Birthdays tend to slip up on me, with as many grandchildren as we have. I had settled on a small gift for Maddie, the birthday girl, turning 9 in a few days, also planning to tuck something in the birthday card. But I needed a box, and it had to be mailed today!
When we moved recently, any and all boxes I had stowed away for such purposes had been discarded. I didn't have my stash, and I didn't want to go to town to buy a box. I mentally calculated the size I would need. Let's see, at least 3 or 4 inches deep, so as not to crush the contents, and fairly wide to accommodate the gift.
Having used boxes for drawer dividers before, I thought about looking in our bureaus, although I didn't recall any dividers recently. Looking in my husband's dresser was fruitless, since he had re-arranged everything to his liking after our move. Oh well, I would search in my things, as a last resort.
Wait! What's this? I discovered a box in my drawer beneath a pile of socks! I pulled it out, and realized it was perfect! It was even decorative and pretty! If only I had the lid. Just then I felt a stiff edge under my hand. The lid! The glossy green surface had something stylishly printed in one corner. MADELINE, I read! It even had her name on it! (Although she spells it Madeleine.) Thank you, Lord!
I felt the warm assurance that God meets our smallest needs and desires! I felt buoyed all morning! My lighthearted mood was still with me a little later as I waited in the car while Howard went into the bank for a crisp, new addition for the birthday envelope. Just then I was delighted at the sight of a baby deer bounding down the slope toward a stand of trees bordering a stream!
A little later at a lunch diner, I heard a sweet, high-pitched voice of a curly-haired moppet in the next booth. When she turned around, I was melted by the darling, smiling face of a two-year-old girl. All this, and mailing the package, too! It was a very good day!
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
Sunday, March 11, 2018
Shopping Fiasco!
I have heard of losing a child while shopping, but never a husband! We had been shoe shopping for Howard, but he didn't find anything he liked at this store. A granddaughter's birthday is coming up, so I told him I was going to look at girls' dresses, assuming he would browse around.
The dresses were quite cute, but I couldn't decide, going from one to another, putting them back and taking them off the rack again. I mused and considered for a long time, then gave up for fear a selection wouldn't fit, or maybe it would not be to a nine-year-old's liking.
I looked around for my husband, but I didn't see him anywhere. The aisles in the shoe department were empty, so I looked in Men's Clothing. No Howard. I walked around the store repeatedly, then asked the clerk to page him. She did, but there was no response.
Maybe he went for coffee at the Starbucks in the supermarket down the block, I thought, knowing he loves to sit and linger over a cup. Getting worried by now, I hurried to the grocery, even scanning the snack area and the salad buffet. He wasn't there.
Why couldn't I find him? He wasn't in our van parked in front of a Hallmark store. I went inside the store, and searched to no avail. Calling him was not an option, since I remembered he plugged in his phone to charge and left it at home.
Getting panicky, exhausted and almost in tears, I returned to the department store. A man was walking in my direction, and I said, "I have lost my husband in this store! Would you mind checking the restroom?"
"What does he look like?" he asked. I was flustered, but I described him, telling him that he wears glasses down on his nose.
"He's almost 80, but he doesn't look like it!" I volunteered.
"I think he's still in Shoes," the man, obviously a manager, said. "There's a chair back there."
I hurried to the back, and there, out of sight at the end of the aisle, sat my husband, slumped down and sound asleep with his cap pulled over his face!
He said he thought I knew where he was! Relief mixed with anger and fatigue flooded my eyes. I was exhausted and spent and just wanted to go home.
I felt like Mary in the Bible when she and Joseph found Jesus in the temple and her exclamation was something like, "Why have you treated us like this?"
Well, it was innocence on Howard's part and a jump to conclusion on my part, but it will be a few days before I go shoe-shopping with him again!
The dresses were quite cute, but I couldn't decide, going from one to another, putting them back and taking them off the rack again. I mused and considered for a long time, then gave up for fear a selection wouldn't fit, or maybe it would not be to a nine-year-old's liking.
I looked around for my husband, but I didn't see him anywhere. The aisles in the shoe department were empty, so I looked in Men's Clothing. No Howard. I walked around the store repeatedly, then asked the clerk to page him. She did, but there was no response.
Maybe he went for coffee at the Starbucks in the supermarket down the block, I thought, knowing he loves to sit and linger over a cup. Getting worried by now, I hurried to the grocery, even scanning the snack area and the salad buffet. He wasn't there.
Why couldn't I find him? He wasn't in our van parked in front of a Hallmark store. I went inside the store, and searched to no avail. Calling him was not an option, since I remembered he plugged in his phone to charge and left it at home.
Getting panicky, exhausted and almost in tears, I returned to the department store. A man was walking in my direction, and I said, "I have lost my husband in this store! Would you mind checking the restroom?"
"What does he look like?" he asked. I was flustered, but I described him, telling him that he wears glasses down on his nose.
"He's almost 80, but he doesn't look like it!" I volunteered.
"I think he's still in Shoes," the man, obviously a manager, said. "There's a chair back there."
I hurried to the back, and there, out of sight at the end of the aisle, sat my husband, slumped down and sound asleep with his cap pulled over his face!
He said he thought I knew where he was! Relief mixed with anger and fatigue flooded my eyes. I was exhausted and spent and just wanted to go home.
I felt like Mary in the Bible when she and Joseph found Jesus in the temple and her exclamation was something like, "Why have you treated us like this?"
Well, it was innocence on Howard's part and a jump to conclusion on my part, but it will be a few days before I go shoe-shopping with him again!
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Heartthoughts: Covered!
Oh, no! I felt sick! Since we are trying to sell our house, we've been freshening it up to its best advantage. The floors looked a little dull, so I purchased floor cleaner/polish and applied it. It looked great! The floors glistened and brightened the whole house!
There were other areas calling for attention, and my husband got the idea to rinse paint brushes in the bathtub. By the time I discovered it, the tub was (almost) hopelessly stained! He'd also left a mop draining in the tub. I managed to scrub the bathtub clean with a lot of elbow grease and scouring pad.
I moved the heavy string mop, but I disdained wringing it, so I carried it to the kitchen. But a workman was in there, so I took the mop through the house to the porch. Looking behind me, I saw it had left a trail of drips, but I supposed they would dry soon. Imagine my chagrin when a little later I saw my path was dotted with white spots! Bleach! I hadn't known it was in the mop!
What to do? I was almost crying! Maybe I could go over the spots with the floor polish. Oh Lord, I prayed, let it work! It did! The spots were covered perfectly and everything looked as good as new! Thank you, Jesus!
I couldn't help thinking of the comparison to sin that is blotted out and forgiven when the blood of Jesus is applied to our repentant lives!
The Bible says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin," I John 1:7. "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," I John 1:9.
There were other areas calling for attention, and my husband got the idea to rinse paint brushes in the bathtub. By the time I discovered it, the tub was (almost) hopelessly stained! He'd also left a mop draining in the tub. I managed to scrub the bathtub clean with a lot of elbow grease and scouring pad.
I moved the heavy string mop, but I disdained wringing it, so I carried it to the kitchen. But a workman was in there, so I took the mop through the house to the porch. Looking behind me, I saw it had left a trail of drips, but I supposed they would dry soon. Imagine my chagrin when a little later I saw my path was dotted with white spots! Bleach! I hadn't known it was in the mop!
What to do? I was almost crying! Maybe I could go over the spots with the floor polish. Oh Lord, I prayed, let it work! It did! The spots were covered perfectly and everything looked as good as new! Thank you, Jesus!
I couldn't help thinking of the comparison to sin that is blotted out and forgiven when the blood of Jesus is applied to our repentant lives!
The Bible says, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin," I John 1:7. "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," I John 1:9.
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Heartthoughts: Narrow Escape
"I think I will go check on the chicks and give them water," my husband said last night as we drove up from Bible study at the home of friends. The car lights illuminated the shed as he went in, and soon Howard got back in the car. "We lost a chick!" he announced grimly.
"Oh, one of them was dead?" I questioned, to which he replied that no, it had jumped out of the cage when he opened it! He had tried to catch it, but it disappeared into a dark corner. I suggested that it might show up by morning, but he was sure a cat would get it by then.
When we got inside the house and told our grandson, Adam, what happened, he quickly grabbed his coat and said, "I'll go find it!" I had little hope, but shortly he was back with the good news that he had rescued the baby chicken.
"How did you know where to find it?" I asked, amazed, but he shrugged and said, "I didn't! The cats showed me! They were crouched with their noses against an opening in the barn. I reached in and felt something soft squeezed in between a post and the wall. I thought sure it was dead, but it was fine when I put it back in the cage!"
Wow! What a relief! It reminded me of the scripture about the devil going about as a roaring lion, seeking who he could devour! "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," II Peter 5:8.
To the helpless chick, the cats were lions! Well, a lion is just a big cat! Adam had saved the chicken's life! He was a savior for it when it was in danger and sure to be devoured! Figuratively speaking, he snatched it from the jaws of death.
The well-known evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, says the purpose of his ministry is to "Plunder Hell to Populate Heaven!"
Where can we find sinners? They are everywhere, often searching for escape from loneliness or desperation in drugs, alcohol, or getting lost on line with so much available technology to distract from problems.
Share the good news with life-giving water from the Word of God. Be a life-saver for someone soon!
"Oh, one of them was dead?" I questioned, to which he replied that no, it had jumped out of the cage when he opened it! He had tried to catch it, but it disappeared into a dark corner. I suggested that it might show up by morning, but he was sure a cat would get it by then.
When we got inside the house and told our grandson, Adam, what happened, he quickly grabbed his coat and said, "I'll go find it!" I had little hope, but shortly he was back with the good news that he had rescued the baby chicken.
"How did you know where to find it?" I asked, amazed, but he shrugged and said, "I didn't! The cats showed me! They were crouched with their noses against an opening in the barn. I reached in and felt something soft squeezed in between a post and the wall. I thought sure it was dead, but it was fine when I put it back in the cage!"
Wow! What a relief! It reminded me of the scripture about the devil going about as a roaring lion, seeking who he could devour! "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour," II Peter 5:8.
To the helpless chick, the cats were lions! Well, a lion is just a big cat! Adam had saved the chicken's life! He was a savior for it when it was in danger and sure to be devoured! Figuratively speaking, he snatched it from the jaws of death.
The well-known evangelist, Reinhard Bonnke, says the purpose of his ministry is to "Plunder Hell to Populate Heaven!"
Where can we find sinners? They are everywhere, often searching for escape from loneliness or desperation in drugs, alcohol, or getting lost on line with so much available technology to distract from problems.
Share the good news with life-giving water from the Word of God. Be a life-saver for someone soon!
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
Heartthoughts: Hope
I'm noticing signs of Spring! Little fringes of of pinky-brown hang from twigs, covering the whole tree in a mist of new-leafy promise! The new season is only a couple of weeks away, and we have to set our clocks back this week-end. Not only that, Easter is imminent! Could it be our long, cold winter is on its way out? Even though it will be below freezing tonight?
We have new chicks at the farm, and the addition of a goat bought in hopes of goat-kids frolicking in the pasture come late spring/early summer. The chicks still have to be kept warm by a light at night, but we can see by their developing feathers and gangling growth that they won't need it much longer.
The Bible says we can tell when summer is coming by noticing the budding leaves: "Now learn a parable from the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near."--Jesus.
He has been speaking of the signs leading to our Lord's return. Certainly we see fulfillment of many signs in our world today. But in the future Kingdom that is to come, believers who trust in Christ will be eternally blessed and cared for. Just as the chicks will no longer need the artificial light for warmth and safety, we will be forever in the warm Light of His Presence, free from the entanglements and troubles of this world!
Our son Benjamin wrote an Easter play for his church a few years ago. In one of the last scenes, the thief on the cross who acknowledged Jesus was told the good news that that day he would be with Him in paradise. The next scene was a pre-made video clip of Jesus and the former thief running and frolicking in a field of flowers in heaven.
We may still struggle with the discomforts of winter, but look up, Easter is on its way!
We have new chicks at the farm, and the addition of a goat bought in hopes of goat-kids frolicking in the pasture come late spring/early summer. The chicks still have to be kept warm by a light at night, but we can see by their developing feathers and gangling growth that they won't need it much longer.
The Bible says we can tell when summer is coming by noticing the budding leaves: "Now learn a parable from the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near."--Jesus.
He has been speaking of the signs leading to our Lord's return. Certainly we see fulfillment of many signs in our world today. But in the future Kingdom that is to come, believers who trust in Christ will be eternally blessed and cared for. Just as the chicks will no longer need the artificial light for warmth and safety, we will be forever in the warm Light of His Presence, free from the entanglements and troubles of this world!
Our son Benjamin wrote an Easter play for his church a few years ago. In one of the last scenes, the thief on the cross who acknowledged Jesus was told the good news that that day he would be with Him in paradise. The next scene was a pre-made video clip of Jesus and the former thief running and frolicking in a field of flowers in heaven.
We may still struggle with the discomforts of winter, but look up, Easter is on its way!
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