The Visitation

The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” John 4:6

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God in the Silence

 

 

 

 

Sometimes everything quiets down and we step out into the freshly laundered world, gingerly so as not to break the silence because we know it's sacred......

 

Sometimes, we get the grace to see everything as new as when it was first created.

And in that sacred silence that is part of the eternal, we feel the pulse of life.

 

He gives us the same wonder He feels.

 

Heaven and earth meet, and it is peace.

 

God lifts the veil.

 

 

The woods are lovely, dark and deep and I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep......Robert Frost

 

Photos by Carolyn Fulton

 

Remembering the bread

In the midst of my "not so good" day, I saw when I opened my lunch.

And I remembered......

Yesterday didn't start out so good. Shortly after I got to work, my supervisor came up and questioned me about "an incident."

It seems there is one who has it out for us and this morning she left another nugget behind. It was a treasure she mined from somewhere, and then sent it out to her OM and ours. She wanted to share the wealth. We launched our own investigation and could find nothing out of the ordinary.

No doubt about it, sometimes the stress at work can be toxic. In every area I hear the same thing:

"So and so won't do their job so I can't take a break"

"So and so made me feel like an idiot last time she trained me"

"So and so wouldn't even answer my phone, while I ran downstairs to get some food"

In every case, the complaints are valid and true. I know the people in question.

At certain workstations you can almost feel the tension crackling in the air, and yesterday, after "the episode" I was on edge. 

I have heard that the lady in question does this wherever she goes. We have notes left at our station. Nasty grams I call them. I haven't had to deal with a personality quite like her before at work, so this is new to me, but I am determined to win her over.

I feel sad that someone is that determined to catch others in the wrong. Makes me wonder what she is hiding. Or what is missing in her life that she feels the need to do this. I am determined to be a peace maker in this situation.

And then I worried all day about my car. Something is wrong and it may be major. And I didn't know whether it was still under warranty. Big dollar signs if it's not.

I go downstairs and see the huddled masses crouched over their lunches, talking, eating.....some in meetings, some catching a break before they go back to work. All of them treasured by God, every last one. I am thinking of getting out of this crowd.......sitting in my warm quiet car sounds so good.

It is when I am unwrapping my sandwich that I see it. And suddenly just for that moment, God breaks through. I see the homemade bread and it conjures a sweet and precious memory. I think of the first time we made it together this year. Elaine had never made bread from scratch.

Oh how she laughed at me, getting all involved in the dough. Memories washed over me, of my Grandma in the kitchen. Of walking in and seeing every size and shape of dough creation piled on the counter. I thought of crisp fall days and bread just out of the oven.

She watched me knead......."You gotta feel this," I said. And as I felt that familiar texture when it's still a little sticky but it's just the right kind of elastic, I said...."Yeah, baby!" and then gave a huge sigh. She asked if I wanted a cigarette. Honestly it felt a little naughty. I never realized how much I missed it!

My heart lightens like it has been suddenly been caught by a helium balloon lifted into the clouds and a smile stretches across my face right there in front of the microwave at work.

It was a God moment.

And that evening I prayed as my relief came in. I was calm. And so was she. I brought up the issue. Turns out she was resending the same report she sent out a few weeks ago. There was no "new incident."

I was a peacemaker, and it felt good.

Not only that, I found out my car is still under warranty.

God is good.......all the time.

Every Moment Counts

He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,  that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;  for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ Acts 17:26-28

God is waiting for us to invite Him into every moment of our day, and in every aspect of our lives. Just imagine.......He is already there and ready to make every single moment a Holy moment. That is something that is entirely possible when you realize just how close He really is.

Just imagine, every moment a sacrament.....walking to work, stopping for coffee, waiting for the bus, sitting down to your desk......imagine Him there, just before the phone starts ringing.

In every real moment of our lives. He is.

I often think of those moments right before September 11, 2001. If those people had known what was about to hit?

How incredibly Holy and precious each moment would have become.

But none of us really knows at any given time what is about to happen. That is why each and every moment matters.

Each one counts......savor the day.



And the thunder rolled......

"Thus says the Lord......Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Jeremiah 6:16

As I read the words of Jeremiah this morning, reflecting on the wrath of God poured out on a disobediant people, I felt a chill crawl up my spine. Jeremiah had the unpleasant task to be the mouthpiece of God to Israel.

"My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding within me. Because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war!"

Just then, as if ordered by God himself to put a little emphasis on His own words there was a terrible clap of thunder and I almost jumped out of my seat! The anger of God is something I never want to experience personally.

It is easy to feel a little "puffed up" as the Apostle Paul put it, when we read about all those rebellious things the Israelites did, how they strayed from God to worship foreign idols, statues that could neither talk walk or breathe.

How could they, we wonder? After God himself came down in a visual form.....a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day? After all He had done for them? And all along, there is a loving Father who wants His people back. He longs to love and cherish them and yet they push Him away.

There was another loud clap and in my mind I remembered all those times when I myself have push God away, thinking I knew better....thinking the plan I had for myself was better than the one He had for me. And yet, His mercy and love have pulled me back, over and over again. Not once has He ever refused me.

Oh how He loves us.......His mercy calls us back, new every morning.

As with all things of nature, it thrilled me no end, that clear and powerful reminder. It reminded me this morning who is in control, and it is most definitely not me.

To watch a lightning storm is to watch the finger of God touching down on the earth, and to hear His voice in the thunder a gift, a marvelous thing.

His power, my weakness.

When we forget where our help comes from

I look up to the mountains—

does my help come from there?

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth!

He will not let you stumble;

the one who watches over you will not slumber.

Indeed, he who watches over Israel

never slumbers or sleeps.

The Lord himself watches over you!

The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

The sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon at night.

The Lord keeps you from all harm

and watches over your life.

The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,

both now and forever.

Psalm 121

It's easy to forget where our help comes from sometimes. As I prayed yesterday, my face to the carpet, in whispers of desperation, "My shoulders are not big enough, Jesus, they are so small....." as tears threatened, "not nearly big enough to carry the sorrows and heartaches of loved ones back home, loved ones here, as well as my own, I can't do it."

And I realized my foolishness when His quiet reply came to my heart, "You were never meant to carry them, child, but I can, and not only that, I want to!"

I am so sorry Jesus......I kept you on the back shelf, again.

Why do we try to carry what we never meant to, I wonder? Sometimes we Christians think we are supposed to be strong enough, as people of faith. We tell ourselves things like we shouldn't be stressed because we have the Lord, after all.

I got up after my very short prayer and went outside. The morning was cool and beautiful......Elaine came out with me, already awake. She knew how hard my first day back would be, she knew the burdens I carried, because people already carrying big burdens recognize when others are buckling under the load.

We sat at the patio table as God colored the sky an impossible shade of violet and pink. She told me of a radio program she liked listening to from 5-6:00 in the morning, about stocks and bonds and finance. I loved that she wanted to share it. It was like a gift exchange sitting there, she and I in the quiet morning.

It was so peaceful, that little conversation, Heaven touching earth, because He was there too.

As she talked, light filled the sky and I kept on sitting. As I rose from my chair I said, "I better make a call."

I didn't go in, I couldn't go in, not yesterday.

And it was okay. Because sometimes the truth is that though you may not feel physically sick, you feel sick at heart, sick from stress. But sick is sick, and it's okay to be weak sometimes.

As long as we remember who it is that is strong.

I want to wish a very Happy Birthday to my Dad, who is 84 years young today!

Today's picture is for you, Dad. Almost 40 years ago we climbed this mountain together, what a time we had!

No words needed

Sometimes it's good to just imagine yourself in a quiet comfortable place.....

No words needed.......just a glance up every now and then, a nod, a smile......

Just simple enjoyment of being together in that moment, knowing that all is right in your world, because you have God and each other and that is all you need.

"This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: "Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength....."

Isaiah 30:15

The Joy of Being Found

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. Luke 5:16

Sometimes, when I am in a forest, I like to hide behind a tree and remember what it was like to play hide and seek. The excitement of being found.........The years fall away and I hear someone say, "I found you!" We all want the joy of being found, that is, by someone we want to be found by.

Today, try being a kid just for a few minutes. Play a game of hide and seek with someone. For those of you without kids it may be a challenge, but you can do it. Let the adult world fall away for just a moment......

Rediscover the wonder of the world. Hide behind a door and close your eyes. Listen to what's going on around you, the sounds of your home. And if there is silence, breathe it in and imagine being found. Count to 50 and hear the voice you had as a child, or remember the voice of a childhood friend, brother, sister, cousin.

Then imagine being found by God.

Imagine, He seeks us. All day, everyday. Just like he met Adam and Even in the cool of the evening. He wants us to find Him, and He's not hiding behind a tree, He's closer than you can imagine:

From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ Acts 17:

My niece loves hide and seek now. Sometimes she forgets the rules, she wants you to hide over and over again, and it doesn't matter, to her and to me, it's the joy of the game.
 
I hope I never get so caught up in rules that I lose sight of what God wants me to know. That He loves me, and He loves being found by me, always.
 

A Roomful of Royalty

“Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.“Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:18-20

As my feet hurriedly slapped down the stairs after work last night I was thinking about where to go. I had destinations in mind. Birthday business. Tomorrow is the Birthday of my very best friend, and as all best friends, I wish I could give her the moon. I know how tough this past year has been for her. There are so many things I wish I could do for her, so many things I wish I could give her......And she would deserve every one.

I thought.......She deserves a roomful of Royalty. A party to end all parties, a true celebration of her. Then I remembered that there will be a very special guest indeed. He is already making plans to attend. How could I have forgotten?.......Oh, Lord. I never want to forget you, please forgive me. The Holy Spirit, ever a gentleman, stands back and waits until I remember that He is the highest court in the land. Who else do we need?

It's gonna be quite a party indeed.

Invite Him today, into whatever you are doing. He is there in the midst of it, my friend. He is the third person at your table for three, you business meeting, your commute, your life.......

Thank you Lord, for everyday with you is a celebration.

Getting Small

Sometimes, when life gets overwhelming, it's a good thing to shrink yourself down and get close to a tree......and remember when you were small and the world was a very magical place where you believed leprechauns hid behind trees and watched you, and fairies played with fireflies at dusk.

You have to get small again and open your ears to what God wants to say in the deep silence.

He is saying, "See here......I have created all this beauty that you walk by everyday, just so you will know that I am here,

I have not left you and I never will.

I have made my mark and written my name across everything I have created.......and I made the moon so that you could look upon my face and be reminded and be comforted."

At times like these, I know why Jesus called His Spirit the Comforter......Just when I feel left out in the cold, like everyone "gets it" but me.....He comes and warms like a fire from the inside out.

His touch cures the ails of this world like nothing else can.

Multitudes on Monday

I love that we started out in a garden.......And I also love that Mary mistook Jesus for the gardener when she first saw him after He rose again. Somehow the garden holds great significance for God and for us. I don't think it is any accident that it was also a garden where He suffered either.

There is something supernatural about a little patch of earth. Something of Heaven. I always feel closer to God next to the earth. I love how you can make a garden anywhere. You don't have to have a lot of space and you don't even have to live in a part of the world where the weather is cooperative or mild. No matter if the dirt is like clay, you can buy good dirt where plants will thrive.

And then, there are all the wonderful analogies about seeds, planting, and harvest the Bible uses. It just seems right to have a little place where you can sit and meditate on all these things......and here is the magic part. It can even happen on a little window sill of a 16th floor apartment, that's the beauty of it.

My illustrious friend puts in gardens and landscaping and watering systems the way others arrange furniture....I always tell her she missed her calling, then again maybe she didn't. She has build a little oasis right here in the desert. A place where all but the very hardiest refuse to grow. Who would think to do it?

Dreamers, and life-givers, and gardeners that's who......people who don't mind getting a little dirt under their fingernails, people who love the seeing results, people who love to see things grow, and someone who loves to bring something out of nothing......who coaxes a green shoot out of a small seed.

Bringing life out of something dormant.

Someone who doesn't see the impossible, but someone who has a vision and carries it out, who says, "I could plant a garden there....."

Kinda like God did once upon a time.

Blessings in number.......#867-877

A new place to dream........tomatoes coming......promise of new life in the desert......evenings to eat outside.....days that are warm, but not too warm yet.......friends to sit and dream with.......family that binds us all together......good hard work that gives satisfaction.......gathering with the saints in worship, one more Sunday.....answered prayer for my brother

Thoughts

Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 1 Thessalonians 4:11

There is something divine about the simplistic beauty of doing tasks around the house......around the yard. There are times when everything you set out to do seems thwarted by some sinister being you can't see, and then there are those times where everything flows and there is a rhythm in it. One task leads to another and there is supreme satistaction that comes when a task is complete. A peacefulness.

That was today.

I wonder about the time when I will no longer be able to "do." I think that Jesus will come back before then but I really don't know. The way the world is going, I don't think He can keep from coming down and straightening this mess out for very much longer. But that's just me. I wonder about the "full number" the Bible talks about. I picture Jesus on His throne in His Nikes just waiting for that magic number to come up, and Him coming down here faster than a lightning bolt.

I wonder about the trumpet blast. I wonder if I will really be ready or if he will catch me off-guard. Every now and then I go to a movie on a Sunday, and I sincerely hope He doesn't come back on one of those times. I have just enough Baptist in me not to want that to happen.

Funny the thoughts that float around in this little 'ole mind of mine.

That's me today, just thinkin thoughts and writing them down.......

Extraordinary Life......

“Dear God,

I am so afraid to open my clenched fists!

Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to?

Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands?

Please help me to gradually open my hands

and to discover that I am not what I own,

but what you want to give me.” Henri Nouwen

 

 

When the little slip of paper came around to volunteer at church, I happened to notice a little box right next to help out in the special needs class. It was as if that choice alone of all the other choices was outlined in bold, yet I know it wasn't. I remembered my words, I said....."every big church should have one." Because of my niece Lauryn, I'm sensitive to it. I think it's important that people with special needs have a place in church, a class all their own, an option like everyone else.

I felt the Lord give me one of His nudges. "If you support it so strongly, maybe you should help out." I checked the box and prayed while my little slip was passed along with the others down the aisle. Because I knew I had to. Because I knew the Extraordinary Life class was something out of my comfort zone. I like safe, I like predictable. The truth is, sometimes the world feels out of my comfort zone.

Dear God forgive me, I didn't even know what hand over hand drawing meant when I talked to Amy on the phone and she told me a bit about the class. As I saw shortly after I got there, it means you put your hand over theirs, coloring in what they cannot. What would it be like to have a child who can't do the simplest things? Those things we all take for granted. I thought of Lauryn and how she can do just about anything physical and yet in her brain there are many words still fighting to get out.

As I put her little hand in mine and we colored in the outlined cross on the paper, it had to be purple, her favorite and also my niece's favorite too....... I suddenly felt the impact of what that meant......hand over hand.

Just like God takes ours and does the impossible.
And another curious thing I felt? My own weakness as well as her own. I didn't want to hurt her hand, and I didn't know if how I was holding it was comfortable for her. I complimented her on her beautiful nails, which her Mom, (it turned out to be Amy, the same lady I talked to on the phone) painted a brilliant sparkly deep red with a hint of pink.

And then there was Kathleen,  who had quite possibly the most beautiful pair of blue eyes I had ever seen, framed with wonderfully long dark lashes. In them, I saw the whole sky of Heaven. I have a feeling she sees more than the rest of us combined. She was 33 and all of 70 pounds soaking wet, also wheelchair bound. She smiled at me and I smiled at her. At that moment, I saw the Lord looking back. In her hands she clutched onto two balls, one in each hand. It was clear that she didn't want to let go of them.

She loves the song Jesus Loves Me.....they say her face lights up when she hears it.

As I looked at her little fists so tightly wrapped around what made her feel better, I thought of all the things I kept closed around my fists too, for fear of letting go.  I understood how she felt. In some ways we are not so different after all. 

These parents, these kids. These are the ones who teach the lessons. The ones the world so often calls the least of these. One thing I am sure of, Jesus loves them this I know, and I also know they are somehow closer to Him than I am.

Even so, I know He loves me too.

Photo credit: Google images

Multitudes on Monday

California Dreamin....... 

As we walked by this bus, which was covered front to back in everything under the sun, the tune that went through my head was the one by the Mamas and the Papas. Those of you under aged 50 may not remember them. You really never know what you might see in California, especially along the coast. It is nice to know that Jesus is in the center of the bus. I had to zoom in on that.

Well, even after 4 days of work and being back home, I still feel a bit of an afterglow from our trip to San Diego. This visit was sweeter than the last one. I remember being a little discouraged and even bored that last time. "Too many foreigners," I thought, "Not enough people speaking English," "Too crowded." It was good but not great.

This time, however, I saw it the way I saw it first. The beauty leaped out at me with full force. It's funny how you get spoiled. Things lose their luster when you see them again and again. This time was rich.

This time was sweet. I appreciated every single drop, every single morsel, every second. I felt as if I were breathing free air after being in prison for months.

I am so thankful for it.

So today I celebrate Multitudes on Monday. The one that I missed last Monday when I was actually there.





#813-823
Sound of the seals across the bay......balmy breezes to heal dry hair and skin.......boat bobbing in the bay, sails tipping......shrimp salad by the water.....precious free time.....and the health to enjoy it.....flowers that take the breath away......having fun with my camera......watching artists create their art.....and most of all knowing that God created it all with us in mind.....such a world of beauty!

I leave with one thought from Pastor Kevin today......

"We only believe the parts of the Bible we practice" I am still mulling over that one........

The Art of Being

 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

He held us captive, with his antics.

As he went through a whole routine of bathing and grooming, he seemed to know we were watching.

He even gave us a big smile for the camera......

Then he hid his eyes......

As we all watched, enthralled, I was struck by how a group of strangers became friends for the whole time he put on his show. We were unified in our adoration of his antics, his free spirit.

The simple beauty of watching one of His creations just being him (or her) self.

At peace in his world.

And for awhile, we were at peace in ours.

He gave us a gift, this little guy did.

I asked God, if I could keep it, that peaceful feeling I felt on the shore. He said, "Yes, there is plenty of peace where that came from just as long as you rest in me, child.

.........just rest in me.

So today I am taking a lesson from the otter, and rest in my place in Creation, just relax in the waves.

Just be.  

(click on pictures to make larger)

Multitude Mondays on the Road

I am posting my blessings on a Wednesday instead of Monday because I didn't want to miss an opportunity.......to thank Him again for outshining the stresses with blesses.

As I lay awake after my arrival, my mind swirling....one thousand thoughts converging......

colliding, worries tumbling over and over like a spin dryer.

Everything that comes with wanting to be everywhere at once when visiting family. The excitement of being there, and the sometimes extreme duress that came with traveling with someone extremely unpredictable, and with many special needs and challenges. It all swirled around.

My heart beating, my neck tense.....I prayed and let it all out to Him who listens best and can calm my heart when all else fails.

Still the blessings shine through the darkness. And many smiles were had and much laughter too. Now that I am home, I remember one after the other.

Being able to park the RV at my Aunt's place on the Mokelumne River, and it was a blessing to her too to have us there. A comfort to her since now she comes home in the dark, her husband spends his days and nights away in a rest home. She said over and over again how she enjoyed it....having us there.

Seeing my Mom's Bible study gals again.....their faith always shines through whatever they are dealing with, and there are many issues. But oh how we laughed and got a bit of study in too. Sometimes the fellowship is the most important part of the lesson.

Being able to spend time with Lauryn, my niece, my precious girl whose voice I still hear right now...saying my name which I waited so long for her to say. She has captured my heart with all the things she does......As I put scattered Lego's back in the bag, my heart tugged.....lurched for her and the fun we had. Leaving is so bittersweet.

Enjoying a walk downtown in the crisp fall weather......clicking with my camera and enjoying once again walking all the paths I used to walk.

And of course, being able to do some things for Mom and Dad who are so appreciative of every small thing I do. I only wish it could be more......enjoying great food cooked by my brother, who really missed his calling. He should have been a chef.

Throwing an impromptu party for the "girls" in the Motor home. Elaine cooked a wonderful dinner and we laughed until our stomachs ached. My Aunt came out later and said what a great time she had.....

And to top it off. A spontaneous side trip to the ocean. I promise, pictures will follow.............There was a special place she longed to go, my best friend.....but with her Mom along, there was not much peace or relaxation for her. Let's just say it was not a real vacation. Her dream of escaping there for a few days didn't work out, so she asked me......Want to take a side trip to the coast on the way back?

It would mean getting back with no time to spare for work. But suddenly the prospect of going there, standing on the pounding surf, was irresistible. And she beamed like the sun......We turned the "bus" to the West with our hearts singing.

And Oh, the seafood. The magic of the waves, walking for hours and hours on the beach, watching the sandpipers clown around the shore, and the otter who entertained us for a solid hour with his antics.

It was all so wonderful. There is truly nothing like praying by the ocean.

Getting to bed at midnight and getting up at four AM for work is something I have not done in a while. But the memories and bit of peace and relaxation we carried away is worth every bit of sleep lost.

Sleep can be caught up. Moments are for seizing,  and once passed we can't be sure they will come again.

#714-725

Eight Words

Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because........  
      All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers,
And its flower falls away,
But the word of the LORD endures forever.”
1 Peter 1:

I have felt out of words lately.....and that's okay because sometimes you just like drinking things in.

There is a time for contemplating....watching......listening......absorbing.

There is a season for that as well as writing. After all, before the writing comes the feeling. So, this morning I thought since I had none of my own words, I would go to God's word.

And somehow, that seemed to set things in motion.

The Word brings the life, and the life gives birth to words.

God stirred my heart up and I saw people around me differently. Sometimes I need my eyes opened. Well, most of the time I do.

I went to get gas and drive my car through the wash. For some reason when I got gas it didn't give me the option of getting a wash so I went inside. The nice gal I see in there all the time was busily working away. I always notice how helpful she is. I explained the situation......and as usual she was very accommodating. We talked and joked, and I went to get my wash.

While the soap suds were flowing down my window........God kept bringing her to my mind.

The Spirit said, you should let her know that you appreciate her....that she is doing a good job. I said, I will tell her next time.

He said, maybe she needs it today.

I went back in. I let her know that what she does is noticed......appreciated.

As I was drying my car I saw a man coming out of the store. He smiled sheepishly, as if he wanted to be friendly......once on the way in the store and once on the way out....I think he wanted to say something nice. But I got the feeling that maybe he didn't know if it would be appropriate. Men have to worry about that now. About how we might take it, I guess. I gave a smile back.

He was driving a cement truck. Just a hard working guy on his way to a job. Not an easy job either. He touched me. It touches me how he is part of me, part of our country. How we are all part of each other when it comes right down to it.

Maybe I am feeling a bit protective of our country lately. It seems almost popular to beat up on America....at least it seems that way to me. We are all just doing the best we can here. Dealing with prices going up on just about everything we buy.

But we won't give up. We will keep going, keep trying. We will do the best we can........Because it's the right thing to do. Because giving up is not what America has ever been about.  

So tomorrow I may get impatient and suck in my breath at how others drive on the freeway, but right now I love everyone. And I think it all started when His word sparked a fire that leapt to life with these eight words:

Love one another fervently with a pure heart.

A God Gift

I get to go on a CRUISE!



We are going to this place........I had no idea where Belize was until a couple of days ago. I must admit when I first saw where it was on the map, my fatalistic overactive imagination conjured images of drug lords and kidnappings and assault rifles. Immediately I got on the travel website to get some facts. So far it sounds very intriguing, especially for someone like me who loves history. It has been featured many times on the Travel Channel and also House Hunters International. Two people I told at work immediately started gushing about it....yes, they actually gushed. I feel safer now.

So, how it all got started.........I saw an ad in the paper asking for writing submissions. Well, all I saw at first were the words: WRITE and CRUISE. Contest was sponsored by the good people at  Home Instead Senior Care. They wanted stories about caregivers sacrificing to care for loved ones at home and the winning submission would send the worthy caregiver on a cruise.....I could think of no one more worthy or in need of a cruise than my best friend who has been through so much the past several years with her folks. I tip-tapped my entry in the space....then I had to cut, and cut again.

I whittled it down to two words under the limit and hit "send."

I didn't hear anything for a few months so I figured it was already done, then lo and behold, I got an email day before yesterday. My essay was one of the winners of the caregiver cruise for two so Elaine (and I) will be headed for Belize in January. Wheeeee! I still can't quite believe it. It's a God thing. Sometimes He just gives one of those completely unexpected gifts, God gifts I call them.

And what is so wonderful is that my very generous and humble friend would hand this trip right over to someone else if she thought they were more deserving than she. No, no no, I will not let her.

Of course, when I read my submission again, the first thing I see is a big whopping error that I can't believe I let slip by. But when I think about it, isn't that just the way God works?  If I had sent off a perfectly polished copy my ego would have had every opportunity to get all puffed up, as the Apostle Paul put it so well.

I am so grateful for this opportunity to see more of God's good creation with someone so deserving of this. Someone who has missed so many vacations and left her dreams of another cruise somewhere far in the future, if at all. God had other ideas. I feel like He gift-wrapped it just for her.

"Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

Evening Prayer

 

Lord our God,if I have sinned this day in word, deed or thought,
forgive me all, as the good and loving God You are.
Grant me peaceful and untroubled sleep,
and deliver me from every attack and design of the evil one.
Raise me in due time to give You glory;
for blessed are You, with Your only-begotten Son and all-holy Spirit,
now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

One of my favorite moments of the day is when I lay my head on my pillow, give a sigh and say a prayer of thanks. Thanks for what I did right, and maybe what I did not so right, that I have another chance to do it all over again tomorrow, by His grace.

This morning was a tough one. I felt as if everything I have been going through lately caught up with me at once. Tears flowed effortlessly as I stumbled around in the early morning hours getting ready........I wanted, needed to have a confirmation that God heard my prayer. Knew how I felt.

Sometimes we just need that as humans. We feel far from the angels, even though we know they are there. We need a touch. Sometimes we get the answer throughout the day......little assurances we feel.

Sometimes, He uses others to lift us up and over.....a smile here, and hand on the shoulder there.

And sometimes, like this morning. He shows us right away. It was as if a strong hand.....His, lifted me up and sent me on my way, and I was a little bewildered and amazed by it all..... awestruck that He would do that for me. But He did. Of that I have no doubt.

Thank you, loving Father, for knowing just what I need at the time I need it. I give you my days and my nights, for they all belong to You.

Your love for me is something I will spend my whole life trying to understand.

Prayer at top from source: http://www.orthodoxchristian.info/pages/Evening_Prayers.htm

Remembering

September 11, 2001 was my first what I call, "Where were you moment" I thought it fitting to quote from a piece of Gordon MacDonald's journal. He was a Pastor who volunteered as a chaplain for the Salvation Army as soon as the events unfolded that day. Here is what he wrote.....

"And more than once I asked myself--as everyone asks--is God here? And I decided that He is closer to this place than any other place I've ever visited. The strange irony is that, amidst this absolute catastrophe of unspeakable proportions, there is a beauty in the way human beings are acting that defies the imagination. Everyone--underscore, everyone--is every else's brother or sister. There are no strangers among the thousands at the work site. Everyone talks; everyone cooperates; everyone does the next thing that has to be done. No job is too small, too humble, or, on the other hands, too large. Tears ran freely, affection was exchanged openly, exhaustion was defied. We all stopped caring about ourselves. The words "it's not about me" were never more true."

No church service, no sanctuary, no religiously inspiring service has spoken so deeply into my soul and witnessed to the presence of God as those hours last night at the crash site.

In all my years of Christian ministry, I never felt more alive that I felt last night. The only other time I can remember a similar feeling was the week that Gail and I (his wife) worked on a Habitat for Humanity project in Hungary. As much as I love preaching the Bible and all the other things that I have been privileged to do over the years, being on that street, giving cold water to workmen, praying and weeping with them, listening to their stories was the closest I have ever felt to God. Even though it sounds melodramatic; I kept finding myself saying, "This is the place where Jesus most wants to be."

George MacDonald, volunteer Chaplain for the Salvation Army on 9/11/2001