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THey came in the door kicking off their shoes and immediately, the conversation was in full gear here on Tuesday night. As each one of them came in, I silently thanked God. 16 GIRLS walked through my door, each one grinning, some bearing goodies or soft drinks, but almost all of them carrying their "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" books that we are going through together for the next 8 or so weeks.
16 GIRLS graced my humble home this week and their voices still echo within these walls. They are so full of life, joy in the moment, questions, giggles, laughter and many whispered prayer requests in the ear of this older woman who feels so honored to have them in her life. They bring great joy to me and they teach me more than they shall ever know.
As I look around the circle of beautiful faces, I wonder where God will take them, how HE will use them and how they will serve Him one day. I wonder how many will follow His call on their lives and how many will choose to direct their own path. I wonder who will choose to do whatever they want to do and possibly turn away from God. As much as I would pray that won't happen, I know that more than likely it will. After working with youth some 16 or so years now, I've seen more run from God than I like to think about. I know that not all will choose to follow Him and deep in my heart, I already ache for them. I study their faces and silently pray for a hunger for Jesus to begin to flourish deep within their hearts.
I pray they won't make the same mistakes I have made. I pray they won't have to learn the hard way how faithful our God is. They are young, they have so much to give and so much to learn.
16 GIRLS God......You know their names, You know their hearts, the hard parts and the soft parts. Move in their lives Lord, move.
I rise to the sound of twittering birds outside my window and I give Him quick thanks.
Cottage cheese eaten on the run for breakfast and I give Him thanks.
Reaching for cleaning supplies as I hurry through cleaning the house and I give Him thanks for the means to buy the products I am using.
Over a delicious chicken sandwich and chips, I give Him thanks for His provision. I am acutely aware that there are millions who are hungry, as I enjoy the feeling of fullness.
As I flip the switch to begin the process of washing clothes, I give Him thanks that we are able to pay our electric bill and all the luxuries electricity affords us.
The sound of childrens' voices pierces the lingering quiet and I am immediately reminded of the blessings my children have given me.......GRANDCHILDREN. In the door they come after school, telling stories, and hungry, as always. I give Him thanks that they are such a huge part of my life.
As I answer the ringing phone, on the other end, is the sound of Darrel's voice. He's away for a few days and he calls to remind me he loves and misses me already. I give Him thanks for putting him in my path some 40 years ago and bringing us so far over the years.
As the evening begins winding down and I sit here alone, my thoughts run back over the many things in life that I have to be thankful for and I have merely scratched the surface. The kind favor of a King who came for me.....who lavishes so much more on me that I could ever be deserving of....the love that He rains down on me.
Today, I have raised HUMBLE OFFERINGS OF THANKS as I have moved through my day. He is worthy of so much more and yet, He receives my verbal thanks as sweet sound to His ear.......offerings of praise.
I love you Lord.....thank You for all You have provided. I am aware of Your gifts and I am not worthy.
I was only 18 when Darrel and I married. He was 17. Gosh, can that be true? Could we really have gotten married THAT young? Yep....we sure did.
Foolish????? I'd have to say yes. ALL the odds were against us and I do mean ALL. But somehow, we've made it 38 YEARS now....39 on June 29. Through much struggle AND growth, we've lived and loved 38 YEARS as one.
When I look back over the past 38 YEARS, I honestly have to wonder how we made it those first 8 years before we knew Christ. Now THAT, is a miracle for sure.
Don't really know why I'm writing this post, just been thinking a lot lately about all the years we've spent together, where we came from and what we've come through. Heartaches and disappointments have been many but so have joys and happiness. We've worked through our differences, talked through our finances, discussed our opinions and found common ground through it all through Christ. We've been tremendously blessed with 3 children and 16 grandchildren. We've owned 2 homes. We've learned more about each other AFTER giving our lives to Christ than we ever knew, or cared to know about each other, before Christ.
We have been blessed by God and I am so thankful. 38 YEARS have come and gone and I thank God for everything He has given us, for the wisdom He has imparted because we asked for it and the love He has lavished on us all these years. He has knit us together and I am so grateful.
One of the things I have always abhorred, is PEER PRESSURE. I suppose there are times that it can be a good thing, but for the most part, PEER PRESSURE will change who you are IF you fall into it and not usually for the good.
Just moments ago, my 9 year old granddaughter was commenting on FB that she was going to dress up for Book Character day tomorrow at school. She was pretty quickly told by her little friends that "they weren't that type of person" and they weren't gonna do it. They thought it wasn't cool and they were too old for it!
I'm telling you, I about came through the screen of my laptop! How sad it is that 9 year old little girls are already learning that to "be cool" they cannot do things like dress up as a book character at school! It really bothers me that the pressure to conform to others standards is already being forced down her throat at such a young age. Moments after Yaya got her two cents in and told my granddaughter NOT to listen to those friends and that they were just "little girls" NOT grown women, one of the "little girls" deleted her post! My granddaughter said she guessed she was embarrased by what she said.
PEER PRESSURE is stealing away our children and grandchildren and IF we choose NOT to encourage them in their God given gifts, encourage them in the Word, encourage them to be who GOD has made them to be and encourage them NOT to fall into negative PEER PRESSURE, we will loose them to the world.
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2
Lately, I've been doing a lot of THINKING. I suppose I'm always doing a lot of THINKING, but the THINKING I've been doing lately has been on the more serious note.
Praying for others is not new to me. I count it an honor and great privilege to pray for others. But the other day while in prayer, I felt more of an overwhelming sense of heaviness than ever before. Not just for those I was praying for, but for God Himself.
I began thinking about the times that my own children have broken my heart, disappointed me, hurt me by their actions or decisions and all of a sudden, my own selfish thoughts turned to how God's heart must feel when His "billions" of children daily hurt Him. I began crying out and felt tremendous empathy, sadness and heaviness at how God the Father must grieve constantly over our actions and decisions. He has poured His love into us and yet so many deny Him, disappoint Him and live just as WE please instead of what would please Him.
THINKING about the billions who have grieved His heart has broken mine.
Maybe God is doing a new work in me.......I'm still THINKING about it all.
Many thanks to those of you who are praying for my sister Lou. Words cannot express my gratefulness.
Thought I would update the latest on her cancer, treatments and health.
She began experiencing some pretty severe headaches from the radiation to her head. She was started on a medication for the headaches to help relieve the pain and another to help reduce the swelling. Both have helped. She is experiencing fatigue and weakness as well as some hair loss on the left side of her head. The daily treatments will continue until February 17th, at which time she will have a 3 week break. During that time, I am planning on going up for another visit with her. At the end of the 3 weeks, she will go through MRI's and CT's to determine the effects of the treatments. After determining that, a new plan of attack on the cancer will be decided upon by the doctors.
Thank you all for lifting her to the throne. I continue to give Him glory for all that He is doing and is going to do. To HIM be all glory, honor and praise.
There's a stirring deep within me.....
A rumbling....a groaning, if you will.
It's as though the party is about to start...
The guests are being invited and the excitement...
Is building.
The invitations are going out....
The table is being set....
The preparations have been long in coming...
Will you come and enjoy His presence?
HE'S ON THE MOVE...
We must prepare our homes, our lives...
Our hearts.
Will you come and partake??
He will meet us there.....He will be waiting....
HE'S ON THE MOVE....
It's time for us to respond.
If you travel into the Maluti Mountains of Lesotho, you might find Dr. P, an IMB missionary, working in clinics in the mountains of South Africa, sharing not only his knowledge of health care but of the Gospel.
All over the world, this scenario repeats itself as servants of God are called into missionary work and give all to share the love of Jesus with the thousands of unreached people groups across this globe.
FOR YOU and FOR YOU and FOR YOU.....Jesus Christ paid the ultimate cost with His life. Today has been one of those days that I have been overwhelmed considering the price that our missionaries make and the price that HAD to be paid by Him, not only for me, but for those that He loves in the Maluti Mountains too. The spreading of the Gospel MUST be carried by us. It is our duty and "should be" our joy.
Let us remember to pray for our missionaries across our world, who for the sake of the call, have given all to share Jesus.
Let us remember Dr. P. and the thousands others just like him, George & Kara, Chris & Katie, Jason & Gracie, April F., Shane S. leaving soon, and all the other missionaries who have forsaken self. Their number 1 goal in life is no longer what new car to buy, what color to paint their house or where to go out for dinner. Their number 1 priority is Jesus.
Father, protect our missionaries who simply seek to shine forth Your light. Provide their needs, protect them, comfort them, give them courage in the darkest of nights. May Your name be praised to the heavens and the glory be given all to You.
Lately, this picture explains perfectly how I've been feeling. It seems like there is an insurmountable list of problems, almost like a BALL AND CHAIN of health issues, relationship stuff, LOST people, disappointment in myself, sadness etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. everywhere I look.......and I am simply overwhelmed. Maybe cause it's just that I'm finally pressing in praying more for others than ever before and I'm more aware of it all. I don't know. Maybe it's just cause I'm so selfish. I just don't know.
My flesh screams out that I want to run from it all, I'm so weary of all the battles. But I know that I cannot. To give in and give up is the evil ones' desire for my life and I will not allow the battle to be won by him. But I admit, this weight of burden is so heavy and so difficult to carry.
Once again this morning, I take it to Him, the Giver of all good things, the Healer of my mind and body, the Peacemaker, the One who calms all storms and I long to hear Him gently whisper in my ear.....
"And He arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still And the wind ceased and there was a great calm."
Mark 4:39
The mere sound of HIS voice, calmed the angry waves. The toiling stopped, the spray was no longer on their faces and the wind ceased its' howling........ALL at the sound of His voice.
Father, I need to hear the sound of Your voice this morning....I need there to be peace. The weight is so heavy for me to bear.
It may sound strange, but especially in winter time, I miss my GRANDMA'S HANDS.
You see, in the winter season, GRANDMA'S HANDS were constantly helping me bundle up, one layer after another, to go out into the snow. Gently and lovingly, Grandma would make sure that each layer of warmth was "just enough" and that I would be warm once outside.
Grandma would make me stand on a clear hallway plastic liner that was just inside the door when the process would begin. First came the undershirt, then the long sleeved shirt of her choosing, then a sweater, then the first layer of socks followed by the wool socks. Then, on came some sort of long underwear type of thing, then your pants, then your leggings. Next layer was the face mask, then your winter coat, hood and all. Once the coat was on, she'd pull your hood up. THEN, she'd reach up into the sleeves of your coat and pull out the little elastic piece that had a clip on the end that was attached to your mittens! (This way, your mittens were always attached and you didn't loose them PLUS they'd stay tucked into your sleeves!) Next, she sweetly wrapped my scarf around the outside of my hood and neck so that my head could barely move! If you've ever seen the movie, "Christmas Story" then you know what I looded like! I could barely move by this point but who cared, snowballs fights, ice skating, sledding, riding the coaster and making snow angels was just outside the door, waiting for me. Then finally, she'd kiss me on the forehead, tell me to be careful and to come back when I was wet!!!
Yep, once you'd stayed out long enough and got packed down with snow, you'd have to come inside, stand on the plastic liner, be stripped down by GRANDMA'S HANDS and start the process all over again with another whole set of dry clothes from the bottom up!!!
The winter time makes me miss my precious grandmother's hands. She was a huge part of my life, as she lived with us all my growing up years until I was 13. SHE comforted me, watched over me, cooked for me and guided me when my mom was working during the day. I shall never forget her and I'm sure that I have modeled my own grandmothering skills after her. She was a constant in my life, always there, always teaching me and loving me in her quiet way. This picture of her was taken some 59 or so years ago, before I was born and is of her my sister Pat.
It's cold outside and I miss GRANDMA'S HANDS tonight.
