MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023

 

TURN

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--TURN

Five minutes to free write about it 

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Several days ago I was taking my recyclables to the dumpster and planning to drive them there. However, it was a nice day out, and my back did not feel too bad, so I decided to walk instead. 

The dumpster is at the back of our parking lot and there are several ways to get there. I started one way, but felt a little prompt to turn around and take the steps instead. I listened and made the turn, and was rewarded by a lovely, uplifting surprise.

Some of the rocks bordering the sides of the stairway had been painted and inscribed with encouraging slogans. 

My favorite, and the first one that caught my eye--a bright pink one that said, "You are as strong as this rock."

I know in my own strength I am not, but it reminded me that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and who is the solid rock on which I stand (Philippians 4:13, 2 Samuel 22:2).

That led to a mini photo shoot and a moment of gratitude for the prompt that led me to take that turn.

On my way back from the dumpster I thought of a Scripture that also uses the word TURN -- Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." -- Isaiah 30:21, NIV

NO ONE NEED BE LEFT BEHIND

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--LEFT

Five minutes to free write about it 

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The first thought that popped into my mind when I saw this week's prompt was "left behind." 

I thought of the 1995 bestseller by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins about Earth's final days following the Rapture when all true believers in Jesus Christ have been taken to Heaven, leaving only the nonbelievers behind to face God's judgment on a rebellious world (1 Thessalonians 4:17, Revelation 6-16).  What a terrible time that will be.

The good news is that no one need be left behind, "for God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16, Romans 6:23). It is a gift that can only be received by faith. There is nothing you can do to earn it (Ephesians 2:8-9), and as much as it is not God's will for anyone to perish, He will not impose His will on you or force you to accept it. The choice is yours.

Don't be deceived, as I once was, into believing that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by being good. That's the biggest deception of them all.

Although we were created to have fellowship with God, Adam and Eve's sin caused us to be born with a sinful nature. The Bible tells us that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 3:23, 6:23a). Because of sin there is a great gulf that separates us from God and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. There is only one path across, and that is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6).

Jesus stands at the door of your heart knocking and waiting for you to answer (Revelation 3:20). I implore you to open the door before it is too late. You are not promised tomorrow or even the next moment. Accept His invitation to enter your life, forgive you of your sins, and make you a new creation.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. -- Romans 3:23-24

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Romans 6:23

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast. -- Ephesians 2:8-9

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. -- John 14:6

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. -- Revelation 3:20

By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. . . . The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. -- 2 Peter 3:7, 9)

After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with thm in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. -- 1 Thessalonians 4:17

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Photo credit: Anny Akter

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Whereas I don't normally enjoy getting stuck in traffic backups, I was very thankful for this one. It gave me a chance to take a couple of quick shots through the car window of some Canada geese swimming in a pond. 

So often I see something while on the road that I'd love to capture but can't pull over to do it, and trying to take pictures while driving seems too big of a risk. 

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

P.S. This upbeat little song--You Keep On Blessing Me--has been running through my mind ever since I first heard it a few days ago. Hope it blesses you as much as it has me.

Enjoy!

CHANGING SEASONS

What a difference a couple of days can make.

The leaves on the beautiful red tree I posted a picture of just days ago have now mostly blown off and turned into a thick red carpet with a few flecks of gold from the one tree next to it that has hardly lost any of its leaves at all. 

RESULTS

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--RESULTS

Five minutes to free write about it 

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This week's prompt reminded me that we reap what we sow, and my current frustrations are the result of the many poor choices I made in my younger years. 

Sadly, I can't turn back the clock. 

Some of the poor choices, however, resulted in unexpected blessings, such as my salvation experience and my relocating to this beautiful area I live in now. I would rather focus on those things that give me cause to rejoice instead.

Many of my blog and FB friends dedicate the month of November to writing about their blessings and post one thing they are thankful for each day. I wish I had remembered to do the same, but November 1st came and went, and I forgot. Now we are already past the middle of the month and five minutes is not long enough to start listing them all, but I will give you three.

The picture at the top of the page is of a beautiful maple tree outside our library that caught my attention. Maple trees line many of the streets in my neck of the woods and are a spectacular sight to behold. Usually by now the winds will have blown the leaves off of them, but that did not happen this year. The temperature has been unseasonably warm as well, which is blessing number three.

MAINTAIN

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--MAINTAIN

Five minutes to free write about it 

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"Things that are well-maintained last longer" is a truth I've seen proved in my 23-year-old car and the original appliances (except for a dishwasher that had to be replaced a few years ago) that are still in top working form in the apartment I've lived in for almost 20 years now.

Sadly the opposite is also true. 

Though I've always been careful to maintain things like my car, I have not done the same for my body and am now reaping the consequences of that very poor choice.

I am not an exercise person, but I did love ballroom dancing and that managed to keep my back relatively straight despite the long hours I spent hunched over my word processor. When I became a Christian, however, I was under the misguided notion that I had to give it up, so I did.

Now I have kyphosis and other back issues due to compressed nerves and have been going for physical therapy for what seems like forever. I know the kyphosis cannot be reversed, but had high hopes the other issues could be, so I've been diligently doing all my stretches and exercises even when I didn't feel like it. 

Though there has been some improvement it's looking more and more as though all I'm doing is maintaining it rather than continuing to move forward, and my motivation to keep spending so much time each day on my routine is starting to wane. But then came this week's very timely FMF prompt and our hostess Kate's post, which ended with this thought that encouraged me to keep on keeping on--"sometimes I have high hopes and unreasonable expectations, but I'm learning that the opportunity to maintain is no small thing" (Kate Motaung).

CHANGING SEASONS

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--SEASON

Five minutes to free write about it 

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Interesting the timing of this week's prompt as I have been giving much thought lately to changing seasons--especially the many seasons I have seen come and go during the course of my life. 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 sums it up well (BSB):

1To everything there is a season,

and a time for every purpose under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to break down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6a time to search and a time to count as lost,

a time to keep and a time to discard,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

The prompt also nudges me to post some pictures of the view from my window. The spectacular colors are what make fall my favorite season, and I feel so blessed to be able to enjoy them without even having to leave my apartment to do so.

But alas, when I went down to my car this morning, the unexpected icicles on the windshield were a reminder that the seasons are about to change, and my least favorite one is on its way.

STRIVE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--STRIVE

Five minutes to free write about it 

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As I Googled for a verse on striving this popped up first. It's not an actual bible verse, but it was just what I needed to see at this particular moment in time. A personal message of encouragement from the Lord, it seems. Hopefully a word of encouragement to someone else who reads this post as well.

“Do not strive in your own strength; cast yourself at the feet of the Lord Jesus, and wait upon Him in the sure confidence that He is with you, and works in you. Strive in prayer; let faith fill your heart -so will you be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”

—Andrew Murray

It made me smile as I thought of how well it addressed my feelings regarding a text someone I have not heard from in a very long time sent me this morning and my response to it. 

I had been unable to get to the phone in time to answer her call yesterday, but was overjoyed to see her name on the screen. I immediately called back to apologize for not making it to the phone on time, and when it was voice mail that answered instead of her, I left a message saying I hoped she would try again.

For the rest of the afternoon and evening I carried my cell phone around with me in full anticipation that she would, but she did not. And so, instead of just letting it go and letting God, I strove for that call back by following up with a text. 

At first it seemed as though she wasn't going to respond to my text either, but early this morning she did. Just a short text back saying she had called because she had been thinking of me, she was doing well, and she assumed I was thriving. My response was that I wouldn't say I was thriving, but I was doing okay and God is good.

And yes, God has been beyond good. He has been awesome and touched me in so many small, personal ways to encourage me along the way. This was such a small thing. Why could I not just rest in Him instead of striving to make things play out the way I wanted them to.

Though it was disappointing not to get to talk to this person from out of the past, it was still a blessing to know that she does still think of me sometimes and that for one brief moment she even considered picking up the phone to call.    

CLARIFY

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--CLARIFY

Five minutes to free write about it 

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I must have been dreaming about this prompt, because I woke up to a jumble of questions that could all use some clarifying. These are a few.

Out of the 1,600 plus folks who have downloaded a free copy of my book, Sincerely Wrong (and the many others who have actually purchased a copy on Amazon), has even one person come to Jesus as a result of reading it?

Why did a faithful blog friend suddenly stop visiting my blog though I never stopped visiting hers? 

Why, on top of the other issues I have been struggling with, has my blood pressure decided to run amok?

And on a lighter note, reading the many tags clarifying the special qualities of the new raincoat I just purchased, I wonder why the manufacturer felt it necessary to treat a slicker with UPF 50+ to prevent sunburn? 

ANTICIPATE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--ANTICIPATE

Five minutes to free write about it 

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For as long as I can remember, nothing has ever turned out the way I anticipated it would. Sometimes it's been a very good thing and I was blessed beyond my wildest expectations, like when I anticipated I would not live long enough to see my children grow up and made arrangements for a good friend to have custody of them should this be the case. But by the grace of God not only did I see them grow up, I've seen my grandchildren grow up as well, and have even been blessed with six great-grandchildren. 

Sometimes I've been pleasantly surprised by something I could never have anticipated, such as the offer of a job in a field I had no idea existed, or a large check from an unexpected source when there seemed no way I would be able to meet my financial needs. Even becoming a published author of children's picture books was an unexpected surprise, given I never anticipated becoming an author--let alone at the late stage of life it happened.

Other times what I've anticipated had a disappointing outcome, like a post I thought would take off, but that hardly had any readers at all, or having plans I'd looked forward to be canceled at the last minute due to circumstances beyond our control, or even the wildflower seeds I planted n the spring with great anticipation of the butterflies and hummingbirds they would attract, but that failed to thrive or attract anything at all.

Some outcomes have been tragic, such as when I anticipated getting married to someone I would grow old with, and was unexpectedly widowed at a very young age. 

These days I try hard not to anticipate, but rather to trust in God's plan, focus on one day at a time, and look for the hidden (or not) blessings in it.    

ATTEMPT

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--ATTEMPT

Five minutes to free write about it 

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Good advice I needed to be reminded of today as I looked for a picture to use on my post for this week's FMF challenge -- ATTEMPT.

There are things on my to do list that I would like to get around to, such as updating my address book, organizing the photos on my computer, and finishing a children's picture book I started eons ago about a miracle violet I once had that is now defunct.  It's like why even attempt to get started when there are too many other pressing things clamoring for my time. 

Well, today turned out to be a day full of much needed encouragement to help get me unstuck, like this other picture I came across that reminded me that I don't have to attempt to do all those things on the back burner all at once. Setting aside an hour or two a couple of times a week to devote to them, for instance, is certainly something doable to attempt. 

On a more serious note, there are a couple of priority things in my life that I am pouring all my energy into in an attempt to achieve, but keep getting frustrated by discouraging obstacles along the way. Sometimes it all seems so hopeless it's tempting to throw up my hands and say, what's the use.  

God had three things to say about that as well.  

The first was a scripture verse that showed up in my quiet time today: So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. -- Galatians 6:9, NLT; the second was a picture about perseverance that popped into mind; and the third was a song playing on the radio when I turned it on that felt like a personal exhortation to hold on just a little bit longer. A gentle prompt to turn my gaze away from my circumstances and focus it on Him who is seated on the throne and who has never failed me yet. 

 

OPINION

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--OPINION

Five minutes to free write about it 

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Back in the day I used to have many opinions and was very outspoken about them. Now not so much. I mean, I still sometimes have opinions, but mostly keep them to myself.

Back in my outspoken, opinionated days I often had regrets because many of my opinions had been based on faulty judgments, or jumping to the wrong conclusions about people or things. 

Fast forward to the present day.

Recently I have been of the opinion that it was time to stop procrastinating about throwing out the remnants of my dead and dying plants still out on the balcony. I was going to do it yesterday, but it rained hard all day.

This morning I overslept and was too late to make it to the early service at church. It was drizzling out and looking very dreary, so my opinion was that I should go back to sleep and watch the service on Livestream later. The Lord, however, had a different plan.

He convicted me to get up and get dressed and go to the second service, which in my foggy state of mind I thought was about to start in half an hour. He also convicted me to text my next door neighbor and ask her if she wanted to join me. 

I started quickly throwing on some clothes, but she did not answer, so I was of the opinion that meant it was okay not to go. Wrong!

The conviction to get going was so strong that I rushed out the door without eating anything or taking my supplements, or doing any of the things I would normally do before leaving the house. 

I made it to church right on the dot. Or so I thought. There were no greeters outside the door, and the pastor was up on the stage instead of the worship team. Turns out I was early. Half an hour early. I had arrived just as the first service was ending.

It felt strange walking into an empty sanctuary, but it brought back memories of how years ago before the pandemic I used to come early and pray over the chairs. I checked my messages again to see if my neighbor had responded. She had, but only to tell me she was glad I had gotten some extra sleep.

My opinion was that she was not interested in coming to church today but I texted her back anyway to tell her I had been wrong about the time, and it was not too late for her to join me. I told her where I was sitting in the back corner of the room and that there was an empty seat next to mine. 

In my opinion, she was not going to come so I probably shouldn't be reserving the empty seat for her, but I did. About halfway through the praise and worship I checked my phone again and to my surprise, saw a message that she was on her way in. 

The sermon turned out to be just what my neighbor needed to hear today, and the events of this morning turned out to be part of a God-orchestrated plan to get her here. 

As for me, I felt very blessed and privileged to have been used as part of this Divine appointment. And as for those plants I had been procrastinating about bringing inside, when I went out on the balcony with trash bag in hand after getting home from church, I was in for another surprise. 

RELY

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--RELY

Five minutes to free write about it 

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The other day I was reading a devotional that spoke of how we tend to make plans, projections, and proposals, but have no idea what a day may bring. Given the unpredictability of life, it's best to hold our plans lightly and remember that we are not in control. It was a very timely reminder not to rely on my own understanding of things.

Timely because slowly, slowly, God has been revealing idols in my life I didn't even realize were idols, and how I have been relying on them instead of on Him and trying to micromanage outcomes that only He has control over. One by one, He has been stripping them away and redirecting my focus to where it needs to be. 

He has been doing many things in this season of my life, but not what I expected, and I have had to give up my concept of what I think is best and trust in His ways. I need to remember that He sees the whole picture, the end from the beginning, whereas my view is very limited. 

ABSENCE

 

This post was written for Five Minute Friday 

Word prompt--ABSENCE

Five minutes to free write about it 

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Today I was really feeling the absence of my long-time prayer partner.  

I've been trying to remind myself all day that seasons come and seasons go, and despite the best of intentions, people will sometimes disappoint us. God never will though. He has told us in His Word that He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8; Hebrews: 13:5).

I think He was reminding me of that today with the two Godwinks I just posted about in my previous post.

TWO GODWINKS IN ONE DAY

 

Every morning while I'm eating breakfast, I play word games like Wordle.

Today, as I started typing in my first word, I felt a sudden prompting to switch two of the letters around, so I did, and was rewarded with an instant win. That was Godwink number one.

And then this evening a friend texted me to tell me to go check out the moon. I did. It was yesterday's giant super moon, still pretty awesome looking even though a day later it was no longer perfectly round. 

On an impulse, I had taken my camera down with me. The camera that has been such a disappointment because it has no setting for night shots, and when I've tried taking pictures of the full moon with it before, the images have been no better than the round ball of light I get with my cell phone. 

I don't know why I thought tonight would be any different, but it was. To my great surprise, I got a pretty decent shot that included the craters. A very big Godwink number two.

I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but I'm going to bed a happy camper tonight.

A PERFECT DAY -- PART 5

Just as I was getting comfortable, my daughter texted me to say there was an exhibit of miniatures in the upstairs gallery. She attached a picture of these tiny wine bottles that actually had wine in them and real corks. That convinced me to muster up my strength and join her, and I'm so glad I did.

The exhibit turned out to be one of the highlights of our visit. I'm in awe at how the artist(s) who created these miniatures managed to craft such tiny details. These pictures do not do them justice at all.

I am so, so, so grateful to the Lord for enabling me to enjoy this perfect day and the company of my very special daughter. It was a real gift that I would never have thought possible at this stage of my life.