Estate Sale! Our favorite shared pastime! My husband and I drove to the site which was a few miles into the rolling, Osage countryside. It was quite an estate! Encircled by white pipe fences, the imposing, brick, country home sat on a considerable acreage. The mansion looked newly-built, although the owner, who had died recently, was most likely elderly.
We were impressed by the interior, richly appointed with glowing, golden oak features in woodwork, carved moulding, bookcases and cabinetry. The furnishings that were displayed for sale were equally impressive: heavy, solid dressers, chest of drawers and particularly, I remember, a massive sleigh bed, the headboard gracefully scrolled back like a sleigh.
There were entire rooms devoted to hobbies, crafts, and games. The owner must have been a doll fancier, for there was a doll room, and beautiful dolls' clothes on miniature hangers filling a circular rack. My husband was interested in the guitars in the hobby room, but the one he wanted was already sold.
In other rooms were huge, curved-glass curio cabinets and showcases of collections of various kinds. One wall hanging was pinned with gold and lacquered award pins of achievement someone had earned. I was glad to see a number of Christian books in their library. We bought several for a little bit of nothing.
Although most valuable and valued belongings had probably been removed before the sale, there was still excess wherever we looked, and this was the second day, when prices were being reduced. It would surely take more than one estate sale to sell it all. How did anyone collect so many material things? I suppose the wealthy travel and bring home mementos or have plenty of resources to indulge whims and interests.
I like pretty and attractive things, but sometimes after awhile I don't find them so attractive anymore, and I am looking for a place to store them. It is only natural to enjoy beauty, I think because our eyes were made for the perfection and beauty of heaven. The Bible says that He has put eternity in our hearts.
Today we have a generation of hoarders, something largely unknown in less affluent times. In actuality, we are only collecting things that someone will have to dispose of when we are gone. I try to bear this in mind as we are getting into our upper years. The Bible says in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Something I have to remember when I go to estate sales, for I have an eternal Estate in heaven, where the beauty is indescribable!
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Good Day
"Jesus knows me, this I love," I read on the church sign we were passing. I like that! I thought. A new slant on the words of a song familiar to all, from child to adult! I love the little surprises that each day holds. They stimulate and refresh my mind and my mood. I was so glad we got out of the house today.
My first surprise was waking up this morning to the sound of heavy rain. It continued steadily for a couple of hours, during which I did laundry and routine tasks, then the sun came out. "Let's go somewhere!" I said to my husband. By that time we'd had lunch and he was feeling lethargic. He'd been at the gym earlier and was a little tired from the work-out.
We decided to drive the 20+ miles to Ark City, just over the Kansas/Oklahoma line. There was a music store there that Howard likes to visit, and I wanted to browse around a new area. We parked on the main street of the small country town and walked down the sidewalk in the wonderful, unseasonably cool and pleasant weather to a clothing shop.
We have the same store at home, but it is in a plain, unattractive plaza. Here, the picturesque old buildings towered over the street giving a feeling of the old-fashioned down towns we used to know. I felt positively buoyed as we walked into the store. Seasonal sales were going on, and I rifled through the racks, but nothing suited.
"Are there more sales in the rest of the store?" I asked a customer, who told me there was more farther back. I picked up a couple of tops that I liked, though they were still expensive, even on sale. I was debating whether to get them, when I saw a stack of cute shirts for a fraction of that price! But all the pretty ones were in tiny sizes. Coming out of the dressing room, I noticed more on a rack I had not seen. Several were in my size. And they were cute! I got them! Finding a bargain. What a nice surprise!
I was happy to accompany my husband to the guitar store where he strummed on and tried out several instruments, thoroughly enjoying himself. My phone sounded with a call from our son, Trevor, who was boarding a cruise ship with his family. I knew they were going, but it was a bright spot on my day that he had called!
On the way home, we stopped for gas, which was surprisingly cheaper than any we had seen, and Howard asked if I wanted a drink or snack. I was in the mood for ice cream, and inside the convenience store I noticed a display freezer of novelty treats. Snicker candy bar ice cream? I'd never had that before, but it was delicious! Another new experience!
I made liver and onions with bacon for supper, something I hadn't made in years, and then a new recipe of broccoli salad. Everything was delicious! After supper Face Time showed up on my phone with my 8-month-old grandson, Isaac filling the screen. Nothing could have pleased us more, and soon his big sisters' sweet faces appeared as well. 7-year-old Anne-Marie filled me in on the names of exotic-sounding animals she had learned at Vacation Bible School, and 5-year-old Maddie bounced around, telling me her bo-bo was better. What a lovely day!
Today I viewed a video of the miracle of a pre-born baby's development and his entry into life. What a wonderful God we have who has created us! The mother of one of my friends has lived a long life and is nearing the end of her earthly journey. She relates glimpses of her heavenly home with sights of loved ones, beautiful music and wonderful peace. She is getting ready to enter the real life God has prepared for her, for which this life is only a preparation. Thank You, God, for life! And thank You that Jesus loves me, this I know!
My first surprise was waking up this morning to the sound of heavy rain. It continued steadily for a couple of hours, during which I did laundry and routine tasks, then the sun came out. "Let's go somewhere!" I said to my husband. By that time we'd had lunch and he was feeling lethargic. He'd been at the gym earlier and was a little tired from the work-out.
We decided to drive the 20+ miles to Ark City, just over the Kansas/Oklahoma line. There was a music store there that Howard likes to visit, and I wanted to browse around a new area. We parked on the main street of the small country town and walked down the sidewalk in the wonderful, unseasonably cool and pleasant weather to a clothing shop.
We have the same store at home, but it is in a plain, unattractive plaza. Here, the picturesque old buildings towered over the street giving a feeling of the old-fashioned down towns we used to know. I felt positively buoyed as we walked into the store. Seasonal sales were going on, and I rifled through the racks, but nothing suited.
"Are there more sales in the rest of the store?" I asked a customer, who told me there was more farther back. I picked up a couple of tops that I liked, though they were still expensive, even on sale. I was debating whether to get them, when I saw a stack of cute shirts for a fraction of that price! But all the pretty ones were in tiny sizes. Coming out of the dressing room, I noticed more on a rack I had not seen. Several were in my size. And they were cute! I got them! Finding a bargain. What a nice surprise!
I was happy to accompany my husband to the guitar store where he strummed on and tried out several instruments, thoroughly enjoying himself. My phone sounded with a call from our son, Trevor, who was boarding a cruise ship with his family. I knew they were going, but it was a bright spot on my day that he had called!
On the way home, we stopped for gas, which was surprisingly cheaper than any we had seen, and Howard asked if I wanted a drink or snack. I was in the mood for ice cream, and inside the convenience store I noticed a display freezer of novelty treats. Snicker candy bar ice cream? I'd never had that before, but it was delicious! Another new experience!
I made liver and onions with bacon for supper, something I hadn't made in years, and then a new recipe of broccoli salad. Everything was delicious! After supper Face Time showed up on my phone with my 8-month-old grandson, Isaac filling the screen. Nothing could have pleased us more, and soon his big sisters' sweet faces appeared as well. 7-year-old Anne-Marie filled me in on the names of exotic-sounding animals she had learned at Vacation Bible School, and 5-year-old Maddie bounced around, telling me her bo-bo was better. What a lovely day!
Today I viewed a video of the miracle of a pre-born baby's development and his entry into life. What a wonderful God we have who has created us! The mother of one of my friends has lived a long life and is nearing the end of her earthly journey. She relates glimpses of her heavenly home with sights of loved ones, beautiful music and wonderful peace. She is getting ready to enter the real life God has prepared for her, for which this life is only a preparation. Thank You, God, for life! And thank You that Jesus loves me, this I know!
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Sweet!
My husband needed some office supplies, so yesterday we stopped at Hobby Lobby. Not a very likely place to find them, I thought, but since he usually browses the calligraphy section, I figured he must know of them. When he was looking in art supplies for colored pencils, I suggested we check out crafts. We did find them and the colored paper clips he wanted, too. (He likes to color-code his notes.)
I hadn't been in the store for some time, since my house is quite full of decorative items, but I couldn't resist the temptation to peruse the beautiful displays and novel articles. "Look, these are 50% off," I pointed out, noticing antique-looking clocks and art objects. We were headed toward the front, when a 66% off sign caught my eye, but I really didn't need anything. But when I saw a section with 90% off, I stopped short!
Into my cart went a beautiful, tall, rectangular green glass vase, regularly $39.95 that I bought for $4! I love the way it catches the light in my living room, and I even found tall stems to fit into the bottle-like opening! Another attractive piece was a ceramic container in the shape of a bunch of grapes, complete with lid that I couldn't pass up for $1.80, usually $17.95, and a half-bowl style straw basket, marked $12.49, for which I paid $1.25. It is cute hung against the wall holding natural-toned wicker balls and decorative, dried pieces.
Checking out, I glanced across the store and was shocked to see an entire section filled with Halloween decor! It's only early July! I had stopped a clerk earlier to ask about pencils and wondered why she was pushing a cart incongruously filled with pumpkins! How time flies! But of course, fall will be here before we know it, and the stores like to get a head start.
Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." In fact, this whole psalm of Moses speaks of the brevity of life and how we should find our purpose in it. "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night," 90:4. Verse 10 tells us the days of our years are threescore years and ten, or fourscore by reason of strength.
I like the positive tone of verses 14-17: "O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days," (14). "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children,"(16). "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it," (17).
We all desire to leave some kind of permanent mark on the world (sometimes called the search for significance), but some things will only be realized in eternity, when all will be revealed. Until then, we can serve the Lord and be glad!
I hadn't been in the store for some time, since my house is quite full of decorative items, but I couldn't resist the temptation to peruse the beautiful displays and novel articles. "Look, these are 50% off," I pointed out, noticing antique-looking clocks and art objects. We were headed toward the front, when a 66% off sign caught my eye, but I really didn't need anything. But when I saw a section with 90% off, I stopped short!
Into my cart went a beautiful, tall, rectangular green glass vase, regularly $39.95 that I bought for $4! I love the way it catches the light in my living room, and I even found tall stems to fit into the bottle-like opening! Another attractive piece was a ceramic container in the shape of a bunch of grapes, complete with lid that I couldn't pass up for $1.80, usually $17.95, and a half-bowl style straw basket, marked $12.49, for which I paid $1.25. It is cute hung against the wall holding natural-toned wicker balls and decorative, dried pieces.
Checking out, I glanced across the store and was shocked to see an entire section filled with Halloween decor! It's only early July! I had stopped a clerk earlier to ask about pencils and wondered why she was pushing a cart incongruously filled with pumpkins! How time flies! But of course, fall will be here before we know it, and the stores like to get a head start.
Psalm 90:12 says, "Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." In fact, this whole psalm of Moses speaks of the brevity of life and how we should find our purpose in it. "For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night," 90:4. Verse 10 tells us the days of our years are threescore years and ten, or fourscore by reason of strength.
I like the positive tone of verses 14-17: "O satisfy us early with thy mercy, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days," (14). "Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children,"(16). "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it," (17).
We all desire to leave some kind of permanent mark on the world (sometimes called the search for significance), but some things will only be realized in eternity, when all will be revealed. Until then, we can serve the Lord and be glad!
Monday, July 7, 2014
Brother's Keeper
Visiting a different church this morning, we were approached in our pew by a greeter. After his welcome and a bit of small talk, I asked his name. When he told us, we asked if he were related to a Blackwell family by that name. Turns out he was, and before I knew it, my husband, who knew practically everyone in his old hometown, was matching him with family members he had known.
When the greeter mentioned "Uncle Jack," Howard asked, "Jack, of Jack's Bicycle Shop?" It was the same man, who had been disabled and rode around town on a modified, scooter platform of some sort. "We used to take our bicycles to him!" he said.
"Once my older brother had something on his bike that needed to be repaired, and my mother told Jack to fix whatever was wrong with it," he reminisced. Then with a guffaw, he recalled, "And he did just that! Fixing things we didn't even know needed fixing. He even gave the bike a new paint job!" It seems his mother was presented with an astronomical bill!
"Do you remember 'Aunt Judy?' my husband asked the man, who looked thoughtful, but shook his head. He'd been born in Tulsa and was of a younger generation. "Everybody knew Aunt Judy," Howard went on. "She would welcome all the little kids into her house, give us candy and hug and kiss us. My friend took me there once."
Expanding on these memories at the Sunday dinner table, Howard brought up "Corn Cob Bill," another local character. "He did all the odd, dirty jobs around town," he explained. "My dad would get him to dig the garden or clean the chicken pen."
He continued by saying that the eccentric figure wore multiple layers of clothing, winter or summer, and was reputed to carry a lot of cash. Sure enough, once he was taken to the hospital where emergency workers had to peel off layers of clothes and found them stuffed with wrinkled and wadded currency. I told Howard he should write a book.
Every town has its characters, usually sad souls who are highly visible as they walk the streets, but others seemingly having not a care in the world, just living their own lives in their own way. When we lived near the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, we were involved in a beach ministry to the homeless and indigent who gathered there. Many were highly intelligent people, even former professionals, who had dropped out of society for one reason or another.
They welcomed the love, food and worship services they found in the casual, accepting atmosphere. Howard describes it as one of the most rewarding times of his ministry there, second only to ministering to the victims of hurricane Katrina. No one turned us away as we visited the FEMA trailers, often perched on slabs of the owners' former homes, bringing food, supplies and always, prayer. In many ways, we are to be our brother's keeper.
When the greeter mentioned "Uncle Jack," Howard asked, "Jack, of Jack's Bicycle Shop?" It was the same man, who had been disabled and rode around town on a modified, scooter platform of some sort. "We used to take our bicycles to him!" he said.
"Once my older brother had something on his bike that needed to be repaired, and my mother told Jack to fix whatever was wrong with it," he reminisced. Then with a guffaw, he recalled, "And he did just that! Fixing things we didn't even know needed fixing. He even gave the bike a new paint job!" It seems his mother was presented with an astronomical bill!
"Do you remember 'Aunt Judy?' my husband asked the man, who looked thoughtful, but shook his head. He'd been born in Tulsa and was of a younger generation. "Everybody knew Aunt Judy," Howard went on. "She would welcome all the little kids into her house, give us candy and hug and kiss us. My friend took me there once."
Expanding on these memories at the Sunday dinner table, Howard brought up "Corn Cob Bill," another local character. "He did all the odd, dirty jobs around town," he explained. "My dad would get him to dig the garden or clean the chicken pen."
He continued by saying that the eccentric figure wore multiple layers of clothing, winter or summer, and was reputed to carry a lot of cash. Sure enough, once he was taken to the hospital where emergency workers had to peel off layers of clothes and found them stuffed with wrinkled and wadded currency. I told Howard he should write a book.
Every town has its characters, usually sad souls who are highly visible as they walk the streets, but others seemingly having not a care in the world, just living their own lives in their own way. When we lived near the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, we were involved in a beach ministry to the homeless and indigent who gathered there. Many were highly intelligent people, even former professionals, who had dropped out of society for one reason or another.
They welcomed the love, food and worship services they found in the casual, accepting atmosphere. Howard describes it as one of the most rewarding times of his ministry there, second only to ministering to the victims of hurricane Katrina. No one turned us away as we visited the FEMA trailers, often perched on slabs of the owners' former homes, bringing food, supplies and always, prayer. In many ways, we are to be our brother's keeper.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Stand Still and See
"Oh, look! A baby bird!" I exclaimed as we stepped out of the car. A plump, feathered blue jay was sitting on the grass directly in front of us with it's mouth gaping as if asking us for food. We were late for church at the revival we were attending and found the parking lot full. We'd had to park on the grass under spreading branches of a tree. The little bird must have fallen from a nest above. I hated to leave it, but we wanted to get inside to hear the popular evangelist.
My first impulse was to pick up the cute nestling, but images came into my mind of the time I found baby birds on the ground when I was six years old. I picked them up and lined them up on the fence, when suddenly I felt the fury of the mother bird as she lit on my head and drilled it with her sharp beak.
Another time, more than 30 years later, I stood on a ladder to get a peek at the cheeping babies in a nest built in a tree overhanging our deck. I had just managed to look, holding to a branch as I steadied the step-ladder I had placed on our deck, when I heard a maternal shriek and was almost knocked down by the swoop of the protective mother who must have been watching from afar.
Hoping this baby's mother was hovering nearby, we went on into the church. I could only trust that she had shepherded it to safety, for it was gone when we came out.
The service had been amazing! The fiery lady preacher was of the old school, having preached for some 40 years and peppering her sermon with incredible experiences and miracles from her years in ministry. The congregation was like the baby birds, mouths agape in awe and wonder, and hearts open and hungry for these fresh words from God.
The sermon this evening had been titled, "The Battle is the Lord's," taken from David's encounter with the giant, when he said to the Philistine, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled," I Samuel 17:45.
Other biblical accounts were referenced, such as the battle of Jericho; and of the four lepers who famously said, "Why sit we here until we die," and approached the camp of the enemy who had held the city of Samaria hostage. God caused the Syrian camp to supernaturally hear the sounds of horses and chariots, causing them to flee and fulfilling Elisha's prophecy of the deliverance of the city by God in II Kings 7.
What a relief to know the Lord will fight our battles if we turn them over to God! I have turned over to God a situation that has affected us, and I know He will determine the outcome. Like the mother bird defending her young, he will come to our aid in our distress, even gathering us under His wings as the mother hen shelters her brood. We may be blown about by the storms of life, but according to Psalm 91, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
My first impulse was to pick up the cute nestling, but images came into my mind of the time I found baby birds on the ground when I was six years old. I picked them up and lined them up on the fence, when suddenly I felt the fury of the mother bird as she lit on my head and drilled it with her sharp beak.
Another time, more than 30 years later, I stood on a ladder to get a peek at the cheeping babies in a nest built in a tree overhanging our deck. I had just managed to look, holding to a branch as I steadied the step-ladder I had placed on our deck, when I heard a maternal shriek and was almost knocked down by the swoop of the protective mother who must have been watching from afar.
Hoping this baby's mother was hovering nearby, we went on into the church. I could only trust that she had shepherded it to safety, for it was gone when we came out.
The service had been amazing! The fiery lady preacher was of the old school, having preached for some 40 years and peppering her sermon with incredible experiences and miracles from her years in ministry. The congregation was like the baby birds, mouths agape in awe and wonder, and hearts open and hungry for these fresh words from God.
The sermon this evening had been titled, "The Battle is the Lord's," taken from David's encounter with the giant, when he said to the Philistine, "Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defiled," I Samuel 17:45.
Other biblical accounts were referenced, such as the battle of Jericho; and of the four lepers who famously said, "Why sit we here until we die," and approached the camp of the enemy who had held the city of Samaria hostage. God caused the Syrian camp to supernaturally hear the sounds of horses and chariots, causing them to flee and fulfilling Elisha's prophecy of the deliverance of the city by God in II Kings 7.
What a relief to know the Lord will fight our battles if we turn them over to God! I have turned over to God a situation that has affected us, and I know He will determine the outcome. Like the mother bird defending her young, he will come to our aid in our distress, even gathering us under His wings as the mother hen shelters her brood. We may be blown about by the storms of life, but according to Psalm 91, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Chat Room
"Hi!" the woman I met pushing the grocery cart smiled broadly and waved her hand in a friendly gesture. I said hello back, but I had no idea who the elderly lady was. Someone I'd met at church or somewhere, I reasoned.
"How do I know you?" I smiled and asked as she stopped her cart and seemed to want to chat. She wasn't sure, but said we looked so familiar. Turns out she was from Blackwell, where we grew up. Then she said she was 93!
"93!" I exclaimed, "You're doing so well! Do you drive?" She said she didn't, so I assumed someone brought her to the store. On hearing the word, Blackwell, my husband soon had her engaged in conversation about people she might have known there. When she told us her last name, he looked thoughtful, then brightened as he recalled the name, but it was her uncle.
We kept running into the talkative lady throughout the store, as she exchanged tidbits, looking backward at us as she walked. Finally, we were in the same check-out lane. Howard whispered to me, "I think her uncle was a bootlegger!" to which I responded, "Don't say that to her!"
Then I heard him ask her, "Was your uncle fond of the 'the recipe?'" She didn't get his drift, and he whispered, "Did he bootleg?" She looked confused, but her daughter in front of her chimed in, "Yes, and her daddy went to jail for that!"
As they checked out, her mother turned to us and said conspiratorially, "Those were the good old days!"
We had to laugh at her spunk and good humor. She had already told us of a long career in real estate, saying how surprised she was to get the job with only a 7th grade education (which was probably actually equal to high school or college by today's standards!).
People had been friendly all day, including the young woman who was coming in as we were going out of the store. I stopped and waited for her to enter, but she insisted, "No, you go first." Then there was the cheerful employee walking by who called out "Have a great day!" as we were leaving.
We had stopped at a Texas supermarket as we neared our son's house on our trip over the weekend. I needed the makings for a special salad I was making for the family reunion we would attend the next day. I had seen the recipe in a magazine, and besides the main ingredient of broccoli, it called for raisins or dried cranberries (I used "Craisins"), sunflower seeds, vinegar, and other items hard to find in a strange store. But the employees and even strangers were so cordial and helpful in pointing them out.
Then at the reunion, stories and events from different points of view were enjoyed and laughed over, as well as things I had never heard before or only vaguely remembered. As I thought about this later, it occurred to me how wonderful it will be in heaven to meet loved ones and those we have never met, to get to know them and all the wonderful people of history and the Bible that have lived for God and made heaven. It will take an eternity for that. (Or maybe we will know them instantly in that new dimension, for the Bible says we will know as we are known!)
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." I Corinthians 13:12.
"How do I know you?" I smiled and asked as she stopped her cart and seemed to want to chat. She wasn't sure, but said we looked so familiar. Turns out she was from Blackwell, where we grew up. Then she said she was 93!
"93!" I exclaimed, "You're doing so well! Do you drive?" She said she didn't, so I assumed someone brought her to the store. On hearing the word, Blackwell, my husband soon had her engaged in conversation about people she might have known there. When she told us her last name, he looked thoughtful, then brightened as he recalled the name, but it was her uncle.
We kept running into the talkative lady throughout the store, as she exchanged tidbits, looking backward at us as she walked. Finally, we were in the same check-out lane. Howard whispered to me, "I think her uncle was a bootlegger!" to which I responded, "Don't say that to her!"
Then I heard him ask her, "Was your uncle fond of the 'the recipe?'" She didn't get his drift, and he whispered, "Did he bootleg?" She looked confused, but her daughter in front of her chimed in, "Yes, and her daddy went to jail for that!"
As they checked out, her mother turned to us and said conspiratorially, "Those were the good old days!"
We had to laugh at her spunk and good humor. She had already told us of a long career in real estate, saying how surprised she was to get the job with only a 7th grade education (which was probably actually equal to high school or college by today's standards!).
People had been friendly all day, including the young woman who was coming in as we were going out of the store. I stopped and waited for her to enter, but she insisted, "No, you go first." Then there was the cheerful employee walking by who called out "Have a great day!" as we were leaving.
We had stopped at a Texas supermarket as we neared our son's house on our trip over the weekend. I needed the makings for a special salad I was making for the family reunion we would attend the next day. I had seen the recipe in a magazine, and besides the main ingredient of broccoli, it called for raisins or dried cranberries (I used "Craisins"), sunflower seeds, vinegar, and other items hard to find in a strange store. But the employees and even strangers were so cordial and helpful in pointing them out.
Then at the reunion, stories and events from different points of view were enjoyed and laughed over, as well as things I had never heard before or only vaguely remembered. As I thought about this later, it occurred to me how wonderful it will be in heaven to meet loved ones and those we have never met, to get to know them and all the wonderful people of history and the Bible that have lived for God and made heaven. It will take an eternity for that. (Or maybe we will know them instantly in that new dimension, for the Bible says we will know as we are known!)
"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." I Corinthians 13:12.
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Traveling On
"What is the sign that plane is pulling?" I asked my husband. We were on our way to our son Trevor's house in Texas and were passing the outer edge of Arlington. I couldn't make out the words until it came closer and then saw it was an advertisement for a car insurance company with the comic picture of a gecko. We were talking about it later on the patio with Trevor as we watched another plane in the big-sky country. Trevor recognized it and pulled out info on his iPhone that verified the numbers and flight data.
The next morning at breakfast, Trevor said, "You know that plane with the sign you saw yesterday?" I nodded and he said, "Well, it had a crash landing right after that. I saw it on the news!" We gasped, and he went on, "He lost power in his engine. He had to release the sign and made an emergency landing on the highway." Wow! That could have been us on the highway where he landed !
That night at supper, Trevor announced, "I heard on the radio that a plane crashed today and the pilot was killed. It was the one we were watching from the patio last night!" How awful! Our tech-savvy, plane-aficionado son pulled up a picture of the small craft, turned upside down on its cockpit. I couldn't help but shudder and think of our teen grandson who spends a lot of time in the air in a glider. I'm always sending up prayers for his safety.
I also sent up several prayers for our son Jamie's trans-Atlantic flight to France last week, and again for his safe return. Praise God, the flights were uneventful. From his reports of his mission-related trip, though, it was anything but uneventful. It was filled with stories and praise reports of baptisms in the Mediterranean, witnessing on the beach, assisting in converting a facility into an outreach cafe/coffee bar, and amazing accounts from Christians of God's faithfulness and presence in their lives.
As a photographer, Jamie was able to assist the missionaries in taking pictures of their work there to use in publications to their supporters. Having lived and worked in France for a college term and fluent in the language, Jamie was able to help host a visiting pastor from America and act as his guide in the area.
Our trip to Texas was for a family reunion. It turned out to be a wonderful time with loved ones, some we had not seen for many years. We could only thank God for his favor on the trip, and for our own safe travels. Someday our earthly travels will be over, and we will be gathered in heaven with our eternal family, from all ends of the earth. We can be certain of a safe landing. Our Father will see to that.
The next morning at breakfast, Trevor said, "You know that plane with the sign you saw yesterday?" I nodded and he said, "Well, it had a crash landing right after that. I saw it on the news!" We gasped, and he went on, "He lost power in his engine. He had to release the sign and made an emergency landing on the highway." Wow! That could have been us on the highway where he landed !
That night at supper, Trevor announced, "I heard on the radio that a plane crashed today and the pilot was killed. It was the one we were watching from the patio last night!" How awful! Our tech-savvy, plane-aficionado son pulled up a picture of the small craft, turned upside down on its cockpit. I couldn't help but shudder and think of our teen grandson who spends a lot of time in the air in a glider. I'm always sending up prayers for his safety.
I also sent up several prayers for our son Jamie's trans-Atlantic flight to France last week, and again for his safe return. Praise God, the flights were uneventful. From his reports of his mission-related trip, though, it was anything but uneventful. It was filled with stories and praise reports of baptisms in the Mediterranean, witnessing on the beach, assisting in converting a facility into an outreach cafe/coffee bar, and amazing accounts from Christians of God's faithfulness and presence in their lives.
As a photographer, Jamie was able to assist the missionaries in taking pictures of their work there to use in publications to their supporters. Having lived and worked in France for a college term and fluent in the language, Jamie was able to help host a visiting pastor from America and act as his guide in the area.
Our trip to Texas was for a family reunion. It turned out to be a wonderful time with loved ones, some we had not seen for many years. We could only thank God for his favor on the trip, and for our own safe travels. Someday our earthly travels will be over, and we will be gathered in heaven with our eternal family, from all ends of the earth. We can be certain of a safe landing. Our Father will see to that.
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