Flashdrives and God's Sovereignty

When Matt and Julie spent the weekend here in mid-January, we did not have this much snow. However, this photo, taken Sunday afternoon, February 21, shows some of the snowbank created by our record snows this winter. I thought about a modern rendering of the famous painting "American Gothic," and got the idea that the Garrett County winter of 2010 version, might make a cute blog photo. We talked about taking the picture on Saturday when we returned from the Winterfest in Oakland, but the sun was down too low. Sunday morning we leave here early for the 40-minute drive we have to church; thus the photo op didn't happen until shortly before Matt and Julie pulled out and headed home. That's when God's sovereignty and flash drives met.

Julie got home after their January weekend and couldn't find her flash drive. Had she left it here? forgotten it at Brenda's Pizzeria? left it in our Jeep? The information on the drive included a list of wedding guests and their addresses, graduate research papers, and photos. Then there's the entire issue of identity theft. Needless to say, Dave and I looked under beds, around couches, near the keyboard and in the Jeep. Julie called the restaurant and I asked our pastor's wife if anyone had discovered a flash drive at church or in the Sunday School room. The drive was nowhere to be found, so Julie and Matt began to recreate their guest list. And we all prayed for the lost to be found.

But time passed and snow fell. Dave and I returned from Florida on February 13, and happily, one neighbor had plowed our long, steep driveway while another neighbor had shoveled a narrow path into the backdoor.We nestled in and watched it snow more virtually every day. Dave's daily routine involved about two hours of shoveling and Pat used the scoop on his tractor to lift the snow onto banks that grew to almost ten feet in height. Yet, for some reason, when Julie and Matt came back February 19, we thought the flash drive might show up. At least Matt and Julie tried to get back here. When they were only about a mile away, Dave went to retrieve them and get their car parked back down our mountain.

In Luke 12, Jesus asks, “Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows." Wow! We see a modern example of the God who counts the hairs on our head. He had been watching out for that flash drive. At photo time, as Matt walked across the driveway, now amazingly down to the wet, black gravel, he saw Julie's flash drive lying there on the ground. Not scooped up by the tractor or shoveled into woods, but there in plain sight. As Matt and Dave assessed the drive, they agreed that a few days of drying out and all the information should be available. Doubt God's sovereign on the smallest details of our lives? Not me.

The Storehouses of the Snow

When Job demanded an audience with God, the Lord responded with His own inquiries starting in chapter 38: "Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: 'Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.'" The questions posed, and there are whole chapters of questions, confirm that our ways and our thoughts are not His! One question God posed to Job has captured my imagination this winter. “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow..."

The locals tell us that Garrett County, site of our cozy log cabin, has already recorded 205 inches of snow this winter. So while I have no idea what the "storehouses of snow" must look like, I'll try to show you a bit of the beauty of the pristine snow falls we ahve experienced here, and praise God for His beauty. The large mound to the left of the Jeep is our Mercury Sable. The small lump to the left of the Sable is Dave's ATV!

The beauty and serenity of the stately evergreens and the icy flow of Bear Creek frame the life we now know in retirement. And we give God thanks for living in the midst of His beauty, His presence, His peace.

Hospitality, Miami Style

When our son Bryan suggested we come to Miami to see some of his soccer team's games in late January, none of us realized the chosen time for its impact on housing. January 28-Feb 6, intersected the Pro Bowl weekend and included our spending the week leading up to the Super Bowl, both held this year in Miami. On top of this, Bryan and Stacey actually live in Honolulu now and have rented their condo here. Bryan has a room with another teacher and his folks. Then the blizzards of 2010 hit BWI airport and extended our stay in Florida. Needless to say, our budget had no plans quite like this! Then a family from Westminster Christain offered us two bedrooms (in case Bryan wanted to stay here with us) in their beautiful 6-bedroom home. So I went out to read and relax in the above surroundings!

Scripture talks about hospitality from the directive in Romans 12, "Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality," to the commendation give to Gaius, "whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy." In I Timothy, Paul, in listing good deeds of widows, mentions "Showing hospitality," and Peter speaks of offering hospitality to one another without grumbling." This dear family has even shared their pets with us. The yellow lab, Shania, and Elvis, the friendly cat who likes it when I read to her (OK, so it should be Elvira), seem to enjoy the extra attention they get from us. We are so grateful for God's provision for us through them. Thanks to Jack, Adele, Chuck and Jillian for all your kindnesses to us

With Thanks for My Girls

Happily, none of the in-law jokes apply to my dear daughters-in-law. Brent married Becky over a decade ago, and their Little Stuff will gain a baby sisiter in a few weeks. Stacey celebrates her birthday tomorrow and will hopefully, soon not experience morning sickness all day long! Bryan finishes the soccer season here in Miami later this month and will fly to Honolulu so he and Stacey can celebrate their seventh anniversary together on March 1. They expect their first child in August. I know how graciously the Lord has dealt with me, and I give HIm thanks.

As I've read through the burnt, grain, fellowship and sin offerings described in Leviticus, I looked at Lev 22:2 "Tell Aaron and his sons to treat with respect the sacred offerings the Israelites consecrate to me, so they will not profane my holy name. I am the Lord." In very practical terms, how do I treat with respect these lovely women the Lord brought into our family? For me, part of the answer to that parallels my personal growth as a believer in Christ. Colossians 2:6 says, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness."

Too often, family strife erupts when our own spiritual life languishes. When we concentrate on growing up into Christ, we pray instead of meddle. Remember the Genesis foundation for marriage, that a man was to leave his parents, cleave to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? That means our children's marriages are theirs. Don't stew about decisions that the next generation makes. Pray for their ever-growing relationship to Christ and to each other. Pray for selfishness to be less important in our lives rather than telling family members they should be less self-centered. Recite to the Lord His gracious promises about the strengthening our faith provides. Finally, as per Col 2:6, overflow with thankfulness. Keep looking for the things that make you overflow with thankfulness rather than reciting a litany of grousing.

So Happy Birthday, Stacey. Thanks to you and Becky for giving me a waterfall of thankfulness as my daughters-in-love.

Florida Highlights

While Bryan goes off to work each day, Dave and I craft adventures here in Miami. Dave and I, house guests of a WCS family, headed to Homestead yesterday to discover the faming areas of south Florida. Our first stop took us to the Knaus Berry Farm's bakery, famous for its sticky buns. Needless to say, several folks from here placed orders for us to pick up! Dave then decided that we should share a milk shake from Robert Is Here to complete our breakfast. Robert, who began selling cucumbers in 1960, now sells fruits and vegetables along with an array of fresh-made milkshakes! Dave chose a key lime milk shake to complete the decadent breakfast!

Following the Redland Trail through the agricultural area, Dave stopped next at RF Orchids. The hostess greeted us with a cup of guava juice that we sipped as we walked through the artistic displays of orchids and bronze garden statues that far eclipsed our pocketbook! The color, delicacy, intricacy and even fragrance of orchids boggle my mind. Given the wonders of just one kind of flower reminds me of God's plethora of designs. No Creator? Impossible to comprehend!

We finished our day at Florida International University's soccer field where we saw the Westminster Christian guys play in the regional quarter final game and defeat Florida Christian 5-0. Do I miss the snow? What snow?

Tired of the Being Bad Hype

Luke 7: 44-47 presents a story that I find difficult. "Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.'” Why difficult? Because we all have sinned, and when we realize our need and Christ's provision, we love deeply, for we see we have all been forgiven much. 

Yet, somehow the more spectacular conversion stories get labeled as 'real' while the rest of us get lumped into a category called boring conversion stories. I have actually lived this! At a faculty gathering many years ago, the hostess wanted one of us to share how we came to faith in Jesus. She stole a cursory glance at me and then said, "No, not you, You're story is boring." My sin, while not cast in the Anne Lamott mold, certainly qualifies me as a needy sinner. Actually, as I think of it, my Dad understood this back in the 50s and made it painfully clear to me. At that time church activities for teens involved taking a group to hear some ex-criminal's electrifying testimony. A foreign language would have communicated to me more clearly than Jim Voss' story did. Syndicated crime, and wire taps didn't mirror my life in rural New York. Anyway, after one such youth rally, I made the mistake of hinting to my Dad that I had, perhaps, not been bad enough yet to have turned to Jesus. With all his Dutch ire, he told me straight out, "In being born you were sinful enough to need Christ." Immediately, Dad put a moritorium on my future trips to hear such testimonies!

Experiencing forgiveness for abortions, drug addiction, eating disorders, theft, affairs, and other traumas allows a new convert to marvel at the love and grace offered in Jesus' salvation. But all humans soon discover that sin manifests itself in thoughts, words and deeds. The thought and word sins debilitate too, even if they're not as visible as the deeds.

The older I get, the more I thank God for the gift of life He extended to me through Jesus' sacrifice on my behalf. I also have grown to thank Him for not taking me through all the sins I could have wallowed in through the years. After all, I am a child of the 60s, and I still struggle with sin every day. I just get tired of the hype or supposed super validity of the bad. All of us know the authenticity of our dark sins and truly thank God for His unspeakable gift of love and mercy.

Thoughts on Prayer

Francis Bacon said, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested." Right now I am chewing on C.S. Lewis' Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. Pen in hand, I underline, pause to think, write cryptic notes in the margins, and stop to pray.

Lewis speaks of trying to pray "without words at all -- if one can really achieve it." I wonder if that relates to Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God. Sadly, I have tried Lawrence's ideas only to fall flat on my face before 9AM. The clutter of my mind clogs the prominence of Christ all too quickly. My thoughts wander, I repeat words, phrases, ideas. When my prayers sound rote, I turn to Valley of Vision, the collected prayers of Puritan writers. Their precise language, sense of personal sin, and God's offer of marvelous mercy deepen my appreciation of God's grace. Somehow, my prayers gain more of a God-ward direction. I "grocery shop" my lists less often. I sit quietly and consider the awe and majesty due His name.

I don't want floating prayers that arise from my ideas, imagination or emotions, but I want to engage mind and spirit supported by the relationship Christ initates with me. Why? I have lived through times of using words or acronyms that became repetition that morphed into formulas. Christians desire to develop a deepening prayer life. one that truly communes with the Lord. But how is prayer done in holiness and to the glory of God? When I ask such quesitons, I align my plight with the  disciples who asked Jesus, "Lord, teach us to pray."

My quest continues as I also ask the Lord to teach me to pray. While Lewis' ideas help, the Scriptures themselves guide. As I read the Bible, sound doctrine leads me. For today, that's enough to ground me as I talk to the Lord and take the time to listen to Him speak as the living Word speaks.