My mother's cabin...

When my mother was born in Tromso, Norway, it was very common for families to have a 'summer cabin'. Her family did, and they all enjoyed it for many years.

When she met and married my dad, and came to America, she had a dream of having their own cabin. Money was tight, and it would have to be God's provision if it happened.

Her persistence in praying that cabin into being was unlimited.
She prayed for many many years. Her dream finally came true. They were able to build a small cabin up in Salem, Oregon, where my sister lives. The Pacific Northwest always reminded her of Norway, and she loved it.

The cabin was Norwegian in every way except the grass, which did NOT grow on the roof, as hers had in Norway.The inside was nothing less than charming. The cabin was painted red, and the inside was decorated in red, yellow and blue... so Scandinavian. They had a little red-orange fireplace over in one corner, it warmed the whole cabin in the winter months.

Her dream came about because she persisted in praying it through. She always said 'if God is not in it, then I don't want it, but if He does want me to have it, I trust He will do it.'...

He did!

For years our whole family went to 'the cabin' in Oregon, and had incredible fun year after year.

What I'm thinking of today, is her persistence in prayer, the simple prayer of her heart, and the willingness for God's answer. She kept praying, and if she didn't see that her prayer was wrong... she persisted!

A lesson I carry with me to this very day.

I don't want to be guilty of giving up on the prayers and dreams of my heart unless God says no, so I am persisting in prayer for the answers of my own heart prayers.

You can too.


Photo courtesy of Google, from Norway... not my mother's cabin, but looks just like it!

Vacations...

It's in the air... those final days of summer coming to a close, and the beginning of the school year again.

I used to measure our years when our 3 kids were growing up, by vacations, especially summer, and then school starting after September 1.

It comes sooner these days, many of our kids starting in August, in the middle of the heat in Texas.

Summer vacation used to signal a letting down on all the activities and schedules. We all felt it. It was a time to relax a little, and enjoy the leisure mornings of no alarm clock and lunches still to be made, as well as homework to be turned in. Time for swimming, playtime, and even an occasional family trip.

And then, every summer... by the middle of August, parents were more than ready for a schedule again! All the projects we thought we would get done during the summmer months, had now piled up, and very little of it ever got finished. (On that note, the albums for each child are still in bins in the garage! Now they are working on their own kids albums...)

We had gotten pretty lax and probably needed it, both parents and kids.

That's the way it is... as it was with our family, and probably yours. We go on full steam for a long time, and then we need a break. I sure do. Even if it's just for a few days to go and visit the kids, or plan something special and different, a day trip or an overnight for a few days. That break seems to charge my batteries again.

Here's how Jesus did it...

He went aside and prayed, took time alone with His Father, and re-charged his own batteries. He knew with clear focus exactly what He needed.

In every phase of life, spiritual, physical, family, and just my own schedule, I need to be re-charged. Oh how I long to take Jesus and His example to heart, and make my 'alone time', to be filled with more of Him, not merely filled up with the things of life that quickly grab our attention and fill our days so easily.

I need my re-charging to be filled up with His strength, strength for each new day, enthusiasm for walking the journey of faith that we are called to...

Do you feel the same need?

Comfortable...

Occasionally a word makes me stop and mull. Today it is COMFORTABLE. Am I?? Are you??

What brought it to mind this morning was a song I was listening to on the radio... "All I know is I'm not home yet, this is not where I belong".

Sometimes I know that I fall easily into being far too comfortable in this world. I'm talking about the things around us that we get so used to seeing and hearing, that used to make us uncomfortable as Christians. It should raise a red flag when that happens. It's what I think of as the numbing of our hearts and minds. There's an awful lot around us that is labeled 'tolerable', things that should not be tolerable.

My standard as God's child should both question and be concerned at some of these things. It seems today that WE are the ones who are made to feel odd and extreme, when we don't go with the flow of what is 'in' and 'acceptable'.

Does that mean I am not to enjoy this world I live in? Not at all! I am a lover of life, God gave it to me. He created all things for us to enjoy. But there are limits, just as there were for Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit. When the things that used to make me squirm don't do it anymore... it's time for a heart check!

It could be as simple as a book or a movie, or a joke told in front of a crowd that laughs when we know it's not really the right kind of funny. Or it could be much bigger, the very values and truths that God has taught us in His Word. They are not always popular in today's world, as you know.

I've blogged about other words... balance, and mediocrity, so I think this is a message that God means for me to walk in and share. You know how He does those kinds of things in our lives, right? The way we GET certain truths, that nudge us in our spirit, that says stop, or stand up, or speak a word.

So... COMFORTABLE can be just fine, God's way. But it can also be a yellow caution sign that says 'am I too comfortable' with things that I should be squirming over?

I love the hammock, the picture takes me right to the beach, listening to the waves in the background.

It also tends to make me fall asleep.

Too much time in the hammock can lull me right into being too comfortable. There is a time for comfortable, and a time to roll right off of the hammock and get back to it!

H.D.A....

Go back with me a few (!) years to my 10th grade school year. I went to a private christian school all the way across the country from where we lived, by train, to Florida..

Most of my classmates were preachers kids or missionaries kids... PK's and MK's. I was a PK...

This school had been started some years before by the DuBose family, a staunch old line Presbyterian family, who purchased the estate on the lake. It had at one time been a beautiful and private school for girls.

The 3 kids in my family each spent at least one year at Hampden BuBose Academy.

It was a strict school!

It also was a year of many special memories, fun, growth, homesickness and so much more. I spent the Christmas vacation there, as there was no money to fly home. Christmas at H.D.A. was magical. We went by busloads into Orlando, and caroled for nursing homes and churches. One of the stores in Orlando gave a gift of a complete outfit for each student who stayed at the school during Christmas. The boxes under the tree were huge, and it took forever to open everything. We were all so excited! The kitchen preparations were absolutely a ball! We hand scalloped each orange with fluted edges to hold the fresh fruit salad. Pies by the dozens were put together, and turkeys stuffed and roasted, all by the students and faculty. We laughed and sang our way through Christmas vacation!

On Saturday nights, the whole student body hiked up the trail to our campfire. We played games and had more rounds of singing, smores, hot dogs and burgers. It's where I learned to love cole slaw on a hot dog.

Every day we had chapel. The speakers who came by through the year were amazing. Billy Graham's daughter GiGi was my sister's roomate while she was there, and the best speakers in the world were guests at our chapel services. I know I shared that Elizabeth Elliott's younger brother was a senior during my time there, and it was that year that Elizabeth's husband Jim, was murdered by the Auca Indians. I still remember getting the news in chapel that day.

Long story short... the thing that caught my attention today, was this real estate video on You Tube, which the alumni email included this week.

This was my 'dorm'... it has been remodeled to some extent, but the basics are the same. It is now for sale, it still makes me feel like a 10th grader as I view the pictures and reccall the memories of those days.

If I had a 'few million' extra dollars... wouldn't it be fun to buy this place!

On that very lake in the background, one of my good friends water skiied right up and over the back of a crocodile. We swam there every day and never saw another one, but they have it on video and it actually happened.

On Sunday, after our church services on campus, families of local students came and we ate chicken ala something on the sloping lawns that fronted the lake. The little flying gnats were so common in Florida, that we all poured big amounts of black pepper on our chicken so we couldn't tell which kind of protein we were eating!

We sang at H.D.A., EVERYONE sang, in chapel, in concerts, and all over the grounds as we worked and did gardening, cooking, serving food, etc. I have never before or since heard such singing. The roof almost came off during chapel worship. We did an Easter sunrise cantata right on the shores of our lake for all of the surrounding communities to attend. It always ended with The Hallelujah Chorus.

My thoughts are drifting back to Zellwood, Florida this afternoon, and I've enjoyed remembering...

Chicken never tasted so good!...

It's 104 degrees and I just returned from Chick fil-a at 3 in the afternoon. The line at our local drive through was about 4 blocks long.

I don't usually eat fried chicken, but today, it tastes divine! I almost got choked up when I saw the young and the old, streaming through the doors in support of marriage the way God designed it to be. The manager said it had been this way all day and that this was actually a slow time compared to the rest of the day!

Honestly, I think it has given good decent Americans an opportunity to stand up and say... enough! Don't tell us to change God's design, we are NOT in agreement. I'm not usually a soap box preacher, but today I eat my chicken, and I believe it is with God's blessing! :)

Gold, silver & bronze - share your own...

I love this idea which Janette shared on her blog today. It is found at MY PLACE TO YOURS, where Susan's idea is to share 3 blogs that were among favorites of your own postings, some that meant a lot to you as you wrote them.

So I am jumping in with 3 of my own...

Bronze... God thought enough of me to think me up!

Silver... I saw my name in my mother's prayer journal...

Gold... Not an ordinary birthday...

Take a few minutes to visit and read some of the blogs. It's our own little Olympic celebration, even if there are no medals!

The week that wasn't...

This past week has come and gone, but I can barely remember all the details...

I started out by going to see Gracie, and it was beyond special!! The days were cut short by a phone call... our son in law thought he was going to the doctor for indigestion or acid reflux... instead, he was directed to a quick appointment with a cardiologist and the next day had open heart surgery, 4 bypasses.

I've been back and forth, staying with our 3 granddaughters while he and our daughter have been in the hospital. So many thoughts...

1. The grace of God that lead him to the right doctor BEFORE a heart attack or stroke, which he could well have had.

2. His age, he is so young to be having this serious heart issue to deal with.

3. His age, BECAUSE he is so young, a few days after 4 bypasses, he is already at home and doing just fine.

4. The church body that have surrounded them in the hospital is more than a blessing, it is amazing! Not to mention that their refrig is FULL!

5. The reminder to all of us, life is short, and on any given day, who knows but God, what may happen.

6. The prayer chains that were formed for Philip immediately, have been strong and incredible, and God has heard those prayers, and He is blessing this whole situation.

7. Because our son in law is a fit, healthy, determined, focused and strong guy... his healing is going to amaze us all.

8. A precious time for mimi and her 3 beautiful granddaughters! They are absolutely wonderful. We had a 'family meeting' and the insight and comments they shared were incredible.

9. A heart of thanksgiving that ' all our children have been taught of the Lord, and have taught their own children, and great is the peace of our children." And even more... great is the peace of their parents and grandparents!

So... all is well, and here I am, back home again, hubby glad to see me, and all the normal activities and work are still waiting for me! :)

Gifts...

I remember when I was growing up and I wondered what on earth my spiritual gift or gifts might be. I knew what my parents gifts were, but was much less sure about any that I might have.

I know now what gifts God has given me. I also know what my gifts are not. I am not a teacher or a speaker or a singer.

The gift that I am certain God has given me is the gift of encouragement. How do I know that?

I know it because encouraging others is as natural as breathing to me. I also realize that I have done nothing to deserve this gift, it's simply what God designed me to be and to do. The spiritual gifts that God give us are woven into our lives. When He created me, He knew I was to be an encourager.

Another thing about gifts is... when we are using our gifts from God, WE are blessed. We know He is using us, and it brings real joy. That's how it is with His gifts... they are meant to be used for His glory, and when they are, it helps someone else, but what it does for us is just as important.

When God creates the gift, it always blesses both the person it is used for, and the user.

These days, I am asking Him to show me new ways and more ways to let His gifts in me be used for His purposes. I know there is more that He means for me to do.

God's gifts are free, they are also extremely valuable, and His gifts were designed to be given away, over and over. His gifts are the real meaning of the 'gift that keeps on giving'!

Summer reflections #3...'forward'...

“Unless you move, the place where you are is the place where you will always be”...
(Ashleigh Brilliant)

I love this quote!

Sometimes i just get stuck!

I think about moving forward, and I even know what I SHOULD do to move forward, but I often just stay where I am...

There are times when moving forward is not the best choice, and usually I know that too. But when I KNOW WHAT TO DO AND DON"T DO IT... that's the kind of forward progress that I'm talking about...

I am so taken lately by how fast life is going... the kids are getting older, so are the grandkids... and SO AM I! This one life is IT for each one of us! I don't want to waste ANY of my days... my tomorrow is uncertain... but I DO have today!

I'm intentionally taking the steps to NOT stay where I am in the places of my life where I've been stuck!

There is a lightening of the load, mentally, emotionally & spiritually... when I am DOING WHAT I KNOW TO DO...

I've quoted this verse before, and it applies every day...

"My counsel for you is simple and straightforward: Just go ahead with what you've been given. You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him. You're deeply rooted in him. You're well constructed upon him. You know your way around the faith. Now do what you've been taught. School's out; quit studying the subject and start living it! And let your living spill over into thanksgiving." (Col.2:6,7 MSG)

Forward... here I go!

Move that mountain!...

I wonder how many of you have a mountain in the scenery of your life, a mountain that was not erected by God, and one that blocks the road of your journey?

I do.

Do you meet your mountain head on, or do you go around it?

I am in the process of meeting a big mountain in my life, and I am moving forward into it and through it. This is not a pat myself on the back statement. Far from it. This particular mountain has been on my horizon for such a long time that you would think it's become permanent.

It has NOT become permanent.

That mountain wasn't blocking my road when I was born... it was self erected, a shovel full at a time. It will also come down a shovel full at a time.

Here's the part about changing the landscape of our lives that gets hard. I've become so good at skirting around it, or starting to chip my way through it, and then throwing down my chisel and hammer as it got hard, and forgetting that I am to 'be not weary in well doing, for in due time, you will reap, if you faint not'... that the mountain itself has become less of a problem than the one who is supposed to be chipping her way through it... me.

I've debated with myself over whether this is a sin issue or a 'less than what God wants for me' issue, or are both of those the same??

It's not one of those absolute right or wrong issues where there is no question. Instead, it's become an issue because I never moved ahead and handled it, instead I always went around it.

It has definitely been a long time issue in my life, up and down, back and forth. Yours may be something completely different.

This much I have already found as I've forged ahead.

Like Oswald Smith said... 'the minute you obey, you already know more than you did.' More about discipline, more about myself and more about God.

Perhaps the bottom line in these struggles through our mountains is that the mountain we have allowed to stand in the middle of our road, is making sure that we live with good, but not best as we journey along.

Best says that mountain is in the way, it is holding up the best in your life, and going around it doesn't remove it, it only postpones the decision and hinders forward progress.

So this summer, with my small chisel and shovel, I am steadily chipping away.

All of the chipping is observed and strengthened by the steady hands of the God who never placed that mountain there in the first place.

I'm off to get my shovel!



P.S... Hint: yo yo