Since today is Throwback Thursday, I thought I’d share an old post from 08-24-15. This story from the Bible has always amazed me. To imagine bones coming back to life creates visions of Stephen Spielberg’s creative mind. It seems an impossible story, but it’s true, as is everything that appears in this amazing book. Nothing but the voice of God, Himself.
In 1999, an adventure/horror movie called “The Mummy” hit the big screen and we were witness to the dead coming back to life – embalming garb and all. Flesh began to cover near skeletal bodies – muscle replaced withered flesh – blood flowed through lifeless creatures once more and it scared the heck out of us. There’s a similar story in the book of the prophet Ezekiel. His vision of a field of dead bodies inspired by God was returned to flesh and blood. God’s breath brought new life from death. This part of the Bible is one of those seemingly impossible stories, but it certainly gives us a clear image of how God can restore life. The people of Israel had a long history of being held in captivity. They often became slaves to the religion and culture of their captors. This example of God’s restoration is to assure us that we’ll receive new life, even when our bodies have been broken and die.
Are you in a point in your life right now where you feel there’s no hope? Do you struggle with a severe illness or disability? Is your pattern of existence a day to day battle to simply get by? Are you in a broken relationship? Have you gone a long time without a job? Do you live with addiction?
God doesn’t promise a life without problems. In fact, when man separated himself from God by his disobedience, we all became inheritors of sin, but God, in that very moment of betrayal, provided a way out for us. The promise was a Savior who would bring eternal life to those who follow Him. We’re all broken, but there is hope. That promise God made so long ago still lives today, just as we’ll someday live again with perfect bodies – with no pain – no sorrow – no tears – NO SIN!
“The less you know, the more you study – the more you study, the more you know – the more you know, the more you forget- the more you forget, the less you know – so why study?
It made perfect sense to me, and I often feel that way today.
Sometimes I think our lives are too full of information. It’s at our fingertips – within our vision and it can be heard in seconds. Unfortunately, sometimes the information is so fast, that many of the details have been skipped over and we jump to conclusions before really knowing all the facts. We can go into a mob mentality in a fraction of a second and make judgments before we have even heard the evidence.
It’s important for us to be informed – to learn – to study, but it’s also vital that we get the truth. The world is flawed – we can all agree on that. The Word of God isn’t. The messages it has to offer have more wisdom and knowledge than we can learn in a lifetime. Every time you open it, you will find something pertinent to what is happening in the world, in your life and in your relationship with your Creator and others.
Psalm 56:8-11 “You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book? Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call. This I know, that God is for me. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Truth, comfort and peace in a time of turmoil and insanity.
Another mid-term election is already in progress. It began many months ago and has ramped into a frenzy of accusations, name calling, hatred, anger and just plain annoying noise. Like the constant dripping of a leaky faucet, we’ve been inundated with some of the meanest words I’ve ever heard. This thing called “voting” seems to be our only remaining right as citizens of the United States. We should be eager to cast our ballot, because of that. Our voice is heard on Election Day, but is it?
The noise of every day bantering between supposedly upright candidates,
Is like a deafening pounding in the ears,
There is no respite and won’t be until it’s over,
Or will it?
We wonder,
Who
Will
Win?
The only thing we know for sure is,
We won’t.
I cannot stand in judgment,
EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET IS GUILTY,
Of being a sinner.
We are not qualified to judge,
I hear the prattle, the babble, the puffing up of self,
I don’t hear sensibility, only ugly accusations and dirty laundry,
I see a rerun of the last election,
Egos,
Special interests,
Overly excessive spending for negative advertising,
Money that could pay off part of the national debt.
Yet even in all this turmoil there is hope,
There is refreshment in the peace of God’s redemption,
He has promised to heal the land of those who put their faith in Him,
Only He can judge.
Only He can save.
Only He can win.
Soon it will be over.
The rhetoric will die out.
We will grumble and complain, or we’ll rejoice that our candidate won.
We will endure more years of who knows what.
We will get through this, because in the end God wins.
This year is going much too fast. It seems the older we get the swifter the journey. Our bodies are telling us to slow down, but our minds are still in high gear. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought I’d share some thoughts about the blessings God has bestowed on me not only this year, but throughout my life. I first would like to give thanks Gor His presence in my life and the knowledge that I will someday see Him face to face. I want to thank Him for the gift of family. Both my husband and I have been nurtured in His Word throughout our lives. This past few days has given us a view of the benefits of that nurturning. He has gifted us with three amazing children, the loves of their lives, and three astonishing grandchildren. They have started us on a new journey – getting organized and preparing for the future. It was an amazing weekend with all of them. They are definitely servants of God and we are richly blessed.
The poetry I wrote several years ago, expresses the love of family and the gifts God continues to bestow on us through them.
You temper us along the way,
To make us perfect day by day.
At times it seems like waiting is the only thing to do.
We think our prayers aren’t answered, but that just isn’t true.
Our future you have crafted, we know your plans are great.
You pave the way to prosper us, you teach us how to wait.
Through waiting you grant patience to a heart that’s filled with pain.
You’ve conquered death. Eternal life is now our very gain.
Oh thank you, God for Jesus, on this day in every hour.
For taking on our hardships and turning them to power.
Here we are again, back to normal time – whatever normal means. The thought of getting an extra hour of sleep used to appeal to me. When we had a dog, they never seemed to get the memo. Their wakeup clock was set for the same time every day. I’ve become an early riser over the years, and my hours of awake time usually run out by 9 PM, so now I’ll be ready for bed 9 PM but it will actually be 8 PM. The question is, will I be tired at 8 PM? I suppose it all balances out over time, but this twice a year changing of the clock seems so senseless to me. They’ve begun stretching the time a little each year. At this rate, we might be on actual time in 2042 or so, which would make me over a hundred and I don’t think I want to wait that long. Will I get hungry at the same times? Since I’m almost always hungry, it won’t make much difference, but my body may have another opinion. Will I arrive early to church? Well, we used to be the first ones there, so that shouldn’t be a problem. We may just have to wait for an hour until someone arrives to unlock the door.
I guess the early thinking on this subject was designed for those in agriculture. With days stretching out to longer time periods of daylight, they would make use of the extra hour to sow, harvest and reap. Now most of them get up with the cows, which will be an hour earlier. The cows can’t change their time to be milked, but farmers will need to get up earlier to take care of that chore. Have we become slaves to time? Maybe so. Maybe this is just another government attempt to keep us focused on the mid-term election. Like we really need to watch another political ad, right?
Well, here it is, 8:30 AM and the sun has apparently risen. By 4 PM the sky will turn dark, and I’ll feel like crawling back in to bed, but we can’t miss the football games. That’s a whole other post.
So, we’ll complain about the change of time again. We’ll take at least a week of getting used to the change. Our minds tell us one thing, but the clock on the wall holds a completely different story. We’ll scoff at the first person who came up with this antiquated idea. We’ll accept it and live with it. Something like sheep staying with the herd. Baaaaaa!
Victor Hugo is probably best known for his novels written during the French Revolution. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Les Miserable” have been made into popular movies over time. He was considered a romantic. He was also an artist and a poet. In my opinion he had a way of knitting words together in a very special way. The craftsmanship and love of the written word is apparent in his work. He was also an advocate against the death penalty. He lived most of his life in France and died in Paris. He witnessed the perils of the French Revolution nd wove them into his stories and poems. His lifestyle wasn’t much different than the artists of his day.
France at the turn of the 18th century was under an oppressive government. There were despicable working conditions – extreme punishment for stealing a loaf of bread – prisons and workhouse were full – sin ran rampant. Out of the ashes of that existence rose the French Revolution. A few became many, just as happened during the American Revolution. Victor Hugo wrote this story of redemption to show that there was hope even in the darkest of situations.
We, as Americans, have had a long history with the people of France. We’re bound by the cords of democracy. They came to our assistance in the early days of our country’s existence and sent troops to help us establish a free country. We not only owe them a debt of gratitude but should consider them our brothers. Is it time for another revolution? Perhaps the cry for freedom must be heard around the world once more.
In the musical,”Les Misérables,” the song, “Who am I,” resonates with the doubts and fears of a man who has lost sight of God in the struggle of his life but finds the truth of redemption later on. Let’s not wait to discover who we are. We’re redeemed by the God of the Universe, so freedom is truly ours.
This is one of those old church photographs, taken some forty years ago. Things have changed a lot since those days, but there are few things that are especially noticeable. Paul has more hair than the rest of us. We all had home-styled haircuts as you can see by the bangs on all of us. Most of that heavy black hair on Paul is gone or turned to a salt and peppered look. As I look at this photo, the one thing we all have in common is smiles that reflect our love for each other.
We will be gathering this weekend as a family all together, once more. Our daughter, Amy (our firstborn – pictured standing) will be flying into Minneapolis today to check in on her aging parents. We plan to spend some time with the other two as well. Because these times of decision are coming upon us – change of health situations, needs to work, financial issues and a future that will continue on with some more changes – a family meeting will occur. I feel so blessed to have all my family involved in the plans we’ll be making for our remaining lives. Both of us turned 80 this year. For the most part, you’d consider us vibrant, senior citizens. We love what we do with our time. Both of us are creative people with pretty good minds. Although some might consider us a little off the wall. There have been ongoing health issues this past year and we’re all in agreement that our current living conditions are not right for us anymore.
My prayer today and throughout this weekend is that we can all move forward as a family – that Paul and I remain open-minded and agreeable – that we approach these tough decisions with God’s help and at our center, as He always has been – that we listen with open ears and receptive hearts – that we enjoy our moments of laughter together. I know that God will guide our choices and our future, because He has always been at the head of our family.
Joshua 24:15 “And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
There are going to be days when you don’t have much to smile about. Days when, if you do smile, people will wonder why you are. Those are the days when you need to smile the most. Getting over a hurdle can be more than a physical obligation. It takes every ounce of courage and faith you can muster. The problem arises when you lose that smile and fall into a deep depression. It’s so much harder to pick yourself up and start over again.
God gives us a reason to be joyful even when we don’t always feel that way. He has given us His gifts of grace, love, peace, confidence and faith. He walks with us through our darkest hours and is there to encourage us through each of them. He knows the pain of sorrow and sadness. He gave up His throne in heaven for a while, so that He could experience every one of those emotions. His compassion for us is endless, even when it looks like He may not be at hand to answer our prayers. He is always available. He will never leave us. He will protect, defend and comfort us in our times of need.
We do have many reasons not to lose that smile of ours. It tells a lot about us. We are loved. We are one with our Creator. We are assured a home in heaven for eternity. What don’t we have to smile about?
William W. How (1823-1897) Was called both the “poor man’s bishop” and “the children’s bishop,” He was known for his work among the destitute in the London slums and among the factory workers in west Yorkshire. He wrote a number of theological works about controversies surrounding the Oxford Movement and while rector in Whittington, attempted to reconcile biblical creation with the theory of evolution. How wrote some sixty hymns, including many for children. His collected Poems and Hymns were published in 1886.
Today is All Saints Day – a day set aside to honor those who have passed on into heaven. It’s interesting to me that on All Hallows Eve, 1517, Martin Luther – the reformer – chose to nail his list of 95 theses to the castle church in Wittenburg, Germany. The list contained issues he had with the Catholic church of his time. The church had become corrupt. The truth of the Gospel had been hidden from the people and they felt compelled to buy their way into heaven – not realizing that this was a gift from God. I imagine Martin had been thinking about this for quite some time. He was a monk in the church and in searching through the scriptures, he discovered the truth of God’s grace. His inability to do enough to earn his salvation haunted him for many years. He prayed incessantly, confessed his sins daily, often ranting on and on for hours concerning each of his indiscretions. His guilt was oppressive. When his eyes were finally opened to the truth, he couldn’t help himself. He had to share that knowledge with everyone. So, he chose to oppose the church and post his list of grievances. This was also the time of the Renaissance; the invention of the printing press and many more innovations. All of these things made it possible to spread the word throughout the land.
As we celebrate this All Saints Day, let’s remember those who are waiting for our arrival in heaven. They are enjoying the benefits of being heirs of God as we will also when our final breath is drawn. Let us also pray for the church today – that the truth and purity of God’s Holy Word to us remains the same.
For all the saints, who from their labors rest, Who Thee by faith before the world confessed, Thy name, O Jesus, be forever blest—
Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might; Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light—
Oh, may Thy soldiers, faithful, true, and bold, Fight as the saints who nobly fought of old, And win with them the victor’s crown of gold—
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long, Steals on the ear the distant triumph song, And hearts are brave again, and arms are strong—
From earth’s wide bounds, from ocean’s farthest coast, Through gates of pearl streams in the countless host, Singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost—
Six years ago, my costume wardrobe was huge. I still have a few boxes up in the attic of the garage, but for some reason, when I’m called upon to locate a costume or find one for myself, I come up empty. This poem sort of reveals the dilemma of a retired theatre person.
Clothes for a pirate, a sword and hat too – Some mermaids, a puppy, a high button shoe – A cowboy, a jail bird, and Winnie the Pooh. Hair of all sorts even red, orange and blue – Moustaches and sideburns, there’s beards in there too. The choices are many so what should I do?
I could dress up like Elvis or old Captain Hook, I might even try something else from a book. There’s Buffalo Bill, Twiddle Dum, Tweedle Dee, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter – oh what shall I be?! My mind is just spinning. I can’t get a grip. It might be much better if I just took a trip.
Decisions – decisions! It’s hard to decide. Batman or Robin – Dr. Jekyll or Hyde. I’d be a great Scarecrow or Tin Man, it’s true. A Cowardly Lion would be all right too. Why is it so hard to make up my mind? With all the great choices, there should be one find.
The reason is simple I’ll give you a clue. All of the costumes begin at size two. They don’t go beyond small, medium or large. And I’m pretty close to the size of a barge. I’m glad Halloween only comes once a year. I have nothing to wear. Think I’ll go shed a tear.
As life goes forward, dwelling in the past gets further and further from our present-day reality. There is nothing we can do about what has happened prior to this time in our lives, except to learn from our mistakes and do our best to keep from repeating them. The beauty of living in the moment allows us to use that information, but to also look forward and see how change can be made and adjusted to what’s happening to us in the here and now. Our futures on this planet are dwindling. The sand in the hourglass of time is running out. Transitioning from one life chapter to the next is tough and if we haven’t got a plan, it might even seem impossible.
So, do we stop dreaming? Do we put things on hold because life is drawing to a close? Do we make the necessary changes to support our final years? Do we sit back and wait to die? I don’t believe this is God’s plan for us. No matter what age, no matter what our future holds, no matter what complications arise, we can be confident that God has already mapped out our lives for us. Because of that, we know that it will be good. Everything God does is for our good. He loves us with an unconditional love that we can’t begin to comprehend. Only He knows when we will draw our final breath. He’s in complete control. Isn’t that amazing and wonderful news? Every section of our lives – past, present and future – are in His hands.
“That which is, already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God seeks what has been driven away.” Ecclesiastes 3:15 ESV
Many of my fellow bloggers have such creative minds. They seem to be able to turn stories of reality int0 great comedy stories or routines. Like Mark and his Yegg’s mysteries or Mitch’s tales from his youth, which always stir a laugh or more. I have also been blessed to be able to turn some of the most discouraging events into something funny. For example, the senior group I collaborate with on radio episodes to present to other seniors in our community are often based on real life events. Eventually I may put some of my own experiences into book form, but it seems they keep coming faster than I can keep up with lately.
A week ago, Monday, my husband had his 9th urological surgery to hopefully repair a problem he’s been dealing with for this entire year. The surgery went well, until Friday when he was in excruciating pain. That’s not the funny part. He was again admitted to the ER and the hospital. That’s not the funny part either. He was going to be released on Sunday and called to let me know. When he called, he discovered that I had been up all night with extreme pain and nausea. That’s still not the funny part but wait. It’s coming. He then arranged to have my daughter come and get me to the ER. I had a number of kidney stones that were causing all the trouble. So, I was admitted to the hospital too. I know, it’s not even remotely funny for both of us to be in the hospital, but we were. His stay was extended, and I went in for surgery. Here’s the funny part – ready? We had talked about going to a nice hotel for our 58th wedding anniversary last month but spent it instead at the urologist’s office. Now we were spending the weekend, in a $10,000 a day luxury hotel – in separate rooms on two different floors.
My room was lovely. Prior to Covid, it was a pre-delivery room in the maternity ward. There I was in a room designed for birthing, giving birth to several kidney stones. (that’s another part of the funny stuff.) Our pastor stopped by to see me and asked if Paul and I were in for a two-fer. Since I have difficulty hearing there were the incessant questions – “What was that?” and “Sorry, I can’t hear you.” One nurses aid asked if I needed a toothbrush and I thought she was asking if I had a juice box.
My point is that we can dwell on the difficulties we face as we get older with discouraging hearts, or we can laugh in the face of them. I prefer the latter. We both arrived home on Tuesday and are glad to be here. We both slept well and even had a continuous dream. Paul dreamt he was in the backyard tracking raccoons while I was dreaming of a huge raccoon running through our yard. Either we are experiencing too much time together, or we are actually becoming one person.
There is more to come, but I’ll leave you with this much today. You’re not going to believe what happened next. My life with the man I married has been filled with ups and downs, but we have learned to laugh at our adversity. I think that’s what Robin Williams meant in the above quote. I also know that God loves a cheerful heart. Because of that, we continue to create funny stories. Reality really is much funnier than you see on TV.
I’ve been absent for a while because of illness. Not just me, but the long, drawn-out issues my husband is struggling with. Through this time of our lives together, we still enjoy each other’s company and can laugh in spite of adversity. I wrote this poem a few years ago, but it truly explains the love we have for each other. I’m sure it isn’t much different than many others, but entering our 80th birthdays this year, we have many new challenges, which have brought us even closer together – as well as with our God.
We became one flesh, one life, one entity because of love,
Ecclesiastes 2:11 “Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.”
I find it interesting that time is supposed to move us ahead, but it really doesn’t. In reality, time just repeats itself and history sometimes returns to haunt us. It seems that we go in circles and continue to make the same mistakes our ancestors did. Aren’t we supposed to learn from our errors?
When we think about what we do to make our mark on the world, it really doesn’t amount to much. Whatever we accomplish here will not be remembered for long after we are gone. Even the very famous lose their notoriety once they enter the grave. One perfect person did leave His mark on the world though. Jesus’ accomplishments are still recognized and hopefully we will continue to pass on what He has done for generations to come. No matter how hard we work in this life, it is all meaningless without our savior.
As I reach the end of my years, I find I have a lot of good information stored up in this old decrepit mind of mine. If I don't write it all down, it may vanish and no one will have the advantage of my thoughts. This is why this blog exists. I love the Lord, Jesus with all my heart and soul. I know I'm undeserving of all He's done for me, but I also know that His love is beyond my comprehension.
I've always wanted to write. I never kept diaries, but tucked my thoughts in my head for future reference. I use them now in creating stories, plays, poetry and my blog.
I continue to learn every day. I believe the compilation of our time spent with God will have huge affect on the way we live. I know I'm a sinner and I need a Savior. I have One through Jesus, Christ.
My book, "Stages - a memoir," is about the seven stages of life from the perspective of a woman. It addresses all the things girls and women go through in life as they travel it with Jesus, and it is available on Amazon.com.
Life is a patchwork of moments — laughter, solitude, everyday joys, and quiet aches. Through scribbled stories, I explore travels both far and inward, from sunrise over unfamiliar streets to the comfort of home. This is life as I see it, captured in ink and memory. Stick around; let's wander together.
atimetoshare.me 
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