Saved From The Storm!!

Yesterday Riley and I started heading back to Indiana from Kansas. We had the best time with my parents and all of the family we got to see while we were there. Riley even made a new friend with my niece's stepson. They played basketball in the street. I loved seeing him get to do that. Riley made 5 baskets in a row. My dad, I'm sure, needs a rest today because Riley picked on him all week. Our visit was amazing.

But it is always good to be home and as we were driving, Riley kept saying "Mom, let's just go home".  I myself was seriously thinking of driving the 11 hours straight through. I have done this before and probably could have done it again. But about 6 hours in, I really started having second thoughts. At this time the sky was clear and there was no sign of of rain, but something kept nagging at me to find a hotel. I drove through St. Louis but I didn't see a hotel I wanted us to stay at, so I kept going. The next town we came to was Granite City, Illinois and the tug to find a hotel was even stronger there. So we did.

We checked in, got to our room, settled down and the next thing we hear is loud thunder. I look out the window and the sky that had been blue just a few minutes before was dark as night. The front edge of a storm had moved in, out of no where, and looked very scary.

 

As the storm progressed there were 60 mile an hour winds, driving rain, lightening, thunder and hail. There would have been no way we could have out run this storm. We would have been caught out in it if we had not have stopped. I truly believe that the strong urge to find a hotel was God keeping us safe. Isn't he amazing??

I catch myself being surprised when I see a miracle from God so clearly. But this should not be. After all, we are God's creation. He wants to do all he can to keep us safe, through any of life's storms.

We see all through the scriptures where God protects His own. I have seen His protection through my whole life and I see it in the lives of those around me. I am reminded of this verse in Psalm 125.....

Psalm 125:2

Living Bible (TLB)

2 Just as the mountains surround and protect Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds and protects his people.

Last night as I fell asleep I thanked God for the safe, dry warm bed but I also asked Him to forgive me for being so surprised that I was there.



Blessings!!

Stick Like Glue

Riley and I have driven to Kansas to visit my parents while Rodney is on a mission trip in Guatemala. I love going on mission trips and would have loved going on this one with him but this silly Lupus of mine and the sun closest to the equator do not mix. 

Mission trips are very special to me for many reasons, First you can really shine Christ on them as you serve the persons you have gone to be with. Another is, that it is a great bonding time within the church, as members work side by side to complete the tasks set before them. You also get to see parts of our country and world you might not have seen for any other reason. And the last one, for me, is that I truly realized how much I cared for the man that would become the love of my life, on this earth, on a mission trip. He and I have been kind of glued together ever since.

Speaking of being glued together, Riley can't seem to get enough of my Dad. Where ever he is, there Riley is too. It has always been that way with Riley and Dad. There is just something about my Father that Riley can't seem to get enough of. Riley seems to be hovering and if it was me I might get a little annoyed with him. Dad doesn't. He just keeps smiling and letting Riley be Riley.

I was thinking about this this morning and trying to truly understand, because I was kind of feeling bad for Dad. But as I was watching them it occurred to me what is going on. Riley feels the unabashed love my dad has for him. He feels the non judgement from my dad. He feels free with my dad. My Dad does not care if Riley is fitting into the norm of life. He wants him to be the silly sweet Down syndrome kid he is. 


Most of the adults that Riley deals with, including Rodney and myself, are all trying to help him grow up enough to maybe get to be out on his own in this world. So we are always directing him in that direction. "Don't do that", "let's do things this way", "Come on Riley, don't be so silly", are just a few things he hears from most of us. I'm not saying this is wrong. It has to be done to help Riley survive in the adult world. But as I try to keep Riley from what I see as picking on my Father, Dad just keeps looking at me and saying "It's OK".


We silly humans have the same understanding from our God. We do not have to change into something we are not to come to Him. Look what Jesus said when the disciples were trying to discourage the children from getting to him....

Matthew 19:14

Common English Bible (CEB)

14 “Allow the children to come to me,” Jesus said. “Don’t forbid them, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these children.”

My Dad gets this verse. In fact he has a little child in him himself, that he is not ashamed to show. I guess I need to let up, be kid like myself, and let Riley relax. It is his vacation too!

When Riley is with my Father, he doesn't have to change anything. He can just be himself. How wonderful for him!!! That is how it is when we come to God. We can be our child like selves too! 

I love this reminder from my Dad!!! I guess I am still learning from my wise father. All of us can. 

Blessings!

Sharing

I was born an identical twin. My sister and I looked exactly alike as we were growing into adulthood. I don't remember ever being without Terry when we were at home. The school wouldn't let us be in each others class but everywhere else we were together. Most of the time we loved it this way. Most of the time we didn't mind sharing each others space and anything we had. We would tell each other everything as well. We were open books to one another. 

As we grew into adulthood and started moving in different directions, that changed. Don't get me wrong, we still were close but as we started dating and then moving on into marriages and different homes there were lots that we did not share. We had private things from one another. It became even worse when Rodney and I moved to Indiana, leaving Terry behind in Kansas.

We did not like that this was happening but nothing could be done about it. We were busy making homes and families of our own. Then Terry died. After the funeral her daughters and I went through some of her things. They wanted me to take some items that I felt were special. While I was trying to decide what I could take that would go back on the plane with us I discovered so many wonderful things about her that I had not known before. She was a poem writer and had drawn some wonderful sketches. She had not shared these things with me because, her girls told me, she didn't think she was good at either. This made me even sadder. I wish that I had shared myself with her more so that she could have felt comfortable enough to share more of herself with me. That is a regret that I will carry till she and I can be back together in heaven.

Our world is like that. We don't feel adequate or we feel that someone else is not.  We feel like we have nothing that we are good enough at to share. Or we have drawn into our personal lives so much that we don't want to share. We are not the kind of friends that make others want to show their true selves to. We are not the kind of friend or neighbor that shows Christ, and His love, to others. 

The scriptures are pretty frank about this issue.....

Galatians 6:2-3

The Message (MSG)

Nothing but the Cross

6 1-3 Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived.

Hebrews 13:16

The Message (MSG)

16 Make sure you don’t take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of “sacrifice”—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets.

Christ brought all that he was to this earth. He lived, and died, for others. He gave himself daily. He was the example that we all need to be. He shared God the Father with everyone and others couldn't wait to share who they were with Him. People were drawn to Him because He went out of His way to make them comfortable enough to be themselves. He was the only perfect man on this earth, yet He was the least judgmental of any man on this earth. 

I know that we all have regrets about someone or something. But if Jesus doesn't judge us why are we so hard on ourselves? So hard we think we have nothing to give. Hey we are forgiven children of God.  He sees us as perfect. He sees us as people He wants to spend time with. We need to show the same love to others around us so that they can feel the same worth we should be feeling. 

Also let's not get ourselves so involved in our own little part of the world that we miss out or become so self absorbed that we don't see the wonderful gifts from the people that God has placed all around us.

No regrets!!!

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!

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!

Innocence in the Midst of Trouble

We are so saddened today as the carnage and devastation in Oklahoma is laid bare on the news programs. It is all I can do, and I'm sure the same is true for you, to pull ourselves away from the television. You see parents searching, rescue workers searching and even animals searching, for their homes and families. It is hard to imagine how and why such a thing could happen.

I grew up in Kansas and over those years we saw so many scary storms. We hid under our house, I can't tell you how many times. We had some very tense moments, but nothing like what these families have gone through, and are still going through. 

I was looking through some of the pictures that have been posted, since the storm, and this picture caught my eye. This was taken by someone from the Oklahoma Sheriff's department, posted on Twitter. It it hit my heart so hard.  Here is a sweet little toy laying in the midst of the mess all around. Made me think of the children that still may be trapped in the elementary school in Moore. The innocence of them in the midst of the horribleness all around, It also made me think of the parents who are waiting for answers. 

There have been miracles. There have been over 100 people pulled from the rubble so far.There have been some very sad stories of loss too. Our hearts break for these families. 

So many are praying for help.....

1 Kings 8:28

New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, Lord my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day.

All hope is not lost.  Even though, there are those who will have trouble believing, but God is there. His heart is breaking for the families too. He wants to bring relief for all who are involved. He wants to bring back hope. He wants all to know that we can lean on Him.



Psalm 32:7

New International Version (NIV)
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.

Let's all pray, today, for more miracles to come to the families of Oklahoma!!!

Blessings!