Oh dear…

IMG_5121This afternoon, as Emerald and I were playing in our basement, she asked to sit atop the dryer so she could reach 6 hooks, each with a toy hanging from it. She’s played with those since she was 8 months old, and at two years still loves the idea of hooking and unhooking them from their assigned spots.

When Hello-Kitty went tumbling behind the dryer by accident, she asked if I could get her. So as grandmas often do for their grands, I determined to succeed no matter what. Tugging at the dryer, I found it moved out of its parking spot easily, and in just a minute I was standing behind it in foot-deep lint that had quite a few mysterious objects embedded in it.

Thankfully Hello-Kitty was on top, which quickly satisfied Emerald. But as she sat watching me dig for other treasures, she heard me repeatedly say, “Please, no animals…. Please, no animals.”

IMG_5119Up came socks, rags, dish cloths, baby toys, a small towel, a 220 electrical cord, and a pillow case I’d been missing for 3 years. Then I confidently scooped up a big wad of lint but suddenly found myself staring into the face of a stiff, plump chipmunk! My immediate jumping and squealing caused poor Emerald to say, “Are we ok? Are we ok? Are we ok?”

But we weren’t. When I finally regained composure and bent down for another handful of lint, it had a second deceased chipmunk in it! At that point we aborted the project, grabbed Hello-Kitty, and headed upstairs.

Life is full of surprises. When the good ones come (a raise at work, a beautiful day, a gift from a friend), we get happy. When the bad ones come (a critical comment, a big bill, an unexpected diagnosis), we squeal with objections.

God wants us to live on an even keel rather than to be controlled by our emotions, but we often find ourselves succumbing to tears or glee based on what’s going on around us. Scripture says our flesh and God’s Spirit are often at odds within us, so it’s up to us to choose which voice we’re going to listen to. His advice is to walk by the directives of the Spirit, which will always help us win over our unpredictable flesh. (Galatians 5:16)

Lint!Many hours later, after Emerald had departed with her Mommy, I returned to the scene of my screams and dealt with clean-up. May the incident be a regular reminder that “in quietness and in trust shall be my strength.” (Isaiah 30:15)

“A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise [person] quietly holds it back.” (Proverbs 29:11)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Little Anders goes home tomorrow after 3 weeks in the NICU. Pray for a safe, peaceful transition.
  2. I’m so grateful to God that our time in Florida is being blessed and that I’m feeling so good!

 

Something New

Every December I pray the same prayer: Lord, please show me something new about the Christmas story.”

The cardsAnd then I watch for it. I think of it as a special game that God and I play together. He has “all the cards” but when asked, is willing to show one (or more) of them to me. I know he isn’t going to lay out the whole hand, but seeing even one of them means he’s letting me win one round of our game.

In past years he’s never failed to answer my prayer, sometimes in big ways, sometimes small. This morning in church, as the children presented a brief Christmas program, he showed me one of his cards. It was just a little one, but I appreciated it.

Shepherds and sheep.As a robed angel-boy announced to the shepherds that the Savior had been born, other angels chimed in with singing, and an invitation was given to “go and see” the new baby. The child-shepherds responded with this:

“The Lord will take care of the sheep. Let’s go!”

And there it was. The new card. I’d never thought about those sheep before, the ones “abiding in the field” outside Bethlehem with their “shepherds keeping watch over them by night.” The text says the shepherds immediately went “with haste” to find the baby Jesus.

Surely after their encounter with so many supernatural beings, none of them gave the sheep another thought as they bolted toward town. And though Scripture doesn’t include that line about the Lord being the one to take care of the sheep, that’s probably exactly what happened. I can’t see any of the shepherds volunteering to miss out on this awesome event by hanging back with the sheep.

We’ve heard the nativity story so many times it tends to move in one ear and out the other without making any fresh impact. To consider one small part of it we haven’t thought about before is to look afresh at this 2000-year-old story, even if it’s only something simple like wondering about who cared for the sheep after the shepherds ran off.

But an even greater joy comes in realizing that God generously answers the prayers of people seeking more of him and wanting further information about his story. I plan to keep watching in case God wants to play another round of our game, and thankfully, he’s ok with that. Actually, he has encouraged me to stay on the lookout and seems to enjoy revealing more of his story to anyone who wants to know.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Please pray that our 11th grandchild will be safely delivered tomorrow.
  2. I’m thanking God for how really good I feel without the feeding tube!

An Early Thanksgiving

A week ago I blogged about our 3 pumpkins, all of which were coveted by a neighborhood squirrel but remained untouched. We couldn’t figure it out till we realized he couldn’t trust the clear glass table to hold him. Though he ran along the railings and could easily have jumped, he never did.

Still trying

Until it snowed.

The thinnest covering of snow suddenly made the table appear solid, and even as the storm continued, the squirrel made his railing-to-table leap and dug in.

The banquet of lifeTiny bits of white pumpkin seeds flew as he nibbled, filling his cheeks with the moist “meats” he’d been craving for weeks.

Once the first pumpkin had been emptied, he moved on to the second…. and yesterday, the third.

 

As I worked at cleaning house for Thanksgiving, I passed the windows many times, always glancing toward the picnic table.

Hard workerHe was there, then gone, then there, then gone, as he made multiple runs to his nest to “wallpaper” it with winter’s food stocks.

Scripture speaks to the benefits of diligence, using ants as an upstanding example of industrious behavior. God wants us to notice the unending parade of tireless workers who labor throughout the summer and well into the fall, stockpiling food. Proverbs then adds, “The ant has no commander, no overseer or ruler,” yet the entire colony works together to accomplish its common goal. (6:7-8) Impressive indeed.

Three's the charm.The writer of Proverbs also says that if we consider the ants (in other words, study them and adopt their habits), we will “be wise.” (6:6) So we’re to conclude, then, that planning ahead and conscientiously acting on those plans is godly wisdom.

Diligence is a character trait highly prized in the Bible. References are made to being diligent in our study of the Word, in our work, in helping the needy, in pursuing godliness, in our leadership roles, in being examples to others, and most importantly, in obeying whatever God tells us to do.

If this seems like an awful lot of hard work, Proverbs also says that when we follow through diligently, the Lord will see to it we’re rewarded.

Banquet participantAs for our backyard squirrel, I had planned to set the pumpkins in the yard for his Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, but by way of his diligence, he got to start his feasting ahead of time.

“The desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.” (Proverbs 13:4)

 

 

Praising and Praying with Mary

  1. Praise for a safe trip to Arkansas, despite lots of traffic and snow!
  2. Please pray that in these next 5 days I’ll be able to maximize opportunities to talk about eternity and God, especially with the younger generation.
  3. Pray I’ll have the energy and strength to participate in all the group activities, especially with our 10 grandchildren. The oldest (twins) turned 13 today!