Coming home.....

Coming home....

I did  one of the things widows are not supposed to do first thing, I bought and moved into a different home immediately after my husband's passing. In fact, my family helped me clean out and pack before and after His memorial...
Due to my husband's health, we hadn't lived in our home since his cancer diagnosis six months earlier... We lived in residence hotels for treatments in another town, ...we lived in an apartment when we returned home because our home was too spread out for him to be able to walk or me to care for him. It wasn't a handicapped accessible home...so we went down to a fourth the size of our home...much better for all.....
All our lives, wherever we lived, in a travel trailer to a mountain cabin, from the arid desert of Southern California to the lush forests of Oregon, we made whatever accommodations into a home.....but it was always a "we" or "our"  Now it is an "I" or "my".
My husband never saw this house, never stepped foot into it. His presence was never here...which made somethings easier and others harder....
That being said, God's presence is here no matter what... He has graced this home all the time, just as he has in all the homes we lived...all the places we have been to..
Even though there are times I have said, like the psalmist , "where are You?" He has never left...
Coming home after my first voyage away, I missed sharing all the excitement of seeing new things, places with my husband and it was the 6th month anniversary of his passing...this little house grew into an empty cavernous place...until I laid those ideas, my raw emotions out before the Lord...and he filled the space with Himself again...I can't say it was easy...but, I had comfort....from the Comforter...

Thank YOU for filling the spaces around me...for listening to my stories even though You know them already..for making Your abode with me...YOu are always there...

Jesus calling---October 16
Look to Me continually for help, comfort, and companionship. Because I am always by your side, the briefest glance can connect you with Me. When you look to Me for help, it flows freely from My Presence. This recognition of your need for Me, in small matters as well as in large ones, keeps you spiritually alive.
When you need comfort, I love to enfold you in My arms. I enable you not only to feel comforted but also to be a channel through whom I comfort others. Thus you are doubly blessed, because a living channel absorbs some of whatever flows through it.
My constant Companionship is the pièce de résistance: the summit of salvation blessings. No matter what losses you experience in your life, no one can take away this glorious gift.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
—Psalm 34:4–6
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
—Psalm 105:4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
—2 Corinthians 1:3–4

Little Red Riding Hood...

Little Red Riding Hood...

The timeless tale of "little red riding hood" was brought to mind recently..when a person was described as a wolf in sheep's  clothing...a person whose prey is innocent ones within the church..

This particular predator was stalking widows in their grief...drama and heartbreak...as one after another were falling to the charms of the well disguised wolf... 

This happens in the financial world, the church world, the international and national world  scenes... How people are seduced by flowery words, well rehearsed and orchestrated speeches/plans/ideologies...to be deceived beyond their wildest imaginations...with long reaching ramifications that can last generations....

We are told by Christ himself to watch for false prophets...by the apostles to watch for deceivers, the wicked, those who destroy...to flee the devil who devours...to test the spirits....to stand firm in our true faith...

Thank YOU for truth...help me to rely on Your word, Your Spirit to lead me into all truth...be my Protector in a world filled with Wolves...

Matthew 7:15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 

2 John 1:7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 

Psalm 10:2-8 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 

He boasts about the cravings of his heart;he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. 

In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 

His ways are always prosperous;your laws are rejected by him;he sneers at all his enemies. 

He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.” 

His mouth is full of lies and threats;trouble and evil are under his tongue. 

He lies in wait near the villages;from ambush he murders the innocent.

His eyes watch in secret for his victims; 

2 Peter 2:1-3, 18 But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. 

They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. 

Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. 

Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping. For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Riding_Hood

Psalm 20...

I awoke this morning and this psalm played in my mind..I read it, then I 

listened to it..and there was nothing to add to it ...

The "may the Lord" or "may he" say it all...blessings asked and pronounced on another ...don't we all want these? When we pray for one another, with another, even ourselves..

Answers in distress...

Protection...

Help from his sanctuary, Word...

Support from Himself...

Remember us...

Accept us...

Give us us the desires of our hearts...

Plans that succeed....

Victory...

Give glory to God....

Requests answered...

Thank You that we can come to You, our  sanctuary...

Psalm 20New International Version (NIV)

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
    may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
    and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
    and accept your burnt offerings.
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
    and make all your plans succeed.
5 May we shout for joy over your victory
    and lift up our banners in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.

6 Now this I know:
    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
    with the victorious power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
    but we rise up and stand firm.
9 Lord, give victory to the king!
    Answer us when we call!

Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

Loss history ....

Loss history .....

 A phase I heard recently-"Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can't heal"

When we are faced with loss or heartache, it hurts...I have always wanted to get to the place that I can immediately lay down at Jesus' feet anything that comes my way...and I am sure not there yet...when nothing phases my soul, knowing that everything is first filtered for my good by the Father...not that I don't  want to feel or have emotion, but that I am not panicking over life ...

Loss is a big one...and the changes that comes with loss...there is a time of grief which may last long, but comes a place when it doesn't consume every thought, every part of my being, When I have handed it over or laid it down and let God work through it with me...when I am not solely carrying the burden....when I am not bitter or angry or in denial that "this happened to me" or asking "why"..

Thank You that you are will us through EVERYTHING...You know how to still our hearts, mend them, heal them...with Your touch and Word...

2 Timothy 2:13 Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us. TLB

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways,”declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth,so are my ways higher than your waysand my thoughts than your thoughts. 

Jonah 4:2b .... I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love,.....

lyrics here's my heart lord david crowder, YouTube ...

"Griefshare devotional -Loss history

Dr. H. Norman Wright recommends writing a “loss history” to help you identify and work through past losses. Take time to think of and list any losses you have experienced throughout the course of your life. Include any instances where you felt a sense of loss, no matter how unimportant the circumstances may seem now. Think of missed promotions, friends moving away, the deaths of pets, the ends of friendships, job losses, children leaving home, and lost opportunities.

After you have identified each loss, go down through the list and talk about each one (to God or to another person). Talk about how intense it was and how you felt at that time. Take your time doing this. You may need to plan a time each day or week to work through your list.

“If you find there’s an emotional connection to some loss,” says Dr. Wright, “then maybe you have not really processed it. Maybe it’s still affecting your life in some way.”

Dr. Wright suggests that you need to come to the point at which you can say of each loss, “Yes, that happened to me, but now I’m going on with my life,” compared to “Boy, that happened to me, and it still hurts.”

“Remember the days of old” (Deuteronomy 32:7).

God, I didn’t realize how much my past losses were affecting me now. Use this exercise to help me recognize and come to terms with each loss on my list. Amen."

Crunch , crunch, crunch...

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

Sunrise in the fall on a clear day is glorious...adding the crunch of the leaves underfoot...first the sun peaking over the horizon, then through the reddening leaves, the birds flitting from branch to branch, a slight breeze scattering the fallen golden debris from here to there .....meeting other walkers scurrying to get their morning walks completed...the golden hour just finished leading into another busy day ....joined by the calliope of traffic noise in the background..and occasional siren or honking horn...but the loudest noise is really the crunch, crunch, crunch  of the leaves as they disintegrate one by one with each step taken...

Soon the rains or snows will blow the leaves away, the Reds and yellows will give way to the browns of barren limbs and sleeping trees ...and the seasons will repeat themselves thousands of times....each to be enjoyed by another generation...

I chuckle at the neighborhood children who gather piles of leaves to then fall into the collage of color, knowing that soon they will do the same to mounds of snow when it appears...doing the same as their fathers and grandparents did a time ago....there really is nothing new under the sun....

I appreciate the order, the color, the seasons of time that God gave us...but then I don't know anything else.  Each leads to another and yet another...with a pattern and surprises along the way...detours here and there...each with a purpose that He has in mind...

Thank YOU for each new day, it's sunrises, sunsets, it's time for walks, sites and sounds, Your presence and wonderous colors and creation, Your voice in the breeze, the crunching of leaves....You, the Father, sharing each moment...in infinite time...

Habakkuk 3:4 His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. 

2 Samuel 23:4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings grass from the earth.’ 

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 

Conduit....

Conduit....

":  a means of transmitting or distributing  <a conduit of information>"

 

"someone or something that is used as a way of sending something (such as information or money) from one place or person to another..."

In our Women's Bible Study, we are working through a book by Jennifer Dean, "Live a praying Life-open your life to God's power and provision ".

Part of the discussion has been about people being a conduit for God's work here on earth..whether in prayer or whatever...His divine  desire to use Christians to fulfill His work...He wants us, He wants to use us, He wants to fill us with His joy in seeing His will fulfilled...it is pretty heady (awesome) to realize how much He cares...there is an infinite its amount of joy, care, that He has for us ....we earthen vessels which are here but a vapor in time...

With those thoughts running around, it was a delight to hear from some young missionaries in Mongolia on how God has been working there supplying ideas, goods, people to help one another... How they were seeing God using them as a conduit of blessing..

"Again and again we have been blessed by how God has provided just what we have needed, the money for just the right sewing machine, the advice or encouragement at just the right time. Here in Hovd specialty paper is not the easiest thing to find. For the prototypes we showed in the city we used manila file folders to make the boxes and lined them with tissue paper that we found wrapped around apples from China. It turns out that the file folders we used are available at every stationary shop in town, and they are exactly the right dimensions for the largest box that we want to make. While tissue paper is still not available in Hovd (unless we start eating a lot of Chinese apples) two different people gave us a supply of paper that was more than enough for our first order. Praise God for the way he provides."

When I look back over the years, I see again and again how I have said with this missionary, "praise God for the way he provides".  

I am in wonder and awe that He would use me as a conduit for His word, His ideas, His tool, just as these missionaries are, as are many Christians around the world, ....that Jesus stepped into our world to bless .... And that He wants to more and more, over and over again....all the time...

Thank YOU...help me be a willing conduit, tool...

 Deuteronomy 32:1-2, 13b Listen, you heavens, and I will speak; hear, you earth, the words of my mouth. 

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

......He nourished him with honey from the rock, and with oil from the flinty crag, 

2 Corinthians 9:8, 11, 14-15 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 

You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.

 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 

 

Halifax, Nova Scotia...

Three years ago today, I was in Halifax...a quaint seaboard town...

My notes from that day, " what does the Lord want?  To fellowship, to walk humbly, 

What lessons ? ' God never asks anything of us that He doesn't give us sufficient strength to do ..and He never ever asks it unless it is for our greater good...'"

I visited one of the Titanic's memorials and graveyards.  It was the first time I had been to a graveyard since my husband's burial... 

Reading through the engravings on the stones was touching...these people had lived in a different time, their deaths were much publicized, but the grief for each one was just as real as mine at the time..others had mourned here years before, just as we had mourned and were mourning our loved one...whether is was a cabin boy or a wealthy aristocrat...the grieving goes on...as well as the healing over the generations...we have a commonality with those who have gone before and those who will follow...times of joy and times of sorrow, times growth and times of quietness....life...

Thank YOU for the reminder that life goes on, that we are in your hands...help me to seek the greater good, even in the midst of sorrow...mourning...to sink deeper and deeper into You....

Jeremiah 31:3, 13 The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying:“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. 

Then young women will dance and be glad,young men and old as well.I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. 

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Spirit of the Living God..

Verse 1:
Spirit of The Living God
Spirit of The Living God 

We Only Want To Hear Your Voice
We’re Hanging on Ever Word

Spirit of The Living God
Spirit of The Living God
We Only Want To Hear Your Voice
We’re Hanging On Every Word

Chorus:
Because When You Speak,
When You Move.
When You Do What Only You Can Do
It Changes Us, It Changes What We See
And What We Seek

When You Come In The Room
When You Do What Only You Can Do
It Changes Us, It Changes What We See
And What We Seek
You’re Changing Everything

Verse 2:
Spirit of The Living God
Spirit of The Living God
We’re Leaning Into All You Are Everything Else Can Wait

Spirit of The Living God
Spirit of The Living God
Come Down And Breath Upon Our Hearts
Come Down And Have Your Way

Chorus:

Bridge:
When You Move, You Move All Our Fears
When You Move, You Move Us To Tears 2X
When You Fall, We Fall On Our Knees
When You Fall, We Fall At Your Feet 2X

Chorus

Spirit of The Living God
Spirit of The Living God
We Only Want To Hear Your Voice
We’re Hanging On Every Word 2X

(Thanks to Shawn for these lyrics)