I just can't let this day go by without wishing my darling eldest daughter a Happy Birthday! You are camping with your family so I can't even give you a motherly call to remind you of the pain I endured 24 years ago (without pain killer I might add) to help you enter this world. That pain was well worth it because I have loved growing up with you through diapers, thumb sucking, salt relief maps, talent shows, drivers ed, homecoming, flooded first apartment, and first grandchild. I am so proud of the wife and mother, and the woman of God you have become. You are a gift from God--I pray I have been a good steward of this gift and that you will be a good steward of your children. You are a blessing Shannon!
Praise God from whom all blessings flow.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
God's Unfailing Love
Blog #3
“Show us your unfailing love, O, Lord, and grant us your salvation.” (Psalm 85:7 NIV)
I once heard that when you have finally come to the end of your rope, you should tie a knot in it and hold on for dear life! I had come to one of those “end of my rope” times when an eviction notice was deposited on our doorstep. My husband had been out of work and we had been struggling financially for quite some time. Our church, friends, and family had been generous through the months, but I didn’t feel I could ask for any more help.
“Lord!” I cried out. “We need $1,000 in two days or we’re homeless! We aren’t bad people. We’re trying our hardest. Why haven’t you provided a job for my husband? You said you would never leave us or forsake us—are you going to take care of us?” At this point I was at a loss for words to even pray, so I sobbed in abandonment, “Lord, just show us you love us!”
That evening, as my family was getting ready for bed, a friend from our home Bible study group came knocking at our door. “My wife and I were praying tonight and feel the Lord wants us to give you this,” he said as he handed us a check for $1,000!
Through tears I accepted what I knew was a sacrificial gift and told him he had met a desperate need.
Before leaving he said, “Oh, and the Lord told me something else. He said, ‘Tell them I love them.’ "
I was overwhelmed. God had miraculously provided for our financial need and that provision alone would have demonstrated His love; but for God to use a person to literally tell us He loved us was truly a miracle.
Lord, your love is unchanging. You love me at all times, whether I feel it or not. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for showing me you love me.
“Show us your unfailing love, O, Lord, and grant us your salvation.” (Psalm 85:7 NIV)
I once heard that when you have finally come to the end of your rope, you should tie a knot in it and hold on for dear life! I had come to one of those “end of my rope” times when an eviction notice was deposited on our doorstep. My husband had been out of work and we had been struggling financially for quite some time. Our church, friends, and family had been generous through the months, but I didn’t feel I could ask for any more help.
“Lord!” I cried out. “We need $1,000 in two days or we’re homeless! We aren’t bad people. We’re trying our hardest. Why haven’t you provided a job for my husband? You said you would never leave us or forsake us—are you going to take care of us?” At this point I was at a loss for words to even pray, so I sobbed in abandonment, “Lord, just show us you love us!”
That evening, as my family was getting ready for bed, a friend from our home Bible study group came knocking at our door. “My wife and I were praying tonight and feel the Lord wants us to give you this,” he said as he handed us a check for $1,000!
Through tears I accepted what I knew was a sacrificial gift and told him he had met a desperate need.
Before leaving he said, “Oh, and the Lord told me something else. He said, ‘Tell them I love them.’ "
I was overwhelmed. God had miraculously provided for our financial need and that provision alone would have demonstrated His love; but for God to use a person to literally tell us He loved us was truly a miracle.
Lord, your love is unchanging. You love me at all times, whether I feel it or not. Thank you for your provision. Thank you for showing me you love me.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Defining Moments
blog # 2
One of my all time favorite stories has to be “The Gift of the Magi”, by O’Henry. Most of you have heard the story or a rendition of it: A young married couple is struggling financially and want to buy each other a meaningful Christmas present. She sells her long, luxurious hair (her pride and joy) so she can buy her husband a watch fob for his pocket watch (his pride and joy). Unbeknownst to her, he has sold his pocket watch to buy a tortoise shell comb for her long, luxurious hair! The selling of their prized possession renders their gifts useless. After getting over the shock, the couple realizes that the real gift is their sacrificial love. Awwwww. This is what is known in the writers’ world as an “Aha moment.”
Writers are taught to construct a good story by having memorable characters, a beginning, a middle, and an end (most of us have that one figured out), and most importantly, an “aha moment.” An “aha moment” happens when the reader says, “Aha, I get it—this is meaningful.”
A really good story will give the reader a moment that will stay with her in a pocket of her memory and will on occasion be brought out and pondered. Our own lives have aha moments all along the way—defining moments when God shows up and makes a statement. A defining moment could be a gentle reminder of God’s presence, or it could be a jaw dropping reminder of his great love and miracle working power. It could be a moment of finding a nugget of God’s truth revealed (“Now I understand God better.”) Or it could be a moment when God steps in for an obviously supernatural provision or rescue. The Israelites had a defining moment when the Jordan miraculously parted. Another defining moment found in the Bible is the story of Joseph. Although his brothers had sold him into slavery, Joseph rose through the ranks and was later able to save his brothers along with the whole nation of Israel (Genesis 50:20). What Satan had meant for evil, God had meant for good—aha! The Bible is full of defining moments. Our lives are full of them too.
This blog is a collection of aha or defining moments. It is an assortment of my stories or those I’ve heard from fellow believers along the way. Some are nuggets; some are boulders. All are stones collected in remembrance of what the Lord has done and what He continues to do as we walk along the path of obedience. I’m not a theologian, but an observer. I observe the small details of life where God’s character is made clearer, and the big moments where I fall on my knees in awestruck wonder at God’s power. I hope my words encourage you. I will be praying for each of you who reads this blog, that the right word will touch you at the right time and that you would begin to look for the defining moments God puts in your own life. I encourage you to keep stones of remembrance so you can keep an account of God’s goodness in the land of the living. And when we come face to face with Jesus and are shown our eternal home, I imagine our aha moments will go on forever!
One of my all time favorite stories has to be “The Gift of the Magi”, by O’Henry. Most of you have heard the story or a rendition of it: A young married couple is struggling financially and want to buy each other a meaningful Christmas present. She sells her long, luxurious hair (her pride and joy) so she can buy her husband a watch fob for his pocket watch (his pride and joy). Unbeknownst to her, he has sold his pocket watch to buy a tortoise shell comb for her long, luxurious hair! The selling of their prized possession renders their gifts useless. After getting over the shock, the couple realizes that the real gift is their sacrificial love. Awwwww. This is what is known in the writers’ world as an “Aha moment.”
Writers are taught to construct a good story by having memorable characters, a beginning, a middle, and an end (most of us have that one figured out), and most importantly, an “aha moment.” An “aha moment” happens when the reader says, “Aha, I get it—this is meaningful.”
A really good story will give the reader a moment that will stay with her in a pocket of her memory and will on occasion be brought out and pondered. Our own lives have aha moments all along the way—defining moments when God shows up and makes a statement. A defining moment could be a gentle reminder of God’s presence, or it could be a jaw dropping reminder of his great love and miracle working power. It could be a moment of finding a nugget of God’s truth revealed (“Now I understand God better.”) Or it could be a moment when God steps in for an obviously supernatural provision or rescue. The Israelites had a defining moment when the Jordan miraculously parted. Another defining moment found in the Bible is the story of Joseph. Although his brothers had sold him into slavery, Joseph rose through the ranks and was later able to save his brothers along with the whole nation of Israel (Genesis 50:20). What Satan had meant for evil, God had meant for good—aha! The Bible is full of defining moments. Our lives are full of them too.
This blog is a collection of aha or defining moments. It is an assortment of my stories or those I’ve heard from fellow believers along the way. Some are nuggets; some are boulders. All are stones collected in remembrance of what the Lord has done and what He continues to do as we walk along the path of obedience. I’m not a theologian, but an observer. I observe the small details of life where God’s character is made clearer, and the big moments where I fall on my knees in awestruck wonder at God’s power. I hope my words encourage you. I will be praying for each of you who reads this blog, that the right word will touch you at the right time and that you would begin to look for the defining moments God puts in your own life. I encourage you to keep stones of remembrance so you can keep an account of God’s goodness in the land of the living. And when we come face to face with Jesus and are shown our eternal home, I imagine our aha moments will go on forever!
Stones of Remembrance
bog #1
On my recent visit to my sister Judy’s house in California, I discovered a rock collection nestled against some family pictures (one of which was a most embarrassing picture of us three sisters in Holland apparel complete with winged caps and wooden shoes). Each stone was marked with a date and a special event the family wanted to remember. One stone had been collected from Central Park in New York and was marked in black marker: “5-23-03 Mark proposed to Heather”. Another rock was marked: “March 13, 2009 Family retreat to Cambria”. Other significant events were memorialized on the stones: a 25th anniversary, a move to a new house, the death of our younger sister. Whenever a memorable event was experienced in her family’s life a stone was collected from the site and labeled with black felt tip marker. After recent gall bladder surgery, my sister was given her gall stones back (“party favors” her nurse called them). We joked that we should display them along with her other stones of remembrance.
My sister got the idea for this memorial from the book of Joshua (chapters 3 & 4). In this passage the Israelites are anxiously ready to cross into their promised land. One big problem stands in their way--the Jordan River, not to mention it is at flood stage. Their undaunted leader, Joshua, is full of faith and tells them, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Indeed He does.
As soon as the priests carrying the ark step into the river, the water piles up on each side and the Israelites cross on dry land. After this miracle, God instructs Joshua to tell the leader of each of the twelve tribes to collect a stone from the middle of the Jordan, one big enough to carry on his shoulder. These stones are then set up at Gilgal with these instructions from Joshua, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4: 20-24)
I brought a stone home from my sister’s house and wrote on it: “June 16-July 1, 2009 Johnston’s home—renewal”. It now sits on my memory shelf and reminds me of how God provided a much needed vacation and some precious time with my sister and her family.
On my recent visit to my sister Judy’s house in California, I discovered a rock collection nestled against some family pictures (one of which was a most embarrassing picture of us three sisters in Holland apparel complete with winged caps and wooden shoes). Each stone was marked with a date and a special event the family wanted to remember. One stone had been collected from Central Park in New York and was marked in black marker: “5-23-03 Mark proposed to Heather”. Another rock was marked: “March 13, 2009 Family retreat to Cambria”. Other significant events were memorialized on the stones: a 25th anniversary, a move to a new house, the death of our younger sister. Whenever a memorable event was experienced in her family’s life a stone was collected from the site and labeled with black felt tip marker. After recent gall bladder surgery, my sister was given her gall stones back (“party favors” her nurse called them). We joked that we should display them along with her other stones of remembrance.
My sister got the idea for this memorial from the book of Joshua (chapters 3 & 4). In this passage the Israelites are anxiously ready to cross into their promised land. One big problem stands in their way--the Jordan River, not to mention it is at flood stage. Their undaunted leader, Joshua, is full of faith and tells them, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” Indeed He does.
As soon as the priests carrying the ark step into the river, the water piles up on each side and the Israelites cross on dry land. After this miracle, God instructs Joshua to tell the leader of each of the twelve tribes to collect a stone from the middle of the Jordan, one big enough to carry on his shoulder. These stones are then set up at Gilgal with these instructions from Joshua, “In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan just what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4: 20-24)
I brought a stone home from my sister’s house and wrote on it: “June 16-July 1, 2009 Johnston’s home—renewal”. It now sits on my memory shelf and reminds me of how God provided a much needed vacation and some precious time with my sister and her family.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
When your children ask.....
Joshua 4:4-7 (The Israelites had just crossed the Jordan River on dry ground.) "So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, 'Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.'"
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