Grace for the Good Girl

  

   "I believe women need to talk about the ways we hide, the longing to be known, the fear in the knowing. I believe in the life-giving power of story, in the beauty of vulnerability, and in the strength that is found in weakness.

     In order to explore the truth ... we have to expose the invisible expectations and desires we know are there but may not have words for yet.

     Let me give you the words. Let me offer my stories and the stories of women close to me. Perhaps they are your stories as well."

~Introduction, Grace for the Good Girl

    For the next eight Thursdays, Emily Freeman, the author of Grace for the Good Girl will be hosting a Summer Book Club.  Join with us as we discuss and explore this powerful book.  Sign up is free. 

“For a long time, I believed I was searching for God and thought I had found him, this God who is order and control, distant and passive.  I knew he so loved the world, but I didn’t know his love for me.  As I gazed off into the foggy distance, hoping for a glimpse of the outline of his presence, I missed the One who stood beside me, casting his shadow over me as he showered me with his love.  While I thought I was searching for him, he graciously, miraculously, and intentionally found me.”  Grace for the Good Girl,  Chapter 1,  Emily Freeman  

     I remember as a child hearing John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  And I believed that He could and would save the world.  I believed he would save people in other countries, people in my community, and friends in my classroom.  I had no trouble believing that He would save my parents and even my brothers.  I just wasn’t so certain that I was valuable enough to save.  And so I set out to make myself valuable.  I wanted to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend, a good student, and a good girl.  I realized that I could never be good enough to get to heaven under my own power, but I did not want it to be inconvenient for Jesus to save me.  I wanted to plant myself along His path so Jesus wouldn’t have to go too far out of His way to love me.

    Of course, Jesus had already set aside His crown, took off His royal robes, and choose to be born in a barn as a tiny baby to a young mother.  To grow and walk this earth for a time.  To teach, to heal, to love, then to be betrayed by the kiss of a friend to a cruel death.  Jesus was inconvenienced.  

     Now I see that He stood beside me all along.  He graciously watched over me, protected me, healed me and raised me up when I was bowed down.  He poured out His love over me.  My rest is in Him.

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.  

They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.  

I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.” 

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;  

it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord. 

  ~Lamentations 3:  22- 26

     There are things in this life that have surprised me.  But they did not surprise God.  He is in control of every situation.  I can trust Him to protect me in the valley, in the fire, in the storm, and in the battle.  He does not require that I be good enough.  I can wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Erie Canal

     When I was a child one of my favorite songs in music class was The Erie Canal Song, Low Bridge, Everybody Down.  (If you would like to hear it click on the music notes on the link.)   My imagination was caught by having a mule named Sal.  So when we went to celebrate my son Brian's graduation we visited the nearby Erie Canal.

     The Erie Canal is a 363 mile waterway that links Albany, NY on the Hudson to Buffalo, NY at Lake Erie.  This created a navigable water route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes.  It was constructed in the early 1800's.  It amazes me that men were able to dig such a waterway without the use of modern equipment.

          The light sparkling on the water was so beautiful.  It was a delightful ending to a wonderful day.

      For more fun pictures of "Water" visit Project 52 at Kent Weakley's blog.

Walk on Water

    When we were camping a few years ago my younger children had the opportunity to walk on water.  It really hasn’t gotten any easier since Peter tried it two thousand years ago.  At the camp store there was a poster advertising water walkers.  The  poster showed a girl in a huge bubble running on top of the water.  Of course, our kids had to try it.  

     Water Walkers are giant vinyl beach balls that are inflated with an airpump.  When they are just about full, the passenger is hastily inserted and zipped in, an extra whoosh of air and the bubble and child are pushed away from shore.  The balls are tethered so that a bubble child doesn’t end up blowing across the lake.

     Patty, Anthony, and Connor were zipped into separate bubble beach balls and the mayhem ensued. 
     Once in the bubble their job was to stand up and start running, rather like a hamster in a wheel.  It sounds a lot easier then it was.  The combination of balloon and water made for a very unstable surface on which to attempt to stand.  Each of the kids was able to get up, but everyone spent more time falling then actually standing or running.  It was great fun to watch but exhausting for the kid in the ball.  You’ll notice that Pat and I did not try this.

     Are you ready for my point?  In our Christian walk, we go through different seasons.  There are times when we are up and running.  Blessings come one after another,  We sing songs of joy.  And then there are times when the bottom shifts beneath our feet and we fall down.  I am glad to know that when I fall, God is right there besides me reaching for my hand.

      Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
  Have you ever noticed how relaxed and calm Jesus kept from day to day. You never once see Jesus in a hurry.  He walked from miracle to miracle.  He took time to sit quietly with His Father.

     In Psalms it says ‘Be still and know that I am God’. The meaning behind the Hebrew words that we translate as ‘Be Still’ literally mean ‘shut up’. It means coming before God, away from the noise, away from the commotion, away from the busyness. Not with a shopping list, not with a list of demands, but actually with no words at all – just with a heart that is open to listen.
And in the quietness, in the stillness, in the tranquillity – the voice of God whispers and we become refreshed. ‘Be still and know that I am God’.  Our hearts are restless until they rest in Jesus.  

   

  
       The LORD is the everlasting God, 
 the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He gives strength to the weary  and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, 
 and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the LORD 
will renew their strength. 
 They will soar on wings like eagles; 
    

     Underneath the wind, the waves, and even the bubble are the everlasting arms of God.


31 Things: Work

Source

     This post is part of my writing for the 31 Things class with Ali Edwards at Big Picture Classes.

      My Dad once asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.  I answered in all seriousness that I wanted to be a saloon owner like Miss Kitty on the TV show Gunsmoke.  After my Dad picked himself off of the floor he had to know WHY?  I explained that in the show that there were really only two women who worked.  There was the school marm and Miss Kitty.  The school marm had drab dresses, plain hair, and no make-up.  Her days were spent with barefoot children who clearly didn’t appreciate her.  Miss Kitty on the other hand wore a fancy red dress.  Her hair was always in an elegant upsweep.  Miss Kitty was beautiful.  Even better, Miss Kitty got to hang out with Marshall Dillon and Doc, but mainly Marshall Dillon.  It always looked like a party at her saloon with music, drinks and card games.  Really, Miss Kitty had all the fun.

     To my parents great relief, I grew up to be more like the school marm than Miss Kitty.  I teach Special Education at an Elementary School in a small city.  I love the children I teach.  I love when they get something that they have struggled with.  It’s wonderful watching them grow.  The children in turn have taught me so much about honesty and perseverance.   I am glad that I decided to become a teacher.  

      Of course my real work is at home.  One of the great benefits of being a teacher is having a similar schedule to my children.  It is not exactly the same, because I live in one district and teach in another, but it is close.

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer 

is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. 

Theodore  Roosevelt

     What did you want to be when you grew up?

Refinished Dresser

     I inherited this dresser when my Grandmother passed.  I remember that my Grandfather had used it when I was a child.  Grandpa kept freshly ironed handkerchiefs in the top drawer, along with his wallet and loose pocket items.  Grandpa had an aviary in the finished basement of their home.  He kept finches, love birds, and parakeets.  His favorite bird was a yellow canary that sang beautifully.  It was in a cage in the hallway.  I got in trouble once for letting the canary out while trying to pet him.

Before

     I needed a dresser for our bedroom and decided now was the time to give her a little love.  There are many wonderful tutorials out there on how to paint furniture, so I won't go into detail here.  I cleaned and primed the wood.  Then it got two coats of paint.  I went over that with a chocolate pudding colored wash which I rubbed on and wiped off.  I kept the original hardware.  I plan to add a coat of wax in a few weeks.

After

     The dresser isn't perfect, part of one of the lovely scrolls is missing.   It still makes me smile.   I love the dressers history.  I love that my grandparents used it daily.  I love that inside one of the drawers is part of an old newspaper that was used as a liner.   I can picture my thrifty Grandmother lining the drawer with the newspaper and setting my Grandfathers pressed shirts on top.   In my mind, I can hear a canary singing nearby.

By my bed.

Linking to  Beneath My Heart:

Sufficient Grace

"To keep me from being conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.  Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.  But he said to me, 

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  ~ 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

     Paul shares that he was given a thorn in his flesh.  We don’t know what his thorn actually was, but we do know that he wanted to be rid of it desperately.  Perhaps the thorn was not identified specifically so that each of us could relate to Paul’s battle.  
     All of us have thorns in our lives.  A thorn is an area where we feel most vulnerable or defeated.  Our thorns could be depression, an irritating neighbor, a boundary-less relative, splitting headaches, a cancer diagnosis, or even the inability to let go of hurtful memories.
          Paul wrestled with God about his issue.  He prayed three times for his thorn to be removed.  Finally, God answers but it was probably not exactly what Paul wanted to hear.  God said, “No.”  Well actually, what He said was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”  God did not remove the thorn.  He gave Paul grace to live with the thorn.
     As Christians we sometimes think that if we pray hard enough, if we are obedient enough, if we trust enough, or are somehow good enough that we will be spared the painful thorns in life.  The Bible doesn’t say that.  Nobody gets a pass from difficulty in life.
     I can recall some hard things that I have gone through that I believed God could have prevented or removed, but He didn’t.  But my trust in Him grew.  Was there pain?  Yes.  Did I wrestle with God?  Yes.  Did He make it all better?  Eventually.  I learned that I could trust Him to be with me in the fire of my battles.  
     So as we feel the thorny ache in our side, consider the One who suffered more than just a piercing of His side for us.  Remember that His power is made perfect in weakness.

Playtime

     You should have been in pictures!

      Imagine my surprise when I opened up a magazine and saw a an advertisement with my son Connor!  Or at least someone who looks just like him.  The picture above is Connor.  The picture below is, well, I don't know who it is.  It sure would be fun to get the two of them together!

     A few of our other attempts.  Connor loved the goggles.

      We had so much fun taking these!

     For other fun pictures of Playtime visit Project 52 at Ken Weakley's.