Trusting God & A Turquoise Table

Time seems to stand still in photographs. This picture was take a couple of summers ago when my table had a fresh coat of paint. So many people have eaten at my turquoise table since then. These past few years the table has gotten worn from wear and weather. It needs to be repainted and repaired, but it still sits in my front yard waiting for us to sit there for a bit. 

Sometimes we are like that table. I've found that I am worn and in need of repair. I have relationships that are worn and in need of repair. 

In the book of Matthew Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

King David wrote these words in Psalm 23:

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

God is so kind to remind us to come to Him when we are worn and weary and He will give us true rest for our souls. We can trust Him as our Good Shepherd (John 10:11-18) and that He will provide for us (Ps 23:1). He will provide times of rest and refreshment (Ps 23:2). He will be with us through the valleys in our lives and will bring us comfort (Ps 23:3). He is the One Who gets to give honor to people and we do not need to fear our enemies (Ps 23:4). God has a way for us to dwell with Him (Ps 23:6).

Pictures are great reminders of what was, but time does not stand still. I want to remain faithful. I want to remember to get rest when I am worn and weary. I want to remember that God can restore me when I sin and He can repair the broken parts of my life when I experience the result of my sin or when life just gets hard (I John 1:9). I want to continue to trust God. 

Chasing Sunrises

A couple of summers ago I was convicted about how I spend my summer days. In Idaho as the summer heat intensifies so does the length of a day. I would stay up late and then sleep in without an alarm clock. As a teacher I had felt it my right to sleep in during the long summer days. But when I woke up I found that I had wasted so
many cool parts of the day. And my day would drag into the heat when I really didn't want to do much. So I ended up wasting most of my summers.

It was easier not to waste too much of the summer when my kids were young and not driving yet. I was needed to get breakfast ready and to shuttle them to practices and other fun summer things.

But when they grew up, as kids are supposed to do, and they weren't around very much, I found I had little to get up early for.


And so, one summer, not long ago, I asked God to help me wake up to catch all His sunrises! That summer I only missed 2 sunrises. I think I was travelling and messed up  my time zone for one and the other I had awakened long before the sunrise with some summer ailment and then fell back asleep, getting much needed rest, but missed the sunrise.

I would post these sunrises that I found on my IG account (and it would then post over to my Facebook account). I found that people were looking for the sunrises. They would ask be about them. They would encourage me with words like, "keep chasing sunrises!" They would sometimes tag me in a sunrise photo that they took. It's been a fun journey and I'm looking forward to starting to chase sunrises less sporadically as my summer is fast approaching.

It's been a reminder of a few things:

God is faithful!
My friends encourage me.
Chasing Sunrises is hard work sometimes, but definitely worth it.

This year

This is one of my favorite artists and a great song!

Let's make this year the best one yet!

This is my son and his oldest son, my grandson. We went to coffee today. It has been so nice to visit them in MI during our break from school. I'm at winter break from teaching and my husband, Dave, is at winter break from the Masters Degree program that he is in.

We've finished the course from last semester and we took a traveling adventure vacation for our break. We were talking yesterday about it and we haven't been on a break for this long in a very long, long time.

We left the day after Christmas and we flew to Canada. We left Canada on New Year's Eve and drove from there to MI. Tomorrow afternoon we'll fly to WA and then Saturday evening we'll fly home to Idaho.

 I always over pack on my trips. The only thing that I over packed this time was work out gear...one pair of shorts and a couple of t-shirts. I've used or will use all of what I have left. I know that I over pack so once I packed I took some things out. I've worn these boots almost the entire time we've been gone. The last two days I wore the tennis shoes because the weather was so nice, but today reminded us that it really is winter and the boots came back on! Maybe in WA I'll wear the tennis shoes again and maybe I'll get an official work out in...and where those shorts; but I doubt it. The weather forecast is more of the same! WINTER!

I'm beginning to enjoy winter. I am beginning to enjoy this season and the rest it brings. But I still look for those bulbs to pop out and remind me of spring!

This is the drive from my son's home to our home away from home during our stay here.

Frankenmuth, MI is a wonderful place to visit and a great place to live. My son and daughter in love really like their community.

Community is so important. I've been really thinking about this word a lot this past couple of days:
*In my hometown of Meridian, ID I've seen on my Social Media accounts that neighbors are helping each other get unstuck as the great Snow apocalypse is happening there...living out community
*On those same Social Media sites a friend posted on how many books she has read this year and the comments were full of regrets and others listing their numbers. I have given up this amount of books because God is drawing me into community more and more and that means less time for books.

One last thing: 

According to Wikipedia, "A zipper, zip, fly, or zip fastener, formerly known as a clasp locker, is a commonly used device for binding the edges of an opening of fabric or other flexible material, like on a garment or a bag.[1] It is used in clothing (e.g., jackets and jeans), luggage and other bags, sporting goods, camping gear (e.g. tents and sleeping bags), and other items."

Also, according to most sites that I looked up, the zipper cannot be repaired if the box (see picture bottom of zipper right side) is broken off.  Mine broke off (it's a long and adventurous story). My coat would not zip up, which was ok since the weather was not too cold...but then today happened. It was in the teens. We found the company that we purchased the coat from and they replaced the coat since it was damaged. And now I have a new zipper! 

This year...I want to love God and love people well.

Day 3 is the hardest...

Last night when I went to bed I remembered that I had forgotten this...see, day 3 is the hardest.

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

 Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

The second day seems the hardest, but wait until day 3...

Seconds...
...something less then a minute (time)
...the next round, say for a meal (quantity)
...the next time around, for an item (second-hand shop)

The second part of our trip consisted of a transition from one family to another. We first went to Canada to see our daughter and her family...then they drove us to MI to see our son and his family...where they stayed until this morning/afternoon...that time between breakfast and lunch...kind of like dusk or dawn.

My heart is torn and tired. I am sad to see her leave, but I know she has to get back to her normal. I wish my normal included seeing her more often. I'm tired from a long trip of traveling in the winter.

After she left we went on a walk with my son and grandson, leaving my daughter in law (I want to so call her daughter in love, but when I tried I confused my son and he didn't like it too much :) That's ok. All my in law kids hold a very special place in my heart...I love them all so very much) and my other grandson at home to rest. On our way out I saw the hints of spring emerging from their flower bed.

We then went back to the place on the river where we were staying and I saw another remembrance of spring coming. Even in winter with the longest day come and gone, we are now looking forward to spring...the second season of the new year...we start in Jan in winter still...and then comes spring.

Around town there are the remembrances of the Christmas season...it is Frankenmuth, MI the Christmas Capital of the World after-all.

Our second half of the trip will allow us to be part of our son's new normal with their new little one. I am so glad that we were able to come out for this trip to see them. He is the youngest of the grand kids that we've been able to see. We live so far away from all of them that getting to see the new baby right away when they are newborns is not realistic nor possible, but this time it worked out. I am so thankful.

Today I was thinking about contentment. Contentment seems to come between fear and anxiousness and control. When I fear and am anxious I cannot be content, because I am so unsure of what is, what was, and what will come. I worry and fret...What is happening right now is not what I want my reality to be. And then when I am in an uber control mode I am not content either. I am trying to make the reality be the reality that I want it to be with my own power and strength.  This is not a good place to be either. Because I can never really be totally in control.

Contentment lies in the middle. It is a place of sure footing without having to be totally in control, nor worrying and fretting about reality. It is taking a realistic view of life as I know it right now and walking in faith with gratitude.

"But godliness with contentment is great gain..." 1 Timothy 6:6 (ESV)

"And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." Colossians 3:14-15 (ESV)

 Today was a wonderful sunny day. Today was a good day to be content.


"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13 (ESV)

Just start at the very beginning...a very good place to start...

Beginnings...

"Let's start at the very beginning
A very good place to start
When you read you begin with A-B-C
When you sing you begin with do-re-mi

Do-re-mi, do-re-mi
The first three notes just happen to be
Do-re-mi, do-re-mi
...
[Maria:]
When you know the notes to sing
You can sing most anything."
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher 
source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/soundtracks/s/thesoundofmusiclyrics/do-re-milyrics.html

At church today, (Frankenmuth Bible Church) the pastor encouraged us to take another look at reading the Bible all the way through. I love reading the Bible...but plans always make me feel guilty...you see, sometimes I just get stuck on a verse or a piece of a verse and then I get off the plan. I'm still reading every day, or most days, but sometimes it's a little, sometimes it's a lot. And then, there's the days when sometimes its the same thing over and over until it sticks. You know, the kind of sticking that changes your life.  This plan looks like something that I'll be able to stick to...well, I'm going to start! I'll see how I do.  

Here's a video to start with:

Beginnings:

1) Genesis 1:1 (ESV) The Creation of the World

"In the beginning, 

God created the heavens and the earth."

2) Proverbs 1:7 (ESV) The Fear of the Lord

"The fear of the Lord 

is the beginning of knowledge; 

fools despise wisdom and instruction."

3)Proverbs 4:7 (ESV) Wisdom

"The beginning of wisdom is this: 

Get wisdom,

    and whatever you get, get insight."

4)John 1:1(ESV) The Word Became Flesh

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

 This is the view that I have today. Right now, as I write. As I stay in this quaint little house in MI by the river watching over my little grandson, who was the littlest up to a week ago. Within a week he has become the 3rd from the youngest grandchild. It is amazing what a week will bring. A week ago I was at home in freezing weather on Christmas having lunch with a friend from church. Then I went on to finish preparing the house and myself for our trip. And what a trip it has become! We left just last Monday to go to Canada to see this grandson and his mommy and daddy who all live there. We had grand adventures! We saw a lot of snow! (It was warmer than Idaho though.) Then we drove yesterday from Canada to Michigan to meet our now, 2nd to youngest grandchild (and his daddy and mommy and brother), who only last night still was the youngest...

oh, what adventures early morning brings!

 I awakened to a text from my daughter...the MI cousin, would quickly give up his title of "youngest" as our daughter had her daughter just a little bit into the new year! From 5 to 7 in less than a week! It amazes me, this bringing of new life into the world...I saw it happen 3 times in my life as a mom and now 7 times as a grandma...and yet, it still amazes me. I want to soak it all in like warm sunshine in a sun room on a cold winters day...soak it all in until I can't hold any more, then soak some more...I know soon that I'll be going home to my empty nest...but for now, I just keep soaking it all in. I wonder if that is what Mary and Moses felt...

"But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." Luke 2:19 (ESV)

And Moses would put a veil on his face after speaking with the people (after he had been with God)...so they wouldn't see it fade? (Exodus 35)

My heart is full...and it will continue to fill. I am treasuring these things. I am pondering them in my heart. I wish I could put a veil on so that people around me won't see this all fade...until I see my kids again...but that is not the life that I live in.

I live in a place of ministry to people. That means that I get to live life with people and that means that we see the things that fill us all up fade. We support each other. We love each other. We encourage each other. We practice the "one anothers" with each other, no matter how awkward at times it becomes. 

I long for the day when I will get to be with all my kids together in one place, in one time zone...but until that day I will continue to treasure the bits of time that I do get!

Day 14: I pledge...

At the school I work out we say the pledge of allegiance as part of our daily routine.  Once a week we have a chapel and everyone says it all together all at once in one place.  It is fantastic to hear.

It makes me think every time I say it if I really believe what I am saying.  Do I really pledge my allegiance here or is it just a chant.

I think that when I was in school it was kind of a chant.

Allegiance, liberty and justice are all such grand words. They are words that make me think. They are words that hold emotions.  

No one country is nor can be the perfect country.  The reason is that each country is made up of its citizens and no one country has perfect citizens.  But wouldn't it be great if such a country existed?  Where all the citizens were cared about and cared for; where justice truly was blind and would not be swayed by corrupt motives; where people could truly live in freedom.

The Bible says that when God had finished creating all of earth and the first two citizens of earth that God said, "It was very good." (Genesis 1-2). This sounds pretty perfect to me.

But then the Bible says that something went terribly wrong. The citizens rebelled against God, the Creator.  And ever sense then we've been longing for that perfection, only to come up short. (Genesis 3, Romans)

But one day it will all be made right again.  

 

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” (Psalm 46:1-11 NIV)

Day 13: Many Hands

I believe greatly that many hands make light work.  I believe that we work better in community.  Even as an introvert I know that I am a better person when I am part of a community.

“God sets the lonely in families”

(Psalm 68:6a NIV)

Day 12: Looking for a New Me

It's January and everyone is looking to become a newer version of themselves.  

During this month of beginnings I want to remember truth from the Bible:  the Creator of the universe made me!

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!”

Psalm 139:13-17 NIV

Day 11: Monday

EI tried looking up Monday quotes, but I started feeling really sad.  Most of the quotes had something to do with a disdain of Mondays.  

It's sad really, that Mondays have such a bad rap.

And then I stumbled on this:

"Oh!  Hello Monday, you're here..."

I used to really like Mondays when my kids were home.  The weekends were nice, but Mondays put us back on schedule without all the work.  Mondays lacked meetings and tests and ball games.  Mondays were where we could slow down again and reset.  They were a fresh start to a new week.

Now, on Mondays, we have friends who come over for a simple meal and conversation.  It's a great way to start our week!

Day 10: All You Need Is Love

Here's my quote for today:

"We are not born knowing how to understand and express what is inside our souls. That kind of knowing ourselves requires contemplation and reflection. We have to learn to notice and be aware of our internal experiences, to search our hearts and find words for what is inside us. Being fully known and understood requires that we say aloud to someone else what is going on within our souls."

Milan Yerkovich, How We Love: Discover Your Love Style, Enhance Your Marriage

I think this might be one reason why we take vows to be married for a lifetime.  I think it will take a lifetime to accomplish this. 

(Dave and I went to "How We Love" Conference this weekend.  We are learning how to love each other and love others better.  I'm glad.)

  

Day 9: Grace on a Saturday Night

"It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren." Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Sometimes it's just us, Dave and Beth.  Most of the time it's us together in a larger community.  But tonight it was just us.

I like us.

Day 8: Tea is Always a Good Idea

I am so cold!  I told Dave today that I'm done with winter and I'm ready for summer.  He reminded me that winter had just begun.

So, when I got home I made myself a cup of tea to warm up. 

I've found that steeping my tea in hot milk is just perfect!

Unless you forget to turn the heat on.  

Here I was carefully stirring the milk with a whisk so it wouldn't scald thinking about how wonderful it would taste...and I forgot to turn on the heat!

Sometimes turning the heat up is a good thing!

Day 7: I'm Beyond Proud of You!

Thursdays we have Physical Training with Victoria.  It was our Christmas present to each other.  Dave calls it torture and Victoria laughs.  Our friend, Michelle, who works at the Y waited after class today to tell me how proud she was of me and my work on a bosu ball.

Dave and I are both trying to grow old gracefully together.  Part of that is realizing that we need some help strengthening our bodies so we can continue to live the life we love; hanging out with our kids & grandkids; hanging out with the teens at our church (he's the youth pastor), at my school (I teach), and just about everywhere (Dave teaches a Bible class for a religious release period at our local high school and we both volunteer at youth camps throughout the year), hanging out with people and loving them and telling them about Jesus.

We want our love to abound more and more with each other.  That's one reason that we are doing this training together.  Victoria tries to make our training fun and something that we could do together.  Most of our training is together and most of the time we end up laughing.  We tend to make Victoria smile a lot.  And that makes us both very happy.

P. S. On Thursdays I'm going to write about random things that I like.  Today I was writing about marriage and my quote was Philippians 1:9.

Day 6: I'm Tired

Today has been a long day.  

"Take time to be thankful for everything you have.  You can always have more, but you could also have less."

I'm thankful for the first day of a new semester of teaching.

I'm thankful for food to feed my friends.

I'm thankful for a group of girls that I got to hang out with this evening (Shout out to CrossCurrent Youth Group high school gals!).

I'm thankful for a husband who will do laundry and change the sheets so guests can stay.

I'm thankful for a full day where I think I've used up all of my words.

P. S. Wednesdays I'm going to try to write about gratitude.

Day 5: Imperfect Progress

Today's quote is credited to Tim Keller and Abigail Van Buren.  I really couldn't figure out who said it first, but here is, "the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints." (On Tuesdays I'm going to try to write about the church.)

I was thinking about this quote today when I went to the local YMCA for a Refit class led by my friend, Susan.  I had texted her yesterday asking if I could still come even though I had tweeked my knee and it still isn't at it's full strength.  She said, "sure!"  I knew she would.

I didn't want to miss the class because I knew that it would just be easier next week to miss.  And then I'd end up never going back.  I know myself.  I had to just go.  I couldn't do everything, but my knee is a little bit better so I did more than I thought I could do.  I always concentrate and watch Susan because (1) I will get confused and trip myself and (2) I don't want to see myself in the mirror.  I got a little confident and looked at myself.  You those moments when you think you look one way and then the reality of how you really look hits you.  Well, I had one of those moments during the class.  

I had to fight back thoughts of embarrassment of how I looked and just keep up with Susan instead.  Before class, Susan had asked us to write something that we wanted to give up.  I had written "excuses."  And then she had us write what characteristic we wanted to add this year on a name tag and wear it during the class.  I wrote "joy."  In that transparent moment of seeing me as I am in the mirrorI realized that I could really give up the excuses and choose joy.  I was at the class and finished the class.  I plan on going back next week.  I'll make better choices on what I eat.  I'll give up the excuses and enjoy life!  

Sometimes church can feel like going to the gym...you know, you only want to go if you already have your life in shape.

But the church is meant for us to love each other and encourage each other and take care of each other.  “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.” (Acts 2:42, 44 NIV)

Day 4: When Company Comes Over

On Mondays I'll try to write about food.  I'll try to give a recipe.  I'll try to talk about hospitality.

Tonight we started fellowship groups at our church.  We have a small group of three couples who have decided to join us on Monday nights for dinner and some time to get to know each other.

We had dinner around our now empty table (grilled chicken, roasted vegetables*, salad) and dessert (Dave's favorite: Alden's chocolate-chocolate chip ice cream (http://www.aldensicecream.com)).  We moved to the living room and talked and talked and talked.  Our new friends shared their life stories with us.  Our new friends got to know each other as well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*ROASTED VEGETABLES

1) Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2) Clean veggies appropriately then cut into small bite size portions.  (Tonight I had 1 baking potato (cubed/skin on), 1 sweet potato (skinned/ cubed), 1 large head of broccoli crown (sliced small, stem skinned and cubed).

3) Drizzle with oil (I used olive oil), season with minced garlic (I used 1 heaping teaspoon), salt and pepper to taste.  You could also use any herbs that you like.  I didn't tonight.  

4) Mix so the veggies are tossed in the oil and seasonings.

5) Put in lightly greased baking sheet (I used a casserole dish).

6) Put in oven and bake for 30 minutes or until the veggies are soft.

7) Eat warm from the oven. (Well, let them cool a bit, don't burn your tastebuds)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was going to take a bunch of wonderful pictures of our time together, but I remembered about the pictures about the same time my husband started the dishwasher. Oh well.

"There is no love more sincere than the love of food."  EXCEPT the love of a friend!   “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” (1 John 4:7 NIV)