Outside...

As I sit in the relative safety of my home this evening I realize that there is a world of pain and discomfort just outside my door.

Just outside a friend has brought her Mother to her home to care for her in what might be her final days on this earth. Comfort her Lord and provide all she needs as she cares for the woman who, through Your providence, gave her life.

Just outside, somewhere, my nephew wanders in the world of drugs. He's been there such a long, long time and I find myself wondering...how much time does he have left? His Dad is heart-broken and only God can heal. Father, touch my brother with hands of peace and comfort. Draw my nephew into new life. Give him the ability to come to faith in Christ. Deliver him from the evils that hold him.

Just outside, a friend's grandson has had surgery to hopefully correct serious problems with his legs. May it be so Lord, let him be healed and made whole for Your glory and his good.

Just outside, my Mom cares for her brother. It's been a long summer and things have not gone as she expected. He's a different man than we assumed him to be. Oh, not a bad person, just not the one we had pictured in our minds. How often that proves true in life. Father, give my Mom patience and strength to care for her brother. Give him the resolve to do what he can do for himself and the willingness to want to change.

Just outside I have family members who haven't spoken to one another in over 7 years. What a waste of God-given time and family life. Seven years that can't be relived. Time that has been spent in anger and pain and confusion without resolve. Fix them Lord. That's all I know to say ... fix them while there's time.

Just outside there are hungry babies. There are teenagers wandering aimlessly around as if there will be no tomorrow. There are homeless people sleeping somewhere in my town ... and in yours. They will walk the streets again tomorrow and return to their hidden places to sleep again tomorrow night.

Just outside there are Christians being tortured and persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They are cold and hungry and need fresh water. Who will give it?

Just outside there's a woman on a doctor's table, waiting for him to take the life of her unborn child. Have mercy O God!

Just outside there is a life-style of sin and immorality whose activities shouldn't be tolerated but we've given it a name and accepted it as an Alternative Life-Style.

With all this and so much more going on, I also realize that there is One who knows all of this and more. I wonder how He tolerates it all and am reminded that He sees us through the blood of His Son. His mercy is greater than I can comprehend and His grace is extended to people I wouldn't want to associate with.

He reminds me that I am to be a friend to the hurting; a shoulder for my brother to lean on; a prayer-partner for my friends; a hands-on helper to my Mom; an intercessor for the babies and the abortionists and the homosexual. I am to pray and send money to help the persecuted church. I am to continue to pray and encourage my family members as often as I can. I am not to get so comfortable inside my home that I lose sight of all that's going on ... just outside.

Galatians 6:9

"And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."

Dear Pat, you are loved and you are in our thoughts and our prayers.

Father in heaven, I come to You this evening, asking You to give Pat all she needs in caring for her Mom. Give them both rest and strength. Give them times of remembrance and laughter and joy. Make the work easier, mentally and physically. Lift the burdens and allow Pat to cast them all upon You because You care for her and her Mom. Give them sleep and time to refresh to face a new day. Thank You that her Mom wasn't seriously hurt when she fell, ease the soreness and enable her to get around safely from this point forward. Be with Pat dear God, in a special, special way, be with her. Remind us to pray for her, to lift her to You and allow us to help in whatever way we can.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

I love trees...

On the street where

we live .... took these

photos about 2:00 this afternoon while taking a walk.

This tree is in front of our home. I hope you're all enjoying this beautiful weather.

Blessings.

For Thara...

I have decided that today is officially "Thara Day!" A blogging/family/friend who is wise beyond her years whether she realizes it or not. A lady who is not a'skeered to speak her mind or travel to Greektown in the Big D area of our state.


Yes, indeedy, this day is proclaimed "Thara Day!"

Dear Sara, I want you to know how much your posts have meant to me. Words don't adequately express the joy and wisdom I've received from reading what you write. You are gifted in ways I don't think you even comprehend. Maybe you do and you're just too humble to admit it. If so, that too is a gift. I have wept and smiled and chuckled and laughed at loud when I've read your posts. I have stopped to pray for you or pray for others as I've read what you've written. I admire you for your forthrightness and boldness. I praise God that He created you and put you on this earth at the same time I'd be here.

You, Ms. Thara, are one of God's gifts to me and to others and to this Earth! May you come to know how wonderful you are in my eyes and in the eyes of our Father.

Dear God in heaven, bless my friend today with Your presence. Meet each need and fill her to over-flowing with Your precious Spirit. Give her wisdom and discernment in each aspect of her day. Guide her steps and direct her path. Let her see herself as You see her: Cherished Child of God; Unblemished; Untarnished; Sanctified; Righteous in Christ Jesus; Wholly Yours; Elected and Predestined to belong to Your family. Fulfill Your purpose in her life. Give her joy unspeakable and allow her to rest under the shadow of Your wings. Amen.

I love you Thara.

A Day to Remember

My Fred was drafted in 1967. On Dec. 7, 1967, he left for Fort Knox, Ky. As he said in church this morning, between the ages of 18 - 25 during the 1960's all young men had a pretty good chance of serving in the military. Letters came to the home saying "Greetings ... Uncle Sam wants you!" And usually, you had to go.


Fred & I had been married just 14 days when his draft notice came, and 7 days after that he left for Ft. Knox. I remember literally screaming "NO!" and running from the room when he read what it said. This notice was too much of a reminder of someone I had known before I met Fred. A young man who was drafted and went to Vietnam, only to be killed three weeks later. He told us that if he had to go he would die there and young as I was, I simply thought he was being overly dramatic. Looking back after all these years I see he somehow knew he would meet death in that country.

I somehow thought that if that young man died, what would save my husband? I didn't know about the grace of God as neither of us were Christians. However, that did not stop God from protecting my Fred and seeing to it he came home. His plans were far greater than any I knew about when I was just 20 years old.

My Fred came home but he had changed. Being shot at and killing people does that to a person. For a time I seriously wondered if our marriage had been a mistake. We had only known one another for 7 months when we got married and many said it wouldn't last. How could it? they said, they're just kids who don't know each other. "I'll give it a year" one person said.

Well, next Sunday we'll celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We showed those nay-sayers, didn't we? We've gone through some trials and struggles, but then again, what married couple hasn't? If you're married and you're breathing there will be hard times.

As my Fred spoke in church this morning about Veteran's Day and the sacrifices men and women have made for years, I thought of my Dad ... he served during WWII in the South Pacific and was in Hiroshima after the bombing. Dad died in 2000 and was laid to rest with a military funeral service. I miss him!

I also thought of my Uncle, the man my Mom is caring for right now. He was in the Korean conflict and we learned just months ago in going through his discharge papers that he received three Bronze stars ... he had never told us about them. We never said anything to him either. If he wants us to know, he'll tell us.

Then I remembered Fred's leaving the states after finishing basic training. He had orders for Vietnam and at the last minute they changed them ... he was going to Korea instead! I rejoiced, not realizing the dangers that were in that part of the world too. Dangers that exist to this day. Did you know we still have military personnel in Korea? If not for our men there now, North Korea would try (and likely succeed) in over-taking South Korea. And we do not want this to happen. The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong II is an evil, evil man.

We have men and women all over the globe serving to protect the peoples of this world. They deserve more respect than they're usually given and we need to honor our Veterans. Fred said this morning that "if you see a young man or young woman in uniform, go up and introduce yourself and then thank them for their service to our country." Few too many simply walk on by, not realizing that that person in uniform is serving you and me in ways we cannot or won't serve ourselves. They are risking life and limb for our safety.

This has indeed been a day to remember ...

Bless you all!

Veteran's Day

We remember....

The men and women who have served in our country's military:

The Military Oath:

I do solemnly swear that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

"Someone has said, To be born free is a privilege, to die free is an awesome responsibility. Yet freedom is never free. It is always purchased at a great cost."

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die." ~G.K. Chesterton

"God, who gave us life, gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, and that His justice cannot sleep forever."

---Thomas Jefferson

Thank you!

A big, heart-felt Thank You to all who prayed. I feel so much better today. I slept really, really well and woke refreshed and ready to take on the day. There is still some blood when I cough, but not the amount nor the frequency as yesterday.
My hematologist called this morning with blood-work results; all is well and he said that should I need him over the week-end to call his pager number. I've never met a doctor like this man ... he's a Christian which makes our patient-doctor relationship very special.

It is such a blessing to know I have friends whom I can call upon and know they'll pray. It is more of a blessing to know we serve a living God who knows before we even ask what we need and provides answers that will be for our good and His glory.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;

Praise Him, all creatures here below;

Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Praise God the Father who's the source;

Praise God the Son who is the course;

Praise God the Spirit who's the flow;

Praise God, our portion here below!