Blog Archives

What isn't there

7/31/2014

We aren't going to be living on clouds in heaven. And some will be playing harps but I sure don't think we all will be. Not everyone will be assigned to the heavenly choir.

There isn't going to be death or mourning or crying or pain (that's found in Revelation 21:4)

And there isn't going to be any lying or anything unclean (which means nothing or no one will be anti-God, anti-Jesus, anti-Holy Spirit...you get the picture). That is found in Revelation 21:7.

There will be animals in heaven (Isaiah 11).

There will be trees, a river, fruit, leaves, lots of people, angels, horses (Revelation 22:1-2 and 2 Kings 2).

There isn't going to be a need for the light from the sun or moon because God is going to be so darn shiny. I cannot even imagine that. (Revelation 21:23).

There's one thing that is going to be heaven that puzzles me. There is going to be a need for healing in heaven. It won't be a need for healing from anything that happens in heaven so it must be healing from our time on earth. Here's one of the scriptures that mention healing in heaven:

And by the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.
Ezekiel 47:12

If no one will need healing why would God have healing leaves in heaven? Nothing God does is useless.

Also, nothing God does in your life is useless either. He can use all things in your life for good -- that means even the bad stuff, even your past that seems like it cannot be changed can be changed (in one way it can't but in another way it can -- God can give you a new perspective on it and heal you from it and give new meaning to it).

Heaven is going to be all about Jesus. This life can be that way too. It is the best way to live. Honest.

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Are you a friend?

7/30/2014

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Are you a friend?

Are you the kind of friend you want to have?

Sometimes I am.

Sometimes I'm not.

Sometimes I am the worst kind of friend to those I love the most.

Why is that?

Why do the ones we love the most sometimes see the
ugliest parts inside us?

Solomon writes in Proverbs 17, "A friend loves at all times."

Do we?

Jesus tells us what friends look like.

In John 15:13-15 Jesus says, "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends,
if you do what I command you.
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what
his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things
that I have heard from My Father I have made known to
you."

If we aren't loving like this then we aren't being true friends.

Ouch.

Jesus says earlier in John 15:5, "apart from Him we can do nothing."

In those times when we are not being good friends, maybe we aren't doing it through Jesus.

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He does! He does!

7/28/2014

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Yesterday I posted the blog post called Does the Good Shepherd Still Take Us to Green Pastures? but when I checked it out this morning I realized I had deleted half of the post when I posted it. I have no idea how I did that. I deleted the best part. I'll leave the post from yesterday below so if you missed it you can read the first part, but I need to share with you the real ending of the story ( did change one part -- I didn't like how this post made it sound like my kids are just a big drain on me. They aren't. They are just people. People, all of us, can be draining emotionally to others. All of us can be encouraging-- just depends on where we are at). Okay, so let's get back to the story:

I realized I needed those green pastures, those quiet waters. My soul needed restored. I didn't know how to do it. I was spent.

After church and Sunday School were finished Shannon and I spent the afternoon at the Wall Ranch. We had a lovely dinner of ranch-raised beef and potatoes and pie. And then it was me and Shannon on the 4-wheeler together following Harold around as he led us on a tour of part of his ranch. We went for miles. We saw one of the Wall's herds of cows. We saw wild flowers. We saw and smelled fresh cut alfalfa. We saw stock dams full of water. We saw green grass knee high! It was 75 degrees and sunny and still. I held onto Shannon as he drove. I put my head on his shoulder. We talked a bit. Mostly I just soaked in all the beauty. And it was absolutely beautiful. The land in that part of South Dakota is so wide. You can see for miles and miles. There are hills and valleys. There aren't a lot of trees but it is a beauty that grows on a person. As we drove to their home on the ranch before lunch the beauty overwhelmed me. I had never had cut across the land before. I had always just been on the highway. And as we drove around it just kept overwhelming me. God drenched me with His beauty, His peace and His joy.

Now that it is Tuesday I think I need more. My inner reserves are shallow these days. But the Great Shepherd is faithful. He is faithful to all. Just ask. Just listen. His sheep hear His voice and follow. He knows where He's leading us. Let Him lead. Let Him have control. Trying to control life is exhausting and not a job we were equipped to handle.

(BELOW IS THE POST FROM YESTERDAY)

Honest, I love my kids, all six of them (plus, my two grown stepsons). But sometimes in the summer I get a bit overwhelmed with being with them 24 hours a day. It's not like I don't want to be with them. I am just one of those introverts who gets recharged when there is peace and aloneness. That is hard to come by the in the middle of summer.

Yesterday while travelling to Ziebach county on the Cheyenne River Reservation with my husband I was worn out. I felt frustrated. My husband asked me what was wrong. I couldn't tell him. I just didn't know. Sometimes when we are filled with feelings that are negative we have to just give God time to show us what is really going on. And right before we crossed the Missouri I said, "I miss Sue and Maggie."

Sue was my friend who would come over and drink coffee with me and we'd talk about how great Jesus is and chat about living for Him and stuff like that. We could whoop and holler about Him and it would be just fine. And Maggie was my sweet sweet girl who loved to hang out with Mom and chat. She had to be the most non-demanding child God has ever created.

I realized neither Sue nor Maggie drained me emotionally. That's why I was missing them yesterday.

Peole will drain you and you will drain them at times. But then sometimes they can help fill you up and you can fill them up. Life can be intense.

So where's My Great Shepherd?

He was right there all the time. He saw that I needed those green pastures and quiet waters when I didn't see it. And He took me there.

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If you have 30 minutes

7/24/2014

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If I were given the opportunity to start a different life I'd become a surgeon.

Yet I know I am doing what I was made to do.

So, I will do what I can from my kitchen table right now.

If you have 30 minutes to spare today, please watch the following video about the Hewa people. It is moving and well done and is a great way for you to invest 30 minutes of your life. Thank you God for the ministry that has happened with these sweet people and that is happening right now! Either click on Hewa people or click on the picture below to get to the video. Thank you for watching it. Thank you.

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Clean Dirt

7/22/2014

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I found the following comments in my local newspaper today in the Dear Annie advice column. It is something all of us parents need to read:

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What's that?

7/18/2014

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This morning as I fed my son Hawken yogurt I happened to glance out his bedroom window. My yard was covered in tall white flowers!

What are those? I wondered.

I was excited. Once years ago back North Carolina I walked out of our little rented house to see the bushes I had thought so ugly alive with huge red blooms. Found out those were camellia bushes. The blooms look like this:

That day in in the south made me feel so loved. I felt like God had given me a bunch of living flower bouquets.

Had it happened again in South Dakota?

Had it been a blessing that our lawn mower had broken down so we couldn't mow?

Maybe it had given a chance for some beautiful flowers to grow and bloom!

I rushed out of the bedroom, slipped on my glasses and ran outside to take a closer look at these beautiful flowers.

Oh.

Yes, it was because our lawn mower wasn't working that these blooms were in my yard. But they weren't tall and they weren't blessings. They were the white blooms of creeping jenny (or creeping charlie depending on what you call it).

(Personally I think this weed's blooms are pretty but they will choke out anything. They can take down a building if allowed to grow free.)

I sighed and went back into the house.

Oh well.

If we aren't seeing clearly we can take curses for blessings and blessings for curses; we can see an enemy when we should be seeing a friend and a friend when we should be seeing the enemy.

If you memorize only one verse in the Bible memorize the first part of Hebrews 12:2, "fixing our eyes on Jesus"

Doing that will keep us from a whole lot of messed up perspectives!

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It's okay -- just take it

7/15/2014

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It's okay. Take it when you need it!

Rest that is.

This past week we had VBS (Vacation Bible School) at our church. On the left is a picture of me with some of my students. I'm the tall one.

We had fun, but it was exhausting. By the time Sunday night came along I was totally spent.

So yesterday I didn't do much. The weather was gorgeous and I should have been sitting outside, but I do not have a comfy reclining couch outside. I stayed inside and sat (and enjoyed the weather from inside) on our comfy reclining indoor couch!

God's work often comes in fits and spurts followed by rest. He knows what we are made of. In Isaiah 40:6 God says "all flesh is grass" and lest we didn't get that reference He says it a different way in the very next verse. He says, "Surely the people are grass."

Jesus Himself says He'll give rest to the "weary and heavy-laden" if they come to Him.

I'm thankful we serve a God who knows us so well.

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Ask yourself this question

7/7/2014

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Sometimes the best thing to do is ask yourself the right question.

The right question can uncover truth you didn't know was there:

Like why you have a time doing this or doing that.

Like why you have a hard time liking that one person.

It might even uncover what you hold in your heart.

The right question will show you if your words match your insides -- if what you say is what you do.

Jesus was (and is) so good at this. When his opponents tried to trap him he'd ask a question that would stop their schemes immediately.

I'll share two examples of this (click on the scripture to read them for yourselves):

Mark 11:27-33

Mark 12:13-17

They are short passages -- well worth your time.

The question that came to my mind today was, "Where does my giving come from? Am I giving God the left-overs? The stuff I don't really need? Or, am I giving what is precious to me?

In Mark 12:43-44 Jesus tells his disciples what gifts are the most precious. He says, "'Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.'"

Is it hard to give that check?

Is it hard to give all the cash in my wallet?

Is it hard to share my time?

Do I bristle inside when I am called upon to share what God has given me?

God doesn't make us share but boy, it is what he desires for us. For, in giving freely we open ourselves up to be able to receive his generous blessings.

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Just Look

7/2/2014

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My husband went to bed early. My kids are in bed. My oldest son is working late. It is just me and a couple of cats in the living room.

The one you see pictured on the left is Royal. He's watching the sunset and listening to early fireworks go off.

Sometimes it is a good thing to just notice what is around you.

Besides the quiet, the cats, the cool breeze and the booms outside, I noticed a few other things: