WHile I was waiting........

My morning bike ride is not getting easier. Hoeing up the ever present weeds in the yard isn't getting easier, either. Getting the swamp cooler ready isn't AS hard, but wasn't easy either. I hurt in the same places every day. I have a shoulder that's really paining me. My bke seat was designed in some hell-hole where the employees all look like Igor and giggle under their putrid breath.

The concession is that I am not a kid any more. I'm not even close to kid status. I'm looking back at my life so far, trying to figure out if I've accomplished anything at all. I think most people do at one time or other. 
Like most adults, I had big hopes and lots of dreams and plans for my life. I had a path toward a career I really wanted, that got derailed by my heart. I took another path with a time limit, at which time I could jump back on my first path. But, life happens. 

 My chosen paths got run over, blurred, and all but lost. Then suddenly, I was back on my planned path! Hooray! But, life happens. Not only was I derailed, my train wrecked. There were casualties all over the place. Along with my family, I rebuilt a rough path. And it took a long time. I wallered around enough to land on my old path for a time, this time hitting a dead end. Because, life happens.
About that time, I thought "When will it ever be MY time? When will I get to do the things I've always wanted to do? When will I ever DO anything?".
So, I decided to do something different. I left the path. All of them. I chose to be still. And, life still happens. But with a lot less stress.
I look back over my path-crashing life and realize something. While I was focusing on chosen paths, God was flooding me with life!

When I share stories about my life, people are amazed. They can't believe half of it's even true. My insanely funny, smart and wonderful family, has been a fulltime challange. I'm been in control, in hysterics, in shock, in denial, and always in love. While I was wondering when I would ever accomplish anything, MY LIFE happened.
Every day. 

I have discovered in the past ten years, that I'm having some memory loss. I have to have family members and friends replay some things I have forgotten. But everything I DO remember is shocking. I have had such a successful life, I have been priviledged with a remarkable husband, unparallelled children, and one adventure after another. 

How could one person live this much in such a short time?
God has watched and walked with me all this time. While I was designing paths and a life, He was planning the derailments. I look and see what a dull, boring, and empty story I could have had, if I had followed my own designs.
Oh! Glorious derailments! What happy stumblings! Because, when HE is the Designer, really real LIFE happens!!

Shalom!

He asked "Who is the Bravest Person You Know?"

The Sunday School teacher asked us  "What is your definition of bravery?"

To me, it is doing what must be done, even when you're scared, and in spite of the consequences.

Then he asked "Who is the bravest person you know?"

My Dad is a WWII Marine veteran. He is brave.

My son is an Army WO and has served in Iraq.  He is brave.

I know lots of law enforcement officers and fire fighters.   They are brave.

I said that the bravest people I can think of changes.

But, I want to tell you about two of the bravest women I know are.

Lisa Hauger is a good friend and a brave woman.

She and her husband, Mark, live in Kenya.

 They help widowed mamas gain the money and skills needed  to support their children.

                                                              They teach Bible classes.
             
                                     They care for orphaned children, many with special needs.

                                         They live in a compound with high walls for safety.

                           
                                                They help provide water filter systems.


They adopted their first child about 16 years ago. Their second about 14 years ago.

This year, they adopted their third, who has special needs.

                                                     
                                                             One of my favorite families!

Sounds like a lot of  "missionary" stories.

With a twist.

Lisa has Multiple Sclerosis.

MS does not define her.  Or her family.   Or her work.

In fact, I hardly ever think about it, because MS is not her.

They started years ago with a plan to start a  cottage type indusrty with donated sewing machines and materials. They were gone a few weeks a year.

It wasn't sufficient.

They started other ideas. They stayed longer.

It wasn't enough.  They moved to Kenya.

As that MS keeps creeping along,  Lisa and Mark make leaps and bounds.

Women, widowed by that scourge AIDS, are becoming business owners and at last feeding, clothing, and educating their children.

Local communities are installing sand puifiers and have clean water for their people.

Children, orphaned by AIDS and poverty, have a home, with many loving Mamas, otherwise they would be begging and stealing, and dying, in the streets.

There are many things about Lisa that make me say she is brave. I don't know how to list them.

I guess...well...bravery is doing what God called you to do.

You might look at this post and say "Oh now I feel guilty! If she can do this, I should be able to do it!"

That's not the point!

Being BRAVE is not overcoming challenges to what you think you should do.

It's just being who you are.

And that is why, when I think of Lisa, this is how I see her.

                                                                            BRAVE


To follow Lisa and Mark, and what they do, check out her blog.

tiltingbalance.blogspot.com


The second of the bravest women I know is next.


Shalom!

If I live that long...

My Dad is an interesting guy. He'll be ninety-one this summer "If he lives that long", as he always says.

He's been saying that for over 25 years.

I griped at him one day that he's been trying to die since 2000. Yep. Since his 75th birthday.

He has plans to go to the last reunion of his high school in Farley, NM, this June. In three months.

"If I live that long."


He and I are going to our biannual school reunion in Rolla, KS, in July.

 In four months.

"If I live that long."

Dad was a cowboy and a farmer, a Marine in WWII, built a lot of houses, corrals, worked on dangerous farm machinery, drove around in big cities and cross country where the speed limit was 85,

He fell into, onto, under, beside, in front of, behind and through every machine, steer, fence gap, horse, hole and structure imaginable.

He has had carpal tunnel surgery, knees replacement surgery, by-pass surgery (5), melanoma (twice), high blood pressure, cataracts, gall-stones and malaria.

His hips need replaced so he rides around in a motorized wheelchair.

He takes a lot of pills every day.

His memory is a little shaky since he totaled his Mercury last year, but works on his book every day.

If I live that long?

He's on the phone with his cousin Irene. She took care of him and his older sister when Grandma went to get the twins. Irene was a senior in high school and ran the house while Gran was away. Dad was six.

Irene is still at home, too.

                                           
                                                          Not Irene, but I love the picture!

If I live that long?  You couldn't kill these people with a super-villian!

I think about what he says. A lot.

Even though he say "If..." and even though he misses Mom terribly, he is a full of life guy. Makes plans for the future.
Writes and rewrites the new section of his book.

Has about 50 photos laid out to put in the manuscript.

I spend a lot of time helping salvage pictures that are over 70 years old. And research.

No matter what he says; He's going to LIVE until he dies.

And that's what I plan to do, too.

                                             Even if I never start a business.

                                                         

Even if I never get thinner.









                                            Even if I never write that book.

Those are just things I'd like to do. Not necessarily what I need to do.


How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;And in whatever he does, he prospers.   Psalms 1:1

One of the promises is that everything will be okay. That all I do will prosper.

It doesn't mean I'm gonna get rich. It means if I'm walking the walk, He's going to bless what my hands touch.

His Glory.

His Kingdom.

His Way.

Tremble, and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. 
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,
And trust in the Lord.         Psalms 4:4-5

                                                   Live, until you die.


Shalom!

Toss me a match, I'm goin' out!!

I feel like I'm losing my fire.

Not like I'm a pile of embers, just waiting to be fanned back to life, but hitting pffhhhhhhht!

After the fire has been stirred, watered, stirred, stomped, stirred... well, you get the point.

When you are all fired up and have a routine that keeps you on the run, it's pretty easy to stay in the zone.

My days were great. Get up, have tea and read some Bible, dust something, and hit the books.

Write some, blog some, and get all wound up in what God was showing me.

I could go kidnap my friend who keeps me straight thinking, and spend a few hours hammering out words.

My husband was right there in the evenings to talk with and add clarity to prophecy. 

It was great!

 THEN, life happened. Dad got hurt and I moved to his place.

You must understand, I wouldn't do this any other way. He needs me and that is my joy.

But I am a stranger in a strange, albeit familiar, land.

My days are very quiet, and slow. Mostly listening to stories from Dad, and he's got 90 years worth!

When I do get something stirring, I have no one to share with. 

I've tried, but with dismal results.

Now, that was my soap-box whine. All about why my little flickering ember is suffocating.

Here's reality.

Joseph led a charmed life. He was Daddy's favorite, I figure he did what he wanted and got what he wanted.

Then, he ends up as a slave, teated like shoe scrapings, and nearly loses his head. 

                                                   I'll bet his ember was tiny!

Samson was lord of everything he saw. Spoiled rotten by his parents and blessed of God. 

When they blinded him in prison, I know his ember was barely smoking.

John, the Baptizer! His folks knew before birth he was extra special! 

   But in prison, he wondered if he had made a mistake.

He ran around saying everything that God put into his head! Until they took it off.

These three men are not only recognized names to Jews and Christians, but the world population, in general.

I find one really clear connection.

They had a segment of their lives when the fire could have easily gone out.

When the Word could not have been enough.

When there was just  not enough hope to fan the flames.

And...they made it.

Made it?!?  Are you kidding?

Yeah, Joseph became a great man and saved his family and a kingdom,
 but Samson died a slave,
 and John was executed!

 But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place? As for you,you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.  Genesis 50:19-20

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes.”  Judges 16:28
So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. Judges 16:30b

 I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged God’s justice, having been baptized with the baptism of John. Luke 7:28-29

                           Yet all three were who, and where, they were supposed to be. 

                                                 And they all stayed the course. 

        What looked like a dying, struggling, perishing ember was in truth, a roaring flame.


And the light of Israel will become a fire and his Holy One a flame,
And it will burn and devour his thorns and his briars in a single day. Isaiah 10:17


 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,  who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,  but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,  for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher.  For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.   2 Timothy 1:8-12

I will stay the course, no matter how it looks.

                              Because I KNOW who holds today, and tomorrow.

                                                      And I am not alone.

Shalom!

What on Earth are We Seeking?

I visited a fellowship yesterday and went to the adult Bible class. 

          

I dread them.
           

But I really liked this one.

We talked about scripture. We talked about the Enemy creeping in.

We talked about the One who Sees Everything.

It was refreshing. 

We talked about  (drumroll)  Prosperity Gospel!

                                                 

Now, I loooove to talk about Prosperity Gospel.

Not to be confused with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

It gives me the chance to share what God is saying to us, today. And what He said yesterday.

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
Matthew 6:9-13

 "Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’  For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."    Matthew 6:31-34

I know we know these verses, but what do we think they are saying?

I read an article woman who has cancer wrote about PG. She made the point that if bad things happen to you and you follow the belief that only good things happen to the faithful, where does that leave you?

I agree. Believing that bad things will never shadow your life is pretty ignorant.

Jesus never told us to pursue money, or fame, or a career, or an education, or even a ministry. 

He told us to pursue HIM.

Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers,Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”  Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and He called them.  Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.         Matthew 4:18-22

                     "Seek..."

When You said, “Seek My face,” my heart said to You, “Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.”         Psalm 27:8

Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face continually.    Psalm 105:4

                                     

At night my soul longs for You, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently; For when the earth experiences Your judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.   Isaiah 26:9

For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.    Luke 11:10

                                               

And then, there's this one;

How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?     John 5:44.

Are you seeking how to grow  a bigger church?

How to involve more people in teaching classes?

How to get, and keep, kids in church?

Are you seeking how to be blessed with health, money, ministry?

Why?

Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added.

Things.  He'll add the things.

Joke* Osteen is big on God's favor. So is Andy Stanley. Seeking God for the purpose of getting what He has for you.

What's wrong with that, you ask?

Let's say Prosperity 'ministry' of God's Favor is cheesecake. With fresh strawberries. And freshly whipped heavy cream.

I want it, and I want it bad! Sooooooo good!

Gimme-gimme-gimme-gimme!

Oooooh! My friend has cheesecake too. Wonderful. Why is her cheesescake bigger than mine? 

What did she do to get more? Did I do something wrong?

"No, of course not! You just need to ask harder for a better and bigger serving!"

Is there anything to go with this cheesescake?

"I'm sorry, but you only need cheesescake. Go get it!"

I could use some bread. And maybe a glass of milk?

"Why look for trouble! Here, I prayed you a new piece. Get a fork."

I don't feel very much like *urp* eating more cheesecake.

We need to stop seeking the "things" God already has for us, and seek Jesus.

God has planned a balanced life for each of us. It's full of bread, wine and cheesecake. 

It has friends, family, education and teaching. It has laughter, tears, sickness and health.

It is packed with bad weather and perfect days.

It carries betrayal, loss, and inbridled joy.

How are you going to get what's coming to you?

                                        By SEEKING Jesus.

                                      There is no other way.

                                                        

Shalom!

* He's not funny, and it isn't a typo.