Ladies, you are beautiful!

Happy Mother's Day to all the sisters, sisters-in-law and nieces!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY everyone!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you mothers out there!  I hope all those who love you show you how very special you all to them tomorrow!

I love it Trish!!

Happy Mothers Day 2014

Hands

Take My Hand Precious Lord

Precious Lord, take my hand
Lead me on, let me stand
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn
Through the storm, through the night
Lead me on to the light
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When my way grows drear
Precious Lord linger near
When my life is almost gone
Hear my cry, hear my call
Hold my hand lest I fall
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When the darkness appears
And the night draws near
And the day is past and gone
At the river I stand
Guide my feet, hold my hand
Take my hand precious Lord, lead me home

When I was a child I remember anytime I was afraid or alone someone would hold my hand.  Coming from a large family it could’ve been anyone; mom, dad, brother, sister, lots to choose from.  The feeling you get from just the entanglement of fingers is so overwhelming there are almost no words for it.  Safety.  Comfort.  Love.  Security.  Those are all emotions we all have felt at one time or another.  I also remember holding hands the first time with Danny.  Different emotions…scared, nervous, sweaty…actually I felt nauseous but it quickly resolved to familiar!   When my kids were little I held their hands out of a need to keep them safe and to hold on to them.  As they grew older they would search out my hand to hold when they were scared or frightened, lonely or needed comforting.  When we have our family get together we make a circle and hold hands.  We take the hand of the one beside us, give it a squeeze, and offer up our thanks to God for allowing us to be together!  When we are at church we often have prayer, special prayer, and we gather in a circle and hold hands.  We entangle not only our fingers with one another but also our hearts and lives.  We are telling that one beside of us that we have the time to get involved in their life to offer up a prayer, sacrificing a little time and a little piece of our heart.

I remember when I had the kids I had to have C-sections, all three.  Of course with a spinal you are numb from the waist down and pretty much the whole trunk up to the arms.  My arms were strapped down and all I could feel were my fingers.  On a stool sitting beside me was Danny.  He couldn’t do much but he did hold my hand.  How I wish I had a picture of his hands now!  Just the feel of his hand to mine calmed the anxious feeling in my chest better than any medicine they gave me.  It also told my brain that we could handle everything no matter what it was.  When he squeezed my fingers it brought me back to reality that life is amazing, wonderful, scary and unpredictable. But above all else life was full of love and you can feel it all with your fingertips.  All of those nerves at the end of your fingertips goes to everywhere else in your being, your heart, head and soul.   

I remember the moment each of my children looked at me and reached out with their tiny hands to grab that one finger, what an amazing feeling.  It went all the way to the core, my heart and soul.  The first time was no different from the third time.  I was in awe!  I think about my mom, I was number 11!  I know she thought I was just as special as the first all because she had never met ME!  God had created me just for her!  God wires mothers extra special I think because we have an extra special job for 9 months we have a connection and special bond like no other! 

But just as that touch of the hand is so overwhelming in birth and life, so it is in death as well.  I have sat by so many bedsides and held the hands of many as their last breath was taken.  Held the hand of the one I loved for 30 years until it was cold, Held the ones that gave me life…as they completed their race.  I thank God that I have not had to hold the hand of my child in death…but I know many that have.  We will all go through many trials in life and death, that’s promised to us.  But it is also promised to us that God will be there with us and not give us more than we can handle. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 (GNT) |

¹³ Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out

There is just something about the touch and feel of a hand.  It speaks volumes.  I didn’t realize it until today that this Mothers Day is the 100^th anniversary of Mothers Day!  We have been celebrating mothers around the world for 100 years…officially. 

Think how Mary felt 2000 years ago when she looked into the face of her newborn baby and she reached out to take his tiny hand.  Those same hands that played in the dirt with other kids, then the hands that performed miracles like they were nothing.  The same hands that were nailed to the cross for you and me! 

Life is not guaranteed but death is.  If you are blessed with a mother here on earth, and I do mean blessed, go tell her you love her.  Hold her hand, hug her neck, and kiss her cheek!  Or if you have a special woman in your life that has been a great influence, tell her.  The mother of your children?  Tell her what a great Mom she is.  Because I’m here to tell you, being a mom is a hard job.  It should come with hazard pay. But it also has the greatest of rewards.  All at the touch of a hand… tip of the fingers!  Hold hands with someone tomorrow and if your mom is in heaven…think of her!  I know I will!

 

Proverbs 31:10-31 (NIV)

¹⁰ A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
¹¹ Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
¹² She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
¹⁴ She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
¹⁸ She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
²⁰ She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
²¹ When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
²² She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

http://www.emilyfridenmaker.blogspot.com/?m=1

Classmates

For anyone who has ever been a classmate!

Which way did he go George, which way did he go?  How many of you remember that cartoon?  I know you all are seeing that huge abominable snowman in your mind.  Picking up George and holding him by the neck and saying in that funny little voice, which way did he go George, which way did he go?

That’s kind of how I feel.  Thinking about my 30 year class reunion has brought that thought up with practically everyone’s pictures I see in the year book, except for those few like me who have stayed in Greenbrier County and our way didn’t go very far.  Or did it?  I have wondered many times if so and so actually did what they said they were going to do.  While I find others actually did stuff I never thought they would do.  And then there are some of us like me who never moved out of the neighborhood but yet I feel like I have been on a tremendous journey sometimes.

I haven’t kept up with any of my classmates except for occasionally running into them at Wal-Mart or facebook.  Life got busy for us all.  We raised families went to school, started careers, accomplished great things.  And now here we are almost ½ decade old and we gather with friends we feel like we hardly know.  For some or most we met in high school, hung out for 3 years and went our separate ways.  Did we really know each other then?  No I don’t think so.  I remember seeing faces day in and day out, smiles that hid so much.  Teenage years are the hardest EVER!  We got by and got through with the help of those faces.  Our parents didn’t understand or so we thought.  Now here we are with teenagers of our own and they are doing the same thing.  They think we don’t have a clue but has it really been that long?  30 years?!  But I can remember walking the halls of Greenbrier West like it was yesterday.  I can still hear the choir singing Billie Joel’s tune It’s Still Rock and Roll to me in my head.  Humming along.  When I go to a ballgame I can still feel the atmosphere as if I was 16.  But there is something about those classmates we surround ourselves with.  The ones that have the same home life and we know by just the look in their eyes.  Maybe their grief is the same as yours and you just know by that same look.  You can almost feel it.  So yes, the bonds we formed 30 years ago were brief, 3 years for most, but they were bonds.  And I am proud to say I was in a class of 140 or so that made it out alive and traveled to the other side, 30 years later.

It’s funny, I think, how we feel the need to reconnect at some level to see how we all turned out.  It’s almost like we were turkeys cooking and now 30 years later someone sticks a fork in us and says, “OK, this one’s done?”  By now we have all grown up, raised our families for the most part, many have started new families, jobs have come and went, spouses, come and gone, health on the decline, many of us have lost parents and spouses and now we find ourselves at a crossroads.  That’s where I am.  I am trying to figure out, which way do I go Lord, which way do I go?

Proverbs 16:9

In their hearts humans plan their course but the Lord establishes their steps

When you lose the one you have traveled through life with for 30 years, whether it is death or divorce, you instantly meet road blocks.  I feel like I am at a 4 way stop sign and my engine has stalled- and given my history of car accidents this winter, I am not stretching the truth here!  My kids are all almost grown; do I go back to school?  I have a big empty house; do I sell it and go smaller?  So many questions and unfortunately I don’t travel with the pack of kids that helped me make decisions when I was at Greenbrier West.  I am alone.  My decisions.  My mistakes. I’ll have to live with it.  But the good thing is in my last 30 years I have travelled a road that has been bumpy, treacherous at times; curvy and well at times it has come to a dead end.  And I know that my class mates have traveled this same road.  We have grown, matured and we have found that we can’t go this road alone.  The one thing I have noticed as I have reconnected with many friends and former classmates is not the size of theirhouse or what kind of car they drive but it is their testimony and how they have overcome obstacles to just survive.  I notice thatthey reached out to God.  They have called upon Jesus to help them in their struggles and I see He has done it.  He has made a way when there seemed to be no way.  I know many have jumped hurdles and have overcome many things to get to where they are today.  Many still have a long way to go.

I hope and pray as we get ready for a class reunion that it will be more than just reuniting and seeing familiar faces.  I hope we get the chance to uplift someone and help them if they are at their crossroads of life.  Similar to high school, there will be those that have already gone where we are headed.  Change is exciting but also scary.  It’s ok to ask someone to hold your hand even if it’s just for a little while.  Jesus holds our heart and he places people in our path to hold our hand for part of our journey; our angels on earth.  Our travels wouldn’t be near as meaningful without those relationships He gives us.   Treat them gently and with kindness.  Love when it seems like you can’t.  Forgive when everything inside of you says no!  Trust them when they give you no reason to.  Why?  That’s what Jesus would do!  That’s what He expects of us…We can’t disappoint the one that created us!  He doesn’t ask much of us…Love Jesus, love your neighbor.  I think we can do that!

John 15:12

My command is this;  Love each other as I have loved you!

Mark Lowry happened to post this yesterday!!  Coincidence???  I think not :)

The folks we love and our animals are preparing quite the place for us!  Tails will be wagging when we Get to the pearly gates! And not just ours:)

Awesome Thought!

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is residing on the inside of us!  Sounds like dynamite power, doesn't it???  As Dean Braxton would say, "Isn't that good news?"

Happy Birthday, Daddy.  I know the flowers are already blooming in Heaven.

So sorry about your dog Steve, I know what that feels like , Love you .

Passing over

I'm so sorry Steve! People who have come back to tell about It, have told of the greenest, most beautiful grass and flowers there.  So don't worry concerning Shiloh!  He may have happened upon Mommy by now and she is pettin' the coat right off him! Can't you imagine their conversation.  It may go something like this:

"And just where on God's earth did you come from?"

"In Greenbrier county, I heard.  I ran up and down a hill with a blue house.  The people built a new garage recently.  I had trees galore to run through.  Rabbits, squirrels and birds everywhere. A wide meadow you could overlook from the front of the house, with a stream running through it.  A nice man named Steve, with a lovely wife Teresa, took me in when no one else could." 

"Could it be!"

Anyway, I'm sure he's having the time of his life!

Steve, sorry to hear about your loss. Shilo was a beautiful animal. When Michael was only 2 years old we had a Siberian Huskie we called 'Wolf' and he looked much like your dog. We believe someone stole him but the loss was hard for Michael too at the time. I think those are one of the most beautiful breeds. I saw lots of them in Alaska and I always had to take a second look. See you late next month.

Lost my buddy Shilo yesterday. He was hit by a car.

Sunday's on the Way!

Saturday mornings are one of those things I thank God for.  Actually I thank him for the whole weekend.  When I started job hunting again, that was included in my prayer.  No weekends!  I needed my Sunday church time.  I really needed it!  Because without it I can’t make it through the week.  My Lord knows my weaknesses and He never fails to deliver me a message on Sunday that gets me to at least Wednesday.  So while I am sitting here enjoying my laziness, I was thinking about Jesus dying on the cross yesterday and then we jump to Sunday and “Up from the grave He arose” but what about Saturday?  I just can’t hardly imagine what it was like that day;  The day when there was absolutely no nope anywhere for anyone.  When people realized what they had done.  No way to undo it.  How must they have felt when they realized “Uh oh He was who He said he was!”

This is one of those random thoughts in my head, did they go to heaven?  Jesus said forgive them for they know not what they do!

Luke 23:34 (KJV)

³⁴ Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

I am sure they must’ve asked and believed after that terrible fateful day for them. Were they forgiven?  How must they have felt when they looked Jesus in the eyes again after what they had done?  We are no different.  Every time I sin I think, Lord, how can you forgive me for that?  For this and this and this?  So many things!  But time and time again I fail and He with the same loving eyes says it’s ok, I forgive you.  So unworthy.  We look to Him, in the shadow of the cross, looking for open arms and every time finding them!  In his suffering, he thought of me, you, the soldier driving the nails, yes even him.  He’s the same yesterday, now, forever.

Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)

⁸ Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever

That Saturday so long ago did they know, did they have any hope of a forever, a tomorrow?  Sometimes I feel like I am in a Saturday after that Friday.  No hope of tomorrow or forever, but I am so glad it doesn’t last long.  Jesus reached out so far stretching his arms wide open to love us that He died right there.  But to get us that hope of tomorrow and forever, on Sunday He came right up out of that tomb.  How his arms must’ve been stretched then!

Our Saturdays, some worse than others, are our seasons of grief, depression, anxieties, addictions, anger, divorce, broken families…just plain brokenness.  But because God sent his son, He lived, died, rose again; we can all have our Sunday.  Whatever you are going through, it’s time for resurrection, deliverance!  Jesus made a way for us, it’s enough, and it’s all we need.  We can’t let that go to waste!  By golly grab hold of it and pull yourself up!  Look what he did, at this point he is saying,

 “It’s your turn now!  You can do it. I have my arms still stretched out waiting for you!  I am here to take your pain, your grief, your addictions, your brokenness.  Look at the scars on my hands, when you feel like you can’t do it anymore, I already did it!”

God is so gracious, merciful, and loving.  Let this Sunday, be YOUR Sunday!

Romans 5:8 (KJV)

⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us

Remember that no matter what you are going through He already paid the price and He is there with arms wide open!  Sunday‘s on the way!

Isaiah 53:5 (KJV)

⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed

1 Corinthians 6:14 (KJV)

¹⁴ And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.

Topsy Turvy

This day is too beautiful, the sun too bright, the sky too blue, the clouds too white, the breeze too warm, the birds too loud…with all those things going on outside, who wants to be inside?  Not me!   So here I sit, acting like a sponge trying to soak it all up.  With our crazy weather I am afraid it won't be here much longer.  Sunnty today snowy tomorrow.  So the housework will have to wait. 

Have you ever had that feeling of being topsy turvy?  I don't know how to describe it but I just saw a leaf go by with the wind in control and all tips of it were touching the pavement but it went over and over until it fell flat.  Topsy turvy!  That's how I feel inside.  My feet are on the ground but I feel like something else is in control and I am rolling along.  Every once in a while I land and it seems like I have it all under control but inside I whirl around.   Never landing!  I have encountered many people today.  Friends, acquaintances, strangers and I have wondered, how is that leaf blowing in your own life?  I always wonder am I alone in feeling like this?  Everyone else seems to have it all together and I just can't seem to get it right.  I grabbed my journal as I left the house today and it found the familiar place in my purse.  I asked God to pick me out a beautiful place to just sit and write down the words that are crowding out the stuff in my head.  So as I finished my errands in Lewisburg He tells me to go up 219N, so I drive.  I got to the bowling alley turned off and turned around.  It was pretty but no where I wanted to get out and sit.   So I headed back to I64 and then I got the voice in my head, turn around, so I did.  And as I did the thought of the airport came to my mind.  So I pulled in and saw a couple airplanes nestled there against the mountains.  As I got out everything was so quiet, the breeze was blowing ever so gently and warm, the sky is so blue with fluffy white clouds dotting it everywhere!  So I grabbed my journal and made my way to the chairs down front where you can watch the airplanes.  As I listened to the birds sing I thought, "Thank you God," this is that place I was asking for.  Sometimes it's nice to let those topsy turvy thoughts fly around in your head, and now that leaf as landed.  Many thoughts are going around in my head and one that has been troubling me for a while keeps coming to the forefront.  I am very judgmental of people AND critical.  Lord knows I pray specifically for that area!

Matthew 7:1

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

This is not something I delight in sharing with the world, but it's like this, for me to overcome it, I have to put it out there.  My faults are many but I guess God wants me to clean them up one at a time.  I know with His help I can do that.  We all sin; we all have sin in our life.  It's just different kinds of sin.  We as humans look down on "certain" types of sin.  Some sin we let slide by because we say well it isn't hurting anyone.  Some sin we keep hidden so no one else knows about it.  Some sin is obvious.  Some sin is socially accepted and actually favored and encouraged.  And then there are the sins that we think of as unforgiveable.  All these sins and the different types is where we try to sit in judgment of those that are doing the sinning.  In my limited mind space, I see God looking at us and just seeing SIN!  He doesn't differentiate the sins.  And neither should we.  It's human nature I think but we have to ask for God to remove that, not to delight in it.  Trust me its taking up a lot of space in my heart.

1 John 2:17

The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

The will of God; who knows what that is?  God talks I listen.  I ask He gives.  But sometimes I ask and it never comes.  So I wait wait and wait some more.  I know it's His will.  He told me.  But how do we get to that place and what's even harder is how do we stay there?

Acts 20:35

In everything I did I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak remembering these words the Lord Jesus Christ himself said, it's more blessed to give than receive.

To be more like Christ; we give of our self, our time, our stuff, our money, we become less, He becomes more.  That's how we stay in the center of His will. We constantly ask, is this where I am supposed to be?  Listen for His spirit to nudge you this way or that.  I have felt like I was nowhere in the center of His will lately.  Not even on the sideline of it.  So I had to get back in the battle.  That's exactly what we are in, its war.  And when that realization dawned on me I looked at things differently.  As I slip up the devil takes it over, takes little pieces of me, piece by piece until one day I wake up and I wonder why I pray, what good is it doing?  I wonder, why ask God what my direction should be?  It doesn't matter.  Have any of you ever had a faith crisis?  It's no fun.  I sat in my bathroom floor and cried out.  He heard me, just as he always does.  Even when we think He isn't listening, He is!  He sent me to Souled Out with the youth.  Well I always receive more from those rally's than I ever expect.  I wasn't disappointed.  God puts us where we need to be right when we need it.  He pretty much told me to get in the battle, its war and we are gonna slay giants!  So Sunday morning we had 2 missionaries at church, KIDS!  God is showing me how He will make a way.  The way!  My way!  I believe my mission trip is His will; I just can't seem to figure it out.  But that's the good thing about God; we don't have to figure it out.  He's got this; we just have to let him.  So what do we do with all this hurt and unfairness we encounter along the way in our journey?  That is what I am still trying to figure out.  But if you find yourself on your bathroom floor go ahead and cry out!   It worked for me!

Romans 8:1-2

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

It often takes the darkness of a storm to show us the light of God's presence             Tony Edward

2 Corinthians 12:10

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then am I strong.

 

 

Trish