Begin with the sun rising over the forest…..

Add some time with this guy……

Mix in this warm deliciousness (in our new mugs)……

Cover with a warm blanket as we watch the sunrise together……..

Ahhhh…….My favorite kind of morning! It just doesn’t get much better than this!

I just finished reading “The Beginner’s Guide to Signs, Wonders and the Supernatural“, by James Goll. Because I’m a teacher, any title using the word “Guide” captures my attention and beckons me to explore it. And my exploration has left me pleasantly surprised. The Forward, by Bill Johnson, Senior Pastor of Bethel Church, Redding, California, states he believes the book is a “miracle in that it was written in the midst of the greatest crisis of the author’s life: the loss of his wife to cancer.”

This fact alone, caused me to want to read on; for I knew the author must have great depth of character to continue a project even while his heart was breaking. Johnson says, “While many would challenge God at this point concerning His goodness, or become embittered because of such horrible personal trials, James continued to pour out on these pages what has taken him decades of faithful service to learn; that God is always good, He is accessible, and that all believers can live like Jesus. As a result, we have a textbook on living in the supernatural, all the time.”

Throughout the book, Goll establishes foundations that draw our hearts to the Word of God, and to intimate fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Central to his teaching is the Cross of Christ. While presenting Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, he writes: “If I am going to boast in something, I want to boast in the significance and power of the cross. Jesus’ cross is central to our salvation.”

Goll highlights the Holy Spirit’s function at the time of creation as that of “brooding” or “hovering” over the earth . Something, Goll believes, He is still doing in this present age! He states, “The creative life of the Spirit broods over His own people, energizing them in special ways, more diverse and numerous than we can comprehend, bringing heavenly light to earthly darkness. From the beginning, the Spirit has desired to find those through whom He could manifest Himself.”

The author’s personal insights into the supernatural realm and his obvious, deep relationship with the Holy Spirit bring a challenge to each one who will read this book with an open heart. The following excerpt states it well:

“God is ministering the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit to those who hunger for Him and honor Him. Give Him free reign. Ask for more of His Spirit. May He hover over you and bring His order out of your life, making it a supernatural, God-infused life.”

Many more insights and challenges await anyone seeking to know and understand how to live naturally supernatural! It’s a great read!

Small vases filled with beautiful flowers, trays laden with towels, bath oils, lotions, and the lovely scent of lavender greeted us as we entered our overnight guest room. I knew our friend had taken great time and care to create this inviting atmosphere, and in an instant it ushered us into such warmth and welcome! Within moments the years melted away and our hearts connected as if we had never been apart. My sister and I had come to spend time with dear friends who recently re-located from a distant city to a cozy university town not far from our city! What a wonderful start to our visit!

We talked….oh how wonderful it was to sit and talk! We caught up on each others families, our loved ones activities and especially our spiritual journeys. We laughed and we cried, but most of all we loved! Loved how God had worked in each others lives over these many years apart, and loved each other more as we shared the good times and the bad! I found it to be a small taste of heaven on earth!

Our visit was short, but oh-so-sweet! As we drove away, I watched as she and her husband stood arm and arm and waved good bye to us. An overwhelming sense of gratitude filled my heart as I realized ……. though many years had passed, we were still deeply connected and our friendship had remained strong. Who would have thought one lovely day together could bring such refreshing to our souls!

Throughout our time together one thought continued to bombard my mind…….friendships are a treasure! They are gifts to our lives and are to be honored ……for they reflect the very heart of God!

As I write this post I find myself hoping you, who read my blog, have friends such as this in your life. True friendships really are gifts given to us by God.

Please take a moment and share what you enjoy about your own friendships! I would love to know…..because I want to learn from you, and cultivate this area in my life!!

Don’s Great Aunt Beryl went to be with Jesus on Father’s Day this year and Don was asked to deliver her eulogy for the funeral. Before I tell you what he and others shared, I must mention his aunt was a woman who never desired to be in the spotlight. In fact, she strongly objected when forced to be the center of attention. She definitely wouldn’t like this post being about her!

At the funeral Don related a story when at age five he stayed with Aunt Beryl and Uncle Erv. He recalled going with them to do their morning chores, returning for breakfast and after breakfast kneeling down with them for a time of prayer! Aunt Beryl’s son David confirmed this time of kneeling for prayer was a part of his everyday life and Beryl continued it until kneeling became too difficult for her as she grew older.

A friend and pastor of a nearby church delivered the sermon for her funeral. Somewhere in the middle of his sermon he told us how he and his family lived in the county where Beryl’s little church was located, and how he had been, (what he called himself) a “hellion”, in his teenage years. Then one day he began to feel badly about the way he was living, and started thinking about God. Within a short period of time he gave his life to Jesus and started coming to Beryl’s church. Soon after his conversion his entire family turned to Jesus and they too began attending the same church. One Sunday after service, while talking with Aunt Beryl, she conveyed how happy she was about his and his family’s salvation, and how she and Erv had knelt and prayed every day (for quite some time) for his family to come to Jesus!

My heart jumped as I realized the man giving her funeral sermon was a direct result of Beryl’s prayers! She may never have desired the spotlight, but it was very clear her prayers effectively brought the light of Jesust into other people’s lives!

As this realization soaked in, I wondered…..who would be standing there preaching this sermon if she hadn’t prayed? And then the pastor interrupted my thoughts with some similar questions….. “Who will step up and be the “Beryl” who knelt and prayed for lost families like mine?” “Who will fill her place of prayer?”

“Will you……?”

Don's Great Aunt Beryl's Church where her funeral was held. It was a packed house that day!!

Presently, in our city we hear continuous reports noting the flood conditions along the Missouri River. Many people have lost or are preparing to lose their homes due to the rising river. Last week my husband and I traveled to another part of our state and were saddened to find that this landscape too, was covered with water. In this case, the culprit was not the release of water from Gavins Point Dam, but heavy rains over many days, Where crops should have been growing, acres of water appeared instead. Loss and destruction could be seen in every direction.

We live far enough from the Missouri River that our home will be untouched by this flood, however our hearts are deeply touched as we daily watch reports of this disaster. Farmers explain how their land will not be the same because the debris and sand bars of the Missouri River will be left in their fields when the waters recede in a few months. Their soil will not be as lush as it was prior to the flooding, and could take several years before it recovers enough to yield a harvest.

People standing on the Pedestrian Bridge over the Missouri River gasp as they witness decks and porches of others’ homes being carried past them on the rapid current. The home of one of our friends, is located beside the Missouri River, and she daily battles the fear of losing her house should the dikes give way. These and countless other shocking images and stories keep us mindful of the suffering and pain others are facing.

And then amidst the sadness of this season, there are those who tell inquiring reporters how they are grateful for their lives, and grateful they could find a place to live for the next few months, grateful they had time to pack up and leave, grateful for their friends and neighbors who pitched in and helped them. Grateful to God they are alive. Grateful they have each other, even if they don’t have “things” anymore. Grateful for the efforts of those who tried to help save their businesses from being washed away….. and on and on they speak of being grateful! I marvel at the gratitude of their hearts and the resilience of their spirit!

Gratitude!

It seems to be an effectual tool!

It lifts the spirit!

It encourages the heart!

To be grateful in a time of pain and suffering….is hard!

But, if we will honestly look for them…..

If we will find them…….

and speak them…..

and hold onto them……

these reasons to be grateful

We will rise above whatever floods we face!

I frequently read a great blog by my friend Joy, and today she has a new blog site! It’s a lovely and thoughtful birthday gift from her husband who understands his wife’s love for writing and for her three boys…! You can check it out right here.

Often on Joy’s blog she mentions a book that has changed her life called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. I have yet to read the book, but have started making “the list”. This list, according to the author, is born out of seeing the goodness of each moment of life and being grateful for it. In my life I have found that gratitude changes me from the inside out. And I always want to be changing!

Joy’s making her list of 1,000 things she’s grateful for (it’s on her lovely new site too)….and now I’m starting mine. Simply thinking on instances I’ve experienced today and being grateful for them, is causing my heart to be filled with gladness and joy…things like, time with our soon-to-be-daughter-in-law and her parents, wooded lanes and an old barn, new friends, wedding plans and quietness.

Below is a trailer that will make you want to read the book — it certainly had that effect on me. I hope you will sit back, relax and drink in the beauty of its message. It speaks to a place in our heart created by God — a place that calls for us to enjoy the gift of the moment!

Don’s first Sunday as a new pastor, was also the first day after our first child (Dan) was born! Change doesn’t adequately describe what was happening to us!

While our pastor was passing the baton to Don, I was in the hospital getting to know our little b0y and learning to care for his needs. As Daniel nestled in my arms, I should have been feeling contented. Instead a sense of apprehension seemed to be hanging over me. The doubts weren’t about raising our baby. They were concerns about the new responsibility and the challenges we would be facing. On one hand I felt honored the pastor and congregation believed in my husband and me, and on the other hand this assignment felt like a heavy weight I wasn’t quite prepared for at this point in time.

It was incredulous that our first steps into parenting were occurring at the same moment we were to start taking care of His flock! Only God could have designed such timing. It took many years of reflecting on this before I finally realized what (I’m sure) God would have loved for me to have seen at the time…

These two colliding experiences were really one lesson!

We became parents the day our baby was born, but the work of parenting our little boy would require getting to know who he was, what temperament, talents, gifts and personality God had given him and what God’s purpose and plans were for his life. With these things in mind God could then help us mold and shape him, and help move him towards the plan and purpose God had for his life.

Pastoring the people of God needed to look the same! We were to mirror these parenting aspects — Know our flock, understand them, love them, serve them and then help them step into the plans and purposes God had for them!

Funny how truth and time can make cloudy things clear!

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“Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,  so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.”   I Thess. 2:7-8 NIV