When God's Hand Moves

When Rachael and Michael were established here, I wanted more than anything for my whole family to be in church together.  Michael had always gone to church services with me when he and Rachael visited.  But in Westerville we had no good congregations to attend, Rachael’s job made her work on Sundays and the closest congregation was too far for me to ask Michael to drive.  So we hadn’t gone to church together for several years. 

Notah and Kerra have been attending a little Nazarene congregation since they moved here.  It is closer to our house than any congregation I’ve ever attended—only about ten minutes’ drive.  I hoped Rachael and Michael would go with me.  Another blessing, when Sunday rolled around, both of them were up and dressed and ready to go without my saying anything.  It blessed me because some of the Christians Michael had experience with had not been the best examples. 

The wonderful thing was that he liked Pastor Chad and enjoyed the services.  He listened to the messages and seemed to soaking it all in.   Then in October brother Arnie came to hold a revival for us.  At the end of about the last service Michael took Rachael’s hand and went forward to pray!  Thank the Lord.  It has been wonderful.  And there has been a real change in Michael.  Every once in a while he’ll make reference to the ‘old Michael’ doing something different from the way he is now!  He and Rachael have always had a good marriage, but I can see them both growing in the Lord together. 

They bought the house in Tierra Grande and from the first planned to have family and church people to visit in the big courtyard at the back.   Incidentally, and again this had to be the Lord, the house had an in-ground pool in that courtyard.  Not many houses in the desert have swimming pools and they hadn’t been looking for one.  When Rachael injured her back in the accident at Kroger’s the company had refused to pay the medical bills and compensation for it.  She has suffered with it ever since and her private doctor recommended that she swim as rehabilitation.  The swimming pool was simply God planning to take care of her!   

On January first or second, they began cleaning the house!  And it was a major job.  Two thirds of the house had to be gutted.  ALL of the floors had to be torn up; it was so urine soaked that it couldn’t be saved.  When all of the carpet, ceramic tile and wooden flooring had been ripped up, the subfloor was scrubbed with bleach and detergent but still had to be coated with a special sealer to be rid of the odor.  The central portion of the house was broken up with half walls and posts.  Those were torn out and the area turned into a beautiful great room.  The master bath had to be gutted also since the bathtub was cracked and the shower needed renovating.    

Now it is nearly complete, only the master bath needs finishing.

The landscaping looks like a different place.  The wild brush and trees have been pulled out and cut down.  The fruit trees and larger landscaping trees have been pruned.  The pool has been cleaned and Michael had the pool men out to tell him how to maintain it.  It’s like a little paradise.

This is June.  Our family have gathered several times for late dinners after church on Sundays.  Last Sunday Seth’s friend, Andrew from church, came and they spent the whole afternoon in the water! Everyone was in and out, too. 
Now I’m only waiting for this house to sell so I can move into the room they’ve designated as mine.  I was praying and meditating the other morning and the lord gave me the most wonderful assurance that when everything was complete at Marta Court this house would be sold.

He has already done so much for me.  Why should I doubt him now?

A List of Miracles

I haven’t spent much time here in the last months.  It isn’t that there haven’t been many, many blessings, but simply that my time has been taken up with so many other things.   

Looking back, I see that I’ve neglected to mention that we have moved from Ohio to New Mexico.  Rachael and Michael have had A Plan to move here from the time they were married.  They had a beautiful house in Ohio. They loved their house and its location, but it wasn’t New Mexico.  Their plan was to save their money, upgrade their house and accumulate enough money to make the move.  When Rachael and Michael set their minds to something, they DO it. 

Shortly after the first of the year in 2015, they decided the Time Had Come.  They began putting the finishing touches on their property to make it as attractive as possible.  They made a trip to NM to scope out available properties.  That provided a contact with a realtor and access to a very attractive house.  Things moved forward for the move

One of their problems was getting ME moved.  I have a lot of junk!  After a number of conversations with Notah they hatched a design to move me and some of my things first, at the end of April.  I began packing my personal things and cleaning drawers, shelves and my closet.  Some of the things I boxed and left for them to take their moving truck.  My clothes, some of my books and my plants I took with me.  My bearded dragon and Maggie were at the top of the list to go along.  Moving pets was a bigger hassle than moving myself.  In addition to them, I took Rachael’s turtle and her cat, Cole. 

Notah was in the process of purchasing a cargo van for the moving company.  He would have to pick it up at some location since it wouldn’t be shipped to them directly.  He elected to pick it up in Columbus as the least expensive way to go.  See how God works things out for his children?  His time table is NEVER wrong.

I stayed with Notah’s family while Rachael and Michael moved forward, listing their house with a realtor and arranging their move.  As soon as that was accomplished they began packing.   Their house was listed in May and sold within a month!   We have an amazing Lord!  How often does a house sell within thirty days!  Yet when God has His Hand on the timing, it happens.  There was blessing after blessing but by mid-July Rachael and Michael arrived in New Mexico!!  How can I help but praise the Lord?!

By this time I was living in Notah and Kerra’s  ‘old house’ that they were preparing for sale.  Rachael and Michael were able to store their things in the back room and live with me while they were job hunting and getting organized for a few months.  But after six months of rushing and working and organizing, they took a little time to kick back and relax.  Rachael wanted to show Michael her homeland.  He had seen the area around Albuquerque and Gallup during the times they had visited Notah and our family in Rock Springs, but there was the whole southwest that he’d never seen.  They took a week or two as a break and visited Monument Valley, Zion National Park and other.’ landmarks around the reservation before they began looking for jobs.

Now another example of how the Lord works things out for His People.  When they returned and began job hunting they both had jobs within a month.   Again, how amazing is that!!  In a time when jobs are hard to come by, especially good jobs they found good jobs almost immediately.  Michael was hired to manage an ironworks shop—the same position as he’d had in Ohio.   Rachael was hired as an assistant manager in a bank!  I could hardly believe it! 

The next issue was finding a house.  They explored the area around Albuquerque, north to Santa Fe and south to the Tijeras area.  They wanted a house ‘in the mountains.’  After they had made a few rounds viewing houses, Kerra mentioned that some friends of theirs had a house for sale in Tierra Grande.  I didn’t thing they would be at all interested; Tierra Grande is a wide flat plain lying in the bowl between the Sandia Mountains, the Manzanos, Los Pinos and the Ladrones.  I liked and still do like, having the distant mountains watching over us, but the land could by no stretch of imagination be called ‘mountainous.’

But when Rachael and Michael looked at the house they liked it immediately, in spite of many drawbacks.   The people living there were horrible housekeepers.  Their could-be beautiful house was in an awful condition. They had goats and pigs and dogs running loose.  Their granddaughter kept Rabbits and chinchillas in wire cages on the floor in her bedroom.  The property was overgrown with well-intentioned but improperly maintained vegetation.  I couldn’t believe it when Rachael and Michael began talking of buying it.   Now THAT was the Lord.

At any rate, the sale finally went through and they took possession the first of December, 2015.. 

Lift your your eyes

 

There’s a gospel song that goes, in part, “Lift your weary eyes and look above the shadows, all your many troubles will be gone…” 

I was thinking of that this morning as I was wrapped in my blanket sitting on the deck waiting for the dogs. The people next door have three dogs, neatly kept and well cared for, but scattered around and two boats parked in their yard.    The boats aren’t neatly parked but one was just left at an awkward angle on the slope of the hill.  It’s not particularly attractive, but it is their yard.  

Then the house down the hill from us has an old car, an old pickup, a camper and two boats squeezed behind their house and garage.   They are all crowded in among the natural sagebrush and bunch grass-- seems like tempting haven for rattlesnakes to me. 

Anyway, the combination of properties there aren’t what I’d like to see from our deck.  BUT, and here is where the song comes in, all I have to do is ‘lift my eyes above…’   Above the clutter I can see the sage and grasses in waves stretching to the mountains where the sun is sending its glow above their ridges.   I guess I could moan and grouch about the boats and the old cars, but the view above them is worth it all. 

And I was thankful for it.

Then I came inside and it was warm.  I went to the kitchen and turned on the water to run a pan of water to boil Rachael's breakfast eggs.  I remembered the day when I had to dip water from a barrel to cook or wash.  I was thankful for the stream of water running out of the faucet.  It was so easy. 

I set the pot on the stove and didn’t have to build a fire under it.  My Ma and Pappy had to do that. My mother in law had to do that. I learned to do that.  I know how, I can cook on an old wood stove.  I can cook on an open fire.

But this morning I was thankful I didn’t have to.

The Psalmist said, “I will lift up my eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.”  I never considered the verse until I saw the mountains of New Mexico.   No matter what is happening in my life, no matter how I might worry, those mountains endure.  The Hand of God that placed them there is the Hand that controls.  He sends help when it is needed.

And for that we can be thankful.

in the Cleft of the Rock

 

I do most of my ‘deep’ thinking early in the morning. Today I was meditating on how wonderful it is to rest in the Lord.  I know for me it is something I depend on fully but don’t often try to verbalize. 

I was thinking of all the scriptures that describe the state of being that the Lord offers His Own.  One scripture and a hymn stood out. 

“The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms:” Deut. 33:27  Consider the toddler when Daddy (or Mommy) comes home after an absence. The child races across the room and launches himself into his father’s arms, fully confident that he will be caught.  The seem to have no fear of heights or depths or scary situations as long as daddy’s arms are holding him  We can have that same confidence and the arms that hold us know no weakness or tiring.

Fanny Crosby wrote many of our most beautiful hymns.  One of them describes how we are protected by the savior.   

“He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock,
That shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
And covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.”

What a safe place to be! I have a picture in my mind of standing in a small cleft of rock in the desert.  The tall rocks tower up on three sides and I look out across a hot and barren land full of dangers.  And all the while I’m safe there in the cozy corner protected by the Hand of God. 

We have to face the world, but the Hand of God protects our eternal soul from danger.  And, yes, many, many times our physical body is held safe.  But regardless of physical harm we know of a surety that the most vital part of us is safe in God’s Hands.



Continuing Saga of a New Child of God.

Talked to Dawn this morning. They spent their first night in the new house. She was excited that even with furniture and boxes piled everywhere and a mere path through the downstairs, she slept better than she had in weeks! She said there is such a sense of peace she couldn't describe it.  She said she has never known such peace.

The other blessing for me is that the Lord is cleaning up her life. She told me yesterday of how He had already helped her deal with her overpowering anger with her kids and cleaning up her potty mouth. Now He has dealt with her about her smoking!

PRAISE THE LORD! I didn't say a single thing about it! "But God..." (as another friend commented yesterday).  GOD dealt with her. First she was convicted of it and began trying to stop. This morning she said she lit a cigarette first thing when she got up (smokers can relate to that) She said she took three puffs of it and was repulsed buy the look and taste and smell.

Isn't that just like our God! I've known a lot of "wanna-be Christians" who have complained that they 'can't' quit and God understands that kind of addiction and others that said, "God doesn't care if they smoke (and do a lot of other things)."  But here is a wonderful example of what God does and doesn't want in our lives if we live for him!

If we REALLY mean to serve Him, He gives us the Power to do it.

Rejoicing over Blessings.

Regarding yesterday's post here, Dawn said: "I am not ashamed to say who I am. Dawn Marie Harlan Green and I'm now a Christian. God is so good. Praise be everyone here.  This is my testimony.  Thank You, Vondi"

I’ve been rejoicing over the blessings the Lord has showered on my friend the last couple days. They just seem to keep piling up. She called last evening and said, “You are going to have to add more to my testimony.” ( Right now she is operating off a cell phone—kinda hard to write much)

Yesterday after she talked to me she had to run to her mother in law's for something and her son called to tell her they had just received a three day eviction notice. They have three days to be moved.

Now here is the part that blesses me—God had ALREADY planned that all out! The house, the electricity, the gas, the large appliances (Oh, I didn’t mention that, the land lord had promised to move some of the large appliances in. Those went in yesterday.)

Remember the scripture: “Before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.”   Well, it happened just that way. That three day notice would have knocked her off her feet, but the Lord already had her support system in place! Isn’t that great!

And before she left her mother in law’s house the case worker, who had been working with them since the violence incident and her husband’s arrest, called to say they had a RENT check ready to send as soon as she got them the name and address of her new landlord. All I can say is: I’ve never seen JFS work that fast. She only notified her caseworker late on Friday of the new housing situation!

They spent the day moving furniture. As of last evening, the old house is nearly empty!

But here is the icing on the cake. Last night…nine or nearly ten o’clock…she called, so excited. She had filed their income taxes a while back and was hoping that the return would come by the end of March when she had arranged with a couple of her bill collectors to make a catch up payment. So when she got home tonight—to her mattress on the floor—she laid down and was scrolling through her email and found a note about her taxes. Thinking it was just a message confirming her filing she passed over it, then she found a second message about the same thing.

THEN she read them both and paid attention. There were phone numbers and passwords.  When she called them she discovered that her tax return had already been deposited in her account. THREE WEEKS BEFORE IT WAS DUE!

To say she could hardly contain herself is an under statement.

I have laughed and cried until my face hurts. The blessings have certainly been showered over her. But then she really needed them. 

 

God Is Taking a Hand

I just spoke with the friend who was saved a couple weeks ago. If you read my page, you’ll remember her.

She is rejoicing up and down and over and over. She was about to lose her house; the Lord provided another for her. She needs to be out of her current rental home soon and she was worried about getting the gas transferred and also the electric. In a ten minute conversation she has the gas arranged and it will be turned on TOMORROW between 8 and noon! The electricity will go on I don’t remember when she said!

Another old friend has told her just a few minutes ago that he and his mother are sitting in the gas station…(somewhere, don’t remember where, I was so excited) with a tank full of gas just waiting for her to call that she is at the house. They are ready to help haul furniture all day!

She drove her mother-in-law to visit her husband on…Friday, I believe she said. She spoke to him for a while. He THANKED HER for calling the authorities and having him jailed! WOW! She spoke with him on the phone later and said the conversation blessed her.

She is not planning to have him move home anytime soon, but she is trusting in the scripture: “But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace. 16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband?”
I am thrilled at the things she has overcome since she gave her heart and life to the Lord. She told me this morning, “I am so so ashamed of the woman I was!”

She testified of the way the Lord is showing her things to change in her life. Her little girl was in trouble this morning and she said, “I felt it, I felt that [mean anger] bubbling up inside me and I stopped and said a little prayer not to do that!” And she didn’t get so horribly and hatefully angry. She said she told her daughter very plainly what the standard was and told her very plainly what the consequence was…

She said the dirty mouth that she was so prone to has also gone the way of the hateful anger. She has stopped swearing and using foul language and even when a word seems about to slip she has stopped herself. AND ALREADY it has made an impression on her oldest son—he has cleaned his language up without any reprimand or sermon from her.

She was rejoicing over and over this morning. She doesn't have a 'sin more or less every day religion!" It made me laugh and cry and rejoice. Tell me our God isn’t Great! I can tell you other wise!

Keep her in your prayers. You KNOW Satan will come in like a flood.

 

(Here's the message she left on Facebook yesterday.)

Good morning Momma#2 , lets just see how life goes today, new day, new things to live for... looks like I have been searching for the light at the end of the tunnel in all the wrong places. for the first time in months and months I woke up and didn't have a cloudy head... I did thank God, even if you gave us rain today... love you much talk to you later (Jan 30)

The Angels in Heaven are rejoicing 'round the throne

I  just had the most wonderful blessing! My friend, who I've dealt with off and on all day about living for the Lord and really selling out to Him, doing things HIS way and not her own way, earlier this evening called to say she had prayed it all out! Praise the Lord.

I said, "Are you completely right with God." and she said, with a joy in her voice, "I AM!"  

Isn't that great!

Now here is the icing on the cake. She just called back to say that she had gotten word that her husband, who is in jail, had gone to church there this evening. After a long day of wrestling with God and herself and the heartache of confusion one of her greatest burdens was that she loves this man. She said,  "What if I go to heaven and he goes to hell, it will break my heart."

I told her that SHE was to be the example to lead him to serve the Lord.... And she accepted that! WOW!

And now after all those tears, she finds that he took that first tiny step and went to church services at the jail. To be saved and then get that wonderful blessing all in the same day! I thought the lady ws going to explode!

 

Those of you who know the Lord REJOICE with me.  

Grown Children

One of the greatest blessings in my life has been in seeing my children grow up.  I look at the children of some of my acquaintances—I won’t say ‘friends’ because most of my friends have successfully raised responsible viable adults.  On the other hand, I know many who have brought their children to the size of a full grown member of the human race, but never succeeded at instilling in them the ethics and outlook of an adult.  So many of those offspring continue following the same irresponsible and selfish ways of a thirteen year old who has escaped mom and dad’s supervision.

They take no thought for their own support and maintenance, assuming, like a child, that what ever they need will be supplied to them from some gift falling from the sky.  They are content holding down a job at McDonalds or the corner gas station.  If they plan ahead far enough, much of their paycheck goes to paying the rent someplace and the rest goes for entertainment and recreation.  The bill for utilities is an affront to their nature.

They may have a vehicle of some sort.  It is one of two types—a clunker that they bought somewhere for $500 or a fancy new model car (maybe a pick-up even).  In either case the cost for maintenance, in the first incidence, is a constant drain on their finances, causing them to be constantly either trying to repair the vehicle themselves or collect cash from friends and family to have it repaired.  In the second case, the payments are almost more than they can scrape together in any given month.  If they actually think of things like groceries they apply for Food Stamps.

In the happy event that they do latch onto a job that pays decently, the paycheck is always overspent before they ever get it.  They cannot seem to grasp the fact that yes, the pay may well be $500 or $600 a week but a huge chunk of that is withheld for taxes etc.  Consequently they spend the entire amount before the check is ever in their hands.  Then they realize that they are short on payday.  This usually engenders resentment rather than the realization that they must budget more carefully.

Sadly, their parents are viewed as an open pocketbook rather than given the respect they should have. The adult offspring are angry when the parent says they cannot afford to give them the money to pay a bill or buy groceries.  They are angry when the parent isn’t forthcoming in making up the rent on the first of the month.  They expect to be able to play house as long as they can eke out the money to do it and then move back home when they can’t.  Of course, moving back home is a good deal anyway because it leaves them with their entire paycheck to spend on recreation or a fancier set of wheels; it frees them from things like utility and rent payments or grocery bills.

I’ve seen those exact circumstances over and over. 

Sometimes my heart hurts when I think of how hard my kids had things when they were growing up. Money was tight to say the least, especially after grandpa died and in addition to the groceries and bills for the kids, I took on the utilities and taxes. There was not much money for extras. Notah and Rachael knew, most times, exactly how much money we had to do with and what it had to be spent on. From the time they were able to really comprehend ‘money’ they learned that budgeting was a necessity.  They learned early on that just because there was $300 in my wallet it had to be spent for things like food and gas and paying the electric bill. They learned that doing without wasn’t a fantasy but a reality. 

Both of them went to college and struggled, more than they ever told me, to do things like pay rent and buy groceries.  Their entertainment involved things like riding a skateboard over ridiculous obstacles or hiking through Columbus parks; that was all free for the most part and didn’t involve laying out cash for alcohol and good times. Which was a good thing.

They grew up knowing, too, the value of living a life centered on grown-up things like ethics and honesty and a sense of responsibility.  They grew up with a relationship with God and His standards for living not just a good life but one that held the fullness of His Presence. 

Now I look at them from the perspective of thirty plus years.  Both of them have families, houses, good jobs, and a relationship with the Lord.  Now my whole relationship with them has reversed.  From being the one who provided for them, I’ve become the one taken care of by them.  From being the one turned to in time of trouble, I’m the one who calls them. And from being the strong one in the family I am the one who needs help.

And they give all of that freely and without grudging. 

My daughter has set beside me when I’ve gone to doctors and had surgery.  Yes, she had a job and sometimes had to rearrange her schedule or just plain take off work, but she did it because she loves me.   She wanted to be there, not just to encourage me but to know exactly what the doctors were saying and what she could do to keep things on the right path.  When the doctor put me on a low carb diet, she rearranged her and Michael’s entire menu to accommodate it. 

When she and Michael were house shopping one of their priorities was a room where I could stay and have a bathroom all on one floor.  They found that and the Lord blessed them with a house at the right price.  (When I heard what they were offering I was sure the owner would turn down the offer. It was that low.  He didn’t and they bought the house.) Before they moved in they made sure my room was painted and arranged so I could not be disturbed with paint and ladders and upheaval.  Everything was out of the way of crutches and bad knees. 

Every year Rachael plans with Notah to get me from Ohio to New Mexico so I can spend time with him. It has involved cost that I didn’t have but they have spent the money without complaint.

Now I’m with Notah for the summer. He and his family have worked everything out to make me comfortable. Keva moved to her room behind the garage. It’s a nice room but it isn’t in the house. They put me in the room Keva had, or has most of the year, because it has a bathroom attached and I have to get up several times during the night.  That arrangement gives me a place to put my clothes and so forth without having to use a suitcase for part of them.

Kerra, although she hasn’t rearranged her entire menu for me, makes sure I have fruit and sliced meat and high protein leftovers for my diet.  And the meals she makes for the family are such that I can leave out the carbohydrates and still have a good dinner.

Notah and Kerra have a better work schedule than Rachael and Michael so they can take long hikes and trips on weekends.  And they take me along. I’ve enjoyed this summer more than any of the others I’ve spent with them because I’ve been able to get out of the truck and actually walk around a bit! It has been years and years since I’ve been able to hike in the desert. I don’t really call what I can do now ‘hiking’ but at least I can get sand in my shoes and wind in my hair.

Getting me in and out of the truck is an operation, but the whole family is faithful at bringing me my stool.  Really I can get out okay; it is getting in that causes problems.  I cannot step up into that high Dodge Ram.  But Notah or one of the kids always brings me the little step stool.  Seth is particularly dependable. I think he follows his dad’s example.

My knees work fine, but the muscles in my legs and my balance are still not dependable in spite of rehab and exercise. At inopportune times I call on certain muscles or ligaments and they don’t have the strength to keep me steady on my feet. I don’t ordinarily need a cane, but sometimes just the smallest step up becomes difficult or impossible.  At those times I need a little support to hold me steady.  Seth is usually there to help.  He is willing and quite strong, but frankly I’m lots bigger than him and if I would happen to fall, I’d likely hurt him as well as myself, probably mostly him.

But he and Notah are always there for me to hold on to. It is amazing for me to find my son’s hand there to help me up hills or over uneven ground. Even walking in close quarters or rough parking lots can be difficult without him.  How many years ago did I hold a small hand to keep him safe. Now it is turned around.  Taking hold of that grown up hand  is like taking hold of a tree or a rock.  It is strong and I need not worry that it will give way when I pull on it or lean.  It is like holding to his father’s hand so many years ago. It’s firm and absolutely steady.  

I have another daughter. Her name is Dianne.  I didn’t give birth to her, but the Lord put her in my pathway and in my life.  I love her as one of my own kids. And she is just as self sacrificing and loving as them.  She would drop everything to come if I need her.  She has taken care of me and helped me over and over when my own kids were far away or not able to help.

When I came home from my surgery for the hernia repair, Rachael couldn’t be off work to stay with me and I wasn’t able to do a lot of things on my own until my abdomen healed.  When Rachael called to ask her to help for a few days, Dianne dropped her own life to bring Nic and stay with me a week until she and Rachael trusted me to be alone. Her husband brought her down on a weekend and turned around to go right back home. 

Dianne took care of me and Nic and the dogs while I got well. It was wonderful having her there, not just for the help but for the fellowship that we hadn’t been able to have for several years since I moved to Columbus. It was like having her home for Christmas, but it wasn’t winter.

Now I look at those three (and their spouses) and I’m proud of them.  No, I couldn’t have done any of it without the Lord, but I can still look at them and feel such a sense of security.  I’m not ancient yet, but my body is.  I’ve done a lot of hard work and put these bones through a lot.  They don’t work as well as they used to. 

But I look at my children and it has been worth every hard place, every heartache, every worry, every long day and early morning when I see them all three, doing what the Lord would have them do, caring for their families (well, Rachael and Michael don’t have kids, but they have the dogs and cats and Michael’s family).  They are responsible, thinking, caring adults.  They have good homes and their bills are paid with a little laid aside.  They don’t live ‘high-on-the-hog’ as grandpa would say, but they live well enough to be content.

Because we know godliness with contentment is great gain.

“The things of earth will dim and lose their value, when we recall they’re borrowed for a while.”  

It’s coming on Christmas and I suppose it is natural to remember all the Christmases that have gone before.  Rachael and Michael have been putting up Christmas decorations. (If they’re lucky, they’ll have the tree decorated by Christmas eve.)  I’ve been remembering all of the keepsakes that have been packed away with the decorations- little things the kids made in school, ornaments left from my childhood and those from Rachael’s growing up years, gifts from my children in preschool and day care. They all bring back memories.  

   

Sitting here in the quiet of early, early morning, I went from thinking of those things to remembering the pieces of glassware and dinnerware and furniture and other things that I’ve treasured for so many years because they belonged to my mother and grandmothers.  Some of them are packed away still in the basement; some have been taken out and displayed in our house. And I enjoy looking at all of them.  They make me remember my grandma and my mom and the stories Dad told of his mother and step mother.  They bring back thoughts of Rachael and Notah when they were growing up. 

   

But they aren’t as precious to me as they once were.  It isn’t that I don’t treasure the memories, but the objects aren’t as valuable as they once were.  I’ve been thinking of the song “Until Then,” especially the messages in some of the lyrics.  “The things of earth will dim and lose their value…and things of earth that caused the heart to tremble remembered then will only bring a smile.   This weary world with all its toil and trouble will take its toll of misery and strife.’  The soul of man is like a waiting falcon, when it’s released it’s destined for the skies!”

   

I’ve always liked the song, but the last few years I’ve grasped the deeper reality of the words.  The things that I used to hold dear have dropped away.  I haven’t thrown them out; they’ve passed into other hands to treasure, but for me I don’t hold them so close.  My treasures and the loved ones they helped me to remember have moved from the earthly scene to heaven.  I only need to quietly to remember the days of work and heartache, happy times and joy, blessings and burdens.  And they are stored now in eternal storerooms.  I sit here in Rachael’s house with very few sit possessions of my own.  I don’t own a house.  I don’t own a car.  Most of the things accumulated over the years have been given to other family and friends. I have my cozy room and my favorite pictures on the wall. And my dogs.  I have clothes to wear and a warm place to sleep. Rachael makes sure I have the right diet available when she does the grocery shopping.  What more can I ask for in life.

    The things of earth have lost their value.  The trials and heartaches and hard places have all strengthened my faith and drawn me closer to God.  I can look back on them and smile because in hind sight I can see the hand of the Lord working in my life. 

    

    Now more than ever my focus is on things eternal.  And until then my heart does sing.

We Are Come!

 I had a big day yesterday for a knee just 3 weeks out from total replacement.  I went in after dinner to lie down for a while.  I napped a little bit—until Maggie decided it was play time and began romping all over the bed.  Then I asked Rachael and Michael to entertain her a little so I could rest easier.  But my knee kept aching.

I started thinking of Hebrews 12:16 -30.  Actually I focused on verse 22:  ²²But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,   Then I had to get up and read the entire portion of scripture accompanying it.  What a fantastic place to be in the Lord!  To be taken into the fellowship of the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect.  What a fantastic privilege! 

I thought of the respect accorded to the old Mt Sinai when Moses went up to receive the 10 commandments.  Remember how God called on Moses to issue a warning to the people in Exodus 19:9-19.  God declared the mountain holy to His Own purpose for that time and the consequence of ‘dis-respecting’ it was death.  If even one of the animals belonging to the children of Israel touched the mountain it was to be killed.  If you read the account you will see what great fear the warning provoked in the people when Moses went up on the mountain.

In Hebrews, the writer compares the Holy Mountain of the Church to that Old Testament mountain.  He begins by speaking of Esau and how he despised his birthright for a moment of fleshly fulfillment and later even though he regretted it, there was no restoring it. ¹⁶Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. ¹⁷For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

We are reminded how much greater a promise we have been given today by Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary!  ¹⁸For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, ¹⁹And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:  We don’t see a physical mountain that is surrounded with fire and blackness and storm.  We don’t hear a literal trumpet or voice.  We might be more careful of obeying our God if that were true.

No, here is the part that thrilled me.  We aren’t come to some literal mountain. But we are come  unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, ²³To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,   And more beautiful than that We come there through  Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. Just think!  We are blessed to have obtained the fullness of the covenant initiated on Mount Sinai!  We have immediate access to all the blessing that those early Israelites struggled so hard to attain.  How fantastic!   We can dwell in the midst of that spiritual mountain, in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God!  Accepting Christ’s atonement for our sins poured out blessings on us today that are breath taking! 

Think about it!  Christ has given us access to all the righteousness to which the Israelites aspired  by following the Old Law!  His blood has provided us forgiveness for sins and the power to live above sin, free from its bondage!  It thrills me to the very depth of my being!  The Israelites feared to set foot on the mountain but WE, WE, are blessed to dwell in the midst of it!  Mount Sion, the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, the general assembly and church of the first born! 

It makes me think of Psalms 87 where the psalmist says: The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah. I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there. And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her. The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there.

We were born into that holy city and assembly!  How glorious it is to know that I was born in her!  Not as a literal Jew, but as a spiritual one,  born of the Spirit through water and the blood of Jesus!  When we accepted Christ’s invitation to be born again we were born into that holy city, the Church of the living God!  Don’t those words ring in your soul!  Over and over, pealing out the joy of that new birth!  It takes my breath away! 

And while I was thinking on all of that, I considered how lightly so many Christians today consider the edicts of the Lord.  They play church.  They sit under ministers who present lectures in human values and social enrichment.  They make social contacts.  They give lip service to serving God and use the Love of God to cover all manner of sin! They disregard the tremendous and majestic heritage which God offers His People because they prefer to follow their own sinful and fleshly ways.  In many cases it is even done ignorantly because the ministry they are depending on for Biblical teaching is failing in their calling.

Masses of Christians treat the things of God so casually.  Oh yes, they ‘pay proper respect’ to the church buildings and they call one another brother or sister and refer to their spiritual leader as ‘pastor’ or ‘reverend’ and they go to church services on Sunday morning.  They even pay a ‘tithe’ of some sort or a ‘pledge’ to the local congregation.  Most of them profess themselves to be  ‘Christians’ and are proud of their affiliation with a ‘local body of believers.’ They consider themselves to be freed from following the ‘old law’ but have no commitment to the deeper dedication that comes with complete salvation in Christ. They do all the outward things that proclaim them to be good Christians.  And yet as Christ said they neglect the weighter things of following the Lord.  ( . . . ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Luke 11: 38-42) 

In the religious world today men and women have no qualms about professing themselves ‘born again Christians’ and still living in sin.  Many times their lifestyle is such that even sinners recognize their hypocrisy.  We can see regularly professing Christians committing adultery and living in open sin but still ‘witnessing’ to the saving power of Jesus. 

What a travesty!   What insincerity!  What a trampling underfoot of the Son of God, and [counting] the blood of the covenant, wherewith [we are] sanctified, an unholy thing!  (Heb 10:29)
I thought of the consequence to the people and animals who disregarded God’s warning back at Sinai.   God has similar warning for men and women today who disregard His standards and ignore His Word.  ²⁵See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:  ²⁶Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.

 God’s ministers still have a responsibility to speak as the Spirit gives them utterance, to warn men and women of the Judgment of God to come.  As the prophets of old (Ezekiel 33: 1-7)  had a responsibility to their people so do God’s men today have the same responsibility.
God is still sending His Message of deliverance from sin and freedom to worship Him in righteousness.  He is shaking the foundations of Satan’s prison house and freeing those men and women who turn to him. And mankind still has the choice of refusing His Word or accepting it.   Yet, men still deny and refuse it!  They would have been among those who were very careful for fear of physical death not to touch the mountain while Moses was there.  They would observe all the outward demands and be very careful how their obsequious attitude toward the ‘things of God’ is noticed, but like the Pharisees in Luke they ignore the deeper spiritual things that are more easily hidden from casual onlookers.   They are stomping on the spiritual mountain and considering that their sin is overlooked because the hand of God no longer reaches out to strike them dead for their disobedience. 

But today we worship as spiritual Jews, not literal.  Our death today is not literal but spiritual.
In Moses time all of the worship was focused on outwardly keeping of laws and ordinances; the consequences were literal.  If God said ‘death’ it was a literal physical death.   Today, the Word tells us that we are not literal Jews, but spiritual; our spirituality lies “inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter[of the law]  That life requires a much deeper commitment to the things of God and a more careful walk before Him.  And when God speaks of death now it is a spiritual condition and if we continue in our ways we find ourselves dead in trespasses and sin.  (Eph 2:1)

But, oh! the glory of accepting and following the Way of the Lord!   We are brought into His Church, His holy mountain, His Kingdom which stands sure.  Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:  And we are given grace to serve God in holiness, consistently and faithfully!  Amen!

²⁹For our God is a consuming fire.  That fire consumes all the sin and dross in our life and makes us holy acceptable before God. 

Isn’t that the most wonderful thing!  It woke me up and kept me up!  Our Lord is breathtaking, overwhelming!  Take time to just read Hebrews 12:16-29.  And read it again and again, until the glory of it fills your soul! 

What a Mighty God We Serve!

I realized something today.   It has been exactly two weeks since  my knee replacement.  Last week about this time (the 8^th or 9^th)  I was in a  lot of pain; my leg was severely swollen and had a fever.  Movement was limited and I needed help getting out of bed.  I could walk a short way, but not too easily.

That evening or the next, I sent an email to Notah and Rachael and my sister in law, Helen, and my nieces asking them to pray for me.  What a fantastic God we serve!  And how surely He answers prayer!  On Saturday and Sunday I was able to get out of bed alone.  I was able to use the bathroom and come back to straighten out my bed and get back in.  All without any help! 

On Saturday I tried to do the exercises I’d been doing in physical therapy.  I was able to do most of them without any difficulty.  The whole straight leg lifts were difficult.  The heel slides which are designed to bend the knee were do-able but I could only bend my knee enough to raise it about two inches off the bed.  I did the toe kicks sitting on the side of the bed since I didn’t have the roll to prop my leg on.  Those happened without any difficulty!  

Sunday I did all the exercises again.  This time I could raise my knee in the heel slide a little higher each time so when I reached the 20 times the therapist wanted I kept on going.  My knee was loose and bent a little further each time.   I stopped when I got to 50!  I did 15 whole leg lifts.  And the other exercises I was able to whip out in short order! 

Last night I was so blessed to remember that prayer I asked for on Tuesday or Wednesday last week.  All this progress has been because of those prayers!  Wow!  My leg is now just about the same size as the other one.  The bruising is nearly gone.  There is no fever!  This morning I walked from my room to the physical therapy room! The therapist said it was about 250 feet!  And I wasn’t even hurting when I got there. 

All that may not seem like much to you, but believe me, it is amazing.  And everybody here says so, too.  Last week this time this all looked impossible, but the Lord has made it possible.

And now I'm going home on Friday morning!

Thank you, Lord!

travelling west June 17

Today we started our trip to NM. Notah arrived yesterday afternoon, collected his rats and touched base with his other snake buddies. We had me pretty well packed already but we had to get a few grocery things to snack on for the trip.

It was nostalgic to get in the car this time. It was only Rachael and Notah and me. How many trips have we started with just the three of us? I asked Notah to pray for our trip because I was already on the edge of tears. I think those memories were in all of our minds as we prayed together because we all had teary eyes by the time Notah said Amen.

It made me remember all of the years I had spent time organizing for this trip But this year they did almost everything. Rachael put my things together in the suitcase (I’ll never get everything back in again.) and took me around for the few things I needed. She even cut up the meat and cheese to eat on the trip. And in betwen times, she triple cleaned my room. ( as if Notah would notice a dirty floor!) Notah arranged for the car and did all the packing. By the time we were ready to start all I had to do was go out and get in the car. It is strange how the life moves. It is a blessing how those years of raising kids pays off when you see them tall and strong and responsible. And even more of a blessing it is to have kids that can pray a prayer that you know reaches the ears of God!

End of the day.

We travelled all the way to Rolla, Missouri today. That was a good day considering we didn’t get on the road until nine. And then we had to stop and get dry ice to pack Notah’s rats and put in the cooler.

We had some hard rain a couple times; visibility was nearly zero. Once I saw a sign up ahead but after a few more feet I realized it was a semi-trailer! Once we drove through that mess it was clear sailing into Rolla.

We brought Pat’s two cats along since he is moving to New Mexico. He has looked forward to that ever since Notah moved and it is finally happening. I was a little worried about the cats traveling with us, but they did real well. Buddy complained a while but only with plaintive mews, no yowling. Fat Black slept. We had a handicap motel room so it had a big bathroom. Notah just put the cat carriers in there to let them out. Buddy came out and found himself a corner to park in. Fat Black stayed in his carrier and looked out for a while. But when I went to the toilet at one or two o’clock he came out and wanted to be loved.