Joseph's blessings....

Joseph's blessing.....

The song, " in moments like these", kept playing through my head, over and over again....I sang it as a solo over twenty years ago, but the words are still fresh...a selection from the musical about the life of Joseph...persecuted by his brothers, thrown in a pit, sold to travelers, sold as a slave, falsely accused, imprisoned for years...to finally being vindicated and thrust into national leadership...all the while allowing God to mold him....through dire circumstances....with no recorded complaints....

I had to ask, am I allowing God to mold me without complaint? Did Joseph harbor  resentments that we know nothing of?   Not sure...do I let everyone know when I am at odds with bad situations? Yes!  Do I want to be known as a complainer? No! Do I want people to read my story and say, "she let God work in her life and sought good?" Yes!.....

What will be remembered?   Not sure.....

I so  enjoyed Jacob's blessing for Joseph....through it all, he became a prince among his brothers,  a blessing to a nation....

Genesis 49:22-26 “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring, whose branches climb over a wall. With bitterness archers attacked him; they shot at him with hostility. But his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber, because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, because of your father’s God, who helps you, because of the Almighty, who blesses you with blessings of the skies above, blessings of the deep springs below, blessings of the breast and womb. Your father’s blessings are greater than the blessings of the ancient mountains, than the bounty of the age-old hills. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers. 

 in moments like these i sing out a song, YouTube .....

 

And later ...in Isaiah....another blessing...another report of life vindicated....

Isaiah 50:4-9 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious, I have not turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me? They will all wear out like a garment; the moths will eat them up. 

Thank YOU for those whose lives mirrored Your blessing even in hard circumstances.....they grew, they were molded into people of good repute...help me to lean on You in all times, the good and the seemingly bad...

Remain.....

Remain....

I was reading John 15 and one word kept leaping out, "remain" over and over again..like it was worth repeating....IT IS....that connection, that "remain".....

Jesus is in us, with us.....as life flows through branches not cut off...He is our life blood, our breath, our comforter, our Word, our bread, our Love, our Christmas Joy, our Righteousness, our Redeemer..our everything...our remainer....that once there never leaves....or forsakes....

Thank YOU for remaining .....help me to remain in You, to bear the fruit...that only glorifies You.....

Psalm 146:6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,the sea, and everything in them—he remains faithful forever. 

John 15:1-11 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. 

If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 

If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 

This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. 

Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

Weariness and hope....

Weariness and hope.....

Jeremiah 31:25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”

Yesterday, our pastor spoke on weariness and hope, words chosen from the song, " Oh Holy Night".... How we may be weary, but we have astounding and abundant hope....

It was a flashback for me to one desperate night, I sat sobbing in a chair, reading Jeremiah, the weeping prophet...who seemed to weep beside me...we had been through torment and turbulence for weeks, months and then years with one of our children while he was painfully growing up...counseling, prayer, waiting, sleepless nights, jail time, courtrooms, drug rehab....we were living in a "glass house" it seemed, for all to see....we had friends going through the same thing....all being humbled and molded by the bad choices of our children...

What a growing  time.....but from that, I had more empathy for others, as I had woman after woman come through my office door needing counsel, a hug, a shoulder to cry on, encouragement through similar hard times in their homes...as I had been comforted, I could now comfort others...a tool...

Even though it was hard, I had to thank God for those years....He gave me more to give others...

thank YOU.....You give that we might give .....You comfort, that we might comfort....You love, that we might love...You satisfy the faint......You give hope even in desperate times..... 

"Oh, holy night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn

Fall on your knees, oh, hear the angel voices
Oh, night divine, oh, night, when Christ was born
Oh, night divine, oh, night divine

Led by the light of faith, serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
So led by light of a star, sweetly gleaming
Here come the wise men from Orient land

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we
Let all within us praise His holy name."

Josh Groban sings this so well on YouTube ....

Psalm 68:9 You gave abundant showers, O God; you refreshed your weary inheritance.

Isaiah 40:28-31 Do you not know?Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary,and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lordwill renew their strength.They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint. 

Jesus calling-December 15

Your longing for heaven is good, because it is an extension of your yearning for Me. The hope of heaven is meant to strengthen and encourage you, filling you with wondrous Joy. Many Christians have misunderstood this word hope, believing that it denotes wishful thinking. Nothing could be farther from the truth! As soon as I became your Savior, heaven became your ultimate destination. The phrase hope of heaven highlights the benefits you can enjoy even while remaining on earth. This hope keeps you spiritually alive during dark times of adversity; it brightens your path and heightens your awareness of My Presence. My desire is that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
—Romans 8:23–25

God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain.
—Hebrews 6:18–19

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
—Romans 15:13

Roundabouts...

Roundabouts .........

The town where I live is full of roundabouts  and they are building more and more of them...

At first I was totally intimidated by them, but now can see how they keep the flow of traffic going much smoother than the stop signs or lights which they replaced...you only have to look one way instead of watching all in the intersections for your turn to enter....some are decidedly more busy than others.....some are smaller than others with not so much traffic, while others are huge, but none compare to the ones we encountered in China, With their 6 to 8 lanes of moving cars, trucks, busses, bicycles,  and horse drawn carts packed like sardines on the circle, slowed to a snails pace at times....

What they all have in common is the flow...they all flow in one direction...going against the crowd would be unconscionable , nearly impossible...like our circulatory system in our bodies...everything flows in the right direction...if it doesn't, we become ill and in the case of the roundabouts, there would be chaos and accidents...

It is like life, there is a certain order of things...God has order....He isn't the author of confusion as Satan promotes...

God has given us a whole book of directions, as well as the Holy Spirit to relate truth to us...the right directions for life and life abundantly....if we go against the Word there is ultimate chaos....and we come away confused, going in the wrong direction, against the flow of order that He has placed in us...no peace, no direction...

Thank YOU for Your direction, Your order.....help me to seek that for amy life, through Your Word, being in your Word-Jesus,  guided by your Holy Spirit....with no confusion.... 

Job 25:2 “Dominion and awe belong to God;he establishes order in the heights of heaven. 

Galatians 5:10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.

Galatians 1:7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 

Isaiah 41:29 See, they are all false! Their deeds amount to nothing;their images are but wind and confusion. 

1 Corinthians 14:40 But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. 

Connectivity.....

Connectivity.....

Letters, letters, letters....my grandmother saved all the letters from each of her boys and families, as well as,all the cards from each occasion throughout the years.  I can see my dad finding these 37 years ago and storing them away to deal with later and now is later and he doesn't have to deal with them...these were written before email,etc. my parents wrote them every week , sent card for every occasion..so shoebox upon shoebox of cards and letters....everyday happenings, cute happenings , shared lives...one is my mother recalling a telephone conversation with my then two year son , after butchering chickens with his dad...such observations by a little boy....cute...

Some letters are serious as well, like the one my mother received from her pastor after the death of her mother, four typewritten pages long, on grief, consolation, care and comfort....he took that time with my family after the death on my dad as well....

Or another, written by my cousin who lived with my grandmother for a time after the death of my grandfather. My cousin was 23 at the time. He said he could deal with the physical care of her, but didn't know how to deal with the emotional trauma of loss....after 50 plus years of marriage....she said she felt like grandpa was going to walk through the door any minute...just the way I did for months after my husband's death....or wanting to write  to her about the daily news for years after her death....

Looking at those two letters in particular, I wish I could have talked to each my mother and grandmother about the deaths of their parents and spouses, now...gained some wisdom from them...but that wasn't God's plan...we each had to learn on our own...rely on His care and comfort, gain strength from His truths....fall into His loving arms with tears to shed ....

Thank YOU for connectivity through the written word, Your written word, words handed down over generations ....

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 

Job 13:17 Listen carefully to what I say;let my words ring in your ears. 

Job 23:12 I have not departed from the commands of his lips;I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread. 

Psalm 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect:The Lord’s word is flawless;he shields all who take refuge in him. 

Matthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” 

Sorting ...again....

Sorting ...again...

As I have sorted through my parents things in the past, I have put aside letters, stories, personal papers "to be sorted later"... Now I am opening up those boxes to peruse and sort again .....my dad wrote a lot of stories about his growing up years and he actually filled out those little books I gave him that asked all sorts of  questions ......

So I have my copier working for me, and we are working through all these papers with the goal of putting a lot into book form to share with children and cousins.....

It is fun and arduous at the same time.....receipts for the hospital bills when he was born($92), his first car, his appendicitis surgery as a child, grades from grammar school, love letters between my parents, pictures of old girl friends, a tee shirt from his first job, loan papers, ration certificates from World War 2, tokens for driving across the Golden Gate Bridge, packages of cowboy jokes(carefully clipped out of the western livestock journal for years), poems....

Sometimes it feels like he is right there in the room with me...chuckling over a forgotten piece of paper or rereading the jokes or looking and explaining long ago pictures with no notations.....sharing life again like he loved  to do .....

It is easier now, a year and a half out from his death, I am not so tired, I am able to think and process more clearly, can laugh easier, not needing tissues as much, not as mad at the circumstances of his death....time does help and give perspective...God continues to comfort.....thank YOU for that...

I loved my parents, they were upstanding people, not perfect, but wonderful to family and those around them...they were truly the salt of the earth...they were honest, hardworking, interested in the world, creative, .....they loved me, their parents, their grandchildren and great grandchildren and they loved God....what a heritage....

Thank YOU for allowing me the privilege to sort again, finding reminders of heritage....of loving parents, loving family, connections through generations...

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 22:30-31 Posterity will serve him;future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness,declaring to a people yet unborn:He has done it! 

Psalm 71:18 Even when I am old and gray,do not forsake me, my God,till I declare your power to the next generation,your mighty acts to all who are to come. 

Psalm 78:4 We will not hide them from their descendants;we will tell the next generationthe praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,his power, and the wonders he has done. 

Psalm 102:18 Let this be written for a future generation,that a people not yet created may praise the Lord: 

Psalm 79:13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,will praise you forever;from generation to generationwe will proclaim your praise.

Psalm 100:5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;his faithfulness continues through all generations.

As I am busy at my task-

A homey one of making applesauce-

My hands are busy so my mind has time to travel afar,

And I remember this friend and then another,

And recall the helping hand, kind deed or encouraging word,

Or even a tear filled eye, also many a smile or joke, then, too, I remember hearing someone say,

"Don't look back and think of yesterday",

But to me it is time worthwhile spent.

This  backward journey into the land of yesterday..

Just think what our lives would be

Without that road named memory...

Clara Koch Whitney, Dec. 10, 1935, my grandmother...her birthday was Dec. 8,  I was wondering if she was thinking of family and birthdays ...in her homestead in the foothills of California ...

Silent night.....

Silent night....

'Tis the season to listen  to and sing Christmas carols....

http://www.coolestone.com/media/11108/Kelly-Clarkson---Silent-Night-ft.-Trisha-Yearwood-Reba-McEntire/#.VIhV04g76K0

I was excited when the Christmas carol station finally announced that they were starting to play Christmas carols again this year..but when I tuned it in, it was hip hop, and a variety a very unusual carols, not the "oldies" ones which conjured up Christmas's past...

So I can go to YouTube and find lots of them....so am sharing this preceding one, beautiful to listen to....there are lots more as well...

For as long as I can remember we played Christmas music, either on the record player or my mother would sit down and play them on the piano with my dad accompanying on his harmonica...when we would gather as a big family on Christmas Day, we would do the same with all my cousins, aunt and uncles.....adding music in the background when we opened presents as well...it was just part of the ritual...as well as going to church on Christmas Eve , singing , hearing the Christmas Story from the book of Luke...

My dad would always read " 'twas the night before Christmas" from a very old children's book ,....

Music was always a part of my Christmas's...as it was on that first Christmas with an angel chorus ....I can't even imagine what it was like to see and hear angels sing and light up the heavens with their presence, proclaiming the birth of a Saviour ....for all.....

Luke 2:8-14 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 

Thank YOU for music, memories of the past, but in all , the real reason we celebrate Christmas , the Birth of Your Son....