along the path...

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Gifts given…

One of the wonderful side benefits of going to some conferences is gifts…this last conference was no exception…

A fruit basket to begin with, a local snack assortment in a handmade gift bag, a book by one of the speakers, a beautiful hand woven tray and a stone bowl…each representing an aspect of the conference…

The stone bowl was made from lapis lazuli, a hard blue stone…mined in various parts of the world…this bowl instead of being made from one big stone, was carved out of a multitude of stones glued or laminated together to make a whole…also included was a natural piece of the stone…an in-the-rough specimen…

To me each gift given spoke…

The beginning fruit basket-harvest and new insights gained from the various events at the conference…all of the speakers, the musicians, and even the meals made up a basket of goodness for the mind, soul and body…

The snack bag-tidbits to munch on, glean from each event…meditate, think about…pray about…gain energy from…while refreshing the mind and spirit…and body…

The book-read the wonderful testimony of a supporter, a flyer…through her life and career…

The tray-for me personally this gift was a replacement…I had a larger version of this tray, brought from the same country by missionaries long ago…after my husband passed away, I downsized and gave it away. This new tray, a smaller one fits more into my current life. It was a reminder that life goes one, differently…and God still provides…missionaries still are going and working in that country …bringing the Gospel…

Lastly, the bowl-the beauty, the hardness, the creativity, the skills to make…remind me of the difficult places this stone is mined…Angola, Argentina, Chile, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, Russia, Afghanistan plus some in Canada and the United States…all nations needing the gospel…but, hard places to share for a variety of reasons…plus, this stone was included on the High Priest’s Breastplate, part of his vestments in serving in the Tabernacle …Ezekiel speaks of this stone as well..

Thank YOU…

Gifts from God…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfLGfuINnG4

“Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of skilled hands. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. It is to be square—a span long and a span wide—and folded double. Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. The first row shall be carnelian, chrysolite and beryl; the second row shall be turquoise, lapis lazuli and emerald; the third row shall be jacinth, agate and amethyst; the fourth row shall be topaz, onyx and jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.

Exod.28.15-21

https://www.biblestudy.org/bible-study-by-topic/gemstones-in-the-bible/lapis-lazuli.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/tribe-of-Dan.html

https://www.biblestudy.org/bible-study-by-topic/gemstones-in-the-bible/precious-stones-in-the-breastplate.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lapis_lazuli

Lap·is laz·u·li

/ˌlapəs ˈlaz(y)əˌlī/

noun

1.a bright blue metamorphic rock consisting largely of lazurite, used for decoration and in jewelry.

Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Trolley car…

Trolley car tour…

Yesterday we took a trolley tour of some of the interesting spots of Santa Barbara and the neighboring town, Montecito…driving down lanes that were bordered by high hedges which hide luxurious homes lived in by famous people…(we saw rooftops j….then driven by the zoo, courthouse, some beaches, the beautiful Mission, museums and back to the start of our journey…

One mansion, hidden from our view and taking the tour guide’s word that it actually exists, was the Clark mansion…one of the many mansions owned by the Clark family…the daughter who owned it had not occupied it or others for 20 plus years, even though it was cared for …she died at 104, in 2011…after living a reclusive life for many years…

I know nothing about her personal life, her likes/dislikes, care, friends, values…

It just struck me about the many mansions that were ready for her to inhabit at a moment’s notice…even to a place set at a table awaiting her arrival…yet she never arrived…grounds kept pristine, rooms cleaned, floors swept, everything dusted…sitting….waiting…

The very last speaker for the whole conference was a pastor who told his story of a lone cowboy, whose possessions included a bed roll and a belt buckle, aged with time…he was invited to a feast at a mansion. given a new set of clothing…seated at a banquet table, loaded with delicious foods…the foods were passed around from one cowboy to another, the aromas so delightful….others at the table taking generous portions….but the Cowboy, not letting go of his bed roll and buckle, just let the food pass by, feasting only on the smells…he couldn’t let go of the past to embrace the gifts given…by the Son of the mansion owner…

We, too, each have that decision…do we let go, believe in the Gift, and accept the feast set before us…

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.

John.3.16

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

John.14.1-3

Heaven is a wonderful place…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHq0qNvt5eE

https://www.gotquestions.org/heaven-like.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huguette_Clark

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/huguette-clark/inside-heiress-huguette-clarks-california-mansion-frozen-time-60-years-n105251

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empty_Mansions

Monday, November 6, 2023

For the beauty …

Now anyone who reads this has to suffer through the flower, plant, tree pictures…and this is not the blooming time for this area…but the beauty abounds…one bush looks like it already preparing for Christmas with the seed pods of differing colors…bark of the trees looks like dry skin that need lotion…what amazing variations…what creativity God has given us to enjoy…love it, Love Him…thank YOU….

Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

Gen.1.11-13

For the beauty of the earth…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7TN0MUJUJQ

Sunday, November 5, 2023

The last speaker…

For some reason unknown to me, I was asked to share at this conference at MAF…my place is usually in the background, close to the back of the church, meeting or classroom…

My familiar group is 1-5 people at a time, not 150+…

Thankfully, I had people who prayed for me…when I got on stage, the

Lights were such that you barely could see the audience…so it wasn’t as bad as looking at a crowd…

I was the last speaker for the morning…then complete silence as a rerun of pictures shown throughout the whole conference…

They showed pictures of our family through the years, how we got involved in giving and MAF, then a couple of questions, a couple more pictures, finishing with a blog I wrote awhile back about “ripples “…and what that word has meant to us…

One of my favorite pictures is with my husband’s outstretched arms…I labeled, “He gave it all”…it was his attitude of the way God supplied our needs through our lives..

“Ripples….

One of the last pictures I have of my husband was taken in the mountains near our home….we had been having a discussion about ripples and their effect…not just in the water, but in our lives…how by doing one thing it ripples out to others…

We took a picnic and drove into the mountains to the end of the road where the creek runs clear over weather smoothed rocks…taking multiple pictures of the ripples caused by him throwing pebbles into the creek…we sat and ate our dinner, enjoying the beauty of the place that we visited so much, not knowing that within two weeks our lives would drastically change with the words,” you have terminal cancer”…a huge tsunami in our lives…

That conversation about ripples, translated itself in so many ways…I even had ripples engraved on our headstone for the cemetery in the months following.

My husband’s and my conversation twelve years ago still sticks in my mind because of the ripple effect it has had on so many over years of life…just like other couples, families, individuals…they may be temporary or long lasting…

everyone makes ripples, we do one thing, small or big and it has effects that can be small or large, local or worldwide, close family or strangers…

Like a operation Christmas child box…we fill a box thinking of the child who will receive it… but in reality a family receives or a whole community is effected but one shoe box sized gift…a lifetime remembrance of a gift…

Or the parents, teachers who nurture and educate their children…the effects of those forming years, of words taught, attitudes taught, ripples out all of those children’s lives…

The pastor who shepherds his flock and how he does it effects whole congregations for years to come…

The political leaders, community leaders, those in authority….how they lead or not, effects whole nations, communities and constituents for times of turmoil or peace…

The widow giving her mite …

The books we read, the authors we follow make ripples in our lives…

Giving for a plane, a tank of airplane fuel, maintenance supplies, a playground, housing, funds given to MAF…

How many lives does that impact over the course of time….how many trips to give medical aide, fly Bibles to a people in their mother tongue, moves for missionaries, scouting for new people groups to serve…build an airplane hunger, and the myriad of other events…the giving each of us does effect others…it effects ourselves…

My challenge is what kind of ripples do we want to have…”

Thank YOU…

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

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.

As it is written:“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

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.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.

Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.

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!

2Cor.9.7-15

You made everything beautiful…Rebecca St. James, our keynote singer…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgsfESBDFcg

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Saturday, November 4, 2023

Heart rocks with holes…

While I have been at this conference for Mission Aviation Fellowship, we have looked down at the beach several times, choosing finally to make our way down the nature path to get there…

The waves were crashing on the shore, but not quite hard enough to keep the swimmers and waders from entering the sandy water… dogs were running into the water, coming out the shake their dripping fur on the wet sand…

Many beaches walkers and strollers were enjoying the warm, sunny day…I was looking for pictures as well as my usual heart shaped rock…I found one, but the weight of it was a bit much for my suitcase…my friend found a better one for carrying back home…

Both heart -shaped rocks were filled with holes, created by bubbles as they escaped some volcano…

Various Christian ministries are initially formed to fill a void that is not taken care of…whether orphans in need of a home, care, love…medical help in remote areas…senior care……brothels…each wanting to serve others by showing the love of Jesus to those near and far…to help fill those heart holes that we face at one time or another the world over…only God can fill the heart…and He uses so many creative ways to do so…He works through people with willing hearts…willing to say, “here I am, send me “… or those who may not be able to go, but can provide backup, those who pray, those who give…those who fill shoeboxes…those who can provide training …or a million other things…all working to spread the love of Jesus…to shine His light and help fill those heart holes…making people whole again…

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.

Ps.51.7,10

Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge.

My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways,

Prov.23.12,26

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.

Eccl.3.11

For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Rom.10.10

Open the eyes of my heart,..