Pencil Ready? Pray!

Pencil Ready?  Pray!

Do you pray much? I know I’m getting personal here.

When I was in my 20s, I lived alone in a little house in Alton. No TV. It was the days before computer or internet.


My phone was mounted on the wall and I could not in my wildest dreams imagine carrying it in my hand beyond the length of the coiled cord.


I had a radio, period. No i-pod. Wait a minute. How could I forget? I had a record player.

I listened to John Denver singing “Rocky Mountain High” with a slight “pop” where the record was scratched.

I was young and enthusiastic and busy and excited. I wore my feelings on my sleeve. It was easy for them to get hurt there.

Not much has really changed for me, except I‘m not young.

Back then, however, I prayed. I prayed and prayed and prayed.

I filled notebook after notebook with long conversations with God. I wrote to God about my day. I wrote to God about my confusion. I wrote about my fears.

I still have the notebooks. I look back at those prayers sometimes.

I think those conversations were good. I need to have more of them:

“Today, God, you’ve sent me a morning to soar. - Great sunlight, God. The birds are a nice touch, too, and that breeze…that breeze whispers the promise of spring. Thanks, God.”

I don’t write that kind of stuff in little notebooks any more. Sometimes, I think I should.

I should turn off the computer and TV and cell phone and take a walk. I should pull out my little notebook and take time to talk to my Father in Heaven.

I bet He misses the books.

God and I wrestled through more than a few problems on those scribbled pages. Ultimately, He answered my questions, even if His answer was “Wait.” I always tried to write God’s answers down.

Do you pray much? I think I need to….more.

May 2 is the National Day of Prayer, but every day should be prayer day. Let’s shut down some electronics and tell God we want Him in our lives.

Let’s have a conversation with Him, a conversation about everything. Let’s listen and write down His answers.

I’ve got my pen and notebook ready. Do you?

Hope

"But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:31

There’s a crisp, clean smell to the air. I step into the cool morning and soak it in.

As the breeze swirls leftover leaves at my feet, I have this feeling…this great feeling…everything is OK.

Winter has been playing tag with us this spring. I drove home from spring break in a blizzard. Tag, you’re it, the storm seemed to say.

The blizzard retreated. In came spring-like weather. Even as I write this, however, forecasters warn of winter chasing us again.

I know I should start running, but, right now, in this spring morning, I savor the sights, smells and hope of spring. This is a God moment.

Spring always reminds me of God’s renewing strength.

I don’t know about you, but I feel pretty winter-withered sometimes. Life’s not-so-pleasant encounters chill my soul and stunt my growth.

God’s love gets me growing again. -Leave it to the “Son” to shine on me.

If I’m not careful, I might even flower before May, as long as I keep my eyes on God.

Right outside my door is a wonderful patch of daffodils. Their bright yellow heads seemed to just pop out of nowhere one day. That was a pleasant surprise.

I’ve picked seven blooms and spread them through the house. Everything in there was looking dim from the winter. We needed a touch of spring inside.

I think I need a touch, too...of spring inside, that is.

Before I walk across the parking lot, I lean against my car, close my eyes and linger in the springtime sun.

“Come into my life, Jesus. Help me be renewed in your strength.” It’s a short prayer.

The school carpoolers are eyeing me suspiciously as I lean there in the sunlight.

I'm just checking in with my source of spring, folks. No problem here, only HOPE

Stop Grumbling!

 Do everything without grumbling or arguing,  so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.  -- Phil 2:14-15

I always know I'm in trouble when the vein sticks out on my forehead. 

Yesterday, my brows knit together and that bump on my forehead was evident. 

I was mad. 

No one in my family was noticing  my "unfailing sacrifice."   I swiped dishes off the kitchen table like a disgruntled busboy. I huffed at any family member who happened by...clueless to my need of assistance.   

-Will anyone EVER understand my worth in this family? -Will anyone EVER help?

I grumbled and scrubbed each dish with angry fervor.  My family breezed by in contented bliss.

That's when I spied my open Bible on the table.  It was time for an attitude adjustment. 

I slopped the soap from my hands and glanced at my Philippians Bible Study.  

Enter: Philippians 2:14-15.   Leave it up to God to give me what I need...when I need it.

I slumped into the chair, feeling a wave of peace.  I think the vein was subsiding. 

God's got some great ideas.  They really help my face.  

Happy and Blessed Easter from Faith Family Resource Center

Special thanks to Family Life Today for this inspiring story !  See www.familylife.com for more information!

But Is It Enough?

Through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all,

having obtained eternal redemption.  -- Hebrews 9:12

It began as a short, one-night romantic getaway for Martin and Gracia Burnham. It turned into a year-long nightmare when armed Philippine rebels burst into their cabin and took them hostage. These humble, hardworking missionaries, whose hearts had been wedded to their work in the Philippines, now found themselves with a handful of other captives, trudging at gunpoint through the tropical jungles of this island nation.


By the time it was all over, Martin was dead from a stray bullet fired during their rescue. Gracia escaped but was a widow.


There are many amazing accounts of faith recorded in Gracia's autobiography, In the Presence of My Enemies, describing the events and emotions of those harrowing 12 months. But one of the most haunting was one she shared with us one day in a radio interview.


As their hostage odyssey neared Easter, Martin and Gracia were told by their captors that a sizable amount of ransom money had appeared in the camp. Gracia's family had collected it, hoping against hope that it would be sufficient to satisfy the terrorists' demands. But in the typical fashion of irrational diplomacy, the leaders of the group called the couple over and made this curt pronouncement: "There is a ransom that's been paid for you, but we've decided it's not enough."


That really struck me, especially with "Easter" and "ransom" being mentioned in such close proximity. How tragic would it be to go through life, not knowing for sure whether Christ's payment -- His ransom for us -- was enough. What if our lives, instead of being safe and secure in the arms of His forever provision, were still teetering in limbo, subject to the changing whims of an unpredictable, unjust God?

Thankfully, we won't have to worry. His ransom has already been declared complete and acceptable on our behalf.


Discuss

Recall for a moment what it was like to be lost, under the penalty of sin and in need of a ransom to be paid by the Savior.


Pray

Thank Him for the ransom that was paid and a full and totally guaranteed salvation.



Oh where....Oh where...has your blogger been?

Well, my friends, I must apologize.  Weeks have passed and I have not blogged a bit. 

Where oh where does the time go?

Isn't it just like the devil to steal time away with distractions?

I want to share a couple of my newspaper articles which shed light on my focus these few weeks.

In a way....it's OK....This is all about family. 

Valentine’s Day 2013


Valentine’s Day was a pleasant day. It was sunny, a bit breezy, but the roads were clear and my mom had a plan.

My mother and father have been married 62 years. One would think spontaneity and pizzazz would have gone from that relationship long ago.

On Valentine’s Day, however, mom packed her chocolate-covered strawberries and a picnic and took her husband on a road trip.

Our cabin has been in the family since before my mom and dad were married. It was built in 1949 by my father and has been inextricably linked to his life ever since.

The cabin is three hours away. You have to travel over rolling hills and down narrow roadways. It’s nestled in a remote part of Missouri on a spring-fed stream .

Mom and Dad made their way down the curving roads and arrived at the cabin. Nothing had changed there. Nothing ever does, it seems.

The cedar trees rose strong and tall next to the shaded cabin. The sycamores had lost their leaves, but they swayed just as rhythmically in the daytime breeze. The cabin was quiet and cool and smelled of cedar logs.

The river was at its finest. It danced in the sun and sparkled as if it was a summer’s day. The crystal water didn’t seem to care about the chill in the air as it splashed over the rocks.

The Valentine’s couple paused and looked out of the cabin windows at the river. In a moment, they were teenagers, wading and splashing, and playing and flirting.

They glanced around the shadowy cabin. Sixty five years of golden, joyous memories flooded their senses. They paused, sighed… and then resolutely climbed the stairs to their waiting car.

In the warmth of the car, gazing out through the cedars at the cabin they loved, my parents ate their Valentine’s picnic. Dessert was chocolate-covered strawberries and lovely memories.

Nothing I could ever do could ever be as romantic as that sweet road trip to the cabin. I only pray God will give me the privilege of celebrating a 62- year Valentine’s road trip with my husband some day.

Thanks, mom and dad, for setting such a wonderful example.

　

Interesting Thoughts from the Family Research Council!

Keeping the Family Intact Has a Profound Impact on Children's Welfare

As Governmental proposals to increase Preschool programs looms on the horizon, studies continue to show that a lack of education isn't the only thing that can shadow children for the rest of their lives.

While academics are important, they're no substitute for a married mother and father when it comes to predicting future success.

The Family Research Council's  Dr. Henry Potrykus makes a compelling case for focusing on a different kind of homework--maintaining stable families.

According to Dr. Potrykus,  expensive and intrusive government programs  may have less influence on a child's well-being than an institution that costs taxpayers nothing: a married mom and dad. In his latest paper, U.S. Social Policy Dependence on the Family, he explains that family intactness "is roughly as important as high school education and more important than college education in influencing outcomes of public policy interest."

The  chart included in his study says it all. In the columns where the colored area is darker blue, family intactness has a proportionately greater influence in magnitude than the education variable.

During the GOP debates, Sen. Rick Santorum was criticized for suggesting that the family would be a more powerful and permanent solution to our nation's problems of poverty and crime than any entitlement Washington could concoct. 

The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting OpEd regarding President Obama's proposal to expand Preschool.
The Wall Street Journal points out, "If the regular public schools aren't working... does it make sense to layer on another defective education level?

Perhaps it would be better for the American people to turn toward HOME and not the government to enhance their children's well-being and success in the future.

A Guide to Personal Relationships

Hmmmm....I've bought a lot of books on getting along:  getting along in church,  getting along with children,  getting along in marriage.

I checked out Philippians Chapter 2 today and found a Guide for Getting Along!  Just read:

New International Version (NIV)

Imitating Christ’s Humility

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God,

did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing

by taking the very nature[b] of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

by becoming obedient to death—

even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.