Tag Archives: God

In the Pit…Again

3 Jun

I  am always pleased to welcome a guest blogger to Old Things R New but today I am especially pleased to welcome my friend and daughter, author Rebekah Lyn-Onisha

 

beach beckWe are all hurting, all struggling in some way. Some of us hide our pain better than others and it is easy to get wrapped up in our struggles, causing us to stop seeing the world beyond our own circumstances. A few months ago I was drowning in my own pain both physical and emotional. I lost two people that I loved dearly and nearly lost a third who, only by the grace of God, made it through a very serious illness. By the end of the month I was exhausted so when a friend asked if I wanted to go to a Casting Crowns concert I nearly said no. I’m so happy I didn’t.

The opening song by For King & Country was a big, booming production. There were bass drums, snare drums, timpani, so many drums and so much energy I could feel it reverberated through me and massaging my tired soul. I was on my feet, not hearing the words, only hearing the music. After the concert I had to tweet the band to find out what that song was so I could buy it. Turns out it was Fix My Eyes and wasn’t even released yet but was planned to be the first single off their next album. You can be sure I bought it the day it was released a few weeks later.

Throughout the evening I felt the pain and sorrow shedding like dead skin and knew I was being renewed-body, mind, and spirit. I only new one song from the new Casting Crowns album, Thrive, but every song seemed to have been written just for me. Three songs in particular stuck with me, the words jolting me out of the spiritual sleep I’d fallen into during the month of trials: Thrive, Dreamer, and All You Ever Wanted. I went home that night and slept better than I had in weeks.

Did I maintain the exhilaration and comfort I experienced that night? No, I don’t think highs like that can be maintained. We leave the confines of the concert, retreat, youth camp, or church service, wherever it is that we are lifted to the top of the mountain. We return to daily life, bills, job stress, running kids to activities, cleaning house, and juggling schedules that are too overloaded. If we don’t carve out time to focus on God and seek that connection we found in the moment of intense worship then we are back in the valley before we know it.

I may not always understand what I am reading in my quiet time, but I am still taking the time, keeping the door open so God and I can talk and I know he is preparing my heart for what’s next. The verse I read this morning may echo in my mind a month from now and keep me from falling.

Those highly emotional and intense worship experiences are fun and can pull us out of a pit, but the daily devotion and dialogue is what we need to help keep us from getting in the pit to begin with.

What are some of the mountain top experiences you’ve had?

 

Read more about Rebekah and her fellow authors at Rebekah Lyn Books. Be sure to look at the “Breaking News” to learn about her upcoming release, Jessie

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Keep Looking Up!

30 May

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

Lynn, Janice and Louise

Lynn, Janice and Louise

 

 

 

My daughters and I are bonded in love.
as we stand at the foot of the cross..
Each is blessed in so many ways-
Yet all have suffered loss.

 

Everyone is surrounded by distractions every day.
It can be easy to let them cloud our vision.
Keep your focus on Christ, dear friend.
It will help you make the right decision.

 

When you come to know Him,
Constant and abiding, always the same,
Bring glory, praise and honor
to His precious name..

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After Easter “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men gang aft agley”

26 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran and David Bowers

DiVoran and David Bowers

My brother and I on Easter circa 1949. Mother made the dark blue and white dotted Swiss dress for me. David wore that sweater all winter for several winters. This story isn’t about us; it’s about this past Easter many years later.

 

Do you like routines and schedules? I like them so much I plan carefully so that they won’t go agley, as Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, put it: “The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men gang aft agley.” (“To a Mouse”)

People in our church want me, as the children’s Sunday school teacher to put on an Easter egg hunt every year. So I bought the eggs last year. We already had the baskets to gather them into. I got the candy in the last weeks before Easter, but had to go back for more. I spent an hour or two putting candy in the eggs.

The plan was to go out on the playground during adult Sunday school and “hide” the eggs, but when we left the house, a misty rain was falling onto the windshield of the car and my plans began  to go agley so I asked Bill to be praying about what I should do. He surprised me by praying that the rain would stop in time for the hunt. But, still, when could I hide the eggs?

In the middle of praise team practice, I recalled that I hadn’t brought my camera. I didn’t want to miss taking pictures of the beautiful children in their Easter finery, so I asked Bill to go home and get it. I could hide eggs while he was gone.

It had stopped raining by the time praise team practice was over, but three feisty boys were using the playground and I didn’t want to make them go inside. I decided I’d just let them and the two girls who had arrived hide the eggs with me.

The girls and I walked out and I started to get the eggs out of the trunk of the car, but guess where the car was? It was with Bill going home to get the camera. The girls and I went back inside. Church started. We’d have to make do with the kids hiding the eggs during the time they were supposed to be hunting for them. Finally, it was time. By now, we had five girls and three boys. It seemed everyone was having a good time except for Trivona. She’s being reared by an aunt who loves her and who is a capable and efficient person.

“Why do we have to hide our own eggs,” Trivona asked.

“It’s fun, isn’t it?” I asked hopefully.

“The Easter egg hunt we went to yesterday was more fun—the children didn’t have to hide their own eggs,” she answered.

“It’s a long story.” I patted her head patronizingly.

She looked up at me with interest in her big brown eyes.

“You don’t want to hear the story do you?”

“Yes I do.”

“Oh, well…” I told it all, the rain, the car.“Is that a good story?” I asked when I finished.

“No,” she said.

“Oh, then I’m sorry I told you,” wishing I hadn’t bored her.

“It was a good story,” she said carefully, “but if you plan better next time, the children won’t have to hide their own eggs.”

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” James 4:14.

Someday maybe Trivona will read Robert Burns and surely, then, she will understand.

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Hear the Cry?

23 May

kitty with stuffed animal

 

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

 

 

Open your front door –

Just stand there and listen.

Do you hear it?

Believe me, it is there!

 

This time, close your door –

Turn off the television.

Listen to the sounds in your own home.

Hear it? Sure you do — It’s everywhere!

 

To be certain, listen to your own heart.

You hear that?

It’s unmistakable –

It’s coming through loud and clear.

 

“I want to be loved!”

But wait, there’s more!

“And I want to love!”

There’s no need so dear.

 

The world cries out for love that heals,

unites and inspires.

To love and be loved

is a basic need that every soul desires.

 

This is no news to God.

He created us for love.

Our love for God and our neighbor

fulfills the law of God above.

 

Footnote:

“Love is like the 5 loaves and 2 fishes.

It doesn’t start to multiply

until you give it away.”

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Be Still and Know

18 May

SUNDAY MEMORIES

 Judy Wills

JUDY

 

I’ve written before about my bout with cancer.  I seem to document my life with “before cancer” and then “after cancer.”  That’s probably not the best way to do it, but things just look different after cancer.

After I had been diagnosed – but before surgery and treatment – there was a minister/evangelist who came to our church for a weekend service.  He was not only a preacher, but also a musician.  Great voice…wonderful message.

I had known of the scripture – Psalm 46:10 (Be still and know that I am God) for many years.  But this BE STILLman performed a song that really touched me.  He used those words, but he inserted a couple of words that touched me deeply.  He sang “Be still – my child – and know that I am God.”  It certainly made that verse very personal to me.  It reminded me, again, that I am, indeed, a child of God’s, and that He loves me greatly.  I had known all that, ever since I had given Him my heart, but sometimes I just needed to be reminded of it.  God certainly got my attention with my diagnosis!

It was such a simple thing – just the addition of those two words in that song – but it meant so much to me at that time of my life.  And it’s something that I’ve never forgotten.  Nor do I want to.

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The Joy of Encouragement

16 May

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

 

 

Written applause carries a special

power all its own.

It is tangible evidence of appreciation

that can never be overthrown.

 

Penned praise can be savored.

It can bring joy to a heart.

Email may be a time saver –

But a handwritten note is set apart.

 

Has someone done you a favor,

even “gone the extra mile?”

Touch their heart with a letter

It makes their effort worthwhile.

 

We don’t do “good works” to be praised,

that is truly not our intention.

God created us to serve our fellow man.

It is heartfelt intervention.

 

“H-m-m-m Wait a minute, please!”

This lady has changed her mind –

While penning my thoughts I received 3 emails,

Each one of a kind.

 

One, especially, touched my heart.

Its words I want to savor.

I simply pushed the “print” button

And did myself a favor.

 

The lesson I just learned is so true.

It isn’t important “how” your communicate –

Just be sure you do!

 

Handwritten note copy

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I AM Breaking a Big Rule

15 May

Blackberry blooms copy

On the Porch 

Onisha Ellis

I am breaking a big rule of blogging today. I am going to ramble, go off topic, bounce around. I am NOT going to stay focused. Why oh why would I commit this crime? Because I can. Because that is what my brain is doing. So let’s rock and ramble!

 RAMBLE ONE

I enjoy eating boiled eggs. For seventy calories I can grab a God created protein snack. I do not enjoy boiling them and peeling them is even worse. So this Easter when Facebook was filled with posts about baking your eggs in the oven I joined the frenzy and tried. It worked!! They peel like a dream even a week after I baked them! My eggs had a slight brown spot on the egg white but it was very easy to flick off.

Here is the “recipe” and you can visit Unsophisticook! to read the complete story.

 

How to Bake Hard Boiled Eggs

 

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

eggs

ice water

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Place desired number of eggs in a regular or mini muffin tin and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove eggs from oven and, using a pair of tongs (I like these tongs with rubber tips from OXO), immediately transfer the eggs to an ice water bath. Allow to cool down for at least 10 minutes.

RAMBLE TWO

I have been working my way through book blogger websites, looking for bloggers who would be willing to accept an ARC (advanced reader copy) of Rebekah Lyn’s (otherwise known as my daughter Beck) upcoming release, Jessie. I feel the same anxiety I felt when I left her with a babysitter, sent her off on her first sleepover and drove her to college. Do mothers EVER get over the instinct to protect their children? I am pretty sure I have spent more time praying over my children in their adult like than I did when they were little tykes.

If you happen to be a book blogger or just enjoy reading and reviewing, speak up in comments and I will email you an ARC.

I am humbled and thankful that my BFF Pam has joined the Rebekah Lyn Books team as a marketing and Publicist assistant. Launching Jessie and planning Teas has so many elements to pull together, I was feeling totally overwhelmed.

RAMBLE THREE

My heart has been filled with prayers for a sweet thirteen year old, Kylie Myers who is receiving chemo for a rare cancer. You can visit her Facebook page Smiiey For Kylie. She has had a rough time adjusting to having cancer and the side effects of chemo.

Her dad is author Mark Myers who wrote Virgil Creech Takes a Swipe at Redemption.

When I think of Kylie, I wish she could meet my friend Wanda and her daughter, Allie who has been on a similar chemo schedule with Kylie. Allie shines with joy and confidence in Christ and my faith is made stronger when I see her on Facebook rocking the headscarf or sporting the smooth head style with her brother.

That’s the end of my ramble. There is a lot more in my brain such as why does the male cardinal insist on constantly banging his head on anything shiny, but that is for another day. Our blackberries are in full bloom and the locals say if we get a frost while they are blooming, our winter will be called a blackberry winter. Temps are expected to drop this weekend so we will see, I like blackberry blossoms because they remind me the flower of life is beautiful and even though there will be thorns, the fruit will be delicious.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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What Makes God Anxious

8 May

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I'm a winner

What makes God anxious?  The word anxious tends to make one think of anxiety but I never thought to  link the words anxious and God together.

This morning, I read a devotional by David Wilkerson titled “The Blessings of Goodness” The scripture that really stood out for me was Isaiah 65:24

It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will “hear”.

David Wilkerson explained “This verse provides us with an incredible picture of our Lord’s love for us. Evidently He is so anxious to bless us, so ready to fulfill His loving-kindness in our lives, that He cannot wait for us to tell him our needs. He jumps in and performs acts of mercy, grace and love toward us before we even ask-and that is a supreme pleasure to Him”

Imagine, God  can hardly wait to  provide for us! Can you recall a time when God had already placed someone or something in your life before you even knew you had a need? I have and it thrills my heart, every time.

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God’s People

28 Apr

butterfly

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

We have a Sunday School/Bible Study class we call the LP class. We would say that meant Large Print, but two of us now have the most wonderful lens implants and can see like fighter pilots, so we’ll have to settle for Long Playing as a name. Anyhow, let’s put it this way, all but one of us in on Medicare.

One day, our teacher, and his wife, Noreen were in the drugstore waiting to have a prescription filled and a four-year-old girl came over to Marvin and started chattering away as if he were her beloved Grandpa. Noreen said she reminded them of a perky, Shirley Temple. Of course, they were delighted.

After that, Bob told us that he was in a restaurant one day waiting for a table. He had a seat because he’s handicapped, but there was no place for anyone else to sit, except a tiny spot right next to Bob. A tiny African American girl slid into the spot and snuggled up to Bob, lay her head against him and melded into him the way a trusting child will do. He had never seen her before in his life.

That reminded Marvin of a couple of children in their neighborhood. Marvin likes to sit in his garage with the door open and read. One day he was sitting there with the fresh air coming in and a little girl came down the block, saw him and walked in and laid her head on his knee.

Of course, that story brought on more. Bill and I were at Lake Eola with our son last week and while Bill was waiting for Billy and I to finish taking pictures, he sat down on a low wall and a beautiful black and white, Spaniel puppy came up to the wall and put her paws on it so she could reach him. She wagged her tail and sniffed at him he petted her. Her owner was amazed. She said, “She’s so afraid of people, I can’t believe she approached a perfect stranger. She’s even shy around the family.”

We had a couple more stories and then we went on with our lesson. Marvin had us read out of the scriptures and here’s what Bill read.”

Isaiah 61:9 says, “All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the Lord has blessed.” I wonder–is this unexplained trust from children and animals a small example of that acknowledgement?

 

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The Touch of the Master’s Hand

25 Apr

From My Heart

Louise Gibson

author of Window Wonders

 

 

 

I wasn’t designed to be you,
nor you to be like me.
Isn’t that refreshing?
We are designed for eternity.

 

Our gifts from God
are to help our fellow man.
When you see a need-
supply it the best you can.

 

The following poem by Myra B. Welch
depicts it so beautifully.

 

THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER’S HAND

“Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
“What am I bidden, good folks”, he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar.” then two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll maker it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three”…But no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow:
Then wiping the dust from the old violin.
and tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.

 

The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said, “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice:
And going and gone”, said he.

 

The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand.
What changed it’s worth?” Swift came the reply.
“The touch of a master’s hand.”

 

And many a man with life out of tune,
and battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd-
Much like the old violin.
A “mess of potage”, a glass of wine:
A game–and he travels on.
He is “going” once, and “going” twice,
He’s ” going” and almost “gone”.
But the Master comes and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.

Myra B. Welch

 

jesus hands

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