Boojoyful

April 30 Our fifth son is engaged! He bestowed upon me the privilege of coming along on his diamond hunt. Having gathered a few particulars from the girl of his dreams before hand and educating himself about the process online, he had in his mind what he was looking for. The color, brilliance, size, shape, and visibility of flaws all played a part in what he would finally purchase.  It thrilled my heart to see how seriously he took part of the marriage process.  He scoped and studied close to 20 diamonds at several different stores.  When his mind was made up the elation exuded from him and he could hardly wait for the day he would propose. The elements involved in a diamond search unfortunately are similar to the elements humans use to judge others...color, brilliance, size, shape and visibility of flaws.  (Now I am feeling sad for the diamonds he didn't choose.)  Oh, that we might be like the Lord and look at a person's heart instead of their outward appearanc

April 28-29 One of my spiritual mentors sent me a quote the other day that is worth passing along for each of you to realize.....it can be your happy thought for the weekend. "You are a dynamic spirit in a beautiful earthly body empowered by the God of the universe to encourage and love His people." So let's be out there about His business this weekend.  Take your tambourine!  :)

Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord;  but first let me go back and  say goodbye to my family.”Jesus replied,  “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is  fit for service in the kingdom of God.”   Luke 9:61-62 April 27 Grabbing hold of this verse the other day, I pulled it into my soul like some of the big fat robins in our yard tugging at worms in the morning to fed upon.  Am I offering up limitations to the Lord when it comes to my willingness to serve Him where he calls me to serve? What are the "but first" comments I toss out to Him? When I begin to question moves and decisions we've made in our lives, at what we believed were the Lord's promptings, my husband is quick to say...."Do your not believe the Lord led us to that place?" While praying together yesterday with a friend, my husband implanted this truth into our prayer time..."Lord, we have learned time and time again that there is often a whole

April 26 While I started yesterday with my tambourine, I should have packed it in my car when I headed to a nearby city to help set up for a baby shower at the home of my precious friend, Kaye, who is now hanging out with Jesus.  Her daughter had a C-section to bring Baby Maxwell into this world.  My girlfriend and I had spoken about having a shower for her daughter and grandson after he was born.  With Kaye no longer here, a team assembled to carry out the plan...her mother, her husband, her sister in law, her cousin and me.  Yesterday, three of us met to go over final details and we went by the house to begin setting up.  Heading into Kaye's bedroom with her mother, she showed me an angel she had placed on the box with Kaye's ashes.  To the left of the box was a yellow frame, with the word "FRIENDS" inscribed and a picture of the two of us.  The same picture sits in my bedroom.  That was the beginning of the grizzle bear grabbing me and tearing my heart apart.  

April 25 There is a verse which says, "The joy of the Lord is my strength." (Nehemiah 8:10) What a great "U-turn" verse.  When the path we are headed down is fueled by the likes of bitterness, heartache, doubt, fear, or jealousy we can slam on the breaks and make a U-turn right into the love of Jesus.  The joy we find in His presence will strengthen us, heal our hurts, warm our hearts and remind us how blessed we are to be loved by our Creator....which in turn will...make us feel like dancing! Tuning in to a teaching on Moses' sister Miriam, I realized I need to up the ante of expectancy when it comes to reasons to rejoice.  The commentator made reference to the fact that when the Israelites made a hasty exit from Egypt, Miriam took time to pack her tambourine.  I've often thought of what I would grab in the case of a fire and my tambourine (yes, I have one) is not on the list.  Miriam grabbed her tambourine because she knew there would come a tim

April 24 But let me tell you something wonderful, a mystery I'll probably never fully understand. We're not all going to die—but we are all going to be changed. You hear a blast to end all blasts from a trumpet, and in the time that you look up and blink your eyes—it's over. On signal from that trumpet from heaven, the dead will be up and out of their graves, beyond the reach of death, never to die again. At the same moment and in the same way, we'll all be changed. In the resurrection scheme of things, this has to happen: everything perishable taken off the shelves and replaced by the imperishable, this mortal replaced by the immortal. Then the saying will come true:    Death swallowed by triumphant Life!    Who got the last word, oh, Death?    Oh, Death, who's afraid of you now? It was sin that made death so frightening and law-code guilt that gave sin its leverage, its destructive power. But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three—sin, guilt,

April 23 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them.  Mark 10:13 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these . Matthew 19:14 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”  Mark 9:37 If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.  Matthew 18:6 Christ made some strong comments about the importance of keeping a clear path for children to get to him.  Let's join together in praying for the vitality of Sunday Schools, Vacation Bible School, Church Pre-Schools, Christian Schools and ministries such as Good News Clubs and Child Evangelism Fellowship who are committed t

April 20-22 "Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."  Revelation 3:20 Our grandchildren love looking out doors.  I wonder what they are anticipating?  ...the arrival of someone or a peek at one of God's creatures maybe? Are we anticipating an encounter with Christ today?  Are we watching for where we can proclaim his love to another? "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may have proclaimed the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains." Colossians 4:3

April 19 Life teaches us lesson after lesson. Sometimes we are right in the action and other times, as if observing a medical procedure from behind a glass window, we view a process from the perimeter. God came to earth in human form, as Christ, to experience in the flesh the walk we must walk and to be a visible example how to live. There is great benefit in us being willing to place ourselves (at least mentally) in another's shoes and survey situations from their prospective. The fall out in relationships would be far less if we chose to do this more often. I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me. Matthew 25:35-36 Who is God calling us to love on from a different perspective today? The Hungry The Thirsty The Homeless The Naked and Shivering The Sick who need cheering. Those

April 17-18 Children say the smartest things! Struggling a bit with our three year old grandson the other night about bedtime, I posed a question to him. "If you were God would you require our bodies to need sleep?" The rapid reply without hesitation: "I don't want to be God!" So today if we are questioning the "whys" in life we can ask ourselves....Would I want to trade places with God? May they sing of the ways of the LORD, for the glory of the LORD is great . Psalm 138:5 Traveling in the car with a couple grands, one got a little fussy so I just began singing praise...that one quieted and another one put his hands up in the air praising the Lord. Oh that we would learn from little ones! Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! Psalm 147:1

April 16 As your planting season begins and things start to sprout, be certain your faith is growing too.

April 13-15 In a week our trees have gone from bare branches to being adorned with lacy little green leaves announcing the change from winter to spring. The change of the seasons brings such delight. "I've got to change him." (Mom, related to diapers.) "I've got to change him." (New bride, related to her groom.) "I've got to change." (Out of a piece of clothing.) "I've got to change." (Someone with an undesirable life style, attitude or addiction.) "I'm going through the change." (Menopausal woman.) "Could I please have change." (Related to money.) Ah, the English language...it can be tough to discern. Just ask Ziva on NCIS. When a word like that is placed on my mind I am oh so quick to try to figure out what the Lord is up to. I am never right in my assumptions, for my mind is not like His mind. Change is uncomfortable for many people, but for us to become heavenly beings it will be necessary. For us

April 12th One of our grandsons is celebrating his first birthday today, so I decided to look up some scriptures related to the date of his birth ( 4/12) and type those up for him. Here we go: When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Proverbs 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved . Acts 4:12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1 John 4:12 As we pour love in

April 11th Our 28 year old god daughter has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is awaiting surgery on April 18th. The news is heart breaking, but her attitude and that of her parents is full of strength and grace. The reality of what is ahead has me praying without ceasing. While doing just that this morning, I told her mother I had the image of sledding adventures with our young children and pulling them through the snow to the top of the hill. The load was a lot, but it was worth the joy of the downhill slide. We look forward to her beating this cancer! Reflecting back to when we almost lost our son in a car accident I recalled: There were hard days that seemed like we would never make it the long way to the top of the hill. Then eventually there were days of rejoicing and enjoying the down hill slide. As the months moved on and he improved there were snowball fights from the awkwardness of a college male having to live at home with his momma! In the end our relationship wa

April 10 The numbers 7:22 glowed on my alarm clock, as the peck, peck, peck sounded on the side of our porch. Running to the window and cranking it open, I totally ignored our sleeping bulldog a foot away. He could have gone into cardiac arrest at his age as I called out "What are you doing!" to the woodpecker. The bird flew away and perched himself on the other side of the porch and continued his pecking. The bulldog, with eyes glazed and full of morning gook stared at me in disbelief. Off I ran to another window and thus began another morning...chasing woodpeckers! Stopping in my tracks I knew there was a lesson in this madness. My notebook contained a two references yesterday from where I had been studying in Corinthians. You realize, don't you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you? No one will get by with vandalizing God's temple, you can be sure of that. 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do I have as much concern about the things vandalizing

I kept more than I tossed. April 9 Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14 Note writing is a priceless art that warms the heart. Shake, shake, shake...shake, shake, shake....shake the pollen off, shake the pollen off. Spring cleaning can be a trip. My husband's allergies were at their height, so I suggested we switch gears from outdoor cleaning and tackle some indoor projects. Drawers were the category I drew! Three of the ones facing me were filled with cards from friends and family over the years. I've saved them for years and when I am feeling blue it is an excellent way to "feel the love". Some of the nicest ones are from people who have been in our home, whom we can no longer even place in our memories. Once again our spousal personality differences appeared as I wanted to consume every word of every note and reminisce of what that person meant to my life. His was a more rapid appro

April 7-8 Over and over this morning the phrase, "The stone was rolled away" has been playing in my head. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, "Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?" Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished. He said, "Don't be afraid. I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He's been raised up; he's here no longer. Mark 16:1-6 What needs to be rolled out of the way in our own lives to allow the living Christ to come in? For days a small blue bird has been trying over and over again to get in our house. He/she flies right up

April 5 Well, this certainly wasn't what I was expecting for a Good Friday message, but I was so moved by this video I thought it worth sharing. Actually, the message it portrays correlates well with how the world saw Jesus. The world was looking for the Messiah to come as a strong, charismatic, political leader. Instead, our King was born in a manger, was humble with a servant's heart and many a night had no place to even lay his head. No chariot carried him around, fine fabrics did not drape his body or fabulous jewels drip from his neck. He was underestimated by many, for he did not look the part of the long awaited king. Check this out. http://www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FCE0EJNU&utm_source=GodTube%20Must-See%20Video&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=03/29/2012 A Texas pastor showed this video at his worship service and addressed the congregation afterwards saying: "I LOVE his loyalty to his friend. I LOVE the fact that he has no idea how good he is. I LOVE the

Garden of Gethsemane April 5 Out of no where, grief jumped up and bit yesterday morning. Thinking I was doing so well over the loss of my friend, I was rather shocked when the reality of our separation (for now) left me bawling and longing for her. Close friends are such a treasure. No sun is shining right now. There is moisture in the air and the winds are whipping up on the Lake this morning. Pink and white dogwoods are dancing together and the neighbor's azaleas are a sassy hot pink. Our woods are a wonderful place of retreat and as I looked out to them I thought of the Mount of Olives, a favorite place of retreating for Jesus and his close friends. In the darkness on the evening of his betrayal Jesus had one request for the disciples and that was for them to pray for him. Jesus knew hard times were at hand and he was disappointed when they fell asleep. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. “Why are you sleeping?

April 4 Are you kidding me? This is my son's ear which was almost sliced off this past weekend. Sorry so gross, but pretty ironic as I am studying the events leading up to the crucifixion. Wait until you see the repair picture, where a doctor friend literally glued it back together. Oh, you are asking what was he doing...no, this is not the Army child...this one was building a fire pit in his backyard. He was alone and trying to place a heavy metal liner into the pit. He decided the best technique was to lift the ring over his head and lower it down...it was too heavy though and he lost control of it when it was over his head and sliced his ear on the way down. He said he is so thankful he didn't lose the whole ear. There was an ear slicing event the last week of Jesus' life. Doctor Luke leaves this reflection: While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him,but Jesus asked

April 2 Danielle Steel was on one of the morning news shows promoting her new novel, Betrayal, which came out last week. During the interview she shared that she felt we all have experienced betrayal in some form....in a romance, with a business partner or employer, by a friend or family member, being robbed or having our privacy invaded... She stressed that from personal experience she recognized the importance of finding a way to let the bitterness go. Interestingly, her first suggestion was religion. Her father was German Jewish and her mother Portuguese. She was raised Catholic. What perfect timing for such a title to be released, as Christians are reflecting on Judas' betrayal of Christ. And while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” Mt.26:21 So where is Judas now? Here are some deep thoughts. They run along the lines of the fact that Satan knows who Jesus is, yet he refuses to call him Lord, Lord. This is the scripturally based response f

April 2 At first I thought I'd opt out of this week, saying I need a break. The truth is I don't like the meanness and manipulation, which occur the week before the resurrection. From Judas' betrayal, to Pilate caving in, Peter's three denials and the soldiers mocking Christ, the enormous heartache of Christ's mother and John nearby as Jesus is crucified is too much to comprehend for this mother's heart, then add to that the images that arise when I think of the physical sufferings he endured and I always end asking God...."Wasn't there a less violent, easier way?" This comes from someone who would have hidden her dove or lamb so her Daddy couldn't have taken them to be sacrificed. Sacrifice, that is what a life with Christ is all about. Today I want to reflect on John chapter 12 and the exhibition of "extravagant love" by a single woman, Mary of Bethany. Six days before Passover, Jesus entered Bethany where Lazarus, so recently ra