Thought for the Day

One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen;
Saw footprints of my Lord galore,
But mine were not along the shore.

But then did stranger prints appear.
I asked the Lord, "What have we here?
Those prints are large and round and neat,
But Lord, they are too big for feet."

"My child," said He in somber tone,
"My footprints do you see alone
Where you My promise did believe,
And victories you did receive.

"But when you struggled in My arm,
To live out your own righteous charm,
In your own pow'r you sought to strut,
Well, there I dropped you on your butt.

"As Christian daughter, Christian son,
'Tis true you have a race to run.
That race is only truly won,
When in My arms the work is done.

"When times do come to rise and fight,
To risk the loss, to do the right,
On Christ's strong arms you take your stand,
Or, leave your buttprints in the sand."

Rev. Robert Schaibley

If (with apologies to Rudyard Kipling

If you can...

• start the day without caffeine,
• get going without pep pills,
• always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
• resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
• eat the same food everyday & be grateful for it,
• understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
• overlook it when those you love take it out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong,
• take criticism and blame without resentment,
• ignore a friend's limited education and never correct him,
• resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend,
• face the world without lies and deceit,
• conquer tension without medical help,
• sleep without the aid of drugs,
• say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, color, religion or politics,

Then, my friend, you are almost as good as your dog.

Back again

Last week, it was just too hard to blog. I did write a few things in my private journal.

Oops... just got additional work to do. I'll write more later today.

Sunday

It was good to go to church today. That always ministers to my soul. Those who know me, know that I'm a bit of a traditionalist -- I really enjoy the hymns. Some of the new songs are good, but a lot of them are sentimental ("Draw me close to you...never let me go... feel the warmth of your embrace...") I refer to this genre as "Jesus is my boyfriend" music. I try to take these songs in the spirit in which they are meant, but, frankly, where's the beef? In my not so humble opinion, I'm not sure it's appropriate to approach the Creator of the Universe like some sort of Cosmic Teddy Bear.

I guess the analogy I can draw is between that of my earthly father to my Heavenly Father. I loved my father deeply, and I often told him that I loved Him, but I would have said "Dad, I love you" instead of "Dad, I'm in love with you." Therefore, I'm a little (actually, a lot) uncomfortable singing "Jesus, I'm so in love with You." Maybe women are more comfortable with expressing that type of sentiment, but I'm thinking that most men are as disconcerted as I am in that regard. (Could this be why our churches are not reaching as many men as women? Just a thought.)

That said, there is a place and purpose for the role of the Godhead in the ministry of comforting us in time of trouble. I'm reminded of the old hymn by Charles Wesley:
Jesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Some might say that that is overly sentimental, but 1 Corinthians says: "Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ." (chapter 1, verses 3-5)

So, excuse me while I drop the deep theological premises and simply seek comfort in the arms of my Lord and Master, as a weak scared child might crawl into the lap of a loving father.


"Is he safe?"
"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver... "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." C.S.Lewis

Thanksgiving

The girls and I travelled out of town to be with friends this Thanksgiving. We just couldn't have Thanksgiving at our house. B would have been cooking all week long and we would have had a house full of guests.

B would always make pumpkin pie for breakfast on Thanksgiving. My older daughter made a pie for us. I really appreciate her doing that. I'm afraid it just brought up some memories, though, and I found it hard to even eat or speak. I was grateful, but I know my daughter couldn't tell it.

I read Psalm 100 (or as some call it "Old Hundredth") this morning:

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

Giving thanks is good. When you consider the first American Thanksgiving, and all the hunger, disease, and death that our Pilgrim fathers suffered in the preceeding months, it is incredible. It reminds me that my own pain, though deep, is not unique even though I might think it is. It also reminds me that praise is possible even in these difficult times.

I'm blogging this during the half-time of the Texas-Texas A&M game. The Aggies are giving the defending national champ Longhorns fits and are ahead. Wish they would show the half-time show. I always enjoy the bands.

Two steps forward, one step back

Today has been hard. I'm doing some of the hard and deeply emotional things today. Things like filing on the insurance at work. A lot of pain for a small amount of money, not even enough to pay for B's funeral. You need a death certificate, and I'm not sure I can bring myself to even find out how to get one.

This, combined with other things (like dealing with a bill for some dental work B was supposed to have done but couldn't -- got that resolved with a couple of phone calls)... well, I just broke down and cried, harder than I have in a week.

Why does life have to be so hard?

Praising Him for His blessings

I'm reflecting back on this week versus last week. A week ago, the burden was so heavy as to be unbearable. Today, it's better. There's still pain there. There's still that ache in my heart, but it's not quite as bad. I guess that means that there's hope that I can go on.

The doctor visit was good yesterday, and I had a chance to encourage several people while I was there. My health remains good, maybe a little better, even, for those who want to know.

Dinner with my long-time friend and her children was great. We shared a lot of good memories about B, I got to impress them with my culinary skills (I can open a box of brownie mix with the best of them,) we laughed, and I felt like I was a little bit alive once again.

It'll be a long time before things feel somewhat normal again, but I'm getting better, one step at a time.