The Afternoon of Life

It's the first day in the first month of a brand new year.  I kissed my way in to the New Year so incredibly in love with my husband and happy with the life we share.  It's not a perfect life, but I have learned to be content with most of it.  I can do that because when things aren't perfect, or at least the way I think they should be, God is near.  He promised He'd not forsake me.  "Be content with such things as you have.  For God has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."  My children learned that verse 20 years ago.  I had to put it to music to help them memorize it for AWANA.  So it's been tucked away in my heart for at least that long and I've just begun this past year to understand the truth of it.  Life really isn't about what you don't have...it's all about what you do have and Who provided it for you.  Learning to be satisfied with His gifts brings peace and joy...and contentment...to life.  While my material blessin

Because I stayed home from church yesterday, Dan brought me the sermon on CD...and he was right.  It was another great sermon.  This one should help you if you are evaluating your life as the New Year approaches.  Be blessed! Seasons Brad Preston December 26, 2010 Sawyer Evangelical Church Every year around this time we say goodbye to an old year.    Remember the movie “2001 A Space Odyssey” and we thought that was so futuristic.   The world has changed a lot - but guess what?   God is still in control, and He has a plan not only for the world but He also has plans for us as individuals.   From the beginning, God established the world in such a way that we go through seasons.   This takes place in nature.     God also in our lives takes us through seasons in our marriages, in our education, in our spiritual life, in our occupations, in every aspect of our life because that’s the way He’s established it for all of life since the very beginning.   People have been talking about the s

I wonder why illness makes us more thoughtful.  My mind tends to spin when I'm not feeling well...and this morning I am NOT feeling well.  But it's not the kind of illness that's kept me bed-ridden, so I found myself sitting quietly in my living room, enjoying a morning cup of coffee (mixed with hot chocolate...mmmmmm).  I was reading a new scrapbooking manual I'd received.  As I went to turn the page I looked out the window and discovered it was snowing...and for a few brief minutes I was mesmerized.  Suddenly I was my mother.  I've seen her do this so many times.  She'll be in her robe, drinking her coffee...and suddenly her mind slips somewhere else.  You can see in her face that she's not in this moment...that she's in some other moment.  I was there this morning, sitting in my rocker...book lying in my lap...coffee cup held close to my chest...staring at the snowfall.  I found myself thinking that snowfall has "personalities".  This morni

Pastor Brad concluded this year's series "The Miracle in the Mess" with a message of hope and peace...a message that came to earth in the form of a tiny baby who was the Only Source for true Hope and Peace.  The politics of Jesus' day were not favorable to His coming...they were not receptive to His arrival...they would eventually put Jesus to death...and even more, they would put believers to death.  Roman rule was completely contrary to the coming of a King.  Since the time of Joshua - when the Hebrews entered the Promised Land of Canaan - they'd been in captivity.  Their captivity was the result of disobedience when entering the Promised Land.  They had been instructed to destroy every living thing and they decided they knew better than God and that God must surely not have meant to destroy it all.  By allowing the enemy to remain, they would tie themselves to captivity...even till recent times.  And the battle for their homeland still remains a battle today

I really don't remember having a birthday last year.  My daughter told me tonight that while lying in bed I ate some birthday cake with her.  Why can't I remember that?  Is it because I'm getting old?  Or is it because God has been helping to block the painful memories of last year from my mind?  I was sooooo sick at this time last year....bald as a baby's butt.....wasn't eating much because nothing had flavor (except tomatoes)... and sleeping, sometimes for days at a time.  I'd been in the hospital in the middle of November for much-needed blood transfusions...I would go to the hospital for more transfusions before December ended.  I just don't recall much of it.  It all seems like a dream now.  But I do remember then that it felt like a nightmare and I thought I needed to resign myself to never feeling good again...never having energy.  But God is still in the miracle business and used the doctors and nurses at Roswell to heal my body...and He continued wo

                                                     Once again the pastor's sermon could not have hit home more directly.  I had to smile as he began preaching.  I had just lamented to my husband last week that I was "worried" about our upcoming property tax bill.  I see no way we can pay it.  I keep trying to think back to last December when we were in the same position...and at the end of the month not only had the bill been paid, but we had money left over!  Oh, me of little faith...why can't I just rest in the Lord.  You'll understand why the following sermon just sort of felt like a hug from God...and a reminder that I still have a long way to go in trusting Him unconditionally.  You'd think that would be easy with a God who loves me unconditionally! We were reminded that every miracle starts with a mess and Joseph and Mary were certainly in the midst of a financial mess.  They were literally living a hand-to-mouth existence.  Bethlehem was one of the

How blessed we are to continue to get such fresh messages from Pastor Brad?  This week's sermon, the second in the "Mess" series, was titled "The Joseph & Mary Miracle".  One of the things I love about Brad's sermons is that he is helping us to "see" Bethlehem and that manger as they really were...not the Christmas card picture...but the "real" picture.  We're introduced to Mary in Luke 1, starting with the 26th verse.  We hear her side of the story about the conception of Jesus.  We see her willingness and submission to the message the angel brings.  Brad pointed out that she was "fretting" over the events...wondering how it could happen since she was a virgin.  Meanwhile, back at the farm, in Matthew 1:18-25 we learn that Joseph, in the midst of all the turmoil is (gasp) snoring away.  But when the angel comes to Joseph, he responds in obedience and continues to be Mary's betrothed, giving up his plans to discree

Yesterday our pastor preached a sermon that was such a wonderful new touch to the Christmas story.  The title of his message was "The Miracle in the Mess".  He shared that the first Christmas was a mess!  It included an unexpected pregnancy, unprecedented experiences, unscheduled visitors, unavoidable threat, unwelcome arrivals, unfamiliar territory and an uncertain future.  He's going to do a series in the next four weeks, all related to that first Christmas.  The next three weeks he'll talk about the matrimonial mess, the money mess and the military mess.  But yesterday he talked about the "Mute Mess"...and that prior to Christ's arrival God had been silent for 400 years.  He shared that after that long period of silence many folks weren't listening for the right kind of noise.  He shared that the first Christmas was not the absence of noise, but a turning of the heart to the right noise...and that it's not the absence of noise in our lives but

One of the biggest advantages I've found in the afternoon of my life is the blessing of friendship.  My dear sister-at-heart, Pam, gives me so much strength and encouragement...and has helped to inspire my creative side a bit.  We got together Saturday and I made some "quickie" cards from embellishments I purchased from a nearby WalMart on sale.  I also embellished one card with turkeys and leaves cut from my Cricut with the cartridge my precious friend bought for me!  I just love fall...love the colors...love the things start slowing down a bit...love the spirit of Thanksgiving that cannot be ignored (how I wish I didn't ignore it all the rest of the year...especially since I have so much to be grateful for).  The cards above are a sample of what I'll be sending out this fall...still have more to put together. I've been pondering the things I'm thankful for and the list is too long to put it all here.  But there are some very notable things, I believe,

Life certainly isn't dormant...it's ever-changing.  I've crossed the 50-yard line and I'm discovering that the afternoon of life can be a blessing...or it can be filled with great sadness.  The blessings...(1)  I no longer have to "prove" myself to anyone (apparently 50+ gives you the clout you always wanted).  (2) If I want to slow down a little it's accepted.  I no longer feel the need to be superwoman! (3)  The children are all leaving home which means a little more time for me for the first time in 25 years!  (4)  Grandchildren!!!  Maybe this should be the first blessing because it's just so huge.  Is there anything better than little boy sugar and giggles and dancing...and I have 4 little guys under the age of 3 to fill my days...and a new grandbaby coming next summer.  The blessings just continue. But it's not all blessing...there's a "time to mourn" that I never had before.  I lost my dad a little over a month ago.  Although