Striving for Perfection

I've been watching the Olympics. I love the Olympics. I am amazed by the preparation of the athletes. How many hours of practice and competition have they endured to reach the Olympics? The commitment and dedication the athletes have to their sport is overwhelming. What drive! What desire they have to be the best! 

Perfection. That's what they all strive for. A perfect score from the judge is their goal. To do their very best and perform perfectly. What a heavy burden they carry! And what happens if they come up short to their visualization and imaging? One athlete has revealed to the world that striving for perfection can be too much to carry. All the expectations of the world rested heavy on Simone Biles' shoulders.

Many of us strive for perfection in our own lives. Everything must be perfect. The meal. The car. The decorating. The garage. The work we do. Even the playing must be perfect. But what does the Bible say about being perfect?

"We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check," (James 3:2 NIV).

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows," (James 1:17 NIV).

Only God is perfect. We can achieve perfection on tasks or even one single competition but rarely can we perform to the level of total perfection. Never does man act with perfection throughout his life because we are human. Humans make mistakes. That's why God sent His Son - to wipe away our sins and carry them to the cross. Jesus was perfect. Not me. I'm a sinner who was saved by God's grace. Thank you, Jesus.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness," (Lamentations 3:21-23 NIV).

Good Morning. I love this scripture because I'm reminded of God's faithfulness to you and to me. His faithfulness is new every morning. That means today I wake up to a fresh, unencumbered day. If I could sing I would sing, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness".

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changes not, Thy compassions they fail not, As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided - Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided - Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided - Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!"

Thomas O. Chisholm wrote these words in 1923 with William M. Runyan writing the music. What a magical way to start the morning - singing this song of God's faithfulness to us. I hope you are familiar with this song and can let it run through your mind all day. May everywhere you look, you see God's great beauty. Blessings to each of you.

Special Pieces

We recently researched the care of old quilts and found out we were storing ours all wrong. I had our mid-1800's wool quilt in our cedar chest. Wrong, they say. It is best to spread an old quilt out on a guest bed when not in use. That way the weight is distributed evenly.

So, now we have it on display in a guest bedroom. It's kind of fun seeing it again. The quilt is made of wool, the most unusual thing about the quilt, I think. It is a hand-pieced and tied quilt made by one of the early Arney women and was brought to Iowa in a covered wagon. The Arney's settled near the Iowa River in Marshall County. This was my father's mother's family.

We acquired the quilt at my parent's farm auction. Bidding against us was an antique dealer from the East Coast. But, John was determined to get the quilt for me and he did. It isn't perfect; there are several holes probably from use and age. After all it is at least 171 years old.

"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse,"(Matthew 9:16 NIV).

I can't repair the holes in the quilt because I don't have any old wool. So we will enjoy it as it is, knowing my ancestors used it on the long cold nights in Iowa and on their way to Iowa. God allowed them to make the trip. I hope they would be happy to know the quilt is still admired by family.

Enjoying God's Creation

 Yesterday we went for a walk along the Neil Smith Trail near Saylorville Lake. We enjoyed the natural surroundings more than the neighborhood surroundings we usually walk in. It was a nice change. There was plenty of sunshine and some shade to enjoy. 

We appreciated the colorful wildflowers along the way and the dense forestry. I should have taken my phone for some pictures. The trail was busy with bikers and one dog walker. But what I enjoyed most was nature. To walk through the forest area was such a privilege. The grasshoppers bounced across the path and we saw an egret along the lake. The birds flew across the path a few times but they were mostly silent on the warm afternoon. 

Although the area of Saylorville is mostly man-made I'm glad they included natural elements like the wildflowers planted along the way. There were many boaters enjoying the water. 

We also drove near Big Creek and the beach was full of people as were all the shelter houses and play areas. People were out and about yesterday. The parking lot at Big Creek was packed. We saw a doe and her tiny baby cross the road between our car and another one. Glad they made it safely.

We are fortunate that we have areas where we can enjoy the outdoors, even though we live in town.

"Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made," (John 1:3 NIV).

Whether you enjoy your back yard nature or have to travel to a park, God's nature is all around us. We are so blessed to be able to experience the beauty of a field of tasseled corn or one of beans, also, just a short drive from anywhere in Iowa. What a blessing!

Collections

Somehow I have ended up with too many collections. I started out liking some things and all of a sudden I had an abundance of things. I've received some lovely things as gifts. I purchased many of the things as souvenirs from travels or as memorabilia. So here I am getting quite old and I have all this stuff that I love but I don't need. Now what do I do?

I have collections of cookbooks, crosses, cobalt blue glassware items, teapots, pitchers, crosses, and of course: sheep. They take up lots of space which I happen to have room for in this house but what do I do if we downsize again. I'm hoping the grandchildren will speak up and say they would like some of my things when I'm gone.

Isaiah warns: "When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols, save you! The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away," (Isaiah 57:13 NIV).

"To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind," (Ecclesiastes 2:26 NIV).

Both scriptures seem to convict me of gathering items and although I no longer feel possessive of the items I've collected, I was wrong to collect them all. They are things. Things I no longer need. Things that have become idols? I don't think they are idols to me but if collecting them makes them idols, then I am guilty. 

Lord, forgive me for choosing idols. Let me worship only You, God, and may these collections be only things of no richness or heavenly value. Help me to separate myself from these things. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Summertime

Good morning. The sun is peeking through, bringing hope for another wonderful summer day. The birds are quiet this morning as dawn breaks forth. The fields of corn and soybeans are growing tall, lush and green, appreciative of the rain we have received. "Summertime and the living is easy..." I'm not sure that is true of farming communities. There is hay to make, gardens to tend to, lawns to mow, weeds to spray, beans to walk and corn to detassel.

After experiencing our grandchildren's summer briefly, I think many of today's children are as busy as working parents with swimming lessons, play dates, camps, chores, golf and tennis lessons and walking dogs. They are learning a lot of life skills. I am amazed at how our daughter-in-law keeps up with the schedule and running non-stop through out her day. 

Summertime was different for me on the farm when I was growing up. I lived in the country without neighbors to play with. My sister was older so she helped my mother or had a job. I spent my days playing outside in the shed or barn, or out along the creek where I invented rock houses and play areas. I spent hours exploring our farm acres, having a wonderful time.

I had swimming lessons and church camp and 4-H projects to complete in time for the fair. It made running for my mother that I know she didn't like. Because she had so much gardening and canning to do. She spent hours out there weeding and picking and I was expected to help. I'd be given a bowl and sent to pick wild black raspberries located around the barnyard. Then there were tomatoes to pick and beans and peas, potatoes to dig and flowers to pick and enjoy. Each day was a new adventure.

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease," (Genesis 8:22 NIV).

Patience in Affliction

The Lord is teaching me about patience this summer. Thank you, Lord. On April 7, I got the first splint on my right hand to correct a ruptured tendon in my little finger. After six weeks I had a month of only a buddy strap around my little finger and the next finger. Then in early June I got the second splint called a Dynamic MCP Extension. That's where I am now. I'm thankful I can take the splint off at night and for aqua fitness class. 

Everyone thinks my hand splint looks painful, but it isn't. The apparatus is made to put pressure on the fingers, realigning them to where they belong. The rubber bands create the tension and the finger loops are connected through each of the disks. Everything is then connected to the molded red plastic base.

My fingers are free enough that I can use them to type and eat and most things I need to do. My hand in the splint doesn't fit in small spaces so that creates some difficulty, especially when I forget I have it on my hand.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer," (Romans 12:12 NIV).

This verse is most appropriate in my situation. I am joyful in the hope that the splint is doing good work on my hand. I am patient in my affliction and I am faithful and persist in prayer for others. I'm not good about praying for myself. God is good and the verses above are good to follow in all our trials. 

Thank you, God, for hearing our prayers. Let us always try to be joyful in our hope and patient in our afflictions. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Independence Day

We often take Des Moines' Second Avenue to the interstate from Ankeny and recently the Boy Scouts placed a huge flag that welcomes us to the city. It is perfect to celebrate July 4th, Independence Day in all its glory. We are called to celebrate our freedoms yesterday and today. How are you celebrating? What freedom are you most thankful for?

Jesus set us free from our sins when He went to the cross for us.
That's the freedom I'm most thankful for on this Independence Day. We are fortunate to have the freedom to practice our faith in America. I can't imagine living in a country where you can't be a Christian in public. So, I'm thankful for our American rights.

"To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free,"" (John 8:31-32 NIV).

We have the Word of God readily available to us in the Bible and we are free to read it. Let us cling to the truth that sets us free!

What's Real and True?

On Mother's Day 2020, my son Brent gave me a beautiful potted plant that included several small house plants and some pretty white artificial flowers. It grew well for a year and I realized the eight-inch pot wasn't going to work for the larger plants. So one sunny day I took the pot outside and found two other pots so I could transplant them into their own containers.  

I enjoyed getting my hands dirty as I divided the plants and repotted them. After I got them separated I brought them back in the house and found places for the three pots. Now, several weeks later I got to looking the plants over, looking for signs of distress but the only plant that showed any was the peace lily.
So, I got to wondering if some of the other plants were actually plastic because they showed no sign of shock. 

I can't tell if they are growing yet, either. So do you suppose I replanted plastic plants? I wonder. Surely I would have noticed if they didn't have any roots, don't you think? But then what would hold the plastic plants in the soil? Plastic roots?

Well, I guess only time will tell if my plants are real or not. The one pictured has two plants and I can't tell if they are real or plastic.

"We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true--even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life," (1 John 5:20 NIV).

At least I know that God is real and true, even if I can't tell if my plants are real.