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Sunday, November 24, 2013

As I listen to the wind tonight....

“At this my heart pounds
and leaps from its place.
Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
He unleashes his lightning beneath the whole heaven
and sends it to the ends of the earth.
After that comes the sound of his roar;
he thunders with his majestic voice.

When his voice resounds,             
he holds nothing back.
God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding.

He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’
  
and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’

So that everyone he has made may know his work,
he stops all people from their labor.

The animals take cover;
they remain in their dens.
The tempest comes out from its chamber,
the cold from the driving winds.

The breath of God produces ice,
and the broad waters become frozen.
He loads the clouds with moisture;
he scatters his lightning through them.
At his direction they swirl around
over the face of the whole earth
to do whatever he commands them.
He brings the clouds to punish people,
or to water his earth and show his love.

“Listen to this, Job;
stop and consider God’s wonders.
Do you know how God controls the clouds
and makes his lightning flash?

Do you know how the clouds hang poised,
those wonders of him who has perfect knowledge?
You who swelter in your clothes
when the land lies hushed under the south wind,
can you join him in spreading out the skies,
hard as a mirror of cast bronze?

“Tell us what we should say to him;
we cannot draw up our case because of our darkness.
Should he be told that I want to speak?
Would anyone ask to be swallowed up?

Now no one can look at the sun,
bright as it is in the skies
after the wind has swept them clean.
Out of the north he comes in golden splendor;
God comes in awesome majesty.
The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
Therefore, people revere him,
for does he not have regard for all the wise in heart?
Job 37

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

The Password Is...

Anyone out there remember the original game show called Password?  Alan Ludden was the host and he would almost whisper the words The password is as the TV screen revealed the hidden word for the television audience.

For me, the password these past few weeks has been:  mystery

Mystery not like the Nancy Drew books that I grew up reading.  In fact, I still have my collection of hard-covered, girl-sleuth books.  Oh yes, I enjoy a good mystery book.

Lately the word mystery seems to surround me.  Like I am living the word.  It is a mystery to me how I am able to work fulltime and do my homework for a college course and go visit my grandbaby every once in awhile and have coffee with friends and freeze apples from the abundance of our crop and give time to my husband and try to make a Christmas shopping list and pray for my Dad & Mom during Dad's chemo and...you know...the list goes on. 

It is a mystery that anything actually gets done <consider a smiley face inserted here>.

Living a life of mystery is bigger than the list of tasks that I did or did not get done.  Recently I listened to an online sermon from a pastor in My City.  He related a story of a woman that visited a Sunday morning service.  The pastor greeted her as she was leaving the sanctuary and she informed him she was in town for medical treatment.  She had been told she had over 20 cancerous tumors in her body.  With determination and faith, she told the pastor she knew she had been healed and that the week of tests in front of her would prove her healing.  The pastor admitted at this point in his message that he knew God could heal the woman but he doubted she would be healed.   At the end of that week, the woman called the pastor to report she had been found to be tumor and cancer free!  The pastor was amazed, humbled, and without explanation.  See, a woman in his congregation, the mother of several young children, had gone through exactly the same diagnosis within the past year.  This young mom did not get the healing and died. 

Was God mad and punishing the woman that wasn't healed?  No, because that would be contrary to His character and promises.

Did the unhealed woman have sin in her life and this was her punishment?  If that was the criteria, no one would be healed, right?   Our manual as Believers In Jesus Christ, the Bible, records several instances where people were healed.  In many of those documented experiences, the sins of the person were forgiven along with the healing.  So forgiveness isn't a criterion for healing.

God must have loved one woman more than the other and that is why just the one was healed.  WRONG!  God loves us all.  Period.  No conditions.  He loves us whether we love Him.  How could He choose who to heal?

That sermon is a true mystery.  As frustrating as it is to understand, I actually love it.  It leads me to believe that I only know and see a small fraction of who My Big God really is.  See I believe that He is in control.  He hasn't lost the battle between good and evil.  He has a plan.  He loves, loves, loves all people.  And I cannot begin to explain everything about Him.  He is a mystery.

He is a mystery.  I had to say it again. 

I did a Bible search on the word mystery.  Depending upon the translation of the Bible there are between 25 and 30 verses that have the word mystery in them.  Here is one of them:

Just as you’ll never understand the mystery of life forming in a pregnant woman, So you’ll never understand the mystery at work in all that God does.  Ecclesiastes 11:5

 Yup.  That pretty much sums it up.  What is really interesting to me is that in the past few weeks I've probably heard a dozen people say the word mystery or talk about how mysterious and unexplainable God is.  He is really trying to get my attention with that word.  So I'll end this little post praying as I have the past few weeks:

God, my brain cannot fathom all of the concepts of who You are.  You are the Creator, the I AM, my Lord and Savior, Healer, Comforter, Joy Unspeakable, Peace Beyond my Understanding, Lover of My Soul, and so on.  I have experienced You in all of these ways yet I don't understand the how's and why's.  Yet I trust You and know that all of Your mysteries are maybe not things that I will ever understand.  Your timing is a mystery.  In all my life, lead me, guide me, and know that I love You with my whole heart.  In the Name of the All Powerful Jesus, Amen.

Whispering I leave you with this:  the password is....mystery.  As in living life with an incredibly Mysterious God.  He keeps me So Amazed!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Grandpa Pat

In my last posts I've talked about Grandpa Pat.  He was in the hospital for two weeks with an assortment of health issues.  During that time he was rushed into intensive care two times.  At one point the doctors asked for the family to come in and Grandpa was alert enough to say:  I must be in trouble.  He saw all of his kids in the room and he thought he was in trouble!  What an honor for me to lean over and whisper in his ear, "you are not in trouble but your lungs are".

Baby C came to visit her great-grandfather in intensive care, too. 

Today Grandpa Pat was moved to a skilled nursing facility.  He is now on oxygen and has trouble swallowing.  He isn't eating or drinking much. 

Thinking back on the 29 years I've known him, there are so many fun, happy moments.  This man has blessed my life.  And the lives of many people.  It is really hard watching him in these what-could-be-his-last-days. 

An amazingly sad time in our lives yet amazingly blessed.

Friday, August 30, 2013

Bob's Dad and Baby Claire

This week Bob's 91-year-old dad was taken to the hospital by ambulance.  He had fallen and was unable to get up by himself, was having trouble catching his breath and had a bout of intestinal troubles.  He ended up in intensive care for a couple of days with pneumonia from aspirating.  See, he can't swallow well.  The muscles that aid in swallowing have given up working after 91 years and the food sits in Grandpa's esophagus and, unfortunately, has ended up in his lungs.  There are a myriad of other things going on in his tired body that the doctors are investigating so he remains in the hospital. 

Here is a picture of Grandpa and The Husband at Grandpa's 91st birthday.  We would appreciate prayers for him in these days of struggles.

 

Also this week I had the privilege of staying with Favorite-Son-in-Law, Kidlet One and Grandbaby C in their Far-Away-City.  With great joy, I babysat C while her parents went to work.  Oh the giggles we shared!  Here is a video of C singing to her toys:
 

 
The mysteries of life were so evident to me this week:  the aging, tired, sick body of Grandpa and the vibrant, investigative life of Grandybaby C.  Such extremes between the two.  God's planning for our human bodies was done with such creativity and love.  We definitely aren't robots and there are unique changes that occur in our bodies. 
 
He amazes me over and over.
 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

The Husband's Outdoor Fashions

The Husband scrubbed the deck last weekend and has started applying some GUNK to it now.  I call it GUNK because it is thick and has to be rolled on.  He explains to me it is the consistency of peanut butter (can you picture it?) and will protect the deck for years. 

Well, those that have the honor of living near us have often commented on how fashionable The Husband is when he mows or does lawn work.  This weekend was no different as he wore this attire all weekend as he started The Deck Project...

 Can you hear the runway announcement...
The Husband looks snappy in his straw hat,
fashionably worn Life is Good tee shirt,
denim shorts and oh yes, let's not forget
The Boots.
Rubber Boots...your outdoor
work cannot be complete without
a pair of Rubber Boots. 
 As an added bonus, the denim shorts
are able to become paper towel dispensers
and plastic bag holders.
 The iPhone is quite safe on the
belt during The Deck project

It was too hot to be wearing jeans on the weekend.
Perhaps in a Fall Fashion Show, I can grab a picture
of The Husband's jeans-that-are-held-together
-with-duct-tape...
 
Seriously, The Husband has worked really hard
over this past weekend and has made great progress
in re-sealing the deck.  
Once all the peanut-butter-gunk is applied,
we can move the new patio furniture back
and perhaps even throw a party.
I think we should all wear rubber boots to the party.
Wouldn't that be amazing!!!


Monday, August 19, 2013

Turkey In A Crock Pot

Isn't there a song that goes "Turkey in the straw...turkey in the straw...." 

I digress even at the start of today's post.

Today's topic is turkey in the crock pot.  Let me get back on track...

Recently I purchased a frozen turkey breast.  Usually I buy the whole bird but my mom made a turkey breast the last time we went to visit and it was so tasty.  And not so messy!  Last week I pulled the frozen mass from the freezer and placed it in a pan in the refrigerator.  It took a good four days to thaw in the fridge.  I decided to try cooking it in the crock pot, like my mom does. 

Brine the turkey.  Brining means to soak the meat in a water/sugar/salt/spice bath overnight, in the refrigerator.  You'll see in this picture I filled a stockpot about half full.  To the water I added fresh rosemary, about 3/4 cup salt and 3/4 cup brown sugar.  Stir that until everything is dissolved.  Then slide the turkey breast into the water, making sure it is under water.  (Yes, I agree, it looks gross)
 Make space in the refrigerator for this pan.
Aren't I daring to let you see into my fridge...
Cover the stockpot and let it set overnight.
 The next morning, I pulled out the crock pot and
added two washed carrots (I didn't even peel them),
two stalks of celery and about half an onion.
Pull the turkey breast out of the brine water
and rinse the meat off under running water.
 Stuff it into the crock pot.
This was a tight fit and I have a big crock pot!
I poured 2 cups of chicken broth over the meat.
Place the cover on and cook, on high, for
about 4 hours. 
 Clean up is important when touching chicken or turkey.
I used paper towels to wipe out the sink, the faucets
and the counters.  Then I pulled out the
disinfecting wipes to really clean up any residue.
 The delicious smells of cooking turkey started
about two hours into the cooking time.  Yum!
It is important to have a meat thermometer to test
for doneness.  I got interrupted in my day and
our turkey cooked for about 5 hours but it
didn't get dried out. 
I used two big spoons to pull the meat from the
crock pot and placed it on a cookie sheet
to rest about 15 minutes before starting to cut.
 The juices and veggies left in the bottom of the
crock pot look like a good soup!
I used a strainer to capture the good juices and
made gravy on the stove.
 We will be enjoying many meals from this
easy-to-make turkey breast. 
It was amazingly simple.
Give it a try!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013