God and Gardens

As I prepare for teaching 1st to 4th grade Sunday School on Easter Sunday, I am rereading familiar texts.

John 18:2 ESV states, "Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, [the garden of Gethsemane] for Jesus often met there with his disciples."

Have never noticed that before - that this garden was one of their regular meeting places. In nature with Jesus. In the quiet and the still.

Reminds me of Genesis 3:8 where Adam and Eve "...heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day..."

God placed mankind in a garden upon their creation.  And Jesus, when confronting his arrest and execution (John 18:4 tells us that Jesus knew all that would happen to Him) took his disciples to a beloved garden.  The beginning of mankind and the end of God's incarnation.

Matthew 26:36-46 is another account of Jesus' time in the garden at Gethsemane... a much more detailed account. Read it and weep. Jesus' two closest friends failed Him in his last hours of freedom.  He simply wanted them to be present for Him, and to pray...for their own frailty.   He took them to a peaceful spot...a known spot... their garden of choice.

Gardens.  Spring is barely here, and our garden is still brown and sad.  But soon!  A goldfinch just landed on our feeder as I'm writing - the first I've seen this year.  HOPE!  Can't wait to be out there in our own little patch of Eden, digging and assisting to create order and beauty.
Come watch and pray with me.  💚

our backyard bliss - summer 2017

Bleeding hearts in our front walkway - spring 2016

2018!

2018!
Another birthday celebrated!
Wowza!  Time flies!
So blessed!

On the evening of my birthday,  7 of us finished up an amazing book - Two Steps Forward by Sharon Garlough Brown.  The second book of a series, its byline is "A Story of Persevering in Hope." This book club/Bible study/prayer group/discipleship group of 8 women has been SUCH an encouragement to me.  We came together as a result of a women's retreat, and I'm so blessed to now call these women friends.

The back of the book reads, "The women from Sensible Shoes are taking their next steps in the spiritual formation journey.  But each of them is finding roadblocks along the way. ... Sometimes life feels like two steps forward and one step back.  You may find your own spiritual journey reflected in the lives of these women.  Come and discover the way forward."

This book series is one of a kind.  Exploring how ancient spiritual disciplines can still be incorporated in our lives -- disciplines such as Breath Prayer, Lectio Divina (sacred reading); Journaling; Praying a Labyrinth, Praying the Examen and incorporating a Rule of Life.  Although the book is fiction, the author utilizes the character of a Spiritual Director and the setting of a Spiritual Formation Retreat to launch the stories of four women who become friends in book one.  (Sensible Shoes)  Scripture is incorporated throughout, as are explanations of the disciplines.

I've recommended this book to dozens of women... literally ... and I've read book one and two multiple times.  And even now, typing this up, I'm realizing that I need to return to "Rule of Life," for I desire more order in my days.  One step forward and two steps back...

You can review or purchase the set here.  I am in no way affiliated... I'm simply a SUPER FAN.

These ladies are the best.  Thanks for journeying with me!

Morning Affirmation by Kenneth Boa

Something to copy and keep and use with your prayer time each morning.  ❤️ by Kenneth Boa.  

Powerful stuff.  Say it aloud and send the enemy fleeing! 😘

Morning Affirmations

 

1. SUBMITTING TO GOD

Because of all You have done for me, I present my body to You as a living sacrifice for this day. I want to be transformed by the renewing of my mind, affirming that Your will for me is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:1-2)

2. ADORATION AND THANKSGIVING

Offer a brief word of praise to God for one or more of His attributes (e.g., love and compassion, grace, mercy, holiness, goodness, omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, truthfulness, unchanging character, eternality) and/or works (e.g., creation, care, redemption, loving purposes, second coming).

Thank Him for the good things in your life.

3. EXAMINATION

Ask the Spirit to search your heart and reveal any areas of unconfessed sin. Acknowledge these to the Lord and thank Him for His forgiveness. (Psalm 139:23-24)

4. MY IDENTITY IN CHRIST

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.” (Galatians 2:20)

I have forgiveness from the penalty of sin because Christ died for me. (Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3)

I have freedom from the power of sin because I died with Christ. (Colossians 2:11; 1 Peter 2:24)

I have fulfillment for this day because Christ lives in me. (Philippians 1:20-21)

By faith, I will allow Christ to manifest His life through me. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

5. FILLING OF THE SPIRIT

Ask the Spirit to control and fill you for this day.

I want to be filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) When I walk by the Spirit, I will not carry out the desire of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16) If I live by the Spirit, I will also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:25)

6. FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

Pray on the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

“Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

7. PURPOSE OF MY LIFE

I want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, and with all my soul, and with all my mind, and I want to love my neighbor as myself. (Matthew 22:37, 39) My purpose is to love God completely, love self correctly, and love others compassionately.

I will seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. (Matthew 6:33)

I have been called to follow Christ and to be a fisher of men. (Matthew 4:19)

I will be a witness to those who do not know Him and participate in the Great Commission to go and make disciples. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)

I want to glorify the Father by bearing much fruit, and so prove to be Christ’s disciple. (John 15:8)

8. CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE DAY

I will trust in the Lord with all my heart, and not lean on my own understanding. In all my ways I will acknowledge Him, and He will make my paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

“God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28; also see 8:29)

I acknowledge that You are in control of all things in my life, and that You have my best interests at heart. Because of this I will trust and obey You today.

Review and commit the events of this day into the hands of God.

9. PROTECTION IN THE WARFARE

**Against the World: Renew

I will set my mind on the things of the Spirit. (Romans 8:5)

Since I have been raised up with Christ, I will keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. I will set my mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (Colossians 3:1-2; also see 3:3-4 and Hebrews 12:1-2)

I will be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving I will let my requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus. Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, I will let my mind dwell on these things. (Philippians 4:6-8; also see 4:9)

**Against the Flesh: Reckon

I know that my old self was crucified with Christ, so that I am no longer a slave to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin. I will reckon myself as dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. I will not present the members of my body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but I will present myself to God as one alive from the dead, and my members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans 6:6-7, 11, 13)

**Against the Devil: Resist

As I submit myself to God and resist the devil, he will flee from me. (James 4:7)

I will be of sober spirit and on the alert. My adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someoneto devour. But I will resist him, firm in my faith. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

I will take up the full armor of God, that I may be able to resist and stand firm. I put on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness; I put on my feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; and I take up the shield of faith with which I will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one. I take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition I will pray at all times in the Spirit and be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:13-18)

10. THE COMING OF CHRIST AND MY FUTURE WITH HIM

Your kingdom come, Your will be done. (Matthew 6:10)

You have said, “I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20)

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to me. (Romans 8:18)

I will not lose heart, but though my outer man is decaying, yet my inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for me an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while I look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

My citizenship is in heaven, from which also I eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)

(Also consider 2 Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 11:1, 6; 2 Peter 3:11-12; 1 John 2:28; 3:2-3.)

A Heritage of Faith

June 2017

A new iPad from work has me reconsidering the blog.

This is a test run with the iPad app...

This photo was taken in Iowa this past week end.  My aunt June is 88 years old and going strong.  My cousin Mark and his wife Lynn are some of my favorites...the salt of the earth sort.

When in Buffalo Center, Iowa, I miss my uncle Herb, June's husband.  And his brother, my daddy.  And when in Iowa I remember and thank God for a heritage of faith.  This is where it all began... both my parents were born nearby, and now are buried nearby.

Psalms 16:6

The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

Testing

I'm convinced that posting from my ipad will be easy some day.  Is it today?  This is a test.

And... HELLO!  Hoping all is well with you.  I'm having a productive Monday at home, including some journaling.

So far so good on my test.  Let's see how this works...  If photos upload easily, I will be very excited. Ciao!

Light

(unretouched photo of Lake Michigan, from the beach in Fish Creek, August 2013)

This morning I am sitting next to our south facing bedroom window.  As I read I keep moving my chair closer to the window, trying to get as full a serving of vitamin D as possible.  How I love sunlight.  Last week at this time I was in Orlando, and the sunlight was all around me.  After this long long winter, I cannot get enough.

Reading through the Bible this year with my Saturday morning girls. Whew - such a pace.  I like to savor and chew on a passage, and thus I am WAY WAY behind.  But once in a while I gulp large quantities and make some progress towards getting caught up.  Today is that day.

I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.  -- Jesus,  (John 8:12)

Am I drawn to Him as I am drawn to this window at winter's close?  Or do I treat our relationship like a late summer's day - taking His light for granted?

Yesterday a friend noticed my glow - the effect of last week's sun on my face and skin.  In spite of my liberal use of sunblock, I have a decidedly healthier pallor.  In my reading this morning, I read,

"…Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God." (Exodus 35:29)

Are you glowing?  Can people see your time with Jesus reflected in your countenance?
How is your level of Vitamin D?  More importantly, how is your Vitamin J?

Just  a little reflection (pun intended) on my time with God today.

I'd love to hear from you.  :o)

Spring 2013

Spring is finally here, and not a minute too soon. The trees are bursting...seemingly losing their grey pallor overnight. The birds are singing. Thank you God.

Learning to use my new Nikon 5200, I am forced to sit and watch and wait. Excellent training.

(unretouched photo taken in the woods behind our home)

2013!
Happy New Year!


Good to see you...it's been too long.  My fault, of course.  But now that I have GRADUATED, and am securely employed, and the holiday hubbub is behind us, perhaps we can get into the swing of this again.

Do I have any readers left?

So many posts are muddled about in my noggin... enough to keep us busy for a bit.  And then of course life will continue to happen.

Do you have any resolutions?  Do you choose a WORD or a VERSE or a SLOGAN for the year ahead?

My main word for 2013 is BLOOM.  As in "Bloom where you are planted."
And there's also LISTEN and RELEASE.  Those seem to be what I need to focus on at the moment.

The verse I wrote in my new moleskine is, "Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."  Colossians 3:17 NASB.

giving thanks.  eucharisteo.  I'm still stuck there, 

ever since reading, 1000 Gifts  by Ann Voskamp.  love love love...

Well, this is a quickie.  I'm cleaning and packing and relaxing...enjoying my last evening of my Christmas break ... tomorrow I fly to Minneapolis for work for three days.

Please leave a comment and let me know there's somebody out there!  xoxo

Pleasant Places

There are times when I connect with my place in this world and am overwhelmed with the blessings. This morning is one of those sacred times. The verse that came to mind as I was going through the morning routine was Psalm 16:6.

Psalms 16:6
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

We worked hard in the yard on Saturday, and puttered more yesterday. Eden is returning... This place we live, on the edge of a park, is such a balm to my soul when I take the time to appreciate it. God created mankind in a garden, and something in me is indeed most fulfilled in that setting. The joy of beauty. Assisting in creating order out of tangled chaos. And now, today, just soaking it up from the couch as I sip coffee and feel the breeze from the windows. Listening to crickets and birdsong, even as I feel the ache in my joints from the efforts expended. This is bliss.

Thank you Father for my complicated past which allows me to more fully appreciate my simple today. Thank you for the abiding certainty of life with You. And thank you for the blessing of this place even amidst the challenges of life. Amen.

Psalms 16:8-9
I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will dwell securely.

Psalms 16:11
You will make known to me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:My living room

Goodness!

Generally I read two devotional blogs each morning that come to me via email. This morning one of them had me reread Psalm 23. In my journal I made a list of what God will do for me:

He makes me lie down.
He leads me by quiet waters.
He restores my soul.
(wow... Who would avoid such a God?!)
He guides me in paths of righteousness. (which will bring further blessing...)
He is with me.
His rod and staff comfort me. (I know He will keep me within a safe parameter)
He prepares a table for me.
He anoints my head with oil. (think spa)

But the line that grabs me right now is, "Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life."

Follow me. Like an adoring puppy wagging its tail and tagging along. I just can't shake the blessings; God will outdo me.

I am going to look over my shoulder and see if I can take notice of some of that goodness and mercy following me today. Join me?


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Home.

Maybe!

Well... Now there is an app for my iPad and iPhone. Will this help me turn the corner in blogging?



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Home

Lent

Having not grown up in a church that celebrated Lent, I need to remind myself to do so.  It is a good daily reminder of the passing of time.  The cycles of the church.

This year I found a video series...posted daily...under 5 minutes each... that I am really enjoying.  A simple reading from the gospel of John.  After a bit of searching I figured out it is read from the CEV ...Contemporary English Version...which is refreshing.

http://www.24-7prayer.com/blog/1717

Walk with us.  Such a relevant plea.  How often do we rush into the day without the basic request for God to walk with us?  As a Christ follower, of course He is always with me.  But for my sake I need to ask Him into the situations.  I need to remember that I am never alone.

Jesus told his disciples,  (including me) "I will be with you always, even until the end of the world." (John 28:20 CEV)

A lovely series as we walk together towards the celebration of Easter.   Do you observe Lent?

The Greatest Love of All

Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37 And He said to him, “ ‘ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. ’
38 This is the great and foremost commandment.

39 The second is like it, ‘ You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ’
40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”

Happy Valentine's Day

This year finds me with a little extra time on my hands, and I was able to use it to spread the love.

Our daughters received these valentines, made from a shrunken (oops) and then felted sweater made of Alpaca wool.  The handwork was so relaxing as I sat by the fire.

One group of us girlfriends calls ourselves the Fireflys (it's a long story which involves candles, tissue paper and flying embers).  Anyhow, for them I drew and then watercolor painted little glowing guys.  They were very fun.  Likely never to be repeated.  Ha.

A few others received some layered collages of stamps and painting, similar to what appears in my art journaling.

There is a big part of me that misses creativity in my normally full-to-overflowing life.  What a gift to sit and putter with some paint.  Yet I also have a tendency to become a bit self focused in the creative process, often due to just wanting to experiment and not worry about the results... so this month I challenged myself to make wee pieces of art with others in mind.  Mail art.

Spread some love today!  xoxo

Catch up

Playing catch up on a blog is pretty much impossible.  So I won't try.  Here's the low down:

• I am in the midst of six weeks of unemployment.  It is a gift.  A gift that came with a steep price.
• I am hoping to get a job offer soon, thus limiting my unemployment to two weeks in January and the month of February.
• Unless of course I come into a lot of money.  Then I'm very contentedly home.
• Having just read 7, a household purge is imminent.
• I'm sitting at a clean desk which is just the beginning of the household miracles.
• I have 9 stitches in my right shoulder blade area.  They are ugly and itchy.
• Three weeks ago I had three moles on my back removed.  Not fun.  And one came back with suspicious cells, thus the further biopsy and seeking of a "margin" this past Wednesday.
• I've joined a gym, and went today.  I hurt.  But it's a good hurt. (and no, no upper body exercise allowed for a few weeks)
• The time I used to spend blogging is now spent in an art journal.  Or at least gazing at others' photos of art journals.  It's an obsession for sure - a mixture of my latent creative bent and my endless outpouring of words.  <3
• Our back yard looks nothing like my header photo.  This is the oddest winter ever, with hardly any snow.  Don't tell anyone, but I miss the snow.
• Class this semester is entitled, "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement," and is simply amazing.  Mind expanding.  What I thought would be a compilation of missionary stories is actually a deep theological look at God's plan for reaching the nations.  It began in Genesis and culminates in Revelation 7:9.  whew.  Check out the class at www.perspectives.org
• We only have one baby at home now.  A sophomore boy, Jake.  Anna is away at college, majoring in nursing.  Emily is living 80 miles away, waitressing and nanny-ing to make ends meet while she looks for full time employment in community health education.  Joey is the globetrotter, secure and happy as a chemist with an international company.
• Frank broke his foot and is hobbling around in a boot.  Accounting is evidently a highly dangerous career.  It happened at work.
• There's the gist of things.
• Have any of you learned to leave comments yet?  (hint!)

Seven

The book 7 by Jen Hatmaker is a life changer.  It's the kind of book that I want to lend to everyone, yet won't let it out of my sight.  The subtitle is, "an experimental mutiny against excess."

This young pastor's wife decided to spend a year examining the excesses in her life.  "7 will be an exercise in simplicity with one goal: to create space for God's kingdom to break through." (p.4)  The book is hilariously entertaining, as the author is crazy honest during her months of self discovery and self denial.  Yet the message is serious, and I found myself shifting a bit in my chair as she got awfully close to some of my personal habits.

Read it.  It's one of a kind.

I put it on par with Fresh Brewed Life by Nicole Johnson, All the Way to Heaven by Elizabeth Sherrill, and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.  Books to savor and keep on the closest shelf.

Enjoy!

Couched

Couched on this rainy Saturday due to a head cold.  Very drippy nose.  That bleary eyed stupor sort of feeling. Generally listless.

However, while being sick is bleak, I have found much pleasure in my plight, including that I...

• listened to the softly falling rain
• stayed in all day.  A long long Saturday.  Delightful!
• caught up on correspondence
• played online Scrabble
• sipped Chai Tea
• chatted with our oldest son for over an hour when he stopped home 
• was home alone most of the day (still a delight to this mom of four...)
• lit the first fire of the season in the gas fireplace
• gave this blog a new autumn look
• snuggled with Boomer
• just put life on idle.  A very lovely speed.

Tonight I am some better, and it will likely all be a memory when I go back to work on Monday.   Eucharisteo - I am thankful for the Sabbath rest - forced though it may be.

PS  I have spent an hour reading old posts, and have noticed that I blog when I am sick.  So...do not worry about me...I get a sinus thing twice a year - am generally healthy.  But when I am healthy I tend to be full speed ahead and not blog as much.  I will try to change that...

P.S.

The screen porch experience just got better!

Anna is now practicing piano. The piano is up against the screen porch wall, and there is a small window above it which allows fresh air from the screen porch into the living room. At this moment strains of classical music are filling the porch.

Anna is torn between nursing and piano performance as college majors. For the moment she will proceed with both. Thus she has a big audition on September first, and my summer promises to be music filled. Her three audition pieces are by MacDowell, Mozart and Brahms. Contemporary, Classical, and Romantic respectively.

Happy mama.

Eden

When we went house hunting four years ago, I had a list. (I always have a list). Screen porch was not on the list. But God knew better.

Here I am, still jammie clad, feet up, third cup of coffee (decaf now) sitting in our own piece of Eden. This is a delicious way to start a week. Oh how I love our screen porch, nestled in the back of our house, surrounded by my "secret garden." I have my routines... Journal, then Bible study, with a bit of email and Facebook thrown in...all interspersed with clipping and digging. Am I the only one who accomplishes much in teeny increments? Just now I went out to dead head a plant, and twenty minutes later I am back on the glider, ready to continue with my study. Thankfully the back flower garden is fairly private, but I'm sure by now our neighbors know my sleepwear, and they are used to my puttering habits.

The birds are singing to me, the fountain is gurgling, drops of rain are falling here and there. All is very well.

I have a long long list for the next two weeks as we anticipate the big graduation party on July 10. It will all get done, one putter at a time. Just about over a sinus infection (although my head is still under water) I am hopeful that great surges of energy are just around the corner. But for today, I will embrace a slower, yet thoroughly productive, pace.

I love love love our screen porch.

En route

Riding in the back of our inherited 1998 Camry, our two daughters in the front. Anna is driving, and we are en route to her soon to be college...UW Eau Claire. Tomorrow is freshman orientation. She and Emily are chatting away...warms my heart.

Child number three to college. Two have graduated, one yet to go in three more years.

Although there are blurry eyed moments, I am too grateful to be sad. Anna excels at everything, and had a fun filled high school career. Number nine in her class of 230. An accomplished musician. Sweet too. How can I be anything but elated at how well she is prepared to head off on her own?

And yet...

Well, for now I am enjoying being a passenger. I am reading three books for my July seminary class, The Cultivation of the Intellectual/Spiritual Life. They are:

J. P. Moreland, The Kingdom Triangle (Zondervan, 2007)
Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart (NavPress, 2002)
Klaus Issler, J. P. Moreland, The Lost Virtue of Happiness (NavPress, 2006)

Each one is fascinating. I need to write a one page opinion paper on two of them...I will post those when they get done.

Also reading One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. A*M*A*Z*I*N*G book which has me listing the gifts in my life in a separate journal. When we stop to count our blessings it changes everything.

And finally I am working through Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard. This version has a devotional worked in it, so our Saturday morning study is reading it for a lighter summer read.

All of these strangely weave together perfectly. His timing of course.

Time to listen to girl talk, unfamiliar music and delve into some wondrous reading.