Thursday, February 17, 2011

Anxious Thoughts

Kay Arthur posted this on Facebook yesterday:  "The moment anxious thoughts invade you mind, go to the Lord in prayer. Look first to God. Rehearse His character, His promises, His works. Remember His names, His attributes, and how they apply to your situation. You’ll see the cause of your anxiety in a whole new light. Check out Philippians 4:6."

I think that post may have been just for me.  I have been dealing with some anxious thoughts lately.  Some hurtful things.  Some burdens too great for me to bear.  And so I needed this word of encouragement and comfort.
 
The words of a great old hymn came to mind as I read Kay's post......"oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear; all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."  So that's what I'm doing today.....carrying everything to Him in prayer.  All the burdens that are too great for me to bear.  All the hurt of difficult relationships.  All the grief of loss. 
 
I'm praying especially today for grieving friends.  And for a friend dealing with cancer.  For a friend who fell and broke his hip. For the dreams and aspirations of those dear to me.  For broken relationships.  For those who need to know God's grace.  Who need the joy of His salvation.  For whoever might read this and whatever their needs might be. 
 
And I'm taking my anxious thoughts to God today as well, knowing that I can cast all my anxiety on Him, because He cares for me.

"Trust in Him at all times; pour out your heart before Him."  (Psalm 62:8)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Reunions

I've been thinking a lot about reunions.  It all started, really, when Matt died last week.  Matt was the son of our friends Mike and Olivia, whom we knew in Colorado.  He was our sons' friend from back then.

Our friend Kelley had several posts last week about Matt and about his funeral.  One of the points he mentioned was the high that comes when you see friends you haven't seen in 20 years.  Funerals are like that.

It's sad to me that we often see family members and friends only when someone dies.  But that's a thought for another day.

Today I'm thinking about reunions.  About how nice it would be to get together and catch up with those friends from days gone by.  The up side of moving around as much as we have is that you have friends in all parts of the country.  One of the down sides is that you don't get to see them much.  Sometimes not at all, once you have moved away.  That's sad.  Depressing, really, if I let myself think about it too long.

I would love to have a reunion with those old friends.  (Not that they are old......just friends from the "old days"......although it is true that we are older!!)  I occasionally see some friends from the early days of our marriage.  I get together with a dear friend from high school (we go all the way back to junior high!).  She and I reconnected when my daddy died.  See what I mean?

But there are so many other friends I would love to see......friends from days in Colorado and Connecticut and Minnesota.  I still see many of my Florida friends, although I miss them a lot when I'm here in NC and they are still there in FL.  And I would love to see more of my family.....my sons and my grandsons, my brother and his family, cousins I haven't seen in years.  And the list goes on.

So I would love a reunion.  The good news is that there is one coming.  It has been planned for a very long time.  And I'm really looking forward to it!

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout.......and the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord."  (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

Monday, February 14, 2011

My Favorite Valentine Memory

Long ago - way back in the 70s - a shy young woman was visiting a girlfriend she had met the previous summer when they both worked on the staff of a church camp.  This young woman and the girlfriend made plans to attend the church "college and career" valentine party.  Also attending this party was a young man who had recently been discharged from the Air Force and had come back home.

I have to tell you that the only thing I remember about that party was that young man!  I was the shy young woman.  And that young man is now my husband!  I was told many months later that he went home that night and told his dad he had met the woman he was going to marry.  I have to confess that it took me a few weeks to come to that conclusion!!  But it didn't take many weeks for me to recognize this young man as my soulmate, as the love of my life!

And now....40 years years later (we met in 1971).....nothing has changed.  Well, a few things have changed!  We have grayer hair, and a few more pounds, and some wrinkles.....all those things that are part of the aging process.  What has not changed is the absolute certainty that this man is one of the very best parts of my life!  These days, when I think about Valentine's Day, I don't think about hearts and flowers and where we will go out to dinner (or even if we will!!!).  I think about that Valentine's Day in 1971.....one of the most significant days in my life!!

In an era when love is defined by Hallmark movies and ridiculous sitcoms where life's problems are easily resolved in less than 30 minutes, I am grateful to God that He knew exactly who would be best for me.  I'm grateful beyond words that this one He placed in my life is so much more than I ever dreamed of!

Life hasn't always been easy.  We have had to deal with some really hard stuff over the years.  We've laughed together.  We've cried together.  We've prayed together.  We have had some hard times.  And we have had wonderful fun.  I wouldn't want to do this journey called life with anyone else. 

Friday, February 11, 2011

Is It for Real?

We had our snow "event" yesterday.  No big deal really......just a few inches.  The really good news is that the sun came out yesterday afternoon and melted most of it.  That sunshine was deceptive......I almost went out to sit on the front porch!  Almost......the chairs are still covered in snow, and even though the sun was shining, it was definitely not a warm afternoon!  But a sunny afternoon has been such a rarity around here this winter.......and we have a bright sunny morning again today!  Wow!  Is spring really on the way?  Is this for real?

When we were considering moving here to the mountains, we were told that we could expect "long spring, long fall, short winter, short summer."  That sounded good to us.  We were coming from the extreme heat of Florida summers.  Prior to that we had experienced the extreme cold of Minnesota winters.  So something less extreme was very appealing. 

That optimistic forecast turns out not to have been exactly accurate!  In the few years we have lived here, we have experienced short spring, short summer, short fall, and very long, very cold, very snowy winters!  Not exactly what we had in mind!!

This morning's blue sky and sunshine gives me hope!  The crocus leaves poking through the ground give me hope!  The weather forecast for the weekend (spring-like temperatures) gives me hope!  I admit that I was a little skeptical about that groundhog and his forecast of an early spring.  But right now I'm feeling hopeful!  And after yet another long, cold, snowy winter......hope feels good.  Something to look forward to feels good!

"Thank God for the promise of spring."  (Bill and Gloria Gaither)

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Life Is Short

That's the thought that has been resonating with me for the last 24 hours.  I found out yesterday that a young man we knew when we lived in Denver had died suddenly.  He was in youth group with my boys.  He was the same age as my younger son.  He left behind a wife and three young daughters. 

I've been traveling down memory lane a lot since I heard the news.......remembering the Wilson family; remembering good times in Denver; wondering what happened to a lot of the people we knew there and where they are now.  I've been giving thanks for my family.  I've been giving thanks for all the friends we've met along our journey.  We've moved a lot over the years.......not exactly what we expected when we first married, but it's the way life has worked out for us.  In all that moving, we've met a lot of people.  Some of them we are still in touch with.  Some of them we have lost touch with......and that makes me sad.  I find myself missing what might have been.

So I've been remembering......and wondering.....reflecting back and looking forward......realizing that, as my husband and I often joke, we're not as young as we used to be!  Life is short, and the days in front of me are less now than the days behind me.  I want to live them well.  I want to make every day count.
That's my prayer today.

I'm also praying for the Wilson family.  Praying that God will comfort them as only He can.

It would be a privlege to pray for you as well.  You can leave your requests in the comments section.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Waiting - Again!

The weatherman says there's another "snow event" on the way....again!!......so I'm waiting for it to get here.  There's been a lot of that this winter!  We had a small "event" yesterday, but this one is apparently a bigger "event"!  I'm really tired of these "events" and am ready for spring to get here!!  I know that my friends in New England and in the Midwest have had much more of these "events" to deal with this winter.  I'm sure they are probably ready for spring, too!!

I was thinking this morning about how much "waiting" is a part of my life.  Right now I'm waiting for answers to a couple of very specific prayers.  I'm waiting for a resolution to an issue that is weighing heavy on my heart.  I'm waiting for snow.  I'm waiting for my husband to get home from California.  I'm waiting for a replacement for my broken Keurig.  I'm waiting for the computer to finish downloading some photos so I can work on a photo book.  Lots of waiting.

And I'm reminded that waiting is part of life.  The Bible has a lot to say about that.  I looked in my  Strong's Concordance this morning and found LOTS of references for wait, waits, waiting.  I didn't count how many, but trust me......there are lots!  Here are a few that jumped out at me this morning.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
"I wait for Thy word." (Psalm 119:81)
"I wait for Thy word."  (Psalm 119:114)
"I wait for Thy word, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope." (Psalm 130:5)

Don't you think we often think of "waiting" in a negative way?  We're impatient (at least I often am!) and want what we want when we want it.......example - that new Keurig I'm waiting for!!  Or we're looking for an answer to prayer to come even before we've prayed!!  There's also the sense of dread often associated with waiting......like waiting for yet another snowstorm to come.

But waiting on the Lord, waiting for His word.....that puts waiting in a different light.  It's more the sense of eager anticipation.  Look at these two verses in the New Testament that give us that sense of waiting:

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 3:20)
"To wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Now that's worth waiting for!!

"looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession."  (Titus 2:13-14)

Friday, February 4, 2011

Random - Or Maybe Not

Yesterday was a long day.  I drove home from Florida with a sleeping dachsund as my travel companion.  Thirteen hours in the car is a long time!!!  Lots of time for thinking about all sorts of things.  It was Thursday......my day to pray for you.....but because I didn't get on-line before I left, I didn't remind me to send your prayer requests.  So, I just prayed for whoever and whatever God brought to mind.  Quite a variety of things, I can assure you.  So, while it may have seemed random to anyone who might have been able to overhear (yes, I was praying out loud while I drove.  Molly didn't care.  She was still sleeping.), I think there was really no randomness at all, since it was God who brought all those things to my mind.  I know He did, because I asked Him to!  He's good about things like that!

My thoughts also wandered (again, seemingly random) to the tabernacle in the wilderness, and I reviewed the structure of the tabernacle and pondered the verses that came to mind.

I remembered that there was only one doorway to the tabernacle; one way in to meet with God.  And I remembered "I am the door" (John 10:9) and "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6).

I remembered the bronze altar of sacrifice.  And I remembered "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29).

I remembered the laver for cleansing.  And I remembered "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  (1 John 1:9).

I remembered the table of showbread, the lampstand, and the altar of incense in the holy place.

The showbread reminded me "I am the bread of life." (John 6:48).
The lampstand reminded me "I am the light of the world."  (John 8:12).
The altar of incense reminded me "He (Jesus) ever lives to make intercession for us." (Hebrews 7:25) and  "the smoke of the incense which are the prayers of the saints went up before God." (Rev. 8:4).

I thought about the holy of holies, behind the veil, where the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat sat.  And I remembered that "we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus."
(Hebrews 10:19).

So I spent a lot of time in the car.  I thought a lot about these Scriptures and others. (In the interest of full disclosure, I didn't remember all those references!!  Some of them I looked up this morning!!). I prayed for friends and family, for situations I'm aware of, for current political events in our country and around the world.  I sang.  I experienced the presence of God.  I worshiped.

So perhaps it wasn't so random after all!