Little Ones

I have little ones on my mind this morning...several little people who need our prayers and who are the objects of our praise.  Here they are:  would you join me in celebrating these young lives?

Harper:  two years old today!  She started out life with an emergency delivery at 23-24 weeks gestation.  So tiny...so sick...so fragile.  She is an overcomer for sure and today celebrates her birthday.  Perfectly beautiful...walking...learning...right on target, having overcome so many obstacles and hurdles.  Happy Birthday, sweet girl.

Saxon:  13 years old, battling cancer, fighting hard.  He's such a sweet kid and has had such a hard time with chemo and all that goes with that.  His family is so faithful and is working so hard to give him what he needs in terms of treatment and support and encouragement.  They have great faith and much hope.  He's very fortunate to be in the family that is his.  And the larger family of faith, as well.  Be strong in His love, Saxon.  Many join you in your journey.

Tripp:  I don't know this child but found his story compelling.  While at daycare, a large limb fell from a tree, crushing his skull.  He is now 2 1/2, six months out from the accident.  He is now home, in therapy to help him recover from severe brain damage.  He has a long way to go but has many folks helping him and pulling for him.  A very sad story but one with hope.  Precious little boy...

Drew:  He is 5 months old, at Vanderbilt in the NICU since birth.  Tomorrow is a big day in his life as he undergoes open heart surgery.  He has other health issues, including pulmonary hypertension, which complicate matters greatly.  He is in good hands, with his family, drs and nurses, and with His Heavenly Father in control.  Would you pray for him, please?  His mother, whom we've known since her childhood, is so faithful; reading her blogs is like being in church.  Bless them, one and all.

There are others, but I'll concentrate on those above.  Each child is precious, special, and well-loved.  May God hold them in the palm of His hand and grant to each just exactly what they need.  We trust you, Father, with their care.  And we pray for miracles.  And thank you for your loving care of these dear little ones.

Faithfulness and Hope

Well, we are almost half-way through April and need to touch on our fruit basket for 2013.  We started in January with peace, followed by love in February, and joy in March.  The words for April are "faithfulness" and "hope." 

When making resolutions for this year, I felt led to focus on Fruit of the Spirit.  My thinking was this:  if I can focus on His Spirit and what He leads me to do in my life, I'll certainly have a pretty good year.  Not necessarily in things going like I want them to...or in realizing my dreams...or in winning the lottery, etc.  But in how I cope with things...and how my outlook on things can influence my thoughts, words, and deeds.

So far, so good!  We have certainly had challenges this year.  And I'm still above water!  I have to think that leaning hard on God, being in touch with Him through His spirit, and thanking Him daily for our many blessings has contributed to that fact.  Not that I haven't had my "moments."  I certainly have, when I lose my focus, have a pity party, or fall into worry and negative thinking.  But for the most part, I have felt close to God and in His keeping.

This month, I hope to remain faithful and to have hope for our future.  The two certainly go hand in hand, don't they.  He will be faithful to us!  He will never leave us nor forsake us.  In Him is our hope.  Our hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness.  He is the hope of our world and our hope as we follow Him.   

So, here's to a month of celebrating faithfulness:  His and mine.  Here's to hope for today and for tomorrow.  Though dark clouds may hover, though we get thunder and lightning in our lives, though we have fire to walk through and very high tides and deep rivers to ford, we can nonetheless depend on our heavenly father to strengthen us, to sustain us, to keep us under the protection of His mighty wings.

If He is fully faithful and full of  hope, then we can be, as well.

So, April, here we are.  Peace, love, joy, faithfulness and hope.  Quite a lot of treasured fruit, ours for the partaking.  You are the Creator and Provider.  Thank you for sharing this fruit.  It's just exactly what we need, and we thank you.

Good Reading

I like to read - It's relaxing to me and transports me to different places and times and introduces me to new people in new situations.  Lately, my taste has been in the lines of Christian novels.  Most of them have been set in times long ago.  Francine Rivers has been my author of choice for about the last five books I've read.  She is very talented and her research into settings and history and situations is remarkable.  Each has its dark side, too; a little daunting at times but pretty realistic, as well, I'm sure.

The Mark of the Lion Collection is a trilogy set in Bible times, right after the death of Christ.  The apostle John, who was probably a teenager when Christ was in his early 30s, is still alive.  It is the era of catacombs, gladiators, chariots...when Christians were highly persecuted, imprisoned, thrown into the arena with lions, fed to wild dogs.  I had a hard time getting into the first book because it has numerous characters, all with Latin names, and I had to really concentrate to learn who was who.  But as the story unfolded, I found myself spellbound.  All three books are excellent, captivating, disturbing, set-you-to-thinking jewels.  I'm so glad to have read them.

In a nutshell, each has characters who worship other gods and who, one by one, are converted to Christianity.  Fascinating reading.  It made me realize anew how fortunate we are.  We are free to worship as we choose, be open about our convictions, pretty much free from much persecution.  We take it so for granted, don't we.  They, on the other hand, took their lives in their hands when they professed to be followers of Christ.  Their own families disowned them; they were literally in danger every second of the day.  Can you imagine risking your life, facing roaring lions or mad dogs, by not worshiping idols or mythological gods and goddesses?

The next time I'm tempted to complain about anything, I will remember how horrible it used to be for Christians...and how dangerous it can still be for our missionaries and other Christians living around the world in less-than-friendly environments.  They are in my prayers for sure.  Never will a day go by that I won't thank God for life in America where I'm free to be who I am in Christ.

Another thing I love about the Lion trilogy is the scripture used.  The gospel is shared frequently and well in the conversions.  In Book 3, the entire story of Christianity is shared, in a nutshell.  These would be excellent books to share with someone struggling or searching or lost.  The author does a wonderful job in applying scripture to life situations. Love is the theme...as are hope, patience, honesty, integrity. 

So, if you're in the market for some good reading, head to the bookstore, Amazon, or the Kindle Store and check out The Mark of the Lion Collection by Francine Rivers.  You won't be sorry!

I Know the Answer, But...

It's so frustrating when you have a problem, know the answer to the problem, but you just can't seem to get there.  Case in point:  I'm having a little trouble with anger.  I'm not a very angry person, by nature.  It's takes quite a lot to rile me up!  But when I AM angry, I don't know quite how to handle it.

Growing up, anger wasn't allowed at our house.  It was highly discouraged if not forbidden.  My parents were very uncomfortable with anger, so it was just not allowed.  I accepted that.  But human nature being as it is, anger is going to happen.  So if you're not allowed to have that emotion, what do you do with what's happening?

I don't blame my folks for this.  They had good reason not to like it.  Who does?  They were both rather sensitive by nature and had some experiences in their own upbringing with unpleasant anger experiences in their families...so, the way they handled it was just to not let it happen.

As a result, I pretty much just swallowed it as a child...I know better as an adult.  You HAVE to acknowledge it.  Say, "That makes me angry."  But you DO NOT swallow it.  It eats you alive if you do.

 I know the answer to my current problem:

You get angry but you do not sin.
You do not act inappropriately.
You do not yell at anyone or call them out or curse them.
You do not gossip about them or judge them or wish evil upon them.

You LOVE them.  You are slow to speak.  You forgive.  You pray for them who despitefully use you...or persecute you.

Sounds so easy.  But it's VERY hard, at least for me.  Knowing what to do and doing what you know to do are two different things.

Today, in three different instances, as I struggled with my problem, I was given the exact same answers as listed above!  Talk about more than coincidental.  Since I am very tired of trying hard...and very tired of having ugly thoughts...and very tired of being mad at myself for being so unChristlike...I am giving this over to God and asking Him humbly to just take it.  He is sovereign.  He is all-seeing and all-knowing.  He is powerful and good and loving.  He can do it.  He can help me do it.

So there it is.  I already feel better.  Free and clean and good.