Having a Place to Call Home

 

Today we end a long journey.  By noon today we will own a home again.

 

 

 

 

 

We sold our home in April and have been on the home search adventure ever since.  It has had its moments!  Offers rejected, appraisals falling short, sellers going with someone else. But tonight we will, for the first time in a looooong time, sleep in our own bed, in our own home.

 



Through the entire process we have clung to where our real home is.  The place where we abide.

 

So whether you live in a unique home, a cabin in the woods, or a colonial mansion, I pray that you abide with Him.

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever;

I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.

Psalms 61:4

Be Still!

Be still, and know that I am God;

Psalms 46:10a

 

 

 

All day long I fretted.  I pondered.  I thought about it.  How would I deal with this issue which was consuming my mind?  How would I respond? What would I say? When would I say it?

 

On into the night it continued.

 

I was thankful for the mental interruption created by a long overdue visit with dear friends. We played a mindless game.  One that required no real thinking.  It's one of our favorites.  What does that tell you?

 

 

Then bedtime came.  The thoughts returned!  The planning, the thinking, AND, the praying.

 

After all that time of trying to figure it out, I finally yielded.  And, almost in the same moment, the solution came.  No, it wasn't a great elaborate plan.  It wasn't a process which I should begin.  It was the simple verse written above.  I was to be still.  I was to let go.  I was to release all my desires and ways to "fix" it!

 

I must admit that is not easy for me.  But, experience has taught me to listen when God speaks.  So, off to peaceful sleep I drifted.  Today there is a calmness in my spirit as I begin to wait and watch for how He will do what I could not.

 

Today I am content to be still and know!

 

 



 

 





I Have Arrived . . . Or Have I?

Not that I have already obtained it

or have already become perfect,

but I press on so that

I may lay hold of that for which

I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12

 

 

 

 

As I read Facebook, look at the news on TV, or read the newspaper, I see one common thread in all of the many debates that are going on in the world today.  Some are debates of worldly proportion, some are national, and some are local matters.

 

 

The common thread is "I am right!"  Therefore all others must be WRONG!!! I am perfect! I have ARRIVED!

 



 

 

We have become a world of "Meist".  That's "ME IST"  It's all about me!

 

Many of us often talk about the good old days.  We remember our childhood fondly.  Why is that?  Perhaps it is because back then everyone valued others.  We respected others property, we honored others opinions (I didn't say we agreed with every one of them), we accepted their differences.

 

Yes, there were exceptions so please don't bother to point that out. I am not talking about single instances.  I am talking about general attitudes and values.

 

A former pastor once said, "As soon as you think you have arrived, you are as far from being there as you will ever be."  There is wisdom in that.



 





Children Loving in Deed and Truth

Each year our entire family takes a vacation together.  Yep, two grandparents, 6 adults and 5 grandchildren.   We have a blast. 

Each year the grandchildren look forward to exploring and using the "Mimi" basket.  Linda puts together a basket of arts and crafts supplies and activities.  It is always a hit. 

About four years ago the kids used the Mimi basket goodies to create items for a store.  You can guess who got to shop in the store.  At the end of the week we asked what was to become of the money they had earned.  I was pleasantly surprised by the answer.  I expected the money would be divided amongst them.  Not so.  Instead they, unprompted, decided to give the money to an animal shelter.

Each year since they have designated that money from the store go to a charity. One grandchild gets to choose the charity each year.  This year the money will go a nursing home.

 

Anybody want to buy a bookmark?

 

Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue,

but in deed and truth.

1 John 3:18

A Life Lesson for My Grandson

All of my life I heard my mother say, "Pretty is as pretty does." She believed, rightly, that who we really are comes from the inside, not the outside appearance.

Saturday I heard my daughter teach her son the same lesson with a 21st century version of that phrase.

We found a beautiful shell on the beach.  Like most shells it was all shiny and colorful on the inside.  The outside was dull and brown.

 

Her lesson - "Isn't this shell just like us? It's important for us to be beautiful on the inside, not just the outside."

I smiled. It felt so good to hear her teach my grandson what is really important as he becomes a man.

 

You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup

and of the dish,

so that the outside of it may become clean also.

Matthew 23:26

Being Restored



 

Fire destroys. It turns life into charred remains of what once was and what is supposed to be.  Yet, it is amazing to see how quickly a forest area recovers after a fire.  In fact, there are times when wildlife managers will actually burn an area on purpose.

The thick undergrowth is actually choking out the life of the forest.  Only by removing it can a healthy environment be restored.

There are times in our lives when we are exposed to "fires".  Trials, struggles, periods of uncertainty all happen.  How we handle those makes all the difference.  Do we give up? Do we whine? Do we wallow in hopelessness?  Or, do we see it as a time that will pass and be followed by a time of restoration? Sometimes we need to have the undergrowth of the world "burned" away so that our life can be restored.

 

He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

Psalms 23:3

Find Your Place of Peace

 

 

As I look back at over 25000 photographs that I have taken in the last few years, I see many that reignite the sense of peace and tranquility I felt when I was there in that spot at that time taking that photo.

 

Some of those memories are of the place, some are of the situation, and some are of the people that shared the moment with me.



 

 

I hope each of you has a conduit to find peace. 

 

The Lord lift up His countenance on you,

And give you peace.

Numbers 6:26

How Do We Rest?

 

Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden,

and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28

 

 

How do we rest? 

 

I really don't think people do that much anymore.  I read recently where the United States workers are the least likely to take vacation days of any industrialized nation.

 

Gone are the days of sitting under the tree, visiting on the front porch, or just spending time alone with your thoughts.

 

I pray that you will find rest in these hot summer days.

It Is What It Is!

 

Not that I speak from want,

for I have learned to be content

in whatever circumstances I am.

Philippians 4:11

 

 

Here we are in the heat of summer.  Beaches, sand, water, ice cream, bugs, sunburn, sweat!  It all comes with it. 

 

What also seems to come with it is the complaining.  The "I wish"ers!

 

Most of us have heard the verse above.  What struck me as I read it today was one word - learned.  Paul had to learn to be content.  So, hot and humid, cold and damp, windy, stormy, boring, or tired, I am going to try to learn to be content!

 



When Two Become One

 

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother,

and the two shall become one flesh;

so they are not longer two, but one flesh.

Mark 10: 7,8

 

Please pray for my son-in-laws grandparents.  Granddaddy Clifton was admitted to the hospital after suffering a stroke.  Granny, showing true devotion, would not leave his side.  Yesterday she was admitted to the same hospital with chest pains. 

 

These two people, whom I have yet to meet, have been a stellar example of what marriage, and love, is about. Their life together has become one life, woven like a fine linen. My son-in-law has learned much from them and I am very grateful for that. 

Be Prepared!

As a kid I loved being part of the Boy Scouts.  The hikes, the camp outs, the fellowship were all special to me.

I still remember the Boy Scout motto: Be prepared!

 

 

I also remember my mother and my Aunts spending many hours each summer canning and preserving fresh fruits and vegetables from the garden.  Not a lot of folks do that any more.  I wonder if they should?

 

 

 

I also wonder about people preparing themselves spiritually. Are we storing up in our heart and mind those things which will have eternal value? Or, are we living for ourselves and today? 

 

Do we prepare ourselves or do we rely on government to be prepared for us? I wonder?

 

 







 

Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

Which, having no chief, officer, or ruler,

Prepares her food in the summer

and gathers her provision in the harvest.

Proverbs 6: 6-8

Persistence

This past weekend Linda and I visited Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill, Kentucky.  It is one of our favorite places to go.  We always find it to be very peaceful and relaxing.

One of the many historic buildings, Center Family Dwelling, shown above, has this single dormer window on the third floor.  I have learned that the window was opened to allow "air conditioning" of the dwelling.  Every time we have visited Shaker Village, I have visited that window, only to find the stairway roped off.  I wanted to see that old lock up close and I wanted to see the view from up there.

Yet, on every visit I always check it out. Just in case.

This weekend was no different.  I made my way to the third floor and my persistence was rewarded.  The rope was gone.  The stairs were accessible.  I could finally photograph that lock. I could finally see out that window. 

What a surprise to find that there was actually a second window facing the back of the building.  I was immediately reminded of the scripture about asking, seeking, and knocking.  Persistence revealed a different view that I had never even imagined.  The image below is out that back window.

 

Don't stop asking, don't stop seeking, and don't stop knocking.  Your persistence will pay off.

 So I say to you, ask and it will be given to you;

seek, and you will find;

knock and it will be opened to you.

Luke 11:9

Getting the Whole Picture

Yes, I've been away from the blog for some time.  No, everything is fine. I made a choice.  And, I 'm glad I did. Thank you to those who missed me and inquired about my well being.

I've spent the last two weeks with my grandchildren. We played, we laughed, we expelled great amounts of energy.  It was a most wonderful, and at times exhausting, two weeks.

It was a blast and I miss them terribly now.

Sometimes what we see (or what we don't see) is not the whole picture.  We draw conclusions based on what we know, or what we think we might know.  Look again at the image above.  It is actually a reflection.  The image is a very large sculpture currently on display at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville, TN.  Below you can see the actual sculpture.  The head above, taken from the other side of the pond, is the one on the left below.

Sometimes we not only see things that are not what we think, but we can also create things that are not what we intended.  The photograph below is one of those situations.  I was taking a photo after the sun went down.  The limited light required a very long exposure.  I did not pay careful attention and actually moved the camera before it had finished the photograph I intended.  While accidental, I kinda like the result.

Remember, you may not really see what you think you see and you may not get the results you expect.  But, enjoy the journey.  There is a greater reward at the end.

 

For now we see in a mirror dimly,

but then face to face;

1 Corinthians 13: 12a