time out!...

I'm in 'time out!...

Not THAT kind of time out, although I've certainly been there in the past too...

Just a blogging break.

When I began blogging nearly 2 years ago, I never imagined that I would be doing it for as long as I have...

It's a new season, so I'm taking some time to see what directions are ahead.

You know that feeling that 'change is in the air?'...

Meanwhile, I'll be following and keeping up with you as often as possible...

I'll be back, and I'll 'see you' then...

Dad preached...we went along for the ride!...#9

As we began our trips each summer, we had a long drive ahead. We left California and headed to many other states around the U.S... It was usually at least a 3 day drive to wherever dad would be preaching...

Along the journey, we had many nights in motels. Sometimes it was a real 'motel'... sometimes it was one of those little cabins that were clustered on all the major highways.

In the back seat, as the day got long...the 3 of us would be road weary and we began to chant together... 'if you want a ca-bin... you better hurry up!' Our voices chimed in and said it over and over, reminding our parents that we might miss out if we didn't find a place to spend the night soon.

Now we were all on the lookout for the next small town, to see what our overnight quarters would look like. From my perspective today, I wonder if my parents were as thrilled with some of those motels as we were...

Isn't it wonderful what a sense of adventure kids have, about most new things? In looking back, I have no memories of either of them ever grumbling that it wasn't a 5 star hotel!

That reminds me that one time my parents flew FIRST CLASS to the Orient as part of Bily Graham's team for an upcoming crusade. My mom had never flown FIRST CLASS... she told my dad..."NEVER will I fly anything but FIRST CLASS again, it's so wonderful"...

We laughed about that for years, as it turned out that was the ONLY time she ever flew FIRST CLASS!

So the motels along the way, while they may not have been FIRST CLASS, provided rest for the journey, and we were all together as we traveled along... I think a lot of those places are gone now, and if they are still around, the years have taken their toll.

I still see an old motel once in awhile and I'm immediately back there in that Ford Fairlane, feet hanging out the window, going down the road...

Welcome to Heaven!...

Yesterday, my Aunt (Tante) Maren, arrived peacefully in heaven, from her home in Tromso, Norway.

I just know that there was a crowd there to welcome her, right along side of jesus.

My mother would have been one of the first in line! (Maren was her younger sister.)

To me, Tante Maren was almost like a living hero, having survived concentration camp as a young woman. Her joy of life and those rosy pink cheeks just drew us all to her immediately.

I am so glad that we were able to be with her in Norway last summer when my neice was married. It was a treasure for each one of us. Here is that story, and here.

The other story I wrote about her was from her time spent in concentration camp, here.

I told my cousin in Norway that I can just picture my mother and Tante Maren today, and in my mind, they are both young Norwegian girls again... laughing and talking together... in a part of heaven that looks just like Tromso...

avocados...

When I was growing up in Southern California, we lived close to the foothills in Pasadena. Straight up the street at the end, lived some of our close friends. On their beautiful land was an avocado orchard.

For at least half of the year, we would have a brown sack full of fresh avocados delivered to our front porch several times a week. Every day after school I made a sandwich from those firm, fresh avocados.

To this day... I LOVE avocados! My favorite way to eat one is on fresh bread with mayonaise and a little salt, just sliced and enjoyed. I still have those sandwiches nearly every day during the spring and summer when they are so fresh and yummy! Add a handful of fresh berries and lunch is healthy and fun!

Just a side bar...

Avocados are not only delicious, they are so good for us. I love it that something I love to eat is also good for me, unlike a million things that aren't!

Avocados provide nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, potassium, Vitamin E, B-vitamins and folic acid. They also act as a "nutrient booster" by enabling the body to absorb more fat-soluble nutrients, such as alpha and beta-carotene and lutein, in foods that are eaten with the fruit.

I just finished my first avocado sandwich of the spring season, and it was yummy! Many more to follow....

Mighty music!...

As I listened to the steady beat of the drums during the worship music at our church last Sunday, it reminded me of another Sunday about a year earlier...

The sermon had to do with Martin Luther and lessons from The Reformation. It was excellent, but here's what really grabbed my attention...

At the end of Steve's sermon, about 30 young men lined up on the platform and began to sing "A Mighty Fortress is our God"...

No instruments, just their strong voices blending together and when their volume increased as they reached the finale, it was all you could do not to stand up and shout!

And here's what happened...

As the men gathered to sing, the back doors all along the lobby began to open and people just streamed in from everywhere. I thought some big tour buses had arrived!

Most of them were young people. They had left their sunday school classes early, having already heard these men sing in the early service... they all wanted to hear it again!

Many of the younger crowd in our churches weren't raised on the great hymns of the faith that I was. It really caught my heart... it was as though they couldn't get enough! I know there will be all kinds of music in heaven...

I KNOW that, and I love the worship songs too, but I also am sure there will be many of these old hymns of the faith that I grew up loving... and I'm sure there will be drums too...

Fickle feelings!....

Feelings are fickle!

Do you agree?

I have found myself on both sides of the 'feelings' thing, and I am learning not to trust either extreme.

If I am 'up' and have a burst of feeling God's presence, it's wonderful, but before the 'rooster crows 3 times'... I can be 'down' and everything looks discouraging.

I am struck by what His Word does NOT say about feelings!

It is all about faith, and not once do I find that our faith guarantees that we will always FEEL on top of things.

So what do we do when our feelings are the opposite of our faith?

WE STAND...

We stand, based on His Word, which tells us that we are to trust Him. Not trust Him and then we will FEEL good. We do have those times too, but I know that very often in my life, those feelings are not there.

Is God any less alive in me during those times? NO!

That is one of satan's lies, designed to pull us down because we aren't feeling victorious!

Would I rather FEEL His presence all the time? Yes, I would!

But He is no less God because of the way I feel...

What He says to me is...

"Be still and KNOW that I am God!"...

I am learning to boot satan right out the door, and sometimes I say it out loud... get OUT of here! (or worse...)

My standing as God's child is certain!

NOTHING else in this world is certain, we are seeing evidence of so much chaos all over the world, not to mention personal chaos in so many lives.

GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL... He is the same yesterday, today and forever!

My feelings come and go.... He never changes!

She's looking good...

My mom and dad used to chuckle as they grew older, at the comments they USED to hear, when they were young ...

"she is good looking!"

... and later those same people would say...

"She's looking good." Somewhere along the way, it became less about good looks and more about still being there!

I coud see the 'young me' in this picture, but it took awhile to see the 'old me'. Have you spotted her?

When I see someone I knew many years ago, I am still shocked at how old they look! At my dad's memorial service, our family saw an old friend my hubby and I knew when we were dating... my hubby said "I used to know your son!" We all had a good laugh, but isn't it true... when you are young, you think you will be young forever!

I find myself smiling at the same comments now... I still love to hear 'she's good looking', but I'm pretty sure I'm beginning to listen for the quiet comment in the background that says ... 'she's looking good'.

These are the years we are given, and making them count is more important than ever.

This verse comes to my mind a lot these days...

"Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Ps.90:12 NIV)

(optical illusion courtesy of Google)

Blue, but not down!...

When you live in Texas... Spring is filled with wildflowers that grow like weeds along the side of our highways...

This passage in Luke seems especially fitting in the words of The Message...

"Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don't fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?" (Luke 12:28 MSG)

This verse, along with the one that says He knows the numbers of the hairs on our heads... all remind me of how He KNOWS us, how valued we are, and how important we are to Him! Today is one of those days that I NEED that reminder... do you ever feel like that?...

Just look at those Texas Bluebonnets!

Patience and wisdom...

Patience

and

wisdom...

The dog in this picture definitely has both!

So often patience and wisdom seem to go hand in hand, don't they?

My initial reaction to things is not always the wisest...

I love to look at how Jesus walked the 33 years He lived on this earth. It was ALWAYS with wisdom, and I never get the sense that He was rushing and hurrying to get it all said and done...

His life and how He lived it IS our example!

I'm sure that this dog would much rather be eating what's in that bowl than standing and watching...

This is a good reminder that often it's best to procede with caution, especially when the outcome is still unclear!

"So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom." Ps.90:12 NKJV)

2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose and a mouth...

My dad used to say to our kids when they were little...

"Just think... every single person in the world has 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 nose and a mouth, and yet every one of us looks different. How do you think God did that??'...

It always got the kids thinking...

Who but our God could take 2 eyes, 2 ears, a nose and a mouth...

...and end up with millions of people, each one unique and hand created!

And that's just on the OUTSIDE! Think of how different we all are on the inside... our thinking, perception, gifts, personalities... what a HUGE God to have put us together, each different, unique and perfect, and in His image! I was created just according to His plan, so were you.

When I try my hand at an art project, and I draw people, which is not my gift... every single person looks the same! I always draw 2 eyes, 2 ears a nose and a mouth... and they always end up looking like clones of each other!

I am in awe of His individual stamp on each life, none of us share the same DNA...

... and yet many still don't believe. It would take more faith NOT to believe than to look at the miracle and order of creation and imagine it could be random.

God's creation reveals His loving heart in a million ways, and I am so thankful that He chose me to be one of them...