New beginnings…

 New beginnings….

After being away from home for a couple of weeks, I came home to find daffodils in bloom,  trees and other flowers ready to burst, weeds prospering…the winter had slipped away and spring had begun…

Every year I love to watch the transformation, new beginnings…after a time of unseen preparation ….

I thought of this as I read Mark 7 and 8…two people that were healed…

Others had such faith to bring to Jesus a man who was  deaf and could hardly talk in one scene and a man  who was blind in another…maybe they were testing Jesus, maybe they desired real healing for their friends…but, there were new beginnings for the two that were healed…amazement for those who watched…maybe real belief in this Jesus…which meant new beginnings, as well…

As I grow older and my eyes change sight and my ears hear less, I long for those days when I saw well and heard everything…but, these two went the opposite…they could hear and speak clearly, see clearly with a touch from the  Master’s hand….they hadn’t experienced this before…such new and wonderous events….all so new…they could communicate, see…a new world opened up for them….like the buds on the branches or flowers ready to bloom…those around them watched in wonder….seeking Jesus…the light after winters in their lives…

Thank YOU for new beginnings….

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 

There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. 

Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!” ). 

At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. 

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. 

But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” 

They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. 

He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village. When he had spit on the man’s eyes and put his hands on him, Jesus asked, “Do you see anything?” 

He looked up and said, “I see people; they look like trees walking around.” 

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. 

Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.

Mark 7:31-37,8:22-25 

Washy, washy…

 Washy, washy….

The ship from which I just returned had hand washing stations at the entrance of the main dining room…crewmen stood near the entrance reminding passengers to “washy, washy” our hands with soap and water, followed by hand sanitizer before entering the dining and food area…

As I was reading this portion in the book of Mark, I was reminded of the scene I had just come from…we were compelled to wash before gathering our food and eating…(a lab person we had met previously warned more of common flu bug, norovirus)…and the ship wants us all to have a pleasant time without becoming sick, so washing hands is a simple deterrent…there were hand sanitizer stations throughout the ship as well…

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed.

(The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles. ) 

So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 

He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 

7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 

8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 

And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

Mark 7:1-9 

Paul wrote about washing through the Word…

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

Ephesians 5:25-27

 Using then Word as our “washing” is such a great picture of true washing…we want the purification/cleansing that comes with a clean heart…not just outward cleaning of hands against a flu bug…the peace, a pure heart, a steadfast heart, the transformation…the salvation…thank YOU for your cleansing….

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:2-3,7,10

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:9 

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Hebrews 10:19-22

Orange blossoms and sunshine…

 Orange blossoms and sunshine …

We drove from Naples on the west coast of Florida up the center of Florida to Kissimmee near Orlando, through the thousands of acres of solar panels, cattle grazing, orange orchards, farm worker villages, warehouses of fruits and vegetables . Tiny towns with no traffic congestion to large cities with stop and go traffic.

Finally stopping at an orchard side-road, I got out to stretch and got some close-up pictures.The fragrance of orange blossoms filled the air, nothing quite like it…

The fun thing about orange trees is that they are blooming and producing at the same time. There are blossoms and fresh fruit on the trees. So the fragrance is of the blossoms and ripe oranges.

My great grandparents planted oranges in Ontario, California, and lived among the orchards…my father recounted that during his childhood, he and his brothers would toss bad oranges at passing cars, much to the consternation of the drivers, his parents and grandparents…

Later, as a child, my family lived in central California, driving through miles of citrus orchards to get to anywhere…an orange was always  a part of the Christmas stocking gifting as well as a box of oranges fresh from the nearby packing house…Meyer Lemons were/are the best for lemon meringue pies, fresh grapefruit split in half with a dusting of sugar was a treat for breakfast time….Mandarin oranges the pick for lunches in the winter… or finding the many “kisses” in the navel oranges for kisses from grandma or mom…

Fragrance….while orange orchards aren’t mentioned in the Bible (they came later)…fragrance, aroma…

The Old Testament speaks of making a pleasing aroma for the Lord…over and over…then in 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of Christians as an aroma, fragrance…wouldn’t it be nice to be known by the fragrance we give as Christ’s…

That our fruit would be a blessing to Him and those around us…

But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. 

Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

2 Corinthians 2:14-17

The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.

Proverbs 11:30

From the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach is satisfied; he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

Proverbs 18:20

20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

Matthew 7:20

5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 

8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.

John 15:5,8

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:22-26

Thank YOU…

Interesting articles…we saw orchard after orchard of citrus in Israel, mixed among the olive orchards..

https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/rise-and-fall-of-israels-oranges

https://www.encyclopedia.com/plants-and-animals/plants/plants/citrus-fruits

Old shell…

The old shell…

We were trolling one of the beaches on Sanibel Island, when my friend came upon this shell, offered to give it to me…my mind said, “no”, but my heart said yes…

Covered with old barnacles, aged…a lesson was speaking to me…

I tend to get a bit grouchy/complainy when tired…so my attitude was a bit off from flying, lack of sleep, high heat…even in this beautiful place…

I looked at this shell…saw the barnacles, the roughness, the age…oh, that’s me…I need to throw off the barnacles which had encrusted my attitude, stop the “tude” and move on with life…see the beauty around me…I had to chuckle that such simple things can teach so much…

“bar·​na·​cle 

: a small saltwater crustacean that becomes permanently attached (as to rocks or the bottoms of boats) as an adult”

Merriam Webster 

Seeing the barnacles attached so solidly to the shell, reminded me that grumpiness, bad attitudes, complaining can become permanently attached to anyone…

If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,’

Job 9:27

But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.

Psalm 55:16-17

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

Philippians 2:14-16 

I don’t want to be an old shell, filled with complaints and grumbling…I want to encrusted with the fruit of the spirit shining through…. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22-24

Thank YOU for the shell….

Sorting books….

 Sorting books…..

For the last 12 years I have been periodically sorting and purging books…

First, children’s books,…

Then, after leaving women’s ministry to care for aging parents and ailing husband…

Downsizing to close up geology offices…downsizing to single living home…

And just lately, sharing books with others, filling and refilling a  small yard library….

Going  through these many purgings is like  reading a journal written over many years of life…giving up old friends…

How to raise toddlers, teens; miscarriages; adoptions; taking care of aging parents; counseling women; money management through feasts and famines; empty nesters; marriage and its many stages; personalities, temperaments, spiritual gifts; surviving crisis; Christian growth and its many dimensions; Bible study references, book studies, topical studies; Christian novels; how-to

and on and on…

Topics like church abuse, drugs, peacemaking in churches, financial crashes, grief, demographics…

The cleaning out my husband’s and his partner’s library yielded 56 boxes to donate to a mining library in Montana…plus many, many file cabinets of data and maps…

I am so thankful for so much advice over the years, counsel from afar…when we lived in remote areas…research already done to help us along the way…historical and current geology which propelled my husband to be the businessman he was…

But, The book that was always with us the most was the Bible…it was always with us, a daily teaching, admonishment, advisor…letter from our Father…we wore out several, we wrote in them, we highlighted them, we desired them…reading from front cover to the end…over and over…I haven’t the heart to downsize that section of books…I still have my parents, my husbands and mine…these I haven’t purged…

Thank YOU….for the writings inspired over the ages…Your Word which changes lives…

On one hand, Solomon spoke of books…

My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.

Ecclesiastes 12:12

While John  wrote of books of Jesus ….

Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.

John 21:25

Peter Walsh wrote in his book, “ let it Go, downsizing for a fuller life”

“…..You’ve probably gotten the impression that downsizing should be a fear-inducing task. Honestly, how could it not be? As you travel through life, you encounter milestones that require you to comb through the stuff you’ve gathered: relocating to a new city; getting married and combining homes with another person; hitting tough times that send you into a smaller home; kids growing up and leaving the family home empty (and unnecessarily large); or the death of a spouse or parent.

When you downsize for these changes, you’re likely to confront some of life’s deepest questions. That’s one reason why the process is so often painful. Downsizing requires us to confront our insecurities, our relationships, and our own mortality. The stuff you sift through has the power to evoke deep emotions and memories, which can easily derail you. 

Downsizing can require you to shrink a houseful of possessions so they’ll fit into a new space that may be much smaller than what you have now. Many of these possessions are things you really, really like. They’re probably things you couldn’t possibly live without! To make the mission even more challenging, you’re likely working on an uncomfortably tight deadline. 

Sound familiar? Or maybe you’re facing another common type of downsizing scenario: the task of wading through a lifetime of items that belonged to someone else, like your parents, grandparents, or other loved ones. Their home contains stuff that might be important to you . . . but you probably have even less time to manage this kind of downsizing.”

He wrote a whole book of letting it go…yet another book…

Jesus of Nazareth….

 Jesus of Nazareth….

Three years ago, when we went to Israel, one of the  first places we visited was Nazareth…now, mind you, it isn’t a little village anymore, but a bustling town…the site where it is purported that was Jesus’ home is hidden under a huge church which covers considerable ground…so the ambiance of a carpenter’s shop, and a home is totally lost in the hustle and bustle of a city…with venders all around selling their wares…

There is, close by, a recreation of the Biblical Nazareth which can be toured to take you back into Jesus’ time…we didn’t visit it, but, I have toured via video..plus the Bible Museum in Washington DC has a recreated a village as well or Biblelands in Orlando, Florida …you get a sense of walking about in Jesus time…his hometown…

We may have those “hometowns” in our lives, those places we hold dear or maybe not…places we may return to, which hold memories or family, both good and bad, smells, sites that take us back in time…places where we played as children, grew up, family gatherings…where we were known…familiar…they may bring back trauma for some or thoughts of safety and grounding for our lives…

Jesus  left Nazareth to be baptized in the Jordon…

He went to speak in the local synagogue…where he was rejected…he didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief…his own home town…

But he was known as “Jesus of Nazareth” until his death…

His mission… “18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. 

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

Luke 4:18-19, Isaiah 61

Thank YOU….for fulfilling Your promises….

And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Matthew 2:23

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.

Mark 1:9

And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,

Matthew 4:13

And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 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? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13:53-58

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

Mark 6:1-6

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. And they said, “Is not this Joseph's son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘“Physician, heal yourself.” What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’” And he said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away.

Luke 4:16-30 

Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

John 19:19 

how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Acts 10:38

https://www.seetheholyland.net/nazareth-village/#:~:text=Small-town%20life%20in%20the%20time%20of%20Jesus%20has,his%20tools%20and%20a%20weaver%20demonstrating%20her%20craft.