Sucking in air.....

Sucking in air...

I came home from a recent trip with bronchitis....had to go to urgent care to get it tended to...my throat was so swollen from so much coughing and I found myself gasping for air, trying not to panic from the sensation of not being able to breathe...

The thing was, that morning I had been grumbling about a too tight fall time schedule...now it opened up, not only from my bronchitis , but my travel partner was life flighted for bowel surgery...our upcoming trip cancelled for us both....God had other plans for us this fall than we thought we had...

Now, both of us will get a breather that we didn't know we needed...plans...changes....

God is our breath of life...am I gasping from not getting enough of Him???

Or do I just panic on the physical side? He breathed life into Adam at the beginning....and has been into each of us ever since...watching my husband pass slowly away, the breathing was the last thing to go...Slowly relinquishing those breaths until it stopped and he stepped into another realm...

I want that God breathed life both  the spiritual and physical for as long as He has given me... Help me praise His for life...not grumble for changes along the way...accepting the paths that He has promised...thank YOU...

Genesis 2:7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 

Job 33:4 The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life. 

Psalm 150:6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. 

Acts 17:25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 

Family photos....

Family photos......

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to take pictures...while traveling, a camera is just part of my wardrobe... Whether any of the photos are good or not that is open for debate...but I love to take pictures...I love the scenes, the textures, the ambiance, the colors, the detail, the wonder, the intricacies, the emotions that I can sometimes capture in pictures...

I enjoy others taking pictures as well, seeing what they see in their photos....watching a professional take pictures, gathering ideas for future personal photos is fun as well...

The other day some of us went to the beach to capture the early morning light with a photographer. She posed us in a multitude of ways...in the water, in the sand, in the trees, in the rocks...fun...
Last night we got the view these works of art on the movie screen and pick the ones that will fill frames/canvases, Christmas cards, Facebook, etc....

As fun as it is, reality sets in at odd moments...there is a missing spot, a missing person whose smile and presence isn't there anymore...but whose gesture, smile, feature is caught in fleeting moments in his children and grandchildren...or when I am posed by myself or with family without him...or when I am watching the photos flip by and I can't turn to him and comment or laugh about the scene...the shared history...the shared times...

But, we move forward....making new memories, new photos....growing into the future, enjoying the present...exploring new adventures...

Thank YOU for those family photos....We have so many from the past and now we are creating new ones....thank YOU for the events in out lives that are picture worthy...

Ecclesiastics 3:1, 2a, 4
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven ...
A time to be born and a time to die....a time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance...

Pearl Harbor....

Pearl Harbor....

"How do we remember those who have died?"...

Drops of oil, seepage from the submerged ship..."tears" of those who have gone before...sealed into the ship beneath the harbor's water...remembered by family and the millions of people who pay homage to their sacrificed lives by coming to the memorial ...

Not that we worship their sacrifice, but remember why they died....
The aggressor thought they could defeat the US by taking out the fleet which was an easy target all lined up together, "sitting ducks" but he had not planned in the tenaciousness of the American people at the time...they wanted to remember those who died there by tirelessly rebuilding and fighting back with a will to survive...and eventually win...22 millions lives were lost in World War 2...in the quest for power, domination...

"How do we remember those who have died?" We have memorials scattered around the world....gravesites for the fallen in battle...prison camp museums for the horror of lost loved ones....sunken ships...multitudes of books for life stories...voices of people recorded for our listening....movies, shot in time...pictures capturing the destruction as well as the everyday lives...

We have God's Word, a book of life, lives, answers, sacrifices, ....truth...resurrection .....our Savior is victorious over death...He wins in the battles which Satan pursues relentlessly in our lives...for power, lust, pride of life....we have few memorials...but the empty cross.....places where Jesus walked...the Word is living and continues to shine light to the world.....thank YOU...

How do we remember those who have died?... We live in the light of He who lives...

1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

It seems....

It seems....

It seems like in our world that those whose integrity is questionable are living the "blessed" life and ones who make a stand for right/good are questioned...what is really good is looked upon as wrong and what is really bad is hailed as great...deception, shrewdness, hidden agendas are par for the course and it seems like that is more and more acceptable as time moves in...every newscast, news paper seems to portray the same...
But, it is nothing new over history, "nothing new under the sun" as Solomon would say...

Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

So when reading Psalm 73 this morning, a psalm of Asaph, he spoke the same things I was feeling...you can go down his list as see today's world...again and again...
And then I was drawn back to Psalm 37 by David and he says basically the same thing...
Or Jesus, in Matthew 23, when he is speaking to the leaders of the day...woe, woe, woe...

Yes, the wicked seem to prosper but their end is vastly different from those who follow God, our salvation, our strength, our portion, our refuge, our inheritance.....

Thank YOU, that You remind me again to put my trust in You and not in the worldly matters, leaders...You alone reign and Your Will will be done...

Psalm 73:1-25 Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold.
For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong.
They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.
Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence.
From their callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits.
They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.
Therefore their people turn to them and drink up waters in abundance.
They say, “How would God know? Does the Most High know anything?” This is what the wicked are like— always free of care, they go on amassing wealth.
Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.
All day long I have been afflicted, and every morning brings new punishments.
If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children.
When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
Surely you place them on slippery ground; you cast them down to ruin.
How suddenly are they destroyed, completely swept away by terrors!
They are like a dream when one awakes; when you arise, Lord, you will despise them as fantasies.
When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.
Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory.
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Psalm 37:1-9 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Crater Lake National Park....

Crater Lake National  Park....

Isaiah 55:12 You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Yesterday, I was blessed with the opportunity to visit Crater Lake National park. When we have gone before, we had to climb a snow bank, look quickly at the lake, and leave... This time, however,  was different with lunch at the old lodge built 100 years ago and maintained beautifully, a ranger narrated trip in an old trolley around the 30+ mile rim of the lake...the day was shirt-sleeve weather, with not a cloud in the sky...gorgeous...

People from around the world were enjoying the sight as well as we heard a huge variety of languages being spoken wherever we went..I am sure thousands of pictures went into cyber space around the globe to friends and relatives...

God created such a beautiful work of art for all to enjoy and we were...I wander if He smiles when we enjoy His handiwork in nature...it reminded me that we, too, are His handiwork...with a plan to do good works...how He must delight in each...

Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Thank YOU for Your gifts of nature and the gifts you bestow on us to do Your will...

Psalm 148:1-14 Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above.
Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for at his command they were created, and he established them for ever and ever— he issued a decree that will never pass away.
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, lightning and hail, snow and clouds, stormy winds that do his bidding, you mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and women, old men and children.
Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.
And he has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his faithful servants, of Israel, the people close to his heart.
Praise the Lord.

Scrolling time...

Scrolling time...

My computer is set to scroll through my photos...so I may see one of my adult children as a tiny baby one minute and yesterday's sunset the next...time doesn't matter in the scrolling...my late husband or parents smile at me and the next I see may be the mountains of New Zealand...time...yesterday, last year, today...it isn't bound  by time...

There have been books, movies about time travel, stepping back or forward into time, changing events for different outcomes in history...working against time...

On the other hand, I seem to be bound by time, with appointments, deadlines, schedules, clocks, alarms for this and that, tides, days/nights, seasons, aging, years, minutes.....all are pieces of time that God has built into our finite world...whereas He seems not to be bound by time...He has a plan, but it may not be in our time frame...His Word from the beginning tells of future times and we are still sorting it out, generations later...are we living in the last  times, is there pre, post or pan rapture, what are some of the symbols of time one ages???

We are told to be ready for His return, not knowing an exact date, be prepared, but be diligent in our calling while we live in our time...

Thank YOU that You know the season, and the  times of our lives and the world's...you know the beginning from the end ....and hold our lives gently in your hand...

Revelation 22:12-13 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Psalm 90:1-4 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
You turn people back to dust, saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night.

2 Peter 3:8-9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Hot air balloons....

Hot air balloons....

The air is a crisp beginning-of-fall morning .....crystal clear, slight breeze....
Looking up, I saw a single beautiful, multicolored hot air ballon floating noiselessly across the sky...pushed by the breezes...meandering slowly with the wind's path through the blueness...

What a way to start my morning walk...the crispness, the blueness, the sight of the balloon...wondering how the Holy Spirit would use this today...He brings to mind so many things, thoughts, "to do's", people, prayers...so much...and peace as well...we know He is there guiding our course as the wind with the balloons ...

Thank YOU for the amazing journey with You....

Ecclesiastes 1:6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course.

John 3:8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

Ephesians 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

Family pictures....

Family pictures......

Like so many people, I have a wall area which features pictures of my family. Children and grandchildren smile back at me whenever I pass by.  I often stand there and look at each one...their features, their personalities....them...my family and how I love them...each one so overwhelmingly I can feel it deep within my heart...

Yesterday, I took all of them down to replace the frames and update some of the pictures...as I took each one down, I immediately felt a loss even though I knew they were going to be replaced soon....they weren't there smiling at me for a period of time... Instead,  I put up wires with clothes pins  so that I could change out  pictures easier, add more as I had them....just change the look, it is still my family picture wall...

I emptied out the frames which held pictures back to the babyhood of grandchildren, sixteen years of the oldest...what history, what changes....to the newest, under a year...what a delight...what futures...what does God have planned for each...I know He has a plan...He knows their frame better than I .....He loves each one with a deeper love than I can fathom ....infinite...

Thank YOU for the minute picture of Your love ....You have a "picture wall" of each of your children...You see them, loving each, caring for each, planning for each...thank YOU....

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Psalm 42:8 By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

Ephesians 3:14-19 For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Dancing....

Dancing....

A dear friend of mine passed through the gates of heaven last night...she told her daughters she was going dancing shortly before she left...ironic since she was stricken with polio in the fifties and has been wheelchair bound since then...but her joy and smiles over the years has been contagious ...she  has always been the center of fun, never fearful of trying new things from camping, boating, crafts, traveling, etc..beloved...the last of a foursome including my parents and her husband...

So now she is released to dance...those tapping toes to touch the streets of gold so pure...I can just imagine her freedom and joy...

Thank YOU for giving her joy...and a dance...

Psalm 30:11-12 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

Psalm 149:3-5 Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds.

2 Samuel 6:14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might,

Fruit from my trees/ life.....

Fruit from my trees/life....

As I was eating breakfast this morning, it occurred to me that I was eating the first fruit from my apple trees that were planted 3 1/2 years ago in my then new yard...

Oh, I was thrilled when I first saw that some had actually set this spring in the hot weather with the myriad of apple blossoms which covered the trees like cotton candy...I have watched as they grew, netted them from the friendly deer that occasionally hop my fence, watered them as the weather grew hotter and hotter this summer...but now, I was really eating them....mmmm...

On the tomato plants, there have been wonderful sweet vine ripened tomatoes ....fruit...wonderful fruit...

In these last few weeks, I have either seen or talked with all my children...some of my grandchildren...another kind of fruit...sweeter than all my apples...lasting

I have talked to several ministry partners  as well, yet another kind of fruit...

Plus, friends and family going back to the beginning of my life, school years, various home locations,...yet more fruit...

God has been so good to bring all these kinds of delights into my life. They have ripened over the years into sweet delights, juicy with life, much to be savored with laughter and tears...joy and common ground...

Thank YOU...for the fruit you have brought into my life...

Psalm 37:26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.

1 Samuel 20:42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.

1 Corinthians 1:4 I always thank my God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus.