The Father's Arms

May 31

There are times when a picture paints a thousand words.

Whose love do you long for?

There is nothing like the love of our heavenly Father.

These pictures of our granddaughter awaiting her Daddy coming home are heartwarming.

Her love thrilled his heart, as much as his embrace fulfilled her.

We should look at our relationship with God this way.

Wait Forwardly & Be Amazed

May 30
Max Lucado really fired me up in his final chapter of Experiencing the Heart of Jesus when he said,
"We are so good at waiting, that we don't wait forwardly.  We forget to look.  We are so patient that we become complacent.  We are too content.  We seldom search the skies.  We rarely run to the temple.  We seldom, if ever allow the Holy Spirit to interrupt our plans and lead us to worship so that we might see Jesus.

You should live holy lives and serve God, as you wait for and look forward to the coming of the day of God. 2 Peter 3:11-12


Think about Simeon.   Simeon took the baby in his arms and thanked God: 'Now Lord, you can let me, your servant, die in peace, as you said.'  Luke 2:28-29

Lucado wrote: "One look into the face of Jesus, and Simeon knew it was time to go home. And one look into the face of our Savior, and we will know the same."

That is down right exciting!!!!!

Makes me think of a middle school cheer which went like this....

"Get fired up for VICTORY!"

Standing last week,  in a elevator of the hospital where I was a candy striper as a teenager, the place where five of our children were born and where my mother and Kaye died, I stated to my husband that there have been some extremes of emotion in that location.  We had just visited someone who was elderly and ill, but very apprehensive about dying. I commented to my husband, "I wished that they were excited about their heavenly home and seeing Jesus."  His reply, "Few people are."

Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 1:10.  

On the day when the Lord Jesus comes 

all the people who have believed will  be amazed at Jesus.

Another View Point

May 29
"I love you."  The text came across my phone Sunday night...short. sweet and unexpected from a thirty year old son.  My fingers texted back.... "Are you ok?"  He wasn't.  One of his best Army friends had taken his own life on Friday.  Our son stayed with the wife and three children until her parents arrived Sunday morning. An explanation from another view point followed.

"While most people are celebrating Memorial Day and rejoicing with thanksgiving for the sacrifice so many men and women have made for our freedom, this holiday brings heartache to soldiers whose are overwhelmed by the memories of what they have seen."

I can honestly say that I have never looked at this holiday from that perspective and also that while I pray fervently for the protection of our service men and women, I don't pray for the protection of their minds from all that they have seen and that torments them.

Proverbs 28:16-18 speaks of the guilt of murderers that haunts them and there is no way to help.  While war is war and killing occurs, I cannot imagine the mentor torment that follows a soldier home who has witnessed death and dying.

"Human love can fall short; God's love never does."  Corrie Ten Boom writes of the cruelty in a World War II concentration camp and how one day when she was hardly able to bear it any longer a lark started to sing in the air and all the prisoners looked up and listened to the bird, but she looked further and saw heaven and thought of Psalm 103:11.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.

Ten Boom says, "I suddenly saw that the ocean of God's great love is greater than human cruelty.  God sent the lark every day for three weeks to teach us to direct our eyes to Him."

As we await another 365 days for Memorial Day to roll around, let's add relief from mental torment for our soldiers to our prayer list.

 

Lord Overall

May 28
 For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.
Psalm 47:2


For years my maternal uniform was decking out in a pair of Joseph (designer of course) overalls.  I think it drove my mother, who dressed impeccably,  nuts. Come on, they weren't all denim.  Two were linen and the navy ones were...VELVET!  They worked for me though.  They were easy to nurse in...just drop one strap and pull up the shirt underneath, the seven pockets allowed me to carry children and not a purse (credit card in one, diaper in another, snacks, tissues, car keys and even a nice skinny center pocket perfect for a pen and the ones on other side for a note pad).  We did not have cell phones back then, but there was room for one!  :)


Why do I still have all these though.  Some things are hard to part with.  Today I will box them up and store them under the bed....a gradual separation.  As I looked at them, they were a great reminder that...

The Lord is Lord Over All!

Simple Joys Bring Smiles

May 26-27
We have a screened porch off our bedroom.  Moses was out there snoozing and pushed the door open and came into the bedroom.  Suddenly, I heard a loud noise and thought an owl was on the porch. It wasn't hooting, but cooing.  Two doves sat perched on the spiral stair rail cooing away.  Sometimes the simplest joys bring a smile.

Marilyn Monroe Moment

May 25
On the outset of this entry, let me say that I in no way think this 55 year old body of mine is anything like Marilyn Monroe's.  Also, let me confess that yes, I did watch the series "SMASH" this winter and though full of sinful lifestyles (I too am a sinner by the way) I gained lots of insight into the process of making a Broadway musical.
Now back on track to the colorful lesson at hand.  Last weekend I had contemplated putting on my swimsuit to go sit out on the dock and get some sun.  In the process I realized I was not going in the water and instead just put on my sheer, blue, broomstick skirt and a bra and blouse.  The key here is that is all I put on.  Enjoying the privacy of our patio here at Shiloh I was deep into my Bible study when I heard the "beep, beep" of a pontoon boat passing by and recognized dear, dear friends aboard.  My husband, nursing his allergies, was inside but came to the window.  I motioned for him to come out and, being a VERY BREEZY day, asked him to bring me some panties!
Making my way to the dock, I tried to gather my skirt together to keep it from blowing up and also pleating it together add some opaqueness to a very sheer skirt.  The dilemma came when my husband reached the dock and we had no idea how to hand off the panties.  Also, I couldn't come up with a reason to go in our storage area on the dock and close the door, so I JUST CONFESSED to my situation.
My girl friend's 84 year old father was on the boat and I think my confession may have been the highlight of his weekend.  My poor husband just kept shaking his head.

While there are times we are called to confess publicly and certainly one on one, there are other times it is simply appropriate to take our remorse privately to our Father.

 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16


 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5

A Noticeable Difference

May 24
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this season of Dancing With the Stars.  To those who see the show as a stumbling block, please forgive me.  My three favorites, because of their character, were Gladys Knight, Katherine Jenkins and Donald Driver.    While the other finalist, William, was gorgeous on the outside, it was the inner beauty of the others which captivated me and had me pulling for them.  Katherine, a Welsh lyric mezzo-soprano, was undoubtably the most talented, but there was something about Donald, the professional football player, that made him my first choice.  He exuded strength, yet there was a kindness and joy about him.  I finally decided it was probably his sweet wife and adorable children cheering in the audience that drew me to him.  When his wife took the floor, after the victory, and threw her arms around his neck and kissed him it made me smile.  Then when his baby girl nuzzled into his neck I liked him even more.  So off to sleep I went, thinking such a nice guy had won.

The rain was drizzling down the next morning and I had to take to the treadmill, instead of my usual neighborhood walk.  Turning on the TV, one of the morning shows was running with the three dancing finalist.  Viewers were able to text in questions.  One person requested a divulgence of the words which are tattooed on Driver's six pack.  The source of his character was then revealed to me...he loves the Lord.

Train up a child in the way he should go and then when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6

May the Lord bless you and keep you and your family Donald Driver. May he make his face to shine upon you, as you honor him with your life!  And whether on the field or off, may God continue to give you platforms to stand out as noticeably different to a lost, lost world.