Under His Wings

Well, not exactly old news, but it happened a short while ago.   At the beginning of the summer Josh and his dad got a paper route and Josh invested in a new "toy".   You know what they say!  "Big Boys Big Toys"!

I am afraid to get on the thing.  You know those Funniest Home Video Movies where the women get on the motor bikes and crash into the trees?  That would be me if I got on the thing.  BUT!  It does get over 100 miles to the gallon.

We recently painted our kitchen which hasn't been painted for several years.  Here are some pictures of the process and the result.

Josh made the Hebrew stencils by hand and then did the stenciling on the soffet for me.

Of course, the Hebrew reads from right to left and the transliteration goes like this, "Shema Israel, Adonai, Eloheynu, Adonai, Echad."

The other wall in the kitchen has the English translation from Deuteronomy 6:4, "Hear O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one!"

And one last look at the finished Hebrew lettering:

Two more weeks of Bible study have gone past since my last blog post.  Where has the summer gone?  Last week we talked about repentance and forgiveness.  We need to walk in repentance....even moment by moment.  The Biblical concept of repentance is not a one time event as is so many times seen today in evangelistic crusades.  John the Baptist talked about bearing fruit in keeping with repentance.  The Prophets, the Jesus and Paul, yes even the Torah all talk about turning back to God.  Jesus told those in His hearing to repent for the Kingdom of God was at hand.  In the 2nd Temple period in which Jesus lived the Kingdom of God was the place in which God was King. When we allow God to reign and rule in our lives then the Kingdom of God is here in us.  We need to repent and give up our way and seek to do things according to God's agenda.

I was talking with a young lady this afternoon, a very driven young lady, who has suddenly stopped reading her Bible because she thinks she has done something that cannot be forgiven.  I told her that there is only One perfect Lamb of God and that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.  We have to trust in His authority to forgive us.  We need Him to wash our feet, so to speak.  This takes humility and repentance.

Today's Bible study was on walking with God in Joy.  We looked at the passages in Galatians 5, Psalm 16, Psalm 30 and James 2:1.  Since joy is a fruit of the Spirit, God's Spirit. It is supernaturally obtained when we rest in Him.  We rest in Him by being obedient to what He asks us to do.  Elisabeth Elliot once said that joy is not the absence of suffering, but the presence of God in the midst of the suffering.  So many times we allow the suffering or the trial that we are going through to be blown up like a balloon before our eyes so that we cannot see anything be the trial before us.  God, in comparison, looks small.  We need to pop that balloon so that we can see God for who He truly is.  He is able to accomplish what concerns us.  He is greater that anything thing that we are facing here on earth and He is good.  We don't necessarily have any guarantees as to how our circumstances are going to turn out, but we can count on the ROCK of our salvation and on His character because He never changes.  In His presence is fullness of joy.

For His Name's Sake.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and
walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us,
an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Eph. 5:1-2)

This is the second week of my summer Bible study. We are doing a topical study this year on "Walking with God". This walk with God begins with relationship as the above passage says, "as beloved children." God has a vested interest in us. He is known by His discipline, as well as, His love of His children.

We are able to love because He first loved us as it says in first John. We are able to walk with Him and be imitators of Him because His grace makes it all possible. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus who
gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify
for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds." (Titus 2:11-14) As these verses in Titus show us, and I may have mentioned this before, God's grace is the power that redeems us from lawless deeds and makes us zealous to live sensibly, righteously and godly RIGHT NOW. IN THIS PRESENT AGE. Salvation is for this present time.

God saves us to walk in relationship with Him and to imitate Him by walking in love.

For His Name's sake.

Fifty days ago, on the Biblical calendar which can be found in Leviticus 23, we celebrated the Exodus from Egypt and our salvation from the slavery of sin. This festival is Passover. Then, in Leviticus 23: 15-22 we read of the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot. This is a harvest festival and two loaves of leavened bread are presented to God. It is also to be a remembrance of our slavery in Egypt before God set us free.

Tradition says that it is on this day that the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai and in Acts 2, Luke tries to show us that the giving of the Spirit on that Shavuot was very similar to the first time God gave the Torah. This time the Torah was written on our hearts. The promised Holy Spirit was given which enables us to live as God commands. We see in the Book of Acts also that the Gentiles would now begin to come into the congregation of the sons of Israel as never before. It is interesting that the Book of Ruth is read on the Feast of Shavuot.

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.

My beautiful, 98-year-old, dear, Grandmother died on Saturday. Though I know this is part of life and she wished so much to go and be with the dear husband she loved, I miss her. I miss her laughter and her caring. I love you, Grandma.

Red River Valley

From this valley they say you are going
We will miss your bright eyes and sweet smile
For they say you are taking the sunshine
That has brightened our pathways awhile

CHORUS:
Come and sit by my side, if you love me
Do not hasten to bid me adieu
Just remember the Red River Valley
And the cowboy who loved you so true

I've been thinking a long time, my darling
Of the sweet words you never would say
Now, alas, must my fond hopes all vanish
For they say you are gong away

Do you think of the valley you're leaving
O how lonely and how dreary it will be
And do you think of the kind hearts you're breaking
And the pain you are causing to me

CHORUS
They will bury me where you have wandered
Near the hills where the daffodils grow
When you're gone from the Red River Valley
For I can't live without you I know

(My Grandma used to sing this song all the time)

My class is finished.  I sent in my term paper last night.  The class was extended six weeks and Tim still didn't get to cover all the things he wanted to cover.  The final exam was last week.  The class on worldviews also started last week, but I am just auditing that one.  Writing the paper was stressful for me.

Hopefully, I can get back to writing here soon.  Hannah has some friends coming tomorrow and I have to clean the house.  I also have my time at the center this afternoon.   I feel wiped out.

I'm currently working on a second post regarding covenant obligation.  But, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with projects I have going on right now.  I am trying to work on my term paper for the soteriology class, trying to knit and trying to learn a new way to eat.  I have been finding more and more things that have been triggering migraines since I did the candida cleanse in November and the list has grown to include beef and possibly nuts.  We have found that wheat is in many more things than you can ever imagine including spices, rice milk, and commercially canned soup.  At least I don't have a migraine today!

And we are not getting any snow.  In southern Wisconsin they are getting a lot, up to more than a foot where my sister lives near Milwaukee.  Josh is in Wisconsin Dells with a couple of families from our fellowship group and they are staying an extra night because of the storm there.  Of course, this is nothing compared to the severe weather in Arkansas and Tennessee.  Right now I am thinking of Beth and her family and hoping that they are ok.

This afternoon is my time to volunteer at First Choice.  I pray that the Lord will give me compassion and sensitivity to the needs of the clients that come in.  I pray that I would have discernment and wisdom and a listening ear.  I pray that I would be on God's agenda and not my own.

For His Name's Sake.

The crisis pregnancy center where I volunteer has signed up with Good search website so that if you choose to use this search engine you can money will be contributed to our center.  You will find a link on Good Search to designate where the donations should go.  Our center is First Choice Pregnancy Resource Center (Stevens Point, WI).  If you decide to sign up and use Good Search I would appreciate you leaving a comment and letting me know.  We really appreciate it and the girls we are helping through crisis pregnancy are benefiting also.

For His Name's Sake.