With a Cheerful Heart

Barn Cats Share with Each Other

Flying T Ranch

Sprague River, Oregon

June 2011

Hebrews 13:16
"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."

The four-year old girl looked up with big eyes as she sat in her chair during my Vacation Bible School lesson and told me if she had an old horse and her neighbor needed it, she would be glad to share it with them.  I'm not sure where she's hiding a horse to give away, but she understood the message of my lesson.

I talked to the preschoolers about making sacrifices and sharing with others with a glad heart. Tonight, I followed up on last night's lesson and asked the kids which of them had made a sacrifice or who had shared with others.

Their answers were precious:

"I walked the dog with my mom and dad."

"When my sister fell down, I picked her up."

"I made my bed."

"I shared my crayons with my friend."

The little ones grasped the simple concept of the lesson: Share with a glad heart even if it means you must sacrifice something you love. 

The concept is easy to understand, but the older people get, the more complicated we make it. We want to put conditions on our giving and limitations to our sacrifices.

God calls us all, young and old, to give with cheerful hearts even if it means giving up something we cherish.

Children are learning this lesson in Brunswick, Georgia. I wonder how many grown-ups practice this?
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Lord, let me share what I have with others with a happy heart.

Simple, Simpler, Simplified

A Simple Day with the Sea Gulls and Dolphins

Off the Coast of Jekyll Island, GA

2007

Psalm 46:1 NIV
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."

Many years ago, a friend of mine, an English teacher, retired and presented me with a special bookmark I keep in my bedroom where I can see it every day.

Inscribed on the bookmark are three words we teach our high school juniors when we reach the Transcendentalist Movement:  “Simplify, Simplify, Simplify.”

She gave me those words because she knew all too well that's the only way I can last my full thirty years in teaching before I retire.

Since I received her gift, I've tried to simplify my life. Henry David Thoreau defined simplifying by “Let your accounts be written on your thumbnail.” 

I've not reached that level of mastery. In fact, I’m not even certain how much my life has been simplified since I received the bookmark.

A few years ago I made a career change, which I hoped would simplify my life; instead, it's merely complicated and stressed it.

The older Allison gets, the more she has to consider. Already, the school counselors want her to select a career path, and she's so conscientious, she thinks she has to do this. John and I tell her we still aren’t sure what we want to do for a living, and we’re in our fifties. For some reason, this thought doesn’t soothe her.

After all those years of looking forward to having Russell move out of the house, now we can’t stand it when we don’t see him in weeks. He’s only an hour away from us, but he works long hard hours. We’re glad he has a job, and we're happy he lives on his own, but we miss him!

So growing into my fifties has presented me with some challenges. I know with God’s help I can continue to try to simplify my life, but maybe it’s more of a matter of readjusting priorities: putting God and family first and not getting so upset by issues I can't control.

God continues to strengthen me. I have to be wise enough to know when to set aside worries.

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Thank you, Lord, for helping me readjust priorities so I can

focus on you and my family better.

Water to Soothe the Soul

Sidney Lanier Bridge as Viewed from I-95 North

April 2011

John 4:13-14 NIV

Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

“Girls, go down to the spring and bring us some water. We could use a drink of cold water right now.”

We were near Corbin, Kentucky, at a time when “Take me Home, Country Roads,” by John Denver, played on every radio station.  We’d left the blistering summer sidewalks of the city for the cool breezes of the country.

Our friends, the Eatons, were building their A-frame cabin in the woods with the help of friends and family. We children had been running errands for the men all morning collecting tools and carrying wood, and now we were sent in search of the fresh-water spring just a short walk down a beaten trail through the thicket.

I loved the trek to the spring. I know there were critters in the woods I probably didn’t want to see, but after working hard in the sun, ducking into the underbrush and cooling off five degrees felt wonderful.

We hopped down the path until we ended up at a shale slab. The stone was flat and angled down and up into a shallow bowl, creating a natural basin in the earth. We had to carefully clear away the top level of leaves from the spring so we didn’t disturb the silt that settled on the bottom. If we stirred too hard, then we had to wait several minutes for the tempest we had created to clear away before we could dip water.

The water was light, sweet and cool. I know it seems hard to believe that water had a texture and flavor, but it felt like drinking sunshine. It was the loveliest water I have ever sipped.

It not only refreshed but it also energized us.

When I read about women pulling water out of wells in the Bible, I often wonder what the water tasted like. Was it energizing as well as refreshing?  Was it like drinking sunshine?

Imagine the water in the Garden of Eden. I bet the natural springs there were de-light-ful. (No pun intended!) :)

As an English major, I’ve been taught water is symbolic of rebirth and new life, for example as it is used in baptism. The sweet water in Kentucky brought energy to all of us who had the joy of tasting it.

When I think of some of the ways water is referred to in the Bible, I recall some significant images: the flood, the parting of the Red Sea, the baptism of Jesus, the changing water to wine, and the discussion Jesus had with the Samaritan woman at the well.

Water is an important part of our physical lives, and it also plays a symbolic role spiritually. 

In other words:  Water is not only good for the body, but it’s also good for the soul.

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Thank you, Lord, for your spiritual waters.

Feed My Sheep

Portland, Oregon

3 June 2011

Mt. Hood

3 June 2011

John 21:17 NIV
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep.

The homeless man I trailed behind on a main street in Portland, Oregon, dragged his tattered sleeping bag behind him. Gray and dingy with the stuffing falling out, it looked as downtrodden as he.

His face was speckled with salt and pepper stubble. He limped as he walked. He wore a dark ski cap on his head and an open flannel shirt over a t-shirt.

He stopped, turned, and demanded, "Give me a dollar, so I can get somethin' to eat."

John doesn't approve when I talk to people who live on the streets, but it was lunch time and crowds of people were enjoying the rare sunshine, so I wasn't afraid.

Besides, since I have adopted my attitude of expecting miracles this week, I thought I'd see how far this would pan out.

"No, I won't give you a dollar, but I'll buy you a meal instead." I looked him straight in his foggy eyes.

He turned from my gaze confused. He didn't expect this response. I glanced down and noticed thick grimy city dirt caked on his wrists and along his forearms. Obviously it had been awhile since he had bathed.

Fortunately, my sinuses have clogged up my sense of smell, or else he might have been too odoriferous to try a miracle on.

He considered my counter proposal and grumbled, "Okay."  He asked where I wanted to take him. I replied it was his choice; I wasn't from here.

He seemed even more frustrated by me.

We stood outside a sushi restaurant. "You want sushi?" he quizzed me. Before I could reply he cut me off. "I don't like sushi."

"Fine, then what about a sandwich? There's a deli over---" Before I could point to the deli across the street he turned to me and said, "I tell you what, why don't you buy me a meal another time?" Then he sprinted down the street in the opposite direction from where I was headed. I was one block away from a local dive that fixed hot meals.

My miracle? I don't know. I expected it, but it didn't seem to arrive.  All I tried to do was feed a man and not his addictions.

Jesus commanded, "Feed my sheep." I tried real hard today. I'll expect a miracle tomorrow and see how that works out.
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Lord, thank you for helping me be brave enough to try to help the homeless man. He is one of your lost sheep. I pray someone will be able to bring him and others like him back into the fold.

Expect Miracles

I Think it's a Miracle Mushrooms Grow on Trees

Wilderness Conservancy, Rye N.Y October 2010

Mark 11:22 NIV

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered.

"Expect Miracles!"

These words appeared in June's Guideposts magazine, which I read at my doctor's office this past Tuesday. 

The article was about a couple who reclaimed their mint farm from foreclosure. Every shipment to their customers is stamped with the phrase "Expect Miracles" before it leaves the farm.

I decided to adopt that phrase for a week to see how it impacted my life. I received an answer later that same day.

The first chance I had to use it was at my hairdresser's. At first glance, I could tell she was upset. 

She asked about my trip to Oregon this week and about John and Allison, but she was clearly not herself.

Finally she confided, "Please pray for me. I have taken on a major task at church with the youth, and I don't feel like I have the energy for it. It's such a big job. I need others to help me, but they are in their own world right now. I have important decisions to make right now concerning youth camp, and I don't know what to do."

As she let the color in my hair set, I had private time to pray. I've known her for several years, and she has been quite active with the children and youth program. However, now she was tired and needed support.

I prayed for her and the youth program. I prayed for a helper to assist her.

As an afterthought, I asked God for a message to tell her. Immediately, I saw hands appear before me. I was confused, so I asked again. I wanted a voice to talk to me. I needed a concrete and tangible message. Once more, I saw hands pressed together as if in prayer.

When my friend returned, I told her I'd talked to God on her behalf. She thanked me for the prayer. However, when I told her I had a message from God for her, she looked at me expectantly but confused.

"I think I'm supposed to tell you you're the Hands and Feet of Christ. God knows the work you're doing, and He is with you. Expect miracles."

She teared up. She told me she needed to hear those words.

I didn't understand the message when I saw it because it was designed for her.

God gives us what we need at exactly the appropriate time, and He never leaves us without Hope.

Since Tuesday, I have experienced more miraculous moments. I like this philosophy and plan to expect miracles all the time now.
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Thank you, Lord, for the power of prayer and for answering prayer in such a personal way.

Sometimes My Cake Melts in the Rain

Sunset

April 2011

Psalm 31:9 NIV

"Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief."

 

Leigh and I stretched out on the living room floor side by side in our sleeping bags. It was well past midnight. My transistor radio whined the latest hit melancholy tune. I could just make out the words. 

“MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark. All the sweet, green icing flowing down. Someone left the cake out in the rain. I don’t think that I can take it. 'Cause it took so long to bake it. And I'll never have that recipe again. Oh no.”

I stayed awake trying to figure out why she couldn’t bake the cake anymore. I also thought she should come in out of the rain. I wondered why I didn’t understand the song. Maybe eighth graders don't know everything.

Of course, there was plenty I didn’t understand that night, but I related to the sad song. It matched my mood.

Leigh and I had spent most of the evening talking about issues that confused us.

Today I had "hosted" a party. I had sent invitations to many people and Leigh and I baked brownies, cookies and a cake for everyone. We bought soda pop and arranged the living room to accommodate our friends.

But an hour before the party, one after another called me. They couldn’t come. Some didn’t call at all. By the hour the party arrived, Leigh and I had two tables' worth of sweets to eat by ourselves.

I was sad. I faced disappointment, confusion and a few tears, but if you are going to have a bad day, it’s nice to have your best friend with you.

She lifted me up and took my thoughts away from the pity party I decided to have in place of the other party.

Disappointment is a part of life. Until a few years ago, I never really considered how much the Lord can relate to our personal pain in life.

Jesus was disappointed with his disciples when he asked them to stay awake while he prayed in the garden. He must have felt heartsick and alone and needed his core group of friends, yet they fell asleep—and not just once!

How sad.  They of all people should have understood how important it was to be with Jesus at that hour of night.

People disappoint each other. That's just how life is. None of us gets through life unscathed from hurt.

So Jesus understands our sorrows and our hurts. He experienced the same pain.  He is always with us and never deserts us in our time of need.  

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Thank you, Lord, for understanding my pain and easing it. Thank you for lifting me up when I am down.

Lost and Found in Florida

Azaleas Blooming

 April 2011

Isaiah 41:10

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."

“Lori, there’s 429.  Over the bridge.  Turn right.  Just like the directions said!”

John and I confidently left Fort Wilderness tonight certain we would find the grocery store he had located online. 

We had packed our car full with suitcases when we left Georgia for Disney this morning, so we had no room to carry food and drinks. Once we arrived at our cabin, we searched online for directions to the nearest store and headed out in search of supplies.

I turned right, crossed the bridge and followed the road signs directing us to 429. After a few minutes John looked at me confused and asked, “Didn’t we just pass by here? I think we’re going in circles!”

I shrugged my shoulders and glanced at the directions he held. By now we were completely off script. We were on our own.

“I don’t know, dear,” I sighed. “I’m just reading signs. Isn’t this the road you told me to be on?”

John crumbled up the directions and threw them on the floor. He groaned. “I have no idea. I haven’t a clue where we are.”  We had been up a long time and were exhausted. We could barely think of our names let alone figure out how we had become lost.

We should have turned around at this point, but the car was running on empty. I needed gasoline in the worst way. I hoped if I continued forward I would discover a gas station.

Hope was all we possessed because the longer we drove, the deeper we became lost in orange groves in central Florida.

Finally, we encountered cross roads. We faced a choice of entering onto a toll road or passing underneath it. We chose to skip the toll and drove on. However, we only progressed about a half mile until we came upon a ghost town. The road ended. We had run out of choices.

We turned around, maneuvered onto the toll road, and with the car seeming to suck only gas fumes for energy, we forged onward looking for civilization. We eventually found it. 

Not only did we find a gas station, but we also located a store to buy groceries.

As we headed back toward Disney, John had the atlas in his lap trying to figure out how to return. To our surprise, we were north of Disney. We thought all along we were south of it! We were completely turned around.

Thankfully, God keeps a close eye on our spiritual lives. He sends road signs to help us on our spiritual paths as we journey through life.

He provides us with an accurate soul map for our spiritual journey. He keeps us from being lost or running on empty. He wants us to be energized so we can spread His word to others.

So He sends timely signs along our paths to help us. For example, many times I’ve opened the Bible to a particularly appropriate verse for what I’m facing that day. That’s God.

There’s no reason I should be spiritually spinning in circles, ending up in an orange grove in Florida, if I don’t plan on being there.

God daily reveals my spiritual path to me if I am open to His road signs. I just need to carefully read them.

Thank you, Lord for helping me remain on the path to you.