Gifts Garner Gratitude

I am joining a thanksgiving journey ...
See "One Thousand Gifts" button on the bottom of this post.

Two things are uppermost on my heart tonight.

First my Dad, who experienced a miracle several weeks ago

when he went into the hospital with a blocked artery

and had emergency surgery adding three stents,

and walked out of the hospital two days later...

(Praise Jesus who answers prayer!)

He is going in Thursday for two more for smaller arteries

that are 70% blocked. I am trusting the Lord

for His merciful miraculous power

to work again through the surgeons...

Not sure how this will look, but on the left I am holding the "before"

and on the right Dad is holding the "after".

Photo via sister's cell phone.

Our joy was overflowing as we thought of

what could have been if not for the Lord...

The second is my husband who started biking

and changing his eating habits

has lost 30 lbs and is continuing to be highly motivated. (!!!) 

An equal blessing is our having a common hobby as the nest has emptied.

The past two wonderful autumn~in~Wisconsin weekends

we have gone on daytrips up North.

Glorious.

The "mountains" have been ours alone (or it has seemed!)

The cool, crisp air...the fragrance...the falling leaves...

the sound of gravel under our tires...

Pushing (and it truly IS!!!) our body up the hills...

exhilleration... coasting down...

 Challenges faced...and won..

And since it is AUTUMN...

Sight delights...aromatic, flavorful Door County Pumpkin coffee,

hand~made"log" pumpkins from a dear friend...

Beloved Bittersweet...

 Little people enjoying a treat in my gift shop...

 My daily messes on the island in my kitchen

representing the joys and experiences of life in the now...

Thank you Jesus.



Bittersweet

How often the word "bittersweet" appears in the stories I read of people's lives and experiences. After having discovered the bittersweet plant growing on our windmill the first autumn we were on our farm (2001) I decided to name my gift shop after it. Life had given us many experiences that were both bitter and sweet. Bitter being the death of my father-in-law, and the death of a niece and later a brother...Sweet being our adventures as a family...being able to visit Boston and New Hampshire in the fall (my very first plane ride!), and the daily adventures of life on the farm, kids in school, etc. So the name seemed fitting in more ways than one...

Outside the window by my cash register, I have often glimpsed shoppers gazing on the beautiful vine on our windmill. In the fall, it is covered in orange berries. Curious lovers of bittersweet come to the shop seemingly because they want to "talk bittersweet". They want to know where I get it, how I grow it, etc. As a result, since I can't take credit for my own vine, I have done some research in order to have a response to the inquiries.

It seems growing bittersweet is a bittersweet experience. For starters, you have to have one male and one female plant. Rarely do people end up with one of each; I have heard it is difficult to distinguish between the two. Then it takes a few years before you see fruit, so it is a painfully long wait for the well~loved vines. I can imagine waiting several years and not seeing any orange berries, only to discover that you wont be getting them...

In my research, I discovered there are two types of vines, those (wild ones) that spread underground and are rampant out East. The articles I have read express frustration with bittersweet choking out other plants, and people want to get rid of it *gasp*!! (I know many Midwesterners who would love to take it!!!)

As time has gone on with our little Bittersweet Farm, and all the bittersweet stories, whether in life or in plants, I've come to understand that the bitter things have a certain impact on us and they seem to make the "sweet" things, well, sweeter! (not that the bitter things don't rightfully cause us to mourn~of course they do!)

Those who have struggled to grow the vine have a reason to connect with those who have one. It brings life~connections. My life has been sweetened by the conversations with people who come in the shop. I hope they would say the same thing!

Those of us who have experienced bitter loss, setbacks, and failures can attest to the awakening of our hearts with gratitude for the "still haves" in life. When we lose a loved one, we cherish our family more. When we experience loss of wealth or home or job, we seem to find that the things we still have are the important things anyway. We look back after recovering, and find that our endurance has increased, and so has our faith.

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

If you or someone you know is experincing life's bitterness as a result of loss, come along side of them, be there for them. You don't have to say anything regarding their loss, just a smile, a prayer, a phone call is all that is needed for sweetening bitter times. And a little orange vine to dress up a home in the fall is sweet too!

What Is More Important?

I am quite certain that God loves seeing His children loving on, and enjoying one another, yielding their rights in order to keep peace and unity...being considerate...being compassionate.

Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? Amos 3:3

 

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity! Psalm 133:1

Jesus prayed for His followers in John 17 just before He went to the cross that we would be one as He and the Father are One.
 
I don't know if you are seeing what I am seeing in our "Christian world" where ideas clash like waves on the Lake Superior shore. Where people defend their rights instead of giving up something in order to not offend a brother or sister in the Lord. Where self~righteous name~calling seems the popular thing to do when someone is offended by another's choices or by a loving rebuke. "Judgememtal" and "Legalistic" are thrown around like one serving a tennis ball...people seem unbending, unyielding...
 
Where is the love of Jesus in His followers? Where is our willingness to lay down our lives for the brethren? Where is our self~denial? Where is our humility? Where is our desire for HIM when we are unwilling to submit to one another out of reverence for Him?
 
Let's read and spread the message of Romans 14 and 15. Particularly Romans 15:2-5:
 
Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, if it grieves me, it must grieve you more that people love things and ideas more than You and one another. Please help us to honor You by submitting to one another and walking in unity. Forgive us for our self-protective ways. Help us to be willing to lay down. To once again climb up on the altar and Romans 12:1,2 for YOU!
In Jesus' Name~Amen.

The Plans I Have For You...?

This barn is on my running route. When my kids were 5 and 7 and we were homeschooling, we discovered a park about 5 miles from our home in town. It's a lovely setting on the Apple River. Just before you get to the park, you pass this (above) picturesque hobby farm.

 I asked the Lord then if we could live there someday (really, I did!) and felt like He would answer that prayer. It seemed perfect. Ethan loved, loved to be near water (it is a skip and jump from the park). He always gravitated toward flowing water of any kind. It was one of those places of boyhood dreams.

And my husband had his heart set on having a hobby farm. 

Somehow,as we continued to shop the local paper for farms, I anticipated that this farm would become avaliable and it would be ours.

But God had other plans.

It turns out for the last nine years we have been living a half mile from this farm. On a different one.

Somehow, that seems noteworthy to me.

 There is something that still draws me to this little farm when I run by, something about it is alluring. The setting is private, surrounded by woods and cornfields, and so near the little park...but the Lord said, "no". Today I found myself wondering "why?". Not a complaint, but a curiosity...hmm. What is the reason we were parked on the other side of the highway from this little farm and further from the beloved river.

So as I run past this barn, and delight in it's beauty, I wonder...at the Lord who "chooses the exact places where we live" (Acts 17:26b) Not on this farm, but on one a half mile away...Why?

But I don't need an answer, because I know He knows.

And that is enough for me.

Today our nest is empty. We have just signed to put the farm for sale again. Wonder where He might take us? I hope it is near water. Oh I hope!

Living in Response to God

I was reading Lysa's post this morning about a mountain she faced early in her adoption story, when it came to me again; our walks of faith are simply responses to God's activity in our lives. If we respond with "yes" and with trust, then no mountain can stop us!

It takes the pressure off of us when we know that the mountains are not ours to scale alone. Wherever God calls us, wherever we find ourselves, He is there and He equips us with everything we need. As Susie Larson stretches out her arm, she explains that living by faith is always something beyond our arm's reach. Something that we cannot do in our own strength. That illustration stays with me. Whenever I face something I feel is impossible, I recall the outstretched arm and I realize this is where faith must kick in.

If you go read Lysa's story, you see God. You put yourself in her shoes through her words and you can see the impossibility, and then you know she has scaled the mountain, and you know she didn't do it on her own. God is magnified.

Like Lysa, I just dropped off a boy at college. I look behind me at the mountain that I just climbed and I see God, because I know I know my son wouldn't be standing by my side singing his heart out to Jesus on Sunday morning worship at College if it wasn't for God, His Spirit, and His word.

Parenting: A Preparing & Purity Parallel

It has been nearly a year since we threw a huge party in our yard. Preparing for Kayla and Andrew's wedding consumed my time and attention for eight months prior to the party, and the joys of the party have lingered over the course of this year as we (my husband and I) have watched their union grow and develop, and as we have seen the Lord working in their lives.

The fact that the Lord designed marriage to be a physical picture of a spiritual reality brings a sense of wonder, and an invitation to meditate on the message(s) that He desires for us to have...

I mentioned eight months of preparation, but actually we had been "grooming" Kayla as her parents since her birth for this next phase of life that she entered on Sept 4, 2009. Our desire has been for her life to express and represent Jesus by loving, honoring and obeying Him. One of my deep desires for both of my children is that when they go to the altar to give themselves to their spouse, that they be pure. I have specifically prayed for that from the beginning of their lives.

There were times when we had to intensely battle in prayer for Kayla's purity. The enemy had designs to ensnare her. But we were watchful. We were prayerful, and the Lord alerted us to things as they needed to be addressed. I marvel at hindsight. Seeing the times that God brought things to our attention, going to prayer, and then seeing Him bring about good. He kept her safe, He kept her pure.

So...look at the spiritual picture, and the message in it from God for His Bride...

"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Matthew 25:10

Scripture tells us Jesus is the Bridegroom, and His Church is His Bride. His Bride should spend her time getting ready for when he comes for us.

Before I tell you what we did right (by God's grace) to prepare her, I will tell you that we made many mistakes. But the Lord is merciful and gave us grace and second chances in our messes as we kept turning to Him. He honored and blessed our desire for His will to be carried out, and His vision for Kayla's life that He planted in our hearts. Remember too, that He promises to hear the prayers of His people that are according to His will.

Getting ready for the wedding day wasn't only about landscaping, decorations, dress-shopping, and picking out music...it was attending to the Word of God, teaching Kayla, taking her to the places where she would be given the light of the knowledge of truth. Keeping her from traps and snares of the enemy who wanted to steal, kill and destroy her, her purity, and her faith. We were continually watchful for things in her life that would take her away from Jesus. That would impose on her purity...All of that was bathed in prayer and implimented by time spent with Jesus; listening to His words and obeying Him. Realizing that we would be held accountable for how we invested our time and energy with what He had entrusted to us.

There were times when I unintentionally offended people with my choices and beliefs. I turned off movies five minutes in, when they had friends over, if they had contents that were offensive to God. I kept them out of field trips, movies, and certain classes that would be offensive to God. I wrote letters to teachers about things I felt strongly about... It was uncomfortable for us often times, but knowing it was out of obedience to what God had planted in my heart gave us the motivation to obey and endure any consequences of our obedience.

We made a priority of establishing boundaries between the world and our home. We were careful with our choices regarding what they took into their eyes and ears, what they wore, who they hung out with, what they read and looked at, what they said, where they went, etc.

As I look at some of the things we have done with our kids, I see the same needs for our lives, those of us who await our Bridegroom... as we prepare for The Eternal Wedding Banquet...

• Attend to the Word of God.
• Watch and Pray.
• Establish boundaries between what is worldly and your heart.
• Keep your God-given "gates", your eyes and your ears, pure.
• Go where you can grow.
• Don't go where you wont grow.
• Be willing to be thought crazy. (Dare to be different)
• Keep your eyes on eternal things.
• Trust
• Obey

...and leave the rest to Him who is faithful, will establish you, and is able to keep you and your children blameless until the day of Christ Jesus! Glory to God!

Pause my music on the sidebar, and take a listen to this lovely song by Leeland:

Herd and Follow

 Your statutes are wonderful;
therefore I obey them.
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it gives understanding to the simple.
 I open my mouth and pant,
longing for your commands.
Psalm 119:129-131

Psalm 119~ It "herds" me...

Yes, "herds". Like herding cows.

When I was a kid growing up on a dairy farm, we used to herd the cattle to the barn for milking. In the summer, several of us would go up the road to "cross the cows" from one pasture to the other. Armed with sticks, we would circle around behind the cows so we could "herd them" toward the gateway that we would open for them to cross the road and go through the next gateway which would lead them to the trail made by daily "cow travel" and then on to the barn. We left one person on each side of the trail (on the road) to make sure they didn't do a 45 degree turn onto the road instead of into the second gate.

Because it was a daily walk for the cows, once we got them on the trail, only one or two people would follow them to make sure they continued all the way to the barn and didn't get distracted by grazing temptations.

Psalm 119 herds me to the Word of God.
Where God speaks.
Today I have heard (no pun intended) the Lord speaking about several things. One was regarding a message that He is unfolding to me. It is about following. It occured to me (via God's voice) when following the work-out instructor on my Firm video yesterday that "following" is a daily activity of the human race.
Everyone is following someone and someone is following us.

We bloggers "follow" one another.
We have sidebars that say, "follow me on twitter."
Or "follow me on facebook."

We also follow rules (or not)
follow lines
follow signs
follow news
follow cars
follow a course
follow a plan

We are clearly followers.

So yesterday the "follow" message was planted.
I then expressed a "Life Lesson" on Facebook about being
careful that the one you follow is imparting good things
so you in turn will impart good things to your followers.

Today after turning off my video, the Today Show was on
with their summer Friday concert series featuring Lady Gaga.

and the "follow" message continued....

I had heard the name "Lady Gaga".
 Oddly, when getting my nails done earlier in the week, a catchy song came on the radio.
I inquired about it, and found out it was, none other than, yup. Lady Gaga.
Hmm.
So out of curiosity, I didn't jump in the shower right away but continued to watch her sing. And dance. Loved the sound. Loved the artistry. But then. Her outer wear came off and there she was in the middle of the square in a white bra with a cross on the front of each breast. It didn't take long to see in this beautiful, talented woman a disregard and irreverence for God.
So I shut off the TV.

Soon after, sitting with my Bible, I was lead to a Psalm of David~
Psalm 101 (emphasis mine)

1 I will sing of your love and justice;

to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—
when will you come to me?
I will walk in my house
with blameless heart.
3 I will set before my eyes
no vile thing.
The deeds of faithless men I hate;
they will not cling to me.
4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
him will I put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
him will I not endure.
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
he whose walk is blameless
will minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
8 Every morning I will put to silence
all the wicked in the land;
I will cut off every evildoer
from the city of the LORD.

I heard Him again, loud and clear:
I should sing about Him. I should not look at vile things.
I should have nothing to do with people that have perverse hearts;
nothing to do with evil.
My eyes should be on the faithful and blameless of the land.
[Verse 8 is another message for another day.]

In light of the message I was getting and the enormous crowd
gathered to watch the lady in New York, I decided to investigate her a little more.
A little tentative about digging too much after Psalm 101's message...

I began to watch one of her music videos, and not too far in, had to turn if off
due to offensive (vile) material.
Then:
Apparently Lady calls her fans "monsters" or "little monsters".
On her website was a video interviewing her New York concert-goers about
"What it means to you to be a little monster".
So I watched the video. Here is a quote from a young man:
"The fans that love her love her, and we'll follow her until the day we die."
...and I thought, "where is she leading them?"

*gulp*

And I hear the Savior say, "Come follow Me." 

*For more on 30 days of hearing God speak, visit Sandy's blog*