Sisters are different flowers from the same garden.

 

This picture is my sister Julie, sister Karen and me taken in 1985 at the time of my dad's death. Today is all about my sister Karen.  I can't begin to express how much I have realized the loss of my sister Karen in the last several years.  I don't know if it is because of my age (nearing 60) or if it is the loss of my mom also, but over and over I have felt that I would love to talk to Karen!  And the funny thing about that is that we didn't talk all that much.  We didn't see each other very often either.   I talked with Julie, my other sister, yesterday and we had a good chat, just catching up on the family news.  At the end of that conversation, it hit me that I would love to be able to have a conversation like that with Karen.  While I am thankful for Facebook and the ability to stay somewhat in the loop with Karen's kids, it really is not the same.  In thinking back, during my growing up years, Karen seemed much more like an aunt than a sister to me because of our age difference.    When I got married, things changed, I think because I was now relating to Karen "adult to adult".  And then when Gwen was born, it was "mom to mom".  Sadly Karen and I didn't have much time to relate "grandma to grandma" since Lia was only 11 months old when Karen died. 

 

I love this picture of Karen and her friend (sorry, but I don't know her name) and my mom and I.  It was taken in the summer of 1955 before I was a year old.   When I look at this picture of Karen, I think about all the movies and stories I have read about being a teenager in the 1950's.   What a different time it was than the 1970's when I was a teenager.  My mom often said that she raised kids in so many different "generations"  - the 50's and the 60's and the 70's.  What a wide time span and interesting changing lifestyles.  Let's face it, by the time I was in high school, there wasn't a dress code!  Very different than the 50's.  I remember my sister Julie setting her hair in rollers.....EVERY NIGHT... before going to bed.   I had long straight hair all through high school. I didn't own a curling iron until long after I was married.  I think Karen set her hair in pin curls.   Yep, we had very different  experiences growing up.  But we are still sisters. Just as my post title today says.... sister are different flowers from the same garden! 

 

My sister Karen had an amazing singing voice.  I always wished that I could sing like her.   When I realized that Gwen had that same musical, wonderful voice, I was so pleased.   And I believe that Karen and Gwen had a special connection since Karen was Gwen's Godmother.   And this is part of how amazing a spiritual heritage is in a family.  These special gifts that are sown into generations of a family and then "bloom" in future children.  I think of our grandmother, Nora Larson Toensing, who had such an amazing voice that when she sang in church in the summer, people could hear her miles away, as her voice carried on the breezes through the open windows and doors of the church.   Yes, I believe that Jesus has a plan and destiny for our family and this is just one way of seeing the fulfillment of that.  I love that our family "garden" has seeds that have been sown by Jesus and only he knows exactly what that garden in full bloom will look like.  Yes, sisters are different flowers in the same garden, but we share so much that has been lovingly placed in that garden.  We share a destiny and our lives are woven together, connected not only by the past, but by the future.  

 

Jesus,  thank you.  I love that you take moments and memories and help us see beyond our own thoughts and feelings to see from your perspective.   Holy Spirit, thank you for using this blog to help me gain a better understanding of how you work in our families.  Help us all to continue to go deeper into you and to see with your eyes.  Thank you for my family.  Amen

 

Easter recap....

We had a simply wonderful Easter!  Just love these little sweeties.  Notice the hats, the gloves, the jewelry. the vest, the tie.  Yes, this is one of the best things about Easter.  I guess I am to blame for this, since Gwen was saying that she remembers always having a hat and gloves for Easter. I am responsible for the girls matching dresses.  I just love finding these and I figure we only have a few years until they refuse to wear them! 

We were all together at Gwen and Tim's yesterday and having a great time just sitting around and talking.  Gwen and Doug started talking about what they remembered about Easters from their childhood.  Doug said he only really remembered the year that he got a fishing pole (this is really no surprise since that boy loves to fish!).    Gwen was recounting the hat and gloves that she had most Easters.  This is the photo proof of that from 1984 when Doug was just 2 and Gwen was almost 5. 

This got me thinking about one Easter that I remember. I believe it was 1962 (it could have been a year or two later, I am really not sure).    I had gone with my mom and dad and brother Greg to visit my sister Karen and her family and celebrate Easter in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  While I was still young enough to really wait for that Easter basket, my brother should have been beyond the basket stage.  But, to keep the peace and humor Greg, he was getting a candy filled basket also.  In my family we always had to find the basket that had been hidden somewhere in the house.  We never hid eggs or did an egg hunt.  I remember that I found my basket quite quickly in a sort of "window box" that was on the stairwell of their house.  I was so delighted.  However, Greg could not find his basket.  He looked and looked and as time went on, got more and more upset.  My favorite memory of this day is my mom and sister Karen sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee, just laughing.  The funny thing was, they were watching the clock very closely!  They needed Greg to find that basket that was hidden in the oven so that Karen could start the Easter ham!  I think that they finally gave him so many hints that he found it.   My mom always laughed about this whenever we talked about Easter.  I love thinking about Karen and Mom having coffee around the kitchen table, laughing and talking.  

Our day yesterday began with an amazing worship service at Gwen and Tim's church.  During the service the pastor talked about church being a place that welcomes anyone and everyone comes exactly as they are.  Of course, he shared that Jesus is the answer to every problem and situation that we might have.   During the final song, people from the congregation went to the front of the sanctuary holding signs that represented many common situations -  divorce, cancer, depression, anxiety, illness, worry, hopelessness, fear, pain, addiction - among other things (this is just a sample of things I remember seeing).  During the song, they turned their signs over to reveal things like HOPE, RECOVERY, FAITH, PEACE, HEALTH!  It was such a visual reminder of what all of us have gained because of the cross and the resurrection.  I loved this!   Everyone could look at those signs and look into their own life and see what Jesus has done for them.   It was wonderful.   Thank you Jesus!

I am so grateful that Easter fell right in the middle of this difficult month for me.  I love that there is this reminder for me that Jesus is ALIVE and because of His great love for us all, we can celebrate in the midst of loss. What an amazing gift of life and love. 

Jesus, thank you for Easter, for resurrection, for joy and love and life!   Thank you for children and grand children and smiles and laughing and fun.   Thank you for 75 degrees and sunshine and the bursting forth of springtime.   Holy Spirit, remind all of us what you have done in our lives. Thank you for loving us and redeeming us.  Amen

Remembering my dad on this Resurrection Eve

Twenty nine years ago, April 19th was after Easter.  I remember it well.  On Easter Sunday (which was April 7) my dad had a stroke and ended up in ICU.  My mom called me very early to tell me that they had rushed him to the hospital during the night.   I remember that I shared it with the Pastor and asked him to pray.   1985 had been a challenging year for us.   Doug had been in the hospital most of January and February, culminating with having his kidney removed.  Just after recovering from that surgery, he caught chicken pox (from Gwen).  I had missed lots of work and now I needed to go to Minnesota to see my dad.   So, I planned a last minute weekend trip, by myself, flying up to be with my mom and visit my dad.  During all the three years of my dads illness and dialysis, my mom never expected me to come and visit.  It was the same time that Doug was so sick and she knew that I couldn't leave him.  So, when she said that I needed to come, I knew I needed to go.   I left two unhappy, sick (scratchy) kids with Ken and made the trip.  I am glad that I did.  I visited on the 13th and 14th and flew home on the 15th.  My dad died on April 19.  My dad had not really responded to anyone much at all, yet when I talked to him, he immediately asked about Ken and the kids.  Everyone in the room was so surprised.   Later the doctor asked him if he wanted to stop his dialysis and he shook his head no.  But later that day they were unable to do the dialysis since his blood pressure kept dropping.  Even though his will to live was so strong, his body had just had enough.  

The picture above is from December of 1981, when I was pregnant with Doug.  My dad just loved Gwen.  He couldn't get over how verbal she was.  She was quite the talker and she loved to talk with her grandpa.  He loved to talk with her.  My dad, however,  was not very talkative about his faith, but I know that he believed in Jesus.   In the last years of his life, my parents were blessed with one of those special, amazing Pastors that really make a difference.   Pastor Bode drew my dad out and for the first time in his adult life, dad joined a Bible study.   Pastor Bode visited my dad almost daily in the hospital and was so supportive of my mom.  During his last visit with my dad, he read Psalm 121, my dad's very favorite Psalm.  And he reminded everyone at my dad's funeral, that we would see him again, and that he was celebrating with Jesus in heaven.  

I love that all I can think about tonight is the Resurrection!  Without Easter, we would not have that assurance that we had at dad's funeral.  What a wonderful gift!  I am so thankful for that faithful pastor who took the time to really get my dad to think about Jesus.  After years and years of working as a church secretary, I know that the Easter season is a very busy time for pastors and ALL church workers.   So I encourage you all to not only pray for your pastor, but also show you appreciation next week.   Make sure that they get their days off, and honor their time with their family.  Most importantly, share in the Resurrection celebration tomorrow!   He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!  Amen

What can you count on??

Today I discovered that "Priority Mail" at the United States Post Office, that is supposed to be delivered in 2 business days, is NOT guaranteed!  I was surprised and not pleased, to say the least.  You see, I had paid $12.00 to mail our Passport Renewals by Priority Mail, on April 11.  They went in two separate envelopes (per the instructions of the Passport Office) and were mailed in a way that could be tracked....hence the Priority Mail!  While we don't really "need" our passports (since we haven't planned anything yet for our vacation in June), we MIGHT find a way to put them to use that week.  Yes, we procrastinated and should have done this long ago. But thinking that one of our passports might be lost in the mail is not great.   On Monday, April 14, ONE of the checks cleared our bank account.   So I waited a couple of days, figuring that the other would clear.  Only to discover on the tracking sight that one of the two envelopes had sat at the Franklin Park sort center from April 11 until April 17.  Then it seemed to make its way to Philadelphia and was "out for delivery" today.   I just don't get it!   When you pay six dollars to mail something, you sort of just expect that you can count on it getting there in 2 or 3 days.   But, alas, it is the United States Post Office.  I should have known better.

 

I am so thankful that I know, on this Good Friday, exactly what I can count on...... Jesus.  I am so thankful for the events remembered on this day, and for the knowledge that Sunday is coming!  You can count on that.  Today I heard Kelley Mooney's spiritual lyrical adaptation of Leonard Cohen's   Hallelujah  (Click on Hallelujah to hear this song).  I just love the words she has put to this familiar song.  I love that I can remember all of the events of this week....starting at Palm Sunday and the wonderful praise and Hosannas.  Followed by the meaningful Passover Seder - Communion meal. And then the darkness and total sacrifice of Jesus for us on Good Friday.  This is followed by Sunday and the Hallelujah of resurrection, you can count on this!  All of this is about what God has done for us.  How much He loves us!  I have been redeemed!  Hallelujah! 

Yes, I am spending today, in quiet thankfulness, with a bit of Hallelujah thrown in for the reminder of what I CAN count on.  And I am thankful that our second passport hit the processing office today, one week behind the other.  Now, we just need to figure out where to go on vacation!

Jesus, thank you so much for your sacrifice on the cross.  Thank you for your great love and your amazing plan for this world and all of us.   Holy Spirit, thank you for reminders all around us of who you are and all that you have done for us.  Thank you for Kelley Mooney and her gift in song.  Bless her as she continues to share your story.  Continue to reveal Jesus to the world during these special days!  Amen 

What a difference a couple of days makes!

On Monday I wrote about our very odd and awful weather..... snow.  And I included a picture of our front yard.  Well, here it is Wednesday.... just two days later....and there are the buds on our tree.  Green, very obvious leaf buds.   What a big difference.   Don't you just love Chicago weather?  There is the old saying, "If you don't like the weather in Chicago, just wait for a bit, it's bound to change!" Needless to say, I am thrilled to see this green, new evidence that Spring MUST be close at hand!

Yesterday, was another one of those anniversary days for me.   Five years ago on April 15 my mother-in-law, Joanne Rowley, died.   She had been having health problems for several years and the last 6 months of her life she had been in and out of the hospital.   So, her passing in 2009, while sad, was not a surprise.   I looked through all of my pictures to try to find a picture of her and I from the last years of her life.  I was not successful.  I did find this picture of our family with Mom and Dad Rowley on the occasion of their 65th Wedding Anniversary in 2007.

What a blessing it is to have the legacy in our family of long marriages.  I love that Gwen and Doug have been able to see and celebrate 50, 60 and 65th wedding anniversaries, and 90th and even 95th birthdays.   How wonderful it is to be able to talk about these milestones and to remember and share.  I think I have mentioned that Joanne was an amazing artist. We have many, many of her pieces around our home, as do Doug and Gwen.  But I have to share my very favorite today.

This is a very small painting(only about 3" X 5") that Joanne did when she was selling items at art fairs.  I remember her surprise when I asked to have this painting.  It was something that she had just done quickly.  I can't explain why, but when I hold it in my hand and look at it, there is a feeling that comes over me.   Certainly, the subject matter appeals to me.  But I really believe that there is a "Holy Spirit" message in this.   I love that the path is the central focus of the picture.  The destination is not clear.  The path has a church on one side and a home on the other.  And there is balance in this picture.    The church is in the foreground and the home is set back.   This speaks to me of putting God first in all things, followed by family and home.  Then work and everything else should follow that.  In fact, those things should not even be "in the picture".  I can't help but reflect on how messy life can get, when you don't follow this pattern.  When work becomes the most important thing in your life, there is a problem.   When your interests become first on your mind, rather than God, things don't tend to go well.   This painting is in my scrapbooking room and I look at it all the time.   Even though I know that Joanne did not have any of this in mind when she did this painting, I know that Jesus had it in mind.   I am so thankful that she gave me this small painting.

Jesus, thank you for Joanne and the gifts and talents you gave to her.   Thank you for the legacy that you have put in our family that we continue to celebrate.  Holy Spirit, thank you for bringing revelation to me of your intent for that painting.  Jesus, you are God of life and creation.  Thank you for bringing a burst of Springtime after that shot of Winter.   Amen

 



Mosaics of our life... thanks to sweet Ellie!

Ellie is one of the most artist, creative kids I have ever seen.   Oh how I love this little girl!  She spends a large part of her day in "pretend" play.  Either with dress up or little people or dolls, she has a big story to tell.   She loves all kinds of crafts and often asks to paint.  You never know what Ellie will be wearing since she chooses her own clothes every day.  Ellie is not swayed by anyone!  She knows what she wants and she does not give up.   The prophetic word I received for her when she was born that that she is a Warrior of the Lord.  She would DECLARE and intercede and pray.  More than that, she would fight God's way.  She will still stand in high places and take back the land.  Yes, Ellie has the heart of this kind of warrior.  And she is clothed with compassion and mercy.  A perfect picture of a warrior of the Lord.  

Here is Ellie with a Magnetic Mosaic picture that we created today.  I just love the idea of creating a meaningful picture out of little bits that don't seem like anything until they are put together.   I was thinking of some of the amazing stained glass windows I have seen.  Amazing scenes are born out of broken pieces of glass, joined together in a meaningful way.    I love that Jesus takes all of the broken parts of our life, along with all of the good things and creates a beautiful picture of His plan and destiny for us.   He makes a "mosaic blueprint" and fits it all together perfectly.   It is such a comforting thing to know that He has created that blueprint for us.  Jesus can use all of the not so wonderful stuff that is hidden in our past, and then create something for His glory.  I know that I have lots of that hidden stuff and I love that Jesus is not only bringing that stuff out of hiding, he is turning it into something marvelous!   Looking at this picture above, I see all of the blessings that I have in those yellow, pink and white pieces.   I love that the red pieces remind me ...... especially this week.... of the great sacrifice of Jesus and His shed blood.   And each of those darker pieces, help me to not forget how much Jesus has done for me and in me.   Thank you Ellie for this wonderful picture that brought me to this place tonight. 

And just for a special bonus tonight, here is my sweet little Anna!   Can't wait to see her personality bloom!

Jesus, thank you for the lessons that we learn from children.   Thank you for all that you are doing in Lia, Ellie, Zeke and Anna.   Jesus, help us all to see the "big picture" mosaic of our life and to recognize what you have done, even in the dark and hidden places and to celebrate all that you are doing now.   Holy Spirit, thank you for revelation and clear pictures.  And thank you for the smiles of babies!   Amen

Passover Celebration with friends....

Tonight I had the great honor of attending a Passover Seder.  It was a simply wonderful time.  I love seeing this important celebration from a Christian perspective.   I was thinking of those pictures that are "optical illusions" when there are really two very different pictures, and once you see one, you can't NOT see it.  Like this.....

This Passover celebration is like those pictures!  Once you see Jesus and how much he is represented in this Seder, it's hard to NOT see Him.   And when you add the New Testament celebration of Communion into the picture, it is simply amazing.   All through out the meal I was remembering my dream of a few weeks ago and the revelation I had last Sunday night.   I was imagining all of those chosen people of God, sitting down at tables all over the earth, saying the same words.   I am praying that the veils will be removed from their eyes and they would see their Messiah.   At the end of the meal, my friends and I were just talking and laughing and singing some spontaneous praise songs.  And I felt led to share the dream and the words I had from last Sunday.   My friend leading the Seder had a thoughtful look on his face.  And then he said, "well that sounds a lot like Isaiah 25:6-9.  

 

On the mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine- the best of meats and the finest of wines.  On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all people, the sheet that covers all nations.  He will swallow up death forever.  The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.  He will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.   The Lord has spoken.   In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us.  This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

 

Isn't that amazing?   It does sound a bit like my dream.  And from that verse, we prayed for all those people celebrating Seders around the world.  It was an awesome way to end this celebration.   You know, I almost didn't go to this dinner.   But late yesterday I knew that I needed to be there.   I am so thankful for that prompting of the Holy Spirit that nudged me to exactly where I needed to be today.  

 

This will be a wonderful Holy Week and Easter.  Even though there is SNOW in the forecast for tomorrow and tomorrow night! (Can you believe it???)  Jesus,  I am so thankful for the path that you have me on during this season.   Thank you, for Spring and new life and resurrection power.  Thank you for friends and for ancient celebrations that connect us to past generations and  help us look to the future.   Holy Spirit, bring that Passover miracle!  Amen