Grateful for our freedoms.....

"Lord, we pray for these brave men and women standing in harm's way so that we can live freely and continue to enjoy the blessings you shower upon us in this land. May they all come home soon. Forgive me Lord for not praying for them more often, I sometimes forget they are still over there, but they are. There is so much we don't see. So much of their daily lives that we have no clue about, the sacrifices they make for us. May we join with them in prayer today....."

Counting the tremendous blessings of freedom and those who have paid the ultimate price with their lives, now and in years past. Their courage in the face of fear, death and destruction is unimaginable to me in my safe little life.

#323 walking about freely in my own neighborhood, #324 freedom to worship where I please without fear, #325 being able to sleep without fear of someone coming to throw me out of my own home, #326 free to live and work without fear of someone taking away everything I own, #327 free to shop in stores where food is plentiful, or to grow my own food...#328 being able to take a breath and know I won't hear gunshots, bombs outside my window, #329 enjoying the freedom and privilege of learning and knowing our children can go to school unthreatened #330, being able to enjoy the luxury of time off and vacations......I wish those in the military could take a long one right now. They deserve it!

Most of all, I celebrate the true freedom we have in Christ today, for it is His grace, His love, His sacrifice, that makes us free indeed! What an unspeakable gift.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36

Continuing the gratitude counting daily....

How Big is Your God?

Even now, I can hear my former Pastor Gary Kinnamon's voice ask the question, "How Big is Your God?" I had heard many messages before on that subject, but for some reason, he brought it home in such a way that I never forgot it.

Being human, I still let circumstances overwhelm me, threaten to make me forget that God is bigger than anything I can ever face, but I never really forget it for long. My prayer is that you will let this one thing sink in today. I have seen God move in ways and situations that I thought were immovable, and I am sure you have too.

He is bigger than:

Any addiction
Any broken relationship
Any illness
Any lost dream
Any circumstance life can throw at us....anything!
"Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:26,27
He is with you now, ready. Waiting in the wings to come to your aid....just ask. He may not eliminate the "problem" although sometimes He does, He will be with you in the midst of whatever it is you're facing. We have that assurance in His Word! We can rest in that. "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life...." and "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever-"
Psalm 138:7,8

The best gift....

Ready to go to Yosemite!

I didn't know how she would respond when she saw me come down the escalator on my arrival. Being a special needs kid, you can never be sure. I was hopeful, I was expectant. Mom had told her I was coming and she said her face had lit up in response. She is my wonderful niece, Lauryn. Now 7, she was a late talker, and has some of the characteristics of autism, but is also very demonstrative, loving and engaged with those she is closest too, so no one is quite sure. She does have a fear of floaties in pools, balloons and popping gum and for a long while, men with beards.

One thing we know, she never misses a thing. She may not have a full vocabulary yet, but she makes herself known in every other way. Every new word she speaks is full of wonder for us all.

She saw me when I was at the top, coming down, and she ran to her poppa (Grandpa, her all-time favorite) excitedly. She was holding her doll, jumping up and down, running to and fro, not knowing what to do. When I got to the bottom she ran up, holding out her baby with her eyes closed, (what she does when she is embarrassed but still wants to make contact) and held her out for me to take, which I did, overjoyed to have received her most precious possession! I can't think what would have happened if I had rejected her gift....left it lying, the thought is unbearable!

She didn't say "I love you," audibly but she gave me what was closest to her heart. She is very attached to her "babies" right now. They are not just dolls to her but her very own babies. She talks to them, feeds them, takes them everywhere....and she didn't hesitate to trust me with them. I will never forget that one most precious moment at the airport.

On my last day, when I left her in her classroom, I wanted to wail like a baby myself. But I swallowed my grief for another time. The time was this morning....in prayer. We bonded again these past two weeks, her love is won with repeated attempts at closeness. At not giving up. Little by little trust is gained. I wait for the day she will throw her arms around me and say, "I love you, Aunt Lori" and hug me tight, I admit, I want that for me, when she is ready. But for now, I am happy with all the little ways she shows me.

God wants us too, when we are ready, to give Him our most precious possession too, our hearts!

Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

The hope of God is eternal

Bridalveil Falls,Yosemite National Park. Being here is like visiting an old friend, having camped there many times over the years.

I found these verses today when I was reflecting on the last two weeks away....so many memories made, so much joy, and also the sorrow of parting, always mingled in. Why must life be so hard for so many? Why must we always have problems, sadness, mixed in with all the goodness? God answered me this way through the prophet Isaiah....

"Yes, my child, right now in this life there is always some sorrow, some disappointment mixed in with all the blessings, but, look now at what I have done! I have pointed to the hope and assurance that there will come a time when all will be restored, as it was meant to be, for I have promised it! And in the meantime, I have poured out My Spirit who gives a comfort that will never leave you. So that in spite of everything, you can have this perfect hope, and have it now."

"Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered as a forest.

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness will abide in the fertile field. And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places; and it will hail when the forest comes down, and the city will be utterly laid low.

How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, who let out freely the ox and the donkey." Isaiah 32: 15-20

This is the hope of His Word and it never fails! It cuts through everything with a hope that will last beyond this life, and this world. It will never die.

Home

I am back home in Arizona! Soon to be blogging again and getting all caught up with everyone.....Can't wait. What a blessing to be missed in two places but what emotional turmoil as well, part and parcel of having family and friends in more than one place. Due to some winds and tempurature variation, my landing was bumpy. I am not in love with flying so I was very glad to get back on the ground! Look for a new post tomorrow!

"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, nor let it be fearful." John 14:27

In the stillness...

As I was swinging in the twilight, the patio lights flicked on. My folks have always had lights around the back deck, sometimes they change, but always they are there. Dad turned them on for me because he knew I was sitting out in the swing to reflect, to end the day.....Something tells me like the breath in the trees that this moment will not come again. The particular wind in the trees, snatch of neighbor girls singsong voices, in them I hear my own voice mingled in from years ago. The gentle clink of windchimes, the single bullfrog, only will happen just this way, tonight. Circumstances may be similar, but my feelings, thoughts, sentiments, frame of mind, just this way, just tonight.

The stillness envelopes me as I remember things of long ago. I see the spot in the yard where the clothesline stood. I see the sheet drapped over it and I see us fishing for prizes at my birthday party once. My brother and his friend Doug attaching prizes behind the sheet.....I feel the sadness that comes when past and present collide, and a bit of joy too. This is life, and the breath of God flows through every moment we exist.

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account." Ecclesiastes 3:10-15

Multitude Mondays

For several centuries the Celtic church of Ireland was spared the Greek dualism of matter and spirit. They regarded the world with the clear vision of faith. When a young Celtic monk saw his cat catch a salmon swimming in shallow water, he cried, "The power of the Lord in in the paw of the cat." The Celtic chronicles tell of the wandering sailor monks of the Atlantic, seeing the angels of God and hearing their song as they rose and fell over the western islands. To the scientific person they were only gulls and gannets, puffins, cormorants and kittiwakes. But the monks lived in a world in which everything was a word of God to them, in which the love of God was manifest to anyone with the least creative imagination. How else, they wondered, would God speak to them? They cherished the Scriptures, but they also cherished God's ongoing revelation in His world of grace. "Nature breaks through the eyes of a cat," they said. For the eyes of faith, every created thing manifests the grace and providence of Abba. Brennan Manning, "The Ragamuffin Gospel"

Continuing the gratitude counting daily....


#315 getting reaquainted with old friends, #316 overhearing a Mom's whispered prayers in the dark, #317 the beauty of our animal friend's companionship, #318 phone calls that draw us near even when we are far away, #319 loving hands held together in prayer, #320 sitting in the porch swing at twilight, #321 a Dad who still wants to make sure I have enought covers......some things never change, #322 Gods amazing grace which covers all.....