Christian Unity

Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door in 1516,

protesting teachings of the Catholic Church,

and beginning what we know now as the Protestant Church. 

And we've been protesting each other ever since. 

If you don't believe it, just take a look in the yellow pages and

 check out the different denominations and churches

...just sayin'...

we have divided and divided and divided some more

....just sayin'...

 

This tiny North Dakota town of 1250

(at last census and excluding thousands of us oil field vagrants)

has 5 churches -

 all different denominations. 

 But, I have never, ever, never seen such unity.

 

The first church service I attended here was a community service held 

downtown under a tent

 and sponsored by the Ministerial Alliance. 

 The local ministers shared in the service. 

 They have a couple of those community worship services a year.

 I like that.

 

But the really big thing to me, is Wednesday nights in town.  I am impressed.

 

Just as a body, though one, has many parts,

 but all its many parts form one body,

 so it is with Christ.

(1 Corinthians 12:12)

 

One church sponsors a program for younger children called Power Kids.

Kids from all over town come.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

(Ephesians 4:3)

 

Another church sponsors AWANA for older children

which has outgrown their church

and now meets in the elementary school gymnasium.

Kids from all over town come.

 

 

...put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

(Colossians 3:14)

 

And yet another church sponsors the teenagers (from all over town)

and meets early so that these teens can go help with

Power Kids and AWANA.

There are also seven adult Bible Studies, that I know of,

 going on in both homes and churches 

all over town that welcome all denominations.

 

God must be so pleased.

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

(Psalm 133:1)

 

Fall Leaves

It's fall in North Dakota

and it appears that all roads lead to

WINTER

 

Days are getting shorter
Nights are getting cooler

The first frost has come for a short visit
And winter is coming for a long one

The big question around here is

"Are you ready?"

No, I'm not ready thank you very much!

 

 

I have a long mental list of things I need to do before freezing temps,

which is maybe a month away...

 

 

Better Homes and Gardens

has published a fall checklist

for winterizing homes

including cleaning the furnace, filters, gutters, fireplace and windows;

caulking every nook, cranny, and crack;

installing storm windows;

and insulating everything

(coming short of turning the house into a pink insulated igloo).

 

 

 

In the words of another southerner,

"the folks around here just hunker down in the winter"

(or go to Arizona).

After one northern winter (labeled mild by the locals),

I understand a little better how I need to prepare

and my list is a little,
no, a lot different than BHG's list.

 

 

 My list is:

Clean the flower beds - check

Apply stain to the new back porch - check

Paint the new front porch - working on it

Make a place in the garage for my truck

Talk hubby into letting me keep my fantastic ferns

(I suggested a greenhouse in the basement -

 I know you can do it because I've seen it on Cops -

but the weren't growing house plants)

Buy some of that stuff that melts snow from the drive

Gather everything to stitch up several sewing projects - check

Get out the watercolors

Stock up on cooking and cleaning supplies - check

Put away short sleeves, short pants, and sandals

Unpack gloves, scarves, hats, sweaters, thermals, and coats
Antidepressants???
Vitamin D???
Daylight Light Bulbs???

Take a trip to Texas
and

Shop for new boots!

There!

Having made my list,

I feel much more prepared!

I think I hear Old Man Winter whispering through the leaves,
 

"Ready or Not - Here I Come!"

...guess I'll just hunker down!

 

 

You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
You have made summer and winter

(Psalm 74:17)

 

These Feet are Made for Walking

(Somehow, publishing a post before it is corrected, edited, spell checked, and totally finished, just takes something out of it.  I'm sorry.  Please stay with me and the hair brained mess that I am.)

My parents always said that I started walking at 10 9 months. I thought, really? Really? Sometimes I wondered if they remembered correctly or were just terrible excited about the first baby. Nevertheless, these feet have been walking me around ever since their first steps.  Early on they walked me to the barn to show off my new red shoes to the bull. They have walked me down the cow trails, two tracks, and dry creek beds. They have walked the county roads, city streets, school tracks, city parks, national parks, forests roads, and pastures. They have climbed state capital buildings and to the crown of the Statue of Liberty.   They have walked with children, grandchildren, and more friends than I dare to try naming. Here in North Dakota they have walked from the clinic in the north to the new houses on the south. They have stepped the streets between the high school on the west and the park on the east. And of course they've been to the Post Office, Food Pride, Hardware Hanks, Farmers Daughter and the Drug Store.

But then I got a little limp and I much preferred focusing on getting the bargain rug straight on the floor and the close-out chair positioned just right, rather than taking care of the limp.

 

 

And the limp got worse, but I still would rather hang Goodwill pictures over rummage sale tables and arrange coupon greenery in thrift store vases than focus on my feet.

 

 

Until six, eight, maybe 10 months of limping became crippling

and I finally focused on these bony old feet.

 

 

 I did the unthinkable - I made a clinic appointment and began a series of x-rays, appointments, diagnoses, planters fasciitis, inflammation, chiropractors, treatments, therapy, ibuprofen, ice, frozen water bottles, tennis balls, and soon custom fit inserts for my shoes.  My foot is finally straight, the limp almost gone, and I will hopefully soon be on the road again - literally.

 

But the thing it has really done for me, is give me compassion for people who walk with pain every day of their lives.  I have seen them always, but never really understood the pain they are in.  Like my friend, Pat, who has walked uncomplaining with braces and crutches since she was 2.  Like the man walking into the convenience store using, not one, but two canes.  Like the sweet folks in the nursing homes with walkers and wheelchairs.  People in pain are everywhere - bless their hearts and feet.

 

Like our physical walks, let's walk the straight paths of God's wisdom so that our steps will not be hampered and painful and we will not be crippled chidren of God

 

I instruct you in the way of wisdom
and lead you along straight paths.
 When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;
when you run, you will not stumble.
Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;
guard it well, for it is your life.

Psalm:41:11-13

 

and take care of our feet.

 

I have no greater joy than to hear

that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John:1:4

 

Thanks for joining me and my craziness!

 

...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

 They will soar on wings like eagles; 

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

 

Once in a Blue Moon

 

Lila is 85 years young. She is a mighty woman of God and a recent widow. She lives on the family wheat farm.  Lila likes to drive on Sunday afternoons and recently took me with her to see the wonderful places of her childhood memories.  Wednesday she stopped by to pick me up for choir practice (not that I needed a ride one block to the church, but to make sure I went!) and after practice, we drove to the edge of town to watch the sun set.  I asked her if she knew that there's a blue moon in August.  I explained to her that a blue moon is the second full moon in a month and that there won't be another until 2015.

 

That's when she sang to me Ella Fitzgerald's

"Blue Moon"

(Click to listen)

 

 

Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

 

(August 1 photo)

 

Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

 

(August 1 photo) 

 

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked to the Moon it turned to gold



 (August 31 photo)

 

Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

 

 (August 1 photo)

 

And then there suddenly appeared before me
The only one my arms will ever hold
I heard somebody whisper please adore me
And when I looked the Moon had turned to gold

 

 (August 31 photo)

 

Blue moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

 

 

And then the moon turned to gold!

 

I wonder if Lila saw the moon tonight and sang.

 

I hope you saw it too.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rescued - Renewed - Restored - Repurposed

It all started with a pile of keys in a basket.  We were always hunting the right key, which was, of course, on the bottom of the pile.  Having too much time on my hands, a need to be creative, and a stack of old windows - I came up with a solution to our key problems.  After all, it is by God's Amazing Grace that I ever find my keys!

At some time and to some degree, most of us have felt somewhat like the discarded, cracked, chipped windows left in a dark corner of my basement.  We have felt useless, used up, and

  there's definitely no light shining through us.

 

But God reaches down in His love and rescues us. 

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness

and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves  (Colossians 1:13)

 

 I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)

He rescues and he saves  (Daniel 6:17)

 

He sands the rough edges and polishes and even gives us a new purpose.

 

...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

 

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. (Ruth 4:15)

 

Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old(Lamentations 5:21

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.   (Romans 12:2)

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.(1 Peter 5:10)

Before I knew it, I had a halfway house full of rescued, renewed, restored, repurposed windows.  They will be hunting a new home and up for adoption (for a small fee) at the Farm Festival September 7th and 8th. 

 See you there!

“May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (Daniel 6:16)

When God Winks

A Farmer's Market lured me 30 miles away, through construction, trucks, potholes, harvest ready wheat, and acres upon acres of smiling sunflowers.  The added bonus was the Annual Senior Center Flower Show and Brunch.

 I met Corrine there and she invited me to tour her little 50's house.

 It was a place dear to her because of the childhood days and nights she spent there with her cousin. She and her husband bought it, restored for three years, and had it ready to serve burgers at the town's centennial celebration.  She opens the diner for special events, "big girl" parties, and special guests. 

She said finding all the furnishings was like "God Winking" - what others might call a coincidence.

God winked when she advertised for 50's style furniture and a friend responded that she just happened to have this great sectional couch.

God winked when she was given a railing that was a perfect fit for the stairway.

God winked when a relative gave her a flawless chrome dinette set.

God winked when she found the cheerful floor for the bathroom at the local lumber yard.

And then there's the kitchen,

And the footed bathtub,

And the HATS!

And God Winked

when He introduced me to a new friend -

a kindred spirit, a fellow junker, a rummage sale queen.

Not only that - we go to the same church, but had never met!

Don't you know God loves to wink!

Remember me, Lord,
when You show favor to Your people.

(Pslam 106:4 NIV)

Remember me, God, when you enjoy your people;
include me when you save them;
I want to see your chosen succeed,
celebrate with your celebrating nation,
join the Hallelujahs of your pride and joy!

(Psalm 106:4 The Message)

Hollyhocks

When North Dakota neighbor Bruce asked,

 "how I like them hollyhocks". 

My first thought was "well, they are green and blooming". 

 West Texans appreciate things like that. 

So I started wondering why he asked. 

Was it because he likes them or not? 

Was it because the stalks fall over after a while? 

Was it because they make about a million seeds? 

Or was it because the yard ends up with little hollyhocks all over it.

After a some thought, I decided that I would cut them down

just before their seed pods burst and maybe rid my lawn of them.

Then Georgia stopped by!

  "Oh, you have hollyhocks!"

hollyhocks - rolled off her tongue like sugar, like honey, like chocolate -

h o l l y h o c k s

Then... she said:

 "Do you know how to make hollyhock dolls?

First you break off a bloom and a bud

and break the stem off the bud and peel the green off. 

Then you insert the bloom stem into one of those little holes. 

My grandma taught me how to make them.

You can float her in water.

But after a while,

her little head blooms."



Holly Hock

She reminds me of the old Disney Movie,

Fantasia

(where everything in nature dances).

So for now,

the hollyhocks stay,

But I am gathering the seeds.

"Consider how the wild flowers grow.

They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you,

not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these."
Luke 12:27