Cerretti's

Culture Shock or Technologically Challenged?

2012-01-22T02:36:00.000-08:00

“Technologically challenged” is a term my children use to describe their father. It is the only area that I can think of right off hand where Roger IS challenged. He is adept and quick to pick up almost any and everything he tries to do, but even I have to admit that when it comes to technology, Rog is challenged……but only because he chooses to be.

He sees no need for most of the technology that we use these days. He HAS a cell phone, but has no numbers stored in it—they are recorded in his own memory. He is not embarrassed by this either; in fact he prefers it this way.

He realizes that the internet (via the computer) has it’s perks to look for equipment and material information he might need, but as long as he has me to actually sit down in front of the machine, punch the keys, move the mouse, and print off anything he finds pertinent, he is satisfied with the relevance of it. In actuality, he prefers just picking up the phone, and asking questions.

This is why when our children were considering what to get Dad for Christmas, and a Kindle was mentioned, we all shuddered at the possibility of what that would entail—in training.

Roger is a voracious reader. He wants a stack of books on his bedside table as much as he wants baked goods on the counter in the kitchen—trust me THAT is a MUST. Audrey and Nic were right in knowing that a Kindle would be perfect for a reader such as Roger.

The purchase was made, and it was presented. All eyes were on him when he opened the box. He grinned, and reacted just like his mother did when we presented her with her first microwave oven for she and Dicks 40th wedding anniversary—she grinned and looked at me and said, “I guess I will have to learn how to use one of these.”; which she did, every single day.

Audrey sat with Dad and showed him the buttons, explaining it in a language she hoped he would understand. That week while she was home, she helped, and explained, and we were sure he had it.

He is currently reading the three books I bought him for Christmas before I knew what the kids’ gift would be. The Kindle is on the bed side table. Don’t think he doesn’t like it, but Rog just simply doesn’t understand this “technology thing” enough yet to see all the pluses this can bring into his realm of entertainment; he hasn’t realized all the perks of the Kindle yet. He doesn’t realize that he can carry several books with him at once. He can play games, and do puzzles. We are talking a whole different culture for him.

This whole thing has made me realize that you don’t have to go to another county to experience another culture. There are lots of different cultures out there to be experienced right from your own armchair; some of them not the best. We extol the virtues of other cultures so much sometimes that we forget to extol the virtues of our own.

Moving into a new culture, learning the language, the customs, can be an exhausting thing, and not a little intimidating. But when it is necessary, and vital, we are able to do it. But it is nice to know that is some ways, we still have a choice as to wade in or not.

As we were watching “Lark Rise to Candleford“ last week, there was a line in the movie that struck a chord with me and I couldn’t help but look over at my husband. When our eyes met, we both grinned.

“It takes courage to move with the times, Alf.”

“What I’ve been taught sir, is that sometimes it takes courage to stand still.”

Roger and I are definitely modern and up to date in more ways than we would like sometimes, and we have never been ones to get too excited about “new and improved”. But the longer we tread the sod on this earth, we realize that sometimes there is a restfulness to letting the culture around us continue to develop while we stand still……..and rest.

So as I curl up with MY new Kindle I will rest in the knowledge that being culturally astute is a choice.

Lark Rise to Candleford

2012-01-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

With the end of the year came a discovery, a new series that Roger and I have thoroughly enjoyed.

If you liked Anne of Green Gables, Pride and Prejudice, or Sense and Sensibility, you MUST try Lark Rise to Candleford.

"The series is set in the small Oxfordshire hamlet of Lark Rise and the wealthier neighbouring market town of Candleford towards the end of the 19th century. The series chronicles the daily lives of farm workers, craftsmen, and gentry, observing the characters in loving, boisterous, and competing communities of families, rivals, friends, and neighbours.

The narrative is seen through the eyes of a teenage girl, Laura Timmins as she leaves Lark Rise to start a new life under the wing of her cousin, the independent and effervescent Dorcas Lane, who is Post Mistress at the local Post Office in Candleford. Through these two characters, viewers experience the force of friendship as Laura and Dorcas see each other through the best and worst of times." (Wikpedia)

It is a period series put out by the BBC based on the books by Flora Thompson. It starts out reminiscent of the Green Gables series, but quickly reminds you of other English period pieces. You get to know each and every character in depth, and through circumstances that mirror so much of the world we live in today, only dealt with and handled with such grace and care that you find yourself sighing when it if over and anxious for the next in the series.

If you are finding it hard to imagine Roger enjoying what I have just described, (and I know he does because he has said so), trust me, he does. The conversational quality of the characters, the stress given to the importance of relationships and people, when times were economically hard for so many, and so people never even ventured to think about being wealthy because they knew they already were in friends and family, work and productivity. These are the things about this series that we have discussed as being soo refreshing.

When so much of what is referred to as entertainment is violent or irreverent, flippant and phoney, or “reality”—in the worst sense—these shows are a breath of fresh air. If you are not a fan of period pieces, and don’t like English accents, then close your eyes, and just listen. You will find yourself privy to conversations that you will want to be able to sit up and listen very carefully, and will be glad you did.

Lark Rise to Candleford……….take the trip, it is worth it.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T12:29:00.000-08:00

May you have

The Spirit of Christmas

Which is Peace,

The gladness of Christmas

Which is Hope,

And

The Heart of Christmas

Which is Love

“What do you want for Christmas?”

2011-12-02T14:49:00.001-08:00

“What do you want for Christmas, Mom?” An inevitable question, that invariably gets asked this time of year.

Our answer last year when Audrey asked, was, “Nothing.” And we meant it. We had our health, a beautiful new grandson, and so much to be thankful for that as we looked around our beautiful home, and in our closet, and our pantry, there wasn’t a thing we wanted, or really even needed….let’s face it, we all know the things that we REALLY want; money can’t buy.

So Audrey did the only logical thing. She bought us a pair of goats, and eight chickens, and gave them to a family somewhere in Asia in her parent’s name. I don’t think Audrey has ever been so excited nor had so much fun, shopping and giving a Christmas gift. She almost bought a water buffalo, but decided against it.

The idea of giving a gift to someone that will help in their livelihood and future appeals to me. You know the old adage,

“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day

Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.”

So when she and I discussed the idea we both felt it was the absolute best idea…and she couldn’t believe how cheaply she could help someone like that. When we received the card in the mail, Rog read it and said, “We got chickens and goats for Christmas!” We both laughed, but we were glad. And this year, who knows, we may get that water buffalo!

You can help put in a water well for $100.00 and if that seems a little rich for your blood, you can give $25.00 and give someone two chickens which will produce hundreds of eggs which they can eat or sell. One goat is $75.00. The possibilities are endless, shoot, you can buy an entire barnyard of 2 cows, 2 sheep, 2 pigs, 2 goats, + 20 chickens for $2000.00. You certainly couldn’t buy that much livestock in the U.S. for that price. Plus remember those animals multiply, and the offspring are sold, or help feed the family.

Here are just a couple of organizations that I know of who you can contribute to that do this sort of thing. They are reputable and the options are limitless. The organization that Audrey ordered from was Gospel for Asia, Gospel for Asia

Or there is World Vision . I’m sure there are many others, maybe you even know of some already, but I encourage you to look around you this Christmas and ask yourself.......

What do I really want for Christmas?

Because He Loves You.......

2011-11-25T03:55:00.001-08:00

I am thankful………….

Not really for anything specific…….there is just too many things to name.

But I am thankful.

I realize as I read the thankfulness lists of others, and then stop to think about being thankful too, the precipice of my thankfulness comes from a verse in Deuteronomy.

As Thanksgiving has been approaching, I have felt compelled (woke up in the middle of the night) to read the book of Deuteronomy. This is not a book that many people would consider light reading, but as I’ve read it in this season of thankfulness, I realized that as Moses took the people of Israel through their past, reminding them of all that God had brought them through, their own behavior and choices; their history. After he did that he gave them hope and promises for their future.

The Israelites had come along way, but they also had a long way to go. Moses wanted to remind them of the past to give them strength for the future. Thanksgiving does that for us. It reminds us of our past, our blessings, and gives and reminds us further that when we move forward into our futures, that our God who has brought us to this point, will abide with us still.

The summation of these blessings for the Israelites is spoken by Moses when he says:

The Lord did not set His love on you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the Lord loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers…..Deut. 7:7-8

This is not the only place in Deuteronomy where Moses reminds the people that God loves them. So as I’ve read, I’ve been reminded over and over that the greatest thing I have to be thankful for is that God loves me. This isn't the first time I've read this passage and those words have come off the page, in fact I read it every once in awhile, just to remind myself that it is ..... For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9

Everything that I have or even don’t have I have because of God’s plan….and His plan for me is for no other reason than because He loves me.

So as I am Thankful, and come to the table today, I will give thanks and rejoice in God’s love for me through Jesus Christ my Savior!

Happy Thanksgiving!

They had been with Jesus

2011-10-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Nicolas plays basketball on a city league here in Emporia. The other evening a few of the guys that he plays with practiced out at our church’s gym. When they were done, one of the fellows approached Nic and asked him if he attended church there. Nic’s reply was yes.

The fellow then proceeded to ask Nic if he knew a certain individual who he thought attended our church, Nic replied that he did. The conversation resulted in how this gentleman knew our fellow church member when the gentleman commented “well all I can tell you is that he is a (political party affiliation).”

As Nic related the story to me I was saddened that the man’s remembrance of this fellow wasn’t that he was a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, but what his politics were.

You may think that politics are important. That by being involved you can change the world, and influence things for the better, but let me remind you that the apostles, who had every reason to hate the Roman empire, and politic against it with everything they had, choose instead to become known as followers of Jesus; people who had been with The Christ. Their influence is still felt to this day, centuries later.

Election season is upon us…whether we like it or not, and I am already sick of it, and we don’t get television. If I had a nickel for every e-mail that I have received bashing Obama, the Democrats, politicians in general, I’d be a wealthy person; and I mean WEALTHY!

When people speak of you, and they will, who will they affiliate you with? Whose follower will you be?

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13

The Scent of Water....grace for every kind of broken

2011-10-06T09:32:00.000-07:00

For there is hope for a tree,
if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,
and that its shoots will not cease.
Though its root grow old in the earth
and its stump die in the soil,
yet at the scent of water it will bud
and put out branches like a young plant.
JOB 14:7 – 9

I don’t know if there is a formula for reviewing books, and I’m sure that the abbreviated description I give here of an outstanding book will not even begin to do it justice, but I hope that simply because I am holding it up to you as something worth while you will take my word for it and read it.

I had no idea what this book was going to be about, but the fact that she is Ravi Zacharias’ daughter, and Anne Voskamp recommended it on her reading list on Holy Experience were two reasons that assured me it was worth taking a chance on; I underestimated it.

The Scent of Water by Naomi Zacharias is a continuation for me of a Bible study that we did at church this last summer on prayer. We studied different countries and cultures, and then prayed for those people groups within those cultures and the issues that we in this country can’t even imagine. Issues that they face as the norm everyday. A theme ran through the entire study that we all, admittedly, recognized by the end of the summer. Women and female children in other countries, especially third world countries, suffer tremendously.

I did not intentionally read this book for that reason, as I said, I had no idea what it was about, but the theme and subject were not lost to me as memories of this study at church came to mind as I read.

In The Scent of Water she puts names and faces, and personalities to the generalities that we learned in our Bible Study. I found myself feeling sick after reading some of the chapters, and actually told someone the book was depressing. I realized that as I read further and she shared her observations, the lessons learned about perspective and how experiencing hopeless situations changed her, that if I HAD been able to read this book without the sorrow and sickness in my stomach, there would have been something desperately wrong with me.

As I read this book, not just about the situations and circumstances through wonderfully told stories told by an excellent story teller, I appreciated her admission that one of the biggest reasons that she started Wellspring Ministries was because she is a fixer, and this outreach made her realize that she couldn’t rely on herself; she saw her limitations and only God would do in these situations and circumstances. However, she also was reminded that she could be Jesus over and over again to others in the smallest, gentlest, and easiest ways and make an impact on a heart and a life.

At the end of the book is a review that I felt captured the entire tome perfectly—I share it with you here.

Naomi Zacharias takes us on an eloquent, page-turning tour of abject human suffering, giving us an intimate view of physical, mental, and emotional despair on a level we can barely comprehend. As she relates the painful stories of others, she leads us on a parallel track, describing her own personal struggles and heartaches. Instead of impeding her goal to help others, the very hardships she was experiencing empowered her to empathize with them. It was through losing herself in the suffering of others that Naomi found herself, and through witnessing the sheer triumph of spirit in people who converted agonizing experiences into unquenchable flames of service that she discovered the boundlessness of God’s grace. For when God is in charge, there is hope for the seemingly hopeless, hope that can flourish with just a “scent” of God’s promise of redemption. In The Scent of Water, Naomi shows us the truth of James 1:2 – 4: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

DAVID LIMBAUGH nationally syndicated columnist and author of Crimes against Liberty

The Ultimate Messenger

2011-09-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have a friend who had a hard weekend ahead of her. I had promised her I would be praying for her.

As I had my devotions Saturday morning I thought about her. Our friendship is more of an internet type of deal as we see each other only at church and church related functions as she works during the week and I am at home most of the time. We never pick up the phone and call. We facebook or e-mail with little time actually being spent in one another’s company. However when we are able to actually spend time together it is rich~~so rich.

Something the commentator in my devotional book said made me think back to a time before the internet and e-mail. Now I am thankful to receive and be able to send those little reminders to folks I love, care about and am praying for, letting them know that I AM praying for them, they are on my heart and in my thoughts. However, it reminded me that before all that, instant messaging had to be done through the ultimate messenger, the Holy Spirit..

This realization came when I realized that He sends messages—yes, long before telephones, facebook, e-mail, texts and twitter, God knew how to let us know of his constant continual thoughts of us letting us know He loves me, is thinking of us, and Jesus is interceding for me at His throne all the time. .

“How precious are your thought of me, O God! How great is the sum of them!" Ps 139:17

Rainbows in the clouds, sunsets and sunrises, that stops us in our tracks, a rainstorm in the midst of dryness, a newborn baby fresh from his arms.

“Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.” Ps 66:5

Of all the messages you may receive today I hope you know—

“…and your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to you in order; If I would declare and speak them they are more than can be numbered.” Ps 40:5b

A moment not lost.........

2011-09-09T08:13:00.000-07:00

We were hearing advertisements on the radio at night or early in the morning about the WWI Memorial and Museum in Kansas City. The only reason these caught our attention was because Kevin Costner was doing the speaking—his voice is recognizable.

We were going to do a weekend get away to KC before the push of two jobs the guys were working on and decided that the WW I Museum and Memorial was one of the things we would take in. Even though we had been to Kansas City many times, I’m ashamed to say we didn’t know it was there and had never visited it.

It was educational, enlightening, interesting, all the things I know that any museum and memorial are going for to attract people.

As we wandered our way around and through, you couldn’t help but notice a group of young service men in fatigues going through as well. It was a self guided tour, so we kept bumping into a few of them here and there throughout. We also encountered a man about our age accompanying two elderly gentlemen in wheelchairs who were veterans; you could tell by their hats and the patches and emblems on them.

It was a moving exhibit. The reality of war always is. You couldn’t help but read about the hardships they suffered in the trenches, with mud, cold, snow, and sickness without being moved. As I stood reading the time line of a portion of the war, getting close to the end of it all, explaining the armistice that was signed in 1918, I turned and was caught up in what was one of the most poignant moments of the entire tour for me.

As I had been reading absorbed in the information and pictures before me I had not noticed the elderly veteran in the wheelchair who had rolled up beside me on my left, or the young man in fatigues who now stood on my right. One who knew war and had fought for this nation we live in, and one who was in the midst of it now. I was flanked not just physically but emotionally by two men who had fought, and were fighting for my freedom, the freedom of others, and the liberty that we all enjoy. The moment was not lost on me. I choked, tears came to my eyes and, I’m sorry to say, I had to walk away. If I had tried to speak to either one of them to say thank you I would have lost it.

9-11 is this weekend.

As we are hearing things about all the events planned for this weekend, the scene at the WWI Memorial came to me. 9-11 was an act of war, and the horrors of that day ten years ago are still with us, just as the horrors of every war America has ever fought in are still with us. But as I think about all that happened, I take comfort in the fact that like wars before, there are those that have battled and will continue to battle on that we can live in freedom in this nation.

I may not have been able to say it that day but I can now………..

Thank You!

Paying it Forward

2011-08-22T16:09:00.000-07:00

Roger and I usually eat out on Sunday’s after church. It is my “day off”. However, I had quite a bit at home I wanted to try to accomplish Sunday afternoon so I ask Rog if we could just run through McDonalds and pick up lunch and take it home, plus I needed a Coke really bad.

He complied.

As we swung through the double drive through, we noticed a pretty red car in the other ordering lane that actually wound up in front of us when we turned the corner to go to the “pay here” window. It had a Missouri tag on it, which isn’t unusual at a McDonalds a half a block from the interstate. We thought nothing of it.

As we pulled up to the window to pay, the young lady told us “It is already taken care of.” I can only imagine the expressions on our faces as we both looked at her and said, “What!??” She said, “Your meal has been paid for.” “By who?” we both asked in unison. She looked at the red car at the pick up window and said, “The lady in that car. She said to tell you ‘Thank you Jesus’.”

Roger’s response was, “But she is from Missouri!” (in other words, she doesn’t even know us!) The little girl grinned and said, “I only know she paid for your meal.”

By this time the red car had pulled away. As we pulled up to the pick up window to get our food, we both strained forward to catch a glimpse of our “gifter” as she turned back onto the road. She looked over at us too, grinned really big and waved; needless to say we both smiled and waved right back.

As we drove off, the obvious question came from Rog, “WHY! Would she do that?”

I remembered a movie we saw years ago called “Pay it Forward” starring Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey and Haley Joel Osment. The premise was exactly what this lady had done. Do a good deed for someone with no expectation, and simply ask them to “pay it forward”.

As we watched her turn back onto the interstate I told Rog, maybe she wants us to “pay it forward”.

A gentle unexpected kindness from a stranger. Surprising and refreshing. I know how it made us feel, and I’m thinking that if something as simple as a ‘quarter pounder’ with fries and a Coke can make someone’s day, perhaps it should be done more often. I’m now looking forward to the chance to “pay it forward” for someone and hope to get to see the look on the face of the recipient…….I’m sure they will be smiling to.

"Therefore, whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them, because this summarizes the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:12

You don't really want to do that...........

2011-08-19T15:20:00.000-07:00

Roger and I went out to dinner last night.

The restaurant where we went is small, and the tables are what I would call close together. It wouldn’t have mattered.

When we walked in and sat down at our table, there were three young ladies, I’d say college age, at the table next to us. One of them was on her cell phone.

As we sat down and waited for the waiter to come take our orders, it became apparent that the young woman on her cell phone was in a strained conversation with or about a young man. It was a private conversation.

At least it should have been.

As we sat there looking at the menu, not even at arm’s length away from this girl, we both squirmed and cast glances at one another over our menu’s trying not to over hear her side of the conversation—that was impossible--and it wasn’t pretty.

I didn’t want to be there. From the looks on the faces of her companions, they didn’t really want to be there either. Can you say AWKWARD???

I wanted so badly to lean over, pull her phone away from her ear and look her straight in the eye and say to her—

“You don’t really want to do that here…………..do you?”

Yes, folks, I’m begging you; please consider those around you when you are having a cell phone conversation in public.

Not a Trivial Pursuit

2011-07-25T08:08:00.000-07:00

I know. I’ve been gone from here for almost two months. Life is good, don’t worry, but as usual, God is teaching me things, and I’ve been writing them down. This is one of them………

Remember the game Trivial Pursuit?

You pursued knowing trivia; unimportant mindless trivia, and you actually won for knowing it.

I am finding that my life, our world, is full of trivia.

I have spent a week off the internet. I felt compelled to fast and pray for some folks last week, and as I was having more folks over to eat than usual, I knew fasting from food was not going to be logical, yet I knew I was supposed to pray and sacrifice for these folks. I figured that the internet is something I spend a good amount of time on, so I decided to cut it…………..out.

I’m back on now, but in a very limited quantity.

I sat down and checked my e-mail on Sunday afternoon. Out of 94 emails, 5 were pertinent, and the information in those, I actually already knew. Trivia filled my in box. I deleted most or all of it without looking at it. If you forwarded me something you thought I’d enjoy reading, sorry, I didn’t read it.

I went to facebook. There were wonderful pictures of my new great nephew who is still in the NICU and thriving, those were a lift and a wonder, and some fun pictures of friends new babies, but the rest…………you guessed it… Trivia.

I did not read my favorite blogs on Sun. I waited and relished those on Mon. morning while Sam slept. Those WERE NOT trivia. They were like letters from friends telling me what they are learning as they walk with Jesus on this earth. They were encouraging, and inspiring, and uplifting. I’ll continue to check those every day.

I found that reading the word, praying the Psalms for those I was praying for and doing so many other things that are not trivial made a HUGE difference in my week.

Over the past couple of days as I’ve checked in with those I’ve been praying for, things are improving or at least they are learning new coping mechanisms for the storms that are raging in their lives.

So I ask myself; Trivia……….do I really want to pursue that?

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you.”—Matt 6:33

In God's defense

2011-06-01T09:27:00.000-07:00

I take a devotional magazine called Table Talk, from Ligonier Ministries. Dr. Sprole is an apologist of amazing qualifications and has the list of literary accomplishments to prove it. I appreciate him and his writing, and the work and study that it takes to defend the faith of millions of Christians against the onslaught of philosophies out there that would attempt to undermine it.

Reading his books, articles, and the devotional magazine put out by his organization simply reiterates and establishes in my mind what I already know. God IS God. That the things written about Him, and by Him, and for Him are true and I can believe it with my whole heart.

But as I read Dr. Sprole's books, and those by Ravi Zacharius, one of my favorite speakers and apologist’s, I am constantly reminded that there are millions of others out there that make these men’s job of “defending the gospel” necessary. These men like Paul who have studied and shown themselves approved defend the gospel and our faith on the world stage in debates and discussions to remind the rest of mankind that Jesus DID walk on this earth, we are not some accident of a cosmic explosion, and that there is an absolutely phenomenally well planned, and intricately detailed plan in place for what their counterparts want to call “all this chaos”.

Does God need to be defended, absolutely not, but Paul does exhort us in scripture to be prepared to defend our faith and the hope we have in Jesus Christ. I just realize that my level of defense needs to be strengthened.

I remember reading one time where one of the great current apologists was being interviewed and was asked if he ever struggled in his faith. His response was surprising to me. He said that because they spend so much time proving the scriptures, defending the faith that it can become easy to forget that it IS our faith which is the determining factor in our relationship with Almighty God.

Faith to keep going in any and all circumstances.
Faith to believe when all around you doubt.
Faith to suffer.
Faith to give your life for another.

It isn’t the facts and figures, it is Faith. That is where it starts. Faith.

You know in 2 Cor. 13 Faith is listed as one of the gifts of the Spirit. It is a gift. From God.

Many times in the gospel accounts Jesus marveled at the faith, not of the Jews, but of the unbelievers; the centurion with the sick servant, the woman with the sick child, a small boy with five loaves and two fish. It makes me think and ask myself. How is my faith?

“For it is by grace that you are saved through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” –Eph. 2:8-9

"Do you love me?"

2011-05-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

It is the end of the Easter season—if for Christians there really ever is an end to the Easter season.

As I’ve read the gospels during this time period I was struck by the passage in John 21:15-23 that the church always refers to as the part where Jesus restores or reinstates Peter.

Jesus has risen from the dead. He has appeared to his disciples—numerous times in fact. This time he is on the beach cooking breakfast. The disciples have been fishing. As they return to shore, Peter sees Jesus on the shore, jumps from the boat, leaving the others in eager anticipation of reaching his Lord and Teacher before the others.

When they arrive and as they eat, Jesus turns to Peter and asks him a question.

“Simon, son of Jonah, do you truly love me more than these?”

Peter’s response is quick, “Yes, Lord, you know I love you.”

But Jesus repeats the question, “Simon son of Jonah, do you truly love me?”

Again Peter responds, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you,”

But again Jesus asks, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

This time Peter’s response is to put it back on the Lord, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Remember this is the same guy who not a few weeks before had denied ever knowing Jesus for fear of what others would do if they knew he did know Jesus. As the question kept coming up, I’m thinking that the memory or that time of betrayal became clearer and clearer in Peters mind.

This appears to be the only time in scripture where Jesus confronts Peter one on one in a non-confrontational way about the proverbial “How do you really feel about me?” following his death and resurrection.

We don’t know whether Jesus ask these questions over and over because he wanted to make Peter feel better about himself, or assure him that he understood Peter’s denial, or even that he forgave him, although all those things could be true.

Jesus had a job for Peter. Every time he asked the question he followed it by giving the instruction. “Feed my sheep”, or “Tend my sheep”.

You see Jesus knew that for Peter to continue on in the calling of a follower of his, as a minister on his behalf, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, Peter’s love for Christ would be what enabled him to feed his sheep. Jesus knew that Peter would have to love his Lord so much that he would never deny or disregard him again. Jesus knew that Peters love for him would have to be his all in all.

The last time Jesus said, “Feed my sheep” He followed it with, “I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Jesus was telling Peter that his life was no longer his own to do with as he pleased. Jesus had a job for him and Peter’s love for Jesus was going to be the fuel, the catalyst that gave him the ability to manifest itself in proclaiming Jesus, and tending and caring for the flock. Sure enough, when the Day of Pentecost arrived, and the Holy Spirit came, Peter’s love for his Lord, coupled with the Power of the Holy Spirit enabled him to “feed Christ’s sheep”, and yes, later on, even die for his faith in his Lord.

So as I read this passage and the words, “Do you love me?”, kept coming off the page, and I realized the direction Peters live took after this exchange, I wondered, would I sound a lot like Peter in my response to Jesus if he asked me “Do you love me?”

If Jesus asked you, “Do you love me?” What would you say?

The book was better………

2011-04-27T18:47:00.001-07:00

How many times have you watched a movie based on a book you read and said the above?

Why does Hollywood take an incredible story, (they obviously thought it was incredible or they wouldn’t have TRIED to make a movie out of it), and mess it up?

This is the second time Roger and I have watched movies based on books we have read, and been disappointed by the way the movie industry dissected it to be what they wanted it to be.

When they have to do that I am thinking they are better off just leaving it alone rather than ruin the story.

The two movies I’m referring to are the The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz made into the movie The Way Back and The Belski Brothers by Peter Duffy, made into the movie Defiance.

Both of these books were written about events that took place during WWII. They are excellent stories of resilience and courage, sacrifice and strength. But if you have read the books you realize they came up light in those attributes when you watch the film.

When I have read a book where the author is recording history and the movie industry puts sex where there was none, and violence where there was none, and changes the story to represent what THEY want it to be I’m saddened……because as Roger said. “It was a good story. Why didn’t they just tell it the way it was? Why mess with it? They must have thought it was a good story too and should be told, so why did they change it?”

Are endurance, strength, sacrifice for the sake of others such boring concepts to hold people’s attention that they feel they have to put a sex scene, pornography, violence, and foul language in where the author, even if it was present, or happened, didn’t deem it necessary to mention it in the book?

I guess the thing that bothers me is that we are such a visual society, that more people will see the movie than read the book. The story will be told wrong, and the author and the events of his life or their lives misrepresented to the world. If I had done the things that the Belski Brothers or Slavomir Rawicz had done, I would be saddened by the “liberty” that had been taken with the facts.

Like I said, the book is better…….

Focal Points

2011-04-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten to give Thanks.

Life is speeding up and I’m losing sight in the blur of time to “see” what I am thankful for.

The faster Sam moves, the faster time speeds by, and I’m losing my focus—it’s easy to do….

I’ve been here before, the haste and hurry of days as children grow and begin to motor toward life, faster and faster till in the spinning it all begins to blur. But I’ve learned some lessons about finding a focal point, keeping your eye on it, and you won’t have such a hard time seeing..

So as he sleeps, and I hear his steady breathing in the monitor after he hummed and cooed himself to sleep, I am sitting here giving thanks for:

--That little sing-song voice I hear in the monitor that slowly fades into rhythmic steady breathing.

--The beautiful spring day with the Lilies of the Valley’s just on the verge of blooming.

--Clean warm laundry fresh from the dryer.

--Remembrances of the Palm Sunday when I was baptized at 12 years of age and understanding when the pastor placed his wet hand on my head and told me that Jesus had washed away my sins.

--Easter is coming

--Sunshine

--The mowing is done…….for another week.

--It’s time to start planting flowers and getting the deck ready for sitting out and lolling away warm spring days and hot summer evenings with a tall glass of iced tea.

--The sounds of the mockingbird……yes he is back and chattering up a storm.

--A bluebird that comes and sits on the pillar not 5 feet from my kitchen window, so close the blue of his feathers shine iridescent in the sun—he is beautiful.

I’ve prayed for God to give me eyes to see—really see—the things of value of importance, that will “make the heart glad”, and he is......giving me sight, because He is my focal point.

What is yours?

Rubberplants & Remembrances

2011-03-27T14:01:00.000-07:00

Don’t think I’ve dropped from the planet………..I’ve been sick.
We are talking--spend the day in bed taking narcotic cough syrup so you can finally get some rest—sick.
Never—NEVER!!—are we as thankful for good health as when we don’t have it.

The year I was going to celebrate the big "Sweet 16" my mother and I had planned to go to Manhatten where my sister Alane was attending KSU. It was parents’ weekend and I was going to get to spend my 16th birthday at college with my older sister and her college friends doing cool college girl stuff—I was ecstatic.
I had shared with all my friends at school what I was going to get to do, and a few teachers too, as several of them knew my sister and asked about her frequently. Everyone shared my excitement.

That Friday morning I got up and got dressed, finished packing my suitcase, and took it downstairs. I didn’t feel well, but went ahead and ate breakfast and got ready to go to school. I think I remember Mother questioning me as to whether I felt alright, but I wasn’t about to miss the awesome weekend ahead so I assured her I was good.

Somewhere during that Friday I remember being called to the principal’s office. Which I thought was sort of strange, but I had been in a fog all day, so I didn’t’ think much about it. There stood my mother. Apparently, everyone else could tell I was sick but me. The secretary, who had been called by one of the teachers, called my mom to come and get me. Sure enough when we arrived home and she took my temperature, the trip to K-State was cancelled. What made matters worse was that I found out later that my sister and her roommate had ordered a cake, decorated their room and were anxiously awaiting our arrival to surprise me. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the weekend feeling pretty sorry for myself, and sicker than a dog.

This birthday brought back all those memories, as I stayed home from church on Sunday in a cough syrup induced coma trying to get better.

Imagine my surprise when Rog came home with a lovely card, signed by all the folks in our Sunday School class, a beautiful rubber tree plant, and….wait for it……..CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES from The Sweet Granada!!!! Yes, those would make anyone feel better.

So as I continue to recover from this “stuff”, I’m reminded again how very important it is to let people know you care about them, love and appreciate them; especially when you are fortunate enough to be the one on the receiving end of it.

From whence comes my help??

2011-02-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

Last month at Angel Food Distribution the pastor from the Eureka church, that drives an hour one way to pick up their food for distribution, told me that the church had voted to discontinue doing Angel Food any longer sighting several legitimate reasons; lack of volunteers, his own health issues, and orders being down. I was saddened to hear this, but understood, and wished him well.

As I went on line this week to print out our monthly paperwork, I noticed that the Eureka church had orders filed, so I called him. He immediately apologized, and stated that yes, they had orders and were going to continue Angel Food after all. A small, lay driven church, (meaning that it is so small they have no pastor, at least full time), about 12 miles from Eureka had contacted him offering to take orders, and even drive the two hour trip to pick up the food if they would allow them to use their facilities for distribution. It was an offer he couldn’t refuse. He told me that he would be bringing “a few” of their folks up on Sat. to get the lay of the land and meet us.

When Sat. rolled around, as I drove to the church at 5:45 a.m. I went over in my head all the people who had told me that they would be unable to help this month due to Childrens Quizzing, Upwards Basketball, and various other scheduling conflicts. I figured we would do well to have 4 or 5 men there to help unload the truck, with myself and one other lady. Imagine my surprise when I walked in and there was the Pastor from the Eureka church with 7 men ready to help upload the truck and learn the ropes. Needless to say we had the truck unloaded in short fashion.

Due to the scheduling conflicts for so many, I also knew that my regular helpers that help with distribution and carrying boxes out to the cars would be gone and I would more than likely be distributing all by myself. Not to worry, I had my trusty cart and felt confident I could handle it.

Shock is the only word I can use to describe the feeling I had when, as everyone was dispersing to go their separate ways, I turned and there was a young woman from Emporia State and 8 International Students standing in the hall. When I asked her if I could help her, she replied “We are here to help with Angel Food”. I checked their backs for wings.

The morning went smoothly, and the distribution was great. They caught on fast, we chatted and shared things about their native countries and they even helped put things away as time grew to a close.

When they left and I was left alone thanking and praising God for the help that He had provided, I realized something that amazed me.

These students were only here for one semester on a student exchange program. The organization that they were with, GIVE, was only started last year by the young woman who spoke to me at the beginning.

God not only provided help with the unloading, and the distribution, but part of that help came from half way around the world!!! I couldn’t have come up with that plan in my wildest dreams. Kids here studying for one semester from South Korea and China helping distribute Angel Food!!

We have been studying in both Sunday School and in Ladies Bible Study about the children of Israel when God led them into the Wilderness; the lessons he wanted them to learn. As they encountered hunger He supplied manna from heaven, and when they thirsted for water, He supplied it from a rock; I’m thinking that those too were pretty unlikely methods of feeding someone and quenching their thirst. So, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised when the help I need comes from half way around the world, huh?

The Psalmist states in Chapter 121:1-2

1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

One Thousand Gifts...a Review

2011-01-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

There are certain books that you read in life that when you do read them think them the best kept secret known to man. You go back and re-read them, maybe all or parts. Hinds Feet on High Places, The Prodigal God, The Jesus I Never Knew, What’s so Amazing about Grace, those are a few of mine.

Now I have another one.

One Thousand Gifts by Anne Voskamp is one of those books. If you have checked my links at all, the ones that I check and read every day for inspiration, cheer, encouragement, and all those things that we in the family of God are supposed to do for one another, you will find Holy Experience there.

Sometimes people write books that you read and they are you, verbalizing in a way you can’t. Saying what you have learned, are experiencing, and you wonder if perhaps your dilemmas in this place are not that uncommon to more folk than you realize.

Hardships, sorrow’s, heartbreak, we have experienced them, but how do we respond, what do we learn, take away from them? Maybe we know what we should learn and take away, but do we remember and retain and keep and cherish those lessons learned? You will find answers in here from a fellow traveler who has found the door and is holding it open for the rest of us to go through, being that signpost that we are all called to be—“this is the way, walk in it.”

I was a fan of Ann Voskamp before. Her daily writing has become a small part of my devotions each day to focus my mind on loving God with all my heart, soul, and might. I am even more impressed and encouraged by her willingness to lead the way through the aftermath of the mire life can become, by sharing her story, and the lessons learned, and remembered, and followed. But most of all by the Christ she points to.

You will cry, you will grin, and you will feel it deep inside you as you read and relate and thank God, and Praise Him for these words that have come from a place of deep truth born of deeper sorrow. Just the beginning of being Thankful.
If you are experiencing dark days, the darkest you couldn’t even imagined, or you have experienced such days, and come through praying that nothing like that ever repeats itself, this book is for you, for it reminds us of the most important thing of “giving thanks in all circumstances” and why……..yes, why…….the most important part.

"When Hell Freezes Over"

2011-01-20T11:35:00.000-08:00

I’ve been reading in the prophets lately—a little “lite” reading, but as usual something came off the page that made me think of the above saying.

When God gave Jeremiah the word of the New Covenant He would bring to His people, He said:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

He followed that in Chapter 33 by telling just how He would do this.

Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’
“For thus says the LORD: ‘David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; nor shall the priests, the Levites, lack a man to offer burnt offerings before Me, to kindle grain offerings, and to sacrifice continually.’ ”

This promise, and the explanation of the fulfillment of it are the prophecy of Christ’s coming, Jesus fulfilled these by coming and dyeing for our sins.
Most of you would say, “Yes, Andrea we know all this.”
BUT did you know that God followed both of these promises with a “when Hell freezes over” confirmation?

Thus says the LORD,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The LORD of hosts is His name):
“If those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the LORD,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”
Thus says the LORD:
“If heaven above can be measured,
And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath,
I will also cast off all the seed of Israel
For all that they have done, says the LORD.
And again in Jeremiah 33:19

“Thus says the LORD: ‘If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ ”

Did you get that?

The challenges that He gives are, in essence, a “when hell freezes over” type of deal. He may not have used slang to express it, but I’m pretty sure He established the whole idea of such an absurd thing as “when hell freezes over” ever happening.

After all:
The sun will always rise, and night will follow day.
The stars cannot be counted.
We know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the caverns and caves of this earth.

So we can be assured His covenant will stand forever!

Whew...........another milestone another marker..

2011-01-15T02:37:00.000-08:00

January 15, 1977

Milestones and Markers

2011-01-01T14:51:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago we were invited to attend a birthday bash for my aunt who turned 94. I told Roger that when we get to be that old birthday celebrations become as important again as when you were 4; a huge milestone on both ends of a life.

But what about the in between? What milestones do we mark and how.

A year ago at this time we were in a whirlwind of recovery from a divorce, and the shock and awe of a grandchild who, like the Christ child’s, untimely existence and appearance was rocking our world. I attempted to make sense of it all, and was literally grasping in prayer for guidance, and help not only for Roger and me but for our children. I, as usual, had to keep my hands busy. A baby. What do I always do when there is the announcement of a baby? I make a quilt.

But this quilt would have to be special; after all it was going to be for our first grandchild.

During the time I stitched and sewed, I prayed. I hoped, I wished, and I cried out to God with every stitch asking that my prayers give way in the faith that God would see us through such a tumultuous time in our family.

Creativity is something that brings peace into my life. There is no better balm than when I am busy thinking about something else, and doing something when I feel I can do nothing.

I finished it yesterday, and Samuel received it on his first Christmas.

When I shook it out after sewing the last stitch and looked at the finished project, I cried because I remember where I was this time last year, emotionally, physically and spiritually. That quilt is a reminder of answered prayer, healing, restoration, and the joy that is ours. But most of all it is a reminder of God’s tender mercies. A milestone documented in a marker with a verse to remind us all that with every wish that was made, that with every prayer that was uttered, God has been faithful to stay with us, bring us through, reminding us of His compassion and mercy; His tender loving care.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

2010-12-24T12:03:00.000-08:00

the cross in christmas from tammi dryden on Vimeo.

The homemade kind.........

2010-12-20T19:55:00.000-08:00

They say necessity is the mother of invention. In the case of our past Christmas’s, lack of funds was usually the mother of invention, but for what we have because of it, I wouldn’t trade it for all the money in the world.

I have my tree up, something that takes me a couple of days to do, the assembly and lights one evening, and the decorations another day. I enjoy the entire process, but with two new members in our family this year, things that haven’t been noticed in years have been recognized and needed explanation. It made me realize the time that I have spent over the years, usually out of necessity, making our Christmas ornaments, and gifts.

I would see pictures in magazines of opulent Christmas trees covered in ornaments, and when we would get our tree each year, it always seemed so sparse in comparison. There wasn’t money to buy fancy ornaments, so I went the home made route with what else…..fabric. Handmade ornaments were purchased as flat pieces of fabric, cut out, sewn, stuffed, and stitched shut, and hung on the tree.
Other times it was with wood and paint.

These were all along with the ones made at church and school to take home to Mom and Dad.

When Audrey was 5 and Nic was 3, ready to turn 4 the Cabbage Patch Doll craze was on, of course Audrey wanted one, but as hard to come by as they were, and at $300 each there was no way. Once again fabric and kits came to the rescue. I remember staying up late after they were both in bed asleep making two “knock off” Cabbage Patch Dolls; a boy and a girl, Gilbert and Glory. They had complete wardrobes, the little girl doll even had a dress and pinafore that matched a dress and pinafore that I made for Audrey.

Not to leave Nic out, each of the kids got a robe, made by me that year. Nic’s was a quilted plaid, with a roll collar and double breasted—he looked so cute, and Audrey’s was a flannel quilted one much like the one I had. Our home at the time was a big old drafty refurbished school house, so keeping everyone warm was a priority. Footy, blanket sleepers and quilted robes were just the ticket.

I've always made homemade baked goods to give to friends, and Roger always receives a full recipe of his Mothers Date Bars, all for himself—but he always shares.

When we were homeschooling the kids were right in the thick of it. We made cookies, candy, Chex Party mix, and homemade bread, filling plates and jars, and decorating the bags they were delivered to the neighbors in.

It was all a lot of fun. And the expression on peoples faces, especially those of my family when they received a “handmade” gift was never one of disappointment; they were always thrilled.

I still enjoy the process of Christmas, mostly because the process involves doing it all for someone else. After all--that is what it is about isn't it?

A tribute............

2010-12-02T09:21:00.000-08:00

Stepping into the Light

After 18 years of battling the demon cancer Patty has left the battlefield to be with Jesus.

A warrior.

Through breast, and bone, to mind, her battle raged, yet her faith never failed. She breathed it, she lived it, she walked it, and she talked it.

In the midst of this particular battle, the enemy sought to divert her attention.

A helpmate suffering a stroke and living with scars and wounds of that battle, the enemy again trying to divert the attention of them both.

Marriages, divorces, births, deaths. Life went on, and she battled on through each one, growing weaker in flesh, but stronger in spirit. Her faith becoming as a bright light on the horizon growing ever brighter, ever stronger. She battled on.

The scripture that came to mind was the one where Paul tells the Philippians

22 But if I live, I can do more fruitful work for Christ. So I really don’t know which is better. 23 I’m torn between two desires: I long to go and be with Christ, which would be far better for me. 24 But for your sakes, it is better that I continue to live.
25 Knowing this, I am convinced that I will remain alive so I can continue to help all of you grow and experience the joy of your faith.

For the sake of family, loved ones, and friends she stayed and battled on.

She has not lost her battle, she has triumphed. She has won. She has stepped into the marvelous light; she is in the presence of her Savior, her God. She has come to a place of rest. Well deserved.

Rest dear friend, rest in the arms of Jesus.

Thankful..............

2010-11-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

November is the month of Thankfulness.
Thanksgiving Day is the day we focus on being thankful. I’ve noticed several people I know have “taken the thankfulness challenge” and have been posting something every day that they are thankful for. It’s been encouraging to see them taking the time to develop the vision for them to notice, and note said things.

My thankfulness encompasses much this year, but it isn’t really a list of things, it is for one thing in particular.

It is for a new perspective. Yes, I’m thankful that God has changed me. I have a new perspective. My eyes are seeing things I never saw before, my ears hear things that I never heard before. AND I can honestly say that the method and means by which he allowed this to come to pass was not of my choice or choosing, but it was by His design that it came and I was changed.

2009 was the year that will live in infamy in our family. Not for the bad or hard things that happened but for the good and wonderful things those bad and hard things brought about.

-Helplessness at realizing you don’t really have control—you just told yourself you did.

-Sorrow at the realization that you not only have failed God, but that you have failed others too.

-Embarrassment at people seeing maybe you weren’t what you thought, they thought, you were. (are you following me?)

-Brokenness at realizing that no matter how hard you try you will never measure up to God’s standards—that is why Jesus came.

I’ve never felt as helpless, sad, embarrassed, and broken as I have this past year.

And that is O.K.—good actually.

For out of the helplessness came a dependency on God that had never been there before. I actually find it easier to allow horrible news to come, realizing now that I have no control over the outcome, I just need to stay close to my Lord, hide in Him and let Him battle for me.

Out of the sorrow came a joy over the things that really do matter, not what you thought mattered. There is a shock at taking stock; of getting a different answer when you add things up. Realizing what really matters results in a different outcome. It’s a relief really, letting things go that were once important, and suddenly you can’t remember why.

Embarrassment brought a new level of humility. There is shame in exposure of our lives, our true and real sorrows. We try so hard to hide them. But there is freedom in failure too. Being brought to zero allows one to start over again, reevaluate, and hopefully not make those same mistakes again.

Brokenness yielded the true realization that God loves me for who I am, not who I think I am, or am trying to be, but for who I am—because THAT is who Jesus died for—me. There is nothing I can ever do to EARN God’s love, favor, or approval; nothing. Read it again. Nothing. Jesus has already done that. He has God’s love, favor and approval for what He did—for us. If we are IN Christ we are there, right along with Him, receiving God’s love, favor and approval. Think about it. What do you do with that knowledge?

I can say that I am truly thankful for this past year of so much being stripped away, so much truth being brought to the surface. Fire refines, growth happens in the valleys, sometimes you’ve got to tear things down to start again; great analogies but the truth none the less. We forget when we hear those analogies, however, that fire hurts, burns, and can even destroy—but leaves behind the valuable. Valley’s can be boggy, dark, wet, and frightening places. But all the growth, the fruit, is usually found there isn’t it. Demolition is messy, sometimes even dangerous, but it clears away the weak, decayed, rotten, and makes way for the new stronger, sounder sturcture.

Yes, I’m thankful; thankful for God who doesn’t give up on me.
I’m thankful for God, who when I tell Him I want to be more like HE wants me to be, starts working on my right away.

I am thankful that I was the thief who was forgiven much, and was reminded not to go out and beat someone who owes me little.

I am thankful that I am the woman caught in adultery that Christ forgave, and reminded to go and sin no more.

I am thankful that I am the lost lamb that Jesus left the 99 and 9 for to hunt me down and bring me back to the fold.

Yes! I am thankful………….

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. I Thess. 5:18

My entertainment

2010-11-08T17:35:00.001-08:00

There is no end to the entertainment at my house these days............

BECAUSE...................

(it says "I do all my own stunts")

Music from a tree

2010-10-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

I was raised to appreciate all music.
Like most people there is some I like more than others, but my appreciation for the people that create it and perform it is endless.
THIS however is beyond anything I have or could ever imagine. However as I watched, I realized that this could very well be an example of how music first began.

Diego Stocco - Music From A Tree from Diego Stocco on Vimeo.

"The heavens declare the glory of God and the earth proclaims His handiwork!"
PS 19:1
"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
Luke 19:40
Not an unheard of concept after hearing this.

"I don't know....."

2010-09-08T18:16:00.000-07:00

This past year has brought me to the end of myself in many ways.

I’m looking for some new beginnings, and am praying to get whatever God may have in store for me off to the right start.

You see, one of the things that I believe is that there is a lesson God wants us to learn in every situation and circumstance. As my sister said when she was going through cancer: “Let me get whatever your wanting me to get this time Lord, I don’t want to ever have to go through this again!”

I thought perhaps a list might be in order to help me collect my thoughts about who I am, what I believe, where I stand on certain issues (irrefutable issues i.e. God DOES exist, etc. etc.) (can you put the existence of God in with the etc.’s?!) I won’t list them all here. (collective whew!)

As I explained to someone, “I’ve never heard myself say ‘I don’t know?’ so much in so many situations and circumstances as I have in the past year. My ‘don’t know’s’ far and away exceed my ‘knows’.

I realized something the other day that was somewhat of a light bulb which served to expose the empty space that is now “I don’t know.”

I was standing in a group of friends the other day, and everyone was talking, and reminiscing about raising their children. As I listened to them drop pearls of wisdom on childrearing and upbringing of kids; pearls that I too had espoused to as I raised two kids, I realized that even though I had myself thought those very statements to be true and foolproof, I could no longer state them as a fail safe formula for raising kids.

Those in the crowd commented to my sister after I left that “Andrea was really quiet.” I found myself listening to conversations that I had been raised around and taken part in all my life, that now with the frame of reference I have, I see totally different.

I feel like those war veterans who have been in the thick of battle, and come home to a culture and environment that is completely unaware of what they have been through and how it has affected them; life has continued as normal for these folks, while your acclimating back into what is now, a somewhat unfamiliar environment. I spoke with a friend of mine the other day who is on the other side of a rather messy divorce, and she understood exactly what I meant.

Some would say my confidence is simply shaken, others would say the tried and true are still the best, but let me tell you—I don’t know. I no longer ‘know’ A LOT of things. Listening made me feel bad about myself. Why wasn’t I able to get the same results they did using the same methods? Because as I heard a father of eight children say once, “there are as many different ways to raise children as there are children.”

Looking back, and mind you hind sight is ALWAYS 20/20, I felt bad about the fact that I wasn’t strong enough long ago to go with my instincts many times and raise my kids the way my heart told me to instead of the way everyone else told me to. For example: I no longer believe that you must “buck up” when life is hard. Sometimes it is o.k. to go to bed and eat a quart of ice cream, and sometimes it is o.k. to come home with your tail between your legs licking your wounds. Because sometimes it is necessary to take time to heal and regroup, so you’re stronger to go back into the battle.

I have experienced that as much as you might think you know what you would do in a certain situation, when it happens, what you wind up doing may surprise you—and be the best thing after all.

I will never again say to someone “I know how you feel”; because I don’t. Until you have walked in someone else’s shoes, you can’t even begin to imagine how they feel. And because of that, I can’t possibly begin to give anyone advice or suggestions as to how their situation should be handled and I certainly am in no position to criticize.

Even as adults we never grow out of needing other people to come along side us and just love us, and offer a helping hand, and not say a word.

Sometimes in the Christian community our expectations of others often mirror society and its expectations of us more than we realize. And that sometimes the Christian community can inflict wounds that hurt far worse than the worlds.

I would rather laugh than cry, a really good laugh that massages the insides and leaves you breathless, and stops you in your tracks. I am making it a point to look for more of those all the time.

Because of some of these things and many others that I’ve experienced firsthand, I find myself moving very slowly these days. I feel like I’m starting all over in so many areas of my life that if I hurry like I did when I was 25, I’ll mess it up, or miss it altogether.

Perhaps that is why I have slowed down. I know when I am sick, sick enough to wind up in bed with a fever and sick as a dog, things being done around the house or in the office, or out in the yard, or at church, or anywhere else for that matter—simply don’t matter; and they are always there when I feel better. They wait for you.

You may be reading this and thinking, “I can’t believe she didn’t know that?” But let me say, there is a vast difference in “knowing” (or thinking you know) something, and experiencing it firsthand. Now when I hear the phrase, “There but for the Grace of God go I”, I feel it in my gut.

I still don’t know so many things, and I’m pretty sure that I never will know as much as I should, so the best thing I am learning is that when I don’t know, and I’m at the end of myself I do remember that God loves me. THAT I do know!

Artwork by Mike at One at a Time Products

The Rainbow

2010-08-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

I don’t usually write about my husband on my blog.
Rog is a quiet person, and loathes attention of any kind, much less being “featured” on one of my blogs. However, he shared this story in Sunday school yesterday (a public forum, so to speak) so I am sharing it too.

We are reading the book Crazy Love in our Sunday school class, Rog is the “facilitator” (we don’t use the word teacher :)) and he shared a praise at the beginning of class when we share our prayer requests and praises.

The past few weeks the guys have been pouring A LOT of concrete. It can be a stressful thing, especially when you take into account weather complications.

The basement they have currently been working on has presented some problems and as Rog said himself, “I have been finding in the past weeks that I need to trust God more.”

As they prepared for the pour on Fri. morning, there was a 60% chance of showers. Now in some parts of the world, 60% isn’t a lot, however for Kansas in Aug. when they say 60% you sit up and pay attention. He did.

He prayed about it, and asked God to show him what to do perhaps a sign that he was with him in this decision. He went ahead and scheduled the pour for early in the morning. The trucks full of concrete arrived as the sun was coming up, and they poured the floor without incident. The clouds were around, and yes it looked like rain in the distance, it even sprinkled a little bit after they were done.

Roger shared that as he stood in the sprinkles he was aware that they had done the pour without rain, but had he really heard from God, or was he going on his own instincts. Did God really show him………..

At that moment as they dug out the cold drinks for a break, the sun came fully up over the eastern horizon, and in the west a perfect full rainbow appeared. One of the most perfect and fully formed rainbows that either of us could ever remember seeing.

He said that at that moment he knew that rainbow was his.

I have no doubt of it either, and as we looked at each other with tears in our eyes we both knew that God in his faithfulness had answered Rogers prayer.

(picture credit John Wise.com)

Dancing in the mind fields...........

2010-08-17T14:32:00.000-07:00

Forty years ago the 8th of Aug. my sister Alane and her husband Steve got married. It was 108 degrees in the shade..................and the air conditioner in the church wasn't working right. To this day, when people who haven't seen them in years do see them one of the first things they say is "Boy! Do I remember your wedding."

When I heard this song I thought of them
It's no small fete being married that long. It's hard work some days. But by God's grace it happens, and I think they will attest that the longer they are married, it truly is by God's Grace.

So this is for them, and Richard and Dorothy, and Anita and Cliff, and all the others of our siblings who have danced successfully for the past 40+ years.

Gods plans

2010-08-05T05:28:00.000-07:00

I have been reading the Old Testament again.

I’ve come to the part where David decided to take a census.

The exact phrasing is: “Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census.”

Just before this, God had blessed David by establishing his kingdom and even making his promise that David’s line would reign forever.

Just when we think we’ve got it sewn up, Satan walks in.

Why would God “allow” Satan to provoke David to take a census?

When the wrath of God comes because David chose to do this, he gives David a choice (first and only time in scripture, man got to “choose” his punishment). David chooses to “fall into the hands of the Lord, for His mercy is very great…..”

For three days Israel was plagued, literally, and Jerusalem was being destroyed when David went before God and reminded him that he, David, was the one that had ordered the census, not “these sheep”.

Thousands died due to one man’s sin, WHICH if we look at it the way the commentators do, was part of God’s plan all along!!

(Job lost all his children, and everything he owned—because God allowed Satan to cause trouble.)

WHY DOES HE DO THAT!!!???

Why does he allow Satan to tempt, lead astray, causing us to fall, maybe even destroying us?

Believe it or not, this is a small picture of God’s mercy toward mankind. A few thousands died in the three day period of punishment for David’s sin-----all of mankind would die for Adam’s sin.

*The sacrifice made that day on the threshing floor of Ornan, was in the exact spot where Abraham had planned to sacrifice Isaac, before God stopped him.

*It was a forerunner to the ultimate sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ for the sins of the entire world--it stayed God's hand.

*The location of the threshing floor which David paid a large price to purchase that day, and where he would continue to sacrifice later became the location of the temple mount; the spot where his son Solomon would build the great and magnificant Temple of God.

When I read this I have to believe and know that God knows what He is doing when sorrow, hardship, and heartache come. I have to believe that through examples like this He shows us His self control and, yes, His love – God plans ahead --- scripture reveals it.

If I keep all this in my heart and am mindful of this perspective (an eternal perspective) then I can find myself trusting Him more for the plans He has for us……

“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

God has plans……………….

Baby Days

2010-08-02T13:16:00.001-07:00

From whence my help comes

2010-07-17T14:09:00.000-07:00

In the past year I have found out that I can do things I never imagined myself doing; not just physically, but mentally and spiritually.

My sister in law asked how things were going the other day, and I told her they were good. She asked if I was still keeping Sam; my response, “everyday, all day”. She said she didn’t know how I did it, that it would wear her out and exhaust her, and when he starts crawling and walking it was going to be a real job.

Her comment made me realize what all I’ve encountered in the past year. That if I had known it was coming would have told you straight out, not only that it wouldn’t happen, but that I would have handled it completely different than I have. I realized that in the past year I’ve dealt with and done more things than I could have ever imagined myself doing and I have done them differently than I would have ever imagined. I have changed so much in the past year as to how I used to think and function to what I think and function at this moment, I can’t begin to list all the changes. Through it all there have been times of overwhelming grief, worry and exhaustion but on the flip side there has been such joy that it is unexplainable, and a sense of peace that can only come from God.
I know enough to know that none of it is over, simply because life will continue and go on, and the days aren’t written yet; except in God’s day timer, and He is the only one who sees that.

As I was relating the conversation to Audrey, I chuckled and said, “well, it will either get me in shape or kill me………either way, I win”

At that moment I thought of Caleb—yep, the one who went into the Promised Land with Joshua, the one who was there through the plaques in Egypt and the deliverance through the Red Sea, and went into the Promised Land as a spy with the others who came back and gave a bad report, sealing their own fate at never getting to enter that Promised Land again.

But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land

He was there and saw it all. He knew God was strong enough to bring them through the trials of Egypt, and he knew God would give them the Promised Land.

His comment, when he went to collect the land promised to him, has stuck with me.

“And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in."

In this battle that we continue to fight as we live on this earth, I think of Caleb; wholly committed to the Lord and receiving the strength to go on and forward to the Promised Land……………..Promised. God Promised………………I’m planning on going in, but first I have to fight some battles, continue in the war. I’m counting on God to give strength and longevity if that is what He has for me.

And Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance…….. because he wholly followed Jehovah, the God of Israel…….And the land had rest from war.

As a friend of mine said once, “I can sleep when I’m dead.”

I’ll rest when God says it’s time.

Little helpers

2010-07-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Our kids have always been the kind to jump in and help.

Yep, nothin's changed :)

The smile that melts.........

2010-07-05T06:24:00.000-07:00

I haven't seen this smile in many years. The one that melts your heart right into a puddle down to the floor.
I remember those smiles from tiny faces, and now they are back.
That smile that says, "I'm glad to see your face."
I find myself melting a lot these days.

The Twilight series

2010-07-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

For those on facebook who were willing to share openly with me about the Twilight series, I want to respond by saying thanks. I guess if I had an opportunity I'd tell each of you this story………

When I was in Jr. High or High school, maybe both, the extent of most of the excitement of summer vacation in the tiny town we lived in, besides completing the “to do list” that my mom left us every morning before leaving for work, was catching up on our daytime soap operas.

Alane had her favorites, and I had mine, Mother even had one that we watched when she came home to eat lunch. The way the world is going now the daytime soap is becoming obsolete; the three that we watched with any regularity are now off the air.

I don’t remember too much about them except they were typical soaps; drama, angst, betrayal, lying, social issues (especially in the 60’s you can bet), dark hidden secrets; they were all there.

One soap arrived on the scene during that time. It caught everyone’s attention because it had a twist to it that none of the others had. Look it up on Wikipedia and you will see what I mean.

Dark Shadows was a soap opera that started in the 60’s a true forerunner to the Twilight series, (the guy who came up with it even “had a dream”!) it was very gothic and dark, it featured vampires, werewolves, zombies, and all kinds of stuff that “regular” soap operas didn’t have.
I watched it……. religiously.
I was too young to see that every day in the brief lines of dialogue that were being said, nothing WAS actually being said.

I finally outgrew it or simply lost interest, realizing that like any other soap opera the people in it had issues either brought on by their own poor choices, or it just wasn’t realistic; and it was, to put it simply, a waste of my time. However, for a period I was anxious to see what would become of Barnabus Collins, and the governess Vickie Winters. I was smitten by the dashing Quentin with the mutton side burns.

I say all this to tell everyone who is up in arms about the Twilight series, and I know some of you feel very strongly about this kind of stuff, that like the book of Ecclesiastes says “there is nothing new under the sun.” It is just old stuff packaged and resold in a new wrapping.

I am not, however, letting you who are caught up in it off the hook either. Be careful what you fill your head with. It’s easy to get caught up in stuff that is of no value, God knows our world is so full of it already. Also, don’t think the younger generation isn’t watching you; they are, and might not have the discernment to know when to lay it down and walk away, or turn it off which can lead them into other stuff that they and you might later regret.

And for every dime you spend on it----someone is putting it in their pocket.

and…………

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you." Phil 4:8-9

and THAT, my dear dear friends, is a promise we all can take to the bank!

To remember........

2010-06-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

His body from the top of his head to the curve if his little bottom are the length of my forearm. He rests there now, so relaxed I can hear him breathing but feel no movement.

His eye lashes rest on his cheeks, and there is a little drop of droll coming from the corner of his mouth.

Skin so soft, nothing compares; to think, someday those, the softest of cheeks, will grow whiskers, the upper lip a mustache.

These are the moments that stop me in my tracks, this chance to sit here and hold this little piece of heaven.

Today as I rocked him after the bottle, with a full tummy and grinning from ear to ear I prayed for God to always let me remember these days, to always see this little face in my mind’s eye when it does have whiskers and maybe a mustache.

Oh, to remember……..

The Good Mother

2010-05-08T06:26:00.000-07:00

One of the last conversations my Mother and I had was when she was lying on the hospital gurney after falling and breaking her leg.
She had decided to discontinue dialysis, as the logistics of continuing within the confines to the Dr’s protocol just seemed too much to bear; moving her to Wichita, being in bed all day, not to mention recovering from a surgery she might not survive, and possibly having a stroke through it. It just made it seem an unnecessary continuance of what seemed to her an already complicated existence. She was 88 years old, had been on dialysis for three and a half years, and was weary of it all. Once the decision was made, the realization that her life would end was finally the reality she had been preparing for.

As she looked at me through tear filled eyes, her comment to me was “I just want to know that I’ve been a good Mother.”

I found myself grasping for words. My mother would now begin the process of “actively dying”, as hospice puts it, what could I say that would put her mind at ease, allow her to slip peacefully and rested into the next stage of her journey?

I remember telling her some things, comforting things, all the things I thought she would want to hear. Cutting her the break that I thought she needed to hear, that we girls all knew and understood that she had done the best she knew how, that we loved her, and were proud of her, that she was and had been in her own way, with-out-a-doubt, one of the best Mom’s around. I don’t really remember too much about the conversation, I knew it was important to put her mind at ease, to comfort her, I didn’t want to screw it up. Apparently, I said and did the right stuff because she took a deep breath, hugged me, gave me a kiss, and launched into directions on what color lipstick she wanted put on her after she was gone—“not that bright red stuff!”

Her question has stayed with me though. Isn’t that the question that every mother asks herself thousands of times in her life of raising children? Even after they are grown and making families of their own, and become mothers themselves; you still ask yourself, “Have I been a good Mother?"

Over the past year, I’ve felt quite confident that I was NOT a good mother. After all don’t we gauge our success as mothers on our children’s behavior, the choices they make, and the way they “turn out”? When they make mistakes, and poor choices don’t we assume that somewhere along the line WE messed up?

Have I been a good mother?

Sure. In some ways, like my own mother, I’ve been the best I knew how. Within the confines of my knowledge and experience I was the best Mother I knew how to be. I did what I thought was the right thing to do by my children. Don’t most Mothers’?

In other ways, I’ve messed up royally. I’ve said the wrong things at the wrong times, I’ve let them down when I should have lifted them up. I’ve doubted when I should have had confidence. I was there when I shouldn’t have been, and vice-versa. In some ways, mothering is a crap shoot, there are so many variables in the mix, success or failure are never guaranteed. Even God, the first parent, has had kids that if behavior and choices reflected on the parents, let’s just say, didn’t reflect well on Him.

Let’s face it we judge by performance, our performance, our kids’ performance, and our neighbors’ performance. And like any performance, when someone does well, we cheer and hoot, and when they get up there and forget the lines, and screw up the scene, we cringe for them, and sometimes giggle and laugh, (especially when they are little), but we still judge the performance. Did they know their lines? Were they prepared?

Mothering isn’t a performance. The lines haven’t been written, and let’s face it, can you ever prepare?

I’ve thought about my Mothers statement over and over again during the last year. She would have probably cut me a huge break over the events that have taken place in my family this past year. Don’t get me wrong, she would have struggled with it, but it seems that in her last days, she was still wondering about this Mothering thing; just how to do it, trying to find the definitive answer to the “getting it right” question. Her question has given me hope, because I’m thinking that if at 88 years of age she still didn’t know if she had gotten it right, I’m pretty sure I don’t know either. I’ll let you know if I figure it out.

Avatar.....only a movie.

2010-04-28T07:08:00.000-07:00

Well we finally saw IT!!

The movie that I think that has received the most hype this year so far.

AVATAR!

Was I impressed? Well……………..

I want to preface this “review” with a disclaimer that Roger and I watch A LOT of movies. We don’t get television, so we watch movies through Netflix

And lets also just say that in the book of Ecclesiastes where it says, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Yeah, there isn’t.

So when I watched Avatar expecting all new, all exciting, I was to say the least disappointed. Don’t get me wrong, the special effects were beautiful, and fun to see, the colors brilliant, and I’m sure on the big screen in 3-D………WOW!!!. As I told Audrey, “Can you imagine sitting in an IMAX theatre and watching that!?” If that was what he was going for then I’m quite sure he accomplished it; in spades.

I remember the first time I watched Jurassic Park, by the end of the movie I had to sit there and remind myself, that those dinosaurs were not real, and that there never was such a thing as a Velociraptor. THOSE were some awesome special effects, and made me forget for a moment that somewhere in the world those things didn’t still exist.

When I saw the Matrix for the first time I was blown away by the special affects and marveled at the explanation on the DVD after the movie just exactly how they did it. Both of those movies were considered ground breaking in special effects. Avatar was not; at least not to me.

I felt like I was watching a really intricate carton, with reality scenes sprinkled throughout. It never did remotely resemble anything that I could get caught up in to the point that I’d forget it was “just a movie”. And as far as the story line went? Can you say Dances with Wolfs meets Fern Gully and the Matrix?

The story line reminded us of the Native Americans being driven out of their home in Dances with Wolfs, and only a few having the insight into the mistake of it all.

The tree, Mother Earth, and Nature as God, possessing healing powers to restore and redeem reminded me of Fern Gully the carton that came out when the kids were little that promoted the saving of the Rain Forests, right down to the bulldozers plowing in and destroying the forest.

Many of the special effects, i.e. the man driven robots were straight out of the Matrix, and the whole chase scenes in the forest reminded me of……….wait for it………..Star Wars.
It was an old story told a new way. James Cameron had a message that he wanted to get out there, and put new bells and whistles on it to see if it would be heard (or sell).

It wasn’t that I disliked it; I’d probably watch it again, just to get to see some of those special effects again, but as far as toting it as the best movie of the year? Nope, can’t do it.

Gods Self Control

2010-04-19T18:49:00.000-07:00

We have been studying The Covenant in our small group at church. We have also been going through the series That the World May Know in our Sunday school class. Both of which take you into the covenant making practice of the days of Abraham and before.

As I read about the covenant, and am brought full face for the need for it I am reminded of the Control that Our God practices in the encounters throughout scripture with sin and its author Satan.

The reading of scripture reveals a powerful God, and awesome God. He is the one who parts the sea with the blast of His nostrils, the one who makes the Sun stand still, who stores the hail in warehouses, who delivers with a small company or an innumerable host, who hurls the stars and galaxies into their place. His powers are unimaginable. The best in special effects won’t capture them.

Yet……..

That same God did not step in when Eve and Adam believed the serpent. God this Holy, Magnificent, Almighty, and All Powerful creator of the universe who could have conquered Satan right then, right there and stopped all this, the thievery of the soul of man--allowed it. He stood back and allowed it to happen for the sake of those He loved………..us. He had a better plan, a better way.

He could have dealt with Satan when he was tempting Him in the desert after those 40 days and nights. He could have conquered him in the garden of Gethsemane instead of sweating great drops of blood and asking to be delivered from what lay ahead of Him, but He didn’t. He controlled His strength and rage, and anger with compassion, and mercy and love.
He remained silent when He could have silenced.
He was led so that He could lead.
When I read of God and the coming of Christ, I realize AGAIN that the staying of God’s hand for all this time has been for us, for our sake.

His self-control is almost more awesome than His power when you consider what He DOESN’T do—but could.

Announcing!!!!

2010-04-12T06:31:00.000-07:00

Samuel Bruce Cerretti born on April 9th, weighing in at 8 lbs. and 13 oz. and 20.5 inches long. Whew!! He his finally here.......what a relief, and what a joy!

2010-03-29T06:40:00.000-07:00

......but I’ve never been more thankful for the hope of Eternity. I’ve never been more certain of its usefulness to the peacefulness of my heart today.
--Felicity White--

Thank you Felicity.........thank you.http://www.felicitywhite.com

Getting to the bottom of it............

2010-03-24T19:32:00.000-07:00

March is almost over, and April is right around the corner and with it the anticipated birth of our first grandchild-a boy.

We are beginning to realize there is going to be a new member in our family activities. As I helped Missy unpack the boxes of washed baby clothes, with socks so tiny two of my fingers barely fit, I realized that the bassinet set up in the corner of the room was really going to have a tiny little boy tucked in there in just a few more weeks.

I can honestly say I’m getting excited and looking forward to getting to meet this, the newest member of our family.

So many questions run through my mind, not so much about what he will look like, but what he will be like. Will he have Nic’s sense of humor? Will he laugh easily like Missy? Will he be soft hearted like them both? Will he love animals? Will he like to be outdoors? These are the things I thought of as I put tiny little diapers in the dresser, and folded the receiving blankets. As I put a load of items in the washer to wash so they too could be added to the prepared items, I looked at all the little Oshkosh overalls, one in every size from birth to 2 years. I remember my Dad loved to wear overalls; so do I. Will he be comfortable in them too? Will he want to be in the shop with his Grandpa and Dad? Will he be skilled in woodworking, and carpentry, or will his mind run to numbers like his mothers? So many questions. As Tom Hanks tells his son in Sleepless in Seattle in regard to getting to know the woman he is dating at the time—“These are things I am willing to try to get to the bottom of.”

I’m not into crosswords, or really puzzles of any kind, but I can’t think of the last time I was this excited to be meeting someone for the first time; especially someone who isn’t going to even be able to talk to me! But the mystery of getting to know this new little person is going to be one puzzle I’m not going to mind “getting to the bottom of.”

Why?

2010-03-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

I find myself asking "Why?" a lot to this situation I find myself in.

Why would these things be happening?

Why is this happening to US?

WHY? WHY? WHY?

Job ask why too and God never told him.He answered his questions with questions and basically told Job--"It's not ABOUT you!"

I wonder how Job felt when he finally walked through the gates of heaven and saw the replay of his life. Found out that because of his blameless and upright life, and because he feared God, God had basically allowed Satan to reek havoc in his life?

Do you suppose he felt embarrased and ashamed of his behaviour during it all? Was he feeling a little sheepish at his own wailing and knashing of teeth?

The old story of the tapestry woven by the great weaver comes to mind. We only see a small part and it looks dark and ugly, till He turns it over, and we are awed by the beauty of the entire picture, and the way the dark colors set off the lighter ones. Together they make a beautiful picture.

We don't see the whole picture. Generations down the road, when we're no longer even here and maybe even forgotten, the "glory of God" will be revealed and it will all make sense.

In the mean time I've got friends, some like Job, who in their well meaning will offer advice and insight into what they know nothing about.

But I will seek God and continue to look to Him and Who HE is, and pray that His will, and His way will come to work in our lives through this situation. I will look to the blessing of my God for who He is and worship and praise Him!

Stages

2010-03-05T13:16:00.000-08:00

I was reminded of something the other day as we were working on the kids house. It is coming along. It should be ready for them to move into sometime next week if all goes as planned. We are going through stages right now.

When I was a little girl Mother used to tell a story of how when my dad would express exhasperation with some of the things we kids were doing, my grandmother Horack (his Mother) would say, "Oh, it's just a stage they are going through." to which he would respond, "Yes, from one stage to another stage, to another stage........."

Nic's house project is being done "in stages". Main level first, get moved in, then work on the upstairs.

Roger and I have our own stages. The stage of going from empty nesters to not empty nesters back to being empty nesters to becoming grandparents and all the stages that will entail.

Missy has her own stage and all the perks of that lovely stage known as the third trimester. Fluid retention, stretch marks, weariness, and just feeling heavy.

Life IS a series of stages, Grandma Horack was right. My Dad learned, and I'm learning too, that it IS "one stage after another stage after another stage....."

tears in a bottle

2010-02-15T07:10:00.000-08:00

You have recorded my troubles.
You have kept a list of my tears.
Aren't they in your records? ~Ps. 56:8

For our God does not primarily catalogue the endless stream of sins. He is God, not a tabloid informant out for dirt, for the flame sensationalist ugly. I forget this. And there are unspoken parts of me that think He makes no records at all but forgets me, the blind, deaf and dumb God.

But I touch the paper where He's left the trail of His heart. He is love, the tender Physician God who keeps tab of the every ache, a doting Father who soul-fissures when His child cries, the God who keeps the ledgers of every pain, every scrape, every brimming, falling, searing tear.

God does not slumber for He cannot cease to bear testimony to our hurt.

God keeps a list.

It's the wildest Love that drives the Father to record His child's every lament. We never ache without God attending, and He can't stand to see a tear fall to the floor. God cups our grief and "puts our tears in His bottle" (Ps. 56:8).

Today is recorded in the heavens and its pains are written with the wet of tears of God who "hurts with the hurt of my people." (Jeremiah 8:21)

credit to Anne Voskamp at http://www.aholyexperience.com

an update

2010-02-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

It isn't about the weather--which is perfectly BORING!! Still snowing, still foggy, overcast, grey, and cold.

This post is about life--what is happening here.

It's time to update.

Nic has moved home (back to Emporia)--brought his girl--and their soon to be born little boy--yet unnamed.

Ups and downs, ins and outs, it's been a rollercoaster ride which Roger and I are wondering if we will survive.

Things are out of order, chaos reigns, and life is VERY real right now. All the routine, and regularity of our orderly life has pretty much flown out the window.

HOWEVER! In the midst of it all that, the still small voice of God is continueing to guide and comfort.

It is like spotlights are shown on moments that will stand out in your mind and memory for the rest of your life.

Life is changing so fast and furious around here I feel I can hardly keep up. It is hard I'll admit it, but we are taking each day as it comes. Working together to prepare ourselves for a new "normal", what ever THAT is!

......will keep you posted.

Coincidence?..........naaa!

2010-01-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

It’s about 11:30 at night, Roger and I have just finished watching the last disc of “The Mentalist” that we rented from Netflix. We don’t usually stay up this late, but it is going to be bitter cold tomorrow the roads and our drive have pretty much re-drifted shut, so, what the hey; we decide to do the marathon thing and finish the season, and call it good.

As we each throw back our perspective fleece blankets that we have been snuggled under and get to our feet and head upstairs, I notice the air in the house feels anything but warm.
Rog heads for the shower while I let the dog out for one last time, and turn off lights, etc. “The air in here feels really cool.” I think to myself, as I hear the shower running. I let the dog in, put her in her crate, and turn off the lights heading for the bedroom. I decide to just check the thermostat and see exactly what the air temp in the house is, surmising that because it is -10 outside with winds out of the NW making the wind chill well below 0 maybe it just can’t keep up??!?! The thermostat is set at 69 degrees, so why is the house ONLY 60 DEGREES!!!!! This is NOT a good night to have the furnace go out!

I go into the bathroom and ask Rog why the thermostat is set at 69, but the house is only 60; why would that be? He says he isn’t sure and keeps showering. As I head back to look again, just to make sure I saw correctly, I hear him say in a rather elevated tone, “AH-OH!! I know what it is! Look outside and see if the exhaust for the furnace is buried under a snowdrift?” I don’t have to look because I already know the answer. It is!!

So that is why at 11:45 at night I donned my coveralls, boots, and fleece, hat, scarf, and gloves and grabbed the snow shovel and headed out into the dark. I began to dig. It didn’t take long to find a large hole under the snow surrounding the exhaust pipe for the furnace, but the snow bank kept caving in about as fast as I dug it out. I kept digging. Almost immediately the furnace kicked on, and the exhaust began pouring out of the pipe and the hole I was making. I looked up just as Rog, in his coveralls, hoodie, and gloves came out the back door.

It was well after midnight by the time we got back in the house and the furnace was running. By the time I got into my jammies, and was ready to crawl into bed, it was 62 degrees in the house. I asked Rog what made him think of that; the exhaust being covered? He related an incident a few years back (that I had forgotten) where a new house that he had built, that the folks only used as a vacation get away, had the same thing happen. The exhause pipes got buried in snow,the furnace eventually shut down, and the house got so cold the water pipes froze and broke, flooding the house, ruining the wood floors, and just about everything else.

As soon as he finished the story we looked at each other realizing the bullet we had dodged. While we were in Phoenix over Christmas and “the blizzard of ‘09” blew through, and the snow had blown and drifted, how easily it could have drifted over that pipe while we were gone, shutting down our furnace, causing the pipes to freeze and break, with us coming home to a HUGE mess.

But it didn’t happen. It happened when we WERE home, and stayed up later than we EVER do. It happened that I DID check the thermostat before going to bed, instead of just going to bed.

I don’t believe in coincidence. Roger and I both know that we were so blessed to have been home, checked the thermostat and knew what to do. Our furnace reset itself, and is running fine.

I’m more thankful for a nice warm house today than I think I ever have been before!

Fun in the Snow

2010-01-05T08:02:00.001-08:00

Lily LOOOOVVVVEEESS to play in the snow........who am I kidding, she just loves to play! First we explored a little bit while I filled the bird feeders in anticipation of tomorrows threatened sub-zero temps and wind. BBBRRRRR!!!!

Then we played frizbee

Then we realized her mouth and nose were getting cold, so we took one last shot and came inside :)

Happy New Year!!!!!!

2010-01-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for the end of 2009 and the beginning of a 2010. Here's wishing all of you a wonderful and happy New Year!

There's no place like home..........NOT!!

2009-12-31T15:50:00.000-08:00

We went from this:
and seeing these guys.......

to this fun. Rog won't be going anywhere for a day or two, at least till he can get a shoe on to go out and shovel snow.....

I would say I am glad to be home, but really, would you believe me?

Holidays!?!?

2009-12-09T12:23:00.000-08:00

The "Holidays" are upon us; Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is bearing down with New Year's right behind.
I'm not sending out my Christmas letter this year, I'm not in the writing mood. I usually write about what is happening in our family and what God is teaching me. It isn't that I don't have much to write, I just don't quite know how to put a spin on it that would make it palatable for a Christmas letter. I've done my darndest to come up with some tongue in cheek, glibe way of sharing our year with you but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I checked the internet for suggestions, and I read yesterday that Christmas letters shouldn't contain bad news. And I quote:

"No one wants to hear your cancer is back, your children are divorced or in prison, your spouse is STILL unemployed, and your on welfare or foodstamps, or such."

So I'm not sending letters. Add to that postage is climbing, and it isn't taking much for me to just say forget it.

Let's just say Merry Christmas! and Happy New Year! and be done with it, shall we?

The Iron that Sharpens Me

2009-11-12T09:49:00.000-08:00

There are people in this world who, after knowing them for awhile, you realize that God has placed them here for His reasons, and you just happen to reap the benefits of His plans by knowing them.
Shiuvaun is that person for me.
Our children share birthdays, her oldest, my youngest.
Jennifer holding Nic, celebrating thier birthdays together with Audrey and Sarah.

Our girls are a week apart in age.
Audrey and Sarah.....another birthday.

We have been in each other's lives for years, and shared so much.
In so many ways we are as different as day and night, yet in the subtle, underlying ways, we are so much alike, we have wondered if we aren’t really sisters in some fashion; Oh wait, yes we are…………in the Lord.
I have written about her before during the election when people were sooo virulent in their political stance.
We differed on that and I wrote about it, and how we solved it.

I want to say though, that it is because of her and her reading and knowledge of the political playing field that I have been compelled over the last several months to research the reasons for voting the way I will. She has always been good for me when it comes to pushing me to find out for myself what I think, how I interpret information, and how it will affect my choices. She is intelligent and what I consider to be a well read, voracious reader, thus I feel she has only my best interests at heart, when she spurs me on in this fashion.

Shiuvaun and I have been through some of our hardest days in the battle over the educational welfare of our children, and during that time of “lifting rocks and finding monsters”, we hung on to each other, and took the unconventional step at the same time in the decision to home school our children.

Ours is a story that has put us on the same side in educational warfare for the sake of our children and on opposite sides when it has come to decisions of life choices, and politics, but we have found like David and Jonathan (don’t ask me who is who), that our friendship runs unbelievably deep through all of these things.
The scripture in Proverbs 27:17 comes to mind when I sit and regard the relationship we have.

As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

The fact that we can sit and discuss these differences and continue to love each other and be there for one another is what I cherish most about our relationship. Our priorities are straight. We have placed our relationships above philosophy, politics, and distance realizing that variety is the spice of life, rulers come and go, and telephones, and email are a gift. We realize we were all created differently for a reason, trusting God to reveal it to us as we go through life. Heartache and challenges only seem to bond us closer together, for age, as it comes, seems to remove the layers of trivial issues exposing the valuable instead.

Maybe it is because we are women, maybe it is because of our differing backgrounds that we have found and latched on to each other, hanging on more tightly as time has come and gone. Whatever it is, it is a precious gift, and like most precious gifts is not tangible, nor should it ever be taken for granted.

I remind you of all this to say that her blog is up and running. She will write, she will probably make you laugh and cry, as she shares the poignant stories growing up in South Dakota. She will compel you to think, and she may even rub you the wrong way, but she will NOT allow you to get lazy or stagnate in your thinking. As she said the other day when I visited her in KC, while referring to an issue they had been battling about with the city of Independence,
“I called them at least twice a week, sometimes every day, they didn’t realize who they were dealing with………………” Yep,that is sooooooooooooo Shiuvaun.
Read her………she’s in my sidebar.

Play date!

2009-10-30T17:50:00.000-07:00

Casie called this morning and invited me to come for a "playdate" with she and Holt. I threw on my overalls, drove over and had a WONDERFUL day!

Sometimes you just need someone to crawl up in your lap and make you realize that the snaps on your overalls are more interesting than you ever thought possible! :)

The Greatest Miracle

2009-10-21T06:28:00.000-07:00

In my devotions yesterday morning, I reread the all familiar story of the paralytic whose friends took him to the roof of the home Jesus was visiting, and tore out the roof as to lower him down, directly in front of Christ that he might be healed. (See Luke 5;17-26)

The man and his friends went to receive healing. Forgiveness may not have been what they were after, they were after wholeness, and they saw wholeness in a physical sense. Jesus knew the man needed complete and total healing; physical & spiritual—he received it all.

Jesus “saw their faith”- he saw them do something considered radical to get to Him, to get their friend to Him; an act of faith. They tore the roof off of a house, for goodness sake! Something easily repaired perhaps, but their friend was not as easily repaired and required radical measures to get him to Jesus.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees seemed to miss it all. They were so hung up on the fact that Jesus said the man’s sins were forgiven that it looks as though they missed the miracle entirely.

When I read passages like this I ask myself, “Were healings of that magnitude so common place that the chief priests were immune to seeing them when they happened?” Was this miracle, a man being able to take up his bed and walk after being paralyzed, such a common everyday occurrence that they shrugged it off and chose to dwell instead on the law, or the breaking of it instead?

Maybe the Pharisees and the Sadducees saw this man as someone of no value, unclean. Maybe they considered this miracle wasted on someone like that.

Whatever their thinking, they missed not only the miracle of this man’s physical body being restored, but the healing of his spirit through his encounter with Jesus Christ. He was reborn at that moment as a new man. Someone who I am quite sure became a follower of Christ.

Do we do that as good followers of Jesus, church goers, who have sat in the pew for years? Do we focus on the law and the breaking of it more than we look at the miracle? Not only did the Pharisees and the Sadducees miss the miracle, but they missed the forgiveness of sin. They refused to accept the free gift of God—Salvation—through Jesus Christ!

Do I accept the forgiveness of sin? Or am I like the Pharisees and Sadducees and refuse to accept the fact that God forgives the sins of everyone? Do I get so hung up on the law that I miss the miracle of forgiveness?

I realize that forgiveness, God’s forgiveness, through Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle He ever performed. Forget the Red Sea, the manna, water from a rock, and axe head floating, the sun standing still. Forgiveness through Jesus Christ is the greatest miracle God ever performed on our behalf………I don’t ever want to miss it!

God is walking me down some new and unfamiliar roads right now, and He is allowing me to see right before my eyes, His grace and His mercy, His compassion and His desire to restore and forgive us his children. I’m learning to see things anew, and not miss the miracle or the salvation that it brings.

What do you believe?

2009-09-25T07:38:00.000-07:00

As I read the story at the beginning of Luke of the pronouncements of Christ’s conception and that of John the Baptist something came off the page—don’t you love it when God does that?

In Luke 1:6 it refers to Zachariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, as

“……righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances, of the Lord, blameless.”

WHOA! What a description! I cannot imagine someone so dedicated to doing all that God has commanded, and obviously being soooo good at it; blameless! Are you kidding me!?!?
But wait! On over in Luke when the story tells how the angel of the Lord appeared to Zachariah while he was performing his priestly duties, the angel struck him dumb and unable to speak---WHY?

“because you did not believe my words which will be fulfilled in their own time.”

Obviously, Zach was following all the rules, doing the stuff, and he and Liz where thought well of because of their perfect behavior and lifestyle.

This strikes me because even though they followed the law, and fulfilled the commandments they still didn’t believe the word of the Lord when it came to them; they didn’t believe that:

“with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)

And Liz, even at 6 months into her pregnancy, when Mary arrived for a visit, and the baby leapt within her at the joy of the voice of his savior’s birth, questioned her part in all of this.

“But why is this granted to me, the mother of my Lord should come to me?”

Following the rules, fulfilling all the orders and directions doesn’t enable you to “believe” when the time comes for you to. Even those of faith and following all the rules don’t necessarily see and believe. They may even go so far as to question God in the midst of their own miracle.

Abraham “believed God.......”; he believed God.
Believe!

Where I'm at right now......

2009-09-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

".......we probably differ on some points we once thought were absolute."

Kathy Nickerson on "Mercy Street"

Thank you Kathy

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair!

2009-09-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

I received an invitation last week to attend the State Fair with my sister Anita to help her celebrate her birthday. The Gaither Vocal Band was performing; one of her favorites, and her husband had bought her tickets. She invited me to join her so off we went.
I used to go the State Fair almost yearly when homeschooling the kids, and we always enjoyed all the new things we got to do and see; even without kids, it did not disappoint.
We went through every building, checking out all the exhibits, artwork, the butter sculpture, and watched gifted painters paint…with spray paint!
We visited the “nursery” where the cows, sheep, pigs, alpaca’s, were all giving birth, or about to, and saw a brand new Holstein calf (still wet), and baby lambs. Did you know that a sheep can carry four lambs at once? I knew they had twins, but not quads. Unfortunately, only one of them survived, and he was the tiniest little lamb we had ever seen.
Highlights for me included getting to run a long arm quilting machine. I’ve seen them in magazines, but never had the opportunity to actually run one. Fun? You bet, and I was salivating, till I heard the price. WHOA!?!?! I’ll just keep quilting by hand, thank you.
When we went to visit the building that displayed the quilts, and domestic entries, we were probably there the longest. We strolled very slowly admiring all the beautiful quilts, wonder why some didn’t get blues, and others did. We ask aloud, how do they determine with so many beautiful quilts, which one deserves to be grand champion…….then we saw it. I wish I had taken a picture, but my camera phone wouldn’t have done it justice. It was a masterpiece, and upon close inspection realized WHY it was the Grand Champion.
The decorated cake entries were also outstanding, and to realize that all of the decorations are frosting as you stand and admire them makes you gasp. Who knew you could do that with frosting?

We sat and watched a show of trick riders dressed like Gypsies performing many amazing stunts on the backs of some beautiful horses.

We were wondering where they were from, some foreign country perhaps? They had come to the KS state fair from Alaska; from Russia perhaps? But no, upon hearing folks talk to them after the performance we found out they came from Orlando Florida!!!
Talking a mile a minute and eating way to much junk food, we had a wonderful day, capping it off with a great concert by the Gaither Vocal Band. I love a good tenor, and they had three of the best, so it measured up to all expectations.
Anita is a retired teacher, but I had to agree with her when she stated that all 5th graders should be taken to the fair, not to the carnival, but to the fair exhibits. It is a learning experience for every age.

The Trip part 2.........the delivery

2009-09-06T21:20:00.000-07:00

My trip to Washington held wonderful times, the first being the visit to Leonard in his wonderful setting practically within a stone’s throw of Puget Sound.

When I left his house on Sat. and flew to Kenniwick, the culmination of many months of work was about to come to a wonderful conclusion.

I am the kind of person that when life seems to be spinning out of control, I usually grap for the first thing to hang onto that will give me some semblance of order back. When my sister-in-law died suddenly 21 years ago and I watched helplessly as my brother in law began life as a single father with three small children. To stay that feeling of helplessness, and sorrow, I tackled the entry way in our old school house home, texturing the walls, painting, and staining them (I was way ahead on faux finishes), all in the hopes that the uncontrolled feeling of life being altered in such a radical way would be brought under some form of control.

I’m sorry to say, I haven’t changed much in that regard in all these years. When Mother died two years ago, after three and a half years of almost daily care, I was lost. We got Miss Lily, and she has been a buddy, but I needed something productive to do, I needed to feel like I was "doing something".

My sister Alane and her husband had made Roger and I a generous gift upon Mothers passing as a thank you for the time I had spent in those years of care giving; it was greatly appreciated, and a wonderful surprise. One day while in a thrift store, I found a north woods embroidery pattern. I immediately thought of Alane and Steve’s wonderful cabin in the woods in NE Washington. I would buy the pattern and make them something as a thank you. I did buy the pattern and began the project that was the catharsis to my healing process.

As the work progressed I knew there wasn’t any way that I was going to be mailing this gift to my sister and her husband—no it had to be hand delivered and while in WA I had the joy of seeing their faces when they opened the package.

After tears and hugs, (yes we had a group hug), it was studied and gently folded and will cover them with our love every time they are at the cabin curled up in front of the fire.

My travels were purposeful, and I came home feeling healed and rested. The best kind of trip to take.

The Trip part 1.............Reconnecting

2009-09-06T20:39:00.000-07:00

I spent 10 days traveling the state of Washington. Visiting friends and family was on the agenda, but the ultimate purpose was to reconnect with a DEAR family friend, and make a delivery.

Both went off without incident and I am so glad that I went, even though it meant leaving Rog and Lily behind.

A dear family friend, Leonard Deets, moved out to Stanwood Washington three years ago to be closer to his daughter Anne, and leaving his Kansas home of 87 years. Talk about a step of faith!?!
Leonard and his wife Katherine lived across the road from my parents when we all lived in the country on the farm. He and Katherine had actually attended High School with my mother at South Haven. For the full story of the history you can read it at Nestin and Restin blogspot pt 2” by my sister Anita.
Leonard celebrated his 90th birthday last Dec. and since Mother passed away everyone encouraged me to go see him, knowing that it would be a balm to my soul; it was.
We talked, shared stories, memories, and had devotions every morning together. There are some people who God brings into your life that there is absolutely no doubt of their purpose, and Leonard’s role in my life is abundantly clear.
When Daddy died, Leonard and Katherine were the first people to come to our house. They arrived early and stayed late for many days immediately following, helping in any and every way. Of all the things I DON'T remember about those terrible days, I DO remember Katherine putting me to bed those first few nights, and sitting there with me till I fell asleep. Later when I needed a “father” to fill a void at Sunday school, or a school event, Leonard was my surrogate. I watched these two people live out their faith in front of me all my life, and when the reality of Jesus Christ became a choice, I understood it because of their example.
Leonard was instrumental in both my Dad’s and I’s salvation and other’s in my family as well. He means the world to me, and is the closest thing to my real parents I can remember. Seeing him, and spending hours talking about the father I never really knew, but only had images of was a priceless time and one that will never be duplicated in any way. Laughing about the memories of my mother in her last days, and sharing those with him and his daughter and son in law were the “medicine” that this heart needed.

Some trips are necessary and complete a circle. This was one of those trips. If I never see Leonard again in this life but have to wait till heaven for one of those kinds of “sit-down” visits, I’m satisfied…………so satisfied.

Next, “The Delivery"

Traveling........

2009-08-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

The best kind of travel…………leaving the arms of one person you love to enter the arms of another person you love.

I'll be back..............

2009-08-07T06:21:00.000-07:00

Summer is almost over for some. Most conversations I overhear or are even a part of turn to “school starting”.

The blog world, at least the one I read most frequently is full of it, or I should say, is empty because of it. Not many new posts, cause I’m thinkin that most people are getting ready for school, taking that end of summer vacation and just generally having that last hurrah before the demands of school schedules take over their time.

The reading it pretty thin and sporadic right now. I know I haven’t posted in several weeks. Don’t really have much to put on here. I’m not getting ready for school; I’m in the school of prayer. God has me somewhere else right now, and it isn’t in the writing mode, thus the lack of posting. Bear with me, I’ll be back.

When Heaven touches earth

2009-07-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

It’s Sunday afternoon, VBS is over, Nic has gone home, and after Roger and I (well he fell asleep in the recliner) watched a movie, he is out in the shop, the house is quiet, and I’m trying to find a project to work on but in the mean time I want to record some things about our VBS.

We had a great week at VBS last week. Rome with Paul and the Underground Church was our theme, and the kids learned:
1) God’s Love Is a Gift
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
2) God’s Love changes us
“Don’t copy the behavior and custom of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” (Romans 12:2)
3) God’s Love is Always with us
“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” (Romans 8:38)
4) God’s Love saves us
“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” (Romans 5:8)
5) God’s Love is worth sharing
“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ.” (Romans 1:16)

These were the basics of each evening’s lessons.
They would go and visit Paul and his extremely grumpy guard Brutus every evening where Paul would share the above points explaining them to the kids until grumpy Brutus ran them off. Then they would wind their way through black plastic lined hallways down the stairs into the cave of the “Underground Church”.

Here they learned what it was like to live a life for Christ under the fear of being arrested and chased by Roman Guards. Then it was on to the Roman Market place where they learned to work with leather, metal, and wood, while visiting a toga shop and café. Every evening a drama depicting the lesson for the evening was acted out in the Market Place for the children to witness. On one evening it was a thief being shown God’s love by receiving unmerited forgiveness, or another evening it was a lady being arrested for standing up for her faith though being threatened with her very life. Fun and games ensued also, just one being chariot races that were held every evening where the kids were pulled through an obstacle course in the grass by two Family group leaders on large pieces of cardboard.
Now lest you be yawning at this point thinking that our little ones were carefully told Bible stories and made cute crafts and played fun games, think again. Brutus was so very angry that he was forced to guard Paul, that his temper flared on more than one occasion literally sending one little girl into tears, and others scurrying from the room when he would turn red in the face and scream “GET OUT!”
Another night they got to experience the fear of not knowing what might happen to someone they loved while cowering in a corner of the underground church while the soldiers were right outside the cave entrance, threatening to come in and find us. As they clung to the adults and buried their faces in our robes they were sure we had been found out.
But in the end they saw the transformation that Jesus can make in a life when on the last night when they went to visit Paul, Brutus had accepted Christ, and would no longer be working as a guard in a prison, but as a stable hand in the emperor’s stable.
Marcus who had been chased off by the Roman soldiers returned to the underground church safe and sound, but that night when they left the followers of Jesus had to leave with them; their place of worship had been found out. So in joy they departed to find another place to worship.
Our intention was not to scare the children, but our actors did such a wonderful job portraying their characters that the kids got caught up in the stories, and each night had things to share with us, and questions to ask before we even launched into our scripts for the evenings.
Complete families came to church together all week and parents followed as their children visited Paul and Brutus, the underground church and the market place. They came as families to church this morning and we all sang and worshipped together, and Brutus stood and gave his testimony about what it was like to accept Jesus.
When I have times like this I can see that heaven has touched earth, lives have been changed, and families are supported in ways they hadn’t been before. I’ve had a tough week, and yes we are tired, but the feeling in our souls and hearts is so great the weariness is worth it all.

My noisy neighbors..........

2009-07-09T09:40:00.000-07:00

By virtue of the fact I want to get the toilet picture from front and center on my blog page I am "inspired" to write a new post.
Actually I took these pictures a couple of weeks ago and intended to write about them but other things interfered.
These are my noisy neighbors. My neighbors flock of ducks and geese that graze all over the place. They stay in their own yard by virtue of the fact that I have a dog they don't like, but they are out and about all the time.
If you have ever seen than movie "Sneakers" there is a part where they are trying to help Robert Redford's character remember what he heard while being locked up in the trunk of a car to help determine where he was taken. At one point he recalls hearing something akin to a cocktail party. This of course is impossible, as he was locked in the trunk of a car while moving. However the blind guy who is a wiz at noise distinction knows exactly what he was hearing. As they get in the car and begin to retrace the trip, sure enough the noises begin to line up to what Redford remembers; the seams on the highway, the railroad tracks, crossing a bridge, then...........the cocktail party which turns out to be a huge flock of seagulls at the reservoir. Who knew that a flock of birds can sound like a cocktail party?
They can believe me. As I sit on my deck in the evening and hear them "talk" to each other as they move around the yard, I hear the conversation, and every once and awhile one of them will QUACK!QUACK!QUACK! really loud, like they are either laughing really loud above the din of conversation, or calling everyone down for getting to rowdy; either way it is actually quite comical.
I have these guys, cows that bawl when feeding time is late, and horses that get quite vocal when they are talking to the horses across the road. I don't mind any of it, actually it is comforting, sitting out on the deck drinking iced tea, reading a book, and listening to the "cocktail party" going on next door.

The "Project"...........almost done.

2009-07-07T05:26:00.000-07:00

O.K. the whole reason for the bath redo was because we got a new TOILET!!!! now that is a huge deal in the Cerretti household. When we built our house Rog wanted everyone to have their own "pot". With the addition of the shop, we even have an extra one for guests; no waiting :) If your not laughing out loud you should be.
As promised, pictures of the new pot, tile floor and vanity top. When he got ready to lay the tile, Rog wanted to know if I wanted it put down at an angle. (Like he thought he needed another challenge!?!?) Now if you know us and have seen our house we are BIG into angles; so I said, "why not?" I think he did an outstanding job, as usual. It is B-E-A-U-Tiful!

Nic's floor is done, the wallpaper up, and we will re-set "the pot" this evening with more pics to come. I really should have had some before and after shots, but how often do you actually take pictures of your bathroom?

Just what I need.........a project!

2009-07-02T06:12:00.000-07:00

Well, I’m married to a Carpenter/Contractor, but our house needs to be shingled, new flooring, new toilet in the master bath, and the deck added to the south side of the house so the French doors we put in our bedroom a few years ago will actually lead to something other than thin air; “watch that first step” type of deal.
You know the old saying? "The cobblers children have no shoes, the mechanics car never runs, and the carpenters house is never finished." Wish I’d had know that saying about 33 years ago. :)
I digress……………..
It has started, in the process of replacing the master bath toilet, the idea of replacing carpet with tile has sprung up. Then maybe a new counter top on the vanity. While we are cutting and laying tile, why not tear up the carpet in Nics bath and put down the tile we had left over from building the house. Well, while we have the toilet pulled, I'll paper that wall and put up the border I intended to put up, oh, about 12 years ago!?!?
I’ve started running back and forth to the flooring store, bringing home samples, and trying to choose.
Mind you, I DO NOT want to redecorate my house----FAR FROM IT!!! I am perfectly happy with my dated colors, and out of style.......... um, style. But I am thrilled to be “cleaning” up some things. Rog is a whirlwind when he gets to going (one of the reasons, people love him, he is fast AND good), so when he is ready to DO something, we DO it!
The first evening we had the carpet, pad, tack strip torn out, the sinks pulled, and new formica on the counter top and the sinks back in, all between supper and bed, oh! and part of the subfloor down. Last night, we pulled both toilets (don't ask. Lets just say YUGH!), pulled the carpet, pad and tack in Nics bath, and he glued and nailed the subfloor in our bath. Today I paper, and he finishes getting the floor upstairs ready, then I am thinking that over the 4th we lay tile, and finish. I'll post pics when we are done. So in the next few days……………pray for us :) By the way, the toilets are sitting outside, one on the deck out back, and the other out front on the porch downstairs..........can you say YARD ART!!! :)

Good times, good, good times..........

2009-06-24T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, my girl has come and gone. She spent 10 days here and as usual when someone you want around is around, they flew by.
We ate too much and chatted it up, she like to died from the humidity, but overall we had a great time.
One of Audrey's goals in coming home was to meet some of the new family members and new babies of friends. I failed to have the camera ready for the photo op's, thus only one baby captured.
Trust me when I say the other two she met were every bit as cute and sweet and she loved on them equally.
Aunt Anita and Casie came over one day and spent the greater part of the day so she got to spend some quality time bonding with Holton, and playing. He did not dissapoint as usual.

Yes, we are ALL glad she is here...........

2009-06-18T11:56:00.000-07:00

Audrey is home and is taking today to sleep and rest, as she has kept a busy schedule while here meeting all the new little ones of friends and family and lunching it up with old friends, plus being drug here and there by “the mother”.
Last night we watched a movie, and like her brother, she lays on the floor to watch television when home. Lily loves this as she is not allowed on furniture, and longs to be close. She was. Close.

When I say we are all enjoying Audrey’s visit, I mean ALL of us are enjoying Audrey’s visit. :)

A vist!!!

2009-06-12T09:17:00.000-07:00

My girl. Comin home. Tomorrow. WOOO HOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, you could say I'm excited :)

A Passion for his craft.......

2009-05-31T19:49:00.001-07:00

I love music. I am NOT a music aficionado, BUT I love to watch someone do something they love to do, and that is what we got to do Saturday night with the added bonus of seeing family and friends.

Roger’s niece Jennifer is married to an amazing musician named Logan Richardson who is a Jazz SAXOPHONIST ~ COMPOSER. They live in NY where he performs, teaches, composes, and makes CD’s, when he isn't traveling and performing. He loves his craft, and to say he puts his heart into his “work” is an understatement. He has a website www.loganrichardson.com where you can go and listen to his sound, order CD’s, check his schedule, and learn about his passion; cause watching him, yeah, it’s a passion.

As though that wasn’t enough, we were able to see Jennifer,her parents Richard and Dorothy, Logan’s mother Diane, and some dear friends who also happen to be musicians, and music lovers, Shiuvan and Mike; a rich, rich evening.
Jennifer & Diane

Shiuvaun & Mike

The Blue Room in Kansas City is a landmark, and houses The American Jazz Museum.
Logan, being originally from Kansas City, graces the club with a show about once a year we were told, so if you want to see and hear an up and comer in the Jazz world, (just read his reviews), keep track of his schedule and watch for him back next year.

What a Dad!

2009-05-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

This link was on a friends facebook page, and I watched it--LOVED IT and just had to share it. The inspiration behind the song makes it even more special--what a DAD!!

When you thought no one was listening.............

2009-05-24T13:05:00.001-07:00

When you think your out there all by yourself, Lone Rider? Yeah, don't kid yourself, people see, hear, notice, and most of all God hears you! So go ahead, PRAISE HIM!!
Psst:turn down the music first :)

"You should be ashamed of yourselves."

2009-05-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

The firestorm around the Miss USA Pagent is working in Donald Trump’s favor. As usual, he is cashing in on the media hype, but I couldn’t help but grin when I heard him say to the media what so many people have wanted to say to them in so many different situations.

Trump said Carrie Prejean's comments about same-sex marriage were blown out of proportion – not because of the grand stage where her comments were made – but because of her beauty. He blamed the media for making a big deal out of the situation. (I hardly think it had anything to do with her beauty, but with her opinion differing with the media!)

"If she were a very nice looking young woman, if she were an average woman, if she were an average man, if she were a great looking man, it wouldn't have mattered, nobody would have cared because this subject has been discussed by everybody from politicians, presidents, everybody. If Carrie weren't so beautiful, this would never have come," said Trump. "Carrie is totally beautiful, and her answer, because of that, took on greater importance. Unfortunately, that's the way the press works. You should be ashamed of yourselves."

Trump also defended the answer Prejean gave at the April 19 Miss USA pageant. She was asked her view of marriage by blogger Perez Hilton. Prejean said she believes marriage is between a man and a woman.

"It's the same answer the president of the United States gave," Trump said. "It's the same answer many people gave. She gave an honorable answer. She gave an answer from her heart, and I think for that she has to be commended."

"On April 19 on that stage I exercised my freedom of speech, and I was punished for doing so," said Prejean.

I found the whole thing a farce—from the pageant on down. It’s a money maker or Donald Trump wouldn’t have gotten involved, and he also wouldn’t be pointing out in interview after interview how his pageant is still on the air while Miss America has gone “ka-putz”; I believe is the way he put it.

What I also found interesting was how many news site, web sites I had to scan to finally find the actual quote.That’s right, the part where he pointed out the bias in the media, and that they should be ashamed of themselves. I finally found it on some remote TV web site. Most articles excluded that particular part of the interview.

Everyone in America knows that no matter how much “journalistic integrity” the media tries to spout, when they pull a stunt like this, which has one of their most revered shaking his finger at them, they can’t really cry foul, but they sure edit, and bury the quote so it gets lost.

There isn’t much I could find to agree with Donald Trump about, but this—yes I agree with him, the media should be ashamed of themselves—and not just for this offense.

Memories, Babies, Family, and Fun......

2009-05-07T13:29:00.000-07:00

Roger and I don’t take many vacations, and when we do choose to get out of town, it is usually centered on visiting family.

This past weekend we went to Branson to connect with a few of Rogers siblings and see some all important nieces and nephews, and meet some new members of the Cerretti clan.
Catching up with and about everyone, finding out the latest on their kids whereabouts and activities is always good, but I have to admit that meeting the newest members of the family was the highlight of the trip for me.

These two little guys were a delight in every sense. Sawyer, 22 months, and his younger brother Henry 4 months, stole our hearts. They made us smile, and laugh, and ohh and ahh.

They brought back wonderful memories of when their daddy was that little, and we were much younger. Aunt Dorothy & Henry

They reminded us that the family will go on, and that time spent with little ones is precious, and special. Grandma and Sawyer

OH! We had a wonderful time! Can't you tell?

Do You Pray?

2009-04-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Every Great Movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.....

Dwight L. Moody

life lessons and livestock........

2009-04-24T06:47:00.000-07:00

I don’t live on a farm or ranch, but I live in the middle of farming and ranch country. My neighbors have cows, horses, chickens, ducks, turkeys, dogs, cats, and did I mention kids. It’s a grand place, with something to hold, or pet, or ride all the time and the responsibilities of “chores” is part of their daily routine.

Just yesterday as I was mowing, I looked over at their pasture with the two horses, and multiple cows, and thought to myself, “If a kid grows up handling and dealing with livestock they can probably handle just about anything else life throws at them.”

Well, today I got to be reminded what it is like to handle and deal with livestock. Mind you I was really little when we lived on the farm, but I remember walking the lane with my sister to bring the cows in to be milked every evening and feeding the baby lambs from baby bottles when their mama’s rejected them and pushing the hens off the nest to gather eggs. I have enough “farm” memories to get me through when something comes up.

As I went to let Lily out right before lunch, I noticed the neighbors cows looked a little too close to our windbreak. Upon further investigation I realized, sure enough, they were out. I called Diana, volunteered to help, and changed my shoes; we received over a half inch of rain last night on already saturated soil so I wanted shoes that were old, and could be washed.

Cows are not the brightest creatures, and as I walked up to them to direct them where I wanted them to go, they simply stood there looking at me with an expression reminiscent of “lights on, no one home?” But Oh! When they wanted to go, believe me they went enjoying the freedom and relishing the unmown green grass of the lawn and ditches. At that moment you questioned if they were really as stupid as they appeared.

We eventually got them back in the pasture, thanks to a bucket of feed, and one greedy cow who all the others thought knew something they didn’t, so they followed her.

Diana and I then proceeded to stand and chat, catching up on each other as neighbors so often do. We weren’t that far from the pole barn when we heard a racket, and checked, and sure enough, two cows had figured a way out of that pasture next to the barn. They didn’t get far when we just steered them right back in the way they came.

It was at this point Diana wondered if we shouldn’t move them to the other pasture, the one they had originally found a way out of. I herded and she held the gate and kept the rest from getting out. This is where the flash backs of walking in mud, and cow pies up to my ankles returned. For everyone knows that where the lane narrows, the “grass don’t grow”. At this point I shared this memory with her telling her I was sure that was part of the reason I never married a farmer. She understood completely.

Feeling confident that the cows were safely corralled, we decided to walk out together to get our mail. Standing at the ends of our driveway we continued to chat, and eventually headed for our houses. Almost to the shop, I heard Diana call out, “Andrea, look at my yard!” I assumed she wanted to show me the pock marks left by the hoofs, so started to walk over to access the damage. As I rounded the corner there stood the cows, out again! We both laughed, and Diana simply requested that I keep them from going into the road while she called someone to come get them and take them to pasture NOW! Something her husband was planning to do, but our afternoon of trying to keep them where they belong expedited.

I couldn’t blame them, the pasture they were in was pretty much grazed down to nothing, the new spring grass hadn’t come in thick yet, and all they had to eat was hay. They just wanted out to eat the fresh green grass and clover. As I stood there between them and the road, and watched them eat contentedly in one place the thought while mowing returned to me; the lessons learned dealing with livestock.

Animals are “dumb”, they neither speak or process thoughts. They are driven by hunger and respond out of instinct and fear. You learn to access that every time you approach them to feed them, water them, or deal with them in any way. You have to be “smarter than the animal”, as my mother always said. You wouldn’t think it would be hard, but it takes more savvy than you realize when you are in the midst of them.

Learning to control something that is a lot bigger than you, and outweighs you by a thousand pounds takes forethought and calm. As Nic puts it, you don’t want to get going too fast, or it all goes south (or in our case, north) in a hurry.

I learned as a little girl that a little mud and muck isn’t going to kill you, that remaining calm in chaos usually gets more accomplished than panic, hang on to that feed bucket or bottle, and show calm and resolve and you’ll get the job done. Some things have to be pushed out of the way, and a couple of pecks from and old hen won't cause you to lose your hand, and sometimes you have to wave your arms and shout, but learning to know when is the trick.

Flashbacks? I had a few today, but they were good ones, and I had to laugh as I walked home at last, at the hoof prints and cow pies in my yard. Experiences like today can be reminders of what you know and where you learned it and encouragement to implement those lessons again and again.

Sign Up!

2009-04-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Ever had that feeling like your missing something? Like everyone knows a secret you don’t? People are talking about things, and going places, and you don’t know where? Well I found out where “it” is.

facebook!

My kids talk about facebook. Audrey informs me of what is going on in the lives of people we know who live at other ends of the country, and we haven’t seen in years and when I question her: “HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS!?!?!” her response, “Oh, I read it on their facebook page.”

The other evening we hosted a party for the college students in our church and the sponsor was taking pictures. I asked her if she would e-mail them to me, and one of the young ladies piped up and ask, “Are you on facebook?” I said I had an e-mail account, a blog I write on, two in fact, and why did I “need” facebook?

“Oh, you would love it, Andrea!” she replied with this enormous grin on her face. I figured there was something behind that grin, and I was intrigued to find out.

Well, let me just say, “WOW!!!”

When you sign up it checks out your e-mail address list, and automatically brings up anyone listed in your e-mail who has a Facebook page. Let’s just say that was just about everyone. Then when you go to their page, and find other people you know, you can “ask” them to be your friend too and included in your network. Let me just say that in my entire life I never knew that I knew so many people, much less had so many friends, past and present. It is sort of amazing to see all those little squares come up of people you know, who you consider friends, and of course family, and realize that it doesn’t even include those that aren’t on facebook, i.e. example my sisters. I immediately found the page of a friend from High school, and she had pictures posted of her beautiful grandchildren that I never would have been able to see if not for, you got it, facebook.

Now, I don’t consider myself “techno savey”, but I am glad I am now “in the loop”. This morning I got to see pictures of our little great nephew Henry, featured earlier in this blog. Audrey has already warned me, “Mom, don’t get addicted to facebook!” I assured her I wouldn’t, but it is going to be soooo nice to keep up with so many people even if it is in just a quip of a comment they post about their day, and their lives. Connection, communication, what fun! I think that is what I like about the internet the most anyway.
SIGN UP!

Look who I got to spend Easter with!

2009-04-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

This is Holton. Not the most recent pictures but some of his best But let's face it, I don't think the kid has a bad side. I talked to a friend today and gushed about my newest great-nephew and how cute and perfect he is, and she wanted to know if he was on my blog. I told her yes, but not recently. If this little face doesn't make you go AHHHH, I don't know what will.
Lest you think I show favoritism, nay! ALL of my great nieces and nephews were equally sweet, loving, content, and wonderful-I just didn't live close enough to find out first hand. I had to get this information from their unbiased grandmothers (my sisters or sisters-in-law), but I believed every word of it anyway. Holt is no different he is just closer, so thus the first hand, and emphatically unbiased report. :)
Roger and I received an invitation to come and share Easter Day with he and his Mommy and Daddy, Grandpa and Grandma, and since the weather was the worst, we went and were glad we did. His smiles made the day soooo worth while. I can't wait till he is old enough to hunt Easter Eggs.

A Easter Anniversary

2009-04-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend, Easter weekend, is the anniversary of my “salvation”. It was the Easter of my Jr. year in High School at a Lay Witness Mission at our church that the culmination of years of spiritual experiences came together for me to understand how much God loved me, and how much I loved him back, and that I wanted Him to change my life.

You see, my daddy died when I was only 7 years old. When I meet little 7 year old girls these days I am struck by how small they are, and how MUCH they love, depend on and idolize their dad’s. I’m sure I was no different.
I do remember when Daddy died that the people who came to our home to help with food, and anything else during those days immediately following his death were friends from church, neighbors and family. One of the things I heard repeatedly was “Your Daddy is in Heaven with Jesus”. He had gone somewhere else, oh yes, his body was in that box, but the part that made him my daddy was now in heaven, it had gone on ahead of me to heaven, somewhere that I was assured over and over that I could go too. Being seven years old, I believed every word of it. I began listening more intently when people talked about heaven, God and Jesus. I wanted to know more about where my Dad had gone, and who he was with, and what all that entailed.

As I grew and continued to be raised in the church, learning Bible stories in Sunday school class and participating in Christmas programs and Easter Cantata’s the true meaning of “life after death” began to solidify in my mind.

I remember at my baptism and subsequent membership into the Methodist church when I was 12 years on another Palm Sunday, I cried as I knelt at the altar and the preacher baptized me out of the baptismal fount that had a plaque on it in memory of my Dad. I understood the concept of washing and cleansing from the sins we commit, and what Jesus had done on the cross for me. The reality of a relationship with Him was beginning to make sense. By the time the Lay Witness Mission was planned for Palm Sunday of my Jr. Year of high school, and I had reached that age of impatience and growing tired of waiting on God to show me if all this “religious stuff” was really true, God knew I was ripe for the picking.

Joy unspeakable and full of glory, as the old hymn says, was mine. I hadn’t known anything like it, and I told everyone I knew; I still do when I get the chance.

So you see I view life as other followers and believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, with the assurances and promises that were given to me as a small child. Heaven is a place, Jesus is there, the ones I love who have died before me are there, and someday, I will be there too.

Very similar to the early Christians, the hope in life after death became a reality with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The assurance that they would be reunited with him in heaven, the teacher they loved and adored, plus their brothers and sisters in that belief, was a reality for them.

Celebrating Easter every year is the marking of not only the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, but my birth as one of His followers. It’s a duel celebration, twice the “Joy Unspeakable and Full of Glory!”
REJOICE! HE IS RISEN! HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

Of Kings and Kingdoms

2009-04-03T13:12:00.000-07:00

The state of our nation is in the worst state economically and socially since the Depression.
Reading the headlines is depressing if not overwhelming. The unemployment rate that was reported today is just a number to some people fortunate enough to still be employed but to those that are not, it is an insurmountable reality every time they fill out a job application knowing that for one job, there are hundreds if not thousands applying for that same job.
The savings rate is up, people are starting to stash away their money in any place they can find a decent interest rate, and even in places they can’t.
Wage freezes are becoming common, and if you are lucky enough to have a job where you get a regular paycheck, even if they freeze your wages with no hope of a raise, you feel lucky.

I get A LOT of e-mails from people laying the blame of our nation’s problems on a variety of different reasons. But as I was reading in the book of Samuel the other day, I was struck by the prophet’s words to the nation of Israel when they wanted a king to rule over them just like all the nations around them. They wanted to be like everyone else, they wanted to fit in, and have “someone” to run to with their troubles. They wanted government instead of God.
God was not happy, but this is one of those times that He allowed them to have what they wanted. He was laying the groundwork for Jesus to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords, but at this time He knew how it would turn out, he even warned them, and here is what He says to Samuel when Samuel seeks the Lord as to what to do:

And the LORD said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 8According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day—with which they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9Now therefore, heed their voice. However, you shall solemnly forewarn them, and show them the behavior of the king who will reign over them.”

God knew what the outcome of this decision would be, when man doesn’t rely on God, and turns to the things of man, or man himself, the outcome is seldom what they want.
So Samuel followed God’s instructions and agreed to find and anoint a king for them, but not before he tried to warn them, as God had told him to, just what having an earthly king would do.

“This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. 12He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. 14And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. 15He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. 16And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest £young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. 17He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants. 18And you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves and the LORD will not hear you in that day.”

Interesting, even back in those days, people thought that government would solve their problems, that other men would be the solution to the dilemma’s they found themselves in. They were willing to continue on a dangerous downhill sloop even when a prophet who they had listened to, and believed, and heeded his word before, warned them. As usual, God in his mercy used Samuel to show the people that even right after they had anointed a king, who they thought would be the solution to all their problems, He was greater, and mightier, and able to do more than any mere man could do; he sent rain during a time of year that it NEVER rained.
Upon seeing this, the Bible said “the people greatly feared”, and admitted their sin in rejecting God.

“Then Samuel said to the people, “Do not fear. You have done all this wickedness: yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside: for then you would go after empty things which cannot profit or deliver, for they are nothing. For the Lord, will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you His people. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you; but I will teach you the good and right way. Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart, for consider what great things He has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.”

Our nation has rejected God in so many ways, that it sounded more than familiar to me.
We have spent our time and money on “empty things, which cannot profit or deliver”.
Our government has turned out to demand more of us than we are willing to give, and even to the point of servitude where we spend the first 5 months of the year working to earn enough just to pay our taxes. What will it take for us to “greatly fear” the Lord, and admit our sin of rejecting God, and pushing Him out of our society and our lives?

As I read Samuel I was also reminded of the scripture in Isaiah 9:6-7 where the perfect King and government will reign and be established:

"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end,
upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Easter is in a week. The celebration of the resurrection of the Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace! These days that we live in are the “birth pangs”, of the coming age of King Jesus, the perfect sovereign, and head of government. I’m going to try to be especially mindful as I approach the Easter Holiday this year that not only has He risen, but He reigns and will…..forever.

Perspective or a Miracle?

2009-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

I look at things a little differently than most people. I spend quite a bit of time reading the Bible, studying it when I have questions, and marvel at the similarities that I see in things that happened centuries ago and things that are happening now.
History and archeology have proven many of the things in the Bible are true, and really happened. So when I read the Old Testament account of the miracles that God performed for the children of Israel to bring them out of Egypt I am amazed, and find it hard to imagine witnessing fire and hail falling from the same sky, or the Nile River (or any river) turning to blood. The idea that if I put blood from an unblemished lamb on my door frame, God will spare me a horrid consequence let alone part an entire sea, is still beyond me sometimes. However sometimes things do happen in our lives that if we are willing to admit and realize that from a spiritual perspective they are indeed miracles, we too can say that we have seen the Hand of God.
This past weekend was Angel Food distribution. Once again they threatened not only precipitation, but a blizzard, and ice storm. Many people contacted me on Fri. inquiring as to what was going to happen to their boxes of food if they weren’t there to pick them up; I had no idea.
The truck driver called, just as he was crossing the Texas line into Oklahoma also wondering if he DID make it to Emporia would we be able to unload the truck. I assured him that weather hadn’t stopped us yet, and we didn’t expect it to stop us this time. I promised him I’d pray for him.
When I visited with Anita Fri. morn, it had started snowing in the southern part of the state, and another friend who always drives in from the west, not an hour away, also said it had been snowing since morning. I prayed.
Sure enough, Fri. eve it began to rain. It froze on the grass, and the trees, but early Sat. morning, the rain had stopped and the pavement was dry, and when I arrived at the church, there sat our semi truck full of food.
We started unloading, and all went well, the truck driver commented that in all his driving for Angel Food, he had never had a truck unloaded so quickly; we got him on his way to Topeka, before the storm hit as he needed to get home to Missouri after that.
Distribution started, and not long into it, the sleet started, and then wet heavy snow. Car doors froze shut, the snow piled up on the slush of sleet underneath and the cars kept coming and picking up food.
By 11:00 we were done distributing with one box of food left, and it was an extra. People left and made it safely home but yes the storm was a bad one.
Wasn’t it just a weather phenomenon that the cloud didn’t really hit Emporia till Sat. morning AFTER we had unloaded the truck and the majority of the food had been picked up?
Wasn’t it just coincidence that the truck driver shared that as he drove through the heart of the storm and saw two vehicles, both with four-wheel drive, spin out right in front of him and go into the ditch, that HE DIDN’T?
Isn’t it just happenstance that EVERY box got picked up, and everyone who ordered, and even some who didn’t, received food?
I could say it was all those things, but it wasn’t.
You see, God did rain down fire and hail on Egypt, and send plagues of frogs, and locusts, and flies. He did turn the water in the Nile River to blood, and He parted the Red Sea for them to walk across on dry ground. He spared them from death through the blood of a perfect lamb smeared on their door frames. Later in the Bible He enables a little shepherd boy to kill a 9 foot man with a slingshot and a stone. The healings, deliverance from demons, resurrections from death, we call miracles.
So yes, I believe that God held back the cloud and the storm for us to distribute food to people who needed it. I believe that He heard my prayers, and many others for the safety of the driver and those that needed to come pick up. I know that He saw to it that every box that had a place to go got there.
In the Old Testament accounts of the Exodus, the explanation of the miracles and wonders of God were so that “Egypt would know there is a God in Israel and that God IS God.” I've never doubted that God is God, but it was exciting, encouraging, and awesome to witness a miracle first hand.
Next time you "witness" something strange, unexplainable, or odd, check your perspective, and marvel at "the Hand of God."

Mercy Street

2009-03-19T10:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read my blog with any regularity and are familiar with the Rare Rocks, and Serenity Now blogs, let me introduce you to their mother, Kathy Nickerson and her blog Mercy Street. (featured in my side bar under Favorite Blogs)
Kathy and Wendell are friends of Roger from High School.
The first time I met them I was a guest in their home not a day or two after Kathy had come home from the hospital from bringing Serenity into the world, and Felicity was but 15 months old. I remember Kathy smiled all the time, she was gracious, generous, and welcoming. Not many months later they along with another couple from H.S. drove the 5 hours for our wedding.
Every 5 years we returned to Kirksville to those reunions, always staying with or at least spending the greater part of our time with the Nickerson’s. Not until I had children of my own did the reality of what Kathy had done on that first visit, welcoming someone she didn’t know into her home just days after giving birth, sink into my thick skull. (I learned then, that guys are not real aware when it comes to certain things!!) I learned through the years of visiting and staying with Wendell and Kathy that the reality of it is that Kathy is that gracious and welcoming, going with the flow and allowing life to wash over her every time I’ve ever been around her. I KNOW that is one of the reasons I am looking forward to reading what she posts on her blog. She has a perspective on things that I have always admired. How she sees the world and the people in it are a reflection of her heart, one that I feel was touched by God long before she was even aware of it.
Just a few months ago I was in a book store, perusing the magazines. I ran across Discipleship Journal, and its counterpart Pray magazine. I purchased them both, anticipating a good read, and a hot cup of tea upon returning home. As I thumbed through the Discipleship Journal I began reading an article about finding our family history in the pages of the Bible. As I finished the article, I noticed the author’s picture at the bottom of the page with a small quip about them. I looked twice, and sure enough smiling back at me was Kathy's familiar face, having just shared with me a small part of the encouragement that she finds in being a child of God.
I am anticipating her words, and hope you will too.

Living in Community

2009-02-24T07:44:00.000-08:00

I have featured a book in my Amazon Widget call the Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris.
I have just finished this book, and know that I will be reading it again and again. I will be using it not only as a devotional but inspiration to remind me of so many things…………just one of them attending church, and being involved in the family of God.
I would go into great detail about Kathleen Norris, but I don’t want to bog down in information, the book jacket will tell you all that.

Norris, though a Protestant, went through a year of becoming an oblate in a monastery outside Lemmon South Dakota. The word “oblate” is from the Latin for “to offer,” and Jesus himself is often referred to as an “oblation” in the literature of the early church. It may well be translated as “associate”, and while that may seem to describe the relationship modern oblates have with monastic communities, it does not adequately convey the religious dimension of being an oblate. Substituting the word “associate” for “oblation” in reference to Jesus demonstrates this all too well; no longer an offering, Jesus becomes a junior partner in a law firm.

Her book is a recording of not just the events that took place, and the impact on herself during that time, but a spiritual journey that exposed the idea of community to me in a whole new way, and did not lightly admonish me in my views of “community”, in regard to my local and familiar body of fellow followers of Jesus Christ.

As I read about life in a monastery I was pricked in being reminded that there is a reason for “family” in our spiritual lives, as much as there is in our physical lives.

She bases and establishes the lessons learned from this ancient culture on the very fact that the idea of this community IS ancient. (the Romans lost everything to barbarian invaders. Ironically, it is another legacy of the fall of Rome, the Benedictine Monastery, that is still going strong fifteen hundred years later.) Yet she is quick to ease the readers mind in assuring them that these are not people who are cloistered away from the world, living their own prayerful lives, blissfully unaware of what goes on outside the walls of their “community”. Quite the opposite, not only do monastery’s welcome guests, entertain visitors, but many in the order will work in prisons, hospices, as counselors, teachers, nurses, and doctors, and establish AIDS homes.

But this is not a book of facts about monasteries, this is a journal, so to speak, of someone who spent a year of her life being immersed in the ritual, and practices of a community of believers who practice that belief on a level that made her want more of Jesus, and encouraged and strengthened her trust in God.

“When a Benedictine community is deciding whether or not to accept a candidate (not referring to oblate) questions that would be primary in the business world—what this person’s credentials and skills, what will they add to the organization’s efficiency and the productivity?—are secondary, if they’re raised at all. Even the question of “acceptability,” which is so often a mask for prejudice, is muted. People are simply asked to consider whether or not this person has a monastic vocation for that particular community. The fact that you might not like the person, certainly not enough to want to live with them the rest of your life, is not supposed to be a factor. The monastic value of not judging others, of giving them the benefit of the doubt, can become extremely painful at a time like this, because once a person becomes a part of the community, they are family.”

Like any family they too have their moments, and suffer their differences:
“differences between individuals will either be adsorbed when the community gathers to act as one, or these communal activities become battlegrounds. As one monk once said to me, “Go to the dining room and to prayers, and you’ll find out how a monastery is doing.””

In between the beginning and the end of the book she shares her lessons of the Saints of the Catholic church, who they were, how and why they were named as saints, and all in the context of being moved by their love and devotion to Jesus to the point of giving their lives in some way, usually physically, for that love.
The literagy, hearing the scriptures, especially the Psalms, being read out loud, during this time brought her to a new awareness and understanding of the ceremony, and ritual that we in the modern church seem to have so easily and quickly set aside.
“The goal of a monastic life is to let oneself be changed by community ritual, ceremony, and the repetition of the psalms, until, in the words of one hymn, our lives become a psalm in praise of the glory of God’s name.”
In that bent, the monastery is a place to focus on such depth of devotion to God in a communal setting that gives evidence that there will be in heaven, “the family of God”.
In her chapter on Augustine she writes of being questioned by a college student as to why she would continue to attend church, and be surrounded by all that “hypocrisy”. Her reply and explanation of it are evidence of her “conversion” to the idea of communal life in the light of God’s love.

“The only hypocrite I have to worry about on Sunday morning is myself.” Even when I find church boring, I try to hold this in mind as a possibility: like all the other fools who have dragged themselves to church on a Sunday morning, including the pastor, I am there because I need to be reminded that love can be at the center of all things, if we will only keep it there."

She then shares a story by Pastor Cecil Williams, the pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco:

"On Easter Sunday at Glide the pastor invites people to tell their own stories during the service. One year he said, “There’s an empty tomb somewhere in this room this morning. I invite you to come forward now.” And people got up to speak of living two year with AIDS, nine months free from drugs. Then a man came forward who, Williams says had a skittish look in his eyes, “ that told me he was still in the tomb…..still tied up in the grave clothes of crack cocaine.? The Man told the congregation that the drug counseling at the church had been enough to keep him off drugs for days at a time. He admitted that he had a little crack still in his system that morning, but he said, looking around the church, “I wasn’t gonna miss this!”
A healing straight out of the gospels, in which repentance and healing happen simultaneously, as in a lightning strike, in which the desire to worship is a step from death into life, and a cause for celebration in the body of Christ, who welcomes all who seek him. BLESSED BE THOSE WHO THROW THE CHURCH DOORS OPEN WIDE.” (emphasis mine)

This book reminded me that like the communal monastic life, the goal of the Christian walk is to allow oneself to be changed by the “family of God”, through the encounters, shared circumstances, rituals, celebrations, sorrows, and “life” to the point that we become a living testament to the God we love and worship, and our savior Jesus Christ. “….that the basis of community is not that we have all our personal needs met here, or that we find all our best friends in the monastery…….what we have to share and what we have to struggle for, and to preserve, is the shared vision of the why, why we live together. It’s a common meaning, reinforced in the scriptures, a shared vision of the coming reign of God.”

More shots of Vegas.........

2009-02-18T12:28:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give you a little travel journal, since I'm not feeling my best today,and am voiceless, I thought I would do a little recording of memories through photos.
When we made our plans for the trip to Vegas and then on to Phoenix, Audrey, Ryan and I knew that we would be on our own for the lions share of the time in Vegas, as Rog and Nic would be occupied with "all things concrete".
The best part of the trip started at the airport in Vegas when these three walked off the plane arriving from Phoenix. WOHOO!!
I also got to relish spending the evening introducing my family to my best friend from High School, Donna Lyons Thomas and her husband Jim from Mesquite NV. BLAST!! They had us all laughing till our sides ached, and we throughly enjoyed the time, it just wasn't long enough.
The next day while Nic and Roger were learning about acid washed and decorative concrete, Ryan, Audrey and I walked down the stip to take in the sights. Here is where the architecture blows you away. Lets just say that when money is no object you can do anything in the middle of the dessert. We wandered in and out of hotels and shops, all the while I'm sure my mouth was hanging open, and looking like the little mid-western housewife I am. The Belligio was my favorite, but Audrey favored the Venetian. Below are the shots of the Belligio; Audrey is an excellent photographer and did a great job capturing the things that stood out to us the most.
These are the shots of the famous Dale Chihuly blown glass sculptures featured in and around the Billagio The Conservatory and the amazing mosiac floors in the conservatory. When we took Roger and Nic back that evening, Roger didn't know weather to look up or down, as there was so much to take in.
Another Chihuly blown glass sculpture featured in the piano lounge. About 6 ft. tall.

Next was the Venetian--Audrey's favorite, with a father who is a builder, she could appreciate so much of what we saw.

We had to have our picture taken infront of the horse fountain.......of course!

Can you say AMAZING!!!!

Las Vegas & the World of Concrete

2009-02-12T05:21:00.000-08:00

No, it isn't a metaphor for some deeper meaning post, we have actually been gone this past week to LasVegas to attend the World of Concrete Convention; and yes, there actually is such a thing, so go ahead and laugh, everyone else we told laughed:)
Roger receives all kind of trade magazines, and one of them comes from the concrete company that he uses for jobs, and the WOC (as it is commonly called), is advertised in there all the time. He has always wanted to go, so this year we took the plunge, ordered tickets, made reservations, called the kids and they flew up to meet us, and away we went!
LasVegas in itself is an amazing place on SO MANY LEVELS........., the architecture is unbelievable, and truly worth the trip. The fountain show, like the one featured at the end of the movie Oceans 11, at the Belligio is spectacular and definitly worth taking time to see. Some of the other attractions..(and you know what I mean)......not sa much! However, on Fri. morning after Nic and Rog had attended their last seminar Ryan, Audrey and I walked over to the convention center and joined them.
Ahh, to be at a construction convention of any kind, I felt right at home. Roger and Nic had told us about the power trowlers, and how fun they looked, and that they were allowing people to run them. So when we got to the show, that was one of the first things the guys showed us. The salesman eyed Audrey right off, and asked her if she wanted to run one. Now remember this is the girl who is a certified fire fighter, and can drive a full size fire truck; little power trowler? NO BIG DEAL!!!, Nic, not to be outdone by "the sister", stepped right in for the larger version and they were off, dodging little orange cones and each other on the slab of concrete that had been poured just for this event. I had my camera on my phone, thus the quality of the pictures, but I had to record the event.
Next we were off to wander some of the other exhibits, concrete saws, pumper trucks, and concrete tools of every shape, size and description you can imagine. The convention channel on the TV (yes, they actually have an entire channel dedicated to happenings at the convention center) in the hotel had been featuring the Makita tool booth the days we were there, and so Rog and Nic had wanted to check out the hammer drills, etc. They were comparing jackhammers, so Nic stepped up to try one, Audrey was right behind him. They took turns running the different ones, and when it was all over decided the Makita was definitely the easiest one to run. (like they are such experts on jack hammers!?!?)
Ryan and Rog and I were too busy laughing, and watching them "play".
Rog learned about acid etching on concrete, and how to pour a concrete counter top in place at the seminars, talked to lots and lots of sales reps, and saw people of every race and nationality. On the plane ride to Phoenix on Sat, I sat next to a gentleman who was the acct rep for the largest concrete company in the southwest. In our conversation I mentioned that my husband and I noticed the many foreigners at the show. He replied that he had talked to people from Iraq, Iran, Israel, Mogadishu, China.......and many others.
The show itself was an experience, let alone LasVegas. I have a feeling this isn't the first trip to the World of Concrete convention we will be making.

Winter Activities

2009-02-01T11:42:00.000-08:00

Besides feeding birds, and cooking my brains out during the winter when I can't get outside to plant flowers and mow acres of grass, I make quilts. This fall and winter we have had four babies expected among our family and friends, so I have made 4 baby quilts, and 12 receiving blankets for all those wee ones. Some I tie, but the last one I hand quilted. It turned out really well. I embroderiered the blocks too. The receiving blankets are just flannel that I bind the edges somehow and finish, but EVERY girl I give them to comments on how much nicer they are than the boughten ones as they are larger, and swaddle better...such a nice compliment to know my efforts are making some tiny one warm and secure.

Feed the birds.............

2009-01-27T17:37:00.000-08:00

This picture was on the front of a Christmas card we received this year from my cousin. I instantly fell in love with it, and saved it.
One of my winter activities is feeding the birds. I have several feeders, and last year Roger and I counted 8 pairs of red birds on the feeder at once; his comment was "if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it!"
One of my all time favorite songs is "Feed the Birds", from the Movie Mary Poppins. The stanza that stands out to me is:

"All around the cathedral
the saints and apostles
look down where she sells her wares.
Although you can't see them,
I know they are smiling,
each time someone shows that he cares."

I've always figured if God cares enough for the birds to know "when a sparrow falls to the earth", the least I can do is feed them. My bird feeders are up, and my oak tree is full of birds, every kind pictured here, and yes I think God is smiling to know that I am "feeding the birds".

Kansas........

2009-01-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's cold! We didn't get quite this much snow, but it is COLD! 9 degrees this morning unloading the Angel Food Truck, and 14 when I was driving home at noon after distribution. Nic always said that winters in Kansas were boring, as we ALWAYS got the cold temperatures, but not necessiarily the snow. "What good if cold weather if there isn't any snow to play in?!" That is the way it is now, bitter cold, and no snow. Don't get me wrong, I'm not one for snow and ice, but it is sort of boring. I'll be soooo glad when winter is over.

Another New Cerretti

2009-01-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

Well, here is ANOTHER new Cerretti!
Henry Randall Cerretti, that is Henry R. Cerretti to those who aren't on the full name basis, and doesn't that just have the most grown up sound to it!? I see a tall guy in a business suit someday, striding into a room, ready for whatever action will come his way. I have to admit, I'm a little partial to the name Henry. Some of the more important people in my life have been named Henry; Grandpa Henry Wolf (my mothers dad), my uncle Henry Wolf, (mothers brother), Henry (Hank) Wells, my mothers boss of 24 years. Not to mention Roger had a Uncle Henry Cerretti, his dad's oldest brother. Now we have another wonderful Henry in the family. He came in on the 29th of Dec. (yep, I'm slow), at 8 lbs, and 4 oz. His grandma Cathy said he was wide awake, alert and ready to go.

Welcome to the family!

Finally!

2009-01-08T06:57:00.001-08:00

It's been two months since Holton made his appearance into this world, and I finally got to meet him yesterday.
My original plan was to go to the hospital when he was born and get the "fresh from heaven" experience that so many people love when a baby is "fresh". However, with him being a month early, and going straight to the NICU no one but parents, and grandparents were allowed to see or touch; alas I am neither, so I waited....... I then made plans to go over the day after Christmas, but had a TERRIBLE cold (I think that is what it was), and didn't want the dubious distinction of giving him,or anyone else in his immediate domain, his first cold, especially since the Dr's had been adament about keeping him home and away from small children to further insure the safety of those tiny premature lungs.
It was beginning to look like he would be old enough to introduce himself to me at the rate things were moving but AT LAST, I saw, I held, and I relished the sweet baby sounds, the incredible smell of a tiny newborn, and the innocent helpless dependence of a "little bit of heaven" here on earth. He is, as any self-respecting great aunt would attest, perfect. Content, peaceful, and........yep, perfect...until I become a grandmother that is :)

Terminology

2009-01-05T07:35:00.000-08:00

Negative capability.....
[is being] capable of being in uncertainties, mysteries, doubts without any irritable reaching after fact and reason.--John Keats

Or as a fried puts it:

Happiness is being able to enjoy the scenery.......on a detour.
or perhaps another term is:
Faith, Trust......

A Hug from a Dog

2008-12-28T07:56:00.000-08:00

My "constant companion", i.e. Lily, loves to give me hugs.
This is something she and I do. I know it is not something she should be doing with other people, but this is "our" moment. I'm sitting at the computer in my swivel chair. She is lying on the floor destroying whatever chew toy she has at the moment, when she stops, comes to my chair, and lays her head on the arm of the chair. This is my signal to stop what I am doing, and swivel to face her, where she then puts her front feet up on my shoulders, and lays down in my lap, back feet still on the floor. She then lays her head down on my chest and I give her a kiss on her long nose, and rub her soft face while she "nibbles" on my robe or clothes, no licking just nibbles. It is a gentle nibble, that symbolized that she loves me, and if she could, would climb right up in my lap; alas she is too big. After we have done this for a few minutes, she gets down and returns to the toy, or falls asleep. She just needed a hug, and knew I needed one too. When we do this, we are both in absolute bliss. She is being "held" by me, just like when she was little enough to hold, and I am having "doggy love" lavished on me in immeasurable proportions.
How many people are actually lucky enough to get hugs from their dogs?
There is something about being shown affection from one of God's creatures, and not a human being. I like to believe that God himself might be giving me a hug. We had a preacher one time who used to refer to the acts of Christians being something like "a little bit of Jesus wrapped up in the flesh". I feel like Lily's hugs are a little bit of God wrapped up in a dog. I find myself alone a lot these days, save my dog, but I am not lacking in affection being shown to me. She is being affectionate at every turn, something that I love receiving.
This might seem a stretch, but God is everywhere, and I know from personal experience, meets our needs in some pretty amazing ways. So at this point in my life, why couldn't He be showing His love for me in the affections of a dog, a shepherding dog, who seems to understand when I need a hug, and some special attention. I will take God's love anyway I can get it.

My head feels fuzzy.......

2008-12-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

I hate being sick at Christmas. I told Rog it was a good thing I didn't feel like this on Wed. or he would have had a sandwich for Christmas dinner instead of the feast we did have, even though I overdid the sweet potato casserole. I haven't felt this bad in a long time. Roger actually slept in one of the extra bedrooms last night because he didn't want me breathing on him, coughing on him, and just generally being around him. I don't know where I got this, but whoever gave it to me.......yeah, you can have it back. YUCK!

Is Love Enough?

2008-12-19T08:41:00.000-08:00

I have finished a book this last week that has impacted me. The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller is a revealing book not just of the story of the prodigal son, but also of the older brother. Each brother in his own way was rebelling against their father.
I have always found people who are in outright rebellion to God much easier to speak to about God. Those who believe they are following all the rules and doing it correctly are very difficult to talk to about God; they think they have all the answers, the formulas. Those in open rebellion know they are failing, and falling, they just haven’t “come to their senses” yet.
I found as I read this book it striped away religious belief, and cultural pressures, to reveal the utter simplicity of the gospel. One son openly rebelled against the times and what was expected of him and walked away, the other stayed, followed his perception of what was expected of him, all the while for his own reasons. The statement that struck me was this:

“Underneath the brother’s sharply different patterns of behavior is the same motivation and aim. Both are using the father in different ways to get the things on which their hearts are really fixed. It was the wealth, not the love of the father, that they believed would make them happy and fulfilled.
At the end of the story, the elder brother has an opportunity to truly delight the father by going into the feast. But his resentful refusal shows that the father’s happiness had never been his goal. When the father reinstates the younger son, to the diminishment of the older son’s share in the estate, the older brother’s heart is laid bare. He does everything he can to hurt and resist his father.”

I love the teachings of Jesus. They are so simple that I know I miss so much so often. This book reminded me of the simplicity of the gospel. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might……………..Love the Lord your God.

Love God.
Love God, not for what He gives you or does for you
Love God.
Love God, not because you’re told to
Love God.
Love God, not out of fear
Love God.
Love God, not out of obligation
Love God.
Love God, with abandonment of all things
Love God.
Love God, above all others
Love God.

Is loving God my ultimate goal without agenda or motive? Serenity wrote last week about loving irresponsibly and it made me think of this passage from the book. Keller shares that “the word “prodigal” does not mean “wayward”, but according to Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, “recklessly spendthrift.” It means to spend until you have nothing left. This term is therefore as appropriate for describing the father in the story as his younger son. The father’s welcome to the repentant son was literally reckless, because he refused to “reckon” or count his sin against him or demand repayment. This response offended the elder son and most likely the local community.”
He goes on to relate that through Jesus, God did that, spent recklessly, to redeem us.

At this point I think of the great hymn:

Such love!
Such wonderous love!
Such love!
Such wonderous love!
That God should love a sinner such as I! How wonderful is love like this!

Christmas is coming, the celebration of the greatest expenditure of a spendthrift God who paid it all that I might know how much He loves me. Merry, Merry Christmas! God Loves You!

A Boy and His Dog

2008-12-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

Nic and Lady

There are certain things about certain memories that stick out in your mind. When I have memories of Nicolas as a little boy, or even older they always include a dog. We have always had a dog around as long as our kids have been around. First a Golden Retriever when Audrey was just a toddler, someone stole him. Then a stray Pit Bull we got rid of when the kids were really small and a Collie, that got hit by a car. When Tess the Collie got hit by the car, and our kids were devastated by the loss, we decided that as long as we continued to live on the highway, there would be no more dogs—we couldn’t stand the heartache.
When we moved into our new house, Nic was 10 and Audrey 11, we hadn’t been there a month, when we got a puppy. She grew, and grew and grew, and we never knew for sure just exactly what kind of dog she was, but she was gentle, even tempered, and BIG. We joked that we always knew Nic needed a large animal to play with and it was either a gorilla or a REALLY BIG dog; we opted for the dog. Lady lived for 13 years, and I always told her she had to stick it out till Nic left home because I wasn't sure what I would do with Nic if anything ever happened to her. She went everywhere with him, down into the woods, to the ponds to fish, she was just ALWAYS around. Her health finally got so bad, that one week after Nic graduated from college, and had moved out we had her put down.
Nothing has changed; Nic still loves to play with “the dog”. While he has been home helping Roger pour concrete on the job, he has been getting acquainted with Lily again (he was here when we got her).
Lily loved Nic, he actually took her out in the yard and ran with her, chased her, and threw things for her to chase. (We do these things too, but not with the vim and vigor of a 25 yr old) I captured one picture through the kitchen window (yes, I need to wash the window) which ignited that memory I was thinking of. Nic hugging the dog after a good run, he did that when he was little with our big dog Lady too, only she was the bigger one of the pair then.
Poor Lily didn’t quite know what to think when this really fun person would bend down and scoop her up, but she loved the game, and the guy playing it

It was sooooooo fun to see the grins on their faces when Nic was home. I just had to capture it, and share it. It made Roger and I smile, and laugh, hope it does the same for you.

OH! Happy Day!

2008-11-22T17:49:00.000-08:00

I love “Happy Days”. No not the T.V. show, but the actual happy days, when your socks get blessed off by all of Gods goodness in one instant.

My happy day is today when I opened my e-mail and found more pictures of my new great-nephew Holton. The following picture was my happy day moment. That is my sister Anita holding her first grandchild.

My sister Anita, 9 years older than me, who used to cry when I received a spanking, and who made a special trip to K-State when I attended college there to talk me out of quitting school, who was the matron of honor at my wedding, who has loved my children unconditionally, and talked me through more than one parenting crisis. Who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and walked to deaths door and back undergoing treatments, and who waited 10 years to become a grandma; IS ONE!

I cried when she called and told me she was going to be a Grandma, because during those days of battling cancer, of baldness, and weakness, and nausea, and a literal inability sometimes to get out of bed, she shared with me her knowledge that no matter what happened, she knew “everything will be alright.” She meant that no matter, live or die, her assurance was that God MUST know what He is doing, and she put her life in his hands trusting Him fully with the possibility of getting to experience that moment pictured above.

I watched her during that time; we talked, sometimes every day. I went down often to see her; not as often as I wanted, but as I could. I knew she was growing spiritually every day. She kept a diary of all the marvelous, and some out right miraculous things that God did for them during that time, but I know as she sat and looked at Holton this last Tuesday, she knew that this child in her arms surpassed all those marvelous things that we laughed and rejoiced over during the cancer.

So this was my HAPPY DAY when I opened the e-mail (thank you Casie), and saw my sister holding what I know she would say is, next to knowing Jesus, the most marvelous and downright miraculous thing God has ever done for her.

Here HE is!!

2008-11-20T06:21:00.001-08:00

Holton Henry Katzer, born Nov. 15th weighing in at 4lbs, 9oz. 17 in. long to proud parents David and Casie. My new Great-nephew (yes, I am a GREAT aunt just ask his mother, uncle Clinton, and all the other nieces and nephews). He is doing well, and we are all so thankful that he is here, albeit a month early.

ROAD TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-11-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

My sister Anita called me last week and asked me if I wanted to take a weekend trip with her to Colorado to deliver a pick-up load of treasures to her son Clinton and Amy, his wife. I said yes and away we went. Talk about a pick-me-up! It did the trick. It was a great weekend in the mountains, clear, warm and sunny. I am so glad I went, and got to see part of my family in their “environs”. I had the honor of only being the second relative to visit who wasn’t immediate family, so I felt honored. These two were featured in a previous blog about my favorite people………still are.....always will be.

Standing...or being held up

2008-11-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

I found this song today stumbling around in the blog world. God knew I needed it. I am missing my kids, and I am missing my Mother. Winter is coming on, the flowers are gone, and this is the first day of sunshine in 3 days…………but then I went to Serenity and Felicity’s blogs, and read of NEW LIFE with the birth of Nola Serenity, and then I found this song, and I rejoiced, because God will give me things to remind me that He is still here with me, and will hold me up no matter what. Praise God!