holidays do make for reunions betimes

there were 8 of us including my cousin's husband, not counting animals. dave was real important, 'twas him kept the fire going and the coffee a going too (can't decide which was more important). it was the 3rd girls retreat at the farm. cuzzin cindi and dave have a farm outside hot springs in pearcy, 50 acres or thereabouts, bought from our uncle horace years back when cin and dave lived in california (they're forward thinking folks).  this '08 retreat was a suggestion my brother preston in delaware made to cuzzin cindi on facebook since he and his fam would be in arkansas for the holidays; one nevers knows what'll happen when you say it on facebook. as the winnie the pooh song goes: beware, beware, be very, very ware. (thx for the suggestion pres!)

it's quite a feat when you get that many folks together from so many places. z and norma (my mama) from little rock, sis-in-law vered from delaware, my sis heidi from atlanta, sis-in-law donna from monticello, andrea (cin's sis) from dallas. now only God could do such a thing (with help from pres' suggestion on facebook). none of us could remember who was at the first and second girls retreat (need a guest book to sign, nominate an historian, something). we know who came but not who came which time. it was an hilarious conversation trying to figger that out. 

thank the Lord and thanks to cin and dave for shopping and cooking and lettin' us come (cindi is a gourmet chef all the way  and she used fresh eggz from her hens in the quiche and breakfast casserole).  most of our time was spent eatin' and talkin' and that's what we love about our time at the farm besides being with each other, of course. with chickens hither and thither and lots of growing things - herbs galore, flowering cactus, even a pomegranate tree, fig trees and you wouldn't believe what all else. this is just some of what cin and dave do in their spare time; full time, they have a fabu used furniture store in hot springs called:

Home Again Used Furniture Etc Inc. 

check it out next time you're tinkering around hot springs. it's right near mcclard's bbq!!

morning bloggers.  yesterday i found myself quoting the shorter version of the serenity prayer about something as simple as my not being able to control my son's care of his doggie (they're both home for the christmas visit). i'd never heard the longer, original version of the prayer until the last few years and found it curious that it is quite a biblical prayer. i thought i'd share it today tho it has nothing to do with christmas eve per se! 

niebuhr was a methodist minister from missouri. i did some research on him just about a year ago for a presentation i did at alanon. alanon is a wonderful, free support group for family members of alcoholics, based on the 12 aa steps originally designed for alcoholics. i've been going now for three years this month. (i was also involved in celebrate recovery for almost a year and loved it as well. it is a great program that has added scripture to each of the 12 steps. can't beat that!)

unfortunately, alcoholism runs in my family. it is a(n) horrible disease. yes, i do believe it is a disease, not just a moral, weakness problem. anyway, before i go to preaching, here 'tis.

SERENITY PRAYER

God, grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardship as a pathway to peace;

taking, as Jesus did,

this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it;

trusting that You will make all things right

if I surrender to Your will;

so that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr

God will take care of you and me: part two

here's the rest of the scriptures i'd gathered on His provision for us, as well as a hymn. oh how precious is His Word when we take the time to peruse it.

JEREMIAH 32:27:  I am the Lord, the God of all mankind.  Is anything too hard for me? 

JEREMIAH 33:2,3:  This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it – the Lord is His name.  Call unto me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.

ROMANS 8:28:  And we know that all things work together for good for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

I TIMOTHY 6:6-8:  But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.  For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.

HEBREWS 13:5:  Because God has said, never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

Be Not Dismayed Whate’er Betide  (1904)

Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you;  Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you.

Through days of toil when heart doth fail, God will take care of you; When dangers fierce your path assail, God will take care of you.

All you may need He will provide, God will take care of you; Nothing you ask will be denied, God will take care of you.

No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean,weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you.

Chorus:  God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you.

God will take care of you and me: part one

here it is christmas week and the time for giving, stuffing stockings, serving bountiful meals, thinking of others!  and we have two toilets that won't flush consistently (time to call the plumber already in our new-to-us home), a $500 deductible from the car wreck i had in the ice, and i'm unemployed and in need of a job. i'm ready to watch "it's a wonderful life" to get all things financial in perspective. yesterday's sermon at church helped MUCH with tim's exhortation to praise GOD no matter what our temporal circumstances are because God isn't dead! i was wandering thru my handouts this am and found this one on God's provision with some of my favorite scriptures and a hymn and His rich Word again righted me that He hasn't forgotten about the new mortgage that's due, He hasn't forgotten any of our needs, nor my readiness to work, nor the time of year it is. He hasn't changed tho our circumstances have. and our circumstances compared to the rest of the world's? there is no comparison. i truly have no needs. only fearful, untrustful panic. praise Him that He is the same yesterday, today and forever. and His love for me - and you -  does not change, nor His faithful provision for me - and you either. amen.

GOD’S PROVISION FOR US

PSALM 37:25: I have been young and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendents begging bread!

PROVERBS 30:8-9:  Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.

ISAIAH 41:10:  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

ISAIAH 42:3-4:  A bruised reed He will not break.  And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.  He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law. 

ISAIAH 43:1-2:  But now, this is what the Lord says – He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel:  Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you talk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

ISAIAH 45:3:  And I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places, in order that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by your name.

ISAIAH 46:4:  Even to your old age and gray hairs I am He, I am He who will sustain you.  I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. 

ISAIAH 49:15.16:  Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?  Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.

ISAIAH 65:24:  Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear.

my friend's birthday is today

we met at church one day in 1988 when she was visiting unity pres in charlotte, NC where my husband was the solo pastor.  i never thot i'd see her again but there she was at a crisis pregnancy center training one nite, downtown charlotte. we gravitated towards one another during a break saying "don't i know you?" and have been fast friends ever since. kindred spirits, bosom friends as anne shirley says in "anne of green gables" (1985, i would've thot older).

i wish i could steal her away from work and buy her lunch today. shower her with my love and appreciation for the gift she is to me and all the things we have in common. two kids each, same age just opposite sex for older and younger. a love of the Word. a love of movies. joy in birdies and cats.  a love of mani/pedi's. dependency upon prayer to name only a few. listen to this:  she once prayed for God to send me a bird during a difficult time. the most fantastically bright yellow bird showed up on a high wire during the funeral procession of my husband's sister in memphis. now that's answered prayer wouldn't you say? what a God of details we have and how sweet is He to answer our prayers like that?

i cannot compare one friend to another, that's not my point. they're all too precious to me. i am very blessed by all the many friends God has given me, some since 7th grade!

but on their special birthdays when i enjoy celebrating how they were born into this world just to be my friends (it's all about me) and celebrating the days they were born again in Christ, i just long to be with them a little more than usual.  thank you GOD for my charlotte, NC friend. bless her today, real good, i pray, amen.

walking with God

http://walkingwithgod.net/audio-excerpts.htm

this is the link to john eldredge who's audiotaped reading from his recent book "walking with God." you may know more about it than i do. he's written "the sacred romance," "wild at heart," for men and his wife stacey wrote the companion for women.  sound familiar?

 

this book is taken from his journals. i like it so far, i'm about half way through. just thot i'd share it with you today on my blog. i've read several of his books and heard him speak live once so i figgered it'd be great. my friend harriet told me about it. hat tip to her!

life's analogies/parables

the streets were getting bad. there was black ice forming from a misty rain, some sleet. the temp was no higher than 25 degrees. husband called. are you okay? yes, i'm fine. i'll be careful. oh, he's such a worry-wart. my own personal jewish mama, he is. almost home. approaching the last traffic light to turn right onto my street. the light must've been red because the lexus was stopped (he told me later). all i know is i tried to slow down and i couldn't. my brakes didn't work. i thought: this is the first time my brakes have not worked. i knew i was going to hit that car. i tried to veer to the left of him so i'd at least hit the side not his rear as i sailed past him and the light, pumping my brakes to no avail until 30 or 40 feet past the light my rav came to a stop, the brakes finally doing their job. car off, flashers on, i went to check on the person i'd hit. he was digging out of his air bag that had deployed so i must've hit him hard, he was after all sitting still at the light. he said "i'm fine. no, it wasn't your brakes. you hit ice. it's very icy here. are you okay? we're both fine. it was the ice, it was an accident. you didn't mean to do it. let's get out of the street. i've already called 911." he was very kind throughout the whole incident. thank you, Lord.

God speaks to us, teaches us in stories, in parables, in analogies. what's the story here? what's He saying here? speculating, as it's only the morning after the wreck with not much time to ponder, my initial thought is: appeciate my husband's cautious, loving concern, no more poo-pooing of that. he knows things i don't know. i'm not such a smarty pants. 

looking deeper tho, my thoughts remind me of how we were sitting at the stop lite of life four years ago and were slammed by suffering in april 05, fall 05, then again in april 06, each time involving our children.  and we're not out of the proverbial woods yet with other dates i won't name here. (yes, we are ready for them to cease and are praying to that end.) i promise you, we were sitting at the light, minding our own business and life slammed into us. God providentially ordaineth suffering (the lexus driver may not realize my slamming into him was ordaineth by our God in the grand scheme of things). one day i'll have permission to share these particular slammings in blog fashion. in the meantime, please know that we have plenty of support from those who know all details and have listened, counseled and held our hands thru every bit of it. there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors and we have taken stock in that scripture! (proverbs 15:22)

Westminster Confession of Faith, 1647

III, I

God, from all eternity, did, by the most wise and holy counsel of His own will, freely, and unchangeably ordain whatsoever comes to pass;

V, I

God the Creator of all things doth uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, in the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.