I have experienced another "renaissance", another renewal, another rekindling of the fire of God within and upon me, and I can't help but want to share it. Outwardly, we are perishing, as Paul the apostle said, but our inward Man is being renewed day by day. Amen! I have had another almost impossible week, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I was supernaturally able to get through it, and do it well--praise the Lord Jesus for He deserves all the glory! I know it was because of the prayers of my brothers and sisters in the Lord that I was able to handle some extremely difficult situations that I just didn't have the mental or physical energy to do on my own. And so I am most humbled by the thought of people who care enough to pray for me in my time of need, and I am amazed by the absolute peace that passes understanding that has been guarding my heart and mind through all this.
Let us all remember that Jesus said that the thief, or Satan, comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but JESUS came that we would have ABUNDANT life. What does that look like? Jesus also said in this world we would have tribulation, but BE OF GOOD CHEER. Why? Because, He said He OVERCAME the world, and therefore, if we are in Christ, guess what? We overcome, too! It might not be right during the trial, and it might mean that He keeps us safe in the midst of the trial. The fact that we face trials is part of the human condition. The same sun that melts the wax also hardens the clay. And so we must ask ourselves, what are we made of? Is our heart like wax, pliable when heat is applied? Or does our heart harden, like clay, not able any more to be pliable?
I desire more than anything to have a heart of wax, to be the fuel for the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn bright in the dark world. Also, the finest gold is wrought in the hottest fire. Abundant gold, abundant wax, abundant fire. Be bold, be bright, and let your light shine! The opposite of abundant life is what the thief comes to do: To take away all that has already been provided for us through the finished work of Christ. He is Victor, and so are we! We who are the children of God have been given the legal right to use the Name which is above all names, Jesus Christ, not as a little magic token or a rote powerless afterthought, but as our birthright. We have been re-fathered when we were born again, and now our heavenly Father has made us accepted in the Beloved.
So what this means to us is that we have been given all we need to obtain life and godliness in this present age. We have the name of Jesus, we have the Holy Spirit, and we have a new Father, Who IS Love. He is Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides, and He promised to provide a way of escape when we are faced with impossible situations. Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing--nothing is too difficult for our God! Hallelujah! His grace is more than enough, His peace is more than enough, His joy is more than enough. Thank you, Lord, for your strength that helps us when we most need it, when we are weakest, then Your strength is made known. In Your presence is fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore! I'll praise You in the storm, even though it looks bad, for You are Lord of the storm and You are Life. I could go on and on, but I'm going to have to continue next time. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you with every spiritual blessing! Amen.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Mystery Bird
Last week I enjoyed a leisurely walk by myself (which is a real luxury for me these days). Usually my walks were all about aerobics and getting my heart rate up, but today was just a gem of a day in the midst of so many dreary ones, so I made the best of it. I decided to take my time and just breathe in all the sights, sounds, and smells and let my senses soothe me in the moment. I also allowed myself to remember what I heard, saw, smelled, and touched, just like when I was a kid walking through our woods, which was my own personal "sanctuary" away from my crazy family.
The day was perfectly cloudless, sunny and warm, maybe with the softest bit of a breeze blowing, if any. As I neared the end of the driveway, I decided to walk in the direction of the creek than runs through our property and under the road through a very large culvert, large enough to let cattle to walk through, apparently. Stopping there, I watched the spring water coursing through our pasture, under the road, and to the other side of the road, where the creek continues on to some other destination. Funny to think that someone from the zoning department classified this creek as "navigable". What were they thinking, that perhaps we were planning a ship yard on our dinky little pond or something? I'd like those zoning guys to come and try to navigate anything larger than a paper boat here...
I peer over the steep embankment where the water is coming through on the neighbor's side where they pasture their horses and cattle. I am fascinated by the sparkling crystal clear water bubbling over large smooth rocks, singing it's way along--I never grow weary of that sound! I know in a few months when the weather warms up, that water won't be so crystal-clear anymore, due to warmer temperatures and cattle promoting algae growth. I think I see water cress growing in the ditch, the first green among all the dead, brown grasses left over from last year. I intend to check it again to notice how much it has been growing.
On my way, I first hear it...is it a coot? I see near the base of a dying spruce tree, some odd-looking bird, but it's a ways off, so I strain to get a better look. Hmmmm...looks like a small prehistoric dinosaur called a pterodactyl with a long pointy beak. I watch and listen, and it seems to be drilling with its beak into the dying spruce tree. Normally, that's a woodpecker, but this thing is huge! We have lots of birds here, probably due to the fact that we have the creek and a pond on our place, but this one is new to me. I start walking back to get a closer look, and the thing takes off flying, it's wings flashing black and white and flying a bit awkwardly. It lands in a large oak tree near our house.
So, I think I have had a good look at it, and when I go inside, I search the net to find that it is a pilleated woodpecker. Those of you who are young enough to remember Woody Woodpecker would see the resemblance--a huge bird, as far as woodpeckers go. I never cared much for that obnoxious cartoon character, but I think I could get used to this Mystery Bird, as his personality doesn't resemble his counterpart, Woody, at least in my opinion. Now I'm thinking I must be old to be joining the bird-watcher's guild. That's okay with me, and I hope I never get too old to learn something new!
The day was perfectly cloudless, sunny and warm, maybe with the softest bit of a breeze blowing, if any. As I neared the end of the driveway, I decided to walk in the direction of the creek than runs through our property and under the road through a very large culvert, large enough to let cattle to walk through, apparently. Stopping there, I watched the spring water coursing through our pasture, under the road, and to the other side of the road, where the creek continues on to some other destination. Funny to think that someone from the zoning department classified this creek as "navigable". What were they thinking, that perhaps we were planning a ship yard on our dinky little pond or something? I'd like those zoning guys to come and try to navigate anything larger than a paper boat here...
I peer over the steep embankment where the water is coming through on the neighbor's side where they pasture their horses and cattle. I am fascinated by the sparkling crystal clear water bubbling over large smooth rocks, singing it's way along--I never grow weary of that sound! I know in a few months when the weather warms up, that water won't be so crystal-clear anymore, due to warmer temperatures and cattle promoting algae growth. I think I see water cress growing in the ditch, the first green among all the dead, brown grasses left over from last year. I intend to check it again to notice how much it has been growing.
On my way, I first hear it...is it a coot? I see near the base of a dying spruce tree, some odd-looking bird, but it's a ways off, so I strain to get a better look. Hmmmm...looks like a small prehistoric dinosaur called a pterodactyl with a long pointy beak. I watch and listen, and it seems to be drilling with its beak into the dying spruce tree. Normally, that's a woodpecker, but this thing is huge! We have lots of birds here, probably due to the fact that we have the creek and a pond on our place, but this one is new to me. I start walking back to get a closer look, and the thing takes off flying, it's wings flashing black and white and flying a bit awkwardly. It lands in a large oak tree near our house.
So, I think I have had a good look at it, and when I go inside, I search the net to find that it is a pilleated woodpecker. Those of you who are young enough to remember Woody Woodpecker would see the resemblance--a huge bird, as far as woodpeckers go. I never cared much for that obnoxious cartoon character, but I think I could get used to this Mystery Bird, as his personality doesn't resemble his counterpart, Woody, at least in my opinion. Now I'm thinking I must be old to be joining the bird-watcher's guild. That's okay with me, and I hope I never get too old to learn something new!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
A Missing Puzzle Piece
A few days ago I got an unexpected phone call. It came from an uncle that I only knew in photographs. It was a delightful conversation, and was a very important puzzle piece that was missing in my life. We talked for probably at least a half an hour. It was kind of strange, this person with a voice sounding much like my own brother's. "Was this the way my own father's voice would have sounded?", I wondered.(My birth father had been absent from my life.) Strange, because my brother was only a year old and I only three years old the last time we may have seen this uncle, so there's no way this could be a learned trait on my brother's part. My "new-found" uncle even said "Oh, really?" just like my brother says it--wow, so uncanny it almost gives me goosebumps to think about it even now.
Bill, the name of this long lost but not forgotten uncle, apologized for not being in touch with me all these years, but he was so kind and sweet I couldn't help but reassure him I was just so glad to hear from him now. We talked about my life and his life, each one of my kids and his kids (my cousins who I also have yet to meet), how my mom is doing, about my brother, basically 45 years boiled down to 30 minutes. But in that 30 minutes, I found out about what my own birth father might have been like (my mother and he were divorced when I was three years old). It had been the desire of my heart to know more about my own birth father whom I was not able to see since I was four years old, and he died when I was eleven. He has remained mostly a mystery my whole life, since my mother did not like to say much about it. I had to know what nobody was willing to tell me. I begged God to give me more of an idea of what my father was like, and although I met my paternal grandparents and aunt, my uncle remained somewhat of a mystery all these years.
And so now I feel like God blessed me in such a wonderful way to let me have the desire of my heart, which was to know more about my birth father. Uncle Bill (can't get used to saying that yet) wants to know if my brother and I would come down to my Grandpa's (his father's, of course) in Iowa to meet him this summer when he flies in from California. To my brother and me it will be like the first time meeting him since we don't remember him at all, but I look forward to it, and so I'm sure in May I'll be blogging again about our meeting. Stay tuned!
Bill, the name of this long lost but not forgotten uncle, apologized for not being in touch with me all these years, but he was so kind and sweet I couldn't help but reassure him I was just so glad to hear from him now. We talked about my life and his life, each one of my kids and his kids (my cousins who I also have yet to meet), how my mom is doing, about my brother, basically 45 years boiled down to 30 minutes. But in that 30 minutes, I found out about what my own birth father might have been like (my mother and he were divorced when I was three years old). It had been the desire of my heart to know more about my own birth father whom I was not able to see since I was four years old, and he died when I was eleven. He has remained mostly a mystery my whole life, since my mother did not like to say much about it. I had to know what nobody was willing to tell me. I begged God to give me more of an idea of what my father was like, and although I met my paternal grandparents and aunt, my uncle remained somewhat of a mystery all these years.
And so now I feel like God blessed me in such a wonderful way to let me have the desire of my heart, which was to know more about my birth father. Uncle Bill (can't get used to saying that yet) wants to know if my brother and I would come down to my Grandpa's (his father's, of course) in Iowa to meet him this summer when he flies in from California. To my brother and me it will be like the first time meeting him since we don't remember him at all, but I look forward to it, and so I'm sure in May I'll be blogging again about our meeting. Stay tuned!
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