The Boat

During a long drive home from my daughter's today, I had 7 hours to ponder the things I've been learning this week in my Bible study.  Thoughts swirled around in my head as I tried to imagine what it would have been like in the time of Noah.  I mean, how would it be if God told you to do something so outrageous, and told you that He was going to save only you and your family and a bunch of animals and wipe out all of the rest of  the life on earth?  We cannot even stand to think about the horrendous storms, flooding, and lives lost over on the East coast right now, let alone try to fathom such a devastating catastrophe as the great flood in Noah's time. Maybe some think this story is a metaphor, but I believe that every word of it is true.  It seems "easier" to think of it as a metaphor because then it doesn't seem quite so drastic.....some would say, "why would a good God do something like that?"  But when looked at in light of the WHOLE story of God, there are many truths to be found and applied in this absolutely amazing account in the Bible. In fact, this story points to the most essential truth to our faith as Christians.  This story points to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in more ways than I had known before today!

So.....I'm driving along the interstate and I'm thinking about Noah.  What made Noah so different from all of the other people in the world at the time?  Why did God choose to save only him and his family?  And why would God want to do such a drastic thing as the flood?  Genesis 6:5-6 says, the Lord saw how great the wickedness of man on earth had become...and He was grieved and His heart was filled with pain.  It's true, all of the evil in the world must still grieve God.....it's like how we feel when we see our kids making bad choices and the suffering it causes.  Sure, it angers and frustrates us, but mostly, it breaks our heart to see such hope dashed by careless decisions and rebellious acts.  God was greatly grieved.

Genesis 6:7 tells us that God decided to wipe mankind, whom He had created, off the face of the earth....men, animals, reptiles, and birds.  He was grieved that He had made them. Now, I don't think this means that things were beyond God's control, nor do I believe that God had hoped for something better but was unable to achieve it.  I believe He knew exactly what man would choose to do, but it still affected Him deeply.  

But Noah "found favor....he found grace...in the eyes of God". Gen. 6:8
Noah didn't EARN grace;  Noah FOUND grace in the eyes of God.

None of us can earn God's grace, but we all can find it.

Why did Noah find favor in the eyes of God?  Gen. 6:9 says that Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.  HE WALKED WITH GOD.
He was in step with the will of God...right?  I mean, when you walk with somebody, you are in step with them, not straying all over the place.  Noah followed God.  He walked so closely with God that He could see grace in the eyes of God.  The only way we can truly see grace in the eyes of God is if we are seeking it, and if we are staying close enough for Him to reveal it to us.  What stands between you and God?  What blocks the view of His FACE of GRACE?  I asked myself those questions as I drove along that long stretch of highway.....and I came up with lots of things.  Things that had mostly to do with selfishness.  MYSELF stands in the way between me and God's face of grace.  Either its selfish wants, or selfish things that I do that is blocking my view of His eyes.  God chose Noah....why has He chosen me?  I am not like Noah in any shape or form. My list of faults is too long to count, and just when I finally have victory over one thing, another thing trips me up.  What makes me different than anyone else? Why does He love ME?

 Isn't it true that we all are unworthy of His grace? What makes this world different from the world back in Noah's time?  I mean, it's still full of evil.

I ponder these questions as I am driving along, and I KNOW the answer..  It is one Word.  THE WORD.  JESUS. I have been saved only because of Jesus. Yes, it's true that we all are unworthy of God's grace. But because of Christ's death on the Cross, I have been saved by His grace. Jesus' death took the place of the death that we all deserve, so that we could be saved. 

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this, not from yourselves, it is the gift of God....Ephesians 2:8


Then the thought crosses my mind that the Ark was a housing for the saved.  The Ark separated Noah and his family from all of the rest of the life on earth. They were separated from death because of their faith.  They were literally encased in the protection of God. Being in the Ark is like BEING IN CHRIST!  

God told Noah exactly how to build the Ark.  The dimensions, how to seal it from the water, what supplies to take.....the whole deal.  Down to the last detail.  And Noah did not question God.  He did exactly what God told him to do.  Why?  Because he wanted to be saved?  Probably.  But he did it all because HE TRUSTED GOD.  Noah was saved because he trusted God's promise to save him. Noah had faith. Noah was housed in the boat of protection, even when the flood of disaster wiped out everything on earth, because he belonged to God and he trusted God enough to do what He said. He was faithful to God and God was faithful to him. 

God tells us what to do in order to be saved as well.  It's all written down....every last detail. 

ARE YOU IN THE BOAT? If not, what is stopping you?  The door is still open....it's not too late.  What things are flooding the ground all around you right now?  Financial stress?  Illness?  Broken relationships?  Death? The guilt of sin?  What seems to be drowning you right now?  Are you having trouble keeping your head above water?  If so, will you consider taking that Hand that is reaching out for you?  Come in out of the rain!  Enter in to the eternal safe place in Christ, because He already paid the price for all of the sin on earth so that when we come to Him with all of our junk and admit that we are unworthy of His grace, we can leave our sin at the door.  By faith, we can enter in to His salvation and walk with Him.  The flood waters of difficult circumstances are still going to come, but instead of drowning, those who are in Christ Jesus will be saved.

It's far too late at night to tell you about the rest of the story, but please check back again, because some really cool things happened on the rest of my drive home!  I have more HOPE for you! G'night.....love to you!
Kara

Praise is the beauty of a Christian

“Praise is the beauty of a Christian. What wings are to a bird, what fruit is to the tree, what the rose is to the thorn, that is praise to a child of God.” ~ Spurgeon                        
  
In the topsy-turvy busyness of time, I move from one thing to the next, checking off duties and events like I am banking a stack of accomplishments so that I can prove that I am worth something and have done something with my life.  When the day is done and someone asks, "what did you do today?" I want to have good solid goods to show.  But what really shows?  Does anyone really care as much as I do that I got the laundry done----all 6 loads---and the errands completed and the bills paid and the house cleaned and the family fed?  Sure, all of that is important, but what about it is lasting?  What comes of it all?

When my kids are all home and they start talking about the things they remember most, it always surprises me that it is the little things that meant so much to them.  It was those times when I put everything aside to play with them in their toy room, or when we made Christmas ornaments together, or when I let them make up stories before bed.  They remember the "good stuff".  Those are the things that last.

And what about our connections with others?  Who are the people that make the deepest impressions?  Are they the ones who brag about how much they get done in a day, or about how much they have accomplished in their lives?  To tell you the truth, those people intimidate me and make me feel small.  No, the ones who make the sweetest impressions on me are the ones who actually look you in the eye when you are talking to them.  The ones who value the moment.  The ones who shine with hope and who share the positive side of the maybe not-so-positive circumstances.  The people who, instead of praising themselves or their accomplishments, praise God for the "good stuff" in life.  It's those kind of people that are the most beautiful to me.  

Yes, there has to be a bird beneath the wings, a rooted tree connected to the fruit, and a thorny stem under the rose.....but what matters is the bird taking flight in the sunny blue sky, defying the pull of gravity and soaring freely as God intended it to do.

  What nourishes, is the ripe succulent fruit on the branch that took many days of light and dark to be formed and to grow sweet. 



 And what brings joy to the heart is the velvety petals of a rose, opening wide to the sun in it's own time and space and loveliness.   

Perhaps the only way that we can show true lasting beauty is when we defy the gravity of the burdens of life, and fly freely toward the eternal promises of God.  And maybe the best way to reach out and help others is by sharing the fruits of the Spirit growing stronger as we draw from the roots of God's love? And if we offer a lovely aroma of praise instead of the thorns of anger and frustration, maybe others would take time to stop and smell the scent of the goodness of God?

Oh, how I need to stay near to Beauty Himself, because without God, I'm a wingless bird, on a dead tree full of thorns!  I praise Him for creating us in His image and covering us with His cloak of righteousness so that His beauty can be seen instead!



   

Funky Chicken

FUNKY CHICKENS

OK~~~SO SHE'S NOT PRETTY, but how can you not smile when you see such a thing?! 
                      Maybe that's what it's all about?

I can remember when my husband first suggested we get some chickens.  Let's just say that I wasn't crazy about the idea!  I really wasn't!  So we didn't.  A few years later, as I was pulling into the driveway after a weekend at work in Billings, I saw a strange sight.  My husband was out on a ladder and there was an appendage happening on the back side of the horse shed.  "What?  Could it be that he was building a little storage shed for all of my Rubbermaid tubs full of stuff?  Oh~~maybe he is adding a place for all of those tools in the garage?  The lawn mower?"  All kinds of things ran through my head.  "I rolled down my car window and shouted out, "Hey!  Whatcha doin'?"  The look on his face was nothing but pure glee.  "Park the car!  I've got something to show you!"  Hmmmmmm.  I felt uneasy at this point~~~but that look on his face......

I slowly emerged from the car, not sure what I was in for.  "What are you doing?" ~  He was dancing around like a child  with a big secret that just can't be contained. "Come 'ere! You gotta see this!"

We headed in the direction of the garage, and again, that uneasy feeling came back, and I was thinking, "Oh, I hope he didn't buy a 4-wheeler or something~~~or a motorcycle~~~NOT A MOTORCYCLE!"

We entered the garage, and a funny smell was in the air~~~and a noise~~~WHAT WAS THAT NOISE?  It was like a distant little squeak~~~no wait~~~there were squeak(s)~~~plural!  Over in the corner was a circle of light.
  (Sounds almost heavenly doesn't it?!  A circle of light? )
Under that light was a little pen full of fuzzy little peeps.  OH NO!  NOT CHICKENS!  As I turned, (not in a happy way, I might add) to ask why, what, how~~I suddenly halted my frustration.  Scott was beaming like a proud daddy, gazing down at his little babes.  He looked SO HAPPY! 

He said, "they came in the mail just this morning! There wasn't a single dead one in the bunch!  Isn't it cool that they can mail these things?!"  I was just trying to grasp the fact that he actually had planned this little "surprise" ahead of time without my knowing it~~~let alone the fact that it was SO COOL that they came in the mail!  I just stood there dumbfounded and speechless.  I mean, there were CHICKENS in our garage!  But something deep inside told me to hold back my disdain when I saw Scott's excitement. So~~~~ I just smiled and said,~~"Wow honey, we really got~~~uh~~~chickens~~uh~~~wow~~"

 And from that moment on, I've had to share Scott's affections with his other "girls", because he has taken great joy in raising these funky chickens!  I have chicken stories aplenty!  Enough to write a blog a day for a year, in fact!  But I smile as I tell each one of them.  I smile, because seeing my husband act like a child~~~or a proud daddy~~~or a slightly crazy Redneck~~~well, whatever~~
seeing him like that just makes me all warm inside!

I suppose each of us needs a little something to remind us that some of the simplest of things can bring some of the greatest laughs and release some of the greatest burdens of life.  If I would have known that all it would take is a coop full of hens to make my husband so happy, I would have built the coop and ordered the peeps in the mail my own self!

Hey, did I ever tell you about Farrah?  She was one of our~~~I mean Scott's~~~ hens that actually landed a part in a movie at Northwest College!~~~~~

The Fall

The wind is howling through the small opening in the window like a threatened lion, and the dark gray clouds are quickly moving across the sunless sky with their ominous warning of sudden cold.  Just yesterday I was sitting in the sun on the front porch enjoying brightness of the leaves on the fall-kissed trees.  How can warmth and beauty be interrupted so abrubtly?  It seems wrong somehow.  Shouldn't we have a chance to at least enjoy this spectacular beauty until the leaves fall off?  This is what I don't like about fall! So unpredictable!

               








  I mean, just look at these colors!  The light just seems to glow from within the trees!  They shout, "Hey, Look at Me!"  My husband and I spent Saturday evening fishing....well, he fished and I wandered and wondered! I snapped pictues and I WAS HAPPY surrounded by all that glorious light! Why the cold now?

Isn't that the way life is sometimes?  When things are going good, we notice the beauty around us.  We are awed even by the little things.  We wander and wonder about in a state of bliss.

And then BOOM!!!!  The strong chilling winds of difficult circumstances howl, nearly causing the hair on the back of our neck to stand up.  The dark clouds of doubt or depression come rolling in, and suddenly there is no more blue sky.  The color drains from our sight and things turn to gray. 

And ~~~somehow it all seems so wrong.  Shouldn't we be happy all of the time?  Shouldn't we be sheltered from the hard things if we are trying to do all the right things in life?  I used to think that way~~~~but that was before I knew God, and that was before I understood what GRACE is.

I don't like THE FALL~~~the fall of mankind in the beginning of time.  The moment that sin and darkness entered in, things flip-flopped.  Originally, God created a place of perpetual beauty and peace.  He provided everything that man would need in order to survive.  Everything lived in constant harmony.  Man had a purpose, and that was to tend God's creation and love Him.  There was no conflict, no death, no bloodshed.  Just bliss.  But as soon as the first act of disobedience was committed, it all changed.  Darkness and evil became known~~~the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was eaten, and Evil Became Known.

Before that point, mankind could expect goodness and beauty.  It was a free gift.  They didn't know how good they had it!  But when evil entered in, and man fell away from God, the hard things of life became part of life. No longer could mankind expect perpetual bliss, nor feel deserving of it.  Apart from God, all we can expect is WHAT IS.  And nothing more.

But, in God's GRACE, He had a plan and a way to bring perpetual good.  But not in the way that man expects.  The perpetual good is what comes when we allow Perpetual Light to enter in.  Jesus is the Light of the World.  When we let Him in, there is only external darkness.  Because in Him, there is no darkness

Now, I see things differently.  I realize that if it weren't for Jesus and His death on the Cross, we would never be satisfied.  We would always be searching for things that make us feel good, but nothing would be able to fill that heart-shaped void. There is not one of us that deserves goodness, because we all are human and fall short of the glory of God.  But by His GRACE, He gives good. And even in the dark times of life, He shows us His Light by His Grace. He fills our void. And THAT is the kind of good that WE CAN EXPECT.  How can we not be thankful for that?!

The Golden Thread of Friendship

Did you know that there is no definition in the dictionary to describe friendship really?  I looked, and there was nothing that even came close to describing how I feel about my friends.  It's because you can't really put human words to a connection that goes deeper than the human language.  You can't really put words to things that God does within the soul~~~between souls.

Today is the anniversary of the day my dear friend Christy passed, after enduring 5 years of ovarian cancer.  I refuse to capitalize the words "ovarian and cancer" because they don't deserve the honor of capital letters.  True~~~~I HATE cancer.  But, again~~~there is something that goes way deeper than words when you are dealing with God, because God can take even the ugliest things and use them to bring beautiful things. 

Today is the reminder~~~the reminder of what is gone~~~the reminder of the empty spot that losing a close friend leaves. 

Today is a day that brings a tug on my heart because I miss her so.  I miss the walks, the deep conversations, the laughter, the mountain hikes, the "teacher"~~~~

But today is also a day to remember what was gained, what was learned, what was built within the soul, what was woven~~~

If we could see the heaven side of things, I'm sure we wouldn't even know how to describe the beautiful splendor that God is weaving in His creation.  Those connections between friends are threads of pure gold.  Gold is the strongest metal~~~the threads of gold that connect friends are of the strongest kind.  The kind that never sever.  And who am I that I would be so blessed to have so many of them?  Those threads come from the spool of Grace, and are given by God Himself.  That's what I believe~~~because there are no earthly words to describe what happens when God gives us such a treasure in life.

Christy was adamant about how we should describe her life with cancer.  She said, "never ever say that I am battling cancer, because this is not a battle, this is my life and I am living it despite the cancer and I am living well even with the cancer".  And she was right, she did. I learned more from her in that 5 years than I have in a lifetime about "living well".  And that's exactly what I mean about what happens deep within the soul in such a connection of hearts~~~the undefinable changes that occur within us when we are blessed enough to experience such beauty in the midst of such ugliness as cancer.  Cancer may have been the disease that ended her life, but it was that time with her during her cancer that she taught me and many others to really LIVE and savor each and every moment we are given. It was during that time that God must have been weaving the most intricate design.

Christy is not here today~~~but that golden thread still connects us firmly.  You see, the thing about that thread is it doesn't stop being woven.  That thread that connects me to Christy is the Spirit that lives on and through me, the thread of God's Spirit.  That thread connects me to others and causes me to extend what I learned from Christy to other places in my life. God often uses people to show us parts of His character~~~to teach us Who He is.  Through Christy, I saw how God wants us to deal with the ugly things that happen to us.  He wants us to see that those ugly things just happen TO us, not IN us.  Those ugly things do not define us, nor do they take away from who He created us to be.  And if we allow Him, He can use those ugly things to bring such utter beauty~~~beauty beyond imagination.  Heavenly beauty.

So, today I am going to dwell in that undefinable beauty that the golden thread has left in my life.  I am going to let Him WEAVE ON and extend the thread of His Spirit.  I'm going to savor the beauty of the weaving of those golden threads being woven in my life. I'm going to live well.

Christy would say, "Ah, now you got it!" 

Sonrise

"God’s mercies are new every morning — not as an obligation to you, but as an affirmation of you. It's right there in there in the sky every morning: Every sunrise proves the burn of His passionate heart" Ann Voskamp

 

 

I just love this quote!  And isn't that what my sunrise picture looks like?  The "burn of His passionate heart" spreading warmth from the very start of our day?  Even though He is an all encompassing, all powerful, majestic God who created all things and is above His entire creation, He still stoops to affirm His love to us.  Why?  Because we were created to love Him.  It's like a parent and a child~~that never-ending kind of love that lights up the heart like no other.  No matter what, that love never wavers and it is a downright pleasure to show them~~~not an obligation, but an affirmation that they are special.  Our prayer is that they love us back.

 

Sure, there are times when we may not "like" our children and they may not like us, but always, that deep love is there.  I can't say as there was ever a time when I didn't "like" God~~~but there was a long time when I didn't know Him.  Kind of like a child that is so involved with their own world that they forget their parents are there~~~until they need money or something! Well, I didn't turn to the Lord because I needed money, but I guess the need is kind of the same in a sense when it starts out!  I found myself with a need for something that I couldn't find any other way.  I really didn't even know what I needed for sure, but there was a definite need. 

 

I've seen toddlers that were so tired that they couldn't sleep!  Sounds strange, but it's true.  They get so overtired that they don't know what they want.  They are restless and wander aimlessly about, whimpering and unsettled.  When they finally turn to their mom or dad for comfort and are held close, they fall into that beautiful baby slumber.  Maybe I was kind of like that?  When I finally found the Father, and accepted His unconditional, unwavering love that was there all along, I wanted to be close~~~I mean in-His-arms-snuggled-to-His passionate-beating-heart close.  Because just knowing He was real and He was God was not enough.  Like that toddler, I would be still wandering aimlessly if I didn't get the connection.  Just knowing about Him had to change to knowing Him intimately. 

 

But how can we understand someone's love for us and really love them back without knowing them?It was not until I really started reading the Bible and studying with a group of passionate Christian ladies, that I started understanding that love in a deeper way.  Because you know what? It wasn't about finding out why He loves me, it was about understanding why He shouldn't love me. 

 

In the beginning, He created all things perfect~~~there was Light~~~but there was also dark.  And mankind chose to step away from what was good, and dabble in the tempting dark of deception.  And then everything changed.  Once darkness was allowed to enter in, it became part of our existence and there would be a constant battle from that point on.

 

Nothing has changed since the beginning when man fell.  God is still our Father, and we are still His children, but we still fall to sin and the darkness separates us from Him.  The solution?  The connection?  I mean, someone had to take the consequences of that darkness because that's just how God works.  Darkness doesn't touch Him.  But He knew all along that man would do what he did~~~so in His all-knowing wisdom, mercy, grace and love for us,  He had a plan for redemption. He knew a way to forgive the children that had gone so far into the darkness. But it was a huge sacrifice.  He sent His one and only Son as a sacrifice for what we had done as mankind, so there could be forgiveness.  So that gap of dark could become Light. 

 

Jesus took the punishment for our sin.  Not just a supernatural unseen punishment~~~it had to be an earthly punishment that fit our earthly depravity.  So Jesus, the being of God, came as man to receive that horrid, brutal punishment so that we could run into that gap and beyond, to get to the arms of our Father.  That gap of darkness is filled with Light for those who are brave enough to step out~~~~for those who recognize why He shouldn't love us, for those who acknowledge the darkness in their lives and accept His forgiveness.  And then everything changes. 

 

We find our way to the Father's arms and let Him hold us and as we lay upon His chest, we hear the never-ending beat of His passionate heart~~~~and we finally REST.  And we LOVE HIM BACK.

 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest~~~Matthew 11:28

 

For God so loved that world that He gave His one and only Son, that all who believes in Him will not perish, but will have eternal life.  John 3:16

 



Morning assurance of His presence and love

Satisfy us in the morning with Your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days. Psalm 90:14

Morning sun shining warmly on my back~~~~~~

 sweet music playing~~~~ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8HDmGSePio&feature=related

the rich aroma of the steaming coffee before me~~~~

my tattered Bible and BSF lesson in front of me~~~~

some of my favorite things~~things that I put in place myself, (except the sun of coarse!) readying me for my day~~~

 But the shadow of the Cross on my paper.....oh my!  What a beautiful reminder that Christ is present when we present ourselves to Him. 

He satisfies us in the morning with His unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.