Soaking It In

When my husband was sick, he would be sitting in his recliner and I would go over and put my head against him. He would always ask, "Are you okay?"  I would tell him that I was just soaking him in.

I wanted to soak in everything about him - I never wanted to forget him. I wanted to feel him near to me for a long time.

 

After I read my Bible this morning, I pressed it against me. I thought what a wonderful thing if I could soak in all the wonderful promises in God's word so that I would never forget them.

 

Sometimes when I'm afraid, I could remember what God said about fear - 

 

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

Isaiah 41:10

I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:4

 

When I feel my world in tumult and answers don't seem to come and I need peace -  

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

  

And there are so many times when I feel so all alone -

 

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Matthew 28:20

 

 

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Proberbs 18:24

 

 

And sometimes I'm depressed and I hate that word "depressed". I always want to be on top of that mountain, but sometimes I fall in the valley.

 

Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart,

all ye that hope in the Lord. 

Psalm 34:24

 

And ever once in a while my faith wanes -

 

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

 

I know I need to read my Bible and get closer to my God.

 

And no matter how hard I pray and try to turn things over to God - WORRY comes along -

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

I Peter 5:7

 

And God's greatest promise - the hope of eternal life.

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

 

 

 Verily, verily, I say unto you,

He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

John 6:47

 

 

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

John 14:1-3

 

I know I have that promise of eternal life because on July 25, 1972, I trusted Jesus as my Savior.

 

 

The Singing of the Birds

This morning I awoke to hear birds singing outside. It just makes me feel good and alive. It makes me feel there is hope.

 

I always liked the fairy tale "The Nightingale" by Hans Christian Andersen.

 

The Emperor of China had heard that the most beautiful thing in his empire is the singing of the nightingale. So he ordered that the Nightingale be brought to the palace. There the nightingale sings and becomes the emperor's favorite.

But one day the Emperor is given a beautiful, jeweled, mechanical bird. Soon it replaces the nightingale as the emperor's favorite and so the Nightingale returns to the forest. The mechanical bird finally breaks and the emperor becomes deathly ill.

The Nightingale,  upon hearing about the Emperor, returns to the palace and again sings for the Emperor. The Emperor quickly recovers as he hears the beautiful singing of the Nightingale.

 

Sometimes in life we replace things that are real with things that are only temporary or that really don't last.

 

When if we just look around us at what we already have. 

 

This morning when I heard the birds sing, I thought God has given me a new day, new mercies, a new day to enjoy all the many blessings that He has given me.

I really already have the song of the nightingale in my life.

 

Every time I get a hug from one of my grandkids, I already have all the riches I need in the world.

When a friend writes me an encouraging note - I don't need to find new friends, I just need to cherish the ones I already have.

 

Thank you God for the beautiful song I heard this morning.

Unconditional Love

Well here it is another February. People are already planning special moments together for Valentine's Day.  A special day where we show our love to one another.

 

There are all kinds of love in this world. My favorite is unconditional love. That's a hard one.

I believe a mother has that kind of love to their children and grand children. They could never do anything to make me stop loving them.

I love them no matter what kind of mistakes they make and even if they do not return that kind of love to me. I always tell my kids and grandkids that they never have to tell me that they are sorry.

I've been there. I know what it is like to live in this world. It's not always easy. I tell them they are already forgiven.

 

I'm nobody special. I'm just a sinner saved by grace - God's grace. God showed me unconditional love one day. He died for me. He forgave me for all the mistakes I had made, all the sins I had committed. He loved me unconditionally - the best kind of LOVE there is.  I always call it a "No Matter What" Love.

1 John 4:10

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,

 and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Changes

I know I talk a lot about changes in a person's life. Last night at church, our pastor spoke on changes.

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For the most part, people do not like changes. Especially when we get older. We want security and when changes come along it shakes up our world.

 

Life is about changes. It would be boring if we never had changes. Some changes are good. - A better job, a new dream home, a baby or grandbaby added to the family, and so many more.

 

But there are so many changes that are hard to accept. We handle those changes by resisting them, becoming bitter, losing hope, etc.

 

I know in my life I have had so many changes. All the moves we made, job changes, my children starting their own families and leaving home, retirement, aging (IT HAPPENS), and probably the biggest change in my life - the death of my husband. 

 

Facing my future alone is probably the hardest.

 

I know there were times I resisted the changes. Especially moving so many times. Later on I would see God's plan in my life and I knew He had a reason for the change and it was always for my good.

And I always think of all the friends God allowed me to make in all the different places we lived. That was always a special blessing.

 

As I age, I know I'm still facing a lot of changes. I know there will be more health problems, maybe some moves I'm not too excited about.

 

I know God is in control. I think of the things that don't change. God never changes. His love for me never changes, knowing I have a home in heaven will never change, and God's Word never changes.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

Hello 2017

A New Year has been born. It is already 7 days old.

The first day of 2017 was spent traveling home from Indiana. It was a long drive. And since all the Christmas music had stopped playing on the radio, it was a quiet ride.

 

I always like to reflect on the past year. There is one event that will always stand out about 2016. On August 2, 2016, my dad passed away. He was 93 years old. He had lived a long life. On up until he passed away, his mind was sharper than mine. He would still tell me stories about his life.  He even remembered stories about me that I always wished he would forget. I miss him so much. He had been a friend as well as my dad.

 

 

 

I wouldn't be human if I didn't wander what events are going to happen in 2017. I have lots of dreams and goals for 2017.

I do know that God is in control of this new year. My biggest prayer is that God will guide and direct me and help me to make good decisions.

 

There will be new challenges and maybe some changes. I will make new memories to lock away in my mind for days when we need something to laugh about. Let's make 2017 the best year ever.

"Happy New Year"

 

A few pictures from Christmas of 2016 with my family -

 

 

Hayden, Kyla, Laythan, and Brylee  (Neal's kids)



Emma, Ethan, Elena, and Evan (Aaron's kids)



Scott and Lisa



Tiffy and Greg (Scott's kids)

Mark with his kids, Alexis and Gavin

Janine and Jennifer



Defending the Defenseless

I’ve probably read the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” three or four times. Each time I read it, I'll gleam something from it. It is one of those classic books where you get wrapped up in the characters and become part of the story. The characters are the father, Atticus Finch, who is a widow and lawyer in a small fictional southern town, and his children Jem and Scout. The story is also about Boo Radley and Tom Robinson.

 

Boo Radley is a grown man who got in trouble as a teen  and his father locked him in the house and wouldn't let him leave it. When his father dies, Boo's brother comes to live with him and take care of him. Boo had not ventured out of his house for probably 15 years.

Tom Robinson is a black man wrongly accused of rape and he finally is killed, even though he was an innocent man. Atticus defends him in a trial, knowing he will probably lose. Plus the trial upsets  people because Atticus is defending a black man.

In Chapter 10 of the book, Atticus tells Scout “Remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Scout was not sure about what her father had said so she asked Miss Maudie about it and Miss Maudie said,

 

 “Your father's right. Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin “to kill a mockingbird."

 

Tom's death is compared to "the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children".

Then when Boo protects Scout and Jem from a person trying to harm them, Scout tells Atticus that hurting Boo would be "sort of like shooting a mockingbird".

Boo never did anything to hurt anyone.

 

Tom Robinson and Boo Radley were very vulnerable.

Tom  was black, uneducated and poor, gentle of spirit and had only one good arm.

Boo  was poor and uneducated and mentally retarded and gentle of spirit.

 

I think about all the innocent mockingbirds in this world. The children in countries where war is an everyday happening,  the aborted babies who never had a chance to be a part of God's creation. I think about all the people who are made fun of just because they are a little bit different. People who have never hurt anyone, but are vulnerable to the hurts of the world.

John 13:34

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another;

 as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

What Surprises Lurk in Hidden Places!

Every once in a while (not very often), I try to get rid of some of my clutter. A lot of my clutter are treasures that I just can't let go of. To most people, they would be considered junk or trash. I have a few family members that tell me, "If it has no use, get rid of it."  I hope they never feel that way toward me as I get older.  Getting rid of things is easier said than done, especially since I'm the most nostalgic person in the world.

 

Well after over four years, I decided to go through my husband's brief cases. They were full of all of his favorite sermons that he had preached throughout the years. It was hard getting rid of them. They are all on CDs, but still the paper copies have all of his notes he wrote. I had to keep some of my favorites.

 

While going through his brief cases, I reached down into one of the pockets and to my surprise, I found a Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake. It was still wrapped. It had to be over five years old.

 

I think it was in the petrified state. What was so strange, there was not any mold on the cake at all. It made me wonder what kind of preservatives are in Little Debbie Cakes????

 

 

It is strange the things we hold on to and have a hard time letting go of. Especially things in the past.

We sometimes preserve them like the cake was and every once in a while we reach down into our hidden places and bring them back out. Sometimes it's a injustice someone has done to us or some bitterness we have toward another person. The past can never be changed. All a person can do is get rid of the bad things and only remember the good things.

 

I did decide to throw the cake away. I'm not that nostalgic!