Opening Another Advent Window (Updated)

This is a rerun of a post from a couple of years ago.  I must say that I still love to read from the devotional book "Jesus Calling" every morning, along with its companion "Jesus Today", also by Sarah Young.  I received that book from my sister as a Christmas gift that same year.  It is amazing to me to see how these little books have an appropriate message just for me every day...and then they lead me to passages in the Bible that further show me God's message for the day. This is a marvelous way to to start each day all year long, not just during the Advent season!



The original post written on 12/2/13 begins here:

If you recall reading about my "Jesus Calling Experience"  a couple of weeks ago, you will recall that I had finally responded to the "call" of Jesus to pick up the little devotional book, "Jesus Calling",  written by Sarah Young that I found in my church library...and then a dear friend said that she wanted me to have my own copy as a gift.

Well, today was the day.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with humility upon receiving a gift from someone when you felt like you should be the one giving a gift instead?

That's how I felt.

This is my Open Advent Window for today.

As we prepare for the coming of the Christ Child, the Babe in the Manger,

remember that He is the Divine Gift to us, we who are so unworthy. 

But He came down to earth for us,

to rescue us from our sins,

and to save us for all eternity

to live with Him forever.

What does He ask from us?

Nothing really...except that we love Him

with all our hearts.

Here's a little song I remember hearing and singing at Christmas time:

In the Bleak Midwinter (click on title for link to song by Gloucester Cathedral Choir)

Christina Rossetti (written 1872, published posthumously in 1904)

"In the bleak mid-winter Frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, Water like a stone; Snow had fallen, snow on snow, Snow on snow, In the bleak mid-winter Long ago. Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him Nor earth sustain; Heaven and earth shall flee away When He comes to reign: In the bleak mid-winter A stable-place sufficed The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. Enough for Him, whom cherubim Worship night and day, A breastful of milk And a mangerful of hay; Enough for Him, whom angels Fall down before, The ox and ass and camel Which adore. Angels and archangels May have gathered there, Cherubim and seraphim Thronged the air, But only His mother In her maiden bliss, Worshiped the Beloved With a kiss. What can I give Him, Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb, If I were a wise man I would do my part, Yet what I can I give Him, Give my heart." Thank you to my friend today for the wonderful gift of "Jesus Calling".  This gift is helping me to prepare my heart for Christmas. How about you? Is your heart ready for Christmas? Could Jesus be "calling" you?

"She Can Laugh at the Days to Come"

"She can laugh at the days to come."

Proverbs 31:25, NIV

Quite a few years ago I attempted to write a devotional booklet for women based upon the "Proverbs 31 Woman".  You know the one...that marvelous example of womanhood that many of us would love to emulate, but all too often we sadly fall short and find ourselves thinking we can never measure up to her standards.  If you are interested in seeing some of what I did write, I'll leave a few links at the end of this post. You will quickly see what I mean about not measuring up...

Anyway, before writing this post I searched back through the things I had written from Proverbs 31, and discovered that I had written something for every verse in that chapter except for this particular verse 25.  I'm not sure why I skipped over this one. The other verses were certainly more difficult in some ways...

But let's look at the complete verse...in the New International Version it says:

"She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come."

The version of the Bible that I normally read is the New King James version, and it reads this way:

"Strength and honor are her clothing;

She shall rejoice in time to come."

Either way you read it, this Proverbs 31 woman has the courage (strength) and dignity to not worry about the days to come; she can actually LAUGH and REJOICE perhaps even in the face of adversity and the unknown.  Why? Because this woman has confidence in God...and she knows that no matter what, God is with her. She need not fear the future, because she knows WHO holds her future.

As most of you are aware by now, I just recently retired.  To be quite honest, it was a risky move, financially speaking.  There are many "unknowns" in my future...but there is One constant "KNOWN"...and that is the fact that God holds my future, and therefore I can enter into this season of life with a smile on my face and joy in my heart. Yes, I can "laugh at the days to come"...and with every new day of this retirement I am finding more and more ways to rejoice.  Thank you, Jesus!!

My prayer today is that other "Proverbs 31" women out there will learn how to laugh at the days to come with the confidence that God is already there...no matter what.

Now, if you want to go back and read a few of my early escapades attempting to be a "Proverbs 31 Woman"... and some other examples of this remarkable woman...check these out:

"An Inauspicious Beginning";  "First Snow"; "Another Faux Pas"; "Vanity, Oh Vanity"; "Who Can Find a Virtuous Wife?"; "Getting Fit, What's the Motive?"

Thank you, Lord, for this powerful example of a Godly woman. Help me, Lord, 

to rejoice in all the days to come.

Amen.

Thanksgiving, Role Reversal and "The Golden Rule" -Updated 11/25/15

This was originally written last year on the day before Thanksgiving, 11/26/14.  Here we are again, one year later, on the day before Thanksgiving...and not a whole lot has changed...We still have my mother in law with us primarily on the weekends, but this week, due to some health issues that my brother in law is experiencing, we have had her all week long. The other major change is that I just retired this past Friday, so now I am adjusting to being home all day...and she has been here as well...and it has had its challenges...but on the whole, I must say I am very thankful for the fact that she is still in pretty good physical shape for her age of 92...and that God is helping us to cope with the issues that come up due to her progressive dementia.  Sometimes you just have to find ways to laugh and be silly together...like playing with a baby doll,,,

Sometimes even my hubby gets in on the fun with the baby doll!

Or baking cookies together...(I bake, she watches and counts the cookies as they come out of the oven and tries to keep track of how many we've eaten before they even cooled down...a very good mental exercise for her...and she does surprisingly well all things considered)

Or having a tea party with a friend...

And sometimes it's fun to pat a baby's "bear" butt...and just enjoy the feel of something warm and snuggly...even if it IS a babydoll!  It brought a smile to her face...and that's worth everything... 

So here's the original post from last year...it was good for me to review this again after a particularly exasperating day.  I needed to remind myself that "Love Never Fails".


November 26, 2014:

It's the day before Thanksgiving...and there's a lot going on in my mind and heart right now. But for today, this is probably the uppermost thought, and even though it seems to be a bit of a repetitive theme for me lately...this is what's happening now.  I may elaborate on other things after we get through cooking and eating and enjoying Thanksgiving with loved ones and friends sometime later this weekend...

I just finished reading an excellent book on a subject that I've been thinking about quite a bit lately...
When Your Parent Becomes Your Child, A Journey of Faith Through My Mother's Dementia    by Ken Abraham.  One of my other blogging friends had mentioned this book and I thought.."I need to read that one right now!"  So I ordered it...actually ordered two copies...one for my family and one for my brother-in-law and his family.  Why? Because we are living it right now in our family as we are joint care-givers for my 91 year old mother-in-law...who is rapidly descending the slippery slope from being mentally present with us to drifting further and further away in a cloud of confusion, memory lapses, paranoia, anger and fear.

When I first picked up this book and started reading I was astounded. I thought Mr. Abraham was writing about my mother in law.  The similarities were amazingly much too close for comfort.  "Minnie" Abraham, Ken Abraham's mother, exhibited so many of the same symptoms that they could have been "sisters in crime"...the crime of changing into a totally different person through the sad progression of the deterioration of the mind.

This post is not intended to be a book review, however, if you are dealing with these kinds of changes in your loved one, I would heartily recommend that you read this book as well as any other information you can put your hands on.  There is a wealth of knowledge on this subject shared on the internet and I am certain many other books are available.  I appreciated Mr. Abraham's story because it was a deeply personal and honest confession of his own frustration and inadequacies in dealing with the changes he saw taking place in his mother.  However, he gave a lot of helpful information that he learned through first hand experience, which I have found especially enlightening.

I think the main thing that I am learning as we share the responsibility of caring for our loved one with my husband's brother and his family is that we have to communicate regularly with each other. There are changes taking place weekly and even daily that we need to be aware of.  Right now she is still able to be driven back and forth between our two homes on the weekends so that hopefully neither of us will  suffer caregiver burnout too quickly. But we are also realizing that this may not last much longer. As her condition continues to deteriorate we may have to enlist professional/long term assistance in one form or another.

For now we are taking things one day at a time and trying to make every moment count.    As long as she is physically able to do things in the home, we encourage her to take part in the family activities as much as possible.  Spending quality time together, cleaning up the kitchen after meals, folding laundry, setting the table...who cares if the towels and underwear aren't folded the way I always fold them?  What difference does it make in the grand scheme of things if she puts the knife, fork and spoon on the wrong side of the plate, or doesn't remember which drawer holds the silverware and which cupboard holds the plates...or if she gets confused about whether we just ate lunch or supper...she loves to feel useful as she is still contributing something to the family by her presence with us.

And truly she is.  I love to hear her humming a little song as she helps dry the dishes or as she sits in the rocking chair and chats with me while I prepare our meals. They say that music is one of the last "senses" to go from the mind...and I believe that to be true.  My mother in law still loves to listen to her favorite gospel music CD's every day and she can sing along like she is right there with them.

"Nanny" helping our son with the dishes and enjoying spending happy moments
with her #1 Grandson.  He appreciates the blessing of sharing this time with her as well.

We try hard to see the humor in some of the things that she says or does, even if it is sad that she doesn't realize what is happening to her.  However, some things aren't so funny, especially when she gets angry over the least little thing that doesn't go her way...or when she tries to cut short our visits with friends because she thinks it is time for them to go and she's tired of not being the center of attention. Or when she repeats the same things over and over and over again all day long, and to her it is like she just thought of it that very moment...but we've already had to endure the story/comments/questions too many times to count.

Patience is a virtue that sometimes wears thin. It is difficult for those closest to her to understand that our loved one really doesn't know that she's saying these things over and over again...or that her temper tantrums, negative comments about other family members and delusions are not really the product of a ninety-one year old mature Christian woman...but are the manifestations of a mind/brain that is rapidly breaking down, shriveling up, wearing out...dying.

So every day is a challenge in this journey we are traveling. As we approach Thanksgiving this week, I try to count my blessings and not dwell on the difficulties of life.  I know that someday it will be my turn to be the one that needs care...and I pray that there will be someone willing and able to go the extra mile for me as long as deemed reasonable and possible.  I try to practice "The Golden Rule"..."do unto others as you would have them do unto you..."...not expecting my mother in law to be able "do unto me" any longer...she has already done her part in loving and caring for me and my family all these years.  It is our turn to return the blessing to her...and perhaps this experience will also help the younger generation realize what their part will be in the future.

Some thoughts from the "Love" chapter of the Bible, I Corinthians 13:1-8

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,

but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a

clanging cymbal.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, 

and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,

and though I have all faith,

so that I could remove mountains,

but have not love,

I am nothing.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor,

and though I give my body to be burned,

but have not love,

it profits me nothing.

LOVE SUFFERS LONG AND IS KIND,

LOVE DOES NOT ENVY;

LOVE DOES NOT PARADE ITSELF,

IS NOT PUFFED UP;

DOES NOT BEHAVE RUDELY, 

DOES NOT SEEK ITS OWN,

IS NOT PROVOKED,

THINKS NO EVIL;

DOES NOT REJOICE IN INIQUITY,

BUT REJOICES IN THE TRUTH;

BEARS ALL THINGS,

BELIEVES ALL THINGS,

HOPES ALL THINGS, 

ENDURES ALL THINGS.

LOVE NEVER FAILS."

There really isn't anything more I can add to  that...
Hug and hold your loved ones closely this Thanksgiving.  We never know when it will be the last opportunity we will have to show them how much we love them.

"Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

For His mercy endures forever!"

Psalm 107:1

Click HERE for previous thoughts on Thanksgiving and Family traditions.

And Click HERE for previous posts about the journey we are currently on with my mother in law.

The Trees of the Field Shall Clap Their Hands

"For you shall go out with joy,

and be led out with peace;

The mountains and the hills 

shall break forth into singing before you,

And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12

If you've been keeping up with me here lately, you know that I am in the midst of a huge life change! It would be most appropriate to state that this is definitely an event that fits the title of my blog, Closed Doors, Open Windows perfectly!  If you go back to the very beginning of when I first started to write this blog, way back in February of 2010, you will see that the driving force behind my writing was the fact that I was in between jobs...one door had definitely closed in my life, and I was diligently searching for another to open as quickly as possible.  It didn't happen quite as soon as I thought it should...but in God's perfect timing He opened the window of His choice, 

The next five and a half + years were not always filled with joy and laughter...there were many trials to face during that time, not only in my work, but in the realm of my whole life..., (click on each link to go back in time and read the history), Read here about "The Last Farewell", "How Could I Not Want This Day to Come?".  But there were some wonderful blessings and times of joy as well...Read "Blessed to Be A Blessing", "An Offering of Praise".  

And now, today, a Monday, is the first day of my true retirement from working.  (Actually, last Friday was my last day of work, but today is the first day that I didn't actually have to set my alarm and get up and go to work).  The full reality of that probably won't hit me until I realize that I won't be earning regular paychecks anymore, and we are going to have to watch every penny to survive.  But I know that God is in this. He will provide...and so I am not going to worry about that today. 

(No, I didn't see him this morning...but I always have to be ready
just in case.)

So this morning, as soon as I was able to reasonably slip out of the door and get outside, I took at little "walkabout" our house and neighborhood, with my trusty whistle for protection from any strolling bears

or other "wildlife", and my camera ready to capture the beauty of this first morning of the rest of my life.  It was a rather chilly morning for us here in Florida, but the air was brisk and refreshing, the sun was shining...and I was FREE to wander!

Even though there wasn't much activity this morning, I found enough beauty to fill my senses with the joy of God's wonderful creation and the gift of this new freedom...it's all good. I was a little too late for the sunrise (and it was too chilly at that hour even for me), so this is the earliest picture I could get of one of my favorite spots in the neighborhood... and definitely "all the trees of the field" were clapping their hands for me today.

And all the holly berries are bursting forth in color, ready for the holiday season to begin...and also ready to feed the myriads of birds and wildlife as they store up food for winter...

 "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, 

but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, 

That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

So shall MY word be that goes forth from My mouth;

It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, 

and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."  

Isaiah 55:10-11

And this beautiful pink camellia is blooming...this was a plant that I thought had died last year, but I kept nursing it back to health over the summer, and now it is rewarding me with the earliest blossoms before all the other bushes that appear much healthier!  This must be its way of thanking me (and GOD) for rescuing it from an untimely death...

 "Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the Lord for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."  Isaiah 55:13

And there is this lovely Christmas Cactus plant blooming already...another one that I thought was about dead...and it, too, is the first to bloom of all the others!

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways," says the Lord.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, 

so are My ways higher than your ways, 

and My thoughts 

than your thoughts."  

Isaiah 55:8-9

Yes, today is the beginning of a new adventure...an "Open Window" of opportunity...for what? I don't yet know exactly what God has in mind for my future...but I know He holds my future...and therefore I do not fear.

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,

Come to the waters;

And you who have no money,

Come, buy and eat.

Yes, come, buy wine and milk

without money and without price.

Why do you spend money for what is not bread,

And your wages for what does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, 

and eat what is good,

and let your soul delight itself in abundance.

Incline your ear, and come to Me,

Hear, and your soul shall live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with you..."

Isaiah 55: 1-3

(This photo was not taken today, but it still speaks volumes)

Yes, today is the beginning of a new day...an Open Window into the rest of my life!
Praise God, and Here I Go!

Letting Go

Yes, I did it! I am still reeling from the euphoria of the realization that I am truly retired from the "working world".  The reality won't fully hit me until next week when I don't have to get up early and jump in the car for the long 45 minute drive to work each day.  As I drove home yesterday I found myself thinking that I would never pass that way again...which is silly, because I am certain I will travel into the city many times in the future...but it will never be with the same purpose or intensity of thought about the day ahead (or the day behind on the way back home). 

I also thought about the young teenage boy that I had been praying for over the past several years Click HERE for that Story and the sequel to it HERE.  I haven't seen him for quite some time at his usual bus stop...perhaps he has now started driving himself to school.  The last time I did see him he still looked like he needed some encouragement and prayers, so I have continued to pray for him each day whether or not he was there.  Now I probably won't remember to do that...and that saddens me...but I deliberately "released" him into God's capable hands as I passed his road.  I should have done that sooner...but I kept thinking that God was depending on ME to be the one to pray. 

In the process of "letting go" of my job and releasing it into the very capable hands of my successor, I have found myself having sleepless nights, thinking of so many little details that I needed to tell her so that she would be able to do her job successfully.  Finally I had to realize that I could not continue to lose sleep over worries of things that were no longer under my control. I am trying very hard (without much success yet) to let go and let GOD direct her as she learns the job and takes ownership of all the responsibilities involved. This woman is very intelligent and competent...exactly who God has chosen for this position...and I must surrender my feelings of ownership and PRIDE. (yes, that is what it is).  Oh, and remember THIS STORY?  and THIS Picture: 

I had said in the above linked post that I would probably leave this picture behind in my office unless I saw that my successor did not appreciate it the way I did...and so I asked her what she thought of it, and she loved it...especially when I told her my little story behind it and its significance to me.  So, that clinched the deal as far as I was concerned as to whether or not she was meant to be there...but again...that was GOD'S deal, NOT MINE!

My son, the sign-maker, said to me yesterday that he was going to create a sign for me that said simply, "LET IT GO".  That is probably not a bad idea. I need to hang it on my mirror, on this computer, over the kitchen sink, and on my bedroom ceiling so I can see it when I lay there awake at night unable to "let it go".   I never realized just how much I thought I had to be in control until this week when I finally handed over the keys to the "kingdom" of my office and walked out that door, never to return in the same capacity again.

So now, as I practice this new act of letting go of what has been my world for the past almost six years, I am asking the Lord, "What next?" But perhaps I ought to be asking Him to forgive me for thinking that I need to be in control of my life and the world around me. That responsibility belongs totally to God.

As Moses prayed to the Lord in Exodus 33:13 ~

"Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way,

that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight...

And God responded in verse 14:

"And He said, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest."

Ahhhhh, REST....YES, LORD....THAT is EXACTLY what I need right now...as well YOU know! Yes, sweet rest...when I LET GO and LET GOD, I will find rest. Where have I heard that before?

"Come to ME, all you who labor and are heavy laden, 

and I will give you REST.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me,

for I am gentle and lowly in heart, 

and you will find REST for your souls.

For My yoke is easy 

and my burden is light."

(Words of Jesus Christ found in the book of Matthew 11:28-30)

I keep saying that I want to provide a place of rest for others who are weary from their burdens and sorrows in life, and that is still my ultimate goal for "retirement", but before I am able to offer this gift to others, I need to learn it for myself. 

So to sum this post up and get to bed for the night, I am going to try harder to "LET IT GO"....AND "LET GOD" take the full control of my mind and heart and life...and allow Him to give me that rest that He so desires to give me.  Then perhaps I will be better prepared for whatever comes next.

I am letting go...and letting God...

Good Night my friends.

Sleep Tight...

What Could Be Better?

6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

Acts 3:6 (NKJV)

On my way home from work today I was blessed with the most beautiful rainbow in the sky...and me without my camera!  Thankfully I had this picture in my archives from another trip on this same road several years ago...

(Click on HERE to get the story behind this particular rainbow)

I wasn't the only one enjoying today's spectacular vision of God's promise in the sky.  As I was driving along I noticed a truck stopped in the road ahead, with an old hippie-looking kind of man standing up in the door of his truck taking a picture of the rainbow.  I slowed down, rolled down my window and said "Hey! How about sending me a copy of your picture since I don't have my camera!"  He laughed and said "Sure" as I drove away! I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one crazy enough to want to stop and actually take a picture of a rainbow in the sky! I think I would have at least pulled OFF the road instead of blocking an entire lane on the wrong side...but, well, that's what you get out here in the boonies where I live.  

Anyway, I enjoyed looking at that rainbow in the sky all the way to the outskirts of my neighborhood, where it stopped and faded into the clouds...before I could get my camera of course.  But the memory of the joy it gave me lingers still.  I felt such hope and encouragement from the heavens above because God set His "rainbow in the cloud" as a sign of His promise and love for His children.  (See Genesis 9:13)

Click HERE for another story of a rainbow in the sky over our home several years ago.  At that time, we had just moved to our home out here "in the boonies"...a fulfillment of God's promise to take care of us always...and to give  hope for our future here.  We are now at another kind of new beginning.  If you read my last post in which I shared with you the good news of my upcoming retirement, you will know that I am looking forward to the start of a new life here...and yet I don't know exactly what the Lord may have in store for us.  However, this rainbow in the sky today gave me such hope...it reminded me that God is with me all the way...and that I have nothing to fear.

So what does all this rainbow and hope talk have to do with the verse quoted at the beginning of this story? Well, that's a good question. This verse just popped into my head this evening as I was chatting with a friend of mine on the phone about some concerns we share regarding people that we know. People who need hope...the kind of hope that only God can give.  People who don't know that God can give them that kind of hope because they've never truly known God.  And as we talked, the idea came to me that perhaps part of what my new adventure will be is to be an instrument through which God can offer these people hope.  

The old King James Version of this verse goes like this:

"Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk."

That's the way I remember learning this verse..."silver and gold have I none"....in other words, I don't have money to give away (especially now that I am retiring), but what I DO have is God's offer of hope and healing in the Name of Jesus Christ. No, I don't expect to be able to make the crippled and lame walk again...at least not in the literal physical sense...although if that is what God desires, I know He can do that...but what I do expect is for God to bring the kind of healing that can actually help these individuals "rise up and walk" in hope and love...The kind of healing that brings salvation to wounded souls and gives them the courage to rise up from their beds of affliction, whether it be emotional scars, physical and spiritual brokenness, poverty...and yes, hopelessness, and to walk in wholeness and joy.

Only the love of Jesus Christ can accomplish this. I can not accomplish this in my own strength. But I can be a vessel for His love to flow through...how? By using the gifts that He has given me to share with others...my home, which has already been dedicated to the Lord... and the knowledge of His love and salvation that is free to all who will receive it. 

I don't know all the details of this yet...but a plan is forming in my heart and in the heart of my friend as we agreed together in prayer that we would be open to however the Lord may direct in this adventure.

I would ask that you, my praying friends in "blogland", would also pray that God would give us wisdom, courage, and the strength to carry out whatever His plan may be.

No, I may not have silver and gold, but what I do have, I will give to you...in Jesus' Name.

What could be better than that?

I may not have been able to capture a picture of the rainbow today, but when I got home the first thing I saw out of my window was this lovely rose blooming! Just another of God's ways of showing me that He is with me...and that the gifts He offers are far greater than any silver or gold! I know that I am meant to share them with others one way or the other! They are not for me alone.

What could be better than that?

Okay, Folks! I Did It!

You are probably scratching your head and wondering, "what now?"

"Did she climb a tall mountain?

Run a race?







Win the Lottery?" (no picture to describe how amazing THAT would be!)



Well, no, nothing quite that exciting or exhausting or amazing...but I did something that I've been wanting to do for a LONG time...probably for about 65 years or something like that!  I finally took the plunge and gave my notice that I am actually going to.....drum roll, drum roll...

RETIRE!!!!  YAY! YAY! HIP HIP HOORAY!!!! THREE CHEERS FOR ME!!!!

I expect to be doing a LOT more of THIS in the near future...
Taking lots of pictures...and smiling a lot more!!!

Now, just please say a prayer for me to survive the next few weeks as I train someone to take my place and clean out my five and a half years worth of stuff from my office. (Click HERE for more about these pictures)

 (Actually, I can't wait to bring this tea set home...I just have to find the right spot for it...and have a tea party as soon as I can!)

Another of my office "treasures" that I will have to find a home for here at home.

I'll probably be leaving this lovely picture behind...maybe...unless I see that my successor
doesn't fully appreciate it the way I do...
Psalm 33:1-3
"Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the Lord with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy."

 Pray that I will leave on a positive note, and that God will be with me as I embark on this new adventure in my life. I know that the Lord has been with me throughout these past years (and I am most thankful for His Presence in my life both then and now)...and all the years prior...so why should I doubt that He will be with me when I take this big step and leap into the great "unknown" of retirement?

I do have concerns...mostly financial issues...I don't have a big cushy pension to fall back on...I don't even have a small one...so the government better not mess with my Social Security and Medicare...or I'll be in a real pickle.

But my God is bigger than any government or any retirement plan.  He has sustained me thus far in life, and I have no reason to fear that He will ever change His mind about that.

"Even to your old age, I am He, 

and even to gray hairs I will carry you!

I have made, and I will bear;

Even I will carry, and will deliver you."

Isaiah 46:4

Actually, I am excited about the new adventures that are waiting to be discovered.  I may not have a lot of money or big plans, but God has promised to give me good things...

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord,

Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope..."

(Jeremiah 29:11)

He also reminds me of this... 

"Do not remember the former things,

Nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing,

Now it shall spring forth;

Shall you not know it?

I will even make a road in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert."

Isaiah 43:18-19

So.....Ready, Set,  Here I Go!

Wanna come along?

Get ready for the great adventure!

I can't wait to see where God will lead me in the very near future!!!

Stay tuned, folks! This is not THE END...This is just the beginning!

My "Way"...or "His Way"?...Which Will It Be? Repost 10-14-15

This was originally posted back in July of 2010.  As I re-read it yesterday, I realized that it is still a message that I needed to read again...and I thought perhaps you might appreciate it as well.

Sing along with this old familiar hymn "Have Thine Own Way", as sung by Jim Reeves 

I still love the old hymns...there is so much meaning in these words.

Jeremiah 18:6...."Can I not do with you as this potter?" says the Lord, "Look, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand..."

Those of us who are familiar with the old hymns will remember one of my favorites..."Have Thine Own Way, Lord, Have Thine own way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.  Mold me and make me after Thy will, while I am waiting yielded and still."  If I could have a nickel for every time I've sung that song over the past __ years, I might be able to retire...  I can remember singing it as a child, and not fully comprehending what I was singing, but I liked to play with clay, so it made me think about shaping things and playing with them.  Then again as a teen-ager we used to sing this in our youth group as a song of commitment...and I began to have an inkling of what it meant to be "yielded and still", waiting for God to show me what I was supposed to do with my life. 

As I became an adult, I found myself still singing this song, as I asked the Master to "search me and try me..and to wash me whiter than snow...as I humbly knelt in His presence...and I kept asking Him to "mold me and make me" after His will. I knew that I was not yet complete...I was still in need of more reshaping...of my mind, my heart, and my spirit.  It's still an ongoing activity...still incomplete...

Now in my later years I sing, "Have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way...Wounded and weary, help me I pray! Power - all -power-surely is Thine! Touch me and heal me, Savior Divine!...and as I yield myself to Him and wait on His leading, He heals and restores my weary and wounded mind, heart, and spirit. 

My prayer now as I approach these "golden years" is that God will still have His own way in my life...that He will "hold o'er my being absolute sway!" I pray that He will fill me with His Spirit..."till ALL shall see -- Christ only, always, living in me!"

You know, if we could make this little song our prayer every day...and truly mean what we say... what a difference it could make in how we approach life...and how we respond to the approach of others who may come into our lives... WOW!  "Have Thine Own Way, Lord!"  (Adelaide A. Pollard, 1862-1934)