Category Archives: Thankfulness

Message in the Sand

Posted on by

Those of us who’ve invited Jesus to take charge of our lives nod in assent when we hear, “He’s always with you.”

We’ve memorized many of the “full circle verses” (Seeing the Future) and we move into each new day knowing he’s present with us in his Spirit, all of us at the same time. It’s our miraculous reality, although we aren’t always thinking about it. Contrary to our sometimes non-thoughts of him, Jesus never stops thinking about us. And once in a while he gets creative trying to tug us back to an awareness of him.

Jesus loves U

Recently a bunch of us arrived at the beach to find Jesus had beat us there. Etched in the sand were the words, “Jesus [heart] U” in letters bigger than we were. The artist was long gone, so we set up camp right next to these true words. The simple sign was a good reminder:

  • to focus on Jesus more
  • to actively remember that he’s always with us
  • to realize many other people believe in him, too.

When I see something like that beach message, I automatically think, “There’s another child of God, another believer.” Even though I didn’t know who had made the sign, I felt naturally drawn to this other person who had had Jesus so up-front on his/her mind.

Christians come in all sizes, shapes, colors and from any time period, country, or church. Sometimes we let insignificant things get in the way of relationships with them, and I often remember what Pastor Warren Wiersbe used to say: “When we get to heaven, we might be surprised at who’s there.” In other words, God judges based on people’s hearts, while the rest of us look mostly at their performance.

A warm sock

One cold day last winter when I pulled on a toasty warm sock, something inside of it poked me like a pin. When I took it off, I turned it inside out to see what it was (a pine needle from the Christmas tree). God looks at us in a similar way, from the inside out. After he sees what’s there, he makes his next move toward us accordingly.

My guess is that one of the things he looks for when he’s got us inside out is whether or not we’re tuned in to him at any given time. Are we looking in his direction? Are we conscious of his close presence? Is the wonder of being “with him” appreciated or disregarded? Are we mindful of him only on the days when we feel needy, or are we needful of him daily?

I’m thankful for the sign in the sand and the person who made it. Maybe a good idea would be to make a sign of my own the next time I’m at the beach, something like, “Your thoughts about [us] outnumber the grains of sand.” (Psalm 139:17-18)

*            *            *            *            *

Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

No Place Like Home

Posted on by

Mail from SarahMy UK co-grandma, Sarah, is married to Cliff, who recently traveled to London and brought back something special. It arrived yesterday: an in-tact 6” x 9” envelope, plump-full. (See yesterday’s blog.) Inside was a beautiful linen tea towel depicting the British Parliament – House of Lords, House of Commons, and the familiar London landmark, Big Ben.

I hadn’t expected a replacement towel for the one that was lost in the mail, so this gift was a charming surprise. Having been to London twice, I recognized the landmarks, but even if I hadn’t, I would have known Big Ben from movies, pictures, and textbooks.

Taj Mahal

As I studied the towel, I thought of all the well-known places in our world I haven’t visited but still would recognize, for example, the Taj Mahal, The Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, Niagara Falls, The Sphinx. As school children we studied these impressive wonders and saw pictures of them, becoming acquainted from afar.

Last night Nelson, Birgitta, and I had an interesting dinner-time discussion about the biblical new heaven and new earth. Although there is no way to visit these places, we do have textbook pictures of what they’ll be like, which invites us to get acquainted with them as we did with the famous places in our school books.

God wants us to know that one day he’s going to bridge the gap between heaven (the spiritual) and earth (the physical) by bringing them together. The Bible tells us he’ll make a new heaven and earth for us, describing what they’ll look like after he combines them, although much is still left to our imagination. But since he’s calling our new home “earth,” he probably intends for it to be familiar to us, a better version of what we know now.

Maybe he’ll eliminate all the undesirables of our world, then enrich all the good parts, and add heaven. If that’s true, when the time comes to go there, we’ll probably find it pleasantly familiar (but greatly enhanced). Maybe we’ll find roses without thorns, water without floods, gardens without weeds, and seasons without storms. But roses, water, gardens, and seasons will make our heavenly-earth feel very much like home.

Perhaps God is excited about our reaction to his new heaven and earth the same way parents anticipate a child’s response to a longed-for gift. Since he tells us some of what eternity will be like, he must want us to develop a longing for it, not just in his textbook version but in actual experience.

Tea Towel

I’m grateful to have visited the famous landmarks on my stunning new tea towel from Sarah. And maybe someday I’ll get to see a few more of the legendary sights our world has to offer. But most of all, I want to see what God will show us, knowing it’s going to be out of this world.

“This is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ – everything in heaven and on earth.” (Ephesians 1:10)

At last!

Posted on by

Waiting 9 months for the birth of a child doesn’t seem long in the early weeks, since growth can be carefully tracked on pregnancy web sites. We can see a baby’s size go from rice-like to kidney bean to grape to lime! Each week includes major developments as God does his marvelous work in “the secret place” of the womb. (Psalm 139)

But growth slows considerably toward the end of 9 months, and baby is usually “done” several weeks before delivery. That’s when it’s hard to wait patiently.

Katy and Hans have faithfully kept us posted on Baby #4’s progress, letting us know about several episodes of intense contractions that made us hopeful we’d meet this little one early. But the due date came and went, and as of yesterday Katy, along with the rest of us, was still waiting.

IMG_2674(1)

Then the clock ticked into today, and God said, “It’s time!”

Andrew Kenneth Nyman (7 lb 14 oz) greeted his parents at home, just after noon British time, with a full head of dark hair and a gentle smile. Thanks to iPhones, those of us 4000 miles away got to share the joy of the moment almost immediately. We “met” him while he was still wet behind the ears and watched as Andrew’s 3 older siblings greeted him for the first time, witnessing their tender kisses and expressions of amazement.

Four year old Nicholas, had repeatedly asked, “When is the baby coming?” Today, as he looked at his new little brother, all he could think to say was, “Is it real?” Finally able to see the long-invisible, eagerly-anticipated baby, these words were the best he could find to express the extraordinary wonder in his heart.

IMG_8265

The baby has been named well after his American cousin Andrew (and, as Hans added, the first of Jesus’ disciples). While growing up, Hans hung with a “set” of 4: Andrew-Klaus-Jo-Hans. These cousins, close in age, walked through childhood and adolescence together with Andrew in the lead, who today is an excellent example of a young man committed to Christ.

Little Andrew’s middle name comes to him from both sides of the family, Nate’s only sibling and Katy’s grandfather, both named Kenneth. But best of all are the meanings of these names: Andrew = manly, warrior; Kenneth = handsome, fiery. How wonderful to be a manly, handsome warrior with a fiery spirit!

As I talked with the Lord this morning, asking him to set Andrew’s heart on fire for Jesus, the verse he gave me (below) was God’s strong statement of commitment to Andrew Kenneth and a hope that he will be just as committed in return. This young life is already keenly important to all of us, but is even more so to the One who created him to be exactly as he is.IMG_1799 And we are so thankful!

ANDREW KENNETH NYMAN,

WELCOME TO THE FAMILY!

“I [the Lord] will make an everlasting covenant with [Andrew]: I will never stop doing good for [Andrew]. I will put a desire in [Andrew’s] heart to worship me, and [Andrew] will never leave me.” (Jeremiah 32:40)                   [personalization mine]