Things from life this week

 "Nothing is ever as it seems ~ every perfect picture hides a mess or two"

                                                                                                in a song by Rita Wilson

...so true, especially in these days, but conversely, inside every mess there is a perfect picture too.

My new word ~ epipipto ~ it means; to fall on you in embrace; to take possession of you.

the word is found in Luke 15:20 ...when the father sees his prodigal son returning home, he runs out to meet him and falls on him in embrace!

The Lord wants to fall on you in embrace, to take possession of you. 

epipipto ...I love that. 

If Jesus were on trial for being your Lord and savior, would you constitute enough evidence to prove Him guilty? 

                         You.  You are going to be the evidence that Christ is who He says He is.

in a sermon by Darrell Johnson

'When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said "I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." '  John 8:12

Intimidation  is something that  handicaps your ability to function normally; 

it prohibits you from being yourself.

                                             so you can see the world,

                  the mountain,

      Climb                                                                       not so the world can see you.

Dana saw him the other day, he was standing out in the yard watching Kevin levelling the ground around the site of the new shop...  and Kenzie was playing peek a boo with him out on the porch.  Devon was watching and asked “Kenzie who are you playing peek a boo with?” “With Papa” he replied, “he’s sitting right there.”

    The heart has its reason that reason knows nothing of.

I love that.

Hope Deferred

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when longing is fulfilled, it is a tree of life.      

Proverbs 13:12

For just a moment, on Sunday morning, Pastor Larry Schram talked about this verse and I was reminded of a time not that long ago.

I remember.  I remember it very well.  The day the Doctor said to us that there was no hope.  Through tears I spoke up for John and I said ‘but there could be a miracle.’  She shook her head ‘no.’

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

I’ve come to realize since then, that it is always better to give some hope...always.

Cancer is a scary word, true, but it is not a death sentence.  Today there are so many ways of treatment, new ways, better ways...there is always a way, if it is not a way out now, right now, there is a way to hope for the next day, the next way...always there is hope...even if it is the hope only God offers.  The blessed hope.

I read a magazine article the other day, where a woman was told by her Doctor, that there was nothing they could do for her, she was devastated. 

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

The Doctor said they would go ahead with the treatment anyway.  Amazingly enough, it worked, the cancer shrunk, she was going to be okay.  But the Doctor had said nothing could be done? Really, nothing?  Wouldn’t it have been better to offer hope in the first place?  She said “What I still can’t understand is why they would take away my hope before the answer would be clear.”

There is a fine line between being real with the pain of knowing and being real with the hope of healing.  There is a fine line between being not unrealistic and being hopeful. It is true that it’s hard to know the difference, but, as far as it depends on you, always, offer hope.

Working at the cancer agency I have observed that it is not the patient who is down, in fact they are usually cheering everyone else up.  It is true that when you hear of someone who has been diagnosed, that your reaction is sadness...yes, it’s sad, but be careful; don’t defer hope.  Hope should always be conveyed, hope should always be realized and hope should always be maintained.

A friend of mine asked her friend who had been diagnosed with a form of lymph cancer “What can I do for you?”  His answer,  “The best thing you can do is to make me laugh; send me stories, pictures, movies anything that will make me laugh.”

So my friend looked for anything that was funny.  Along the way something happened to her, she cheered up, she found a way to feel better.  In the process of cheering up her friend she found herself looking on the brighter side, the hopeful side and she in turn gave him hope.

 

He was wise in asking for it, she was encouraged in doing it...offering hope.

Offering hope, Libby Znaimer, the author of the magazine article I had been reading called it, the audacity of hope.

      audacity, noun

      1.boldness or daring, especially with confident or arrogant disregard 
       for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick...the audacity of hope, brings healing to the heart and soul...it is a tree of life.  

I love that.

Under construction, truly

It seems I am always under construction, being fixed, needing repairs...oh-oh, there she goes again!  I am God’s construction site...truly; He’s not finished with me yet.

I have just read a cute magazine article about a young woman who learned from her parents a myriad of fixing and making things better.  Doing and knowing, learning and experiencing.  She talked about building and repairing.  What got me was that she knew how to countersink a screw.

 

I can’t do that...well, yes I can.  I know the names of most tools and I have an understanding of what they are used for.  I can fix a lot of things; ask my daughters, my mom, ask my Dad.  Ask my friend Teresa, she bought one of my homes, she can certainly attest to some of my repair jobs...truly, don’t ask Teresa.

 

There are some jobs I am not proud of although they always served the purpose in a time of need, more like a time of ‘how can I do this now!’  Lots of my fixes were innovative and inventive and imaginative but not often by the book.  I can do most repairs, my Dad trusts that I can do it, my son and my son-in-laws believe that I can and John almost always let me do it.

 

John was not really into home repair, although he was attempting it, we were half way into renovating our home when he got sick. He was trying, learning, doing.  No, John was a road construction man, he knew straight lines, levels, slopes and grades, he understood them, and even though he told me often enough that he was getting tired of it, I knew he loved it.

Not that long ago I drove over the Port Man Bridge, through the impressive web of bridge building construction.  Although on that day, all the equipment was still, sitting alone in the places where men left them, cranes, loaders, graders...all the road building equipment that reminded me of John... still, quiet.

I felt like stopping right there, parking my car, getting out...truly, taking it in.

Reaching high, high, above were lengths and lengths of steel cable linking to steel towers poured with cement reinforced and held fast with more steel.  It was impressive.  It was beautiful.  In the background of this world of Man’s construction was God’s construction.  Amazingly beautiful; mountains, steel blue, cold, fresh snow capped.  The sky, intense, bright, bright blue.  The clouds, fluffy, white, light.  I was struck by the contrast and the comparison of mans cold steel world with God’s natural world; both strong, both massive, both bold.

The work that man can accomplish and the work that God creates, seen at once.  It was altogether beautiful.

Truly, it is a beautiful world.

      "... looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

Hebrews 11:10

A few things from today

"Do you agree with me - or do you think I am right?" 

Charlie Bentall 1970   ...hehehe I love that!

“May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in your sight”  

 Psalm 19: 14

Dining well, but sharing little...

            Moved while here, but failed to stir after we leave...

                                         We take it all in, but do little...

 Jesus, the sermon on the mount, after all is said, it's as if He is asking, you have heard what I said, now what will you do with it?

                                                      What will I do?

We don’t change because we want to belong to Christ, we change because we do belong to Christ.

“You have heard it said God will only give what you can handle?  Well, I say God only gives what He can handle...I trust Him”      Thanks Patti, I love that 

Even though they are not with us, walking along side us, talking with us, even  though dying, many, through their faith still speak.

                                                                              

on my shift at the hospital...

Today I saw many who were weak but had someone close by to walk along side...hold on;

People who will never be alone...I promise you;

People who were tired...holding hands...being rocks...loving through it.

Today I saw tears.

But today I saw hope, I saw love, I saw life;

I saw God today.

In memory of my Buddy ...he is being honoured today by Devon,  who is walking all through the night in the Relay for Life,  far, far away in Ontario.

                                                                           I love that... 

                                                     Hebrews 11:4  

"...though dead, through his faith he still speaks."