Sunday, February 28, 2010

Not an ordinary birthday...

After sharing about Corrie Ten Boom last week, it reminded me of another story from my past...

When my mother, who was born in Norway, married my dad, and moved to America, her family all still lived in Norway. During the war, Hitler moved troops into the part of Norway where they lived, she had no contact with her family as a young bride in America during those months...and one of her sisters, my Aunt Maren, was taken to a concentration camp after it was discovered that her family was active in the resistance movement, helping others.

I remember this story particularly, but it has taken on so much greater value as I've gotten older. My mother told us about My Aunt Maren, her youngest sister...


And as I was reading in Harold Sala's devotional book, "TODAY COUNTS", one of the daily readings was about my Aunt Maren, from her time spent in concentration camp...


"Maren would have starved in the camp but she had access to the garbage that came from the kitchen. She would steal potato peelings, hiding them until the matron who guarded her barracks was asleep."...

In the concentration camp, they scrimped and tried to share bits of food. When she returned to the barracks after working in the kitchens, she would 'fry' them in the tiny little heater, to share with her mother in law who was too weak and sick to go and eat the meager fare...

The starving women in the barracks had all cooked and baked in their own homes during happier days. In the camp, they would share with each other their recipes... cakes, cookies, roasts, and all the things they remembered that were denied them here. They shared in detail to help keep each others spirits up...

My aunt had a birthday during those days, and her friends in the barracks each took a tiny sheet of the toilet paper they had saved, wrote their favorite recipe, a recipe they dreamed of in that dark place... and put those thin sheets together and created a little book, and gave it to my aunt for her birthday. She will treasure it to her dying day. It still makes me cry to think of it...

And yet... Aunt Maren was never bitter. She knew, like Corrie Ten Boom said... "There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still"..

Living life with that level of faith is so much stronger than any words I know how to write. It challenges me and makes me want more...

more of knowing God...

more of taking Him at His word...

more of living in this kind of obedience...

more of faith that trusts Him completely...









Friday, February 26, 2010

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY...

Happy Anniver-
sary Tommy & Dedra...


We are so blessed that you are our son... it was God's huge blessing to all of us when you married Dedra!!...


... and last but not least, when Gage, Lainey & Crew became your family and ours!...




We love you TONS! Have a wonderful anniversary! You bless our lives daily...as God has blessed yours!...


















Tuesday, February 23, 2010

From the heart of Corrie Ten Boom....

I have shared on another blog that as a child, I came home from school one day and Corrie Ten Boom was sitting in our den having coffee with my mom and dad...

I didn't know much about her then, and much later, I read "The Hiding Place" the story of this Godly amazing woman who lived through so much during the war. Not only did she stand firm in her faith, but because of her faith, she soared above the circumstances of Hitler, war, concentration camp, etc., so when I read about her life, her words had such a strong impact, and I really listened.

When someone is in the midst of darkness, pain, and unimaginable horror all around them, and yet remains strong in their faith... you listen when they speak!

Listen to some of the things Corrie Ten Boom said from the heart of her lifetime of faith...


"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."


"Hold everything in your hands lightly, otherwise it hurts when God pries your fingers open."


"Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart."


"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."


"There is no panic in Heaven! God has no problems, only plans."


"It is not my ability, but my response to God’s ability, that counts."


“Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear."


"Don't bother to give God instructions; just report for duty."

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. If you look at God you'll be at rest."

".....joy runs deeper than despair."

"There are no 'if's' in God's world. And no places that are safer than other places. The center of His will is our only safety - let us pray that we may always know it!"

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God"...



Corrie Ten Boom knew God, and she knew He was enough... for every situation! What a glorious testimony of a lifetime of faith and a race that was run well.




Sunday, February 21, 2010

I love a thought provoking one liner!...

I love thought provoking lines with just a few words... words that stay in my mind and challenge me. There are so many 'one liners' from some of the great men and women of faith through the years...

Here are a few that I particularly love. I'm going to be sharing some others from time to time... words that both challenge and encourage, words from lives that ran the race well, and finished strong!... Here are a few to start off the week...

1. "If the Holy Spirit doesn't do it...there's nothing to it!" (my Dad)



2. "You are as holy as you want to be". (A.W.Tozer)



3. "A man is never taller than when he is on his knees!"


4. "Never doubt in the dark what God has taught you in the light"...














Thursday, February 18, 2010

What lead you to write your first blog??...

So many of you have had 'blog anniversaries lately... one year, 2 years and more... I thought back to my first blog... a complete accident!...

One day I was on the internet and wondered what a 'blog' was... I'd heard the word, and that was all I knew. So I did a search on blog, and it took me to 'start your own blog, free and easy'!.. I put in the bare essentials of information, and in just a couple of minutes, I was looking at my own blog! So naturally, I felt compelled to write something and see if it worked...


I thought I would put in a few things from time to time and save it for my grandkids... and quickly it became the thoughts and prayers and journey of my own heart...

What I didn't know, and couldn't have foreseen in 100 years, was how valuable and precious the new friendships formed here would become to me. The way God has used so many of you, to bless, challenge and encourage my own life. I love to be an encourager... it blesses me, and I want my blog to be a blessing to those who read it.


I was thinking of all of my blogging friends and thought of a bouquet of flowers, each one different and each one special...


There are days when my faith is challenged by what you have written, times when an email or comment left have encouraged my heart, and times of just being lifted up and blessed by what you have posted. There is a lot of 'iron sharpening iron' going on... There are new friends and new needs voiced by so many, that have become a part of my prayer life and it has been so rich to share these times with you. And often, your blogs are like a benediction at the end of the day... a bouquet in my life...

So... I'm curious... what lead you to start your own blog, and what does it mean to you???




P.S.... My husband just walked in and said "I think I'll write a blog... on how I lost my wife after all these years... to the internet!"...


Monday, February 15, 2010

Their Story...final chapter...

For the preceding chapters to this story, here is Chapter 1, and Chapter 2.

In this final chapter...

My mother is up in northern Norway, helping to manage her fathers general store in Tromso. An avid cross country skiier, she also took advtantage of the winter months to ski often. She began working with the young people in her church. All during this time, she was praying daily about her future. What did God want for her life? Where did He want her?
She also asked Him about marriage, reminding Him that way up there in the northern part of Norway... there was ' not a prospect in her town!"... She asked Him to guide her to the right choice of a life partner, and that if He didn't have marriage in mind, that He would make her satisfied and fulfilled without it. She never thought of marriage as the ultimate in life, but prayed for God's will to be clear.

She treasured the times up in that attic room where she dared to be completely herself and honest with God as she asked for His leading.

The next summer she was attending a youth conference way up north, and they were having a Bible study the day after they arrived. During the study, a side door opened and a man came in. She said she looked, and whistled softly to herself! He was young and VERY good looking and he had a beautiful head of hair! She whispered 'who is he'? to the girl next to her. She whispered back that he was a minister from America... My mother suddenly remembered her friend's letter and wondered if this could possibly be the same man she had written about. Then she said she did something she wouldn't recommend - she did not listen to the rest of the Bible study... instead, she was frantically trying to remember enough English to put together a sentence so she could ask him if he knew her friends... Later, they were duly introduced, and in stumbling English she asked. Sure enough, he smiled and said he had stayed in their home.

She told us that she said nothing right then, but just groaned inwardly and pronto! she fell 'head over heels' in love! She used to say 'if you don't believe in love at first sight, I am here to prove otherwise!".

Of course, this American preacher didn't even LOOK at her a second time. She tried every trick, but nothing worked. She said "not ONE TIME during that whole week did I get ANY encouragement". She almost despaired, thinking he probably had someone back in America.

It was a memorable week in more ways than one. God was doing a real work in the hearts of the young people gathered there. Many of them found the meaning of life as they came to Christ. The news of the conference began to spread, and people kept coming, some of them walking down the valley for up to 20 miles to be there. There were so many people that they ended up moving the services outside where they erected a platform and continued the meetings. And in the midst of all of it... my mother was in love!

When the closing day came, and everyone began to leave, she was waiting in line to say her goodbyes to the leaders. She wondered if she would ever see the American preacher again... was he going to leave without saying ANYTHING? Then, as he came closer and it was her turn, he did say something. Smiling... he shook her hand and said "God bless you"... She said her heart sank down into her shoes!

As soon as the boat with all of the speakers had left, she headed straight up to the 'prophets chamber' and got on her knees and started to REALLY pray! She could hear the whistle of the boat taking him far away...The direction of her prayers right then was not for the missionaries in Africa... she was praying according to her need! She told God... "I am in love up over both of my ears and there isn't anything I can do about it. If you see that this is good, lead us together again... or take the love out of my heart."... She felt that was a 'fair prayer'.

SHE TOLD NO ONE... but she spoke to God about it every day, many times. The love stayed, so she kept on praying!

Three months later, at the end of October, after the first frost had covered the ground, a friend of hers asked her one day... "Do you remember the minister from America?" Guess what she said!... Then her friend said, 'I've heard he is coming back again on another preaching trip'.... And RIGHT THEN... my mother KNEW with a deep inward assurance that God had heard her prayer and was going to bring them together!!

Sure enough! When my father returned to Tromso, he and my mother met again and eventually took that 'unforgettable walk'... he told her that he had felt the same about her, right from the start! (She said later that 'he sure didn't act like it!)... But he was afraid of getting out of God's will and into what he called 'girl trouble'. He had prayed basically the same prayer as his ship left Norway 3 months earlier, (she said his was no doubt in much better words than hers!)...

And although their meeting and love story ends with this chapter, it really was just the beginning. They were married in Tromso, and moved to America immediately, and their love and their life and their ministry together continued for 65 years... they are both in heaven now, but oh. my. goodness... what they have left for us as their 3 children, continues in us and in our children and grandchildren. ... there are 100's of stories I could tell... of a life lived by faith, the whole way...(I mean the kind of faith that has no salary, only trusts in God to provide... and He did, the whole way!)...


I'll add a story from 'within' their story, from time to time...

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Happy Valentine's Day...from me to you!...


US










OURS




































THEIRS... (and ours!)...
"as for me and my house, we will serve the lord."...

...and the blessings continue...




HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!...




I'm linking up at Then Sings My Soul Saturday with this Twila Paris song, 'How Beautiful". They sang this song at one of our children's weddings, and I've always loved it. Click over for some other great music for this Valentine weekend!







Tuesday, February 9, 2010

valentines... or not!....

I know, I know... this doesn't apply to any of us, but in thinking about Valentine's Day, I saw these and got a chuckle out of them... Sometimes a little humor is a good teacher too!





Sunday, February 7, 2010

Open 24-7....

OPEN
24-7...


always available...


night or day....



it's never 'after hours' ....



the lights are always on...




if we need to talk to Him, He's ALWAYS AVAILABLE...
24-7...



and not only that,



...but He is always wide awake and hears our prayers, 9 a.m. or 3 a.m... And many times, that's exactly what I need to know, when it's 3 a.m. , and I'm wide awake and needing to talk to Him...



One of my all time favorites is Heb.13:5 (in The Amplified)...



"For He (God) Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. (I will) not, (I will) not, (I will) not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake nor let (you) down, (relax My hold on you.)....Assuredly not!"He will never leave us or forsake us...



I think that just about covers it all, for today... and every day (and night!)


Thursday, February 4, 2010

Their story... Chapter 2....

For the story from the beginning, here is chapter 1...

Chapter 2 of their story begins with my mother, now a young woman and living in Oslo, Norway, far south of her childhood home of Tromso, and in training to become a nurse...


During this time, a great revival was breaking out in Norway and people were coming from miles away to be a part of the outpouring of God in this country. My mother knew all about it, and wasn't a christian yet...


Her father phoned her and suggested she go and see what was happening in these meetings. (He was a christian). She went one night out of courtesy to him, and couldn't get close to the doors there was such a huge crowd. But even from down the road, she could hear the singing and said she felt like running away fast! She sensed that something was different here.... So she reported to her dad and hoped that would be the end of it. No... he phoned her again and said he had talked to a good friend who was one of the organizers of these meetings, and he had promised to get her in if she would come one more time, which of course, she did...


She said when they got inside the front door, the singing of the thousands of people gathered there absolutely overwhelmed her. She had never heard people sing like that and she just wanted to get out of there! Instead... her father's friend lead her right down to the front where they found a spare seat! God had already begun to prepare her heart for what was to come...


She left when the service ended, and went back to her dorm room and as she tried to sleep, she began to weep and was so full of fear that she was shaking. She said that even her bed was shaking. She was under deep conviction and she knew she had to do something. Finally, she told her room mate ( who was a christian) that she had to pray. They got on their knees, (Christina, her room mate told her later she had been praying all night for my mother...and my mother invited Jesus into her heart and her life... just like ours, was never the same again. She was filled with peace and a joy she had never experienced.


She immediately phoned her father who was way up in northern Norway and through her tears of joy told him, "I've done the same as my sister" ( her sister had been saved earlier.. Her dad said "Tell me one more time, Reidun, tell me one more time. So she bawled again and told him one more time.....


Her heart was changed that night, dramatically and instantly. One of the first things she began to notice was that 'the old and sour nurses didn't seem so old and sour anymore'... My mother felt a kindness toward them and she couldn't stop telling people what had happened. She said many of them just looked at her and rolled their eyes, as if to say 'oh no, another one who's gotten religion'... The whole country was talking about this revival. The evangelist's name was Frank Mangs. But, his name wasn't important, it was what God was doing that was different! People were ignoring the clock and were completely caught up in listening and wanting to obey God... These were not 'normal' services. When real revival comes, there is a desire for hearts to get right with God no matter what it takes. Thousands were saved during these great revival meetings that went on for months in Norway.

... after she completed nurses training, my mother went back home to Tromso, to help manage her father's general store in their town...

Tromso is built on a tree covered island, 70 degrees north of the arctic circle, on the coast line of Norway, with snow capped mountains which were the perfect challenge for skiers and climbers. Tromso is so far north that for 2 months of every year, they do not see the sun, so there are 2 months of 'darkness' in the winter, and then 2 months of sun that shines day and night in the summer. They call is 'the land of the midnight sun". During the dark months ('Morketiden') it could also be beautiful, with the northern lights, 'Aurora Borealis' that lit up the black sky. During these times, they often went skiing even during the night time, and the full moon added beauty to the snow white landscape. In Norway, they all ski... sometimes before they can walk... and my mother was a bronze medal winner in cross country skiing during the Norwegian Olympics, several times.

Their family home had a third floor, which they had named 'the prophet's chamber', since so many visiting ministers would stay there when they preached in her town. My mother began to go to that room every day, to read her Bible and pray. Her desire to know God was deep and growing. Her interests had changed, and she had a new joy and peace, and a love for the Lord that changed everything for her.


Those days in that third floor room, lead her to her life's verse: Matthew 6:6 "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly". (KJV)


She began to be challenged by God's commands as well as His promises.



... One day, shortly after arriving home, she had a letter from a friend in Oslo who wrote..."If you had been here now, you would have lost your heart"... and she went on to write about "a young American preacher' whom the Lord had used with such great blessing, and who had stayed in their family home. My mother quickly wrote back to her friend telling her how glad she was that she wasn't there, so she didn't have to 'lose her heart'. Furthermore, she added... she wasn't interested in any preacher. She had met so many preachers in their home, and she said "they were all poor, and they all wore such baggy pants"...



To be continued... (I promise, the next chapter won't be this long!)...

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A few random thoughts ...

Sometimes I am guilty of too
much
processing
or
thinking...

I've found that...


Too much
instro-
spection
can become a slippery
slope...


I want my thinking to line up with His thinking, so...For every look around us, the last look should be to Jesus...

Keep it vertical! (One of my dad's one-liners)... always looking up!

...and here's what God says HE will do when we do that..."Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee"...

The quicker I get to the Lord with EVERYTHING... the better off I am. I end up there anyway... and the process is much less difficult when I go to Him FIRST!

That's it.... just random thoughts today...