Last words....

Last words....

My mom, "I love you"

My husband, "I love you"

My dad, "I love you, take care"

These were the last words to me from people who leaving this world for another, their last words here on earth before they entered their heavenly home...poignant ....caring.....encouraging .....

The Bible records several last words of various people through the ages....

Jacob gave blessings and instructions to his sons in Genesis 48 and 49..

Genesis 50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

Moses, in Deuteronomy  32, recites a whole song in the company of the Israelites, and then climbs the mountain, views the promised land and dies on the mountain.

David gives is last words In following words.....

2 Samuel 23:1-7

23 These are the last words of David:

“The inspired utterance of David son of Jesse,

    the utterance of the man exalted by the Most High,

the man anointed by the God of Jacob,

    the hero of Israel’s songs:

2 “The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me;

    his word was on my tongue.

3 The God of Israel spoke,

    the Rock of Israel said to me:

‘When one rules over people in righteousness,

    when he rules in the fear of God,

4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise

    on a cloudless morning,

like the brightness after rain

    that brings grass from the earth.’

5 “If my house were not right with God,

    surely he would not have made with me an everlasting covenant,

    arranged and secured in every part;

surely he would not bring to fruition my salvation

    and grant me my every desire.

6 But evil men are all to be cast aside like thorns,

    which are not gathered with the hand.

7 Whoever touches thorns

    uses a tool of iron or the shaft of a spear;

    they are burned up where they lie.”

Further into time, Jesus, on the cross , said, "it is finished ".  And later as He ascends into heaven, 

Acts 1:7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

It time, Jesus does have the last word.....He says of himself,,"I am the beginning and the end

Revelation 1:4 b-8

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[a] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[b]

    and “every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him”;

    and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”[c]

So shall it be! Amen.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Those are glorious end words

Lord , help my words can be a blessing.  

Struggling In Life....death....

Struggling in life....death....

Yesterday as I watched my father struggling for life or death...this verse took on A whole new meaning....

Revelation 21:4

‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

We were both crying, both struggling with what is going on in life at this point....we hold on desperately to life....fighting death with every labored breath....just a drop of water is painful, that which we normally think of as life giving....

In the designated time, my father and we all will forget the pain and struggle,,,he will not know crying...he will be free from this world, its agonies...from  all his family who love him in an earthly love....free to be face to face with his savior, Jesus.   No more tears, no more pain.....

We, who are left, will still face the pains, the tears but for ourselves....the grief...the mourning.....missing him ....but knowing that he is at last free from this world into the next...walking on streets of gold,  saying hello to his parents, his friends, mom, Don...and all those who,in Christ, went before ....

Psalm 16:11

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 21:6

Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Thank you for the peace of your Word, when even in tears and struggle, You come through....as a peace  giver , comforter...and even now, a husband...a father...I need that presence so much....

Tools....

Tools...

This morning I used my late husband's  meat saw to cut down part of a tree,  I chuckled,  he would be horrified to see his wonderful meat saw cutting a tree.  Not the proper use for it, but it worked great....over the years we have used that Saw for a lot of meat cutting...but on the side, it also works for cutting tiny pieces of wood trim, limbs, cardboard, other wood.......I mentally thanked him for such a good tool with a lot of uses unbeknownst to him....

I have a lot of tools that have multiple uses and we can purchase those spiffy multiple use tools that fit into our pockets.....which must do "everything"we need....I use tools all the time, they are all over the house for various jobs from paper clips to tires on the car...they make life easier....

Over years, there have been a variety of tools developed for church growth...spiritual gifting, evangelism techniques, end times,etc, etc...all of which are excellent and good tools, but just that, "tools"...they in themselves are not the real answer for life.....there is no substitute for the real word of God....

Thank you for your everlasting, ever true word...for which there is no substitute.  .....

Jeremiah 30:2

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.

Proverbs 30:5

“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

Luke 11:28

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

2 Tim 3:15-16

....and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ....

Psalm 119

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?

    By living according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart;

    do not let me stray from your commands.

11 I have hidden your word in my heart

    that I might not sin against you.

12 Praise be to you, Lord;

    teach me your decrees.

13 With my lips I recount

    all the laws that come from your mouth.

14 I rejoice in following your statutes

    as one rejoices in great riches.

15 I meditate on your precepts

    and consider your ways.

16 I delight in your decrees;

    I will not neglect your word.

Sharper than two edged sword, Tim, version...psalm 119

In a Perfect world.....

In a perfect world...

We live in a world or time, when we are looking for the perfect skin,the perfect hair,   the perfect cook, the perfect car, the perfect......

.of course perfection may be objective....one person's perfection may not be another's ....that is why we have so many choices,  one size does not fit all...

Advertisements on TV have the perfect everything.....and if you buy it quickly, you can get two for the price of one plus shipping and handling...

In the beginning God created everything good...and then sin entered and marred that perfection....then we had to work, we had weeds, death, and so much more.....and now we won't have perfection until we die....if we have accepted Christ as our Savior....

Deuteronomy 32:4

He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.

2 Samuel 22:31

“As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

Job 37:16

Do you know how the clouds hang poised, those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?

Psalm 18:30

As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 19:7

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Genesis 1:9-31And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good......

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 Thank you that You came to die for us , that we might have that eternal life...perfection in heaven. And then we won't have to "worry" about being perfect...we will be there to praise you...

Fears....and their hold....

Fears.......and their hold....

I was looking through family pictures recently, looking for ones specifically of my dad through the years...reminiscing through the years, putting my mind into perspective of times     Past and present....

One of the pictures that stood out was our wedding day.  There we stood, all young and fresh, smiling toward the future. ....ready to meet change , ready to meet the future with happiness.  My parents, his parents and us....

Then it hit me, if my father's health doesn't turn around, I will be the only one left in that picture....my in-laws have been gone 20+ years,  my mother and husband 1+ years, and now my dad is ill....I could be the matriarch of our family.....that was daunting, fearful....

For whatever reason, fear swept over me like a blanket....covering me. encompassing me, seeping in around me.......I don't want another change....I want normal,, I want life....not change.....again.....a good cry ensued, cleansing, releasing.....it bring tears to my being when I dwell on it again...but the God of peace was and is there, abiding deep..pushing through those fears...saying.   "Do not be afraid".....do not be afraid....

He says it over and over in His word from the beginning to the end.....and it is still pertinent ..today as it was recorded years ago .....

Thank you.......thank you.....thank you .....

Isaiah 54:4

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood

John 14:27

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Deut.1:29Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”

32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Genesis 15:1

[ The Lord’s Covenant With Abram ] After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Isaiah 44:8

Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Jeremiah 1:8

Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Hebrews 13:6

So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Revelation 1:17

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

Family book....family history.....

Family book.....family history....final words.....change.....

My mother -in-law took a class in her community many years ago.....answering questions about her family, her history, "life when".... Each week they were given a different topic to answer and write about...

She faithfully answered them. They were typed out.  Then in her last years we went through  family pictures and added these to her stories and finally we made copies, had them bound, and she signed each one in December, gave them out to family members...she passed away in January......  

That family history book changed within three months ...with her death and one of her sons...and it keeps changing with marriages, births, more deaths.....more pictures, more adventures of family members....family reunions....life goes on and on....it is not fixed, unmoving, but fluid, changing....going into the future, adding...words and more pictures....more people.....

.my husband and I each did a personal history book, added thoughts, pictures, copied it and. Gave it to our children..

Another  year I went through all the photo albums, scanned hundreds of pictures, made an album for each child,, an album of general family pictures, historical per-child pictures...printed them  and gave them as Christmas presents....the following spring my husband passed away and left the present picture...changes, life moving on....

We each could take the same class and write our own books, add our own stories, pictures, testimonies ......we can record blessings, daily living, hard times....care for one another...life as we know it...what had God wrought in our time lines....pictures of our lives...caught in time...changes through the years.....what will be our story. ....we have choices, of how some of it will play out....and  we don't have choices in other things....God  knows the beginning to the end....what will we hand down to be remembered......

From cover to cover , the Bible is filled with families, their stories, the good, the bad and the ugly...their testimonies which flow down through the ages....how God dealt with them in various life circumstances.  How he may deal with us.....there are no pictures, He leaves that to our mind's eye,....But there is plenty of descriptions .....to "see" the scenes...of life...

2 Timothy  3:10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ......16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Genesis 5:1

[ From Adam to Noah ] This is the written account of Adam’s family line. When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God.

Genesis 6:9

[ Noah and the Flood ] This is the account of Noah and his family. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.

Genesis 11:10a

[ From Shem to Abram ] This is the account of Shem’s family line. ....

Genesis 11:27a

[ Abram’s Family ] This is the account of Terah’s family line. ....

Genesis 37:2a

This is the account of Jacob’s family line. .....

Numbers 3:1

[ The Levites ] This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the Lord spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai.

Ruth 4:18

[ The Genealogy of David ] This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,.....

1 Chronicles 17:16

[ David’s Prayer ] Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and he said: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?

Writing obituaries.....

Writing  obituaries.....

Writing obituaries is no fun,,,it means that some one has died or is about to....

In August, , 2010, my father, my husband and I took a long grueling day to write my mother's obituary.  We hadn't expected to write one, as she came through the surgery so well......but we were...,Making sure all the spelling was correct, that we didn't leave out any family members, her interests, etc.  ....a person 's life in three paragraphs...how simple/difficult is that......

Last year, 2012,  I was writing one again, this time alone.....it came to me one sleepless night as my husband lay fading away from Brain cancer...the who, what, when questions...the important answers.....the people..the interests, the laughter, the love, ...the family....what was his essence?  What would he want to be remembered ? Missions, geology.....  His legacy?

Now, 2013,  my father lays taking that same journey....another life in few paragraphs...the who, what, when of 86+ years....how do you sum it all up...the cowboying, the ranchers he knew, his family....tree farming, teaching, the impact on grandchildren, people he knew those many years.....His legacy...a love for travel...work ethic....

Lord, here I am again at this spot ...writing those words about people,,, give me wisdom In Portraying their life here, your life in them,   Your love for all ....in the order which you would have it done....thank you for your care, your compassion to those of us how are left, who love our family members...help,us have good memories, forgetting the hard ones, forgiving the bad ones, moving ahead , remembering to seek a heart of wisdom....that our legacy shows You....to those around us.....

Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Deuteronomy 8:2

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these ....years, 

Deuteronomy 8:18a

But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, ....

Deuteronomy 32:7

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

 Psalm 63:6

On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night.

Psalm 103:15-17

15 The life of mortals is like grass,

    they flourish like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

    and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

    and his righteousness with their children’s children—

Psalm 112:6

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.

Lies,....deceit and deceivers...

Lies, deceit and deceivers......

In my father's tired mind right now , everyone is lying to him....everything and everyone  are fake.... It is all a sham , a scam, a fraud, a setup,  an illusion  and a scheme.....all words he has used in his mind tricks....yet those are all the words that his mind is playing on him...we are in the real world and he is not...

Not the person I have known all of my life as my father....not the grandfather my children have known, not the tree farmer who loved to teach .....not the uncle  my cousins have known...not the friend he has been ......

On the other hand, I can ask him questions about growing up, past history and he can tell me in detail the who, when, what details....quite the contrast....

Mind deceivers ......we, as people  In this world, have an enemy, a deceiver, a liar, who would trick our minds moment by moment of everyday....he would trick us with idols, materialism, various religions,  wrong thinking ..... A multitude of things....

He has been there since the beginning, in the garden with Adam and Eve , twisting the truth,  to Job....testing....to Christ, trying to gain the power which is not his to have...and finally in the end times, a battle which is already won by the Creator the universe...

Still he is lurking everyday in every way to win converts to his evil and deceitful ways...quietly undermine truth in anyway he can....

We are to resist, be alert......be on guard that we are not deceived. 

Lord , help me to make right decisions based on truth and not be deceived by the falsehoods of the deceiver....

Zechariah 3:2

The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?”

Matthew 4:10

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”

Acts 5:3

Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

Acts 26:18

to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

Romans 16:20

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

2 Corinthians 2:11

in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

2 Corinthians 11:14

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

Ephesians 4:27

...and do not give the devil a foothold.

1 Thessalonians 2:18

For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

2 Thessalonians 2:9

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,

1 Timothy 5:15

Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.

  James 4:7

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Peter 5:8

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.