Month: June 2020

Our \”Adopted\” Children

In addition to our own two children and five grandchildren, Dave and I have a number of young people we refer to as our heart children. They\’ve come into our lives through the years and captured our hearts. We don\’t know what it is that caused us to love them, but we can\’t deny that God placed a deep love for them inside of us.  Most of them belong to happy, loving families, so it\’s not like we feel the need to \”rescue\” them. For some of these young folks, it\’s almost like the scripture that talks about souls being knitted together. I clearly remember looking at a young couple visiting our church and immediately loving them. Dave and I barely knew their names, but we knew they were going to be our \”kids.\” To this day, they have our hearts, and have also given us a heart-grandchild (he calls us Grandma Claudette and Grandpa Pastor).

To my memory, it began when a friend of one of our children called us \”mom\” and \”pop.\” At first we were surprised, but it didn\’t take long to decide we really liked the reference. Considering us in that way represented to us a sort of trust that we were there for them. Even today a few of our kids\’ friends continue to refer to us in that way, even though they are now grown and have children of their own. At one of our churches, one of our members called me mom because, in his culture, pastor\’s wives are considered the church mother or first lady. He and his wife remain precious to us to this day. Kids who grew up in churches Dave pastored occasionally still seek us out for advice. I have some \”adopted\” kids that I met through various online forums. Our grandsons friends call us grandma and \”dad.\” We love each and every one of these young people, and we are honored that they share their lives with us. We consider it a high calling and a great privilege.

As believers in Christ, it doesn\’t surprise God when we call Him Father, or Daddy, or Papa. In fact, He rather enjoys it. We have been adopted as His children, and His heart is knitted to ours.  Because we are His children, we are precious to Him; and like the Good Parent that He is, He is interested in every aspect of our lives. He forever wants the best for us. I don\’t understand why God loves me, but I know that He does. I am grateful to be His child, and I know that I can always depend on Him to care for me and love me unconditionally.  

Ephesians 1:4-6 says, \”… He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.\” (NASB)

How wonderful is that?

Have a great day, everyone. Remember, it\’s all about HIM.

 

This Crazy World…

Y\’all it\’s only 11:30. So far today…

\"\"I sat in my car as my grandson ran into the store to make a purchase. Sitting in the car beside of me were two teens with masks on. As I watched, their father came out of the store without a mask and hands his daughter the grocery bag. He then takes a gallon container of Purell Hand Sanitizer out of his car and proceeds to wash in that stuff from the elbows to the finger tips, places the bottle back in the car (the door he opened before he sanitized his hands), gets in his car and PUTS A MASK ON before driving away. (You can\’t make this stuff up…)

As I was returning from K\’ville after dropping off my grandson, I traveled behind a car approaching a red light at an intersection. I was frozen in fear as I watched this individual drive straight through that light without ever tapping their brakes or slowing down even a little bit. Just drove straight through. Thank God no cars were in the intersection.

\"\"Do you see the chair at the end of the steps? I let Gracie out to do her doggie thing, and when she saw the chair, she did an about face and ran into the house and hid under the table. Now, she won\’t even go near the back door.

I don\’t even know what to think anymore. World has gone crazy.

 

Life Under Construction – Psalm 29 (with Emphasis)

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.
A Psalm of David.

Ascribe* to the Lord, O sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the majesty of holiness.

3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;

And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

10 The Lord sat as King at the flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as King forever.
11 The Lord will give strength to His people;
The Lord will bless His people with peace.

Our dog doesn\’t like thunderstorms. She hides behind our chairs or climbs up onto Dave\’s lap and buries her head under his arm. I kind of enjoy a good thunder storm. What I don\’t like are life-storms. What nature-storms cause in our dog, life-storms cause in me. They shake and quake inside of me until I am full of anxiety and fear, and my human instinct is to pace, or fume, or rant. Sometimes I just hide myself behind a fake smile and pretend all is well.

Why do I allow myself to respond to the storms like that? I have a Father who shelters me under His wings. He invites me to bury my head on His shoulder and trust my heart to Him. Sadly, I often forget that.

Psalm 29 reminds me that my God is strong and mighty–what can He not accomplish in my life? The voice of the Lord  is a storm-stopper. The voice of the Lord calms the soul. The Lord will bless my soul and give me peace. In His temple, let me shout, \”Glory!\” With this mighty God leading me, I can move forward in confidence and accomplish His will. 

Have a wonderful day, y\’all. Be blessed.

It\’s all about Him.

*ascribe = attribute something to; regard a quality as belonging to

Life Under Construction – Finding Peace

In my search for some peace of heart and mind during this life-altering time in history, I\’ve been reading through the Psalms, searching for a balm to cover my grief. I\’m not going to even try to explain how I feel about what is happening to our once beautiful and free country, because the proper words just won\’t form.

I know we each feel our own way about all that\’s happening and how we should respond–and I\’m not looking for platitudes or advice from folks–so I\’ll leave this alone and get to the real point of my thought for today–I am in a state of unrest, and the only answer I know to help me find calmness is to pray without ceasing and stick close to my Bible. As in other times of studying them, I find that the emotions of the Psalms speak to my heart like no other book in the Bible. It\’s like David snuck into my diary and read it.

And as God would have it, today\’s verse just happens to come from the Psalms, from one of the daily devotions I receive in my email each morning; and it\’s perfect!

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge.  — Psalm 62:8

I love God\’s way of putting the same theme in His Word into the hearts of the many at the same time. It reminds me that I\’m not alone and that others are struggling with the same emotions as I, and that many of us need to hear the same reassurances from the Word. Cool.

I went to Psalm 62 to read the \”rest of the story,\” and here are a few other verses I found in this little gem:

\”My soul waits in silence for God  only; from Him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken\” (vss. 1,2).

\”My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be moved\” (vss. 5,6).

And listen to this!–\”One thing God has spoken; these two things have I heard: that power belongs to God; AND lovingkindness is Yours, O Lord…\” (vs. 11, 12a).

Well, there you go. God has all power, AND He loves me. That\’s just pretty wonderful.

What is your verse for this day? How has God spoken to you this morning?

Have a great day, dear friends. God IS in control; that elephant just needs to get up off my chest and move along.

Love you all.

Happy Father\’s Day

To my birth father: I never knew you. I’m told you were very excited when I was born, and then you just abandoned us. I guess in those days it was just not accepted to have a child out of wedlock. And then you were murdered, so I never got the chance to meet you in later years. I don’t know where you are—heaven or hell—but I want to say thank you for giving me life. It hasn’t been a perfect life. But it’s been my life, to become what God planned for me from the foundation of the world. Pretty cool. I would have loved to meet you, to talk about family quirks and personalities, but that didn’t happen. All I know of you is what my mama told me about you (she loved you desperately, you know), the couple of photos I have, and the news articles detailing your death. Happy Father’s Day. I hold no grudges and no anger.

To Bob, the stepdad who raised me: You were a part of our lives from the time I was four or five, until your death in 1985. You are the “dad” who raised me. You, Bob, are the man who gave us childhood memories, who took us on vacations, who took lots of pictures and videos, who fed and clothed us, who escorted me down the aisle on my wedding day; the one who let me “work” in your office the summer I was 13 so I could learn a bit about the profession I ultimately pursued. If it weren’t for your picture-taking of our life’s events, I might have trouble remembering all the great things you did for us. Because alongside all the good, we had some rough patches. Some horribly, horribly rough patches–not all of them because of you, but many because of the two of you and your explosive relationship. All my memories aren’t warm fuzzies.

However, I need to say this—and it’s long overdue—thank you. We never went hungry or in lack of anything material all the days I lived in that house. I am grateful that you raised us as your own children, right alongside your own children. I have deep regrets about the kids you left behind to be with mama. While that was not of my doing, I can’t help but feel that we took from them, and it pains my heart. I just want to say thank you for taking care of us. As much as I understood how, I loved you like a father. Someday we will talk again, in heaven. Happy Father’s Day.

To Dave: Not my father, but the father of our children. It was your example of fatherhood in the lives of our children that helped me begin to understand the true meaning of a father’s love. I remember the excitement in you as you came home from work each evening. You spent so much of your time on the floor, rolling around with the kiddies. You practiced and taught them discipline with your own lifestyle. You loved Josh and Jenn without reservation, and that love has only deepened over the years. More important than all of that, you taught them about God; you led them to know Jesus. YOU baptized them as they professed their faith in the God you love and serve.

Yes, we did make our share of mistakes, but what parent doesn’t? We aren’t perfect, after all. If you talk to our kids, though, they don’t remember the mistakes. What they remember is the fun you were, the life lessons you taught, and the love you gave them. Ask either one how they feel about you. They’ll not only tell you, but they proudly tell the world about their dad.

Your example helped them to know what it is they want as they raise their own children. Their methods aren’t the same as we practiced, but their love for their children is the exact replica of the love you gave to them. Their children don’t have to question whether they are loved; they know that, because our children’s father loved them.

You’ve been a “dad” to our grandsons. Just when we thought the nest might be emptying out and our lives entering a new moment, we were called into co-parenting alongside our daughter. You’ve been with the boys every single day since they were born—if not by your physical presence, for sure by your daily prayers on their behalf. Those young men will always know there was a man in their lives who loved them with his every breath. You also taught them about Jesus. You baptized all three of those boys. You’ve taught them to shave, homeschooled one of them, practiced white-knuckle patience as you taught driving lessons. The energy level isn’t what it was when you were younger, but again, if it has been in your power to teach them or bring joy to their lives, you’ve been right there. And now, you are also Papa to Josh’s two little red heads. What fun still lies ahead!

So, thank you isn’t enough to express all you’ve been for your family. It just isn’t. But we are grateful for you, and we love you.

After my salvation experience, you are the best thing that ever happened in my life. I wouldn’t trade you for anyone in this world. We are a perfect match, and I’m glad God orchestrated our lives to come together. And though our story hasn’t been exactly all that we dreamed about, it’s still OUR story. God is good, and our lives together have mattered. Every single “bump” has brought us closer to Him and to each other. I love you forever.

Thank you. You are so very, very loved. Happy Father’s Day.

To Josh: What you have wanted to be for almost your whole life, you now are—a dad. And let me say, you are rocking it! I’m so very proud of the dad you are to those little ones. I love the way they look and you, and I really love the way you look at them. You are at the beginning of the parenthood journey, but you are moving in the right direction with them. Just keep loving them, keep telling them about Jesus, challenge their lives to be the best they can make it. We love you pray for you daily. Happy Father’s Day.

To Jenn: You are a brave woman, raising three boys alone. At this stage, you are very nearly through the child-rearing stage. Your boys are growing up so quickly! They are all on track to be fine men. Keep on keeping on. We see your love for your boys, and we hear their love for you. You understand there isn’t a one of them who wouldn’t leap to your defense in the blink of an eye, right? Don’t get tired; don’t give up; keep up the fight for the souls of your boys. God sees and He cares. So do we. We love you. Happy Father\’s Day.