Things That Aren't What They Seem

Things are NOT always what they seem.

It sounds like a mamalie doesn't it?

You know, something your MAMA would have said to you.

Camera and map in hand, 

we took a little road trip to visit our western neighbor 

 - Montana.

Montana hosts 100 mountain ranges. Wow!

There is also a herd of around 200 wild horses

 in the Pryor Mountains that with their unique genetic code, 

have been rescued and reclaimed from extinction.

But those are not the Pryor Mountains in the background, 

nor are these wild horses. 

In fact, they are horse statues created from scrap metal -

rescued and reclaimed junk.

Things are not always what they seem.

On this trip we watched one "homeless man" on the corner,

hand off his cardboard sign to another "homeless man",

grab his backpack and walk on down the street.

It seemed like shift change.

Maybe those things aren't what they seem, 

because we don't know the rest of the story.

An event center seemed plenty big for an event called

"Rescued and Reclaimed".

But the reality was that the building was shoulder to shoulder 

full of junk shoppers like me.

The road less traveled, however, seemed much shorter 

and more scenic on the map. 

The reality is that is was ranch country 

and it was a long, lonely road.

Thursday before Easter Sunday is Maundy Thursday, 

and back in North Dakota, we gathered together at the church 

called Zion for an informal meal, some visiting,

 and to remember the Passover 2000 years ago

 that was not what it seemed.

We remembered that Jesus broke the bread and said,

"This is my body." 

He gave them the wine and said, 

"This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out

 for many for forgiveness of sins."

(Red because Jesus said it - Matthew 26:26-56).

We remembered that He and His disciples

 sang some hymns

before they left for 

 the Garden of Gethsemane 

and prayer and His arrest.  

He sang. 

We sang. 

We sat at the round tables and with our little group, 

 broke the pierced

unleavened bread

and drank the dark blood red grape juice together.

And we remembered.

Two thousand years ago,

the empty cross seemed to be the end 

for his followers. 

But things aren't always as they seem.

Because on Sunday morning, 

the tomb was empty too.

For those who have believed that Jesus is the son of God, 

born of a virgin, died on the cross, 

and was raised to new life in three days

 - circumstances of life are not always what they seem.

Because He lives.

Those of us who have believed, have also received this great salvation.

Not just forgiveness of our sins (which is huge),

 but Yeshua (Hebrew word for salvation - Jesus).

In that word, Yeshua, 

we have received deliverance, help, prosperity, security, and victory.

We are rescued and reclaimed.

When our crazy lives are just too, too much, 

we can just hide behind the cross. 

The cross of forgiveness,deliverance, help, prosperity, security, 

and victory.

We can know that the heavy price has been paid.

We can hide behind the cross

and we can stand. 

BECAUSE HE LIVES.

And we can know that

Things are not always, what they seem.

Now, I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you,which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, less you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures., and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (words of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved: for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (Greek - soteria - deliverance, preservation, safety). For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." (Romans 10:9-11)

And this salvation is exactly what it seems. 

Everything Esther

She is everywhere I turn.  Last month she was at a ladies' retreat in West Texas. Monday she was in the news. Yesterday she was at school.  Today is her celebration day. She is going back to North Dakota with me.

Esther was a young Jewish orphan being raised by her cousin in Persia, where Jews had been taken as captives. She became queen through a beauty pageant and kept her ethnicity a secret - until she was made aware of a plot to kill all Jewish people. She called her people to fast before she revealed the plot to the King. She saved her people from destruction by the king's edict allowing them to defend themselves. The king had the Jews' enemy, Haman, hung on the very gallows meant for Esther's cousin, Mordecai. (Esther 1-10). Her bravery saved her people from death.

The Old Testament Book of Esther is the only book in the Bible that does not mention God.  But He is there.  He. Is. There.

Godly Girlfriends Retreats 2015 retreat theme is Esther. Her story was told beautifully through, song, dance and each of the speakers. She inspired us to rise above our circumstances, our pasts, and our pain to become the women God created us to be. We were reminded that as daughters of THE KING, we are royalty and are called "for such a time as this". To visit Godly Girlfriends Retreats, click HERE. While you are there, visit the blog for a few pictures of our weekend together. I am packing my bags with everything Esther to take back to North Dakota. Twenty-five Texas goldy girlfriends will join me there in May to share Esther's inspiration and the love of Jesus at another retreat. 

Three days ago, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, referred to the story of Esther in his controversial speech to Congress. The connection? Ancient Persia is modern day Iran. Prime Minister Netanyahu sees Iran as a grave threat to the peace of Israel and the entire world. 

Today is March 5th. Every spring, Israel celebrates Esther's story during Purim. This year, Purim is celebrated from sunset March 4 to nightfall March 5.  Her story is read in synagogues from The Scroll of Esther - the megillah - in Hebrew. The celebration takes on a carnival atmosphere which includes Esther costumes, hissing at the name of Haman, traditional foods, and drinking wine.  In fact some drink until they can't tell the difference between the phrases, "cursed be Haman", and "blessed be Mordecai".  

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

 May those who love you be secure.

 (Psalm 122:6)

May you live to see

your children's children - 

peace be on Israel

(Psalm 128:6)

One Snowflake at a Time

It makes me smile - the sound of that snow thrower blower thingy running out there.  It is seven below zero. The real feel is seventeen below. I can't help it.  I just have to go look.  

The first time we lived in North Dakota, neighbor Smitty, advised us that we could not survive a winter without one.  We bought it across the border in Montana because there's no sale tax there. Then the first snow came in October before we were ready (as if anyone is ever ready) while the magic machine was still in it's box under a blue tarp. That first dreaded snow was measured in feet, not inches.  Three of them. 

Before we could uncrate it, south Louisiana called. Warm winter called. Palm Trees called. And we loaded the big box in the back of the truck, hooked up the trailer and headed south with a brief stop at the home improvement store to return our precious unused merchandise

Less than a year later, Louisiana ended with Mardi Gras, and North Dakota called again. In a new town, new neighbor Bruce offered a broken snow thrower blower thingy to my handyman. Handy man had it running before another snowflake could fall.

So there's my handyman out there, clearing the snow from around the house so that the basement will stay dry during spring thaw next June. He is cleaning neighbor Clarice's drive and sidewalk, blowing Gloria and Joe's walks, and making a path for the snowbunnies who cut the mustard across our yard on their way home from school. 

He starts on the northside neighbor's walk, but the mama sends the boys out with shovels to help before he is finished. He is cleaning up the neighborhood, one snowflake at a time. It must be that North Dakota Nice thing where everybody really does watch out for their neighbor. Maybe he just really likes his machine. Maybe both.

There's this crazy thing my crazy handy man likes to say:

"If the women don't find you handsome - they had better find you handy."  

"...and love your neighbor as yourself."

because Jesus said it.

A Thousand Words

She came for just a few days.  She sewed, cooked, watched movies, drove the four wheeler to the pasture, shot the guns with Papa, and she read books.  She read in the car. She read in bed. She read at the table. She read the notes on the fridge and the art on the walls. She read standing and she read sitting.  She read Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys, and Junie P. Jones, and books I didn't even know lived here. And this long-legged reader even straddled her great-granddaddy's saddle with a mesmerizing vintage book she found on the shelf.

I told her that I was a reader when I was 10 years old too, and that I never outgrew my love for books. She says that she has books going all over her house - in the kitchen, in her backpack, by her bed, and in the car.  I, too, have them everywhere - by my bed, by my chair, in my bag, and on the e-reader.  

Becoming Myself by Stasi Eldredge graces my Texas bedside table. 

 The North Dakota bedside table is empty because I have just finished a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Bad Girls of the Bible by Liz Curtis Higgs. 

 I am working on Eat, Sleep, Move by Tom Rath,  The Coconut Oil Miracle by Bruce Fife, and I Saw the Lord by Anne Graham Lotz.  That's a pretty crazy mix of literature.

From where I am sitting at my computer, I can see four unshelved books: The Joy of Signing by Lottie L. Riekehof, The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence, The Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD, and The Inspirational Study Bible by Max Lucado.

I'm positive that all these books and all this reading drives my husband crazy. Positively positive.

But I am also positive that I passed the passion on to my daughters and my grandchildren and it's not a bad thing. 

 Just this week, I ran across this precious picture of my own little readers from a just a few years back.  Yes, this picture is worth a thousand words.

Dr. Seuss said it well:

"The more that you read,

the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,

the more places you'll go."

so,

"Fill your house

with stacks of books,

in all the crannies,

and in all the nooks."

Happy Reading!

Where is He?

"He's not here."

 (Hubby looks confused.)

"He is not here.
 Santa is here.  The elves are here. The snowmen are here. The angels are here. The reindeer are here. The candy canes, and icicles, and snowflakes, and puppies, and hedge hogs are here.
 I've looked at shelf after shelf and store after store.
 But Jesus is NOT here."  

The sad girl at the checkout  says, 
with no expression in her voice, 
"Happy  Holidays."
 This rebellious old granny stands straight and tall and
 looks deep into her eyes, and says

"Merry Christmas".  

 She just looked at me with empty eyes.
 I could (and maybe should) have said so much more.

What that girl really needs is a hug. 
 And Jesus.

What is Christmas?
Christmas. Christ Mass. Worship of Christ. 
Christ - the anointed one, the Messiah.
 The Messiah -  savior, liberator, King, high priest.

Christmas is worship of Christ.

So where is He?  Where is JESUS? 

Jesus said to his followers, while he walked this earth,

"I am in my Father,

and you in me,

and I in you.

(John 14:20)

Let's not get so hung up on Jesus not being allowed 

on the courthouse lawns and the schools and the malls, 

that we forget the mystery of where he really is.

In Colossians 1:26-29,

the Apostle Paul, says, speaking to other followers of Jesus

and us,

"This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time,

but now it's out in the open.

God wanted everyone, not just the Jews,

 to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, 

regardless of their background, 

regardless of their religious standing.

 The mystery in a nutshell is just this: 

Christ in you, 

so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory.

It's that simple.

That is the substance of our message. 

We preach Christ,

warning people not to add to the message.

We teach in a spirit of profound common sense

so that we can bring 

each person to maturity. 

To be mature is to be basic.

Christ!

No more, no less."

(The Message)

CHRIST IN YOU,

the hope of glory.

(Colossians 1:27 NIV)

Merry Christmas!

Normal Thanksgiving?

Norman Rockwell's iconic painting, "Freedom From Want" seems to have set a high standard of expectations for our Thanksgiving celebrations.  The evidence is in grocery stores and conversations from all last week.  We have shopped and chopped,  shared who is coming, where we are going, what we are cooking, and what is already in the freezer ready to warm.

 Thanksgiving is my favorite of all holidays because it's about being thankful, it's about God's goodness, it's about family, and I like the food.  It also hasn't been terribly stained and changed by commercialism and I like the food.

"Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving." Psalm 50:14

The last few days I have been reflecting on Thanksgiving Days of years past - especially the atypical ones.  Those are the one's that have little in common with the Mr. Rockwell's famous depiction of the holiday. Those are the ones that seem to stand out in my fading memory.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: Give thanks unto him, and bless his name." Psalm 100:4

The first atypical Thanksgiving memory was of the meal served on a hospital tray the day after baby girl number one was born.  The food was most likely untouched because this new mama fainted every time she lifted her head off the pillow.

"O, give thanks unto the LORD, for He is good. His mercy endures forever"  Psalm 107:1

The next one I remember was when baby girl number two was just a few weeks old, in Dallas's Children's Medical Center ICU.  This mama and daddy drove to a Hotel Restaurant across town for turkey, dressing, and every trimming except the rest of the family.  We ate the traditional meal with lonely, heavy hearts.  

"In nothing be anxious: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God." Philippians 4:6

Several years we cleaned off the table, washed the dishes and said, "Let's go to DALLAS!"  Christmas decorations were out and we shopped through one Christmas winter wonderland after another.

"Sing unto the LORD with with thanksgiving." Psalm 147:7

Then there's the one where we showed up for the family meal in our black leather pants, boots, and jackets.  After the dishes were done, we headed to the Texas Hill Country on two wheels of rolling thunder.  That Harley was our therapy and our healing after great loss.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

I came to Texas last week to celebrate baby girl number one's birthday with a little road trip.  She hosted our our wonderful Thanksgiving meal last night, because I have a ticket to go back to Papa and snowy North Dakota this Thanksgiving afternoon. While she cooked, I played with grand kids and was crowned "Really Cool Nana" by the neighbor kid who says that his Nana just wants to nap.  So does this one....but I didn't confess that to him. 

Last night's atypical Thanksgiving meal was a healthy cleaned up lighter version of the traditional turkey, dressing, and  trimmings - turkey breast, gluten free dressing and bread, corn casserole with yogurt instead of sour cream, and veggies cooked in coconut oil instead of butter.  We ate on paper plates and played games instead of washing dishes. 

"I will praise the name of God with a song. And will magnify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30 

Our usual "I am thankful for ________" comments around the table were expanded by thought provoking questions wrapped around our napkins.

"Have you ever waited for something and later discovered that the delay was for your good?  Describe why you are now grateful for the waiting time"  Children, grandchildren...

"What has God changed in your life for which you are grateful?" Answers: children, grandchildren, jobs, moves...even North Dakota

"Death and loss are a very difficult part of every one's life.  Share a loss that in the end brought great meaning to your life." Besides the obvious answers that brought tears, someone found great meaning to life in the loss of her DSL because there was only one game lost with it. (Insert smiley face)

"Name five gifts from God that you can see from where you are sitting right now." My answer was easy and obvious, and the answers moved down the table to the not so silly counting of fingers and toes.

"Why do you think God told us to be thankful in all things?"  Because being thankful takes our focus off our problems and ourselves and onto HIM.  Because he is God and we are not.  Because it lightens our hearts.  Because it brings us joy. Because it brings HIM joy. (I thought of some of those later.)

So in a few hours, I will pack frozen leftovers for Papa, give hugs, go to the airport, check my bag, endure the security check, and wait, wait, wait with other holiday travelers for a flight back to the frosty tundra of North Dakota and Papa. I am so very thankful to be able to travel back and forth to family.

Wherever you are and whatever you are doing....I pray you are able to do it with a grateful heart.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

"Giving thanks always for all things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to God...and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...and be ye thankful."  Ephesians 5:20, Colossians 3:15

E.A.T.

A plan, according to Merriam-Webster is "a set of actions that have been thought of as a way to do or achieve something" - for example a kitchen remodel.  I have been planning this set of actions for three years.  I have drawn it, clipped, posted it, and pinned it.  We have plans A, B, C, and D, which I will not bore you with.

Then we realized that the television crews from HGTV, DIY, or Kitchen Crashers were "no-shows".....and we rolled up our sleeves and did our own DIY on a Dime, except it was more like a penny - a shiny new copper penny!

When we moved into this old house, the kitchen had well built white cabinets, copper hardware, a dishwasher that was older than me, milk chocolate walls and ceiling, and acrylic craft painted countertops.  The countertops looked pretty good three years ago, but lately Mrs. Prather's pink has been peeking through. Early on, we repainted the walls and replaced the dishwasher.  Then we just decided to just live with it for a while.

After months of researching Pinterest, I ditched all those ideas of painting the cabinets in a weekend, and went with simple. Keep it simple. Keep the cabinets. Keep the hardware. Keep the countertops.  Keep the floor.  Keep the appliances (except for the dishwasher). The cabinets and hardware got a good scrubbing and touch-up paint on the cabinet's chips and scratches.  

I painted the countertops black with a Rust-Oleum product (according to directions) especially made for that project.  The faux tin paintable wallpaper on the backsplash looked worse than faux, so it came down almost as soon as it went up.  I think it was the installer, not the product.

By now, the man of the house decides he had better get involved and we moved on to the next plan . All we needed were 9 sheets of faux tin ceiling tiles, a man who understands a tape measure, and the right tool for the job..  

The instructions said it could be accomplished in a few hours.  It was more like all day, because there were four light and switch plates to cut around.  I'm so glad he helped. He's so smart. 

Keeping the copper hardware gave us a new purpose for thrift shopping. $15 for the whole box of copper stuff.   A bargain here, a find there, and we had every decoration we needed, and then some. 

I would have never chosen all that copper if it hadn't been for keeping the handles and hinges, but it's beginning to grow on me.  

Then I got the brilliant idea to glue pennies on cardboard letters from a craft store.  Brilliant.  Except that all the weight is on the front and it took some creative engineering (mostly E6000) to get them to stand up!  So as a word of warning - buy wood letters if you are glueing pennies.

The reminder to E.A.T. and the copper boiler rummage sale find, work perfectly on the garage sale oak hutch with it's fresh coat of black.  The brass handles turned copper with a little help from Rust-Oleum hammered copper spray paint. 

AND the second hand on the second hand bargain box clock is hopelessly broken.  It just hangs there at a the six.  I like it.  We E.A.T. breakfast at six.  We E.A.T. supper at six. 

 Other than that, I figure it's six o'clock somewhere and someone is E.A.T.ing!

And now (drum roll...) the moment you have been waiting for....you are waiting for this moment, aren't you?

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Here is proof that you don't have to spend a fortune updating your old kitchen to make it look like a newer one.  And just maybe it will inspire someone to tackle their tacky kitchen with a little facelift.

You'll never see this kitchen remodel on the cheap in a magazine or on a how to site.  But if you'll come over for supper (at six) you can see it in person and we'll bore you with all our stories.  

Y'all Come!

(We'll E.A.T.)