End of a good day.....

Today we had a really wonderful time at Doug and Susie's house with Gwen, Tim and the kids.  Doug made a great ham and we had a nice meal.  To start the day, we played a DVD game about comedy movies in teams that were possibly less than fairly divided.  Susie and Gwen managed to beat out all the rest of us!  You can tell who watches the most movies!  However, the rest of us didn't do all that badly.  I even managed to answer one or two questions.  (Susie and Gwen would argue that somehow we got all the very easy movies that everyone should know..... which might actually be true!)  At any rate it was so good to be together and to just have time to share and talk.

One of the best things we did today was look at a very old scrapbook of mine.  Susie and Doug had this album at their house since before they got married.  They used some of the photo's in their wedding slide show.  We all got quite a kick out the pictures in this album.  This photo on the bottom was taken on Doug's 21st birthday.  It was actually the first time that Susie was at any family function.  They had only been dating for a bit more than a month.  Look at all those very young faces!  Yes, our family has grown and changed much in the last 11 (almost 12) years.  Looking at this album certainly makes me glad that I have spent all those hours scrapbooking.  It is times like today that remind me exactly why I have done all that work.  It was very satisfying to go through that book and remember each event.  Susie pointed out that all of 2003, 2004 and  2005 were contained in one small 8X11 album.  Gwen reminded us that this was before we were using digital cameras!  The number of photos was dramatically less than now.  In the last couple of years I have used four 12 x 12 albums for each year!  

Certainly, every time we are together, we are reminded of our loss in a very real way.  Lucas is always on our hearts and often in our conversation.  When it feels so very raw and hard, I remind myself that it has only been a very short time and also, there is no time table for grief.  I know that I have said it more than one time, but our family sure needs 2015 to bring us many, many fulfilled promises.

This showed up on my facebook wall this morning.  I am holding very tightly to all of the promises that I have been given for 2015.  And I am going to be spending plenty of time in the Word so that my heart and mind is filled with God's promises.  Right now I have plenty of hopes and desires for 2015.  And I will be expecting even more!  One of the many words that I have been receiving for 2015 (over and over and in many different ways) is that there will be rainbows for our family.  Rainbows that will bring exactly what this picture says.....more than we can expect.  Yes, we have walked through the end of 2014 in the grace and presence of Jesus.  It has not been easy but we have walked on.  As the days were so hard and the grief seemed so overwhelming, I found myself surrounded by the love of Jesus.  The only way I can describe this is, I have felt as if I have been sinking into the very heart of Jesus. That is a wonderful place to be.  It is from that place that I have been able to go on.  And thanks to that place of rescue, I have also been able to hear a number of great promises to hold on to!  

Jesus, thank you for bringing me into that place of your love.  Thank you for your promises and for the grace to hold on to them!  Holy Spirit, thank you for bringing our family together for this special day today.  Jesus, bless Doug and Susie with your love and your presence.  Give them reminders of your promises each time they see a rainbow.  Thank you for giving me the ability to hold on tightly to you!  Amen

HOPE! and Moving on up.....in the kingdom

One of my favorite things about vacations on the ocean is waking up before the sunrises.  I love to sit and watch the clouds and the waves change as the sun rises.  This morning I was sitting quietly, worshipping and praying, and I heard the word "hope".  As I was contemplating all that might be in this simple word I saw H.O.P.E!   And then heard "His Original Promises are Eternal"   How awesome is that?  Yahweh's covenant promises were for Old Testament Times, New Testament Times, our present time and ALL time.  They are eternal.  

Now if you know me, you would know that Jesus often speaks to me in television or movie references.  (Isn't it great that He knows us so personally that He will use things that really speak to us when he has something important to say).  This morning, as I was contemplating all of the amazing promises of Yahweh that are eternal, I suddenly was hearing the theme song from the 1970's situation comedy "The Jefferson's".  The point of the theme song was that the main characters had made it big in the dry cleaning business and were able to move out of their "neighborhood" and move UP to the "east side" to a deluxe apartment in the sky.   But these were the words I heard this morning....

Moving on up, to the best place.
To that amazing place of contentment and peace.
Moving on up to the right place
The place of our true destiny.

Moving on up, to the best place
To shine with His light and glory.
To dispel the dark and tell His story
Moving on up!

As I was hearing these words, I saw an amazing castle in the clouds.  There was a long approach leading up to the castle.  The draw bridge was down and there were beautiful flowers lining the path.  There was a large sign that said "Now entering a new realm of the Kingdom"! 

This "Moving on Up" is to a new depth of kingdom understanding.  And there will be new ways of seeing our place and understanding our destiny.  There will be new things in general.  Most importantly, it is a place of promises fulfilled.  Things prophesied long ago will be revealed as we move on up into this new understanding.   This is a time of action. 

I believe that it is important that these words came in this order.  I need to focus on HOPE!  To be grounded in Yahweh's covenant promises.  THEN I can move on up into this new and exciting place of a deeper understanding of the Kingdom.  I'm glad to be moving up to this place that is one of peace and contentment. And I am so glad that it is a place of my true destiny. 

Yahweh, thank you for bringing me hope after a time of feeling so stuck.  Thank you for knowing me so personally that you reach me in old TV programs.  Yahweh, I want to move up into that new depth of Kingdom understanding.  I want to go higher and deeper.  Jesus, I pray you will bring everyone who reads these words into a new and renewed sense of hope in you.  Thank you that the draw bridge is DOWN on your Kingdom's castle.  Thank you for welcoming everyone that chooses to come. 

I need to pay attention!

In the last two days I have discovered that, even though I have been writing this blog, I have not been taking in everything that I have written!   I blogged about the peace that Yahweh brings in the storms and the shaking.  I blogged about the covering of the love of Yahweh that surrounds us.  I blogged about the bitter-sweet rainbow after the storm.   Yet today I was amazed by Yahweh.

My husband Ken and I have just completed two "legs" of a rather long drive to reach our vacation destination(s).  Last night Ken drove in the worst storm I think I have ever experienced.  It was dark (after 8pm), there was SOOOOOOOOO much traffic - including large semi trucks, and the storm was beyond description.   We had about 45 miles to our hotel and at times I really didn't know if we would make it.  Our car was shaking, the road was covered in several inches of rain and you could not see a thing. The sky was just constant lightening strikes all around.  And did I mention that we were in the middle of downtown Louisville, Kentucky?   At the moment, I confess, I was not thinking about Yahweh's peace!  I should have been.   When we were about 22 miles from the hotel, and mostly out of the city of Louisville, I think I finally took a breath.  It was still a downpour, but the traffic had eased up and you could sort of see.  And I was just simply so grateful to have gotten through this storm.  It stormed for most of the night.  Both Ken and I were a bit shaken up.  As I was laying in bed, in my thankfulness to Yahweh, I remembered His promise of peace in the storm.

There were more storms predicted along our route for today, and I called on my good friends and intercessors to cover our trip in prayer.  And because Yahweh is faithful, we were able to avoid the majority of the major storms that were in our path.  We stopped and had a longer than usual lunch, which kept us out of a major storm crossing our route.  And just as we were passing the last major storm system (which never did cause us any rain), right in front of us, an amazing rainbow formed!  It was truly a reminder of Yahweh's promises to us.  The last 100 miles of our trip were clear sailing. 

So take my advice....... 1.  In the midst of the storm, remember Yahweh's peace!  2.  ASK for prayer covering and support - it makes a difference when you know others are standing with you.  3.  Remember Yahweh's covenant promises!  He always keeps them. 

Thank you Yahweh for calling me your child.  Thank you for your love and your amazing promises.  And thank you for being patient with me - even when I don't remember to trust you in the midst of the storm.