It’s Christmas!
Since early November several stores have had indications that Christmas is coming. Aisles began filling with Christmas wares, potential gifts to give, decorations to add to your already abundant boxes of sparkly red, green, and glowing paraphernalia. It all leads to money in the merchandizer’s pockets.
Church choirs are preparing for concerts and cantatas. Schools are preparing programs, and cities have special lighting events. Parades too, don’t forget the parades with floats and marching bands Many store entrances feature the now well-known tinkling bells and red kettles. Even a blind person could detect that something festive is happening.
More than any other time of the year, hearts are lifted. Jesus is brought to the front. Greeting cards reflect the season with manger scenes.
In the center of all the food, music, gift giving, and personal joy is a birthday. The birthday of King Jesus. It is the time to raise the King’s flag on he castle of your heart. It’s Christmas.
“American Heroes: Profiles of Men and Women who Shaped Early America”
It has been a long time since I have read such an impressive book. This book, as the title suggests, is exceptional. Written by Edmund S. Morgan, it is a collection of essays he produced intermittently over years between 1983 to 2005. Each essay, biographical in nature, features a person, or persons, who lived in early America prior to the development of the U.S. Constitution. Many of them were Puritans. Morgan is a Pulitzer Prize author, but that usually does not influence me. After finishing this book, I say it was a wise choice. Be prepared for concentrated facts written in a style that is Morgan’s own, unique expression and convincing format. You will not be bored.
I discovered the book while in the Talking Books library in search of a book about Ann Hutchinson. Yes, she is in the book.
I borrowed the book rather than purchase it. Now I hate to give it up! While Amazon does not have it available, I did find some in used bookstores for a very reasonable price. Paperback editions are available, but this particular book was not in e-format.
For me, the book of 17 essays was eleven hours of listening so it is about 300 pages depending of the book format. Grab it while you can.
The Time of God’s Choice
Repeatedly I am reminded that so many people are attempting to figure out the timeline of God’s working with the people of Israel. This terrorist conflagration is no exception to those thumbing through prophecy to determine what is going on. Like the disciples and followers in the first century, they are looking for a sign. While there is a crown for Believers who live and watch for the coming of Christ in the air, and find themselves listening for the trumpet, folks, we just need to live each day knowing that God’s clock is always right.
I recall as a child sometimes sitting at the east window watching for my daddy to come home from the fields. When my mom told me it was time to set the table, I had to tear my eyes away from the driveway. I hurried but was careful to put everything where it belonged because my mom was sure to make me come back and correct it. I was busy watching for daddy! The sun was in the right place in the sky, the clock was telling me it was nearly time for him to appear, and I was eager to see his face and feel his wonderful hug.
So it should be with us. Wait with anticipation, hold to His promises, and love it when He comes again.
The coming for Believers to take us out of this world is what we should b e longing for. Don’t worry about the seven years we will escape. Linger in the presence of Jesus daily as you read the Bible. Stop trying to calculate the tribulation times. While we wait for the sweet by and by, folks, we have to live in the nasty now and now.
Adore the Author
As the years have rolled along, my vision has become fainter and I now depend on magnification to read, or I use the “read aloud” feature on my computer to give my eyes a break. For three or more years I have also been enrolled in the “Talking Books” program that is provided for the visually impaired by the U.S. government through the library system. There are treatments for my eye impairment that are quite new, and they have stabilized my vision, so I am doing quite well. Driving, of course, is out,
It has not, however, slowed down my goal of reading at least 40 books per year, and of those 40 it is also my goal to make half of them non-fiction. If I were really a “numbers oriented” person, I suppose I could count my Bible as 66 books, but I don’t. Since my retirement, I read my Bible through in about nine or ten months.
Some may ask, “Why? If you read it once, why read it again and again?” I read it again and again because I adore the Author. Of course, I have favorite fiction authors, favorite biographers, favorite historians, and even some books of the Bible are more favored than others. Although I have personally met Beverly Lewis, (a favorite fiction writer) we do not have a long-lasting relationship. I HAVE met the Lord in all His persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). Regular lines of communication exist because of the Words left to me in His Book, the Bible. The only way you will ever get to know Him is by reading His Word. Then you, too, will adore the Author.
Joseph, a Baby, and Disappointment
Of the many ways we can be disappointed in life, in my opinion, infidelity would be a top ranking, if not the top of the list. When a person that is trusted shows up with the failure of faithfulness and purity—that is a big blow. Joseph, the Carpenter faced that ultimate disappointment.
Joseph and Mary were promised to one another in the eventual bond of man and wife with all fidelity and purity intact. Now, I am supposing something in the following lines because it is not explained in Scripture. Mary receives the message from the Archangel Gabriel. Perhaps, just perhaps she thinks, “This isn’t going to happen right away, right?” She misses a cycle and questions within herself the probability that the message was indeed correct. When the second cycle is missed, she knows. Yes, she knows. Now what?
“Joseph,” she says, “We need to talk.” Those words bring a host of thoughts to mind when a spouse or loved one approaches with those words! Joseph, perhaps, braces himself for some dreaded truth. If only the truth had been personal hygiene or a disagreeable friend, or something his mother said. No, none of those subjects came close to the shattering news. A baby? When? How? It is not mine!
Stammering through tears, Mary tries to explain but Joseph is so dumbfounded he does not know what to think. Matthew 1:19-20 gives us some insight. The stigma, the gossip, the despair of feeling abandoned as a man was devastating. I find in Joseph, however, a man of principle. He did not give in to reaction but he did stop to reason. Giving himself to consider his conversation with Mary, God was able to reason with Joseph. Appearing in a dream, an angel verified Mary’s innocence and fidelity and God quieted Joseph’s heart with those two wonderful words: “Fear not.”
Is this the end of the scene? No. There is ongoing relief and mourning is turned to joy. Joseph went on to father children with Mary that were biologically theirs. Mark 6:3 names four of those children. Joseph fulfilled his role of protecting and providing for the child, Jesus. The firstborn child, Jesus held a special place in the heart of Joseph, I conjecture.
Disappointment can turn into pleasure if we allow God to work in the circumstance. Regardless of what disappointment comes our way, it is likely to be small in light of what Joseph faced. The difference will be in whether we react, or if we reason. Reaction clouds the vision and allows words and actions fly that can linger for years and years. Reason will allow a solidarity that brings peace and security.
Celebrate the birth of Christ with reason, peace, and security. Don’t let the pleasure and peers in the worldly realm ruin your reasoning skills. Your disappointment may be a private thing and yet, it will be a struggle. Get past it with God’s overwhelming grace. I
wish you Christmas grace
Creation and Country
I had the pleasure of teaching in Christian schoolroom all of my teaching career. It was more of a calling than a career. I plugged into places where a teacher was needed, but I mostly taught high school English. In all my years, I never had any fear of a parent getting in ill-temper because I emphasized the importance of God in our lives.
This afternoon I began thinking about Joyce Kilmer’s poem, “Trees.” Sometime in elementary school I memorized that poem. It was in a country school where eight grades gathered together in one room. We started the day with the national anthem, and the Lord’s Prayer. No one complained. In fact, it was what the parents wanted for the school.
Our textbooks were filled with accurate History and science. Creation was taught without bias although evolution existed in books. It was taught as a theory, unproven, an idea. We all believed in the Bible as a significant book.
I am a child of the 1940’s and ’50’s. I am blest. If you get misty-eyed when the flag passes in a parade and admire a soldier in uniform, well you are either like me, or a product of a parent or grandparent who has never given up on God and Country.
In Psalm 33:12 the writer declares: “Blessed is the naation whose God is the LORD. . .”
Blessed are they that Mourn–a word to the wise
What kind of attraction would we gather if we went about in black clothing with a black veil over our faces? You say,” Karyl, people don’t do that anymore.” I ask, “Why?”
Jesus said, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted” in His list of beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. Life is all about balance, however. The fruit of the Spirit is joy (well one of them.) So, we have an inner joy that is indestructible, and at the same time, a mourning over sin is going on.
Mourning is not always over the loss of a loved one. It is over loss. Period.
Our nation has lost moral purity. The loss is not only in dress, but more than that, purity of action. Mobs, protests, that kill and destroy are indications of impurity of character.
Where is the mourning over that? Sorrow, not anger, that sends us frequent prayer?
Nehemiah went before the king with a sad face because he was mourning over the destruction of Jerusalem. God brought comfort to him when he was allowed to return to Jerusalem and lead the reconstruction of the walls of the city.
Carrying a heartache over the sinful actions of our countrymen is permissible, even encouraged.
At the same time, let us guard our own attitudes and actions and if repentance is necessary, confess (mourn) so that your joy may return.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4
Perfection and Consistency: a word to the wise
This morning the sun rose in the east. It is now trying so very hard to break through the heavy cloud cover today. I see peaks every now and then. Now, if world leaders controlled the universe (as they seem to think they do) the sun might come up, might not. It might come up in the0scouth one day and the west another. We would be in trouble! If the moon did not function with consistency, the tides would lose control and the beaches would be unsafe. Sea travel would be consistently more dangerous.
For those of us, myself included, would consider this truth more frequently, there would be less reason for worry. In the terms of culture today, God has “got this.”
Just a little word to the wise today.
Mistaken Identity
Recently I decided to design a new birthday card for my family. It is just one of those things I do now since I took an art class at my local “senior center,” which is officially called, Active Adult Center. I really don’t draw very well, but it gives me purpose to design my own cards. No, I don’t have one of those fancy Cricut machines to do the work for me. Strictly “old school.”I wanted to draw an ice cream cone. Sounded easy enough to my brain. Rather than use imagination, I need a picture to look at. The internet is a good place to find that. THAT is NOT old school is it? But that is another topic for another day.Once I found the picture that looked easy enough to draw, I set to work. I drew the cone first, but that didn’t really work. So, I drew the top first, and found I could balance the cone much easier.
Then I saw the proportions I wanted and drew in harder lines until I had what I thought looked okay, and finally used a fine line felt tip to put in the permanent lines. At that point the artist, me, can erase the pencil sketch lines. If I find that the sharpie is a little off in a spot here and there, I just use a dab of correction fluid.
Without looking very carefully, I reached for the bottle and unscrewed the cap. Hm, something is wrong here. Oh, dear, the cap and the stick have separated. At that point I hold the bottle up to the light to see how much product I am going to have to toss out. Laughing at my mistake, I looked down to see the bottle was not correction fluid, it was artificial tears! Both bottles are white, and about the same size, and the caps are both white. And they were sitting next to each other.
Is it possible that Christians can be a case of mistaken identity? The Apostle Paul told the Believers in Corinth to “come out, and be separate.” It is possible in today’s culture that Believers are blending in too much with people who are not born-again believers. True Believers should have a different appearance. In the hot summer months do I wear enough clothes to set me apart? Is my speech clean and clear or is it sprinkled with words that could be exchanged for cuss words? Or worse, even sprinkled with occasional cuss words? Is the music coming out of my car music that will lead to thought of Jesus? I could go on with this list, but you can finish it yourself.
Well, I did get my sketch done. Now I’ll get out my colored pencils and choose a flavor to color and hand write a greeting. My hokey little greeting cards march on for another season.
II Corinthians 6:11-18
I Corinthians 6:19-20
Romans 12:2
I John 2:15-17
Sniff, Sniff–Goodby May
May is my favorite month of the year. The weather is usually not to hot and not too cold in May. It is a “free” month when it comes to heating and cooling. That isn’t the only thing about May I like, however. My yard has something blooming the entire month of May. Although the blooming things trigger allergies, I still enjoy the beauty of the blooms and they stay outside. Walking becomes a pleasure rather than a chore. Yard work sets in, but along with it the satisfaction of results. And, my birthday falls during May.
This past month I added a great-granddaughter to my ever-growing family. She arrived on May 19 and weighed in at nine pounds. Her name is Willow Rae. I love her already and haven’t even seen her except in pictures. She adds to a list of birthdays in this already busy month. Add graduations to the month and it becomes busy. Add piano recitals and it is even busier. During my teaching years, May also meant the end of a school year along with all the duties of closing out a school year classroom and saying farewells to graduating seniors with the deep hope in my heart that I had prepared them for the future in the use of grammar and composition.
Then came Memorial Day. Not a single Memorial Day passes without hearing in my head, “I think we should take the boat out today.” It seems always too cold to do that, but we all went anyway. We packed a picnic lunch and off we went. I learned after the first outing to ALWAYS take a jacket! Whether is was a good or not so good outing, I have to admit, it sure has created a lasting memory.
I have several military members in my mother’s side of the family. Fortunately, none of them gave their lives in the ultimate sacrifice, yet I am happy to know they served our country well. My dad was a dairy farmer and was exempt from draft, so they said. The army needed farmers to feed the soldiers.
As you leave the month of May to enter into June and the summer months, I’d love to know what your plans are. What books are you planning to read, which vegetables are your favorites from the garden, do you plan trips to the farmer’s market if you don’t garden, and many more questions linger in my mind. Follow Jesus, day by day, hour by hour through these days of turmoil in our nation and make every day count. See you in June!
Two Capsules, Confusion, and a Ring
Capsules, Confusion, and a Ring
The title is the short side of this story. Here goes!
Every day I take two capsules that help my vision at least stay where it is, although it is getting dimmer, it is still clear most days. It set the two capsules out on my desk in a green lid I saved from some bottle or another. (I color code almost everything and always have.) That’s the capsule background. This morning I not only read, but prayed through Psalm 71. Beside the Psalm heading, I have written in my notes in pink ink, “A Psalm for the Aged.” So as I was praying though the Psalm I prayed that the Lord would keep me and my aging friends from confusion. It is bad enough that we sometimes have long pauses in our sentences while we struggle to find the exact word we want. Don’t add confusion to it! I felt good about praying that for my friends. truthfully, I felt blest that God brought it to my attention.
I have, and really do like, a mother’s ring. It has three stones, one for each of my children. It is simple, in fact, so simple, I find it lovely. I wear it most of the time. However, if I am using water and cleaning products, I take it off. The other times I take it off is if I am typing and since it is getting loose on my finger since I lost a bit of weight, it bothers my typing. Well, I must have taken it off, and put in in the green lid. It lay in the lid, forgotten. Here is what I think may have happened: I put out my usual two capsules but didn’t notice the ring. I neglected to take the capsules and for whatever reason, decided to dump them back into the bottle. Yes, in went the ring too. But, I didn’t notice the ring or miss it right away.
This morning I decided to count the capsules in the bottle thinking I should order some more. I dumped them all out to count them, and out came the ring with them. How quickly God answered my prayer! I NEVER would have looked in the VisiClear bottle for the ring! The Lord graciously saved me consternation when searching for where in the world I put that ring. I would have been so disappointed to think I had lost it. But, see, the Lord, in His mercy spared me the confusion it would have caused.
I wonder how many times God has spared me from little frustrating things in the very same way and I never even noticed. So, that is why I wanted to publicly share this little story. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
An April Doodle
April is a favorite months for me. Spring is my favorite season, and baseball is my favorite sport. It is a wonderful mix! It seems that I have acquired a well-rounded enjoyment of music, but nothing quite matches the crack of bat and the roar of a baseball stadium. When the pandemic was at its height and the stadiums were empty except for piped in crowd noise, it fell so flat. I am happy to have baseball back in full force. Everything from little league games on a local level up at the park close to me, to the professional MLB ball at Truist Park is music to my ears.
Tulips are in their prime at my house currently. Their God-given wardrobes of red, lavender, yellows and oranges are gracing my backyard. Each year that they bloom I recall the joyous day that my grandchildren helped me plant them. Once the littlest one, a girl, spotted an earthworm she was through! Explaining the virtues of earthworms was absolutely lost on her. No gloves would protect her! I laugh to myself as I think of the memory that chilly fall day. She did seem to agree that the following spring, the blooms were quite fantastic.
My mother’s birthday is the sixteenth. She was born the year that women were granted the right to vote and lived 90 years. Those last three years were a challenge to both mee and her, but I still have no regrets that I took care of her from age 83. She and my dad both gave me my love for baseball. Mom would turn 103 this month were she still living. Her work ethic was passed on to me and she was a good match for a farmer’s wife. While she lived a moral life, she came to faith in Christ alone for salvation two months before her death. The only time it is too late to take Christ as personal Savior is that final breath and heartbeat.
Ah, April. You are a good time of the year.
At Calvary
A song for the day, today, Good Friday. Do you recall, as I do, that time was when schools and businesses closed at noon on Good Friday. Everything seemed to stop to remember that day when Jesus went to the cross, willingly, to pay the penalty in our place for our sin. Read the words, don’t sing them. Let the words sink in. And then read the simple way that the song was composed.
That closing of school for Friday afternoon to commemorate the love that flowed down At Calvary was the inkling I had as a child of what Easter was all about. I spent sixteen and a half years before I came by faith to trust Christ as the payment for my personal sins. It wasn’t “years” but certainly long enough to have had to stand at the White Throne judgment and be eternally condemned for refusing the gift so lovingly given to me. How about you.
Here’s the link to these wonderful words, beautifully presented, https://www.cobblestoneroadministry.org/2006/HymnStory_AtCalvary.html
A March Memories Doodle
As a child, I can’t say that I much cared for the month of March. Central Wisconsin saw ice begin to break up on the lakes and fishermen who had ice fishing shanties had deadlines to get them off the lakes. We had sandy soil on our farm place and thus, not much mud. My dad started moving the barnyard build up to the fields. I hve to sort of chuckle at the news reporters worring about the lack of fertilizer Americans import from Russia. We just moved our manure into the fields. As far as I know, it provided the right stuff for corn, oats, rye, our field garden, and large potato patch. We had a good blend of chicken, cow, pig, and horse droppings. I say one more time: “I never regret growing up on an old-fashioned self-sustaining farm.
March brings on spring. I do not recall that we ever had daffodils, but I did anticipate a few wild flowers that trimmed the cow path through the windbreak. They sprang up wherever they wanted to and I sometimes picked a few on my trip to get the cows home for milking. Dad first let them out in mid-March to graze or mostly for fresh air. We had a lead cow with a bell, but if she were enjoying the fresh air and sunshine, she wouldn’t head home unless I went out to get her going. I helped feed them from our dwindling hay supply once they were back home. I usually scooped grain in the mangers before I went to get them. It gave them an incentive. So, if you can envision a girl of about nine or ten, and a dog trotting beside her through a small grove of trees to the pasture on a sunny March day, that would be me.
Best of all, March led to April and warmer days yet. The older I get, the more these childhood memories become, like momentary movies from the past to bring on a spell of nostalgia. Someone once wisely expressed that memories are like roses in December. I am so grateful for my parents. I grew up in a stable home. We were not rich in worldly treasure, but we sure were never hungry. We worked hard, and slept soundly. Paul advised Timothy “. . .with food and raiment be therewith content.” We were.
The Jerusalem Assassin (book revieew)
The Jerusalem Assassin by Joel C. Rosenberg is the best book yet by the now well-acclaimed author of political thrillers. It is published by Tyndale Publishing, copyright 2020. It is 441 pages of non-stop action with a setting that is a hot spot. It is another “Marcus Ryker” series,
but can be read as a stand alone book.
As the title suggests, the setting for the book is Jerusalem, but since Ryker is working for the CIA, he moves many places worldwide. He has a new partner in this book, but still no romantic inclinations. A newly formed terrorist group must be located and put out of business. Of course, that’s what Ryker does, right? The time frame of the book starts in the fall, and ends shortly after Christmas. Although the time sequence is timed, there are 121 chapters.
Each character is well developed with personalities that remain consistent through the story. A geo-political element is the center of the plot. I don’t want to spoil the story so will stop there. This is a book that will capture your thinking even when the book is lying idle on the nightstand. I happened to get it free on one of those times when Tyndale offered it free for only about three days. When I last looked on Amazon, it was free again. You might want to check on its status again.
I did find instances, only two, of slight inconsistencies, which is rare in Rosenberg books and for that reason, I can’t give it a full five stars, but at least a four and three-quarters! Don’t miss this one.
A Shout
A shout. That’s it. A shout. And the walls of Jericho flattened. No battering rams, no tanks, no missals, no. Just a shout. When Gideon had a reduced military force of 300, God defeated the opponents with a SHOUT. I add, also a reputation of a nighty God. That happened at Jericho too. There was the reputation of what the God of the Hebrews could or might do–the unexpected. The much later, in 2 Chronicles 13 we again see that God wins with a shout. King Abijah, whose army is of 400,000 is up against an army of 800,000, secures a win. Abijah had a reputation of walking in the ways of King David, and all God needed from them was a shout.
Above all else, the evident faith and allegiance to God must be present.
Is that the reason America seems to be losing? Other nations do not see the evident righteousness of a nationo that follows God?
I wonder. Introspection is necessary.
Just sharing what is stirring my heart and mind today. I profited from my Bible reading today, richly inspired and challenged.
A February Doodle
Blink once, it is Ground Hog’s Day, blink twice, it is February 28. It occurred to me today that perhaps Ground Hog’s Day was dreamed up by some weather purveyor because typically, February is usually a cloudy month. In hopes that the groundhog would come out, yawn and stretch a bit before venturing back for a bit more hibernation, spring would come a couple of weeks early.
While the groundhog is a celebrity early in the month, we also have Lincoln’s birthday on the twelfth, and Washington’s birthday on the twenty-second. The two are combined into what my dad called, a “government holiday.” The only businesses that close are government related. Some companies give their employees anoption of the day off with pay, some will double pay if you choose to work on President’s Day. Since many stores have President’s Day sales, those stores are open and employees working the same as any other day.
Then there is the day of love also known as Valentine’s Day. Greeting card sales sky-rocket, florists do a booming business, and candy sales show a generous increase. If a husband neglects Valentine’s Day, he may spend the night on the couch.
February is also National Heart-health Month. The American Heart Association brings awareness to the percentage of deaths due to heart attacks and blood pressure checks are highly recommended. Cholesterol facts give us pause. It is a good cause.
I have three family birthdays in February. A granddaughter born on Valentine’s Day and a grandson born on Washington’s birthday. Both turned 16 this year. Just the time I was thinking I had no little hand to hold anymore, I realized—not so! I have a little great-grandson who is walking now and needs a hand to hold when venturing into dangerous places. He has a little sister on her way in May. Proverbs 4:23 gives us an instruction, and a science fact. “Keep thy heart with all diligence for out of it flow the issues of life.” First, when the heart stops beating, our life is done. Second, the heart is typically the seat of the emotions, so it needs to be guarded, hedged in, with Truth. Guard your heart by what you eat, whether physical food, or spiritual.
A Milk Review
Well, let me stand corrected. Early this week, with a brewing winter storm coming at us, like most of other Franklin residents, I decided I needed milk to get me through. The shelves were empty except for chocolate and“designer” milks. I mistakenly called almond milk “fake milk” and picked up a half gallon. I had about a quart in my fridge at home of the cow milk to which I am accustomed.
Although I h ad the quart on hand, of course, curiosity got the better of me and I opened the almond milk. It tastes like whole milk but doesn’t have fat. Well, that’s a winner! No cholesterol but tastes even a smidgen better than whole cow milk. So to all almond growers who contribute to almond milk, I apologize.
My friend, Margaret, who is now enjoying Heaven, did not like milk. She said cow’s milk was meant for calves, not humans. Since I grew up on a small dairy farm, I was always just a little miffed, but had to agree, cow’s milk was intended for calves. I wonder how long it took for Adam, or whoever, to discover that human consumption of cow’s milk was a tasty addition to a meal. For that matter, who decided to try eating an egg? Eve did not have Martha Stewart to show her how to prepare broccoli. I have always felt a certain compassion for Eve. She didn’t have a mother, a sister, o ra seasoned neighborhood woman to help her. Just put that in your imagination and let it simmer for a while. What Eve did have was a husband who adored her so much that when it came to eternal destination, he supported her and fell into the sin trap with her. Adam was one devoted husband. She had that.
So my almond milk purchase was a good thing. Thank you, Johnson County residents for hording cow’s milk. I learned something new. The silky taste of almond milk will continue to delight me. Eve came to mind, and the blessings of God’s provision for our food intake. Of course, God also had the remedy for the sin Adam and Eve brought into the world by the deep love gift of salvation through His Son, Jesus
Fish
This past week I listened to “Conference Pulpit” on the Bible Broadcasting Network radio station. It comes on at nine each evening weekdays. One of the messages was the kind that sticks in your head and heart for a few days at least. This one might be embedded a good bit longer. The entire message was from Matthew 17:24-27.
While I’ve heard and read this passage myself, even taught it, it seemed to be an entirely new approach to me. It didn’t involve whether or not we should pay taxes as many take the passage to be. No. It was about God’s marvelous provision. The preachers asks questions I had never thought about. He also was a wonderful storyteller. It seemed as if he used a filet knife to open the imagination.
How did the coin get in the fish’s mouth? How did the fish hold the coin, and bite the hook and not drop the coin? Peter usually fished with a net, not a hook from the shore but he did that day. The preacher posed the probability that the coin could have been dropped on the seashore, in this case, the Sea of Galilee, by a child. It could have been dropped by a fisherman from a boat. Jesus could have put it there for the fish. I like the boy dropping it best. It could have dropped several hours, days, weeks before Jesus needed it. Does it make a difference? The fact of the matter is, the fish found it. It is my understanding that there is a fish that lives in the Sea of Galilee that is known to be a bottom feeder that will find things and sometimes hold them in its mouth for a long time.
Finally, was the miracle of the coin for Peter? Certainly so, but it is still for us. Peter, in his epistles, writes so much from incidents he experienced while traveling with Jesus. In his first epistle, chapter 5m verse 7 Peter relates: “Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.” Yes indeed. Peter would recall the time a fish with a coin in its mouth provided tribute for himself and Jesus.
It just makes me smile.
A January Doodle
We have a new year. I like simple, yet, I like new too. Fresh starts are always to be looked upon as mercy drops.
I like to start a new calendar and mark it up with birthdays and note what day my birthday will fall on in the coming year and note holidays and how they will fall. I look at the pictures for each month. Sometimes I still store away calendar pictures, well, just because. After all, Norman Rockwell made a lot of money painting calendar pictures!
With the new year come resolves. Some of the past accomplishments have started with a New Year’s Resolution. One year I decided to make one new recipe each week. Some of them were awful, but some of them I have continued to make and enjoy. One year I determined to keep my sour dough going for the entire year. I gave away a lot of coffeecake that year and further developed some of my sour dough recipes. Truthfully, by the end of the year, I was glad to put it away for awhile and start a new batch when I had the yearning. Another year I decided to read more biographies and non fiction books than fiction. Thaat is a habit I have continued now for several years. This year I bought myself a pedometer and set a goal for what I would be walking by the end of the year. I am on my way!
Christmas is a lmost put away. I’ll ask some sturdy teenager I know to help me get the boxes back in place in my storage barn, or maybe I’ll walk the boxes and plastic tubs out one at a time ib one of the first nice days we have. All those steps add to my total count at day’s end. My son recently visited and took all my outdoor lights down and put them carefully away.
Age Related Macular Degeneration continues to nibble away my vision, but it is what it is. My specialist is also a research doctor and he said that he is not far away from a medical solution for part of my problem. How wonderful that would be. I am willing, more than willing, to volunteer in any program he has in research that will make things better for people coming behind me. I think it would be exciting to be part of a medical breakthrough. In the meantime, I lean more and more heavily on memory and audio. Edison did a most remarkable thing when he developed all those communication devices. He is most remembered for the lightbulb but he did so much more! I read his biography as one of my starters the year I made the decision to read more biographies than fiction.
And all doodles must come to an end. Perhaps this is the year that we will start our journey to the New Jerusalem. If you are not sure you are Heavenbound, please contact me! Let’s start this year off right!
“Don’t Fence Me In,” says the Crawdad!
Just a week ago, my son came to Indiana to get me to take me back to Tennessee to spend the week with his family. I particularly wanted to see my granddaughter play soccer but also just wanted to visit rather than be entertained. Along our route going through beautiful Kentucky, we saw an accident that could have been much worse had it not been for a sturdy guardrail. Wow, that car was really mashed in on both sides. I mentioned to Dave how I’d been thinking about writing a post about boundaries, and there it was, my illustrations. I tucked the sight away for future use.
The scene was still on my mind a week later as we traveled back to Indiana. By then I h ad added another boundary line to my storage bank. Soccer isn’t soccer without boundary lines. I watched the strategy of deliberately kicking the ball out of bounds, especially to gain a corner kick. Dave patiently explained it to me when I asked him about it.
Now, after I retuned, a friend from church posted a story that she presented orally about their wandering crawdad. It seems that like mice and lizards, crawdads can slip through very small openings. The crawdad, “Shelley,” escaped the aquarium and was wandering about the house during the night. Shelly was clearly out of bounds.
Kelly, the courageous mama in the story, found the crawdad in the kitchen during the week hours of the morning, caught it with a pair of kitchen tongs, and carefully dumped it back into the aquarium. Whew. Needless to say, it was not a restful night.
Boundaries are for our protection. The guard rail kept the car from going into a deep ravine. The soccer field boundary helps the players make wise choices when retuning the ball into play, and the tank walls were for Shelly’s well-being giving it safe dwelling grounds, a source of food, and safety. When Shelly was returned to the natural habitat of a nearby creek, it is reported to have shouted, “I know the layout of the house now!” Shelly will now have to fend for itself from predators, human and otherwise.
God gave Job the protection of a “hedge” and Job complained. I say, “Hush, Job, you are safe in that hedge.” Be careful to live within the boundaries provide for you in the pages of God’s Word. I am paraphrasing the greatest commandment as Jesus gave it: Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and the second commandment—love your neighbor as you love yourself. That is a steadfast, sure, secure boundary.
Rumi
Jalalud-din Rumi, an Islamic poet, was born in 1248 in what is now modern-day Afghanistan. Had I paid better attention in World Literature, I would know more of him, but that is about all I know, other than that most writers in Western civilization simply call him Rumi when they credit any of his lines that survive still today.
I ran across his name in the preface of a book that I purchased for my Kindle recently. The book, “Mr. B.—Living with a 98-year old Rocket Scientist” captured my interest on the book recommendations I follow. Faithful Reads usually doesn’t steer me wrong. I am eager to start this book, but am holding back until I am at my son’s for a visit. The family will be gone during the day so I am taking a project along, as well as interesting reading material.
I did read the preface, however, and the journalist writing the memoir of this remarkable man, quotes Rumi at the conclusion of the preface:
“Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter.” While it is an interesting concept, is that true?
As I sat contemplating the statement, I thought of how sorrow never really grips the hearts of Believers. We sorrow not as others who have nope. Faith and hope walk hand-in-hand. The shield of faith is what the Christian holds up to ward off the fire-tipped darts of the Devil.
Rumi may have written in flowery language his philosophy, but God’s Word is powerful! Psalm 30:5 encourages me with these words: “. . .weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Faith brings buoyant hope.
P.S. A book review of this interesting man, Byk, will eventually appear here on this site in a book review. 😊
Surround Sounds
The street that I live on runs the entire length of our city. Because it is so long, there are many streets that connect to it and it tends to be busy. My house sits on a corner lot with a four-way stop sign. On working days, it is busy but I seldom
“hear” the traffic. Well, to be correct, I seldom listen to the traffic. There is a difference. I just ignore it. When the street next to mine was under reconstruction and all of that traffic joined my street, I did notice every fire truck and ambulance that went by. Sirens are unmistakable.
Back when my son was still at home and his job was to cut the lawn, portable headset had become popular. Oh, how he wanted to use a headset for his music while he cut grass. His dad said, “No.” The “No” was so stern, Dave hardly knew what to say, but he approached the “Why” question anyhow. There was a good reason. “Everyone needs quiet to think, to be alone. If you always have something going into your ears, you rob yourself of good thinking time.
Once the traffic is not as busy on my street; it seems to also be popular for walkers. My attention is often drawn to talking. As I glance out to see who is talking, I see one person walking along, and talking—on a phone. If they initiated the call, they are also robbing themselves of thinking time.
Night before last we had a thunderstorm. My window was open, a breeze was blowing the curtains out and a good soaking rain was falling. It was dark, in fact, nearly midnight. I heard that sound. Thunder was rumbling steadily and lightening flashing all around. I didn’t have any other sounds in the house. It was like a symphony of sound coming right from nature.
The quiet falling of a steady rain was soothing to my soul. We need the quiet. We need to think.
Psalm 1:1-2” Blessed is the man. . .whose delight it in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night.”
Between Lines
After an extended lapse and two computers, it is time to resume The Shepherd’s Presence. Fortunately, when my computer of ten years of faithful service went down, I was happy to have put most of my files in the cloud storage provided by Microsoft. It has been a long road to getting back and on a new improved highway to writing. Never stop learning, someone advised me a few years back.
I could function on my tablet but clumsily. I have taken to writing a piece with no regularity, on Facebook that I call, “My Two-Cents Worth” and it is fairly well received. I’ll be transferring some of them to The Shepherd’s Presence from time to time. Most of those pieces spring from just daily life. Seems I find life is just one object lesson after another. Here’s a sample:
Wash your Hands!
At our local senior center we do more than sit around drinking coffee, playing cards and playing bingo. Some sort of exercise meets each day of the week. I had not stopped to visit at length with a friend and took the opportunity to extend our conversation this morning. In our chat, we discussed how to stay away from seasonal flu as well as the dreded associated flu virus. Most of us are vaccinated so we are not required to use face masks. Some wear them voluntarily.
One of the first ingrained habits my mother formed in me was hand washing. The habit was fortified in school where our one-room school teacher provided aa wash basin and a bar of soap for us to wash our hands before eating lunch and sometimes after recess. (Our only source of water was an outdoor hand pump.) It makes sense.
The classic biblical value of hand washing comes when Pilate called for a basin of water and symbolically washed his hands of ordering the death of Jesus. It was also customary to provide a basin of water for guests to refresh themselves by washing their feet after a long walking trip. Socks had not yet been invented.
There are several rules of hygiene listed in Leviticus. God intended for us to follow common sense rules to keep ourselves healthy in both hygiene and dietary laws.
One of the first things to do upon arriving home after a shopping trip is to wash your hands! Yet, already, I see people being careless in stores with shopping carts. When an alcohol wipe is available to wipe down the cart, use it! I carry my own just in case the store is out or does not provide them. Stay safe during the coming seasonal flu season.
And that’s my Two-Cents Worth for today.
A Dream Doodle
Dreams come in an assortment of views. Funny, peculiar, frightening, puzzling, entertaining, and you can probably add to the list. Some people seldom dream while other people dream nightly. Some people seem to be able to interpret their own dreams while others, like me, can seldom make any sense of dreams. Some of my dreams reoccur. They are like old TV show reruns! When I video Chatted with my granddaughter today, she pulled out an “American Girl” book that had some meanings of dreams! There was no answer for a room full of cats all purring so loudly it shook the room. Sigh.
Last night I had a nightmare. Sleep experts properly call them “night terrors” but I really did have horses in my dream last night, so it does qualify as a “nightmare.” I have these kinds of dreams about every five or six months. They apparently are typical of me because I have had them since childhood.
Cartoonists display dreams as a conversation bubble that is connected by smaller bubbles over the head of a sleeping character. Charles Schultz depicted Snoopy dreaming while he lay sleeping on top of his doghouse. Our family dog occasionally barked in her sleep, and we wondered what she was dreaming.
One dream in the Bible is particularly challenging. It is found in Daniel chapter two. Nebuchadnezzar had a strange dream and when he called his wise men and magicians to interpret it for him, he refused to tell them the dream. He tried their authenticity by making them tell him the dream and then interpret it for him. They protested so King Nebuchadnezzars pushed them by adding a death sentence to them if they could not produce both the dream and the interpretation. He was serious.
When the situation and penalty reached the ears of Daniel, he went to work to spare a whole lot of lives. In all seriousness, Daniel approached God for an answer. God delivered. When Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel how he figured it out, Daniel replied with six profound words: THERE IS A GOD IN HEAVEN.
Yes, Daniel, there is. I’ll not try to figure out last night’s nightmare, but I do know that in my perfect body in Heaven where there is no night, I won’t fuss about my weird dreams any longer.
Getting back to where you were. . .
A program on my computer just about wiped everything I am familiar with off of my computer. Or maybe is scrambled it at the very least. It is a bit frustrating. To make matters worse, what I expected to find on my WordPress site is not the same. It may be partly my fault for not reading the informative blog WP issues almost every Monday without fail.
Am I the only one who gets stuck in a rut? Truth is, I feel comfortable in my rut. In all my life, I have not liked surprises that tend to “broadside” me. Good friend usually give me a gentle warning when a change is in the works. It takes a bit of time, sometimes short, and sometimes lengthy, to mentally meet the challenge of change. Once I get used to a new method, guess what, I just make a new rut!
Expectations, in my opinion, need to be realistic. I am not an optimist, nor a pessimist. Somewhere in between lies realism. Most people who face life realistically also can roll with the punches, so to speak. We quietly adjust while we inwardly cope with a surprise. So, I may have found my way back on WP, maybe. I’ll see when it goes into the “publish” stage. I do not fault WP at all. It was the click of the mouse, and an over-easy egg turned into a scrambled one. Perhaps I needed the challenge today. And I am reminded that the Bible warns me, “Boast not thyself of tomorrow, because you don’t know what the day will bring forth.” (Proverbs 27:1)
Well, here goes. . .
The Shepherd's Presence 