His Face

We have a new granddaughter, her name is Harper Kensleigh and she is beautiful. She lives in New York so I have yet to hold her but I have seen her face a short time after she was born thanks to a wonderful feature on my iPhone, called Facetime. We were actually able to see her Daddy holding her, as tears came to his eyes he introduced us to this little miracle of God. All we could see was her little face peeking out of her cocoon of blankets. Oh, how I longed to kiss that tiny face, and will in a few days.
Face! Have you ever thought about how many ways we use the word face? How will we face tomorrow, she put a happy face on the situation or he had a long face. The bible is full of references to "face". The face of God or the presence of God is used, multiple times, like Numbers 6:25-26.
The LORD make His face shine on you. And be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.
And Psalm 31:16 says;
Make Your face to shine upon Your servant; Save me in Your lovingkindness.
Everyone knows someone who has a perpetual sour face. The kind of face that looks like they just sucked on a lemon. On the other end of the spectrum, we know people who exhibit perpetual joy on their faces. I prefer the joyful face myself.

After being in the presence of God on Mount Sinai, Moses' face was radiant, the bible tells us in Exodus. It shined so bright that Aaron, his brother, and all the Israelites were afraid of him until he spoke to them. The bible says that each time Moses was with the LORD his face again would be radiant. I could do without the glowing face but I hope that my face and my life reflect the peace that comes from talking with God the Father and Jesus Christ each morning. Unfortunately, my "glow" sometimes leaves me as I face the crazy world we live in and the problems of just living. Again, like Moses, I must go to God to receive His light again.

O LORD God of hosts, restore us; Cause Your face to shine upon us, and we will be saved.
Psalm 80:19
As I kiss the face of my sweet Harper Kensleigh, my prayer is that she will seek the face of God and that the God of her parents and grandparents will "Make His face shine upon her and save her with His loving kindness.

Two Mites!

As I walked into the church sanctuary, as usual, I glanced over the crowd to see if my daughter was there. When my eyes focused on her, she was as beautiful as ever, and I was proud of her courage! You might think that to be a strange thing to be proud of but I know the effort that accompanied this small miracle. You see my daughter suffers from bipolar 1 disorder and I know how hard it is for her to do the simplest thing, like even showering. Once a spontaneous young woman, she now has to plan every event of her life even going to church. Things
that once was second nature to her takes great effort. Even as I read things from her site this morning, I know that she has set it up to help others when she herself is a very dark time.

Yesterday she cried, as she shared her frustration at not being able to do all she wants to do for God. The ups and downs of her emotions prevents her from doing all she would like and in days past was able to do.

This made me think of a story in the bible that I knew but had not given a lot of though to until now.

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins,worth only a fraction of a penny.

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything–all she had to live on." (Mark 12:41-44 NIV84)

I thought of how most of us give out of our abundance. Today I write out of the abundance of my soul. Even though I sometimes suffer from depression and I feel there is nothing I can give that could possibly make a difference, today comes easy but my daughter today would throw in her two mites as she is suffering greatly with depression.

How lovingly the Lord spoke of this widow who gave everything she had. How lovingly the Father looks upon my dear daughter as she sits in church with a smile on her face, ready to worship the only One who can help her through these dark days. How powerful is her witness to God's amazing grace!


Sent from Jeanie!

Heaven

Have you ever taken a trip planned by a travel agent? Does your soveneirs include a well worn travel brochure? Once, when we sent for information for a fishing trip to Wisconsin, we received a beautiful brochure with highlights that made you almost taste the fish you would catch. The cabins looked luxurious but rustic, with a beautiful view of the lake from the front porch. Today I thought of what the brochures would look like for our trip to heaven, what would the features be that would make me want to go there. I picture the view from the porch of my mansion! Would it look out on a lake stocked with every kind of fish? Would my dad be waiting for me there? Will the golden streets reflect the colors of the beautiful flowers growing everywhere? Will there be paw prints on the floors of my mansion? Jesus said there will be many mansions for He was going there to prepare them for us.

Romans 8:18 tells us that "what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later". Imagine with me the suffering that takes place here on this imperfect earth and then think of it as NOTHING compared to what will come. Are you there yet in your minds eye? That hopeless disease, that chronic pain, or that impossible situation will mean nothing in light of heaven. Can you imagine? I can't!

Can you even phathom no tears in heaven? The bible says in several places that there will be no tears because they will all be wiped away.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Revelation 21:4

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Revelation 7 :17

In the back of my bible, one discription of heaven was "a place of perfect happiness and eternal communion with God". As much as I love the idea of perfect happiness and a mansion prepared just for me, I am blown away by the last four words of that discription, "Eternal communion with God"!

I talked with a friend, who was only days from entering that "City" and as she dabbed her eyes, we talked about what she would see in Heaven. We discussed how there would be no tears in heaven only peace and happiness. We wondered if there would be pets in heaven and if we would know out loved ones. Since she had a great since of humor even during this trying time, I asked her to give me a signal with an uplifted hand when she could see glory. We both laughed through tears. The next time I visited her, she talked only in whispers and as I came close to hear her, she whispered in my ear that she had not seen "glory" yet, but she had heard angel's wings fluttering behind her. Within days she entered "eternal communion with God" as she met Jesus there! I know when I get to heaven, I will see Bonnie there. Her body will be whole and her voice will be strong as she tells me about the sites of heaven. But then maybe words will not be able to describe that "eternal communion with God".

　

　

Elderly? Me?

As I listened to the local news, my attention was piqued by the announcers words before he went to a commercial break, "elderly woman frightens would-be robbers".  Thinking this ninety something woman had gotten one up on these criminals, I waited patiently for the complete story.  As the anchor returned he began the story with the brave woman's age, startled, I did not hear the rest of the story.  The elderly woman of who he spoke was my age.  Elderly!  This word crept to every cell of my brain. Elderly?  Me?  I felt wounded. I felt hurt.  I felt.....elderly!  Not a good day for this girl!

Really, I am not afraid to die but I mourned the impending loss of "my" life!  Where had the years gone?  What should I do with the years I have left?  How can I hang on to these years that seem to run through my fingers like sand?  I had just realized, in my mind, that I had gone from late-ish  middle age to elderly!

Since that evening I have pondered "elderly" often and have searched the scriptures for answers.  I found that even in my "old age" God still cares for me and is not done with me yet.

My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. (Haggai 2:5 ESV)

I learned that, just as in my youth, I should depend on him.

After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?” Galatians 3:3

My heart was lifted at the familiar verse from Matthew.

And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20 ESV)

Now, excuse me while I take my nap!

PRICELESS!

One of my favorite shows on TV is Antique Roadshow. I am fascinated that the things of my childhood are now considered antiques. Of course I watch the entire program waiting for that one item that brings thousands of dollars. I once watched an episode that featured a piece of furniture that was "priceless". Oh, how I wished I had found that in my attic or bought it from a garage sale. It was one of a kind! In my reading a few days ago, I read the criteria for discovering the worth of an item.

1. Who made it?
2. How many are there like it?
3. What is someone willing to pay for it?

As I looked around the house, I found nothing that would be worth too much at all to anyone except me. There was things made in the USA, Indonesia and China but nothing that had the mark of a famous person. Not many things was one of a kind but was mass produced and nothing had a big price tag. The only antique, was me. But...the bible says I am priceless!

Let me explain. When I asked myself  "who made me" of course the answer is God, the Father, the creator of everything. How many are there like me? None! Do I hear some amens from the peanut gallery?  What was someone willing to pay? God gave his one and only Son for whoever believes in Him. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us with His life so that we may have eternal life.

One of my favorite cups says "Grandmas are antique little girls" and I'm proud to say I am, but even if you are not an antique, you are still PRICELESS!

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 NLT)












Sent from my iPad

Steadied!

My little granddaughter, Evie, is becoming a toddler. She toddles everywhere she goes. She walks and even runs but occasionally she needs to be steadied by a loving Mom and Dad. As she waddles and wobbles strong hands reach out to her to keep her from falling.

There have been seasons of my life when I have felt like my feet were in the mire of my world of depression and I struggled as I tried to follow Him. Thankfully my God does not ignore my cries or critisize me for my "problem". He is in the business of saving the weak and I readily admit my weaknesses. I have prayer for healing but then the Lord tells me, as he told the apostle Paul, "my grace is sufficient". Each time I find myself in the pit I ask the Lord to lift me up. That is why I love the beautiful words we find in Psalm 40:1-3.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
and steadied me as I walked along.
3 He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
They will put their trust in the Lord.

Praise God, just like Evie, strong hands lift me up and steady me as I walk along!
I give thanks for those loving hands and the Father that never gives up on me. I glorify Him for giving me a new song.

The Carpenter

If I had been the carpenter, Jesus from the small town of Nazareth, would I have left my comfortable surroundings to preach the gospel?  Would the smell of the sawed wood and the contentment of making something with my own hands lure me to stay in the carpenter shop?  Did Jesus treasure the sound of Mary's voice as she called him to supper?  Did he have close friends that he attended school with that made him laugh and feel secure?  I believe he felt all of these things but the pull to bring salvation to you and me was stronger than the pull to stay in the carpenter shop.

Many times the new year brings calls to change our lives.  We want to change our eating habits, exercise more and most of all, we want to tell someone about Jesus.  But instead stepping out, we fall back into our comfortable ways and lose our desire to change.  I say, “I'll change tomorrow or tell someone about Jesus Monday or help the broken next year”.  I find myself never wanting to leave the contentment of the “carpenter shop”.

This year we lost two of our loved ones and it made me think about how fragile life really is.  It made me wonder who needs to know the hope of Jesus this year?  Who is God counting on me to tell about his unfailing love?  Which hurting person in my world needs to know that Jesus left the carpenter shop to die for each one of us and heal us from our brokeness?  How can I linger in my sameness and comfort, when someone needs to know about the Carpenter?

"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?”  Mark 6:3a