THE COUGH

I coughed.  No big deal.  The weather had been crazy and the cough was the result of weather.  Now, don’t get ahead of the story.  I went to the doctor, took meds, and got a chest X-ray.  I do not have pneumonia.  That was great to hear.  BUT

I am still coughing.  This is not a polite, little cough that you can hide behind a 3-ply Kleenex.  It is loud.  And sometimes lasts for an eternity.  I do not know when I will cough.  At night it is worse and I am way short on sleep.  BUT sleep is not my biggest problem.

UNLESS I AM GOING TO THE DOCTOR, I AM STAYING HOME.  I missed my Memoir Writing group.  I told them I was trying to cough my head off and if that happened during the meeting, it would be traumatic.   Imagine sitting there and a head flying across the table.  Of course, it could make for an interesting writing topic:  How Did You Feel When Mary Lost Her Head?

I attend a book club. There are only five of us, but that means we each get to discuss our thoughts.  Except, I read the book, I had comments I wanted to make and questions I wanted ask.  I stayed home.  I missed my book club.  They discussed without me.  

I teach Sunday School and we are finishing the last of the Book of Romans.  Someone else taught the class.  I stayed home.  I didn’t want them to run out of the room when I did my first coughing session.  I miss Sunday School.  They are one of my support systems.  I know they included me in their prayers.

AND I MISSED WORSHIP SERVICE!  I missed torturing those around me as I sang. (Let’s just say I cannot carry a tune even if I had a bucket.)  I missed bowing my head and holding Bill’s hand as prayers were said.  I missed hearing a message.  I missed talking with friends.  I stayed home.  If I had started coughing, think how that would have sounded on the video.  The minister would not stand a chance against my cough.  

I am writing this on Sunday morning, sitting on the porch, and wondering about this next week.  What do I have scheduled?  Will I be able to attend meetings and activities? 

 

UNLESS I AM GOING TO THE DOCTOR I STAY HOME —-

Yes, I have a point.  My question:  What keeps us from doing what we are supposed to do?  How would you answer these questions?

I do not go to church because __________.

I do not volunteer at the Thrift Store because __________.

I do not reach out to my neighbors because __________.

I do not read the Bible because __________.

I do not pray because ________.

The list could go on.  

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭

My point is what holds you back and what are you missing?  What keeps you from being “fishers of men?”

PS. I am on a second round of meds and my cough is under control.  I am going out.  I will go to church.  My head is still attached.

 THE GATE

This is the current picture on my iPad.  I like this picture because the gate is open.  There is no barrier to stop me from going down the path.

 I look at this picture and wonder what could be down the path.  I have always wondered what was down the road.  And the next road.  And around the corner.  Over there.  Down yonder.  It is that curiosity that made me open the atlas and say, “Why don’t we go to Montana?”  And we did.  Then there was, “Let’s go to Alabama.”  And we did.  Bill would say, “Let’s go to Tucson.”  And we did.  We have been blessed to travel many paths.

I like this picture because the gate is open.  There is no barrier to stop me from going down the path.  

I look at this picture and think about the roads of learning that I have taken.  I took an online class on websites and set up websites.  I learned how to put pictures together to make a video.  I tried to get a book of devotions published, but quickly learned so did thousands of other people.  What could I do with my desire to write?  A blog.  I learned to blog.  I learned how to put a stuffed frog on Instagram.  I have learned to google and learn more about what I teach in Sunday School.  

I like this picture because the gate is open.  There is no barrier to stop me from going down the path.  

I look at this picture and remember touching a snake so kindergarten kids would not know I am afraid of snakes and have given messages at churches and chapels, even though I get nervous every time.  I have gone against the school board and I have stood up in court to defend children.  I have gone to hospitals when our daughter or grandchildren had surgery and faced the fear that something might go wrong.  

I like this picture because the gate is open.  There is no barrier to stop me from going down the path.  

I look at this picture and realize there is something that could have been a barrier to travel, learning, and other opportunities.  Yes, the gate is open.  There is no barrier to the path.  Well, nothing to stop me except myself.  But I am not stopping myself.  I am going through the gates life presents as practice.  Practice for when I see the twelve gates of the new Holy City.

And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass.

On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭10-12, 21, 25‬-‭27‬ 

Yup, I will keep practicing going through gates so I am ready for the gates of heaven.  A pearl big enough to make a gate.  Now that I want to see.  Plus those streets.  And …..

‬‬

 61 years ago …. Or was it just yesterday?  

It was Friday afternoon and the time was going slow and then, somehow, it was TIME.  Change of clothes..check.  Shoes..check.  (I made sure on that one twice, because back then I never wore shoes.  More than once I had headed out the door and had to go back to put my shoes on.)  Ring..check.  Then it hit me.  I was getting married.  MARRIED!  Me!  I took a deep breath and we headed to the church.

It was a very, very small wedding.  We did not want a larger wedding.  Just us and our immediate family.  We attended a rural church and, even though it was such a small number, the church ladies had cleaned till the wood shined.  

Dad and I waited until we heard the piano play the “song.”  Somewhere between the first note and the second, using the step-wait-step went right out the window.  We walked toward my future.  

Who gives this woman?  Do you take.  Do you promise?  Love, honor, cherish?    You may kiss.  And just like that I went from a Miss to a Mrs.  

That was yesterday … Or was it 61 years ago?

Time can be deceptive.  A breath can be long, as memories of a sick child come to mind.  A smile can hold for hours, as trips are discussed and roads taken turn into cowboys moving cattle, churches with stained glass windows, and the powerful Bison.  A tear can travel down the cheek, as the joy of holding a new baby enlarges a circle called family.

What has our life held?   Oh my.  There is not enough space to list that.  Let’s just say, our life has held blessings and trials.   

 What will it hold?   I do not know and I do not want to know.  BUT I know that whatever comes, we will get through the trials and cherish the blessings.

Yesterday … Or was it 61 years ago … I said, “I take YOU.”  I would say it again today.

Happy Anniversary Bill.  I love you   

I belong to a group called Memoir Writers.  We meet twice a month and are assigned topics.  A while back, the topic was, either, A STRANGE ENCOUNTER or AN ENCOUNTER WITH A STRANGER.  I thought I would take the easy way out this week.  Hope you enjoy.

AN ENCOUNTER WITH A STRANGER

If mother told me about stranger danger, I did not listen to her.  To me, strangers are a story waiting to be told.  I heard a young man sing to some customers in his grandfather’s restaurant in southern Indiana.  His story?  He was earning spending money to go along with his full-ride scholarship to Juilliard.  I met a single dad, in Hannibal, Missouri, who told me, “I hated Mark Twain.  Every year, I had to write a paper on him.  When I graduated, I tossed my cap in the air and shouted:  NO MORE PAPERS ON MARK TWAIN.”  We then talked about how hard it was to be a single dad, with full custody of his daughter. 

Then there was the time I jumped into a stranger’s car.

I was in Terre Haute, Indiana.  My sister, mother, and I were having a great time.  The meal had been extra good.  The staff never said a thing about us visiting and laughing at family stories.  BUT every good thing must come to an end.  The owner came over and said, “We are about to close.”  Oh my.  We did not realize we had sat and talked that long.  We also did not realize it had rained.

 It was more of a downpour than the word rain would indicate.  The parking lot was flooded.  My car was on the far side of the parking lot.  Sitting there, all by itself, waiting.  My mother and sister agreed, “It is your car.  You can go get it.”  I did not even have a jacket to hold over my head.  What I had was a sweet, elderly lady who said, “My husband is getting our car.  There is no need for you to get wet too.  When he gets here, jump in the car and tell him I said to take you to your car.”  And I did just that! 

The car stopped.  I opened the door.  I jumped in the passenger's seat.  I said, to a very wet, confused man, with eyes that had a deer in the headlights look, “Your wife said you would be thrilled to take me to my car.  She doesn’t want me to melt.  Bless her heart.  My car is right over there.”  He took me to the car.  I told him, “Thank you.”  I got out and quickly got in my car. 

When I pulled up, my mother said, “I cannot believe you did that.”  My sister said, “I can.”

Many years later, I had the opportunity to pay it forward.  Again, I was in Terre Haute visiting my sister.  I was eating breakfast at the Hampton, when I heard a man talking to the lady at the registration counter.  “I have an appointment in 30 minutes and my rental car will not start.  Do you have a taxi service here?”  He was informed that there was one, but no way would a taxi get here in time.  The man looked worried.  He sighed loudly and said, “I have been trying to get an appointment with this company for a year.  If I do not get there …..” 

I finished the last sip of coffee.  I asked where this company was located.  It was about a mile down this street.  I looked at the man and said, “If you will wait for me while I get my purse, I will take you.” 

We walked out to my car and this stranger kept saying, “I cannot believe you are doing this.”  If I am honest, I couldn’t believe I was doing this either.  We arrived with 10 minutes to spare. 

North Manchester and Terre Haute are 186 miles apart, but news travels fast.  I called Bill.  “If you hear I picked up a man in the lobby of the hotel, I did.”

 

 

 SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS

Tell.  Tell.  Tell.  Be the light.  Spread the Good News of Jesus.  BUT …

What do you do when you try and the wheel falls off?  Last week I had 45 emails bounce back.  45!!!  Talk about being frustrated!!!  Those very same email addresses had worked the previous week. I even apologized and sent the blog out again.  Nope.  Still had them bounce back and, now, a few new ones were added.  I had emails bouncing all over the place.    I checked the ones that were from our church or friends.  The others were people I do not know but who want to read my blog or who are too polite to ask to be deleted.  

Why would this happen?  I was doing exactly what the Bible said to do.

He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I tried.  I failed.  I was frustrated.

What now?  I will try again Friday to send out this blog.  Will there be a glitch again?  Or will the emails make it through?  I have no idea.  If it does, I will work to fix the problem.

Another type of spreading the word is telling family and friends.  BUT what if they do not listen?  What if we cannot get through to them?  What now?  PRAY FOR THEM!!

I often use scriptures and make them personal.  An example is Ephesians 2:1-10.  (Fill in the blank with the name or pronoun of your loved one or friend.)

Lord,________ is dead in _______ transgressions and sins. I understand because I was in the same lifestyle.  I followed the cravings of flesh, desires, and thoughts.  Please put someone in ______ life that will explain the great love God has for ___.  Let ____ find the mercy which will make ______ alive with Christ. Touch _____’s soul so _____ realizes that Christ sees ____ sin and still offers saving grace.  

Lord, let ___________ see the incomparable riches of God’s grace, which was expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. I pray that _________  is saved, through faith, as a gift of God, and discovers ____ was created by God.  

Lord, I pray __________ will hear your Word and turn from the ways of the world and toward eternal life with you.  Please put someone in ____  path if I am not the one to open ____ eyes.

Amen

Tell.  Tell.  Tell.  Be the light.  Spread the Good News of Jesus.  BUT …

What if things go wrong?  (Send the emails again and then work on the problem.  Do not give up.)

What if they will not listen?  (Pray.  Pray.  Pray.  While you pray, accept that it might be someone else that gets through to them.)

FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND

 

Jesus had just heard about the death of John the Baptist.   

As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.   But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns.   Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

 

That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late.  Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.

 

 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

 

“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered. 

 

“Bring them here,” he said.  Then he told the people to sit down on the grass.  Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them.  Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.  They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.  About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

       Matthew 14:13-21 NLT

I like this story, but I wonder what it would look like today.  I can picture …

Peter looked around and said, “Here we go again.  A crowd and I am responsible for the legal stuff.  It used to be so easy.  A crowd came and Jesus healed and taught.  Not now.  I'd better get to it.”  Peter then made sure they had all the permits and checked on local restrictions.   

The news spread fast.  “JESUS IS GOING TO BE ON THE HILL.”  Things started happening!  The local ticket broker printed tickets for the section close to where Jesus would be.  Ticket sales went through the roof.  The man, who had the only porta-pots within fifty miles, loaded them on the flatbed and headed to the hill.  The food truck owners also heard the news.  They took off, paying no attention to the speed limit.  The roads were congested with people walking.  The news reported that at least five thousand men, plus the women and children, were filling the hillside.  The reporter thought it was strange that there was no sound system and no band for an opening act.   

Jesus stepped out of the boat and the crowd became quiet.  He had compassion and healed the sick. Then he began to teach.

Towards evening, the disciples suggested that Jesus end his teaching and let the people go into the town and get something to eat.  Jesus chuckled and said, “Go into town?  Look around, there are food trucks and the Ubers are making so many deliveries they called Grubhub to help.  But sit back and wait.  I have an idea.”

Immediately, the food trucks discovered they were out of food.  The Ubers and Grubhubs stopped delivering.  Their electric cars suddenly needed charging.  Only a few people had gotten anything to eat because 99.9% were hanging onto every word.   

Jesus looked around and asked the disciples, “What food is available?”  

The disciples, still whispering about all the sources for food having shut down, said there were only two fish sandwiches and three extra buns from the golden arches.  Jesus told them, “That is perfect.  Bring them to me.”

Jesus looked up toward heaven and blessed the food.  Then he instructed the disciples to feed the people all they wanted.  The disciples did just that.  They fed the people and had baskets of food left.

= = = = = = = = = = = = =

I love this story and, yes, I let my imagination bring the story into today.  I think this story is told for many reasons.

Jesus healed and Jesus taught a whole lot of people.  These people will go home and tell a whole lot more people.  They would spread the message Jesus taught them and talk about the healings.  The Word of God can spread quickly, if we allow our lives to shine with God’s love and tell Jesus’ story to others.

Men, women, and children came because they were seeking to fill the hole in their lives that only God can fill.  They were hungry for the Good News Jesus was teaching.  They came to be fed.

HE FED THEM!!  Think about that.  He fed their bodies food that had been blessed.  He fed their souls with words from God.  They came to hear this man called Jesus because everyone was talking about him.  They left knowing earthly food fills us only until our next meal, BUT the Word of God fills our souls and lasts forever.

I also think this story was a lesson for the disciples, especially Peter.  Jesus was preparing them to feed his sheep.

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

 

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time.  He said, “Lord, you know everything.  You know that I love you.”

 

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”

        John 21:17

I have two questions:

1. Do you leave full when you pray, read the scriptures and spend time with Jesus?
2. What did they do with the leftovers?

WAIT QUIETLY, LET IT PASS

I enjoy a coloring app.  It is a time to breathe and step away from the reality of life.  And, yes, we all need to do that once in a while.  This popped up and, since I like frogs, I colored it.  

Then I realized I need to apply this to my life. 

Wait quietly, let it pass.  This is my new motto.  Not easy … waiting is extremely hard.  It requires patience.  It requires trust.  It requires working during the waiting.  It requires faith that God is in charge.  It requires me to take a breath and follow God instead of trying to lead Him.  (Again, not easy.  We try to do it our way first and, when that fails, we ask God to direct our path.)

The quiet part is not easy either.  Quiet means I must listen.  Quiet requires me to realize others have the right to speak out too.  When I do speak up for my beliefs, my one voice can be shut down by the silence of others.  (Please think about this.  Have you stopped speaking out about an issue or stopped speaking up for a cause because no one clicks the like button/leaves a comment?  Have you put your beliefs in the “Sunday only, at church” column?  Do people know what you stand for?  Do you support others when they have the courage to speak up?)

This also reminds me that “this” will pass.  Life is full of “this” thing and “that” thing.  They are temporary and, even during the waiting, I know I am not alone.  I have a God who gives me the strength to get through and family and friends who support me.  (When life is rough.  When you are going through trials, do you feel alone?  Do you ask for support or do you hide your fears and your needs, so others will think you are strong?  Do you know that God gives you strength and is beside you?)

Now, do not read anything into this.  There is nothing new.  I am just thinking about life and realizing I am blessed. 

I'd better get to the working part.  A bed waits to be made, the laundry will not get in the washer by itself, and I do believe there are bills to pay. 

And, sometime this week, wait quietly, let it pass.  In the waiting, we often find the answer and the help we need to be strong.

Have a super fantastic week.