During this holy week as we prepare to “celebrate” Easter in “quarantine”, there are so many things for us to reflect upon. First of all, it was just after Ash Wednesday (the 40 days of Lent began -a time of “fasting”/reflection/ repentance/or “giving something up” that is of significant value to us to allow us to focus on our relationship with God.) that we were first hearing/ understanding the great significance/power of this world-wide pandemic that we could not “wish-away” or turn our backs upon. It was becoming “real” to us. It wasn’t just something that was happening half way around the world. It was HERE, in our schools, hospitals, homes, jobs, communities. From that time on we have had to endure a lot of major changes in our lives that we have never had to face before – ever!

Everyday we learn of the new number of cases/deaths/quarantines/ closures and horrific situations we are all facing together. This has been something that has produced fear, panic, loss of loved ones, loss of jobs, and many other changes in our lives that I pray we will never take for granted again. And yet, it is absolutely NOT the first time that the world has faced a major crisis. Something I read earlier this week touched my heart and made it very real for me:

“The very first Easter was not in a crowded worship space with singing and praising. On the very first Easter, the disciples were locked in their homes. It was too dangerous for them to come out. They were afraid. They wanted to believe the good news they heard from the women, that Jesus had risen. But it seemed too good to be true.They were living in a time of much despair and such fear. If they left their homes, their lives and the lives of their loved ones might be at risk. Could a miracle have really happened? Could life really have won out over death? Could this time of terror and fear be coming to an end? Alone in their homes they dared to believe that hope was possible, that the long night was over and morning had broken, that God’s love was the most powerful of all, even though it didn’t seem that could be possible. Eventually, they were able to leave their homes, when the fear and danger had subsided, and they went around celebrating and spreading the good news that Jesus was risen – and love was THE most powerful force on the earth.”

This year, we might get the closest experience of what the first Easter was like, still in our homes daring to believe that hope is on the horizon. Then after awhile, when it is safe for all people, when it is the most loving choice, we will come out, gathering together, and shouting the Good News that God brings life even out of death, and that love ALWAYS has the final word! As we reflect upon tonight, Holy Thursday, the night of the Last Supper, please remember that we are fast approaching that glorious day of Resurrection and eventual “life after death”! Love to ALL of you! Please be safe, stay healthy and God bless you! Nanette

“I Have Told You These Things …”
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. And now Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. ” John 17:5
There was no mistake. Jesus was choosing to be arrested. Instead of trying to escape, Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, ’Who is it that you want?” (John 18:4) When they responded “Jesus of Nazareth” (John 18:5), he stepped forward and replied “I am he.” They drew back and fell to the ground.” John 18:6
Why? Why would God allow his Son to endure this excruciating pain and all that was to follow? The brutality, humiliation, and inconceivable pain and torture. He went willingly, laying down His entirety for all. This was no common man. This was the King of the Universe. He cries to His Father as He is placed upon the cross… “Father, they don’t know. They don’t know…” Heaven sheds a single, mighty tear. This Man was completely innocent, completely holy ~ and paying the price for others…for you and me.
This Easter, remember there is “life” through the Resurrection. There is no way to negotiate the meaning. It basically asks “What will you do?” It simply requires confessing your belief in Jesus Christ and the saving power of his death and resurrection.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Wishing you all a very blessed and “life-saving” Easter!
Love, Nanette💜

 

Aahhh…after all the (although still) cold, rainy, and unpredictable weather this Spring; at long last the warm sunshine made it’s presence this past week. Daffodils and Irises are now in full bloom; small creatures of the earth are coming out of their winter hide-a-ways; birds singing in the early morning; and people everywhere sporting shorts, flip flops and T-shirts. Finally, hopefully, Spring is making its way back.

A popular online encyclopedia explains Spring and “springtime” refer to the season; and is broadly seen as a time of growth, renewal, and of new life of both plants and animals. The hemisphere begins to warm significantly causing new plant growth to “spring forth,” giving the season its name. However, spring is also a time of chaotic and unstable weather conditions.  Recent news stories across our country revealed powerful, historic storms generated blizzard conditions in some areas, heavy rain, thunderstorms, with flooding in others, along with devastating high winds and earthquakes. Despite the calendar drifting deeper into April, the news depicted horrific and almost unbelievable photos and articles regarding the historic flooding, snow storms, damaging winds and blizzard conditions; as well as thousands forced to flee their homes, tragic death of both human and livestock, and loss of farms, homes and even cities. I find it ironic that a time designated for new growth and new life, can leave such havoc and total destruction in its path.

I had to wonder if the people during the time of Noah felt safe from any warnings of flooding or storms? Obviously they did, even though several alerts were revealed. They were confident and went about their everyday lives, ignoring the warnings Noah tried to tell them of God’s judgment. Noah obeyed God’s instructions however: hammering, sawing, and building for 120 years. Even if he had never said a word, his pounding hammer rang a warning of what was to come. And apparently folks had never seen rain fall out of the sky before. “And every plant of the field and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth…” (Genesis 2:5).

Very often we take things for granted, as well. We feel safe in our homes, our jobs, and our lifestyle because we do not “see” anything different. And just as the bible predicts, we will carry on with our lives, eating and drinking and marrying.  36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away”. Matthew 24:36-39  Of course we know that after the world was washed away in Noah’s time, God set a (rain) bow in the sky to remind us that He would never again destroy the world by water. However, God does make it very clear that the earth as we know it will be abolished again one day. Despite many who try to predict the timing of the end of the world, or how the world will actually be destroyed; we can be certain of several things.

Just as in the days of Noah, God has grown weary and greatly displeased with the horrendous wickedness, lies, deceit, hatred, and evil of His people. The bible states He will send signs to change our ways or be destroyed. Do we not see those signs? God warns us that even the most elite (of believers) will be deceived. We will only see what we choose to see. Look at the people who lie to us, have no values or virtue, no conscience of others lives, or deceive us every single day. Do we not question those who are in powerful positions in our country or in our world? Do we just “follow along” due to political party affiliation or hopes of a better tomorrow? Do we not see the Christians who are put to death every day because of their beliefs in Jesus? Do we not see the signs God has clearly promised and provided to us? All of these things are happening right now.

4″Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:4-14  

I do not even pretend to know when God will finally say enough is enough, and put an end to the constant hatred, oppression, evil and civil and political unrest. That is not for me to know. But I do know that God has continually warned us over and over again, and I do know that I want to stand firm to the end, and to find favor with God. The true message here is that no one except Noah found favor with God. “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth …But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD”. (Genesis 6:5 -8) That is because Noah took the time to be in relationship with; earnestly pray; seek, and listen to God. Noah went against the grain of his generation. He consistently followed God’s will and chose a close relationship with Him, despite the jeering, unbelief and hatred of his neighbors.

Have you sincerely turned your life over to Jesus as your Savior? Do you feel the peace and power of His Spirit? Do you honestly and earnestly take the time to spend with God; to listen to Him when He warns of inappropriate choices, corruption or sin within our own lifetime? Our God is consistently faithful and loving. However, He does expect us to be in steady relationship with Him; to consistently seek Him with all of our heart, and pay heed to His “flood” warnings.

Easter is coming soon. Watch for my blog next week! Love to all!

In His precious Name,

Nanette 

“Our lives have gotten so cluttered up with things we think we “should” do, we can’t figure out what we were meant to do.”

 Alli Worthington “devotionals daily” October 22, 2018

  Have you ever had that very real feeling that God is speaking directly to YOU with some kind of sign, message or a word that someone speaks? You know that you know He is targeting you with something He keeps trying to tell you, but you just don’t listen . .  or want to hear it. This (paraphrased)  heading on my weekly devotions message caught my attention with a swift jolt. I knew that I knew that God was speaking directly to me. “Slow down. You can’t be everywhere, do everything, or be someone to everyone else.”  “But if I don’t do it, it won’t get done. I have to take care of this.” I quickly surmise. Huumm. Really? There’s that self-control issue I have again. And I don’t trust God enough to think He can take care of it for me? Shame on me!

The past several weeks have been another whirlwind of events as I have been on an emotional roller coaster of ups and down, as bittersweet thoughts and memories of things long gone swirl through my head. Our father passed away in March of 2017, and in July of this year we were forced to move our mother to an assisted living facility. Mom suffers from dementia and is no longer able to take care of herself. We tried for several months to allow her to stay at home, but it was becoming increasingly difficult, as many of you may realize with aging parents. Then this past month it was decided we needed to go ahead and sell the house. (To anyone reading this who might have contact with our Mother, we have decided it best NOT to tell her the house is being sold. She seems to derive much peace knowing the house is still there and everything is safe ~ Thank you!)

Immediately I kicked into my cleaning, sorting, packing, giving, throwing and crying mode. A large, pre-civil war home that has been in our family since 1950, there are memories, heartbreaks, love stories and fun-filled thoughts of over six decades built within the walls of this house. Literally 2 stories, a basement, and a garage filled with long-lost treasures, hidden memories, and forgotten tokens of years gone by. Cabinets filled with china, crystal glassware, tea-sets, 3 generations of silverware sets given as wedding gifts. Desks and buffets filled with pictures and knick-knacks that belonged to our great-grandmother and grandparents dating back to the turn of the century. Bookcases filled with books, encyclopedias, and crafts made by all the grandchildren. Paintings on the walls, candles on the piano, figurines and old clocks on the fireplaces. Closest and dressers still filled with Dad’s things. Wooden checkerboards, jewelry and silverware boxes made by our grandfather. Boudoirs filled with tablecloths, linens and quilts. Pantry’s filled with canned food, wrought iron skillets and old recipes. I was overwhelmed. Of course my brothers were a huge help in every aspect of it, but there was still so much to do. Calling exterminators, antique dealers, estate auction companies, etc. Asking family members to please come in and choose something of value, of great memory to them.

Sorting through pictures taken in the large side yard of my Mother’s graduation in May of 1952, and then again in October of that same year, my parents were married in this house. Once again more pictures of our father in his Navy dress uniform and mother in a beautiful white dress jacket and skirt adorned with pearls, standing in front of the fireplace of the dining room.

Memories of playing on the swing hanging from the tree Papa built for us as kids; picnics and lemonade on the back porch with Nana, and learning to say our prayers when kneeling on the floor of the “overnight” (our Mother’s old pink bedroom) room. Nana’s and Mom’s old dolls still sitting in strollers; Little Golden books of the “Three Kittens”, “Little Red Riding Hood” and many other favorites on the shelfs which are still displayed in the “children’s” room.

Our great-grandmother, “Mammy” moved in with Nana and Papa until her death in 1966. My first husband and I had our wedding reception in the yard/garden in 1972. After my grandfather passed in 1974, my grandmother stayed for awhile but was quickly overwhelmed with the amount of work it required. My oldest brother then lived there for several years while he was still a bachelor attending college. I lived there for a few years with my four children after I was divorced in 1986. In the fall of 1992 my parents moved in, and it was there that my grandmother (who had been living with my parents after a serious car accident) realized she was “home.”  She passed away a few weeks later in the house. In 2002 we celebrated my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary in the same dining room where they were married. Last year my father passed away in the “gathering room” where we had placed his favorite chair and the hospital bed.

Years and years of Holiday meals, Easter egg-hunts, watching our own children and grandchildren swinging on the “swing” from the tree. My brothers and I would reminisce, talk and laugh at so many memories. Pictures, certificates, and thoughts of our past siblings: a sister and two brothers. It just seemed like our life had vanished before us. It was so hard to let go.

I knew I have been physically, mentally and spiritually drained. I have not been sleeping well at night thinking about everything. Trying to remember all that I still need to do, or things I forgot to do. Today however, God openly reminded me to stop! I have been praying for Him to please speak to me, to please help me. He reminded me of the story of Jesus who was so tired after days and days of preaching, healing and teaching others. He told the disciples that he needed to rest and fell asleep in the boat. Even in the midst of a huge storm, he continued to sleep, knowing that everything was in the hands of his Father. The disciples couldn’t understand how he could sleep through such a horrific event. It was because he knew, he trusted, and he believed in his Father.

“Stop worrying, thinking and carrying all of this. Remember Who I am and that you need to take the time to spend with Me. I am your friend, your provider, your helper. You only need to call upon me for strength, for peace of mind, for others who can help you. And you have many new things to look forward to. Instead of being tired and worried all the time, turn your thoughts and time to making new memories with those who are with you now. Your grandson is getting married in two weeks. You and your husband are closing on your new home in three weeks. This is your life now. Memories are good, but don’t let them take over and miss out on the things you are called to do each new day. Focus on making new memories for your children and grand-children. Focus on reaching out to so many hurting people who do not have any good memories. Focus on teaching others about the love, promise and purpose I have for them.”

I knew exactly what He meant. Often times we continue to “live in the past”, remembering how things used to be. If only we could go back and re-live those good memories. But this is now. This is today. And there is so much to be done for today. . . one day at a time. I want my children and grandchildren to have memories of me someday that will inspire them to be a better person. So when we are hurting, lonely, scared, worried or discouraged, just live for today. Do something good for someone else. Make someone smile or laugh. Pray for someone. Volunteer for something. Don’t be overwhelmed with worry, work or life. Pray for yourself. . . and then honestly “listen” to what God tells you. He has so many good things promised for you. Don’t live in the past . . . look forward to His purpose for YOU!

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.”        Jeremiah 29:11-14

Love and God bless to each of you! 

Nanette