Psalm 139:16b  Every day of my life was recorded in Your book.
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12/18/2012

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May this song encourage you to hope.
How do you give birth to seven babies and not weep when you see a little child hurt?  How do you spend 18 years loving and protecting little hearts and not rise up ready to war on anyone who dare lay a hand on an innocent one?  How do you hear and see the stories of the news and simply send your baby to school with a little kiss on the cheek?  I cannot even begin to fathom the pain and horror that so many are living through right now but if it's anything like I imagine (and it is probably much worse) then I pray over and over again that God would hold them tight.  

This is not new to God.  He has been comforting Mommies and Daddies for centuries as the wickedness of man so often tears out hearts.  The comfort I find is when I think of all those children sitting on Jesus knee or holding his hand as together they explore the wonders of Heaven.  They will never hurt again.  They will never have to face the struggles and atrocities of this world again.  They have been spared so much heartache and they are now surrounded by perfect abounding LOVE. 



On the other hand I would not want to be the man who sent them to Heaven so soon.  Jesus said that if any of us caused one of His little ones to stumble it would be better if a millstone were tied around his neck and that he be thrown into the sea.  No, I would not want to be anywhere near where that man is, right now and forever. 


But when I think of all the people left behind sorting through this and trying to make sense out of something so senseless, I am saddened beyond words and my heart aches for those who are seeking answers where there really are none.  Dear God, please surround those who are hurting with Your family and speak your words through us.  Show us the actions that will comfort and give us the wisdom to know when not to do or say anything.

My girls missed the bus today and I had to take them to school.  There was much more traffic than usual and so many adults standing watch.  I walked Noah to school as usual and again all around there were teachers and police standing guard over the little ones.  As Noah entered the school the door was locked behind him.  Later for afternoon kindergarten the scene was much the same.  Parents and teachers watching extra carefully that their children were safe.  I smiled to myself with understanding but also realized that the most recent tragedy happened to children who were already "safe" inside the school.  So what can we do?  I know this sounds trite but it is true - we can pray.  

Pray for what?  Their safety, of course, but sometimes safety isn't granted.  What then?  Do we assume that our God is not big enough?  Do we assume he really doesn't care?  Sometimes it feels that way.  My mind flashed back to the moment I had to tell my 8 year old and 6 year old what happened in Connecticut.  I felt so helpless telling them that they were safe as I saw fear spark in their eyes.  I couldn't confidently tell them that nothing would happen to them because we live in a really really messed up world.  Instead, I told them that we pray for them everyday and that God has His angels all around them and they would protect them and keep them safe, even if someday that safe means they hide you in Heaven.

Noah gave me that quirky little look of Mom, what on earth are you talking about?  I kind of giggled glad for the tension breaker.  "Think about it," I said, "What's the worst thing that could ever happen to you?"

With his finger pointing in an ahha moment, Eli declared, "You die!"

"Exactly," I exclaimed.  "And when you die where are you?"

"Heaven!!"  they shouted in unison.

A look of relief passed over their faces and in no time they were laughing and talking about all the stuff they can't wait to do in Heaven, like ride on a dinosaur or swim with a shark.  And best of all we would all be together with Jesus.  That is the hope we can give our children.  It is the same hope that Jesus offers us.  There is someplace where this stuff doesn't happen.  There is a place where we never have to fear or cry again, it is Heaven.  In our family Heaven isn't someplace we never think about, it is a place we all look forward to and desire to be in.  When Jesus is your Savior then nothing this world dishes out can destroy us because even it's worst ultimately brings about the most wonderful moment of our lives - we finally enter the gates of Heaven.  That is Hope in the midst of tragedy.  It doesn't make being here hurt any less and it certainly doesn't suggest that we should just go on our merry way when faced with tragedy.  Living here hurts.  But that's why Jesus was born.  He came here to live among us.  He came here to hurt with us.  He came here to hunger with us.  He came here to feel like us and He came to tell us about a better place.  

When He was born Herod sent out his army and slaughtered all of the babies two years old and under in an effort to destroy such hope as Christ.  The enemy is trying again to destroy our hope, which he will succeed in doing if our hope is misplaced.  Our hope can be in nothing less than Jesus!  We must pass that same Hope on to our children.  And they must pass it on to theirs.  There are so many things in this world that will fight for our time and energy and steal away our opportunities to train them and teach them the ways of God.  We must wage war against such things and give them Hope in the midst.  

As Jesus grew up, the enemy tried again to steal away our Hope by getting Jesus to give up on God's plan.  He tried to distract Him from what was right.  He spoke nice sounding lies to try and trick him into choosing a different path.  But praise God, Jesus knew Truth and would not be swayed.  When faced with temptation after temptation, distraction after distraction He knew what to do.  He spoke Truth into the situation and the enemy had to flee.  We must teach our children to recognize the Truth so they can also cause the enemy to flee when he comes to steal, kill and destroy their minds.  Scripture must be known in our homes because the enemy will try to twist it and sound similar to lead us astray.  We must know the Truth so we can be free from his tricks and he must flee.

Later the enemy tried again to destroy Hope.  Jesus was hung on a cross and beaten beyond recognition.  Surely, the enemy believed he had won.  Even Jesus followers were hiding and now Satan's greatest weapon was about to be unfurled.  He hurled death upon Jesus in the most horrific way for all to see and know that Hope was gone.  Even the sky turned black in sorrow.  But that isn't the end of the story!  Death did not win!  Jesus took Satan's greatest weapon and turned it into Hope's greatest victory.  Because He rose again!  He is alive forevermore!!!  He has lived with us and He knows us and He has gone to prepare a place for us that will be even better than our greatest imagination!  In the midst of such tragedy we will cry and we will hurt.  But we can Hope!  We can Hope that one day we will see Him and each other once again.  This isn't a hope like we blow out our candles and hope we get our wish.  This is living real Hope for a forever place where there is no more pain or goodbyes or senseless atrocities.  It is a place where those little children are safe and one day if we will accept the invitation, it is a place we will have the joy of entering, also.

We live in dark days.  We live in frightening days.  But we have a choice.  We can live in fear and trembling or we can live with victorious hope knowing that in the end our Savior wins!!!  That is the safest place our babies can be.  That is how we can go on after news stories such as this.  That is how we can kiss our baby on the cheek and send them through their day.  It is by knowing the Hope that we have in Christ.  He will keep His little ones safe even if sometimes that means keeping them safe in Heaven, where we will one day join them and have eternity to love on them.



Honestly, I started out writing with a whole different story but this is where God took me so this is where I will end.  However, I would be a fool to believe that every person who reads this blog knows personally of the Hope that I have spoken of.  If you are one who has that Hope, be encouraged to share it and treasure it and protect it because it is a treasure worth giving your life for.  Jesus did.  But if you read this and wonder if you have it or wonder how to get it, click on the picture below and it will take you to a link that will very briefly explain how to have that Hope living in you.  I pray that you will accept that Hope whose name is Jesus into your life and if you do, would you let me know so that I can rejoice with you?  Thank you and welcome to the family!


2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. 4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us



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Click here to learn how to know that Hope.
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A Peace of Heaven on Earth

12/12/2012

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Click the picture for a song.
This past week I was reminded of one of the most precious gifts God gave us on Christmas.  There are many things I could list because all of His gifts are a treasure but this one struck me for many reasons.

I had the privilege of coordinating the prayer room during WLMB's Christmas Sharathon.  How that came about can be summed up in two words:  my brother.  Because he knows me he thought it might be a good fit.  He was so right!  We only have a gas guzzling 15 passenger van right now so I stayed in Toledo with him and his wife Jessie rather than drive back and forth.  I loved getting to hold baby Nathan while his Mommy got the older kids ready for school.  Later Lillian was a ballerina dancing with her Daddy to music we used to love as kids.  Memories of reinacting the Kid's Praise albums (yes, albums) or Nathaniel the Grublet and Music Machine raced through my mind.  Our parents were so good to instill such wholesome things into our minds at such a young age.  In the meantime, my own family was home working together to make sure everyone got where they needed to be and that they ate.  I know it wasn't easy because there are a lot of schedules and Marty just started on third shift the same week.  Still when I cam home there was a wonderful welcome and a clean house.  Yes, what a treasure family is!

But that isn't exactly the precious gift I am speaking of, though it is close.  As I met volunteers in the prayer room I was blessed.  We opened every new shift in prayer which brought back wonderful memories of being the prayer team leader in Bettsville for many years until we moved away.  As phones would ring volunteers would talk, listen and pray for the concerns of each caller.  It was incredible how God orchestrated each call to match with the experience of the volunteer.  There were no memorized prayers but every single one came from the heart often leaving the volunteer in tears as they made a note to continue praying when they went home.  There are so many people who called in with an ache in their heart because Christmas would be lonely and WLMB was the only source of encouragement they had.  Mothers and grandmas were praying for the salvation of their families and healings and safety for the troops especially their loved ones.  Fathers who wanted the same things and also so many who are praying for jobs.  Over and over again I could hear volunteers encouraging the caller to reach out to their church family.

The church family is the precious gift I am thinking of today.  In between calls the room was not silent as we got to know each other.  I was recognized by Sherry as the girl with hair past her waist in Genoa!  I still can't figure out how she put that together since that was like 30 years ago and I was blonde then.  A few more ladies realized we go to the same church and had connections there.  One man was the uncle of my dear friend Judy whom I had the joy of running track and cross country with.  The people on those teams and the coaches all had such a huge impact in shaping my life to encourage and persevere.  I thought of all the teachers as well who poured their lives into me.

On Thursday night a group of about 9 guys from a Bible study came in to volunteer.  You could hear them laughing and bantering all the way down the hall.  When they entered the room, it lit up.  The youngest one, I believe they said, was about 63 years old and on up into their 80's.  One of the men came up to me  with his hand on my shoulder and a twinkle in his eye, he said, "Do you think you can handle all these guys?"  I said that I had 5 boys at home, I'd be fine.  He grinned and said that he had 5 sons, too, and 2 daughters.  I laughed because I did, too.  Another man came in and told me about his painting.  His business card included a picture that was beautiful.  I thought immediately of our dear friend Frank who has taught Jared the art of creating gorgeous art with markers.  (I intend to share that whole story one day soon as it deserves a whole blog.)  The men shared how they met their wives and some of the stories were hilarious.  What struck me was the tenderness in their eyes as each one told me how precious their wife was to them.  These men could have you in stitches and my face ached from smiling but when a phone would ring they were all business as they poured out their requests to God their Father.  They sat around discussing what service they could do next.  Saturday they were going to be ringing bells for Salvation Army and what about those kids wandering around on the streets of Toledo.  Maybe we could get out a grill and give them a hot dog while we share with them the love of Jesus?

One person and I discovered that we both knew Larry and Gloria.  A rush of happy thoughts filled my mind and I just wished I could give them both a giant hug.  It was Gloria who took this little dancer and many others under her wing and taught them what it is to worship God with our dance.  She and her husband were there for sooo many important things in my life.  I wonder do they know what a treasure they are to me?  Another man knew Bob Kutz and I nearly cried.  He officiated our wedding.  The advice he gave us in premarriage counseling is priceless and still rolls through my mind often.  We lost a precious man when he went to be with Jesus. 

Someone asked how I learned so much about Excel and I thought of all the people at Riddell.  So many different people who gave me what they knew and let me run with it.  Friends who I saw everyday.  Friends who made me better.  I thought of the recent loss of one who often came to me for prayer and dished out encouragement by the barrel but recently and unexpectedly went to be with Jesus.  I thought of each person there and wondered do they know what a treasure they are to me?  I thought of Janie and how she helped me find the job.  She has been through so much with me.  Does she know what an anchor she has been?  My Dad always prayed for wisdom for his kids.  I had no idea it would come in the form of such wise friends. 

With only 45 seconds left in the Sharathon we met our goal.  The whole prayer room erupted in cheers and laughter even while three more volunteers were taking pledges!  We had all worked and prayed together and it was such a joy to see the end result!  Everyone left hoping to get the opportunity to work together again at the next one.  When Aaron asked me if I enjoyed it, I beamed,  "Of course, I did.  It was like having a little peace of Heaven right here on earth." 

When God sent His Son to earth, He created a whole new family.  It's a family that will never end.  There may be a, "see you later on the other side", but never a "good bye".  He put a super natural connection between us that causes us to be willing to give of ourselves even when it's not for our benefit.  The family of God is so precious to Him that it is the only thing we can take with us when we go to Heaven and in fact, when we get there we get the joy of meeting more of our family!  I love thinking that someday we will have eternity to be together.  We can tell of our adventures in His Story each with exquisite detail and even after everyone has shared we will have no less time to enjoy Heaven and our Father than we did before we started.  

This Christmas I hope you will make time to treasure not only your biological family here on earth but also the church family that God has put in your life to make you the incredible person you are.  I hope you will make time to reach out to those who are alone and remind them that they have a family, too.

I want to end by saying that this was by no means a complete list of all the people who are dear to me.  It is simply the people who came up during the Sharathon and they represent so many different areas of my life that it seemed good to mention them as examples.  One that I did not mention though was Wayne.  He was my bus driver and we would spend the whole hour bus ride talking about all sorts of things everyday.  He went to my church and was a dear friend of the family.  His boys ran track and cross country at the same time as me so he was at every meet and I would listen for him to cheer as I ran by.  At the end he was a great big fatherly bear hug.  One year he even promised me a t-shirt if I met my goal.  I fell just short but he gave it to me anyway.  His wife said he bought it before the race.  Several years later he moved away and not on a happy note.  I always hoped maybe I'd see him again but he went to be with Jesus before that day came.  The following day was a year since we lost Aunt Pete in the accident.  

Don't wait to say, I love you!  Don't wait to say, I forgive you!  Don't wait because the family of God is a little peace of Heaven on earth that we need to treasure.
  

Just a couple old pictures I could find to spur you to your own memories.

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Christmas Parties

12/3/2012

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This week I found myself at a Christmas Party.  I would have much rather been anywhere but there, however, here I was sitting among a myriad of complete strangers.  I tried miserably to start a couple conversations but I couldn't find a connection to work off of so conversations fell on the floor like crumbs.  The open bar behind me was never empty and I couldn't wait to finish eating, listen for the winners of the door prizes and get out of there before anyone got too drunk.  Karaoke and dancing were not of any interest to me so the sooner we could get out of there the better.  Unfortunately, my plans were thwarted as they said the door prizes would be announced randomly throughout the evening.  Personally I really didn't care about the prizes but they were kind of an indicator of when you could politely leave.  So there I sat leaned up against my husband for warmth as I sipped my water and waited for the time to pass.

Eventually, toward the end of the night a man came over who obviously knew Marty.  His words were slurred with drunkenness as he went on to say some derogatory and untrue things about one of my children.  The mama bear in my wanted to rip my claws across his face or at least stuff a dirty sock in his mouth.  He went on proclaiming to love my child like his own.  Emotions I didn't know I was capable of rose up within me and I leaned a little harder on my husband who kept his arm around my shoulder.  Then to top it off he acknowledged that he knew we were Christians because he knew our child and he wanted to let us know he was a Christian, too.  Thankfully he decided to stumble away at that point or I'm not sure I could have kept biting my tongue.  At that point I no longer cared if it was polite or not, it was time to leave.  I fumed all the way home.  Marty just kept reminding me that he was drunk and to let it go.  I didn't want to.

The next morning scenes played over and over in my mind of people at the party.  They were dressed nicely.  No one was really mean or rude, even the man who set me off was trying to be "nice".  They all seemed to be having a good time singing and dancing.  Laughter could be heard throughout the room and even conversations were at times drowning out the music.  It was me who was out of place and it got me thinking.

What is it like for an unbeliever to feel obligated to go to a Christmas service at the church?  There everyone is dressed nicely and they are kind.  But is that where it ends for them just like the party should have ended for me?  As they look around at all the happy strangers do they feel unable to connect?  They here promises of "prizes" like peace and joy but they have to endure the whole services to get it.  People around them only compound their discomfort and desire to leave as they sing and dance to songs they don't know, either.  Well meaning people tell them how much they care about them all the while the unbeliever is thinking, "you have no idea what you are talking about, how dare you pretend to understand me."  By the end of service they've been told things that kind of got in there face and maybe it set them off so that as soon as the service is over they are ready to run for the car and get out of there, fuming all the way home.

Now before I'm misunderstood, I am NOT saying we shouldn't invite them to church or that we should stop having Christ centered services because it might make someone uncomfortable.  But I am pondering.  So many times especially at Christmas and Easter I hear people putting so much hope into a church service that they finally got their love one to agree to come to.  They think that somehow just by getting them in the door they will see what a wonderful time it is for us and they will want to be part of it, but I think more often than not the results are disappointing and maybe even discouraging as the unbeliever swears to never do that again.

I wonder, are we approaching this with a misguided mindset?  Just as I was totally uncomfortable and couldn't wait to flee from the party maybe unbelievers are just as uncomfortable in our services.  What if instead of hoping to get someone to church so they can hear a message - what if we lived a message?  What if at work when we were getting coffee, we met them where they are and shared our story?  What if as we sat next to them at the kids Winter Choir Concert we connected with them?  What if at the grocery store we offered a kind and understanding word when their child is out of sorts?  What if instead of working so hard to bring them into our comfort zone, we worked just as hard to be the light in their comfort zone?  What if instead of begging them to come to our party we begged God to soften their hearts and show us how to go to them? 

The following Sunday our pastor shared about Christmas from the angels’ perspective.  He talked about what a great privilege it must have been to tell Mary and Joseph of what God was going to do.  He told rather convincingly of how the angels must have been on the edge of Heaven waiting to proclaim the good news of what God had done through the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.  Do we consider it a privilege to share of what God has done in our lives?  Do we wait eagerly for those times when we will have the opportunity to share our story which is really His story?  Do we live our lives in such a way that our story reflects our Savior?  It is so easy to get caught up in the cares of this world and become unfruitful as we take care of this and that but it is all in vain if we do not live a life that brings glory to Him.  He asked us to go and tell.  Why are we so afraid?  It is simply the story that He is writing that we have to share.  He didn't say beat them over the head or bully them into believing.  He didn't even say we had to convince them into believing he simply said to go and tell His story.  A witness in a trial has only to tell what they saw.  It is not their job to convince anyone of anything, they simply tell their story.  The convincing is up to the lawyers and the judgment is up to the judge.  We are simply the witnesses.  Are we telling His story with gladness?  Are we living His story with integrity before him so that our story is something others will want to hear?

This Christmas I am going to think a little more outside the box.  I will look for ways to meet people where they are and tell them His story.  After all isn't that what this season is all about - Jesus coming to meet us where we are?

Dear Lord,

I pray for all my friends who read this blog.  Would you help us all to live Your story with integrity and share it in love with our neighbors right where they are.  Give us the boldness we need to do whatever You put on each of our hearts to do.  I pray that you would prepare the hearts of the people we would share with and that you would bring the right people into our paths who will be able to relate to each of our unique stories and that we would point them to You. 
In Jesus name,
Amen.

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Marty's Mom came over and helped us add some Christmas lights to the house. It's amazing how much time it takes for that little bit. I like it though.
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