I can hear my dad right now. He would come into a noise filled room with the 3 of us kids hollering about one thing or another, and very quietly he would say...
"Study to be quiet."
And then he gently closed the door, and went back to his office.
I don't think I ever paid much attention to actually studying to be quiet. We probably muffled our giggles since we were the culprits, and lowered the whole tone of the noise for at least a little while, but study to be quiet?? No, I did not.
study... contemplate, consider, deliberate, examine.
He was trying to get us to think about the word and what it means... study on it, improve in this area, practice it...
be quieter!
I think dad thought that if we at least paused and gave it an honest look, maybe we would all shush! Being quiet takes an effort, a study, a choice.
I sure get it now!
There are days when I realize that so many things I didn't think about back then, I LIVE by now!
Is that wisdom, or simply old age?
Or maybe it's the wisdom that COMES with old age.
('Old age' being a relative term, not necessarily applying to me!) ... :)
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.."In quietness and confidence shall be your strength, and ye would not"...
This is FAITH... our latest precious little one, born last Monday.
I've been there all week and she and GRACIE are happily bonding as new sisters!...
Remember Gracie was the little miracle baby, and now Faithie is the second miracle!
There are so many simple but powerful stories in God's Word. The simple stories hold my attention, they have through the years. These stories have the power to change our lives when we see their truth.
The disciples in the small boat, in the midst of the storm. Peter spots Jesus coming toward them and gets right out of that boat and walks on the water, his eyes riveted on Jesus. Then all of a sudden he remembers that the waves are crashing and the storm is raging, he panics, and his fear causes him to look away from Jesus... to the storm, and immediately he begins to sink.
Peter and I might be related...
I have identified with his actions and reactions many times in the Bible. I think 'oh no', as he begins to sink, but isn't it the same for us?
We are in the middle of one of life's storms, and praying our hearts out to make it through, to survive, and then Jesus shows up! We are so thrilled that we immediately walk toward Him...
The storm, however, has not gone away, and at the point we realize that... our eyes go back to the turbulence around us, away from Jesus, and down we go!
It always comforts me to see how much Jesus loved Peter. He knew his potential, and He knows ours.
We can be quickly caught up in the storm of the moment, and if we aren't careful, each new storm catches us by surprise, and our eyes shift to the problems rather than the Saviour.
Simple story? Yes. Life changing choices in how we respond? Yes. Even when the landscape doesn't change... where we choose to look makes all the difference.
I KNOW where His eyes are... I want mine to stay firmly focused on Him, in or out of the boat.
I've never met this family, but they live a few short blocks from where I live, and they are friends and former neighbors of our kids. Last Saturday, one of her 2 brothers found the body of little 3 year old 'Sammy' (Samantha) in their swimming pool..
I, like probably most of the people in our city, have shared their grief and prayed without ceasing for this family during these days. Today at 1 is the funeral at Lakepointe Church. As I was out doing errands this morning, I drove past our church and couldn't stop the tears as I thought of this mom and dad and the tiny casket that would be there in just a few hours.
As I thought of them last night, I began a note to let them know that I am praying for them. What God gave my heart as I prayed, was this...
"God knew exactly to the final second, how long Sammy's life would be, long before she was born. He also knew what parents and brothers she would be entrusted to for those short years. They would have to be very special, as He knew how deeply loved He wanted this child to be, and how short her time on this earth was going to be.
Doug & Ann, you were hand picked to be Sammy's mommy and daddy. What a life changing privilege for both of you, to be her parents, to love and cherish her and to be her family. Bryan and Ben, God knew Sammy would need 2 very special boys to be her brothers, and He put this exact family together... the family He chose. He could have chosen anyone, He chose YOU, all 4 of you.
Somehow, in all the pain, I pray that your comfort will also be that last Saturday, when Sammy went to be with Jesus, to be held in His loving arms, was the exact day that He had planned. Not a minute or hour sooner, or later. Nothing could change that, God had already ordained it... He knew.
The heart of our Father also understands the deep grief you are bearing. When He sent Jesus, He sent His only son, and He felt the pain of a fathers heart. He holds every tear that you shed, in a special place with your names on it.
Sammy will always be your little girl and your sister. When you get to heaven, you will be the ones she runs to."...
Somehow just sharing this helps. I ask for your prayers for this family. Pain strikes the grieving heart without warning, and they will have a long road ahead.
Knowing God, and knowing that He holds all of life in His hands, the beginning and the end, is going to be their strength, as it is for each one of us.
"It is no secret what God can do,
what He's done for others, He'll do for you"...
It's funny how hearing a song can take you back many years, to the time when it was written and you sang along with it.
Stuart Hamblen.
Stuart and Suzy Hamblen were friends of my parents as we were growing up. Stuart had been a country singer and spent some wild years before becoming a christian. Some of his best songs were written after he was saved. "It is no Secret what God can do"," This old house", and "Just a closer walk with Thee'...
When I think of those old songs, it always reminds me that his daughters clothes were given to us when they had grown out of them. We were the preacher's kids, (not the affluent preacher's kids.) Suzy knew that, and she loved my mother. They spoke together at women's conferences and formed a real bond as friends.
The thing is... those clothes were ultra stylish (ok, awful!)...
They lived in Hollywood, in the middle of fashion and glitz and labels. We lived in Pasadena, an hour away in miles, but 1000 miles from the styles of those clothes! Even though we didn't have a lot of money, we felt like what we wore was pretty cool...
I remember seeing that big box and thinking 'oh boy, this is going to be good!' I pulled one thing after another out, and got to the bottom of the box and couldn't imagine wearing any of it. The heart of the gift was real, but the gifts themselves didn't fit us at all, not size-wise and not the style either.
Even though the heart of a giver may be exactly right, as it was with them, sometimes the recipient of the gift isn't on the same page.
So, to this day. I still love to sing along with Stuart's music, as I think of 'the box'...
Today's thoughts are a brief detour, not permanent, just a visit...
My focus these days is healthy, exercise and eating better and less, as I journey along to lose those extra pounds that have gathered... So of course I am thinking about Sven's Bakery...
Growing up in Pasadena, California, we had a bakery on Colorado Blvd., the street where the Rose Parade travels. Our home was about 6 blocks south. Sven's was a big bakery, right on the main corner. It smelled unbelievable, it was always busy and bustling. When you tasted what they baked, you would know why. The thing I loved the very best was an almond paste filled coffee cake. It was round and fresh and just melted like butter when it hit my mouth.
One day, years after I was married, had 3 kids, and we had moved to Texas, I was back in California, visiting my parents. They had since moved down close to the beach in San Juan Capistrano, but we spent a day in Pasadena. We stopped at Sven's, it was still there! We bought 2 of those coffee cakes, placed on white paper doilies into their nice boxes. Each cake served at least 8 to 10 people.
In the hour and 1/2 it took us to drive back to San Juan, I sat in the back seat and one pinch at a time, ate one whole coffee cake, down to the last crumbs. I had some explaining to do when we got home.
This detour today is very real... so real that I can almost taste it! Now Sven's has changed ownership, it's called 'Federico's', even the name sounds wrong, more Italian than Scandinavian... so probably that coffee cake doesn't even taste good anymore!
These days as I am intentionally eating healthier and less, it is not vegetables that I dream about... it's Sven's.
Speaking of exercise...
Did you see the funny quote in Good Housekeeping?...
"Why are my arms so weak? It's like I did that push-up last year for nothing!"...
Okay... end of detour ... think of all the calories I've saved today by writing about it instead of eating it! That thought makes me almost as happy as taking a big bite of it would... almost.
Even at the age of 4 or 5 years, our grandkids have amazed us with what they say and the way they think.
I'm thinking of a certain day a few years ago, and one of our granddaughters was riding in the back seat all buckled up, as she and I were heading down the road.
Out of the blue this 4 or 5 year old said...
"God's faithfulness endures forever!"
I was thrilled and quickly chimed in to agree and elaborate, thinking this was a perfect spiritual teaching moment.
Before I could get more than a sentence out, she added...
"And Mimi... I know how to shake my booty!"
There you have it! Those 2 random comments, coming out of the mouth of a small child with very little pause between the statements. The tug of war that begins early and continues until the day we will see Jesus.
And yes, I had to laugh at the time, and it still makes me smile when I think of it...
Isn't this a classic example? On the one hand, she has Godly parents who are investing their lives into these girls, and instructing them daily about Jesus.
And on the other hand, tv, movies, other kids at school, magazines, etc.... are trying to win them over to the system of this world at an accelerated speed.
It's a good thing that we know who is the winner in today's world, and what the final outcome will be. In the meantime, there can't be too many prayers lifted on behalf of all of those that we love.
A funny thing happened when I closed my blog...
I kept writing it anyway!
I didn't plan on that.
I thought there was enough going on in my life that it would be good to let the blog go for awhile. But whenever I got a new thought or idea, I punched it out quickly on my computer and just let it sit, unread, and unpublished.
So I kept writing, but there was something missing...
Fellowship with all of you!
So here I am again. I may do less blogs than I used to, but I am definitely back! Probably you are rolling your eyes and saying, 'that's just what happened to me, she must be a slow learner'... :)
So here's to all of you, the friendship, fellowship and fun that you bring! And here's to this former blogger re-joining the ranks!
For quite awhile, I have given serious thought to putting my blog on the shelf, at least for now...
I never dreamed when I accidentally wrote my first blog, that it would continue for 3 years. It has, and I have been so blessed to share my own life and heart, and even more... yours.
I sense that there are new things ahead in this chapter called 2013. I'm not even sure exactly what that means yet, but I know that God is walking ahead of me, and that where He leads will be good.
I don't plan to let you all go... so I will be checking in and keeping up from time to time, on what your lives are doing. There are so many of you that I feel such a heart connection with, so I will send an email once in awhile, just to stay in touch. You know who you are.
Some of you are serious writers, and your words are amazing. Some just share their lives, much as I have done, and there's real value in that as well. I've loved the whole basketful!
I never aspired to write... but what has been written during these 3 years, has been a 'working out' of many things in my heart after my parents went to heaven. I'm not sure that I won't ever write again, I've learned not to make 'black and white' statements, but for now... this stepping away is clear to me,and I will leave the words to the rest of you.
Thank you every single one who has read and commented. You have lifted my heart, encouraged me, and challenged my own faith to be more. I have grown to love so many of you and consider you to be true friends, not just cyber buddies, but genuine heart connected friends.
I will leave this page up, so I can visit all of you and keep in touch, and maybe even post a hello occasionally.
Love and God's VERY best to each of you in this New Year! I am excited and ready for His new challenges in my life, and I pray the same for you.
THANK YOU ALL!
P.S....In trying to correct something on the blog set up page, I accidentally have erased the comments on this and the last few blogs. Thank you for the kind words...
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS!...
SEE YOU IN JANUARY...
