SUFFERING IS A TOOL IN GOD'S HANDS

As I write this, my dearest friend (Neysa) is in the hospital with a problem that could be serious. As of this moment, I don't know.

We have been friends since 1971 when our Pastor asked me to take her under my wing - and in effect, disciple her. We met at a small restaurant with a Rooster on the sign that said "The Copper Kettle" Never could figure out why the Rooster was there - unless he was what was going into the Copper Kettle!

We bonded instantly and have been committed friends ever since.

God is so amazingly good! Just after this call from our son, I spoke to Neysa's daughter and am waiting for another call that will allow me to run up to the hospital to see her. Meanwhile, I am listening to tapes from the "Together for the Gospel" Seminar. Wouldn't you know that the Lord would lead me to one by Matt Chandler, a pastor of the Village Church who spoke on suffering.

He is well qualified to speak on the subject as he is just recovering (we sincerely Pray) from an Angioplastic Cancer Tumor in the brain. He has no idea whether he will recover or whether he will join the Lord soon. But he has determined to use whatever time he has left to glorify the Lord by urging people to prepare for suffering.

He is followed by Pastor T. J. Mahaney, the founder of Sovereign God Ministries, who gives several ideas on ways and books to help those who are ministering to those who are suffering. It's interesting because this has been the subject of many of Neysa and my conversations lately. One point that he makes quite clearly is that this is a message for the whole church! Not just those people who are chronically or terminally ill. I recommend that you take some time out to listen to many of these tapes. You can get to them through M4G.com.

I loved them all! And have the highest regard for all the speakers. These are Godly men who have great wisdom and different backrounds. They are not all primarilly Reformed so don't be afraid of listening to them. Wisdom comes from many sources.

I love you all, and hopefully this will be a blessing in your lives.

AG(E)ING!!!

Oh no Gramma - not another tome on aging! Well, the way I look at it, it's the subject that I know the most about right now! And, Lord willing, you'll all experience it one day. Just trying to give you a heads-up for when the time comes.

First of all, it's not all bad - neither is it all good. It's normal! One day follows another and one phase follows another and before you know it - you're where you never thought you'd be.

I remember thinking as a child that I'd never make 21 because we were in the midst of WWII and we saw so many gold stars hanging in windows that indicated that another serviceman had died in that family. So you begin to think that there's really no reason why you shouldn't be a gold star in your parents window because the war could reach your shores anytime now.

But, here I am - and still not a gold star! Thank you God. I'm also sure that you may have had your 'dead'lines in mind at some time - but, you too, are still here. So, what do you have to look forward to in your last decades of life?

First of all, Family. Some people have little respect for families in todays world, but that is sad. Families aren't perfect - but they can be as good as you are willing to particiate in making them good. At our time of life, we like to spend time with our progeny.

My goodness! There has been a four month pause in my writing in which we celebrated not only a wonderful Christmas - but an outstanding Easter Sunday. And these two celebrations truly exemplify my gratitude for God's whole plan for marriage and family.

We are at the 'full quiver' stage of our lives. We're really not 'full' yet - because we are expecting our fifteenth great grandchild in July. (Katie and Joey's little girl, Ellie). And who knows what next year will bring? How blessed we are. Especially since most of our family lives fairly near and we have the pleasure of seeing them grow up.

And growing up never stops! Nearing the end of my 7th decade of life I can still feel the harness of sin that keeps me from experiencing any true sense of maturity as a Godly woman. If you think that it just happens with age - forget it. To grow into Godliness takes a determination to truly focus on Jesus as Hebrews 12 teaches. Many a day I have committed myself to the 'lettuce' (let us) verses here and looked back a month later to see that I'm far from my goal.

But then, I am reminded of Jesus! He did live a fully Godly life and He willingly laid down that life on my behalf. His death AND resurrection are the means by which I can truly be absolved of all my foolish attempts and failures to live that perfect life. He has taken my place - and my feeble attempts at 'Godliness' can be accepted for what they are - 'filthy rags' (Isaiah 64:6)
Does this stop my from trying? No! That's my act of gratitude. But the joy that lays before me, (us) is already assured by our Triune God. Hallelujah!

"THE HOLIDAYS"

What's your favorite holiday? As a child - there was no contest! Christmas! And not for any spiritual reasons at all. No - Christmas was the big day for presents! In my first home we went from rags to riches. In the beginning - little gifts for little girls was the rule. As we grew - the biggest present I ever got was a doll carriage and doll. It just happened to be 1941 and Hitler had marched into Poland and before we knew it - we were at war with Germany. I remember asking my mom if Hitler would be coming to New YOrk on Christmas eve. And she said "Of course he will! He might be here before morning!" That was my mother's idea of humor. Little did she know that she sent her baby to bed in tears - for fear that he'd really like to have my carriage and doll!

As I grew older, I became very interested in Jesus Christ. Who is He? Who tells the best stories about Him? Who really knows what the Bible is all about? At sixteen, I started my own pilgrimage to find Him. I took a spiral bound notebook to many different churches and wrote my impressions of each one. How I wish I had that notebook now!

I think I responded to altar calls in every church I attended because I was so sure that I was such a terrible sinner. But along the way, I did begin to really understand that Christmas was a Holy Day rather than a Holiday. So the presents, although nice, didn't dominate my thoughts anymore.

Throughout the marriage years - children years - celebration times, we tried to emphasize the importance of Christmas as a day of celebration for the birth of our Savior. You'll have to check with the kids to see if that message got through.

But now, in our twilight years, we earnestly try to help our offspring understand that presents, as thoughtful as they were, are no longer the delight that they once were. We have everything that we need - and more. We would much more enjoy their spending their limited resources on each other and their little ones. Economic times are tough! (Tip: Walmart is selling all their toys at a very large discount to help young families - and they're not all made in China.) So, once again, I plead with you that you save your cash for the kids and your friends. We delight in being with our loved ones - the hugs and the smooches do it for us.

But I repeat my question. What's your favorite holiday? I honestly don't know how to answer that myself. There are blessings in all of our excuses to see each other. I'm not a big cheerer for some of the political days of note, but I'm sure they mean a lot to some.

Anyway - this year I intend to make each day a holiday of sorts, because we have so much celebration in our lives. We're looking forward to welcoming our 14th great grandchild in March, being grateful for JT's new job, enjoying vicariously Wes and Kim's new cabin in the woods, Matthew's full recovery from his cancer, Susie's return to the Iowa Cafe as floor manager, Barb's finally getting a job that she loves in the hospital, and all of our grandkids milestones, and the great grandkids first steps, first words of recognition (Lily called me GG for the first time this week! What a thrill!) and all the delights that they bring.

So! For me every day is a holiday - and they're all very special to my dear husband and me.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS! And a very blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas celebration.

DOWN WITH CANCER!!!!!

Yes! Today I am starting my own campaign against this dreaded disease. I know, I know, many of you have been actively involved in fighting in the "cause" and even I have done some walks - contributions - etc. But now the beast is just getting too ornery.

It seems like every week we hear of another victim. And true - cancer is not a death sentence as it was in my early years. Many times, there are effective cures or at least ways to control its vicious invasions. And for that I am truly grateful. But there needs to be an all- out drive against this horrible malady.

In my own personal family it has stricken my oldest sister, Ellamae; Bob's sister, Val; his cousin, Jan; my neice, Cheryl, her Mom, Helen,; my daughters- in - law, Barbara and Susie and their Mother, Dee; our nephew, Rickie; and now our son, Matt. (If I've left any out - please forgive me.)

It would take hours to list all of our friends who have died from this disease - or who are currently battling it.

We hate to hear the announcements in our Sunday church service because it almost always includes someone with the big "C". God have mercy!!

But how do we truly, effectively fight it? Well, one thing I am starting today is to make it a target in daily prayer. Perhaps I can recruit you who are reading this to join me. And then if you remember - you might also ask your family and friends to join us. And perhaps we can start a really effective prayer chain that will reach around the world to bring an end to this plague for once and for all. Others have done it for diseases like polio, and tuberculosis. What would happen if we really truly prayed daily against this disease? Wanna try it?

When troubles come......

I am sitting here in my cozy studio - just about ready to head for bed, but feeling somewhat disjointed because of some sad news I just got this week. It always amazes me how often things seem to happen in 'threes'.

I won't bore you with the details - but I would like to share with you something that I have used for years in counseling others that has been a great help to some, and especially to me.

When you have some tragedy clinging to your mind that you just can't seem to shake, even after you've laid your burden on Christ and been grateful for the assurance that anything that hurts you is important to Him, there is another thing that you can do.

When the sad thing keeps coming back to you, instead of praying the same prayer over and over for the situation at hand, remember that our enemy loves to accuse us and use this very thing to torture us or try to minimizethe power of God in our lives. I have learned to take up the gauntlet and in addition to praying for the people involved I determine to take on a 'kingdom building project' to pray about as well.

For instance, I'll decide that anytime that I find my mind being invaded by fears, or 'I should have's', or 'if only's', I earnestly pray for my son's ministry as a Pastor to his church in Tucson. I pray for his preaching, the problems that I'm aware of, the congregation and their many projects to reach out into the community and serve, the children that are growing in understanding through the ministry of the parents and teachers, the physical needs, the building projects, etc . etc .

By praying for the positive - the negatives seem to slip away. They may come back - but then I just pray for another kingdom building project. That's what God loves to hear - and our enemy hates to hear.

It says in Romans 12:21 "Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good". Good advice - and a wonderful use of our time.

SIMMER - DON'T BOIL

My sweet husband has released me from the chore of cooking and I have enjoyed the respite and the dinners out. (which are really late lunches because we try to make the lunch menu!). But - in today's economy, I feel the need to get to cookin' and save some money for the important meals out with our kids and grandkids etc.

As a result - I have had to recall my serious cooking days. I want to tell you - it's not easy being "Martha". On my first few attempts I must admit I had some classic failures. "Cowboy cooking" is what comes to mind. That's the phrase I used with the kids when something was a little darker tan than they thought was edible. "Eat it! It's cowboy cooking."

At first I blamed my cookware, (it couldn't talk back). But I had to admit that it was probably as good as anything I could buy today. So, pushing that alibi aside - I had to come up with something more realistic. So I began hunting up the old recipes and was amazed to find that right near the end of many of them was this phrase, "Simmer - don't boil".

This ushered in a whole new phase of successes in my dastardly attempts. I'll never reach the "Martha Stewart" stage - but I might make it to Martha of Mary and Martha.

I sometimes seem to see the lessons in life that God is trying to teach me through everyday occurences and so I looked more deeply into this one.

I think I have been blessed (?) with a strong choleric temperament, modified by a lot of sanguinity. I love order, organization, neatness etc. But I also love sponteneity - people - parties etc. These two temperaments usually get along pretty well - until there's some kind of crisis.

For instance if I find out that someone is really mad at me for something that I don't feel was a big deal..... I start to heat up. And it doesn't take me long to get to the boiling point. "How could she think that? What's wrong with her? Well, that's the end of that friendship! See if I'll help her again."
These are known as boiling reactions. Not good..... not good at all.

Over the last 47 years as a Christian - the Lord has taught me not to boil but to simmer. To me that means that I can have the first reaction which is always defensive - but then I have to sit back and simmer awhile.

When I force myself to simmer - I can bring God into the mixture. "This is bad Lord. I want to retaliate - defend - run away. But I can't find any scriptures to support any of these actions. So, what should I do?" And God always gives me an answer - "She's a sinner - but so are you! Why are you so surprised when she lives out her fallen nature? You do it too."

Then I like to pray for forgiveness and allow for all of those things that so tempt us to sin. The wonder is that it doesn't happen more often. I ask that I may be as forgiving of her as God is of me. And then I set my mixture aside. You know, give it time to cool off. Eventually, He brings us together - and I have the grace to hug and truly forgive her.

Christianity is a life of restraints. We aren't afforded the luxury of going to the extremes of any negative reaction. Just as Jesus 'opened not His mouth", we have times when we have to 'grin and bear it' . Well, maybe not grin - but at least not frown. Life is a serious test. We don't see Jesus "laughing" His way through His life's tests. No, but we see Him understanding...... Can we ever get to the point where we understand the tests of life? I pray we're getting a little closer each day.

SEE YOU LATER....

We're at a challenging time in our lives. We are seeing dear friends die and be whisked up into the arms of Jesus. We can honestly say that we rejoice for them, if they are Christian believers, and are perplexed at the thought of the destiny of those who are not.

This past week, we saw two friends die. One was a casual friend of years, but the other was my closest friend for almost 25 years. God was merciful in that he brought us together for one last conversation just about a month before she died. We had grown apart in the last several years, but were trying to remedy that by meeting for lunch at least once a month along with others who loved her. These last few months were more difficult because one of our group would be out of commission for some reason, or out of the country, and so we delayed.

And now, as I write, two of my very dearest friends of the past few years are both very ill. We try to speak to each other at least every other day, and to see each other at least twice a week. But again, illness sometimes hampers that.

So what do I feel? Well, first of all, I am grateful that all four of these ladies belong to Christ. I can honestly say to them...."See you later", and mean it. Friendships become more important as the years speed by. And keeping up with each other and our families is a real challenge. When we do meet, we don't always talk about today. We spend a lot of time going down memory lane and recalling the silly, wonderful, meaningful things that we have shared. When you have 77 years to look back at - there's lots of room for conversation.

My best friend is my sister, Ronnie. We have always lived close together except for a short time when she was in Kansas helping out our older sister after a flood, and our time in the Service. We have lived the last thirty years living next door to each other and we share everything. We are so different in personality - but so close in the real things of life. She is very wise in many areas where I am a flibberdyjibet. She is my nurse, my animal consultant, my Bible discusser, and oh yes, she puts up with my
"My husband is the sweetest man in the world" speech every day. She's even gotten to say it herself! (Because he is).

I guess that what I am feeling is the brevity of life. God gives us just so many days to live here - to get ready to meet Him face to face - and to glorify Him in all that we do, think, or wish for. Along the way He gives us friends because 'iron sharpens iron'. Our friendships teach us - encourage us, and yes, confront us.

My prayer for us is that we will not waste time and energy on things that have no eternal value. May we really witness to the love of Christ and His wonderful gift of salvation, not only with words - but with the gratitude that holds nothing back, so that we may say to all of our departing friends,
"See you Later"....