Wisdom & Understanding

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”   And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.    Mark 10:15-16, Luke 18:17 The innocence of a child is so precious and pure. And though an assignment from hell to steal that innocence has been around for centuries, it seems the tempo has been quickened. Proof of that can be seen every time you pick up a newspaper or read the latest news on your computer. It seems the age of the victims of this attack gets younger and younger as the years go by.   And yet I also see parents and guardians encouraging their children to grow up quickly: by making little girls wear makeup and compete to see who’s the prettiest, allowing children to be entertained by things that are designed for adults and ignoring, even finding it amusing when they, the children, adopt and mimic profane mannerisms and language. God help us, because we have helped to spee

"For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6 Christmas will be different for me this year. For the past 11 years, I have spent Christmas away from home, traveling to be with family. This year I feel the Lord saying for me to stay at home.  I don't quite understand it but feel it necessary to heed to this gentle persuading.  I am not sad about it because I know that when He asks us to do (or not to do) something it is for the greater good, the bigger picture.  So I have settled into making this holiday a very special one. Though I will very much miss being with family, I will not miss the hustle and bustle of the airport. An 11:00AM flight for me means getting up at 4:00AM so that I can finish packing, getting the dog to the kennel, then coming back to make sure everything has been done, i.e. mail stop

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.    I Chronicles 16:34 The roots of the fallen tree Looking out of my dining room window I can see the clear blue sky, so lovely.   Before October of last year I did not have this view…my neighbor’s 40 foot tree stood in all its glory, branches reaching to the sky.   But during Hurricane Sandy of 2012 that mighty tree became a casualty of the storm.   That tree that had been there for decades was lifted roots and all and pushed to its side on the ground!   When we surveyed the damages after the storm, I looked in amazement that if the tree had fallen to the left, it would have landed on my house and 2 of the upstairs bedrooms, along with the dining and living room would have been destroyed.   Instead the tree looked as if something pushed it backwards and into the lot of a temporarily vacant home.   All I could say was “Thank You Lord” for your protection!   That even through the storm, with winds blowing over

I cannot believe that November is already half over!  And really the Christmas season is in full swing!  I don't do much decorating like I used to, but I still like to add some gaiety to the house after all we are celebrating Christ's Birthday!  I still have the Fall deco up and it will stay up until the last day of November (don't ask me why, but that's the day I always do it).  But here are some things I've done in previous years: Love this teapot, got it from Ross a few years ago along with some platters and creamer, all with scriptures on them.   My favorite Snowman that gets a place of honor in the living room  :-) Outdoor Apple topiary, I have 2 that I got a few years go from Target, they are by Smith & Hawken, love their stuff! The "Hope" ornament is one of my favorites, first thing to see when you enter the house. One year (2011) I used the colors green and gold, so I used all my green glass.     Can't f

“Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up!” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother."   Luke 7:11-15 I suppose that most of my writings some say are about suffering and sad stuff…but I write what I am learning at the time.   I remember praying and asking God what was my purpose and I believe that the answer came back with a question. “What moves you the most?”   With that I realized that as far back as I can remember I was always so moved and touched by anyone or anything that was hurting.   Rather it wa

Well I made it through October and I thank God!  I feel a little lighter now!  This was my morning Bible reading: Psalms 13  How long, Lord ? Will you forget me forever?  How long will you hide your face from me? 2  How long must I wrestle with my thoughts    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?    How long will my enemy triumph over me? 3  Look on me and answer, Lord my God.    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death, 4  and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him, ”    and my foes will rejoice when I fall. 5  But I trust in your unfailing love;    my heart rejoices in your salvation. 6  I will sing the Lord ’s praise,     for he has been good to me.   "Give light to my eyes..." stood out to me in these scriptures.  When you go through grief sometimes it feels like the light has gone out of your eyes.  I look in the mirror sometimes and feel that my eyes are not the same...they have seen great sadness.  But there is hope my fri

I have a "Love/Hate" relationship with the month of October...  well... maybe hate is too strong a word, so let's just say dis-like. My mother's birthday is on the 2nd and my husband's is the 22nd, so that's the beginning and towards the end of the month.  With all my excitement about the changing season and decorating, I say every year that I won't let it affect me...but it does.  I miss them both so much!  Both of them loved this season too.  My husband and I would always take a weekend in the fall to go on a getaway up to Lancaster Pa. to see the changing foliage.  My Mom always talked about how she loved the cool, crisp mornings in South Carolina, how she would open the windows and let the fresh breeze flow through the house after being closed up during the long hot summer. I know that I must move on, God IS my help during times of sadness...but I am human and those feelings do come. So that is why I hang on to the Psalms, they encourage me, they re

"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,..."  Hebrews 12:28 This morning I am just grateful...grateful for a faithful God.  He knew me before I was even formed in my mother's womb (Psalms 139).  And even though He knew all the mistakes and bad decisions that I would make along life's journey, He STILL allowed me to be born and to come into this world! God's love is fathomless, we could never determine the depth nor the height of His love for us.  Though He never condones my wrongdoings, He knows beforehand and forgives me when I come to Him with a repentant heart.  We could never earn God's love, it is so very unconditional and the scriptures tells us that we can never get away from it. I am so grateful that He knew me, saw me, loves me, keeps me and continue to hold me in the palm of His almighty Hand...never to let go! "Yet in all thes

Yesterday I woke up with so much energy that before I even brushed my teeth I attacked my closets.   About twice a year I go through the house and gather things that I have not used or worn in 2 years or less and I pack them up and off they go to a charitable organization. I pounced on my closet and though some things were hard to let go, I knew that if I had not worn it in a while I probably would not do so in the future so out it went.   As I was re-checking, my eye caught something sparkling way back in the recesses of the closet.   In all honesty I knew what it was; it was a sequined formal gown.   I removed the clear plastic covering and saw that it was still beautiful, dark periwinkle blue with silver sequins…lovely.   I calculated that it had been hanging there for over 15 years unused. It was outdated of course with the shoulder pads, but still lovely. Of course I tried to reason keeping it; after all, I paid good money for it and who knows I could have the shoulder p

“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”   I Corinthian 15:57   Well the summer season is winding down.   Even though the temperature outside is still hot, I can feel it in the early morning.   Feels like autumn is just around the corner… As I look back over the summer, there were three major things that I accomplished.   I had the house painted outside: you cannot imagine the relief I felt when I finally was able to find, with the help of my neighbors, a house painter that not only was a good professional but he had a wonderful attitude (those 2 things don’t usually come together).   He did a fantastic job!   Secondly, I had some major tree removal and trimming done in the backyard.   Last fall’s Hurricane Sandy that swept through my area did damage to a lot of trees. One very tall Pine tree that was leaning at a 90 degree angle had to come down and several other smaller trees were removed.   When the Tree guy was done, it looked l