Divine Appointment

Isn't it amazing how God works to put you in the right place at the right time?

That is what happened to Rodney and Riley and me. We are here in Michigan with all of Rodney's immediate family on a little reunion. It is great having us all be here together as that hasn't happened in a while. But yesterday, Rodney and I decided, would be a good day to set off on our own, to do a little sight seeing and shopping.

It was a beautiful day! We had a wonderful time being together. Riley made out like a bandit because we found an amazing music store. You can imagine how his face lit up when we first walked in. We thought that this had to be the highlight of the day but we changed our mind a little later.

There is a huge Christmas store in the area that we thought we might go to to get a head start on holiday shopping. We accidentally drove passed the East entrance so we headed to the West one. As we were walking in, a receptionist handed us a map to the store. (The building is quite large). As we took it you could see her eyes light up as she looked at Riley. She could hardly hold herself back as she started talking to him.

Now anybody that knows Riley knows that he just doesn't talk to strangers, and he held true to form this time. She didn't seem to mind. You could tell that she just wanted to hug him. He smiled at her and then he and Daddy walked on into the store.  She put her hand on my arm and said she'd like to tell me a story.

Here is what she told me.......

"I had a younger brother with Down syndrome. He was the light of my mother's life". I believe she called him Ollie. "We lost him to pneumonia a while back. While he was in the ICU my mother, sister and I were standing around his bed watching his monitor. As the rhythm became slower and slower a beautiful woman, that almost glowed, came into the room. She headed straight to his bed and put her hands on his feet. As she stood there she said, "You are going to be OK now, Ollie"! As she spoke Ollie took his last breath and she disappeared". As this woman was telling me this story she was smiling so big. She continued. "God gave us a gift that night. The gift of realizing that Ollie was happy and healthy now and that he was with our Lord. We knew that we had nothing to fear for him, anymore"

As I stood there crying like a baby she gave me a hug and said. " I lost my mother shortly after that but you know, I have peace about that too. I think God knew that she felt she needed to be there to take care of Ollie". She then said, "I hope you understand the peace and hope that God can give you too"! 

As she said that this verse came to mind.....

Romans 15:13

English Standard Version (ESV)

13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope

I assured her that I totally did understand that peace. I couldn't thank her enough for the gift of her story.  The story that gave assurance of an eternal life that is filled with peace and hope for all. 

God is so good at putting everyone where they need to be, all the time. He knew that this woman needed to see our son and tell her sweet, sweet story. He also knew how much hearing it would mean to me, and then, Rodney as I repeated it!!

I hope you find a gentle hope with this wonderful story too!!!!!

Blessings!! 

Anxiousness!

The Frieden side of the family is having a small family reunion in Michigan this week. We are heading out there tomorrow. Riley, our son, is so excited. He keeps asking me if it is time to go yet? Over and over and over again. He sure loves his cousins and can't wait to get to be with them. 

I bet God wishes we were all like. Just can't wait to spend time with Him on a daily basis. The writer in Psalm 130 is very eager for the Lord........

Psalm 130:5

New International Version (NIV)

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.

Once in a while, in my life, things get a little stressful, how about you? There are times when we wait more anxiously for the Lord to bring about answers to things like, family problems, maybe better health or maybe a better job. Sometimes we wonder out loud, "Why do things have to be so hard"? Why does the car break down when money is tight? Why do friends and family let us down? Why is our world such a scary place to be?

I can see God just sitting on the edge of His seat. Just waiting for us to call out Him. I'm sure He wishes that we would not wait so long and get so deep into our problems before we, in desperation, turn to Him for help. 

If we would only call on Him daily, we would not feel so alone in this world. He promises to go with us, be with us and most of all He will give us comfort and strength as we travel through this unrelenting, unsympathetic place we live, called earth. 

Read His promise to His people.......

Exodus 33:14

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

14 The Lord said, “I will go with you and give you peace.”

He probably wants to reach down and get in our face and say, "What are you waiting on? Please call my name!! 

Can't you just feel His anxiousness as He waits? 

To be loved so much sure makes us a blessed people. I don't know about you but I feel like Riley. I just can't wait to call out and spend time with Him!!

Blessings!

PS: Not sure about the reception where we are going so it may be a week or so before we are together again. Be safe!!

Growing!

What a beautiful morning, this morning. I was out in the garden tending to those silly weeds and slugs. While out there I got to enjoy the peacefulness of the cool, quiet early part of the day.

It is my favorite growth time in the garden. The blooms are coming on and you can tell it won't be long till the vegetables start to form. Yes I do love getting the veggies.  But I do so enjoy seeing the miracle of the blooms moving into fruit.

Reminds me of how God works in our lives. As young Christians we are like the early plants. We accept the gift of Christ and then move into the growth process of blooming, (sanctification). Growing into perfection. Of course perfection will not totally come till we see God in heaven but we are growing everyday as we read the scriptures.and spend time in prayer with our Holy God.

We also need the strength of other Christians to help us in our growth. I had to tie up the tomato plants today, so to keep them from falling over as the fruit comes on. It's not that the plants are weak it is just that sometimes the burden of growth can be tough to maintain. Just like these plants need extra support, so do we. Life gets tough and it is hard to keep growing when struggles keep getting piled on. Loving and caring for each other and worshiping together helps our roots stay strong and gives us the extra support that everyone needs to keep growing. We just get better together......!

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

11 So encourage each other and help each other grow stronger in faith, just as you are already doing.

1 Corinthians 12:25-26

The Message (MSG)

25-26 The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.


You know, we all are blooming and growing. Hope you make it to church this Sunday. So you can receive, and help give, the support that gets us all through this wonderful, challenging, garden of life!

Blessings!

"I Want It Too"

I am sitting here trying to eat a little breakfast while I am blogging. I should say I am trying to eat breakfast in peace, but that is not happening.  Our two dogs are sitting here staring at me and the puppy is whining as well. It's only a breakfast bar but they think that if I have something that they should be having some of it too. Part of this is my fault because I am sitting in my favorite chair in the living room. We have them trained to be respectful and just lay down while we eat at the dining table but if we eat anywhere else they think that we are fair game.

As parents we have to be careful that we don't instill this kind of behavior in our children. "I want it too.....". We want our kids to feel like they are part of their group. We don't want them to feel different. My husband and I understand this as parents of a special needs child. We work really hard to help him feel as normal as possible. 

In this effort to have them feel normal we parents, want our kids to be involved in what others are involved in, like sports, music, dance, etc.. But we have to be real careful on how we let these things happen. God has given us the privilege to be parents. He has also given us the responsibility to watch out for their souls. To train them to be followers of our God.  When we let the things of this world come before God it sends a message that these things are more important. But what is more important than their eternal lives?

Colossians 3.......

Common English Bible (CEB)

2 Think about the things above and not things on earth.
16 The word of Christ must live in you richly. Teach and warn each other with all wisdom by singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart for the Lord and not for people.
24 You know that you will receive an inheritance as a reward. You serve the Lord Christ.

Yes our kids need to be active and healthy. Yes our kids need to feel normal but our kids need Christ more. I heard a preacher say this the other day. "Are you men too chicken to make church a priority in your family's life?" Of course he's a preacher and church is his profession, but he is right. 

Just like my dogs who are trained about the dining room, what if we take a stand on training our kids about putting God first. This starts with teaching them about worship. What if they felt like they wouldn't know how to act if they missed it?

What would happen if all families did this? Might be tough at first but can you think of anything better than worshiping together as a family? Sure would make this world a less stressful place to be in. I bet crime would go way down if the the struggle of wanting to do what everyone else is doing would just go away.

It's an awesome responsibility to be a parent but when God is first, we can do it and do it well!!!

Blessings!!!

Dads Day!

Today is Father's Day here in America. I think that there are a lot of companies in the states that just eat this holiday up. Just like they do with Mother's Day and Valentine's Day. You know, the card companies, the department stores, the candy stores and even the flower shops. I guess there is nothing wrong with this. Hey, everybody needs to make a buck to survive.

Anyway though, we had a great day. First Riley woke Rodney up with a hug, card and a gift. Rodney was so gracious and loving even though I know he hates to wake up before the alarm goes off. Next we had a wonderful day with our church family and gave all our Dad's a small gift to hopefully let them know we appreciate all they do.

After church we went to lunch with Rodney's father and mother. We really enjoy getting to spend time with them whenever we can. This was a great excuse to get to do just that. In the afternoon our oldest son called. He is the wonderful father of two.

My parents live in Kansas so getting to see my Dad today was out of the question but we did have a wonderful talk on the phone. I miss him tons but getting to Kansas on a regular basis is not something I get to do very much. 

He taught me so much as I was growing up. Our life was very tough, sometimes, during those years but my Father never showed the pressure. He taught me fortitude and how to make a little go a long way. I never heard a foul word come out of his mouth no matter what the situation. Most of all he loved, and still loves, the Lord with his whole being. We were at church whenever the doors were open as I was growing up and he was always reading his Bible alone and with his family. He truly understood these words from Deuteronomy......

Deuteronomy 6

New International Version (NIV)

5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.


I was so blessed to be raised by this good man who showed me the way to the Lord, so that I had the opportunity to choose to follow Him myself. Such a wonderful example of what a Godly man should be!! 

Now I am so blessed to be married to a man who shows his family, and so many others, the same wonderful example.

My hope for you ladies is that have had the same kind of wonderful day with the awesome men in your lives!

Blessings!

Women in Combat!

Hi girls, I am on my soapbox again....

Women, are we ready to head into ground combat? Does the government really think that this is a good idea? I don't know if any of you have gotten the scoop on this, so here is part of an article from the Center For Military Readiness.....

On January 24, 2013, the Obama Administration set in motion a long-term plan to unilaterally abolish 
military women's exemption from direct ground combat (DGC) battalions. Unless Congress intervenes, this 
incremental process, concluding in January 2016, will impose unprecedented social burdens that would 
compromise training standards, reduce combat effectiveness, increase violence against women, and put both 
men and women at greater risk. In addition, federal courts eventually could issue orders making unsuspecting 
civilian women subject to Selective Service registration for a possible future draft on the same basis as men.


Do not get me wrong. I know that we as women have the strength and the brains and the fortitude to do most anything that we set out to do. There are many areas in the military that women can serve quite well. We have women who are serving, at this very moment, who are doing a wonderful job protecting our country. God has made us equal to men in so many ways but I think that sometimes we need to say "let our men be men"!

Adult males need to feel like protectors. They were made that way. Just tonight while we were out on our family walk Rodney turned protector when he thought a car wasn't going to stop as we were crossing the street.  

Men and women are different there is no doubt on this.....

Our men need to be treated like men as much as we need to be treated like females. I am not sure what we, as women, are worried about in this area. There are places in the lives of men where we women do not need to go as much as there are areas in our lives where we wouldn't want men to tread. I kind of think that hand to hand combat is one of those areas.

The scriptures seem to say this too!

1 Samuel 4:9
Common English Bible (CEB)
9 Pull yourselves together and act like men, Act like men and fight!”

Zechariah 10:5
English Standard Version (ESV)
5 They shall be like mighty men in battle,
trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;
they shall fight because the Lord is with them.

Men are stronger in stature than us women. That doesn't mean we are the weaker sex it means we are just stronger in other areas. It is nothing to get mad about and we sure don't have anything to prove by always trying to do what men do.  I know I love being a woman. Wouldn't change that for anything.

Yes there are times when womanhood needs defending but manhood is really taking a beating. It seems to keep spiraling into all areas. I think we need to use the wisdom God has given us and really think this ground fighting thing through. 

Proverbs 24:5English Standard Version (ESV)
5 A wise man is full of strength,
and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

Proverbs 4:7
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
7 The best thing about Wisdom
is Wisdom herself;
good sense is more important
than anything else.

I know that no family, surely even the President's, wants to think about their little girls being included in the Selective Service. It hurts bad enough having to worry about their sons.

Let's all pray for that wisdom!!

Blessings!

So Glad To See You!

Our two dogs, Rossalynn and Breesy had to go to the kennel this last week while we were at the Methodist Annual Conference. We got home on Saturday, but after the kennel had closed and they were not open on Sunday, so I picked them up this morning. Boy were they excited to see me. They whined and cried and kept jumping up on me. Not a huge deal when the poodle puppy was doing that but when our lab decided she needed a hug, too, I was just about knocked over.  

It is wonderful to be loved like that?  Unconditionally and no worries about who sees the affection. We humans forget that sometimes and are more worried about what others think than the person that we love.

Don't you think that we hold back on loving God too?  We should be loving Him as he loves us. But we all worry about is what our families will think, what our friends will think and even what people that we don't even know will think!!

In our minds we wonder, will they be convinced that we are weird or crazy if we pray in public? Or if we set our schedules so that our kids sports and activities do not interfere with our worship time, we will be thought of as fanatical? What will they think if we choose to show affection and respect to our spouses? Will we be thought of as strange because we are ethical in our working practices? Will they think we are off our rockers if we truly treat our neighbors like we should?

 And we are especially shy about speaking of our God!!!! Wow, really "What would people think of us then"???

Mark 12:30

New International Version (NIV)

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’[a]

1 John 4:19

New International Version (NIV)

19 We love because he first loved us.

The scriptures are pretty clear...we are to love. God will not force us to love Him or anyone else, but He sure has given us a great example on how to. From creation to Calvary, He has done nothing but love us, without holding back. Why can't we try to be more like that?

Rossalynn and Breesy have followed His example. Wouldn't this world be a much better place if we all did too?

Blessings!

Amazing Choir

Tonight was the last evening worship service for our Indiana United Methodist 2013 conference. It was so moving. Just look at these smiling faces. These kids are from the African University and they just sang their hearts out. Their love for the Lord was so apparent even in their native language. As the African University choir sang  they actually got us out of our seats to move along with them as they entertained us with their beautiful voices. Here you can hear them too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXF8zv7jrD4

Our Indiana conference has been supporting the African University in one way or another for over 25 years, starting with "Operation Classroom". But it wasn't easy getting started with our support. Back all those years ago when it was suggested that we help with the building of the University, someone actually said "Can anything good come out of Africa"?

That reminds me of the verse in John....

John 1:46

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”

Nathanael was asking this about Jesus. We all know the answer to that question. Jesus is the Savior of the world. He gave His all for us and changed all of history.

Back to the question "Can anything good come out of Africa"? There have been over 4700 hundred graduates come out of the University. 51% of these are women. That in itself is a miracle. Most of the graduates stay in their home countries and go on to help their country grow and change. They come out with a love for the Lord that just pours from them and is very contagious.

Our bishop tonight was just beaming. He has been one of the reasons our conference is so involved with the support  we give to the university. He is so proud of them and their accomplishments.

The theme of this conference is "Be a world Changer" and The question was "Can Anything Good Come Out of Africa'? I'd say the answer is a resounding YES from these kids on both counts!

I wish we all had the courage to be half as enthusiastic as the students were tonight!

Blessings!

Change The World

Rodney and I are at the United Methodist Indiana Conference this week. Maybe I am a tad weird but I just love being here. I can hardly wait to get here every year. I love all of us, with like mind, coming together, planning, voting and getting business done . I take comfort from how we have some of the same rituals every year. Especially where we have a special remembrance service for the pastors or their spouses that have passed away since the last time we met. 

Seeing the thousands of Methodists all together in the same hall, worshiping, gives me chills. 

Our theme this year is "Be A World Changer". As I was sitting there tonight, it struck me that this probably means something different to each of us that were in the room.

Some were probably thinking of feeding the hungry, others were thinking of helping the oppressed, others thought of recycling and being good stewards of the resources of this earth.

I love what Mother Teresa said about change..."I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples"

 – Mahatma Gandhi was quoted as saying this about change..."We must become the change we wish to see in the world."

These two world changers had some great things to say about change but our best teacher on this was our Lord Jesus. Here was what he said in Matthew 5...

Salt and Light

 “Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? 

 “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Want to be a world changer? You can do it by feeding the hungry and protecting the innocent but most assuredly there is no better way to bring about change to the people of this world than by introducing them to the creator of it all. Let People see God in you as you show generosity with your time, your finances, your love for others around you. He is the one who can bring the peace everyone is is so desperately searching for. 

Go on...Change the world! 

Blessings!

Separation Anxiety

Breesy Lee is the newest member of our family. She is going on 10 months, almost an adult Poodle. It feels like we just got her. There are times I must admit that she is quite the brat but other times she just melts your heart.


 Breesy really loves Rodney. if he leaves the room or goes where she can't get to him she whines and fusses till he comes back. Tonight was one of those times. We went for a walk and on the walk we stopped at the church to pick up something we had left there.  Rodney went in to get it and Riley, Breesy and I stayed outside. You would have thought the we were beating the dog the way she almost screamed for Daddy to come back out. She just can't stand being separated from him. 

Do you ever wonder if that is how God feels when we pull away from Him? Do you think we make Him cry in loneliness?  Do you think He longs to be with us so much He almost pulls us towards Him? He hates being apart from us even more than Breesy hates being separated from Rodney. Maybe He sometimes feels sorry that He even gave us freewill?

There are times that we all head off searching and working so much for a better life on this earth that we forget the one who gave us the life we have. 

God's scriptures tell us this.......

Genesis 1:27

  God created human beings;
        he created them godlike,
    Reflecting God’s nature.
        He created them male and female.
    God blessed them

Romans 1:19-23

But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

God created us! We are so special to Him. Why do we forget that?  Imagine how much better all of our lives would be if we just spent time with the one who gave us everything, everyday. 

Can't you just see Him smiling at the thought?

Blessings!

Another Storm.

Rodney and I were sitting watching the news, last night, about another round of tornado producing storms going through Oklahoma. Man are they getting hit this year. We are praying for the families of Oklahoma, for comfort and strength and a time of no storms.

 I remember as a kid living in Kansas that we had years like that. Some had hardly any bad storms and the next we were in the crawl space more that we we outside playing.  One thing we did not try to do was get in the car to try and out run the funnels.

Last night that is exactly what a some of of the residents did. Some were heading home from work but others, having been so spooked by the last storm just wanted to get away from everything. Unfortunately some of them put them selves more in harms way than if they had just stayed put. 

We do that as Christians. If something is bothering us in the location God has allowed us to be in, we just pack up and move to something different. We get spooked or mad, or maybe we just don't like the pastor, our job, coworker or our neighbors. Maybe we don't like the nudging we are getting from the Holy Spirit to maybe speak to that coworker or neighbor.

Now don't misread me here. I know that there are instances when it is time to be moving. Rodney and I get the call from God once in a while that it is time for a different church. I know that job promotions and opportunities, or family circumstances mean that it is time for a change for some of us as well. Also God does give us the common sense to move out a burning building or move into shelter from the hail.

But to just start moving because we are frustrated....Maybe in these instances it would be better to stay put. God sees our troubles and is working on a solution. We read in James about this exact thing....

James 1:12

The Message (MSG)

12 Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

Thank goodness we have a Lord who is there for us. He loves it when we trust in Him for protection and solutions. He hurts when we hurt and smiles when we smile. So hang in there. God is in the midst of our troubles. The storm will soon be over and sunshine is coming in the morning.

Blessings!