Thursday, May 30, 2019

The Message Is Clear

Over and over and over again, the message from God has been clear and precise.  Mostly through Facebook He has put on my heart Exodus 14:14.  Clearly.  Emphasized.  Repeated.  Firm.  Here are a few of the images I have received.  Each one a love note from God.  Each one is a reminder that I am NOT on this journey alone.  Each one lets me know staying calm is the action I need to take, trusting that He does fight for me.
















The message is very clear, and when I remember to give my battles over to my mighty God trusting in His desire to fight for me, I can live in peace. Do you need to hear his message today?  It is a rhema word from God.  Highlighted, emphasized, alive.  Hold it close.  Trust it.  

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Where's Your Happy Place?


Do you have a "happy place" that you retreat to where your surroundings bring about deep sighs and upturned corners in a smile?

Our oldest daughter and her family have a lake cabin amidst the trees and water in the middle of WI where they love to go year round.  Their "happy place".

I believe that our friends have a happy place they are living in as full time RV'ers.  They call Arizona home in the winter and travel to new places, experiencing new adventures the rest of the year.  Whether they are relaxing at a beach or giving of their time serving as volunteers where needed, they can return home each evening to their happy place.  They take it with them wherever they go!

In our younger married years we moved so often, our happy place was defined by those we were with....our family.  And I can't help but think that in this season of my life Joel is my happy place!
Our middle child lives in the country with her family, surrounded by the land they farm and decades of family history surrounding them.  I believe they have created a happy place space for themselves there.  I love to sit on their front porch and enjoy the quiet in the early morning hours.  As I have shared before, peace permeates the air there and relaxes me.

Pondering the many different kinds of happy places, I cannot help but question where ours would be now.  Would we want an RV to travel around in, or a lake home that would call us for weekends and vacations?  Would we love a front porch in the country where cars are scarce and fields are not?  Just where would our happy place be?

When Joel was young the outdoors was his happy place.  He enjoyed the woods and lakes of MN where he grew up.  When I was around 10 I lived with my mom in a small apt at the front of a house.  My bed was the living room sofa, but there was a larger closet/storage room upstairs with a window where the sun would come in.  I used to love to be in there, playing with my dolls or reading.  A small cozy warm place where I felt safe and happy. I still enjoy small rooms that have a cozy feel, and Joel still enjoys being outside in nature.

Neither of us are particularly eager for a lake home in the woods.........nor anxious to be full time RV'ers.  And it does not seem practical to have a country home as we look ahead to our senior years. Still, a "happy place" sounds so inviting. I told Joel maybe we need a home where we love it so much that we don't want to leave it for a cabin or RV.  Is that even possible?  I expect so.

So, again, I ask the question, "Do you have a happy place you retreat to where your surroundings bring about deep sighs and upturned corners into a smile?"  And I ask yet another....."Do you live in that place and call it home, or do you find it in someone you love?"  Happy places come in all shapes and sizes, and so many different places. Where is your happy place?


Saturday, May 25, 2019

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday morning from our corner of Iowa where rain and cooler temperatures have been pushing away our "normal" average temps.  Today we have sunshine and are heading up to eighty degrees, so there is hope we will dry out from all the rain.  So many farmers here and in parts of MN cannot get their fields all planted due to so much rain!

We are heading down to our grandson's graduation party today.  Looking forward to seeing their family.  So proud of Grant, who has received several recognitions at his high school, and his degree from DMACC (2 yr college) along with his high school diploma.  Will be the first time I have traveled outside of the city since last October.  We'll stop at Trader Joe's to stock up on our staples of almond butter, almond flour, almonds, applesauce, and honey before heading home.  We save a great deal of money when we shop for those organic products in Trader Joe's.

Speaking about education, Joel and I both love learning.  We have talked about taking classes available for "life long learners" at our Jr. College here in town.  You pay a small yearly fee and have many opportunities for learning, attending concerts and speakers, and even working out at the facilities there.  Joel first went to Jr. College after high school and got his degree in wild life management.  He then went to The Lutheran Bible Institute for a Bible degree.  That is where we met and I got my degree there too. Our first year it was called The Lutheran Bible Institute and the second year is became Golden Valley Lutheran College....still a two year degree.  I graduated with an AA in Bible and parish work.  Joel also got a bachelor's at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City through the Air Force to be a meteorologist.  A few years later he went to Luther Seminary to get his Masters of Divinity and then he went on to work toward's his doctorate, not finishing when life became too busy.  I attended another college, St. Mary's, for a year to work towards a degree as an Interpreter for the Deaf.  Before coming ill with Lyme I worked in a school as an interpreter.  We like learning and think education is important, but our learning doesn't have to come just from books or schools, of course.  Any number of degrees do not erase the fact that life experiences teaches us so much!  I think that having an interest in growing, learning from others, and listening to God is mighty important,. God provides continual opportunities for us to grow in our faith.  One of the wisest women I know has little book education, but oh such wisdom to share!

This weekend is Band Festival here in our town.  Meredith Wilson wrote the Music Man based on our micro-city so every year there is a big celebration with a parade, carnival, bands, food vendors and more.  It has been a long time since I have watched that movie..........I remember one line of a song the most..."We've got trouble, right here in River City.  Trouble with a capital T and that rhymes with P and that stands for pool.!"

Thinking about what we have been grateful for this week..........the good MRI report........an oncologist who I was told "has the ability to know what will work for each patient to get results", laughter and giggles...........nesting ducks............. RX Bars that provide protein.................phone visits with family......a break from Verzenio meds and more energy because of it................tears of joy or sadness.....Holy Spirit..............a new favorite meal of stir fry with a homemade apricot sauce............the library..........our comfy SUV, and more.

And so grateful for those we remember on this Memorial Day Weekend.  Those we loved...........those we honor.........those who served.  We remember and give thanks for your sacrifice.

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Grateful For Giggles



Joel and I had the giggles.  I was in a room waiting for a breast MRI on Tuesday to tell us if the ultrasound had it right, and to see what the lymph nodes had to say.  The day was filled with unknowns.  The tech had given me hospital pants and a gown to put on.  The first pair of pants were toooooo small, the second pair she gave me to wear were 4 sizes bigger and I could not keep them up!  To our surprise and delight it gave us the giggles.  In the midst of it all we had a good laugh.

The last 7 months have been a difficult season and often laughter was hard to come by.  Still, sometimes it just happens.  Laughter and giggles, a nice reprieve from the seriousness of the situation.    There is something to be said for the idea that laughter is the best medicine.

Too often we do not take time to enjoy the small moments of laughter, joy, etc. until life throws us a curve ball and we realize how precious it really is.....this waking up every morning to a new day.   Ann Voskamp learned that writing down all the moments of the day, giving thanks for everything that caught her attention, would fill her with peace, joy, and love for a God, our God who delights us blessing His kids. 

We are so grateful today for those few minutes of giggling.  And so many other things.  Grateful for the sunshine and the rain.  Grateful for the two bunnies that are always sunning themselves outside our living room window.  Grateful to watch a squirrel drag a cob of corn to his home, knowing he has found a good food source.  Grateful to hear my hubby upstairs in his office as he works on mundane and not so mundane tasks.  Grateful for that little noise that comes on my phone to let me know I have a text from friends or family.  Grateful I can talk to my Papa God any time I want to.   Grateful for grilled pork chops and roasted sweet potatoes after too many meals of yogurt or eggs.  Grateful. 

Today we are feeling the gratitude to the max with a good news report on the MRI.  The lymph nodes are not enlarged and the mass is breaking up.  Significant changes for the better seen on the MRI.  The treatments I have been on are working well!  This is the best news we could have as I go into surgery mid June.  So.  very.  grateful.

Sometimes our giggling, our nature observations, our counting the blessings, and our connecting with friends and family need to be intentional.  I hear so often about peoples busy lives.  "We are sooooooooo busy"......Too busy to smell the roses.........speak with loved ones from afar........enjoy God's creation..........There is something not okay with that.  I get it......I have been there..........and....I regret much in the so busy lifestyle I once had.  Oh, life, it passes us by so quickly.

Today I hope you find something to giggle about.........even if you are in the midst of a challenging situation.  Just take time to giggle, to laugh.  And be grateful for the opportunity.   



Monday, May 20, 2019

Serve And Protect


When we were living in Montana our oldest son attended a summer basketball day camp.  They all received basketball shirts with the name of the man who ran the camp on the front.  A few weeks later I had a vivid nightmare in which our son was killed when he was hit by a car.  He was wearing that shirt in the dream, and it was so real to me that I hid the shirt and never let him wear it again.  He is in his late 40's and still has that shirt tucked away in his memory tub. 

For some reason at the time, I thought that if I did not let him wear that shirt, the nightmare would not play out and I would save my son from harm or even death. Our son has now been a police officer for over twenty years and I have had to learn to pray for him daily, and let God walk with him as he serves his city.  I can't hide his shirt or uniform and keep him safe. 

This past week was National Police Week.  In the past few years we have seen  a great deal of negative press and public feelings about the police and how they do their jobs.  Just like in any occupation, there are bad police officers that do not serve well.  Mostly, though, there are good officers who just want to go home when their long days are done.  They do what they can to protect the people while also protecting themselves.  Sometimes they get it wrong, but mostly they get it right. 

We have been at the receiving end of their call to duty.  When living in central Minnesota we received a phone call late one night and we were told by a policeman on the phone that a man from our church had threatened his wife and was "coming to kill the pastor".  They police would get to our home as soon as possible........and they did.  We put all 5 kids at the time on the floor of our bedroom and Joel loaded his 22 rifle just in case.  We prayed and watched out the windows for any sign of this man until the police arrived.  The police felt it was a big enough threat that they helped us get clothes and other things we needed and then escorted us with guns drawn to our car.  Our kids were told to lay flat and keep their heads down as we drove out of our garage and down our driveway.  When we were escorted out of town we noticed five police cars at the end of our long driveway.  A few stayed behind and three followed us for about 30 miles until they felt we were a safe distance away.  We were so grateful for the police that night.  I actually could share a few more circumstances we have found ourselves in where we had to call or involve the police, but I won't bore you with the details!

Today I am giving thanks for the officers who do their jobs well, serve the people in their communities and literally put their lives on the line.  Our prayers are with you.  Especially you, Matt, Michelle, and Steve. 




Saturday, May 18, 2019

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday morning to you from stormy Iowa.  We had a storm last night and I heard that 2 and 6/10th inches of rain fell in a short time, flooding some streets in our little city.  Rain is forecast for the day and the possibility more storms to go with it.  Definitely May in our corner of the world.

Speaking of storms, it has been a stormy week for me medically with many shake-ups that have us taking deep breaths and reminding ourselves that we are living one day at a time with God leading the way..  I saw the surgeon on Wed.  and I will have a bi-lateral mastectomy mid June.  Before that there are many appointments and tests to walk through. I saw the oncologist Friday and he laid out his tentative plan for after surgery. I keep thinking there will be an end to it all, but am realizing "an end" to it is all a matter of perspective.  No end in sight, but hopefully seasons of peace and health.

Speaking of "Good Morning" I have pondered where that greeting comes from.  Maybe it is more than a greeting, maybe it is a declaration.  Speaking words with intention.  Good is the word I am focusing on.

We have two grandkids who will graduate from high school this year.  That is good!  We will be able to celebrate with them both which means a lot to us.  So proud of all our grands and what good people they are!  What they accomplish academically and in Sports and Music is something to celebrate, but most importantly we celebrate their faith, their goodness, their kindness, their willingness to love, forgive, and care for others.   Aren't grandkids the best?!?!

We purchased a new fridge 2 1/2 years ago, and 3 days ago the freezer quit working!  We called our appliance man and he told us he would try to fix it, but what we had bought from Sears (which is no longer here) would be difficult to fix.  He came last night and did not "see" what the problem was....one quick prayer later he found the problem and fixed it within a few minutes.  Yippee!  All is good!  We like this fridge a lot.....the freezer being in the bottom which for this short person, it works well.  We still have our old fridge that has worked for over 20 years.  Something to be said for the quote, "they don't make things like they used to!"

Last night I watched a squirrel carry a corn cob across our yard.  I have mentioned before that our neighbor across the street puts them out for the deer and raccoons.  The squirrels like them too, and like burying the kernels so every time Joel mows the yard he is also cutting down corn plants that are trying to grow where to squirrels put their stash!  We find it amusing.........although I am not so sure all our neighbors do.  We have two rabbits who are living under our back deck and enjoy sunning themselves in front of our living room window.  Of course the deer have already eaten our lillies up front before they could even bloom.  That is frustrating!  there have been sightings of a mountain lion in Des Moines, and that is not the first year it has happened.  We had one sighted up here but it did not stick around.  They travel for hundreds of miles to set up territory.  God did a good thing when he created nature for us to enjoy.



There are a group of writers that have a place called (IN) Courage.  Recently one of the women, Catherine Segars, wrote a beautiful post titled,  God Is Good, But This Isn't.  (You can click on title to read it)  I embrace what she shared on healing, etc., but have not said it so eloquently.  It is a beautiful read.

God is good.......He does not want us suffering and sick.  Yet this broken world sets us up for sickness, disease, and even death.  This life is not always good.........but God is.  This song is a good reminder for us...and I leave it with you today...........enjoy your weekend!


Thursday, May 16, 2019

The "Hows" and "Whys"



The "whys" and "hows" rose to the surface yesterday as the reality of this Stage 3b breast cancer hit me square in my soul.  I had an appointment with the surgeon and the exam, discussion, and words spoken was like starting over for me.  The diagnosis felt fresh after so many months, and as she stated that the ultrasound would not give us the whole picture of what was going on in my breast because this cancer is sneaky...... my "significantly smaller" words I had grasped on to with hope, faded.  A breast MRI is needed to see better what is going on.  She did say she could see some outward changes and Joel and I are still thinking the ultrasound must show some change or they would not have said so, but those rational thoughts came later for me.

Grief rose in me and I spent a great deal of time weeping about the reality, the coming loss of both breasts, and the courage I will need for surgery and all that is ahead.  What did my future hold?  Joel was steady and calm and thought it was a good meeting, but I had a meltdown when we got home.

I went back to the "how did this happen when I was STILL seeing the medical radiologist....how did every doctor I was seeing miss the cancer on my skin and the big changes in my breast.  Truthfully, this is such a rare occurrence that even medical people are surprised by it.  That leads up to the why.  Why, God?  Why?!  Empty questions with empty answers.

I must include here that my struggle with grief and fear makes me uncomfortable and at times embarrassed.  Our oldest son tells me that what I feel is what I feel and that is is more than okay.  That anyone dealing with cancer four times in eight years, breast cancer treatments while having 4 surgeries related to kidney stones besides the other health issues I have....well they would have a wide range of emotions.  And that is why I am sharing it all in my current journey with breast cancer.  Because unlike the first one 3 plus years ago, this one is not easy, it has not been given an excellent prognosis, and is just plain scary at times.  Because for many of us we need a miracle!  Because for many of us the future is not easy nor given an excellent prognosis.  I share when God leads me to do so, and I share because I believe someone needs to hear my words.

So back to the "Why God?"  I believe that most of us have asked that question at one time or another.  But.... there are really no answers to that question.  And if we continue to get stuck there we cannot open our eyes to how God shows up in our difficult circumstances.  We have our focus on the problem....and the why of it instead of on God.  It is not that we don't visit there, but we cannot live there.

Today this verse ~jumped off the page and vibrated in my soul.

 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.  Indeed, do not be wise in your eyes, Fear the Lord and depart from evil.  It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones."                                                                   
                                                                  Proverbs 3: 5-8

In these circumstances, in the circumstances we all experience at one time or another in our lives, we cannot lean on our own understanding.  We lean on GOD.  We let Him hold us when we grieve.  We take a deep breath and we trust Him.  Daily, and sometimes more than once a day I say something I heard author and speaker Susie Davis say......"I love you God.  I trust you God.  Thank you for my one beautiful life."  When I trust God, when I surrender the hows and whys to Him, I can embrace my one beautiful life........one day at time.....one blessing at a time.  My beautiful life will look different than yours, but when we trust in and lean on our Papa God, we can find the beauty in the midst of any season.  We may have to dig for it, be very intentional, get past the weeping, brush aside the whys and hows, but it is there.  It is there.




Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Just Keep Loving Others


With Mother's Day just behind us, I found myself remembering a gathering we went to in Minneapolis MN in February of 2018 to hear Judith Franklin speak. She was the personal assistant to Pastor Bill Johnson from Bethel Church in CA and was speaking about God's love, and she was also sharing her gifts of visual encounters and prophetic words with the audience.  Joel had read one of her books and I, another, so we both were interested in hearing what she had to share.

Towards the end of the session, while she was speaking, she suddenly pointed her finger, looking at me, and began to speak.  I actually looked behind me to see who she was talking to, and she let me know it was me she wanted to address.

She said, "I have been looking at you and speaking to you the whole night.  You have a tender heart for others.  You do hold back with it some.  You have a lot of wisdom to teach people.  I could learn so much from you.  If I ever needed a hug I would come to you.  I wish you could be my mother.  I'm your age, but I wish you were my mother.  So much love.  Just keep loving others."

While she was speaking, I found myself arguing with her in my head! I kept thinking, she does not really know me.........And certainly she was wrong about wanting me to be her mother.  I said nothing out loud, but later shared my thoughts with Joel.  He reminded me that God was speaking through Judy and I needed to receive the words spoken over me, embrace them, and step into what God was seeing in me.

It took me time to to absorb these prophetic words that came from an author I looked up to, and I expect I am still in the process of embracing them.  What I have come to realize, though, is that God sees us through eyes of love.  He sees His children and what we can be, desire to be, even what we are..  He loves us and delights in us.  He finds us amazing, and He dotes on us, His children, and sometimes we forget that.

So, how do we see our children?  One of our daughters says that we are our kids biggest cheerleaders.  Still, we can get caught up in the parenting and the challenges that come from raising kids to wholeness, and end up seeing only the negative.  But God........   God truly wants us to see the good.  We don't deny the rest of it all, but God truly wants us to speak over our kids, our grands, our families that which is good and love on them.  He wants us to see the good even while there may be some "ugly" going on.

Too often we are hard on ourselves, so maybe we also need to look in the mirror, reflecting back what God sees.  Maybe we need to see that we are enough, we are good.  Maybe we need to embrace what God says about us through His Word and through the words of others. 

What stands out for me right now in Judy Franklin's words is one short sentence.  "Just keep loving others".  Lately when watching the news, when listening to our elected officials speak hate and division, when social media promotes the negative, this message needs to be spoken.  Just keep loving others.    Maybe when famil,y is saying and doing things we don't agree with, .or we are ourselves behaving badly....... we need to hear it, we need to do it.........Just keep loving others.  

Just Keep Loving Others



Saturday, May 11, 2019

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from Springtime in Iowa!  It is a bit chilly, but we are not complaining when north of us the Duluth area has had up to 10 inches of snow just a couple of days ago.  We lived in Duluth from 1972-74 when Joel was forecasting weather for the pilots at the Air Force Base where he was stationed.  Summers were chilly, especially if you went down the big hill to Lake Superior.  Winters could be brutal and long!  It was so beautiful there though.  One of my favorite places to go was down to Superior where you could sit on the slate slabs of rock and watch the endless water.  Our oldest daughter married a guy from the Duluth area and they were married there on an unusually warm fall day.  It has been years since we have been back to Duluth, but we have many fond memories of the times we have spent there.

It is Mother's Day weekend and my mind cannot help but go to the women in my life who nurtured and mothered me.  My two older sisters, eleven and fifteen years older than me, both helped raise me.  Jan took care of me when I was a baby and a few summers were spent with her and her family over my childhood.  I moved in with Jo first when I was 10 and then at age 12 when they became my guardians until I went off to The Lutheran Bible Institute at 18.  I am forever grateful for what they did for me, and for their love over the years.  I am forever grateful for Jo opening her home and her family to me.  Her four kids, close in age to me, became my siblings.  A blessing.



You see, my mom was an alcoholic by the time I was born and battled addiction for many years, becoming sober the year Joel and I were married.  My dad died when I was seven and my older sisters were off on their own so it was just mom and me for many years as she struggled to keep a roof over our heads and keep alcohol from destroying her life.   God gave me a second family and a safe place with my sister Jo when I needed it most.

When my mom quit drinking, we began to heal our relationship.  She really was an amazing woman who went through a great deal in her life and still, came through it all stronger and better.  She was a great blessing to our kids, who well remember her visits, card games and of course games of yahtzee.  She would come spend a couple of weeks with us when we lived in Montana, Duluth, etc.  One of my favorite things to do with her was dance!  She was an amazing dancer!  We would turn on the radio and dance the two step......oh, she was so graceful in her movements.  We would play yahtzee and Rummy, do crosswords, and she loved to come and scrub my pots and pans until they shined.  I was not so good at that!  We would talk every week on the phone.  She worked until she was 76 as a timekeeper.  She was so smart, and could add numbers in her head so quickly!  When she retired she moved to South Dakota to be near my sister Jan and she lived a full life until the age of 92, playing bingo, going to Bible Study, spending time at her favorite coffee shop every day, and enjoying the family that lived close by.  She taught me how to live through the tough times and how to take life one day at a time. I miss her.

I also need to mention Joel's mom who died in 2011 at the age of 93.  She was a conservative woman of God who was frugal, made most things from scratch, worked hard and loved her family.  When Joel's dad died ~ he was 16, she went back to work as a teacher in the last one room school house that still existed in their county.  (Joel attended a one room schoolhouse from first through eight grade himself!)  It took a few years for Mom T. to accept me, the "city" girl who in her way of thinking, took her "country"boy away from home, but we became close and grew to love each other.

Today I honor all of them and give thanks for them in our lives.  I hope this gives you pause, and has you remembering the women in your lives who mothered and nurtured each of you.  And, Happy Mother's Day!


Thursday, May 9, 2019

It Is A Mystery

I have shared the story of how Joel and I were "prayed together" by my older sister who helped raise me and our family friend Marian who worked at our church.  They came up for parents weekend in the fall of my first year at The Lutheran Bible Institute in Golden Valley, MN and while touring the dorms they met Joel.  They told me a couple of hours later that they had "met the man you are going to marry".  I was 18 and coming out of a relationship that had hurt my heart, and I wanted nothing to do with guys.  But they said, "He wants to be a missionary, just like you and we can just see the two of you in a hut in Africa!"  When they pointed Joel out to me, I was surprised, exclaiming, "He is loud, obnoxious and he wears boots!"  They replied, "We will pray about it."  Three months later we went on our first date and we married 18 months after that.

Joel was introduced to the mission field through his second cousin, Rev. David Simonson who was a missionary in Tanzania with his wife Eunice.  He really wanted to combine a life of adventure with his desire to share the gospel and Africa was at the top of his list. When I was 13 I can remember studying the bulletin board at our church and reading about the missionaries we supported....the Grants, with their five boys, who served in Brazil.  (Many years later God connected us to one of the boys, David, who with his wife Deb became our friends!)  I would think about what it would be like to be missionaries in a foreign country.

So, when Joel and I joined as one, the mission field was a dream we had for our future.  As Joel served in the military eight years, then went to seminary and was ordained, we raised our family.  We still talked of the mission field even as Montana beckoned us and our family grew.  In the eighties we looked into the mission field, but we were told by the powers that be that our multi-racial family would be a hardship at that time on the mission field.  We also did some serious talking about our kids having to go to boarding schools if we were in Africa.  Having attended LBI, we knew some missionary kids quite well, and several had gone through tough times leaving their parents and living in boarding schools.  We did not want that for our kids and did not believe that is what God wanted either.  So we stayed stateside, believing that God had closed the door, but that some day we would head out to do mission work......once our family was grown and gone from the nest.

Then sickness became a way of life for me and that dream faded.  It still had it's hooks into us deeply, and over the years we would periodically revisit the grief we felt for never having fulfilled that dream that we believed was from God.


Today I read on Facebook about Operation Bootstrap Africa ( David and Eunice's ministry) presenting a plaque to be placed at the Maasai school for girls that they founded.  It was being placed in David's memory.  He died at the age of 80, after serving as a missionary with Eunice for over 50 years.  He was and is still so beloved by the Maasai that they honored them with land and their home and his burial place overlook Mt. Kilimanjaro.  Their three sons run a Safari sightseeing business in the area.  Their two girls are stateside and Eunice lives in their home in Africa.

So, was our dream inspired by God?  It would not be the first time we strongly felt God lead us somewhere only to have the door closed later.   Whether we closed the door (with not wanting our kids in boarding schools) or whether God closed the door, it closed.  There is mystery wrapped up in it all.  Our mission field has really been mostly just "preaching to the choir".  Those who already know and believe.  It has taken place on American soil in such places like Montana, Minnesota and Iowa.  Certainly not as adventurous as we imagined!  And yet, I know that Joel has touched the lives of so many as they have let me know over the years.

Back to dreams and desires.  I remember a few years ago I told Joel I thought he should go to Africa to see David, visit his ministry and see the places that have always drawn us.  He told me, "I can't go.  I am afraid if I go.......I won't want to come back."  Yes, the dream runs deep within.  We have done what we could to further missions in Africa from our home in the USA knowing that missionaries need our support.

We believe that God works all things together for good to those who love him.   He has blessed our lives in so many ways over the years.  He has blessed Joel's ministry and the years of serving.  I believe He used Joel and hopefully me, to help others know Christ, and have a close relationship with our Lord.  I expect that one day, when we get to Heaven we will have questions about this unfulfilled dream that has held a piece of our hearts for so many years.   For now it is a mystery and we work hard to put it to rest and live our lives here.......in the good ol' USA..... trusting that God is guiding our journey as He always has.

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Faith May Be Spelled R I S K


Yesterday I listened to stories shared by pastors who have been following God's lead......in obedience they have taken risks not knowing what the consequences would be.  One pastor shared that he and his wife were called to a Presbyterian church outside of Denver.  During his time there they started to see miracles happen in their congregation.  They were not praying for miracles, nor sure that they believed healing was still for today, but God came uninvited and began to heal people.  The pastor decided he better learn as much as he could about healing and miracles since they were seeing them manifest in the church. He studied and prayed and decided one Sunday that out of obedience to God he would speak about healing to his congregation and call the sickest person forward for prayer.  The woman came forward and he prayed for her.  She "fell out" in the Spirit and lay on the floor.  When she rose up from the floor, she was not healed.  No healing, but Holy Spirit touched her soul.  This event eventually led to over 2,000 of the 5,000 members of his Presbyterian church leaving.  The experience was too far out of their comfort zone and beliefs and they left because of it.  This pastor obeyed God and the results looked catastrophic, but as time passed, people came to the church, received salvation and became part of the congregation.  The risky move was costly, but God had a plan and the pastor felt he had to obey, no matter the cost.  Healings continue on in their church today.  Sometimes faith is spelled R I S K.

I also listened to a man talk about the results of his own obedience to God.  He and his wife ministered at a church in Aurora Illinois, one of the top ten most violent cities in America.  Gang murders were epidemic.  This pastor worked with the gangs and decided that for every one person murdered, they would go down to that area where it happened to pray and minister to the people until three came to know Christ.  They were letting Satan know that he did not reign over this city.  The police chief actually called the pastor to ask him what they were doing because crime was dropping in the areas where the members of the congregation were praying and speaking to those in the neighborhood.  Were they fearless in their quest?  No.  They were not fearless, but they chose to trust God and be obedient to what they believed God was calling them to do.  The risk they took brought people to Christ.

I cannot help but think of a young girl who at age 6-8 began to pray for God to "let me be a missionary to the babies in Africa".  When she was 13 she talked her dad into taking her to Uganda to spend time ministering there in an orphanage.  Through this deep desire to help the babies in Africa, her parents began a non-profit to work with orphans in Uganda. International Voice of the Orphans was established.  This young girl, now a young woman, moved to Uganda and began working with children with special needs and The Gem Foundation was established.  A home that cares for those with the most difficult medically fragile needs.  Now, just a few years later, Emma  and her now husband Josh are building a the Gem Village where medically trained staff and house parents will care for the least "desirable" little ones in Uganda.  They have stepped out in faith, trusting God and being obedient to His calling on Emma's life.  They have held babies as they took their last breath, they have suffered sickness and hardship themselves, and at this point are in need of prayer for their 9 week old son who is in ICU in a Ugandan hospital.  He is very ill with pneumonia and a bacterial infection and in need of healing.  They have opened their hearts to God's calling that began when Emma was a young child.   Faith is often spelled R I S K.

Not all of us are called to such risks, such boldness, but we are all called to be obedient to God's calling on our lives.  We are called to step out in faith and do what Jesus did.  We are all called to live our lives for Jesus and often that requires us to put aside fear or our own desires, for His.  It requires us to trust Him.   You may not be called to Africa, but you may be called to care for a neighbor, or lead a Bible study, or ask someone to join you on Sunday morning.  It is a matter of listening for the Holy Spirit's prompting and being obedient in faith.  Even if it is spelled R I S K.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Saturday's Scribbles

Good Saturday to you from our corner of the world.  It is going to be 70 degrees today with partly cloudy skies.  Last Saturday it snowed all day!  Welcome to Spring in Iowa!

Speaking of Spring it is so nice to see everything so green.  The trees are budding and some of the flowers are blooming.  Our neighbor has a apple tree that blooms every year and we are blessed to enjoy it from our living room window. When we lived in the Philippines we had such a variety of flowering bushes and trees to enjoy.  In fact, Poinsettias grew into huge bushes of beauty there year round.  Amazing!

Speaking of amazing, this has been a crazy week for me.  Monday I saw the Urologist and he removed the stent in my left kidney.  Tuesday I saw the Dermatologist for an autoimmune skin disorder that has flared up.  Wednesday I had labs.  Thursday morning I had an ultrasound on my right breast and Thursday afternoon I had a back molar extracted at the N.I. Dental Surgery clinic.  Friday more labs.  Exhausting!  BUT lots of good news!  I no longer have any stents and that means I am getting up only 2x a night instead of 5-7x.  More sleep!  I also do not have to go back to the Urologist for 4 months.  Yippee!  The Ultrasound showed that the area they had looked at last fall in diagnosing the breast cancer has gotten "considerably smaller" in the radiologist's words.  Praise God!!  This is such good news.  The challenging treatments are working and we can now move forward with the next step.  The tooth is now out and that healing has begun also.  My body is pretty beat up and tired, but the good news is being celebrated!

I think I have been reading and watching too many murder mysteries lately!  The other night Joel heard me having a long conversation about solving a murder!  Yep.  It may be time to set aside the mysteries for awhile!  Ever since I was a kid I have enjoyed reading mysteries.  I began with Trixie Belden books and Nancy Drew mysteries.  Throughout the years I learned to read "light" mysteries and avoid the gruesome kind that gave me nightmares.


All the snow and then rain caused a levee to break in Davenport Iowa.  The Mississippi River quickly flooded the downtown of the city and is 23 feet above flood stage.  Worst flooding since the early 90's.  Nature has so much power.   Over the years I/we have experienced fires, floods, tornados, earthquakes, and typhoons.  Thankfully we have come through them all unscathed.  It has all made us cautious and respectful of nature's power.

Last night Diane Sawyer had a special on 20/20 about the amount of screen time adults and children add in to their days.  In a day and a half, 36 hours~ a typical family they observed spent anywhere from 5 to 14 hours on their screens.  The adults were on the low end and the kids the high end.  A lot of time was spent on video games.....the youngest son spent over 7 hours playing a video game.  Joel says he remembers when he noticed the change.  One Thanksgiving a few years ago our family all came to visit and he walked into the living room to see that everyone was on their phones.  TV on, they sat scrolling on their phones, and adding in to any conversation periodically.  I know I spend too much time on social media.  Although we did not watch the whole special with Diane Sawyer, it was very enlightening and actually a bit depressing.  So much good comes from having such great technology, like texting, photo sharing, etc......and of course so much bad too.  It is about finding balance I guess.

Balance..........we need it in every area of our lives, don't we.  Whether body, soul, or spirit, balance is necessary to keep us centered in peace and wholeness.  May your Saturday be filled with balance.......