Confident Assurance

I must have seen a hundred hawks along the highway to and from Nebraska. As well, I probably saw a dozen flocks of migrating geese. When two cars are traveling together there is not the grace for stopping to get a photo of a bird. So....I gave many thanks for the fact that I had a digital camera that could delete the 50 blurry shots I took on the fly, so to speak. But I kept taking those shots as we sped down the highway, having the confident assurance that I would finally get a clear shot of a hawk and a flock! That confident assurance is living by faith. It is the best possible attitude to have. It is believing.

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What is faith? It is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen. It is the evidence of things we cannot yet see.
Hebrews 11:1

His Goodness Continues

After living through newborn babies, tight budgets, adolescents and teenagers, it is a wonder we have any money or energy left when our children finally leave the nest. Then the amazing thing happens...your children have children of their own. Our younger daughter has Charlie and Faith, and now our older daughter Amy is pregnant with our third grandchild!!! It is amazing how looking forward to a new generation that energy and courage are restored!

I asked one of my daughters if she could believe I went downhill head first with Faith on my back. Remembering that I took a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon not too long ago, she replied that she just didn't know who I was anymore. My fear of heights is virtually gone and my risk taking is increasing. It is true that God restores our youth again when seen through grandchildren and knowing life is limited. It is time to reckon with getting the gusto out of life...to get out there and do new things, going deeper in walks of faith and courage... and take some new roads. Be brave! Take courage! Go forth with living and loving abundantly!

But the other side of the road less traveled is the road of lovely traditions that have been traveled joyfully with expectancy in previous generations, and now are being passed on to the next. What a smile it brought to our faces to see Charlie get great satisfaction from splashing through a puddle, and later standing by the great snowman he and his mother built. It was so wonderful to watch Aunty Karen have the advent calender ready to decorate by the grandkids. She also had a gingerbread house ready to make beautiful with candies and frostings. Then came the sugar cookies to frost and decorate. The passing of the traditions spoke to me of how God's goodness continues, and how wonderful it is to see the generations be able to share such celebrations with each other.
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He satisfies me with good things and makes me young again, like the eagle.
Ps. 103:5

But the LORD's love for those who respect him continues forever and ever,
and his goodness continues to their grandchildren...
Ps. 103:17

A Strong Right Hand

It was the second time on Friday that we went sledding. The first time, in the front yard, we all got soaked pants, mittens, and coats. The grandkids were in towels while their pants were drying when a few of us came back with news of another great hill across the street on campus. We didn't know if they would be interested in getting all wet again so soon. But the opportunity, with warmer weather forecasts the the following days, was a small window to get into the snow again. They were troopers as we walked carrying our snow discs to find the hill again.

The campus hill was a bit steeper, and harder to climb up, but Charlie was a trooper. He was exhausted, but didn't want to quit sliding down the hill. His Aunty Karen extended her right arm and told him to hold onto the rope, and she would pull him up. His imagination was fired, and he BELIEVED he could be helped by that imaginary rope.

"Hold on and I'll pull you!" is a pretty strong encouragement to any of us when we are tired and discouraged. I contend that the rope wasn't imaginary at all. It was a spiritual rope stronger than any other kind. It is available to all of us to grab ahold, and extend it to each other.

I am so fired in the spirit to see my grandson be able to accept that rope and be helped up the hill by someone who cared enough to extend the hand and model an important lesson. It blessed me that he just knew the rope was there! We don't stop needing that strong right hand just because we are not kids anymore in age. We are all God's children.
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A phrase from the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous comes to mind that refers to beginning to trust God and have a relationship with Him:

What seemed at first to be a flimsy reed, has proved to be the loving and powerful hand of God.
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The Big Big Book says:

Don't be afraid, for I am with you...I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10

Got Your Back

We drove into Crete on streets of ice on Christmas Day. The next morning, the icing on the cake, was that the hilly yard was covered with snow. The neighbors graciously loaned us some discs to do some front yard sledding. We bundled up with boots and mittens to experience the wonderful white stuff of the North. Oh, what giggles and gaffs as we discovered and rediscovered the joys of playing in the snow!

Our grandbabies, native Texans, rarely get to experience snow. They were wild-eyed and unstoppable as we found different places and ways to take off. It was interesting to watch the dynamics of having each others' backs. Someone needed to be at the top to launch the rider with a push. If tandem, the back rider needed to hold on tight! If steep, as the Doane Campus hill was, there needed to be catchers at the bottom so the sledders didn't end up in the creek just past the mud and melting snow at the end of the run.

As one section of front yard was losing quality, we began to scope out other possibilities. One such hill looked to be promising, but the ice on top crunched with weight and left the sledder (me) stranded. My grandson, Charlie, had my back and came down to give me a little push. I will never forget the love and grace of that moment. As well, I will not forget the joy of Faith holding on tight as I steered head first down the hill with her on my back.

It is good in life to know somebody has got your back. There are those devastating times, even with close family, that it is apparent no one does. It is also heartbreaking in a saving grace sort of way when you realize someone has shown up and said,
"YOU ARE WORTH IT!" and has got your back. They have seen you are beaten up, or headed for a crash, or abandoned; and they show up to right your rudder, to give you a nudge, to catch you when you are speeding out of control, to just surround you with a big hug.

God has his arms around us. He always says "YOU ARE WORTH IT!" Jesus died for us, every one of us, when we were yet sinners, when we were yet to be born. He gives us pushes and nudges, He invites us to experience the fullness of life. He wants us to hold on tight as he steers. He catches us at the bottom of hills. He is in control even when we are out of control. And Jesus knows, more than anyone ever in human skin, what it is to not have anyone have your back. Or to expose your back to lashing by all humanity in the name of love. The good news?...

We can trust Him...He is trustworthy. He has our backs... He wants our hearts. He is crazy about each one of His kids!
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The LORD is on my side; I will not fear; what can man do unto me? Ps. 118:6

The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. Ps. 118:14

The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me. Ps. 116:6

He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great. The LORD shall increase you more and more, you and your children. Ye are blessed of the LORD which made heaven and earth. Ps. 115:13-15

It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. Ps. 118:8

Blowin' in the Wind

A few of my favorite things to photograph are old barns and windmills. I saw many old windmills in varying states of disrepair as we traveled through Kansas and Oklahoma on the way to Nebraska. But in the distance I got blown away by the beauty of several wind generators on the horizon. They were spinning against the blue skies as they did their lovely dance with the help of the wind. Is it not amazing how God stirs our minds to create windmills of different kinds to use for harnessing energy?

I am often a bit sad when I see a barn or windmill abandoned and forgotten, past its usefulness. With the influx of new energy technology there will come a day when a youngster asks what a windmill was. As you can see in the fourth picture, the old and the new are on the same hill. The old shall pass away, the new has come. Who stirs the breeze? His name is blowin' in the wind, crashing on the waves, and cried out by the rocks.
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And they were filled with awe and fear of him and said to one another, "Who is this man, that even the winds and waves obey him?" Luke 8:25