Under His Wings

There is reason for joy and celebration today. "Remember His wonders which He has done..." Psalm 105:5 25 years ago today my beloved and I were united as husband and wife. Here is a picture of me in my wedding dress.

We were married in the little church called the Lone Rock Congregational Church in Lone Rock, WI. So many memories and a wonderful man to share them with. The rabbis say that uniting two people in marriage is like parting the Red Sea. Well, God did that miracle once and He is doing that miracle again in us and we bless His Name. He has brought us through times of hardship and sickness, of the joy of new babies and the joy of just being the two of us alone together. We love laughing when no one gets the joke but us. We love talking about the Lord and reading His Word. We love blessing others in any way we can. I came across a saying once that said, "We may not have much, but together we have it all."

"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalm 126:3

For His Name's Sake.

We had a wonderful time with our Bible study on Saturday evening as we celebrated the Feast of Dedication, Hanukkah.   I will only take a few moments to share some pictures here and later today I will share some thoughts on the holiday.

This is a picture of the children in our home fellowship group.  They comprise roughly half of our group.  Aren't they a good looking bunch?!

We had some games for the children which included a treasure hunt.  Above you see the "Hebrews" team with the prize.  Unfortunately, they were not the first to find the prize this year.

The "Maccabees" were the first to find the prize!

During the week prior to our party, the children each made their own Hanukkiahs.  After a dinner of potato latkes, cheese, and donut holes the children watched a video of the story of the Maccabees while the adults watched a power point presentation of the history of Alexander the Great and the events surrounding Hanukkah.

Then we all gathered around the table with our Hanukkiahs, read the Scriptures about God bringing us from darkness into Light and lit our candles.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

(My daughter took most of the photos.  I was holding the newest member of our group.  Little Matthew was born 6 weeks ago and is the sixth child born to our Bible study leader and his wife. )

Buck and I were the wonderful recipients of a blessing. We received a two night stay at a luxury motel in Door County, WI. Now for those of you who don't know Wisconsin well, Door County is the "finger" peninsula of Wisconsin surrounded by water and it is a very wonderful place to go in the spring, summer, and fall. Buck and I have gone a couple of other times some years ago. This was a real treat for us.

We got there later than we had expected on Wednesday evening so we checked into our room and found a local restaurant and headed back to our room for a good night's sleep. No dog or cat to wake us. The next morning we went to a special restaurant because another friend had given us some money to go to "Al Johnson's" for breakfast. We got there and this is what we saw:

That's right, there were goats eating on the grass-covered roof. The waitresses were all dressed in Swedish costume. We had Swedish pancakes with strawberries and piled high with whipped creme. Then we walked around Sister Bay for a couple of hours.

It was a crisp, clear, fall day. The water was so blue and the sky so bright. The following weekend was the weekend that the majority of the businesses were going to be shutting down for the winter so the boats were leaving the marina for the winter also.

The best part of our time there was just being together. We tried to get pictures of the sunset, but found "Sunset Beach" in Fish Creek two minutes after sunset.

So to make up for not getting a sunset picture, my Beloved wanted to let me get a picture of the full moon. I kept trying to tell him that this is a very difficult thing to do without a tripod. The picture we did get is unique to say the least.

Another thing Buck did to try to make a memorable moment for us was to make reservations at a restaurant that was having candlelight dinners. He did ask if we could dress casually because we had only taken jeans, sweatshirts and tennis shoes. We got to the restaurant and the dinners were $24 a plate. Instead of leaving we decided to share a meal.

My Beloved was very patient with me as I went through some of the gift shops. I think I found two little plaques that said exactly what I was feeling about my husband and I,

"We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."

"And they lived happily ever after."        

For His Name's Sake.

Last week I went to see this woman.  She is my 97 year old grandmother and her name is Dorothy which means, "Gift of God."  She truly has been a gift of God to me and to all the people in her life.  I learned some things last week about my grandmother's life that I didn't know before.  We talked about memories that I did know.  There are many things that she does not remember any more.   But, my memories of her are wonderful and I am truly blessed to have had a relationship with her and a heritage of having been her granddaughter.

My grandfather died 22 years ago.  We just put Grandma in the nursing home this spring.  One of the things that was found in going through her belongings was a Bible which Grandma had written in.  In that Bible she had written a description of what Heaven was going to be for her.  The most important part for her was going to be holding her husband's hand again.  They loved each other so much.  And they were an example to me of a wonderful married couple.

I lived with my grandparents for 2 1/2 years while I attended college and did an internship.  Grandma took care of Grandpa since he had had a severe car accident when I was young and several heart attacks after that.  Grandpa would peel the apples when Grandma made apple pies.  She didn't mind his snoring because then she knew he was beside her in bed.  He loved her "salt and pepper" graying hair.

When they first married Grandpa would sell mole's feet for a quarter so that they could go to a movie.  Grandma used to love to dance, but Grandpa didn't so he used to say that Grandma would, "Dance with the wolves, but go home with the sheep."   My Grandpa was a good man.  My Grandma loved to laugh.

Grandma did have pain in her life, but she would never talk about that.  I don't think I ever saw her complain or cry very much.  Last week I found out that she had an alcoholic father.  Because of his drinking they had to move around a lot when she was a child.  He's kind of stuck in her brain now and she talks about him whereas she never did before.    But, she points to the picture of Grandpa and says, "He was a good man."  I'm so glad she had him.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. Psalm 16:6

Yesterday was our last summer ladies' Bible study for another year. We have been meeting with this particular group for five years now and it has been a life changing study for me. Some of these women I only see in this summer Bible study; some of the women were new this year. We come from very different backgrounds and with very different needs. The Lord is always present as we seek Him.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, this year we studied the journey of the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt through the wilderness to the Promised Land. So yesterday we asked the question, "What did God especially teach you this summer?"

I think that I learned above all that in a world that is looking for an experience with God our walk with Him is about relationship. Over and over He states in His Word, directly or indirectly, His desire to dwell with His people. God brought them out of Egypt for His Name's Sake and so that they could serve Him. He led them through the wilderness covering them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, protecting them. He cared for their needs, their shoes never wearing out. He fed them. He desired that they look to Him to meet those needs. When they entered the Land which had been promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob He fought for them so that they could defeat their enemies.

True life is found in a relationship with God. Jesus talked about this. In John 17:3, "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent" Not experience, relationship. A knowing, covenant relationship of give and take.

I could talk about this for a long time I guess. It amazes me. And thrills me. This is the Promised Land. To walk with God in this relationship now......and forever. One of the days of our Bible study the question came up of what exactly the Promised Land was. Is it death? Is it heaven? No. I believe it is Now! We can know the joy of walking with the indwelling Messiah now. One day we will see Him face to face, but we can know the reality of that relationship by responding in obedience to Him now. And resting in His faithfulness. I will have to revisit the topic of rest.

Our tradition in summer Bible study is on the last day we have a day of blessing one another. We go from woman to woman and tell each one how she has encouraged us, blessed us and we bless the Lord for her. There are times of tears and laughter, hugs and challenge. It is something we take very seriously and we pray before we arrive so that we are ready for how the Spirit will lead. This year I was going in one direction and the Spirit led me a different direction. I found a wonderful resource here on the Names of God. I was led to pray for each woman and the Lord helped me to pick a Name of Him which I saw Him working in each woman's life. For example, one woman has an autistic daughter and a husband who is disabled. The Name of God which I choose to bless Him with for her was "He who is sufficient for His people." For another woman the Lord led me to pick, "He who gives songs in the night" and it was so evident from the circumstances in the room that it was totally of Him. It was just a wonderful morning and we were challenged to encourage others every day.

For His Name's Sake.

We had a slight setback this week at the Women's Resource Center. The director of our center and the board had applied for a grant at our local hospital which is a Catholic hospital and pro-life. The plan was to hire an assistant director because the current director essentially works a full-time job while getting paid for only 20 hours. We have been tremendously blessed in that we have wonderful community involvement. The local public high school and jr. highs are wanting us to come in and do some speaking, health and human services wants to work with us, the local army recruiting office is going to send girls to us for pregnancy tests, family resource center has already referred people to us.....well, well you get the idea. We also anticipate involvement with the local university. This is above and beyond what we could have dreamed of. We recently learned of a crisis pregnancy center in another state which was open for a year and a half before they had one client and we have had six being open only a month.

This week I went to one of our lunches where we invite young moms and expecting moms. It is a time of support for them and just a time to be with other moms who are in the same situation as them. One 18 year old girl had her baby with her who was only 3 weeks old and the father is not allowed to see the baby. His parents want a paternity test done. The girls in the group deal with these kind of situations daily.

The devastating news was that we did not get the grant from the hospital. The board at the hospital is made up of community members who do not want to see a crisis pregnancy center in this community.

BUT, I believe in the God who is known by what He does and I am waiting to see what He will do in this situation. We only need to be faithful to Him. He has a heart for the poor, the orphan and the downcast. He has a heart for those whom no one else wants or cares for. He has had His hand on this project in so many ways in the past and He will continue to provide what we need. He likes to do things that only He can do. Once He took five loaves and two fish and fed five thousand people. He will provide what we need.

For His Name's Sake.

My soul wait thou only, only upon God

for from Him is my expectation

My soul wait thou only, only upon God

for from Him is my expectation

He is my Defense I shall not be moved

He is my Defense I shall not be moved

My Messiah only, He only is my Rock

And the Horn of my salvation

Yes, my Yeshua only, He only is my Rock

And the Horn of my salvation

He is my defense I shall not be moved!

Sh'ma yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai, Adonai Echad

Baruch shem k'vod malchuto L'olam vaed

He is my defense I shall not be moved!

Words by Marty Goetz copyright 1992 Singin' in the Reign Music 

What does one share in a meme on marriage secrets when she has been married for nearly 23 years? Just as I say when I am speaking about my children, it has all been a work of God's grace.

Our marriages become better as we conform our thinking to the mind of Christ and seek to think and walk Biblically. One way in which this is radically seen is in the story of Isaac and Rebekah. "Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her;"Gen. 24:67. Isaac took Rebekah as his wife and then he loved her, which is different than how the world walks in love. I choose to love my husband because he is the husband I have and the husband God gave me. Love is a choice. If I choose to love Buck the way he is, God is glorfied.

I found an interesting secret to my marriage while doing a study on "bond-servant." The bond-servant is the slave who is free to leave his master, but out of love for his master commits himself to the master's lifelong service for whatever the master desires. Jesus showed us how to be bond-servants. Paul, James, Peter, and John all call themselves bond-servants. Mary, the mother of Jesus, said she was a bond-servant. The book of Revelation is written to bond-servants. Being a bond-servant is a choice. In studying this topic I looked up the word, "master," and I found these words: strong, king, superintendent of household affairs, husband, captain, champion. This transformed my thinking about my husband. The Scriptures tell us to submit to our husbands as unto the Lord. This is a choice that I make. I lay down my life as I would to my master, my Saviour. My husband's countenance changes when I call him my champion. He just beams. There are so many things in the world today that are demolishing the idea of men and masculinity. There are so many forces at work that seek to tear my husband apart. He needs someone in his life who loves him, sees him as her knight in shining armor, her champion.

I want my home to be a place of shalom for him, a place of wholeness and rest. He should have a place where he feels safe and where he can share whatever is on his heart. Part of this is in knowing my husband. I need to know how he is different from other men, not to compare him with others, or to wish he were like others, but to esteem him as the gift that God has given to me. I need to get my eyes off myself and seek to meet his needs. I need to know how he processes information, how he deals with stress, how he communitcates and how I can be a helpmeet to him in each of life's situations.

How can I bless my husband and bring life to him? How can I seek everyday to meet his needs instead of whining that he doesn't meet mine. The Lord will supply all that I need. The Lord will accomplish what concerns me. Mature love is a process. We grow together. God is in the process of making us one. How wonderful it will be at the end of my days to have someone with whom I can look back on all the memories which we have shared.

For His Name's Sake.