Hearts Unfold....

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, 

God of glory, Lord of love;

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee

Opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness;

Drive the dark of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness,

Fill us with the light of day!

(Henry Van Dyke) 

More Pondering; Less Posting

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.  Luke 2:19

 Especially on facebook,  it seems to me Too Much Information is being posted.
Personal details are being relayed--seemingly without thought about who will be reading.
I'm sure I've been guilty.
I'm trying to figure out why people wish their spouse "Happy Birthday" on facebook.
Do they not communicate face-to-face?
 Is it useful to write love notes on facebook for 450 friends to see?
How can people "like" content containing profanity?
And crude language (well, crude to me) used to be frowned upon
and considered impolite for use in the general public.
Now it seems to be perfectly appropriate in print,
and children who USE it are celebrated and bragged on.


If anyone had reason to post about her Child, Mary did.
If anyone had life events to blog about, Mary did.
But would she have?
Or would she simply "treasure up all these things and ponder them in her heart"?
I really don't know. (But I suspect not.)
I'm thinking hard about this...evaluating AGAIN why & how I use the technology available to me.
I'm coming up with:

More treasuring; less talking
More pondering; less posting
More contemplating; less commenting

More and More

More....

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ."   (Philippians 1:9-10)

...and more

Seeing the additional irises opened this morning brought the words "more and more" to my mind.  Until Jesus comes again (or I die), there will always be more in store for me.  Though outwardly I may appear to be aging and diminishing, the possibilities and promises for me remain!  Eliza Hewitt wrote the words to an old gospel song that is the prayer of my heart inspired by the flowering of the irises.....

More about Jesus would I know,
More of His grace to others show;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.

More, more about Jesus,
More, more about Jesus;
More of His saving fullness see,
More of His love Who died for me.

(By the way, do you see how many flowers there are yet to unfold on the iris plant?)

The Great Completer

If you remembered The Big Reveal  or Waiting in the Wings 

 these  photos might interest you...

 There's nothing so satisfying as projects completed.

 In the case of the refurbished fence sections,

 it seems that with their addition EVERYTHING close to them looks better!

My husband is the great (human) completer.

I admire the way he sticks with a project until it is finished.

He reminds me of my Heavenly Father, and with the Apostle Paul I can say,

I am certain that God, who began the good work within (me),

 will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

(Philippians 1:6)

I admit that I'm quite a "project"....a work in progress.
I'm a strong starter but tend to lose my enthusiasm for completing things somehow...
That's only ONE of many things The Great Completer is working on in me.
Oh, how I'm looking forward to being "finished"!

Are you a better starter or finisher?
What's the most recent project (large or small) that YOU'VE  finished? 

The Big Reveal

 Yesterday my sister called and alerted us to a pile of wood being trashed in their addition.

My husband checked it out while returning from an appointment.

He came home with the trunk of his car open - and full!

Among the "treasures"--four sections of picket fence.

After some repair, I went to work and got one section painted

 before the mosquitoes put a stop to my efforts.
(Are the mosquitoes pestering YOU?)

We propped the painted section up in front of these windows. 

 It doesn't look half bad there,

but this is only a temporary placement--

much like our place in this world (which is NOT our "home") is only a temporary placement!

As surely as I can't wait to see the end result when these reclaimed treasures are placed

in the spot I envision them in,

I can't wait for the Big Reveal waiting for me--and all who
through faith in Jesus are children of God and will one day

"be like Him"...

I John 3:2-3 reads:  "Dear friends, now we are children of God, 

and what we WILL be has not yet been made known.  

But we know that when Christ appears we shall be like him,

for we shall see him as he is.  

All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Waiting in the Wings

 As of Tuesday morning, this table is "waiting in the wings".

I just checked to make sure I was using the phrase correctly.  I was.

It means being ready to take over a role or position when you have the chance to do so.

 The phrase is related to the fact that stage actors wait in the wings at the side of the stage

 until it's time for them to play their part in the drama.

 I found this table/work bench at a garage sale last Saturday.  

It was delivered to our house Tuesday, and I can't wait to figure out how to 

*repair and refinish it!

If not actively on stage, Christians are supposed to be in the wings. Always ready!

Peter, writing in I Peter 3:15-16 says:  "...worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always BE READY to explain it.  But do this in a gentle and respectful way:  Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ."

By worshiping Jesus as Lord of my life, I am waiting in the wings--waiting for a chance

to explain my Christian hope!  Being in the wings isn't always glamorous.

But being ready and prepared to fulfill my role is the least I can do since I belong to Jesus!


*It will be my Wonder-Working Husband who will be doing the repairing and refinishing,
 by the way...

I Love Springtime

 Until autumn at least, spring is my favorite season.

Throughout our yard and flower beds,

 I found much to fascinate me

as I strolled about this evening....

I found myself humming this song and when I returned to the house,
I looked up the lyrics to fill in what I couldn't remember.... 
♪ ♫ ♪
When in the spring, the flowers are blooming bright and fair,
After the grey of winter's gone.
Once again the lark begins his tuning,
Back in the meadows of my heart.

Lord, make me like that stream that flows so cool and clear
Down from the mountains high above;
I will tell the world the wondrous story
Of the precious stream filled with your Love.

  

Chorus
Lord, to my heart bring back the springtime.
Take away the cold and dark of sin.
  Oh refill me now, sweet Holy Spirit:
May I warm and tender be again.

(Bring Back the Springtime, lyrics) 

 I wonder if you might want to use Jennifer's free tutorial
to create beautiful spring chalkboard art?
You can find out about it HERE. 

Just Hanging Out...

 ...that's what I'm doing today - 

this Saturday before Mother's Day.

I will be thinking of a way to patch the tear (and hole)

in this large piece of fabric.

I simply love its colors - though faded and somewhat worn.

It serves many purposes and has a lot of life left in it!
Reminds me a little bit of myself, I think.

More Peace

Scene outside our living room window this morning....

Shoes of peace. In every situation, peace. No matter where my feet take me or how the path turns, shoes of peace...Into conflict or surprises; over rough ground or smooth, I walk in peace. His peace, strong and sure, keeps my ankles from turning. Keeps my heart from alarming, keeps my feet true rock-centered....And I bring His peace wherever I go. Wherever I walk, shedding peace. Shedding joy, a calm spirit. Bringing life, light and love in my own daily living. Wearing those shoes of His peace.

Have you "met" Rhonda?  The words above are just a part of her reflections from a table in her favorite coffee shop.  A talented and dedicated writer, mother of boys (four, I believe), and perceptive and tender-hearted soul, her words here on this subject help formulate my prayer today.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace...

 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

Ephesians 6:15

A Timely Quote (for me)

...an old lilac bush blooms yet another season...

"Don't be afraid to trust the God who raises the dead

with the deadness of your heart. 

Don't reach for Christ; fall on him."

(Scotty Smith, Twitter)

Weekly Reader

I'm not sure why I thought to title the post "Weekly Reader" except that I finished Maeve Binchy's wonderful book LAST week and am about to finish THIS one THIS week....

"Weekly Reader" took me back to elementary school days when a certain amount of time was spent each week reading and discussing a mini-newspaper called "Weekly Reader"!  Does anyone else remember it?

Anyway....I picked up on this title from another blog - not sure whose - and thought it would be an enjoyable read.  It is!  It is in the same genre as Peter Mayle's books.  (Come to think of it, I've not seen any new ones of his recently.  Hmmmmmm.)

Back to Rue Tatin...I kind of skip over the French recipes at the end of each chapter.  They're just too complicated for me.  But the rest of the book is delightful!  Just my style.

I put in a request for it at our local library branch, and I think they had to dive into the archives for it at the main library.  It came with a note attached that the spine was damaged, so I've had to treat the book with a little tenderness.  I don't mind.  It's well worth it to read of this family's adventures in a small but thriving town in France as they purchase and renovate an old convent and settle into village life.

If this is  YOUR style and interest, I'm sure you'd enjoy it, too!
You might even enjoy the recipes...

Peace

A bit (a BUNCH, actually) of heaviness, sadness, unexplained despair and general "blues" moved in and settled darkly over my spirit a couple of days ago.  In spite of my attempts to reach out to others needier than myself, sing praise songs, read the Psalms and follow all the other advice I so easily give to others, I seem to only escape the darkness by sleeping.

So after church today, that is what I did--stretched out on the couch with the afghan pulled up over my face.

I'm not sure how many hours passed before I opened my eyes.  The first thing I saw was this--Peace!  Stuck there some time ago while trying to figure out where to store it when I took Christmas decorations down, I guess.

When I went to edit the picture, I also noticed the seam on the lampshade where it SHOULDN'T be--uglying up the photo.  It reminded me that there's most likely SOMETHING where it shouldn't be in my life--whether it be attitude, a health situation that needs addressed, schedule that needs adjusting, a choice that needs to be made, fear, something I'm procrastinating about, or physical clutter that is bogging me down. 

I'm still in a sort of funk but with a little more insight than when I entered it.  Mostly, I realize that "Peace" was there all the time.  Even if I was unaware of it.  Even when I didn't notice.

"I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. 

And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."

Jesus in John 14:27

Two are Better than One

Two are better than one, because they have a good [more satisfying] reward for their labor;

   For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow. 

 But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

It is SO true. Two ARE better than one.

We've spent a lot of time in our yard the past few days.  One afternoon, I noticed several "pairs" here and there and was reminded of the truth of these verses.  I thank my Heavenly Father for my husband, the other half of a life-long pair...and also those who" pick me up when I fall"--whose encouragement and friendship have blessed me over and over and over again.

As I look at the pairs in my photos, I'm reminded that the other half of a pair need not be a duplicate of its partner.  Rather, there is at least one common feature the two share, and they exist in close enough proximity to each other to "interact" or simply and quietly share space with each other.

Today I'm especially aware that there will be people who cross my path today who feel "alone" and may in fact have  no human presence to help when they fall down.  I pray that God will help me to interact unselfishly, simply and quietly with those whose space I share. 

Revive ME Again!

Let's join forces as Christians and start a Jesus Christ revival!  Press like if Jesus is your Savior.

The well-meaning (if not well thought out) post showed up on my facebook page just one time too many the other day.  THIS time, I couldn't decide whether to scream or cry.  In the past, I just silently and sometimes sarcastically told myself how wonderful it would be if a spiritual awakening could be started by "liking" ANYTHING on facebook...if a simple motion of one's index finger would fix the state of the church and change the hearts of God's people.

By the way....if anyone knows how to block these types of things, 

including recipes, "how many colors can you name that don't have the letter e in them",

 "like if you love your daughter, son, cat or dog", etc. PLEASE let me know!

V. Raymond Edman, a former president of Wheaton College, once said, "It is one thing to wish for revival, but it is something else to be willing for revival at any cost."  I suspect that the cost of revival is higher that most of us are willing to pay.  Humble ourselves?  Seek His face?  Wait?  Pray?  Intensify our time spent in the Word?  Gather together with fellow, passionate believers?

As much as I resist the role of human effort when it comes to issues of the soul, I can't get past some of the "If/Then" statements of God the Father & God the Son in the Bible.  One of the better known is 2 Chronicles 7:14:  "If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

The National Day of Prayer in the United States is scheduled for this week.  Much emphasis, time and money have been placed on communicating the  "pray" part of this verse.   Less attention and effort seem directed to the humbling, seeking, and turning parts! God, help us--and not just as an event, but as a lifestyle!  God, give us grace.  God, be merciful.

A revival is nothing else than a new beginning of obedience to God. (Charles Finney)

Revival is a new discovery of Jesus. (Professor James Steward)

A revival is a sovereign outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon a group of Christians resulting in their spiritual reviving and quickening, and issuing in the awakening of spiritual concern in outsiders or formal church members; an immediate, or, at other times, a more long-term, effect will be efforts to extend the influence of the Kingdom of God both intensively in the society in which the Church is placed, and extensively in the spread of the gospel to more remote parts of the world. (R.E. Davies)

You cannot revive something that has never had life, so revival, by definition, is first of all an enlivening and quickening and awakening of lethargic, sleeping church members. Suddenly the power of the Spirit comes upon them … they are humbled, they are convicted of sin … then as a result of their quickening and enlivening, they begin to pray. New power comes into the preaching of the ministers, and the result of this is large numbers are converted. So the two main characteristics of revival are, first, this extraordinary enlivening of the members of the church, and, second, the conversion of masses of people who have been outside in indifference and in sin.  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

 Revival awakens in our hearts an increased awareness of the presence of God, a new love for God, a new hatred for sin and a hunger for His Word. (Del Fehsefeld Jr)

Revive Us Again!

Revive ME Again!

 

Goodbye, Maeve Binchy

I'm finishing our vacation on a sweet note.  In less than 24 hours, I'd read A Week in Winter.  I think I've read every book that Maeve Binchy has written with equal pleasure. She finished writing this one shortly before her death in July 2012 at the age of seventy-two.

Like the others, this one was full of characters so well described that I felt they were people I have known for some time.  Maeve Binchy (whose name I have never figured out how to pronounce) writes clean, uncomplicated stories about ordinary people living out lives not so different from my own or those around me.

An Irish woman herself, she writes comfortably of  small town Irish life while blending in folks from various walks of life from places like New York and London.  Having read her other books, it is comforting to run into familiar characters now and then - yet in such a way that a person wouldn't have had to read the other books to enjoy the current one.

I'm sad to know she will longer be penning the kind of stories that make me smile (and shed a tear or two).  For years I have waited a little impatiently between books for her next one to be published.  Now my "waits" are over.

Goodbye, Maeve Binchy.

A New Thing

Though I've flown in large airliners,

I've never flown in a small plane like this until our vacation last week.

I'm contemplating this "new thing" as I climb aboard....

I enjoyed the view and was relatively at ease

given the fact that my nephew was the pilot,

experienced and capable.

I'm in good company with this "new thing"!

 “Forget the former things;  do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!"

(God, in Isaiah 43:9)

He is at the controls!

I wonder what new things still lie ahead for me?

THIS one, I know....

A new heaven AND a new earth!

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

(Revelation 21:1,5)

In spite of many uncertainties, I'm looking forward to the future, 

buoyed by the knowledge of Whose hands it is in

and what He has promised. 

I don't want to miss anything He has planned for me! 

Meeting Sandy

 For I am yearning to see you, that I may impart and share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen and establish you; That is, that we may be mutually strengthened and encouraged and comforted by each other’s faith, 
both yours and mine.  (Romans 1:11-12)

I memorized these verses years and years ago as a teen 

when participating in Bible Quizzing through our church.

I think I know a little of what Paul was feeling as I anticipated meeting Sandy!

While on vacation, I arranged to meet this beautiful lady whom

 I have grown to  love and appreciate through her blog.

Her heart for Jesus is clearly communicated there.

I KNEW it was her when she walked into the Black Forest Restaurant in her hometown.

 

My husband and brother shared a meal with us,

and my husband documented our meeting by taking these informal pictures.

(Thanks, Hon!)

I know that I was strengthened and encouraged and comforted by Sandy's faith!

I'm SO thankful for the privilege of a face-to-face meeting

with a fellow blogger.  My only regret is that our time together was so short.

Sandy shares her faith at Faith, Hope and Love.  

I hope you'll pay her a visit soon.

Roots

 No vacation is complete for me without a book or two to fill in

empty spaces of time.  Here I read as I wait for my husband to finish up a round of golf.

The scenery is spectacular.  The car radio is tuned to classical music.

The book is Speak What We Feel Not What We Ought to Say:  Four Who Wrote in Blood 

by Frederick Buechner.  The four are Chesterton, Hopkins, Shakespeare and Twain.

 From a sonnet of Gerard Manley Hopkins....

 ...Mine, O thou lord of life,

send my roots rain.

In the margin of my book, I pen it.  "Amen!"

In addition to the amazing field of phlox that met our view in Island Park last evening,
I was drawn to the various root formations...
"Roots" appears to have emerged as the word  summarizing

this year's vacation.  (Last year it was "fire".)

 Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all he has done. (Colossians 2:7)

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit

in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established  in love may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses

knowledge--that you may be filled to the full measure of all the fullness of God.  (Ephesians 3: 16-19)