Love Never Fails

My plan for today is to get cards and a letter in the mail........I didn't have the time to do so before Christmas, and so......we will be sending out "Happy New Year!" greetings. As I was getting ready to type up the letter, and thinking over the past year, I was reminded once again of God's loving care of me, and of mine. God is such a loving and giving Father........not like anyone on earth......ever!
Is it as hard for you, as it is for me, to not "see" God as we do people? I have a tendency to think, and act like God is going to quit taking care of me, that He is going to get sick of me and my sin, that this will be the "last straw," and that He will be done with me. So often I attribute to God, what humans can do to me.........they give up when they have had enough, and I can't count on them to always be forgiving and loving and gracious,and some do not remain faithful. Of course, not all people are this way. And, if I am honest with myself, I will see that there are times when even I have been less than loving and faithful.
So often I think that God's love for me, is just a better kind of human love. But that isn't the case at all! God's love for me is a never ending, always reaching out, always wanting the best for me kind of love. He loves me totally and completely, never expecting anything in return.
So, as I get ready for the New Year, there is a sweet anticipation of what is to come.........A fresher awareness of the Father's love for me. There will be, I am sure of it, times of doubt ahead, times of sorrow, and of pain.......and there will be many times-more times than I would like, that I will need forgiveness and healing........but......Jesus is the same today, and tomorrow, and for always.........this I can count on.........for His love never fails!

Merry Christmas To All and To All.....A Goodnight!

Bells Across The Snow

O Christmas, merry Christmas
Has it really come again,
With it's memories and greetings,
With it's joy and with it's pain!
Minor chords are in the carol
And a shadow in the light,
And a spray of cypress twining
With the holly wreath tonight.
And the hush is never broken
By laughter light and low,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
It's not so very long
Since voices blended
With the carol and the song!
If we could hear them singing,
As they are singing now,
If we could but see radiance,
Of the crown on each dear brow,
There would be no cry to cover,
No hidden tear to flow,
As we listen in the starlight
To the "bells across the snow."
O Christmas, merry Christmas,
This nevermore can be;
We cannot bring again the days
Of our unshadowed glee,
But Christmas, happy Christmas
Sweet herald of goodwill,
With holy songs of glory
Brings holy gladness still.
For peace and hope may brighten,
And patient love may glow,
As we listen in the starlight,
To the "bells across the snow."
By: Francis Ridley Havergal

Merry Christmas everyone! We hope that you enjoy the blessings of family and friends this Christmas season, but most of all we hope that you know the love of the One who gave His life for you! You are the reason He came to earth, you are the apple of His eye, you are very precious to Jesus, and you are sweetly loved.

A New Adventure

"Write for yourself.......all the words that I have spoken to you." Jeremiah 30:2
This passage of scripture was "given" to me, by the Lord, over 10 years ago. It is embarrassing to admit this........I am just now obeying Him.
"It is time," the Lord told me in September, and so I begin to write.
May I say that I feel like a fish out of water, gasping for breath, because I am out of my natural element! I am not a writer, and to be quite frank with you, I don't really speak well either. Conversing with others is not my strong suit. Speaking to a group of women is not what I EVER wanted to do, I feel much better being behind the scenes. And yet, God has given me the spiritual gift of.........talking!" It is what I do for a living, and it is what I do for ministry. And now, He wants me to write.
So, I have begun a new adventure with my Lord.
I am still not quite sure if God wants me to write for myself only, or to write something for others to read; and so, I am praying.......and I have begun to write. I have numerous pages of random thoughts saved on my computer, but as I write, the one thing I know for certain is that God wants me to share my story with others. And so I prayed about starting another blog, and I am sensing that this is what God wants me to do......for now anyway. The blog is titled, "The Handmaid of the Lord." It is the story of my journey, thus far.
I am amazed at how the Lord uses me, and I am amazed at what He asks me to do. I pray that my story will be an encouragement to others, but most of all I want God to receive ALL of the glory and praise.

Ok on to the next stop on our grand Israel tour......We visited a place that I was excited to see....the site where King Solomon had his stables. The place where his many horses lived, and where his chariots were stored.
For you Bible scholars, you will remember that Israel's ancient kings were not to have a store of horses and chariots. They could have some, but not many. In those days, horses and chariots were a sign of great wealth, and of military power, and strength. God commanding them to not have horses and chariots was for a sign to them; and that was that God alone would be the one to protect his people, and that He would be their strength in times of trouble, and in times of battle be the One who brought victory, not the king or his army! It was to be a sign to the king of trust and of faith in God alone.
I know, being excited to see a place of disobedience sounds a bit off, but I loved the reminder of the fact that God means what He says! God wants pure and loving obedience from His kids; but also, that He has grace on mercy on us when we don't obey!
King Solomon was the wisest and richest king who ever lived, no one has ever come close to being like he was. It just goes to show that riches, and intelligence does not make one good,or sin free. At the end of his life, King Solomon trusted in his wealth and in his military strength, not in the Lord.
It is a reminder to me to always be checking where my faith is placed; in self or in others? Or in the Lord God Almighty? For only a changed heart can make for changed actions!

New Life Among the Ruins

Our tour to Israel earlier this year, included a most wonderful place, a place that I had not visited before. We went to see the ruins of an ancient city built on the site of Shiloh. You know, the place where the tabernacle was located, with the hills all around it. These hills are the place where the children of Israel lived their lives, and the Bible tells us that each person could see the tabernacle from his or her dwelling. The Lord told them to place the tabernacle in the midst of the camp, and He told them that He would dwell in the Holy of Holies, that was inside the tabernacle. You can stand there and still see all of the hills surrounding the area, and imagine yourself in a tent up on the hill, looking down into the valley and seeing the tabernacle, and being reminded that the LORD was with you.
The photo that I have posted here I have titled, "New Life Among the Ruins." It is an appropriate title, not only for this area, but an appropriate metaphor of my life! In the OT, the tabernacle was a "mobile" temple, and the children of Israel, during their wanderings, would "pack it up" and move it to each new place they went. When their wanderings were over, and they were in the Promised Land, Shiloh became the religious capital 300 hundred years before the temple in Jerusalem was built. I LOVED being there! We had a Bible study out of Joshua and it was very inspiring to me.
The NT likens Christians to the tabernacle, and so we are "a mobile temple" so to speak, because the Spirit of God lives in each Christian, and we take Him to the world as we go about our daily lives. And just like the red poppies that bloom all over the hills of Israel in the spring, I too am a "new life among the ruins"..........of my old life, and of the lives of those I come into contact with on a daily basis, those who do not know Jesus, and are living a life that is so far from what God desires for them. May I always remember that I take Jesus with me wherever I go, and may He use me to show others, that there is available to them a "New Life Among the Ruins."

Expressing My Gratitude

This is the day before Thanksgiving, and quite frankly my day is not going well. I have had many days like this, and I am sure that there will be many more to follow, but today I choose to remember that I have so much to be thankful for; a wonderful husband, a great family whom I adore, a job that is everything I could ever want, and a church family that is the best the world over! And, I am most thankful for the love of my Savior, Jesus. Jesus has been and always will be, a great Friend to me; He hears my spoken pleas for help, He listens to my heart's cry for mercy, He loves me with a perfect love, and He never, ever, ever gives up on me.

"The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and save them. The Lord preserves all who love Him, But all the wicked He will destroy. My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD, And all flesh shall bless His holy name Forever and ever." Psalm 145:18-21

Masada

One of the many store rooms uncovered by Archaeologists, they found grain here, and actually got it to sprout and grow!
These are the original steps leading to the many buildings and rooms of the palace.
This is one of the many indoor pools of the palace.
One of the Roman encampments, as seen from the top of Masada


Our next stop was Masada........This is one of my favorite places to go in Israel. It is here that the Jewish people fled to escape King Herod, but what is interesting to note is that Masada was Herod's winter palace! The Romans came and encamped around Masada and laid siege to it. They began by making 4 camps around the base of the mountain, and then the soldiers began to build a ramp to the top. As the story goes, the Jewish people would throw huge stones down onto the heads of those building the ramp and so, the Romans began using Jewish slaves instead of soldiers. The Romans knew that the Jewish people would not harm their own. At the end of a few years, on the night before the Romans were going to march up the ramp and take Masada, the Jewish people at the top, committed suicide. Historians say that the Jewish people felt that death was far better than becoming Roman slaves.
This puts me in mind of myself.........would I rather choose to die to myself and to this world, or would I much rather become a slave of it? Sometimes the daily dying to self is the pits.......it would be so much easier to give in, and yet I know that when I choose to die, I will truly LIVE!

More of Israel

I am finally going to try and finish up sharing about our trip to Israel! I guess a few months late.......ok, well a half a year later, isn't too bad.....it could have been worse!
We were able to take a drive up to the Golan Heights and see an army outpost at the top. There are still bunkers there, and we were able to tour them. I would never have been able to live in one of those bunkers......can I just say how thankful I am that I have never had to live in one!
We visited Tel Dan too......all you Bible scholars will remember that this is the place that the children of Israel set up idol worship, instead of going to the temple in Jerusalem like the Lord told them to. Today, there is a replica of an alter there amidst the ruins, and I got talked into climbing up on it, you can see in the photo what ensued after I did!
We made it to the area of the springs where Gideon formed his army. This is the place where the Lord told him to cut back his army to 300 men! The way that the Lord did this is quite strange......and so as you can see from the photos, Mitch and I would have fit right in with the 300.

"Kibbutz-ing It"

The rest of our first day in Israel consisted of a drive by Cana and Nazareth; and then on to Tiberius where we began our three night stay at Kibbutz Kinar, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. For those of you who do not know, a Kibbutz is a "communal settlement" (which by the way is the definition of the word Kibbutz), basically they are rural communities. They are societies dedicated to mutual aid, a social economic system where each person living there shares in the ownership of the property, shares in its maintenance, and its business, and the education of its children. It is the fulfillment of the idea, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs"; a home for those who have chosen it. The first one was started in 1909, and there are now some 270 Kibbutzim all over Israel.

Some Kibbutzim are dedicated to farming, others to dairies, others to tourism, like the one we stayed at.

On the site of Kibbutz Kinar (and our first stop the next morning) there is a museum that houses a boat that was found at the bottom of the Sea of Galilee! It is from the time of Jesus and the disciples.......it was an awesome sight to see! We listened to a documentary on how it was discovered, how it was "raised" and how it was moved to its present location and placed on display. And yes, it is a REAL one, not a model or replica. The archaeologists also found an oil lamp, some coins (minas), and other artifacts in and around the boat. The photograph that I have is not do it justice......we weren't allowed to use flash photography, and it was darkened in the room to protect the boat from the sunlight.

In the past, when I have read the account of the storm that caused the disciples to be afraid for their lives, I didn't understand their fear. Now I know that the boats were not large vessels and were made of wood.....I guess that I would be afraid too! Next time that I read about the disciples fishing and traveling with Jesus, by boat across the Sea of Galilee, and of a storm that occurred one late night...... I will remember that I was blessed to see one.

Mt. Carmel......Not Caramel

The next stop in Israel was to the top of Mt. Carmel (not caramel).......this is where the prophet Elijah "fought" the prophets of Baal......and of course.....won! As an aside, may I say that I get a bit bent out of shape when people say carmel and not caramel when referring to that yummy gooey brown goodness.......I'm not bitter about it, but really.......Mitch gave us a Bible study as we looked out over the Meggido Valley. This valley is going to be the site of a huge future battle between humans and Jesus........ I wonder Who will win?
PS In case you were wondering, I am NOT pregnant! The wind kept blowing up my shirt :)

By The Sea

No, I didn't fall off the face of the world.....just busy. I know I promised pictures of our trip to Israel........so here are a few of our first day.

Our first stop was......Caesarea by the Sea, where one of the King Herods (yes, there were a few!) had his summer palace. Mitch and I had visited here in 1985, but at that time, we didn't see much of what is there today. The archaeologists have been working hard over the last 20 years, and have uncovered a bit more of the area. The top photos shows the hippodrome (where horse races were held) and the photo of the rectangular shaped stones is none other than the public toilets!! A person would sit with each cheek on a stone, and go.........It was fun to see that the stones were not all the same distance apart, because after all, not every ones' bottom is the same size!! The photo of the square ruins by the water is the palaces swimming pool! We could still see some the mosaics on what used to be the bottom of the pool!!

Our tour guide, Avi, gave us an interesting piece of information......When the Romans were conquering the world, they would build all of their cities the same.....In each city, the layout for all of the public buildings was the same and facing the same compass directions. This way when a Roman citizen traveled they would always feel at home.

Shalom

Mitch and I are off on another adventure........We are heading to Israel for a few weeks!!

Mitch has been planning to go for a year now, our pastor wanted him to help lead the tour, but I had planned to stay home. One of the ladies that had paid had to cancel on Sunday......please pray for her and her family. Denise's niece is very ill and most likely will not be alive for much longer. Her niece and her family don't know the Lord and so she felt that she needed to go and be with them.

When we found all of this out on Sunday, we began to pray if I should go....we would have to pay some money to get the airline tickets transferred, but all in all it was already paid for and Denise didn't want us to worry about the money. Well we weren't going for that and so we prayed about what to offer to her, and the Lord gave Mitch and I the same dollar amount.......here is the cool part.......A lady from church called on Sunday night and offered to give us the exact amount!....and we hadn't said a word about it!! She and her husband had both felt God leading them to do this. All I can say is my God is AWESOME! I am so thankful for how it all worked out for both Mitch and I, and for Denise too.

Mitch headed out this morning for a part of the tour that Denise wasn't signed up for, so I won't see him until Saturday......in Jerusalem. There are 20 people from church that will be flying with me so I won't be all alone.

Mitch and I had the opportunity to see Israel in 1985, just a year after we gave our hearts to Jesus. I have never forgotten that trip, and I certainly never thought that I would be going back. I still can see in my mind the places that we visited, places that I read about in my Bible. My favorite place was the Sea of Galilee and the shepherd's field outside of Bethlehem......I could almost hear the angels announcing the birth of Jesus. There are a few places that we will tour this time that we didn't get to see in 1985. The two hills and valley where David and the army of Israel defeated Goliath and the Philistines, The City of Petra, and the resort of Eliat.

So I will say Shalom for now.......Check back here at the end of the month and view my photos.

And don't forget to........Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.......if you do God says that you will be blessed!

A Number From Numbers

I am singing this song to all of you today.........

The LORD bless you and keep you,

The LORD make His face to shine upon you,

And be gracious to you;

The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,

And give you peace. (Numbers 6:24-26)

"Monday Monday So Good To Me....."

My work week starts on Tuesday, so Monday is a treat for me. After a busy previous week and most often a busy weekend, it is the one day of the week that I don't have to do anything!! At least every other one. I teach Bible study on every other Tuesday, and the Monday before my turn I usually finish up my outline. Most often though, I get to hang out and do what I want to do........I'll sleep in and then enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee while watching the news. Later on in the day I sometimes go to the library or I will do a little shopping at TG Maxx. I usually fill up the bird feeder with seeds and nuts for a week's worth of dining pleasure for my feathered friends. I practice my guitar and learn new songs to sing, or I do a little baking, or look I at a magazine and dream of projects to do. And sometimes, I even get to take a little nap in my recliner while I catch up on my recorded HGTV and DIY shows. As I am typing this I am realizing something that you the reader probably already have........I sound like an old woman!!

"Great Grace"

This post is for all of our loved ones who are struggling with cancer. I have to tell you that I hate that word.......That one word can strike fear into the stoutest of hearts, and it can bring all to their knees. Truly, being on our knees is the place to be in the best of times, but when this horrible word is spoken to a loved one, or to ourselves, being on our knees is the ONLY place to be.

Mitch's sister, Deb, has had a recent diagnosis of cancer, my best friend Jenny's sister Sarah has cancer too. There are 6 people at our church that I know of who are struggling with cancer, and I am sure that all of you know of more. There have been loved ones who have died from this disease, and loved ones who have made it to being cancer-free, I thank Jesus for His love and grace that covered all!!

Let us join together in prayer for our loved ones as they battle this disease. Let us be the voice of encouragement and grace as they fight the affects of treatment.

I felt that today's reading in, Streams in the Desert, was a great encouragement for all of us.........especially the ones who are ill with this horrible disease.

His grace is great enough to meet great things-

The crashing waves that overwhelm the soul,

The roaring winds that leave us stunned and breathless,

The sudden storms beyond our lives's control.

His grace is great enough to meet the small things-

The little pinprick troubles that annoy,

The insect worries, buzzing and persistent,

The squeaking wheels that grate upon our joy.

Annie Johnson Flint is the author of this poem, and she knows hardship; she was blind her whole life long, and yet the Lord used her to write the most beautiful worship songs and poetry.

The Best Laid Plans.......

I saw some sweet Primroses at the hardware store last week....Don't you just love Primroses? I especially like the blue and yellow ones. Whenever I see them I am reminded that Spring is not far away.

I had planned to buy some today and plant them in some pretty pots for my front porch.......but, you know what they say about the best laid plans of Mice and Men....by the way, does anybody know what that phrase means, or what is the story behind it? Anyway, the weather decided to not play along with my plans.....Baby, its cold outside! The temperature dipped down to the low 30's and the prediction for tonight in the teens! Last week it was 60 for heaven's sake! So I decided to wait awhile before doing any outside planting.

This afternoon, Mitch and I had to stop at the hardware store to pick up some nails for the Porch Project, and there they were, those pretty little Primroses, all lined up on a cart, braving the cold windy blast.......looking like Spring.

Today

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,

For I have put my trust in You.

Teach me the way that I should go,

For to You I lift up my soul.

These words, from a song that I love, came to my mind this morning and have stayed on my heart all of today.

Since this morning I have prayed that I would be aware that His mercies are new today....no left-overs from yesterday. I hope that my heart will always remember that the guidance I needed today was given, and will be given again and again, with each new 'today'....All I have to do is ask....And so, at the end of this today I have found Him faithful and true.....for today He brought me word of His unfailing love.

Porch Project Update

Up-date/noun

1. An act or instance of updating

2. Current information for updating something

3. An up-to-date version, account, or report

We are getting closer to the finish line. In case you are wondering there are cedar planks on the ceiling......doesn't it look beautiful?

Fine Feather-y Friends

I love birds....I love everything about them.....their fluffy feathers and beautiful colors, the fact that they can fly without an airplane :), their ability to withstand the elements, and that they build nests in the most unexpected of places. I remember one particular set of Robins who built their nest at the very end of a branch in an Elm tree in the backyard of our place in Colorado. The nest was built so far out on a limb :) that I considered those Robins rook-y nest builders, they didn't seem to know what they were doing; for when the winds blew, the branch of the tree would sway from side to side and the little baby Robin that was sitting cozily in the nest would wind up being dumped onto the ground. Mitch was my resident "pick-up-the-little-Robin-and-place-it-back-into-it's-nest-guy." I still have a sweet and funny memory of Mitch standing on the very top of our small step ladder, trying to place the little Robin back into it's nest while the mommy and daddy Robin flew and dove about his head....and my cat, Cleo, was howling from the screened porch where I had locked her up! Needless to say Mitch would get the little bugger back into the nest, and all would be well........until the wind blew again!

When we moved from Colorado, I knew that I would miss watching a pair of Mourning Doves that would build their nest in the Fir tree out front. I used to watch the daddy Dove fly from the tree to the ground and return again with a twig or moss in it's beak. He would then walk into the interior of the Fir tree and leave the bit of nest-building material in it, and pop back out a few minutes later to fly away to search for more. Did you know that Doves mate for life, and that they will return each year to the same place to build their nest and to lay their eggs? Knowing this made my heart sad as I said Good-Bye to my little house in Colorado. I sometimes wonder if the pair of Doves is still coming back to that Fir tree.

I have a bird feeder in the lone Maple tree in my front yard. I love to hear the birds singing in the morning and in the late afternoon as they come for their meal of seeds and nuts. Well, at least some seeds......I stopped buying the mix with sunflower seeds in it, after I discovered that the birds would grab a seed and take it to eat it on my front porch! Even though I love birds, I don't particularly love what comes out of their back ends!! So.......no more Take-Out for these birds!

I think that my favorite thing about birds is their call, their sweet song. There are a variety of Common Finches that visit my feeder and an occasional Chickadee, and their calls are sweet to hear. One morning, a month or so ago, as I was sitting having my coffee, I heard the sound of a Mourning Dove. I was so excited to find that I had attracted some to my feeder, since I had been missing my Colorado pair of Doves! I was hoping that as our trees grew that this pair would keep coming back, and would one day build their nest in our tree, but it looked like that wasn't to be, since I hadn't seen them for a bit.....but, the other day, I heard their call, and there they were, sitting on the back fence. Maybe they will stay for a while this time, build a nest and settle down, maybe they will feel as much at home here as I do.

Latin: rhinitis acuta catarrhalis

I have always been proud of my health, so I guess the Lord wanted to knock me down a few notches......I have a cold....again....for the 3rd time this winter! It is funny that the more I try to remember to take my vitamins, eat right, and get my daily recommended dose of 8 hours of sleep, I still got another cold.....ah well.......I'm off to brew some more hot tea with lemon and wishing I had some chicken soup to go with it. Here is to hoping that the rhino-virus will take its big ol' self on outta here.

"The Simple Answer"

The last time we were in Spokane I snapped this photo of the sunset......You can tell by the picture that the sky looks like it is on fire......Because of the wind, the clouds were in motion and with the sunlight behind them, they looked just like flames in a fireplace, leaping and dancing.......It was simply beautiful.

I am reminded of the words from the Bible that tell me that my God is a Consuming Fire. So often I let other things consume me.....I let the cares and concerns of my everyday life hold me captive......I let my feelings have their way more often than I care to admit and yet.......To be consumed in everlasting love and to be held in the Everlasting Arms, to dance for joy before my King.....Could there be anything better than that? Is there anything that can replace my God's all Consuming Love for me? The answer is simple..........NO.

The Handwriting on the White Board....

My grand daughter Rachel is so cute.......she wrote this on my Grocery List.........And yes, I do have a good and wonderful and oh so sweet grand daughter.......her name is Rachel.

I'm So Dizzy My Head Is Spinning........

Ok......I am done.......stop the WORLD......I want to get off.......Boy have we been busy......and as you can tell, I am so tired I can't even write a proper sentence! Heaven sounds real good about now.......Anyone interested in going with me?