Wisdom & Understanding

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31 With the Christmas season approaching, it brings back many good memories of a season in my life. The year was 2001 and my husband and I were waiting for my son, his wife and the two grandbabies to come home for a visit. In anticipation of them coming I had already set up the pre-lit tree and had taken the ornaments out of the garage. In my mind I could just see them arriving with the children to a homey house already decorated for Christmas. I was looking for a reprieve from the stress of taking care of my dear husband whose health was rapidly declining. To me decorating the tree and having everything in place when they arrived, would have been a spark of joy over the recent events that had taken place in our lives. But one night as I went into the living room preparing to decorate the tree, my hus...

“There is no pit so deep, that God's love is not deeper still." — Corrie ten Boom “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39 A friend requested prayer for their family member that had to be hospitalized for a mental condition. While many with compassion rushed to let her know that they are indeed praying and believing God for restoration. One well meaning soul decided to question the decision to hospitalize and even of...

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” Philippians 4:11-13 I am sure we have all heard “Bloom where you’re planted”. Well to me this morning it related to my Mums on my front porch that I was watering at the time. They are so pretty in full bloom, in spite of the conditions…cold outside…restrained and contained in a pot, dry and without water (sorry…I did water them though), they get no real attention like my houseplants…and yet there they were this morning just blooming away. It reminded me of us, sometimes we may not have the ideal situations: don’t like our jobs, don’t get along with relatives or associates, your money may be funny, age is creeping up on you, etc. There are a million an...

One night while watching a documentary on MSNBC, it was about the DC Snipers. In October 2002, a man and 16 year old boy went on a shooting rampage that ended in the death of 10 people and wounding several innocent people. The case worker of the young boy involved, spoke of how he had such a bad case of "lost identity" that he could not understand his accountability for the deaths of the people he had killed. He would say things like "I did what my father told me to do" and that he would do anything that he asked of him. He had lost all sense of who he really was. His sociopath state of mind was so merged with the older man, that every technique they tried to "seperate" the boy from the older man failed. That is until this determined case worker who was of Carribean descent as the boy, went back to his hometown in the Islands and tape recorded the boy's relatives. She asked his relatives to record their memories of the boy when he lived at home. The co...

"But the fruit if the Spirit of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, KINDNESS, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Galations 5:22-23 Someone came up with that phrase a few years ago, about people "...doing random acts of kindness." While I do appreciate the effort and sentiment into getting people to take notice to others needs and doing something about it. I scratch my head when it comes to the "random" part. The word "random" means -"occurring without definite aim, reason or pattern; without uniformity; to do something haphazardly." -Webster Dicitonary Haphazardly? hmmm Well I guess it worked for some people, I mean I've seen numerous commercials on TV of one person helping someone across the street and then that person returns a purse to someone who has dropped it and it goes on and on in a chain reaction. But does it really work that easily? There are plenty of people that will see an act of kindness and it does not affect them at all....

" To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to break down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh. A time to mourn and a time to dance..." Summer memories...I was just thinking about them today; seeing that we are smack in the middle of the season. Funny how when it's Winter, we usually yearn for the warmer season and vice versa. With the tempatures reaching triple figures recently, I looked back on our snowed in days and thought "It really wasn't so bad with 12 inches of snow outside". (Don't think I felt that way back then though.) Seasons come and season go, it's all God ordained, we can't stop them, so we all might as well settle in and enjoy the best of each one. So it is with life. There are seasons in each life and sometimes I have been guilty of not apprecia...

Then Jesus told them this parable: "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders…” Luke 15:3-5 “Because you always came back for me…” those are the words that caused tears to well up in my eyes in the middle of Pathmark Supermarket. I ran into a friend I had not seen in a while, and in the course of our conversation and standing among the peppers and cucumbers in the fresh vegetable section, she began to tell me about a student of hers. This woman has been in education for many, many years, has seen and experienced a lot. She has taught and helped many from all backgrounds, but when this little guy was put in her charge she knew that it was an unusual case. This little guy though he had the ability to speak, had not spoken the entire time he was in that particular school. Further investigation showed lots o...

What a wonderful honor it is to be a mother, to think that God would entrust us to carry and give birth to His creations. And what an honor it was to have my mother. I miss her...even though I had her for almost 77 years, to me it was still not enough time. Not enough time to hug her, to share with her during our Saturday morning phone talks, to laugh with her. But I believe that she was ready to go home, home to be with the Lord and with my Dad that had passed a little over a year before. So when I begin to get sad I have to remind myself that she and my Dad are "Together forever in the presence of the Lord", which is engraved in their shared memorial headstone. It's ashame that we don't realize sometimes totally how blessed we are to have a good mother until we actually become one ourselves. Because then we can see and experience the sacrifices, the pain and most importantly the joy that our mothers went through for us. How many times have I heard mothers say "...

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: He that keepeth thee will not slumber." Psalms 121:1-3 Some days all you need to know is that He is keeping you...it is one of those days for me. I am thankful for the assurance.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4 Pretty, yellow tulips, yes that’s what I want! The color of the flowers matched the bright sunny Easter day! After making my purchase I proceeded to drive to the cemetery. A place I used to dread going, but now that my husband’s memorial is there, I see the visit in a much different light. It is a time to meditate and tell God all about what I’m feeling. I don’t visit that often and have learned to only go when I feel the need. After arranging the sunny yellow tulips in a container and placing it at my husband’s headstone, I begin to talk to my Father. It is a very intimate relationship I have with Him, He knows all about me and my shortcomings, how I miss the mark sometimes, how I fail and disappoint Him. And yet, I still feel free to come to Him and share openly how I feel…and He listens patiently. He is not shocked or surprised when I tell Him I am angry or frustrated. He does not reject me because I am not what w...

“You, LORD, are the light that keeps me safe. I am not afraid of anyone. You protect me, and I have no fears. Brutal people may attack and try to kill me, but they will stumble. Fierce enemies may attack, but they will fall. Armies may surround me, but I won't be afraid; war may break out, but I will trust you.” Psalms 27:1-3 (Contemporary English Version) I’ve written about this scripture before, but that’s the way God’s Word is; though it never changes, it can give you what I call “Customized encouragement” for what you may be going through at the time. This time these words remind me that I am not alone, and not unprotected. Living as a widow for the past eight years has been a journey and learning experience. The Holy Spirit has been not only my “tour” guide on this journey, He has also been my teacher. Back at the end of year 2008, I felt like the Lord was encouraging me to seek more “Wisdom and Understanding”; to get to know Him better. And that He would give me more wisdom ...

The LORD your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 I love this scripture; it speaks of God’s restoration to a people that were in exile and being held captive by a very hostile nation. A people who in no doubt had suffered all that goes along with being taken from your home and held prisoner for years. The writer of this book of the Bible was a prophet who had the undesirable job of telling the people the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth; even it meant bad news…for a season. Zephaniah tells them in no uncertain terms of their rebellion to God, but in verse 17 he begins to tell them that God; who is a God of Justice, is also a God of Mercy. (Micah 7:18 says God does not hold His anger and delights in His mercy) God’s Mercy restores, and He is glad, rejoices and delights in restoration! God is happy when we are happy, He rejoices when we...

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:35-39 I am a firm believer that God uses ordinary, simple things to speak to us. The prayer of my heart has been that I would know the voice of God when He speaks. And I have learned that He speaks to me through very simple ways, everyday experiences. I mean why He would need to do some gigantic demonstration of nature or send some mystical revelation, when I can understand what He is saying to m...

Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. Psalms 66:8-9 “…kept our feet from slipping.” That phrase has taken on a whole new meaning to me now. I know that figuratively/Biblically it means “kept from falling spiritually” but guess what? A few days ago, I experience being kept from actually slipping! Here’s the scenario, its 5:00 AM, still dark outside, light snow on the ground. Now add to that a two and a quarter pound puppy in the process of being potty trained and me, a middle aged woman in pajamas, hair in curlers and house slippers (no pun intended) on. Both the dog and I were still a little skittish from a few days before when about 8 deer shot out from between the houses. We heard them first then out they ran down the lawn and across the street, where they stood for a few minutes looking at us as if WE had invaded THEIR territory, the nerve. With this experience in mind we, the dog and I “tip-toed”...

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 In a couple of weeks it will be the 8th anniversary of my husband’s passing into Glory and I still miss him like it was yesterday. It has been quite a journey, but I can truly testify that the Lord has been with me every step of the way. Most of the stages of grief have passed, I no longer ask “Why?” or “Only if…” there is no anger or frustration. I no longer walk around in a daze as if I’ve somehow lost my way. The real, physical feeling of having a missing limb or body part has somehow left me. Though I still cry, the raw pain and gaping wound of loss is gone and what remains is indeed a scar, but a scar of the testament of the keeping Grace of God. Just like with a physical wound when it has been healed to leave a scar, you can look at it and remember the pain, but it is only a memory. I don’t know if there is any truth in the saying th...