“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, my God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your mighty acts to all who are to come.”
Psalms 71:18 NIV
This morning I had a guest with me as I read my devotions and prayed. My sweet granddaughter seven year old Evie woke up and joined me. Knowing 4:30 am was much too early for her to be up, I encouraged her to get a cozy blanket and curl up on the couch to get a few hours more sleep. It wasn’t long before she peaked out of the pink fuzzy blanket and asked if she could join me on the recliner as I read my bible and sipped coffee. We read a special devotion about dogs and talked about my journal. This special morning I showed her how I wrote my prayers and favorite bible verses in it. I purposely wrote about her and her family as I had many times before. I showed her how sometimes I wrote my own devotional thoughts and she asked me to read one to her. We talked about her special gift that God had given her. I told her that He had given her the gift of showing love. I recalled to her the many times, out of her heart of love, she would run to her grandpa or me and give us a big hug or squeeze our arm as if it was an overflow that just had to come out. We talked of a loving Heavenly Father who knew her so well that he knew how many hairs she had on her head. That made her smile!
I’m still waiting for her eyes to close but this morning my heart is full. Sometimes God sends his blessings in pint-sized reminders!
Thursday, February 27, 2020
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
Mother’s Love
Last night our daughter prepared us for the next five days of taking care of her busy family while she goes into the hospital for chemotherapy after a relapse of Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The treatment will be very aggressive and intense to the point she needs to be in the hospital to be monitored for harsh side effects.
I had to laugh at the calendar she got out. It was at least 36 inches long with slots for every day. There were days for volleyball practice, homeschool and our part as teachers, coaches and somewhere in there is grandpa and grandma (easy part)! She wrote, with love, the schedule for those she loves most.
But just as my daughter looks over her family and knows them well, our Heavenly Father looks over us. The Bible says He knows when we sit or stand and even knows our thoughts even when we are far away.
He knows when we are are afraid when the burdens we carry seem way too heavy. His heart is broken as Missy undergoes this treatment to rid her body of this terrible disease. He is easily touched by the hurt In her heart at being away from her children. He feels her pain as the chemo takes over His precious child!
When I, her mother, realizes how much our Father loves her I am comforted to put her in His loving hands and I know he will take care of her through it all.
“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.”
Psalms 139:1-3 NIV
I had to laugh at the calendar she got out. It was at least 36 inches long with slots for every day. There were days for volleyball practice, homeschool and our part as teachers, coaches and somewhere in there is grandpa and grandma (easy part)! She wrote, with love, the schedule for those she loves most.
But just as my daughter looks over her family and knows them well, our Heavenly Father looks over us. The Bible says He knows when we sit or stand and even knows our thoughts even when we are far away.
He knows when we are are afraid when the burdens we carry seem way too heavy. His heart is broken as Missy undergoes this treatment to rid her body of this terrible disease. He is easily touched by the hurt In her heart at being away from her children. He feels her pain as the chemo takes over His precious child!
When I, her mother, realizes how much our Father loves her I am comforted to put her in His loving hands and I know he will take care of her through it all.
“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.”
Psalms 139:1-3 NIV
Monday, February 10, 2020
The Waves and Wind
I have been listening to a beautiful song, not on YouTube or a CD but in my head. The song that swirls in the often empty spaces up there is “It is Well” by Kristene DiMarco and Horacio Spafford. I love it when someone combines an old hymn with a new spin. My heart is touched by “It Is Well With My Soul” by Spafford but the new portion is beautiful as well and has stuck in my head for the last several days. The line that I keep going over is “So let go my soul and trust in Him, the wind and waves still know His name.”
Did you ever know anyone who made a name for themselves? Back when my twin brothers, Mike and Pat were in middle school, similar to now, there were bullies. Either you gave in to the bullying or you fought back. My brothers fought back and therefore even after they had left that school our little brother benefited from their reputation. People still knew their name and would-be bullies left my him alone because of his name.
I sometimes think of the suffering and heartaches of life as bullies. They come at us like a storm. They beat against our hearts and threatens our peace.
In Mark 4:37-39 a great storm is described that threatened to take the lives of the disciples. They finally went to Jesus and He rebuked the wind and said to the waves “Be still.”
I think of this story as I sing the words over and over in my head. “The wind and waves still know His name”!
He calms the storms in our life! Because of His name we can have a calm assurance even when the wind and waves threaten if we just call out His name.
“The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!””
Mark 4:41 NLT
Saturday, February 1, 2020
A Lesson From The Egg Carton
It seems I have been on a diet all my adult life. I only wish I could be the weight I was when I started dieting or at least what my driver's license says I am! In one of my Weight Watcher meetings years ago, the leader was trying to emphasize the importance of not giving up when we mess up. Many, including myself, might say something like, "I ate this cookie so I will just eat two more cookies and why even try for the rest of the day!" He explained that would be like finding a cracked egg in the carton and breaking all the rest of the eggs.
I thought of this after being awakened from a sound sleep the other night. Eggs? Yes, Eggs!
A few weeks ago we received the news that our daughter, Melissa, after receiving chemo for six months, was found to no longer be in remission but indeed she had cancer again even after a great outpouring of prayers that the biopsy would be cancer-free. All of us were devastated at the news because we knew that the treatment she would have to undergo. We had prayed she would be spared this aggressive and life-threatening procedure.
We were disappointed, to say the least, but for me, I just felt alone for the first time since becoming a Christian. If perchance our will was not God's will, what could I do now?
At that point, I was ready to break the other eleven eggs because of the one broken one in the carton. Was I to throw away the trust I had always had for my Lord? Had I forgotten sometimes God's answer is "Wait"! Surely I would not throw away the hope we have in Him and only Him for our salvation. Did I forget the sacrifice the Father made by sending His son to die for me? Had I forgotten that even the breath I breathe was given by Him? Could I forget the lives lived for God including our Missy's life? She is the Warrior who sang valiantly, "Nothing Can Take My Hallelujah"? May I be reminded that Jenna our granddaughter had excepted Jesus and raised her little hand to praise her God in her newfound faith. Do I carelessly throw away my children and grandchildren's Christian heritage over one disappointment? "May all who come behind me find me faithful"! Do I fling to the floor past miracles because perhaps I hear "Wait" from my Savior instead of what I had planned on?
I decided my answer would be NO! I found a scripture that I am claiming as my own.
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36
Join me as we pray for Missy in the months to come!
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. Ephesians 3:20
I thought of this after being awakened from a sound sleep the other night. Eggs? Yes, Eggs!
A few weeks ago we received the news that our daughter, Melissa, after receiving chemo for six months, was found to no longer be in remission but indeed she had cancer again even after a great outpouring of prayers that the biopsy would be cancer-free. All of us were devastated at the news because we knew that the treatment she would have to undergo. We had prayed she would be spared this aggressive and life-threatening procedure.
We were disappointed, to say the least, but for me, I just felt alone for the first time since becoming a Christian. If perchance our will was not God's will, what could I do now?
At that point, I was ready to break the other eleven eggs because of the one broken one in the carton. Was I to throw away the trust I had always had for my Lord? Had I forgotten sometimes God's answer is "Wait"! Surely I would not throw away the hope we have in Him and only Him for our salvation. Did I forget the sacrifice the Father made by sending His son to die for me? Had I forgotten that even the breath I breathe was given by Him? Could I forget the lives lived for God including our Missy's life? She is the Warrior who sang valiantly, "Nothing Can Take My Hallelujah"? May I be reminded that Jenna our granddaughter had excepted Jesus and raised her little hand to praise her God in her newfound faith. Do I carelessly throw away my children and grandchildren's Christian heritage over one disappointment? "May all who come behind me find me faithful"! Do I fling to the floor past miracles because perhaps I hear "Wait" from my Savior instead of what I had planned on?
I decided my answer would be NO! I found a scripture that I am claiming as my own.
So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36
Join me as we pray for Missy in the months to come!
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. Ephesians 3:20
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