The Glow of God's Beauty

Good morning! The bright moon was shining all night and is high in the sky this morning. Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of Your beauty. Each time I repositioned myself, trying to get comfortable, I noticed the long moonshadows and I smiled inside. I purposely left the curtains partially open so I could see the brilliance of the moon last night. I've been admiring it for several nights and it never gets old.

There are plenty of beautiful things to see during the sunlight this time of year, also. Fall is a lovely time of year, one of my favorites, and I love the colors of autumn. The plants are just beginning to change in Iowa so we have much to look forward to. Although each season holds its own unique characteristics, we also have art that we can admire even on the most barren of winter days.

I was pleased to hear that our church is featuring an artist from the congregation each week of a new sermon series on the Parables. I appreciate artists for their talents and I'm amazed by the unique craftsmanship that is his- or her-own. Their skills are God-given, as are all of our gifts and talents, I believe.

So how do you shine the light of Jesus on others? Are you an artist? A photographer? A teacher? A gardener? A seamstress? A cook? A farmer? A nurse? A mother? A postal worker? A computer geek? A babysitter? A grandpa? A knitter? A soccer mom? An executive? A sheep raiser? A dog trainer? A lawyer? A policewoman? A fireman? A musician? A bus driver? A secretary? An accountant?

"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life--and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him," (Romans 12:1-2 MSG).

Whatever you do today, do it with the glow of Christ's love and I know God will use your beauty to bless others.

The Blessing of Music

We attended a lovely outdoor wedding on Saturday that featured a string quartet. The air was filled with the quiet beauty of music drifting on the breeze, creating a peaceful setting. The music made me feel good. The tunes made me smile. Music is soothing.

A special song introduced the parents of the bride and groom as they were escorted in, and we all knew by the next concerto that the bride was about to appear. The song created an air of alertness. Music is attention-getting.

The married couple exited to a song of celebration, delight, and announcement. They nearly danced as they exited down the aisle. Later in the evening there was more dancing to music from many generations. Music is timeless and music is celebration.

From the time a child is born there are sweet lullabies of music that encourage sleep and calm, followed by songs that teach: "A, B, C, D..." , and "the B-I-B-L-E, yes that's the book for me".
Music teaches.

Songs help us worship in spirit and in truth. We lift our voices and instruments in praise and we glorify the God Most High. Using words from scripture and tunes of man's creativity, we are called to focus on our Heavenly Father and His Savior Son. Music is worship.

"Sing for joy to God our strength; shout aloud to the God of Jacob! Begin the music, strike the tambourine, play the melodious harp and lyre. Sound the ram's horn at the new Moon, and when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;" (Psalm 81:1-3 NIV).

Music is a necessity to life. Even if you can't carry a tune, your ears and body respond to the music. Even the deaf can feel the vibrations and be moved. Rejoice in the great gift of music today. Sing, dance, play, and worship the God who gave us the blessing of music.

Construction Ahead

I can almost guarantee that you have experienced road work or bridges under construction this summer. It is a fact of life in Iowa. There has been a lot of work in Ankeny, including the street in front of our development. Surprisingly, the three block road was blacktopped in one day flat. It is almost unheard of to have a job started and completed in one day. I was amazed.

While just a few more blocks away , the construction of new sewer lines and every other buried cable or pipe plus the road has been ongoing since early March. So has a new wider interstate 35 outside of Ankeny. That project is complicated with new bridges in two directions and new lanes through the countryside connecting all the way to Ames. I don't know if that project will ever be 'finished'. It is just one phase after another.

As I view all the construction ahead I'm in awe of the engineers who designed our road systems. How do they ever figure out where to build and how to get people from one spot to another safely, especially through crowded cities. It blows my mind. And makes me want to stay inside my house.

That is just a taste of what God's great plan for our lives is like. He has a Master Plan laid out for us; a perfect map to get us where we need to go. He even allows for our sinful detours and dead ends. And He has the Master Map for each one of us, integrated with our family members' and friends'. Talk about boggling my mind! Only God can handle that kind of road map.

 "By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ," (1 Corinthians 3:10-11 NIV).

What direction are you going today? Is there a 'Road Work Ahead' sign, a detour, an unexpected round-a-bout on your journey? Thankfully we never drive alone. God is always along for the ride, our constant Companion, our Co-Pilot, our Highway Engineer. If our foundation is Jesus Christ, there is always a thoroughfare leading us Home.

God's Precious Word

I love it when I'm directed to a scripture, I open my Bible, and I find I've already marked those verses as important to me. I'm a Bible marker. I'm sure at some point, early-on, I felt the Bible was too holy and precious to write in and many people feel that way. I respect that. But, I need to mark The Word in my Bible that speaks to me.

Different verses speak to me on different days. Some verses speak to me every day. They are marked repeatedly in my Bible with underlining, some with stars or explanation points next to them, others with additional notations. I'm drawn to those scriptures time and time again.

In my many years of life, I've gone through many Bibles, of different translations. In fact, I must have four or five that have been well used for study and all contain my markings. Now, marketers even encourage you to use colored pencils or artistic drawings in the margins of specially designed Bibles. I haven't purchased one of those. I prefer to used my well-worn and used Bibles because of the previous markings I've made.

Some people memorize scripture but I just can't seem to do that. That's why I like to mark the scriptures to go back to time and time again; reinforcing the messages I want to try to remember. No matter how you study your Bible, God impresses each message we need at the moment upon our hearts.

"Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ," (Romans 10:17 NIV).

Perhaps as you go through your day, God will speak to you from The Word, a scripture you have heard or read before. Cherish that in your heart and let it direct your comings and goings of today.
Open your Good Book and let God speak to you through it. You will be blessed and your faith will swell.

God's Word is a light on my path.

 I will let God lead me today.

My Personal Trainer

For the past six months I worked with a trainer once a week. A physical trainer, skilled in training the body to function at its best. I was amazed at what she knew about my body by watching my movements and struggles. She knew when my muscles were tight or when I hadn't eaten enough. She told me things about myself that I hadn't realized.

God is like that. He knows what we need even before we ask.

During my time with my trainer I became stronger. My endurance increased. My range of motion increased. My form improved. My muscle mass grew while my fat decreased. I felt better physically and mentally.

So I decided to discontinue working with a physical trainer. I know. It sounds like a bad idea, now that I put it in print. What I need to do is continue to push myself, as my trainer did, so that I can continue to make progress. But, that takes initiative and commitment on my part. It was easy to just show up for my training sessions and do what my trainer told me to do.

If only I'd be wise enough to realize I have a personal trainer in the Lord Jesus Christ. If only I would utilize His direction and guidance and goals for this person He created. If only I would listen instead of talking so much. If only I would take the time to just be with Him. If only I would study His Word more often, longer, with more focus on my Savior. If only...

[Jesus said,] "Your Father knows what you need before you even ask him," (Matthew 6:8 ESV).

All God wants is for me to 'show up' and He will take me the rest of the way. I don't even have to say a word, He knows what is on my heart and He will answer. Show up. That's it. Just show up for time with Jesus. What a brilliant idea!

Let's try it today.

Communication

Communication. I have a degree in it. I'm writing blog number 425 today. I am a professional at using words, expressing thoughts, feelings, emotions, concepts and lots of blah, blah, blah. (picture Snoopy on top of his dog house with a message cloud overhead). Blah. Blah. Blah!

I should be a good communicator. But I'm not, especially with my husband. I'm working on that, but I'm not changing fast enough. Married for almost 45 years and I'm still struggling with the same weaknesses. I process my thoughts too long before I say them. What should be a good thing, turns out to be a negative for me.

Somehow I grew up saying what I thought someone wanted to hear. Often enough that it became a habit I find very difficult to break. That doesn't mean I never say anything quickly or out of anger. I do that, too. I'm a problem. I try to make people laugh with a quick response and I end up hurting my loved ones. How ironic, I'm a communicator who can't communicate well.

"The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful," (Proverbs 12:22 NIV).

The Bible is full of good advice for communicators. Proverbs 12 in The Message offers many key words of advice:

"The words of the wicked kill; the speech of the upright saves,";

"Well-spoken words bring satisfaction;";

"Truthful witness by a good person clears the air, but liars lay down a smoke screen of deceit,";

"Rash language cuts and maims, but there is healing in the words of the wise,";

"Truth lasts; lies are here today, gone tomorrow,"

"God can't stomach liars; he loves the company of those who keep their word," (Proverbs 12, MSG).

 Lord, I'm convicted. Help me to speak truth in all that I say or type.

Note to self: Words hold great power; use with great care.

The Comfort of God

God woke me up early this morning. Two minutes before the alarm was set to go off. I love how He is always with me, guiding me, surprising me, comforting me. He knew I had a blog to write and He is ready to help. Praise be to God!

I had a lot of 'stuff'' on my calendar this week and was feeling sort of anxious about it all, though I didn't realize it until now. In my old age I don't really like to have more than one thing on my agenda each day - meaning something I have to get out and do. Water aerobics doesn't count because there is no makeup or nice apparel needed.

I'll admit it. I'm a homebody. I'm happy any day I can stay in the house and do whatever it is I feel like doing. But, somehow my calendar gets filled in with appointments and commitments and before long I feel like I'm on the go all day long.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God," (2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV).

I appreciate these verses and the assurance of God's comfort. I think God comforts me in my little "too busy" anxiety as well as He comforts those who are hurting or worried or overwhelmed. But look at the verses again. He comforts us so we can comfort others in the same way. We are not to stop at the point we are comforted, but we are to go forth and comfort one another.

So how do I do that today? A smile is comforting to someone who is having a bad day. A hug to a friend can lift a broken heart. A phone call to the lonely brings a blessing. A letter to a distant friend can brighten the day. A quiet conversation consisting mostly of listening is a real comfort. And I know you can think of more ways to share the comfort God gives you. Who can you comfort today?

Comfort received sparks comfort given.

The Labor of Homemade Noodles

I have a precious little notecard written in my Mama's penmanship. It is inside a plastic pocket so it can't get kitchen dirt all over it. It is her recipe for homemade Noodles. (Her noodles deserved a capital 'N'.) The best part is up in the top right corner she wrote, "Mom".

Homemade Noodles

There are only four ingredients: egg yolks, flour, salt and warm water. You would think this would be the easiest recipe I have. How can you go wrong with four ingredients? Believe me, you can! Because it is all in the labor it takes to make the noodles.

I believe it was as Paul described: "Your labor prompted by love," (1 Thessalonians 1:3b NIV). Mama's noodles were always made with love for her family or guests.

I've had 45 years to practice her recipe. The first 10 years I was too intimidated to try, then when I did try the result was not "Mama's noodles". It is easy enough to mix the ingredients in spite of the amounts being a little nondescript (1/2 cup warm water or less). It is the process that is tricky. "Knead until smooth. Roll very thin. Let dry and cut." It is the 'very' that got me from the beginning. It took me several years of trying to find out she actually meant "paper-thin". Almost. How much do you knead? How smooth? How thin? How dry? Cut how? I only knew the answer to one of those questions because I watched her cut the noodles hundreds of times in my life. But all the others I just had to try and fail and try and fail and finally got close enough to serve to my family. I'm getting closer to "Mama's noodles" every time I make them. It is all about the labor involved.

Rolling out the noodles requires arm strength and patience. I roll the noodles out, then keep rolling until I think they can't get any thinner, then roll some more. This is just the way my mother did noodles. I'm sure everyone who had a mother that made noodles has a different version.

"Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you," (1 Thessalonians 2:9 NIV).

I'm sure Mama made noodles so often because they were cheap to make. She usually had chickens to provide the eggs. She would make an angel food cake which used the egg whites and have the yolks for noodles. They went together because nothing got wasted in her lifetime.

I've lived 20 years without my Mama, and I can't forget her labor. Thank you to all the mothers who labor with love for their family; you are appreciated. Thank you to all the dads who labor tirelessly for their families; you are amazing. And to everyone who works, may you always work with love as the goal. God bless laborers today and always.