a day with grandpa

If you go to Grandpa's house to watch a football game, he will want to take you to lunch
after it's over. If you go to lunch with Grandpa, he will want to go for a drive
in the pasture on the way home.

 

 

If you go for a drive in the pasture with Grandpa, he will want to show you the cattle
and the progress of the 20" pipeline that is going in.

 All of this will wear him out and he will want to go back to his house to watch another football game. He will invite you to watch it with him. And if you watch it with him, he will buy you dinner. :)

If you spend a day with Grandpa, you will have memories that will last long after he is gone.

Make time. The to-do list is not that important. It can wait - I promise.

66 and counting

I have recently started working on school again...I was on hold for 5 months for various reasons (work, family, etc) but am going to give it another shot and see how far I can get. I honestly feel like I am taking it one day at a time at this point. Because of my responsibilities at work and things that are going on there, I can't control my schedule and have to remain flexible to change my plans at any time. That's scary for me, but I know I am learning valuable lessons in this hard process.

A week ago, I passed two exams which put me at 66 credits total. I celebrated by stopping by Pops on Route 66 on my way back to work, and grabbing some authentic Route 66 soda. :)

I am now into my business classes, which I am really enjoying! They have been pretty easy so far so maybe I can make up for lost time. I will soon be enrolling in my accounting classes, so I am finally getting into what I am actually going to school for. yay! :)

day 4

Day 4   Ephesians 2:11-22

vs. 12 - [Remember] that you were at that time separated (living apart) from Christ [excluded from all part in Him], utterly estranged and outlawed from the rights of Israel as a nation, and strangers with no share in the sacred compacts of the [Messianic] promise [with no knowledge of or right in God's agreements, His covenants]. And you had no hope (no promise); you were in the world without God.

Separated. Exluded. Outlawed. A foreigner.

I think back to times in my life when I have felt like that, at least to some degree. All the times that we moved...I've been "the new girl" most of my life. Ever get tired of explaining who you are, where you came from, and what you are doing in their territory? What about that invitation you didn't get to the big event? Or the awkward moment when you are un-invited to something. How about being the last one picked for a team? Ever visited a foreign country and felt like you were an elephant in a giraffe exhibit? (no? okay moving on...) Remember what it's like in an old western when the outlaw gang comes riding into town? I'll give you a hint - the music gets low and menacing, the women and children clear the streets, and the sheriff looks down his nose at the dusty lawbreakers.

Hopefully you get my point. I'm sure everyone one can relate at some point in their life.

None of that compares to the massive chasm that separates us from God and His sacred covenant and promises. Wait, no...separated. Don't miss the past tense.

vs. 13 - But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were [so] far away, through (by, in) the blood of Christ have been brought near.

And then, get this...

vs. 14 - For He is [Himself] our peace (our bond of unity and harmony). He has made us both [Jew and Gentile] one [body], and has broken down (destroyed, abolished) the hostile dividing wall between us.

So here is the question:

What are walls that I see and perhaps abide by in my life?

Here's what I wrote in my journal: what other people think of me. Judgment, hostility, misunderstandings, expectations. I let it bother me wayyy more than it should. I should be more focused on what God thinks about me. I don't need all those dividing walls in my life.

Dear Jesus, tear down the walls of expectations and pressures that I feel around my life - whether they are actual or only perceived. I want to be free to follow Your calling on my life, not bound by views of others. I cannot base my value on what society says I am worth according to their standards. Their books are gonna get audited someday and it won't be pretty for them! I choose You.

day 3

SheReadsTruth

Day 3, Ephesians 2:1-10

I obviously love this passage! So powerful and life-changing!

vs. 2 - Amplified Bible
"the sons of disobedience [the careless, the rebellious, the unbelieving, who go against the purposes of God]."

My unbelief (distrust, lack of faith) is disobedience that goes against the purposes of God. How tragic.

vs. 3
"obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the mind [our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginings]."

I am living in obedience to the flesh? How disgusting. How hopeless.


But God...

vs. 4, 5
"But God - so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us, Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ..."

Crazy love. I can't fully understand or explain it. My heart is overwhelmed by it, and yet I want more of it. I must have more.

"I stand amazed at Your love for me,
That lonely night in Gethsemane.
This sinner's heart can't help but thrill,
To hear You pray 'Father, not My Will.'

What depth of love! What reach of grace!
Oh how my grateful heart now aches
To sing it louder the refrain,
Jesus died, my soul to save!"

Jesus Died My Soul to Save by Pocket Full of Rocks

the adopted

I started doing a devotion with an online community SheReadsTruth. It is a study of Ephesians and I thought I would share my journal entry from Day 1 with you. I had a revelation by way of interesting analogy and was quite excited about this new insight. It made sense in my head, but I'm scared to actually publish it. However, I feel like God wants me to share it so maybe someone else needs to hear it. Here goes...

*Spoiler Alert: I reference the movie October Baby so if you haven't seen it, this may give away some of the story line. If you haven't seen the movie, you should. Period. Make it a date with a Kleenex box.


Day 1: Ephesians 1:1-14

I am blessed. I am chosen. I am holy and blameless. I am adopted.

It's kinda like the story in the movie October Baby. She was adopted after a failed abortion attempt and had a lot of physical and emotional problems to deal with.

The Fall of Adam and Eve brought death into this world, so we have all been born into death. Satan tried to abort us. He didn't want us in the world and he has been seeking to destroy us ever since. But God wanted us. Every one of us. He adopted us when we were struggling to live. He gave us a second chance at life. Because we bear in our flesh the marks of death, we will struggle - physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally. But if we embrace the Truth - God's Truth - of what has been done for us, we can be set free. Free to live an abundant life; free to reach out to others; free to heal and be healed.

By the way, the reason satan's abortion attempt failed is because God put His Precious Son, Jesus, in the womb with us. The Son saved us through His death so we could live.

Failed abortion. Redeemed life. Adopted child.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." Revelation 5:12