SAFE Place

5/26/11

“Hunkered down,” hubby said as he retrieved a call on his cell from the closet. Yes, once again we took our weatherman seriously and headed to our safe place. I think the news stories and pictures from the recent Joplin, MO tornado made believers out of us.

Before entering our “cramped” space we gathered a few supplies. I ‘m wondering what that says about us. Larry gathered pillows and a quilt to add a little comfort--- along with his Gideon New Testament, which he’s reads nightly. He also had a belt to secure the door---because of a story we once heard of someone riding out a storm in safety with that precaution. He had a bottled water for each of us and asked if I’d taken my meds. Then, he reminded me to take my billfold. These days he knows the importance of my ID and my insurance card. He wanted to bring in a fan for circulation but that proved impossible. He was taking care of protection and comfort with a Bible added for assurance.

I, on the other hand, put on tennis shoes----maybe thinking that if the funnel sucked me out I would feel better in sturdy shoes in case I landed on my feet. How irrational is that! A V-7 force twister that can topple cars could certainly strip shoes from my feet. I also took my two devotional books that are my journals, a book light and my current book, 1,000 Gifts. Emotional/sentimental stuff.

We both sought refuge from the “storm.” Hubby for physical/spiritual needs. Self for emotional /sentimental needs. What a picture of the One in our lives who is such a refuge during the “storms” of life. Regardless of the nature of our needs, He is our haven, our safe place.

1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; 3Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. (Psalm 46 :1-3)

Saying Good-by

5/24/11 At the high school level, retirement parties are simple affairs, usually done at a faculty meeting with some cake and punch. And maybe that's a good thing because then the emotions don't take over.
But sometimes when an E-Team (encouragers, extraordinare) gets hold of an idea, surprising things can happen. Food and fun is shared and a good time is had by all. The fun overshadows the saying good-by. When you've shared life with folks through one of the toughest seasons of life, it's hard to say farewell, even when promises of keeping in touch are on one's lips.

.....I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15)

So to these stalwart faithful peers, I say adieu, which translates to "God be with you," because it's too painful to say good-by.

A "cuppa"......

5/23/11........... to make the medicine go down> Actually the cuppa is the medicine. There are probably as many varieties (medicinal, soothing, boosting) of tea as people who drink it. For me, a tasty cup of a good strong, black hot tea from India’s Assam region seems to diminish the soreness in my throat. Plus, it soothes my taut neck and head region. Maybe that’s “all in my head” but it “feels” like it’s working.

I have noticed though that I seem to like my tea stronger as the years pass. My taste buds seem to demand more.
Is there an analogy there with tea drinking and scripture meditation? Shouldn’t I be on something stronger than just snippets here and there? Sometimes scripture does seem to be more intense and I have to go deeper to really drink fully from His word. But isn’t that what meditation is all about? The same verse can mean different things to each of us depending on where we are in our spiritual growth or what our circumstances or needs are right at that moment. That’s the beauty of scripture.

Grab a “cuppa” and sip as you read along and meditate on this passage----enjoy the words at face value or go deeper.

11 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. 12 In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13 Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Hebrews 5:11-13)

SPIRITUAL PLUCK

5/22/11 I have been “in a mood” lately---though not exactly one you would dance to. I feel stretched, tired, and the last three days physically ill with the “crud”---sinus drainage and a persistent cough that is robbing me of much needed sleep. So, quiet times/prayer times have been sketchy at best. If I continue to listen to these moods that are resulting from my physical condition, I’m going to lose my spiritual hold. My pluck. I don’t mean to beat myself up. But……pluck, that part of me that decides to “pick myself up, dust myself off and start all over again,” as Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers dancingly demonstrated in old b & w movies, needs to be active. It’s called discipline.

Moods, at least mine, tend to be rooted in the physical part of my make-up. “Pluck” on the other hand is more of a spiritual/moral condition and is garnered through choice or as an act of my will. “Incarnate pluck” as Oswald Chambers dubs it. (MUFHH, May 21) is the strength that is ours when we abandon all to Him. Too often, my “moods” have me carefully mulling over how I’m going to “fix” things. Thoughtful concern (a euphemism for worry) over the practical details of my life can thwart the work of the Spirit within. “Incarnate pluck.”

I need to practice Matthew 6:25. “Take no thought of your own life,,,,,,,,,,” In my life that takes effort. Bringing every thought captive is hard work. It takes relinquishing. A continual effort not to listen to my “mood-induced” thoughts but to focus on hearing from Him.

Where’ your spiritual pluck? Are you making excuses like I am? Are you listening to the voice of reason or are you listening to the voice of the Spirit within. Maybe we both need to “pluck” up and allow God to control all those details that are so worrisome.

A time for everything.....

5/20/11 Tonight I attend Houston High’s graduation---a graduation of sorts for me as well. Retirement looms for me---yet, less than 3 months ago I had no idea that my final “work” season was upon me. Last Friday night we were discussing funeral arrangements for Larry’s mom. Three months prior we had no idea that stomach cancer would be her final season. Seasons come and seasons go. No where is this illustrated better than in God’s word.

1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, 3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, 4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4)

Dying and mourning. Laughing and dancing. Season upon season. And now there will be a time for birthing. That baby bump makes me smile through all the tears of last week. A time to be born……………….A time for everything.

GLEANINGS from GRAVESIDE

5/19/11
The sextons replaced the sod, arranged the floral sprays atop the mound, and then gathered the gleanings. Flowers strewn by the wind picked up (by them) and put in the bronze vase secured to the headstone that sat just beneath the cross.

Leftovers. Flowers and thoughts---not morbid, just remembrances. Flowers of all sorts. Predominantly pink. (soft and gentle as both Mommar’s skin and her spirit) Roses Abounding... (Mommar always stopped to smell the roses, literally and figuratively, even when she lost her sense of smell......

White and yellow lilies, so often used to symbolize the restoration of the soul, were in abundance, (Mrs. “Lilies,” instead of Liles, the mispronouncing of her name through the years)

Stargazers, noted for their heavenly scent, are a great word picture for Mommar, who loved the open skies of JoAnn Road. White roses, a symbol of honor. She honored her loved ones as she served them throughout her life.

Our gleanings of these remembrances will continue to honor her.

E-TEAM

5/18/11

Most people know about A-Teams. They are NOT the benchwarmers or background folks. A-Teams are the ones front and center who go in and get the job done---they are the “get the glory” guys. Even the “A-Team” 80s TV show with Mr. T focused on using any method to get results. I’m sure A-Teams have their place.

I, however, will take my E-Team any day. My “E-Team” is made up of friends who are always there for me. My encouragers. These last few months they have been the ones who follow the Isaiah 35:3 verse to “encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.”

Much like the A-Team, they also get the job done---- but their focus is not for vain glory. Their focus is to serve. To do unto others---in word and deed.

My E-Team allows me to see God’s goodness through their acts of kindness. They enrich my life and fill my heart with gratitude.

Think of no other greatness but that of the soul, no other riches but those of the heart. John Quincy Adams (Project Wisdom, 5/18)

Whose E-Team are you on? Is there someone you need to encourage today? Encouragement from you will richly fill their heart.

EPITAPH of EXCELLENCE

5/17/11

Eulogies are best delivered by those who can draw from memories. That was very much reflected in yesterday’s funeral for Mommar when our son Buddy, her oldest grandson, was the funeral officiant. Though he had his own memories of her, he tapped into the memories of her 4 adult children. He asked each of them for words or word pictures that best described his/her mama. Though he talked to each separately there was a thread of praiseworthy words that each gave: loving, kind, gentle, quiet, & patient. Words worthy of an epitaph. As they gave funny examples of memories, each came back to descriptors of love and acceptance---even if she was having them go get break a “switch” from the hedge for her to use on their little behinds.

CONVICTION settled in my head and then moved to my heart. How grievous it is to think of one’s own eulogy in which words like harried, befuddled, busy but accomplishing little, or makes a list then loses a list could more easily be listed than patien†, gentle or kind.

Using words from Proverbs 31, Buddy showed how her lifestyle embodied many of the traits of the virtuous woman from scripture---not one who sought the limelight but one who worked more often behind the scenes as “she looked out for her household.”

How about your eulogy? What words would your children or other family members use to describe you?

The funeral was wrapped up as he gave us a vision of our Savior through the life of his grandmother. His Mommar. Pointing out her similar servant spirit to that written of Christ in Philippians 2:3-4. She showed an “attitude of humility valuing others above self, not looking to her own interests but to the interests of the others.”

Therefore her children (and grandchildren) rose & blessed her. (Proverbs 31:28) An Epitaph of Excellence---blessed by her children.

A FOND FAREWELL

5/16/11 Fond farewell---Is there such a thing? I guess there is if one is now saying good-by to the person with whom one has shared a fondness or love in the past. Mommar's funeral was a bi† of a fond farewell. Saying good-by, yet remembering and celebrating the life we shared with her.
The one thing I do know from this time of loss is that the Lord uses the love and support from family, friends, and members of the community of faith to make it all much easier on those who are grieving. I am so-o-o-o grateful for the refreshment (physical, spiritual and emotional) provided for the Liles clan during this time.

For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you,....(Philemon, verse 7)

This verse was printed on the memory card of Mary Black Liles, our Mommar.

royalTEA

5/12/11

I thought I would blog about "tea for 2" because I have some really good tea on my tea tray these days. But......I decided that more important than my quiet time tea was the relationship pursuant between the king and the "sipper." royalTEA!

These days so many of us feel beset by catastrophes. Overwhelming disasters. Droughts. Tornados. Floods. Memphis has made national news every night this week with the flooding and cresting of the mighty and very wide & muddy Mississippi. In my own life, I have added a certain amount of physical misery, a lot of uncertainty and the imminent loss of a loved one to those events. All of this made my morning "cuppa" a little bitter. But God...reminded me that I am His child. The King of Kings has called me His own. That makes me royalty of the highest sense. More than that, this kinship/relationship offers me hope. Hope is crucial.

But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. (Isaiah 43:1)

Even if the memories of these last few weeks continue to "haunt" me for years to come, I know that these life lessons have been filtered through His loving hand. Therefore I have hope. And hope is what we all need. That and a good cup of hot tea--- a cuppa of Fortnum and Mason's Royal Blend, don't you think!