Tuesday, February 26, 2013

In His Image


 



Leonardo da Vinci ‘s painting “Mona Lisa” has always been a mystery to me, just because I find the image of this woman rather homely. I guess you would have to be an art lover to appreciate her “beauty”. I do, however, feel her pain, in that I am not the least bit photogenic myself! My eyes are closed, my mouth gaping or I am a blur because I moved. But in 1963 Mona came to Washington and thousands people gazed at the beloved image.

For many months now I have been looking up our family tree and have come across several pictures and portraits of my ancestors. To tell you the truth, they are posed much like ole Mona. They normally had no smile and look somewhat like they were in pain. But I’m sure the long hours of sitting for a portrait could take ones smile away rather quickly. I even learned that many times an artist would paint everything but the face in his shop so that the subject of his painting wouldn’t have to sit so long. That accounts for the faces without necks that I saw so frequently.

One of the pictures I found was quite precious to me. It was the picture of my grandmother Mary Helen Camp. As I have written about her before, if there was one thing I knew, it was that she loved me. I don’t remember when she died at 65 (my age) that anyone commented that she was too young to pass away but believe me I think she was way young, now that I am her age. Did she feel like me, and have lots of things she still wanted to do? I’m sure she did. I think of her often and especially now that I have arrived at this season of life. As I went through the few pictures I have of Grandma, I realized that the pictures look even more familiar to me now because I can see myself in them. These familiar images of her and her constant love, will be with me forever.

In my reading about
da Vinci ‘s painting, I found that it had to be restored because of vandals trying to destroy it with spray paint. In the same way we, being created in God’s image, was flawed by sin and had to be restored.  The only thing that could restore us to what God intended, was the blood of His one and only son, Jesus Christ!  Praise God!


So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Genesis 1:27

I wonder what ole Mona’s mug would look like with today’s technology? She might even have a smile!


 

 

Sunday, February 17, 2013

God's Word Is Alive And Active In Us!



The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy,
making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes…..By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. Psalm 19:7-8, 11

One of the things that I wanted to do when I retired was get in the habit of studying the bible more. I had always read the bible but not with as much consistency as I wanted. Always before I was enthusiastically on for awhile and then regrettably off for awhile with no real commitment. More determined than ever, I made a real effort to do better once I retired. Once spring came that year, I found it so wonderful to study outside in the quiet of the early morning. I always gravitated to one old chair out there, that I called my “prayer chair”. It was there with a fresh cup of coffee, my bible and a few four legged friends I fell in love with scripture. “How had it taken so long”, I wondered as my heart was so blessed by the truth I found in wispy pages of my bible. Not only truth but love. These “God breathed” words make up a love letter to us from the Lord.

It was no longer a habit but an addicted to the wealth of information and truth found between the covers of that old bible of mine. Truth, Truth, Truth! The kind of truth that you don’t find on the 6:00 o'clock news. There I found hope, faith and love.

I read the other day that when FBI agents are taught to recognize counterfeit money, they don’t spend a lot of time learning about all the possible variation that could be manifested in a counterfeit bill, as one might think: they simply studied the REAL thing.

One of the Christian writers that I love, is Beth Moore. Her “studies” inspire me to dig deep into the bible to find answers to the questions of life. In her study “Believing God” she says we are to believe five things.

1. God is who He says He is.

2. God can do what He says He can do.

3. I am who God says I am.

4. I can do all things through Christ.

5. GOD’S WORD IS ALIVE AND ACTIVE IN ME.

I love that list, but I can only find those things by studying His WORD and making it come alive in me.

My sweet teenage granddaughter went to the alter last Sunday and as I joined her there to pray, I looked into that tear streaked face, and listened to her sincere pleading for a closer walk with God. I wanted so much to plant the love I found for scripture into her young soul but I could only admonish her to read her bible. I knew that she could only grow that love for herself by reading His words and taking them into her heart.

 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Who Sets Your Tune?


Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
James 5:13
 

Who sets the “tune” for your day? No, that wasn’t “tone”, it was “tune”! In my house my husband Larry sets the tune. First thing in the morning I can count on him humming or singing something as he putts around the house. His singing is okay, but lets just say, we won’t be getting a bus and going on the road with his singing but to me it is heavenly. Whatever he sings I usually catch on and sing along.  Sometimes that is good, when he sings “Amazing Grace” or “There is Power in the Blood” but like yesterday it was “Roll Out the Barrel”! What do you do with that? I’ll tell you what I did, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. He set the tune for the day and try as I might I couldn’t get it out of my mind.
Sunday we visited with a dear friend who is not expected to live very long, but she ended up setting a tune in my heart. We were taken back by her frailness as she lie in the hospital bed but the spark in her eyes was still there. For years Violet and her husband Jack attended the same cell group as Larry and I. They were such a great addition to our little group, many times blessing our hearts as they shared their funny stories as well as their spiritual journey with us. At prayer time Violet never failed to ask for prayer for her son who didn’t know the Lord. We were all so accustomed to praying for him that even if Violet was not there, which wasn’t often, we prayed for him anyway.
Many times we enjoyed Violet as she led us in singing an old hymn that had been especially precious to her that week. Her voice would ring out, as she remembered every word. Our hearts were warmed by this one who, even in poor health, would raise her voice in praise to the Lord. How humbled I felt, as I whined about something insignificant, while this one who had every reason to whine, sang and praised God.
Knowing that even as she lay in the hospital, Violet had lost her sister the day before, I asked if she had gotten to see her sister before she passed. The family told us that she had been wheeled down to see her sister and had even sang her favorite hymn to her before she died.
I bent over Violet as she lay there in the bed and asked if she felt like singing that song to us. I was surprised to see her eyes brighten as she began to sing “In the Garden”! As I joined her in singing I felt the Lord in the room with us there. My mind went back to all of those times that Violet had set the “tune” for our little group and how she set the tune for me that day.  I was reminded that even in hard times, we can sing His praises.
…And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own.
 
As Beth Moore writes:  If we're willing, God is our song when we are happy, our escape when we are tempted, our hope when we're despairing, our joy in tribulation, our strength in weakness, and our immortality in dying. 

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Just An Old Girl, Blessed!

Evie, the latest baby that God has sent for me to love!



I remember one hot July sitting on our front porch, trying to keep cool with that occasion breeze that always graced that old porch. I must have been all of thirteen years old but I was thinking about my future, if you can imagine.

I prayed to God in a way that only a thirteen year could pray. I prayed I would find my Prince Charming, get married and have children. I tried to imagine falling in love with some “boy”, and I was sure he would be tall and handsome, like a movie star. I mentally planned my beautiful wedding with Hollywood flair. Just barely out of the, playing with dolls stage, I dreamed of having a cuddly new baby to love. In my thirteen year old brain it would be all so wonderful but at the same time I wondered if it would ever happen. Boys, at that time, were still a mystery and I was yet to go “steady” as some of my friends had. How could it ever be that I would ever have the things I dreamed about, I wondered that hot July day.

Today as I reflect on that day and even laughed a little, I praise God that those dreams did come true, those prayers were answered. I found my “Prince Charming”, I had many babies and grandbabies to love and the Lord has blessed me with His presence in my life. What more could a “girl” ask for?

For the last few months I have tried to forget how old I am this year but they keep sending me those dumb Medicare cards and that pesky AARP has jammed the postal system sending me propaganda. All in an effort to let me know that this year I turn sixty five! A far cry from that little girl of thirteen dreaming on her front porch.

Yet, in some ways, there is that thirteen year old inside me, who stands in amazement at the way God has blessed my life with his mercy and grace. How God even then had a plan for my life as the bible tells in Jeremiah.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Even if you sit in the “ashes of a burned out life”, he still has a plan. Though you may be, as I am, decades away from that thirteen year old, He can still bless you if you ask Him into your life. For He knows the plans He has for you….!

I wonder what plans He has for this old “girl”? He has never failed me yet!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Happy Camper

 
 
.....for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 
Philippians 4:11


I have been hunting for a good puzzle. One that is pretty but yet somewhat easy for these old eyes to see. Our long winter nights has caused me to start my search for something to do to pass the time. I want a good one that fits together nicely and most definitely, I want one with all the pieces. Nothing worse than getting done only to find you are missing a vital piece.

If I were to put my life together as a picture puzzle, it surely wouldn’t be my idea of the perfect puzzle. I can see one thing in my mind’s eye but in reality my puzzle would be flawed as I am.

I might see myself as a dignified, pleasantly plump, gray haired, older lady but reality might play havoc on that idea. Pleasantly plump might be a slight understatement and forget the dignified part all together.

In the background might be a church, my family and the perfect retirement It might picture me going into the church to worship with a radiance on my face. When in reality, sometimes I am less than “radiant” when I walk through the church doors. My, “got up on the wrong side of the bed”, piece of the puzzle just does not fit no matter how I try to push it into my perfect puzzle scene.

In my beautiful puzzle, my family looks adoring at their always in control mother, not controlling… but in control. My puzzle never shows the mother who sometimes fails. The one who puts her two cents in where its not wanted, the one who is stuck in an era “the good ole days”, or the one who is impatient with anyone who disagrees with the "good ole days". Wow, that piece, is like me, has little knobs in all the wrong places.

Retirement! There I am riding in my new RV on the way to see the world! Why did “kum ba yah” just pop into my head? Probably those campfires I sit around while camping all over the US! See me there on one of my cruises! How about all those projects I have finished? My, my where is my hammer to pound that puzzle piece into place.

No, my puzzle doesn’t reflect real life or at least real life all the time. Regardless of the above statements, I find great joy in my life as long as I depend on the creator of my life. I enjoy my church and without fail I look forward to worshiping my Savior. My husband and family bring me so much joy, even if I don’t deserve it sometimes. And retirement, I love it! I have no RV to travel the country, I can still hope, but for now, my morning coffee tastes so wonderful, as I can take time to enjoy it thoroughly! Cruises? Even though I would love it, I have yet to go on one, but I have time to “cruise” through my bible and take as much time as I want studying. Those many project I thought I would do will probably not get done. But life is good! God is good! And even if all the “pieces” don’t fit into my perfect puzzle, I am a happy camper (no pun intended)!

And that final “piece” of my puzzle? It’s not missing, I left that one with the one who knows me best and loves me most! Thank you, Jesus! Jesus knows me, this I love!