Life can be tough!

How is life today? Are you going through times of gentleness and hope or are you going through some really tough times?

Do you feel like you are running the race of life but going nowhere? 

I have so many friends like that today. Some are saddened by the actions of others, some have had surgeries and are now in the pain and recovery that just doesn't feel like it is coming fast enough. Some have husbands who are sick or dying or have already left this world. Others have extended family members who are also sick or not walking with the Lord and have them worried for their souls. Some are in financial troubles and can't understand how they got there. Some have big decisions that need to be made and just don't know what they are to do.

I could go on and on and on. This world can just beat us up. It can make us feel weak and alone and make us just want to get out of the race and sit on the side lines. I know that that is how I feel sometimes, maybe even today. 

There is comfort to be had for all of the things this world throws at us. It is the gifts the Heavenly Father has given to us. It is his Spirit, it is His Word. 

Here are some of His words from Psalm 119  that I go to when I have had enough...


God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me— my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway!

Remember what you said to me, your servant— I hang on to these words for dear life! These words hold me up in bad times; yes, your promises rejuvenate me. The insolent ridicule me without mercy, but I don't budge from your revelation. I watch for your ancient landmark words, and know I'm on the right track.

With your very own hands you formed me; now breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you. When they see me waiting, expecting your Word, those who fear you will take heart and be glad. I can see now, God, that your decisions are right; your testing has taught me what's true and right. Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight! just the way you promised. Now comfort me so I can live, really live; your revelation is the tune I dance to.

I hope that you can take comfort in these words too! God doesn't promise us that life will always be smooth. He doesn't promise us that friends won't let us down, or that our bodies won't fail us, or our finances will always be perfect. He knows that we may have to run on,uphill. rocky ground at times. But he wants us to understand that He is right there running along side of us. Sometimes even pushing from behind or carrying us over the ravines. 

Sweet friends, we are never alone. Even if this world tries to make us feel we are. We have the best cheering section a body could ever have and He wants us to make the race.

So as you are pushing over the next bump in the road of life,  be sure to remember what the scripture above said and stop for a moment to take a dance with the one who formed you, protects you, loves you and above all wants to rejuvenate you!


Blessings!

Missing Our Routine!

“What can you do to promote world peace? 

Go home and love your family.” 

― Mother Teresa

 I am back home again after visiting our oldest son on the east coast. I loved getting to be with the grand kids and my son and daughter-n-law but I know two guys who are happy,  and once again feel a peace in the house now that I am home. When I woke Riley up for school yesterday morning he hugged my neck and would not let go. I did not get home till after midnight so he did not know I was home till I got him up. Rodney talked for about an hour straight after I walked in the door Thursday night and was so happy to be able to sleep in and not have to be the one to get Riley on the bus before 7 Friday morning.

It is apparent to me that am I needed and appreciated here. Well at least for my ability to get up early. Not really, I know that we all missed being together as a family. I don't know about your family but ours misses the normal of our routines when they are interrupted. 


What routines do you and your family keep? One of ours we did last night. Friday nights are eat out night. Used to be pizza night when Riley was in his "gotta have pizza" mode. I thought since I had been gone I should cook at home but the boys would have nothing to do with this. It was our night to eat out and they wanted to eat out. So we did. Routine continued! It gives my guys comfort and helps keep everything right with their world to resume with the way things always have been.


Ladies, another routine that makes everything right with the world is to spend time with God. When we daily make time to pray and read the Bible as a family and on our own it keeps us in regular, thankful, communication for all that we have from our creator.

Deuteronomy 4:9 says...
⁹ “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—
  
 We need to help our children understand that we have life because of our God. That everything we have is a gift from Him. Thanking God for all of this should be as routine as the air we breath. (Which, by the way is another gift from Him!)

So yes, being home and loving my men is peace on earth but there would be no earth at all if it weren't for the love of our Heavenly Father!!!

Blessings!

Ice Cream with the Grand Kids!

I am still in Rhode Island with the family and having a wonderful time with everyone.

Last night the grand babies and I went out for ice cream. If you are like me it doesn't matter what temperature it is outside, ice cream is the best! This ice cream shop didn't have any seats inside and it was too cold to sit at their tables outside so we sat in the car with the heater on, but that didn't matter we had the best time anyway and the ice cream was yummy! As I sat there with them I realized how lucky I was to be with them. I don't get to see Sandii and Joey very often, since we live in Indiana and they live here, so it is so very special to be with them. Joey had chocolate and it was messy. He had the cutest chocolate mouth smile and sticky fingers when he was done and Sandii, who is not a big eater at all, had hers gone in minutes.

As I am sitting here now I am watching them sleep.  I see so much of their Dad in them. Makes me think of my Grandmother who is in heaven now. My dad, myself, my son Phillip, and now the grand kids all take after her in our looks and stature. She was so special and taught me so much growing up. Like how to love God and family. She also was the best wife I have ever seen. My grandfather was so very lucky to have married her and he knew it. 

Family legacy means so much. It makes you who you are. 

2 Timothy 1:5

The Message (MSG)

⁵ That precious memory triggers another: your honest faith—and what a rich faith it is, handed down from your grandmother Lois to your mother Eunice, and now to you.

I hope that you as women have grandmothers living or in your memories that have taught you the love of family and the importance of faith. If not maybe you can be the one who, as the years roll on, can be the one your family looks to learn the important things of life.

I have to leave here in a couple of days but hopefully I am leaving memories that the grand kids can look back on say "My Grandmother is special" and I can't wait for her to come back. But more importantly I hope one day they can realize the specialness of the family line they are from and Grandma's faith and love will continue in them.

Blessings!

On The Road To the Right Path!

Psalm 19:7-8

The Message (MSG)

7-9 The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.

We were on Hwy 78 getting ready to get on I-95. We were two women who had been on the road for 12 hours and on top of the world thinking we had made it this far from Indiana and surely nothing else could go wrong. 

You see we had already had a head light go out in Pennsylvania and had this good Samaritan at a muffler shop replace it for free. God had already gotten us through that by putting us where we needed to be at the time we needed to be there. So we figured we had had our mishap and nothing else could go wrong.

 We wanted to be in Rhode Island in two more hours and could not see any reason why we couldn't. We were thinking we could do this next leap onto the next highway without any trouble whatsoever. But we were wrong. We were rolling along when the next thing we knew, we could see the road we wanted. But there was a problem. We had not seen the exit we should have taken, in the midst of all the traffic, and now there was this cement barrier between us and where we needed to be.  We could see the right road. It was right to our left but it seemed we had missed our chance to get there and we started to panic.

The traffic in New York at 10:00 at night and our rush hour traffic in Indianapolis, after work, are the same, tons of cars. Where were all these people from? Why weren't they home in their living rooms?  

Well anyway, we kept driving but kept looking for a way to pull off and figure out how to get back to the exit we had missed. Now this was the middle of New York and getting off to go back could have gotten us really lost so I am glad we never found a way to do this.

It was then that we did what needed to be done. I prayed. Donna prayed. We remembered who was really in control and if we let Him He would lead us to where we needed to be. So even though it seemed we were not where we were supposed to be, going along with God made it right because the next thing we knew the barrier opened up and we could move over onto I-95. 

Life seems to be like this. We can see the road we are supposed to be on but the busyness of life has moved us past the exit we were supposed to take. We think we are totally lost with no way to get to where we need to be but that isn't true. Our loving heavenly father wants to open up the barriers that seem to be blocking our path and get us going in the right direction.

So many of us think that we can do life on our own but we spend so much time looking for a better road, that we forget to depend on the one who sees the correct path ahead.

Don't do like we did. Don't get off tract and panic before you pray and let God show you where you need to be.

Blessings!

Explosion

Can you imagine what it must have been like today for the runners in the Boston Marathon?  

These people are some of the most self disciplined people there are when it comes staying in shape enough to be able to finish this long race. They have to be tough and strong, mentally and physically.  But as they were getting close to the finish line, today, their mental strongness must have left them as the explosions went off. Fear set in and took away all the toughness. Shock took over, sadness took over. They at that moment lost of their self confidence and became victims instead victors.  I just can't imagine how it was for all the people there.

What causes someone to want to plant bombs in public places. What kind of hate, or fear, or jealousy or even sickness makes you want to try to kill completely innocent people? Seemingly just for the fun of it. Maybe they enjoy watching the fear on peoples faces, and they probably love watching the chaos that ensues.

Almost since the beginning of time we have been wondering why we have so much evilness in this world?  How could anyone even think of some of the horrible acts that have gone on in this world?

John tried to answer this in John 3....

John 3:19-20

The Message (MSG)

^19-21 “This is the crisis we’re in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and 

and won’t come near it, fearing a painful exposure.

Seems like we are helpless. Seems like so many want to run from the light of goodness and stay in the dark.

But there is hope....


Philippians 4:6

The Message (MSG)

^6-7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.


So...
What we can do first, is to pray for the injured and devastated from today's tragedy. Their loss is more than we can even know. 

There will always be people like the evil ones we saw in action today. But we can also pray for them, and maybe we can turn this horrible darkness our world seems to be wallowing in into a lighter more forgiving, less judgemental, wholesome place to live in.

Then maybe our victims can end up the victors they were always meant to be!

Blessings!

The Choices We Make!

I was so saddened today by an article that I read, about the murder trial of an abortion doctor. I would not have even known about this if I had depended on the main stream media. Precious little has been said when this really should be headline news. I wonder why that is? 

Most of the babies this doctor is on trial for, were aborted after the 24th week of development, the time limit set for abortions by the state where he was practicing. One of the employees told of a baby that was born crying before it's spinal cord was snipped, right at the neck. I'd like to be able to say that this was only murder this doctor performed but apparently there were hundreds.

Every day we make choices. Choices such as, What's for dinner tonight, What shall I wear today? We make other more major choices like, Will I show the love of God today?, 
Will I love my spouse the way Christ loved the church, today? Will I be the parent I need to be today?

One choice that I'd like to think we would not make would be, Should I let the doctor murder my child today? Yes this doctor aborted these babies. Babies that apparently were mature enough to cry. But he could not have done this horrendous deed without the mother giving permission to do so.

To make this more real..... 
I personally know of a baby that was born this week that was only in his 24th week of development. He is holding his own right now and His parents are so hoping and praying for his survival. They would be sickened by this article.  

I know that this a very hot topic throughout America and the rest of the world. As a Methodist pastor's wife I know that the Methodist church is opposed to late term abortions and are against abortions as a form of birth control, or gender selection. I myself am a believer that God can intervene in the life of all babies, planned or unplanned, and as the mother of a child with Down syndrome I can't even imagine a world without him in it.

The one thing I think that is forgotten through all of this is that we have to live with the choices we make and what we think of as a solution to one problem only leads to other problems. Such as sadness and depression. There are many instances in the scriptures where we see that this is true starting with Adam, onto David and clear through the rest of the Old and the New Testament. One choice leads to another. It's a perpetual thing.

The only positive about any of this is that these sweet babies are in the arms of the Heavenly Father now, and are no longer in pain or unwanted. They are being loved more than we can even imagine. 

I restate my question from the first of this blog. Why is the main stream media not reporting about this atrocity? What are they trying to hide? I think that we all should be paying close attention to the outcome of this trial. God will be! 

Proverbs 20:27

The Message (MSG)

²⁷ God is in charge of human life,
    watching and examining us inside and out.

This all could be very telling of the the conscience of our country and maybe even the world. 

I think we should pray for the Doctor, the employees that worked with him and the mothers of these poor babies. God loves them all and wants to give them peace. Also pray for the jury and all that are involved in the the trial of this doctor. There will be consequences no matter what they decide. 

Blessings! 

The Watch!

My weather alarm just went off. 

We keep it up in the master bedroom so we can hear it in the middle of the night. It has been a handy thing to have, even this last winter. The alarm has been very accurate in keeping track of severe weather. We live in Indiana so you never know when the weather will change. Kind like when I was growing up in Kansas.

Anyway the alarm was telling me of a severe weather watch. 

So now we watch!

This reminds me of life. We always need to watch ourselves everyday to make sure our mouths don't get us into trouble. We almost need an alarm to go off in our heads to keep us from being, well.......stupid. Sorry to be so frank, sweet friends, but hey, the truth hurts sometimes. 

                                        

But wait we do have an alarm. It's called the Holy Spirit. If we let Him he can push the warning button of our conscience and remind us to change whatever we are about to say, and keep us out of trouble or from hurting others around us. 

The book of Proverbs has some great insight on this.......


Wisdom’s Call
8 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 At the highest point along the way,
where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
3 beside the gate leading into the city,
at the entrance, she cries aloud:

5 You who are simple, gain prudence;
you who are foolish, set your hearts on it.[a]
6 Listen, for I have trustworthy things to say;
I open my lips to speak what is right.
7 My mouth speaks what is true,
for my lips detest wickedness.
8 All the words of my mouth are just;
none of them is crooked or perverse.
9 To the discerning all of them are right;
they are upright to those who have found knowledge.
10 Choose my instruction instead of silver,
knowledge rather than choice gold,
11 for wisdom is more precious than rubies,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
Pretty straight forward huh? I need to read this all the time. 

We as Christians know how to live but the human side of us gets in the way sometimes. And we as women can really let our mouths get in the way. We can be petty, we can admit it. 

There I go being to frank again!

Showing the love of God is so much easier when we let the words of our mouth build up instead of tear down! Let's be wise and let understanding raise her voice!

It can be tough but we can do it!!!

Blessings!

Spring Clean

It's a beautiful Sunday afternoon and we are just sitting and relaxing. We usually try to do that on Sunday's. God's plan of a rest day was a wonderful idea.

As I'm sitting here though I can see all the things I need to clean. I am planning on doing some Spring cleaning this week, so I am making a mental list. Windows, furniture, carpet, wood trim, floors, cabinets and of course closets.

Winter is finally over and it is time to bring the clean and fresh back to the house. The sad thing is though, is that nothing ever stays clean and fresh. Everything will need to be cleaned and organized again. It's a never ending cycle. But for those few days everything just feels so good!

Isn't it wonderful that we as Christians don't have to worry about the cleaning cycle.

Romans 4:6-7 The Message (MSG)

David confirms this way of looking at it, saying that the one who trusts God to do the putting-everything-right without insisting on having a say in it is one fortunate man: Fortunate those whose crimes are carted off, whose sins are wiped clean from the slate. Fortunate the person against whom the Lord does not keep score.

Did you read it? If we let God clean us up we don't have to be Spring cleaned again. We stay fresh and clean in God's eyes. As a matter of fact God forgets that He even had to do any cleaning.

Some people think they have to keep coming back to be cleaned. They feel like they are too dirty to come before the Father. The sad thing about this is they miss so much time that they could have had in fellowship with Him. If they just remember the words from Christ in John they would not have to worry....

John 10:28-30 The Message (MSG)

Jesus answered, “I told you, but you don’t believe. Everything I have done has been authorized by my Father, actions that speak louder than words. You don’t believe because you’re not my sheep. My sheep recognize my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them real and eternal life. They are protected from the Destroyer for good. No one can steal them from out of my hand. The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from him. I and the Father are one heart and mind.”

Remember whose hand you are in. Remember who keeps you from cycling back to the dirty life of sin. Remember who keeps you Spring Clean! 

Isn't it a wonderfully fresh feeling? 

Blessings!

We women are amazing!

In my last blog I spoke of our roles as Christian wives. I spoke of how this relationship works. I had many women comment on this. I have to tell you I didn't have any negative remarks from any one. Women along side of men is a very good way to live.

I grew up in a denomination who had very little respect for women and their rights and abilities. The only leading roles we were allowed to take were that of a mother or a Children's Sunday School teacher. We were never allowed any voice in the church. There was even a man who played the piano in worship. I never remember any sermon where they spoke of women from the Bible who were in leadership. Don't get me wrong, these men were wonderful Godly men, in their own way, but I wonder what they were afraid of?

The sad thing is I never questioned this as I was growing up and moving into adulthood. But this didn't give me a very high opinion of myself or any woman for that matter. The first time I heard a female preach I was so floored I never even heard the sermon. Turns out I missed a good one. 

As I have moved on in life and have studied the scriptures and watched several women throughout the world, who have done some amazing things, I see that God doesn't have any problem with women. Hey, He created us to be right up there with men. He respects us and our abilities.

Look here at several instances from scriptures where women were not afraid take leadership....

Judges 4:4

The Message (MSG)

^4-5 Deborah was a prophet, the wife of Lappidoth. She was judge over Israel at that time. She held court under Deborah’s Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hills of Ephraim. The People of Israel went to her in matters of justice.

Acts 18:26

he Message (MSG)

^24-26 A man named Apollos came to Ephesus. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and a terrific speaker, eloquent and powerful in his preaching of the Scriptures. He was well-educated in the way of the Master and fiery in his enthusiasm. Apollos was accurate in everything he taught about Jesus up to a point, but he only went as far as the baptism of John. He preached with power in the meeting place. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and told him the rest of the story.

Acts 9:37-41

The Message (MSG)

^36-37 Down the road a way in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha, “Gazelle” in our language. She was well-known for doing good and helping out. During the time Peter was in the area she became sick and died. Her friends prepared her body for burial and put her in a cool room.

^38-40 Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over. Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha’s body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them. Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: “Tabitha, get up.”

^40-41 She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up. He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.

Luke 2:36-38

The Message (MSG)

^36-38 Anna the prophetess was also there, a daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was by now a very old woman. She had been married seven years and a widow for eighty-four. She never left the Temple area, worshiping night and day with her fasting and prayers. At the very time Simeon was praying, she showed up, broke into an anthem of praise to God, and talked about the child to all who were waiting expectantly for the freeing of Jerusalem.

Philippians 4:3

The Message (MSG)

³ And, oh, yes, Syzygus, since you’re right there to help them work things out, do your best with them. These women worked for the Message hand in hand with Clement and me, and with the other veterans—worked as hard as any of us. Remember, their names are also in the Book of Life.

These are just a few of the women mentioned in the Bible who were respected leaders. But we don't have to only be prophets, pastors and judges, or presidents of companies, to be respected. We can be wives and mothers and be dong exactly what God wants us to be doing too. In this role we have many areas of leadership! 

Proverbs 31:10-31

The Message (MSG

^10-31 A good woman is hard to find,
    and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
    and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
    all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
    and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She’s like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
    and brings back exotic surprises.
She’s up before dawn, preparing breakfast
    for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
    then, with money she’s put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
    rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
    is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She’s skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
    diligent in homemaking.
She’s quick to assist anyone in need,
    reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn’t worry about her family when it snows;
    their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
    and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
    when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
    brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
    and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
    and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
    and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
    her husband joins in with words of praise:
“Many women have done wonderful things,
    but you’ve outclassed them all!”
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
    The woman to be admired and praised
    is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
    Festoon her life with praises!

I love striving to be this kind of woman. Although making clothes is something I never quite got the hang of. Sorry, trying to be funny! I also feel like I am called to help other women find their way in life. What roles are you called to? Whatever they are you can know that God supports and loves you and wants to help you succeed in them.

We can be anything we strive to be. God calls us to many roles. The one He doesn't call us to be, is that of men bashers.  You never see any woman in the scriptures or in life, who has truly made a respectable mark for herself, belittle men. 

No we are equal with each other and should support each other in whatever role we women, and our men, are called to be. 

Blessings!

Love on the right side!

As I was sitting in the living room with my man last night it struck me how right things are for us. Rodney and I have a wonderful friendship where love, respect and an genuine caring about each other is a God given gift we share.

Now ladies  you might not agree with me, but I love being in the kind of relationship called for here in Ephesians....

Ephesians 5:21-28

The Message (MSG)

Relationships

²¹ Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.

^22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

^25-28 Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage

I'm lucky because Rodney does love me like this. It makes living like this passage calls for, easy. Ladies it is freeing to be in this kind of relationship. Now I do have opinions and I do my own thing in the day to day of life. But I never pull away from Rodney and the things we have decided together.

Ladies our men can be very wise at times. God has given them a mind that sees things a little differently then we do. They can prioritize and separate feelings from decisions that need to be made, where as we mix things together and sometimes let our hearts rule, when it needs to be our heads.

 This is not always bad because sometimes our men need to be reminded of the soft side of life. God has given us the gift of discernment and our men need us to use that gift to help them when they are being too hard or even gullible.

See how this plan of God's comes together? He created us equal and He knew exactly how to make this husband and wife thing work. It is tough though when either one of us in our relationship forgets their role and wants to rule instead of love like Christ. And does not let God be in control of the marriage.

 I have to tell you that letting God be the leader in our relationship has gotten us through some pretty tough times. Such as a parting of ways with a business partner, which led to a tough financial situation. It would have been so easy at this time to blame one another and pull apart but instead we ended up stronger.

Another time was when Riley, our youngest was born premature and with Down syndrome.  We saw families in the NICU who had children in similar situations who's relationship couldn't take the pressure. Some babies were practically abandoned. My sweet husband was a rock and loved so deeply through the weeks of waiting. He got us through when others couldn't.

I'm not saying we never disagree but I am saying that with this kind of love we can make it through anything.

My hope for you ladies, is that you can be in this kind of relationship too. If not, find a way to help each other become all you two can be together. Prayer works! And if you can live for your man the way Ephesians 5: 22-24 says,  your example can show him how good life can be and will make him a better husband too!

Blessings!