Love Me Tender

I have found myself a little melancholic this week after learning the new owners of our foreclosed home are changing everything I liked about it, even the special things I added to it.   I know the house is no longer mine, that they can do as they please, but still it hurts.   It's one of those weeks when I would dearly love to have direct and personal comfort from God, hence the picture of the angel delivering flowers.   There are times when I'd like a note from God on my pillow telling me how He loves me.  Actually I do have that, it's God's Word.   It is more than enough.   Be happy, I tell myself for the plentiful toad stools and moss that flourish in this little house under the weeping willow.   My Creator made them also.   Still  flowers and maybe even a heart shaped box of chocolates would go a long way.

Love Me Tender - Beth Nielsen Chapman

What I'm Listening To...

"I'm A Believer" by The Monkees.   It seems odd to go from the Cross of Christ to the Monkees, but the death of Davy Jones has me thinking about them and my growing up years.

Forever Grateful

This virus of mine has affected my voice, and I've discovered that I've grown attached to hearing myself talk.   A lack of conversation leads to dullness of thought and frustration at not being understood.   So I find myself amazed again at how Jesus sacrificed Himself for us.   He could have called down Heaven to stop the audacity of his trial before men, but he did not open his mouth.   I'm forever grateful.

Forever Grateful by Steve Kuban

What I'm Listening To...

"I Will Not Walk Away" by Michael Card from his Hidden Face of God album.

I made the Man of Sorrows sorry
by all my foolish lies.
I drove the nails, I raised the cross -
I was the reason that He died.

Utterly unfaithful then
I added anger to my sin.
In a world already dark to me
I closed my eyes and would not see.

So I may kick and I may scream,
say many things I do not mean,
hold blindly to what is not true -
but I will not walk away from You

Just why I choose to disobey
I simply cannot tell.
Why I blame You when I rebel
and weep for wounds I give myself.

Then screaming at an empty sky
I search for You and wonder why
though I cause You so much agony
You refuse to walk away from me.

Don’t read me pointless poems, friend.
Don’t diagnose. Don’t condescend.
Though you may be right to disagree,
I need someone to weep with me.

I made the Man of Sorrows sorry
by all my foolish lies.
I drove the nails, I raised the cross -
I was the reason that He died.

So I may kick and I may scream,
say many things I do not mean,
hold blindly to what is not true -
But I will not walk away from You.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Whales Will Come

I love this beach on the Pacific Ocean, an easy day's ride from home.  I find nothing better than standing alone facing a wide expanse of ocean to think about how big my God is.  As I tell my husband, it restores my soul.
This may have been my parents' favorite place to camp.   Come early in the morning and low tide will find the beach full of clam diggers.   Stay until sunset and be rewarded with this view.   In the mean time smell the salt air, let the children and dogs romp and play, then plan on a good lunch that always tastes better eaten outdoors.   One summer many years ago, I was working the dining room of the restaurant.   It was currently in chaos, unfortunately, and the visitors were restless.   Then the whales came!   I'm not sure who noticed first, but soon every person not working was pressed near the windows to get a view of the magnificent creatures.   In the meantime order was restored in the restaurant.   I find myself thinking about this occasionally when things seem spinning out of control.   Trust God to send in the whales or whatever else He has handy.   God is so good.   He is a God of order.
I wish I had a video, but I'll just recommend a sweet and funny song by Claire Holley, "Waiting for the Whales" on her Dandelion album.   In the meantime here's another song by Miss Holley, "Higher Ground."

What I'm Listening To...

"Undignified (I Will Dance, I Will Sing) by David Crowder Band from the Double Take: David Crowder Band album.

Where Two or Three Are Gathered

If the church doors were open my parents would have us there, especially my mother.   An earnest, still new Christian she was determined to raise her children under God's approval.   They really couldn't leave a child at home when our babysitters, our oldest siblings, were to be taken to church as well.   As a result I often found myself the youngest in a prayer group, even when that group was made of young people.   I learned early how to pray in a group, fingering my assigned prayer request written on a slip of paper, until it was my turn to blurt out my prayer.   Shy by nature, I unfortunately found praying in groups to be a scary thing.   I've matured.   I can usually overcome that twinge of fear that accompanies being asked to pray.   Jesus understands the fear and His presence is good and comforting.  I find it especially sweet when praying together with my family, knowing God is in our midst.   I even believe I fell in love with my husband while listening to him pray.   It truly is good when two or more gather together to pray.

God of Mercy - Lou Fellingham

What I'm Listening To...

"I Will Praise Him, Still" sung by Fernando Ortega on his Hymns of Worship album.

When the morning comes on the farthest hill
I will sing His name, I will praise Him, still.
When dark trials come and my heart is filled
With the weight of doubt, I will praise Him, still.

(Chorus)
For the Lord, our God, He is strong to save
From the arms of death, from the deepest grave,
And He gave us life in His perfect will,
And by His good grace, I will praise Him, still.
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/f/fernando_ortega/i_will_praise_him_still.html ]
When the morning comes on the farthest hill
I will sing His name, I will praise Him, still.
When dark trials come and my heart is filled
With the weight of doubt, I will praise Him, still.

For the Lord, our God, He is strong to save
From the arms of death, from the deepest grave,
For the Lord, our God, He is strong to save
From the arms of death, from the deepest grave,
And He gave us life in His perfect will,
And by His good grace, I will praise Him, still.

Love Never Fails

This morning our new 90-year-old friend called and asked if the young man who doesn't want to be mentioned in this blog could help him with a power point presentation.   He did even though it meant a small sacrifice on his part, a delay in going to a friend's house.  Later that friend helped him and his father push our car that's not running back to our house.   I was still home sick and missed the generations of men coming down our road but it must have been quite a sight!   I was told that at least one other man, seeing this, offered to help.   By loving one another they loved God and demonstrated that love to others.   Cars will fail but God's love never fails.   Now it's time to pray for a cheap mechanical fix for the car and/or a miraculous recovery.

Love Never Fails - Brandon Heath

What I'm Listening To...

"Glory, Glory" from Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry's Just a Closer Walk With Thee (Live) album.

Rescue the Perishing

1. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
    A winter storm is expected this weekend.  If the power fails my family and I will discover how well we do without electricity.   I do love living near the sea, though, and I'm thankful for the Coast Guard who watches over our shores.   It's almost a divine calling as Jesus called his disciples from the sea.   They are literally fishers of men, rescuing the perishing.   Tonight I'll leave you with a video of Coast Guard rescues..  
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Rescue The Perishing
   Fanny J. Crosby
2. 1. Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
      Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;
      Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,
      Tell them of Jesus, the mighty to save.
      • Refrain:
        Rescue the perishing, care for the dying,
        Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.
   2. Though they are slighting Him, still He is waiting,
      Waiting the penitent child to receive;
      Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently;
      He will forgive if they only believe.
   3. Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter,
      Feelings lie buried that grace can restore;
      Touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness,
      Chords that were broken will vibrate once more.
   4. Rescue the perishing, duty demands it;
      Strength for thy labor the Lord will provide;
      Back to the narrow way patiently win them;
      Tell the poor wand’rer a Savior has died.

What I'm Listening To...

"Whispering Hope" by Hayley Westenra on her Celtic Treasure album.

The Harvest Is Ready

Once again,  I'm drawn to an image of a sleeping woman, because I am so longing for a peaceful sleep.  This hacking cough I've developed keeps me awake at night.  Truth be told, I'd probably still be hacking and sneezing if I ever decided to lay myself down in a field of flowers.   I also spent too many years living in Texas to trust flopping down in the grass.   Chiggers, fire ants and scorpions, Oh, no!   I believe I'll have to wait until Heaven to enjoy sleeping in a field of flowers.   Yes, this is more likely a picture of Heaven resting in a ripe vineyard's field.   Until that time, God is expecting us to harvest His land.

My House Is Full ( But My Fields Are Empty)

What I'm Listening To...

"Blessed Assurance" by Third Day from their Chronology, Vol. 2 album.

Blest Be The Tie That Binds

I enjoy watching, for the most part, the ABC comedy show, The Middle, because it often reminds me of the home I grew up in.   It makes me laugh and that's a good thing, especially since I've been wretchedly sick this week.   A virus entered our home through the boy, who doesn't want to be mentioned in my blog, and traveled to my husband and now to me.   It seems to be one of the perils of living in close confines in this low-ceilinged house under the weeping willow tree.   When I was a child with six siblings it was rather amazing how fast a virus could travel.   My mother would lay us out on the different sofas, chairs, and makeshift beds in the living room so she could keep an eye on us, now that she was the family nurse.   Our kindly doctor, not wanting her to bring seven sick children into his waiting room, would make a house call.  I still remember the scabies episode that required my mother to give us several baths a day. complete with application of ointment and fresh clothes.   It's a good thing Mom was young and healthy. . . and that she loved us.  Tonight I am reminded of the old hymn , "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."   I wish more current artists would sing it, because it's a song I've always loved. There's nothing like standing shoulder to shoulder in a church pew with voices raised in thanksgiving.  Here's a version from YouTube.

What I'm Listening To...

"The One You Need" by Shane and Shane on their The One You Need album.

Slumber My Darling

A cold virus that has me coughing in the night almost makes me long for morning now.  I'll write very little but I do want to leave you with this beautiful image and a song, "Slumber My Darling," a Stephen Foster Tune, sung by Alison Krauss on the Heartland: An Appalachian Anthology album.   Enjoy it and sleep peacefully in Jesus.

What I'm Listening To...

"Why Me Lord" sung by George Jones on his Gospel Collection album.

Band of Brothers

I discovered a TV channel today that was running back to back episodes of the "Band of Brothers' television series.  I don't normally go out of my way to watch the series but when I stumble upon it, as I did today, I feel compelled to watch it.   We should all bear witness for that greatest generation as so many of them are leaving us now.   The episode depicting Hitler's final solution and the liberation of a concentration camp reminds me of the little my father was able to share with me about what he saw.   I believe the camps became a part of my father that he took with him to the day he died.   It amazes me that there are still those who deny the Holocaust happened.   If they could have seen my father's eyes as he told his story, they would have known it to be true.   One day Jesus will deal with Satan and all the evil he has loosed upon this earth.    Until that time, bear witness.

Gone Home - Ricky Skaggs

What I'm Listening To...

"Hymns" by Cynthia Clawson  from her Hymnsinger album.

Old Things Have Passed Away

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. ¹⁸ Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. ²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Probably the best gift I ever received while still living under my parents' roof, was a small manual typewriter.  It was a confirmation that I would go to college and that I would write.  I hauled it around for years, before being introduced to a second-hand personal computer, a gift from a friend who was upgrading to a new one.   I don't even know where that old typewriter ended up.  A few years ago I was in an antique mall smiling at children marveling over the old typewriters in a dealer's booth.  They couldn't believe people actually used those things!        

Yes, old things have passed away.   What has remained the same is our God.  Because He sent his Son, Jesus, to be sin for us in that ultimate sacrifice on the cross, he won't ever hold our sins against us.   My salvation is the best gift I've received while living under my Heavenly Father's roof.   Even if I end up someday sitting in a wheelchair in a nursing home, my Father, will still see me as the child He made new.

Stand By Me - Doc Watson

What I'm Listening To...

"Green Pastures In the Sky" by Ricky Skaggs on his Songs My Dad Loved album.

Bright Morning Stars and One Not So Bright Blogger

Last week I uploaded to YouTube "The Unclouded Day"   Today it's "Bright Morning Stars" by The Wailin' Jennys.   I'm beginning to suspect that I may not upload a rain song until sometime this summer, such has been our rainy winter.   My little house under the willow tree which must have been built before legal zoning, sits clear to the back of the yard flush with the alley.   It's a bit like living in a hobbit house in the shire since it's a low roofed house tucked among the trees.   Today with my husband and the young man living in my house, who does not want to be named, off to a state wrestling tournament I saw little need to get dressed, especially since I'm warding off another virus.   I was spending time at my computer, located within a rolling swivel chair distance from our front door with its nine window panes, looking up bright morning star images, when I was surprised by the mailman.   I was still in my nightgown and caught unawares!   There he was with a package that didn't fit in our mailbox.   Our intrepid mailman managed his way in the rain, through our latched gate, and down a mud and grass trail between the trees to find me.   I understand that the postal service has been suffering financially so I should admire such service.  I still wish, however, that I had been decently attired.   I can now add my mailman to the list of people that I hope won't recognize me in a public setting.
Unfortunately, I had to remove the Wailin' Jennys version of "Bright Morning Stars" so I'll replace it with the wonderful Gillian Welch.

Bright Morning Stars - Gillian Welch

What I'm Listening To...

"Presence" by Kathryn Scott from her We Still Believe album.

The Things We Do For Love...

This is a picture of my old cat, who I sometimes refer to as my Clingon or Klingon if you're familiar with Star Trek.   She seems to believe that whatever I'm doing could not be as important as paying attention to her.  This picture was taken with my IPad, a Christmas gift from my husband, who was also the giver of my macbook, some six years ago.   If I had known the macbook would start falling apart after the holidays, I may have begged for a new one instead.   So it goes.   I do enjoy the IPad and both gifts were from a loving husband's heart. ( But I digress and should get back to the story of my cat, which is what she would want.)   I was enjoying winding down with a word puzzle  on my IPad, when she thought it shouldn't be.   So I discovered how good the tablet was at taking a close-up photo!   The dogs don't get this close unless I had a pizza crust hanging out of my mouth.    I just now left behind an unhappy cat when I then moved from the couch to the computer, but I did so, just in time to push a dog with an upset tummy out our front door.   Yes, the things we do for love.  
God does things for love too.   We wouldn't be living in this little house under the weeping willow if it wasn't for a landlord who agreed to let us keep all three pets.   In this day and age when landlords can call the shots, he was more than gracious.  I was so afraid we'd be called upon to give up our animals, a cruelty that would have been too much to bear.  God knew it was so and didn't ask us to bear it.   Our now senior cat has been with me since she was a tiny kitten that I could cradle in my cupped hands.   One of our rescue pups has bonded so completely with the son, who doesn't want to be named,  that they have almost raised each other.   The other, the one with the sick tummy, calls my husband her master.   This is the dog rescued from death row because it was thought she couldn't be domesticated.   She found redemption in her rescuer's home who then let us adopt her.   Once again I am glad that God found me redeemable and has adopted me as His child.

I John 3:1 (NIV)

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

Children of God - Third Day

What I'm Listening To...

"Days of Elijah" by Twila Paris from her He Is Exalted album.  The video is from the jackbigbox YouTube channel.

Days of Elijah - Twila Paris

All Knowing God

I just helped the young man who lives in my house and doesn't want to be mentioned in my blog with studying for his pre-calculus test, and I'm not even sure what pre-calculus is let alone calculus.   Thankfully it was a memory exercise and I just had to recognize the symbols and numbers that he recited.   I do believe he left me behind in his math skills at about the fifth grade.   Now, he's also left his father behind, and is pretty much on his own.   If my son is that smart, how much smarter is God, the designer of all creation?  I'd say our omniscient, all knowing, God is really, really smart.

I do know for certain that my son is a whole lot smarter than Steven Hawking, the celebrated academic, who denies the existence of God.   My son knows God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit, which means he left Mr. Hawking behind long ago as well.   Pray for Mr. Hawking that he might be proven wrong this side of eternity.  

Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Psalm 147: 5,6 (NIV)

⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power; 

   his understanding has no limit. 

⁶ The LORD sustains the humble 

   but casts the wicked to the ground.

'

Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'

O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing - David Crowder Band

What I'm Listening To...

"Heaven Song" by Phil Wickham on his Heaven and Earth (Expanded Edition) album.

When You Can't See God...

... look for his rainbow.   We have a mighty God who keeps his promises.  There was a time this past year when we were so low on funds that I felt like a dying fish in an empty bowl sucking for it's last breath.  Then God put his bow in the clouds and his provision rained down.   I thought of this again as I was reading Job 38.   Wow!  Our God is big and strong!   It's just so cool that I'm going to copy and paste the entire chapter.

Job 38

The LORD Speaks

 ¹ Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: ² “Who is this that obscures my plans
   with words without knowledge?
³ Brace yourself like a man;
   I will question you,
   and you shall answer me.
 ⁴ “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
   Tell me, if you understand.
⁵ Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
   Who stretched a measuring line across it?
⁶ On what were its footings set,
   or who laid its cornerstone—
⁷ while the morning stars sang together
   and all the angels^[a] shouted for joy?
 ⁸ “Who shut up the sea behind doors
   when it burst forth from the womb,
⁹ when I made the clouds its garment
   and wrapped it in thick darkness,
¹⁰ when I fixed limits for it
   and set its doors and bars in place,
¹¹ when I said, ‘This far you may come and no farther;
   here is where your proud waves halt’?
 ¹² “Have you ever given orders to the morning,
   or shown the dawn its place,
¹³ that it might take the earth by the edges
   and shake the wicked out of it?
¹⁴ The earth takes shape like clay under a seal;
   its features stand out like those of a garment.
¹⁵ The wicked are denied their light,
   and their upraised arm is broken.
 ¹⁶ “Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
   or walked in the recesses of the deep?
¹⁷ Have the gates of death been shown to you?
   Have you seen the gates of the deepest darkness?
¹⁸ Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
   Tell me, if you know all this.
 ¹⁹ “What is the way to the abode of light?
   And where does darkness reside?
²⁰ Can you take them to their places?
   Do you know the paths to their dwellings?
²¹ Surely you know, for you were already born!
   You have lived so many years!
 ²² “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow
   or seen the storehouses of the hail,
²³ which I reserve for times of trouble,
   for days of war and battle?
²⁴ What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
   or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
²⁵ Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
   and a path for the thunderstorm,
²⁶ to water a land where no one lives,
   an uninhabited desert,
²⁷ to satisfy a desolate wasteland
   and make it sprout with grass?
²⁸ Does the rain have a father?
   Who fathers the drops of dew?
²⁹ From whose womb comes the ice?
   Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens
³⁰ when the waters become hard as stone,
   when the surface of the deep is frozen?
 ³¹ “Can you bind the chains^[b] of the Pleiades?
   Can you loosen Orion’s belt?
³² Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons^[c]
   or lead out the Bear^[d] with its cubs?
³³ Do you know the laws of the heavens?
   Can you set up God’s^[e] dominion over the earth?
 ³⁴ “Can you raise your voice to the clouds
   and cover yourself with a flood of water?
³⁵ Do you send the lightning bolts on their way?
   Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?
³⁶ Who gives the ibis wisdom^[f]
   or gives the rooster understanding?^[g]
37 Who has the wisdom to count the clouds?
   Who can tip over the water jars of the heavens
³⁸ when the dust becomes hard
   and the clods of earth stick together?
 ³⁹ “Do you hunt the prey for the lioness
   and satisfy the hunger of the lions
⁴⁰ when they crouch in their dens
   or lie in wait in a thicket?
⁴¹ Who provides food for the raven
   when its young cry out to God
   and wander about for lack of food?

 

On the day we so needed it the water jars of heaven were opened.   Thank you, Lord.

I don't know these children, but I appreciate their worship offering, as they sing "What A Mighty God We Serve."

What I'm Listening To...

"O My Soul" and "Sparrow" by Audrey Assad from her Heart album.

Jesus, Be Mine

Valentine's Day turns our thoughts to love but mostly to romance, flowers, candy and dinner out... and conversation hearts... did I mention conversation hearts?   It's such a silly day, really; and too often expectations are raised and dashed.   An empty mailbox can break a heart.   I used to come home from grade school hoping the number of valentines I received would match at least one of my siblings.   It wasn't a race but I also didn't want to come in last.

Consider Jesus now, the truest lover of our soul, and His conversation heart to us:
I John 4:17-19 (NIV)
⁷ Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
 ¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
 ¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

I Let Myself Fall - Rosie Thomas