The Other Side

My mother, Marjorie, passed away four years ago of a rare cancer.
She and Dad had been married for over 60 years.
Dad moved into assistive living and eventually into the nursing home.
Their wedding anniversary would have been January 13th.
I wrote this poem with thoughts of them.



Marjorie, my mother...

The Other Side

Studying the family portrait on your apartment wall
You eventually slip on your jacket
Shuffle to the checkout desk
Scrawl your name beside the time
And venture out into the sunshine.
Putzing off in your bright red scooter
We watch the birds scatter
And wild grasses bend with the wind
As I sail behind you.
At the cemetery you find my spot
Finger the still fresh flowers
And wipe your eyes with the red hanky from your back pocket.
I stay beside you as you hobble back to the scooter
And watch for traffic as you return to your new home,
Sit on the worn couch
Take a deep breath
and fall asleep.
I watch the rise and fall of your chest
and hold your hand.

Dad and Mom with their children at Dad's 90th birthday party.

 

 

Dad will be 99 in March.

Another story.....

 

 

 

 For if we live, we live to the Lord,

and if we die, we die to the Lord.

So then, whether we live

or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 

      Romans 14:8

 



Christmas Cards? What Do You Do With Them?

Merry Christmas from our House to Yours

Due to email, facebook,
 technology,
the Christmas card--
like so many things--
may become a thing
of the past.

However, we all get a few of them,
and I have wondered over the years
what to do with them.

Greetings!

Family pictures were taken,
envelopes carefully addressed
and then slipped into the mailbox
with me in mind.



Thinking of you on a white Christmas....



I used to quickly read each and
stash it in a Christmasy basket.
It was a nice look during the season.
When removing the holiday decorations,
I would re-read each, study the pictures...

Wishing you happiness ....

...and then tape them together in a bundle
to be pulled out the following year
as reminders as to whom to send cards to.



Eventually, after several years,
they were lovingly tossed.







Today, while doing early morning devotions at the dining room table,
this year's stack of cards kept catching my eye.

Can't Wait To See You At Christmas!

 Finishing my devotions, a new idea occurred.

Why not keep the cards at bedside year around?

I could pull one from the top of the stack

and include this family in my nightly prayers.

It would then go to the bottom with a new card

on top to be prayed

for the following evening.

 

I understand that parts of my life
have not been easy.
I understand that this must
be true for most of us.
Life is a series of hills and valleys.







On the mountain top, everything seems clear and maybe even, do we dare to think--perfect?
Then, there are times when we feel like we're lost and alone--in a valley we cannot escape from, a cave with no exit, a cage we are trapped in.

A Christmas note.....of loss

With each card in hand,
I can pray
that you be
persistent in your faith,
that God will provide you strength
 and grace to go on, and
that you may evem experience
 joy in moments of frustration
and sorrow because you understand
the God of the universe
is there beside you--
and that is enough.

Christmas Joy!



Prayers for you

 and may your

CHRISTMAS JOYS

(and cards)

last all year long.

 

 

****************



The New Year and Resolutions



Early 20th Century New Year's Resolution Postcard

 

Happy New Year ....

It is 2014

and with “new years,”

some of us make resolutions...

or used to...

 

A recent study showed that 88% of those

who make New Year’s Resolutions fail.

****

A New Year’s Resolution is when someone makes a promise or sets a goal for herself. It usually involves an act of self-improvement.

 

Examples of New Year’s Resolutions might be:

*Lose weight, eat healthy/nutritious meals, exercise

*Think positively, laugh more

*Get a raise, get a better job

*Take a trip, take a class,

make new friends, spend more time with family...

 

 

 

 

You will note that each of these

involves making a CHANGE.

And, with these changes...

are we hoping to be more happy?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Serenity Prayer reads...

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed. Courage to change the things which should be changed and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace. Taking, as Jesus did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that You will make all things right. If I surrender to Your will, so that I may be reasonably happy in this life. And supremely happy with you forever in the next.

In reflecting upon my own past New Year’s Resolutions, I have noted that they were all about me. Did I think that having a more nutritional diet would make me happier? Did I really believe that finishing some of my projects would make me more content? Maybe, momentarily. I have discovered, however, that I am most happy when I am at peace, and that this is a spiritual gift from God—not anything I can attain on my own.

 

 

So this year—yes ,I will try to exercise more, spend more time with our grandchildren, etc. However, I have a new resolution that is less about me and more about others: I want to slow down, connect  with those I meet in passing and give a helping hand whenever I can—whether it be a listening ear, running an errand for another, or really listening to a child’s chatter without being in a hurry.

To do any of this effectively, I must invite Jesus to rule over my heart so that we can work together to do the work he would choose for me to do.

Did you read the last line

of the early 20th century post card

at the top of the blog?

Dear Lord, let me find contentment and balance. Let your priorities be my priorities. And when I have done my best, give me the wisdom to place my child-like faith and trust in you.

                                                                                                                     Amen

Happy New Year ... Giving God the glory.

God's Great Gifts

Merry Christmas ...

 

 

 

Thanks be to God

for His gift

that is too wonderful for words.

2 Corinthians 9:15

 

 

The following is taken from Max Lucado's

GRACE For The Moment...Inspirational

Thoughts for Each Day of the Year...

December 23rd

 

 

 

Why did he do it?

A shack would have sufficed, but he gave us a mansion.

Did he have to give the birds a song and mountains a peak?

 

 

 

 

Was he required to put stripes on the zebra and the hump on the camel? ...

 

 

Why wrap creation in such splendor?

Why go to such trouble to give such gifts?

 

 

Why do you?

You do the same.

 I've seen you searching for a gift. ...

stalking the malls and walking the aisles...

searching for that extraordinary gift for that special person.

 

 

 

 

 

 ... Why do you do it? You do it so the heart will stop. You do it so the jaw will drop. You do it to hear those words of disbelief. "You did this for me?"

 

That's why you do it.

And that is why God did it.

 

 

 

 

Next time a sunrise steals your breath or a meadow of flowers leaves you speechless, remain that way. Say nothing and listen as heaven whispers. "Do you like it? I did it just for you." 

 

 

 

Thanks be to God

for His gift

that is too wonderful for words.

2 Corinthians 9:15

 

 

Merry Christmas..

 

 

 



Christmas Gift

One of my favorite Christmas memories is a childhood one--riding home in the family station wagon on Christmas eve. We had just attended our Sunday School Christmas program and received the small, brown paperbag filled with an orange, an apple and frosted animal crackers. We huddled closely together to keep warm and looked for Santa’s sleigh in the sky--thinking one of those twinkling lights must be Rudolph’s nose.

The anticipation rose as we turned into our long lane and knew that those markings in the snow were surely reindeer footprints. Entering the house, there were gifts stacked under the tree. But before opening the gifts, one of us would gather the family Bible, turn to Luke 2 and ask Dad to read The Birth of Jesus.

 

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, the town of David... He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Even though we had just heard it at our Christmas Eve service, Dad read it again. We were reminded of God’s gift to us before opening our own gifts.
 

 

 

 

    Philippians 2:7 reads,

He gave up his place with God

and made himself nothing.

He was born to be a man

and became like a servant.

 

       God’s gift to us so many, many years ago came in the form of a baby. A baby born to a virgin, born in a stable, surrounded by ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds.

 

      However, this ordinary night turned into an extraordinary night when a black sky exploded with brightness and the sound of angels pierced the night with song.

 

 

Thanks be to God for His gift

which is too wonderful for words.

2 Corinthians 9:15

     Christmas is but one week away.
As you bake, shop, decorate, listen to carols,
may you be thrilled with that first gift:

God’s son, Jesus,

born to take away the sin of the world.

Born because of God’s love for us.

 

 
From the cradle in Bethlehem to the cross in Jerusalem,
 please consider the love of our Father for you.  

Praise be to God.

 I pray that you… will have the power to understand the greatness of God’s love—how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.”  Ephesians 3:18

Christmas and Martha

Martha?

God used the story of Mary and Martha from the book of Luke to explain how we should relationship with Our Savior. You may remember that Martha was the busy-body in their household--concerned about preparations for many arriving guests.

Mary, on the other hand, sat contently at Jesus' feet. I remember hearing this story in Sunday School as a child and thinking that perhaps Mary was lazy and even irresponsible--not helping her sister, as needed.

But, of course, the story is bigger than this

because
Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Jesus tells Martha, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
 Luke 10:38-42 NIV

Martha? Who, me?

I do not consider myself anxious or impatient. Others may disagree. However, I am typically the energy-bunny in the house whether our house is full or empty. And, I know, I need to learn to settle. I have discovered that some of my most creative moments, the times I have felt filled with praise for an awesome creation, the times I have felt connected to another soul, have come when I have been still.

So, this morning I determined to start out differently.

1) I opened the window and let the December air rush in as the stars twinkled through bare tree branches. Pulling the covers up to my chin, I breathed in fresh, winter air--and rested.

2) I used the Christmas dishes to eat my ordinary breakfast of oatmeal.

3) I decided not to watch the clock when I did my daily Bible study and finished reading Mark.

After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them. . .

Mark 16: 19-20

3) Later in the morning, I went to our wellness center and stopped to talk to a friend. Stopped--and talked. More than the Hi, how are you today? in passing. Later, I swam my laps and decided not to count them. Instead, I pondered my blessings.

4) While picking up in the afternoon, I pulled a hymnal given as a confirmation gift from the bookshelf. Finding the Christmas hymn section, I opened it and placed it on the piano. I'll play the piano tomorrow when my husband is playing pool with his buddies.

God wants us to be busy.

He also wants us to rest,

be content, and trust

so we do not miss out

on what He is trying to
convey to us.

I encourage you, especially during Christmas when there is so much to do and the preparations are many, to just STOP whenever you can and connect with someone with more than a Hi, how are you? STOP and enjoy the lights on your tree when everyone else is asleep. STOP and watch the snowflakes drift to the earth. STOP and clear your head of the clutter . . .

God wants your heart, your mind, your soul.

That's why he came.

Dear Lord, When I feel hurried,

Amen.

give me peace.
When I am frustrated,
give me perspective.
When I am too busy
being busy, remind me
of your presence
and why you came.

Are You Ready?

It's December 1, and if you're like me, you
spent Thanksgiving eve with a still-full
tummy and thoughts of preparing for Christmas.

Advent: a time of preparation for the coming of something important.

Who will help me put up the tree?
Where are my favorite ornaments?
Cookie recipes?
The "to do" list is long.

The banners in church spell out:
HOPE, WAIT, PREPARE.

**************

Mary, Jesus' mother, didn't enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. Her meals probably

wouldn't meet nutrition guidelines of our day.

However, she was preparing for Christmas
in a way we can not begin to comprehend.

The angel Gabriel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son.... He will be great and be called the Son of the Most High... His kingdom will never end." ...

The fact that she was pregnant and not yet married to Joseph had to be a concern. Gabriel's news that this newborn would become great with a kingdom that would never end had to seem incredible.

However, she soon hurried to a town in the hill country where Elizabeth, her relative lived. Gabriel had informed Mary that Elizabeth, in her old age, would also be with child.

Months later, Joseph and Mary journeyed to Bethlehem. Caesar had issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. It was while they were there that the baby Jesus was born. Yes, in a stable--because there was no room elsewhere.

Instead of the

"Tis the season to be jolly...fa, la,la,la,la, la,...,"

we could be singing

"Come thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free..."

Jesus' mother, Mary, was a model for each of us.
She received God's word,
pondered it deeply, and lived it.
She was a woman of faith.

 

Yes, it is the time of the year

when we are preparing

for something important.

As we are shopping, decorating, baking...

let us remember Mary, the woman of faith,

the first disciple,

who received the word of God,

pondered it deeply

and then lived it out humbly.