THANKSGIVING

 Dear God, our Holy Father, to whom we owe our very existence and the heart and spirit you planted within us, giving us the ability to return your love, I pray you will put gratitude foremost in our hearts for so many good and wonderful things you give us daily.

In Your provision for our physical and mental well-being, your presence and grace enabling and strengthening us for any and all challenges we meet daily, we learn new things about You and learn to walk, knowing you will catch us when we stumble and set us again onto the path You chose for us. Thank You, Father, for great and small problems in our path, unacknowledged gifts which cause us to look up for help and learn something new. Without these challenges, we tend to believe we can handle life on our own.

This magnificent world, though fallen through human failure, still retains beauty and evidence of ever-diligent watch care over each one of us, revealing Your yearning for our recognition and fellowship with our Creator and Savior.

This Christian nation was given to our forefathers, who prayed and fought for a safe place to live and freely serve You, yet most of us carelessly undervalue this freedom today, believing somehow it is our birthright requiring little from us for its continued existence, and which through continued neglect we are losing to Your enemy, bit by bit, without seeing it is ours only through our relation to our Father in heaven. I thank You for Your continued patience with our apparent disregard of this monumental gift.

I am grateful for my family, given to me as a pale foreshadowing of the parental love from my Holy Father. Imperfect as are even the best relationships on the earth, they give us a glimmer of the perfect loving Parent waiting to welcome us into His eternal family.

Most of all, Father, Thanksgiving is given in honor to King Jesus, who left His throne for a time and lived among us, proving that a perfect life is only possible with God’s presence within and demonstrating perfect, infinite love by substituting His death for the one mankind earned by turning away.

For all these things and more, Lord, make us truly grateful.

CHUTES AND LADDERS

When I was very young, about 20 years old, I remember earnestly praying for God to guide me, to show me His will for my life. The more silent His response, the more fervently I prayed, but alas, the yellow brick road never appeared! I was looking for revelation of where and what I was supposed to be 20 years ahead, so I could hone my skills and somehow reach that plateau God and I had in mind.

As it turned out, I can see flaws in my plan and can see the pattern of my growth as it has occurred and can see the resemblance to the Biblical plans referenced as 40 days or 40 years as they are recorded; the Israelites languishing in the desert 40 years because of fear and rebellion, Moses' flight and lengthy exile far from his ultimate destiny (time God used to refine and prepare him for service), Noah's 40 days in the ark, Jesus's 40 days facing Satan in the desert and His 40 days on earth after resurrection before returning to His throne in Heaven.

Like an infant who depends on others to feed him until he matures and becomes able to take responsibility for his own future, a young Christian may live from Sunday to Sunday, fed by his Pastor. Some, like me, linger in this state, growing very slowly, for years, before actively searching spiritual meat for themselves, before hearing God speak clearly to their spirit.

It seems God’s plan is to teach us one truth daily, one command or instruction, instead of over-whelming us with knowledge of the rocky road ahead. (Think: If Jesus had foretold His apostles the horrible deaths waiting ahead, who would follow?) Once we obey that instruction, He will give us another—a ladder we climb one step at a time. However, until we obey what He has told us, He will remain silent. But we don’t remain poised on that level, we slide backward, like the game Chutes and Ladders—but there is a penalty in sliding back: loss of fellowship and guidance from our Father while we stumble in the dark.

Though I was saved and baptized by the age of 8, I now see I was developing very slowly, maintaining week to week on sermons I heard, coasting the rest of the week, until I attended a life-changing revival at age 40. Suddenly I was ravenous for God’s written word and listening for His voice in my heart. I felt complete, filled with new knowledge, strong faith and confidence, fearless for my future, though this was a time of great turmoil, losing my mother, soon after losing my marriage, with 2 daughters nearing adulthood. I stopped worrying, gave worry to God, where it belonged.

I was happy now and complacent, living at this new level for about another 40 years—until age and health began to limit my life to a smaller existence, a time of reminiscence and awareness of missed opportunities no longer available and a sense of urgency for those few souls still in my part of the world to know our Savior. He has given me a new hunger and boldness, a passion, to share things He has taught me, even to deaf ears. My job now to speak; His to open ears and hearts.

Come soon, Lord!

             But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount
             up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and
             not faint.                                  Isaiah 40:31


             Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall 
             be filled.                                   Matthew 5:6    

I pray when I leave this world, I can kneel at His throne and say:

            I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
                                                                  2 Timothy 4:7

















                                 

     

Here We Go Again

Have you ever found yourself facing a problem, one you thought you had resolved before, and you find yourself stumbling toward the answers you thought you had locked in? That’s where I am today. It’s just like Windows 8 all over again. I came so close to giving up.

See, I know me. Just as my feet no longer dance through their day, my brain, though still there (praise the Lord), no longer absorbs great lumps of facts in a sprint—I have to settle into a marathon or sit in my recliner in front of the TV and grow moss on my brain.

Once again I have taken the challenge to venture further into this new millennium. I traded my cute little flip phone for the smart-alec phone. At least, that’s what I call it now. Someday it will mean more to me or so I tell myself.

After the first week, I’m familiar with the alarm clock and can make a call. Sandy waves her hands across its screen and many wondrous things flash by my eyes, then disappear once she hands it back to me.

Remembering my love/hate relationship with Windows 8, I recall how I survived and realized here we go again! Take notes this time, Doris—the subject is bound to arise again; you’re not going away any time soon, so get with the program: start small, exercise a little every day instead of cramming for the exam—that doesn’t work any more, build those powerful muscles behind your eyes little by little, day by day, and never quit, never give up. And this new phone will give you a few of its secrets as you go!

I may be slow, but this time I think I’ve got it.

Just like the daily walk—not sprint—with God. In this life you can never learn all the wonderful promises in His Holy Bible, never perfectly follow His path. No one can, so don’t give up. Just keep practicing using those verses you learn along the way to keep you on His path without letting doubts discourage you and steal you away. You'll get there.