Reflections and Ponderings

Green Light Livin'

2012-02-07T12:41:00.003-06:00

It had been a stressful 24 hours with my husband on a liquid diet for a procedure. Then driving him to the hospital in the early morning hours. Finally it was over and all aspects were successful. We began the two mile drive to our favorite eatery about two miles away.

Suddenly I realized that every traffic light was green as we sped down busy Walnut Street. At first, I was puzzled, not believing my eyes. Then I laughed out loud. I could feel God smiling. He knew we were exhausted and He provided green lights all the way. I praised God for His goodness.

Then I realized a correlation between the green traffic lights and living in this world. How many times has there been a spiritual traffic light that I ignored or didn't even recognize? Caution – the Holy Spirits warns me about a decision, a direction or a relationship? How many times has the Red Light Door slammed in my face, curtailing a plan that I have made? Green Light Livin' is following my Lord as He guides my life.

When my parents debated about moving from Clinton to Watonga in Oklahoma, they prayed. The rural mail carrier job in Watonga seemed like a dream for Dad. Was this where God wanted them to go? After the move, doubt filled their hearts as testing was presented to Dad on the route. The nails left at each mail box for the previous mail carrier caused continual flats. The cost of a car in the economy of 1945 trimmed our budget further. These and other difficulties tested their faith. They prayed continually and into the night as they searched their hearts.

Soon the Green Light Livin' became more intense and they knew they had made the decision with God's blessing. They developed close relationships with the patrons on the Rural Mail Route. They became an integral part of their new church home through their gifts of teaching and music. They created a small garden oasis of fruit trees, vegetables and flowers where they retreated to refresh their hearts.

Going back several generations to my grandparents and great grandparents, I realized all the changes and hardships they endured – immigration, crop failure, living in a sod house in the 'new world'. Yet, their faith and trust in God continued to grow. They relationship with our Father in Heaven gave them strength and courage. They understood Green Light Livin' before the advent of green lights that we take for granted.

Long ago the Children of Israel traversed the wilderness. Their Green Light was a Cloud during the Day and and a Pillar of Fire during the Night. Yet their response to a caring, loving God was grumbling and griping about what they had to eat, drink and the endless travel.

Following the will of God in this life leads to Green Light Livin'. It erases from your mind and heart the words such as “If only...”, “I can't”, “I won't” or “I hate you!” It replaces these words with “Thank you!”, “You are a blessing.” “Praise God!” and “I love you.”

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe – Hebrews 12:28

Green Light Livin' is 'Yes' Livin'. Looking always on how to serve others, for in doing so, we serve our Father in Heaven. One of my favorite songs contains these lyrics, “Yes, Lord, Yes, Lord, Yes, Yes, Yes!”

Green Light Livin' is living expectantly for the coming of Jesus Christ. That is living in faith and trust. No matter how weary we are, hope and peace comes into our hearts through waiting each day for His Coming.

Green Light Livin' is seeing the handiwork of God all around us, his creation and praising and thanking Him for His goodness. Counting blessings, each moment of the day for the little things makes our hearts soar.

Green Light Livin' is reading His Word of Truth each day...as our daily feast.

Green Light Livin' is praying our hearts to the One who knows our every thought.

Green Light Livin' is searching and looking for The Next Thing!

What do I do, dear Lord

To show my love for you?

How can I witness your love

How can I make my life anew?

Then a small voice whispers

Deep within my heart

Do the next thing, my child

Do the next thing, it's a start.

Each morning when I arise

My heart to Him I bring

When I ask what to do,

He whispers, Child, do the next thing.

The tasks I see before me

Are not the grand things I long for

But being faithful in

The next thing -- with Him, I'll soar!

EAC 2010

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The Wall

2012-01-31T11:42:00.005-06:00

Once a time….a little Princess lived in a garden of beautiful flowers, shade trees and butterflies. The garden had a white stone wall all around it, but the Princess didn’t notice the wall, for she was content and felt secure. The Princess loved listening to the song birds and chased the butterflies that flitted from flower to flower. She laughed and pirouetted on her toes in delight every day. The Master Gardner visited the Princess every day. She loved to lift her arms in joy when she saw Him. He picked her up in His strong arms and taught her. He taught her about each flower and each bush and each tree.

He showed her the exquisite white Faith flower. He let her climb up into the sturdy strong limbs of the Truth Tree. The lilac blooms of the Repentance and Confession bush were beautiful. Yet her favorite flower was the brilliant red of the Forgiveness flower.

One day as she pirouetted the Princess, now a teenager, noticed the white stone wall. “What is beyond the wall?” she asked the Master Gardner.

The Master Gardner was quiet and did not answer, for He knew the Princess had to make her own choice.

The next day she ran to the stone wall and tried to climb to the top. Just as she neared the top, she heard a whisper, “Come and see the world, Princess!”

The Princess drew back, afraid. She did not know the voice. “Who are you?” she asked.

“A friend who wants to give you a lovely adventure.”

The Princess quivered with excitement. An adventure? No, he said a “lovely adventure”. Surely that would be more fun than staying in the garden where she knew every bush and every flower and every creature. She was filled with curiosity and longing for something new.

How could she get out of the garden? Days passed, and one day she heard a beautiful song beyond the walls. The song floated in the air across the white stone wall.

The Princess looked at the wall where the song seemed the loudest. “I see how I can go over the wall, the Golden Bell tree’s branches grow over the white stone wall.”

With that, the Princess raced to the tree and began climbing. When she reached the branch she stopped and looked back at the garden where she grew up. “Maybe I shouldn’t do this, but the song is so beautiful, I will just look over the white stone wall. That will be enough.”

The Princess peered over the wall and she could see green fields and purple mountains. “I wonder where the flowers are? I don’t see any flowers. That is odd.”

Day after day the Princess climbed the Golden Bell tree just to look over the white stone wall. She loved the sound of the bell-like blooms in the slight breeze. Day after day she listened to the song that beckoned her to explore the world beyond the Beautiful Garden.

One day the song sounded so clear that the Princess couldn’t resist any more. She climbed the Golden Bell Tree and crawled to the limb that hung over the wall. The limb began to bend, and soon the Princess dropped to the ground over the wall. She shrieked a little ‘princess’ shriek as she landed. She stood up and brushed off the dirt. A Princess can not be dirty. Everyone knows that.

She looked all around. There were hills and valleys. The sun didn’t shine as brightly as it did inside the The Garden. There was a huge tree, larger than any tree in the Beautiful Garden, in the distance like none that the Princess ever saw before. She walked toward it and as she did, she saw a movement behind the tree. “I wonder what is hiding behind the tree. Maybe it is a deer.”

But it wasn’t a deer, it wasn’t a rabbit, it wasn’t an animal at all. It was an Evil One that spoke in growls and snarls. Before the Princess could run away, the Evil One grabbed the Princess and held her tight. “Now I have you, my pretty one,” he snarled.

The Evil One took her away to a place far away and put her feet in chains that held her fast. He placed her inside a dark dungeon with black walls. The Princess shuddered and shivered. She heard rats running on the floor, but could not see them. She heard groaning and crying around her. She was terrified.

* She remembered the Beautiful Garden and how bright and light it was. She had enjoyed plenty to eat, freedom, and beauty all about her. Why had she listened to the song and chose to explore the world beyond the wall?

Now she knew that the world held nothing for her but terror and fear. The Princess wanted to return to the Beautiful Garden where she had found such peace and joy. But how would she be able to be free of the chains and find her way back? The chains held her tight and dug into her ankles.

She felt tears she could not stop, running down her cheeks in rivers of sorrow. A Princess never cried, and now – perhaps she was no longer a princess. Her dress was torn and dirty. Her face was scratched and smudged with dirt.

She remembered the Master Gardener who kept the beautiful Garden. “Oh, Master, I am so sorry I climbed that Golden Bell Tree and left You. I was so wrong to try to leave and taste of the world. I can’t live here. I want to come home.”

The Princess fell the chains fall from her ankles as a bright light came into the dark room. It was the Master Gardener. “I have come to take you back to the Beautiful Garden. I heard you confess that you were wrong to try worldly ways. I will take you home.”

With that, the Master Gardener swooped the Princess into His Arms and wrapped His love around her. When the Princess looked about her again, she was Home again. She was really Home!

She ran to the Bush of the Spirit and smelled deeply of each flower that bloomed there -- Faith, Love, Patience, Kindness, Gentleness, Goodness and Self Control. She loved the scent of the flower of Self-Control – it reminded her to remain in the Beautiful Garden and not listen to exotic songs from beyond the wall.

Before a word is on my tongue

you, LORD, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain. Psalm 139:4-6

* Thomas Kinkade painting

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What Else Is There?

2012-01-24T08:02:00.003-06:00

The most over-used question heard is – “What do you want to ‘be’ when you grow up?” As a senior in high school and in college the question is, “What are you going majori in?” The word ‘be” could be the physical world, or it could be the spiritual essence of one’s inner self.

It is an easier question to answer when you are young, because your life isn’t set in cement! It is scary to choose. What if a person chooses the wrong thing, is there a ‘do-over’? I always played it safe – for me it was multiple choice. An opera singer, a missionary, or a secretary. Children always have an answer. I watched a five year old boy gazing with rapture as a bass player strummed his guitar. I asked the ‘be’ question. The young man looked at me with large sky-blue eyes and without a hesitation said, “I’m going to be a cop!”

Never did I imagine my life as it turned out, yet I can see that God led me all the way.I know that my life could have been very different at different points if I had made decisions.

As I read about Moses, I was amused, wondering how Moses would have answered the ‘be question at different points of his life. I could hear him saying, “There I was in my cradle, and suddenly I am in a basket taken to live in Pharaoh’s House – didn’t see that coming. Why was I compelled to kill the man who was beating on one of my own people? Was there a purpose for running away and talking to a burning bush in the wilderness? Oh, yes. Then I returned to Egypt on purpose where I could have been killed? Did I realize I would soon be taking a long walk in the wilderness with a stiff-necked people whose favorite occupation is’ grumping up’ life? That is not the life I envisioned.” Moses was a man of incredible faith, spiritual strength and courage.

How many of us know what God has in mind for us or what is just around the corner in our lives? How can we make our decisions God’s will and not just our own? All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant. Psalm 25;10

Would I have made different choices? It seems that as time passes, I learn more and more and see the choices I could have made. But there is one more longing that I have. It isn’t a goal with how-to steps to achieve. It is a deeper relationship and a closer walk with God.

God made us individuals – each different – like snowflakes and finger prints – from the inside out. Our personality is our driving force, and analytic thoughtful person, an amiable go-with-the- flow person, or an expressive person who never stops or sees the need to stop talking. Why are we so different? What purpose is there in the different-nesses?

It comes back to the fact that we are God’s plan. He wants us to tell others about Him. He wants a relationship with us. What avenues to know God has He given us change our hearts? He has given us His Word to read, He has given us the promise of listening to our prayers. He has promised to be our Father, and in return we are God’s children. He ‘fathers’ us and we ‘son’ or ‘daughter’ Him. (The quotes denote that fathers, son and daughter are verbs – not a static understanding but heart-felt faith awareness. Taken from Walking in Heaven by Mike Mason)

We go through times when wrong seems right, when evil is honor and when dark is light. When our lives have no balance – no stability, we become hard hearted and turn our back on God. Yet God still loves us. He has told us Who He is…Isaiah 43:11 - I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

Have you ever had a close relationship with someone? You long to talk, you long to know the person, you long to be with them every moment of the day. The presence of God – that is what we all yearn for, whether we know it or not. A few weeks before my Mom died, she asked me, “Do you see Jesus sitting in the corner by my bed?” I attributed her question to pain medication. And as I remember this, I know that she did see Jesus.

Recently I read from the notes from Brother Lawrence, Practicing the Presence of God, who was born in 1610. He was injured and suffered pain throughout his life, and yet his desire was to practice the presence of God by continually conversing with Him. He gave himself up to trusting in God in faithfulness. Brother Lawrence experienced a relationship with God that was constant. He spoke to God in simplicity, plainly, as a Child of God to His Abba Father. Brother Lawrence said, “The shortest way straight to God is by continued exercise (active) of love and doing all things for His sake!

Colossians 3:16 - Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Colossians 2:6-7 - So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Philippians 4:1 - Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

Daniel 12:3 - Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Psalm 9:9 - The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

Isaiah 48:17-18 - This is what the LORD says your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you,  who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river,  your well-being like the waves of the sea.

Luke 6:31,35 - Do to others as you would have them do to you. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.

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Imagine!

2012-01-17T12:16:00.005-06:00

When I was small, I did not know the word, imagine. For me the word was “play-like”. That was all one word to me – pronounced “pl’like”. My parents were astonished when I brought home a report card that said, “She daydreams…” How else would I, could I, imagine unless I daydreamed?

One day, while walking, I looked at the blue sky and imagined it to be green, and the green grass along the way to be blue? Why did God choose those colors? Therein is the secret of creativity or imagining. The day I saw a grove of trees and identified 4 different shades of green, I was awed by the ability of God through his creation of light and shadow to cause such glorious colors.

What color is imagination? What is its texture or shape? Where does it come from? How can a person stimulate imagination? One way is by asking questions such as “How can I….” “What can I

do to…” “What if…” “What is another way to look at this….” “How can I learn….” “Where can I find the information I need…” The foremost question is searching for God’s will in my life.

During the 1930’s, chicken feed was a necessity and so were dresses for little girls. Soon the chicken feed sacks took on a field of daisies, bright checks, and many other bright colors. This is what my Mom used to make my dresses. One day Mom completed a dress and noticed a hole in the skirt of the dress. She exclaimed, “I know, that dress needs a pocket right there!”

Mom was creative and could picture a project completed just as she wanted it. She was equally adept at using wood to build my bed, a dresser, a desk, bookshelves and even bunk beds for m

y brothers. Then she learned that words were tools to paint verbal-pictures. Her writing inspired others and testified of her faith in the Lord. Her ability to substitute and create in the kitchen was tasty to say the least. She made each recipe HERS and always gave thanks. She was 81 years old when she took classes in art, a life-time dream. She learned calligraphy at that age, too.

When I look at a painting that captures my attention because of its shapes and colors, I realize that the artist chooses from the colors that are available on his palette. When a sculpture chooses shapes, he chooses from the shapes that he knows exist. When a new fabric is made, it is from the fabric materials that exist.

When God created He imagined with no pattern – no substance that existed – for God created heaven and earth in all its complexity from nothing. An interdependency exists between His creations. Can you imagine the ocean’s tide being controlled by the moon?

In reading Exodus, my mind is overwhelmed with God’s detailed instructions to His people in the preparation of the Tabernacle in which He would be worshipped. The colors, the metals, fabric and wood, the length and the width were all specified. How could this be? There was no pattern but God’s spoken word. And then I learn the secret – from Exodus 31:1-5 - Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skill to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts

As I read these words, I am reminded of the details of our God’s work. He leaves nothing undone in His creation and in the lives of those He ‘knit together’. The complexity of His reasoning knows no bounds. For this reason, I can trust my Lord with my life every day. My faith grows daily as I see

Yesterday evening I looked through the west window and caught my breath. The riot of clouds traced in the western sky by a brilliant red/orange/gold. Each time I looked out, the intensity of the beauty increased. I reached for the camera and saw the message – memory card full. I continued to watch and memorize the darkening sky and realized that without the clouds – without the sun, the sky would be its usual blue. God loves color. It gives Him pleasure. Each time I see his glorious display of the wonders of creation, I give Him Thanks.

Psalm 65:7-9 - who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly.  The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.

Many books have been written about the art of creativity and the joy of imagining. Can you imagine every aspect of a day, a night, a place, a dream, a world? Only in Him can our world be filled with the imagination that gives hope and wonder.

Ephesians 3;19-21-- and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

The writer of these lyrics touches my heart – for I can only imagine!

I can only imagine What my eyes will see

When your face Is before me

I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel

Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still

Will I stand in your presence

or to my knees will I fall

Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all

I can only imagine

Mercy Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xwzItqYmII

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Perfectly Present

2012-01-10T13:21:00.004-06:00

Activity was at a feverish pitch at the ‘brown house’ in Clinton, Oklahoma. We were preparing for the presence of our beloved Grandpa and Grandma Suderman. Dusting, vacuuming, putting away, cooking and cleaning was the order of the day. I heaved a sigh of relief as the last of the sweepings reached the back door of our house. . (It was always a temptation to whip the last dirt out the backdoor instead of the dustpan!)

Did they know that an hour before they came that we took showers and dressed in clean clothes? Did they know all the preparations that we made for their visit? Did they know that toys were put away? Did they know we were on our best behavior when they came?

We didn’t argue, we minded Mom and Dad instantly while they were present. We took our cues from our parents. Grandpa and Grandma received the ‘red carpet treatment’ before we ever knew what Red Carpet Treatment was. We could hide who we really were for the few days that Grandpa and Grandma visited.

Grandma Suderman came to visit when our own children were small. Grandpa Suderman had gone to the presence of the Lord. The years when our children’s Grandparents came for visits, we prepared for their visits with a more ‘green carpet’ treatment. They loved knowing our children for who they were…and loved them for who they were just as our LORD loves us unconditionally.

As time goes on, and we are the grandparents and great grandparents, we look to another Presence as did our parents and grandparents before us. That Presence is God, the LORD. The Great I Am. The Peace-Giver, Our Refuge and Strength. His Presence has been with us and has been all along. His Presence is with all who call on His Name.

His Presence is so perfectly present that He is with each of us as verse 13 of Psalm 139 tells us - For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. The beginning verses (1-7) reveal the extent to which His Presence is present in our lives and hearts: You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Our LORD doesn’t lose track of us, we lose track of Him. Satan doesn’t miss a beat trying to deflect our joy and peace in our Creator. It is one thing to say sanctimoniously that everyone has the same amount of time – but it is another side of the story to busy ourselves in ways that side-track us from God. Something about our culture values ‘back to back’ appointments and ‘wall to wall’ busy-ness. Do we do this intentionally to try to escape the Presence of the Great I Am? This is delusion of the first order.

As I write this, I see so many things about me that I want to do. Busy-ness beckons me on every hand. I know I cannot hide from the Lord. I know the blessing of being His Child. I know the sweetness of His Presence. Yet circumstances and situations in the world call me with an ever-increasing pull. It is a choice to love, to forgive and to pray.

This week the importance of the veil of the world that lessens spiritual sight came through the verses of II Corinthians 3:15-18. In Jesus Christ we live an unveiled life. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

“The longer I live in Christ, the stronger His Presence is in my Life and the clearer that Presence is to me. His Creation is complexity within complexity and our relationship with The LORD is equally complex.” A dear friend of mine said this to me this week. We can never fathom the depths of God. It is my prayer that the Presence of the Great I Am becomes ever more clear in my life through the years God has given me.

• “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

▪ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Psalm 46:1-3,7

▪ Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;  he will never let the righteous be shaken. Psalm 55:22

▪ You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3.

He is jealous for me, Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,

Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.

When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,

And I realize just how beautiful You are,

And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so

Oh how He loves us,

How He loves us so

Lyrics by John Mark McMillan

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What Did You Say?

2012-01-03T16:04:00.002-06:00

In 1939, Dad asked me to go to the phone and ask the operator what time it was. What a responsibility I had. As the oldest sibling, I was asked to pick up the phone in the hallway and speak to the operator. Gently I lifted down the receiver, and put it to my ear, and spoke clearly and distinctly, “What time do you have now, Ma’m?” Her answer has haunted me to this day. I reported succinctly to my Dad, “She said that it is 6:66 pm.” Everyone stared at me, and then my two younger brothers laughed long and loud. That laughter continues to this day when someone recalls …. “6:66 pm.”

I learned then that you don’t always hear what you thought you heard. And as time went on, I learned that I didn’t always say what I thought I said. Communication is fraught with the pitfalls of misunderstanding. Often the body language betrays the meaning of the spoken words.

My Dad was a master storyteller. Once you heard a Bible Story from Dad you never forgot it. His whole countenance mirrored the message of the story as we three children sat wide-eyed afraid to breathe. The living room disappeared as the details he told in a breathless voice painted a picture more vivid than a master painter could paint in oils. Indeed, his muscular arms aided in clarifying the master story-painting.

We grew up listening to a Bosch Radio, 4 feet tall and 2 feet wide. We listened, but later I realized that we ‘watched’ the radio as Fibber McGee and Molly, Charley McCarthy, The Shadow Knows, Jack Armstrong-the All-American Boy poured their lives in our living room.

Then I became a Mother to four adorable children, now terrific adults. I learned that as they flew out the back door was not the time to holler, “Don’t slam the door!” The ‘slam’ echoed through my head. Then I amended my instruction, “OK, slam the door, but mind me!” I don’t think they heard!) We had other times of sharing chores. I know our second son would deny it or smile sheepishly, but he often told his siblings that if they washed the dishes for him, they would get a surprise from Mom. They learned a lesson about mis-communication.

Then came the time when our three sons learned the wonders of ‘dit-dah’ communication from their Dad. The four male family members went on triangulating ham radio adventures. Our oldest son took this challenge to heart, taking the ham radio licence test in Kansas City. But that is another story. In 2008, Paul wrote a communiqué that described his experiences learning ham radio when he was on the threshold of puberty. No, it doesn’t begin with, "It was dark stormy night…!"

My favorite contact was made on the 2-meter band. I used to listen to Dad talk to the guys from the Boothill Club (Dodge City) talk on Sunday nights. One Sunday night I was feeling extra confident and Dad wasn’t around so I CQ’d and this guy answered me. We were talking for awhile and he said his daughter was listening and wanted to know how old I was. I told him, and he said she was the same age, but had to sign off because she was beating him up for telling me about her. I don’t think I ever went on the 2-meter band again after that. But it was fun to sit with my Dad and brothers and practice code and learn radio theory. I still remember the practice question on my novice test. What does FM stand for? Fading Motorboat or Frequency Modulation? I got that right and passed. I really don’t remember the rest of the theory; I just could never resist breaking Ohm’s law.

While teaching a group of elementary students the art of participating in a discussion, I learned the danger of mis-perception. I emphasized with the small group sitting in a circle that there was no need to raise their hands, just watch the other person. When he is finished, then you may speak. Suddenly I realized that 4 or 5 of the more verbal students were leaning forward in their chairs in such a way to be in danger of falling. Their eyes were intently watching the speaker, waiting to pounce on a second of silence to enter the fray of words.

There are two sides to the Coin of Communication – there is the speaking and there is the listening. In between those two sides lies the murkiness of perception. When I compare the tedious written communication that has progressed just in my lifetime, I am astonished. In just 82 years we have gone from writing with a pencil on a tablet to speaking into a computer to make the words turn somersaults and land on the page. We have the ability to take classes from a university ‘through the air’ and capture learning on our various technological marvels of communication. We learn the terms Wi-fi, G-4 and wireless. Sometimes I feel like my Grandmother Suderman after the landing on the moon. “If God had intended for us to the moon, He would have…” Always wondered what Grandmother envisioned.

How did this all come about? I read this… The Chappe brothers, in France, in 1791, were in their teens and were going to schools some distance apart but visible to each other. They obtained permission to set up a signaling system so they could send messages to each other. Their semaphore system consisted of movable arms on a pole whose positions denoted letters of the alphabet. Napoleon liked the idea, and soon semaphore system was set up in many places. (http://www.telephonetribute.com/historical_information.html)

Before that time, there were signal fires that announced the arrival of the Spanish Armada in 1588 AD. The native Indians of this country used smoke signals to communicate. My question is – how did they avoid typos? Misunderstandings created by a mis-wave of an arm or flag – or a misplaced smoke signal? What if the wind wafted away a stray puff? Who was the ‘spell-checker’’?

According to a timeline, I noted that in 1791 there were wars throughout Europe and United States. Obviously communication then did not circumvent bloodshed. And still doesn’t. And I wonder about communication since the world began and God as the Great Communicator.

There is no question as to what God conveyed in Genesis 1:31a - God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. As I read Exodus and read all the commandments that God gave his people, I realized several things. God knew exactly what he wanted his people to do and gave explicit instructions. His people listened to His words with their whole being. When God spoke, they were not multi-tasking!

The more I read the Bible, the more I understand the intent of God’s heart, beyond the words. God speaks to His Children. As I read various verses that God spoke to His Children, I am awed beyond measure. To hear God speak…to hear God communicate with me; it is too wondrous to comprehend. What would it be like to hear God speak audibly to me?

If God spoke to me, would I have faulty perception? Would I be too busy texting to hear God speak? Would I try to apprise God of my own supposed wisdom? Or would I listen?

Meanwhile, I read God’s Word – word for word – savoring His majesty, his power and his omniscience. My heart hears his Words.

Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart. Job 22:22

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”” Hebrews 13:5

Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say. Isaiah 28:23

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The End!

2011-12-27T09:59:00.002-06:00

A long time ago I sang a song Mother taught me….When you come to the end of a perfect day….(Carrie Jacobs-Bond) As I began this thought, I remembered that, indeed, I have come to the end of a perfect year. The End. The End of 2011, and in just a few days a new year will begin. The questions surface – Will 2012 have changes of any kind. Or will it rock along like 2011?

Surprises are not always pleasant. Publishing Clearing House is not scheduled to drop in. The realities of life will surface as they do, when least expected. No longer is it a challenge or exciting to ‘see in the New Year’ for me.

When I nearly come to the end of a really good book, I read slower, prolonging the great story, dreading the inevitable announcement – The End. A birthday signifies a new year of beginnings with ‘mountains to climb’.

I remember school writing assignments and the last words were proclaimed joyfully by scrawling in little-girl-writing – The End!

As Christmas Day came to the end this year, I began to feel as if the anticipation of all that is Christmas would come to an end, too. How can I continue that expectant hope that comes with the preparation of Christmas?

So with anticipation I see the end of 2011 just around the corner. How do I prepare for a new year? In times past New Year’s Eve meant staying up with Mom and Dad, praying in the New Year. In the still hush of the night, it seemed ethereal, and the passing of time could not be measured – for each word of prayer for the New Year dropped silently in the room like the dew on spring roses.

My daughter Anna chose a verse of scripture as her theme for 2012. Jeremiah 46:27-28 "But you, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear. Israel, there's no need to worry.

Look up! I'll save you from that far country, I'll get your children out of the land of exile. Things are going to be normal again for Jacob, safe and secure, smooth sailing. Yes, dear Jacob my servant, you have nothing to fear

Depend on it, I'm on your side. I'll finish off all the godless nations among which I've scattered you, But I won't finish you off. I have more work left to do on you. I'll punish you, but fairly. No, I'm not finished with you yet."

She ends her thoughts with a prayer - Thank you God that you are on our side. You have more work left to do on us. You are not finished with us yet. We are yours. Help us to open our wills to your word. Help us to open our hearts to your love. We long to trust you with our whole lives. We long to believe that you will keep us safe and secure. We are trusting in you that you will provide for us everything that we need for this next year. And at the end of the year we will praise you for the journey of change you have brought us through. (http://drivingwithanna.blogspot.com)

Thank you, Anna, for teaching your mother again. I looked in His Word for a scripture for 2012. So many scriptures to choose from! I have my favorites that I turn to again and again. Which words will give me hope and strengthen my faith and trust?

My thoughts go to the end of the year, the end of Christmas, the end of being on earth, and I am not sure which one. For truly, the end of the year brings another brand new year that is crystal clear, a new beginning. The end of a book brings the quest for another book. An amazing song, when it finishes, calls for another melody of truth and hope. An artful painting depicting the glory of God’s creation calls for another in depth look at what God has created.

A few of my favorite verses from scripture are these:

 I Corinthians 1:8 - He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Forgiveness)

Matthew 28:20b - And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Faithfulness)

Philippians 1:6 - being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Trust and Hope)

If endings mean beginnings, what is there to fear? When the book ends, when a candle grows too short too burn, when an apple is eaten to its core, when the last drop of milk is used – look for more. Look for the proverbial silver lining. When pain is my companion through the night, I look to the Healer. When fear crowds out trust, I put my hand in the Hand of the One who is able.

When this life on earth ends, in Jesus there is a new beginning.

On Christmas Day, driving to church, realizing – This is the Day – This IS Christmas Day! The bright sunlight and the crisp air simply underlined the blessing of celebration of the Lord’s birth. Like many of our family who lived before, the crowd of witnesses, and now await the call of the trumpet heralding the second coming of Jesus, I thought, what if there is no tomorrow for me? What if it is just This Day?

“Where there is no tomorrow, there is forever – when today never ends…”

I see the glow of Heaven / In the sunrise of the morning / In the smile of your face and / In your loving heart….

Because of the Christ Child / Born so long ago / He gave His Life for us / And lives in Heaven / It is so.

We celebrate each day./ For when there is no tomorrow / With Him we’ll live forever more / Where our today will never end.

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Lights! Action!

2011-12-20T10:56:00.003-06:00

In 1928, my romantic Dad (Herman) married a farm girl from Kansas. They moved to the panhandle of Oklahoma, far from the rich black soil of central Kansas. Far from the Suderman home-farm. Anna Daisy was homesick as the days grew shorter and colder. She remembered Christmas celebrations-past. A tree, cut from the field, would stand in the parlor. Beside it stood a bucket of water and sand in case of a fire. On Christmas Eve, the candles were lit and the children listened to the story of the birth of Jesus from Luke 2, the flames of the candles reflected in their eyes as they listened in wonder. Those were the memories Anna Daisy held dear.

Anna Daisy did not know what a resourceful man she had married. Herman brought a Christmas tree, cut down in the field, and set it up near the living room window. Electric lights, or fairy lights they were first called, were placed on the tree. Then on Christmas Eve Herman parked the Model T Ford near the window. He attached the wires of the Christmas lights to the battery of the car.

I can imagine the pure joy Anna Daisy felt that night, to see lights on the tree and the love they represented from her new husband. Even more, she thought about the star that shone on that dark night, filling sky with the light of the world. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

People through the ages are drawn to the Light of the World. The Light that signifies Hope and Peace. The Light that brightens our way in this dark world.

Today we are confronted with an overdose of lights in the name of Christmas and become a tool for marketing, and truly becomes a Holiday. Not a celebration of the birth of the Christ Child, but the 'cha-ching' of the driving force of commerce.

When someone asks if I am ready for Christmas, I search my heart for readiness – not in a material sense but a spiritual sense. When did the advent become encumbered with man’s ingenuity with electricity? I still recall in 1930’s going to Grandpa and Grandma Suderman’s and watching as the lamb on the table was ‘trimmed’ and shadows grew in the dining room.

Laying the history of lights against family, I learned that when the first electrically powered lights in England’s Theater were introduced in 1881, my Great Grandfather Jacob Suderman was 40 years old. In 1848, my Great Grandmother, Aganetha Wiens Suderman was six year old when Windsor Castle in England had its first illuminated tree. When Justina Leppke Loewen, my great Grandmother was 1 year old, Christmas Trees were first sold at Tree Lots. A year before, 1856, the first lighted tree appeared on the White House Lawn. When my Grandmother, Anna Loewen Suderman, born in 1880, two years later, Edward Johnson, an associate of Thomas Edison handcrafted the first incandescent bulbs. In 1890, seven years before Ed’s mother, Ruth Olive Starkey was born, candle holders were made for Christmas candles. In 1902 - 1914 Small lanterns and glass bowls were made to hold candles. Dad (Herman) 1903 and Mom (Anna Daisy) 1907. When Mom was one year old Insurance Companies would not pay for fires that began with Christmas trees.

Now, imagine a quiet, dark hillside. The only light comes from a myriad stars in the skies and a campfire. The shepherds were lulled on the edge of sleep by the lowing of the contented sheep about them. Then they saw a star shining more brightly than any of the others. What could this be? I can hear them asking each other questions.

Suddenly….And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:9 -14

God set the stage for the coming of his One and Only Son with angels and lights as only He can do with His own creation. The lights He fashioned with His own hands. They were not made by man, the lights that need electrical power and tend to ‘burn out’.

Have you ever walked in pitch black or sat alone just wondering what would come next in your life? Just as the shepherds said, “Let us go find this thing that the Lord has told us about.” Follow the Light of the World!

Next time we see a Christmas Tree, or a house decorated, or an artfully decorated business, what do we see with our hearts? Man’s achievements? To out-decorate your neighbor's house is not celebrating Christmas. Or do we see Jesus, The Light of the World?

Recently I heard the song, The First Christmas Gift. The lyrics of the chorus are this: “The first Christmas gift came from above, wrapped in starlight, tied with love, given with joy,  A sweet baby boy, a gift for you and me.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=no5WRn5T7lY&feature=related

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Bless You!

2011-12-13T08:58:00.003-06:00

“God bless you!” the grey-haired older lady said to me. What did I do, I wondered. What is this ‘blessing business’ I keep hearing?

What does ‘bless ‘ mean? Is it just a figure of speech that makes the hearer feel better? Is it a word that makes the speaker feel more spiritual?

The word bless means God’s favor and protection. The noun blessing means asking for favor and protection, as in a short prayer at a meal, or grace. Also it means the act of one that blesses. It can mean approval, words of comfort, encouragement and inspiration. Or one can be blessed….Who began this blessing and who is blessed. There are 35 references to blessed just in Genesis. Nearly all refer to the Lord blessing his creation. God is in the blessing mode and the early fathers blessed sons.

David understood the relationship between God and blessing - Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Psalm 40:4

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD. Psalm 89:15

Several years ago, a father gave his daughter, the new bride, a blessing during the wedding ceremony. I listened in amazement for I thought blessings were only used by Old Testament people. People like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob gave blessings to their sons.

Matthew 5 contains the ‘Beatitudes’ or the ‘Be Happies’. 3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.  6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.  8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

A daunting list of character traits and situations are given for those who are blessed. For me, I use this list to measure my life – poor in spirit, mourn, meek, hunger for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, persecuted because of rightousness, insulted because of Jesus –these are not reasons to feel as a victim or down=trodden – but to be glad and rejoice. The basis for being blessed.

A blessing gives cause for counting….for this song writer. “Name them one by one…” Sometimes our hearts are so filled with joy and thanksgiving that we want to share. Is that where the song writer found these words….”Make me a blessing…make me a blessing…out of my life.”

A blessing can come from sunshine and joy in life. Other times a blessing comes from a dark storm in our lives. The blessing comes with faithfulness and trust and relationships. As a teen, I remember singing the song, “No Man is an Island.” I didn’t understand it then, and unable to articulate the importance of relationship. In the book by Mike Mason, The Mystery of Children, one chapter stands out. The author declares that we cannot live in solitary confinement in this world. For we are someone’s child, someone’s spouse, someone’s parent, someone’s neighbor. The pebble dropped into the lake of life ripples out, just as our lives ripple out to touch many.

When the Author of Blessings is our Father, when our life is defined by our relationship with our Lord, then we are blessed indeed. “However, self-seeking behavior is self-defeating.” Mike Mason continues…”This is sin in a nut-shell."

To be a blessing, or even recognize being blessed, we nurture the relationships God has given us. This reveals to us just “Who” we are, not only in God’s eyes, but our families’ eyes and wherever and whoever the life-ripple touches.

This ‘life-ripple’ continues through time. Our relationships, our connections, live on. Our choices and actions and our inner being are etched on the hearts of others around us. Today I received an email written by a cousin to watch for old pictures of the family – and the pictures will tell of another time. The pictures will be another ‘life-ripple’ for me. And I received a Christmas card that was filled with remembrances and who she was and who I was in a relationship long ago blessed me today. Someone very wise said, “Don’t burn any bridges,” in reference to relationships. Somehow our lives are one piece, not compartmentalized, but woven together.

What are my blessings in this day and age? Family, a rose bush that blooms in the face of coming winter, God’s word, the freedom to pray, sunsets and sunrises, friends, laughter, a new born baby, the innocence of a child, the warmth in a smile or a hug, a cup of soup. The joy of knowing that love comes in many different hues in my life. Knowing that God creates love and harmony and beauty and allows me to taste it.

What is our blessing to our children? You have blessed us in so many ways that will continue to grand children and great grandchildren.

Dear children, look not to the world and its enticements for happiness for they are fleeting. But put your hope in God, and your hand in His hand. Walk with Him in this world. This is our deepest desire and prayer that we meet again in Heaven when this life on earth is done.

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Clouds Matter

2011-12-06T08:35:00.003-06:00

It was a summer day with a soft cooling breeze that played tag with fluffy white clouds. We sat outside on a blanket, Mom, and my two brothers and I, finding ever changing shapes in the clouds. “It is an elephant!” Said Gene. “No”, said Jim, “It’s a cow!”

We continued to watch the sky-art that afternoon not realizing the common bond we enjoyed with other ‘sky-watchers’ through the ages. The life of a cloud is a mysterious and moving entity, ever changing in shapes and colors.

In science books we learn the how and why of a cloud. Clouds form when the temperature of the air reaches the condensation point, which is the point at which water vapor (which is an invisible gas) becomes a liquid. When it reaches this point, the liquid collects on the dust particles in the air and become visible. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/fgz/science/clouds.php

Then we learned names for clouds – three types -- cumulus (Latin for heap) -- stratus (Latin for layer) – and cirrus (Latin for curl). What is the Latin for ‘beautiful, curiosity, wonder in the sky…” Bellus curiositas admiratio caelum!

In every language, in every land clouds are searched for signs…. of life-giving rain, for beauty, and for storms. Clouds can darken the sun’s light during the day and plays peek-a-boo with the moon at night. Clouds play tag with the wind, scudding across the sky as far as we can see. Clouds hold hands with the wind to bring destruction by creating tornadoes and hurricanes.

Clouds can bring rain or sleet or snow or hail. People watch the stream of winds that circle the globe and prognosticate their path and the likelihood of water from the clouds that swing like a child on a swing.

Job 38:22 gives the words of God, “Have you entered the storehouse of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail? And again in Psalms 135:7, “He makes clouds rise from the earth; He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.”

In Psalm 33:7 – “He gathers the waters of the sea into jars, he puts the deep into storehouses.”

Growing up in Oklahoma, the tornado alley, we learned to watch the clouds for fearsome tornado winds. Dad and Mom lived through one of those tornado storms, huddled in the ‘Siemens Cellar’ behind the house. The small underground cellar must have seemed frail as the wind and the rain knocked against the wooden door of the entrance. They spent the duration of

the storm praying, and then praising God as the winds quietened. They went inside the house to determine the damage. Then without warning the tornado returned. They huddled in the kitchen under the 5-foot by 2 feet table, holding hands and lifting their voices for deliverance.

Years later, while flying alone, I looked out the window and saw a carpet of clouds below me. I saw the God-view of the earth. As we flew to our destination, the clouds parted and I peered below to see tiny cars criss-crossing the roads below. I saw even tinier people scurrying across streets. The verse came to mind…. Psalm 8:4, “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”

How many times, I wondered, is the word cloud or clouds are used in God’s Word? In the NIV version, I found 151 references. As I read each one, I noted how often God used a cloud to hide in and his glory shows through. The first one verse that caught my heart is in Exodus 16:10. While Aaron was speaking to the whole Israelite community, they looked toward the desert, and there was the glory of the LORD appearing in the cloud.”

The glory of the Lord appears in the cloud? Fascinated I read further…. Exodus 19:9 – “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud…” Exodus 24:15-16 – When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud covered it…and the glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai. For six days the cloud covered the mountain, and on the seventh day, the Lord called to Moses from within the cloud!”

I think of all the beautiful cloud-filled sunsets and sunrises I have seen. I think of all the wondrous formations of clouds with rainbow-hued colors I have seen. Yes, the glory of God appears in a cloud. The presence of God is all around us. Can we see, truly see, the presence of God? Or has man-made technology blinded us to His presence around us?

God used a cloud and a pillar of fire to lead the Children of Israel from Egypt. God used a cloud to cover His presence. He used a cloud to separate the army of Egypt and protect Israel. The cloud covered the tabernacle, and at night the cloud looked like fire. When the cloud lifted, the Israelites continued their journey. In I Kings 8, the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. Deuteronomy 33:26 proclaim, “There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides across the heavens to help you and on the clouds in His majesty.”

When Dad died in 1979, Mother told me of Dad’s words before he died, “When Jesus comes again, look to the East as He takes me to heaven!” Then I read the words of return of Jesus to Heaven – “After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.” Acts 1:9. Verse 11 continues - “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

Each time I walk, I search the sky first, looking for clouds. A clear sky just doesn’t have the same message as a cloud-filled sky. A cloud-filled sky can be the day Jesus returns. It was never as clear to me as the day I drove to my prayer-partner’s house for prayer. I sat in the car, facing east. Clouds covered the sun that early morning. Suddenly, the clouds parted, light poured through the windshield with an unusual intensity. I looked into the light, “Jesus, have you come? I have been waiting for You!”

Is it any wonder I call Him Lord?

Is it any wonder I love His Word?

By His grace and love, He has set me free--

Jesus, holy Lord, every praise to You!

By Your grace alone, I am born anew;

I will sing Your praise for eternity!

(Smith, Barreto, Holder -

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Chosen

2011-11-29T11:24:00.001-06:00

On a beautiful spring morning the seven year old girl stood on the playground with her classmates, waiting to be chosen. Butterflies chased each other in her stomach in anticipation of being called to be on a team. Would some one choose her? What would she do if no one wanted her? Then she heard her name…."Emily….come, we need you". To be chosen and to be needed, that was the ultimate achievement.

The second graders stood in two facing rows. One side huddled and then a name rang out – “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Betty come over!” Betty broke hands, backed up and then ran as fast as her legs would carry her, and tried to break through the line. Oh, oh. The line didn’t break and Betty was taken into that line with a stigma of failure.

Emily watched as more and more children were called. The bigger boys easily broke through the line, choosing carefully where they would try. Success meant bringing someone back to the line where you began.

Then Emily heard it, “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Emily come over!” She had been chosen twice! Could she break the line and be a heroine? Being chosen twice was enough.

I don’t know who chose my best friend – suddenly we just were -- friends – Gladys Barrett and I. When my family moved to another town when I was sixteen, that friendship was broken. Sometimes I think about Gladys and wonder about her and what she choices she made in life.

When my dear husband and I chose each other for marriage, we had no idea that it would be a 60 yearlong decision (so far!). What joy, what learning we have shared.

Being a mother began decision-making in a big way. Four children, each one is a blessing and each one is different. Those years were busy. 1952, 1954, 1955 and 1956 were important years for both of us, for each of those years, the dynamics of our family changed. The decisions each day became so important. Discipline, planning meals, clothing them, and attending church – school – all required choices. Life-altering decisions accompanied with laughter and love.

Then our four children grew up and made their own decisions with their own families. I still remember learning in a college psychology class that children should be able to make decisions. I let them choose the cereal for breakfast…. not realizing that their decisions in life would not come from a cereal box.

For six years I stayed at home until the children escaped the diaper stage. Then one day I made another decision. I went back to college and became a teacher. One workshop I attended talked about all the decisions a teacher has to make during an eight-hour day. No wonder I was exhausted at the end of the day. For 31 years I taught school. The day I retired I drove home, wondering just who I was. Now I had more choices to make. What would I do with my time? Who was I really? Those familiar butterflies still flew in an unsettling formation inside me.

When I was eight years I made the choice that underlined for a lifetime. I chose Jesus. It was Easter time and I was baptized in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. I remember the peace that flooded my heart seventy-four years ago. Throughout my life, I remembered that decision -- to know Jesus and to live for Him.

Recently I realized that the verse I learned long ago is so true. “We love Him because He first loved us.” (I John 4:19) Jesus chose me first, before I chose Him. Jesus chooses all of us. We are chosen and His chosen people.

But to complete His choice, we choose Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our decision completes His choice. When we choose Him that completes us. Can you imagine the joy Jesus experiences when we choose Him? No wonder that the angels in Heaven rejoice when each one has chosen Jesus. (Luke 15:10)

While researching genealogy and reading the words written long ago – I understand more clearly than ever – how my parents and grandparents prayed for us to know Jesus and to follow Him. That desire is now my prayer for my children, grandchildren and beyond. This consistent and continuous thread of choosing Jesus makes our choices easier. It isn’t a multiple choice in life – it is just choosing Jesus!

Jesus is to be our Chosen One. If not now, when? It is a choice we all make at one time or another. When I see a butterfly, I think about how Jesus reminds us always, in different ways, about His love and His choice! We are chosen! That is enough.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, I Thessalonians 1:4

He (Jesus) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. I Peter 1:20

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Chosen

2011-11-29T10:52:00.002-06:00

Then Emily heard it, “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Emily come over!” She had been chosen twice! Could she break the line and be a heroine? Being chosen twice was enough.

When my dear husband and I chose each other for marriage, we had no idea that it would be a 60 yearlong decision (so far!). What joy, what learning we have shared.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12

For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, I Thessalonians 1:4

He (Jesus) was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. I Peter 1:20

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I Am Thankful Because...

2011-11-22T11:40:00.003-06:00

The table is set and the food is piled high. Several generations of family gather around. Laughter and anticipation is in the air. And then everyone tells why they are thankful. Nothing is too tiny. There are no rules. Just being thankful pours from each heart. The ‘gratitude attitude’ belongs in this season, and every day of our lives. Giving thanks means searching our lives for blessings. Blessings that are not happen-chance, but planned just for us.

After our appetites are quelled from way too much food, we leave the table in a stupor. A movie, a ball game, visiting and when the day is over, we know that we must return to a life that claws away our thankful spirit. When the last conversation beginning with, “Do you remember when….fades away…” and the time comes to separate, do we carry the joy of the moment into the future?

It has been a blessing to read many facebook friends’ comments tell what they are thankful for this month. Will they stop after Thanksgiving Day? Reading the sweet words of thanksgiving, I have come to enjoy a tenderness of joy for the writers.

What happens when the afterglow of thanks-giving has lost its seasoning? When the day of plenty has ended and there are just bare bones are left on the plates. What is our choice? Celebrations come to an end. How they change us in our thinking does not have to end.

From the time we could talk, my brothers and I gave thanks for each meal, beginning with the words – For all we eat, for all we wear, for all we have, we thank thee, Father. Amen. This is the prayer we taught our four little ones. As they grew older, our children’s prayers came from their hearts to their Heavenly Father. Growing up, I listened to the prayers of my father….in German. Komm, Herr Jesu, sei unser Gast, und segne was Du uns bescherret hast. Amen. ... It's this: “Come Lord Jesus, be our guest, and let these gifts to us be blessed.

Thanks-Living begins with Thanks-Giving. Thanks-Giving implies trust and faith in our Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He sent His Only Son, Jesus, to take our sins upon Him at the Cross. Without Jesus, there would be no reason to give thanks.

There are physical things – food and shelter and clothing to give thanks for. But if the material things are lacking, what do we include in our thanks-giving? As a child, during the years of the Great Depression, I remember asking my Dad for a penny to buy a necklace. Even at six years old, I could see the pain in his eyes when he told me, “No, I don’t have a penny to give you.” Then Dad swung me up into his arms and gave me a hug. The love of my Dad was more priceless than that necklace could ever be.

I am thankful for his teaching me what is most important. I learned that my Thanks-Living is love first of all from my Dad, and then from my Heavenly Father even when there is a ‘no’.

Joyce Kilmer’s words in song rings from my heart during this season as I watch the golden and rust-colored leaves dance in the air. “I think that I shall never see, a poem lovely as a tree. A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed, against the earth’s sweet flowing breast. A tree who lifts her leafy arms to pray!” Imagine a tree giving thanks to its Creator – not for a moment – but every moment of every day. Even when the covering of leaves are gone – the remaining bare arm-limbs are raised in praise to our Lord.

I am thankful for communication. Without the ability to think and speak, how would we be able to give thanks, first to God…and to each other. Without God in our lives, our words hurt and maim others for life, for they are from the heart. When our living is God-centered – our words create a blanket of love, gentleness, kindness, patience, encouragement, forgiveness and joy for the hearer.

With the love of Jesus in my heart, no matter what my first inclination, may I learn to see and hear others as Jesus sees and hears with unconditional love. I am thankful for each moment of compassion for others.

Thanks-Living is made possible by integrity, truth and honesty. Deception, lying and dishonesty have no place in Thanks-Living and defines a betrayal of our Lord.

Thanks-Living knows no boundaries of time or space. As I write, I think of our four children and their families…and give thanks for the times we were able to be together. When our hearts are entwined in a family – they become inseparable no matter how far apart they are. That is for the earthly and also the spiritual brothers and sisters. There are no barriers in the family of Christ Jesus.

When I checked Mom’s poetry book, I saw that she wrote about Thanksgiving. The last stanza says…

“Is one day a year sufficient…Thanks when Christ’s death set me free: I will love Him for salvation…Since that love included me…God’s own Spirit guides me daily…Gives me songs through the deepest night…He alone has power eternal…Leading me to heaven’s light.” Thanks, Mom! (1907-1998)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with Thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.  Colossians 4:2

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Remembering...

2011-11-15T10:13:00.003-06:00

What a sweet word for me…remembering. So many times in the past six years, I have remembered. I sit down at the computer keyboard and the memories pour through my fingers onto the screen. Remembering creates warmth in my heart for those I loved long ago and now.

Why did my Grandmother Anna Suderman painstakingly record her days? Did she know it would give her grandchildren a vivid word picture of her life?

Anna Loewen Suderman told of her wedding of March 8, 1900. A spring snow made the dirt roads almost impassable to the church. The wedding sermon – yes, sermon - was based on Jeremiah 32:37-42.

Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

Surely the words of that portion of scripture were often remembered in the years that followed…And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them and of their children after them.

Between 1900 and 1916, Grandma gave birth to ten children. She and Grandpa raised six and she writes, “the other four were lent to us for just a short time.” The trips to the cemetery with the tiny caskets four times were with breaking hearts and tear-filled the eyes.

In 1911, Grandpa Gerhard’s hand was crippled by a crosscut saw accident. How does Grandma write about it? “We have our share of trouble, but we were thankful we could share our grief and the Lord gives comfort to them that seek comfort.”

My memories of the farm were bullet points in my life – word-pictures that have survived time.

Grandmother stooped over picking vegetables in the fenced-in garden

Grandmother gathering eggs on a summer evening, in her apron

The musty cellar that contained hanging cured ham, rows and rows of fruit and vegetables and a basket of potatoes dug from the garden

The scraps of potato peelings, left over food that went down the sink drain into the slop bucket, to be fed to the pigs

Uncles coming to the house in the evening with buckets of fresh

The wood cook stove in the kitchen firing up to cook fried potatoes

The company parlor where the huge hand-cranked phonograph player stood

The happy laughter of my uncles and aunts

The aroma of flaky Tvaybach (zeibach) baked by Grandma Suderman

Rides on Molly, the gentle farm horse

Pumping water by hand in the bathroom to fill the pitcher

The deep snow in the winter as far as the eye can see that obliterated the fence posts on the side of the road

At Christmas, pepper nuts, hugs, saying our pieces, singing Christmas carols with rich harmony and listening to the Christmas Story in Luke 2

Prayers on our knees – listening to the prayers of Grandpa and Grandma, their six children and assorted spouses, followed by the grandchildren

Singing the family song – (Translated from German by Anna D. Siemens) – Come, brothers, quit your lagging,. Come, we must journey on. For all our restless struggle Of life will soon be gone….Chorus – In my heavenly home, There is rest for my soul, There is sweet rest, There is sweet rest, There is rest for my soul.

Looking out of the upstairs bedroom window where Mom found the evening star when she was a girl.

These memories become sweeter as time goes by and give me strength.

There are more than 200 admonitions in the Bible to remember…Why? Is it so difficult to remember Who made us and gave us life? Do we understand how God desires a relationship with us? Is it so difficult to give Him thanks? The distractions that surround us in this world draw us away unless we keep our eyes on our Lord.

Some of the scriptures to remember are these: - On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Psalm 63:6

- Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Matthew 16:9

- Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? Mark 8:18

- Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,   2 Timothy 2:8

- For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12

- Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.  Revelation 3:2-4

The trickle begins so slow – And soon the torrent will flow….Remembering….

The yester-year is near, and today becomes less clear…. Remembering….

For I know that God’s Hand guides guides me through this land…Remembering….

I awake from my reverie-stroll, knowing that remembering makes me whole. And I am remembering….

(A portion of a painting by Tyler Robbins, entitled Remembering a Past Farewell)

Comments? eacombs@att.net

True Courage

2011-11-08T13:12:00.002-06:00

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

All children learn that memory verse. It is easy to quote and difficult to ‘be’. Being courageous – what does that mean?

To me it means a ‘salmon-swim’ – going upstream. It means getting up each day when it would be easier to stay in bed. It means encouraging others when you need to be encouraged. It means being a leader when you know it isolates you from what is the norm.

Being courageous is a way of life, an outlook stemming from an inner strength and commitment. It is the courage to continue that counts.

When I received a coloring page from my second grade teacher that contained a windmill, my mother began telling me of the courage of our ancestors. Their story continues to fascinate me. From that story, I gain an anchor that steadies my life and gives me insights.

We call it History when events are glossed over in a superficially. It isn’t people-deep. Events are long days for those who live them. Events are unending blur of time when there seems to be no end in sight. When those times come, what is our anchor? What is our inner strength? A glib ‘Hang in there!” from a friend doesn’t touch the depths of our heart.

I re-read the chronicles of the Jacob Siemens family compiled by my brother Bennie James Siemens. It read: The Siemens Family left Russia in 1874 for United States. Those listed on the ship’s manifest were: Jacob Siemens II, age 79 - Jacob Siemens III, Age 51 – His wife Elisabeth, Age 48 – Jacob Siemens IV, age 25 – His wife Anna, age 20 and infant daughter Anna – Anna Siemens, age 22 – Elisabeth Siemens age 19 – Johann Siemens, age 16 – Abraham Siemens, age 14 – David Siemens, age 11 – Agatha Siemens, age 4 and Heinrich Siemens, age 1.

Thirteen family members who packed for a trip across the ocean from Russia to United States. I look around my house and wonder what I would pack for a new life in a new country. A new country that is largely unknown. How many prayers were uttered by these people for wisdom, health and a strong faith to make this trip? This is a farming family. What tools would they need in the new country?

What about Jacob Siemens II (age 79)? Did he want to leave the land where his wife was buried? As the oldest member of the family would he have the strength to begin life anew and face all the new challenges? There were only three women who would do the work of packing for the thirteen people. What if they forgot something that was crucial? Much decision-making was needed. Food, clothing, tools, the family Bible all needed to be crated for the ocean voyage.

What about Baby Anna and Heinrich at the age of 1, think of the soiled diapers aboard a ship. There were no Huggies available. No baby food, no cradle to lay the children in for the night.

Can you imagine the impatience of Jacob Siemens IV, age 25, Johann Siemens, age 16, and Abraham Siemens, age 14, to begin the adventure in life. What were the first scenes that they saw? What impact did it have on their resolve?

A decision of that magnitude is always based on a WHY. This WHY was for the spiritual freedom to worship and to live in peace. A strong belief that God would provide and care for them prevailed among them and the risk was taken.

As I look at this picture of the 5^th Generation of Jacob Siemens family, I realize the strength of God’s promises. My Grandpa, pictured here, learned to preach, not in a seminary, but striding back and forth behind the barn. He held the open Bible in his hands and preached God’s Word to the fields and the animals. Later my Grandpa traveled many miles preaching as he went until a paralysis stopped him. What did he think when this gift of preaching was taken from him. Even today, I hear about the thoughtful sermons of my Grandfather Siemens, the 5^th generation of the Jacob Siemens family!

Do we hear the words when things happen in our lives that we find uncomfortable, dangerous or unwanted?

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged. I Chronicles 22:13b

Courage begins with conviction and a commitment to that conviction against all odds. To some, the conviction is self-pride or self-worth. This conviction is shallow and brittle to live out. Instead, we look to the only place where we find a sure foundation for our courage.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13

It isn’t about me, it is about love that gives me courage. There is only one place where true love is available…That, too is the first verse I learned... God is love. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9

How tenuous is that love when we do not protect and lift up our faith. I Corinthians 16:13 says… Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.

In every era and every age our faith and courage is at risk if we do not stand firm in God. The details of my life are not as important as the legacy of faith I leave – the things I hope for, the things I pray for – may it be the message I leave to my family from age to age.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. C. S. Lewis

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Abiding Love

2011-11-01T11:28:00.002-05:00

I remember that fall day 32 years ago, when I said goodbye to my parents, in preparation to return home, six hours away. As I looked into Dad’s face, I didn’t see the strength that I used to see, I saw weakness and a peace. An unbidden thought flashed through my mind, “Is this the last time I see my Daddy?” I shook off the horrifying thought. No, surely that could not be. Dad’s love was an abiding presence for me. His presence in my heart would go on forever and be my strength through life.

It wasn’t long after that, in Spring, the reality of his death became definite. No more would I know his hearty laugh, no more would he hug Mom in a way that gave me such assurance, no more could I ask Dad for advice – for Dad was no longer on this earth.

Sitting on the back porch steps with my nephew, Matthew, watching the sun set in the west, was a comfort. Matthew looked at me and in his innocent youth-wisdom said, “I know where Grandpa is.” I asked where, and Matthew answered, “He is safe in God’s pocket."

Safe in God’s pocket. That simple answer gave me comfort then and continues to bring comfort. It spoke of an abiding love and faith that my Dad had in God. Dad is enjoying that abiding love and faith – forever.

Dad was a born teacher and with a story or two, he held many audiences spellbound. Though he taught school for a while, his favorite material to teach continued to be Bible Stories. Did my Grandpa Siemens have that same gift? Did Dad remember how his Dad carried the Bible and paced back and forth behind the barn, practicing preaching?

What we are, we teach. Dad taught me many lessons, and his last lesson was his smile as he drew his last breath. Dad had an abiding faith and he loved Jesus. Dad gave his three children a legacy of practicing the presence of God every day. I can still see him striding through his garden praising God for the bounty.

As we children grew older, we separated geographically and distance was measured in hours. It didn’t matter, because we knew there was an abiding love waiting for us at home. It was a treasure in our hearts that endured as we entered in adult life and gave us strength.

Recently I found this quote-question from a young soldier in Romania who was ordered to confiscate Bibles and imprison the missionaries. “Why are Bibles considered a more lethal weapon than guns?” Why, indeed? Is it because a Bible cannot be destroyed and its words will not come back void?

Hebrews 4:12 - For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

In contemplating what abiding love is, I remember Hebrews 11:1 - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

I no longer see my Dad and Mom with earthly sight, but I see them with a spiritual sight of faith. And each day is brightened, as I practice the legacy of abiding faith and love. My prayer is that the legacy I leave points the way to God’s abiding love that transcends time and space.

Abiding in Jesus, I’m kept in His Love

Not just for now, but forever

Abiding in Him, not for a day,

But enduring for life naught can sever.

Each day I confess

The Name I hold so dear

For I abide in Jesus

And I know He is near

Abiding in Jesus leads to life

He promised a helper to stay

And His words live in me

As I walk in His way each day.

Psalm 61:7 - He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him!

John 14:16 - And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.

John 15:7 - If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. vs 9 - “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

I John 4:12-15 - No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Practicing the Presence

2011-10-24T15:23:00.000-05:00

In the stillness of the morning, I am enjoying the presence of our daughter, Anna. We sit with our laptops, asking each other questions and working. Drinking in this moment, I am filled with thanksgiving and joy as I delight in our daughter. Our four children live nine hours or more in four different directions. One lives in Illinois, one in Wisconsin, one in Georgia and then Anna, in California. Anna celebrated her Dad’s 86th birthday Saturday with a tour to see our cemetery site (a bit unconventional, yet we wanted to share the peaceful place where our names are inscribed. After picking up a birthday dinner we came home to eat and took naps. Awww- the pleasures of 80+ year olds are many.

Anna brought a book written by Mike Mason, “Practicing the Presence of People”. An insightful book that presents principles of precisely what I want to do this week with Anna. I learned that practicing the presence of someone isn’t about self, but about the person in the encounter. It is giving one’s self to another by focusing on them in a positive way, being sensitive to them as an individual person.

Saturday, when Anna’s brother, Tim, called, the conversation flowed. Suddenly there was a break. Then Tim said, “I shouldn’t be reading email.” Anna answered, “Oh, and I am still working on cake php programming.” It was by chance I wasn’t sitting at my computer, or I would be multi-tasking as well. That was not ‘practicing the presence’. We laughed and continued our visit.

Is this why so many relationships are not many-splendored but many-splintered? Attention and time is required. Focused concentration is required to be successful without continuous distractions. During that simpler era of the 30’s and 40’s, we had fewer distractions for the eyes and ears to take in. We created our own music or listened to music on a phonograph, changing the record for each song. The Radio was just coming into it’s own. At night we listened to Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, Fibber McGee and Molly, Jack Armstrong, The All American Boy and for a chilling time – The Shadow Knows.

Now our eyes and our ears are filled with music and pictures full time through the wonders of electronic world – ipad, ipod, iphone (or is it the me-pad, me-pod and me-phone) computers, HD televisions and video games. These become the only world, the baby sitter, or connection with others simply through the 52 inch Flat Screen. Creating a relationship with another person is crippled because or our addiction to filling our minds with choices others make.

One of the chapters in the book intrigued me. It revealed that “Intercessory Prayer is a primary means of practicing the presence of people…..without love for a person, we cannot pray for him….” Mike Mason continues, “We need to love people first, intentionally, and only then will we know how to pray for them.”

Thus, practicing the presence of people becomes a primary focus and a part of our lives. One friend of mine so exemplifies the ‘practicing the presence of people’, that being in her presence is exhilarating. Why? The descriptions that come to my mind are acceptance, intentional and unconditional love, encouragement, a total ‘being present’ and honor. I always leave filled with love, feeling treasured and a worthwhile person no matter my faults and inconsistencies. There is no condemnation, no scolding, no correction – just love and acceptance.

As I consider her example, I realize what ‘practicing the presence of people’ truly is. Where did this idea come from? Mike Mason writes about Brother Lawrence, a monk who lived around 1610 in Herimenil Lorraine, a Duchy of France. At mid-life he entered a monastery in Paris. He learned that to practice the presence of God, we walk before God simply -- in faith, with humility and with love. We will engage in a continual, silent and affectionate conversation with Our Father. Out of love for Him, we strive to do nothing and think nothing that may displease God. (http://www.practicegodspresence.com/) "Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 The word ‘delight’ describes practicing the presence of God as well as people.

In this life we cannot live by distractions alone lessening our thinking about eternal matters. We must have an anchor to hold on to. What do I remember as a child that is steadfast and sure? I remember the prayers and the lives of my great grandparents, my grandparents and my parents. My thoughts go back to the faith that each one professed in Jesus Christ. They practiced the presence of Jesus Christ in their walk with Him. No matter how little or how much they had of material goods, they gave thanks and praise to our Lord.

Their heartaches were borne with thanksgiving for they knew that God was refining their hearts to live for an eternity. They listened, they looked, they embraced suffering, they lived in the moment…each moment. It is a daily choice to let God be God, and people be people. For practicing the presence of each person we meet becomes a sweet challenge of faith, humility and love.

Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 18:12 Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

Psalm 21:6 Surely you have granted him unending blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Psalm 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Psalm 89:15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.

Psalm 114:7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob,

Psalm 139:7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

Proverbs 8:30 Then I was constantly at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence,

1 Thessalonians 2:19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?

1 Thessalonians 3:9 How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

Jude 1:24  To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Who's Who

2011-10-18T11:54:00.003-05:00

In 1994, a student recommended me for listing in Who’s Who Among American Teachers. Consequently, I was chosen, and published on page 140 of a 779-page, doorstop-sized book. The print seems even smaller than it did 17 years ago. The purchased book sat on my book shelves – forgotten until today.

Last week I received a phone call inviting me to be published again by the company. They sent an email previously, to which I responded out of curiosity. After all, at 82 years of age, my life is considerably different from 1994.

I answered the man’s questions, and volunteered several of my favorite activities – writing and painting. Immediately his enthusiasm heightened and he wanted to put me in the 2011 book as an accomplished retired teacher who still makes a difference. In the course of the conversation, the cost was introduced….$549 for 5 years, $249 for two years and $149 for one year. When I hesitated, he told me all the benefits…being published in the year book – net-working – give others the benefit of my experiences in teaching – and other reasons why I should be published.

When it came time to give my credit card number, I refused the honor. I felt uncomfortable. Why would I want my ego fed in such a way? Things have changed in education, how could I help anyone? Share my “achievements”, such as they are, with others? I don’t know why.

This experience made me truly ponder Who’s Who? Who really makes a difference? In what way can we truly make a difference that lasts past this life on this earth? What constitutes immortality?

The books that we write, the riches we leave, the paintings we create can be destroyed, wasted and torn to shreds. Having my name published in a door-stop will not last. It will sit on a shelf. Immortality is ours through the relationships that we cultivate. First of all, a relationship with our Lord, then a relationship family and with others. The question is, how do we grow a relationship that endures?

Humility, encouragement, loyalty and just plain love grows a relationship. Ephesians 4:2 reveals the secret – “Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Why humility? James 4:6 says, But He gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

I Peter 3:8 reminds us, “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.”

Earthly rewards mean little, when you contrast the joys of a loving relationship in a family. One of our children had a comment, when I told about the phone conversation – “I know who you are, you’re my Mom!”

Nothing can replace that joy and fulfilment of family and recognition of being a part of the family. This is one reason that the joy of a church family, too, is so very important. And our church family is exceptionally dear to my dear husband and me. A family is the opportunity to learn to live together in Heaven. Nothing else is as fulfilling.

One of the joys of writing about ancestors who have gone on, is realizing their examples of love and that we will again be together in Heaven. The more we can encourage each other in faithfulness, the more His joy saturates our hearts and lives.

That is more satisfying being published in a ‘Door-Stop’. The immensity of that one book, made me wonder about the size of the Lamb’s Book of Life. What size font is it written in? Is my name written there? Are the names of our earthly family written there?

Remembering our four children sitting around the supper (dinner) table, laughing and enjoying the family relationship, we want it to be so in Heaven…with all the new family members we have not seen on this earth.

I John 3:1 - See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

When I searched for the Lamb’s Book of Life in the scriptures, I found Revelation 20:12 -  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.

And I ask - Who’s Who in the Lamb’s Book of Life?

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Painting a Life!

2011-10-11T12:30:00.002-05:00

When did I begin seeing the whole picture? Was it because of all the beauty of the gardens that Dad and Mom planted each year? The pictures of all the bouquets and the gardens are many.

When was it that the verse, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth….” began to have color and shape and substance for me?

Was it when we drove through the vista of New Mexico and California and I traced with my eyes the shape of the mountains where God’s hands created the deep valleys and towering heights?

Was it when I noticed the many shades of green in a grove of trees? The riotous wonder of fall on our street? Was it when I first saw the ocean, and watched the shimmer of color and the mystery of the relentless energy of waves?

I look at the sky and watch the ever-changing kaleidoscope of their shapes and color and know God is omniscient. No matter how beautiful His world is, the best is yet to come..

Some paintings are pure poetry with a style, shades of color that create a life of their own. What makes up a work of art? Is there a set of rules? Oh, yes, there is the choice of medium, composition, perspective, color and proportion. There is more – there is the heart of the painting. Mary Alice Rhode gave me my first lesson in painting….before her death….”It is a matter of shadow and light.” So often I have thought about her words. I realize that without the shadows in our lives, we cannot see the light. When our life seems darkest, look for the light. It is there,

Recently I went to a local rehab for exercise to reclaim a broken shoulder. Each time I went, I saw the works of Jan Ironside. Her use of color energized my spirit. One study of leaves in particular provided a plethora of color in the leaves – green, yes, to which were added yellow, white, and blue. As I studied the painting I saw the back ground that emphasized and projected the leaves. I saw that some of the leaves were behind the leaves that were projected. Some were placed before and some were placed afterward.

When I began painting murals for church for various purposes, I wondered if it would be possible to do. I had no training.

I learned more than applying a brush with paint to a canvas; I learned that we all paint the lives around us into the masterpiece each one will become using God’s colors. Lives are shaped by the colors we apply on the brush to that life. Painting a life is a work in progress.

The scripture shows that before birth God painted each life with His gifts and nurturance. Psalm 139:13-14 - For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearful and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well

Just as we leave heart-prints on those around us, God left His heart-print on our lives. We also paint the lives for how we have chosen to live our lives becomes he theme and provides the basis we impart to others..

What color is love, or peace or joy? What shades of pigment are kindness, gentleness and goodness? What strong color is patience or self-control? For these are on the palette that we apply to the lives around us. Yet it is easy to muddy the colors and find we have applied the colors of hate, envy, anger, dischord, free will, impatience, rebellion, misunderstanding

Whether we leave heart-prints early on and become the background of a life, still, we have brought a luster and depth to that life if we have chosen the God-palette.

With a painting, you don't have to go back and paint it again. Joni Mitchell

This certainly applies to how we apply paint to those around us – there are no ‘do-overs’.

Psalm 27:1 Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 63:3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

(Another link to Jan Ironside - http://www.etsy.com/shop/ironsideimpastos?page=2)

Comments? eacombs@att.net

The Comforter

2011-10-04T11:38:00.004-05:00

Our three sons came in out of the cold and readied for bed. The favorite cover was the comforter that their Great Grandma Suderman made of squares of corduroy. Each corner held a yarn knot, with the ends sticking up like bits of fuzz, tightening the warm batting in the quilt.

That was years ago, the last time I remember seeing the quilt was when the Combs brothers were in high school. One of the brothers told me that the quilt was warm and their favorite cover. It was a comforter. It pushed away the anxieties of the day and wrapped them in its warmth.

What is it that causes us to seek comfort in this world? Why do troubles of this world demand comfort?

The definition of comforter is ‘one who comforts’, a quilted bed cover, a narrow long woollen neck scarf. Those are the three ‘this world’ definitions.

Several years ago I received a package from Linda, from China. It contained a scarf that her hands created for me. When I want a bit of warmth and when I need some comfort, I wear that scarf. It is like a long distance hug. And I see the giver’s hands creating this gift for me in my mind.. This scarf, an ordinary piece of clothing, creates more than physical warmth.

So often in life we hurt and feel a deep physical pain in different parts of our bodies. We are discouraged during those times, the demeanor of our care-giver provides comfort. And that comfort leads to hope of recovery. And that hope brings peace in our hearts.

When families are separated through death, a great sense of loss envelopes that family. When my Dad died, Mom found comfort through words. She wrote in a spiral notebook, called the “Dear Poppa Journal”. When I came home, I read her descriptions of pain and suffering. I knew the tears she shed when she gave away Dad’s clothes, sold his twin bed, watched the garden grow without anyone to share it with and watched the Martins in the evening flock back to the bird house that Dad made. As I look back to the memories, I know that what she wrote about has helped me deal with her death 20 years later.

Sometimes life chills us to the bone. It is then that bright sunshine warms us through and through on a crisp fall day. That sunshine comes in a variety of caring ways. Caring ways of a caring person provides the sunshine that the hurting person needs.

The extraordinary ways we help others is through the ways we are gifted and we give without knowing that we give. I know of one woman whose whole being is ‘giving’. Last night I watched her hold a baby in her arms, I watched her visit with the young mother. Her gift is encouragement and love for others.

Questions pave the way to comfort. Asking questions to understand another’s walk, brings a bridge of empathy between two people. And a stranger becomes a friend. Friendship begins with a smile and a commonality. Comfort begins with sharing love, an experience, or filling a need.

As I thought about the word, comfort or comforter, at midnight one night this week, I was drawn to the filing cabinet. It is a filing cabinet filled with the words that Mom wrote. I wondered if she had considered the meaning of comfort/comforter. What a blessing to know what Mom thought in her own words. It is like having a conversation with her even though she is gone. I might not have listened before, but now, what a blessing. What a comfort!

One of the definitions of the Comforter is The Holy Spirit. Beyond the comfort of words and the lives we have known -- through Christ we have The Comforter that Jesus sent. The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, guides us and leads us in this life to be what Jesus intends for our lives. We can choose to ignore this inner Comforter, or we can talk with the Comforter and find peace.

Praise! What does praise have to do with The Comforter? Praise, acceptance, hope, rejoicing, forgiveness and encouragement are the warming threads of The Comforter. The Comforter, The Holy Spirit, is God’s Presence within us.

The chilling threadbare characteristics that chills us are envy, discouragement, hatred, criticism, bitterness, and unforgiveness. It is impossible to praise God when these characteristics are torn places in the hearts.

From the Mom’s filing cabinet I found this poem that she wrote:

God Knows Best

If I could push ajar the gate of Life

To stand with God where the future I see

I could interpret all my doubt and strife

And every mystery would have a key.

But not today! Then be content, my heart

God’s plans, like lilies pure and white, unfold

I must not tear the petal-leaves apart

For time alone reveals the hearts of gold.

And if through patient toil I reach that land

Where tired feet, with sandals loosed, may rest

I shall behold and clearly understand

To say, “God knew exactly what was best.”

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

Matthew 5:4  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

2 Corinthians 1:4  Who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

John 14:1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God ; believe also in me. (My favorite verse)

John 14:16 And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;  

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Thought-Life

2011-09-27T12:02:00.002-05:00

A friend, also seven years old, slipped me a piece of paper, folded twice. I looked at the teacher, and she was turned away. I opened the mysterious piece of paper and read, “ I like you. Do you like me? Under her name she had drawn two labelled boxes. One box said Yes and the other box said No.

That exchange gave me several things to think about. One, I had a choice in liking my friend. Two, these boxes could bring her joy or defeat, and gave me a sense of power over her. Three, she was thinking about me and needed me.

I marked the yes box and folded the paper. I slipped her destiny back to her and watched her warm smile as she read the checked box looked back at me.

A thought-life consists of many thoughts. James Rutz wrote in Megashift, “Our responses are actually “sponses” because they are a continuous part of the endless river of thoughts and deeds that flow through us from the heart of God, where every action in the universe originates.”

I re-read that quote several times and recalled the scripture, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Matthew 12:34b

The more I think of thoughts, the more I realize that our dreams and visions and thoughts are related to the entry through our other senses of things about us. My Dad used to walk 20 miles a day for at least 10 years, delivering mail. During that time he walked a minimum of 6,240 miles in a year. I wondered what he thought about during those long miles. I remember looking at the soles of his shoes while he took his 10 minute nap during the noon hour. He would have to have his shoes half-soled again soon, to cover the holes. This was during the time when every item we purchased required hours of discussion. Which need would be rectified and which item would be purchased ‘next time’.

What did Dad, Herman Benny Siemens, think about? No music in his ear during that time. He heard the sounds of God’s creation….birds, dogs, and people. His gift was story-telling, and I am sure he spent much time thinking ,,,, and laughing. His sense of humor was constant.

Did he know the truth I just learned, that often Jesus asked, “What do you think?” We are expected to think. Jesus, a Master Teacher, knows that the process of learning includes thinking and the expression of what we have learned from His Word. Learning is an active process.

Our thoughts center around what others think of us. What is their spoken or unspoken expectation of us? And in this same mirror is reflected how we think about us. The mirror of evaluation is always before us, whether we consciously know it or not. When we evaluate ourselves in terms of materialistic achievement, there is no end to dissatisfaction with ourselves. When we evaluate ourselves in terms of achievement in career or educational prowess, someone always moves the marker.

For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. Romans 12:3

That mirror of evaluation can trap and bind us in circle of nothingness.

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Luke 9:25

Ben Merold once said, “The most important thing about us, is what God thinks of us.” When this sinks in and we know how God loves us, we find that we are free in Christ. And in that freedom, we choose accountability to the One who has freed us.

How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Psalm 139:17

In the last years of Grosmom Emilie Brunn Siemens, she filled me with wonder. I wondered what she thought as she rocked back and forth in the steel chair on the front porch of the brown house on South 14^th Street in Clinton. Did she think about the long journey from Leningrad Russia to America to find her beloved Jacob? Did she think about her four boys and daughter? About her many grandchildren? She never complained about her ill health, the lack of’ ‘doing’ as she folded her still hands in her lap? Then she would burst out in song, and I knew what she was thinking…and today it gives me peace.

Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel feet have trod, With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God?

Refrain: Yes, we’ll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river; Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God.

On the margin of the river, Washing up its silver spray, We will talk and worship ever, All the happy golden day.

Ere we reach the shining river, Lay we every burden down; Grace our spirits will deliver, And provide a robe and crown.

At the smiling of the river, Mirror of the Savior’s face, Saints, whom death will never sever, Lift their songs of saving grace.

Soon we’ll reach the silver river, Soon our pilgrimage will cease; Soon our happy hearts will quiver With the melody of peace.

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Filtering Life

2011-09-20T16:47:00.003-05:00

In today’s world one of the first words I learned is filter. It seems everything must be filtered. From the mechanical, the electronic, to the food we ingest, everything must be filtered.

There are masks to filter the air we breathe….while painting, working in factories, or where the air is contaminated. On the car there must be gas and oil filters for it to run at its maximum rate. There are filters that must be changed every three months to take the dirt out of the air that our furnace and air conditioners spew out to make us comfortable. A pile of filters are used in a lifetime to protect the coffee drinker from the ‘grounds’. There are filters to wear to protect those who are inflicted with allergies. There are masks to wear in the hospital to protect the patient from the air-borne infections that ride legion in the operating room.

Was it always so? I remember when I learned that there are particles breathed in of some unpleasant odors. Yuck, I thought. I learned that it isn’t always possible to hold your breath through the duration of that unpleasant experience. Especially with little ones in the house.

In the ‘old’ days, of the 30’s and 40’s there was a piece of cloth that fit over the gallon glass jar, that was used to strain the milk fresh from the milk can. The cloth filtered out bits of dirt and unwanted materials that drifted into the milk bucket. This cloth was used morning and night. We had a small pan in which it was boiled after being rinsed – to ready it for the next milking. When I visited my cousin on the farm, I was astonished to see a milk separator. What? How does the cream know which spigot to go to. I soon learned that it was easier to simply skim off the cream in the gallon glass jar. I still use the spoon I used as a child to skim the golden cream from the top of the jar of whole milk.

Mother used a cone-shaped perforated aluminium utensil that stood on three legs to filter applesauce from cooked apples. It was so much fun to watch the apple sauce minus the skin and seeds ooze through the holes. Another filtering experience that separated the skin and the seeds from the goodness of the apple.

As we begin life, our filter is our own needs. The basics of food, shelter and comfort. If that is given in a sterile environment, there is a void in life. But when the needs are given in an environment of caring, loving and gentleness, that life has a different filter to make decisions and see life around him. Compassion and forgiveness creates a mist of joy in the lives around the individual who sees life through a Jesus-Filter.

At times we live in a haze of pain, sadness or despair. These times color our life with hues of dark purple and a grayness that dims the joy and gladness.

That is the way life is, we filter truth from lies, good from the bad, kindness from ugly behavior, forgiveness from bitterness, love from jealousy.

When we lived on a farm near Howard, Kansas, our drinking water came from a well. The day my dear husband found a dead mouse in the well, our thirst could no longer be quenched from the water in the well, for we knew it could make us and our three little boys ills. My husband poured a bottle of Clorox in the well to purify the water, so it would be potable.

Sometimes our filter of belief must be purified and changed in order for us to live. Our eyes and our ears take in all kinds of information and in our heart and what we believe filters that information. When we build our hopes and dreams on the solid rock – Jesus Christ, He becomes our filter in life.

Is this why God created seasons – to let us know that change is inevitable? A week ago, the full moon made its appearance in the East. It cast a warm light that filtered the dark night. When clouds passed over the bright moon, The moon seemed to be playing peek-a-boo with me. The filter of different degrees of light made what I could see about me in different modes of light.

Each morning our day is filtered with sunlight, or various degrees of light. The green leaves of the trees shimmer in the breeze. Birds sing their sweet songs of joy. One early morning I peered through the window and saw my usual world through a filter of a breathtaking golden glow that reminded me of Gold Streets and Pearly Gates. It gave me a glimpse of what Heaven will be.

Through our eyes and our ears we take in the things of the world, and only when we have a worthy filter, can we protect our hearts. Proverbs 23:7 - For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.

When we live in harmony with Jesus, our world and our relationships are lived through the Jesus-Filter of love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness and self-control. Through the filter – Jesus - we know our Heavenly Father, and experience an eternity of unconditional love.

Last Sunday evening we were captured by a misty filter, the color of a brilliant sunset. The world took on a different hue that draws one to another world.

As a dear friend of mine said, “I try to live everyday remembering that I am not of this world!”

(Thank you, Mary!)

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Languages

2011-09-13T11:17:00.005-05:00

Last night I reread Dad’s words that were recorded in the 1970’s and transcribed. As I read his very own words about so many parts of his life – growing up, going to school, working in a shoe store, college where he was determined not to meet and marry a wife (but he did), gaining a position as janitor and sub for the Clinton OK post office and becoming a ’regular’.

What about his heart? What was in his heart? He grew up on the farm, hearing only the Plautt Deutch language. And here, I will let you hear his words….

Now about my first day in school. It was another situation that entailed quite a bit of excitement. At home we talked only Dutch, and to go to school where the teacher and all the kids talked English, that was quite a situation. They didn’t know what they were talking about. And you looked at them wondered if they knew what they were talking about. But of course I knew what I was thinking all the time. But I couldn’t figure out what they were thinking and saying. Then the Teacher put me up to the blackboard, and she drew an A and a B and a C, and told me to copy those, and I didn’t know what copy meant. She gave me a piece of chalk. And I stood there and held the chalk real tight in my fat little moist hands and I looked at those things she put up there. I was afraid to go to my seat. So I stood there and looked at the things she drew and didn’t know how to make them. I got so nervous, I threw my breakfast on the floor, and poor brother Dick had to clean the floor. And I could go sit down on my seat.

But I didn’t ever want to go back to that old

blackboard anymore. It made me so sick.

And then, about church. That was another language problem. At home we talked Dutch, I was supposed to learn English, and then at church, everything was in German. I remember one sermon especially. The preacher talked about wounds, blood and terrible suffering and I caught on to what that was. Then they were singing the invitation song. I wanted to become a Christian. They sang a German song in the Germna language, and I thought it meant Be Very Tender With the Rules, and it was Throw Out the Life Line and Save Your Brother. I got it all wrong. That was my first impression of church (Mennonite).

Dad became fluent in English and Dutch and was able to translate letters written in German for his postal patrons during World War II. I learned that my Dad viewed the language problem as a challenge, and his problem-solving skills to bear on any difficulty he had.

I never had any problem determining Dad’s communication, although I never learned the languages he used, except for English. He always made his expectations for me clear. My Dad, Herman Bennie Siemens,

was a gifted story teller. More than once, Mom would listen and ask Dad, “Are you embroidering the Bible stories again?” The Bible stories were so real to us because of Dad’s gift. During a family reunion, Dad always had a group of young cousins gathered around him, listening to his stories.

Many times I would hear Dad quote his favorite poem by Charles F. Adams from the book. Poems Teachers Ask For, Book 1 – Leedle Yawcob Strauss. With his slight German/Dutch accent, reciting this poem was easy for him. This poem was often requested by others just to hear him. Sometimes I thought maybe he was Leedle Yawcob Strauss!

I haf von funny leedle poy

Vot gomes shust to my knee

Der queerest schap, der createst rogue

As efer you did see.

He runs, und schumps, un schmashes dings

In all barts off der house,

But vot off dot? He vas mine son,

Mine leedle Yawcob Strauss.

He dakes der milkban for a dhrum,

Und cuts mine came in dwo

To maker der schticks to beat it mit

Mine cracious, dot was drue!

I dinks mine hed was schplit abart

He kicks oup sooch a touse;

But nefer mind, der poys vas few

Like dot young Yawcob Strauss.

He asks me questions sooch as dese:

Who baints mine nose so red?

Who vos it cuts dot schmoodth blace oudt

From der hair ubon mine hed?

Und where der plaze goes from der lamp

Vene’er der glim I douse?

How gan I all dese dings eggsblain

To dot schmall Yawcob Strauss?

I somedimes dink I scall go vild

Mis sooch a grazy poy,

Und vish vonce more I gould haf rest

Und beaceful dimes enshoy.

But ven he was asleep in ped,

So quiet as a mouse,

I prays der Lord, “Dake anydings,

But leaf do Yawcob Strauss.

There are many words and stories that Dad told and read, and yet as his steps slowed and his breath became more labored, reading the Bible was of greatest comfort for him. The picture that Mom took after one of his 11 heart attacks says it all. Jesus is the bread of life, and in His Word is everlasting life.

Psalm 37:3-6, Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.  Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

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Wordles and Words

2011-09-06T10:52:00.004-05:00

When did words become so fascinating? When did the meanings become so precious? My head spins at the thought of words spoken day after day, for centuries, vibrating around the globe. Could I pluck a sentence out of the air that Abraham Lincoln spoke? What would it be? Could there be a poll to determine the percentage of positive, encouraging words, and those that are filled with hate and evil? What if my words could be captured at some point, what kind of a person would they reveal?

There are websites of different kinds of words: Beautiful, Silly, Sad, Thoughtful, Inspirational, Challenging and Provoking. And there is another genre of words that create hurt, tears and destruction to the hearer.

As a girl, I grew up with parents who disciplined, scolded, but there was a balance of love, moments that were precious when words weren’t necessary. Now I treasure the filing cabinet filled with words my Mother wrote. I know her thoughts, I know her anxieties, frustration, and most of all, I know her heart. How she wrote, and how she dealt with life has helped me in living my life, meeting challenges.

Words became so important to her, as they poured from her mind and heart. She prayed that God use her writing for His purposes. She wrote poetry, a memoir of her family, articles, stories and scripture songs. Her writing is a plethora of words on paper that encase wisdom for me.

One of my favorite scriptures is: As you think in your heart, so are you. Proverbs 23:7. Our words reveal who we are to others. Facebook, the social media, reveals more than others may know, or want to know, about who we are.

The words Home, Mother, Comfort Food and Love create that complete feeling of Peace that is inclusive. So often, when sick, Mother made an eggnog for me…Just for me. “Never was sure about the medicinal value of a raw egg, milk and a bit of sugar) To this day, when I think of an eggnog and I see Mother’s hands giving me love with a sprinkle of nutmeg!

And there are impatient words of hate, anger and criticism that spew a torrential feeling of fear, uneasiness and distrust. These words create impenetrable walls around our heart.

‎"Spoken words leave voice-prints on the hearer's heart. The speaker's own heart determines whether the voice-print scars or encourages."

Then I ask myself, “Have I spoken truth?” “Have my words always been gentle?” “Have I used patience and considered words before speaking?” “Is my speech peppered with inappropriate language?” “Has my speech betrayed an ugly heart?” “Have I carried stories, whether true or not, that have decimated the character of someone?”

When did all these words begin? Recently the words – In the beginning – caught my eye. We all like new beginnings, turning a new leaf in our lives. This feeling comes like a clean house uncluttered with unused possessions. It comes with the heart when it is changed and determines to begin anew. This is why each new baby is greeted with such joy. A new beginning. This is why angels rejoice in Heaven when a new babe in Christ is born.

Curious, among the 93 references in the Bible, I found – “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth..” (Genesis 1:1) And a similar verse is John 1:1 – In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” At the end of the Inspired Word of God, I find these Words from The Word - He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Revelation 21:6.

As babies we must learn to speak, no matter what language, we learn to walk, no matter wich nation. And we learn to think. The Word, in the beginning, was Jesus. The sweetest name we can say even now, is Jesus.

Why is that name of Jesus so sweet to the ear? His teaching, example and His presence give us strength through his characteristics of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Kindness and Self-Control. These are called the Fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) (Against such, there is no law.)

However, as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard,  and what no human mind has conceived”—  the things God has prepared for those who love him - these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. I Corinthians 2:9-10

These words paint a picture that produce fruit in our lives that bless others and create the love that encourages others. Whenwe reflect those qualities of Jesus, we grow in Christ Jesus. In this day and age of drowning in words that question God, Jesus or Heaven, we remember with Joy that Jesus Lives and is coming again!

A Final Wordle of Hope!

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Guest Blogger - Anna Daisy Siemens

2011-08-30T10:58:00.003-05:00

Many years ago, I met this woman. The longer I live the more I learn from this lady. Perhaps I am learning more after she has been gone for thirteen years. I can see her reaction to be headlined in a blog, much less writing it. She would throw her head back and laugh. For she never heard this word or its derivative. Then Anna Daisy’s eyes would light up with the challenge before her and she would literally jump up and down.

When she moved in with my husband and me after she collapsed that early fall in 1994, she asked one thing. “Please, don’t put me on a pedestal!” She had a realistic view of who she was and what she was capable of. She did not like the word ‘No’, for “Yes” had more challenges, more adventures and more blessings. And those blessings had a spill-over effect to everyone who knew her.

Her challenges were in the realms of writing, music, art, homemaking, sewing, gardening and teaching. From the overflow of her study of God’s Word came His wisdom. Just yesterday a verse in my own study, blazoned across my heart as I remember Mom quoting it and living it – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart - and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

As I opened the notebook of memories, I found Who Is Anna Daisy” – begun 9/15, 1993, at 7 am, 40 degrees.

Who Is Anna Daisy?

You have called me Mom, Grandma, Great-Grandma, Grandma Daisy, and a few other choice names. You even named a Jersey cow after me – Daisy. (Note: Because of the soft brown eyes reminded us of Mom)

But who is Anna Daisy? I was the farmer’s daughter who loved the great outdoors, following my Dad, creating music on any instrument with reach – a saw from the tool shop, or a comb with a piece of paper. I devoured storybooks. I was a misfit in the kitchen as I was in my sister, Alma’s, shadow! She loved everything about the kitchen and I preferred the open fields. Mr. Seibel told my Dad, “Your Anna, she rides horses, plows fields, mows the alfalfa, plays the piano, but my son, she won’t marry!”

I liked all boys better than girls as friends – girls only talked of dresses, hairdos and boy friends. I preferred boys who talked of fishing, baseball, farming and general topics I enjoyed.

Music had an impact in my life. That began as a child when Papa learned new songs, tilted back against the wall in a kitchen chair “do, re, me”ing his way through new songs. He was not averse to changing a tune or harmony to his liking. Mama delighted in teaching us songs to surprise Pap. She discovered I had the best ear for harmony, so Alma sang soprano and I learned the alto part. Papa beamed when we sang for him. Singing was a part of all our family celebrations.

In thinking back, I must have learned a lot in 2 years of piano lessons. I started at 11 and soon played the organ for school singing in the 6^th grade for Miss Foote who also played. I played for 7^th and 8^th grade school singing for my favorite teacher Miss Sarah. When I was 13, Papa allowed me to go through each new sheaf of choir music that was sent several times a year from several companies. Finally when I was 16, I played for my Papa’s precious choir.

In his last months our sweet Papa (my Dad) often thanked God for his accomplishments of the day whether it was getting dressed or taking a garden walk. He was thankful for everything he could do in the limited strength left to him. I wondered about my accomplishments in life? Worldly pedigrees to me are like Paul said, “worthless”. He would rather have Christ than the honors this world bestows. Why should I list my accomplishments for my family? To show them what the Lord can do with a girl – sun-burned, tousled hair, a Kansas farmer’s daughter without a college degree. So like our sweet Papa, I thank the Lord for what He gave to me – the blessings and accomplishments. Three children who call me Mom and grew up to make their way in this world, choosing their mates and providing for their needs. Their children and grandchildren go into the same category. They are God’s gifts to me.

How many weddings and funerals did I play for? And were they accomplishments? Only God knows. I played for friends, church members and family. Music was a great part of my life. Harmonizing was beauty and words brought that beauty to life.

In 1960 after breast surgery and illness, words poured out of my brain. I couldn’t find the OFF button. As I grew stronger, Papa fixed a clipboard and as I became stronger I wrote them down. I started writing. I began submitting poems and articles, and the rejections kept coming back. It sent me to my knees to pray, “Lord, let me write something that will be used to your glory.” God answered in his own way. The elderly people felt cut off from church life, so

I began to write a one page church letter to the shut-ins. Papa copied them and mailed them. When the minister, Joe Wilson, read one he called to say, “I found an editor for our church paper. I knew it was you!”

For 13 years, I wrote the Watonga Christian Church newsletter through three ministries. A comment from one of the leaders, “When I can’t understand the sermon on Sunday, I wait to read it on Wednesday.” Was that an accomplishment? Poetry writing began to plague me, usually at night, losing hours of sleep

Do I believe in prayer? Does the wind ever blow? Do birds fly? I still think the angel picture in my room helped to shape my belief that God does send angels (sometimes people) to answer my prayers. I have had many prayers answered. I have also seen what God has accomplished in my life when others prayed for me. Sometimes those who prayed for me were not god’s perfect saints.

I have seen bad things turn into blessings. I have felt god’s moving spirit” with a coming change to prepare me for a bend in my road. I had sensed His Presence in my darkest hours of sorrow and pain. I have had a ‘tiptoed-peek’ into heaven. I have had gifts and privileges given to me that I would not have dared to ask for – yet god gave them to me. That brought a deeper meaning to Delight thyself also in the Lord and He will give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalms 37:4

My faith holds me in God’s care. I pray that I can remain faithful until it turns to ˆsight' on the ‘other side’. That should not be too long. My prayer is that Papa and I may tell God, “Here are our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren and beyond. They all love and obey You.

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Heaven-Ready

2011-08-23T10:07:00.002-05:00

In this day of instant-goodness in kitchens and the fast food availability, we have lost the wonder of preparation of food in the kitchen. One of my earliest memories was the toothpick test for the readiness of a chocolate cake. Putting the toothpick in the center of the cake determine whether the baking time is finished or not. If some of the batter stuck to the toothpick, it needed more baking.

Then Mother taught me the basics of making homemade, from-scratch pudding. My introduction was being given a spoon and told to stir and stir in a definite pattern and wait for the kettle of milk, sugar, eggs and corn starch to thicken and come to a boil. Standing in the warm kitchen and stirring around, and then across in parallel motion to the pan, was interminable at the age of 10. “How long do I have to stir?” Mom’s answer, “Until it thickens, then it will be ready.” To this day as I make vanilla wafer pudding, I can hear her voice, “Stir until it thickens, then it will be ready.”

When I thought of the title of Heaven-Ready, I thought how much preparation of the heart and mind and soul is necessary. How God stirs our life over the heat of allowed trials to help us attain the perfection in life that prepares us to be ready for Heaven.

While perusing for quotes on heaven, I saw many derisive comments downgrading the value of Heaven. This I know. Heaven is being in the Presence of God for an eternity. We live in the expectation of living in Heaven. Expectation on earth is often geared to the next eating out experience, making more money, the career, the possession of a new car or house, a family. But the greater expectation is the purposefulness of being in the presence of God for an eternity where there is no time or schedules.

Many writers have described Heaven – what it looks like, what happens there, what we will know or not know, what we will do. But that is immaterial to me. For Heaven and being there is a matter of trust in the God who created us and the world we live in. When I think of Heaven and being there with God, I will trust Him and give Him praise, saying, Glory, Glory, Glory to the Lord God most Holy. Will I stand? No, I will fall down in humility. Will I ask questions? No, I will wait for God to reveal what He wants me to know. Will I know my earthly family there? Yes, but all who are there from all nations and all ages are my brothers and sisters in Christ and that is my family.

At the end of the Love Chapter, I Corinthians 13, is this verse 12 - For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

We shall see face to face. We shall know fully. How do I prepare for that. How do I know when I am ‘toothpick done’ and Heaven-Ready?

The ‘recipe’ is in Galatians 5:22-23. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law,”

Each day I ponder these qualities and measure my life. Do I have these qualities, these characteristics? Who has them all? What sets people apart from others who do not possess them. Where do they come from? These qualities are not for sale at Walmart. In fact, these characteristics paint a picture of who Jesus is. The Fruit of the Spirit is singular, for one characteristic does not stand alone, and comes from the Holy Spirit that we receive when we accept Jesus as our Savior.

Love gives us joy and it gives us peace and from these qualities we learn patience (forbearance), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. The phrases, ‘it is my right’, ‘it is not fair’, ‘I deserve it’ are known as the antithesis of the Fruit of the Spirit.

Last Sunday I spoke to a young man who is 74 years younger than me. He looked at me, smiled and then gave me a hug. Who taught him this behavior? His godly parents, parents who ‘live Jesus’. Kindness, patience, goodness and self-control is not easy in the world of stresses that seem to multiply by the day. There has to be a reason for living this way. I often say – that those who are just being good are good for nothing when their goodness is not based in and through Jesus.

Why is there a Heaven? Because God loves us and wants us to choose a relationship with Him. John 3:16 - 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.

Why is Heaven often called Home? Because Home is where the heart is! Matthew 6:21 - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The surety of Heaven is real. The longer we live the more our thoughts turn to our Creator. Jesus sets us free from the fear of death and sets our minds on Heaven.

John 14:1-3 “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.

II Corinthians 5:6-8 - Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as w

e are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

Comments? eacombs@att.net

Rehab

2011-08-16T15:51:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I learned the beginning shoulder exercises to regain the use of my healing shoulder. This morning I walked outside and saw that the earth is continuing its ‘rehab’ from the month long 3-digit summer heat.

Clouds and light covered the eastern sky. The sight brought me joy. Then I saw the Surprise Lilies clustering and blooming. Each year their arrival surprises me, and this year my delight seems more intense.

My granddaughter Jenny wrote in a tweet as she returns from a family vacation just what I felt this morning…so travel weary in the morning until I see God's creation explode in its massive beauty. Somehow God’s creation all around us puts our lives and our hearts into perspective.

All through the long days of inactivity and my brain become a gray mush; I kept repeating that I am learning patience and endurance. I waited for the bad time to rush past. And it doesn’t. Somehow I knew there would be an end to this grayness.

Then the physical therapist gives me new exercises to do, and I feel the pull of muscles as they are drawn from inactivity and flaccidity. Ever mindful of a full-grown pain pang, I try to heed the admonition to go slowly. Rehabilitation requires forgiveness of what are, the frailties of being human. Not reliving what caused the interruption to the flow of life, but asking what is next.

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

The left hand on the pulley pulls my right arm to unaccustomed activity. S-l-o-w-l-y. The desire to rush through and be finished has to be quelled. Rome was not built in a day…. is a phrase that bubbles through my mind. I look at my lazy right arm, and say, 'Rome, get moving'.

Surely I will get through this and be able to effortlessly drive the car, play the piano, dress in other than button down shirts, wash my hair with both hands, put on my socks with both hands, open jars, fix meals without 2^nd thoughts, trim my hair with my right hand.

Then I remembered a time when ‘the me’ of life was not important – and now I engage in a spiritual rehabilitation. I will go s-l-o-w-l-y and stretch spiritual muscles that have become flaccid with disuse. The praise and prayer muscles are first in the regimen. Praising God for each step towards health, and praise for all those who have supported me through prayer and encouragement. It is like a new lease on life, but deeper. From every set back we have, emotional, physical or spiritual, there is a rehab. A time of recovery and becomes a step beyond what we expected.

Just as physical therapy doesn’t happen all at once, but gradually – with baby steps – so does spiritual therapy. During this time I have been reading an extraordinary book with truths that hit my heart – Champagne for the Soul by Mike Mason.

A book that cannot be read in one gulp, but savored, chapter-by-chapter. Maybe more than a how-to book on finding joy, it is more a book of finding the Savior Who is the Author of Joy. Just when I think I understand, the next chapter opens another doorway into that joy. But I must open that door. Part of joy is the ability to recognize it. Living in the moment of joy, not in the past or the future - but this moment that God gives us.

Is there a secret passage into joy? Is it only for a select few? Is there certain language that must be used? Our passage into that doorway requires action on our part. Using muscles that we may not be using. Being able to hear the voice of Jesus and able to open the door.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelations 3:20.

We may dine with Jesus – and He gives us enough. His enough is abundance, a cup running over. How do we gain abundance?

Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. II Peter 1:1-2

An abundance of grace and peace through Jesus Christ trumps anything the world has to offer.

Just when life threatens to drown us in a sea of discouragement and sadness, is the moment when we need perseverance in opening the door to joy and continuing our continual spiritual rehab.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, Hebrews l2:1

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Search for Freedom

2011-08-09T20:13:00.005-05:00

When I set the table for five – Dad, Mom, Jim and Gene and me – then often someone knocked on the front door. For two weeks it was the same visitor. Charlie Collins, a friend of my brothers, sauntered in asking if we were going to eat. The table was set and the food was being brought to the table. The only thing we could do was to ask Charlie to join us. He did, night after night. We later learned that his hunger drove him in search for an extra meal – and he enjoyed Super-Suppers. Until Mom talked to Charlie’s Mom and they found out what was going on.

Whether the hunger is physical, spiritual, emotional or power, we search for a way to satisfy that hunger. Often there is a search for independent freedom in the teens. Rules, laws, expectations for certain behaviors seemed to cramp my style as a teen. When Mother had a way she wanted me to wash ‘her’ dishes, I announced, “I can hardly wait until I leave so I can do things my way.” Those words came back to haunt me a scant five years later, as I washed dishes, viewed the pile of laundry including a load of cloth diapers, and a house to be cleaned. There I stood in ‘my’ kitchen washing ‘my’ dishes just as Mom had wanted me to do! It was a moment when I realized that she knew more than I thought as a teen.

Freedom. As a teacher I saw the need my classroom of 6^th graders felt to be ‘free’. They expressed the need to choose how the rules in the classroom, what they ate at lunch, and how long their recess lasted. One assignment I gave them was to write what freedom meant to them. Their writing rarely exhibited the correlation between responsibility and freedom. Making decisions based on a deeper basis was not in their repertoire. One of the stories I read to the class was about a man who so desired freedom that he stowed away in the wheel casing of a jet. As the plane landed in a free country, he fell onto the pavement of the runway in an almost frozen condition. The desire for freedom was so strong that the man dared death to achieve his dream.

We have an inherent need to be free that is soul-deep. We chaff against the constraints of society, laws, regulations and employers. Freedom is deeper than the country’s laws.

After 82 years I have seen a steady decline in our culture. I have seen a shift from a “Leave it to Beaver” world to a world where anything goes. The lines of right and wrong have been blurred by political correctness and ‘being one of the gang’ has become more important than being a follower of definite rights and wrongs. Everyone has their own interpretation of what is right and wrong. Absolutes are absolutely gone.

When I was young, I learned about the search of my ancestors for the freedom to worship. I reread a pamphlet called Search for Freedom written by Leonhard Sudermann. He chronicled the journey from Prussia to Russia at the invitation of Queen Catherine of Russia. The invitation, in 1786, included religious freedom, freedom from military service, complete control over their own church and school as well as liberal economic inducements, which was codified in 1800. In 1870 some of the special privileges ended in 1870. Then it was time to find another place to live. Nothing stays the same. No small task for the large group of Mennonite families to move on. Would it be a America where they only knew criminals and savage Indians lived? Several men made trips to survey the possibility of America. The decision was finally made that they would go.

My great grandparents, Jacob and Aganetha Suderman were among those who prepared to go to America, after they saw that the new law in 1880 would not be rescinded and curtailed their freedom to worship and live quiet lives. When I read Carolyn Zeisset’s description of the detailed preparations to move, I am filled with admiration. (A Mennonite Heritage) What propelled them forward even when it was so difficult, it must have seemed impossible. They sold their farm, then paid taxes to be free to leave Russia. A passport cost $80 for the family ( written in Russian, German, French and Italian) and ship/train passage for the family was $300.

Proverbs 3:5, 6 says it all, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths."

In our day of easy access to ‘fast food’ on a trip, they prepared food for a month’s travel for a family of eight. It consisted of toasted zweibach, raw ground pork and coffee. Some added a few more items. A month of this one menu for all the family must have been the height of monotony in our world. My Grandpa Suderman was born in November 23, 1874, and was 5 years old when he traveled with his family to this country.

The first part of the journey was in May 15, 1879, traveling by train to Antwerp, Belgium. At Antwerp the family joined 714 other Mennonites to board the steamer, Switzerland, of the Red Star Line, owned by the Quakers. They landed in Philadelphia June 24^th. Forty-two families went on to Kansas, arriving in June 28^th.

They lived with other families until they found a sod house. Jacob found a job that netted him 50 cents a day. He was able to buy 48 pounds of flour for one day’s pay, which he carried home on his shoulders to feed his family. A new baby was added. In 1882, Diptheria wreaked its havoc on the families, and one of the little Suderman baby died.

Did they feel depression or discouragement? When survival is of primary importance, there is no time for thinking of self. Jacob and Aganetha lived in Kansas and latter owned land and began farming. They raised their family to trust God. They came to this country trusting God with their very lives. They found the freedom to live in peace and worship the Lord through sacrifice of hard work.

What happened to the dream of freedom since then? Somehow the time-saving inventions have worked against us. We have too much idle time. We search for things we can see and touch, instead of the unseen treasures. Freedom has turned to unrest. Freedom can only be achieved in Jesus. For freedom of the spirit, freedom of the soul can only come through Him. We must hunger and thirst for his righteousness.

The Search for Freedom can create a sacrifice of the status quo. A hard lesson is that there is no status quo, for we live in a changing world. Status quo, rocking on in worldly security is an illusion.

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. Psalm 42:1

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts. Psalm 119:45

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. II Corinthians 3:17

Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

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The Blessings of a Broken Shoulder

2011-08-01T10:58:00.003-05:00

“Why don’t you slow down?” “Don’t you ever get tired of working so hard?” “You are retired, you know!” These comments I have heard often in the past five years. My answer to the first comment was, “God will let me know!”

Then on June 30^th, I went to church and was helping a friend with some packages. As I came back up the stairs, I missed the last one. The fall went into slow motion. I didn’t fight the descent. As I lay on the floor, I was dazed, and then realized I couldn’t move my right arm. I sat up slowly. I knew I had to go to the hospital and that my ‘busyness’ was halted. God had let me know.

As I sat in ER, waiting for my turn, I readjusted the church kitchen’s apron my friend fashioned that served as a sling. Then my mind began counting blessings…. I had just had my haircut, I was dressed in clean clothes, and I had received my new glasses that morning…. I laughed to myself – such superficial blessings, but there was many more.

I began praying that I would not need surgery and a week later the surgeon underscored the answer to the prayer. A major blessing!

Many blessings then painted my life with reasons to give thanks and praise the Lord as I realized the disadvantages of a broken shoulder! I could not drive, I had to sleep in a chair and wear a sling from 6 – 8 weeks, and I could not type or take notes. I could not play the keyboard, which I utterly enjoy.

I laughed when I realized that the plan I made for July the 4^th weekend could not be fulfilled and read this scripture. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

This fall and its ramifications had a purpose. God wanted me to learn something.

When I could concentrate more, I continued to read the book my cousin had suggested I buy, Champagne for the Soul (Rediscovering God’s Gift of Joy) by Mike Mason. 90 chapters, each 2 pages long, was perfect reading. Joy is a choice. Joy moves pain along. Joy is not halfhearted; completeness is one of its marks. “Ask and you will receive,” Jesus said, “and your joy will be complete” (John 16:24). Negative self-talk is a powerful enemy of joy. Instead of honesty or humility, we’re tearing ourselves down and God and others with us. “Rejoice in the Lord always~ Again I say rejoice!” Philippians 4:4. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. – Psalm 37:4 (The distinguishing mark of our belief is delight.)

The next blessing was a letter from my Aunt Irene. She wrote about her mother, my Grandmother, breaking her right collar bone while at church for a session of quilting. Her Dad, Jacob Loewen, a country type doctor, taped her collar bone/shoulder. During the time that she was recovering, she learned how to sew and quilt with her left hand. As I read these words, I felt hope. I felt motivation. I knew that if my Grandmother survived and learned new skills I could, too.

Then came a cup overflowing with blessings and thanksgiving when our four children living in four different states conferred, bought a plane ticket for one of our twelve grandchildren, Jenny, who came to spend 8 ½ days with us. This gift meant so much that it brought tears of joy to my eyes. Jenny, a quiet thoughtful young lady, interested in singing, took me to the therapist, the grocery store, the pharmacy, helped me with the sling, making meals, cleaning. The gift of Jenny’s presence brought a song of joy to my heart. Jenny was an oasis of peace in my world of inactivity and pain.

Another blessing, a big blessing, is the concern of our church or faith-family. The meals, the cards, the prayers, the phone calls and taking me to the doctor and the therapist provide a covering of God-goodness over this time of recuperation. One prayer partner met Jenny at the airport, and made sure she made her flight back at the end of her visit. Another prayer partner took me to the grocery store, and will take me to the doctor for 6 weeks x-ray. She has also taken us to church twice, when I was ready to go.

The question is age old. What am I to learn? Never before have I felt that I have had misfortune or a testimony. Now I have one of joy and thanksgiving.

When someone asks how I am doing, I reply, “Healing!” For I am trusting in God that this is so. Then I read one more chapter from Champagne for the Soul. Again it points me to scripture that reminds me of how great our God is. One of my favorite activities is walking in the early morning watching the sunrise, reading the message in the clouds. Listening to the songs of the birds and watching the seasons’ flow.

One young facebooker posted, I like the sunrise better that the sunset. That thought arrested me for a moment. A sunrise promises a new day. A sunset promises rest before a new day. God creates both! Both have their purpose and both contain promises.

Mike Mason says – Joy is a presence of God that banishes loneliness. And asks the question, Are you looking for joy? Look up at the stars. They are the remnants of the original creation, fresh from the furnace of God’s thoughts. They contain, encoded in ancient luminous script the great secret at the heart of the cosmos: JOY!

Job 38:4-7 - “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it?  On what were its footings set,  or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?”

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The Last Day!

2011-06-28T10:02:00.004-05:00

“Hurry, kids, clean your rooms, it is the last day before Grandpa and Grandma come, and we have so much to do.”

We children sprang into action – with the vacuum cleaner, the dust rag, cleaning from the front door to the back door, including our rooms. It was always exciting when Grandpa and Grandma Suderman came. We would have zwieback (two-story rolls); home made ice cream, and the Plautdietch talk would be thick, laced with laughter. A happy time. Each of the grandchildren received a small sack of candy, when five cents’ worth of candy filled the tiny sack. Now that I am grown, I realize that tiny sack of candy is tiny in my memory bank. The twinkles in the two pairs of blue eyes and the hugs, knowing we were loved unconditionally made their visit worth all the preparations the week before to the last day.

The last day and the last moment of their visit were always sad, to say Good-bye is the most difficult part of the visit. It was hard to keep from crying, but there was always the hope of the next visit. I didn’t know it then, but I learned patience in waiting.

There are many ‘lasts’ in our lives and each one is preceded with preparation. As I watch the incredible rose bush in preparation for blooming, I watch each day the swelling of the buds – waiting for the burst of a bloom. Then the last days before a killing frost, the roses seem to know and their buds are more prolific and the blooms more glorious.

The last day before graduating from high school, I walked through the halls of Watonga High School, memorizing the sights and the smells where I had spent many happy and challenging days.

The last day before marriage, all the preparations were made for the wedding, but what would a lifetime with my chosen love be like? So many unanswered questions filled my mind. The last days had many unanswered questions, yet, after almost 60 years of marriage – my mind could not have conceived all the blessings I have had with my dear husband and our four children, now grown with children and grandchildren of their own.

There are many last days when change is in the air – last day before retirement – last day of vacation – the last day of summer - the last day with a friend who is leaving. Each ‘last’ in our lives is preceded with preparation, training and a time of waiting with anticipation. Each ‘last’ is preceded with a first, and the exhilaration of challenge and achievement – from the first word and the first step, to every part of our lives whether learning or working or loving or faith.

Our great grandson, Samuel, asked his Mother about a word that he heard her singing, Holy. “What does that mean, Mom?” Sarah, our granddaughter, began explaining.

She was interrupted by her four-year-old son’s voice, “Mom, you know Jesus? He died on the cross, doesn't that just break your heart?"

Yes, this life is our preparation for the last days. Live today as if it were the only day we have. The last day we have. Tomorrow? What is tomorrow, really? The sun comes up and the day begins, how will it be different than the day before?

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4

Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:18

So we fix our eyes not onwhat is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:18

The story of an elderly missionary couple, returning to their home touched my heart. As they prepared to go into the house, the wife said, “You go on into the house, I will be there soon.” The husband walked in the house and soon he heard the door open as his wife prepared to come inside. As she stepped in she took her last step in this life and her first step into heaven to be with her Lord.

The last day leads to the first day of forever for those, whose Lord is Jesus Christ.

Comments? eacombs@att.net

ALL-IN!

2011-06-21T10:06:00.003-05:00

From the time I was old enough to observe, I saw my Dad throw himself into whatever needed to be done. His stride would quicken and his arms, elbows bent, churned the air. He wanted company and enlisted his children to plow the garden, repair the chicken house, take care of Daisy, the cow, and feed the chickens, clean the chicken house or caponize chickens.

When Dad took someone home, they would try to make it easier, and have Dad let them out near their destination. He always said, “When I take you home, you are ‘took’ home!” As a teenager, I awakened to the cry up the stairs, “Up and At-Em!” No matter what Dad did, he was All-In! He taught us to go the extra mile. He never complained when he delivered packages for the post office late into Christmas Eve.

Then I married my dear husband. I realized he was a laid back version of All-In, when we took our first born, Dan, to the doctor for his 6 weeks check-up. My husband insisted on carrying Dan to the doctor’s examining room. I followed with the obligatory diaper bag. I glanced up to see a picture of All-In. Wearing cowboy boots, tight jeans, and then I saw how those jeans, worn while herding cattle were equipped. From the left back pocket, hung a cloth diaper (it was 1952, after all). From the right back pocket was a half full bottle of formula – at ready. What a picture of a proud father. With the three children who quickly followed – My dear husband was always All-In. (The graphic on this page, a father’s day card from one of our All-In children was sent this last week)

Now, our children are grown, and when I receive an email from one of our children, I print it out and give it to their Dad. He reads it slowly, commenting along the way. He is an All-In Father and Grandfather and Great Grandfather. He is concerned about every part of their lives.

When I tried to understand the genesis of the term, All-In, I was astonished to see that it comes from a game of pool. But how is it used today? In the passage of 82 years, I have seen many phrases come and go. Now with texting and messaging, a curious mix of letters has meaning to the discerning texter/messager. I was stumped when my grandson said – brb. Or a friend last night saying – ttyl. After asking, I finally learned some of the phrases. The plethora of abbreviations show the short cuts of those try to keep pace with today’s ever-increasing speed.

I submit that God –in the beginning created the heavens and the earth. Creation shows that God is All-In in so many ways.

Our thoughts are not God’s thoughts. Whenever I think about God, I love to read Job 38…in part….4-7 - “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars sang together   and all the angels shouted for joy!

Recently our great-grandson, when asked what he learned in Sunday school answered, “God knows how to count the stars!" He has an understanding that God is All-In and He is our Lord.

God Can

God can count each star - He knows them by name

He can calm the storm - Wild animals, He can tame.

God can move mountains - He makes giant trees

He touches each rose with dew - He created everything we see.

God can do anything - And He's my King

God loves you and me - For He is All-In, you see.

All-In means enthusiasm, with all your heart and with your entire mind. One quote said, “Unless your heart, your soul, and your whole being are behind every decision you make, the words from your mouth will be empty, and each action will be meaningless. Truth and confidence are the roots of happiness.”

All-In is ‘marked by unconditional commitment, unstinting devotion, or unreserved enthusiasm: wholehearted approval’

When I think about wholeheartedness I think of the Apostle Paul, a man who put his heart into persecuting Christians, and then whole-heartedly lifted up Christ.

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23.

One of the favorite verses of Mom’s was this one from Proverbs 3:5 – “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

An All-In verse that explains how we can be ALL-IN – is from Luke 10: 27 - He (Jesus) answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

This All-In living is our response to our Lord who is ALL-IN

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Choosing Wisely

2011-06-14T12:49:00.003-05:00

What goes into a decision-making? As a young mother, I was determined to give my children choices – at the breakfast table – choosing their cereal. My children would learn decision-making. It could have been expanded to other areas of their lives, but it wasn’t. Yet they had many decisions to make later of careers, choice of mates, choices of what are important in life.

When they were teenagers, during the summer we took turns making lunch. You should have heard the groans when our oldest pulled the hot Dill Pickle Jiffy Pizza from the oven! Tastes change through the

years, but our oldest still loves the unusual foods. His decision.

My Dad made a decision to trade postal jobs and houses with a man in another town. Before making the decision final, he and Mom prayed about the decision. Was this the right thing to do? How would it impact their teen-age children? Was there a church family to call their own in the new location? Would they like the house?

Moving day came after much preparation. The learning curve was steep for the mail carrier’s job, learning the route and all the patrons. We teen-agers were six weeks into the new school year, and then thrown into a smaller school system, with an all-new student body and teachers.

Finances became tight since the job required a car that worked in order to drive the 100 miles a day to deliver mail. I remember the 1945 Red Ford that soon racked up many miles. The car aged rapidly, with the country driving on dusty roads in the summer, snow in the winter. This required more decision-making as to finances, providing car repairs and new tires.

After one month, the decision was made to forego the house that was traded for, and move to the house next door. That moving day didn’t include a truck, but carrying our belongings across a field separating the two houses. The house fitted us.

Financially, it was tight for over a year, but it became home to the five of us, plus a cow, chickens and Jim’s hog for 4-H. The garden became an area of plenty – with vegetables, fruit and flowers. Even one year, Dad and Mom planted pecan trees.

When I think of the decisions they made and the sacrifices they made, I wonder how they were able to make wise choices. What makes a decision a wise choice? On what basis are decisions made? Who decides that a decision is wise? Is the wisdom of the decision in the eye of the beholder? On what basis or foundation can we be sure that our decisions meet the criteria of wisdom? Is it just a matter of listing the self-perceived pros and cons of the decision, or is there more?

Every family has many decisions to make and need the wisdom to do so. Discernment is a primary requisite and implies the ability to control actions, study possible consequences and generally practice self-control. Oh, that is one of the fruit of the spirit! (Galatians 5:22-23)

When floundering in the abyss of indecision, I like to read this verse: Colossians 2:2-3 - My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

In Christ are hidden the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. As I read these verses I long to know more of his wisdom for that wisdom only comes through Him.

James 1:5 - If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Proverbs 10:13 - Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning, - but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.

Proverbs 2:6 - For the LORD gives wisdom; - from his mouth come knowledge and understanding

Proverbs 3:13 - Blessed are those who find wisdom, - those who gain understanding,

Proverbs 11:2 - When pride comes, then comes disgrace, - but with humility comes wisdom.

James 3:13 – He who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

In every part of our lives, whether emotional, spiritual, mental or physical, our lives depend on the choices we make. Discerning choices that send us on our way in this life. Making each choice, one that we can ‘live’ with is the key. The verses above, and there are more, clearly tell us the genesis of that wisdom…from the One who created us and created our world and created the plan to save us to live with God for an eternity.

Where can we find God and pray for wisdom? He is closer than we know.

From one of my favorite chapters, Psalm 139, come these verses (Message)

7-12 Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit?
to be out of your sight?
If I climb to the sky, you're there!
If I go underground, you're there!
If I flew on morning's wings
to the far western horizon,
You'd find me in a minute—
you're already there waiting!
Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark!
At night I'm immersed in the light!"
It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you;
night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.

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