Him, moving with me through life. It's my lighthouse, my safe refuge, my medicine when I'm sick, my hope and my joy, even when there seemed to be no reason to have any. It's my roadmap and my business plan. It defines me. It refines me. It's the most valuable possession that I own because it contains truth in a world full of lies and deception. It holds hope in a society that is quickly losing hope. When I read those words, they put a firm foundation under my feet, a shield all around me, protection for my mind and heart, and glorious promises of days to come when everything will be set aright for all eternity. I realize it's just a book from a natural perspective, but it holds powerful, life changing, life forming, life sustaining words. The world as we know it is fluid. Life is unpredictable and fragile. Nothing is permanent or fully trustworthy except for the Word of God. Are you wearing one out?

I don't know what the second thing I would grab would be. Possibly my purse or my jiffy pop because what is life without popcorn? 





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Thankful November-Day 3&4-I Shall Not Want

11/4/2021

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Yesterday was a busy day for me and by the time I had an opportunity to write, it was bedtime. I don't trust myself to write when I'm tired so I decided it would be better to combine two days instead of taking the chance. 

Today I am thankful that God knows the end from the beginning. When I am in frightening circumstances and I don't know how things are going to turn out, I quickly remind myself of this. It all goes back to believing that "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want" and all the goodness that follows that thought in Psalm 23. In recent years, as I've walked the creek during my prayer times, the Lord has taken me to that Psalm so many times. As I've walked, He has dissected and expanded my understanding of it, line by line. I didn't realize that it was possible to think deeply about one verse of scripture for 3.5 miles, but it is! 

As I've looked back through my journals, I've noticed that the Lord has prepared me for every single disruption to my otherwise easy life. We were betrayed in ministry. The Lord prepared me 6 months in advance. I got cancer. The Lord prepared me in advance and when I heard that word, there was no fear. We had a devastating car accident that nearly killed two of our children and for months before that happened the Lord had been building and strengthening me so that I could still say, "the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want." I suffered a grave personal loss and the Lord said "...put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full (plenteous, abundant) redemption." 

I can't tell you how many times, the Lord has spoken verses to me right before something terrible happens in my life and it's those verses that I cling to, meditate on, pray to Him, and choose to believe when what I see and feel with my natural senses is screaming the exact opposite. I've learned to recognize His voice and to take notice to what He's saying. You see, He knows what He is going to do. He's not afraid to say it. He's going to show Himself strong, He's going to flex those spiritual muscles and lay the devil flat to prove to me His love and power if I will just believe what He said. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."  He's going to prove He is who He says He is to draw me nearer and cause me to stand in amazement at what He can do as I sing "The Lord is my shepherd. i shall not want! I put my hope in Him and He abundantly redeems!" 

Above all things, the Lord just wants us to trust Him. We all say that we do, but for me, when the rubber hit the road and road was long and hard, I realized that I had some growing to do in that. When I grew weary in the journey and just felt that I couldn't take one more step, I was faced with two options-give up or trust. I was forced to face what I really believed about God, about His love, about His goodness, about His power and yes, about His very existence. I hated every single minute of that journey. It stole from me. It ate at me. It tried to destroy me and almost did but as I dug deep, I discovered that there is water, even in the deepest of valleys and the driest of deserts. "The Lord (truly) is my (good, good) shepherd! I shall not want! (Not ever). Blessed be the name of my Lord!





 



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Thankful November-Day 2

11/2/2021

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Grandkids! I'm featuring this guy because he had a birthday yesterday and I just love his hair in this photo. I love all my grandsons though. All 6 of them. You can't even begin to imagine what it sounds like at our house on Sunday evenings when they are there together. Spaced all the way from age 10 down to age 2, they provide us with all kinds of stimulation. Add to that two big dogs, a puppy, spouses and four siblings who seem to revert back to their younger years when they are together, there you have it-total family chaos. 

We weren't in a hurry to be grandparents. In fact, I remember that my husband had a timeline that stated that he would not be a grandparent before a certain age. I don't remember if my oldest daughter complied or not. I think it was close. 

The grandkids have been hard on us (our wallets) though. We can't go anywhere where we don't see something that we want to get for at least one, if not all, of the grandkids. "Wouldn't so-and-so love that? Can you imagine how much fun that would be for them? Do you think there'd be room in the yard for that? Where would we put that? We really need to move into a bigger house. That's kind of expensive, but hey, you only live once. I always wanted one of those when I was a kid. Well, if we get this, then we will have to get that to go with it. You know, we got this for one of them last year, so we should get it for the rest of them too. Let's torture their parents and buy this! Sweet Revenge!" 

Now, I'm sure that only grandparents understand these kinds of statements. We don't worry about them sleeping or eating right. We just fill the freezer with ice cream, the pantry basket with candy (or bee-bops) as the youngest one says, fill them up and send them home. When we take them hiking or to the creek, we don't worry that they don't have extra clothes or shoes, we just line the seats of the truck with plastic bags, take them to McDonalds so that everyone can question what kind of parents do these poor children have and then drive them home. We are the main supporters of the concession stands during sporting events. We keep "Get Air" in business. We know the kid's menu for every restaurant in town. We cause servers to shutter when we walk in and say "a table for 13 and 5 kid's menus please. And oh, can we have extra crayons please?" We'll drive 3 hours to go to a good toy store, just to see what's available. I have a file on my phone just with photos of things the little guys have pointed out to us or that we've seen in a store somewhere. We make lists of places we've been that one or more of them might like when they reach a certain age. At Christmastime, we'll fill a cart full of toys and then go get another one when we run out of room.  It's all consuming!

I've learned that family gatherings are not going to look like they do on Hallmark Christmas movies, but that's okay because when it's all said and done, all that really matters is that they remember that we loved them and that they had fun with us. In their latter years they will remember Pappy pile-ons, foosball tournaments in the basement, ice cream at the farm with the goldfish and real cows to pet, the train that whistles under the Christmas tree, jumping in the the trailer in the driveway, fireworks on 4th of July, and many other memories that are yet to be made. I know that I have memories like these of my grandparents and they are some of my fondest. 

Grandchildren remind us that we don't live forever but we can be forever young when we're with them. Thank you Lord for grandkids. 

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Thankful November-Day 1

11/2/2021

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To celebrate Thanksgiving, I'm going to write about one thing I'm thankful for everyday (hopefully) this month. I'm already a day late getting started and the reason for that is what I'm thankful for! 

For the last 18 years, my husband and I have owned a small lawn business. This included mowing, fertilization, snow removal, bush trimming, weeding, mulching-the general stuff. I've always hated lawn work. Despite my love of the outdoors, I think I was traumatized as a child when my father gave me a pair of hand clippers (for the younger generation, hand clippers were kind of like a huge pair of nail clippers. There's no power source except for you squeezing, squeezing, squeezing). And then he pointed to the two rows of spirea that ran the entire length of our 3/4 acre lot-on both sides- and told me to clip around the bottoms of them, after mowing, every week, for all spring, summer and early fall-in other words not necessarily as needed but as he desired. If my brother were alive, he would tell me that he had to do it too and to stop whining. But what he doesn't realize is that the older siblings only have to do it until they move out or the next sibling is old enough to take over. Being the baby almost guarantees that you will do it more years than any of your siblings ever did. And then as soon as you move out, all the sudden a weed-eater appears! I think dishwashers were invented that very same year too. Thanks Dad.

Now that we know what I'm not thankful for, let's get to why I'm thankful for our lawn business. It's over! I don't mean just for this season. I mean it's over forever! I've been released from lawn business hell! Yesterday we mowed our last 5 lawns-forever! Today as we sat at the park at lunch, eating DQ Blizzards, my husband and I actually enjoyed looking at the grass knowing that we can vacuum our vehicles and they will stay relatively clean, there will be no gas smell on the steering wheels anymore and when it snows, we can sit on the couch with our matching slippers and coffee mugs and sing with gusto "Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!" When school is over, we can actually go somewhere on vacation. When Christmas vacation comes, we will be able to go visit family without worrying about having to come home and shovel everyone out if it snows. We won't have to work until dark in the fall. We won't have to be in the sweltering heat in the summer, unless we want to be. Can you say Cape May?

It's been a long time coming but the days of "when we can get rid of the lawn business" have finally come! 

I have to admit though that there were some things that were beneficial about the lawn business. I learned the hard way the importance of sun screen. I wrote many Lawnmower Devotions (my old blog) for your reading pleasure. I learned that I could choose not to complain. I listened to a TON of sermons and entertained the neighbors with my off key singing as I mowed. I met a whole bunch of nice people that I wouldn't have met otherwise. I helped to provide for our family. 

Lawn Businesses are generally referred to as "seasonal businesses" and I can't even begin to describe how thankful I am that this season has passed! 






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