What God Requires

In our relationships, do we love other people in their brokenness?  Especially if it involves those who hurt us?  If we did we would then have to accept them where they are.  We would need to forgive them, and if we forgive them then we would not be able to assign blame or hold on to our own hurts that we may feel are justified.  We would have to face our own brokenness.  I acknowledge and sense resistance within myself and others.

And yet this is what God requires of us.

And then there is the difficulty we have in letting others change.  If we have been hurt by someone's words or actions once, twice, even three times, we then see all future encounters with that person from a "guarded" protective perspective. No matter what is said, it is colored by the past.  It can become a "damned if you do or damned if you don't" situation.  They or we never say or do the right thing. Whether it is with a friend, a neighbor, our boss, or our children, it is often difficult to see the change, be the change, or through love, grace, and forgiveness accept and embrace the change.

And yet this is what God requires of us.

Do we try to hide our brokenness from others?  Do we hide it from ourselves by shining a light on the brokenness of others?  Does the shame we feel permeate the atmosphere around us?  And why is it often so much easier to embrace and help strangers in their imperfection than it is to help and embrace those closest to us?  Is it because our own shame, hurt and disappointments get in the way?
Resistance?

And yet this is what God requires of us.

Why is it so easy to point out the sins of others?  Why do we put ourselves on a higher plain judging others in their brokenness, making decisions on what is forgivable based on our own experiences or understanding instead of God's Word.

And yet this is what God requires of us.

Loving and forgiving those who have hurt or disappointed us is not denying their actions, it is being obedient to God.  Being willing to let go of past hurts while opening our hearts to the positive changes in people does not necessarily mean we forget the past, but it does mean in obedience to God we embrace the future with expectancy.  Acknowledging our own brokenness does not shame us, it empowers us. Refusing to judge others from a throne of our own making let's our God be God.

This is what God requires of us.

"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those

 who trespass against us."

Matthew 6:12

 

~~~~

"So now I am giving you a new commandment: 

Love one another. 

Just as I have loved you, you need to love one another."

John 13:34

A One Room Schoolhouse, Dyslexia And Word Power!

When Joel was healed overnight on January 24th, 2012, we were overwhelmed with joy at seeing his health return.  All neurological symptoms immediately vanished, strength returned and the Lyme was dead and gone from his body.  Those first few months we marveled at the miracles as we continued to see changes and other conditions left.  We marveled at all God was doing in both our lives.

Then in June of 2013 we went to a healing service in the Twin Cities.  When Joel went up for healing he asked for prayers for his hearing to return in his one ear and ringing in his ears to go away.  As an after thought he said, "Oh, and I have dyslexia too."  The prayer ministers prayed for him and even though there was no immediate change,  he believed it would come to fruition.  The next morning he noticed that his hearing returned and the ringing in his ears had subsided some, and he forgot about the dyslexia .......until last Thursday night.

We had been reading the book, "Healing For Today" outloud to each other.  Joel did most of the reading and while into chapter 15, his voice began to quiver with emotion.  I asked him what was wrong and he replied in a hushed voice........"I just realized that the dyslexia is gone.  It is totally gone and reading is not an effort anymore!"

 Only God!!

Joel and I then went on to talk about the difficult journey he experienced while learning to read as a child, and the power in the words we speak over ourselves and others.  Joel actually attended a one room school house until going into 9th grade and remembers the encouragement of his teacher.  He knew as an adult that if he had gone to a school in town he would have been labeled as learning disabled, but his teacher in that one room school house labeled him differently.  She spent time with Joel not only helping him learn to read, but telling him he could be anything he wanted to be when he grew up.  She labeled him smart and capable, and he believed her.     

Joel struggled with reading, but he did not let it stop him.  He has had 13 years of college....degrees in 4 different schools. He learned to speed read at seminary, which helped some, but reading still required great concentration.  His calling as a pastor demanded a lot of reading, so reading books for fun was not on his list.

And then last week.................

We are giving thanks today for the encouraging words of a teacher so many years ago who gave a small boy just what he needed to hear.  We are giving thanks for the words of a prayer minister who declared by the authority as a believer, healing into Joel's ears and brain.  We are giving thanks for the words found in the Word that tells us to ask, to speak to the mountains, to remember there is healing in God's Word.  We are giving thanks to God for word power....and Word (Bible) power!

Only God!

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday morning friends.  It is a perfect day here in our corner of the world.  The sun is shining and the temperature will reach close to 80 with little wind or humidity......Again, my kind of weather!

It is also a perfect day for an outdoor wedding and we are heading to one today just over the border into Minnesota.  My brother Todd is marrying his fiancé Jeannie this afternoon.  Joel will be officiating and I will be sitting in my lawn chair watching as two families are joined by a man and a woman uniting in marriage with God and each other.  May God bless them.

I have been walking a mile every day this week and Joel has been biking again.  Last Saturday we went to a nearby town where Joel biked around the lake while I enjoyed the view, walked a bit on the road through the woods, and rested in the van. Sunday we went to an outdoor service and to Cabin Coffee again.  Fun.  I went clothes shopping on Monday.  For nine years I seldom went anywhere except to see those who wear the white coats, but things have changed for the better and a person needs more than comfy knit clothes when going out in public!  I was excited to purchase $268.00 worth of clothes for only $95.00 ~ summer clearances.  And all at one store.  Yay!

On a side note, does it give you pause that even when something is 70% off the retail price the store is still making money? 

On our walks this week we saw a few wild turkeys with their chicks, and some very cute dogs!  The fawns and their moms must have moved on to another area.  Twice we crossed paths with women who were in the mid to late 70's.  One woman who looked to be around 78-80 passed us on her bike, legs strong and muscular, back straight, and eyes bright as she breezed by with a cheerful morning greeting.  The other woman we saw was around 75-78 and jogging.  J.o.g.g.i.n.g.  Inspiring! 

Recently we made the lower room that held storage into a bedroom and moved the futon into the famly room in the basement.  We also began purging the family room toy area.  The grandkids are aging, and often grace us with their presence here only once a year, so certainly there are other kids who would use the toys more.  Joel and I seem to be on a quest to rid ourselves of those things we don't use, need, or like anymore.  It is time to downsize.  We are feeling lighter with each object we move into the "Goodwill pile".  Do you know anyone who needs a recumbent stationary bike?  This "object" we would like to sell!  Maybe Craig's List. 

On another side note, wouldn't be great it if was as easy to let go of the things people do that hurt us as it is to purge the old from our homes?  If forgiveness had a "Goodwill pile" we could toss past hurts into, how much lighter we would feel!  How much healthier relationships would be!  A close family friend told me she keeps a snicker bar in her window sill to remind her to bless the people in her life who have hurt her or are difficult to be with.  When she looks at the candy bar she then asks God to bless the person, using their name.  "God bless you _________."  Her pastor presented each member of the congregation with a candy bar using this illustration in his sermon.  She said it has helped bring her peace as she blesses others.  God is good that way!  We went out and bought a Snickers right away (which when I ate chocolate and sugar was my favorite) and it is in our kitchen window sill as a reminder.  Our words have power.....so what better way to use them than to bless others! 

Speaking of blessing others, Joel will be preaching this Sunday at a Lutheran church in a nearby town.  He is filling in for a colleague.  He misses preaching and teaching a great deal, and I expect he will take another Interim position if one becomes available in our area. He is still working on his book about healing.

Speaking of healing, we have been reading Pastor Paul Teske's book, 'Healing For Today" out loud to each other.  It is powerful and we identify so much with this Lutheran pastor who was healed from sickness.  He now has his own healing ministry in obedience to God, and travels around the world while still serving his church in CT.  I wrote a post this week about how God worked with us concerning this book during the past few days.

I hope you had a good week!  What have you been up to?  Any good books to recommend?

Until next time................

Living Waters From God

When God sends me a Bible verse more than twice I pay attention, because this an important way God communicates with me.  If you are a follower of my blog you may recall that last fall I received Matthew 11:28-30 around 26 times from many different sources.   God was hitting me over the head with the living Word from Matthew~~ It truly held a message I needed to hear.  I.m.p.o.r.t.a.n.t.  I am still learning about resting in and trusting God from that time. 

Since July 31st I have received verses and writings on "living waters" nine times from nine different sources.  God is speaking loudly to me once again.  The first 4 times I was given John 7:38 through different devotionals and a book of scriptures.

"Anyone who believes in Me may come and drink. 

For the scriptures declare,

Rivers of Living Water shall flow from the heart

of anyone who believes in Me."

 

Then as Joel and I were reading aloud the book, "Healing For Today" by Pastor Paul Teske, I turned to the next chapter to read and it was titled, "Rivers of Living Water"!!! 

 

Tuesday I read two separate blogs that spoke of living waters and streams of waters.   One written by Heather Lewis Powell over at InCourage had a quote that resonated for me. 

 

 

"If I believe and trust in Him, streams of living waters will flow from me

and I will not fear the heat or worry

because I will be firmly rooted in Him."

 

 A second post by Lisa over at Lisa Buffaloe's site spoke of  "letting God's living waters flow in and through you.  Of us needing to put down deep roots in the Word."
 

I also came across a scripture that Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity shared personally with me over a year ago from Job 11:16...

"You will forget your misery.....it will be like waters flowing away!"

Number nine came yesterday morning in the Daily Light, a scripture where Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well:

"If you only knew who you were speaking to

 you would ask me and I would give you living water." 

John 4:10 

 

 Couple all this with my visit to the garden of my heart in meditation, and I cannot nor would I deny that God is in the midst of this.  In the garden I walked with Joel and Jesus to a pool.  Surrounding it on three sides were high rocks with waterfalls cascading down into the pool.  Jesus and Joel took my hands and I went into the pool with them.  I need to be honest here, during the meditation I saw myself somewhat resistant to Jesus wanting me to go into pool, but I cautiously went in at the encouragement of both, and Jesus poured water over me with His hands.

Yes, God is at work. 

How does God work in your lives?  Through His Word, devotionals, the voice of others you are connected to?  For Joel he is often through nature.  And one friend of ours says that whenever she sees or hears a cardinal she knows God is speaking to her that all is well.  However He comes to you, we can rest assured He comes in love.

Do I understand all that is being shown me? Absolutely not.  I do see some direction, though.  Words like roots, living water, flowing, and the Word are coming up with frequency, and I have heard whisperings from Holy Spirit. For now I am trusting God to reveal to me at the right time just what I need to learn.

It is an adventure in faithful living to walk with Jesus through this life!  Don't you agree?   

 



MBM: A Friend, A Book, and God

Today is Memorial Box Monday, which Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity created.  In the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites to build a memorial of stones as a constant reminder of
God's faithfulness and provision for His people over the years.  Linny has done the same by keeping a Memorial Box filled with reminders of all the times in their lives of God's faithfulness and provision.  All the times He answered their prayers.   She invites us to do the same.  Stop over and read her story for today~ Remember your own stories too....and be doubly blessed.

My story today brings together a friend, a book, and God's timing.  Just over a year ago I read a book by Pastor Paul Teske, entitled "Healing For Today."  In the book he shares his own story of healing from a stroke and how God guided him to move from being healed to praying for others to be healed.  The uniqueness of this particular story lies in the fact that this man is a Lutheran pastor.  Just like my husband Joel.  He was healed, just like Joel. And he speaks in tongues, just like Joel.  Being a Lutheran pastor and believing in physical healing as more than a rare occurrence, and speaking in tongues?  Very unusual.  It can be a lonely road.

As soon as I read the book I knew Joel needed to read it.  It was a gift from God for us.  I told him about the book, but he was into something else at the time, and he never got around to reading it.  A few weeks later I mentioned it again.  Nothing.  Then again.....at which time he picked up the book to read, but after two chapters put it aside due to the many distractions of working as an Interim.  I prayed about it but knew if I kept bugging him it would only cause an irritation so I let it go.  I recommended the book to three friends and decided to re-read it myself, sharing bits and pieces periodically with Joel.

Then my friend Katherine told me she had purchased the book.  She found it very powerful and we were able to share a bit on our insights while reading it.  Yesterday she wrote me an email sharing a paragraph from one chapter that mentioned expectancy.  Since God has been speaking to Joel and me on that very topic this past week I shared it with him.  He asked me to send a copy of the quote up to his office and I said, "Better yet, why don't we read it out of the book."  It was sitting right next to me!  Then I said, "Better than that, why don't we read the book aloud to each other?"  He liked the idea and ....................

That is how it began..............and last night we read five chapters out loud to each other.  Joel was so excited he could hardly put it down.  Today we have read two more chapters and plan to continue tonight.  At this rate we should be able to finish the book this week!

Katherine had mentioned to me awhile back that Pastor Teske was going to have his first healing conference this fall.  I mentioned this to Joel and we are now spending time in prayer to decide on whether this is in God's plan for us.  Either way, I know that this book is going to bring about change in our lives.  I just know that I know that I know.

All in God's timing.  In His faithfulness, when things came together at just the right time with Katherine's email, the book sitting on our end table, and the words on expectancy that spoke so loudly to us both? ~~we are right where God wants us to be.  He has answered my prayers and the deep conviction that I felt about this Pastor's story being so important to our lives, to Joel's ministry.

God provides for us in the small things and the big.  He works it out according to His timing and gently guides us along the way until we are in a place of surrender and readiness.  Even with something as small as reading a book.  A book that I just "happened to come across in a google search.  A book He put on my heart for my husband Joel and me to read. 

Only God.



I am linking up to Linny over at A Place Called Simplicity.

Saturday's Scribbles

Good morning to you from our corner of the world.  Iowa has been experiencing some unusually dry and cool weather and I, for one, like it!  It has made for some pleasant walks this past week.  We actually went to the city park and walked a couple of times.  So beautiful there!

Crossing a rock bridge at the park

Joel next......

Beautiful cascading waterfalls at the park

Speaking of walking, we were delighted to have a very small fawn scamper ahead of us leading the way  early one morning as we walked along the river.  The fawn went quite a distance with us following behind.  We expect mom was near by, but never saw her. We also had two doe with fawns come through our yard.  We had to put fencing around the small hydrangea in the back as the deer ate up two while on their way to the river.  We have had a lot of deer in the yard this year.  The neighbors had two fawns resting in their yard most of one day.  Don't know where the moms were!

We finally received notice to pick up Levi's ashes and on the day we did we had to chuckle.  Levi never liked the fire alarms when they would go off while broiling, or the chirping when one needed a new battery.  The day we brought home his ashes the alarm went off while broiling burgers,  AND another alarm kept chirping.  This had not happened since he died, so I am thinking Levi was at work letting us know he was home! Ha!

Last Saturday we headed up to the Twin Cities to celebrate my older sister's 80th birthday.  It was a fun day with people flying in from as far away as Texas!  I had not seen some family members for up to nine years. We did a lot of visiting and Joel and I both entered a bean bag toss tourney.  I was paired with my niece's husband, Jeff.   I think most people felt I would be an easy out and I am sure Jeff thought so to.  He is quite athletic and into sports, being his dad is a retired Viking player!  He was very gracious with this ol' gray haired lady~ once chronically ill......now slowly healing.....overweight and out of shape......dealing with glaucoma and cataracts.....never having played before.  Ever.  Guess what?  We won!  Not to brag, but I did surprisingly well, putting many in the hole and most on the board.  I had great fun surprising all the competitive ones as we played game after game.  In the final game I had to play against our daughter Beth and son Mark!  Three of our family in the finale.   Way to go!!!  My teammate, Jeff and I took home the trophy and I was given the MVP (Most Valuable Player) award!  What a hoot! 

Of course after driving 5 hours round trip in one day, playing five games while using muscles long dormant, and spending several hours visiting, I have had to rest more this week for sure.  We won't talk about the foot and leg cramps after the games were over.  Embarrassing.  Joel enjoyed watching me in the tournament so much he laughed until his sides hurt.  I am so blessed to have this man in my life!

Speaking of, Joel has been busy this week emptying the "half-down" room of storage and making it into a guest room.  We seldom have guests but now have a room if we do.  It is nice to have it so organized instead of piled with 33 years of Joel's office stuff and other stuff we needed to purge. Now we need to sort through all of that and purge and store.  That will be challenging.  Joel also ordered a new mechanism for our grandmother clock we had made while living in the Philippines in 76'.  We ordered in from Clockworks and it came without instructions!  He was able to get it mostly put back together but finally had to go online to find the instructions on how to set the chimes, etc.  No instructions?  What is up with that?!!

We have an oat field at the end of our block right in the middle of our association.  Joel has enjoyed watching the oats grow and change color.  They are swathing the oats today and he is delighted!!  You can take the boy out of the country but you cannot take the country out of the boy. 

I finished a Lauraine Snelling book and have been reading a true story of a missionary to Dutch New Guinea, Darlene Rose, who was in a Japanese internment camp during World War II.  It is pretty interesting.  Not much on TV and no movies this week.  What have you been up to?

Until next time..................