"The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want." Strange but, I have wanted things in my lifetime that I did not get, does that part of the verse mean we will have all we desire? Nope! I means that God will never forsake us, and leave us in want for long. Read on in the verse, you'll get it.
"He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul."
Now we get it! God takes care of us in ways we don't always think of, and fulfills us to our very core.
"He leads me in the path of righteousness, for His names sake." So God puts blocks in our path, when we are about to mess up, and puts within us the desire to do the right thing always, to bring glory to His name through us, Cool!
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because You are with me, Your rod and staff comfort me." Scary things, especially this time of year, are all around. Our society thrives on the frightening at Halloween. Also, death may be everywhere, beheadings, Ebola, the list goes on, but God protects me. Fear doesn't have to drive my every action, because I know that what ever happens to me, God has a purpose. His staff, His guiding tool is His protection for me and a comfort.
"You prepare a table before me in front of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over." Those that despise me get to see all the good things you give me in a front row seat. You give me special privileges and blessings and I am overwhelmed with gratitude.
"Surely goodness and mercy will follow me, all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, and ever." There is no doubt that God has me covered always. His rights and abilities as His child surround me, and I will be in heaven for eternity, that will never end. Psalm 23
Recently, I went out to do all my very favorite fall activities. I reveled in corn mazes with my children, saw the biggest pumpkin ever, spent time with a dear friend, and begged candy from strangers at the zoo. The leaves, colors, smells, peace, and weather of fall make this season my absolute favorite.
But for so many of us, there is tension. School troubles, worry for winter, disagreements about which holidays we celebrate and which we do not all rob us of the joy in this glorious season. I'm reminded to enjoy the good God has given me now instead of worrying about the future or pining for the past.
Whatever you feel about times not now, focus your thoughts on right now and soak up the joy of this amazing time. You'll feel better and see Jesus more clealy.
My brother in law (far right) received a phone call 2 weeks after this photo that his father was heading for the ER. An infection in his leg quickly took over and he was gone. Just like that. Two days later my husband (far left) got the 2 AM phone call that his uncle had lost his battle with cancer. The couple (standing in the back) had been helping a young woman who was in addiction recovery when she abruptly disappeared leaving her 2 children with them and then tried to press kidnapping charges weeks later. My own father had a sudden urgent health issue and was hospitalized, and today my husband's mom had a quadruple bypass surgery.
I don't know why all of this hit at once, but I do know that God was in the midst of it all. We stuck together, supporting each other, praying for each other, hanging out in hospital rooms, attending funerals, listening to each other, encouraging each other, and tending to each other's practical needs. You see we are not just a music group.....we are friends. We are family. And we are looking forward to walking together wherever God opens the doors to touch others with His love.
A few weeks ago, a fellow musician called my husband and told him that he was planning a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to promote his band and music. Philip asked me to pray with him about whether or not he should go along and attempt to promote Longing For Eden. As the days passed, it became evident that this was supposed to happen, so this past Monday when I left for work, he left for Nashville. He had contacted a few people in the industry prior to leaving home, but had only heard back from one by the time he arrived. When they met for their appointment, the man told Philip that he never, ever met with an aspiring musician who did not have a song on the charts, and that he had only done it because of the person who gave Philip his name. This was confirmed today in another of his meetings. The man told Philip that it was unheard of for a virtual unknown to get a meeting with this person. "Philip, that was Providence." Each day has brought new opportunities and opened new doors.
My husband has told me over and over that I should stop taking vitamins. When I did, I was in worse shape then before. So, what did I finally figure out? Ask God, the great physician, what to do. How did He work? This is too good to not be true.
I had been tired, sickish, but not really ill, apathetic, winded and again tired. I wasn't depressed, just wanted to lay down for about 15 min. like every afternoon or more, every day. I went to my PCP, who preformed blood tests. All was fine. Ha? Really? So what now? God, Help!
My husband and I were talking about my being tired one evening, and he asks, "do you think you may need iron"? I said, "I was iron deficient when I was pregnant with Sarah, I felt...... much the same way, come to think of it". So, I took only two drops of liquid vegetable iron my mom had given me a while back in the same form I had taken before. Whala, I was fixed. I mean, I have not been tired, sick, winded, and apathetic. I feel like myself again.
Now, if I would have figured this out by myself, or if someone else had mentioned it to me, my husband Paul would have said, "there you go again, you have figured it out". "You always have it figured out". However, since it was "his idea", it's the correct answer. Never mind that all is well with me now. So what have I learned through this? When I ask God what is wrong in any situation, He will let me know. The coolest thing is, that He will let me know in the most advantageous ways......... some times. There is a saying that goes something like this, "Iron sharpens iron". In this case, iron sharpens.... me!
This month's theme of our church's small group is the scandal that is God's grace. God meets each person where we are, accepts us in whatever condition we are in, and moves us forward in love. Grace is the key I have to love God. God's outstanding acceptance of any human that shows up at His door in any condition, makes me deeply and truly love him.
I am so happy to have found this love and this grace I so profoundly need it. In the sermon that the pastor gave introducing the topic he described the most common responses to God's grace that we as humans can have. The first is humble acceptance with open arms. Humble because we admit that there is nothing we can possibly do to earn this gift we have to take it completely without pride. The second is flat out rejection. We reject because we think we are too sinful--too far gone. Or we reject it because we do not feel that we need it. Both are pride. Both say that, "I am bigger than God. I am beyond God and He cannot help me."
After we rightly and honestly give our mess to God, He calls us to the most difficult of our callings, He wants us to have this for our fellow humans. It is hard to be hurt. It is hard to see what that person has done and said and then let it go. I was recently watching my favorite murder mystery show and they ended with this quote from Faust: "Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future." This is the life I want to live and this is who I want to be. I must realize that I have been given God's grace because I need it, therefore, I must also extend it to others. I want a bigger future.
Four days ago Dad was helping my brother install a basement door when he suddenly collapsed. My brother who also is an EMT called 911. Dad insisted that he was fine and was just tired. He was planning on driving home and taking a nap, but when the EMTs helped him to his feet he staggered backwards and collapsed again. When I got the call, my heart jumped and I burst into tears. I shouted out instructions to kids and grabbed my keys.
When I arrived at the hospital, Dad was being tended to in the hallway due to lack of rooms. The doctor came and talked with him and with my brother to determine what tests they should run. Heart. Brain. Lung. Blood. Mom, Bill, and I were listening and trying to process all of the possibilities when Dad spoke up and said "Greater is He who is in me".
Over the next 48 hours lots of tests were run. A blood clot in his lung was discovered. Every time he was rolled out for another test we heard "Greater is He..." I spent both nights at the hospital with him and lost count of how many times I heard him say those words. His heart, brain, arteries, and labs all checked out and he was released with blood thinners and a sprained knee from when he fell.
When he got into the car with Mom he smiled and said "Hey, there's my favorite song". Playing on the radio was the song "Greater" by Mercy Me. "Greater is the One living inside of me than he who is living in the world."
Check out the song... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXI0B4iMLuU
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| Image from: http://www.uppermac.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/fall-leaves.jpg |
I have tried all day to add a wedding picture to no avail-It certainly would have been a beautiful object lesson to these words but..... They are a beautiful couple inside and out. I've seen how they love, encourage, support, advocate and protect each other and how they whole-heartedly undergird each others gifts and passions.
A few friends were gathered together the other evening just sharing and enjoying community. A circle prayer ended a pleasant time. As we were praying,I was standing across from this couple and I remembered their wedding and how this beautiful bride beamed into the face of her beloved and how his face was awash with love and tenderness. What I am about to share is the glimpse that I caught in that moment. This may cause one to say "duh" but---I learned something new and hope I can communicate the same. This couples actions and interactions speak so much of love.And yet---how much more....God--
We are children of the most High God and We know we are the bride-elect of Jesus Christ .And that is "the who" but the snippet was of the "why role". Some had shared this during the evening about the authority that God gave man in the garden-to name and subdue.And that the reference on subdue interprets as "To act as managers who have the authority to run everything as God planned."
And now the "Bridegroom" has gone to a far country as the story goes.He's busy building us a Home so that we can be together forever.And meanwhile...
She firmly believes that one day they will be together forever and in the remembering.......the joy of looking on His face......the look in His eyes expressing HIS loving kindness to her (and all mankind) that is from everlasting to everlasting.
And then the intimate tone of His voice when she arrives at the marriage supper of the Lamb and He looks at us with a Love that we cannot even imagine or measure and with pride in His voice says "Well Done" I entrusted you with managing my ministry in the earth, and because I and my Beloved are one, people saw you but ultimately saw me and we pulled it off-together-WE DID GOOD!!!!!! Let's Par-TY!!!!!!
I love the feel of fur, I always have. I do not have issues with a fur coat. I do not wish to harm animals simply for their fur, either. I just love the soft feel, the joy that the fur bearing animal gets from a human being petting them, and the mutual admiration between human and pet.
I have been missing my dog horribly lately. Especially after one evening recently, when I saw two little reflective items beside the road while driving home in the dark. I slowed down, then I stopped, when I saw the reflections came from a small Beagle dog beside the road. It became confused and darted into the road. Thankfully, I had all but stopped, then I put my car in the middle of both lanes, so as to be an obstacle for other passers by not to harm the dog. It looked back curiously. I waved my hand so as to direct it to the side. It looked back again, and then went into the field, off of the road toward a home on the hill, hopefully, back to it's loving family.
I wondered if the one who killed my precious dog Scooby felt badly at all. It was early in the morning, about 6ish. They probably barely saw him. Were on their way, to or from work, and did not intend for harm to come. I carry not ill feelings, it was just Scooby's time to go. I simply hope to see him in heaven again. I know, I know! I have heard all the sermons, it has been drilled into my head that animals don't go to heaven, or do they? The bible speaks of the new heaven and earth with animals in it. That the Lion will lie down with the lamb. I want a black panther for a pet. I have long admired them, and would love to pet one, but I'm not an idiot. I can wait till the new earth thanks.
A friend once asked me these questions, "do animals have souls?" I said, "no!" She asked, "do they have a mind?" I said, "yes." "Do they have a will"? I said, "oh yeah!" She further asked, "do they have emotions?" I said, "ah yeah!" She said, "then they have a soul, because those are the three parts of a soul and the very definition thereof." All life is in God's hands, and for Him to decide the fate of each. So, here's hoping Scooby-Doo will be waiting for me in heaven, jumping and frolicking around when I get there, just waiting for me. Just so I can pet his fur.
The service today was for my husband's uncle. Also a beloved husband, father, and grandfather. The service was simple and emotional as daughter and granddaughter spoke through tears about their great love for this man.
Both services paved the way for families to come together. Brothers and sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandchildren.....some who haven't seen each other for years. Even though life has taken these families in many separate directions, they dropped everything to come together. To be together. Any differences were left at the door and exchanged for fond memories.
Both services spoke of hope. Hope that family bonds are strong no matter what life throws at them. Hope that our family members have merely stepped out of this world into heaven. Hope that because of the grace of a mighty Savior we have the opportunity to see them again.
But then I contemplated ....What if I awakened and really embraced today? Could I be grateful that today while eating lunch a young lady approached me and just needed to chat? Could I be filled with thanksgiving knowing that I had given good care to a patient who had gone home months ago, but had recently died, and his wife called my job and asked if someone would please let me know because, "She cared for the whole family, even the dog, and we just wanted her to know?"
Thank you Lord!
This morning we celebrated the life and legacy of my beloved father-in-love. As the family has come together over the past few days, I have loved sitting and listening to the memories coming forth from each of my husband's five siblings, his mother, and other friends and family members. Although I heard the story many times, I sat down with my mother-in-love and asked her to tell me again about how she met her husband.
She and a few girlfriends had gone to the Frostburg American Legion one evening, as they often did. One of her friends, who was very shy, saw a young sailor across the room and asked, "Rosalie, will you go ask him to buy tickets to take me to the Glenn Miller concert?" Rosalie, who is not shy at all, agreed. However, when she asked him, he said "I will buy the tickets if YOU will go with me." Rosalie told him that she couldn't do that, so he said, "Why not? Do you think you're too good for me?" Of course, she denied it, and told him that the other girl wanted to go with him. He told her that he did not like the other girl and that he wanted to take her. Rosalie looked around and discovered that her friend had gone home in a huff and left her stranded there. When she told Lowell, he told her that he would drive her home if she agreed to go to the Glenn Miller concert with him. She did, and they dated for awhile before they married and began to establish their own home and family.
My father-in-love grew up without knowing his own father, and spent part of his life being raised by the local firefighters in the area. In spite of this, he became a very dedicated family man, and raised six children who loved and honored him. He spent his time working at his career, contributing to his community, and teaching his children the value of hard work and how to be a good father. Lowell lived out a quiet yet rock-solid faith. My husband gave the message at the funeral today, and he made the statement that his father was proof that you did not need to know a father to be a father. He had reasons related to his past to be a less than stellar father, but he put all that behind him to reach for that higher calling, and my husband was able to honestly say that he does not have one bad memory of his father. His brother shared how it was a high honor rather than an insult when someone would try to anger him by saying, "You're just like your father." What greater legacy could you leave than that?
I take vitamins. My past logic has been, if one is good, then 5 is better. Well, that logic has gotten me into to trouble many times. So, I have revised my actions to only increasing slowly and one at a time. My husband thinks I take entirely too many vitamins. So, to test his hypothesis, I stopped taking all but calcium/magnesium, for my heart & wrestles legs syndrome, and CLA to help me loose weight. At first I was fine. Then I started having issues. My heart raced, I was tired, I was grinding my teeth and I just felt like total crap. So, instead of taking everything again, I took a few I thought would help. I talked to my boss, who happens to be a doctor, and asked if my thyroid could make my heart race & zap my energy. He said yes, but I already knew the answer would be yes. He also said it is good not to take away vitamins all at once or introduce a lot of them at the same time without a doctors direction. O.K. that would have been good information to have last week! Thank you husband Paul!
If I take something I don't need, I am wasting money or causing a reaction I may not want. If I need something I am not taking, my health is not as excellent. Wouldn't it be nice to go straight to an all knowing source to ask, "What do I need to take?" Well, ya can. I just forget God told me to ask Him, or I think He won't answer. Sometimes He answers by telling me through and article, or a friend that has a problem I am researching for them, but it helps me too. Sometimes God gives me a craving for a particular food I need to eat. Other times, I go to a doctor that tells me, "Take this or do that." God uses all kinds of methods to direct us to what we need. So, should I take vitamins or not? I'm asking God this time. He is the only physician that knows all.
Mathew 7:7-11 Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son asks for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
