This started it. I mentioned to my friend that I was going to ask her mother-in-law to knit a hat for me and she offered one she had gotten a year or two earlier. I love the colors and how it feels. Definitely keeps me warm. I lost it for a little while in October, but found it last night while hunting for the phone I also lost. That bed just sucks stuff up. Not only did I find the hat (on the window sill between the bed and the window) but I did find my phone as well, so all was good at 4am.
I am grateful for so many people in my life. I could list 70 names with no hesitation, and at least 10 of the closest and bestest! I’m going to focus on these two as they travel home today. Nate is the son of a good friend of mine and he moved back up to NC (from FL) to do a movie and was living out of his car. I convinced him I would feel better if he moved into our guest room so he did. He hugs me every single day and is such a joy to talk with. He has saved me a few times when I couldn’t reach my picc line connection, etc. The past few weeks he was hiding a golden retriever that he bought for his mom. She was a doll and we enjoyed having her in the house so much.
But all things come to an end, and they drove Nala down to Florida to meet her new parents, Beth and Bill. I hear Bill and Nala are in love already! Not surprised, she is a sweet heart and so adorable.
Anyway, Nate also brought Hannah closer to us. We have gone to church with her for years but now she drops by our house almost daily and we’ve cooked meals for each other and just in general had a great time. She is sweet and gentle and encouraging to me. I am so glad to have both of them. So here they are in Florida.
Another neat project for the month of November and I’m all in! Click that link to see Nifty Betty’s post about choosing thanks for November. Each day we’ll post a photo of something we are thankful for. Should be fun!
It is a great month to do this (Thanksgiving holiday and all) but it is always a good time to give thanks, be grateful for the gifts, big and small.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change
James 1:17
So this month let’s give thanks to our Lord and Savior for all the mercy He shines upon us!
November choosing Thanks
Another post does a great job talking about how we can’t be “almost a Christian”. It is Finished, and that’s a great thing for us.
But that triggered the thought that you can’t almost have cancer. Either you are sick or not and I’m sick. What does that mean for me?
It means I can pray or have others pray for my full healing. But likely I will not be healed. Which means I completely get to go home. (Not almost home.)
I’ve been reading some books lately by survivors or victims of cancer and ALS. The reactions vary so much. Some are angry, some are scared, some rest in their faith but struggle through the hard days. One that has been particularly great is is Just Show Up: the dance of walking through suffering together.The authors are Kara Tippets (the cancer victim who died before publication) and her friend Jill Buteyn. They do a great job of talking about how to help, walk alongside, etc. They talk about things to do and not to do, things to say and not o say. It’s a very practical book from that perspective, while also covering the faith side and ow necessary that is to have hope as well. I highly recommend this book out of all the ones on suffering and cancer that I’ve read.
I missed this yesterday. Someone else had the key word Bacon. I did post this link showing that bacon isn’t as carcinogenic as other things. The WHO just states if it is a carcinogenic, they don’t post about the relativity of how carcinogenic it is. Bacon is not very carcinogenic. And uncured bacon is even better.
But bacon is yummy. After reading that report the other night, Anthony cooked some bacon to eat. 11 slices later, we were happy people. It’s just yummy.
Other things that are yummy – my aunt’s cheese straws. People, traffic should stop for those cheese straws. She has the perfect recipe and has found the perfect shape so they are toasty all around and so so yummy! Then she brought me skins from a barbecue place. Boy were those good. Now to find somewhere around here that offers those.
We also have Thanksgiving coming up so we’re all starting to think about recipes. We have Mom, Aunt Elaine, Don, Kate and a friend coming to stay a day or two before and the night of our celebration on Saturday 11/21. We actually have enough beds in various rooms around the house. It will be tons of fun!!!
November, here we come!!!
Hm… write about the beach trip or do a study in Revelation? I just spent more time than intended o the word hope in the Bible.
Beach trip – in one week I will be feeling the wind and hearing the ocean and looking at the sea and surrounded by women I love dearly and who love me. I always love the beach trip. We spend time in the word. We spend time laughing. We spend time working puzzles or walking. And we do a lot of talking. I always feel I know these women better after a trip to the beach. We have some new members coming this year which is great, it’s the best way to solidify names/faces and get to know people intimately. That carries over to circle and church back home.
We pray for each other and we pick on each other and we love each other the whole weekend. Everyone is great about interacting with everyone, no cliques form. We have very few who avoid the interaction, there’s just no point in coming if you are going to do that.
Now, about that sea in Revelation 🙂
Rev 15:2
And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands
Jamiesson Fausset say:
glass– Answering to the molten sea or great brazen laver before the mercy seat of the earthly temple, for the purification of the priests; typifying the baptism of water and the Spirit of all who are made kings and priests unto God
New Testament Commentary says:
The glass sea symbolizes perspicuity and transparency, so that everyone is able to observe God’s righteousness and integrity. Thus, the saints in heaven see God’s wisdom in action. They are the overcomers who have resisted following the beast, refused to worship his image, and rejected the number of his name
Rev 4:6
and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal
Reformation Study Bible says:
the sea of glass pictures waters subdued under God’s power. Moreover, the extent and beauty of the crystal- like sea, when taken together with the precious stones in v. 3 and Rev 21:18- 21, suggest the magnificence and preciousness of God’s throne. The numerous parallels elsewhere with the temple (Rev 4:2 note) might suggest that this sea is the heavenly counterpart of the sea in Solomon’s temple (1Ki 7:23- 25). Finally, the picture of heavenly water might suggest that God faithfully supplies water from heaven (Dt 11:11)
The ES Study Bible Notes say:
It is the “floor” of heaven and the “ceiling” of the created universe, and its transparent tranquility shows heaven’s peace in contrast to earthly turmoil
The Life Application Study Bible says:
Glass was very rare in New Testament times, and crystal- clear glass was virtually impossible to find (see 1 Corinthians 13:12). The “sea of glass” highlights both the magnificence and holiness of God
So, it may represent the sea that was in the temple, which would make sense. God might fashion the earthly temple after His template in heaven.
And it’s a window into and out of heaven. We can see God’s integrity and actions, and the Saints and God can see the world.
I like the one about showing the peace of heaven in contract to the turmoil of earth. We are i a lot of turmoil these days, and that peace is available to us as we “hope” in God’s promises and strengthen our faith to believe what He has said is true.
What is hope? It’s usually used to mean the same thing as wish. I wish this would happen, I hope that will happen. It’s just a careless comment about wanting something to work some way, but nothing serious.
Of course, biblical hope is different.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1.
What does that mean? That when we have faith coupled with hope, what we “hope” for will happen and be true. because we hope in biblical promises that we know are true. This verse is a call to perseverance in believing the promises of God.
Through faith, the future object of Christian hope, in its beginning, is already present. True faith infers the reality of the objects believed in and hoped for.
Two words describe faith:confidence and assurance. These two qualities need a secure beginning and ending point. The beginning point of faith is believing in God’s character—he is who he says. The end point is believing in God’s promises—he will do what he says. When we believe that God will fulfill his promises even though we don’t see those promises materializing yet, we demonstrate true faith
Matthew Henry puts it this way:
And the same things that are the object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now; it gives them a subsistence or reality in the soul, by the first- fruits and foretastes of them. Faith proves to the mind, the reality of things that cannot be seen by the bodily eye. It is a full approval of all God has revealed, as holy, just, and good
The Amplified Bible version:
NOW FAITH is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses
We are called to believe God because He is truth and he is unchangeable, what He says He will do is what He will do. Even though we cannot see eternal life right now, we cannot always see justice for the oppressed right now, etc, we can know that He is doing what He has promised, in His own timing, and we can rest knowing that our sanctification is happening, our justification has happened, and our glorification will happen and we will enjoy eternal life with Him and it will be a good thing. Not boring sitting on a cloud with a harp, but actively living in His sight, worshiping Him with an undivided heart that wants nothing more, and doing His will in maintaining the new heavens and new earth. We will want Him because He will change our heart so we stop searching for other things and leaving Him.
How glorious it sounds!
I can’t publish this post until Wednesday.
One of my good friends had a golden retriever named Crash. And he was good at crashing into things and getting into trouble, but also adorable and sweet. He died a few years ago and she has wanted to replace him every since, but the husband said no. Finally Bill has relented and Nate has bought a golden puppy. She is so adorable. We all call her “the baby” because we are waiting for Nate to drive the baby down to Florida to meet Beth (surprise!)
I am so happy for Beth. And happy for the baby, she’s getting a good home. We’ll be down in FL in February but the baby will be so big by then. It will still be fun to see the baby.
She’s learned to climb our stairs and to come down then (much harder). She’s messed her cage a few times, but mostly been a good girl. Nate has lost a lot of sleep taking care of the baby. Hannah has spent her fair time with the baby. We’ll all miss her terribly when she goes home to Florida. She is so sweet.
But Nate will get to sleep all night long if he wants, and Beth will be thrilled to have a baby to take care of love and watch grow into her paws.
Ok, off to schedule this one to show up later this week!
I love this title. It fits with what I wanted to write about anyway. My life has become one of “perhaps I’ll do that today” because there’s just no telling.
Yesterday, Monday, I got up with all my plans. Strides at 9:00, a bird bath, then the home care nurse and then work on the beach stuff. Ha! Best laid plans. Don’t tell God what you are going to do 🙂
I got up and got ready for strides but kept procrastinating getting out of the door and then when I finally get there, one of our housemates is parked behind me. That was it, apparently I don’t want to go, so I didn’t go to Strides. Turns out that was a blessing because a former housemate was visiting and we got to catch up with him on what he’s been doing, how we are doing, etc. It was a really great time of visiting.
Then I drank some milk and got cold from the inside out, so I decided to heat up some towels and lie down on the couch to wait for the nurse. She didn’t come for 2 hours and I slept most of that time.
So, home healthcare nurse visit is done, what do we do? Well, let’s just lie down on the couch again for a few minutes, which meant until time to go to the deacon meeting. I did make the deacon meeting and take minutes. But I bailed on the budget meeting after that. 1.5 hours was all I could handle. I was ready to come home.
Hehe, so I have plans for today and tomorrow and we’ll see how they work out, I am getting my workout in right now though. At least I’ll have a reason to be tired later. 🙂
So, the phrase of the year is “perhaps I’ll do that today”. Like claim for work and ask my manager if I should return my PCs.
God comes sometimes as a whisper. Good news sometimes comes as a whisper during some event. How do we hear and respond to whispers? I can’t help but think of the telephone game where the message at the end of the line of children bears little resemblance to the message that started at the beginning. We can misinterpret, not hear clearly, not get the same voice inflections to give us clues. It can be hard to discern a whisper.
The world is noisy. I was at a McDonald’s yesterday and all the beeps and clanks and machines made it very very noisy. I had never noticed how noisy a McDonald’s is before. But I could not imagine sitting there to work or do something that required concentration. If someone had whispered in that McDonald’s, no one would have heard them.
My voice is in some range that people apparently have trouble hearing. I have had waiters not even acknowledge my existence, my husband needs hearing aids just to hear me (and other things in that range). He’s having trouble conducting conversations. Add that to his absent-mindedness and it’s rather comical how he enters conversations with no idea we just covered that whole thing. It will be nice when he can hear again.
In fact, he may be able to hear better than me when he gets them. It will filter out extraneous noise so he can focus on just the sound he wants. He may be able to hear a whisper in McDonald’s after this. I cannot.
