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Christmas time for this Mum

My daughter often invites us to her home on late Christmas afternoon. This gives them as a family, time to relax and enjoy Christmas morning.

When I prepare for a holiday, I usually go way overboard. Cooking enough for an army.

My daughter seems to have this same trait. Although, she prepares an array of fancy appetizers and a luscious meal! Making you feel like royalty with the care and extravagance she extends.

When I became a parent, I felt it was the most joyous time of my life and yet felt really inadequate for the job at hand. Honestly! I had a hard time when my kids got their wings. Witnessing them tackle the joys and sorrows of this life, continually tear at a Mum’s heartstrings. At times, her heart grows so full with love and admiration, she feels she cannot contain it. At others, standing on the sidelines as they walk through rocky trails. Oh, a Mum’s heart. God blessed me with two amazing children. He created them to be who they are despite my inadequacies. Thank you Lord, for gracing me with this precious gift.— And to think, when I was early married, I had no desire for children. God’s ways and plans are so much more than we could ever imagine.

I am not really someone who desires a lot of “things”. So, the exchanging of gifts at Christmas, to me is more about gifting others than receiving myself.

Even so, my precious daughter gifted me with her own artwork, a mustard seed necklace and words so sweet that made this Mum’s tears flow.

I so love this!
I feel she gives me too much credit.
I will wear this as a reminder❤️

Looking up Queen Anne’s Lace, I also found this:

“Queen Anne’s Lace is believed to symbolize sanctuary and protection. Its delicate white flowers are said to represent purity and the divine presence in everyday life.

While Queen Anne’s Lace is not specifically mentioned in the Bible, its qualities align with many themes found in biblical teachings. The flower’s simple beauty, resilience, and purity can be seen as representations of the virtues encouraged in Christianity. Its white color resonates with the biblical association of white with purity, righteousness, and holiness.

In a broader sense, Queen Anne’s Lace’s adaptability and natural beauty can be linked to God’s creation and His provision for all living things. In Matthew 6:28-30, Jesus speaks of the lilies of the field, urging believers not to worry about material needs, as God provides for even the flowers. Queen Anne’s Lace, in its wild and abundant growth, can symbolize faith in divine provision and trust”.

I have seen and lived through a lot of hard things in this life, but my God has walked me through, providing what I have needed, even in times when I totally didn’t or don’t have a clue. He is not surprised when it takes me so long to “get” things. By His grace, He is so patient with me. I could not step forward each day without Him. And then…He brings me blessings overflowing through the love of my children, a touch from a friend, and at times strangers that He places in my path.

Yes, on Christmas, we celebrate the birthday of our Precious Savior who, as the preacher said,”Did not come to condemn us but to rescue us” I am so thankful for that rescue!

I am so thankful that along our journey, He gives us these special moments that engrave in our hearts.

We continue to be the Luckyones blessed by God.

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Death

In the course of over a year, many we have known and loved have passed away. This is heartbreaking for those of us who remain. Wishes for more time with those we love. For what they meant to us and hopes for what they would be in the future.

The Bible states that because of Christ’s sacrifice, that He removed the fear of death, but many of us still fear death. We do whatever we can to avoid it. Even within the hardships, we enjoy this life we have known.

I imagine that if we truly believed that God loves us as it states in Romans 8:38, that His love will hold us, we would not fear.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. “Romans 8:38

We, who are believers in Christ, are called to die to self and sin. Die to the natural things of the flesh. Live and follow Christ. I think that often, we are thankful for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Allowing us to know that when we leave this earth that we will be with Him, where there is no more death or sorrow. Yet, we fail to realize that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we have already died from this life and are basically just waiting for the time when He takes us to the next step with our new body that is like His. We all are already living in eternity.

When I was younger, there was a comedian, Flip Wilson whose trademark line was, “the devil made me do it”. We all thought it was funny, but there is an amount of sad truth in this statement. If “the devil makes me do it” then, I am living for the devil and not Christ. I think this is hardest for us, that we no longer live for ourselves, but for Christ. This is a moment by moment struggle between how we were born (in sin) in this physical world where self is preeminent and releasing every situation to Christ. Sometimes, we fear doing this, because we fear that He will take away something we love.

The fact remains that at some point, we will all leave this earth. Why do we live with the illusion that we won’t? There have been times in my life when loved ones have faced death and being that it was “in their face” so to speak, they were forced to think about leaving this life. Yet, on a daily basis, we are facing death all day long, and we don’t think about it. “That’s not going to happen to me, I have time to do this or that”, but do we?

My neighbor, just one year older than I, was just watching a football game and had a massive heart attack. As Jesus said about the coming of the age, “We do not know the day or the hour”, this is true for Christ’s return and also for our time here on earth.

I have to admit, that often, I live this life not in the reality of what is true. That I have died to myself. That Jesus is not a sideline to my life. That He IS my life. My lifeline. May I remember always that Christ came to save the dead. That was me and continues to be me when I don’t die to this world.

We still grieve those we loved that have already made that transition. For they are special and have been in our life for a purpose and for us to love. I am thankful that God loved us so much that He has given us the gift of those to love.

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Words

I hope this finds you enjoying your days. Unfortunately, I have been a bit disheartened with myself this week.

Being kind and sensitive with others has always been my desire. In Ephesians, it instructs us to “let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them”.

This week, I started blabbing about how I feel about a certain issue based on what I had experienced. While doing this, I offended someone I care about who experienced this frame of time very differently. Was I being sensitive to this person? Was what I was saying good and helpful? Or an encouragement? I would have to say, “No” At the time, I didn’t think about this. I was not trying to make anyone upset, but I did.

I am thankful that the Lord does not leave us alone when we do wrong. He spoke to my heart until I asked forgiveness from Him and from my friend. I pray that she does forgive me.

In James, he states that we are to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger”. Just two days later from my first discouragement, I was quick to speak on a matter. Then, a little while later, the Lord reminded me that I had misspoke and what I had said was untrue. I was so embarrassed by this because I couldn’t believe that I had forgotten a simple thing that I had done just maybe an hour before.

Also in Ephesians, it tells us to be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but wise. Making the most of your time, for the days are evil.

Our words matter. Our thoughts matter. As I’ve stated before, this is a struggle between the flesh and the Spirit. Between not leaning on my own understanding. I pray as I continue to have His Spirit renew my mind, I will be more of an encourager, more of a listener, and maybe one day—be slow to speak. :/

Proverbs also says “the tongue has the power of life and death, those who love to talk, reap the consequences.” (NLT)

My prayer for the coming days, “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.“

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Faith and Prayers

I’ve always been a believer in the power of prayer. That God could do anything, if we just asked. I still believe this to be true. I’ve been doing a personal study on a book entitled, “When God Doesn’t Fix It”. This study, along with some life experiences have challenged some of my thinking.

Many times, I have asked God for solutions and He has answered those prayers in positive ways that I would never have expected. What happens though, when things we ask for don’t turn out as we had hoped?

We can passively say, “It wasn’t within His will”. There is truth in statement, we feel… UNTIL..

The diagnosis-a sickness that causes you to not even remember what healthy looked like- a broken relationship-a loved ones ongoing addiction-loss of someone dear- job loss-the list goes on. At these times, passively stating, “Well, it’s God’s will just doesn’t cut it, even though this is ultimately true.

In prayer, as well with every other area of our lives, it seems to be a struggle with self vs submission. I’m learning that it isn’t about the final outcome. It is our journey of submission. Sometimes, it is our brokenness that will help others.

I have to ask myself: Are my prayers focused on just my desires? Or can I look beyond my desires and remember that I am here to further the Kingdom of God? For that IS our mission. That IS the will of God. Remembering that even when He doesn’t “fix it”, He is faithful. He is good.

It is about putting my hand in His. Through the pain, through the struggles, through the blessings. As we submit everything to Him, His will is lived through us to touch a dying world.

What I ask myself and you, is this. Do I have faith in just faith? That what I ask for will be answered because I believe? OR Do I have faith in the One who holds my hand -the One who holds the universe together and doesn’t want anyone to perish? That any pain that I have in this life will further His Kingdom? Do I truly believe that God is Good, All the time? I DO! Even if I cannot see it at the present time, that it is good.

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

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Let Your Yes Be Yes

I am grateful for yet another beautiful day! 

Most of you don’t know me, but if you do…You know that my faith in the Trinity is firm and what I know of God’s will, I am firm and unwavering. That being said, there are times when our Holy Spirit has to remind me of what I know is true.

When I am dealing with people, I am not as firm. Tending to be like those “flailing inflatable, tube men. I have a desire to get along and be flexible. This is not always advantageous.

Take today, for instance. My husband had to go to the VA in Gaylord. It was a beautiful drive looking at the colors. Since my husband’s bypass heart surgery at the end of January, we have had difficulty with communication. He used to be able to decipher “Karen-eze” but since January- not so much. He wanted to cash some checks and he prefers East Jordan 4Front over Boyne City. We had talked about after his appointment coming back through East Jordan. When he talked about it, he asked me what I thought. My response was, “whatever you would like to do”. In my thought process, I was being flexible to whatever he wanted. When he failed to turn to go to East Jordan, I was confused. I thought that he had just decided not to cash his checks. Just before we got home, I asked him about it and he said that I made it sound like that wasn’t something I wanted to do. I was confused-he was confused. Oh my!

Almost immediately, our Spirit reminded me of Scripture that says, “Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no’ anything more than this comes from evil” Mattew 5:37

Had I simply said, “yes” all confusion would have been gone. No frustration.

Satan likes it when we have miscommunication, confusion, fear or anything else that brings us down or draws us away from Christ. We always have to be on our guard. This may not seem like a big deal and that is what the devil wants us to think. He wants us to not think about the little things so that bit by bit, he will have the upperhand. 

How about you? Is there anything in your life that the devil is trying to slither into? Let us keep our ears open to hear our Advocate and Helper. 

Have a great week trusting our Lord! 🙂

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After Bible Study Adventures

It has been a span of time since my last post. It seems that summer has just flown right by.

We continued to do summer adventures after Bible Study. These all proved to be relaxing and fun.

Some of the excursions included: Elk Rapids, Whiting’s Park, Ellsworth Pavilion, Stonehedge Garden, Otis Pottery, Our adventure on my sister-in-law, Louise’s birthday included a picnic and going to the Charlevoix/Emmet County Fair. It is always a fun and relaxing time to spend time with these special ladies. Also, accidently put a pic of my brother, Nelson at the Portside Arts Fair in this gallery.

These ladies have been my friends through many ups and downs of life. I can count on them for prayer, encouragement, laughter and more.

Yes, I am a Lucky One, blessed by God. 🙂

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Mild Thoughts for Today

Most people have a favorite thing. My favorite thing? Without a doubt, people, other than God of course. God has created each person so magnificently. The diversity of people is not, as some might think, a bad thing. How each person’s personality is wisely crafted by their Creator. It is an awesome thing! We were designed to need, encourage and be a part of the bigger picture. Sadly, so often, we think the world revolves around just us and our little world.

I believe that is why it is such a joy to me when I stumble across a friend,(as I did this week) an old coworker, a relative, a stranger on the street. Each of so much more value than could ever be imagined or any material thing this life has to offer.

Being that I truly love people, when one of those dear to me leaves this world…it is so hard for me. As it is for most, I think.

I remember when my Dad passed, the first of many that are close to my heart. I remember thinking, “How can life just go on like nothing happened?” This would not be the last time that I felt this way.

For some reason, once I know someone’s birthday/anniversary, when it comes to that day. Those people pop into my head and I spend a little time reminiscing, regardless if that person remains on this earth or not. I feel this is a gift from the Holy Spirit. There are things in my house that were gifts or pictures or maybe a book that was given to me that when I look at those things, they also cause me to reflect on the person who gave it to me. God has blessed me with so many wonderful people in my life.

This past week, Leonard’s two siblings that no longer live on this earth had birthdays. His sister, Phyllis. I admired her. She was crafty, witty, fun. She was such a natural with everything. I remember how excited she was to find a dress she liked for Brian and Jinn’s wedding. What a special memory. One time, she helped Brian make some brownies and he got the recipe from her. The recipe name? “Aunt Phyllis’ Best Brownies”. She loved both my kids, Brian and Tina and loved them so naturally.

Leonard’s brother, Dale’s birthday was the day after Phyllis’. My heart went out to Dale because he seemed to never fit in. Yet, to me, he was always kind and respectful. When Leonard’s Mom passed away, he gave me her Bible and said that he thought their Mom would want me to have it and he knew that I would use it. In the front it was handwritten that it was a gift to their Mom from Phyllis and Gordon. I asked Phyllis, if she would like to keep it and she told me she wanted me to have it.

During the summer, after Thursday morning Bible study, one of my other sister-in-laws, Louise, likes to go on local adventures with friends. She graciously always includes me. 🙂

This week, we are going to go on a picnic and an art walk. In honor of Phyllis, Dale and their Mom (even though her birthday is in May), I am bringing “Aunt Phyllis’ Best Brownies” to honor my sister-in-law, whom I can still hear her laugh. I am also bringing Leonard’s Mom’s Bible to Bible Study to honor Dale for his sentiment to me, knowing that their Mom’s Bible would be special to me.

I read Ecclesiastes this week. It’s kind of a sobering book because Solomon says that everything is meaningless. I heard that the context is better explained “everything is fleeting”. This is true. Good times are fleeting, bad times are fleeting. Life goes so quickly, so unexpectedly. A lot of times, not as we wish.

May we always be grateful for those we love, those we have loved, those we don’t even know, for we all need each other. If you know me, I will always remember you.

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Just a Light-hearted Post

Lucky has been stuck inside quite a bit recently. I saw a couple wild blackcaps and decided to go blackberry picking around our house and take Lucky with me. Thinking it would be a fun event for her.

Not quite ready

You don’t have to ask her twice to join you regardless of how mundane the task.

As it turns out, deer beds, the sights, sounds and occasional chipmunks to chase are much more exciting for a dog than a human’s idea of a smooth, calm berry picking adventure. This human had to keep pulling her back to keep her within the boundaries that would keep things from going amuck.

Our picking resulted in quite a minute amount. Not enough to do anything with. The tease of a couple berries lured me in only to be disappointed with the harvest.

When we were trudging back, I thought to myself, that I’m a bit like Lucky.

I’m so excited and distracted by a lot of the things of this world, only later to be disappointed by the outcome. I too, don’t want to be told, “No, don’t chase” that thing. Sometimes, we don’t want to stay within the parameters that God has set. Or, we want to jump ahead in our own timing, only to find that we come up sparse. We want to make decisions for ourselves with no restraints.

Just as Lucky cannot do her own thing for it will end in an unpleasant result. I too, cannot do my own thing, but need the guidance and boundaries of my Father to not end up with less than He designed for me.

Despite Lucky not being able to go her own way, she was happy to be outside with me.

Similarly, I am happy when I stay within the boundaries that God has set for me.

In a few days, when the timing is right, I will venture out again. Until then, I am thankful for how the Spirit teaches me through the mundane things about the better things.

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Always Evolving with Thoughts

It’s been a couple months since I’ve made a blog post. Time passes so quickly. In this season, I continue to ruminate the things of this life that I do not or cannot understand.

Despite this, life is a bit different these days. Since Leonard’s surgery, it seems that he continues to struggle to get his energy back. Due to this, his interest in experiencing life away from the confines of our property, is quite limited. My son, who has always been my optimistic and positive offspring has turned bitter since the loss of his precious wife. He now feels like life is unfair and has no meaning. He’s angry at what he has experienced. I cannot deny the fact that life is unfair. Jesus forewarned us of this, but often we choose not to listen. Thinking it will be different for us. That WE can determine our destiny. Or, that this only applies to our spiritual life. I believe that our spiritual life is the part of us that is real life. That permeates every part of our being. This is the part of us that will remain after our earthly body decays. What we experience in our daily lives is our spiritual life. Whether that is dry and we don’t want to accept a higher power or whether we rely on His Spirit for everything. Or somewhere in between.

In spite of this negative thinking, we have experienced many fun and blessed moments that I thank God for. Mainly, that He sustains us. We’ve only fished a small amount this year, but I caught a large mouth bass that was quite fun to catch. It gave up a good fight. After pics, I returned it to it’s home. That day, was not it’s final day.

I started working at EJ Cornerstone church as a part-time secretary. The people have been so encouraging. I continue to get lifted up by those I come in contact with. Whether that be friends, ladies I meet with on a regular basis or an occasional stranger.

My daughter and grandson stop by periodically to bring us joy. I was thankful that they were around for July 4th to celebrate with us, as was my son and his boys. Words cannot describe what this did to my heart! Being that temperatures were close to 100 degrees F., Water was essential! 🙂

For the past six weeks, we have been studying about the Holy Spirit in our Thursday Bible Studies.

We make Him seem so mysterious. I guess the mysterious part is how He lives within us. I am often guided by His loving hand and know without a shadow of a doubt that it is Him flowing through me. We have learned that the Holy Spirit’s mission is to reveal and glorify God.

If we cleave, rely on and trust Christ, the Holy Spirit (The Living Water) will flow from our innermost being, continuously. This study suggested that we think about the attributes of water. (Refreshing, satisfying, flowing). These are all things we receive from the Spirit. Isaiah 55, reminds us that we don’t need anything to come to Him except self-surrender that accepts the blessing. It also says to “incline your ear and consent to the Divine will”. I think this is where we struggle. We don’t want to consent to the Divine will unless it goes along with our will. If we can’t tidy it up in a little bow and say we understand everything, we don’t want to consent or accept it. God says His thoughts/ways are higher than ours. We know this to be true, but do we live as though we know it to be true?

Another chapter that we have read is Psalm 42. Many times, I have read the section which states, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God”. Thinking of myself, that this is not true of me. As I meditate on this verse, I believe that it IS true. I need the Living Water of the Spirit every moment of everyday, for encouragement, for love, for direction. When He prompts me to reach out with word or deed, He never steers me wrong. Psalm 42, continues on with ‘My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” People often say this to us when bad things happen. This psalmist claims that he will remember God’s kindness to get Him through those tough days. He will remember those days of blessing. Yes, in my life, there have been many days of blessing.

When bad things happen, we tend to blame God. We don’t cling to those moments of kindness. We become discouraged. The Holy Spirit’s job is to remind us of the things of God…of His goodness. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 tells us to “praise God, the Father of compassion and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

To be honest, I have struggled with this verse, because sometimes, I have not felt comforted by God in my distress. Except of course, the distress I had from the results of my sin and the comfort I received from knowing He forgave me. Or felt that I could comfort others. As I have been meditating on these passages, I believe that it is the goodness of God’s nature that comforts us. Those times when He did answer prayer, when we were comforted by knowing His love for us. That Jesus knows and has experienced betrayal, rejection, unanswered prayer for the higher good. That God does what He says He will do. Sometimes, it’s the things the Holy Spirit points out to us in Scripture. Therein is our comfort and also when we have experienced something devastating, it can give us more compassion for others that too, are experiencing devastation.

John Wilmot ( I really don’t know anything more about this man, other than this quote), wrote, “Before I got married, I had six theories about raising children, now I have six children and no theories.” I heard this many years ago, and have thought of it often. Isn’t it so the truth! So, it is with life. We can have many theories, but until we experience something, theories don’t mean much. It’s the same with God, with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus. We can have many theories but until we experience Him, it doesn’t mean a whole lot.

I shared this song with my Bible Study group and it has brought me comfort through the years.https://youtu.be/Y3TBiuIpjDA?si=xIrF6Dyrsg-xBFzg

“Halleluiah for the heartache, halleluiah for the good days, Halleluiah for every breath we get.”

Yes, let us sing “Halleluiah, Amen” to our Lord for all we experience.

My disclaimer: Even though we thank God for this life and all that we experience, it does not mean that this process is quick or easy or to be taken lightly. It does not mean that I always handle hard times well or that my heart doesn’t break for my son and the loss of his wife or the changes I’ve seen in my husband, which are small compared to the loss of a beloved spouse. Losing someone so precious is so very hard all the way around. Yet, Jesus has experienced all and is right by our side, loving us…because that is who He is. In this, we say, “Hallelujah “.

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Contemplating

It seems that I am in a season of contemplation. Many thoughts of life, death, blessings, disappointments. Many times, we think we have life all figured out, only to find that we don’t. So many things that we can’t understand or explain away.

I have seen devastation and blessing. Every week, there are so many prayers for hurting people. At the same time, people are receiving blessings in their lives. Isn’t that how life is? A series of ups and downs that change our lives from here on out. We are either making memories or clinging to the ones from the past.

It challenges me to not be so self-centered. There are many opportunities to rejoice with someone over the blessings they receive. Or to be blessed myself over spending precious moments with a friend, as I did this week. I feel the Spirit within me is encouraging me to endure and be long in my prayers for those whose lives have been forever altered by the loss of a loved one, an accident that they may not fully recover from, a diagnosis or a host of unfortunate events. Often, people pray when the event occurs, but quickly go about their lives as if nothing happened..but, the people whose life has forever altered, there is no more normal. They have to learn to navigate broken.

This golf team that was in an accident has been on my heart. The coach is not doing well. All the kids on this team have been affected. Newspaper articles claimed the team had minor injuries. Yet, I have learned that many have years of rehabilitation needed for their broken bones and also for the emotional impact. Will we remember them when they are out of the hospital and have that long recovery period? Do we remember those who have lost their significant other, child or close friend? May this not be.

I have decided that I will not quit bringing all I know who are hurting before the Lord, for their hurting does not end. It is altered. They will function again in a different way. I will continue to ask Him for His comfort and strength to surround them. Not just for a time but until they meet Him or I do, which ever comes first.

Even though I have always felt extremely blessed when I see someone that I haven’t seen for awhile or those I used to see on a daily basis. I will thank Him more for each moment that I get to spend with these precious people. Whether that moment is just a brief “Hello” or an afternoon of enjoyable conversation. In doing this we will continue to be…The Lucky Ones, blessed by God.