When you feel de-valued

She heard the questions she has heard so many times before falling around her, and her own hollow answers bounce back against the walls.....the ones they wanted to hear. As she walked out, the real answers thundered around inside her head. Just once she wanted to give the real answers, not the ones pertaining to the company.

What grade are you?

What am I meat? If I were tuna I would be dolphin safe 100 percent albacore fillet baby!  USDA grade triple A. I am all but signed sealed delivered to Heaven, the fact that I am not there yet, means I am still breathing. God proved it with His mark of the Holy Spirit. I am a little lower than the angels, that's how the Bible describes me......that's what grade I am. Take that.

Do you have any aspirations of higher learning?

What kind of question is that? Of course I do. I hope and pray that I am learning a little bit more each day I am on this earth as God in His great mercy grants me the time. I would spend everyday in a classroom if I could, but I really do need to pay bills. I believe in improving myself and my mind because God gave it to me to use, not to waste. I would go to writing classes, music history classes, and religion classes everyday if I could and be a professional student.....I have motivation and I look forward to getting up in the morning , I am not a slothful unmotivated person when it comes to learning, despite what my resume says.

The truth is, there is something not right about this 'ol world system and we all know it. It is broken. Many times the workplace pits us one against another, and there must be a system of measurement used to set us apart. Too many times, this system makes us feel de-valued as people.

As as result, we walk out of meetings feeling two feet tall. But here is the truth.......God numbers every hair on our head.

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Luke 12:7

And even though we are living in a dark world, we are heading into a world of light, where God is king........"for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light" Ephesians 5:8

This ol world is groaning under the weight of sin and the curse and that snake still slithers in the grass though he knows his time is short.

We are all a spark of divine fixed with an eternal destiny....all of us a combo plate of heaven and hell.  

As I stood at the counter this morning, it felt good to say "No meat" for my breakfast sandwich. Though I know that meat is permitted and God has called it all good, I also know that in the beginning, animals were meant for companionship and not food.  

Way back when, when God presented them to Adam and he named each one. I like to think he put his hands on each of their heads when He did it.

 "And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name." Genesis 2:18,19

And God called it all good. And it still is.

When Church Happens

He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

I went to church but I didn't go all the way in. To be honest, I just didn't feel like hearing another sermon. I have heard it all before. I have sat and filled in the blanks dutifully, like one more task I have to check off. Done. On to the next thing.

I miss the interaction. I miss how at my old church they would ask if anyone had a burden, a need. And then others standing by would surround them, touch them, hands like gentle doves lighting on shoulders, backs........ and the Pastor would pray. Sometimes they would cry and we would want to cry too. There is something powerful about the laying on of hands.....passing the Spirit from one to another.

It unifies us all.

Somehow I can't escape the feeling that we are leaving with our burdens intact. There might be a burning need right next to me, and I would never know it. An inner cry for help like a dial tone unanswered.

We leave as the islands we are. Untouched. Still carrying the heavy load.

I wonder and not for the first time if the Spirit is not quenched with all our organization. Just one Sunday I wish the Pastor would stop and say, "Now everyone turn to your neighbor, not the one you came with, the one you don't know, and pray for each other for 15 minutes."

And I miss the altar call. Some say it's just not needed anymore. It makes people feel embarrassed, singled out. But I disagree. I feel like it's what draws us all in, and holds us together. Makes us remember when we were the one propelled out of our seat, and how that aisle looked impossibly long.

And when it was just you and the Lord, and no one else. And somehow, you know that this one thing, this one moment will change the course of your eternal destiny. What in the world matters more than that? I believe churches are robbing their congregations when they take this Holy moment away.

Don't get me wrong. I believe in the church more than ever. When I miss it, something is wrong. But I also think that church happens more often than not after we leave the building.

As we sat yesterday with old friends, listening to all they have been through since we had last seen them I felt church happen with the exchange of tears. When she said she was finally getting help in dealing with the death of their little boy. That little boy who was their whole world and in some ways still is.

I can see how that little boy is so alive to them still. And how if he knew what a shadow his death made on their marriage, how sad he would be. I wish I would have told her that if he knew his Mommy was finally getting help, that he would smile from Heaven.

We talked of how it will never go away, he will never go away. But you learn to make some kind of peace with it. And go on for others who still need you.

Church happens when love happens, and not just on Sunday. But over coffee, in between classes, in parking lots, in school buses, everywhere God is.

It happens when we remember the Cross and what was done on it, for us. And that every single thing we bear in this life, He already dealt with.

It was nailed to the cross when He was.

In light of that, we stand at the edge of eternity every day. And with each day, no matter what we have to handle, our gratitude can't help but grow.

We just can't stop counting the gifts. Join me today? And Ann at Holy Experience here.



Free Indeed

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

 

Today I got to enjoy something not everybody does.

In fact, many people in the world could only dream of what I got to do. 

I got to get up free from fear.

I didn't have to worry about someone taking my life.

Or the life of someone I care about.

 

And last night as I went to sleep,

I didn't have to fear someone coming in and taking what was mine,

or harming those I love.

I got to sleep in safety and security.

 

I got to get in my car and enjoy knowing it would start.

Because I have a job that allows me to take care of it.

Put gas in it.

 

And I got to drive to work.

Many people now don't have that luxury,

that freedom.

 

And I got to do all these things feeling good.

Not sick.

Some people have to work sick or in pain

because they are afraid they will lose

their jobs if they don't go in.

 

Then next week, I will get on a plane

and fly away to see family.

 

When some people have so many responsibilies

they can't ever take time off.

 

But the biggest thing I am grateful for,

that is, next to living in this great country.......

 

is the freedom that Jesus gives me each and every day.

The freedom that He bought for me

with His very own life.......in light of that great fact,

 

there is always something to be grateful for.

 

"Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace." Romans 6:1

How we can still have hope

"Friends, Jesus come down to a place where every last man, woman, and child is living on death row. You'd think the least thing we could do was draw close and comfort each other, but no. Except for a few loved ones, we close the doors of our hearts and bolt them tight on each other." Frederick Buechner, Listening to Your Life devotional

As born again believers, we have our feet firmly planted in two worlds. This idea of the Kingdom coming to earth was a theme that Jesus spoke about again and again. Everybody always tried to figure out what in the world He was talking about. He said, it is here, it is now. And they scratched their heads, and so do we. Because as we look around we see a world in a state of disrepair.......a world wounded and cursed.

They were probably thinking, "What world is He living in?"

And yet, there is still so much beauty shining through it. We can see glimpses of how God meant it to be in the very beginning when it was unmarred, perfect.....and so were we.

And all around us, people are on their way to one of two places. There are no other choices. This earth is as close to in between as it gets.

The miracle is that, even as we asks ourselves how we can still have hope, even when friends and family scurry like cockroaches when the light is flipped on. We know the answer.

When we look around and everyone we put our hope in has gone and we are as alone as the woman caught in adultery. We wait for the stones to strike our flesh and to our relief, we hear the thud as they strike the ground instead. And then the miraculous part.....Jesus is there. And with a smile in His voice He says, "Where are your accusers?"

We feel her freedom as she walks away, forgiven and on her way to a new life. That same freedom is ours. And that's why we can still hope. He is here, He is now, and we aren't in Heaven yet, but we can see the shore.

And even in the halls of the rest home, where the antiseptic rises up to meet us, and we smell the chaser smells after, the ones the soap and cleanser tries to hide. We feel it here too. The hope in the midst of fear......the Heaven in the midst of hell. In that place, in all places, people are on their way to Heaven.

We hear and sing the songs in church, and we remember the times when they were just nice songs. And then we remember when the inner light was flipped on. When the Holy Spirit collided with ours. Now we sing and the words spring to life.

Thankful today, so thankful for the One who never leaves, and the one who keeps count of our deeds Himself........#922-932

water that refreshes like nothing else does, garden reaching up to sky, quiet talks that unburden souls, new friends, living water that never runs dry, good medical news for my Mom, courage to put one step in front of the other...again, birds in the fountain, safe trip home for Elaine's brother, sauce made from home grown tomatoes bubbling on the stove.

 

Everyday Miracles

By your words I can see where I'm going, they throw a beam of light on my dark path. I've committed myself and I'll never turn back from living by your righteous order. Everything's falling apart on me, God, put me together again with your Word.......Psalm 119:105-107 The Message

I went out to pray at first light.......my coffee and communion, I call it. My favorite part of the day. But I felt somewhat flat, like someone blew out my insides with a straw. But I was okay with that. I have learned not to trust how I feel so much, but to trust God instead. So I waited in the quiet.

Sometimes, in order to get the miracle, you have to go through the obedience part first. It's kind of like exercise really. I know the more I think about it, the less likely I will do it. But I have an expectation that when I go out, put on the shoes, turn up my Ipod, start walking, I will feel better.

So, still feeling a bit hollow, I did just that. I cranked up the music and felt the air push through my lungs. My feet picked up the pace, hearing the words Casting Crowns were singing....."Jesus can you show me just how far the east is from the west, cause I can't bear to see the man I've been, keep rising up in me again......in the arms of your mercy I find rest.

And I thought of miracles, and how God has been with me through it all, been with my family, my friends. I can talk of miracles, all right.....and big ones. Like when my Dad was in a prayer meeting and the Holy Spirit wouldn't let him rest until he went home, and that's when the phone rang and he got the terrible awful news......

And another time, when my Mom and Dad were in prayer for my sister-in-law who was dying of cancer, praying on their knees in the bedroom, when a snow white dove came to rest on the window sill and it never left, the whole time they were praying. They never saw it again. And she has been with Jesus 14 years now.

And as I pick up my pace even more. I feel it. The miracle.......life pumping into my heart, my soul. The Spirit leaping joy within me as I hear Chris Tomlin sing about how water was turned into wine and He opened the eyes of the blind. And right then, He was opening my eyes too. Faster, and faster I walked, and now ran a bit too.

Our God is greater our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other......There's no one like You......None like You.

The daily miracle is this, that every day He opens our blind eyes.

The Spirit was bursting joy inside me now.

And then Francesca Battistelli sang......Savior I come, quiet my soul.....remember. Your blood was spilled for my ransom, everything I once held dear, I count it all as loss....Lead me to the Cross where your love poured out. This is it. The everyday miracle that is ours as believers.

I looked up to see a dove with a branch in her mouth and I thought of Noah, waiting for land. This is our inheritance, our history. This right to expect from God is ours every day and that is a miracle in itself!

By the time my walk was over, I didn't want it to end, so I walked a bit further and thought again of my former Pastor and what he used to say. It's Jesus plus nothing.

Jesus plus nothing. That is the pure and simple truth. He is everything and in all and through all. I listened as the next song came on. Don't know how it is you looked at me, and saw the person that I could be.....awakening my heart, breaking through the dark, suddenly Your grace......

Like sunlight burning at midnight, making my life something so beautiful beautiful, mercy reaching to save me.....And as I finished my walk, run.....I was filled to the brim in the knowledge that Jesus is indeed, everything.

He is my Lord, my God, my husband, me being part of the church, my savior, my friend, my all in all. Everything starts and ends with Him.

And it's all an everyday miracle. Please join me and some special friends, Ann and Duane on their sites to celebrate our faith and count His blessings on a Monday.

Walking and praying with God in the morning, a new job opportunity for Elaine's nephew and family, being revived in the Spirit, a new garden springing to life, fresh tomatoes on the counter, communion with the Saints yesterday, the joy of seeing life spring from Your word, staying sane, (just barely) dealing someone on a daily basis with a mental illness, projects that keep hands busy and mind neutral, a few days off after a tough week, and last but not least.

I am thankful today for those who continue to risk their lives for our Freedoms which we hold so dear. Keep them safe in Your hands, Lord. #911-921



Songs I listened to today:

Francesca Battistelli: Lead me to the cross, Beautiful Beautiful
Casting Crowns: East to West
Chris Tomlin: Our God
Matt Redman: You Never Let Go

The Wonderful Sameness of God

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

From my prayer journal:

The wonderful "sameness" of God. It is quite a thing to contemplate. While the conversion experience itself may vary from person to person, but the end result is the same.......we are born anew, fused with a Holy God for eternity. At one point in our lives we had a crisis of soul. We had to answer the question once and for all. Am I going to walk God's way or my way? Once we are faced with the facts, we must do something with them.

We can read the words of St. Augustine from AD 386 as he reels under the weight of his soul struggle in a garden long ago, and it resonates with us because it happened to us too and it speaks to the wonderful sameness of our God. Where it actually happens doesn't matter, but what does matter is this........Once the Holy Spirit taps you on the shoulder, there is no doubt about who it is that is speaking to you.

Change is now so much a part of our daily life that we think of it as normal. At any given time at work I have to be ready to change, do something different, learn something new, or train someone else on what I already know. But I can count on one thing to not ever change......God.

He is the same yesterday, today and forever. And so are His standards. It's a wonderful thing to be able to count on.

Then you called me and cried to me and broke through my deafness! You sent forth your beam, the light of your magnificently beautiful presence. You shone your Self upon me to drive away my blindness. You breathed your fragrance upon me....and in astonishment I drew my breath.....now I pant for you! I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst for you......You touched me, and I burn to live within your peace. Augustine, Confessions 10

Collecting thanks today with the body of believers everywhere........the wonderful sameness of our God, that He always hears the cries of the heart and is quick to deliver......cool morning breezes and being to still sit outside......small moments of peace that make it easier to go on.....being so thankful for being able to tell my Mom how grateful I am for her yesterday......watching little seedling reach for the sky......a fresh batch of library books, oh joy.......stories with happy endings.......being a listening ear for someone who needs it........the surprise rainstorm we got........the grace of being thankful when the road gets hard because God is worthy of it. #888-899

Looking back to what's ahead.....

"Keep your face to the sunshine
and you cannot see the shadow.
It's what sunflowers do."
by Helen Keller

Been thinking about.........Soft answers. And how the Bible says they turn away wrath. All this time I was thinking it was to turn away the hearer's wrath, but maybe the whole point is to turn away the wrath of the deliverer as well.

There is always more behind what Jesus says. The Bible is filled with layers. The more I read it the more layers and meanings God reveals.

Life sometimes feels like it's going frightfully fast. I find myself wanting to stop the stream of it, plug the hole with my finger to keep it from flowing, rushing past......stop it in midstream. And yet I want to move fast forward to retirement. Maybe, I think, life will move more slowly after that. If I can only just get there.

Meanwhile, during the night our minds manufacture dreams through our fears, joys and sorrows. I dreamed one night that I had pulled up to a campsite bulletin board. You know the kind where people put their paperplate message on the board so you will know where to find them? Except I awoke, heart pounding, because I realized they were gone and I could not go where they were.

They went to the place of too much time gone by......Aren't we all drifting there, even now?

I wonder? Is that part of what drives us to write? To stop time, freeze the moment. Never forget?

These days I find getting older brings a certain comfort. Comfort in knowing the truths I have believed for so long have been verified, proven true. Only years and experience teaches that. Not any school that I know of, except the school that God puts us through.

The more I read the Bible, the more it becomes alive. The more try to live it, the more I know it's true. And when I clutch it to my chest I can actually feel it saving me. It is a book like no other, it is pulsating with life.....

Redemptive power of both the redeemed and the Redeemer.

And this is one song that has no end.

The song of the redeemed. Let Heaven and nature sing.

When life feels stagnant

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21:5,6

I was kind of pouting yesterday.......Well, complaining actually. I was informed I have to train yet another person for my job because the person I just got finished training may go on to another position......may. He is interviewing for other jobs. To be honest, it irritated me. That means I am stuck here once again.

But the Holy Spirit did His convicting work rather quickly. Pulled me up short. He does that to me often. He said, "Being stuck is a luxury you have that many others would give anything for..." Including my own brother. Oh, God forgive me. And if I feel stuck, I have no one to blame but myself.  I have options, I have retirement (as of right now), I have health care, I have time off, paid time off.......I started ticking them off, all the blessings. So many. And I realized again that Gratitude is the key. It is what keeps the fresh water flowing in our lives.

God forgive me.

The truth is, as people of God, we never ever have to feel stagnant or stuck, anywhere. Our God is the God who makes all things new. And when Jesus came up out of that grave, He made all things new forever!

Revelation is speaking of a time to come, when God surely will create a new Heaven and a new Earth, but part of that promise belongs to the here and now. Wherever we are, whatever we are doing, it won't last forever. We may feel stuck, but right in the middle of that stagnant pool, Jesus stirs the waters.

He is our living water, and He always has a fresh supply.

Meanwhile, my brother and so many others are wondering if they will be able to keep their jobs, if they will be able to find a job, wondering whether they will lose their health care.

Meanwhile a little girl is missing here in Arizona, and parents are facing something so terrible I can't even imagine it. Please pray for the safe return of little 6 year old Isabel.

My heart aches for them today.

Whatever else happens in this life, there is one thing that looms large on a day like today.....

Because of this one event.

Our lives were saved, changed, transformed

forever more.

He is Risen,

So we will rise too!

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 1 Corinthians 15:20-22

God took the sting out of death forever, and I think the reason that the earth quaked the day Jesus was crucified was that Satan was having a big fat fit.

He knew the tomb would soon be empty.

He knew he had lost.

Have a Blessed Resurrection day, from Lori's Prayer Closet.

In our shoes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it........

That Word had a name and His name was......is......Jesus. That same eternal Word at one point became flesh and dwelt among us, left His perfect world so He could walk for awhile in our shoes.....On our shores.

There is so much mystery in this that we can scarcely contain it. But we believe it, and somehow it all makes perfect sense. And once again we are walking Jesus last steps on this earth as we remember what He did for us. Once again, we try to grasp  what it must have been like to be there in person. To listen to those words, hear the crowds, feel the same dust between my toes that He did.

I put myself in the disciples place and know within my heart of hearts that I would have scattered too. I would have watched dumbfounded and horror-stricken in the garden as my best friend, one who knew me inside and out, more than anyone ever had was led away like a common criminal. Knowing I did nothing to stop it because I was frozen in place by fear.

With the newfound knowledge still pulsing in my veins, singing through my soul......remembering how He broke the bread, how I felt the burning in my heart, the knowledge that here was God in the same room with me, with us. Still feeling that as the torchlight retreated and the garden was swallowed in darkness.

As night closed around us, we had no idea that Easter was only two days away.

Today and everyday we remember with Gratitude that our Easter did happen. Each and every day, we feel it again as we rise to new life in Him.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy......1 Peter 1:8

Knowing that my one little life is of immense importance to Him........He cared so much about you and I that He would die the worst of deaths and suffer separation from His own Father.......Knowing that no matter what, I never have to be alone again.......He prays for me even now before our Father in Heaven......I have been pardoned and am free from condemnation........Knowing that everything I do interests Him.......I have the freedom to read my Bible and attend church without fear......When we talk about the word, Heaven is opened He writes it down.......He is preparing a place even now.......and though so many things we see and experience may not be fair, one the day He shows up, all will be made right in an instant. #856-866

What can it possibly mean?

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,  “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:13,14

What is it about Christmas that tears our hearts asunder? What is it about this birth that is like no other? So important that it split history....and time in two? Somehow it makes us regret what we don't have and grateful for what we do have. Something in us always hopes for that perfect Christmas, and each of us has a vision in our own minds what that would look like.

The regret of knowing that this will never come to pass is what sends many people off to the Bahamas until it's over. For a hilarious vision of what this might look like see the movie, Christmas with the Kranks.
Every year there is one Christmas album that brings me to tears. It was done by the Methodist church my Aunt used to attend when she was alive and it is called Sing with the Angels. In one of the songs is the probing question:

What could it possibly mean, what could it possibly mean? That God would be here with you and me, what could it possibly mean?

It is such a wonderful preposterous plan, it grabs at our hearts. The thought that God would come down to meet us......

Every year we hear stories about secret Santa's and good Samaritans. People everywhere seem to know that this is the season to display extra kindness. I think there is even something behind the driving forces that keep people year after year flocking to the malls and shopping centers for that perfect gift.

This event was important enough to pull back the ceiling of Heaven and announce this baby's birth.
Angels announced it, and Miracles surrounded it....

However your Christmas turns out this year, know that if you have the Savior, you've already received the perfect gift. There is no one thing more important to celebrate than this alone.....

And if you have it, get down on your knees today and thank Him.

If you don't, then seek Him and know the most perfect Christmas you will ever have. Cause when you have Him, you have it all.

"........and 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;" Acts 17:26,27

Multitudes on Monday

“It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything.”   

 

“The main point of Christianity was this: that Nature is not our mother: Nature is our sister.”   

 

 

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder. 

 

 

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink. 

Giving thanks today for these wonderful quotes by G.H. Chesterton, and people like Ann Voskamp who got me started with all these thankful Mondays, Tuesdays and every other day of the week.....Gratitude as a way of life, a way of living each day as if it might very well be the last......And taking that further, we give the Ultimate Gratitude to our Father, who says it doesn't have to end only begin with Him......It means that when we take our last breath here, we take our first real breath the way we were truly meant to live all along.......I am grateful for all the people this past Sunday who came up out of the waters of Baptism to new life, and a way beginning again.......Blessings #736-746

Grace and peace to you today, in Jesus wonderful name.......... Lori

Till we meet again

Since I am at work on a computer all day Saturday, I manage to get some free time to go visiting. In Blogland that is. Don't worry, I am not doing anything unethical.......In our 12 hour shift, we get two free hours to spend however we want. It is one benefit to working when much of the world is off doing fun things like going to Costco and yard sales and picnics in the park.

Growing up, Saturday was a day for visiting. That's what my Mom and I did together. Oftentimes we would visit Mom's friend Rosie. Rosie was a tiny spark of a woman, from a big Sicilian family. Rosie liked flowers and decorating, refinishing her own furniture, and all things feminine. It wasn't easy in a house with a husband and four boys.

Going there was like visiting little Italy in a war zone. I never knew anyone who could be all sweetness and soft voice one minute, and screaming at the top of her lungs at one of her four boys the next. She turned on a dime. She had to with all those boys in the house. They were always doing something to get on her last nerve. But she loved them with all her heart, and they all loved her.

One morning when we stopped by she was making Bisquick pancakes. She had to send Steven to the store twice. Once for milk and once for something else. She made the first one and promptly threw it in the trash.When my Mom asked her why, she said, "Oh, none of them will eat the first one because of the oil." When she had run out of syrup, another son straggled in, miffed that he had missed breakfast. She proceeded to make him waffles, telling my Mom that they didn't use syrup with waffles.

She loved working with figures and hated paying taxes. She did our taxes for years, as well as her brothers and sisters and all their families. She knew the state of California's tax laws backwards and forwards. She would sit at her kitchen table and throw down Italian curses on the Government.

It got really interesting when her brothers and sisters were visiting. None of them agreed on politics and they regularly got into screaming matches over it. Then they would hug and kiss when they got ready to leave like nothing happened. Visiting Rosie's house was better than a movie for me, being raised in a quiet family. My Dad was raised in angry shouts, so we simply didn't shout.

Rosie was the queen of improvisation. They had a family dog who I think was equal parts German shepard and coyote. One day we were there when she had run out of dog food and hadn't been to the store yet. We watched incredulously as she poured ketchup over a bowl filled with chicken bones and leftover stew. Snoopy lapped it up like it was high quality pate. Anyone else would have worried about the bones, not Rosie.

Many times she invited all the pop warner parents and kids out to her house when they lived in the country and she never had all the ingredients for anything. One time she had a huge salad and nothing to put on it but an industrial size can of olive oil.

She was one of the most unique individuals with one of the best hearts, and I miss her.

Rosie never gave much thought to religion or God. She believed in the goodness of humanity. Her youngest son Steven became a born-again Christian. He and His Mom had many talks after that, and he never stopped praying for her. When he got married, his wife prayed too. At one point between all those conversations and the time she died of cancer, Rosie met the Lord.
 
She has been gone for years now and sometimes I still can't believe it. It's funny.....I didn't set out to do a post about Rosie, but I am glad it turned out that way. Our words and stories about people is what keep them alive in our hearts. Many times I have said a prayer of thanks to God that I will see her again.
 
I called my Mom this morning to see if she remembered about the pancakes, and she couldn't believe it. On the way home just about two hours ago she had passed some kids in football uniforms and thought about all those dinners at Rosie's house. She said she hadn't thought about her in some time.
 
One life, twice remembered in one day.

Till we meet again Rosie!

Sometimes we need a reminder

"Think straight. Awaken to the holiness of life. No more playing fast and loose with resurrection facts. Ignorance of God is a luxury you can't afford in times like these. Aren't you embarrassed that you've let this kind of thing go on as long as you have?" 1 Corinthians 15:34 The Message

You are more than the choices that you've made,

You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,

You are more than the problems you create,

You've been remade.

You Are More, Tenth Avenue North

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God......1 Corinthians 6:11

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

 
"Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 Amplified Bible
 
Sometimes it's good to be reminded........I heard the lyrics to the Tenth Avenue North song on the way to work and they really affected me. All too often I dwell on all my past mistakes and failures and begin to see myself that way. We really are so much more than that to God.
 
But God doesn't........"as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12
 
photo credit: from Nat Geo, and public domain pictures.org

Fig Leaves and "Jersey Shore"

"This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:22-24

I kept seeing snatches of things on the internet yesterday and I didn't know what it was all about. Then the Christian radio station was talking about it as I was heading in to work this morning. From what I gathered, Ambercrombie and Fitch is a bit nervous because they feel that a certain star might taint their image, and they want to pay him off to stop wearing their clothes.

"Abercrombie & Fitch, the clothing company, is offering "substantial payment" to Mike (The Situation) Sorrentino, of the show Jersey Shore, if he will stop wearing A&F attire on the air. "We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image." Source: http://www.montrealgazette.com/

Now, I have been in Ambercrombie and Fitch before and I have seen the ads. They do have a really great fragrance there that I have bought several times. But they don't exactly send forth what I would call a "wholesome" image on their billboards and commercials, so my question then is this: "Just how raunchy do you have to be to have Ambercrombie and Fitch reject you for fear of sullying their image?" I have never seen "Jersey Shore", but in light of what I have seen on TV lately, nothing would surprise me.

The radio commentator had a good point and that is my whole reason for bringing this up, because I loved what she said. The gist of it was this, "Aren't you glad that God didn't say to us what Ambercrombie is saying to this actor?" In effect:

"You are just too rauchy for us! Go somewhere and disappear, in fact, we will pay you to do just that!"

Instead, He sent His Son so that we could attain righteousness through Him. Christ has become our righteousness! We don't have to bother holding up our fig leaves to God, no matter how beautiful or elegant or creatively we make them look. He always sees right through them.

I still try to trot them out once in a while, wave them in front of His face...... But no matter how much I try to fool Him, I realize again that He sees my filthy rags for what they are, an effort to save myself.....a poor substitute for Jesus, my bread of life. What beauty is in this plan......Only God could initiate such terrible beauty.

Over and over again, He brings it home, and home is always Jesus.

Over and over again, I celebrate the joy of this Communion here where I sit, where I walk, where I drive.  I don't need the elements to be thankful, feel the magnitude of what He's done.

Like a gift that we lift out each day, still shiny, still new.
 
Like stepping back into Eden all over again.

Image of fig leaf from google images

Eden Restored

"Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it finds it's rest in Thee." St. Augustine

Everything the world is seeking so desperately can be found in the person of Jesus. Finding Him is like finding our forever home......

Drinking from the river of life is possible right here and now. I can stand on it's shore, cup my hand under the crystalline waters and drink deep. Because of Him and what He made possible.

He is my quiet country lane I seek when I want peace.....my cool breeze in the sweltering heat of a desert summer. My bridge to Eden......My everything I have ever longed for, every desire of my deepest longing, even the ones I don't know about, is satisfied in Him and through Him.

But without Him I am never satisfied.

I could ache like I do, for the pines or for the ocean swells and go to that quiet place, a closet even, and find that I have come out just as refreshed as if I had just spent time watching the waves upon the shore or hearing the wind making the pines sigh.

It is part of my oldest memory, this earth. Part of me and I cannot ever separate myself from it, nor do I want to, for He grew me out of it, this soil, this earth, and to it I will return one day.

Until such time as I reach that Eternal shore where will meet me......Restored.

 He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears
from all faces;
he will remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
The LORD has spoken.

 In that day they will say,

“Surely this is our God;
we trusted in him, and he saved us.
This is the LORD, we trusted in him;
let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Isaiah 25:8,9

He is near you.....

Ours is a day when people feel a sense of the absence of God. We see no burning bushes, no pillars of fire, no incarnate Christ walking in our midst. We feel abandoned, thrown to the waters of a hostile or even worse, indifferent universe. We seem locked into a world from which there is no exit, no stairway to the stars. RC Sproul, The Holiness of God

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

In his classic book, which I am reading now. Dr. Sproul talks about the life of Jacob. If ever anyone should have his eyes open to the things of God it is the Grandson of Abraham. But it seems that much of Jacob's life was spent concentrating on the things of the world, he was pretty indifferent to God for the most part.....until the night he spent that night in the desert and had that dream. God became real to Him then. Did he just all of a sudden appear? No, He had been there all the time.

"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not even aware of it." Genesis 28:16

Sproul says: He was not remote from Jacob, but Jacob had missed him all his life. Jacob was unaware of the presence of God. This tragic ignorance of God's presence is played out in our culture every day in the lives of millions of people. God is here, but we are unaware. The moment awareness of His divine presence begins, the deepest personal struggle a person can experience begins as well.

Once we are made aware of Him, a decision has to be made. It is testimony of God's great mercy and love for us that we have those "Jacob's Ladder" moments.
He further states, and I love this one: "People in awe never complain that church is boring."

There are times when I wandered around like Jacob in my life, unaware and disconnected from God......but thankfully, I had my moment in the desert like Jacob. It was nothing I did.....but something God did. I didn't deserve it, I still don't.....After that time I was never the same, though I wandered at times, I always knew that He was there.

Is there. For always and forever.

God sees behind our windows

With all your science - can you tell how it is, and whence it is, that light comes into the soul? ~Henry David Thoreau

Sometimes I like to imagine the life behind the window......who it is that lives there, what it is they do. I imagine all kinds of scenes. I see someone rising early before the world awakes, moving soundlessly on stockinged feet to start the coffee or tea. Arising to enjoy some solace, maybe praying, maybe writing in a journal and sitting behind this window watching passersby like me walk by.

Or maybe they are old and alone, hoping for a knock on the door. A visitor to swap stories with.

Maybe they wonder about me, the walker.......

God knows all of our stories, everything behind our windows.

He wants to open the window of your soul and let some light in. He wants to open the windows of Heaven and fill your heart to overflowing.

Jesus is that visitor who wants to come in and hear your story. He is knocking, oh so softly.

If you open the door, I promise you will never be the same......

"Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends." Revelation 3:20

In the Morning.......

This I recall to my mind,

Therefore I have hope. 

       Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed,

Because His compassions fail not. 

     They are new every morning;

Great is Your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:21-23

I was thinking about how no matter how tired, worn out, exhausted mentally and physically we sometimes get, there is always a new supply of energy that comes with morning. Our hope is renewed during the night when thoughts are stilled and all is quiet.........we are restored once more.

I remember when my Sister in law found the "morning" of her life. She was at the very brink of death when she found it. Really, none of us knows how much time we have. We think we do. But those who are terminally ill have no such illusions. Cancer had made it plain that barring a miracle, she would soon be with Jesus.

She knew what all of us need to know sooner rather than later. Knowing Jesus is all that matters. In Him she found the peace and joy that people travel the world to find. They come up empty, but she was filled to overflowing.

Her favorite song towards the end of her life was "Give Me Jesus."

 

 

The halls of Heaven have been ringing with her most magical laugh since 1998, and sometimes I still can't believe she is gone. I know if she were here, she would wish for every single person on this planet to know her Jesus.

 

 

The time is so short........

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You can have all this world
But give me Jesus

When I am alone
When I am alone
When I am alone
Give me Jesus

And when I come to die
When I come to die
When I come to die
Give me Jesus

 

 

This song, according to internet sources, comes from an old Spiritual sung by slaves. Also, this more modern version has been attributed to both Fernando Ortega and Fanny Crosby.

Butterflies and Caterpillars

 So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:16,17

I was reading something  in a book titled, Classic Christianity by Bob George that struck a chord with me the other day. He was talking about how we walk around defeated because we have failed to recognize who we actually are in Christ. I think there is some truth to this. Sometimes in our efforts not to appear better than anyone else, we walk around like caterpillars instead of the butterflies we are. Who ever heard of a butterfly walking around in the dirt when they could easily fly, in fact, were made to fly?

It's a delicate balance. We want to be accessible, approachable, and still we have to be "in the world but not of it....."Jesus was the master at this.  He was equally as comfortable in His skin in the Temple or at the home of "tax collectors and sinners." Neither atmosphere changed who He was, and yet He made Himself approachable to Chief Priest and Prostitute alike.

While the Apostle Paul was fully aware that he wasn't exempt from falling into sin, and that many times he was unsuccessful in his efforts to do the right thing, he also never forgot who he was in Christ. He didn't live a defeated life! He didn't let his failures keep him from what He knew was sure victory at the end of the race! He kept his eyes on the prize.

We hold within us the power of Almighty God in the form of His Spirit........the same Spirit that moved across the waters before creation.....also the one who raised Jesus from the grave and broke the power of sin and death forever....That Spirit!

We should never forget what Jesus has saved us from, but we should also remember that when we rose up out of that water from Baptism, we became a new creation!

So enjoy your flight today......and as they say on every flight, feel free to move about the cabin.....