Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 37 (Tuesday)

Do you love surprises? I thought these Tiffany hybrid tea roses had long since kicked the bucket. I haven't seen them produce in several years, and truthfully had let the foliage around them grow up over them because they weren't getting enough sun. But today I just happened to be peeking around in the shrubbery, and what to my wondering eyes should appear... two HUGE pink blossoms on the longest stems, almost over my head. These beauties were just begging to be brought inside and enjoyed... God's beautiful creation never disappoints. The lavender sweet William in the vase is a wonderful accent and smells heavenly along with the fruity fragrance of the Tiffany roses and the color is perfect with my smaller pink knockout roses!

 

 

 

Encouragement Post – Day #37 (Tuesday) All creation sings of His majesty…

Psalm 104:1-3, 10-12, 19, 31-33
“Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
Covering Yourself with light as with a cloak,
Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain. 
He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
He makes the clouds His chariot;
He walks upon the wings of the wind…

He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches…

He made the moon for the seasons;
The sun knows the place of its setting…

Let the glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord be glad in His works;
He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 35 (Sunday)

Encouragement Post – Day #35 (Sunday) Another Sunday… the fifth Sunday with our faith community not meeting in person. It’s still so good to be able to meet through Zoom and SEE faces, have a few minutes to chat and catch up, and check in and really see how everyone is doing. And, we heard a wonderful message of the HOPE of our Savior! There is hope in no one but Jesus. This isn’t a hope that is like a wish, this is a SURE and STEADFAST hope. A LIVING hope!

Hebrews 6:16-20 “For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute. In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”

1 Peter 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Living Hope
By Phil Wickham

How great the chasm that lay between us
How high the mountain I could not climb
In desperation, I turned to heaven
And spoke Your name into the night
Then through the darkness, Your loving-kindness
Tore through the shadows of my soul
The work is finished, the end is written
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Who could imagine so great a mercy?
What heart could fathom such boundless grace?
The God of ages stepped down from glory
To wear my sin and bear my shame
The cross has spoken, I am forgiven
The King of kings calls me His own
Beautiful Savior, I'm Yours forever
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory, whoa!

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Jesus Christ, my living hope
Oh God, You are my living hope

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 21 (Palm Sunday)

Encouragement Post - Day #21 (Sunday) This is one of my very favorite new worship songs. It tells my story. Does it tell yours?

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."





In our neighborhood, we wanted to display outwardly that we were celebrating Palm Sunday even though we were not gathering in our places of worship to do that.  So, we chose to put some greenery tied with a red ribbon on our front door (pretty much just stuck in the wreath).

 

Hosanna in the highest!

 

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 20 (Saturday)

Encouragement Post – Day #20 (Saturday) Why do we celebrate Palm Sunday? We know that it is not really about the palm branches, but rather it is about the One who chose to ride on the foal of a donkey over those branches knowing He was riding to His death. He is worthy of our worship because He chose to ride down the road of death for me and for you so that we could truly have a relationship with (not just knowledge about) the Most High God. Even while we were sinning and mocking Him, He chose that road. Even while we wanted nothing other than to satisfy our selfish desires, He chose that road. Even while we put our ambition before His glory, He chose that road. Even when we were choosing our own death, He chose that road to give us life. He is worthy of my every breath and all my praise. Hosanna in the highest! 

Romans 5:6-10 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Encouragement Post - Coronavirus Distancing Day 13 (Saturday)

Encouragement Post #13: I am excited that tomorrow our message will be on the power of resurrection. I think we all could use a reminder that there is a power that is so far beyond what we can imagine while we're here on this sin-sick, chaos driven earth. We can imagine miracles and people who are sick becoming well, whether miraculously or through a doctor's intervention. But, to really understand resurrection power -- the power to actually defeat death and cause life -- is beyond our scope. Death is NOT the end. I am thankful for the words of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Peter, Paul, and others who risked their lives so that we would have eyewitness testimony of His power to raise Lazarus and the power of His own resurrection. He IS the resurrection and the life.... and He is worthy of our worship.

John 11:24-26 "Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

New Year, Same Old World

The New Year looms ahead like a shiny new journal with all empty pages. Yet, even yesterday as I sat on my sofa enjoying time with my family, contemplating the peace and quiet of the next few days, planning a 21 day prayer journey for my business, and generally looking ahead to the coming year... there was a phone call from friends that their 38 year-old son/brother had passed away suddenly and tragically yesterday afternoon.

We quickly made our way to their home, and we tried to give as much comfort and encouragement as you can in a time like this.  This is a fallen, fallen place in which we reside.  The great, true joy of Christmas is balanced by the devastation of separation and death.

What comfort can we give in a time like this? The only real comfort is to be the hands and feet of Jesus. He knows the situation, He loves them all, He loved the one who died, He cares deeply for His children and offers to carry our burdens -- even the heaviest ones -- for us. So, we embrace them as He would, love them as He loves, bear this burden with them. He is Emmanuel even in this, guiding through the darkest night with His light and His hand.

(As always, you are free to use this graphic.)

There is so much I do not understand about this world.  But, I am just simple enough to trust God's promise that He will never leave or forsake me and His promise that HE is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.  Whatever this world sends my way, I am thankful for what I have today, now.  I choose to not live in the past (while being thankful for it) and not live in the future (while looking forward to eternity with the Lord and its reuniting with those I love). I am thankful for my family, for my friends -- even ones I have never met. I am thankful for home, for safety, for life, for love, for enough -- you know, the "this day our daily bread."  I know that we are not even promised one more breath, so I am choosing to thank God for now. 

All is calm, all is bright...

After a very busy month with the art show (which I will post more about in a later post), emergency wisdom tooth removal after the discovery of a 5th wisdom tooth (yes, this really is possible, and yes, you can still have to have your wisdom teeth out at 50+), and this week a lovely stomach bug (NOT!)...

today was such a WONDERFUL day beginning with celebrating our Lord at church this morning, then lunch with my mom and step-dad, then opening gifts with our children, and then more gifts with my mother- and father-in-law... then playing with gifts and enjoying one another's company.  And now we're sitting -- feet propped up -- watching Little Women.  All is calm and all is bright... peaceful and joyful deep down. 

Thankful for what Christmas really means... 

it means in spite of my nerves in a dentist's chair about wisdom teeth removal, 

or my nerves about painting live in a mall window with people watching me the entire time (for the first time), 

or my heart's ache for my step-father who lost his 43 year-old son this summer

(who left four beautiful boys 13 and under and a beautiful wife behind),

or the fact that the eldest of those four beautiful boys is battling cancer himself,

or the fact that my bout with a four day stomach virus or food poisoning fog these last five days has derailed my best laid plans for Christmas...

Jesus has me right where He wants me.  He knows His plans for me, and He knows His plans for my step-father's family, and He knows His plans for my children, and He knows His plans for you, too.  I don't have to know HIS plan, I just have to trust HIS hand.

I wrote this in 2012 and it still applies even more today.  

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace! Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Hail the incarnate Deity! Jesus, our Emmanuel... Hark! The herald angels sing, "Glory to the King of kings!" (This last line is how Wesley wrote it originally; it was later revised by George Whitfield.) As I look at the many blessings of life, including my precious family, I am struck that even as precious and wonderful as our family times are, and as much as I treasure EACH and EVERY memory we make… even family is not what Christmas is all about. It is about One thing and One thing only: Jesus desired so much to bring my sinful self back into relationship with Himself that He was willing to lay aside the glory of heaven and His right to stay there, to put on the flesh of a helpless babe and later walk as a man, and then to be the sacrifice necessary to pay the penalty for my sin. It is with wonder that I think about this and all it means. And because of His sacrifice, I receive all the benefits: peace that passes understanding in a world riddled with anxiety and fear, contentment in a world that would sell me dissatisfaction, joy in a world that offers great sadness, love in a world filled with hate… and on top of all that the promise of eternity with Him. Christmas is not feelings or faith or even family … Christmas is Emmanuel, the God Who is with us… and that is Everything.