Filed under: My Heart
Our children, Charlotte and Jeremiah, came to visit Wednesday. It was a beautiful, sunny day at the coast (cold and foggy in the valley) and we spent a good portion of it outdoors. Charlotte was very excited about the luner eclipse that evening. So at 7 pm we started moon-hunting.
Keep in mind, we live in a hole! Our house is in a low spot surrounded by mountains and very tall trees. Finding the moon shortly after it rises is a pretty tricky thing to do. We went in different directions until I found a spot of high ground with a clear view and we gathered, binoculars in hand, to watch the moon change from pale orange to blood red!
It sounds very exciting, but it takes a long time for planets, stars, and moons to move, so we had some time on our hands. We searched for constellations, finally agreeing on which one really was the Big Dipper. I discovered the Shopping Cart Nebula, a fuzzy little cluster of stars that looks just like a grocery cart. We traced satelites as they criss-crossed the sky. We saw a few meteors flash as they burned up in the atmosphere. I spotted a galaxy through binoculars! We got sore necks.
The best part was listening to the voices in the dark. Several years ago we took the kids camping by a lake in central Oregon. It was August during the Perseid Meteor Shower and we took our boat out to the middle of the lake after dark. Anchored in the middle of the pitch blackness, we got comfortable as we watched the show. I laid down on the floor of the boat, watched and listened. I remember the brilliant flashes across the sky. More than that I remember the conversations of my children. Even more brilliant than the meteors, and funny! Last night I smiled to myself as I heard my kids telling stories and laughing hysterically together. How I love that sound.
After a while the brilliant white glow of the moon started creeping out of the earth’s shadow. By then we were getting pretty cold and headed indoors. Charlotte and Jeremiah left not long after.
Charlotte’s getting ready to move to Chicago for a season and I’m so saddened by that. I so enjoy just hanging out with her. I’m going to miss her very much.
When I miss her most, I’ll take my mind back to this night. I shall always treasure the memory of being with my family under the blood red moon.
Filed under: My Heart
I lead a ladies Bible study. Each week we end our time by praying for one another. Usually our prayers are for relationships, health, salvation of loved ones, etc. Today, however, every prayer was a Praise! Praise for answered prayers, praise for restoration and healing. Some even tried to think hard of a request to lay before the Lord. It was all about praise today.
I’ve even kept a list of prayer requests and I asked some of the ladies…”Your prayer two months ago was X. Has God responded?” In every case, yes. God had answered that prayer and was continuing to do so.
We’re coming to the end of our study and I put the question forward, shall we continue or stop here? Their passion and commitment to continue studying God’s word with me, their eagerness to invite even more women to come to this community study was so encouraging. It’s a great responsibility to lead others in studying God’s word, but an even greater privelage. I am awed at the tremendous way I’ve seen God work in their lives already; I am excited to see what else He has in store for them.
I got a call about my father. He’s being called the “miracle baby” by his doctors. No sign of leukemia in his blood, off oxygen after a bout of pneumonia, more energy than he’s had in a year. He’s had countless saints praying on his behalf. God has answered.
I was anxious about a friendship that I felt was under spiritual attack. I have prayed for my friend and for our relationship. She called me today and we spent precious time together this afternoon – quilting. It is, after all, the year of the quilt. Another prayer answered.
I was asked to share my expertise as a Master Gardener ™ with a national conference call seminar. I was so blessed by the participants and host. What a tremendous affirmation and encouragement. I had been weighing in my mind if my work as a Master Gardener – volunteer, teacher, leader of a growing community garden, spokesperson – was an appropriate venue for my energies. I think that prayer too has been answered.
Tonight I have counted just a few of my blessings. I count myself rich.
I am a Christian woman who loves other Christian women. I enjoy fellowship, sharing testimonies, being inspired and challenged. (I have been missing that enormously since we parted from our church family several months ago.) That being said, I really dislike women’s retreats.
Every retreat I’ve been too, some much worse than others, has been far more about social than spiritual. Yes, women are social creatures and we crave that time of just visiting and being together. But so often the subject matter is fluff, then we break for makeovers. I actually attended a women’s retreat where gossip, scrapbooking and watching R-rated movies were the main events! YUCK! Yes, I left early. I felt so defiled I had to shower as soon as I got home.
There have been those refreshingly rare moments of true inspiration. My friend and gifted teacher, Claudia, challenged me to devote myself to Prayer and seeking the Lord in all things – this was critical to me as my son died just a month later. That preparation of prayer did so much to help me face the reality of life without Nathan. I am especially grateful to Claudia for her wisdom and admonition.
Yesterday I attended a one-day retreat here in town. One of the women in my Bible study, a pastor’s wife, was asked to speak and she chose a topic that we have been studying together that has impacted her life. I went to support her, but also because I was deeply missing the fellowship of other godly women. I must tell you I was pleasantly surprised.
These ladies of God were bold and pulled no punches. There were no warm-fuzzy topics here; they took off there gloves and delivered the Word of God in unapologetic terms. They talked about Suffering, being purposeful as God takes us through that refining fire, celebrating and rejoicing in the midst of sorrow. They talked about Submission, as wives to our husbands, as saints to Christ. That’s not a popular topic among today’s women. And they talked about the nitty-gritty of life – honoring God in our mundane chores, having self-control, not saying “yes” to every request, watching our mouths and being careful with our words.
I saw women squirm as lies were exposed. I heard grumbling and criticism. Of course, the Truth is uncomfortable and controversial. But, I saw burdens lifted as well. Some of these women were exposed to the truth of their sins, their misunderstandings, their weaknesses. They were delivered to a Hope they had not realized, or perhaps had forgotten.
I saw women empowered to submit to the headship of their husbands, and yes, it takes power to lay aside your own will and follow someone elses. Forget any thoughts about being a doormat! I saw women strengthened to say “No” to that which distracts them from their primary priorities, God, Husband, Family, Home. I heard women confess the sins of their mouths and commit to being more careful with their words.
The word of God is “more powerful than any two-edged sword” and it can cut right through to the heart of the matter. We, as God’s people, are to be expert in wielding that sword. Ours is not a timid, lukewarm calling. We are called to boldly advance into enemy territory. That territory is in the hearts of men and women. We recoil from their grumbling because our flesh longs to be accepted by man. How foolish. How wrong. I saw the faces of those who had been set free yesterday. That could not happen without bold, fearless, truthful delivery of the Word.
So I attended a Women’s Advance yesterday. Truthfully, I didn’t learn much that was new. I have lived in Suffering for some time now and what I heard simply confirmed what God has taught me. Submission is something that I have been teaching for a while and continue to grow in that area myself. I know how to say “no”, to set boundaries, to do all, even fold socks and underwear, as unto the Lord. What inspired me was the boldness of my sisters in Christ.
Thank you, ladies. I know what that required of you and I pray that you will be blessed for your faithfulness.
