Seasons

To Every Thing is a special piece to my heart. I designed and built it 8-9 years ago, and then dedicated it in honor of two people who changed my life many years ago through their love and acceptance. This five foot by five foot screen is on display at Little Swan Lake Winery and Bed & Breakfast (You can find their Facebook page here) in NW Iowa. You should definitely go there and enjoy the place!

Obviously, this piece references the "seasons" Scripture in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. And the older I get, the more I understand this Scripture.

I haven't been doing much glass work in the past couple of years. I have felt guilty about it often... But not anymore!

I realize that this is a season in my life. It's a season I didn't expect to revisit, but the adoption of our granddaughter seven years ago brought this "kid-busy" season back to me for an encore. Instead of creating God-honoring stained glass, I am...

Taking kids outdoors to hike, play, fish, or throw mud at each other...




I am....

Enjoying taking kiddos to Easter Egg hunts in
30 mph winds...



I am....

Teaching science to eight homeschooled kids, then watching them play outside (or inside) without any structure...


I am...

Making memories with our daughter: visiting art museums, feeding pigeons (while checking out their cool orange button eyes, so well described in the book Wringer), and watching the hippos open their mouths so wide you could drive a car inside!!!



This is what God has called me to do in this season of my life. Through my entire life, He has prepared me for this, and best of all: His yoke is easy and His burden light. I love this season!!!

I am still creating glass pieces; selling them pays for our homeschool curricula! But my primary call in this season is different than it was just a few years ago.

I am blessed.

A Little Lost

Have you ever felt a little lost?  Of course you have! I believe that we all feel a little lost once in a while. It happens when our circumstances suddenly change, especially for the worse. Or when we've been in a busy season of life and that "big event" is over... leaving us wondering what to do today.

Whatever the reason, I think we've all been there, done that.

A little lost. 

It's easy to try to fill that time, cover those feelings, with busy-ness. Clean the house. Run errands. Go on a trip. Escape into a movie or a game.

And when that distraction is over, we can hope the lost feeling is gone, too. 

Or we can turn to our True Hope. Even when we're only a little lost, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Instead of running errands, run to Him! Turn to the cross and find your way.

This piece is framed in a vintage window frame. It is 17x28". The price is $225.00, plus tax and shipping (if needed).

So, the next time you're feeling a little lost, try reading your Bible, try talking to a Christian friend about your feelings, try praying. Only God can fill that empty place in your heart... in your life. He has already found us!!!

Praise God!

Gifts

I've been doing a different kind of artistic work lately due to a knee injury. I am crocheting a replacement blanket for my 9-year-old; the first one I made fell apart (because I didn't know what I was doing)! I can crochet while I sit with my leg elevated, so it's an easy way to spend some time.

I have crocheted many blankets for our grandchildren and our daughter, and as I crocheted I prayed for each recipient. This blanket is no exception.

Crocheting in a circle requires me to increase the number of stitches in each "row." I was having a terrible time doing this uniformly; I kept losing count. Then I started trying to memorize the gifts of the spirit from Galatians 5: 22-23... and instead of praying randomly for our daughter, I started praying for her to receive and exhibit these gifts of the spirit.

It has been a powerful experience! I pray for her to receive love: the love of God, the love of all four of her parents, the love of her future husband, and the love of her friends. I pray for her to exhibit love: to learn to show love, even when she's angry.

Praying for her to receive and exhibit joy... and peace... patience...

With "patience" I realized I could also pray for me to exhibit these gifts toward her. So I prayed for kindness toward her to overflow from my heart, for goodness to be something she remembers when she thinks back on her childhood... for faithfulness to be shown to her through us, not our faithfulness, which leaves a lot to be desired, but God's faithfulness, which never fails.

Never.

I pray that she knows gentleness from us, and that she develops self-control over her lifetime. And then I start again: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control.

A powerful way to pray.

I'm glad I'm not done with the blanket yet... It may be enormous! And when I make some more of our grandchildren blankets for next Christmas, I will be praying through the spiritual gifts then, too.

Give it a try!

Even in THIS?

A year ago on this day, we received a phone call telling us that our 2-year-old granddaughter was being airlifted to the Mayo Clinic after a tragic accident. She later died. If you want more details about the events, I wrote about that experience here.

But, as anyone who has experienced any kind of loss knows, the grief isn't done when the events are over. Not by a long shot! Any time a "memory" of Raelyn pops up on Facebook, tears fill my  eyes. Whenever we talk about Disney World (we were there at the time of her death), a veil of sadness covers the good memories. Her birthday. Christmas without her. And just random waves of sadness.

Any of these things can trigger the grief. You never "get over it." I'm sure most of you know this truth. Today I am living in the season of Raelyn's death, and memories of her keep coming to me...

Into this sadness come the quotidian events of this day: brushing teeth, going for a walk, having school, playing with friends... Each one has connections to grief. But when my daily Bible devotional said "Give thanks in all things," I rebelled. I couldn't imagine begin able to give thanks for the death of our sweet granddaughter!

I've prayed often today. I've tried to wrap my brain and heart around "Give thanks in all things" and finally I realized...

1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Give thanks in all circumstances," not "Give thanks for all circumstances."

So, I'm not expected to give thanks for Raelyn's death, I'm supposed to give thanks even though Raelyn died.

And I can do that. I am thankful that she was in our lives. She was funny, sweet, loving, sassy, and adorable. She was well-loved. Her organ donation saved at least two lives. Her family seems to be holding together and living well, even after her death.

And even though I'm sad today, I am thankful for my life, my family, the beautiful place we live, my friends... I am thankful for the faith that God has graciously given to me. And I am grateful to know that Rae is with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Joy of Jerusalem

This piece is for sale: $225

My husband and I are reading Nehemiah right now. We started the habit of reading the Bible together each evening more than eight years ago. I can't remember how many times we've read through it, but it remains a treasured tradition which brings us closer to each other and to God.

A couple of nights ago, in Nehemiah 12, we read yet another long list of difficult-to-pronounce names. Then came verse 43: And they offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away. (emphasis mine)

That was the last line of what we read that night:

And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

The "joy of Jerusalem" at the time of Nehemiah was the rebuilding of the wall. But today, there is a "joy of Jerusalem" that is far, far better: Jesus.

Jesus, Emmanuel, Our Savior and Lord!

That is the joy of Jerusalem for us. The joy that overflows from knowing that we are redeemed by Jesus Christ, that we have a place before our Heavenly Father, righteous before Him by the cleansing of Jesus' sacrifice. Talk about Joy!

And the joy of Jerusalem was heard far away.

Amen.

The Reluctant Tadpole

This is Tad. He lives at our house and has since we did our "Life Cycles" unit in Science in August. Our cats enjoy him very much! (Thank goodness the tub he's in has a lid!)

Tad is a reluctant tadpole. He will eventually go through a metamorphosis and become a leopard frog. According to the directions that came with him, it should take 12-15 weeks for a complete metamorphosis...

Count that out... He's been here since August...

Tad is apparently a bit reluctant to go on to the next stage of development. His back legs are minute. He has a bulge on one side for his supposedly-developing front legs, but not on the other. His back legs have not grown at all.

I started feeding him fresh salad in addition to his commercial tadpole food (Yes, there is such a thing!). I figured out a way to warm up his water a bit, hoping that he would eat more and develop. And he IS eating more; he loves the lettuce leaves! He's more active, too.

But he's not developing into a frog.

I was joking about the tadpole being reluctant to mature when I realized that at times I've been reluctant to mature, especially as a Christian. Maybe  you have, too?

When we choose to skip reading our Bible daily, but we have time for Facebook, Twitter, etc, we are choosing not to mature as Christians.

When we attend church passively, attention drifting through the service, we are choosing not to mature as Christians.

It takes intention to mature, at least for us. I'm not sure that Tad needs to want to turn into a frog...

But for us, we have to make choices that lead the direction we want to go. We have to choose to attend Bible Study, even if there's a big game on. We have to intentionally set aside time to pray. We have to consider the consequences of a flippant remark on Facebook.

I don't want to be a reluctant tadpole Christian. Do you?

Hanging On

It just took me 2 days to make a phone call... and 15 minutes to throw away a post-it note. The note had just this on it: "Weertz Funeral Home, Thursday 4-6." It also had the phone number of a local florist. I ordered flowers for my dear aunt's funeral visitation and funeral this coming week.

And it was hard.

Oh! So. Hard.

We're not the only ones suffering from this particular loss, nor is this loss the only one happening today. I have a friend who lost her brother this week, after losing both of her parents within the last year or so. There are many here on the reservation who grieve. Grieving seems universal.

And it's so very difficult.

This morning, in my tears, I asked the Lord to comfort my grieving heart. I turned to the Bible for a word about grief. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16 came up when I searched for "grief." These words from those verses bring me relief: For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

My aunt knew her Lord and Savior. She was a living example of faithfulness. I know she was received into the arms of Jesus when she closed her eyes. This promise in Thessalonians reminded me that she is God's first, not mine. And that she will be raised with the saints when Jesus comes back.

Hallelujah!

I am still sad saying good-bye to my aunt, ordering funeral flowers, and throwing away a post-it note. Canceling the phone line we've carried for her for several years brought me to tears again, but I know she is with our Lord.

And that is comfort indeed.

Peace, comfort, blessings, and sure knowledge of our Savior is what I pray for each person grieving.