Thoughts from 2010

1. A broken arm really, really hurts.  ( Jan. 1, 2010)

2. An allergic reaction to surgical tape is really, really horrible.

3. Dermatologists are really, really wonderful!

4. You should not climb attic stairs with slippers on, especially when there is a hard, concrete floor beneath you.

5. You really can let your child go across the seas without hyperventilating.

6. You don’t have to keep telling your child about things about his passport, especially when he has one and has used it and you don’t.

7. A tie blanket is cool and yet so warm.

8. When Ms. Sue says we are going to make a 1000 pairs of mittens, she means it.

9. You can befriend someone 42 years older and develop a special bond.

10. Sometimes the best conversations happen because you let the quiet moments happen.

11. Faith needs to be unbending, but love should beam forth on every side and bend to every necessity of our brethren.  (someone else’s words)

12. Sometimes faith can feel like a whole loaf of bread, and some sometimes it can feel like the bread crumbs.  But the Bread of Life will always be there.

13. There will always be someone who does not agree with you or understand, and that’s ok.

14. The ‘least of these’ are a potential masterpieces in the making.  Look at them as the latter.

15. Thankfulness and praise gets rid of the pity party bugs.

16. I did not understand what the big deal was about texting until someone texted me, saying “You’re awesome!”  People will text words they won’t say with their voice.

17. Sandpaper people need to be loved too.  Maybe even more so.

18. God can even use a rooster to get you to thinking, pondering…

19. We need to make sure our decisions are Spirit led and not people pressured.

20. Politicians need a LOT of prayer!

21. When you’ve got tendons popping in the left knee and in the right foot, it’s hard to know which way to limp.

22. Chocolate and other goodies just seem to call out my name when I walk by…Kris, over heeerrreee…I swear, there is a magnetic field between sweets and me.

23. Some birds chit-chat, some nag, some caw, some sing, some crow…kind of like people.

24. When you get the doldrums from being in the hospital too long, blow through one of those blue rubber gloves the nurses wear.  You can’t do it without laughing.

25. When you sit 9 hours in an emergency room and think you can’t go on one more hour, you can.

26. Blessings come in many disguises. (they may even glow in the dark)

27. People can pull your strings, but it’s up to you if they break.

28. A parent should not chase a prodigal.  That marathon is for the Holy Spirit.

29. You really can trust the Heavenly Father to watch over  your earthly loved ones.

30. Becoming vulnerable on a blog can be scary, great therapy, and in the end makes me merry.

31.  I have an incredible husband who so readily goes anywhere, at any time with me to help a homeless person.

32. God blessed me this year with a new friend who has a huge, compassionate, servant’s heart.

33. This new friend makes the best chocolate, mint candies I have ever had and I SWEAR, they call out my name!

34. Radical living is a challenging and exciting way to live.

35. Becoming observant of my surroundings on a daily basis brings me closer to my Lord and lot of stories to my mind.

36. You don’t have to be an expert writer to be a story teller.

37. People can say what they want about FB, but it brought 4 lovely, Illinois people into my life, and for that I will always be grateful…yes, that’s you David, Brenda, Lori and Susan J…OH, five…Jena, who reminded me that I can be silly while still being a grown upJ

38. I have a Heavenly and an earthly shepherd who leads with a staff.  I don’t ever want to be without either one of them.

39. My husband’s camera taught me to not just look at the big, unassumingly empty view but to zoom in on the beauty of that one small thing God put there, whether it be a beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace (weed), or the beauty of a human being surrounded by filth. The beauty may not seem obvious at first, but zoom in to the delicacies of the subject and you get a whole new picture!

40. I believe God delights in bringing joy and surprising us through simple things like colorful sacks, footie pajama’s, shooting stars, stars found under the covers that glow in the dark, shooting stars in the sky and many other things…may I always have eyes to catch these surprises and never overlook what is right in front of me.

41. How it made me smile to hear about the young Muslim man who became a Christian through our church and hearing him exclaim right after thoroughly enjoying pork for the first time… “THIS IS WHAT I’VE BEEN MISSING ALL THIS TIME!”  J

42. We do not need NEARLY as much as we think we do!

43. The humbled aweness you feel as you lay prostrate on the floor of your prayer closet is more than I can put into words.  If you haven’t done this try it. . .(let me just say if you have young kids or animals, keep them out or they will crawl all over you.)  I have gone into my prayer closet, literally, on bended knee for 15 years, but as I age and knees hurt to sit on them now, going prostrate is not only more comfortable but even more humbling.  I get goose bumps every time.

44. Helping someone who may take advantage of you is still worth it…you never can imagine how God will take over.

45. I discovered sugar free chocolates are very good!

46. I learned how to play Bocce Ball and never even held the ball!

47. Wearing footie pajamas and playing video games is fun…you just don’t want it to become your life.

48. Sometimes it pays to turn off the cell phone for awhile.

49. Paying 40 bucks to have your dog groomed is just a waste of time when you live in the country.  They find something dead to roll in and all the pretty smell is gone.

50. I need God a whole lot more than chocolate. If I HAD to, I could live without the sweet, gooey, creamy, milk chocolate delicacies,  but never the sweet presence of my Lord.

The Golden Ornament (Christmas is Over...or is it...)

As I contemplate taking down the Christmas tree and all the decorations; packing and putting away, I wonder about the New Year and what it holds in store for me.  What circumstances will I be a part of, what people will come into and or leave my life, how will the Devil try to attack me this year?  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not worrying, just wondering.

As I see the packaging boxes in my garage waiting to be filled with Christmas, it’s always a little sad.  So last year I kept one of the golden ornaments out and kept it hanging in my entry way all year.  It will stay there from now on.  Even though the Christmas holiday is coming to an end, the Christmas spirit can go on forever and the glistening of that ornament is just a symbol of that.  Again, don’t get me wrong, I never need a reminder of my Lord, He is with me always, but when those hot, humid months roll around, the feeling of Christmas, good tidings, good cheer, the giving spirit that we feel in December, sometimes, somehow gets lost by June. 

I must not be the only one with these thoughts because of the quotes I found.  Here are just a few. . .

“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”  Charles Dickens

“Christmas is not a time or a season, but a state of mind.  To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.”  Calvin Coolidge

“Keep your Christmas heart open all the year round.”  Jessica Archmint

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”  Charles Dickens.

Christmas is not just a time on the calendar, but is the baby in the manger who came to save mankind.  Peace and joy is not just for December but for always if we accept the one who came to offer it.  As I think about the coming New Year, I look at that golden ornament with the light flickering from it and know that the true light of Christmas is within me, so I look forward with anticipation and eagerness to start it, knowing that Christmas is with me always.  Let’s not say farewell to good tidings, Christmas cheer, a giving spirit, peace and joy.  That can be with us for 12 months, year after year. 

I have seen people I know along with strangers come together in love and compassion to help the less fortunate this Christmas season.  My heart leapt for joy every time I saw a new donation for the homeless and needy children.  That is truly a gift; a compassion flowing forth to those who need help, need love spread all over them, need the touch of Christ from another fellow human being.  May this keep going on month after month.  And if I ever start to forget, may the Lord use the sparkle of light from my golden ornament to remind me of Christmas, Christ in the every day, of giving, spreading good cheer, feeling joy that only comes from Him, and peace that passes all understanding; reaching out and loving the lovables and the unlovables. 

May you all have a bright and shining New Year.  And don’t be surprised if you hear me say “Merry Christmas” in June.

I Just Wanna Be A Big Kid Now...Part 2

There have been many, many things that have brought healing to our sad hearts from the storm that we have gone through.  And it is so interesting to see what God will use on a daily basis for that healing.  His Word says that laughter brings healing, and I can attest to that. 

Our household for about 4 years became very serious, very sad, very hurtful, with no fun, no laughter of any kind.  This way of living can make a person sick, and it did for our family.  After about three years, the three of us left in our household, were on the mend, good things were happening, and we were moving on, but still not much laughter had taken place.  Then God stepped in in such an unlikely way.

Jena, a facebook friend who I have never met, posted pictures of herself and her little boy in footie pajamas.  They looked like they were having so much fun.  I didn’t think too much of it until not long after viewing those pictures, I was at Target and saw footie pajamas that would fit me.  On a whim, I bought them.

I came home and put them on. I was all alone in my closet, looking at myself through the full length mirror in those silly pajamas with space ships and stars all over them. I busted out laughing.  Here I was a grown woman in her mid 40’s wearing these ridiculous pajamas, although they are very comfortable!  I decided to have some fun and went and found my teen-age son and husband who is always carrying a camera.  I asked him to do a photo shoot.  I told my younger son to look like he was disgusted but I noticed he had a hard time keeping the grin off his face.  I could not, and neither could my husband.  This is the first time I remember the three of us having such a good time together since our first born had left.  It was a good evening!  But it got even better later!

It was late when my husband and I got ready for bed.  Yes, I went to bed with these pajamas on, my husband actually likes them!  I had gotten ready first and climbed into bed and pulled the covers up to my neck as it was December and a very cold night.  My husband came in about 15 minutes later, turned the lights out to where it became totally dark.  He yanked the covers back to climb into bed exposing my new pajamas, and WOW, what a surprise we had.  I did not know when I bought them, that when exposed to the darkness of being under the covers what would happen.  It had activated something.   He pulled those covers back in the pure darkness, and all the stars on my new duds from neck all the way down to my toes, were glowing brightly.  It was such a sight, and caught us both off guard so that we busted out laughing, laughing hysterically, the kind that brings tears down your face. Oh my, that kind of laughing hurts, and yet it felt so good.

 

Our home had been so serious for so long. But all because a girl hundreds of miles away decides in her good humored nature, to wear footie pajamas and post those pictures on facebook, God allowing me to see those pictures, leading me to Target, a place I don’t go to very often, leading me to those silly pajamas, leading me to buy them, something I wouldn’t have normally done, kept me from seeing the truth of those delightful stars at the time, gave my husband, younger son and I a fun evening filled with laughter.  Just what the doctor ordered; no, just what God ordered and filled; SO much better than prescriptions from the pharmacy.

The depression has lifted, life is good, not perfect, but getting better, and I will always be grateful to Jena, to God, for laughter, and soft, warm footie pajamas with space ships and glow in the dark stars.

You just never know who, what or how God will choose to work around and within you, so always keep your chin up, your eyes open, and be ready to go anywhere he leads. . .even if it’s to Target.

“Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy and they said. . .The Lord has done great things for them.”

Psalm126:2

I Just Wanna Be a Big Kid Now

Yesterday I didn’t have any responsibilities.  I didn’t have to be the one who sees everyone is on time, everybody’s birthdays are taken care of, the checkbook is fine, and all the bills are paid.  I didn’t have to think if my son’s homework was done, to have dinner prepared.  I laughed and ate chocolate till I was sick.  I jumped in puddles and didn’t care how I looked afterwards.  I chewed gum and blew bubbles and didn’t care what people thought.  I went swinging on swings and slid down slides.  I ate crazy flavored ice cream instead of a well rounded meal.  I jumped on the bed and rode in a balloon.  I went piggy back riding and sat on my roof.  I crawled into a lap and was rocked until I went to sleep.

            Yaawwnn…I’m awake now.   I must have been dreaming. How fun!  I was wearing footie pajamas and had changed from being a grown up to a kid again.   But the dream ended with me wanting to grow up.  Being a grown-up seems so neat to the child.  Being a grown up, sometimes I think it would be neat to be a child again. 

             Jesus is recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke as saying, “Let the little children come to me.”  I think he liked their childlike wonderment.  And he was telling “the grown ups,” “have faith like a child”.  We are not asked or expected to be childish or immature but we need to trust Him and come to Him with the simplicity of a child.        Adults are just like children in we want to be loved, protected, to be trusting, to be told we are special.  There is so much out there in the world to harden the heart, the spirit, the soul and can damage what trust we may have had. I have seen this.  But God can provide the love, protection, give us trust once again and definitely show we are special.  How do I know this…read what Ezekiel 36:26 says…”I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”  I’ve seen this also. How does He show we are special?  Just remember what happened on the cross all those years ago.  If that doesn’t say we are special, I don’t know what would.  And don’t you just know, after receiving a new heart and spirit, how it would feel so freeing  and wanting  to dance and run like a child again. I did!  How wonderful to feel that freedom. 

            You know what?  I like being an adult.  I really don’t mind the responsibilities God has entrusted me with.  It is a joy and a privilege to take care of what God has given me. This is the natural progression as we grow.  We are instructed to mature in our understanding.  Hebrews 5:13 14… “Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness.  But solid food is for the mature…”  It’s wonderful to have experienced that saving grace but don’t let it stop there.  There is so much more to experience.  Will we take little bites or will we feast? The more I learn, the more I grow, the more wonderment I have of this great big, awesome, loving God of ours.  You can feast on the meat and still have joy in the dessert.  I have discovered you can be mature and responsible and discerning and still have a child like wonderment. You can be an adult and still swing and slide down slides. You can be a Christian without being a stick in the mud.  If you’re ever on the street with me and there is a puddle in front of us, watch out!  And I’ve learned something else.  You can be a grownup and still wear footie pajamas.

The Ultimate Mission Trip

Christmas - The Ultimate Mission Trip

John 1:14 - The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Can you imagine how Mary must have felt holding the Word, full of glory, grace, and truth in her arms?

Luke 2:19 - But Mary treasured up all those things and pondered them in her heart.

Let's be like Mary and treasue the Word in our hearts and ponder on all that this means...grace, truth, undeserved forgiveness, freedom, absolute, reliable, steadfast, exilerating, dazzling glory...all in a baby, all in a Savior...Jesus.