Time for a Vacation

I'm so excited!  Just one more day, and then we head to the beach for our family vacation! 

I love being at the beach.  Having my toes in the sand.  Listening to the sound of waves as they break on the shore.  It's a happy place for me.

Even more than the sights and sounds of the ocean, I'm looking forward to time with family.  Being with my family, having all of us together in one place, is one of the things that makes me happiest in this life.

We don't live in the same town.  We don't even live in the same state.  That makes getting all of us together at the same time a bit complicated.  So when it does happen, this Mom/Nana is very happy indeed.

I'm looking forward to hearing the sounds of the ocean next week.

Even more, I'm looking forward to laughter.  And giggles.  And silly jokes.  And all the sounds of family.

It makes me happy.

I'll be on vacation with my family next week.  Relaxing.  Being refreshed. 

I'll be back after the break.

Listening

This summer our Life Group is studying through the Old Testament Book of 1 Samuel.  1 Samuel is one of my favorite books of the Bible.  I love the history!  I love revisiting the Bible stories I first learned as a little girl in Sunday School all those years ago.  And I love how much we can learn about God by studying these Old Testament passages.

We began the month studying about the circumstances of Samuel's birth.  This is a story near and dear to my heart, as Samuel's mother Hannah and I have a lot in common.  I've written about this before, so I won't tell that story again. 

Our lesson this past Sunday came from chapters 5 and 6.  This is the account of the Israelites' defeat by the Philistines.  These chapters recount how the Israelites took the Ark of the Covenant, the symbol of God's presence among them, into battle, treating it much like a good luck charm.  The Ark was eventually captured by the Philistines, who suffered some consequences as a result.  You can read the entire account there in 1 Samuel. 

What sticks with me most about those particular chapters is how the Israelites, God's chosen people, had such a wrong view of God.  Over and over, God had instructed them about how He was to be treated.  How He was to be revered.  How He was to be treated as holy.  Yet when they found themselves in a bit of trouble, they treated God more as a good luck charm, sort of like a holy rabbit's foot.  They thought that if they could carry the Ark of the Covenant into battle with them, they would surely win the battle!  They were, as our pastor often says, treating Him like a "God in a box", rather than worshiping Him and treating Him as holy.

In between those two lessons, we studied about the little boy Samuel.  1 Samuel chapter 3 gives us the account of God's call to Samuel.  This was one of my favorite Bible stories when I was a little girl.  I can still remember sitting in Sunday School, seeing our teacher hold up one of those giant pictures we used to have to accompany our Bible stories.  As she held up the picture of the little boy Samuel (or what some artist thought Samuel might have looked like), she told us the story of a little boy who heard a voice calling Him.  Samuel thought it was Eli the priest, but Eli knew better.

And so Eli instructed Samuel on how to answer.  "Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening."  (1 Samuel 3:9 NASB)

That was good advice to Samuel.  And it's good advice for us.

What makes a good listener anyway?  Think about conversations you regularly have with family or friends or coworkers.  Is there anyone among them you would consider a good listener?  Why?  Likely it is because they actually listen.

How often do we get into conversations, yet not really listen to what the other person is saying?  We're too busy in our own heads thinking about what we will say next, as soon as there's an opening in the conversation!  You know it's true! 

Sadly, that's how we often approach prayer.  Prayer is intended to be a  conversation with God.  In a conversation, there's some talking and some listening.  But more often than not, we do all the talking and then we walk away. 

A.W. Tozer once wrote, "If you do all the talking when you pray, how will you ever hear God's answers?"

Today might be a good day to start listening.  Some wise person once said we have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we talk!  Perhaps today we can try that.  Instead of making our prayers a list of what we want and who we want it for, talk through the list and then done, we could try to sit quietly and hear what God has to say to us.

Perhaps today is a good day to pray, "Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening."

"Speak to my heart, Lord Jesus;

Speak, that my soul may hear."

(-B.B. McKinney)

 



Shine

We'll be heading to the beach in a couple of days.  I can't wait.  But before we can go to the beach, there's a lot to do to get ready.  Laundry.  And packing.  And being sure we aren't forgetting anything.  Which means the inevitable (at least for me) lists.  Getting ready to go on vacation can be exhausting.

And being exhausted can lead to being cranky.  Which is not a good way to begin a vacation.

I confess to being a little cranky this morning.  A little out of sorts.  Maybe I just needed more sleep.  Maybe I'm just feeling overwhelmed by all there is to do.  Maybe it's because I got overheated when I went for my walk.  It's already really hot and humid here in the Upstate this morning!

As I was having a little talk with myself about my attitude, I had a flashback to our beach trip a couple of years ago.  I had gone with Al to the carwash to get the sand washed off our car before we were to head back to the mountains.  There was music at the car wash.  Get Your Shine On.

I don't know who sings that song.  I'm not much of a country music fan.  I don't even really know what the song was about.  Nothing to do with the way I was applying it, I'm sure!  I suppose I could have googled the song, but I didn't.  Because it wasn't the song that grabbed my attention.  It was that phrase.

Get your shine on.

When I heard that phrase, I wasn't thinking about the song or the singers.  I was reminded of the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.

"Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."  (Matthew 5:16 ESV)

And I wondered......do I have my shine on?

Do you?

Am I, are you, radiating Jesus?

With my cranky attitude this morning, I think not.

So I need to adjust my attitude.  I need to spend some time with my Father.

It's an interesting question, isn't it?  Do I have my shine on? 

When others see me, does the glory go to me, or does the glory go to my Father in heaven?

Am I shining for Jesus today?

It's a challenging question. 

Something to think about.

Diary of a Knee Replacement. Graduation.

On a Tuesday morning twelve weeks ago, my day began at about 4:30 when someone came into my hospital room to draw my blood.  This morning began with a visit to my doctor's office to have blood drawn.  But that's where the similarities stop.

On Tuesday morning twelve weeks ago, I was lying in a hospital bed, with a heavily bandaged knee.  Moving that knee at all on that day was painful, to say the least.

Today, 84 days later, I'm in my own home, pain-free, enjoying life with my brand new knee.  In between has been quite a journey.  Learning how to walk with my new knee, first with a walker, then with a cane, and finally, unassisted.

There have been lots of physical therapy appointments and hours of doing my exercises at home.  There has been some discomfort.  There have been good days and bad days.  Some tears have been shed. 

But today, on this Tuesday morning twelve weeks after knee replacement surgery, I am thankful.  I'm feeling good.  The knee works well.  I am able to do things I never thought I would be able to do. I've come a long way in twelve weeks, and have finally arrived at the point where I can say I'm glad I had this done.  There were times along the way where I wasn't so sure!

Yesterday was a milestone in my knee replacement journey.  Yesterday I "graduated" from physical therapy.  I'm not sure what I will do with myself now!  Since December, I've been going to PT at least once a week, often three days a week.  What will I do with all that time?

One of the great blessings of this knee replacement journey is my physical therapist.  Caitlin has challenged and encouraged me throughout this process, and pushed me to do more than I ever though I could.  When my rheumatologist first sent me to physical therapy back in December, I was not at all enthusiastic.  I didn't see how going to therapy would help my knee pain.  And it didn't.  But it did make me stronger and equipped me to do things, like putting on my own shoes and socks, that I had been no longer able to do for myself.  And I'm convinced that my "pre-hab" helped the actual surgery and rehab go much more smoothly.

How thankful I am that Caitlin Herina was my physical therapist. She is the Best Physical Therapist Ever!  Over these last several months, she has become so much more than that.  She has become a good friend, and I am going to miss her terribly when she moves to Little Rock next month.

 





She even made cupcakes for my "graduation"!  Red Velvet - my favorite!

 

 



 



Sometimes it seems that these twelve weeks have gone by very quickly, and sometimes it seems like it has been a lot longer than just twelve weeks since surgery.  In any event, I've come a long way.  And I am so very thankful.

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His Holy name.  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits."  (Psalm 103:1-2 NASB)

Presumptuous

Psalm 19 is one of my favorite Psalms.  It begins with these familiar words:  The heavens declare the glory of God.  On this beautiful summer morning, with birds singing and a light breeze rustling through the trees behind my house, I was reminded of those words, so I began my morning with this Psalm.

Psalm 19 is a wonderful reminder of the majesty of God's creation, but there's a lot more to it than just that.  This Psalm is really in two parts, the first being the hymn of praise to our God for what He has created, and the second about the words of the Lord, about His rules for living.  Check that out in verses 7-9.  The Psalmist ends with a prayer we know well:

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."  (Psalm 19:14 ESV)

But before he gets to that prayer, the psalmist makes another request of the Lord, and that is the verse that grabbed my attention this morning.  As I was reading through Psalm 19, I came across these words: "Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me."  (Psalm 19: 13 ESV)

It's the word presumptuous that got my attention.  I think I had previously always understood that to mean "inadvertent".  In other words, I believed the Psalmist was praying, as did I, not to sin inadvertently, not to sin accidentally or unknowingly.  But as I read Psalm 19 this morning, that didn't seem to be what he was saying.  So I dug a little deeper, did a little research.

The word which is translated presumptuous actually means proud or arrogant.  And that means something altogether different from accidental or unknowing, doesn't it?

And so I am praying that verse this morning.  Please, dear Lord, keep me from presumptuous sin; may I not be proud or arrogant in my attitudes or my behavior to You or toward others.

Keep me from presumptuous sins.  May my words and my thoughts, the meditations of my heart and my actions, be acceptable in your sight.  May they not be proud or arrogant. You are my Rock and my Redeemer, and I love You, Lord. Amen.

When You Just Don't Know

Sometimes we just don't know what or how to pray, do we?

Sometimes circumstances are just too overwhelming.  Or too confusing.  Or too difficult to understand.

And we just don't know.

This week we have been overwhelmed by sadness as we have thought about the shooting last weekend in Orlando.  And about a little boy eaten by an alligator.  

Today is the anniversary of last year's shooting at the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston.

And on all the days in between, there have been tragedies and illnesses and broken relationships and persecutions.

It's overwhelming.  And we just don't even know what to say. Or how to pray.

Many years ago I was part of a Bible study group discussing this very topic.  In the years since, I have often recalled our leader's words.  When you don't know how to pray, just ask that all the will of God be accomplished in and through whatever the situation is.

Good advice.  Thank you, Margaret. 

So for Orlando. And for Charleston. For grieving parents. For persecuted Christians throughout the world.  For strained relationships.  And for all the other situations that confuse or distress or disturb us.  

For all the times we can't understand what God is doing.  Or why He hasn't responded in the way we expected He would.  Or when we can't seem to see His hand at work. 

For all the times we just don't understand. 

For all the times we are too overwhelmed.

And confused.

For all the times when the pain, whether physical or emotional, is just too great to bear.

For all those times.

And more.

We pray Thy will be done.

 

"Pray then, like this:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

(Matthew 6:9-10 ESV)

Today, I Will...

It seems the world has gone crazy. 

We're in the middle of an election season, listening to the never-ending blah blah blah that seems to be part of politics in this country these days.

We're still reeling from the news of the shooting in Orlando over the weekend.

Put all that on top of the stress and frustration that often characterize daily living, and it's all a bit more than we think we can deal with.

So today, in the middle of stress and uncertainty and frustration, I will remember:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  (Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV)

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you. (Isaiah 26:3 ESV)

The word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.  (Psalm 18:30 ESV)

You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.  (Psalm 3:3 ESV)

Today, in the middle of stress and uncertainty and frustration, I will trust:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.  (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.  (Isaiah 26:4 ESV)

Today, in the middle of stress and uncertainty and frustration, I will give thanks:

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!     (1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV)

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.  (Psalm 9:1 ESV)

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV)

Today, in the middle of stress and uncertainty and frustration, I will not be afraid.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.  Therefore, we will not fear."  (Psalm 46:1-2a ESV)

Today, in the middle of stress and uncertainty and frustration, I will praise God!

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.  Oh, magnify the LORD with me and let us exalt his name together.  (Psalm 34:1,3 ESV)

While We Can

It was a Saturday morning, seven years ago.  On that particular Saturday, Brandon, Steph and AJ were visiting for the weekend.  I love weekends like that, with family around.  They happen much too seldom, but that's a subject for another day.

On that particular Saturday morning, seven years ago, I got "the phone call".  The one I had been dreading but knew would one day come.  The one that told me that, at age 88, my beloved Daddy had gone to be with Jesus.

In many ways, that seems very long ago.  Yet the memory of that day is as vivid as if it had just happened this morning.  And although I've grown accustomed to his absence, I still miss him so much!

How I would love one more hug, one more conversation, one more visit, one more surprise phone call - just because!  How I miss the twinkle in his eye, his sense of humor, his laugh.  And how I miss those more serious conversations.  About the Scriptures.  About politics.  About life.

How I would love to hear that voice just once more say "Top o' the mornin' to ya!"

I wouldn't even mind hearing that same joke I've heard hundreds of times. Just one more time! "Have I told you the one about......", he would say.  "Tell me again", I would say.

His passing was sudden and unexpected.  Well, I suppose not completely unexpected, since he was 88 years old!  But certainly not expected on that particular day, June 13, 2009.

That's a reminder to each of us to live every day to its fullest, because we never know when it's time to go.  And it's a reminder to love our family and friends - and to let them know how much they are loved - to tell them we love them while we can - because we never know when it's time for them to go.

Daddy was, as I am, very much a creature of habit.  His morning routine began with his coffee and his Bible, and he always read from the Open Windows devotional book.  As we gathered at his house on that Saturday, his Bible and devotional book were on the table next to his chair, open to the passage he had read on his last day in this life.  It's what always comes to mind as I remember this day because it so perfectly describes my daddy.  And while I miss both my parents terribly, this is their legacy to me and the hope I have of seeing them again.......

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then ye shall also appear with him in glory."  (Colossians 3:2-3 KJV)

We've Only Just Begun - 44 Years and Counting

It was a beautiful summer day, not too hot.  There had been a shower of rain late in the morning, just enough for things to be refreshed.

The ceremony was held at eight o'clock in the evening, the perfect time of day to get just the right amount of evening sun through the stained glass windows of the church.

The church was full of family and friends.  The music was perfect.  There were flowers.  And candles.

So began our life together as husband and wife. 

There was a reception following the ceremony.  It was a simple affair with punch and cake, held in the church fellowship hall.

Afterward, we drove away from the church listening to the Carpenters singing We've Only Just Begun.

That was our song then.  It is our song today. 

On June 10, 1972, we began our journey through life together as husband and wife.  Neither of us had any idea what a journey it would be!

Who knew back then that we would live in six different states, at nineteen different addresses?  Who knew that we would travel together all over the world?  Who knew all the mountaintops and valleys, smooth roads and potholes, all the adventures this journey would hold for us?

God knew.  He knew exactly what He had planned for us, even though we had no idea.  This has been quite a journey.  And the journey continues.  We've only just begun!

I had no idea that all this would be part of my life journey,  but I wouldn't want to do life with anyone else.  And I would do it all again!

Happy Anniversary, sweetheart! I love you more!

 

"Grow old along with me!  The best is yet to be....."

(from "Rabbi Ben Ezra" by Robert Browning)

Together at the Table. A Book Review.

This first week of summer has found me with some extra time for reading, so today I'm sharing about what I read yesterday.

Together at the Table by Hillary Manton Lodge is subtitled A Novel of Lost Love and Second Helpings.  It is a book about family and about relationships. 

This is the tale of a large part-Italian/part-French family, told from the perspective of the youngest member of the family, Juliette.  As the story begins, Juliette is still reeling from the loss of her mother just a few months earlier, and from the end of a relationship with the love of her life.  She deals with all this by throwing herself into her work, managing a restaurant she owns with her older brother.

Together at the Table is the third in the Two Blue Doors series.  It can be read as a stand-alone book, although I think it might be helpful to have read the previous two titles in the series first.  I have not read them, and I think that if I had, I would have understood the backstory to some of the events in this book a little better.

In Together at the Table we see Juliette grieving over her mother's death, in a rebound relationship with the sous-chef in her restaurant, and determined to understand the full story of her family's history. (In a previous book, she had discovered letters her grandmother had written from Paris during World War II.)

I loved getting to know Juliette and her family; they seemed like the kind of people I would enjoy knowing in real life.  Their story is well-written, with enough twists and turns to make it hard to put down.

One of my favorite parts of the book was the recipes inserted between chapters.  If, for example, pumpkin custard pie was served in the restaurant (as in chapter 5), the recipe followed at the end of the chapter.  There are more than a dozen delicious-sounding recipes, many of which I can't wait to try!

Together at the Table is a delightful tale of family relationships, romance, and humor.  I enjoyed it immensely!

I received a free copy of Together at the Table from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest opinion.

From This Moment. A Book Review.

A suspicious death, corruption in city government, and a budding romance between a lithographer and a publisher.  These are some of the elements that make From This Moment by Elizabeth Camden a great read.

Stella West is a well-known lithographer who has left her glamorous life in London's art world to return to Boston because of the suspicious death of her sister Gwendolyn.

Stella is working as a stenographer in Boston's City Hall, the same job her sister once had held, in order to try to find clues to Gwendolyn's death.

From This Moment is Stella's story. But it is also the story of Romulus White, a successful publisher who seems to have a touch of ADD/ADHD.  Along with these main characters and their interactions, there is the back story of cousin Evelyn White and her estranged husband.  All these characters are well-developed in a story filled with mystery, suspense, some humor, and a little romance.  Although From This Moment started slowly, I found myself unable to put it down.

This is well-researched and well-written historical fiction, written from a Christian worldview.  It is set in Boston in the late 19th century, at the time when the city of Boston was constructing the first subway system in the country.

I love a good mystery, and this one definitely satisfied.  The mystery of Gwendolyn's death was resolved in a way that was completely unexpected.  I enjoyed this book very much.  Fans of Christian fiction and/or historical fiction will likely enjoy it as well.

Bethany House Publishing provided me with a free copy of From This Moment in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thankful Tuesday: Fixer-Upper

One of my favorite TV shows is Fixer Upper on HGTV.  On that show, Chip and Joanna Gaines take old, run-down houses and transform them into beautiful, like-new, homes.  They fix them up.  I love watching the process, and the worse shape the original house is, the more fascinating it is to me.

I've been in a fixer-upper phase of my life over the past couple of months.  My old, run-down, no longer useful, knee was fixed up.  In my case the fixing meant replacing.  Taking out the old one and putting in a new one.  Again, I find the process fascinating.  I'm amazed at what medical experts can accomplish these days. 

Of course, the knee process is a little more involved than the house process.  For Chip and Joanna, there's some demolition (out with the old) and then transforming the house to its like-new status.  Once the new appears, that's it.  But with a knee, once the new is in place, that's really only the beginning. Then the rehab begins, and that's hard work.  Really hard work. 

As I have been thinking about all that this morning, it occurs to me that there is a sense in which each of us is a fixer-upper. Each of us is born with a sin nature that needs to be transformed.  That transforming, the fixing up, is available to us because Christ died to pay the penalty for our sin and to offer us the gift of His grace.  Once we accept that gift, we are fixed-up, and the process of our transformation begins.  Having accepted the gift of salvation, we are forever free from the penalty of our sin, and the process of transformation, our sanctification, begins.

On this Thankful Tuesday, that's certainly a reason to be thankful!

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  (Romans 6:23 NASB)

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come."  (2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB)

It's Anniversary Week!

Several of my friends are celebrating wedding anniversaries today, and others will be celebrating in the next week or so. I'll just give them all one big "Happy Anniversary!" shout-out rather than mentioning each of them by name, since I would inevitably leave someone out. And of course, today marks the 72nd anniversary of D-Day.

On a more personal note, Friday of this week marks another milestone in the journey of my life.  44 years ago - June 10, 1972 - I said "I do". For the past (almost) 44 years, my life has been shared with the man of my dreams. And what a life it has been!

We began our married life in a little house in the "Avenues" of West Columbia, SC. (If you're from Cayce/West Columbia, that will mean something to you. Otherwise, probably not!) When I say it was a "little" house, that's exactly what I mean.  It was a very small house, less than 1000 square feet. We have since lived in apartments that were larger than that house!

We had some expectations when we married. We expected to live out our days in West Columbia. (Or maybe we might move to Cayce!) We expected to move someday to a larger house. We expected that we would have children. I'm sure that back then we had other expectations as well.

In many ways, life has far exceeded our expectations, even our wildest dreams. Over the years we have moved far beyond the boundaries of Cayce/West Columbia. Far beyond South Carolina. To Colorado and to Connecticut. To Minnesota and to Florida (talk about climate extremes!). We lived in the mountains of North Carolina, and now we find ourselves back in our home state.

We have traveled to places we only read about or dreamed of visiting. All across these United States.  Thanks to our road trip last summer, we have now both been in all 50 states at least once.  We've visited such far away places as Tokyo and Paris. Sydney and Cairo. Edinburgh and Jerusalem. What an amazing journey we have had together!

I've said many times before that every journey has hills and valleys, smooth roads and potholes. Sometimes the scenery is beautiful. Sometimes not so much. Sometimes the road is straight. Sometimes there are curves. Bends in the road. It's all part of the journey. And we've experienced some of all of it!

Even so, there's joy in the journey. Joy because we're right where our LORD wants us to be. Joy because we're taking the journey together.

As we have been for almost 44 years. Through thick and thin. In good times and in not-so-great. Through it all. Joy in our journey. Together.

And I wouldn't want to take this journey with anyone else!

Dealing with Frustrations

"Where do I go when there's nobody else to turn to?

Who do I talk to when nobody wants to listen?

Who do I lean on when there's no foundation stable?
I go to the Rock. I know He's able. I go to the  Rock."
(Dottie Rambo)

 

Do you ever feel that way?  Life can be frustrating, can't it?  There are big frustrations - HUGE frustrations.  And there are little frustrations.  And there's everything in between.

 

We can be frustrated by all sorts of things.

 

By the power company deciding to shut off your power for a few minutes just as you're about to blow-dry your hair.

 

By standing in the slowest line at Walmart.

 

By traffic.

 

By chronic illness. 

 

By waiting for a diagnosis, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.  Or just waiting to get an appointment with a doctor!

 

By a spouse or children who just don't listen.

 

By being left out, not invited to a friend's birthday party.  Or even worse, being left out of a family gathering.

By being ignored.

 

By waiting for a phone call that never comes.

 

By having too much month at the end of the money.

 

By your job.  Or by not having a job.  And not being able to find a job.

 

By really needing a vacation.  By wanting to take the family on a nice vacation but really needing to put tires on the car instead.

 

By being misunderstood.

 

By not being able to lose those last few pounds.  Or by not being able to stick to your healthy eating plan, no matter how badly you might want to.  Or by not getting started on that healthy eating plan in the first place, even though you know you need to.

By wanting to be taller.  Or shorter.

 

By a knee that won't bend as much as you want it to, no matter how hard you try.  Or won't bend as much as the patient's on the next therapy table.  Or a knee that swells up like a balloon whenever you're the least bit active.

 

Frustrated by all sorts of things.  By people.  By circumstances.  By life.

 

Just frustrated.

 

Where do we turn?  What do we do?  How do we cope? The words of an old gospel hymn may help us answer those questions.

 

 Living below in this old sinful world
Hardly a comfort can afford.

Striving alone to face temptations call,
Where could I go to the Lord?

Where could I go, where could I go?
Seeking a refuge for my soul.
Needing a friend to help me in the end,
Where could I go to the Lord?

(Billy Sherrill/Glenn Sutton) 



 

 

Life can be frustrating.  For believers and unbelievers alike.  Putting our faith and trust in Christ is not a guarantee that life will no longer have challenges or frustrations.  But it is a guarantee that we don't walk through those situations alone.  That Christ Himself, through the person of the Holy Spirit, is with us in every difficulty.  And that we can turn to Him for comfort in every situation.  Indeed, where else could we go?

 

 

"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us."  (Psalm 62: 7-8 ESV)

"Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."  (John 6:68 ESV)

 

Welcome to June!

Today we turn the calendar page and welcome a new month.  It's June already!  Where does the time go?

I'm happy to welcome June; it's a month I look forward to each year.

This is a month of celebrations in our family.  Toward the end of the month we will celebrate a son's birthday.  Before that, we will celebrate our 44th wedding anniversary.  I love a good celebration, don't you?

June is also the month for our annual family trip to the beach.  Being at the beach, having my toes in the sand, just relaxing for a week.  That's something I look forward to every year, but I look forward even more to being with my family.  All of us together in one place.  It doesn't happen nearly often enough to suit me, so I'm excited to turn the page on the calendar and begin the countdown!

June marks the beginning of summer.  Even for those of us who no longer mark time by the day school is out for summer, June is a time to look forward to a slower pace of life for a few months.  Peaches and watermelon.  Sunshine and supper on the porch.  Flowers blooming and birds singing.  All the simple joys of summer.  One blessing after another.

According to the calendar, summer doesn't officially begin for about three more weeks, but in my mind, today's the day.

Welcome to June!  Welcome to summer!


"From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another."  (John 1:16 NIV)