Lost

I seem to have a problem losing things. I am not sure if it is old age, irresponsibility or what. I hate the feeling that I have lost something valuable. It is a nagging sense of something not being right.
My new response to a loss is to try and not get worked up and raise my blood pressure. I try talking calmly to myself saying:
"It's not big deal. You can replace it if you have lost it. Relax and think. Where could you have put it?"
In the past I have lost the diamond out of my ring - TWICE. Well today I topped that. I lost my RING altogether! It has been loose but I can't imagine how it came off. I have looked in the soup that I was cooking. No luck. Then I checked the garbage grinder with no results.
I noticed it was gone when I finished washing my hands in the bathroom. But there is no way it could have gone down the sink- the opening it too small. If it dropped in the toilet- well it is long gone.
I grieve the loss since I have had it for 33+ years.
Of equal amazement is that somehow I have lost my marriage license too. Not today of course, but at some point in the distant past. It was in a black folder along with my birth certificate, and the divorce papers.
So the question is:
Am I no longer married?
Of course not. These things were just reminders of my lifelong commitment to my husband. No one can steal that marriage from me- I am his and he is mine.
In the same way, I may lose my Bible , my church or my freedom to worship in public. But that does not mean I am not longer a child of God. No one can steal that relationship from me. I am God's and He is mine for eternity.

It's not fair

I have decidede that I should not read the news . I see people doing things that are not right and prospering. What's up with that? If I am not careful I could end up envying their prosperity.
David struggled with that too. Psalm 73 reflects his feelings. He came to the place of feeling that he had kept himself pure in vain. He felt he was punished every morning! When he tried to understand it, it oppressed him.
Then he entered God's presence and he understood it all:
Suddenly the wicked are destroyed and completely swept away by terrors.
Queen Victoria weighs in on this too:
My lord Canterbury, just because God doesn't balance His accounts every Thursday, does not mean that he won't balance His accounts in the end!
It's never in vain when you follow Christ and seek to please Him. When God balances His books, His children will have incredible rewards.
I can wait. How about you?
It will be worth it all!

Itchy

I have had over a week of suffering from itching skin. It began on my back, where, of course I can't reach it. I have had to get creative and finally found that my knitting needle worked great! Then it spread to other locations, driving slowly mad.
Of course Jon has such a helpful solution:
" Don't scratch it".
That really helped. NOT!
I tried oatmeal lotion, advanced healing lotion, and other things I had at home. All to no avail.
I was really getting desperate and decided to go to the store and get that often advertised Gold Bond Lotion. I will never know if it would have worked since they did not have any. They did have Gold Bond Powder but it was $8.00. I had a long talk with myself in the store and we decided that if we spent $8.00 and it did not work that would be almost as bad as the itch.
But never fear, they had some Benadryl in a clear gel that should work for $3.95. The container was like the thing you use to moisten stamps and first off I could not get anything out. Upon reading the directions again, it said, not to be used for large areas. Well, let me tell you, I had a large area by now and the stress was making my itch even more!
Then I got a brainstorm and tried the help site at Kaiser online. No answer to my question but they did refer me to the healthwise book we got from them. Frankly I had forgotten we had it. Most of their suggestions I had tried:
Did you get a new detergent for your clothes?
Did you begin taking new medicine?
Etc.
But then I hit the jackpot:
Try hydrocortosone cream.
Yipee- we had some. I put it on liberally - over a large area. Ha!
Just to make doubly sure, I decided on getting new detergent that is for people that are skin sensitive. I came home and rewashed all my underwear and tshirts.
I have to say that within less that 24 hours all the itching was gone. GONE!!!!!
What it took was the advice book I forgot I had.
Do you have an itchy problem? Maybe not on your skin but in your family or your emotions? Check out the advice book - God's word. His remedies are guaranteed, unlike the Benadryl I bought.

$3.00 worth

I read this quote and found it so true that I have to share it.

I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not the new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God please.

God is not looking for buyers, he is looking to buy you and me. He wants people that are sold out to Him.
May that be ME!

Did you hear that?

Today I was upstairs on the computer when I heard Jon talking to me.
"Be quiet!"
At first I thought he was talking to the dog. But soon realized he was talking to me!
" Huh?"
" Did you hear that?"
" What?"
" Shush" Or however you spell that.
Now my curiosity was peaked so I stopped what I was doing and came to the top of the stairs.
" What are you doing?"
"I think that something is in the wall! But I can't figure out how that can be since there is no way to get in at this location."
I thought I had better head this off quick since I knew he was worried about a 'star' in the wall.( rats spelled backward)
"Maybe it is a bird outside"
" I checked and can't see anything. I had better close the flue in the fireplace so nothing can come down the chimney."
" Well now you have something new to worry about besides your hip pain." Probably the wrong thing to say, in hindsight.
After more minutes of silence and detective work he concluded that maybe it( whatever it was) was in the gutter outside after all and he just could not see it.
Bored ,I wandered back to the computer and finally he went off to do something else.
The key to this mystery was being quiet so we could hear the 'noise'( which I never really did)
It is the same key in hearing God speak to your heart. You have to be very quiet. And in our noisy society that is rare. So tune out and find a quiet place and let God speak. He may have an important message- like how much He loves you!

A lottery story

Years ago Ruth worked at the information booth at the mall and one of her jobs was to sell lottery tickets. On occasion I would go out and stand there to talk with her and watch the people.
One lady I observed was so sad. Not that her was sad exactly, but her story was. She had several large shopping bags from Macy's and was in line to buy a lottery ticket. She was saying under her breath:
" I just have to win something. I just do!"
Jon and I took that to mean that she needed to win back what she had spent. Talk about misplaced hope. We never heard the rest of the story but even now, years later, we still think of her frantic 'hope' that she would win.
An old hymn says,
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweeter frame but wholly lead on Jesus name.
I wish I had taken the time to talk to this troubled lady and introduce her to real HOPE.

The lottery

The odds of winning the lottery are so huge that most will never win. So what are you really buying? HOPE! Think about it. You hope that you will win and will pay for the chance to see that hope become reality.
Paul talks about hope in a very different way. He says that hope( in God) doesn't disappoint because God has poured out his love in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. So God's love is the evidence of how hope in God never fails to become a reality. That hope does not cost you anything but it sure cost the Father everything.
So which is the better bargain when you was going to 'buy' hope?
You think about it.

Coming home

We all have memories of being away and coming home that trigger sentimental emotions. Motel 6 plays on that with their ad " we'll leave the light on".
When Ruth as a baby we lived in Sierra Village at 5000 feet elevation. That winter we took a weekend trip and returned to find that it have snowed quite a bit while we were gone. Imagine our joy when we discovered that my father had braved the snow and let himself in to build a fire and cook dinner. We felt so loved and welcomed.
Last night we visited old friends. We had not been able to mesh our schedules for way too long. What a treat our visit was. We felt like family. Dan moved the heater close when he saw that I was cold. Lynn had pie for dessert, and remembered my favorite kind. Dan even made my tea. We left like we had 'come home'.
That is nothing compared to the homecoming that awaits us in heaven. Jesus said that He was preparing a place for us. I think it will be individual, suited to each of our tastes. Mine will have vast scenery out the windows and a comfy reading nook with an endless supply of books and tea. What will yours have? Of course the best with be Jesus being there and accessible 24/7, face to face.
"Welcome home children."

Easy Button

We have been on vacation - of sorts. In reality Jon has been on vacation from work but very sick again and I have been busy being nursemaid. There, that is out of the way.
Have you seen the Office Depot commercial with the easy button? When you're in a pinch, you hit the easy button and the problem is solved, instantaneously. The word is spelled correctly and the tricky operation is a success.
Today we had a chance to use the easy button. We had three items to accomplish at Kaiser, x-ray, lab work and a prescription to pick up. We pushed the easy button right off the bat and got right in to the x-ray with no one waiting. The same held true in the lab. Boy, this easy button thing is great I thought to myself.
But in the pharmacy things went very wrong and we had a 30 minute wait, amidst confusion, frustration and line crowders.
Some people think of prayer as an easy button. Say the right thing and God will do whatever you ask. But be assured, God is not a genie in a bottle but Sovereign God. He cares for his children and knows better than they what is best for them. He wants us to call to him, to pray, to cry out. He hears and answers but it may not always be 'easy'.

A little grows

I learned a lesson today. We had run an errand and when we came out of the store,I noticed something on the car, down toward the bottom edge. Being curious, I reached down to touch it. YUCK! It was black and sticky and I now had IT on my finger. What to do.?
Just then Jon noticed it on me and declared I had better be very careful in the car. I got in without a problem or so I thought. As we pulled away, Jon glanced over to me and his eyes rested on the dashboard which was sporting a nice spot of goo.
" How did that get there?"
"It wasn't me. I know I didn't touch that."
"Well, how else did it get there?"
"I don't know", I whined, knowing it had to have been me and I was in big trouble.
How, I asked myself could on tiny spot of goo grow and expand to reach out to the dashboard unbeknownst to me?
I never solved that mystery but Jon got it off as soon as we got home. Whew!!!
But I learned a graphic lesson:
No woman is an Island. What we do reaches out to others when we least expect it!

What is He like?

I love the bulbs peeking through the soil in my wine barrel. Each is unique and breathtaking in full bloom. I chose mostly shades of lavender- a favorite color. I also have pansies with their dear faces. I planted some new ones yesterday to replace those from fall that as leggy and ugly now.
The trees at our park as in bloom- so lovely with white flowers, though in truth they stink!
When I walk in the early mornings with Buddy I see the sun coming up and it too is awesome. Most often I miss the sunset but Jon sees it nightly with changing colors. All this and so much more screams that there is a Creator.
David put it this way: The heavens declare the glory of God. The skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Paul added that God's eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what was made.
So the real questions is not
"Is there a God?"
But what is He like?
And the answer is:
If you have seen Jesus, you know what God is like. See him in the pages of scripture and understand who he is and what he is like. Compassionate, forgiving, gracious and loving to all he has made, calling for them to come to him and find rest.
Are you asking the right question?

Seasons

This week we have had nice sunny days and Spring is in the air. I love the changing seasons. Winter brings fires in the fireplace and lights all over town. Spring comes with the bulbs blooming and time to trade a jacket for a sweater. That gives way to Summer and where we live it gets too hot but I do love being able to wear less clothes and sleeping with the door open at night. ( yes Buddy keeps us safe from the bad guys). The summer heat makes me long for Fall and the golden colors . By then I am ready for cooler weather and the need of a jacket.
Each season has it's perks. And each one is a reminder of God's faithfulness. He promised Noah that as long as the earth endured that seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night would never cease. So each succeeding season screams that God is faithful.
The other day on the radio, I heard a song that fits in here. The gist of it was that whatever you are facing right now, it is only for a season. I like that, for like the promise of the physical seasons, God's faithfulness is seen in bringing the heat of trials to an end, time and time again.
So whatever you are dealing with, remember that it is only for a season. Relax.

The prodigal's' Dad

In re-reading the parable of the prodigal son, I thought a lot about the parents today. First off we never hear about the mother. Barbara Johnson says maybe she had already gone to the home for the bewildered. But it is the Father that I was mostly thinking about. We do know that he was watching for his son to come home. Maybe he sat there every day waiting, hoping, longing, praying.
He watched with a heavy heart. Not because his son had taken his hard earned money and squandered it. He had a heavy heart because he missed his son dearly. With no cell phone or telephone, he probably had no idea where he was and how he was doing. That must have made unanswered questions harder.
Then it came to me. I know that song he sang as he sat there surveying the road leading into the farm. It went like this:
Wherever you go
Whatever you do
I'll be right here waiting for you.
Whatever it takes
Or how my heart breaks
I'll just be right here waiting for you.
And oh the rejoicing, when that son came.
Can't you feel his heart expanding in love as he ran to greet him.
The waiting was worth it all.

Death

Current saying:
Whoever dies with the most toys wins.
Truth:
He who dies with the most toys still dies and never takes them with him.
Proof:
Have you never seen a hearse pulling a Uhaul.?