A Birthday... We Still Mark Time With Dates

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

Time is no more for you - but for us we remember this day.  We still mark life with time and we remember this day because it is the day of your birth.  The day you  began your journey here on earth and eventually it included me.  I became a part of your life and you became a part of mine.
And with that my heart aches and remembers...

I remember your servant-heart. One that loved and loved to show that by doing things for others.  Since I moved to Ohio, effort needed to be made to see family and I always knew that when I came 'home' you'd be happy to see me.  You delighted in the boys, reading stories and you wanted to know what was going on in our world.  And in the same way, when you and mom would come to Ohio, you'd play ball with the boys and were interested in them.  And we cannot forget the hiding of the candy... :) They would rush downstairs the minute you were all out the driveway...
Leaving candy behind you also left memories behind.  Ones that we hold close to our hearts and treasure.
You would often go the extra mile - fixing something that needed fixed, lending a hand when one was needed, giving and giving.
But we also remember your humour... "not my fault..." you would say if you messed up. :) or if a door was left open and it was cold outside you'd holler out... "close your pnuemonia hole".

moments to treasure in the midst of the ache...

You also lived the last decade openly, wanting your slate clear; wondering at times if there was anything that needed to be taken care of.  You were aware of your humanness and in that turned to repentance if needed.  You ended life that way too.  open.  transparent.  Life and people mattered to you!

Today my heart aches because your spot here on earth is empty - but I rejoice that you are with Jesus. (I'm jealous)
Heaven is a bit more real these days, a bit closer.  I don't sorrow without hope because of Jesus.  Your symphony of love continues to ring on...

I just finished reading Ezekiel and the phrase - "that they may know that I am God" was repeated over and over - 64 times. And 5 other times God told Ezekiel to tell the people "that they will know that I the LORD did this or that..."  His heart ached for all the people to know Him.  That He would be enough for them...  That, I believe, is His heart beat for us today.  for me.
These phrases were always after a hardship.  After painful times of being taken into slavery or crop failure, etc.
Then the last several chapters are describing a temple and the final words of Ezekiel are the name of this temple "The LORD is here."  Hmmmm....
How fitting after the LORD wanting to be known... someone found Him.  Someone saw Him...

And so, dad.  In the midst of this hard thing - the lack of your physical presence...
      I want to know God.  To find Him.  And I am. (step by step; slowly but surely)
      I want to know His love and compassion in the midst of pain.  And I am.
      I want to know His Father heart.  And I am. (more and more)
He's taking care of me.  I am not without hope.
    The LORD is here.

I love you and you are missed.

Judith

Failure...Is Not the Final Voice

Failure haunts us around every corner.  We experience it.  We hear it.  It breathes down our necks as we dare to step out.
Others let us know when we fall short...  We tell ourselves... and most of all, we let it define us.

Failure was knocking at my door and in that moment I wanted to give in to it.  to quit. to give up.  CONDEMNATION was speaking rather loudly!
But then... another knock sounded and i cracked open the door.  What if it was one of your boys?  What would you say to them?
       -get up.  try again.  it's not the end of the world.
Hmmm... So why am I having a hard time believing those same words of advice for myself?  Why do I look at failure as a bad thing for myself??

I asked God, "How do You view failure or when we mess up?"

This was the reply that softly filled my thoughts...
       Adam and Eve...
they messed up.  They took of the fruit, while full well knowing they weren't supposed to.  They knew immediately that what they did was WRONG.
(can anyone relate?  I can.)

So they did what I so quickly and easily do... hide.  They went and hid themselves.  They felt the shame and condemnation of having known better and yet choosing otherwise.

What did God do??  Did He let them go?  No.  He pursued them.  He waited until evening and asked them what they did?
He engaged with them, He continued to love them.  Yes, His heart was grieved.  Disobedience was given consequence.  But He LOVED them, still!  GOD DID NOT ABANDON THEM!  And HE WON'T YOU either!
He loved them enough that He planned a redemption plan.  One that cost a lot.  It cost Him His all.  Jesus!  (Do I love like that?)
Their failure was not the end of the world for God.  And it isn't the end for you or me, either.
Yes, His heart longs for more for us.  Yes, He loves us still.  But most of all He wants us to repent.  To turn our hearts toward Him for His redemption plan.

There are no if-onlys in the Bible.
If-only Adam and Eve had not eaten the fruit...
If-only they would have listened...
If-only... if-only...
then I (God) wouldn't have had to send Jesus to die for your mistake...
The if-onlys that ring loudly in our ears are not there...

Redemption is.  God's love continues on..

Failure is NOT the end of the world.  Redemption is.  LOVE. IS.

So pick up your head.  Look to the Saviour.  Rest in His embrace of love.  Acknowledge your mistake... It does NOT define you.

God's Greater Truth does.  And that Truth is...
       You are precious.  Precious enough that He gave His all.  His very life for our mistakes.
        Thank Him by choosing His redemption plan.  Love Him back.

Again.  FAILURE IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD.

Redemption is.

In all the mess-ups and failures recorded in the Bible, there was no condemnation, unless the individual refused to repent.
Jesus always invited or called the individual to repentance with questions.  He did not cover over the wrong-doing.  He spoke into it, but never condemned.

That came after the individual's choice to walk away from His redemption.

Go.  And sin no more.  Neither do I condemn you... were Jesus' words to the adulteress woman.  They are ours, too, when we choose to look to the Redeemer for salvation.

She received grace.

The Pharisees felt the condemnation.  Jesus never spoke the words. But it is there for the unrepentant.

Grace is given to the one who leans into God's redemption for the mistake.

So, the next time condemnation knocks at the door.  Answer it fair and square by taking it the Father and hearing His words of Truth.  The Greater Truth that needs and must trump the truth of the failure...

AGAIN... Failure IS NOT  the end of the world.  Redemption is!!!
(something that must be breathed into this soul of mine.  absorbed.  inhaled)

Repent and believe!  Believe Jesus' Greater Truth.

What Does it Take to Walk in the Midst of Hard

Here are some of my twirling thoughts....

I just read Hebrews 11, the faith chapter, and how without FAITH it is impossible to please God.  And the people listed were not perfect people.  They did not have it all-together.  But they had a heart bent towards God and it was counted for righteousness and great things happened.  Stories we tell to our children and each other pour forth.  But they did not know the end result.  they did not know lions mouths would be shut. or fire would produce no damage.  or a ram would be found in a bush.  Abraham never got to see the complete fulfillment of God's promise to him.
But they walked.  they followed.  they BELIEVED God.  they were convinced of His love for them and convinced that He was who said He was.

I AM. (Jesus)

This past Sunday, our Sunday School lesson was in Philippians, and the recurring theme is JOY.  Paul wrote this letter while in prison and spoke much of joy.  Joy.  In the middle of hard things - prison.  In the midst of when it would seem, what good am I in here, he writes of joy, not happiness, but JOY.
How does one understand and grasp joy?  What is joy??
One definition that I like is - a deep and quiet conviction that God loves me no matter what.  That He is not out 'to get' me.
Joy is a result of a relationship and connection with God.  It cannot be bought or worked on, but is a fruit of the Spirit.  And it's in the middle of hard things we experience.

And now, I wonder how all this ties in with life.  with reality.
It's easy to write these words, but hard in reality.  And reality is...
death.  sickness.  loss.

That is real for some today.  One death is an elderly woman.  a grandma.  the other an infant.  one who was 2 days away from seeing light and breath.
So, how does FAITH and JOY and death tie together??  How do we lean into the reality of faith and joy in the midst of hard??

We hang on to the hand of Jesus.  We grip it tightly, while all around the facts don't make sense.  We lean toward Jesus and choose to believe that it is a part of redemption.  We choose to believe He still loves us and is not out to punish or hurt us.  We believe.  That is FAITH.  And it counts.  It matters to God when we turn towards Him in the middle of the hard and not away...

And JOY.  It is not some bubbly, happy feeling.  Yes, it can be.  But in the midst of death, or any hard thing we may face, it's looking for and finding the stars in the darkness.  It's recognizing the care of those who reach out to us.  It's the prayers.  the peace of God.  It's looking, grappling, and reaching for the hand of God.  and clinging when it doesn't make sense. (and sometimes we need SOMEONE else to help us). IT'S BEING CONVINCED OF WHO GOD IS AND THAT HE LOVES ME!

Pain is still there.  But peace has stepped in.
Loss leaves an empty spot.  But Jesus wants to fill it.
Temporary perspective is exchanged with the eternal.

and our hearts find rest. peace (make at one with).  JOY flows forth.  not because of me.  but because of God.  Joy happens as a result...

And with the heart cry of God in Ezekiel, we find Him.
That they may know that I am God... was God's heartbeat for all people, Israel and the surrounding nations and people.  And it STILL IS His heart-cry.  for us to know Him.  to experience His goodness and care in the midst of hard.  we partake. we taste...

-the care at the hands of another
-the blazing colours of the sunset
-breath for another day
-prayers  from another for grace to go on believing
and more...

It takes knowing and believing GOD.  And some times, the hard is where we find Him again.

to the Schrock family & to Aaron & Jona -
May you discover more of God and I wish you His peace and grace (joy). today. right now...

Something new, Something beginning...

Whew... how does one go about beginnings??  When do you launch out and give it a whirl??  I guess, you simply just do it!  So i am.

I invited one of my blogger friends and we spent the morning touching a bit into our lives and her beginning me on this venture. :) 

Maybe you feel like it's one more blog. one more thing to read. and you're a bit 'bitter' about all the input of the world of words.  that's ok.  you don't have to feel any obligations to read.

But i know the power of someone's story.  the power of their words and the many times i have been 'mentored' by them.  and so, i ... step out and, for you, who may be encouraged or mentored through the words on these pages, i write.  and for me, to learn from you.  because it's not my story above yours or that what i write is better than yours.  it is simply my story and i share a piece of it with you.  and i pray, that you may at times, trust me with yours...

I will write about my questions or my musings.  I will even write about my ponderings or the latest inspiration i get as i read God's Word and 'sit' at His feet.  I invite you to 'interact' with me, for it's in relating and interacting together that we experience more of life and can learn from each other more about God.   Let's 'taste' God. together.

PS. I think i better simply hit the publish button before i back out...