Morning???????

This morning I woke up in a bad mood. I had a hard time getting to sleep last night. My husband was away and as the minutes ticked by I decided against setting the alarm. I determined to just wake up whenever my body decided to enter the land of the living. I knew that today would be a busy day but since I didn't need to be anywhere right away this morning, I was thankful for the luxury of good rest.

At five a.m. I felt a slobbering wetness on my arm and heard heavy breathing in my ear. Our dog was panting in eager readiness to go outside and play. With only one eye opened I groaned, "Go downstairs Chas! Go! Now!" Thankfully, he bowed his head and slowly, ever so slowly, made his way out of my room.


I rolled over and tried to resume my deep sleep. A few seconds later the rooster in the coop in the backyard began his regimen of crowing every few seconds. Ugghhhh! The pillow came up over my ears and I once again tried to breathe deeply and slowly. No use! After a very short while I gave up and plodded out to the living room and flopped down onto the recliner.

I am not a morning person. My mother used to awake at five and make a batch of cookies, weed the garden, and maybe even clean the house before anyone else arose. My grandmother would do the same thing with even more energy. As far as I know, all of my maternal ancesters were filled with great energy early, early in the morning.

Sadly, that love of the morning skipped my generation.. I roll out of bed and spend a lot of energy just trying to adjust to the new day. It is hard to see the beauty of a sunrise with your head in a deep deep fog. Usually, the fog clears after and hour or two or three......or....

It is now about 11 a.m.. I have been up at least five hours and I can truthfully say that I am awake now. All vestiges of sleep have been put away for the day. I am enjoying the sunshine and I feel full of the needed energy for the work I have to do. I am finally ready to start the day. Yay!!!! The hours between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. are somewhat of a blur. I am confident that I got dressed and brushed my teeth. I know that I fed the dog, cat, and chickens, albeit reluctantly. Although I know that I opened my Bible and tried to have devotions, I am not sure what it was about. I even remember watering the flowers on the deck. But, I don't remember any delight at the brightness of the day or any enthusiasm for life.

Ever since I was a little girl I have been told that I need to get up early and face the day with gusto. Somehow, the fact that I fully enjoy sunsets or the late hours of the evening doesn't seem to count.

I am not complaining at least I am trying not to. I am thankful that I have the ability to get out of bed,to be able to see the flowers in bloom and even hear the rooster crowing. I am thankful that I have a bed in a room with a roof over it and I am even thankful that I can feel the wetness of the dog's tongue on my arm. I am thankful that I have a Bible to read and work to do during the day. I am thankful for so very many things!........Just not at 5 a.m. in the morning......


Mostly, I am thankful that the Lord understands my situation and is not surprised, appalled, or offended. He understands me because He made me. He has also graciously supplied me with a wonderful promise....

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning. Great is Thy faithfulness!" Lamentations 3:23

Have a good day! Love, Sue

In light of eternity.

I think I mentioned before that “”I was indecisive?.............. I just finished painting the living room, dining room, kitchen, and foyer walls of my home. For the past five years I have been trying to decide what color to paint. Should I be daring and try a bold color scheme or should I play it safe with a muted one. What about an accent wall and if so, which wall would be best? My husband, John graciously put up with my indecision as I experimented with small swatches of various colors. At one point I had about 10 separate colors in many different sizes and shapes adorning the walls.

No color seemed to demand attention so, as Christmas approached this year, I decided to take the plunge and make a decision. I went to a paint store, picked up a color wheel and spun it around and chose two colors. After buying a gallon of each, I brought them home, put on paint clothes, grabbed a brush and roller and began. Soon the living room was done and I opened the second can of paint hoping that it would at least complement the first color. As I applied it to the living room walls, I began having a very hard time trying to decipher where I had already painted.……. The color that had taken countless hours over a period of five years to decide upon was almost the exact same color that had already been on the walls for the past twelve years!!!!!! …………………………..(Fortunately we still like the color.)

Groaning inside, I thought about what a tortuous affair picking out the color for the walls had been. I had asked the opinion of many friends and relatives and all of them had freely expressed their opinions. I had studied magazine color combinations and had tried to visualize the mood that I wanted to achieve. I did my homework. Unfortunately, as this decision overtook my thought life, I allowed it to steal a great deal of my time and energy. As I did so, it backfired on me!

At one point in my grueling endeavor, a friend of mine asked me what position the color of my walls had “in light of eternity.” I answered, “In light of eternity? Well, nothing of course!” Immediately the realization hit me that I had spent an incredible amount of my time on that which was ultimately unimportant and had spent very little time on that which had eternal value.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with taking care of the “things” that God gives us. We are to be good stewards of what we have been blessed with. It is necessary to apply new paint to walls from time to time but my problem began and ended with my focus. Choosing the color of paint in and of itself was not a problem but it became an idol when I allowed it to consume my thoughts. Only the Triune God…. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit….. deserves that place in my life.

"Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal; for I am the Lord your God." Leviticus 19:4

Have a good day! Love, Sue

To the moon and back

Sitting snugly on his grandpa's lap, four year old Seth had a big smile on his face as he looked across the room at me and proclaimed, "Grandma, I love you to the moon and back!"

"Oh, Seth! I love you more than all of the leaves on all of the trees in the whole world!" I replied. The challenge was on...who could come up with the best and most impressive declaration of love. All of our grandchildren had played this game with us but Sethie was, by far, the most determined to win.

"Grandma, I love you all the way to Pluto!"

"Let's see now...Hmm...I love you all the way to the farthest star!" I was feeling a rush of satisfaction, knowing that I had the last word. These grandchildren of mine will never, ever love me more than I love them. Not possible.....ever!

Seth paused for a minute, looked me straight in the eye, and with a smug smile on his face said, "Grandma, I love you as big as God is!!!"

What could I say? "Oh Seth, You got me didn't you! There is nothing bigger than God! He is way, way bigger than the whole universe and everything in it, isn't He?"

"Yes, Grandma. God is bigger than the sky!"

"He sure is! God is bigger than the sky and yet He loves you always!!!"

Seth grinned and jumped out of his grandpa's lap ready to go and play some more....

As big as God is...What a concept!...How big is He? I will never be able to understand how big God is because I have a finite mind bound by time and space and God is infinite. His size is incomprehensible to me and yet I know that He is there. I don't understand His ways and yet I know that He loves me.

There is an old song written by Stuart Hamblin whose chorus paints a beautiful picture of the majesty of God.....


"How big is God? How big and wide is His domain
To try to tell these lips can only start.
He's big enough to rule His mighty universe
Yet small enough to live within my heart."

Today, when fear, disappointments, or other problems threaten to overwhelm me, I am going to remember just how big,...really big,...really, really, really big...God is! No matter what, He is enough.


2 Chronicles 2:6 " ...God is greater than all other gods. But who is able to build a temple for Him since the heavens, even the highest heavens cannot contain Him?"

Have a good day! Love, Sue

A Father's Love

"Honey, what's wrong? Are you alright?" The panicked voice of the young woman cried out to him as she entered his study. The unusual sight of her husband wracked with quiet sobs concerned her deeply. She had hardly ever seen him shed a tear before. What was going on?

Silently, tears slipped down his face. As he stood up to engulf her in his strong arms the paper he had been holding drifted to the floor. She held him tightly as he composed himself and a minute later he released her, knelt down and picked it up.

"Here, see what I found." He croaked as he handed her the well worn photo.

"Sweetie, it's just a picture of you holding Shelby when she was four years old!" The tension that had grabbed her as she’d entered the room began to dissolve. "She's in the next room watching a movie! Are you sure you’re okay?”

"Yes. I’m fine, really. There’s no big problem. I’m not exactly sure where all of this emotion came from but when I looked at the image of Shelby leaning against my chest, arms crossed behind her neck and I remembered her sweetness; how small and precious she was and how she used to look at me with her big blue eyes…. I was overwhelmed with love for her! His eyes searched hers for understanding.

She held the picture closer and examined it. Her daughter’s face was flushed from the sun and a smudge of dirt lay across her apple-like cheeks. She wore dirty yellow shorts and a blue tank top and one of her shoelaces was untied. As she looked at the camera, her mischievous eyes twinkled with delight. Her lounging position mimicked that of her dad as she rested on his chest, looking completely peaceful and trusting. “I remember the day this picture was taken. We had just come home from a day at the lake. You, Shelby and I had spent most of the afternoon in the boat fishing. You thought it was so funny that she caught more fish than you.” A smile stretched across Elana's face as she too remembered that ordinary yet enjoyable day. “I took this picture right after we got home.”

“Yep! I remember thinking what a great day it had been! After you took the picture, she started struggling and tried to get up, I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a great big hug and then I tickled her till she was squealing and laughing so hard….” His voice trailed off and a chuckle escaped his lips.

“Hey Dad!” His journey down memory lane was cut short as his lanky and beautiful thirteen year old daughter Shelby came bouncing to the door, leaned against the frame and innocently asked, “Hey Dad, may I have some money to go get ice cream?”

He carefully set the picture down, walked to the door, grabbed her, wrapped his arms tightly around her and gave her a bear-like hug. After smothering her hair with kisses he continued to hold his squirming daughter as he smiled and said, “We’ll see, Shelby. We’ll see.” ……………………………………………………………………………..


My friend Stew was laughing and was somewhat embarrassed as he told me this story about himself. This father of nine children went on to say how each one of them  held a special place in his heart. As I listened, I thought about how this sweet story was a very, very small and extremely minute example of the love that God has for us. I was reminded that God the Heavenly Father always has us, His children, in His thoughts.

God loves you with a personal and overpowering love. His love is complete and all encompassing. He understands you in a way that no other person in the world can because He created you and knows what is in your heart! He knows the hidden secrets of your soul and still wants to wrap you up in the majesty of His mighty arms and smother you with kisses. Even more than Stew's affection for his children,, God the Father is emotional in His love for you and enjoys you. There is nothing that you have ever done or can ever do that will shock Him or stop His overwhelming love for you!

No matter what kind of earthly father figure you have had, God is the perfect Father and will never let you down. Turn into His arms today and let him shower you with His love.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39 From God’s love letter to us……the Bible Have a good day! Love, Sue

THE DRESS

“Come here, Rachel! Look at the pretty dress I have for you! Let’s try it on, OK?” I grabbed the squirming, chubby little body of my baby girl and placed her on my lap with one hand while I tried to fluff out her new party dress with the other. “Shall we try this on, sweetheart?”

The ruffled pink dress topped with a white pinafore was the perfect dress for her to wear at her first birthday party. With a fitted bodice and flouncy skirt designed to billow out when she turned, I thought my baby would love it. “Oh, look at you! My, don’t you look pretty!” I exclaimed when the task of changing her was completed. “Do you want to go show Daddy?”

Quickly she crawled down from my lap and toddled out into the kitchen where the entire family was finishing their lunch. Standing in the middle of the floor, cute, chubby little legs peeking out from the bottom of her skirt, she giggled with delight as she twirled around and around! Sounds of laughter filled the air as everyone watched the picture of exuberance and joy she displayed. She twirled around and around and around again and, for the first time, it was obvious that Rachel loved a pretty dress. Though we were trying to save this one for special occasions, it became apparent that she didn’t want to take it off……………

Twenty–two years later…..

"I want a bridal gown that has straight lines, a simple bodice and no beading." Hours of studying Bride magazine and Internet bridal sites were yielding strong opinions in my youngest daughter, Rachel. Uncharacteristically, she seemed to know exactly what she wanted as she began the search for the perfect dress at the Wedding Shop. Years earlier, along with making a very detailed four page list of the qualities that she required the man of her dreams to exhibit; she had also clearly imagined what she would wear when she married him.

Her sister, Sarah and niece, Selma, matron of honor and junior bridesmaid respectively, and I, the mother of the bride, were along for the adventure. The salon was a mass of many shades of white as the dresses, adorned with various combinations of tulle, lace, and beads, stood at attention. Rack after rack of impressive gowns and group after group of perspectives brides( each accompanied by their own entourage) made me feel a bit overwhelmed at the prospect of finding anything in that store; much less the dress of which dreams are made. But, we continued on.

Rachel had only an hour long appointment before her attendant had another bride to attend to. She tried on about ten simple dresses but nothing seemed to be right. Rachel, at twenty three, is thin and beautiful yet not one dress looked truly becoming on her. We left feeling a bit stunned. What I thought might be an easy task might not be so easy after all.

In the following weeks, Rachel went on a hunting spree for the absolutely perfect bridal gown. With no success, she returned home and we visited “Elegance”, a small bridal shop located in our home town. It was a quiet place with many less options but since we were the only customers in the shop, Rachel was able to experiment a bit. This time, she tried on dress… after dress… after dress. Much to our amazement her taste began to evolve. She started to admire herself in a variety of styles and colors. One gown in particular drew her attention. It had only one shoulder strap, lots of beading, a long train, and was a rich champagne color that enhanced her pale skin and strawberry blond hair.


Success! Perhaps we had the completed the first big decision regarding this daunting adventure of wedding preparation. She put the dress on hold while she tried to decide if this was indeed.....the One. A few days later she came to a conclusion. Even though the champagne colored dress was beautiful, she had always envisioned herself wearing white on her special day. Besides, she didn't "love" it. So, she decided to keep looking…. and looking…. and looking.

On New Year’s Eve day, two and a half months into “the hunt” for the perfect bridal gown, Rachel and I decided to try out yet another shop. Bella Bridal was located on the other side of the city in which she lived. On the way, she prayed that she would not only find a dress but also that it would be on sale. (That’s my girl, always looking for a good deal!) As we arrived, I was not sure if this was such a good idea. We had a somewhat limited budget and this appeared to be an unlimited budget kind of place.

Amazing gowns hung in their splendor throughout the store. As we entered, a friendly attendant greeted us and answered our question regarding the average cost of the gowns in the shop. She said that their dresses started at $1000 and went up from there. Occasionally there were dresses with a sale tag on them but because we were intrigued by the sheer beauty of the place, Rachel and I decided to stay and see what we could find. We browsed through many beautiful dresses and quickly gathered some in her size. She went back to the fitting room to try them on…

The empty viewing room was peaceful and filled with comfortable couches for friends and relatives to relax upon. Podiums were strategically placed in front of the wall of mirrors so brides could stand on them and view their chosen gowns from every angle. While I knew it was a simply a store, the room had a feeling of intimacy about it that was inviting. I sank down onto one of the couches and watched as Rachel tried on lovely dress after lovely dress.

Each dress looked better than the one before. She tried on the last of the ten we had gathered and walked out, stood before the mirror and sighed, “Oh Mom”…..The silk gown was a wonderful blend of all the elements of design that she had been looking for. The bodice was fitted to the knee where it billowed out into a long train. It had a lace up back and tasteful beading. The ivory color was a shade of white and yet complimentary to her skin tone.

“I love it!” We cried at the same time.

“Are you sure, Mom? Does it really look good?” A touch of awe filled her voice as the need for reassurance crept in.

“I think it is beautiful and perfect!” I responded. “I love it, but it’s more important that you think it’s amazing.”

After spending a few more minutes gazing in the mirror, she added a veil. She stood taller and straighter and bit her lip in concentration as she turned around and around and around again before the mirror. I was tempted to ask if she was beginning to feel like a bride. Instead, I waited to see if this dress was going to survive her intense scrutiny. Slowly, a radiant smile lit her face as she cried, “I think this is it! It's so beautiful! I don't think that I ever want to take it off!!"

Upon hearing those words, the kind young attendant was quick to try and clinch the sale. “Well, this dress is already marked down, but if you decide to buy it and pay in full today, I can offer you $50 off of the sale price.

Since Rachel had tried on so many dresses with a variety of price tags, I asked, “After the discount, what would the total be?

“$150", she replied.

Rachel and I looked at each other in amazement. Her prayer was answered. Not only had she finally found a beautiful dress that she loved, but.......it was the cheapest one she had ever tried on!!! We bought the gown and went out the door rejoicing in the faithfulness of God to grant the desires of a young woman’s heart!

How good the Father in Heaven was to lead us to a place that was the ultimate of pleasant experiences for a mother and daughter. How good He was to provide the perfect dress at, by today’s standards, a ridiculously low price. And, by far most of all, how good He was to allow me to have the amazing opportunity of watching my little girl transformed into a bride before my very eyes!

Later....

Days went by as I thought about the ordeal finding a dress for the bride had been. I was reminded how we, as Christians, are the bride of a soon coming bridegroom, (Jesus Christ). We are in the continuous process of getting ready for him. Our lives are constantly being purified and refined so that we will be ever more beautiful for Him. We are always in that wedding preparation mode...

Revelation 19 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings saying, "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent Reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife (the church) has made herself ready." And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Have a good day! Love, Sue