Whence cometh my help

Psalms 121:1 "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." (KJV)

Today I need help. To be honest I always need help; it's just that some days I don't realize my need for it as acutely as others. Since the God of galaxies is the God of Mondays then I know it goes without saying He is the God of algebra.

Maybe when I get finished homeschooling I'll take a college algebra class again just to see if I can pass it. ;)

what??

I just read an article about a couple who stole $8,000,000 from an armored car company to escape financial hardships. "I knew taking the money from AT Systems was wrong, but I wanted a better life," the lady confessed. They admit their guilt and then plead not guilty. I wonder if prison will give her a "better life'"?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22887939?gt1=10755

I'm glad I have a conscience. Really glad. Without the Lord maybe I would be in search of a "better life" also. I mean, we have financial hardships. Most people do. But even in them we are SO blessed. I guess a mission trip into the "cardboard village" in Mexico changed my perspective. Suddenly my carpet and flooring didn't seem so bad. My home wasn't made of cardboard and sitting on a dirt floor. Perspective.

Now do I still want new flooring?? Definitely! But it's not as important as it once was. In time, I'll have it. But now there are other things that are more important to us.

Entry Word: perspective
Function: noun
text: a way of looking at or thinking about something

Monday, Monday

The Christ of the galaxies is the Christ of your Mondays.

(Max Lucado, "Next Door Savior")

Our Children Change Us.....

One of the definitions of melancholy is given to or marked by long, quiet thinking. Such is my fate today. January 26 is a day that brings this each year. You see, 26 years ago today our second son, Jonathan Micah, was stillborn. Now this is not a post to provoke sadness, but a day for me to remember the Lord's goodness. Why I'm sharing it with you, I'm not sure.

I didn't really want another child. Rebekah was quite young when we found out I was pregnant. After sulking for a while I finally grew to accept that we were going to have another child. I still remember that day I found out that more than likely that would not be the case. A routine sonogram showed some abnormalities. I remember driving home, looking at the beautiful sunset, and thinking it was all my fault, because I had not wanted this child. Now I was a very immature Christian at the time, but no matter, my wonderful Father spoke to me. He reminded me of Psalm 139:16 which says: Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

What a great victory in my life. For you see, at that time of my life, if I had believed Satan's lie, it would have destroyed me. What a loving and kind God! We were sent to a larger city for "expert" advice. They said our child would not live till birth and if he did, would die shortly thereafter. There was a major problem with his lungs; to this day I still cannot remember the long name. They wanted to know if we would consider abortion. I still remember looking at them and telling them I didn't understand why God made our baby the way He did, but I was not going to kill it. Later they sent a counselor in to help us deal with our grief. I told her the same thing. She ended up leaving the room and didn't come back. I suppose we weren't what she expected.

We had so many people praying for us. I even received cards from Michigan during my pregnancy. We really desired God to heal our child and let Him live. However, He didn't. I was about seven months along when he stopped moving. God gave us the grace to accept His will and we went to the hospital.

The doctor said they would induce labor the next morning, but because of my only being seven months along and the baby being dead it might take several days of labor. They started the IV along with the medication to induce labor, and put me on a monitor . It was less than a minute after they did this that I looked at Donald and said, "I think I just had a contraction." The monitor indeed showed that I had, and in less than an hour the birth was over. God is so merciful and so good.

Now we had many hard days after this. Grieving is hard. Even though we didn't know our son, he had become a part of our lives the seven months he was inside my womb. God is faithful though and His mercy endures forever. He has blessed with four more wonderful children since Jonathan. But every January 26th I stop to remember.

Psalm 100:5 "For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."

I haven't read this author but agree with these words.....

Our children change us... whether they live or not.

(Lois McMaster Bujold, 1991 US science fiction author)

Remembering

I'm ready for it to warm up. It's 29 degrees now, but the windchill makes it feel like 19. On the upside it is supposed to get up to 33 today. But I don't consider 33 warm. There is a 60% chance of rain, therefore we could get some ice. All this cold makes me remember another time.

Several years ago we had a major ice storm after Christmas. Hardly anyone had electricity since the lines were down. Our house had two bedrooms and a bath added onto the back before we bought it. Now they did an excellent job and you can't tell it's an add on. They buried our lines though and the transformer on our pole stayed intact so our house had electricity. It became sort of a haven for some of our church family. We had heat and warm water for showers. We also had tons of food since the electricity was off long enough for every one's food to spoil. They brought it to our house and we had a very full refrigerator/freezer. One morning I woke up to the smell of frying bacon! Our pastor was cooking breakfast. Now I don't do breakfast unless it is at night for dinner. So that was quite a treat for me. One night we grilled steaks. I loved it; it was wonderful having people I love live with us for a few days. The kids had a blast as their friends were here also.

We still talk about it at times. So if it gets too bad and we are blessed with electricity "y'all" come on over. And yes, Pastor Paul, breakfast would be nice again please. I'll also be sure I have some extra pillows for Connie and Eddie!

don't categorize

I just read an article that makes me so sad. You can read it here if you'd like.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22813570/?GT1=10755

Basically a church is going to protest Heath Ledger's memorial service because he played a gay character in a movie. This is the same ones that protested at funerals of American soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq. I think these people are using all their energies in the wrong direction. Now I believe that homosexuality is a sin according to the Bible. But so are a LOT of other things. It is wrong to categorize sin. It seems many people put this one on the top of their list. When the people were wanting to stone a woman caught in adultery Jesus simply told them that whoever hadn't sinned could cast the first stone. Needless to say the woman lived. Jesus forgave her and her life was changed. Why can't Christians show some of Jesus' love to people instead of criticizing and condemning?

Addendum (sounds fancier than p.s. doesn't it??)
I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts.
John Locke

Noses Know

Hannah and Bright................how in the world does she get pictures like this (photo by Hannah)