Month: March 2024

When I was a girl, I can remember thinking that Easter was my favorite holiday. I really don’t know why I felt that way. One would think Christmas would be every child’s favorite. After all, one gets presents, candy etc. There was always something about Easter even though I did not fully undestand who Jesus was and what He did for you and me.

As an adult, I still believe Easter is my favorite holiday although now I have a better idea why I feel that way. The resurrection of Christ is what separates Christianity from all other “religioins”. If Jesus had not rose from the dead, then Christianity would mean nothing. Scripture tells us something completely different. On this day in the Christian faith, we celebrate all that Christ gave for each of us. His pure act of love is what saves us if we trust and believe this to be true from an eternity in hell. That’s quite a gift that no kind of gift in this world can ever match.

Yesterday as I was moving the huge backyard trampoline so I could mow in that spot, I reflected on where I am today and where I was in June of 2015. I thought about the restoration that the Lord allowed me to have to have more time in this world. That gift still amazes me to do this day. Only God could be so generous and so kind. This Easter season it is my prayer that each of you will reflect on this gift. Trust in Christ. Trust God’s Word and His character. He is who He says He is. Trust Him with your life and your hope.

Yesterday I was blessed to have my two youngest granddaughters keep me company for the day. Each belongs to a different son and they are polar opposites in so many things. One loves digging in the dirt, the other will not touch it. One loves going outside regardless of the chill that is in the air, the other prefers to stay in. One loves to run and chase and the other prefers to sit and chill. It makes me smile just thinking about how different their personalities are. I love them both greatly. Many of you can relate to this same scenario no doubt and probably with your own children.

One of the things I am especially grateful for is that I have the energy to keep up with toddlers. There was a time in my life that I did not think I would experience the above type of joy. When I was diagnosed going on 9 years ago, I had one granddaughter. I realized that she might be the only grandchild I would ever get to know on this side. Since that time she has been joined by 6 more. Through it all because of God’s grace and mercy, I have been able to run with them, jump on a trampoline with them and push them in a swing. What a blessing to me!

If you are going through something really tough physically, hold on. This is just one episode of your life. Joy is coming. Your new normal will emerge again. Through Christ all things are restored one way or another.

Blessings all as we enter into what a lot of churches across America term as Holy week. In our walk with Christ, we recognize the day that Christ gave Himself for our sins. Salvation is not a difficult concept but must be a difficult decision to commit to as so many choose not to. We know this to be true based on the words in the book of Matthew that reminds us narrow is the gate and few find it that leads to salvation and broad is the path to destruction. The question for me is always why is it so hard? Scripture records that salvation comes when we trust and believe and know that Jesus was the son of the living God, that He died for our sins and all we have to do is believe that. Simply put it is faith alone, through grace alone in Christ alone. Yet it is so hard because we know that if we choose to believe and commit to Christ, we need to have a repentant heart and slowly through sancification, become more Christ like. We need to give up sins that we have enjoyed in the flesh.

One thing we need to wrap our minds around is that each of us is going to die. Scripture records that it is appointed unto every man to die once. That is why it is so important to trust Christ before our last breath in this world. We often try so hard to cling to this life which is understandable in many ways. It is the only life we have ever known. But it is also important to remember what I started this second paragraph with. Regardless of what you are facing, trust in Christ with your life. Give it to Him today. Remind yourself that there is something so much better still to come.

Where do I begin? It has been a great week. We received much needed rain in our area with no hail. This time of year is so entertaining weather wise. One never knows what one will get with a spring thunderstorm! The flowers are beautiful everywhere and they definitely appreciate all the rain.

Life is like that. We often have unexpected thunderstorms in our lives. We worry during those times of storms if something worse will develop. The result once we survive the storms can be beautiful. Our faith if we have it grows. We begin to see and appreciate God’s beautiful world that He created and we can continue to enjoy. I remember thinking that when the Lord added years to my life after the June of 2015 diagnosis. The flowers or joy of this world are something to behold. Think of what is so much better that is to come once our journey on this side ends. That is why that decision is the most important you and I will ever make. Do we believe Jesus is God’s son? Do we believe He died for our sins on the cross at Calvary? Do we trust Him enough to submit to His authority in our lives and grow in that knowledge? Think on this if you haven’t as we prepare for Good Friday a week from today. Praise God this day and each day as all our blessings flow from Him.

Spring is here! We all feel the itch. It’s time to plant trees, gardens and take the time to listen to the birds as they sing in the mornings. It’s also that time of year when the atmosphere becomes unstable. For those of us living in Texas, major storms that can produce tornadoes and hail is much more common. A small town similar to the one I live in very close in proximity, experienced baseball size hail and about a foot of it this past weekend. Spring for us often brings a lot of good weather but also the bad.

The above also describes life overall. We will have seasons when life feels almost boring. Days are the same. Nothing changes except weather patterns. Then that major storm hits and our entire world feels turned upside down. Glorifying God is the only thing I have found that is the anchor during those storms of life. Giving Him the glory and trusting in His sovereignity. It is so important that we don’t hold onto this life above what God offers. He is so much more important. The best way to defeat death and fear is to trust in the character of God as described in His holy book. Know Him through His Word. Trust Him in all things. Give Him the glory in all things.

I had a wonderful four days. We saw so many things that neither my husband, my daughter nor myself had seen before and we never left the state. Granted Texas is a big state and one could spend a lot of time in West Texas. Along with new sites to view was also good food. Lots of it. The high carb stuff. The stuff we are told to avoid when battling cancer but it is oh so good. A return to reality of how good it was arrived this morning with my first step on the morning scale. Ugh. I gained 5 pounds over 4 days. That’s pretty impressive in a sad way. The battle over weight gain begins again.

One of the hardest things to recognize in ourselves is the things we create as idols in our lives. This is not good. God calls it sin. Anything that is above Him is sin. A number on a scale can completely take over our lives or more specifically mine. If I continue to allow it to dominate my brain, it controls my happiness level as well as how sad I will be for the day. This is the danger of man created idols. They do not give a realistic view of who we are and they separate us from our Creator who is and should be the most important person in our lives.

This life is meant for us to be courageous. We need to stand up against idols formed in our minds by rejecting them, repenting of them and bringing them before the throne of a Holy and righteous God. True freedom lies in that.

I try to post on M-W-F. Yesterday I’m afraid I missed posting due to mental preoccupation with an upcoming doctor visit and four of my grandchildren arriving for a couple of days. Two weeks ago I went to our local walk in clinic with what felt like a sinus infection to be told again that my left lung did not sound as if it was taking full breaths. I did this also in December and my CT scan revealed a nice size hurricane in the bottom chamber of my left lung. I had pnemonia. I was concerned that something else was amiss. Blessedly my doctor assured me yesterday that the left lung sounded perfectly normal. Praise the Lord for things that most people take for granted. With my medical history it is always a concern and a definite blessing when all is clear.

In this life it is important to stop and give God glory for all the normal things often taken for granted. I use to take those things for granted. That is no longer my go to. Hopefully all of you are taking a rest if you are in Texas for spring break. I will be taking the remainder of the week off to enjoy time with my husband and my daughter and of course my precious grandchildren.

Blessings to all of you and I will be back next Monday

It’s Friday and time to reflect on the blessings of this week. For many years I taught political science. I often find myself still dwelling on it. This is an area that I must guard myself against because it is easy to become an idol in my life. Scripture warns that anything we think on all the time or meditate on that takes the place of God is an idol and that is a great sin before the Lord. To combat it, it is important to think of all the blessings that God has bestowed.

I am grateful for my husband, my children, my adorable grandchildren and the promise and Word of Holy Scripture. I know that God is always honest, He is incapable of lying. I know that because of Christ, my trust in who Christ is and what He did for me on the cross is my path through the narrow gate into His presence. No matter how bad this world gets, my home eternally is with Christ. This life is just a vapor. That might make some of you feel better knowing this world will not always be and for others of you it might frighten you. Trust in God’s character. Trust in what scripture tells you Christ is and who God is and who the Holy Spirit is. They are three separate and yet one. They are truthful. They love you beyond your imagination. Submit to them and trust your eternity to them.

When I was a little girl, I remember leaving my paternal grandparents home. They were the most loving grandparents any grandchild could be blessed with. One of the many things they did every time we left their home, was to go out with us and wave until we pulled out of the drive-way. I started that same tradition with all of my grandchildren. Yesterday as I was leaving my middle son’s home, his 3 year old daughter told me she was going out with me. Hollering at my son to watch her as I was leaving, she was joined by her 5 year old sister who informed me they were coming to tell me bye. As I pulled out the drive-way, there stood my son with his baby son and two daughters waving bye. It was so sweet. My oldest son has an older daughter who also makes a point to stand outside when I am leaving to tell me bye. Little things we do that we assume no one really notices is often observed by many as my grandchildren were watching what I had been doing for years and took that to mean love.

God is also watching. What is important to remember about that is that just as my grandchildren were observing me which in the above scenario was a good example, the negative things we do is also being observed. God sees more than what our loving relatives do. Sobberig thought. Keep your hearts pure this day. Strive to be more Christ like. This knowledge will equip you with so much to prepare yourself for the battle of everyday living. I know. I have walked it.

I will admit I have always impressed by the kindnesses often bestowed by complete strangers. Our church youth had a fundraiser last night for youth camp this summer. I did not attend but my husband did and he could not believe how generous people were. One homemade chocolate pie raised a bid (silent auction) of $100 by the end of the evening. He did not know a lot of the names of people making the bids but their generosity was evident. Imagine how special you may have felt to know your pie sold for that much money.

How much more does our Father in heaven know us? The scripture records that He knows every hair on our heads. That’s pretty intimate. A stranger bids a high price in this world to help a youth go to camp. How much more will our Father who knows us do for each of us? He really blesses us in multiple ways. We tend to be selfcentered and focus only on the things we “want” that we did not receive without even checking whether that “want” falls within God’s will. After all most of us have a really good idea of what sin is and it is foolish to want in that direction. It is all in our attitude. Letting go of Zach was the hardest thing I have walked so far in this life and yet I can honestly write that God has blessed me in multiple ways. Having stage 4 cancer was really hard and yet I can honestly write one more time, God has blessed me in multiple ways.

Be strong. Be courageous. Know that you are not alone in what you endure unless you choose to be.