Reviewing notes ….blogs…

 Reviewing notes…blogs…

Starting a new “growth” group this month, reviewing notes, rewatching cds has set me on a “return” path…a path taken I started 12 years ago…”Griefshare”, a focused study on grief with participants familiar with loss and grief…a course designed to help   one another journey from grief to Joy, or a new normal in life, to move forward…

when I first took the class, it was after my husband had died but 3 years after my mother had died and right before my father died…intense…I took it the first time as a participant and then later as a co-leader “advancing” to leader/facilitator….each time learning  and still learning…

That is when I started blogging…it was a way to decompress, listen and also encourage…( they eventually ended in a book form, sold on Amazon)…at first, many, many blogs were on grief, then it morphed into other parts of life and observations…

But, the grief ones were special and still are…so that being said…I may be revisiting those blogs…they are just as relevant now as they were this years ago…

Thank YOU….

“Prepared for grief... 

 

One of the questions the Griefshare workbook asks is; "Pretend you are writing a letter to a friend to help him or her prepare for grief...what would you tell your friend to expect?" 

 

Prepared for grief??? How do you prepare for grief?  I looked at this question over and over...no one could have "prepared" me except whether or not I was  part of God's family....that is the basic, bottom line preparation...then I at least knew I had Someone beside me, with me, in me no matter what...but prepared? No way...no matter how many times I have watched others go through grief, given out books, held their hands, given them hugs, encouraged them...it is still an individual experience that tests us to our very inmost depth, souls and beyond.... 

 

It is good and but, sometimes overwhelming,  to go through a grief class,  but one has to be ready to start to assimilate life again after the death of a loved one...ready to move forward, ready to accept all the emotions that come tumbling out, the lost expectations, the anger, the holidays, the new normal, the "life goes on", the decisions, the torrent of tears, even the joy and laughter, the "why Lord questions", even the "thank you", or whatever comes forth from that place of grief... 

 

Like Lazarus coming forth out of the grave when Jesus called him...he was clothed in death wrappings, newly aware of life, probably treated differently, asked "what was it like?", but probably a new perspective on life around him....we, who have grieved or are grieving are newly aware of changes in our lives, are shedding our death wrappings, are working through a different level of life, are still answering "what is it like" questions and may be treated differently.....what will be our new normal....what will define us....who will we comfort, encourage...who will be our Guide.... 

 

Thank YOU that You are always there...even sometimes when we don't "feel "  it...help us to come forth, alive in You...”

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

Psalm 61:1-3

Strength…

 Strength…

I started reading through the book of Mark recently, and was just listing all the things that Jesus did as recorded in the first two chapters.

Teaching…preaching… mentoring…forgiving…traveling…praying…event after event…

Was thinking about a descriptive word to use for these multitude of activities…Jesus’ strength, fortitude, and continued coming and going…the worldly word that popped into my mind  was His “Herculean” amount of strength…I had to chuckle as I thought of this definition…we have replaced a mythical figure known for strength for the strength that only the Creator of the universe holds…

“Herculean, related to Hercules 

Definition of Hercules

: a mythical Greek hero renowned for his great strength”

How easily we replace other attributes which God alone holds with our finiteness…the eternal with the temporal….

Thank YOU for the reminder that no myths, no make believe can ever compare,  let alone replace YOU..

But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 59:16-17

 By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, 

the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, 

being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, 

the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. 

You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. 

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. 

You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.

Psalm 65:5-10

“Joy Stealers”

 Joy stealers….

In the last 24 hours, I have seen or heard multiple references to “joy” stealers…

1. Living with regrets…

2. Living in the past…

3. Dwelling on the negative…

4. Pain, both physical and emotional…

5. Seeking only oneself’s  gain…

6. Weariness…

7. Anger…

8. Lack of encouragement…

9. Lack of purpose…

10. No direction….

11. No God…

12. ….fill in….

There is a weightedness of lack of joy…both physical and emotional…

My husband suffered from SAD, seasonal affective disorder. Lack of sunshine, light affected his whole being…we didn’t realize this as we lived most of our married life in sunny Nevada…when we would visit either my family or his in the rainy/dreary  times of year, he had to really work at his attitude…and then,  when we moved to western Oregon for a time of school and family, SAD, hit big time. He had to find office space with as many windows as possible, no dark rooms for him…I can remember seeing a dramatic change in his demeanor, descending into the cloud shrouded valley from the Cascades, like a black “cloud” hovering over him…that lack of  graying his moods…a joy stealer…

It is more then worth finding out if the “joy stealer “ is a physical pain or emotion one and address it…like we did with SAD…

But, finding joy in God, His Word in life-changing as well…

Anyone and more of the list above can have the same effect on our lives…a “cloud” follows, enfolds, dwells on us…sapping our strength, causing pain in our minds, hearts and souls….

One of my favorite Books in the Bible is Philippians…written when Paul was was in a “joyless “ place, a prison…he speaks of joy at least 5 times…it is worth reading over and over to see what gave him joy, how he suggested to live joy…

Or other epistles…finding joy…

Or the Psalms…

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16:11 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

 

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

James 1:2-4

11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

John 15:11

And many , many more….Thank YOU….

Random thoughts…

 Random thoughts…

First and foremost…

I want to thank everyone who has been praying for me…it is uplifting, centering, appreciated…so humbling that others take time to think and pray for me…I know we are told to bear one another’s burdens, pray for another, but it still a wonder and a gift that keeps on giving…thank you…

Second, I don’t blog to get other’s attention or for any profit or for notoriety or fame , thoughts are just put on my heart to share and maybe encourage or build up others…thank you for your comments, but mostly I hope they edify others, bring us back into the Word…

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14 ESV

O satisfy us with Your lovingkindness in the morning [now, before we grow older], That we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14 AMP

I think I am on the mend…

Random thoughts through this ordeal…

I told a friend, that one of my bucket list items  is to see the aurora borealis, the lights that  dance in the northern skies, in person…as I was putting lotion on all my bruises, I had to chuckle as there there all of colors of the lights on me…so maybe that is my “bucket list” answer…

Decided the a memory foam toilet seat needs to be invented ( maybe there’s one) for hip and leg injuries…

I like to read the Word everyday in the early morning hours…through this, I couldn’t sit like that and concentrate or write much…so paced and put on Christian music…so uplifting…so my devotions focused more on songs which filled my heart, soul and mind…

Was so glad to be a part of a body of believers that has livestream church services…

Blessings to you all, paise for a Father and family who cares…

Thank YOU…

The lime green ski suit…

 The lime green ski suit….

As winter has hit big time in many areas, there are more and more comics about snow, snowmen, etc…I get “Tundra” created by a former Alaskan.   He always includes a fun spin or pun in his creations…or “BC” with their antics in the snow as “cave dwellers”.

My husband enjoyed these as well…he could have posed for one or the other in his lime green ski suit…

As a family we enjoyed cross country skiing for a time…my husband and youngest son went on to downhill and snowboarding…in the Cascades and later in Nevada …liking the adrenaline rush over the quiet, calm cross country…

My husband wasn’t into buying matching or trendy  skiing clothes, he used what he had on hand, a lime green suit, button-up Pendleton wool coat, and a huge warm brown fur hat with animal tails dangling around or a big black fur Cossack-style hat, both purchased in Mongolia….he was a “statement” himself…I think my son found friends quickly at the slopes  to distance himself from this “fashion statement “….but, he had fun…

I bring up these fun memories, because we all have pictures in our minds of past experiences, we all have stories to tell, things which tickle our funny bone and bring a tear, things that make us smile or maybe bring us to our knees…family history both good and bad,  light and heavy, events that we may need to move on from and press forward, forgiving….or those that help us grow…none are wasted…they may have built character, faith, relationships…life…

In the Word, we read of families, people and event all the way through…How God worked, how the people responded…examples of good and bad, encouraging words, building Words, admonishments, Transforming Words and situations…His Love, His judgment…His invitation…

Thank YOU….

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.

Psalm 102:12

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful.

Psalm 111:4

I remember the days of old; I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands.

Psalm 143:5 

And they remembered his words,

Luke 24:8

Consider…

 Consider…

These last couple of weeks, have not been so great physically…as I was exiting my local place of swimming and exercise, I slipped and fell on the ice. Two young men helped me to my car and I drove home in pain…not a good start for the day, but thankful they were so helpful…thus begins a small saga of life…most of us get to go through these times….mine is not finished yet…can’t sit well, or stand or walk much, spasms through back and leg that keep me from concentrating/sleeping … trips to ER, doctors for some relief, medications that may or may not numb the pain…

( my dog “considers” all this differently, the heating pads are great to curl up on, he doesn’t have to stay alone, etc)

You may know the story, different set of circumstances… events that take away our focus, add some anxiety, change our direction…

There is a 8 letter word that came to me this morning, “consider”…

When you are laid up, there is lots of considering….how to get out of bed with the least amount of pain, which meds to take, “why am I such a wimp?”, “help me not complain”, “what day is this?”, “how much longer!?”….

But, consider….it appears 89 times in the Word in the ESV version…

Definition of consider-

: to think about carefully

: to think of especially with regard to taking some action

: to take into account

: to regard or treat in an attentive or kindly way

: to gaze on steadily or reflectively

: to come to judge or classify

: REGARD

: REFLECT, DELIBERATE

A few “considers”…. 

Consider what God has done in the past…

And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the Lord your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm, his signs and his deeds that he did in Egypt to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and to all his land, and what he did to the army of Egypt, to their horses and to their chariots, how he made the water of the Red Sea flow over them as they pursued after you, and how the Lord has destroyed them to this day, and what he did to you in the wilderness, until you came to this place,

Deuteronomy 11:2-5

Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Deuteronomy 32:7

“For inquire, please, of bygone ages, and consider what the fathers have searched out.

Job 8:8 

I consider the days of old, the years long ago.

Psalm 77:5 

Consider how God has done for you personally…His love…

Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

1 Samuel 12:24 

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 107:43 

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane and the pine together, that they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it.

Isaiah 41:17-20 

24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 

27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Luke 12:24,27

Consider your plans…teaching…

Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Come, strengthen yourself, and consider well what you have to do, for in the spring the king of Syria will come up against you.”

1 Kings 20:22

Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.

Proverbs 24:32

She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

Proverbs 31:16 

Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14 

Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways.

Haggai 1:5,7 

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Consider others…

Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

Psalm 41:1 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Hebrews 10:24 

Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

James 5:11  

A few “considers”… makes one want to contemplate a bit more…

THANK YOU….

Three Josephs in the Bible….

Three Josephs in the Bible…

Just thought it was fun to compare the three main Josephs in the Word…one in the Old Testament and two in the New Testament…they each have positive character qualities…lessons to learn from each, faithfulness, care,..

Meaning

Increaser, May He Add

Thank YOU….

Joseph, the son of Jacob, Old Testament 

1. First born of Rachel

2. Shepherd

3. Dreamer

4. Disrespected by brothers

5. Sold into slavery 

6. Trusted servant

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord  caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

Genesis 39:2-4

7. Handsome in form and appearance

8. Falsely accused

9. Sent to prison 

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord  caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

Genesis 39:2-4

10. Gained respect and honor from a a pharaoh 

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are. You shall be over my house, and all my people shall order themselves as you command. Only as regards the throne will I be greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain about his neck. And he made him ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Genesis 41:39-44

11. Reunited with family

12. Saved and took care of his family

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’ And you, Joseph, are commanded to say, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father, and come. Have no concern for your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

Genesis 45:17-20

13. Forgiving

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Genesis 50:19-21

14. Saw good in the bad things

Joseph, the son of Jacob, New Testament 

1. A just man.

And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:19-21 

2. Listened and obeyed God

When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Matthew 1:24-25

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Matthew 2:13-15 

3. Cared for, guarded his family and Jesus 

4. Carpenter 

Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

Matthew 13:55

Joseph of Arimathea.., who was rich, who was a disciple of Jesus…

1. A disciple

2. Cared for Jesus after his death.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

Matthew 27:57-61