Memories

Have you ever sat down and tried to clean up your iPhone of pictures and videos?  Well I just did since my phone had 2000 plus pictures and videos on it!  Yikes!  I decided it was time to do some checking on what I needed to keep or delete.  It took much longer than anticipated and about 2 1/2 hours later I said to myself it's time to get some other things accomplished.  One thing happens when you go through pictures, a lot of memories come to the surface.  Those memories either make you smile, laugh or cry. In the end I think no matter how they make you feel, memories are very good for us to think about as well as ponder.  If a person has experienced a great catastrophe in life and blocked it out in order to survive, later it will have to come out or it will make the person ill.  So as I went back over almost 4 years of pictures I realized thinking about the memories was good for me.

One of the most important reasons to have a good memory about things we've experienced is it usually helps us see what God has done for us.  Recounting blessings is good because you forget how many good things you've enjoyed, anyway I can.  I realized going through pictures how many celebrations I had with family and friends, since that is when you take pictures most.  I also saw so many pictures of hikes done in beautiful scenic places, races run with friends and family (I happen to enjoy running), and taking care of my grandkids.  The videos taken of grandkids made me laugh uproariously all by myself!  Lots and lots of blessings!  Remembering things also helps me not be afraid of the future as I recall God's constant care during hard and uncertain days and the decisions that needed to be made.

Recently I reflected on a study of Jesus imminent return by Anne Graham Lotz called "Expecting to see Jesus".  It helped me think deeply about being ready for His return to earth.  I admit the older I get the more anxious and excited I am to meet Jesus.  As I shared some thoughts with other women, one young woman honestly stated, "I don't think I'm that excited about Jesus coming right away!  I really want to get married first (she had a very serious boyfriend - and is now engaged)!!  I have so much life that I still want to live!" she confessed.

My heart went out to her because I remember when I felt exactly the same!  Like - Jesus could you just wait awhile longer till I marry and have a family??  This is not wrong to want to live, because that is a God given desire and a command from the beginning to multiply and fill the earth!  On the other hand I also know, without a doubt, when we arrive in the new heaven and the new earth (which IS coming) we will laugh at our desire to stay in this life as what we will experience is SO much better!  My favorite line in the Book is Revelation 21:4-5 "He (Jesus) will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away!  He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Yes I'm definitely ready for that!!

A verse I memorized recently and encouraged others to do so, says it well,

"Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day -- and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing!"    
 2 Timothy 4:8

All this said - you young sweet women who are living with expectancy of God's blessings coming your way - ENJOY the life God is giving you as you marry, have children, or serve God at work or at home!  Jesus came to this world and died for us and rose again and is coming again!  He did this so we could have life and have it to the full!  John 10:10b  This means NOW and forever -YES we are EXPECTED IN HEAVEN - because of Jesus.

Time Flies

How is it that time seems to fly by so quickly, yet at other times crawl?  My conclusion to this dilemma is some things bring great joy and other things great trials.  I'm happy to say time is flying for me right now.  The other day I was thinking about this fact and I felt life has been given back to me in miraculous ways!  How many people lose their first spouse - the love of their life - and then get to marry again into the same family?  I didn't have to change my name, or take family pictures off the wall since they were his family too!  My first husband was his brother whom he loved and was very close to so seeing pictures of him (even with me) is normal and fine with him.  I'm also blessed because I can say both men loved me with a wonderful Christ - like love!  You might ask what is that like?  Well Jesus Christ says He loves us so much that he lays down His life for us.  He gives Himself 100% always serving us.  We too are told we need to love each other the way Christ loves us.  Now granted most of us fail often at trying to accomplish this.  I feel my two sweet men (Tom and now John) have come mighty close to doing this!  I often told women, I had the privilege of teaching or leading in Bible study, that my husband (now husbands) had the gift of making me feel like a princess!  So there you have it - why time is going by swiftly because I have been given such a sweet season of life again.

I also know that nothing on this earth is forever and I know what it feels like to have time crawl.  After Tom went home to the Lord at his death, the months that followed crawled.  I know they did because I was very anxious to get them over with and have my turn to be called to my heavenly home.  I believe many people feel this way when they feel life is too difficult and wish it would hurry along already.  I think of children waiting for Christmas, it is very difficult for a young child to wait to open all those tempting gifts under the tree for Christmas morning.  So too it is difficult for us to wait for the wonderful promises of God waiting in Heaven for us!

This morning I noticed on the world news that pops up on my Safari screen that Isis terrorists burned someone alive!!  How terrible, at times like that don't you want this sad world to be finished and the new heaven and new earth to be here with Jesus as our ruler!?  The ruler that will love us with His perfect love and giving a life of perfection with no more tears!  Waiting for that life is the ultimate waiting test for us at times.  I feel a strong desire for that new life, but I can only imagine how people feel who are persecuted because they believe in Jesus or going through any kind of abuse living in our world!

So I ask myself what do I do to wait patiently?  I think the simple answer is to enjoy following God, take time in His Word the Bible and do His work.  This involves loving my husband and my family the way Jesus loves us.  Also we need to care about others in our communities and world who are in need  materially or spiritually.  My sweet daughter in law said it well the other day, after she was asked why she helps so many people.  If God has given me the means, the gifts, and the desire to help others I have to use that and not just sit and do nothing!!  Children waiting for something to happen need to keep busy, we all know this makes time go faster.

I pray all of you are making time go by with hope in your heart even in the midst of trials - especially in the midst of trials!

Let's all wait with patience (living and loving Jesus and others) because this is just around the corner:

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with people, and he will live with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.  He will wipe every tear from their eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."  Revelation 21:3-4

If you believe Jesus died and rose again for you, He is preparing a place for you and you are Expected in Heaven!

A Full Year

October 1, 2014

It has been a very full year for John and I.  We have enjoyed being newly weds, getting to know each other better.  This month we will celebrate our first anniversary on the 26th.  We have a busy life for newly weds since we have this very large family between the two of us.  It is a learning curve to know how to take enough time for each family as well as spend enough time with each other.  On top of this our families keep growing!

We now have 4 new great grandchildren and 1 new granddaughter between the two of us.  John's grandson and wife were blessed with a daughter last December.   His granddaughter and husband were blessed with a daughter also a few months ago.  My granddaughter and her husband birthed a little boy 6 months ago. My grandson and his wife were  blessed with a baby boy about a week ago.  My son and his wife had a baby girl three weeks ago.  And finally in December another baby boy is expected to John's grandson and wife.  If you look closely at what I just wrote that makes three boys and three girls in a year.  These babies have been or will be born from December to December.

Yes, this is a huge blessing in one way but in another there is huge responsibility and concern for all as they grow.  As I look at life around me there is always pain, but God allows joy in-between.  Although these babies bring us joy, I do know there are lots of women out there who wonder why it looks so easy for some women to have babies and they either don't get pregnant or have miscarriages when they do get pregnant.  There can be so many "whys" in our world to the hurt we see or personally feel around us.  My first husband died of an incurable cancer and every day people are dying of various diseases at every age both young and old.  My prayer list is very extensive of people with all kinds of needs.  How do we handle this?  Well I was reading Oswald Chambers book "Utmost for His Highest" the other day and he gave a thought I really enjoyed.
"Everything may become blurred in life (the whys) but our relationship with Jesus Christ must never be blurred."
Another thought I liked was from the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis (the first book of the Bible).  Joseph ends up in slavery (sold by his own brothers), then in prison because he wouldn't sleep with his masters wife, then forgotten by people he helped.  God had a plan but it took a LONG time for Joseph to get to see what that was.
The main "why" the Bible gives us is sin.  Everything bad is because of sin.  I know it sounds simple but it is truth.  Then you might ask is it my sin?  Afraid so,  according to Romans 3:23 in the New Testament and Psalm 14:1-3 in the Old Testament of the Bible.  We are not capable of doing good, everyone of us sin.  But there is hope.........
Thanks be to God he gives us Jesus!!  He died for us and now lives to help all who will believe turn to Him.  And the best part is He is coming again to create a perfect world, without sin!
You may ask, "Well why do some people seem to have all the trouble?"  Good question but God doesn't tell us His plans and I know as we have trouble and turn to God we receive His peace.  I can personally testify to that.  It's never easy to have trouble but Jesus promises He will be with us and He has overcome trouble.
I will ask a lot of questions one day or maybe I won't need to - I'll just know!

One thing I do know I have expectation of Heaven - I hope you do too!

Reassurance

Oh my goodness it is June already!  Truth is the end of June!  This must mean life is good as time is flying by so quickly!  John and I have settled into life like couples who are very used to married life even though we are newly weds of 8 months.  I suppose it is because between us we have 100 years of marriage under our belts.  A statement John likes to make. (smile)  In our previous marriages with our spouses this time of year marked celebrating together as couples since it was our anniversaries.  John and Marlys' was June 17, Tom and mine was July 3.  We especially made a point of doing something special together (the four of us) every five years.  This involved a really nice restaurant dinner out and a fun time visiting and reminiscing together.  This year would have marked our 50th and 55th anniversaries.  Needless to say we shed a few tears thinking of this fact.  At the same time we rejoice in our marriage now to each other (which by the way can still blow our minds)!  It amazes us this thing God worked out in our lives and we continue to feel very blessed!

We have settled into my home rather well.  John says he feels very at home here.  Hurrah!!  I could not stand moving to town although town is inching it's way out to us.  We have an awesome view of the mountains with grape vines and corn fields around us and nice size yard for very large family gatherings.  My nephews once called it an oasis in the middle of farmland!  We are blessed!

A few weeks ago we were at a church service that had a visiting pastor and his wife who happened to have experienced the same thing we did.  Both their spouses had passed away and they met and realized they wanted to marry again.  The woman was a lot like me in that she said she had not intended to marry again and somehow it just happened!  We immediately hit it off with sharing feelings that were in common.  The thing that stood out to me was the fact that though you marry again and are very happy you never forget your former spouse or the grief you had in losing them.  My new friend expressed it this way - she has been married 20 + years to her 2nd husband but she said you never forget the pain of the loss of your first husband or wife.  She said she dearly loved her 2nd husband but for both of them you never forget that first experience either.  Somehow that was comforting to me and gave me one more understanding of how grief affects people.

We can certainly all question what comes our way and why, but most of the time there are no answers except the fact that we must have faith that God knows what He is doing.  With the studies I have been working on lately in the Word of God I keep being pointed to the fact that life is about pleasing God and going His way and everything else dims by comparison.  I know too, that God cares deeply for us and loves us and wants to strengthen us.  A verse I read today said,
"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him." 2 Chronicles 16:9
We are prone to forget, as one person stated, that God is often more ready to help than we are to ask.

As we live here on this earth for the days God has numbered for you and me may we remember each day we are here for a purpose.  That is to help others be encouraged by the encouragement we have been given. I have been encouraged to love God more in grief because I realize how fragile life is and how my true destiny is a home in heaven.  I'm filled with joy by the fact that God expects me in HEAVEN and now he wants me to live for Him.

Contentment

Contentment - "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."  Philippians 4:11
"In the world of the Greek Stoic philosopher, the world Paul traveled in, the term "content" was used to describe independence, self-sufficiency, and the ability to go it alone.  The idea was that the truly wise person was the one who had come to the place in his or her life where they were independent of all things and all people.  They needed nothing and no one.  When you arrived at the place where you depended on no one but yourself, then to the Greek Stoic philosopher, you had arrived.
On the other hand in Paul's vocabulary, written in a letter to the Philippians, being content means simply "having enough," whether his personal economics were bullish or bearish.  His contentment did not come from himself or his circumstances; it came, he says, from God's strengthening."

This morning I was thinking how content I felt in my life right now and was so very thankful how God is caring for me since losing Tom 1 1/2 year ago already.  It still hits to me at times that I miss him so much and wish he was back in my life but in the same breath of thought I realize I love his brother!  It is a very strange phenomenon how both things can be a part of my life.  God keeps reminding me that I can be content in the places He has called me to walk.  So this morning again as I picked up one of my devotionals written by David Walls I enjoyed reading about the very subject I was pondering.  Those verses go on to discuss the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (I might add in sorrow and joy.) Paul states he can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Jesus is the one who gives us strength to carry on in life no matter what we have to face.  Life is full of tough things but in between there are flowers blooming that we may not want to miss.  I don't want to miss these years of love I get to receive as well as give while health and sound minds are still with John and I.  We have had a wonderful time enjoying these first months of marriage and growing in understanding each other better.

We are very blessed to have so much family close, children, grandchildren, and now two great grandchildren.  John and I realize we need to give each day to the Lord and ask Him to guide our steps to where He would lead us.  Sometimes we seem to have choices but the older I become I realize each day seems to play out in many ways I did not expect or have control over.  That can be very frustrating or we can try to look at what God may be wanting to teach us to be content in.  It's a much happier way to live that's for sure!

The fun news is John has a sweet great grand daughter with a middle name after his wife and I have a new great grandson named after my sweet Tom.  They are both adorable and bring us great joy!    Babies grow so very quickly.  There is nothing quite like holding them and we make sure we find excuses to do that! :)

It can be difficult to be content when life goes all wrong and still many of our friends battle cancer and have lost loved ones.  My daughter's mother in law, Betty, is submitting to major surgery a second time after a fall suffered in Holland.  It is very difficult to feel contentment in the middle of pain and fear of how you will feel after a second surgery when the first one did not seem to do the job!  We pray for this precious woman of God who is a sister in the Lord with us, as well as part of my daughter's family.

We continue to wait in expectancy for that place where all our tears and fears will be wiped away!  May the truth of Jesus death and resurrection touch you in a new way this Easter!

Days of Joy and the Fear Factor

Here it is February already!  Marriage so far is a great thing in my life!  One thing I learned about myself in the last 2 1/2 years is marriage was a wonderful blessing.  When life is so full of love and you enjoy being a wife it is missed so very much when lost.  God has filled me with such joy by replacing that gapping hole that being a widow caused.  My heart goes out to everyone who is single that desires marriage.  Remarriage, or marriage in general, can be a pretty tricky thing if one does not live close to the ways of God.  I'm not an expert counselor, but I have learned a lot over the years of how to make a man happy as well as myself by going God's way. I Corinthians 13:4-7 is the best example and our wedding passage!

"Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Do we always act this way perfectly?  No, but it is a great reference point!  I can say Tom was a very easy man to apply these verses to and his brother is also very easy to live with!!  Hurrah!!

John and I have had a very busy first 4 months of marriage beginning with the holidays and after that doing some traveling and also having a sweet young woman, Cristina, making her home with us until she can get on her feet.  She works and goes to college and needs a little extra support till she can move out on her own.  Today living expenses can be very costly.  So John and I joke with her that we still have a child in our home.  John and I also have been blessed to experience another aspect of life-becoming great grandparents!  Kaylyn was born in December, a baby boy is expected next month, and finally another baby (they don't want to know gender) will arrive in June!  WOOHOO!!  God is good!

Even though God has been so very good in many ways I can catch myself being fearful.  Anyone else like me?  Fear I have discovered can undo the good things in life!  I can be afraid that I'm just not good enough for God, or is God really waiting to take us to heaven at death, or what if another of my family is taken from me, or my new husband dies!!!!  Oh so many things can pop into my mind when least expected! The middle of the night is the worse time! These thoughts can put such a damper on a happy day or a good sleeping night!  I don't think I'm the only one who has ridiculous fears.  I do think as these fears hit me I've learned to recognize they are lies of the devil!  I have discovered over the years the best way to face the fears is with God's Word.  My favorite verse from the King James Version is
2 Timothy 1:7  "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Look also at how Jesus used scripture to chase away the devils lies and the devil himself in Matthew 4:1-11.  When I first realized this several years back I was very excited.  All of scripture (the Bible) is God breathed and has great power to rid us of any doubt or fear we may have!  This is especially good for fearful people like me!  One day I was thinking about this fear thing and in my reading from the Psalms that day in the 34th Psalm verse 4 I read -"I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears."  I feel sure that this is the absolute truth since I have experienced it so many times!  Seek God and He is the one to deliver us from our fears.  They may come back (as I know mine will) but I have the answer and I won't stop using the weapon of the Word to overcome!

Know and remember we are one day Expected in Heaven!!!  Have NO FEAR!

Vera & John

Vera & John

Here is our wedding album for those of you who would love to see our wedding pictures!  It was a great day weather wise and all.  We felt very blessed and loved.  All you need to do to see the album is click on  "Vera & John"  above.  We hope you enjoy the story they tell!