How Great Thou Art

 

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

 

As we sang this familiar hymn in church this morning, I was reminded of my opportunity this week to see some of the whole realm of nature. After church on Easter Sunday, my daughter and I drove to Charleston and went to see the massive Atlantic ocean

 

As the waves rolled in, I thought about God and His creation -- water as far as I could see -- and "How Great Thou Art" was going through my head.

 

At the end of the week, we drove to the mountains. Again I thought of that song --"When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds Thy hands have made... when I look down from lofty mountain grandeur ...How great Thou art."

 

So, back to the beginning -- "were the whole realm of nature mine" --it still would not be enough, because the gift of mountains and sea -- really are mine already -- a gift from my Heavenly Father and Creator.

 

As we stood on top of some rocks on Wayah Bald, there was a great view of the surrounding mountains, and I raised my hands to say, like in "The Titanic" -- "I'm the king of the world!" but on second thought -- I KNOW the King of the World -- the Creator of all that I see -- and I am so blessed!

Girls Getaway and Gratitude

     Spring Break! How I have looked forward to a few days off from school! My daughter, Sara, and I  just got back from a few days of making memories at our favorite beach town -- Charleston, South Carolina. We have taken very few "girls only" trips,  but we always have a good time and I am thankful that Sara talked me into this one. Just like the last trip, we walked the beach looking for a sand dollar. She found a half and wondered if it was a message from God.

     Later, we saw a cardinal in a tree by the beach -- seemed very out of place.  I don't know why cardinals and sand dollars always seem like a special blessing from God, but we are always grateful when we see them. We were looking at jewelry in a little shop, and Sara found some beautiful "Southern Gates " earrings that looked like sand dollars  and I couldn't resist -- they will be a reminder of this special trip when I wear them.

  

     On the way home, we made a side trip to Lexington, SC to see Edsil and Lovern Bragg.   Rev. Bragg was our pastor during my teen years and was a big influence in my life. They retired to SC to be near their daughter about 9 years ago, and I meant to go see them, but just didn't get around to it until now.  They had a quilting frame made by my Grandan, and told me about a year ago that I could have it. My brother wanted it, so I finally went to pick it up. But I also wanted to thank him in person for the ways he influenced my life.  He was the one who first asked me to be a counselor at church camp when he directed the Junior High camp the year I was a senior in high school. Because of camp experiences, I  changed my major to education and became a teacher. It was at camp that I met my future maid of honor and lifelong friend, Sheila. It was at camp that I was invited to go on the mission trip where I met my Sam -- and we will be celebrating our 40th anniversary this year and  Rev. Bragg was the one who performed the wedding ceremony. I thanked him today for all these things that happened because of him -- but he would not take any credit -- he gave all the credit to God. I, too, am grateful to God for using this minister to change my life. And I am sorry that I waited until he was 83 years old to tell him, but thankful that he is still alive and well so I don't have to regret something that I always meant to do.  I am not getting any younger, either, and if there are things I always meant to do or say -- well, now is the time!

See You Next Year!

   About this time last year, I drove to Winston-Salem for my yearly blood test -- I get one every year ever since I had thyroid cancer in 1998. I was surprised and dismayed to get the results -- indicating metastasis .  After all these years, I had been confident that cancer was defeated and forgotten. Not so -- and I have written about the treatment that I had last summer.  I determined to go on with my life -- believing that the treatment was working  and that prayers on my behalf  were heard.
   I went back to see my thyroid doctor today, and the news was all good. My blood test showed everything back to normal -- yay, God!  Not only that, but my doctor said he didn't need to see me again until next year! I will have another test in the fall, but after seeing him every three months, now I can wait another year .  That sounds like he is confident that the cancer is no longer a threat, and that is very good news.
  I don't know why some are healed and others are not -- I wish everyone could always get good news from the doctor.  But I know that the peace of God is very real -- and I would not ever want to face any of life's challenges and problems alone.  I am so grateful for praying friends who faithfully mentioned my name in prayer.  I am thankful for my little "Jesus Calling" book that comforted my soul with scripture this year.  And I am thankful most of all for my Savior who kept me from being afraid this year.  Woo-hoo!!  It is over!

I Love to Tell the Story

I love to tell the story

For those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting 

To hear it like the rest.

And when in scenes of glory

I sing the new, new song

'Twill be the old, old story

That I have loved so long.

  My spiritual birthday is this week -- April 4 will make 55 years since I walked the aisle and knelt at the altar of our little church in Red House, West Virginia. We were having a revival at our church -- the evangelist was named Raymond Kelley -- and I can remember seeing tears running down his face as one more little soul was saved that night. I don't remember a word of the sermon or any song that was sung, but I clearly remember feeling a heavy burden being lifted when Preacher Scott took my hand and asked me, "Do you want to be saved?"-- and I said "Yes." I remember how happy my mother was --  she was so joyful to know that I became a Follower of Christ at a young age and now I had my whole life ahead of me as a Christian. I remember being surrounded by some of the old saints of the church who gathered at the altar to pray with me. My life was changed for the good that night, and it have never regretted that decision. In the following years, my three younger brothers all knelt at that same altar and we were a family that prayed together and stayed together, worshipping at the little church where my grandparents and great grandparents had been faithful members.  I have so many precious memories of that little congregation.  Eventually we built a new church and the little church was sold. It was never used as a place of worship again, and now the steeple has fallen off and the building is falling down. But it will always be holy ground for me -- the place where I learned about the love of God. Happy birthday to me!!

What Moves You Today?

     What did you once dream of doing? Our pastor asked this question tonight and I remembered how I dreamed of being a ballerina when I was about 10 years old.  I got a beautiful ballerina doll for Christmas, and I spent many hours spinning her around on her toes and thinking about what it would be like to dress up in a tutu and ballet shoes and dance on a stage. That dream vanished when I took a ballet class when I was about 30 years old --trying to gracefully leap across the room caused me to collapse in laughter and never return to the class.  I also wanted to be able to ice skate like Dorothy Hamill, but reality struck when I couldn't even stand up on ice skates.  Obviously neither of these dreams moved me to pursue them -- 

    The sermon tonight was from Acts 20: 22-27 and the key phrase from verse 24 was "None of these things move me." Paul was on his third missionary journey when he said these words, and he was on his way to Jerusalem -- understanding that trouble and tribulation were ahead of him, just like in the other places he preached the message from God.  He didn't know exactly what was going to happen --  but he trusted God to be with him. He let God choose his destination and he didn't plan to retire, even though he had worked hard planting churches and was probably tired. He was going to keep running the race, dedicated to the end. Nothing else moved him. He was focused on sharing the message of God.

     None of us can really know what the future holds, and that is probably a good thing.  Paul was heading on to Jerusalem, trusting God with his life.  Sometimes I get caught up in the "what if..." and that's when I really have to give it to God. I want to be led by God -- and let nothing else move me. But I am easily distracted, so I thankful for these messages that remind me of my one dream that has never vanished-- my dream to be a "good and faithful servant" used by God.

Snow Days

     As one of my friends said, God hit the pause button this week.  We have had a huge snowfall that cancelled school for three days this week.  Even Wal-mart was closed because of the snow, and that has never happened before.  My daughter posted this scripture on her Facebook page, and it has been on my mind this week.

God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.
⁶ He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’
⁷ So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.  Job 37:6-7

    He has certainly stopped us from our labor -- no school or work for any of us. We didn't even get in the car.  These days were like a gift of time to relax and enjoy staying up late to watch the Winter Olympics together, shovel snow together, bake brownies, feed the birds, and take pictures in the beautiful snow that covered everything. We spent Valentines Day together instead of having a busy day at work. Thank you, God, for refreshing the earth and our lives! It has been beautiful and now we are rested and eager to get back to our jobs. So now I thank You for the sun that is melting the snow!

 

Showers of Blessing

    My family in West Virginia has been dealing with a water crisis.  There was a chemical spill up river from where they live, and the water is so toxic that they couldn't even use it for laundry or bathing.  It has been about a week since the spill, and they have been told the water is safe now, but not for pregnant women. So... that doesn't really sound like the problem is over yet -- and I think they are sticking with bottled water for a while.
    I borrowed this picture from my niece's Facebook photos.  She said she heard the rain and used some "Mountaineer ingenuity" to catch it. I heard the same rain pouring down that night here in North Carolina and remembered the rain barrel that always sat at the corner of my grandparents' house when I was growing up -- and hoped that they were able to catch some. I smiled the next day at Katie's photo -- the showers were not wasted at her house!  That made me think of how God provides for us, but sometimes we just sit around and wait for someone to help us instead of going outside to gather those blessings. I know this water was not the total answer, but it sure helped to have tubs full of clean water, freely provided by God, right by the back door.
 

1. There shall be showers of blessing:
   This is the promise of love;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   Sent from the Savior above.
   • Refrain:
     Showers of blessing,
     Showers of blessing we need:
     Mercy-drops round us are falling,
     But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
   Precious reviving again;
   Over the hills and the valleys,
   Sound of abundance of rain.
3. There shall be showers of blessing;
   Send them upon us, O Lord;
   Grant to us now a refreshing,
   Come, and now honor Thy Word.
4. There shall be showers of blessing:
   Oh, that today they might fall,
   Now as to God we’re confessing,
   Now as on Jesus we call!
5. There shall be showers of blessing,
   If we but trust and obey;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   If we let God have His way.

The Gift of Friendship

     As the end of 2013 approaches, I have been reminded of some precious friends that God sent to get me through challenging times in my life.  All 3 of them sent cards and told me that they have been reading my blogs, so I hope they will see this one.
      Today I went back to see the doctor who has been treating me for the recurrence of thyroid cancer.  It was all good news -- the blood test that had skyrocketed to 190 last summer has now dropped to 39. It needs to go down to 2, but that has been a huge drop-- my doctor said "Outstanding!" So I will go back in 3 months and expect the number to drop even lower. I am grateful
to God and all the prayer warriors who faithfully prayed for me. I have had the peace that passes understanding through the whole experience.
      Because I followed my soldier around the world, it has not always been easy to find friends --and keep them when life took me to a new location. I am grateful for the ones who were friends for a season -- we shared holiday celebrations and shopping trips and pizza nights and more.  But when we moved away, we gradually lost touch. Facebook has helped me reconnect with some-- I am especially glad to renew friendships from school days. There is something sweet about having a friend who remembers when...
        I first met my friend Sheila when I was her counselor at church camp. The next year she was a counselor, too, and our friendship grew.  She has advised and comforted and encouraged me for over 40 years.  She was there when I met my future husband, and my maid of honor when I married him.  We both moved far away from each other, but when we have those rare opportunities to get together again, the years apart don't seem to matter.  She was godmother to my daughter and started a savings account for her that made it possible for her to go on the senior trip when we could not afford to send her. Sheila had thyroid cancer before I did, and her prayers and encouragement helped me so much when it happened to me, too. My life has been so much richer because of her -- I could write a book about all the ways I have been blessed by this friendship.
        We were living at Fort Bragg in the early 90's when I met Linda.  Our children were going to the same Christian school, and we started going to the local spa together after we dropped the kids off at school. We even went camping together.  But then they got orders for Germany -- she insisted that I take their washer and dryer because I was still using the little portable one that didn't hold enough for our growing family. Then we got orders for Germany, and somewhere in the moving, I lost her address.  We spent 3 years overseas, then returned to Fort Bragg. I was in the commissary one day when I heard that wonderful Massachusetts accent -- it was Linda!!  Before long, our husbands were sent to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm.  During that time, Linda called me often, and made dresses for my girls and became my life line while Sam was at war.  Then her husband left the Army and they moved back north, and Sam retired -- but this time we did not lose touch.  We have played phone tag for a while -- I love to hear her voice when she leaves a message.  We got to stop in for a brief visit a few years ago on our way back from Maine and it was wonderful to see her again. I look forward to her witty Christmas letters, and one of these days we will actually talk to each other again. I will always be grateful for the blessing of her friendship, especially during the war year.
         The adventure of living in Germany was made so much richer because of  Marjorie. We met at a church picnic soon after we arrived in the country.  We sat in lawn chairs and found that we had so much in common.  I was excited to meet another home-schooled family with children near the age of mine. They had lived in Germany for several years, so she knew all about everything.  She took the girls and me to see Switzerland for the first time and introduced us to some interesting people and invited us over for dinners and holiday celebrations. She had also been home-schooling for several years, and her wisdom and experience was such a help to me.  We settled in North Carolina, and they are several states away.  Our children are grown and we've only been able to get together once since we left Germany in the late 1980's, but we have not lost touch.
           I read a book called "Captivating" a few years ago.  The author said, "The gift of friendship among women is a treasure not to be taken lightly.  To have a woman friend is to relax into another soul and be welcomed in all you are.  It is here she can mother, nurture, encourage, and call forth life."

           I am grateful for all the friends who have touched my life.  I don't think it was just coincidence that we met.  Each was a treasure from God-- some for many years, and others for a short season-- Lynn, Dot, Sharon -- all helped me grow in my faith and I will not forget them. And if any of them happen to read this, I hope they can see how much their presence in my life has meant to me. Thank You, God, for these women!

Lessons in Humility

    Ok, I admit it -- I love to sing -- and have been known to burst out into song at the drop of a hat. and I also admit that I love to sing on stage with my chorus or choir or praise team at church. I am not a soloist -- no illusions in my mind about having a great solo voice -- but if someone is singing the melody, I always sing the harmony part.  I sing tenor in the church choir, alto with the praise team, and bass with my barbershop chorus. Hand me a microphone at church and I am ready! I've been singing harmony since about fifth grade when a few girls from my church started a little quartet -- that's about 55 years. So I am quite comfortable on stage, and almost always say "yes" when I am asked to sing at church.  Singing fills my heart with joy, especially when I am singing to the Lord.
   
    "The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart.
He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."
Psalm 28:7 (NLT)

  However, to be honest, sometimes I need a little reminder that it is not all about ME.  And this is the season for some lessons in humility.
 
  First little jolt was when my chorus was singing at the Biltmore House for the Candlelight Christmas Tour. That is always a great honor, and an opportunity to sing about the birth of Christ in a public place.  I was proud to be there, and getting ready to sing, then I missed a step and fell down, right in front of everyone. Good news was that I didn't break anything, and I didn't tear a hole in the knee of my pants, but it was very embarrassing and humbling. 

 

My daughter and I stayed overnight in Asheville, then got up early the next morning so we could drive back in time to sing with the praise team at church. We made it in plenty of time and I thought I did a fine job singing my part -- until I found out that I had forgotten to turn on the microphone. Obviously my part wasn't as important as I thought. 

Then on Sunday night, our church choir presented the musical worship celebration that we had been practicing for months.  I was supposed to sing one song as part of a trio, and I was especially looking forward to it because my young friend had returned from his military service in Egypt in time to be a part of the trio.I knew it would be a beautiful song -- our close harmony sounded so good in rehearsal. But a few days before the service, I came down with laryngitis.  I kept hoping that my voice would be back by Sunday night, but by Sunday morning, it was evident that it was not going to happen.  So a replacement was found, and I just sat on the back row of the choir, croaking along the best I could.

And it occured to me -- it's not all about me -- it is about Him.  I was easily replaced and the worship and praise still happened. In fact, the laryngitis was almost a gift, because it made me slow down and take a  break from all the activities I had planned to do that week. I was able to write cards and wrap gifts and even read a little instead of rushing out every evening to sing someplace. 

I am back to my regular voice now, and again bursting out with songs.  But I hope I remember Who I sing for and take time to listen to the words I sing. 

"From Bethlehem to Calvary, 

Jesus paid the cost,

 for love went all the way 

               from the cradle to the cross"                                                                                                       

Remembering President Kennedy

   It was the fall before I turned 16, November 22, 1963, and I was sitting on the school bus, ready to go home.  A kid got on the bus and said, "The president is dead--someone shot him!" Even as a teenage, I was pretty skeptical and just didn't believe it could be true.  It had just been about 5 months earlier that I stood in the rain with my family and about a gazillion other people to see this tall, handsome president when he spoke in Charleston, West Virginia.  I was from a Republican family, but we were all very impressed to see a president in person, and his speech made us proud to be West Virginians.

 

JFK in WV

         Click this link to hear what he said that rainy day in 1963

 As we rode on the school bus that day, we had no cell phones to call and check the facts.  We just had to wait until we got home to turn on the black and white tv and see what was on the news.  But when the bus stopped at the Red House post office, I saw the flag had been lowered to half mast, and I knew it must be true.  We didn't have CNN with news around the clock, but we were stunned to see the news unfolding-- watching Jackie Kennedy's blood-stained pink suit, the funeral procession, little John Kennedy saluting his father, Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald--- it was all horrifying and terribly sad.

   This week at church, Pastor Tom brought a message from the book of Habakkuk. The prophet was giving a message from God that terrible times were at hand -- the Babylonians were going to conquer and take the people into captivity.  It was a devastating message to the people of Judah.

   Just like our country felt when President Kennedy was assassinated -- just like Habakkuk felt when the Babylonians attacked -- it seems that our country is in trouble again.  Nothing but bad news on tv. But the words from the Old Testament are still true today.

  Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
¹⁸ yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

¹⁹ The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.