I haven't sold a house since 1973 so this is almost a new experience: keeping everything in order, leaving the house with lights on and blinds open, smell good stuff sprayed around, looking lived in but not messy.
On top of that we've had to make some credit card changes. New numbers. New card sent several months ago that we never received. Hard to stay on top of all that and try to get the front gate painted in between realtor visits (thank you, Jesus!), take important papers to be shredded (maybe some day soon), go through boxes in the garage (we've done the house), and watch all the play-off football games (first things first.)
Yesterday I woke up with the beginnings of a head cold, which, I'm sure is nothing but stress detoxing. I'm managing to fight that pretty well.
Sunday we heard that we are citizens of Heaven and residents of earth. If I'm only a citizen of earth then I can't survive with all that we face down here.
The family thing is slightly better and again, I thank you, Jesus.
Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus--O, for faith to trust Him more.
Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus Christ. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Saturday Morning Musings
I just put a loaf of banana bread into the oven. Later today we'll serve it to friends after we play a few games of Hand and Foot. The dessert will salve the psyche of the losers and be a prize for the winners. At least I hope it's prize-worthy!
Kennedy's funeral is turned low on the TV. I'm not really interested in watching it, but since it's a "major" event, we are tuned to Fox. Yo Yo Ma is playing the cello. Maybe it isn't he since I didn't know he played anything except the violin. Or is the cello his instrument of choice? All the past living Presidents are there. (Hi! George! I still love you.) We recognize most of them. As for the Kennedy clan. Who are they? No longer are the familiar faces among them--the ones we used to immediately recognize. I'm not even sure if the wizened white-haired woman is a past wife or sister. Are any of his sisters still living? How many children did he have? Which ones are his own and which are nieces and nephews?
We've all seen the bumper sticker or heard the saying: He who dies with the most toys wins. Well, that isn't true. The saying should be: He who dies, dies and can't take his toys with him. Ted Kennedy is gone. All that he had has been left behind. We've read about his "good" deeds and his "bad." Even those won't matter to God when he stands before His Throne. At that time he only has to answer one question. "What did you do with Jesus?"
That's the question we all have to answer. Best to get it straight here and now rather than later. Later might be too late.
Kennedy's funeral is turned low on the TV. I'm not really interested in watching it, but since it's a "major" event, we are tuned to Fox. Yo Yo Ma is playing the cello. Maybe it isn't he since I didn't know he played anything except the violin. Or is the cello his instrument of choice? All the past living Presidents are there. (Hi! George! I still love you.) We recognize most of them. As for the Kennedy clan. Who are they? No longer are the familiar faces among them--the ones we used to immediately recognize. I'm not even sure if the wizened white-haired woman is a past wife or sister. Are any of his sisters still living? How many children did he have? Which ones are his own and which are nieces and nephews?
We've all seen the bumper sticker or heard the saying: He who dies with the most toys wins. Well, that isn't true. The saying should be: He who dies, dies and can't take his toys with him. Ted Kennedy is gone. All that he had has been left behind. We've read about his "good" deeds and his "bad." Even those won't matter to God when he stands before His Throne. At that time he only has to answer one question. "What did you do with Jesus?"
That's the question we all have to answer. Best to get it straight here and now rather than later. Later might be too late.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Hardest Job
Maybe I said it before but I feel compelled to say it again. The hardest job in the world is being a parent. Not only is it the most difficult, it's the most important.
When I was a child, I could play outside after dark, go anywhere in the neighborhood, ride the bus to town and wander all over Polk Street--all without worrying that some crazy man was going to pick me up. I'm sure that happened, but we weren't scared about it. My friend, Anna Lou, and I would fix a lunch and walk about a mile and a half across vacant lots to a cemetery on the outskirts of Amarillo where we'd spend the day. This cemetery had a little bridge that went from the main area and the mill, over to to a small island. I don't know how we spent the day, but we stayed for hours. Then we'd walk home and our parents, knowing where we had been, weren't the least bit worried about us.
My brother was 7 years younger than I was and when Mother went shopping, many times he and I sat in the car--ALONE. Nobody ever noticed.
My girls in the 50s and 60s were able to play outside, ride their bikes to school and around the neighborhood--safely. I don't remember ever leaving them in the car alone until they were teenagers, and that would have been their choice to wait for me--if they went with me at all.
According to TV ads a parent has to have a GPS on their child and can't let them out of their sight. We hear about kids being stolen from their front yards and from a baseball field in plain sight of hundreds of people. I can't imagine the pressure that puts on parents. Not only do parents have to worry about what someone else will do to them, they have to be concerned about what their kids are seeing on TV, on the computer, in school and at their friends' houses. Who can they trust any more? How do they even choose a babysitter? Or do they just stay home unless they have a friend or family member to babysit?
As I've said before, I heard someone say we are putting people out from our high schools and colleges that have no moral compass. How will that affect your kids, parents?
Hard? Worse than hard. Frightening. That's why we have to grab hold of the Saviour and hold on tight. And we have to help our kids come to know Him and His power. Not just a long haired man in a Sunday School story, but a real, living, loving being who wants to have a relationship with them. When my oldest daughter was about 3 she had an imaginary friend. This friend was Dr. Kildaire from a TV program. He was with her all the time--sat in a chair when we ate, when we watched TV, when she went to bed. He wasn't someone far away in Los Angeles. He was her friend and was with her all the time. That's how our kids need to know Jesus. He's not someone far away in the sky that they'll one day meet in Heaven, but someone who lives in their house, in their heart, is with them at school and when they go to bed.
I wish I'd been as "wise" back then as I am now. :) I pray that all the Godly parents I know are teaching their kids to believe that "Jesus loves everyone, but I'm His favorite."
When I was a child, I could play outside after dark, go anywhere in the neighborhood, ride the bus to town and wander all over Polk Street--all without worrying that some crazy man was going to pick me up. I'm sure that happened, but we weren't scared about it. My friend, Anna Lou, and I would fix a lunch and walk about a mile and a half across vacant lots to a cemetery on the outskirts of Amarillo where we'd spend the day. This cemetery had a little bridge that went from the main area and the mill, over to to a small island. I don't know how we spent the day, but we stayed for hours. Then we'd walk home and our parents, knowing where we had been, weren't the least bit worried about us.
My brother was 7 years younger than I was and when Mother went shopping, many times he and I sat in the car--ALONE. Nobody ever noticed.
My girls in the 50s and 60s were able to play outside, ride their bikes to school and around the neighborhood--safely. I don't remember ever leaving them in the car alone until they were teenagers, and that would have been their choice to wait for me--if they went with me at all.
According to TV ads a parent has to have a GPS on their child and can't let them out of their sight. We hear about kids being stolen from their front yards and from a baseball field in plain sight of hundreds of people. I can't imagine the pressure that puts on parents. Not only do parents have to worry about what someone else will do to them, they have to be concerned about what their kids are seeing on TV, on the computer, in school and at their friends' houses. Who can they trust any more? How do they even choose a babysitter? Or do they just stay home unless they have a friend or family member to babysit?
As I've said before, I heard someone say we are putting people out from our high schools and colleges that have no moral compass. How will that affect your kids, parents?
Hard? Worse than hard. Frightening. That's why we have to grab hold of the Saviour and hold on tight. And we have to help our kids come to know Him and His power. Not just a long haired man in a Sunday School story, but a real, living, loving being who wants to have a relationship with them. When my oldest daughter was about 3 she had an imaginary friend. This friend was Dr. Kildaire from a TV program. He was with her all the time--sat in a chair when we ate, when we watched TV, when she went to bed. He wasn't someone far away in Los Angeles. He was her friend and was with her all the time. That's how our kids need to know Jesus. He's not someone far away in the sky that they'll one day meet in Heaven, but someone who lives in their house, in their heart, is with them at school and when they go to bed.
I wish I'd been as "wise" back then as I am now. :) I pray that all the Godly parents I know are teaching their kids to believe that "Jesus loves everyone, but I'm His favorite."
Monday, October 13, 2008
Deep Roots
We went to a movie Saturday afternoon--"Fireproof"--which is execllent. Not one cuss word or naked or dead body. Good acting, much of it done by local Georgians. I can find God in most anything, including a movie, but in this movie I didn't even have to search for Him. The actors used the name of Jesus Christ in the way it's supposed to be used--as the Saviour and the One who changes lives.
While we were in the movie, the west side of Albuquerque had a horrific storm. Wind, rain, hail. A friend told me about a huge tree in her backyard that was uprooted. I've seen that tree and would never have imagined, as large as it was, that it could fall so easily. She said it brought a lesson home to her. As beautiful as it was, and as good as it looked, the tree had shallow roots. The lesson? We can look good on the outside but if our roots aren't deep into God, we can fall as quickly as that tree did.
Our country is in crisis. With businesses failing all around the world, we need to have our roots deep into our faith in God. Years ago I spent an entire year meditating and memorizing Psalm 91. I personalized it: "No evil shall befall me--He shall give His angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways--Because she has known my name, therefore I will deliver her and show her My salvation--"
I have said these words many times since that year. Every time I say them, I believe my roots in Him go deeper. Whatever happens to me--to us--to the country, God never changes, and we can count on His salvation.
While we were in the movie, the west side of Albuquerque had a horrific storm. Wind, rain, hail. A friend told me about a huge tree in her backyard that was uprooted. I've seen that tree and would never have imagined, as large as it was, that it could fall so easily. She said it brought a lesson home to her. As beautiful as it was, and as good as it looked, the tree had shallow roots. The lesson? We can look good on the outside but if our roots aren't deep into God, we can fall as quickly as that tree did.
Our country is in crisis. With businesses failing all around the world, we need to have our roots deep into our faith in God. Years ago I spent an entire year meditating and memorizing Psalm 91. I personalized it: "No evil shall befall me--He shall give His angels charge over me to keep me in all my ways--Because she has known my name, therefore I will deliver her and show her My salvation--"
I have said these words many times since that year. Every time I say them, I believe my roots in Him go deeper. Whatever happens to me--to us--to the country, God never changes, and we can count on His salvation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)