Blessings by Laura Story

Perhaps the greatest prophetic song of the decade.  (Prophet=heart revealer)

I can't get this song out of my head.  Beyond the lovely piano and her great singing, the lyrics really burrow into my heart and mind.  I think she captures the sadness of our mistaken prayers without coming across as chiding or harping.  It has such a tender longing for us to know God better, enough to appreciate what He is already doing for us and how much more He would do if we could just align our hearts and minds more closely with the best that He wants for us.  Amazing.

     We pray for blessings, we pray for peace,
     comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
     We pray for healing, for prosperity.
     We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
     All the while, You hear each spoken need,
     Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.
     'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
     What if Your healing comes through tears?
     What if a thousand sleepless nights
     are what it takes to know you're near?
     What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

     We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
     We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
     We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love;
     as if every promise from Your Word is not enough.
     All the while, you hear each desperate plea,
     and long that we'd have faith to believe.
     'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
     What if Your healing comes through tears?
     What if a thousand sleepless nights
     are what it takes to know you're near?
     What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

     When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win;
     we know that pain reminds this heart
     that this is not, this is not our home.
     It's not our home.

     'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
     What if Your healing comes through tears?
     What if a thousand sleepless nights
     are what it takes to know you're near?
     What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life,
     is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?
     And what if trials of this life; the rain the storms, the hardest nights;
     are Your mercies in disguise?

No More Complaining!

In light of my decision to end complaining in my life, I would like to express some gratitude.
My son got home from Battle Drill about 2:30 this afternoon so we were able to spend some quality time together.  He even wore his ACLs so he got a "Thank you for your service!" shouted to him across a parking lot and a large french fries for free at the local eatery.  So I'm grateful to spend time with him. I'm grateful that people honored his service.  I'm grateful that he is doing stuff he can be proud of.
AND I GOT A PRESENT!  He bought me a nifty print version of The Princess Bride.  I'm grateful that he got me a gift. 
And I have three pieces of pie waiting for me in the fridge.  Well, two and a half, since I already ate part of the Honey Pie.  Not bad.  I don't love cornmeal in a pie.  I was very disappointed that they were already out of apricot pie, so I just ordered the next thing on the list.  I didn't think the Rocky Road would survive the rest of the trip.  I'm grateful for the lovely trip, listening to my son's mix cd.  I'm grateful that my $2k car is running like a champ!  I'm grateful that I could spend the day doing whatever I felt like.  I'm grateful to live in this free country and to have the cabbage necessary to buy not just what I need but some of what I want as well.
NOT COMPLAINT:  I wish my son would stop smoking!!!

More coincidence

Earlier today I posted that the random number I was assigned at Bang Bang Pie Shop was 64, the year of my birth and that today is my 50th birthday.  I went to dinner with my son at Portillo's and guess what number I was randomly assigned by the cash register?  Why 64 of course!  I was also sent a 15-percent off coupon for Half Price Books so we went there and I found a $2.00 book called 50 Things To Do When You Turn 50.  AND the first advice given is to stop complaining.  And just to put a cherry on top of my day of coincidences, that portion of the book was written by my distant relative Garrison Keillor.

Knowing God

What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it--the fact that HE KNOWS ME. I am graven on the palms of his hands.  I am never out of his mind.  All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me.  I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me.  He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.
This is momentous knowledge.  There is unspeakable comfort--the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates--in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good.  There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.
There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see (and am I glad!), and that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough).  There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose.
J I Packer

The key verse

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

All things well

All the way my Savior leads me;
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate'er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

It's God's Word, stop playing around!

Not the title of today's sermon but could have been.  Today was communion Sunday and we've gone back to having the choir stay, so I got to hear it three times.  I also took communion thrice.  For those who are unfamiliar with my church, we are non-denominational, evangelical.  I've heard that Catholics must be in good standing with the Church in order to take communion.  They also have a tendency towards earning the right to salvation.
The passage being preached was Matthew 5:17-20.  Pastor was relating the story of verbal sparring with a good friend and fellow student about parts of the Bible and after a while, he'd simply told his friend that "It's God's Word.  Stop playing around."  A little like the rule-keepers who think they're getting down into the finer points of the rules, but are missing the bigger picture.  The most consistent message from God is "be obedient".  In order to be that, there are lots of other steps and rules and instructions and what not, but in the end, after all the talking and negotiating and wrangling, stop playing around.  Go directly to The Source and do what it tells you to do.
I was born again and have my sins covered wholly by the work of Christ.  There is nothing special about me and not one thing I could possibly do to earn my salvation.  God sent His Son to pay my penalties.  I know that with all my soul.  I took communion (three times) because of that and that alone.  We all sin and fall short.  I didn't used to really believe that as thoroughly as I do now that I am in the throes of temptation.
I can do all things, and can only accomplish anything, through Christ who strengthens me.  Today's anthem:
I could not do without Thee, o Savior of the lost, whose wondrous love redeemed me at such enormous cost. Thy righteousness, Thy pardon, Thy precious blood must be, my only hope and comfort, my glory and my plea.
I could not do without Thee, for, oh, the way is long, and I am often weary and sigh replaces song; Oh, how could I do without Thee? I do not know the way; Thou knowest, and Thou leadest, and wilt not let me stray.
Oh, how could I do without Thee? I do not know the way; Thou knowest and Thou leadest--I follow all the way.
by Frances Havergal and our setting was by Maxine Posegate.  I haven't found it on YouTube and may have to add it myself.  It certainly deserves a place!

Not now allergic to nuts or shellfish

I went to an allergist a little over a week ago to find out just what nuts and which shellfish I am allergic to.  Turns out that I am not currently allergic to either.  The last time I was tested was about 20 years ago.  At that time I was allergic to trees, which I am also not now allergic to either.  Now, don't even get me started on my current mold, grasses, cats, dogs and ragweed allergies.  So ever since he told me, I've been eating almonds and pecans like there is no tomorrow.  Gonna make some zucchini bread with walnuts, maybe even tonight.  Especially if the weather doesn't get better and I can't get out there on my bike...! 

The Purple Hanger-Galesburg, IL

An nifty thrift store in a slightly bad location (a few blocks from the "cool" stores and out of sight) but they have good stuff and their money goes to support victims of domestic violence.  GO THERE!  Really!  Its worth finding-a few blocks south of Main and just off Seminary.

Not enough hours

I was recently watching a cellist play and had the comforting realization that on the New Earth, we will all have time to learn/do all the really cool, good things we've been meaning to.  I want to learn cello.  And not just enough to play a few tunes, but to really get good.  I don't think I have enough life ahead of me for that.  But I have been promised enough eternal life after death to accomplish any of the good things in this life I'm not going to have time for.  No sitting around on clouds, playing harps and eating Philly cream cheese!  We'll be learning all the interesting stuff, all the complicated stuff, all the hard stuff.  And it will take forever!!!  YEA!

Here's to Lula

I've been thinking about my grandmother today.  Not the one who died last month, but the one who died in 1985.  My father's mother.  I always thought of her as kind of namby-pamby.  She was older than my other grandmother, and not nearly as much fun.  Also not really into the grandkids.  There are pictures of her from high school and she looked old even then, with the finger-waves and calico dresses.  I only recently understood about her, though.  She was born just after the turn of the (last) century and lived in a little town with a bunch of relatives in Wisconsin.  She was one of like seven girls.  The only other names I can remember are Veda (who later married Pink) and Blanche, pictured below on the right.  In this photo Lula (on the left) was only about 50!

Anyway, she had it pretty tough.  She got married and had a little girl named Ruby.  Several years went by and they had a son (my dad).  Ruby was at least ten years older, I think.  My "grandfather" ran off when dad was just an infant (with the secretary from the garage where he was working, if my childhood memories are correct.  He landed in eastern Iowa.)  So Lula was left with two kids; my dad was born in 1936, so it was the throes of the Great Depression and she did the best she could.  I'm sure she probably had a high school education, but nothing more.  She worked at the big dairy in town for a long time.  My dad had all kinds of little jobs to help make ends meet.  There were aunts and uncles around (especially Uncle Paul, who was like a father to my dad) but it still must have been incredibly hard.  She never got divorced and thought of herself as still married, so of course she never dated anyone else.  Eventually my dad did a stint in the Army, and afterwards they both moved to Lyons Township in Illinois.  She moved to Mount Prospect at some point, but when I was pretty little, she moved to Kokomo to be near Ruby and her family, where she lived until she died.
I was thinking about those visits to Kokomo, mostly.  Trying to learn stick shift; at some stop sign in Indiana somewhere, with a big truck downhill behind me (probably laughing his ears off) while I popped that clutch over and over.  She lived in public housing, on the second floor.  There was, of course, a huge flight of stairs that she fell down at least once and broke her hip.  I remember sitting at the top of those stairs, eating, listening to the grownups talk (mostly about other relatives).  I'm sure she looked forward to those visits (even though my mother didn't like going) and she probably really splurged on all that meat and stuff.  I can't imagine how much harder it must have been for her as a single mother than it was for me.  I at least had Murphy Brown as a role model! {insert eye-roll here}

So in her honor, this weekend's menu will include:

• Pot Roast with potatoes, carrots and onions (overcooked)
• Puffed Cheetos
• Cream Soda
• Brach's Pick-A-Mix (if I can find it anywhere!)