Tag Archives: Religion and Spirituality

Little Things Mean a Lot

10 Jun

My Take

 DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

One of our adult Sunday School teachers happened to mention the other day he was sitting in the open door of his garage looking out and talking to God when a neighbor going by on her bike stopped to ask if he would fill her water bottle. He gave her a new one. He has done that before.

Every Sunday I see a man all dressed up in his black suit with his Bible in his hand waiting for a ride to church. He stands as straight as a soldier and I admire his faithfulness and that of the person who picks him up, sometimes after we have gone by. They don’t go to our church.

Funny what happens when you do only one little thing over and over. Your good deeds add up.

A woman in my class is a red-hat lady and she loves thrift store sales. You wouldn’t believe the bags of children’s clothes she finds in perfect condition for little or nothing. She brings them to church for families who can’t afford a lot of clothes for growing children.

Our other Sunday School teacher works at the hospital as a volunteer to take people to their cars in wheel-chairs. He’s a father himself and he gets a big kick out of being around teenagers who volunteer for the same job. What a precious counselor I’m sure he is.

I know someone who goes to the home of her aged mother-in-law where other members of the family care diligently for her and bathes her twice a week. She makes it special with soaps, and powders and takes supper for both of them that evening.

We hear so much about movers and shakers, about heroes, and heads of charities, but we don’t hear that much about the little people doing the little deeds many times a year. I’d like to celebrate them, wouldn’t you?

The song, “Little Things Mean a Lot,” is a love song, and why not. We show love with our small, faithful, routine deeds. Maybe we’ll discover that they pile up and if we could see the accumulation of them or the way they have changed people’s lives, we’ll be surprised. Won’t that be encouraging?

dog

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Social Media and Prayer

1 Jun

Yesterday I watched in horror the television coverage of the Oklahoma tornados. “Oh dear God” my heart cried out, pleading for His mercy. I even summoned up the courage to tweet a short prayer before moving to Facebook to see if any of my friends were in the path. As I scrolled through the newsfeed, I began to come across prayers for protection, not the usual “praying for the people in the storm” but powerful prayers of “standing in the gap” and claiming safety. At each one I would join in the prayer and write “agree” or “agree with this prayer” in the comment line. I felt my spirit join with those praying.

As the storm began to break up it hit me that social media is a powerful instrument for prayer. I will continue to say and post “praying for…” because I do pray for each person or situation when I write that but I will also venture out of my comfort zone and tweet or post on Facebook prayers of petition because to not do so deprives not just myself, but other believers the wondrous opportunity to join together in prayer.

Matthew 18:20

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Attitude

19 Apr

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

                                                                  ATTITUDE
                                                    We can’t control our future-
                                                     Only our attitude.
                                                     We are faced withy daily choices-
                                                     To act kindly, or be rude.
                                                     Don’t ever pray for patience-
                                                     It isn’t zapped into your head.
                                                     God will put you into situations
                                                     That will tax your spirit instead.
                                                     So don’t complain when life is hard
                                                     And you don’t know what to do-
                                                     Turn to your great Creator,
                                                     He has a plan for you.

 

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Angels Watching Over Us

15 Apr

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Photo by Melodie Hendrix

Photo by Melodie Hendrix

 

Not long after I became a Christian there was a sort of underground movement to study demonology so people could be delivered and set free of their compulsions. Some of us read books on the subject and even prayed for ourselves and others to be exorcised. That was about the time the movie, “The Exorcist,” came out. I read the book (I was very sorry I did, too because it was scary, and did not, in my estimation carry a true Christian message.) I didn’t see the movie, thank the Lord.

The strangest thing went with the movement, and that was a fear of studying about or even thinking much about angels. The belief  was that if we gave much credence to the existence of angels we might worship them and be led astray. Demons okay, angels no. It sounds weird now.

I had a book on my shelf I was going to read someday if I ever got the nerve. It was called Angels, God’s Secret Agents, and it was written by Billy Graham. Now I don’t care what religion you are or what you believe in, you probably understand that Billy Graham would be one of the last people on earth who would lead you astray. But still, there the book sat.. After about thirty years I decided I was never going to read it and I donated it somewhere.

Eventually the adrenaline rush of demons went away leaving in its stead a returning appreciation of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Then one day I had the nerve to pick up a book about angels. It wasn’t very good,  just a bunch of second-hand sightings and ancient stories. I wished for my Billy Graham back, prayed for it back.

A few weeks later I had an urge to stop by my favorite SPCA store where I can get hard cover books for 32 cents and there it was. Oh, not the same copy, I’m sure, but just the book I wanted and had prayed for. I started reading it and I wondered why I was ever afraid. There are three hundred mentions of angels in the Bible and Billy Graham told about them in a calm peaceful way that was barely even exciting. They exist, they are God’s helpers, and that’s about it. No adrenaline rush.

I’ve never seen an angel or a demon, but I came to believe that demons loved attention more than anything and that I didn’t have to play their game. I never even think about them any more and that’s just fine. In some places missionaries might have to think about them, battle them, all that. I don’t.

So one day we were on I-4 barreling along 70 miles an hour in heavy traffic and seemingly from nowhere a large piece of metal came bouncing toward us making sparks as it gouged the highway. We thought it had come from the truck ahead and left of us. As Bill swerved, we felt an impact. Thank the Lord there was no one in the lane right of us. The man behind us to the right had to go to the shoulder, though.

We caught up to the truck and looked it over. We wanted to tell the man he might have something loose, but we were all going too fast to communicate.

When we got home we examined the car and discovered a three-foot long crease at the bottom of the driver’s door. That sharp metal bar missed slashing a tire, missed the radiator, missed the windshield and missed us–by inches. What do you do when something like that happens and you know plenty of other people have had bad accidents that day, some even died in them? I don’t know about you, but all I could do was thank God for having his secret agents on the job. I had to give a thought to all the invisible sources that are out there helping us day after day. Sure terrible things happen all the time, but these angelic encounters do too. I don’t think we deserved it, I don’t know why bad things happen to good people. I don’t have nearly as many answers as I used to. I just know to give thanks in everything, good or bad and keep on keeping on. Ministering angels can help with all that too.

Psalm 91:11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Luke 4:11 They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

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When Do We Grow Old

5 Apr

From the Heart

Louise Gibson

I  woke up in the morning,
mind refreshed and full of hope.
There is so much I want to do-
all within my scope.

My mind is willing, my mind alert-
I’ll spring right out of bed.
My mind is saying, “Go girl!”
but my back says, “Whoa”, instead.

Ego! Yes, ego is the culprit
in this aging game we play.
I don’t mind saying , “I’m 78,”
But, getting old???”No way!”

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A REFLECTION OF THE HEART FOR EASTER

22 Mar
The Wonders of Nature
Louise Gibson
                                          I look through my kitchen window each day.
                                          Seeking, as I always do-
                                          All the signs of God’s presence
                                          In the soul-stirring scene that I view.
                                          It never ceases to amaze me
                                          That His presence is everywhere.
                                          The Easter Lilies are radiant,
                                          Postural,. as though in prayer.
                                           They are programmed to bloom at Easter,
                                           Then close for another year.
                                           Their role is to glorify the Saviour-
                                           Then silently disappear.

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Somewhere

12 Mar

Our guest contributor, Louise Gibson shared “Somewhere” a poem she wrote after her huband’s death. Enjoy- Onisha

 

                     SOMEWHERE
Somewhere there is a place for me
A place I have a need to be.
A new  plateau, a goal to met
Purpose, direction without defeat.
Oh God, give me strength to greet each day
With a cheerful countenance.
Don’t let me sway.
Please let me focus on the issues of life
That bring joy to others
To relieve their strife.
To have victory over the enemy called fear
The energy and stamina to persevere.

 

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E is for Enough

24 Dec

My Take

DiVoran Lites

DiVoran Lites

Bill and I are incompatible. The first time I realized it was the morning after the wedding when I got in trouble for squeezing the toothpaste tube from the middle. How was I supposed to know you rolled it up tidily? Right then I decided I was not a roll-up kind of gal. We have used separate toothpaste tubes ever since. We even use different kinds of toothpaste now.

Then there is gasoline. He buys it all because he knows where its cheapest. I ask to buy when the gauge is on E, but he says, oh, you’ve got enough to get you where you’re going and back, and I always do—except there was that one time down in Texas when we were driving a new old car and E meant what it said-empty. I’m grateful we didn’t have to walk as far as we might have had to.

Carrots, now, carrots are something else altogether. In my humble opinion, you can never have too many carrots. I keep canned ones on hand but come on now, they just aren’t the same. “Carrots,” I write on the list. When we go over it he says, “We’ve got enough carrots.” Maybe for you, but not for me.

Time: Bill likes what you call close tolerance. That means you measure something like a door that opens onto the enclosed back porch, then you measure for a fan and put it up and turn it on and when you open the back door and the fan is whirling you can’t see a gap between them. So close tolerance goes for time as well. He doesn’t like to waste it by getting someplace too early, but unfortunately we’ve always been just late enough to embarrass me. Since he’s been retired, however, we’ve been working on it. We calculate what time we have to be there and then count back to when we may need to leave. It works most of the time. If it’s really crucial I don’t answer directly when he says what time do we have to be there. I say we need to leave at 8:30 or whatever I deem respectable. I sometimes say we have to leave at 8:32 and it works. I read about that somewhere. I don’t know why it works. Depending on how desperate I am we can get there just a little bit early. That’s nice for weddings and funerals, so you don’t have to disturb prayers and stuff. But the last funeral we went to was a little disorganized, we got there a good ten minutes early and I was proud. But the funeral didn’t actually start for an hour and a half after we got there. We had some nice quiet chats with some nice people, but there’s no telling how far it set my training program back.

We are compatible in the big things. Our kids tried the old switcheroo a few times: if dad says no, ask Mom, but Mom almost always had dad’s heart on the matter and agreed with him, so they soon gave up on that one. We also agree that lots of small and large things are funny and we laugh together. If we had memorized the Apostle’s Creed we’d be able to say it together with complete commitment. Jesus is Lord.

So although we are incompatible we still are pretty unified. What does that Bible verse say? “Behold how good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together…” As you know we aren’t brothers, but still it’s pretty fine to harmonize as husband and wife. Psalm 133:1

By Divoran

By Divoran

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“Heaven is a Wonderful Place…”

15 Oct

I am especially pleased with this offering from DiVoran. It made my soul lilt. Today I am blessed to be undergoing a cornea transplant because someone  chose to give a stranger sight. I am humbled and do not take lightly the gift. I pray my donor is enjoying a” wonderful place” and I pray for comfort for their family. Onisha

My Take

DiVoran Lites

“full of glory and grace, I want to see my Savior’s face, ‘cause heaven is a wonderful place.”

When I was about four years old, I lived with my family in Crowley, Colorado, and I played with a little boy next door almost every day. One day when I was going over to his house I saw that the sidewalk continued and became a stairway. My friend’s mother was walking up it away from me. I called out to her, but she didn’t turn around. Sometime in the next day or so Mother told me the lady had died and I thought without emotion of any kind, “Oh, she was going to Heaven.” That’s absolutely all I can tell you except that I have never in my life had a doubt that Heaven exists and that I’m going there. Of course, since then I have been grateful to have an opportunity to take the step, which would guarantee it. When looking for a picture for this blog I saw something like the stairway again. I suppose someone else has seen it too.

Today I read in Streams in the Desert that a Christ Follower, who had a short time to live on this earth, looked at a mountain and said, “I may not see you many more times, but mountain, I shall be alive when you are gone, and river, I shall be alive when you cease running toward the sea.”

Fancy that. Have you ever seen the Rocky Mountains? We will outlive them all.

I’ve done some thinking and reading about Heaven, but unfortunately my imagination balks at the grave. Right or wrong here’s what I believe.

I believe the crystal sea runs down from the throne of God.

I believe the walls are made of precious and semi-precious gems and the gates are made of pearl.

I’ve heard about the mansion next door to Jesus in a song.

I would imagine that if something is special on earth, like love, it will be a million times more wonderful in Heaven.

We could take all the small things that give us happiness and multiply their effects. For instance, I have a calico cat with soft fur and a loud purr crowding me as I write. One day when I sneezed, she even acknowledged it with a prrrt. I thanked her.

Looking at the garden I see lavender plumbago flowers and yellow orange cosmos backlit by the morning sun.

Yesterday Onisha came for tea and we prayed together and spoke in sweet communion. Both our days were better because of that friendly interlude.

I don’t mean to leave out family, I can barely express how much mine means to me, and though there is no marriage in heaven, I believe again you will love each person there a million times more than you could the best spouse and children on earth.

I wonder about projects. What work, what projects will we have in Heaven? We’ll be making music, for sure. Will I have a beautiful singing voice and be able to play the harp without working up calluses? God must store up absorbing and enjoyable tasks for us or he wouldn’t have given us a need for satisfaction through a job well done.

This I do not believe. I don’t think we turn into angels when we die. I don’t think we are reborn as cattle or even humans again, thank God. Hebrews 9:27

It’s probably better that I don’t know what Heaven is like. I might yearn for it too much and miss out on all the joys available to me in the now. I am content to wait, but still, sometimes I wonder.

“Whoever lives and believes in me (Jesus, the incarnation of God) will not ever die.”

John 11:26

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Sunday Memories-Safe

16 Sep

 

We at the OldThingsRNew blog  are  so pleased  to be growing and adding a new feature, Sunday Memories. We welcome Judy Wills as our very first contributor and hope she makes it a weekly event.

Judy Wills

Safe

“I’m sorry……….but it’s cancer.”

Those words are probably some of the most dreaded in the English language.  I certainly never expected to hear them about myself.  My husband was standing by my side as I took the phone call, and laid his hand on my shoulder as I immediately looked into his face and told him the results.

“It’s very small – it’s probably only been growing a few months – since Christmas perhaps.”

Well, that’s one bright spot in all this – if there can be such a thing in………cancer.

Make the appointment to see the surgeon.  Take time off work to see the surgeon, then schedule the surgery.  My boss was the most understanding, gentle, generous man I could ever want to work with, i.e. take all the time you need.  We can cover you here.  And he and my co-workers did – they bathed me in their prayers.

One of the most difficult things was to tell our daughters – so very far away.   And then to tell my brother and sister-in-law, who is more than a sister to me.  They prayed with us over the phone.

And my prayers took on an almost desperate mantra – “Lord….keep me safe.  Please keep me safe.  Keep Fred safe.  Keep me safe………”

Good Friday came, and I was scheduled to play the organ for the service at the church.   During one of the short devotional thoughts, as I was sitting on the organ bench, it seemed like God took me on His lap and wrapped me up in His arms.  And the word that came into my mind was……. SAFE.  Nothing more.  But I knew everything was going to be okay.  I was SAFE in God’s arms – WE were safe in God’s arms.

It only lasted a few seconds, and I can’t tell you what the Pastor spoke on.  But I’ve never forgotten that feeling of total security and safety and love that God gave me that evening.

12 years and counting.  How’s THAT for being SAFE in God’s arms?

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