Looking Up

I took this picture from the roof.

A thought came to me. Have you ever noticed a dog admiring the clouds in the sky?

It seems nature's artwork is meant for the enjoyment of the human eye.
The Creator's gift to us...His people.

And a reminder of what He can do...and a glimpse of what our future holds.

Just What I Needed

I have been reading an old book. It belonged to a senior woman with great faith. It ended up in the church library. On the day the library folded, the title caught my eye and I rescued the book.

SOMETHING MORE
IN SEARCH OF A DEEPER FAITH

by Catherine Marshall (Author of the novel Christy)

I read it from cover to cover. Ms. Marshall's candid sharing about the lessons God taught her in her life resonated with my heart. It's one of my favorite books. Now...many years later, I slid it out of the shelf hoping to dip into a chapter or two to find some encouragement and strength for a difficult situation. The pages fell open to the chapter on Obedience. Obedience? This has nothing to do with what I need right now. (Besides I'm always obedient. Ha Ha) I almost turned to another chapter, but something inside me said "wait".

As I read the chapter I found there are many interesting benefits to obeying God. The one that meant the most to me personally was based on John 7:17.

"When we purpose in our will to obey Jesus and tell Him so, then we shall know whether Jesus' teachings are from God or merely His own."

Now for some of you this may not sound like a big deal. But for me, it meant something. Because I struggle at times with faith. This verse reminds me that a strong desire to obey God will result in strengthening my faith in Jesus. Another way to say this is: If someone truly wants to love and obey God...the faith will follow...and will get stronger.

Just in case I'm getting off track...here is how Jesus said it. (He was responding to the Jews who were debating among themselves about who Jesus was. Were his teachings coming from a mere man, or from God?) Jesus responded,"My teaching is not my own. It comes from Him who sent me. If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own."

Back to my difficult situation: If I believe that Jesus is God's son, I certainly can trust that he has the ability to help me with my problem. There is nothing he cannot do. After all, he created the universe.

My part will be to obey him. And he will do the rest.

Our Hope and Future

We stopped at this little church in Kauai. We prayed. I wish I could be there now to spend some quiet time with God. But God is everywhere, even in my bedroom.

He's leaning on my desk this morning, as I sit in my computer chair. His Word is on my lap. My husband is sleeping quietly still. I pray for our family and friends. Then it seems to me that I'm doing all the talking.

"What do you have to say Lord?" I look into His Word.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you...thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I am the vine, you are the branch...abide in me and you will bear much fruit. Without me you can do nothing.

Trust in me with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding
In all your ways acknowledge me
And I will direct your paths.

And the verse that he gave me about my friend, Judy, who fought a serious illness...and became dehydrated. She had a strong faith...entrusting her life to Jesus. She passed away this week.

Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again...but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give her will become in her a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

What a beautiful promise to meditate on.

notes:
a future and hope: Jeremiah 29:11
abide in me: John 15:5
limited understanding: Proverbs 3:5,7
water: John 4:13

Girls!

Being a mother of boys, I really appreciate visiting with my nieces (almost 17 and almost 20). They flew out from Colorado after Christmas, and spent some time with us.


We rode our bikes along the coast and stopped for a break to look for shells and feel the misty spray of the sea.

I love this picture of my dad with the girls. It was low tide and we could stand on tiny "islands" surrounded by the gently flowing water. The sky was a comforting blue after the long days of rain.


We took the bikes across the harbor on the ferry. As you can see, I'm the careful one with the helmet.


The girls stayed with my parents and everyone had a great time. (That's my dad's very tall giraffe in the stairwell over on the right. He built it from scratch. My mom still doesn't know what came over him.)



The girls are back in Colorado now, safe and sound. I received a text..."Clear, cold and snow on the ground."

Here's wishing you all a Happy New Year!

Happy New Year

A special visit from my Colorado nieces brightened my week.



We went bike riding on the beach, and stopped for lunch near the pier. They had fun texting their friends who were knee-deep in snow.

Hope you all had a good New Year celebration. For me, it's "back-to-school" and work on Monday. Oh my...I feel like I need more time off!

Children's Bible

My friend Susan has reviewed a children's Bible on her blog, and is giving away a free copy. To enter the drawing, just leave a comment on her blog. You'll be blessed by visiting her, and scrolling down to read her posts.

The Future

I opened the book and my eyes fell on these words.

Psalm 34:4-8

I sought the Lord and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears
They looked to Him and were radiant
And their faces were not ashamed



One day, at the end of our path through this world, we will stand on the edge of a new world. My dream is that we will stand together as a family, free of fear, our hearts welling up in anticipation for our future with our loving Father.

As you can see, I finally got a picture of us. And there is more!

First, here is mom and dad.


The flash on my camera is failing and I had lighten some of these photos.

Corey helped me get the tree this year. Diamond came too.



He carefully trimmed the bottom to his liking. (your eyes are okay...the picture is blurry.)



I'm so glad they were in a picture taking mood.


We had a nice Christmas. We had 10 family members for a mid-day meal of Ham, scallop potatoes, and more. Diamond's dog cousins Maggie and Samuel were here along with my sis-in-law and bro-in-law. Cousin Larry and 98-year old Aunt Elsie graced the table. My nieces in Colorado are flying out for a visit later this week!

The Psalm continues...

The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him.
And delivers them.
Oh taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!