Tenth Anniversary Of Accident

Anniversary is usually a happy word.  Perhaps today isn't as much of an Anniversary as it a Memorial?  Ten years ago today a man chose to get behind the wheel of a car drunk and in his impaired judgment got on the 75 freeway in Dallas, Texas going south on the north bound lane. As you can see in this picture, that wasn't an easy feat, as it has a barrier down the middle, walls on each side and you would have to enter totally on the wrong side, not just cross over a median.

 It was 10:00 P.M., so it was dark, but still incomprehensible how this could happen, except it shows how impaired one can be when drunk behind the wheel.  He was driving a Ford F-150, I was in a Honda Accord.

My legs were crushed and I had several broken ribs.  Fortunately, no head injuries.  I spent 3 weeks in a medically induced coma and 6 months in rehab.

 Then there were another 2 years of surgeries and recoveries before life became my "new normal".

The scars tell the story.

 All those memories do come flooding back today.  But I thought in honor of the day I would list 10 positive things that came out of that day.

1. Where my accident happened was a blessing.  If it had been a mile further up the freeway or a mile behind, I would have been taken to another hospital.  As it was I was taken to Baylor hospital where it just so happened the premier trauma surgeon in Dallas just happened to be on call?  Any other hospital and it was fairly certain that my leg would have been amputated.  So while I may question at times why God didn't prevent my accident, I know that He couldn't control someone else's poor decision to drive drunk and I thank Him for making sure I would get the best help.  I am also thankful for the unknown angels that stopped and talked with me until the emergency workers could get there. They also called Steve and my mom to let them know what had happened.  I don't know who they were so I just call them my angels.

2.  I can honestly say through rehab and my recovery that "Never Once Did I Ever Walk Alone".  I could not have done it without the thousands of prayers that were going up for me.  God gave me the strength I needed for each step of the way.  I am forever thankful!

3.  I have been blessed with the most amazing caretaker ever!  My husband Steve sacrificed/sacrifices so much for me each and every day.  From bathing and putting lotion on me, to cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, taking me to doctor appointments, therapy appointments, giving me shots, hooking up IV's, etc. etc.  Then what Steve couldn't do my mother supplemented.  When Steve had to return to work, she stayed with me and took me to appointments, also cleaned my house, cooked and took great care of me!  All the while, my father was ill and she was caring for him too.

4.  I am thankful for my family. Brothers, Sisters, Aunts, Uncles, Cousins (my grandparents were deceased) who though they didn't live in the Dallas area, all came to visit and then stayed in touch throughout my recovery.  Long before the days when Facebook makes it a little easier :-)

5.  My church family was absolutely AMAZING!  Where do I begin?  First of all the Church Administrator at the time knew to file this as a Workmen's Compensation case because I was coming home after being with a child in my ministry at the hospital.  It has meant Steve and I have not paid one penny of any of the expenses over the years!  Then my church elders committed to pay my a full salary, even though WC was paying 80%.  They bought me a laptop computer so that I could keep up with communications at home.  I had a Children's Ministry team that stepped up to the plate and covered all the basis so that the children/families would continue to have opportunities to learn and serve the Lord together.  The many visits, calls, cards and prayers were the best medicine possible. Ten years later and my heart is still touched by Bob Legan, who called and prayed for me every Tuesday afternoon on the phone.  For Bill Thoma who fasted and prayed every Saturday for 6 months! For Matalee Heflin, who at the age of 3, would call and sing songs for me over the phone. For my Supper Club friends who decorated my house for Christmas.  And too many more to list here.

6.  I am thankful for the skills and talents that God blessed Dr. Paul Freudigman with.  He didn't necessarily recognize they were from God.  But I thank God for the wisdom he had in using a Russian technique called and Illizarov Frame to save my leg.  Yes, I had to wear it two different times to get complete healing, but I am blessed with two legs and not living life in  a wheelchair.  Dr. F. did not have the best bedside manner, so I am also thankful for his assistant, Robin, who provided a more tender touch.  I have to admit, somewhere along the way in my 2 year treatment, Dr. Freudigman softened and would actually pat me on the shoulder :-)  I am thankful for all the nurses, and rehab staff that took such great care of me!

7.  I am actually thankful for rehab itself.  Sometimes it just takes putting things in perspective.  There were so many in rehab that were in far worse shape than I was.  My original roommate (before I got moved to a private room) had a head injury from being t-boned in an accident and they had to keep her in a caged bed because she was so irrational.  I made a friend named Mary who lost her battle to keep her leg and had to have it amputated.  There was a father of four (don't remember his name) whose children would come to visit him and he could not speak to them because he had had a stroke in his 30's, nor could he hug them because he did not have use of his arms.  The therapists were gentle but persistent in pushing me to do things I didn't think I could do, but were needed in order for me to gain strength and recover.  I wish I remembered all of their names. But thankful that there are people who feel called to be be therapist and the work that they do!

8.  I am thankful for contemporary Christian music!  And thankful for CD players and headphones.  Again no Ipod's ten years ago...isn't that amazing?  But the music would soothe my soul and the lyrics would help me to worship God in the midst of the storm.  I especially listened over and over to the CD my children's ministry friends made me.  At the time I was a part of a Children's Ministry Network of other children's ministers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area and we would meet once a month to "pick each other's brains" and for fellowship.  They became wonderful friends.  They got together and each contributed their favorite song and put them on a CD for me and then wrote a description of why that song was important to them.  It was a priceless treasure!

9.  I am thankful for Church Mutual my workman's compensation insurance, who has really taken very good care of me!  From the get go they have given me everything I have needed to have the best quality of life.  They remodeled our house and made it handicap friendly.  Tearing up carpet and putting in wood floors so a wheel chair would be easily managed.  They remodeled the master bath so that I would have a walk in shower and be able to use my wheelchair at the vanity and toilet.  They would have remodeled the kitchen, making cabinets lower, but I didn't think that was necessary.  They put rails on my pool so that I could do water therapy.  They provided a power chair so that once I returned to work I could get around the halls of the church building easier than a wheel chair. They even offered to buy us a new van to transport the chair, but thinking I wouldn't be incapacitated that long, we denied that too (maybe our only regret).

10.  I could probably keep listing things, but I said 10 for 10 years, so here we go.  It is hard to believe in about 3 weeks we will have lived in Colorado for 5 years!!  I am pretty sure if the accident had not happened we would not be here.  For too many reasons to list here, the best being Steve and I both retired, we did choose to move to be closer to my family in Denver.  Again God has blessed me with a wonderful church family.  It is hard to hide from them my immobility as most Sundays, I am on a walker.  There isn't a time that I with them that someone isn't asking me how I am doing.  Someone is always telling me they are praying for me.  They pray that my pain will subside.  Without surgery, that doesn't seem to be in God's plan for me.  Does that get discouraging?  Yes, it does.  But I remind myself that the apostle Paul (who had a much deeper relationship with God than I do) prayed several times that his thorn in the flesh be removed, and it wasn't.  God told him "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Paul then says, "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  I cannot do less.

I thank God for each of these 10 and so much more!  May I continue to surrender to His control and I pray that He will continue to use me in His Kingdom for His glory.

Be Holy As I Am Holy

This year in Bible Study Fellowship we are studying the Life of Moses, which encompasses the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.  Have you read them lately?  They are difficult books to read because of all the laws and regulations in them.  One thing that has become increasingly clear is that God spent a lot of time spelling out to the Israelite's what He would consider to be clean and unclean behaviors that would separate them from the nations around them.  Then He spent considerable time providing explanations of the sacrifices that would need to be made when the Israelite's participated in the unclean and through those sacrifices they would once again be clean in the eyes of God.

When the Israelite's just out right rebelled against God and wouldn't repent, they met God's wrath and He would destroy them.  At times I caught myself asking how can that God of wrath be the same God of grace?  And yet there are several times where Moses intercedes for the people or even more of them would have been struck down dead which shows the compassionate side of God.

We are blessed to live on this side of the cross where if we accept Jesus as our Savior and are buried with Him in baptism, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit and grace from then to eternity covers a multitude of our sins.  The definition of grace according to Miriam Webster is " unmerited divine assistance given humans for their regeneration or sanctification".  According to Wikipedia grace is "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it."  Ephesians 2:8-9 "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast."  So yes grace is a gift and it covers a multitude of my sins.  I no longer have to offer an animal sacrifice and bring it to a priest to present to the Lord for me.  Jesus died once and for all that his blood would forever cleanse me for all my sin.  Hebrews 10:10 "...We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all."

What has caught my attention in the Moses study is how often I have misused God's grace.  It it a gift, but does it mean I just live life the way I want and expect grace to cover me? 2 Timothy 1:9 says I have been called to a holy life, "He has saved us and called us to a holy life, not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace."  I was called to a holy life!  What does that mean?  Miriam Webster defines it as: "exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness." I Peter 1:15-16 says "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all that you do, for it is written 'be holy because I am holy.'"

I confess that I have spent much more time walking the line of how close to the edge can I get and not sin than how close can I walk to holiness.  I have way too often allowed myself to be polluted by the things of the world instead of aiming for holiness.  The area where I struggle the most is entertainment.  I enjoy movies especially and I spend quite a bit of time watching television.  Sometimes pride sets in as I think what I am watching isn't as bad as it could be.  But can I say what I am watching is moving me closer to holiness?  Recently I was having a conversation with someone about the movie "American Sniper" and they were telling me how great of a movie it was.  I said "I couldn't go see it since I read it had the "f" word in it 100+ times as well as other language.  They replied "oh, that is just the way they talk in the Service".  I was struck by the fact that in 1939 one word, the word "damn" was considered an outrage in a movie and in 2015, the foulest word said 100 times doesn't cause us to blink?  And don't even get me started on "50 Shades Of Gray" and how what we do in our private bedrooms is our business??  See I can start looking at others and think that I am doing a pretty good job but if I turn my comparisons to God and how holy am I living it is an entirely different equation.  Romans 6:1 "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound?  By no means!"

I am thankful that I am not under the law and I am under grace, but I hope I will remember that grace was costly.  It cost Jesus his life.  I pray that more and more I can make decisions that will move me toward holiness and not compromise.

EVEN IF

I was listening to this song today and was wondering if I could really say with conviction what the lyrics say?

Sometimes all we have to hold on to

Is what we know is true of who You are

So when the heartache hits like a hurricane

That could never change who You are

And we trust in who You are

Even if the healing doesn’t come

And life falls apart

And dreams are still undone

You are God You are good

Forever faithful One

Even if the healing

Even if the healing doesn’t come

Lord we know Your ways are not our ways

So we set our faith in who You are

Even though You reign high above us

You tenderly love us

We know Your heart

And we rest in who You are

Even if the healing doesn’t come

And life falls apart

And dreams are still undone

You are God You are good

Forever faithful One

Even if the healing

Even if the healing doesn’t come

You’re still the Great and Mighty One

We trust You always

You’re working all things for our good

We’ll sing your praise

I would like to think I could say these lyrics with conviction, but I am not sure.  I really struggle from time to time with the God who can do anything and chooses not to.  It's not that it has to be my way, it's just that I don't like to see people suffering with no end in sight.  I have a friend whose daughter married a man who already had a child with autism.  She adopted his child and then when they divorced she shares custody.  However the boy is now 17 and the father seldom keeps his dates of shared custody.  This boy has become increasingly violent and has been attacking his mother as well as some other behavioral issues.  We have been praying for quite a while for calmness for the boy and that a residential treatment center would become available for him.  There doesn't seem to be any improvements or end in sight.  I have another friend who the list of things that have gone wrong in her life are way too many to list here.  It would be enough that she has a 14 year old daughter that has never spoken, never walked and is on a ventilator and requires 24 hour nursing care.  One simple prayer request that goes answered is that she have consistent nurses show up for their shifts, but quite frequently my friend gets the call that no nurses are available.  Those are just two examples of when I say "God why wouldn't this be in your will, or why wouldn't you do this?"  I know God is God and I am not.  But the question, when these situations and others go on do I praise Him anyway?  Does my faith remain strong?  Can I say "I know your heart and I rest in who you are"?

And then as all these thoughts are going through my mind another song comes on and it resonated with my heart as well.

Well, everybody's got a story to tell

And everybody's got a wound to be healed

I want to believe there's beauty here

'Cause oh, I get so tired of holding on

I can't let go, I can't move on

I want to believe there's meaning here

How many times have you heard me cry out

"God please take this"?

How many times have you given me strength to

Just keep breathing?

Oh I need you

God, I need you now.

Standing on a road I didn't plan

Wondering how I got to where I am

I'm trying to hear that still small voice

I'm trying to hear above the noise

How many times have you heard me cry out

"God please take this"?

How many times have you given me strength to

Just keep breathing?

Oh I need you

God, I need you now.

Though I walk,

Though I walk through the shadows

And I, I am so afraid

Please stay, please stay right beside me

With every single step I take

How many times have you heard me cry out?

And how many times have you given me strength?

How many times have you heard me cry out

"God please take this"?

How many times have you given me strength to

Just keep breathing?

Oh I need you

God, I need you now.

I am thankful that I have a God that allows me to question.  A God who doesn't punish me for having faith that doubts at times.  A God who allows me to ask "why"?  And yet at the end of the day, I have no choice but to trust in God's goodness and His promises.  His ways are not my ways and He has the big picture and I do not.  So I continue to cry out as I have blogged before "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief".

25 Year Anniversary Of Our Engagment

25 years ago today my sweet Steve asked if I would marry him.  I wish that I had pictures to share of that day but they are buried in a box down in the crawl space somewhere and I don't want to make Steve go find them.  But since I really haven't blogged about that day before, I thought I would today.

Our family was getting together for a reunion in Denver and Steve was going to come meet them all, and was going to ask my father for my hand in marriage.  Since my sister lived in base housing, it was rather crowded, so Steve had arranged with them to propose to me out in the camper, parked in the front of their yard. Steve had bought flowers and had music playing (don't remember what).  He was just getting ready to propose when we heard someone coming in the door and then my sister yell "Mel, get back here!" Her husband, didn't know we were in the trailer at that moment.

When Steve proposed to me he read Ephesians 5:21-33:

"21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing[b] her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”[c] 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."

Steve then told me that he promised he would do his best to love me the way that Christ loved the church and gave His life up for the church if I would marry him.  Who could say "no" to a promise like that?  I was 35 and Steve was 36 when we got engaged, so we had both waited a long time to be blessed by God with our life partner.  I had determined that I would not marry anyone who was not a Christian.  But Steve far surpassed that expectation.  He has made me a better person.  His love for the Word of God has challenged me.  He is much more disciplined in spending time there than I am.  But I think God has used me to move Steve from head knowledge for a more emotional response to God.

We often tell people that we really don't know how our marriage works because we are so opposite of one another.  We really have very little in common.  One time we took a marriage course and it included a survey that would show us what we have in common.  We discovered we had the enjoyment of boating in common only to rent a boat and find out that Steve drives rather cautious and I like to go really fast :-)  We do enjoy sitting together each night and playing Wheel Of Fortune.  I would say also Jeopardy, but I cannot compete with Steve in Jeopardy.  He is far more intelligent than I am!  But our marriage works because the one thing we do have in common is the most important thing of all...our love for God.  We realize that we are here as servants of His.  My greatest joy is in pleasing God by serving Steve and He reciprocates by serving me.  He is actually better at putting his needs aside for me than I am for him, but because he is so good at it, I try much harder to do the same.

During our 25 years, Steve and I have had some hard times.  Two years into our marriage we were excited to be pregnant.  Steve named our baby Pat, because that could be a boy or a girl.  Shortly after our first trimester we lost Pat and Steve almost lost me as my blood pressure dropped so low they had to turn me upside down.  We were not able to get pregnant again because I had endometriosis and that caused a diseased ovary and tube.  They removed my right tube and left ovary and told us they were going to keep in place for God to do what only He can do (an opposite ovary and tube).  It wasn't impossible to get pregnant but improbable.  We didn't get pregnant and in 2003 I got uterine cancer and then had to have a complete hysterectomy.  Steve was my strength during these difficult times, but it wasn't till my accident in 2005 did I realize the depth of his love for me and the strength I would get from him.  When your husband wipes your bottom after using a bed pan, your relationship is put on a whole different level you have never imagined.  Helping me in and out of a wheel chair, pushing that chair to his own exhaustion.  He took on all the housekeeping chores and to this day he still does our laundry and helps with the dishes, vacuuming, cleaning the bathrooms and so much more.  Never complaining.  Then Steve brags all the time at what a great cook that I am.  He thanks me for meals even when I burn them :-)  He is willing to eat left overs.  I am not a recipe cook, I am a simple cook.  Things like meatloaf, pot pie, pot roast, spaghetti, crockpot chicken, but Steve is just always appreciative.

I would say that my favorite thing to do with Steve is pray with him.  We haven't always had a time of intentional prayer together, although he has always prayed for our meals.  But for the last 8 months we reinitiated a specific prayer and devotional time together and it has been a blessing.  Today I am thanking God for 25 years of faithful vow keeping and commitment from my husband.  In a few months we will celebrate the actual 25th anniversary of our vows and he has planned a surprise trip.  I look forward then to blogging more about marriage memories and what the surprise was.

Father God, thank You for the blessing of giving me the most wonderful husband for me.  Thank You that in 25 years I can honestly say that he has never not once kept his commitment to love me with the love of Jesus.  I do not take that for granted, for it is an amazing blessing!!  Thank You for the way You have transformed Him into Your image and thank You for allowing us to have these 25 years together.  I would love having the gift of 25 more with Him, but if You take one of us home before then, I thank You for the certainty that we will spend eternity together with You.  Thank You Father!

Motherly love

Yesterday, while Steve and I were eating lunch, we were entertained by our mother Robin feeding her three babies.  Mrs. Robinson (as we call her) would bring her babies something to eat and their heads would pop up out of the nest, beaks wide open and they would start chirping away, eager to accept whatever she brought them.  She would leave and then come back and it would start all over again.  I asked Steve, "do you think she does that from love or just by instinct?".   I don't know if all animals have the ability to feel emotions or not?  I know my Mother's dog, Yoshi, does.  He knows when you are not happy with him and he cowers, or he is so excited when you return home and jumps up on you or licks.

My main point is the animal instinct does cause the robin or other animals to care for their babies.  So why is it the one creation that for sure has emotions, intellect and instinct so often do not take care of their babies?  I have often wondered why people who would make wonderful parents cannot have children and then those who don't want children (abortion) and even more so those that would abuse their children have multiple?  There is only one explanation, the presence of evil in our world.  People who allow Satan to speak lies into their hearts.  They see children as objects and not the people that they are.  Animals cannot be tempted to do wrong, only humans are susceptible to temptation.  Therefore Satan convinces adults to put their own selfish needs first.  He tells them to ignore the fact that their children were given to them as a gift from God, who entrusted those children into their care.  He has a plan for each and every one of them.  His plan does not include the abuse that they will be subjected to and yet because of the free will of their parents, those children will be subjected to the evil of the world.  Such a hard reality to explain.  Yet, God can redeem it all and I am thankful that he has for so many and in the end He will for all.

Job 19:25-"I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the end He will stand on earth."

2 Corinthians 5:10-" For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad."

My Hope

After my father went to Heaven in 2010, I bought a ring with the word "hope" engraved 1on it, because I did not want to forget that my hope is in the Lord and in the fact that He has promised me a home in Heaven and a reunion with my earthly Father one day.  I am thankful for all the reminders in scripture (here are just a few):

Psalm 33:20-We wait in hope for the Lord, he is our help and our shield.

Psalm 147:11-the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Psalm 146:5-Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God.

Lamentations 3:25- The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.

1 Peter 1:3-Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

Also glad for the reminders in Song:

Thank You God that you did not leave us here hopeless, but that You are our Hope!!

He's Always Been Faithful

Sometimes you just have to post the lyrics of a song, because you don't want to forget the truths.

Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God's hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him, amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can't remember one single regret
In serving God only, and trusting His hand
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me

This is my anthem, this is my song
The theme of the stories I've heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of, His hand will provide
He's always been faithful, He's always been faithful
He's always been faithful to me

Thinking About My Party

It is inevitable.  When someone you know dies, it causes you to once again look at your own immortality.  For the most part most of us live each day never thinking that it could be our last.  Yet the reality is, at any moment our life can end.  Just recently ask the families of Malaysian Flight 370, or the families at Fort Hood, or the families of the 10 California students burned to death in a fiery bus crash, or the family of Hope Evans who had no warning that when they went to bed Friday night, Hope would not wake up Saturday morning.
Death is part of life.  Yet we forget.  We assume is going to happen to someone else, not us.

Everyone grieves in a different way, but I tend to look at death as a time to celebrate, not grieve.  Sure I grieve that I will no longer see someone in this life.  I won't hear their voice, I won't feel their hug.  But when that person loves God with all their heart, and has spent their life serving Jesus then I celebrate, because I know all they did is cross over from this life into another.  There really is no death, there is only life.  We live our whole lives with faith in Jesus but at death it no longer takes faith, there He is.  And what is really amazing?  We are now like Him! "Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lies and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?'"John 11:25-26

"For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.  Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,  because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.  Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord.  For we live by faith, not by sight.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.  So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:1-10

Such amazing promises for us to remind ourselves of, especially at times like these.  So should I mourn and grieve like those that have no hope?  Absolutely not. "Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.  Therefore encourage one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

You might need to read that again.  Those that die first get to appear with Jesus first!!  That will be one amazing day!  So, I have told Steve, when it is my time to go home, I want a party.  I want people celebrating because I will be with the Lord and He and I will be having a party, so everyone should have one here as well. You may say "but Lynn, Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazareth". Yes, He did, but I think His reasons were much different than ours. It wasn't because Lazarus wouldn't be there for Him, it was out of compassion for the grief of Mary and Martha.  He knew they could not understand His resurrection power and neither do we.  If we truly understood it, we would rejoice in the fact that the person we love is enjoying life to the Nth degree.  There is nothing better, and why would we not want that?

If this is not you, that is okay.  Everyone's grief is their own and everyone's eternal perspective is their own.  But I just wanted to go on record and say this today, because I may not have tomorrow and if I hadn't told you all I wanted a party, I may not get one on earth, which would be disappointing, but for sure there will be one in heaven! “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” Psalm 30:5 "And when that morning comes, 'death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore'” Revelation 21:4  HALLELUJAH!!

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

Today is the anniversary of my 2005 accident.  It has been nine years since a drunk driver altered my life forever.  I have blogged about different aspects of the accident over the years.  There isn't an April 10th that goes by that I don't relive that day.  It isn't a bad thing and I don't spend time thinking about the pain, but try to focus on the victories that came with God's help.  

Recently, I have been participating in a Bible study called "The Disciples Prayer Life".  A very rich study on the different aspects of prayer.  In the chapter about giving thanks in prayer there is a section on the different biblical characters that built altars as a way to express their thanksgiving to God.  In 1 Samuel 7 the altar that Samuel builds is called an Ebenezer.The prophet Samuel and the Israelites found themselves under attack by the Philistines. Fearing for their lives, the Israelites begged Samuel to pray for them in their impending battle against the Philistines. Samuel offered a sacrifice to God and prayed for His protection. God listened to Samuel, causing the Philistines to lose the battle and retreat back to their own territory. After the Israelite victory, the Bible records:  “Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen, and called its name Ebenezer, saying, ‘Thus far the Lord has helped us’ ” (1 Samuel 7:12). The word Ebenezer comes from the Hebrew words ’Eben hà-ezer (eh’-ben haw-e’-zer),which simply mean “stone of help”. 

I have been thinking about my own Ebenezer and what it could be for the help that God gave me in coming through the trauma of my accident.  Perhaps it is my scars?  I was left with a very deformed left leg, with many scars that don't fade or go away.  I keep them covered.  I feel uncomfortable in any clothes that reveal my leg.  But perhaps instead of being ashamed, I should wear the scars with pride because they are a symbol of God's intervention.  They said the way my leg broke that it was a near amputation.  Then after about 6 months of healing, I got a bone infection.  I was given the choice of an amputation or going through a very painful process with an Ilizarov frame.

I chose the frame.  I wore it for nine months and then a month after getting it off, my bone started going crooked and I again was faced with the choice of amputation or wearing the frame again.  I wore it another nine months.  Today, seven years later, I have a leg. Not a pretty leg, but a leg none the less.  So instead of looking at the scars and being ashamed what if I would consider them my Ebenezer and see them as proof of God's help.  He gave me the strength to fight and today continues to give me that strength.  Even though He saved my leg, I do walk with significant pain.  I could get depressed about the pain, but I choose to thank God that I can walk and I am not confined to a wheel chair.  I can drive.  I could be so much more limited. So I thank God for giving me the strength for each new day.  Sure I didn't build my Ebenezer in an altar sort of way, but I did choose to go through the painful process in hopes that God would heal and he did.  So now when I look at my scars I will say "thank you  God for your help".  I would love to hear about your Ebenezer and how it reminds you of a time when God was your help.

Saying Goodbye to 2013 and Hello to 2014

Whenever one year ends and another begins I find myself being contemplative.  What did I actually accomplish in this year and what would I like to accomplish in the next.  I don't really believe in New Year resolutions, perhaps because I know how undisciplined I am and how unlikely I am to actually succeed in completing any resolutions.  But I think the real reason is I am better at short term goals.

I have been seeing different people on my Facebook feed say they were picking a word for the year.  If I look back on 2013, I think my word was "thankfulness".  Ever since I read Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts, this past summer, I have made a concerted effort to count my blessings and to put  I Thessalonians 5:18 into practice "In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you".

I have asked myself is it really possible to give thanks in all things?  And the answer is "yes, yes it is".  It all comes down to determined focus.  Even if I have to say "God I don't know how to thank You for this, but I am giving it to You and saying thanks that I can trust you to take it and do with it what You will."  Thanking God for all things requires trusting God.  Reminding myself, that He is God and I AM NOT!!  Truly trusting that when Romans 8:28 says "ALL things work together for good for those that love God..." that I can trust that whatever it is I am going through He has it in His control and for His purposes, so therefore I can give thanks for that.  

Since I have begun trying to practice giving thanks more, I have noticed that I am so much more at peace.  I no longer feel like I have to fix everything.  God can do so much of a better job than I can.  I have also found I am more content.  It takes a lot more energy to be negative than positive.  While negativity drains me of energy, thankfulness actually lifts my spirit and gives me energy.

I hope I do not forget the lessons I am learning.  It is easy to fall back into old practices.  But I find if I say when I put my feet on the floor "Lord, please give me a thankful Spirit this day", it definitely helps!

So now on to 2014.  I think the word that God has given me for this year is "DWELL".  According to Meirriam Webster this is the definition of "dwell":
          1 a:  to remain for a time
          2 a: to live as a resident
       3 a: to keep the attention directed

I then did a search on dwell on Biblegateway.com and these three verses stood out to me:

Psalm 61:4  I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.  

Psalm 84:4  Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

Psalm 91:1  Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the                              Almighty.

So I want to dwell more in the presence of my Lord.  I want to be eager about spending time with Him.  I am eager to see what Facebook updates, or emails I get in a day, shouldn't I be ever so much more eager to hear from my Father?  Sometimes I think my time with Him is more of a "I should" than a desire to just dwell.  Over the Christmas season Steve and I celebrated Advent for the first time and it was such a blessing to have a determined time set everyday that we shared time with readings about our Savior and then time praying together.  We need to determine to continue to do that even though the season is over. 

So if you are reading this and consider me a friend, would you please check in with me from time to time and ask me how I am doing at DWELLING?  Even greater would be if you actually saw a change in my life because of my DWELLING!

Another Year, Another Halloween

Some of you have been reading my blog for awhile and it is no secret that Halloween is not my favorite day. There is so much focus on death and gore.  The elements of darkness are everywhere.  I watch as many fellow church members dress up as witches, vampires, even satan himself!  I cringe.  There are so many costume alternatives so why would those that love God dress up in things that are totally against God?  A vampire is actually repelled by the cross!  So every year I struggle with this day.  But this year I made a decision to try and look at it differently.  First of all, I ran the popcorn machine at our Fall Festival.  Yes there were 3 witches and 1 girl dressed as satan, that I served popcorn to but there was 100 other children that were just cute.  I have to confess that I don't understand when churches have "safe" alternatives for children, like Fall Festivals or Trunk or Treats, why they don't actually have them on Halloween?  Do children really need two different days of gathering loads of candy?  Perhaps when we do that we could encourage the children to enjoy gathering the candy but then donating it to the Troops or something?

Okay, so on to today.  A couple of years ago I read a great article (I wish I could remember who to give credit to) about using Halloween as an outreach.  Being intentional about being a light on a dark night.  I remember in particular the idea about ministering to parents, with bottles of water or the like.  Actually sitting out on your porch where you could visit with neighbors.  It is the one day of the year the my neighbors will actually come to my house.  So this year I decided that is what I would do.  Unfortunately, it was too cold and windy to stay on the porch (I lasted 5 minutes).  But I left my front door open so it would be obvious I was receiving guests.  To the children's candy I attached a mini book called the pumpkin prayer that I found here http://www.christianpreschoolprintables.com/files/Minibooks/PumpkinPrayer.pdf, and for the adults I went to Costco and bought big Twix and attached this prayer to their candy bar.  "Tonight is all about kids, but we wanted to let you as a parent know that we are praying for you!  It takes a lot of wisdom to raise children to be good, responsible  individuals these days.  James 1:5 (in the Bible) states if anyone lacks wisdom, that he can ask God, who gives to all generously.  May the Lord bless you with all you need to train your child in the right ways.  May the Lord bless your family with health and happiness.  As your neighbors, if there are ever any specific prayer requests you would like us to offer on your behalf, just email us at lynnleaming@gmail.com and we will be glad to do that.  May the Lord bless you and your children with a safe night tonight!" 

 

Many of the parents thanked me for thinking of them.  I was able to tell children, "take this to your parent since they were so good to bring you out Trick or Treating."  The other thing parents appreciated was me asking if their child had peanut allergies since we were passing out Pnut M&M's (we also had Twizzlers).

Amazingly, not one child did.

Bottom line.  I really enjoyed tonight.  And amazingly, not one witch or vampire or satan came to my door.  Yes I did have a couple of grim reapers, but I also had a nun :-)

So hopefully I will hear from some parents and have the blessing of praying for them in the future.  Next year I have decided I will hand out hot chocolate.  Halloween tends to be on the cold side in Colorado :-)

My Journey With 1,000 Gifts

This summer I was in a Women's Bible Study where we used Ann Voskamp's book, 1,000 Gifts to learn more about what it might mean to live lives that are reflective of "giving thanks in All things". I don't know how many Bible studies I have done over the years, but this study by far challenged me and transformed me more than any other.




Let me start by going back a few years, probably about 5. I have a friend, Karla, who often gets messages from God, because she spends a great deal of time listening to Him. We were at a Ladies Retreat which was a silent retreat, where for most of the time, we all spent time with the Lord by ourselves and then we we come back into a large group and describe what that experience was like and if we wanted to what God spoke to us. That day, Karla was given several names for different women and she told me that the Lord told her my name is "Joy". I found this very surprising because one of the things I constantly have to fight in my flesh is a critical spirit. I am definitely more of a glass "half empty" type of personality. But since that time I have often thought about the message from Karla. Later she gave me a Christmas ornament with Joy engraved on it, and it hangs from a lamp near my chair as a constant reminder.




All the while, the Holy Spirit has put the desire on my heart to be less critical and more joyful. Small steps. Then I had a friend here in the Springs tell me about 1,000 gifts and how much it changed her life. I had not read the book, but just stepped out in faith that it would make a good Wednesday Night study for our ladies.

Ann Voskamp is a mother of six and she and her husband are pig farmers (600 pigs + babies) in Canada. She starts out the book telling the story of when she was 4 years old, her 18 month old sister was crushed on the road in front of their farm by a delivery truck, who did not see her. She shares the effects that event had on her and her family. Ann's mother ended up in an institution for a time and Ann had times of cutting herself, to becoming an Agoraphobic. Several years ago a friend challenged her to find 1,000 things to be thankful for. She began to blog as a way to keep herself accountable for counting and somewhere along that journey, 2 editors came across her blog and offered her a book deal.




What is it about the book that changed me? Well, that will be what I blogging about for a couple of posts.

There are two scriptures that Ann brings to our attention, I Thessalonians 5:18-"In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you", and Philippians 4:4-"Rejoice in the Lord, always, again I say rejoice." I think the two words in those verses that everyone balks at are "everything" and "always". How is it possible to give thanks in everything, or as other versions say ALL things? And how can we always rejoice? And even if we could why would we rejoice in death, or in a cancer diagnosis or a DWI accident that leaves you in a coma for three weeks and rehab for 2 years OR______________ (you fill in the blank)?




It is our choice. In another book I just finished, Choose Joy by Kay Warren, Kay agrees with Ann that we have the choice whether we will be thankful or not. If we are not joyful in a situation, it is because we chose not to choose joy. Is that possible? I beginning to believe it is, but like anything else that I find difficult, it requires discipline, which I am usually in short supply of. But I think that Colossians 3:2 holds the key, "set your mind on things above". Whenever I am feeling down or having a pity party, it is usually because I am focused on myself, definitely not on God. I also find comfort in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18-"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." The best way for me to choose joy is to have an eternal perspective.


On my next post I will describe how I am in the process of developing that eternal perspective.

Is The Church About Me?

James 1:27


"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world."





Lately there have been a lot of blog posts and Facebook status' on why younger people are leaving the church. One article will say we need better media, another article will say we need to use women more in leadership roles, another states that millennials are more interested in social justice and authenticity, or if the church just showed more compassion toward the homosexual, lesbian, and transgenders, our churches would be overflowing with young people.






Finding fault with the church is not new. Citing what the church is not doing correctly is not new. Every generation has wanted to change something about the church. But why is it now that the church is declining? In my opinion, and this is just my opinion, it is because we have become more and more a "what about me?" society. I have the right to have my needs met, and I am not really concerned about your needs. When you look at our grandparents, they were a part of a generation that needed each other to survive. Families lived close in proximity to each other and helped each other out. My success did not really matter if you weren't also succeeding. There were shared resources. They did not live by the motto "how much can I get" but "how less can I get by on". Today the prevailing thought is "I deserve". I want it and I want it now is the outcry. How many of us drive a car that is more than five years old? They can't create a new IPhone fast enough to replace the one I just got a couple of months ago. Look at the size of televisions. No longer are Big Screen TV's enough but there must be media rooms with sub woofers and 3D television to satisfy. You get my point. I could go on and on.






So what does this all have to do with church? Basically, what I am reading about why so many are leaving the church has the underlying message of "if church isn't what I think it should be then I just don't need to go." After all, I can worship God anywhere and the church is full of hypocrites, so God understands why I don't go. The problem is, by it's very design, church was never meant to be about "me". The church has always been about Jesus. Once again, it is just my opinion, but the questions I think we should be asking is how can you and I serve Jesus together? "If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet." John 13:14 What can I do to help you know Jesus better and how can you help me draw closer to Him? How can we be the church that Jesus told us to be and cause the community to be drawn to us because we are known by our love? "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:35






Going back to the James 1:27 verse I posted at the beginning of this blog post, what are the things that God says make up religion? Taking care of the widows and orphans and keeping ourselves unstained from the world. How am I doing in that arena? How about you? How do those things have anything to do with whether I as as a woman am empowered and allowed to serve communion or read a scripture, pray,etc.? It isn't the LGBT population that should be getting my attention but the widows and orphans. Don't misunderstand me, I think the church definitely needs to create a loving and safe place for all sinners, but when is the last time I visited one of my elderly brothers or sisters and asked them what they needed? How does what God is asking me to do have anything to do with whether I like to sing traditional hymns or modern worship songs?






What if we took Romans 12:10 to heart? " Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor." Would the conversation go something like this? "What can I do for you?" "Oh please, the important question is, what can I do for you?" "No, no, I insist please let me serve you"..... If I am trying to outdo you in showing honor how is there room for "me"?






So when I read a post from someone about why they have given up on church or what is wrong with church, etc. I don't know what to do but pray for them. I pray that God will speak Truth into their hearts and they will see that God wants us to encourage one another, not tear the church down. I Thessalonians 5:10-11 "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up..." I don't stay away from church because my needs are not being met, I come beside you and do whatever it takes to build you up and encourage you. We serve together, side by side. Who get's the glory? God does, not you, not me. Perhaps, you will say that I am an idealist. Maybe so. But since it is all about God and not about me, I will trust that He will equip me to do what He has asked me to do. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."






Do we have any idea at how many Christians are dying every day for their faith? All the while those of us that live in the freest country in the world, sit and squabble about things that don't even make a kingdom difference. Do we really think God is up in heaven concerned about who leads a prayer versus who is advocating to bring an end to human trafficking? Perhaps we should reread Matthew 25:34-46 "Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’


“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’


“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”






And I cry out "Lord, forgive us. Lord, forgive ME"

24 Years And Counting

Steve surprised me with a trip on the Royal Gorge Route for the celebration of our 24th Wedding Anniversary.  We started out the day eating breakfast out at Mimi's with my favorite French Toast Brioche.  Steve did a great job planning this special day.  When we reached Canyon City, I kind of figured we might be going to the Royal Gorge.  I didn't know it was still closed because of the Fires in July.  It was sad seeing so much of the burned forest.

We then got to ride in the Vista Dome of the train with a great view of the Arkansas River.

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling up to par and about half way through the train ride, I got sick to my stomach, but fortunately had come prepared for possible motion sickness.  As it turns out I don't think I actually had  motion sickness but an actual stomach bug of some kind.  Which unfortunately spoiled our dinner on the train and our dinner plans later.  But as usual my Steve was a really trooper and was just mostly concerned about me.  

 Because of the fires, we couldn't actually go to the bridge, but I got this cool picture from the train.
There were some great rapids and we saw a loft of rafters coming down the river.  Definitely on my bucket list!!

 I felt bad I dampened our fun, but this sweet man planned the perfect day.  With a great ending!  He got us tickets to go see Celtic Thunder in October!  I can't wait!!

It is such a blessing to be married to a man that makes 24 years of marriage seem like 1.  The years have gone by so quickly!!  I love him more than I ever thought possible and am so thankful that God picked him just for me!  He is such a wonderful husband and takes such good care of me!  So in honor of our 24th let me list 24 things that I love about him or am thankful for.
1.  He loves God with all His heart!
2.  He helps me to love God more!
3.  He has the biggest servant heart of anyone I know!
4.  I can count of him to take great care of me in good times and in bad!
5.  He loves my mother and is so kind to her and takes care of her too!
6.  He moved to Colorado with me so that I could be closer to my family.
7.  He enjoys teaching God's Word and is really good at it!
8.  He is a prayer warrior!
9.  He is the kindest person I have ever met!
10.  He compliments every meal I make for him.
11.  He does our laundry so to limit my time on my feet.
12.  He unloads the dishwasher
13.  Numerous times a day he asks "Can I do anything for you?
14.   When he proposed he promised to love me as Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5:25) and has kept
          that promise for 24 years!

15.  I love his delight at seeing an airplane he loves!
16.  I love his delight of all birds, but especially his excitement in seeing a humming bird.
17.  He is such a servant to our neighbors, shoveling their snow, mowing lawns and even taking them to
       appointments
18.  He is the first to write thank you notes
19.  He enjoys snuggling
20.  He has provided for us in ways that I never worry how the bills will get paid
21.  He supports me in my own ministries
22.  I enjoy listening to him give Jeopardy answers (and keep telling him he needs to get on the program!)
23. Love his enjoyment of his Thursday and Friday morning Bible Studies
24.  Can't wait to see what God has in store for us during our 25th year of marriage and beyond!

Another Decade Comes and Goes

Well tomorrow I say goodbye to my 50's.  I remember someone telling me when I was younger that the older you get the faster time goes by and boy is that true!!!  I remember too when 60 seemed so old and I feel nothing like I felt 60 should feel like!!  I think the fact that we don't have children, and thus no grandchildren, makes me forget that I could be a grandmother.  It isn't like I don't have four younger siblings that have grandchildren.  I guess I just don't live in reality because as I am making new friends in Colorado and find out how old they are, I am constantly surprised that I am older than they are!  So I guess the blessing is I don't feel old :-)

Looking back on the past ten years it has not been my easiest decade.  I had my gall bladder removed, a partial hysterectomy, then uterine cancer and a total hysterectomy and then my accident in 2005 that left me with 2 years of surgeries and rehab and a permanent disability.  Now I have significant arthritis and cannot walk for a very long period of time or stand for a long period of time.  But once again I am thankful that I have both of my legs (no amputation) and I am not wheelchair bound.

I had to retire from the job I loved most of all in my career. I loved being a Children's Minister and I was blessed to be part of a great church for 8 years before having to retire because of my injuries. Steve retired and we decided to make Colorado Springs our retirement location to be closer to family that lives in Denver. That transition has been harder than we imagined, not because we don't love Colorado Springs, but because we REALLY miss our Texas friends!!  But slowly but surely we are making friends here in the Springs.

God has moved me out of Children's Ministry and into Women's Ministry and I have organized our Thursday morning Ladies Bible Class for the past two years.  Recently I was asked if I would be the leader for the Adult Women's Education Ministry.  I am thankful that God has given me an outlet for my joy in teaching His Word.  The women have been so supportive and affirming of the gift of teaching which I take no credit for, but give all the glory for the enabling of the Holy Spirit.

I had to say goodbye to the best father a girl could ever ask for.  It is hard to believe in about 10 weeks it will be 3 years since my Daddy went to be with Jesus.  We miss him everyday and think of him often, but I am so thankful for the assurance that I have that he is with Jesus.  I also said goodbye to my grandmother, who filled my life with sweet memories.

One of the highlights of my 50's was celebrating 20 years of marriage with a cruise to Alaska.  Such beauty from God in that place and fulfilling my life long dream of going whale watching.  One of the highlights was standing on the deck with strangers but brothers and sisters in Christ before a majestic glacier and uniting in singing How Great Thou Art (after eating hot split pea soup :-))

So I think back over this decade and there were some hard times, but there were also sweet times.  Isn't that every decade?  Isn't that Life???

In tribute to 60 years lived, I am going to list 60 things I am thankful for.

1. My husband who loves me unconditionally and is the best caretaker ever!
2. My sweet Mother who also loves me unconditionally and is my best friend!
3. My siblings who have blessed me with nieces and nephews and now great nieces and nephews to dote on.
4. Living closer to some of those family members and getting to see them more often
5. Too many friends to count!!
6. A great church community!
7. A small group to share life with.
8. Steve and I both being retired and the master of our days.
9. Our financial resources
10. A house that doesn't require a lot of cleaning
11. Seeing Pikes Peak every day from my window and throughout the city when you drive
12. God's beauty in wildlife
13. NO humidity!!
14. Beautiful Blue skies and awesome cloud formations
15. Children old and new that light up my heart when they say "Ms. Lynn"
16. Pain medications that make things easier
17. Doctor's who accept workman's comp and Medicare
18. Facebook, to stay in touch with friends and relatives all over the country
19. A front porch and wind chimes
20. A great garage for storing my plethora of Christmas decorations
21. Ladies who love to study God's word
22. Ladies who believe in the power of prayer
23. People who constantly and faithfully pray for me
24. Ladies who enjoy crocheting and knitting for those in need
25. The sound of laughter
26. A house that allows me to practice hospitality
27. Snow
28. Waterfalls
29. Rivers
30. Pine trees, especially Blue Spruce
31.  Matt Redmond's song 10,000 Reasons
32. Sarah Young's book, Jesus Calling
33. Ann Voskamp's book 1,000 Gifts
34. Downtown Abbey
35. Natalie Grant's song In Christ Alone
36. Precious memories of my Father
37. Hope of Eternal Life
38. GRACE
39. Forgiveness
40. My Faithful God
41. My Savior, Jesus
42. God's promises that I can count on
43. Fireplace weather
44. Baby Robins on my porch
45. My husband's servant heart toward neighbors
46. Aunts and Uncles, cousins
47. Friends who show me what faith in the hard times looks like
48. My trials being temporary and earning eternal glory
49. A God who is faithful to do more than I can ask or imagine
50. Assurance that this life is not all there is
51. Ice cream
52. Cheesecake
53. Chocolate
54. Drugs that allow me to eat ice cream,cheesecake and chocolate
55. Good Mexican food (even though there isn't any in the Springs)
56. mountain getaways
57. vacations
58. The fact that I have everything I need
59. The fact that the overflow I what I have allows me to share others
60. That I was able to think of 60 things to be thankful for!

So now on to my 60's.  I hope when I hit 70 and look back on this decade that I will see that I have been more transformed into the image of Christ and have drawn closer in love and fellowship with my God.  I want the discipline of "giving thanks in ALL things" to be my second nature, not something I have to work at.  I pray that I will have done more to be Christ to the world and that I would have a greater passion for those that the Lord cares most about. I want to walk the walk much better than I talk the talk.  But if truth be told I hope that Jesus will have returned and I will be home with those that I love and our Savior and God!!