Life in His Hand

I'm really terrible...when it comes to calling or visiting people. So this week I've really been thinking about my dad a lot. So much that I finally decided to call him. We haven't seen or talked to each other since Christmas. We had a great conversation. Talked about a little of this and a little of that. It was nice. We live an hour apart.  We've been accustomed to getting together only once or twice a year for a long time now. So I thought that after he lost his wife, we should try to spend more time with him. That was a few years ago and it seems like we've been in the same pattern. But I want to change that. At least see each other every couple of months. Really none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow. My half-brother just lost his dad two days ago. There was a little warning that this was coming. Thankfully my brother had a chance to spend some time with him before he passed away. Seriously I had been thinking about calling my dad all week, and then I heard ...

Lord of All Pots and Pans! Lord of all pots and pans and things, Since I’ve no time to be A saint by doing holy things, Or contemplating thee, By praying in the dawn-light, Or storming heaven’s gates, Make me a saint by getting meals, And washing up the plates. Although I must have Martha's hands, I have Mary's mind, and, When I black the boots and shoes  Thy sandals, Lord, I find.  I think of how they trod the earth  What time I scrub the floor,  Accept this meditation, Lord,  I haven't time for more. Warm all the kitchen with thy love,  And light it with thy peace,  Forgive me all my worrying  And make all grumbling cease.  Thou who didst love to give men food  In room or by the sea  Accept this service that I do  I do it unto thee The first couple of lines of this poem are found in the beginning of the book,"The Practice of the Presence of God," by Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was a seventeenth-century Fren...

One of the people who has inspired me the most is Corrie ten Boom. I've read many of her books, including her most well- known - "The Hiding Place." It's the story of how Corrie and her family risked their lives to hide Jews during the Holocaust. I've also seen the movie and watched / listened to several of her sermons. If you are unfamiliar with her story, I am including a link to a very short version of it here called -  "The Secret Room" . There are a few reasons I have been so inspired by not only this woman, but also by her family. Corrie's parents were amazing. Casper ten Boom, Corrie's father, was a quiet Christian clockmaker in Holland. Corrie also became a clockmaker. Casper had a strong faith and gathered his family around him, daily, as he read the Bible to them, truly instilling God's word in their hearts. Corrie's mother was a wonderful woman that shared her love with her "soup pot and sewing basket"-(The Hidin...

Another decision to make. There seems to always be another decision to make. And the problem I am having with that is that I am very...VERY indecisive. So today's dilemma is about a ministry that I got involved in several years ago. When I was wanting to reach out to people, I heard about a Christian (SDA) prison letter-writing ministry called "Someone Cares Prison Ministry." It was safe because you sent your letter to the ministry and they sent it to the prisoner and they did the same. You could also have a pen-name. They gave you helpful guidelines on how to write to prisoners. So I decided to go ahead and try it. I used to write letters to my cousins and had been writing "letters" to God in a prayer-journal for many years. So I thought...I can do this. I can encourage someone. And I wasn't naive about prisoners. The ministry is also very upfront with the prisoners. Wow, sounds like I'm about to tell you how horrible it was. But I'm not. There...

Lord I'm tired So tired from walking And Lord I'm so alone And Lord the dark Is creeping in Creeping up To swallow me I think I'll stop Rest here a while And didn't You see me cry'n? And didn't You hear me call Your name? Wasn't it You I gave my heart to? I wish You'd remember Where you set it down Chorus: And this is all that I can say right now And this is all that I can give Bridge: I didn't notice You were standing here I didn't know that That was You holding me I didn't notice You were cry'n too I didn't know that That was You washing my feet

I just feel like writing and this isn't good. I've already posted something today and I'm pretty sure I have nothing to say, so whatever comes out will most likely be just a bunch of rambling. Oh well. My sister is getting ready to move away in the near future all the way to Florida! It will be strange with them missing. We have pretty much raised our kids together. I'm sure I will regret all those years of taking them for granted. I'm sure I will regret that we didn't spend more time together. I'm sure I will miss them more than I even know. Seems life is always about saying good-bye. Lately I've felt a little bit lost in my life. Almost like I'm just being carried along. Maybe not feeling really secure. I know why. It's because I am being asked to do things that I am not comfortable with. And I'm stressed . Then I try to forget it all, but the time comes...time never stops when you are dreading something!! Time becomes your worst enemy ...

This morning as I was thinking about waking my kids up, I thought about just how unique they are. What got me thinking along those lines was my daughter, Savannah. She gets to sleep in a little longer than the other two. Regular High School just didn't fit her very well and so now, as I've mentioned before, she is in a charter school that is an independent study program where she attends a few classes a week at the campus. And this is working out really well so far. Savannah is on the quieter side (most of the time). She is somewhat an introvert and has always been a homebody type, content with reading a good book. She is also artistic. She was my sweetest child when she was small. She has always been very studious and organized in her schoolwork. That is why this type of school arrangement can work for her. I have five kids and they all are so different. My oldest daughter, Jenessa was always so driven in school. She's not afraid to do anything, it seems. She's on...

A few nights ago, I watched "Coal Miner's Daughter"- the Loretta Lynn story - with my family. I grew up watching that movie and listening to her music. So for me, it was a real treat to share it with my daughters. To see their reaction to her getting married at 13, to see her life unfold with her making her dream of becoming a country singer, come true, though that same dream, later would take it's toll on her. One thing I appreciated about the story, this time, was the fact that though there were many problems in Loretta's marriage, the love came through and triumphed. When Loretta collapsed onstage and Doo carried her off - you knew theirs was a love that was deep, comfortable, real and lasting. It had survived many tests and still made it.  Loretta Lynn's childhood spoke to me of the simple things in life. A hardworking and loving father providing for his family and keeping food on the table. A mother tending to her children, showing her love by being th...

I had a wonderful time today, with my small group that meets at my home. There are six of us now that my daughter is home and has joined us, which I am thrilled about. We've been doing a study on prayer for quite a few weeks now and last week we were talking about the Holy Spirit. Which led into spiritual gifts. So I thought it would be fun for all of us to take the spiritual gifts quiz this week. So we swerved off our normal path and had a party with blueberry and banana-nut muffins, fruit and juice and of course spiritual gifts! It was a lot of fun. Especially seeing the joy everyone had when discovering their gifts. Yes - that's my idea of a great time! As each one read off their top 3 gifts, I could so recognize their gifts in them. Since it was appropriate to the occasion, I had my daughter read a previous post I had written around christmastime, called "Gifts" . My experience with spiritual gifts has been very rewarding. I prayed a lot that God would re...

Feeling stressed a little this week. People are coming out of the wood work asking me to do things I'm not completely comfortable with. I think Someone may be trying to give me a comfort-zonectomy!!! But I like to do it on my own schedule...my own time. What I need to do is determine what God wants me to do and what people want. And then do what God wants. He knows my willingness, my pace and my limits. I am excited for my church...switching gears a little here. For so many years my small church has had problems. We've been through a lot. I have not always stayed, thought maybe our church in the next town would be better. For awhile it was a nice change, but I knew I needed to be here supporting the church I love, that was struggling. The church that really needed me. So when I came back, it was in the hopes that the Lord would send people, leaders, to help us. To help change things. No church is free of problems and ours isn't, but I see such a huge improvement. I see th...

I'm not trying to offend anyone with what I am about to say, so I hope you all understand this is just my opinion and experience. Left tonight's concert with a VERY bad taste in my mouth and will not go to another concert with that many groups again. Especially with music I am not too familiar with. For anyone who doesn't know my musical history - I was very much into heavy-metal as a non-Christian youth. So much of it blatantly glorified the devil. It was mostly angry, sometimes sad and full of meaning, some of it was fun. Some of it had subtle messages - that I didn't even really understand. Some was very dark, very heavy, very evil - to the point that I realized I shouldn't listen to it because of it's disturbing messages. Some of the music I listened to was just hard rock and that even had it's soft side. But you knew it wasn't good really. And that's part of the draw. Some of the groups at the concert tonight were ok. Tenth Ave North (the gi...

In a few days we'll be heading down to Sacramento (about two hours away) for 'The Rock and Worship Roadshow' . The kids are PRETTY EXCITED !!! The band I most want to see is Tenth Ave North. One of their songs, in particular, really ministered to me this past year - Times - I'll post a video of it on here. I am so glad to go and sing along with them. Of course there is Mercy Me headlining. They're always good. Saw them a couple of years ago and several years before that. At the last 'Rock and Worship Roadshow' we went to, two years ago with Mercy Me and my favorite - David Crowder Band, my son's lung collapsed during Mercy Me (we were separated at the concert) and we spent the night in the hospital. I wrote some about that in -  "God Was Here" . He ended up having to have three surgeries (one a week later and two over the next year or so)!! So I am hoping this time to have a little less excitement for sure! You know the scary thing is i...

Several weeks ago I wrote about my daughter's issues with school. Tomorrow we will meet with her new teacher and her classes will be set-up and she will be given the materials she needs. This is mainly an independent study program, but she will more than likely go to class a couple times a week. Some of her classes are online also. They're mixing it up a little and that's good. She wants to do this so I'm hopeful. There are some volunteering opportunities for her. One of them is being my assistant in our Sabbath-School class. She will also be able to help out at our Community Services Center. I think these things will be good for her. She also has to keep a log for P.E. everyday, so I told her I wanted to do it with her. We'll see :) I really do need the exercise though. So our lives are changing a lot with this new arrangement. Earlier this week, she had her Bible promise book that I had given her and she said, "Here's one of my favorite promises.....

I have now been blogging for 6 months! So far it has been pretty interesting and I have learned a lot. The number one thing is that I absolutely LOVE it! So I want to mention a few things that I have learned along the way. I love reading people's blogs! Maybe it's my own version of reality t.v. Since honestly, I don't watch much t.v. But hearing peoples thoughts and about what's going on in their lives and reading about the things they care about, is pretty interesting. I am getting an inside view of peoples lives and hearts that I'd otherwise probably never see from people I'd never meet. And most people don't share the details with you the way bloggers do, unless you're pretty good friends. There's a certain level of vulnerability that comes through and is beautiful.You can surely grow to care about the people you're reading. When they're going through hard times you sympathize and when they're full of joy, you celebrate and when they...