thirty years

Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

 

Today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the death of my brother.

It still makes me sad because he was too young to die, and I was not ready to lose him.

As the years have passed, the sting has faded but I still hurt, we had a lot of unfinished business.

Song reference to a secular song that reminds me a of my brother, since he was 9 years older than me, and stepped in to raise me after our dad passed away: 
Goodbye to you, my trusted friend

We've known each other since we were nine or ten

Together we've climbed hills and trees

Learned of love and ABC's

Skinned our hearts and skinned our knees

Goodbye my friend, it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that the spring is in the air

Pretty girls are everywhere

Think of me and I'll be there

We had joy, we had fun

We had seasons in the sun

But the hills that we climbed

Were just seasons out of time

Goodbye Papa, please pray for me

I was the black sheep of the family

You tried to teach me right from wrong

Too much wine and too much song

Wonder how I got along

Goodbye Papa it's hard to die

When all the birds are singing in the sky

Now that the spring is in the air

Little children everywhere

When you see them, I'll be there

We had joy, we had fun

We had seasons in the sun

But the wine and the song

Like the seasons have all gone

We had joy, we had fun

We had seasons in the sun

But the wine and the song

Like the seasons have all gone

This last year has brought a lot of death to our families, and that loss can be overwhelming.

We had our seasons with our loved ones, and it is important to remember that they are with the Father, we need not grieve forever (I know it is easier said than done) because we will meet again in the Father’s house. 

 

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with us

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

- 1 Corinthians 3:16 (NKJV)

 

We are not alone! 

This is reiterated to us over and over in the Bible, and you know what I say about that – if it is repeated to us multiple times, it must be something that God wants us to hear, know and understand. 

I ran across a really cool Celtic prayer I’d like to share:

God with me lying down,

God with me rising up,

God with me in each ray of light

nor I a ray of joy without Him,

nor one ray without Him.

Christ with me sleeping,

Christ with me waking,

Christ with me watching,

every day and night,

each day and night.

God with me protecting,

The Lord with me directing,

The Spirit with me strengthening,

forever and for evermore,

ever and evermore,

Amen.

This poem says a lot, God is with us, every moment, from the time we wake up until we fall asleep and even while we are sleeping, we are loved, protected, guided, strengthened.

Who could ask for more?

 

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translations

Cause my heart to bow before your words of wisdom and not to the wealth of this world.

- Psalm 119:36 (TPT)

 

When I was in high school, part of the requirements for graduation was two years of a foreign language, and being the overachiever that I am, I took four years of German!

My German teacher is an amazing woman, full of stories and fun information and she told us that we have to be careful with dialects and slang,  because what we think we are saying may not be what we want to convey.

She told us of a fellow teacher that was in a country that spoke the language that she taught, after a wonderful meal, she leaned back, patted her tummy and said in that language “I’m so full”, but in the dialect she used, her hosts heard “I’m so pregnant”! 

What on earth does this story have to do with a Bible verse?

The verse I chose today is from The Passion Translation, but I want you to see it is several other translations: 
Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness. (KJV)

Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. (NIV)

Turn my heart toward Your Law, so I will not earn money in a wrong way. (NLV)

Give me an eagerness for your laws rather than a love for money! (NLT)

And the long one:

God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course.

Give me insight so I can do what you tell me— my whole life one long, obedient response.

Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway!

Give me an appetite for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot.

Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way.

Affirm your promises to me— promises made to all who fear you.

Deflect the harsh words of my critics— but what you say is always so good.

See how hungry I am for your counsel; preserve my life through your righteous ways! (MSG)

The way we say things sometimes changes the meaning. I think that David’s intent in this verse was a pleading with God, after all, David had coveted and taken another man’s wife, but here he is in the original King James Version of the text, a king, asking God to guard his thoughts against wanting things that are not his.

And in later translations the “coveting” turns to want or love of money.

Kind of tells you where our mindset is, huh?

We need to think carefully before we speak, before we fan the flames of jealously in our hearts and minds, we need to turn to God so we are not bogged down with discontent for our own lives because we spend time looking into the lives of others. 

 

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how did we get here?

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them — yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

- 1 Corinthians 15:10

 

I believe that we have all been through some crazy things in our lives.

I think about my story, some of the things that I experienced, the damage that was done to me physically, emotionally and spiritually, and I am happy to say that I made it through because I was strong. 

Then I hear someone else’s story, everyone has a story, and I think “wow, that would have broken me, and look at this person, still standing strong”.

We compare stories with our friends and sometimes even strangers, we do it so that people know where we are coming from and how we can relate to one another, and we all feel that we have come through the fires because we are strong. 

We have come through the fires because of God’s grace.

He is the one that holds us, uplifts us, carries us.

OH! Poem reference!!! 

One night I dreamed a dream.

As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,

One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

After the last scene of my life flashed before me,

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,

especially at the very lowest and saddest times,

there was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,

You'd walk with me all the way.

But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,

there was only one set of footprints.

I don't understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child, I love you and will never leave you

Never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints,

It was then that I carried you."

We don’t travel through our lives alone, God is with us always, His grace carries us through every low point and celebrates the high points with us.

The grace of God in us is what makes us strong.

 

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we’re lucky

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him

- Daniel 9:9

 

I wasn’t the best kid growing up, I haven’t been the best wife or mother over the years, and I think if anyone reading this thinks that they were or are still perfect, you’re not facing the truth about yourself or your world. 

I have often wondered how my parents, kids or husband still loved me after I was being especially naughty, mean or rude.

How does our Father still love us because we have not been the children He wants us to be,

We are so lucky.

Our God forgives us, has mercy on us.

Song reference! 
God, I'm on my knees again

God, I'm begging please again

I need you

Oh, I need you

Walking down these desert roads

Water for my thirsty soul

I need you

Oh, I need you

Your forgiveness

Is like sweet, sweet honey on my lips

Like the sound of a symphony to my ears

Like Holy water on my skin

Dead man walking, slave to sin

I wanna know about being born again

I need you

Oh, God, I need you

So, take me to the riverside

Take me under, baptize

I need you

Oh, God I need you

Your forgiveness

Is like sweet, sweet honey on my lips

Like the sound of a symphony to my ears

Like holy water on my skin

(On my skin)

I don't wanna abuse your grace

God, I need it every day

It's the only thing that ever really makes me wanna change

Your forgiveness

Is like sweet, sweet honey on my lips (yes, it is)

Like the sound of a symphony to my ears

It's like holy water

We are lucky, and we need to extend the love, mercy and forgiveness that God gives us to those around us too.

The next time your parents, spouse or kids make you angry, remember that you should have mercy on them just like God has mercy on us.

 

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lamp light

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

- Psalm 119:105

 

When I was a teenager, my friends and I used to go walking at night in the summer.

Iowa can get pretty hot and humid and sometimes after the sun went down was the best time to walk to the park and meet our friends.

We never got scared except for this one section that had no street lights and that section was so dark you could not see your hand in front of your face.

We did not normally walk that way but it was a short cut and a storm was rolling in so we were in a hurry to get home, and that night, we were afraid.

We thought we heard noises, we thought we were being followed, we tripped a few times, we prayed out loud that God would protect us and when we looked, could see a single light in the distance. 

Song reference!

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

When I feel afraid

Think I've lost my way

Still you're there right beside me

And nothing will I fear

As long as you are near

Please be near me to the end

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

I will not forget

Your love for me and yet

My heart forever is wandering

Jesus be my guide

And hold me to your side

I will love you to the end

Nothing will I fear as long as you are near

Please be near me to the end

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path

And a light unto my path

You're the light unto my path
We never walked that way at night again, and in fact I hadn’t thought about that night in a long time, but looking back, I truly believe that God heard the cries of two scared girls and powered that light on to guide us home.

You see, God works that way for real, when our world is dark and we are scared and alone, all we have to do is call on God to guide us.

He will always put us on the right path.

 

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story time

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you.

- Deuteronomy 32:7

 

I love to sit with older people and hear stories of their past, what things were like when they were growing up, how people handled different situations, and especially reactions to new things. 

One of my favorite memories with my in-laws is sitting on the front porch on a beautiful Iowa evening, my sister-in-law had a book with questions in it that were geared toward a younger generation asking an older family member, so we were talking to Grandma Marie.

Each question she would think for a moment and answer with wisdom and knowledge that she had gained throughout her years, it was inspiring, amazing, tear-jerking and sometimes her answers provoked laughter. 

I may not remember every word that she shared that evening but I will never forget her face lighting up as she shared some of her happiest memories with us.

The Bible has many stories in it, some of the greatest stories ever told, and this is knowledge that we should have and share.

The knowledge that our elders have also needs to be passed down, it might surprise you how much they actually know, and how much of their life lessons are still very relevant today.   

 

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