Expressing Our Faith

My parents were some of the most faithful believers I ever knew. I was so fortunate to be raised in a Christian home. Church was the top priority in our family's life. Nearly everything my parents did was connected to the church or their faith. Much of their belief was expressed through music.

All of my life, and many years before it, my parents were a musical team. Mom played the piano for Dad as he sang. For years they expressed their faith by singing and playing for others: specials at church, at weddings and funerals, and even with groups of others as quartets or for community events. Sometimes Dad and Mom sang a duet. Our family gatherings usually ended up around the piano at some point, singing together. Memories of those moments are cherished in my heart.

Not everyone has musical talents but our faith can be shared in other ways, too. I've often said that my sisters used up all the musical talent before I was born and there was none left for me. For many years I felt unworthy of being in our musical family. But eventually I realized that God has given us all different talents.

"We constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ," (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV).

Heavenly Father, thank you for making us all individuals with an assortment of gifts and abilities. Lead us today in using those gifts to bring glory to Your Name and to bless others. We thank You in Jesus' Name, Amen.

We Remember

"I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy," ( 2 Timothy 1:3-4 NIV).

Memorial day is a day to remember, and there is so much to remember. It's a day to remember and give thanks for the many servicemen and women who have protected our rights around the world so unselfishly. Those who put their lives on the line for our freedoms. Those who kept the battles out of our neighborhoods on soil that wasn't ours. Those who died or were injured so severely that they still carry the symbols of war on their bodies. Thank you for your bravery and sacrifice.

Memorial day is a day to remember our family members who have gone before us. A sad day to cherish their lives and long for the day we'll be reunited. My parents and brother are remembered first with such great love and longing. But each of us have our own memorials to honor today, broken-hearted and lonely. Family members are missed and the love for them continues to be strong no matter how long they have been gone. A token flower bush on the grave says so little of the love and loss we still feel.

Memorial day is a day to remember our forefathers who bravely moved out to the prairies of Iowa to establish a home and farms to feed their families. They also created churches and organized worship that has remained strong throughout the years. The pioneers who made their way though vast wilderness and beauty and needed to worship God and thank Him for the blessings he entrusted on their lives.

We remember.

Looking Back

Today is the 1,000th Gloria's Glimpses blog. I was interested to see what my first blog was like, so I looked it up and I have copied it below. I began writing the blog on Thursday, June 26, 2014. Wow, I didn't realize I've been doing this for 10 years.

Too often I take for granted the opportunity I have in writing a blog. I am always inspired by God and I give Him the glory for anything that touches the heart of a reader. My first blog was an introduction to Gloria's Glimpses. I have modified the blog over the years to include a scripture reference. It has been fun and challenging through the years. Who knew I had so much to say!

New Beginnings

Welcome to my blog. This is a work in progress as I begin to gather and post collections of my writing to share with others.

Since childhood I wanted to be a writer and the dream came true when I was hired by my hometown, weekly newspaper in 1990. I was fortunate to have a caring boss who mentored me for several years as I learned the ins and outs of news media and writing in a small town. By year five the learning bug bit hard and I enrolled in the local community college taking all the English and media related courses possible, plus the requirements I needed for an Associates in Arts degree.

I soon gave up my newspaper job and focused on my education. Earning my AA degree in Dec. 1996 and my BA degree in Dec. 1998 with a major in Journalism and Mass Communication with a minor in English. Fortunately, I was hired as a supervisor of media relations at Iowa Valley Community College District where I worked for 12 years.

My passion is for sharing stories that strengthen the reader's faith or encourage exploring his or her spiritual or emotional journey in life. I write inspirational nonfiction in several formats and hope to bless you with a tidbit of positivity when I share a blog.

Thanks for reading and if by chance something touches your heart I would truly appreciate hearing from you. Thanks for joining me on this journey.

 

The impetus for Gloria's Glimpses came from Paul's letter to the Romans.

"I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith," (Romans 1:11-12 NIV).

Lord God, thank You for the friends I have made along this journey. I am so blessed. Please continue to use me as a beacon of Your light to others, and touch my heart with the encouragement of others. I love You, Lord, and I thank You for loving us always. Amen.

 

Seeking Hope

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. I am more familiar with mental illness than I'd like to be. I have suffered with chronic depression for more than 40 years. Once I was diagnosed I went through months of evaluation, trials of medication, a suicide attempt, hospitalizations, and intensive psychotherapy. 

It has been challenging to get to the point I am at now. There have been many ups and downs through the years, including a month of ECT treatments. There were side effects to deal with and changes of doctors to endure. I am so thankful for my family standing by me through it all. John has been a saint!

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) provides help and hope to millions of Americans including a helpline (1-800-950-6264) and a crisis text (988) that is available 24/7. The local division is at namiiowa.org (515-254-0417). This year's campaign is "Take the Moment" that "encourages individuals to prioritize and talk about their mental health without feeling guilty or ashamed."

The one thing that has helped me through all the difficulties is my faith in God. It is the only thing that has remained constant. I have prayed and prayed for help more times than I could count. One scripture that touches my heart and mind is:

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:1-3 NIV). 

Thank You, God, for being my Rock, steadfast and trustworthy and constant. I pray for others who struggle with mental illness and may not seek help, especially those who are homeless. May Your light shine upon them and bring healing. I pray in the holy name of Jesus. Amen.

Fellowship

I love spending time in a community of believers. Sometimes it is with a group Bible study. Sometimes it is with a gathering of like-minded friends. The fellowship between believers is always rewarding. I receive insight and encouragement from others and often find that we share common thoughts and questions.

That happened for me yesterday when I met with a group of about 20 women. Our study was on messing up as a Christian. We all admitted that we experienced times when our actions or thoughts didn't follow our teaching as believers. That we sometimes try to tell God the best way to do things. (Ha!) Or how we think things should go. But then we also ask for God's will to be done, contradicting ourselves in the same prayer. 

Believers need each other. We need to hear the insights that others have figured out. We need to be held accountable or corrected at times, too. In fellowship, we support one another and create a stronghold of faith. I envision a circle of women, locked in arms, in prayer. What a wonderful image of fellowship.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal," (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV).

Lord, thank You for friends of faith. Thank You for creating a fellowship of believers to strengthen us when we are weak. Open our eyes to the blessings we experience through friendships and Christian fellowship. We know You are the true source of all strength and wisdom. Help us see the unseen that is eternal. We pray in Christ's name, Amen.

Snapshots of Life

When I worked at the small town newspaper, one of my jobs was to take photographs. At that time we also developed the film in the dark room and made photos that we laid out on the newspaper pages. This was shortly before everything was done on computers. 

Most of my experience taking pictures came from family, especially children and grandchildren. When they were babies, I couldn't take enough photos. Every smile or facial expression was photo-worthy. I have 25 of the big photo binders (3-inches wide) in my office alone. There are more downstairs. Plus thousands of pictures saved on my computer since 2016. 

There are hundreds of vacation pictures of beautiful scenery we have viewed. Plus hundreds of sheep pictures, especially when the grandchildren began showing sheep at fairs and open shows. I spent hours sitting on bleachers waiting for the classes our grandchildren were entered in.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"" (Isaiah 52:7 NIV).

Lord God Almighty, Creator of all things beautiful, thank You for the amazing earth that surrounds us. Thank You for the treasures in pictures and in our memories. Make us aware of the beauty that is around us today and give You all praise and glory for what we see. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Motherhood

Fifty years ago my son Brent was born and I became a mother. I was young, only 18, but I'd been around my nieces and nephews all my life. Still, to see the tiny baby I was now responsible for was an eye-opening experience. I chose to bottle feed him - probably the worst decision I ever made - but nursing wasn't a thing back then. Unless you wanted to go against the flow - not me, back then.

As I look back I believe if I had nursed Brent he would have been a much happier baby. Instead, he was colicky and cried and cried and cried. As he grew up he developed asthma and allergies. It was a rough start to motherhood. But, he was the cutest little toddler with long blonde curls.

"To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children." (Genesis 3:16 NIV).   "Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living," (Genesis 3:20 NIV).

Five years after Brent was born, his brother Brady was born. I chose to nurse him and he was a happy baby. Motherhood was an experience in contrasts for me. The boys are completely different but I love them both so much. I feel very blessed to be a mother.

John and I have both lost our mothers. We cherish our memories of those beautiful women in our lives.

Lord, I ask You to bless all of the mothers with a beautiful Mother's Day. Thank You for Your plan for families and the precious gift of our mothers. Amen.

Seeds In Good Soil

Spring is such a joyous time. Everything is so green! Perennial plants are popping through the ground in all their glory, anticipating the blooms that will come soon. Farmers wait patiently this spring for their grounds to dry enough for planting. They won't complain about the wait because they are so thankful for the moisture after the dry years behind us.

We planted a tiny patch of zinnia seeds again this year because they brought us so much joy last year. We aren't doing tomatoes in our raised bed this year because they have to be watered every day. The zinnias are in the ground this year, unlike the picture from a couple years ago in a pot.

"But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown," (Matthew 13:23 NIV).

Lord, may You open our hearts to Your Word and guide us to those who need to hear about You. Help us plant seeds of faith in others and nurture them in the days to come. Thank You for the rich soil that surrounds us and for the farmers who faithfully cultivate the land. Keep them safe during this planting season and bless their crops, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

The Great Shepherd

Our youngest grandson and granddaughter (ages 11 and 13) are learning to show lambs. It has been six years since the Stewarts showed lambs. We thought that it was the end of an era when our oldest grandson and two granddaughters had very successful years at the Iowa State Fair. But no, the tradition continues in a different state and on a different farm with different grandchildren and different sheep. 

Most of you know we lived on an acreage where we raised show lambs, before moving to Ankeny. We sold our flock of 50 sheep, and lock, stock and barrel (which was more sheep stuff than you could ever imagine). We moved to be closer to our younger son and his family on an acreage near Granger. He had a shed for enough show lambs for his oldest two daughters and his nephew to compete on the show lamb circuit and exhibit in 4-H and FFA at the county and state fairs for two years.

Then a job opportunity arose and that family moved to North Carolina, then Virginia and then Arkansas. Those were sheep-less years for the Stewart's. 

Since we started showing sheep in about 1983, (with a couple of ordinary farm lambs), knowing nothing about 'show' sheep, I developed an obsession with sheep. I just love the portrayal of Jesus as the Good Shepherd of the sheep (you and me).

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen." (Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV). 

And Amen.