God Loves Seekers

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People aren't argued into salvation, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't be informed and educated. It also doesn't mean you can't have healthy , vibrant discussions or debates. Just keep in mind that (ultimately) it's God's sovereign power, truth, and love that changes a life. Above all, focus on being an expert in His truth and love. Allow God's Holy Spirit to do the internal arguing and convincing for you. 

Bottom line: We depend on the supernatural work of God, not on our persuasive abilities. Bobby Conway

About three weeks ago I was on a plane heading to Illinois to be with my mother who was dying so my heart was heavy.   I did not pray, God give me a good seat mate, someone I can talk Jesus with for I was in no shape to really talk to anyone.  

Even before we took off the man sitting next to me started the usual conversation one has on a plane when forced to sit close to someone you don't know.  Are you from California?  Why are you going to St. Louis?  Then, I ask the man, why are you going to St. Louis?  What he told me was so interesting I had to ask more questions and soon we begin to get past the first level of getting to know a perfect stranger.  I don't even know when the conversation turned to spiritual things but it did turn.  His interest in science was impressive, especially  as he explained how scientist are  studying "life after death" , and they don't have an answer yet.  But they are sure there is something out there.  The fact they are seeking impressed me, God loves seekers, the wise men were seekers, all who went to hear Jesus speak were seekers.   The man I sat next to was a seeker. 

I am several weeks away from that plane encounter and having time now to look into  some articles on why science is seeking life after death.  Today I ran across an article by John Lennox, an Oxford mathematician, a scientist, a Christian.    He was debating this topic:

                                             Can Faith and Science Coexist?  

"THE MATHEMATICAL INTELLIGIBILITY OF NATURE IS EVIDENCE FOR A RATIONAL SPIRIT BEHIND THE UNIVERSE." JOHN LENNox

First,  I was amazed that I could grasped some of what Lennox was saying in this debate, his vocabulary is enormous.  Second, I am thrilled to know there are Christians involved in the lives of other scientist.  

I probably will never see that gentleman I met  again, but our conversation sparked an interest to seek out information into what does scientist believe about God and the here after?   Here is the bottom line, I want to be able to discuss difference between beliefs and come away from it knowing I was able to honor God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in my words.   I do not have to prove anything to anybody, I just have to give out truth in love, and leave the rest to God. Not one thing the man said made me doubt my faith in God or believing Jesus is the only way.   "There is something there" and  I know who it is, I know the one who created whats out there.  And in some ways it gave comfort in a time when my heart was heavy knowing I was facing seeing my mother leave this earth.  I stepped into her nursing home room ready to be there for her because God was there for me.  

In this debate John Lennox was defending his belief in God over  the deep issue of  suffering on this earth from a Christian perspective and I love his answer.

 Is there anywhere evidence of the existence of a God whom I can trust with this deep issue? Yes. At the heart of Christianity there is a cross. The central claim of Christianity is that Jesus Christ is God incarnate – which raises the question: what is God doing on a cross? At the very least that shows me that God has not remained distant from human suffering but has become part of it. Furthermore, Christ rose from the dead, which is a guarantee that there is to be a future judgement. This is a marvelous hope, because it means that our conscience is not an illusion, and those who terrorize, abuse, exploit, defame and cause their fellow humans untold suffering will not get away with it. Atheism has no such hope--for it ultimate justice is an illusion.

Wish he had been on that plane and part of the conversation I had.  But God took this heavy hearted simple women and gave her the privilege of talking Jesus with someone.  You know I am praying for this man...he said, I gave him some things to think about.  

The Dash

On April 9th we buried my mother.  Culturally where I am from, the family stand to the side of the casket as people file past paying their respect.  Each one spoke quiet comforting words, some even told funny stories about my Mom so there was laughter at times, she would love that.   

  

So many said they were praying  strength for us as we grieved  Mom's passing.  Finally everyone had passed by and was seated for the start of the service.  My husband started it off with a story that made everyone laugh.  I had the honor to tell Mom's salvation story and how that gave me strength to let her go.  Then I shared how so many  try to find their strength in a bottle but the bottle always gets empty.  The Spirit of God never empties us, He stays in our soul and take us to heaven leaving our shell which is all we see in that casket.  The pain of losing a love one varies. For those who have no hope where their love one will go is not a grief that I will struggle with. As Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. There will be a missing her grief for sure. 

My nephew gave the message on how our  life is that "dash" on our tombstone.  My mother dash was 89 years.   The dash symbolizes our entire life and we are the only one responsibility for what we do with it.  There is not enough space to write about all my Mom's life contained in that dash.  Even though she wanted to get out of the nursing home she still would give comfort to those around her.  The nurses would always tell me, your Mom is the friendliest person we have here, talks to everyone, what a legacy to live us.    So when she stopped doing that, starting staying in bed, not going to the singing's and the bingo we knew she was in the early process of dying.  Her mind gradually went back to  when her Mom and Dad were alive and it was great place to live for they loved her dearly. 

Of course all this stirs the heart to thinking about my own life, what do I want my legacy to be?  As I watched my son sit by his grandma bed singing old hymns she loved  and  my daughter laying next to her grandma singing to her, stroking her, kissing on her I think I know how my kids will treat me and their Dad when our day comes to leave this earth. 
I read this recently, "Everything I do in this life will be passed on to our children.  My ceiling will be their floor".  And I still have some time left to raise my ceiling.  

Thank you to all who prayed for my Mom, me and the family.  Those prayers brought heaven to earth often in the last two weeks.   

How are you doing in your dash?

   

Serenaded By Angels [Live]

                         

I cannot tell you how many times I have sung the song on this post at funerals,  enough that all my family has ask for it to be sang at their funerals, including my mother.

A few days ago we made the decision for me to go home and be with my mother while she could still know who I was. She is in the last stage of dying, her body is shutting down, hardly talks, eats no more then two bits of food offered her, moans a lot, cries out when the nurses move her. Today the decision was made to start her on morphine so she will be comfortable in this last stage.

Family and friends living in her home town hearing she is close to death stopped by today as I sit with her.  In a hushed voice I tried to explain how she is doing, many cried,  shocked at how fast she went down hill.  Bending down close to her face, each one gave her a kiss and said, I love you Mildred before they left her room.

I received several phone calls from family living long distance with  questions, should I come now,  how long do you think she will last?   Countless times I repeated what the Hospice nurse told me.  As hard as I tried I could not contained the tears from over flowing my eyes. It  feels like I am stuck between two places.     It's in that place my grief resides, wanting her to stay here yet wanting her to go on, to be out of pain.

Hospice has been great at helping us cope with the process of Mom dying.  Her body does not need physically energy that comes from food, the body is too frail to use it. So it's ok for her not to want to eat. .  According to Hospice a different energy is needed now, a spiritual energy.    At this point the one dying literally has one foot in each world, heaven and earth.   As she enters into the last stage of dying certain things will happen that are reserved for the end of life here unless it is a sudden death.

I as sitting right next to Mom as I type this, she is sleeping, not hurting at this moment because of the great meds.   I have watched a person in a remote place die,  no doctors, no nurse, no meds, it's not pretty and it's haunts you for the rest of your life but also brings a gratefulness in times like this because your loved one can have it all

Sometimes I stroke her hair, or  hold her warm hand, knowing soon that warmth will be leaving.  Her frail dress of flesh still holds life and because there is life she knows my voice and tries to open her eyes.  For months now she has been asking to go see her Mom and Dad who are dead.  No matter how deep her sleep is when you try to wake her, she will call out for her Mom.   I whisper in her ear now,   soon Mom you will see them, soon.  Just saying  those words fill me with courage to let her go.   it causes me to pray for God's mercy on her life..let it be quick, don't let her linger around this old earth, don't keep her in the dress of flesh, her robe of righteousness is hanging, waiting for her.

  In a weakened voice she ask  me to stay with her tonight so here I sit, writing to protect my mind and heart.  Somehow it calms me to put my feelings into words. Today my sister in law and I  picked out her burial clothes, talk about how we wanted the service to go,  who would do what.  Tonight I went through her things in her room at the nursing home, cleaned out closets, drawers, threw some stuff away, saved some things for this one and that one, you know those things ones does as we wait for a loved one to leave this world.  I am amazed at the strength God gave me to do that.  Sometimes I sing the song on this post, thanking Him that my daughter, her first Grandchild will be here to sing it.

I think I can stop now, the flow of words are ceasing to come and all that comes to my mind is, pray. 

 

I believe

This political mess is becoming a circus, each candidate running for office screaming they have the right way to run our country.  Each one spending tons of money trying to get us to believe they can fix this mess.  It's going to be a great disappointment to those who put their faith in their words.  No earthly man can fix our problems.   This mess does not shake my faith though for it is not in these men  who are running for office.  We are just where we are suppose to be according to the bible and God is working His plan for this world and it won't matter who is president, they will not over ride God's plans.  I am sticking right with the One I believe in.  He is faithful, He never fails me, He does exactly what He says He will do, His mercies are new everyday, His love is never ending.  Thank God He does not have to run for office of my heart every 4-8 years.  He ran for His office for 33 years, took His campaign all the way to the  cross  where His most famous speech was only three words, "IT IS FINISHED".   The world thought He was done until He did exactly what He said He would do  by rising from the grave, claiming victory over death for those who believe all He proclaimed.  

Changing roles

A friend and I were discussing how much our lives had changed as we have aged.   Recently I had to get hearing aids...and I might need a knee replacements, all those things we associate with being  old.   My grandchildren see this aging business through different eye, they never say,  Grandma, you are getting older, they just blurt it out, Grandma you are old.   Really it's not till stage 10 we see getting older possible in our life.  That's the age we wish we could live life over or have another life to live. 
  
The below is taken from a book by a Dr. Thomas Armstrong on how he sees the 12 stages of life.  But, I think he has left out one stage.  See if you can name it.  

1. Prebirth:  Potential – The child who has not yet been born could become anything –
2. Birth:  Hope – When a child is born, it instills in its parents and other caregivers a sense of optimism; a sense that this new life may bring something new and special into the world. 
3. Infancy (Ages 0-3):   Vitality – The infant is a vibrant and seemingly unlimited source of energy. 
4. Early Childhood (Ages 3-6):  Playfulness – When young children play, they recreate the world anew.  They take what is and combine it with the what is possible to fashion events that have never been seen before in the history of the world.  
5. Middle Childhood (Ages 6-8):  Imagination – In middle childhoood, the sense of an inner subjective self develops for the first time, and this self is alive with images taken in from the outer world.
6. Late Childhood (Ages 9-11):  Ingenuity – Older children have acquired a wide range of social and technical skills that enable them to come up with marvelous strategies and inventive solutions for dealing with the increasing pressures that society places on them. 
7. Adolescence (Ages 12-20):  Passion -  The biological event of puberty unleashes a powerful set of changes in the adolescent body that reflect themselves in a teenager’s sexual, emotional, cultural, and/or spiritual passion.  
8. Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35):  Enterprise –  It takes enterprise for young adults to accomplish their many responsibilities, including finding a home and mate, establishing a family or circle of friends, and/or getting a good job.  
9. Midlife (Ages 35-50):  Contemplation – After many years in young adulthood of following society’s scripts for creating a life, people in midlife often take a break from worldly responsibilities to reflect upon the deeper meaning of their lives, the better to forge ahead with new understanding.  
10. Mature Adulthood (Ages 50-80): Benevolence – Those in mature adulthood have raised families, established themselves in their work life, and become contributors to the betterment of society through volunteerism, mentorships, and other forms of philanthropy.  All of humanity benefits from their benevolence.  (Thats me, right there, in mature adulthood).  
11. Late Adulthood (Age 80+):  Wisdom – Those with long lives have acquired a rich repository of experiences that they can use to help guide others.  Elders thus represent the source of wisdom that exists in each of us, helping us to avoid the mistakes of the past while reaping the benefits of life’s lessons.    
12. Death & Dying:   Those in our lives who are dying, or who have died, teach us about the value of living.  They remind us not to take our lives for granted, but to live each moment of life to its fullest, and to remember that our own small lives form of a part of a greater whole. 

    Since I cannot go back through 1 to 9 stage  my only recourse is to trust Him to use me to give Him glory.  To use the wisdom I have gained from each transition to help someone maybe not make some of my mistakes and when they do, love on them with grace.    Help them to understand their mistakes do not have to define their life, they are only  part of life here on earth.   

Remember, I wrote there was one stage he left out, step 13, it's the icing on the cake. It makes all other stages pail in comparison.  I am sure you guessed it by now, it's the after life and it's as real as all the other 12 steps.  It's this step that I hold onto when I can't sleep because of knee pain or any pain this "older body" has.  There is more to His story living in me then getting older.   God does not want us to waste the stages of life.  

What stage of life are you in and how are you handling it?

Joey+Rory In The Time That You Gave Me

Like most everyone I have been following the journey of Joey Feeks as she battled cancer and over and over I have been impressed with the faith she and her husband Rory has shown to the whole world.   There is joy in my heart for this beautiful saint of God who no longer is in pain.  And there is even joy in my heart for the family left behind because Joey left them a peace money cannot buy.  Her peace will carry them over the rough times, and  it will carry them someday to a reunion in heaven. 

Of all her songs this one rings in my heart today.  

Stories

Are you a good story teller?  

Sanford Graduate School has some tips on telling stories by Communication lecturer JD Schramm.

Connect with Individuals

"Deliver one thought to one person in the room," Schramm advised, "and then turn your body and deliver another complete thought to another person. Have that moment. Eye contact is gold in storytelling. The more you can connect and pierce into somebody's eyes, the more you can break down resistance." It's also a good idea to step toward the audience and use hand gestures to illustrate points, rather than stay fixed and frozen in one place.

As in Music, Silence is Effective

"You might use moments of silence to let people catch up with you, or to frame something, like the first time you use a phrase or an acronym. Or you can use silence just to get everybody's attention, "Just a few seconds, appropriately used, can add emphasis to your presentation."

Don't Read or Memorize the Manuscript, Nor Try to Speak Off-the-cuff.

It's much more reliable and effective to memorize a list of bullet points and then practice telling the story over and over again, keeping the mental list as a reference.

Use PowerPoint Wisely

Slides should emphasize photography, illustrations, or charts, not words.

Know Your AIM: Audience, Intent, and Message

What do you want your audience to do as a result of this communication? "Sometimes you have to be explicit and say, 'I want donors,'". Other times you just want the audience to embrace an idea, or re-share the information with others. In any case, he said, "The best thing you can do is share a little bit at first, and have your listeners ask for more."

Use Personal Anecdotes, Self-deprecating Humor, and Accessible Language

Don't try to provide a thorough overview of your organization or focus solely on the tactical, factual sides of your story. Keep technical jargon to a minimum.

What do you think about Fato's story, did it bore you or captivate your heart? 

Hindrance...

Have you ever felt defective? Like there is some part of you that got messed up and now
God could not use you as you had hoped. 

This question hit home because I had failed, ONCE AGAIN, in speaking  truth with love to someone.   As soon as the angry words were out of my mouth I knew I had stepped on the devils territory.  From that point on my thought life took on a destructive pattern with words such as:  you are really not fit to teach a bible study, you cannot control  your mouth.   I am not shocked that I sin, but shocked at how quickly I get defeated over it.  How easily I want to crawl into a pit like a coward and not show my face to anyone.  

Thank God, thank God for I John 1:9  This precious word of truth gives me strength to come out of the pit.  

God used a message I read not to long ago about Nehemiah and the  hindrance he came up against as he served the Lord.  

1.  Neh. 6:1-4, Don't negotiate...that is what Eve did and we know the out come of that.   Ever try to negotiate with God? Wrong way to handle our sin.  When it comes to our sin we blame whoever is around for the reason we acted like we did. 

2. Neh. 6:5-9.  Don't give into intimidation.  If the devil can't take you out of serving, he'll try to scare you out.   

3.  Neh. 6:10-13. Don't fall prey to elimination.  The devil will try to trip us up with our sin and ruin your witness before others. If he can get us to lose our temper, build upon pride or get involved in some questionable business we can be elimination from serving God.  Eph. 5:15-17  Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men or women but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.  So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  

4. Neh. 6:15-19 Maintain your supplication. Pray, pray, pray a minute, an hour, when you walk, lie down, ride in your car, You got to have a Holy determined to handle hindrance. You got to have a faith that believes God can help you over come any sin in God's strength which He will liberally give to those who will humble themselves and pray

“Whoever is truly humbled — will not be easily angry, nor harsh or critical of others. He will be compassionate and tender to the infirmities of his fellow-sinners, knowing that if there is a difference — it is grace alone which has made it! He knows that he has the seeds of every evil in his own heart. And under all trials and afflictions — he will look to the hand of the Lord, and lay his mouth in the dust, acknowledging that he suffers much less than his iniquities have deserved.” 

― John Newton,   (Can I get an Amen?)

   

Loving through discipline

A few weeks ago my seven year old grand daughter and I were talking about the discipline  she had received from her Daddy over disobeying him.   I said, you know why your Daddy disciplined you?  She said no.  I said,  because he loves you.  Quickly she said, no, that's not true!  Her little mind  could not comprehend how a spanking and love could go hand in hand. I hope when she is an adult she will understand this truth.  Sad to say, some never do. 


Below is a few points  from Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Don Dinkmeyer, after thoughts in red are mine.  He is speaking to parents about disciplining their children but when I read over the list I thought to myself, if it's good enough for young children it's good enough for this older child of God. 

1. The necessity of discipline: to deter destruction:  (As an adult I understand this principal, that God loves me too much to let me get by for very long with disobedience). 

2.The means of discipline: actions and words . In the Proverbs 3:11 passage that is quoted in Hebrews, two different Hebrew words are used: yasar (discipline), which involves God's actions; and yakach (rebuke), which refers to God's words. Hebrews 12:5 tells us not to make light of God's actions and not to lose heart at His words of rebuke. Yasar refers to disciplinary actions; yakach refers to corrective words.  (God never, ever say something without backing it up with action).

3.The motive in discipline: to express love.  (The more we believe this, the more we sink our life in Him instead of ourselves).

4. The goal of discipline: to teach obedience . When you teach your children godly submission, you're teaching them to do the right thing for the right reason. You want them to get beyond the point where they say "I've got to" and get them to the point of obeying out of love and trust. 
(Exactly what God wants to teach us adults).

5. The result of discipline: short-term pain and long-term gain.  All discipline — not some or even most, but all — seems not to be pleasant, but painful. But there's a process involved; those who have been trained by it yield the fruit of righteousness.  ( I would not trade the times God has had to discipline me for anything.  Those times have  taught me the truth that nothing can separate me from the love of God, not even my own disobedience).

Our 7 year old grand daughter will have to have her own children someday to really understand all the principals of a father and mother who loves their children enough to discipline them.  When she does,  she will thank her Daddy for loving her through discipline.

Final thought:  God does not discipline us to subdue us, but to condition us for a life of usefulness and blessedness. 
Billy Graham

A Greater Purpose Then Happiness

The theme over at "The High Calling several months ago was "live happy",  but I could not get it together in time for the deadline.   So not to waste it, I thought why not use it for my first post of 2016. 

In my younger years I could easily name the thing I thought would bring me happiness.  A good man with a good job, a house with children to fill it.  And after 12  years of marriage and six miscarriages our first daughter was born so we bought a house from the good wages my husband was making.  Everything was in order for happiness to flow and it did often because I  got all I wanted.  
(Anybody see a problem though in what I just wrote? in case you didn't let me help you. My early take on happiness was on the foundation I got what I wanted.)

It's a proven fact material things will not bring lasting happiness, instant gratification, yes, but as soon as one see something better, the old ceases to bring happiness. 

Through the years God has put me in several places that would not insure happiness.  In fact I became very unhappy at times yet  I knew God wanted me in those place so I stuck it out for a greater purpose then "happiness"

In September 1942, Viktor Frankl, a prominent Jewish psychiatrist and neurologist in Vienna, was arrested and transported to a Nazi concentration camp with his wife and parents. Three years later, when his camp was liberated, most of his family, including his pregnant wife, had perished -- but he, prisoner number 119104, had lived. In his bestselling 1946 book, Man's Search for Meaning, which he wrote in nine days about his experiences in the camps, Frankl concluded that the difference between those who had lived and those who had died came down to one thing: Meaning, an insight he came to early in life. When he was a high school student, one of his science teachers declared to the class, "Life is nothing more than a combustion process, a process of oxidation." Frankl jumped out of his chair and responded, "Sir, if this is so, then what can be the meaning of life?"

 "Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desire are easily satisfied, and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided," the author write.

  When Jesus encountered the woman at the well, He told her that if she understood the gift of God and who it was who asked her for a drink, she would have asked for something different. If you and I understood God, we would ask Him for other things…things that He plants in our spirits. Let this next year be a time to grow in Him, to understand Him more each day…then we will ask for “other things”.

Safe Haven Bible Study

 

If I could pick a theme for this year, it would be, Understanding God more.

What would you chose for 2016?