ALL IN ALL

I have been very tired.  The size of concerns seem to grow in proportion to the depth of fatigue one is experiencing.

Papa has been reminding me that in Him I find ALL I need and that I can rest in Him.

Here are the words that my thesaurus supplied for the word All.

Entire.
Whole.
Complete.
Altogether.
Every part.

That means everything with no exceptions!
He is ALL I need for every detail of my life.

The other morning His Words seemed to jump off the page and into my heart.

"And looking upon them Jesus said to them, 'With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'"*

Nothing is beyond Him.  He can handle all things!  Including directing the hearts of all of my dear sons!
As a mother I can rest in this truth.  I have seen Him at work in each and all of their lives.
Some just have further to go.

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

All strength is from Him and He equips me for all that comes my way!
Including health issues.

"The Eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; and He drove out the enemy from before you, and said, 'Destroy!'"***

 My God holds me all of the time and routs all of the enemy!
No matter where he may have wormed his way into.

"The LORD will give strength to His people; the LORD will bless His people with peace." ****

His strength and peace is all mine!
All the time!

"And He has said to me, 'My grace is (all) sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.'  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me." *****

 It is not dependent upon me or my situation,  It is all grace!

He is worthy of ALL PRAISE!
My heart echoes the words of the psalmist in the First verse of Psalm One Hundred-One:

"I will sing of loving kindness and justice, to You, O LORD, I will sing praises."

*Matthew 19:26
** Philippians 4:13
*** Deuteronomy 33:27
**** Psalm 29:11
***** 2 Corinthians 12:9

Keep it Fresh!

Here I sit in my car on the ferry, heading to Long Island for a weekend visit with family.
Having been in a bit of a rush I decided to do my Scripture reading on the boat,
so my Bible is open on my lap at the moment.

*This is my first attempt to post to my blog from my iPhone and I am not certain how it will appear, however, I want to share something I just saw on these pages so will give it a go!

I am in Psalm Seventy-eight.
It is a wonderful piece of Scripture!
Nestled in the first section are three verses I claimed a few years ago for my family; verses six through eight.
It includes those not yet born.

 "That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart, and whose spirit was not faithful to God."

Oh Papa!  May every generation of this family have hearts and spirits that seek You!

Okay, that was just a brief side note.
What I really want to share is how the message of this Psalm is the message of Alcoholics Anonymous.

That might surprise many, but it is true.
The Fingerprints of our God are all over the teachings of AA.

So what is this message?
Keep it fresh!
What?
Remember often where God has brought you from and what He has brought you through!

This means we must be active, engaged with this gracious Gos in remembering.
We cannot give the flesh room to start seeking its own desires.
Only He can bring us true satisfaction!

The other part of the message is to pass it on. Share it, proclaim the Good News far and wide to all who will listen!

So much promise is wrapped up in heeding these instructions. Just as consequences await those who don't heed them, as the Psalm goes on to illustrate and as many lives can sadly attest.

Yet, which ever we choose, our God's love is constant and He intends that either good or bad consequences drive us to seek Him wholeheartedly.

I believe that all that comes our way leads us to a choice. To allow it to drive us closer to Him or to become a wedge between us and him.

I choose to keep it fresh and give him the glory, which will happen as I draw nearer to my gracious God!

*As some will notice this is posted over twelve hours later, because I have not quite perfected the technique of posting from said iPhone!  I am also on a relative's very old computer, so I cannot do any fine tuning!

Tools or Toys?

Remember when life was simple?

In Nineteen eighty-seven we moved from New York State to Connecticut and into our first home that came with a mortgage and not just a rental price tag.
After the move we discovered that baby number four was on the way.

My honey insisted that we get a dishwasher.  I never had one before and didn't think I needed one then either.  He disagreed.
I figured he just wanted one because he liked big toys.  He said it was a useful tool.

He also thought we should have a microwave oven, but I refused.  How could we justify such a frivolous purchase?
Boy was he excited when he found a sale for dishwashers that threw in a microwave for free!
Great!  Something else to clutter up my counter!!

Speaking of toys...
Personal computers were finding their way into homes and somehow one made its way into ours too!
Remember Pac-man?  That's what we used it for!  Definitely not a tool!

Fast forward a number of years.
For some time my husband had been telling me that I needed a cell phone.
For heavens sake, what would I do with it?!  He could play with one if he wanted, but I had no interest in one.

I held out until one fateful night...
Having dropped the boys off at a summer camp I was working my way home.  The processing of the boys at the camp had taken considerably longer than I had anticipated and I was going to be arriving home much later than expected.

I proceeded to look for a public phone to let Ray know of my delay and finally found one at a darkened gas station.
It was isolated and I didn't feel comfortable getting out of the car, so I drove on.
After much looking I did find one, but the search for one had made me even later!

When I arrived home I told Ray I was ready for that crazy new phone.  Maybe it would be a useful tool.
He got me one the next day.
The first time that it rang I did not know how to answer it!

All this reminiscing brings me to the present...

Here I sit at my very useful tool, my own laptop, using its keyboard to share my story.
A little while ago I was busy playing Words with Friends and Scrabble with my friends on Facebook.
Okay toy!
Of course I didn't sit down to my computer until I had filled the dishwasher with the dishes that had held the food that I had warmed up in the microwave!  Wonderful tools!

As I work my way from one activity to another, my trusty cell phone is always within reach.
You never know when it will be letting me know of a call or a text, a calendar reminder or alarm.
Definitely a tool!

I was due for an upgrade and took the opportunity to get myself an iPhone.
It is so much fun!   A fun tool?  :)
It fits nicely in my hand and offers so much more than that first computer ever did.
As a matter of fact it offers just about everything that my laptop does!

Do I want to know the weather conditions or predictions?   One touch brings me the information!
So many options!
Surf the net?  Play music?  Have a little face time with my grand-kids?  Take crystal clear photos or videos?

It is hard to remember life without all this stuff.
In so many ways it enhances my life.
I definitely can keep in better communication with my loved ones who are scattered near and far.

Each morning I open the blinds and boot up my computer.
What has happened in the world while I slept?  My computer holds the information.
For all the benefits, now and then I step back and wonder what I have given up for all of this progress?

Information comes from all directions these days.
Many tasks that I do involve my computer, from paying bills and charting expenses, to creating greeting cards, plus sending receiving communications.
The list is endless.
I could spend all day in front of my laptop and all my other conveniences offer me the time to do so.
It takes careful watching to not allow it to own all of your time.

I often join the psalmist in offering Papa this plea...

"Teach me to number my days, so that I might present to You a heart of wisdom."

And I don't need any sophisticated tools to do that, but I am grateful for all of them.
I guess each one serves as both a toy and tool.

For all this I praise my God, who has planted into each of us creativity, which results in so many amazing things!

Reminders of His Love

If you were to leaf through my personal Bible, you would find a number of dates scattered on the margin of its pages.  They are alongside particular verses which Papa brought to my attention on that day.
Some are speaking to an issue within my heart and some are promises that He has given me regarding my loved ones.

It is a joy to come across them again, as I read that particular section of Scripture.
When I do, I am freshly encouraged.

Why?
Because I am reminded of His love for me and mine.
The fact that He speaks to my heart and gives me Words to hold onto and live by is ongoing evidence of His love.
He may have poured out His love on that Cross, but He did not exhaust its supply!

When I do encounter them, it is always timely.
A reminder of what He has promised....
And, not infrequently, evidence that He keeps His promises to me!

Reminders can be good.
In His Hands they are good.

He has always encouraged His children to remember what He has done and what He promises.

In the Old Testament He told His people to set up memorials of when He met them in a special way.  He also instructed them to institute celebrations at defined times.
The Passover and Purim are two examples.

In the New Testament Jesus instructed His disciples to remember, on a regular basis, His sacrifice of His body and blood for us.  It is known as Communion and/or The LORD's supper.
My church does so the first Sunday of the month, which means we celebrated The LORD's Supper today.

No matter which we might be celebrating, the focus should be on our God and  it should be a time of humble gratitude.

Today we had a guest speaker.  The man is ninety years young and I do mean young!
To be honest I was not excited about the prospect of someone so old speaking.  I have had plenty of experiences listening to someone ramble, lose their place and seem to go on for ever.
Well, Papa had a wonderful surprise for me!

The message was from the Fortieth chapter of Isaiah, the Thirty-First verse.
It is now dated in my Bible!

I have been experiencing some challenges health-wise and was greatly encouraged by the words this man shared with us.  His life is a testimony of God's faithfulness!

"But those who wait upon the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings li,e eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

I was reminded that waiting upon the LORD is a quiet, but active position.
Resting in Him, yet poised to hear from Him and in a position to soar, run and walk at His bidding, in His timing and strength!

That is an example of my Gracious God speaking to a need within my heart.
Here's one regarding my loved ones:

"For I will pour out water on the thirsty land; and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants; and they will spring up among the grass like poplars by streams of water.  This one will say, 'I am the LORD's' and that one will call on the name of Jacob; and another will write on his hand, 'Belonging to the LORD'. and will name Israel's name with honor."

This passage has two dates, as He had originally given it to me on the First of October in the year Two Thousand and Five!

The reminders of His love are everywhere...

Look to the Cross!
Look into His Word!
Or by simply looking to the evidence that surrounds us every day through so many ways!

Sufficient Grace

A couple of months ago I committed to speak to a youth group that would be volunteering at the ACTS4 building this week.
The director, Laura, had sent out an email to see who might be interested in having a part in working with them.
I immediately felt moved to volunteer to, at least, share something with them.
Today was the day.

This week I wondered if I should just be committed.
My energy level is just about zilch and my thinking isn't much better.
If I could have gotten out of the commitment, I would have, but I wasn't about to leave them in a lurch.
So I just lurched in there and did my best.

Really I simply committed the time and effort to Papa.
It wasn't and isn't about me.
It is all about Him.

Yet, how easy it is for our flesh, the human side, to want acceptance and approval of those around us.
I mean really, who wants others, especially people who don't know us, to think poorly of us?

Normally, I am thinking about what I will share many days, if not weeks, in advance and then jot down a brief outline to remind me of the key ideas. When the time comes I am confident of what direction the talk is going and how Papa with fill in the body of that outline.  His grace is always available.
This time I gathered a few thoughts together less than twenty-four hours in advance, which left me feeling a little uneasy.  I was speaking to them about how to approach those who struggle with addiction and so it was a very familiar subject, however, I wasn't certain of what my God really wanted me to focus upon.  All I could do was commit it to the LORD with the prayer that His will be done.  I knew I could trust His grace.

Meanwhile, thoughts kept coming of how ill-prepared I was and how bored the teens would be and what would the youth leaders think??

I arrived at the building and had time to chat briefly with a couple of friends, which put me more at ease;
then the teens arrived and we gathered for our time together.
Once again I felt unsettled, but that went away the moment I opened my mouth.
As usual, I am not sure of all I shared, nor what anyone thought, but felt the peace that Jesus promises.
His grace at work!

Afterward one of the youth leaders, a woman, approached me to share her concern for a neighbor who is an alcoholic.  She asked for prayer for her neighbor and also for herself as she seeks to be a positive force in the woman's life. She said that it was no accident that I shared what I did on this particular day, as a fresh incident had just occurred and I was a help and encouragement to her.

So whether anyone else gained anything from what I shared, I do know one did and that makes it all worthwhile!

Walking with Jesus opens the way to so many opportunities to touch lives.  Actually, it is Him touching others through us.
Years ago I would spend time plotting what I would do and say in any given situation to steer conversations around to Him.
I have learn that what I was doing was pure manipulation, plain and simple.
Now, when I remember to keep it simple and just hang out with Jesus, I find that He stirs hearts without any need of me doing any of the stirring!
Yes, He can work even when my thinking is fuzzy and my body weary!
That's one of His specialties.
His grace is always sufficient!

My heart echoes Pauls' words in Second Corinthians, Chapter Twelve, verse Nine,

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness."  Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me."

Amen!

Something's Wrong

There seems to be something wrong with my blog.  Viewing it is the problem, which I am sure you have seen...
There are a number of lines that are highlighted in white; I cannot find the help needed to correct this, so if anyone reading this has an answer, please let me know!

I wonder if this blog is simply reflecting its writer's current condition?

For a while I have not felt like myself, not at all!

At least I know what resources to tap to figure out what the problem is and then address it.
Unlike this blog's problem!

We never know what new challenge is going to come our way, do we?
The wonderful thing is that we do know the One who willingly goes through it all with us!

Our God is on His Throne and is the Omniscient One.
Nothing takes Him by surprise.
And all that He allows to come our way has a good purpose.

We often may not be able to see what those purposes are, but we can trust His Loving Hand.

As I promised in my last posting I want to share how He is always poised to bless each one of us, for His compassions are new every morning.


The Eighteenth verse in the Thirtieth chapter of Isaiah caught my attention,

"Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.  For the LORD is a God of justice; how blessed are all those who long for Him."

Can't you just see Him on the edge of His seat, as a loving Papa, watching and leading us to all He has for us in any given moment?  It is ours to claim, if only we long for it and Him!

That little boy's hand didn't only pluck my rose, but opened the opportunity for me to hear from my LORD.
He had a few thoughts to share with me.

Yes, I grieved that lovely rose, but it is just a flower, which is not meant to last.  It had just about reached the zenith of its beauty.
Imagine Papa's grief when the beauty He desires to develop in us is hindered?

Yes, that little boy was a bit out of control, which I am sure his mother knew, but would they have needed to hear that from me?
No, it was an opportunity to demonstrate grace, which we all need to experience as much as possible!

So where was the blessing for me?
Well, I got a fresh glimpse into my Savior's heart and the opportunity to let a little more beauty take root in my life!



My journal reflects my response to something I read by Brennan Manning this morning,

"If I have been taken in by the Gospel, then grace will mark my life; its actions and attitudes. 

Yesterday I had a wonderful visit with my friends at the rehab.  Our discussion centered around the truth that "if God is for us, who can be against us?"  We were very engrossed in the topic when one of the older counselors came to inform me, with a disapproving scowl, that I had overstayed my visit and was hindering them from beginning their group session.


Being not up to my usual chipper self, I was taken back for the moment and felt beaten down.
I needed to hold onto the fact that God is for me too!


Later on He used Psalm Sixteen to remind me that He is my portion,

"The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me."

In reading further in that Psalm it tells us of many of the blessings that are wrapped up in our inheritance.

Yes, my heritage is beautiful to me!

Beautiful Flowers

Isn't it interesting how our brain can connect the dots so quickly and lead us
to a memory that has long been buried?

While driving Ray to the gym I noticed the plethora of Queen Anne's Lace that ran along the roadways.  It is one of my most favorite wildflowers.  Its intricate, delicate design intrigues me.
Their beauty always reminds me of their Creator and causes my heart to rejoice.

Our God is so generous!  He did not need to share so much beauty with us.
Of course, He had to share it because His generosity is motivated by pure love.  His heart couldn't do otherwise.


As I reveled in the greeting of row after row of those glorious wildflowers, a memory from over twenty-five years ago arose out of the memory banks. 


I have never been very successful at growing roses.
Yet, though that statement holds true to this day, there was one exception.
Actually, I think it was the Master Gardener at work, but either way, it was in my garden!


The bush was remaining healthy, which was the first sign of a miracle!
The instructions had said that only one bud would appear at a time and that said bud would take its time opening.  The owner was to enjoy the journey, as every day would hold a new dimension of beauty.
Sounds like a metaphor for life doesn't it?

Well, true to their promise one little bud appeared and thus began the adventure of joining in the journey of this little one.
Every day I would go out to discover what changes had taken place.
First the bud grew in size, day by day and then it began to open.
So very slowly.

It was thick with petals, rich coral colored petals.

One morning it was evident that within a day, two at most, the precious bud would be fully open.
I decided that the following day would be the day that I would cut it and place in a lovely bud vase that I had so I could extend its life a little longer.
It was the heat of summer and I knew that the sun would end its life in no time at all.

Later that day one of our boys had a friend over to play.  It was the first time this little guy was over and I quickly learned that he was not use to being still for even a moment and that he was also use to doing just what he wanted.

Needless to say that I was kept busy during his visit and not a little glad to see his mom arrive!

While she and I chatted for a moment he continued to zig and zag throughout the yard.

I guess one of his zigs took his alongside my rose bush.

Yes, he reached his little, sweaty hand out and plucked the rose.
Just the flower itself.
Sans stem.

He ran up to his mother and tossed her the flower.
Such a casual action.
One repeated often between mothers and their children.
A flower for their mommy.

Sigh.
I grieved that rose the rest of the day.
I can still taste the disappointment of that moment.

Though I would have liked to shriek (and my son was standing with aghast anticipation of just such a reaction) I exercised restraint.

One who was acutely aware that she had received an abundance of grace herself could do nothing else.

Just this morning Papa reminded me how He is always poised to bless each one of us for His compassions are new every morning.
There is a tie between my little story and that truth, but I will save that for the next time I post to this blog!