Amazing how quickly time goes by...

Yesterday we celebrated Anna's fourth birthday! Her actual birthday is on Tuesday, so she will have a few days long birthday celebration.   She had a "Shopkins" party at "the gymnastics place" (as she calls it).  Each one of her older siblings has had a party at this spot that provides a large bounce house room, lots of obstacle/gymnastics floor fun, and a foam pit that you can swing and/or slide into.  You can imagine that it is a dream party for all ages of kids.  The party ends with cake in a party room.  It is a relatively quiet finish to the party since most of the kids are just plain tired out!  It was an interesting mix of kids - some from school, some from co-op and then family friends, as well as her cousin, Grace!  It just doesn't seem possible that she is already four years old.  This seems like it was only a little while ago...

She was such a snugly baby!  I was thinking about Anna and how her personality has developed over these four years.  In so many ways she seems much older than four.   I know that is because she has those older siblings.  But some of it is just her natural "bent".  She engages in imaginative play for hours at a time with little people, barbies, her peppa pig figures or her dolls.  Anna is incredibly self sufficient.  Last week she told me that she can reach everything she needed for her breakfast as long as she had her stool.  (She actually said the Ellie stool, since it IS Ellie's stool and has her name on it).  She is fearless and bold in most situations.  I remember that she insisted that she could ride a two wheel bike without training wheels, just because all of her siblings were doing it.  I did a little "interview" with her last week and got these responses to my questions....

What is your favorite color ----  pink and purple and I like blue

What is your favorite animal ----- dog cuz I love Chandler

What is your favorite thing to play ---- Peppa Pig

What is your favorite food ----  spaghettio's and cinnamon rolls (only daddy's)

What is your favorite place to go ---- ballet!   I love ballet! But I like co-op also and school

Yes, ballet.  She was so ready to start ballet classes with "Miss Bridget".  She has spent her entire life watching both Lia and Ellie go to dance class and practice dances at home.  I love the video we have of her doing both Lia and Ellie's dances from last years recital.  She not only knew the dances, she knew the names of all the steps.  So when she started "pre-ballet" last September, she was more than ready.  She is anxiously awaiting her first dance recital - on the BIG STAGE, which will happen in late May.  

Watching each of my grandchildren grow, change and become exactly who they are supposed to be is one of the best parts of being a grandma.  I am so thankful for the revelation of destiny for each of my grandchildren.   Before Anna was even born, I felt that she would really be a forceful and strong girl.  It is her destiny to bring everything that is heavenly into our world.  She will shower the world with the love that comes from God.  She will be a peacemaker in truly supernatural ways.  And she will seek justice and truth in all situations.  I simply can't wait to see how Anna grows and changes in the years ahead.  What a privilege to watch as her destiny unfolds.  

In my last blog, "called but not qualified", I described an early calling on my own life.  Each person has a calling, a destiny and plans given by God.  The best and most interesting thing about about being "unqualified" for this calling and destiny and plans is that Jesus ALWAYS provides exactly what we need as soon as we take the first steps towards that calling.   He gives us supernatural wisdom to accomplish tasks that we do not have the "natural" or "learned" ability to do.  Jesus will place us in the exact right places to meet others who will play a part in our walk towards that call.  

There is always revelation given, as we seek it and ask for it, along the way.  There is a certainty in your spirit, when you are pressing towards an accomplishment and you just know it is so far above anything that you could ever do in your own strength.  That certainty is that Jesus has given you the strength and power and wisdom to do HIS calling and complete HIS plans.  One thing is certain, it is always good to have people around you who can encourage, guide and aide you are you are on this journey called life.  And being an encourager, a guide and a helper is exactly what a grandparent can be.  

Today look around you and see the people that Jesus has placed in you life to help you along the way toward your calling. Now send them a message or a phone call to thank them for being there for you. And then stop and think about those who YOU need to support in their walk.  We need each other so much as we live out our days here on earth.  No one can go it alone.  Do it today.  For time is going swiftly by......

Jesus, thank you for all that you speaking to us today.  Holy Spirit, help us to carry out the challenge to see the helpers you have placed around us.  Even more, help us to see those who need us to accomplish their destiny.  Jesus, thank you for your call and destiny for each of us. Thank you for Anna.  Continue to give her courage and boldness to walk out your calling and destiny.   Amen

Called but not qualified

I have been thinking about this picture all day today.   I have started to write a blog post several times over the last week, but they are sitting in the "draft" mode and most likely, I will never publish them.  Nothing that I have put on paper has seemed to be just right.  After my last blog I was determined to blog more and to put all of my thoughts out there.  No matter what.  But that is so much harder than it sounds. 

This picture represents one of my very first memories.  I don't actually remember having this picture taken when I was three years old.  But I do remember that outfit.  The jumper was a deep blue and the trim on the ribbon was red.  The embroidery on the blouse was also red and the little bow was red.  I don't know why I remember this so well, but I am sure about the colors - even though the picture is black and white.  I've been thinking about this picture after spending some one-on-one time with Anna on Monday.  Gwen had a crazy, busy day so she asked if I would come and pick Anna up after  preschool.  I was quite happy to get just a bit of time to be with Anna without the older kids around.  As the youngest of four, Anna is usually not that much of a conversationalist.  When you get her alone, it is just the opposite!  What an amazing little girl, who will be four years old next week.  She was happy to tell me all about her day in preschool.  She even shared that her teacher was "really bummed" that she forgot to sing the dinosaur song. What an amazing little girl - she seems much older than three going on four all of a sudden.  She was very excited to ride in my car and insisted on hanging her "pack pack" (her back pack) on the hook in the back seat.  On my way home from their house, I was reflecting on my time with Anna, and wondering just how much she will remember of days like this.  And that led me to think about this picture.  Memories are really funny things. 

Somewhere around the time that this picture was taken, I had a life changing dream.  In this dream, Jesus and I were walking in a beautiful garden.  There were all kinds of flowers and birds and trees. Even as a little girl, I remembered how incredible the place was.  We were walking on a path that seemed to just go on forever.  Jesus was holding my hand.  Even now, when I think about this dream, I can feel his hand holding mine.  Jesus had a very important message for me.  A very simple message.  Jesus was the Son of God and he had died on the cross to take away all the bad things we had done.  And he did not stay dead.  He came alive again and is in heaven with God.  Easter is not about the candy and the Easter bunny.  It is a true story about Jesus.  I was supposed to tell everyone about Jesus. 

I can't explain this dream.  While my family attended church, we did not really ever talk about things like this.  I don't remember ever having a conversation with anyone about Jesus, the cross or Easter prior to this dream.  I do remember talking to my mom AFTER this dream and telling her I was going to tell everyone about Jesus.  Her response was to tell me that we don't talk about this to other people.  It was not something I should share with anyone else.  So, I did not go and tell everyone about Jesus at that time.  It was many, many years later when I realized that the dream was really the point when Jesus called me to be a truth teller and a sharer.  I just never felt qualified to do that!
In total truth telling, I don't feel very qualified right now!

It really is a mystery how God really doesn't look around for the most qualified people to do His work.   It is also interesting how many times He calls on children to carry out his plans.  Lets face it, if we are qualified to do a job, we often don't have to have any help.  When you can accomplish something in your own strength and power, you don't really need God, do you?   Once I acknowledged this call on my life, and also just how unqualified I was for this task, it was quite easy to call out to Jesus for help.  It has been a slow process towards acting on that first call on my life. 

This blog is just part of me finally fulfilling that first call on my life.  I am telling everyone who reads this blog that Jesus is real.  He really died on that cross for you and for me.  And He really rose from the dead and is now in heaven with God the Father.  If you believe in Him you will be saved.  It is that simple.  There is nothing that you have to do.  Jesus has done it all for you. 

There are so many very qualified people out there, with training and theological degrees.  There are well known, world traveling evangelists that are much more qualified than me to carry this message.  Tonight I am very thankful for the means to write this blog and the method to transmit it out into cyberspace.  Only Jesus could have planned to use someone as unqualified as me to share this message.   I am sure that each person reading this blog, has a destiny and calling unique to you.  That is just who God is.  He loves us each so much.  We are all pieces in the puzzle of His plan.  We each have an important destiny to fulfill.  Don't hesitate is you feel unqualified for the calling.  Remember, nothing is impossible with God!

;Jesus, thank you for this very powerful memory through this picture that brought me back to the dream that needed to be shared today.  Holy Spirit, give us all clarity as we consider what Jesus is asking of us.  Help us to know your presence with us.  Jesus thank you for being patient with us as we walk on towards your calling. Thank you Jesus for children.  Amen

Thinking spring....in the middle of a snowstorm!

Ken came home from the store with these really amazing tulips.  Don't they just scream SPRING?  The problem is that the truth is very far from that.... we are having a snowstorm!  As of right now we have a bit over 4" and more is predicted. It's not a blizzard or anything, but still, it is enough snow to have to bring out the snowblower.  Our back yard looks like this...

Ken and I were both thankful that we did not have to leave the house this morning.  It is a holiday, but it is also very nice for Ken to be able to sleep in and not worry about cleaning off the cars and the driveway and then driving to work in nasty conditions.  So, for today, he is enjoying retirement.  I got to stay in today since Gwen has the day off of school.  We had planned a fun activity with the kids for today, but the roads and weather caused us to cancel   The kids were quite sad, but we promised them a reschedule soon.  

Today I am so grateful to be able to live my life in the "think spring" in spite of the circumstances looking very wintry, mode.  With hope, with vision, you can see beyond what is right in front of you.  Somewhere around Christmas, I passed over another blog milestone - 700 blogs.  That hardly seems possible!  When I started this blog way back in 2013, I really had no idea where it would take me.  I just received my 5th blog book in the mail - one for each year I have been blogging.  I am so thankful for these printed evidences of the work and time that I have put into this blog.  More than that, it is a printed record of the pictures and words that I have shared.  I realized early on, that there was more to this blog than I originally thought.  People all over the world are somehow interested in what I have to say.  It had to be a God thing, since I am just an old grandma, sitting in her craft room, typing words that I thought were only for me!  Along the way, I have interacted with some amazing people.  Comments and emails have come from almost every corner of the world.  I have had readers in places that I had to look up, since I had no idea where they were!  (For example Macao, which is actually part of China).  I've said it before, there is more to this blog that what I thought.  

Recently, I received an email from a gal who lives in Australia.   It was an encouragement for me to continue to write and even expand what I am writing.     I don't know her personally, but we have corresponded several times over the last few years.  This certainly was the push that I needed to both continue blogging and also work on some other writing projects that I have had in the works for quite a while.  It was certainly a "God thing" to me when I read the email.  So I am finding that I have a renewed vision for this blog.  And it feels a bit like a springtime break through.  Just like those tulips are bringing a bit of a break from our wintry weather.  

No promises, but you might expect to see more frequent blogs from me in the weeks ahead.  Suddenly it feels like I have so much to share.  That is a welcome feeling after weeks feeling like I should stop putting words on a page.  Please pray for me.  I am sensing those angels surrounding me, even more clearly than before.  Going forward, I want to be sure that it is the correct words being shared, not just words to fill a page.  Guess I don't have to understand all of this to just KNOW that Jesus has called me to this and so I will obey.

If you are feeling "stuck" right now, or in the  middle of a winter funk, take heart.  Spring is just around the corner!  And you can look ahead to that warmer, sunnier time that is really just a few page turns away on a calendar.  Buy yourself some spring flowers, it is guaranteed to change your mood! One thing is certain, the weather is bound to change!

Thank you Jesus for the means to reach the world from my warm cozy house.  Holy Spirit, help me stay true to the message you would have me share.  Remind us that we are all moving ahead, into the future. Give a renewed sense of purpose to all those who choose to share in print.  Thank you Jesus for all around the world who read these blogs.  Bless them!  Amen

Finally, a new year message!

Ken and I received this angel ornament from Gwen, Tim and the kids for Christmas.  They got it at the "Kenyan Market" at their church and it was hand made in Kenya.   The material is apparently some kind of grass or reed.  It is a lovely addition to our Christmas ornaments.  And it is a fitting picture to begin my 2018 blogging!

It is especially interesting to me since it seems that my 2018 "word for the year" has to do with angels.    Towards the end of December, it seemed that my daily Bible reading was just filled with angels and angelic encounters.  Even in the readings from the Old Testament.  So my thoughts and my attention had been turned towards angels.  And then we received this ornament.  Kenya holds a special place in my heart.   A visit to Kenya in 2004 and then receiving visitors from Kenya during later years, and staying connected with many Kenyan friends through facebook, have just grown that connection for me.  So I felt like the Lord had gotten my attention.....

2017 was a year with lots of shaking and so many ups and downs.  No matter where you looked, there seemed to be some kind of disaster or horrible event happening.  It is so easy to lose your focus and to start believing that the world has just fallen apart.   Just looking at news clips or even your facebook feed can make you say "God where are you?"  But then there are the angels.....
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I have had this blog started for 7 days and I just have not been able to finish it!  There were some interruptions, some phone calls, just feeling like my mind went blank.  But I am determined to finish this blog.  Usually when I have trouble writing a blog, there is a powerful reason that I am supposed to write the blog.  I feel that way about this one.  The subject of angels is quite controversial, even though it should not be - Angels are very biblical!  Somehow you are viewed as a real crack pot or crazy person if you dare to admit to having angelic encounters.  It would not be the first time that I was labeled like that!  So here goes..

I have had several angelic encounters over the last 30 odd years.  Several were during large worship gatherings.  Sensing and even seeing angels during worship is so powerful.  One of my personal favorite "angel evidence" is Testimony about Jason Upton's "Fly"  And then here is the actual track Jason Upton "Fly".  I actually heard about this song while at a conference with Shawn Bolz  (Shawn is the speaker at the beginning of the testimony clip)  Shawn shared his experience with Jason Upton and about this song.  The track was actually not yet released when Shawn played it for us that night.  During that time of worship, that small church sanctuary was filled with angels!  It was an amazing experience. 

I have also had several personal one-on-one encounters with angels.  Each time, it was only AFTER the encounter that I realized that this was not just a man talking with me.  A handful of times, I have seen angels sitting on top of buildings as I pass by - usually following times of worship.  I have had more than my share of dreams during which angels shared important messages with me.  After a powerful prayer time for protection over my home and children, I came home and saw a large angel standing guard over my home.  Later my daughter would tell me that she saw the angel from her second floor window! 

So to proclaim 2018 as one with angelic activity is not unusual.  What is different is the kind of angelic activity that seems to be ahead this year.  While telling my small group about this, I used the description of a video war game.  It was as if I saw two different armies engaged in a raging conflict. One an army of the light and one an army of the dark.  There were many, many more warriors on the army of light.  They were easily sending their foes running away.   The message in this is really simple.   We are engaged in a large spiritual battle - whether we realize it or not.  All of the things we see happening around us in the world are evidence of this battle.  It is quite easy to feel overwhelmed and defeated if we just look in the natural.  The key is to SEE THE REAL BATTLE!  In the Spiritual realm, the battle between the angels and the demons is happening.  There are many more angels than demons.  And the demons are not winning this war!  I believe that this year we will all have greater levels of peace and calm and more intimate times with Jesus, when we ask for open eyes to see all of the angels that are fighting for us.  There are legions of angels just waiting to be commissioned to our aid, if we would but ask. 

Every time an angel appears in the Bible, their first contact is to speak away fear.  We are fearful of things we don't understand or can't explain.  Usually angels come during times of great trouble or of great need. I believe that we only see angels during these stressful times because our natural filters of unbelief are overridden at those times. So let's restate our belief in the presence and works of angels.

My 2018 goal will be to start each day asking for an awareness of the angelic activity around me.  Instead of fear or worry for loved ones, I will be asking for the commissioning of angels to surround and protect them.  Instead of hopelessness at things happening in society, I will be looking for revelation of that great army of angels fighting for us.  When news of some natural disaster reaches me, I will be commissioning angels of mercy and comfort to that region.  Each time of worship will begin with welcoming angels into the spiritual atmosphere around me.  I am ready for all that Jesus has to reveal in 2018.  How about you?

Jesus, thank you for reminding me of your great love.  Holy Spirit, help us all to accept the presence of angels around us.  Give us grace in our unbelief.  Remind us to ask for open eyes to see just how surrounded we are by legions of angels.  Jesus continue to draw us closer to you in 2018.  Amen.