Soothing.....

10/8/13 Sometimes soothing scriptures & a cuppa can make the night times easier. When one has lived

Psalms 16: 5-8, Psalm 37:23-24, Isaiah 41:10, Romans 12:12 then they just need to once again turn their thoughts back to God and His Word.

But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. (Romans 8:6)

Savoring God's Word. Sipping a calming tea. Soothing.

Hopeful Meditation #2

10/7/13 Having prayed earlier in the day for family members remembering the death of their daughter on this date 18 years ago, to praying later with a mom whose daughter is ministering in the Guerrero area of Mexico after the recent devastating floods, I entered Memphis funeral home. A young wife will bury her 42 year old husband tomorrow.  Their two young children are left without a daddy because he was robbed and shot, possibly by teenagers trying to "prove" themselves.

Hope in Him. Can you see it---before the time runs out.

All of these families need hope.
A future and a hope offered in God's word.

....the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness---a faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time. (Titus 1:1-2, NIV)

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us.  This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. (Hebrews 6:18-19, NLT)

Hopeful = full of hope. That's what
these verses offer.

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: Simple Fun

10/6/13 Creating something from nothing or using the ordinary in unique ways is what childhood is all about. Never rob child of his/her childhood has alway been my very vocal philosophy.

Decorating the magnolia tree with hula hoops---what a colorful idea!

Popping corn with Shug's Whirly-Pop and sharing it on a make-believe ride to the zoo---another unique idea

Owen tricks the adults. We all thought someone was underneath. NOT!
 Just a pair of empty shoes and some pillows.

FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTENT

10/5/13 I know the idiom uses familiarity breeds "contempt." A way of stating that less is more---with people, or even as one experiences something a lot. But....I like my word choice better.

After months of fun, with almost non-stop travel activities, it's good to be home.......

and the past few weeks I have been more than content with the ordinary----the familiar. 

My house. My prayer chair. My 3 three squishy bed pillows. My sharpened pencils. My sweet tea. My mundane mornings.

So familiar, so content.

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. 

3 Ws

10/2/13  3 Ws  were blog thoughts that wandered away after I headed to bed last night. Regrettably, I think the first one was worry----thus the headache that had me to "take to the bed." Possibly the second W was wait. Certainly waiting is a more spiritual activity than worry. Worry is a lack of trust. Worry is sin.
Waiting on God for direction can sometimes be difficult, especially for "doers"......for those who prefer answers sooner rather than later. Yet, today as I tried to recapture the Ws from the recesses of my memory, I realized that God was waiting on me. Waiting for me to give up the worry and trust Him in the situation that loomed with unknowns.

Once that happened, wisdom arrived all the way from France. Words of wisdom via God's child. So timely....but then His timing would be, wouldn't it?

An email arrived from Aggie to ask about the absence of the 3 Ws blog text, AND to share truths she gleaned from from her Lydia prayer cell's meditation of Psalm 67, especially the first 2 verses. To her it was just a way of sharing today's meeting, which is similar to our prayer for revival group. To me it was God-speak. (Even the cross ref to the Numbers verse was one used by me in  9/16 & 9/18 blog entry)

1 May God have pity on us and bless us!

 May he smile on us. Selah  (Numbers 6:24-26)

2 Then your ways will be known on earth,

your salvation throughout all nations.

She added: What stood out to me was the fact that when we are in trouble or testing, we - I - tend to ask God for the way out, "O God, help me!  Send your light and blessing and grace."  But vs 2 makes it clear that the purpose of God's intervention and blessing is (also) for the purpose of making Him and his ways known to those around us, and to the ends of the earth.

Aggie didn't have a clue what I was facing but God knew.

When I replied to her with my situation concern, she sent more wisdom gleaned from others along her life path.

"WORRYING does not take away tomorrow's TROUBLES; it takes away today's PEACE."

She also wrote:  I wish that a lesson learned once is permanently acquired.  Not necessarily.  One time I said to a retired pastor, "I get discouraged because I get the impression that I'm always going through the same things, same lessons and spinning my wheels.  He replied, "No, Agnes.  It's a spiral and each time we go through a lesson we move on, and upward.  If we come to what seems like the same thing again, it is on a different level, because we are moving on in the Lord, growing in grace." That was SUCH an encouragement to me!  God is good, He is faithful. 

That's it---the 3rd W---came to mind.

WORSHIP---He is worthy.

He, who is good and faithful and waits patiently on me to give my burden of worry to Him, is worthy of worship. 

Message to jumpstart meditation......

9/30/13 OK I know I shouldn't be noshing on chocolate before noon----BUT all that retreating and resting at this past weekend's women's retreat wore me out. I thought one little Dove piece would jumpstart my day.....never thinking it would jumpstart me to meditation.

A message to stir meditation is what I received. God indeed can move in mysterious ways. (Disclaimer: please never assume that Dove messages are a source for spiritual meditation---they're more like a positive fortune cookie which are not intended to have real (in the Christian sense) spiritual value.) 

 But God.....often uses things at hand in my life to draw me back to Him and seeing His hand.

The message inside took me back to a reference in yesterday's blog entry as well as to my notes on "The Sacred Present." Time is a gift, not a possession," as Cynthia Heald reminded us. Enjoy the time at hand. 

Meditate on James 4:14 with that thought in mind.

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. (New Living Translation)

FOG BOW... a rare picture b/c the fog dissipates so quickly
Little Cranberry Isles, Maine, Summer 2013,
Robin Smith photo, via Soos V.'s FB

SABBATH SNAPSHOTS: The Sacred Present

9/29/13 Enjoy the moments. Each day is "a gift from God" as Daddy always said. (Psalm 59:4-5 & Psalm 90:20) A retreat at Pickwick this weekend provided many such times along with Cynthia Heald's "to the heart" messages.

NIGHT FALL..... 

....& Early Morning views from my balcony---perfect setting for "Quiet Times."

Colors of a fall afternoon

Message.....

9/26/13 Message.....from a piece of chocolate. Today I opened a "treat" of Dove chocolate.

There was a message inside. A reminder that I needed this morning.

Tomorrow I travel to Pickwick to attend a Women's Retreat to hear Cynthia Heald teach on "Becoming a Woman of Simplicity." Maybe I'll gather more info on "being rather than doing."

If so, I'll share the "message."

Simply be rather than do. 

"FLOURISH!"

9/23/13 Yesterday's sermon given by a young (40-ish) preacher from Houston, TX, who grew up in our church, inspired me to "flourish" during this season of life----not to languish as I age. 

Notes: 

• Flourishing is all about God. 
• Abundant life receives its vitality from union with Him. 
• We can't do life on our own. 
• Strength and energy from the Lord are there for the "long haul." (My words, not his) 
• Flourishing benefits and blesses others. 

So-o-o-o this Monday's theme for meditation is "flourish." Along with Psalm 1:3 and Psalm 92:12-14, Jeremiah 17:7-8 shows us what flourishing looks like---bearing fruit would benefit and bless others. 

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

For my Ukrainian girls---

7 Благословенний той муж, що покладається на Господа, що Господь то надія його!

8 І він буде, як дерево те, над водою посаджене, що над потоком пускає коріння своє, і не боїться, як прийде спекота, і його листя зелене, і в році посухи не буде журитись, і не перестане приносити плоду!

Let's flourish together.