SINGING FOR JOY

My 90-year-old mother has always been meticulous about order in her home, and I am thankful. She knows her time to pass from this earth will come sooner or later and she has been slowly but surely giving many of her old clothes away so that when her time comes, I won’t have so much to deal with. So many of my friends have had a LOT of clutter to deal with when their parents passed. And of course, so often adult children have to help their parents get rid of a lifetime of accumulated treasures when the move to a care facility becomes necessary. Those situations demand patience and kindness. All too often, though, we are overeager to push someone to clean up the clutter in their homes…or in their lives. We may be ready, but they are not. Those “treasures” being clung to might be knickknacks, paraphernalia from a hobby, old letters, or ancient magazines. Or they might be old ways of thinking, a cherished sin, or unforgiveness. We can see so clearly the need to “just get rid of it,” but ...

 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 Our home is in upheaval these days, but I am doing my best not to complain. We are having the (VERY) old carpet replaced with some beautiful wood laminate flooring. This means that absolutely everything from three bedrooms and the living room gets piled either outside on the patio, in the garage, or in the dining room. This has been going on for three days now so far. I can’t find my clothes, don’t know for sure where I’ll be sleeping each night, and it’s noisy all day. If you’ve ever had work done on your home, I know you’ll relate. But here’s the thing: WE ARE BLESSED! ·        So many dear brothers and sisters we know and love battle to have enough food to eat each month and live in mud huts with dirt floors. Here we are, able to afford a home upgrade in our affluent neighborhood. ·    ...

  Let everything that has breath praise the  Lord ! Psalm 150:6 Between forty and fifty of us gathered to celebrate the life of our friend.   Diane passed into the arms of her Savior a while ago, but, like so many life events in these times of the pandemic, this service had been delayed. Just as our friend had been, the venue was beautiful. We were outside on a grassy lawn with multiple trees providing abundant shade. A variety of colorful flowers had been artfully arranged in garden beds all around us, and gorgeous roses emanated their familiar perfume. Bird houses were strewn above in the plethora of leafy branches, and the cheeping and chirping of our feathered company added to the idyllic scene. To my delight, a huge pen right beside me was given over to lots of chickens and ducks, completing the pastoral feel of the surroundings. The program included several speakers including our pastor and various friends of Diane’s and concluding with her three precious daughter...

I was recently chatting with a friend, bemoaning the fact that the people who are paid to take care of the lawns on our street are notorious for ignoring the weeds. These guys are quite enthusiastic with their noisy leaf blowers each week. But either they are in such a hurry to finish their work for the day that they truly don’t spot these undesirable plants, or they do see the unwanted interlopers and pretend not to notice so that they do not have to deal with them. Regardless, they are not doing a good job!   I am so thankful that the Master Gardener, the LORD, is diligent in caring for me. He tenderly yet firmly yanks every trespasser, every threat, every intrusion in my life that does not line up for His plan for His harvest of righteousness in my life. Unlike the lawn guys who breeze through hastily once a week, the Vinedresser watches over me day and night. He is passionate about tending to his own!

  He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Isaiah 40:29 It was Day One of our recent mission trip to Mexico and I was raring to go! I’m a 60-year-old woman and somewhat overweight so I was determined to show everyone that I could still significantly contribute to our construction efforts. Our task for the  next several days was to work alongside members from the local church to dig deep holes in what is know as caliche: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliche If you’ve ever tried digging in this incredibly hard, solid clay-dirt, you know exactly what we were up against. It’s not for the faint of heart! The end goal was a new church building, but we knew that our team was just a small part of the effort since we would only be working there for four days.  Anyway, on the first day I was quite proud of myself for working hard and shoveling a LOT of dirt for hours on end. The second day was a little harder as muscles I hadn’t used in a ...

  Nevertheless Josiah …did not heed the words of Necho from the mouth of God. So he came to fight in the Valley of Megiddo. 2 Chronicles 35:22 Josiah was one of the few Old Testament kings described as a godly king and he did much good for his people, the Israelites. Sadly, he still made mistakes, and a big one cost him his life. We find the story in 2 Chronicles Chapter 35. God warned Josiah through an enemy, Necho, not to fight against Necho’s invading army. But Josiah was apparently unwilling to listen to any words coming from the mouth of an adversary and thus he failed to heed the warning from God. As a result, he died from an arrow wound. God is sovereign and can speak to us in whatever way He chooses. Many of us know the familiar story of how he warned another man, Balaam, through his donkey (Numbers 22:21-39)! However God chooses to warn us, may we be ready hear and receive, even if His message comes through an unlikely source such as a beast of burden, adversity, or...

  There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? James 4:12 On a recent mission trip to Mexico, I observed two of the neighbors’ dogs. Both were non-descript, medium-sized, tannish-brown mutts, and adorable. They were outside in the front yard on a beautiful spring day. Though I watched through the wrought iron front gate of my hosts’ home and through the chain link fence of the canine duo, the distress of one of the pups was obvious. He wore a “cone of shame,” likely as protection from licking or biting the site of some recent surgery. The other dog happily played with a well-worn soccer ball right in front of him, seeming to laugh at the anguished affliction of his counterpart.  How often are we oblivious to the silent suffering to those around us, or simply ignore their plight because we’re too busy to truly care? Or worse, how often do we judge them, without truly understanding what they have been through and continue to suffer? L...