God's Near Love

God's goodness is near us. It is not a goodness far away, but God follows us with His goodness in whatever situation we are. He attaches Himself to us, He has made Himself close, that He might be near us in goodness. He is a father, and everywhere to maintain us. He is a husband, and everywhere to help. He is a friend, and everywhere to comfort and counsel. His love is a near love. He has taken upon Himself the closest kinds of relationships, so that we may never lack God and the evidences of His love.

Richard Sibbes

Memories are for keeps!

Happy Birthday, Caroline!  I'm thankful to celebrate the gift that you are to our family! 

I'll always cherish the memory of this evening together...

Even if some people didn't cooperate for having their pictures taken! 

I LOVE, Love, love our family togetherness!

Family Treasures

Today I went back in time for a couple of hours with my maternal ancestors... I read (tried) many letters; one was dated 1868 😲. I read a bunch of dry good and grocery receipts (Little House on the Prairie style), ...

a couple of dental receipts for $1 fillings, a property tax receipt for $2.85 🤣, doctors notes (to excuse from work because of hernias and broken bones). I found my great aunts' math homework, a Christmas card sent from one maternal great-grandmother to another...which really caught me by surprise, 'cause I'd never met "Mrs. Blocker", but was awed to see they enjoyed a friendship with one another. 

I cherish a 50th anniversary napkin for my great-grandparents and remembered they shared a room together at the Presbyterian home in their 64th year of marriage before she passed away in 1977... 😭!

Last but not least, my Great Grandma Eula Bell left some buttons...How did she know I have a fond appreciation for buttons, especially hers??!! 🥰

Comfort of God

“The word comfort is from two Latin words meaning “with” and “strong” – He is with us to make us strong. Comfort is not soft, weakening commiseration; it is true, strengthening love.”

― Amy Carmichael It's been a couple of weeks since Mark's mom returned to her home, to live alone. We are very thankful and encouraged with her strength and balance since her fall and subsequent partial hip replacement surgery the week following Thanksgiving. Following her short stay in the hospital, she went to stay at a rehabilitation care center for two weeks, then spent Christmas and the month of January at her daughter's home before returning home. This picture was taken the weekend of Mawmaw's birthday. It was a blessing to all congregate to celebrate her 88th birthday. Seeing Gary, her oldest was also a blessing. He lives out of town, so we do not get to visit with him as much as we'd like. No doubt, this visit was especially meaningful to Mawmaw, as she had all three of her children 'home', and close to her heart! I didn't want to miss sharing this picture, because the joy of being together was obvious on her face! While reading 1 Corinthians recently, I was encouraged by these words of Paul, written to the Church at Corinth... I will visit you after passing through Macedonia, for I intend to pass through Macedonia,
and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you many help me on my journey,
wherever I go.
For I do not want to see you just in passing.  I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 
1 Corinthians 16:5-7 Like Paul, I find myself always eager for more time with those I love, especially my family. However, it's taken time for me to learn the key to keeping this longing in check is, "...if the Lord permits."  

Paul wanted to strengthen the Church of Corinth, because he knew they had struggled with sin within their midst. Even when there is not gross sin sin involved, the very presence of others who you love and draw strength from is encouraging. My heart's desire is to know our togetherness is a result of His blessing, His giving, His work. What encouragement there is to be gained from His blessing and presence amongst us, to experience true, strengthening love and comfort from the LORD and one another because He has united us in the bonds of relationships hip and in faith. We need one another.  

The message of the Gospel moves forward when the lost around us see our faith lived out in the hints He calls us to.

Paul had this to say to the Church of Philippi...
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 
complete my joy be being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,  
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:1-8

If, Lord, You permit, may we be strengthened by your love and grace to be the family you desire us to be, that we may be comforted in our faith to live for for You, to better love and commune and share with one another, that we may live in accord with your message of what is true. Please give us jealous hearts for your fellowship, and by your grace, catch a glimpse for the gospel you've called us to live out.

If Thou but Suffer God to Guide Thee

If thou but suffer God to guide thee,
And hope in Him thro' all thy ways,
He'll give the strength, what-e'er betide thee,
And bear thee thro the evil days;
Who trust in God's unchanging love
Builds on the rock that naught can move.

Obey, thou restless heart, be still
And wait in cheerful hope, content
To take what-e'er His gracious will,
His all discerning love, hath sent;
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him who chose us for His own.

Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways;
But do thine own part faithfully.
Trust His rich promises of grace,
So shall they be fulfilled in thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.
Amen.
Words: Georg Neumark 
Translator: Catherine Winkworth

Poppy began his radiation treatments two weeks ago.  That first day, he was admitted into the hospital with chest/stomach pains, which turned out to be pancreatitis.  He was discharged the following day, but he missed that day's radiation treatment.  Though Poppy was treated by doctors to determine the cause of his pain, he was not actually visited by those doctors, and was only given information regarding his condition by the hospital nurse that was placed over his care.  
Poppy was, however, visited by one doctor, Dr. Augsperger, his radiation oncologist.  He is being treated for a cancerous spot that suddenly showed up and grew before Christmas.  Though that spot was removed by a dermatologist oncologist, the spot in its entirety could not be completely removed because it was wrapped around a nerve in his face, thus the need for radiation treatments.   Our hearts were warmed and thankful for Dr. A's compassion and concern for Poppy.  I wish I'd thought that day to have a picture made with all four of us, since Dr. A has now treated Mom, myself, and now Dad.  I hope we can get a picture another day.    
I had just seen Dr. A that same Monday for my one year follow-up appointment, and he released me as a patient.  I went that day, thinking I'd meet Meme and Poppy after my appointment to sit with them as I thought Poppy's appointment with Dr. A was an hour or so later.  I learned immediately after my appointment that Meme and Poppy had already been there that morning, but they couldn't tell me for privacy reasons.  That afternoon, following Poppy's nap, he awakened with chest pains, and was taken by ambulance to the hospital and ended up spending the night.  

Now, two weeks later, I am thankful Poppy is doing well following his bout with pancreatitis, and his stamina is holding out well with daily radiation treatments.   
I took this picture last Friday when Katherine, John, and I took Poppy.  The radiation technicians were gracious and kind to ask if I wanted to walk back with my dad, and I jumped at the opportunity.  The machine is very similar to the one that was used for my treatments this time last year.  
It's hard to believe this path, once considered personally difficult, seems oddly familiar, and not soo bad after all.  

Thank you, LORD, for helping us, and for giving us grace for this trial, as you provided for me one year ago.  
Thank you for my dear dad who looks to You for strength and provision for his needs.  
Thank you for sustaining him through yet another turn on his journey through life.  I pray he will experience a closer communion with You because of this trial, and will know a sweeter fellowship for having walked this path. 
We are thankful he is still with us, by Your grace and sovereign mercy!  
Thank you Father, that we can look to You in the days ahead, because our hope is in You!  

Devotedly,

Mark gave me an early Valentine's gift, which I am soo enjoying.  It arrived February 1.  

Upon reading the Preface the evening it arrived, Katherine and I decided we should enjoy reading it together before bedtime in the weeks to come.
Ohh, wow!   We have really enjoyed this book!  

Jim and Elisabeth were college friends, turned sweethearts during her last semester before graduation.  As time would tell, there would be personal/relational disruptions, the worst and best of which were thousands of miles between them.  So the means by which they grew better acquainted with and spiritually encouraged by one another was through the long and arduous process of letter correspondence... some letters traveled by air mail and some by the slower transit on ground.   
What a contrast to that which most young couples of our day experience in getting to know one another better... the first obscure, then quick set introduction through internet dating sites or social media, Face timing and instant messaging/texting.  Could sweethearts of our day endure the five years of correspondence that Jim and Elisabeth experienced?   I admire most their single focus to live for the will of God, and to jealousy guard their first love for Him.  How commendable. 

Trust in the Lord exercised and nurtured their spiritual maturity. It's amazing to me how their love for one another was born and sustained by this one primary strength, though there were times when circumstances and the distance between them tested that love. They were surrendered and disciplined to wait on the LORD.  

Elisabeth had this to say of the unity of spirit their separation brought upon them concerning their relationship...

"To wait on the Lord is to stand perfectly still.

It is not to make even a tentative step.

Because we are not led to continue, we stop.

We cannot take any of this thing into our own hands...

Surely this torrent would sweep down the walls, if it not be founded upon a rock.

So, Lord, until it is firmly grounded in the will of God, let us not build." 

Elisabeth Elliot

In a similar way, Jim had this to say, …

"Came to an understanding at the cross with Betty last night.  Seemed the Lord made me think of it as laying a sacrifice on the altar.  

She has put her life there, and I almost felt as if I would lay a hand on it, to retrieve it for myself, but it is not mine --wholly God's.  

He paid for it and is worthy to do with it what He will. 

Take it and burn it for Thy pleasure, Lord, and may Thy fire fall on me as well."  

Years later, Valerie, their daughter would write this in her book about them...

"They arrived, then, at a decision.

The cross of Christ would be their point of surrender.  They would die to their desires and live for Him alone. 

They would give up their own human attraction in order to follow Christ singly.  The cross which demanded their whole hearts gave them the 'liberty of obedience' (interestingly, the title of a book Mama wrote).  So rather than press forward and make plans to keep in touch, they would allow silence and distance to be God's winnowing tools to sift out what should stay and what should go.

They loved each other, yes--undeniably so.  But even more, they could not deny that God had been setting them on a path that hardly seemed to include each other (or anyone, for that matter). And despite this unexpected wildflower that had appeared in the carefully tended garden of their souls this spring, it was difficult not to discern it as a flirtation with temptation compared to what God had been growing there all along. 

...Yet both seemed prepared, despite the anguish (and we will see what their waiting would cost them!) to walk on at this level of trust and understanding.  'It is on the altar', my mother wrote. 'God will set the fire or stay the hand.'"

Later, they would see one another and decide it would be okay to begin writing, and this book is the compilation of journal entries and letters that would tell their God-honoring story.  
It is heart stirring, and exemplary mostly of their devoted love for the LORD, and how he wove their lives together.  
Beautifully written!  

We are progressing along through the book, there has not been a night we have missed or stopped with anticipation for beginning our time to read together again.  

We highly recommend this book for families who want their young sons and daughters to know what  this couple experienced while pursuing a right relationship with their Father God while waiting on His call for their lives, and then eventually of how that would include one another, via a close, Biblical friendship.  

We all know they eventually married, but the process, the path and sequence of events that led them to the marriage altar is quite an interesting story.  

Hope you enjoy!    

Blest Be the Tie that Binds Our Hearts

The heart set to do the Father's will need never fear defeat.
Elisabeth Elliot

Last night we said our goodbyes (yes, many tears and hugs worth) to our dear friends, Meg and Dev.  
My heart dreaded the day, but my mind desired to faithfully send them off with much love.  
They came to us through the Navy, and we knew from the start that their time here would be brief.  Our time together has passed too quickly, and has been especially brief for Meg because she was deployed for the majority of her time here.  Dev, on the other hand, endeared himself to us from his first visit, when he came to find an apartment to lease.  In spite of Meg's absence, he attended many church functions and visited with us in our home. His "Big Brother" and "Son-like" love for our family was especially uplifting to me while I struggled through a year of fear/anxiety as I walked the path of cancer in 2018. 
When Dev traveled and needed a dog-walker, we were eager to take care of Hazelmutt!  We will miss Hazel too!!  

How do we love and say goodbye without feeling the pain of  departure?  
I get emotionally attached, much too quickly, so I will struggle with their absence, but they're only four hours away, and I pray we'll see them again in the next year before they move still further north for Meg's next assignment after her schooling assignment.

I cannot fully know and understand the purpose for good that meeting and loving friends, only to lose them, is for us.  I'm not good at this.  I'll be honest, as hard as I try to distance myself from the hurt, I am still drawn to dear people!  How LORD?  
I'll grieve, and cry in private for a few weeks, and I'll especially need a lot of time with the LORD to recalibrate my heart to His sovereign reign, not mine.  It takes time for me to embrace and trust He has given me a sensitivity for a special reason.  In time I will cherish the very good gifts of friendship the LORD has given me for a season, and eventually, I'll find joy in the time we were able to share.  

Friends are the family of my heart.
Letting go is hard!

Blessed be the tie that binds,
our hearts in Christian love;
the fellowship of kindred minds, 
is like to that above. 

Before our Father's throne,
we pour our ardent prayers;
our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,
our comforts and our cares.

We shall our mutual woes,
our mutual burdens bear,
and often for each other flows, 
the sympathizing tear.


When we are called to part,
It gives us inward pain;
But we shall still be joined in heart, 
and hope to meet again. 

This glorious hope revives,
our courage by the way;
while each in expectation lives,
and waits to see the day.

From sorrow, toil, and pain,
and sin, we shall be free;
and perfect love and friendship reign,
through all eternity.
Words: John Fawcett, 1782

Photo:  Meg and Dev received their new wedding rings back from the jeweler last week, and they were both thrilled to adorn them.  Their young love along the journey of three years of marriage is nothing short of infectious!  Soo thankful for precious friends.

This is Our Prayer: Thy Will Be Done

I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly pray what He taught His disciples to pray:  
Thy will be done.
Elisabeth Elliot

Pray then like this:  

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. …" 
Matthew 6:9-10 

I am thankful that the LORD's will was to provide Poppy with the necessary care and tests to determine earlier in the week that his chest and abdominal pains were caused by pancreatitis.  He was released from the hospital 24 hours later, and we were all elated! 

He is feeling better with prescribed medication.  
What a blessing and sweet answer to our prayers that Poppy would recover and return home quickly.


Thank you, Father!  

For Thy Purpose Meet

Hold Thou Thy Cross between us, 
Blessed Lord,
Let us love Thee, To us Thy power afford
To remain prostrate at Thy pierced feet,
Unhindered, holy channels for Thy purpose meet.

Set Thou our faces as a flint of stone,
To do Thy will-Our goal be this alone,
O God, our hearts are fixed-
let us not turn.
Consume our heart's affections, 
let Thy love burn.  
Elisabeth Howard (Elliot)

Home, Sweet New Home!

Father, let our faithful mind
Rest, on Thee alone inclined; 
Every anxious thought repress, 
Keep our souls in perfect peace.  
C. Wesley


After a busy December helping Meme and Poppy pack, move, and sort of get situated into their new villa before Christmas, they are feeling more at home.   

It was really helpful for me to go to sit down and visit with them yesterday, to experience some of their comfort and peace with being more settled.  
I'm thankful.  
There are still plenty of items to be stored away, but for that to happen, we will need to reorganize her closets.  When we moved them in (early December), we just put items away.  Little by little, we'll have to resituate and categorize things when I'm able to return. 

In time, we should be able to minimize the clutter, and find a place for all they've desired to keep.   I'm thankful Mom hasn't been pushing herself to accomplish too much, nor gotten frustrated and thrown stuff away, which for some would be the quick and easy thing to do.  I have appreciated Mom's ease with adjusting to change, and how she's slowly come to realize, "I really don't have a use for this.  Would you like to have it?"  It doesn't come easy for me to part with stuff either, so I understand.  More times than not, I've taken what she's offered, or have found a family member or friend who desires to use/take the item.  That has brought some comfort to Mom. 

Mark Stephen was able to hang Meme's pineapple chandelier recently, so that was encouraging to see yesterday as well.  Their new home wouldn't be Meme's and Poppy's home without some of the familiar items from their previous home of 33 years; the chandelier is one of those special trademark Meme items.  
Meme has always had a heart for hospitality.  As long as I can remember, she's always opened our home to family and friends for food and fellowship.  Meme's heart for serving others is just as large and capable now as it was when they lived in a roomier house.  Though they've moved to a smaller home, I suspect her heart will continue to be exercised in loving others, but in more intimate, smaller gatherings.  Poppy bragged on her today by telling us how well she continues to take care of him, "She feeds me three times a day!"  

As you can see, Mom and Dad have transferred many family treasures and memories to their new home.  Their walls tell stories of God's grace and faithfulness in their lives...our lives. 

I confess, and now regret trying to talk Dad out of hanging "everything".  I sat and enjoyed listening to him tell us how thankful and happy they are to be in their new home.  He was quick to remind us, "See those three pictures right over there, ...?"  and we all smiled and listened.  

Since we disturbed Meme's naptime, we encouraged her to stay right where we found her, but if she knew I posted this picture, she'd grin and say, "Karen..."  Ha!  

After an hour of visiting, when we made preparations to leave (because we wanted to get ahead of the late afternoon rush hour traffic jam), I snapped a few pictures on our way out the door... 

Their Paris hall/guest bathroom, off of the hall of their Paris guest bedroom... 

Oops, but I forgot their bedroom, off of the main living area, so I back tracked... I didn't capture a photo of their large bathroom with an easy wheelchair accessible shower (if it's ever needed, and please, don't mind some of the things out of place)...

And off the backside of their bedroom is a sunroom for sitting, visiting, and reading, overlooking their small backyard.  This is the view to the left…

and this is the view to the right of that same room…

and, of course, the view when Poppy wants to sit down and talk <smile>…

A fast, but insufficient, view of the large and much enjoyed kitchen where Meme cooks and serves Poppy's three meals a day...

and the right side view of the breakfast nook area...

Lastly, a snapshot of Poppy expressing (emotionally) his prized treasures, the marriage of his children and their families...

This move has no doubt stirred many emotions for all of us, but especially my parents.  Dad has experienced a lot of emotions leaving the home he enjoyed living in for 33 years.   As we left them yesterday, I was stirred to some emotional gratitude myself for the special blessing of sharing time together, if only for an hour. 

I'm looking forward to returning soon.

The blessing of home is being where Meme and Poppy are.    
I'm thankful there's only 30 minutes between us.  
Next time we'll track the mileage.  
We love you, Meme and Poppy!