Mark and Ramsey left this morning bound for Tennessee (seems to be the place to go these days). This time it's a spring turkey hunt with friends, Tom and Bill. They will have a great time whether they bag any birds or not. This is Bill's first time hunting turkeys and he has been pumped! He attended seminars, watched videos, and bought everything Cabela's had to offer remotely related to turkey hunting. He was all packed a week ago. (Mark and Ramsey packed last night and early this morning). His wife, Mary, was offering the guys $100 if they'd
get "Cabela Bill" and all his gear out of her house a week early and keep him in Tennessee a week longer.
So it's me and the Three Amigos holding down the fort for the next week. They're all sick, in various stages of some virus that just won't leave us alone. Taylie is pretty much over it, but still has a loose cough. Tess is running a low-grade fever this morning and Wylie is hacking, snorting, and spitting. Enough said.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Friday, April 07, 2006
CHERI AND LO GOIN' CAMPIN' !
The "Tater Twins" are packed and off on another excellent adventure!
I found this photo on a fellow blogger's site and it cracked me up. Thanks to the Ramblin' Hillbilly. And thanks to Taylie for her ability to figure out for me how to upload this image to my blog. Her comment upon reading the title of this post was: "With just potatoes?" My response: "I'm sure there's a little chocolate in there somewhere."
Saturday, April 01, 2006
APRIL FOOL'S DAY
I originally was planning to pull off an April Fool's Day prank in my blog but, upon reconsidering, decided doing anything on the internet could get out of hand in a big way. Look how crazy things got in 1957 when the BBC news program Panorama announced that, thanks to a mild winter and elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper harvest of spaghetti. They accompanied this story with pictures of Swiss peasant farmers pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Hundreds of viewers were duped and called in wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti trees. It took some time, but the show's highly respected anchor, Richard Dimbleby, was eventually forgiven by his viewers.
So, in lieu of stirring up some world-wide chaos, I thought I would instead share the tale of my favorite April Fool's Day prank I managed to pull off. April Fool's Day was a big deal to my father and he enjoyed a lot of success in tormenting his wife and young daughters. By the time I was around fourteen I decided it was time to fight back. After much thought, I hit upon a plan. My dad chewed tobacco; the leaf type that came in a pouch. I replaced the tobacco with some nice fresh, moist horse poo. As we all know, the first Tuesday in April is an election day and my dad happened to be running for Town Supervisor. The first of April that year was a day or two before the election. Dad was quite keyed up and prone to expounding on the issues to his captive audience at home. As he worked himself into a froth, he pulled out his pouch and proceeded to pinch a good-sized wad of "chew" and was waving it about as he drove his point home. I had let my mum and sisters in on the prank and we all sat entranced by that chunk of "poo chew" as Dad would bring it in close to his mouth for the deposit but then pull it away, as he wasn't quite ready to pause in his tirade. Suddenly, the enormity of what I had done washed over me in a sickening wave, but I was frozen in a state of fascinated horror when Dad finally arrived at some type of ending punctuation and opened wide to tuck the wad in place. Thanks to God's marvelous design, the nose is placed strategically above the mouth and Dad caught a whiff of what he was about to put therein. He exploded with an emphatic oath, or two or three, as he examined the offending "chew" at arm's length. Mom and sisters, Tara and Nan, sat mute while I offered a weak, "April Fool's". Dad looked at me in surprise and then, much to our relief, burst out laughing. *Whew* To this day, Dad acknowledges, "That was a good one!"
The next year I tried to top that one by sewing the fly shut on his boxers and he nearly wet himself in the men's room of the law office he worked in before discovering my duplicity.
Happy April Fool's Day!
So, in lieu of stirring up some world-wide chaos, I thought I would instead share the tale of my favorite April Fool's Day prank I managed to pull off. April Fool's Day was a big deal to my father and he enjoyed a lot of success in tormenting his wife and young daughters. By the time I was around fourteen I decided it was time to fight back. After much thought, I hit upon a plan. My dad chewed tobacco; the leaf type that came in a pouch. I replaced the tobacco with some nice fresh, moist horse poo. As we all know, the first Tuesday in April is an election day and my dad happened to be running for Town Supervisor. The first of April that year was a day or two before the election. Dad was quite keyed up and prone to expounding on the issues to his captive audience at home. As he worked himself into a froth, he pulled out his pouch and proceeded to pinch a good-sized wad of "chew" and was waving it about as he drove his point home. I had let my mum and sisters in on the prank and we all sat entranced by that chunk of "poo chew" as Dad would bring it in close to his mouth for the deposit but then pull it away, as he wasn't quite ready to pause in his tirade. Suddenly, the enormity of what I had done washed over me in a sickening wave, but I was frozen in a state of fascinated horror when Dad finally arrived at some type of ending punctuation and opened wide to tuck the wad in place. Thanks to God's marvelous design, the nose is placed strategically above the mouth and Dad caught a whiff of what he was about to put therein. He exploded with an emphatic oath, or two or three, as he examined the offending "chew" at arm's length. Mom and sisters, Tara and Nan, sat mute while I offered a weak, "April Fool's". Dad looked at me in surprise and then, much to our relief, burst out laughing. *Whew* To this day, Dad acknowledges, "That was a good one!"
The next year I tried to top that one by sewing the fly shut on his boxers and he nearly wet himself in the men's room of the law office he worked in before discovering my duplicity.
Happy April Fool's Day!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
FEBRUARY FLIGHT PLAN
The month of February has flown by and brought to our home the feeling of an airport terminal. Rucksacks, duffel bags, and carry-ons crowd floor space; misty-eyed hugs goodbye and joyful bear-hug reunions.
Son Ramsey left on the 2nd of February for 2+ weeks of IRT (Innovative Readiness Training in Army lingo) down in Yuma, Arizona. Task Force Diamondback is the building of the border fence (more like a wall) on the Arizona/Mexico border. Ramsey spent his 12-hour shifts welding together steel panels that make up the 18.5' x 9' sections of the fence.
He came back to us Saturday, the 18th, tanned, peeling, and freezing. Two weeks in the desert was enough to thin his blood -- 'course, the fact that it was -25* with windchill ten degrees colder didn't help. Ramsey wasn't the only one shivering around here!
While he was gone, his dad left on the 17th to fly to New Orleans a part of a short-term missions group sent by our church to help victims of Katrina. Mark and the rest of the group will be there for eight days, returning home in the wee morning hours on the 26th. The group is spending their days mucking out houses; tearing out rotten, molded wood, drywall, carpet, etc.; re-roofing; and cleaning up all the debris in people's yards.
We tend to think of floods as water. Not so. We are talking sludge, folks. Nasty, black, and stinking. Seven months after Katrina, the devastation is still mind boggling. The mission team has set up a blog site, complete with photos: http://conovermissions.blog.com Check it out. Seeing this kind of suffering sure puts our own problems in perspective.
We are thankful Mark was still able to go on this trip after separating his shoulder in a snowmobile accident last month. God has been so good. I was somewhat dismayed though, to learn Mark is roofing down there. (see Wednesday's photos on missions blog -- white T-shirt & camo hat, for readers who wouldn't recognize him). He's supposed to be doing something like supervising or running a Bobcat. But that's typical of Mark -- expects no special treatment; gonna do whatever needs to be done. We're praying daily for the team's safety, health, rest, and opportunities to share the love of Christ with people they come in contact with.
So anyway, it's been kind of different for our household with all the coming and going. Mark and Ramsey will not have seen each other for almost a month by the time Mark gets back from Louisiana. I am looking forward to having both my guys back home and underfoot again.
Son Ramsey left on the 2nd of February for 2+ weeks of IRT (Innovative Readiness Training in Army lingo) down in Yuma, Arizona. Task Force Diamondback is the building of the border fence (more like a wall) on the Arizona/Mexico border. Ramsey spent his 12-hour shifts welding together steel panels that make up the 18.5' x 9' sections of the fence.
He came back to us Saturday, the 18th, tanned, peeling, and freezing. Two weeks in the desert was enough to thin his blood -- 'course, the fact that it was -25* with windchill ten degrees colder didn't help. Ramsey wasn't the only one shivering around here!
While he was gone, his dad left on the 17th to fly to New Orleans a part of a short-term missions group sent by our church to help victims of Katrina. Mark and the rest of the group will be there for eight days, returning home in the wee morning hours on the 26th. The group is spending their days mucking out houses; tearing out rotten, molded wood, drywall, carpet, etc.; re-roofing; and cleaning up all the debris in people's yards.
We tend to think of floods as water. Not so. We are talking sludge, folks. Nasty, black, and stinking. Seven months after Katrina, the devastation is still mind boggling. The mission team has set up a blog site, complete with photos: http://conovermissions.blog.com Check it out. Seeing this kind of suffering sure puts our own problems in perspective.
We are thankful Mark was still able to go on this trip after separating his shoulder in a snowmobile accident last month. God has been so good. I was somewhat dismayed though, to learn Mark is roofing down there. (see Wednesday's photos on missions blog -- white T-shirt & camo hat, for readers who wouldn't recognize him). He's supposed to be doing something like supervising or running a Bobcat. But that's typical of Mark -- expects no special treatment; gonna do whatever needs to be done. We're praying daily for the team's safety, health, rest, and opportunities to share the love of Christ with people they come in contact with.
So anyway, it's been kind of different for our household with all the coming and going. Mark and Ramsey will not have seen each other for almost a month by the time Mark gets back from Louisiana. I am looking forward to having both my guys back home and underfoot again.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
"SHOULDER BONE CONNECTED TO THE..."
I've been meaning to blog for quite some time but, circumstances being what they are, I just have not found the right time. Ideally, time without interruption is best for me to write and there has been scarce little of that lately. Let me briefly explain:
January 19th, my husband, Mark, was injured in a snowmobile accident. He wasn't going fast or doing anything foolish...it was a freak thing. He was turning off the road into a driveway and the carbide on the bottom of a ski caught as he hit the brake to swing the rear of the machine, flipping the sled and throwing Mark off. He landed on the hard, icy road taking the full impact on his left shoulder and suffering a 3rd degree AC shoulder separation. In layman's terms, he tore all the ligaments holding the main shoulder bones in place -- the collarbone was shoved up and displaced by the top of the humerous being driven up into the shoulder socket. If this had happened in soft snow he wouldn't have been injured, but he hit hard on the ice and that did it.
We saw two orthopedic specialists. Neither recommended surgery and that was alright with us. Mark began physical therapy last week, is doing pretty well, but is unable to work. Being that the accident was not work-related, there was no workmans' compensation. His employer has subsequently laid him off, as they have no work he is able to do in his present condition. So we are collecting unemployment. It is about half of what he used to bring home, but we are thankful to have something steady to work with...I like a challenge.
Good thing I do, because there have been more challenges in this than just the financial aspect. It is a challenge to not worry, to be patient with a man sitting on the couch in pain and micro-managing my every move, to not get my feelings hurt when he doesn't listen to my advice or admonitions, to help our kids deal with their feelings of stress and anxiety, to find time for myself to be refreshed and renewed...to remember that our names are written on the palms of God's hands.
Through it all we have been amazed at how God is working in our lives: growing us in our faith, giving us opportunities to see His provision for our family, and proving His faithfulness. God is good -- ALL THE TIME.
January 19th, my husband, Mark, was injured in a snowmobile accident. He wasn't going fast or doing anything foolish...it was a freak thing. He was turning off the road into a driveway and the carbide on the bottom of a ski caught as he hit the brake to swing the rear of the machine, flipping the sled and throwing Mark off. He landed on the hard, icy road taking the full impact on his left shoulder and suffering a 3rd degree AC shoulder separation. In layman's terms, he tore all the ligaments holding the main shoulder bones in place -- the collarbone was shoved up and displaced by the top of the humerous being driven up into the shoulder socket. If this had happened in soft snow he wouldn't have been injured, but he hit hard on the ice and that did it.
We saw two orthopedic specialists. Neither recommended surgery and that was alright with us. Mark began physical therapy last week, is doing pretty well, but is unable to work. Being that the accident was not work-related, there was no workmans' compensation. His employer has subsequently laid him off, as they have no work he is able to do in his present condition. So we are collecting unemployment. It is about half of what he used to bring home, but we are thankful to have something steady to work with...I like a challenge.
Good thing I do, because there have been more challenges in this than just the financial aspect. It is a challenge to not worry, to be patient with a man sitting on the couch in pain and micro-managing my every move, to not get my feelings hurt when he doesn't listen to my advice or admonitions, to help our kids deal with their feelings of stress and anxiety, to find time for myself to be refreshed and renewed...to remember that our names are written on the palms of God's hands.
Through it all we have been amazed at how God is working in our lives: growing us in our faith, giving us opportunities to see His provision for our family, and proving His faithfulness. God is good -- ALL THE TIME.
Friday, January 13, 2006
DOG POOP AND COFFEE
Hah! Couldn't just walk away from a title like that, could ya?
Ever get the feeling early on in a day that this might be one of those days when you should just scrap it and go back to bed 'til tomorrow? I'm getting that vibe this morning.
I woke up before six to find dog poop tracked on every other stair going down to the basement. Lovely. The kids had been playing in the woods (which is where our dog does her business) last night after dark and someone must have stepped in a pile and unknowingly tracked it in. 'Course, beats me how they "unknowingly" walked past the stuff on the way back up the stairs.
Cleaning up dog poop before I've had my morning cup of joe is not my idea of a stellar start to the day, but nevertheless, I grabbed the spray bottle of Resolve, firmed up my inner resolve (and my innards), and sprayed and scrubbed my way from top to bottom. Done with that, coffee's ready.
Poured a cup of steaming coffee and headed back downstairs to the computer to check emails and blogs. Slipped on the second from the top step and me and joe were airborne! I have not fallen down the stairs in years...I've slipped, tripped, stumbled, and had some close calls. This was the real deal. Luckily, I kept my grip on the handrail but that was all. In a shower of coffee, I came down hard, smashing my right hip and a couple lower ribs. Ow.
If you ever want to really get your childrens' attention, this works like no other thing.
After applying a cold pack to the purpling grapefruit-sized bruise on my hip, cleaning the stairs (for the second time before 7AM) and walls, and taking a traditional shower, I am now considering renting a carpet cleaner...and watching where I step.
Ever get the feeling early on in a day that this might be one of those days when you should just scrap it and go back to bed 'til tomorrow? I'm getting that vibe this morning.
I woke up before six to find dog poop tracked on every other stair going down to the basement. Lovely. The kids had been playing in the woods (which is where our dog does her business) last night after dark and someone must have stepped in a pile and unknowingly tracked it in. 'Course, beats me how they "unknowingly" walked past the stuff on the way back up the stairs.
Cleaning up dog poop before I've had my morning cup of joe is not my idea of a stellar start to the day, but nevertheless, I grabbed the spray bottle of Resolve, firmed up my inner resolve (and my innards), and sprayed and scrubbed my way from top to bottom. Done with that, coffee's ready.
Poured a cup of steaming coffee and headed back downstairs to the computer to check emails and blogs. Slipped on the second from the top step and me and joe were airborne! I have not fallen down the stairs in years...I've slipped, tripped, stumbled, and had some close calls. This was the real deal. Luckily, I kept my grip on the handrail but that was all. In a shower of coffee, I came down hard, smashing my right hip and a couple lower ribs. Ow.
If you ever want to really get your childrens' attention, this works like no other thing.
After applying a cold pack to the purpling grapefruit-sized bruise on my hip, cleaning the stairs (for the second time before 7AM) and walls, and taking a traditional shower, I am now considering renting a carpet cleaner...and watching where I step.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
ANOTHER TEEN
Unbelievable, the way time passes...
Today is our youngest daughter's thirteenth birthday. Tessa Rose with the button nose. It's her birthday, but what a gift from God she is to us. Beautiful, talented, ardent in likes and dislikes, thoughtful and sensitive, helpful and servant-hearted. Her rippling, musical laugh delights my soul; her round, blue eyes spilling over with tears breaks my heart. Caught in the riptide of passage between childhood and young womanhood, she dances and stumbles.
I don't even remember my thirteenth birthday, but I do remember the ups, downs, and lost-somewhere-in-betweens of the age. Observing one's daughter travel that road brings back some of the feelings...my job now is to discern when to catch her and when to let her fall.
I saw a sign that said, "Raising teenagers is kind of like nailing Jello to a tree." My interpretation: It's a sweet challenge requiring patience and ingenuity and grace.
Last August, Taylie and Tessa and I were out picking wild blueberries. As we walked back to the car, I was flanked by the girls who each carried a full bucket in one hand and held my hands with the other. The late afternoon sun cast our shadows before us and the image smote my heart. I marveled at what God has done: given me two beautiful daughters who want to be with me, talk with me, learn from me, and teach me of themselves. How blessed I am!
Today is our youngest daughter's thirteenth birthday. Tessa Rose with the button nose. It's her birthday, but what a gift from God she is to us. Beautiful, talented, ardent in likes and dislikes, thoughtful and sensitive, helpful and servant-hearted. Her rippling, musical laugh delights my soul; her round, blue eyes spilling over with tears breaks my heart. Caught in the riptide of passage between childhood and young womanhood, she dances and stumbles.
I don't even remember my thirteenth birthday, but I do remember the ups, downs, and lost-somewhere-in-betweens of the age. Observing one's daughter travel that road brings back some of the feelings...my job now is to discern when to catch her and when to let her fall.
I saw a sign that said, "Raising teenagers is kind of like nailing Jello to a tree." My interpretation: It's a sweet challenge requiring patience and ingenuity and grace.
Last August, Taylie and Tessa and I were out picking wild blueberries. As we walked back to the car, I was flanked by the girls who each carried a full bucket in one hand and held my hands with the other. The late afternoon sun cast our shadows before us and the image smote my heart. I marveled at what God has done: given me two beautiful daughters who want to be with me, talk with me, learn from me, and teach me of themselves. How blessed I am!
Monday, January 09, 2006
STOP THE RIDE! I WANNA GET OFF!
Life around here has not slowed down much after the holidays. Every day on the calendar since the first of the year has had at least one thing written on it: Bible study Monday evening, Tuesday AM I ran over to the house I clean at to change bedding and get the laundry going, then at 1:00 attended the funeral of a friend, Wednesday AM finished cleaning the vacation house before guests arrived at noon, then off to church to help Mary prepare and serve the monthly Family Nite Dinner. Thursday we made a WalMart run to stock up and give the kids a chance to use their giftcards. Friday morning back over to the vacation house to get started changing bedding again, cleaning bathrooms, kitchen, vacuuming, etc., between those guests leaving and the next arriving at 4:00 PM. The cleaning was interrupted midday by having to run Taylie down to the high school in Eagle River to get on the bus taking all the youth group kids to Green Bay for our church's District Youth Conference. Then dropped Tessa and Wylie off at piano lessons, ran and grocery shopped while they were there, picked them up, zoomed back to the vacation house to finish cleaning before 4:00. Went in the ditch at 5:00 (haven't done THAT in 20 years -- maybe more about that in next blog), yanked out of the ditch by 5:30, threw together a very nice salad (if I do say so myself) to take over to friends' house for pizza and cards at 6:00 (we were a half hour late due to aforementioned vehicular incident). Up next morning (Saturday, if you're keeping track), threw pot roast in slow cooker and off to work at the Tackle Box at 9:00 -- not my usual thing but the regular employees happen to be my kids -- Taylie, as I said, was gone to Green Bay for Districts, and Ramsey had National Guard duty for the weekend. Tackle Box owner and employer, Karen, was scraping the bottom of the Haynes barrel and came up with Mom. Worked from 9:-4:30 PM, got home, made mashed potatoes to go with pot roast, canceled card night scheduled for that night at other friends' due to exhaustion and the fact that I still had to make a birthday cake for Tessa. Church Sunday morning, then over to my folks for an early birthday celebration. Home at 9:00 PM. Very relieved to find a message on the answering maching saying Senior High girls' 7AM devotions and Junior High 3PM Bible study were canceled for Monday. Whew...
I don't know about you but I'm getting too old for this pace!
I don't know about you but I'm getting too old for this pace!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
HOPE
So, okay, after gentle nudges from friends, I'm back with my first blog of the new year. Things got hectic right before Christmas and I didn't feel I had time to spend on the computer. Then there was the ongoing string of bad news...the deaths of two friends, a diagnosis of cancer in another friend, the brain injury of our pastor's daughter, my brother-in-law's lost job due to the closing of the Rubbermaid plant in Madison, two dear ladies in different hospitals right now undergoing tests to determine the cause of mysterious maladies, a young friend, and mom, facing the prospect of heart surgery for her six year old son...the list goes on.
I hurt for my mother as she travels the road of her mother's decline into senile dementia...will that be her and I someday?
I held onto hope and prayed fervently for the trapped WV coal miners and their families. My heart broke with the news of their loss. Unimaginable.
When it starts piling up this deep I tend to withdraw. And, as they say, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". Hence, the real reason for my absence from the blogging world.
I am so thankful that, as I withdraw from the pain of the world, I walk through each day in the presence and comfort of the Lord God. I just finished reading the Book of Lamentations which poignantly shares the overwhelming sense of loss that accompanied the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and exile of her people around 586 B.C. The Lord ministered to my soul as I read verses 19 through 26 of the third chapter:
"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great isYour faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
I don't know how people get through this stuff without Him to run to, lean on, and cry out to. By His strength I am able to get up in the morning, take care of my family and home, and teach my children. Because His grace is sufficient for me, I am able to pray for, reach out to, and minister to those around me who are hurting or struggling.
As we bid goodbye and, in some cases, good riddance to a year seemingly filled with bad news, we look forward to, and wish one another, the best for the new year. Sometimes that is the case, but often it turns out to be more of the same...because we live in a fallen world we have troubles and sorrows. In John 16:33, Jesus matter-of-factly tells us to expect this, but gives us comfort and promise in His words:
"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
So... as I take a deep breath and take the next step, I also take heart and encourage you to do so as well.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
Hope...hope for better times, hope for the future, hope for eternity:
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4
Praise to God for a Living Hope:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:3-7
"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen." Revelation 22:20-21
I hurt for my mother as she travels the road of her mother's decline into senile dementia...will that be her and I someday?
I held onto hope and prayed fervently for the trapped WV coal miners and their families. My heart broke with the news of their loss. Unimaginable.
When it starts piling up this deep I tend to withdraw. And, as they say, "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all". Hence, the real reason for my absence from the blogging world.
I am so thankful that, as I withdraw from the pain of the world, I walk through each day in the presence and comfort of the Lord God. I just finished reading the Book of Lamentations which poignantly shares the overwhelming sense of loss that accompanied the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and exile of her people around 586 B.C. The Lord ministered to my soul as I read verses 19 through 26 of the third chapter:
"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great isYour faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord."
I don't know how people get through this stuff without Him to run to, lean on, and cry out to. By His strength I am able to get up in the morning, take care of my family and home, and teach my children. Because His grace is sufficient for me, I am able to pray for, reach out to, and minister to those around me who are hurting or struggling.
As we bid goodbye and, in some cases, good riddance to a year seemingly filled with bad news, we look forward to, and wish one another, the best for the new year. Sometimes that is the case, but often it turns out to be more of the same...because we live in a fallen world we have troubles and sorrows. In John 16:33, Jesus matter-of-factly tells us to expect this, but gives us comfort and promise in His words:
"I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
So... as I take a deep breath and take the next step, I also take heart and encourage you to do so as well.
"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13
Hope...hope for better times, hope for the future, hope for eternity:
"Now the dwelling of God is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:3-4
Praise to God for a Living Hope:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade -- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith -- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire -- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:3-7
"He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.' Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen." Revelation 22:20-21
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