This is happily ever after

The two shall become one flesh

Ephesians 5:25-33
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church 
and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, 
having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 
that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, 
having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; 
but that she would be holy and blameless. 

So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. 
He who loves his own wife loves himself; 
for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, 
just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body. 

For this reason a man shall leave 
his father and mother 
and shall be joined to his wife, 
and the two shall become one flesh. 

This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ 
and the church. Nevertheless, each individual among you also 
is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it 
that she respects her husband."

Oh, to know Jesus as a sweet treasure!

Lone are the paths

and sad the bowers

whence thy sweet smile 

has gone,

But Oh! a brighter home than ours 

in heaven is now thine own.
*

Found recently on a headstone while visiting a rural cemetery.

Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent

Bill Peet is one of my favorite authors, illustrators.   

He seemed to know just how to engaged children and adults 

in the silly, sweet stories he wrote.

Although this story is not in rhyme, it is just as charming.

Cyrus is a happy, gentle sea serpent who desires more excitement 

in his life when a shark over hears him and begins to sarcastically 

tease Cyrus to become a bully. 

Of course, Cyrus is not the bully type,

 but the adventures continue until he is completely exhausted 

and taking a break by the end of the story.

Fun for all!

*

Have A Wonderful, Triumphant, Happy Thanksgiving!!

Living in Trauma:

I often write to encourage you, sisters in Christ, to run to the LORD in all things.  

I often express how agonies and traumas come and go -- or they just come and stay, but, still, we need to run to the LORD to find His grace and mercy to continue to live in Him and for Him.  It is really the only way to be able to continue living rightly, not becoming bitter and angry.

A bitter, angry person is not what we want to become.  We have all have seen and known bitter people and it is gross and ugly, and not what the LORD wants for us!

When I express these things, I am right there with you.  I am not a super Christian. I live in ongoing stress every day so I run to the LORD all through the day, every day. 

I have not always been this way.  I had to learn to think rightly, which meant I needed to learn to think of my need of the LORD first before I worried all day or picked up the phone.  It has taken me years to learn that the first thing to do is to run to Him.

When we run to the LORD right away, share our thoughts, agonies, and feelings we may expect His peace right away.  This may be what He does for us, but His peace doesn't necessarily arrive as we expect it. 

Do not despair as if He has forgotten you! 

He works, and He works in you, deep inside.  As He does this a marvelous thing begins in us. His peace, which is far from our own understanding, begins to work in us.  

I always marvel at Him because my own life's chaos continues, but I, in Him, become at peace, His peace, while the chaos continues to swirl about me.  

It is a precious thing to have such peace among the chaos. His peace comes at a price. It is Jesus who gave us God's beautiful grace! Let us choose to run to Him more often, glorifying His Name!!

As I think of my life in trauma all my agonies seemingly hang on me.  I run to the LORD so often feeling like a failure because I feel like I do not handle it rightly, but He lifts me up once again. Even so, I continue deep down to feel like a failure. I feel like I failed Him and I failed myself.

But in retrospect, in thinking rightly, all of this learning and running to the LORD, waiting on Him, trusting Him among my chaos, has allowed myself to draw closer and closer to Him -- and isn't this what we all desire?!  To be closer and closer to our great Almighty God who is full of compassions, mercies, and love. My failures are in reality, triumphs in Him!  

I am triumphant in my weaknesses because I trust in Him!  Let us trust in Him more and more! Glory to God!

What a beautiful thing! 

A very Belated Happy Veteran's Day

Thankful for those who came before us to stand up and serve in the military to keep us safe.
Thankful and praying for those in the military now who are standing up to keep us safe.

Traumas around the Holidays

The LORD is with His children always.

"The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit."

It seems like traumas should not happen, ever, but they surely do.  When they happen around our special days we are even more shook up, on edge, anxious, disappointed, saddened...

Our world is fallen, unspeakably sinful, and every day points this out to us even more.   

"We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. 

And so the traumas come, and they tend to hang on to us, even "control" us. 

Life goes on and we seemingly stand still. 

We love the LORD! so we can not stop, but must continue to live our lives full and rich in Him even as we grieve!  

We can not allow our short or long-standing traumas to control our lives. Yes, we can acknowledge our agonies, they are a fact, but then we pick up our sheaves and continue for the LORD.

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.  He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed, Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."

**If you, precious child of God, are in a time of traumas, agonies, grieving... I certainly understand your pain and sadness'. Do not give up, but run to the One and Only who can easily carry your agonies, remind you of His marvelous joy in His grace and mercies, in which He showers us generously, even during our holidays!

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him."

*

Psalm 34:15-18
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.

The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

And saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Romans 8:18-25

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope 
that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."

Psalm 126
"When the Lord brought back the captive ones of Zion,
 We were like those who dream.

Then our mouth was filled with laughter
 And our tongue with joyful shouting;
 Then they said among the nations,
 “The Lord has done great things for them.”

The Lord has done great things for us;
 We are glad.

Restore our captivity, O Lord,
 As the streams in the South.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with joyful shouting.


He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him."

Lamentations 3:21-26
"Remember my affliction and my wandering, 
the wormwood and bitterness.

Surely my soul remembers
And is bowed down within me.

This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.

The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I have hope in Him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.

It is good that he waits silently

For the salvation of the Lord.

*

Never Trust a Wolverine

MUTTS

We decided not to have a tree again this year to avoid the inevitable. Too tempting for wild wolverines!

Our second snow day

ROSE is ROSE

You know you are raising a wolverine when*:

Photo by I. Shpilenok, The Wolverine Way, by D. Chadwick

-His paws were as big as his head as a baby.

-He is always foraging for food.

-He thinks your toes, fingers, and elbows are prey.

-He knocks everything off your walls.

-He thunderously lopes through the house murmuring "ers" and "erps".

-He can't be found in the morning.

-He can scale the heights of every piece of furniture you own.

-He uses you as a spring board to get to the heights.

-He pulls out his dry food and pitches it all over the house like prey.

-He shreds every paper product in your home.

-He is always on the hunt for illegal prey, such as foil, earrings...

-He walks around in stealth mode so we do not notice him.

-He runs at top speed from one end of the house to the other.

-He lays and stretches, practically touching wall to wall.

-He never sleeps through the night, thus, you are sleep deprived.

-He doesn't recognize your authority, so "no" is not in his vocabulary.

You know your wolverine is becoming domesticated when:

-He sits on the heat register.

-He curls up in your lap every night.

-He LETS you hug him.

-He hardly ever notices the toilet paper roll.

-He sleeps through the night.

-He sleeps in the same room with you.

-He purrs when all you do is talk to him.

-You arrive home and rarely find a disaster waiting for you.

*this is all, of course, hyperbole.

Always be Nice!

1 Timothy 5:1-2
"Do not sharply rebuke an older man, 
but rather appeal to him as a father, 
to the younger men as brothers, 
the older women as mothers, 
and the younger women as sisters, in all purity."

Proverbs 1:7-10
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

Fools despise wisdom and instruction. 
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction

And do not forsake your mother’s teaching; 
Indeed, they are a graceful wreath to your head

And ornaments about your neck.
My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent."