Guarantees

"There are no guarantees in life, so take advantage of the opportunities you have to love the people around you."

This statement, or one like it, is something I see frequently in my news feed... and it has some merit. We should be loving toward those around us.  And we don't have a guarantee of how many days we (or our loved ones) are allotted on this earth...

But...

But...

As Christians, we do have guarantees:

Joshua 1:5 says: "I will be with you. I will not leave or forsake you." God will always be by our side. Always. Even when a friend or family member is terminally ill or the victim of a deadly accident. Even when we are faced with tragedy or turmoil.

1 John 1:9 states: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrightousness." Confession is one piece of the bedrock of a Christian life. None of us lives sin-free; and God promises that when we confess, we are forgiven... cleansed.

A Commissioned Piece

Matthew 6:30-31 assures: "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"  God will provide for our needs.

John 14:27 reminds: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. And the peace I give isa gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid." We know that when we turn to God, His peace fills our lives. Even in hard times. Even when peace seems highly unlikely. Even now, whatever now includes.

Phillipians 1:6 gives us confidence, "...that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." When we fail so miserably in living a Christian life that we are without hope, we are promised that God isn't finished with us yet! We will grow into the Christians God wants us to be; He will complete this work in us. Hallelujah!

And joyously, Romans 6:23 says: "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord." Salvation is a gift! Eternal life awaits us!

So, on days when our lives seem broken beyond repair or reason, look to God's guarantees to see the beautiful picture he is creating in our lives. It is beyond any brokenness we see or know. It is eternal and perfect!

Our hope is in Him.

Broken

Life's circumstances are sometimes just too much. I know we're supposed to cling to Jesus, pray for patience, and all that. But sometimes it's beyond me, I'm so broken by the events of the day (or month or year).

I know I'm not the only one.

I have a dear friend who is desperate to find help for her young, mentally ill son. Today she is swimming upstream yet again, seeking available treatment for him.

I prayed last night with a young child whose prayer broke my heart. This little one was praying that her mommy and daddy would stop drinking so they could take care of her.

I know three young women who are fighting for their lives against cancer. All three have small children who need them desperately... and all three are suffering greatly from chemo and other cancer treatments.

And I'm there today, too. We've had much difficulty finding medical care in this area that our insurance company would consider "in network." We thought we had it all figured out, and began to pay off the $1000+ bills we had accrued. Well, today, we received almost double that in more bills that were rejected by the insurance company.

Ugh.

Money problems are minor compared to so many issues, but today I feel defeated by these medical bills and my inability to make progress on paying them off.

So what do we do when we're too broken to cling to Jesus? When the pieces of our lives feel so very unpeaceful? When we don't have the energy or ability to pray?

We trust the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:24 says, "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."

I don't know about you, but that is a great comfort to me. Wordless groans are about all I've got today. It's good to know that the Holy Spirit, God Himself, intercedes for us when we don't have it in us.

When we're broken, God steps in. And we can trust that.

Amen.

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.