Until we meet again...

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV)

The Coming of the Lord

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.
We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Therefore encourage each other with these words.

...In memory of Ginger

Seasonal sentiments

My sister blog, My Cancer Story, posted 'myHarvest' a couple weeks ago and I thought it fit well for the onset of fall. Here's the post:

I came upon this scripture today and wanted to share it's encouragement:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ~Galatians 6:9

What harvest are you trying to reap? Do you have faith that there is a harvest for your efforts in good? I've often noticed that God is more often acknowledged under bad circumstances. Some people turn to Him for support, help, hope, others turn against Him for a lack of understanding His plan. Though He wants us to lean on Him when we are weak, He also needs us to believe He is there when we reap our harvests.

~What I get from this:
I try to remember to acknowledge God's plan and presence in the good times, as well as in the bad. It's sometimes harder to remember to praise God for the blessings He gives in answer to prayer during hard times. I remind myself to pray thanks as often as I pray for help.

Further, I like this message because it implies that we should not use time of struggle to justify discontinued acts of good. His harvest is promised to be bountiful and rewarding!

10 Things I Love About My Spouse

A friend gave me a list of prompts for journaling or scrapbooking. One of them caught my attention and I thought it would be appropriate to share here, since this blog is about counting my blessings.

10 Things I Love About My Husband...seems like something that most wives would want to brag about often, but in my brief marital experience, the things I love about my husband aren't always the things I talk about instantly. As wives we are advised to not speak poorly of our husbands to others, but so often it seems easier to share the frustrating parts of marriage, rather than the blessings.

So in effort to earn forgiveness for my slight of mouth, I want to share, wholeheartedly (and humbly) the...

10 Things I Love About My Husband:

1. His work ethic ~ I will never have to worry about him not providing for our family. He works to provide for us every day of the week, and rarely complains.
2. His devotion to family, even when he won't admit it.
3. His bright blue eyes and how deeply they look at me.
4. He often is first to say he loves me after we argue.
5. His willingness to help loved ones and friends. He's also a thoughtful and generous tipper.
6. The silly side he only shows me; he makes me laugh!
7. He remembers things I say I'd like and then surprises me with them as gifts for Christmas or my birthday.
8. He dreams big and plans how to achieve his goals.
9. He likes most of my cooking and doesn't complain about meals.
10. He gets mad at me when I get the door for myself.

Actually as I listed I realized I could keep listing more qualities or thoughts about my husband. Instead, I'll save those for another day when I need to remind myself of the blessings God has given me in my husband and through marriage.

Change the tendency to vent about challenges in your marriage and share the blessings instead.
What are 5-10 things you love about your spouse?

One week til Fall...

Windows open, extra blanket on the bed, snugly puppy, leaves changing color, shorter days, chili and soups for supper...HURRAY autumn is on the way!

To me, autumn is more renewing and hopeful than spring, summer, or winter. I love changing seasons; I love something about each season, but by far, I think I look forward to fall each year more than the other seasons.

Winter through summer feels like a speeding up of time...winter being the slow start, spring getting up momentum, and summer in full speed. In summer there is a potential for discontentment, "how much can I get done in a day?" behavior. Go-go-go all summer, taking full advantage of long days, comfortable nights, and fair weather opportunity.

With autumn, relief. Summer's speed winds down. I can still do things outside, without worry of dehydration or sun stroke, not to mention it's my best hair season (in between the sweaty brow and rainy seasons). :) In the fall I sleep better, cozied up with windows cracked or wide open. It's cool enough to relieve the plants and allow recovery from summer's scorch in time to hibernate for winter. Autumn brings on the hope of a new year soon to come, the bliss of the holidays, and the chance to plan for the future while harvesting a year's worth of work. The air seems cleaner, fresher, easier to breathe. People seem happier, easy-going; it's like the feeling when you take a long vacation and in a way you are sad that the fun adventures are at an end, but in a huge way you are so glad to be going home because vacations are exhausting!

Autumn also allows time for reflection, which may be why it has become the season I look forward to the most. There is time to notice the changing weather, the motion of the sun and the the patterns of the sky. Fall brings about a consciousness of changing seasons, more than the others do. Fall helps me appreciate the other seasons by reminding me that there is a time for all things to begin and end.

That said, a few lines from Ecclesiastes, chapter 3, sums up my feelings about fall:

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven--time to give birth and a time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
time to weep and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to dance.
time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to be silent and a time to speak.
time to love and a time to hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

May autumn bring you blessings!

9/11...remember when

It was a little odd today, being that after 6 years, September 11th fell on a Tuesday again. I couldn't help reflect on that horrific day in American history, which has since changed our lives in many ways.

I remember my mom waking me up at about 6:00, stating that something serious was happening and I should be aware of it. I watched the news clips and first worried about a friend living in NYC, a friend on duty in the Navy, my grandma in Virginia (being so close to D.C.), and my sister in L.A. (where there was rumor of another plane headed there that morning). I was shocked; nothing I had seen on the news had quite shaken me that way. I held back tears and tried to be brave, while at the same time feeling skeptical that I had actually just seen the terror on TV.

Next, prayer. People at work trickled in slowly, most late for shifts. Radios and news clips dialed in on various radio stations and websites. People chattered about theories, guessing what was really going on, what it really meant. No one could focus. Some people hugged, some cried, some complained about politics, some made phone calls to loved ones. The following day I remember being the kindest day in traffic history ever. People merged easily, making eye contact with others and waving them through. There seemed to be little speeding on the freeway; people seemed conscious that we were all alike...scared, proud, hopeful, proactive...Americans. At school the professors talked openly about the events and allowed the day's itinerary to be replaced by casual discussion about the disasters. The radio played the national anthem over and over, and God actually made it to mainstream conversations.

I remember talking with my pregnant friend about how she felt about bring a child into the world with these risks of terror. She admitted it scared her, but that she had faith in God's plan for the future; she didn't see sense in letting worry for when He will take us consume her life.

Remember...

Tonight I want to honor the victims, as well as the men and women who served to protect this country, over seas and at home. As a result of this day in history, many lives have been changed in ways never expected or imagined. God bless America and the people who defend it!

I am blessed to live in this country. :)

Investing talents

I've been reading a wonderfully inspirational book, The True Measure of a Woman, by Lisa Bevere, (buy here through Amazon!) and something in a chapter I just finished finally clicked last night. It referred to 'The Parable of the Talents,' in Matthew 25:14-30.

I was recently persuaded to join MySpace by a couple friends who wanted me to keep in touch online with them there. I began searching old classmates and came across a few that seemed to have made quite a success of their life, achieving their dreams at such a young age and still moving on up. I had a sudden, sinking feeling, like "Wow, I thought I was doing alright, but look at them! They're really doing something!" Comparison, doubt, and jealousy swept over me like a shadow, consuming me for a moment, enough so that I had a hard time seeing through the dark for the blessings that I have. Then it occurred to me:

~God gives us each talents according to what He believes we can achieve with them. He trusts we will have faith in His intentions, enough to maximize the opportunity He provided.

In Matthew 25:14-30, the parable of the servants and the talents Jesus distributed is told. As I understood it, Jesus invested money with three servants, who each received a different amount, and He expected them to have faith in His distribution. Two servants invested their money and doubled the investment, while the last servant, having received the least amount, became skeptical of His intentions and hid the talent so as not to deal with the opportunity he was given. In the end, Jesus came back to "settle accounts" and the first two servants were rewarded for having invested their money wisely and profitable for their Master. The third servant was punished for his lack of faith in his Master, as well as for his ignorance and laziness.

What I learn from this:

By trusting in God's gift, the first two servants were able to make full use of the 'talents' they received, and in the end, they profited not only by investing wisely, but by showing faith in His investment in them. The third servant was punished because he did not see how he could prosper from his Master's money or plans, so he hid it and ignored the potential for reward.

What clicked for me was that God may have given some of my peers greater amounts of 'talents' than given to me, but that I am supposed to make the most of what He has entrusted to me. Further, I will be rewarded as fully as the others who meet their potential for God's investments in them. God gives us the amount of 'talents' which He believes we have the ability to spend wisely and give back to Him in return.

I may be mixing up a bit of the story; I am not a minister, but a woman reading the Word and making sense of the blessings entrusted to me. How much has God given you? When He comes to settle accounts will you be able to prove you spent His investment in you well?

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'" ~Matthew 25:23~

Sufficient for the day...

There come days when all I can think about is tomorrow...the future, the what-ifs, the uncertain. I have heard many times not to worry about tomorrow, but it never stuck until last year when several troubling events piled up around the same time.

It is part of human nature to try to plan and prepare for the future. While I believe that some amount of preparedness is healthy and helpful, it can also lead to a lack of faith not only in oneself to handle a situation, but also in God's plan for our tomorrows.

Tonight one of my best friends will be close in heart, prayer and thought as she tries to let tomorrow worry about itself.

~Dear Friend, find comfort in His word:

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. ~Matthew 6:34

Crosses to Bear

Yesterday I went to a women's Bible study breakfast with a close friend. Each month my friend's church holds a women's breakfast where the older women cook breakfast dishes and teach a message to the group. Yesterday's message was about depression and how the word of God can help dissipate the gloomy cloud of depression. What I took home from the study was this:

We all have crosses to bear. Bearing crosses, I understand, is part of God's plan for us, which is part of His bigger plan for the world. We are not perfect, we are fallible, and we can find strength to carry our crosses in Him. By bearing our crosses with grace and faith in His plan we make God happy; furthermore, we make Him stronger, which turns out to make us stronger too!

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

What crosses do you bear? What keeps happening to you, or what has happened to you that you deal with everyday? Are there crosses that you are trying to carry by yourself? Are there crosses you are bearing that would be easier with His help?