Thoughts

I attended a funeral today. It was bittersweet. It is always sad to our flesh when we lose a loved one, but it is always a joy to know that one who has lived faithfully for the Lord has gone Home to be with Him. A flood of memories washed through my mind today as I sat and listened to the man's children tell of the funny things he always said to them (like "What is the square root of pi? Pi is not square. Everybody knows pies are round. Cornbread is square."). I knew this man in my childhood and through a few of my adult years. I laughed and cried as I thought of the years and the distance. Amazingly enough, despite years and differences, our families have a connecting thread, a bond that cannot be severed.

I had a neat memory. Once my parents were out of town (and my sister was away at school), and I stayed with this family. They had kids younger than I and one older. I always had fun with their kids. In the night I was awake and wished I were home. I was not afraid - but not at home. I got up and walked down the hall. There was a dim light in the living room, and I wanted to go in there. I don't know why. When I got to the doorway, I saw the lady of the house on her knees and heard her praying. Yes, she was a prayer warrior. I did not want to disturb her, but I wanted very much to go in there and just sit -- bask in the Lord's presence. I felt at home there. My mother prayed; my daddy prayed; my grandmother prayed; that eased my homesickness. I was afraid I would disturb her, so I walked back to bed and went to sleep. I thank God everytime I remember her praying.

I wrote a little song quite a few years ago that says,

There is no place like the presence of the Lord.
There is no place like the presence of the Lord.
Such blessings He affords
When we meet in one accord.
There is no place like the presence of the Lord.

It is only fitting that I feel at home in the presence of the Lord. I have a godly mother who was living so close to the Lord when she was pregnant with me, that I believe I was born in the presence of the Lord. And I am convinced I will die in the presence of the Lord. When I am absent from my body and present with Him, I will evermore be at Home in His presence.

I thank God for this heritage.

"We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. 4:7

Praise

Our Sunday School teacher said something Sunday morning about praise in Bible days. It was not so much a choice as a command. That struck a chord with me and I thought about the many psalms that begin with "O give thanks" and "I will praise Thee." I have scanned through and made a list of the first phrases of chapters in Psalms that begin with praise. Remember Psalm 22:3 says "the Lord inhabits the praise of Israel" (many of us include ourselves by adoption:o)).

Ch. 9, I will praise Thee...
Ch. 30 I will extol Thee...
Ch. 33 Rejoice...
Ch. 34 I will bless the Lord...
Ch. 46 God is our refuge...
Ch. 47 O clap you rhands...
Ch. 48 Great is the Lord...
Ch. 66 Make a joyful noise untol the Lord...
Ch. 68 Let God arise...
Ch. 81 Sing aloud unto God...
Ch. 89 I will sing of the mercies
Ch. 92 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord...
Ch. 93 The Lord reigneth...
Ch. 95 O come let us sing unto the Lord...
Ch. 96 O sing unto the Lord...
Ch. 97 The Lord reigneth...
Ch. 98 O sing unto the Lord...
Ch. 99 The Lord reigneth...
Ch. 100 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord...
Ch. 101 I will sing of mercy...
Ch. 103 Bless the Lord O my soul...
Ch. 104 Bless the Lord O my soul...
Ch. 105 O give thanks...
Ch. 106 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 107 O give thanks...
Ch. 108 O God my heart is fixed; I will sing and give praise...
Ch. 111 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 112 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 113 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 116 I love the Lord...
Ch. 117 O praise the Lord...
Ch. 118 O give thanks...
Ch. 134 Behold bless ye the Lord...
Ch. 135 Praise ye the Lord
Ch. 136 O give thanks...
Ch. 138 I will praise Thee...
Ch. 144 Blessed be the Lord my strength...
Ch. 145 I extil Thee...
Ch. 146 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 147 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 148 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 149 Praise ye the Lord...
Ch. 150 Praise ye the Lord...

enough said.

Woman Came From Where?

Since it is summer, and I am at home with my kids, I took the opportunity to do the Days of Creation with my children. They made cute books and drew a picture for each day. I had my oldest child read the Bible for Days 4-7 and be the teacher. Studies show that when you teach something, you retain ninety percent. So CoCo (a nickname she chose) taught days 4-7 and did a great job (tho' she left out woman). After we reviewed, she asked, "When did God create woman? Didn't he take her from a kidney stone?" I have laughed ever since. For all you men out there, I know we women can be a pain at times, but I surely hope we are never as painful as a kidney stone! lol

Have a blessed day!

Storm the Gates

Does anyone know where the phrase "storm the gates of hell" comes from? I do not have time to locate my Strong's Concordance. I am in the midst of an action research plan for my master's degree program (BrainSMART). It has to be submitted today, so I cannot quit.

BUT we had an awesome service at church today, and a precious prayer warrior stood up and said she had made up her mind that she was going to give the devil so much trouble he was going to start saying, "uh-oh, she's awake!" I love that! I know I heard a minister a few years ago say that the Bible says to "storm the gates of hell." I have done a quick search online, even in Strong's online concordance. I have not been able to easily find a scripture that says that. Apparently, there is a book with that for a title. That is all my searches came up with.

When I have time, I can look for it myself. I just thought someone might know off the top of their head where it is. If so, leave a comment. Thanks!

I hope your day is a blessed one! Mine sure is.

The Last Word

IN Luke 24:10 & 11, when "Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women that were with them" returned from the empty tomb, they told the apostles all about what they had seen: the angel (and what he said) and the empty tomb. Don't you know they probably ran the whole way and were all out of breath when they delivered the first resurrection message! You know how it is when you are really excited about something that you just have to tell? And you know how it is when you have run so hard you can't talk? That is the way I imagine it.
"And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them not" (vs 11). WOW! Talk about bursting a balloon! The Greek word for these "idle tales" is leros, which means silly nonsense. I use a Dake Bible, and Dake says that this word leros is only used here and "is a medical term for delirium."
This reminds me a little of Sarah's laughter when she heard the Lord say that she would have a child (Gen. 18). The Lord asked Abraham why Sarah laughed. He said to Abraham, "Is anything too hard for the Lord" (vs. 14)?
I must declare to all who hear me (or read me): Nothing is too hard for my God. He holds time in His hands. He created the air I breathe, the sun, the Earth, and everything on it. If He promised you something, He will deliver.
Financial difficulty does not have the last word.
Divorce does not have the last word.
Infertility does not have the last word.
Sorrow does not have the last word.
Depression does not have the last word.
Pain does not have the last word.
Cancer does not have the last word.
Death does not have the last word.
Only God will have the last word. So look your problem in the face and tell it so. Somebody in your hearing might think you are delirious. It won't be the first time. But did the apostles' doubts hold Jesus in the tomb? NO! Why? Because God has the last word. When God says it is, then it is. No doubt about it.
God said Sarah would have a child, and she did.
God said Jesus would be resurrected, and He was.
God said He would send me children, and He did!
I could go on, but there is no need. The rest is up to you. I don't know what God has said to you. I only know that whatever it is, He will bring it to pass! Because He, and only He, has the last word.

Do You Remember?

I was reading Luke 24 to get to the story about what happened on the road to Emmaus when I became fixated on one concept. Sometimes we allow reality to rob us of God's promises. In the beginning of Luke 24, we see the women going to the tomb with the spices for burial. They find an angel who asks "Why seek ye the living among the dead" (vs. 5)? Then the angel said, "remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee." It is interesting to me that this is not a question but a statement. If we look back at Luke 9, we can see what He said when He was in Galilee.

In Luke 9:22, Jesus said, "The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day."
Hmmm. So why did the women come to the tomb with spices after three days? Why did they intend to prepare His body for permanence when He said He would only be there temporarily? Maybe it was because His death was so brutal, and they were there to see Him die. Sometimes our reality is so big that we feel consumed by it. Sometimes we even forget what He has promised.

I pursued adoption for many years and gave up on it before it happened. Knowing God had promised us children, I actually told my husband that I quit pursuing adoption. If God wanted us to have kids, He could "drop them in our laps." I was through. Four days later, we received a call about an adoption plan that would pan out. WOW! Even when we forget what God promised, He still comes through.

What has God promised you? Whatever it is, don't give up. It is still gonna happen. He ALWAYS keeps His promises.

Intermotabuconscielism

Intermotabuconscielism

Inter: as in interstate or highway or road

Mot: as in motor vehicle or car

Tab: as in tabulate or calculate or judge

U as in YOU

Conscie: as in conscientious

Lism: as in belief system or makes it sound like a real word

Intermotabuconscielism
Go ahead, look it up. I am pretty sure you won’t find it in any dictionary. My daddy made it up in 1987. What does it mean? I’m glad you asked. You would think after twenty-one years, I (or we, meaning Daddy, Mother, Sister & I) would have come up with an official definition. I do not think we got past the break down of the word. I think we were laughing too hard to go any further. It really was not funny, but sometimes you just have to laugh.

This incredible, new word emerged as a result of daddy’s meditating on my mishap. I was in my first year of college. I had taken a really funny picture of my roommate in a bathroom stall. She was fully clothed and leaving, and I was standing on the toilet in the next stall. Something about the angle from which it was taken combined with the surprised look on her face magnified her nose a little in the picture. Of course, this was way before the days of digital cameras in my world. I could not wait to get my pictures developed. My roomie had helped me type a research paper, and I owed her dinner. I actually owed her more, but she was very happy with being taken out to dinner.

We picked up the pictures on our way to dinner. We were in rush hour traffic when everyone was getting off from work. I pulled into a busy, four lane thoroughfare. She opened the pack of pictures, and I looked as she flipped through them. Keep in mind, I was supposed to be driving. She found the picture, and we both exploded into laughter. Our moment was short lived, for I soon rear ended a car that had actually stopped for a red light. Oh yeah, I was driving. My hood was arched like a lovely mountain peak. I instantly teared up and said, “I want my Daddy!”

My daddy is a truck driver and had my mother with him on this trip, and they just happened to be a couple of hours away. But that was way before I had a cell phone in my world too! I did the adult thing and got out and asked if everyone was ok. These people whose car I hit nodded very slowly. They looked like hippies from the sixties. We could not find a scratch on their car. I asked if they wanted us to call the police. They shook their heads slowly. I was a tad relieved, but not much. You know, they never uttered a word. They just got in their car and pulled off.
Dinner was a bit tainted. I should have put it off, but I felt indebted to my precious roommate, and we were both hungry. I do not remember if we actually were able to eat. Later I called home and talked to my sister. She tried to comfort me by telling me I had driven two years accident free, unlike her three in the first year she drove. It did not help. Daddy is a kind soul. He did not scold. He could tell I had learned a lesson. I was very upset that I had messed up the car that my parents so freely gave to me.

Anyway, a few weeks later, after my truck-driver daddy had time to ponder. He told me he had come up with a word I needed to learn. You guessed it: Intermotabuconscielism. He sounded out each syllable and explained its importance. My whole family laughed all the way through it. It may sound quirky, but it is mine. It was created just for me. In some weird way, it makes me feel special. And of course, it always makes me laugh.

Triumph in Tribulation

I have never been a blog reader before, but I have been captivated by the legacy of Audrey Caroline Smith and nudged by the Spirit as Angie Smith glorifies God through her difficult and trying times in the loss of a child (I have even been inspired to start my own blog. WOW!). In her blog "Bring the Rain," anointed words flow. Some make me laugh, and some make me cry. The main thread running all the way through every entry is that God loves us, and when we are living close to Him, others can see Him in us. I have attached Angie's blog in my favorites.

Another place I have seen His light shining lately is in the words of Becky Brumbalow. Roger (and Becky) Brumbalow is (are) the Assemblies of God Superintendent (and his wife) for the state of Georgia. Roger recently had brain surgery, chemo, radiation and physical therapy, among other things. Becky is also going through chemo again, having gone through this several times in the past. Every post in their online journal is positive and upbeat despite the difficulties they have experienced. I see His light shining all the way. And I love the way they end every post: "It is a great day for a miracle." You can see this at http://www.gadistag.org/

We will not give up! It really is a great day for a miracle. I see them every day in my children. I see them in Roger and Becky Brumbalow and in Todd and Angie Smith. God is good. He is faithful to walk before us and after us, no matter what it is we face. Praise, honor and glory are HIS!

Blessed

Blessed

What does it mean to you? Like the word love, the word blessed is often misused and overused. How many times have we heard about persecution and martyrs and said, “We sure are blessed”? I must admit that I am guilty. How many times have we heard of someone who is struggling financially and looked at our own comfort and said, “Boy, the Lord has really blessed us!”? How many times have we seen a person with a missing limb or heard of a person dying in an accident and said, “Wow, how blessed I am.”

A year ago, a precious and beautiful childhood friend of mine was in the fight of her life. She had been diagnosed with cancer and was hospitalized with complications before they could even get treatments going. She remained hospitalized most of the days she had left on this earth. One day as I was thinking of her, I thought about how “blessed” I was to never have had to go through that. How blessed I was to never have been through that with anyone in my immediate family (though I did go through it with my Grandmother). I felt a check in my spirit. Did I consider myself more blessed than SueAnn because she was dealing with cancer, and I was not? NO! Do I consider myself more blessed because she is now with Jesus and I am here? My resounding answer is NO!!!

So, what is “blessed” anyway? Several online dictionaries say “highly favored.” What makes me highly favored? Only that my Father loved me so much that He gave His only Son to die in my place. Only that Jesus loved me so much He was willing to take my place in death. Dear God, please help me to remember what it means to be blessed. Help me not to misuse a word that only means You love me an awful lot!