GRACE-FORGED FRIENDSHIP DAY!

In our culture there are days for everything, even food! 

January 12-Hot Tea Day. January 26-Peanut Brittle Day.

April 5-Caramel Day. 

June 10-Iced Tea Day. July 1-Pecan Pie Day.

October 28-Chocolate Day. 

Yesterday was National Lemon Meringue Pie Day.

You get the idea---or at least an idea of those I celebrate "in the flesh."

What about more significant days for believers???

Scotty asked, "When is "Grace-Forged Friendships Day?" 

EVERYDAY! 

It makes everyday "gospel-icious." (Cole Huffman) especially as we desire to age gracefully. 

"A gospel-posse." (Scotty)  Dynamic Duo. Terrific Trio. A Quad Squad.

Christians on the same side of the struggle. (Ellen)

Believers who have been there, i.e. experienced that, can offer deep understanding, like-minded prayers and comfort so one does not lose heart. (2 Corinthians 4:16) 

A Fellowship of Believers' Day......

.....grace-forged with hope-filled prayers.(Romans 15:13)

3 Rs OF OUR HEARRRT!

Renewed. Revived. Refreshed.

Great inner man descriptors both physical and or spiritual.

Even as one ages Lord, allow us to daily depend on you for strength, grace and courage to endure until we meet you face to face as Betsy so beautifully writes!

Renew. Revive. Refresh............our hearts until the end. 

SUSTAINING GRACE FOR ALL OUR YEARS!

Too often my weariness and complaining spirit of aging maladies becomes an audacity or impudence of sorts to those who age well. Cast your cares on God and He'll sustain you.(Psalm 55:22)

Some folks make 95 look great! 

Bobbie Scholik does just that! Check out that smile & she had not even been out of the hospital for 24 hours! Of course, it helps to have son, Chris and daughter-in-law, Jamie, who are great caregivers. I was a drop -in visitor and I was the one who left with the biggest blessing!

I was reminded of the comfort God's word brings as I pushed the down button on the elevator.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. (Isaiah 40:29)

More specifically....."Even to your old age and gray hairs.....I am He who will sustain you. " (Isaiah 46:4)

O Lord, may I have "ears to hear" of your sustaining grace as I age.

TUESDAY'S TICKLES

We've all heard the old adage, laughter is good for the soul. Even in Scripture there is a time for laughter. 

Ecclesiastes 8:15 commends mirth. After weeks of both mourning and celebrating eternal rest of friends, I needed not only a smile to be a curve that sets things aright, but outright laughter. 

Much laughter was delivered right to my home on a previous Tuesday.

"S" Word

At our home, there are two "S" words we work hard to avoid.

The first S, is shut-up. Tho I addressed shut-up in a previous blog, it was not quite in the same context. 

We try to avoid this  S word by substituting a more acceptable "hush."

The second  S,  "stupid" seems totally out of place as a noun, especially when referencing a human being with such a moniker.

Other "bad" S words that come to mind are sucker (as in gullible) and sin---yet, sin is ever present and needs to be labeled for what it is. 

BUT....two recent quotes have me realize that even S words with bad inferences can be necessary for emphasizing truth, especially to ones with "dull" hearing (aka not having ears to hear) as a way of getting their attention.

For believers....."Sin does NOT make things more interesting; sin makes us lose heart."(2 Corinthians 4:1 & 16) (C. Huffman)

A sinner can repent, but STUPID is forever; . (Billy Sunday)

So.....listen up----I certainly did.

Hum-m-m-m......sin (the unrepentant variety) and stupid----maybe those two S words go hand-in-hand.

Aging Adages

10/4/13 We all know the old age adages. Especially those of us with our Medicare cards.

Old age....  : 

-is NOT for sissies.

-is better than the alternative.

-comes at an inconvenient time.

-mellows some people, others it makes rotten.

-carries an inflexible mind set by people who don't care what you think.

I know I am aging because.... of doc appts. on my  "At-A-Glance" calendar

• one doc has me keeping a "dizzy data" diary, 
• another doc has me keeping a "tinkle" tally AND
• when I returned to my car AGAIN to get something I needed for my doc appt., I left my purse on top of the trunk.

I think I should have scheduled  a dementia doc---geriatrician on aging, or a neurologist.

I, and others, "could despair" (Psalm 27:13) with all the aging changes.  But God....has us "one anothering." Encouraging "one another" thru funny emails and cards about bathing suit shopping and frying bacon in the nude---just like old age, you know it's going to hurt----you just don't know where. Even scripture to lift our spirits. 

...though our outward man may perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. ..........(2 Corinthians 4:16)

I prefer that encouraging word from scripture rather than the adages of aging. 

"O" No!----"O" has caught up with me.......

1/5/12 More bookstore browsing. New intriguing titles (I Remember Nothing)....because they reflect the state of my mind! (or lack there of)

Table of contents lure. The "O" Word. Before reading further, my mind was flooded with "O" words. Partly because....... I live with a man who communicates in "initialspeake"---HH for hard head, OP for old_ _ _ _, POW for piece of work, etc. He's been speaking text-talk since before there was such a thing.

And partly because........I used to "read" dictionaries when I was in elementary school. Some words came right to mind. Overkill, oxymoron, oreos----which lead me to obesity---which lead me to oatmeal, which lead me to oatmeal cookies---which lead me back to obesity.

Knowing Ephron, an "O" word could be anything from obscure to obscene---but knowing her age, 70 last year, I assumed the "O" word was OLD. Indeed it was. (Ephron, p. 127)

So much can be said about that "O" word---a lot of which is not pretty. Aging is good for wine and antiques. For the rest of us, it can be a pretty frightening prospect. Memory loss being tops in my book. As Mother used to say about aging, if you're not ailing now, it's just a matter of time. Life does have an expiration date."

As we age the awareness of our own "someday" or "expiration date" increases---which has both good and bad aspects. Someday keeps getting sooner and sooner so one doesn't need to put off that which is important----the Lord, family and friends.

Old, yes. Obsolete, not totally.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by. (2 Corinthians 4:16)